Hey there guys, TSO here with the last 'story' chapter for HVP. Be warned, this is my first attempt at anything truly romantic/fluffy. It's a helluva lot easier to read it than it is to write it. I think I wrote five different versions of this chapter, and I feel that this was probably the best one out of them. I was certainly out of my element when writing this, I don't really do sappy stuff. But hey, the quality is for YOU to decide.

Anyway, enjoy!

Two months ago...

Shade had just returned from a training exercise in the field, and had dumped some of his equipment on the floor of his room upon his arrival. Strangely, Twilight was not there to be found, but that did not bother him that much. He was too tired to worry about that at the time. He changed into a clean set of casual clothes, a shirt and shorts, and started to decompress by doing a series of low-intensity push-ups and sit-ups. The burn of his muscles was soothing to him, and he quickly lost sense of time.

Twilight was making her way back from the recreation room, after spending some time with some of the members of Bravo Team. She was left in stitches after Neon and Exxon's attempt at stand-up comedy, at the expense of other soldiers like Klepto, Driver and Pharaoh. A few weeks into her stay, Shade realised how impractical it would be to hide Twilight from the rest of the force, so she was introduced to members of the other teams. She enjoyed the company of the other teams, serving as a relief from the antics of her new friends, and they all knew to respect her and look after her whenever Hotel was deployed.

She had befriended one of Bravo's assaulters, an American man by the name of Neon, and their common love of books was the main bond between them. He was responsible for Twilight becoming hooked on the Indiana Jones series of novels and films, a series that Twilight remarked was strikingly similar to the Daring Do series. As such, he lent his collection to Twilight, one of the books open in front of her as she walked to the room that she and Shade shared. Without looking, Twilight opened the door and walked in, tripping on the discarded rigging belt on the floor. She felt on top of Shade, still on his back after finishing a set of sit-ups. He caught her and stopped her from hurting herself, before his worn arms gave out, Twilight falling the last foot off the ground and coming to rest on his chest.

Twilight froze at the realisation of how close she was to her crush. Sure, she shared a few hugs here and there, but they only lasted on average a second, and were usually expected. But this was different. She had not gotten this close on a hug before, but here she was, practically pressed up against him on the floor. She could feel his rapid heartbeat through his chest, and could feel the gradual rise and fall of his lungs as he breathed. The sensation left Twilight a little light-headed, and as she lifted her head to look at Shade, the feelings overcame her. As if she was on autopilot, she leant forward and pressed her lips gently against his.

Shade was completely stunned by Twilight's arrival. He heard her walk in and was about to warn her about his belt, but was too late, and had to catch her before she fell on him. He caught her, a foot-wide gap between them, but the strain on his arms was too much, and his arms collapsed. Twilight fell down and landed on him, his body taking her full weight. To Shade, it was not that different from having a full five-day patrol load out strapped to his body. He was too tired and worn out to realise the subtle differences, like her heartbeat rising and her face flushing, or the shift in weight as she leant forward. But the feel of her lips against his instantly awakened his senses, his fatigue seemingly evaporating.

A few seconds passed before Twilight slowly backed away. The kiss had not been one loaded with passion, just an extended greeting kiss, but the action had conveyed more feeling than what would have normally been associated with it.

"Wasn't quite the welcome back I'm used to," Shade said with a slight smirk. He internally chuckled as he watched Twilight's eyes widen in shock. Without warning, she jumped off him and pushed herself to the door, back against it.

"Shade, I-I-I didn't mean-"She was cut off when Shade followed her to the wall and place a gentle hand over her mouth to shush her.

"It's fine, Twilight, no harm done at all." He smiled and paused for a second. "I actually didn't mind it that much." Twilight's eyebrows shot up at the surprising remark. "I missed you at the helipad, you know. I surprised to see that you weren't there like always."

Twilight stood against the wall for a few more seconds, trying to find some words. She composed herself and managed to answer, albeit with a wavering voice.

"I, uh, lost track of time while hanging out with the guys in Bravo. Neon leant me his latest Indiana Jones book to read." She was fidgeting with her fingers while trying to explain her absence.

