//------------------------------// // Epilogue Foxtrot: // Story: Lucky's Seven: The Changeling Hunters // by Lucky424 //------------------------------// “Are you sure about this? It may cause him some pain.” Luna just stopped at the kitchen door and turned round with a smirk on her face. In her hands were two pan lids. “Yes, it is what he deserves for speaking to you in such a way. That, and I hardly got any sleep thanks to his snoring. It is also punishment for spending several hours in a bar with Captain Armour. I wonder what Cadence will do to wake him up?” Turning, she left the kitchen and walked up the stairs. Celestia heard the door to their room open, and then........... 'BANG' 'BANG' 'BANG' “GET UP!! 'BANG' BANG' 'BANG' “GET UP!!” 'BANG' 'BANG' 'BANG' There was a loud thud on the floor before Celestia heard a groan coming down the stairs. Moments later, Luna walked back in with a smug smile on her face. “Well, he is now awake. It is a shame he does not like coffee, he could probably do with some.” The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew their attention, and they looked towards the source...... Why the fuck did she just do that? Groaning, I pulled myself up and looked at the clock. “Really? She woke me up at Oh-six-thirty? Ugh.” Making my way downstairs, I shuffled towards the kitchen and out of the back door, not noticing the two women in there at first. I had made it to the deep end of the pool in the back yard, and stood on the edge. Alec, are you all right? I'm sorry if what I did was.....” She trailed off a I pitched forward and belly flopped in to the water. “ALEC!” I came back up and saw Luna almost ready to dive in after me. “FUCK!! That's cold!” I looked to Luna, who had her arms crossed and a pout on her face. “Uh, morning.” She just continued to stare at me. “Did I do something wrong?” “Last night.” “What about it?” “Let me see, 'Hey sunbutt, you're a bitch, go fuck yourself'. Ring any bells?” “...........No......why don't you come on in? The water is refreshing.” She looked around to see if anyone else was up, and the looked back to me. “I do not have my bathing clothes on, I'll be right back.” “No need, neither do I.” I shifted my hands below the water. “In fact, I'm not wearing any clothes right now.” She lowered her gaze to below the water and her cheeks started to redden. “C-c-c-aptain, get control of yourself!! Others may be watching!” “Come on Lulu, it's half six in the morning. Who is going to be up at this time?” “My sister for one.” “And she's seen it all before. Now, any other arguments for me to poke holes in?” “......no. Very well.” She slowly took off her dressing gown, reveal that she was in fact not wearing anything underneath. “Stop looking at me like that.” I turned around to stop staring, and I heard a splash as she got in, then felt her arms wrap around me. “.....so, did you and 'Shaun' have fun last night?” “I think so. What did we do?” “You got drunk and climbed up the cliff face to get to the house. Any idea why?” “No, but it must've been a good one at the time.” I turned round to face her and pulled her close. “Look Luna, about yesterday, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone, I just wasn't thinking straight.” She started to lean closer, but a voice from the edge drew our attention. “If y'all are goin' do that in t' pool, at least let us know so that we don't wanna go for a swim till it's been cleaned.” Stood there was a massive man, and I mean massive. He must've been about seven foot tall. Stood next to him, and only coming up to his chest level, was the blonde woman from the day before. I didn't know what names they were going by, but fortunately I didn't have to. “Charlie, Mac, good morning to you. Did you sleep well?” At this, they both looked away from each other and 'Charlie' went a bright red. In my still half drunk state I couldn't help but make a joke. “Hey Mac, here's a question. How did you not break her?” At this, Charlie fainted, leaving Mac to catch her, and take her back in to the house. “I think we should take this inside. There will be less interruptions if we are in our room.” Looking down, I could see Luna's mind had gone to the same place as mine, so I returned her grin. Mac had only just made it to the back door, where there were a few towels on the outside table. “Hey Mac, chuck us a couple of towels would you?” He stopped and picked one up, throwing it towards the edge. I helped Luna out as she wrapped herself in it. “Okay, next one!” The next towel flew over and hit me in the face. I grabbed it and saw that it was more like a babies towel than an adult one. “Really Mac? Come on, it was a joke!” Nothing but the door shutting was his reply. Sighing, I climbed out and wrapped the towel around my waist. It barely covered anything, and left my backside exposed, to which I felt a slap against it. “Well, let us go inside, my captain.” Twilight, or rather Tabitha Smith as she was going by, stepped out of her room at the same time as the other Bearers. They were all fairly early morning risers, given what their jobs were, and they all made their way to the staircase in the centre. The house they were staying in was almost a mini-mansion. Even with all of the Bearers, the three princesses, the guards, and Big Mac, there were still plenty of guest rooms to go around. Not that the Changelings Hunters were in their own rooms. The Bearers each had