I stood at the entrance to Ponyville, eyes closed, head bowed. My rifle stood tilted against my thigh. Every creed I had ever learned ran through my mind, giving me something to hold onto. The Soldier's Creed came first, then the NCO creed. I lifted my rifle from it's place by my side and held it out in front of me as I spoke the next one to come to mind.

"This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will..."

At this, an audible gasp could be heard through the valley the town sat in. Cloudsdale sat directly above, and on the very edge of the floating city sat Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. I knew what impact my words might have on them, but I needed this mentality to protect them. I could fix burnt bridges later.

"My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. It is the hits that count. We will hit..."

A rumbling could be heard from almost half a mile away. Steady, slow, and unstoppable. They were here. I continued holding out my rifle, not moving yet. I still had time.

"My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will..."

The hundred and fifty strong force could be seen now, coming over the crest of the hill. I turned to his left and was greeted with the sight of a ladder leading directly to the top of Carousel Boutique. As I climbed the ladder with my rifle over my shoulder, I continued speaking. My voice got louder, more proud of its words.

"Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of my enemy. We are the saviors of my life." I lay down on the top of the boutique, placing the barrel to my shoulder and my eye to the sight.

"So be it, until victory is ours and there is no enemy, but peace!" A shot rang out, chipping the windmill on top of the boutique. The soldiers had made their formation.

Another shot, and the first shooter fell over. As the bolt on my rifle slid back, I began another creed. This one had helped me through many a hard day, and I just needed one more out of it.

"Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven." I didn't bother changing the words. My entire mind was shut down now, the red tinge in my sight serving as a targeting reticule, my hands and arms operating independently of my mind.

"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the power and the glory forever." My last word was drowned out by a brick shattering a few feet in front of me. For the first time, I gave actual thought to what I was doing. I was facing down a hundred and fifty of the best soldiers on Earth, all of whom were armed to the teeth. While here I was with nothing but a barren town, a rifle, and my wits. I was living every boy's childhood fantasy, but somehow it seemed considerably less fantastic.

My mindset didn't exactly improve when I noticed a little green ball flying over the first row of stalls on the market. A huge blast tore the corner off of the schoolhouse, collapsing the entire building. That let me know two things. First, they didn't care who got hurt in this entire enterprise. Second, they had no idea where I was. They were firing blind.

That was enough for me. I aimed the shot in the chamber and waited for my target to fall, then I went straight back down the ladder and snuck over to the ruined schoolhouse. If nothing happened once, logic dictated nothing would happen the second time. From here I loaded another round and waited. They were close to my construction zone. That was where the fight would really begin. To goad them forward, I took a shot at one of the rear guard.

As they stepped across the town line, I noticed different. Instead of grouping into search teams like they normally would, they collapsed into a circle. They were going to wait me out until I revealed my position. Sneaky. I should have expected something like that from Reynolds. Okay, so I had no offensive plays in their exact location, but I could scare them into another area. I grabbed a brick from the ruined building and tossed it into their midst. Immediately chaos ensued.

"Contact right!"

"Go, go, go!"

"Triangle formation!" They grouped into threes and began moving toward me. Almost there...Now. One group took a spill into a fifty foot gummy trap set by Applejack and Fluttershy, one group got a full blast of Molotov in the face from inside the local salon, courtesy of the local party cannon. Finally, the last group was greeted by a gigantic cascade of apples from a delivery wagon a few feet away. Thirteen down, one hundred and thirty seven to go.

Luckily, the Molotov blast spooked the rest of the group. They began moving considerably slower, making sure to watch their step. As if it actually mattered.

I took careful aim, making sure to watch the ricochet angle. The round sliced cleanly through the rope stabilizing the building framework. A small forest's worth of logs came crashing down on groups four through eight. Unfortunately, I was out of traps for this area of the town. If I wanted to stay with it, I'd have to move the fight. Even more unfortunate was the voice off to my left that yelled to group ten.

"Royce, on your nine!" PFC Royce spun on one heel and carved the entire wall to my right. Luckily for my beautiful body, I managed to leap behind the strangely sturdy teacher's desk. I only had one chance. There was a pile of fallen bricks on my right. To run or not to run?

A bullet grazed my ear as corners of the desk began to give way under the hail of bullets.

Definitely run. I dove out from behind the desk, rolling behind the brick pile and popping my head back up to get off one shot.

Thud. There went Royce. I took a deep breath, waiting for the dust to clear from my sightline. Strange, I didn't usually hear voices. There was definitely a voice ringing in my head, though. It was cheeky, confident, and strangely comforting.

"So, I'm guessing you're regretting this decision of yours right about now?" Just for the sake of something else to think about, I answered.