"Oh boy, I should have never introduced you to Neon, I swear..." Shade laughed. "Look, it's ok Twilight. It's fine." He walked over to Twilight and wrapped his arms around her to hug her. "I know you like me like that-" Shade smirked as he could feel Twilight tense up in his embrace "-and I like you like that as well." He pulled away slowly to look her in the eyes, her half-lidded magenta eyes. As if they were both on autopilot, Shade and Twilight leant into each other for another kiss.

0530 hours, 24 hours after the rescue.

Twilight woke from her dream, clutching the pillow to her chest tightly. Memories like that night had filled her dreams while she had slept. That night in particular was important to Twilight, as that was the night where the pair of them had made their true feelings known to each other, even if they had not explicitly stated it. Twilight could not deny that she loved the soldier greatly, having spent around six months with him. She was there whenever he returned from missions, fatigued, battered and bruised, ready to help him back to his room to relax and unwind. She was there whenever he needed help organising pranks and other jokes on his fellow team members. And she was there when he needed someone to talk to, no matter what.

Twilight could tell that Shade really appreciated her for who she was and what she did for him and his for friends. And he had done so much in return for her as well. To avoid the hassles of being restricted to certain places on base, he had pulled strings and had her 'recruited' into the task force a week after recovery. Her official 'job' title was as an assistant-team manager, something that she was more than capable of doing. After a week of helping Captain Mactavish and Ghost organise deployment and training plans, and streamline certain reporting procedures, her assistance had been requested by the other teams and even higher up in the command chain. While hesitant, she was able to perform as requested, and soon was back with Hotel Team and helping them through their day to day life.

Thinking about leaving Shade and the team after all they've done for her upset her immensely. Hell, the thought of leaving Shade at all broke her heart. She wanted him to come with her, but realised how selfish that would have been. There was no way that Shade would have been able to easily fit in back home, plus she was not prepared to leave his team down one man. Twilight had heard many stories of all of the men in the force where just one man had made the difference in the fight. By bringing Shade with her, she would in effect put the rest of the team at risk.

So, she resigned herself to the fact that she was going home alone, relatively speaking. Sure, she had her friends and family, but Shade was different. She loved her friends, loved her family, but her love for Shade was different. Twilight knew he loved her back; otherwise he would be acting like the others would be towards her. Sure, they all liked her company and treated her like one of the guys, but Shade differently. He would relax more in Twilight's company, especially after a hard mission or long day. The actions of that night two months ago had confirmed his feelings, even though he had not explicitly said that he loved her. She could just tell. And it made Twilight feel even worse about leaving. I wonder how he's taking it.

Shade slowed down and took a break against one of the perimeter fences, having completed three laps of the base straight. He had been out for the last hour, working out and trying to clear his head. The news that Twilight was leaving to return home had hit him hard. From day one, he could feel something about her. It took months of getting to know her and spending time with her for him to realise it, culminating to that one night two months ago, when she had literally tripped over onto him and kissed him. That night was the night they had admitted their feelings for each other, and Shade would be lying if he said that he did not love Twilight.

The prospect of loving a pony-turned-human girl had initially crossed his mind, but had been dismissed as it was not the physical form that attracted him; it was who she was inside that counted. She was kind, loyal, honest, trustworthy and even quite funny. While her initial shock to his job had scared Twilight away from him, she accepted it and even helped justify some of his actions, sometimes even better than Shade could by himself. She provided a fresh perspective on life, a life not tarnished by war, combat and death. A perspective that Shade wanted to fight hard for and strive to protect.

Now, she was going home, and while he understood that she had to go home and live the rest of her live there, he felt that it was too soon. In the back of his mind, he had considered going with her, but realised that he would be leaving his friends behind, putting them in danger and leaving them without a man to watch their back.

"I must say, I have a great amount of respect for you and your team, Thomas." A woman's voice caught him by surprise, making him jump and ready himself to face his attacker. Turning to face the voice's owner, he saw the older woman from the group he had rescued. Princess Celestia, that's what Twilight said her name was. Shade dropped his combat stance and resumed to rest against the fence. "Sorry if I scared you."

