Displacement

by hornethead

First published 23rd of July, 2012

A Special Operative gets stranded in a strange unfamiliar world and must learn how to cope.

James Kaughn is a member of the world's most elite fighting force, but when his team is sent in to rescue a captive family in Afghanistan the mission hits a snag. He stays behind to allow the others to escape, fully expecting to die, but ends up in an unfamiliar place. Join him as he meets new challenges and struggles with his worsening PTSD. Will he be able to actually make friends and not just teammates?

A Painful Start

Chapter 1: Painful Start

beep beep...... beep beep... BEEP BEEP

He jolted awake, slamming his head into the rack above him.

'Dammit, how do I keep doing that?' He thought to himself.

It was about a week and a half since he had arrived on the ship. He hadn't been briefed much before being loaded up into the aircraft that had brought him and the rest of his team to the lonely expanse of ocean they were now currently floating on. He didn't know much, but it sounded like this was going to be a tough one. His team had been loaded out with anything they asked for or could have even remotely needed.

He swung his legs out of his rack and stood up, standing at about five foot, ten inches. looking around, he grabbed his uniform and boots, patterned to blend in with a sparsely vegetated or completely barren and sandy environment, and started dressing out for the event he had been anticipating ever since he left the country. Snatching up his toiletries, he made for the head to bush his teeth and shave for what might be the last time in the next month. Good thing the Navy provided good dental care.

As he entered the head, glancing around, he noticed one other person occupying it. "Mornin', fucker." He said casually.

"What up, Ghengis," the other man replied while shaving, "you actually decide to get up this morning?"

"You still on me about that?"

"Do I still have a scar the size of a seven-six-two round on my ass cheek?"

"You try stayin' awake after four days without sleep. Besides, it was your turn for watch anyways, Rocka."

"Yeah, but you're supposed to watch my back, partner."

"I still shot the fucker, didn't I? And I dragged your sorry ass into cover."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep talking."

This was an almost daily routine for the two. James "Ghengis" Kaughn and Darius "Rocka" Jackson had been best friends ever since meeting each other in BUD/S, the beginning of the long road to becoming a SEAL, the elite unconventional fighting force of North America. They had been lucky enough to be assigned to the same team, constantly watching each other's backs, inseparable. They had saved each other's lives a few times already.

Jackson had a heavy build with dark hair and brown eyes. Being from Brooklyn, he had forward and blunt attitude. He was the fireteam's Automatic Rifleman, usually carrying a modified M240B LMG, spitting hot 7.62mm lead at anyone stupid enough to put themselves in his field of fire. He often put down suppressing fire on their opponents, keeping their heads down and allowing the rest of the team to set up a good angle on them. His preferred side arm was a simple M9, 9mm Baretta pistol.

O'Kaughn, often just called Kaughn, was almost the polar opposite. He had a medium build sporting dirty blonde short cropped hair and grey-blue eyes with a unique ring of yellow star bursting around his pupils. He preferred to pick his targets, utilizing an M4 modified with a 4x scope. He was the team's designated marksman and sometimes carried an M110 semi-automatic rifle, although it wouldn't be needed on this mission. Oddly enough, he favored a simple 1911 Springfield, .45 caliber pistol. Making up for it's low ammo capacity with dead-on precision and accuracy.

Both were fatally proficient in hand-to-hand.

They finished up and stared heading for the briefing. it was time to rock and roll. On their way through the passageways of the ship, Kaughn struck up some small talk, "How's your wife doing?"

"She's hangin' in there," Jackson replied, "Only about three more months to go before our beautiful baby girl arrives."

"You get to talk to her last night, man?"

"Yeah, but only for a little bit. The damn satellite cut out again. You get in touch with your folks?"

"Nah, not something I really wanna deal with before shit like this."

Kaughn's parents weren't the best people. his mother was distant and didn't seem to really give a damn about what he did and his father was an alcoholic who would pass out and scare a young James into calling paramedics all too often. They were still fighting over the divorce that occurred over thirteen years ago, dragging their son into the middle of it, not that he really cared anymore.

"It's cool man, it's cool. You still got us."

"Yeah, and what great family you've all been, especially my last birthday."

"Hey man, how were we supposed to know you didn't like strippers and surprises all that much? especially for your twenty-first?"

"It wasn't so much as me disliking them, but Stacy not liking a random stripper jumping out of my closet."

"Oh yeah," Jackson chuckled, "but she wasn't really right for ya, huh? So, I kind of did you a favor."

"I'll give you that, she did turn out to be a keniving, manipulative bitch, huh?"

They both burst out in laughter as they neared the briefing room. Jackson opened the door and they both stepped inside and took their seats facing the team leader, Lieutenant "Hells" Bellis, who was sitting by the wall on which the map of their AOR, or Area Of Responsibility, was projected. Two minutes later, the second half of their team, "Dickey" Nix and "Fungis" Feng arrived. They greeted Kaughn and Jackson and sat down next to them.

"Hey Ghengis, you ready to let loose?" asked Feng

"Except this time, maybe you let us get a little work in, huh?" said Nix.

"Maybe when you learn to shoot like me and Kaughn, you could keep up." Jackson replied.

"Kaughn can shoot, you just hose down everything in front of you until you hit something," Feng shot back.

"At least he hits something," Kaughn retaliated. Then they all shared a laugh.

"Everyone settle down," came a voice from up front.

Everyone snapped their attention back to the front of the room and focused on their team leader.

"Alright girl scouts, looks like we got an easy one this time, quick snatch and grab. We just need to get in and get out," Lieutenant Bellis explained. "We received intelligence that a local tribal leader, Yusuf Hamshad, who had been cooperating with our forces in the northern Kandahar region here was taken hostage with his family last week. We know the general area they are in, but the insurgents have taken them into a small network of caves situated in this mountain here," he said as he pointed to the map. "We're being sent in not only as a show of good faith, but also because this guy has vital information on the movements of both the Taliban and Al Qaida's drug trafficking. Not to mention there are children involved."

'Shit,' thought Kaughn, 'children complicate everything.'

"Our main objective is to extract Mr. Hamshad and his family. Elimination of HVTs and collection of Intel is secondary since Mr. Hamshad will be supplying most of that once we have him secured at the FOB. Though if you get an opportunity, take the shot. Our designated call sign for this Op will be 'Red Lion'. Any questions?"

Feng spoke up, "when do we leave?"

A smile graced the Lieutenant's lips, "you got thirty minutes."

The Fun Begins

Chapter 2: The Fun Begins

The four warriors quickly made their way down to the armory and started loading up. Kaughn and Jackson taking up their respective load out, Nix and Feng grabbing a standard kit. Although both were strong and all had trained as marksmen, their roles were just simple riflemen, though they were still deadly SEALs.

"Who is going to carry the C4 this time?" Bellis asked.

"I'll do it," Kaughn volunteered. Jackson had done it on the last op, so he wouldn't mind taking the few extra pounds this time. It was unlikely they'd need it, but they always brought some, just in case.

They all donned special body armor, designated "Dragon Scale" for it's overlapping ceramic plates and ability to take multiple rifle rounds before being punctured. It was nothing like the standard kevlar with singular ballistic ceramic plates that could only take one or two (three if you were lucky) rounds before being quickly overwhelmed. The last things they put on were a some knee pads and their kevlar helmets before heading up to the flight deck of the Aircraft Carrier operating off the coast of Pakistan.

Waiting for them all was a C-2 Turbo Prop already spun up and ready to take on it's passengers. they all climbed into the cargo hold and sat down on the few canvas seats the crew chief had set up for them and buckled in. In a short time the C-2 was unsecured from the deck and was directed over to one of the catapults. This was Kaughn's favorite part. Slowly, the aircraft was prepped, unfolded it's wings and was attached to the shuttle. It went to full throttle for a few seconds before being suddenly launched into the air at the scheduled time of 0120.

==============================================

Kaughn woke with a start and a throbbing sensation in his shoulder as Jackson punched him awake. He stood up and checked to make sure all his equipment was secured. He then checked Jackson's parachute rig before turning around so that Jackson could reciprocate the action. Nix and Feng doing the same on the other side of the cabin. After the all finished they turned aft towards their team leader and the ramp. Lieutenant Bellis looked at them all, giving them a once over before signaling to the crew chief to lower the ramp. It wasn't the first time Kaughn had jumped at night, but he was always apprehensive about it. Too many things could go wrong, but he somehow always hit his mark.

The ramp was now fully lowered, wind violently whipping about the cabin. The Lieutenant gave them all one last look before leaping out the back, four black silhouettes following closely behind. As they swiftly neared the cold hard earth they counted down the seconds before pulling their cords and drifting silently to the ground. Kaughn took this moment to admire the beauty of the stars and moon. You could never get a view like this back in the states. He then jerked his mind back to the task at hand. He couldn't help but feel like it was going to be a long day.

==============================================

So far, the op had gone smoothly, which bothered Kaughn. Usually by now they would have hit a snag, something that caused a hiccup in the operation, but everything had gone right so far. they had crept up and found the entrance to the cave system, Kaughn and Feng taking out the few guards around it with well placed, silenced rifle rounds from their M4s. Silently gliding through the tunnels and dispatching any unfortunate insurgent they had happened upon with knife and silenced pistol, they finally found the village elder with his family. What they found sickened Kaughn. It looked like they had all been beaten. Yusuf, the elder, had had his tongue cut out. His children and wife beaten. It really pissed him off that a human being could do this to somebody. Kaughn had killed, he never liked to, he just did what was absolutely necessary and no more, but he could never imagine doing anything like what had been done to that family.

Quickly, they expedited the scared and panicked civilians to the extraction point. Of course, that was when they ran into the "snag". Their superiors had arranged for a couple of beat up trucks to be left some ways away from the op site, hidden in some scraggly bushes. They were there, but half of everything had been ripped off them, probably by poor goat herders.

"Shit," swore Bellis, "this is not the right time for this."

They were being tracked. The rest of the insurgents had caught on shortly after the small five man team had left. They could see the lights approaching in the distance.

"Damn, what we gonna do now?" asked Nix, to no one in particular. The civvies sat huddled by the trucks.

"I hope your mechanic skills are good, 'cause we're gonna put everything into one truck and do it fast. the sun is starting to come up and we need to get out of here. It's gonna be a tight squeeze for us, but we'll get outta here," stated Bellis. Everyone quickly got to work, as the sun was indeed quickly rising, making them easier to spot.

They had almost finished when they were finally spotted. An alarm went up among the insurgents as they closed in.

"FUCK!" yelled Bellis, "GHENGIS, SET UP ON THAT RIDGE TO THE LEFT; ROCKA, I NEED YOU TO LAY UP TOWARDS OUR RIGHT AND PUT DOWN SOME SUPPRESION. DICKEY, FUNGIS; KEEP ON THAT ENGINE!"

Everyone ran to comply with thier orders. As Nix and Feng continued to work on the engine, Kaughn got down into prone and flipped his selector switch from automatic to semi. He lined up and started taking shots, downing one, two, three and four tangos before coming under a hail of hostile fire. He hugged the dirt on the embamkment for a little, trying not to get hit before a rapid booming pulsed through the air, effectively bringing the deluge of enemy fire to a trickle.

Kaughn looked up and nodded to Jackson, who was tearing into the group of insurgents with a deafening roar pouring from his M240B. Kaughn started lining up again and dropping hot iron onto the AK47 wielding insurgents as bullets cracked and whined over head, some striking the front of the burm he was laying on. But he played no heed, he had a job to do.

The duo kept this up for about five minutes before the rumble of an engine could be heard behind them.

"EVERYONE IN!" the Lieutenant bellowed.

As the rest of the team piled in with the civilians and started to lay down cover fire, Kaughn and Jackson started running to the open back of the truck, their hearts pounding in their chests.

==============================================

Far back away from the heavy fighting a lone man crawled up on a small rise, dragging a dirty, yet well maintained Dragunov rifle with him. The Americans had stolen their prisoners and were now laying waste to his forces. One was quite a good shot while another was cutting down his soldiers with a wall of lead. He had to be careful. If he tried to take out their marksman, he would give away his position and come under a torrent of fire from the larger one. So he focused on the one with the large gun. He prayed to himself as he lined up on the large one running back to the truck. "Allah Akbar" he mumbled as he pulled the trigger.

==============================================

Kaughn was running back to the truck with Jackson, watching the elder and his family struggle to climb in when he heard a loud roar next to him.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH, GODDAMMIT!" screamed Jackson as the 7.62 round passed through his thigh. He crumpled to the ground in a heap. "THIS IS THE SECOND DAMN TIME THIS YEAR!" He struggled to get up, but his leg wouldn't support his weight. Kaughn ran over and started dragging his friend towards the open back end of the truck.

"I GOT YA BUDDY, HOLD ON!"

"MY RIFLE!" Jackson yelled, he had accidentally dropped it.

"LEAVE IT, I'LL GET YOU ANOTHER." Kaughn yelled back.

Jackson pulled out his side arm and started taking shots as they moved back towards the truck.

Z-ZIP, THUNKCRACK.

"UNG!" Kaughn grunted in pain as a couple of rounds struck his vest. It didn't penetrate, the armor did it's job, but it felt like a couple ribs had broken. All the while he kept going. He reached the truck and his teammates hauled Jackson into the truck bed. Unfortunately, one of the elder's daughters decided to try to run for it, jumping out of the truck, her mother screaming.

The insurgents were closing in fast and Kaughn wasn't going to let her fall back into their twisted hands. He had seen what they had done to other women, cutting off ears and noses. the truck was starting to pull away, they had run out of time five minutes ago. Kaughn ran, grabbed her and threw her into the back of the truck. The insurgents were very close now, bullets biting the dirt all around. He gave them all one look as they pulled away, beckoning him to run for it. But he knew that unless their enemies had something else to shoot at, the truck wouldn't last under the onslaught.

He gave them all a quick two fingered salute off the top of his brow before turning around and running to grab the weapon his best friend had dropped. He grabbed it and ran to a nearby crop of boulders, picking up another box of belt linked ammo they had left in their speedy exit. The current belt still had a little over half left. 'Good enough,' he thought. He set up and started firing, drawing the attackers' attention to him as he started cutting them down.

He continued to fire as the rocks around him were being chipped away. Then his weapon clicked empty. He started to reload, drawing his sidearm and taking a few pot shots to keep their heads down. As he finished reloading he thought, 'so this is how it's gonna end. One life for eight? Sounds like a good trade to me.' He hated doing this to his squad mates, his friends, hell, they were the closest he had to family, but someone had to do it. Might as well be him. Bellis, Nix and Feng all had families. Jackson still had his first child yet to be born. Kaughn didn't really have anything. 'Better me than them.'

He resumed sending back his regards to the wave of assholes that thought they were going to stop them from rescuing those people. he continued this for another two or three seconds until a stray round slammed into his left shoulder.

"SHIT" he swore, picking his sidearm back up with his right hand and trying to reload it. He started to move back as he was struck again in his right thigh, the bullet passing through the meat thankfully, but still sending searing pain rocketing to his brain. The tangos were getting closer, though they didn't seem to be tying to kill him as much as before. They wanted another prisoner. 'Fuck that shit,' he thought. He fired all his .45 caliber rounds at anyone he could see. 'Last clip, better make it count.'

As he slid the last of his clips home, he saw a flash and heard a loud snap, it felt like a large amount of electricity had ran through him. He shook it off and started firing again, this time receiving another round to his front right chest, knocking the wind out of him. He struggled through the pain, firing until the slide stayed locked back. Empty. The rest of the insurgents were only a few yards away now. He brought up his rifle only to see that one of the rounds that had struck him in the back earlier had punched through the magazine. Useless. He had four full ones on him still, but there was no time to reload without getting a bullet to the head. They were here. Chanting and screaming in victory, even though he had almost single handedly taken out half their force, not to mention the rest of he team making off with their previous prisoners.

One man broke through the crowd, a Dragunov slung over his shoulder. He still had his Balaklava on. He started speaking in Urdu to everyone else, eliciting another cry of victory from the group. Kaughn started feeling another tingling sensation, like electricity, coming stronger now. 'I'm damned if the fuckers are gonna take me back. Homie don't play that,' he thought, reaching for the detonator for the eight pounds of C4 strapped in his rucksack. He slowly primed it without the group of hostiles noticing.

The man then turned to him and lifted him off the ground, screaming Urdu into Kaughn's face. Kaughn didn't speak Urdu fluently, but knew enough to make out something like, "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES, DOG!" Kaughn just smiled and replied as best he could in the speaker's native language, "Good luck with that."

He then held up the detonator and squeezed the trigger. The last things he remembered was the priceless look on that asshole's face, a sharp shock -as if he had been struck by lightning- then darkness.

A Shock Before Taking Stock

Chapter 3: A Shock Before Taking Stock

Slowly, ever so slowly, Kaughn started to come to. At first, he could not process any thoughts, but then recent events started to prevent themselves. 'I finally must have died, finally kicked the bucket.' He floated there for a second, in the vast expanse. but then he began to feel a tingling. Sensations of his limbs returning. First a bit of cold, the smell of must and the hard feeling of a packed dirt floor. Then pain, overwhelming pain. beginning in his left shoulder, traveling to his chest and ribs before ending with the rest of his body. It like he had gone ten rounds with an MMA fighter.

'How am I not dead?' He thought. 'Did the C4 not detonate? Maybe it didn't actually detonate and they knocked me unconscious.'

He slowly opened his eyes to cautiously and inconspicuously get an idea of his surroundings. The thing he noticed at once and with dismay, 'I'm in a cave. Shit, well I can't have all the luck. They must have dragged me back into one of their excuses for a headquarters.'

As he took in his situation he noticed quite oddly, 'There's no one here.'

He looked farther up and saw that the cave was actually quite small. It was just tall enough for him to stand up in and the entrance was only a short distance away, the soft light of dawn streaming faintly through the opening. In fact, it seemed as if there had never been another living thing in there for quite some time.

'Well, now is a good time as any for a sitrep.'

Gingerly, he sat up and checked himself over. Aside from the previously mentioned injuries, he seemed to be OK and the rest of the pain was fading. He felt for his rucksack on his back and noticed something odd. It felt as if it had been blown out away from him. He took it off to inspect it visibly and sure enough, the large front pockets looked like something had exploded out of them. The rest of it seemed largely unscathed.

'Now this makes absolutely no sense. It looks like the C4 detonated, but if it had then the rest of my rucksack wouldn't be intact. Even I shouldn't even exist right now.' He quandered.

He started searching through the intact compartments, finding various items still where he put them, such as; some rations, battle dressings along with a small first aid kit, a small short wave radio, a few maintenance tools for his weapons, some batteries of various sizes, a lighter and even some spare ammunition for his sidearm. The most exciting discovery was that his small iPod was still in the back pouch. James liked to use it on long overwatch missions and also for the rides back to base after completing them. The music helped to calm him down or he'd get the shakes sometimes. Even the small fold-out solar panel was there. James could use it to re-charge his iPod and also the batteries for his radio. He then checked his tac vest and found his weapons and ammo still attached, his pistol laying beside him. The tactical combat knife he always wore was still in it's sheath on his shoulder, the eight inch carbide steel blade was positioned so he could grab it in a quick draw. His throat mike was still around his neck, seemingly whole and undamaged. He quickly ejected the empty from his pistol and the damaged mag from his rifle, replacing them with fresh ones and storing the old ones in his sack.

After doing so, he broke out the first aid supplies and quickly patched up his shoulder. It seemed that the bullet had thankfully passed through and had not hit anything important. He was very fortunate the bullet hadn't some how shattered any bones during it's passage. It would be painful for a while, but he could bear it. His ribs appeared to only be fractured in a couple places, but not entirely broken. he wrapped a few bandages around his torso before pitting his shirt back on.

Leaving his rucksack inside, he cautiously poked his head out of the mouth of the cave, keeping his pistol in a ready grip should he need it. Looking outside he saw he was in some kind of dense forest. Intriguing, considering he had just been in a desert. None of the flora looked like anything you'd find in a desert oasis either.

'Where the hell am I? Lets see; desert, caves, insurgents, more desert, more insurgents, firefight, explosion, forest? No no no no no. something is very wrong here.'

He went back inside and grabbed his rifle, checking to make sure it was ok. Satisfied, he returned outside and carefully climbed a small outcropping he had noticed before. Looking around he saw dense forest as far as he could see. The plants looked to be a cross of stuff you'd find in a Brazilian rainforest and the American northwest. James turned on the short wave and tried to raise somebody.

"Red Lion, this is Red Lion Actual, can anyone hear me?" Just faint white noise was the only response. "Red Lion, this is Red Lion Actual, is anybody receiving?" He tried again on different channels, but it was all in vain.

'Now THAT'S certainly strange.'

He sighted through his rifle's scope, magnifying his view a bit, and looked around. To the east he could see a large mountain range running north to south. South consisted of more forest. Looking north he noticed the forest seemed to thin out gradually before reaching the end of the mountain range. He thought he could just make out some strange structure perched on the side of the last mountain. It almost looked like a large castle.

'That can't be right.'

He turned to the west and saw that the forest ended much more quickly in that direction, though it would still be a few days hike. He also saw what he thought might be a small settlement just on the horizon.

'Well, looks like this area may be inhabited. Better take it slow before I know what I'm up against, or even where the hell I am.'

He descended back to the ground and made his way to the cave entrance. He went inside and took stock of his rations.

'I only got enough MREs for about a week. Two if I stretch them out. The forest seemed to have abundant wild life and I'm sure I could find some edible plants. So I can supplement my rations with that.' For once, he was glad his training had been so detailed and hellish.

==============================================

It had been about three days now by his count. Kaughn had made a small, almost comfortable, shelter with the cave. He had even found a bush of blueberries and even a few wild apple trees. Yesterday he had managed to capture a few squirrels, using the berries as bait. They didn't have much meat on them, but it was better than nothing. He barely had to even touch his MREs.

He decided to hike west today and get a better look at the small town he had seen. He couldn't stay in the wilderness forever. Besides, his radio wasn't getting anything, even though it worked just fine, and he wanted to see if the locals were friendly. Maybe he could find out what happened and make his way back to his team somehow. And beer. If anything, he could definitely enjoy a nice, ice cold pint of stout right now. And a juicy steak. His mouth watered just thinking about it.

He quickly packed up the essentials; his is rations, ammo and equipment, and left his little shelter and camp behind. He could always construct a new one. He donned his armor and weapons, setting out about mid morning. He was carrying a lot of gear for what was just going to be recon, but this was going to take a few days and he wanted to be prepared since there were too many unknowns. At least he didn't have the C4 weighing him down anymore. Hiking through the forest was tough going as there were no paths or roads.

At the end of the second day he had nearly reached the tree line. He had set up camp only about a two hours hike away from the edge. It was late afternoon and he planned to get to the tree line early the next morning. He was tired and wanted to be ready for anything in the morning. He took this time to just relax and enjoy the setting sun. He loved this time of day. The sun fading sleepily below the horizon as the moon took it's first peek at the land, stars poking through the thin fabric of the night sky. His reverie was interrupted by a long and loud howl from the darkness.

AAAARRROOOOOOOOOoooooo..........

He jumped to his feet, rifle snapping to the ready as he looked around for the source.

'So there are some large predators here.'

It sounded a ways off though, and animals, even predators, usually steered clear of campfires. So he sat back down and hunched closer to his fire, preparing for the oncoming cold of night.

He was startled again by another howl, this one sounding much closer and accompanied with something that really set him on edge. The sound of screaming children.

==============================================

Kaughn ran and ran fast, rifle cradled in his arms, legs pumping towards the source of the screams. As he neared he could distinguish the panicked breaths of what sounded like three small children as well as the growls of what could be large wolves. Looking ahead, he spotted a clearing and ran up to the edge. Stopping at the tree line he could see four bulky forms. He flipped down his NVGs and turned them on. The sight that he saw was a small pack of large wolves, that seemed to be made out of wood?

'What the.......'

Then he heard coming from the bushes the wolves were growling at: "HELP! SOMEPONY, ANYPONY HELP!"

'English? Where am I? Wait, somepony? What are they talking about? Don't they mean 'someone' ?'

Regardless of this confusing choice of words, he could tell it sounded like three little girls were cornered by these beasts. He flicked the safety off his rifle, putting it on semi, and lined up the shots. Four soft coughs slipped out the end of the barrel and four bodies hit the ground, unmoving. He waited a minute before stepping out into the clearing and flipping up his NVGs in case there were any more, but there weren't. He looked at the corpses. They looked just like wolves, but made of branches and twigs.

'I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore,' he thought to himself.

Putting that thought aside for now, he moved over to the bush he assumed the kids were hiding in.

"Hey, it's OK. Nothin' out here is gonna hurt you anymore," he said gently, "let's get you kids out of this forest."

Kaughn stepped back as the bushes started rustling, still cautious. He watched as three little foals crawled out, all very colorful. One was yellow with red hair and a bow, the second was white with a pink and purple curled mane, and a horn? The last one was a dark orange with dark purple hair. Also, it had a set of small wings on it's back.

'Huh?' Now he was confused, but there were still three kids in danger and possibly hurt.

He stepped forward again and spoke up, "Hey, kids you can come out from the bush."

Upon noticing this strange being approaching them, the three foals cried out, "AHHHH! MONSTER!" and took off running towards the direction of the town.

Kaughn just stood there, frozen. Did those little horses just scream, words? He checked the bush, no one there. He checked the surrounding area, aside from the corpses of the wolves, nothing. So was it those three little foals yelling for help?

'No no no no no, this is wrong. I definitely heard that. That happened. No, I must be dreaming, or I survived the blast somehow and am in a coma.'

Just to make sure, he poked his shoulder. Still painful. It definitely hurt when he fired his rifle. Then he gave his side a slap. 'Big mistake,' he realized as he doubled over in pain.

'No, this can't be real. No, wait. I'm freaking out over a couple of talking baby horses, it's just a one time thing, yeah, I'm still feeling the blood loss, that's it,' he tried to reason.

He started back towards his temporary camp site, the fire now a smoldering pile of embers. The moon was now starting to reach its azimuth as the revived the comforting source of light and heat. He ate part of an energy bar, saving the rest for breakfast. Stretching out to enjoy the night sky he thought, 'Well, maybe tomorrow will be better,' before drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

Discovery

Chapter 4: Discovery

Kaughn woke early, stamping out the remainder of his fire and gathering his gear. He then started off towards the town, keeping an ear out for any sounds that didn't fit with the rest of the forest. He neared the edge of the tree line, advancing cautiously as his desert camouflage didn't exactly blend with the vividly green environment. He found a tree with just enough leaves to give him good cover without impeding his view and climbed up as high as he dared to go. reaching a suitable perch, he hung his rucksack on a nearby branch and shouldered his rifle, aiming out towards the town. His rifle scope didn't offer much magnification, but he could pick out details in the town fairly well. At first all he noticed was that there was a lot of movement. most likely the inhabitants. But then as he focused, he began to see that the were all quadrupeds and their coats and manes were all very bright with many different colors.

'That's strange. Maybe it's a local custom, the work animals colored differently to distinguish ownership. If that is the case, then this town must be well off. Lots of different looking..... ponies? They're definitely not as big as regular horses.'

He observed the goings on for another few minutes before something else hit him.

'There aren't any people around, no bipeds of any kind.'

He pondered this for a moment before noticing movement out of the corner of his eye. Off to his left, a small colorful group was approaching the forest. He trained his scope on them and counted a total of six, three small and three larger. The larger ones stood at about three to four feet high. One was purple with a horn and the other two were the winged ones, one yellow with a pink mane, the other sky blue. With rainbow streaked hair?

This place was getting weirder and weirder. As he studied them a bit more, he noticed that the smaller ones were the same little foals he rescued the night before. And they were getting closer to his position.

'Uh-oh, time to go.'

Kaughn grabbed his rucksack before jumping down. He then ran back away from the tree line for a bit before jumping into a shallow ditch lined with bushes. Not long after, he heard the distinct sound of hooves traveling across the ground. The next thing he heard made his blood turn to ice water. Voices.

"I'm tellin' you Twilight, we saw it somewhere near here!" said one with a southern twang in her voice.

"Yeah, it was big and scary!" said another.

"But it saved us from the timber wolves!" said a third.

"This certainly sounds strange girls, but we should be careful if it really stood up to four timber wolves." said an adult sounding female.

"Maybe we should just go back home, I mean, its good enough that you girls are OK and it certainly sounds dangerous." said a timid voice. This one was difficult for Kaughn to hear, it was so soft.

He slowly raised his head and peered through the bushes as the group passed, searching for their owners. All he saw was the six ponies. Then the blue one spoke.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, whatever it is, it won't harm anypony here, not while I'm around," her voice dripping with confidence.

'That one spoke, they all spoke. They're speaking English!' He was starting to freak out again. 'This is actually happening! Where the FUCK am I?'

As they traveled farther down the small path, he followed silently behind them. Soon they all reached the clearing where he had happened upon the three little foals last night. The bodies of the wolves were still there, though they now looked like they were a pile of dried out branches.

"Oh, the poor things," said the timid yellow one. He guessed this was Fluttershy.

"That's the bush we were hiding in," stated the young southern filly.

The purple one examined the scene before making a deduction, "All four are still facing your hiding place, did the creature fight them in front of you?"

"That's the thing," replied the small purple maned pegasus, "one second they were about to pounce on us and the the next they all kinda just, dropped."

The magenta unicorn trotted over to the corpses, examining their bodies.

"This is strange. The only wounds are small holes in the back of their heads, but nothing else. What could have done this?"

Kaughn realized that she was quite intelligent. He couldn't afford to under estimate any of them. They definitely were not any kind of other animal, but rather another intelligent species. Much like his own, only instead of descendant from apes, they were ponies. Still, this was so confusing. He had seen nothing like this during his entire travels on earth. Was he even on earth?

The rainbow one then said, "If this is where you saw it then maybe it's still around. I'll fly up and see if I can spot anything."

A cold lump formed in the pit of Kaughn's stomach.

'They can't REALLY fly, there's no way......'

The lump/dropped out from under him as the light blue pegasus took to the air, shooting strait up into the sky.

'Oh dammit, I need to leave, NOW.'

Kaughn turned and started to slink away before he heard one of the few dreaded sounds in his life.

*SNAP*

He was betrayed by nothing more than a small twig. Instantly the rainbow maned mare zeroed in on the sound, both their eyes locking for a brief moment.

'Shit.'

He took off running as fast as he could.

The cyan pegasus yelled, "I see it, I'm going after it," before accelerating towards her quarry.

"Rainbow Dash, WAIT!" Twilight Sparkle cried out.

Kaughn ran as fast as he could, but the many colored mare was catching up to him with a look of determination on her face. As she closed in for a tackle, Kaughn suddenly stopped and leaned back away from the speedy pony. As she passed through the space where he used to be, he grabbed one of her forelegs and, using her momentum, whipped her around into a nearby bush. He took off again going in the general direction of his base camp, but angling away from it so he didn't lead them back there. He'd have to circle back around to it later after he lost them, if he could. Evading something that could fly was hard enough as it is.

"HEY, get back here!" The rainbow maned pegasus yelled.

Kaughn glanced back to see that she was still trying to untangle herself from the bush.

'Not a chance,' he mused to himself, 'I'm outta here.'

Kaughn kept up his pace for a while before coming to a halt and listening for any signs of pursuit. He then scanned what sky he could see through the thick canopy, just in case. Satisfied, but still wary, he flipped out his compass to get his bearings. He figured that he had ran about four or five miles to the north east. he would continue east for a while before angling back south to his cave. If he kept a steady pace and he didn't run into any more surprises, he could make it back in about a day.

==============================================

It was strenuous, and he had to dodge a strange lion looking thing with a scorpion tail, but Kaughn had made it back. As he neared though, he thought he heard someone talking.

'No, they couldn't have beat me back here, could they? How would they even have found it?'

The sun was high in the sky now, starting to make its decent. He would have to keep to the shadows as much as possible. Not too difficult considering the dense foliage around him. He crept up low, on his stomach, to get a good look at things. As he gazed around he could see the same yellow and blue pegasi, plus a regular looking orange pony with a blonde mane. Also, it was wearing a hat. Neither the three little ones or the unicorn were visible.

"C'mon Twi, whadja find down there?" The orange pony hollered down into the cave with a familiar southern twang.

Kaughn guessed the unicorn was down in his little 'home away from home,' searching through his stuff.

'Dammit, so that's 'Twilight' then.' At least he had another name now. As far as Kaughn could guess, the unicorn was 'Twilight,' the yellow pegasus was 'Fluttershy' and the blue one was 'Rainbow Dash.' The orange one was still nameless.

'Weird names,' Kaughn said in his thoughts, 'but I've heard some pretty raunchy nicknames myself in the service.'

"You guys won't believe the things I've found down here, I haven't seen anything like them before!" Came the reply from the cave.

The next thing Kaughn saw truly boggled his mind. Out from the cave, surrounded in a purple aura, floated his helmet, extra MREs and magazines for his rifle and pistol. He had left them behind to make for easier going through the woods. Nevermind that though, how was any of what he was witnessing possible? The purple colored unicorn followed close behind, the same purple aura shimmering around her horn.

"There was also a powerful magical residue permeating the air down there. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced before. This definitely merits further study," she stated.

The yellow pegasus started speaking softly, "Maybe we should do it another day, Twilight. It IS getting late after all and this IS still the Everfree Forest. It could be dangerous here."

"Hold on Fluttershy, I want to try and cast a locator spell on these objects." Twilight said as her horn started glowing.

'Magical? Spell? Wait, she said locator. Surely there's no way she could--'

"Girls! I'm getting something! And it's nearby!"

'Shit.'

"Oh, my...."

"Just let me at'em! It's time I got some payback for yesterday!"

"Settle down Rainbow," said the country pony, "we don't want ta hurt it. Applebloom said that 'fore they ran off, she thought she heard it talkin' to them."

"Everyone quiet. I think it's watching us from the bushes." Twilight said as the others silenced themselves, Twilight herself looking in the direction of Kaughn's hiding place.

'You gotta be kiddin' me.'

Kaughn didn't think he could get away this time. If the rainbow one could fly, then so could the yellow one. Not to mention the fact that they had some how gotten here faster then he had, or that they had even found this place.

"Screw it," he said to himself, "at least they don't seem to be armed."

He made sure his rifle was still slung on his back and his pistol was holstered. Assured that everything was where it should be and within easy reach (just in case), he slowly stepped out from where he was concealed.

"Alright, you got me," he said, his hands held up in front of him.

"What in the hay are you?"

"That's actually a very good question, Rainbow Dash. I've definitely never seen anything even resembling you before," Twilight started firing off, "and you really can talk. Does that mean you are an intelligent species?"

Fluttershy just stood in the back, hiding behind her mane.

The orange pony in the Stetson cut in, taking a defensive stance, "Hold on sugarcube, this is still the creature that supposedly killed those timber wolves. It could be dangerous."

"Hey, hey, I'm not going to attack you. Besides, the rainbow one tried to tackle me yesterday," Kaughn retorted.

"Well, you threw me into the bushes!" shot back Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, because you tried to tackle me. It was a defensive move," was Kaughn's reply, standing there with his arms crossed.

Twilight then interjected. "All right! Everypony just calm down! Rainbow Dash, Applejack, relax. If it wanted to hurt us it would have."

"He."

"What?"

"I'm a He. A man."

"A what now?"

"A man, a boy, a guy."

"You mean like a stallion?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Look, I think we started off on the wrong hoof here. My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is Applejack and Rainbow Dash," she pointed to the orange and blue ponies respectively, "and the pony trying to hide behind us is Fluttershy." She finished with a smile.

"I'm James Kaughn."

"And, what exactly are you Mr. Kaughn, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You don't have humans here? People?"

"No. As far as I'm aware, you're the only one anypony has ever encountered."

"Now if you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we?"

"You mean you don't know? You don't live here in the forest?"

"No. I actually just kind of, well, woke up here. I think I've been here only about a week."

"You said you woke up here?"

"Yup, in that cave." He pointed over to the entrance.

"Interesting. Well you're in Equestria. Where are you originally from?"

"You ever hear of a place called America?"

She shook her head "no".

"Earth?"

Again, she shook her head.

"Uh, guys? I'd love to stay here and listen to your non-boring conversation, but it really is getting late," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Yeah and Ah got to be gettin' back to the farm. We got an early day tomorrow."

"And I need to go back and feed my animals. Oh, they must be very hungry by now."

Twilight turned back to the human still standing in front of them.

"Well, Mr. Kaughn...."

"Please, just call me James."

"Ok, James, do you have any other place to stay? Besides here I mean."

"Not unless I can find a better place to make camp."

"Well, why don't you come back to Ponyville with us? I'm sure we kind find you a place to stay."

"He could stay out in th' old barn near the edge of our property for now. We ain't usin' it for nuthin' at the moment," offered up Applejack.

"That's a great idea, AJ. Does that sound ok to you James?"

He was still wary of these strange ponies, but he didn't really have a wealth of choices.

"Sounds good to me. Just please give me a moment to collect the rest of my gear. It shouldn't take too long."

"Ok, we'll wait right here for you."

He turned around and walked down into his musty abode. He had only taken a few steps when he noticed the rainbow maned one, Rainbow Dash he remembered, trotted up beside him. Reflexively, his hand moved closer to his thigh holster.

"Soooo, James, right?"

He nodded.

"I'm kind of, sort of...... sorry, for attacking you like that. I was just protecting my friends."

"It's ok, I understand. Sorry for throwing you into the bush. You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Nope, I'm fine. That was actually pretty cool, how you did that. I'm one of the fastest fliers in Equestria and I was going pretty fast!"

He just smiled, gathering the rest of his rations and equipment. He stuffed the MREs and extra ammo into his rucksack and clipped his helmet to the outside. Shouldering his pack, he turned and walked back outside with his companion.

"Got everything?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah. So how'd you guys get here? We're pretty far from the edge of the forest and I don't see any transport of any kind."

"Oh, we came by hot air balloon. Its nearby in another clearing."

'So that's how they managed it. They probably flew over the forest, spotting part of my camp from the air. A lot faster than trudging through the undergrowth, like I did. But how did they steer something like that?'

As they arrived at the next clearing he saw a large purple balloon. After they all climbed in, Twilight fired the exhaust with her magic. James was still amazed by it. When the balloon cleared the tree canopy Rainbow Dash jumped out and grabbed a rope, pulling them in the direction of the town.

'Well, that solves the steering problem.'

Civilization

Chapter 5: Civilization

The whole way back, Twilight drilled James with questions about himself, taking all his answers down on a piece of parchment and quill being levitated in front of her.

"So, James. What exactly do humans eat?"

"Everything."

"We can eat both plants and animals. I usually stick to chicken and beef myself, but I eat a lot of greens too."

He noticed horrified looks on their faces.

"I won't eat you. Or any other ponies. Humans don't usually eat ponies. In fact, I can survive entirely on a diet of fruits and vegetables," he quickly replied.

He left out that on one particular mission he HAD eaten horse. Their supplies had been lost during the jump and they had to survive in the desert somehow.

"Er, well, that's..... relieving to know. Ok, next. Why are you wearing those strange colored clothes?"

"This is my work uniform. The pattern allows me to blend in with a certain environment, this one being for a desert in particular. Which is actually where I came from recently."

"Oh yeah! How DID you end up here, by the way?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. First thing, I was in a hot stifling desert, the next..... I don't know. I just kinda blacked out and when I came to, I was in that cave."

He left out the part about the firefight and the explosion. They seemed friendly enough and he didn't want to give them a reason to fear him. He DID need their help after all.

"Hmmmm, that's unusual. All right then, what about that strange equipment you're carrying? I've never seen anypony with those things before."

James had been dreading this question. They didn't seem to know what firearms were and he didn't really want to explain to them that they were tools of death or the fact that he was a trained killer. He didn't really like to tell anybody that. He wasn't all that proud of it and it tended to make things...... awkward.

"It's just tools I use for my job. Nobody should ever touch these," he said, motioning to his rifle and pistol, "they're very dangerous and someone could get hurt."

"And what is your job exactly?"

'Crap, think of something.'

"I was..... something like a guard, yeah I protected people."

"Oh, so then just like our Royal Guard here."

"Royal Guard? You have royalty here?"

"Yes, Equestria is ruled by two Princesses. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They raise and lower the sun and moon, respectively, every morning and evening."

"You mean the sun and moon don't do it on their own? How is that even possible?"

"Magic of course. Don't you have magic where you're from?"

"No. I mean, we describe certain things as magical, like the northern lights and stuff. And there are still things in my world that science hasn't been able to explain yet. So I guess we have the concept of magic, but actual magic has never been observed. This is the first time I've ever seen it," James explained.

"I'm sorry to here that."

"Honestly, it's probably for the best."

"What do you mean?"

Before he could think of a suitable answer, Applejack interrupted his thoughts, "Hey gang, we're almost home!"

They soon passed over the edge of the forest, much closer to the town. It was a charming little hamlet, viewed from the air. James could see a large building in the center that he assumed to be a town hall, many charming looking houses surrounding it. He even saw one building that looked as if it was made of candy and frosting.

"That down there is Ponyville. Maybe tomorrow or the next day, we can take you on a proper tour."

"Sounds good," James replied.

"Well it was very nice meeting you, James. I'm sure everything will be just fine. I have to go now, we're flying by my house. Goodbye everypony."

"Ok, see you soon."

"Yeah, see you later 'Shy," the rest said.

With that, she carefully climbed out over the side, spreading her wings and gliding down towards a cozy little cottage that almost appeared to be half house, half tree.

"Next stop, Sweet Apple Acres," Rainbow Dash called from the front.

Out in front of them was a large and wide open apple orchard. A small homestead rested near the middle and close to the road. The balloon gently touched down in front of the house. As soon as it did, James, Applejack and Twilight climbed out onto the ground, Rainbow Dash joined them from the other side.

"Thanks for bringing me into town," James said, "with what I had, I could only have stayed out there for another few days."

"No problem," said Twilight, "after finding out about you, we couldn't let you stay out there on good conscience. Honestly, I'm surprised you were even out there that long without being hassled by some of the more dangerous creatures. That forest really isn't all that safe."

"Yeah, and it's th' least we could do fer the fella that saved mah sister and her friends," Applejack chimed in. "Lemme bring ya over ta where you'll be stayin' at, at least fer now."

"Thanks, I appreciate what you're doing for me, I'm still practically just a stranger."

"Aw shucks, darlin'. Think nuthin' of it."

As they started down the fence separating the orchard from the road, Twilight and Rainbow Dash wave their goodbyes' while taking off again. James and Applejack soon came to a dilapidated barn with faded red paint, enshrouded in trees and bushes. Applejack strolled forward and opened the large wooden doors.

"It's not much, but it's th' best we can do."

James peered inside and saw that it was mostly empty except for a few rusty old farming tools. In the back it had a small loft with a couple of stacks of hay and double doors for hoisting large equipment into the loft.

"It's perfect," he said simply, "waaaay better than the forest."

"That's good ta hear. Now if ya need water, there's a water pump around the side. It ain't warm fer bathin', but it's perfect fer drinkin'."

"Shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty low maintenance as it is. This'll be just fine."

"Ok then. Now Ah'm goin' ta head back and let the rest of the family know about our new guest. Ah'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, see you tomorrow Applejack."

After she left, James climbed up into the loft. There was plenty of room. He set down his rifle and rucksack in the corner and opened the double doors. What awaited him was a beatiful view of the country side in the lateness of the evening. Green rolling foothills with a few trees here and there.
He sighed, finally being able to relax a bit. He may still be in an unfamiliar place, very strange and alien too, but at least the locals were friendly and very hospitable as well.

'I should do something to repay them. They went out of their way just to help me. The only other people who would've done that are my teammates.'

That last thought brought him back down a bit. He had no idea if the rest of his team had made it out. Or if that family had made it to safety. He hoped everything worked out all right, but he had no way of knowing for sure.

James really needed a bath and now he had the opportunity to take one. Searching around the old barn, he found a couple of large buckets and filled them both up using the pump by the side of the barn. First, after dragging both buckets back into the barn, he undressed everything and started washing his clothes against an old washboard he found. He then hung them up to dry under the loft before beginning to wash himself, carefully stripping his bandages. He was especially careful around his sides where his ribs had cracked. There was a large discolored bruise where the rounds had struck. Fortunately they didn't feel like they were as damaged as he thought and his shoulder wound hadn't gotten infected. However, both were still pretty sore. It had been a few days since his last wash, and it felt real good when he finished. James was about to start drying himself off when the barn doors started to open again. In walked Applejack with a bucket full of apples.

"Hey James, I thought I'd bring you some food for the night--" She froze as he dove for his rain poncho.

"What seems ta be th' matter? Is there somethin' wrong?"

"Uh.... my species isn't exactly down with the nudity," he said, quickly wrapping the rain poncho around his waist.

"Beg pardon?"

"We don't like putting our jewels on display?"

"Huh?"

"Our genitals hang loose externally, so we try to cover up," James said bluntly, he never did like repeating himself.

Processing this new information, Applejack's face turned a crimson red.

"Oh, uh. Heh, uh, A-Ah'll just, uh, wait out side 'til you're decent. Uh, sorry 'bout that," said a flustered cowpony, back peddling out the door.

'Well, that was a bit of awkwardness I could have done without.' James thought with an exasperated sigh.

James quickly wiped the water off himself with his hands. It didn't get him completely dry, but it was good enough. Then he threw on a pair of his dry boxers, socks and his pants before finishing with his boots.

"Alright, I'm good," he called out.

"Heh, sorry about that darlin'. Ah didn't mean ta sneak a peak on ya."

*sigh* "It's fine, it was just..... awkward. Just, where I'm from, it's considered rude to...... expose yourself to others."

"Well, that sure is strange. Nopony else around here--" she stopped as she noticed his injuries. "What in the hay happened ta you?! When did ya even get those, ya didn't seem hurt when we found ya, are you ok?" she said as she gawked at the bruise and the hole in his shoulder.

"I'm fine, it was just a stupid accident."

"That weren't no accident, sugarcube. It looks like ya got bucked in th' side and a bull ran ya through with one of his horns!" she exclaimed.

"Look, I don't really want to talk about it. It's all healing now. I'm sorry, but could we just drop it?" he said as politely as possible.

"Well, ok then. But tomorrow I'm gonna ask Fluttershy ta have a look at that, jus' ta make sure. And that ain't up fer discussion," she stated.

"Alright then," James replied, a little bit annoyed.

After the stubborn mare left, James went back out to the water pump and refilled his canteen before quaffing down a few cups strait from the spigot. As he returned to the barn, he snatched up one of the apples from the bucket and took a bite.

'Damn, this is delicious. Probably one of the best I've had...... maybe ever.'

He quickly chomped it down to the core before demolishing two more. Content, he climbed up to the loft and threw on an under shirt. He grabbed a bunch of hay and spread it around in a pile about the length of his body before covering it with an old blanket he found in the corner. Even though the sun was going down, it was still quite warm and since we was now sheltered from the elements he didn't even need to use his poncho as a blanket. So he just stretched out on his makeshift bed and took in the scenery out the back of the barn in the dying light.

'This still just feels too unreal. This must all be in my head or something. I'll probably wake up in the morning in an Afghan village or a field hospital somewhere.'

He lay there and watched the moon slowly rise over the horizon. He still couldn't believe that some 'magical pony princesses' were responsible for it.

'I'll believe it when I see it.'

Still, he couldn't help admiring the beautiful crescent moon and the surrounding stars. He couldn't really see any of the constellations he did on earth. It had bothered him at first, but he had come to accept it. He made one final check to make sure hit pistol was in easy reach before finally succumbing to his weariness.
He went out like a light.

Re-adjustment

Chapter 6: Re-adjustment

James awoke with a start, like he usually did. He lifted his head up and looked around. He was in the same barn he fell asleep in. Looking out the window, he observed that the sun wasn't up yet, but it was starting to get light out. It was probably around 0500.

'So I guess this isn't gonna change anytime soon.'

Grabbing his pistol and shoving it into his right side cargo pocket, he descended from the loft, wincing from his side and shoulder, and checked to see it his blouse was dry.

'Still a little damp, but it'll dry out with my body heat.'

He tugged it off the line and threw it around his shoulders while starting to button it up. Suddenly, the creaking of old hinges made him spin around, his hand flying to his pocket to draw his sidearm. He froze as he locked eyes with a large red pony sporting an orange-ish mane. They stood there a moment before the large pony spoke up.

"Ah'm guessin' you'd be 'James', right?"

James nodded yes.

"Sorry ta be botherin' ya, I just needed ta grab a few extra buckets from the back. Ah'm Big Macintosh by the way, Applejack's big brother, but most ponies just call me Big Mac." He explained with a deep southern accent.

"It's all good. I was already awake. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. If it's alright to ask, whatchya doing up so early?"

"Well, it's a lotta hard work, what with this here bein' a farm, so we gots ta get up earlier than most folk 'round here do."

"Makes sense. Well uh, I'm up already, so, is there anything I could help out with maybe? You guys gave me a place to stay, not to mention the delicious apples your sister brought over yesterday."

"Naw, Ah couldn't just put a guest of ours ta work. AJ would probably get mad at me too."

"Nah man, I insist. I'll feel scummy just sittin' here if I didn't try to give back some how. C'mon, give me something."

"Well alright, how good are you at apple buckin'?"

"Apple what now?"

"Don'tcha know what apple buckin' is?"

"First time I've ever heard of it."

"Oh, ya just give the trees a good kick ta make the apples drop in th' buckets so we can harvest 'em."

"Uh, I don't think kicking trees all day is a good idea. Why don't I just haul the buckets around for you?"

"Well alright, that'll do just fine."

"Sweet, let's get started."

James spent the next few hours carrying full buckets of apples from the orchard to a storage barn near the house. It was hard work, but James was strong and he needed a good workout anyway. It also helped to take his mind off things like the fact that he was in a strange and colorful land featuring talking ponies and magic, and he had absolutely no idea where he was or how he was getting back home. The pain of his wounds still bothered him, but even that didn't feel so bad anymore. They kept working all the way up to noon, Big Mac 'bucking' the trees and James collecting the apples. It was then that a familiar blonde maned pony in a hat walked up to them followed by a timid looking yellow pegasus with a couple bags resting on her back.

"James, what in tarnation are you doin' workin' with that shoulder 'o yours?! Big Mac, how could you let him work while he was injured?"

"I didn't know he was hurt 'lil sis, he didn't even seem like he was in pain all while we was workin'. Besides--"

"It was my idea," James cut in, "I offered my services and I wouldn't take no for an answer. I wanted to repay you for your hospitality somehow, hell, I didn't even thank you for bring me that food yesterday. By the way, those were some of the best apples I've ever tasted."

"Eeeyup."

Fluttershy was already by James' side before the end of the exchange.

"You poor dear, you really should have said something yesterday, I would have help you. Can you please remove your shirt, t-that is, if it's ok with you?" she asked softly.

*sigh* "Alright," he complied, sitting on an old stump nearby.

When he took of his blouse and undershirt Flutteryshy's face contorted with concern.

"Oh my, how could you even move with such wounds? Don't worry, I have just the thing."

As Fluttershy started to wrap clean bandages around James' shoulder, Applejack asked Big Mac about his progress.

"So how far along are ya? Ah jus' got done with about fifty or so buckets."

"Well with James' help over there, we've managed to store about a hundred an twenty or so in the barn."

"A hundred.... and twenty? Shoot, that's more than either of us can do in a day? How'd y'all manage that?"

"Hey, I may not look like it, but I'm actually pretty strong." James called from the stump. He had been listening while Fluttershy was patching him up.

"You really shouldn't be exerting yourself," the fuscia maned mare said from beside him, "you might re-open the wound and it could get infected. How did you even get hurt like this? I-if you want to tell me that is."

"It was an accident. I made a mistake and got hurt as a result," he offered up.

"Oh, ok. I'm really sorry that happened."

James was glad when she didn't push for details, though Applejack was giving him a look of suspicion.

Fluttershy finished and James put his uniform back on before Applejack spoke again.

"Well anyway, th' reason Ah came over here was ta let y'all know that lunch is ready. Fluttershy, yer welcome ta join. There's some for you too James. Ya definitely earned it."

"Thanks, I'm starving."

"Eeeyup."

==============================================

James sat back on the bench, his belly full. For lunch they had had apple pie and apple juice. Once again, some of the best he's ever had. As he sat there relaxing, a certain lavender unicorn came trotting down the road.

"Hey everypony, how's work going?"

"Jus' fine sugarcube," Applejack answered, "in fact, we can call it an early day thanks ta this one here helpin' out," she said, raising a hoof towards James.

"Wow, that was very generous of you James."

"No biggie. I didn't want to be a mooch."

"What are you talking about? You've only been staying here since yesterday."

"I guess it's just the way I am. Plus, I don't know how long I'll be here for."

"Well that is still very kind of you. Anyhow, I just stopped by to see if you wouldn't mind answering some more questions."

"You really want to learn more?"

Applejack shook her head and smiled, "You have no idea."

"Not to be rude, but why do you want to know so much? No one really ever took an interest in me before."

"Well partly because I like learning about new and unknown things and also because I need need to write a letter to the princess about you."

This was something James did NOT want to hear.

"Oh no, please don't do that, I just want to be on my way as soon as I can find a way outta here."

"I'm sorry, but I already did last night and she even said she wants to meet you!"

"You WHAT?"

The last thing he wanted to do was deal with the government of this strange land. It never really went well when an MIA soldier met the government of even a friendly country back on earth. He couldn't even imagine how it would go here.

'Shitshitshit, how am I going to handle this. These ponies don't even know what I REALLY am, what I do for a living, and I'm going to have to explain myself to one of their leaders? Not even just a bureaucrat, but their fricken PRINCESS.'

"Uh, James? Are you ok?" Twilight asked, concerned.

James had a dazed look on his face, his right eye twitching a little.

"Yeah, fine. Just fine. So when is she coming?" he replied as smoothly as possible.

"Oh, she's out investigating some strange incidents in the eastern mountain ranges, so it will still be a few days before she actually comes here."

That was a little relieving. He had a little while to come up with a suitable explanation as to what he was and why he was here.

'At least I'll have a little slack to work with, being potentially the only one of my kind in existence here.'

"Alright, I'll come answer some more questions for you, but only if you take me around town as well."

"Fair enough, let's get going then."

"Alright." Getting up, he turned to the table while walking away. "Thanks for lunch Applejack and it was good workin' with you Big Mac. Fluttershy, thanks for the clean bandages, you didn't have to do that for me, but it's very much appreciated. I guess I'll be back later."

"Eeeyup."

"No problem James. Thanks fer all yer help this mornin'."

"You're welcome," Fluttershy said at an almost subsonic volume.

They started off down the road towards town.

"So, what exactly is it like where you're from," Twilight inquired.

James thought for a moment before answering. "Hmm, well some places are a lot like here. Lots of green vegetation and the like, but my world is also a planet of extremes. Some areas are always freezing cold and covered with nothing but snow and ice, while others are always so hot that there's never any water. Neither areas really support plant life. Most of the land, though, is just like it is here and that's where most people live. We have four seasons; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Our planet is orbited by one moon, much like here, and the planet itself actually orbits our sun."

"Wow. It sounds very similar to Equestria, except that last part of course."

"I've been meaning to ask you something, is Equestria, like, this whole world or is it just a country?"

"Equestria itself is actually just a country, but it's one of the largest. East, over the mountains are the Griffon Colonies and farther up north well past Canterlot are the Dragon's lands. If you go far enough west Equestria ends at a large ocean. Down south from here are the Diamond Dog territories."

"Diamond Dogs, Dragons and Griffons? Those exist here. I mean, I know about griffons and dragons, but they were just myths where I'm from. And I don't even know what a diamond dog is."

"Oh, I'm sure if you stick around long enough, you'll get to meet all three. I'd just steer clear of dragons though, they tend not to be very nice. Although, there are a few exceptions." she said knowingly.

"I'll keep that in mind."

About this time, they had reached the edge of town. There were many ponies walking around, running errands and taking care of their tasks for the day. As Twilight and James passed by a lot of them would give the two stares and strange looks.

"Do they look at most strangers this way?" James asked quietly.

"Oh, don't worry about them. The ponies around here aren't too trusting, especially living so close to the Everfree. They'll warm up to you eventually. Usually they'd be actively avoiding you, but this morning I asked the mayor to explain your presence to them. You should have seen it when Zecora first moved here, practically the whole town shut down."

"Zecora?"

"Yeah, she's a zebra. She actually lives in the forest nearby. She is an expert at medicinal plants and potions."

As they walked around the town, Twilight started to point things out.

"Over there is the Town Hall," she said, pointing to the large building near the center, "and there's the post office, the market, and a spa." They walked over to another part of town. "Over here, we have a few restaurants and even a couple of bars."

'Thank whatever crazy gods rule this world,' James thought inwardly. He'd have to figure out how to get some of the local currency, maybe he could get a beer later.

"Hey Twilight, what do you use for currency here? You know, money."

"We have bits. I actually have a couple left over from lunch," she produced three gold coins from a bag on her back, levitating them out with her magic.

James plucked one out of the air, inspecting it.

"Interesting." He gave it back to Twilight who placed it back in her bag.

Continuing on, the arrived in front of a small three storied pink and purple building in the shape of a carousel.

"This is Carousel Boutique."

'Really.'

"My friend Rarity owns and works here. She makes fashionable clothing for ponies. Let me introduce you to her." she said while trotting inside. "Rarity! I've got someone here for you to meet!"

"Really? Who would that be?" a posh sounding voice came from the back room. Out came a unicorn in a white coat and a deep purple curled mane. "Oh! You must be that fellow they found in the forest, James was it?"

"Yeah, that's me. You're Rarity then?" James replied, extending a hand.

She hesitantly reached out a hoof and James shook it.

"A bit of a, uh, rough gem I see."

"Uh, thanks? I guess?"

"Rarity, who is it?" Came a young voice from upstairs, the sound of hooves treading on the staircase accompanying it.

A young filly appeared at the base of the stairs. James recognized her as one of the three he had encountered a few nights ago.

"Sweetie Belle, have you finished your homework yet?" Rarity interjected.

"HEY! You're that thing that saved us from the timber wolves!" She exclaimed, ignoring her big sister.

"Sweetie Belle! He is not a 'thing', don't be rude," her head back to James, she continued, "So you're THAT gentlecolt who rescued my sister and her friends. I'm EVER so grateful for that. The forest is such a dreadful place."

"Ah, don't mention it. I wasn't gonna let any children come to harm. Why were they even there if it's so dangerous?"

"Oh, it's this club my sister and her friends started to earn their cutie marks."

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" Sweetie Belle yelled from behind, making Rarity jump a little.

"Yes, and they routinely get themselves into these kind of situations. No matter how many times we tell them NOT to." explained Rarity, shooting an annoyed look towards her younger sibling.

"I see. I just have one question then. What is a cutie mark exactly?"

"What do you mean? Don't you have one?"

Twilight started to explain, "Cutie marks are symbols on or flanks that magically appear when a foal learns his or her special talent or calling in life. Mine is magic and Rarity's is fashion. You don't have any marks like that?"

"Ah, no. I have a few tattoos though. I actually thought that was what those were."

"Tattoo? What's that?"

"You don't have tattoo artists here?"

They both replied in the negative.

"Uh, here let me show you." He said while removing his top.

When Rarity and Twilight saw the bandages, they gasped.

"What in Equestria happened to you?" exclaimed the fashonista.

"Yeah, I don't remember you ever getting injured since we met you." added Twilight.

*sigh*

This was getting annoying.

"It's nothing. Just something that happened before I... 'arrived'.... in Equestria. I'm fine now, honestly. Fluttershy even took a look at it. Now here is what I was talking about." he said pointing to a mark on the upper part of his left breast, above the bandages.

It was an image of an eagle, clutching a crossed flintlock pistol and trident in it's sharp talons.

"I got different one on my back, on the opposite shoulder, but I guess you could say this is my 'cutie mark'." Ugh, that didn't just sound right. "But this didn't just appear for me, I had to earn it through a grueling training process for my job. An artist has to take a needle, dip it in some ink, and apply it to the skin."

"That just sounds absolutely unpleasant." scoffed Rarity.

"Yeah, it is a little painful, but the result is a mark I was proud to earn and it's with me for the rest of my life." James said as he pulled his upper garments back on.

"We should get going Rarity, I have more to show James and I still haven't introduced him to Pinky Pie yet."

"All right then, it was a pleasure meeting you James."

"The pleasure was all mine."

==============================================

On the way over to the duo's next stop, they were joined quite suddenly by a certain rainbow maned pegasus mare.

"'Sup guys, whatcha doin'?"

"Hey Rainbow Dash, I'm just showing James here around town. We're actually on our way to Sugarcube Corner."

"Oh wow, this should be good." Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"What does she mean by that?" James asked with a concerned glance towards Twilight.

"You might want to brace yourself." Was her only hint.

The three walked up to the candy house he had seen from the sky the day before.

"This is Sugarcube Corner, they probably make the best baked goods I've ever had." Twilight informed.

"Yeah, and our friend that works here, Pinkie Pie, throws the BEST parties ever."

They stepped inside to find a light blue mare with a pink mane that resembled frosting.

"Hi Twilight, Rainbow Dash. Is that the new arrival I've heard about?"

"Hello Mrs. Cake. This is James, he's a human."

"Nice to meet you."

Twilight continued, "Mrs. Cake, you wouldn't happen to know where Pinkie is, would you?"

"Oh, she asked for the day off. She's been working so much lately that I think she deserved it. Now that you mention it though, it has been unusually quiet around here. She did say something about having something else important to do, but that's all I know."

"Thanks, Mrs. Cake. Oh well, I'm sure you'll get to meet her later. Now, how about I show you the town Library?" Offered Twilight, trotting out the door.

"Sounds good to me."

"Bo-ring, I'm gonna go see what AJ is up to." Rainbow Dash complained.

"All right, see you later."

"Yeah. Bye James, bye Twilight." And with that she took to the sky.

"Don't mind her, she's just not the reading type."

"Meh, to each their own."

After a short walk, they ended up in front of a tall house that looked to be carved out of a tree.

"This is the Ponyville Library. It's also where I live. Come on inside and I'll introduce you to my number one assistant, Spike."

"Alright."

Twilight opened the door with her magic and trotted inside.

"Spike!" she called, "Come meet the human I was telling you about!"

"Coming!" Came a reply from upstairs.

Down came a small purple scaled crocodile looking thing with green trim and claws, walking on two legs.

'What is that, some kind of purple talking crocodile?' Thought James, with a quizzical look.

"James this is Spike. Spike, James."

"What is he?" James asked.

"I'm a dragon!" Spike exclaimed.

"I thought dragons were bigger."

"Spike is just a baby."

"Yeah, but I can still breath fire!" Spike retorted.

"Heh, well it's nice to meet you dude, just don't burn me and we'll get along fine." James extended his hand for a shake.

"No problamo." Spike took James' hand in his claw and shook.

"Well that's about it for town. Anything in particular you want to do?"

James looked out one of the windows, gauging the position of the sun. It was hanging low in the sky.

"Uhhhh, I think I'm good. I kinda just wanna get back to the barn and think for a bit. This is all still new to me."

"Well, for somepony from another world, you seem to be taking it quite well."

"I'll let you in on a secret, Twilight. I may be keeping a calm demeanor, but inside I'm totally freaking out. Panicking never did anybody any good though."

"Oh, well, ok I guess. Do you mind if I walk you back to Applejack's?"

"No, it's cool. I wouldn't mind a little company."

"Can I come too?" Asked Spike.

"Sure, why not. Couldn't hurt."

Just A Couple Of Surprises

Chapter 7: Just A Couple Of Surprises

The sun was close to setting when the three finally arrived at the Apple Family homestead. Curiously, there wasn't a soul in sight.

'Huh, I wonder where everybody went.'

"Hey Twilight, there isn't some special event going on in town today, is there?"

"No, nothing I've heard of."

Seeing nobody, James walked off towards his current place of residence.

'Something doesn't feel quite right. It's like one of those feelings I get when shit's about to hit the fan.

Nearing the old barn, he noticed a faint glow coming from inside.

'Funny, I definitely didn't leave any lanterns on in there and my flashlight is still in my rucksack.'

Fearing a fire, he swiftly ran up to the doors and threw one open.

"SURPRISE!!!"

'HOLY SHIT!' James dove to a table, kicking it on it's side while drawing his pistol, punch flying everywhere. When he realized he wasn't getting shot at, he took a peek over the edge. What he saw was a group of now equally surprised looking ponies staring in his direction. Slowly, James slipped his pistol back where he had pulled it from.

"Uhhhh, my bad." He said, gradually standing up. "What's going on here?"

Suddenly a bright pink mare with a darker pink frizzy mane appeared from out of thin air behind him.

"It's your welcome to Ponyville Party silly!" She said energetically.

"GAH! Where'd you come from? There's no door there!" James screamed, tumbling backwards over the table he had just knocked over.

The strange pink mare giggled and bounced over to him. "I dunno, want some punch?" She said, giving him a cup with a smile.

James took it and looked over to Twilight.

"This is Pinkie Pie, isn't she?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Ohhh, just a hunch."

Rainbow Dash floated down from the ceiling, her sides bursting with laughter.

"Nice! That was probably the funniest thing I've seen this week!"

She put her forelegs under his arms and lifted him up onto his feet with her wings.

Twilight walked in as the rest of the guests began casually talking amongst each other.

"Wow Pinkie, I didn't even know you were setting this up."

"Sorry Twilight, I would have told you, but you were showing James around Ponyville, and I wanted it to be a surprise, so I couldn't tell you without tipping James off, and that would have ruined the surprise!"

James went towards the back and sat down on a barrel, trying to get his heart rate down. He had almost shot one of these ponies by accident and he was a little shaky. Rainbow Dash and Applejack trotted up to him, looking concerned for their new friend.

"What's wrong James, aren't you going to join the party?"

"Why so glum, sugarcube?"

"Nothing, I-I could just use a beer right about now is all."

"Well, we don't brew beer here, yer gonna hafta go inta town fer that, but we do make the best apple cider this side of the Everfree here!" Applejack said proudly, hoofing James a wooden mug filled with frothy cider.

James took a sip. It was sweet and delicious, he could even taste a small hint of alcohol, but not too much.

"This is really good!"

"Drink all ya want, Ah got plenty after what happened last year."

"I might take you up on that."

"Jus' be careful, that'll get ya buzzed mighty quick."

"Ha, don't worry. I got a high tolerance for this sort of thing."

"Ya wanna put that to the test, buddy?" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Ha, sure. Just gimme a moment."

"Alright, come get me when you're ready to do this!"

"I'll do that." James promised as she trotted away.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight came over to see how their guest was doing. Twilight started to ask a question, but Pinkie Pie beat her to it. About ten times over.

"Hey! I know your name is James, but I didn't know what you were, Applejack says your human, what's a human? Do humans like parties? Do you like this party? I didn't know things like you existed, Twilight said you just kinda appeared or something, how'd you get here? Did it hurt? I heard you took a tour of the town today, whad ya think? Did you like Sugarcube Corner? What do you want to do now?" She blurted out, seemingly all in one breath.

James just looked at the pink party mare for a second before replying.

"Yes."

She gave him a blank stare before simply stating; "Okie-dokie-lokie!" and bouncing off to join the rest of the party.

The other three mares stared confoundedly at James.

"What?"

"It's just that, we've well.... uh, we haven't ever seen that handled quite that way before." Said Rarity.

"Why, is that normal for her?"

The trio just gave him uneasy smiles. Just then an ash colored mare with a gray mane approached the group.

"So, this is the 'human' you told me about, Twilight."

"Yes Mayor Mare. Like I said, his name is James."

The mayor turned to James, "How are you liking our humble town so far?"

"I like it very much, ma'am. It's clean, calm and collected. I wish we had more places like this where I'm from."

"Thank you, and where are you from exactly?"

"Earth."

"Right..... well I hope you enjoy your time here." And with that, she trotted away.

"That went well." James said flatly. "I think I'm going to go walk around for a bit."

He stood up and walked over to a table with a couple of casks sitting on it. Upon closer inspection, he saw taps at the bottom of each one.

'Hopefully this is the cider.'

He placed his mug under the tap and pulled the tab. Thankfully delicious golden cider flowed out and filled his cup.

James wandered around the barn, but found almost no one he could talk to. eventually, He ran into Rainbow Dash.

"You ready to live up to your challenge?" He asked almost drunkenly.

"Am I ever!" was the response.

They sat down at an old wire spool that was serving as a table.

"So, what are we gonna do, just keep drinking cider until one of us passes out?"

Applejack trotted up with a tray full of mugs and shot glasses balanced on her back.

"What's that there?" asked James, noticing the shot glasses.

"It's our special whiskey, made and distilled from mashed apples. The deal is that ya both take a shot after every two mugs of cider."

"Sounds good to me!" James said enthusiastically.

"Bring it on! I'll have you under the table in ten seconds flat!"

Applejack set down four mugs and a couple of shots between the pair. Immediately James grabbed a mug and started chugging. Rainbow Dash, surprised by his quick start, fumbled a bit before beginning to empty her own. Once she had finished her first she looked over at the human as she grabbed the second only to see that he was almost finished with his second and was reaching for his shot. She tried to pick up the pace.

"We're gonna need more drinks over here!" Applejack called to her brother.

"Eeeyup!"

==============================================

It was almost midnight when the party finally started winding down. Guests had begun leaving and James and Rainbow Dash's contest had come to an end. James was pretty tipsy, but Dash was far worse off. They had both consumed about fifteen mugs of cider and half as many shots. She had called it quits after the seventh shot of whiskey.

"Wow, yer the firsshst one to give me a, a run fer mah bitsss." She said, stringing her words together in a slur.

James just sat there with a half full mug, a slight smirk on his face.

"Eh, I've had a lot of practice over the years." he said, taking a sip.

The whiskey was pretty good. It was sweet, less sweet than the cider, but it still burned going down. All in all, not bad. Rarity trotted over. To collect her friend, having only had a few drinks for the evening.

"All right, Rainbow Dash, it's time to go home. James probably needs his sleep."

"Don't worry, I ain't that tired yet. Although it does look like she is." said James, pointing to a now passed out pegasus, her head resting on the table.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, she doesn't usually get the intoxicated."

"S'alright, no worries."

A tipsy Twilight trotted over, Applejack and Pinkie Pie close behind. Applejack looked a little buzzed, however, the pink party hostess looked as if she hadn't had a drop to drink all night. This was strange as James was certain he had seen her downing drinks with almost as much regularity as he was. She bounced over to the table.

"What a great party!"

"Yeah, we did some damage tonight." James said looking at all the streamers and cups strewn around the barn.

"Hehehe, don't worry about that, I'll have it all taken care of."

"I was talking about all our drunks here, but thanks."

She giggled at that.

"Well it is getting late, you all good to get home?" James asked, carefully standing up. "Wait, where's Fluttershy and Spike?

Applejack spoke up, "They left jus' a short while ago, 'Shy said somethin' about her rabbit, Angel and Spike whus jus' tired."

"As long as they made it back safe. How are you all getting home?"

"I'll take Twilight back, Pinkie, can you take care of Rainbow Dash?"

"Sure thing, Rarity. C'mon Dashie, we gotta go."

Dash had finally been roused by Rarity and started stumbling towards the door with help from Pinkie Pie, following the two unicorns.

"Be safe!" James called out to them as they walked out the door.

"I will. Ssee ya later stud!" Rainbow replied with a sultry look.

'What.'

"Heh, don't pay her no mind, hun. She's jus' a might drunk right now."

James shrugged, "S'all good."

"Well, Ah guess Ah'll see ya tomorrow. C'mon Big Mac."

"Yeah, see you later."

They turned around to leave and James went to climb up to the loft. The left over cups and streamers were still scattered everywhere, but Pinkie said she would take care of it so he left it out of mind. The night sky was beautiful once again. He checked his gear to make sure it was still all there. Seeing that it was, he grabbed his iPod and headphones. Popping them in, he put on some Daft Punk and lay back on his makeshift bed.

'I just got drunk with a bunch of strange technicolored ponies. I wonder what my teammates would think about that. If I even ever get a chance to tell them, they probably wouldn't believe me. Huh, next time I should get pictures.'

His mind slowly drifted off, his thoughts on his home.

==============================================

When he awoke in the morning to a slight hangover. He peered over the edge of the loft to see that everything from the party last night had mysteriously disappeared.

'Funny, I didn't hear anyone come in, I would have woke up. Cleaning up all that would have been loud as well. I SHOULD have woken up.'

The thought of this spooked him a little.

The next few days were spent working the farm and entertaining Twilight's many questions. Even Rainbow Dash stopped by a couple times a day, sometimes demonstrating her tricks for him, eliciting claps and cheers from the human. In about three days Princess Celestia was due to arrive in town. Twilight said that if "anypony" could explain how to get back to his own world, it would be the princess. Apparently she was highly skilled and powerful in magics. He wouldn't get his hopes up.

James sat awake in his small bedroom loft. It was pretty late and he was unable to sleep that night. He had just had a terrible nightmare, one of death and destruction. Gunshots nearby, bullets whizzing through the air, explosions in the distance. James was in a small building at one end of a street and at his feet lay a young man about the same age as him. Only the scraggly young warfighter was bleeding from his throat, a large slit running from ear to ear. James looked down at his hands, one was clutching a sharp knife, both were coated in warm sticky blood. He quickly wiped his knife and hands on the insurgent's clothing.

"I'm sorry brother, I had no choice."

Unfortunately, the corpse at his feet wasn't going to be able to accept his apology.

The now dead hostile soldier was a sniper taking pot shots at a group of marines engaged in a heavy firefight with taliban forces. He had already shot two roughnecks and was lining up on a third when James had crept into the room and silently ended his life. James picked up the sniper's rifle from where it had been laying on the dusty concrete floor. He propped up in the window and began dropping Opfor like flies. Once the rest of the attackers noticed their comrades dropping left and right, they turned tail and ran, the marines giving chase. His task complete, James left the room and descended the stairs. His hands starting to shake again.

James tried to shake the images out of his mind, but to no avail. He looked to the almost full moon for comfort and noticed that he could not see the usual 'man in the moon'. No, instead he could just discern a dark spot that resembled the sleek head of a unicorn. Once again, it hit him just how far from home he was. He couldn't even measure the distance. It was then, deep in thought, that he heard a strange sound. James grabbed his pistol -- attaching the silencer -- and his knife and NVGs. He swung down to the packed dirt floor and strapped on his goggles.

'I hope this is a normal occurrence and not something unpleasant.'

Cautiously, he eased open one of the doors, and turning on his goggles, scanned the scene in front of him. He observed what looked to be three or four equine shapes further into the orchard. None of the silhouettes matched any of the ponies he knew. The dark outlines moved as if they were collecting numerous objects from the trees and the ground around them.

'I hope they're not thieves for their sakes. I fucking hate thieves.'

He quickly and quietly made his way closer, silently stalking his prey, blending with the shadows. James witnessed a unicorn and two earth ponies grabbing apples off the trees and picking them up off the ground.

'Fucking thieves.' He said to himself with a tinge of malice coloring his thoughts.

"Hurry up you dolts, if that damn farm mare wakes up and catches us, we're finished." The unicorn whispered angrily.

James removed his NVGs, sheathed his knife and pocketed his pistol. He probably wouldn't need those deadly weapons for this part. Casually, he strode out into the moonlight.

"Honestly, she's not the one you need to worry about." He stated, hands in his pockets. "If you three just leave the apples here where they belong and take off without any trouble, it would be easier all around. Either way, you're leaving those here, they don't belong to you."

One of the earth ponies jumped back, "Aahhh! Where the hell did you come from?"

"Don't worry you idiots, it's just that freak that's been staying here. Just kick it's flank so we can get out of here." The unicorn said with contempt.

"That, would be a very unwise decision. My offer still stands by the way." James retorted.

The other earth pony tried to look as intimidating as he could, "I can take him! He doesn't look so tough."

*sigh* "Everyone wants to learn the hard way."

The large earth pony charged at James, no doubt trying to flatten him against the the behind tree. At the last moment, James stepped to the side and gave the foolish stallion a swift kick in the rump, sending him tumbling into the afore mentioned tree without even taking his hands from his pockets.

*yawn* "Can you guys just go now? I really do need to get some sleep."

The smaller earth pony went to charge as well, but stopped and spun around, trying to buck James in the chest. Quick as lightning, James pivoted around, dodging the kick and delivering a roundhouse to the stallion's side, twirling the would be thief around. As the pony's head came around to face James, the warrior sent a devastating knee to the side of his face. The pony crumpled to the ground in a heap. Suddenly, James felt a strange tingling sensation as he was surrounded by a red aura.

"Let's see you try that fancy fighting after I've slammed you into a tree a few times!" The unicorn's voice was dripping with malice.

Thinking fast, James reached into his pocket and pulled out his pistol. Aiming at the ground directly in front of his assaulter's face, James squeezed of a round, the firearm making a muffled snap and causing dirt to explode into the unicorn stallion's face, distracting and making him release his hold on the warfare specialist. James took the opportunity to run up and bring his gun down onto the back of the ring leader's head, knocking the pony out cold. James looked around at the bodies, still at the ready. He dropped his hands once he realized all three were unconscious. The entire fight took about two minutes.

'Too easy.'

James collected his gear and went back to the barn, returning with some lengths of rope. He tied the three together and, making sure all the knots were good and they wouldn't be able to escape should they come to, left them next to their bucket of ill gotten goods. Exhausted, James went back to his loft, lay down and finally drifted off into a gentle slumber.

Unwinding

Chapter 8: Unwinding

James was pulled out of his slumber by someone yelling just outside the barn.

"Hey, James! What in tarnation was goin' on out here? Who are these strange ponies?"

'Ha, this should be interesting.'

James climbed out of bed and threw on his shirt and boots before walking out the barn to greet the confused country pony.

"Mornin' Applejack. I see you've found the late night guests."

"Sugarcube, what in Equestria are ya talkin' 'bout?"

"Those three right there," James pointed at the group, no longer unconscious, but rather just asleep. "I caught them last night trying to steal all those apples."

"What? Aw, Ah knew it! We kept findin' bare trees we ain't bucked yet. Well that was mighty brave of ya, James. Ya didn't have ta do that fer us, Ah mean, ya already put work in on th' farm."

"Hey, you guys gave me, a complete stranger and a strange being from another world, a place to stay. Plus I just really don't like thieves."

"Heh, ya did put quite a number on 'em."

"So, what are you gonna do with them now?"

"Big Mac'll load 'em up on a cart and take 'em inta town. Th' guard will deal with 'em from there. In th' mean time, we'll get started on today's work."

Just then, a cyan blue mare descended from the sky.

"Hey Applejack, did you see what happened last night?! Some ponies were taking your apples on the trees when something appeared out of NOWHERE and kicked the crap outta them!"

"We know, hun. That 'something' was our friend James here."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, it was really no big deal. That's what my job was, remember?"

"No way dude, that was SO awesome."

"Wait, you saw the whole thing? What were you even doing out that late?" He hoped she didn't witness him using his 1911.

"I heard the yelling. I don't live that far away, ya know."

"Where? There aren't really any houses nearby."

"I don't live on the ground, I live up there." She pointed a foreleg towards the sky behind her.

James looked up and saw a large cluster of clouds. He squinted his eyes and realized the cluster was in the shape of a house about two or three stories. Only it was floating high above the ground. Also, it had rainbows pouring out the sides.

'What? Rainbows don't pour. They aren't even tangible.'

He just passed it off as another strange phenomenon of this world.

"You live in a cloud? How do you keep from falling through, or the house from coming apart?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "I'm a pegasus, duh. I can walk on clouds."

"What? No way."

"Here, lemme show you." She flew up and grabbed a random tuft of cloud, bringing it back towards the ground and jumping on top of it. James swiped his hand through the cloud only to find that it was just as insubstantial as he expected.

"Now that's cool."

Applejack explained a bit, "Pegasi can manipulate th' clouds and weather. Without their help, runnin' this here farm would be a might harder ta do."

"Weather control? Wow, you guys got a good thing going on here."

"If you like that, then you should see Cloudsdale. It's the pegasi capital of Equestria." The weather mare said with enthusiasm.

"I think I'd like that."

"Well if'n ya don't mind, I gotta steal James away here from ya Dash, we gots some work ta do."

"Awwww, I wanted to hang out some more."

"I can hang out with you after work today Rainbow." James compromised.

"Yeah, and why don't ya take a half day today as thanks." Offered Applejack.

"Alright, I got some things I wanted to take care of today too. Thanks Applejack."

"Jus' call me AJ hun."

"Yeah, and you can just call me Dash."

"Alright, thanks."

After the pegasus mare left, James and AJ got to work. A little while later, Big Mac had returned from taking the three robbers to the town's small guard post. The work was hard, but James was happy to help his new friends in a way that also gave him a bit of exercise. At noon they all broke for lunch. As James sat down, Applejack surprised him with a small bag.

"Here's some wages fer th' help ya been givin' us."

"Aw, you didn't have to--"

"Stop righ' there. You've been workin' along side us without th' slightest complaint and last night ya saved our crops from those rotten ponies. Ah insist ya take it, ya've earned it."

"Then how can I refuse?" He pocketed the bag.

James wandered back to his residence to wash up a bit before heading inside.

Closing and securing the barn doors behind him, he climbed up into the loft and grabbed his pistol and rifle and the cleaning gear for his firearms. He hadn't done any maintenance on them in a while and he wanted to make sure they would still work, should he ever need them. He put on some music and got to breaking them down into their individual components. James cleaned and oiled them both before quickly reassembling them upon hearing a knock at the barn door.

"Hey, James!" Came a familiar scratchy voice, "Me and the girls are going out tonight. Ya wanna come with?"

James stowed his equipment and made his way to the door, unlocking it.

"Oh, hey Dash. I'd love to." She smiled at this, "Is it ok with everyone else?" Her ears dropped a bit.

"Oh, uh, I'm sure they won't mind."

"Well, alright then. Just please give me a minute." He said, stepping back inside.

"Sure thing!"

James switched into his spare uniform, as it was clean. He rolled up his sleeves and made sure he was presentable overall.

'Ha, going out in uniform like this is way outta regs. Too bad I ain't got nothing else to wear and there's nobody around to give a shit.' He still felt a little uncomfortable going for a drink in a desert camo uniform, but for now there was nothing that could be done. Seeing that he looked respectable, he stepped back outside and joined Dash.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

The duo stepped off towards town, Dash opted to walk be side her strange friend instead of flying.

"Isn't AJ going to come with us?"

"She's gonna meet us with the rest at Twilight's. So... how do you like it here so far?"

"It's not so bad. This place is definitely a lot more peaceful than my world. Something I could get used to. I don't think I've ever heard about any kind of conflict since I've arrived."

"Conflict?"

"You know, things like war."

"There hasn't been a war in Equestria for over a thousand years."

James was surprised to hear this, but was glad at the same time.

"How often does your world have war?"

James sighed. He probably souldn't have brought the subject up and he didn't want to tell her how violent his race was, starting a new war every few years, lest she get the wrong idea.

"More often than I'd like. It's not something I like to talk about."

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry." Dash apologized, looking a little down.

"Don't fret about it, let's just go have fun, ok?"

"Yeah, tonight should be great. First we're gonna go to a chill restaurant in the downtown section before hitting the club."

'This should be interesting.'

They made good time and reached the leafy library in only about ten minutes. As they walked up, five mares were trotting out the front door. Rainbow Dash went to join her friends.

"Hey girls. I hope you don't mind, but I invited James."

"That's actually a great idea," assured Twilight, "this way he can learn more about about the ponies here first hand. Plus it did seem a bit anti-social, always hanging out at that musty old barn. This will be a good experience for him."

Rarity couldn't hold it in any more, "Ugh, I'm sorry, but that outfit simply looks ghastly, especially for a night on the town. You don't have anything else to wear, dear?"

"Nope, 'fraid not."

"Then you MUST allow me to make you some more reasonable clothes."

"Sorry, but I don't think I have enough money for that. Thanks for the offer though."

"Whatever do you mean? This, of course, will be on the house."

"Wow, that's.... very generous of you. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything dear, just stop by my shop tomorrow so that I can measure you."

Seeing no point to argue, he agreed.

"So where are we off to?" James asked.

And Pinkie Pie answered, "We're going to a super-duper yummy-tummy restaurant! The food is soooooo good."

"But not as good as your cupcakes, Pinkie." Fluttershy said calmly.

The group of six mare and a human walked up to a small restaurant called 'The Green Tulip'. Twilight trotted up to the hostess.

"Hi, I had a reservation for six, but we have one extra."

"That's no problem, I'll just have the staff just pull up an extra cushion."

"Thanks!"

They all sat down at the table the hostess lead them to. James looked at the menu as he tried to get comfortable on the small cushion. He looked down it seeing things like 'alphalpha burger and hay fries' and 'dandelion sandwich', none of it looked appetizing. He missed meat. He especially missed bacon. Maybe he'll take a few days and go hunting somewhere deep in the forest. Eventually he ended up ordering steamed broccoli and carrots over rice. Not the best tasting for him, but he could digest it. The girls talked amongst themselves for a time, but James mostly stayed out of conversation, not knowing what he could possibly talk about other than the weather. That is until a boastful blue mare interrupted his contemplations.

"Did you see how fast I went in that one dive the other day?"

"Yeah?"

"That was so cool, I could literally feel the air pushing back at me. Any faster and I woulda performed another sonic rainboom."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"It's when she goes so fast that she breaks the sound barrier and makes a supie-loopie-doopie explosion of color in the sky!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie, as only she could have described.

'Heh, not likely. Organics can't survive those speeds without some kind of protection.'

"Eh, it's no big deal to me. Have you ever gone that fast buddy?" Dash asked James.

"Only a few times."

"What!? No way, you don't even have wings!"

"That's right, but neither does any other human. However, we are very technologically advanced. We built and designed machines we call aircraft that use to fly. Some are so aerodynamic and powerful that the can surpass the speed of sound a few times over. I've been lucky enough to hitch a few rides in some of these fast movers." He didn't mention, though, why he had to ride in such things. He had ridden in F-18s a few times, but only to get him in various parts of the world in short times for his missions. He was still trying to play the part of a simple guard.

"Whatever," Dash huffed, "I'M still the fastest flyer here."

"No one's arguing that." James chuckled a bit.

They finished up their meals, everypony chipping in for the bill, and made their way towards the bars. James was a little nervous. He didn't know how the social spots were here. He hoped they didn't have the same D-Bags and A-holes as earth had. Those were the ones always picking fights and truth be told, James liked to avoid fights when he could. That wasn't the thing he was worried about most though. He couldn't dance. He had rhythm, he obviously had a sense of timing, but he just couldn't put it together on the dance floor. The entourage soon arrived at a large building with brightly colored neon lights wrapping around the top. Thumping music pulsing from inside.

"All right, LET'S PARTY!" Pinkie Pie hollered out before rushing to the door with a large bouncer pony standing beside it.

"Pinkie, do please calm down. We haven't even entered yet." Rarity sighed.

They all paid the three bit entry fee, James getting a suspicious look from the bouncer, and made their way inside. The volume of the club music was almost over powering. Which was unfortunate because James was more of a dive bar kinda guy. But, for his new friends, he would bear it. The hyper cotton candy maned mare shot strait for the dance floor, dragging Rarity and a reluctant Fluttershy with her. Twilight went to go find a table while Applejack and Rainbow Dash took James over to the bar.

"So James, what'll ya have?" Applejack queried, trying to speak over the music.

"I don't know, usually I just get a beer, but I don't know what you have here." Trying to sound coherent over the sound was annoying.

"We got Wheat Rider, Stallian's, Dos Equine, Scarlet Filly, Buck's and Buck's Light." Listed off the barmare, who had apparently been listening in.

James turned to him, "Any of those a good red draft?"

"Stallian's it is." He watched her pour him a pint before sliding the glass to him. "That'll be seven bits."

'Well, that hasn't changed....'

James' two companions ordered their drinks, Applejack getting a hard cider and Rainbow Dash a Stalliongrad vodka and cranberry, and headed to the back where Twilight had grabbed a table where thankfully the music wasn't so loud. The three sat down next to Twilight and James took a test sip of his beer.

'Not bad. Almost the same as one of my favorites.'

"How is your drink?" Asked the lavender unicorn.

"I actually kinda like it. It's not much different than what we have back home. Aren't you having something?" He noticed that she only had a glass of water in front of her.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm not that much of a drinker."

"That's not what it looked like last week."

"Oh, that's only because I was at a friend's place. I don't like to really drink at all out in town. Fluttershy doesn't even drink at all."

"I get it, that's cool. Someone, or should I say somepony, has to be sober to help the alcoholics back home." He said, shooting a playful glare at Dash. AJ and Twilight giggled.

"Hey! That was one time!"

"I've only seen you drunk one time." James replied slyly.

"Well... yeah, but...." she started to stutter, red starting to form on her cheeks.

"Don't worry, I'm just messin' with ya." He said with a laugh.

She hesitantly smiled, a little embarrassed. "Oh, I see, you wanna play it that way, huh? In that case, I had no idea you were such an exhibitionist."

"Hmm?" James raised an eyebrow while taking a sip of his beer.

She continued, "I saw you the other day, doing push-ups in your underwear with the loft doors wide open!" A smirk forming on her snout.

James' beer nearly exploded out of his mouth, but he forced it down his throat, coughing and gasping for air while his face started to grow hot. Dash started laughing hysterically, AJ and Twilight still giggling beside them. Slowly, James caught his breath when something came to mind.

"Wait, those doors face away from the orchard and town, there's nothing out there. So what were you doing watching me?"

Now it was Rainbow Dash's turn to get flustered, a scarlet blush spreading noticeably on her cheeks.

"What!? No... I wasn't.... I was just.... practicing. Yeah! Practicing some new tricks, I didn't want and pony to see them yet!" She shook out the explanation, trying to hide her blush by turning away and taking a few gulps of her drink while James chuckled to himself.

"Don't worry sugarcube, everypony gets a little curious sometimes," Applejack said teasingly.

"Ugh, whatever." Dash huffed and walked off.

"She gonna be ok?"

"Oh sure, she'll be fine in a minute." Twilight assured him.

They spent the rest of the night drinking and talking casually. James had a few more beers and even a couple of shots with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, after which he had to convince Pinkie not to throw him out on the dance floor. Which was difficult. VERY difficult. He saw Rainbow Dash a few times, but every time he went to go talk to her, she somehow disappeared. Eventually the night came to an end and the group met back up at Twilight's table where Fluttershy was also sitting. James had to admit, he did have some fun that night and he had a nice buzz going.

"Yeah! How fun was that!" Pinkie was bouncing as always

"Shucks, that was one hay of a shindig ya pulled out on th' dance floor there Pinkie!"

"I'm glad everypony had fun, but can we please go home now? That is... i-if you all want to."

Just then Rarity came trotting up, a troubled look on her face. "Has anypony seen Rainbow Dash? I've looked everywhere and the doorman said that he hadn't seen her leave."

"I got this," James volunteered, "I'm a bit taller, I should be able to spot her. You guys go on ahead back home, it's pretty late."

"Are you sure James? You're still new here, we wouldn't want to trouble you."

"I'm sure Twilight. I've done this kind of thing before with my teammates back home. I'll make sure she gets home safe."

"That's mighty kind 'o ya James."

"Don't mention it." He turned towards the interior.

James wandered through the thinning crowd, looking for that tell tale flash of multicolor that would betray Dash's presence. He circled the entire room twice without so much of a glimpse before arriving at a side door that was slightly ajar. He thought he heard arguing on the other side. He was about to turn back when he caught the familiar scratchiness of the voice coming from the door. Curious, he peeked through the crack. Outside James saw a small alley with trash bags piled on one side and two pony silhouettes on the other. Further down the alley, he could just see the outlines of three more ponies. Fearing RD could be in some situation, he eavesdropped on the pair.

"Lightning, I thought I told you to leave me alone. We're through. This is the third time you've bothered me when I was with my friends, the second time you've done it while drunk. Now please for the last time, just leave me alone." Rainbow warned harshly.

James had inferred enough from her words and tone. 'I guess no matter where you go, they're everywhere.'

She was talking to a brown pegasus stallion with a black mane that had a jagged yellow streak through it.

"Aw, c'mon slut, you know you liked it." 'Lightning' slurred.

"No, I didn't. You were always getting wasted, horrible to my friends and when I stood up for them you tried to hit me!"

James had heard enough. He quietly slipped through the door and stealthily approached them.

"Well, maybe you need a little smack in the mouth now!" The belligerent stallion said, raising a hoof as if to strike her.

Faster than either ponies could see, James stepped between them, catching the offender's hoof in the air.

"Hey! Get outta here freak! This ain't none of your business!"

James let go of his hoof and leaned in close.

"Leave. Now." He said as menacingly as possible.

"You asked for it!"

Lightning reared up on his hind legs, intending to strike James with one of his forelegs. In one fluid motion, James caught his hoof, spun it around the stallion's back, heaved him over the shoulder and threw him into the large pile of garbage. The drunken colt pulled himself out of the refuse. James pushed Rainbow Dash behind him.

Over his shoulder he told her, "You can fly, get out of here, I can handle this."

"No, you can't fly, I'm not leaving you! And the rest of his gang are blocking the only way out of the alley!" Almost on cue, the other three ponies came racing down the alley at the loud noises. One of two of them producing knives.

"Please, this is going to get ugly. I don't want you to get hurt." Stubborn as ever, she stood her ground defiantly, her rose colored eyes burning with determination. *Sigh* "Then at least stay out of my way as I work my magic."

"What do you mea--"

She was cut off as one of the aggressors lunged at James with a knife. Expertly, he stepped aside letting the hoof holding the knife pass through the space he had just been in, before grabbing it and pulling the thug forward, kicking him in the gut while disarming him at the same time. When the gangbanger tried to come at the warrior again, James faked stabbing at him with his own knife which caused the gang pony to flinch. James took this opportunity to slug him across his jaw with a hard left hook, knocking him unconscious.

Just then, the other two tried to get the jump on the defender. James reflexively threw the knife at the other armed one, the blade planting itself a few inches in his thigh. As that one screamed, James ducked a punch from the other, dropping low and performing a leg sweep that cause the stallion to fall flat on his flank. Keeping his momentum, the human kicked the bleeding thug hard in the face, sending him sprawling against a wall where he lay unmoving. The spec war operator then turned back to the last one, winding up for another strike, and stopped when he saw the colt cowering with his forelegs up over his face. Lightning had recovered now and was staring at the thing that had so rudely interrupted.

"You wanna play to?" James asked.

The 'gang leader' looked around at his crew. Two were knocked out, one bleeding, and the third was just cowering in front of the strange creature. Lightning then hollered, "Guards! Help!"

'Yep, Douchebag to the core.'

"C'mon Dash, we gotta leg it."

"Wha?"

"Chuck rocks!"

"Uh..."

"RUN!"

James snatched up one of her forelegs and took of down the street towards the outskirts of town. Glancing back, he saw several ponies in metal armor converging on the scene so he picked up the pace. They ducked into a few alleyways here and there, emerging on another street, to evade any pursuers. Soon they were finally on the road back towards Dash's house. James checked behind them again and seeing no ponies chasing after them, slowed down to a walk.

"Think you're good to go home Dash?"

"I don't know. He knows where I live and might head there, maybe with a few guards. He'll probably put the whole thing on you and me." She said sadly.

"Yeah, dirtbag alright."

"Wait! They don't know anything about you though!"

"But doesn't the mayor know where I live? She was at that party after all."

"Yeah, but those hoodlums have been a pain lately so I'm sure she'll look the other way, but the guard answer directly to the princesses."

"Yeah, that would look pretty bad, seeing as I haven't even met them yet. Couldn't you go to Fluttershy's? She lives pretty far out and I'm sure she could hide you better."

"Pleeeaase?" She looked up at him with large puppy dog eyes.

'Dammit.'

*sigh* "Alright."

"YES! Uh... I mean... thanks."

They made their way back to James' borrowed home under the cover of darkness. Once the reached the doors, James stopped outside.

"Hold on a minute, I gotta do something real quick. He rushed inside, closing the door behind him and climbed up to the loft. Quickly he took his rifle, knife, grenades, rain poncho and pistol. Returning to the ground, he hid them behind a line of hay blocks, except the pistol and poncho, before putting one over the items. James went back and opened the door to a disgruntled Rainbow Dash.

"About time, I thought you were gonna leave me out there." She said, trotting inside.

"I would never!" James said, faking being hurt. "Anyway, there's already a bed made up in the loft and a few extra blankets in the far corner, so go on ahead up and get some rest."

"But what about you?"

"I'll sleep down here. I can make a nice little comfy spot underneath."

"Well... ok." Dash said slowly flying up to the loft.

James got to work gathering some hay and spreading it around again in a corner under the loft. He grabbed another couple of spare blankets that were sitting on a bench there and put them over the hay like he had done in the loft. James unbuttoned the poncho all the way, kicked off his boots, took off his top and lay down on his new mattress while spreading the poncho over himself. Sleep refused to come easy however. He lay there for a bit, half asleep and in a haze of darkness and violence for what felt like an hour. At one point he thought he felt something large, warm and furry crawl up under the poncho and curl up next to him, but he gave it no mind. Soon after, his thoughts found peace and finally gave in.

A New Threat To His Sanity

Chapter 9: A New Threat To His Sanity

James slowly came back to awareness. He rolled over to.... nothing.

'Strange. Coulda swore....'

He quickly dismissed the thought and got up to put his top and boots on. Finished, he called up to the loft.

"Hey, Dash! You awake yet?" No answer.

He climbed up for a look. Nothing was there. She must have gotten up earlier and went home. Then he noticed how bright out it was.

'Crap, I'm late. Applejack must be mad.'

James ran outside to find either AJ or Big Mac. Searching the orchard didn't turn up anything though. Shrugging, he made his way to the Apple's house. Outside resting on the porch he saw Granny Smith relaxing in a rocking chair. She spotted him and waved him over.

"Well good mornin' uh, Jamie, Jim, no, James! Good mornin' James, how're ya doin'?"

"Good morning Mrs. Smith..."

"Aw, yer practically part 'a the family now, just call me Granny dear."

"Oh, ok Granny. Excuse me, but have you seen Applejack or Big Mac? They aren't anywhere in the orchard."

"They're around somewhere, probably in town or picnickin' or whatsit."

"Don't we have work?"

"Shucks young'en, can't work every day. Y'all'd run yerselves ragged that way. Today's a day off! Go do somethin' fun fer Celestia's sake."

"Alright then, thanks Granny!"

"Yer welcome Jibbers!"

James remembered Rarity's offer and decided to head over to her shop after washing up and throwing on some clean clothes. He would have to be cautious and sneak into town though. After last night, there could be ponies on the look out for him. He started off towards the general direction of Carousel Boutique at a light jog.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to make his way to the back door with out being seen in broad daylight. He knocked a few times before it was answered by Sweetie Belle.

"Hey James! How're you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. Yourself?" She nodded with a bright smile. "Hey, your sister wouldn't happen to be here, would she?"

"Oh yeah, she's upstairs in her 'idea room'." She informed while rolling her eyes.

"Great, is it ok if I came in?"

"Of course!" She turned and trotted over to the stairs as James entered. "Rarity! James is here!"

"All right, I'll be right down!"

James waited a minute before Rarity came clopping down the stairs.

"James! So nice of you to come. Please stand on that pedestal over there and we'll get started."

He did what he was told and stood there as the fashion pony made measurements of his arms, shoulders, legs and waist, using her magic to manipulate a tape measure. She scribbled down a note or two every once in a while.

"Oh this will be so fun. I've never had a challenge quite like this before. Now, is there anything you want specifically?"

James thought for a moment. "I just want something practical. You know, nothing fancy, I'm not really a fancy kind of guy. And absolutely NO sparkly gems please." He added, noticing the majority of the garments in the room were 'bedazzled'.

"Well, of course. I always take my customer's preferences into consideration. Any thing else darling?"

"No, that's it. I trust you."

"Why, thank you! Now, it will take a day or two before your clothing will be ready."

"Alright, and thanks again, I owe you. You need help with anything, don't be afraid to ask." James offered, turning to leave.

"That's very gracious, I'll remember that dear. Ta-ta now."

James slipped out the back again and returned towards the farm. When he got there he spotted Applejack walking towards the well.

"Hey Applejack, what's up?"

"Not much sugarcube, how're ya enjoyin' the day?"

"Alright I guess. When do we get back to work?"

"Not for a few days now. Th' zap apples are comin' in a few days and we can't harvest them 'til they're exactly ripe. So if'n ya got somethin' to take care of, now'd be th' time ta do it."

"Ok, thanks for the heads up."

'The hell are zap apples?'

He couldn't think of anything else to do besides checking up on Rainbow Dash and he hadn't seen her all day. He couldn't even go to her house because of his inability to fly.

"AJ, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure hun, whatcha need?"

"Can you make sure Dash is ok? She had kind of a rough night yesterday. She got home ok, but she ran into some trouble. I haven't seen her all day and I got some things I need to do."

"Sure thing sugarcube, I'll ask Fluttershy to see if she's home." She promised, seeming concerned.

"Good. It's good that she has friends like you guys." James complimented, walking away.

James headed back to the old barn, only one thing in mind. Meat. It had been so long since he's had it. James thought that if he went far enough into the forest and he buried his kills, he could avoid scaring any of the locals. Not to mention the six friends he had made. He donned his tac vest and ball and a boonie cap he always kept on him. It was way more comfortable sniping in that than a heavy kevlar helmet. He threw a couple of the MRE's he had left, the NVGs, the solar recharger, his iPod and some spare mags of ammo into his rucksack. Then he jumped below and removed a couple of flashbangs. Just in case. The only weapons he took were his knife and trusty pistol. He didn't really like going anywhere without his pistol, last night being the only exception. The last thing he did was leave a note by the door with his spare radio. He had taught Twilight how to use it after she had walked in on him tinkering with it, trying to get some kind of signal, last week. He was taking his throat mic with him.

'To who ever finds this, I'll be back in a couple of days. I just need to take care of a few human related things. Don't worry about me, I know how to handle myself well enough around here now. See you all again soon.'

- James

James left the farm and trod down the road that ran near the Everfree. About two miles down, he turned and disappeared into the dark foliage.

=================================================

James continued through the brush. He had been marching through the forest for half the day now, but he didn't know how far he should go. He remembered that he had found Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo about a two hour's trek away from the edge of the forest a few weeks before. He would have to go much deeper before he could start his hunt. About an hour before James had met a strange rhyming zebra. She met Twilight's description of the forest dwelling potion maker he heard about. They had even talked for a bit.

"What is this strange creature here? No wonder the animals flee in fear."

"You must be Zecora. Twilight told me about you."

"That indeed is who I am, but who are you and of what land?"

'What a strange way to talk. Twilight didn't mention any of this. But I guess it didn't really matter.'

"I'm James, and I'm currently Equestria's only resident human."

"It's nice to meet you James and I've a surprise, the items you carry match those I've found nearby."

"Huh? What do you mean by that? You mean like my clothing and equipment?"

"Clothing is but one form I've seen, also there have been monstrous machines."

James asked her for more details and she told him of a place that sounded like it was not far from where he had first woken up. She gave him some quick directions and he was on his way. This little trip was turning into much more than the simple hunt he had planned. He kept going until sundown, when he made camp in a small clearing. He slept until the early morning hours where he ate a quick breakfast of some raspberries he found and two vegetable crackers from an MRE. Afterwards, he resumed his journey. After a while, he could spot what appeared to be little paths through the forest. At first James believed them to just be game trails. Until he found a low broken stone wall. And then he noticed that some of these 'games trails' had been paved at some point in time, cobble stones poking through the grass here and there.

'I wonder what this could be. It looks like some old ruins. And some of these trails look like they're converging somewhere.'

James started to follow the path cautiously, scanning the environment around him for threats. The cacophony of the forest started to fade before becoming eerily silent. James now knew something was off here. He kept going down the old path, but stopped when he saw something glinting in the underbrush. Drawing his sidearm, James approached warily. Slowly he pushed aside the plant growth to reveal an old broken watch. He recognized it, it was man made with certain cartoon mouse featuring big round black ears, his own arms acting as the hands for the watch. Upon closer inspection, James noticed that the watch wasn't all that old, just exposed to the elements for what seemed like only a few years.

'But how did it get here?'

This wasn't looking good. Nevertheless, James pushed on, his curiosity piqued. After about thirty yard he came upon half a building. It was missing the roof, it's walls made of stone, though half of them had collapsed long ago. James decided to explore a bit and found a back room with scorch marks in one corner. There was a metal object laying on the floor where the scorch marks were originating from. It was in the shape of a revolver. James picked it up and bushed of some of the soot that had caked on to it. What he revealed shocked him. Underneath the blackened dirt and soot was ornate scroll work. That wasn't what shocked him though. What shocked him was that he recognized it, he had seen this before. It was his lieutenant's sidearm.

'Now what the FUCK is this doing here? How can this be possible? He lost this only a year and a half ago, how could it have gotten here?'

The weapon had been a gift to Lieutenant Bellis from his wife, years ago. But the Lieutenant had lost it during a raid on South American drug cartel a little over a year ago. James' team had been sent in when the cartel had kidnapped some American peace corps volunteers and demanded ransom. As he recalled, after extracting the hostages, they left nothing but a smoldering crater.

James shoved the revolver into his rucksack and pressed onwards toward the source of the paths. Soon he emerged from the thickest brush and stopped, stunned, at what he saw. They were ruins. Aged, dilapidated, weather worn and over grown with plant life as the forest sought to reclaim this place. It was a broken down castle, centuries old. Gazing around, James determined he was standing in a courtyard of sorts.

'How did I miss this? Even from the air, I didn't see it. Well, it is pretty overgrown, I could have easily over looked it.'

Suddenly, he heard a noise off to his left and shifted to a crouch, his pistol snapping to the ready in a fraction of a second. James slowly moved towards a broken down section of wall for cover, never taking his eyes off the spot he heard the noise come from. A minute, then two passed without anything happening. He lowered his weapon, but still kept his guard up. Something felt wrong.

Warily he approached a beautifully carved archway. Striding inside he noticed bas reliefs set into the stone to his left and right. They featured two ponies posed regally, crowns set upon their heads and flowing manes. They were different from other ponies James had seen though. Both had a horn and a set of wings. The only difference between the two was their 'cutie marks'. One featured a large sun symbol while the other had a crescent moon set against background resembling an ink blot. James followed the scene down the hallway which depicted the two interacting peacefully. That is, until he had almost reached the end. The one featuring a moon on her flank was seen rising to power, smaller ponies despairing beneath her, the moon high and large in the sky. Then the royal sun pony intervened. A battle was fought, ending with a sequence showing the pony of darkness being sent to the moon itself.

'Wicked. I wonder if these are the two princesses Twilight told me about. But that would be impossible, this place has to be at least hundreds of years old.'

James continued down a large vaulted passageway that was partially open to the element, dead leaves and shards of glass were strewn all around the cold stone floor. Then he heard the tinkling of broken glass being moved across the ground. James snapped to the ready again, his heart rate starting to rise. He approached the space he thought it came from firearm raised, he also unsheathed his knife with his other hand, just to be prepared. As he neared the entrance to the room, a powerful rotting stench suddenly hit him like a slap to the face. Something here had died.

James flattened him self against the wall adjacent to the doorway. He peeked around the corner and saw a most gruesome sight. Blood was splattered all on one side of the room, entrails leading back to a hollowed out deer carcass in the corner. Laying about here and there were crude knives and even a sword or two made of black steel. James had seen other such weaponry scattered about the ruins earlier. The difference was that those were more refined and heavily rusted. These laying before him weren't. they were jagged. And they had been used recently.

The next thing James noticed was tracks. They were humanoid, but instead of toes they sported claws. He spotted a bloody hand print, again ending in claws instead of fingers. He didn't like this. James began to back out when he heard a low growl behind him. He whipped around and brought his weapons to bear. Before him was a large bipedal creature with yellow and brown mottled skin, standing at a little over six feet. Yellowed and cracked teeth the shape of jagged rocks grimaced from a ragged mouth. A flat nose sat beneath two red eyes with pupils black as tar that bespoke a savage and carnal intelligence, a top it's head was greasy mane of obsidian locks sat unkempt it's ears resembled cauliflowers. It's feet were bare, tipped with claws. The rest of it was clad in a mismatch of rusted metal plate attached with strips of leather. It clutched in it's hands two of the jagged swords James had seen in the other room. It grunted and tossed one of them to James' feet. James brought his pistol up, ready to take a shot, when heard another bellow above him and off to his right.

James looked up to see another one of the terrifying creature training a nasty looking crossbow on him about fifty yards away. He scanned the rest of the room and spotted another two standing at his only known exit with spears in hand. James felt like a child to have been ambushed like this. It was embarrassing to say the least.

'I've gotten rusty while living here. I should be dead.'

James under stood the challenge. If he used his own weapons, he'd take a crossbow bolt to the chest. James had fast reflexes and they'd save his ass several times before, but he didn't know if he could dodge a bolt. He pocketed his sidearm, sheathed his knife and dropped his rucksack before picking up the dastardly weapon at his feet. The crudely made hand-and-a-half sword didn't feel right in his hands. He hefted it and gave it a few practice swings, trying to get used to it's weight. Fortunately he had taken some martial art classes in the past and was familiar with swords, but he had never actually fought with them before except for sparring matches with the other students.

James brought it to a ready position, studying his opponent as it mimicked his movements. The creature was muscular in a brutish way, as if it spent most of it's time surviving in some hostile environment. That's when the creature lunged at the special operator, bringing it's sword down in an arc upon his head. James quickly reacted and caught the sword with his, inches before it cleaved his forehead in two. The blow almost drove him to a knee. James countered with a kick to it's stomach. The tactic worked and it was shoved back a few feet. James immediately followed up with a downward diagonal slash at it's neck, but it almost effortlessly blocked it and shouldered it off, following through with a swing at his midsection. James jumped back and drew his own stomach inward, barely escaping disembowelment. As he performed this move his arms shot forward for balance. The monster brought it's own blade down on James', knocking it out of his hand. Now he was weaponless.

The creature started hacking and slashing with wild abandon. James could hardly duck and dodge the deadly metal singing through air. He couldn't keep this up much longer. Finally the retched beast made a mistake. It swung at James in a wide arc, intending to halve the human. The elite warrior caught it's wrist with his left hand and grabbed it's shoulder with his right. Then, placing his leg between the thing's legs, threw it on it's back. As it fell, James stripped the sword from it's grip and in one motion, swung the sword high over his head and brought it down directly upon the creature's face. Blood splattered out to the sides as the blade burrowed it's self into flesh and bone.

The two blocking the entrance with their spears wailed in anger and charged. The sword was stuck in the skull of the first beast so James retrieved the one he had dropped. The first one to approach stabbed at his belly. James swatted the spear tip aside and slashed at it's exposed arm, lacerating it. The second tried to bring the spear into an upward swing, James countered it by kicking the shaft of the spear and bringing the sword up into the sick warrior's throat, blood spilling everywhere and staining his arms. The other recovered and stabbed it's weapon through the meat of his right calf. James cried out in anguish as the crossbow wielding creature aimed to take a shot. But then the unexpected occurred.

"JAMES!!!"

In the archway stood Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Time slowed to a crawl. The ugly crossbow wielding creature shifted it's aim towards the new comers, thick brow furrowing in concentration. James had only a second to react. Swiftly he drove the sword through a gap in the spear monster's armor and fluidly drew his 1911 and lined up on the shooter. He steadily pulled the trigger, the firearm emanating a sharp, massive roar and launching a lead slug strait through the creature's cranial vault, dropping it instantly. It was beautiful. In but a moment it was all over and James sank to his knees, head bowed. As the girls galloped towards him in a panic, he reached behind himself and snapped off the head of the spear that was still lodged in his calf, pulling the shaft out the other side. The shocked and concerned mares gathered around him in a half circle.

"I'm a monster."

His hands started to shake.

The Proposal

Chapter 10: The Proposal

They stood there a moment, the human still kneeling before them, head down and arms at his sides.

Applejack spoke up first, "Darlin', ya've worked and lived at mah farm fer almost four weeks now and Ah've seen nuthin' but a hard workin' stallion."

"Yes, and ever so generous, working there for next to nothing while even helping everyone who asks for your help. Nothing short of a gentlecolt if you ask me," Rarity added.

"And so kind, going out of your way to save three fillies from those vicious timber wolves." Fluttershy had maneuvered behind him to inspect his wound.

"Yeah, and you're one of the most awesome humans I know! Even if you're the only one I know...." said Rainbow Dash.

"Not to mention you're super duper fun at parties!"

"And you've helped me learn about stuff I could have never thought existed."

Both Pinkie and Twilight added.

James looked at his hands, still shaking and covered in blood. The coppery smell was almost too much for him.

"There's something you should know about me." James said to the group before him. "I was never just a 'guard'. I did pull some guard duty, but in reality, I'm a killer. I was trained to carry out specialized missions that conventional forces just couldn't. I have so much blood on my hands, it's a wonder that they aren't permanently stained red."

He continued, not really caring about their opinions of him any more. James felt he had betrayed their trust and he didn't deserve friends like them.

"The wounds that you found me with? They were a result of a fight between myself and my own kind. It was in defense of others, but I'm a monster, I've killed so many."

Fluttershy was in the middle of bandaging up James' calf when he stood up and limped towards the exit. The six mares watched him for a minute, in a stunned silence.

"But--" Rainbow Dash began to say, but James sharply cut her off.

"NO. I don't belong here." His words echoed off the vaulted ceiling. As he limped away James shouldered his pack. He was half way down the main passageway when he heard the clop of hooves on stone behind him. James looked over his shoulder to see a sky blue pegasus mare with a look of deep concern on her face. Still, it didn't cover the fear he could see in her rose colored eyes.

"Don't follow me."

"James, you're hurt. You need to let us help you!"

"No. I can't risk hurting you. All of you. I'm too dangerous. Just leave me be."

"If you go back out into that forest alone and injured you could die!" She was almost pleading now.

"I've already died once before, it can't be that bad a second time around! Just Leave. Me. Be!" He snapped at her.

James continued on his way out without looking back. It pained him to do this, he had actually come to like those quirky little ponies, but he wouldn't been able to live with himself if they came to harm because of something he did. He didn't even know how they had found him. James exited the old castle and entered the forest. It was starting to get late and the sun was going down. His calf started to bleed again, the bandages were wrapped loosely because he had left while Fluttershy was in the middle of applying them. Clenching his teeth, James knelt down, gripped the ends of the dressing and pulled tight, putting pressure on the wound. It hurt like hell, but he wouldn't bleed out and he would be able to walk a little better.

James trudged on until he came to a small space that was cleared of under brush, but was still covered by the forest canopy. It would have to do. The sky was darkening to the point where he wouldn't be able to continue. He gathered some wood for a small fire. James plopped himself down in front of his small conflagration to keep warm and dug around in his pack for the small bottle of ibuprofen he carried with him. Pulling out the bottle, he shook two out and popped them into his mouth, taking a swig from his canteen to wash them down. James sat there a moment, wishing he could see the stars and unsheathed his knife. This next part was gonna suck. He stuck the blade into the flames. He hadn't thought to bring his first aid kit and as such, lacked any anti-septic. Rookie mistake.

While he waited for the metal heat, James took out his iPod and put on his headphones. He scrolled through the albums and started playing Darkside of the Moon. James unwrapped the bandages from his leg to assess the damage. Both the entry and exit wounds were approximately the same size. Blood began to trickle from both openings. Carefully, he ripped off the bloody sections of bandage. By now, the blade should be hot enough. Cautiously James extracted the hot steel from the fire. He picked up a nearby stick and bit down on it. Then, taking a deep breath, he pressed the searing metal to his flesh. His cry of anguish was muffled by the stick in his teeth as he bit down hard. He repeated the act a second time, cauterizing both sides, the smell of burnt flesh making him a bit nautious.

James re-wrapped the now closed wounds with the clean bandage scraps he had salvaged. He popped another two pills and took a long draw from his canteen to help calm himself. James rolled his pants back down his leg, retrieved his rain gear from his rucksack and laid back. The painkillers started to kick in as the throbbing went down, although it still burned a little. He put his iPod on shuffle, and after adding wood to the fire, closed his eyes in attempt to sleep. It didn't come willingly, but after an hour, the exhaustion from the days events finally caught up with him.

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Panting, running, sprinting for his life as bullets impacted the dirt around him, kicking it up into his face. The bundle he carried was weighing him down, but he had to reach the building where the marines were pinned at all costs. They had wounded and could not wait for casevac to bring more medical supplies. He launched a stream of rounds back towards the source of hostile fire, not really aiming, just trying to get their heads down.

"RPG!" Someone bellowed a warning

A streak of propellant burned by in front of him, detonating on a wall to his left and sending chunks of concrete shrapnel at him. It stung horrible, but he kept running. He saw a side door burst open on his target building, two infantry men gesturing wildly for him to get inside. Picking up the pace, he vaulted over a pile of rubble and through the doorway.

"Man, are we glad to see one of you guys! The triage is right through there," the marine said pointing while the other closed the door.

He could hear the moans of pain before he even walked in. There were four men, three stretched out on rickety wooden tables, one laid out on the floor. There were also two body bags in the corner, and they were occupied. There was blood smeared everywhere. A corpsman and two other marines grabbed the supplies off his shoulders and quickly broke them out, going to work on the injured. Another marine walked up and pulled him into the front room.

"Good to see ya soldier, I'm Sergeant Maddox. We're really grateful for the med supplies, but where's the rest of your team?"

"They're on their way. The street was too blocked up with burnt out cars and they had to find another route. Give 'em about five more minutes."

"That's about all we have left, another wave of insurgents were spotted a block away by our roof team. We gotta--"

*BOOM*

The room exploded inwards, shrapnel flying every where. He picked himself up off the ground from where the detonation had thrown him. Everything ached and he had a ringing in his ears. His training kicked in immediately. Running up to an intact section of the wall he brought his rifle's optics up to his eyes and went to work, aiming at a building on the other side of an intersection opposite him. Three marines joined in repelling the attack, 7.62 mm rounds striking the area around them.

"We gotta fall back further into the building!" One of them yelled.

"Go go go! I got you guys covered!"

The two to his right retreated to an adjacent room as he switched to full auto and sprayed lead at the muzzle flashes across the intersection, but the one on his left stayed put, not paying attention. He had the tunnel vision.

