Following Gabrielle into the main quarters of the base we make our way past a small guard post to enter the main command room of the MoD instillation. Stepping in I'm met with what you'd expect to see from a war room in any military film, a spherical table rest in the centre displaying a detailed map of the Griffin Empire including all the main transport routes and any reported activities from the Children of the Motherland. Spaced out along the side of the room are large filing cabinets holding important military documents with desk positioned alongside them where a number of intelligence officers type up reports on old typewriters.

Reaching the main table myself and Gabrielle halt as we look to the commanding officer as he turns to face us, we both quickly salute the Colonel who quickly returns the gesture. The Colonel holds out his talon to me which I quickly take hold of and shake hands with him, "Captain John Davies, I hope you're finding the facilities here to your standards."

Releasing my grip I remain at attention, "Yes, sir. A bit different to what I'm used to, but still seems suitable for our training."

"Are Equestrian facilities that different?"

"In all honesty I wouldn't know, I've only been to the Canterlot barracks and the new barracks in Ponyville. I'm still used to my barracks from back home, sir."

Turning to walk around the table he gives a wave of his talon signalling for us to follow, "I can imagine that there's a fair few differences between your world and ours, especially considering the difference in weaponry and armour from the reports I received about you during the war."

"I'm still trying to get my head around the technological differences. In some areas your world is as advanced as ours, such as medicine, but for other areas you seem to be trailing behind, sir."

The Colonel remains quiet as we approach a small office, moving through the door the three of us step inside to find two other officers waiting inside, a Captain and a Major. Once the door closes behind us the Colonel takes a seat at the desk and selects a numbers of documents from the draw and passes them to Gabrielle, "Let's get straight to business. We've now confirmed that one of Silverwing's top ten will be within the town of Threlkeld tomorrow, the former Lieutenant Hirsch will be recruiting former Militarist soldiers at the Muntz tavern. This could be our key opportunity to capture a high ranking member of the Children of the Motherland, the potential information he can give us will be invaluable to us."

I look to Gabrielle as she quickly scans through the intelligence reports, "What resistance can we expect, sir?"

The Major steps alongside Gabrielle and hands her another report, "Hirsch never goes anywhere without his personal escort, five veterans of the Militarist military who served as their elite guard, they're highly skilled and will certainly pose a threat if you engage them in combat. Also since the tavern is a suspected recruiting ground we can expect the majority of patrons to become hostile if any military personnel are located nearby."

Gabrielle passes the documents to me as she focuses her attention back to her commanding officer, "I believe that Captain Davies' plan will be sufficient, sir. He has two Griffins in his team who speak Imperial Griffonian, they may be able to pose as sympathises and gather intelligence on their activities."

The Colonel leans back in his chair as his eyes lock onto me, "Are you sure your team is up for this? You may be prepared for front line combat but infiltration is a different matter."

"I'm sure we can handle the task. Georg and Janine can go into the tavern whilst the rest of us remain on standby ready to intervene. Once they give us a signal we can move in to apprehend Hirsch, sir."

The Colonel contemplates what I have to say as he turns his head to the other officers, "Major, what do you think?"

The Major looks to me momentarily before responding, "We can provide an airship to transport them to the local airfield. We can get them there for tonight allowing them to move into position around the tavern without being seen ready for tomorrow, from intelligence reports there are a few abandoned houses across the street which will provide a clear line of sight."

"Captain Davies, be ready to deploy with Captain Gabrielle within the next hour. Set up positions through the night and remain in position ready for tomorrow." We both give a quick salute to the Colonel before leaving his office, I'm going to have to get everyone prepared to deploy. Once we reach those buildings we'll have to stay hidden and remain there for nearly an entire day before this operation can begin. I've only done a few reccy's in my time in the military but I'm sure we can do it, from there we can move in and apprehend the Lieutenant.

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Under the cover of darkness we made our approach into town, the airship was able to transport us to a military base on the outskirts of town, the flight itself only took two hours. Upon landing outside the town we waited until late at night before moving in, although it wasn't uncommon for the residents to see military patrols they would undoubtedly become suspicious upon seeing the Equestrian military.

We replicated the ruse we pulled to enter Wingston during the war, hiding within cargo carriages we were able to move our unit into town as we posed as a supply caravan. With Gabrielle's unit towing the carriage we are all left sitting in the dark as we wait to reach our destination, the only light we have is Colbalt's and Silver's horn illuminating the tight space.

