"Are we finished yet?" I look to Twilight as she brushes the fur back from the scar on my abdomen. For the last two hours she has been making me perform basic coordination tests along with a physical examination, basically what you'd expect to see a cop do with someone who is intoxicated at the side of the road. To my surprise apparently I did the tests fairly well, much to my surprise I can just about pick up objects with my hooves apart from those which require fine motor skills such as keys.

Looking back up to me Twilight presses her hoof onto the scar, "Did you get this in the war? I knew you were injured but we never got any details apart from that you were in a critical condition."

I wince slightly at the touch, although it isn't painful it still causes some discomfort to touch, "I had a piece of shrapnel lodged in my gut, luckily it happened when I was near friendly lines otherwise I would have likely died from it."

Applejack steps closer to view the scar, "Was it really that close?"

Nodding I focus on her, "It was certainly the most seriously wounded I've ever been. I don't intend on getting hurt any worse then I was, being stuck in a hospital bed is not fun."

"I can vouch for that," Turning around I look to Rainbow as she leans back against the staircase reading the newest Daring Do from Twilight's collection.

"Somehow I doubt you haven't had worse then me," I turn to the clock and immediately take a step backwards, "Your two hours are up, Twilight."

Looking to the clock she gathers all of her equipment and rests it on the table, "Two hours isn't long enough to conduct a thorough examination. You really should let me conduct a longer examination to gather more results."

"Maybe later," Stepping off I move straight to the door, "Now if you don't mind there's a certain Sergeant I need to have a go at."

As I leave the building Twilight calls after me, "Don't you want me t-"

The door closes fully cutting off the last of whatever it was Twilight was about to say, my main priority right now is smacking Chaser for letting slip that I slept with Sunny. As I make my way through the town I notice that I'm not getting the usual looks I normally would, instead the mares seem to actually be checking me out. Why are they looking at me like that? They aren't normally like this around me. By the time I'm halfway through town it finally hits me, I'm still a fucking pony, I never had Twilight switch me back.

Stopping on the spot I look back down the route I came from. Should I head back and get changed? Although I can use this body to a basic level I'd still prefer to have my own body back. However I wonder if anyone would recognise who I am when I meet them at the tavern. With that idea in my head I decide to continue towards the local tavern to meet the rest of my team, unless Chaser told them what I look like they shouldn't recognise me.

Reaching the tavern I pass two mares at the main door who seem to look at me for a substantial period of time. Out of boredom as I pass them I give a little wink as I saunter through the doors. When I look around at the bar I find everyone but Colbalt and Crimson as they are currently on shift, however I don't seem to notice Chaser either.

Sat at the bar I find Sunny sat by herself as Spectre gets up from the adjacent seat to move to her sister. Deciding to test if anyone will realise who I am I move to the vacant seat alongside Sunny. I notice her giving me the occasional side glance as she looks over my body, grinning softly I turn my gaze to her causing her eyes to lock onto mine, "Enjoying the view?" I decided to speak with a slight change to my accent in order to disguise my distinctive accent, I haven't come across anyone yet who sounds remotely English.

Her cheeks blush heavily as she tries to look away, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to ogle... not that I was... I just," Sunny clears her throat as she holds a hoof out to me, "I'm Corporal Sunny Shield, Ponyville Guard."

Fuck I need to think of a name. I can't say I'm John otherwise she will immediately know, I can't even use a normal name as it will stand out too much. Taking her hoof I bring it up to my lips and place a light kiss on it, "Crusader," I have no idea... I always liked the idea of the English crusaders of the medieval era, not to mention the Crusader tank which played a vital role during the African campaign in the Second World War.

With a big goofy smile she looks back to the bar, "Can I get you a drink?"

"That's awfully kind of you," Ordering a pair of drinks we both receive a set of non-alcoholic cider, it's good to see that she isn't drinking before her night shift, "I take it you are working tonight?"

"I am, the joys of a night shifts. It's not like anything fun ever happens at night."

"I dunno, I can think of many fun things to do at night," This causes Sunny to splutter over her drink as her cheeks develop a rosy hue.

"Well... yes, there certainly is some fun to be had."

Taking a swig from my tankard I decide to see how far I can get, "So tell me, how did a mare as beautiful as yourself end up becoming a guard?"

