Parting For The While
Chapter 52: Parting For The While
The train bumped and jostled beneath Jackson. His chair was secured to the deck in the vacant car, but it didn't exactly do much to assuage any fears he had. He was really starting to miss the use of his legs. At least with them, he could better control his movement. Using the wheelchair was still taking some getting used to.
He was on the train to see Mayfield off to the end. Something he hadn't planned on doing before, he was going to just wave him goodbye at the station in Ponyville, but he thought it better to just ride it out. After all, his last link to his old world was about to be severed, probably for good. Besides, he still had one more thing to do before he settled down into his new life.
Jackson glanced down at the small case, even if just to make sure it was still there. It was the most important thing he had brought on this short journey, at least besides his change of clothes and the small bottle of rum. Kaughn's favorite. The thought made his world feel a little empty. Jackson pulled the bottle from his bag and unscrewed the cap, taking a short whiff. The pony brew was sweeter than what he was used to, but it still burned his nostrils with a deceptively high content of alcohol.
Behind him, footsteps, accompanied with the tap of a cane caught his attention. Hurriedly, Jackson put the cap back on and shoved the bottle back in his bag, but didn't zip it shut. "Ah, now that feels much better." Mayfield said, coming up and plopping down next to his chair-bound friend. "Can you believe this train doesn't have a single loo aboard?"
"You didn't..." Jackson said with a dull pang of disgust. Although, he knew better.
"What?" Mayfield threw up his hands in defense. "It's not as if I let anyone see me, just a quick leak between the cars. Besides, you know the both of us have done much worse out in the field. One must do what one must."
"You could have waited. We're almost there."
"Yes, but I thought it might ruin the flow of things. After all, it's not like you get to be the first human to intentionally cross an inter-dimentional border between worlds every day. As far as we know. And with magic, no less!"
"That neither makes sense, or makes it ok." Jackson groused.
"Wet blanket." Mayfield muttered. His eyes roamed about the interior of the train car, sometimes drifting to the rushing countryside out the window. The scenes of forest was getting much more frequent and the climate colder as they traveled further north. Eventually, his vision roamed across Jackson's bag and focused on the bottle top discreetly poking out. "Oho, what's this then?" He said making a grab for it.
At this point, Jackson didn't even try to stop his friend. He didn't exactly have a plan on presenting it anyway. "Just a little something I thought we might share. Like a last drink or something."
"Share, my rotten arse, you've already gone and opened it." Mayfield put sourly.
"I only had a whiff."
"Then let us have a pour, shall we?" The Brit began rifling around Jackson's bag for a cup or a glass.
"Don't bother yourself, didn't bring a cup." Jackson told him.
"Huh?" Mayfield looked at him in a small measure of bewilderment. "You brought liquor, but nothing to put it in.
Jackson shrugged, "Thought I'd pick a few up when we got to where we're going."
Mayfield shook his head, "We'll have none of that," he said, twisting the cap off the bottle. "To our friends," he took a pull and handed it off to Jackson.
Well, it was tapped now. Jackson took the bottle and gauged the remaining liquid. Mayfield had gulped almost a fourth of it. "To our brothers," Jackson added before taking a swig himself. He handed the bottle back to Mayfield as the burn of the alcohol raced down his throat.
Mayfield took another swig before replacing the cap. "Good stuff, this," he said, placing the bottle back in the bag. "Shame I can't take any of it with me."
"And your cane?" Jackson said, pointing to the walking instrument.
Mayfield picked it up and twirled it around a little in the air. "Meh, I'll say I found it. Besides, shouldn't need it for much longer. Leg's been better. Gotta say though, it'd be nice if I could bring a few souvenirs back. Y'know, something to remind me of my time here apart from a few scars and two missing fingers."
Jackson eyed the small case by his feet at his friend's words. He had been planning to give it to Mayfield, but he wasn't sure when he should do it. Still, they'd already cracked the bottle and now was as good a time as any, he thought.
Jackson bent down and picked up the case, setting it on his lap. "There is one thing I think you can take back." He popped the case open and turned it towards Mayfield. "It might look odd, but it's one of a kind and technically of human design."
Mayfield's eyes widened as he looked at what was inside. Then slowly, he reached in and pulled out a uniquely designed pistol with a darkened tri-color paint job. "Jackie, I can't take this..." he said almost breathlessly as he examined the weapon's details. "This was your best mate's!"