"It's fine ma'am, just surprised, that's all. You and Ghost might get along well if you can sneak up on him like that." They both shared a laugh, before Celestia stepped closer to Shade.

"You're upset it's time for Twilight to go back home." It was more of a statement than a question, and Shade chose not to respond. "I can understand that, the feelings you have for each other aren't as easily hidden as you think. If I'm being honest, I've never seen my student with such feelings like she has for you. It's quite adorable, yet it also breaks my heart knowing that I'll be separating the pair of you."

"It's not easy, even for me." Shade said quietly. "When I was seventeen years old, I left home for the Army, spending just under two months in basic training, followed by three years in an infantry regiment. After that, I served three years in the Commandos, before being selected for this task force, of which this is my second year. Since that time, I've probably only seen my family in person maybe ten times, each time for a few days maximum. No real chance to actually hang around with them, just enough to catch up with current family events and maybe go do something with them. If I wasn't overseas on deployment, I was at a base a long way away or on a training exercise." He took a moment to drink from his water canteen, and continued.

"In my time in the Army, I never had the chance or time to form a relationship with people outside of the military. Sure, I made friends within my units, and I tried to keep in touch with my friends from before I enlisted, but I never found the chance to actually see someone. I eventually gave up, and just focused on my job. Some would say that I was married to my work, and it was true. Until Twilight came along, that is.

"I saw something in her, felt something with her, something I couldn't explain at the time. Over the following months, she and I grew quite close. Two months ago, we both realised how we felt for each other, and we've been growing much closer since." He looked at Celestia with a slightly saddened expression. "I love her, to be perfectly honest with you. I'm pretty sure she loves me too, but we just haven't had the chance to tell her. And now that she's going home, I find myself conflicted."

"You want to tell her that you love her, but you're afraid that if you do, she'll return home with a crushed heart. If you don't tell her, you'll regret it dearly, not knowing for sure if she loves you back." Celestia guessed, to Shade's surprise.

"It's not so much the confirmation that I'm seeking, we both know that we love each other. But we actually haven't said 'the three words', you know?" He sighed in frustration. "I just don't know what to do, and it frustrates me. Every time I've had a difficult choice to make, I've been able to make it, and it's always the right one. Why can't I make it now?"

"Maybe those previous instances had been time-critical, and that a delay in the decision making process would create more problems. Without the time to really think and process the outcomes of each option, you fall back on your training and instinct, allowing those aspects of your life to take over and make the choice for you." Shade had not thought of that, but it felt right to him. "And the options presented to you in those moments were clearly black-and-white, easier to differentiate between and choose. This dilemma you find yourself in now, it is not as easy as you thought it would be, and both choices have their own benefits and drawbacks."

"That's what makes it hard. I want to make Twilight happy, but each way I look will end in some form of heartbreak, for both of us." He sat down on and leant against the fence. "For the first time in ages, I honestly have no idea of what to do."

"Thomas, you will find that the answer will come to you soon enough. And you will not regret your choice." Celestia turned and walked away, leaving Shade to his thoughts. As she disappeared out of view, he looked up and for the first time that morning, his mind was clear and his decision made.

1300 hours

Hotel Team and some other operators from the task force were gathered with Twilight and her group of friends, standing on the cleared aircraft apron and saying their farewells before Celestia cast the spell to return the group home. Given the short amount of time spent, the girls had all managed to befriend the men, Pinkie Pie even managing to earn the respect of resident pranksters Meat and Royce. Rainbow Dash had spent some time with a few of the pilots on base, and had fallen in love with the MH-6 Littlebird helicopter, the rush of the open cockpit and low altitude more than satisfying her desire to fly. Rarity had taken a liking to some of the less-gaudy camouflage patterns that some of the men wore, and had managed to talk Captain Mactavish into giving her a few sets of Multicam uniforms for her to experiment with back home.