Looking to me she can't help but grin, "It was just something I always wanted to do. I've spent the last few months under the command of the human who was found before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"A human?" I try to play dumb, trying to copy the expressions I see ponies do I tilt my head slightly.

"Surely you've seen the papers?" I just stare blankly at her, "Two legged creature, comes from another world, mostly has hair on the top of his head and also served as a Lieutenant in his countries army."

I shake my head, "Nope, never read about him. I've been far too busy with work I'm afraid."

"You must be somepony important if you've been unable to keep up with current affairs," With a light smile she brushes a hoof down my side.

Glancing to her hoof she doesn't seem to move it away. Oh my god, she's coming onto me... again, "Well I wouldn't say important, I'm nopony really," It's so annoying using 'pony' instead of 'body'.

Sunny looks off to the side, when I follow her eyes I find her looking to a free booth alongside the rest to the unit, "Shall we get a better seat?"

"Sounds good to me," Getting up I follow her towards the booth. I can't help but watch her hips as they sway, for some reason they seem more... alluring then usual. When I join her in the booth she slides a bit closer to me on the seat, looking over my shoulder I find everyone else sat in the booth behind us.

We chat idly for the next half an hour, I mostly play the gentleman by asking her numerous questions. I wasn't behaving fully though as I was occasionally flirting with good effect, she was often returning them as well. If she knew it was me she'd likely kill me at this point. Running her hoof over her tankard she smiles softly to me "You never told me what you do for work. You certainly have a fairly strong... physique."

Holy shit, she's a terrible flirt. Smirking I think back to my previous cover story, "I'm an inventor, I create optics which are used by various bodies throughout Equestria including the Guard."

"An inventor? I've always been keen on tweaking with some armour designs."

"Smart as well? You're the whole package aren't you?" This gets a small chuckle as Sunny leans a bit closer to me.

"Do you always try to flatter mares?"

"Not always, but I seem to do well when I try."

Sunny smirks as her eyes scan over my body, "So... are you trying right now?"

"Maybe I am," Before I can react Sunny presses her lips onto mine locking us in a kiss. Slowly she starts to run her hoof along my barrel reaching down to my... Okay! Is she really going to do that in public? Pulling back from the kiss I look to her wide eyes as I drop the fake accent to adopt my regular voice, "Sunny its me, John."

Freezing she pulls her hoof away as she scoots back on the seat, "John?"

I can't help but chuckle, "In the flesh, baby. I can't believe you were about to-"

I suddenly get her hoof coming into contact with my cheek in a hard slap. Rubbing my cheek I look back to her as the rest of the team look over from the loud noise she created, "What the buck! Are you kidding me!?"

Georg gets up from his seat and moves in front of our booth as he glares daggers at me, "Is everything okay, Sunny?"

Raising my hoof I point to him, "Calm down Lance Corporal, everything is fine."

Cocking a brow his stance relaxes, "John? Is that you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Your accent stands out a mile away."

Sunny just rests her head in her hooves as she blushes heavily. Georg's eyes switch between us before realisation hits him, "Oh, I see what's going on."

"Nothings going on!" Sunny blurts out almost immediately. Everyone else gathers around the table as Sunny tries to sink back down, realising that her attempt at hiding isn't working she points to me, "It's John, he's just being an idiot."

Scoffing I look to her, "I am? I didn't do anything apart from put on a fake accent along with a different name," Looking to everyone else I try to go back to the reason as to why I came here, "Now, where is Chaser?"

Looking to the stairway leading to the rooms upstairs, Silver starts to head towards them, "He's in his room, follow me," Climbing out of the booth I follow him as we head upstairs. Waiting till we are out of ear shot from the others he looks to me, "So what was Sunny doing?"

"Lets just say, she got a bit carried away."

"You led her on?" Silver chuckles, "That's just evil."

"She started it, she was blatantly checking me out," When we reach a door to one of the rooms Silver stops, "Is he in here?" Nodding he moves to step off until I stop him with my hoof, "Wait here for a minute," I push the door straight open and move into the room, on the bed I find Chaser lying down on his back fast asleep. Sneaking up to him I climb onto the bed and stand over him, unfortuatly since he's splayed out on the bed I get an unwanted eyeful of his crown jewels.

