Duty and Consequences

Chapters

Invitation
Rendezvous
Dangerous Dance
Masquerade
Finale

Invitation

I bask in the warm glow of the sun as day broke dawn and the moon retired once more. The brilliant colors of the sunrise embodying the emotion that everypony was feeling; Hope. Months of fighting and hundreds of battles had finally given way to a ceasefire. At first I didn’t believe it; we had been at war for so long that I had heard this rumor several times before and every time we ended up disappointed. It wasn’t until Show Off received a letter from the princess thanking us for our valiant service in obtaining the ceasefire that I realized that it was true. The feeling of relief was almost overwhelming, yet we had to stay on our guard and go out on patrols. It was difficult to maintain discipline, which created the biggest problem. Even though we were on a ceasefire, complacency could still get us killed, especially if the enemy decided that it had been ceased for long enough. To that extent we attempted to keep routine constant, same preflight inspections, same bed checks, and the same horrible food in the mess tent. It was almost painful, like being trapped in school on the first day of spring, but it was necessary, so we endured the pain.

“Mail call! We got mail call!” a voice cried out from the gathering tents behind me.

I turned and headed back to the base. I couldn’t help but feel a smile creep onto my muzzle. For the first time since basic training I had a reason to look forward to mail call.

My date with Misty had gone splendidly; at least once I got over the awkwardness. It had been a while since I had actually gone to dinner with a mare, at least dinner that counted as an official date. She was very understanding about it, and helped keep up the conversation when things got quiet. Everything went much better the second night, after her flight demonstration we went to a play at the Phillydelphia Metropolitan Theater. This was one of the few times that having an actor as a wingman actually paid off. Show had gotten me a pair of great seats by cashing in a favor that the theater manager owed him, and I couldn’t believe how close to the stage we were. I didn’t understand a thing that was going on in the play, but Misty loved it and that’s all that counted. When it was time for me to fly back to the front, she gave me a quick kiss on my cheek and a promise to write. She didn’t disappoint, I was getting a letter at least once a week bearing the Wonderbolt seal which was making most of the other flyers in the unit a little jealous. The twins didn’t seem bothered by it; Flitter just seemed to want to give me suggestions on what to do on my next date, and Cloud Chaser kept bugging me to get a Wonderbolt’s autograph for her. I could see the pair of them amidst the crowd of ponies swarming around the mail mare.

“Snap Shot! Letter for Snap Shot! ” cried the mail carrier over the ruckus.

“Here!” I shouted desperately trying to get her attention so that I wouldn’t be passed up.

I took to the air, staying as low as possible. Technically, I could have been reprimanded for flying without clearance, but with the ceasefire on, no pony really cared. I hovered over the mail mare, and snatched the letter as she held it up to me.

“Thanks, Lemonade!” I called to her as I landed outside of the huddled mass.

I wasn’t sure if she heard me or not because the poor thing seemed overwhelmed by the small herd that was pressing in on her. Some green feathers floated through the air as she spread her wings out, trying to give herself a little bit of breathing room. It was not a job that I envied. Finally away from the crowd, I looked down at the envelope bearing a blue seal, the winged lightning bolt embossed in the wax.

I happily carried the letter back to my quarters, not wanting to read it where others might eavesdrop. The door to our tent was open, letting the mild spring air blow in. I could see my wingman lying in his bunk; he too had a letter he was perusing.

“Hey,” he said cheerfully as I entered.

“Hey.”

My wingman quickly jumped off his bed and pulled his saddlebags from his footlocker.

“You might want to read that and get packing.”

“Huh?” I asked confused, we were still on active alert.

“Just read your letter,” he said happily but with a slight tone of irritation in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at him, but cracked the seal and began to read. Misty had arranged for another date, this time in Canterlot. In the upcoming weekend, the Royal Family was hosting a special Gala in celebration of the ceasefire, and to honor the lives lost in battle. I was invited as Misty’s special guest, as the Wonderbolts were to be performing for the Princesses. I suddenly realized that I didn’t have enough time to apply for leave. Reading the letter further, she simply stated that she has spoken with the princesses and my time off had already been “taken care of.”

