Here it is, folks! The last chapter before the grand finale. Roles are revealed, tricks are played, and the stage is set for the final battle. Read on and don't forget to write a review with your feedback and expectations for the final chapter in the story of John Walker.

I don't know what I was expecting when I first saw the encampment, but it definitely wasn't this. One hundred and fifty men, each with standard assault gear. If I recalled correctly, that meant four hundred and fifty guns with a combined ammunition count of roughly thirty one thousand five hundred rounds. Wasn't my life getting lovelier by the second?

"Walker! Good to see you again!" Three M4 rifles clicked in my general direction, but I still recognized Reynolds' voice.

"Can't say the feeling is mutual, sir." He chuckled and one man motioned me to about face. I did so and was met with the most disheartening sight I'd seen since the age of eight. Trixie stood at Reynolds' side, a smug grin spread across her face.

"Of course you remember the Great and Powerful Trixie from your last visit. General, I believe Trixie has followed up on her end of the deal quite nicely. You may feel free to thank Trixie for her benevolence after you have relinquished her prize." Reynolds' grin faded quickly as he began to speak.

"Miss Trixie, I assure you that he will be yours in a matter of hours. Unfortunately, we cannot allow him to be owned by another sentient being until such time as he is legally dead. If you can wait until sunset tomorrow, your patience will be rewarded." She rolled her eyes and strolled off, clearly giddy with the thought of owning her own human. "Now you and I have a few things to talk about. I'm guessing you've realized what her presence here means?" I nodded.

"She's given you my battle plan. Logically speaking, I'm outmanned, outmatched, and outgunned." Reynolds nodded, then an excited grin began to slide across his lips.

"But you're not done yet, are you?"

"Not by a long shot. You've played these games against me, Reynolds. I know how your system works, and you know that my system is unreadable."

"You don't have a system. Half of the time you fly off half cocked and let luck do the rest."

"I don't believe in luck, sir. I believe in percentages, though. I've spent the last week crunching the numbers and coming up with contingency plans for every possible scenario. Trust me when I say that this is a no win scenario for you. If you back out now, though, I'll let you go. You can tell Earth that I led you to dead end coordinates. You can have a life there."

"And If I don't?" No matter what I said, he'd stay. I opted to tell the truth.

"Then I'll kill you all." He shook his head lightly. It was a rare scenario when both sides knew exactly what the other was going to do, but neither knew who would come out on top. "In the meantime, do you happen to have any of that '57 Scotch?" He chuckled.

"That I do." He pulled a flask from his pocket and handed it to me. The whiskey burned down my entire throat, waking me up better than anything else had for the last week.

"Before I leave, I'd like to know one last thing." I gave him the flask and he took a generous swallow.

"Shoot."

"What does that Trixie want with me?" He almost choked on his whiskey thinking about whatever she had said to him. "That bad, huh?"

"Well, from what I understand, humans tend to have interesting reactions to the..." He couldn't say it. He had become so acclimated to humanity that he couldn't accept it.

"The magic they create?"

"Yes. The magic they create. Anyway, she's planning on using you as a guinea pig for some...less than benign spells." I reached for the flask again as this sunk in.

"So she's going to use me to test torture spells?" He shook his head.

"Not necessarily torture. To give you a hint, she found Tarson's stash." I recapped the flask without even taking a drink. Sergeant Jane Tarson was infamous for keeping a huge stash of Playgirl magazines without anyone ever finding them. If Trixie was that set on a cause like that...

"Suddenly I'm feeling an odd mix of flattery and terror." He pocketed the flask and his face changed. I could tell that the conversation was over.

"Remember, Walker. Twenty four hours." I turned and began strolling down the hill we had ended up on, not bothering to reply. I had a few last minute things to take care of.

"Twilight, how quickly can you get everypony out of Ponyville and down to Canterlot?" Her face was shocked.

"Why would we need to?"

"Trixie gave away our main plan. I've got backups, but there can't be any elements of similarity. The entire town has to be empty." She shook her head.

"No way. We can't just leave you alone here. You'll get massacred!" I turned to her and knelt to her eye level.

"Twilight, do you remember the last time I was here? When you made me that promise? I need you to keep it. The best I can allow you is to cast a cloud walker spell and go to Cloudsdale. Otherwise, you can't be anywhere near this place." She pursed her lips and nodded.

"I'll let everypony know." I nodded and stood, already walking off. "Hey, where are you going?"

"To make amends."

It had taken almost an hour to find a suitable location. Definitely time well spent. I sat down in the middle of a shady clearing and closed my eyes. There was no noise, no wind. I couldn't even feel the rest of my body. Just the way I liked it. I lay back and let every ounce of anger I'd felt in my life wash over me.

"How tough are you today, Walker?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will have that human!"

"Nothing comes free unless you take it."

Bang.

My eyes shot open and red tinged the edges of my vision. Now I was ready to fight.