//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Jack's Fortitude // Story: The Siege on Equestria // by Nintendoboy1000 //------------------------------// Chapter 6 As Jack led Twilight, Rarity, and Spike through building to building, he felt more cautious than ever. Jack knew that by now, the soldier would have found the unconscious soldiers, and tightened up security. Not only that, he started to feel a dark and sinister presence somewhere off the distance. Not knowing what was causing this sensation, he tried his best to ignore it. While they continued their way towards their next destination, the group begun to notice more soldiers patrolling the area. The group knew that the entire racket they created so far must have triggered more reinforcements. Seeing as things were going to be complicated, Jack stopped and turned to his friends. “Alright, listen. From this point on, we need to be extra careful of our surroundings. The soldiers must have picked up some strange activity. We have to hurry and get the others, before things get out of ha-…” Jack paused for a moment, knowing he will screw up every time he mixes up hand and hoof. “Anyways… how close are we to our destination, Twilight?” Twilight closed her eyes to pinpoint the location within her consciousness. A Few seconds later she opened her eyes and nodded. “We’re halfway there. Though, we need to go though the houses to further our progress.” She looked up and spotted an opened window just a story high. She pointed her hoof at the opened window and everyone looked towards that direction. “We should go through that window there.” “Alright, I’ll try and climb up there and hoist you all up.” Jack replied. However, just before he could react, Spike flinched in surprise as he saw something on Jack’s back. He realized that Jack was not only a bipedal pony, but a pegasus as well. “Hold up, Jack. Couldn’t you use your wings to lift us up there?” Spike asked. Jack turned around and faced Spike with an embarrassed look on his face. “I… I can’t.” Jack replied solemnly. Spike tilted his head to the side. “Why not? He asked quizzically. Just before Jack could answer, Rarity stepped in. “Darling, have you ever been practicing since you left?” Jack looked at the ground, and then trailed his eyes up to Rarity, feeling guilty. “I tried… but… but they’re weaker than I could have imagined.” Jack confessed. “Though, I am able to glide for a short period of time. I don’t know why I’ve been given a pegasus body, but now’s not the time to point out my flaws here.” After a brief moment to prepare his jump, Jack sprinted towards the wall, placed his back hooves on the wall while running upward for a brief moment, then leaped skyward and caught the ledge using both hooves. He looked up and the opened window was just above him. As he was left hanging on the ledge, Jack looked down to the others. “Alright, just climb on to me and leap into the…” At that moment, Jack saw that the group was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Jack looked from left to right, yet no sign of them anywhere. “Guys…?” Jack called out quietly. “Jack… pst!” Twilight responded. Jack heard her voice from above, and looked up. There, he spotted Twilight, Rarity, and Spike looking down at him from out of the window. Perplexed and bamboozled, Jack shot a puzzled look. “H-How did you-“ “Teleportation. It’s really a handy tool.” Twilight replied. “Here, let me help you out.” Jack could only glare grumpily at Twilight, knowing he was outwitted with his own plan. “Right…” Jack mumbled. As Twilight focused on her magic, she encased Jack in a purplish aura. Seconds later, Jack’s body flashed out from existence, and then reappeared behind Twilight and the group. Jack felt bewildered for a brief moment, knowing he never experienced magic before. He looked at Twilight with a slight grin. “Thanks…” Jack said, before looking forward. “Alright, let’s keep moving.” The group started to stealth forward towards the door, carefully not to make the wooden floor squeak. As they approached the doorway, Jack turned the knob and opened the door. Taking a quick peek through the doorway, Jack saw no guards anywhere. Assured that it was safe to come out, Jack opened the door fully, and proceeded forward once more. On the other side of the room, Jack spotted another opened window that he could use. Yet, he had to keep out of sight from downstairs. He turned to his friends and gave them a simple nod. Once they walked out of the room, they went down on their stomachs, and crawled forward. Half way towards their destination, they heard distressed weeping coming from downstairs. Instantly, Rarity produced a quiet gasp as she recognized the sound of the voice. “I-Is that…?” Eager and anxious to find out, Rarity peaked over from downstairs… and silently gasped in horror. Downstairs were four soldiers guarding a single steeled cage. Inside the cage were Derpy Hooves, Rose Luck, and… “Sweetie Belle…!” Rarity spoke in a dreadful tone. Inside the cage, Sweetie Belle was curled up in a ball, weeping and tending to her bruised arm. Jack, Spike, and Twilight turned around