"Marine! We have to get going!"

A round struck the soldier in the chest, winding him and sending a spray of ceramic shards from the ballistic plate into his face when the top seam of his vest ruptured.

"AAHHHH! MY EYES!"

He grabbed the back of the marine's vest and dragged the injured roughneck backwards to the door way. The hostile soldiers renewed their assault, bullets whizzed and snapped through the air. Three rounds impacted his chest, but his dragon scale armor stopped them, dissipating the energy across the vest. He pulled the marine through the door and looked down to check on the fighter.

"Hey buddy, are you al--"

There was blood and brain matter covering his front. The marine's head was bowed down. He could see a large hole in the back of the leatherneck's helmet which was ringed red with blood. He continued to drag the body around the wall, gently placing it in a corner of the room. The other two marines ran forward to see their friend when a grenade rolled through the entry way.

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James sat up in a cold sweat, his heart thumping wildly in his chest, he clutched his head in his hands, willing the images out of his mind. They were getting worse. His leg was throbbing again. The clandestine warrior noticed it wasn't as cold as it should have been. In fact, the fire was still going strong as if someone had added more wood. It had been at least a couple of hours, it should just be smoldering. James snatched up his knife from where he had left it, the metal now cooled, and looked around. There was a large winged unicorn -- larger even than Big Mac -- with a flowing multi colored mane. She had a golden chest piece featuring a purple gem set in the middle, her head was topped by a crown. She lay across the fire from him, legs tucked comfortably beneath her. She looked at him with kind eyes that matched the gem.

"Bad dream?" Her voice was warm and motherly.

"Who are you?"

"A little blunt I see. Didn't Twilight and her friends tell you about me?" She asked, smiling.

"That depends, who are you?"

"Well, it's not all that important."

"The hell it's not. You're wearing enough gold and jewelry to pay my rent for five years."

"A blunt in your questions, yet you have a sharp mind. Just as Twilight described you in her letters."

"Letters. So, you're one of the Princesses then. I'd expect the one named Luna to be sporting a moon, but since you've got a sun on your flank, I'm guessing you are Celestia."

"You certainly don't disappoint."

"Forgive me for not getting up and bowing ma'am, but at the moment I might have some trouble standing."

"Ah yes, the injury you sustained."

"How did you know? Did the girls tell you? They got out ok, right?"

"Yes, they're all fine, but very worried about you James. Why did you leave them?"

"To protect them."

"How would you be able to do that if you are not there for them?"

"Because I'm protecting them from me. I'm dangerous. I kill. I killed all those... things back there. What were those even? I come from a race addicted to violence." His head hung low.

"James. You are not a bad person. No matter what atrocities humans have committed, YOU have done nothing but give and think of others."

"Atrocities? What the hell do you know about my races 'atrocities'? If you knew the kinds of things my people have been responsible for, you'd have me put down!"

"You mean like the world wars or the genocides?"

James sat there at an absolute loss for words

"How... how could you possibly know about that? Can you get there? Can you send me back?"

Celestia had a slight hint of sadness on her face. "Unfortunately, no."

"Then how did I get here? How did THIS get here?" He asked angrily while producing his Lieutenant's revolver.

"The magic that brought you here occurs naturally in this forest, especially near those ruins. It permeates the air, water and even the ground beneath you. Apparently it can sometimes shift objects from your world to ours. I have been collecting and studying any of those objects my scouts happen to come across, locking up the more dangerous ones. You are actually the only organic specimen to cross over. This magic is very powerful and can not be replicated to the same degree, even by ones as powerful as myself."

"So this is it, huh? I can't get back."

"I'm afraid not. James, I must ask you a favor. Those creatures you fought in the old palace are unlike any I've seen in my lands. All we know is they came out of the mountains to the east and have been pillaging villages of the griffon colonies, breaking their nests and slaughtering their subjects. Reports from survivors say the monsters are skilled warriors. Griffons are warriors in their own right, so to hear this from them is disturbing. And yet, you defeated four of them in open combat."

"Let me guess, you want me to fight and kill these things on your behalf." James said, sounding annoyed. "I'm done killing. I already killed for one country, I don't want to kill anymore."

"I don't necessary need you to kill, nor do I want you to. But I would deeply appreciate it if you saw fit to train my royal guard. They are skilled in small matters, but in large conflicts, they have no experience. I fear this threat may grow to that."

James considered it. "Have they killed before?" The Princess was a bit taken aback by the question.

"Excuse me?"

"Have they killed before?"

"Well... no, but...."

"Because that is what you're asking me. You are asking me to turn the ponies of your royal guard into trained killers like me. If you want them to effectively combat this, they can give no quarter. Those creatures are blood thirsty and absolutely without mercy. The first thing they did when meeting me was challenge me to a death match. I don't want to do this to them."

"James, think of the friends you made back in Ponyville. Think of the innocents that live there and the suffering you could spare them from."

"Wow, that was... that's low." *sigh* "Fine, I'll do it."

"Thank you James. You don't know how much this means to me. You can have access to everything you need at our Canterlot facilities."

"No, I will conduct their training near Ponyville. I'll need wide open spaces and a nearby body of water to do this. We will also be spending a lot of time in the forest. The training will include survival and small unit tactics. Now I can't train everyone at once so I need you to send five of your most intelligent and physically fit guards. Once they've been trained, they can pass it on to other units."

"Well I'm certainly not used to one of my subjects giving ME orders." She giggled.

"I'm not one of your subjects."

The Princess of the Sun stopped laughing, surprised by the comment.

"We might have to consider making you a citizen here. The guards might take it better getting bossed around by somepony of their own country."

"I wouldn't mind that. It's not like I have anywhere else to be." They both laughed a little at that.

"I'm sorry, but I must be getting back to Canterlot. Would you like a ride into town?" She asked, yawning wide.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'd like to make my own way back. Give me some time to think."

"If you insist, but before I go..." she rose to her hooves and walked around the fire to James. She knelt down and placed the tip of her horn on his leg as her horn began glow. The pain in his calf receded before vanishing altogether. The Princess leaned away and James unwrapped and inspected the wound, miraculously finding nothing but smooth skin.

"Thank you," he murmured, still astounded by the whole magic thing.

Princess Celestia just smiled, her horn starting to glow again. Then she vanished in a flash of light. James sighed again before laying back down to sleep. He had a long walk in the morning.

A New Ally And Maybe Some Forgiveness

Chapter 11: A New Ally And Maybe Some Forgiveness

James made the day and a half hike back to town with out much difficulty. He did not stop often to rest and continued through the next night, using his NVGs to help guide him through the forest in the stygian darkness. He encountered the timber wolves again, but they kept their distance, yellow eyes flashing at the edges of his vision before finally moving on. James made good time and eventually came to the edge of the wood early morning. He paused there, wondering what he should do next. He needed to go check on his gear back at the old farm, but he also needed to apologize to the kind mares who had made him feel welcome in this strange and impossible land.

James decided to go to the library and see Twilight, since he knew that's where she was likely to be. Aside from Applejack and Rarity, he had no idea where the rest might be and Twilight was also the closest. He stashed all of his gear into the rucksack, except his pistol, putting it back in his side pocket on his thigh. Entering town, he casually strolled down the street, most ponies not even giving him a sideways glance as they went about their day. He was glad. James never liked attention. Usually, it ended up in him getting shot at.

He entered the market place and watched the bustle of activity around him. He could get used to this if he really was stuck here. It really wasn't so bad. James had left all his bits at home, not having any use for them in the forest, they would have just been deadweight. He could see the top of the leafy library over the cluster of buildings that made up store fronts and businesses so he decided to cut through the alley ways that ran between them. James was about half way through when he heard what sounded like a scuffle coming from around a corner. He flattened him self against the wall and poked his head around the corner. The young warrior saw two pegasi being confronted by two earth ponies and a disgustingly familiar brown pegasus with a yellow streak through his mane.

"Why don't ya just let the little retard give us the package?"

The thug was addressing a matte black coated pegasus stallion, his flank marked with a shield set against a background of translucent green rays, with one eye already staring to swell, and a silvery gray, short cut, mane and tail who was planted defensively in front of a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and matching tail carrying some bags. There was something a bit off kilter with her honey hued eyes.

"Why don't you just leave her alone, she's done nothing to you. And where the hay do you get off, ganging up three to one?"

"You're here aren't ya? Seems fair to me. But why don't you step aside and save us the trouble, we can take the package and be on our way."

The blonde mare scowled at the ringleader, "It's NOT yours! I need to deliver it!"

"Why don't you shut up and fork it over, or do we have to force you?!" One of the earth ponies yelled.

"I won't let you lay one hoof on her!" Exclaimed the silver maned pegasus, his good green eye shifting between the gang ponies before him.

"That's it, I don't have time for this!" Lightning, for it WAS that scuzzball, motioned forward with a wing to his subordinates. They started to move towards their victims.

James had seen enough. He stepped out around the corner.

"HEY, ASSHOLES!"

The five snapped their heads in his direction.

"Oh it's YOU again."

"This doesn't seem like much of a fair fight."

"Oh yeah? Well then maybe you would be willing to take his place?"

"Ha, I still don't think that would be fair the way you dickheads fight. Why don't you go get about five or six of your buddies, that might even it out. Hell, you might even land a punch this time. Oh hey! Nice to see you again! How's that healing?" James finished, waving to one of the earth ponies that had a line of stitches down one of his hind legs. The pony flinched at being greeted so casually by the creature that wounded him with his own knife.

"Hmpf, you ain't worth the the time." James stepped aside as the three trotted past him and down another alley.

Now with the threat taken care of, James turned to the other two. "You both ok? Any other injuries besides that eye of yours?"

"N-no I'm fine. How about you Ditz?" The stallion looked to the mare now beside him.

"No, I'm ok. Thank you for helping us sir!"

"Call me James. Who would you two be?"

The black stallion answered. "My name is Emrald Flash and this is my cousin Ditzy." He said, extending a wing over her shoulders. "Ditz, why don't you get that delivered, I'm going to go take care of this eye."

"Ok Emmy, see you later, and be careful please." She took off haphazardly and flew away.

"Is she gonna be ok? I mean, they didn't hit her or nothing, did they?" James asked.

A mask of anger took over the stallion's face. "No, they did not hit her! She had an accident when she was younger...."

James understood almost immediately, "Woah! Calm down, I'm sorry, ok. I understand."

Emrald Flash took some deep breaths before speaking again, "Yeah, yeah... sorry for snapping at you like that. It's just.... people tend to think she's...."

"She didn't seem stupid to me. You're a good cousin defending her like that. C'mon, I'm on my to a friend's place, I'll get ya some ice there Mr. Flash."

"Thanks, my place is kind of a walk from here, and I can't trust myself to fly with this eye. And please, just call me Flash." He extended a foreleg and James grasped and shook it. The two new acquaintances stepped off to the library.

"So, why did those rotten apples take off when you showed up? You stopped them without even fighting!"

"We've met before. Only the last time wasn't so civil."

"You're THAT guy? I heard all about that! Hey, do you think you could teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"How to fight like that!"

"I dunno. I'll think about it. What do you do around here Flash?" James asked, trying to get off the topic.

The stallion looked a bit down trodden at this. "Uh, right now I'm sorta in between jobs. I still work, but it's just odd jobs around town to get by."

"I see..." he didn't pursue the issue.

Soon, they arrived at the library, James opening the door and ushering Flash inside.

"Twilight, it's James, I need to talk to you!"

"Hold on!"

James recognized Spike's voice coming from the upstairs. Sure enough, a moment later he descended to the main room, claws scritching against the wood.

"Hey James, Twilight went to Sweet Apple Acres with Pinkie. Woah, what happened to your friend?"

"He just got hurt helping someone out. Think I could grab some ice for his eye?"

"Sure thing, I'll go get it." The purple dragon ran into the kitchen in back and after a moment returned with a claw full of ice wrapped in a small towel.

"Thanks," said Flash gratefully. He took it from the scaly assistant and held it against his swollen eye with one hoof.

"Oh yeah, you got a letter from the Princess this morning! Nopony but Twilight's gotten a letter from the Princess like this!" Spike handed over a sealed scroll to James.

James opened the scroll, using his finger to break the seal, and read it.

'James, I hope this finds you in good health. I have authorized the training of three of my Day Guard and three of Princess Luna's Night Guard. They shall arrive in three weeks. In the mean time, I have sent a detachment of Royal Engineers to build a barracks and training facility to your specifications. Fifteen ponies of this company shall arrive in less than six days. Their point of contact will be Captain Iron Horn. They are also instructed to build a private quarters for yourself. I have pronounced you Commander of the newly created Royal Special Tasks Group and as such have made you a citizen of this fine country. You shall answer to, and take orders from myself and my sister, Princess Luna, only. In addition, I shall be providing you with a monthly stipend of five hundred bits. My blessings upon you and your new command.'

- Princess Celestia

'Damn, that was fast. The brass back home could take a few lessons from her. Says she also made me a citizen apparently. I wonder how that's gonna work out.'

James folded up the parchment and stuck it in his pocket.

"Thank you Spike. I'm heading over to Rarity's real quick. If I miss Twilight and Pinkie, please tell them I'm sorry for being harsh with them. I didn't mean it, and they didn't deserve that."

"No problemo dude."

"Flash, you feeling good enough to get back home?"

"Yeah, I should be good now. The swelling's gone down, thanks to you and Spike."

"Hey Flash, why don't you stop by tomorrow morning. I'll be at Sweet Apple Acres, just ask Applejack or Big Mac where I am if you can't already find me."

"Does this mean you'll teach me how to fight?!"

"Maybe. Just come find me and we'll see."

"Alright!"

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*knock knock knock* James softly knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique. After a moment of silence, he tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he entered.

"Hey, Rarity, I wanted to stop by to--"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, RUNNING OFF AND SCARING US ALL LIKE THAT! WE WERE ALL WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU! NOW WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, MISTER!?"

James was almost thrown backwards by the loudness of the voice. Standing before him was a visibly pissed off Fluttershy and a Rarity wearing red horned rimmed glasses over an expression of total surprise behind her. All around lay strips of fabric and pieces of different outfits. James tried to shake the ringing from his ears. It was almost like being shell shocked.

"Ahhh, ahhh, damn. Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I was a little messed up and needed some alone time. I'm sorry. Next time, could you please not worry so loudly? Damn, most explosions aren't that loud." He muttered that last sentence to himself while still holding his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We just didn't know if you were injured or if you were even coming back, please don't be mad." She was back to her usual subsonic tone.

"It's fine, it's fine. Rarity, are you mad to?" James asked, bracing for another outburst.

"No no, I think we're all cleared up here. On a lighter note, I've completed your new clothes just last night, there is a room in the back where you can try them on."

"Thank you, I will."

James went to the back room she had mentioned, briefly getting startled by a random white cat jumping from out of no where, and saw a neatly folded stack sitting on a table in the corner. He picked up a set and unfolded it, finding a nice red, long sleeve button down shirt with a gray undershirt folded inside. Beneath this was pair of black slacks, almost like dress pants, but more casual. Not bad. He quickly jumped out of his uniform and tried them on, noting that he probably should have washed first. He DID just get back from almost five days in the woods. Needless to say, the clothes fit almost perfectly. They were a little tight in some places, it wasn't as if the talented seamstress had had much practice designing clothes for humans. Still, they were quite comfortable.

He took off the new set of clothes and redressed in his uniform. James bundled the stack up and placed it in his rucksack before returning to the main room. Rarity was on the opposite side now, focused on something, while Fluttershy was frozen in an uncomfortable looking pose, an unfinished dress resting on her form.

Without looking up, Rarity asked, "How do you like them?"

"Love 'em. It's good to have a few extra sets of clothing."

"Yes, and now you don't have to wear that dreadful ensemble all the time."

"Yeah, it can be pretty uncomfortable sometimes. Rarity, do you think you could make another outfit for me? I would pay for this one of course."

"Of course."

"I need a uniform almost exactly like the one I'm wearing. Only instead of these colors," he gestured to the desert camo pattern, "I need it to be in alternating shades of black and green. Maybe even a little brown. Also, I need it made of a durable fabric that can resist wear and tear."

"Ugh, why would you want me to make something so ugly?" Her delicate face showed a slight hint of disgust.

"Please, it's important. I'll also need six other versions of that uniform, but fitted for stallions."

"And how, exactly, would you pay for all this?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

She nodded.

"Seriously, I don't want this going around. That means you too, Sweetie Belle!"

He heard a small 'eep' from the top of the stairs.

"This is for a special task force that your princess is putting together. She asked me to help out."

"You mean I'll be working on Royal commission!?" Her eyes grew wide and a smile appeared on her face.

"Yes, that you're not allowed to talk about."

"Oh, right. Wait, when did you talk to Princess Celestia?"

"That's not important. Well, I need to get going. Thank you again for the clothes Rarity."

"No, thank YOU for the extra business."

James went to leave, but Fluttershy stopped him when she saw two bloody holes in his pants leg.

"James, wait! What about your injury? Doesn't it hurt?"

James threw a smile over his shoulder and lifted the garment up a little to expose the site of his previous injury to show it was healed.

"Nah, I'm good now."

He resumed his step out the door, leaving a rather befuddled yellow pegasus behind him.

*sigh*

Now it was time to head to the farm. James wasn't looking forward to this. He didn't know how the other girls were going to react to him after he had snapped and walked out on them when they had tried to comfort him. It wasn't something he wanted to think about. And if Fluttershy, the quietest person... er, pony he knew was anything to judge by, it was not going to be pleasant.

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He heard it coming before it happened. He was on his way down the dirt road that ran towards the farm when his ears picked up the faint whistling. There was only one pony that could be hurtling towards him at that high velocity. He knew what was about to happen and he deserved it after the way he had treated her. So instead of taking a stance to defend himself, he loosened his muscles, relaxed and removed the rucksack from his shoulders, preparing to take the blow.

*WHUMP*

Something tackled James from behind, sending him into a tumble across the ground. When he came to a stop he was flat on his back and pinned down by an absolutely livid rainbow maned mare staring laser beams at him.

"'Sup."

She responded to him with a smack across his face.

'Fuck, those hooves hurt!'

"Ow."

"What the hay is WRONG with you!?"

"A great many things, Miss Dash."

"I'm not done!" She emphasized this with a hoof to his chest. "What were you thinking taking off like that when we were just trying to help you, when I was trying to help you?" She almost seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Don't you know I- we care about you?"

"Yes, and you all have every right to be upset and I'm sorry. Sometimes I'm just not entirely rational. In my defense, I've never really had good people skills, or pony skills. I guess. Anyway, can you forgive me for talking to you like that? And maybe the running off into the woods as well?"

She huffed, "We'll see."

"Well, at least it's a start. Can I get up now?"

"Fine." She grumbled, moving aside.

James sat up and brushed himself off. Then he picked up his rucksack and cover from where they had fallen. He re-shouldered his pack and dusted off his cap before replacing it on his head.

"Alright. I still have Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie to talk to. Shall we?"

"Fine." She was still upset.

'Three down, three to go. This is shaping up to be quite a day.'

A Return To Some Normalcy

Chapter 12: Return To Some Normalcy

James and Rainbow Dash arrived at the Apple Homestead just after the sun had begun to descend from it's high point in the sky. The place was virtually vacant barring the elderly Granny Smith a rockin' in her rockin' chair upon the porch.

"Hello there Rainbow Dash, and welcome back from yer trip Jimmers! How can I help y'all?"

"Afternoon Granny, I was just wondering where the girls are. I heard they were here."

"Ohhhh yes! Mah darlin' Applejack and a few o' her friends are out harvestin' th' last of th' zap apples with Macintosh. Should be back any time now."

"Thanks Granny Smith, have a good day now!"

"That I will Jumsen!"

James and the sky blue weather pony set off in the direction of the old barn. James still didn't know what a 'zap apple' was or where they were growing at, so he thought it best to go wash up a bit before seeing the rest of the group. He hadn't had a proper wash in nearly a week and it would be best if he changed into some cleaner, more intact clothing. The two soon reached the barn without even a glimpse of the three other mares. James entered and looked around. His note and radio hadn't been touched and everything else was exactly as he left it. James peeked into the pile of hay blocks where he had stashed his rifle and grenades and was relieved to find it all still there, undisturbed. He pulled himself up into the loft, Rainbow flying up after him.

"So, whatcha gonna do until AJ, Twi and Pinkie get back?" Dash inquired.

"Well first I gotta wash up and get on some clean clothes."

"No argument there." Said Dash, sniffing the air.

"Yeeaah. I also have to do some maintenance on my equipment. Gotta make sure it keeps working."

"Ooo, can I help?"

"Sorry, you can watch if you want, but you can't mess with this stuff without knowing how it works."

"Fine." She crossed her forelegs, ears flattened against the top of her head.

'What is this, a catch phrase or something?'

James descended to the ground, grabbed an empty bucket and filled it up with the pump outside. He returned to the interior of the barn, clambered back up to the loft and extracted the first set of clothes Rarity had fabricated for him from his pack.

"Hey Dash, is it alright if you stepped out for a minute?"

"Why?"

"I'm about to de-stinkafy myself, if you get my meaning."

"So?"

"So, if the females here are anything like the ones back in my world then you were probably told by Applejack why I need some privacy."

She started to blush. "Heh heh, oh yeah. Uh, I'll just wait outside then." She flashed an awkward smile before bolting out the small doors set in the side of the loft.

James still was not too trusting and dragged the bucket of water under the loft's overhang before undressing himself after returning to the barn's dirt floor. He quickly scrubbed himself clean and, after waiting a few moments to dry, slipped into the new clothes that had been made for him. Lastly he donned clean socks and his boots when he heard a knock at the door.

James pulled the door open and was greeted with another hoof across his face.

"What in tarnation were ya gettin' at, actin' like that!?"

Behind Applejack were Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Twilight had an expression of anger crossed with concern that matched Applejack's. Pinkie, of course, was bouncing in place with a smile stretched across her muzzle. She just never seemed to run out of energy.

James rubbed his cheek, having just been slapped for the second time that day. He looked to the two behind the cowpony

"If either of you are going to hit me as well, please do it now and get it over with."

"Yer talkin' ta me, not them. Now, ya got anythin' ya'd like ta say?"

"Yes, yes, I apologize for the way I acted, it was wrong. Just please understand that I don't cope to well with doing the things that you witnessed me do."

"Then why would you do those things?" Twilight countered. Pinkie had stopped bouncing now.

"Because it were necessary."

"Why would something so horrible be necessary?" The purple librarian continued.

"Because if I didn't, then one or more of you could have been injured or killed!" He was beginning to get a little annoyed at having to explain his violent behavior and his left hand was starting to twitch. "I'm not proud of what I did, but if the alternative to doing nothing was one of you getting hurt, then I'm thankful I did! You think I like causing pain and destruction they way I did? I'm sorry I was mean to you. I'm sorry I ran away from you like that. But please, don't bring my motives into question."

All three mares were a bit intimidated by his outburst and it showed.

"Shit. I'm sorry. Again. You didn't deserve that."

"It's ok James, we still love ya!" Pinkie's comment snapped her two friends out of it.

"Please don't be mad James, we didn't mean it that way. We're just worried." Twilight explained.

"Yeah, it's not so often that one of our friends just runs of inta th' forest like that. We were a little scared fer ya is all." Applejack added.

James looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was about half way to the horizon.

*sigh* "Yeah, I understand. Listen. Please just give me a day, come back tomorrow if you want. I just need to depressurize before I say anything else stupid. Is that alright?"

"Take all the time ya need sugarcube. I'll be at th' house if'n ya need anythin' tho'."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

The three ponies turned and left. James turned around and went back inside. He grasped the bucket and dumped the dirty water outside, filling it up with more clean water from the pump after. He took it back inside and scrubbed clean his uniform as best he could before hanging it up to dry on the rafters. James studied the holes in the pants leg. He would have to borrow some needles and thread from Rarity and sew it up himself. Easy day.

Finally he jumped back up to the loft. James took out the other two sets of clothes and placed them neatly in a corner. Then he took out his knife, pistol and NVGs. The knife he ran through a sharpener he always carried in his rucksack. When he was done, he carefully slid it back into it's sheath. Next he grabbed his sidearm. James removed the magazine and locked the slide back, ejecting the round currently chambered in the process. He inserted the round back into the mag and turned his attention back to his firearm. With practiced skill he field stripped the weapon and laid it's components out before himself. James got to work on running a small wire brush through the barrel when he heard something land on the frame of the loft's opening.

"Didn't think you were coming back." He said to Dash without breaking from his task.

"I heard your argument and didn't want to bother you."

"Don't worry, I'm fairly calm now."

"Do you mind if I stay and watch what you're doing?"

"Not at all."

James returned to silence as Rainbow Dash watched him clean and oil the large caliber pistol.

Finally, Dash plucked up some courage. "Why are you taking that apart and cleaning it?"

James finished scrubbing a particularly stubborn spot of grime before answering her, "Because this is one of my tools. Only, it's not like other tools. If for some reason this should fail or jam when I need it, it could mean the difference between life and death. So I make sure it's in top working condition whenever I get the chance."

He swiftly ran a soft cloth over all the parts to remove any excess oil. Then in a blur of hands and metal, he reassemble the firearm in such speed as to impress even the athletic mare sitting beside him. James racked the slide back, made sure the hammer was cocked, deactivated the safety and pointed the end of the barrel at the floorboards between his feet before pulling the trigger, resulting in a satisfying click as the hammer struck the firing pin.

"Woah, how'd ya do that? That thing must've had like, a hundred parts!"

"Lots of practice, my feathery friend."

The tired warrior shoved the magazine back into the well, noting that he only had a few shots left in it as he did so. He would swap it out with a full one tomorrow. Pity that it could only hold seven rounds. James had experimented with using a mag modified to hold more rounds in the past, but he didn't like the way the extra weight off set the 1911's balance.

He stowed the gun under the blanket of his jury rigged bedding and brought his eyes to Dash.

"So, we good? I know you were pretty well pissed earlier and I want to make sure we're cool."

A smirk beset her face and she gave him a bit of a sultry look. "Yeah, we're cool. You act a little loopy sometimes, but you make up for it in awesomeness." She raised a hoof and James bumped it with his fist. "Just make sure you don't leave like that again and I won't have to kick your flank again."

"Alright, I get it. I don't think I could take another beating like that again anyway!"

They both had a brief laugh at their little exchange.

James checked out the loft doors again and saw the sun had set and it was getting dark. He hadn't slept in almost two days, and while he had gone a lot longer without sleep, he still wanted to do some catching up. He yawned.

"Sorry to kick you out here, but I need to get some sleep Dash. I didn't get enough last night."

"Aww, really?"

"Yeah, sorry. I wish I could stay up, but tonight it ain't gonna happen."

"Fine, but I'm coming back to visit soon."

"Fine by me. You know where I can be found."

"Ha, I got wings, remember? I can find you anywhere."

They both chuckled a little more. Rainbow Dash stared at James for a moment, making him a bit uncomfortable before she gave him a playful punch to the shoulder and flew out the opening in the wall.

'She's a bit peculiar, but fun. Wish I met more girls like her back home.'

His own comment caught him off guard for a moment, but he shrugged it off and lay down on his straw mattress, kicking his boots off. James lay there for a time, staring up a the bright moon and stars floating through the sky. He still marveled at their sparkling beauty. Gradually, his heartbeat slowed and his eyelids grew heavy. His mind briefly ran through the day's events before his eyes finally slammed shut and he knew naught but darkness.

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*thump* *thump* *Thump* *Thump* *THUMP* *THUMP*

He sat on the deck of the helicopter, one leg hanging loosely out the starboard side door, enjoying the view of the small city as is rolled by. Rocka was sitting closer to the middle, strapped into one of the seats. They were returning from a simple babysitting assignment, providing a sniper overwatch for a meeting between the so called 'politicians' of this country and top brass from his military. Easy day. Him and Rocka had just been chillin' out on the roof of a highrise for two days. Nothing had happened. Nothing would have, anybody would have been absolutely nuts to attack and area under the protection of almost a full battalion of marines.

"I don't get how you can do that man, you gonna fall out, crazy ass." Rocka yelled at him. The bulky Brooklyn native has terrified of heights and any transport that had to do with them.

"You worry too much dude, I'm clipped in." He pointed to the tether attached to the back of his tac vest, securing him to the helo.

"Whatever Ghengis, you always were a crazy cracker ass."

"And don't you forge--"

Bullets started slamming into the fuselage, tearing through the body and sending paint chips everywhere.

"FUCK, FUCK! I'M HIT, IT HIT MY LEG!" The co-pilot was screaming from the front. The helicopter started to spin.

"GHENGIS, HOLD ON!"

He tried to, but before he could grab a hold of anything, he slipped out the door. The tether suddenly snapped taught keeping him from going any further, centrifugal force the only thing stopping him from flying into the blades above. Quickly he spun his body around and grabbed the life line and started pulling himself hand over hand back to the cabin.

The pilot finally got the bird under control, halting it's spin, but they were still taking hostile fire. Grasping Rocka's outstretched hand, he hauled himself back inside and brought up his rifle, searching for the source. He spotted a muzzle flash on a rooftop not far away. The sharpshooter sighted up on the target. What he saw surprised and dismayed him.

On the rooftop was a boy that couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen years old. The kid had an AK-47, barrel resting on a horizontal pipe, using broken bipod legs to brace against it. The kid was just finishing reloading.

He didn't know if he could do this. The kid wasn't even old enough to be out of highschool. What should he--

The hostile resumed firing, some of the rounds impacting uncomfortably close. Out of reflex, he pulled the trigger.

"NO!"

James shot up, whipping his pistol out and spinning around, looking for a threat. His heart was racing once again, breaths ragged, his sidearm was shaking in his grip and he couldn't think strait. After a moment, he recognized his surroundings and calmed down.

'It's ok, it's ok,' He thought to himself while taking deep breaths, 'you're not in the sandbox anymore, you're not there anymore.'

James paced uneasily around the loft, head in his hands.

'My hair is getting too long, I need to cut it.'

He had a razor he had been using to shave, but of course that wouldn't be practical. He was, however, essentially living in a tool shed. So he jumped down to the ground an rummaged through the various items stowed on some shelves at one side of the room. Soon enough, he had a pair of pruning shears in his hand. They were old and a little rusty, but they were still sharp. He found a cracked mirror on the floor, under the shelves. It was too dark to see still so he retrieved his iPod to use as a light before starting.

When he finished, his hair was a bit uneven in places, but not in a way that stood out. He felt better, but he was still tense. Nothing like an early morning run to relieve some stress. James swapped out his civilian attire for a pair of his uniform pants and a black undershirt. He strapped on his boots and strode out into the chill night air. James started out at a jog and gradually accelerated into well paced run. The lone human ran along the edge of the orchard that bordered the forest, stopping every so often to do pull-ups on a tree branch or push-ups off the ground. He kept this up for about twenty minutes and turned around, repeating his actions on the way back. The sun was rising in the east now, soft pink and orange hues gradually overtaking the darkness of the sky. When James arrived at his humble abode, he had worked up quite a sweat.

Now he felt a lot better. James prepared another bucket of clean water and rinsed the sweat and grime from his body. Then he swapped out his sweaty uniform for the one hanging from the rafters. It was still damp, but manageable.

The sun was almost completely up now. The warm rays were streaming through the loft's doors. Today was going to be a bright and sunny day, he could feel it. Perfect for what he had in store.

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Flash flew down to the orchard and landed in front of the old barn Big Mac had directed him to. The young stallion trotted up to one of the large doors and knocked several time. He was excited for today, maybe after he did this, he could get his old job back. The green eyed colt waited impatiently for the human to answer. Just when he was about to leave and go look for the man, something wrapped around one of his hind legs and flipped him on his back. Flash looked up to see James standing over him with a wicked smile.

"First lesson: situational awareness. Pay attention to your environment or you'll end up on your ass. Now get up and start running, we got a lot of work to do."

Getting Started

Chapter 13: Getting Started

"82... 83... 84... 85... 86........ c'mon, push it out, just do four more. 87... 88...... just two more, 89... 90."

Flash collapsed in the dirt. It was the most push-ups he had ever done at one time, but the demon standing next to him wanted more.

"Ninety in almost three minutes, a new personal best."

"James, why am I just exercising? I thought you were going to teach me to fight."

"First off, I'm not teaching you to fight, I'm teaching you to defend yourself. Only idiots and D-Bags undergo this training for the purpose of fighting. Secondly, before I teach you anything, we need to build your endurance, stamina and strength up. Otherwise, anything I DO teach you will be next to useless. Now get up and run around this section of trees again."

The stallion got up to comply.

The ruthless trainer called after him, "And if I catch you using your wings again, I'm tying them so tightly to your back you won't feel 'em for a week!"

After his charge left, James grabbed a bucket from the barn and filled it up at the pump. Then, carrying the bucket full of water back to the starting point with him, he waited for his student to come back. After about ten minutes he spotted the pegasus galloping down the home stretch.

James called out as he got closer, "Alright, come on over and take a break."

The silver maned stallion put in an extra burst of speed to reach the clear sparkling water.

"Drink it slow, we still have a couple more things to do after this." He said, stopping the tired pony from quaffing down too much water at once.

James let his pupil rest for fifteen minutes, then it was back to the grind.

"Ok, times up. Do fifty more push-ups and then time for more squats."

"Aaaaawwwwww......."

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James had Flash on this routine for the next few days. He kept the pony repeating it until James was no longer needed. On the fourth day of training, they received a visitor.

"Are you Mr. James Kaughn?" An official looking unicorn pony stallion asked. He was wearing a basic working uniform, a patch on the shoulder featured an image of a crossed wrench and hammer with a small sun superimposed over them where they met his coat was a dull red, but his mane was a stark neon blue.

"Yep, that's me. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Lieutenant Lectric Sparks and I'm here with the Royal Corps of Engineers."

"Alright, cool. Where is the rest of your team?"

"They are unloading our gear and equipment at the train station with Captain Iron Horn. I have been instructed to find you and return to my unit with your first set of orders." He finished with a smart salute.

"Straight to the point, I like that. By the way, I'm an enlisted man, rendering a salute to me is unnecessary."

"Sir, we were informed that you held the rank of Commander in the newly formed Royal Special Tasks Group."

'Shit, I thought that was just a title. I just jumped up twelve pay grades, I hope I get paid like it too.'

"Very well. Then consider this my first order as an officer. You and the rest of your unit are no longer required to salute me with the exception of formal military events or when I'm wearing whatever the formal military dress uniform. Just to keep up appearances."

"Sir?"

"That's an order, please relay it to your Captain."

"Yes sir!"

As the engineer pony turned to leave, he almost saluted the freshly promoted human, but caught himself midway, just galloping back the way he came instead.

'Good guy. Can follow unconventional orders.'

"Hey Flash!"

"Yeah?" He was almost finished with his squats.

"Go ahead and run another lap, then call it a day. I got some business to take care of."

"Thank Celestia." The dark stallion muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said thanks for the rest-ia!" The pony said over his shoulder, galloping away.

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James arrived at the station and spotted the engineers loading their equipment into some carts. The group consisted mainly of unicorn and earth ponies, but there were also a few pegasi. He looked around and picked out a serious looking unicorn he guessed was Captain Iron Horn.

"Captain! How was your trip?"

"Sir! We are just about finished with loading everything up. All we need now is a site to build at."

"Sounds good."

James waited patiently while the small detachment finished up. He spoke to the Captain when they did.

"Alright, I think I got the perfect place, follow me and I'll tell you what I have in mind."

He led the caravan far away from town, close to the forest. The site he had picked he remembered seeing from the sky when Twilight first brought him here in her balloon. It was far enough away from Ponyville that noise wouldn't be a problem yet close enough that it would be only a thirty minute or so walk back. The entire area was almost entirely blocked from view with trees. On the way there, James described the training facility to the chief engineer.

"I need a barracks to house at least six ponies. The berthing area will be all one room with an adjoining bathroom. The bathroom only needs three toilets and sinks, also small shower room that can only fit three. A short distance away, I need a briefing room large enough for ten. In between both these buildings, I want a large circular patch of sand or loose dirt. Behind the buildings, closer to the edge of the forest, I want a watchtower at least four stories tall. How soon can you get all that put up?"

"Should only take a week and a half, working every day, at least eight hours a day."

"That's fast, nice. Now, tell me what you know about obstacle courses......."

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It was five days into construction and everything was coming together nicely. Flash's cousin Ditzy had even dropped by the barn to deliver James' monthly stipend. He took out two hundred, stashed the rest and went off to visit Rarity.

James knocked on the door of the flashy fashion palace.

"Who is it?"

"Rarity, it's James." The door glowed light blue and swung open to reveal the shop's owner.

"James! How nice to see you, what can I help you with?"

"I came to check up on the uniforms I asked for."

"Oh yes! They're all nearly finished. I'm just putting the finishing touches on the last one. Your's was actually completed yesterday."

"Nice. I also came by because I need to design a unit patch to put on the sleeve."

"Of course, please come in."

"Also, how much is all this costing?"

"Let's see, cost of fabric, working time, throw in the seven patches and you're looking at about one hundred and ninety-two bits." She informed him with a smile.

'Damn, good guesstimate on my part.'

"Perfect. Here's two-hundred, keep the change."

"Oh my, you are my first client to pay before seeing the finished product!"

"I'm absolutely confident in the quality of your work."

The designer pony blushed a little and batted her eye lashes, "You may be a bit rough around the edges, but you sure do know how to compliment a lady. Now, let us talk about your patch's design....."

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James continued Flash's training, checking up on the construction every day. The obstacle course had added a few extra days onto the completion time, but it would be finished in time for his recruits' arrival.

Flash had just completed his second thirty minute run for the day. He huffed and puffed back to the barn entrance where water was waiting for him. James had made him go through his workout at break neck speed, having the pony finish the entire routine before noon. James walked outside to greet his student.

"Take a ten minute rest, then come inside."

The human re-entered the old barn while Flash caught his breath. When the ten minutes were up, he went inside. James was sitting cross legged on the floor opposite the doors.

"Come sit down across from me."

Flash complied, taking his place and plopping down on his haunches.

"Why do you fight?"

"What?"

"The question is simple, and so is the answer. Why do you fight?"

"Uh... to help others I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well I--"

"I can't teach someone who can only guess his motives. Now, why do you fight?"

Flash thought for a moment. He thought back to the time in the alley a couple weeks ago. He thought about his old job.

"So that others don't have to. I'd rather deal with the pain and make sure it doesn't happen again than see somepony else get hurt."

James was glad to hear this. It meant that Flash would use the knowledge he was about to receive for others and not for himself.

"Good. Now we will begin your training."

"What!? Then what was all that running and exercising for?"

"Like I explained earlier, that was to get you in shape to start your training. Moving on, I don't know too much about pony physiology, but we're both mammals so it should be pretty similar. The only other thing is that you can't stand on two legs for very long without toppling over, so I will have to heavily modify almost everything to fit your natural movements. This will not be fun."

James guided Flash through some of the more simpler forms of striking and blocking, modified for a quadruped. It was slow going, but the stallion managed to get it down.

"Good. Now practice that for two days and come back to me."

"You got it!"

James left his pupil to his own devices and went to see Captain Iron Horn. After a nice long walk, he arrived at the compound. The engineers were all taking a break under a tent. As James approached, all fifteen stood and snapped to attention.

"At ease, at ease. Iron Horn, how's progress?"

"Sir, we've completed all structural and plumbing projects. By the end of tomorrow, all the electrical wiring will be completed and you will have free reign of the facility."

"Outstanding. Captain, I have two more requests to make."

"Sir, just name the order and we will do our best to follow."

"Alright then. Firstly, I would like Lieutenant Sparks to stay on board as our resident engineer. He has shown exceptional knowledge in his craft and would be a great addition to my staff. Especially if we were to need something designed and built in a hurry."

Captain Iron Horn eyed the human with a bit of contempt. "Are you looking for some kind of janitor? If so, you can find plenty of qualified ponies in town nearby."

"On the contrary. I need a skilled engineer that can design and construct buildings and defensive barriers quickly and effectively, as well as help build and maintain complex machinery. It just so happens that Lieutenant Weld fits the bill."

The engineer's CO contemplated this for a moment before answering. "All right, he's yours. But if you use him for anything like unclogging toilets, you'll have me to contend with."

"Oh don't you worry about that. I have much bigger things planned. Please have him meet me at my residence tomorrow morning."

"I'll make sure he does. And what was your second request, sir?"

"Simple, tomorrow you will gather your company and meet me outside my current residence just before sundown."

"May I ask why sir?"

"No, you may not. Just ensure that all the loose ends are tied up here. After that, and my last request there, your detachment is finished with this project."

"One last question sir?"

"Shoot."

"What about your private quarters? In all the planning, you haven't mentioned a single syllable about it."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll make my own way. You and your company are here to build for your brothers in arms, not for me."

The engineer pony nearly cracked a smile, but not quite. "That's good to hear sir. Not many commanders in the Royal Army would say that."

"Eh, you can drop the formalities around here Captain, just call me James."

The smile on the engineer's muzzle was now almost noticeable. "Then you can call me Ira." The stallion replied.

"Nice to finally meet you Ira."

=================================================

The next day, James walked into Sugarcube Corner looking for Pinkie Pie. The Cakes informed him that she was busy with an order, but would be out shortly. To pass the time, he bought a cupcake to snack on. It was one of the best he ever had, moist and fluffy. The frosting was a little too sugary for his taste, but still, it was delicious. He was told it was one of Pinkie's own recipes.

James had just finished a second helping when Pinkie burst excitedly out of the kitchen.

"Hiya Jimmy James, what can I do for ya?"

"I'd like to organize a small party. It only needs to be big enough for about thirty to forty people. Nothing fancy."

"Ooooo.... what's this for?"

"It's for some ponies that just completed a project for me. I want to show some gratitude before they leave."

"Okie dokie, when do you want to schedule the event?"

"It needs to happen tonight. Everything has to be ready by sundown."

=================================================

All the wagons were packed and the Royal Corps of Engineers were ready to leave. They had done a beautiful job with everything. All the structures were solidly built and the plumbing had no leaks. It was a fine facility. They had even built bed frames in the barracks. James just had to find mattresses and figure out the food situation. He had to feed six pony guards for almost three or four months. But he would worry about that tomorrow.

"Ira."

"Sir?"

"Have your detachment prep the wagons for departure at the station and then form them up at my current address, Lieutenant Spark knows where."

"Sir, we're leaving tonight, aren't we?"

"Nope, I had your itinerary changed earlier, you leave tomorrow. I just need one more thing from you all."

"You got it."

=================================================

James walked up to his place, eager to see what the hard partying mare had in store for the Corps. It was evening and the engineers would arrive soon. He opened the door and inspected the interior. There were some tables with drinks and some food, but it was bare of any decorations. He heard some shuffling from the loft.

"Pinkie, you up there?"

"Yessir indeedy!"

"It looks great in here. My guests will have a good time with this. I'm a little surprised it isn't more flashy, you feeling all right?"

"Don't worry, I'm taking care of the decorations right now!"

Suddenly, the barrel of a cannon appeared over the edge of the loft.

"Pinkie, what is that?!"

"It's my patented party cannon!"

"YOUR GOING TO FIRE A CANNON IN HERE!?"

"Yep!" She responded as casually as if she were talking about taking a nice stroll through the park. Then she lit the fuse, all while displaying a large and slightly disturbing smile.

'Holy shit, I gotta get outta here, she's freaking nuts!'

James launched himself out the barn door and flattened himself on the ground, arms over his head.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Came the voice of Ira from in front of him. James looked up.

"Oh, Ira, glad you're here. I see the rest of your team is here as well. You might want to brace yourselves."

"Why--

BOOM

A loud concussion emanated from the barn, catching all fifteen ponies off guard and sending them scattering for cover.

James stood up and brushed himself off. Just then, Twilight showed up with Rarity and Applejack.

"Hello James. I see you've gotten acquainted with the party cannon." The three mares giggled a little

"Yeah, you could say that. Is it gonna be totally destroyed in there?"

Rarity answered him, "Don't worry darling, it actually works quite well. Although we're not entirely sure how."

"It's jus' Pinkie bein' Pinkie," Applejack added, "it takes some getting used ta, but ya will."

"But enough about that, who are all these handsome stallions here tonight?" Rarity asked, batting her eyes in the engineers' direction. They had since come out of their hiding places, still a bit wary.

"They're part of the Royal Corps of Engineers. The past two weeks, they've been helping me out with my project. They are leaving tomorrow, so I thought I'd throw them a little 'thank you' party before they do. Captain Iron Horn! Come on over here and meet a few of my friends. This is Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Applejack. You will meet Pinkie Pie inside."

The officer came forward and bowed to them. "It's an honor to finally meet you all."

"Ira, what's goin' on here?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

The engineer pony's eyes went wide in disbelief. "James, you're friends with some of the most famous ponies in all of Equestria! How could you not know?"

"Twilight, what's he saying?"

"Oh, it's no big deal. We just may have..... helped out the Princesses a couple times here and there." She said quickly.

"Uh... wow. Heh, I've never hung out with celebrities before."

"James, please don't treat us like celebrities, it's kinda annoyin'." Applejack said bluntly.

"Oh, but it is such a glamorous lifestyle." Rarity pouted.

"Don't worry, I wont. It'd be a little awkward, huh? Alright, let's get the party started here, It's a celebration!"

The group went inside and put on some beats. Gradually, more guests arrived to partake in the festivities. In time, Rainbow Dash and even Fluttershy came to have some fun. Flash showed up soon after with a couple of kegs strapped to his sides.

Flash wanted to teach James a pegasus drinking game that was eerily close to Beirut, except you had to shoot with the wing and the cups were spaced more widely apart and in the shape of lightning bolts. James of course didn't have wings, but made due with his hands. He also had had plenty of experience in beer pong, much to Flash's frustration.

"How are you even good at this?" James had already made several shots and Flash was getting tipsy.

"Beginner's luck I guess." James lied with a slight smirk.

"No way! I don't know how, but you're cheating!"

"If it makes you feel better, I'll chug the rest of my cups."

"Ha! You couldn't do that, that's like, nine beers!"

"He he, watch me."

James started pounding down the brews. Flash stared at him wide eyed until he finished.

"Ha, told ya."

"No way."

"Yup. I think I'm good on beer now, Imma go grab some cider, you want some?"

"Sure."

James retrieved a couple of mugs and sat down on the old blocks of hay where Flash came to join him. James gave his friend a mug and held his own up.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

They tapped their mugs together and each took a sip. The two relaxed for a moment before Flash turned to his pal.

"He dude, you're getting some looks."

"What do you mean?"

"Every once in a while, I catch that blue weather pony sneakin' peeks at you."

"Alright."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You gonna go talk to her?"

"I talk to her all the time. That's Rainbow Dash, she's one of my friends."

"Heh, looks to me like she wants a little more than that!" He said, lightly elbowing James in the ribs a few times.

Truth of the matter was, James had noticed this. Often, he'd be looking around the room for something or somepony and he would see her looking in his direction, but she would always quickly look away when he caught her. She'd been acting that way all evening. Only, he didn't know how to handle it exactly. He had had more than a few girlfriends back home, but he wasn't exactly the lady killer type. There was also the being of a whole different species thing. Just then, Ira trotted up and interrupted his thoughts.

"Thanks for party James, it really lifted up my engineers' morale."

"I'm glad it did, you guys deserved it after putting in all that hard work. Everything was completed with extremely high quality."

"It should've been. I hoof picked the entire team."

"Is Lieutenant Sparks aware of his new assignment?"

"Yes, he just needs a place to stay."

"He could stay with me!" Flash offered. "You could too James. The place is a little rundown, but it's pretty big and a hay of a lot better than living in a barn."

James was a bit surprised. But he could think of no better options.

"Ok, we'll head over there tomorrow. After your exercise routine."

"Darn, I just can't escape that."

"No you can't."

"Well, now that's been settled, I must gather my company and leave. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Alright Ira, happy trails. I'll be sure to request your team personally if anything else comes up."

"Please do. They get paid extra for special projects."

The Captain mustered up his company and led them back into town where they were staying. This left just James, Flash, Sparks, the girls and a few ponies from town at the barn. Since the 'guests of honor' had left, the party started to wind down.

"So Sparks, welcome to the team."

"If you don't mind me asking sir..."

"You're part of my team now. James is fine."

"Ok, James... if you don't mind me asking, what will I be doing? Your training facility is already complete."

"Tomorrow morning I need you to report here at 0500 with Flash, your teammate."

"Teammate?"

"Yes. It sounds confusing now, but I will explain later. For now, you will be following a routine with Flash. I also have some other plans for you."

"Understood. So what's the routine?"

Flash gave the unicorn a knowing look, "Oh, you're in for it."

=================================================

All the other townsponies had left by now, as it was getting late. James estimated the time to be close to midnight. It was about time he turned in. He sent Flash and Sparks back to Flash's place. When Twilight and her friends were heading out the door, James began to extinguish the lanterns that were hung up in preparation for his sleep. He was about to snuff out the last one when he felt a presence behind him and turned around. Everypony had left, but Rainbow Dash was still here.

"Hey Dash, you need something?" James grabbed and opened a left over bottle of beer and took a seat.

"I just wanted to... well I..."

"Take your time, I'm a patient person." He took a sip of his beer. It was an ale, a bit fruity with a pinch of bitter. Perfect for the currently sweltering weather.

Closed her eyes and exhaled, composing herself. Then she looked back to the reclining human.

"I wanted to know if you maybe, wanted to hang out some more... sometime."

James arched an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well... we could just, you know, hang out. Or you could come visit Cloudsdale! Yeah, I could show you the weather factory like I did everyone else! I even know a couple of good restaurants there!"

James considered this for a moment. He had a lot of responsibilities here now, he also had the six other ponies he needed to train arriving in just a few short weeks.

"Sounds like a ton of fun. When would we go?"

"Really!? Aw, cool! We could go in a few more days when I have time off from work. We also need Twilight to do a cloud walking spell."

"Cloud walking spell?"

"Yeah, silly. Only pegasi can walk on clouds and you don't have wings, remember?"

"Wait, Cloudsdale is really made of clouds?"

"Duh. How else would it float in the sky?"

This was going to be interesting. James had been at high altitudes while performing HALO and HAHO jumps, he had fallen straight through layers of clouds. Walking on them was going to be an entirely new experience.

"Right... well, I'm down. Come get me when you're ready to take me. I don't really need to be here for another couple of weeks."

"All right! This is gonna be SO AWESOME!"

The rainbow maned pegasus flew strait out the barn at high speed, kicking up some dust as she left.

'What have I gotten myself into.'

The weary human extinguished the last lantern and retreated to his loft, carrying his beer with him. James popped his headphones into his ears and scrolled through the music on his iPod. He finally landed on some Jimi Hendrix, starting with 'Hey Joe'. James lay back on his makeshift hay mattress and finished his beer while enjoying some truly classic rock. The moon was full and bathed the land before him in a luminous silver light. After a time, he closed his eyes and finally submerged into a gratefully dreamless sleep.

Old Enemy, New Friend

Chapter 14: Old Enemy, New Friend

'Why the hay did I agree to this?'

The youthful Lieutenant was busy doing push-ups next to his only teammate. The now clearly cruel human had been drilling them both all morning.

"C'mon, you can give me more than that! What, they don't do any heavy lifting in the Engineers' Corps?"

It was starting to get on the unicorn's nerves. James had been running Sparks through the same routine as Flash's since the wee hours of the morning. It was now almost noon and the two legged creature didn't look like he was letting up.

"Alright, do two laps around the course and report back to me."

The two ponies followed through and returned to their positions before their master.

"Outstanding. Flash, you're getting much faster. Sparks, it's a good thing you're already in good shape. This next part is a bit unorthodox, but I think I need to get you both on the same page as soon as possible. Now follow me."

James spent the next hour showing Sparks the basic forms he had taught Flash a few days ago. When he finished he broke them for lunch.

"Good. Now you both go ahead and get something to eat. I have just a couple of things left before I let you both go for the day. Be back in here in forty-five minutes."

"Yes sir!" They both exclaimed in unison.

After they had returned, James had Sparks demonstrate the basic blocking and striking forms and stances he had taught him.

"Good, now that you've gotten that down, you will both spar each other. You are not allowed to use wings or magic. Understood?"

"Yeah, but why am I learning to fight? I'm just an engineer."

"Because on this team everyone needs to learn how to handle any situation. If something were to happen where you needed to defend yourself, you won't be a liability to the team. You understand now?"

"Affirmative."

"Outstanding, now back to work."

James entered the barn and left the two to their devices. He went up to his loft and pulled out two rounds, one .45 caliber and a 5.56 mm. He then swung back down and went over to the shelves of tools, took a few that he needed and shifted over to a nearby worktable. Living in a barn had it's perks. Using the tools, he deconstructed both rounds of ammunition; removing the bullets, the powder and the percussion cap at the base of the shell. He organized all the components neatly together, being careful not to mix them up. James took a quick break after this and sat down with an apple. After he finished, he went back out side to check on his two students.

They were performing their blocks, attacks and counters almost flawlessly. They were only basic forms, but that was impressive after only a day and a half with it.

"Alright, break it up. You're both good for today. You guys go get some water, then I want Flash to wait out here and Sparks to come meet me inside."

Both followed the instructions. After getting his drink, Sparks entered the barn and found the human.

"James, what's this for?"

"I need to show you something, but before I do, you need to promise to me that you will never divulge any of this information to living being with out my permission."

The engineer pony was a little confused by the need for such secrecy, but he was intrigued. "Ok, I promise."

"Outstanding, now follow me."

James lead Sparks to the worktable and showed him the components of the ammunition.

"Are you able to replicate any of this? This is the finished product all put together, except instead of a metal slug, I want to cap it with a wax covering."

The curious pony studied all the object and chemicals set before him, sometimes using magic to do so.

"I think I can, but not with a spell, it's too complex. I'll need to order raw materials from Canterlot."

"Do whatever you need to do."

James had a mischievous smile on his face. With any luck, he might actually be able to give his recruits a proper Hell Week.

=================================================

"C'mon, it's just a little further down the road!"

James and Sparks were following Flash to his home. James had packed up all his gear quickly, eagerly anticipating living in a building with indoor plumbing. The trio rounded a bend to see.... an old two story house that looked like it was on the verge of collapse. It sat on a small hill and even featured a front porch.

"Holy shit, you live here?"

"You are correct."

"And it hasn't fallen on you yet?"

"Hey! It may look bad, but it's actually pretty sturdy and everything inside works."

"How'd you get this?"

"It was cheap on the market, I sunk almost all my savings into it."

"We definitely need to fix this up if we're gonna live here, Sparks you down?"

*sigh* "You know it."

They followed the pegasus into his home, expecting the worst. What awaited them inside shocked them.

"How does that even make sense?"

"Definitely not what I expected."

They looked around at the well maintained living room. There was a couch in front a coffee table and larger table that sat four on the far end of the room next to some windows. A small archway led to the kitchen and a short distance away were two other doors. One was closed, but the other was open and had a small bathroom complete with toilet, sink and shower. James walked into the kitchen and found it stocked with an icebox, stove/oven, a sink and a small table.

"Flash, how the hell did you afford this?"

"I told you, I used most of my savings."

"How long had you been saving up?"

"Since I was little."

"Wow."

Sparks called from back in the living room, "Hey, what's the sleeping arrangement here?"

"Well, I got my room down here. There's two empty rooms upstairs, take your pick."

"Your cousin doesn't live with you?"

"Ditzy? Nah, she's got her own place in town."

James went to the upstairs and encountered two closed doors right next to each other. He opened both of them and looked inside. They were both identical in structure, both had a closet adjacent to the door and windows in the two outside walls allowing the resident to enjoy a fantastic view of the forest. The one on the right had a better view of town while the one on the left had a better view of the forest. Being more of an outdoorsy guy, naturally James took the left room. He tossed his pack in and stashed his rifle in a corner of the closet and closed the closet door. He then returned downstairs.

"I picked the one on the left."

"I guess I get the other one then."

"By the way Sparks, where's your stuff at?"

"It's getting shipped here, should only be a few days."

"Cool, then I just need to worry about me. Flash, you know any good places in town to get stuff for my room?"

"Sure, I'll take you there tomorrow."

=================================================

After their daily routine, James went to town with Flash and got himself a twin sized mattress, a small desk and a beanbag chair. Because c'mon, BEANBAG CHAIR. He and Flash borrowed a small wagon from Applejack to get it all back. It was a bit of a walk to the house from town, probably one of the reasons why it was cheap. James didn't have a bed frame and just tossed the mattress in the corner of the room directly opposite the door. He set the desk in the corner where the two windows met and the beanbag chair in front of it. He also bought some hangers for his clothes.

Everything now nice and organized, he descended to the first floor. Sparks and Flash were sitting in the living room with a few beers. For his room, Sparks was just using a sleeping bag Flash loaned him until his stuff arrived.

Flash tossed James one of the beers. "You all set up there?"

"Yep, all good. So what are we doing for dinner?"

"We decided to go out for dinner tonight, sound good to you?"

"Sure, sounds good."

They finished their beers and went into town, stopping at one of the more inexpensive eateries that operated there. His two pony friends had their pick of the menu, but James had to settle for rice and steamed vegetables again. The fact that where ever he went he only had a choice of two or three items was getting annoying, but there wasn't much he could do about it, so James just dealt with it. Fortunately, the place also served beer.

James and his two friends chatted over a couple of rounds of drinks. When the sun started to set, they decided to pay the check and leave. On the way out, they bumped into Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. They exchanged some small talk with the three mares and had to calm Pinkie down when she heard about the new living arrangements. She wanted to throw a house party, but what with all the training and tomorrow being a work day, they talked her down to a smaller get together at a later date.

Both ponies and the human returned to their abode within due time and retired to their respective rooms. James grabbed the pillow and extra bed sheets Flash gave him earlier and made his bed. It felt good to finally be able to sleep in an actual bed now. In his own room in a house with friends no less. The fact that he could possibly no longer return to his old life didn't bother him as much as had anymore. He still hadn't had much interaction with the inhabitants of this world outside of the six kind mares that had first taken him in, their military and leadership and of course the two friends he was now living with, and as such was still largely ignorant of their culture, but it was something he could work on.

James sat down at his new desk and pulled out his iPod and a quill and parchment. As the effervescent moon rose slowly outside his window he began to draw out the training schedule for the six guards ponies that were set to arrive in just a few days. He needed to train them fast while bringing them up to an acceptable level of readiness. SEAL training usually took almost four years to fully complete, James had to condense that in to months and weeks. It wasn't going to be easy.

=================================================

James was walking back from town with Flash. James went to pick up his uniform from Rarity while the black pegasus accompanying him just popped into town for some groceries. They were about half way back to the house on a stretch of road the ran along the edge of part of the forest. James got a strange feeling, as if they were being watched. He thought that maybe he was being paranoid when something hard and jagged struck the back of his skull. It didn't knock him out, but it did send him to the ground on his hands and knees. James heard struggling beside him as he tried to shake the pain away and get his vision back to normal. He began to sit up when he was struck from behind again, this time with a hoof.

"Not so tough now are you?"

Shit, he recognized that voice.

James finally got his vision to focus and looked around. He could feel a warm liquid streaking down his back. He and Flash were surrounded by five stallions. Lightning stood before him while two other ponies held knives to both James and Flash's necks. Another two stood nearby, one of them James recognized as the earth pony he had spared during their first encounter. The navy blue pony with a dark brown mane looked nervous, like he didn't want to be a part of this.

"Look at you both, so helpless. Helpless at MY hoof. I run this town and no two legged freak from nowhere and his weak ass friend aren't going to stop ME."

"Helpless at your hoof, huh? Then who're all these guys? Looks like you didn't do shit."

"SHUT UP!" Lighting punched James in the face. Hard. He tasted blood in his mouth. Some splattered into the dirt from the back of his head.

"Thanks, I did have a little itch on my nose." The smart assed comment earned him another punch to the gut.

"James! Cut it out, he's just gonna hurt you more!" Flash yelled at him, concerned for his friend's health.

"But I haven't had such a gentle massage like this in years! And those are expensive!" He started to chuckle.

Lightning spun around and bucked James in his side, sending him sprawling in the dirt near the two other gang ponies. The pony with the knife rushed over and retook his position before James could get up.

Lighting pointed at the two other ponies James landed near. "You! Make sure he doesn't move while I teach a lesson to his friend." He ordered. He then turned his attention to the silver maned pegasus.

James had to think fast. He tried talking to one of his captors, the blue pony that appeared to be having some serious second thoughts about his situation.

"Hey buddy, you don't look like you're enjoying this, why do you follow this creep?" One of his guard gave him a smack in the back of his head.

"Quiet!"

The blue pony responded, "Because I don't have anywhere else to go! Don't talk, or they'll hurt you!"

"C'mon man, you're better than this, aren't ya?" He got another smack.

"I said quiet!"

"I don't have any choice!" The navy blue pony replied.

"What if I gave you one?"

"How could you possibly do that?"

"I told you to stop talking!" Another smack in the head.

"That's getting really annoying you know. How about you add a little variety to your technique?"

"How about this!?" The gang pony wound up to deliver a mighty blow, but was stopped when James twisted and punched him right in the jewels. The warrior twisted back around and used the momentum to send a punch to his other guard's neck. Both went to the ground. James picked up the knife.

"HEY DICKHEAD! You might want to leave now!"

Lightning turned from a battered Flash. "What! Really!? You, what are you doing standing there!? Stop him!"

"I think he can think for himself, what do you say dude?"

The navy blue pony shook his head no, looking absolutely terrified.

"Fine then! We'll just do it this way!" Lightning grabbed the knife from the pony next to him and held it to Flash. "Stay where you are or your friend gets some extra holes!"

James suddenly got very serious. A beating was one thing, but now the life of his friend and teammate was being threatened. He didn't take those kinds of things too well. His hands started to shake slightly, thoughts going back to his time spent in the desert. His vision started blur, focusing only one the one individual responsible for this.

"Don't do anything you might instantly regret." James warned in a low and menacing tone. His left eye began to twitch slightly.

"Oh, and you're so big, bad and tough way over there. What the hay are you gonna do about it?"

"I'm warning you," he couldn't stop thinking about seeing teammates, brothers in arms getting shot, injured, stabbed, often right in front of him. Rage began to build. He shifted the position of the blade in his hand, preparing to strike. "You really don't want to do this."

"What, this?" He gave Flash a stab to the shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from the pegasus.

James snapped, pent up rage releasing all at once. He bent his arm back flicked it forward, launching the knife at the remaining stooge. It buried itself almost to the hilt in his right breast, puncturing the lung. Immediately James powered forward at Lightning and rugby tackled him to the ground. He ripped the knife from the stunned pony, tossing it away and then began a savage attack on stallion that had so foolishly hurt his friend. He delivered punch after punch to the fiend's face and head.

"YOU. WILL. NOT. EVER. HURT. MY. FRIENDS." He punctuated each word with a punch. His knuckles started to bleed.

Suddenly two pairs of hooves wrapped around the crazed human, pulling him back. It was Flash and the earth pony.

"James! Stop! You'll kill him!"

"THAT'S THE FUCKING IDEA!"

James broke free of his restraints and renewed his assault. Anger and pain rushed out of him in a torrent of violence.

"I'm sorry James, but I have to do this!" Flash gave his frenzied friend a swift blow to the back of the head, ending the attack and this current period of consciousness for James.

=================================================

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

*BEEP*

'Wha-, where am I? Is that my alarm? Is this the ship?'

These were his first thoughts as James slowly regained consciousness. His face hurt and a slight headache pestered his cranium. James opened his eyes. He was in a hospital bed. The needle of an IV drip was inserted into his arm and an EKG was identified as the source of the beeping. His room was empty save for the equipment, a potted plant in the corner and a chair that had his clothing folded neatly in the seat. He got up out of bed and removed the IV. He was about to rip off the sensors for the EKG, but he realized that would make a noise so he unplugged it before doing so. The spot where the IV had been started to bleed so he found some gauze and wrapped it around the site a few times, securing it with a knot. Next, he picked up his clothes and started to change out of his hospital gown. The clothes were dirty, had small tears in a few places and were stained with his blood, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed.

James cracked the door open and peered out. There was almost nobody around so he just walked out of there. He made it about half way down the hall when Flash rounded the corner at the intersection with the navy blue pony. He had bandages wrapped around one shoulder, but otherwise looked unhurt. They were talking, but Flash stopped mid sentence when he spotted his friend. Quickly, the two galloped up to him.

"James! What are you doing up! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"Just through the night, it's almost noon now. James... you almost killed those two...."

"Shit, what happened?" He could only remember up to where he had disabled the first two gangsters. Everything after that was obscured in a red haze. Flash described the last evening's events for his friend.

"..... so now both are in the hospital's jail ward, Lightning is still unconscious with a breathing tube down his throat and the other guy is waiting for surgery on his lung. The doctors said they should recover. As soon as they do, the guard detachment stationed here will take them into custody."

"Do the guard need anything from me?"

"No, myself and this guy took care of it."

The blue pony introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Feather Touch. Thanks for taking them out, I never really liked runnin' with them, but I have no idea what I'm going to do now."

James looked at Flash, "Can he stay on the couch for now?"

"Sure, but why?"

"Feather Touch, I'm James Kaughn and I have a proposition for you...."

Training Day

Chapter 15: Training Day

The hospital staff had tried to stop James and Flash from leaving so soon, but reluctantly let them go when a guard informed them of the two's status' in the Royal Guard. After they made the walk back to the house -- which was thankfully uneventful -- James interrogated Feather Touch about his past a little bit.

"I grew up with just my dad, mom wasn't ever around. He was a locksmith back in Manehattan, one of the best. He taught me everything he knew. He said that one day he hoped I could take over the business and when I got my cutie mark, it looked like a sure thing." And indeed, his cutie mark was that of a torque wrench crossed with a snake rake. "But he went on a sketchy job one day that turned out to be some robbers trying to gain easy access to some rich guys house. When pops found out, he threatened to turn them all in. It turned out that these burglars worked for one of the mafia gangs that operated there. One day, he just didn't come home."

"Damn. So how did you get to be working for the same type of scum?"

"Well, word got out about the job he tried to stop, but everyone assumed he was involved with the burglars. Ponies stopped coming to the shop and eventually the bank took it back. I tried to get jobs elsewhere, but once they found out I was his son, I was rejected. I didn't know what else I could do."

"Remember when I said I could give you a choice? Well, here it is: you can go back to what you were doing, try to strike out on your own again. Alternatively, you can come join my team. Flash informed me that the guard paid no attention to you besides getting a statement. That means you have no arrests on the record, which means that you are VERY good at what you do. I need skill like that. The training will be hard, it will be a very painful stretch of time in your life, but if you complete it you can be part of something good. It will be honest work for a greater cause. So, what do you think?"

Feather Touch thought for a moment and stared out one of the windows. After a moment he turned back to the human.

"I'll do it."

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James looked himself over in the mirror. His face was a bit cut up in places and he had a few bruises, but thankfully that was all. His nose did hurt still, but it hadn't been broken. His jaw had taken a good hit, but the worst injury was his right side where he had gotten bucked. A large purple and yellow bruise covered a circular area about a foot in diameter. Miraculously, no ribs had been broken, but if he twisted or bent in certain ways, pain shot up his side. He would have to take it easy for a few days.

Other than that, he looked pretty good. Clean shaven, hair shorn close to his scalp in a regulation high and tight. The most impressive feature however, was the pressed dark camouflage uniform he was currently wearing. Rarity had done and amazing job on his uniform and had even thrown in a matching boonie hat that was modeled after his other one. His sleeves were rolled up just above his elbow and the cuffs of his pants were bloused smartly around the tops of his boots. He was ready.

James stepped out of the head and inspected the barracks room one more time. It now had seven beds, he had helped Sparks construct it to accommodate Feather Touch. Now all he had to do was greet the recruits and set them on schedule. They were due to arrive soon. He left the building and went to the briefing room. It now had a chalk board and several small desks. In the back was a smaller room that would serve as his on site office. Being an officer certainly had it's perks.

James had finally solved the meal situation by striking a deal with Applejack. Her farm would supply food every day for a monthly fee. They'd negotiated the price out so that the farm mare could hire an extra hoof for the job, leaving her free to continue running her business. He had even asked Fluttershy to remain on call, should any of his recruits need emergency medical attention during their ordeal. The hospital was quite a ways from the training grounds and her cottage was far closer.

Soon, he heard the unmistakable sound of many hooves striking the ground increasing in volume. When it sounded like they were almost in front of the building, James strode out to meet them. Sparks was leading the seven ponies in a small two columned formation. It consisted of two earth, unicorn and pegasi in armor correlating to their respective guard units. The Day Guard wore shiny golden armor with Trojan tops while the Night Guard wore armor in matching design, only with a dark purple color. James also noticed that the Day Guard ponies all had white coats and the Night Guard were all a dark charcoal color. Also, the Night Guard pegasus had the wings of a bat rather than the feathered ones of a regular pegasus. He wondered at that for a second, but decided to ask about it later. Bringing up the rear was Feather Touch.

"Welcome to your first day of training. I am Commander Kaughn and I will be you CO and instructor. You will be training along side three other ponies hand picked by me. Two of them have already started their training and will be leading you in PT every morning. You will show them the same respect that you will show me in these exercises. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. One of them is the one that brought you all here this morning, Lieutenant Sparks." The rusty colored unicorn came to attention and gave a quick salute. "The other is... where the hell did he go.... FLASH, FRONT AND CENTER!" The black pegasus flapped down from the watch tower were he had been watching and landed next to James. "This is Emrald Flash, so far he has the most experience out of all of you with my training so if you have questions or need help with anything, don't hesitate to approach him. The third is the earth pony standing behind you. His name is Feather Touch and he has zero experience with both this training and the military in general. That said, I ask you all to be patient and help him out where he struggles. There are very few of you, so no one can drop out. You're here until you pass. When you do graduate, you get to be a proud bearer of this patch."

He pointed to a circular patch sewn on to his left shoulder. It featured a phoenix, wings spread, clutching a crossed sword and spear. Arching over the fiery bird were the letters RSTG in bold. He and Rarity had based the design off of the emblem used be the SEALs.

"Now, do any one of you have any questions for me?"

The Night Guard pegasus raised a hoof.

"Yes?"

"How did that failure of a guard get in this program?"

"Excuse me?"

"That pegasus, Emrald Flash, was recently kicked out of the Night Guard a few months ago."

James looked at Flash and saw the embarrassed look on the pony's face.

"Well, he is one of the ones I hand picked, personally. He is in this program because he has the potential and drive. You wouldn't question somepony that Princess Luna or Princess Celestia hoof picked, would you?"

"Correct, but neither did, you did sir."

"I was hoof picked by Celestia to recruit and train this force, so if you have that much of a problem with it, you can write a letter to the princess. Now, enough of this time wasting. Sparks, have them all stow their armor, they won't need it any more, then get them settled in their new home. Flash, in my office."

James left the group to carry out his orders and ushered Flash into his back room office. He closed the door behind him and sat at the desk with Flash on the other side, looking worried.

"So what happened?"

"I, well.... I..."

"Take it slow, you're not in trouble here, I just want to know what happened."

The stallion took a deep breath and began, "I was a part of the Night Guard not too long ago. I didn't get in trouble with the law or anything, but one night I really screwed up. There was a break in at a shop in downtown Canterlot. I was on patrol and spotted it first. Instead of calling it in and getting back up, I just went in, trying to play the hero. Turned out there was a family living in the room above as they were the owners. When the intruders caught a sight of me, they panicked and tried to take one of their sons hostage. When they found out that I was the only guard there, they ganged up on me and beat me up pretty badly. Before they left, they robbed the family and set the place on fire. They got away before any of the other patrols showed up. When the investigation was over, I was discharged for incompetence."

"James sat there and stared a moment, making the silver maned pony even more nervous. Finally the human broke the silence.

"None of the family got hurt?"

"No, just some belongings taken and the massive property damage, but their insurance took care of it."

"Meh."

"Meh?"

"Meh."

"That's all?"

"What did you expect?"

"Well I expected... everypony else...."

"What happened, happened. You're here now, just go with it. I'm not gonna hold anything against ya."

"Wow, thanks."

"Just one question."

"What is it."

"If you were in the Night Guard, why don't you have the same coat and wings as the others?"

"Oh, that? It's just an illusion spell they put on the armor. Same with the Day Guard. You'll see when you see them with their armor off."

"Oh, that's it then."

"You worry about the weirdest things."

"It's the weird things that get you in the end."

"Can I ask you something now?"

"Shoot."

"Are you doing ok? I'm mean, you kind of gave me a scare the other day with what you did."

James was caught off guard by the question. He had hoped this wouldn't come up.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"No, you can't shrug it off this time. I'm your friend James. You can tell me if there's something wrong."

James got up to leave, "I really don't want--"

"You're not leaving until you tell me."

"You know you can't force me to stay and fighting me would be a bad idea."

"Yeah, but I also know that you won't hurt your friends."

James took a deep breath, "Fine. But you can't repeat this to anybody."

"You have my word."

"Well, I've been having these dreams....."

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For the next few weeks the new recruits were tortured with excessive exercise routines. Every morning before the sun even came up, the warrior-turned-drill-instructor would drag his two housemates to the training grounds, rouse the rest of the contingency and punish them with hours of running, push-ups, pull-ups, lifting, and running. They did A LOT of running. Afternoons were spent in the briefing room discussing tactics and strategies. Soon, they came to the topic James wished he never again had to bring up.

"There are numerous ways to stop a threat. You can beat them into submission, you can tie them up, you can disable their ability to fight, but the most permanent solution is of course: death of your target." He pointed to the chalkboard, which had two outlines upon it. One of a pony and one of a human. He went to the pony drawing first. "The most effective way to neutralize the threat it to damage or destroy a vital component of their anatomy. You can puncture or cut the main carotid arteries here in the neck, destroy the heart or lungs in the chest, take out the liver here or the kidneys here." He circled each location as he spoke. "On bipedal creatures such as myself, the lay out is very similar." He marked the same spots on the two legged drawing. "Any questions?"

One of the Day Guard ponies raised a hoof. "Sir, why are we learning about weak spots on humans?"

"Good question. That takes us to the next item." He took out a large piece of parchment that had a detailed picture of one of the creatures he had fought and killed many weeks ago. He had had Sparks create the image magically while he described it. "Because of this." He put it up on the wall next to the chalkboard and secured it with tape. "A group of these creatures ambushed me while I was out in the forest. I've designated them as Lotkin, call sign Lima. From what I experienced during the fight, their physiology is almost identical to mine. However, they are NOT easy to kill. The ones I encountered were skilled warriors. They were also savage, primal, and extremely violent, not to mention cunning. They fight to the last breath, so do not take any chances with them. I'm ordering that no one is authorized to engage them alone. If they are spotted, report their location and wait for back-up. Their kind have been sighted elsewhere, leaving only destruction where ever they are. This unit was created to combat this threat. Now, this concludes this portion of classroom time. Everypony form up outside for your next instruction."

They did as they were told and waited on their instructor as he went around to the back of the building. When he returned he was carrying a cage that held nine pigeons inside. They were a pain in the ass to catch and James hated what he was about to do to them. He had already clipped their wings, now he was going to give them to his recruits.

"These are your new pets. You will name them and care for them. They are unable to fly and you are not allowed to release them until I say so. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

It was an exercise almost all special ops personnel participated in, only with chickens. The purpose was to cause the recruit to form an attachment to a living being with their emotions tied in. One that would eventually be broken...

Each pony picked a pigeon. James took the large cage back around to the back and returned with nine smaller ones and distributed them to his pupils. He hated what he would eventually force them to do, but it was necessary.

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The human sighted down the rifle scope, searching for his prey. The moon served as a ghostly source of illumination for the area. About seventy yards down range was a red flag planted in the soft earth of a forest clearing. The human was concealed in a home made ghillie suit he was laying prone on a small ridge, waiting patiently. Suddenly, he spotted movement in a bush near the flag. He calmly switched his fire selector from safe to semi. He soon could just see a small patch of fur through a tiny opening in a bush. The sniper took aim and slowly squeezed the trigger. A faint snap and a puff of smoke emerged from the barrel of the rifle.

"OW! SON OF A--"

James smiled as his target retreated back to base. It was an exercise in stealth and the objective was to capture the flag without being spotted and shot by the Commander. A few days ago, the supplies Sparks ordered to replicate the ammunition for James' rifle and pistol had arrived. The engineer had successfully recreated the rounds and made several boxes of blanks and FMJs. Then James got an idea and after acquiring some rubber, he had the unicorn make some with rubber bullets and weaker charges. That way who ever he shot would get a nasty sting and probably a welt, but nothing more than that.

That was his seventh victim. The only two left now were one of the unicorn from the Night Guard and Feather. The young earth pony was surprisingly good at eluding detection. James stood up and slung his rifle over his back. He took off the ghillie suit and drew his pistol from it's holster. It was time to get in close. Silently, he made his way towards the flag, sliding in and out of shadows while constantly scanning the area for movement, listening for any sounds that didn't match the natural background noise of the forest. When he had come within thirty yards of the flag, he stopped and listened. For a moment he heard nothing out of the ordinary. Then a twig snapped somewhere off to his right. Then the rustling of leaves, but closer. Thinking quickly, James pulled himself up into the branches of a nearby tree. Soon, the unicorn appeared underneath him, heading towards the flag. The pony stopped at the tree line and looked around suspiciously. Calmly and deliberately, James descended from his perch, careful not to make a sound and alert his quarry. Just when the Guardspony was about to take a chance and make a run for the flag, James slipped and arm around his neck and put a hand over his mouth and pulled him back into the shadows. The stallion struggled in his grasp briefly before giving up when he couldn't get free. James released him and the pony turned to face his attacker. James just smiled at the recruit and made a cutting motion across his neck with and index finger. The recruit got the point and begrudgingly made his way back to the compound. James turned his attention back to the object under his protection.

'Almost done, just one more--'

The flag was gone.

'The hell did it go?'

He hadn't heard a thing and he only had his eyes off it for about fifteen seconds. James went out and searched all around, but it was in vain. There was nothing here. Finding no reason to stick around, he went back to his training center. When he arrived, he found eight tired and grumpy ponies and one smug looking earth pony standing next to the red flag.

"Good job everypony. I may have gotten most of you, but it wasn't easy to do so. Feather, that was outstanding. If it were not for the flag disappearing, I would have thought you weren't even participating. Tell you guys what, you've all been doing such a great job that I'm gonna go ahead and give you all the weekend off. Go have fun, relax and unwind, but don't get into trouble and be sure to be here and ready to go at zero-four-hundred Monday morning. Now go get some sleep, you've earned it."

The group let out a cheer at hearing that and retired to the barracks. James sent Flash and Sparks ahead of him while he grabbed his ghillie suit from the forest. The past month and a half had been difficult and draining, but it would soon be over. James was about to start the next and final phase of training. Then there was Hell Week to look forward to. The human smiled as he remembered his own experience with it. Five days of running, swimming through the freezing surf, working out, doing the obstacle courses, all while the instructors were firing weapons over your head, screaming at you and setting off explosions in your face. They hadn't even been allowed to sleep the whole time. And now he got to subject others through that nightmare. It was going to be interesting.

A Relaxing Day In The Clouds (After A Crazy Night On The Ground)

Chapter 16: A Relaxing Day In The Clouds (After A Crazy Night On The Ground)

James woke up. It was the first time he had been able to sleep in for almost two months. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head and arched his back, eliciting several pops as he did so. A soreness started to creep through his body as it tried to adjust to the slow Friday morning after being pushed hard for so long. Getting up, he pulled on some blue pants and a black long sleeve button down shirt. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and put on his boots, he still didn't have any other footwear.

James went downstairs and out the door, walking in the direction of town. He had couple things he needed to take care of today. He arrived in town a little while later and went straight to Carousel Boutique. He wanted to order a few more uniforms and he had an idea for a special unit patch. Also a special idea that was a little more unconventional, but he still wanted to try. Afterwards, he stopped by the library to ask Spike to send one of his reports on the progress of training to Princess Celestia. He had been sending them by regular post at first when Twilight delivered a letter to him from the Princess explaining Spikes little ability. It still never ceased to amaze him as the small purple dragon breathed fire upon the scroll, the ashes streaming out the window and on their way. Those important errands complete, he decided to go get some lunch at one of the restaurants in town. He was half way there when a certain pegasus dropped from the sky and alighted beside him.

"Hiya James. Long time, no see."

"Hey Dash. Yeah, we've been pretty busy."

"What're you up to now?"

"I was just about to go get some lunch."

"Mind if I join ya?"

"Not at all."

They continued on to a small eatery not far from the boutique. The hostess took them to a table and left the menus to attend to some other patrons. When she came back, James ordered the steamed vegetables again while Dash got herself a daisy sandwich.

"So James, you got any plans this weekend?"

"No. We actually have the weekend off, I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do."

The weather mare's eyes lit up at this information, "then you should come visit Cloudsdale with me! You promised, remember?"

He did indeed remember. He was still a bit apprehensive about it, what with the city apparently being so high up in the sky and cloud walking spell or whatever, but he wasn't about to go back on his word.

"Yes, I remember. So, when would you like to go."

"Aw yeah, this is gonna be so awesome! Meet me at Twilight's tomorrow morning and we can go from there."

"Alright then, I'll see you then."

They finished their meals and paid the check. James started to head back home, but Dash took off, having to get back to work. When the human arrived back home, his housemates were up and awake, taking full advantage of the day off to laze about and relax. James went upstairs and changed into his camo pants and a black undershirt before stepping out the back door. He began to jog, gradually accelerating into a full run. Every once in a while, he would stop to do push-ups or crunches before getting back up and resuming his run. After about thirty minutes of this he returned to the house. He walked up to his room and grabbed a towel and some fresh clothes. He jumped in the showered and gave himself a quick wash before drying off and getting dressed. When he emerged, Sparks was waiting for him with two beers, levitating one over to James.

"Figured we could all use a drink after all that."

"Thanks," he took a gulp of the cold liquid, "I needed that."

Flash was lounging on the couch and got up, "Hey, I got an idea." He got up and went into his room, when he came back out, he had a bottle of rum. He placed it on the coffee table. "Why don't we do some shots to celebrate getting through all that."

"Rum, huh?"

James loved rum. It was easily one of his all time favorite drinks.

"If we're gonna do rum, we should make it interesting. How about a drinking game?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"You got any playing cards?"

James wanted to teach them how to play a game called Pusoy Dos. It was a philippino card game that played poker hands, but it wasn't poker. Instead of each player getting only two cards, everyone started with thirteen. The objective was to play different hands in an attempt to beat another player's hand and get rid of all your cards. First one to do so was the winner. James had picked it up while hanging out with some Navy Chiefs while waiting on a frigate for a mission to get the green light. It was fun and easily converted to a drinking game.

"Alright, this game plays fast, so every three losses, take a shot. Every loss, just drink your beer."

He dealt the cards and had them all play a few practice rounds after explaining all the hands and rules. When the other two felt like they had the hang of it, they started to play for real. James of course won the first six rounds. But soon, Sparks started giving him a run for his money. Before he knew it, the unicorn was winning almost every round. Flash won a few here and there, but he was really starting to get drunk. James was really starting to get tipsy. Both were several shots in and they had drunk a lot of beer. Sparks was the only one still relatively sober. Suddenly, they were out of liquor.

"James!" Flash slurred.

"Flash!" James slurred back.

"The rum's gone!"

"The rum's gone? Why is the rum gone? We need to get more! Where can we get more?"

"I know where there's a liquor store in town!"

"Guys, I don't think that's such a good idea, it's starting to get dark and--"

"No time, Sparky! TO THE LIQUOR STORE!"

Before Sparks could stop his friends, they bolted out the front door. Without breaking a stride, James jumped onto Flash's back and smacked his rump.

"HYAA!!"

The pegasus shot off towards the town, half galloping half flying, a reddish-brown unicorn struggled to keep up behind them.

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His eyes snapped open. The first thing that hit him was the pounding headache. The next thing he noticed was there was no roof above him, just open sky. It was early morning, the sun just starting to rise. James felt as if he was laying on a rough surface and it was chilly. He lifted his head and was startled to see that he was on a roof, shirtless with his pants half way down his legs.

'The hell?'

He stood up, pulled his pants on and looked around to get his bearings. Fortunately, he was on HIS roof. How he got up there was a mystery. He had no idea how he was getting down. He went to the front edge of the house and looked down. Below him was the covering for the front porch. It was still a large drop, but it wouldn't be as bad as dropping straight to the ground. James closed his eyes and braced himself for what he was about to do. He hoped the overhang was strong enough to support his weight. Then, he counted to three mentally and jumped. When he impacted the covering, it actually held. For a second. Then the boards gave way and sent him falling to the deck beneath.

'Aw, fuck that hurt.'

He got up and brushed himself off. Fortunately his only injuries were small scratches on his chest, back and arms and some small splinters here and there. The front door suddenly swung open to reveal a very annoyed unicorn.

"Oh c'mon, we just fixed that last week!"

"Morning to you too."

"At least you're awake. Do you know how much trouble you caused last night?"

"I was actually hoping you could tell me."

"Of course you don't remember. Well, come on inside, I got coffee brewing."

"Oh thank god."

They went inside and sat at the kitchen table.

"So, what happened?"

"You two crazy idiots got wasted last night."

"Well no shit, but what happened, I need details."

"After you two finished of the first bottle, you two ran off to town to get another bottle of rum. You got THREE. I chased you all over town for hours. Eventually, you both managed to elude me some how around midnight. I searched for you guys for about two more hours before I gave up and went home."

"Oh yeah, where is Flash?"

"He's in his room, sleeping off his hangover with one of the guests from last night."

"Guests?"

"Yeah guests. When I got back here, the house was full of ponies and alcohol! By the way, you need to return that sign."

"What sign?"

Sparks took him into the living room and pointed a foreleg to the small dining table. It was pushed into the corner. On top of it and resting against the wall was the 'Welcome To Ponyville' sign, only somepony had crossed out the 'Pony' in 'Ponyville' and replaced it with the word 'Party'.

"Ha, where'd we get that?"

"Some of the ponies I talked to last night said that you and Flash ripped it out of the ground, changed it, went to the bars and lead everypony back to the house."

"Ok, that's pretty funny. How did I get on the roof though?"

"A group of mares made a bet with you and Flash. Which you guys lost. The condition was that you cad to get up and do a striptease in front of everypony. Flash dragged you up onto the roof."

"Nice."

"Yeah, you were about half way through your routine when you tripped over your pants while trying to get them off. You went out cold."

"Not nice."

"Flash didn't think he could get you back down so he let you sleep."

"Well, that solves that mystery. Wait, what time is it?"

"Almost nine, why?"

"Shit, shit, shit. I'm gonna be late."

James rushed upstairs in a panic and grabbed his last set of clean clothes. Quickly, he stripped down and jumped in the shower, rushing to get clean. He jumped back out, dried himself off, brushed his teeth to get the taste of old alcohol out of his mouth and got dressed and was about to run outside when Sparks stepped in front of him.

"What about the sign?"

James ran back upstairs and snatched up a small pouch of bits. He ran back down and tossed it on the coffee table, running out the door without stopping.

"Flash'll take care of it!" He yelled over his shoulder and dashed off without another word.

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James sprinted almost the entire way into town. He should have been at the library fifteen minutes ago. By the time he finally arrived, he was dismayed to see a slightly annoyed Rainbow Dash sitting out front waiting for him.

"Sorry *pant* I was *pant* late *pant* I gotta sit down."

He sat down and attempted to catch his breath. He didn't think he'd ever run that fast for that long before.

"It's cool. Twilight's still prepping our transportation. I almost didn't think you were gonna make it after last night, party boy." She said, smirking.

James had about regained his breath now, "What do you mean? Were you there!?"

"Was I there!? You guys practically brought half the town back to your place, of course I was there! In fact, I saw everything that happened." She added mischievously.

James' eyes went wide. He could feel his face and ears start to burn.

Dash started to laugh a little, "Ha ha ha, you were actually pretty good. There's a place in Canterlot called Clyde's 'N' Dale's that would probably hire ya." She was almost laughing hysterically now.

James was always quick with a comeback. "So I take it that you liked what you saw?"

It was Dash's turn to be embarrassed now. She turned her head away from him in an attempt to hide her blush.

"Th-that's not what I meant. Though you don't look bad for a 'human'."

James chuckled a bit at his success. Just then, Twilight came from around the back.

"Hey James. Dash, everything's ready for... I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"No!" The two said in unison.

Twilight giggled a little bit, "All right. Any way, the balloon is ready for you guys."

"Is that how we're getting there? Thanks Twilight, that's very generous of you. I promise I'll make sure nothing happens to it."

"I'm sure you will. Now I just need to do one last thing."

"That spell of yours?"

"Correct. Just close your eyes and stand still. This will only take a second."

James did as he was told and stood up straight. The magenta unicorn's horn started to glow with a purple-ish aura. Soon, the same aura enveloped the human. James stiffened a little as he felt a strange dry oiliness slide over his skin. Suddenly his vision flashed white as an icy tingliness shot through his bones. The feeling receded and he opened his eyes. The muscular man checked himself over.

'I don't look or feel different.'

"Did it work?"

"I'm entirely confident it did."

"Still... Dash, could you please go get a cloud for me? I kinda want to test it out. No offence Twilight."

"None taken."

Dash returned with a cloud about the size of the human. It hovered just off the ground. Curiously, James reached out to touch it. This time, instead of his hand passing through it, he was met with some resistance. Now more confident, he went ahead and jumped on top of it. It felt like walking on an air mattress covered in downe feathers. Now just experimenting, James jumped up again, this time belly flopping onto the soft surface. He landed with a muffled *pumf*.

"If you're done enjoying yourself, we really need to get going." Dash stated, amused with his antics.

"Heh, sorry. I can understand why you got a house made of this stuff. If I fell asleep on this, I might never wake up."

"Ok you two. I have a few things I need to get done. Have fun and see you soon." Twilight opened her door and trotted inside while James and Dash went around to the back of the library. Sure enough, the balloon was already inflated and ready to go, small flames flickering in the burners.

"How far is it to Cloudsdale from here?"

"It's about half way to Canterlot."

"Are you gonna pull the balloon all the way there like the last time?"

"Nah, once we get to a certain altitude there's a stream of air that should carry us most of the way there."

"Cool."

James climbed into the basket, Dash jumping in after him. He grasped the lever and gave the burners a couple of short blasts.

"You ready to go?"

"Hurry up already!"

"He he he, Alright."

James gave the lever a strong pull, sending a large blast of fire into the balloon's inner chamber. The super heated air soon lifted the duo up into the bright blue sky.

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Most of the ride to Cloudsdale was spent in awkward silence. Rainbow Dash tried several time to jumpstart a conversation with small talk, but James was never one for such things not being much of a talker himself, so it never really got off the ground. Soon, a white spot could be seen up ahead. Then it grew. It grew and it grew until James could pick out individual buildings, then details and finally many pegasi zipping about in their day to day routines.

"It's beautiful."

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It really was an entire city floating high above the earth. Dash jumped out and grasped the edge of the basket to guide it in. Then she started to point out land marks.

"Over there is the weather factory, where we create much of Equestria's weather," she indicated a large warehouse type building. Above it, ferocious looking thunder clouds hung. Attached to the side was what appeared to be a smokestack, except instead of cinders and ash, a ribbon of rainbow flowed out the top. "Over there is the Colosseum," she pointed at a large stadium topped with bright yellow flags, "and we're about to land in the downtown area."

One the architecture was beautiful and flowing, as something made from clouds should be. There was just one peculiar thin James had noticed. Much of the buildings matched the Greek style from his own earth. Large, stately columns adorned almost every structure.

"Hey Dash, how long have the buildings been built like this?"

"Umm.... since I can remember. I think longer. Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

Dash maneuvered the large balloon into a wide area sat a short distance from the shops. She set it down, the basket resting on the cloud layer. This intrigued James a little.

'Eh, Twilight must've put the same spell on the the basket.'

James was suddenly very aware of just how high off the ground he was. He was a little nervous as he tentatively climbed out the basket. At the last second, his reflexes kicked in and the rest of his body tried to go spread eagled in preparation to lower his airspeed as he fell. In this case however, it only resulted in a face plant. The rainbow maned pegasus in front of him erupted into laughter at the sight.

He lifted his head up, "Yeah yeah, laugh it up."

"Hahaha, sorry. So what do you want to do first?"

"Hmm, maybe we could--" he was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach. He hadn't even eaten breakfast this morning.

"I think your belly's got the right idea, I'm kinda hungry too. Ooh! I know! I'll take you to my favorite place!"

She led him down a wide 'street' with many little shops and cafés on each side. Eventually, she brought him to a trendy little venue called 'Stratos'. The waitress sat them at a table out back with an outstanding view of the horizon. As she left two menus on the table, she shot an odd glance at James. Whatever, he was used to it now. The menu consisted of a lot of the same things they had in Ponyville. There were some different dishes and recipes, but of course almost all of them were inedible for humans. So James ended up once again ordering a mixture of vegetables. It was getting old. At least here, they had soy sauce on the tables. Dash ordered a hay and oats salad. When their food finally arrived, the server left a small bottle filled with a swirling multicolored liquid.

"What's this stuff?" James asked, picking up the bottle to inspect it.

"That's a special hot sauce they make here. They actually use a small amount of rainbow in the recipe. I don't think you'll like it though, it's pretty spicy."

"I'm always open to new experiences." He opened the cap and poured some over his vegetables.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Dash cautioned.

James picked up a chunk of vegetable covered in the strange sauce and popped it in his mouth. It was spicy, VERY spicy, he almost couldn't handle it. Fortunately, he was able to keep his cool, so to speak, through years of putting various hot sauces on many different military meals from MREs to ships' galleys. They were often not of the best quality.

"Wow, you didn't even shed a tear, I'm impressed. Even Pinkie couldn't handle it when she tried a lick. Although that WAS pure rainbow then."

"You mean I did something Pinkie couldn't? Oh now you're just trying to flatter me."

They both shared a short laugh at the comment.

After finishing, James paid for both their meals as thanks to Dash for bringing him to her city and they left to go to their next event. Though before they did, James bought a few bottles of the special hot sauce from the restaurant. Both because he liked it and he had a few prank ideas in mind.

Rainbow Dash suggested the head to the Colosseum to catch a game of what she said was called 'Airball'. To James it looked like a cross between soccer and rugby. The players passed around a ball made of condensed clouds and had to send it through an oval shaped goal to score. The crowd around them roared as one pegasus tried to complete this objective, but was tackled to the side by a pony of the opposing team. James found it quite enjoyable to watch.

After the game it was about time to head back home. It was late in the afternoon and James didn't know exactly when the spell Twilight put on him was supposed to wear off. He didn't want to stay long enough to find out. After James clambered into the basket, the sky blue pegasus maneuvered the balloon into another stream of air flowing in roughly the direction of Ponyville and jumped in next to her friend. Now it was just a forty-five minute ride back to town. James took out his iPod.

"What's that?"

"This? Oh, this is is a music player."

"That plays music? But it's so small."

"Here, you put this in your ear." He placed one of the earbuds in here ear.

"Now, I've heard that you like rock music," he said while pulling up the genre on his screen, "slide your hoof down the surface to pick a song. When you find one you want to listen to, give it a light tap."

He waited as she went through the individual rock songs he had on file. He was pleased when she stopped on 'Welcome To The Jungle' by Guns N' Roses.

"Ha, nice choice. An oldie, but a goodie."

They sat and listened for a moment.

"This rocks! Do you have any more of this stuff?"

"A ton."

"Can I borrow this?"

"Sure, just don't break it. It's the only one I have."

"You got it! Ya know, you're pretty cool to hangout with."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, but I'm still about twenty percent cooler."

James chuckled, "Ha ha, whatever you say Dash."

For the meantime, James put his playlist on for rock'n'roll. For the rest of the trip, the just sat there. Listening to music and enjoying the hues of pink, orange and red colors the setting sun splashed upon the layers of clouds as if it were a painting made just for the two of them.

=================================================

When he finally walked up the steps and into the house James was tired. It had been a long, but enjoyable day. Dash had wanted to hangout some more, but it was dark now and James hadn't slept much the night before. He looked over to the dining table to see that the sign was gone and the table had been moved back to it's original position. Both his housemates seemed to be out, so he just showered and went upstairs to his room.

James sat at his desk for a moment before going to his closet and pulling out his rucksack. It was still slightly beat up, but he had since cut off the remaining tatters of the pockets the C4 had been in. For the life of him, he still couldn't figure how he wasn't a dried up pile of goop in the sand somewhere right now. He reached into the main pocket and retrieved the revolver he had rescued from the forest. Here was his last link to his own world. The gun his former team leader had owned and cherished. James took out the cleaning kit and got to work scrubbing off all the dirt, grime and filth that had accumulated on and in it. He then oiled and polished it. The .357 revolver gleamed in the low light of his room. Reflections of light and of himself flashed and glinted across the scroll work that had been meticulously engraved into the barrel and chamber piece.

James sat there, admiring it. He wondered what his old team was up to now. They had probably gone back and searched for his body. Of course they wouldn't find it. Eventually he would be presumed dead. He wondered if his parents would even bother to show up. They certainly weren't getting any money. James had willed a small percentage of the money from his life insurance to his teammates, the rest would go to the Navy & Marine Corps Relief Society.

It felt strange knowing that somewhere, an empty coffin was being lowered into the ground in front of a headstone with his name on it. James shook his head and put the thought aside. He needed to sleep. Tomorrow he was going to take it easy. The next couple weeks were going to be physically as well as emotionally draining.

Hellbent Graduation

Chapter 17: Hellbent Graduation

James suddenly sat up, twisted and punched the wall next to him leaving a fist sized hole. Beads of sweat were running down his face. His breathing was short and ragged and his heart was jackhammering against his ribs. The moon out the window was beginning to set. He threw off the covers and went down to the bathroom. James turned on the faucet at the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. He stood there, hands gripping the sides of the sink, trying to calm himself down.

'Why. Why now? It's been so long since...'

After almost three months without a nightmare, tonight he was visited by the same disturbing images. Explosions, gunfire, blood, missing limbs, the stench of death. James looked down, expecting the blood from his dream to still be stained on the skin of his hands. When he looked back up, in the mirror was one of those creatures from the old castle, the ones they now called Lotkin, staring back at him. Only instead of the usually grisly visage, a face that resembled his own stared back into James' eyes. He reacted without thinking and shattered the reflective surface with a strike, pulling his bloodied fist away with a few shards sticking out of it.

'Dammit.'

He carefully pulled the broken slivers of glass from his knuckles then rinsed his hand in the sink and wrapped his hand with some gauze he had found under the sink. He heard a door nearby open and the sound of hooves on a wood floor made it's way towards him.

"James, is that you? Everything ok?"

"Fine! I'm fine." He hid his injured hand behind his back.

Flash appeared in the doorway, "Was it another one of those dreams? What happened to the mirror?"

"Sorry, I'll go get a replacement in the morning. We got any beer left? I could use one."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go grab a couple."

While Flash went into the kitchen, James lifted up his hand and flexed it a few times. It hurt and blood was starting to seep through the bandage, but it wasn't broken. He picked up all the other shards of glass on the floor and deposited them in the small trash can next to the toilet and went to join his friend. Flash was now sitting at the dining table, a couple of cold ones sitting already opened on the surface. As James walked over, he tried to conceal his injury.

"Dude, you don't have to hide that, I saw the blood in the sink."

"Shit, I'm really sorry about that."

"What happened?"

"I saw something that spooked me and I just kinda reacted."

"No worries. You wanna talk about it?"

James sat down and took a sip of his beer. "No, this time I'd rather not."

"Ok then, just remember, me and Sparks, we're here for you."

"Yeah, thanks."

"So how did your date go?"

"What date?"

"Isn't that what you and Rainbow Dash were doing yesterday?"

"I wouldn't say it was a date exactly. Though we did have a lot of fun together. What about you? I heard you had a little marefriend over from the other night." James teased.

"Oh that? I don't know, she's really cool and all..."

"I get it. One of those drunken decisions, right?"

"Yeah."

"Meh, I'd just go with the flow on this one. See how it works out."

"Yeah, probably. So are you going back to bed?"

"Nah, I don't think I could sleep right now. It only looks like an hour or two until sunrise, I think I'll go for a run. You wanna come with?"

"Ha, no thanks. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of that Monday morning."

"Heh heh, you better rest up then."

=================================================

It was almost noon, Thursday. The view from the balloon was spectacular. James and Flash floated high above Ponyville.

"Are you sure about this? You know if this doesn't work you could die right?"

"Only if you can't catch me."

James double checked the straps and buckles that completely encircled his body. It was a simple harness that could support his body weight very well. That wasn't the part he was worried about. He was worried about the home made pack strapped to his back. He and Rarity had done their best to properly construct it, but he wouldn't know if it would work unless he tested it.

"Hey James, Flash! What're you two doing up here in Twi's balloon?" It was Rainbow Dash.

"Nothing much, just trying to test something." He replied, producing a set of goggles and fixing them over his eyes.

"What are you guys testing?"

"This." He gripped the edge of the basket and hurdled his body into open air, quickly gaining speed. He had only about a minute and a half, two tops. He flipped himself over and looked up to see Flash and a clearly panicked Dash diving after him. He smiled and gave his little two finger salute off the top of his brow before flipping himself back over. James tucked his arms and legs down to his sides and angled down, rapidly accelerating to the ground. When he was only a little over a thousand feet above the earth, he spread himself out again to lessen his speed then arched his back and pulled a cord that was secured to his shoulder, ripping it across his chest. There was a loud flapping staccato before he was suddenly jerked upwards. A charcoal and blue rainbow blur shot past him on either side.

James reached up and wrapped his fingers around two small handles attached to cords that led up to an airfoil constructed out of the lightest material Rarity had in stock. He gave the left one a tug which caused him to bank in that direction. He repeated this action with the right, getting a similar result.

'Ha ha, holy shit, I can't believe that worked!'

The ground slowly rose to him, as well as two pegasi, one looked a little bit angry.

"What the hay James!" Dash yelled at the now aerial human.

"Ha ha ha, yeah! I can't believe it, it works great!"

"Not that, you apple bucking idiot! I thought you were gonna die!"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Probably should have explained first. On the other hand, the looks on your faces were priceless!"

"You should of at least told me you were ready to jump. How was I supposed to catch you if that thing didn't work."

"I'm sure you would have pulled it off. Now if you'll excuse me, I have just one more test to do."

James concentrated on the ground rushing up to meet him. He gave one of the handles another pull and put himself into a head wind. When he was only ten to fifteen feet from the deck, he gave both handles a hard tug, flaring the parachute and allowing for a relatively soft landing. As soon as he came in contact with the ground and absorbed the impact, he turned around and started quickly wrapping up the cords with his arms before the wind could catch the airfoil and drag him around like a ragdoll. This was a prototype and it didn't have a quick release. Dash and Flash alighted next to him.

"So now that you know it works, what are you going to do with it?" Flash asked.

"Dash, could you please retrieve the balloon for me? Flash, how fast can you get Sparks here?"

=================================================

"Are you sure this is safe?" Sparks was uncomfortable in the harness. James had had Rarity make two versions, one for himself and one for a pony.

"I'm positive."

"And all you want me to do is pull this cord thingy?"

"Eventually. First, I want you to jump out the basket."

"I don't like that part."

"It'll be fine, I promise. Look, I have the same rig. I'll jump with you."

"And you've done this before?" Sparks asked, still not trusting the human.

"Thousands of times. With other rigs. Just make sure you look over your shoulder and arch your back before pulling the rip cord. Now hurry up, we ain't got all day here."

"All right, I'm just not too sure about--"

"Welcome to Jump School!" James scooped up the unicorn and tossed him over the side, he and Flash followed almost immediately.

The engineer was screaming and flailing his legs. James pulled his limbs in for speed and spread them back out to come level with the first time jumper. He pointed to himself, demonstrating proper form, and then pointed at Sparks. The pony was a smart one and corrected himself almost instantly. The ground was coming increasingly close so James motioned to Sparks to pull the rip cord. The unicorn stallion did so and his decent was immediately halted almost all together as the chute opened and caught hold of the air. Satisfied his friend would be safe, James followed suit. Once on the ground, James ran over to Sparks who's landing was a bit more jarring.

"You ok? Dude, that was perfect."

"The landing was pretty rough, but over all, THAT WAS THE MOST TERRIFYING THING I HAVE EVER DONE!"

"Sorry, I thought you could have used some of your magic to smooth that out. As for the 'terrifying' thing, you'll get used to it."

"What do you mean 'I'll get used to it'!?"

"Being a special operative means you have to be able to get anywhere, anytime, anyway. This is an effective way to get behind enemy lines without endangering others. Except maybe the pilots, but it's better than using thirty other people to cause some kind of distraction or something."

"Sometimes I hate you."

"Don't worry, you won't be the only one. We also have to teach Feather."

================================================

The next couple of weeks were spent teaching the detachment advanced fighting techniques and tactics. James had even upgraded them from fighting each other to fighting HIM. They needed an experienced opponent to spar with if they REALLY wanted to learn some tricks. It was extremely tiring. Every day they would all have one hour each with him while Flash or Sparks led the rest in exercises and training. That meant at the least he would have to put in nine hour days, every day. That didn't even account for time he spent with them in classroom. Unfortunately, it was necessary. He had a schedule he needed to keep to. Currently, James was sparring with a young earth pony of the Day Guard.

The pony spat and snorted, James had just thrown sand in his face.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"This is a fight, there's no such thing as fair. On the battlefield, there's no such thing as a fair fight. It's a fight to the death and you must use every advantage possible to defeat your opponent. Now defend yourself and counter like I taught you. First distract with pain, then follow through with the actual strike."

It almost became a sort of banal routine. Until they finally came to the day James was dreading. It was morning and they had just finished their firs PT session of the day.

"Alright. Everypony go clean up and return out here with your pet birds. Muster in front of the sand pit." James ordered.

As they all followed his instructions, he dragged out a low wooden table and stuck nine sharp knives into the surface. In a few minutes, every recruit had retrieved their companions and stood at attention, awaiting further orders. This next part, James knew, was going to be heartbreaking.

"Everypony, line up at the table in front of a knife. It's time to say good-bye to our friends."

They all took their places, but were confused at what he meant.

"I won't lie to you all. This is a terrible job to have. Unfortunately, it is often necessary. We are dealers in death. It is our sole purpose to bleed, to hurt, to kill and to die so that others do not have to. With that said, we must become familiar with death. We have to understand it and expect it. What I am asking you to do is not easy, but I ask that you follow through for the sake of the ones you love. Now I need each one of you to take that knife set before you and take the life of your pet. We don't want them to suffer, so please cut their necks cleanly. You know where the vital areas are."

Everyony stared at their commander in shock, eyes wide and mouths slightly agape. What he was standing there and asking them to do was unheard of. First he ordered them to feed and care for their little feathered friends and now he's ordering their deaths!?

"I'm sorry to have to do this to you. But remember, our enemies will be ten times as merciless."

All the ponies were very reluctant to do so, but one by one the picked up their knives and took the lives of the small birds they had become attached to. A couple of them cried. One vomited after.

"I'm sorry."

=================================================

*Beep Beep*

*BEEP BEEP*

*Slap*

James accidentally swatted his iPod away from him and almost went back to sleep. Then his brain suddenly clicked into gear and he threw his sheets off and jumped up to get dressed. It was finally here. The week of torture and debauchery. He grabbed his rifle, pistol and his rucksack which was full of spare magazines. He double checked the mags to make sure they were all the right ones. He didn't want to accidentally hurt anybody. Quickly, he ran about the house, rousing his housemates and kicking them out of bed.

"LET'S GO, GET UP, RISE AND SHINE!!!"

He ushered the confused ponies out the door and made them run.

"What's going on!? It's almost three in the morning!" Flash exclaimed.

"Shut up and run!"

They ran at a steady pace all the way to the training grounds. Once there, James issued new orders to his two teammates.

"Get in the barracks and muster everypony out here now! You have less than two minutes!"

Both Sparks and Flash sprinted inside and returned with the entire detachment in just under a minute. It was impressive, but James wasn't cutting anybody slack this week. Oh, no. This was Hell Week.

"Too slow! Everypony here, do two sprints around the perimeter and muster back here, GO GO GO!"

A Hot New Ride

Chapter 18: A Hot New Ride

'They have electricity, rudimentary electronics and indoor plumbing. Why don't they have washing machines?'

These were James' thoughts as he sat in the back yard of his home and scrubbed out all the filth from his uniform. It was almost lunch time on Sunday and he was getting his laundry done in anticipation for the next week. James was just about finished, the rest of his clothing was hung up on the wall behind him, all he had left was his uniform pants. After this, he could go fix some lunch and have a beer. He really didn't plan on doing anything today, just relaxing and listening to some music.

"James!"

It was faint, but he heard it. James stopped what he was doing and listened.

"James!" Louder now and accompanied with the sound of galloping hooves.

He stood up and looked around. Feather suddenly rounded the corner of the building and would have bowled the human over if he hadn't jumped clear. Expecting trouble, James immediately became serious and addressed his his teammate.

"Feather, what's wrong!?"

"Nothing, but you gotta come see this!"

"See what? Where?"

"It's almost at the training grounds, c'mon!"

The dark blue earth pony galloped of in the direction of the camp. James just shrugged and ran off after him. The stallion was so intent on getting there that James almost had a hard time keeping up with him. What was so important as to warrant such haste, James couldn't perceive.

'Whatever it is, it had better be important.'

When the two arrived, James saw that Sparks was already there, looking up in the air.

"Sparks! The hell is going on?"

The dusty red unicorn pointed to the sky without looking away. James turned his gaze up. Coming from the northwest and descending towards the ground was one of the strangest flying contraptions James had ever seen. Next to Pinkie's of course, her bizarre mode of flight was beyond his comprehension. This particular aircraft was about the size of a medium sized yacht. The main body consisted of some kind of boxy rectangular cabin of wood with windows here and there around the sides and a large one on the tapered front nose. The rear had large diameter wooden propeller enshrouded in a metal cage with two large rudders mounted on the face, much like a fanboat. On top of this was a platform rimmed by a guard rail about waist height. The whole thing was attached to a large, streamlined balloon. James thought he could see a couple of figures moving about the top deck.

The vehicle slowly descended and touched down upon the ground before the trio on a pair of skids. A door in the side unlatched and swung inward. Out stepped Flash. James really wanted know what was going on.

"Flash, what in the world is this thing?"

"It's an airship."

"You flew it here? Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, no. I didn't fly it here, I just flew up to guide it to the training grounds. I thought it would be a good place to keep it."

"Keep it?"

"Yeah, here, this is the pony who pilots it. She should be able to explain more."

Flash moved aside to allow the pilot to reveal them self. Out stepped a light gray unicorn with a slightly darker, short cropped mane and tail. Her eyes were the color of deep blue water. Her cutie mark was two different sized gears, teeth interlocked and half sunk into a cloud.

"Aria!" Sparks rushed forward and wrapped his forelegs around the mare in a hug.

"Lectric? What are you doing here?" She was confused, but a smile grew on her face as she returned the sentiment.

"I work here now, I was assigned to a new command." He looked over the flying machine with some wonderment. "So this is what you've been up to. No wonder I haven't heard from you in so long!"

"Yeah, she's a prototype. Princess Celestia commissioned a scaled down version of the airships we use for mass cargo and transport. I was immediately recommended by my superiors for the project!" She beamed with pride.

"Ahem." James was still waiting for some information.

"Oh! Sorry James. This is Aria Myst. We went to engineering school together. She was top of her class, could have had any job she wanted. Instead, she went to go work on airships."

"And improve on their designs." She added.

"Aria, this is Commander Kaughn. He's my new CO."

She snapped to attention and gave James a smart salute, "Sir! I apologize. Lieutenant Myst, reporting as ordered."

"At ease, Lieutenant. So, What are we looking at here?"

"Sir, please allow me to give you the grand tour of 'The Clipper'."

"'The Clipper', huh?"

"Yes sir, she's the fastest airship ever constructed. A trip from here to Canterlot usually takes about two to three hours, this baby can do it in just about forty-five minutes."

"Impressive."

"That's not even the best part!" She exclaimed, starting to become excited. "Modern airships get around by riding the swift currents of air found at high altitudes, or with help from a squad of pegasi. The Clipper is self powered!"

James was interested, "Care to show me more?"

"With pleasure!" The aeronautical engineer enthusiastically lead him into the interior. "This is the main cabin. Along the inner walls are seats that can be folded down individually or left up to accommodate large loads. In the deck is a cargo door that can be opened and closed in flight or on the ground. Above it is a winch that can be used to lift loads up to eight hundred pounds. The winch is powered by the same engine that drives the propeller. That ladder leads to the upper deck. There is a secondary control station up there, but the main one is in here," she lead James through a door in the forward bulkhead, "from this station you can control speed, altitude and direction." There was a console filled with arrays of buttons, instruments and levers including what James assumed to be the control yoke.

"How does the craft change altitude, does it function like a hot air balloon?"

"No, it's held aloft by a special type of helium I created myself. It's enchanted to react to pulses of electricity generated by the engine and can be adjusted from here in the control station. The more intense the charge sent through it, the more the gas expands inside the bladders in the balloon. On it's own, the gas has only enough buoyancy to slow the aircraft's rate of decent. Not slow enough to land safely, but enough that the occupants will survive the crash."

"Show me the engine room."

"Absolutely!"

Myst lead him into another compartment aft of the main cabin, where a bundle of wires attached to the winch ran from. Mounted on the deck against the aft bulkhead was a large mechanical contraption of gears and belts surrounding and attached to a core of metal. Another bundle of wires ran from it up into a small opening in the overhead that was sealed against the weather. Currently, it was off.

"This is the source of power for the whole craft. It's of my own design as well."

"Did you design this whole thing?"

"From the ground up!"

"How does the engine work, is it electric?"

"Nope, it can generate electric power, but the engine itself is powered by magical energy stored in a specially designed battery."

"Outstanding. I only have one more question. Why are you here?"

Her enthusiasm disappeared and her eyes went wide with realization, "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot, I'm so sorry!"

Myst ran into the cockpit and rummaged around for a bit. James waited for her in the main cabin. She came back levitating a scroll stamped with a wax seal bearing the royal crest. James pulled it from the air and broke the seal.

James,

I hope this finds you in good health. I received your letter and am glad to hear things are moving smoothly. I have sent this with a new prototype airship as you can most likely see. With it is it's creator, Miss Aria Myst. She is an excellent engineer as well as an accomplished pilot. I hope you and your new team can assist her in testing and assessing it's capabilities. My only other request is that you come to Canterlot so that I may speak with you.

Princess Celestia

James rolled it back up and pocketed it, then stepped outside to speak with his team.

"Alright, looks like we got a new ride. Say hello to The Fixers' very own 'Clipper'. One other thing, in about thirty minutes, we're gonna get to take it for a joy ride. Sparks, I need a favor from you. You how to dry fabric with magic, right? Everypony get some lunch if you haven't already and meet back here in uniform. We have a meeting to attend. Myst, welcome aboard."

=======================================================================

The ride to the capitol was a bit hectic. James wanted to see how maneuverable the aircraft was and asked Myst to demonstrate. She happily obliged and put the craft into some sharp turns, dives and climbs. With the skillful pilot at the controls it was actually quite nimble. Unfortunately, this resulted in the passengers getting tossed about the cabin. James made a mental note to have seatbelts installed, at least four point contact. Maybe five. Other than that, The Clipper lived up to it's creator's boasts. In no time, the city set upon the mountain side, Canterlot, was filling the view out the windows.

James climbed up the steeply angled ladder to the upper deck for a better view without cramming into the cockpit. He moved to the the railing in front of the small secondary control station. The first thing that stood out to him was the castle. Many tall towers and spires rose from a seemingly random collection of foundation buildings. Closer to the mountain side was a residential area, separated from the actual castle by a courtyard ringed by a high stone wall. This was all protected by gigantic gatehouse at the edge of the city. A long flagstone road lead from it's entrance and passed close by to a beautiful cascading waterfall.

'That has got to be the weirdest design for a castle I have ever seen. Looks nice though.'

Myst brought the airship into a dock area jutting out from the cliffs under the castle with much, much larger and more ornate versions of The Clipper moored along side them. The Clipper was too small to tie up next to such behemoths and instead opted to land on one of the wide piers. Waiting for them was a small contingent of the Guard. The five were escorted up from the docks to the castle. The Guards Ponies left them in a grand foyer while the princess was notified of their arrival. Flash walked up to James.

"What do you think she wants us here for?"

"I'm not sure. Could be that she just wants to see the results of my program for herself. She did fund it after all."

'After guilt tripping me into running it.'

"Or she might have some sort of task for us. Hopefully it's the former."

They didn't wait long until two large double doors at the opposite side of the way they entered opened and two of what James now knew were called 'Alicorns' walked through flanked by two guards. One was the Princess Celestia. The other James had never seen before, though she seemed strangely familiar. She was a deep midnight blue with a mane that darkly sparkled and waved like twinkling starlight. She was a little over a head shorter than Celestia.

"Please excuse me Luna, I have a small matter I must attend to. Can we continue our conversation another time, perhaps later today?"

"Of course, sister. I shall be in the gardens."

The other alicorn turned and left. Flash, Feather and Sparks lined up at attention behind their CO as he saluted the princess. Myst was the only one who bowed. The guards looked furious and moved to put the foolish human in his place, but were stayed by motion of one of Celestia's forelegs. James noticed this and offered an explanation.

"My apologies ma'am. Where I come from service members never bow to anyone while in uniform, royalty or not. You did ask me to train them the way I was, remember?"

'She may have funded the training and we may ultimately answer to her, but these are my soldiers, dammit.'

"Of course, Commander. Could you please come with me? We have much to talk about."

"Yes ma'am. Is my team required to stay here for anything?"

"No, they may do as they please."

"Just on moment then." He turned towards Myst and the four ponies in uniform. "Go have some fun, check out the town. Muster back here by the end of the day. Dismissed."

James redirected his attention back to Celestia as they all left. "I'm all yours."

"Excellent. Guards, please leave us, we are not to be disturbed unless it is an emergency."

"Your grace..." both bowed and excused themselves.

Celestia turned around and walked back the way she came, down a long, echoing corridor. Each side was decorated with enormously beautiful stained glass windows. James followed along side her. Having not really talked to he face to face, James now realized how tall she was compared to all the other ponies he'd interacted with. They all came up to about his chest, except for Big Mac who stood higher, but the princess could easily look him right in the eye.