"Not a bit. I'd do all of this over again to protect this land."

"That's mighty brave of you. So brave, in fact, that I'm willing to grant you a single favor. I specialize in messing with folks, so make it a good one." I poked an eye over the side of the brick and saw three groups closing on me. As my head drew back down, I noticed Cloudsdale directly overhead. Twilight and Dashie were there, and they weren't going to want to see this.

"Fog the town over completely." I heard the sound of snapping fingers in my head and suddenly my entire field of vision was obscured by a thick, cold fog.

"I hope it's to your liking. The rest of this is up to you, hero." The presence was gone, but the fog stuck around. I heard the voices of my opponents through it.

"Sound off! Jackson One!"

"Jackson Two!"

"Jackson Three!"

"Jackson Four!"

Silence.

"Royce? Jackson Five, sound off!" More silence. I stood, depending on the fog for cover. Luckily, my friend's trick seemed to be working just fine. I took aim in the direction of Jackson One and fired.

Thud. "Contact left!" M4 fire chipped a group of bricks ten meters to my right. I ducked to the left and waited for the firing to die down. As the last shot struck, I tried standing back up to fire again, but found that my legs were locked into place. I knew that feeling.

"Well, well, well. It looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie has finally caught herself a human." I turned and saw a familiar blue unicorn stroll through the fog. Great. Freaking brilliant.

"What do you want?" She grinned, bringing her face into mine. At this point I was met with the rude awakening that every muscle in my body except for my facial area was completely frozen.

"Only you, John. That's all I have ever wanted. Your presence has wrought...stirrings in groups of mares who have seen you. Half of Ponyville has fallen for you, even up to Princess Luna herself. If I have you as my own, I can run a...servicing business that will make me the richest and..." She giggled girlishly. "happiest pony this side of Manehattan." I couldn't help but notice the lack of her third person manner of speech. Her horn wasn't glowing, so I had to assume she had cast a one-time halter spell. I tried my knees again. They twitched, but I still couldn't straighten them all the way. "Of course, Trixie will require some measure of compliance from you. Trixie imagines we have about one minute until those other humans get here. All Trixie will have to do now is..."

My entire mind went haywire. Pain blasted me from every angle. The red in my vision flared again, and I fell over on my side, trying to grab at my head. "Hurts, doesn't it? Of course, all you have to do to make it go away is give in." I vaguely felt her hoof on my chest. When my eyes opened up again, her face was mere inches from mine. It was all I could do to begin speaking again.

"N-No!" Her tail flicked in annoyance and sparks flew from her horn. The pain redoubled, sending my entire body into racking pain once again.

"Honestly, you humans and your pride. Just give it up, John. I promise..." Her free hoof placed itself on my other pec. Ponies didn't weigh very much, but the weight seemed to triple when she leaned down and bit my lower lip lightly. ",you'll love it."

My mind was fried. I didn't care about the pain anymore. I had realized a few moments ago that I could move again. I only had one thought in my entire mind. Finish this. My entire body reacted simultaneously and I threw her straight off me. I heard a solid smack as she hit the wall beside me.

"WHAT?! How can you move?" I rolled to my side and pushed up. Sparks jumped off her horn and more pain came. I still didn't care.

"You...you c-can't...stop...me." I drew up to my full height. "See you...in..."

Boom.

The pain was dull, definitely no worse than what Trixie had given me. The worst part was knowing what it meant. I'd lost. After everything I'd done, I wasn't good enough. I sunk to my knees, still taking a little bit of enjoyment from the terrified look on Trixie's face. I managed to get two words out before everything finally went black. "You lose."

"John? I know you're in here." Good grief, couldn't I catch a break?

"To whom am I speaking?" Whoa. That was a rush. Suddenly my entire field of view was filled with dark blue. I recognized the face that went with the voice. Princess Luna. Of course, I was dreaming.

"Hello, there. Interesting time to be sleeping." I chuckled.

"Not my choice."

"Isn't it? I know for a fact you can get up and keep fighting. What I want to know is why you don't." I sighed. I couldn't really give an answer without sounding like a whiny little prick.

"I'm tired, Luna. I've spent my entire life fighting, and now they've finally given me a reason to quit. I gave the last bit of fight I had to beat Trixie." Luna placed her front hooves on my shoulders, bringing her up to my face level.

"You're wrong. I can feel strength in you. You have so much left to fight for that nothing else matters to you. That's what scares you. You've always fought to save yourself. Now you're fighting for somepony else." She was right, of course. I didn't want to admit it, but she was right.

"Alright then. How do I get out of here?" She lowered herself off of me and grinned.

