> Double Trouble
>  by Papa Bear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: When Worlds Collide
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Grand Galloping Gala, as always, is the greatest event held within the boundaries of Canterlot, composed of every name and face that’s worth mentioning. It is held annually, for the best of the best to gather around to see what the marvelous event has to offer. New hooves to shake, nobles to kiss up to, and as of today a new set of folk will be attending the Gala this year. 

Walter Barnes, a young refugee from the Griffin Kingdom who came to Equestria to escape civil war. His story was relatively ignored until word broke out that he lives with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. His friendship gained him popularity, and often times people see him as a charity case that could possibly boost their reputation, which was why the poor young man was even acknowledged at the Gala this year. 

Walter never paid too much attention to these stuffy events, he didn’t like large crowds and preferred to be himself around his friends, however considering pretty much all six of his friends are attending the Gala, he figured he might as well too. He didn’t really want to be home alone, plus some fresh air outside the house could do him some good.

Walter came dressed in a suit Rarity had especially made for his large frame, standing well over six feet tall and weighing as much as a minotaur makes it quite difficult to find a suit fitting enough for his particular physique. 

His suit is crisp, colored black with a pristine white undershirt and smooth slacks sharing the same black hue as his jacket. His bowtie is a bright crimson color, pretty decent looking, it almost looked fashionable enough to distract people from the fact that it’s a clip on. 

Taking a deep sigh and adjusting his firm attire, Walter made his way over to the beverage table, making himself a small plate full of food. He is quite the nervous eater, and being around so many stuffy individuals makes it feel like somebody injected cocaine directly into his nerves. After chewing up all the food he shoved in his face, he began to search for booze, something to take off the edge as well as wash down the food he had just wolfed down his gullet. 

Scanning the beverage tables with his eyes, Walter notices something rather peculiar. The wine bottles were all empty or missing. 

“Who the fuck...?” Walter mouthed quietly, raising his thick bushy brow in inquisition. 

“At least let there be some booze left” Walter mumbled to himself, searching through the empty bottles, hoping to at least find a half empty one. 

“Where the flipping flappity flying fuck did the booze go?” Walter hissed, scratching his scraggly facial hair in bewilderment. 

Walter pretty much figured by now that somebody had raided the wine and left no scraps for anybody else who may be suffering from anxiety at this damn brown-nose meetup. He decided to poke his head up, looking around for anybody with excess wine in their possession, trying to narrow down the culprit the best he could. It would be rather easy, considering he towered over most of the ponies and foreign guests that currently inhabit the ballroom. 

As Walter pouted by the empty wine table, and other guests harrumphed over the lack of beverages, Walter spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A human woman, athletic in build and sporting a short bobbed haircut. Her toned body was hugged tight by a sly red strapless dress, though he only saw the back as she walked away on short heels. 

“Oh my god another human! I haven’t seen one in ages!” Walter gasps quietly, amazed that he is finally not the only homo sapient to grace this stuffy ballroom. 

Adjusting his suit and looking himself over in the reflection of a food tray, Walter clears his throat and makes an approach. He quickly jogs up to her side, waving his giant bear like hand within her peripheral vision to catch her attention. 

“Excuse me miss, forgive me but I haven’t seen another human since I immigrated to Equestria. My name is Walter, it’s nice to see a familiar face, even though you’re a stranger” Walter spoke up with a smile, trying to keep a friendly tone of voice since he is quite nervous, it’s been ages since he spoke to a human woman of such an attractive stature. 

Though, it seemed the woman knew he was approaching the moment he started, his bulk having caused a slight tremor in the floor as he jogged. Looking over her shoulder at the culprit, the woman pulled her head back slightly, before looking up. “Fookin hell mate, y’eat your Wheaties this morning?” The woman cocked her head, and looked him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.

“E-Erm, well, I uh…” Walter was caught off guard by her unexpected response to his large presence, he gave a sheepish smile while scratching the scruff on his cheek. 

“I’m just a big kid, It’s in my genes. I apologize if I’m bothering you, Miss, I’m just a nervous wreck and some jackass left the wine bottles either empty or missing at the beverage tables, I have nothing to take the edge off” Walter sighed in defeat. “If I don’t calm down soon I’ll eat the entire fuckin’ beverage table” he added on with a grumble. 

To his shock, the shorter woman snorted, before laughing. He felt his heart skip a beat as she raised well worn knuckles to her mouth to laugh into. It was enough to raise his spirits again, though the sly grin she shot off to the side as she shook her head gave him pause. “That twat. He’s gonna be right fooked- eh-ugh.” her features fell to disgust as her gaze locked onto something behind Walter. 

Walter gave a big curved smile upon hearing the woman laugh, a positive reaction, which means a good start to a friendly conversation. However Walter’s hopes for said conversation is cut short after the short woman grunts in disgust. Walter gave a confused expression to the woman, before turning his head to see what she was scoffing about. 

“Fuckdickassclown…”  Walter groaned quietly under his breath upon seeing the rather unsightly pompous blonde noble stallion making a bee-line straight for him, a carnivorous hunger in his arrogant eyes. “Send help” Walter silently whispered to the woman before he begrudgingly turned to entertain the noble stallion that he has heard quite a lot about from Rarity, and quite frankly, Walter would rather suck on an AIDS Popsicle than spare this anus the luxury of decent conversation. “Greetings, Prince Blueblood” Walter forced out, trying to keep his disdain to himself so he didn’t embarrass his friends, after all, the whole reason he is here is for everybody to judge the refugee human that the Element Bearers had befriended. 

Blueblood slowly looked up to Walter, the hunger in his eyes only growing more apparent as he took in Walter. Never before had the large man ever wanted to punch something in the face so hard, and run away screaming. It was bad luck and providence that saw him in the only place, and in front of the only pony, he couldn’t. “Good evening, human.” Blueblood’s eyes flicked to the woman, and he cracked a small, smug smile. “Well well, good evening my dear. You look… Ravishing.”

“I’ll ravish your face with t’bottom o’ my boot you puffy twat.” The woman shot back like a whip’s crack. The verbal blow almost seemed to stun the prince for a moment, before his features turned foul and dark. 

“Listen here, you squash-faced primate, you will greet me as your better, or I will make you regret it for the rest of your miserable little life.” Blueblood snarled sharply at a low tone, to avoid having anybody overhear him. 

Walter’s eyes widened like a member of a roast battle audience, laughter erupting in the cockles of his mind. It took barrels of willpower not to laugh in Blueblood’s face. However, his amusement is cut short at the arrogant assclown’s venemous response, which comes off as quite the serious threat.

“Prince Blueblood, I know you must be stressed from attending to your… Duties” Walter begun, trying his best not to slap a question mark after duties. Clearing his throat, Walter placed his hand on the short woman’s shoulder. “But it’s rather unsightly for a noble prince to threaten a guest of the Gala, I’ve heard worse spoken to her Majesty Celestia and her sister Luna before and they handled themselves quite professionally” Walter remarked in a soft and gentle voice, regrettably using what little ounces of kindness he could aim at that quadruped pile of trash. Walter smiled sheepishly, glancing between both the short woman and the pompous clown, trying his best to defuse the situation before it got any worse. 

To his deep regret, the Prince smiled. “That is the tone one should take when speaking with Royalty. I will admit, I am rather stressed, perhaps you could… accompany me for the night. I promise, you won’t regret iiiit…” Blueblood slowly trailed off, the pompous look on his face draining visibly and was replaced by fear.

Walter began screaming internally, if he could, he would willingly allow tears of blood to stream down his face like Virgin Mary right about now. He glanced over at the short woman with a pleading look in his eyes, however his attention is focused elsewhere after he feels a presence leaning up against him, as well as the look of fear that replaced Blueblood’s arrogant smug grin. 

“Huh?” Walter babbled, confused by the shift of expression in the Prince’s features. 

Walter slowly shifted his gaze over to the weight he felt leaning up against him, as if he was a large post for anybody to catch a second wind while leaning against. His eyes widened slightly as his vision landed on a rather unruly looking human man locked in eye contact with the pompous assclown trying to get in the poor boy’s pants. The man leaning on him had a freshly shaved head, though his skull was decorated by a myriad of scars. He wore a shockingly well tailored uniform that simply screamed military; though if the uniform hadn’t, the sword strapped to his hip would have. 

“Jack, luv, glad you could join us.” The woman chimed lightly as she moved to his side.

Jack simply smiled to the woman, before turning his attention back to Blueblood. Removing himself from Walter, Jack closed the distance and leaned over to bring himself closer to the noble. “Heyah Bluey.” The man flashed his teeth at the prince, which only seemed to cause the pony to try to shrink away. Throwing an arm over the prince, Jack pulled him close, and lifted up the wine bottle to regard. “I bet you five bits I can fit this whole bottle up your ass. Hell, I’ll do it for free, if you don’t fuck off and leave my people alone.” Jack lifted his brows at the Prince, who had somehow turned an even paler shade of white.

Walter’s jaw fell ajar, his eyes wide as the military bloke named Jack made a rather confident and frightening entrance, and based on how the pompous stallion’s arrogance was no longer in sight, the two had probably crossed paths before, and it was most likely unpleasant, at least for Blueballs. 

“Oh..” was all Walter managed to choke out from how bold this Jack character was behaving, the large young man simply stood in silence after his brief verbal expression of surprise, watching, waiting to see what followed after the rather painful sounding offer to give the noble assclown a colonoscopy with a bottle of wine. To make sure that this was all really happening, Walter gave an inquisitive glance over to the short woman, the look in his eyes begging for confirmation that this military uniform clad unruly gentlemen really said what he did. The woman by his side didn’t meet his gaze, as she was too busy trying to keep herself silent in the face of what could have possibly been the most hilarious thing she’d seen all night.

“Y-you wouldn’t dare.” Blueblood muttered hotly at Jack, his hackles raising as he clearly considered doing something.

The statement only caused the man to grin even wider. “Do me a favour and fuck off back to whatever gated community you slithered out of, you greasy cunt.” The man reached forward, and flicked the noble on the tip of the nose.

The motion seemed to force Blueblood into a rage; his fur tinted red, and his pupils contracted as he bared his teeth. “I should have you hung, you evil little wretch!” Blueblood hissed, drawing more eyes to the mounting situation.

“Why don’t you challenge me to a duel, so I can kill you legally?” Jack dropped his wide grin, and his features became stone in an instant. He was utterly serious, and the threat seemed to cut Blueblood to the core. Without another word, the noble turned tail, and stormed off, likely to rape some of the castle help. Jack stood tall, before fixing his dress uniform. “Sorry about that, Ada, Pete. Figured he’da learned the first time.” Turning to look at the pair, Jack paused, and cocked his head at Walter. He blinked several times, before squinting, and looking over his shoulder into the crowd. Looking back, both his brows rose to meet the fat, ugly Y-shaped scar that dominated his forehead. Jack’s eyes were a sharp emerald green, and his features were severe enough to make Walter believe that somebody had simply stretched scarred leather over a human skull. “Yo… Not-Pete.” Jack grinned a little, before nodding slightly and offering a hand. “Staff Sergeant Jack Kessle, Joint Special Operations Group.”

