The Unwilling Command

by KGBCowgirl

Never Paid Enough

There's always been a karmic balance in the world, I suppose. Action and reaction, blah, blah, blah. Hell, it was one of the founding bases for my own beliefs. The way the world works is that every good thing you do will be met with something equally good in return. The same goes for negative actions. However, luck has a slightly different way of working.

Luck can be interpreted however you like. Whether it's good or bad is up to you. Whatever the case may be, the universe has a sick and twisted way of balancing even the tiniest bits of luck with its antithesis.

Don't believe me? Well, let me tell you what happened after I scared the piss out of the Secretary of Defense...

---

I was led to the Oval Office shortly after my exchange with Secretary Grossman. I was still chuckling evilly as we entered the room, earning more than my fair share of dirty looks from Twilight. I wasn't happy that Vinyl couldn't be here, but she was working on a mobile bass cannon prototype back at the workshop she had been granted. I looked around the room, seeing the other Elements and the Princesses present, and one additional person, whom I didn't recognize.

This guy was big. I mean really fucking big. I could tell he was Russian right off the bat, but what caught my attention was the fact that this guy looked like the unholy bastard child between Vladimir Putin and the Punisher. He was decked out in so much black, I could swear the light was trying to actively run away from him. Black boots, black pants, black everything!

He looked at me when I walked in, and I kid you not, I met the karmic balance of the world right then and there. I've seen some scary people before, and even Sun Buns didn't faze me, but this guy's eyes were as cold as the Siberian hell I was sure he had been spawned from. I almost considered lowering my glasses to get a look at his aura, but common sense stopped me from doing so. I walked up to him, choking down my nerves until I spotted the tell-tale signs that made me ease up a little. This guy was military. He stood straight, feet perfectly spread apart in a parade rest stance, his eyes never stopped moving, and he looked like a coiled snake ready to strike.

I stopped a couple feet away from him. We both stared at each other for a few seconds before he spoke. "Can I help you, dovarisch?" Damn, that was one thick Russian accent. He may have scared the piss out of me, but I liked him already.

I held a hand out. "Maximus Cross, partner to Vinyl Scratch, walking ire of Sun Buns over there," I nodded back to a very irritated-looking Celestia. "And impromptu supervisor of the training of the regular Equestrian forces."

He looked at me, and I could see his eyes in detail now. One was black as night and the other a light brown. Both were devoid of apparent emotion, and again I refrained from removing my glasses. He grasped my hand and shook it. "A pleasure to be meeting you, Maximus Cross. I am Dimitri Kovak, partner to Fluttershy, and private contractor for military."

Well, I wasn't getting much out of this guy, so I went against my better judgement and removed my glasses to try to get a read on him. I'll tell you now, despite the fact that I had almost literally stared down the sun, this guy's aura was bright. There was such a maelstrom of intricate emotions and focus that I couldn't keep track of it all. I could spot the link between him and the Element of Kindness, as well as a line of attention directed towards Celestia. The thing that caught my attention, though, was his own eyes. They had a perfect focus of energy swirling inside of them, which made me curious.

"So, Kovak, what ability did you get stuck with?" That caught his attention really fast. I could feel his eyes trying to bore into mine, so I cut my aura sight temporarily, and matched his glare with my own. Anyone who was foolish enough to try to get between the two of us would have probably lost a limb or two, there was so much energy fluctuating between our glares.

Dimitri chuckled a bit before his gaze returned to normal. "I am able to be seeing things faster than most. What about you, Cross?"

I smirked while crossing my arms over my chest. "Aura sight. And, most recently, the Royal Canterlot Voice. Though, that was a bit of an accident..." I laughed nervously as I could feel a mixture of Celestia's disapproval and Luna's... I don't even want to know what Luna was thinking. It probably didn't bode well for me, anyhow. "So, how does a big, scary-looking apparent badass end up being partnered with the walking embodiment of cuteness over there?" I looked over to Fluttershy, who was, as always, being shy.

"Is long story. For now, I am thinking your President wishes to be speaking with us when she arrives."

I sighed and turned to face the desk while we waited for the leader of the free world.

---

True to my word, I spent almost the entire time flirting with the Element of Loyalty while we waited. What can I say? I may have a thing for Vinyl, but jock girls are hot. We'd already buried the hatchet about me tossing her into the water and were currently trying to see who would fare better in a race if I could fly. The overall evaluation was that while she had natural talent and an insane amount of speed, I had a scientific understanding of the way flight worked and how to attain maximum velocity and control.

"I already told you, Spectrum Head, you may have the most maneuverability, but I would have you in a straight sprint. My wings would be bigger and I'd be able to maximize the use of local air currents." I smirked as Rainbow crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"Yeah, right," she snapped back. "Bigger isn't always better, you know. And you're built almost as big as Snowflake. Are you sure you two aren't related in some way?" She poked my chest and blushed a bit when it had almost no give. I shook with silent laughter at her flustered state.