"So James, how have you been adjusting to your new home?"

"I make do."

To many, that would have contained almost no information, but Celestia was over a millennium old. With that age came unfathomable wisdom. To her the simple statement spoke volumes.

"You're lonely, aren't you?"

The human just calmly continued walking by her side, showing no reaction to her question.

"Not so much. I do have Flash, Sparks and Feather. Even the girls drop by from time to time to see how I'm doing.

"I see." She was still unconvinced.

The truth was, he actually had been a bit lonesome. As far as he knew, he was the only one of his kind in this world. The only things that even came close were those vile monsters. Sure, his teammates had a few things in common with him and he would do anything for them, but it just wasn't the same.

"Pleasantries aside, ma'am, was there anything in particular you wanted to speak about?"

"Straight to the point, I see. Yes, there has been some troubling news as of late. There have been reports of disappearances along the outer reaches of our borders."

"That is certainly not good."

"Certainly. The disturbing thing, however, is their nature. The only ponies that disappear are unicorns and any ponies that happened to be with them were found beaten within an inch of their life."

"You think it's them?"

"I certainly hope not, but the theory is becoming more likely by the day."

"What would you like me to do?"

"I need a force sent to the most prevalent region to dig up any information they can. In the meantime, I've increased the presence of the guard in those regions, but I'm afraid it won't be enough."

"Understood ma'am. I'll gather my team and set out as soon as we're ready."

"Thank you. I'll send a letter with the details."

"Anything else, ma'am?"

"Oh yes, I would like you and your team to stay stationed in Ponyville. It's a central location within the country and you would be able to reach anywhere with ease."

"Outstanding. Ma'am, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything."

"A while back you said that other objects had been 'shifted' or 'teleported' into this world before. And that you had all the dangerous looking ones you found locked up. Would you permit me to view the items?"

Celestia thought for a moment about his request. Ultimately, she reluctantly granted it to him.

"Come with me please."

James followed the princess down several corridors, twists and turns and finally down a long spiraling stone stairway that terminated at the bottom before two large oak and iron doors guarded by no less than four Guards Ponies and under heavy lock and key. Upon the princess' arrival, all four snapped to attention and promptly bowed before her.

"Arise, my little ponies. I require entrance to this vault."

The guards jumped into action and quickly opened the vault. She crossed the thresh hold, magically lighting several torches as she did. James stepped inside as the doors shut behind him with an echoing boom. The space he was now standing in was huge. The ceiling was so high up he could barely see it. Large columns, spaced every twenty feet or so, were each ablaze with a torch in a bracket. As James continued to follow the princess, he looked around him. Everywhere he could see fleeting glints of metal and reflections of light. Eventually, Celestia reached a large, shallow vat of viscous fluid. With a flash of her horn, the fluid burst into flames with a loud whumpf. James stared in awe around him. All about the room were piled old and rusty decrepit looking things. Some appeared more recent.

There were centuries old weapons stacked in crates and stored in barrels. A majority of it was swords and spears and the like. He could see some old armor scattered around, not all of it looked like it would fit the human form. Then he noticed one corner of the room that was separate from the rest. Because this corner had what the rest of the room lacked: Firearms. Most were old and broken down, completely unsafe to fire, but there were a few gems. A few assault rifles, some LMGs, even an M110. However, that all paled in comparison to what he saw stashed behind some boxes. James almost wet himself in excitement. He bent down and extracted an old M82 Barrett sniper rifle. The Big .50 BMG. He cycled the bolt a few times. It stuck a little, but it was serviceable. He could have it back to prime condition in no time. It even had it's optics. He rummaged around some boxes and managed to scrounge up some of it's magazines and a two whole ammo cans of munitions for it. These were among more ammunition for all the other weapons and even some explosives.

"Ma'am, I assume you are aware of what these are."

"Yes, they are instruments designed and built solely for the purpose of death." She said with some disdain.

"Correct. I must ask you to allow me to take them."

The princess looked appalled.

"I know what you're thinking, but trust me when I say that superior technological advantage my be our best bet with defending against those creatures."

*sigh* "If I must. I will have the items of your choosing packed up and delivered to the airship."

"Thank you, ma'am. I promise I won't let you down."

First Deployment

Chapter 19: First Deployment

Sitting high up on the top of the tree in the middle of the Everfree with a beautiful view for miles around was a happy little watermelon. It was decent size for a watermelon, one you would expect to find at a family picnic, and it enjoyed it's perilous perch. It sat there, soaking up the sun, butterflies flapping about. This went on for a time...... until it exploded into a fine mist for seemingly no reason at all. This was followed shortly by the sound of distant thunder.

Just over a mile away, James grinned up at the pony sitting in the watchtower next to him, sighting through a telescope, mouth agape.

"That'll be ten bits there, Flash."

"No way. Aw, horseapples."

James got up from his prone position and removed the magazine from the M82 then cycled the bolt to ensure it was clear and safe. He had spent all evening yesterday cleaning and oiling it, making sure all the parts moved correctly, and most of this morning zero-ing the sights. The bet was made when Flash had asked him how far he could shoot with the thing.

"Yes way. Now you can either give me the cash now, or pay for my drinks later. Dealer's choice."

"I got it, I got it, here are your stupid bits." Flash produced ten coins and deposited them into James' outstretched hand.

"Thank you kindly sir. Oh, and drinks on me later."

"Whatever."

The two descended down to the ground and walked over to the briefing room. After returning from Canterlot late yesterday, James had made the training grounds their official headquarters. James' back room office was now Sparks' private little workshop and armory while the classroom now functioned as the team's readyroom. James and Sparks had plans to put in lockers and benches an even convert the Barracks into quarters for Feather and Myst. For now, Feather stayed there as it was and Myst was living out of the airship. She rarely left it as it was, always tinkering with it or tweaking the adjustment on engine or control console. Right now, Feather was in town getting information on their AOR for their first op with help from Twilight in the town's library. Sparks had locked himself in his new workshop like the mad scientist James suspected him to be. The engineer had brought back a large bag of goodies from Canterlot and secluded himself in James' old office as soon as he had set it up for his own purposes.

James grabbed a couple waters from the icebox they had muscled in there earlier in the morning and tossed one to Flash before sitting down. He looked over to the corner where he had stacked the crates of weapons and ammunition he'd brought back from Celestia's vault. All in all, they now had a few AK-47s, some old M-16s, an old SPAS 15, a small pile of busted up pistols he could salvage for parts, a P90 that he could only find two mags for, an old MG3, a dusty M249 SAW and the M110. There were two additional crates that held the munitions for all of them and even some explosives, like grenades. There were more, including a flintlock pistol that was somehow in superb condition, but he only took what he thought he could use at the moment. How Celestia had amassed such a collection, James could only speculate, but he had caught hints that she might have been doing so for quite some time. Hell, if he was to believe the snatches of conversation he picked up around the castle while waiting for the firearms to be delivered to the Clipper, Princess Celestia was apparently an immortal that had been around for a few millennia. It was a strange thought.

James didn't know what he was going to do with most of the weapons, but he had thought about training his team on the machine guns and then mounting them on the airship somewhere. He just needed to ask Sparks if he could somehow adapt them for pony use, like he was doing with his NVGs and throat mic. The door opened and closed behind James and he turned his head to see Feather standing there with two heavy looking saddle bags on his back. The pony walked over and deposited them on the table with a solid, heavy clunk.

"What's in there buddy, lead?" James asked quizzically.

"Books, lots and lots of books."

"Twilight got you the information we needed then?"

"And then some. She found the maps and local areas of interest, then the geology of the region, weather patterns, viewable constellations, annual rainfall, snowfall, trade routes, local industries; mostly mines, and even the freaking census for the last three years! She insisted that I take it all with me."

"I really hope you also have just the summary to all that."

"Absolutely, I've whittled it down to just the gems."

"Outstanding job. Flash, could you please go get Myst and bring her in here, she'll need to be present since she's our infil and exfil."

"Sure thing boss."

While Flash went to retrieve the pilot, James walked over and pounded on the back room door.

"Sparks! It's time for the briefing, get your ass out here!"

"Just a minute!" Came a muffled reply.

Flash returned with Myst and they all waited for a moment before Sparks finally emerged from his cave, levitating several objects.

"I've done it! Here are our new comms!"

He levitated one each to the ponies, keeping one for himself. James got his original back. It was the throat mics.

"With these, we should be able to keep in touch easily. James, I know you're a stickler for stealth, so I fine tuned them to be able to pick up even the faintest whisper. I'm still working the bugs out on the first of the NVGs, I'm afraid those will still take some time."

"No worries, I'm surprised you managed to crank these out so fast."

"Oh, these were easy. Just a few simple spells after assembling the components and they were all set."

"Outstanding, what's their range?"

"Only about five or so miles, ten with a clear line of sight. Magical energy dissipates over time and distance. It goes further when there's nothing in the way to block or absorb it."

"Hmm, oddly similar to radio waves."

"Well, some types of magic do have electro magnetic properties."

"Interesting. Anyway, you're just in time for the briefing on the Whitecrest op. Feather?"

"Right," the earth pony extracted a large folded parchment from the saddle bags and pinned it up over the chalkboard after unfolding it. "This is Whitecrest," he said, pointing to a small dot sitting at the base of the eastern mountain range almost directly across the Everfree from Ponyville, only a bit farther south. "It's the main settlement and trade hub of the eastern reaches of Equestria. It's often frequented by merchants from the Griffon Colonies, some of which are situated just on the other side of the mountain range. Often, during the fall and winter months, the area is accessible only by airship due to heavy snow falls."

"How heavy are we talking about?" James inquired.

"Usually about fifteen to twenty feet a year."

James whistled, "Damn, better get some cold weather gear for you guys, it's already starting to cool down here. Please continue."

"Whitecrest does have a small weather service, but they tend to stay within the vicinity of the town due to it's close proximity to both the mountains and the Everfree. Outlying settlements are here, here, here and here," he gestured to four Xs drawn on the map, two north and two south of Whitecrest, "the outer two are just small mining camps, but the two closer to Whitecrest are actually little villages that act as stops between the camps and Whitecrest itself. The vast majority of the incidents have occurred around here." He circled an area between the southern mining camp and Whitecrest and included the village in between.

"Excellent report. Alright, you all know the deal now. Get any affairs you have in order today. We depart early tomorrow morning at zero-five-hundred, so show up dressed out and ready to go. Other than that, meet me at the town square by dusk. Dismissed."

=======================================================================

They all met up at the prescribed time and place James had set for them and headed over to one of the bars. It was Monday evening, so it would be a slow night for the place, but they weren't there to party, just relax a bit before the mission. The five sat down at a table in a dive called The Hoof And Mouth. James liked it because they had a good red draft on tap and a pool table. James loved to play pool with his buds. Fortunately, so did Feather. Soon they were both trying to hustle each other, putting down two bits per game. Myst watched for a time before walking up to them. At this point, James was up six bits and Feather was looking for a way to make it back.

"Hey boys, mind if I play?"

"Sure," Feather answered, "you got two bits?"

She put two on the edge of the table and took a cue with her magic.

"I'm afraid I'm not terribly good, you'll go easy on me, won't you?" She batted her lashes a few times.

"Of course!" Feather replied confidently. He thought this was going to be money in the bank.

James recognized the tactic for what it was, having spent quite a lot of time in pool halls with his grandfather when he was younger, and backed off.

"I'm good, you got this one brother."

Feather racked the billiard balls and chivalrously let Myst break them. It was a mediocre break and she looked a little embarrassed. After a short time, Feather was only two balls away from sinking the eight ball and Myst still had five to go.

"What do you say we go double or nothing?" Myst proposed, putting two more bits on the table.

"You're kidding me! You're on!" Feather slammed two bits to match hers.

James chuckled to himself, it was obvious to him what she was doing, but Feather somehow remained oblivious. It was probably the bedroom eyes she kept giving him. Feather knocked another ball in, but missed his second shot. Myst took advantage of the mostly clear table and sunk all five balls in one go, finishing with the eight ball.

She swept the eight bits off the edge of the table and walked past the stunned dark blue stallion, giving him a light flick in the face with the end of her tail as she passed by on her way to the bar.

"Thanks for the free drinks, stud." She said non-chalantly.

James couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out in laughter. Feather's expression still hadn't changed, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Ha ha ha ha, you just got hustled, dude! C'mon, you need a drink after that, it's on me."

James was placing their order with the bartender when Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie entered the establishment.

"Howdy! How're y'all doin' James?" Started the hard working farm mare.

"Hey, glad to see you three, what are you guys doing here on a Monday night?"

"We were passing by when Pinkie spotted you all in here through the window and stopped in to see how everypony was doing." Dash explained, Pinkie nodded her head up and down rapidly, ever present grin on her face.

"The team is just here relaxing a bit before tomorrow,"

"What's happening tomorrow, is it a party!?" Pinkie asked enthusiastically, bouncing in place as always.

"No, the princess finally has something for us to do. Gotta head out for a while."

"Aw, why are you always so busy?" Dash pouted.

"Sorry. It comes with being a soldier, nature of the beast. Don't worry though, we'll be back soon. Maybe we'll go sky diving when I get back, how about that?"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Make a Pinkie Promise."

"Pinkie Promise?"

"Oh, oh! My turn! Repeat after me!" The party mare instructed.

James repeated her words and mimicked her movements, ".......Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He finished, placing a hand over his left eye.

"Perfect!" Pinkie bounced happily away.

"There, now you have to come hang out."

"Don't worry Dash, I'll be there." James assured.

The three mares left shortly after. Soon, it was time for James and his team to leave, they had an early next day. The group finished their drinks and paid off the tab before heading back to their respective residences. It was time to get some sleep. They were finally going to put all they had learned to the test.

======================================================================

Myst informed the team that even with the Clipper's advantages in speed, it was going to be a long ride to Whitecrest so everyone did the best they could to get comfortable and pass the time. Sparks and Flash were teaching Feather the game of Pusoy Dos on the deck while James lay across the benches with his cover over his face and his headphones in. He was just trying to relax, listening to music and getting his mind set right for whatever lay ahead of them. They had all studied every detail of the landscape on the maps for the first two hours of the trip and were now intimately familiar with the surrounding geography of their AOR. Now they just had to get there.

All the ponies were wearing their new com sets and, except for Myst, were suited up in their combat uniforms and armed. Flash and Sparks were carrying thin short swords while Feather simply had just two sheathed daggers on his sides. James wore his own uniform as well as a matching tac vest he'd asked Rarity to make for him some weeks ago. He left his kevlar behind, deciding that he wouldn't need it and it would just add unnecessary weight. His kit consisted of his usual rifle and sidearm, the silencers for which were strapped to the side of his vest. Clipped to a strap that wrapper around him was the shotgun, it's stock folded. It didn't have a silencer, but if he had to use that weapon, stealth would no longer be an issue. Having three different weapons with three different types of ammo posed weight problems as well, so he carried a limited amount of each, although, he had extra stashed under the seats. Strapped to the bulkhead above him was the M110. He probably wouldn't need it, but he always liked having the ability to reach out and touch someone if the need ever arose. He had four clips of it's 7.62mm rounds stashed in a bag under the seats as well. On the forward bulkhead, next to the cockpit door were five numbered parachutes. The Clipper was also stocked with medical supplies and food rations. They were ready.

After a few hours, James felt a tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw Sparks staring down at him. James sat up and removed his headphones.

"What's up?"

"We're almost there, Myst says she's starting to descend into the town."

"Sweet, let's get a good view, shall we?"

Sparks followed James up the ladder and out onto the upper deck. They were fast approaching a medium sized sprawl of wooden buildings. Most didn't rise above two or three stories. Through all this ran a ribbon of silver that appeared to be a small river. It ran from north to south along the base of the range. A tall half constructed wall was in the process of being erected around the town. It was set up against the side of a large mountain, at the bottom of a cliff, where the most impressive structure was hanging off of. Jutting out from a shear cliff side was a gigantic fan shaped wooden docking platform. Here and there, massive airships could be seen moored to the piers, taking on or off loading cargo and freight. Up and down the face of the cliff, freight elevators ran between the docks and warehouses down at the base. Once again, the tiny Clipper opted to land on the wide main dock platform due to it's small size. the nimble craft touched down and a lone guard trotted out to meet the new arrivals. As soon as the skids came in contact with the deck, James returned to the main cabin, un-dogged the side door and stepped out onto the dock.

"Halt! This is an unauthorized landing, state your name and purpose!"

"At ease there buddy, we were sent here to help with your 'problem'. I need you to take us to your CO, I need to speak with him immediately."

"First you must identify yourself before I do anything."

*sigh* "Fine, I'm Commander Kaughn of the Royal Special Tasks Group and this is my team. Now, if you're done wasting my time..."

The guardspony instantly went to attention and delivered a salute, "Sir! My apologies! We were expecting you to be--"

"A pony, probably. I know, easy mistake. Can we get a move on now? We just completed a long flight and we need to stretch our legs."

"Of course sir, right this way."

James left all his equipment in the airship, except his sidearm which was in his thigh holster, and he and his companions followed the guard to the elevator platforms in the back. Myst elected to stay behind, mumbling about vibrations in the control yoke and some bolt somewhere she had to find and tighten. The group crowded onto a smaller elevator made for personnel that ran beside the larger ones carrying cargo containers and started their descent down the cliff face. After reaching the bottom, they were lead through the warehouses to a low two story with a sign in need of a new paint job that read 'Whitecrest Royal Guard HQ'. They were taken inside and asked to wait while the CO was informed they had arrived. While they did, a familiar stallion happened to walk out of a side room.

"Ira?"

"James, Lieutenant Sparks! What a nice surprise! What are you two doing way out here?"

"We got wind of your little situation here and were sent to check it out. what's the corps doing here, you old dog?"

"We were tasked with beefing up the city's defenses after the attacks down south. So far, we haven't seen any trouble, but it's only a matter of time."

"Agreed. Well, we're gonna to our best to delay that, prevent it entirely if we can."

"Oh, you wouldn't want us working for nothing, would you?"

They both laughed a little at the slightly morbid joke before the were interrupted by the pony that had brought James and his team to the HQ.

"Sir, the Colonel will see you now."

"Alright Ira, I gotta go. Stay safe."

"You too! And continue keeping Sparks safe for me, will ya? Sometimes the kid's to curious for his own good."

"Aye, sir!" James gave off his signature half salute.

The two friends parted and James entered the CO's office, followed by his team. Sitting behind a desk was a grizzled old earth pony with a scar running from the back of his left jaw and across his cheek, almost to his mouth.

"Good morning Colonel, I'm Commander Kaughn of the RSTG and this is my team, we're here to help."

The old dark green stallion examined the patch on James' left breast pocket before speaking in a gravelly voice, "The Fixers, huh? You here to fix our problems?"

"We're here to gather some intel and bust some heads if we have to."

"Ha, good answer. Sounds like you got some gumption. The names' Colonel Rokjaw, how can we assist you in your task?"

"We've read the reports and studied the region. We just need to know if there was anything you haven't included or any changes that may have happened since."

"Well, unfortunately, all I can tell you is there hasn't been an incident for a week and a half and that we've never seen anything like this."

"Thanks Colonel. The only other thing we'll need is a place to stay."

"I'd like to set you up in a barracks, but due to the Princess' increase of forces out here, our quarters are at capacity. There is a small inn, however, that would be glad to have you at half price. The owner is a former guard and an old friend of mine."

"Thank you, Colonel. We'll take you up on your recommendation."

"My pleasure. So if I may ask, what is your plan now?"

"We'll do a couple fly overs of the site this afternoon, but wait until tomorrow morning to put hooves on the ground. It's already noon and I don't want to be running around an unfamiliar area at dusk and we don't know how long we'll be there."

"Sounds excellent. Good luck in your endeavors."

"Same to you, Colonel. Flash, please fly up to the Clipper and tell Myst to get her warmed up, we'll meet you there. I want to get down there and see as much as possible before the sun starts to set."

"Got it!"

The group left the HQ and Flash peeled off to inform the pilot of the situation. It was time to go earn their paychecks.

Contact

Chapter 20: Contact

The early morning sun illuminated the congealed blood that stained the dirt with dark rusty hues. There were splatters here and there, in some places there were pools. According to Colonel Rokjaw, the ponies that had been found here were badly beaten, but alive. The guard had reacted swiftly and had fortunately suffered no casualties. A pair of old rails ran through the center of the settlement, north to south. Down along the southerly tracks were more faint blood trails. Upon first entering the settlement, the team had found it eerily quiet and began a house by house search for any inhabitants, pony or otherwise. Now they knew that it was a ghost town. Aside from the blood, James noticed that the earth had been churned up by many feet. Some recognizable prints had short claws on the ends of the toes. They had been here.

James switched on his mic, "Flash, you see anything from up there?"

The pegasus was currently flying high above the buildings, looking out for any signs of movement. It was like having an intelligent UAV.

"Not a thing. From up here, it looks like they entered and exited the town from the same direction; south, along the tracks."

"Then that's where we'll go. Myst, stay on standby up there in case we need a quick way out."

"Understood." Came the reply. The pilot was currently hovering not far above them, hidden by a cloud formation.

"Alright Fixers, we got a small hike to the mining camp, let's move out."

The group took it slow. There were many places to hide among the rocks and foliage and they took pains to scan any and every potential ambush site for hostiles. After forty-five minutes of walking, they finally entered the mining camp. It too, was abandoned. Mining carts, some still half full of raw iron ore sat motionless. Collapsed tents were scattered about the area. There was some blood here too, but accompanied by drag marks. The four followed them to an opening in the side of the mountain. A dark cavernous maw gaped at the operatives, the faint sound of a moaning wind emanated from it as if threatening to swallow them whole.

"Sparks, Flash you're on overwatch out here. Find a defensible position with a good view of the cave entrance and watch for trouble. Feather, you're with me."

James lowered his rifle and drew his sidearm. He slid the silencer out from where it was strapped on his side and threaded it on the end of the barrel. He then grabbed a combat torch from his cargo pocket and switched it on, holding it in front of his body. Cautiously, he and the earth pony advanced into the dark unknown. The two didn't go far until they came upon what they thought was a cave in. It appeared as if chunks of rock from the ceiling had come loose and piled themselves on the ground up almost to the overhead, but as he played the light around, James noticed the tell tale scorch marks of a blast. Feather studied the pile of rubble and spotted little streaks of blood leading to the top where there was a space about four feet tall and six feet wide.

"James, do you think we should continue?" He whispered.

"No," James whispered back, "there are too many unknowns. What do you make of this cave in?"

"It looks artificial to me. It must have been triggered by dynamite, and early on too. There's a blood trail leading to that small opening in the top. Could be the miners saw what was coming and tried to stop it."

"Good eyes. Let's regroup and--"

From the other side of the cave in came the sound of rock sliding over rock. They both froze and listened. At first, all they could hear was their own breathing in the oppressive darkness. Then Flash came over on the comms with a warning.

"Guys, I think you should get out of there, we can see movement on the mountain above the cave entrance."

"Thanks for the heads-up. We're on our way back. Keep your eyes peeled. Feather, I feel we've overstayed our welcome here."

"The feeling's mutual, let's get the hay outta here."

Feather and James made their way back to the entrance and were halfway there when they heard the scrape of metal on stone behind them.

"Aw fuck, LEG IT!"

Both broke into a sprint as a beast bellowed from their backs.

"Flash, Sparks, we got Limas on our tail, time to pull chocks!"

James could now hear heavy footsteps pursuing them and fired a few shots from his pistol over his shoulder. He didn't expect them to hit anything, but he hoped it slowed them down.

Sparks' shouted over the comms, "You're not the only ones with problems, there's a large group coming down from the mountain side! You got about ten seconds before they beat you to the cave entrance!"

James and Feather sprinted up the incline and burst out into the sunlight. They were soon joined by Sparks as they ran and galloped down the cart rails. James glanced over his shoulder and saw a large group of Lotkin charging for them about sixty yards to their rear.

"Myst, you need to get down here now, LZ is hot and we need a rolling evac!"

"I'm bringing her in, just keep running along the tracks."

James shoved his pistol back into it's holster, silencer and all. Then in one practiced motion, he spun around, dropped to a knee and brought his rifle to bear. He began pumping lead into the creatures as soon as he had a sight picture until crossbow bolts started to whistle by his head. He had gotten a good number of them, but there were plenty more. He sprinted to catch up with his team. Flash was still flying above, but was now dodging shots from the Lotkin himself. This was bad. they were caught out in the open by a hostile force with superior numbers. Suddenly, the Clipper pulled along side, door wide open and ready to receive them. Flash landed on the upper deck while the rest piled inside. James got up and slid the side door shut as multiple crossbow bolts thunked into it, some penetrating almost an inch inside.

"Myst, get some altitude and circle back around, I want to lead them away from the settlements."

"What makes you think they'll follow us?"

"As long as we pose a challenge or a threat, they'll try to take us down."

A bolt smashed thought one of the windows and buried itself in the bulkhead opposite as if to emphasize his point. James quickly climbed up the ladder after letting Flash down into the cabin. He braced against the railing and started to fire into the crowd below. It had now grown into a massive size, Lotkin were pouring from cleverly concealed openings in the mountain side. It was like fighting damn insurgents all over again. James reloaded as the bolt on his rifle remained locked back after the last round was ejected. He kept firing even as Myst pulled the craft off south, heedless of the deadly projectiles whizzing about. James maintained this until he realized something was wrong. The Lotkin passing by below them were all taking shots at him, but the body as a whole kept on marching northward. It only took the human a second to figure out what was happening.

"Myst, get some altitude, they aren't falling for it. Flash, as soon as we clear the range on those crossbows, fly as fast as you can back to Whitecrest and tell them to prepare for an invasion."

James held on as the pilot complied with his orders. As soon as they were free and clear, he saw Flash shoot out from the side of the craft.

Sparks voice sounded slightly panicked over the comms, "James, what the HAY are we gonna do now? We weren't trained to handle this many hostiles."

"No, not on our own. We have to slow them down. North of the ghost town, the forest runs right up to the mountain side, that'll help, but after that, it's a strait shot to Whitecrest."

James went deep into thought. He needed some way to stall the advancing hoard, but they didn't have any heavy artillery. He studied the writhing mass below for a moment before something hit him. It was barely noticeable, but they weren't all moving as a single large unit. James sighted through his rifle scope and upon closer inspection, saw only slightly discernible spaces of divisions between knots of warriors. He picked one of these groups and focused on it, looking for anything that stuck out. Then, a flash of bright red, near the front of the pack. James shifted all his attention to the source of the burst of color. Leading from the front, large sword drawn, was a large and overbearing Lotkin with red smears all over his helmet. The rest seemed to be following it. An insane idea formed in the human's head.

"Myst, head back to Whitecrest ASAP."

"Roger that!"

James began scanning the mountain side as it scrolled by, searching for the perfect spot. Shifting his gaze ahead, he locked in on a steep ridge with the features he was looking for. He rushed down to the cabin and swiped the bag of 7.62 rounds from under the seats.

"Myst, you see that ridge coming up on our right side?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to slow down a little and fly as close as you can to it."

"James, what are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry about it," he said while removing the M110 from the bulkhead, "as soon as I'm clear, bug out straight for the city and don't stop 'til you get there. That's an order."

He unclipped the shotgun from it's strap and tossed it on the seats, then cradled the precision weapon in his arms and slid open the side door. The scenery flew past at a high rate. James stuck his head out to get a better view of his target only to quickly pull it back in to avoid an outcropping of rock that passed dangerously close by. Myst really was following his orders to the letter. The ridge line was fast approaching. He took a few quick breaths before taking a few steps back. Timing would be everything here. Counting to three, James got a running start and launched himself from the vehicle. While in mid air, he expelled all the air from his lungs to avoid getting the wind knocked out of him. The marksman rolled as his feet struck the ground, he clutched the rifle close to his chest to protect the optics. He finally tumbled to a stop, a little battered and bruised, but no worse for wear. One thing was certain, he was gonna be sore tomorrow.

Picking himself up, James moved to the edge of the ridge and dropped to prone. In front of him was a shear drop and a spectacular view of the foothills below. About half a mile to his left was the tree line and almost three miles to his right was Whitecrest. James checked the optics on his weapon, making sure nothing was knocked out of alignment. Satisfied, he flipped down the attached bipod, cycled the bolt to chamber a round and posted up on the ridge against a large boulder. Then he waited. From the forest, he could hear the ululating cries of the bloodthirsty beasts as they barged through the trees and underbrush. The loud cracks of branches snapping echoed off the rocks around him. Out of the corner of his eye, there was a flutter of movement. He pivoted his rifle around and sighted on the spot. He could definitely see them moving in the tree line now.

Slowing his breath, James started his routine. Breathe in through the navel, out through the nose, repeat. He made sure the butt of the rifle was firmly in place against the hollow of his shoulder, legs spread behind him, cheek welded against the stock. He searched for the tell tale red through the sight and centered the crosshairs on the creature's chest when he found it. James adjusted just up and to the right of center of mass to account for distance and the slight breeze flowing from the west. He calmly flipped the safety off and gently squeezed the trigger.

*POW*

Half a second later, the grotesque barbarian just crumpled to the ground. Behind it was a group of its comrades. James rapidly popped off a few rounds, dropping two more. The empty shell casings plinked off the rock beside him. The rest of the monsters hesitated at seeing one of their leaders and a couple of their companions felled so easily and by an invisible assailant. James emptied his clip into the now stationary group and swapped it out for a new one from the bag. The survivors scattered and James searched for his next victims.

He repeated this process until the creatures were wary of exposing themselves in the open. Soon he was down to the last clip. Just twenty rounds left. James was only taking pot shots now at anything foolish enough to stick its head out for a peek. Before long, James could hear the unmistakable clinking and clanging of mismatched and ill fitting metal armor.

'Shit, party's over.'

He stood up and folded the bipod forward. He was about to start running north when one of the Lotkin leaped over a boulder, an axe raised above its head, growling out a challenge. James simply turned while shouldering the rifle and let the damn thing take the remaining seven rounds in the chest. Blood and bits of bone and metal sprayed the gray rock behind it. The human grabbed the assault rifle slung on his back and swapped it with the empty M110. Rifle at the ready, he scooted around the boulder the dispatched hostile had leaped from and spotted three more making their way towards him. James took aim and dropped all three before they got close. He turned back to the ridge and looked down. The others had realized that they were no longer getting shot at and resumed their advance. some of them were even splitting off and sprinting to James' location. That was all he needed to see. He took of like a rocket back towards the city. Just three miles and he'd be somewhat safe.

He powered through low brush and over uneven ground. In the distance ahead of him, James watched as a dark speck grew. eventually it grew into Flash.

"James, what the hay kind of crazy plan was this!?" Flash yelled over the radio.

"Sorry buddy, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And now?"

James glanced over his shoulder and saw about ten snarling, sword wielding Lotkin pursuing him fifty yards back.

"Now, not so much."

His pursuers were gaining on him. In no time, they had closed the distance to about thirty yards.

"Flash, get some altitude."

Reaching down to his vest, James snatched up one of his frag grenades. Careful to palm the spoon, he pulled the pin, twisted and tossed the baseball shaped device at the group behind him. About four seconds later, there was a sharp detonation to his rear. James didn't even glance back, he just kept running.

"Flash, what's the situation back in town?"

"They've begun evacuations and the engineers are trying to reinforce the city walls, as much as they can when they're only half built."

"Outstanding, now let's get the hell back there."

"You don't gotta tell me!"

James continued his run with Flash gliding above. At last the walls were looming before them. James keyed his mic.

"Feather, Sparks, you up?"

"Yeah, we're here," Feather replied, "What do you need?"

"I need a rope or something waiting for me at the wall, don't leave anything open for me. We're comin' in hot!"

In twelve minutes, they had reached the base of the wall. James was glad when he saw the thick rope hanging down from the top. He tied a quick bowline knot and put one foot through the loop, holding the rest of the line close to his body. As James was doing this, Flash flew up to the top and told the ponies up there to pull the human up. While he was being hauled up the face of the wall, James finally looked behind him. There had to be at least a few thousand hostiles descending on the trade town. As they got closer, the monstrosities began to loose tons of crossbow bolts at the defenders. Bolts thunked into the thick wood all around James, one even sliced through the pants leg of his inner thigh, a little too close for comfort. With a final heave, the guardsponies pulled James over the side. He immediately sat down, back to the wall, and collected himself for a moment. Sparks and Feather eventually ran up to their commander.

"How long until evacuation is complete?" He asked them.

"The guards are helping to load the townsfolk onto the freight elevators. From there, they will board the airships and sail to safety." Sparks informed him. "I've been told it might take a few hours."

"A few hours? Might as well be an eternity. Can either of you track down Ira?"

"Way ahead of you. I spoke with him as soon as we arrived. The lower part of the walls have been reinforced with large stone blocks."

"Outstanding. What about Colonel Rokjaw? Does he want to save the town or ditch as soon as everyone is out?"

"We haven't seen him yet."

"Alright. One of you get to work on finding him, in the meantime..."

James had thought he was done with war. He knew he couldn't escape fighting in general, the world wasn't built like that, but he really didn't expect anything like this to happen. He had dropped out of one war, just to land in another that was only starting. Hopefully, he could pull through it.

Siege

Chapter 21: Siege

The Lotkin warrior ascended up the crudely made ladder with haste. The anticipation of of bloodshed driving it to it's goal. Powerful arms pulled it swiftly to the top. When it finally reached the summit, it unsheathed its sword and lifted itself to the top of the wall. The first and last thing it saw was a metal tube pointed in its face.

*BOOM*

The top of its head disappeared in spray of pink mist. The body tumbled back down the ladder, striking and dislodging another that had been following. James lowered his shotgun and placed a boot on the top of the ladder. With a little effort, he pushed it away from the wall, sending it crashing down onto the hoard below. It was the seventh attempt at getting over the walls they'd stopped. Flash had just finished divebombing some hostiles off another, slicing them with his sword as he passed, before pushing the ladder off. Below, the Lotkin were hacking away at the wall, but the foundation was solidly built and buried deep in the packed dirt. They wouldn't be getting in that way anytime soon.

Colonel Rokjaw had been found, busily making copies of a letter informing anypony who recieved them of the dire situation. He then ordered the four fastest pegasi in his command to deliver them, two flew off to Canterlot and two went over the mountains to the nearby Griffon colony to warn them of the possible danger. The old veteran also hoped they might send help. The evacuation was moving more slowly than expected. With the guard split between running the evacuation of all the civilians and defending against the tide crashing upon the walls, they needed all the help they could get. The Colonel wished to save the town he had defended and called home for so long, but was ready to abandon it if need be. He would try though. He would try to save it with all his heart. The stubborn old war pony wouldn't quit until every option was exhausted.

Back on the wall, James had his rifle shouldered and was taking shots at targets of opportunity. Everytime he spotted a red helmet, or any other differently colored, he would put a few rounds into its wearer. This seemed to be working as the knot of hostiles around each one he dispatched appeared to lose organization and cohesiveness. Around him, unicorns from the Corps of Engineers were using their magic to launch large chunks of stone over the wall and into the attackers under Sparks' direction. Feather was galloping up and down the ramparts, helping where he could.

Clouds of crossbow bolts buzzed like swarms of wasps, embedding themselves in the wall and hissing past the defenders' heads. So many had been launched at them that the face of the wall now resembled the back of a porcupine. Some of the guards had been struck and were moved into some of the houses below so the medics could work on them. James had witnessed a couple of them get hit, one looked fatal. Still, he fought on, keeping up a steady rate of fire into the teeming mass of violence. He was almost out of ammo. He had nearly expended all the magazines for his assault rifle, and half the ammo for the shotgun. After that, it was just down to his knife and trusty pistol. James spotted another ladder coming up. He shifted his fire and started taking out the warriors lifting it at the bottom. Every one that fell was replaced by another. Suddenly, his rifle just clicked, failing to fire. He checked the breach and saw that an empty casing had gotten crushed and lodged in the chamber by the bolt. Cycling it wouldn't fix the jam and James didn't have time to dig it out. The top of the ladder was now in contact with the wall.

A guard ran up and attempted to push it off, but was hit in the forelegs, shoulder and chest by a volley of bolts, his armor next to useless against the deadly projectiles.

"Medic!"

James ran over and dragged the unfortunate guard away from the wall. He was still breathing, but shallowly and he was starting to bleed profusely. Although he had been struck in multiple places, nothing vital appeared to be hit except for a pierced lung. A hostile crested the rampart, James whipped his pistol out and put two in its chest, one in the face. Feather arrived and tried pushing off the ladder, but had to duck into cover when he almost met the same fate of his predecessor. Another Lotkin heaved itself over the wall, but was bucked in the side by Feather, crumpling its armor inwards. The pony finished it off with a dagger to it's unprotected neck. While his teammates watched his back, James pulled some battle dressings out of his side pocket and began carefully removing the thick darts sticking out of the guard's legs. He applied the dressings and handed the pony off to an engineer and a medic that had finally arrived to help.

James returned his attention to the ladder, more Lotkin were ascending to his position. He grabbed a grenade off his vest, an old Mk II. It was a defensive grenade and had a bit more explosive power than his M67s. He palmed the the spoon in his left hand and pulled the pin. Then with his right, he took his pistol, stood up and with the remaining four rounds, shot the Lotkin climbing the ladder. James tossed the grenade at the base of the ladder and ducked as more bolts assailed his position. A moment later, the charge detonated and reduced the base of the ladder and the surrounding attackers to pulp. All at once, it came crashing down. That threat dealt with, James sat with his back against the ramparts a reloaded his pistol before holstering it. Then he ejected the magazine from his rifle and locked the bolt back. Thumbing a round from the rifle mag, he used the tip of the bullet to pry out the damaged cartridge. Then he inspected the bolt and chamber. Finding no serious damage, he replaced the round and slid the mag back into the well. James flipped the fire selector to full auto, stood up and simply sprayed the rest of the clip into the crowd of aggressors. It was hard not to miss.

He sat back down in cover and keyed his mic, "Myst, you up?"

"What ya need, boss?"

"How's the evac going?"

"We're getting close to finishing. Right now, I'm dropping off another load of wounded."

"Outstanding, keep it up."

"How is everypony down there?" She sounded very worried.

"We're fine, just keep doin' what you're doin', you're doing great."

James sighed. He hoped everyone could keep it together. He wasn't sure for how long they would all have to hold out. The Colonel wanted to hold the town, but unless something changed, James wasn't sure they could. He was down to his last two rifle mags. Better make them count. He switched out the empty and hit the bolt release, sending one home. The, composing himself for a moment, he took a peek. Not seeing anything looking in his direction, he stood up, flipped the safety to semi and started popping heads. It wasn't long before he had attracted some unwanted attention and had to duck back down to avoid being pincushioned. Then Flash came on over the radio.

"Hey James, you gotta check this out."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, I was wondering if you might."

"Where're you at?"

"Over by the western gate."

"Moving."

James got up and ran in a low crouch to the gate. Flash was there waiting for him.
Below, the Lotkin were trying to ram the gate down with a large trunk of a tree cut from the forest. Fortunately, the engineers had the foresight to stack the stone blocks up against the gate too. While the gate was taking a beating, the large masses of rock kept it in place.

"What's the problem?" James asked.

"Take a look towards the back of their formation, the one behind the guys with the battering ram."

The human did so and at first saw nothing. He was about to ask the pegasus what he should be looking for when he saw a flicker of light. It shined with a strange, almost familiar, luminescense. James sighted up on it. What he saw was a Lotkin without any bladed weapons or even a crossbow. Instead, it was making its way through bustling hoard of its comrades towards the gate holding some strange spherical object that was the source of the light. It appeared to be about the size of a small coconut. James didn't like the look of it. The hostiles holding the battering ram started to back off, all the warriors giving the Lotkin carrying the odd object a wide berth. Then the thing started running, winding its arm back for a powerful throw.

"Aw, shit! EVERYONE AWAY FROM THE GATE!" James tried to warn those in close proximity.

Flash took to the air and James started to back peddle. Suddenly, a bright light flashed from over the ramparts, followed by an overpressure wave and high heat. James was thrown back, tumbling like a rag doll across the deck. He finally came to a stop flat on his stomach. He immediately tried to get back up, but he was too dazed and his vision was blurry. A high pitched ring sounded constantly in his ears. He got up on his hands and knees and shook his head, attempting to clear it. Eventually his hearing started to return, he began to hear yelling and screaming. James shakily came to his feet and felt a tugging in the left side of his hip. Looking down, he saw a thin spear of wood sticking out about four inches. Wrapping his hand around it, he gritted his teeth and wrenched it out. James looked to where he and Flash had been standing only moments before. Now it was but a jagged and splintered hole. He walked cautiously to the edge and peered down. The upper part of the gate had been almost completely blown away leaving only pieces of scrap dangling from what was left of the hinges. Below, all that was left was the cracked and crumbled remains of the stone blocks. Yards away from ground zero, bodies of guard ponies lay prone in the dirt, some still moving. On the other side, the Lotkin amassed, jostling and shoving each other in a rush to be the first over the pile of rubble. Now they wouldn't just have to defend, they would have to survive.

James could no longer think, he just reacted. Grasping the edge of the platform he was on, he swiftly lowered himself down the scaffolding to the cold ground below. Snapping his rifle to the ready, he moved to the blast zone and started taking shots at anything that appeared atop the loose mass of rock. He fired round after round as the monsters began to overrun the failing barrier. Soon the wave of hostiles crashed over the obstruction. James' rifle clicked empty. he dropped the empty and slammed his last one home. Switching back to full auto, he sent bursts of hot lead into anything unlucky enough to find itself in his sights. beast after beast dropped before him, life fleeing their bodies before they hit the deck. The last round left the chamber, embedding itself in the knarled skull of a Lotkin, the rifle's bolt clacked, locked open. James swung it around his shoulder on its strap and brought up the SPAS 15. He rushed forward and began blasting everything before him, unleashing a savage war cry in defiance of the invaders. The blood red 12 guage shells arced away from his weapon, tossed aside with each pull of the trigger. James mowed down wave after wave until the earth was turned to mud with the excess of blood upon the soft dirt. At last, he fired the last shell. Quickly he stripped himself of his rifle and shotgun. Then, in one swift motion, he drew his knife and pistol together.

Guards and members of the engineer corps had pulled back a majority of those wounded by the blast by now. The first Lotkin to try its mettle with the human recieved a .45 round in its face. The next took his knife to its neck as James spun under the swing of its blade and followed through with his strike. The next tried to cleave James' head with an axe. James blocked the attack, stopping the downward stroke at the creature's wrists with his gun arm and countered with repeated stabs to its unprotected armpit and neck. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw another blade sing through the air towards his midsection. He almost didn't escape it in time, but it was caught mid swing by a short sword surrounded by a familiar light blue aura. The levitating sword suddenly batted the Lotkin's aside and drove itself through its neck, nearly decapitating the creature. Sparks appeared by James' side, followed by Feather and Flash. Together, the four hacked, stabbed, slashed and shot the abominable warriors assailing the town. Rank after rank of vile beings advanced and met their end at the muzzle of James' pistol and the blades of the ponies. Soon they were joined by the guards.

The battle at the gate waged on for more than half an hour, neither side giving nor gaining ground. Each of the Fixers and more than a few guards had aquired multiple cuts and wounds. They were all unsure about how much longer they could last. The army of foul humanoids seemed to be dwindling, but there was no let up to the violence and fighting. Then, just when the defenders found their strength failing and cause lost, several impacts could be heard from beyond the wall.

"The Griffons, the Griffons are here!" Somepony called from the ramparts.

Sure enough, squadrons of griffons descended from the sky, cutting down the hoard of Lotkin from above with long curved sabres. Further up, large floating warships dropped heavy masses of stone from high over head. With renewed vigor, the defenders pushed the panicked and disorganized cretins from the town, driving the remnants into the forest beyond. It was an amazing turn around. Though with many wounded and dead, ponies stood victorious.

=======================================================================

James picked his way among the dead, searching for a particular object. He was due to meet the commander of the griffon forces soon, but he needed to find some evidence of the outlandish explosive that had almost devastated them all. Currently, the rest of his team was helping find wounded and dead among the twisted bodies of the Lotkin. They had refused medical attention from the medics until everypony else had been attended to. James was about to give up when he saw the same flickering light out of his peripherals. He stomped over to the source and flipped over the body it was eminating from. The beast was still alive, but a quick thrust of the knife ended its suffering. James picked up a small fist sized sphere similar to the one that had destroyed the west gate. He brought it to his face and examined it closely. The aura it omitted was extremely familiar to him, but he could not figure why. Carefully, he slipped it into his side cargo pocket. He would have Sparks examine it later. Now, there were more pressing matters.

The next few days were spent treating the wounded and burying the dead. The dead of the Lotkin were taken out away from the town and tossed into a pit in a mass grave and then burned to ash before being buried under a mass of soil. The guards who had given their lives were honored with a full military burial. After the ceremony James was approached by Colonel Rokjaw and a scarred raven feathered and coated griffon. The Colonel made a gesture, James understood and followed them into the guard headquarters and Rokjaw's office. Captain Iron Horn was already there waiting.

"Ok, let's get down to business." The Colonel started, "Commander, this is Admiral Darkwing, leader of the griffon armada that came to our aid."

James extended his hand to the officer, who took it with his claw and shook.

"Sir, its a pleasure to meet you, I think it's safe to say you saved all our hides here. You have all our thanks." James said.

"It was no problem. Once we recieved your message informing us that the same brutes that had been harassing our people had besieged your town, we were more than happy to assist in eradicating them." The griffon replied in a posh accent. "And I must give you and your team praise for your fighting skill, Commander, I watched as you and the guard routed those vile things."

"Believe me, it couldn't have been done without your timely arrival. Colonel, have there been anymore sightings?"

"No, the pegasus patrols haven't spotted any movement in the forest and the caves the attacking force came from still only show signs of egress, no tracks lead back inside."

"Interesting. They had to have gone somewhere. Are you going to continue to hold down the fort here or what?"

Iron Horn stepped forward, "The defences took a good beating, but it's nothing we can't fix, given some time."

"Yes, as long as the Captain can get the town defensible again, I think we can hold out. In the meantime we'll need defensive force to stay behind to guard against possible future attacks." The Colonel added.

James turned to the Admiral, "Sir, would there be any chance you could help out here?"

"Certainly, this town IS important to our trade economy. I will leave a few of our warships and squadrons to compliment your guard until construction is complete or reinforcements arrive."

"Thank you sir, that's very generous."

"Think nothing of it."

James returned his attention to the Colonel, "Colonel Rokjaw, if there's nothing else, I should get going. My team needs rest and I have an After Action Report to deliver to the Princesses."

"By all means."

James excused himself and walked back outside and keyed his mic, "Myst, you up?"

There was a moment of silence before he got an answer, "Flash here."

"I'm looking for Myst."

"She's a little busy with the damage on here airship right now, what's up?" James thought he could faintly hear frustrated cursing in the background.

"We're getting ready to pull chocks here, how bad is it?"

"We'll be lucky to get off the ground!" Myst's angry voice came in.

"Uh oh, what happened?" James asked.

"You'd better see it for yourself. Be careful, Myst is a bit testy at the moment." Flash warned.

James made his way to the elevators that would take him up to the docks suspended high above. On the ride up, he got a good look at the rest of the town. It looked battered and in shambles. Crossbow bolts littered many surfaces. The area around the shattered west gate was still stained with blood and stood out like a blight upon the earth. The elevator reached the top and James stepped out and walked off in the direction he thought the Clipper might be. After some searching, he finally came across it. It was a mess. Crossbow bolts stuck out at odd angles, almost all the windows were shattered. Flash was sitting outside the craft, by the side door.

"Where is she?" James inquired.

"Back in the engine compartment." Flash told him.

James entered the aircraft and made his way to the engine room. He found the pilot hard at work on the engine.

"What's the matter?"

Myst turned around at the sound of his voice. "Both one of the gas bladders and the engine got hit pretty bad. I've patched up the bladder and refilled it, but a stray bolt lodged itself in the engine block and the belt snapped."

"So...."

"So we still have the balloon, but lack the capacity to generate electricity and power the propeller. Which ALSO got hit a few times."

"Can you fix it?"

"Well, sure. with some time, but all I can do for now is get the electricity going. The propeller needs to be reshaped along with the rudders and it also needs a new drive shaft."

"Can you get us back to Ponyville with just the balloon?"

Myst scoffed, "Can I? You're looking at the most skilled pilot in Equestria! We can ride the air currents, but it will take at least twice as long as before."

"Good, get it done."

"Aye aye, sir." She replied half jokingly.

James exited the craft to let her work. He walked over and plopped himself down next to Flash.

"So what do we do now?" Flash asked.

"James sighed deeply, "First we relax. God knows you all earned it. Then, we learn."

The human had discovered much about his new enemy in the past two days. Their behavior, their structure and the most unnerving; their advance in technology. He needed to find out exactly what they were planning and fast. Before anyone else got hurt. And then, there was still the matter of the missing unicorns. That was probably what worried him the most. Hopefully, he could find more answers when he got back home.

Distractions

Chapter 22: Distractions

The ride back was uncomfortably quiet. Only the hum of the engine as it generated just enough electricity necessary to keep the bird aloft. Myst had brought it to high altitude and caught a jet stream heading east. With the prop out of commission, the trip was going to take a whole day, maybe longer. Fortunately, the craft was still packed with rations and the team now sat in the drafty main cabin. The broken windows had been boarded up, but there were still holes here and there in the bulkhead. Currently James was chowing down hungrily on a cold oatmeal paste out of a chipped bowl somepony had left. It wasn't very appetizing, but the only other thing was compressed blocks of hay and he hadn't eaten since the morning before. After all was said and done yesterday and Myst informed him that they could leave by first light, he had simply passed out in the Clipper.

He had woken up sore and aching all over his body with a ravenous hunger. He was half way done when he noticed the deck. There were spots of blood spattered around the deck from when Myst had been transporting wounded to safety, staining the wood. His right hand started to shake slightly as his mind reflected on the events of the past day. Then he remembered he was not alone and looked around him. Sparks was laying in a corner, eyes closed, but not asleep. Flash was sitting across from him, absently pawing at the deck with his hoof. Feather seemed to be taking it the best. He was reading a book he had brought with him. All were silent. James put down the bowl and offered his canteen to Flash, who took a few swigs of it, grateful. Then he stood up and checked on their pilot. She looked as if she hadn't slept all night. Here eyes were puffy and red, mane a mess. Still, she kept an eye on the instruments in front of her, ensuring that her airship didn't drift off course. They were all haggard. The four ponies had just experienced their first ever battle, and it was taking its toll. James had lost his appetite now, so he just went up the ladder to the upper deck and lay down. The air was chilly and thin at this height, but there was barely any wind given they were travelling at the same speed of it. He just closed his eyes and started breathing; in through the navel, out through the nose. James just lay there and listen, enjoying the absolute silence of the skies.

=======================================================================

When the small airship finally reached Ponyville, the sun was close to setting. James was leaning against the guard rail on the upper deck with Flash and Feather, just enjoying the view of home. They had had a little talk about what had transpired the other day. Sparks was below decks taking a look at the engine so he could help Myst fix it later.

"Just remember, don't dwell on it. You all did what you had to do and saved lives because of it. If anything, think about that. We're going to take a week or so off here, so make sure you guys go do something you really enjoy. Take up a hobby, go visit family, as soon as we touch down you're all on leave. Just make sure you guys are back by next monday."

The two nodded without saying a word. As the town grew in the distance, a small speck on the horizon started expanding. Within no time it transformed into a rainbow blur. James could recognize it anywhere and he began to grin as a thought formed in his head. He himself needed something to do and take his mind off morbid things, and there was nothing quite like a near death -- or to quote one of his favourite movies, "a near life" -- experience to do just that.

"Fellas, I gotta go. Pass on what we talked about to Myst and Sparks. I'll see you guys later."

James slid down the ladder and grabbed his parachute, donning it. Then he ran back up and waved to the rapidly approaching pegasus. Rainbow Dash waved back and doubled her speed. The smile on the human's face grew wider. When she got close, James balanced himself on the starboard guard rail and flashed his quick little salute. Then, spreading his arms, he leaned forward and kicked off the rail, propelling his body into open sky. Dash immediately dove after him, easily catching up and pulling along side. James' response was to bring his arms to the side and his legs together, increasing his velocity as he speared towards the ground far below. The wind tore at his clothes, like icy fingers clawing at his body. He became giddy as he reached terminal velocity and he felt as if gravity had been switched off. Dash appeared nearby, her wings tucked tight against her body, a look of excitement on her face. James decided to play around while he had time. He arched his back and went spread eagled, slowing his descent before throwing his legs out in front of him and tucking into a ball, sending him backflipping up past the speeding weather mare. She flared her wings and spun laterally, coming level with the jumper. She smiled at him. James pointed down at a cluster of clouds directly below them and approaching fast. Dash started to slow down, anticipating an impact, James simply plowed right through, shooting ahead out the bottom. The human flipped upsidedown and wave up at the cyan mare. Then he made a ripping motion across his chest. Righting himself, James pulled the ripcord. The pilot chute shot out the back and caught the air, bringing the main with it.

James was jostled by the sudden stop, but then began a peaceful descent to the surface of the earth. He was still a ways off the ground and angled in the direction of his new HQ. Dash drifted down beside him.

"That was so cool! How did somepony like you learn to do tricks like that?" She called out to him.

"After we're trained to jump, we still have to practice to keep our skill up! Sometimes we get bored!" He shouted back. "We also learned to do this!"

He yanked down on one side, hard. This sent him into a rapidly descending spin, centrifugal force swinging him around at the end of the straps. He stopped and leveled out once his vision started to go dark. Passing out up here would not be healthy.

"So what are you doing later?" Dash asked him.

"Tonight I just want to rest up and get some sleep. Plus I also gotta get my gear cleaned up and put away before I do anything else."

"Awww, really?" She moaned.

"Yeah, afraid so. Come get me tomorrow or the next day, I'd be glad to do something."

"I have a day off in two days!"

"Ok, I'll see you then. And Dash, could I ask you one favor?"

"Sure, anything!" Her eyes lit up.

"I seemed to have lost TOO much altitude, could I get a tow?"

"Fine, but you owe me one." She replied, a little annoyed.

"Yes, I owe you one."

=======================================================================

James racked the charging lever on his rifle, producing a satisfying *click-clack*. He had spent the last three hours in Sparks' workshop cleaning his weapons. The maintenance for sniper rifle and pistol were easy and routine, but he had had to completely strip down and hand wash all the parts on the assault rifle and shotgun. He had hastily tossed them aside so as not to impede his movement during the fight, but they had been kicked around in the mud in the ensuing chaos. Every bit of the machines were caked with dirt and grime. And the sight on his rifle needed to be readjusted. James pulled the trigger and was rewarded with a smart click. Now he just needed to make sure everything really was working. He grabbed a two half filled magazines, one for the rifle and one for the shotgun, and made his way outside to the edge of the forest. He loaded the rifle and shot off a few on semi. that worked fine so he switched to auto. A tight grouping exploded into the trunk of the tree he was aiming at, no jams. He repeated this with the shotgun without any problems. Glad he could finally get some rest, James retreated back to the workshop to stow his gear.

He sat down at the workbench for a minute and checked his iPod. It was almost midnight. He huffed and pulled out the strange orb he'd picked up on the battlefield. It still glowed eerily, the colors of its aura shifting and flowing. It was warm to the touch. At first he thought it might be made out of glass, but when he tapped it, it sounded like crystal. There were no discernable markings or any kind of buttons or knobs, just a smooth uniform surface. Not being able to glean anymore information by just looking at it, James wrapped it in a thick cloth and gently placed it on a shelf with a note not to touch it. He could have Sparks examine it when he got back from leave. Tiredly, He slunk out of the building and made the long hike back to the house. At least tomorrow he could sleep in for once.

=======================================================================

It was dark, hot and stuffy. The musty smell of rock and sand was strong and the bright light in his face was disorientating. His arms an legs were bound tightly to the chair with rolls of ducttape. His head, body and limbs throbbed with pain. He had taken quite a beating. Behind him a door swung open and closed, two pairs of footsteps could be heard. Metal objects could be heard klunking against wood as they were placed on a table. Heavy footsteps made their way to his side.

"What you doing here, man? You try to hurt us, man?" A thickly accented voice asked from out of sight. "We catch now, you not good."

The man in the chair remained silent.

"You talk, man. Tell us where friends are. Your kind, never alone."

The man still didn't respond, defying his captor without a word.

"You want talk, man. No talk, much hurt."

Still nothing. The man in the chair simply continued to stare forward, past the source of light.

"Fine, is your choice. Kashim, lotfan bei man aachar bei dadee."

An individual wearing a scarf around his face entered the man's field of vision with a large spanner wrench in his hands. Swiftly, the masked person swung the wrench down on his left arm, hard. The captive grunted in pain, but was otherwise silent.

"Still no? Is not smart, my man. Ooh ra barsh."

The man winced as as blade was drawn quickly across the skin of his right shoulder, hot blood running down his arm.

"Knife sharp, yeah? Maybe he put in stomach. Die slow. Not sound good, yeah? You just talk."

The man in the chair just smiled. This earned him a blow to the jaw. The man chuckled and spat blood onto the ground at his feet, still smiling, teeth stained crimson. His interrogator brought the wrench down on the back of the man's left hand, producing a sickening crunch as the thin bones inside snapped in several places. It only resulted in another grunt.

"You know you can end it quick, man. We just need you speak."

The man in the chair stared at his torturer with malice. "Then we're in for a long night, 'cuz I don't know shit."

The wrench whipped through the air at his head.

=======================================================================

James sat up. He massaged his hand, remembering the dream. The docs had fixed it up good, but it still ached from time to time. The wounds had long since healed, but he could still fell the impact of the cold steel, the slippery sensation of a blade across his skin. After capturing his team in an ambush, the insurgents loaded them into the back of a truck. Nix ended up causing a crash by stabbing the driver from behind with a small hidden blade when their guards weren't looking. The rest of the team escaped in the following chaos, but James had been trapped underneath the wreck. They had kept him in that small chamber, starving him for days. Everytime he tried to escape, he would just become lost in the labrynth of the cave system. Eventually, Rocka had found him and busted him out during the interrogation session. James remembered as blood and brain matter was sprayed all over him when his buddy had shot his captors upon finding them.

He got out of bed and threw on a shirt. It was still late at night, the bright moon only just starting its descent. Unable to get right back to sleep, James made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a small glass of rum. Then he walked out to the porch and sat down, admiring the starry night sky. As he thought about his past experience, he realized the unicorns that had gone missing might be in a similar situation. But why just the unicorns, and why simple townsfolk? If it was for information, a pony in an administrative position would have been more logical. Then again from what he had seen, those warmongering things were rarely, if ever, logical. Right then, He swore that his top priority would be to locate and free those that had been kidnapped. He just hoped they were still alive.

James finished his drink and went back upstairs to his room. He reached into his desk, retrieved his parchment, quill and ink and began to scratch out a letter. If he was going to undertake this project, he might need to bring in some extra help. If they were ready. It was time to go on the offensive.

Take A Brake

Chapter 23: Take A Brake

James lay on the side of a small hill in a nearby park, eyes to the sky and headphones in. Up above, Rainbow Dash was showing off some new tricks for him. At the moment, she was corkscrewing through the air while performing a loop. It was very impressive. Back in his world, not even the most advanced performance aircraft could ever hope to pull that off. Dash finished her loop and doubled back towards James in a split-S. She flared her wings and came down beside him in a soft landing as he stood up, clapping.

"Awesome flying there, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that before." He complimented.

"Thanks," She said while catching her breath, "You should've seen the routine I did for the Best Young Flyers competition!"

"I heard about that. Saved some ponies AND performed a 'Sonic Rainboom'. Wish I could have been there for that. Still haven't seen that 'Rainboom' by the way."

"Hmmm... I might be up for it. For a price."

"Oh? And what would that be?" James asked suspiciously.

Dash wore a smirk on her face as she answered, "How 'bout dinner?"

"Dinner, huh? Ok, I'm game. You pull it off, dinner on me tonight."

She shot up high into the sky, becoming no more than a microscopic dot. James took his iPod from his pocket and turned on the camera. There was no way he was gonna let this go undocumented. Hell, even if she really could break the sound barrier, it would make for a great video. Too bad he wouldn't be able to share it with his buds back home. They would've gotten a kick out of it. He trained the lens on the approximate location he thought the athletic pegasus to be and tapped the record icon. James squinted his eyes against the sun, trying to get a good look at her. Soon, he spotted her, plumeting towards the ground at a high rate of speed. He almost thought he could see an opaque haze building up around her.

"No way. No fuckin' way..."

Just as he began to think she would plow into the ground, there was a flash of white followed by a deafening explosion. A ring of ethereal multi-colored fire expanded out from the point of origin as the mare left a rainbow trail behind her, arching high into the air at an impossible angle. James dropped his iPod and stared, mouth ajar. He didn't even care that his ears felt like they were bleeding. Dash slowed down and came around for a landing.

"Ha, now you owe me two things. So whad'ja think?"

"How... whad the.... there was the boom, and fire, and then.... you were like a damned light cycle!"

"A what?"

"Nothing, it's not important. Anyway, that was ridiculously amazing! I didn't thick that could ever be possible! I mean, the shear mechanics of an organic being achieving those velocities without injury is mind boggling!"

"Huh?"

"Ah shit, sorry." James apologized, shaking his head. "Point is, I owe you a great dinner for showing me something so amazing."

"You're darn right you do."

"So what'll it be, you want to go out on the town or home cooked?"

"What's with the choice?"

"Well I figured anyone can buy dinner, but home made has that special touch."

"I'll see you at eight, your place." With that she took off, leaving the human behind.

"The hell did I get myself into?"

James picked up his iPod and checked the screen. It read 15:52. That gave him just over four hours to run into town, get some groceries, get back, clean up and cook dinner. If he hurried, he could make it with some time to spare.

=======================================================================

James looked at the spread laid out on the kitchen counter. Rice, carrots, lettuce, apples, tomatos, potatos, bell peppers and other greens. He even managed to score a slab of tofu. James wasn't really much of a health food eater, but once again, it wasn't like he had a choice. At least if he seasoned it right, he could fry it up and pass it of as meat to his taste buds. Dash's would be done a bit differently. He set a pot of rice on the stove and turned it on, then began chopping up the greens to put in a salad, more for her than for himself. He was in the middle of seasoning his tofu 'steak' with some herbs and soy sauce when flash trotted in from the living room.

"Woah! What's going on in here?"

"Nothing, just whippin' somethin' up."

"This ain't 'nothing', you're cooking a full blown meal! I didn't know you were a chef."

"No, not really. More like a line cook. I'm just trying to go off some tips a friend taught me a while back."

Rocka had been the team's "Premier Chef." He was a good cook out in the field, but was a down right culinary magician when he had an actual kitchen and some real ingredients. A couple years back, James had asked him for some cooking advice in order to impress some girl that ended up not wanting to have anything to do with him. He had just gotten back from a deployment and was still a little jumpy. A back firing car on the street had kind of freaked him out. Needless to say, the girl, being a civilian, was a bit concerned by his strange behaviour and took off. Thankfully, there were no cars here.

"So who's the lucky lady?" Flash asked his friend.

"Huh?" James feigned ignorance.

"C'mon, you can't fool me. You're obviously cooking for two and it definitely ain't for me. Or is it?" Flash said teasingly, an eyebrow raised.

"Not in your wildest dreams. Anywho, what you been up to lately?" James asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not much, just hangin' out with Ditz."

"Good, good."

"Now, back to before you tried to change the subject....."

"Aw, c'mon. Alright, I got a friend coming over for dinner in about," he checked his iPod, "an hour and I still gotta cook all this. Now, you gonna help or get out?"

"Hey, jeez, don't bite my head off. I just came in for a beer!"

"Sorry, here."

James opened the icebox and pulled out a couple of beers. He put the edges of the caps on the edge of the counter and gave them a good smack, popping them off. He handed one to Flash and took a sip from his own before resuming his task.

"Since you're here anyway, you doing anything later tonight?" Flash inquired.

James thought for a moment, "Hmm, after this, no. Why, what's up?"

"Me, Feather and Myst were thinking of going out tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to come with."

"Yeah, I might. Where'll you all be?"

"The Hoof and Mouth, same place as last time."

"Alright, maybe I'll drop by."

"See you later."

Flash finished his beer and took of, tossing the empty in the trash bin on the way out. James got back to work on his creation. He had just finished seasoning Dash's tofu and was cutting them up into cubes. The rice still wouldn't be done for another few minutes, so he took another swig of his beer and set to steaming some broccoli. It was one of the few vegetables he actually liked, and only just barely. When the rice was just about finished, James put the tofu chunks into separate pans and began to fry them up. He rolled them around to get an even burn and tossed the rice in once it was ready, adding some soy sauce and a bit of lemon, he stirred. Rocka would have been proud.

The food was just about ready when there was a knock at the door. James checked his iPod again and saw that it was 19:58. Show time. He took the pans off the burner and went to the door. Before he could open it, however, it suddenly burst open, slamming him in the side of the face and chest and unfortunately, the door knob caught him in a much more painful place. Shortly after, a brightly colored pegasus trotted on through.

"Hey James, I'm here! I don't know what you're cooking, but it smells great! James? Where you at?" She looked around the living room, searching for the human.

"I'm - I'm down here." He said painfully.

"Oh my gosh! What happened? Are you hurt?"

"No way," he coughed out while curled in the fetal position, "I'm just resting."

"Uh... ok? Is dinner ready?"

"Yeah, just take a seat. I just need a minute." James said while shakily getting to his feet.

Dash just shrugged and made her way to the small dinning table set to the side of the living room. James got back into the kitchen, taking deep breaths to dull the pain. When he had composed himself, he filled a couple plates with the food he cooked and brought it out to the table with the bowl of salad.

"It ain't much, but here you go. Now I ain't much for wine and stuff, but you can take your pick of drinks from the icebox." He explained.

"It's fine. Wine is more Twi's and Rarity's thing, What'cha got?"

"Some beers, AJ's cider, you can get water from the tap of course."

"I'll just have a beer, please."

"Alright, two beers coming up."

James retrieved the beverages from the kitchen and sat down to eat with his guest. Once again, it started out awkwardly, but the cyan mare soon broke the silence.

"This is pretty good, what is it?" She asked while sampling his fried dish.

"It's just fried rice and tofu. I'm not really all that good a cook." He took a bite of his own food. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad either. "So, miss Dash, how long have you been living here?"

"Meh, not long. Only a few years now. I lived in Cloudsdale for some years after flightschool working in the weather factory. I wasn't really for me though, and there were some accidents. Eventually I ended up taking a job in the weather service here. What about you? What did you do before... you know..."

*Sigh* "Not much to tell, really. I got out of highschool and tried to get through college. Unfortunately, I ran out of money and had to drop out. I couldn't really get a job anywhere, so I ended up enlisting. I originally wanted to work on aircraft, fixing up the planes, but at bootcamp I got pulled aside and offered a chance to try out for something different, so I took it. Next thing I new, I switched rates and ended up doing what I do now. That's about it."

"You mean 'enlisted', like joining the guard? What did you do there?"

"That... you don't really want know about that. Most of it ain't pretty."

"Well, what if you just--"

James quickly cut her off, "Please. Just drop it."

Rainbow Dash was a bit taken aback at this. James saw the look on her face and relized he may have handled that in the wrong way. He looked down in a bit of embarrassment and scratched the back of his head. He brought his gaze back to her face.

"Listen, I'm sorry. That was rude. It's just not something I really like to talk about."

"Its ok."

It went back to awkward silence for a moment while they focused on eating their meals. James couldn't stand it anymore and worked up the courage to start another conversation. Soon they were talking and exchanging amusing stories from their pasts like old friends.

"...and Pinkie was distracting her so much that when she went to pour herself a glass of soda, she accidently got a bottle of hotsauce and almost drank half the cup before she knew what she was doing!"

"Ha ha ha, nice. That reminds me of the time my buddy Rocka had to take eye drops when he got too much sand in his eyes and we switched it out with lemon juice. He almost killed me! Except he couldn't see!" James said in hysterics.

The food had long since been eaten and they'd nearly cleaned out the beers in the icebox. James looked at his iPod and saw that it was nearly 22. His sky blue companion noticed and decided to start clearing the table. James helped her and together had all the dishes and cookware clean.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" She asked the human.

"Nothing much, thought that maybe I'd stop by the bar and see some friends. You wanna come along?"

"Sure!"

"Alright, let's go."

The duo left the house and made their way into town. They reached it soon and went straight for the bar. After entering, James almost immediately spotted his teammates at the same table that they had sat at last time.

"Gentlecolts, Lady, I hope you don't mind, but I invited my friend here to join us."

"Not at all."

"No problem"

"I... might actually have somepony coming too." Flash said.

"Oh, your cousin coming?" James asked.

"No, somepony else."

"Well who... wait, it's that mare from the house party, isn't it?" James guessed, smiling mischieviously.

"Y-yeah, it is." Flash blushed a bit.

"Wow, good for you buddy, I can't wait to finally meet the lucky lady."

"Wait, what happened?" Myst asked.

"Oh, we got drunk, dragged Sparks all over the place, lead half the town on a rager and Flash here got lucky. It was before you got here." James explained.

"Ah, I see."

"By the way, how's the ship looking?"

"It's certainly seen better days. I want to try slapping some armor on there, but it has to be light. I already talked to Sparks about it before he left. He said he knew of a friend of his that did work in metallurgy and would bring some samples back from Canterlot."

"Outstanding. Lookin' forward to it. Ok, enough about business, let's get some drinks, huh?"

The group chipped in for a couple pitchers and some shots of whiskey. James even played a game of pool with Myst who of course cleaned his clock on the table, but he knew better than to put down money. Later, he even taught Dash how to play. Flash and Feather started going shot for for shot. The jukebox in the corner was blaring rock 'n' roll and everypony and the human were having a blast. Then Pinkie Pie bounced in out of nowhere, beaming with her impossibly large, ever present smile.

"Hey everypony, hi James. Ooh! Dashie, I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Hey Pinkie, What brings you here?" James asked the curley maned mare.

"She's here with me." Flash said from across the table.

James didn't process this information right away, but his face lit up as soon as the light bulb in his mind did. He leaned over to his friend.

"Wait, so that night.... you..."

"Yes, that's right."

"Aw, no way man. Congrats there brother."

"Thanks."

"Just one thing I'm curious about. Why?"

"I like her energy."

"I bet you do."

"Heeey..."

"Kidding!"

So Pinkie joined the party and kicked it into overdrive. Before they knew it, she had convinced them all the head over to one of the clubs. There was apparently a guest DJ by the name of Vinyl Scratch who played music similar to dubstep. The group entered to the throbbing wubs of the electronica, everywhere ponies were jumping to it. James wasn't exactly a fan of the music, preferring the more old school stuff, but his friends seemed to be enjoying it so he went along and just enjoyed being in their company. They hung out there for a couple hours, but as it got late, James decided to excuse himself and head back home. He checked his iPod as he stepped out past the bouncers, 0136. Not bad, but it was time to get home. Nothing good ever happens after 2 AM. The house party incident was a testament to that. James hadn't gotten far when he heard hoofsteps following behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Dash approaching. He slowed down to let her catch up.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So... you doing anything else?" The pegasus mare asked him.

"Nah, I'm kinda tired. Think I'll just head home and get some rest."

"Oh... ok. Well, I guess I'll see you some other time?" She asked with a tinge of gloomyness.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that. And Dash?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks hangin' with me. I had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, me too." She perked up a little.

"G'night."

"Night."

James set off in the direction of his house. He had only gone about thirty feet when there was a whirl of wind and he felt what he thought was a pair of lips briefly peck his cheek, but it was gone as quickly as it came. He stopped and absently rubbed the spot, rapid flapping fading behind him. He scowled a bit and continued walking. He wasn't inexperienced, he could read the subtle hints, that last one not being so subtle, but he was still uncomfortable about the whole thing. The different species issue was part of it, but not all of it. It just seemed like every time he found someone he liked or got involved with anybody, they just moved on as soon as he left on his next deployment. James silently meditated on this all the way home.

'Oh well,' he thought as he unlocked the door to his house and made his way to his room, 'it's not something I should dwell on right now. I got other things to worry about. Like that damn orb thing.'

He stripped down and flopped onto his matress, pulling the covers over himself. James pushed his headphones into his ears and flipped down the albums to Sublime.

"Why shit so crazy?" He muttered while fading out of a slightly drunken consciousness.

Shennanigans And Dark Discoveries

Chapter 24: Shennanigans And Dark Discoveries

Early sunday morning James was jogging down along the forest edge in his usual work out routine, the air beginning to take on a chill as the season moved into autumn. Every once in a while, just to supplement it, he would stop and do some curls, squats and weighted sit ups with some heavy rocks. Ponyville didn't have a gym as far as he knew, so he did what he could with what he could find. He completed his circut in about an hour and began to jog back to the house for a shower and some food. He was half way back when he was joined by Flash.

"Hey bud, what you up to?" The pegasus asked while hovering along beside the human.

"Not much, I was just finishing up, you?"

"Same, gotta keep the wings in shape."

Silence hung in the air between them for a moment with nothing but the flap of wings and James' breathing to fill it.

"So... the other night I saw Rainbow Dash leave the club with you..."

"Nothing happened." James stated firmly, immediately picking up on what the stallion was asking.

"Well I just thought, they way you two were getting along... and you DID cook her dinner..."

"Nothing. Happened. Yeah, she left when I did, but we only talked for a bit and
went our separate ways."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Aw, c'mon dude! You had it in the bag!" Flash exclaimed.

"Listen brother, it's complicated."

"What's so complicated about it?"

"Well first of all..." James gestured to his own body as he jogged.

"Yeah, you're big and muscular, chicks dig that."

"I was referring to the fact that I look like a big hairless ape."

"Ha, believe me when I say that almost nopony here cares about that!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. I've just heard... whisperings."

"Whisperings?" James asked skeptically, arching an eyebrow.

"Whisperings."

James continued to jog, not particularly enjoying the way this conversation was going.

"Well, all 'whisperings' aside, the other thing is that nobody's really been too keen on sticking around when they find out I might be a bit loony in the head."

"Cut it out, it ain't THAT bad..."

"Yeah, almost beating someone to death after you've already stopped them as a threat isn't all that bad." James said sarcastically.

"Ok, eveypony has their faults. All I'm saying is just give it a chance. Besides, from what I've heard from Pinkie, she ain't one to just cut and run."

"Flash, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, I really do, but I'm just not ready for something like that right now, ok? I got too much to worry about as it is."

"All right, all right, fine. I'll drop it for now, but this isn't over."

"Whatever." James said dismissively.

Flash flapped harder and took off towards the house. It was in sight now, so James decided to go hard for the last part of his routine and sprint the rest of the way home. When he reached the house, he immediately went upstairs to grab a towel for a shower and noticed that Spark's door was open, which was strange because the engineer always left it closed when he wasn't home.

"Hey Flash!" he called downstairs.

"Yeah?" the pony replied.

"Did Sparks get back from Canterlot this morning?"

"I thinks so, why?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to him when he got back. Where'd he go?"

"I'm not sure, but when I left earlier I think I saw him heading to HQ."

"Oh, Alright."

James grabbed a set of clean clothes and a towel and quickly washed himself up in the bathroom. After tossing his dirty clothes in a corner of his room to clean later, he hopped down to the kitchen and ate a quick breakfast of an apple, some toast and a glass of orange juice. Once finished, he rinsed his plate and set off for the HQ. As soon as he reached it, James entered the readyroom and proceeded to the back where Sparks' workshop was, but stopped when he noticed a couple of this sheets of metal laying on the table. He picked it up and turned it in his hands, studying it. He then rapped it a couple times with his knuckles. It was very light, but hard as steel.

"This is titanium. Where in the hell did he get titanium?"

James put it back down and opened the door to the workshop to find the engineer pony sitting at the workbench, inspecting the odd glowing orb James had stored there days earlier.

"Sparks, you know that's dangerous, right? That's why I had a note on it not to touch." James scolded.

"I was there, I know how dangerous it is. Where did you find this one?" Came the pony's retort.

"I pulled it off a corpse. Didn't see any others. You find anything out about it?"

"No, not yet. I've only just started looking at it, it really is strange."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask you to examine it. I want to know what it's made out of, how it was made and how easy it is to make it."

"I can have that done by the end of the day."

"You don't have to do it right now, you still don't technically have to be at work until tomorrow."

"No, I want the challenge. Did you see our new potential armor out there?"

"The metal? Yeah, where'd you come across that by the way?" James walked back out into the main room and picked up the sheet again.

"I got it from an old classmate, strong stuff. Light too."

"What do you call it?"

"Ah, the pompous ass named it after himself, he's calling it 'Wrightsteel'."

"Uh, huh.... What do you want to do with it?"

"I figured I could fit some to the Clipper, that way we wouldn't have to worry so much about those crossbows. I was also wondering if you'd be willing to consider another concept."

"Shoot."

"I want to make body armor for ourselves. Nothing like the clunky old guard armor, stuff we could still easily move in."

"Go on..." James said, intrigued.

"Well, it wouldn't completely protect the wearer and crossbow bolts would still be a problem, but vital areas would be covered and we wouldn't have to worry about being cut up so much."

"I'm game. Come up with a concept we can test and we'll see how it goes from there. As always, go ahead and order any and all matierals you might need."

"Awesome, thanks!" Sparks exclaimed gratefully.

"This comes out good, we'll be thanking you. On a lighter note, how was your leave?"

"Pretty good. I just went back to Canterlot for a couple days to visit my folks."

"How'd that go?"

"Ok I guess. They worry about the new career path, but their still proud of what I'm doing."

"Did you give them details?"

"No, just the gist of things. From what I told them, they know I do some fighting, but I'm mostly work on special projects. They were happy about my pay raise!"

"Good, good. Alright, I'll leave you to your devices here and check back later. And be careful with that thing!" James warned as he exited the building.

He would check back with the unicorn at the end of the day to see if he would have any new information on the strange object. Now he was off to order some cold weather gear and uniforms for his team and he knew just the place to go to. James quickly made his way to the residence of the best tailor he knew here. He casually strode to the door of the boutique and knocked three times and waited. No answer. He knocked another three times. Still no answer. He began to think she wasn't home and was about to leave when he heard a crash from inside. Fearing someone might be in trouble, he reacting quickly. James tried the door knob only to discover that is was locked, so he backed up then took two large steps to gain momentum, kicking the door in on the third. The frame bent inward and splintered, allowing the door to swing open crookedly inward on bent hinges.

Just as he entered, a small purple and orange blur shot by in front of him, chased by a soggy white one. Through an open door, James could see Applebloom in the kitchen trying to soak up a rather large, expanding puddle of water and suds with some fabric. Sweetie Belle trotted up to him, face and hide covered in small scratches.

"What in the name of all that is good is going on in here?" James asked her.

She put on her biggest smile and replied, "Hiya James! It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders Pet Salon! Why'd you do that to the door?"

"Pet Salon? It sounded like there was a fight going on in here! I'm guessing your big sister isn't home?" He asked as a brown dog - Applejack's, he remembered - fur covered in suds ran past him out the door, barking.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Let's just call it a hunch. Is it ok if I leave a note for her? Then I'll help you clean up this mess, she is NOT going to be happy when she gets back."

"Sure, there's writing stuff in the kitchen!"

James walked into the kitchen and found a quill and parchment, scratching out his requests. After he had finished, he turned his attention to the fillies' plight. The puddle wasn't getting any smaller, the sink was full and overflowing, what James now identified as Rarity's cat, Opal, was leaving wet fur everywhere as she chased Scootaloo around the other room, hissing and yowling. First he turned off the faucet, then James scanned the room and saw a doorway off to the side, near the back door. He poked his head in and saw it was a laundry room. In the corner was a mop and bucket.

"Perfect."

He retrieved the mop and bucket and proceeded to swab the deck, squeezing the water into the bucket. He repeated this until the floor was almost dry, then tossed Applebloom a towel and asked her to take care of the rest. While she did that, he went to go drain the sink. It didn't have a built in plunger, so he reached in the soapy water, feeling around for the plug. When his fingers brushed up against something, he thought he had found it, but it didn't really feel right. In fact it felt scaly. Before he could grasp it, the scaly object suddenly came alive and clamped down on his fingers.

"AHH! WHAT THE..."

James ripped his arm out the water and stumbled backwards. He looked down at his hand and was surprised to see a small alligator holding on to his fingers with its jaws fixed firmly in a vice. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt. He tried to pry it off, but the gator held fast. He gave up after a moment and just left it there, unplugging the sink with his free hand. After he completed that, he heard a ruckus from upstairs. Trusting Applebloom to take care of the kitchen, James went to go check on it. Reaching the top step, He observed that the Opal/Scootaloo chase had migrated to the second floor and found some new participants. Now a small white rabbit was hopping about while an owl flapped around the ceiling above. The rabbit hopped up to James and stopped at his feet, cutely wrinkling its nose. His heart softened at the sight as he bent down to pick it up, until it kicked him in the shin, stuck its tongue out at him and hopped passed him, down the stairs.

"How the heck did you guys even get all these animals?" He said angrily aloud.

James walked over to one of the windows, careful not to step on the chase running around the room. He opened one up and the owl quickly departed through the exit. Now, as far as he knew, he just had to catch the cat and clean up the hair. Also fix the door he'd kicked in. James called down the stairs and asked Sweetie Belle to bring him a towel, which she promptly did. Then with proper timing, he threw it over the feline as it ran past him in pursuit of the small pegasus and grabbed it, drying it off quickly, which was difficult to do as the alligator was still clamped down on his fingers. This resulted in him receiving numerous scratches up and down his arm as Opal freed herself and ran off into another room.

"Thanks," said Scootaloo gratefully, catching her breath, "I didn't know how much longer I could run!"

"My pleasure, now please go find some tape and use it to get all this fur up while I go check up on the kitchen."

"Sure thing!"

James returned downstairs just as Applejack and Pinkie Pie showed up.

"Whut in tarnation is goin' on in here!?" The farmpony exclaimed.

The human walked over to offer an explanation, but AJ began again before he could.

"Ya don't have to say a thang, Ah recognize th' work of mah sister and her friends when Ah see it." She said flatly.

"Well, yeah, but the damage to the door was all me. I thought I heard someone in trouble, the door was locked and training just took over. You wouldn't happen to know were Rarity is, would you?" James said, gesturing with his hands.

When Pinkie saw the gator attached to one of them she lit up and bounced over. "Gummy! There you are!" At the sound of her voice, the small gator released its grip and dropped to the floor, waddling over to the pink mare before chomping down on her foreleg.

"Well, that solves that mystery." James muttered.

"Rarity is out lookin' fer gems with Spike, but she'll be back soon. Aw, she's gunna have a keniption when she sees this. Is mah sister still in here?"

"Yeah, all the girls are still here, helping to clean up the mess."

"Well, at least she's fixin' her mistake, but she needs ta git home and finish her homework."

"Understood, I think we got it from here."

Applejack raised her voice and called her sister out from the kitchen, "Applebloom! C'mon outta there, ya gots ta finish yer schoolwork!"

"Awwww! Can't I stay a little longer?" Came the reply.

"This is non-negotiable, now c'mon, ya got school tomorrow." The orange coated mare said firmly.

"Fine!"

The little red maned filly glumly exited the kitchen and left with her sister and Pinkie. James then went to check on the kitchen and saw that the little mare had done a good job cleaning the floor. He bent down and picked up the fabric she had been using previously and inspected it. It was some kind of silk. Not good. He hung it up in the laundry room and went to find Scootaloo.

He found her with Sweetie Belle, still collecting loose fur, "Hey Scoots, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" She asked eagerly.

"I need you to take that scooter and wagon of yours into town and get a long piece of wood for the door frame and some nails and a hammer. Think you could do that for me?"

"Consider it done!"

"Good, here's some bits that should cover it," He handed her a small bag of the currency,"Take the two pieces of the broken frame for reference and hurry back."

"You got it!" She gave a cute little salute before running outside, jumping on her scooter and buzzing off to town.

While he waited for her to get back, James resumed helping Sweetie Belle with the mess. The two had nearly gotten all the hair up and the kitchen was almost immaculate by the time Scootaloo returned with the items he had requested. James left the two fillies to finish up while he got to work fixing the door. If they were lucky, by the time Rarity got back, it would be like nothing had ever happened. He removed the loose nails from the frame and hammered the hinges back in place. The new frame Scootaloo had bought was a little bit too big, but he had a hammer. James wedged it in and aligned it with a few strokes of the striking tool, securing it in place with the new nails afterwards. Unfortunately, they did not have any paint, but hopefully she would not notice. After repairing the door, James gathered up all the wood scraps and debris from when he had kicked it in. Thankfully, the door itself was sturdy and had only suffered the mark of his boot, which was easily wiped off. Rarity and Spike arrived with three large bags filled with various gemstones just as James was taking out a bag full of the left over trash.

In her refined accent she spoke, "James, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you to my shop?"

"Oh, not much. I just had some new uniforms I needed made, so of course I came to the most qualified pony for the job is all. I left a list of what I want done on a table in the kitchen."

"Oh, that's very flattering of you. You said in the kitchen, Sweetie Belle wasn't cooking, was she?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh, no no no, nothing like that."

"Then, what is with the trash bag? And the scratches on your arms?" The seamstress asked bluntly.

"I, uh, noticed the bag was full, and uh, decided to take it out. The scratches were from a training accident. Yeah." He made up on the spot.

"Well, that's very kind of you. I'll begin work on your order as soon as I'm able. Spike, darling, you can just leave the bag here, and take a few of those gems for yourself, thank you so much for assisting me."

"Anything for you Rarity!" The little dragon exclaimed enthusiastically.

The cultured mare levitated the bag away and proceeded into her home while James and Spike began to walk away. James dumped the trash in a near by can.

As they walked, Spike looked to James and asked, "Why do you really have those scratches?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't fool me, those are fresh."

"Would you believe me if I told you Rarity's sister and her friends were involved?"

"Yes, yes I would."

Just then, a fearsome bellow came from the shop behind them, "SWEETIE BELLE!"

"Shit, I forgot about the silk." James said, looking over his shoulder.

"What exactly happened?"

"Brother, it's a long story."

=======================================================================

The day had grown old and the sun was setting. Having finished his errands, James was now returning to the Fixers' HQ. He wanted to see what his friend might have discovered about the object of interest. He entered and made his way to the back room workshop, knocking as he entered. The engineer swung around to face him, a haunted look on his long face.

"Woah, what's wrong buddy? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"That thing, that THING is pure EVIL!" Sparks spat out, pointing to the glowing orb.

"Calm down, brother. Take a breath and tell me exactly what you found." James tried to say soothingly.

Sparks inhaled sharply through his nostrils, eyes closed, before giving the human his report.

"That ball is made of a special crystal believed to have only existed under Canterlot in caves that were just rediscovered earlier in the year. It takes a skilled stonemason to cut and shape it. It's energy storing properties are very unique in that magic stored in it will stay at the same energy levels regardless of the amount of time it's stored there. In lesser gems; sapphires, rubys, emeralds, even diamonds, the energy will dissipate over time. In fact, Myst uses it in her engine to store the energy required to power it."

"Ok, so what makes it evil?"

"What makes it evil is not the crystal itself, but what's inside it. What you're looking at is the concentrated energy of unicorn magic set to be released on impact. But in there is not just the energy of one unicorn, but TEN different unicorns. The high mixture of energies makes it very volatile."

"At least we know why they were only taking unicorns." James said, sitting down.

"There is a small bit of good news." Sparks told his commander.

"And what is that, exactly?"

"We know they made more than one of these, so there is a good chance they made others. You can't harvest unicorn magic like this from dead subjects."

"So they could still be alive."

"There is a chance, yes."

James leaned back and put his head in his hands, thinking.

Sparks looked to his leader for orders, "What are we going to do?"

James took a moment before replying, "First, I want you to put everything you just told me on paper, don't leave anything out. We're going to write a report, the princesses need to be made aware of this."

"And after that?"

James leaned forward and looked the unicorn dead in the eye.

"We prepare, and then we go hunting."

Work Ups

Chapter 25: Work Ups

James stood in front of the row of four unicorns. At their hooves were four salvaged M9 pistols from Celestia's private vault, each unloaded, slide locked back. Approximately fifteen yards to his rear were four paper targets, a humanoid silhouette drawn on each.

"Alright, once more, just to make sure you've all got it. When do you ever point your weapon at anything?" James asked the group.

"When you intend to destroy it!" Came a simultaneous reply.

"And when is the only time you deactivate the safety?"

"When you intend to fire!" Came the chorus once again.

"How do you treat your weapon, regardless of it's condition?"

"As if it is loaded!"

"Outstanding! Now, put your weapons in condition three, please."

James circled around behind the group, which consisted of Sparks and Myst, plus two other unicorns from another team in the RSTG, the Nightstalkers. The team consisted of the two unicorns James was currently giving firearms training to, two pegasi and their earth pony leader, whom James had trained personally months ago. Every team member had been a part of Luna's royal Night Guard, hence, their name choice. Now James watched as the four ponies levitated their weapons with their magic and depressed the slide release.

"Good, now condition one." James ordered as he placed a magazine loaded with only two rounds next to each unicorn.

They all levitated the mags and slid them into the mag well. At that moment, the Nightstalker leader, Captain Mahdis, trotted over.

"How are my two ponies doing Commander?" The silvery stallion inquired.

"We're about to find out. Shooters, load and make ready your weapons!"

The four used their magic to pull back and release the slides, chambering a round.

"Take aim!"

They aligned the sights on the targets.

"Remember, aim for center of mass, anywhere else is a waste of ammo. Fire!"

A series of pops sounded as the unicorns discharged their firearms. All four hit their targets, but none came close to the center. When all of the eight rounds had been fired, James gave the command to cease fire.

"Cease fire, return your weapons to condition four, clear and safe."

Each pony did as ordered, removing the magazines with the slide locked back and inspecting the weapon to ensure the safety was back on and there was no round in the chamber.

"Well Mahdis, we got some work to do before they're up to scratch. They all did hit the targets though, so that's good."

=======================================================================

James continued the weapons training two hours a day, every day, until they had graduated up to rifles. He had an idea that required two teams, and both needed to have individuals capable of using a firearm. Between sessions, the Nightstalkers would PT or practice their fighting. Myst was busy working on her aircraft and Sparks would be tinkering with his armor concepts and gizmos. James would spar with Feather and Flash, conditioning themselves for any fighting in the near future. They kept this up while the weather grew cold and the season moved into fall, the leaves on the trees taking on brown, orange and golden hues. Rarity had finished his order and delivered uniforms camouflaged for both arid and snowy environments, the latter being simply a series of white parkas and covers, and pants for the human. Before she left, she struck up a small conversation with her bipedal friend.

"Ugh, I'll just never understand your obsession with such ugly clothing." She said while sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"It's about practicality. You wouldn't go running in a dress, would you?"

"Oh, heavens no. Speaking of running, will you be participating in the Running of the Leaves this year?"

"The what? Is that like a marathon or something?"

"Oh dear, you don't know? Well, I suppose you wouldn't, you are not from around here after all. The Running of the Leaves is something we do each year to help shake all the leaves off the trees so that we can move the season into winter." The fashionista explained to him.

"Wow, you guys really take the weather thing here seriously. Uh, we might still be here. When is it?"

"It's only a few weeks away. Shortly after, we should get our first snow."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

The luscious maned mare left and James returned to his work. After dropping off the uniforms in the ready room, he went to go check on Myst's progress. The previous week, Sparks had measured out the dimensions of her ship and was now beginning to fit the armor pieces. So far, most of the body was now encased in quarter inch thick metal, painted a non-reflective gun metal black. He noticed that the windows had been fixed too, but they were still fragile glass.

"Hey Sparks, what gives with the windows?" James asked the engineer.

"What do you mean? We fixed them, they look fine." Sparks rebutted, eyeing the portals.

"No doubt they look good, but they're still breakable glass."

"Oh. No worries there, I did some research with Twilight and found a spell to remedy the problem. Go ahead and chuck a rock at them, see what happens." The engineer dared.

"Alright, but you're cleaning up the mess."

"Deal."

James looked around until he found a jagged chunk of rock about the size of a grape fruit. Winding his arm back, he hurled the stone at one of the side windows with all his might. There was a sharp crack as the stone impacted, yet instead of continuing on its destructive path, it stopped dead and dropped to the ground. James walked up to the pane and inspected it, but found absolutely no scratches or marks.

"Impressive. Way better than trying to get you guys to develop plexiglass."

"What's that?"

"Basically what you have here, but made with chemicals and plastics instead of magic. Honestly, I wouldn't know where to begin with it. I also wanted to ask you to help me make a special rig for the side door."

"No problem, just get with me later and we'll hammer something out. In the meantime, since you're here, I have a surprise for you. If you will just please follow me..." Sparks trotted off towards the back of the building where his workshop was located.

"Ok..." James followed.

Sparks lead him around to the back where there were several neat little piles of shaped metal the same color as the armor on the airship.

"Sparks, is this...."

"Yup, our new body armor. It's not all complete though. I saw your original armor and thought it would be smart to cover this with some sort of fabric too."

"Good initiative. It will help mask and muffle any sound it might make."

"Here's your set." The rusty coated unicorn levitated one of the piles over to the human. "Try it on, see how it fits."

James took the pile and set it down, separating individual pieces. The whole set consisted of greaves, bracers, shoulder guards, thigh plates, plates for the upper arms and a chest and back piece to cover the torso. The torso piece was a bit peculiar in that in the abdomen area, it was loose and segmented with a thick inch and a half wide belt wrapped around it.

"How do I put the chest piece on?"

"You put it on over your head like a shirt and then use the belt to tighten it down. The buckle should be on your left side."

James followed the instructions and donned the armor. After he had done so, he strapped the rest onto his extremities and began to stretch and move around. He wanted to make sure he still had a full range of motion. Surprisingly, the armor wasn't at all restricting. The entire ensemble was form fitting, it was like he was wearing another set of clothes, only slightly heavier.

Without looking up, James asked, "Will this stop a blade?"

"Only one way to find out!"

James looked up just in time to see Sparks launch a short sword straight at his chest with magic. He threw his arms up to block it, but was too late. The blade struck his chest with enough force to knock him on his ass. He lay there looking up at the sky as Sparks appeared in his line of sight.

"THAT was for the time you tossed me out of Twilight's balloon." The stallion said down to him.

"Fair enough.Your armor works great by the way, barely felt a thing. Also, couldn't you have hit me with just a pipe or something?"

"Don't worry, it was just a practice blade. Thing could barely cut butter." Sparks reassured his human friend as he helped him to his feet.

"Great. Well, go ahead and have Rarity take a look at these and see if she can wrap them up in a good, tough fabric. I want these kits available for use by next week."

"You got it. I'll also have the schematics and processes sent back to Canterlot for production."

"Sparks, you got a good head on you."

=======================================================================

James left the engineer to finish his work on the Clipper and later returned to work on the rig he had come up with. It was simple design for a weapons mount. It consisted of just two thick bars welded at an obtuse angle and attached to the deck of the Clipper in such a way to allow it to pivot on one end. The other could be secured with a cotter pin. This way, even though it would block the side door of the craft, it could be swung to the side to allow the safe passage of individuals. Locked in place, it would become a stable firing platform. It was his plan to mount the MG3 on a swivel, The M249 would go up top on a detachable. Until he could come up with a way to allow the others to operate it, Sparks would be the only door gunner besides James, he only needed some training. Before long, the unicorn was shooting like a pro on the automatic weapon. Myst even requested some familiarization even though she would only be carrying a sidearm.

The teams were shaping up quite well. Now all James needed to do was gather as much information as he could for his op so they wouldn't be going in completely blind. There was only one pony he could think of that could give him the most help in that area. So he had a letter sent to the library explaining his predicament and what info he might need. A day later, he traveled there himself to see the results first hand. Twilight of course had accumulated piles of books and scripts for him. All he needed to do was sort out all the superfluous information.

"Twilight, could you please separate all the info you gave Feather previously from the pile?" He asked her.

"Sure, no problem." She obliged, levitating a large portion of the mountain of paper away from them and into a corner of the room. "What exactly were you looking for? As you can see, there are plenty of accounts about the mountains around Whitecrest."

"Is there anything that specifically mentions caves and caverns, like mining reports or histories of the region?"

"There are plenty of mining reports, but they're mostly about soil composition and quality of extracted ores. Any mention of natural chambers are few and far between."

"Twilight, you're smart. Are there any that stick out, don't quite fit in the puzzle?"

"Well, there is one," She used her magic to separate a small book from the pile and flipped through the pages before stopping on one, "It's a written account taken from a miner's journal years ago. I thought some of the things he was describing were a bit wierd."

James took the book from her and began to read.

'Day 1: As long as I'm part of this dig, I've decided to keep a journal of sorts as there aren't many of us here and there isn't much to do besides work. Hopefully we'll be done with this task soon as winter is fast approaching and the cold in these reaches can be harsh.

Day 6: We've begun excavation of the mountainside. The rock and soil is hard packed. This makes it difficult to dig, but also means the tunnels we create will be less prone to collapse. There's always a silver lining.

Day 17: We've hit the first sign of iron ore. This is great news because we haven't gone very far into the mountain and it is a sure sign that there is a rich vein deeper in. With any luck, I will finally be able to buy my own house with the money I could potentially make here.'

Much of the journal entries were like this, so James skimmed through most of it, until...

'Day 73: The workers are getting superstitious. Here and there, stories pop up about strange creatures running about on only two limbs in the southern mountain passes. Of all the accounts, all that is described are fleeting glimpses. Most tell of beasts resembling Diamond Dogs, but standing taller and lacking hair. Although nopony has actually had any run ins with these alleged beasts, the workers are getting spooked. The abnormal noises and seismic activity being detected in the shafts aren't helping either. Ponies are beginning to think the area might be cursed with an ill presence.'

Only two more passages were like the first one and after that they returned back to uneventful observations of daily goings on.

"Twilight, who wrote this?" James asked his lavender friend.

"A foreman that helped construct a mining shaft far south of Whitecrest."

"Any chance he's still around to talk to?"

"I checked into that and unfortunately he's on the list of missing ponies from that region." The librarian said with a frown.

"Well, it's better than nothing. Thanks Twilight, you've been a great help."

"Anytime James!"

The human departed and made his way back to the house. From the journal, he could deduce that the Lotkin had probably been in that area for a few years. But why attack now? How did they get around the country without detection? Where were they taking their captives, why were they even taking them? James couldn't divine any answers with the information he had, but he knew where he could go find more. He needed to act soon. This was unfortunate as he really wanted to go to the 'Running of the Leaves' Rarity had told him about. He loved learning about other cultures, but duty calls.

Into The Deep

Chapter 26: Into The Deep

James sat in the main cabin of the Clipper, inspecting one of Sparks' newest gadgets. It was his version of the human's NVGs. The whole thing was painstakingly constructed with almost perfect accuracy. He'd even replicated the IR emitter. This was a good thing since they're ultimate destination would have little to no light at all. The ship was currently loaded with both the Fixers and the Nightstalkers and in route to the mine shaft described in the journal, which was coincidently the same one James and his team had first encountered the force that had laid siege to the nearby trade hub. every operative was fully loaded out with weapons and food rations for each individual, plus reserves stowed in the aircraft with additional ammunition. All the unicorns were now armed with rifles and pistols, except Myst who preferred to only carry an M9 due to the fact that she wouldn't have to be on the ground with the rest. Still, it never hurt to be prepared.

James handed the device he was holding back to Sparks, approving of his work, and the pony began to distribute and train the rest of the ponies on their proper use. The human lay back in his seat, shifting his position to get a little more comfortable. He was wearing the new armor, as was all the other team members, and was delighted to find that his fit closely enough to wear his parka and tac vest over. This was great as their destination had gotten much colder since they'd last been there. Situated up by the mountains, Whitecrest tended to move into winter earlier than most anywhere else, except, of course, the more frigid regions far to the north. Gazing out a window, James could see how Whitecrest got its name. High on the towering cliff whose base it sat against, a brilliant glistening drift of snow lay along the top like frosting on a cake. Patches could also be seen in and around the town, hailing the start of the cold season.

Myst didn't fly towards the town, however. Instead, she angled straight for the mine shaft. James had already sent a letter ahead to inform Colonel Rokjaw of the operation. Myst would be dropping the two teams off before flying back to the town and waiting on call. Meanwhile, the Nightstalkers would set up an overwatch position to keep an eye on the backdoor and relay radio while the Fixers entered the mine. Sparks had come up with an ingenious solution to underground communication. He would be wearing a small backpack that had a reciever and transmitter in it, attached to it would be a spool of wire acting as the antenna. As they descended deeper into the mountain, Sparks would play out the spool, starting from the entrance, allowing them to keep in contact with the surface.

Soon, Myst came in over the comms to announce that they were going in for a landing. James looked back out the window to observe their landing zone. The area still looked trashed, but had been cleaned up a little in the past weeks. He could now see that a contingent of the Guard had been stationed at the small mining camp. Smart, if anymore of those things showed up, the town would get another early warning. The Clipper began to descend to the edge of the camp, It looked quite intimidating its new armor, a chariot of war coming down from on high. James ordered the gunner arm swung back to allow them to disembark. One of the unicorns checked the weapon mounted on it, clear and safe, before doing so. He had taught them well. The aircraft touched down as one of the guardsponies rushed forward to greet the arrivals. James grabbed the P-90 he'd be using for this mission, his rifle would be cumbersome in the tight spaces. Besides, it was more a fact finding operation than anything else. Sparks disembarked with an M9 and the shotgun James had used previously. Between the two of them, they should have enough firepower to take care of any threats they might encounter. The two unicorns from the Nightstalkers also carried armaments, one had an AK-47, the other had the M110 strapped on his back. They would help provide the overwatch along with the two pegasi, in case any badies decided to crash the party.

James walked op to greet the guard as his team filed out of the airship behind him and Myst took off, making her way back to Whitecrest.

The guard trotted up and saluted, "Sir, we've been expecting you. Welcome to camp Sierra-2. I'm Captain Alister, the officer in charge."

James returned the salute and began to assess the situation, "Thanks for the welcome Captain, anything to report? Any strange movements, noises, new tracks?"

"No sir. It's been quiet since we set up camp weeks ago."

"Thank you, you can return to your duties, my team will take over from here. However, remain vigilant, we can't afford to become complacent."

"Yes sir!" The officer saluted again and returned to his unit.

James turned to his composite team, "Alright, you all know the drill. Nightstalkers, set up the overwatch and aquire some extra tents for our use. Fixers, prep to depart in ten, we're going spelunking. Everyone get comfortable, we're gonna be here for a few days."

As the ponies rushed to their tasks, James took the unicorn armed with the M110 aside, "Remember what I taught you. Find an easily concealable position with a good view and a back door. And in the event you actually have to use that thing and you find yourself freezing up, remember; breathe."

"Aye, sir." The stallion trotted off and began searching for a good spot to post up.

James left the two teams to their work while he walked over to the entrance to the shaft and inspected the ground. Light snow fall covered the dirt, but many hundreds of foot prints were still visible beneath it. He searched up an down the tracks, but still could not find any that indicated wether or not some of the creatures had returned. Of course, this was not the only entrance, that he had seen for himself, but it was the only one where they had any kind of a clue as to it's layout. After James had sent his letter, the Colonel had been kind enough to send him back an old map from when the shaft had first been dug. The grizzled pony had also warned that the map was a few years old and other construction had been added to the shaft since it was built. Though, if his team found the points of the Lotkin egress, the map would hardly be of any use. Still, it was a nice gesture. Sparks soon trotted over to the entrance and began staking the end of his wire into the frozen earth. This would allow him to simply walk forward while the wire unspooled itself. When he had finished, he came to James' side, along with Flash and Feather.

"Everypony is ready, just waiting on your orders." The engineer reported.

James took a deep breath and unslung his submachine gun. "Alright, let's go."

The group of four entered the maw of darkness, a pit of black ink seeming to swallow them whole. James brought up his torch and switched it on, scanning the area to his front. Soon enough, they came to the great pile of rubble. The hole at the top had been enlargened some from the passage of many bodies.

"Ok, everyone, goggles on." James ordered as he stowed his torch and fixed his own NVGs over his eyes.

The other three donned their goggles as well and switched them on. James turned to his comrades.

"Everyone's gear working ok?"

He got nods from all three. Satisfied, he turned around and began to ascend the pile, keeping his weapon aimed at the hole. The loose rocks clicked and clattered as he climbed, making stealth almost impossible. Once he reached the top, he shouldered his weapon and slowly peeked over the edge. All that was waiting for him was stygian darkness. Without turning around, James used his left hand to signal his team to follow. He vaulted over the edge and scrambled down the other side, sending loose pebbles and scree tumbling down before him. When he hit bottom, he immediately dropped to a knee and scanned the tunnel to his front for movement. Nothing. The rest of his squad quickly followed and soon they were ready to advance. Before they did though, it was time for a sitrep.

James keyed his mic, "Sierra-2, Foxtrot. Comms check, over."

He waited for a moment. Then, "Foxtrot, Sierra-2. We're getting you clear over here, over."

"Outstanding, Foxtrot now approximately sixty yards in, continuing advance, copy?"

"Sierra-2 copies, keep in touch and good hunting, over."

"Stay safe yourselves, Foxtrot out."

Grateful that they would still have contact with the surface, the party continued on, James taking point. They descended deeper into the cold musty depths, senses hightened, ready for anything. Before long, they came to a small chamber with four different paths. However, only two had tracks matching the Lotkin going in and out of them, the two on the right, which should be south. James checked the small pocket compass he always brought, but of course the needle only spun wildly, unable to find magnetic north through all the iron surrounding them. He turned to the rest of his team for what people in his profession called 'chinese parliament'. Each member of the team would put in their two cents, regardless of rank or speciality and from that they would derive their next course of action.

James spoke in a low whisper, as quietly as he could, letting the throat mic do the work, "Any thoughts?"

Feather was the first to speak, "I say we go down the path with the most footprints. That's where we'll most likely find their base of operations here. More traffic means more activity around a central hub."

"Very well put, anyone else?"

"I agree with Feather," Flash said, "If only because the breeze coming from the other passage smells like, well... well, to quote you James, it smells like 'shit'."

James took a sniff of the air and the pegasus was right. There was definitely a stench not unlike fecal matter coming from the passage second to the right.

"Ok, that settles it. Sparks, you got some kind of spell that can tell u where north is, or something? My compass is no good around all this iron."

"Well, well, the mighty James and all his technology is for once not totally reliable. I wish I had a camera. Fortunately for you, the compass spell is one of the first things they teach you in the guard and the corps." The unicorn gloated.

"Yeah, yeah, get on with it."

James, Flash and Feather looked away as Sparks' horn began to glow, so as not to blind themselves. After the spell had been cast, Sparks announced that the tunnel to the far right would take them further south. Now with new bearings, James checked in with Sierra-2 again and marked off the passage they had come from with some tape he put on the wall. That completed, the group set off down the tunnel they had chosen. It went on for almost thirty yards before it began winding back on itself. Suddenly the came upon a ragged rift in one of the walls. It was definitely not part of the mine, as instead of clean cut corridors, the opening was hastily made, as something had simply picked and hacked through with no regard for safety and planning. James motioned for his team to stack up on one side. Then he cautiously peeked around the corner. With a flick of his wrist, he signaled his team and flew into the breach. Sparks came up beside him, rifle at the ready, Flash and Feather brought up the rear.

It was yet another passage way, only much larger and with out the overhead supports of the one they had left. They warily traveled down it, the tunnel taking them deeper into the bowels of the earth. Gradually, it began to widen until they were suddenly standing at one end of a gargantuan subterranean cavern. High above, James could barely distinguish a small source of light. Dotted all around the walls of the cavern were man sized holes. The most distinguishable, and disgusting, thing he noticed however was the smell. The smell of blood and sweat accumulated on the dirt. The smell rotten food left unattended for weeks. The smell of death. All around the floor was scattered large wooden structures and metal frames, obscuring the vision of the four warriors.

"Alright guys, there could still be hostiles here, so maintain three-sixty security. I don't want anything getting the jump on us." James cautioned.

The four fell into a tight circle, eyes out, scanning their environment for possible threats. Stealthily, they made a circut of the chamber, only coming across old rusted armor and weapons, occasionally scraps of rotted meat and pools of fetid water. James felt his gorge rise and suppressed the urge to vomit. In between the spaces of the structures, James caught a glimpse of something hopeful. Bars. Bars meant cages, cages meant prisoners, prisoners that could still be there and alive. James pointed out the area of interest to his teammates and together they made their way towards it. They entered a section of the cavern filled with rows of cages. Rotten hay lined the bottom of each one. Quickly, they searched row after row, finding each one empty, until....

"Guys! There's something in that cage in the corner!" Flash whispered loudly.

The team maneuvered to the cage he pointed out and peered inside. On the floor of the cage, was a prone form in the shape of a pony. Half the rotten hay lining the cage floor looked as if it had been eaten.

"It's a unicorn!" Sparks exclaimed quietly.

"Are they dead?" Flash asked, concerned.

"I can't tell, we need to get in the cage." Said James.

"Step aside, I got this." Feather moved to the lock and took out a small set of tools from his pack.

He inspected the lock as best he could through the goggles before selecting three tools and gently inserting them into the lock. He jiggled and moved them around a bit before he gave one of them a twist, producing a sharp click. The hinges squealed as the door swung open. The four cringed and froze, scanning the area for anything the sound might have attracted. After a moment of silence, they all relaxed. James and Flash entered the cage and knelt down to examine the pony. He was male and very old, not to mention extremely dehydrated and mal nourished. They could count all his ribs. James put his ear down by the pony's mouth and listened. Faintly, very faintly, he could feel a weak flow of air coming from the pony's mouth.

"He's still alive! Quick, we need to give him some water!"

Flash took an extra canteen from his pack and handed it to James. The human tried to wake the pony, shaking him gently. Slowly, the old unicorn's eyes began to flutter open. His pupils were dilated wide, having not been exposed to sunlight for too long a time.

Weakly, he croaked, "I told you, I can't go. Please just let me be."

James whispered softly to the emaciated pony, "It's ok, you're safe. Drink this water slowly, we're getting you out of here." He pushed the open mouth of the canteen to the pony's lips. The old unicorn started to slurp it down greedily. James pulled the canteen away as the pony began to cough.

"Who- who are you?"

"Try to relax, we're with the Royal Guard, we're gonna get you out of here. Sparks, can you get him back to the camp with your magic?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Good, give me the comm pack, I'll strap it to mine. Flash, you go with him. Make sure you blind fold him before you reach the surface so you don't blind him. Myself and Feather will continue searching around. Keep comms open and stay safe." James then keyed his mic, "Sierra-2, Foxtrot."

"Foxtrot, Sierra-2, what can we do for you?"

"We've found a captive, he's in a bad condition. I'm sending him up with two of mine, I need you to prep an IV and signal Myst for a pick up, let her know she needs to get a patient to the hospital in town, ASAP. Over."

"Affirmative, Will comply, anything else? over."

"No, we're good. Myself and the other member of my team will continue exploration, we'll be back topside shortly, out."

Sparks gently lifted the unicorn out of the cave and levitated him out of the chamber while Flash followed close behind. James and Feather continued to explore the chamber. Aside from what they had found before, there was nothing else of interest. Eventually they came across another tunnel at the other end of the cavern. Curious, yet cautious, they stepped inside. They had only gone about twenty yards when Feather detected something that didn't quite feel right.

"James, the ground feel a little wierd to you?"

"Yeah, it seems a bit loose and... saggy?"

The ground James had just stepped on sank into the dark earth. He took a step back and where his foot had been was now just a hole.

"Ok, that's not good. We're heading back to the chamber to link up with the others. Flash, Sparks, you up?"

"Flash here, we've just finished loading the unicorn into the Clipper and Myst is on here way back to town. Now we're on our way back down."

"Outstanding, we'll meet you half way, this place is too dangerous--"

*CRACK*

"Feather, what was that?"

James looked over to his friend, who was frozen mid step, a look of horror upon his face. Beneath one of his hooves a large crack in the stone had appeared. And it began to spread.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kid--"

James was cut off as a great maw opened in the earth beneath them and swallowed the two like a ravenous demon from the depths of hell.

A Long Trek

Chapter 27: A Long Trek

James floated in a dark haze, space expanding all around him infinitely. Strange echos thoughts bounced through his head. Slowly, his mind began to reboot. The first sensation that came to him was pain, pain all over his body, which was good. It meant he wasn't dead. From what he could tell, he was on his back, loose rock and rubble covered him, but fortunately he wasn't buried. The next was of a warm sticky liquid flowing down the left side of his head. The air around him was thick with dust and debris from the cave in. He opened his eyes. Darkness. Either he was blind, or his goggles were broken. Hopefully it was the latter, but neither scenario was good. He suddenly heard a noise and moved to unsheathe his knife with his right hand. All he got was an intense pain shooting from his shoulder, the arm remaining motionless.

"James, you alive?" It was Feather.

"Yeah, I'm over here." The human grunted through the pain.

James reached over with his left hand and felt around his shoulder. It was tender to the touch, but nothing seemed to be broken.

"Feather, how are you feeling, anything broken?" He asked his friend.

"No, just some cuts and bruises. How about you?" The earth pony replied.

"I got a gash on my head and I think my shoulder is dislocated, but otherwise, I'm fine." James said, sitting up.

James checked his face for his goggles. As he ran his hand over them he discovered they were broken. The casings were dented and the lenses felt cracked. He cursed and removed them. He groped around for his rucksack, which had been ripped from him during the collapse. When he found it, he stuffed the damaged gadget inside.

He heard the pony trot over to his side.

"Feather, I'm gonna need your help."

"What do you need me to do?"

"We're going to put my shoulder back in place."

"Right here? Isn't that going to hurt?"

"Like hell, but it's either that or I become a liability to you. Now I need you to put one of your hooves against my back, where my arm is attached. When I say go, give it a good shove." James instructed.

Feather complied as James pulled up some of his parka with his other hand and stuffed it into his mouth. He then gently grabbed a hold of his right shoulder.

Through clenched teeth and the parka he gave the muffled command, "GO!"

He pulled his shoulder forward as Feather did his part. James grunted in intense pain through his gag as his shoulder popped back into place. The pain vanished almost immediately. He rotated his arm a few times, making sure it worked and getting the circulation flowing again.

"Thanks brother," James said gratefully, "your NVGs still work?"

"Yeah, they do."

"Good, 'cuz you're gonna have to be my eyes, mine are busted. On that note, can you see where we are?"

"Looks like another tunnel. Did the comms repeater survive?"

"Shit, I forgot."

James checked his pack and found the small bag where it was kept. It felt intact so he felt along the wire. Unfortunately it ended. They were completely cut off from the surface.

"The repeater's fine, but our makeshift antenna isn't." James informed.

"Horseapples."

"Yup."

===================================================================

The two had been walking down the tunnel for a few hours now. Sometimes it went up, others it went back down. There were shallow curves here and there, but for the most part it seemed to follow the same direction. James made his way through the darkness by holding on to the end of Feather's tail. James' compass still wouldn't work and so they had no idea where the passage would take them. Even worse, the marks of many feet covered the floor. The only good signs they could see were intermittent hoof prints in the soft dirt. It meant the captives they were searching for were still alive. Although it also meant they could run into a large host of Lotkin at any time. Because of this, the going was slow as Feather carefully checked around every corner the came to and they made frequent stops to listen for any signs of trouble. They continued like this for one day. Then another, and another. They stopped only to rest, sleeping in shifts, and to eat. They both only had enough rations between them to last a couple days so they had to stretch them out. On the third day they began to feel a light warm breeze coming down the passage. Wary of danger, they slowed their progress. James noticed that there seemed to be some light. His eyes adjusted and he could faintly make out the shape of the tunnel around him. Before long the level of the light began to intensify.

"I think we're coming up to something," Feather said, "The light is starting to hurt."

"Then take the goggles off."

"But then I won't be able to see."

"Just sit down and keep your eyes open. They will adjust in time, as long as there is a light source, you'll be able to see." James explained calmly.

The two warriors sat and waited while Feather's eyes adjusted to the low light. When they had, they continued on. The tunnel began to incline upwards. As they climbed higher, the level of the light grew. Eventually it grew to a point where James stopped his teammate.

"This looks a lot like sunlight. I think we might have found a way to the surface."

"Thank Celestia!" Feather exclaimed quietly, "I don't think I could take anymore of this!"

"Ditto buddy. Hold on, I'm going to readjust our eyes."

James took out his torch and held his palm against the lens before switching it on. He gradually increased the intensity of the light by slowly sliding his palm off the lens until he could shine it around them without their eyes hurting. Cautiously, they advanced up the tunnel. When they neared the exit James switched off the torch and shouldered his weapon. Feather took out one of his daggers, expecting the worst, just like he was trained. James exited the mouth of the tunnel with his teammate at his side, ready for action. He scanned to the left, then to the right. Before him was a great expanse of... sand. Nothing but sand. A vast desert with washes scattered about stretching past the horizon. Behind them a lone mountain rose above the barren landscape. James dropped his arms and turned to Feather.

"You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say somewhere in the south western area of Equestria."

"You ever been around here before?"

"James, before you hired me on, the only places I've ever been to were Manehatten and Ponyville. I'm completely lost."

"Well... fuck."

======================================================================

The duo decided to continue following the direction of the tracks which, according to the position of the sun, went east. Hopefully they would find some form of civilization soon. They had expended their rations and Feather was subsisting off of random scrub grass they occasionally came across. Eventually, they also ran out of water.

Feather and James sat at a small fire they had created to guard against the cold.

"I'm SO thirsty, are you sure we don't have anymore water?" The stallion complained.

"Yep. Trust me, I've friggin' triple checked. There's only one thing we can do. You remember your training." James said while taking his boots off.

"I really hoped it wouldn't come to that."

"If I didn't think it would, I wouldn't have taught you." James said dismissively as he removed his sweat drenched socks.