“O-Oh, Private First Class Walter Barnes… Er, I mean, just Walter Barnes” Walter replied, immediately compelled to speak his rank before his name just like he did back during his service in the Griffin Kingdom. “Thank you so much, I was afraid I was actually going to have to sleep with that pile of rotten dog anus” Walter sighed as he reached out and clasped his giant hand over Jack’s, squeezing it firmly before giving it a shake. “Fucking hell.. If I don’t find booze soon I’m going to have a stroke” Walter laughed sheepishly, still quite amazed from Jack’s performance. 

Letting out a single, barking laugh at the dog anus comment, Jack shook Walter’s hand sharply, before pulling free. “My pleasure. I love making that prick squirm. So, you new in Canterlot? I don’t think I’ve seen you before- I mean, I know a guy who looks pretty much exactly like you, but he seems to have skated…”

“Y’just miffed you lost track of a twen’y eight stone russian.” The woman moved to Jack’s side, and for a moment the pair shared a look that almost caused Walter pain. “I’m Ada, by the way. Corporal Ada, once of Her Majesty's SAS, now with Miss Pretty Pony Princess’ JSOG.” She offered her own hand to Walter.

Walter took her hand, his giant paw swallowing up her tiny limb with a gentle yet firm grip. He offered a friendly smile, shaking her hand before releasing her from his careful grasp. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Corporal, Staff Sergeant. I apologize for addressing myself in rank, it’s been years since I was in service” Walter explained as he folded his hands in front of him. “I don’t live in Canterlot, I live with my friends in Ponyville. Since they all would be coming up here to the Gala I figured I’d join them instead of being home by myself” Walter explained as he scratched his jaw. “I’m quite new to Equestria actually, I just moved here a few months ago” Walter says as he occasionally glances down at the wine bottle in discreet desire. 

“Well, welcome to the shit.” Jack murmured as he snagged a bowl off the table and filled it with wine, before handing it off to Walter without a second thought. “It doesn’t get any better.”

“Aw it’s not so bad, innit Marine?” Ada teased as she leaned against Jack, smirking.

Fidgeting with his belt and sword, Jack rolled his eyes at the woman, before grinning a little. He was clearly enjoying her company. “The company makes it better, but I could say that with y’all in Iraqistan.”

Ada grinned happily, her gaze softening. “Y’makin’ me blush, you twat.”

Walter smiled warmly at their own special back and forth loving banter. He always loved to see happy couples, something he felt he didn’t deserve, he quite admired. “Are you two married?” Walter asked, “Just curious is all, you two seem to have lovely chemistry” Walter says warmly. Just then, a blinding pink force rushed its way up before Walter, swirling around him in a blinding stream of pink blur. Startled at first, Walter simply rolled his eyes before reaching down quickly and catching the powerful pink force that is Pinkie Pie, fixing up her mane a bit before placing her back down like a parent trying to calm a hyper toddler. 

“What’s up Pink?” Walter asked, giving her a smile. 

“Nothing much Walt! Just looking for Rainbow Dash, have you seen her? We’re playing hide and go seek!” Pinkie declared cheerfully. 

“Oh, uh, hm. I haven’t seen her lately, last place I saw her was near the bathroom trying to scrape off all the layers of makeup that Rarity painted onto her” Walter replied. 

“Okay thanks Walt! I’ll track her scent from there, see ya!” Pinkie Pie chirruped, giving Walter a giant squeeze, lifting him up in the air to emphasize the bear hug before setting him down and waving at Jack and Ada. “Hi Jack! Hi Ada! See you later!” Pinkie Pie says before taking off in a blinding dash. 

Walter adjusted himself, clearing his throat and offering a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that, that was one of my friends that I mentioned. Do you guys happen to know each other?” Walter inquired, noticing how Pinkie Pie greeted the human couple before taking off at mach speed. 

Coughing lightly, Jack rubbed his chest as Ada shook her head. “Good lord.” Jack muttered. “That girl is coked up enough to Make Flash Gordon jealous.” His comment earned a snort of amusement from Ada, though the pair soon turned their attention back to Walt. “No. For your question, we uh… aren’t an item. I was engaged once, didn’t work out so hot.” Jack seemed to almost flinch slightly, while Ada hid a frown. “Besides, that’s fraternization, isn’t it?” He looked to Ada for confirmation.

For her part, Ada shrugged in ignorance. “Dunno, never could be arsed to read the pamphlet.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Jack murmured back at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring anything up” Walter replied, sensing the pain in Jack’s voice and body language. “Well at least you two seem to be happy in each other’s company, that’s something extremely valuable, something no wealth can buy” Walter said before clearing his throat. “Anyways, give me a sec” Walter said before raising the entire bowl of wine that Jack had gave him, tilting his head back before gulping the booze down his gullet like he was drinking leftover milk after eating cereal. After chugging down the fine liquor, Walter’s smile grew in length. “Fuck me running that makes things better” Walter sighed, holding the bowl from the bottom as if it is a wine glass. “So then, what’s this JSOG that you guys told me about? I haven’t really heard of it yet” Walter said with a look of interest. 

“Basically-” Jack paused for a moment as he waved to somebody in the crowd. “You know all those disasters that happen, what with the Discord, and the Sombra, so on so forth?”

Scratching his head, Walter seemed to mull around his noggin’ for a bit before speaking up. “Kind of, I didn’t get to read about a lot of news from where I came from. But I assume that the shit was serious?” Walter inquired. 

“Serious enough tah get some scary blokes together under crown law.” Ada muttered.

“Basically, we’re the people who hunt down big name troublemakers, and give them the Mozambique.” Jack tapped his chest twice, before tapping his scarred forehead once. “We’re the Crown’s boogeymen.”

Walter’s smile slightly faltered at the mention of the crown, but he immediately wiped it off his face and gave an impressed nod. “Oh sweet, so you guys are special forces? It’s an honor, sir, madame” Walter said, standing straight and firm before delivering a traditional Griffin fist-to-chest salute before quickly correcting it to a simple flat palmed salute on the forehead. He gave a sheepish smile once again before clearing his throat. “I’m glad to know I have warriors like you two protecting our lives” Walter smiled before lowering his hand. “Man this shindig is boring, they need more fucking booze, better food, and a motherfucking karaoke machine for christ sake” Walter said as he glanced around, shaking his head at all the brown nosing that was going on among low and high ranking nobles. 

Laughing roughly, Jack grinned and traded a glance with Ada. “I know a place. Ada, why don’t you escort our new friend to my place, while I gather the troops?”

A smarmy grin spread across Ada’s face as she looked to Jack. “I can do that. Don’ take too long now.” Looking to Walter, she motioned for him to follow with her head, while Jack ambled off to find his people. “Follow me, if’n yah want.” Starting for the grand doors, Ada threatened to leave Walter in the dust.

“Sweet fucking baby Celestia, that’s good to hear! I need a break from all this brown nosing, it’s starting to stink in here” Walter snickered as he then quickly followed behind Ada, his slight jog causing the ground to slightly shake from his heavy footsteps, causing a noticeable bounce in each pony he jogged past. 

“So what’s this place that you guys know of? I only spent a week here in Canterlot when I first arrived so I only know of a shanty karaoke bar on the far side of town” Walter spoke up after exiting the ballroom and into the vast corridors, keeping up the pace next to her, his eyes unconsciously wandering down towards her well rounded derriere just for a scant moment before shooting back up to her face. 

The woman nodded as he approached, his heavy footfalls causing her to bounce slightly. “Stop starin’ at me bum.” Before Walter had a moment to feel abashed for his wandering eyes, she spoke again. “Scratches Club.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean too…” he mumbled, scratching his chin as he glanced away coyly. “Scratches Club? Never heard of it, is it any good?” Walter inquired, quickly forcing a blush off his face as he cleared his throat.

“She’s a bloody nutter, but the drink is fine and the music only kinda sucks arse.” Ada shrugged as she led him through the halls, further and further away from the Gala. Soon, they were in the far wings, and the sounds of festivities were weak and echoed from far away. Approaching a door, Ada knocked rhythmically, before entering without being called in. Upon the door was a board that read Trespassers will be molested and shot. “Wake up y’lazy bug!”

“That’s quite a… Warning” Walter commented with a small smile, chuckling shortly at the humor presented. “It reminds me of the ‘Don’t Fondle Large Humans’ sign that I have posted in front of my bedroom door back home.” Walter says as he hesitantly stepped in along with Ada, quite concerned if the sign was serious or not. 

His attempt at humor seemed to fall flat on Ada as she began arguing with a pony who was inside the room. The small mare yelled as they entered. “God! Fuck! You’re so goddamn loud!”

“Only cause you’re sleepin on the job, mate!” Ada wandered to a small table that was situated at the center of the room, where it looked like a game of poker had been played earlier, with spent brass casings as chips. Once inside the room, Walter swiftly discovered that it wasn’t a suite room, but a repurposed storeroom. A massive metal container sat against the wall, it’s contents dimly lit. Inside, were wall to wall guns of all makes and sizes. Weapons of death and destruction were strewn across a workshop table beside the container, and cases of ammunition were stacked high. It was like a one man firebase, planted smack-dab in the middle of Canterlot. A suit of armour stood vigil against the wall to Walter’s left, though it looked nothing like anything he had seen before in his entire life.

“I was not! I was reading!” The argument didn’t stop for his sake, it seemed.

Upon entering the room, Walter’s eyes widened in surprise at how gritty and bunker-esque the converted storeroom felt. Walter thought that a man of such military importance would be offered a suite of some sort, but it seems a good soldier doesn’t really need a fancy bedroom, although the odd netting and large metal container full of a wide variety of firearms, including a massive suit of strange armor Walter had never laid eyes on before seemed to be all the decoration this room needed.

His eyes locked on the armor and weapons for a moment, an odd feeling biting at the back of his mind. He kept a blank stare for a few moments before blinking rapidly, snapping himself out of the daze before returning his eyes forward, doing his best to ignore the giant container full of firearms. He shifted his attention to the pony before him, offering a friendly smile as he waited for the two to cease arguing so he could introduce himself. 

“So who’s this?” The cream colored mare asked, gesturing toward Walter. She had a dark green mane, and seemed to be mostly bored. “He smells like angst and repressed emotions.” Her comment earned a suppressed snort from Ada, who smirked as she shook her head.

“My name is Walter” the young giant spoke up, a brief pulse of some sort of odd emotion flared inside of Walter’s chest that was only capable of being described as cold. “So, in case you forgot, greeting people goes like ‘hey how are you’ or ‘my name is’, I fail to see how I’ve given you a bad impression to go so far as to mock me” Walter retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. He seemed to be quite unaware of the cream colored mare’s true self, and the fact that she could sense emotions, and the clusterfuck of dark and unknown feelings bottled up deep inside his psyche. 

“Sorry big guy, I’m sure you’re great and all, but you’re like… the fifth stray Jack’s dragged in this month.” The mare leaned back, before getting flicked in the ear by Ada. “Ow! What? O-oh. Right. Uh, Corporal Match Baron.” She waved lightly, before her horn lit up, and Ada yelped in turn. The unicorn smirked as Ada rubbed her ass.