As we sit there Georg looks to me, "Are you sure this is the best way to proceed? A lot can go wrong with this plan."

Clasping my rifle I raise my head, "I know, but we haven't got many options. We'll be sat in a vantage point ready to strike, you'll also be provided with a set of Griffin pistols for protection."

"With one shot. There could potentially be dozens of targets, we'll only be able to fire off one shot each before they act."

"Then don't get caught. Just stick to speaking Imperial Griffonian and you'll be fine, can you manage that?" Georg and Janine nod to me, "Wunderbar."

"What about the Lieutenant?" Janine asks. "No doubt he'll question why we're there or if we served with the Militarists."

"Come up with a story and stick to it. I'd personally stick to something vague so you don't get caught out on small details, maybe say you were at the battle of Griffonstone and were captured on the passage leading to the town. You were able to escape Equestria custody as you were transported and decided to lay low until recently."

"I don't know if that'll work, John. He may catch on."

Rubbing my chin I let out a sigh, "True, maybe you two won't have to engage with him? Just pose as patrons and remain nearby to listen for any key intelligence, if you're approached then you'll have to improvise. We've got all night and tomorrow morning to prepare."

Sunny lifts her head and turns to me, "A lot can go wrong here. We're taking a big risk with this, we haven't exactly done an operation like this."

"Guys, we can do this. We're the Everfree Rangers, we have the most advanced kit and many of us are veterans of the war. We were able to infiltrate enemy lines without being detected and conducted a sabotage mission which saved countless lives during the assault of Wingston. We were able to extract a high valued target from enemy controlled territory and we were in the first wave of the battle of Griffonstone. We can do this, we'll make the Everfree Rangers the unit that everyone else envies. We're the best of the best, we'll just have to prove it."

Chaser snickers from alongside me, "Is this where we all put our hooves in the centre and cheer?"

Smirking I lightly slap him across the back of the head getting a small chuckle from the others, "You ruined the moment. I swear you're determined to be an ass."

"You'd be lost without me."

"Wow. Somebody's cocky, I'm sure I can live without you, it'll just mean I won't be annoyed every ten minutes."

Chaser closes his eyes as he rests his head back, "You're so kind, John."

"I know." Looking down to his field pack between his legs I can see the top flap isn't fully secured, flicking it open my eyes widen when I see that he forgot to put his magazine back into his locker. A mischievous grin spreads across my face which the others seem to catch, reaching in I quickly grab the magazine and draw it out.

Chaser opens his eyes when he hears me going through his bag. His ears drop as he sees what I've grabbed, "Give that back!"

Holding it in one arm I raise it out of his reach as he tries climbing up me to reach it, "I just want to borrow your wank mag." Everyone's expressions shifts to a mixture of amusement and surprise at our actions, Georg leans over and grabs Chaser pulling him off me. Flicking through a few pages I find a picture of a single mare with the same colour coat as Chaser in a very provocative black lacy set of lingerie. Tilting the magazine I show it to him, "Is this your mom?"

Chasers eyes narrow as he scowls at me, "Go buck yourself."

I gesture a hand towards my crotch, "I'm trying to." This only proceeds to irritate him as he once again lunges at me, this time however he's successful at retrieving the magazine and quickly stuffs it into his field pack. Grinning I look to Sunny and tilt my head back to Chaser, "Your man wants some attention it seems."

Sunny's amused smirk quickly drops as a light shade of rose paints her cheeks, Chaser respond by punching my leg with his forehoof with only causes me to laugh. After a few seconds we hear a quick succession of knocks on the rear doors of the carriage, gathering up all of our kit we wait a moment until the doors are opened from the outside. One by one we all quickly climb out to find ourselves in a poorly lit alleyway, on both sides of the walls there is a rotted and worn out door which leads into the old buildings.

Whispering to the others I look to them all, "Colbalt, Crimson, Shadow, Slicer and Sure Strike you're with me. Everyone else go into the building on the right and keep on alert, we'll remain here until the meeting. Georg and Janine you two join me so we can discuss the plan in more detail in the morning."