“I can’t get R and R in one day…” I said worriedly.

“Oh!” Show exclaimed, now wearing a garrison cap at an angle it wasn’t meant to be worn.

He rushed over to his piece of parchment and striking a noble pose as he began to read aloud.

“My sister and I have already contacted your brigade’s commanding officer, informing her that you and your companions shall be attending the celebration. General Sparkle has agreed to allow Captain Famosity, Lieutenant Quill Weave, Sergeant Snap Shot and yourself to have a leave of absence.”

I looked over at him and smiled.

“So the Royal House has granted us a pardon? How kind of them.”

“That’s my Princess of the Moon for you. We have an 1100 train to Canterlot.”

I looked over at my bedside clock; the magically illuminated numbers read 0812. I now knew why Show was in such a frenzy to get his gear. I nearly knocked my cot over as I scrambled to get my formal uniform out of storage.

“You’d think that they would give us a little more warning!” I complained.

“I’m willing to bet bits to biscuits they tried; you know how mail service is out here.”

He was probably right, punctual delivery in camp was almost as mythical as the ceasefire. It didn’t really matter at this point, the only thing that we could do was pack and get to the train depot as fast as we could. It was a two hour flight to the nearest train station, assuming we didn’t run into any trouble.

“Sergeants!” a female voice cried from outside our tent. “Are y’all set to go?”

“Almost, Famosity!” Show Off shouted as he synched up his saddlebags.

I got my nose under the midsection of mine and deftly flipped them up over my head, so that they landed square on my back. I walked out the door and smiled at the mint green unicorn. She was out of uniform, dressed in a light traveling cloak. The dark forest hue highlighted her own minty coat exquisitely. Fam always had good fashion sense, certainly better than Show Off or myself.

My wingman stepped out of the tent behind me and his mouth immediately fell open. Whatever he had been expecting to see, Famosity dressed up obviously wasn’t it. I kind of felt sorry for him, this would be the second time that the two mares closest to him would be in the same room. The first incident resulted in him receiving a hoof to his face, courtesy of an angry Fam. I sincerely hoped that things would go better for him this time around. At the moment though we were in a hurry, so I elbowed him in the ribs to get him moving again.

“Come on…” I mumbled.

Show Off glared at me, somehow misinterpreting my intension.

“We have to get Quill,” was his blunt reply, and he stormed off down the path.

Fam watched him go, giving me a brief shrug before carrying on after him.

“Well, this road trip has started off on the wrong hoof,” I sighed.

We trotted over to Quill’s tent. He was waiting outside with his mare; her pearl white coat reflected the amber morning sun.

“I’m sorry you can’t come with us, my little marshmallow,” he told her as we approached.

The unicorn turned her nose up at the thought, as though Quill had just offered her some rotten lettuce to eat.

“These gala parties are always such a disappointment. I wouldn’t go even if I was able to,” she touted. Her purple curled mane bounced about as she shook her head.

Famosity snorted at her attitude, but kept a tight lip. She didn’t want to risk a drawn out argument that might make us miss our train.

The lieutenant seemed to pick up on the tension between the two mares as well and gave his love one last kiss on the cheek. He whispered something in her ear that made her cheeks redden brighter than the sunrise and then motioned for us to continue.

The four of us moved at a hurried pace toward the tarmac where a chariot awaited to take us to the train station. A full flight crew was waiting for us when we got there; Silver Lining had her troops in order, as well as having our flight gear ready to fit.

“Nice to see you aren’t taking the ceasefire seriously,” I teased her, getting in position on the launch pad.

She smiled at me and shoved my fight helmet into my chest.

“When the commanding general gives me a direct order to get four ponies ready to fly, I get them ready to fly in style.”

I reached out and rustled her silver mane with my hoof.

