Operation: Falling Leaf

        Swift Strike, the Captain of the Royal Special Forces, looked up as Wind Rider and I approached him. He called out for the operatives on the field to take a break.

“Sir, Lunar Aegis of LUNA wishes to speak to you,” Wind Rider reported to his CO.

        “Does he now? What about?” Swift Strike replied.

        “Apparently, some operatives are MIA, Whitetail Woods.”

        “And what does this have to do with me, exactly?”

        “The Princesses are calling us out. They need us to provide back up to LUNA.”

        Judging by his facial expression, the Captain was getting ready to make some snarky comment, so I jumped into the conversation. “Captain, it’s less of a call onto the field and more of a suggestion. The only Princess you’d be upsetting is Luna. Although I do hope that you lend us assistance, I understand completely if you don’t. It is not a mandatory step.”

Swift Strike turned to face me as if it was the first time he noticed I was there. “If it’s a suggestion, then why does it still seem like an order? Huh, Runt?” That upset me. When I was bullied, I was always called either “runt” or “shorty”, due to my being at least three inches shorter than everypony else.

        “You are going to far, Captain. I’m inches away from tearing your throat out here and now.”

        “Both of you, KNOCK IT OFF! Sirs.” Wind Rider swiftly put himself between us. “Seriously, you’re both acting like angry school colts.”

        I backed away from the Swift Strike, sat on my haunches, and stared at my hooves. ’I was this close to killing the Captain of the Royal Special Forces. And over something as small as a name! What good is a name if you soak it in blood, rinse it off, and soak it in blood again?’ I looked back up and made eye contact with the pony that I had come close to killing. He was still visibly angry. Now, putting my own life on the line, I stood up and walked back over to where Wind Rider was standing. Never dropping eye contact, I extended a hoof towards him.

        “I’m sorry. You just said something that triggered my fight or flight response. No hard feelings?” He looked at my extended hoof, seeming to think about whether or not to accept my offer. In the end, he decided to accept. We shook hooves and decided (well, I did anyway) that it was best not to hold a grudge.

“There, see what a little forgiveness can do?” I rolled my eyes in partial amusement as Wind Rider gave his remark while sarcastically smirking.

        “Okay, Captain. What is your decision? Will you assist LUNA or not?”

        “Thing is, I’m not quite sure. If I help you, I could lose my own soldiers. If I don’t, we could lose all of LUNA.”

        “I’ll do it,” Wind Rider spoke up.

        “What? You’ll do what?” The Captain replied, turning his head to face Wind Rider.

        “I’ll take Razor Team and we’ll provide assistance to the LUNA operatives,” the white pegasus replied.

        “Are you sure about this, Rider?”

        “Whatever’s out there managed to take out several of Equestria’s best operators. Lunar and his stallions will most assuredly need backup. Besides, I’ve been trained by humans for these sort of missions.”

        “You have a valid point.” Swift Strike paused. Then, coming to a decision, he continued, “Alright, the matter is settled. Instead of sending all of our troops, you will take your group out and assist LUNA. That sound good?”

        “Never better, sir,” Wind Rider saluted and adjusted his bandana headband.

        “Alright, maybe we should go round up your troops now, yeah?” I asked Wind Rider.

        “Follow me,” he grinned.

Royal Special Forces mission room, Canterlot Castle

May 5th, 1058 A.B.

2:36 PM

        “Gather around, Razors,” Wind Rider announced to the RSF operatives who arrived in the room.

        I watched as Wind Rider’s personal team, known as Razor Team, gathered around the map table where Wind Rider stood. Rider had chosen quite the squad, I could tell. Fourteen young stallions, all in the pinnacle of their physical conditions, as far as I could tell.

        “First off, boys, I’d like to introduce you to Lunar Aegis of LUNA,” Rider waved his hoof over towards me.

        I nodded as I stepped next to Wind Rider, cautiously observing each of the stallions around the table, as I had been trained. I noticed one of them leaning and whispering to another. I couldn’t understand exactly what he said, but I swear I at least heard ‘LUNA’ and ‘dirty work’.

        “Hey, Rider. You got a couple of stallions to ‘convince’ to be quiet.” I whispered, motioning towards them discreetly.

        “I noticed,” he whispered back.

        He then turned his head towards the whispering stallions. “Dragonfly, Crimson, lock it up! This is an important mission straight from the Royals, we’re to be going in as backup for LUNA operatives for a reconnaissance mission to Whitetail Woods. I know what you’re thinking and no, we’re not doing LUNA’s dirty work. About three weeks ago, three LUNA operatives were reported MIA. Their last objective was Whitetail Woods, which is where we assume they went missing. The cause of their disappearance is currently unknown, though we assume there’s trouble. From what Lunar has told me, Celestia herself has recommended operatives from the RSF to assist LUNA in it’s reconnaissance, they’ll likely need it. Any questions?”

        “Yes sir,” the one named Dragonfly raised his hoof. “So, we’re basically going in as canon fodder for the deluxe models?”

        Wind Rider let out a very aggravated sigh. Obviously, he knew where this was going. I myself had a pretty good idea.

        “Dragonfly, we’re not going to have another ‘discussion’ about LUNA,” Wind Rider firmly stated. “If anything, we should be proud that Princess Celestia recommended sending us in. Any further questions?”

        I could clearly sense the annoyance in his voice. It seemed he and Dragonfly did not always see eye to eye.