It was disgusting, but it had to be done. James had never given up without a fight and he wasn't about to do so now. He took up one of his socks in both hands and brought it over his lips. Then he began to wring the sweat out of it, letting the salty fluid dribble into his mouth. it was disgusting and he had to stop himself from gagging, but in the long run it would keep him alive. Unfortunately for Feather, he didn't wear socks or shoes and would have to make do with a different waste fluid. It was a daunting task for him, but he followed through, drinking every last drop his urine from the canteen he had deposited it in. It was a nasty business, bit necessary. James also had to end up hunting for his food. The desert was sparse, however, and all he had managed to catch was a rattlesnake. It was the first time in many months he had eaten any kind of meat. The meat of the snake was bland and tasteless, but it would keep him going. Even so, once he had finished cooking it, James ravenously devoured the thing, picking the bones clean. If Feather was disturbed by this display, he didn't show it.

On the sixth day of their journey, they reached a small river that ran from the lone mountain. Both human and pony rushed to the clear rushing water and took long sips from the sparkling liquid. As they quaffed the water down they thought it was the most delicious thing they had ever tasted. After slaking their thirst, they decided to follow the river on the reasoning that if there was any kind of civilization nearby, it would most likely be near the source of water. They traveled another two days along th path of the river before they began to notice some strange things. Silhouettes on the horizon, tracks leading in different directions through the sand. The wierd thing about these, though, was that none of these matched either ponies or the Lotkin. It was some kind of hooved animal, of that they were sure, but far heavier than any pony.

Soon, they came to a lightly wooded forest. James and Feather traveled about half a day into it before making camp. Feather volunteered to take the first watch and James made himself comfortable on the hard rocky ground. He used his rucksack as a pillow and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. Once again, all his brain would do is replay scenes from the past over and over again. Because of this, he drifted in and out of consciousness until it was about time for his shift. After one particularly bad episode, he snapped back into reality suddenly after hearing movement at his side. Assuming it was Feather coming to wake him up for his turn to stand watch, James began to rouse himself.

"It's alright, I'm already up." The human said tiredly.

"Uh, James. If I were you, I'd lay very, VERY still."

"Feather, what are you talking about?" James opened his eyes and almost wished he hadn't

Around him were five large buffalo, each with a spear held mere centimeters from his neck. Around the edge of the camp were many more, all had their eyes on the human. About three yards away, Feather stood, flanked on either side by two buffalo. All of them held a look of deep contempt on their faces as they glared angrily at the human.

"Feather, would you mind explaining?" James asked his furred friend.

"I wish I could James. The coast was clear one minute and the next, we were surrounded." The earth pony informed him.

"Well, at least there's one silver lining here."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"They haven't killed us yet."

One of the buffalo motioned for James to get up. Not wanting to instigate a potentially altercation, he complied. Then a few of the buffalo gathered James and Feather's equipment while the others set the two operatives marching further into the woods. The buffalo escorted the two separately, keeping an especially close watch on James.

"What are they going to do to us?" Feather asked nervously.

"I don't know man, I don't know. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out."

The Frontier

Chapter 28: The Frontier

James sat cross legged in the center of a large rounded tent. Around him on all sides stood four buffalo, spears at the ready. The quadrupeds had stripped him of all his armor and equipment at spear point, all the way down to his skin. Thankfully, the let him keep his pants. They had him in there for hours. They did not treat him badly, however, every now and then a small buffalo doe would bring him corn and water under the watchful eyes of his guards. Occasionally he would try to talk to them, but each time he was answered with only stoic silence. The whole time, he stayed awake, not trusting his current captors. He considered escape, but he had no weapons and wrestling four six hundred pound buffalo bare handed did not seem like an attractive option. He could attempt to disarm one of them and use the spear against them, but didn't think he knew how to knock them out and killing them when they had not yet brought harm to him went against his ROE. The hours ticked on, the only indication of their passage the changing of the guards and glimpses through the curtains as food and water was brought to him. When the buffalo doe brought him food the fourth time, a short flash of sight through the curtain let him know the sun was setting. Finally, after so much waiting, two more guards walked in. At first, James thought it wad another change of guard, but a large dark colored buffalo bull wearing a large feathered headdress followed them in.

"You are different from the others." The large buffalo stated in a authoritative voice.

"Others? The hell do you mean. Also, since I got you talking, what the hell have you done with my friend? I swear to god, if you've hurt him..."

"Rest assured," The buffalo started, "your friend is unharmed. He awaits us outside."

"So what do you want from me?" James asked.

"You resemble those of the black sword. Those of savagery." The buffalo bull said to the human.

James knew where this was going and tried to counter, "Believe you me, I want nothing to do with those things, except to stop them."

"Your companion told us as much. However, we must be cautious in these times."

"I can understand that, but I happen to be working for the princess to help make these times safer, so maybe you could help me out here and let me go?"

"About that I must apologize, keeping you in captivity was done in the best interests of my people."

"That's ok, I probably would have done the same. So,, excuse me for being blunt, but who are you and where are we?" James asked.

"I am Chief Thunderhooves, leader of the proud buffalo. This is our home."

"Nice to meet you, Chief. I'm James. Any chance you can help us here? We need to get back. Also, maybe you can tell me about the savages you've encountered. One last thing, can I have my equipment back?"

"The nearest town is a half day's walk from here. As for your possessions, they are stored nearby. In the morning, you will be taken to Sheriff Silverstar in Appeloosa, but tonight you and your companion shall sup with us." The Chief informed him.

"Sounds good to me, Chief." James said while standing up.

He stretched his aching joints, creating several audible pops. The guards tensed, but relaxed again at their leader's signal. James followed the large buffalo outside into the dusky light. Feather was waiting for him near the exit.

"How'd it go in there?" The earth pony inquired.

"Well, they're treating us to dinner. So, good I guess. Tomorrow they'll take us to a town called Appeloosa to see the Sheriff. Hopefully they'll have a way for us to contact the others and let them know we're not dead." James told him.

They both followed the Chief to a large fire set centrally in the small settlement. James and Feather sat down with their host and listened to Chief Thunderhooves as he told him about the past month's events while the food was prepared.

"Not long ago, before the change of seasons, a great host marched past these very woods. A group of our scouts were the first to encounter them. Unfortunately, only one returned to warn us. It was the last thing he did before succumbing to his wounds. His noble sacrifice allowed us time to move and avoid the foul things." The Chief finished, a desolate look upon his large face.

"I'm sorry for your loss. He was very brave to have done that. Please stop me if I over step my bounds, but did he say anything else about the monsters?" James asked politely.

"He did mention one thing. They did not march alone. With them traveled members of the pony folk."

"Those were prisoners. They had been abducting unicorns for... malefic purposes. We were actually tracking them when you found us." Feather explained to him.

"Not all of them were unicorns. Nor were they all shackled."

The two warriors sat in stunned silence, considering the implications of this new information. Feather was the most disturbed by this.

"Are you sure!? Are you absolutely certain this is what he saw!?" The dark blue pony asked frantically.

The Chief responded with a hint of anger, "He was one of my most trusted and skilled scouts! I would stake my reputation and life on his words!"

James stepped in, not wanting the brief spark of emotion flare up into a heated quarrel, "Ok, ok, calm down. Chief, I apologize for my friend here, he meant no disrespect. We've fought those creatures before and the thought of his own kind working with those things shakes me up a little too."

"I too am sorry for my outburst. It is not how we treat our guests." The Chief replied.

"I just need to know one more thing, Chief," James asked him, "Where did they go?"

"They continued east, to the Blasted Mountains. It is there that I hope they are burned and torn asunder!"

"And, what would be over there that could do that?"

"Just beyond the Blasted Mountains lies the land of dragons. They are very territorial and very ferocious, even only one of the grown ones would be able to wipe them out." The Chief said in a hopeful tone.

"Thank you for the information." James said to the large buffalo.

The three of them relaxed as more buffalo sat down around them and food was brought out before them. The feast consisted of roasted corn, peppers, assorted wild berries and curiously, apple pie. Which was delicious. During the hearty meal, Chief Thunderhooves entertained his guests with the tales of his people. James was fascinated to learn that the pies were the result of a small skirmish with the town of Appeloosa. The large buffalo told them of how his people had once hated the frontiers folk for planting on their land, but eventually reached a compromise after what James almost refused to believe was an honest to god pie fight. Now the buffalo ran through the orchards, shaking the apples to the ground and in return, the townsfolk gave them pies. He was even surprised to find that his friends at his new home in Ponyville had a hand in it.

After they had finished eating, James and Feather were taken to a vacant tent where their equipment was waiting for them, along with two sleeping mats and some blankets. The two inventoried their gear to ensure nothing was missing before settling down for sleep. Tomorrow would be an early morning and a busy day. Hopefully Appeloosa would have a speedy way for them to get in contact with Celestia and the rest of their team.

======================================================================

Feather and James were woken early before sunrise by one of the buffalo. Quickly, they donned their armor and equipment before stepping outside. Waiting to greet them was their host, Chief Thunderhooves. Together, they had a small breakfast of flat bread and berries before they were ready to set out. Before they did, the Chief addressed them one last time.

"With you I send two of my finest scouts; Runs Like Strong Wind and White Crow. They shall guide you to the town of ponyfolk. When you arrive, I have but one request to ask of you."

"Anything, Chief." James said eagerly.

"In town there is a stallion named Breaburn. Living with him is a buffalo doe named Little Strongheart. Please pass on to her her father's love and bid her to visit again soon." The proud leader asked.

"That I will. Thank you for all your hospitality Chief Thunderhooves. If ever you are in need of assistance, don't hesitate to give us a call. Just get to town and ask for 'The Fixers'. We'll get here as fast as we can." James responded.

"Thank you for your kind offer. I will remember it. Now go in peace." The Chief replied respectfully.

With that, the four set off to town. For five hours they journeyed out the forest and across a great plain. Eventually, the plains gave way to an apple orchard and within another three hours a small town came into view. Before they entered the outskirts, the two buffalo stopped.

"From here you go alone, we must now return home." Instructed White Crow.

"Thank you for your guidance. Have a safe trip back." James replied.

The buffalo turned to leave while Feather and James continued on. The sun was beginning its descent when they finally entered the town. It reminded the human of the towns of the western frontier back in his own world. Rows of wooden buildings sat along a wide central street that ran the length of the town. Feather stopped one of the towns folk and got directions to the Sheriff's office. Fortunately it only happened to be at the other end of the street. The two walked over and knocked on the door. It was opened by a grayish earth pony stallion sporting a vest, ten gallon hat, a black mane and a silver five pointed Sheriff's badge. James also noticed he was rocking an impressive moustache.

"How can I help you two uh, fellers?" He said, a bit taken aback at their disheveled and unshaven appearance.

"Sheriff Silverstar?" Feather asked.

"That is correct."

"Can we talk to you inside?" James requested.

"Well, of course. Come on in and pull up a seat." The law pony said, stepping aside to allow them entrance.

The two went in and sat down on two seats set in front of a wide desk. The Sheriff sat down behind it.

"Now how can I help you two fine gentlecolts?" Silverstar asked in a southern drawl.

James began to explain their situation, "Sheriff, we're with the Royal Special Tasks Group, sort of a special division of the Guards. We hit a snag during an evolution and got separated from our team up in Whitecrest. We need to contact them."

"Whitecrest! Y'all're quite a distance from there! How'd ya both end up way down here?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, ya can use some of mah stationary and I'll have it sent, rush, to where ever ya want. Ya know y'all're famous right? I thought that patch looked familiar."

"Famous?" Feather asked.

"Yeah, sure! Here, take a look." The Sheriff slid over a news paper.

James picked it up and read the front. The title of the paper was 'The Appeloosa Star' and near the bottom of the front page, next to a report of some stolen airships, was a well done pencil drawing of the RSTG patch under a headline that read:

'Princess Celestia's Secret Guardian Angels'

Many of you have already heard or read of the battle that occurred at the trading town of Whitecrest and the sacrifices made by our very own Royal Guardsponies. Their tireless efforts in the defense of the town not only allowed many of the civilians to escape unharmed, but also saved the town from certain destruction. What you didn't hear about was the small team of elite warriors that were instrumental in turning the tide against the horrific creatures that had besieged the Whitecrest. Hand picked and trained by a new sentient species our sources are telling is called 'human', these specially trained soldiers assisted the head of forces in Whitecrest, Colonel Rokjaw, in the defense of his home. Unfortunately we were unable to learn the identities of these brave souls. However, survivor accounts do tell of a unicorn mare in a miniaturized version of an airship shuttling wounded out of the city to safety. Already, ponies everywhere are calling her 'The Angel of Whitecrest'....

The article continued to go on about other details of the battle; such as the damage to the western gate, the strange disappearance of the creatures that had attacked and the still missing unicorns. It also went on to mention the recovery of one of the captives over a week ago. James passed the paper to Feather, clearly not pleased. He knew that it was inevitable that the existence of his organization would become general knowledge, but what he didn't like was the unwanted attention it would bring. Oh well, nothing he could do about it.

James wrote three letters. One for Sparks, Flash and Myst, One for Princess Celestia and one for Spike, who he was sending all three to. Sheriff Silverstar gave the package to the fastest pegasus in town. Now all the two needed to do was find a place to stay and get washed up. The Sheriff graciously offered up his own residence which had a guest room and a couch they could where they could rest. Feather went first in the shower while James washed their filthy uniforms and cleaned their equipment. Then while Feather went to find Breaburn and Little Strongheart, James hung out their clothes to dry and hopped into the shower himself. After a quick wash up he looked himself in the mirror. He really looked like hell. He hadn't shaved in over a week and his eyes were bloodshot. All over his body were cuts and bruises.

"Damn," He said to himself, "tonight's gonna be an early night."

Reunion

Chapter 29: Reunion

A pony and a human stood on the edge of Appeloosa, a wide flat sandy area before them. A pile of clothing and equipment lay beside them on the warm ground. They were both clad in dark torn up uniforms, white parkas and plates of armor removed. The items were unneeded at the moment and it was too hot out to continue wearing them. Neither of the two talked, they just stood there, waiting. Soon, off in the distance, a small dark speck appeared and began to grow. As it got closer, it started slowing down and a smaller dark form with what appeared to be tan clothing detached itself from its larger counterpart and launched towards the two standing on the warm flat ground. The larger object materialized into the Clipper, the smaller one was Flash. The pegasus flew at an anxious pace to greet his two teammates and nearly tackled them both to the ground in a big hug.

"My gosh, we all thought you guys might've been dead!" He exclaimed between the two.

"Yeah, we almost thought so too," Feather replied, "but James' survival training really paid off."

"Eww." Flash recoiled, knowing the full implications of that simple statement.

The Clipper circled once before settling its skids into the soft sand. The engine began to wind down and the side door slid open to disgorge seven other ponies, all in the same clothing as the pegasus, except Myst who was wearing a simple mechanic's coveralls. Sparks broke from the group and galloped over to see his friends.

"I see you all changed your uniforms like I asked, is the rest of the equipment here too?" James asked the rusty colored unicorn.

"Yup, we got everything. I have both your uniforms right here." He responded, motioning to a saddle bag slung over his back.

"Outstanding."

"What happened to you guys? We heard the cave-in and came rushing to find you two, but all we found was a heap of rock with the wire sticking out of it. By the way, it the repeater ok?"

"The repeater is fine, in fact, I have a plan for it for our next op. Let me and Feather get changed real quick, we'll tell you the rest later. We're all gonna take it easy tonight, we've been invited to a BBQ. Tomorrow, we're heading back out."

James and Feather jumped into the ship and changed into their new uniforms. These were colored and patterned to help blend in with more arid environments. While he was there, he inspected the rest of the equipment he requested they bring. The gun mounts were of course still there, also their ammunition. There was even more ammo stored in boxes stuffed under the seats as well as boxes of rations. Strapped on the bulkhead was his marksman rifle and what he was looking for specifically. The Barrett. James took the large caliber weapon down off the bulkhead and inspected it. The huge rifle was just as he had left it. He cycled the bolt a few times. Could use a little oil, but other than that it worked fine. He put it back and grabbed a bandolier that was hanging beside it. The belt had seven pockets, each holding a large magazine. James took one out and checked out the large rounds inside. He smacked the mag against the bulkhead a couple times before returning it to its pocket. With this, he was going to do some damage.

The two stepped back out into the hot sun in their new uniforms, now matching the rest of the team. Together, they all followed Feather as he led them to the event. Late yesterday, he had gone and found Breaburn and Little Strongheart at their house on the other side of town. After Feather had delivered the Chief's message to Little Strongheart, Breaburn inquired as to how he had come across the buffalo doe's father. Feather tried to keep his story short and devoid of details, but once he mentioned James' name, the frontiers pony demanded he come over for a visit. It turned out that Breaburn was a relative of Applejack and she had mentioned the human a few times in some letters.

The group arrived at the small homestead with a yellow coated earth stallion and a buffalo doe sitting on the front porch. Both got up from where they were sitting and walked up to greet their guests.

"Feather, nice to see you back! And you must be James!" The stallion said in an accent not unlike a certain orange farm mare from Ponyville. He extended a hoof to the human.

"Yes, and I'm guessing your Breaburn, right?" James said while shaking it.

"Sure am! This here's Strongheart, mah special somepony." The stallion said while glancing lovingly to the small buffalo at his side.

"It's nice to meet you both and thank you for doing this for us. If there's anything you ever need, don't hesitate to ask."

"Aww shucks, yer practically part of the Apple family. AJ told me how ya helped around the farm and even took care of some apple thieves. What's our is yours!" He said exuberantly.

They were all led around back where a couple of picnic tables had been set up next to a large grill. James and everypony else took their seats as Breaburn began to place drinks down in front of them. Almost all of it was bottles of beer, but there were also a few pitchers of iced tea. Then Breaburn started up the grill while everypony broke out into conversation.

"So James, what in the hay happened to you two?" Flash asked his friend from across the table.

"We got dumped into another tunnel. There was only one way to go from there, so we started walking. The damn thing was long too, because it took several days to get out of it and when we did we'd somehow gotten to the desert. We found a bunch of tracks going east, so that's where we went. Eventually, Stongheart's father and his people found us and took us in. They guided us here and you know the rest." James explained. "What happened on your end?"

"Well, we heard the cave-in and came running, but only found a wall of rubble. We tried digging through, but there was just too much. We spent the next six or seven days combing the mountains, hoping you two had found a way out somewhere. After a while, we had to go back to Whitecrest for supplies. After a day, we were ready to do one more search, but then we got your letter."

"Whatever happened to that unicorn we recovered?" James inquired.

Sparks jumped in here, "I talked with him for a little while we were in town. James, we have some daunting news. Turns out that there are some ponies working--"

"With the Lotkin, we know." Feather interjected.

"How did you guys find out?"

"Turns out the buffalo that hosted us had a small unfortunate encounter with them not too long ago." James informed him.

Little Strongheart was nearby at the moment and happened to over hear this part of the conversation. She rushed over to the table in quite a fright.

"What happened? Are they all right? What of my father, was he harmed?" She asked, her voice betraying a hint of panic.

"Some scouts suffered a few casualties, but everypony else is fine. They were able to get out of harm's way in time." Feather reassured her.

The buffalo doe was still saddened by the news, but she calmed down a little. Then she trotted over to talk with Breaburn. After she left their presence, Sparks turned to James.

"About that, why exactly did you order us to change uniforms and bring all that equipment? Don't you want to head back home after this whole ordeal?" He asked the human.

"Honestly, I do. However, we got a strong lead on where the Lotkin and their captives are at. I want to try and rescue those unicorns now while we're here and the trail is still somewhat fresh. This may be our last chance. On that note, I don't want you all drinking too much here, we have to be fit for duty in the morning. You all can have a few beers, but after that it's nothing but tea and juice, is that clear?" James instructed.

Everypony gave him a short nod in response. Before long, the food was ready and the two hosts set platters on the tables filled with fire roasted corn, curiously grilled apples, flat breads, kebabs of vegetables and various nuts and berries. The human, buffalo and ten ponies dug into the fine feast with gusto. For a short time, they all forgot about their dreadful business and enjoyed one another's company. The food was delicious and the drink refreshing. As James bit into one of the crunchy roasted cobs of corn he thought to himself that moments like these, if anything, were what made life worth living and even if he hated it, worth fighting for. At the end of the night, James and his crew helped both Breaburn and Strongheart to clean up their home. Breaburn even offered to let them all stay at his place, but James graciously declined. His team had too early of a morning and would depart as soon as physically possible, so they would be camped out around their airship. After all the cleaning was finished, Strongheart and Breaburn retired into their home to talk about making a visit to Strongheart's people. Meanwhile, the ten members of the RSTG made their way back to the Clipper. Tomorrow would be a busy day, it was time to get some rest.

=====================================================================

"I have a visual of three limas, all standing around the cave entrance. All three are looking in a north westerly direction Stalkers, you copy?"

"Good copy, moving to position now. Get ready to bring the lead rain, over." Came Captain Alister's reply.

Just over a mile away, across a shallow valley, James leaned back from the large rifle's scope and took a few deep breaths before sighting back up. Beside him lay Flash, peering through a makeshift spotter's scope. Behind them sat Feather, keeping an eye on their rear. Currently, Sparks was still in the Clipper with Myst high above and one of the unicorns from the Nightstalkers acting as the ship's gunners. The rest of the Nightstalker team was now slowly inserting themselves into a position where they could swiftly gain access to the cave entrance. The plan was for James to eliminate the cave guards with some precisely placed rounds to allow the Nightstalkers to slip in and explore it a little without much difficulty. So far, they had already done this four times, but each time, the cave ended up being only a few yards deep. They suspected that these were merely sentry camps and the actual entrance was somewhere nearby. Once it was found, the Nightstalkers would send a signal over the radio, cueing the Fixers to rush in after them and perform a sweep. The Clipper was on standby, hiding in a patch of clouds, in case the op went FUBAR. In that case, it would swoop down, guns blazing, to extract the two teams. As it was, the sun was getting close to completing its slow trek across the sky and they had still not found what they were looking for. With any luck, they would discover where the missing ponies were being held and hatch a plan to free them.

"Stalkers in position, drop iron and bring the pain."

That was the signal he had been waiting for. James began his breathing exercise and slowly brought the cross hairs onto the lima farthest to the left, it was a good fifteen yards away from its two compatriots. Gradually, he raised the cross hairs to where the were aimed about half an inch over the creatures head. Then a little to the left for windage. A breeze was blowing to the south and by his estimate it was traveling at about seven knots. In any other situation, this wouldn't be much of anything, but over such great distances, even the smallest shift in the wind could drastically alter the bullet's flight path. Fortunately, the breeze was steady and did not waver.

James exhaled and held for a second while he gently and gradually applied pressure to the trigger.

*KRA-BOOM*

With a mighty kick, the round left the chamber and sped furiously to its destination. Just over a second later, the creature's left shoulder exploded outward, its arm arcing though the air before landing a few feet away. The rest of its body was thrown back a few feet as well. Another second later, the faint sound of thunder could be heard rolling through the mountains. The two other limas standing guard near the cave entrance rushed over to see what had happened to their comrade. It was exactly what James had been hoping for. With quiet efficiency, he dispatched them in the same manner of the first, the last one taking a round in its back, chest and abdomen exploding out in a spray blood and entrails. His grisly work completed, James shifted his attention back to the mouth of the cave and waited. After about five minutes had passed, he gave the go order.

"Stalkers, hostiles eliminated, no movement at entrance. Cleared to go."

"Roger that, moving."

James continued to keep watch on the cave while Flash scanned the area through his scope. James watched as four camouflaged figures emerged from their hiding spot and proceeded into the cave. While keeping his sight focused there, James took this opportunity to check in with their eyes in the sky.

"Myst, Sparks, how does our overhead look?"

Sparks was the one to reply, "Still all clear up here. No signs of any dragons."

"Outstanding, keep up the good work."

"Overwatch, Stalker here, this one continues on for quite a ways and there are plenty of tracks." The insertion team reported.

"Good, sounds like this is what we've been looking for. Hang tight, we're on our way." James got up and slung the Barrett over his back, replacing it with his marksman rifle. "Flash, Feather, pack it up. We're heading in."

The two ponies moved to comply and soon they were all on their way to the Nightstalkers' location. The rocky terrain was difficult to navigate and it was almost fifteen minutes before they reached their destination. James looked at the tunnel entrance and was at first worried the sniper rifle he carried might be a hindrance. Fortunately, the tunnel was quite large and he wouldn't have to leave it behind. It was so big that using his marksman rifle wouldn't be a problem. The only con was that his equipment would hinder his movement in any hand to hand combat, but hopefully it would not come to that. He removed his rifle's suppressor from where it was strapped on his side and threaded it into the end of the barrel. The Nightstalker unicorn inside already had a pistol with an attached suppressor. They would try to keep it as stealthy as possible for as long as they could. James' team entered the tunnel and cautiously made their way to the other team. At thirty yards, the path was illuminated with torches set high in the walls. About fifty yards in, they rounded a corner and came face to face with the Nightstalker unicorn, pistol at the ready. When the pony saw who it was, he lowered his firearm and turned around. They followed him a little further down the way and were soon reunited with Captain Alister and the rest of his team.

"Anything else to report?" James asked the earth pony.

"Nothing much. We've seen no sign of movement up ahead."

"Alright, we're gonna take it slow. I want two of you watching our six at all times, Feather, you're the stealthiest mother here so you're on point. Everyone check your corners, we don't want any surprises, move out."

The operatives moved to take their positions, Flash and the armed unicorn took the rear, James and Alister took the front, behind Feather who went further on ahead. In the middle were the two pegasus Nightstalkers, ready to keep an eye out for and check any side passages they came across.

Up ahead, Feather reported over the radio, "I've come to an intersection, there's one hostile." He said in barely a whisper.

"Ok hold on, we're coming up behind you. Just sit tight--"

"Neutralized."

From down the tunnel, a muffled clink could be heard, followed by a faint dragging sound. The group of operatives soon reached the site of the intersection. Waiting for them was Feather who was covering up spots of blood with sand.

"Feather, where'd you stash the body?" James asked.

"In an alcove on the far wall. It shouldn't be found unless anything has a reason to go back there."

"Good initiative."

The group set about exploring the chamber and inspecting the side passages. There were three in total, not counting the one they had come from and the alcove. Flash marked the tunnel they had emerged from so they could find their way back. Two of the new tunnels descended deeper into the mountain, but one went up a slight incline. What's more, James thought he could detect the faint glow of sunlight emanating from further down the passage. Curious, he led his team up it. They advanced almost a hundred yards up some twists and turns before finally coming out on a shelf sat high above the floor of a large, deep crater. James scanned the area and immediately spotted two hostiles gazing down from the edge of the shelf. He lowered his rifle and motioned to Feather beside him. The pony nodded and together they silently crept up behind the two limas, unsheathing their knives as they did. Once they were directly behind them, James and Feather looked at each other. Without making a sound, James counted down from three. On one, the two each grabbed a lima around the throat. James found a gap in the armor of his and plunged his knife through its ribs, its heart shedding itself on his blade as the Lotkin's heart rate spiked. Without the use of hands, Feather found it a bit more difficult, but succeeded in planting his blade in the base of his captive's skull, killing it instantly. Together, they dragged the bodies away from the edge and back to their companions. That task completed, James and Feather returned to the edge, low crawling to avoid creating a visible silhouette. James un slung the Barrett and used the sight to survey the area. Approximately five hundred yards below, sequestered in the deep shade of the dying day, was a medium sized camp filled with hostiles. James looked back over shoulder and waved both Flash and Alister over. Flash set up the spotter's scope and peered below. After a minute, he passed it onto Alister who also took a peek.

"See anything interesting?" James asked.

"Top right corner, cages." Alister said, never taking his eye from the scope.

"Yup, and they have occupants." James called up to the Clipper to check in, "Myst, Sparks, we found them. We found the missing unicorns." He reported happily.

"Good, that's great!" Myst replied anxiously, even a little panicky. "Could you speed it up a little bit? I know it's a lot to ask, but we got some company up here and I don't know how long we can stay hidden."

"James, take a look at this!" Feather said from his side. The earth stallion now had the spotter scope.

The human returned his attention to the camp below and followed the pony's directions. His sight ended up on a small section ensconced in hard to see area. It was set apart from the rest of the encampment, large makeshift docks housing three large airships.

"That's interesting." James mused to himself.

He backed away and gathered up the two teams with the exception of Feather and the Nightstalkers' unicorn, who kept watch on the camp and the tunnel leading to the shelf, respectively.

"Alright, time for a little parliament. We got the prisoners on the far end of the camp. In the south western corner is a dock with three airships. Hostiles everywhere in between and, as far as we know, only one way in or out. Ideas?" He said professionally.

One of Alister's team members spoke up, "We could make a distraction, maybe set the airships on fire, and in the chaos slip in and free the prisoners."

"I like it, but we need an exit strategy." James stated.

Alister himself came up with the solution, "How about we set one of the airships on fire and set it loose into the camp. We'll load the prisoners onto one of the others and take off. The Clipper can provide covering fire."

"Anyone got any objections?" James asked.

None were offered.

"Alright, sounds like we got a plan. First things first. Alister, you take your Stalkers down the tunnel and find a way down close to the ships. Once you have, radio me. I have about four and a half more mags of fifties left. Flash will stay here with me and help as spotter. Take Feather, he'll be useful if you come across any locked doors. Once you have the diversion set, radio back up to me and set it off. The resulting anarchy will shift their attention and allow me and Flash to sync up with you guys. From there, you'll hold down one of the other airships while I take Feather and Flash to release the captives. When we reach the cages, I'll radio Myst to bring in the big guns. Any questions?" James asked after he laid out the details.

There were none.

"Myst, Sparks, you guys get all that?" He called up to the Clipper, hiding high above.

"Yeah, we did. Please hurry up though, or you'll have an even bigger distraction to worry about." Myst said nervously.

"Alright, you heard the lady, sounds like we got inbound. Remember; slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Now's not the time to make mistakes. Lives are depending on us."

James sent them on their way and set up on the edge of the shelf with Flash. He flipped down the bipod and aimed at the camp. Then, he waited. While he did, he decided to observe the activity below. Various Lotkin milled about in the camp. Some were crafting weapons, others were tearing into globs of still bloody meat. A few patrolled in front of the cages, giving the occupants a poke with the butt of a spear here and there. Suddenly, James' radio clicked.

"We're ready."

James searched a target, finally settling on an important looking one that seemed to be reprimanding three others. He lined up on the back of the target's head, began his breathing and fired. The rifle kicked his shoulder and launched the half inch slug of metal down into the crater below. It slammed into the creature's skull and transformed it into a fine pink mist, continuing into another one of the monsters, sending both to the ground in a heap and cloud of dust and blood. The other two froze and looked around before James gunned them down as well, fierce thunder echoing around the crater walls. The rest of the camp scrambled to find the source of booming death. James felled four more before they did. Then began a mad rush of stomping feet and angry gnashing teeth, countless numbers of the dark beings eager to be the first to sheathe their blades into the aggressor. The human fired the last two shots in the mag at a small group making their way to a cave entrance down below that he assumed would lead them to his position. He popped out the empty and handed it over to Flash who in return handed back a full mag. The magazine clicked home and James resumed delivering grim death upon his foes below. With each pull of the trigger, another one lost an arm, a leg or most of its torso. Soon the dirt on the floor of the crater was cluttered with lumps of flesh and slick with the blood of the fallen. The shear mass of the angry creatures now making their way towards him was too much for him alone to handle. The cacophony their warbled cries of rage was loud enough to drown out even the most terrifying avalanche. Then the unexpected happened. A large potion of the camp was suddenly and inexplicably bathed in a ferocious stream of fire.

"YOU'VE GOT INCOMING!" Sparks voice bellowed in his ear.

A forceful gust of wind followed by the horrifying roar of a gargantuan and terrible beast descended upon James and Flash causing the both of them to look up. Gliding down into the crater on great leathery wings was a large gray scaled dragon. It sent another blast of hellfire upon the Lotkin, sending them scattering. In a clearing in the camp, not far from the cave entrance James and Flash would have exited from, the great beast landed on its powerful haunches and began to snap up Lotkin in its mouth.

"Alister, change of plan. Myself and Flash are heading down now, sit tight."

"You don't have to tell us twice."

James stood up and slung the Barrett onto his back and brought up his M4. At his side, Flash drew his sword. They gave each other one reassuring look and then dashed into the tunnel, beginning their descent to the bedlam below. On their way down, they encountered a few Lotkin fleeing from burning death. James put them down with a few quick bursts. The tunnel began to turn back on itself as it sloped down to the crater. As the two warriors rounded the corner, they came almost face to face with another group of six hostiles. James began to fire and succeeded in dropping all but two, both of whom almost came within striking range, but were stopped by Flash's blade. The pegasus batted aside a blade and thrust his own through the attacker's unarmored armpit. He then ducked under the other's swing and slashed his sword across the knee joint. The hostile dropped to one knee in pain and was quickly dispatched with a quick thrust to its exposed throat. The two continued on and finally reached bottom. From the floor, the dragon looked absolutely massive. James estimated it to stand at about three stories high. Fortunately it was preoccupied with a group of Lotkin that had rallied to attack it and paid the two operatives no mind. James and Flash quickly slipped past the battle and on to the airships, the human dropping more hostiles along the way with hastily aimed shots. As they neared the docks, Flash spotted Alister waving from one of the ships. Flash and James swiftly ran up onto the dock and inside the hold.

"Well we didn't plan on that shit right there." James said, recollecting himself. "What's your situation here?" He asked the Captain.

"This ship is ready to take off. We rigged the other one next door as a fire ship and were about to launch it when we were rudely interrupted." He reported.

"Good, we're still gonna use it."

"Sir?"

"We're still gonna have to cover our asses to get out of here. I'm betting that thing isn't gonna simply let something fly away from it. Myst, where you at right now?" He called into his mic.

"Still circling the crater, we barely avoided the dragon. I was sure it was going to find us, but something down below caught its attention. Is everypony ok?"

"Fine, we're still working on getting the prisoners out. I need you to do something for me. I want you to park your ship directly in front of the fire ship, Alister's team will direct you two it. Your two gunners will play defense while Flash, Feather and I free the captives and bring 'em to extract. In the meantime Alister is gonna tie you off to the fire ship, that clear?" James instructed the pilot.

"Crystal."

"Outstanding, Alister you heard the spiel, let's get to it."

Feather rejoined his teammates and together they made their way to the cages. The dragon had moved further away on the other side of the camp, leaving some of the Lotkin to do as they pleased. Unfortunately, what pleased them was rushing into combat against James, Flash and Feather. The two ponies rushed forward, blades drawn and began hacking and slashing while James hung back and put holes in anything that tried to get the jump on them. After a few skirmishes here and there, they had finally reached the area the captives were being held in. Twenty cages sat in two parallel rows, the guards were absent, having left to join in the glory of battle. Of the cages, only seventeen were occupied, each holding a malnourished looking unicorn. Feather quickly got to work unlocking the cage doors while James and Feather watched his back. The earth pony was just finishing up on the eighth cage when they were interrupted.

"Just what the hay do you think you're doing!?"

James snapped his aim to the source of the voice. A few yards away stood a heavily scarred brown pegasus, a familiar yellow streak running through his mane.

"YOU! What the hay are you doing here? No, of course it would be you! You were always screwing up my day!" The brown pegasus hollered at the human.

"Lightning!? You're the one helping these things!?" Flash asked in bewilderment.

"How do you think they got the air ships? You know your freak friend there really did a number on my face! Prison doc said I'd never look the same again."

"You're lucky he didn't kill you!" Flash retorted.

James stepped in, this fight wasn't doing any good and time was short, "Lightning, I know we have some differences, but think about what you're doing here. Working with these things will only bring you more pain."

"What I'm doing here? What I'm doing here is becoming stronger! Stronger than the weaklings in Celestia's happy little country! Stronger than YOU! These guys here get me. After I jumped bail, I had to hide out in the Everfree. They came across me, hungry and cold. At first, I thought they were gonna kill me, but when they learned how useful I am, they took me in." Lightning ranted.

"And once that usefulness is up, they'll just discard you like trash. These things don't work like you think. How much longer before they decide one pony can no longer continue helping them?" James tried to explain.

"HA! You think I'm the only one? There are scores of ponies helping us, sick of Celestia's 'perfect little realm'. Now lock the cages back up and put down your weapons or I'll use THIS." The brown pegasus produced one of the magical explosives from a pouch on his side.

"You don't want to do that." Flash warned.

"Or what? You think you can run over here and kill me faster than I can throw? Not likely." Lightning scoffed.

"I don't need to be over there to kill you." James informed him. "I don't think you've ever encountered me with my firearms."

"Whatever. Now put down the weapons or your precious unicorns go boom!"

"Suit yourself buddy." James said dismissively.

The human aimed down and shot out the stallion's legs. Lightning dropped the explosive and went down, screaming in pain. Miraculously, the magical weapon did not explode, but landed softly in the loose dirt. Feather had finished unlocking all the cages now and was corralling the unicorns. Flash got their attention and started to lead them back to safety with James. When the human passed the disabled pegasus, he gave him some last minute advice.

"This is your last warning. Don't fuck with my friends again." He said menacingly before continuing on.

As Feather followed behind them, he briefly looked down at the bleeding form of his former gang leader and spat in disgust before moving on.

The operatives kept close watch on the ponies in their custody, helping up any that collapsed or fell behind. They weren't losing any of them now that they had been found. The group neared the docks, the sound of automatic weapons tearing through the air in a rapid staccato beat. The Clipper was in position, its two gunners moving down waves of hostiles attempting to assault their position. The new armor was doing its job, many crossbow bolts were fired at it, but they merely glanced off the side of the hull. Sparks was on the MG3 and saw the group of unicorns approaching. He quickly shifted his fire and opened up a path for them to move through and get to safety. Once in the docks, Flash and Feather herded the ponies into the air ship they were using for their extraction. James did not follow, but instead boarded the fire ship. Alister was there waiting for him.

"Is everything ready to go?" The human asked.

"Ready and waiting on your order."

"Good. Cast off all lines and then board the other ship and do the same. Have Flash and your two pegasi take the ship and head to the north." He ordered.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make sure that dragon doesn't follow you. Now go!"

Alister did as he was told and soon they were all ready for lift off. The Clipper was hovering only a few feet away from and below the main deck of the large air ship, so James jumped over onto the Clipper's upper deck. The Nightstalker unicorn was up there on the M249, firing away at the hostiles below. James descended to the main cabin and stowed the Barrett before climbing back onto the larger air ship and ordering Myst to tow them into the sky. As he predicted, once the dragon noticed the the two large objects trying to escape, it gave chase. Once it closed in, James began using his rifle to attract its attention. He knew he wouldn't be able to actually hurt something that massive with such small rounds, but that wasn't the objective. The ploy worked and the other air ship escaped to the north without incident. Now James just needed to bug out of there. The dragon came up behind the fire ship and opened its great maw, exposing hundreds of dagger like teeth. Knowing what was coming next, James ran to the bow and grasped the rope attached to the Clipper, severing it with his knife. The human safely swung away as the fire ship was engulfed in the ensuing inferno. Charges set in the ships hull cooked off and created a nicely sized explosion, sending burning timbers falling to the mountainous ground below which that dragon thankfully followed. Before he knew it, James was being lifted into the main cabin of the Clipper by the winch. When he got inside, Sparks was waiting for him.

"You're crazy, you know that?" The unicorn said.

"You ever try being sane? Its just not as fun."

They both had a short chuckle at that.

"James, you ok back there? You make it?" Flash asked over the radio, concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, I'm good. A little bit singed, but otherwise ok."

"Good, 'cause we have a bit of a situation over here."

"What? What is it?"

"We have an uninvited guest. You should probably get over here."

"Roger that, I'm on my way. Myst?"

"Yeah, yeah, on our way." She sounded annoyed. Then again, James had just risked her beloved ship in some crazy scheme.

Myst expertly piloted her aircraft and brought it along side the weather deck of the larger air ship. James and Sparks moved the machine gun emplacement out of the way, allowing James to hop across the small gap and onto the other ship. Once on board, he headed down below to find Flash.

"What's the problem, where's this 'guest'?"

Flash pointed to a barred door near the back of the compartment.

"A hostile somehow got onboard. We have it contained in that space."

"Shit. Alright, get ready to open it up." He said, drawing his pistol.

The two went to the door, James putting his back against the wall on the side it would open to. The human counted down from three and Flash removed the bar, allowing the door to swing open. James flew around the frame, pistol at the ready. The space was small and appeared to be used for storage, though it was empty at the moment. Empty except for a Lotkin standing in the middle of the room, weapons drawn. James fired and put two in its chest before it could react, the rounds punching through its armor. It crumpled to the deck, up against the aft bulkhead. James walked over and was about to put a bullet in it's head when it surprised him by speaking.

"You not able to defeat us." It croaked.

James was intrigued at this first attempt at communication, but he did not lower his sidearm.

"Why?" The human demanded, "Why not? Why are you even doing all this, all this unnecessary violence?"

The creature made a huffing sound in its throat, like rocks grinding together, in a cruel replica of a laugh.

"You not know. You not know!" It made the laughing sound again. "We come to take what was ours. Ours before the one of the sun rose. Ours before the time of Discord. Ours before the time of the two goddesses!"

At this last exclamation, one of the magical explosive orbs appeared in its hand.

"EVERYONE OUT!" James bellowed. Flash and Alister had entered the room moments before to hear the thing speak. Alister was closest to the exit and was first to escape. However, Flash had come to stand by his friend and was no closer to safety than James was. As the pegasus galloped, he felt strong arms wrap around his torso and heave him through the doorway. James had just made it to the threshold when the Lotkin behind him crushed the orb in its hand. James was propelled through the door frame by the force of the explosion, slamming into a bulkhead opposite, crumpling to the deck. The last thing he remembered was panicked yells and the sound of hooves pounding on the deck all around him before he finally faded into oblivion.

Darkness Inside

Chapter 30: Darkness Inside

He was aware. He was aware of himself, yet he was not awake. In all directions was only darkness. Not even the smallest most insignificant feature graced the empty plane. However, he was not alone. Faintly, the flapping of wings could be heard. He looked up to see a murder of crows flitting about on tattered wings, hardly seen as they were almost as black as the darkness itself. They began to caw, bloody beaks demanding flesh and thirsting for blood. Together, they began to descend on him, a cloud of flapping feathers made of misery, anger and pain. He reached for his sidearm, it wasn't there. He reached for his knife, missing as well. He wore no armor or clothing. The crows harassed him, buzzing his head and biting him. Upon the first bite, images flashed through his head, images of his childhood. His father beating him with fists, mother just standing by in a drunken stupor. Another bite, another flash; he was older. Running from home, running from the pain. Another bite on his arm; joining the Navy, finding purpose, training, building strength to fight the pain, earning a family. He flailed his arms about, trying to disperse the demons of his past. He only received yet another bite; meeting Jackson, graduation, becoming brothers. Another bite on his back; his first op, his first kill, the slippery feeling of his knife gliding through flesh, scraping on the cartilage of the trachea. He remembered the blood, the body slumping to the ground, the pleading eyes of a man not yet dead, yet doomed to die. Air whistled through the gap in the man's neck as he silently screamed. A picture that tumbled out of his shirt pocket, a picture of a young woman and two small boys. Without provocation from the flying wretches, another image sprung into his head unbidden; the helicopter, an unknown assailant, finding the source of fire, stopping the threat.

All at once, the crows lifted, but the did not leave. They remained, circling above. He heard the soft padding of unshod feet behind him. He whipped around, ready for a fight, but he wasn't prepared for the sight before him. It was the boy. One accusing eye glaring at him, the other was missing, instead just a gaping bloody hole. The wound dripped as if still fresh, shredded flaps of skin hanging loosely from the forehead and cheek, glistening red muscle exposed. The boy did not speak, just simply stared with the one liquid brown eye. He stared back at the boy, unsure of what to do or say, conflicting emotions boiling up and fighting for dominance. They stood there for a moment, neither moving nor speaking.

"I'm sorry..." he said weakly to the boy.

The boy did not respond, he still stood there, staring blankly. Blood began to leak from his wound, crimson tears crawling down his face and dripping from his chin.

"I don't know what you want, but I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice. It was either you or us!" He said, almost pleading.

Now the boy raised one arm, finger pointing at his chest with the authority of the damned.

"What do you want!"

"Kill" A deep otherworldly voice boomed in his skull.

"What?"

"Monster, Kill!"

"No, just leave me be, I'm sorry!"

"Kill, Destroy, BRING DEATH!"

All at once, the crows descended and tore into his exposed flesh, ripping chunks of skin and muscle from his body.

"NO!"

James sat up, his mind still clouded. He was in a bed somewhere, all manners of tubes and needles attached to his body. He launched himself from the bed, tearing everything from his body. Nearby, a heart monitor flat lined and emitted a long shrill tone as the sensors were stripped from his body. A doctor rushed into the room at the sound. Upon seeing the crazed human, he hit a button on the wall with a hoof. Within minutes, three orderlies rushed in to restrain the human. James still wasn't in his right mind, training and reflex overriding rational thought. As one of the orderlies rushed forward to grab him, James intercepted the foreleg and threw him into the equipment against the wall. The other two decided to attack him together, one brandishing a syringe filled with a sedative. One orderly managed to wrap his forelegs around the human, the other prepared to administer the shot. James snatched the syringe from from the orderly and stabbed it into the shoulder of the one holding him in place. The pony slacked and slid to the ground. The orderly James had disarmed tried one last attempt to restrain him. He only got within two steps of the warrior before he received a punch to the side of the neck. James ran past the doctor and into the passageway. Waiting for him were four members of the RSTG, two unicorns, a pegasus and an earth pony. The pegasus and earth pony both ducked under his swings and rugby tackled him to the ground. Then the unicorns ran up and placed their horns on his body. A powerful shock shot through his chest, limbs and head, sending him back into the inky darkness of his mind.

=====================================================================

Slowly, James came back into consciousness, as if through a thick haze. He tried to move his arms and legs, but found that they were immobilized. He opened his eyes and looked around, trying to assess his situation. He was in a small hospital room. To his left was a door, on his right was a small square window set in the middle of the wall. The shades were down, but the warm light of a morning sun still seeped through. Directly at his right side was an end table with a few objects on it; a couple of 'get well' cards and letters, some cupcakes and a bottle of the special hot sauce from Cloudsdale all placed upon a hardcover book. He looked down at his body and saw that his limbs had been strapped to the bed frame. In both his arms were IV needles, steadily feeding him a stream of hydration and nutrients. On his chest was a sensor node, a wire connected to it ran up to an ECG machine which was repeating a beep at consistent intervals. His entire body ached in pain, especially his head and his left knee.

Once again, James tried to free his arms, but to no avail. The straps were too well secured. It was the same for his legs. Thinking of no other alternatives, he did the only other thing he could do.

"Hello?" He called to the door. "Is anyone here? I could use some help."

Almost instantly the door burst open, Flash, Sparks and Feather all piling through at once. Together, they rushed to the side of his bed.

"Finally! You're awake!" Flash exclaimed.

"You gave us quite a scare there." Sparks said stoically.

"Where am I?" James asked the trio.

"You're at a hospital in Canterlot." Sparks replied.

"What happened to the unicorns we rescued, are they all ok? The last thing I remember is the explosion."

"They're all fine, just really hungry and dehydrated. Fortunately, it seems we got all of them." Feather told him.

"Yes, the explosion took out a good chunk of the airship, but it didn't inflict too much damage. You were knocked out, concussed pretty badly. Good thing for you, one of the Nightstalkers was a medic in the Royal Guard." Sparks said, filling him in.

"How long have I been out?" James asked the unicorn.

"About eight days now."

"Ok, one last thing. Why am I currently strapped down to the bed?"

The three stallions glanced nervously between themselves.

"There was an... incident the other day." Sparks told the human.

"What incident?" James asked, now highly concerned.

"You kinda... went a little crazy and... beat up some of the hospital staff..." Flash said uneasily.

James felt like a large rock had dropped into his stomach. He had no memory of such an event.

"You're kidding." He said in disbelief.

"No, we're not. It took Captain Alister and three of his team members to take you down."

"Is everyone ok?"

"Aside from some bruises, everypony's fine. The hospital are still a little shaken up, but that's about it." Feather reassured him.

"Good." He lay his head back on his pillow, face becoming a blank mask. "Well then, could you undo the straps please? They're starting to chafe."

"Sure thing." Sparks said, horn beginning to take on a glow.

With a quick spell, Sparks undid the bindings on the bed. James rubbed his wrists a little, trying to get the circulation flowing again.

"Anything else we can do for you?" Feather asked.

"No I... I just want to be alone and chill for a little." James said with a voice devoid of emotion.

"All right, but if you need anything, one of us will always be out in the hall." Flash informed him.

The three ponies left the room, closing the door quietly behind them. James closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. He lay there like this for several minutes. After a while, he got curious and picked up the pile of objects beside him and began sorting through them. He put the cupcake and hot sauce back on the table. There were a bunch of cards from the girls back in Ponyville, some letters and the book. The title of the book was 'Daring Do and the Dragon's Gem'. On the cover was a picture of a tan colored pegasus mare in a vest and pith helmet, dodging a blast of fire from a very agitated dragon. He put it aside, maybe he'd read it later. He picked up the two letters and opened one. It was from Alister. The Captain started his letter off by wishing James good health and then went on to explain that he had taken care of the After Action Report and all the other paper work so he wouldn't have to worry about it. He put this aside as well and picked up the second envelope. His face grew serious as he noticed that it was heavily embossed and bore the royal seal. James tore it open and pulled the parchment out from inside. Of course, it was from Celestia.

'To my faithful protector of the peoples,

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for returning my citizens to safety in such a daring rescue. I was pleased to find that they are all doing well and each one of them is expected to make a full recovery. Without your quick thinking and the steadfast dedication of your team, a feat of this magnitude would surely have not been possible. Therefor, it is with great pride that I inform you that each and every pony involved in the success of the mission is to be awarded the Star of Equestria, our nation's highest honor. The ceremony shall take place in due time. For now allow your team and yourself to rest. You all have certainly earned it.

Princess Celestia'

James put the parchment down and contemplated everything he had just read. The last thing he wanted was to have to get up in front of a large group just to have a piece of metal pinned to his uniform. He never did like going to awards quarters, even when he was a recipient. It just felt like a waste of time. He put those thoughts out of his head and decided to try and walk around a bit. It had been over a week since he had even walked, he also wanted to take a look out the window, having not seen the capitol city except for the flight over it and the interior of the palace. James swung his legs out to over the edge of the bed with a wince. He then lowered himself to the cold floor. As soon as he put weight on his left leg, a lance of pain shot out from his knee, causing him to fall over onto the floor. As he went down, the IVs and the ECG's sensor were ripped from his body, making his arms bleed and the ECG to sound its alarm. A doctor rushed in flanked by four orderlies, who took up positions around the human.

"It's ok, i'm fine. Just took a little spill." James explained.

The doctor trotted over to the fallen biped, "Good to see you're back in a lucid state." Sensing no danger, he waved the orderlies from the room.

"You really shouldn't be up, you must get back in bed." Continued the doctor.

"Yeah, I will. Could you just tell me what's wrong with my leg?" James asked.

"Your knee took quite a hit, it's a wonder it isn't broken. what we found was that a large piece of wood had lodged itself in the back of it. We got you into surgery and removed it, but you will have some difficulty walking for the next two weeks."

"A couple of weeks on crutches, not bad." James said, relieved.

He climbed back into the hospital bed at the doctor's order and waited patiently as the medical pony and a nurse replaced the ECG and the destroyed IVs. When the finished they exited the room, leaving James by himself again. Finding the profound silence profoundly boring, he decided to pick up the book. As he opened the cover and flipped to the first page, a small piece of folded paper fell out onto his lap. Curious, he picked it up and opened it.

'James,

Hospitals can be lame and boring, so here's a book from one of my favorite series. I used to not be so keen on reading, but a stay in a hospital changed that. I hope it cheers you up. Now, as soon as you get out, hurry up and come visit. Remember, you still owe me a favor.'

He chuckled a little bit and put the note on top of the pile of papers. Sometimes life could be harsh, but at least he had some good friends to go with it

Small Talk

Chapter 31:
Small Talk

After two more days in the hospital James was finally released. He exited the building with his three teammates, limping along with a crutch under his left shoulder. The doctor had said that he would need to use the crutch for at least two weeks and afterwards he would still need to take it easy. Fortunately, James was a fast healer. Together they stepped out into the bright chilly autumn day of the downtown area of Canterlot. The first thing on all their minds, especially James', was to get some good food. The chow in the hospital wasn't very appetizing and the human made a mental note to thank Pinkie and Dash for sending him the cupcake and hot sauce.

James was looking forward to exploring the bustling city that reminded him so much of the metropolises back in his own world. He'd had many good times in large cities like; Chicago, Manhattan, San Diego and San Francisco. Thanks to his job, he'd also been able to enjoy cities overseas like Hong Kong and Dubai. Now he would get the chance to explore a sizable city from a different dimension or universe or where ever the hell he was. Should be interesting.

"Thanks again for bringing me some clothes, Flash." James said to the pegasus beside him.

"No problem, it's the least I could do. Especially since you pretty much saved my life."

"I just did what anyone of you would have done for me. Anyway, where are we going again?" James asked Sparks.

"I thought you'd probably like to check out the markets. They usually got a bunch of interesting street vendors there and also a few good restaurants."

"Sounds good."

The three made their way through the winding streets, strolling towards the growing sound of a large crowd. Soon they emerged into a busy square. Everywhere there were stands of merchandise and goods, ponies selling and buying, haggling for a good price on their wares. James was intrigued by all the activity going on around him, it was truly a fascinating sight. They wandered around for a bit, casually eyeing the many objects for sale. They found one stand that was selling deep fried apples on a stick. Never having tried such a thing before, James bought some for him and his friends. The outside of the treat was a crispy golden brown and when he bit into it, the sweet crunchiness of the apple mixed with the fried batter shell to create a delightful taste and texture in his mouth. Crunchy yet juicy at the same time and piping hot. It was almost like a small apple pie.

They spent some more time walking around and enjoying the scene of commerce. Occasionally they would stop to look at something that caught their interest. At one end of the market was a space set aside for street performers. James wandered off from the group, a little nostalgic for Venice Beach. There were a few ponies playing various musical instruments, a tight rope walker doing a balancing act, even a powder blue unicorn performing magic. Suddenly, James' stomach rumbled. It was past noon and all he had eaten was that apple treat. He began to make his way back to where he had last seen his friends, but was unfamiliar with the area and quickly became lost. He entered what appeared to be the main thoroughfare and scanned the area for any hint of his teammates. He looked hard enough to the point that he forgot to pay attention to where he was going. Quite abruptly, he found himself knocked to the hard pavement, his crutch flying out from under his arm..

"Watch where you're going, whelp!"

James looked up to see a large tan colored griffon standing over him menacingly, a wicked curved sword strapped to his side. Behind the lethal amalgamation of animals was a group of about five more. In an instant Feather appeared at the human's side from out of thin air, producing a blade from no where. Quickly, the griffon drew the sword from his hip, ready for a fight. The two stared each other down until the group of apex predators behind parted and a lone raven feathered griffon approached the three.

"Now Tartus, that isn't any way to treat friends, not to mention comrades in arms. Sheathe your weapon this instant." The dark griffon ordered.

"Yes sir, my apologies." The tan griffon said, complying with his master's orders.

Feather put away his own weapon and went to retrieve James' crutch.

"Please excuse him Commander, he is only doing his job." The griffon extended a claw and helped the human up.

"Admiral, it's good to see you again!" James happily exclaimed, accepting the crutch from his friend.

"Like wise! I've heard all about your courageous raid in the Blasted Mountains. Is that how you earned that wound?"

"Yeah. Ain't too bad though sir, should be good in a week or so."

"Oh, please dispense with the formalities. Say, how would you like to join me for lunch? I would like to make up for this dreadful faux pas."

"Only if my teammates can accompany me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Admiral Darkwing absorbed James and Feather into his entourage while they searched for Flash and Sparks. They found the two ponies wandering about, trying to find both James and Feather. Both were relieved to find that the human and earth pony were ok. Together they all followed the high ranking officer, interestingly enough, to the palace. The guards at the front gate stepped aside to let them all pass.

"Uh, Admiral..."

"Please James, call me Silus."

"Ok... Silus. What are we going to the palace for?"

"Recently, I've been serving as an ambassador to Equestria. I am currently staying here in the castle. I must say, I'm very glad to have run into you, this job is so much more tedious and far more impractical than serving in our Imperial Navy. I find the nuances of politics baffling and unnecessary."

The Admiral lead them all into the grand foyer and down a side passage to a suite over looking the palace gardens. They were seated at a large dining table with places for at least twenty guests. One of the Admiral's staff left to inform the castle cooks they were ready for a meal. In no time, elegantly constructed menus appeared before them all. James, Flash, Feather and Sparks each received a green colored menu while Admiral Darkwing and his staff received red ones. James looked at his menu and saw that everything listed on there was of course vegetarian. Curious, he asked one of the griffons sitting near him to see his menu and was surprised at what he saw. Almost all the dishes offered on the red menu featured a meat of some kind. It mostly consisted of chicken and pork, but there were a few unusual items. James asked one of the palace staff if he could order off the red menu, to which they informed him he could. Seeking to try something new, he ordered the manticor steak. While they all waited for their food, a few stewards served them wine. The Admiral took this opportunity to engage James in some conversation.

"So James, I was wondering, exactly how just you and nine ponies were able to pull of such a difficult task and escape without taking any casualties? If any of our own elite warriors had gone, it would have been suicide!"

"We adapt on the fly, improvise. Any good unit is a flexible unit. It also doesn't hurt to throw in a pinch of crazy. Sooner or later, though, it'll come back and sell you the farm. Tactically, what we're able to do comes out pretty good, but it doesn't exactly help lengthen your life span."

"Improvisation you say? Well we must incorporate this into the training of our own forces. As it is, our own regimens are so rigid and traditional. A small change shall do us some good, I think. Maybe you could help train them yourself?"

"Ha ha, I'm flattered, but you'd have to ask Celestia first. I don't think she'd appreciate me running of to another country to train foreign soldiers without her permission."

"I have another meeting with her grace tomorrow, perhaps I shall bring the subject up."

About this time, the food was ready and being served to all the guests. A large plate was placed in front of James. On it was a round, flat piece of red meat about the size of his outstretched hand. Tentatively, he picked up the ornate silverware and cut out a small square chunk. He gave it a sniff before popping it in his mouth and chewing. A burst of flavor exploded across his taste buds. He quickly chewed and swallowed, cutting out another piece of the delicious steak. Oddly, the taste almost reminded him of a kangaroo steak he'd once had while passing through Australia once. Next to him, his teammates gave him a strange look.

"Hey, don't judge. You guys know I used to eat meat." James said casually.

They all rolled their eyes and began to dig in to their own dishes. The meal passed, casual conversation going back and forth between the two groups. James was thoroughly enjoying his meal. He hadn't had a chance to eat like this for half a year now, he'd almost forgotten what a good steak tasted like. Just as he was finishing, a griffon entered the room and whispered into the Admiral's ear.

"James, it seems your presence is requested elsewhere." The ink feathered griffon relayed to him. "There is a guard out side my quarters that will escort you."

"Ok then. Thank you for the wonderful meal, Silus. I also enjoyed our little chat." James said with gratitude.

"The pleasure was all mine, I would like to do this again sometime."

James carefully got up and hobbled over to the door on his crutch, his three friends following close behind. They exited the suite and found a member of the Day Guard waiting. The brightly armored pony walked up and addressed them immediately.

"My apologies sir, but it was requested that you come alone. Your companions can wait for you in the foyer."

"Alright," James turned to his three friends, "I'll try not to take too long, hopefully it's nothing too important."

They nodded and proceeded to make their way back to the entrance. Meanwhile, James was led in the opposite direction. The guard took him down several corridors and through a large ballroom before exiting the grandiose building and entering a large garden. They took a path that wound in between the healthy bushes and around the bare trees, soon arriving at a clearing somewhere in the middle of it all. Centered in the clearing was a small wooden gazebo. In the gazebo, laying on a comfortable looking rug and reading a book that was floating in front of her face, was Celestia. She closed her book and set it down beside her as she noticed the two coming towards her.

"Guard, thank you for bringing the Commander here, you may leave us now." She said in a gentle tone.

"Yes, your majesty." The guard replied before leaving the clearing.

James continued towards the gazebo and stopped at the bottom of three small steps that led up into it.

"Ma'am, you wanted to see me?" James inquired respectfully.

"Yes, I was glad to hear that you were on the premises. Please, come sit with me."

James hopped up the steps on his good leg and sat across from the most powerful being in this world. They sat together for a few minutes in silence before the princess of the sun spoke again.

"In the short time you've been here, you've built quite a reputation for yourself in the strangest way. Almost the whole of Equestria knows of the great feats you and your unit has accomplished and yet, except for a few privileged souls, nopony knows who you all are."

"Yes ma'am, and if it's ok with you, we'd like to keep it that way."

"Oh? Why so?"

"Well, for one, what we do is highly dangerous in itself. I don't want anyone getting distracted by unwanted attention. Also, operatives in our profession tend to make enemies. The less anybody knows about us, the better."

"That's such a shame. I was planning to have such a nice ceremony for both yours and Captain Alister's team. Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but yes. We'd be honored to receive the prestigious award you're presenting us with, but it would be best if you kept it low key."

"I'm sorry to hear that. However, I will take your concerns into consideration. Other than that, James, how are you feeling?" She asked the human kindly.

"Good for the most part. My knee got a little busted up, but the doc said it should be fine in a couple weeks."

"James, you're smarter than that. You know what I meant."

The human's breath caught in his chest. He did know what she meant, he was just trying to deflect. Slowly he released the air from his lungs and took a deep breath.

"Some days are better than others."

"Like the day in the hospital."

"Yes."

"Have you considered asking your friends for help?"

"I have. Flash, Sparks and Feather already know what's going on. I don't want to burden them though."

"James," she began in a crestfallen voice, "you should never be afraid to rely on your friends."

"Ma'am, I appreciate what you're doing, but I think it's time I left. My friends are waiting for me after all." James said apologetically while standing up. His face transformed to a blank mask.

"I understand. When you're ready to talk, don't hesitate to come find me."

"Thank you ma'am, I'll keep that in mind."

The human hobbled down the steps and limped back to the palace, his face retaining the blank expression devoid of emotion. The same guard from before appeared from a side door and took him back to his friends. James was glad when they reached foyer, he really wanted to leave.

"So what's going on?" Flash asked while trotting up.

"Nothing, Celestia just wanted to check in on us."

"Oh, ok. You ready to get back home?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here."

Together the four left and made their way to the train station and bought tickets to Ponyville. They would have flown, but Myst had been called away to consult on a project to produce more airships like the Clipper. They boarded the train and took seats at the back of the car. Feather, Flash and Sparks decided to take a nap during the trip, leaving James alone with his thoughts. The entire way, he couldn't take his mind off how he had lost control.

Home, Sweet Home

Chapter 32: Home, Sweet Home

When they finally arrived in Ponyville station the sun had set and the town was shrouded in darkness. Nobody was waiting for them, there was no fanfare, as they had not told a soul as to when they would be coming back. It did not matter, they weren't doing their jobs for the notoriety. Quietly, James and his three companions cruised through the lamp lit streets at a leisurely pace, taking their time and enjoying the crisp night air. Eventually they reached the edge of town and parted ways; Feather to the HQ where he was quartered, Flash, Sparks and James to their house a short distance away. When Sparks, James and Flash reached the house, Sparks went up and unlocked the door, grating the three of them entrance. It was only eight in the evening, but James was tired so he went straight to hopping up the stairs to his room. Flash and Sparks did the same.

Before he went to lay on his mattress, James went over to his desk and opened the right hand drawer. He reached in and pulled out the revolver that had once belonged to the lieutenant. He ran his fingers over the scroll work, wondering for the millionth time how his old team was doing without him. If he could have one thing, it would be to at least have Jackson at his side again. The man was one of very few that had been kind to him in his life and during their time working together they had been as brothers, inseparable. They had saved each other's asses so many times that it had become custom to just buy each other a beer whenever they finished a mission or returned home.

James' thoughts were put on hold when he heard a knock at the door. He waited a moment, hoping one of his roommates would answer it, but all that earned him was another knock at the door. Cursing to himself, he put the weapon away and grabbed his crutch, then he carefully hobbled down the stairs to the front door. He was a bit irate and was ready to tell off the untimely visitor as soon as he opened the door. However, when he pulled it open half way, instead of some random solicitor, he saw Rainbow Dash standing there.

"Oh... hey. How did you know we were back?" James asked the colorful mare standing before him.

"I was up and noticed your lights turn on. I don't live all that far away from here."

"Uh, ok. Was there something I could help you with?"

"Well, I just came over to see if you wanted to hang out for a little, seeing as how you just got back and all." She said a little shyly.

James really didn't want to. He liked her, but all he wanted to do now was sleep. At the same time, he didn't want to be rude to the pegasus mare that had been anything but unfriendly to him ever since they first met.

"Ok, but just for a little. I'm pretty tired. My roommates are sleeping too, so we probably shouldn't hang here, care for a walk?"

"That'd be cool." The shy blue mare said, eyes lighting up a little.

James quietly limped outside and gently closed the door behind him before turning around and carefully stepping down off the porch. Now that the door no longer concealed his frame, Dash could clearly see the damage done to his leg.

"Ouch, what happened to you?" She asked, some concern coloring her voice.

"Nothing, just an accident."

"What kind of accident did that to you?"

"The painful kind."

"Well, duh. I meant how did it happen?"

James remained silent as they slowly walked out from the house and towards a small grassy hill nearby. Eager to change the subject, he shifted the focus of the conversation to the mare walking steadily beside him.

"What've you been up to since I've been gone, create any new tricks?"

"Just a couple. I have this one I think you'd like though."

"Oh yeah? What do you do in it?" He asked her.

They were climbing the slight rise of the hill now.

"Well, first I start it off with a couple of corkscrews and some barrel rolls between a few clouds. Then I go up over by the lake and gain a little altitude. After that, I drop to the ground and gain as much speed as I can before shooting low across the lake surface, sending a spray of water up behind me!" The rosy eyed pegasus explained fervently.

They reached the top and James grunted quietly as he sat down on the cool soft grass. Dash trotted over and picked a spot right next to the human. James lay back, resting his head on his arms behind him, and stared up at the brilliant show of twinkling light spread out across the night sky above them. Tonight was a new moon, and so almost the whole area was lit entirely by starlight. Without the light of the town or the moon interfering, the two could see just about every single pinprick of light that adorned the great dome of darkness overhead. If they looked hard enough, they could faintly make out translucent hues of orange, green and red.

"That sounds damned impressive, Dash. I'd love to see it." he said sincerely.

Almost unnoticeably, the cyan pegasus sidled a little closer to the human's side.

"You ever wonder what it's like up there?" She asked him, also gazing up to the dancing celestial bodies high above.

"All the time."

"Someday, I wanna try to fly as high and fast as nopony ever has before. I want to try and knock one of those stars out of the sky."

"Dash, knowing you, you'll probably end up bringing a few back with you."

The mare slowly made another advance, now almost pressing up against James' side. She made a few nervous glances in his direction, but he was wholly focused on the tapestry of light stretched across the sky. They lay there for a moment, just drinking in the beautiful view together. James' breathing slowed, actually feeling relaxed for the first time in a few weeks. Even if it was a little cold outside, he felt as if he could lie there all night. Even the soft grass on the side of the hill was comfortable and inviting.

"Hey, James. I still don't know a lot about you or what you do, but I saw some newspapers and I think they were talking about you and Flash and Sparks. If so, that was really brave what you guys did." James did not respond in the negative, or any way at all for that matter. Plucking up her courage, Dash continued. "Still, that all must've been hard and besides Flash and Feather and them, you'r usually alone. I was just uh... I was uh... wondering... if you.. had a uh.... special somepony?" She uncharacteristically forced out nervously.

James still did not respond. Fearing she may have somehow upset him, Dash looked over and tried to talk to him.

"Uh... James? I don't know if you heard me, but I'm sorry if--"

When she turned her head, James had a peaceful look about his face. His chest was gently rising and falling and his eyes were closed.

"Crud, I'll let you get away with it this time." The rainbow maned mare mumbled grumpily.

Going for broke, she closed the gap between them and cuddled up against his warm side. Then she just lay there, enjoying his presence. Soon she felt a little sleepy herself. Gradually, her eyes began to drift shut.

A few moments later, James awoke on the side of the hill. He felt a new sensation on his right. He looked over and saw Dash was now pressed right up against him, fast asleep, her body heat lending him some warmth. Gently, he shook her shoulder, trying to wake her, but to no avail. He shook a little harder, but she was out cold. The night was getting older and a chill began to creep on. James didn't want to leave her there, but her house was too far away and also needed to be able to fly to get there. That left him only one choice. He got up and, balancing on his good leg, scooped her up onto his right shoulder. He then began to carefully limp back to his house on his crutch. As he did, he noticed the pegasus slung over his shoulder was surprisingly light for a pony.

He carefully stepped up onto to porch, taking care not to jostle the sleeping mare while avoiding hurting his knee. Quietly opening and closing the door proved to be a challenge, but it wouldn't be the hardest part. He reached the bottom of the staircase and leaned his crutch against the wall before placing a hand on it to steady himself. Slowly he began to ascend the stairs. He reached his room and gently placed the multi colored mare on his mattress and pulled the blanket over her. Then, as silently as he could with his damaged leg, he limped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He hopped back down the stairs and grabbed his crutch, using its support to make his way to the couch. He set it down and flopped onto the cushions and got as comfortable as he could. He was beat. He didn't want to think, he didn't even want to dream. All he wanted was to sleep. And for once in a long while, that's all he did.

=====================================================================

James woke up to the sound of hooves softly clopping across the floor followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing. He opened his eyes and looked around. It was still early morning, the sun only just beginning to peek over the horizon. On the coffee table next to the couch was a piece of paper. He reached over and brought it to his face so he could read it.

'James,

I'm sorry you had to carry me in last night, I can be a really heavy sleeper. I'm also sorry you slept on the couch. Anyway, thanks for giving me a place to sleep after I passed out. I wanted to maybe stay and have breakfast, but I have work this morning. I'll see you later!

-- Dash'

James put the note back on the table and decided to get up. It had been a long time since he'd had the chance to cook himself breakfast and the mention on it in the note had made him hungry. He picked up his crutch and gently swung his legs to the floor, using the crutch to help himself up. He hobbled over to the kitchen and opened the icebox. There were the usual greens, a gallon of milk and some beer on the bottom shelf. In the corner he noticed a carton with half a dozen eggs. Getting an idea, he went and checked the pantry. Inside, he found some flour and sugar. In no time, he was whipping up some pancake batter. James dropped some butter into a skillet on the burner and spread it around, pouring some batter in after. He had just flipped it over when Flash's door swung open.

"You're up early! Hey, what smells so good?" The matte black pegasus exclaimed at the sight of the cooking human.

"Yeah, I'm cooking pancakes. Want some?" James asked him without turning around.

"Sure, can't pass up a free meal. Especially one cooked by the friggin' Commander!"

"We're off the clock buddy, stow that shit." James said with a chuckle.

He cooked up a few more pancakes and served them to Flash on a plate with some hot syrup and melted butter he had sitting on another burner set low and in a couple of ceramic mugs. James finished up another batch when he heard the door at the top of the stairs open.

"Hey, what's cookin'!" Came Spark's voice from the top of the stairs.

"Sparks, you gotta get down here, the boss is cooking breakfast for us!" Flash yelled back.

Rapid thumps could be heard as the unicorn practically galloped down to the kitchen. James put another plate on the counter just as he arrived.

"Damn, you guys must be hungry, huh?"

"Well, we didn't exactly have dinner last night." Sparks said.

"Speaking of last night, what's with the note?" Flash inquired.

Sparks was a little confused, "What note?"

James and Flash looked at each other, neither moving a muscle. Suddenly, Flash bolted for the living room while James attempted to vault over the counter with one good leg. All it resulted in was him flopping to the floor as Flash walked back in with the note and began to read it aloud.

"..... I have work this morning. I'll see you later!' He finished. "Wow, sounds like you had a fun first night back!"

James had gotten on his good leg by now and snatched the paper away from the pegasus, stuffing it into his pocket.

"It wasn't like that." The human said a little angrily.

"Oooo, touchy!" Flash teased. "Maybe it wasn't like that for you." The stallion then mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing..." the stallion said innocently.

"Then shut up and enjoy your meal, dammit." James snapped back as he returned to the stove and used the last of the batter to make a couple of pancakes for himself.

"All right, all right, sorry!"

James finished making his breakfast and turned off the burners. Then he reached into the icebox and pulled out a beer before retiring to the small dining table adjacent to the living room. Sparks picked up his plate and joined him.

"A bit early to be drinking, isn't it?"

"Sparks, we've been beaten, shot at with crossbows, attacked by a dragon, blown up, hell, me and Feather survived that cave-in somehow, but then we spent over a week finding our way out and then drinking our sweat and urine in the desert just to stay alive. It's time for a beer."

"Ok, ok. Don't bite my head off!"

James put down his fork and sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. I just got a lot on my mind is all."

"It's fine. Everypony was a little stressed after all that and all the time we spent trying to wind down, you were in a small coma."

"That's no excuse, he was sleeping the whole time!" Flash called out from the kitchen.

This got all three of them to laugh a little.

"You see? It's all good, you're with friends here." Sparks told the human.

"Yeah, I am. Flash, get on over here. And bring a couple more beers, will ya?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Came the reply from the kitchen.

Flash entered the living room, balancing a plate with a few beers on it. James took the plate from him and opened one of the beverages, setting it down in front of the engineer.

"Really?" Sparks said flatly.

"Yup. We all went through that BS, it's time we shared a drink. We're gonna go get Feather in a bit and do it again any way, so you might as well get in on it now."

"Fine." Sparks conceded.

"Good, 'cause today is gonna be all about gettin' loose."

"To kickin' flanks in the face of adversity!" Flash shouted out.

"Well put!" James complimented.

They all clinked their bottles together and downed their drinks in only a few gulps.

"Ok, let's go get Feather and get this over with." Sparks sighed.

James put a smile on his face as he stood up and gave his friend a slap on the back.

"That's the spirit!"

Fright Night

Chapter 33: Fright Night

Down in Ponyville, away from the cold mountains, the weather was still comfortably warm during the day and the the group laid out on the warm grass by the lake were enjoying the warmth of the sun while it lasted. Sparks and Flash were tossing a Frisbee around, Sparks was launching the disc into the air while Flash would zoom up to catch it as fast as he could. Feather was propped up against a tree, reading a book he had brought. James was stretched out on a blanket, peacefully snoozing with his boonie drawn down over his face. His knee was healing nicely and he was starting to get around without his crutch. He hadn't even brought it with him today.

The human's nap was interrupted when his hat was suddenly whisked off his face, allowing the bright sunlight beating down onto his eyelids and waking him up. He raised an arm to shield his eyes from the sun before opening them to identify the being that dared disturb his slumber. Shadows fell across his face as he was now looking up into the faces of six mares.

"Hey, what brings you all out here?" He asked them.

"We were all out for a picnic day when we noticed the four of you over by the lake. Would you like to join us?" Twilight offered.

"C'mon! It'll be super duper luper fun!" Exclaimed a certain springy pink mare as she bounced around.

"Oh, I don't know. I was really enjoying my nap here." He said, retrieving his boonie and placing it back over his face.

"Too bad James, you're comin' with us!" Said Rainbow Dash as bit down onto the collar of his shirt and began to drag him away.

"Hey guys, a little help here, I'm being kidnapped!" The human called out to his three friends.

The three of them dropped what they were doing and trotted over to join the group. Flash swooped down and alighted next to Pinkie.

"What's going on?" Sparks asked the mares casually.

"We're having a little get together over here and were wondering if you handsome stallions would like to join us." Rarity said flirtatiously.

"Sounds good to me!"Flash said happily.

"Yeah, me too!" Agreed Feather.

"Some friends you are!" James shouted jokingly, eliciting a laugh from all of them as he continued to be dragged away.

The girls brought them all to a large blanket with a couple of baskets of food on it. The girls assured their new guests that there was plenty for all of them and began distributing it. James, who had pulled himself to his feet, limped over and sat down on the soft cloth with the rest of his teammates. Fluttershy surprised him by coming over to talk.

"Is your leg feeling all better now? I noticed you don't have your crutch anymore, but your still limping." She said to him in that sweetly soft voice of hers.

"It still has a ways to go, but it's a lot better than it was last week. I think I get the stitches taken out in a few more days."

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that."

"Thanks, I can't wait to get its full use back. I haven't gotten to run in a while."

"Hey James, we was wonderin'," Applejack began, "now that yer leg is startin' ta heal, what's y'alls' plans fer Nightmare Night?"

"What's Nightmare Night?" He asked the farm pony.

Pinkie gasped with a sharp inhale of air, "You don't know about Nightmare Night!? It's only the most fantastical ecstastical super scary duper fun night ever! How could you not know!?"

James and the rest of the picnic attendees just sat there and gave her the 'Really?' look.

"Oh, right." She giggled.

Flash leaned over to his buddy and filled the human in, "Nightmare Night is a once a year thing where everypony dresses up in costume. Foals usually go door to door asking for candy. There's also usually pretty big party. It's pretty fun actually."

"Sounds familiar. What's it all about?"

This is where Twilight took over, "It goes back to over a thousand years ago when an evil pony called Nightmare Moon tried to take over Equestria and plunge it into eternal darkness. She was stopped by Princess Celestia herself and banished to the moon. After while, it all faded into an old mare's tale. Now, every year on the anniversary of her banishment, ponies dress up in disguise and foals go around collecting candy and offering it up as tribute to Nightmare Moon so she doesn't eat them instead. It's all very cute." She finished with a perky smile.

"The best part is all the pranks and scaring ponies though!" Dash added.

James' mind flashed back to the bas relief he saw in the old castle many months ago. The whole thing was very similar to the Halloween of his old home, yet.... different. There wasn't any mention of scaring away demons or sins or anything, just this Nightmare Moon' character.

"Sounds like a whole lotta fun, when is it?" He asked.

"Only five more days!" Pinkie shouted, jumping up on the spot.

"So, what do you think?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm, getting dressed up and scaring everyone? I'm in." The human replied with a devilish grin.

=====================================================================

Four days later, James was walking past the Clipper, as Myst had now returned, and into the Fixers' HQ. He entered the readyroom and made his way over to his locker. The stitches had been taken out from his knee and although it was still sore when he walked, it was only slightly so, nothing unbearable. He opened the door to his locker and rummaged around through the uniforms hung up in there until he came upon the one he was looking for. It was going to be his Nightmare Night costume, and although it wasn't all that original, he had made it himself and he was certain that except for the ponies he trained and his own teammates, none of the townsponies had seen it ever before. He reached in and took out one of the sniper's best friends and inspected it for damage, satisfied when he found none.

"Oh, this is gonna be good...."

=====================================================================

"James? Where are you? C'mon, we're gonna be late!" Sparks yelled out as he searched the are around the HQ, his costume a collection of bright shiny metal parts which encased him almost completely, except for his face which was painted silver.

The crazy human had told him and Feather to meet up with him there before they headed into town. Only now that they had arrived, he was no where to be seen. It was beginning to get dark and the unicorn was losing his patience.

"rrrRRRAAAAaaawwgh" Came a threatening growl from around a corner covered in bushes.

"Ha ha, very funny. I suppose your plan is to jump out from behind the building and scare me?" Sparks predicted sarcastically.

The engineer rounded the corner and.... saw nothing there.

"James?"

He heard a soft rustling behind him and turned around. Suddenly, where there had only been empty space before, a great green shaggy beast now stood.

"RAAAAAGH!" It bellowed at him, raising its powerful arms above its head.

"YAAAAHH! WHAT THE?"

The unicorn stallion reared back and fell onto his back, loose parts of his costume clanging together in a great clamor. Suddenly, the mottled creature burst out into laughter, the earth pony behind it soon following suit.

"Huh? Wha--. James, is that you!?" Sparks said, voice tinged with annoyance.

The mossy green monster lifted the front of its face up to expose another green, black and brown stripped face laughing beneath it.

"That was absolutely perfect!" James forced out through his laughs.

"Very funny, you're wearing you ghillie suit."

"Not tonight. Tonight I'm the swamp monster! What are you?"

Sparks stoically brought a foreleg up to his chest, producing a loud clang. "I'm the Steel Stallion! He was the main character in one of my favorite comic books as a foal."

"I thought we were going for scary, not corny!" James teased. "I mean, look at Feather."

The dark blue earth pony was clad in ripped and torn clothing, and a clever paint job had been added to make it appear as though his flesh had been shredded as well, exposing the flesh and bone hidden below. The illusion was especially well crafted on the left side of his face.

Sparks rolled his eyes, "Anypony can throw on some ripped clothing and make up, I constructed this from scrap metal myself." He said proudly.

"Yes, you are quite the master craftsman, er, pony. Now let's go, I want to see what it's like in town."

The three then set off to the small town of Ponyville to join the night's festivities. Flash and Myst would be meeting up with them later, right now he was spending time with his marefriend and she was showing her little brother, who had come to visit from Fillydelphia, around town. James couldn't wait to see how the evening was going to turn out. Halloween was already one of his favorite times of the year, hopefully this wouldn't let him down. As they neared the town, he could see decorations of bats and spiders adorned the buildings all around. Everywhere there were ponies in costume and various disguises, little foals running about, going door to door for treats. Closer to the town center several stands and games had been set up for the enjoyment of all the townsfolk.

They entered the town square and almost immediately ran into three familiar little fillies. A small red haired sea pony, a little ninja with a horn and a hat and a miniature purple haired pilot in a green jumpsuit and goggles with a white scarf tied around her neck. All of them had large bags of candy slung over their backs and were accompanied by a blonde lumberjack and a curiously jeweled butterfly.

"Howdy there Mr. Sparks, Feather and uh... James, that you under all that?" Greeted the lumberjack.

James cleared the strings of fabric away from his face, "Yeah, it's me. Nice costumes. How're you doing?"

"Absolutely fabulous. I think the gems on mine really bring out the beauty of such a delicate creature." Rarity expoused.

"He was askin' about all of us, not yer fancy get up Rare."

"Oh, of course. My apologies." The gilded butterfly said humbly.

"Any who, we was jus' a chaperonin' our sisters and their friend around fer treats." Applejack continued.

"Yeah, except Pinkie practically cleaned the place out already...." Applebloom said dejectedly.

"Hush 'Bloom, ya got plenty this year." Applejack said to her sister.

James knelt down to the foals.

"And what are you little ladies this evening?" He asked them with a friendly smile.

All three sounded off at once.

"I'm a merpony!"

"I'm the Mysterious Maredowell!"

"I'm the Angel of Whitecrest!"

The human's breath caught in his chest upon hearing the last one.

"She's almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash! Almost..." Scootaloo added.

"I'm sure she'd still be very flattered to know that someone was dressing up as her." James told the little filly.

"Yeah, except that nopony knows who she even is."

"I'm sure word will reach her somehow." James said with a wink.

James stood back up as Rarity began to herd them away, "Ok girls, that's enough, it's almost time for the offering. James, would you and your two handsome friends like to join us?"

He looked to his two friends who both nodded, eyes transfixed on the mare in the flashy costume.

"Looks like it's unanimous, lead the way."

James and company were taken out away from the town, with a large stream of other nightly revelers. They were all going into a large cluster of bushes, trees and other foliage. After walking down a small yet wide path they came to a clearing with a large threatening statue standing towards the back. It featured a terrifying looking alicorn mare with menacing armor and a ghastly visage. James stayed to the rear near against the tree line while the girls continued on ward, just wanting to observe the ceremony. One by one, the little foals would walk up to it and deposit a portion of their haul at the base of the statue.

Almost every one of them had finished when dark billowing clouds suddenly rolled across the sky, flashing lightning and throwing thunder. A chilly wind rushed through the clearing, howling a piercing keen and a haunting moan. Suddenly, with a particularly bright flash of lightning, the statue transformed from cold solid rock into the flesh and blood form of the evil it represented. She reared up on her hind legs, laughing maniacally, causing all the ponies before her to cower in fear.

Then, with dark slitted eyes and diabolical looking fangs and in a voice on par with the wail of the haunting wind itself, she addressed the huddled mass of terrified ponies.

"I, the Ruler of the Night, have returned! It has been long since I've eaten and my hunger is great, perhaps I can find a tasty little foal to fill my belly?" She proclaimed loudly while scanning the costumed crowd. "'Tis a Shame! I see none here! Then I suppose these treats will have to do," she said before leaning down and lifting the mask off of one of the little ponies' face, "instead of eating YOU!"

The children screamed and began to flee as she reared up again and laughed her devious laugh. James backed away from the oncoming stampede and laughed at the display. Soon, nearly all of them had escaped the scene, leaving just James and the frightening mare. Once all the children had left, the evil being standing up on the pedestal flashed and began to shrink, transforming into a slightly smaller and far less threatening Princess Luna. Slowly, James began to clap, having enjoyed viewing such an exotic custom.

"That was quite a show there!" He complimented.

Luna searched for the source of the voice having believed herself to be alone, "What? Who is there? I demand you show thyself."

"Oh, yeah," James removed himself from the tree line and removed the head covering of his ghillie suit, temporarily having forgotten it would practically make him invisible in the darkness and brush.

"Oh, 'tis only you. You are the 'human' that has entered our service, are you not?"

"That's correct ma'am, and may I just say that was an impressive performance. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that."

"You... really liked it?" She said almost skeptically.

"Well yeah, sure. I mean, 'dark' and 'scary' often finds it's way into my job description, so I learned to get comfortable with it."

"So I have heard."

The princess of the moon and stars began to make her way back to the town, James joining her at her side.

"So, ma'am, you're in charge of this night, yeah? I gotta say, I've enjoyed all of it so far, it must be fun getting a whole night for yourself once a year."

Luna's expression became one of indifference, "As much fun as one can have on the celebration of one's imprisonment."

"Oh... wait, so all the stories, the battle a thousand years ago, that was all about you?"

*sigh* "Yes, though everypony appears to have forgiven me for my transgressions now. And I will admit, scaring them is a bit fun." She said with a small half smile.

"So, if you don't mind me asking ma'am, what's the plan now?"

"I shall join in the festivities here for some time, however, this is but one of many stops I must make this night and I shan't stay for long."

"Hmm, almost like Santa..." James wondered out loud.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, nothing ma'am. Any way, if you will please excuse me, I'd like to go track down my friends, they seemed to have run off. Maybe we'll see you around town."

"Yes, of course. I bid thee farewell."

"Er... yes, have a good night ma'am."

James peeled off from the royal pony and ran into town to find his friends. After some searching, he had to stop and sit down, the night was brisk, but the ghillie suit was thick and it wasn't designed for a large amount of movement, he was starting to overheat. He took a spot on a nearby bench next to a mint colored unicorn in an odd clown costume. Odd because she was wearing the shoes with over sized toes when she didn't have feet and she was sitting in a manner that resembled his own posture. This caused him to do a double take. The unicorn just stared at him with a dumbfounded look. It was a little unnerving.

"Uh... can I help you?"

She just continued to sit there and stare.

"Are you ok?" He asked with some concern.

"Can I have one of your hands?" She asked abruptly.

"Wait, what? Uh... sorry, but these aren't detachable."

"Hm hm hm, no I want to make a plaster mold!"

"Uh, ok. What for?"

"Ohhhh.... nothing."

"O.... K....?"

"Meet me tomorrow at this address."

She handed him a card and hopped off the bench, disappearing into the night. James just watched as she went, a little confused at the whole experience. He sat there for a minute, wondering what the hell just happened to him.

"James."

"YAAAHH! The hell?"

Feather had materialized beside him, seemingly from the blackest of voids.

"You really gotta stop doing that to me Feather, you'll give me a heart attack! Christ, you're a silent sunovabitch."

"Who's--"

"Nevermind, what's up?"

"We've found Flash and Pinkie."

"Yeah?"

"Well, we could use you're help."

"Help with what?"

=============================================================================================

Thirty minutes later, he was laying in a cluster of corn, stalking two young ponies. Cautiously and quietly, he silently crawled closer to the two unsuspecting lovers, preparing for the his final action. At a snail's pace, he low crawled up to his final position. He could see both of them clearly now, nuzzling each other's necks, whispering sweet nothings. It was the perfect moment to strike. James reached up to his throat and clicked the mic button three times, signaling that he was ready. Then, he waited. After a few minutes, a bright red flare shot up straight into the sky, illuminating the whole corn maze. Simultaneously, the two ponies directed their vision to the night sky above. James took this opportunity to step out of hiding.

"RAAAAWWRR!'

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" The pegasus screamed screamed while Pinkie just laughed. Flash immediately placed himself between his date and the perceived danger. It was then that a flash of lightning cracked through the air behind them.

James disappeared into the crop of corn while they were distracted and circled around to their rear. In no time, James, Feather and Sparks had them surrounded. James once again revealed himself and Flash's training kicked in. The pony spun and tried to buck the monster, but James simply side stepped it, grabbed a hold of one of his legs, placed his other hand on the pegasus' chest and twisted around, throwing him at Sparks who caught him mid air with his magic. Flash fought and struggled in the unicorn's magical grip before calming down and observing his surroundings. James took off his head piece and began to chuckle. Beside the human, Pinkie was in a full laugh riot.

"Ha ha, very funny. Now would you please put me down?" Flash said a little angrily.

"That was great!" Pinkie exclaimed, still laughing, "Especially the lightning!"

"Yeah Sparks, when'd you learn to do that?" James asked, still smiling.

Sparks looked at him quizzically, "Lightning? I didn't create that. I thought you some how arranged for it."

They all turned to Feather, "it wasn't me..." he told them.

Just then, rain began to pour down onto the group, which was strange because aside from Princess Luna's grand entrance earlier, there hadn't been a single cloud in the sky.

"Aw crap, I can't get this wet, it'll take a week to dry it out!" James said in annoyance.

The group dispersed and he began to head towards shelter but stopped when he noticed it was abruptly no longer raining. He turned around and looked behind him to see that it was only raining in a small localized space about ten feet wide. As he stood there confused, the rain suddenly shifted back to him, once again drenching him. James stepped out from it again, only to have it shift again. Then he began to run, zig zagging and side stepping, but everywhere he went, the rain followed. He tried to find the entrance to the maze, but gave up and simply barged through the stalks of corn, scaring many other ponies in the process, until he emerged from it. The rain was still on him and clearly not part of the maze. By now, he was soaked through and didn't even try to run, he just walked in submission to the persistent weather over to his friends who were waiting and now laughing hysterically. Finally, the rain stopped and a lone cloud descended to the ground, carrying a rainbow maned vampire bat doubled over in a fit.

"Well, that makes sense." He flatly muttered.

"You have to admit," Sparks said to him while walking over, "that was pretty good!" The engineer gave James a pat on the back causing his ghillie suit to squish loudly, which in turn only made them all laugh even harder.

"He looks like Rarity from the last time she got caught out in the rain and her hair got all clumped up!" Pinkie pointed out, eyes filled with mirth.

"Yeah, you got me good. Can't say I saw that coming." James admitted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hang this up to dry before mildew decides to build up."

"Ew, don't worry bud, I got you. Just stand still." Sparks told him.

James did as instructed as the unicorn's horn took on it's bright blue aura and enveloped the human with it. In an instant, there was flash and James could a sensation akin to a sunburn race across his body briefly. A cloud of steam shot out into the air as the water in his suit almost instantly evaporated. James checked himself and found that he was completely dry.

"Hey, thanks! When did you learn that little useful spell?" James asked, clearly grateful with his friend's assistance.

"Meh, you pick things up as you go."

Feather suddenly spoke up, "Ok, all pranking aside, it's getting late, who want's to go party?"

Pinkie began to bounce up and down, "Ooh ooh, I do, I do!"

"Mind if I tag along?" Rainbow asked.

"Sure, let's go." James replied.

Dash hopped off the cloud and kicked it back into the air over the corn maze, causing it to rain again and several shouts of annoyance to erupt from within the tall stalks.

"Oops..."

Compromise

Chapter 34: Compromise

It was just past midnight in the park by the town, but the party was still going strong. All the little foals had been tucked into bed and the adult drinks had been broken out. Music was loudly thumping into the cool night air from a ridiculously large set of speakers. Old wooden wire spools, large and small, had been placed on their sides to be used as tables and chairs. James was currently sitting at one of these with Feather, both enjoying a couple of beers while the rest of their group went to go cut the rug - or grass, in this case - with all the other dancers.

"You know, there's something I always wanted to ask you..." The earth pony said to the human.

"Shoot."

"Some of the strange words you use. I mean, you mostly speak the same language as us, but there are certain words you use whose meanings often escape me."

"Like?"

"Fuck, shit, damn... to name a few."

James smiled and chuckled to himself, "Ah, ha ha. You mean cuss words."

"Cuss words?"

"Yeah. Their words I usually use for emphasis or when I'm pissed off."

"Pissed off?"

"Yeah, that's another one. Means I'm angry."

"So, like the way we say 'what the hay' or 'horseapples'."

"Yeah, I guess."

"What's their context?"

"My my, Feather. Do we have a budding linguist here?" James said playfully.

"Well, I can't say I'm not curious..."

"Hey, learning another language can be fun. For instance: Me danee keh me toonam zebaneh Farsi sohbat beh konam?"

"What's that?"

"Another language from where I'm from. It came with the job, but I had a lot of fun with it. Especially learning things like: Keeram mesalsal hast. You can say shit like that to the ladies and they'll think you're all cultured and all that BS."

"What does it mean?" Feather asked, now intrigued.

"My dick is a machine gun." James said with a non-chalant smile.

The pony nearly spit out the beer he had been drinking, "That makes you seemed cultured?"

"Yeah, it's important that the girl you're talking to doesn't also know the language when you say stuff like that.... trust me. No amount of fluently spoken and eloquent compliments will forget what you just said."

The earth pony shared a chuckle with the human at this. James began to explain the meanings and uses of his native tongue's colorful expletives, having some good laughs in the process. James was especially happy to have one of his own friends taking an interest in his own culture and sharing a mutual fascination with other languages. Soon enough, the human had him cussing like a pro.

"So, what would you say about that busted up building over there?" James asked, pointing at an old decrepit shack.

"Looks like a piece of shit."

"Damn dude, all you need is to learn how to tie some knots and you'd practically be a real sailor." James laughed.

"Hey, do you think you could maybe teach me that other language too?"

"Sure. I haven't gotten to use it in a while, so teaching you would help me pick it back up again."

"What are you boys talking about?" Came a familiar scratchy voice from behind.

James spun around in his seat to see Dash standing there.

"Nothing much." He replied.

"Uh... do you mind if we talk? Alone?" She asked with only the slightest hint of nervousness.

"Uh... sure, in a bit. I'm kinda in the middle of a conversation with Feather."

"He left already." She flatly pointed out.

James looked over his shoulder to see that he had indeed quietly slipped away somewhere.

"Slick sonovabitch..." he muttered under his breath. "Alright Dash, let's go for a walk, shall we?"

James finished his beer and stood up. The two meandered away from the loud music and hopping revelers to a quieter area of the park. For a time, neither of them spoke a word, an awkward tension hanging in the air between them so thick it was nearly tangible. James could almost feel it begin to build, making him uncomfortable enough that he considered heading back, until...

"The... the other week we hung out and just looked at the stars... well I wanted to... I uh.... Ugh, I'm no good at this!" The pegasus mare said, exasperated.

"I know."

"Well, you don't have to rub it in!" Dash said to him angrily.

"No, I mean I know what you're trying to say."

The weather pony was taken aback at his statement, an expression of bewilderment tinged with a pinch of ire upon her face.

"What the hay!? So all this time, you knew, but you didn't do or say anything!?" Her expression transformed to one of deep anger. "Do you know how that feels!? For months, here I was, watching you leave, wondering if you'd return or if you even liked me back!"

James stopped her explosive tirade by raising a hand, carefully choosing his next words. It was times like this when he thought he'd rather be getting shot at instead. At least then, covering his ass simply meant finding some solid, physical cover to get behind. Right now, however, he felt as if he was trodding across a tightly laid minefield while blindfolded.

"I understand where you're coming from, and I'm sorry. But you also have to understand where I'm coming from here. You know what I do?"

"Well, yeah. You fight, you protect everypony!"

"No, I kill. That's what I do for a living, that's my skill set, death. And that is only half of it. There are forces out there, dark forces, evil things that just want to cause as much pain and destruction they can, sometimes for such a little thing as making a point. It's MY job, and all the other's I've trained, to physically put ourselves between them and everyone else, including you. Getting attached to some one like me can only end in pain. What will you do when I got back out there and I don't ever come back?"

"If that happened, I would--"

"Not IF. WHEN. I'm a person that willingly and oftenly puts myself in a position of mortal peril. The odds will never be on my side. Don't you see? You'd just be setting yourself up for heartbreak. Go find a pony like yourself, there's plenty of good guys out there who would be more than lucky to have some one like you." He finished with a microscopic hint of sorrow.

The pegasus mare standing stubbornly before him hung her head low, contemplating his words. After a minute, James thought she would finally agree, but then she looked him straight in the eye and stomped her hoof on the ground.

"I don't care! You can't tell me what's good for me! Out of all the others I've been with, you're the only one that actually seems to care! For Celestia's sake, you don't even have wings, but you jumped out of an airship just to spend time in the sky with me! I calling in the favor you owe me! Just give me a chance." The rainbow maned weather mare said to him sternly.

James stood there, a little impressed with the strength of her conviction. He would follow through for now. He would never go back on his word with a friend. However, the future still remained uncertain to him. He knew it couldn't last long, especially if past experience was anything to go by. Not to mention the fact they were both of a completely different species, even if she was sentient. For now, though, he would honor his obligations. Albeit, deep down inside, a small part of him hoped his doubts would turn out to be groundless.

"Fine then. What did you have in mind?"

"How about we start with a real date. Maybe dinner out in town? No more just hanging out."

"Oh no, Miss Dash. You just bought yourself a ticket for a ride on the Crazy Train. Prepare for a whole day."

"What are we gonna do?" She asked perplexedly.

"Don't you worry about that, I'll let you know in time. For now, I think it's best if we call it a night."

"Fine, but this better be good."

The pegasus trotted off back to the party with a noticeable pep in her step. James turned around and began to make his way back to his house. He pulled his iPod from out of his pocket to check the time and saw that it was nearly 2 AM. Nothing good ever happens after two in the morning. Now he had another thing adding weight to his mind. Slowly he walked back to his residence, trying to figure how his new situation could possibly work out.

"Looks like that went well."

"Jesus!" James jumped back, startled by Feather's sudden appearance at his side. "How you do that, I will never know. Wait, were you listening in the whole time?"

"Well not the WHOLE time. Just that last part."

"Dude, if you were anybody else, I might kick your ass."

"So, you got a plan?"

"Only one thing comes to mind at the moment. But I'll need Sparks' and Myst's help."

"Well, you know us. We are at your command."

"Which is why I'll never want kick any of your asses."

=====================================================================

The next morning, Sparks was in his workshop, tinkering with his CO's NVGs, attempting to repair them. Replacing the lenses were easy, but electronics inside were still complex, and most of all, highly interesting. Carefully, he maneuvered a small rod of metal, preparing to solder two frayed wires together. With his magic he slowly began to heat it up until it was just a few degrees away from it's melting point. Gradually, he moved in for the finishing touch. Suddenly, the door burst open, causing him to lose his concentration and drip molten metal all over the infernal contraption.

"Sparky, I need your help!"

"Damnit James! I almost had your night brights fixed!"

"Heh, 'sall good. Wait, did you just cuss?"

"Yeah, feather's been spreading it around. Kinda catchy actually."

"Well, just be careful about who you use it in front of. It's unbecoming."

"You got it boss. Anyway, what the hay was so important that you had to interrupt my work?" The engineer said with annoyance.

"You heard about HALO*?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it a few times. What about it?"

"How would you like to help me and Myst pioneer it in Equestria?

====================================================================

Drifting peacefully above the clouds, the Clipper sat supported on nothing but the density of the air itself. Inside, Sparks was fitting a strange mask to an even stranger being.

""You sure you got this right?" The human asked with a muffled voice.

"I followed your description as best I could. The only difference is that instead of tanks, you have a small crystal set in the intake enchanted to compress the air it takes in to pressures like the ones found at sea level. Unless you go completely out of atmosphere, you should be fine. What about the ridiculous suit you're wearing?"

"What's to worry about? I designed it, and Rarity stitched it together."

"The fact that you designed it is what worries me. You look like a giant flying squirrel!"

"Whatever, I still got the parachute. You got the other mask worked out?"

"Yup. In fact, Myst and I will be wearing a pair of them in your crazy ass scheme of yours."

James ripped off his full face mask, "Hey, I said if you didn't want to help, you didn't have to. You're here on your own initiative."

"You know we're all here for ya, no matter what." Myst said over the radio.

"Love ya, babe." James teased.

"Watch it buddy, I got a coltfriend!"

"May Celestia have mercy on his soul!" Sparks exclaimed.

They all had a good laugh at their playful exchange. Behind the unicorn, the side door was wide open and James could make out a broad spectrum of colors fast approaching their small craft.

"Shit, here she comes. Showtime." James warned.

"We gotta talk about you using national assets for your own private applications." Sparks scolded.

"Comes with the privilege of rank." James simply relied.

"Oh, so you would have no problem letting me take the airship to Las Pegasus?" Sparks countered.

"Ask and you shall receive. Although, you'd still have to convince Myst. It IS her ship after all."

"I don't come cheap!" She said over the channel.

In no time, the flash of colors had solidified into a certain sky blue pegasus. She came to within a few yards before flapping her wings to bring herself to an abrupt stop, sending a dense blast of air into the compartment. With a flap and a flutter, she alighted into the cabin with deceptive control.

"What the hay are we doing up here? I fly this high up all the time. And why are you in that crazy looking get up?" She complained.

"Just wait, we're going higher." James informed her.

"Higher? What're you up to?"

"Just be patient, this may take a moment." James keyed the mic around his throat, "Myst, can you take us up? Go as high as you can, really push the envelope."

"You got it boss. Though if something goes wrong, I don't think the Princesses are gonna like whatever excuse we come up with...." the pilot cautioned.

"You let me worry about that. Just take us up." James ordered.

Their skilled pilot charged the bladders hanging above the main body of the ship, causing the whole thin to rapidly ascend to the heavens above. Higher and higher the ship rose, the air becoming thinner and the ground becoming nothing but a flat white expanse, extending in all directions. James donned his mask while Myst and Sparks did the same, the rusty colored unicorn affixing another over the face of pegasus that had joined them. James keyed his mic and initiated a radio check.

"Sparks here."

"Myst here."

"Uh... Dash here. I guess. What's going on?"

James briefly ignored her and continued with what he was doing, "Outstanding. Keep us going until we reach the outer atmosphere. Sparks, the spell if you please."

The engineer walked up and began to cover Rainbow in his distinctive electric blue aura.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Dash said angrily.

"Dash, just sit still. It's necessary." James cautioned.

"What do you mean it's necessary? What the hay is going on here?"

"We're performing what people in my profession call a HALO jump. It stands for High Altitude, Low Opening. Myst's ship uses a special form of helium that should be able to take us to the absolute outer reaches of the atmosphere. Sparks is casting a spell on you to insulate your body against the cold. The full face mask will supply you with oxygen and keep your eyes from freezing solid, as well as providing air and fostering communications between us." He explained.

"O... K..."

"I'm wearing what's called a 'wing suit'. You're about to see what it's gonna allow me to do." The human moved over to the open door and peered outside to the scenery below. They were so high up now that they could just about distinguish the curvature of the planet.

Dash walked over and stood by the human's side as they looked upon the world far below.

"Hey Dash? Remember what I said about buying a ticket for the Crazy Train almost a week ago?" James asked with a hidden smile.

"Yeah?"

The human unzipped a pocket on his breast and pulled out his iPod. He pushed a button and slid it back into the pocket, securing it once again.

/ALL ABOARD! HA HA Ha Ha ha ha..../ the music began.

James backed up to the large open door, threw up the devil horns, and proceeded to do a back flip out of the perfectly good airship. Dash, never one to back down from a clear challenge, leaped out after him with a smile. James was waiting below, facing towards the aircraft he had exited and the blackness of space. He had his arms and legs at his sides and when he saw the athletic mare jump after him, he made a 'come hither' signal with his index finger.

She narrowed her eyes and tucked her wings to her sides, rapidly closing the distance between them both. When she had just about reached him, he spread his arms and legs, opening up the webbing that was sewn into the spaces between. James was snatched up by the thin air and started to glide haphazardly through the air high above the ground. This far up, and with almost one hundred thousand feet to fall, he and Dash had plenty of time to screw around. Dash flared her wings to bring herself level to the human, only to see him once again tuck his limbs in and spiral straight to the terrain below. The whole time, Ozzy was blasting into their ears through the custom made masks they were wearing.

Of course, the speedy pegasus quickly caught up with him, so he flared his webbed wings again and contacted her through their comms.

"You ready for a real challenge?" He asked of her.

"Yeah! Where are we going?"

"We jumped out over one of the small mountains close to Ponyville, I've mapped out a valley that runs down it to a field below. It starts near the top an runs about three miles down to the base. I'm gonna shoot right down it, you down?"

"You kidding? That's crazy! Fortunately for you, I love crazy!"

James still had some time before entering the valley, so he decided to pull a few tricks. He didn't have wings in the conventional sense, but he could still use the ones he had to his advantage. He spun, flipped and tumbled through the air, a happy Rainbow copying his every move, sometimes showing him a few of her own. As he flared his limbs again to bring him closer to the target mountain, she spun upside down and over him, looking 'up' at the human below her. He countered by flipping over and throwing up the 'Peace' sign before diving straight for the beginning of the valley run.

James dove straight in and flared his 'wings' once again, sending him speeding down the open wedge of earth at high velocity. Dash soon over took him and led the way down the valley, through twists and turns and over sharp ridges and clefts. Soon they swiftly shot out over a high rising cliff, which was James' cue to pull his chute. The high octane fall immediately transformed into a nice tranquil drift through the air as the pilot chute exploded out and pulled his main wide open. James reached up and gripped the two dangling wooden handles to help steer his new airfoil back to the nearby town.

"That was awesome! I don't think I've ever been that high!" Dash spouted off gleefully as she pulled up beside him. "And where did you come up with that strange suit? You could practically fly with it!"

"We have them back in my world!" He shouted back over, "Pretty fun for us humans, huh?"

"No kidding! So what's next for the day?"

"Well first I have to land somewhere close to town and wait for Sparks and Myst. Which might be a problem, 'cause it's a little further away than I thought..." James said with concern. At the moment, he was rapidly descending to the Everfree.

"Does this mean you get to owe me another favor?" Dash said excitedly.

"Yeah, looks like it!"

*HALO means High Altitude, Low Opening. referring to a stealth tactic used by paratroopers to avoid detection on a jump, NOT the video game.

An Unwelcome Interruption

Chapter 35: An Unwelcome Interruption

The two crunched through to snow and the growing darkness of on coming night. Their stomachs grumbled in anticipation of the meal they were both making their way towards. They rounded a corner and finally came to their destination, a tall, strange two legged being holding the door to the restaurant open while a pegasus mare trotted inside. He then followed her, closing the door behind him and sealing them into the warm interior of the eatery. The human talked to the hostess and got them a table for two in a secluded section of the room. She seated them both and left them with the menus to attend to another table.

"I still don't know why you didn't just cook again, you did pretty good last time."

"Because Dash, I can cook a few things really well, but that's about it." James said with a smile. "Besides, Flash is trying his own hand, er hoof, at it tonight with HIS date."

The weather mare chuckled, "He should probably leave that to Pinkie, she's real good at baking."

"Yeah, I'm half expecting to return home to a house fire." James said, joining her.

"Ooooh, then you might need to find a new place to live. Hmmm, I wonder if Twilight could find a permanent cloud walking spell?"

"Coming home to sleep on a cloud," James pondered, rubbing his chin in a mock of deep thought, "sounds tempting, but I'm afraid I'd never wake up again."

"Yeah, I remember. You loved that way to much."

"What can I say? After years of sleeping on rocks and in sand, and then jumping on that delightful fluff?"

They both laughed again. Their waiter came and took their orders for food and drink. When she left, the two resumed their conversation, reminiscing about past events and talking of future ones. Dash was wrapping up a particularly humorous story when their food finally arrived.

"I swear, I've crashed into that library so many times, I'm surprised Twilight still hasn't put up some kind of force field!"

"Ha, nice."

Two plates and glasses levitated from a tray onto their table. James inhaled the spicy scent of the curry dish he had ordered, mouth watering in anticipation. He was about to dig in when he noticed that the waitress still had not left yet. She looked like she had to tell him something.

She leaned over and politely spoke to him in a soft tone, "Uh, excuse me sir, but there's a unicorn standing out front looking for you."

"Did he say what it was for?" James asked her, fearing that his house fire joke had become an unfortunate fact.

"I'm sorry sir, he wouldn't tell me, all he said was that it was urgent and it couldn't wait."

"Thank you ma'am, I'll take care of it."

She nodded and then went off to to take care of the other tables under her responsibility, once again leaving the two alone. James turned back to his date to see a look of annoyance now occupied her face.

James sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry, it sounds like Sparks. He wouldn't do this unless it really was important."

"It's fine, just try and get back before the food gets cold." She said dismissively.

"Dammit." James muttered under his breath as he stood up and picked his way between the tables to the entrance.

He stepped outside into the cold, boots crunching into the freezing snow. He looked around and spotted the rust colored unicorn standing at the corner of the building. The stallion motioned for the human to follow and disappeared into the dark alley around the corner. James breathed into his palms and rubbed them for warmth as he crunched through the stiffening snow to the space between the buildings enshrouded in dark shadow. Waiting for him was Sparks, a serious expression set into his face.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your nice dinner there,"

"You're telling me...."

"But we got a message from the big boss, it doesn't look good."

With his magic he produced a letter from a small satchel slung over his side and floated it in front of the human. Quickly, James plucked it from the air and inspected it. On the face of the letter was the Royal Seal, stamped in bright red wax.

"How do you know it's bad? You haven't even opened it yet."

"Flip it over."

James did as he was told and turned it over. On the back, stamped in large red letters, was URGENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE IS THIS CORRESPONDENCE TO FAIL IN REACHING ITS INTENDED RECIPIENT.

"Shit, that is bad."

James broke the seal and pulled out a carefully folded parchment.

To The Capable Commander Of Our Valiant Special Forces,

I hope you are in good health and your team has been enjoying their time off. I apologize as I had intended this to be a letter to inform you of the time and location of yours and your team's pinning as bearers of the Star of Equestria. Unfortunately, I have received daunting news in relation to Captain Alister's disturbing report on the raid in the Blasted Mountains. It is with heavy heart that I urgently request your presence here in the capitol. Please make haste, as now I truly fear for my citizens' safety.

--Princess Celestia

"What's it say?" Sparks inquired as James dropped his hand to his sides.

"Well, you're wrong. It's not bad."

"It's not?"

"No, it's worse. Does everyone else know yet?"

"No, I came straight to you as soon as this arrived."

"Ok," James said with a heavy sigh, "go ahead and track them all down. Let 'em know we're leaving early tomorrow. Flash should be back at the house, but be careful about how you tell him, he's with his lady friend. I'll meet you back at HQ later."

"Got it."

Sparks galloped off, intent on completing his task. James turned around to head back into the restaurant, head down and running a hand over his short cropped hair. Then he took a deep breath and smoothed out his clothes before putting the most convincing fake smile he could on his face and stepping back inside. He picked his way back to his table and sat down to his food. Dash had already begun to eat hers so he hastily took a few bites of his own.

"What was it about?" She asked him.

He looked up into her face and flashed his faux smile, "Nothing too bad, he just needed to ask about acquiring some more equipment. Stuff we need." He lied.

The rosy eyed pegasus sitting across from him looked unconvinced. "That smile doesn't reach your eyes. You're leaving again, aren't you?"

James swallowed the food he was currently chewing and put his fork down. His smile had disappeared.

"Yes."

"Why? You practically just got back!"

"I'm sorry, its the nature of the beast. They call, I answer. For now, let's just enjoy the time we have. Ok?" A small sincere smile formed on his mouth.

"Ok...."

====================================================================

It was dark, the sun not having yet risen. Out in a secluded clearing, just a few miles away from Ponyville, five figures exited a building clad in heavy cold weather gear, white as the surrounding snow. On their backs, they carried heavy bags packed densely with gear. The rest of it was already packed into a large metal contraption sitting on two skids not far from the building the night before. In silence and under the cover of darkness, they walked over to it and opened a large side door. One by one, they filed inside. The last one, a biped, stopped with only one foot in the door, the other still on the ground.

He looked out over the nearby trees where he could just see the tops of buildings in the slowly intensifying light that heralded the coming dawn. In the back of the vehicle he was about to board, an engine hummed to life. He inhaled sharply through his nostrils, the cold air slicing it's way down his throat and into his lungs. With a loud puff, a cloud of warm vapor exploded from his mouth. Next to him, two loud bangs of a hoof striking the metal bulkhead caught his attention. Then, with conviction, he pulled himself into the compartment, the airship lifting into the sky as his boot left the ground. He closed the door behind him and took a seat next to Flash on one of the benches.

"How'd it go last night?" The dark pegasus asked his friend.

"Probably about the same as it did for you." James responded.

"Yeah, it went good at first, but that news really put a damper on the mood."

"Yup."

Absent mindedly, James put his hand in his shirt and fingered a small round object that was attached to a simple aluminum chain, much like the one that held his dog tags. His dog tags he left at home, this hanging in their usual place. It was a small clear gem that would be normal in every way, save for the fact that in the center a swirling burst of color featuring every shade of the visual spectrum. Every time he looked at it, he almost thought just see the faintest amount of luminescence hiding deep inside. Every time he tried to focus on it, the ethereal glow would mysteriously disappear.

Last night, before James left to prepare for his trip, he had walked Dash back to her home. Underneath her fluffy floating residence she made him wait while she flew up into her house. The returned shortly with the gem and gave it to him. Before she let him go, she made him promise that he would bring it back no matter what.

"What's wrong with your chest, got an itch?" Feather asked him, instantly bringing him back to reality.

"What? Uh... yeah." He let the trinket drop back down his shirt where it hung. "Hey, Myst, how's the weather looking?" He called to the cockpit.

"Lookin' good, ETA about forty-five minutes!"

"Outstanding. Everyone get some rest, we got a meeting to attend and I want you all to be alert. I'll wake you guys up when we're fifteen out."

=====================================================================

They stood at a large square table with a gigantic map spread out on it. To James' right sat Admiral Darkwing and his staff. On his left, was the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor and two representatives from the Day and Night Guards. James had elected to remain standing with his team between the two groups. A heavy silence filled the room as the waited on the last member of their meeting to arrive.

After a few moments, two large doors at the far end of the room swung open to admit both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, each of them looking rather distressed. After they both had entered, Celestia flared her magic and closed every door and drew every curtain of every window. At the same time, Luna flared hers, but with less visible effects.

"Thank you all for coming. We have ensured that no ears can hear us nor eyes see us. We have a very sensitive matter to discuss." Started off the Princess of the Sun. "Luna, if you will?"

"Certainly dear sister. Through my guards of the night, it has come to my attention that very sinister things are afoot in our nation. At first there were only whisperings, but after I ordered the guard to investigate, they found this:" she produced a photo of a restrained earth pony, face down on the ground. In the photo, four familiar softball sized orbs were in a padded box lined with straw.

"He was found in Manehatten with these in his possession."

"So sorry for interrupting, but if he was found in one of your cities, why are you including me?" The Admiral asked Luna.

"Because we also found this on his person:" she produced another photo, this one of a scrap of paper.

The griffon took and examined it, a look of pure shock spreading across his face. He threw it upon the table. James picked it up and read the writing on the paper in the photo:

Manehattan
Fillydelphia
Las Pegasus
High Tower
Canterlot

"Where's High Tower? I'm not familiar with it." The human asked.

"It's the largest griffon colony in Equestria. It's also the first one founded when our empire crossed the great sea in search new lands. It is here in the Foal Mountains, very close to the town of Whitecrest." The admiral explained, pointing to a region of the mountain range just north and east of the settlement they had both defended.

Luna continued with her brief, "When interrogated, the pony made mention of others like him spread through out the country in many of our cities. We believe this means there are groups of these ne'er do wells embedded in our population centers. What exactly they have planned, we do not know."

"So we flush them out! We find out where they're hiding and saturate the area with guards until we catch them all." Shining armor suggested.

James chuckled to himself at the suggestion, but it did not go unnoticed.

"Human, why do you laugh, do you find this funny?" The unicorn chastised.

James regained his composure before responding, "No this is horrible. But you want to flush them out? That's something an amateurs would do."

"Oh? And I suppose you have a better idea?" The Guard Captain scoffed.

"Not to offend you, but you have no experience in this. That ONE pony was found with FOUR explosives. It stands to reason that there are more. Given the fact that they have a list of cities they're obviously smuggling explosives into. Cities with high populations. An attack is being planned. They tried head on assault, that didn't work. Now they're resorting to terrorist tactics to cause panic and confusion." He explained.

"Commander, if I may ask, how do you know this?" Celestia asked him.

"Ma'am, this is what I was primarily trained to fight. Training that I passed on to many of your own citizens. Domestic attacks on civilians will just be a part of it. We know that there are ponies now working with the Lotkin. That means there will be cells in the cities waiting on a signal to detonate the explosives. In the ensuing confusion, the main host will attack, we just don't know where. That said, if we find the cells and saturate the area with guards, they'll just detonate the ordinance anyway."

"What solution do you propose?" Asked the Admiral.

"We send in small teams to each of the cities on this list. We move covertly and catch them off guard. We take them out before they even know what's happening. The RSTG can handle this. If I'm correctly informed, then we now have thirteen fully trained teams ready for tasking. We send two teams per city and hold the other three in reserve in case anything pops up. The teams will track down the threats, neutralize them, then gather any and all intel they can find in the process."

The room fell silent as they all waited on the decision of the Princesses.

"Very well, Commander," Celestia said, "see to it that it is done."

"Yes ma'am."