a room overlooking the main stair case, three on either side, and at the centre was the master bedroom, with two slightly smaller ones on either side of it. They had to pass this way to get downstairs, and as they went by the one with a crescent moon on it, they heard something that made them stop. “MMMM!!! OH FAUST, RIGHT THERE!! FASTER!!!! SHOW YOUR PRINCESS HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HER!!! MMM!!!!” They all looked at each other, and saw the reactions they expected. Pixie Patterson was stood there with a massive grin on her face. Rita Diamond looked like inspiration had just hit her. Florence Shepherd was hiding her mouth in her hands, whilst her long pink-tinged hair covered her face. Rachel Daniels just shrugged. And Amelia-Rose Jackson walked up to the door and banged on it. Hard. “Will y'all keep it down in there!!! It's only seven o'clock in the mornin' for Celestia's sake!!!” The door to the left, emblazoned with a sun opened and the woman in question stepped out, with just a sheet around her. “AJ, could you keep the noise down yourself? Some of us are........resting.” As she turned around, they caught sight of her between the sheets. All she was wearing was stockings and suspenders, with nothing in between. The door gently slid closed, and they heard her speak again. “Now then Admiral, where were we?” “Twi, when can we go home? This world is makin' me a might crazy.” “Twili.....I mean Tabitha, what's wrong?” The girl in question looked up from the picture in her hands. She passed it over so the man could have a look. In it was Twilight in her natural form in a hospital bed, alongside White Feather, and a unicorn foal in her forelegs. He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in to a comforting embrace. “I miss him. It's only been three days and I can't wait to see him again. When do you think we can go home Whit....dammit this is hard! So, how long do you think, Warren?” “As soon as we can, but don't worry. Your mother is looking after him, so he'll be fine." They put the picture on the coffee table and turned on the TV. As she was the last one to watch it, there was no surprise to it being on the Discovery Channel, but Tabitha picked up the remote and changed the channel. “This is something we can both watch. It shows programmes of their military history.” They had switched over as the last programme finished, and they sat there waiting fir the next one to start. A voice from the doorway drew their attention. “So........who's the colt?” Turning their heads, they looked to me standing there, leaning against the door frame. “That would be our son, Shimmering Dusk, sir. He is currently staying with Twilights mother.” “Fair enough.” I sat down in one of the chairs opposite them. “So what are you watching?” “The Military History channel. There is something on about 'The Battle of Britain', this episode talks about a city called 'Plymouth'. Why don't you sit down and watch it with us?” “Nah, not something I need to watch.” She just looked at me with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention to the TV. “Hey, captain?” “Yes....Feather, I presume?” “Yeah, going by 'Warren' at the moment. As your are the closest, can you open the window for us?” “Sure, just a sec.” I got up and went to open it, before going to sit back down. A shout from outside drew my attention, and as I looked back out I saw the rest of the squad stood outside. One who had a cocky attitude about him, I'm guessing it was Jet, was out in front. “Squad: Repeat.....Message!” They all then came to attention and saluted like I did, clearly they had been practicing because they were quite good. Until they spoke....... “OH FAUST, RIGHT THERE!! FASTER!!!! SHOW YOUR PRINCESS HOW MUCH YOU LOVE HER!” I turned back in to the room to see 'Warren' had scampered, leaving Twilight sitting there with a nervous face. “I didn't tell them....and to be fair, she was quite loud. Where are you going?” “To make a phone call, and get some friends to come down. Oh, and you want to know why I don't need to watch this?” She nodded eagerly at me. “Because I live there.” I walked out before she could ask me questions and entered the study, locking the door and turning around. Luna was sat behind the desk, a sort of half smirk half glare on her face. “Don't worry, they won't get away with it. I've got an idea.” “I should hope not. Pray tell, what exactly are you going to do?” “Nothing.” I picked up the mobile and rang my contact again. “General, good morning. Yeah, we're fine. Just a quick one, do you have any contacts to any Delta operatives? You have some on the base? How many? Perfect, could you send seven of them up here, I could do with their....help. Yeah, thanks again, bye.” “Captain, what is this 'Delta'? And what are you planning?” “I may take the piss out of the Yanks a lot, but there's not denying it. Delta are some of the toughest son's of bitches in the world......” I was sat next to Luna on a sun lounger by the pool giving her a massage when one of the guards ran around the corner, and up to me. “Captain, there are some men outside asking for entrance. They have no ID and refuse to talk to anyone unless they are in charge. Which is you sir.” Something about the guard was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it until I looked in to her eyes. “Well, I wasn't expecting you to be here, but I understand you are one