and noticed that Rarity was being left behind. Wondering what had gotten her attention, Spike turned around and crawled over to Rarity. Once he was at her side, Spike stared at her, puzzled. “Rarity…? What’s wrong?” Spike whispered. Not wanting to take her eyes off of her little sister, Rarity was left speechless. Spike looked over to where Rarity was looking at, and slightly gasped as well. “Whoa…” He mumbled. Spike was about to ask Rarity another question when he noticed she was in a traumatized state. Rarity remembered what happened last time she had a dilemma with her younger sister. During her time within the catacombs, she encountered an illusion of Sweetie Belle in her grotesque form. Rarity remembered Sweetie Belle’s mane was severely messed up. Her neck was coated in her own blood, like it had been recently scalped. She also had a broken horn, two dislocated legs, and a stitched mark that was located next to her heart area. But worst of all, she was being used as a flail to attack her older sister. The reason for her ungodly form was from all the abused and neglectful times Sweetie Belle had dealt with because of Rarity. From that moment on, Rarity gradually regretted pushing aside her young sister for her own benefits. By looking at Sweetie Belle now, Rarity’s dreadful regrets started worming inside her mind, envisioning her with the horrible memories she had down at the damned catacombs. “Sweetie Belle…” Rarity moaned in grief. As she continued to stare helplessly at her younger sister, she began to produce tears. She bit her bottom lips, and quietly wept. Seeing her younger sister in distress and in pain made Rarity eager to jump in to save Sweetie Belle. But from her failed attempts to counter a soldier she was held back. Not knowing what to do, Rarity was facing a dreadful dilemma. Yet just as madness was breaking through her sanity, Spike placed a helpful claw on Rarity’s shoulder, giving her a concerned look. “Rarity…?” Spike whispered again. The feeling of Spike’s claw being place on her shoulder pad and the sound of his voice snapped Rarity out of her train of thought. She quickly looked at Spike, then at Jack. “Jack… please, help my young sister. I… I don’t know if I’ll ever live with myself if my sweet sister is in pain… or worse.” Jack was thrown off guard for a brief moment from her request. Despite his mission to save his friends, he felt unsure of confronting another pony he never met. From all the ponies he met so far, Jack had second thoughts of saving the town folks. In fact, he was willing to keep his sanity and humanity intact. Not given enough time to think this over, Jack eyed to the side and produced a slight sigh. “I… I can’t. She’ll be alright if she’s remained in her-“ “But Jack… she’s my sister.” Rarity responded quietly. “Why won’t you help her?” Jack knew he was in no position to keep things in the dark, yet he had to for his own sake. “I…” “Or better yet, why are you saving us six first?” Rarity replied. “Hey! Who’s up there?” A soldier from downstairs said. Rarity and Spike gasped, knowing they were discovered. Almost immediately, a soldier started walking towards the stairs, loading his rifle. With no time to waste, Rarity and Spike started working their way towards the opened window. They couldn’t stand up and run, since that would blow their cover. The soldier was halfway up the stairs, and both Spike and Rarity were not near the exit. Jack knew he had to get his hooves dirty once more since they don’t have enough time to make it. But just before Jack could make a move, he suddenly noticed Rarity and Spike was encased in a purple aura. In a split second, both disappeared in a flash. Bewildered and shocked, Jack flinched from the unexpected turn of events. “W-Whah?” Jack sputtered. All of a sudden, Jack found himself encased in a purplish aura. At that moment, Jack knew that this was the work of Twilight’s magic. Taking one last glance at the soldier who was on top of the stairs, he closed his eyes and exhaled. A few seconds later, Jack opened his eyes once more to see the group. He looked up and noticed he was outside the house. Knowing the guard would search outside the window, Jack leaped inside a nearby bush. Twilight, Rarity, and Spike knew exactly what to do, and hid along beside him. Once they were inside the bush with Jack, they kept quiet and waited for the soldier. As they expected, the soldier peered through the window, looking left to right. While the soldier took a long investigation around his surroundings, the group was dead quiet. No one dared to breathe or even move at that moment. All they were focusing on was keeping themselves invisible to the enemy. A few seconds of utter silence later, the soldier retreated back into the house. “Hey, be sure to lock up any windows next time, will ya?” The soldier exclaimed, as he closed the window shut. Once the soldier left, everybody sighed in relief. Everyone exited out of the bush, and brushed off any loose twigs and leaves. Once they were done, Spike turned to Twilight and displayed a slight grin. “Thanks Twilight.” Twilight nodded her head in return. “Right, now