“Little bugshite…”

“Stray?” Walter blinked, tilting his head. “I have my own place and I just met the guy not too long ago, saved my ass from Prince Blueballs. Seriously everybody who work around that pile of dog anus need a constant rape whistle on hand” Walter remarked, shivering at the thought of what would’ve happened if he was approached by Blueblood with no help from Jack. 

“Nice to meet ya, Baron” Walter said as he placed his hands on his hips, giving Ada a confused glance before piecing it together that Baron had probably used magic to pinch her ass as payback for flicking Baron’s ear. “Out of all the insults, why bugshite?” Walter inquired out of curiosity, tilting his head. 

“Y’like your doggie-bum swears, don’tcha? And Baron is our team lovebug, so I gotta use them.” Ada grinned at the mare, who groaned and rolled her eyes. 

“What she means is, is that she thinks she’s clever.” Baron shook her head as she levitated a bottle of water over. “Blueblood’s always been a pain in the flank. Getting protection detail from him was like torture duty. Just being around him makes you feel like you need three hot showers followed by a cold one.”

“Lovebug?” Walter blinked, tilting his head, before shrugging the thought off. “To be honest, if I didn’t come here with my friends, I would’ve punched his face so hard that he’d look like somebody sat on an old avocado that somebody left out in the sun too long. I don’t care about getting myself in trouble, I’d just prefer not to get my friends involved in it” Walter shrugged as he began to scan the room for something to sit on. “So, Ada, how long do you think Jack’s gonna be? I’m bored outta my damn wits” Walter said as he began to drum lightly on his belly. 

Shrugging her shoulders, Ada adjusted her strapless dress, pulling it a little higher over her pert, athletic bust. “Fook if I know lad. He’s gatherin’ the troops, so he could be-” She paused, listening. “Bout thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds?” Walter blinked, noticing how Ada cut herself off in order to pay more mind to her senses. Walter then ceased his drumming on his gut and glanced over at the door, crossing his arms. “Well that certainly was faster than I anticipated” he says as he turned his back to the container full of guns, he didn’t like the way staring at it made him feel. 

Sure enough, within thirty seconds, a clamor of voices and hoofsteps reached the door. The door swung open quickly, and in poured four ponies, and three humans. Jack was flanked by three clearly military ponies, and another in a civilians tuxedo. The second human was a man just as big as Walter, though considerably more portly. The third was a small girl, bright eyed and wearing a simple dress that had dirt clinging to the edges. The multiple conversations overlapped each other, and created a clamor of voices in the small room. Introductions were quickly made. The civilian baticorn was named Field Note, and he owned the simple human girl, whose name was apparently Toasty. The girl circled Walter several times, chirping in question, as the rest were introduced. The large man was Petyr Morozov, and the three military ponies were Captain Hard Tac; a brown earth pony, Sergeant Taven Varrenikov; a one winged bat pony, and First Lieutenant Flitter Falenas, a pale light grayish blue pegasus.

Walter smiled, greeting himself quickly to them as they did to him. He came to a pause when Toasty began to circle around him inquisitively, making odd chirping sounds as she examined him. Walter gave an awkward smile to Toasty before returning his gaze up to Jack. “Alrighty, so We’re on our way to Scratches’ Club, right? Should we tell somebody that we’re leaving or do we just skedattle?” Walter inquired as he made his way to Jack.

Pulling off his dress blues coat, Jack hung up the article with meticulous care, before rolling his shoulders. “Celestia will be thrilled to hear that I’m out of the castle. Let’s get a move on, the night’s not getting any younger!” Now wearing only his dress blue pants and a white T-shirt, Jack’s arms were bared to see. Covered in intricate tattoos, Walter couldn’t help but notice one that certainly didn’t fit in. A clearly magical brand on the inside of his right forearm, that read 4859. Metal circles were pressed into Jack’s flesh at his elbows and just below his wrists; looking like rather painful additions to his already ghoulish appearance.

“Oh” Walter nodded in understanding, figuring that letting anybody know that Jack is out of the doghouse would probably kill any chance of him actually having fun tonight. Upon seeing the serial number, Walter’s heart fell to the pits of his stomach. He wasn’t sure why, but he recognized the significance of a serial number such as that one, his vision blurred for a scant moment before he quickly brought his hand up to his eyes, rubbing them and looking away. “Damn eyelashes” Walter mumbled, trying to cover for his odd space out. “Let us head out then, Staff Sergeant. I’m looking forward to the night ahead” Walter said with a smile, he felt more familiar and comfortable, Jack also kind of gave him a scant remembrance of his batshit crazy sister, only difference between them two is that Walter’s sister could take a few notes from Jack. 

As Jack grinned and motioned for the door, the mare named Flitter spoke up. “Let’s try and keep it… you know… not crazy?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Jack responded innocently as he reached over and rubbed between her ears. Flitters argument died on her lips as her ears splayed and twitched, while she let out a murmur of contentment. “Come on gang, let’s go enjoy the real festivities.” Jack led the group out of the castle, circumventing most of the patrols. Outside the castle walls, the rest of Canterlot enjoyed the revelries. The streets were packed with ponies and stalls, making navigation very difficult. Despite that, Jack seemed to already know where to go, and navigated the crowds with ease. Everyone following him, did not do as well. They heard the music of the club far before they reached it, but upon finally reaching the place, Walter’s heart fell as he looked to the line that wandered off and crawled around the side of the building. They would be waiting hours.

“Ah fuck me sideways!” Walter groaned, scratching his head as he laid eyes on the long ass line that stretched from the entrance of the club. He stepped up beside Jack, tapping him on the shoulder. “I don’t think we’ll be getting into that club anytime soon, Jack. It’ll take hours until we can get in” Walter said as he glanced behind him to double take and make sure nobody in the group got lost in the crowd. 

“Fuck that noise. Watch and learn.” Without pausing in his stride, Jack approached the door, and made eye contact with the bouncer. Without a second of deliberation, the bouncer opened the door, and stood far aside, giving Jack as much room as equinely possible. Cries of indignation went up along the line, as revelers gave the group a piece of their minds. Seemingly unbothered by the heckling, Jack waved the group inside, and passed the bouncer  several thick gold bits. If the noise on the outside was loud, inside the club it was nearly oppressive. The bass thumped away, shaking the entire building right down to it’s foundation and nearly dictating the pulse of Walter’s heart. The lighting was dark, though occasionally lit up by flashing strobes and colourful neon lights. Ponies danced to their heart’s content in the center floor, while others filled the boothes and lined the bar. Leading his pack to a large booth, Jack had them all take a seat as he skipped off to gather enough alcohol for them all. 

Walter adjusted himself before getting comfortable within the large booth, sitting himself between the military ponies while Jack scampered off to go get some of the devil’s juice that would make the night far better than it was back at the Gala. While Jack was gone, Walter awkwardly drummed on his knees, he didn’t really know these people, and it is quite surprising how quickly he got sucked up into this group. One moment he’s being sexually harassed by Blueblood, the next he’s in a seemingly hard to access club surrounded by people he has never met. As far as socializing with strangers go, this has raised the bar to new levels. Walter just kept quiet, allowing the friends to speak among themselves while he waited for Jack to return. 

Soon enough, Jack returned with a tray full of shots. Setting down the tray, he began doling out the drinks to each person at the table. He seemed excited, nearly giddy even. Soon, once all the drinks were handed out, he proposed a toast. “To all the poor bastards who didn’t make it! He hefted his shot up and slammed it back, before pouring the spare shot out on the floor as the others drank.

“Oorah!” Walter exclaimed, throwing back his shot as well, drinking it all down before letting out a laugh. “Fuck yes! I haven’t had good liquor since the last time I raided my dad’s secret cabinet!” Walter says with a chortle as he enjoys the warm buzz that is rising in his chest. Walter had a wide smile plastered on his lips, he didn’t really know these people all that well, but he had a good feeling that they were going to be damn good company. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wished that his sister was at least here. He quickly pushed that thought deeper into his mind, focusing on what is rather than what could’ve been. Leaning back, Walter simply spectated the strangers he partnered up with interact with one another, glad to be a part of a crowd who actually seemed genuinely pleased to be in each other’s presence. 

“Celestia… how do you drink this crap on such a regular basis Jack? It’s basically poison!” Flitter cried out as the others drank.

Cracking a laugh, Ada elbowed Jack in the ribs. “Looks like Flitter wants to be the desi’driver!”

Rolling his eyes in response, Jack gave the mare a shockingly warm smile. “Cause there’s shit in me I need to kill.” His look quickly flicked to Walter as Flitter scowled in response. “How you doin’ there big guy?”

“Good! I’m glad to be around people who actually seem to remotely tolerate each other again!” Walter replied, giving Jack a friendly smile. “This reminds me of my younger days, having secret meet ups on base because having fun was illegal while stationed there” Walter says as he looks for another shot of poison to pour down his gullet. 

“How old are you?” Hard Tac questioned as he nursed his glass of whiskey. The others seemed to fall into conversations, though some were beginning to move into the club at large.

“Hm? Oh, well… Nineteen” Walter responded, grabbing a drink that didn’t seem to have any owner, taking a sip from it. “Why do you ask?” Walter inquired. 

“Oh god I’m giving alcohol to a minor!” Jack cried out, only to be laughed at.

“Maybe in your shite hole country!” Ada teased as Tac rolled his eyes.

With Tac’s attention on him again, Walter knew that more questions were coming from the older stallion. “Jack mentioned you were military. Who did you serve with?”

“Oh, well… The 18th Division Imperial Guardsmen, back when I still lived in the Griffin Kingdom. I was just a lil’ tike when I was enlisted, at the age of thirteen most humans and other low-income folk were to prove their worth by joining the military. I was mostly stationed at an outpost near the border, luckily I had a few friendly faces stationed there with me” Walter replied, scratching his chin, his warm expression falling a bit cold as he spoke of his military past. “Private First Class Walter Barnes, at your service” Walter greeted, offering a short smile. 

“Ah an Imp!” Tac chuckled lightly. “Ada over there was a bodyguard for the Imperial Royalty, Baron used to be Royal Guard, Taven was Night Guard. Flitter’s Royal Army, and, well, I used to be with the REA before it was dismantled. Now we’re all JSOG with that lunatic over there.” Tac gestured toward Jack, who was busy chatting with Ada.

“Heh” Walter chuckled at the Imp comment, taking another sip of the whiskey he nabbed before staring down into the glass. “Sounds like fun” Walter says as he examined his reflection in the whiskey before glancing back up. “It’s rather contradictory, being in the military surrounded by best friends. One moment you could just be having lunch with them, and the next… Bleh” Walter shook his head, taking another sip of whiskey. “Anyways, anything else you’re curious about?” Walter asked. 

Glancing up as Jack pestered Baron, and the mare climbed over his lap to reach somebody at the bar, Tac smiled softly. “Nothing that comes to mind, son. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna interrogate you all night. I do enough of that for my day job.” Chuckling at his own joke, Tac seemed to relax. “So, you’re the guy that the newspapers are all clamoring over, aren’t you? The one who hangs out with the Elements?”