"Very simply. Just lay down and close your eyes." I knelt down, rolling myself out. My eyes slowly drifted closed, and suddenly I was in the middle of a war.

On my left, Twilight and Trixie were dueling it out with magical blasts. On the right, the entire Apple clan was mobbing groups one, two, and three. Just in front of me, Rarity and Dashie were busy with the remnants of groups four and five. Just behind me, I caught a glimpse of Celestia herself taking on the reserve forces. My bullet wound was gone, presumably thanks to a zebra running off to aid Dashie.

Right. Time to get in this.

"WALKER!"

Ok, maybe not. I turned and was greeted with the sight of a man flying straight down toward me. I leapt out of his way, covering my face as dust flew. The voice filled me with dread. As I looked up, I saw the face of none other than General Malcolm Reynolds. "Oh, Walker. I've been waiting for this. I'm afraid you won't live to see it, but you're going to love what your discovery does for humanity. This entire land, its resources, its magic...This stuff is going to fuel mankind for centuries."

"Well, that's a fine idea, General. One problem with it, though."

"What's that, John?"

"You've got to fight me for it." We leapt at each other, arms outstretched. Unfortunately, he got much more momentum than I did. I wasn't fond of the cloudwalker spell when I had to work against it. He smashed me back, barely leaving me any time to get my feet under me. When I finally did, I slammed the brakes. It took us almost a minute to stop, but I spent every second of that time pummeling him, forcing him into stopping. When we'd finally stopped, I reached back, grabbing a hold on his sidearm. He used my position to grab my shoulders and flip himself over me. In midair he reached down, grabbing his boot gun. I took careful aim to the exact point where he would land, and land there he did. Regrettably, he landed aiming directly at me.

"So, is this how it's going to be? Just the two of us, seeing who can pull the trigger faster." I shook my head.

"No. Let's throw a little something extra into the mix." I tucked my new weapon into my belt, praying he'd see my game. He followed suit.

"Even better. Finishing this in the manner of the great Clint Eastwood. Of course, you realize that I'm superior to you in every way right about now, don't you?" I said nothing. "Alright then. You draw first."

My fingers twitched. Once again, I was living a childhood dream that simply didn't hold up in real life. We were only ten yards from each other, not half a town away, but he seemed just as far away as he needed to be. "General, there's one thing you don't know about me that you probably should."

"What might that be?" He sounded genuinely amused.

"I'm left handed." In less than a second, he understood. He'd been so confident in himself that he'd forgotten everything I'd studied. I was an expert marksman with any weapon, and a champion at fastdraw. My left hand shot down faster than the human eye could see, even aided with magic. He had only just gotten his gun out of its holster when the shot rang out and General Reynolds fell to his knees.

"Twilight! Spell!" She heard me, thank heaven, and her horn sparked. My next step turned rapidly into a leap that sent me careening across the town. I didn't stop until I'd smashed my fist very thoroughly and gratifyingly into the gut of some random specialist. "EVERYPONY GET DOWN!" I grabbed my opponent by the legs and sent him flying into another group. As ponies ducked for cover, my sidearm came out and nine shots flew from the barrel. Nine of the humans attacking the Apples fell straight backward. Good thing, too. Each of the ones that had fallen had been in a position to attack.

"There he is! Jackson Three, close ranks! Take Walker at all costs." Well, there went my happy little moment. Out of ammo, out of guns, out of traps. Just me and my fists, and an entire town of angry ponies.

"Everypony, stay back. I'll handle this." Words couldn't describe how glad I was. I had only five left. Five more, and it was over. My joy was doubled when I saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and finally Dashie line up behind me. "Now, listen here. You have three options. Option A, you fight me and I kill you. Option B, you go home and tell everyone there that you were led to a land of unbeatable beasts and that you barely escaped with your lives. Option C, you go back and tell them the truth. Maybe they put you in the nuthouse, maybe they come back. Either way, we'll be ready. Take your pick." Each of them looked back and forth at one another, weighing their options. Finally, after what seemed like a year, they all lay down their weapons and turned, marching straight out of town.

As they passed over the crest of the hill, I took a deep breath. It was finally over. Dashie hovered over, her arms outstretched. I fell into them, enjoying the warm fuzz on my face. "John?" I stood up on my own two feet, looking her in the eyes again.

"Yes?"

"You're amazing." I took another deep breath, enjoying the first moment of real peace I'd ever had.

"Hey Dashie?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna race?"

*sniff* It's finally over. I'm such a happy person right now, and I hope this story gave you all some feels too. Please, leave suggestions for other stories in the reviews, and give my other stories some love. If any of you have a deviantArt account, I'd love to see fanart of this story. Thank you so much for coming this far, and I'll see you in the next one.