let’s continue on an-“ “Hold on for a moment, Twilight dear.” Rarity interrupted. Twilight turned her attention to Rarity, who looked indignantly at Jack. Confused by her behavior, Twilight sealed her lips to listen to what Rarity had to say. “Jack… just why… why didn’t you save my sister back there? She was hurt and scared… yet you choose to ignore her.” While Rarity continued on her little rant, Jack remained silent and let her words slip right through him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you Jack, but if you’re attempting to save us all, then please save the ones that-“ “Rarity…” Jack interrupted, looking at the ground woefully. “You know… I can’t shoulder the burden of everypony's safety.” “Then why are you saving us six first?!” Rarity responded, this time her anger rising. Hearing that question made Jack gasp lightly. He knew that question would come eventually, and yet he wasn’t prepared. He was so frustrated that his hooves were shaking from keeping the answer back. “Because… because…” Just before Jack could continue, Rarity stomped the ground with her hoof. “Because of what?! That you don’t have the capability of saving every pony’s lives through sheer effort?! That their lives are not as important as-“ “It’s because you six are the only ones that makes my life meaningful!” Jack snapped, as he replied out in frustration. Spike, Twilight, and Rarity held their breaths, as they were caught off guard by the slight truth. “I would have willingly died down there in the catacombs if it weren’t for you six! For the first time in my life, I found something worth fighting for… and protecting. I don’t know what I would do… if you all… were gone.” Jack made a frustrated grunt and walked towards the corner of a building. He placed his forehead and a forearm against the wall, and then sighed in irritation. At this moment, Spike leaned over to Twilight, curious and confused at the missing information she failed to mention about Jack. “What’s gotten him worked up? What did he mean by ‘willingly’?” Spike asked. Twilight eyed over to Spike, slowly shaking her head. “You don’t want to know…” Spike tilted his head at this. “Why?” “Well-“ Just as Twilight was about to continue, Jack suddenly burst out once more. “Look… I don’t want to discuss this any longer. Let’s just worry about our friends first, and then deal with the other ponies later. I want to get through this without…” Jack paused himself for a brief moment, knowing he was about to reveal the real reason. He turned his whole body back around and started walking towards the corner of the alleyway. “Never mind… let’s just go.” Jack sighed. Spike ran up to Jack to catch up, while Twilight took a moment to assist Rarity. Rarity looked back with distressed on her face. “Twilight… what’s happening to Jack?” Rarity asked. “I don’t know yet… but Jack’s right.” Twilight replied. “We can’t be saving every pony at this time, it will cause a huge racket and we’ll be overrun by soldiers. Let’s focus on saving our friends first.” “But…” Rarity couldn’t finish her sentence, because the thought of Sweetie Belle clouded her mind. Looking back at her younger sister now, Rarity was feeling sick in her stomach to the thought of ignore her. She looked away and sighed deeply. Twilight knew what she was going through, as she can relate that feeling with Spike. But she knew now was not the right time to be moaning for her younger sister’s condition, as a more important matter was at hand. Twilight walked up to Rarity, rubbed the back of Rarity’s neck and made a subtle smile. “Don’t worry… she’ll be alright, I promise.” Twilight whispered. Rarity looked up to Twilight, giving her a friendly grin of her own. “Thank you…” Twilight nodded. “Now let’s get going.” The two unicorns got back up to their hooves and they went over to Jack and Spike, who were waiting for the both of them. As the group quietly worked their way towards their destination, they encountered several soldiers patrolling across the streets in a decent line. They eventually snuck passed them by using several places to hide behind. With quick timing, the group hurried across from building to building with ease. Along the way they encountered several more buildings that they went in through. Each house they snuck inside, Jack looked down at the trapped ponies in their cages, crying and mewling. Some of them were insulting the soldiers with racism comments, and others were frightened by their very presence. The more ponies Jack met, the less faith he had in his very existence. It was all just the same, being shunned and blamed for the human’s cruel nature. The soldiers cared less about their petty comments, but Jack knew that those comments were being fired towards him. Almost every harsh comment the ponies threw at the soldiers was either true or just too painful for Jack to cope with. Often, the truths would try and overtake Jack’s mind, showing more horrific memories of his past. The more memories he was shown, the greater the pain. But with Twilight, Rarity, and Spike at his side, Jack endured the hateful comments the caged ponies thrashed upon