Slowly his eyes begin to open up. Once his eyes focus on me they widen in shock, "John? What the buck are you doing?"

"Hey buddy," I say softly as I smile at him, this only causes him to look concerned. Without warning, I lift my hoof and stamp down on his most sensitive region. Immediately he shouts out in pain as I then push him off the bed onto the floor.

Howling in pain he tries to prevent further harm against his assets, "You dick!"

With him rolling on the floor I jump off the bed and look to him, "Hopefully you will now learn not to tell people who I have slept with," Smirking to myself I stroll out of the room as Silver looks in through the doorway with a slight grin, "Silver, you may want to get him some ice," With that I make my way downstairs to head back home.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon getting back to the library I had Twilight turn me back into a human, thankfully I was back to normal as soon as the spell was completed. Unlike the previous transformation this one caused me no pain, I guess removing appendages is painful but forming them doesn't cause an issue. Since I was once again on a morning shift I decided to get an early night and set an alarm to get up just before 07:00.

Right on queue, my phone's alarm goes off playing a random song which just so happened to be Mr. Brightside, however so I wouldn't wake Twilight or Spike up I had the volume reasonably low and resting alongside my pillow. By the time I've done my regular morning routine I am dressed in my new uniform and downstairs by the time Shadow walks in through the door.

As we both go into the kitchen I move to set the kettle, "Did Chaser recover from his... boo-boo?"

Shadow sits at the table as she looks to me, "Why did you do that to him?"

Placing a tea bag into the one mug I look back to her, "He knows why, hopefully it has taught him a lesson," Reaching for another mug I place it down alongside mine, "Coffee?"

"Please," I start to prepare the drink as she continues to talk, "So what happened last night with Sunny? She was really embarrassed and wouldn't tell us anything."

"Lets just say I gave her a lesson in self control."

"So... that pony with her was you?" I nod as I add the now boiled water to both of our drinks, "To be fair you did look pretty hot. I don't normally go for Earth ponies, but you still looked pretty good."

Pausing I look back over my shoulder as she smiles innocently at me, "Umm... thanks? I don't intend on letting Twilight do that spell again for a while, so you'll just have to get used to the human."

"That's the thing though, we don't even know if you are considered good looking in your world or if you are the ugly duckling."

Bringing the drinks to the table I pass the coffee over to her, "Depends on your taste. If you like black hair, blue eyes and someone who is in reasonably good shape then you're in luck, if not then good look finding someone else in this world."

Sipping her drink she places the mug back down, "Yeah, but you may just be saying your in good shape. For all I know that is what a fat human looks like."

"A fat human? Me?" I let out a small sarcastic laugh, "I'm hardly fat. I stay in shape, thank you very much."

Shadow shrugs, "You may claim that but I highly doubt you are stronger or better then most ponies in the Guard."

"Strength doesn't always win fights, it's also about technique and tactics." I sip my own tea as I lean back in my chair.

Switching topics Shadow rubs her eyes with her hoof, "So what's the plan today?"

"I need to see if I can find a blacksmith or armourer in order to get some armour made for our uniforms, apparently a blacksmith set up shop here during the Griffin civil war."

Shadow cocks an eyebrow, "Can you trust any old blacksmith for this job though."

"Well no, but I may as well pay him a visit to see if he's capable of fulfilling the order. I also need to see Dawnstar to tell her to get more Kevlar produced and ready for the armour, from what we had left over after out tests we've only got enough for one or two sets of armour."

"Kevlar? Isn't that the armour you wear?"

"It is, but Kevlar is not as effective against bladed weapons as it is bullets. It spreads the force of an impact preventing penetration, but the right blade with a direct strike and enough force can still penetrate the armour. If we mix plate armour and Kevlar it should protect us from firearms and blade attacks, your armour is really bad against bullets as they just go straight through."

Smirking she sips her coffee, "Best of both worlds? Why hasn't your world got adequate protection for bladed weapons?"

"We don't use them anymore, apart from bayonets you shouldn't really come across them when you're on the field. Every soldier is armed with rifles which will kill you from a distance. Your world has only started developing rifles so I'm gonna help to keep you protected from them," Finishing my drink I get up from the table, "I can tell you from experience that getting shot isn't fun, so can Chaser."