“Oh, heh, yeah that’s me” Walter nodded, chuckling. “The charity case that the tabloids believe is being used as a stunt to further improve the status of the Element Bearers” Walter says as he shakes his head. “It’s fuckin’ crazy living with six mares under a single roof. I mean, the first night I got there  I got shitfaced with a few of the girls and woke up naked on the other side of town” Walter laughed as he took another swig of whiskey. 

His story of alcohol induced nudeness seemed to draw Jack’s attention, as his toothy grin returned. “Been there before! I can’t even remember how many times I’d wander to work hungover and half naked.”

“Uuhhh… weren’t you an EOD, luv?” Ada asked, sounding slightly nervous.

“Well, yeah. Come on Ada, you try disarming hundred pound IED’s without a little liquor in you. And for the nudeness, those suits are fuckin’ hot, AC or no.” He finished his drink, before looking back over toward the bar, to continue to monitor whatever situation Baron had gotten herself into.

“One time I accidentally got piss drunk on base, walked into the older kids’ barracks and took a dump in the center of the room” Walter remarked, grinning. “It was worth the several laps I had to run after that” Walter added on as he finished his whiskey. “Needless to say they didn’t forgive me, even after I got punished. Their grudge is kind of the reason why I got discharged” Walter says as he sets his glass down. 

Chuckles went around the table, before they were interrupted by a cheer from Jack. Turning to look at what he was doing, soon most of the table joined him. Walter’s eyes eventually found Baron hugging a stallion at the bar, though the stallion was now looking at the table, and seemed incredibly embarrassed and sheepish. “Attafuckin’ girl.” Jack grinned happily, and drank to the occasion. 

“Don’t forget your helmet soldier!” Walter barked with a laugh, leaning back into his seat. “Man, screw cups, where are the damn bottles? I could chuck a vase of vodka right now!” Walter declared, feeling brave enough to explore deeper into the pit of Hell. 

“You have fun with that, this marine owes me a real dance.” Ada spoke with a grin as she snagged Jack’s hand and dragged him out of the booth. He certainly didn’t seem to be fighting it. With the two humans gone, Walter noticed Flitter’s gaze lingering on the pair with pain clear in her eyes. She and Taven began a quick, hushed conversation, where Flitter soon pulled herself free from the booth, and quickly trotted out of the club.

“Excuse me for a bit” Walter said as he scooted his way out of the booth, secretly following behind Flitter. He recognizes that face she made, and just wanted to make sure she was okay. He managed to catch Flitter before she wandered too far outside the club’s doors, quickly jogging up beside her. “Hey, Flitter was it? What’s going on?” Walter inquired, giving her a friendly smile overlapping a concerned gaze. 

Flitter’s eyes flicked up toward the big man for a moment, before she was swiftly blocked by a familiar baticorn’s body; he smiled toward her with drunken enthusiasm. “Heeey!” Field yelled to her as he danced before her. “Leaving so soon?” At her swift nod and attempt to scoot past him, Field quickly intercepted her again. “You want some company maybe?”

“I’m not interested Field.” Flitter tried to move around him again, only to earn an angered glare.

“Is it because I'm a freak?” Field demanded.

Shaking her head at him, Flitter fought down the pain in her heart. “No, Field, I'm just not interested right now-”

“He's never gonna love you, so why don't you give the rest of us a chance, huh?”

Pushing past the drunk stallion and the inbound form of Petyr, Flitter managed a short look to the big human that spelled everything out for him immediately. Petyr nodded in understanding, and swiftly wrangled the irate Field as Flitter slipped from the club with Walter trailing behind her. “Leave me alone, please.”

“After that shit, I’m afraid I just can’t turn a blind eye” Walter replied as he kept up at pace with her, “Look, it’s either I follow you or I go back there and pummel that bat cunt’s stupid face in, I think everybody would prefer it if I did not assault small ponies” Walter added. He managed to stop her about a half mile away from the club, reaching down and placing his hand on her shoulder. “You’re in love with Jack, aren’t you?” Walter asked in a soft and somewhat fatherly voice. “I’m here to listen, it always helps to talk to open ears, ya’know?” Walter said with a smile. 

“Please…” Flitter started as she pulled away from him. “Don’t fucking patronize me…” She continued onwards, back toward the castle.

“I’m not patronizing you, I’m trying to comfort you!” Walter replied, as he continued to follow up next to her. “And I can’t really help if I don’t know the details” he added on, letting out a short sigh before he spoke up again. “If I tell you something personal about me, would you consider talking about your feelings?” Walter spoke up as he looked down at her. 

Shaking her head vehemently, Flitter continued through the thinning crowd of revelers. “Just leave me alone. It’s not meant to happen, and I really, r-really don’t want to talk about it.” The mare’s voice hitched as she spoke as she struggled to swallow her emotions and maintain her stony expression.

“I call bullshit!” Walter shouted, growing frustrated now. He ran ahead of her and stopped in her path, acting as a great wall, blocking her attempt to run away from her current problem. “Love is a powerful fuckin’ thing, and it doesn’t give a flippity flying god damn fuck who or what you are!” Walter said, furrowing his brow. “Did you know it’s illegal to be gay in the Griffin Kingdom? Or basically have any other sexuality aside from straight?” Walter inquired, before gritting his teeth. “I fell in love with a young man that was stationed with me back when I was just a stupid kid who couldn’t even fathom how limitless love could be. I told myself it wasn’t meant to be, and it tore me apart inside. And every single day I made eye contact with him I made the same face that you did back in that club” Walter said as he stared down at her. “For over a year, I bottled that up inside me… I’ve never been so miserable in my entire life, so don’t talk to me like I’m just trying to be some random nice person who doesn’t know the difference between my ass and my elbow” Walter said as he knelt down. “Call me an asshole, but I just want to help a potential friend, I know it sounds corny but fuckin’ humor me will ya?” 

Stopping without warning, Flitter turned and glared up hard at Walter. “Stop. Just Stop. I don’t want to hear this. I don’t need this right now, okay? I-I know, that I’m making a mistake, but I’m doing it for him!” Flitter gestured back toward the club. “I’ve joined the rangers to get away from him, for my own sake, but I haven’t told him a thing about it, because I know that I’ll just hurt him.” Her voice was laced heavily with her terrible emotions; her sorrow coming out thick and heavy. “He is my best friend, and I love him, from the bottom of my fucking heart, I love Jack, but…-” She took a short breath. “But he’s happy with her… he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him, and I… I don’t want to hurt my best friend, all because I’m selfish…”

Walter’s heart broke as she spoke, he bit his lip and lowered his head. “Ah fuck…” Walter sighed, scratching his head in thought. “Look, you’re probably already set on doing this, but just hear me out. I… I’m sorry if I tried telling you what to do, I know I’ve felt the same way at some point but I don’t really know you or how your feelings differ from mine. I apologize for getting all soap opera on you” Walter said as he licked his suddenly dry lips. “You’re not selfish, okay? I could populate a small country with all the selfish people I’ve known, but as far as I can tell you don’t seem very selfish to me. You’re going to the rangers, and you won’t tell him because you can’t stand to hurt him… But how do you think he’s going to feel knowing that his best friend just up and disappeared without a single word of notice?” Walter asked. “You need to talk to him, you really do. And I can help you with that. You just gotta let me, okay? If you’re going to leave, you might as well get this heavy load off your chest. Please, let me help you, if you still don’t want to listen I’ll leave you alone, but please just think about what I’m trying to say...” 

For her part, Flitter really did seem to consider his words. When she lowered her gaze, and began trotting toward the castle, he knew her answer, though she spoke softly to him. Her voice was nearly lost to the din of the festival. “I need to pack.” 

“...At least let me help you then” Walter said as he walked calmly beside her. He seemed to have no intentions of trying to stop her any further. As they approached the castle, he turned his eyes to her and spoke up. “I’m sorry for getting so loud, I’m not very good with talking to others. I usually just try to keep quiet so I don’t say anything stupid” Walter said as he entered through the castle’s main entrance together. 

“At least you’re… straight forward.” Flitter muttered as she led him toward her room. Unlike Jack’s, it was a proper suite, though it lacked any personal flair. It hardly looked like the mare lived in there at all.

“Man… This room looks rather… Unoccupied” Walter commented as he entered her room with her. “What all do you need?” he asked, “I’ll help you with anything you need” Walter smiled as he awaited her instructions. Without a word, Flitter got to work, packing away her spare uniforms, books, and personal effects. She only needed one bag, it seemed. Once the olive drab sea bag was packed up and zipped tight, she drew a pistol from under her pillow, and a leg harness loaded with magazines from her night stand. She regarded the weapon for a moment, before setting it down on the sea bag.

Walter’s eyes offered a brief distant stare at her sidearm before returning over to her. It seems he wasn’t really needed to help with packing after all. He gave a short sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “What about a letter?” Walter asked, his eyes becoming soft as he gazed at her. “Nothing too long, just a simple letter… Something he can hold onto?” he suggested. 

Flitter paused for a moment, before nodding. To his surprise however, she didn’t start writing. She simply pulled a small metallic rectangle from her bag. Setting it down on the pillow, she set down some wires atop it, and nodded again, as if content with the item being where it was.

Walter could only assume that the items she had set on the bed meant something dearly to her, something that only her and Jack would understand. “I’ll let Jack know where to find those” Walter said softly before he walked over to the door. “I’ll see you off, somebody has to” he smiled. 

“I’d rather if you didn’t.” She responded softly, as she began pulling off her dress uniform.

“Oh” Walter replies, before nodding. He took a deep breath before letting out a sigh. “I don’t know all that you two have been through, and I’m sorry if I seemed like I was sticking my nose into something I shouldn’t have. I wish you good fortune, Flitter” Walter said as he rubbed his arm, giving her a small smile. “Semper fidelis” Walter spoke softly, before opening up her door and stepping out. 

“Wait.” Flitter spoke out, drawing his attention. “That… phrase. Where did you learn it?’

“My father, he was… He was a soldier, like Jack. He taught my sister and I this phrase, told us that it meant ‘always faithful’, it was something that we said to one another as a family” Walter replied, standing in the doorway, glancing back at her. 

“Eheh…” Flitter finally smiled as she shook her head. “Jack’s gonna love you… goodnight, Walter. It was nice meeting you.”

“Goodnight Flitter, it was nice meeting you too. You have my best wishes” Walter said, before straightening his posture and giving her a smile and a firm salute just before he closed the door and left her room, stepping his way down the empty hall of the castle alone, his smile faltering into a saddened frown. He wished he could do more, he really did, but he quickly learned that it was not his place. The best he could do was give her what little support he had to offer before letting her go on her way. Walter stopped in his tracks as he came to the mouth of another corridor, he quickly began looking around, blinking rapidly. 

“Where the fuck am I?” Walter mumbled to himself, utterly lost since he had never visited this castle before, and was not used to traversing it alone. 

Walter quietly ventured his way around the castle, wandering aimlessly until eventually he came across what appeared to be the hallway leading to the ballroom. Judging by the sounds, it seems like the party was still going on. He let out a thankful sigh, he knew his way out of the castle from here. He figured that he would go back to the club with the others, but is stopped by a familiar cyan blue pegasus. 