Applejack was talking to both Jayhawk and Scarecrow, who she had matched in a round of hand-to-hand sparing earlier that morning. Though she had taken a few hits herself, she was able to pin the Navy SEAL and Delta Force operator by herself in their respective attempts, stunning the rest of Hotel Team and giving Meat and Royce ammunition to tease the two Americans at a later date. Fluttershy had bonded with Chemo, breaking his normally stand-offish attitude and had discussed first-aid and animals with her. The notion that Chemo was a sucker for cute kittens and puppies had surprised the others, but the look that Fluttershy had given Royce when he made a smart remark had shut the others up.

Twilight and Shade were off to the side, a small folder under Twilight's arm. It contained the printed report that Twilight had compiled over her time with the task force, as well as various pictures taken by her and the others. A small bag of her other belongings, things she had been given throughout her stay, rested on her back.

"Thanks again, Shade, for everything. I can't imagine what might have happened if you guys didn't find me." There was a small glint in Twilight's eyes, her eyes slightly watering at the build up of emotions inside her.

"Trust me, don't imagine that. It wouldn't be pretty." Shade said, with a small chuckle but a tone of seriousness.

"I told Celestia about this report, she seemed eager to read it after we return. She also said that I'll be able to keep it and the reference material after she's finished with it, as a reminder of my time."

"That's good of her."

"It was actually a condition for her to agree to; otherwise I wouldn't have let her have it in the first place."

Shade's eyebrows shot up at the statement. "I guess Ghost has taught you a little bit more than 'enhanced questioning'."

"Nope, that was the Captain actually. He told me that you have to set terms before the agreement, instead of making requests after the fact."

"Guess that makes sense."

"Knowing the Princess though, she would have given it back to me afterwards anyway. She understands how important the report and its contents are to me."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to find out what happens if she planned otherwise." The two shared a laugh at the thought. Shade's laugh trailed off as his mind moved to an argument he was having with himself.

... Damn it Shade! Tell her before she's gone for good!

No, it'll feel forced and I don't particularly want to subject her to that before she leaves.

...So, you'll leave her full of doubt as to if you really loved her or not... I can totally see how that is better than admitting your feelings.

It's not so much the admission. I mean, that kiss two months ago pretty much confirmed it.

... Then what's the real problem? She loves you. You love her. You know it, she knows it. I don't see the problem here?

The problem is what she may or may not feel when those three words come into play. You and I both can tell that she doesn't necessarily want to leave here, and she's upset that she's leaving the person she loves behind.

...So your plan is to avoid saying 'I love you' and somehow try to avoid crossing that particular line in the sand. Which, I must say, is pointless, considering some of the other lines that you and her have cross-

I don't see how that is the major problem. We're not the only one to do that kind of thing before saying 'I love you'. It's not like we've actually slept together. We've only shared the bed a handful of ti-wait, why are you giving me shit about this?

...Technically, YOU are giving YOURSELF shit about it. I'm just a voice you fabricated to internally debate with this morning.

I'm getting a headache now. Look, I'll figure this out and whatever happens will be up to fate.

...Well, don't take too long. Looks like the boss is calling you guys back over. Seems like it's finally time. Good luck!

Thanks for your help.

...Anytime..

Sure enough, Captain Mactavish was indeed waving over to them to bring them back to the group. Celestia began to explain what was about to happen, making sure that everyone who was not travelling was far enough away as to avoid an accidental teleportation. As she talked, Twilight and Shade stood by each other's side, arms around each other's backs and holding the other tightly.

"Ok men, you heard the Princess: final farewells and then stand back. You have two minutes." The men quickly made their way to say their final goodbyes and move back to a safe distance, leaving Shade and Twilight as the last pair to separate.

"I guess this is it?" Twilight asked, Shade still holding her in an embrace.

"Sadly, it is. I'll miss you, you know that right?"

"Of course, and I'll miss you too." The pair tightened their hug, before easing off until they were holding hands.

...This is it! Take the shot!

"Twilight?"

"Shade?"

"I love you." It was all Twilight could do to not burst out in tears again, instead opting to close the distance between them and hug him again. She stood up on her toes so she could speak into his ear.