"Exactly. Was."
"But... then why wouldn't you keep it?" Mayfield carefully replaced it, handling it like it was some priceless antique.
Jackson let go of a heavy breath. He closed the case back up, but set it down beside Mayfield rather than himself. "Because. Well, I don't know. I'm definitely not gonna need it. Not exactly in the best kind of shape anymore. And you know how it was back home before we left. They'll need your services now more than before. Even with a couple missing digits."
"You sure?" Mayfield said uneasily, gently taking the case and placing it in his own lap. "I mean, not to be too blunt, but you don't exactly have much of anything left of your mate to remember him by."
Jackson looked past him, staring out the window. "I'm sure. Probably best just to let it go." He said with a tinge of sadness. "Besides, he had a wonderful group of friends here. Ones that made him feel safe and at home as best they could. That'll be enough."
Mayfield lightly clapped him on the back, "You got it, mate. You got it."
=================================================
When they finally arrived at their destination, the two emerged from the train car and into the chilly air to see a nice little surprise waiting for them. There on the platform was not only the Princesses Celestia and Luna, but also more than a few familiar faces. The whole team was there, along with some more unexpected guests.
Before both Mayfield and Jackson were fully out of the doorway, they found themselves being showered with a swirling cloud of confetti that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. "Surprise!" Jackson would have leaped out of his chair were his legs still working as a pink cotton-maned filly materialized between him and Mayfield.
Mayfield stumbled back a bit, hand instinctively groping around his thigh for a weapon that wasn't there. "Bloody hell, Pinkamena, what was that for!?" he said, a little startled, but also somewhat entertained.
The bubble gum colored mare giggled and started bouncing away to the rest of the group, "I just said, silly! It was a surprise, for your surprise going away party!"
Mayfield looked confounded, "A surprise? Pinkie, we already knew I was leaving, how was that—" he suddenly felt a hand grip his arm.
Mayfield looked down to see Jackson shaking his head with a slight smile on his face, "It's Pinkie, man, c'mon."
Mayfield sighed and took a moment to gather himself and straighten his uniform back out, then went forward to the group with Jackson. The team was there; Iron, Cray, Swift, Redflare and Kai perched on two of the lamp posts. Even Sylver, helping Flash to stand up as he was now only balancing on his three remaining legs.
To their left, by the Princesses, were the girls. Pinkie bounced in to join their group. Twilight had here head in a book—no doubt reviewing, for the Nth time, the spell she was about to use—but paused long enough to look up with a smile and wave a hoof in greeting. Rarity and Applejack stood beside her, with Fluttershy poking her head out from behind them to get a better look. Then, just behind and above, was Rainbow Dash, keeping place in the air with a gentle flap of her wings.
"Well, look at that," Mayfield said. "Can't be much of a better way to go, yeah?"
"Don't think there is." Jackson agreed as they moved closer to the group.
Flash hobbled forward with some difficulty, but managed to draw up next to them, "You really ready to go?" He asked in a voice rougher than it used to be. He had accidentally inhaled some of the flames that had scarred his face and body, damaging the vocal cords.
"Sure thing, sad as it is," Mayfield said without looking down. "Just feel like I need to go back."
Flash gave Sylver a nod and the unicorn produced a bundle of fabric from a saddle bag as they joined the rest of the group. Sylver offered it to Mayfield who took it and unfolded a light jacket. "Little something for your troubles. Custom tailored."
Mayfield inspected the garment and found the RSTG patch sewn into the shoulder with a few other patches on the breast. Just inside, by the lining, he found a pattern of three azure diamonds stitched into the fabric. "Be sure to take the utmost care for that, it is top quality work." Mayfield lowered the jacket a bit to see Rarity staring straight at him with a warning gaze. "I have seen the absolute brutish ways you gentlecolts like to treat your clothing, after all."
"Sure thing, love. Really though, thanks." Mayfield said with a grin as he moved to shove it in under his snow white parka.
"Ah ah ah!" The unicorn mare stared daggers at him. "Fold it, if you please." Mayfield muttered something under his breath, but was still smiling as he begrudgingly followed her instruction.
Jackson watched as Mayfield moved up and started saying his goodbyes to everyone. He felt like he should have been up there with him, but there wasn't really much he had to go back to, if anything. He had no more family that he knew of, his condition wouldn't allow him to continue serving his purpose back there and he felt there was something else. Something that was holding him back, just a feeling in his gut.