Sure Strike enters the building first with the rifle attached to his back, he may be able to use it competently however he still prefers the blades he has concealed within his wings. One by one we join him inside as we clear out the building, due to the close quarters I keep my rifle over my shoulder as I have my pistol in one hand and the sword in the other. Once every room is briefly searched I holster my weapons as I call down the stairs to everyone, "Clear. Sure Strike secure the door, barricade it if you have to, just make sure we can easily clear it so we can move out tomorrow."

Ascending back to the top floor of the building I enter an old worn out room, the paint on the walls is flaking away and in the corner of the ceiling there is a clump of mould growing against the damp plaster. With each step I take deeper into the room the wooden floorboards creak beneath my boots, it gives me the feeling that any minute my boot will break through leaving me trapped in the floor. Reaching a large window I wipe my hand across it rubbing away a thick layer of dust, looking outside I'm able to clearly see through a number of windows in the tavern along with the surrounding streets.

As the others join me inside the room I look back to them all, "We'll all stay in here tonight. Everyone look around for some furniture or something to use as beds, unless you're happy to sleep on the floor."

As everyone moves around the building Shadow steps alongside me, "This room doesn't exactly seem very cosy."

Cocking a brow I look to her, "This isn't exactly a five star hotel. You could always snuggle up with Sure Strike, he may act tough but I bet he'd love the attention."

Shadow gives one small chuckle as she shakes her head, "I don't feel like snuggling up with anypony. Just cause you want to snuggle up with Chaser."

Smirking I pat her head as I step up to a sofa with a dust sheet resting over it, "You're just jealous that I have a man to spoon with." Grabbing the sheet I pull if from the sofa revealing a fairly uncomfortable looking worn down green sofa. Sitting against it I start to remove my field pack and webbing.

"I don't think Sunny would appreciate you doing that," Shadow jokes as she joins me on the sofa and sits next to me.

"I'm sure she won't mind if it's in a threeway." Shadow looks to me in confusion, "It's just banter, you get tonnes of it in the army. We may do and say things that seem a bit... 'fruity,' but it's just for a laugh."

"That makes no sense," As the others return to the room they drag in a few small camping beds and loungers which they found in the various rooms. As they set them up in the room Shadow gets up from the sofa and heads for the doorway, "I'll have the first watch."

As she leaves the room I kick my feet up on the sofa and rest my head back, raising my watch to my face I find it to be 02:18. After spending the last few days training I haven't exactly had a good nights sleep, although I've been tired most nights I've not been able to physically relax. The cold air blowing in through the broken window isn't exactly doing much good for helping me relax, as I look to Janine she passes me a blanket that she was able to find. Pulling it over my body I look to the others, "Get some sleep while you can. Decide amongst you who will be taking over for Shadow in a few hours for guard duty."

Gradually I open my eyes to find myself staring straight up at a white ceiling, not really paying much attention I roll to the side and close my eyes once again. As I lay there I feel the cold winter air run over my face from a nearby window, the sounds of birds chirping in the nearby trees and the sound of cars driving up and down the street... Wait a minute... cars?

My eyes snap open as I sit up in the bed to look around, the cream walls have a number of photos hanging from them showing myself in military parade dress from basic training at Sandhurst and showing my family. At the far wall there is a small TV resting on a stand with an alarm clock alongside it, a pair of dressers are pressed against the side wall alongside a wardrobe. Getting out of bed I stand on the cool carpet as I look around the room. I'm in my flat.

Leaving my bedroom I stand in the doorway to look around the corridor, to the left is my bathroom, the right leads to the kitchen and the front leads to the main lounge and sitting room. Stepping through to the lounge I look over the layout of the room, a small dinning table is set to the side, a collection of chairs and a sofa sit opposite in front of my main TV and Xbox 360. A number of photos of myself and friends hang on the walls, a number of them show myself and Jess whereas the others show my friends from the army from our previous tours.

"How did I get back here?" I ask myself out loud as I scratch my chin, as I run my hand over the chin I find a distinctive lack of a beard. What the fuck is going on? I quickly run to the kitchen and look at the calendar to try and get some idea of the date, running my hand along the crossed off days I find it to be January 22nd 2013, roughly one month before I was due to be redeployed to Afghanistan. Pushing my hands against the wall I let out a deep breath, "What the fuck? What's happening?"