"Yeah and he also mentioned getting hit in the balls isn't fun," Shadow joins me as we slowly move to the door.

"I did warn him back in Canterlot not to tell people who I've slept with, now he's learnt what I will do when he blabs," Reaching the front door I pause when I glance to the central table, "Just give me a moment," Moving to the table I open up a small box of ammo I left when we arrived in Ponyville and start to refill my magazine which I used the previous day against the Timber Wolves.

Looking at the bullets Shadow pushes one around with her hoof, "So these are what the rifle fires?"

"No, these are only 9mm which are used by my pistol, they pack a punch but don't have much penetration for armour. Kevlar will easily protect you from these, it should also protect you from a 5.56mm but a well placed shot can still get through," Placing the filled magazine back into my pistol I holster is as we leave the library, "Once I'm finished developing armour then I'm gonna get started looking at making new rifles, probably even at making larger calibres."

"What's the biggest calibre?"

"Depends on the weapon type, for a heavy machine gun we have .50 calibres which will essentially rip a giant hole through you. I think the largest ever used was a .950 but that hasn't entered mass production and I highly doubt it ever will. If I do make you guys rifles I may go for 7.62mm bolt action rifles, maybe even revert to the classic .303 we used for the Lee Enfield," I've only ever used the one at a firing range but I instantly fell in love with it, the Lee Enfield SMLE was a masterpiece of British engineering.

Shadow just looks to me confused as we walk, "I have no idea what you mean by these different calibres, I'll leave all that stuff to you."

Grinning I pat her on the back as we start to stroll into town, "Come on, let's keep an eye on the market until the main stores open up."

Once again everything was quiet as we made our rounds through the markets stalls, this early in the morning the only people who would be out and about are those heading for work. As we did a walk through I noticed a store which seemed to be the new blacksmiths, it had an inner store with various tools, weapons and armours on display whilst the outside contained a working area of sorts which joined onto the main building providing cover from the elements.

Making another pass I find that the store has now been opened, outside the blacksmith is setting up his equipment to get to work for the day. He has a chestnut brown coat with a jet black mane with greying roots, an apron of sorts covers his chest along with holding numerous tools against his body. As I approach him he glances up from his tool belt, "Ah, Captain, I was wondering when I'd get the privilege of meeting you. My name is Forge, former quartermaster for the Solar Guard."

Moving up to him I hold out my hand which he shakes with a firm grip, "Captain John Davies, Lunar Guard, Everfree Rangers."

Grinning he turns to his forge. I'm not even gonna say how weird it is that a guy named Forge is working at a forge, "I know who you are Captain. I take it you are here on business rather than pleasure."

"You could say that, I need some armour crafting."

Chuckling he looks over me, "So what exactly are you after?"

"I want a chest plate crafted for everyone in my unit, but not that fancy engraved crap the other guards get."

This gets a small smile as Forge looks to the armour Shadow is wearing, "Finally, somepony who realises that practicality is better then presentation."

"There is a catch though, it will also require a specialised fabric underneath which we have created. We have a little in storage so should you agree I will provide you with it to add to the armour."

"Specialised fabric? How is fabric going to make the armour more effective?"

Taking out my pistol I show it to him, "Have you heard of this weapon?"

Looking at it closely he looks at it from all angles, "A pistol? I heard of these."

"Then you've likely heard that the current armour is useless to protect the wearer from it. The fabric we are going to provide will protect the wearer from firearms, we primarily need an effective chest piece to protect us from bladed weapons."

Looking over me he lifts my arms looking to how the joint moves, "I will need some measurements before I can begin. How many are you needing overall?"

"Twelve overall, one for me, two for a pair of Griffins then nine for the rest. I will cover all the costs, I shall get everyone to come down at some point for their own measurements."

Taking out a tape measure he wraps it around my body as he takes measurements, "So you're just after a breast plate?"

"For now, yes. As long as it protects the entire chest and back then that will do, if you can I'd prefer for it to be fairly lightweight. I don't particularly have a preference for the material, I honestly have no idea about this type of armour. For the time being though I only have enough of my material for maybe one or two pieces, we will create more and provide it overtime for you."