        “Good, now ready up,” Wind Rider said after no other questions were raised. “We form up back at the barracks at 1500. Dismissed.”

        Just as Wind Rider’s team began to file out through the doors, I caught a glimpse at Dragonfly’s face. He still looked skeptical. “Everyone, if you don’t mind, could you just come back for a second? Especially you, Dragonfly.”

        “Lunar, what are you doing!?” Wind Rider whispered to me with an incredulous expression on his face.

        “You’ll see,” I whispered back as the team filtered back in. Raising my voice and head to address the team of RSF operatives, my gaze settled on Dragonfly. “Dragonfly, I noticed that you still didn’t like the thought of being pushed aside by LUNA.. So, I’ll give you this one chance to leave. But before you decide, I ask you to think about my words. I’m sure Dragonfly’s not the only one, so I address all of you when I say this. I understand completely that you may have your concerns about this mission. But believe me when I tell you that if you do nothing, you may die anyway. We don’t know what’s in Whitetail, but it is a danger to all of us. If you do nothing, all of LUNA, and eventually Equestria. I know personally that it is better to fight for something than it is to live for nothing. It doesn’t really matter what you choose, the outcome could be the same either way. But at least you have a choice. There, that is all. Thank you for listening.” As I finished, I turned and walked towards the exit, until I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned around to see a very bemused Wind Rider staring me in the eye.

        “What?” I asked.

        “Don’t ever speak that way to my team ever again,” he said.

        “Okay, so you don’t want me to encourage them? I’m trying to erase all of their doubts!” I replied, a little louder than was intended. My words quickly reaped a result as I began to notice several members of Razor Team glaring at me... including Dragonfly and Rider.

        “Encouragement, my flank!” Wind Rider suddenly shouted.

“I really don’t want to get into it with you, Rider!” I shouted back as I shoved my way past him towards the door.

“Just who do you think we are, Lunar? We’re Royal Special Forces, not some sorry-flank cadets!” Wind Rider took a deep breath to calm himself. “Of course, we’re more than willing to take part in this mission. But we’re not going to just be regarded as REMBs by LUNA. I’ve tried to be reasonable about it and I’ve tried to keep my team reasonable about it, but it doesn’t help when a friend of mine implies the exact opposite.”

        “Look, Rider. I was only trying to help. I was hoping you’d accept that, if nothing else. If you don’t like something that I accidently implied, than I think you should just leave me alone,” I called over my shoulder as I made it through the doorway and into the hall. As soon as I reached a door outside, I opened it and immediately took to the skies, headed towards LUNA Headquarters.

LUNA Headquarters

May 5th, 1058 A.B.

3:14 PM

        “Alright, Night Panthers, gather over here.” I called to the members of my team. Most of them were honing their skills, while all the others looked on with amusement. At my words, they all stopped what they were doing and hustled over to where I was. Twelve seasoned pegasi and two ex-Lunar Guards had been assigned to my team. We were called the Night Panthers by the other operatives because of our unique fighting style. We were usually given night missions and preferred to strike from the shadows.

        “Alright, boys, here’s the thing. You know those recent disappearances we’ve been having to deal with?” I paused as they all nodded in response. “Well, we’re being sent in to deal with the issue. But we’re not doing it alone.”

        “Are the Eagles helping us?” One of the younger members asked. I shook my head at him before responding.

        “No. We’re getting help from Razor Team,” I almost laughed at how long it took them to realize what I meant. The operative who had spoken up before asked one last question as a final attempt to deny what they all knew was the truth.

        “Is that a new LUNA team?” The others in the room could barely withhold their laughter, but they managed it.

        “No, Moon Glare, they’re a Royal Special Forces team led by my good friend Wind Rider,” As all of the operatives erupted into yells of dissent, I muttered under my breath, “Or at least... I think he’s still my friend.”

        It took them all a minute to settle down, but once they did, it was smooth sailing.

        “I don’t want to hear any complaining on this mission. Razor Team thinks we’re too stuck up to realize their true value. We need to show them that they’re wrong, that we can appreciate the talents of others. If we’re going to succeed on this mission, then we need to get along with Razor Team. We must succeed on this mission, no matter the cost. Any questions?”

        Moon Glare stepped forward sheepishly. “Why weren’t we supplied with more LUNA teams? I thought all the RSF was good for was sitting back and doing nothing.” As the other operatives vocalized their assent, I was having an internal debate. ‘Should I defend the truth? Or should I let them have their opinions as a twisted form of revenge? As much as I like the second option, all of my instincts tell me to defend the truth.’ Finally coming to a decision, I raised my voice above the conversation between the others.

        “SILENCE!” I yelled. There was exactly that. “Better. Now, I’ll have you know that the RSF, Razor Team specifically, have worked their flanks off on missions that we have never been asked to do. Although you may not like them, you still have to respect how much work they do. If you did that much physical labor, you’d probably drop from exertion. Now that that’s cleared up, are there any more questions? No? Have any of you been trained by Humans? That’s right, Humans. Still no? Alright then, if you ever want to know what those guys go through, you might want to start by doing twenty laps around the training field, then do weapons practice for a bit before going through an obstacle course. All with no breaks. From what I’ve seen, that’s just a taste of what they have to do sometimes. Try doing all that while bullets are whizzing past your head. Or while trying to stay undetected. Anyways, we meet in the Canterlot Throne Room at 1600. Dismissed.” With that, I led the way out onto the practice fields. I watched in satisfaction as several of them followed my advice.