“Hey, Walter! Where’ve you been? The girls and I have been looking all over for you!” Rainbow Dash spoke up as she jogged her way out of the ballroom and over to the large suited young man. “Man things have been boring so far, I guess you didn’t miss much. Where did you run off too?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

“Oh, well I ran into some fellow humans, we talked for a bit and I wound up joining them out at Scratches’ Club” Walter explained. 

“You went out clubbing and didn’t invite me?” Rainbow Dash playfully pouted, before taking Walter by the hand with her wing. “Come on, everypony wants you to say a few words since you’re quite a popular discussion topic” Rainbow Dash said, causing Walter to cringe slightly. 

“Say a few words? You and I both know I’m not good with that” Walter complained, earning a few nods of agreement from Rainbow Dash. 

“I’m aware of that big guy, but Twilight’s got your back, so don’t worry” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled Walter back into the ballroom where the other Element Bearers were waiting for him. 

They all greeted Walter as he approached, Twilight quickly trotted off to the stage so she could start her announcement of all the success and hardships that Equestria has overcome since last year’s Gala. As she did that, Fluttershy brushed up against Walter’s leg, sniffing the air around him before scrunching up her snout. “Walter, have you been drinking?” Fluttershy asked. 

“Would you blame me if I said yes?” Walter replied. 

“Walter, you said you would stop after that stadium incident” Fluttershy scolded, giving him a small frown.

“I was having an anxiety attack, can you blame me for taking the edge off?” Walter replied, rolling his eyes. He didn’t really mention the interaction between him and Blueblood since that would spark some trouble, he just wanted the night to be done and over with, however it seemed like getting scolded by Fluttershy was the least of his worries. 

“Walter, could you come up and say a few words?” Twilight spoke, smiling over at Walter who gave her a owlish stare, as if somebody had just thrown a small bomb onto his lap. He cleared his throat, smiling sheepishly as he approached the stage, standing next to Twilight. Of course, the refugee had to spit a couple of words at this event, how else were the nobles going to feel better about themselves if the charity case didn’t talk about how grand his life has been since he came to Equestria. Walter took a deep breath, then began to speak. 

“My time in Equestria, although filled with hardship and challenges, has been worth the trouble I went through just to get here. I was alone, and I felt misplaced, like a lump of coal tossed into a tub of white pearls. But soon my problems became less heavy, with the company of good friends my life here has improved dramatically. My… My only wish, is that… I could’ve started my new life with my family. With my father, Captain Franklin Barnes, and my older sister, Corporal Jessica Barnes. My father… He died, protecting his children, he gave his life for his family, not only as a soldier, but as my parent. My sister is still missing, but I know that she is still out there, waiting to reunite with me… And when we do, I will have friends to introduce her to. Thank you, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, for allowing this overgrown child into your country. Thank you, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, for being the best friends that you could to me in my time of need. Thank you Equestria, for giving me a home… And for giving me hope” Walter said, smiling warmly as the room fell silent for a few moments before applause filled the ballroom. 

Walter smiled politely before petting Twilight between the ears, her cheeks warming up a brief moment while he gave her a friendly scratch of affection. He then stepped off the stage, making his way back towards the small area where his friends were, all of them giving a friendly smile to Walter as he approached. “That was lovely, Walter” Rarity spoke up.

“Thank’s Rarity” Walter said softly as he pulled up a chair to sit on while the Gala resumed. 

After a few minutes, Walter felt a powerful, matronly presence moving up behind him. Casting a nervous glance over his shoulder confirmed who it was. Smiling softly to him as she came to a stop, Celestia fixed her regalia and cleared her throat. “Good evening Walter. How has the Gala been treating you?”

“O-Oh! Celestia, it’s nice to see you!” Walter said, obviously surprised since he never expected to see one of the two rulers of this entire country just waltz up and greet him like this. He quickly adjusted his red button on bowtie, which popped off and fell to his feet. Walter gave a sheepish smile, leaning down to pick it back up and put it back on. “I’m doing, well, decent I guess. Ran into some uncomfortable mishap a while back but nothing my new friend couldn’t clear up” Walter explained as he politely bowed to her. 

“A new friend?” Celestia offered a very warm smile, that immediately had him feeling more at ease. “I heard that you slipped out with some ponies, who might it be?”

“Oh, well. His name is Jack, an unruly yet charming gentleman who rescued me from a certain… Blonde haired noble. He brought me and some of his friends out to a club a while back, I shared a few drinks and a few stories, but then I decided to return after bit so I didn’t get too unruly” Walter explained with a small chuckle. 

At the mention of Jack’s name, Celestia’s warm smile snapped away in an instant, and she physically jerked, as if choking on her drink. Coughing lightly, Celestia put a hoof to her mouth for a moment, before her eyes flicked to regard Walter with worry. “Staff Sergeant Jack Kessle?” She asked, almost sounding nervous.

“Yeah, that’s the guy” Walter replied, his friendly expression turning to that of confusion at her odd reaction and nervous tone. “He’s a nice guy, I’m used to being around people like him, I grew up in a military family after all” Walter said to try and assure Celestia, offering a sheepish smile, growing slightly concerned why one of the elite Princesses of Equestria act so concerned at the mention of just one guy. 

Taking in a deep breath, Celestia shocked Walter by frowning, if only for a moment or two. “I see. Walter… I have a request for you. Please, please stay away from that man. For your own good, and that of those around you. With you growing accustomed to your new, civilian life, I would be heartbroken to see you dragged back to the path of war and pain.” Celestia looked him straight in the eye as she spoke, and he couldn't help but meet her gaze with wide eyes.

“Uh” Walter blinked, his eyes aiming down at Celestia with concern and confusion. Jack seems like a good fella to be around, he did save Walter from being raped by Blueblood, so he couldn’t exactly label Jack a bad person in his book, at least not yet. “Your highness, the fact that you speak to me in such sincere worry as if I had been a subject of yours since birth warms my heart. But I’m afraid war and pain can never escape me, even as a civilian. In a sense, Jack is like a walking memoir of what little family and friends that I used to have” Walter explained with a small smile. “Besides, I have a new friend that I made tonight who would appreciate it if she had somebody keeping an eye on Jack while she’s away” Walter added. 

Sighing softly, Celestia nodded. “I understand your sentiments, Walter. But please, give it some thought, and take your other friends, the girls, into account. Jack is… not the sort of person who meshes well with… well… anybody. I simply do not wish to see you get hurt by his lifestyle.”

“Right… I’ll contemplate it for a while. Thank you for your concern, your Majesty” Walter said as he threw up a smile. “Y’know, my father always once said that broken people are drawn to one another in order to make a whole” Walter started, “I’d like to give friendship a try whenever I can, y’know?” 

“Jack is… so far beyond broken he has wrapped around the other way.” Celestia mused quietly, before giving Walter another soft smile. “Perhaps your friendship will be good for him. A grounded, intelligent man like yourself may be able to steer him toward the path of friendship, love, and tolerance. I wish you luck.”

Walter gives a short bow before straightening up and giving Celestia a warm smile. “Thank you mo- Celestia” Walter quickly corrected himself, his cheeks quickly becoming rosy while six of his best friends and roommates giggle at his slip up since they’ve been eavesdropping from a distance. 

“Have a pleasant evening, Walter. Might I suggest you get yourself a glass of water? Your breath smells… of poor choices.” Celestia winked at him, before trotting off to see to the other guests.

“I shall get right on that…” Walter said with a nod, smiling as Celestia left to attend to other guests. Once she was a safe distance away Walter had a silent freak out, flailing about quickly and briefly like Jim Carrey in a Jim Carrey film. After that rigmarole was done and over with, Walter decided to retire for the night. Almost getting raped, getting shit faced, having a talk about love and complicated shit, and also getting lectured by one of the two most powerful beings in Equestria who just so happens to be a Princess has been more than enough shit for Walter to handle for the night. 

And so, Walter began to make his way through the halls of the castle, wondering to himself, when he would meet Jack again, and how their next encounter would play out. Deep in the cockles of his gut, Walter had a distinct feeling that his days with Jack were far from over.
> Chapter 2: Aftermath, Breaking Away
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In all his life, dating back to his days of youth and military occupation, Walter had slept in several places. Barracks, trenches, watch towers, piles of hay, puddles of mud, and even huddled up in a fox hole spooning with his fellow Imperial Guardsmen. Despite that, Walter was no stranger to your average affordable mattress, but never in his life, had Walter been blessed enough to lay his head down on a bed that could only be described as the bosom of a cloud. Last night had been like a rollercoaster; ranging from deeply disturbing, to boring as all hell, to intensely exciting. Despite how quickly it had all come and gone, he had gained a few things out of it; a group of new potential friends. One in particular who Princess Celestia herself personally warned Walter about.

Staff Sergeant Jack Kessle, six foot two inches and two-hundred forty pounds of mean packed up into the shape of one spooky ass marine. The only person that Walter can compare Jack to was his five foot three inch one-hundred twenty pound lunatic older sister. Although there were things that made Jack his own unique type of crazy, Walter was confident that Jack and his sister were made from the same clay, just different molds.

Walter woke up early in the morning, despite his best intentions to sleep in. He woke up around five in the morning, and found no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t go back to sleep. So, instead of doing something productive, he simply laid there relaxing for a few hours before he heard a gentle knock on his door. Prying his crusty eyes open, Walter’s blurred gaze is met with the red painted ceiling of the suite, thinking back on last night when Twilight arranged for them to stay the night at the castle, he made a mental note to thank her once he saw her again.

Throwing his feet over the edge of the bed while picking the crust of slumber from his eyes, Walter rose from the bed begrudgingly, sluggishly lumbering over to the door to his room, dressed only in his suit pants from last night. Opening the door, Walter was met by a maid who raised a pair of clean clothes up to him. Walter gave a friendly smile to the maid, grasping the clothes and thanking her politely before closing the door in order to get dressed.

Once in a fresh pair of clothes, a simple t-shirt and denim jeans, Walter folded up last night’s suit rather neatly and set it on the bed for the maids to wash as he gathered up his belongings, mostly his phone, wallet, and pocket knife, before stepping out of his room. His stomach demanded sacrifices, and that’s what he was going to find: breakfast.

“Oh” Walter groaned, realizing quickly that he is unfamiliar with the castle’s layout, and so he decided to go where he knew he could find a friendly face to share breakfast with, that was, if he was even awake at this time. It was still pretty early in the morning, after all. Walter wandered his way to the hall leading to the ballroom, and from there he remembered how to get to Jack’s room. He followed the memory of Ada and her gifted buttocks all the way to the all too familiar sign: Trespassers will be molested and shot. “Alrighty” Walter mumbled, raising his heavy fist to give a few firm knocks on Jack’s door, listening closely for a response.

When no response came from within, Walter found the door to be unlocked. With curiosity winning out over his confusion, he slowly and carefully cracked the door open to peer inside. The big bed inside was empty; it’s covers strewn about haphazardly. The room smelled of stale smoke, though it held hints of alcohol, and womanly scents. Jack must have woken up already, and made his way to the dining hall. Walter was going to have to find his own way it seemed.