of the best. Sorry I can't return the favour, but I've got my hands full with this one. I didn't catch your name back in Canterlot, Miss....?” “Pie, Surprise Pie. Or whilst we are here, Sarah Patterson. Sir.” she snapped off a crisp salute. “At ease. Aren't you a Wonderbolt? And does that mean you're related to Pinkie?” “Yes sir, but they're just show ponies, much like your 'Red Arrows' or your 'Blue Angels'. We still have military duties to attend to. And yep, I'm her cousin. And before you ask, her parents like the simple life, but that doesn't mean they are poor. Rocks are always needed for construction, and they make a profit off any gems they find and sell.” “Right. So these men, anything else about them?” “No sir, except that they look pretty dangerous.” “Ah, must be my 'special' package. Luna, I'll be right back.” I got a soft murmur in reply, as she had started to drift off to sleep. I followed 'Sarah' around to the front and made my way down to the gate where several men stood waiting. One approached and I assumed he was the one in charge. “Password?' “Moon Mover.” I nodded to the guard in the control hut and he opened the gate, allowing them to enter. “Chief Petty Officer Johnson, Delta. I understand you're looking for some PTI's sir?” “Indeed I am. Sarah here will show you to the back yard. If you need anything from your transport, ask her and she'll arrange help. Get set up and tell her when you're ready. I'll bring your victims out then.” About half an hour later Surprise came knocking on the door to the study. “Captain? They are ready for you now.” I nodded to her and got up, looking for Feather. I found him in the kitchen about to starting eating a sandwich. “I wouldn't eat that right now if I were you. Where are the others?” “Uh....in the games room I think. Simon went to show Jet how to play pool, and the others wanted to watch and put bets down.” “Go get them and bring them out the back.” “Uh.....yes sir?” He left the kitchen.....eating his sandwich. I shook my head and went outside, gently waking Luna up. “Hmm? Oh, Alec. How long was I asleep?” “Not long. I would've left you, but things are about to get noisy.” She sat up and glanced around, noticing the seven new men, and catching one staring back at her. I did to. “In case you haven't worked it out, yes she's taken. Now get back to it!” He turned away sharply, no doubt embarrassed at being caught red handed. “Who are they?” “Punishment.” I walked over the one in charge. “Okay Chief, I want them to do two hundred sit ups, press ups, leg lifts, star jumps, deep squats, knee bends, abdominal twist, crunches, and anything else you can think of. Any questions?” “Yes sir. What's a 'star jump', and what have they done to deserve this? “A star jump is, uh how do you guys say it? Oh yeah, a jumping jack. And they pissed me off. Here they come. If they don't complete it, I don't mind. Just as long as they can't move afterwards.” “Yes sir.” The back door swung open and the seven made their way over to me. “Uh sir, is the woman part of the exercises?” “Yep. She was there, so she gets it as well. One in, all in. Don't worry, she's tougher than she looks.” I turned to the squad. “Okay, after this mornings little......'morale boost', I though we would do something a bit more military. A bit of PT. And these guys are here to help you. You've got one each to make sure you don't quit, and they'll show you the correct way to do the exercise first.” I twisted back to the soldier stood next to me. “All yours chief.” “Thank you sir!” I walked back over to where Luna was sitting and went to take a seat next to her, but a voice behind me made me turn around. “I think you should join them. They are your squad after all.” Relaxing on a deck chair was Celestia, some sort of cocktail in her hand. And not much on her body. “I think that will be suitable punishment for your attitude yesterday. I would have Captain Armour join you, but I have not seen him nor my niece all day.” “Fine, I'll do it as well.” I walked to the back door and opened it, sticking my head in. “Hey guys! Back yard, now!” There was the sound of thudding as my friends came running to the garden. “Let's show these ponies why we kick ass.” We walked over to where the PTI's were talking to the seven, and I noticed Simon had his gaze looked on to Celestia, and hers was on him. Which meant he wasn't looking where he was walking. And that made him fair game. I reached up my arm and shoved his shoulder hard, watching him wobble before...... 'SPLASH' His head came out of the pool and he glared daggers at me. “I'll get you for that. Just you wait and see!” “Yeah whatever. Next time watch where you're going. Come on, we got exercise to do. We haven't done any the last two months.” We joined the group as the CPO was finishing his demonstration of a press up. “Hey Chief, room for five more?” “Yes sir, but we'll keep an eye on the ones you want us to. Now then, everybody get in to position.” We all laid down on the grass, arms at should width apart. “And start! One......Two.....Three....” I lost track of his counting as I looked across to the other side of the pool, and saw Luna staring back at me. A quick glance to the side and I saw Simon and Celesta were doing the same. Yeah, I thought they were. Well, at least he'll keep her off my back for now! I turned back to Luna and carried on with the exercise, never letting my eyes leave hers.