As he thought, he spotted Dash hovering in the air, still in the same spot as when they'd arrived. She didn't seem to keen on coming down and joining the rest of her friends. In fact, she seemed to have a lot else on her mind all together. To his surprise, she caught him looking and adjusted her wings, fluttering down towards him. Jackson shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, she was likely to still be wanting some answers, especially after their last talk.
Instead, she just landed softly beside him, watching things from his point of view. After a moment, she surprised him by speaking, "So, you're still gonna stay, huh?" She still sounded somewhat withdrawn, but a little better than last time.
"Yeah, I guess."
"You still gonna use that place you got in town?"
Jackson was caught off guard by the question. He hadn't really given it much thought. He supposed he could, but that didn't exactly seem right. It would just feel empty without anybody there to share it with. Plus, he couldn't really get up into his own room any more without some help or pulling himself up the stairs with his arms.
"Nah, I don't think so. Probably move somewhere a bit more flat. That place where Quick has her new shop is pretty nice, out of the way. Plus, Aria lives over there with Sparks and their kid. Might be nice just to have a few neighbors."
"You sure? You could just use me and James' old place, y'know."
Jackson thought about that. But no, it didn't feel right. Plus it was kind of a hassle for him to get to now. Still, he'd have to go back there sometime, see what he could find that was left of his friend and brother. "I'm alright. Thanks," he declined. "What about you? You gonna be ok?"
"I'll be fine. I can just build a new place out of some clouds. Perks of being a pegasus." Jackson chuckled a little at that. "I still have this at least," she lifted the gem that still hung around her neck. Every time he looked at it, Jackson was mesmerized by it's strange new glow. "I don't know why," Dash continued, "but every time I look at it, I feel better. Like he's still here with me."
"Yeah," Jackson said, "hold onto that. I'm not sure what it is, but it feels important. Keep it safe."
By this time, Mayfield was finished with his parting words and shaking hooves. He marched straight up to the Princesses, chest proudly out. "Right then, Your Majesties. How should we go about this? We doin' this right here?"
"Not quite." Celestia answered. "There are still some things we are unsure about, as this has never been attempted through an intentional spell for many eons."
"That so? Well how hard could it be? Magic, eh?"
At this point, Twilight slapped her book closed. "Very. It could be very difficult, almost impossible. There's so much we can't account for, the apparent difference in the flow of time between our two worlds chief among them. We won't know if we've sent you back to the right place or years into the future. We know there is some degree of expansion, but not wether it is of a fixed rate or exponential. Not to mention, the absolutely massive amount of energy this will require."
It was here that Luna took over, "It's for these reasons that we must travel to your previous point of entry. If it was there that it occurred naturally, then he may be able to coax the ethereal energies there into assisting us with our task."
Mayfield raised his eyebrows. Not quite the answer he had been expecting. "All right. Then when do we start? Shall we pile into a carriage or will we be flying there?"
"Neither." Celestia said. "While we are close to the area of your discovery, we feel the sooner we start on this project, the better chance of success we will have. We will be teleporting there, the four of us. This will be the last time you see your friends here."
The weight of what he was about to do seemed to fully fall on Mayfield's shoulders at that. It was such a minute slump that Jackson almost missed it. "Oh. I guess all those goodbyes just now were for good then." He then straightened himself up again, doing his best to project that stoic stiff upper lip. "Jackson!" He said, turning back around for the briefest moment. "You take care of yourself, got it? I don't want to have to come back and kick your arse out of depression, right?"
Jackson faintly smiled at the clearly empty threat. "You got it." To Mayfield's rear, the Princesses' horns began to glow as they crossed, drawing power for their spell. "Just don't go and get yourself killed. And say hi to Gary for me."
Mayfield chuckled, "That asshole? I will if he hasn't already forgotten."
Then there was a flash of swirling dark and golden light, a clap as previously displaced air rushed back into the now empty space. They were gone. Jackson sat there for a moment, not quite sure what to do next. He felt as if his own little world just gained another great volume of vacuum.
"All aboard!" Somewhere a conductor called out, the train was about to leave.
"C'mon, buddy." Dash said, turning to board the train.