“God damn it” Walter cursed in a casual tone, he isn’t looking forward to wandering around the castle aimlessly. Walter eventually just said ‘fuck it’ and decided to wander about anyways, it wouldn’t be hard to bump into a guard, and from there he could find his way to the dining hall. With it being this early in the morning, the elements were definitely asleep still and wouldn’t be waking up until later in the afternoon.

As he predicted, Walter just so happen to run into a royal guard, who obliged Walter in guiding him to the dining hall where the mare was heading herself. Once there, Walter held the door open for the mare out of courtesy, who in response gave him a smile and a wink before heading in to get her morning grub. Walter yawned as he entered after her, glancing around the room, taking the sight of several off duty guards strewn about the vast room at their respective tables. As Walter grabbed a tray and made his way to the line for food, he occasionally looks over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the room for any signs of Jack.

Sure enough, he caught sight of the marine as he sat next to the Lunar Diarch and shoveled waffles into his gaping, hungover maw. Princess Luna looked deeply disturbed as she watched him eat like an animal starved. At Walter’s entrance, Luna looked up toward him, and cracked a pained smile as she lifted her head in greeting. “Good Morning, Mr. Barnes.” She spoke lightly in greeting, before motioning to one of the seats nearby. At her speaking, Jack raised his head, and glanced over at Walter. Seeming to remember who he was, Jack raised a hand in greeting, before working on finishing his breakfast.

“Good morning, Luna. Good morning Jack” Walter spoke with a smile. Once he acquired a large stack of pancakes and waffles, he decorated them with peanut butter, almonds, and maple syrup. He soon marched over, and took a seat across from the Princess and the Staff Sergeant. “I’m sorry for not providing a more proper greeting, I feel like a corpse right now” Walter explained as he began to dig into his food with a lot more grace in comparison to Jack’s starved method of consumption. Although Walter had drank his fair share of booze last night, it was most likely not as bad as Jack did, after all he did clear the beverage table of wine last night before they went to the club. “You look like hammered shit, marine” Walter commented with a small grin as he cut up a few pieces of waffles and pancakes to shovel into his mouth.

“Then I look how my soul feels.” Jack muttered in response to Walter. The marine really did look like shit, though he somehow seemed very pleased with himself. It was a strange combo to be certain, though Walter could imagine why. Jack’s neck and jawline were covered in little bruises that looked awfully close to hickeys, and just under the neckline of his shirt were the tail ends of scratches clearly earned from a woman’s nails.

“Really Jack, do you even realize how much wine you drank last night?” Luna asked him as she picked at her own breakfast.

“Uhhhh… six bowls?”

“Four thousand, five hundred bits worth of wine. By yourself. Who drinks wine from a bowl anyways?”

“Eheheh…” Jack grinned a bit and shrugged. “What? I didn’t want to keep wandering back to the table, so I figured I’d get a bigger glass. It’s not my fault you only had those teeny little ‘Baby’s first booze’ glasses. I had to improvise.”

“With a fucking bowl…” Luna muttered, though it was clear she was fighting back a smirk of her own as she shook her head.

“Last time I checked my friend, you are not Andre the Giant” Walter remarked to Jack, swallowing a bite of his breakfast as Jack and Luna bickered. “Glad that you drank most of the liquor before I had the chance to, I’d hate to embarrass the girls by stripping down at the Gala” Walter remarked with a snort. “Just imagine the look on all those snobby faces once they see a six foot six, four hundred pound man strip to his birthday suit while singing Macklemore”

“Eheheh…” Jack chuckled and grinned at the thought, before shaking his head. “Fuckin’ Macklemore? That’s some Golden Oldies right there.”

After a moment, Luna looked to Jack with concern on her features. “Jack, did Flitter… say, anything to you last night? Anything at all?”

“No? Not…” Jack squinted his bleary eyes as he thought, though it only lasted a second before they shot wide in panic, and he jumped out of his chair. The chair spun away as Jack bolted for the door, and it clattered to the ground as the dining hall door swung closed behind him.

Breathing a sigh, Luna picked up the fallen chair and shook her head. “I had worried… I apologize, Mr. Barnes. The Staff Sergeant is always like this.”

“That’s… Quite alright” Walter replied, his smirk and light lifted features died down after Luna had mentioned Flitter. He let out a sigh, pushing his breakfast away before standing up on his feet and stretching. “I better go after him… I’m the one that saw her last” Walter said, cracking his joints a bit before he gave a firm salute to Luna. “Thank you for letting me join you in breakfast, your company was delightful” Walter said with a small smile before he then quickly jogged out of the cafeteria, following after the sounds of Jack sprinting through the halls, aiming his destination at Flitter’s former suite.

When he reached the hall leading to Flitter’s suite, he found Jack already exiting, looking bitterly sour and heavily displeased. He was holding the device in his hand, while rubbing at his features roughly.

“Jack…” Walter spoke up as he approached, letting out a sigh. “I was gonna tell you about it over breakfast before Luna brought it up” Walter confessed as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m afraid that was the only goodbye she would allow, I wasn’t able to convince her to do otherwise… It wasn’t really in my place to anyways” Walter says as he gives Jack a silent stare, looking as if he was about as unhappy about this as Jack seemed to be.

Walter paused involuntarily as Jack shot a molten hot look of anger toward him, though it quickly cooled as Jack looked away. Letting out a heavy, pained sigh, Jack stuck the device in his pocket and muttered a black curse. “It’s… fine. My fault regardless.” Setting his hands on his belt line, he shook his head hard. “I need to get in my morning PT. I’ll see you around, kid.”

“...Yes sir” Walter replied quietly, nodding shortly. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be in Canterlot, but if you’re ever in the neighborhood, you can find me in Ponyville, I usually hang around Sugar Cube Corner after work” Walter said before turning on his heel and began his own walk of silence.

This isn’t exactly how he planned his morning to be. Jack didn’t take the news too lightly, and the fact that Walter knew something about it could only mean disdain will be aimed his direction. Walter decided that he needed some fresh air, and so he made his way out of the castle and to what appeared to be a large field utilized for military training. The field had recently been converted to a training ground, and init stood possibly the most intense assault course Walter had ever laid eyes upon. Just looking at it made the one he’d gone through in boot camp seem like a pleasant memory. As he walked, he spotted Jack on a nearby track, running laps. Several others were nearby, including Captain Hard Tac. The Captain gave Walter a single wave as he and the others prepared for morning PT.

“Captain Hard Tac, good morning” Walter greeted as he walked up to elder officer, offering him and the others a salute before glancing over at Jack in silence. “You guys getting ready for morning PT, eh? Mind if I join?” Walter inquired as he offered a smile.

“Course not, son. Feel free. It’s only a light session, most of us are still hung over.” The captain chuckled lightly, before rubbing at his tired eyes. “Myself included…” As the captain pointed Walter to the stretching area, Ada strolled out wearing her PT gear. The woman was in shockingly good shape it seemed, and had the SAS’s insignia tattooed across her bicep. He hadn’t noticed it the night before, while he had been busy staring at her rear end.

“Mornin’ Wally.” The woman greeted as she began stretching. “Jack already at it? Huh.”

“Mornin’ Ada, yeah, he had a rough morning, I figure PT will help clear his head” Walter replied, blushing at the memory of her fine behind still fresh in his mind. Shaking his head, Walter decided to warm up as well, and since it was rather warm out today, Walter pulled off his shirt and folded it neatly onto a nearby bench. He’s gonna need it to wipe sweat off his face later on.

Walter isn’t exactly as portly as Petyr was, despite the two sharing the same body size spectrum. Although Walter isn’t exactly ripped like a bodybuilder, his physique is more closely comparable to that of a professional strong man. His arms, neck, upper/lower back, and legs are all built like parts to a powerful machine, built for constant abuse. He stepped up to the stretching area and began to do similar stretches that Ada is doing, his muscles flexing as he stretches.

“Fuck, it’s been awhile since I did PT” Walter sighed as he stretched, his joints popping along the way. PT with JSOG proved to be rather light, though considering the haggard appearance of most of the soldiers there, it was easy to guess why. As he worked out, Walter began to hear things spoken between the soldiers. It seemed that a force of Griffon soldiers were going to join them the next day, making up the other half of the force. Currently, JSOG consisted of the cream of the crop from Equestrian forces; Royal Guard, Royal Equestrian Army, and several from the far more secretive units such as the Coming Dawn. Apparently the griffons were considering sending in some of their best Imperial Guardsmen, and some of their Kasrkin stormtroopers. Truly, scary people, even to Walter.

As the team trained, he couldn’t help but notice that Jack was doing his best to maintain a stern, yet sunny exterior, though it often cracked, revealing the dark mood below. Walter decided to increase his jog into a mild sprint, catching up next to Jack where he gave a small friendly smile. He didn’t say anything, he just kept up the pace so that him and Jack were jogging at the same speed side by side. “So, I heard Griffons will start making their way into JSOG?” Walter spoke up after what felt like a half hour of silence, deciding to break the ice once Jack was used to Walter’s presence.

“They add the J to our SOG.” The man grunted lightly as he ran. He was wearing a black vest, oddly enough, that clinked and clacked as Jack ran.

Walter nodded quietly as he ran up alongside Jack, grunting every now and then as well. Noticing the black vest, Walter cracked a small grin, shaking his head before giving out an audible chuckle. “Did you train her?” Walter asked after another pause of silence.

“Yes. Saved her life, and she saved mine. Good kid.” He grunted and spat into the dirt of the track. Sweat was running down Jack’s face and back, only causing the weighted vest to get heavier as it was soaked.  Jack’s stride remained the same as he continued on, even after the others had stopped. It never seemed to falter, even as his face turned red from exertion, and he began to glare at the track, as if it was the thing causing him pain.

Noticing Jack’s frustrated expression, Walter dug his phone out of his pocket and turned the volume up high on its speakers. He searched through a few things on his phone while he kept up with Jack’s pace, before playing a song he felt was fitting for the current activity: Eye of the Tiger, hoping Jack would find it in good humor and lighten up a bit.

	As the song played over his phone, Walter gave Jack a friendly smile, “Come on, let’s do a few more laps, that is, if you’re up for it?” Walter asked as his smile faded into a grin. Despite his size, Walter had a rather impressive level of stamina, and since he had only been jogging up until then he must have a whole lot more of it than Jack, currently. Despite the encouragement, Jack’s spirits didn’t seem to raise any higher. He simply nodded, and plodded around the track several more times, as if punishing himself for the night prior.

He only stopped when one of his legs let out a mechanical whine, which had him immediately slow to a walk, and head for the sidelines. “Can someone get me a flathead screwdriver?”

“Here” Walter spoke up, pulling out his pocket knife, which was more of like an all-in-one device that boy scouts are given during camping trips. It contained a flathead screwdriver, and so once he was close enough he tossed the pocket knife over to Jack, panting heavily since he had been trying to keep up with Jack the entire way. While Jack fiddled with his legs, Walter would wipe his face clean of sweat using his shirt that he discarded earlier. As he dried his face, Walter began to wonder if all his attempts to try and make people feel better is really just him meddling with things he has no business in, the more he thought about this the more embarrassed and stupid he felt.