The Other Visitor

Chapter 36: The Other Visitor

James was never a trusting man. He was far more comfortable taking care of a problem himself than delegating the task to some one else. Which is why the Op he was now in charge of made him nervous. It would be spread over five cities across the country and involved far too many moving parts. He couldn't be in five places at once, the only solution he could think of was to put his trust into those closest to him, the ones he had personally mentored and lived with for most of the past year. Thus, he gave his teammates their final instructions and sent them off to their AORs. Sparks went off to Las Pegasus, Feather to Manehattan, Flash to Fillydelphia. Admiral Darkwing would oversee the operation at High Tower with Captain Alister. James would remain in Canterlot where he could receive communications from all over the country much more easily and respond accordingly. Staged at towns between the large cities were other units of the RSTG. They now had their very own Clipper Class airship and could rapidly travel to any destination at a moment's notice.

To assist them in their communications, Princess Celestia had provided them with the most powerful unicorns in the Guard's service. Their concentrated magic would allow them all to keep in touch over the great distances using five of Sparks' specially designed repeaters. There was still some lag between transmission, but it was still a brilliant piece of work, all designed by the engineer himself. James made a mental note to put the unicorn up for some kind of award when this was all over.

At the moment, the human was standing in front of eight ponies of the RSTG, all in civilian dress, but packing concealed weapons. Especially the unicorns who were all carrying suppressed pistols in their saddle bags. Similarly, James was also dressed in his own civilian clothing and concealed firearm. Their goal was to sniff out the cells and find the cache of explosives, if it existed, without arousing suspicion. James would stick out like a sore thumb, but hopefully, any that saw him would assume he was just another tourist on vacation in the county's capitol. The metropolis was filled with a variety of creatures from griffons to Diamond Dogs, especially in the markets. This was where they would start their search, listening in on conversations and subtly asking the right questions around town. With any luck they could catch a lead.

"Remember, keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious and don't forget to keep in contact regularly. If you do find anything, you are to immediately report it. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT act until we come to follow it up or you or anybody else is in immediate danger to life and limb. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good, now disperse. I want you all to check in on the radio at the top of every hour unless you are in a situation where doing so would compromise the mission. In this case, just give the talk button three rapid clicks and make your report when convenient."

The stallions all snapped to attention and quickly filed out of the room. James walked over to the window of the vacant apartment they were using as a base of operations and watched as they left the building, one by one and at staggered intervals. He picked up his own radio and dialed it to the command channel.

"Mike, charlie oscar is underway."

"Copy, charlie oscar."

"How's the rest doing?"

"All oscars currently underway."

"Outstanding, keep me posted. Out."

James stepped away from the windows and went to a small table in the corner of the room. On it were his pistol, suppressor already attached, a hand made shoulder holster, and his knife and sheath. He pulled up his vest and long sleeve shirt and strapped his knife belt around his waist so the sheath sat sideways in the small of his back. It would be uncomfortable, but all he would have to do is reach around and pull it out. He then took off his vest and donned the shoulder holster and picked up his firearm. He racked the slide a few times to make sure it still worked ok before sliding a clip in and placing the weapon in its holster. The last thing he did was throw his vest back on and button it up, finishing with a black watch cap and a pair of sunglasses he picked up.

He exited the building, stepping out into the crisp winter air. Casually he strolled down the street towards the large bustling marketplace, even in the dead of winter it still thrived. All the snow had been cleared off to the sides of the buildings and alley ways and was beginning to turn a dirty dark gray. James walked over to a fruit stand and bartered for an apple. He paid the merchant his fee and continued his walk while munching on the delicious green treat.

"Charlie oscar."

James meandered to a more secluded section, which was hard to find in such a packed place, "Charlie oscar here, what's up?"

"You got a call, patching it through."

James waited a moment while the techie worked. After a few minutes: "Charlie oscar, this is Papa oscar." Came Sparks' voice.

"I hear you buddy, what's going on?"

After almost a full minute, "We might have found a possible tail."

"Good, follow it up, but be cautious and keep your distance."

Another minute, "Roger that. I also had another concern."

"Shoot."

This lag was beginning to get annoying, "it's this whole thing, these diversionary tactics, smuggling explosives, it doesn't fit their usual M.O."

"I agree. I can't help but feel there's something else in the works here, something we missed."

Another minute passed, "Yeah. I think it's that list. Why would one guy in Manehatten be carrying a list of all the other cities?"

"I don't know, but I think it's best we stay flexible. There's always the chance that this isn't what we think."

James scanned the area around him while he waited for his friend to respond he became worried when almost five minutes passed. Finally, the words came through his earpiece.

"James, I gotta go. One of our guys thinks he may have found something."

"Ok brother, stay safe. Out."

His conversation over, the human resumed his leisurely patrol through the crowded trade hub. As he walked, he would pick up snatches of conversation, read the movements of the customers and merchants as they went about their day. He listened and watched for anything that might be suspicious or out of the ordinary. In just two hours, he made a full circuit without seeing anything that might appear 'off'. He decided to make another sweep and was about halfway through when he finally saw something worth noticing. Although, it wasn't anything threatening. One of the operatives under his command caught his attention with a subtle twitch of his head.

The human made a mental note of the pony's position before turning away and walking in a different direction. He took a scenic and round about route to his subordinate. He was sure he wasn't being specifically watched, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Besides, they didn't know who was who here. When he reached the operative, the pegasus was sitting at a table with two cups of hot steaming tea. James sat down and took a sip from one of the cups, then began to speak in a low tone.

"What have you got for me?"

"North east corner of the market. I was buying some oranges when I noticed something in the pile of oranges that wasn't an orange," the pegasus reported, "I pretended to accidentally drop a few bits on the ground and got a good look underneath the stand and behind the vendor."

"What did you see?"

"Wires. So what do we do?"

"Simple. Follow the wires."

======================================================================

The first thing they needed to do was get the merchant away from his stand. So what James did was to inform the nearby guard presence of his intentions. For this next part they would have to play the part of the cops that were never there when you needed them. The next thing he did was use some sweets he bought to bribe a couple of playing foals into stealing some oranges. Then it was sit back and watch while his operatives got the scoop on the vendor.

The plan went off without a hitch. The two little colts nabbed some oranges from the stand. The merchant called for some guards, but when none came to his aid, he took it upon himself to chase the children down. He wouldn't catch them though, James had also arranged for a highly inconvenient obstruction to be created by another two operatives. Now that the stand was vacant, the pegasus James had spoken to earlier and his teammate. Quickly they pawed through the fruit until they found what they were looking for.

The pegasus' teammate, a unicorn, removed the object from the pile of fruit and placed it in his saddle bag, filling the hole back up with oranges. Meanwhile, the pegasus went around back, to the wall behind the fruit stand. After a moment he returned and the two took off in different directions. Satisfied his plan worked, James headed back to their apartment. The last thing he did was press the talk button on his radio.

"Good job on the grab everyone. I want four of you to maintain patrols and keep your ears open, the rest meet back at the safehouse."

=====================================================================

"I don't like this. Not one bit. You're sure this is all that was there?"

"Positive. That's it."

"And where did you say the wires went again?"

"Into a storm drain."

*sigh" "Shit. Ok, I want the most recent blue prints of the sewer system they have, yesterday."

"Yes sir." A pegasus smartly replied before jumping out the window and flapping off to the castle.

James stared down at the object they had recovered. On the table sat a clear glass ball wedged between two actuated clamps. The whole set up was very convincing. Except that the wires were soldered directly to solid metal and the small motor casing was empty, not to mention that the glass orb, while resembling the object they were looking for, was completely inert. It was a clever trick, but that's what worried him. Their enemies, while clever, were never this sneaky. They were brutal and direct. Even if they had a pony to help build this, it was still highly irregular.

He was now worried for all the other teams out there. Nothing fit. They had hit a snag. Disquieted by this, he issued a sitrep for all teams out in the field. Every one of them came back green. Sparks' lead had come to a dead end. The human felt like he really needed more information, something he could get an angle on. At the moment, there was only one way to get it that he could think of.

It was nearly nightfall by the time the winged operative returned with several scrolls packed into a satchel strapped to his back. One of the unicorns magiced them out of the bag and spread them out across the table. Another, a native of Canterlot, marked the drain where the wires had led.

"Ok," started the human, "that's where we found the device. Where are the nearest entrances?"

The native stepped forward and started pointing out spots on the map, "you can access the sewers in that area here, here and here. There are plenty of maintenance tunnels that run in all directions in this section of the city. It's just one big labyrinth if you don't know where you're going."

"How do you know all this?" James asked, curious about the pony's unconventional knowledge.

"I used to play down there as a foal. Growing up here... you find your own adventure." He chagrined.

"Well now it becomes an asset. You're gonna be our guide. Suit up gentlemen, it's time to go hunting."

========================================================================

It was dark, damp and smelly. The human's boots sloshed through the tepid water as he advanced to the next corner. In front of him, on point, was the unicorn pony who had been leading them through the fetid maze of twisting corridors and dead ends. Bringing up the rear was two more operatives from his team, another unicorn and an earth pony. The four of them had entered the subsurface about a mile away from the markets. Up above, in the fresh night air, the other five were keeping watch at possible exits that could serve as their targets' bolt holes, should they be found.

Currently, they were making their way towards the area they had found the decoy earlier that day. When James reached the corner, he snapped up his pistol and scanned the next tunnel. behind him, the earth pony quietly splashed up to his position while the last unicorn covered their six with another suppressed weapon. Once they had all moved up, they repeated the process. At every stop, they sat silent and listened for any unusual noises. As they went, they would mark each passage so as to be able to quickly find their way out. For a time, this was tedious and uneventful. However, as they neared their destination, knocks, scrapes and whisperings could be faintly heard.

Slowly, they edged their way to the source, the sounds gradually gaining in volume. At the next corner, their guide peeked around for a look.

"I see three stallions. All armed, blades. None of them Royal Guard." He reported.

"Ok, here's how I want this to go down. We have the element of surprise here. I want them taken down quietly and quickly, but don't kill them. Just knock 'em out, we need prisoners we can interrogate for information. Clear?" James laid out.

Each of them nodded.

"Good, now go."

James raised his pistol and sighted on their targets from the corner while the other three silently crept up to their soon to be victims. Their targets were talking amongst each other around a small lantern, their natural night vision would be useless. Carefully, he sighted in on the source of light and once his team was in position, he squeezed off one round with a muffled snap. The lantern flared and went out, instantly throwing the tunnel into darkness. Through his NVGs, James watched as his three operatives pounced on the now panicky group, making short work of them. When it was all over, they waited and listened for any sign of alarm. When they confirmed all was silent, James moved up to join the rest of the group.

At his feet lay the three stallions, now tightly bound and gagged. All were unconscious and ready for transport. They continued on ahead and at the next storm drain they came across, James held his radio up to the opening and reported their encounter and where to find the prisoners. After he completed the task, they moved on. Soon they heard louder talking echoing down the passage. Then the thunk of metal on wood. Quickly enough, they came upon a large opening.

James cautiously moved up to get a better view through it and had to take off his NVGs to get a good look as the chamber was well lit. He was standing in a small depression in the stone that drained water runoff from the chamber. To he left was a set of narrow stairs that led up into it. Above him was a ledge about seven feet high and over head was a large make shift chandelier made from about eight hanging lanterns. He ascended the rough hewn steps until he could just barely peek across floor and around the room. He saw about seven stallions sitting at a table and pouring over some maps, arguing amongst each other. To the back, near another exit was two more. All were armed.

He crept back down and informed the rest of the team of their situation. Then they huddled down and began quickly discussing possible strategies on how to deal with it. When they finally landed on one, they all went to their assigned positions in preparation for the strike. One unicorn and the earth pony went up and crouched at the top of the stairs. Then, when they were ready, James and the second unicorn aimed their pistols and set to the task of eliminating the light source.

In only four seconds, all the lanterns had been shattered, glass raining down onto the table and its occupants. Before the last shard even began its fall, the operatives had their goggles down and were charging into the chamber. The first two rushed the two guards near the back while James and his partner got to the table and began knocking skulls and securing their weapons. The entire moment only lasted ninety seconds. The four then moved to check all the surrounding spaces, ensuring there would be no surprises. Fortunately, they all gave the all clear. When all was said and done, James was looking down upon a pile of ponies, bound and gagged.

"Outstanding job. You two," he pointed to the earth pony and a unicorn, "start searching the area for any Intel. Don't overlook anything, the tiniest detail could be the biggest clue. You," he pointed to the last member of the team, their guide, "head to the nearest exit and get some bodies down here to help with the prisoners. Hubba hubba chop chop, let's go."

All three quickly moved to obey his orders. Their guide galloped down the passage they had come from while the other two began rummaging through a row of packs and bags they had found on the far wall. Meanwhile, James walked over to the table and began picking up papers to inspect them. There were various inventory lists, maps with towns circled and open areas X'ed off. Nothing looked especially important, but he began to collect and organize them all for transport anyway. Later, they would have time to properly examine them for any pertinent information. For now, all he wanted to do was get everything and the prisoners out of here as quickly as possible. The sewers were an expansive system, they had only seen a fraction of it and there were a number of places they had passed by that could have been hiding anything.

Suddenly, he heard splashing coming up the tunnel they had assaulted the chamber from. Assuming it was the rest of the team come to help, James walked over to the ledge to greet them. He was about half way there when there was a loud reverberating detonation behind him. He spun around to see that the other exit tunnel had collapsed and the two operatives that had been near it were now sprawled in a heap at the center of the room, having been thrown by the concussion.

He turned and ran back to the other tunnel in an effort to warn the others of the impending danger, but when he reached the ledge three small metal projectiles slammed into his chest plate, dropping him to the ground and knocking the wind out of his lungs. Four large humanoid figures, only three in the familiar mismatched metal armor, charged into the chamber, one carrying a distinctly shaped weapon. James struggled to get air in his lungs and up on his feet but was stopped by a boot pressing down on his throat.

"My my, what have we got here. Looks like I was right about you staying in the main city. So you're the thorn that has been sticking so painfully in my side all this time." Said the masked figure standing above him with a gruff, but clear voice. "Funny that you're here. And here I thought I was the only one. Well, since you were able to track the 'IED' down here, I guess you're everything I heard about from my scouts. Don't worry about your chest, I know all about that armor you're wearing. These are subsonic rounds," he said, tapping the side of his weapon, "if anything did get through, it'll just be shrapnel."

The figure looked up to the three creatures he had come in with.

"Tie this one up good or he'll be trouble. Kill the others, we got what we came for."

The next thing James knew, his goggles had been ripped from his head and something smashed him hard in the face, ending his current hold on awareness in general.

Unmasked

Chapter 37: Unmasked

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

As he came to, James could feel the steady beat of drops splashing onto the back of his neck. He inhaled sharply, his heart beating a staccato rhythm against his rib cage. He picked up his head and looked around, trying to get his bearings. In front of him, about fifteen feet away, was a damp stone wall. He was stripped down to his boxers and his back was against something hard and wooden. He tried to move his arms, but they were stretched out to his sides, wrists shackled to the frame. His legs and bottom rested on the cool stone floor. He gave his arms a shake, causing the shackles to rattle and clink. Behind him a door suddenly creaked open and banged shut, the sound of hooves on stone receding into the distance.

Instantly, his training kicked in. He inspected his fetters, finding that they were made of black steel. The wood frame he was against was sturdy and strong. He lifted his head and opened his mouth to catch a drop of water. It was salty. Either he was beneath an underground river and the soil had a high salt content or he was somewhere on the coast. Most likely it was the latter.

Once again, he heard the sound of hooves stomping down a stone floor, echoing down a corridor, only now they were accompanied by the the solid thud of a pair of boots. The door opened on un oiled hinges and slammed shut, this time he heard the unmistakable click of the door being locked. The boots thumped on the floor, coming closer to him, yet whoever it was remained just out of his vision.

"So you're awake. Tsk tsk tsk, shame on you letting your guard down back there. I was almost sure you would have evaded the trap. But don't feel too bad. Traps, ambushes and sabotage is somewhat of a specialty of mine." Came the smooth gruff voice.

"Now, I do know what you are. Your physique, the scars, that tattoo. But who are you? More the question," he continued, "why are you? I've been here nearly two years now. So c'mon, what's your deal?"

James remained silent.

"Cat got your tongue buddy? That's ok. Didn't figure you for a talker. I would use some of my... techniques to get you to, but I think we both know how that'll go. Man, did SERE school sucks, huh? It's fine. For me, it's less a tool and more recreational."

A masked man appeared to his right, the same one from the sewers. Covering his face was a simple torn ski mask. He was dressed in a dirty uniform of indiscernible origins. On his feet were the same brown leather combat boots that James last remembered feeling on his own throat.

"C'mon old buddy, old pal. You know, you have some pretty well maintained equipment. A sure sign of a master in his craft. That old 1911 of yours looked as new as the day it came out the factory. But what I really liked was the knife." From his back, the stranger produced James' blade.

"Clean and pristine. Honed to a razor's edge. A real killing tool. You're aware of the bones in your arms, right? The Radius and the Ulna? The pace in between?"

The man grabbed James' left wrist with his free hand and then plunged the knife between the bones in his arm hard enough that the tip of it embedded itself in the wood, sticking there.

"UNGH" James gritted his teeth in pain.

"Just a grunt? Impressive. You should try not to move too much now, you might damage something important."

James' arm felt like it was on fire. He could feel every little detail of his injury. The pain if the cold metal stretching and tearing his flesh. The warm flow of blood flowing down his arm and tickling him as it dribbled off his elbow. His fingers starting to numb as they lost oxygen.

"So, you don't want to tell me about yourself? Fine, I'll start. Hiya there, I'm John Kraster, nice to meet you!" The man said, extending a hand before snatching it back, "Oh, right." A smile crossed his face as he looked at the shackles.

James just stared at him angrily.

"Wow, you're anti-social. Ok, I can work with that. How about a little story. Maybe you learn a little about me and open up yourself. Well, turns out we have something in common. I used to be special forces myself, Green Berets. Of course that was before they gave me an OTH. Booted me out, called it 'unnecessary roughness'. Job prospects were slim, but boy those paramilitary companies just gobble people like me up. Didn't give two shits about my record. Man did I like that gig. A lot more pay and a lot less rules. Kinda brings me to how I ended up here. You got some pretty nice scars. I'll show you mine, you show me yours."

With a flourish, he whipped the mask off his head, exposing the twisted and gnarled skin of his face. James just continued to stare him down, unfazed.

"And you still don't flinch! Wundebar! Then again you've probably seen worse. Caused worse. Got this little number cruisin' around Afghanistan on a contract. IED. Flipped the car. Burned for almost three minutes before the explosives in the car finally cooked off. And not a single one of those rat bastard teammates of mine tried to pull me out. Woke up here, survived somehow. Now what about your story, buddy?"

James continued to keep his mouth shut., his arm was now throbbing intensely.

"Still no? That really hurts, I put myself out there. Don't you know that sharing is caring?" *sigh* "Doesn't matter, you're gonna be here a while. Sooner or later, you'll tell me. For now, I'm afraid I have work to do. You know, I don't know why you've been working under that god forsaken government of ponies, it baffles me. My little monstrosities here might be a little uncooperative at times, but kill enough of them and they practically worship you. You'd be a dead shoe in."

The man got up to leave and walked to the door before briefly returning.

"Whoops, can't leave you with something you can use." He said as he yanked out the knife.

He then left for sure, the door clanking and locking behind him. James was now left alone to his thoughts, the first of which were of escape. The second...

"What an asshole."

=====================================================================

The next day a unicorn entered his cell and loosely bandaged the wound. The only other thing he did was give James some water before leaving. After he did, James set to work devising a plan for escape. He needed to get out. From what he could see, the corridor outside his cell was well lit, everytime the door opened light flooded the room. He needed to find his gear, just the essentials, and bug out of here, where ever 'here' was. Getting his hands free would be difficult and his left arm was now near useless.

He gave the chains a tug again, but this only caused the metal to bite into his wrists. Out of frustration, he tried to punch with his right which only worsened the feeling, but this time something else happened. The spot where the chain was secured to the wood gave way a little. As James eyed it he could see that is had moved from the frame by just a fraction of a centimeter. If he was in such luck, they had been nailed in rather than bolted. If he could get some leverage, he might be able to pry them off. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of boots outside his door. It unlocked and swung open as something stepped inside.

"Wakey wakey, how are we feeling today?" Kraster asked in a mocking tone.

James still refused to respond.

"Still not very talkative I see. That's ok. I just came by to ask you about this curious little gem we found hanging around your neck. It has some interesting properties. Definitely not something you'd find back on earth, so I wonder, who gave this to you? It's very nicely cut, has a beautiful little swirl of colors in the middle. Maybe you have a little chat with me and I don't go track this individual down?"

James just tightened his mouth in furious resolve.

"C'mon, start with something simple, like a number. Maybe the number of just how many of those ponies you trained? They've been really troublesome. Seems they're trying to find you. Ha, fat chance. Pretty sure they won't find this place, it's quite far off the map for them. However, they did just butcher two of my scouting parties. Shame on you, teaching such innocent creatures the horrors of war. That's MY job."

James just continued to try and bore a hole through the wicked man's head with a tempestuous gaze.

"Seems as though you're trying to kill me with that look! Tell you what. I'm a busy man so I have to go. I think I'll keep this though," he said while holding up the gem, "kinda fun to look at. Well, so long!"

As soon as James heard the guy's foot steps fading away, he flipped onto his back so he could put his feet up against the chain. He grabbed a hold of it with his right hand and began to push it away from the wood frame with his feet. It was slow going, but he managed to get another centimeter out of it. With his hand, he felt around and inspected it. Once, he accidentally pushed it back in. He was alarmed at first, but then found that once it had been loosened to a degree, he could push it in and pull it back out to where he had pried it before with relative ease. This was good as now he could try to disguise his efforts.

For three more days he worked. Kraster didn't come back for anymore chats, he was only visited by the same unicorn that brought him water and fed him a bland gruel like paste. On the fourth day, he finally managed to pop the large nail out from the wood, but now was not the right time to try and escape so he put the nail back in. By his reckoning, it was probably around mid morning. The pony that brought his food did so at maybe five hour intervals, with one long one every day. James assumed that this was when night fell. So he waited. He waited and patiently ate and drank every meal the unicorn brought him. After what he thought was the last meal of the day, he counted one more hour and got to work.

He plucked out the four inch nail with his right hand and removed it from the chains. Then he used it to pry off the nail pinning the chains on his left arm from the frame. With a tool to assist in the task, he was free in no time. However, he still had the chains attached to his wrists and he left arm was still virtually useless. He slung the chains of his left arm around his neck and pinned the end to a link near the manacle with one of the nails to create a makeshift and very uncomfortable sling. He just simply wrapped the chains dangling from his right wrist around his arm.

James then moved to the door and pressed and ear up against it. He couldn't hear anything so he dropped to the floor and peered out from the narrow space beneath the door. To the left there was nothing, but on the right was a pair of ugly clawed feet. This wasn't going to be easy. He searched around the room until he found a reasonably sized rock for his task. Then he hurled it as hard as he could at the door, flattening himself against the wall beside it as fast as he could. Nothing.

He checked under the door again and saw that the feet were now facing the door. However, the guard had decided not to open it and investigate the source of the disturbance.

"I don't have time for this. HEY ASSHOLE!" He pounded forcefully on the door a few times. "I'M ESCAPING!"

This time, James heard a key being hastily forced into the lock and opening the door. As soon as it was wide enough, a large Lotkin entered only to receive the second four inch nail straight in its throat. The thing clutched at its neck and tried to gurgle an alarm. From its belt, James snatched a wicked looking dagger and ended the beast's spasms with a quick thrust. James searched the corpse and found the key to the manacles, but nothing else. He slipped it into his mouth and continued on.

Stepping out, he discovered he was in a wide rough hewn corridor with low ceilings. All along the walls hung lanterns. James began moving up the gentle slope of the passageway, alert and wary of any and all danger. He needed to find some of his gear, and fast. He remembered Kraster talking about how he had admired James' weapons and gear, so he smiled when he spotted the unicorn that had been feeding him carrying a platter filled with assorted goodies and meats all expertly roasted. Silently he crept up behind the stallion. When he was within just a few feet, James pressed the dagger up against the throat of the unsuspecting pony from his rear.

"Don't turn around, don't yell or scream. Just take me to where your boss sleeps. Nod if you understand."

The unicorn nodded, James could hear an audible gulp as he did.

"Good. Lead the way."

The stallion did as he was instructed and took him down a maze of corridors. After a time, the emerged out onto a wide wooden platform hanging on the side of an enormous cavern. Down below was a great lake of water, ships of all kinds floated upon its surface. Directly under the platform were a series of piers. Currently, many ponies and Lotkin were loading and offloading cargo below. It was a massive operation. Lashed to a large platform were four large crates with the lids off. Inside, James could see four of the largest round crystals he had ever seen, their deathly familiar glow shining against the high ceiling. Far across the cavern, James could distinguish a large opening leading out to the sea, moonlight was shining through the entrance.

The unicorn soon led James to a tall wooden structure that had been receded into the wall of the cavern. It was a small wooden tower about forty feet high, the only windows it sported were high off the ground. They reached the door at the bottom and the unicorn produced a key and inserted it into the lock. James raised the dagger in his right hand, ready to counter any threats.

"You go first." He ordered the stallion. "No funny business."

James followed the stallion into a brightly lit room filled with swords, spears and other knick knacks. To the rear was a set of stairs that led up to the upper floors. He urged the unicorn up them and they came out into a decently sized bedroom. So far, the structure was devoid of its occupant. James left the unicorn and started searching the room.

In one corner, he found his boots. In another, there was a closet with some clothes in it. He took a button down short sleeve and a pair of shorts, then he found some socks and slipped his boots on. Over by the bed, he spotted his pistol with the shoulder holster next to it. He grabbed it and donned the holster, shoving the 1911 in it when he was done. James opened and closed drawers until he found the most important thing. The small gem he had been tasked to keep safe. He stared into its depths, temporarily captivated by its beauty.

*CLANG*

A blunt metal object smacked against the back of his head. He whipped out his pistol and spun around, shoving it into the face of his attacker. All he saw was a very scared unicorn. Rubbing the back of his head, he stowed his weapon.

"Ow! What the hell you do that for?"

"Sorry!"

"Get the hell outta here, and don't come back! This place is bad for you!"

"Y-yes sir!"

The pony quickly bolted from the room, hooves stomping down the stairs and out the door.

"Shit!" James yelled out in anger.

He now had about three minutes to bug out due to his lapse in judgement. If it wasn't known he was out and about, it sure would be common knowledge now. James affixed the gem around his neck and scrambled to find his knife. After a minute and a half, he had been all around the room and still hadn't found it. He gave up and made for the exit, pausing by a cabinet before he went out the door. He opened it up and was delighted at what he saw.

Outside, a host of vicious warriors were on the march to his position. Thirty Lotkin trod down the platform and staged themselves before the small tower. From behind them, Kraster emerged.

"So! Got a little spunk, do ya? Stretching your legs? How's that arm of yours doing? I imagine it's still quite painful."

Inside, James used his key to unlock the manacles on his right wrist and tossed them out the window where they slid and clattered to the despicable man's feet.

"Got some attitude, do you?" Kraster yelled. "Why don't you be a good sport and come on out of there peacefully. I promise it won't hurt as much!"

"How about we have a little chat?"

"Oh, now you want to talk!" Kraster exclaimed in an exasperated tone, "Well hell. Ok then, what did you have in mind?"

"Why are you here, why are you doing this?" James asked.

"Why!? Why, why, why... Why not!? Hell, it's not like I got anything else better to do! I have the skills! Might as well topple another government! This time, instead of that shitty paycheck, I get a whole empire! What's not to like!?"

"How about all the deaths you've caused?"

"Deaths? Of what, those fucking horse things!? Who gives a shit!?"

"They're not animals, John, they think and feel just like you and me. Some are even smarter than the two of us!"

"Yeah, so were a lot of the people YOU'VE killed! How many, huh? Two hundred? Three hundred? It's what we do, we're killers!"

"We don't have to be."

"Oh really? So what is it you've been doing in the time you've spent here!? Picking daisies!? You practically have your own army of blade wielding, gun toting ponies!"

"It's not the same!"

"Really!? How is it not the same? Enlighten me!"

"They were trained to protect, not murder!"

"Oh, just like you were? Got any more hypocritical philosophical bullshit you want to sling at me?"

"No. But I do have something important to tell you..." James stated calmly.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"I found your toys."

James pulled the pins out of two M67 grenades and tossed them out the window. Kraster stared wide eyed at the small metal balls and immediately started running. Meanwhile, James popped up and started hosing the platform down with an Israeli made Uzi he had also found in the cabinet. He ducked a second later as the grenades detonated, sending shrapnel everywhere. Then he stood up and expended the rest of the mag at now scattered force.

He dropped his weapon and climbed up to the third story as the surviving warriors began to pick their way around the massive holes he had blown out of the platform and charge the structure. On the third story, James found somewhat of a study. There was another desk and a bookshelf against the back wall, lanterns lit the four corners of it. Frantically, he searched for his knife again, but it was nowhere to be found. Down below, another detonation rocked the structure as one of his pursuers tripped a trap he had left them. Nothing complex, just a thin wire wrapped around the door knob, the other end looped through the pin of a grenade secured to the wall next to the door.

"Oh for the love of... Ok Mr. No Name, booby traps are MY deal. And just look at what you did to my humble abode!" Kraster complained while he stepped over the now ruined door of his residence.

James began searching for a way out. He had left one more surprise for them, but now they'd be more cautious in their advance. He looked out the window, to far of a drop, if he injured a leg he would never escape. He felt along the walls with his good hand, trying to find a hidden door somewhere, nothing but solid wood. He could hear them coming up the stairs now. In frustration, he gripped the edge of the bookcase with his right hand and threw it on the ground. Behind it was a bolt hole.

"That'll work." James said to no one.

He pushed the heavy bookcase over the opening in the floor that led downstairs. He then jumped back as bullets tore through the wood.

"I got my toys back!" Kraster hollered from below.

James wasn't around to hear it, he was already sprinting down the hidden passageway, his injured arm flopping against his chest with each stride. The narrow stone passage started gently sloping up, a cool fresh breeze signaling a way out to the surface. He had nearly made it to the top when a round bounced off the wall next to him, spraying sharp chips of stone at him. Reacting quickly, James drew his own firearm and loosed a few rounds down the corridor behind him.

All of a sudden, James burst from the tunnel into a cold and snowy night. There was fresh snow on the ground and more was beginning to fall around him. He swiveled his head left and right, trying to decide which way to run. He took off to his right and ran a dozen yards before he came to a cliff, only freezing water below. He doubled back and ran the other direction only to encounter the same thing. Becoming increasingly agitated at his plight, he circled around behind the hole he had fled from and began running, just to once again find himself at the edge of a large cliff, a violent surf crashing against the cruel rocks far below.

"Looks like it's the end of your run, buddy."

James turned around to see Kraster and about nine Lotkin accompanied by four stallions, one of them disgustingly familiar. Kraster was pointing a Glock at his chest, daring him to make a move.

"Why don't you be good and tell me your name now? Don't you think I've gone through enough trouble for it now? It's not like it'll make it any easier for me to find you, we're the only two humans in this whole damned world!"

James peered over his shoulder at the cliff behind him, judging his odds.

"No. You don't deserve it." He replied to the man. "You're a disgrace to people in our profession. We may have had to take lives, but that doesn't mean we have to like it."

"Aww, that's too bad. Well, can't say I can let you live after all this. It sucks, but you did just take out a bunch of my fighters. Last words?"

"Just a few." James directed his attention to a certain pegasus with a yellow streak through his mane, "Remember my warning Lightning. And Kraster, you can go fuck yourself."

With that, he threw up the one fingered salute and began to run to the cliff edge. He leaped off as Kraster opened fire at him. As he fell, James crossed his legs and pulled his arm against his body in preparation for impacting the water. Up on the cliff, Kraster was shaking in a furious rage.

"Stupid, he won't survive that." Lightning remarked as he limped over to his master.

Kraster turned and struck the pegasus in the face, "IDIOT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE'S CAPABLE OF! HE'S NOT DEAD UNTIL I SEE A BODY! FIND HIM, FIND HIM, FIND HIM!!!" He bellowed, tossing one of the Lotkin off the cliff.

The High Seas

Chapter 38: The High Seas

James swam as far as he could away from the island in a dead reckoning direction. For hours he pushed on through the darkness and freezing waters with only his right arm to help pull through the surf. His body was shutting down, he could feel it. His movements became sluggish, it was a huge effort just to breathe. Hypothermia was setting in. Still, he pushed on. He kept going when his extremities went numb. He kept going when his limbs turned stiff. He kept going even as he began to slip beneath the waves.

Finally, he bumped into a small piece of driftwood. He reached out and clung to it like it was his only hope for salvation. In the back of his mind, he knew done. He was alone and adrift in some unknown ocean with no land in sight. On top of that, the sea was so cold that he estimated he would probably have only a few minutes of consciousness left. Maybe half an hour of life. So there he floated, his right arm slung over the driftwood to keep him afloat, his left still strapped to his chest, the hand absently clutching the gem that still hung from his neck....

=====================================================================

An inky plane as black as pitch yet no where near as tangible. A swelling pulse of clouded malevolence surging all around him. James became aware of feet that were not his, hands that did not belong to him a body that was not his own. And yet it was his. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The place certainly felt familiar to him. Then all at once, his surroundings pulsed a dark blood red, shrieking gore-crows swarmed from all sides and he knew.

He threw up his hands to ward off their attacks, but none ever came. Instead, they began to cluster and swirl to what he guessed to be the floor. They merged and melded into the single small form that forever haunted his dreams. The child. Again, the boy stared at him with a lifeless eye and a broken face. James just stared back, still unsure of what to do.

"You're back." He said. "Why can't you just leave me alone!?"

The child did not respond. Suddenly a searing pain lanced up James' forearm. He gripped it and clenched his teeth as an ugly scar grew and pulsated on it.

"Just leave me alone and get out of my head! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

=====================================================================

Rocking, gentle rocking. The creak of wood rubbing together. The slosh of waves against the hull of a ship as it carved its way through the water. James opened his eyes. Above him was a thick wooden ceiling. He was laying in a hammock. His left arm began to itch so he reached over to scratch it, but stopped when he saw that the manacle had been removed and the dirty bandages had been replaced with bright white clean ones.

He sat up and looked around to see that he was in a small cell with thick iron bars on three sides, the back wall was curved and made of solid beams. From the sounds, smell of salt and the rocking of the room, James guessed himself to be on a small ship somewhere out in the open sea. James eased himself out of the hammock and dropped to the deck.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called. "Hello!"

Somewhere, a door opened and slammed shut. Uneven steps accompanied by the solid thunk of wood on wood slowly approached.

"Aye, so you return to the land of the living, pulled from icy embrace of Pony Jones' locker." A rough gravely voice born of the sea echoed from the shadows.

From down the passageway a peg legged pony strode. He sported a frizzled salt and pepper beard with a matching mane. Atop his head rested a large elegant hat. His ears were pierced with several gold ear rings. Strapped to his side was a sharp menacing cutlass. His coat was a dappled white and brown.

"Who are you?" James asked him.

"Ho, now why would I be goin' tellin' a stranger that without knowin' his intentions?"

"It would be a place to start."

"That it would, aye. So why don't we start with you?"

"Fair enough. I'm James. I just need to get back home."

"And where'd that be, James?"

"Equestria."

"Any port in particular?"

"Just drop me off anywhere, I'll be fine from there. Now, any chance I can get your name?"

"That depends. What be your profession? Your trade?"

James thought quickly. He had no idea where he was in the world. He was with an unknown number of individuals. Plus he had no idea what they did. However, he DID know that he was on a ship traveling across the sea. He thought back to his training at its earliest. He thought back to boot.

"I'm a sailor."

"A sailor, you say? Then you won't mind demonstrating a few things for me. Here," the swarthy pony tossed in a few lengths of rope and a sack of potatoes, "why don't ya secure that. To the overhead."

James picked up the rope and searched for a spot to start. In approximately the center of the overhead was an iron ring. James reached up and tied a bowline knot around it. He did the same with one of the iron bars that constituted his cell. Then he tied off the overhead line to a ring set in the sack's opening. He followed through with the other, creating two points of contact to prevent the potatoes from swinging about.

"Aye, that be good. Ok, we'll take you back, but ye must earn your keep 'round my ship lest we toss ye back from whence you came. I be Captain Easton and this here's my vessel, the Luna's Revenge. The next port be more than a few days away."

The Captain pulled out a key and released his prisoner. James stepped out and joined Captain Easton as he walked down the P-Way.

"'Tis a pleasure to meet your acquaintance James. If ye don't mind me askin', from what land do ye sail from? I've ne'er seen a manner of being quite like yourself."

"I uh, come from America."

"America? Can't say I've ever been to such a place in all the seas."

"Yeah... it's kind of out there."

"Then what, pray tell, be you doin' 'round these here parts?"

"My ship was on an expedition when we were attacked. I was imprisoned on an island until I escaped."

Captain Easton stopped in his tracks.

"An island ye say... Did this island happen to have a large covered harbor?"

"You mean like a cavern?"

"Aye."

"Why?"

"'Twas our home, our own port in the storm. 'Til those heathens came and TOOK IT FROM US!" Captain Easton bellowed.

"Captain?"

"Ah, my apologies lad. We lost many a good stallion that day."

James was led up to the weather deck and the cold ocean air.. All around, ponies were scrubbing the deck and rigging lines. From somewhere cheerful accordion music flowed.

"Go find the Bo'son, he'll give ye your assignment." Easton ordered.

"Aye Captain."

James left the salty sea captain and walked about the deck. He wandered around until a shout caught his attention.

"You there! Biped!"

James stopped and turned to a green pegasus, "Are you the Bo'son?"

"Ye be correct! Now stop lollygaggin' about and get to work riggin' th' sails!"

"Aye aye!"

James swung up onto net that was lashed to the deck and the top of the main mast. Up on the cross bar, he started to reef the main sail to help better catch the wind. As he edged his way towards the crow's nest.

"You the new guy we picked up?"

"Huh?"

James looked up to see a blonde coated earth pony with a black mane and an eye patch over his left eye.

"The name's Han Ken. My friends usually call me Hank or just Ken." He offered a hoof to shake.

James took it in his hand and gave a firm shake, "James."

"A pleasure, I'm sure. I'm the ship's lookout, why don't you join me?"

"Alright, just hold on a sec."

James finished his task before making his way back to the nest an hurdling over the railing.

"So Ken, what's this ship all about?" He asked.

"You don't know?"

"No."

"We're pirates."

"Really?"

"Sure as the north wind blows."

"Huh. So you steal goods from merchant ships?"

"How else would a pirate make his living? Course, now a days it's hard, what with most countries ferrying most of their valuables via airship. We used to have one ourselves, but those violent savages took it for themselves when they raided our refuge." Ken explained to the human.

"That so?"

"Oh sure, the skipper was furious. Captured a few of them in the escape, he did. Though he slew the lot of them in a fit of rage."

"Harsh."

James spent the next few days rigging lines and swabbing the deck. He even spent some time working down in the galley. He earned his his keep and even got his pistol back once the Captain felt he could trust the human and his strange gadgets. He even gave James his own cutlass. James was grateful for it and immediately took a liking to the versatile weapon. Every day he would practice sparing with it against Ken. He became quite proficient with it and earned a spot as one of the ship's Masters at Arms, helping keep the peace among the crew.

One foggy night he was standing watch on the port side of the bow, gazing into bleary darkness. His thoughts began to wander and he soon found himself thinking of his new home. What his friends were doing. What Dash was doing. He'd probably get a beating when he got back. James laughed at the thought. Then his mind went to darker areas. His one sided conversations with Kraster. The points he had made.

"I know that stare."

James looked over his shoulder to see Captain Easton walking up.

"Aye, that'd be the gaze of true fighter, a killer even." The skipper continued, "that's the stare of somepony that has seen more of his fair share of death. You're not the simple sailor ye claim to be."

*sigh* "Yes Captain. I'm afraid that's correct."

"Buck up lad. We all have our ghosts. The best we can do is make our peace with them." The old sailor said solemnly.

"What if you did something so horrible, that even under given circumstances you find it utterly inexcusable?"

"Lad, ye must not try to rationalize it. Death is an irrational thing. I've found that as long as ye do it for the right reasons; defense of yourself, of others, then it's not somethin' ye should be beatin' yourself up over. Killing for the sake of killing or for the sake of greed or lust, aye, detestable those acts would be. Ne'er ye shall be sorry for doing what must be done."

"Thanks Cap, I'll keep your words in mind."

"'Twas my pleasure. All tortured souls deserve some manner of--"

A blindingly bright light suddenly shined down upon their vessel from above, sending both of them diving for cover. Black ropes whipped down to the deck, quickly followed by several ponies in dark dress and armor. Captain Easton galloped over to the ship's bell and began to sound the alarm.

"To arms, to arms, get up ye lazy sea rats! We be needin' to repel boarders!

Ken was one of the first to emerge from below decks, sword at the ready. He was soon followed by a gang of the ship's crew who immediately engaged the intruders. James was stupefied, rooted in place, until he was rushed by one of the masked assailants. James drew his cutlass and began to block blow after blow. The fighter lashed out with several quick strokes of a short sword and began pushing James back towards the edge of the deck.

They fought for a few minutes until James saw an opening and swung his sword low, bashing the stallion in the foreleg. The blade bounced off fine armor, but it still swept the support of the limb out from under his opponent. James immediately brought the blade to the stallion's neck and removed the mask. Flash blinked at him.

"Flash!?"

"James!?"

"What are YOU doing here!?" They both exclaimed in unison.

"We've spent the last few weeks looking for you!" Flash yelled.

"I escaped not too long ago. I'll go into details later, but first we have to stop this fight."

James helped up his friend and strode to the middle of the deck.

"ALL OF YOU STAND DOWN! This is Commander James Kaughn of the RSTG, lower your weapons!" The human roared.

All the fighting stopped almost instantly, the combatants standing around in stunned silence.

"What manner of trickery be this!?" Captain Easton demanded.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't think you'd--"

"What, ye didn't think I'd like knowin' we had a dog of the crown in our midst? Did ye set this all up, tryin' to catch an old stallion off guard?"

Ken quickly came to the human's defense, "Captain, he's been nothing but helpful to us. I don't think--"

"Shut your muzzle or I'll have lashes awarded to ye!"

James started to speak again, "Captain, you have my apologies, this is not what I intended. It's true I was captured and escaped from that island. Right now, there are many innocent souls in danger and I need to get back to my superiors. I'm going to order my soldiers off and go. You'll never have to see us again."

The ship captain glared at James with narrowed eyes filled with the hate that can only be forged by a broken trust, "Fine, then go. But if I ever see ye again, it won't be under a white flag, that ye can be sure about. Cryin' shame, it is, ye be a capable sailor."

"Thank you sir. I'm sorry we have to part ways like this."

Down from the heavens, the Clipper descended and came along side the large sailboat. Some of the deck ponies ran a brow over to the open side door, allowing James, Flash and the rest of the assault squad to cross. Inside the cabin, Feather and Sparks were waiting, looks of disbelief upon their faces.

"The hay have you been!?" The engineer asked in shock.

"Long story. Right now, we need to get back to Canterlot as fast as possible."

"I hear ya boss, it's good to have you back!" Myst yelled from the cockpit.

"On top of things, like always. Glad to see you Myst." James replied.

After the last operative crossed, the brow was pulled back onto the Luna's Revenge. James looked down at the ship as they pulled away, her wrathful Captain never taking his eyes from the human.

"They should all be locked up." Sparks said at his side.

James watched the ship receding into the distance as Myst fed power to the engine.

"They aren't that bad. Besides, we may need their help in the future."

"What? Why?"

"I'll fill you all in soon. I'll tell you what though, the future doesn't look too good for us."

Confrontation With The Heart

Chapter 39: Confrontation With The Heart

After traveling all night and through most of the next day, the task force finally arrived at the nation's capitol. James immediately stormed straight to the castle, barging past any guards that tried to bar his way. Shouts were heard and threats of arrest were made, but these were quickly silenced by the entourage that followed close behind him. Celestia was hosting a full court when the human shoved the large throne room doors wide open. Gasps and expressions of shock made their rounds around the room of dignitaries at the sight of his entrance and disheveled appearance.

"Princess Celestia, we have to talk." James said sternly.

"Commander, I am glad to see that you have returned and are well, but this is highly irregular and I must ask you to--"

"My apologies ma'am, but this is highly important." James interrupted, "I need to talk with you, Captain Armor and Admiral Darkwing. Now."

=====================================================================

"... and that's what we're up against here. There is an invasion force staged somewhere in the seas to the west. Possible landing areas include the steppes north of Van Hoover, the coast just south of the Smokey Mountain and the San Palomino Desert. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say the two most likely choices would be the first two. The Steppes would be easier to navigate than White Tail Woods, but the Smokey Mountain site would allow them to advance more quickly to the capitol and end the fight faster."

The two Princesses, the Captain and the Admiral studied the spots on the map that the human had marked off with expressions of deep concern covering their faces.

"Is there any way we can hit them first?" The Admiral asked.

James looked over his shoulder, "Myst..."

The foggy gray unicorn stepped forward and began tracing lines on the map, "During our search, we came to the coast at the Smokey Mountain via Unicorn Range. That's where we lost the trail. We spent the next weeks going north and south along the coast, intercepting any suspicious vessels on the ocean. Four carried hostiles. This is where we found them;" she marked spots off the coast from the desert all the way to the Frozen North,"the boarding parties reported scant supplies on board indicating these were short range patrols."

When she finished, she went back to her place with the rest of her team. As she passed James whispered, "Good job," then he addressed the rest of the counsel.

"From what I've been told, the island I was incarcerated on was only one of many. Our opponent is smart, he's scattered his assets so that if one spot gets hit, the vast majority of his operation will survive." James informed them.

"You said 'he', do you know who's responsible for all this?" Shining Armor inquired.

"Yes, I do."

"Then who is it?"

"I don't want to say yet. Ma'am," James looked to Celestia, "I'd like to speak with you before I divulge that information."

"Very well, Commander." She replied.

Luna looked up from the map, "Commander, from what you have seen, how long do you think we have before our enemy takes action?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't say for sure. It could be a few months, it could be a year. The best we can do is try and locate our enemy's resources and in the meantime, prepare to defend the country."

Celestia gazed around the room and in an authoritative voice proclaimed, "Very well, we shall mobilize at once. Luna, Captain Shining Armor, please see to it that the Guard is informed and ready for tasking. Commander, please come with me."

The room's occupants set to their tasks, Shining Armor and Luna went out a side door, followed by Admiral Darkwing and James' team. James, on the other hand, followed Celestia as she left through the door behind her, entering a long hallway the almost went the length of the castle. She led him up a tall spiral staircase to an area of the castle James had never been to before.

Together, they walked down a long passageway lit with sunlight through intricately wrought and colorful stained glass windows on either side. James studied them as they passed by. He saw depictions of Equestria's past. Celestia and Luna arriving to the land, the two sisters defeating some strange dragon looking thing with body parts from multiple animals, Luna's fall into darkness and subsequent imprisonment, the return of Nightmare Moon and her redemption at the hooves of six very familiar ponies.

James stopped and stared at the window, "Ma'am, are these..."

"Yes James. And please, while we're here, you can drop the formalities."

"Yes ma- uh... ok."

"Yes, these are your friends. For the past few years, they have been the defenders of our nation, especially with threats that dealt with matters of the heart. They are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and you'll need their help." The solar princess explained to him.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't a 'matter of the heart', this is war. Unless there's an element that can cure death, I want them far away from all this."

"I don't mean for them to fight like you do. Rather, you'll need their help in your battle against yourself."

"Princess..."

"James, you are not well. Your heart is fractured. You lie to yourself, you may be quick to laugh, but rarely is it sincere. You show kindness to others, yet are filled with such hatred. You give all of yourself to the point that it does more harm than good. You've lost the magic of a positive outlook. Your only redeeming aspect is your fierce loyalty to those you care about."

James just stood there, at a loss for words. In a single masterful stroke of a verbal blade, she had cut him straight to the core. His mouth acquired an angry scowl. The human's hands balled into fists as they began to shake. Remembering who he was with, James calmed himself down, however, his right hand continued to tremor.

He started to turn to leave, "If you'll excuse me ma'am..."

"James, stop!" Celestia demanded with all the authority of one befitting her post.

The human halted in mid step.

"You shall not run away from your insecurities this time, you will stand and face them! I'm sorry I must be so coarse with you, but the lives of my subjects are at stake and I need you at your best. You need to get help. Please don't make me order you again, but I will if I have to."

Whipped around violently to face the large regal mare, "Fine. What do you want me to do then, huh? See some condescending shrink who'll tell me that it's all in my head? The last time I talked to one, he almost declared me unfit for duty! Almost took away my job, my friends, the only real family I had!"

Suddenly, Celestia's voice took on a softer tone and her eyes projected a warm kindness, "James, that is not what I want at all. The only thing I want you to do is return to your home. Spend time with your friends. You have been a great service to my country and its subjects, but you have done enough for now. Go rest and enjoy life a little. We shall keep the watch."

"And if there is an attack?"

"You have trained many capable ponies, they should be able to handle anything short of an all out invasion on their own. Go now and find your peace."

James bowed his head in thought, eyes gazing forward, yet focused on nothing. Then he slowly raised his head to give his reply.

"Fine then, I will."

"Good. Now please, tell me who is responsible for the plight of my ponies?"

"It turns out I'm not as alone as I once thought. His name is Kraster. John Kraster. He was trained by the same government as I was and in the same ways of combat. He is a very dangerous man." James warned.

"How so?"

"First you have to understand something. In my profession, fewer than twenty five percent of the people who make it to retirement do so without any serious mental issues. They may appear fine and interact with others fairly well, but they still have problems. Kraster is not part of that number."

"What do yo mean by all this?"

"What I'm telling you is that he's lost his grip, he let's his violent nature run free without restraint."

"Is that how you got your new scar?" Celestia asked while eyeing the two thick four inch long lines that ran parallel on opposite sides of the human's forearm.

James gripped his arm with his right hand, covering the scars, "Yes, it is. He described torture to me as something of a sport for him."

Celestia looked absolutely horrified, "That's terrible!"

"Yes, and this man has an army under his control." James said seriously.

"Then we must be extra vigilant. Such a twisted mind can be unpredictable. Thank you, James. We have much work to do. Now please go and return home, we shall contact you if the need arises. Oh, and just one more thing," magically, she produced an ornate envelope, "please take this with you, as a gift."

James reached out and took it, stowing it in a pocket on his borrowed shorts.

"Thank you ma'am." He stood at attention before saluting and tuning on his heel and striding back down the spiral stairs.

With quick steps, he made his way back through the castle. In no time, he was in the main corridor leading back to the grand foyer where his team was patiently waiting. As he strode into the room, they all got up from where they had been sitting and lined up at attention.

Sparks stepped forward, "Orders, sir!"

James looked at each of them. They all looked ragged and exhausted. Baggy red eyes, uniforms ripped, manes a mess. From what he had been told, they'd rarely slept a wink while they had been searching for him. Even during the entire time they'd been here at the castle, they'd stayed awake and alert.

"Guys... let's go home."

They all seemed a bit confused at James' words, expecting to be tasked with some difficult assignment. However, not one of them said a word in reply, instead just nodding slightly, shoulders slumping subtly as the finally relaxed. Myst led them all back to the Clipper where they boarded and began preparations for departure. The sun in the west began its march towards the horizon as the engine spun up. The three stallions took their seats right next to each other, leaving an entire fold down bench for the human. James plopped down onto it and swung his legs onto the bench, understanding what they were doing.

James let the vibrations and gentle movement of the craft as it took off lull him into a drowsy state. Then, even though it was still cold, he gently dropped into a dreamless sleep.

=====================================================================

About an hour later, James was woken with a soft shake. He sat up and was slightly surprised when a parka slid off his torso. He gave his eyes a rub and looked around.

"We're home." Feather said from his side.

James swung his legs to the deck and hopped out of the small aircraft. He began to sluggishly plow through the deep snow to the ready room and his locker.

"Uh... boss? You need us to do anything?" Myst inquired of him.

James looked back over his shoulder to see all four ponies standing tall and waiting for instruction in the cold dark of night.

"Just... go home for now. Rest up and take some time off, that comes down from the Princess herself. I'll find you If I need you."

Then he resumed his trek. Behind him, the four ponies just shrugged and parted ways. James entered the building and opened his locker. Inside was a couple sets of uniforms, his cold weather gear -- which he removed -- and some tools for cleaning his equipment. He donned the warm clothes and retreated into Sparks' workshop where he took out his pistol and began stripping it down. It had been exposed to sea water and the elements and needed a good cleaning before he felt confident he could use it without causing it further damage.

After reassembling his sidearm, he began to polish the rust and grime off the cutlass he had brought from the ship he had spent those weeks on. It was a fine weapon and he had decided to keep it. It wasn't a fitting replacement for his knife, but could prove to come in handy at some point. He was in the middle of honing its edge when he heard a soft knock on the front door of the building. James didn't know what time it was, but he estimated it to be pretty late by now. Thinking it was one of his teammates come to ask him a question, he grumpily pulled himself from his chair and strode to the door.

Swiftly, he grabbed the handle and pulled it open, "I thought I said go ho-- Oh, it's you..."

Standing in the snow before him was a cyan sky blue pegasus, a colorful scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Hey, I saw you guys coming back. Is it ok if I come in?"

"Uh... sure." James stepped aside and allowed her to enter. "Oh yeah," he said in sudden realization, "here, I brought this back, safe and sound." He told her, removing the small gem from around his neck and offering it to the mare.

"That's ok, keep it. You came back safe, so it must be good luck for you."

"Alright then." James returned it to where it had been hanging on his chest. "Where did you get this anyway? I don't think I've seen anything like it." He asked, examining the curious gem once again.

"That's what happens when certain gems are exposed to liquid rainbow concentrate. A long time ago, there was an accident at the weather factory in Cloudsdale and a bunch of it was spilled all across the ground below the city. It seeped into the soil and contaminated the dirt. A few years later, a treasure hunter was digging around there and found one of those. A lot of ponies started to dig up the place to find more, but it turns out they're pretty rare. Speaking of, Rarity actually found that one."

"It's pretty, I can see why she gave it to you."

Dash blushed a little, "What's with the flattery? You tryin' to butter me up for something?"

James went and sat down on the bench in front of the lockers. "Just an honest thought. I do need to talk to you though."

"What about?" Dash took a seat across from him.

He took a deep breath, "Dash, I don't think we should see each other."

The two just looked at each other for a moment, the words hanging in the air between them. Then James winced as Dash practically exploded.

"What!? Why!?" She shouted angrily, "Am I not good enough or something!? Is it because you're not a pony!? I'm sure Twilight could probably find a spell somewhere that could--"

"Dash! Please, let me explain!" James shouted over her protests.

The rainbow maned pegasus crossed her forelegs and glared angrily at the human as he began to describe his reason, "I understand you're upset, but please hear me out. First of all, I love spending time with you, really, I look forward to it. Secondly, me not being a pony isn't the issue. Plus, I'm sorry but I like my body the way it is and I don't like the idea of getting used to a new one."

James briefly paused, but Dash just kept glaring at him, so he continued, "The problem is that there's a person out there that knows what I look like and wants to hurt me. That wouldn't be much of a deal to me, but this person has no problems using the ones I'm close with to get to me. That's why. I don't want you to become a target."

"Is that really the reason?" Dash asked suspiciously.

"As Pinkie would say; 'cross my heart, hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye.'" James promised while going through the motions.

"Well, that's not good enough!" Dash replied stubbornly.

"Dash, please, just being around me could potentially be hazardous." James pleaded.

"Don't care!" She sniffed.

James thought for a moment, trying to figure how he could persuade her to go. He knew she was as stubborn as he could be sometimes and wouldn't go without a fight. Then an idea popped into his head.

"Ok then, we'll keep seeing each other, but only on one condition." James told her.

"Oh? And what's that?"

James smiled menacingly, "You let me teach you how to fight properly. That way my mind can rest a little easier knowing you can at least defend yourself."

The weather mare smirked, "You kidding? That's it? Bring it on then, tough stuff! I'm a champ!" She proclaimed smugly.

James expression didn't change, "Oh, this ain't gonna be just some walk in the park, you're going through boot."

Lazy Day

Chapter 40: Lazy day

*WHUMPF THUMP*

"Ah, the hell!?"

James rubbed his head and pulled himself up off the floor.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon, let's go!" Dash exclaimed in excitement while hovering in the air.

James groped for his iPod on his desk where he had left it. When he found it, he checked the time. It read 0400.

"Dash, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but don't you think it's a little early? And who let you in here?" He asked groggily.

"Flash did, and besides, you said you were gonna train me to be like you! You were up earlier than this when you trained the others!" She pointed out as she settled down on the bed she had just knocked James off of.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd take a few days rest first." James sat up, almost every muscle in his body screaming in protest at the sudden motion. After his ordeal, he was still quite sore.

"Aw, but why?" The rose eyed pegasus pouted.

James stood up and started to stretch, causing several snaps and pops to erupt from his joints and limbs.

"Ew," Dash cringed, "why does your body do that?"

James twisted and cracked his back, "It comes with the job. You get beat up and blown up enough over the years and this is what you get. Now, I'd still love to spend some time with you today, but can you at least let me get dressed first?"

Dash's face began to accrue a slight blush as her eyes migrated from his face and wandered down his body only now realizing that he was clad solely in his boxer shorts.

*POMPF*

"What's with your wings?"

Dash looked over her shoulder, "OH! Uh... I'll just wait downstairs then!" She then proceeded to hastily struggle through the doorway and down the stairs, her outstretched wings bumping into and getting caught on various objects all the way down.

James just watched as she left, absolutely puzzled at her strange body language.

"Whatever." He shrugged.

James went to his closet and threw on a pair of long pants, a shirt and finally his socks and boots before heading down to the ground floor. When he reached it, his guest was no where to be seen.

"Dash? Where you at?"

"Just a minute!" Came a reply from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Something wrong?" James concernedly asked.

"No, n-nothing! Just... hold on!"

"Alright, I hear you. Take your time in there, I'm gonna make some breakfast."

James shrugged his shoulders in ignorance again and entered the kitchen. Using just a skillet, some eggs and some veggies he quickly put together a couple of omelettes for the two of them and poured two glasses of orange juice. Just as he finished setting the small kitchen table, his blue pegasus friend trotted in to join him. James was still confused about her sudden change in behavior in relation to the peculiar way her wings had flared up, but he didn't press the issue.

The two quickly ate their meal, eager to get on with a day for which they still had no plans for. Dash was of course the first to finish. While she waited for James, she found herself studying his form again, her eyes eventually coming to rest on his left forearm.

"What happened to your arm?" She asked, pointing to the two thin scars that ran opposite each other.

Without looking up from his food James replied in a flat tone, "Accident."

"Really?" Dash didn't buy it, "What kind of accident?"

"The kind that hurts."

"James, you've tried this on me before, I know you're lying." She said dismissively.

The human put down his fork and swallowed what he had been chewing, "Fine, you really want to know what happened?"

Dash nodded in the affirmative.

"I was stabbed."

"What!?"

"Comes with the job."

"You say that too much."

"That's 'cause it's true. Don't worry though, this crazy chick gave me a good luck charm that's come in handy so far, I'll be fine."

This got a little chortle out of her, "Ok, I think I feel a little better about it now. I just wish you didn't have to leave so often."

James smiled, "well, as luck would have it, I'll be sticking around here for a while."

Dash's face lit up, "Really!?"

"Yeah, doctor's orders, you could say."

"Oh, does this mean you'll still be here for Hearths Warming Eve?"

"Uh... I guess. When is it?"

"Just over a week from now."

"Yeah, I should be here. Probably for a few weeks after that too."

"Really?" The weather mare enthused, "This is gonna be so awesome!"

=====================================================================

Later that day, James was back in his room, reading one of the adventure books that Dash had lent him. They had decided to at least go for a morning run through the snow. They were going to head into town later, but Rainbow was called into work for an emergency, something about one of her co-workers accidentally putting a hail cloud over the town square instead of a light flurry of snow.

He finished another chapter and placed a small piece of paper inside as a book mark. Going over to his pile of laundry, he began going through the pockets in preparation for washing them. He came to the pair of shorts he had stolen and was surprised when he extracted an ornately detailed envelope stamped with the royal seal from one of the pockets. James broke the seal and pulled out its contents. Inside were five tickets and a letter. Curious about what all this was for, James placed the tickets on his desk and flipped open the letter.

James,

I'm glad you have returned safe and sound from your ordeal. Inside this envelope are five tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in Canterlot this coming spring. There is one for you and each member of your team. Each of these tickets will allow entry for the recipient and one accompanying guest. In addition, I request that you get fitted for the dress uniform that is traditionally worn by members of the Royal Guard at formal events such as this. I hope to see you there.

--Princess Celestia

"Well, looks like a trip to Rarity's." James said aloud to himself.

Stashing the tickets in one of his desk drawers, James grabbed his parka and left the house for town. He spent about ten minutes trudging through the deep powdery snow when a silhouette appeared at the top of the next hill. As it grew and acquired detail, James could see that it was Sparks on his way back from a grocery run, his back laden with bags. The human broke into a lazy jog to intercept the engineer.

"Hey, Sparks!" James waved.

The rusty colored stallion halted as James ran up to him.

"What's up? You need something?"

"Yeah, just a question."

"Shoot."

"In the Corps., do you guys wear dress uniforms?" James inquired.

"Dress uniforms? Well uh, yeah, sometimes. What's the occasion?" Sparks asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll let you know later. I'm heading into town to get mine right now, later I'm gonna need you to show me how to wear it properly, sound good?"

"Yeah, sure. Just come find me when you get it."

"Alright, thanks bud."

The two parted ways and continued on their separate tasks. James got to Rarity's in due time. He talked to her and it turned out that she still had his measurements from when she had first constructed clothes for him. However, she told him that the dress uniforms for the Royal Guard were traditionally done by a shop up in Canterlot. She assured him that she could simply send them his measurements and she'd have the finished product delivered to his house.

Confident that the matter would be taken care of, James took his leave and started off for the town square. He thought he might surprise Dash and they could get a bite to eat. It had been a few hours since she'd left so he figured she would be finished by now. James entered the square and began looking around for her. It looked like an easy enough task to him given the fact that the area was strangely devoid of the usual market traffic. In fact, it was down right barren.

Then he remembered why she had had to come down here in the first place, "Wait...."

Suddenly, he was tackled to the ground as a large round white object smashed into the spot he had just been standing. James opened his eyes to see a bright pink mare standing over him.

"Wowee, that was close! You know, you really shouldn't be walking under hail clouds like that, you might get - *GASP*" her tail began to go berserk, "TWITCHY TWITCH!"

Pinkie gripped the collar of James' parka in her teeth and began violently dragging him across several yards before stopping under the awning of a near by house. Almost as soon as they were under the shelter, fist sized chunks of hail began to fail from the sky in a lethal shower.

"Thanks Pinkie, you damn well saved my life there." James said gratefully as he stood up and began to brush the snow from his clothing.

"It was no biggie!" She beamed.

"How'd you know that was going to happen, Dash fill you in?"

"Nope, it was just my Pinkie Sense!"

"Right... anyway, have you seen her around?"

"Probably up in the sky." She said as she bounced off to Sugarcube Corner.

"Uh, ok..."

She left the human under the awning and scratching his head as she bounced around, still somehow dodging several falling chunks of ice. Chalking it up to Pinkie being Pinkie, James just sat down against the wall of the house and waited for the hail to stop. It was almost ten more minutes before it finally did. As the rain of damaging objects came to a halt, James peeked out from under the awning and took a tentative step out into the open. When nothing else came screaming down from overhead, he strolled out into the open and decided to make his way towards the market. He barely walked twenty feet when something came screaming down from overhead.

"LOOK OUT!"

James was slammed hard in the back and was sent tumbling through the snow with the object that had struck him. When his body finally came to rest, several bruises he had forgotten about painfully re announced their presence. What's more, his limbs were now entangled with those of what ever or who ever had struck him. He once again opened his eyes, only this time all he got was a face full of blue feathers.

"Uh Dash, what's going on?" He asked the pegasus on top of him.

The wing in his face folded down and the weather mare turned her head to look over her shoulder at him.

"Oh, sorry about that. This clouds been kind of a hassle. Just gimme a sec, I'm almost done."

She pulled her legs from his limbs and pushed off his chest with a loud whoosh. James watched as she shot into the low hanging clouds and vanished. After a few moments of waiting, she finally returned. She appeared a little haggard, her already messy mane sticking out at odder angles, but from her confidence, he could tell she had been successful at her task.

"Rough day?" He asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, but nothing somepony like me couldn't handle." She boasted.

"I'll bet. So, you wanna go get some chow? It's on me."

"Free food? How could I pass it up?"

They both then happily set off together in search of sustenance. Not having anything else to do that day and to get out of the cold, they ended up ducking into a bar, the Hoof and Mouth. Dash grabbed a couple of seats at a table while James went to the bar to order some food. He didn't really like eating at bars, but this was more a snack than a meal, he could use a beer or two anyway. So he ordered what amounted to Equestria's version of bar food, beer battered fruits and vegetables, and brought a couple of brews back to the table with him while they waited for their food. He sat down, passed a bottle over to Dash and took a few sips from his.

"So when do we start?"

"Huh?" James looked up from his drink.

"The training, when do we start?" Rainbow ask anxiously.

"Oh. Well, we can start the PT routines now, but how about we wait until after Hearths Warming Eve to hit it hard?"

"Oh, all right." She replied grumpily. "What's PT?"

"Physical Training. It'l just be a lot of running around and conditioning, you know, push ups and sit ups. When it warms up, we'll start swimming. Doesn't have a lot of practicality in self defense, but it's a great way to tone up." James explained to her.

"Running and push ups? Ha, easy. Why swimming though?"

"Meh, it's fun and a great way to stay in shape."

"Uh, can't we just do sky diving instead?"

"For fun, sure. But you're not gonna get a good workout in by just falling through the sky. Well, except for your wings, maybe, but we're not trying to work on your wings, those are strong already."

"Uh... ok... then." She seemed a little nervous.

James picked up on this, "What, you don't like swimming or something?"

"I-It's not that, it's just..."

"Wait. Can you swim?"

"Sure I can! Just... maybe not all that well...."

"That's it?"

"What do ya mean 'that's it'?" She angrily blurted out.

"Nothing, just that if you need help, I can teach you." James offered.

"Maybe just a little help..." Dash grumbled. James just smiled and chuckled inwardly.

The bartender brought out their food which they quickly ate. Dash was hungry from getting the rogue hail cloud out of town, James from dodging the rogue hail, or rather getting dragged across the cold bumpy ground by Pinkie who was dodging the rogue hail. After finishing their meals, James walked Dash back to her house, promising her that the next day they would begin PTing together. After dropping her off, James walked back to his own residence thinking that, all in all, compared to what his days were usually like, today was a good day.

New Threads

Chapter 41: New Threads

In the shadows at the back of the theater, James smiled and began to clap as the rest of the audience seated in front of him erupted into cheers and stomped their hooves in praise. The finale of the Hearths Warming Eve Pageant had just wrapped up. The human had loved it, the play had really given him some insight to Equestria's past. He honestly never would have known that all the pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies had once been as separated as some of the races back in his world during darker times, some still were. Not too long ago, during some training down in Florida, Jackson had been denied entry to a bar just because of his skin color. James had nearly trashed the life out of a bouncer that had uttered a particularly despised word towards his friend.

Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle departed the stage with the rest of their class as the audience continued to laud them for their excellent production. The curtains began to draw to a close and the audience started to file out from their seats. Taking this as his cue, James slipped out a side door and began the long walk back to his house. The night was especially chilly, his breath nearly freezing in mid air and falling to the ground in a dense mist.

He had the house to himself for the next few days, having sent all his teammates home for the holiday. It would be the first time in a long time he would be living in a quiet house. As he crunched through the snow, a light shower of the fragile ice crystals commenced their gentle fall through the air to the ground. As he walked, his ears picked up the sound of multiple hoof steps coming up behind him. For a split second, his training almost took over, urging him to assess and stop a potential threat, but fortunately he was able to suppress the feeling. Glancing over his shoulder, James spotted three mares closing the gap between them.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" James stopped to let Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy to catch up to him.

"We were just wondering, um, where you were going, that is.... if that's, um... ok with you." The yellow pegasus said shyly.

"Uh, yeah, I was just going home."

"Alone?" Asked Applejack.

"Yeah. Why?" James asked, turning around to face them.

"Oh dear, aren't you lonely?" Fluttershy asked him in a concerned tone.

"Nah, not really. I'm kinda used to it. Back home, we had a holiday around the same time as this one, kind of similar too, but for me it was just another day. Well, sometimes my friend, Jackson, would invite me to his place, but I always felt like I was intruding on his family."

"But nopony should spend tonight alone! Oh, sorry." The pink maned mare exclaimed.

James turned back around and resumed his walk, "Eh, it's fine. Like I said, it's just another day."

Behind him, the three mares looked at each other.

"He's lyin', I can tell." Applejack whispered.

"You think so? But why would he?" Fluttershy asked her friend.

"I dunno. RD, he's kinda sweet on ya, go talk ta him!" AJ gave Dash a slap on the rump to get her moving.

"Ok, ok! You don't have to tell me twice!" Dash snapped back.

Dash trotted forward, quickly catching up with the human.

"Is everything ok?"

James looked to his right, "Hmm?"

"AJ said you weren't being entirely truthful, what's wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong." He answered her in a calm neutral tone.

"James, she tends not to be wrong about these kinds of things. Now quit it and tell me what's up." Her tone was flat and un amused.

"Fine. I'm just not a really big fan of the holidays."

"That's not all, c'mon, you can tell me, can't you?"

James thought about it for a moment. He was never very trusting, even among his friends, but he was beginning to feel like Dash wasn't just a friend. He'd let go, just this once. A tiny bit.

"Ahhhh, it's just that..." he started to rub the back of his head with his hand, "where I'm from, the holidays were all about getting together with friends and spending time with family and... I just didn't really have all that. My parents were never really around and I was kind of a loner. That changed with Jackson and my buddies in the service."

"You miss them, don't you?"

"Yeah... for the first time, I had friends that actually seemed to care. Jackson would sometimes invite me to come with him and visit his family during the holidays. Hell, they practically adopted me, made me part of their family. It didn't really feel right to me though, always felt like I was bothering them."

"Why weren't you with your own family?"

"Ugh, don't take this the wrong way, but that's something I don't really want to get into. It... it was bad..."

As they started wrapping up their conversation, James' house was in view and just a stone's throw away. Eager to get out of the cold and the rapidly increasing snow fall, James quickened his pace.

"Thanks for walking back with me. The day after tomorrow come meet me at our training grounds on the outskirts of town, we'll get started on teaching you the basics. Well, good night."

James stepped up on the porch and unlocked the door. He began to cross the threshold, but stopped when he heard the sound of hooves on the wooden deck behind him. Turning around, he saw Dash approaching the door.

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight? The snow is really picking up." She asked him.

James looked past her and saw that she was indeed correct. It was really starting to come down, the wind was picking up and the snow was rapidly accumulating on the ground.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in. House is empty, so make yourself comfortable where ever."

"Thanks."

James let her enter and closed the door to keep out the cold. Feeling very tired, he simply left the mare to her devices and retired to his room for the night. Stepping into his room, James didn't even bother closing his door all the way, opting to just strip down to his skivvies and hop in his bed after turning off the light. Tired as he felt, he did not quickly fall asleep. Instead, he just lay there, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the conversation he'd just had. When it came to his past, James was notoriously tight lipped. Jackson nearly had to shove slivers of bamboo under his finger nails just to get him to open up even a little and that was a man who he had lived and fought with for years . So why had he so easily done so with Dash, who he had only known for less than a year?

James closed his eyes and attempted to relax and drift off into the realm of dreams, dreading what they might show him while he had a guest in the house. He was on the cusp of falling asleep when his hearing, heightened by the darkness, picked up the faint flap of wings outside his room. His door creaked open slowly. The muffled steps on the carpet made their way to where he was laying. The edge of the blanket on his right lifted up and a warm body slid in next to him. James just lay there, pretending to be sleeping. He was surprised when a warm leg went over his chest and a head nuzzled into his shoulder.

From her breathing, James could tell she fell fast asleep fairly quickly. It had been a long time since anyone embraced him like that. He'd almost forgotten how it felt. Going with the moment, he put his arm around her. Finally feeling a strange peacefulness settle into his mind and his chest, he began to drift into that restful unconscious state called sleep.

=====================================================================

"Alright, now do it again, only this time faster."

James grabbed a hold of the large sand bag and held it in place as Dash landed a flurry of blows upon it, each strike jostling him again and again. He stepped out from behind the training tool when the mare finished her combination of attacks. On the other side, she stood there panting heavily from her effort, her breath billowing out in large white clouds in the cold morning air.

"This is a lot more tiring than the workouts. Those were way easier." She said between breaths.

James smiled, "That's because instead of using only one group of muscles at a time, you're using all of them at once in conjunction with each other. That's why you strike hard and fast, the quicker you end the fight, the better."

"Got it."

"You need a rest?"

"No, I wanna keep going." The pegasus said determinedly, taking up the ready stance again.

"Outstanding, let's get to it." James said happily while retaking his place on the other side of the heavy bag.

He had her repeat the set of strikes five more times before taking a break. The rainbow maned mare went to take a seat while James fetched her some water. As he returned, he saw a white purple maned mare sitting with her, a package wrapped in brown paper and tied off with twine and a long thin box resting next to her on the bench.

"Hey Rarity, what's up?"

The fashonista turned her head at his voice, "James! Just who I was looking for! I've come by to deliver your uniform. I must say, you should look quite dashing in this outfit, all the mares will swoon at the sight of you!"

A barely noticeable expression of jealousy and annoyance flashed across Dash's face at the comment.

"What, a grizzled old man like me, all cut up and scarred? Ha, I was lucky to catch the eye of that one right there." James gestured to Dash.

"Oh stop it, you're far too modest. Any bachelorette would be so lucky to land one like you, so considerate. And you cook!"

"Ah ha ha ok, whatever you say Rarity."

"By the way, have you decided who you're taking with you to the Gala?"

"The Gala? How'd you know?"

"Please darling, we got our tickets far in advance and I see no other reason for one such as yourself to be wearing something so decorative."

"Oh. Ok. Well I figured I'd just go with Dash there."

"Uh... I was already gonna take you with my ticket." The weather mare told him.

"Ah. Alright then, I guess I'll just give away mine then."

"Really!? Would you consider giving it to me? I think I know just what to do with it." Rarity batted her eye lashes at him.

"Sure. I'll drop it off at your shop tomorrow."

"Splendid!"

James bent down and picked up the parcels, "Now if you two lovely ladies will excuse me, I have to go try this on. Dash, go ahead and take off, we'll pick this back up again the next day."

"Sure thing, see ya later." Dash replied to him.

James took off at a jog with both packages tucked under his arm. He made good time in getting back to his house. Bursting into the living room, James scanned the space until he spotted Sparks sitting in the corner reading a book.

"Hey buddy, guess what!"

The unicorn looked up from his literature, "Hmm?" He spotted the items his friend was carrying, "What're those? Hey, is that your uniform, it came in?" He put the book down and stood up.

"Yup.wanna help me out?"

"Yeah! Hold on...."

The engineer rushed upstairs to his room and returned, levitating a large mirror down in front of him. Sparks set it up against the wall and took the packages away from James, opening the square one first. Inside were neatly folded garments.

"Woah, looks like they even gave you pants!" Sparks remarked.

"What, why so surprised?"

"Well the top is the same, but we don't wear pants with the uniform."

"Yeah, that would be a bit awkward to me..."

Sparks pulled out a red wool top with a high golden yellow collar and a ton of shiny buttons going straight down the front. At the ends of the arms were cuffs the same color as the collar. Included were bits of shaped metal and a large breast plate featuring the emblem of the RSTG on it's face with two white straps running through the back of it and crossed, a darker red belt joined by a golden buckle and a nice pair of black wool slacks with a crimson red stripe running down the outsides of both legs.

The unicorn assisted James in putting on the uncomfortable uniform and arranging all the pins and buttons, finishing with the breast plate. As James looked himself over he had to admit, he looked pretty sharp. Walking over to the table, he picked up the rectangular box and began to open it.

"What's this thing?"

Sparks walked over, "That should be your ceremonial sword."

"Ceremonial sword?"

"Yeah, you're an officer. At formal events like the Gala you'll be expected to go under arms."

James removed an ornate thin straight blade with an intricately wrought cross guard. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the sword wasn't actually sharp, but in fact too dull to even cut a tissue. With it came a stylized sheath and holster to be attached to the belt.

"Unless I need to bludgeon someone to death, this thing is completely useless." James complained.

"Well of course it is, it's just a decoration."

"No, hell no, homie don't play that."

"Who's homie?"

"Not important. What is important is that I'm already wearing a stiff uniform that limits my movement, I'm not tacking on another pointless accessory." James said while ascending the stairs to his room.

"What're you doing?"

"Getting my sword!"

"Your sword? You mean that piece of crap you brought back with you?"

James came back down with the cutlass he had earned during his time on the sea. Now, instead of the rusty old piece of metal it used to be, it was a shiny well oiled instrument, highly sharpened and free of corrosion.

"Doesn't look so bad now, huh?"

"Wow, you really cleaned that up good!"

"Yup. Been spending time on it every day since I got back. Something to keep my hands occupied."

"So, you're gonna wear that instead?"

"That's right."

"Heh, I don't think the palace guards will like that."

"Meh, screw 'em. Can you do a couple of favors for me though?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I want you to make a sheath for the cutlass and turn my boots black."

Sparks looked at him with a smug grin on his face, "That's all?"

"Yeah."

"C'mon James, I thought you were going to give me something challenging. The sheath will take a few days, but the boots I can take care of now. Let's go."

New Tool And Bad News

Chapter 42: New Tool And Bad News

In the cold, still air of the forest the din of battle could be heard ringing through the trees. It was faint at first, but as you neared the edge of the trees, the clanging of swords grew in volume. In a small camp situated on the outskirts of a quaint little town, two skilled warriors fought against each other in a large circular space cleared of snow and ice. One, a rusty red stallion, was using his magical energy to swing a short sword at the head of his opponent, a nearly six foot biped armed with a well cared for cutlass.

The unicorn swung at the human's head again, but suddenly changed the direction of his strike in mid blow. The human barely caught on the flat of his blade before the short sword slammed into his left kidney.

"Oh, nice! You're getting better at this James!"

"Yeah, looks like I'll be leaving with less welts today."

"Not if I can help it!"

Sparks resumed his attack, trying desperately to land a blow on his sparring partner. The two exchanged a flurry of blows, driving each other back and forth across the patch of hard packed earth frozen the winter cold. Then, without warning, a white snowball encased in an electric blue aura came whipping through the air, slamming into James' face and temporarily blinding him. James jumped back and swung wildly, trying to deflect the blow he was positive was driving straight towards his body. He succeeded in warding off two blows, but as he finally began to regain his sight, he felt a sharp sting across his ribcage.

"Ah, cheater!" James exclaimed, rubbing the now sore spot on his chest.

"Weren't you the one who taught me there's no such thing as a fair fight?"

"Ah yes, I taught you well."

"That you did. At least you're getting better. You just seem a little uncomfortable with that sword.'

"Yeah. It's got great balance and it feels like an extension of my arm, but... eh, it's just not the same. Honestly, I miss my knife." James confessed in a slightly depressed tone.

"Oh, do you?"

Sparks trotted over to his bag, which was sitting on a bench near by, and retrieved a sixteen by four inch rectangular box. He trotted back over and and offered it up to his human friend.

"Happy birthday brother!"

James looked at his friend with an expression of bewilderment, "How the hell did you know? I didn't tell anyone!"

"Well, when you went missing after that botched op a few months ago I found your iPod under a bench in the Clipper. I hope you're not mad, but I looked through some pictures that were on it and saw some labeled with today's date that looked like birthday parties. By the way, there was some weird stuff in there. Why did you have a cake shaped like.... well, they were like what mares got, only they were big, round and hairless."

"Oh, you mean tits!"

"Uh.... I guess, yeah. So that's what's on those human females in the other photos?"

"That's right."

"Huh. Kinda weird how they're not, like, down there like a mare's."

"Uh... sure."

"Well, aren't you going to open your present!?"

James looked at the box in his hands, "Yeah, yeah. Just do me a favor and keep the fact that it's my birthday on the down low."

"What!? Why?"

"I've just never liked being the center of attention. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Ok, you got it. I'll pass it on to the others."

"Oh, c'mon, you told them too?"

"James, shut up and open your present."

"Alright, alright."

James removed the top of the box and peered inside. Slowly, his eyes went wide and bright and a large shit eating grin appeared on his face. Out from the box he pulled a large knife in a long black sheath. The handle was four inches long and covered in textured black rubber. Gripping the sheathe in one hand and the handle in the other, James slowly extracted a long thin twelve inch long, two and a half inch wide black blade. The sharp edge started at the hilt and ran strait and true to the tip where it slightly curved up into the lethal point.

"Holy shit, this is awesome! Did you make this yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Sparks stated cockily, why don't you give it a try? I already put the temporary dulling spell on it."

James' shit eating grin transformed into a wicked smile, "Don't mind if I do!"

The human tossed aside all his equipment except for the knife and jumped back into a ready stance, handle in his fist, blade pointing out away from the right side of his right hand, left hand raised up in front of his chest. Across from him, his quadruped opponent lifted his own weapon with his magic. They both circled each other, trying to read their body language and anticipate an attack. Then Sparks lunged forward, striking at the human's left thigh. James side stepped it and stabbed at the unicorn, but had to quickly retreat when the sword came swinging down at his left shoulder. James caught the sword on his new knife at the sword's hilt. Moving quickly, James grabbed the sword's handle with his left hand and yanked it out of the magical aura, spinning around to bring his knife to Spark's neck.

However, the stallion ducked the slash and stepped past the human's guard, kicking low at his legs. James jumped above the kick and attempted to bring the short sword down on the unicorn's head. Sparks leaped aside and kicked the sword out of James' hand as it struck the cold ground. Sparks immediately caught the blade with his magic as it tumbled across the ground and started swinging it at his opponent. James dodged each swipe with amazing dexterity before finally savagely swatting aside the weapon with such force that it sent a tingle up his arm. Sparks responded by pulling back the sword and launching it in a brutal stab at the human's chest. James got a running start and propelled himself into the air, splitting his legs and allowing the blade to pass uncomfortably close to his crotch. With a vicious war cry, James landed next to the stallion and swatted him on the flank, hard.

"HYAAAA, HA HA HA!"

"OW! Dammit, that smarts!"

"Yes! Got your ass! Literally! Damn I feel great! This thing is perfect brother, thank you!"

"Glad you like it buddy...." Sparks said while wincing and rubbing the spot James had struck him, "ugh, I won't be able to sit for a week."

"Ha ha, sorry about that. C'mon brother, let's go find the others, drinks on me."

=====================================================================

/Looking for some action,

Nothing short of bad.

I need a quick reaction

'Cause it's late in the evening./

James looked over to the pegasus standing next to him, excited yet breathing calmly in his full face mask as the song began to play through their headphones. She smiled at him, her mouth was covered by her own mask, but he could see it in her eyes. Together, they stepped up onto the guard rail and balanced themselves, staring over the edge ant the distant ground far below.

/Radar radar radar, rider!

Radar radar radar, rider!/

As the chorus kicked on, they both kicked off rail. James swung himself into a lateral spin while Dash barrel rolled down past the side of the Clipper. As they sped past the side door, a coal black pegasus with a giggling pink mare strapped to his front and a chute on his back tumbled out after them.

/On the streets it's like a crap game,

You take the roll of the dice.

Put your money on a hard way,

Hoping something looks nice./

To the beat of the drums and the wailing guitars, James and Dash began performing aerobatics together, thoroughly enjoying their time with each other high above ground. They laughed as they tried to one up each other with complicated tricks. James just finished one he particularly proud of, he spun on a diagonal axis while twirling his whole body, when a warm mass slammed into him and he felt his torso being embraced, it was Dash. He returned the embrace and looked into her eyes as they whirled through the freezing air at terminal velocity.

The remained like this for a few seconds before separating. James flared his limbs and Dash her wings, allowing Flash and Pinkie to catch up. The bubbly party mare was having the time of her life while James could see that Flash was a little more than uncomfortable, James noticed that his friend was constantly shuffling his wings under the straps in a subconscious attempt to free them and fly. They were still some ways from the ground, but James went ahead and sent Flash the signal deploy the chute for his sake, doing the same with his own shortly after.

James pulled away and flared his chute to get up and above the tandem jumpers and laughed when he saw the pegasus struggling with the pink earth pony who was flailing in ecstasy at her first skydiving experience. Dash pulled up alongside him, mask dangling freely from her neck. James now noticed that they were at a much lower altitude, the cold of the air not as biting as it was higher up, so he removed his own and clipped it to his harness.

"How you feelin' there, champ?" She inquire of him.

James looked her in the face and smiled, "You know, just... happy. I just feel good. I haven't had one of my episodes in a long time. Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just being you. Being here. Being here and being you."

Dash laughed a little at his comment, "What, are you drunk?"

"No, but I think I saw Flash take a shot before strapping up to Pinkie!"

"Ba ha ha! Yeah, she did nearly squirm out of her harness in joy!" Dash chortled.

Together they all floated lazily down to the cold white earth. Every once in a while, James and Flash would execute some tight turns to the amusement of their two companions. As they neared touch down, James could see a small purple form waiting on the steps of the HQ building. Gently, they all alighted on the ground and began to shed the harnesses and reel in the parachutes. James talked to Flash as Pinkie bounced over to Twilight with Dash.

"You looked a little shook up there buddy, what gives?"

Flash snorted in annoyance, "I just don't like not being able to control my own flight. The harness kept chafing my wings the whole way down."

"Ha, I kinda know how you feel. My first jump was a little messy. For some reason I just couldn't stop spinning, they almost failed me because of it."

"Hey James...."

The human turned around to see all three mares walking up to the two of them, Twilight being the one calling for his attention, a concerned look upon her face.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked her.

"I need to talk to you about something important."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Privately."

This was strange and disconcerting to James. Twilight had never asked to speak with him in private before, thoughts of possible scenarios began to race through his mind.

"Ok... we can use the ready room."

"Lead the way."

James quickly rolled up his parachute and walked up to the entrance to the building housing the ready room, holding the door open for the lavender colored unicorn. He closed the door behind himself and made his way over to the mare who had taken a seat at one of the desks that were still in there.

"So what seems to be the problem, was there an attack or something?"

"No, I've just been doing some research in my spare time and found some... strange things in relation to you and everything that's been happening."

"Uh huh... what about?"

"Certain things about your arrival here and those things that showed up and started attacking everypony."

James felt like a dense cold stone dropped into the bottom of his stomach as his mind pondered what she had just said.

"So you know how I got here and where the Lotkin came from?"

"Not exactly. Those things you call the Lotkin were actually natives here, back before Tartarus was sealed off and set under the guard of Cerberus."

James' mind did a flip in his head as he processed this new information, "Wait, what? Ok, in all the historical carvings I've seen and everything you guys have told me, I have never heard of this before."

"I know, this info was extremely hard to find, I spent many nights in the Starswirl The Bearded section of the Canterlot Royal Archives to piece it all together. They were here thousands of years ago, long before Equestria ever even existed, before even Discords reign over the land. From what I could find, they settled this area, hunting and battling amongst each other, but were driven from their lands by an over population of dragons, burning and slaughtering all in their path. They were forced into the dark lands of Tartarus. I'm sure they planned to return when it was safe again, but by then Tartarus had been sealed off and established as a holding area for vicious and evil creatures."

James paced back and forth, considering everything she had just told him, "Ok, that's pretty heavy. What does this have to do with me appearing here?"

"Well, not so much you as the other human you mentioned. Whatever caused you and him to be transported to our world also tore holes in the fabrics of space, time and magic. Whatever magic was in place in the area you appeared would be severely weakened by these tears. In addition to this, due to the way our world is so intertwined with magical forces, the environment around the location of these tears would begin to deteriorate catastrophically."

"So, what, you think Kraster may have popped up in or near Tartarus or something?"

"My thoughts exactly. It's my hypotheses that he arrived somewhere near the border of Tartarus, weakening the barrier in place around it and allowing those creatures to slip through. We must plug this hole, so to speak, before anything else gets out." The purple unicorn told him in a serious tone.

"Ok, so how do we go about doing that?" James quandered.

"Well, as to that, there's a catch."

Alarm bells started going of in the human's mind, "What kind of catch?"

"There are only two ways I can think of to repair the tears. One is to send you both back through at the locations where you entered this world."

"Which I've been told time and time again is completely impossible, what's the second?"

Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before letting it all out, "You die."

Unexpected Guest

Chapter 43: Unexpected Guest

Myst dropped off the group of ponies and one human in a clearing where they tramped through the forest to the location where they had first discovered James. As they drew near the clearing a large translucent magenta bubble covering the area. The group marched up to where the bubble met the frozen icy ground. Together they all peeked inside and surveyed the clearing.

The damage was horrific. Everywhere, the scenery seemed to be melting slowly. Rocks, snow, dirt and trees alike were melding into each other like a great melting pot. The entrance of the cave he had used as a shelter was sagging and drooping towards the ground.

"What in tarnation is goin' on here!?" Applejack exclaimed

"Holy shit, is this what you were talking about Twilight?" James asked her.

"Oh my, all the poor plants and animals," Fluttershy softly said sadly, "Twilight, is there anyway we can help?"

"I'm afraid not Fluttershy. This barrier I put up is the only thing keeping it contained and even then, I have to return every once in a while to renew the spell."

"Twilight, I am so sorry about burdening you with this." James apologized.

"It's ok, there was no way we could know this would happen."

"Just one question though. Why is this happening here, but no where else? I mean, I found plenty of other items in the forest before, but nothing like this was happening near them."

"I don't know, I just don't know James."

"Is there any way we could stop or reverse it? Besides the other option we discussed."

"I'm sure there must be some kind of spell, but if there is it'll be extremely difficult and there's no guarantee it would last."

"Well, we have to try."

"Yer darn tootin' we do. Twi', do ya think ya could find somethin' ta help? There's no tellin' what could happen if this spreads."

"You're right AJ. Everypony, I think I need to make another trip to Canterlot."

Rarity started positively beaming, "Ooh! I'll go with you! I just must get my hooves on some more choice fabrics, among other things."

"Rar', ya ain't gettin' no fancy idears like last time, are ya?"

Rarity was taken aback at the farm mare's question, "Applejack... well... I never! The very thought!"

"Jus' checkin', heh heh heh."

Before they left, Twilight renewed the barrier spell to make sure it would be secure until the next time she could visit. Then together, they walked back to the Clipper. As they all piled in, Myst spun up the engine and took to the sky. As they flew back to Ponyville, James sat down with them to have a little chat.

"Girls, I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I need you all to do me a favor."

"Aw shucks, jus' name it."

"I want you guys to keep this from RD, I don't want her to worry."

The four mares just looked at him in an appalled silence.

"Hun, I understand yer reasons, but that ain't a good idea sugar."

"Why, that's absolutely ghastly."

"James, um, please listen, uh, I mean, if that's ok with you, lying to Rainbow Dash wouldn't be very nice. I think you should just tell her."

Twilight stepped in, "Fluttershy's right James. You should just come clean with her. She'll be more upset if you lie to her and she finds out on her own."

James looked down at the deck dejectedly, "Ughhh... alright. But I do it myself and on my terms, none of you are allowed to jump the gun and warn her, ok?" He asked kindly.

"You have our word." Rarity promised.

"Pinkie Promise."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye..." They said in unison while going through the motions.

"Myst?" James called to the cockpit.

"Don't worry about me boss, I'll consider it an order." She replied.

"That's why I love ya sister. So we are all in agreement?"

They all nodded.

"Outstanding. Myst, why don't you go ahead and drop me and AJ off in Ponyville before taking Twilight and Rarity to Canterlot. I'll throw in a bonus for you, drinks on me when you get back."

=====================================================================

"...and so that's where we stand on the issue. This guy Kraster is now an HVT, if he wasn't already. However, he is still highly dangerous. If he is located by any of you, you are to call it in and sit tight until reinforcements arrive. No matter how few hostiles are with him, you must always assume there are more out of sight near by. Now, are there any questions?"

James was standing on a high stage in a large auditorium in the castle of Canterlot, concluding his briefing to the whole of the RSTG, save one team whose where abouts he was currently unaware of. He had gone against Celestia's wishes in informing them all of the dire situation. In his opinion, he felt that these would be the soldiers bringing the fight to the enemy, so they deserved to know everything about them. Not a single stallion raise their hoof at James' askance for questions, so he decided to wrap it up.

"Outstanding, now return to your divisions and remain alert. We will have nine different patrols on task at all times with three in reserve. You will all rotate out of your patrol patterns once a month, that's three on, one off. Your team leaders have the maps, dismissed."

All the ponies stood up and began to shuffle out of the lecture hall, murmuring to each other about what they had just heard. James exited through a side door by the stage and began walking back to his castle quarters that Princess Celestia had assigned him to begin packing for his return trip to Ponyville. He was eager to get back as Spring was only just around the corner and the girls had been explicit in insisting he be home for something they called 'Winter Wrap-up'.

From what he could discover, it was the time of year that all the townsfolk of Ponyville chipped in and helped clean up all the snow and such in order to allow the season to change into Spring. James was still amazed at how involved the ponies were in the cycle of the weather and the seasons.

As he closed the distance to his room, James felt as if he was being watched. While keeping his pace, the human looked over his shoulder to check the passageway behind him. Nothing. Shrugging it off, James continued on, reaching the door to his room in short order. As he reached for the handle, he suddenly noticed that something was off. Slightly, just ever so slightly, the door was cracked ajar.

Drawing his knife, James put his back against the adjacent wall and quietly listened for any sign of an intruder. After a minute, he thought he might just be too paranoid and was about to sheathe his weapon when he heard the sound of a hoof on the wooden floor inside. Hands and weapon up at the ready, James backed away from the door, took two steps and kicked the door wide open on the third.

"SURPRISE!" A bubble gum pink earth pony was jumping up and down on his bed.

Instead of a room full of enemies, James barged into a room full of friends. Thinking quickly, he tossed the knife in the trash can by the door and threw on a smile.

"Oh, hey everyone, I wasn't expecting you all to be here, what's up?"

Pinkie began to throw a rapid fire explanation at him, "We came to see how Twilight was doing with all her researching, sometimes she gets carried away and forgets to eat or go outside and we thought she might be lonely 'cause Rarity said she'd been in the library for the past two weeks and maybe she would like some company to ride home with 'cause she's needed for the Winter Wrap-up 'cause she's the only mmmph mmh mmmhhmm fiphim mmmfmph hmm--"

Pinkie's seemingly unending speech was brought to a halt when Applejack stuck her hoof in her mouth.

"Excuse her, she's jus' a might exited about bein' here. We're here ta get Twi' and thought we'd drop in on ya 'fore we grab 'er ta see how you was doin'."

"I hope you're not angry that we're in your room, we were just bringing some lemonade for you, that is, if you're thirsty, but if you're not, that's ok...." Fluttershy added.

"No no no, I'm glad you guys are here, it's been a long day and it still ain't over yet. Where's RD at?" James asked the three mares.

"She's busy organizin' all the pegasi fer the Wrap-up. She wanted ta be here, but itsa demandin' job." AJ informed him.

"Ah, well. I'll see her tomorrow. You all took the train here, right? Why don't you guys save some money and ride back with me in the morning, Myst'll be flying us back."

"That's mighty kind of ya, we jus' may as well do that."

"You three need a place to stay?"

"No, we'll just stay with Twilight and Rarity. *GASP* It'll be like a sleep over!" Pinkie began to bounce around.

James grabbed a bottle of lemonade off a near by table and opened it up to take a sip, *gulp* "Mmm... damn, that's good. Alright then. Thanks for the lemonade, it's delicious. Right now, I think Twi' is in the library, still, and I have a meeting I have to attend soon."

"All right then James, Ah reckon we'll go see ta Twilight, see ya later."

The farm pony led her two friends out of James' room and on to the library, leaving the human by himself. With a tired sigh, James flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes for a second. He had been in the capitol for four days now, inspecting all the teams that had been formed in the past year. He was glad to see that every single one of them were well trained and ready for tasking. He had even learned that some of them had been instrumental in dismantling a few criminal organizations in a couple of Equestria's major cities.

All in all, it had been a productive, but draining, visit and now all he had left to do was meet with his bosses, the Royalty. Fortunately, he still had almost an hour before the meeting. So, after first retrieving his knife from the trash can, he kicked his boots off and set iPod alarm for thirty minutes, James inserted his earphones, put on some Gorillaz and sank into the bed for a nap.

=====================================================================

*GASP*

He sat up in the bed, breathing heavily with a cold sweat. He had just had a dream. One of those dreams, the first one in over a month. This one was particularly bad. The damn kid had lined up his old squad mates in front of him and mowed them all down with that fucking automatic rifle. James had just stood there, helpless, somehow unable to move or even scream in rage and sorrow. The worst part, he couldn't look away from their faces, filled with accusations and betrayal, as their flesh was stripped from their bones in the onslaught of copper and lead.

James shook his head, trying to rid himself of the images, but they wouldn't leave his mind. Picking up his iPod, James saw that his alarm was due to go off in only a few minutes, which meant that his meeting was in ten. He jumped up out of bed and moved to the bathroom, checking himself in the mirror. He looked like absolute hell, the nap maybe not being such a good idea. However, he still had somewhere to be, so he splashed some water from the sink on his face and dried of with a towel before pulling on his boots and rushing out the door.

James trod quickly through the high vaulted passageways towards their usual meeting place. When he reached the large double doors, he saw two guards on duty, standing on either side. James increased his pace. When he reached the entrance one of them stepped in his path to block the way.

"Commander, please excuse me, but I've been instructed to inform you that the meeting place has changed."

"Where to?"

"Princess Celestia said that she is 'making a withdrawal'. Her majesty said you would understand what that meant."

"Alright, thank you."

Turning on his heel, James stepped off in the direction of the spiraling stone staircase the descended into the depths of the castle. On the way down, he wondered why the meeting place had been changed at the last minute, for whatever reason. As he came around the final turn, he was a bit surprised at the large number of guards stationed in front of the huge thick iron bound doors.

"Who goes there?" One of them challenged.

"Commander Kaughn, Royal Special Tasks Group. I was told to meet the princesses here." James replied.

"Enter."

The towering doors swung open on eerily silent hinges for such a large portal. James passed through and was again astonished at the amount of guards also within the secret vault, all armed and standing at the ready. The human continued all the way to the back where he had first removed the weapons from Celestia's private vault. He cut around a corner and spotted her speaking in hushed and hurried tones with her sister.

"Tia! I still think you shouldn't have gone over his head like that!"

"Luna, everything went fine, besides, the ends justified the means. These are troubled times, we must take risks to protect the citizens of our lands!"

"But what if one of them had died!? I have only spoken with this human a few times, but he does not strike me as one to take something like this lightly."

"I'm sure he will understand. From what I have gleaned from his origins, humans in his line of work make grave sacrifices all the time, it's practically in their job description."

"Shh shh, Tia, he's here!"

James strolled across the gargantuan chamber to them.

"Your Highnesses, please excuse me if I'm interrupting anything."

Celestia stepped forward to greet him, "Not at all, Commander! Please join us, we have some very important issues to speak of."

Behind her, Luna wore an expression of worry on her face.

"What is it ma'am?" James asked her seriously.

"Please, come with us..."

Both princesses of the sky led him to the far north wall of the large space to a wide passageway he had not noticed before. Marching down the corridor, James saw that here and there were side passages. In each one, he thought he could see what appeared cell doors.

"Excuse me ma'am, but is this a prison or something?"

"It once was, hundreds of years ago. But no more." Celestia explained.

"In the early years of my absence, I was told Tia tended to be somewhat.... emotional." The moon princess teased.

"Luna!"

"Hm hm hm!"

"Not funny!"

Soon enough, they came to a lone cell at the very end of the passage. It was guarded steadfastly by two members of the RSTG. A unicorn and a pegasus, members of the missing team. James recognized them both as members of Captain Alister's team.

James was alarmed at the thought of what they could be guarding, "Ma'am, what the hell is going on here!?" The human ran up to the cell and looked inside, as horrified as he was puzzled by what he saw.

"James, wait!" Celestia called after him.

In the center of the cell, sitting in an iron chair and lashed to the ground with so many chains as to obscure his view of the creatures body, was a member of the violent species he had been fighting against for the sake of the beings that lived in this peaceful land. Lotkin.

Unlikely Ally

Chapter 44: Unlikely Ally

"How in the hell?"

James looked at the captive creature, its head bowed and unmoving. He whirled around and faced the two princesses before him.

"How did you manage to pull this off? Besides that, why wasn't I told?"

Then he looked left and right at the stallions guarding the door. Suddenly, he had a dreadful realization, his face becoming flush with anger.

"Where is Captain Alister!?"

"James, he's fine. Just resting--" Celestia began to speak, but was cut off.

"No, Alister doesn't just rest!" He took three angry steps towards her, "I know him, he's like me, he likes to oversee things personally, he'd be here, where is he!?"

When neither Celestia nor Luna responded to his rage driven questions he turned to the two Nightstalker members behind him.

"Where's your team leader?"

Celestia once again began to talk, "James, I've asked them not to speak to you about this. Please understand, I shall explain everything to you--"

"Sir, Captain Alister is currently in hospital with Starlight and Moonfire." The unicorn responded to James.

Expressions of bewilderment blossomed on the two princesses faces when the unicorn obeyed the human's order rather than their own. James turned back around to face them.

"No, you understand! They may be your subjects, but they're my soldiers. I trained them to fight, I taught them how to survive, they are part of my family! You don't get to gamble with their lives, that's my burden! Do you fucking understand!?"

Celestia suddenly became very angry herself at his insolence, "You forget your place, human! The reason we sent them was because you trained them! Maybe if you had done a better job, they wouldn't have been so injured."

"And you forget who the fuck you're talking to!" James spat back, "Training doesn't hold a candle to actual experience. The next time you want to do something as dangerous as capturing one of those things alive with my soldiers, unless you prefer wasting lives, you come fucking talk to me first!"

With that last explosive tirade, James stormed furiously past the two goddesses and down the passageway into the large chamber of the secret vault. He paced about angrily until he spotted something in one of the adjacent side rooms. He strode over to the old beat up training mannequin and began punching it. And punching, and punching, and punching, letting loose a guttural yell with each strike. Then in one fluid motion, he drew his knife and beheaded the mannequin before burying the blade up to its hilt in the training tool's chest.

After releasing all his pent up anger, James put his back against the wall it was standing against and slid to the floor, head down, arms resting on his knees, eyes blank. As he sat there a moment and contemplated just how out of line he had been, his ears picked up the steady sound of hooves on the cold stone floor approaching him. James stood up and straightened out his uniform, preparing himself for the inevitable ass chewing he was sure to receive. When the hoof steps stopped a few feet away fro him he looked up and was surprised when instead of a wrathful Celestia, a calm Luna stood in front of him.

"Commander, I know we don't know each other well, but please forgive my sister. She is only trying to do what's best for our country." The moon princess cringed a little when she noticed the mannequin.

"No ma'am, I was out of line. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that and for that, I apologize."

"That is quite all right, Commander. Commander, may I please call you James?"

"Your the boss, ma'am, you can call me anything you'd like."

"Right then, James, those three ponies in the hospital are fine, they just suffered a few broken bones and should be up and about in due time." Luna assured him.

"I know, I just really wish she'd come to me with that task, a lot of those injuries could have been avoided."

"Trust me when I say she wanted to, but the opportunity was there and she felt you still needed some rest."

"Ma'am, I've had plenty of rest, I've had whole months of rest, I'm ready for duty."

"Really? Your appearance when you first came to speak with us earlier told me otherwise." Luna said knowingly, "I know of your condition, you had another dream, didn't you?"

"And how would you know anything about that?" James said guardedly.

"James, I too have done terrible things in my past, things that still bother me to this day. In addition, I have been studying your home culture and aspects of your world through the items and information my dear sister has amassed over the years. Your path has not been a happy one."

James strode past her and into the main chamber, picking up and looking at random items within the vault, "Yeah, it wasn't the cheeriest of rides, but there were people who had it way worse. At least I had a job with caring friends. Where's Princess Celestia? I'd like to apologize to her personally." James asked Luna, noticing that the solar princess was no longer present.

"I'm sorry, but she is a bit.... indisposed at the moment."

"I guess I'm in for it, huh?"

"Actually, you've made her quite upset. Almost immediately after you left our presence, she transported herself straight to her room and won't come out."

James was a caught a little off guard by her candid demeanor towards him, "Well, now I feel worse." He said, putting down an old faded Frisbee.

"James, If I may, I'd like to clarify a few things with you."

"I'm all yours ma'am. Shoot."

"You told us that this man, Kraster, used to be what you called a 'green beret'. In my investigations, I found that both your organizations often worked with each other and for the same country."

"Your point, ma'am?"

"Why would somepony from such a revered group of individuals be doing something like this?"

James pondered her question for a moment before answering, "Honestly, I don't know. It could be a number of reasons. He probably finally snapped. It's actually quite common in our community. Not many of us make it to retirement with all of our faculties intact, and those that do still have problems. Even I have my issues as you well know."

"Yes, the dreams. But you aren't trying to destroy a whole country on a whim." Luna pointed out.

"Well, from what he told me about himself during my time as his prisoner, he was already a violent man to begin with. Men like that don't think too rationally. The ones that do are even more dangerous."

"So how will we defeat him?"

"Well, first off, we need some Intel. And thanks to Princess Celestia's actions, we may have a viable source if our guest was close to the man somehow. I figure we should start there."

"Yes, but these ancient creatures are hardly civil, how would you communicate with it?"

"You just leave that to me, ma'am."

=====================================================================

The creature looked up from its lap as the lock of the thick door before it clicked, clanked and disengaged. The heavy door swung open to reveal a being clad in boots, dark pants and a dark t-shirt bearing an uncanny resemblance to the one that had escaped from the island fortress some months ago. The being closed the door behind it and the lock re-engaged. Then, it walked up, pulling a spare chair from the corner, and sat down.

"So, I see they've been treating you well." James started off, "mind telling me where you've been at, Kraster's plans?" He asked with a smile.

"Seraktosh akhthub!" The creature snarled back at him.

"Yeah, didn't think so. Well, I ain't gonna torture you, that's his thing, not mine. However, I have a fairly good idea about how you tick. So let's make a wager, huh?"

He pulled out a key and began unlocking and removing the numerous shackles and chains restraining the creature as it looked on in baffled astonishment with its bloodshot yellow eyes.

"I beat you, you tell me everything. I know you've been taught English. You beat me... well, you'll be on your own from there. What do you say?" The human proposed as he stepped back away from the prisoner.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other. After a minute, James wondered if there was something wrong with the prisoner, maybe it had been struck on the head too hard during its capture. Then the beast exploded out of its chair, lunging for the human. James ducked under a swing of its muscular arm and punched it twice in the approximate area of its liver before jumping behind it and raising his guard.

The thing spun around and began swinging again, attempting to rake its claws across James' body as he ducked and blocked the savage attacks. James quickly got two jabs in to the creature's face, disorienting it for a fraction of a second, but that was all he needed. He threw a right cross into the Lotkin's jaw, knocking it to the side. He followed it up with a swift kick to its side. This time, though, the feral beast caught his leg. Then, with enormous strength, the Lotkin warrior picked the human up and threw him across the room into the door with a loud thud.

James was back on his feet in an instant and with good timing as the creature rushed him as soon as he had impacted the ground. Still a bit dizzy from the impact, James struggled to block all the incoming blows, catching a fist in his gut and a strike to the side of his head. The next thing he knew, a massive foot found its way past his guard and impacted him full on in the chest, sending him sprawling across the ground before coming to rest on his back.

Seizing the opportunity, the savage warrior charged and leaped at the downed human. However, James was prepared for this and kicked the creature in the chest with both legs, vaulting its body over his head and into the iron chair behind him where it bounced off and slammed into the ground. In a flash, James was up and on the dazed warrior, putting it in a vicious choke hold, slowly crushing its throat with his arm.

"With honor, I pass into the void at the hands of Ahrhati Khot!"

James shocked at the sudden outburst of comprehensible speech, "Holy shit, you really do know English... Well guess what, today's not the day you die."

He removed his arm from the creature's neck and dragged its massive frame to the chair, propping it up in the seat and waited for it to catch its breath. When it had, James decided to try and pry more words out of it with more gentler tactics.

"Alright, now how much exactly do you understand?"

"Do not insult me with petty words, Ahrhati Khot. Kill me and end my dishonor!" It spoke in a rough gravely voice and an accent that made it sound as if it was chewing on each word before spitting it out.

"Oh, no no no, I'm not going to kill you or even torture you. All I want is your cooperation."

"Vile, sehrot arthish, it is not the way. You have defeated me, take my life and restore my honor, Ahrhati Khot!"

"Nobody is killing anybody here. All I want is some information."

"You spare my life?"

"Er... yeah, I spare your life."

"Then I, Garthogh, am beholden to you, Ahrhati Khot, until I regain my honor in battle!" It proclaimed.

James took a few steps back and threw up his hands as if in defense, "Whoa whoa whoa, what are you talking about?"

"I am now thokrhi, your slave. I will serve you in life and join you in battle to my last days. You may slay me on your whim." The large brute slid from the chair and dropped to its knees in reverence, head bowed low.

"O.....k.... you can sit back in the chair now."

"By Ahrhati Khot's will!" It exclaimed while backing into the seat and sitting up straight.

James stood there and scratched his head at the unusual turn of events, "Ummm, shit. Alright, moving on, who or what is 'Ahrhati Khot'?"

"You are."

"Really? And what does that mean?"

"In your simple tongue? Death's Keen Sight. So many have fallen before you. You are revered by all and all seek honor at your hand."

James began to pace back and forth, frantically rubbing his head with his hands, "you gotta be fuckin' kidding me. Ok ok ok, we'll come back to that later. What did you say your name was, Garthogh? Can I call you Garth?

"I am thokrhi, you may name me as you please!"

"Cool, cool. Ok, Garth, who taught you this language?"

"Shahatrhasti Khot and his thokrha, the four legged folk."

"Who is Shahatrhasti Khot?"

"Death's Delivering Hand, the only one of your kin."

"Good, now we're getting somewhere. Can you tell me where you were captured?"

"On the borders of my homeland, far to the north."

"And where is that?"

"Present me with a map and I will show you."

"Outstanding. Please wait here, I'll be back in a moment."

James turned to the door and knocked on it with a 'shave-and-a-haircut' rhythm. The door unlocked and opened, allowing him to exit the cell. As he did, one of the guards caught a glimpse inside, seeing the prisoner unshackled and free. The guard swiftly closed and locked the door in a hurry.

"Commander, it's trying to escape!"

James turned to the frantic pony, "Stand down, he's not going anywhere. By the way, it's a he and I found out he has a name. Right now, we're going with Garth."

"Sir?"

"Yeah, I know it's strange. Listen, I need you to go get me a map."

"Which one sir?"

"The one with the largest one you got of the northern lands."

"Yes sir!"

The stallion galloped off at a rapid pace to fulfill the human's request. While he waited, James leaned up against the cool stone wall and rubbed his face. He had just found out that not only was he viewed as some kind of death god by an entire race, but that their form of worship consisted of trying to brutally murder him. At least now, he had a viable source of information to use.

"James."

He looked up to see Luna standing about ten feet away, some how having silently approached him, "Yes ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"I've just come to inform you that my sister will see you as soon as you are finished here. On that note, how is your progress?"

"Well, since we last spoke, I've been talking to him and what a talk it's been."

"He's talking? Wait, excuse me, you said he?"

"Yes ma'am. Right now, he's going by Garth and in a moment Garth will show me where he was captured on a map."

"But we already know where 'he' was captured."

"Yes, but this is something of a truth test. He's agreed to answer all my questions, but I want to see if he's for real, although I doubt that will be an issue."

"How so? You have only been with the prisoner for less that two hours, how is it he is being so forthright with you so willingly?"

*sigh* "This is where it's going to get a bit strange. We had a little fight. I ended up beating him, but when he discovered I wasn't going to kill him, he declared himself my 'slave'."

Luna looked at James with a befuddled expression, "Slave? Slavery in Equestria is unlawful!"

"You can tell him that ma'am, but I don't think he'll listen." James warned.

"Is it possible for me to... speak with the creature?"

"Sure, just let me enter first. Just in case."

"By your lead, Commander."

James turned and approached the door, accepting the key from the remaining guard. He slipped the key into the lock and disengaged it, pulling the door out and walking briskly inside. Luna followed close behind, suddenly back pedaling when she saw the prisoner seated in the chair, but completely unfettered.

"You set it free!? Why would you set it free!?"

In the chair, the grotesque warrior let out a low growl.

James leaned over to her and reassured her, "Don't worry ma'am, watch this," he faced the Lotkin warrior, "Garth, approach the princess and kneel before her." He ordered.

"By your will, Ahrhati Khot!" Garth stated as he complied with the order.

Luna watched the display in utter disbelief, "It-- He really can talk!"

"The wily mountain fox, a beast he may be, yet can posses more thought than even me..." Garth replied to the comment, lifting his head and gazing into luna's eyes.

Luna began to feel uncomfortable and backed out of the cell, "James! Please speak with me in the corridor!"

"Yes ma'am, just one moment. Garth, please retake your seat and wait here for me."

"By your will, Ahrhati Khot!"

"You don't have to say that every time I tell you something."

"By your will, Ahrhati Khot!"

"Stop doing that."

This time, Garth remained silent. Shaking his head, James stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Luna was waiting for him, something clearly on her mind.

"James, do you know what this means?" She hissed.

"It means a lot of things; we can finally get some good Intel, we can learn about a previously thought to be extinct race and we seriously can't afford to underestimate our enemies. To name a few."

"Then you understand, we must tread carefully. I want him to remain here until we know exactly what we are dealing with."

"If I may offer another suggestion..."

"Please."

"Let me take him back to Ponyville."

Luna was shocked at the mere thought, "Out of the question! Ponies might get hurt!"

"Ma'am, please hear me out."

"Very well, but do not expect me to agree."

"I'll house him and provide him with food far away from the town at our headquarters there. From what I've learned so far, his culture is very similar to an ancient one from my own world. This may give me a rare opportunity to get to know who and what we're fighting better. You saw how he followed my commands, I can forbid him from setting foot in the town or being aggressive towards any of the residences. In fact, they won't even be exposed to them. As a bonus, my team and all six elements of harmony are right there in case anything goes wrong."

James waited patiently as the lunar princess considered his proposal. For a moment it appeared as if she would shoot him down. But then to his surprise, she agreed as long as her sister would also. James thanked her profusely as the guard he had sent to fetch the map earlier returned with the item in question. With glee, James returned to his foreign guest to begin extracting more info.

=====================================================================

As he walked down the passageway to Celestia's quarters, James check his iPod for time. The banner read 0016, just past midnight. In just a few hours, he had chewed out his own boss, gotten into a fight with an experienced brawler, earned the undying loyalty and services of said brawler, learned his name and origins, struck a deal with his other boss and now he was on his way to receive his own ass chewing. He was beginning to feel sore from the fight and all he wanted to do was sleep. However, duty calls.

James strode up to the large ornate double doors to the royal chambers, a bit puzzled at the conspicuous lack of Royal Guards. With suspicious thoughts and a wary mind, he approached the left door and lightly knocked on it.

"Come in." Came a soft voice from the other side.

James turned the handle and cautiously entered the room. After closing the door behind him, he spotted the sun princess sitting at a table at the far end of the room beside two large glass doors leading out to a balcony. James marched over and placed himself in front of her at attention.

"Ma'am, I apologize for my earlier behavior. I had a lapse in my military bearing and inappropriately lost my temper towards you, I meant no disrespect."

Celestia simply smiled at him, causing James to feel uncomfortable until she surprised him with her first statement.

"I'm sorry too, James. You are right, those soldiers are your responsibility and I should have consulted you first."

"Ma'am?"

"All I wished to do was gather more information on those that would see my citizens suffer in the most effective way possible and in my inexperience, got three hard working and dedicated members of your family hurt, maybe even almost killed, and for that, I too apologize."

"Uh... I accept your apology?"

"As I do yours."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Now, please tell me about this idea of yours is concerning our prisoner that Luna has informed me about..."

=====================================================================

An hour later, James was trudging down the passageway back to his room. Celestia had berated him for a while for even conceiving such a harebrained idea. Even so, James had convinced her to follow him back down to the vault so he could demonstrate his newfound mastery over Garth. He was still uneasy about the whole situation, but it was just something he felt he had no choice but to go with. After he showed her how dedicated Garth was to following his instructions, Celestia reluctantly agreed.

Now all he wanted to do was was kick off his boots and collapse in his bed. He only had about four or five hours to sleep before it was again time to get up and start a new day. Then, he still needed to figure out a way to get Garth into the Clipper without being seen. And then he still had to explain to the girls, get him shelter, food, water. And after that, he still had the whole Winter Wrap-up to do. James swore to himself that once he was finished, he would sleep for a whole day, uninterrupted.

James stepped into his darkened room and shut the door behind him. He shot straight for the bathroom, stripping down the whole way, hopping into the shower as soon as he got his skivvies off. After a refreshing wash, James went to his overnight bag and pulled out a clean set of boxers, freezing in place when he noticed a body sized lump under the covers of his bed he had previously overlooked on his way in. Quickly donning his boxers, James silently crept to the side of the bed, one arm wound back in preparation for either sending or blocking an attack.

On his mental count of three, he gripped the edge of the blanket with his other hand and ripped them of the bed. He relaxed when all that was revealed was the peacefully sleeping form of Rainbow Dash. it was a welcome surprise. He didn't know when she had arrived or why, but at that moment, he just didn't care. Simply glad that she was here, he cleaned up his room a little bit before gently sliding himself in next to her. Finally feeling his limbs settling down, he threw an arm over her shoulder and made himself comfortable. As he began to drift off, he was suddenly jostled when Dash flipped herself around and pulled him close in a passionate embrace which he happily returned. Then at last, hugging each other close, limbs intertwined, the two of them fell into a warm and restful slumber.