The rest of her friends followed, Pinkie already chatting about making plans for a proper party with Mayfield as it's honorary absentee guest of honor. The RSTG began to move as well, Flash giving Jackson a nod as he hobbled by. Jackson felt a bump on his shoulder and smiled at Cray and Iron as they passed by.
"You coming with?"
Jackson glanced up and saw Redflare hovering just above him. "Yeah, just give me a sec."
"Don't take too long, train's about to leave."
"Got it."
He waited just one more second longer, staring at the space where his last connection to his old life had been. Then, slowly and with a bit of resistance, he turned his wheels and headed back onto the train. He didn't know what the future held for him now, broken as he was. But at least he had some good friends with him to help him toward it. In the end though, he thought, whatever was gained or lost, that was what mattered.
Jackson felt a brush of wind beside him and a claw fall on his shoulder. He looked over and flinched a bit as he almost poked his eye on a beak. "Oh, Kai. What's up man?"
"Are you coming on the train with us, brother?"
Jackson blinked and looked around. He was still on the threshold, the blue-green stallion in a cunductor's uniform giving him a strange look. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, spaced out for a second." Quickly, he continued fully into the car with the large griffon.
"I do not mind. Tell me, where are you staying?"
"Got a nice spot I'm thinkin' about out away from the town." Jackson answered as he rolled to the back of the car. It lurched a little as the engine exerted it's pull.
Kai smiled, "I've come to be fond of this place. Would it be too much trouble if I joined you?"
Jackson grinned a bit as he pulled up next to an empty bench and began to strap his chair to it. "'Course you can. Sure." He said, entirely confident in his words. "All of you can. All of my friends. My brothers and sisters." His world didn't feel so empty.
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Let the cries of fans commenting "SEQUEL" fill the comment section! HUZZAH! SEQUEL! SEQUEL!
Another good story mate! Hopefully you continue with this awesome story! Till next time!
>Insert obligatory sequel demands
Six months later James gets kicked out of a wormhole with the sound of an angry voice coming out of the void between worlds " Take him back! We dont want him! he keeps ruining all of our fun ... and he drinks like a fish... "
A very good story man. This was a really fun ride. Too bad it is over. I still have your picture in the works. I wanted to get it to you before the end of the story, but life's complications decided to tie me to the radiator and grape me in the mouth. I'll try to get it to you ASAP.
3635109
Take your time with it
Another great end to another great story! Wow, just fantastic. ^^
Really sad to see mayfield go the lovable bastard.
Hm...well, I decided to save reading the whole thing for last because after the dozen or so chapters into this one, I didn't like it so much, but now I can read the whole thing.
Oh, and will there be a sequel?
That ending tugged at my heart, but also filled me with pride for your characters. A great conclusion to a great story, and just open enough to leave space for more.
I do hope that you continue to write. These have been my favorite stories out of al the fics I've read, and it would make me very happy to see more from you. So keep it up, man!
Its sad to see the Brit leave the group but at least Jackson still has all his new friends still.
Hmm thinking about making this a trilogy?
Sad but good ending for an amazing story.
But there's one thing I hate, and that's endings. Endings mean the story's over and won't continue.
That was an absolutely amazing ending. I really hope there will be a trilogy in the works! This story really grasped all the best elements of a proper good story! Great characters and development, an interesting and believable plot line, enough action to shake a stick at, all the while keeping it relatively slow paced and even throwing in romance as an element (And possible story line for the third one ;)). This story was an absolute masterpiece! Keep up the good work man! You're one of my favorite authors!
One error.
Fourth, with a u. 'Forth' means to move forward, metaphorically or literally. Fourth means a quarter or the item after the third (and before the fifth!) in a list.
Edit - Loved both of these stories, and absolutely hope it's continued into a third.
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE ANOTHER!
A few errors with homophones that I noticed here and there.
If you pour over books or papers, you are dousing them in liquid. Which is really a curious way to try to get information from them. Counterproductive, even.
If you pore over them, you are reading them intently.
To be in a difficult circumstance is to be in dire straits, not dire straights.
If you want to know how someone is doing, you ask how they fare, not how they fair.
Well done, it's always sad to see a great story come to an end, but I'm grateful that you actually finish what you start. I guess I'll chime in and say go for the trilogy.
I'm still waiting for the scene where Kaughn's hand thrusts out of the rubble or something.
If Kaughn comes back, that necklace will have something fo do with it.