the soldiers. With great stealth, the group eventually went passed the houses with ease. Finally, after what had been forty minutes of sneaking around, the group were almost at their destination. Twilight could sense two of her friends right next to each other, just located right behind the house they were behind. Twilight looked at Jack, giving him a simple nod, indicating that they were at their destination. Jack returned the nod, and waited for her response. With no time to waste, Twilight went to the corner of the house, and leaned over to the side to take a peek. Instantly, she made a shocking gasp, and then she retreated her head back. Eager to know what she spotted, the group went silent. With one slight nod to confirm, Twilight spoke up. “I found two of our friends… just as I expected.” “Well… who are they?” Spike eagerly asked. “Take a look…” Twilight replied. The group huddled with each other towards the corner of the house, sticking their heads out and gasped in unison. Out in the middle of a three-way dirt junction was a dozen of soldiers, surrounding a portable cage cart containing Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and the flower trio. Rainbow Dash was wearing a cast round her wing from the gunfire incident, while Applejack had a black eye and a few cuts from her unexpected encounter with a soldier. Rainbow Dash was pacing around the cage grunting in frustration, while the others were lying in the cage feeling their full extent of despair. Taking one good look at the setup, the group quickly retreated their heads back in. “Now what are we gonna do?” Twilight asked. Rarity and Spike replied with a shrug. All eyes were then set onto Jack, hoping he would come up with an idea. “Jack?” Rarity asked. Jack folded his forearms, closed his eyes and pondered. Everyone was quiet, hoping that he would come up with an idea. It only took a few short moments for Jack to open his eyes again. Then, he examined his surroundings, trying to look for something. At that moment, Jack caught a glimpse of a rock just located a few yards away. Then he trailed his eyes up to the farthest window. He squinted his eyes, and pondered if his plan would work. “Twilight…” Jack finally spoke. He turned his head around and looked at Twilight. “You can levitate objects with your magic, can you?” “Well yeah… I am a unicorn.” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. Jack nodded his head. “Okay… can you see that rock over there?” Jack pointed his hoof to the rock’s direction. It only took a few seconds for Twilight to catch the glimpse of it. She nodded her head, still wondering about Jack’s plan. “Yeah… what do you want me to do with it?” Twilight asked. Jack pointed his hoof to the window he spotted. “I want you to toss that rock up into that window, that way, I believe more than half of these guards will go into that house to check out what has happened.” Already, Twilight was shocked to hear his plan. “Y-You want me to… throw a r-rock at that window? I can’t break property, it’s against my-“ “Right… Rarity?” Jack said, as he passed the task over to Rarity. Immediately, she nodded her head. “With pleasure, darling. Do you want me to do it now?” “No, I’m going up on top of this building, and once I’m in position, I will give you the signal to do it.” Jack said. He looked up to the roof of the building, and gave off a tired sigh. With no time to waste, Jack began to work his way up using wooden ledges. The group watched his astounding feat with awe, never seen such impressive skills coming from a bipedal pony. In about two flat minutes, Jack made his way up to the roof. He sat down and began to catch his breath. During that time, he stared at his own two hooves. “God I miss my hands…” Jack muttered. After he was finished collecting his breath, Jack look down at the ponies, who were staring right back at him. He threw a quick gesture towards the side. Knowing it’s her queue, Rarity looked at the rock yonder. Her horn illuminated, and the rock began to levitate. With one mighty heave, the rock was launched skyward. The rock smashed the window, causing several shards of glass to fly into the house. At that moment, all the soldiers’, including the caged ponies attentions were drawn towards the sound. “What was that?!” A soldier exclaimed. Almost immediately, one of the soldiers threw a gesture towards the broken window. “Don’t just stand there like idiots, MOVE!!” In a matter of seconds, seven soldiers proceeded towards the house with the broken window, their rifles at hand. As Jack watched the soldiers entered the house, he paid close attention to their belts. Luckily, none of the soldiers that entered the house was carrying the key. He looked down at the four remaining soldiers guarding the cage. There, he spotted the key located on a soldier’s utility belt. “There it is…” Jack mumbled to himself. Ready to make his daring move, Jack stood up and angled his position towards his target. Unsure of what the outcome of this quick ambush will be, Jack began to ponder a quick plan inside his head. Okay, stay calm Jack, you got this. Jack spoke to himself in