Gettin' Back

Chapter 45: Gettin' Back

A subtly spicy scent filled the human's nostrils as he gradually returned from his peaceful slumber. A faint and warm breath gently blew on his face. He opened his eyes to see the serene face of a certain sky blue pegasus mere inches from his own. James would have liked to stay just like that all day, but from the amount of light coming in through the windows he estimated it to be about seven in the morning. Unfortunately for him, it was time to get up.

Gently and carefully, he extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and pulled himself from bed, taking care not to wake his companion. As soon as he moved, he regretted it as several spots on his body where he had been struck the previous night began to painfully scream at him in anger the moment he moved. Quietly, James extracted his last clean set of clothes, getting dressed and sneaking out the door. Walking towards the stairway to the secret vault, he grabbed one of the palace staff that was trotting by and politely requested that some breakfast be sent to his room.

In good time, James descended the stairs and was admitted through the tall standing doors into the vast underground chamber. Stepping quickly through the wide passageways and to the section of the vault that housed the small dungeon, the human arrived at the cell containing the new addition to his collection of acquaintances. Though, he was a little bit surprised when he found not only Celestia, but also Twilight waiting for him as well.

"Good morning Commander, I trust you slept well?" Celestia asked of him.

"Yes ma'am. Better than I have in a while. If I may ask, what is Twilight doing here?"

"As my protegé, she has certain privileges as well as being instrumental in smuggling our guest out of the palace undetected."

James addressed the unicorn directly, "Twilight, do you know what's in there?" He asked, gesturing to the cell behind her.

"A potentially hostile being that I'm about to disguise as a pile of Rarity's luggage and help transport all the way back to Ponyville?" Was her immediate answer.

James was a little astonished at her understanding of the situation, "Yes, absolutely. So, we're ready to proceed then?"

"Yes Commander," Celestia replied, "ready when you are."

"Outstanding. Let me just go notify my pilot and I'll send someone down to notify you we're ready to on load. But first..."

Stepping past the two of them, James took the key from the guard and entered the cell. As he did so, Garth looked up from where he had been sitting and stood up straight as the human walked in.

"Garth, we're about to perform spell to disguise you so we can get you out of here safely. You are not to resist or take hostile action against any anyone unless I authorize it, understand?"

"Yes Ahrhati Khot."

"Good. Now let me introduce you to the one casting the spell, Miss Twilight Sparkle. She is a friend of mine, so please treat her with respect." James looked over his shoulder to the door, "Twilight, please come in here!"

The purple unicorn apprehensively trotted into the cell and stood next to James who began introductions, "Garth, this is Twilight, my friend. Twilight, this is Garth."

The flaxen black haired warrior bowed to the scholarly pony, "A friend of Ahrhati Khot is a friend to me, your enemies are now mine, may they drown in an ever deepening pool of their own blood."

"Heh heh heh, he's quite charming..." Twilight said uneasily, shying away slightly.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to work on that... Any way, you ready Twilight?"

"Yes, I think so, but I would like to explain to him what I'm doing first."

"Go right ahead..." James told her, taking a few steps back.

With caution, Twilight approached the hulking green mottled being, "Garth, was it? What I am about to do is place a couple spells on your body. The first will put you into a deep sleep, the second will cause you to appear to be a large bundle of baggage, is this ok with you?"

"I do whatever Ahrhati Khot wills." Came his gravely reply.

A little befuddled at the warrior's answer, Twilight turned to James, "Who is 'ahrhati khot'?"

"It's a little complicated, I'll explain later. By the way, he means 'yes'."

"Ok, well here goes..."

Her horn flared up in its characteristic liquid purple aura, soon engulfing the Lotkin warrior in front of her. Garth looked at his chest and limbs, an expression of restrained alarm growing on his gnarled face. Then all at once, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell gently to the dirty floor. James would have thought he was dead were it not for the slight rise and fall of Garth's chest. Then with a sudden flash, his body was replaced with a pile of dark pink bags all tied up together. Next to James, Twilight began panting from the toll the the spells had exacted on her and stood unsteadily on her hooves.

"Hey Twilight, Are you all right?"

"Yes, *pant* I'm fine. It's just that *pant* an illusion spell like this one *pant* is really difficult."

James walked up to the luggage and hesitantly ran a hand over it, only to find that it really felt like a bunch of luggage.

"Wow. Great Job."

The purple librarian had finally caught her breath now, "Thank you, I'm quite proud of that one. I'll make sure this gets delivered to your airship. For now, I think you have a certain somepony to go wake up."

James looked at her, astounded, "How did you know? You ain't spying on me, are you?" He asked jokingly.

With a giggle, Twilight replied, "No, silly. Last night Rainbow Dash showed up looking for you. I didn't know where you were at the time so I just directed her to your room. I hope that didn't bother you."

"No, I'm actually glad you did. You're a good friend Twi', thanks."

"My pleasure! Now scoot, I have it from here."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

James rushed into the passageway, eager to return to his room, but was intercepted by Celestia before he could even get to the main chamber of the vault.

"James, a word with you please."

"Yes ma'am, how can I be of service?"

"I would just like to remind you of your responsibilities regarding this matter. You are not to allow any harm to come to Ponyville because of this creature you are now harboring."

"You know I wouldn't dare let that happen. It's the only home I have now."

"I just wanted to be sure. On another note, how are you feeling since last night?"

"A lot better now, thank you. Again, I apologize for my actions, what I did was wrong."

"It's ok, I understand. Luna informed me of the condition you were in when we met here last night. How is your progress going, by the way?" She asked in a motherly tone.

"It's going. Yesterday was the first time in a while I've had an.... episode. The girls have been a great help. Maybe soon it won't happen anymore. Hopefully." James said, downcast.

"Just keep working on it. Remember, you have an astounding group of dedicated friends to help you."

James looked back over his shoulder to the open cell door far down the corridor, "Don't I know it..." Suddenly remembering what he was doing and looked at his iPod. 0748. "Uh, please excuse me ma'am, I have something important to do."

"Of course."

With that, he took of down the passageway, through the main chamber and up the towering spiral stair. As soon as he reached the top, he made a mad dash for his quarters and was happy when he saw one of the palace staff exiting quietly, silently closing the door behind her. It meant that maybe, Dash would still be asleep and he would get the chance to wake her himself.

Soundlessly, he cracked the door open and peered inside, seeing the tell tale lump still under the covers on the bed. In the corner of the room, near the doors to the balcony, a tray sat on the table, loaded with all sorts of fruits, hash browns and to his delight, waffles, all complemented with a small pitcher of orange juice.

Careful not to be noisy, James stepped softly across the room and made for the side of the bed Dash was still laying on and sat down next to her. For a second, he just watched her serene and tranquil form, enjoying the moment. Then, with some regret, he reached forward a hand and began to gently shake her shoulder.

"Dash, Dash it's time to get up." He whispered quietly.

No response.

"Dash, wake up, there's breakfast." He shook a little harder.

The pegasus stirred and for a moment, James believed he had succeeded, but she instead rolled over away from him and went back to sleep.

"Dash." James said a bit louder, "Dash!"

Suddenly she sat up, "Wha- huh?"

"Good morning sleeping beauty, rest well?"

The colorfully maned mare groggily looked around for the source of her disturbance with bleary rose hued eyes before locking in on the human.

"Oh, James, good morning..." she said with a yawn, "When did you get in?"

"Pretty late last night. It was a busy day. What about yourself? I gotta say, it was a real nice surprise to back to bed with you in it."

"Yeah, i finished up with the weather patrol yesterday and decided to come see you. I got here at about eleven."

"You know you could have just waited until later today when I went home." James chuckled.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to wait."

"Well, you gotta be hungry from that flight. Why don't you come have breakfast with me?"

"Sounds good!"

Dash threw the off the covers and hopped out of bed to Join James as he sat down at the table. James poured them both glasses of orange juice and began to divvy up the food onto a couple of plates. There they sat, eating and drinking. Dash would tell James all about her experiences the past few days while James remained mostly quiet about his. Especially when the subject of his bruises came up, which he attributed to a training mishap, which was only half truth. A few days ago there had been a training mishap, but of course that wasn't the source of his injury. Then, a subject James had entirely wished to avoid arose.

"Oh yeah, and Twilight said that you have something you needed to talk to me about, what's up?"

James was dreading this conversation, but he had been putting it off for far too long now. So with a deep breath and a mental brace, James began to explain what they had found deep in the forest at clearing where they had first met, and the consequences of it.

"...and if Twilight can't find a way to reverse it or at least permanently contain it then...."

"What? Then what?" Dash asked anxiously.

"I might have to go away, to leave..." He put gently, not elaborating on what he meant by that.

"What do you mean you might have to leave!? Why!?" She exclaimed angrily.

"Now don't worry. If I do have to go, it wouldn't be for a while. Right now, Twilight is exploring every possible avenue for a solution. We'll work through this, ok?"

"Ok..."

"Ok."

There was a knock at the door, "Commander, your presence is requested at the docks."

James looked at Dash, "We'll talk more about it later, right now we have to go catch our ride."

They quickly finished breakfast and checked to make sure James was all packed up and ready to leave. Satisfied he hadn't forgot anything, he hefted his pack and stepped out into the corridor, momentarily holding the door open for Dash as she followed close behind. Then together they walked down the passageway to the grand foyer. In quick stride, they exited out into the courtyard and through the front gate. However, instead of peeling away to the docks, James made a detour to the Canterlot Hospital, he wanted to at least check in on Captain Alister and his two teammates.

When he tried to gain access, the hospital staff informed him that all three were sleeping and it was best they not be disturbed. James asked if he could at least see how they were, the staff obliged and led him up to the room they were being kept in. In three beds rested the stallions. All had casts on various limbs, the pegasus even had both wings wrapped up, but none looked too worse for wear. The nurse on duty told him that they'd all be up and about again in just a few weeks and sent the human on his way.

Glad that they would all be all right, James hurried down at a quick clip to the docks with RD at his side. They entered the docks and trod over to the small airship set on the end of the wide pier between two of its significantly larger cousins. In front of the Clipper's side sliding door sat five mares, three stallions and an enormous pile of Rarity's luggage.

"Everyone ready to go?" James asked them.

All replied in the affirmative.

"Awesome. Hey guys, where's Myst?" The human asked his teammates.

"I'm in here!" Came the pilot's voice from the engine compartment.

"She went in to make room for all the bags and ended up staying to tweak the engine. Again." Sparks told him.

"Ah shut up, half the time you can't keep your own hooves off my engine!" Myst snarkily replied.

Her comment caused the girls to break out in a mass of giggles as Sparks shrank back in embarrassment.

"Ho ho! What's that all about buddy?" James asked his pal.

"Nunya!" Sparks said as he bounded into the Clipper, "Let's go already, I wanna go home and sleep in my own bed tonight."

"Alright, alright. Looks like our chief engineer is getting cranky, everybody load 'em up!" James ordered while trying to stifle a laugh.

They all helped in loading all the bags into the Clipper, except for a small portion of Rarity's which Twilight insisted on loading herself. Then they all hopped in and took their seats as the engine spun up and Myst began her final checks. Within moments, they were finally in the air and on their way home.

New Addition

Chapter 46: New Addition

Almost an hour later, the girls had been dropped off at the edge of town, some of Rarity's luggage mysteriously disappearing, and the Fixers were now unloading their own personal effects back at HQ. Flash was about to open the door to the engine compartment when James rushed to stop him.

"Hold on there buddy, I have to talk to you all before we open that up."

"Why? What's going on?" Flash asked suspiciously.

"I'll explain in a moment. First I want you guys to get situated, then meet me in the readyroom. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now pass on the word and have everyone seated there in about ten minutes."

James sat and guarded the door while the rest of his team went about taking their effects off the transport and stowing them somewhere nearby until their leader released them to go home. James waited until he saw each and every one of them enter the readyroom before opening the door behind him and entering the engine compartment. Laid out on the deck against an adjacent wall was Garth, the illusion spell had worn off now, but he was still fast asleep. James knelt down by the hulking mottled skinned warrior and began to wake him.

"Garth, wake up. We're at your new home." He said, lightly slapping the slumbering giant's face a few times.

Like a flash of lightning, the behemoth's eyes shot open. In shock, Garth jumped to his feet and began wildly swinging at some hostile threat he had perceived in his half-wakefulness. James ducked the first few blows, but had to block and catch the fourth and fifth, wrapping the fighter's arms with his own and throwing him against the bulkhead. Garth bounced off and charged him. James quickly ducked another swipe at his face and nearly took a kick to the face, but instead caught the strike and ran forward, throwing the Lotkin off balance and putting him on his back. Moving swiftly, James immediately pounced on Garth and held him down as he tried to calm the furious warrior.

"Hold on, hold on buddy, no reason to fight, you're safe."

Garth slowly ceased struggling and looked around at his surroundings, "Many apologies, Ahrhati Khot! I did not mean to cause you harm, I merely thought I was back in battle once more."

"It's ok, I know the feeling. You ok to get up now?"

"Yes, Ahrhati Khot."

James stood up and moved to the side as the fierce fighter got up off the deck and arose to his full height of six feet eight inches, stooping slightly to avoid bumping the ceiling.

"And by the way Garth, you can just call me James."

"Zhe-aims." Garth tried to pronounce.

"Close enough. Alright, come with me. I'm going to introduce you to the rest of my team. Try not to make any sudden movements."

"Yes... Jaims."

"Better."

Together, they walked up to the building, the human stopping Garth at the door before entering.

"Alright. Now I'm going to go in first and set you up. When I knock on the door, enter slowly."

"I understand."

"Good."

James opened the door and entered the readyroom to a bunch of un amused and suspicious faces.

"What's this all about James?" Sparks inquired.

"Yeah, what the hay is going on?" Feather added.

"We have a guest staying with us for the long haul. Before I introduce him, you guys remember some of the stories I've told you about back home? Specifically the ones about working with enemies?"

Sparks, Feather and Flash nodded, but Myst was left looking a little confused.

"Well, now you're all in a similar situation. Question, who has weapons on them at the moment?"

Every single one of them raised a hoof.

"Alright, pass them up." James ordered, holding out his hand.

All four of them took out and placed their weapons on their desks. All in all, James received a pistol from Myst, the same from Sparks plus two knives, Feather's daggers plus his and Flash's short swords.

"C'mon, I trained you guys, pay up." James said knowingly.

With a huff, Feather and Flash produced two more knives. James deposited all the weaponry in a corner of the room well out of reach from the others.

"Outstanding. Now please stay seated and try to remain calm."

Standing next to the door, James rapped it with his knuckles three times, prompting it to swing inward and allow Garth to step over the threshold and into the room. Myst scrambled out of her seat while the other three jumped up into a ready stance and reached for weapons they now no longer had. Garth crouched into a defensive fighting stance and snarled.

"STAND DOWN, EVERYBODY JUST STAND DOWN!" James bellowed at them all.

Begrudgingly, James' teammates and Garth relaxed, but not all the way.

"Guys, this is Garth. It seems he's dedicated himself to our cause and he'll be working with us for a while."

"I am Garthogh, thokrhi of James, Ahrhati Khot! It will be a great pleasure to serve with such accomplished warriors as those in my master's company!" He proclaimed while kneeling and placing a fist over his chest.

"With all due respect Commander, and remember I'm saying this with all due respect, what the fuck are you doing, sir!?" Feather said with anger.

"What I'm doing is setting us up for success. Garth here used to be part of our opposition. Now, he's gonna work with us. All of you, with maybe the exception of Myst, are going to spar with Garth here as well as with each other. This is a learning opportunity we can not pass up. Besides, I think we need to learn we're not just up against mindless freaks here."

All three of the ponies stared at the two of them for a moment before one of them finally spoke.

"He's got a point." Sparks reasoned.

Unwillingly, all of them relaxed. A little.

"Good. Now I'm gonna set Garth here up with a place to stay and we're all gonna be good friends, understood?"

"Yes sir!" They all replied in unison.

"Outstanding. We'll come back to this in a few days, until then you're dismissed."

All four of them briefly saluted before filing out the door and leaving on their own errands. As they passed the mottled dark green warrior, they gave him suspicious looks. After they all left, James turned to address his charge and figure out a living situation for him.

"Sorry for the way they acted, it's just that...."

"I understand." Garth stated.

"You do? Well, good. Alright then, now we just need to find you a place to stay."

"You need not worry, I shall fend for my self in the forest near by."

"Oh, ok then. Well I should set some boundaries. You are not to go within sight of town or any other places of residences close by. I know you hunt, so please try to keep your kills deep in the forest where nobody can find them. In addition, you are not to harm any living thing unless it is in self defense. Right now, you are restricted to this area until further notice, understood?"

"Yes. James."

"Outstanding. Go get settled then, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. One more thing, there will be a lot of activity, especially in the sky, tomorrow so try to stay hidden and out of sight as much as possible. We don't want to scare the towns folk and start a panic."

"Agreed."

"Good, then I'll be on my way."

Both of them exited the building, Garth heading to the tree line just past the watchtower, James in the direction of his house. As he marched through the steadily melting snow, James was soon joined by Sparks and Flash.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Sparks asked, "I mean, we do some crazy things, but this is ridiculous."

"Don't worry my four legged friend. Think of this as an opportunity to learn, for both sides. We get to better understand our enemy and how they fight, and maybe he learns to be a little less violent. Or something like that, honestly you can't really know until you get to it. Which is exactly what we're gonna do in about two days, so rest up."

=====================================================================

*THUMP THUMP*

"Alright, cart's full, go ahead!" James hollered, pounding the side of the cart and planting his snow shovel in the ground as a pony pulled it away with it's current load snow.

Having no specialized skills suited to the Wrap-up, he was simply helping to clear all the snow in and around the town. For the large fields, he had seen that the townsponies were using large manually pushed plows, all of which were useless in the narrow alleys and tight corners of the buildings. With his hands and ability to quickly shovel snow, he was well suited to the task of clearing out the tight spaces without much difficulty. James was now about halfway done with the last alley way in town, it had taken him almost the whole day to complete his task and once he finished this last one, he'd be done for the day.

The next empty cart pulled up and the human resumed tossing the glittery white cold stuff into the wooden pony drawn wagon. Each scoop brought him closer to the end of the work day, so he began to speed up his progress, clearing foot after foot until he finally reached the alley's end. With the last scoop, he once again gave the side of the cart a couple strikes with his fist and sent it on it's way to whatever they did with the snow they collected.

James took the shovel back to the equipment shed it had been issued to him from and dropped it off before heading back to his house to grab a few items. Once he'd done that, he jogged over to his team's HQ and climbed the watchtower and kept an eye on the sky, watching until the air slowly began to become clear of the many pegasi flitting through the air, guiding birds and replacing the dreary winter clouds with the bright and cheery clouds of spring. Once he decided it was safe enough, he quickly clambered back to the ground below and entered the tree line, weaving between the dark trunks until he came to a heavily shrouded clearing ensconced within the wood. Near the back was a low hut constructed from various branches and lashed together with vines. In the middle was a fire pit, filled with ashes and to his right was a crude rack laden with the pelts of various small mammals.

Looking around he called out, "Hey Garth, they're just about finished up, I think you can come out now."

Off to his left, the bushes started rustling before parting and revealing the tall, built and menacing warrior that had been concealing himself as per James' orders.

"I grow weary of hiding, Ahrhati Khot. My blood boils for battle."

"Calm down there buddy, you'll have your fun soon enough. I'm planning on setting my team up in a training regiment with you, but we'll have to wait until dark to reduce the chance of discovery."

"It will have to do. My limbs ache for combat."

"Oh, I'm sure my team will give a run for--'

"James?" A familiar scratchy voice called out, "James, you in there?"

"Are you sure you saw him go in there?"

"Yeah RD, Ah gots ta be gettin' back ta the farm soon."

"Yeah Twi', saw it with my own eyes! James?" She called out again.

James' eyes went wide, "Shit. Ok, Garth I 'm gonna need you to hide again real quick."

The massive Lotkin warrior growled in annoyance, but did as he was ordered. Confident that outside his team, Twilight would still be the sole pony knowledgeable of Garth's existence in Ponyville, James crashed through the underbrush in haste, bursting from the tree line just twenty feet away from the girls.

Turning to them with a smile, he asked, "Hey, how's it going? Something I can help you with?"

"Fer starters, what were ya doin' out in th' woods?" Applejack asked skeptically.

"Hush AJ, that's not what we're here for." Twilight chastised.

"It's fine, it's fine. Our bathrooms here are clogged at the moment, so I was using the woods." He quickly lied.

"Oh, that is so gross, why would you tell us that?" Rarity complained.

"Hmmmm....." Applejack eyed him, not entirely convinced. James just continued to smile.

Twilight cringed slightly in disgust, "Eww, didn't need to know that. Any way, we were wondering how you were getting to the Gala next month."

James didn't expect such a trivial question as they usually didn't track him down unless it was something important. Nevertheless, he pondered the question seriously before coming up with an answer.

"Actually, I dunno. I was honestly thinking of just having Myst fly us up."

"No no no no, this simply will not do. The Gala is all about style. You must ride with us, I insist. Twilight can summon the most divine carriage." Rarity protested.

"Is it big enough for my team? Because I'm not going anywhere without them."

"I think I can manage that." Said Twilight confidently and with a smile.

"Alright then. It's a date."

"Sure is." Dash said with a sultry look.

"Ok then, If nothing else, I have some business to attend to."

Rarity drew back in disgust, "Ugh. Surely you don't mean..."

A mischievous smile grew on James' face, "Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go.... and don't call me Shirley."

Best (And Worse) Night Ever

Chapter 47: Best (And Worst) Night Ever

Tempered blades whipped through the air at lethal velocities, clashing against each other in a loud reverberating clang and a flurry of sparks. Feather disengaged and jumped back, sweat pouring down his face and muzzle, as Garth swung at the stallion's chest with a hand-and-a-half sword. Feather once again launched himself at his opponent who made for another slash at his chest, but at the last moment, feinted into a quick stab. Feather quickly parried and delivered a kick to Garth's hands, knocking the blade from the tall warrior's grip and following through with a stab of his own. Garth side stepped the thrust and launched a debilitating cross to Feather's jaw, knocking the poor stallion on his side.

"Alright, that's enough!" James exclaimed while stepping into the ring and stopping the fight, "That was a good back and forth there. Feather, you should work more on dodging slipping past his guard rather than charging head on, you're not too good at that. Garth, that was good, changing your attack mid swing, but remember it leaves you off balance and vulnerable. Other than that, damn Garth, I should call you Conan after a punch like that!"

"I do not understand, who is this Conan?" The mottled skinned warrior replied.

"It was this whole movie, the guy punched a horse in the face, but that's not important. Right now, why don't you guys go take a rest and get some water, you've earned it."

Together the two tired fighters removed themselves from the ring and went to get some hydration. For the past few weeks, they had all been meeting just after sunset to speak and spar with Garth, who had been more than willing to apply his skills in combat and tell them of his people. James was fascinated as the broad shouldered fighter had regaled them with myths and legends about his people's past. From what James could understand, the Lotkin were not unlike some of the ancient cultures back on earth. They reminded him most of Vikings, small tribes of warriors traveling the land and pillaging the villages of their kin to win glory in death. In fact, rarely did the ever organize and fight en masse as they have now, this was only because of a single person, Kraster.

The rest of the team was even starting to warm up to Garth, having seen that his kind was not inherently evil, just led by an evil man. James even thought he saw Sparks drawing up some new armor in his workshop. He had already made Garth a new sword. James was glad. It meant they were gelling and becoming a cohesive unit. If this kept up, he might be able to go on a little expedition to the north. Maybe track down the location of the evasive invasion force.

"Hey James, it's almost twenty-two now, call it a night?" Flash asked him.

"Yeah, go ahead. We got a big night coming up, Celestia wants us to represent the Task Group at the Gala. Be ready for a ton of questions you're not allowed to answer from people who won't understand a thing."

"Sounds like you've done this before."

"Oh yeah. It's no fun. Very awkward."

"Ugh..."

"Yup."

James had them all stow their gear and clean up before heading back to their homes. Garth retreated back to his humble hut in the woods not far from the training ground. James himself began walking in the direction of his house, but veered off to to the hill he had once spent a night with a certain pegasus, gazing at the stars. The night was warm and the skies clear, a crescent moon was gradually rising in the east. With a huff, he plopped down into the soft grass and lay his head back, staring up and processing the last week's events while contemplating what the future might hold. Then his thoughts fell to his past.

Ugly thoughts. Thoughts of the things he had witnessed. Thoughts of the things he had done. Thoughts of the things he could have prevented, but didn't. Every time these thoughts came up, he began to fill with a dark and twisted hatred, like he needed to utterly destroy something. He tried to think about all the good things he had been doing here in his new home since he'd arrived, but the more he tried, the more his mind wrenched itself back to the darkness of his past. In an effort to stem the flood of unhappy images and feelings, James popped in his headphones and began to play some music, which usually helped. He lay there for a while, trying to relax, when out of the corner of his eye, he detected movement. Shifting his vision from the twinkling night sky to his side, James looked to see what it was. It was Dash. She was laying on her back, her head next to James', her body splayed out above his head towards the other side of the hill.

Her mouth was moving, but James couldn't hear so he removed one of his earphones, "Hmmm?"

"I said; what'cha thinkin' about?"

"Oh. Nothing really."

"Doesn't look like 'nothing really'."

James returned his gaze to the stars, "Yeah, you got me. It's just some unpleasant thoughts."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really...."

"Is it about the stuff you did?"

"Good guess."

"Not really a guess. You always have that face when you're thinking about that stuff." Dash said knowingly.

"That obvious, huh?"

"Yeah. So why don't you tell me? Talking about it might actually help."

"You really want to know?" James asked skeptically.

"Of course!"

James sighed heavily, "Fine. You asked for it."

RD cuddled up closer to him in anticipation for him opening up.

"Well, where to start? For some reason, I just can't stop thinking about all the messed up shit I did. It's not like I get to choose when I think about it, it just sort of pops in there. Wether I'm sitting by myself or in a room full of friends, it doesn't matter. Most of the time, I just throw on a fake smile, a mask, to cover it up, but I cant stop the feelings inside. Every time they come up, my chest just feels empty, like I don't really exist. At least, for no good reason. Hell, if I'm eating, my mouth feels like it's full of ash."

James felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see what Dash wanted and received a kiss full on the mouth. He tensed for a second, but soon felt all the stress of the past few weeks begin to drain from his body.

Dash pulled a way, "That taste like ash?"

James smiled, "Actually, it tastes like you've been eating that hot sauce."

"Hm hm, yup." She chuckled. "Think I can stay at your place tonight? It's closer."

"Sure thing."

=====================================================================

"Ribbons?"

"Check."

"Boot Polish?"

"Check."

"Under Arms?"

"Make that a triple check."

"Triple check?" Sparks asked confusedly.

"Well yeah, you didn't think I'd go under prepared, did you?"

"Ok. Besides your sword, what else are you bringing?"

"I thought I'd take my old Lieutenant's pistol," James said, pulling the large revolver out of his desk drawer and shoving it into a holster belted around his waist, "he always wore it to formal functions, I thought I'd at least carry on his legacy here."

"You said triple, where's the third?" Sparks asked sharply, narrowing his eyes.

James pulled up his right leg and patted his calf, "Right here, got my knife."

"C'mon. This is just a formal Gala we're talking about here! The pretty looking pistol I can understand, but do you really need to go armed to the teeth?" The rusty red unicorn complained.

"You're right, it is a formal Gala, one that all the royalty and social elites will be attending en masse. Perfect target if you ask me."

"You gotta get your mind off the job." Said Sparks, shaking his head.

"That's when it'll happen. Besides, it's not like the pistol will be loaded." James countered. "Now c'mon, how do I look?"

"Top looks good, so do the pants. I think you're set. Wait, what's that bulge in your blouse's pocket?" Sparks asked, pointing with a hoof to James' breast pocket.

With a grin, the human pulled out round for the large caliber revolver, "Insurance."

"Ugh, I give up!"

"Alright, let's go."

Both clothed in their dashing dress uniforms, Sparks and James descended the stairs to living room where their other two teammates were waiting, similarly dressed. Giving each other curt nods, they all set out as a group for the town of Ponyville where their dates and transportation for the evening were waiting. As they came to the long road that connected the town with the nation's capitol, a large purple carriage pulled up to them and stopped a sort distance away. James noted that it was drawn by four large, yet unusual looking, white horses, in the driver's seat was a familiar purple and green dragon. At one point, he almost thought he heard one of them squeak. James' thoughts were interrupted when the carriage door swung open and seven mares stepped out, each dressed to the nines.

Each one wore a dress that seemed to suit their own personalities. There was Twilight, who wore a shimmering lavender gown adorned with several clusters of swirling stars. Pinkie, whose dress seemed to made of pastries and sweets spun into textile form. Fluttershy, who was garbed in the natural beauty of of the forest and mother nature herself. Applejack, wearing a practical, yet stylish dress that mimicked her working duds with elegance. Rarity, cloaked in a complicated and flashy evening gown that radiated a certain grandeur. Myst was with them, clothed in a simple silvery dress with blue highlights that matched her eyes and coat well. And of course, Rainbow dash, who was sporting a tight fitting, yet formal dress that flowed with her uncharacteristically styled mane, which was done up in a simple, yet tasteful, pony tail. So to speak.

"My my, just look at these dashing young stallions in uniform, here to escort us to the Gala!" Rarity said in a mock fluster, "Which one of you would like to accompany one of these beautiful mares to the grand ball?"

"Sorry, this one's mine!" Dash asserted, trotting over behind James and pushing him to the carriage door with her head.

"I'm going with Pinkie." Flash stated, taking his place by her side and trotting with her to the door.

Myst walked over to Sparks and gave him a slap in the rump, "let's go lover boy, you're comin' with me."

Rarity looked at the two remaining mares and then back to the last stallion standing, "Well, I have Spike, and Twilight will be spending most of her time with the princesses. Feather, why don't you go with Fluttershy?"

"Oh, no. Please Rarity you don't have to--"

The alabaster mare cut off her timid friend, "Nonsense, I insist! None of us should be without company tonight, now go on you two!" She stated, pushing the two ponies together.

"Uh.... hi." Feather said shyly.

"Hi..." Fluttershy responded in a barely audible tone from behind her mane.

With a shove, Rarity forced them into a seat next to each other within the carriage.

"Ok Spike, that's everypony," Twilight said with a smile, "let's go!"

"Sure thing boss!" He replied cheerfully.

With a quick whip of the reigns, the small dragon spurred their steeds onward to Canterlot and the Grand Galloping Gala.

=====================================================================

James entered the Grand Ballroom, amazed at it's sight. He had seen it a few times before, but never with all the decorations and ornaments that now adorned the large chamber. Abruptly, he was brought out of his daze by a nudge to his side from Dash.

"I said, it's nice to see you've arrived Commander." Princess Celestia said to him.

"Oh, yes." James started, swiftly recovering, "Sorry about that ma'am, I just kind of got distracted by the scenery."

"That's all right Commander. It's quite a sight, isn't it?"

"That it is ma'am, that it is."

"I'm glad you enjoy it. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have other guests I must greet."

"Of course ma'am, have a good evening."

"Likewise." Celestia relied as the human dismissed himself.

With Dash at his side, James descended a large staircase to the floor of the ballroom and the hundreds of well dressed ponies below. Above the humming chatter of all the guests, James could hear a somewhat classical style of music playing in the background. He looked around for his friends, but they had all entered before him and split up since then.

"Alright Dash, what do you want to do now?" The smartly dressed soldier asked his date.

"First, I want to fix something I should have a long time ago."

"What's that?"

"I'm gonna introduce you to the Wonderbolts!"

"Alright, lead the way."

Dash guided him through the crowd of party goers to a secluded section of the ballroom that was separated by a red velvet rope. As they approached the entrance to the exclusive area, they were stopped by a bouncer.

"Names?"

"I'm Rainbow Dash and this is my date, Commander Kaughn."

"Ok, you're good to go." He said, stepping aside.

James looked at Dash with a smirk, "Damn Dash, I didn't figure you for a high status elite."

"Well, being an Element of Harmony has it's perks..."

"I guess it does. So where are these Wonderbolts at? From everything I've heard you say about them, they must be something special."

"As Equestria's premier flying team, they sure are!"

"Premier? What, you mean like better than you?" James teased.

"Hey, watch it buddy, or I'll put you on the couch tonight!" Dash threatened in playful mock anger.

"Whoa, alright you win," James threw his hands up, palms out, "you're the best flyer in Equestria!"

"Don't you forget it." Dash said with a smirk.

They both threaded their way through the VIP crowd in search of their targets, RD in the lead with James following close behind. After some jostling around in the thick crowd, the duo found themselves at a waist high table loaded with assorted drinks and snacks. James grabbed a couple of waters, offering one to Dash.

"Want one?"

"Nah, I'm good. Why don't you wait here while I try to go find them, it'll be easier if it's just one of us." She suggested.

"Alright. I'll be right here waiting." James agreed.

With a nod, the rainbow maned mare disappeared into the mass of ponies, leaving James alone with his drink and his thoughts. While he waited, he picked up a few of the hors'derves and popped them in his mouth, washing them down with a cool swig of water. Side stepping to his left without looking, James accidentally bumped into one of the other guests.

"Oh, please excuse me." James apologized to a blonde maned unicorn in a red blazer.

"Ah, they do seem to be letting just any brute into the Guard these days. Why, last month I thought I saw one of those repugnant Diamond Dogs applying for a position. Next time, why don't you be a decent guard and pay attention to your surroundings." The stallion replied in a snobbish tone.

James shrugged off the rude tone of the unicorn, "I'll keep that in mind, sir." Then he returned his attention to the snack bar and rolled his eyes. This wasn't the first time he'd run into this situation. He found it best to just ignore it and resume whatever he was doing, the offender would usually do the same and part ways. However, this time would be different. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to the same stallion.

"I say, that pin on your uniform is unfamiliar to me, what unit are you with?" The unicorn asked, pointing to the small gold emblem of the RSTG prominently displayed on James' left breast, just above the row of ribbons.

James was still annoyed by this pony, but he was here as a representative of his unit and went along with the stallion's demands.

"I'm with the Royal Special Tasks Group, Commander Kaughn at your service." James stated, politely extending a hand in greeting. When the unicorn did not do the same with a hoof, James returned his hand to his side.

"Please forgive me, but I do not shake hooves with plebeians, especially one as.... exotic as yourself."

"Very well. I'm sorry to hear that. Now if you'll please excuse me, I'm waiting for my date."

As if the mere off hand mention of her was enough to summon her forth, Dash suddenly appeared at James' side, two pegasi in form fitting blue uniforms in tow.

"Ugh... James, what are you doing talking to this creep?" She asked in disgust, giving the unicorn a menacing glare.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, this is Prince Blueblood. The first time we came to the Gala with Twilight, this guy was a real jerk to Rarity."

An amused expression jumped to the prince's face, "Oh, ho ho! You're cavorting yourself with one of the Ponyville bumpkins I see, and a friend of that disgraceful little mare I might add! I had no idea that a guard would associate himself with such uncouth ponies. Well, I guess their standards really must be slipping these days...."

James was normally slow to anger, but this comment struck a nerve in the human's mind. With a slightly angry tone, James replied, "Hey, say what you want about me, maybe even my unit, but I think you should really apologize to the lady here. You might want to go apologize to Rarity too, 'cause if anything, she's a class act."

" Rarity, a class act? Please, her and her backwater friends have no place here. By the way, you might want to watch your tone, I am royalty after all."

James briefly lost a hold of his temper, "Yeah, a royal pain in the ass."

James was suddenly aware that all conversation around him had abruptly come to a halt, all the surrounding guests wore mortified looks upon their faces.

Prince Blueblood stood stoutly, anger at James' statement covered his visage, "You sir, go too far! Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson in manners!"

"I really don't think I'm the one who needs to brush up on their manners, prince."

"How dare you accuse me of being such and ill-raised ruffian! That's it, I challenge you to a gentlecolt's duel!"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to refuse that generous offer." James said calmly.

"What, are you some kind of coward?"

"James'll beat you any day of the week!" RD spat at the unicorn. "Why, I have half a mind to--"

Her human companion stopped her with a slight raise of his arm before returning his attention to the prince.

"First, I'm gonna apologize for letting my temper slip. Second, I would love to slap you around for a bit for what you said to Dash here, but I'm here at Celestia's request as a representative of my unit. You want a fight, go ahead and take it up with her."

"Splendid idea!" Blueblood said, turning around and trotting away.

James gazed around at all the ponies still staring at him, "Ladies and gentle... colts, please excuse my rudeness."

After addressing them, he strode away and out onto a secluded balcony to cool off. A short while later, Rainbow Dash joined him, followed by the two pegasi.

"You feeling ok?" She inquired.

"Yeah, just a bit mad at myself for losing my temper in front of everybody. That looked really bad. Might even reflect badly on my unit."

"You kidding, that was awesome!" One of the pegasi exclaimed, a mare with fiery mane and tail. "Everypony friggin' hates that guy, but none of them want to say anything because of his position. Oh, I'm Spitfire by the way and this is Soarin'."

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm James," he shook both their hooves, "RD has told me a lot about you guys. She really admires you, you know."

Beside him, a blushing Rainbow Dash lightly slugged him in the leg.

"Sorry." He whispered sideways to her.

Curiosity rising in his mind, James resumed his conversation with the two pegasi, "You said everyone was afraid of Prince Blueblood because of his position, what is he, a General or something?"

The three pegasi briefly glanced at each other before Soarin' answered the human, "Dude, he's Princess Celestia and Luna's nephew."

"That prick?" James said in disbelief, "Oh well. Looks like I earned myself an extra bad ass chewin'."

As if on cue, both of the country's monarchs strode through the balcony's arch way, Prince Blueblood wearing a smug and haughty expression on his face.

"Commander, we wish to talk with you." Celestia said sternly.

"Yes ma'am?" James stood straight, bracing for the worst.

"My sister and I have had quite the discussion about the little argument you've had with our nephew and we've come to a decision."

"I'm ready."

"We've agreed that a traditional duel between you and the prince would be an excellent way for the two of you to settle your disagreement as well as entertain the guests as long as it does not become unduly violent."

"But Auntie, I wanted to see him arrested!" The prince complained.

"From what I understand, you were the one that made the challenge. As long as James accepts, I believe you won't have much of a choice but to proceed." Luna pointed out.

James felt all eyes shift focus onto him, all the ponies' attention directed at him as they waited for his answer. So with a sigh he said; "Alright, I'll do it..."

"Wonderful, you may use a section of the palace gardens, where everypony may watch." Celestia decreed.

=====================================================================

Twenty minutes later, James found himself standing in the middle of a clearing set in central location by the ballroom doors as to allow spectators to view the event from the balconies as well as nearby patio. The human removed the top of his dress uniform and hung it by the collar on a low branch of a close by tree with his belt which had his pistol and sword. From the group of bystanders a dark blue earth pony in his dress uniform detached himself and trotted to James' side.

"You got this? I hearing some stuff around the crowd, like he's been trained by the Princesses' personal guards."

"Don't worry Feather, check out the 'sword' he's carrying." James said, pointing to the unicorn now stretching himself several yards away across the grass.

"What about it?"

"It's fake, just a decoration. Any self respecting warrior would carry his actual weapon."

"Like you?" Feather said with a chuckle.

"Sure, like me."

Celestia trotted into the clearing between the two fighters.

"Crap, looks like it's starting. I'll be rooting for ya." Feather said, making his way back into the crowd.

Celestia began to speak loudly, her voice unnaturally amplified, "Ladies and Gentlecolts. As somewhat of a change of pace, this evening we have two fine fighters performing for your enjoyment. On this side, the regal Prince Blueblood. His opponent, Commander Kaughn of your Royal Guard." Area was filled with the sound of hooves stomping in the ground in applause and the party goers' cheers. "As the Commander is the acceptee of the challenge, he will be privileged with picking the weapons to be used in this contest. Commander?"

"He can use his sword, I got my fists!" James exclaimed.

"Very well. As the Commander has the handicap of being unable to use magic, Prince Blueblood will be restricted to only using his for the purpose of wielding his weapon. Do you both find these terms agreeable?"

"We do." They replied in unison.

"Then let the contest begin!"

With that, Celestia withdrew from the field and flew up onto a balcony to join her sister along with Rainbow Dash, her friends and James' team. James immediately dropped into a defensive stance as the prince drew his sword -- a thin, straight blade barely wider than an inch and a half -- and cautiously began to approach the human.

"Very brave of you fighting me without a weapon, but also very foolish. I shall enjoy bashing you over the head with my sword." Blueblood taunted.

Using his magic to propel the weapon, Blueblood began to swing wildly at the human. Years of training and experience kicked in as James anticipated and dodged each and every attack with ease. His opponent was nowhere near a seasoned warrior, thus the prince made several novice mistakes, allowing James to casually avoid each blow. After about five minutes of this, the prince abruptly stopped.

"Why don't you stop running away and fight like a real stallion!"

"You sure you want me to do that? You might get hurt." James warned.

"Are you kidding me? Look at the way you're getting out of breath, I haven't even broken a sweat!"

"Maybe that's because I don't have some namby pamby magic to swing a piece of metal around with instead of using my own strength."

"You cur!"

With anger, the prince used his magic to bring the thin metal sword down on the human's head. James stood his ground and simply reached up swiftly and caught the sword in his hand. It stung like hell, but as he suspected it was merely a decoration, the edge as dull as that of a thin stick.

"You know why I didn't use a weapon?" James asked the surprised prince.

Blueblood shook his head, eyes wide in fear and amazement. James ripped the faux sword from the unicorn's magical aura and, gripping the other end with his free hand, brought the ornament down on his knee, snapping it in half.

"Because I am one, dipshit!" He shouted, tossing the two pieces of cheap metal to the ground. "You ready to apologize yet?"

Prince Blueblood, having just been relieved of his weapon, looked around in a panic before ultimately making a very rash decision. His horn became aglow with magic and James suddenly found himself pulled up into the air. The human warrior's reflexes took over, his hand shooting to his calf and unsheathing his knife, preparing to launch the lethal blade at the unicorn. However, before he could, a multicolored blur came out of nowhere and smashed into the prince's side, eliciting waves of gasps from the crowd. The aura holding James dissipated, dropping him on his ass. He shook his head and returned his knife, looking in the direction the blur had taken his opponent. What he saw was Dash on top of Blueblood, absolutely decimating him with strikes of her hooves. James jumped up and rushed over to pull the furious mare off of the whimpering stallion.

As he did so, Dash was shouting the whole time, "C'mon! Let me back at 'em, he cheated! I'll kick his sorry flank all around the city!"

"Alright alright, calm down Dash, it's over, let it go." James said, trying to soothe her.

"But he--"

"RD, check it out, you destroyed him."

Some distance away, the prince was laying broken and battered on the grass in the clearing, medics from the Guard quickly arriving to remove him from the scene. Celestia descended from her perch to the ground by James and Rainbow Dash.

"Is everything all right here?" She asked them.

James ran his eyes over the large crowd gathered around them, the multitude of Gala attendees beginning to whisper and gossip.

"Yes ma'am, we're fine. Although I think we better go, that got real ugly real fast." James told her.

"I'm sorry to hear that, are you sure?"

The human looked with a caring gaze at the still seething pegasus sat on the ground at his feet, "Yeah, I think it's for the best."

"Very well, if you insist. I'll have a carriage summoned for you."

=====================================================================

All the ride back to Ponyville, the four occupants of the carriage sat in awkward silence. Feather and Fluttershy had opted to return home with James and Dash. The butter colored pegasus was nervous as it was in the large crowd of the Gala and the fight had put her over the edge. Feather, being the Gentlecolt he was, offered to return back to town with her, which she graciously accepted. She had been staring at James' hand nearly the whole time and as Ponyville started to come into view, finally spoke up.

"James, does your hand hurt? I could bandage it for you. If you want me to, that is."

James opened his hand and looked down at his palm, and ugly bruise in the shape of a straight line was starting to form.

"No thanks. It'll hurt pretty bad for a few days, but I'll be fine."

"Oh, ok..."

"You should have let me pummel him..." Dash muttered in the seat beside James.

James put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder, "You did enough, and I'm very grateful for it," he said, giving her a peck on her forehead, "you're my Amazonian huntress."

Dash cheered up a little, "I don't know what that means, but thanks."

Abruptly, the carriage came to a stop and there was a knock on the side. James stuck his head out the window to see what was going on. One of the stallions that had been pulling the carriage was there to greet him.

"Sorry to bother you sir, but the destination you gave us seems to have smoke rising from it."

"What!?"

James craned his neck to the horizon and indeed saw that an enormous black cloud was ascending from the area his house was at, lit from beneath by a hellish orange glow. Alarm bells rang in his head. He was confident the Ponyville Fire Department was already handling the blaze and he knew that there was nobody home, but another thought occurred to him.

"Brother, I need you to take me to a new location, double time. It's far on the outskirts of town, just go past my house and continue about six miles." James ordered frantically.

"Sir?"

"Just do it, I'll double your money if you do!"

"Yes sir!"

Just You, Me And The Dead

Chapter 48: Just You, Me And The Dead

Feather watched with intrest as James pulled his head back in with a serious look on his face and the carriage shot forward, rapidly picking up speed.

"What's going on?"

"You remember that language I taught you?"

"Bale."

(Yes.)

"Manzelam dar aatash."

(My house is on fire.)

"Jedii!?"

(Really!?)

"Bale, aamaa iin chizi'e kei man nageraan niist."

(Yes, but that's not what I'm worried about.)

"Uh... why are you two speaking gibberish?" Dash asked quizzically.

"Sepass aankei dar aan'e?"

(Then what is it?)

"Garth." James said simply.

"Who's Garth?" Fluttershy asked.

"To fekr mekonei kei oo iin kar ra kard?"

(You think he did this?)

"Momken'e, vali ma bayad matma'an shaviid."

(Possibly, but we need to be sure.)

"To medaanei dokhtaraan momken'e dar piidar kardan dar moorad oo, dorost'e?"

(You know the girls might find out about him, right?)

"Gheraar bood diir yaa zood otefaagh me aaftad."

(It was going to happen sooner or later.)

"Ok, that's it! What the hay is going on!?" RD demanded angrily.

"Hopefully nothing." James said without emotion.

After a few more minutes, the carriage once again came to a stop, only this time, the door swung open, one of the carriage ponies breathing heavily and staring wide eyed.

"Sir, we're here, but we can't stay, there's a forest fire!"

James stood up, "A forest fire!?"

"Yes sir!"

James exited the carriage in a hurry and paid the stallion his due, "Here's your money, plus a little extra, take the two mares back to town where it's safe." The human turned back to the carriage door, "Feather, let's go!"

Feather Touch jumped out of the carriage and joined James as he ran towards the tree line. The buildings of the Fixers' HQ were untouched, however, deep in the forest, where Garth's hut was located, a column of under lit smoke was climbing into the dark sky.

"Hey Feather, these uniforms are made of wool, right?"

"Yeah, I thinks so, why?"

"'Cause wool is flame retardant." James stated, barreling into the under brush and stomping his way to the clearing.

"Aw fuck!" Feather swore before following after him.

Together they rushed to the site of the fire, flames springing around them as they drew near. They ducked low as the air began to fill with toxic smoke, choking their lungs and stinging their eyes. When they reached the spot, the hut was ablaze, and a burning tree had fallen across the middle. James scanned the burning clearing until he felt a tap on his arm. He looked down to see Feather pointing up into the forest canopy with a foreleg. James looked to his friend's direction. High up in a tree and tied tightly to a thick branch was Garth, cut up and burned.

Springing into action, James began to climb the tree. When he reached the branch Garth was affixed to, he balanced out on it, making his way to the ropes. Straddling the branch, James made a motion with his hands instructing Feather to get under Garth. The earth pony understood and positioned himself, ready to catch the large warrior. As the flames rose to the sky around them, James slipped his knife out from it's sheath and slashed the ropes, sending Garth tumbling down to the ground below.

Like a pro, Feather caught him on his back and took off back to the HQ. Instead of climbing down, James jumped from the branch, rolling as he hit the ground. As he completed his roll, James sprung to his feet and legged it for the tree line. Before he could reach it, a flaming branch dropped in his path, sending up a wall of flame. James buried his face in the crook of his elbow. And leaped through the inferno. With renewed motivation, he made it to the training grounds in record time. As he burst from the forest, greedily gulping down breaths of fresh air. He smelled burning hair and a painful sensation began to grow on his head. In a panic, he scooped up a double handful of dirt and furiously rubbed it on his head, smothering the embers that had caught in his hair.

In front of Feather and Myst's residence, the former barracks, Garth was laid out on his back, surrounded by three ponies, Feather, Fluttershy and Dash. James could see that Garth was still alive; un conscience, breathing shallowly and severely injured, but alive. He staggered over to the group, Dash looked up and saw his condition.

"JAMES! ARE YOU FRIGGIN' KIDDING ME!?"

"I know, I'm sorry, I should have told you about him earlier--"

Dash stomped wrathfully up to the human, "That's not what I'm mad about, YOU RAN INTO A FOREST FIRE! What if you got hurt, what if you didn't come back again, or even--"

James closed the gap and pulled her into a hug, "As long as I have you to return to, I'll always come back."

"You promise?" Came her muffled response as she buried her face into his shoulder, returning his hug and squeezing him tighter.

"I promise. Now tell me why you guys aren't in town getting help?"

"Oh. Sorry. Fluttershy saw you two go into the forest as we pulled away, I couldn't stop her."

"It's fine, we could actually use her medical expertise. Right now, I need you to fly into town and get some of the fire department over here to contain the fire, think you can do that for me?"

"You got it!" Dash gave him a short salute before kicking off her dress and taking to the air.

James walked over to where Garth was laying, Fluttershy had already produced bandages from somewhere and was treating his wounds. James studied Garth's body, taking in all the burns and lacerations that adorned it. The lacerations had been clearly made with some sort of edged weapon. On the Lotkin's brow, above his left eye, was a strangely shaped mark carved into his flesh.

"James, over here!"

James looked up and saw Feather standing at the door to the readyroom. On it was a long knife, impaling a note to the thick wooden door. James snatched it and opened it up. It simply read: 'Tag, you're it.' James crumpled it up and let it fall to the ground.

"What's it say?" Feather asked him.

James didn't answer and instead barged into the readyroom, storming over to his locker. He began stripping off his smoldering dress uniform and replacing it with a set of the dark green digitals. He then removed the bullets from his dress uniform's breast pocket ant deposited them in one of his pockets before pulling on his belt. Before he did, he removed the sword and replaced it with his knife. He checked to make sure the revolver was still snugly seated in the holster. Reaching back into his locker, he pulled out some grease paint in differently hued earth tones and began smearing it all over his face.

Feather walked over to him, "What are you doing?"

"Those fires couldn't have been started much more than an hour ago, who ever set them can't have gotten far."

"You're going after them? Now?"

"I'm not going after them, I'm hunting their sorry asses down." He replaced the tin of grease paint, wiping his hands off on a rag.

"Then I'm going with you."

"No. I need you to stay here. Get Garth and Fluttershy in here, don't let anyone inside until I get back except for the rest of the team and Twilight. They'll be sure to come here once they return from Canterlot."

"Fine, but as soon as they do, I'm coming in after you."

"If you can find me, you're welcome to join." James hefted his rifle and began threading on the suppressor.

Once that was done, he grabbed a few full mags from Sparks' workshop and his new pair of NVGs which the engineer had painstakingly reconstructed some weeks earlier. The last thing he put on was his boonie hat. Determined, James marched out of the building and to the tree line, inserting a mag into the mag well and racking the charging lever to chamber a round. Garth had become somewhat of a friend over the past month, and nobody fucked with James' friends without paying a steep price.

=====================================================================

For the next two hours, James tracked a group of hostiles through the dense forest. A broken twig here, a foot print there, he was also a bit saddened when he sometimes found hoof prints mixed in with the clawed foot prints. Every so often, he would stop, sit still and listen for any sounds that might not belong to the forest. Usually he would only hear the sounds of crickets and small animals foraging for food in the night. This time, however, he thought he heard a faint cough. James waited for another few minutes before he heard the sound of wood tumbling to the ground, like it had been dumped in a pile.

James homed in on the sound, silently creeping forward, rifle at the ready. As he drew closer, he could see flickers of orange light, a campfire. He could hear grumbles of a harsh language, hostiles. He closed in on a small clearing, dropping low to the ground and slowly low crawling in the dirt. James came up between two bushes and peered into the campsite. He counted seven hostiles. Five limas, two papas. One of the limas was sitting on a small log next to the fire, poking it with a stick. James raised his rifle to his shoulder and flipped the safety off, training the sight on the back of the lima's head. He pulled the trigger and with a muffled snap, his rifle discharged a slug of metal directly into the cranial vault, blood and brain matter spraying over the fire, making the logs hiss and steam, dropping the hostile like a sack of potatoes.

James waited, in case any of the others had been disturbed from their sleep. When nothing happened after a few minutes, James cautiously stood up. Weapon still at the ready, he entered the campsite and looked around. Still four more sleeping limas and two papas. One of the papas James recognized. It was a brown pegasus with a bright yellow streak running through his mane. Robotically, James safetied his weapon and drew his knife, then proceeding to silently slit the throats of every Lotkin warrior and the other pony. A couple of them woke up while he did it, including the pony, the last thing they saw, the cold blank eyes of a trained killer as he muffled their screams with one hand and used the other to draw his blade across their throats just below their voice boxes, cutting off the supply of air to their vocal cords and silencing them forever.

When he finished, James dragged the log from the fire and placed it in front of Lightning, who was still sleeping. With a thunk, he stabbed his knife into the log and sat down, picking up a stick, the one that had been used to stoke the fire, as he did. James began poking the stallion awake, speaking softly in an emotionless tone.

"Wakie wakie sunshine." He stuck the still glowing tip of the stick into the stallion's shoulder.

Lightning awoke with a start, "Ow! What the hay was that fo--" He stopped and looked up to see the human staring at him with soulless eyes. "You! What the hay are you doing here!?" He swiveled his head around the camp to his cohorts, "hey! Get up, he's here! Hey! WAKE UP!"

None of the bodies even twitched.

"Oh, I think you'll find us both quite secluded out here. Just you, me and the dead." James stated flatly.

"The...." Lightning sat up and looked around at the unmoving, prone forms surrounding them.

James unhosltered the revolver, causing the pegasus to go stiff with fright. James saw this and grinned devilishly.

"Don't worry," the human reassured, "it's not loaded. Yet." With a flick of the wrist, he opened the pistol's cylinder before pulling a large caliber round from his pocket.

"What are you gonna do?" Lightning asked him, the pony's voice quivering in fear.

James inserted the round into the cylinder and spun it, flipping it shut, "The two of us are going to have a little talk. Now, this particular weapon has about six chambers in which to load a bullet. I have just loaded one, which leaves five empty ones. This means that if I were to put the end of the barrel to your head and pull the trigger, you'd have about a sixteen point five percent chance of getting this bullet in your head. Not bad odds if you ask me. Of course, we don't know the position of the round in the cylinder. I might have to pull the trigger five times before your brains get blown out. Or just once."

To emphasize his point, James put the gun to Lightning's head and pulled the trigger.

*click*

"AHH, WHAT THE HAY!"

"Shit. You got lucky. Let's tweak that a little." James flipped the cylinder back open and inserted another round in a random spot, spun it and flipped it closed. "Alright, now you have about a thirty-three percent chance of buying the farm." He cocked the hammer.

"Wha-what do you want!?"

"I want to know, where the hell, Kraster is planning on landing." James said slowly and menacingly, "When would also be nice."

"I uh, I- I don't.."

James mimicked a buzzer sound with his mouth, "EEENNHHHH! Wrong answer." He put the gun back to Lightning's head and pulled the trigger again.

*click*

"AHHH!"

"Goddamn, Madam Fortune sure does love you for some reason, let's see if we can sway her." James loaded another round, spun it, flipped it closed. "Forty-nine point five percent. Boy, your chance of survival sure is shrinking fast." His voice still devoid of emotion.

"You're crazy!"

*click*

Lightning flinched and started whimpering.

"Holy shit, does some one love you!" James inserted another round, and closed the cylinder once more. "Your chance of taking a bullet to the brain just jumped to about sixty-six percent, that's majority. You know, I really don't think you'll survive this one." James said non-chalantly as be put the pistol back to the stallion's head and cocked the hammer. "Gee, I wish there was something you could tell me that would get my mind off of how badly I want to kill you."

"Ok ok ok! Please, just... put the gun down! I did hear Kraster talking about the invasion."

James un cocked his pistol and lowered it slightly, "Go on..."

"He was saying something about a river near Los Pegasus and doing something before winter hits again, but that's all I know, I swear! He never tells us anything, and when he does, it's to do stuff like like what we did to your house and that deserter"

"Now was that so hard?"

Lightning shook his head no.

"See, I'm not so bad. Now, I just have one more question, and this one should be especially easy for you to answer."

"I'll tell you anything!"

"What did I tell you back in the badlands?"

"D-Don't ever fuck with your friends or--"

*BLAM*

Lightning's head jerked back and his body toppled over backwards, dark crimson blood beginning to gather in a puddle.

"Yup."

=====================================================================

Back at the Fixers' HQ, the Ponyville Fire Department was wrapping up, having put out the forest fire already. Golden light began to grow in the east, heralding a new day. Fluttershy was passing out water to the tired Firefighters and treating those that had sustained burns. Applejack and Twilight had since returned and were currently holding back a very irate Rainbow Dash who was bucking flapping her wings in an attempt break their hold and fly into the forest.

"THAT SON OF A NAG, HE RAN OFF SOMEWHERE TO GET HURT AGAIN! WHEN I GET MY HOOVES ON HIM--"

Twilight was futily trying to calm her furious friend, "RD, I'm sure he's fine, he's trained to do what he does! I'll bet you that any minute now, he'll--"

"THERE HE IS!"

James came stumbling out of the charred tree trunks, covered in soot and visibly tired, the expression on his face blank and showing no sign coherence. With a mighty buck, Dash shoved off her friends and tore across the grass at the human in a fit of rage. James showed no sign of reacting until she had just about reached him when he ducked her tackle, allowing her to pass cleanly over him and through a stand of brittle burned saplings, the trunks snapping and collapsing in puffs of gray clouds as she bowled into them. She came to rest in a pile of ash, where she lay, dazed.

Twilight and Applejack galloped over to James, becoming a little unnerved at the gaze he was exhibiting. He was staring off into the distance, like he was intently focused on something and nothing at all at the same time.

"James, what happened!? James?" Twilight failed to attract his attention, "James? What's wrong with you, are you hurt?"

"Watch out sugarcube, comin' through!"

Applejack galloped up with a bucket of water gripped in her teeth and tossed the cool liquid the the unresponsive human. The water splashed onto his face, freeing him from whatever had a hold of his mind. James shook the water from his grime streaked face and looked around.

"Huh, what?"

Twilight tried to get his attention again, "James, I was asking you what happened."

"Huh? Twilight? Oh, yeah. Don't worry I'm fine, everything's fine."

Dash had recovered by now and trotted over, covered in a coating of black and gray ash, "What the hay did you think you were doing!"

James turned around and saw the look of anger on her face, "Oh shit."

She flew up and smacked him upside the head with her hoof causing him to wince in pain. Then she pulled him into a tight hug.

"You promised!"

"Yeah, I did and I came back again, right?"

"If you say so..."

Dash refused to break the hug, so James looked over her shoulder to the purple unicorn still standing before him, "Twilight, I need to write a letter."

Acceptance

Chapter 49: Acceptance

Three stallions and a human stood in front of their burned house. The Firefighters had said that the blaze was started in the kitchen with some kind of accelerant. They told them that from what they could tell, it might have been some kind of grain alcohol. Fortunately, the flames had not spread very far by the time the Fire Department had arrived. Unfortunately, both the kitchen and bathroom, along with a section of the living room. Plus, all their rooms now smelt like charred wood.

"Well, looks like we're shittin' in the woods for a while." James said with a downcast tone.

"Hell, we'll be grillin' out back too." Flash added.

"Ugh... grilled vegetables. Never did like them cooked that way."

"Sparks, they're vegetables, you don't have to cook them." Feather pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Well, Myst still has utilities, I think I'll go stay with her anyway."

"As long as you two keep it down, the walls there aren't too thick." Feather told his unicorn friend.

"Wait, you heard us?"

"Almost the same time every week. You engineers like to stick to a schedule, huh?" The earth pony teased.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Ok, sorry..."

"Everypony calm down, I got something to lighten the mood." Flash trotted into the burned house, returning a few moments later with a bottle of rum. "Emergency stash. Escaped the heat."

"Thank goodness, let's have a drink." James said gratefully.

Together, they all took seats on the porch, which had been largely undamaged by the fire, and passed the bottle around, taking swigs.

"So," Feather started to ask, "you catch the guys responsible?"

James looked at the three of them, "Yes."

"What you do with them?" Flash asked him.

"Well, just between us, they won't be starting any more fires. Ever." James took and extra large gulp of the rum.

"Shit, you kill 'em?"

"Didn't even bury them." The human's eyes were fixed to the floorboards of the porch as he spoke.

All of them sat in silence for a moment, taking in what James had just said.

"Where are they?" Sparks inquired of him.

James thought for a second, "Go into the forest at our HQ, hike for a few hours to the southeast. Look for the buzzards." He took another swig of rum.

"Hey, slow down there buddy." Flash said, taking the bottle from James.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hog it."

"What do you want to do now?" Sparks asked James.

"Well, first thing's first. The bathroom's destroyed, so we need to make a temporary one. If you can get me a colander, a hose, a valve and a big metal container I could construct a makeshift shower out back. As for the toilet, we'd better start digging a sizable hole in the woods back there."

"At least the weather's warm..." Flash said with a gray mood.

=====================================================================

A few days later, they had made a nice little shower in the stand of trees behind the house with a wooden platform to stand on and a wrap around plastic sheet for privacy. Sparks had even ran some pipes from the hous's plumbing into a large metal container strapped to a tree high up where the sun could warm it. For a toilet, an outhouse had been built further into the woods. It wasn't very luxurious, but it would do while sections of the house were being gutted and rebuilt.

Garth's situation wasn't so bad. He had been burned over most of his body in addition to all the cuts he had received. Before anyone could do anything else, Fluttershy had him wrapped up like a mummy and carted him off to her house. They couldn't take him to the hospital without causing a panic and her house was closer anyway. James made a mental note to go check up on him later, for now he was just trying clean up in the shower after a long day of clearing out the lower floor of his house of debris from the fire with the rest of his teammates. He was in the middle of rinsing himself down when he heard the soft sound of hooves on grass approaching.

"Hold on dude, I'm almost finished." He said, thinking it might be Flash or Feather.

The hoof steps kept coming, so James turned around and parted the plastic partition to tell who ever it was off.

"I said--"

"Hey there stud!" Dash shouted at him with a smirk.

"Oh shi--!"

James stumbled backwards, arms flailing, hands grasping for something to grab. Unfortunately for him, the only thing there was to grab was the loosely secured shower curtain. As soon as his hands closed around it, it tore from the rope that was holding it up, sending him painfully into the ground, the curtain falling on top of him in a heap while the water continued to shower down on him.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHA, NO WAY!" Dash fell backwards laughing.

"Dammit." He muttered under his breath before picking himself up, "Ha ha, very funny," He stood up, wrapping the shower curtain around his body, "you come out here for a show?"

"Ha ha, *gasp* ha ha ha," it took her a minute to catch her breath, "Oh, that was awesome... Aren't you supposed to not be surprised by stuff like that, 'highly trained soldier' and all?" She taunted him.

"Well, I didn't expect some lady to come play peeping tom while I was showering naked! You get a good look?" He countered, striking a suggestive pose.

Dash began to blush, her wings popping out with a *POMF*.

"Hey! There's that wing thing again!" James pointed out.

"Why, you!" Dash took a stance, like a bull about to charge.

"Uh oh."

=====================================================================

Flash was serenely trotting back to his house, two saddle bags of groceries slung over his back. Is was late in the day, the sun nearing the horizon, the weather warm and he couldn't wait to unload his cargo into the ice chest James and Sparks had dug into the back yard. Humming a happy tune, he rounded a corner on his way to the backside of the house when he was suddenly bowled over by a sprinting human garbed in nothing but the opaque plastic shower curtain they had put up only a few days before. As Flash hit the ground, vegetables and bricks of oats and hay were loosened from his bags and scattered across the ground. A split second later, the human was followed by a sky blue pegasus, her speed hampered by her still outstretched wings.

"Luna dammit. The hell is he doing now?" The pegasus stallion muttered as he picked up the food from where it had fallen.

James ran into the house, Dash hot on his heels. Flash put the last food item back in his bags and continued around the side of the house to the back where there was a spigot he could use to rinse it all off. He was calmly walking past the spot where the large window of the living room had been when the wooden boards covering the opening exploded outward and a heavy body slammed into his side.

"Ah! What the hay!" Flash shouted as James scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Sorry brother, turns out RD is a little sensitive about her wings."

"Her wings? Why would she..."

"HEY! What are you telling him!?" A wrathful Rainbow Dash appeared in the hole James had just created, wings still hampering her movement.

"Oh snap, gotta run!" James took off at a sprint, shower curtain flapping in the breeze. Dash was not far behind.

All at once, Flash realized what exactly was happening and began to chuckle as he got up from the ground.

Taking in a large lung full of air, the soot colored pegasus yelled to his teammate, "When she catches you, rub the spot between her wings!" Laughing to himself at James' predicament, Flash returned to what he was doing.

=====================================================================

James tried to read the letter Dash had been there to deliver in the dying light of the sun as he walked his way to Fluttershy's house. What he read both intrigued and saddened him. It intrigued him because of what Celestia had decided to do with some of his forces. It saddened him because he would also have to leave home again soon.

Commander Kaughn,

In response to the information you have provided me with I have decided grant Admiral Darkwing's request to train some of his units in the way you have trained ours. I have allotted two of your teams for this task. Admiral Darkwing has also requested that you personally oversee the training at the colony of High Tower in the Foal Mountains. In addition to this, I need you to scout the western coast of Equestria with Captain Armor for points of interest and defense as your experience in this matter is invaluable. The summer months are almost upon us and I would like us to be as prepared as possible when the time comes.

--Princess Celestia

He folded up the paper and put it back in his pocket as he started to climb up the small road that led to the door of Fluttershy's cottage. The letter had put a damper on his mood and a scowl on his face, he was really hoping to get a little more time in Ponyville with Dash and the rest of his friends, but duty called and he would answer. The prospect of getting to visit a griffon colony did interest him though. James put these thoughts briefly aside and walked up to Fluttershy's door, gently rapping the wood with his knuckles. After a moment, the door swung open, a worried looking pink maned pegasus on the other side.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here." She stepped outside and closed the door quietly behind her. "I'm afraid Garth has been having some problems," her voice lowered to a whisper, James bending down to hear better, "he keeps trying to hurt himself."

"Hurt himself?" James replied at a matching volume, "Like what?

"Like last night, I caught him with one of my cooking knives pressed against his throat..." She finished with a tiny squeak, distress apparent in her eyes.

"Alright, I'll talk to him, see what's going on."

At that moment, a crash and a clash could be heard coming from inside the quaint little cottage. With a gasp, Fluttershy turned around and burst back into her home. James quickly followed, expecting the worst. What he witnessed certainly surprised him. As he ran up a set of stairs after the blue eyed mare, he barged into the room she had galloped into to see a baffling sight. Garth was slowly retreating backwards to a bed he had apparently just removed himself from, the timid pegasus was staring him down the whole time until the large warrior humbly sat down on the mattress obediently.

"That's better! Now you stay there until your wounds properly heal, I'll have your supper up in just a moment." She ordered sternly.

James was mystified at the sudden change in her demeanor, wondering where this other Fluttershy had come from. However, as she trotted past him on her way down to the kitchen, she was right back to the Fluttershy he had just been speaking to outside.

"He's been like this all day. Please see what's the matter with him while I go fix his meal." She said diffidently, yet with a hint of authority.

"Uh, yes ma'am."

While Fluttershy lightly descended down the stairs, James casually walked over to Garth, grabbing a nearby stool to sit on, and placed himself in front of the injured fighter. The large Lotkin was sitting with his head down, rough leathery hands resting on his knees. At the sound of James sitting down, Garth lifted his head. On the left side of the warrior's face, just above his left eye, was a cruel and twisted mark carved into his flesh. The surrounding skin was purple-ish and swollen. The fact that it somehow wasn't infected, James accredited to Fluttershy's timely ministrations.

James picked his words carefully before speaking, "hey there bud, how are you doing? Your wounds look like they're healing nicely, but Fluttershy's telling me you're still not doing to well. What's wrong?"

Garth turned his head to a mirror that was sitting on a desk a few feet away. James followed his gaze and saw that the large warrior was staring at the mark upon his brow, an expression of contempt briefly flashed across his face.

"What's that symbol mean?" James asked him.

Garth took a minute before answering, "It is the Mark of Shame. The greatest insult one can bestow among my kind."

"Why's that?"

"All my kind will shun me. They will not even acknowledge my being. in tests of skill and strength, should I fail, they will not allow me the honor of the final journey, but instead leave me crippled and unwanted. Not even mine own clan shall accept me now."

"Alright brother, that's pretty heavy. But it's not so bad."

"I do not understand."

"Well, you still have us. And Fluttershy I think considers you a friend. I don't think she would have let you in her house otherwise."

"Fluttershy, is the flying yellow pony?"

"Yes, and she's been taking care of you since the fire."

"Then I owe my life to two." Garth said solemnly.

"Honestly Garth, you don't owe your life to anyone. You may have lost your old clan, but you can consider us your new clan. How's that?" James offered.

"You would accept the Shamed?" Garth asked in wonderment.

"As far as I'm concerned, you've got nothing to be ashamed about. You're just another one of us, nothing more, nothing less."

"But, anyone that accepts the Shamed are themselves Shamed! It is an abomination, the clans will not rest until you are captured and punished for your crime!"

"You know what? Fuck 'em. Brother, we're not just anyone here. This is a family and we've all been taking a liking to you. You may be a little gruff, but I like that, no bullshittin' with you. And I'm sure everyone else around town will get to like you too. Once they get past the fear of strange things, like you and myself, they're all pretty understanding. So, what do you say?"

Garth stared at the human like he was the craziest being in the universe. James just sat there and extended a hand. Tentatively, Garth eventually extended his own and they shook.

"I shall wear this mark with honor! All shall know the greatness of our clan!"

"Glad to hear it brother. When you're all healed up, I'll have Rarity come take your measurements. I think you'd look good in our uniform. Welcome to the Fixers my friend."

High Tower

Chapter 50: High Tower

Leaning against the railing of the stone balcony in the early morning light, James surveyed the mountain peaks around him. He was in a High Tower apartment far up in the foal mountains. He had been in awe when he arrived. Days ago, as the Clipper crested a ridge, a looming pillar of stone sprang up into his view, demanding the attention of onlookers for miles. Admiral Darkwing, or Silus as James had become accustomed to calling him now, explained to him that when Celestia first granted the griffons' permission to start a colony, this site was at the top of the list. An enormous natural formation of granite standing resolutely above the mountain peaks. Construction began a year later, the griffons digging out miles of tunnels and making nests and homes all along the sides of the rock formation.

"Hey, there's somepony at the door for you."

James turned around, facing the interior of his quarters, "Thanks Dash, I'll be there in a second."

He turned back around and reached an inside pocket on his jacket -- even in spring, it was cold at such high altitudes -- and pulled out a flask of rum, taking a swig before replacing it. It helped warm him up, but that wasn't the only reason for it. The nightmares were returning. It had been little things at first. Gunshots, explosions, feeling the splatter of blood on his face as he ripped the throat out of a target with his old knife. But then, the next dream, the one he had the night before, included his current teammates. Each of them being slowly tortured by the child, the child that would just not leave him alone. That didn't bother him so much as the fact that he had nearly kicked Dash out of bed when he woke up and started flailing.

She was just as surprised as him. And twice as worried. It was the first time she had seen him that way. It was the last time he ever wanted her to. James got up to splash some water on his face as it was covered in a cold sweat. She had made a fuss at first, but James had convinced her to calm down and go back to sleep, assuring her that he would return to bed soon. However, no matter how he tried, he couldn't get back to sleep, so he spent the night out on the balcony, just looking at the moon and the stars, which never ceased to amaze him. It was close to sunrise anyway so he wouldn't fret about tired for the next day's work. Which brought him to his current situation.

With a huff, James turned on a heel and entered the room, crossing the space to the door. Still retaining some of his old paranoia, James cracked the door, using his foot as a door stop to deny entry in case the visitor was unwanted. What awaited him instead was a pair of officers he had been expecting that morning.

"Shining, Silus. Good morning, I'll be out in just a sec."

"Please, take your time." The black feathered griffon replied to him.

James ducked back inside to brush his teeth real quick. He entered the bathroom to see Dash was already doing the same thing. She moved to make room for him at the sink as he reached for his toiletries.

"Mmmflmmn rrmmndm?" Rd mumbled through the brush and toothpaste.

"What?"

Dash spit the froth of the toothpaste into the sink, "I said, who was it?"

"It was Silus and Twilight's brother. Time to get to work."

"Aw really? This early?"

"Yup, nature of the beast."

"Just don't forget dinner tonight."

"I won't." James said confidently.

Together, they went about their morning routine. James finished brushing and shaving and quickly got dressed in his digitals before heading out the door to the two officers who were patiently waiting for him.

"All set to go, I see." Silus said in greeting.

"Yes sir, I am. What's on the agenda for today?" James replied.

"We're going to check up on the progress of the trainees." Armor interjected.

"Alright, where to?"

"Top of the Tower," Silus said, "today they're practicing insertion techniques. I must say, what he have go show you should be quite entertaining, we've crossed your 'HALO' jump with an old hunting technique favored by our ancestors."

"Sounds interesting." James mused.

The trio ascended ancient stone steps, cut and scratched by the multitude of talons and claws that had tread upon them over the long years. It was a lengthy and strenuous climb, but after a time, they emerged out into a large craggy space, open to the sky. Here and there were buildings and shops cut directly into the hard cold stone, tall spires all around, dotted with holes, rose to touch the sky. High overhead, a large airship dominated airspace above.

"Welcome to our marketplace and aviaries for our messengers," Silus explained, pointing to the shops and the tall spires respectively, "and the display grounds for our demonstration are over here, to the north sector." Silus led them out of the marketplace and to a wide, flat slab of stone that hung out over the side of the tower.

Here and there around the surface, bipedal straw dummies bound with twine were set up in various formations. As James looked them over, he thought he could count almost a hundred of them. Suddenly, a shadow crawled across the stone platform, blotting out the sun.

"Ah, the demonstration is about to begin!" The Admiral said merrily.

James and Shining looked up to the airship above. About twenty dark shapes appeared at the edge of the railings. Then all at once, they launched themselves into the air, aiming at the great stone slab and falling fast. As they lost altitude, James could see that each shape was actually a griffon, wings tucked close to their bodies and swords clutched in their talons. With lethal precision, they fell upon their targets, flaring their wings at the last moment, stopping their fall, slashing and cutting down the dummies.

It happened so swiftly that James could barely follow it. In no time at all, the winged warriors had slain every single last dummy. They all sheathed their weapons and produced several decrepit looking firearms from their sides, snapping them up to the ready, facing out in a large circle. James had to admit, he was impressed.

"Now that's awesome!" The human complimented.

Silus had a cocky look about his features, "That's not all, keep watching."

James returned his attention to the airship and was surprised when large bay doors began to open on its sides. He hadn't noticed them before as the doors were well crafted and constructed, the edges blending in seamlessly with the rest of the hull. He was even more surprised when out popped a couple of small Clipper class airships.

"And there would be the members of your Task Force, James. While my soldiers keep the area secured, yours will provide close air support until it is deemed there is no longer an immediate danger, at which time they will descend and remove any wounded. It's all very exciting!" Silus explained.

"I see that Celestia has lent you some of our weapons."

"Yes, a gift that I was most happy about. At first, they were a bit out of commission, but the engineers you employ in your teams proved to be highly adept at restoring them to working order, as well as providing proper training."

"I'm extremely glad to hear it. Just one other thing, what gave you the idea for the airship?" James asked curiously.

"Oh ho! I'm astonished you don't know! I was so taken with the stories of the grand warships of the sea you've regaled me with, I simply thought that we must have something to match. I took the idea to our finest shipwrights and what you see before you is the result! They did quite well, If I may say so." The raven colored griffon gloated.

"I gotta say human," Shining began, "you may be unorthodox, but this is shaping up to be a fine fighting force."

"Thanks brother, that means a lot to me."

"Honestly, if you weren't a good friend of my sister's, I might not be so nice."

"Well, at least you're honest." James replied flatly.

The entire visit, the two had been butting heads. The Captain wasn't a huge fan of deviating from tradition. It was something James could admire, but it wasn't something he could entirely agree with. As such, they had been contradicting each other left and right over how best to proceed with training. Soon, they were about to spend a week together surveying the western coast, something James had not been looking forward to. Especially since James had yet to introduce the Captain to the latest member of his team, who would be accompanying them on the trip. It was something James didn't exactly know how to handle. He figured he would just do the big reveal while they were already underway.

"You got any other surprises?" James asked the large griffon.

"Oh, terribly sorry, but that is all we have at the moment. Perhaps if you gave us some time, we might come up with something equally... exquisite."

"I look forward to it."

"Well gents, that will be all for today's demonstration. Please, feel free to enjoy yourselves here in my humble home. Please do be careful though, every city has its bad apples." Silus said with a short bow.

"Don't mind if we do."

=====================================================================

James patrolled around the marketplace, looking for something nice to get for RD. She had given him the neat little gem a while back, so he figured he should get her something too. Unfortunately, the only personal items he owned were either too sharp or too explosive or too dangerous in general to just give away. So now he was canvassing the market for something that showed how he felt while accurately representing the pegasus mare's personality. Not an easy task.

So now here he was, looking into every shop possible for that special little trinket that would be just right. He wanted to find it today, as tomorrow he would be setting out on his journey to the west coast. For this task, it was made clear that Dash would be unable to come with him. Something that did not please him, yet he wholly understood. The defense of a nation was something they all needed to focus on without distraction.

Ducking into what had to be the hundredth shop he'd visited in the morning, James continued his inspection of the various wares touted about for sale. His eyes played over the many odds and ends that filled the shop as the merchant that owned it watched in earnest, waiting for the human to pick something out to buy from him. For almost half an hour, James looked, but still could find nothing suitable. Just as he was about to give up and leave, out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention.

Far in the back of the stone room,buried under a pile of seeming old and un sellable goods, a dark yet shiny glint snagged his interest. Walking over to the pile, James took a closer look and began to dig through the items until he pulled out what he was looking for. He brought it up to his face and marveled at the object, wondering how such a thing could have gotten here. With interest, James took the item over to the merchant.

"Excuse me sir, but would you happen to know where this came from?" He inquired, holding up the item for the griffon to see.

"Ah, that thing? Some 'unter brought it in, said he found it in the woods down in the mountains. Looked intrestin' enough, so I took it off 'is claws for 'im. Couldn't find a buyer for it though, so there it sat, gathrin' dust. You wantin' to snatch it up yourself, eh?"

"Sure, how much you want for it?"

"How's about jus' five bits?"

"Just five bits? Deal." James reached into his pocket and took out the five coins, "Thought it would be more than that."

"Nah, glad ta be rid of it. Looks right ugly if ya ask me."

The griffon placed James' purchase in a small box and wrapped it with indistinct brown paper. James thanked the merchant and left the shop, eager to present his present to RD before he had to give her the bad news of his imminent departure. However, as he tried to find his way back to the passage that had brought him up to the market place, he became very aware that he was in fact unaware of his whereabouts. The streets of the markets were cut directly into the stone, creating what was ultimately a large maze of rock walls. This was not at all a problem for the griffons who had wings with which to fly, but for a human, this presented quite a problem. With a sour mood, James realized that he was lost.

Carrying his parcel tucked under one arm, the human made his way down the myriad passages filled with awkward twists and turns. This only got him more confused and lost than when he began. With frustration, he started running about, picking directions at random. He tried climbing the walls to simply jump over the obstructions to his destination, but the stone was too high and too smooth for him to get a grip. Defeated, James was reduced to wandering the enclosed streets aimlessly, hoping he would run into Silus or stumble across the stairway he had first emerged from. He hoped he would find it soon, as it was getting late and he had dinner plans with a certain sky blue pegasus.

Turning into another dark alleyway, James stopped and listened. His gut had abruptly told him he was being watched. And when his gut told him to stop he listened. Especially in a city comprised almost entirely of apex predators. He could just as easily be being hunted. James cautiously looked around, scanning the tops of the walls for movement. He heard a scrape on the stone deck behind him and whipped around. A griffon stood there, blocking the way. Another sound behind him, the ruffle of feathers on folding wings. James looked over his shoulder and saw that another one blocking his exit.

"Well well, what have we got here?" Came a voice from up above.

James snapped his head up to see yet another griffon perched on the edge of the wall above. She was looking down at him with hungry eyes, but not the kind James would have preferred. The griffon had a brown hide with stark white feathers covering her head, a few extending over her eyes had purple highlights at the ends. Her eyes were a golden color. At the moment both of them were focused on James' little brown box.

"What's that you got under your arm there, wouldn't be something valuable would it?" She asked in a mocking tone.

James looked around at the two griffons blocking his way out on either side. They were slowly getting closer.

"I really don't have time for this, is it alright if I can just go? I'm hungry and I got a dinner date to get to." He replied in a bored tone

"Oh, what's that, you just wanna go home? Well you're in my street in my city. So there's a toll bub." The female perched above said menacingly, eyes narrowed into slits, lion's tail lazily whipping about.

"C'mon, I really don't want to do this. How about a rain check?"

"How about you hand over that box ant the contents of your pockets?"

"No." James said simply.

"I actually wasn't asking." The griffon on the wall said, giving her two cohorts a subtle signal with one of her talons.

James dropped into a defensive stance and put his back against the wall opposite of the ringleader as the two griffons in the street with him began to advance upon him. His eyes darted between them, wondering which would be the first to strike. He assessed his opponents, all were naturally armed with talons, claws and sharp beaks. Meanwhile, he had only his fists, having decided that walking around armed all day would not be necessary.

The griffon on his right looked about ready to pounce, James braced himself for the impending fight. The griffon made his move and leaped at the human, but was smashed to the hard stone ground in mid air by a cyan blue blur. Fast as a flash, the blur shot over to the other griffon and delivered a debilitating kick to his beak. The first griffon dizzily got back up and shook his head. With anger, he charged at what he could now see was a pegasus. He swiped at the pony with his sharp talons, but the pegasus ducked each attack, stepping into his guard hitting him hard in the throat with her right hoof. The griffon fell back, clutching his neck and gasping for air.

"Rainbow!?" The female griffon exclaimed in astonishment.

Dash looked up to the top of the wall, "Gilda!?" Her face went from surprised to contemplative to angry. "What the hay is going on here!?"

"Oh nothing," Gilda said with a huff, "we were just having a nice chat with this... uh, this... guy here. What does it matter to you what I'm doing anyhow?"

"What matters is it looked like your goons were about to mug my coltfriend!"

"Coltfriend!? Wow, whatever. I'm totally over you anyway."said Gilda as she rolled her eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" James interjected.

"NOTHING!" Both girls yelled at him.

At this point James decided whatever it was, he should probably stay out of it. So he leaned back up against the wall and calmly waited.

"Listen, what's past is past. I tried to bring you into my new group of friends, but you obviously didn't want to be a part of that, so we went our separate ways. That said, James is off limits if you know what's good for ya!" Dash finished vehemently, stomping the ground with a hoof.

"Whatever, you two can both be lame together. C'mon fellas, lets blow this joint."

With that, all three griffons took off into the sky. The confrontation over, James pushed his back off the wall and walked over to RD, who was still a little tense.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok." RD said with a bit of melancholy.

"Who was that?"

"Just an old... friend."

"Had a falling out, huh?"

"Yeah....."

James could understand that. He and Jackson had fought countless times before. One time, after a small incident with Jackson's then fiance, they hadn't even spoken to each other for a week. Their two teammates, Nix and Feng, had to act as liaisons. Eventually, they had worked through it.

"You try talking to her? Maybe you two could do lunch or something while I'm gone." James suggested.

"It... it's not all that simple. We used to be a little... more... than friends."

"Oh. Oh... OH...." James finally realized what she meant, "Well still... It might be good to at least clear the air."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Dash said, perking up a little with a little smile.

"Nice. Now c'mon, dinner's on me." James said with a smile while rubbing her shoulder with affection.

"Heh heh, you treat me too well." Her smile grew wider.

"Ha, you just kicked two griffons' asses for me, not well enough!"

"Shut up and take me to dinner."

James loosed a chuckle and smiled, "Yes ma'am."

A Chance Meeting

Chapter 51: A Chance Meeting

"So... you gonna tell me what's in the box?"

Dash was referring to the small brown box that James had placed by his chair once they had arrived at the restaurant. She had already asked several times before, but James had been keeping quiet about it which had been getting on her nerves a bit. Which was amusing James way too much. Which in turn annoyed Dash more.

"Dash, I said I'd show it to you at dessert."

"I know. That's why I ordered some while you were in the bathroom. Ah, here it comes now!"

Sure enough, one of the waiters came to the table with a small slice of chocolate cake.

"Oh, c'mon, we've barely finished the appetizer!" James said with a disbelieving laugh.

"Don't care, dessert's here, now what's in the box?" The pegasus said with a smirk.

"Alright alright, you've forced my hand." James bent down and retrieved the parcel, placing it on the table.

He began unwrapping the paper, Dash was hunched forward in anticipation. With little flair, but a big smile, James opened the box and pulled out a small trinket of dark, flat polished stone a little smaller than half the size of his palm. It had the peculiar feature of almost being transparent, but the color of the stone quickly absorbed the light, making it appear as if one was staring into a dark bottomless abyss. In addition to this, the light that did make it through cast a spectrum of colors all about. Carved into the face of the stone was a swirling script familiar to James, but not to the world he now resided in. It looked like this: ح ﻭﺭ ش ﺗﺂ

"Here, I saw this and thought of you." James slid the stone over to Dash.

"It looks awesome! What are theses squiggles on it?"

"It's a language from back in my world. It's actually one I know, I was very surprised to find it here. Especially because I've never seen that kind of stone before. The squiggles are actually two words, 'Atash e Rooh', Fire of the Soul. When I get back home, I'm gonna have it turned into a necklace for you." James explained to her.

Suddenly, Dash leaped across the table and tackled James in a tight hug, knocking him out of his seat and to the ground.

"I take it you like it...." he said as she squeezed tighter.

"Mmhm." Was her reply, head nuzzling into his neck.

"Alright, well I appreciate the affection, but I'm still hungry and we're getting stares."

"Let 'em stare." She refused to let go.

"Alright."

With some difficulty, James got up off the floor, a persistent Rainbow Dash still hanging on his neck. With a grunt, he returned to his seat. Dash repositioned herself to sit more comfortably on his lap. Just about then, the rest of their food arrived.

"So I guess we're eating dinner like this, huh?" James said to her.

"You betcha!"

=====================================================================

Bags packed, all dressed, equipment accounted for, James picked up his rucksack and duffle bag and headed for the door. Before he left, he turned around and took one last look around his room. Barely any light came through the balcony windows as it was still extremely early in the morning. Back in the bedroom, Dash was still sound asleep. He had tried waking her to say good bye, but she was still out cold from last night. So he had left a note and a kiss on her head. With a deep breath, he stepped out into the doorway and gently shut the door.

With conviction, he went to the stairs and made the long climb to the top. It was time for his trip to the west coast with Shining and the rest of his own team. The Fixers were soon due to arrive and pick up their passengers. Dash had been unhappy about the whole thing, but James had assured her that he shouldn't be doing any fighting, it would be more like a camping trip, and he would see her again in Ponyville in only about a week.

As he trudged up the old stone steps, the human was joined by a large white, blue maned unicorn.

"Morning."

"Morning."

"You ready to get this shit done?"

"Let's just get it over with, I need to get back to my wife. She's starting to send weird 'lovey dovey' letters."

"At least they're not the other kind of letter."

"Yeah, at least they're not that."

Their brief exchange over, the two climbed the rest of the way up, emerging out into the marketplace and marching to the wide stone shelf Silus had taken the both of them to the day before. It was the safest and most convenient place for the airship to land and pick up their load. Both James and Shining waited in silence for their ride, the sound of a propeller gradually growing from a distance in the weak morning light. With speed, the flying contraption soon came into view and landed on the wide open stone.the side door slid open and James and Shining hurried forward, both of them jumping into the aircraft, James shutting the door behind them. Inside were Sparks, Flash Feather and a strange masked hulking figure clothed in the same uniform as the others and a hand made boonie hat seated in the back corner near the engine compartment. Sparks hit the bulkhead the cabin shared with the cockpit twice with his hoof. With a jerk, the Clipper quickly took to the sky, angling away to the west.

"Who's that in the back, it's not another human is it?" Shining ask suspiciously, eyeing the other passenger in the back.

James was busy stowing his bags, "He's a new member of our team, give me a minute and I'll introduce you."

"If you say so..." Shining sat down, still keeping an eye on the passenger in back.

James finished putting everything away before stepping over to their mysterious passenger. He placed himself between the large sitting figure and Shining, he thought it might get violent and he didn't want any one getting hurt.

"Shining, this here is Garth. He's a new addition to the team, a skilled fighter and a valuable source of insight in our fight." James turned to the passenger, "Garth, go ahead and take of your mask."

At the human's command, Garth reached up with a gnarled hand and pulled off the fabric covering his face. Shining immediately jumped up, horn charging with magical energies in preparation for a fight.

"What the hay is that thing doing here!?" He yelled angrily.

James put his hands up and stood in the fiery unicorn's way, "Calm down now, he's a friend. He's here just to help us. I know we often don't see eye to eye, but Garth is a member of my team and he's here to stay, so you might as well get along."

Behind him, Garth emitted a low growl. Shining still looked ready for a fight, but eventually he sat down, the dangerous aura around his horn fading away.

"Fine," the unicorn huffed, "I'll work with 'him', but I still don't have to trust him."

"As long as we get the job done, that's good enough for me." James said, feeling some weight drop from his shoulders as the tension lessened.

Shining took a spot at the other end of the compartment and sat down, getting comfortable for the long trip. However, he kept glancing over to the corner Garth was sitting in. James sat down on a bench next to Flash.

"That went well..." the pegasus said to him.

"Yeah. Maybe if Shining gets to know him like we did this trip might not be as rough as it looks like it might be."

=====================================================================

Shining made another mark on the map. A slight rise at the top of the north river bank that could make for good cover. James was on the top deck with Garth and a pair of binoculars. The two of them were looking down on the coast and the ground from the Clipper's high altitude, discussing the attack and formation strategies of the Lotkin Clans.

"My kin do not function well on water, but once they make land fall, their strength and vigor will rise. Once that happens, we will be hard pressed to repel them. They will surge forth like the tide of a full moon."

"Good thing I'm such a good swimmer. Though it's too bad I don't have my SCUBA gear, that would come in handy." James replied.

"What is skoobah?"

"Nothing, just equipment I used to breathe underwater. It wouldn't really be all that effective anyway unless we had enough tanks, masks and fins for all of us." James raised his binoculars again, gazing at a wide flat beach to the north. "There, check that out," he handed the binoculars to Garth, "see that beach? Look at the water going out from it. It's shallow right where it meets the sand, but just twenty feet out, the water abruptly becomes a deep blue. It just drops off. They could get landing ships in real close and dump soldiers straight on the sand."

"Aye, that they could. It is here they must be defeated before reaching the rushing river." Garth said with authority.

"Why's that?"

"Long ago, my kind discovered that rivers are often the quickest way to travel between the camps of our enemies. Especially one such as this, with it's wide banks, devoid of the foliage. They would swiftly march to the interior lands."

James looked down at the river below and saw that what the large warrior had said was true. Then he looked down at the map and saw something that shocked him. It was something he should have seen before. When he traced the river in the map with his eyes, he saw that it ran past White Tail Woods, through the Everfree Forest and right by Ponyville before terminating at the tall mountain that bore the capitol city of Canterlot.

"Shit."

"What is wrong?"

"There are a lot more lives in immediate danger from this than just those living in Los Pegasus. If they make it up that river, not only will they reach Canterlot with little difficulty, but Ponyville might very well be annihilated as well." James explained.

"Ponyville. House of Fluttershy?" Garth questioned in his gravelly voice.

"Yes Garth, House of Fluttershy and everyone else."

"I shall receive my final honor before they are allowed to pass." Garth said with conviction in his voice.

"Glad to see you finally have something to fight for brother." James brought the binoculars back up to his eyes.

"Why is that, Ahrhati Khot?"

"Because it means you'll fight harder. And stop calling me that, I don't like it. I told you, 'James' is fine."

James' earpiece crackled, "Hey boss, light's burnin' up. I'm gonna have to set her down soon unless we break out the NVGs and strap up." Myst said informatively.

"No, you've been flying for almost the whole day now. Go ahead and pick a spot, we'll set up camp for the night."

"You got it."

James folded up the map and jumped down to the cabin where the rest of his team was helping Shining with his task of marking defensible positions. With a great expulsion of air from his lungs, he sat down on a bench and took out his iPod, putting his headphones in and flipping to a random song. He then laid back on the bench, tired and already wanting to go home, but took solace in the fact that he had only three more days to go.

=====================================================================

Eyes shot wide, a chill on his skin. James sat up, suddenly wide awake. His iPod was still blasting Korn into his ears. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and looked around. He was still in his makeshift tent, just a tarp thrown over a low hanging branch, the edges pinned to the ground with some rocks he had found. The fire was slowly dying, the wood nearly entirely reduced to a pile of embers. Spaced out around the fire were the rest of his teammates, still sleeping soundly, except for Feather who was on watch.

James didn't know why he had woken up, but he was incredibly thirsty. So he grabbed his canteen and took a few large gulps. Wiping some water from his chin, James lay back down and tried to go back to sleep. In two hours, it would be his turn to stand watch and he needed all the sleep he could get. As it was, he'd only been asleep for about four hours. For fifteen minutes he lay there, willing his mind to fade back into oblivion, but it was useless.

Getting back up, James sighed and pulled on his boots and a shirt to supplement his pants and crawled out from his tent. He was about to walk off, but tuned back and snatched his canteen and his M1911A1 from inside his tent. Standing up to his full height, James stretched, arms reaching to the abundance of twinkling stars high above.

"What are you doing up, you still got an hour and a half." Feather was sitting near the fire with his front legs tucked under a short distance away.

"Eh," James twisted his neck with a loud crack, "couldn't sleep. If you're tired, I'll take over now."

"Nah, I'll finish out my watch."

"Suit yourself." The human bent down and picked up a radio, "I'm going for a little walk. Hit me up if you need anything."

"Will do."

Without another word, James wandered away into the darkness. The moon was full, but waning, providing a soft pale light by which to navigate the rolling terrain. As he walked, the faint noise of crashing waves grew. He began to gravitate towards the sound. He came to a beach, likely the one he had seen from the air hours earlier, and sat down in the cool sand, looking out over the ocean.

James sat there for a while, taking swigs from his canteen, not particularly thinking of anything. As he sat there, he almost thought he could hear another sound, the sloshing of water. It wasn't like the sound the waves gently emitted as they barreled onto the shore. It was, James thought, something akin to oars splashing through the swirling surf. James' senses perked up and he squinted into the night, trying to detect any movement. Soon, his eyes could see a mid sized row boat riding the waves to shore.

Quickly and quietly, James retreated from the beach. He found a patch of tall grass and dove in, melting into the environment. From there, he waited and watched. The boat landed and disgorged about seven four legged shapes onto the sand. Suddenly, the rasping sound of unsheathing swords echoed across the sand to where he was hiding. James' brow furrowed, transforming his face into a scowl as he pulled out his sidearm and flipped the safety off. He waited a moment to see what they would do. His muscles tensed as they began making their way across the beach in the direction of his camp. Whispers floated through the air, James strained his hearing to try and understand them.

"You sure you it was over here?"

"Aye, I could see the flames of a fire."

"You sure it wasn't just a wildfire?"

"You doubt my skill in sight?"

"Well, you do only have the one eye..."

"Yes, but my one eye it twice as sharp as the both of yours."

"Whatever you say. Just as long as these wayward campers have some good loot."

"Remember! Try not to hurt them unless they get rough, just scare them into handin' over their goods."

James had heard enough, "Fucking thieves." He muttered to himself.

Stealthily, James removed himself from the tall grass and crept up behind the group. They would soon near the campsite, so James decided to make his move. He stood behind them and raised his weapon, cocking the hammer.

*click* "That's about far enough. Let me just warn you that these aren't the kind of 'wayward campers' you want to mess with."

At his words, the band of thieves whirled around, blades up and ready for a fight.

"Oi, it's jus' one bloke."

"Yeah, what's you gonna do against th' seven of us?"

James smiled, "Good thing I got seven in the mag..."

"Wot's that supposed ta--"

"It'd be best if you would all lower your swords 'fore the Commander make short your life." One of them, who seemed to be the leader, said to the rest.

"Boss, you know this guy?"

"Don't ya recognize the salty two legged dog that helped us run th' Captain's ship?"

James thought he could recognize the voice, "Ken? Is that you?" He lowered his firearm.

"Aye, that'd be me."

Loss

Chapter 52: Loss

"So what brings a pirate of the high seas to ply his craft on land like a common thief?"

They had all returned to the beach and found a few washed up pieces of driftwood to sit on.

"Ah, we've fallen on hard times. Captain Easton tried to sink a ship crewed by those foul beasts that took from us our home and sustained a few heavy hits. He pulled through, though he's lost another of his legs. I stepped in to fill the gap and help increase our bounty, but th' Luna's Revenge is still badly damaged and makes for a poor vessel. It's taken a toll on us all." The one eyed earth pony explained dejectedly, his head hung low.

"Yeah, I've noticed your accent has become a little more... piratey-er."

*sigh* "Aye, it comes with th' job."

"I can drink to that," James said, offering his canteen, "sorry, all I have is water."

Ken reached into his vest and pulled out a flask, "Wouldn't be a proper pirate if'n I didn't carry my own stash of rum, a favorite of yours as well if I recall. Care for a sip and a swig?"

"Ken, you're too kind. I shouldn't though, I'm actually kind of working right now. Sorry." James apologized.

"Celestia still have a leash on your collar then? A shame, it is. You know, you seemed right at home with us on th' frothing currents o' th' sea."

James took another drink from his canteen, "Yeah. I was actually a sailor once, I didn't lie about that when you guys took me on. I just kinda... switched jobs."

"What with th' fightin'?"

"Yeah... Can't say I was completely happy with that decision, but the pay was good and, even though I lost a good friend back in my own home, I made a bunch that are just as good here. So it wasn't all bad."

James pulled out his iPod to check the time. He saw he had about thirty minutes to get back and start his watch.

"Shit. Well, it was nice talking with you again Ken. I have to go now, but if you can help me out, I need some help from you if possible. Maybe even some information. Any way I could keep in contact?"

"Aye. We have in employ a pegasus in Van Hoover that flies important correspondences and parcels to and from the mainland for us. I can have him contact you, he jus' needs to know where to find ya."

"Just have him go to Ponyville and ask around for James the Human. He'll find me pretty quickly."

"I'll pass it on."

James stood up and offered a hand which Ken shook vigorously with his hoof.

"T'was a pleasure to speak with ya again James. I look forward to a partnership."

"Same here brother. Fair winds and following seas to ya."

Ken got to his hooves and returned to his row boat, the rest of his entourage following. James then watched as they piled in and pushed off the shore, barging straight through the shore breaks and back to open sea. In the wan light of the moon, he caught a glimpse of the Luna's Revenge. He then hurried back to the campsite, just making it back in time for his watch.

"Awesome, time for some shut eye." Feather said with a yawn as the human arrived, "What'd you end up doing?"

James grabbed his top and his rifle from where they lay in his tent before tossing some small logs into the fire to keep it going until morning and sitting down by it.

"Went and chilled on the beach, then met an old friend. Looks like we'll be getting some eyes on the ocean around here."

"Eyes on the ocean? You talking about those pirates we picked you up from?"

"Yep. I'm gonna keep in contact with them, they'll be like and early warning system for when shit goes down."

"Sounds like a plan," Feather said with another yawn, "well, I'm hittin' the hay. G'night.

"Night."

The earth pony crawled into his own tent and promptly passed out, leaving James to gaze up to the stars and moon by himself. He leaned back against a log and absentmindedly pulled the gem he wore around his neck from his shirt, staring at it in the firelight, his thoughts and emotions rippling with the myriad formless colors the small stone radiated. There he stayed until sunrise.

=====================================================================

Two days later, it was early in the morning. The warm sun had just risen and Flash and Feather were just about to finish loading the remaining supplies into the Clipper's cargo hold for the trip back home. James was busy relieving himself a short distance away in the woods. It was the eighth and final day of their recon and he was eager to get back to his home. He zipped up his pants and began heading back to the airship, thoughts of what might be awaiting him when he returned filling his head.

*boom*

An explosion from far off in the distance suddenly jerked him out of his reverie. James stopped in his tracks and paused to listen. After a moment of silence, he was about ready to dismiss it as a random sound when he heard another, and another, and another. With haste, he sprinted through the under growth back to his team. When he arrived at the Clipper, he saw that they too were frozen in place, listening to the distant bursts of noise.

Shining poked his head out the side door, "What's all that noise, what's going on?"

Sparks was the first to reply, "Could be a number of things. It might be thunder, thought it doesn't seem like it and there are no clouds out." He turned to the Commander, "James?"

"Let's check it out." The human ran over and tossed the last of the supplies into the Clipper before jumping in himself. "Myst, spin her up." He said through the open cockpit door.

Both Feather and Flash hopped in and began to help the human tie everything down as the engine hummed to life. As the engine noise filled the compartment, they all put of their radios so they could communicate better.

Myst had the same idea, "Which direction do you think it was coming from?" Her voice crackled through their ear pieces.

"I'm not sure, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say west, out over the ocean." James told her.

James went to the back and began pulling out armor. All the pony armor he stacked to the side for the others, when he found a piece of his own he put it on. Garth was already wearing his as he insisted that he be ready at all times. Sparks came up beside James as he was rummaging through the pile for his bracers.

"You think this might be something we'll need that for?"

"I really hope not, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared."

"Good point."

Sparks started passing out the armor before donning his own. Soon, they were all fully equipped, Flash, Feather and Garth checking their blades while James and Sparks cycled the bolts on their firearms.

"Is all this really necessary?" Shining asked the human.

"I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it."

"Fair enough."

Myst's voice crackled over the radio again, "Hey guys, you'd better get up on the top deck and take a look at what I'm seeing."

James, Sparks and Shining rushed to the upper deck, James grabbing the binoculars on the way up. The three of them stepped up to the railing strained their eyes to se what she was talking about. Far off in the distance, puffs of smoke could be seen ballooning out from the side of a ship followed by the resonant booms of cannon fire. James brought the binoculars to his face and focused on the firing ship and saw that it was the Luna's Revenge. He then panned over to their target, a large boxy wooden barge.

"Hey Myst, think you can get us a little closer?"

"Workin' on it."

The Clipper drifted over the two ships, allowing for a better view. James looked down again at the barge and saw it was swarming with Lotkin. Even more, the seemed to be toting crossbows with a strange light glowing from their tips. James concentrated on the weapons as they were aimed at the pirate ship. Five launched their bolts, the strange glow traveling with the munition, when they struck the broad side of the Luna's Revenge bursts of heat and light tore through the thick wood, leaving holes the size of pumpkins. When the cannon balls from the pirate ship struck the barge, damage was done, but not enough to win the fight.

"We gotta get down there and help them." James remarked.

"Why? Their just pirates. If anything, they're getting what they deserved." Objected Shining.

"Because, they're an asset. Besides, once you get to know them, they're not so bad."

"How would you know?"

"Because I have. Sparks, get everyone below ready for action, we're crashing the party."

The unicorn rushed down to the cabin and got the team briefed and prepped.

"You really gonna do this?" Shining asked.

"Yep."

"Anything I can do to help then?"

"Just stay in the main cabin where it's safe and watch us do what we do best."

James descended down the ladder to the compartment below, his entire team was already geared up and waiting for orders. Shining followed him down shortly after and took a seat on a bench in the corner.

"What's the plan?" Feather asked.

"Here's how it's gonna go; Sparks, I want you to man up the 249 up top. Myst will fly in fast and low length wise down the barge. Sparks you let loose with SAW and clear us a landing spot. When we pass over the barge, Flash, Feather, Garth and I will jump out the side door here and start disabling the ship. Remember to tuck and roll, come up ready. Everyone know what to do?"

They all replied in the affirmative, Sparks rushed up to the top deck with two boxes of ammo. James and the rest moved to the side door and readied for their jump.

"One last thing. Sparks, once you complete this strafing run and we're on board, switch to the MG3 down here and provide close air support."

"Roger that." The engineer replied through the radio.

"I hope you boys are ready back there, I'm starting descent." Myst warned.

"We're good to go, work your magic." James replied.

His stomach shifted up into his chest as the airship suddenly accelerated and began dropping down to the sea. In a few minutes, the roar of the machine gun on the upper deck pounded through the craft as Sparks opened up on the target area. It was soon followed by pings and thumps against the hull.

"We're taking fire." Sparks said as he continued send lead down range.

"Keep your head down buddy, we're almost there." James reassured.

The aft end of the barge suddenly appeared below them, the deck quickly rolling by just fifteen feet below, bloody corpses littering it. Without hesitation, James leaped from the doorway, body preparing to impact the deck. As soon as his feet made contact, he tucked into a roll, safely dissipating otherwise lethal energy from his body into the deck. After a few tumbles, he snapped to his feet and brought his rifle to bear. Immediately before him were three startled Lotkin, he flipped his rifle to auto and put a quick burst into each of their chests, dropping them.

Around him, Garth and Feather were making similar actions, except with their deadly blades. Flash had leaped from the airship and spread his wings, diving and cutting down hostiles from the air above. They began a sweep down the deck to the forward end of the barge to where the the Lotkin had been firing the strange crossbows.

"Limas on your six!" Sparks warned.

"James turned around, reloading and dropping to a knee to confront the new threat. From a hatch, a large group of twelve hostiles were pouring. James prepared to fire, but was beaten to the punch by Myst and Sparks as they swooped down, the MG3 ripping through their ranks with rapid staccato fire.

"Thanks bud."

"We got ya covered.

James turned back around and resumed his advance with his other two teammates. When they reached the bow, they were surprised to see that the Lotkin with the strange crossbows were already cut up and dead, a smug sooty pegasus hovering over the bodies.

"About time you guys got here."

"Alright hot shot. Flash you stay up here and watch the top deck and the sides while me Garth and Feather head below to clear out the lower decks. Try not to get shot down." James ordered.

"You got it." Flash threw a quick salute before taking off into the sky.

James, Garth and Feather proceeded to a nearby hatch and popped it open, James standing back with his rifle ready incase there was a surprise. When there was none, he jumped down to the next deck and swept the room as Feather and Garth jumped down after him. They were in a large lantern lit bay with weapons racks affixed to the bulkheads all around. In regular intervals, thick wooden stanchions stood between the deck and the overhead, supporting the deck above.

Inside were also a group of seventeen hostiles, all frozen in their task, staring at the intruders. Garth rushed forward with a savage war cry and began slicing and hacking with his large sword. James and Feather both advanced as well, taking down anything that got in his sights, Feather cutting down any that got too close. As they neared their teammate, James' rifle clicked empty. He swung it to his back and pulled out his sidearm in a fluid motion, popping two more in their heads.

Garth was still battling two others. The two Lotkin he fought were blocking his attacks, but were also being driven back with the ruthlessness of his assault. Garth swung his great sword again at the head of one of his combatants, but it stuck into a stanchion before it could complete it's arc. The two hostiles faces turned into ugly grins as they prepared to hack him to pieces. Before they could, one's neck suddenly began to spray blood as a dagger was shoved through it while the top of the other's head exploded out from the temple as the .45 caliber round passed through it and buried itself in the overhead, bringing blood and skull fragments with it. As the bodies slumped to the ground, James and Feather could be seen standing just behind them. Garth nodded to them both in thanks.

Garth then went on to try and extract his sword from the thick wood while James and Feather looked around the compartment at the enormous weapons stockpile. In the lull, James reloaded his rifle and pistol, keeping the pistol out in the confined space.

"What do you think all these guys are doing out here on a barge full of weapons?" Feather pondered aloud.

"I don't know. Looks like it was part of a larger group. On the outside I saw large ropes attached to the hull, seems they snapped. They could have been with a bunch of others, but somehow got sep--"

A door at the other end of the compartment burst open, four hostiles jumping out, two stallions and a Lotkin with swords and a unicorn stallion magically holding one of the strange crossbows with the glowing tipped bolt. On reflex, James shot the three ponies and the Lotkin in the chest with his pistol, but the unicorn loosed the bolt before he went down. Time seemed to slow as James watched the projectile shoot through the air towards him. Abruptly, he felt himself being shoved to the ground, a large mass on his back, legs wrapped around his chest. The bolt sailed over him and impacted a stanchion just behind him, exploding in a blast of heat and pressure.

Groggily, James pushed himself up and cradled his head in his hands until the shaking and the ringing in his ears began to fade. He looked around Flash was coming down the hatch they had used for entry, followed by Shining. He was yelling something, his mouth forming words, but James still couldn't understand anything. He turned his head, searching for his other two teammates. Garth, he saw, had been thrown into one of the weapons racks and was getting up, mostly unharmed except for some cuts and bruises. We was starting to get worried when he still didn't see Feather. Then he turned to where he had been standing and saw the damage the crossbow bolt had done

The stanchion it hit had been reduced to splinters and jagged shards of smoldering wood. As soon as he looked down to the deck, James' blood flash froze in his veins. At his feet lay the unmoving form of a dark blue earth pony. The explosion had stripped his body of some of his armor, the exposed hair and hide was burnt and bloody. His eyes were wide open as if he was staring at something off in the distance, thin trickles of blood flowed from his mouth nose and ears.

Training kicked in and James sank to his knees and rolled his teammate's body over, leaning close to Feather's face to detect some sign of life. He couldn't feel a breath. Cold lumps of lead dropping into his stomach, James checked Feather's neck for a pulse. One couldn't be felt. Franticly, James began ripping off the remaining armor around his teammate's chest and started performing CPR. Furiously he worked, compressing the pony's chest and delivering rescue breaths. Flash and Shining rushed over.

"James, he's--" Flash began softly.

"GO GET THE MED KIT!"

"James..."

"Shining's here which means Myst landed somewhere on the weather deck, so GO GET THE FUCKING MED KIT!" James bellowed back at him, continuing his CPR.

Flash flew up through the hatch to retrieve the med kit. Meanwhile, Garth shambled over with a limp and joined Shining as they watched James try to revive his fallen friend. For seven more minutes James kept at it until Flash returned with the case full of medical supplies. James snatched it from him and cracked the case open, pulling out spring loaded syringe filled with adrenaline. He took out his knife and and slashed the front of Feather's uniform open. Then he stabbed the stallion's chest with the syringe over the heart, injecting the chemical straight into the life giving muscle.

After he did that, James resumed applying CPR and rescue breaths to the downed soldier, unwilling to accept the fact that he might be dead. James suddenly felt strong arms and forelegs wrap around him and begin to pull him back.

"NO!" He roared, throwing the limbs off himself and shoving his other teammates back, "GET THE FUCK OFF ME, WE'RE NOT LOSING HIM!" He began pounding on Feather's chest with a fist, "GET UP, GET THE FUCK UP!" James yelled at the unresponsive pony, his face red with anger and frustration. Then he started smacking Feather in the face with his palm, "YOU'RE NOT DONE YET, GET THE FUCK BACK UP!"

"James... he's dead." Shining said with sorrow.

"NO, HE HAS A STRONG HEART, HE WANTS TO LIVE!" He resumed furiously performing CPR.

Garth came up behind James and shove his arms through the human's armpits, wrapping his limbs around James' chest and lifting him high up off the ground in a bear hug as James kicked and struggled to free himself.

"Our friend has won honor and begun the Long Journey. He now travels with the legends of old. A fearsome warrior of great skill he shall be accepted into the Clan of Heroes." Garth said into his ear.

On the other side of the room, one of the ponies James had shot began coughing. Upon hearing the sound, James pulled in his legs and delivered a powerful kick to a stanchion close by, causing Garth to lose his balance and stagger backwards. The large warrior smashed his back into a weapons rack and tripped over the shaft of a spear that was knocked loose. As he fell, Garth let go of James with one arm to stop his fall, the other still gripping the human's chest tightly. The moment James' feet hit the deck, he pried Garth's arm off him and twisted it around, kicking his other arm out from under him and pinning Garth's large frame to the deck.

Next, he ran over and grabbed his pistol from where he dropped it and rushed over to the coughing pony laying on the deck between the lifeless bodies of his three comrades. The round James had fires at him had only wounded the pony in his right breast. As the unicorn saw James storming towards him, a mask of such terror fell over his face. He tried to get up, but James quickly knelt down and pinned the stallion's left foreleg to the deck with his knee before clenching the unicorn's throat with one hand and shoving the muzzle of his pistol into the terrified pony's mouth with the other. James cocked the hammer and was about to pull the trigger, but stopped when the pony tried to speak past the gun barrel.

"Whae whae, Ah cn gih yoo inforation!"

James pulled the gun out, "Speak!" he ordered with a voice full of malice.

"Please, we're just lost, separated from the fleet."

"Where?"

"I don't know, we've been drifting for days!"

"Where did you get that crossbow from?"

"A unicorn working for Mr. Kraster came up with it. That's all I know, please just let me go!" The unicorn pleaded.

"Sure, I'll let you go. To hell."

James' face remained an unfeeling blank mask as he stood up and fired the last three rounds of his magazine into the chest of the pony, turning it into a bloody pulp and forever silencing him. The gun fell from James' grip as his hand began to shake.

To The Dust

Chapter 53: To The Dust

All through the cabin, the only sound that could be heard was the ever present hum of the engine. Flash and Sparks sat against the forward bulkhead next to the cockpit. Garth sat with Shining by the open side door, gazing out over the rolling terrain. James sat in the back against the bulkhead bordering the engine compartment, head bowed low, arms resting on his thighs. In the center of the compartment a prone form lay, covered in one of the tarps they'd had on hand. For the second time since they left the barge, Flash got up and went over to the tarp, pulling it down to the neck of the body that lay beneath. He put a hoof over the still open eyes and once again attempted to close them.

James looked up from where he was sitting with haggard eyes, "I told you, you won't be able to close them for another couple of hours."

"I know, I just... it's too disturbing, it looks like he might get back up any minute."

"It's not really something you can get used to."

Flash pulled the tarp back over Feather's face, hiding his deathly gaze.

"Did he have any family?"

"I think so. He didn't talk about them much. I know he had a father, I've heard nothing of his mother." James said.

"They're dead." Myst said over the radio.

"How do you know?" James asked her.

"He got a letter a couple months back, his dad died. I asked him about his mother, said she died when he was born."

"Why wouldn't he tell us something like that?" Sparks asked aloud. "Why didn't you."

"Sorry guys, he made me promise to keep quiet about it."

"Poor guy," Flash said as he looked back down at the tarp, "going out like that with no family."

"We were his family," Myst said from the cockpit, "that was enough for him."

"What are we going to do with him?" Shining interjected.

"We bury him of course."

"Yeah, but where?"

"And how?"

Slowly, all their heads except for Garth's turned to James who was still sitting alone in the corner.

"What?"

"Well... you're the one who created the task force, are there special ceremonies for things like this?" Sparks asked the human.

"For the organization I used to be a part of, yes, but this is still the Royal Guard. To what ever customs or traditions regarding this falls under Captain Shining's expertise."

"Me?"

"Yeah you.

"Well, there is a ceremony for fallen members of the Royal Guard, but it's lengthy and it would have to be performed at the Royal Palace." Shining explained.

James keyed up the radio, "Myst how far out are we from Canterlot?"

"It's gonna be a while..."

"James, he was your teammate, your friend. You should decide how to handle this." Shining recommended.

James pondered this for a moment, "Alright, fine. Back in my world, a full military funeral usually just had the team and friends and family with a twenty-one gun salute, seven rifles, three shots each. But since it's just us and we don't have the firepower, we'll just wing it. Me and an old friend had an idea what we would do for each other if one of us died, we'll do that, but we'll need some rum."

"Lucky for you," Flash said as he walked around the body to a bag on the other side of the compartment, "I brought a bottle for the ride back."

=====================================================================

Atop the high hills northeast of Los Pegasus, four ponies, a mare and three stallions, stood around a low earthen mound at the base of a large oak tree aside two bipeds, one a pinkish light brown, the other a motley collection of green, yellow and brown, all in matching uniforms except for the unicorn mare who wore a faded green jumpsuit.

The human stepped forward and began to speak, "Brother, you gave it your all and asked for nuthin' in return." He hoisted an open bottle of rum into the air over the grave, "Work hard, play hard. Keep the tab open buddy, we'll see you soon."

He poured a little bit of the bottle onto the grave before taking a swig for himself and passing it on to Flash.

"Sorry we couldn't chill in your hometown like we talked about, I'll be sure to hit your favorite pub for you..." The pegasus mimicked James' actions and then passed it on to Sparks.

"I almost had that plumbing problem fixed. Hopefully it ain't a problem where ever you are now..." He too poured some rum on the grave and took a swig, passing the bottle on to Myst.

The hazy gray unicorn took it and held the drink high, "you were a good neighbor and a great friend. I'll miss the late night chats we had..." she then repeated the process and gave the bottle to Garth.

"Not long have I known you, but great things you have done. May your enemies forever cower before your blades and Shah'haratzoor guard your flank for eternity..." After offering some of the strong liquor to the fallen warrior, Garth also took a swig, grimacing as he did so before finally passing it to Shining.

"Briefly have I spoken with you, rarely have we talked. Still, you are one of the bravest ponies I have ever had the privilege to know. May Celestia's sun warm your days and Luna's moon light your way through the darkness. Rest in peace, you are relieved from the watch..." The Captain finished the ceremony with a splash of rum upon the mound of dirt and a shot of the burning liquid.