While we continued to poke and prod at each other, I heard the door to the office open before the agent at the door said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States." At this, it took all of my willpower to not snap to attention. I turned around and spotted the President walking around Dimitri to seat herself at the position that had played host to dozens of presidents before her.

Loretta Reiser did not look like the kind of person one would expect to be the leader of the free world. She had slightly graying brown hair that cascaded down her back for the most part while her bangs framed her young face. Her soft green eyes hid a spark of resilience that only showed itself when someone insulted her family or when she was preparing to bring down the proverbial hammer on someone who made her mad in some other way. This, coupled with the fact that she didn't look anywhere near her age of 54 made her not only one of the most charismatic, but also one of the most physically attractive female politicians in the history of the United States.

She scanned across our motley crew of Equestrians and former humans alike, but her gaze stopped on me. I saw a glint of recognition for a moment before she stood and walked around to get a closer look at me. I felt nervous as those piercing eyes scrutinized me from head to toe. I was about to speak until she gasped.

"Maxxy! It is you!" That was the only warning before I was embraced by the President. Needless to say, I was confused.

I pushed her off of me and removed myself to just beyond arm's reach. "Madame President, I don't think we've actually ever met..."

The stern look she gave me could have curdled milk in ten seconds flat. "You don't recognize your own aunt?"

I believe that was going to be the first of several times that I would receive a chorus of "What!?" from a group of people that say.

I could only stare dumbly at the leader of the free world as she stared at me expectantly. I went through the list of relations and looked over to Jay for help, but he was equally confused. Then I recalled one distant relation.

"Wait... Auntie Lori? I thought you were still in Wichita? No one ever told me you had been running for office." I facepalmed as I recalled the spring break my mother had forced me to go to Kansas to help Aunt Lori remodel part of her house in the middle of what I dubbed as "bum-fucked nowhere, Kansas." While that was the most fun I'd had as a kid, I also came to know why everyone in my family had some kind of ties to the military. Aunt Lori was a drill sergeant in her own respect, and it showed when she yelled over power tools, band saws, and a number of other pieces of loud equipment to make sure I knew that I was a quarter inch off on a joint that I was getting ready to install.

"Max, who is this?" Jay piped up.

I gave him a withering look. "You never had to meet her, I guess. This is Auntie Loretta. She's Mama Tammy's second cousin." I saw the look of horror cross Jay's face as he was reminded of our very religious grandmother. I loved her to death, but every time I went to Mama Tammy's house, it was "God" this and "Jesus" that. She didn't seem to want to accept that I was perfectly happy regarding my religion that revolved around nature as my choice. The standing joke was that if I was forced to go to a church for anything other than weddings, funerals, or community service, the doorway would scorch in a matter of milliseconds if the threshold was not defiled with blood before I entered the premises.

"Aunt Lori, while it's a pleasure to see you again, I think we're here for other matters." I returned to my business mode. I didn't want to spend more time in a confined area with Sun Buns for any longer than necessary, since I knew she had a lot of new questions for me.

Celestia seemed to sense my distress, since she chose right then to walk up next to me. "Maximus, would you care to explain why you never mentioned that your country's leader was your aunt?"

I shot her a glare. "I didn't know. Have you not pieced that together yet, Princess?"

Celestia huffed before sending me a telepathic message. "This isn't over."

I rubbed my temples in exasperation. I really didn't get paid enough for this shit...

Author's Note:

And here it is! Took me forever and a half to not only think of how I wanted this chapter to go, but to also figure out how I could write it without locking myself into a corner for the next one. To those of you who care, I haven't been slacking... Writer's block is just a bitch.

Shout out to Jman796 for giving me Dima as a character to use for an additional partner. Anyone who has paid attention to the comment chain between the two of us already knows what he can do. I've just got a fair amount of plans for how his interaction with Maximus will play out. *insert evil laugh here*

Rate, comment, do whatever it is y'all do. But remember, I, as a writer, live and grow on constructive criticism. If you don't like something, tell me. If I missed something, tell me. If I dun goofed on grammar or something of the like, for spirits' sake, TELL ME!

*Ahem* Okay, I'm done now. Time to go to bed and plan out a new chapter...

Comments

[Jman796]

AWESOME! Don't forget the Dart 6 like abilities (suicide, backfire, and persuade) and the 'dead eye' (the ability to read wind direction, bullet drop, etc. That a sniper needs)

[Jman796]

Also have partners for Dash, Aj, and Rarity

[Ronnoc Neibos]

I like it! Keep up the good work!

[KGBCowgirl]

3358382 I think I have those covered now. Finally got my laptop back up and running and should have the next chapter finished in a day or two.