I stay there for a minute as I try to process what is going on. Was it a dream? Am I still due to go to Afghanistan? Have I been given another chance? As I stand there questioning what is going on I hear a sudden knocking at the front door. I lift my head to stare directly down the corridor to the source of the knocking, after waiting for a minute the knocking repeats itself.

Slowly I step through the hallway into the lounge where I stare at the front door, cautiously I approach the door as I reach my hand out to grab the handle. Compressing the handle I push it down and pull the door towards me. With the door open I look out to the corridor but see nobody there, stepping out I look to the right but still fail to see anyone.

"Well this is certainly an interesting greeting," A voice calls to me from the left side of the corridor. Pausing I turn to face the voice where I find Luna standing there as she looks to me with a soft smile.

"L-Luna? What the hell is going on? Why am I in my flat?"

Luna steps up to me and gestures her head towards the door, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

I look to her momentarily before I step to the side allowing her access to my home, as she steps inside she begins to inspect the room as I close the door. Standing there I look down to myself to realise I answered the door in my boxers. Clearing my throat Luna turns back to me as I step up to her, "Why are we in my flat?"

Pausing Luna turns back to face me, "We're in a dream, John. This will also allow us to spend a bit more time together, seeing as it may be difficult for us to meet in the flesh at given times."

I look to her with an expression of puzzlement on my face, "We're in a dream?" Luna nods, "So if this is a dream how do I know I'm talking to the real you and not just a figure of my imagination?"

"I'm the real me, John. I was able to view your dreams when you first arrived, if I deem it necessary I can also interact with an individual within their dreams. You are in control of the dream, I've allowed you to access a basic memory from your past to act as a base to build your world from. I simply decided to allow you to revisit roughly one year in the past, this day for some reason had the strongest memory for me to base this dream on to recreate your world. I suppose I should be thankful that you weren't on deployment this time last year."

Rubbing my hands over my face I let out a frustrated sigh, "You're a few days off, seeing as it should be January twelfth, going onto the thirteenth . A little warning would have been nice for future reference. I found myself in my bed when I should have been in the Griffin Empire, I had no clue what was going on when I woke up."

Luna can see the irritation in my eyes as I look to her. Slowly she steps up to me, "I'm sorry, John. I thought allowing you to see your world would do some good for you, even if it was just in a dream."

Groaning I step to the side and look out of the main window. Down bellow I watch as the occasional car and pedestrian passes by, I even recognise Beth who lives in the flat above mine as she walks away from the entrance to likely go to work. On the far end of the road is a small selection of buildings, the local corner shop was luckily right outside my home allowing my to collect a few essentials when needed such as milk, bread and of course beer for the evenings. To the side of the shop is the main field, the large open area holds a small football pitch and playground where I can see groups of children playing together.

Resting my hand against the wall I turn my head back to Luna, "So this is my dream? Won't everything play out like I remember?"

Luna steps to the other side of the window and faces me, "In a way, however it's not so simple. Everypo... everybody you see is a projection of your subconscious, some will be randomly generated whereas those you have a greater knowledge of will be projected based on past memories you have of them. So if you were to see your friends they would behave in a manner to which you're familiar with."

My head raises upon hearing that last point. They'll behave in the same way they acted to me in the past? This could be my opportunity to see everyone again, it may not be the real them but at least it's something. Though would I want to see them? It may do more harm then good, if I see them I may become reliant on seeing them or it could cause me to break down.

Grinning I cross my arms, "So it's kinda like having a date without physically going on one. But we're in a dream, would we even be able to feel anything, or even taste for that matter?"

Luna slowly saunters up to me, "All of your senses are in your mind. Pain, fear, joy and happiness. You can still feel everything in a dream, almost as if it was reality. There is often no way to tell that you're dreaming until you finally wake up, only then do you realise that something was amiss." Closing the distance she presses her soft lips against mine, true to her words I'm able to feel the pressure as her lips brush against mine.

I brush my hand over her cheek as my mouth opens on its own accord, letting Luna's tongue flick across the tip of mine. It wasn't long before our tongues intertwined with one another, no matter what happened I could never get tired of this sensation. I never really thought of Luna as a Princess but the fact that she is a woman of extreme power seems to make this more enjoyable for me, kinda like a forbidden romance. Despite her age though she didn't seem particularly experienced with this, although she attempts to take the lead she seems a little hesitant as it feels a bit like our tongues are engaged in an awkward waltz. In the past we had a few drinks in our system so I guess it never crossed my mind, despite this though the kiss still feels right as it sends shivers down my spine.