“You certainly do us proud, sergeant.” I told her honestly.

“Somepony has to take care of you flyboys. Enjoy your trip.”

“We will.”

I looked over to where my wingman was getting his guns fitted on his back.

“Hopefully,” I added skeptically.

The ground crew chief simply smiled at me.

“You worry too much, everything will be fine.”

She double checked my weapons and nodded.

“Thank you, corporal,” I returned her nod. “Take care of yourself.”

“Won’t need to,” she said with her tail swishing. “I’ve got somepony to take care of me tonight, sir.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her; she was almost prancing about with anticipation at the thought.

“Am I going to have to sit down and have a long talk with this colt?”

“Not a chance, sir.”

She dropped her voice down to a low whisper.

“Besides, I know how to break an unruly stallion.”

The mare pulled hard on my gun mount as if making sure that it was secure, flashing a coy smile as she did. Her physical strength was fairly impressive for a unicorn; she had almost pulled me off balance despite the fact that I was much bigger than she was.

“You have fun on your date, and I’ll have fun on mine,” she instructed, satisfied that she had made her point clear.

She fired off a salute and trotted over to inspect Show Off’s gear. I had never seen Silver act that way, she had grown up so much since I first met her. War had a tendency to make us all age faster than we should. I shook that thought from my mind and continued with my preflight ritual; I stretched my wings, spreading out my feathers as far as they would go. The silver synthetic feathers reflected the morning rays so that they danced on the ground. After I was confident in the full range of movement of my wings I pulled my dog tags out of my uniform, giving the dragon scale a quick kiss.

“You know, she is a lot like you,” I told it, as I gazed over to where the ground crew chief was talking with my wingman.

“Confident and hopeful.”

The ground crew cleared the tarmac, and we waited for the okay from the flight control officer.

“Friesian Flight, you are cleared for takeoff. Enjoy the festivities!”

My wingman and I took off and the chariot pegasi followed. Our role as escorts was mostly ceremonial, between the ceasefire and heading away from the battle lines there wasn’t much chance of being attacked. It gave me a chance to let my thoughts wander, which was never a good thing. I began to wonder about what would happen if this ceasefire held and we all headed back to our homes. I would have to head back to my normal job as a news rag photographer. It not the most desirable prospect, but at least no one would be trying to kill me. I looked across the sky at my wingman and then back at Quill and Famosity riding behind us. I wondered if we would still stay friends after the war was over. We were family right now, but families grow apart, especially with great distances between them.

I knew I was being selfish, and I knew that they had their own lives to live and families to keep. But I also knew that I would miss them when we all went our separate ways. The only thing that I really could do was enjoy the time I had with them right now.

“You looking forward to this party?” I called over to my wingman.

“Get stuffed, Shutterbug.”

He wasn’t going to make it easy to enjoy the time we had left.

“Sorry,” he added as an afterthought.

There was something bothering him, he wouldn’t react like that without a reason.

“Everything okay, Lunatic?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. We need to get a move on or we‘re going to miss our train.”

I checked the angle of the sun, he was right. I pushed my wings a little harder trying to get a little more speed.

We made it to the station as the train was almost ready to depart. We dumped our gear with the receiving ground crew and grabbed our bags before sprinting to our reserve cars. The train looked like an awkward mismatch of various cars. It was a typical military supply train with the exception of having two exquisite passenger cars wedged in between the drab military box cars. The train began moving almost as the gilded doors closed behind us. The interior of the train was magnificent, intricately carved polished wood decorated the ceiling. Gold laced curtains adorned the windows, bathing the carriage in amber light. A well dressed unicorn stood in the corner, motioning for us to sit in one of the many chairs.

Famosity immediately found a seat and sprawled out.

“Hmm, silk,” she said lovingly. “I could get used to this.”

“Welcome aboard,” the unicorn addressed us in a strong Trottingham accent. “I am Golden Platter, I am a butler in the royal palace. Showers have been made available for your use in the next car over.”