Holyshit, didn't eve know you made a sequel or had been writting it, I was just checking displacement and looking to see if tit had a link to a new one that you may have written. Didn't even think to check your profile page, and holy shit there are a lot of chapters. Mentally preparing myself for this
Damn it! Why the hell did this make me cry?
Either way, it was a great ending for a great story.
Fantastic piece of work! Bravo! Encore!
MY FEELS!
SO SAD
NEEDS SEQUEL
Oh Celesta my feels! This was a great ending for an amazing story. Now what NEEDS to happen in the sequel is, (A small section on Mayfield going to the human world and explaining where he has been maybe add a few funny moments, Jackson goes to see Zecora about the rainbow stone (because the rainbow stone was a bitch of a cliff hanger), and James coming back because of the rainbow stone) that's all i want from the first 1 or 2 chapters. If it happens then i will love you forever
, if not then ill still love you forever because your a great writer 
That fucking stone dude... what a cliffhanger. I think I already know about it though. Both stories were great either way, SEQUEL PLEASE! I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!
Please make a trilogy. I am forever grateful that you shared your writing skills with us. This story hit me almost as hard as My Little Dashie and I can't stand the pain. Please with all the goodness in your heart, make this a happy ending.
I DEMAND MOAR!!!!
pweese?
5047935
Done by Carlos Hathcock, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest snipers in the world. Even he admitted such a shot was mostlu luck.
Plus, hitting a sniper scope a relatively short distance away and hitting a moving target over a mile away are two different matters entirely.
I get the feeling that there should be something else here, odd.
5107765 Ha. I won't spoil it for you. XP
Bruh... I can't believe I just stopped reading... I gotta read up on my origins!
For fucks sake make more!
I loved the story but I am unsatisfied with the ending. I just hate tragic endings. Good job though.
Question, Am I the only one who imagines the Lotkin to look like lizalfos?
I was on the verge of tears reading that story.
It was really sad to see James go... I think his official status is KIA... but I was wrong from the first story about his status, so who knows.
And now I've got this read too.
Good shit, good shit. But I seriously feel like there were way too many hints about James' destiny at the end there.
However, could just be me overthinking as usual.
This is a god damn good series, now I would love to move on to the third story since it seems to be a sequel of kinds. But that "On Hiatus" is scaring me a bit on the story :D I guess I'll just have to wait then. Thanks for bringing good content on this site!
6706992 how was that even funny?
Another gem that has been found and sadly come to end. It had plenty of hidden surprises, great turns, and plenty of o'so glorious battles. As sad as the ending is I would say its perfect. You can't always have a happy ending and it wraps up nicely enough that your not totally wondering what or how it happened, but also leaves your mind wandering to other possibilities such as how does mayfeild fair, how will jackson handle his new life, and most importantly is Equestria truly in the clear. Overall a great story. Albeit I would have an editor walk through it to clear up the spelling mistakes for future readers.
Is anybody else curious about how James managed to actually stay dead?
Read it, love it, want more of it.
With the details I'd bet money that the author hasa few years of active duty experience.
💛
A few things I wanted to mention before leaving this story,
At the beginning of this story I misunderstood the nationality of Mayfield and thought he was Australian, always read his parts in the voice of sniper from TF2, I think it made the story better for me, the voice was always easy to remember if I put the story down for a few days.
By pure coincidence, I also ended up playing modded Fallout 4 when halfway through this story and got a chance to put name to faces for some of the guns, I think that made this story even better for me. Here's a link to the mod I used for anyone interested. It has a whole bunch of well made guns. James pistol he leaves Flash, the M1911, is in there and the M249 (I think was on the airship?) Fun mod, gave a bit more depth to the story for me.
Great story, although I wish the sequel was finished it probably never will be what with being on hiatus for six years as of now. I'm still going to read at least some of if not all of it. Thanks for the good read!
10927474
Just in case my link dies in the distant future, the fallout 4 mod I mentioned was called "Combined Arms - Modern Weapon Pack" and it was on nexus mods.
These sort of stories are my favorite I've loved every chapter of both this and Displacement, always feel empty after finishing something I am really invested in, and if indeed the other story is a sequel, seeing it on Hiatus for so long is disheartening but I will be reading it anyway, I have never cared about so many side characters and OC's as much as I have for the ones in this story. Thank you.