Slowly she pulls back from the kiss much to my annoyance, Luna pushes her head against my hand causing my fingers to run through her mane. Her eyes open slightly as she looks to me, "I'm sorry, this is all still fairly new to me."

Cocking a brow in confusion I gently rub my thumb across her cheek, "New to you? What do you mean?"

A blush quickly surfaces on her face, "Well 'new' isn't exactly the word to use for this, 'experienced' probably fits it a bit better." She notices my expression as I wait expectantly for her to carry on, "I haven't exactly been with many others in my time, John. Certainly not... intimately, it's been over a thousand years since I felt this embrace with another. Since my return it seems that a lot has changed when it comes to... courting."

Smirking I guide her over to the sofa where she happily takes a seat as I join alongside her, "You don't have to apologise to me, Luna. I'm going to follow your example, I won't rush you into anything. Just do what feels right to you, these sorts of things can't be learnt in a book."

Luna leans against me causing us to rest back against the arm of the sofa, she releases a content sigh as I wrap my arms around her. Lying back against the sofa I feel something digging into my back, as I try to move the object from underneath my back the TV switches on showing the news. "Hello and a very good morning, you are watching BBC news and a warm welcome as well to viewers joining us on BBC Two."

Luna's head instantly snaps to the TV as the news reader begins to read the headlines, I can only guess that seeing a TV function for the first time would seem technologically impossible for Equestrians. "Our main story here this morning, another round of army job cuts has just been announced by the Ministry of Defence. Most of those who have been made redundant so far have been volunteers, but this time a higher proportion are expected to be compulsory. And just to tell you that we're just hearing that there will be an urgent question in the Commons about this in the next hour or so at about half past twelve today."

As the male begins to talk I read the main text on the screen which states that 'up to 5,300 posts to go in third round of cuts.' Finally getting the TV controller out from behind my back I switch the TV off and drop the controller on the floor, "I guess that's why I remembered this day in particular. I was worried that I could potentially lose my job."

"Why would they make cuts to the military if you were in the middle of a war? It makes no sense." Lifting my head I look to Luna as she looks to me, I can see the irritation in her eyes as she tries to comprehend how the military could potentially do such a thing which would weaken the country.

"The global economy went to shit a few years ago. Most countries were still trying to recover in order to regain the money lost along during the recession, one of the best ways to do that is to reduce your spending."

Luna rolls onto her barrel as her forehooves rest against my bare chest, "But surely cutting the military during conflict will result in the loss of lives. That money could be used to purchase and manufacture better equipment, not to mention keep the army at its current size instead of decreasing it."

"There's more going on in my world then the war in Afghanistan, we had to look at trying to make things better for the counties economy as a whole. There were some sacrifices such as spending cuts of the army, police and other important sectors in society, but it keep other areas strong." I watch her as she idly runs a hoof across my chest, chuckling I shake my leg from underneath her getting her attention, "Having fun feeling me up?"

A mild blush appears on her face yet her hoof continues to move, "Are you complaining?" She asks with a coy smile.

Shrugging I start to run a hand over her folded wing, "Not particularly."

As I continue to trace my finger over her feathers Luna shifts her body to raise her position further up my body, "I take it you haven't been injured so far? You haven't lost the bet?"

Snickering I rest my head back on the arm of the sofa, "Not yet. I'm doing fairly well considering my track record, although I haven't seen any combat yet."

"I don't exactly want to see you get hurt while you're away, but I don't want to lose this bet either." Luna pushes her hoof to the bottom of her muzzle, "It's such a predicament."

"I know we made a bet on me being injured, but what are we considering as injured? It could mean anything really from me losing a limb to stubbing my toe on the bed in the morning."

Luna ponders this for a second before responding, "How about any injury that requires you being seen by a medic or medical profession?"

"That sounds fair to me, I'll just treat myself."

Luna lets out a single laugh, "You wanted a medic for a reason, that's why I assigned Slicer Jen to your unit, you're not going to waste that asset. I can just get her to submit a medical report to me once she inevitably treats you."