James took the bottle from him and finished off the drink, "Feather, you were a damned fine soldier. Your sacrifice will not be in vain." He completed his short eulogy with a snap to attention and a smart salute, the other five in attendance following suit.

The ceremony concluded, five of the attendees made their way back to the small airship resting on the soft grass nearby. Myst jumped in and hopped into the cockpit, beginning the engine start-up while the others settled in the back. James momentarily remained behind at the grave, taking two sharp daggers from where he had stowed them on his belt. At the head of the grave and the base of the tree trunk, he stabbed the daggers into the wood, wedging them deep into the old oak. With another few good kicks from his boots, James had them buried into the wood to their cross guards. He then gave them both a hard tug, satisfied when they didn't so much as budge.

With that done, he turned around and loped back to the Clipper as it prepared for take-off. Entering the cabin, he staggered over to an open seat near the back and plopped down onto the bench. Sparks was sitting near the human and turned to him with a question.

"So... what do we do now?"

James briefly rested his head in his hands before looking back up with a determined face and answering, "Before he died, that unicorn piece of shit that killed our friend said he was part of a larger fleet. We need to get back and get ready for a fight. Kraster thinks he's come here and fuck us all over, we're gonna reply with a stone cold cock block."

=====================================================================

By the time Canterlot came into view, the sun was close to setting. James had wanted to just go straight home, but there were reports to deliver and preparations to make. As soon as Myst put them down on the pier, James hopped off the airship and began briskly walking up the path to the palace, followed by Shining, Sparks, Flash and Garth who was wearing his boonie hat low over his eyes and a scarf around his nose and mouth like a mask.

He marched with conviction and a little anger left over from recent events. The palace guards made no moves to stop him, having learned long ago not to get in the human and his team's way when they were on the war path. However, when James reached the Throne Room, he was intercepted by one of the palace attendants who informed him that Celestia was in a very busy meeting and had instructed that she not be disturbed except under the most dire of circumstances.

With as much politeness as he could muster, James asked the attendant to let the princess know that his team and Captain Armor would be waiting for her in her private meeting room and had important information to share with her as soon as she was finished. The attendant rushed of to fulfill the request while Shining, James and his team quickly moved to the room in question. They had only waited twenty minutes when both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came barging in.

"Ah, Commander Kaughn, what news do you bring us?" Luna started.

"Yes, I too am eager to hear what you and Captain Shining Armor have found," Celestia cut it, "but first, how are you all doing? Garth, I'm happy to see you applying yourself constructively."

The large Lotkin warrior gave a stiff bow at his acknowledgement.

"And the rest of your team seems to be as healthy as ever, though you seem to be missing somepony. Feather Touch, was it? Has he some important errand?"

James stiffened at the mention of his friend. His jaw tightened and his lips pursed in a thin line as he answered, "Ma'am, he's... he's still on patrol."

"Well surely you could have included him in such an important briefing." Luna replied.

Shining hesitantly walked over to the two princesses and whispered into Luna's ear. For a moment, she seemed confused, but then in a split second, her face morphed from confusion to shock to sorrow at his words.

"What has you worried so, sister?" Celestia asked, concerned at the sudden change in the Night Princess' demeanor.

Luna leaned over and conveyed Shining's words to her sibling. Celestia displayed a similar reaction once she comprehended exactly what had happened.

"Oh my... Commander... James.... I'm so sorry for your loss." Celestia said in condolence, her eyes heavy with sadness.

"Please ma'am, if we could just move on..." James requested, straining to keep his voice even and professional.

"Of... Of course. What then do you have to show us?" Celestia's expression and tone of voice still did not change.

"Ma'am, we have reason to believe our enemy is on the move. We have thoroughly reconnoitered the potential landing sites and even arranged a sort of early warning system. Additionally, I recommend an evacuation plan for the nearby city of Los Pegasus be drawn up. Captain Armor here has the details. Captain?"

The unicorn approached the table and placed his map on it, "Most probable landing sites are here, here and here...."

=====================================================================

Late in the night, James made the long walk home. The meeting with the two princesses had not ended until it was just past mid night, only pausing to allow them both to lower the sun and raise the moon. Now finally, he could rest his weary bones, although, he wasn't sure he really wanted to. His mind kept showing him images of Feather laying lifeless on the burned deck of the barge. James was in no way looking forward to whatever his dreams might bring.

The rest of his team had gone home already, Myst to her small apartment at the HQ, Garth to his newly constructed hut near Fluttershy's cottage. Flash and Sparks had offered to walk back with James, but he told them to go on ahead without him. He wanted some time to himself. Only now that he was alone, he couldn't stop thinking about his friend's death. Coming up over the top of a small rise, his house came into view, quiet and darkened. With a quickened pace, James ran up onto the porch and through the front door into the living room. It had recently been repaired along with the kitchen, but it still had a subtle scent of charred wood about it.

As he ascended the stairs, he began disrobing, first taking off cover and uniform top before unlacing his worn boots just outside his door. He picked up the boots by their high tops and opened the door, tossing his garments and footwear into a corner. James then turned and was about to flop down onto his mattress, but stopped when he saw a sleeping Rainbow Dash snuggled up under the covers. For a moment, his brain failed to register a reason for why she would be sleeping in his bed, but then he remembered that he had told her that today was the day he would be back. He just didn't expect to have gotten back so late. She must have gotten tired waiting for him and decided to go to bed.

James didn't blame her, tired as he was. So he stripped down to his under shirt and boxers, then quietly slid in next to her, the warmth of her body welcoming him back from his trip. James got comfortable and attempted to fall asleep, but all he could do was stare up at the ceiling. With a huff, he changed position and tried again, but was met with similar failure. Phoning it in, he got up out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping mare next to him, and went down the stairs to the kitchen. He went into the cabinet and pulled out a half full bottle of rum and a short glass. He began to unscrew the top of the bottle, but stopped when he heard the sound of hooves lightly stepping down the stairs. James put the bottle down and turned around to face the kitchen entrance.

"Oh, hey, you're back." Dash said with a yawn.

"Hey, yeah. I just got in." James said, leaning against the counter.

Dash absent mindedly rubbed one of her eyes, "What's with the booze? Don't you think it's too early in the morning for that?"

"Uh, yeah... I guess you're right." James put the glass and the bottle back away.

"Why don't you come to bed with me, I could use the company."

"Ugh, I tried. Couldn't sleep."

"Why? What's wrong?"

James looked away and scratched the back of his head, "It's uh... I-It's nothing, really."

"C'mon, something that can keep you awake is definitely not nothing. Please James, if you can't tell me, then who can you tell?" She said, walking over and nuzzling up to his side.

"Honestly, I don't think it's something you wanna hear. But... you'll probably find out soon any way."

"Feather is... Feather is dead. And it's my fucking fault." He bowed his head and rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"W-Wait, WHAT!?"

"I made the decision to go in, my reflexes weren't fast enough, I'm the one who trained him and brought him into my way of LIFE!" He turned and pounded his fist on the counter hard, causing the items resting on it to jump before smacking back down on the hard surface.

Unnoticed by James, Flash and Sparks peeked their heads around the corner of the kitchen entrance. Dash spotted them and silently shooed them away. They glanced at each other briefly before quietly backing out, returning to their rooms.

James' voice dropped to a strained whisper, "I was supposed to die, but he took my place instead. I got him killed..."

Dash flapped her wings and hovered over to him, wrapping her forelegs over his shoulders and pulled him into a hug from behind. He hunched, muscles stiffening at the unexpected contact.

"He went with you because he wanted to, not because you told him to." She whispered into his ear.

"Yeah? How do you know, did he tell you?" Jame said sarcastically.

"No, Fluttershy did."

James' heart sunk and he brought his hand back up to his face, "Ah, shit." His hand acquired a slight tremor.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We'll all go talk to her together, ok?"

James took in a deep breath and let it out, "Ok."

"Good. Now come on back to bed with me, you need the sleep."

"Alright." He said quietly.

A Meeting With A Man

Chapter 54: A Meeting With A Man

*knock* *knock* *knock*

The wooden door swung open, "Oh, I'm so glad you're all back, please, come in."

Fluttershy left the door open for her guests and retreated to the kitchen. Solemnly, Dash, James and the rest of his team entered and took their seats in her living room around the coffee table. Humming a carefree tune and with a large smile, the pink maned pegasus returned with a tray loaded with some tea and biscuits, placing it on the short table in front of her guests.

"I'm glad to see you all came back safely, did you enjoy your trip to the ocean?" She asked eagerly.

James cleared his throat, "Actually, we're here to talk about Feather."

"Oh yes, he was supposed to go with me to Zecora's tomorrow and help me get some medicine for the animals. He's not here right now, is he busy?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.

"Um, actually, he won't be coming back."

Fluttershy looked a little downtrodden at the news, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, did he move away?"

Her sweetness was really starting to get to James, the tremor that afflicted his hands briefly returned, but he temporarily masked it by quickly reaching for a cup of the tea and taking a sip.

"Uh, 'Shy... That's not exactly it...." Dash said slowly.

"W-What do you mean?" The yellow pegasus asked confusedly.

"That's it, I don't know if I can do this..." Flash got up to leave.

James could understand, he was having a hard time with it too. Lieutenant Bellis had told him about having to do things like this when he lost a soldier or a teammate, how hard it was, but having never experienced it for himself, James was finding it difficult to cope. He knew he had to stay, though, and see it through. Still, he stopped Flash briefly.

"Go ahead, I'll meet you back at the HQ. But first, I want you to round up the rest of the girls if you can and bring them back here, Fluttershy is gonna need all her friends."

Flash gave him a compliant nod and excused himself, taking off from the ground as soon as he was out the door. Steeling himself for what he needed to do, James turned back to the sweet, blue eyed mare.

"This is going to be hard for you to hear, but there's something you should know about Feather..."

=====================================================================

It had killed James to tell her, but that was nothing compared to how he felt when he witnessed her reaction. After he explained everything to Fluttershy, she had just sat there quietly at first, but then he noticed a slight twitch in her eye. The next second, she jumped up from her seat and quickly scrambled up the stairs to her room, the door loudly slamming behind her. Rainbow Dash rushed up after her, but didn't get past the bedroom door. In frustration, she told James, Garth and Sparks to go on ahead and leave it to her, she would stay with her friend until the rest of the girls arrived.

Uncomfortable in the awkward situation, James obliged and stepped on out with Sparks and Garth. Confident Dash could handle the situation, he began the journey back to the HQ. As his two teammates walked just behind him, James motioned for them to move up to his side.

"So what's the plan now?" The unicorn asked him.

"We're gonna keep training. Garth, I think it's time I introduced you to firearms, we might need the extra firepower. Sparks, I want you to take him back to HQ and start running him through firearms safety. Show him how every pistol, shotgun and rifle we have works, but no ammunition of any kind until I say he's ready. Once you've finished that, I want the two of you to spar with Flash for at least an hour, after that, call it a night." James instructed.

"What about you, you coming with?"

"No, I'm leaving this up to you guys to do."

"Then what're you gonna do, just chill at the house?"

"No. I'm gonna go for a walk, blow off some steam. I'll see you all in the morning." The human stated shortly.

"Well, ok then. Stay safe."

"You too, brother."

Garth and Sparks peeled off in the direction of the HQ, James kept walking back towards the house. He looked high up into the sky, the sun was getting low. A warm breeze hushed through the trees and bushes. James got to his house and proceeded up to his room. Quickly, but without rushing, he grabbed his shoulder holster from the closet and threw it on. Then, he opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out Bellis' magnum revolver and loaded it up with the high caliber rounds. Next he stuck it into the holster and put a faded green vest Rarity had made for him on over it to compliment his blue jeans and white long sleeve.

The last thing he did before leaving the house was to pocket some extra ammo for the revolver and snap his knife in it's sheath onto his belt. Stepping out onto the porch, he began striding towards the forest. James wanted a secluded, quiet place to think, and then subsequently cause a little destruction to vent some of the anger that had been piling up recently without hurting or disturbing anyone nearby.

Before he entered, he used the sun to make a note of which direction he was entering so he wouldn't get lost. Traveling along game trails and picking his way down the banks of small streams, James delved deep into the leafy green depths of the Everfree. The residents of Ponyville avoided the wood, fearing it's strange ways, how it cycled through weather and the seasons without their help, but James liked it. It almost reminded him of home.

For a few hours, the human trekked, making sure he was far enough in. In due time, he found a decently sized recessed clearing, suitable for his needs. He walked around the perimeter a bit, checking to be sure he was alone and gathering pinecones, chunks of wood fist sized rocks and other random refuse he deemed fit for the task. Then he walked over to an old rotting log laying in the grass at one end of the clearing and set all the items in a neat little row. When he finished, he turned his back to the neat little set up and walked thirty paces to the other side of the clearing.

James drew his pistol from inside his vest and lined up the sights on his target. His mind kept returning to unpleasant thoughts. The things he'd done with the pistol he was holding, his friend's death. Slowly, he cocked the hammer, took a breath, and squeezed the trigger. With a loud report, the revolver bucked in his hand. Down range, one of the pinecones exploded, sending pieces of wood flying in all directions. Next he targeted one of the rocks. He fired and was met with similar results, the one fist sized rock was now a handful of small pebbles. James repeated this four more times, until the last round had been expended.

He hit the button on the side and flipped the cylinder open, then hit the plunger and ejected the spent casings. Without much vigor, he reached into his pocket and began extracting fresh rounds, lazily loading them into the still warm weapon. He had already loaded four when he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. Dropping the other two rounds, James flipped the cylinder shut and spun around.

"Who's there!?"

"Please do not be alarmed." Garth stepped out from the foliage, "The pink one asked me to bring her to you."

James lowered his weapon, "The pink one? Wait, you mean--"

"Surprise!" An energetic pink mare bounced out from the bushes with a smile, "It sounded like you needed cheering up, so I came to find you!"

James bent down to pick up the two bullets he dropped and loaded them into the two remaining empty chambers in the revolver's cylinder before closing it back up and holstering it, "I appreciate the sentiment Pinkie, but I think Fluttershy probably needs it more."

"Nope! She's good now."

"She ok?"

"Yep! It took us a while to get her out of her room, but once she did, she had a nice cry and now she's all back to smiles!"

James walked over to a small boulder and sat down on it, "That's good to hear." He lowered his head and began rubbing his eyes again.

"Mm hm! And now all we have left is you, mister grumpy face!" Pinkie beamed and started bouncing around him, "So what'll it be; a sassy song, a colorful cupcake, a ghastly gift, ooh ooh, how about a tangibly awesome trip to Sugarcube Corner? We can have all those things!"

"Ghastly gift?"

"Yeah, it has spiders..." the party mare said way too casually.

"Right......."

Suddenly, Garth dropped to a crouch and motioned to James for silence.

James grabbed Pinkie mid reverie, to which she protested, "Hey! I was having fun!"

James placed a hand over he muzzle to quiet her and said in a low whisper, "Garth says there's a threat nearby, we have to be quiet, understand?"

Pinkie shook her head yes. James looked over to he teammate kneeling in the grass. The mottled skinned warrior held up his hand and made a one, then a three, with his fingers. Then he pointed to the tree line and rotated his hand around his head. Thirteen hostiles, surrounded. James put Pinkie down and drew his pistol and unsheathed his knife, tossing the blade over to Garth. Pinkie sat by the boulder, looking all around her for whatever her two friends were talking about with a confused look on her face. James still couldn't see what Garth had warned them of, but if he listened carefully, he heard the rustle of leaves here, the snap of a twig there. Then the bone chillingly familiar sound of a pistol being cocked.

"You might want to put that down before you hurt somebody. Or a pony." Came a despising familiar voice from the tree line ahead.

"The fuck are you doing here?" James yelled at the source of the voice.

"Oh, so now you want to talk!"

From the shadows of the forest stepped a man with an ugly burn scar running down the side of his face, armed with an M9, which he held down at his side. Upon seeing him, James immediately snapped up the revolver and sighted on the man's forehead.

"Ah ah ah, we wouldn't want to cause an incident now, would we?" Kraster gestured all around him with his pistol.

James looked and saw a dozen Lotkin surrounding them, all had crossbows up and ready to fire. James still didn't lower his weapon, he kept the sights focused firmly on his enemy, eyebrows furrowed and eyes burning with morbid determination.

"You might get... pin cushioned. You can't shoot them all, so maybe put down the gun." Kraster warned.

"That's fine, the only one I want to shoot here is you." James retorted, cocking the hammer for emphasis.

"Fair enough, but what about your pink friend there, or the traitor? I don't think you want to see them hurt. Besides, I'm more here for words, than for bullets. How's your arm, heal up ok?"

"Why don't we both drop our weapons and you can come find out." James taunted.

"Ha, as tempting as that sounds, I'm not about to trust you that well, I'm guessing you'll probably just shoot me anyway."

"You're not too far off."

"Any who, down to why I'm here. Your unwillingness to cooperate last time we met sparked a burning desire to find out all I could. Gotta say, my people didn't disappoint. You're James Kaughn, Commander Kaughn. Funny, you struck me as an enlisted man."

"I got a promotion."

"Ah, well that all makes sense. Your name was a little familiar, but I couldn't figure why. Then I remembered! You were one of Bellis' guys! That's his gun too, isn't it? I remember it. I remember when he lost it."

"How the hell could you possibly know about any of that?" James angrily questioned.

"Oh, come on, you know the Spec. War. community isn't all that big. Of course back when I first knew him, he was just a budding ensign. We worked together a few times, kept in touch when we weren't. Of course, had I known he'd also be the one to help condemn me for my actions and drum me out of the service, we probably wouldn't have been so friendly."

"So that was you he was talking about. You know, he spent quite a while teaching us to avoid becoming someone like you. A fucking murderer and a coward."

"Meh, the little shits were all gonna grow up to be terrorists anyway. Stop the threat at it's source, right?"

"That idea isn't looking so bad right now." James threatened.

"Buddy, you pull that trigger and I can guarantee you we won't be the only ones to die here tonight." Kraster reminded him. "Besides, your not so much the saint yourself. Let's start recently; there was the unicorn you killed after he was already wounded and defenseless, one of my lieutenants, found him and his team all slaughtered where they slept, they didn't have a chance. Then of course, there's all the soldiers you've killed. Oh yeah, and the little shit you yourself shot!"

The gun in James' hand started shaking slightly as the old, unwanted memory came screaming back to the surface of his mind.

"Oh, didn't like that did you? Yeah, Bellis told me all about that little incident. How did it feel, huh? Taking the life of a kid whose balls hadn't even dropped yet?"

"I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE, HE'D ALREADY SHOT UP THE HELICOPTER AND WOUNDED A PILOT, IT WAS HIM OR US!" James bellowed in hate and rage.

"Oooh, touched a nerve there, did I?"

"You might want to leave while you have the chance. NOW."

"Oh, I don't think I want to leave just--"

Kraster was abruptly cut off as the Clipper passed swiftly over head at low altitude. I quickly began gaining height and started circling back towards the clearing.

"Dammit, and just when it was getting interesting." The scarred man said dejectedly. "Well, we'll just continue this the next time we meet. Hell, maybe I'll just kill you then too."

Kraster gave a quick, sharp, high pitched whistle. "Until next time, Commander."

Almost instantly, Kraster and his entourage melted back into the forest. James kept his weapon up as he listened to the sound of their passage through the forest fade off to the southwest. Once they were gone, he finally dropped the gun to his side and exhaled deeply.

"Who was that guy? He seemed like a big meanie." Pinkie asked.

"He's certainly not the nicest man I've met." James replied.

The buzz of the propeller grew as the Clipper slowly descended to them in the clearing. The side door slid open and a unicorn and two pegasi stuck their heads out to look down on the trio. James gazed up at the craft, at least grateful that he wouldn't have to walk home. Still, his mind buzzed with questions of how, and why, his old lieutenant would associate himself with such a ruthless and unfeeling man.

Ease Of Knowledge

Chapter 55: Ease Of Knowledge

"What do you mean he was saying weird stuff about him?"

"It was all stuff about hurting people and doing bad things, I think he said something about kids too! *gasp* What if he's a murderer!"

"Now Pinkie, don't git jumpin' ta conclusions, you know how that's worked out for ya before."

"I don't know AJ, he didn't really deny anything..."

"Oh fluff, I'm sure it was all just talk, he's been nothing short of a proper gentlecolt since he's arrived."

"I agree with Applejack and Rarity, we've known James for over a year now and everything he's done has been to help out others."

"But that's the thing Twilight, we barely know anything about him from before he got here."

"Listen Pinkie, I've been going out with him for a while and believe me, even if he did do any of that stuff, he didn't like it. He wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night. One time, he woke up screaming."

"Rainbow Dash, why didn't you mention this before?"

"Well... because 'Twi, he asked me not to. Besides, I think Flash and Sparks already know."

"C'mon girls, I think we need to go talk to him."

=====================================================================

"Thank you for coming back over again, y-you didn't have to..."

"It's alright Fluttershy, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Also, I have something I have to deliver to you."

James sat on the small couch in the living room of Fluttershy's quaint cottage. She sat across from him, on the other side of the coffee table, sipping a small cup of tea she had just finished making. It was the morning after James' short confrontation with the man who sought to wage war on his newfound peaceful home. James studied the kindly pegasus mare, her eyes were still red and slightly puffy and she kept avoiding his own when he looked at her. He thought she might have been crying again before he arrived.

"W-what is it?" Fluttershy asked, staring down at her cup.

"Well, last night we went through Feather's things and found a few letters. One was a will he'd written out out, one to us, but the last one was addressed to you."

"To me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't know you two had gotten so close."

James grabbed his bag and reached into it, pulling out a creme colored envelope and slid it across the table to her. She carefully opened it and pulled out the piece of paper that was inside and started reading. At first her expression was one of sadness. Then it softened a little, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. Then suddenly, her face snapped to a visage of shock, mouth gaping wide. James was shocked too, as her eyes rolled up and she fell over backwards to the ground.

"Fluttershy!"

James jumped up from his seat and and leaped over the table to her side, "Fluttershy, are you ok?"

The pink maned mare was passed out on the floor of her house. James knelt down and put a hand to her neck and checked her pulse with a finger to make sure she was ok. Relieved, he felt the steady throb of a healthy heart. At that moment, the door burst open allowing Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity Rainbow Dash and Applejack to walk in.

Pinkie gasped at the scene, "See, he's attacking Fluttershy!"

James turned his head at the sudden exclamation, "Wha-?"

He began to stand back up, but was tackled back down by a hyper, pink blur, smashing into a cabinet against the wall behind him. Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash trotted over to check on Fluttershy while Applejack ran over and pulled Pinkie off the human.

"Consarnit sugarcube, he ain't tryin' ta hurt her, she jus' fainted is all, now leave him be!"

"But why did she faint? He was probably being mean!"

"No Pinkie, that wasn't why she fainted," Twilight said, she was now reading the letter she had found on the floor next to Fluttershy, "she fainted because of this!" Using her magic, Twilight held the letter in front of Pinkie's face so she could read.

Once she finished, the pink party mare gasped all over again, "Holy spimoly! That's a lotta bits!"

James was now standing and currently dusting himself off, "Hey, lemme see that."

Twilight obliged and sent the letter over to him. James snatched it from the air and began to read.

Fluttershy,

If you're reading this, then it means the worst possible thing has happened to me. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but I would have if I could. We didn't spend much time together, but the time we did was probably the best of my life. You're the only one, I feel, that I could really talk to about anything. You brought a kindness and peace to me that I never thought I'd ever experience and for that I am grateful. I don't really have any family so I'm giving my savings to you. Enclosed is the last statement from my bank and the password to access my account. To the kindest, most sweetest mare I have ever known; I love you.

Yours now and forever,

Feather Touch

Taped to the bottom was a small piece of paper with the password and a very large number.

"Ho-ly shit. This has to be his entire life's savings!" James said loudly to himself.

"R-Rarity? Twilight? What are all you doing here?" Fluttershy had finally come to.

"Hush now darling, everything's all right. You just had a little spell is all." With her own magic, Rarity lifted Fluttershy up and placed her on the couch along with a pillow and blanket, "There, all better."

"T-Thank you."

"Ok, so he wasn't triyng to hurt her," Pinkie pouted, "but you still got some 'splainin' to do mister!"

James was confused, "Huh, what is she talking about?" He asked the rest of the girls, "Dash, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Uh, James, we need to talk..." She replied.

"Huh? About what?"

"About your past." Said Twilight.

"My past? Like what, how Earth was or--"

"No, we mean what you did."

"Look, Fluttershy is stressed out and needs some rest, we should probably--"

"James, stop deflecting!" Twilight ordered.

"Fine! Fine, you know what, you want to know exactly what I did? I fuckin' shot peoples' faces off for a living, okay! I was a goddamn glorified assassin! I wasn't some security consultant or a guard or even just a soldier, it was my job to hunt people down with my team and kill them. Anybody that shot at us or tried to stop us died too. Even when we were sent to go help or rescue someone, people still died. I have too much blood on my hands..." After his outburst, James went over to a stool in the corner and sat down, arms on his knees and head down.

"What was he talking about when you said the 'helli cop-ter' was broken?" Pinkie asked almost hesitantly.

"That? You want to know about that? Fine. You wanna know what happened?" He brought his shivering hands up to his face, "Me and my friend Jackson went picked for a milk run, a low priority mission. We just supposed to provide a sharpshooter overwatch for some kind of meeting in case something happened. Nothing did, we were going home without even firing a shot, it was supposed to be an easy day. Then while we were on our way home, some kid, just a little fucking kid, with an AK on a roof decides he wants to take potshots at our chopper. He shot up the bird and one of the pilots got a slug in his pelvis, Jackson almost went flying out when they lost control. When they finally got the bird stabilized, he was still firing at us so... I took the shot. I fucking killed him. The worst part is, when I think about it, I didn't really have to. I could have just shot around him, tried to scare him off, but no. I just fucking killed him, took his life like it was nothing. And now I'm doing the same damn thing here, only now I'm getting my friends killed..."

The girls just stood there staring at him, eyes wide, all at loss for words on hearing his confession. James kept his head down, afraid to see their reactions at what he'd just told them. He felt the familiar sensation of overpressure in his eyes as they tried to cry, but he couldn't. He hadn't been able to shed even the tiniest tear no matter the situation for years now. All he could do was hurt. To his right, he heard the shuffle of fabric and tensed his shoulders as he felt two forelegs and a pair of soft feathery wings suddenly embrace him. A warm, wet sensation started spreading on the back of his shoulder. James opened his eyes and got a face full of soft pink hair.

"Why would anypony go through something so horrible!" Fluttershy said in his ear with her soft voice.

James returned the hug, "Because my world is filled with horrible people," He replied matter of factly, "and now they're here in yours."

"N-No, you're a good pon- person James. I-I can feel it." Fluttershy stuttered out.

"No. Not entirely. I followed orders. And orders can still be disobeyed. Yet not once did I ever." James whispered softly.

*SMACK* A hoof past swiftly across his jaw.

James ignored the pain and looked up into eyes of rosy shades inches from his face.

"If Fluttershy says you're a good person, then you're a good person, understand?" Dash said quasi angrily.

James just locked his eyes of blue and yellow star burst with her shades of maroon and sanguine red and simply nodded. Satisfied with his reply, Dash embraced him with the same style and warmth Fluttershy had. After a moment, they both pulled away.

"Sorry about your shirt." Fluttershy apologized with still moist eyes.

"No worries, it'll evaporate." James said with a half smile that did not reach his eyes.

A puffy pink maned mare trotted up to him, "I'm sorry I just assumed stuff about you, I didn't know you had to do all those icky things."

"It's alright Pinkie, you couldn't have known."

James started to get up from his seat, forcing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to stand, "Thanks for the talk girls, but I think I need some time alone right now, put things in perspective." He walked to the door and opened it, but briefly turned back be fore stepping out, "One more thing, Feather also left a little something for the team in his will. A nice little tidy sum, the directions only said; 'not for funeral, for party,'" Pinkie's eyes lit up at the mention of the word, "you should all come."

James stepped out and closed the door behind him. He wasn't far down the road when the door opened again behind him, Pinkie's jubilous shouts of 'PARTY!' could be heard before it closed again. Twilight trotted up beside him.

"I really don't feel like answering any more questions Twilight." James said to the lavender librarian.

"I'm not here about that, I want to talk to you about the 'situation' in the forest. The area you arrived at."

"Oh... that. What about it, have you found a way to stop it?"

"I have found another barrier spell that doesn't require as much energy and lasts almost three times as long, but still nothing permanent."

"Ah. Well at least that's an improvement." James said dryly.

"Yes, at least there's that," Twilight continued, "although there are some interesting things I've found."

"Like what?"

"Like why energy is still coming through and the opening hasn't closed yet."

"And why's that?" James inquired.

"Well, whatever energies brought you here were extremely powerful, more powerful than anything even the princesses could create."

"Right, Celestia did explain that much to me when we met. She said it was something like an act of nature. Random."

"That's the thing, these same energies shift objects into our world all the time, but leave the fabric of magic that binds and blankets our world intact. Usually when something passes through, it does make a small tear, but it quickly gets stitched back up. However, whatever brought you through is displacing the fabric, keeping it from closing up, and allowing some kind of.... malevolence to seep through." Twilight explained.

"You wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you?"

"No, not really. But it feels.... familiar. Like I've encountered it before..."

"Hmmm... Well, at least you have something to go off of. Keep up the good work."

"Thanks!"

"No Twilight, thank you. With your brains and enough luck, we might actually fix this."

Hoot 'n a Holler

Chapter 56: Hoot 'n a Holler

"Are you sure this whole thing is necessary? I mean, we have the weapons, the explosives, a goddamn delivery system! We can just bomb their asses from the sky and be done with it, why do we need the fleet, this whole unwieldy army?"

"Because we can't just trample over them like unorganized peasants Kraster, we have to crush their spirit, their willingness to fight back."

"You sure that's gonna work? That other asshole you brought through was supposed to join us, instead all he's done is put a hitch in your plans and cost us troops. He's only lost a few of his!"

"A slight hiccup. He was far away from Ponyville when I brought him in, I did not expect him to find his own way to the elements."

"Yeah, sounds like your plans aren't as flawless as you make them out to be."

"Watch your tone human. Should you fail, I have other options. Remember, you are expendable, so it would behoove you not to let me down."

=====================================================================

"Alright then, which one do you wanna try first?"

James and Garth stood at a wooden table on the grass in the middle of the training grounds. Arrayed across it were several weapons from the Fixers' armory; some pistols, a couple of old assault rifles, the two sniper rifles James had salvaged from Celestia's vault and a couple of shotguns, including the Saiga 12. Garth hefted one of the assault rifles, studying its form before replacing it on the table.

"I prefer to fight close, which would be suitable for such a task?" The Lotkin asked.

"The pistols and all of these right here." James gestured to the shotguns.

"I should like to try these." Said Garth, picking up an worn Mossberg.

"Ok, pretty much all of these fire a 12 Gauge shell, that one is a pump, you have to 'pump' the slide under the barrel to load a round every time you fire. We also have a few semis, no pump action, just pull the trigger." James informed.

Garth walked over and picked up the Saiga, "What of this one?"

"Ah, that's a good one. The Saiga 12, semi automatic, detachable box magazine, very reliable. Used it myself last year during the 'Whitecrest Incident'. You weren't there, were you?"

"No, I was not."

"Oh, good. It wasn't a very good experience. Alright, now come over here with me, we have some targets set up for you..."

=====================================================================

James sat at his desk, scribbling out words on a piece of parchment. He was writing something he had written years before, only altered for his current situation. Something that ensured that no matter what, he wouldn't have to worry too much about anything. There was a knock on his door.

"Hey buddy, you almost ready to go?"

"Just a minute!" James called back, "I'll meet you guys outside in a sec."

"Ok, got it..." Hooves stomped away down the stairs.

James quickly finished up his last sentence, folded the paper and stuck it in an envelope before stowing it inside his desk. Then he got up and went to his closet. He picked out a white undershirt with a black long sleeve button down. He put both of them one, rolling the sleeves of the button down up to his elbows. The last thing he did was pull on his boots, fixing the hem of his pant legs so they rolled comfortably down the high tops. Finally ready, he left his room and strolled down the stairs and out the front door to the porch where his friends were waiting for him.

"What took you so long, you writing in your diary or something?"

"Gotta look fresh, right Flash?"

"Maybe so, but we still gotta walk all the way to the other side of town."

"You could fly."

"Yeah, but you can't. So I'll walk."

"Thanks brother."

"Anytime."

The human and pegasus set off towards the town, walking with a leisurely pep in their step. The sun was dropping low, dying light playing off the scattered fluffy clouds in the sky. Together they walked across the river and through the town, vendors shutting down for the day and lights switching off in the street corner stores. After traveling for a while, they exited the for side of the town, signs of civilization petering out as the scenery took on a more rustic look. Before long, they came to a stretch of dirt road bordered on one side by a sturdy wooden fence. Arriving at the Apple Family Homestead. Rather than going to the house, James and Flash took a left and began heading through the apple trees, the sounds of music an reverie growing steadily louder.

"Sounds like they already got the party going." James commented.

"Meh, sometimes it's good to arrive fashionably late." Flash replied.

"True, true."

Soon, they came to their destination, the old barn the human had called his home during the first weeks of his arrival to this new and strange land. The front right door was slightly ajar, letting warm light and lively music leak out into the deepening twilight.

"You ready, partner?" Flash asked merrily.

"Always ready!"

Flash reared up and kicked in the door, allowing him a and his human friend to stride confidently through the now wide open portal. Inside the large building was close to a hundred ponies, all dancing, drinking or participating in some other kind of party activity. All briefly stopped what they were doing, heads turning to Flash's unorthodox entrance. A cheer went up when they saw who it was, the two gave a short wave and the party goers went back to what they were doing.

"Uh-oh, incoming!" Flash warned, ducking down.

James followed his lead and ducked as well, an energetic Pinkie Pie came swinging down from the rafters on a length of rope, flying right over their heads.

"Woohoo! About time you two showed up, now get PARTYING!" She swung back around, tossing a couple of beers she produced from seemingly nowhere to the two arrivals.

James caught both bottles and used the edge of a nearby table to smack the caps off before handing one to Flash.

"Where do you think Sparks is at?" James asked his pegasus friend.

"Not a damn clue. He did say something about getting Myst first, so he might not be here yet."

"Yeah, probably. Well, let's go work the room, see who is here."

"Uh, you go ahead. Imma go chase down Pinkie."

"Heh, good luck."

Flash took flight, leaving James to his own devices. Taking a swig of his beverage, James started meandering around the barn, shaking hooves with acquaintances and giving polite nods to those closer to friends. He had just finished a polite exchange with the local florist when something suddenly impacted his back and latched on.

Soft lips lightly brushed his ear, "You come here often, stud?"

James reached a hand over his shoulder and grabbed a foreleg. Quickly and unexpectedly, he bent down, pulling the leg as he did so. Dash flipped over his shoulder, James caught her with his other arm before she hit the ground, dipping her and pulling her back up to his face, she placed both forelegs on his shoulder.

"Only when you come here..." James replied smoothly.

"He he he," she gave him a peck on the cheek, "what's that supposed to mean?" She cocked an eyebrow in askance.

James chuckled, "Honestly, even i have no idea. How's the swimming going?" He took another sip of his beer.

"Really well! I've gotten a lot better ever since you showed me that 'doggy style'."

James almost choked on his drink as he began to laugh at the unexpected use of the phrase.

"What's so funny?" RD asked skeptically.

James struggled to catch his breath, "That's-- that's not-- The phrase you're thinking of is 'doggy paddle', 'doggy style' is an entirely different thing!"

"What, what does it mean?"

"It's uh.. it's um... I'll- I'll tell you later..." James said while nodding his head rapidly.

"Ok, but it better be good."

"Uh.. it will.

"Hey you two! Ain't this a hoot 'n a holler?"

"Hey AJ, thanks for having this here, made it a lot easier to pull off." James said gratefully.

"Aw shucks, 't weren't no thang, jus' glad to see y'all enjoyin' yerselves."

"How's Granny Smith doing?"

"Jus' fine, jus' fine. Gettin' on in her age, but she's a fighter."

"Good to hear. Looks like the farm business is still doing great."

"Yup. Jus' last week, Big Mac broke his buckin' record--

*GASP*

The entire party came to a sudden and unexpected stop. James, Dash and Applejack looked around for the source of the disturbance. James finally spotted it. At the door, Fluttershy stood with a great hulking, masked figure in plain, yet stylized clothes. James instantly knew what and who it was and rushed over to the pair.

Quietly, kindly, yet sternly he said, "Fluttershy, if Garth finally decided he wanted to come, you should have told me first. Nobody else here even knows he exists!"

"I- I- I'm sorry, he just said he wanted to go a-a-and I did'nt want to stop him since he's your teammate and a friend of-- a- a friend of..." she seemed almost close to tears.

"Hey, hey, it's fine. I'm not mad, we just gotta do a little damage control is all. Cheer up--"

"Yeah, smile!" Pinkie shouted cheerfully, suddenly appearing next to James and causing him to flinch.

She was gone just as quickly as she appeared. James stepped to the side and put a hand on Garth's shoulder.

"You know you're always welcome with us buddy, even if everyone else here might not understand. Well, might as well take off your mask and say 'hi'."

The large warrior nodded to him and slowly removed the fabric covering his face. The townsfolk shrank back in fear at the sight of him, in the back, someone screamed. James turned around to face them, just a little bit angry at their reaction to his teammate, even if he did understand why.

"Hey! This is Garth. He's one of my team members and a good friend of ours, any of you got a problem with him, you can leave."

The crowd started grumbling, "He's friends with that thing?" "Aren't those dangerous?" "I don't think we can trust it." "Can we even trust the human?"

James was becoming a little worried at the crowd's reaction, but then; "He's a member of the Guard and my friend too! You got a problem with them, you got a problem with me, does everypony understand that?"

The crowd fell silent, many of them simply nodding. James turned around and was surprised to see Shining had walked up behind them. The party slowly resumed as the attendees shifted their attention away from the uncomfortable situation and back to whatever they had been doing. Shining walked closer to James, Fluttershy and Garth and held up a hoof which James took with both hands and began to shake vigorously.

"Hey, thanks man, that means a lot."

"Don't mention it. We might not see eye to eye often, but members of the Guard stick together, no matter what."

"Good to hear brother, you want a drink?"

"Just a water please, I have to work tomorrow."

"No prob, you got it."

The four of them entered the party together, James was rejoined by Dash and Twilight trotted over to chat with her big brother while he was there. For the most part, Garth stuck close by Fluttershy, the rest of the party giving them a wide berth where ever they went, which Fluttershy was just fine with, being uncomfortable in large crowds. Sparks and Myst finally showed up, spouting some excuse about one of the bridges being temporarily closed for some reason, though James knew the real reason and kept it to himself. To all their amusement, Fluttershy tried getting Garth to dance. The situation was made even more humorous when Rarity, who had incidentally also made his clothing, got involved and began instructing him in proper ballroom dancing.

Dash began chasing Pinkie around the barn after the pranking mare had replaced her mixed drink with pure lemon juice when she wasn't looking.Flash was sitting up in the rafters, laughing at the spectacle while Sparks and Myst were busy getting their own groove on over by Garth, Fluttershy and Rarity. James walked around for a bit until he found an old wire spool that had been flipped on it's side in the corner. Behind it sat Big Mac, sipping on a mug of cider. James took a seat on a hay bale next to him, setting his own beer on the makeshift table.

"Shaping up to be a fun night."

"Eeyup."

"AJ told me the farm business is still going strong, not to mention you breaking some records, workin' hard, huh?"

"Eeyup."

"Still not much of a talker, eh?"

"Nnope."

"Alrighty then."

Having nothing else better to do, James just sat there with Big Mac, watching the crowd and enjoying the ambiance of the party. For a short time, they both sat in silence, sipping on their drinks and relaxing. James was surprised, however, when the big, orange maned, red coated stallion started a conversation instead.

"Fluttershy doin' all right?"

"Yeah, she's doing a lot better. Got her chicken coop fixed up, made some extra housing for a lot of her animals. Garth helped out a bunch with the woodwork."

"That's good ta hear."

James thought he saw a flicker of a smile on the stallion's normally stoic face. The rare conversation was abruptly interrupted when the music changed its beat and a mass of feathers and multicolored hair dropped down from the space above.

"C'mon, let's go dance!"

"Oh, I don't know Dash, dancing's not really my thing..."

"Too bad, it's one of my favorite songs. Let's go!" She gripped the front of his shirt with her teeth and pulled him forcefully to his feet.

James looked back to Big Mac, "Sorry, doesn't look like I have a choice."

He could have swore he saw an amused smile begin to grow on the huge pony's face, "Nnope."

=====================================================================

Sparks, Myst, Flash, Pinkie, James and Dash were staggering back home late in the night. Except for Pinkie, she bounced as she normally did, alcohol seemingly ineffective to the pink party mare. Together, they all helped each other get back to the house, Flash barging through the front door as soon as they reached the porch. James broke off and slumped down to the wooden deck, leaning his back against the house as he took a swig from one of the beers he had liberated from the party as it began to end. The rest of the group followed Flash in, Sparks was bringing up the rear and spotted the human, stopping before going across the threshold.

"You coming in?" The unicorn asked.

"Just as soon as we take a look at this."

From under the short wooden table that sat on the porch he produced a small box. On the side was written simply: 'From your buddy, Hank.'

"You want me to go get Flash?"

"Nah, we'll fill him in later. Tell him to keep the girls busy though, it might be bad news."

"Got it."

James waited briefly while Sparks ducked inside real quick to pass on the message. As soon as he returned, James broke the seal at the top of the box and opened it up. Inside were two envelopes, one small and one large. James opened the small one and quickly read through the letter it carried before tearing into the large one.

"So, what is it?" Sparks inquired.

"Well, it's not bad news, but it ain't good news either."

James took the contents of the large envelope and tossed them onto the ground. "We still got some time, but we're up against some heavy stuff."

Sparks bent his head down to examine the papers James had thrown on the deck. They were pictures, a lot of pictures. In them was a sizeable fleet of sailing ships with barges identical to the one they had attacked tethered to them. A dark shadow fell over the mass majority of the fleet, which the engineer found strange as the sky in the photo was clear. Whatever it was certainly didn't have the shape of a normal cloud.

Solstice

Chapter 57: Solstice

*click, click, click*

*snap*

*click, click, click*

*snap*

James sat on a bench in front of his locker, fiddling with the revolver. Behind him, the door opened, letting Sparks into the ready room.

"You ready to go?"

James shoved the weapon in his shoulder holster and re-checked the 1911 in the holster on his thigh.

"Yeah, all good here. All the supplies loaded up?"

"Yep. You sure you want to do this? I mean, she did invite us as guests. You don't have to work."

"I know, but that Intel we got has me worried."

"You think something's gonna happen?"

"Crashing the Summer Sun Celebration would be a good distraction, focus everyones' attention away from the real action."

"Well, at least get some sleep on the way over, it's a long flight to Baltimare."

"Yep," James agreed as he stood up and hefted his rifle and made for the door, "and it's gonna be a long week."

=====================================================================

Hours later in the afternoon sun, the Clipper began it's descent to Horseshoe Bay. James was laid out on a bench in the main cabin, peacefully slumbering. Flash prodded him awake, gently rousing the sleeping man.

"Hey, we're here."

"Huh, what?"

"We're here, we're at Baltimare."

The human sat up and rubbed his face, "Alright, tell Myst to do a couple flyovers of the city and the surrounding area, especially the spot Celestia chose for the event this year. I want a good canvas and an understanding of the terrain and possible blind spots." James ordered.

"Got it." Flash walked up to the cockpit to relay the instructions.

James swung his feet down to the deck and stretched out his arms. On the bench across from him, Sparks was also napping. James got up and swatted the the unicorn a few times on his shoulder with the back of his hand.

"Rise and shine, princess, time to get to work."

The rusty red engineer yawned and stretched his body out on the bench, "Already? That was fast..."

The aircraft began banking slightly, angle gradually increasing as Myst put the Clipper into a lazy turn.

"C'mon, let's go," James urged, "we're gonna do a little scouting before we touch down."

Sparks jumped to his hooves, "Really? Awww, I was hoping to check out the city."

"Maybe later, right now we need to stake our claims," he picked up the binoculars and headed over to the ladder, "we're gonna make sure if there are any surprises, we see them coming."

"Half the Royal Guard will be here, if anything does happen, they'll be able to handle it."

"And if I do my job right, if anything does happen, they won't even know until after I've taken care of it."

"I guess there's no arguing with you..." Sparks huffed.

"As AJ's brother would say; Nnope." James replied as he began ascending the ladder.

James and Sparks spent the next few hours surveying Horseshoe Bay from the top deck of the Clipper, noting points of interest and positions with wide and unobstructed fields of view. Occasionally, they sent Flash down to take a closer look at the goings on and the construction for the event that was to take place in just a few days. Once he was satisfied with his team's understanding of the terrain, he had Myst put them down by a small stand of trees a short distance away from the grounds of the event.

James jumped down to the ground and walked around, stretching his legs and taking in the scenery. The spot where they had landed was on a wide, circular patch of land that made up the northern tip of the land that encircled the bay. To the west was a small isthmus that attached the tip of the 'horseshoe' to a strand of earth that led all the way back to the city of Baltimare. Behind him, Sparks and Flash began breaking out the camp gear while Myst shut down her airship for the day.

Stretching his chest and taking a deep breath, the human spun on a heel and went to help his team set up their sleeping arrangements for the night. He helped clear spaces of debris, dug a fire pit and chopped wood for the fire using an ax borrowed from the construction workers. He was in the middle of building a second pile of wood when his radio crackled with Myst's voice.

"Sorry to interrupt your labor boss, but we have company."

James picked it up from where it lay nearby and keyed the mic, "What kind we talkin' about?"

"Uh... it looks like your boss, boss."

"Shit."

"Yup."

"At least i got some warning, love your sharp eyes, babe."

"Ha ha, don't let Sparks hear you say that."

"Already did." Sparks replied over the radio.

"Whoops, my bad brother." James said jokingly.

"Don't worry, I don't really mind. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof..."

"Dude, don't joke."

"Yeah, be a shame if our commander came down a case of flying broken legs!" Flash snickered from behind James.

"Damn, you all in on this? Fucking pack of wolves, you three."

The four of them shared a brief laugh before Myst interrupted again, "That's great, that's great, but seriously, she's getting closer..."

"Alright alright, I'll move to intercept. Once you're all done, go ahead and chill, Flash, you got the first watch." James ordered

"Aww damn."

"Joke's on you, jende."

James swung the ax down into the log he was about to split, embedding it deeply into the wood where it stuck. He then broke into a quick jog, making his way around the stand of trees to the side facing the isthmus. In the distance, he could see a golden chariot being pulled by two pegasi of the Royal Day Guard flying fast and low towards him over the healthy green grass. Standing regally where the driver normally would was the goddess of the sun, Princess Celestia, with her flowing pastel colored mane and glowing white wings. As she came near and pulled to a stop, James stood at attention and delivered sharp and crisp salute to his current boss and ruler of the nation he now served.

"Please be at ease Commander," she said in her soothing voice as she stepped down from her transport, "this is not an official visit, I just wish to see how you are doing."

"Just fine, ma'am." the human replied curtly, "Myself and my team have just arrived and picked our spot for the night."

"Hmm, I see. They are all here I trust?"

"All except Garth. We talked it over and decided that he would stay back in Ponyville for the event. The townsfolk there are still pretty uneasy about his presence and we thought given that most of Equestria would be here for your event, having someone that might induce fear to that many individuals at once attending might not be in our best interests. Besides, he was adamant about completing his projects with Fluttershy." James quickly explained.

"An unfortunate decision, but perhaps it is for the best. I see you've chosen to rough it out here, away from the city. Are you sure you would not prefer to stay at one of the many fine hotels in town? I can have one of the Royal Suites reserved for you and your team at once."

"That's very generous ma'am, but I think we'll be just fine out here. Well...."

"Yes?" Celestia asked expectantly.

"It might be good for one of my team members to get a feel for the city."

"Commander, you wouldn't happen to have come out here to work under a Royal Invitation, have you?" The Princess asked suspiciously.

"Not exactly, I just like to have my bearings." The human said innocently.

"Hmm... Well, I would be happy to accommodate one of them. There is plenty of room on my chariot, just send them here and I shall take them back with me. Other than that, please enjoy your stay."

James shot off a quick salute, "Yes ma'am."

He spun around and marched back to the camp site. When he rounded the trees, Flash, Myst and Sparks were waiting for him. James walked over to the group and stood in front of them.

"So, what'd she say?" Flash asked him.

"Not much, just welcoming us here. Oh, and Sparks, I'm sending you back with her, check out the city."

"Alright!"

"You know what," James continued, "we should stay in pairs, take Myst with you."

"Really?!" The two unicorns exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, really. You better hurry up though, she's waiting on you both."

Upon hearing this, the two unicorns bolted in opposite directions, Myst to her ship, Sparks to his tent, to gather some personal items. Myst grabbed a small overnight bag from the cockpit while Sparks just grabbed a vest and some toiletries. Myst trotted with her bag around the trees to where the Princess was waiting. Sparks went to follow, but James stopped him before he left.

"You got protection?" James asked him.

"Ha, of course I do. I keep one in my wallet all the time. Besides, I can buy more in-- "

"C'mon. Not that kind. I mean the other kind. The kind we use.

"Oh." Sparks turned his head and lifted a corner of his vest with the tip of his horn revealing a holstered pistol. "Always ready."

"Outstanding. Let's hope you don't have to use it at all."

"For sure."

"Alright, have a good trip. Make sure you both come back early on game day."

"You got it."

Sparks snapped off a quick salute and trotted after the pilot. James briefly watched them go before walking back over to where he had left the ax and yanked it out of the log to resume his task. As he set up to split the next log, Flash walked over to him.

"Just the two of us, huh?"

"Yep." James grunted as he swung the ax down, producing a loud crack as the ax head split the log in twain.

"Uh... how are we gonna start the fire?"

James paused, lowering the ax to his side, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Sparks usually started our camp fires and I can't find the matches anywhere."

"Shit."

Hours later, James was sitting by a crackling fire, sipping some water and eating an oatmeal cake. He didn't particularly like the taste, but it was filling. He and Flash had finally gotten the fire started by using an old flint and steel kit that James had found in the vault a few months back. They hadn't been successful at first as they had no real kindling to speak of down by the bay shore, but James took one of the rifle rounds and knocked the bullet off the top with a rock. After sprinkling the explosive powder around the bottom log and spraying it with sparks from his flint kit, the wood ignited with a whoosh and a flurry of smoke.

A dull red crescent moon was rising over the ocean in the east, Its light slowly eating up and blocking out that of the stars around it. James had taken over the watch and sent Flash off to bed, leaving him alone to stare up at the beautiful night sky and meditate on his thoughts. He had built a good life for himself here in Equestria, and even though the violence he had fought in his former home had seemed to follow him here, he was somewhat content with what he had done. There were regrets. He had left behind his best friend in the world when he got here, he had lost another due to his lack of situational awareness and he was afraid of what he might have to do to prevent losing anyone else.

Absent mindedly, James pulled the slim chain that hung around his neck out from his shirt and fiddled with the small incandescent gem attached to the end. Feeling restless, he rose to his feet and walked down to the shore where the water met the sand and gazed out over the endless empty expansion of space that stretched seemingly infinitely on across the water. James had always been good at planning ahead, assuring himself to be ready for almost any situation. However he knew that he could not prepare for everything and there was an infinite amount of variables he would never be able to think of. He could handle the consequences of his actions that only affected him, but when those consequences could touch the ones he loved was what worried him most.

=====================================================================

"You got a good view up there?" James asked into the radio, craning his neck up to the still darkened sky.

"Sure do, got the best seat in the house." Flash reported.

High above, the charcoal shaded pegasus was reclining in a soft fluffy cloud. James was down below him, strolling in his civilian attire amongst the thick crowd of ponies that had been gathering and growing since the night before. Sparks was doing the same, patrolling around the mass of bodies for anything suspicious. Myst was back with her airship, the stand of trees where they had chosen to stay had been roped off and declared off limits, which wasn't much of an issue since unless you climbed high up into the tree tops, or to the top deck of the Clipper, the event would be obstructed by the surrounding leafy branches.

Although James and his crew was technically attending in a recreational capacity, he felt it necessary to at least stay on their toes. He didn't worry too much, as the company of Royal Guardsponies that were overseeing the event had been personally selected by Captain Shining Armor. Still, it never hurt to be careful. James patted the spot under his arm where his shoulder holster sat, feeling the reassuring shape of his M1911 under the vest he wore. The revolver he had left in the Clipper with the rest of his equipment. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use any of it.

James began meandering towards the front where the low stage had been built. Close behind it was a medium sized tent with myriad royal decorations where the Princess Celestia was preparing to raise the sun to begin the longest day of the year and set off the celebration that would last until nightfall. Focused as he was on the movements and sounds of the crowd around him, James wasn't particularly paying attention to the way he was walking which resulted in him accidentally bumping into one of the attending ponies who was wearing a flowing sundress of orange and yellow with a large floppy straw sun hat.

"Ouch!"

"Whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to run into you." The human apologized.

The pony started to turn around, "It's quite all right, I'm sure you-- James! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Rarity? What're you doing here?"

"Oh please, all the most fashionable ponies attend this event every year, it's the perfect time to show off our summer styles. Besides, Twilight invited us along, how could we refuse? She never misses a single Summer Sun Celebration you know..."

"Us?" James inquired.

"Why yes, both Pinkie Pie and Applejack have accompanied us here, though I haven't the slightest idea as to where they've run off to. Probably already stuffing their faces no doubt." The purple maned unicorn said with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, RD didn't come?" James asked a bit anxiously.

"No dear, I'm terribly sorry. She wanted to, but work came as a priority. The weather team in Ponyville has been planning a massive summer shower for a good time now, it seems they are finally following through with it."

"Ah, well." James said, downtrodden, "I'll see her tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will." Rarity replied with a smile. "Oh look! It's starting!"

James looked where the fashonista had now focused her attention. James turned his eyes towards the stage and saw that Celestia was now standing in the middle of the stage, Twilight was standing a little ways off to the side. Behind them both, a soft glow began to appear on the horizon where the sky met the sea. Up on the stage, Celestia's horn began glowing, gradually building in intensity. James decided to do one last check.

"Any of you see anything?" He called into the radio.

"Nope."

"Negative."

"All clear."

"Good. Enjoy the show."

James watched at the light on the horizon became brighter and brighter. A sliver of flame peeked out over the edge of the water. Then, all at once, Celestia flapped her powerful wings and propelled her self up into the air. She hung above the stage as the sun jumped up behind her, illuminating her form from behind and casting a silhouette over the crowd of ponies. It was one of the most beautiful things James had ever seen.

Celestia lowered herself back down to the ground to a multitude of ponies lauding her with stomps of their hooves. It nearly caught James off guard, he almost thought it was a stampede. The 'applause' began to die down, Celestia stepped forward in preparation to give a speech.

"Citizens!" She started in a booming regal voice, "Now begins the Summer Sun Celebration!" This was met with more cheers and applause, "Enjoy yourselves on this, the longest day of the year. The summer months are halfway through and soon we shall once again transition into the fall and winter months. So I urge you all to rejoice and be merry, before we return to short days and cold mornings."

When she finished, another cheer went up from the mass of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi. Celestia retreated from the stage and the crowd began to disperse, making their separate ways to the vendors and food stalls that had set up the day before.

"How did you like it?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you how you liked the Princess' performance." Rarity said.

"Oh, sorry. I was a little distracted." James apologized, "It was really good. Pretty cool to see how things work around here. Does she raise the sun like that every morning?"

"Oh heavens no. It's usually quite a droll affair, more of a casual occurrence. She is quite powerful, after all."

"Uh.. yeah."

"Hey boss." Flash's voice crackled in James' ear.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We got some movement to the rear of the crowd, western end. I see a bunch of ponies getting shoved around, a lot of them look pretty scared."

"Alright, I'm on my way."

Rarity, having only heard half the conversation, looked quite perplexed, "James, what's going on if you don't mind me asking?"

"Uh, nothing, probably. Just go ahead and enjoy yourself, I have something to take care of." James started walking off in the direction Flash had told him.

"Oh, ok. Shall we meet up again later?"

"Yeah, sure, see you later." James said almost dismissively. He was now in work mode, his mind pushing out all distractions.

"Hey James, I see what the problem is. We got a pale green earth pony, light gray mane, stallion. It looks like he was attacking some mares, he just broke away and is now weaving through the crowd at a fast pace." Flash informed.

"Got it, I'm moving." James replied as he broke into a run.

The human wove through, dodged and hurdled ponies as he sprinted to the location of the situation with determined speed. Soon, he saw a break in the crowd as it began to thin out and spotted the target. James saw that the pony in question was carrying several bags, his first thought automatically jumped to explosives. The pale green stallion saw the human barreling towards him and galloped off in fear. James was fast, but a full grown stallion could still out pace him. He briefly contemplated drawing his weapon, but dismissed the thought, there were too many civilians, if he missed an innocent could take the bullet instead.

"Flash--"

"Already on it."

The silvery maned pegasus dove from his fluffy white perch and aimed directly for the target. The earth pony was fast, but the pegasus was faster. Flash plowed into the target, knocking him down to the ground and pinning him there. James caught up just a moment later. As he got to the scene, the human started clearing it of civilians.

"Everyone back, get back, it could be dangerous." He ordered.

All the ponies around them enthusiastically complied, getting as far away from the action as they could. James walked over to where his teammate had the stallion pinned.

"Hey, check this out." Flash said amusingly.

He bent down and gripped something with his teeth. With a flick of his neck, he whipped his head around and tossed the object at James' feet.

"My purse!" A mare from the crowd cried.

The gray maned stallion began to bawl, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again, just please don't hurt me!"

James face palmed, "Are you serious? Fucking thieves."

"Yeah, he's got quite the haul." Flash produced six more purses.

A unicorn and two pegasi in Royal Guard armor galloped to the scene, "What's going on here? I demand an explanation!" The unicorn barked.

James turned to confront him, "Commander Kaughn here, RSTG. Just got a common purse thief here, nothing to worry about."

"Sir, Lieutenant Stryde, I'm in charge of security for this event." The unicorn gave a salute.

"Carry on, Lieutenant. He's all yours if you want him."

"Of course." He looked over his shoulder to the two pegasi, "Blaster, Comet, restrain the perpetrator."

Flash got up and backed away from the earth pony and the two pegasi guards moved in and affixed linked chain cuffs to the stallions hooves before pulling him up to his legs and awkwardly leading him away to a holding area.

"Thank you for your assistance Commander. I apologize for whatever inconvenience this may have caused." The unicorn said to the human.

"It's all good, thanks for hauling him off."

"Enjoy your day, sir." The lieutenant gave a curt nod which James returned before he turned around and trotted after his two subordinates and their prisoner.

"Well, that was anti-climactic." Flash said offhandedly.

"I'm glad it was." James replied to him.

"So what now?"

"I don't know about you, but I just want to relax."

"You, relax? Now I've heard everything." Flash joked.

"By the way, I heard Pinkie's around here somewhere. If you hurry, you might find her before she eats too much candy."

"Really, she's here?"

"Yup."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?" Flash said in annoyance.

With two powerful strokes of his wings, Flash took off and zoomed out over the crowd in search of the mare. James began walking over to the food vendors, feeling like he needed a snack. He also wanted to track down Rarity and Applejack, Twilight he assumed would be with the Princess.

"Hey, everything good?" Sparks asked on the radio.

James keyed up his mic, "Yeah, we're all good here. Go ahead and have Myst lock down the Clipper and bring her out to the party. We've had our excitement for the day, let's have some fun."

Warning

Chapter 58: Warning

"Wahoo! Sun cakes!"

Pinkie rushed forward to the cart and purchased ten little yellow pastries crafted in the shape of a cartoon sun and some how managed to eat every single one all at once.

"Maybe ya ought ta slow down 'fore ya get a tummy ache, darlin'." Applejack cautioned.

"Maybe you 'ought' to close that mouth and try one of these cakes!" Pinkie squeaked back jokingly. "Oooh! But if you closed your mouth, you wouldn't be able to eat!"

"Uh, sure..." The farmpony bought a couple for herself and snapped one up on the spot, "Cant' say Ah like lemon a whole lot, but these are pretty good."

"Pinkie!" Came a call from high above.

"Ooh, who's calling me? Wait, that sounds like Emmie!"

"Who's 'Emmie', is he a friend a Gummy's er somethin'?" Applejack asked quizzically.

"No silly," Pinkie giggled, "He's my coltfriend!"

"Ya mean Flash?"

"Of course, who else?"

Down form the sky, a dark charcoal colored pegasus flitted down and alighted on his hooves in front of the two mares. He quickly rushed forward and embraced the curly maned earth pony, planting a kiss right on her cheek.

"Ha ha, I didn't know you'd be here!" Pinkie squirmed with delight.

"Yep! Got here a few days ago. The boss had us working for a while, but I think I earned some time off today.

"Why, whadja do?"

"I single hoofedly took down a dastardly stallion who was going around and attacking beautiful young mares such as yourself." Flash said haughtily.

"Ah dunno, wouldn't somethin' like that have the guard on alert er somethin'? Ah didn't hear nothin' about this..." Applejack said skeptically.

"Oh, the guard did come over and help, but it was pretty much all me."

"He tackled a purse thief, that's about it." Came a voice from around the corner of a nearby tent.

"Dammit James, let me have my moment..."

Applejack chuckled, "Ah knew it."

James rounded the corner and joined the group, "It was still pretty impressive. He pretty much dive bombed the guy from the sky."

"Really? Emmie, think of what you could do if you applied that to pranking!" Pinkie enthusiastically suggested.

Flash began to blush at the use of his pet name.

"Emmie?" James quizzically raised an eyebrow.

"Ah know, right?" Applejack snickered.

"Ha ha ha, so funny. Can we just enjoy the day now?"

"Sure we can, Emmie." James teased.

"Say Emmie, one more time." The pegasus dared.

"Calm down Emmie, why you gettin' so riled up?"

"That's it!"

James took off at a run, laughing hysterically as Flash angrily chased after him. The pegasus chased after him down the lane between the stalls and down a side path, nearly knocking Rarity and Twilight over in the process.

"Well, that was just rude." Rarity remarked.

"Yeah, I wonder what that was all about."

"Probably just boys behaving like the ruffians they are."

"Probably." Twilight agreed.

"Hey Rare, Twi'!" Applejack called to get their attention.

The two unicorn mares trotted down the lane to meet their two friends, a moment of crossed amusement playing across their features as they briefly witnessed Pinkie inhale an entire bag of purchased candy.

"You know, you should really watch your intake sweetie, all that sugar could go right to your thighs." Rarity cautioned.

"Hmm... never been a problem before!" The hot pink mare resumed her snacking on more of the festival's specialty cakes.

"C'mon Rare, ya ought ta know now, Pinkie ain't exactly yer average pony."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. What do you think we ought to do now?"

"We should probably chase down the boys. No telling what they're up to now..." Twilight suggested.

"Yup."

"Mhm!"

*sigh* "Agreed."

=====================================================================

James was laid out on a bench in the main cabin of the Clipper. It was currently on it's way back to Ponyville, the Summer Sun Celebration having come to a close as the sun was setting. He now had a major stomach ache after making the poor decision to agree to an eating contest with Pinkie. The mass of sugary cakes he had ingested were wreaking havoc on his digestive system. Flash and Sparks had talked him into it, saying he could give her a run for her money. He had made the mistake of believing them, his hunger at the time didn't help either. The bouncy party mare had eaten nearly three times as much as he could manage and yet was somehow still jumping around as if she had only eaten a light snack. As James lay there, he thought to himself that he would never fully understand it. Just Pinkie being Pinkie.

Now, he just couldn't wait to get back home. Put up his equipment, take a nice shower, maybe go out for dinner with Dash. It had been almost over a week since he had seen or talked to her, he wondered how she was doing.

"How you doing there buddy?"

James half opened an eye lid, it was Sparks.

"Still feel like throwing up, no thanks to you two."

"Aww, cheer up boss, we're nearly home, just about fifteen minutes. Right Myst?"

The pilot's voice replied over the radios they all wore, "Yeah, just about." The aircraft was jarred, tremors running down it's length as if it had struck something. "A little heads up though, the ride's about to get a little bumpy. Looks like the weather team has a pretty big storm scheduled for tonight."

"Ugh, just great," James complained, "that's what I need, all the crap in my stomach getting bounced around, as if I don't already feel sick enough."

"Then ya shouldn't a tried ta eat as much as Pinkie sugarcube, always a bad idea."

"Thanks for the tip AJ, coulda used it-- coulda used it--" James felt a sensation begin to rise in his chest.

"Ya alright sugarcube? Ya don't look too hot."

"I'm gonna-- I'm gonna--"

James jumped to his feet and bolted to the hatch in the center of the deck for the winch. He quickly undid the latch and tossed the hatch open, letting a blast of air through the portal.

"James, Wait! Don't--"

"Blaaaghh!"

Flash winced as the human vomited into the opening, only instead of the mess falling out the hatch and into the open air, the wind picked it up an threw it right back into his face, bile and the sugary contents of his stomach spraying everywhere.

"EWWWW!" The girls cried in unison.

Rarity flew back to the other end of the compartment, ducking and dodging droplets of puke, straining to prevent a single bit of it from landing on her coat or mane.

"That's absolutely disgusting!" She yelled.

"She's right, you look pretty bad." Flash chuckled.

"Well, at least I feel better." James replied.

"What happened? Did you guys make a mess back there!?" Myst yelled over the radio.

"Yeah, our boss just spewed all over the cabin." Sparks told her.

"Sorry. I'll clean it up."

James got up and went to one of his bags, pulling out a towel and wiping his face and head clean before trying to get the smelly fluid from off his clothes.

"Here, let me help." Twilight offered.

The unicorn's horn began to glow with the same purple aura it usually did when she prepared to use magic. Almost effortlessly, she cast a spell to gather the puke in a big disgusting floating ball of vomit. With a flicker of bright light, the ball disappeared from the space it was occupying, leaving the interior sparkling clean.

"Thanks Twilight." James said gratefully, "What'd you do with the mess?"

"Nothing really, I just teleported it to the open air somewhere behind us."

"Good thing we're still over the forest." Sparks remarked.

"I don't suppose you could do that with my clothing, could you?" James asked, gesturing to his still messy garments.

"Sorry James, but I don't think I've learned the spell for washing clothing."

"Seems like one of the first ones I would have learned."

"Well, ponies don't generally wear clothing and the items I do wear, well, Spike usually washes them for me." The lavender librarian explained.

"Eh, it's ok. I got a clean set in my locker back at HQ and we're almost there."

"I'm terribly sorry to bring this up, but the weather outside is a little... wet. Would you mind dropping us off in town?" Rarity asked with a bat of her lashes and a seductive smile.

"Fine with me, but I'm not the one you gotta ask. It's Myst's ride."

"Green to go with me boss."

"Wait, Rarity doesn't have a radio, how'd you hear?"

"Left your mike on." Myst stated matter-of-factly.

"Crap." James reached back to the transmitter clipped to his belt to switch it to receive only.

"Still on."

"Whatever." The human said in defeat.

By the time they reached town, the rain was really coming down. Myst did her best to put down in a large enough area that was close to all the girls' places of residence, except Applejack's who would have to hoof it back to the farm. The farm mare said not to worry, as she didn't mind the rain and hopped off in town with the rest of her friends. James let Flash off with Pinkie, leaving just him, Sparks and Myst to return back to the HQ. Soon after taking off again, Myst was parking her aircraft close to the Fixers' HQ building so James could run inside and change.

As the engine spun down with a low whine, the human jumped down to the sodden ground and began quickly walking to the readyroom building. Sparks and Myst trotted after him, Sparks because he needed to get some equipment from his workshop, Myst because she could. They were all casually strolling together, happily chatting about the day's events. James abruptly stopped, staring at the ground in front of him. Sparks and Myst continued walking a few more feet before they noticed.

Sparks tuned to his friend, "What's up boss, something wrong?"

James pointed to the soaked ground near the entrance to the building, "Anything look wrong to you?"

Sparks followed his gaze to where he was pointing. In a smeared, water warped trail, fresh blood led up the wooden steps and into the building. Falling raindrops impacted the trail, splashing the life sustaining fluid all around the stoop. Both James and Sparks unhosltered their weapons and stealthily made their way up the steps and stacked up next to the door. On the other side of the frame, Myst appeared, her pistol also drawn, the firearm floating in front of her face, barrel down.

"Myst, what are you doing?" James questioned in a quiet tone.

"I'm helping." She shot back with a determined whisper.

"Honey, it could be dangerous in there, let us handle it." Sparks pleaded.

"Don't 'honey' me, you taught me how to use this weapon properly and defend myself, now I'm defending my home, got it?"

"Fine," James conceded, "but stay behind us and don't fire unless you're in immediate danger, understand?"

The pilot nodded in the affirmative.

"Good," the human pulled back the slide on his pistol, chambering a round. The two unicorns followed suit and did the same. "Alright, on three I'm gonna pop the door. I'll go left, Sparks you go right, Myst watch our backs."

James waited until they acknowledged his orders with a nod.

"Outstanding. Ok, one.. two.. three!"

James twisted the door handle and shoved the door in, swiftly barging in after it, weapon raised. To his rear, both unicorns followed and took up their positions. James crouched to a knee as Sparks hit the light switch and illuminated the room. They prepared to fire as the lights flickered on, but were baffled when there was nothing to shoot at. The room seemed empty, but a slick trail of bright red blood was highly visible on the wooden floor boards. It was already soaking into the deck, the liquid turning a dark color as the wood absorbed it.

James got back up and moved forward, following the gruesome path to the back of the room where the lockers were. His weapon was slightly lowered, but still at the ready should he need it. As he rounded the desks, he spotted a turquoise shaded lump on the floor next to an open locker door, medical supplies were spread all around it. James slowly advanced to the prone form and noticed it was a pegasus stallion, bloody and battered, apparently unconscious.

Sparks moved to his workshop and checked inside, weapon raised in front of him, "All clear."

"Oh my gosh, is he alright!?" Myst said in shock.

James knelt down and checked the injured pegasus. The pony was in bad shape. Ragged lacerations crisscrossed down his frame. His right ear was missing and a crossbow bolt stuck out from his left hind leg. His right wing was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken as if he had crash landed on it. James checked the pegasus' pulse and was relieved when a weak, but consistent throb was detected. Sparks rushed over and picked up the medical supplies, none of which had been used, and began ferverently applying aid to the wounded stallion.

"What do you think happened to him?" Myst asked with great concern.

"I'm not sure, but we need to get him to the hospital. After he wakes up we can--"

James was cut off when the turquoise pegasus suddenly began hacking and coughing violently. Blood laced mucus sprayed from his nostrils as he struggled to breathe.

"N-No... no h-hospital. Have to... h-have to... have to tell..." the pegasus choked out in a hoarse voice.

"It's alright buddy, you're safe, we're gonna get you some help. Just lay still and we'll get you out of here, ok?" James told the struggling pony.

"W-w-who..."

"I'm James. Sparks is treating your immediate wounds right now and Myst here will get you to the hospital, fast. Myst?"

"I got it." The misty gray unicorn galloped back out into the rain to start up the Clipper.

"James... James K-Kaughn? I have t-to tell..."

"Yes, that's right, how did you know?"

"H-h-h... H-Han. K-K-Ken...." the pegasus said weakly.

"Whatever he has to tell me can wait after we get you help, just hang in there."

"H-h-have to t-tell... Have to t-tell...."

"It's alright, we're going to the hospital now."

Sparks finished dressing the lacerations and the spot where the pegasus' ear was missing. The wing had been splinted, but the crossbow bolt he left untouched, the unicorn was afraid he might cause more damage if he tried to remove it. As it was, the leg wound wasn't bleeding all that much. With a luminescent blue glow, the engineer used his magic to lift their visitor and began transporting him to the airship waiting outside. James followed close behind, his messy clothes forgotten in the current crisis.

All the way to the airship, the pegasus kept whimpering softly, "Th-They're coming... Th-Th-They're c-c... c-c-coming..."

Delivered

Chapter 59: Delivered

It was late at night in the hospital. The nurse on duty at the front desk was calmly reading her magazine, she briefly checked the clock, it was 0134. Once again, she had pulled the graveyard shift. Nurse Redheart didn't have much to pass down, just the usual. Keep an eye on the patients in case of an emergency, especially who was pretty badly injured, but stable. One of the other nurses was gossiping a little about the strange way he had come in. Apparently, some strange contraption of a flying machine had landed just outside the door. A unicorn stallion had barged in with a pegasus in his magical grasp, the weird two legged guy that live out of town followed him in, clothes all a mess and stinking of vomit.

The nurse was glad that all the excitement of the day had already happened before she had had to deal with it. Once again, she expected to be in for another quiet night reading her magazines and making the occasional patrol through the quiet building. She glanced at the clock again, it was now 0142. A slow one as well. As she sat there turning the pages, the front double doors swung open, the clatter of hooves on the clean white tile loud in the early morning. Without looking up, the nurse went into her usual rhetoric.

"Visiting hours are over, please come back between ten this morning and five o'clock tonight. If you are injured but it's not an emergency, please take a seat in the waiting room and fill out this form and a doctor will be with you shortly." She said lethargically, placing a clipboard with an attached piece of paper onto the counter in front of her.

"I apologize for coming to you at this late hour. However, while this isn't an emergency, it is urgent."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but these are the hospital rul--"

The nurse stopped as she looked up and saw who she was talking to.

"P-Princess Celestia! My sincerest apologies, I had no idea--"

"Please do not fret, my little pony. You are only doing your job. My subordinate and I only wish to speak with your most recent guest, if at all possible."

The nurse looked over and saw that beside the Princess' usual accompaniment of guards, the two legged guy was with her, standing silently next to her, an almost menacing air about him. He was now in a fresh, clean uniform, no longer reeking of puke.

"Y-Yes your majesty, I'll go fetch the doctor!"

The nurse scrambled out from behind her desk and galloped down the hall to where the doctor on call was resting. While she did that, Celestia and James took a seat in the waiting room.

"Are you sure you want to talk to him now? It might be better if we wait until morning when he's had his rest." James said.

"I would like to speak with him as soon as is possible. If the doctor tells us that he unfit to speak with us, then we shall return at a later time."

They waited for a moment longer before the nurse finally returned with the doctor on call.

"Your majesty, what can I help you with? Ah, James! Long time, no see, I'm glad to say."

"Doctor Stable, what's it been, almost a year now?"

"Just about. You know you really should have let me take a look at that arm injury you received after that Canterlot incident. You could have been in a bad way if it got infected, you were lucky that the bone wasn't scratched."

"Sorry Doc, I had work to do."

"Hm, well next time come to me. Removing stitches hastily pit in by pirates on your own usually doesn't turn out so well."

"I'll keep that in mind, Doc."

"I'm sure you will. Now, Princess Celestia, in what manner may I assist you?"

Celestia stood up and approached the doctor, "Earlier today, you received a rather badly injured, turquoise coated pegasus. If it is at all possible, I wish to speak with him."

"Oh, I'm afraid he was quite difficult to stabilize, we only just got his vitals up hours ago. In my professional opinion, I think it would be best if he got some rest before he has any visitors."

"Please, this is very important."

"Well, I'll check on him, but I can't promise you anything, your majesty."

"All I ask is that you try."

Doctor Stable turned and left, heading down the passage way to the patient wings. It wasn't much longer before he returned it a baffled look on his face.

"Well uh, it seems he is awake! What's more, he's asking to speak to you, James." The doctor told them.

"Really?"

"Indeed, says he has a message he will only deliver to you."

"That so. Lead the way, Doc."

Doctor Stable took the Princess and her human companion down the corridor past the reception desk and up a flight of stairs to the rooms the patients were kept in overnight. He led them a little further past rooms with many injured ponies. James peered curiously into the windows as he passed, looking at the variety of bandaged and taped up patients that filled the wards. He almost walked completely past one room, but did a double take and retreated back to the window, pausing as he looked in. The doctor noticed this and trotted back to his side.

"Don't worry now, she just has a mild sprain at the base of her wing." Doctor Stable was talking about a sleeping cyan pegasus mare with one of her wings extended and wrapped in a cast, "We're just keeping her overnight to make sure the cast sets properly. Tomorrow she'll be good to go, and in a few days, flying again."

"What happened to her?" James asked, concerned.

"Nothing too serious, just a little mishap with a stray cloud, some trees and an unexpected gust of wind. That storm the weather service put together was a real doozy."

The group resumed their journey down the hall, James made a mental note to drop by and see Dash in the morning. They came to the end of the hall and stopped at the last room on the right. Inside was the pegasus James and Sparks had brought in previously. He was sitting up and awake. His wing was set and extended out with a cast, half his head was fully bandaged, covering his missing ear. His hind leg was also set in a cast and hoisted in a sling above the bed, the bolt that was embedded in it had been removed. The rest of his body was almost entirely encased in stark white gauze.

James cautiously entered with Celestia at his side, the pony in the bed perked up and sat at attention when he saw them approaching. Celestia was horrified at the extent of the pegasus' injuries, mixed feelings of compassion and pity crossing her face. James just calmly strode forward and took a spot at the edge of the bed.

"You feeling a little better?"

"You, you're James Kaughn, right?" Were the first words out of the pegasus' mouth. His voice was still cracked and hoarse.

"Yes I am. Princess Celestia is here with us also. I'm told you have a message for me. I think you mentioned Captain Ken while we were bringing you in."

"Y-Yes. I was aboard the Captain's ship retrieving the next report to deliver to you."

"You're my contact from Van Hoover?"

"Yes. I was almost set to go when we were attacked. They came outta no where!"

"You were attacked on the ship, wouldn't have you seen them coming?"

"The ship was in anchorage in a harbor at one of the islands in the western sea."

"Is that where you got your injuries?" James asked.

"No. The Captain fought off our attackers while I escaped. I received my wounds when I paused for rest on the main land."

"Please don't tell me the fleet landed." James said with fear, a cold lump settling in his stomach.

"No, they're still weeks away, but they're coming. The ones that attacked me were a scouting party. I-I think."

"Can you show me where on a map?" James asked calmly.

"N-No. But I can tell you where. I was just northwest of White Tail Woods."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"I'm sorry, that's all I know."

"It's ok. Thanks for passing on the warning, you probably saved some lives with it. Try and get some sleep now, that was an incredible thing you did, flying all the way here from the coast with those injuries." The human complimented.

"Thank you. I-I'll try, but I haven't been able to."

Celestia came forward to the pegasus' side, "Good citizen, what is your name?"

"Y-Your majesty, it-it's Breeze, Sea Breeze." He answered meekly.

"Sleep well Sea Breeze," she gently placed the tip of her horn on his forehead, "you have done us all a great service. Now rest and recover swiftly."

The Princess' horn flashed and the pegasus went out like a light, his head gently falling back onto his pillow. James watched for a moment, the pony's chest calmly rising and falling with peaceful breaths. After a moment, they both left the room. The doctor was waiting outside and rushed in to check on his patient as soon as they exited.

"This is troubling news." Celestia remarked.

"Any news of war is. I'm concerned that they have soldiers on the mainland already, they may be trying to set up a beachhead. I'll have my people double patrols in the region." James replied to her. "Captain Shining Armor has an evac plan in place for the population centers close by, right?"

"Yes, I'll have him set on task in the morning."

"Sounds good ma'am, with a little luck this could go... ok."

"Just 'ok', Commander?" Celestia inquired.

"It's a war ma'am, not a planned event. No matter how much we prepare, almost nothing will go as planned. There are just too many variables to account for. The best we can do is be flexible and adapt to the situation."

"Hmm... spoken with wisdom."

"Not wisdom ma'am, just experience. I haven't been around long enough to call it wisdom."

"Even so. And what about yourself, Commander? How are you now?"

Knowing what she was asking, James searched his thoughts for the answer, "I'm... better, than I was before." He said with some uncertainty

"I see... That at least is good to hear. Please excuse me, James, it is late and I have much to do in the morning."

"I understand, goodnight ma'am."

"Goodnight."

The regal princess of the sun turned and strode down the passageway to the stairs that would take her back down to her entourage and on her way back to Canterlot. From the opposite direction, Doctor Stable trotted up beside the human.

"I couldn't help but overhear, is there something major happening elsewhere that I should know about?" The good doctor asked.

"You could say that, Doc. I can't be specific right now, but I can say this: it would probably be a good idea to stock up on medical supplies while you have the time."

"Is that so? Well, I'll take that advice into consideration."

James slowly walked down the corridor to the window of the room that contained the mare with the rainbow mane. He peered silently into the room, thinking of the events to come. The doctor followed him over, gazing at the same sleeping form that James was studying.

"You know, we have a small flower shop here in the hospital. It's closed now, but I think I have the key around here somewhere, you could surprise her with something in the morning. I think it would make her release that much more special." Doctor Stable suggested.

"Yeah, I think so too. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, son, not at all."

=====================================================================

Dark rebounding shadows. Deep reverberating tones, more felt than heard, echoing through out an infinite vacuum of black hate and foreboding. Flashes of red anger, thick loathing and murderous thoughts like lightning in a storm. He couldn't feel his body. He couldn't see it. He couldn't see. And yet it felt as if all these sensations were like a dervish of blades whipping around and tearing through his insides.

Then an impact. And another. And another. His world around him began to shake and tremor, bright cracks spreading across the darkness of his heart. All of a sudden, a sharp sound of shattering glass as the whole façade came crashing down, exposing him to a bright warm light. Off in the distance, the voice of an angel, scratchy and tough, yet still sweet, gently called to him.

"James... get up...."

"James.... you have to get up now....."

"JAMES!"

His eyes shot open. He was in a brightly lit hospital room, the sun falling warmly on his face from the open window he sat in the chair next to. In front of him, Rainbow Dash had her hooves on his shoulder, gently shaking him to rouse him from his slumber. Dash dropped back down to all four hooves as James stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

"Sorry about that, I must've dozed off." He said.

He looked at her, her short cut mane was a little scruffy, it seemed she had also just awoken. Her left wing was still held stiffly in place by a simple combination of a short cast and some bandages, sticking out from her side and fully extended.

"That's ok sleepy head," she chuckled, "I'm glad you're here." She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. "What ya got there?" She asked, pointing to a small conical plastic bag sitting in his lap.

He picked it up, "Just a little get well soon present."

James carefully removed the plastic covering and revealed seven fresh cut roses. There were some in the more traditional colors; red, yellow and white. But others were of a magically created variety; purple, orange, green and blue.

"I didn't know what color you'd want, so I just got them all."

"Oh, thank Celestia! This hospital food is the worst."

She quickly snapped up the rose petals, happily munching on them and savoring the taste while a confused James looked on. She swallowed her snack and pulled the still befuddled human into a hug.

"Thanks James, I needed that."

"Uh... you're welcome?"

"C'mon, let's get outta here. I've spent way too much time indoors now, I wanna get and go do something."

James stood up and stretched his back and legs, "Sounds good. Let's go, lunch on me."

The two left the room and went down to the front desk to check out. Much to the weather mare's annoyance, they made her leave in a wheelchair even though she could walk fine, something she continuously pointed out as James wheeled her through the front door and into the golden morning light. As Dash hopped from her seat and took her spot next to James, he thought; even with all the crap he'd been through, all the pain, at least he was lucky enough to have what he now had. And then he didn't feel so bad.

Losing The Curb

Chapter 60: Losing The Curb

The clattering stomp of many hooves down the street, fresh air and warm sunlight. A low gentle hum created by the mass of conversations taking place all around them in the open air eatery. The two sat outside, enjoying a soft breeze while they ate their midday meal. James watched as across form him, Dash frantically tried to scratch a spot on her bandaged up wing.

"Having a little trouble there?"

"I just.. need to get this.. one. spot. Ugh!" She cried in frustration.

"Here, let me help."

James reached over and with a hand, began scratching the spot she has been unable to reach.

"Ahhhh~ That's much better." The pegasus said blissfully.

After she was satisfied, the human leaned back into his seat and resumed eating.

"So, what brought you to the hospital so early?"

"Hm? Oh, I just... heard you had gotten hurt, so I came to visit."

"Huh... that's strange. Nopony except the weather team knew. Except maybe Fluttershy..." she said skeptically.

"Uh, yeah... Garth told me. I stepped by to check on him and he just kind of mentioned it."

"Hm... Meh, Fluttershy must've told him. That's good, I thought you might've been involved with all the ruckus from last night."

"What kind of ruckus?" James asked as innocently as he could.

"Some pegasus was brought in right in the middle of our rain storm. Sounded like he was in pretty bad shape too, all the doctors and nurses were rushing around like the sun wouldn't come up in the morning. Weird part was that he isn't even part of the weather team or anypony else I know in town, just some random guy."

"That is strange."

"Yeah, and then I heard Princess Celestia made a surprise visit in the middle of the night, know anything about that?" She asked accusingly.

She glared at him across the small table. Her gaze like a focused laser beam shooting strait into his eyes. His features became serious. After sitting in stoic silence for a minute, James finally relented.

"Alright. I was involved with that..."

"I knew it! You're going to leave me and go get hurt somewhere again, aren't you?" She said scathingly. "Go let somepony else go and fight, stay here, stay with me!"

"Believe me, there's nothing else I would rather do than just that. But it's better if I go, rather than one of you." He replied soberly.

"Then let me go with you, let me help!"

"I can't let you do that."

"Why not!? I can fight just as good as anypony, you even trained me to fight better!"

"Can you take a life?" James asked seriously, "Can you look one of those soldiers in the eye, or even a pony because they have some on their side too, can you look them in the eye and make the conscious decision to deliberately end their time in this world? Cause them unimaginable pain and suffering before sending them on their way?" He snapped at her. Some of the other patrons stopped what they were doing and turned to stare.

"I... well I...." Dash stuttered, unprepared and taken aback by the unexpected question.

"When you boil it down, what I do is a horrible, horrible thing. It is something I will not have you exposed to." He said definitively.

Even though her expression remained angry, James could see a bit of hurt in her eyes.

"Shit, I'm sorry." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I didn't mean to flip out on you like that." He said apologetically.

Dash relaxed a little in her seat, but still remained somewhat tense, "It's fine."

"No, it's not." He replied, rubbing his head with a hand. Noticing a sudden drop in the noise level in the room, he started looking around the room and noticed all the ponies staring at him with looks of curiosity.

"What the hell are you looking at!?" He snapped at them.

With a little fright, they all quickly redirect their attention back to what they were previously doing.

"James!" Dash yelled angrily, "that was not ok!"

"Dammit!"

James angrily stood up and tossed some bits on the table for the meal before turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Dash demanded.

James didn't answer and walked out of the restaurant look the gawks of the surprised onlookers. Anger burned in his gut. It was not anger at the mare he'd snapped on nor anger at any of the others who had been looking on. It was anger at himself. Anger at himself for losing control. So on he stomped, fuming. At just past midday, the town was still alive and bustling with business and errands, so to avoid more contact and the possibility of conflict, he ducked into a nearby alley and stormed angrily down the narrow passage, kicking empty boxes and punching dumpsters to vent his anger, causing a bit of a ruckus which thankfully went unnoticed in the isolated confines of the alley.

He punched and punched until his knuckles were sore and slightly bloody, the hard metal and sharp corners taking their toll on his skin. He stopped when it became too painful and continued down the alley, his mind now distracted from the anger by the pain he had caused himself. Soon, James came to the end of the alley and saw that he had come out near the bridge that spanned the small river that separated the town from the Everfree Forest. Thinking that performing some equipment maintenance would further help to calm his mind, he stepped forward to the bridge with the intention of going to Sparks' workshop.

"Oh my! James, what happened to you?" Came a soft voice from behind.

He stopped and turned around, seeing a canary yellow pegasus with blue eyes and a pair of saddle bags slung over her back.

"Nothing, I'm fine." He replied, and turned to resume his path.

"That is not fine. Look at your hands, they're bleeding!" Fluttershy said, rushing over to him, "I'm on my way home now, come with me and I'll clean them up and bandage for you." She ordered.

"I said I'm fine, just let me go." He said stubbornly.

"James, this is not an option."

He looked at her again and saw her face become serious, the kind she made when she was about to use what he now knew as 'The Stare'. Fully aware that it would be foolish to argue with her at this point, he relented.

"Alright, fine. I'll go with you."

"Good." She said happily and with a smile.

Begrudgingly, he followed her to her home, which was much closer than the team's HQ. In almost no time, they were climbing the small rise that led to her front door. She brought him inside and set him down on her couch while she went into the kitchen and began unpacking her bags. James sat there and rubbed his torn knuckles while he waited. From down the stairs, a small white rabbit hopped into the living room. 'Angel' he remembered. Though he thought the rabbit was anything but, given the treatment he had received from it in the past.

It hopped yo the center of the room and up onto the table, giving the human q scathing look, like James was was being an annoyance to it, just by being there.

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't want to come here."

The rabbit just crossed his tiny little fore legs and began tapping his left foot rapidly, as if waiting impatiently for James to do something. Probably leave. From back in the kitchen, the clatter of delicate ceramic could be heard as someone walked out with a tray of tea cups and a tea pot. James expected to see Fluttershy. Instead, what he saw shocked him and almost made him laugh. Out came Garth, carrying the tray of tea and clad in a frilly pink apron that was far too small for his size. The added fact that he had to stoop and walk hunched over in the low ceilinged house only made it that much funnier.

"You've got to be kidding me." James said disbelievingly as he stifled a laugh.

"I don not understand, there are no children here." Garth replied as he put down the tray on the table by Angel. The rabbit turned his attention from the human and scrambled up Garth's left arm where he perched on the large warrior's shoulder. Garth took out a carrot from a back pocket and gently handed it to the small furry beast who politely took it and began happily munching on the vegetable.

"Oh, come on, now I've seen everything. That damn rabbit doesn't like anyone!"

"He is quite friendly, once you get to know him." The large mottled warrior said, lightly stroking the top of the rabbit's head with a single finger, "What has brought you here my friend? I see your hands are wounded and ripped. Was there a battle I might have missed?" He asked expectantly.

"Only with my self," James replied, examining his knuckles, "I'm still not sure who won."

"Ah, it is often the battle within that is the most perilous. Even lethal, If one does not mend and move on." Garth commented as he took a seat next to the human in an almost comically small chair. The wood creaked and groaned in protest as it took his weight. From the kitchen, Fluttershy returned with a small first aid bag and set it on the coffee table where she started taking items out and setting them in neat rows.

"Ok, now please hold out your hands so I can treat them." She ordered in a kindly and soft tone.

James mentally remarked at how straight forward she had become. While she was still very sweet and extremely soft spoken, gone was the timid ness she had exhibited before. He wondered if it had anything to do with the trauma of the loss she had suffered recently. James shuffled the thought away in his mental filing cabinet and held out his hands for the kind pegasus mare. It was painful, but he managed to stretch his fingers out fully to allow her to do her work unimpeded.

"Tsk tsk tsk," she scolded, "you really should be more careful. How did you end up with these wounds anyway?"

"I kind of... got in a fight with RD."

"What!? That's horrible, you didn't hurt her, did you?" She asked in alarm.

"No, no, it wasn't a physical fight. I did this in a back alley, blowing off some steam on a dumpster. I sort of just... left her at the restaurant. We were having lunch." He winced a little as she applied some sort of rubbing alcohol to his hands before starting to wrap them in gauze.

"Well that's certainly no good. You'll have to go apologize to her."

"Yeah, she's probably still pretty angry. I'll be in for it."

"I find your interactions with your opposite members strange and confusing." Garth chimed in.

"What, your kind doesn't have relationships? Come to think of it, I've never seen a female of your kind. How do you... you know?" James asked curiously.

"Replenish our ranks? Members of my kin are born of the roots of deep stone. They are pulled from the bowls of earth and foundations of mountains to do battle and earn glory before returning to the heart of cold rock from whence they came."

"O... k..."

"There, all done!" Fluttershy declared in a light tone.

James looked back down at his hands and saw she had done an excellent job in dressing his wounds. He clenched his hands and flexed his digits, testing the range of movement. He still had full use, although it pained him slightly to move his hands.

"Thank you Fluttershy, I appreciate it."

"Are you still angry?" She asked him.

"Maybe a little, but not so much as before."

"Good, glad I could help."

She began cleaning up the medical supplies and small drops of his blood that had dripped onto the small table during her ministrations. After a moment, she picked up all the things she had gathered and retreated back to the kitchen. While she stowed the first aid equipment, James turned back to his large friend.

"So Garth, you seem a little more... tranquil, than before."

"Yes. Fluttershy has had me aiding her in the care of her home and it's tenants. Helping her, caring for the small creatures that reside here, I find it somewhat calming. The urge to kill, the drive to die in a gloriously heated contest, they appear as trivial matters to me now."

"Huh, that so?" Said James, nodding in approval, "That's good."

"Good? You think it so?"

"Yeah, means you're more likely to think tactically in a combat situation rather than just charge in and hack 'n' slash. Means you'll get more done more efficiently, fight better."

"Then perhaps this is good."

Fluttershy came back into the room, a small tray of fresh cookies balanced on one outstretched wing, "James, would you like some? I made these this morning."

"Oh, no thanks," he politely declined, "I should actually get going. I gotta go find Dash and see if she'll accept an apology yet."

"Oh, well good luck to you then!"

"Thanks, I think I'll need it." He replied, standing up to go, "Oh, and Garth, why don't you stop by the HQ later, we got some info to pass down."

"Flash came by my hut earlier today and told me some, though I would like to hear more about it."

"Alright, see you later then. And Fluttershy, thanks again for helping me out." He told her again, holding up his hands.

"It was my pleasure!" She replied warmly.

James excused himself from he cottage and started thinking of where he could find what he was sure was a furious pegasus mare. If she didn't find him first. The first thing he did was head over to her house. He didn't think she would still be at the restaurant, not the way he had left her there. A small rock of cold dread sat in a lump at the pit of his stomach as he climbed the small hill that led up to her floating cloud house. As he neared the top, he saw another pegasus mare descend from Dash's front door.

"Hey," he called to her, "RD home?'

The nut brown mare glided down to the human, "Hey, you're one of her friends, right?"

"Uh... yeah? Who are you?"

The mare landed on the ground in front of him, "I'm from the weather team, the name's Autumn Breeze. You wouldn't happened to have seen her around, have you?"

"No, I was actually looking for her myself. You said you're from the weather team, does she have to work today or something? 'Cause last I checked one of her wings was a little messed up."

"Oh yeah, she did have that slight mishap. Nah, our boss just sent me over here to check up on her. The accident looked pretty bad, but she's a tough gal. She probably already took of her bandages and is zooming around somewhere. You sure you haven't seen her?"

"Well... we were having lunch together earlier, but we kinda... had a fight."

"Oooooohhhhhh! So you're the guy she's been talking about! Hm, you're no stallion, but you ain't too bad lookin' either. James, right?" She said, eyeing him up and down.

"Er... thanks." James replied, feeling suddenly awkward. "Listen, I really need to talk to her, so if you have any idea where she might be, that would be extremely useful."

"Well let's see... I you two had a fight, she'd most likely be somewhere she could blow it off. You could try the east side of Saddle Lake. That's one of her favorite practice spots. No pony really goes out there, so if she messes up on a new trick she's less embarrassed."

"Alright, thanks." James said, and began jogging back the way he'd come.

"No problemo!"

James made good time getting to the lake. Fortunately, it wasn't too far off from his own house, so getting there was just a matter of keeping to a steady run up the river to the lake by the town. Once he reached it's shore, he followed it to the east and began scanning the earth and sky for any sign of the cyan mare. As he neared the far eastern end, he thought of giving up and trying some other spot, like the park, when he couldn't spot her. James stopped to catch his breath for a moment and arched his back, trying to get out a cramp. That's when he saw it.

Far up high in the sky was a little white speck in the almost entirely clear sky. When he focused on it, he could make it out to be a small tuft of cloud. When he strained his eyes, he could see a small amount of rainbow colors hanging off the side.

"DASH!"

No response, not even movement.

"DASH! IT'S ME! I WANNA TALK TO YOU!" He shouted as loud as he could.

She was too high up to hear him.

"Fuck."

James looked around, trying to think of a way to get her attention. There was nothing he could throw high enough to signal her, he had nothing with which to start a small fire. What's worse, the sun was creeping towards the horizon, it would be dark in a few hours. He thought and thought and thought, but only one solution came to mind.

"Shit," he said to himself, "I hope Myst is up for a little practice flight."

James took off at a run back to the HQ, a crazy plan formulating in his mind. One that was both exciting and reckless. One that was worth doing for the one he cared about. If he hurried, he could pull it off before sunset.

A Special Night

Chapter 61: A Special Night

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah. My aim is pretty good. Plus I have Plan B." James patted the pack on his back.

"Ok, it just seems a little... crazy." Twilight said uneasily.

"Honey, if you knew about half the stuff our boss has done, you would think this is pretty tame." Myst commented from the open cockpit door.

The three of them were high up in the air over Saddle Lake. Far below them was a rainbow maned pegasus mare, currently unaware of the event unfolding above her. James knew she was out here specifically to be alone, but he needed to talk to her. He couldn't leave this with bad blood between them, not when he knew what was coming just over the horizon. Hence his hastily put together and ultimately dangerously stupid plan to get her attention.

"I'm just worried. From what I know about your parachutes, if you miss, or even if you hit and fall off later, you'll only have a few seconds to activate it before you're too close to the ground for it to do any good." Twilight pointed out.

James looked out over the edge of the deck to the surface below, "I'll just make sure to aim for the water."

"Well... ok then. Hold still."

The unicorn's horn flared up with magical energy and James relaxed his body in preparation for the next part. A familiar cold tingle washed over and through his body as Twilight's magic took effect. Then in a flash, it was gone, the feeling dissipating and fading away.

"Now remember, this spell isn't as strong as the one I put on you before. Instead of a day, you have maybe thirty minutes, so make it count."

"Understood."

"Good. Now go get her."

James stepped up to the edge of the deck and looked down. He saw his target far below, her cloud lazily drifting over the water. Now all he needed was a landing zone. He searched the sky until he found a slightly larger cloud care freely moving close to Dash's. Perfect. He took a deep breath and stepped into thin air.

He pulled in his arms close to his body and manipulated them slightly to allow him to move ever closer to his intended landing spot. The cloud was moving slowly, but he was falling fast and if he missed, he might not get a second chance. The wind roared past his ears as he focused on the cloud and put all his energy into placing his body over it. Once he was confident he on a collision course, he spread his arms and legs to stabilize his flight and slow himself down some. It was then a thought occurred to him. He had never hit a cloud while under the cloud walking spell, not at this speed. He hoped it would be a soft as it looked when he saw pegasi do it.

Below the swiftly approaching human, the lounging pegasus mare heard a distant rushing noise, accompanied by the sound of fabric flapping madly in the wind. She opened an eye and looked for the source. She was very surprised when she found it.

"What the?"

A flightless four limbed figure drove down towards her at high velocity. With a loud whumpf, the figure smashed into another cloud that had been drifting near her close by. Groggily, the figure pulled himself up onto his knees, now she could see clearly who it was and she wasn't all that surprised.

"I'm still mad at you, you know." She said, crossing her forelegs and giving James the evil eye.

James sat up and shook his head. The sudden impact was a bit jarring, but it wasn't so painful as he had feared. It was almost like slamming into a pile of down pillows.

"I know, I know. I just wanted to come speak to you, apologize." He explained. "I'm sorry for what I did back there at the restaurant. I kind of lost it for a moment.

"You made me look stupid in front of all those ponies!" She shouted at him.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Please, just let me find a way to make up for it." He pleaded, holding up his hands.

"That's another thing! Look at your hands! You got hurt again. What'd you do, get in another fight?"

"Yeah, I did. With a dumpster."

"Wait, wha-?" His last statement caught her a little off guard.

" I was so pissed at myself for what I did, i needed to let it out. So... yeah..." he help up his hands, wiggling his fingers. "Besides, how did you get up here with your sprained wing?"

"Well I uh... Well I wouldn't have come up here if you hadn't flipped out like that. All I wanted to do was help."

"I know. Alright, how about this: Our main mode of communication out there will be radio, but it has it's limitations, such as range and clarity. We both know you're the faster flier in Equestria, right? How about you carry the real important messages back and forth between us and the princesses?"

Dash's mood picked up, but dropped again, her ears going flat, when she thought about what he just said, "So you are going back out..."

*sigh* "Yes. Things are about to get pretty dark. I can't tell you much right now, but... it's gonna be ugly."

"Then if that's how I can help, I'd be happy to."

A big smile grew on James' face, "So then you'll forgive me?"

"Yeah, I guess I can. But you owe me again." She said playfully, a small grin forming on her face as well.

James got on his feet and leaped the small gap between their clouds and pulled her into a hug and pecked her on the lips, "I can live with that. How's your wing?"

"Uhhh... not so good." Dash admitted.

She extended it so James could see it. The joint at the base of the wing where it attached to her back had taken on a slightly purple hue and become a little swollen.

"Well that's no good."

James released her and let her sit back down. He walked over to the edge of the cloud, noticing that his feet were starting to sink slightly with each step, and peered down. Unfortunately, he could see that they had drifted some ways away from the lake shore. He looked up, the Clipper was nowhere in sight.

"Huh, that's a problem." He turned back to the mare sitting behind him, "You up for a swim?"

"I think... maybe. How are we gonna get down?"

"Here, come 'ere." He walked back over to her and picked her back up. His feet were sinking deeper into the fluffy surface.

"What're you doing?"

"Just put your forelegs around my neck and wrap your legs around my torso, hold on tight." He instructed her, getting a good grip around her back, being careful to avoid agitating her injured wing.

"James, I don't really think this is the time for that..."

"Just trust me." He approached the edge of the cloud.

Dash looked over her shoulder, "James, what are you doing?" Her voice was tinged with a hint of worry, "You're not going to jump are you? I- I can't fly right now!"

"Relax, I'll do all the flying for us."

"But you don't have any wings!"

"I got the next best thing. Besides, in a minute we won't have a choice." He was now starting to sink up to his knees.

"James, maybe we could just wait for somepony to come. O- Or--"

Her words were cut off as James suddenly stepped from their fluffy platform and began the plunge to the water below. They only fell free for a few seconds before James released the the pilot chute and and stopped their high speed plummet to the earth. The abrupt deceleration nearly tore the two of them from each other, but they both managed to hold on, remaining in a locked embrace. In just a minute, they had almost reached the surface of the water.

"Hold your breath." James warned.

Dash sucked in a lung full of air and sealed her mouth shut. While they were just fifteen feet from impact, James pulled a cord attached to a quick release, detaching them from the parachute and dumping them both into the chilly water below where they went submerged. With a few powerful strokes, James brought them back to the surface, the mare still clinging to him taking in deep breaths of air.

Together they swam back to shore, which was just under fifty yards away. An easy swim for James, but a little more taxing for Dash who was still a somewhat novice swimmer. As they pulled themselves onto dry land, Dash shook off the excess water from her coat while James tried to wring what he could from his clothing. Gratefully, it was still summer, but a slight breeze added a small chilling effect.

"Well, I guess there goes the favor you owe me." RD said almost dejectedly.

"Meh, we'll call that one a freebie." James replied with a grin. "C'mon, let's get you over to Fluttershy's, she can take a look at your wing and I need to get my bandages changed."

As painlessly as he could, he tried to rid the slowly reddening gauze of water, but it was futile, the dressings were completely waterlogged.

"Ok, but afterwards I want to talk about that job you mentioned in helping you out."

"Of course."

=====================================================================

"...and so that's pretty much what we're up against. Any questions?"

In the back of the briefing room, Flash raised a hoof, "Yeah, what's a civvie doing here in a secret briefing? Is she helping us fight or something?" He was referring to Rainbow Dash, who was sitting off to the side.

"No, she won't be doing any fighting. She will, however, be doing an important job carrying reports and messages back and forth between Shining Armor at his command post and the royalty further back. She's the fastest flier around, so she fits the part. I'm showing her this so she knows what areas to avoid. Any other questions?" James informed him.

Sparks was next to raise a hoof, "So if we're not fighting up front, what will we be doing?"

"I'll be holding back at some distance providing sniper support, Flash, you'll be my spotter. Sparks, you and Myst will be my eyes and ears around the battle field, patrolling at a safe distance from the main fight and keep me and Shining updated on everything."

"What will the other teams be doing?"

"They'll be performing similar roles, only some will be held back as quick response teams."

"What will my task be?" Garth asked from the front row.

"Brother, you got good stamina especially while running, even better than me. Because of this, I need you to be johnny-on-the-spot with the ammo for me and the other teams. You can work in tandem with Sparks and Myst if you'd like."

The large warrior seemed a bit displeased with his role, but if he objected to it, he didn't show it.

"Alright, any more?"

This time, neither hooves nor hand were raised.

"Outstanding, dismissed."

The briefing session over, James' team got up from their seats and left the room to go on their separate businesses. James shuffled some papers on his desk, pages detailing the same briefing he had had just now given to his team, only these were destined for Princess Celestia for her review. He packed them all into an envelope, neatly organized and ready for delivery. He too left the building, stepping out into the warm night air and making for Twilight's home in Ponyville. He was soon joined by Rainbow Dash, who he had seen was eager to get done with the briefing, sitting still and listening not exactly being one of her strong points.

"So all this is really happening, huh?" Rainbow Dash said, her voice somewhat downcast. "You know, Twilight and the others could help too. They're all element bearers, just like me."

"I know. The Princesses already asked them for help. Twilight's helping organize the evacuations, Applejack is helping to supply rations and food. Hell, even Fluttershy's getting involved."

"But do you really have to be out there? I mean, I thought when you said I'd be helping you, I thought you meant helping you."

"You are. Thanks to you, I'll have one less thing to worry about. In a situation like this, it actually means a lot."

"Well ok. If you say so." Dash replied, still unconvinced. "Anyway, what are you doing tonight?" She asked, changing the topic.

"Well first I have to take this envelope to Spike. The sooner this gets to Celestia, the better. After that... not really anything. I was actually thinking of just taking it easy tonight."

"So you're free then?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Cool, meet me at the hill by your house." She instructed, snatching the envelope from James' grip and taking off at a gallop.

"Isn't your wing still a little sore?" He called after her.

"I'm still one of the fastest on land!" Was her response.

With a small grin, he shook his head and changed his path, now heading in the direction of his house. He had only walked about five minutes when Flash dropped to the ground beside him.

"Hey boss, what's goin' on?"

"Nothing really."

"Ok, well me and Sparks were thinking of heading over to our favorite bar with the girls for some drinks, you in?"

"No, not tonight. I kind of got a little thing of my own going on. How about next time, if we aren't already gone by then?" James offered.

"Sounds good, I'll hold you to it. And don't worry, I'll make sure to be quiet when we get back so as not to disturb the two of you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James said in a mock angry tone.

"What do you think?" Flash laughed back as he took to the sky with a few powerful flaps of his wings.

"Jackass." James chuckled under his breath.

James renewed his pace towards his home, wondering exactly what Dash might have in store for him. He imagined something like the last time he'd been there, which was some time ago, when they'd just lay there on the grass and stare up at the twinkling starlight. After all the running around and the stressful events of the past week, he welcomed the thought of simply doing just that, especially with that wonderful pegasus with rose colored eyes.

Nearing the hill, he saw that was not exactly going to be the case. Starting the gradual climb up it, he could see a horned quadrupedal figure rushing about and arranging items about a table built low to the ground. His curiosity piqued, James dropped into stealth mode and silently crept around the side of the hill where the large tree sat rooted in the grass. With a little finesse, he made it all the way to the trunk without being noticed.

The human leaned around the rough bark of the tree and took a peek at what exactly was going on. On a large square blanket only a short distance from the tree, Rarity was busy setting up what looked to be some kind of romantic outdoor, candle lit dinner. Two plush cushions were positioned on either side of the table on the blanket. A medium sized box rest nearby, lid open, the unicorn extracting things with her magic and arranging them on the table as she merrily hummed to her self.

"A little late for a picnic, don't you think?" James said, stepping out from behind the tree.

"WHA— AHHHH!" The mare reared up on her hind legs and fell over onto her back in fright.

James couldn't help be chuckle a little at her reaction, "Woah, are you alright? Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Rarity got back up and glared angrily at James as she dusted herself off, "Really? Well you ought to think about how you approach somepony before you give them a heart attack!"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"If you must know, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was busy setting up a nice romantic evening for both you and Rainbow Dash at her request." Rarity said in annoyance as she returned to her task.

"Hm, seems a bit out of character for her."

"Yes I agree but, it's what she wants."

Behind them, the soft sounds of hooves on grass came from down the hill. Rarity picked up on it and quickly lit the candles with a flash of her magic before putting some finishing touches to her work.

"Well, that will be her. The food, drinks and plates are in the box, please help yourself. And don't worry too much about clean up, I'll come back later and take care of it. Ta~ta~!"

With that, Rarity excused herself and went the opposite direction down the hill leaving James standing next to the table feeling somewhat awkward. He turned to face the approaching hoof steps, not entire sure of what he should do. Eventually from down the hill, the mare of the sky blue coat came walking. James looked on with a bit of awe as he took in her appearance.

She was wearing her usually messy mane in a neat little braid that came down from one side of her neck, the hair on top of her head was brushed and freshly washed, almost shiny. James thought he could see what looked to be just a thin application of eye shadow and mascara around her sparkling red rosy eyes. Around her neck she wore the small stone he had gotten for her in High Tower. It was something he certainly wasn't accustomed to seeing her wearing.

"Uh... wow. So what's the occasion?"

"Why would I need a reason for this?"

"Oh, you don't, it's just... kind of spontaneous. Almost Pinkie spontaneous. And the only time I've ever seen you dress up is for the Gala."

"Well, I just thought since we might not see each other again for a while, we'd do something special."

"Ok then." James shrugged, "Sounds good to me. You look great, by the way."

"Hm hm, thanks." She said smiling as she took her seat.

James took his across from her and began digging around the box Rarity had left for them. From it he pulled out a couple of ceramic plates, some silverware for him, some drinking glasses made from crystal, a few smaller boxes he assumed contained the food which were still warm, and a fancy looking bottle of red wine.

From the food boxes he found the usual oat cakes, shredded wheat, even a small batch of hay fries. There was also some apple fritters thrown in that looked to be of Applejack's make and even some cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner. James was almost worried when he couldn't find any fare suitable for his digestive system besides the pastries and apple products, but his concerns he found were for nought when he discovered a boxed meal near the bottom that held a boxed meal of rice, beans, veggies, and chunks of tofu all mixed together in a pungent and delicious smelling sauce.

"Who made all of this? Couldn't have been you." James teased.

"Hey, I can cook plenty good!" Dash retorted.

"Yeah, tell that to my stomach."

"You wanna hoof in your stomach?"

"Hey, woah, no need to fight. Let's just dig in."

"Ok, but after we eat you're gettin' it!" Dash playfully warned.

James divvied up the food and poured some of the wine for them both. Together they ate in silence, just enjoying each other's presence and the beautifully starlit night sky above them. The only source of light on the hill were the two large candles that sat burning softly on the table.

After they'd eaten their meals and most of the wine was gone, they polished it off with the apple fritters and cupcakes that had been included. James swallowed the last morsel of one of the fritters and looked up to his date. She was staring at him with sultry and seductive eyes.

"How was your dessert?" He asked her.

"Dessert? I haven't had my dessert yet..."

"Oh? I thought we just ate it. There's nothing left." James said in mock innocence.

"It's not here."

"Then where is it?"

"How about your place..."

Stormy Night

Chapter 62: Stormy Night

"So we're all clear on the op?"

All around the dark cabin of the Clipper, James received three short nods.

"Good. And remember, we're working with two other teams so watch your fire. The call is 'Silent Screech'. Other than that, don't let any escape." Was his morbid instruction.

"Ok guys, I hope you're all set to go back there 'cause we're coming up on the drop." Myst warned them from the cockpit.

"Alright, you heard the lady, everyone up, final checks."

James stood and opened the side door, letting in a blast of cold high altitude air. Behind him, Garth checked his parachute for him before turning around so James could return the favor. After verifying that everything was as it should be, James looked to his other team member, Flash and Sparks. Both signaled they were good to go. Confident his team was ready, James stepped up to the edge of the deck. Outside was nothing but darkness, lacking the warmth of the sun.

"Ok, you're good, go go go!"

At the pilot's signal, James leaped from the door way without a moment's hesitation. Immediately after their leader's departure, the Fixers followed him into the howling dark. Still far below them was flat layer of thick clouds. The only way they knew they were at the right location was the Smokey Mountain off to the north. After a minute, they broke into the cloud layer. Plummeting through the dense water vapor, James felt the sting of water moving at high velocity hit his cheek. At first he paid it no mind, but when he started to feel more hit his body, he knew he had a problem.

The four of them broke out of the bottom of the cloud structure and were instantly pelted with a swarm of rain droplets. James looked around and was relieved to see the rest of his team was still with him. With a quick hand motion, he signaled them to release their canopies. Flash flared his wings, then Garth disappeared, followed by Sparks. It was only then that James activated his own chute. When after a moment no one suddenly fell past him, James was happy to know that everyone was making it down safely.

The glide down only took a few more minutes, fierce precipitation soaking them to the bone while wild gusts of wind threatened to blow them off course. James looked down between his feet and was alarmed when instead of the forgotten stretch of road they were aiming for south of Smokey Mountain, the boughs and branches of a forest rushed up to meet him. With a crash, he slammed through the canopy, hitting several outstretched branches before his chute finally caught on one. Battered, bruised, but not broken, James yanked on the quick release cord and allowed himself to drop to another branch just underneath him.

With a little effort, he managed to climb down the slick, wet branches of the leafy growth without injuring himself further. On the last branch, he simply dropped to the sodden ground with a muddy splash. Instantly, he popped up, weapon in hand, as he listened for any signs of detection. Off to his left, he heard the rustle of leaves. He trained the sights of his rifle to the source of the sound.

In a loud whisper he called, "Silent!"

"Screech." Came the reply.

Flash materialized from the darkness. James looked around, but didn't see his other two teammates.

"What happened to Sparks and Garth, did you see?" He asked the pegasus.

"We got separated in the storm, I saw them go down in the same area. I'm used to flying in this kind of weather so I chose to come with you."

"Alright, good shit. Hopefully they stuck together." James turned on his radio, "Garth, Sparks, this is James, you up?"

Silence.

"Garth, Sparks, this is James, you guys ok?"

This time he got a response, three short clicks.

"Shit." The human swore.

"What's up?"

"They've made contact."

"Already?" Flash asked in surprise.

"Yup. You said you saw where they went down..."

"Yeah, you wanna go track them down?"

"Exactly, we gotta get the team back together. Don't bother with your NVGs, they're useless in the rain, too much movement. We're doing this old school."

"Got it."

"Good, lead the way."

In the darkness, the rain hitting all the leaves sounded like they were surrounded by waterfalls. It helped mask the sounds they made, but it would do the same for anything else that walked the wood. Because of this, James walked with caution through the midnight forest as Flash led him towards the south west. Every once in a while, the pegasus would hear an errant noise and stop to listen before moving on. It was slow going, but it got them to their destination without incident. When they neared their the area their teammates had gone down in, James stopped Flash with a tap on his shoulder and bent down to inspect the flat leaves of a low bush.

"What is it?"

James touched one of the leaves with his index finger and rubbed it with his thumb before taking a small whiff of it, "Blood. I can't tell from who or what, but it's fresh, that much I know."

"Shit."

"Yep. Well, at least we know we're in the right place."

Off to their right, a monstrously scream echoed amongst the trees and was abruptly cut off with a snap, like someone had dropped something. James recognized the second sound, it came from a suppressor. This gave him a small ounce of relief, it meant the rest of his team was still alive and kicking. Suddenly his radio crackled in his ear.

"Sorry about the delay there, we just had to take care of something real quick." Sparks voice said.

"Glad to here you're ok brother, is Garth alright?"

"Yeah, he's right here with me, what's your location?"

"I'm with Flash, we're not too far off from you and we know what direction you're in so sit tight. Watch fire, friendlies coming at you from," the human pulled out a small compass, "south, south east. How copy?"

"Good copy, friendlies coming from south, south east, we'll be waiting."

"Outstanding, see you in a minute."

James tapped Flash again and set off, this time he led the way. The traveled towards the source of the earlier disturbance and in no time came to a small clearing devoid of grass and scrub. In the middle lay a dark, prone form.

"Silent." James whispered.

"Screech."

From two different directions, Sparks and Garth revealed themselves from their hiding places. James walked up to the body. Lotkin, light armor, standard crossbow, only blades he had on him were a few daggers. A scout.

James addressed his team around him, "Ok, this is what we're here for. If our info is right, these guys are trying to set up a beachhead for the main landing force. Shining's army has been mobilized and will arrive here just after dawn. We have less than six hours to clear the area of hostiles and move to the beach where we will destroy any and all preparations they've made for the incoming fleet. At the same time, we will try to make contact with the other two teams and try to coordinate. Everyone clear?"

They all nodded.

"Outstanding. Ok let's go, Sparks you take point, I got our rear incase anything tries to sneak up on us, go."

Spread out in a line, the four began their trek through the wet wood towards the beach. Every once in a while, they would stop and listen, studying the muddy ground for any sign of their enemy's passage. It was a while before they finally did. Garth gave the signal to stop an knelt by the side of the game trail they were following.

"There were four that passed this way. See here how the grass lies. Three deer lay sleeping, there is blood staining the roots. They took them all. There may be a camp near by, and more of my kin."

"Good, can you tell us which direction?" James inquired.

"Come, I shall lead."

The rest of the group got be hind Garth and followed closely as he wound his way through the trees. For some time he led them through the pitter patter of rain. Cautiously they went, and without much excitement, until Garth once again signaled them to stop. Following this, he dropped to his belly and motioned for the rest of the team to do the same. A small rise ascended before them, Garth led them all up this on a low crawl. Water filled with dirt, dead leaves and other detritus ran down the small hill and into their faces, but they paid it no mind. In times like these, distractions of discomfort were best put to rest.

Suddenly, James could make out the faint glow of a sputtering campfire close to them, at the top of the rise. Garth brought them all to a line of bushes and shrubs that formed a low barrier to the shadow casting light. Crawling up to the edge of his concealment, James looked to the light and made note of what he saw.