He seemed less than happy to have been assigned to escort a group of flyboys and officers to Canterlot. I chose to ignore it, it wasn’t like any of us could do anything about our situation.

“Perfect, I definitely need a shower after that flight,” I told everyone and trotted over to the door that the royal representative had indicated.

The fashionable unicorn approached me, levitating a pure white fluffy towel.

“Here you are sir,” he placed the towel on my back. “A light lunch shall be served at one o’clock. Shall I iron your tuxedo for you?”

“Oh,” I was surprised by the offer; the princesses apparently were sparing no expense. “Please.”

I dug the white formal uniform out of my saddlebags and passed it to him. He took it with a slight look of disgust, but neatly folded it mid air with his magic.

“Very good sir, I shall have it prepared and waiting for you outside the shower car.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I opened the sliding door that divided the passenger car from the shower car and felt my jaw drop. I had never seen a bathroom in a home that was so exquisite, let alone on a train. It was fairly obvious that Princess Luna had sent her personal train to come and get us. The ceiling of the shower room had been magically enchanted to appear to be the night sky, a bright silver moon shone above me surrounded by a field of stars.

“Now I could get used to this…”

I set my towel and saddlebags on one of the hooks secured to the wall and stepped into a stall. The water was warm and welcoming, I let it pour over my head and soak my mane. This was certainly different than the little dribble of frigid liquid that came from the tent showers at camp.

The door to the car slid open and I heard an audible sigh fill the room.

“Hey Show,” I said, recognizing my wingman’s voice.

He didn’t return my greeting, but the shower in the stall next to mine kicked on. I turned off the water and grabbed my towel.

“Hey…Snap?” My wingman called from over running water.

“Yeah, Show?”

“Sorry about earlier…”

“It’s alright, but at least tell me what’s bothering you?”

There was some shuffling behind the closed stall door.

“Fine,” he said begrudgingly. “I’m scared alright…”

“Scared? Show, we’re going to a party,” I laughed.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand!”

I was getting a little bit aggravated with his attitude.

“Well, I might understand if you’d explain it a little better.”

The water stopped running in the shower.

“Fine, look…it’s just…Famosity and I are growing apart…and the princess…and…”

He fell silent, but he had said enough.

“You’re worried about losing one of them, aren’t you?”

“Or both.” He sighed.

I threw his towel over the stall door at him.

“Show, everything will be fine. We’ve been through enough with Famosity that there is very little that you could do that she wouldn’t forgive you. As for the princess, I’m not really sure what to tell you, but she seems to be made of tougher stuff than to be jealous.”

I wasn’t really sure if that advice would even help him, it wasn’t like we could do anything to control the mares; especially since one of those mares was royalty.

Show finished drying off and opened the door, his brown mane plastered to his head.

“You’re right,” He consented. “We had better head back, lunch will be out shortly.”

I had to stifle a laugh. Show Off could fly out on a mission and face death as if he were going to the grocers for carrots, but the thing that scared him the most were mares. I didn’t blame him though, there wasn’t a stallion alive that understood the fairer sex, and the unknown should always be feared.

We walked back into the luxury car, where Golden Platter had several small salad plates out on a small oak table. He feverishly tossed lettuce and carrots around in bowl; it looked delicious and smelled even better. Three pressed and starched uniforms hung from hooks on the wall, they still looked so foreign to me. Show Off, as an actor, was the one who knew all about the fancy parties and galas; I would much rather have gone in my flight suit.

Taking a seat, I looked around the table at Show, Quill and Famosity. We had been through so much together, we may not have been related by blood but we were family through experience. We had eaten together before, but never like this; it felt different. This was a real meal, not some slop served on plastic tables in some crowded mess tent, this was special. Unfortunately, I seemed to be the only one who thought so. Quill busied himself by writing notes, Fam was drawing patterns on the table cloth with her magic and Show was picking at his salad like a foal who didn’t want to eat his sprouts. I decided to liven things up at the table.