Finishing his measurements he looks up to me, "I will happily accept, as soon as I receive the first batch I shall get to work immediately."

Smiling I start to make my way to leave, "Great, I shall ask Dawnstar to create more and bring it to you as soon as she can."

"Very well, farewell Captain."

Making our way back towards the market I look down to Shadow, "Well that was easy, once that's done then our Guard uniform will be done."

Glancing back to me she rolls her eyes, "As long as the next set isn't the same pattern as the one you wore yesterday then I will be happy," What's wrong with MTP? It may not be the prettiest but it does the job at least.

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By noon we decide to once again move towards the Everfree forest however unlike yesterday I don't intend on going in. Sticking to the outskirts we walk along the various paths which leads towards numerous entrances into the forest. Though since most creatures reside deeper within I highly doubt I will come across any.

As we stroll down the dirt path Shadow glances to me, "Do you really want to go in there again? Didn't you learn your lesson yesterday?"

"I learnt that Phoenix's love me," Grinning to Shadow she just rolls her eyes, "You learn from making mistakes, now I know if I enter I'm likely gonna come across some sort of creature which thinks I look tasty."

"I wouldn't say you looked tasty, you look like you'd have a lot of fat on you."

Shadow smirks as I playfully swat her mane, "We've been over this. The rule is if someone has more then two chins then they're fat."

"I suppose that's true," We walk a bit more in silence until Shadow looks back up to me, "Can you tell me about your family?"

Stopping on the spot I look to her, "My family? Why?"

"I'm curious, if you joined the military then what did they do?"

Slowly walking I look into the Everfree, "My dad was in the army, he served in the Third Battalion Parachute Regiment during the Falkland war where he saw combat at the battle of Goose Green and Mount Longdon. Afterwards, he left the army and joined the police, just like many other veterans. Every male member of my family has served in the military for the last two centuries."

"What about your mother?"

"My mom was a GP," Shadow just looks to me blankly, "A general practitioner, basically a doctor. My sister isn't even eighteen, she's will now be a few months into her second year of college."

There's a long pause as I look into the forest, "You miss them, don't you?"

Slowly turning my head I look to her, "Of course I do, more than anything."

"I'm sorry, it must be hard for you."

"It is, but I feel worse for them," Leaning against a nearby tree I take out my phone and open a picture of my family and me in London when we were there on holiday. Passing the phone to Shadow I let her look to it, "I know that they're safe at home, but they don't know what happened to me. I can only imagine that I've been listed as killed in action, after being unable to find my body or any remains they will likely assume I was killed by an IED. My family probably think I'm dead, or worse that I'm missing only to never been found."

Holding my phone I take it back from her grip and pocket it, "Is there no way for you to go back?" Her voice is filled with sorrow.

"Not for another two-hundred years, I'll be long gone by then."

We stand there in silence as I look into the forest, my eyes scanning between the trees as I reminisce about home. I want to get home more then anything, but it will never happen. I have to go with the flow... I guess. Suddenly my eyes are drawn to some movement within the forest, resting my hand on my pistol I step closer.

Shadow cautiously steps alongside me as she also sees the form within the forest, "What is that?"

Narrowing my eyes I try to focus by due to the foliage I'm unable to get a clear view, "I don't know. Keep low and follow me."

We begin to stalk the target as it moves deeper into the forest, taking care not to alert it I move close to the trees avoiding open spaces and using the shadows to my advantage. Looking behind me I almost find it impossible to locate Shadow, true to her name as she hides in the darkness the only thing that identifies her is her eyes when they lock directly onto you.

As we reach an opening we duck low as the figure joins another three, as they enter an opening underneath the sunlight. Standing before us are three Griffins wearing former Militarist uniforms and armed with pistols and swords. The other creature... I have no idea what the hell it is, the closest I can come to describing it is a large and fairly ugly dog. It has a coat of dark grey with blonde spots on the paws, wrapped around it's body in a shoddy looking piece of plate armour which has a small backpack attached to the rear with numerous gems protruding from the top. It's tail also appears to be wrong, at the end it has numerous spikes which I can only guess will act like a mace of sorts.