It was another clearing, this one larger and currently inhabited. Centered around an enormous campfire, a ring of tents made of crudely carved branches and animal skins lay at regular distances. James counted fourteen such tents, but he could only see eight of the campsite's inhabitants milling about and performing menial tasks. Were the other six were, he could not say. This is what worried him most. The feeling was like suddenly losing track of a wasp buzzing around a room. Their objective was clear. They didn't have time to waste making sure the surrounding area was safe. So James made a decision.

"Ok, we have eight Limas, all unaware of our presence. Garth, I want you to take a rifle and get up in a tree with a good view. Quietly. Sparks, Flash, you're both with me. As soon as he's in position, I want Garth to open fire on the hostiles. In the ensuing confusion, the three of us will pop up and pop heads, got it?"

"Got it." Came a unanimous reply.

James, Flash and Sparks waited until Garth climbed up into the branches of an adjacent tree and got in a comfortable position to fire. Once the agile behemoth was set, he brought up the sights and focused on the target that was furthest away, a Lotkin warrior that was busily sharpening it's blade with a whet stone on the other side of camp. Just as his commander had taught him, Garth took a deep steady breath, slowly let it out and squeezed the trigger.

*snap*

The target's head jerked back and it slumped to the ground. The others paused and looked around. They had heard a strange sound they did not recognize and had failed to see their comrade fall to the ground. They were just about to dismiss it and return to their tasks when a straight stream of blood suddenly burst from the forehead of the Lotkin tending to the fire, it's body slumping forward into the flames with a hiss and a sizzle.

The others dropped what they were doing and brought up their weapons, ready for a fight, but it was too late. James and Sparks stood up from their hiding place and began advancing, downing a target with each pull of the trigger. In just seconds, the camp was cleared of the remaining six hostiles. Flash moved to join them, as did Garth after clambering down from the tree. Together they swept the camp, looking for any sign of the missing inhabitants. When they found none, they regrouped over by the fire.

"Alright, good shit, that went down pretty much perfectly." James complimented, "Ok, the next thing we have to do is track down the others before moving on. Remember to keep an eye out for other friendlies operating in the area, it's imperative that we meet up--"

A bellowing war cry sounded from the south west side of the camp. The Fixers all brought their weapons to bear as a group of three Lotkin rushed in from the forest, weapons raised high over their heads.

*snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap*

The three suddenly slumped to the ground, sprays of body fluid issuing from their chests, bodies jerking as some unseen force tore them apart. James stood there, somewhat baffled as he had not fired his weapon. He looked to Garth, then Sparks, both of whom shook their heads in the negative.

Then, from the shadows, "Silent!"

"Screech" James automatically called back.

Like specters of the night, a team of three unicorns and a pegasus flowed into being from the shadows of the trees near where the three new combatants had attacked from. The pegasus trotted up to James and held out a hoof for the human to shake.

"Sir, Lieutenant Mulus. The Magic Aces are at your service."

James gave the stallion's hoof a vigorous shake, "Good to have ya. Thanks for taking care of that problem there, you haven't happened to see any more, have you?"

"Just three others. We had been tracking a group of six for the past hour and a half. We took half the group out when they stopped for rest, but the others escaped and we chased them here. Where I see your team has already taken out the trash, so to speak." The officer commented as he looked around the campsite.

"Yep, just doing our job. You wouldn't have happened to run into the other team yet, have you?" James asked him.

"No, not down here. But I did see where their airship went before they dropped. Looked like they were still on course for their AOR near the beach."

"Ok, we'll go there then. We need to all hook up and put together a plan for hitting the beach head. That's our main objective. We take that out and worry about stragglers after."

"Affirmative. We're ready when you are."

"So let's go."

The two teams merged together, creating one single unit. James had Mulus switch over to his channel so they could keep in contact and coordinate. The group of eight slalomed through the trees until they exited the brush and came to a set of worn railroad tracks that ran north to south. The human signaled for the group to stop as the rails began to to hum and sing. In a matter of moments, a train came chugging down the tracks from the south, the operatives sank back to the trees, eager to remain out of sight.

As the cars of the locomotive swiftly passed them by, James peered inside. They were all full to capacity with mares and foals, stallions with their families. The looks of their faces were that of fear and confusion, having no clear understanding of why they had been ordered to leave their homes behind with such haste and without warning.

After the last car had passed, the team resumed it's journey and crossed the tracks to a rising field of tall grass and scrub brush. The rain was starting to let up, the precipitation now becoming no more than a drizzle. James activated his NVGs, deeming the weather now suitable for their use.

"Ok everyone, goggles down, eyes up." He ordered.

The ghostly green glow the Night Vision Goggles cast the landscape in was comforting, no more guess work in the dark. Stealthily, they climbed to the top of a low ridge, always keeping an eye out for their brothers in arms. Reaching the top, they dropped to prone and peeked over the edge. Down below was a wide, flat beach, unremarkable in every way. Except that a company of Lotkin warriors were busily constructing inland facing defenses for their landing fleets to take advantage of. James scanned the area, still no sign of the third team. He pulled out his iPod from a pants pocket and checked the time, 0453, it was getting close to sunrise.

"Ok, we can't wait on them, we'll have to assume the worst. This is what we're gonna do; we'll split up into three fire teams. Sparks, you take Flash and Garth with you, Mulus, take two of your guys, but leave your best shooter up here with me. We'll provide a sniper overwatch while the six of you assault the enemy force down on the beach. Get in as close as you can with out being detected, when I give the signal, go loud. Garth, feel free to use your shotgun."

The large warrior grinned excitedly as he pulled out the Saiga strapped to his back and slammed a magazine into the well.

Mulus turned to one of the unicorns under his command, a short stocky, dark orange one armed with an old Dragunov. "Flip, you're with the commander, keep your aim steady."

"Sir!" The unicorn responded, trotting over and taking his place at the human's side.

"Ok, you all know your parts, lets start the party."

The two assault fire teams crawled over the edge of the ridge and slowly began advancing on the enemy position like hungry crocs on the scent of their prey. Back on the ridge, Flip set up his rifle and sighted down the scope to the hostiles below. Meanwhile, James removed a pack on his back and opened it up, taking out several parts. In just a couple minutes, he had the M110 unpacked and assembled.

"What kind of range are we looking at." James asked the unicorn as he set up shop a short distance away.

"I estimate... maybe about two hundred and fifty yards. Give or take."

"Easy day." James stuck a finger in his mouth and held it up in the damp air, "Wind's still coming in from the ocean. About eight or nine miles an hour. Humidity is up, bit it shouldn't be a problem at such short distance."

"Agreed."

The two lay there in silence for a moment, studying the movements of their targets below and their cover. After a time, James got the confirmation he was waiting for.

"Boss, it's Sparks. Both teams in position. Ready on your go."

"Outstanding. Flip, get ready. Once they go, our job is to take out any hostiles with projectile weapons, that's the crossbows. They can handle everything else."

"Sir."

"Ok Sparks, on my mark." He shouldered his weapon more comfortably and found a target up on some kind of rampart.

"Ma--"

*RATATATATATATATA*

From a hill to the south came the roar of automatic weapons fire.

"What the fuck!" James yelled into the mic, "Who jumped the gun?"

"Were asking the same thing down here boss, it's none of us." Sparks told him.

James trained his scope on the source of the fire. He could see a trio of unicorns firing madly and advancing on the beach head, two earth ponies with blades charging out in front of them while their teammates fired over their heads. They began tearing into the ranks of the Lotkin working on the fortifications.

"Shit, there's our missing team. Keep your heads down, I don't want one of you getting slotted by accident. Flip, let's get to work."

The unicorn next to him nodded and began using his magic to aim his rifle and started taking down targets. After silently cursing to himself, James began doing the same thing. His rifle thundered across the sands, each gunshot punctuating the end of another life. Another hostile popped up on the ramparts, crossbow in hand. It was the last mistake it made as James put two in it's chest. Down in all the action, The human suddenly heard the terrifying rapid booms of a semi automatic shotgun.

"Sparks, what's going on, speak to me." He called into the radio.

"The third team reached us, we've merged and are now concentrating the assault."

"Good, keep up the great work."

A few more minutes back on the rifle and the two snipers ran out of targets. Either they had gotten them all, or the Lotkin down on the beach had learned not to stick their heads out. Still, sporadic fire and the occasional clash of blades bouncing off each other could be heard. James waited just a few more minutes to be sure, but when nothing else showed, he called it.

"Alright Flip, our work up here is done. Me and you are gonna pack up and join the party down there."

"Yes sir."

James took a moment to disassemble the M110 and stow it in his pack. Other than his sidearm, Flip only had the Dragunov, so he was already all set to go. Once James' gear was taken care of, he brought up his marksman rifle and advanced at a quick, but cautious, pace down the slope to the beach head. By the time he and Flip arrived though, the rest of the operatives were just finishing cleaning up.

"What took you so long?" Sparks asked, trotting over.

"I was keeping one of the Limas from putting a bolt on your chest. Where's the third team leader?"

"Around the corner, helping stack the bodies."

James followed his teammate, who brought him to a purple, blue maned unicorn sporting a beat up M14. Currently, he was in the middle of lifting a now lifeless body onto a neat pile that would be burned later.

"You, you're team leader?"

The unicorn stopped what he was doing and face James at attention, "Yes sir! Captain Shade of the Moonlighters. What can I do for you sir?"

"Please relax. I just want to know why you hadn't tried to make contact with us before deciding to assault a heavily armed enemy position on your own." James stated sternly.

"Sir, my apologies. We were blown off course by the storm and landed in the river, our radios were completely water logged. We cleared a path to the beach head, only encountering little resistance and waited for your team to show. However, when we didn't see you and dawn was nearing, I made the decision to attack."

"I see. Well, that's an unfortunate issue with the radios, I'll have Sparks look into it, see if he can't come up with a solution. As for the attack, I admire your initiative, but you could have gotten yourselves or one of the other teams killed. Next time maybe do a quick recon of the area before deciding you're all alone and taking the whole burden on yourself." James advised.

"Sir!"

"Other than that, good job keeping your teammates alive in a dicey situation. Carry on."

"Thank you sir."

James left the unicorn and began walking around the now empty barricades and ramparts of the beach head. It was all designed to allow a significant force to land on the shore and advance to a stable, fortified position with maximum cover and little fear of being repelled. However, the structures were in his hands now, and he could see a fatal flaw. James recalled Garth telling him of a certain weakness his people had when it came to water. The distance between the fortifications and the water was tiny. A plan formed in his mind. He would not destroy the beach head, as was the objective of this mission, no. He would turn it against his enemies.

Unwelcome Memory

Chapter 63: Unwelcome Memory

"Hey buddy, wake up!"

A boot kicked James lightly in his side a few times. His eyes snapped open, hand grabbing for the rifle laying beside him as he sat up.

"Huh, what's up?"

"They're on the move again, L.T. want's your eyes." Jackson told him.

"Alright, alright," James groggily stood up from the dusty ground and brushed himself off, "any change in numbers or are we looking about the same?"

Jackson led him across the cave floor, towards a bright opening in the rock, "A couple of shipments came in, with it some baddies, but not many of them."

"Cool."

Together they walked out into a muggy jungle of an island somewhere in the south china sea, the air heavy with heat and humidity. The team was situated high on a tall hillside, the slopes steep and rocky, though that didn't stop the jungle from trying to climb it. Below them, about three hundred yards, was a smuggler's encampment. They had been staking it out for almost three weeks now. The smugglers that operated there mostly dealt in drug trafficking and black market arms deals, humans as well if their information sources were to be believed.

These were major crimes, but it was not why James had been sent there with the rest of his teammates. It had come down from top brass that they might also be dirty dealing in chemical agents. Lt. Bellis' team was there to obtain evidence and stage a raid if necessary. James ran the situation again through his head as he and his friend, Jackson, ducked into some bushes and began low crawling to the position of their team leader. They came to a rocky out cropping on which Bellis, Nix and Feng were laying concealed from unfriendly eyes.

Bellis propped himself up on one arm and turned to greet the two new comers, "Good, you two are here. Nix, Fungis, head on back and catch some Zs, I want you both fresh later. Rocka, Ghengis, you come take up their posts."

Nix and Feng slid out from their position, a 98 Bravo using a .338 Lapua round and an accompanying spotter's scope. James put his rifle aside within easy reach and slid up to the sniper rifle as Feng removed himself and headed back to the cave. Jackson took up position next to him and looked through the spotter scope a few times, making a few adjustments here and there. Bellis was just a few feet away, binoculars in hand and up to his eyes. He reached over and tapped James a few times to get his attention.

"Hey hey, what do you see down there?"

James sighted through the scope and focused on the camp below. A couple of big trucks were moving in through the main gate. Both were laden with cargo, but it was impossible to see what as their backs were covered with thick tarps. James looked hard at the trucks, trying to catch a glimpse of the goods. The trucks stopped and some armed smugglers moved in to unload them. They went to the rear most truck first and drew open a flap in the tarp. One of the smugglers reached in and began tugging on something. For a minute, it did not seem to come loose, but the smuggler tugged harder and out popped an emaciated young man in shackles he was followed by four women and five other men, all seemed to be young.

"Guess Intel was right about the human trafficking." James said.

"Bastards." Jackson muttered beside him.

"I'd love to go in and get them, but command's telling me they're a secondary priority." Bellis commented.

James returned his attention to the trucks and watched the activity going on around them. The smugglers were herding their captives away into a cramped wooden shack some distance from the road. After shoving them all inside, the smugglers locked it up with a heavy padlock and let it be, beside it a small generator chugged away. James made a note of the shack's position and went back to the trucks. The cargo of the first one was still covered, but then one of the smugglers removed a section to check on the goods. James caught a glimpse of it, a row of silver metal cans. There was writing, he strained to read it.

"Shit. Sir, they have phosgene." James reported.

"Not surprised. Stuff is super easy to make. Ok then, we have our in."

"Sir?"

"We're going in tonight."

=====================================================================

Rain started to fall in thick, fat drops. It was transitioning into monsoon season in this small corner of the world. Bellis, Jackson and James were silently wading up a small muddy stream in the darkness towards their goal. Back up on the hillside, Nix and Feng were providing the overwatch. James usually would have, but it was Feng's turn to man the rifle and they were all trained to use such weapons for flexibility.

The three moved against the current, water ripe with the stink of refuse swirling around their legs. It was run off from the smugglers' compound, an unfortunate path, but the only one that wasn't heavily guarded, probably because of the smell. Soon, they came upon a chain link fence that ran into the tepid water and continued into the silt of the stream. Beyond, the idle conversations of bored men could be heard, though not entirely understood, at least not by James. Here Bellis would do any talking, having studied both Mandarin and Tagalog.

Bellis made a signal with his left hand, motioning Jackson to move up. Jackson waded to the fence and whipped out a pair of wire cutters from his pack. Quickly, he set to cutting a man sized hole in the fence as quietly as he could, the entry team tensing with every shake and clink of the metal. Once he was done, they all swiftly moved through and into the camp. The layout was mostly comprised of ramshackle buildings made of old corrugated steel and sheet metal. It was behind one of these that the team took cover, out of the river of garbage, and settled in for a sitrep.

"Fungis, we're in, how we looking?" Bellis whispered.

The radio crackled a bit before there was a response, "You guys are good for the most part, no hostiles in your immediate vicinity. You have a few ambling around, but most are on guard at the entrances or in the mess hall. Weather wise, I suggest you get moving, looks like we're about to get hit."

Lightning flashed and crackled above their heads as if to emphasize his point. The rainfall began to take on a heavier mode.

Bellis turned to Jackson and James, "Ok, you both know the deal. We move in and plant a marker on the goods so Big Navy can send a ship to seize them when they move off island. We gotta try and keep a low profile, I don't want to get in a firefight and risk a stray round puncturing one of those containers. Having your lungs liquefied is not a good way to go."

"Sir, what about the neutrals?" Jackson was referring to the prisoners that had recently arrived.

"We'll get to them if we can and get them out of here, but first thing's first."

"Yes sir."

"Heads up," Nix warned over the radio, "you got a curious George heading your way."

"Looking for us?" Bellis asked.

"Nah, he's smoking. Looks like he's just walking around, bored."

They could hear footsteps slowly approaching, boots squishing in the mud.

"Anything you can do about him?"

"Wait one."

The footsteps came closer and closer to the corner they were hiding behind. They waited tensely. James took out his pistol and slowly stood, keeping his shoulder against the wall. He trained the sights on the corner, ready to take out the threat as soon as he rounded the corner. The smuggler came right up to the threshold of discovering them, but then a slight whiz cut through the air, followed by a wet impact, a spray of blood and brain matter into the mud before them and a small muddy splash. Bellis reached around the corner and grabbed a fist full of the smuggler's shirt, dragging the body into cover. A neat hole was in the back of his skull and the now dead man was missing a good portion of his forehead.

"Good shot Fungis. We're moving now, keep your eyes up." Said the team leader.

"Roger that."

Bellis checked around the corner again. Seeing it was clear, he waved James and Jackson on, who took up position at the next building and covered Bellis as he moved to join them. Some smugglers walked aimlessly around the camp, but with Nix and Feng's help, they were easily avoided on the way to the storehouse the cans of phosgene had been loaded into. Most of the camp's inhabitants were eating in the mess hall or sleeping in their huts.

The team circled around to the back of the store house, the front had three guards and was highly visible. They found a back entrance with only two guards that was mostly out of sight. Unfortunately, this also meant Feng didn't have a clear shot, they would have to do it the old fashioned way. James and Jackson stacked up on the corner while Bellis watched their backs. The two slung their rifles and both drew their suppressed sidearms. Kneeling down, James picked a good sized rock from the mud and chucked it around the corner into some bushes, creating a distraction.

As the guards turned their heads towards the sound, James and Jackson broke cover and moved on them. Jackson fired and took out the first guard, the sound of his weapon further muffled by the rain. James pulled the trigger, but all he got was a click. The second guard turned around at the sound of his partner hitting the ground. James thought fast drew back his arm for a throw, hurling his sidearm at the second guard, striking the man in the face. With two swift movements, James drew his knife from where it was sheathed on his shoulder, stepped in and shoved the point straight into the man's throat, ripping it back out with a wet squelch. After wiping the blade on his pant leg, he returned it to it's sheath and went to retrieve his weapon.

"Really?" Jackson said, cocking an eyebrow, "You threw your fucking firearm?"

"What? It didn't fire."

"What you sayin', you forget to loa--"

*pop*

The pistol discharged, the round launching into the mud near Jackson's foot.

James shrugged, "Hangfire."

"Man, you better not accidentally shoot my ass."

"I'll try, but sometimes it's hard to resist the urge."

"You two ladies done chatting?" Bellis crept up behind them, "Let's get in there and get the hell outta here so we can get a hot meal."

"Aye aye to that." Jackson agreed.

James peered through cracks and creases in the thin walls of the store house to see what was inside. All he could see was darkness. Hopefully it meant the space was vacant. There was only one way to be sure.

"Ok, you two keep an eye out while I get us in." Bellis ordered.

James and Jackson stacked up on opposite sides of the door, facing out and rifles up, while Bellis went to work on the rickety door knob with the butt of his weapon. After a few good strikes, he knocked the knob off, the door slowly creaked open. Both Jackson and James spun around and entered, rifles ready. Bellis followed close behind, scanning the room for hostiles. Fortunately there were none. Jackson spotted the canisters they were looking for in a corner and ran over, taking his pack off as he went. Bellis went to go help him attach the transmitters while James kept a lookout. In a few minutes they were done.

"Fungis, Nix, we're finished here, what's our exfil looking like?" Bellis asked.

"Well, your entry point is still clear and the neutrals are unguarded, but I got some bad news."

"Shit. Well, shoot."

"Looks like the boss man is coming in for a look at the goods, you guys got about a minute to get out of there."

"Thanks for the heads up." Bellis looked between James and Jackson, "All right boys, time to kick rocks, let's move."

Stealthily they moved out the back door, replacing the knob as best they could. The bodies they dumped in a nearby ditch filled with trash. Silently they ghosted around the buildings towards the wooden shack holding the prisoners. Everything was going smooth as they reached the building until they turned the corner and ran into a smuggler pissing on the side of it. For a split second, they just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"Kaaway! Kaaway! Halika mabilis!" The smuggler hollered, taking up his rifle from where it was leaning on the building.

On reflex Bellis put two in his chest, but the smuggler managed to pop off a couple rounds before he went down. The bullets went wide, but the damage was done.

"Dammit!"

"Sir, what's going on down there? We heard gunfire." Nix asked over the radio.

"We've hit a snag, dogs are barking, we're pulling out."

"Rodger that."

"What about the civvies?" Jackson complained.

"Fuck. Ok Rocka, we'll try to get 'em out." Bellis keyed his mic, "Nix, Fungis, keep their heads down and their attention off us."

"We got your back, sir."

The three maneuvered around the side of the building, keeping their eyes peeled for hostiles. A couple came around the corner.

"Ikaw, itigil! Huminto o patayin namin ka!" One of them shouted.

His chest exploded out wards as a sniper round exited and buried itself in the mud. His comrade only had a second to register shock in his brain before it to suddenly ceased to exist. Bellis, Jackson and James continued on to the padlocked door. Their hearts sank a little when they saw what they were dealing with. The lock was one of those heavy duty industrials that would require monster bolt cutters, which they didn't have, or a skilled lock picker, of which neither of them were. They didn't have much time, the shouts of angry men were rising through out the camp.

"Shit, what're we gonna do?" James thought aloud.

"Uh, fuck, shoot the lock." Jackson suggested.

"Shoot the lock? That only works in movies."

"Just try it!"

"Ok, ok."

James stood back a little and put the barrel of his rifle close to the lock, angling it so the round wouldn't go into the building and kill someone should it pass through.

*POP, twang*

The bullet punched a hole in the lock. Jackson tried to pull it loose, but it still wouldn't budge.

"Dammit, we need the key!" Jackson yelled angrily.

"I don't think the key is gonna work any more, the thing's trashed." James tried to explain to him.

Indeed, even though the round had carved a ragged path through the lock, it remained firmly affixed.

"Fuck it!" Jackson went to work on the lock with the butt of his rifle.

A stream of bullets suddenly pockmarked the wall of the building above their heads, "You two better hurry the fuck up, we're running out of time!" Bellis shouted as he returned fire.

James turned and knelt next to the lieutenant to help provide cover fire while Jackson worked on the lock. Hostiles were beginning to pour from the mess hall now, taking up arms against the intruders in their stronghold. James and Bellis did their best to repel them, but even with the help from Nix and Feng, it was clearly a losing battle.

"C'mon Rocka, get it open!" James yelled over his shoulder.

"I can't, the damn thing's too thick!"

"Fine, we'll find another way in," Bellis started saying, "let's get around the back, maybe there's a--"

"GRENADE!" James bellowed as he saw it get lobbed through the air towards them.

The trio sprinted and dove behind the mass of random parts and machinery surrounding the generator seconds before the explosive detonated. With a loud crack, it sent shrapnel flying everywhere; into walls, sheets of scrap metal, and especially the generator. The machine began to sputter and cough, black smoke belching from it's every orifice. A slick liquid began streaming out of it's bottom, the odor unfortunately familiar.

"Fucking Avgas!"

The fuel started leaking out at a hurried rate, pooling on the muddy ground and spreading. After chocking and struggling to stay alive, the generator finally died, taking half the lights in the camp with it. Fuel continued to pour out from the ruptured gas tank. The three got up out of the mud and took what cover they could and began returning fire. The smugglers returned in kind, bullets pinging off the generator and old metal barrels, plunking into wood.

The Bellis saw something he didn't like, "Ghengis, hot cocktail to the left!"

James swiveled his rifle over and spotted a man lighting a good old fashioned Molotov cocktail. He fired a burst at him.

*Pa Pow click*

The first round grazed the man's ribs, the second missed, the third jammed in the chamber.

"Fuck!"

James rotated his rifle and took a look. The bolt didn't cycle all the way closed, most of the rifle was caked in mud.

"EVERYONE BACK!" Bellis commanded.

The man with the Molotov cocktail had recovered and lobbed the incendiary device at the operatives. Bellis, James and Jackson retreated around the corner of the building as it exploded all over the generator, splashing onto the wooden shack and setting the fuel aflame. With the help of the generator fuel, the fire spread quickly, swiftly chewing up the the side of the shack. Inside, the people began screaming and coughing as their prison filled with poisonous smoke.

"Shit, we need to get them outta there!" Jackson hollered as he began kicking in the wooden boards that made up the wall. The fire was quickly spreading around the whole shack, heat intensifying as the smugglers advanced and began to close in.

"You guys gotta get outta there, you're not gonna have an exit soon!" Nix warned, "They're brining in some heavy shit, looks like fifties."

"That's it, we need to leave, now!" Bellis shouted.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

"C'mon Rocka, we have to go, man!" James pleaded as large caliber slugs began ripping through the air.

"No, we gotta get at least one!" Jackson replied, furiously trying to create a hole for the captives to escape.

"If we don't go now, we're fucking dead!" Bellis shouted at the frenzied warrior.

The lieutenant wrapped an arm around Jackson's torso and began dragging the kicking man away. James un jammed his rifle and began spraying bullets back at their attackers to cover the retreat. The sounds of the screaming and suffocating prisoners set a haunting soundtrack over the flames and gunfire as they made their escape. It was a sound James would never forget.

=====================================================================

"Hey buddy, wake up!"

A hoof kicked James lightly in the side a few times. On instinct, he popped up, hand drawing his sidearm, the pistol shaking slightly in hid grip. He relaxed a bit after his brain suddenly registered where it was, but his body still remained tense.

"Whoa, whoa, relax. You ok?" Flash was standing on the ground next to him, a worried look in his eyes, "You were fidgeting a lot, mumbling in your sleep."

James put his pistol away and rubbed his eyes with a hand, a little embarrassed, "Shit. Sorry about that."

"Bad dream?"

"Bad memory."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You sure--"

"I'll be fine."

"All right, ok."

"What time is it?" James asked the pegasus.

"Almost sunrise. It's still early, but Shining should be here soon."

"Yeah, yeah. Well I'm up now. I'll take watch from here, catch some sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Flash shrugged and headed for his tent. Meanwhile, James got up and pulled on his top. In the eastern sky, a warm glow slowly began to build and spread across the horizon. It was the arrival of a new day, the last they might have before the shit really hit the fan. After using the water from a canteen to wash up a little, James looked at himself in a small mirror one of them had brought. His eyes were a little bloodshot, under them were dark circles. His short hair was still messy and he was in dire need of a shave, the stubble growing past a shadow and entering beard territory. He made a mental note to find a razor when he could.

Gathering up his weapon and some equipment, James marched down the small hill the had made their camp on to the nearly finished fortifications down on the beach. Climbing to a rampart, he looked out to the strangely peaceful sea, then turned and studied the land of the shore. The slope the assault teams had crawled down the night before extended quite a ways up north. To the south was the wide mouth of the long river that ran all the way back to Canterlot.

The sun had broken free of the horizon now and was beginning it's long climb into the sky. In the distance, the human thought he could hear the low rumble of thousands on hooves moving across the ground, Shining had finally arrived with what army Equestria could muster. After a moment, the rumbling stopped. A chariot drawn by two pegasi suddenly crested the ridge of the eastern slope. On it was Shining Armor, Captain of the guard, and an unexpected guest. James descended from the rampart and ran to greet the two ponies. In no time, the transport was pulling up in front of him.

"Captain, good to see you again. Princess Celestia, this is a bit of a surprise."

"She insisted she come." Shining informed the human.

"Yes Commander, I thought I would come see the place where the fate of my country might be decided. I assume you've drawn up a defense plan?" She asked.

"Yes I have."

"About that," Shining started, "I thought your mission was to destroy all this, why does it still stand?"

"I've made a few changes on the fly. I figured we could use these structures to our own advantage."

"Oh? And how would that be?" Celestia asked with interest.

"Garth told me of a certain weakness his people have. In water, they are sluggish and weak in their resolve. They don't like the wet stuff very much."

"So? How does that help us when they land?" Shining challenged.

"Easy, we don't let them land."

"Easier said than done."

"Actually, I know of a way. We just need a lot of logs and wait for low tide. Then we'll install them. Traditionally, landing ships will wait for a high tide so they can get closer to shore, the water will cover the trap and effectively ground them, forcing the occupants to bail while still offshore. While they're struggling to get to the beach, we'll use archers stationed in this beach head and my sniper teams to pick them off before they have a chance to set foot on your land."

"Very ambitious Commander," Celestia complemented. "Captain, please see to it that our Engineers get to work on the project at once."

"Yes, your Highness."

"As for you, Commander, I think we should have a chat."

Eye Of The Storm

Chapter 64: Eye Of The Storm

The afternoon sun was half way down the sky. Most of the day had been spent in the heat, cutting down timber from the forest and shaving the ends down to points. James had drawn up a pattern for the Engineer Corps. To use when the tide was low enough for placement. After that, he left the task to Sparks who used to be part of the unit. They had also run into Ira, the Captain of the Corps., who mentioned how strange it felt taking orders from a pony that just over a year ago had been one of his lieutenants. They all had a laugh at that before James left them for his next task.

The Royal Pavilion was situated far back into White Tail woods, out of sight and difficult to get to. The Princess had insisted that her quarters be more centralized in the army's encampment to better attend her subjects who would soon be fighting to defend their lands, but James had advised heavily against it, it would be too close to the fighting should they be attacked. After receiving support from Shining Armor, the human eventually won out and had the pavilion placed in an ideal defensible location on an open hill in the forest.

He climbed a winding path, bristling with guards, up the hill to the pavilion. It was almost all white with gold trimmings along the edges and hems. The entrance was a large flap staked open with two wooden poles, creating an awning over a regal red carpet that rolled out from inside. Taking a deep breath, James strode in to report to his boss.

"Ma'am, reporting as ordered."

Inside, the structure was spacious and roomy. On one side was a simple, yet very comfortable looking bed. On the other was a long table next to three book shelves, their rows thoroughly stocked. The entire ground was covered in plush carpet. The Princess was sitting on a cushion at one end of the pavilion, reading a large book. At James' introduction, she looked up and set the book down next to her, the glow of her magic fading from the object. Quickly she stood up and walked towards him.

"Ah, James, I'm glad you've come."

"Well, just like you asked me to." He replied, a little confused.

"Yes, but I didn't actually give you an order. You could have waited until then if you had wished."

"I guess so?"

"The defenses are coming along well, I trust?"

"Yes ma'am. Your Corps. Of Engineers is really something. I don't think I've ever actually seen them in action before. They're very impressive."

"Yes indeed. I believe I made the right decision when I appointed Captain Iron Horn to that post. He's done very well with it I think. Speaking of decisions, the placement of my quarters was an interesting one." Celestia commented.

"Just a safety precaution ma'am. We have to protect the nation's leaders."

"James, I've been around for thousands of years. I think I know how to fight, let alone take care of myself."

"Uh,,,"

"How else do you think I've kept this land safe for so long?"

"So..."

"Yes James, I moved back here just for yours and Captain Shining Armor's sake."

"You don't to participate in the fighting, do you?" James asked with some concern.

"No, not directly. But I do some very powerful magics at my command. I will be helping my subjects in the defense of our home." She said with determination.

James considered what she told him for a moment before nodding, "Well, you are my boss and it is your country at stake. If that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you."

"I expect nothing less. Now, why don't you tell me what's troubling you?"

"Excuse me ma'am?"

"Come now James, we've been far past this. You look the absolute worst right now. You're having the nightmares again, aren't you?"

*sigh* "Sometimes it's nightmares, but other times they're actually old memories."

"Your job?"

"Yeah. Hopefully after this, I won't be needed. I actually wanted to ask you about that. If after we're all finished here and we're able to repel the invasion, I could just... retire."

"Hmm," Celestia considered his request for a moment, "I see no reason why not. You've already trained a highly professional and skilled task force. What would you do with your new freedom?"

"Honestly, I don't know ma'am. But I know one thing, I'm through with fighting. And killing."

"That, I'm glad to hear."

"One other thing, could I ask you a favor, ma'am?" James asked, pulling a folded envelope out from a pocket.

"I will do what I can, if it is within my power."

"Well, this shouldn't be all that big a deal, but, could you please hold onto this for me?" He requested, holding the envelope out in front of him towards the Princess.

Celestia took a hold of it with here magic and floated it over to a small ornate chest. Her horn aglow, she opened the lid, dropped the paper inside and once again sealed the container.

"There, safe with my own personal belongings. What is it, if I may ask?"

"My will, ma'am." James said bluntly.

"A living one, I hope."

"Hopefully."

Behind them, one of the guards knocked on one of the wooden posts holding the entrance flap up, "Your Majesty, a messenger has arrived for you." He announced.

"Please excuse me James, this might be important," to the guard she called, "Please send them in!"

From the entrance of the pavilion, a rainbow maned mare trotted in, laden with saddlebags.

"Ah, Rainbow Dash, you had a smooth flight I hope?" The Princess greeted.

"Yes Your Highness. I have letters both from Princess Luna and Princess Cadence. The Reserve Guard at Canterlot reports all conditions normal. Admiral Darkwing also sends his regards and asked me to pass on that his fleet will arrive by sundown." She reported.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash. I'll take the letter from Luna." She magicked a dark blue envelope from the saddlebags, "As for Cadence's correspondence, you can find Shining Armor in camp around the Command Tent." Celestia turned to the human, "James, I think we are done here, why don't you escort our messenger down to the camp and help her find the Captain?"

"Ma'am." James snapped off a short salute and left the pavilion, followed by Dash. They walked in silence together for a moment until they were away from the pavilion and on the road to the encampment.

"So, you haven't gotten hurt yet." The mare commented.

"Yeah, we got really lucky. They weren't expecting us to hit them so soon, so they were pretty unprepared. How's your job going?"

"Actually, pretty awesome. Usually, the princesses would use the Wonderbolts fro this sort of thing, but ever since you recommended me for the task, they've been coming to me for almost everything! Best part is, the Wonderbolts aren't even mad about it, they actually came to thank me for taking some of the pressure off!" She excitedly explained.

"Wow, sounds like they might be taking a shine to you." James said with a smile.

"I really hope so, maybe I could finally join this year."

"That would be something. Maybe after all this is over you could go talk to them about it." James suggested.

"Yeah, I think I will. What about you?"

"Huh?"

"When this is over, what do you want to do?" Dash stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Actually, I'm not to sure. I know I'm done fighting, that's for sure, but I don't really have any other skills." He said, a little downcast.

"You could teach self defense. Oh oh, or you could open a sky diving company, you're really good at that, even without wings! Think of all the earth ponies and unicorns that would pay for that experience. I know Pinkie really enjoyed it."

James stood there and mulled it over in his mind for a minute, "That's actually not a bad idea. I already like sky diving, getting paid for it would be a bonus. You know what? I just might do that."

"Ha ha, the Ponyville Sky Diving Company, only place like it in the country!" Dash exclaimed, happily resuming her trot forward.

"Heh, yeah. Title needs work, but I'm really starting to like it. I might even get Flash and Myst to help me out, he could be an instructor and she could teach me how to fly that contraption of hers."

"Just don't forget who came up with the idea." Dash slyly reminded him.

"Oh yeah, where would I be without you?" James jokingly asked.

"Ha! Without me, I think you'd be pretty lost."

Together they entered the camp, James leading the way to Shining's tent. When they reached it, James had a brief discussion with the Captain about morale before Dash butted in and delivered the letter. Shining seemed to be pretty happy when he saw who sent it and had actually already written a letter of his own. He asked Dash to deliver it as soon as she could and just like that, she was already on her way. Before she left, she told James to stay safe, her usually cocky and collected facial feature softening for the briefest moment.

After Dash left, James began to head down to the beach to check up on the defenses with Sparks. He really didn't have anything else to do that afternoon, but he wanted to keep his mind busy and alert. He found the engineer overseeing the project from the top of one of the ramparts with Captain Iron Horn. Both greeted him warmly and reported that nearly seventy percent of the preparations were complete. Satisfied, James left for the Fixers' own camp at the outskirts of the main one to inventory his equipment and check up on Garth and their pilot, the aeronautical engineer, Myst.

Striding to the small maneuverable aircraft, James slid open the side door and stepped inside. Various weapons were lashed to the bulkheads, boxes of their ammunition stacked and strapped to the inside of the ship's hull. There were rifles, a few shotguns, a couple submachine guns, a locker full of explosives, some pistols, the machine guns that were still mounted on the ship and most of all, the big fifty. James took the gargantuan rifle down from the bulkhead and inspected it. He cycled the bolt a few times, producing a satisfying clack.

"Mmm? Hey, who's in there?" Came a tired voice from the cockpit.

"Hey Myst. It's just me."

"Oh," there was some shuffling before James heard hooves on the deck, "Hey boss, what'cha need?" Myst asked as she entered the cabin. She looked as if she'd just woken up.

"Nothing really. Just checking up on our equipment."

"Oh, all right then. Well the Clipper is all set and ready for action."

"Good to hear." James put the rifle down and turned to the pilot, "Actually, I also had a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Any chance you could teach me to fly one of these?"

Myst perked up a little at the question, "Ah, have an itch for the wild blue yonder do ya?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well it all depends, do you have any prior experience?"

"I've been trained to fly various aircraft, from ultra lights to multi engine craft, I have just over three hundred hours behind the yoke and flown various missions 'under pressure'."

"Uh... huh.... well I'm sure I can work with that. Here, come with me, I'll show you around the cockpit."

=====================================================================

Hours later, James was exhausted from Myst's training. While James had flown before, the Clipper was quite different to the aircraft he was used to. After paying close attention while Myst demonstrated and lectured about the controls and handling properties of the vehicle, James was fairly sure he had the hang of it and excused himself, as it was getting late. While he was tired, James didn't feel sleepy. He tried, unsuccessfully, to find Flash or Garth and strike a conversation of some sort, so taking only his pistol and knife, James set out to the beach, angling towards the north.

In no time, he was there, the sun just finishing it's descent to the horizon. He walked around for a little bit, just enjoying the warm air and sound of the rushing waves. As the glow of the sun receded to the west, stars and constellations gradually began to come forth and dot the sky. James looked up to them, the absolute multitude and clarity of the burning sky lights still amazing him even now. Briefly, he thoughts flickered back to his own home and he wondered if he really was in some kind of other universe or if Earth was one of those pinpricks of light so far away up high.

Behind him, James heard the soft flutter of movement. He turned around, expecting to see Flash or Sparks, but there was nothing there. Just the slight rise of a sand dune and some random driftwood. Becoming suspicious, he placed a hand on his pistol in anticipation of an attack. He was fairly sure his teams had cleared the area of hostiles, but it was never a good idea to let your guard down.

"Who's there?" He called out, "If someone is spying on me, they should know it's not a good idea."

When there was no response, he began to wonder if he was just hearing things, his mind playing tricks on him. Or if he had just yelled at some innocent creature that lived here. Still, he chose to check the area just to be sure.

"If there's anyone there, don't make any sudden movements, I'm coming for a look." He warned. If it was a pony from the camp, he didn't want to risk accidentally hurting one of them.

"Hey, whoa, no reason to soldier out on me!" Came a scratchy voice from behind the dune.

"Dash? Is that you back there? Why are you hiding?"

From behind the sandy structure walked the fast flying weather mare, looking a little guilty about something, "Uh... you just looked pretty deep in thought, I didn't want to interrupt."

James relaxed, letting out some of the air he had been holding in, "C'mon, how long have we known each other now?"

"I know. But sometimes I just like to watch." She said with an innocent smile.

"Good thing our shower back home doesn't have any windows, you'd have given me a few heart attacks." James joked. "What brings you out here anyway, weren't you going to stay in Canterlot tonight?"

"Yeah, I was. I wanted to come see you again, before you went and hurt yourself." She explained.

"Dash, you know how I feel about you being anywhere near here."

"Aw, come on! Fluttershy and Twilight are both doing their parts, why can't I be here?"

"They're both halfway to Ponyville, organizing a triage for the wounded at one of the supply camps, far from here."

"Please, can't we just hang out for a little bit?" She pleaded, giving him a puppy dog eye look.

*sigh* "Ok, just for a while, but after that I want you to head back to the supply camp, understood?"

"All right! Don't worry, I just wanna chill for a little." She assured him, trotting over the edge of the dune and retrieving a saddlebag.

"Any sign of trouble and you take off." James added.

"Ok, ok, sheesh."

She glided down from the top of the dune and began rummaging around in the bag. From it she pulled a little blanket and started laying it out on the sand, letting some of it rest on the slope of the dune. James helped her spread it out. When that was done, they both lay down on it, the pegasus pressing her body up against the human, he put an arm around her shoulders and together they looked up to the sky.

They just lay there for a while in silence, listening to the pound of waves on the shore, the rustle of soft grass nearby as an errant breeze rolled through it, the steady rhythm of each other's breathing. James lay there next to her, actually feeling somewhat at peace. If there was anything anywhere worth fighting for, he thought, it was moments like this.

Tipping Point

Chapter 65: Tipping Point

"So what's the plan?"

James and Shining were both leaning over a well drawn map spread out over a table in the Captain's tent.

In a professional tone, Shining laid out his strategy, "We'll post archers and spear ponies in the fortifications on the beach as you suggested. They will try to hold back the invaders as long as they can. The main battalions we'll hold out of sight behind the ridge until enough of them make landfall. At that point, I'll order a charge and push them back into the water where the archers, and your sharpshooters, can continue picking them off."

"Sounds good. If we can keep their mobility hampered, we can wear them out faster and end this quicker."

"Any chance my fleet could participate?" A raven feathered griffon asked as he entered the tent.

"Silus, good to see you." James said in greeting.

"Likewise. Terribly sorry we're late, we ran into a little turbulence on the way over."

"If you're talking about that thunderstorm that hit here a couple days ago, you actually made really good time, considering."

"Hmpf, nothing compared to your exploits. If my sources are to be believed, you actually jumped through that horrible weather. All without conventional wings as well."

"It wasn't all that big a deal. It's what we had to do, so we did it." James replied with a shrug. "Come join us, we were just going over the battle plan."

"Of course." The large griffon approached the table, "If I may, I would like to volunteer or newly christened Sky Strykers."

"'Sky Strykers', admiral?" Shining asked with interest.

"Why yes, uh, James, I do believe you've already seen them in action, during one of your visits to High Tower."

"Oh yeah," James recalled with a smirk, "Shining, it's too bad you haven't seen them, very impressive. It's a joint team, combining some of our operatives with some of his own elite soldiers. They're extremely flexible and ferocious in a fight."

"I wasn't aware we were working so closely with the griffons." The unicorn stated with some surprise.

"Celestia approved it."

"Hm. Admiral, how about if we used them as a quick response force? If we run into any unexpected problems, they could handle it." Shining offered.

"Smashing Idea! I'll have them kept on standby aboard our carrier ship. From it, they can deploy anywhere on the battlefield in an instant." Silus said proudly.

"Well, as I'm sure James would put it, that sounds outstanding."

This earned a chuckle from them all.

"Alright, so we have a pretty good outline for how we want this to go. Now all we need to do is flesh out the details and execute." James said with confidence.

=====================================================================

Even after hashing out the major game plan, there were always a million minor details to worry about. James had never been so exhausted from such tedium in his life. He had never done anything on this scale before and it was wearing him down. So he was glad when Shining and Silus finally called it a day and left to go implement their new orders for their troops. With a brisk walk, James made his way back to his teams camp, eager for the comfort of his bed roll. Never had a nap been so enticing to him.

It was only just past lunch time, yet to the human it felt as if the whole day had already gone past. However, as he strode into camp, he was stopped by his engineer.

"Hey, you got a minute?" Sparks called from the Clipper.

James walked over to him, "Uh, sure, what's up?"

"I got something for you. Come check it out, it's in my locker."

James followed the unicorn into the airship to a floor locker located near the back under one of the benches. Using his electric blue magical aura, Sparks slid it out and magically undid the lock. He rummaged around inside the container for a moment before extracting an extremely familiar, digital camouflaged vest. It looked the same in almost every way, only the color pattern was different. Instead of the old desert pattern that it used to show, it had been converted to the same dark greens, blacks and grays that members of the RSTG now wore.

James took it and inspected the garment with awe, "My old body armor. And you fixed it!" He exclaimed, noting that the bullet holes and shattered ceramics it once held were now repaired and whole.

"Yep. Figured you might want to use something more familiar. I gotta say, the design is spectacular! Extremely light weight, yet it can distribute the energy of a potentially fatal impact safely over the wearer's body. I wish I had know about this before, I would have made more of these." Sparks rambled, getting a little carried away. He caught himself though, "I hope you don't mind me taking it. I found it in your room when I was fixing some of the house's wiring after the fire. I've been working on it ever since."

"No, it's fine. I'm kind of glad you did it. Yeah, this thing has saved my life more times than I can count. It can take a shit load of bullets and keep going. I'm not so sure about crossbow bolts though..."

"Well, we shouldn't even be getting that close anyway, right?"

"No, we're still sticking to the original plan. RSTG will be sharpshooters and point defense only. Shining's got a good sounding plan to keep them down in the water using just the main army, best we stay out of the way."

"Sounds good to me."

"Tell you what, brother, hold onto this for me," he handed back the body armor, "I'll get it afterwards. Besides, the armor you made for me hasn't failed me yet."

"Suit yourself. Mind if I experiment with the design a little?"

"Be my guest."

"Awesome. Oh yeah, before I forget, Dash dropped off this letter earlier this morning."

"A letter? From her?"

"Naw, envelope says it's from Twilight." Sparks' magic flared up and a small envelope appeared from a pocket on his uniform.

James took it out of the air, "Thanks."

James then left the unicorn to his own devices, the stallion was relishing the thought of having a new project to work on. The engineer was so enthusiastic about what he did that James sometimes wondered if he was somehow related to Twilight. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a low growl from his stomach. Suddenly he remembered that he hadn't really eaten all day. Quickly walking to his tent, he grabbed his pack and pulled out some food for his protesting stomach. A couple of apples, some carrots, bread and cheese, not the best meal, but it helped fill him up. Then James remembered that Silus was in camp nearby. Briefly, he entertained the thought of paying the griffon a visit, he might be able to get some meat out of it.

After he was done eating, the envelope he had just received came back to mind. Taking it out, he unsheathed his knife and used the blade to cut it open. Inside was a carefully folded piece of parchment paper. James opened it up, seeing the tight spacing and neatly organized writing of Ponyville's librarian. Eagerly, he began to read.

James,

I hope this finds you in good health. Myself and Fluttershy are fine, doing what we can to help with the situation back here. Recently, Applejack and her brother arrived and began helping with a lot of the difficult construction. I am mainly writing this letter because Rainbow Dash asked me to. She's extremely busy with her new job and misses you. She said 'Make sure to tell him not to get hurt, or I'll kick his flank myself.' Sometimes she can be so silly! She really worries about you a lot.

Other than that, I happily report that I have some good news for once regarding your little 'problem.' It seems that with the right spells and materials and enough energy, we might actually be able to force the 'tear' to collapse in on itself, effectively sealing it. I've done my research and believe I have the requisite spells. The only problem we face is finding the massive amount of energy required to actually make it work. Come see me when you get back and we'll brainstorm further on it.

Best wishes,

Twilight Sparkle

The letter brought some hope. He may never be able to go back to his old home and once again see his friends, no not friends, his family, but at at least there was now the possibility of staying here with his new one. The only thing that gave him pause was the mention of a need for a sufficiently large power source. From what he knew, Equestria largely generated electricity and energy with renewable sources, like wind and rivers, and magic. Magic. Maybe there was a way to harness and use the raw power associated with it. It was a thought he wanted to follow through on.

Sleep was starting to creep up on him, however, and the feeling was difficult to fight off. He resolved then to take his little nap. He would wake up in an hour or so and get himself a proper meal. as he lay down on his bed roll, the heavy folds of weariness began to cover him like a blanket, he soon drifted off into a restful slumber.

=====================================================================

"Wake up, wake up!"

James' eye immediately shot open. He sat up, Flash was standing over him in the tent.

"What, what's going on?" He said a little grumpily. He leaned over to his pack and fumbled around inside for his iPod. He pulled it out and checked the time. He saw he had only been asleep for about forty-five minutes.

"Let's go James," the pegasus urgently continued, "you gotta get down to the beach!"

"Alright, alright." He got up to his feet and exited the tent. "This had better be good." He grumbled.

At a brisk walk, he followed Flash down to the beach. It took them just a few minutes to reach the ridge and descend down the slope to the fortifications below. Up on the ramparts, waiting for them both, was Sparks, Shining, Silus and even Celestia. James ran up to their level and snapped of a quick salute to the Princess who acknowledged it with a nod. Quickly, he trod over to Sparks and Shining, who were looking out to the sea to the setting sun with serious expressions on their faces.

"What's going on?" He asked them.

Instead of getting an answer from them, Celestia spoke to him from his right, "Just be patient, Commander, and you shall see."

The Princess' horn began to glow with a soft golden light. Then it began to grow and intensify. Soon, the aura she was emitting started to rival that of the sun itself. James watched on in awe as the sun in the west began to move towards the horizon at a quickened pace. He stood there, taking in the beauty of the sight, until something caught his eye.

As the sun started to dip below the horizon, shapes on the water began to emerge. Only a few at first, but then it spread across the sea until a massively long silhouette could be seen stretching north to south, the whole thing lit from the back by the sun. James squinted his eyes and began to distinguish details. Great masted ships could be identified making sail for the shore. Around them were clustered many more boxy shapes of various sizes. The human's mind shot back to the lone barge they had encountered some time ago, drifting aimlessly in the sea. Only now, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of them. All pointed squarely at the beach on which James now stood.

After a split second of shock, James' mind sprung into action, "Flash, go alert our teams to man their posts and standby. Shining, have the army do the same, but douse any fires and stay out of sight. Silus, same for you. Order all sentries and lookouts on the beach to keep their heads down and movement minimal, I don't want them to know our true strength until the absolute last minute."

There was a flurry of movement as they all rushed to complete their tasks, leaving James standing alone on the rampart with Celestia.

"So, they finally come..." she commented. "Do you think we're ready?"

James looked down at the beach for a moment, pondering her question, "As ready as we can be." *sigh* "Time to get to work."

With that, he spun on a heel and strode down to the ground and back to his camp to get his equipment ready. The day had finally come. The day he had trained the Task Group for. The day he had dreaded for months. It was the day all out war would finally begin.

The Storm Wall Breaks

Chapter 66: The Storm Wall Breaks

"How far have they moved?"

"Not much since mid-afternoon, sir."

Not far from shore, the massive fleet was anchored out. They had pulled in close, close enough to barely see the menacing shapes of the hostile army walking about the ships' railings and working about the landing barges. However, for some reason, they had not yet decided to land. This struck James as odd. Any competent leader would have chosen to land as soon as possible rather than standing off and allowing their foes to prepare. To James it meant that there was something else going on, something he didn't know about, which left him extremely concerned.

For the third day in a row he watched from the top of the fortifications on the beach, searching for some hint of his enemy's plans. But all he could do was wait and hope whatever they were cooking up wasn't something he couldn't be able to handle. The situation left the rest of the encampment balancing on a razor's edge, anticipation and anxiety swelling through the mass of soldiers and guards waiting for the threat just off their coast to finally make a move.

"Hey, c'mon. You've been up here for hours, let's go get some show."

James was hungry. It was past noon now and he hadn't eaten anything all day, "Alright buddy, let's go eat."

He turned and followed Sparks down to the beach, leaving the watch to the guards already posted on the ramparts. Together they walked up the slope and over the ridge that concealed the full strength of the defending army. They angled off towards the mess tent, but before they could reach it, they were intercepted. A large, hulking two legged figure clad in thick armor.

"James, I would speak with you." He said in his deep grating voice.

"Sure thing Garth, what is it?"

"Please follow me."

Curious, James watched as the warrior turned and began stomping off in the direction of the Fixers' camp. Sparks also started to follow, but stopped when Garth halted and confronted them again.

"Alone" he ordered.

James and Sparks looked at each other, the unicorn stallion giving the human a worried look. James shrugged. He pointed to his radio, which he wore, and continued on, leaving the engineer behind. He followed Garth to their camp, then past it as Garth did not stop, but instead seemed to be heading for the forest. The day suddenly grew dark and shaded as they entered the growth. James did not know where his teammate was taking him and raised his guard. His concern was for naught, however, when they broke through the under growth and out into a small clearing.

A fire burned in the middle. In the back was a low hut constructed of logs, branches and the boughs of trees. To the left was a wooden rack, on it hung some fish caught from the river and a few wild forest hares. Garth motioned for James to sit down on a near by stump. Cocking an eyebrow, James complied while the warrior went into his hut and started rummaging around for something. After a moment, he returned, carrying several small, roughly carved wooden bowls, various colors of red, black and gray. Garth sat down on a log opposite James and looked him in the eyes.

"I know of why they delay."

This grabbed James' attention, all of his focus snapping to the Lotkin seated in front of him, "You do!? The hell you didn't say anything before? What are they planning, some kind of sneak attack or some weapon I shou--"

Garth held up a palm, signaling James to stop. Begrudgingly, the human did, and waited for what Garth had to say.

"What they prepare for is battle. It is the Sherrhat Guhm, a ceremony my kin perform before great battle. It starts with great feasting, followed by contests of strength and agility among battle leaders to determine who receives the honor of the first attack."

"Uhhh... we're not about to fight, are we?"

From Garth's throat came a gravely coughing noise. To James, it almost sounded like laughter, "No we will not fight. That is not why I brought you here. There is another part, to take place just before battle. Warriors who fight side by side apply war paints to one another to intimidate their foes. Here I have the colors of my old clan." He said, gesturing to the wooden bowls.

"You want be to put them on your face?"

Garth nodded, "Yes, but first, you."

James thought for a split second. He'd worn grease paint before, but it didn't really have any significance other than to help conceal his face and camouflage his skin. He was a little uneasy about participating in something that had that much meaning, but he didn't want to offend so he went along with it.

"Ok, go ahead."

James sat patiently as Garth dipped his fingers into the bowls and began to apply the paints to his face. He sat there motionless while the warrior traced flowing lines and patterns across his skin with the tips of his digits. After a few moments had passed, Garth wiped his hands against the log. James reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPod. With the camera, he took a quick photo of his own face and looked at it.

Across his visage, swirling lines like dancing flame rippled around his skin as if it were desperately trying to burn it. Here and there, slashes like the claws of some great beast adorned the edges. The colors of every line alternated crimson red, midnight black and ashen gray. It was truly a fierce display. Getting the idea of it all, James picked up the wooden bowls and tried his best to do the same thing to Garth. The result didn't look half as good as the Lotkin's work, but it still came out as impressive.

"Hey Garth, why didin't you invite Sparks or Flash out here for this?"

"We will include them in time, for the battle is almost upon us. I did not want them to be here for the meal."

"The meal? What meal?"

As if to answer James' question, Garth picked up a blackened and charred forked stick from the ground and shoved it into the blazing fire. He maneuvered it around for a little bit before finally pulling it out, and with it, a large iron pot topped with a thick lid. He took out a knife and used it to pry off the top. It came off with a whoosh of steam and the pungent smell of a rabbit stew. With a grunt of pain, Garth plunged an arm into the still boiling water and extracted the body of a hare, probably one that had been hanging with it's brethren not too long ago. With a flick of his hand, Garth tossed the body into the fire.

"Don't know how Fluttershy would react to that..." James commented.

"She does not have to know." Garth replied softly.

The mottled skin warrior then used the stick to place the pot at the edge of the fire, enough to keep it at a simmering boil. Then, to James' surprise, he held his arm over the pot, placed the edge of the knife on the inside of his forearm and drew it across his skin, producing a small trickle of blood. Opening and clenching his fist, he increased the flow of blood until a few drops splashed into the roiling stew. Then he passed the knife to James to do the same. Taking a deep breath, the human repeated the act, adding his own life's blood to the mixture. They then left it to boil for a moment. When he thought it appropriate, Garth removed the pot and produced two more wooden bowls which he filled with the pot's contents, handing one of them to James. Next, he lifted his own bowl and spoke in invocation.

"Khoti Sah Herrat, we sup to you and sacrifice the meat of our meal. From here we fight as brothers, in honor and now in blood."

Garth lifted the bowl to his lips and began to drink deeply. James' stomach churned a little a the thought of following through. Steeling himself, he brought his own bowl up and drank. The soup was good, even if it had acquired a certain coppery taste. Once they both finished, they put the bowls back down.

"Now we truly fight together Ahrhati Khot. Our foes shall fall swiftly and in great number before our might." The Lotkin stated with conviction.

"I certainly hope so. If I can ask, why did you toss the rabbit into the fire?"

"We offer it to our fallen ancestors, so that they may guide us safely onto the next journey should we misstep and begin it too soon."

"Oh. Ok." James blinked, understanding his teammate's morbid meaning.

Just then, James' radio crackled, "Hey boss, something's going on over here, you should get back."

James' keyed the mic, "What's up?"

"The ships are starting to move."

James shot to his feet, possibilities and plans running like mad through his mind. Garth looked to him questioningly.

"What is the matter?"

"We have to go. We got work to do."

The faintest smile began to curl the corners of the Lotkin's mouth.

=====================================================================

"Nice make-up job, which salon you go to to get it?" Flash snickered.

James didn't respond right away, focused as he was on his task. At the moment, he was busy loading up several magazines for the M82 in the main cabin of the Clipper. Flash was there to help him carry some of the equipment as he would be serving as the marksman's spotter during the conflict.

"Garth did it for me, sort of a bonding thing or something."

"What, no witty comeback, no insults? James, are you feeling all right?"

"Feeling fine." James replied in a flat tone as he finished the last mag and switched to adjusting the scope.

"Ok... Well all joking aside, where's my paint at, we're a team right?"

"Yup. Sparks is getting his done right now. You know what? I'll take care of the equipment. Head over to my tent and get yours done, you can meet me at our firing position after."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go on brother, get your war paint on."

Flash dashed off to James' tent to meet up with Garth and Sparks while James put the finishing touches on his weapon. When that was completed, he tossed all the mags and the spotter scope into his pack and hefted it on his shoulder. Then he lugged the thirty pound rifle and began a light jog to the north end of the ridge above the beach, near an old dirt road that appeared not to have been used for some time. On his way over, James called out on his radio for an update on the situation.

"Captain Alister, Commander Kaughn, you up?"

"Commander, this is Alister, go ahead."

"On route to my position, what are we looking like out there?"

"Most teams have already settled in, hostiles in flat bottomed craft steadily moving towards the shore. Intermediate teams stationed with the archers on the beach head are up, ready and waiting." The Captain reported.

"Outstanding, what's the tide looking like?"

"About to reach it's high point, soon it'll start receding again."

James couldn't believe their luck when he heard that. This meant that while some of the first wave might skim over the tops of their under water traps, the ones following in behind would be completely unawares of the danger and get impaled on the large wooden stakes lurking just below the surface, further cluttering up the landing area and making it that much easier to repel the invaders.

With a quickened pace, James ran up to a small rocky outcropping on the edge of the ridge. He tossed down his pack, went prone and began setting up the rifle, deploying the bipod and taking the dust covers off of the scope's lenses. After that, he took out the spotter's scope from his pack, along with a couple of mags, and set them aside. Lastly, he pulled back the bolt of the rifle and locked it back before shouldering the weapon and sighting down the scope towards the open sea.

The ships had towed the landing barges even closer to shore, then released them to head for the beach under their own power. How they were being propelled, he could not see. Though he could see that they were now only a few minutes out. Beside him, a pair of wings fluttered down to the ground. James momentarily shifted his attention and turned his head, seeing that Flash had finally arrived, the pegasus' face was painted with a threatening array of patterns and colors making him appear as some kind of angry flying demon.

"About time you showed up." James remarked, putting his eye back to the scope.

"Hey, can't put a rush on adding to a great work of art." Flash quipped.

"Ha, work of art my ass. Scope's by my leg, get comfortable."

"You got it." Flash moved into position with the scope and began sighting through it. "I think I can get a better angle from above, mind if I head on up?"

"Be my guest, just make sure you stay in contact."

Flash took the spotter's scope and took off to the sky above. James watched briefly as the pegasus zoomed around until he found a sizeable cloud and settled into the fluff.

"So what's going on down there?" Flash asked on James' radio channel.

"Barges are moving in."

James watched as the barges neared ever closer to shore. Some of them had already caught on the underwater traps. The Lotkin on those vessels were rushing around, looking over the sides for the reason of why they had stopped. James shifted his view to the rest of the waiting fleet. He saw many of the ships out there start to turn, presenting their broadsides to the shore. James focused on them and saw hundreds of tiny hatches open up in the sides. A single thought came to mind. Frantically, he switched his radio channel to Shining's. He had given the guard captain one earlier the previous day, as well as the admiral.

"Shining, it's James, tell your troops to brace, artillery strike inbound!" He shouted into the mic.

There was no reply, but James was relieved somewhat when he looked upon the beach head and saw a flurry of activity as the warriors stationed there moved to take what cover they could. Hundreds upon hundreds of white puffs of smoke erupted from the sides of the ships. A great staccato of far off thunder, like exploding popcorn, could be heard. Seconds later, great plumes of sand could be seen blasting into the air from the beach, chunks of wood and stone were ripped away from the fortifications. James could imagine what hell the defenders down there had just been thrust into.

Suddenly, an enormous transparent golden shield flickered into existence over the beach, cannon balls exploding and bouncing off the top of it, effectively halting the bombardment. From down on the beach, a faint cheer could be heard as the defenders reveled in their luck. James noted the golden shine of the shield and knew just who was responsible for the assistance. He then looked back to the ocean and saw that even more barges were being launched to the shore. The ones that hadn't been caught in the traps had now almost made it to shore, their open decks now bristling with Lotkin, tightly packed together. An idea formed in the human's mind. James reached over and grabbed a mag, shoving it into the well and releasing the rifle's bolt with a loud clack.

"Flash, it's time to get to work, give me a suitable target, packed close to the others."

"I got ya.... Ok, third one from the right, top deck, big red painted helmet, got a bunch of his boys standing behind him in a group."

James searched for what the pegasus was describing and quickly found the mark. Indeed, there was a suitable target. Carefully, he lined the cross hairs up on the leader's chest. Before he pulled the trigger though, there were just a few more things that he needed.

"Flash, can you give me wind direction, speed and range of shot?"

"Wait one........ wind is coming out from the west, speed at maybe a few knots. Range seems to be about... five hundred, maybe six hundred yards."

"Shit, that's way to easy for this rifle. Sucks for them."

James made the necessary adjustments to his aim and began his breathing. In through the navel, out through the nose. His heart rate dropped, an unnatural calm settled over him. Slowly his finger applied steady pressure to the trigger until it was teetering on the edge of release. Then, at the bottom of his exhale, he squeezed all the way. The rifle kicked hard into his shoulder, the call of Thor barking from the barrel as it sent a deadly projectile on it's way.

Down range, several Lotkin were standing atop their barge behind their leader, brandishing their swords and axes, letting loose brutal war cries. This was abruptly put to an end as the torso of the squad's leader suddenly exploded out backwards. Three more Lotkin behind him met a similar fate, the last one being flipped back and propelled over the side from the force of the impact.

"Good hit, good hit. Send 'em some more." Flash's voice said excitedly in James' ear.

James took his advice and set up another shot. Then another, and another. In no time at all, he had pretty much cleared the top deck. The remaining hostiles onboard had all found cover of some sort and were no longer visible. In an attempt to stop whatever was still propelling the craft, he put a few rounds into the hull by the stern, just above the waterline. Still, it kept on moving. The magazine spent, James popped it out and replaced it with a full one.

"Hey Flash, you got some more targets for me?"

"Sorry boss, but I think you've trained us all a little too well."

"What do you mean?"

"Check it out."

James scanned the other barges and saw that what his friend had said was true. He watched one of the other barges as target after target dropped, some of them now lacking heads. James stopped and listened for a bit. Down the ridge and the beach to the south, he could hear the rapid, faint pops of rifle fire from the other teams. The barrage of fire was devastating the first wave to come in. But there were many more coming.

"Good shit, good shit. Hey, you got eyes on the Clipper?" James asked with some curiosity.

"Yeah, looks like they just finished an ammo run on the south side, they're descending back into the main camp right now. Hold on..." Flash said with concern in his voice.

"What's up?"

"It's Garth, he's hanging out the door... shooting! Holy shit, there's a fire back there!"

"What!? Flash tell me everything you can see right now." James demanded while trying to switch radio channels to Shining's.

"Uh, it looks like... I think I can see some ponies. Dammit, they're in Royal Guard armor, they're setting fire to tents, fucking bastards!"

James finally got to Shining's channel and tried to raise him on the comms, "Hey Shining, this is James, I need you to respond. Shining, if you can here me, respond immediately." All he could hear on the other end was static. "Shit," he switched channels again, "Flash, I can't raise the Captain there."

"What do you want to do, you wanna try picking them off from here?"

"No, I don't want to risk taking out one of our own, this thing produces a lot of collateral." He replied, patting the side of the M82.

"What's the plan then?"

"Get in contact with Admiral Darkwing, tell him to deploy the Sky Strykers, but keep his own ship out of the sky for now. Meantime, Imma keep doin' my thing." James ordered, returning his attention to the landing craft.

=====================================================================

*BOOM*

"TRAITOROUS FILTH!"

*BOOM*

"COWARDS AND BACK STABBERS!"

With each pull of the trigger, Garth felled another of the deceitful rogues currently sabotaging the army's main camp from the side door of the Clipper. Before the airship could even touch down, he jumped out and landed on one of them with a sickening crunch. On the other side of the camp, near the ridge separating the beach from the railroad and forest, the army was dealing with more of them, unable to reach hostiles causing all the damage. Thus, for the moment, it was up to Garth and Sparks to clean up the mess. Behind the Lotkin, the Clipper finally landed, Sparks jumping out to join his teammate.

"Hey, how can you tell which one's which?"

Garth loosed another blast from his shotgun, sending the body of another conspirator into one of the fires his comrades had started, "Look closely at their armor, friend. It is dented and battle worn, long before they have even met the enemy. Clearly they have scavenged their ill-gotten garments from our fallen brethren."

Just then, a pegasus matching Garth's description rushed the Lotkin with a large blade. Before Garth could bring his shotgun to bear, Sparks used his magic to un holster his sidearm and put a bullet in the stallion's head.

"Sounds good to me," Sparks turned his head and yelled back into the Clipper, "Myst, go ahead and take off, we got this!"

Quickly, the airship lifted and rose into the sky. Sparks put his sidearm back in it's holster and took out the AK strapped to his back, levitating it in front of him so he could properly use the sights. He looked to Garth, who simply smiled and unsheathed his broad sword. Together, the rushed a group of five stallions currently trying to start another fire. Sparks put a couple bursts of bullets into two of them, Garth impaled a third through the neck with his sword. A fourth rushed the Lotkin as he tried to extract his sword from the body of the third. Before the attacker could even land a blow, Garth raised his shotgun with his free hand and blew off one side of the pony's face, causing him to crumple to the ground. At this point, the fifth one just ran away in fright.

With a little difficulty, Garth pulled out his sword and wiped off the blood on the trampled grass while Sparks watched his back. Satisfied, Garth then reloaded his shotgun, placing the almost empty one in a pouch on his uniform and slamming a fresh one into the magazine well of his weapon. Before the two to get back to work, their radio earpieces crackled.

"Sparks, Garth, Flash here. Be advised, strike units from the griffons inbound, watch your fire."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Flash. We'll keep an eye out." Sparks replied into the mic.

"There's one other thing," Flash continued, "Captain Armor isn't responding to calls, we need you two to see if you can find him, make sure he's ok."

"You got info on his last known position?"

"That's a negative. Try the command tent. Hold on, wait one........... The boss said to also check up on the Princess if you can."

"Ha ha ha," Sparks laughed, "let dear leader know that she's with the main body of the army still, helping repel those barrages."

"I will. Good luck, Flash out."

"You hear all that buddy?" Sparks said to his teammate behind him.

"Let us carve our bloody path to the Captain."

"I'll take that as a yes." Sparks said with a grin.

The two stalked further into the camp. Every time they encountered another group of saboteurs, they made sure to swiftly dispatch them before they could cause more damage. At one point they came across three actual members of the Royal Guard frantically fighting for their lives against a total of eight of the attackers. Springing into action, Garth launched himself into the air. Letting the Saiga dangle from the strap on his back, Garth held his sword in both hands and inverted it so it pointed to the ground.

With a savage cry, the warrior landed on the back of one of the attackers and drove the point of his sword into the hostile's skull, pinning it to the ground. The rest of them spun around, shocked at the sight. Their shock was short lived, however, and they set to attacking the Lotkin. Garth brought up his shotgun and, with a spray of blood, created a large hole in the chest of one of the stallions. He then ducked as another swung a blade at his head, the sharp metal singing over his head.

Before Garth came back up, Sparks put the hostile down with a bullet to the brain. As Garth came back up, he spun and yanked his sword from the skull of his first victim. Following through, Garth swung his sword and decapitated an earth stallion that was looking to run him through. Sparks dropped two more hostiles with a couple quick bursts from his assault rifle. By now, the two guards they had stopped to help had taken care of the last two.

"Thanks -*huff*- for helping us. We didn't -*huff*- know how much longer we could've held out." One of them, a pegasus, said in gratitude.

"Anytime. You wouldn't happen to know where these guys came from would you?" Sparks inquired.

"Not a clue. At first we thought they were soldiers rotating out from the beach, but they came from the south, the direction of the river. When our lieutenant questioned theirs, they went all berserk and started burning the place down! Our CO was cut down on the spot."

"Well at least it's something. One more thing, have you seen Captain Armor?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Try and see if you can hook back up with the rest of the army, let 'em know what's happening and get them in here."

"You got it!"

The two guardsponies took off at a gallop towards the army's rally point. Sparks and Garth continued on, making quick time through the flames and smoke. Soon, Garth spotted the command tent up ahead. He pointed it out to Sparks and together they rushed to it. When they got to the entrance, another faux guard came tumbling out, a pegasus, body bruised and bleeding. As he landed on his back in a heap, one of his wings crunched, causing Sparks to flinch a bit. The saboteur was followed by none other than Shining Armor himself, the unicorn stallion was also covered with cuts and lacerations and wielding his own sword.

"That'll teach you to come into my camp and attack my soldiers!" The Captain bellowed.

With great terror and pain, the pegasus got to his hooves and galloped away at a maddening pace. Noticing the other two figures standing there, Shining turned to confront them, sword held ready to strike.

"Sir, it's us, part of Commander Kaughn's team!" Sparks shouted in warning.

Shining stopped and lowered his weapon, "Ah, so you are. Sorry about that."

"It's ok sir. The commander has been trying to get a hold of you. When you didn't answer, we were sent to go find you."

"Oh yeah. The radio he gave me was damaged in the attack. I had just barely got the warning about the strike on the beach when these.... I believe James would say 'assholes' came out of no where."

"SPARKS!" Garth shouted in warning.

The unicorn whipped around at the Lotkin's side. Another group of the attackers was rushing at them in an assault. Both Sparks and Garth, including Shining raised their weapons. But before the could use them, several dark blurs dropped from the sky. Large wings, fearsome claws and devastating blades whipped about in a whirlwind fury. In the blink of an eye, it was all over. Six griffons now stood over the bodies of the slain. Overhead, a small airship closely resembling the Clipper buzzed by at low altitude. One of the griffons looked over his shoulder at the Captain and the two RSTG members and gave a little nod.

"Well, I think we're good for a minute." Sparks turned on his mic, "Hey boss, this is Sparks. We have Captain Armor, he's a little beat up, but no worse for wear."

"Good to here," the human replied, "I hope he's not too beat up."

"Ha, you should see the other guy."

"Ok, this is what I need you to do now; get the Captain up to his army's rally point, we've got a massive amount of hostiles inbound to the beach, we need to.... what the fuck?"

=====================================================================

James, still laying prone with his rifle, stopped mid sentence, almost gawking at the sight before him. He propped himself up on an elbow to afford himself a better view. On the edge of the horizon, below the still setting sun, yet above the rippling waters, a gargantuan floating shape of epic proportions glided towards land with a low reverberating hum.

"What the hell is that thing?" Flash said offhandedly above.

James watched as it moved closer and closer to shore. At this point, it was casting and enormous shadow almost over the whole of the fleet. As it neared, James dropped back down to his rifle and angled it up so he could get a better look. It was a massively built and fortified airship, the likes of which he had never seen. It was being held aloft with two huge balloon like containers, the low hum he could hear indicated propellers of some sort. The closer it came, the more detail he could see, until eventually he spotted a feature that made his heart jump into his throat. Along the bottom of it's belly, he could see three large double doors. He could think of only one use for doors that large and on that part of the aircraft. James got to his knees and began packing up in a hurry.

"Flash, I need you to get in contact with Admiral Darkwing and Sparks. Let the Admiral know we have a volatile situation on our hands and he needs to get his ships in the air, now. Tell Sparks to get Captain Armor and the Princess together and call me back on my radio, I need to brief them of the new threat."

"Roger that. What do you think that thing is gonna do?"

"Hopefully not what I think it will. Either way, we need to bring it down."

Fire In The Sky

Chapter 67: Fire In The Sky

Walking with intense purpose, Flash trotting at his side, James strode up to the army's rally point. It was a great gathering of unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi, all congregated in the defense of their nation. Most of the saboteurs had been repelled now, the fires put out, but they had taken a heavy toll. Many of Celestia's soldiers had been beaten or burnt in the attack, too many to transport safely to the triage at the supply camp all at once. Those that were left were gathering on the west side of the ridge, around their Ruler of the Sun. Behind them, on the eastern side, the defenders on the beach head were still busy fighting back against the waves of landing enemies, shells from the cannons off shore never stopping their relentless barrage.

The group was circled around a lone figure on a flat section of the slope. It was the princess, she was speaking to the crowd, but at his distance, James couldn't really hear what she was saying. As he walked closer, he passed by a unicorn, a member of the RSTG, who was working on trying to fix an M40A1. James stopped briefly to talk with him.

"What's wrong?"

The unicorn stallion looked up, and upon seeing who was talking to him, jumped to attention, "Sir, I was part of the sharpshooter team stationed on the beach head. We got caught in the shelling and the optics of my rifle got messed up. I would fix it, but I don't have the parts."

"At ease." James said, allowing the unicorn to relax.

James looked at the unicorn's weapon. The scope was indeed cracked and battered, but overall, the firearm appeared to be on good shape. Then he looked at his own he was carrying and thought of something.

"Here, why don't we trade? My rifle's optics are just fine." He offered, taking the M40 from the soldier and replacing it with the M82, "Be careful with that one though, it's got one hell of a kick. Here's the ammo." James took the remaining magazines out of his pack and placed them in the unicorn's own satchel.

"Th-Thank you sir!" The unicorn said in awe.

"Don't mention it."

Without looking back, James continued on with the broken rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. As he got closer to the front of the formation, the bodies of the ponies began to get more densely packed, causing him to gently push them aside as he moved on. Now the words of Celestia were growing cleared and more easily understood, here and there, he caught snatches of it off the air.

"....so remember this, my little ponies, you fight not for yourselves, or even for me. You fight for your friends, your family, your loved ones. Fight hard for them, for if you fail this day, it will not be you shall feel the ultimate consequences, but your children and their children after. So go now, go now and fight!"

A roaring cheer rose from the crowd all around, all the soldiers now vamped and ready for the battle they were about to face. James finally made his way to the front, emerging from the mass of stomping and bucking stallions.

"Ah, good to see you Commander," Celestia said in greeting, "Have you any words to add, another rousing speech perhaps?"

James looked around at the frothing crowd, "No thank you ma'am, I'm really not much of a public speaker. Besides, I don't like to talk about fighting, I just do."

"Hm, very well then." Celestia said, looking a little disappointed, "I have one of your subordinates here, he tells me you wish to have a word with me."

"That's correct ma'am, you and the Captain both."

James walked over to where Shining was standing in the background, Celestia followed him over. Standing with the captain was Sparks and Garth, both of whom looked ragged and tired from their recent fight.

"Alright, aside from Admiral Darkwing, we're all here. I'm sure you're aware of the developing situation above us?" James started.

"Yes, you're talking about that giant airship coming at us." Shining stated.

"Absolutely. I only have a vague idea of what that thing--"

*PA- PA- BOOM*

He paused for a second as the noise of another barrage briefly drowned out his words.

"I only have a vague idea of what that thing can do, but it's not pretty. Those magical explosives they've been producing? When I was captured a while back, I had a little self guided tour of their operations. I saw at least four of those explosives made to a massive scale. If the explosive power of those devices increase exponentially with size, the results will be devastating. That vessel is large enough to carry six of those things, if not more."

"Then what do you propose?" Celestia asked him.

"We bring it down as soon as possible. Preferably before it gets a chance to make landfall."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Fortunately," James said with a slight grin, "Thanks to Miss Aria Myst, our pilot, we have a small fleet of fast attack vehicles, and because of innovation on the griffons' part, we have a way to get them in close and under cover. Here's what we do..."

=====================================================================

On the weather deck of Darkwing's carrier, ten Clipper Class airships sat in camouflage, including the Clipper itself. All had hastily built box frames constructed around them, complete with wood colored fabric to produce the illusion of simple cargo boxes. The admiral had maneuvered his ship behind a pegasus made cloud bank in order to load them all on unseen. Another part of the plan was to use the pegasi and their gift to obstruct the enemy's view, allowing the carrier to get that much closer with less risk.

James paced the deck, checking in on all the individual airships on board. In each one, a fully armed RSTG team was checking their gear and readying for an all out aerial strike. A couple of the teams had been left below to assist in repelling the invasion. Captain Shining Armor was still down on the ground, leading the rest of his army in the defense of the landing beaches. To aid in the fight, Celestia was slowing the setting of the sun so they would not have to fight at night, leaving the sea, air and land perpetually on the cusp of twilight.

Curious about the progress on the ground, James went to the deck edge and leaned over, peering at the surface far below and turned on his radio.

"Shining, can you hear me? It's James."

After a second, he got a reply, the unicorn stallion almost shouting into his mic over the background noise, "Yeah, Shining here, what do you need?"

"Just checking in on you, how's it going?"

"Uh.. It's going ok so far. We're experiencing a steady amount of casualties, though the invaders aren't faring much better. Horseapples, heads down!"

Far below, James witnessed a series of blasts burst from the now busted up and ramshackle fortifications below. If he strained his eyes, he could see a squirming mass on the sand that was the actual battle.

"Hey Shining, are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're good." The unicorn panted, "Just a little close call. Wouldn't mind if you hurried it up though."

"I got ya buddy, we're working on it."

"Oh, and James, I know we never really get along, but..."

"It's ok, brother, you're a good person and a competent leader. That's all I care for."

"Thanks. Stay safe and good luck."

The radio cut out as Shining returned his attention to his duties. Anxious to start the attack, James found a ladder well and dropped below decks. He began making his way to the ship's bridge, traveling through the maze like passageways of the enormous aircraft. Also scurrying through these passages were hundreds of crew members, all rushing off to some task of theirs necessary to the function of the ship. James marched in close quarters with the crew members, occasionally stepping aside to allow a worker on some urgent mission to easily pass. It took him a few minutes, but eventually, he made it to the bridge, located forward and on the belly of the ship.

Knocking on the open entrance, James announced himself, "Commander Kaughn, requesting permission to enter the bridge."

From somewhere off to the side, a voice replied, "Permission granted."

James stepped inside and looked around. It was almost like the bridge of a traditional sailing ship, only it was in a closed room. One whole side was taken up by a wide bay window that allowed one to view anything directly in front of and below the ship. The helm was had not one, but two griffons as the wheel was very large. In one corner, a pair of navigators were pouring over a set of maps and charts, including several meteorological surveys. Over by the bay window stood the admiral, talking with another griffon.

"Oh, James, please do come over!" Darkwing beckoned when he spotted the human. James went over and the admiral started introductions, "James, this is Captain Redbeak, the Commanding Officer of this fine vessel. Captain, this is Commander Kaughn, the founder of the Princess' Royal Special Tasks Group, or RSTG for short."

Captain Redbeak was a broad shouldered griffon that stood a hair taller than the admiral. He had brownish-gray feathers and a salt-and-pepper hide. One distinguishing feature was a nasty looking scar that started near his forehead, went down across the outside corner of his left eye and continued to his neck where it terminated. James offered his right hand which the tough looking griffon took in his claw and shook.

"Good to meet you, son," he said in a seasoned voice, "I hear you need our help in putting that poor excuse of an airship out of commission."

"You are absolutely right, sir, all I need is for you to get in close enough so we can launch somewhat of a surprise attack on it."

"Not much of a surprise what with the size of my ship."

"Yes, they'll see your ship coming, but they won't expect it to launch a squadron of fast attack ships at it in close range."

"Huh, you got a point there." The old griffon turned back to the admiral, "I like him, the kid's got ambition. We could use more officers like him, too many namby pamby momma's boys coming out of the academy these days. What is he, by the way?"

"A human, Taurus."

"Human, eh? Why don't we get some more of these fellas, see if they wanna join up?"

"A perfect idea, Taurus, unfortunately individuals such as the Commander here are extremely rare in number it seems."

"Ahh, that's too bad. Anyway, what can I do ya for, Commander?"

"I was just wondering when we can get the operation underway." James informed the Captain.

"Oh, when ever you're ready, son. I've been itchin' ta get into the fight anyway."

"Alright then, how about now?"

"Now? Ha ha, sure thing!" The captains said with a chuckle.

"Outstanding. Sir, it was a pleasure talking with you and thank you for the use of your ship."

"Anytime, anytime."

"Silus, I'm gonna head back up to the flight deck and make sure all my teams are ready."

"Good luck, James!" the admiral called out as James exited the bridge.

As quick as he could, James wound his way through the skin of the ship. As he walked at his quick clip, speakers mounted in the overhead crackled to life.

"Battle stations, battle stations, all hands to your battle stations."

The announcement was immediately followed by a repeating alarm. The surrounding crew members sprang into action. James recalled the traffic pattern from the navy he used to serve; starboard goes forward and up, port goes aft and down. Fortunately it seemed to be the same here, so he moved to the starboard side of the ship and got to the flight deck.

The flight deck topside was also in a flurry of activity. Everywhere, griffons were securing hatches and manning posts. In the hull just below the flight deck, doors were opening and cannon barrels were being pushed out. In a mere matter of minutes, the ship was armed and ready for war. Likewise, all the members of the RSTG were standing at attention by their aircraft, locked and loaded, waiting for their orders.

James ran up to them, "Alright, we all know what our main objective is. We need to splash that airship before it hits the shore. We don't have a lot off fire power to work with against this thing, but what we lack in fire power, we more than make up for in smarts, flexibility and most importantly, balls. When we get out there, remember what you're doing and why. Give 'em hell, brothers."

Finished saying what he wanted to say, James left and took his post at the Clipper. There were no cheers, no shouts of rage or war cries. These were no common foot soldiers, each operative knew exactly what was at stake, what the consequences would be should they fail, the sacrifices they may have to make.

The human pushed aside the flaps of fabric covering the Clipper and entered the main cabin. He went aft to the port side bench where his gear was stowed and began donning his armor. Bracers, greaves, chest plate, tac vest, it all went on. Behind him, Myst was busy with her pre-flight check in the cockpit, Flash was putting the machine gun mount into place Garth sat on the starboard side, reloading mags and checking his shotgun for damage.

"I thought you didn't give speeches."

James looked over his shoulder while he adjusted a strap, it was Sparks, "It wasn't a speech. Speeches are what you give to mask the reality of the situation. I gave them the truth." He countered.

"Fair enough. Sure you still don't want your old armor back? It's probably better than the stuff I made; lighter, more flexible and it'll protect you better against projectiles. Your people's technological prowess is really impressive. Honestly, I'd really like to spend time with who ever does your R&D."

"Go ahead if you can get to them. I still don't understand how I got here. Anyway, that's from my old life. I'm one of you now, your armor will do just fine. Besides, I don't know anybody back from where I'm from that could do what you can do, learning and adapting to new technologies after only studying them for just a few hours. You know what? Why don't you keep it, think of it as an early birthday present."

"Oh uh... ok. Thanks!"

"No problem, brother."

"Think I can get your 1911 sometime too? I have some ideas on how we can improve it's capacity."

"Hell no!" James said with a smile, "You just don't mess with a classic."

"Ha, damn. I'll just have to see if I can fish one out of the Princess' vault then."

"Yeah, you will."

Sparks left and start suiting up himself. James shook his head and smiled, amused by his friends antics. Then he bent down and pulled his old marksman rifle out from under the bench. He checked the optics, seeing that they were still calibrated the way he liked it and cycled the bold a few times, finding the mechanism smooth and well oiled. Grabbing a magazine, he inserted it into the weapon with a satisfying click. James slung the rifle over his shoulder and moved to his sidearm.

His M1911, simple and reliable. He loaded a seven round mag and slipped an extra one into the chamber before hitting the slide release and engaging the safety. James stuck it into his right thigh holster and began loading extra ammo into his tac vest from his pack. He was about halfway done when his hand bumped into something he wasn't expecting. Wrapping his fingers around the grip, he pulled Bellis' old revolver. He didn't remember putting it in there. James studied the scroll work that started at the end of the barrel and continued on down the cylinder and to the grip. He opened up the cylinder and saw that it was empty.

"Hey Sparks!"

The unicorn looked up from helping Flash mount the door gun, "Yeah?"

"We got ammo for the revolver?"

"Sure do, I packed a few speed loaders into your bag, check the front pocket."

James did what Sparks told him and extracted five full speed loaders. He shoved them into a pocket on his tac vest and strapped the revolver to the left side of his torso before finally filling up on ammo. The last thing he did was pick up the knife and sheath Sparks had made for him and attach it hilt down to his left shoulder like he usually did. Now he was ready. turning around, James went over to the door gun to see how his teammates were doing.

"Wow, what're you gonna do, take on the whole invasion by yourself?" Flash joked.

"Somebody's gotta do your job for you."

"Whatever..."

"How's the job coming along?"

"Door gun is all set and ready to go," Sparks reported, "just gotta take care of the 249 up top."

"Don't worry, I got it." James said, "Where are the ammo cans for it?"

"Already put some up there, in a box by the new hull armor."

James ascended the ladder to the top deck and went over to the M249 mounted on the port side, around him camouflage fabric billowed in the wind on the frames built over the craft. Just as Sparks had said, there was a whole box full of ammo cans for the weapon bolted to the deck by it, behind the new armor Sparks had welded onto the hull. Now, instead of a simple railing, there was a chest high metal wall that ran around the whole perimeter of the deck. James moved to the machine gun, grabbed a two hundred and fifty round box of ammunition and began loading it into the weapon.

"James, this is Silus on the bridge, we're closing in on our target. I advise you and your teams take cover in your aircraft, seems they have armaments as well."

James keyed his mic, "Thanks for the heads up, Silus." Then he switched to the general channel for the air assault force, "Everybody take cover and brace, it's about to get rough!"

Quickly, he finished loading the M249 and jumped back down into the cabin, securing the hatch behind him and strapping into a seat with his team. James didn't think a Clipper Class vessel could take a direct hit from a cannon, he hoped they wouldn't aim at the flight deck. An eerie silence settled across the carrier as it moved closer to it's objective. The only sound that could be heard was the hush of the wind around the weather decks. Minutes passed, agonizingly slow, without even the slightest change. Then, all it once, it started.

Cracking thunder, beats of the drum of war, the shudder of the deck from the impacts of cannon balls smashing into the carrier's hull and the carrier returned in kind. The violence and the magnitude of the explosive forces rivaled that of the fiercest tempest of the sea. The Clipper rocked and bounced on the carrier and probably would have gone rolling had it not been tied down to the deck. Inside it, James and his team struggled to stay in their seats, their harnesses creaking under the stress. Across from him, Sparks' harness snapped, sending him up into the air when a particularly hard impact bounce the Clipper again. With lightning fast reflexes, Garth snatched him from the air and held the engineer tightly until it was over.

Once the turbulence stopped and the cannon fire ceased, the carrier began a slow list to the left, away from it's opponent. James released his restraints and got to his feet, struggling to keep his balance on the uneven deck. He looked around the cabin and was relieved to see that Flash, Garth and Sparks were ok, if a little shaken up. Stumbling to the cockpit, he checked on Myst. She looked back at him with an excited grin, still surprisingly rock steady. She gave him a wink and resumed her pre-flight, now spinning up the engine.

"Sparks," he said, turning around, "check up on our guys." Trying to get an idea of their current situation, James switched on his mic, "Silus, it's James, how are we looking?"

"Never... argh! *gasp* better. We're still receiving damage reports, but we're not too bad off. Took a few dings myself. Bollocks, that was a bloody beating!"

"How's the ship looking for another pass?"

"Taurus is telling me we shouldn't. Best your boys break off once we get our cloud cover, they're almost here. How are your teams by the way?"

James looked to Sparks who gave him a nod, "We're alright. Just a little shaken."

"Fantastic. Once you're all away, we'll pull back and do what we can with the long range until we make some critical repairs."

"Roger that, Silus thanks for getting us this close." James switched back to the general channel, "Saddle up, we ride on my go."

Outside, in the open air, a hard working team of pegasi rushed up to the carrier with a colossal cloud bank. With great effort and a heavy amount of sweat, the squadron of pegasi enveloped the airship in the fluffy white water vapor. Once the carrier was completely encased in it's feathery camouflage, the griffons still on the flight deck swiftly got to work in breaking down all the scaffolding and fabric concealing the small airships.

James undid the latch on the top hatch of the Clipper and watched the progress of the flight deck crew. With professional and practiced speed, the griffons had them all broken down and cleared to go, all their engines were spun up, propellers humming in the misty atmosphere. The only thing left was to detach the tie downs and send the aircraft off. Down on the deck, the carrier's flight deck chief looked up to James. The human nodded, giving the signal for the final go. With a hand gesture, the flight deck chief ordered his subordinates into action and every single tie down chain was removed and pulled away. One by one, the assault craft took off from the deck, ascending into the swirling clouds.

On the general channel, James began giving orders, "Alright everyone, we all know the obvious weak point, the giant freaking balloon above it holding the whole thing aloft. Don't all bunch up on that, spread out so they can't concentrate their fire on you. Only attack it a few at a time, meanwhile, the rest of you need to try to find and exploit whatever other weaknesses it's got, understood?"

A series of 'Afirmatives' responded to him over the comms. Switching to his team's private channel, James addressed his own operatives, "Sparks, I want you on door gunner down there, Garth, up here with me on the 249. Flash, you got the best eyes, so you're back on spotter. Myst, just do your thing, baby."

Everyone on the Clipper scrambled to their assigned posts, Myst accelerated her ship, quickly taking the lead. Behind the Clipper, the rest of the assault craft dropped into a loose formation. Soon the cloud began to thin, stray rays of sunlight pushing their way through the vapor. On the top deck of the Clipper, up on the bow, James and Flash braced on the armor against the chilling high altitude air.

Shortly, they all emerged from the misty cloud like some mad swarm of hornets intent on protecting their hive. The giant airship that was their target loomed over them, comically large compared to the buzzing assault squadron. The small airships immediately accelerated in to attack, gunners on all ships opening up with armor piercing and incendiary rounds, peppering the bomber's hull with bursts of force and flame.

The crew of the bomber were caught off guard, but seemed to be well trained, they quickly recovered, cannons in the broadside adjusting their firing angles and the open decks swarming with Lotkin armed with crossbows. Flash spotted something peculiar about the crossbows and shouted a warning over the comms.

"Everypony be advised, hostiles are using explosive tipped bolts, use evasive attack patterns!"

Undeterred, Myst put her aircraft into a strafing dive, dodging the lethal bolts fired at it and allowing Garth and Sparks to rake the decks with a withering amount of fire, felling many enemies and sending even more for cover. After completing the run, she pulled up and began circling around for a pass at the colossal balloon.

"That wasn't so bad," she quipped on the comms, "let's hit it again!"

Then the cannons fired. The bomber's defensive cannons unleashed a furious counter attack on it's aggressors, firing in every direction imaginable.

"Brace, brace!" Flash shouted, causing them all to grab on to something solid and hold on tight.

A smoking cannon ball rocketed towards them. For a moment, it seemed as if it would smash into the clipper and send it down in pieces, but it's angle was off and looked as if it would pass harmlessly by on the port side. However, that's not what it decided to do. While the shell was still abeam of the Clipper, it abruptly decided to explode. Sharp, red hot shrapnel peppered the side of the Clipper with destructive rage, sending it skidding laterally through the air. Most of it bounded off of the well crafted armored exterior, but some found their way in through chinks and cracks in the protective shell, startling the occupants inside and filling the interior with choking fumes. Fortunately, with the side door open, the smoke was quickly vented.

"Son of a nag, what the hay did they do to my ship!" Myst yelled angrily at no one in particular.

"Air burst shells! They toss flak out every which way, we gotta be careful, they can still damage us without actually landing a hit." James cautioned.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!"

Myst resumed her run on the bomber. On either side of the Clipper, a couple of other RSTG airships formed up and joined it in the attack. As they closed in, the bomber unleashed another salvo of shells at them. Rounds from the cannons burst all around in the air, throwing deadly flak at anything unlucky enough to be too close. On the left side, a shell whizzed past one of the ships, mere inches away before it detonated and took a sizeable chunk out of it's portside aft, putting hundreds of holes in the balloon and disabling it's engine. James and Flash watched as it dropped from the sky and tumbled to the ocean below.

The remaining three continued on, lining up for a strike. Moving into close proximity of the gargantuan ship, the cannons were unable to get a good bead on the attacking ships. However, there were still plenty of hostiles on the top decks with explosive crossbow bolts. The Lotkin launched a volley in defense. Most of them missed, but some hit their marks, dealing thankfully minor damage. One slammed into the armored belly of the Clipper with a jarring *THUMP PL-CLANG*!

Undeterred, the group of attack ships moved in close to the bomber's balloon. As they got into range, all the gunners on the RSTG ships opened up and let loose hell upon the buoyancy device. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of destructive rounds impacted the vital device. Except instead of the blast and great whoosh of wind they all expected, the material absorbed all they threw at it with absolutely no reaction. The attack run a failure, Myst and the other ships pulled away, the door gunners spraying down suppressing fire to cover their escape.

"Dammit!" James cursed, "Whatever they made that out of, we can't do shit against it with just brute force with what we have."

"What do you think we can do?" Flash asked him.

"I don't know. We need to find a weaker point to attack, something not easily armored or defended, but still vital to the function of that ship."

"Hmm...." Flash looked back and began studying the bomber for any weakness he might exploit. "Wait, what about the tetherings?"

"Tetherings?"

"Yeah, the lines and cables securing the balloon to the ship, it's almost impossible to armor those and take out enough of them and the rest will snap from the stress."

"Flash, that's fucking brilliant!" James switched his radio to broadcast to all the attack ships, "All teams, when making your attack runs, aim at the balloon tethers with your mounted weapons. Their hard to see and thin, so try to keep your aim steady and toss as many rounds as you can at it before bugging out." He ordered.

Several acknowledgements came back to him over the comms. Another group of attack craft began their next run on the bomber. Meanwhile, the Clipper, joined by a few other aircraft, performed evasive actions in range of the cannons to draw their fire. It was the greatest amount of turbulence James had ever felt as the skies exploded all around him. Several times, he, Garth and Flash had to duck and cover to avoid being perforated by the lethal shrapnel that was screaming everywhere through the air. Thanks to Myst's amazing flying skill, they managed to get through it somewhat safely.

The attacking teams moved in without much harassment from the cannons. Most of the Lotkin manning the top decks were also drawn away, but not all. A large amount of them still kept focus on the real threat, launching their munitions at the swiftly moving craft. One by one, the aircraft passed under the large space between the balloon and the deck and between the tethers, door gunners doing their best to sever the cords. Here and there, a few snapped, but not enough to cause a critical failure throughout the system of lashings. One of the RSTG ships slowed down to allow it's gunners a better shot. Foolishly, they lingered too long, the Lotkin concentrated their fire and brought the aircraft down in a roiling ball of flame. Their sacrifice was not in vain, however, as several more lines were severed, causing the bomber tilt at an odd angle.

Once again, the small airships formed up for another attack, this time the Clipper joining in. On it's top deck, James chambered a round with his rifle and brought it to his shoulder in anticipation for the attack. The Clipper dove in with the others. When they were close enough, James began firing shots at the hostiles below, trying to take down as many as he could before they could counter attack with their explosive bolts. Unfortunately, he was only marginally successful due to the unstable nature of his platform. As they passed over the deck, the Lotkin again concentrated their fire, working together to bring the ships down. A hit was scored on the aft underside of the Clipper, causing it to buck up. The engine started to sputter, but somehow kept going.

To make matters worse, the crew manning the bomber's cannons had learned from their last mistake. Instead of focusing on the attackers running the distraction, they waited for the others to finish their attack run and when the RSTG airships began pulling away to come around again, unleashed hell upon them. It was so sudden and well coordinated that James, Flash and Garth barely had time to hold onto something before the world exploded around them. Flak and shrapnel filled the air, red hot razor shards plinking off armor and slicing into flesh. When it was all over, James found himself laid out on the deck, exposed skin covered in small cuts. Worried for his teammates' safety, he got up and checked on them. Garth seemed to be fine, even amused by the near death experience. Overall, Flash looked ok, but there seemed to be something wrong with his left wing. The pegasus tried to move it, but got no response from the appendage.

Switching priorities, James opened his team's private channel, "Myst, damage report."

His earpiece crackled and in the background he could hear a deafening amount of warnings and alarms, "We're not doing too good. The engine took a good hit back there, I don't know how long it will last and the balloon's got a slow leak. Bottom line, we don't have a lot of time up here. How did the other ships fare?"

James went to the railing and looked around. Of the four ships that had accompanied them on the attack, only two remained, one on either side. To starboard, he could see the crew still on board, but they seemed to have a casualty. In the one on the port side, James couldn't see any movement, but he did see a lot of holes from the flak. He recognized some of the still legible markings on the aircraft and saw it was Captain Alister's ship. Switching radio channels, he tried to raise the captain.

"Alister, this is James, respond if you can hear me."

No response, only static.

"Alister, please respond, I need a casualty report."

Still nothing.

"Alister?"

James watched sadly as the Nightstalkers' airship began to lazily list to port, eventually slowly transitioning into an uncontrolled dive to the earth. James looked to the bomber that was still making it's way to the shore, they had barely managed any damage at all and it continued on. Of the ten airships the RSTG had started out with, only half of them remained. Those that did were badly damaged and wouldn't last much longer.

Myst contacted James again, alarms still blaring in the background, "Hey boss, bad news. We need to put down, but I don't think we can make it to shore safely, we might have to bail!"

A cold lump formed in the pit of the human's stomach as he considered his options. He didn't think his teams would survive another attack run, at least not all of them, and the ones that did make it would be in no condition to fight. He had to bring the bomber down soon, but they wouldn't be able to do so with the current tactics they were using. Then he remembered something Bellis had told him long ago; 'If you run out of options, then it's time to switch tactics.' Another Idea popped into his head. It was something he really didn't want to do, something crazy as all hell, but he saw no other alternative. It was time to finish it.

On the RSTG's public channel, he gave an order, "All remaining teams, pull back and regroup. We're not going to be able to take that monster out like this. If you can't safely land your aircraft, bail out over land past the beach and rendezvous with those that can. Stay safe."

After delivering the order, James went over to check on Flash, who was still struggling with his wing. He gave the pegasus a quick look over and discovered a shard of metal had lodged itself in the muscles at the base of the wing on his back. With help from Garth, James moved his friend down to the main cabin and treated the wound while Myst maneuvered the Clipper over land. They carefully removed the shard of metal and dressed the wound, but Flash would not be flying on his own any time soon.

"Alright, we're ditching the Clipper, everyone suit up." James said, grabbing the parachutes from the forward bulkhead. "Sorry Myst."

"It's ok, boss. She had a good run."

"Ok, everyone check your buddy and make sure you have your main weapon and sidearm, it's a charlie foxtrot down there, you need all the fire power you can get."

Sparks was already strapped up and ready to go, but was frantically searching for one last thing, "James, I got a problem! I can't find my pistol anywhere!"

"Here, Take mine, I have two." James replied, shoving his 1911 into the engineer's holster along with a few magazines.

Myst got the Clipper over the beach and came back to join the rest of the team. With haste, James helped her get into a harness and checked to make sure everything was secured. Garth then double checked James' harness before the human returned the favor. Finally, they were all ready. James moved the door gun out of the way and lined his team up.

"Alright, ready to bail. Sparks first then Flash, Myst and Garth in that order. Go go go! I'll be right behind you!"

The three ponies began jumping out one at a time. First Sparks and Flash, in seconds, they were safely away. Before she jumped, Myst hesitated and looked back to James with a concerned expression.

"Why didn't you go with Sparks to secure the site?" She ask with worry.

"I just want to make sure you all get off safely, don't worry, I'll be right behind you guys."

The unicorn mare still didn't seem to buy it and stood there. She was about to say something else, but James stopped her.

"Sorry Myst, but you have to go." He said flatly.

James shot off his two fingered salute from the top of his brow and gave the pilot a hard shove out the door. He watched for a second as they fell to the earth until he saw their chutes deploy far below. Then he turned to Garth, who had removed his harness and was checking his weapons.

"You're not going? I'm pretty sure I just ordered you to bail."

Garth made that gravelly coughing sound that was his laugh, "I am not so easily fooled. I know to what you ride and I would join you. But why tread down this path without those that are our team and friends?"

"Enough have died already. I can't watch it happen any more, it needs to stop."

"You know that in this task, we may very well perish..."

"One life for a few thousand, maybe more? Fair enough."

"Ha! Then we ride!"

"Yes my friend, we ride." James responded as he plunked down into the pilot's seat, "You might wanna strap in, brother, we're in for a rough landing."

While Garth strapped himself in, James thought back to what Myst had taught him about flying her aircraft. From what he understood, it was almost like flying a helicopter, but also a fixed wing. He had ridden aircraft like that, but never flown one. Tentatively, he grabbed a hold of the yoke and eased the throttle forward. With a delicate touch, as the controls were shaky and unresponsive at times, he put the craft into a turn and aimed it at the bomber. He found the lever that adjusted altitude and fed power to the balloon, causing it to rise. However due to the mechanics of this operation, and the leak in the balloon, it also caused the ship's source of buoyancy to leak faster.

Knowing he did not have much time or a measurable margin of error, James punched the throttle forward, greatly accelerating the Clipper to a high speed. He stayed on the yoke guiding the aircraft and aiming for the top deck. He only had one chance and slowing down to land would surely be lethal with the amount of fire being directed at them, so as soon as he was sure the trajectory was lined up, James got up and sprinted into the back where he quickly sat down on a bench and strapped himself in for the ride.

The moment the Clipper entered range, the cannons on the bomber opened up again. James and Garth sat in silence as the Clipper shot through the air, plowing through flak, shrapnel and smoke. One shell exploded right above and in front of the airship. James' eyes widened as his stomach dropped to his intestines, they were losing altitude fast. Then, the Clipper impacted. There was a great rending of wood, squealing of metal. It was some of the worst shock James had felt. The torrent of noise and pain seemed to last an eternity. Then with a final smash, the world turned to darkness.

Finally Finding Peace

Chapter 68: Finally Finding Peace

Swift rushing wind, the feeling of vertigo, the sounds of battle below. After a short free fall, Sparks released his chute, his descent instantly slowing with a violent jerk. He floated there in the air, using his magic to steer. While he did that, the engineer scanned the ground beneath him for a suitable place to land. The fight had past the beach now. Several waves of invaders, Lotkin and pony alike, had landed and were quickly overwhelming the defenders. From his floating vantage point, Sparks could see even more on the way. If they weren't stopped soon, the war might very well be lost.

"Hey James, it looks pretty bad down there, what do you think we should do?" Sparks asked over the comms. Instead of a response, all he got was static. "James, are you up there buddy?"

"Sparks..." Myst interjected, "He's not coming..."

"What do you mean he's not coming?"

"He's not coming, he didn't jump! The guy practically threw me out of my own aircraft!" She said with a hint of anger.

"No, c'mon, you're kidding!"

"Uh, Sparks... she's not kidding." Flash interrupted, "Look up, over the ocean."

Sparks followed Flash's direction. He was shocked when he saw the Clipper, sputtering and in bad shape, shoot out over the water and head directly at the bomber they had all just failed in bring down.

"What the hay does he think he's doing!? Garth's on there too, isn't he?"

"He hadn't jumped yet when James shoved me out." Myst informed.

The three of them watched as the Clipper gained speed, aiming directly for the bomber. To Sparks, it looked as if James was aiming to crash into the top decks, crazy bastard was going to try and take on the massive thing by himself. Closer and closer the Clipper got. The bomber loosed another salvo of the explosive shells and the unicorn's breath caught as the small airship briefly disappeared in the resulting cloud of acrid black smoke.

He started breathing again when the Clipper emerged from the cloud of destruction, seemingly unscathed. But something was wrong. Sparks watched in horror as the Clipper began to dip. It kept it's speed, but soon it was losing more altitude. The most terrifying moment was when the Clipper finally impacted the bomber. It had lost so much altitude that instead of hitting the top decks, it smashed into the bank of broadside hatches that housed the cannons. Myst audibly gasped over the radio at the spectacle, splinters of wood beams and large pieces of metal exploded out from the impact site, raining debris to the earth below.

"Horseapples and hay stacks! Myst, could he have survived that?" Sparks demanded.

"I don't- I don't know.... My airship was designed to withstand crash landings, but n-nothing like that!"

Sparks tried his radio again, "James can you hear me? James! You fucking crazy bastard, answer me!" He screamed angrily.

"Sparks..." Flash started.

"Shut up, he's alive!"

"No, Sparks, the ground."

The unicorn looked down and saw that they were very close to landing in a hotly contested spot. None of the fighters below had noticed them yet, but once they did, the three ponies would be sitting ducks for crossbow bolts. With a tug of the steering cords, Sparks angled his parachute, aiming for an open patch of ground near the top of the ridge, Flash and Myst following close behind. As he alighted on the ground, Sparks hit the quick release, causing the billowing fabric to drop to the dirt on it's own. Flash and Myst followed suit shortly after.

"Ok, Myst, you and Flash go find one of our teams that still has an operational airship and help them fix it up. Flash, once Myst is safe, I want you to head to the triage and get checked out." Sparks ordered as he un slung his rifle and chambered a round with his magic.

"Uh-uh. I might not be able to fly, but I can still fight."

"You sure?"

"Damn right I am."

"Fine then, but stay safe and don't take any unnecessary risks." Sparks ordered.

"Right." The two ponies replied. Myst pulled out her pistol racked the slide while Flash unsheathed his blades.

"What are you gonna do?" The pegasus asked.

"I'm gonna go find the Princess and Captain Armor. We need to try and help James, but it won't matter if our forces on the ground are overrun."

"Ok, but don't get hurt out there..." Myst said, worry briefly twitching across her face.

"Don't worry, we've been trained well. See you both soon."

With that, they parted ways. Flash and Myst went back towards the camp where they had seen a couple airships touch down while Sparks waded deeper into the fray. Before he could even get very far, a Lotkin with a large sword and a lust for blood rushed him. Without even thinking, Sparks put two in his assailant's chest, causing the attacker to slump to the ground, lifeless. Not a beat missed, the unicorn continued on, ventilating any invader foolish enough to get too close. One time, he came to a trio of Guardsponies locked in vicious hand-to-hoof combat with a superior number of foes. Sparks didn't hesitate, dropping two hostiles with head shots. A few of the others shifted their attention to him and charged. Rifle kicking in his magic's aura, he felled three more with rounds to the chest, on the fourth his weapon clicked empty. Sparks gave a frightening war cry and charged the warrior, galloping at full speed. With a mighty surge of magic, he thrust the barrel of his rifle into the chest of the Lotkin, surprising the fighter and knocking him to the ground, on his back. Before his opponent could recover, Sparks drew his knife and slashed his throat, producing a sickening splatter of blood.

The unicorn got up and quickly reloaded, then he turned to the Guardsponies who had also dispatched their opponents, "Wow, where'd you learn all that?" One of them asked with awe.

"My team leader taught that to me." Sparks said with a hint of sadness, "I need some help, do any of you know where I can find the Princess or Captain Armor?"

"Sure can," one of them piped up, "Princess Celestia and our CO are both down at the beach head, trying to figure a way to stop more boats from landing."

"Thanks!" Sparks shot off before galloping down to the beach.

He galloped hard to the beach head where the fighting seemed to be at it's thickest. With skill, he weaved, ducked and dodged through the fierce battle. All around was the clashing of metal, the cries of the wounded, explosions and detonations, dirt, sand, sometimes blood, raining down from above after it was thrust into the air by powerful forces. Sparks paid no heed to all this, intently focused on his goal, he only stopped to take down an enemy when he had no other choice.

After a hard run through the chaos of combat, the engineer finally reached his destination. The fortifications of the beach head were in extremely bad shape, having been shelled and quarreled over for some time now. Up on the ramparts stood Celestia in gloriously crafted armor with the Captain at her side, directing the troops around them and helping defend from attack with great bursts of magical energy.

With a kick and a jump, Sparks broke through the groups of quarreling fighters and landed amongst the defenders of the beach head. The Guardsponies fighting there glanced at the new arrival, but returned to their duties once they saw he was one of them. With great haste, Sparks galloped up to the top of the rampart where both Celestia and Shining stood.

"Captain! Your Highness!" He called out to them.

Shining turned to the stallion, Celestia stayed focused on her task, "Lieutenant! What are you doing here? Where's James at?" He asked aggressively.

"Sir, James and Garth left on their own, they went to take down the bomber by themselves, we have to find a way to help them!"

"What!? Are they crazy!?" Shining exclaimed, his face frozen in shock.

"Well... it is the Commander. Seriously though, we need more troops and we have to call back Admiral Darkwing's ship and mount an assault on that airship!"

Shining's expression dropped to one of concern and compassion, "I'm sorry... we can't spare the soldiers. Our situation here is very dire. As for the Admiral, well... his carrier eventually went down, it sustained too much damage from it's earlier attack and crash landed some distance away."

"Captain, please inform me of what news we now have." Celestia had redirected her attention to the conversation between the two unicorns.

"Uh, Princess! It seems that the Commander and another member of his team have attacked the large airship on their own."

"On their own!?" The princess looked up to the sky, focusing on the gargantuan aircraft over the ocean, "No... he's not ready. He needed more time." She half whispered with worry.

"Princess?"

Celestia's mind snapped back to the situation before her, "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, but he's on his own. I can no longer hold the movement of the sun, it must be allowed to set and we must finish this soon. Captain, what are our options?"

Shining stood stoutly at her request for his council, "We have to clear the beach, that's our number one priority at the moment. However, we must also somehow stop more of our attackers from landing. That second part, well I don't know how we'll—"

*BOOM* *KRA-KOOM* *DU-DU-DOOM*

All three of them jumped a little at the sudden burst of cannon fire. Fearing another bombardment, they all ducked and took cover, Celestia once again projected a protective barrier above them. When nothin impacted their position, they all stood back up and looked to the sea in puzzlement. Almost immediately, they got the answer to their shared mental query. Out amongst the frothing waves, a new ship charged into the fray. It barreled through the water, firing upon any and all vessels within it's weapons' range. As he studied it, Sparks began to recognize the newcomer.

"It's the pirates! Those crazy mother fu-" Sparks checked himself when he remembered who he was with, "Those crazy pirates, they're actually helping us!"

"Please excuse my ignorance, but what is going on?" Celestia asked.

"It's the pirates, Your Majesty, the pirates the Commander was with when we picked him up after he was kidnapped! Their ship is named 'Luna's Revenge'."

"Oh...?"

They watched as the rogue ship maneuvered back and forth, sinking many a ship while taking an amazing amount of damage itself. Before they knew it, half the invading fleet was in shambles and the landing barges were very hard pressed to make it to shore. Before long, the flow of invaders dropped from an inexorable rising tide to a pitiful trickle. Quite unexpectedly, the defenders had been given a slight edge.

"That takes care of that problem!" Sparks said enthusiastically.

"Yes it does. But we still have to take care of the hostiles still on the beach and we're surrounded on all sides." Shining reminded him.

Sparks made sure his weapon had a full mag and gave Shining a confident look, "Good, then we can attack in all directions." He stated with a grin.

"What has that man done to my little ponies?" Celestia commented uneasily to herself.

=====================================================================

Darkness, darkness all around, devoid of even the faintest warmth or the basest comfort. The echoes of fey lunatics bouncing through the void. James spun around in all directions, looking for something, anything that could tell him where he was. The last thing he remembered was the crash, yet he was not in the Clipper and he felt no pain. Then he studied the swirling midnight madness and knew.

"Why...."

James whipped around at the word, right hand automatically snapping up with his 1911, training the sights on the small boy that continually haunted his mind. But how did the pistol get there, he wondered. He remembered passing it off to Sparks before the bailout. James gingerly pulled the slide halfway back and saw that it was loaded. In confusion and anger, he tossed it away, but when he brought his hand back up, the pistol was still there. Again he tossed the weapon into the inky void and again it reappeared in his hand.

Dropping his hand holding the firearm to his side, James confronted the apparition, "Why are you still here? Why do you keep coming back and tormenting me? I'm done, I swear after we finish this, I'm done!"

"Why...."

"Why? What do you mean why? Why what? Why am I done?" James asked at an angry rapid fire pace.

"Why stop... MURDERING?" the boy's voice took on a demonic tone.

"What the fuck?" James' temper flared with his surprise and his pistol shot up, sights on the little boy's forehead, finger slowly squeezing the trigger. But something stopped him from firing.

His mind dove unexpectedly into his memories, to the time spent in his new home. The friends he had made, the peace he had found. Hot anger cooling, he reflected on himself, what he had become during his brief time in the strange land he had ended up in. Then a new feeling. A feeling of wanting, wanting to remain in his new home rather than just settling for it. He felt something around his neck. The warmness of the small strange stone that was given to him resting on his chest. James lowered his weapon. Still staring his soul's enemy in the face, he began stripping the pistol down; dropping the mag, ejecting the round, removing the slide and letting the whole mess of parts fall to his feet where they stayed.

With a confident stride, James walked up to the small boy. The spectre's expression changed from one smug accusation to one of confusion and fear. Slowly and un aggressively, James approached his tormentor, arms spreading wide. Then he did something he had not thought ever to do to one of his enemies. He knelt, leaned forward and pulled the boy into a hug.

"I can never change what I did in my past, but I can still make a better future. I'm sorry for what I did to you, but there's nothing I can do to fix that. Just know that I won't ever let something like it ever happen again within my power. No child should suffer like that." James said softly over the boy's shoulder.

He pulled away from the hug and looked the boy in the face. James was surprised to see that the child's face was full and whole, he now had both eyes and his skin was free of breaks and tears. The boy's mouth twisted into a smile, if somewhat wanly. All at once, the space around them seemed to brighten and it did not feel so cold as before. Then the boy disappeared. The light around grew brighter and brighter. James felt an alien sensation, like he was fading away.

*BOOM BOOM* *BOOM*

James jerked back to consciousness at the loud detonations and tried to get into a fighting stance, but found he couldn't move. In addition to the painful noise, he could feel harsh throbbing aches throughout most of his body and something hot and sticky was running down a small rivulet into his left eye. His eyes adjusted and he looked around seeing that he was back in the Clipper, though the interior had transformed into a twisted and warped mess. To his right was a large hole where the side door had been, in front of it was a small pile of corpses. Suddenly, a Lotkin warrior charged through the gap, only to have his head taken off with another loud blast from a shotgun. James looked up to the source of the weapons fire and saw Garth suspended comically in his seat above. It seemed as if on impact the frame of the aircraft had warped to the point of changing their seating positions.

Garth looked back down, now noticing his teammate had returned to the land of the living, "Ah, my friend, you are back. I beg your assistance as the fates have seen fit to lodge me in place. Please hurry, as we are in great peril here."

James shook his head and fumbled for the quick release on his chest. Thankfully, the harness disengaged, allowing him to stand on the un even deck. Carefully, he climbed up to Garth and tried to release his teammate's harness. Unfortunately, the quick release looked to have taken some damage in the crash and would not budge.

"Hold on, brother, I'm going to cut you loose." James said while pulling out his knife.

Garth gripped a hand hold above his head while James went to work on the harness straps. In a matter of seconds, he had slashed enough of them to allow the big warrior to swing down onto the deck where he immediately took point with his shotgun.

"Hurry and find your weapon," Garth urged, "we have much work to do."

The liquid flowing into his eye becoming extremely annoying, James wiped it away with a sleeve and was alarmed when his arm came down with blood on it. He tentatively touched a particularly tender spot on his head and discovered a small cut in his scalp. Thinking quickly, he ripped a strip of cloth from a shirt he found laying under a bench and tied it around his forehead. It would not stop the bleeding, but it would keep the blood from dripping into his eye and obscuring his vision. Next he searched his rifle. After a few seconds of pawing through the clutter all over the deck, he found it, but looked upon it with dismay. The optics were shattered and the muzzle was bent upward at a sharp angle rendering it useless. He was saddened to see a rifle that had survived so many engagements with him in such a state.

He could not keep it with him, however, it would just hinder him at this point, so he left it, hoping that he could retrieve it at a later time. Reluctantly, he put it down and searched for another weapon, eventually coming back up with the P90 he had in his collection. James inspected it, finding some cracks here and there in it's plastic casing, but in overall good condition. He scrounged a few mags for it and loaded up, tossing the rifle rounds from his tac vest and replacing them with th3 submachine gun's 5.7mm rounds. He then checked his vest to see if the revolver was still where he had secured it. Finding it was, he found his pack and grabbed some of the speed loaders Sparks had put in there for him and went to the explosives locker.

"Hurry James, more are coming!" Garth complained.

"Just a sec!"

With his knife, James pried the door open and pulled out some of the charges inside. Having everything he thought they needed, James joined Garth at the hole in the side of their aircraft.

"Are you well? You seem... changed." Garth commented

"Yeah, I feel better." James replied with a calm smile. "Now, we have to end this and end it quick, so here's the plan." He handed the explosives over to Garth. "I need you to plant these at critical points; I'm talking structural weaknesses, the ship's magazines, engine room, pretty much anywhere that'll guarantee a splash."

"And what shall you do?"

"I'm gonna find the bridge, take control of the ship. Once I do, I'll pass instructions over what ever mass communication system they have here telling you not to blow the charges."