“Gah…Fuckin’ hell” Walter groaned, his voice muffled by his shirt.

Rolling up his pant legs, Walter was surprised to find that the older man’s legs were mechanical, all the way up to the halfway point on his thighs. The legs were intricate, but clearly military grade with how sturdy they seemed. Jack spent the time retuning the knee of one, after having popped the armoured knee cap off.

“...Jack?” Walter murmured quietly, glancing over at the marine in mild confusion. “...Your legs, you have robot legs?” Walter tilted his head, observing Jack’s mechanical legs in amazement. “If ponies managed to create robotic limbs of that caliber, my dad would probably be pissed that he didn’t come along with me” Walter remarked with a small chuckle.

“It’s a gift from the marine corp, for getting my ass blown off and spending six months in a gulag.” Jack answered lightly, as if joking. “Ponies can’t do spacetech yet.”

“Oh” Walter blinked, scratching his head. “Well, my dad was already scary enough with just one arm anyways” Walter remarked with a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. “That’s odd though, I guess the Elements receive experimental tech then” the large man mumbled to himself, recalling the television and game consoles the girls have back home as he sat down to catch his breath.

Shrugging again, Jack swigged water and shook his head. “If that’s what the princess wants to do. Not my place to question where the expensive shit goes.” Letting out a huff, Jack looked to Hard Tac. “Are we all set to go for the new guys?”

“Yeah Jack, course is ready, and the spare rooms are all squared away. We got kit and weapons getting churned out tonight, fresh as daisies.” Tac leaned back as he spoke.

“Right. It’s mostly domestic stuff anyways, I guess the girls are testing the entertainment systems for the researchers” Walter said as he stared blankly at the ground, a distant look in his eyes. How he managed to make an ass of himself in front of a new friend once again in such a short period of time amazed him, a new personal record.

Rubbing his forehead, Walter stared at the ground in deep thought, trying to figure something out, something, anything that could make Jack’s mood lighten up just by a little bit. Walter was aware that Jack felt guilt of last night’s events, and for Flitter leaving out of the blue. It made Walter feel even more shitty that he couldn’t convince Flitter to stay just long enough to say goodbye with Jack face to face, even though he is fully aware that it was not in his power to try and tell Flitter nor Jack what to do, even if his intentions were good. As his silent stressful mulling rumbling around inside his mind, Walter reached back and began to scratch at the back of his head in an odd fashion, as if he were tracing something along the back of his head beneath his hair.

“Old scar?” Jack questioned quietly as he looked at Walter, surprising the much larger man. Walter hadn’t noticed the marine’s attention returning.

“Eh?” Walter jumped slightly, startled after being snapped out of his mild trance. He looked up at Jack, smiling sheepishly before rubbing the back of his head awkwardly now. “O-Oh, yeah… When I was in the Imperial Guard, I was shot in the head by an unknown gunman. They had to perform surgery and… It rattled things around a bit, so they had to do a lot of repair work… I still feel it sometimes, deep inside there… I subconsciously dig at my scar like I’m trying to pull the bullet out” Walter explained. “Sorry, I rambled off again… It’s a bad habit” the large man says apologetically, offering Jack a sheepish smile.

To his surprise, Jack smiled softly, and gestured to his forehead, and the fat, ugly Y shaped scar that dominated his brow. “Shot in the head with my own gun. Been there before.”

“O-Oh” Walter responds softly, his awkward grin fading to a weak smile. “H-Heh, it’s weird though right? Your brain feels rattled, and when you wake up from the surgery you just feel… Almost like a completely different person with somebody else’s memories” Walter says as he pulls his hand away from his head, staring at it. “Hey Jack, got any plans after you train your new recruits?” Walter asked, standing up, staring down at the marine.

“Probably drink myself into a coma, get deployed somewhere bright and colourful with a hangover. Kill some indignant locals.” Jack muttered lightly, as if it were a joke. “No real clue bud.” He began rooting around his pockets, before pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “In reality it’ll just be training exercise after training exercise, followed by a three day op to take down some asshole, then back to training. Long periods of boredom, with short moments of murder, death, adrenaline, and pants shitting terror. Oorah marine.” Jack grumbled as he lit his smoke and took a long draw, before having it stolen from him by Ada.

“Oorah” Walter repeated firmly, giving a light chuckle. “Sounds like an afternoon in some shithole outpost in the Forsaken Forest” Walter says as he pats Jack on the back before resting his large hand on the marine’s shoulder. “What if I pulled a few strings and had us sent on a, quote unquote, ‘mission’, to Manehatten beach?” Walter inquired, giving a smirk. “We could set up an ‘outpost’ and I could provide some pretty damn delicious rations from an open grill. I am a damn fine self-taught chef after all when it comes to the grill” Walter says with a friendly grin. “We can bring the entire squad, and it would be good training just in case we get stranded on an island, we could practice swimming our asses back to civilization”

A long silence passed over the group as all eyes fell on Walter, while Jack looked over his shoulder at everyone else, before looking back. “Well, shit. If you can, sure. I won’t complain.”

“Yes you will.” Ada assured him, before grinning at Walter and giving him a nod of approval.

“I doubt Sunbutt will let us all go though, no fuckin’ way.” Jack murmured as he stole his smoke back from Ada. “Something’s crawled up her ass lately, hell if I know what it is though…”

“Sunbutt? Do you mean… Oh, snrk” Walter held back a chuckle at Celestia’s nickname, before clearing his throat and donned a serious stoic facade. “You underestimate my abilities, you’re talking to a man who lives with six young oddball mares, all with… Unique personalities. I have to use my skill in negotiation and conversation in order to simply coexist in the same household without some sort of chaotic or lewd scenario unfolding” Walter says as he rubs his face. “And don’t even get me started on talking down a drunken Applejack and Rainbow Dash, those two are spooky… But Fluttershy… Oooooh boy, don’t even get me started on how scary she can get” Walter says as he shakes his head. “Digression aside, just leave it to me. I will convince Celestia to let us go on a ‘mission’ to Manehatten beach, so all of you pack up your swimsuits. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to show the new recruits what they will be fighting for? A little taste of heaven before you drag them ass first into the fiery pits of hell?”

“You’re a dingus. And a fuckin’ nerd.” Jack muttered lightly as he snubbed his finished cigarette. “But alright. I suppose we can find the time to wander some beach. Considering the looks me an’ Tac are getting, I’m pretty sure there’d be a mutiny if we didn’t.” Jack smirked as some of the others smiled.

“Very well mine valorous friends, provide me with all of thy best wishes so that I may convince the glorious sunbutt to falter such tiring restrictions of serious manner, if 't be true only for a small while. Off I wend now, for glory! Semper fidelis!” Walter declares, suddenly shifting into an Old English accent. He then turned heel and marched off into the castle, painfully navigating his way through the halls before eventually finding what he figured to be the entrance to the throne room, judging by how fancy the ornate twin doors are. With a grunt, Walter pushes the doors open, walking in while glancing around rather meekly. “Hello?” Walter called out, announcing his presence.

The guards stood at attention as Walter entered, and as he spoke, he noticed that court was in session. Celestia and Luna were present on their thrones, though it seemed Luna had fallen asleep, and Celestia was forcing a motherly smile at the pegasus who was currently regaling her with the demand for more governmental gold. Upon Walter’s entry, Celestia’s smile became more genuine as she motioned him forward. “A moment if you would, Mayor Opal. Yes Walter? What is it?”

“Greetings Celestia, I am thankful to be in your presence. Forgive my intrusion, for I have come to implore you a request from my associates of JSOG and I. As of recently, I have noticed stress and tension among my comrades, and I was hoping to inquire you to pay mind to my request,” Walter began, speaking in a clear and rather professional tone, which was completely different to his usual laid back and gruff speech mannerism. “I do not wish to ask a lot from you, I simply desire that all members of JSOG are allowed to commute to Manehatten in order to relieve stress at the coast. And while we are there, I was thinking perhaps as compensation for your generosity my comrades and I could solve any issues while we are there” Walter finished, bowing his head respectfully to her the whole time.

“You see sister?” Luna piped up, apparently not asleep at all. “That is how they used to speak to us in our court, now it’s all whining and complaining and demanding what they do not deserve.” The lunar princess shot a withering glare at the pegasus mayor, who seemed to actually shrink.

Sighing at her sister’s words, Celestia fixed Walter with a light smile that was laced with worry. “So, I assume you’ve been spending more time with the Operations Group. Your request is a… Difficult one, I’m afraid. JSOG is a special unit meant to deal with major threats, we simply can’t have them all run off to such a distant city for simple R&R, regardless if they more than deserve it.”

“I understand your concern, Princess. If that is the case, perhaps we could compromise? I have not been in Canterlot for all that long, so I do not know what all exists here in the capitol, but would it be okay if we visited a water park instead? They would be able to relax and have fun without having to travel too far” Walter proposed, “Perhaps a large private pool? Somewhere I can cook on an open grill at least”

“Sister, perhaps it will mean they will no longer shred the south lawn with munitions and gunfire.” Luna offered, clearly siding with Walter in the conversation.

With a soft sigh, Celestia smiled again. “There is a small lake just north of Canterlot, it should be close enough to walk there. If you can keep them in line Walter, then I suppose I have no issues with JSOG leaving the capital for some rest and relaxation.”

“My greatest thanks, you’ve made the members of JSOG very happy, I assure you.” Walter said as he approached Celestia and Luna, gently taking Celestia’s hoof in his large gentle grasp before kissing the top part of her hoof. He then scooted over and did the same to Luna, offering them both a polite smile. “As for you, Mayor Opal was it? Do you have any idea as to the stress our princesses endure for you to live a life of luxury? Do you realize what’s going on in the land I once called home? I’ve lost practically everything, and out of the kindness of their hearts Celestia and Luna have blessed me with a new life, a second chance. Do not take your wealth for granted, you never know when it’ll all disappear and you’ll be left with nothing” Walter said in a stern voice, his hardened expression fixated on the mayor before turning his gaze to the princesses, smiling warmly at them with a wave before he left the throne room. It was the best example of a ‘drop the mic’ moment.

Walter retraced his steps back to the JSOG gang, approaching them with a big goofy victorious smile. “We won’t be going to Manehatten, it’s too far away, however Celestia has granted us all permission to go to a rather beautiful lake outside of Canterlot” Walter declared with his hands on his hips. “Now, I plan on cooking you all a delicious barbeque meal, so how about we go shopping for our outing after the recruits get here?” Walter says as his grin grows even bigger, happy that he managed to do something good for Jack and his gang, hoping it would lift their spirits.

The pack of soldiers all seemed to look toward Walter, before Jack spat a curse, and Tac started laughing.

“Pay up, asshole!”

Grumbling, Jack rooted through his pockets, before tossing five gold coins at the captain. “Bastard…” Turning his attention to Walter, Jack stared for a moment, before pushing a smile. “I guess I was wrong.”