From this distance we are unable to hear what they are discussing. Once Shadow reaches my position I whisper into her ear, "What the hell is that?"

"Diamond Dog, I heard that there was a settlement below Ponyville. Most of them don't cause issues, however there has been cases where tensions have lead to... misunderstandings."

"Misunderstandings? Care to elaborate?"

"Abductions, fighting, robberies and in rare cases murder."

Drawing my pistol I slowly pull the slide to the rear to try and minimise the noise created. Despite my efforts it fails as the ears of the Diamond Dog twitches as he swivels to face me. Stepping into the open I keep my pistol raised on the four preventing the Griffins from drawing their weapons, "Stay where you are! Don't move!"

All four face me as Shadow moves alongside me with her sword drawn. The Diamond Dog takes a step closer, "Stupid ape!" Reaching into a pouch on the side of his bag he grasps a grenade. Acting on instinct I aim the pistol at his knee.

PHAT

The round goes clean through the flesh sending him to the floor as he releases the grenade alongside him. As soon as I fire the three Griffins draw their own pistols and return fire. Immediately ducking I try to avoid the three rounds, due to their haste with aiming they aren't very accurate with their shots. The third round manages to skim my leg spraying a small volume of blood from the wound, due to the sudden impact my leg gives out causing me to fall to my knee.

With their single shots used they are forced to engage in close combat, Shadow is able to intercept the two Griffins leaving the one for me. As he swings his sword for me I attempt to raise my pistol to get an immediate shot off, I'm unable to do that however as the sword comes into contact with the rear of my right hand causing me to drop the pistol.

As he attempts a succession of flourishes with his sword I'm forced to roll to the side leaving my pistol on the floor before pushing myself to my feet. Drawing my sword I wait for his next strike, with a straight lunge toward me I duck down and release an upwards slash cutting along his neck. He steps back as he runs his talon over the bleeding wound. He once again goes for another attack, deflecting it with my blade I'm able to reduce the impact however his sword scraps down the outside of my left arm tearing the new uniform.

With a downward swing I'm able to grab hold of the handle of his sword before it makes contact with me, keeping him in position I rock my head back and headbutt him with all my might causing him to release his sword. I'm taken aback from my attack as a pain shoots through my head. These fuckers are thick skulled.

Now armed with two sword I am able to make quick work of him. With rapid strikes I repeatedly strike my unarmed opponent making quick work of him, dropping to the floor his numerous wounds bleed profusely as I finish him off by forcing his sword into his sternum impaling him. When I look up to Shadow I find the two Griffins on the floor alongside her, she made quick work of them without getting so much as a scratch. I guess that's why Thestrals are the elite of the Lunar Guard.

I make my way slowly to my pistol and retrieve if from the dirt, there's a bit of mud on the inside of the barrel but it will live. Standing tall again Shadow looks to my injuries, "Is there ever a day in combat where you don't get injured?"

I shrug, "I didn't get hurt yesterday," Clearing out the blockage in my pistol we cautiously approach the downed Diamond Dog as he's curled up into a ball, "You're coming with us, puppy."

Without looking to us he groans, "You think wrong," As I step closer a quiet hissing noise is coming from his curled frame. A quick scan of my eyes reveals a small plume of smoke along with the lack of a grenade alongside his position.

My eyes widening I grab hold of Shadow and jump to the floor away from the Diamond Dog, when we land my body is fully covering hers.

BOOM

As the smoke settles I slowly rise from on top of Shadow and look to where the Diamond Dog was only to find that the grenade has killed him, one of his hind legs has been completely blown off exposing his internal organs from the injury. As I look at the wound I move over to what's left of his body and roll him over to gain access to his backpack, removing it from his body I move back to Shadow, "Lets go, when we reach Ponyville I want all of Bravo shift on duty immediately."

As we walk Shadow glances back to the body, "Why did it do that? Why are they even with Militarists?"

"I think they were members of the Children of the Motherland. I don't know why they are cooperating with the Diamond Dogs though," As we walk back to the exit of the forest I holster my pistol before running my hand over my bleeding arm, "I don't know why they're here, but I may know someone who might."

I don't exactly want to get in touch with him... but he is likely going to provide me with my best lead.