"So basically I can't cheat?" Luna chuckles softly as she turns her head to the side and rest it against my chest. "Shit, and here I was thinking I could find a way to win."

"Even if Jen submits a report, or not, I'll still be able to find out. The Griffin Empire is also due to hold it's election on February the first in order to determine it's government, once the government is established then we shall be visiting as part of a state visit to build relations with the new leader. I can always find out if you've been injured, especially since it should be the half way point for your deployment."

"So you'll be visiting in early or mid February?" Luna nods. "So does that mean you'll be here for Valentines day?"

Luna lifts her head again as she looks to me in confusion, "Valentines day?"

"Yeah, February the fourteenth?"

A small smile spreads across Luna's muzzle as the date seems to mean something to her, "Oh, we may be here for Hearts and Hooves day. Though it would be suspicious if we met on that day in particular."

Hearts and Hooves day? Are you taking the fucking piss? "I could always just be busy on either side of the fourteenth so I can only meet you then, either way I'm sure we can figure something out. You could always request that we return to be the escort for the state visit, I'm sure the others will appreciate a few days to relax."

Luna ponders this for a moment as she slowly drags her hoof across my chest, "I'll figure something out. Even if we can't meet for Hearts and Hooves day there will still be the Equestrian games, it will be much easier for us to spend time together there."

Smiling I lean down and place a soft kiss on Luna's forehead, "Sounds good to me, the winner will be able to claim their prize there." Luna chuckles softly as she lowers her head again. We remain there for what feels like a few minutes as I keep my arms wrapped around her, though I have no idea how quick time will pass by in a dream. Looking down to her I watch her as she lies there peacefully, I start to idly stroke her fur as her body shifts slightly at the contact.

Luna pushes up from my body and gradually sits up, "I should return to my duties, even though it's late at night I still have work to do.

Copying her motion I join her in sitting on the sofa, "I understand, you've got work to do. If you decide to do this again though make sure you leave some sort of clear indicator when I wake up, that way I won't be shitting myself when I find myself back home."

Luna leans towards me and kisses my cheek, "I will do, John. Don't get too badly hurt out there, I would still like to win my bet."

"No promises, Luna. I may hide for the entire deployment just to spite you," I watch her as she gets up from the sofa, slowly she walks over to the main window where we were standing by earlier. With one last look to me she smiles before she manages to travel through the glass to fly off in the distance. By the time I move to the window to look out I find it to be solid once again and that Luna is nowhere in sight.

"Wake up, John," Georg's voice calls to me as I keep my eyes closed. Groaning I slowly sit up as my eyes gradually open, the bright sun blinds me through the window causing me to use my hand as a makeshift shield. When my vision finally adjusts I find him holding a small metal mug of coffee to me.

Taking hold of it I bring my legs around as I rub my eyes, "What time is it?"

"08:20, we should probably go over the plans and prepare for tonight."

"Okay, just give me five minutes to wake up properly." Groaning I take a sip of coffee as he moves off to join his sister. As I drink my coffee I look out the window to the clear sky, it makes a nice change from the past few days where it's been nothing but clouds and snowfall.

As I finish my coffee I think back to the dream and everything Luna said within it, particularly the fact that I could feel everything that happens within the dream. It gets me thinking about what we could do with those dreams... all sorts of fun no doubt. The dreams however could potentially be used with the others in my team. If we can feel pain I wonder if she can put a number of us in the same dream where we could be placed in mock battles, it would allow us to engage in realistic combat without the risk of serious injury in real life.

We could potentially take part in a memory of mine and repeat past battles in order to learn from them and to develop our skills, whether that be memories from the Griffin civil war or even from combat in Afghanistan. Maybe Luna could create some settings based on my knowledge of past wars in order to give us variety, maybe even going back to taking part in battles from the World Wars to vary our equipment and tactics.

I'm dragged away from my train of thought as Slicer steps in front of me, "Come on, John. We should get ready for tonight." She's about to step away but pauses to look back to me, "Oh and don't bother trying to cheat for your bet, Princess Luna told me to submit any medical reports to her."

As Slicer steps away I shake my head as I chuckle to myself. Resting the mug on the floor I gradually climb to my feet before following Slicer.

Of course Luna wouldn't let me cheat. She must really want to win.