his consciousness. There are four guarding from each corner of the cage. If I can take out two soldiers in a row, without letting them fire their assault rifles to cause a commotion, I should be in the clear. Jack closed his eyes for a moment and assessed his techniques for the encounter. In a few seconds, Jack completed his quick plan in his head and was ready for action. Jack looked down at his target, taking one deep breath. At that moment, Jack extended both of his wings to the side. He took a quick look at both of them. “Don’t fail me now wings…” He whispered to both of this wings. Ready for action, Jack started to run towards the edge of the roof. At the precise moment when he set his hoof on the edge, he leaped forward and put his wings to work. As expected, he glided down perpendicularly towards the unexpected soldier. Once Jack was in range for his glide kick attack, he retracted his wings, performed a front flip while in midair, launched both of his legs forward, and kicked the soldier’s head. Immediately afterwards, Jack took out his collapsible bo-staff, spun it around to extend the staff, and charged forward. The soldier had a single moment to take a glance at Jack before being whacked across the neck by the staff. During that abrupt scene, the five caged ponies gasped at the sudden ambush. On the other side of the cage, the two soldiers turned around and jumped in surprised by the sudden attack. Both of the soldiers took out their assault rifles and pointed them at Jack. One of them was about to fire away until Jack swiftly tossed the staff like a spear. The end of the staff hit the soldier’s windpipe, causing the soldier to fall down. With one soldier left standing, the soldier had his finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. Jack knew that he didn’t have enough time to interrupt the gunfire. Suddenly, the rifle illuminated in a light bluish aura. In a split second, the rifle floated in midair, leaving the soldier disarmed. Then the butt of the rifle bashed the soldier’s neck, causing instant knock out. Jack felt surprised to see that an unexpected event just occurred. He darted his eyes to the other side of the road and noticed Rarity’s horn illuminating. Relieved to know that the last soldier was quietly dealt with, Jack picked up his collapsible bo staff and walked towards the unconscious soldier holding the key to the lock. The ponies in the cage were baffled and speechless. They tried to find who was responsible for taking out the soldiers, yet they couldn’t see their savior. Momentarily, Rainbow Dash spotted a head popping under the cage. She walked over to the edge of the cage, looked down and managed to produce a short and tiny gasp. “No way…” She murmured, recognizing the savior before her. Her face profoundly lit up from the moment she instantly knew who he was. “No… way!” Rainbow Dash blissfully repeated herself. Applejack noticed Dash’s voice boarding to a joyful level and was curious to know what had gotten into her. She sat up and met up with Rainbow Dash. She gave a confusing look at the rainbow pegasus first, but something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked down and produced an instant gasp. “It’s you!” Applejack spoke surprisingly. Just as Jack retrieved the key from the soldier’s belt, he slowly turned his head to meet with two more of his friends. “Hey guys… it’s been a while.” Jack said, displaying his usual friendly smile. At that moment, Rainbow Dash started to giggle slowly. Overtime, her giggle progressed its way into ecstasy. A slight tear came rushing out of her eye. “Oh my gosh! It really is you Jack! I can’t believe that your back!” Dash expressed herself vividly. “Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” Twilight called out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash swerved their heads to the sound of her voice. Their eyes widened from seeing their friends arriving at the scene as well. “Twi! Spike! Rarity!” Applejack spoke happily. As Twilight, Spike, and Rarity rushed over to meet with the others, Jack unlocked the cage. He opened the door and the first pony to rush out was Rainbow Dash. She zoomed out of the cage, flew over to her friends and gave all three of them one big hug. Applejack leaped out of the cage and met with the others. Each pony gathered around and formed a big hug circle. The group giggled and bounced for joy. “Oh mah stars! Thank Celestia you gals were alright!” Applejack said. “I’m glad you two were doing alright as well!” Rarity added. While the group had their moment together, Jack watched them from behind. He smiled, knowing they were happy with each other. But Jack knew it wasn’t the time to mess around, as his mission placed him back in line. He dropped his smile and stared at the dumbfounded flower trio. They were curled up in a corner together, giving Jack confused and intimidated looks. “You three go hide somewhere safe till this whole thing is over. Go.” Jack ordered in a stoic tone. Jack knew that he shouldn’t be using that tone, but with all the hardships he endured, it almost felt natural to him. Without hesitation, Daisy, Rose