"I love you too." She pulled back and then placed a kiss on Shade's lips, before wiping a tear away and letting go of the soldier. She smiled at him, reluctantly turning around to walk back to her friends. Shade felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from his chest, and turned to walk back to his friends.

The two groups stood about ten meters apart from each other, far enough that any magical spill over would not affect the men, but close enough for the groups to shout farewells as Twilight's group made their departure. The soldiers watched as Princess Celestia conjured her inner magic and began to cast the spells needed to take them home. As the spell grew stronger, a golden glow started to encapsulate the bodies of Twilight and her friends, the light generated from the glow slowly getting brighter and brighter until it matched the light of the sun. Before that final moment, Shade and Twilight shared one final look at each other, their eyes sending their very final farewell.

In a bright flash, the space that the girls had occupied had cleared, leaving slight burn marks on the tarmac. The men took a moment to reflect on what had just happened, before departing to continue with the rest of the day's activities. Shade was eventually left with Captain Mactavish standing beside him.

"It always hurts when you have to leave your loved ones. Hurts even more when your loved ones leave you. At least you can take solace in the fact that you know for sure that she's going to someplace where she'll be safe, sound and cared for." Mactavish patted Shade on the back before he started to walk away. "But while they have left you physically, as long as you never forget them, they will never truly have gone."

2000 hours

Shade practically collapsed on his bed, the events of the day had sapped him of most of his energy. After the departure, Mactavish had thought it best to take the event off of their minds by having them run drill after drill after drill. To the man's credit, it had worked, but now as Shade lay virtually wrecked from the training, he could still smell Twilight's scent on his sheets. The memories flooded back to him, and Shade felt even more exhausted, this time more emotionally than physically.

As he sat up to reach for his canteen, a small glint caught his eye. Curious, he stepped over to his desk where a small strange object sat on a piece of paper. It was a small crystal, lavender in colour, hanging from a chain similar to what his dog tags hung from. His curiosity piqued, he picked up and read the letter.

Shade,

I write this to thank you once more for caring after Twilight Sparkle during her time on your planet. I could not have picked a better group of people for her to stay with, given the circumstances of her arrival.

I was not that truthful when I spoke with you that morning. I did have prior knowledge of your growing relationship with Twilight, I knew before my own arrival onto Earth. My sister, Luna, possesses the abilities to view and partially manipulate the dreams of those who sleep in our land. When I was able to trace Twilight's location, my sister took upon the mission of ascertaining whether or not she was safe. When she had accessed her dreams, we were all quite shocked but relieved at what we all saw.

Her dreams were more memories of her times spent with you, and as the time passed, we saw a common link in quite a few of her dreams: a male being that she had grown quite fond of, and who I later had the pleasure of meeting: you.

I was a little doubtful as to the true nature of her feelings, but after seeing the pair of you in person, my suspicions were confirmed and a few of my fears realised. I truly did not want to separate you, but as you both must have realised, there would have been no real positive outcome if you were to stay with each other, on either of our worlds.

However, I felt that seeing Twilight will be bringing home quite a few physical reminders of you and her time on Earth, it would only be fitting that I leave behind a keepsake for yourself. This crystal contains some of Twilight's magical aura, enough for you to replay any of her memories of her time with you in your mind. Just hold it to your head and think of her and the spell should activate.

Once again, I thank you for looking after my dear student, and also for saving our own lives as well. I believe that luck was the only circumstance that brought our two groups together.

Regards,
Princess Celestia
Goddess of the Sun, Equestria.

Shade picked up the small crystal necklace and looked at it. With a small smile, he put it on, letting it hang around his neck, the crystal bumping against his tags.

Where ever you are now Twilight, I will always love you. Stay safe...

And that's it. Technically that's the end of HVP. I am going to write up an epilogue of sorts, but it shouldn't be as long as previous chapters.

Also have ideas for two potential follow-ups to HVP. One is a collection of segments from Twilight's report, the other is a sequel-ish story. For the report, if you have any requests for anything Twilight might have covered in particular, please let me know.

TSO out!