“I have a way of speaking with people of high authority, at least some times I do, when I really want something” Walter replied to Jack, giving him a big smile before clearing his throat. “Now then, does anybody know of a good grocery store? I must have decent ingredients if I am to prepare a delicious barbeque for us as we party!” Walter says as he places his hands on his hips.

With a long, deep sigh, Jack lifted a hand, and rubbed his eyes roughly. “We need to do something about that stick up your ass… you talk like Luna.”

“What the Staff Sergeant means-” Hard Tac interrupted, smiling. “Is that we’re thankful for your work, if you want I can lead you down to some place where we can get food.”

“Oh” Walter blinked, giving a short nod. He is only behaving as his father had taught him to while in the presence of royalty, after all, sweet talking royals was a part of daily life in the Griffon Kingdom, at least it was for his dad. “Lead the way Captain!” Walter says with a smile as he scratches the back of his head absentmindedly.

“You meant now?” Tac rubbed the back of his neck, before offering a light smile. “Alright. Just lemme drop off my kit. Jack, try not to burn down the place, alright?”

“You took away my matches, how am I supposed to do shit?” Jack shot back immediately as he continued with the group toward the door.

Shaking her head, Ada gave the captain a light salute. “I’ll keep an eye on the bugger.”

Despite wanting to add a few snarky remarks, Walter decided to keep his witty comments to himself as he followed the group, figuring they were going to go somewhere they could wait for Hard Tac to return, most likely Jack’s room if Walter were to guess. “Jack, what kind of trouble have you gotten into to earn so much distrust?” Walter inquired after a few minutes of walking.

“You don’t have the clearance to know.” The marine shot back lightly, though his tone made it impossible to tell if he was being serious.

“I’ll take your word for it” Walter replied with a half hearted chuckle, shaking his head. “So, before we get to the lake, what kind of music would you like? I have a whole bunch of music on my phone” Walter says as he pulls out what looks like a cousin of the iPhone, handing it to Jack after pulling up his itunes library.

Whatever Walter was expecting, he wasn’t expecting Jack’s eyes to go wide, and Ada to recoil. Jack was, as usual, first to speak. “Is that a fat Ipod!? Jesus christ, that’s a collector’s item!”

Ada shook her head as she pondered over the thing. “It’s so big! It’s got to have a ton of memory.”

“Oh uh, well it’s actually a phone” Walter says, a bit surprised by Jack’s reaction. “I have thousands of songs on it; rock, metal, classic rock, punk rock, and plenty of other genres” Walter says as he leans over Jack’s shoulder, showing him how to browse through all the songs and different genres. “My father got it for me when I came home after being discharged” Walter added on. “I talked with Twilight about making more of these, I guess she hasn’t managed to get a hold of anybody to work on it though”

“EhehhHah, oh, oh man…” jack laughed and shook his head, before fishing around in his pocket, and producing a phone of his own, this one rather small, sleek, and black. “Come on man, I was born in two thousand and one, I know how to use a phone.” Jack passed his phone to Walter, before he began fiddling with the buttons on Walter’s phone. “Wait, this thing’s not touch screen… uhhhh…”

“Wait, wait wait wait!” Ada yelled, drawing Jack’s attention. “You were born in oh-one!? You’re three years younger than me! You basically a baby!”

Snorting, Jack rolled his eyes at the woman. “I’m thirty five Ada, time’s all fucky here, remember? Enjoy being in your mid-twenties.”

“...Nineteen ninety-seven” Walter spoke up, clearing his throat as he gave Jack and Ada a few odd stares. “So does that technically make me older than both of you?” Walter inquired, tilting his head.

“No! No it does not!” Jack yelled. “The year doesn’t count when you get thrown around by the fuckface god of chaos! You’re still a kid!” The grizzled marine shot glares as the ponies laughed and chuckled at his pain.

“Oh, right” Walter nodded with a small chuckle. “Even if I was older than you, it’d only be by like four years or so” Walter remarked as he began to try and figure out how Jack’s phone operated.

Shaking his head slowly, Captain Tac waved the other soldiers on. “Damn humans and their technology. I’m still sending letters.”

“That’s because you’re old and your internet sucks.” Jack retorted without a second thought.

Hard Tac closed his eyes and let out a loud groan. “I don’t even know what that is but it makes me mad at you for saying it.”

“So far, only a small handful of certain individuals own computer technologies, most of the advanced tech here in Equestria, as far as I know, are under the possession of Celestia and her scientists” Walter remarked, “I think with time that ponies can make some pretty interesting technology, especially with magic becoming a factor in its development” Walter says with a shrug.

“I’m just happy Jackboy here has somewhere I can charge me phone.” Ada nudged the marine with her elbow while smiling. “Came prepared for everything!”

“Well, do you guys know where we can pick up a nice set of speakers and some cables? I’d like to be able to hook my phone up to a sound system so we have music to party to” Walter says as he casts a smile towards the group.

Jack simply rolled his neck and gestured idly off in a different direction. “Labs. They go all kinds of crap down there.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to send civilians to the lab, Jack.” Hard Tac stated out loud.

“Call the guard, I don’t give a fuck.”

“I’ll just… Go and grab some stuff real quick. I’ll just say that Twilight sent me or something” Walter said as he was about to go jog off to find the labs when he paused and turned to Jack. “...Where are the labs again? I’ve never been to them before... “ Walter explained with a sheepish smile.

With a sigh, Jack nodded, and tossed a towel over his shoulder. “Aight… follow me, you big hairy bastard.”

“Okay… Short, scary bastard” Walter replied, slipping up as he tried to retort to Jack’s comment to Walter’s large and hairy disposition. “Once we have the speakers and the right cords we should be ready to go grab the barbeque supplies! This lake party is gonna be a blast! I just hope Pinkie Pie doesn’t catch wind of it…” Walter says quietly with a shutter.

Pausing for a long moment, Jack cast a concerned look to Walter. “Isn’t that… that creepy all pink pony who lives down in Ponyville? I think I owe her money…”

“...If she shows up, you run, I will throw myself onto her and give you enough time to escape. Just make sure that they sing stories of my valor in the mead halls of honor” Walter replied, shivering once again at the very thought of getting on Pinkie Pie’s bad side.

“I don’t run from anything, not even van sized spiders.” Jack stated firmly as he led Walter further down the castle corridors. “She can’t be that bad, anyways.”

“When I first met Pinkie Pie, she tackled me at mach speed, so hard that my shoes flew off” Walter replied. “Anything that powerful is scary when pissed off”

“You never met my fiance.” Jack muttered quietly as they approached the labs. “Let me give you a piece of advice kid, never fall in love with a merc you meet in a new york bar brawl.” His features twisted slightly in pain, only to return to their usual flatness moments.

“Heh, I don’t think I’ll be finding love anytime soon. Not ready for it yet” Walter replied, his voice a bit somber with past experience. “So, what exactly all is in this lab?”

“Love doesn’t give a shit about being ready.” Jack shot back idly as he gestured toward the doors. “All the fun little things the EQ’s are cooking up. I’ll be honest, I hardly pay attention to any of it, it’s not that interesting to me.”

“Oh yeah, speaking of technology. I wanna know who the fuck made a giant ass tentacle vibrator, I’m gonna give that fucker a piece of my mind!” Walter says, shivering at the thought of a past experience.

“Do I even- No, no I don’t want to fuckin’ know.” Jack shook his head, and pushed through the doors, ignoring the guards standing by. The lab was a large affair, and fairly open air. Several glass walled offices were up against the far side, with several work benches placed around with an amalgam of parts and projects laying about. “Say hello to the place that’ll drag this backwater kicking and screaming into the modern era.” Jack muttered as he struck up a cigarette.

“Jack you know you can’t smoke in here!” A small batpony yelled at him from across the way. “Or bring in random people!”

“Hi ‘Rora.” Jack responded as he puffed on his cigarette.

Walter smiled sheepishly as he waved at the indignant thestral, clearing his throat before speaking up. “Hello miss, I don’t want to bother you too much, but do you perhaps have any cords that would attach a large set of speakers to this device?” Walter asks as he holds up his phone. “Jack said this would be the best place to find them…”

Rolling her eyes, the thestral crossed her forelegs over her workbench and fixed Jack with a half hearted glare. “He told you that? Did he also tell you that his armour has everything he would need?”

“I’m not dragging my coffin out for a beach outing, Aurora!” Jack exclaimed loudly.

“I don’t see what’s so bad about that.” Aurora shot back lightly. “You’ve dragged it out for less.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack flicked his cigarette butt at her. “Maybe you should try being locked up in it for days on end, maybe you wouldn’t jizz yourself over it all the time.”

“Quaint.”

Walter licked his dry lips nervously, the animosity between the two making him feel a bit uncomfortable. “Miss, I wouldn’t mind making it up to you somehow. I’m a good handyman and I can do quite the honest amount of work! All you have to do is teach me and I’ll do it to the best of my ability. I really want to help the members of JSOG relax and have some fun, considering all the stress they are under. A beach outing with some good music can lift all sorts of kindred spirits, yes?” Walter inquires in his elegant and clear voice that he used to speak with Celestia and Luna, being as polite as possible.

Sighing lightly, Aurora shot a mild smirk at the pair. “I’m just teasing Jack.” Hopping down, the short thestral ambled over, and punched Jack in the thigh. “Somebody has to keep the big guy in line after all.”

“How selfless of you.” Jack muttered as he rolled his eyes.

“Hush. I’m talking to the polite human.” Aurora looked up at Walter, before pumping her wings and coming up to be level with his face. Crossing her forelegs as she hovered before him, Aurora perked a brow. “Do I get to come with you to the beach?”

“Oh! That would be splendid, the more the merrier! I’m gonna cook a barbeque for everybody, I’m gonna prepare both meat and vegan products, and with the music it should be very fun! You just have to bring your best swimsuit” Walter says with a friendly smile.

“Nah, just go naked ‘Rora, you furry pony creatures always do.” Jack leaned up against a workbench, and idly played with his lighter as he waited.

Sticking her bright orange tongue out at him, Aurora stick up her nose. “Maybe I will get my best swimsuit, what would you say then? Hmm?”

“You’re gonna turn on every last one of my operatives, don’t be shocked if you spend most of the day beating them off with a stick. Or, you know, beating them off. Whatever fixes your fancy.”

The mare’s face became bright red as her eyes went down. “That’s awful…”

“Jack don’t be mean” Walter says, glancing over at the marine with a small shake of his head. “I’m gonna be wearing a swimsuit as well, or just my boxers really since I left my swimwear back home in Ponyville”

Seemingly unphased by the chastising, Jack simply shrugged. “You do you, Spaceman. ‘Rora, you sure you don’t have any speakers?”

Sighing lightly as she fixed her appearance, Aurora nodded in return. “Yes, we have some PA system speakers laying around we can use.”

“That would be perfect! Speakers, some cords, and we should be set!” Walter says with a smile, “Where are they? I don’t mind carrying them”

“Just over here.” Leading him to the supplies, Walter was finding to his surprise that everything was coming together very nicely indeed. With a little luck, the coming time at the beach would go well! At least, he hoped it would. Jack, however, wasn’t so sure.