Luck, and Lily got up to their hooves and walked out of the cage. Jack watched the three wordless ponies walked pass by him without even giving the slightest gratitude. Just as the three ponies set their way towards a hiding spot, Daisy looked back at Jack one last time. She observed Jack’s unusual body, from top to bottom. When she was done, she displayed a slight grimace in disgust. After that, she went with the others and disappeared into the alleyway. Jack gave off a slight depressing sigh before looking down at the ground dully. “Jack!” Called out Applejack. Jack snapped back to his usual self and turned his attention to the group running towards him. As they arrived to Jack, Rainbow Dash gave him a hug. “Thank you for coming back, Jack.” Rainbow Dash said, releasing Jack from her hug. “So how are your wings coming along?” “I… I can’t seem to fly yet… but I managed by myself to glide for a certain amount of time.” Jack replied. Dash tilted her head to the side and chuckled. She placed her hoof on Jack’s wings and observed them lightly. “Well, I’ll be sure to get these bad boys up and running with my help of course. So how are you doing?” Dash asked. Jack eyed away for a moment. “I’m alright… I’m doing good…” He said with unease in his tone. Applejack noticed right away that Jack’s face was becoming pale. “Somethin’ the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Just before Jack could answer back, the group suddenly heard multiple clicks. “FREEZE!!” The group turned their attention towards the left and spotted several dozens of soldiers running towards them. The soldiers filed up in a barricade line, aiming their deadly weapons at the defenseless group. Jack’s eyes narrowed, as he growled in frustration. “God damn it…” Jack muttered. He looked at the group, and sure enough they were left aghast. With no time to let the enemies surround them, Jack hastily whipped out his bo staff and charged towards the stampede soldiers. Rarity struck her forearm out to reach for Jack. “Jack, no! What are you-“ “RUN! GET YOURSELVES OUT OF HERE!” Jack responded hastily. The group knew at this scale, Jack would be no match. They could predict that Jack might throw his life away in just a few matter of moments. Not willing to let Jack go through with this, Twilight tried her best to conjure her teleportation magic to get Jack out of there. But it was too late, Jack leaped into the air and plummeted into the wave of soldiers. Just as Jack landed on top of the soldier, he furiously spun around his bo staff skyward. This knocked a few soldiers to the side, disarming them in the process. After that, Jack performed a front flip, evading a soldier’s line of fire. While in midair, Jack performed a devastating axe kick to the soldier’s head. Using quick reflexes, Jack got back up to his hooves and performed several melee attacks towards other soldiers. He performed a series of swift punches on their chests, then added a sidekick or two to deliver fatal blows. He even added jumping hook kicks and tornado kicks along with this combo attacks. During his offense, he used his instincts to dodge and evade the soldiers’ punches and kicks. It was a brutal brawl for Jack, and he felt that his sharp skills were starting to wane every second that passed by. He knew that he couldn’t hold them for much longer, but it was for the sake of his friend’s safety. As the fight continued uninterrupted, the group watched in awe from witnessing Jack’s improvement in swift combat. Especially for Spike, as his mouth was agape the whole time. “Wooooah…” Spike uttered in astonishment. He never witnessed anything remarkable and phenomenal in all his years. Yet, the more the group watched, the more they felt eager to get him out of there. But just as they couldn’t watch anymore, the group heard multiple footsteps coming from behind. The group turned around and gasped from the sight of more soldiers pouring in. In a matter of seconds, the soldiers surrounded the ponies, encroaching them in a barricade of assault rifles. As Jack continued his assault, he spotted the group being surrounded by reinforcements. He gasped and attempted to rush over to them in their aid. Jack leaped on top of a soldier’s shoulder pads, and leaped into the air. “HOLD ON GUYS!!” Jack called out. Suddenly, soldiers were open firing at Jack in midair. At that time, the line of fire worked its way towards Jack. In a shocking revelation, the bullets managed to go right through his right leg. Jack yelped in pain, causing him to plummet to the ground. The blood on his leg was smeared on the dirt road as he pivoted on the ground. The group gasped in horror as they saw their dear friend fall from battle. “JACK!!” The group yelled out in unison. The soldiers hurried themselves around Jack’s body and encroached him with rifles. Jack tried to get up but the pain was intensifying by the second. With the group being surrounded, the ponies including Spike were forced to the ground, covering their heads in protection. With this unforeseen fate in motion, and Jack unable to react, it felt as though they were about to considered defeat.