“So this is my first trip to Canterlot, I can’t wait to see it. What are you guys looking forward to the most?”

All three of my friends glanced at each other. It was an extremely vague question, but it was a decent way to get a conversation started.

“What?” Quill asked me an eyebrow raised.

“At the party…”

The dark green pony returned to scribbling words on his pad. He might have been a former author, but sometimes I felt like taking that notebook of his and setting a light to it. Famosity saved Quill from my wrath by taking up the question.

“I’m not really planning on going to the party. I’m going to the sculpture garden with a very special somepony.”

I was slightly disappointed that she wasn’t going to stay with us at the party, but I knew exactly which statue she was going to see. The mint green unicorn was a member of the Chaotic sect, those few ponies that worshipped the master of chaos. Some ponies feared them, it didn’t bother me. Fam’s military strategies had save my life and the lives of countless others, whatever she believed didn’t change that. As for whom this “somepony” was, all I could do was guess.

Show Off’s eyes left his plate and he stared at the captain, obviously as confused as I was. She flashed him a smile from across the table. My wingman let out a sigh of relief and returned her smile.

“How droll…” Quill commented.

“And why are you being so grumpy?” Show Off asked our lieutenant.

I almost choked on my salad, Show wasn’t in any position to ask that question after his tail had been in a knot the entire trip so far. Quill didn’t seem to care; he simply let out a tired sigh.

“It’s not going to be much of a party without my love.”

I could tell that the lieutenant was going to make himself miserable throughout the rest of the night, and I was pretty sure that there wasn’t anything I could do to cheer him up. Quill had always been stubborn. It was part of what made him a good leader and it got us out of Fort A, but it also aggravated me to no end. This trip wasn’t turning out to be the last hurrah for the four of us that I had hoped it would be.

Great, now I’m making myself miserable, I thought.

Quill snapped my out of my self-pity.

“But why us?” He asked the table.

Show returned his question with a question.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what did we do to deserve a royal invitation? The highest rank here is a captain, and she’s not exactly the most polished officer on the line…”

“Hey!” Famosity exclaimed angrily, her mahogany mane slightly frizzing with magic.

“I didn’t mean any offense. I was merely stating that you are not limited to the standard military drab that other ponies are.”

As this seemed to sedate Fam, Quill continued.

“As far as I can tell, this is a fairly important event, but as far as the military is concerned we decidedly unimportant.”

I thought about it for a minute and came up with an answer that I at least thought made sense and would hopefully lighten the mood.

“Well, last time we were at a fancy shindig like this Show Off got a little frisky with Princess Luna, maybe she’s hoping this time she’ll get to second base.”

Show shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“I’m kidding Show. No, really this seems like just a PR stunt to me; the everyday solider, the small cog in the machine that achieved victory, four uniformed idiots to stand there and look pretty so that the war effort seemed worth it.”

Everypony fell silent for a moment, it was as if the joy had been sucked out of the car. That was until Famosity’s horn glowed green and her magical pencil drew a gigantic “X” in front of me.

“Wrong!” She shouted cheerfully. “You’re too pessimistic Snap. Show is invited because, for some reason, he’s infatuated with the princess, and, for some reason, that fascinates her. You’re here because Misty likes you enough to at least be in the same room with you for more than five minutes. I’m here because I have friends in high places and Quill just gets to tag along.”

The lieutenant scowled but the rest of us cracked into a laughing fit. Famostiy had a way of putting everything in perspective, she might be flighty and had her little quirks, but she was also quite insightful when she wanted to be.
Golden Platter seemed very disenchanted with the whole conversation as he absentmindedly cleared the dishes away.

“We will be arriving at the station shortly, you may wish to prepare.”

Famosity rose from her seat and headed to the shower car.

“I’m going to take a shower and get dressed,” she said with a flick of her tail. “No peeking, boys.”

I noticed that she was paying particular attention to Show Off as she tossed her mane around. Walking over to where my jacket hung on its peg, I began my struggle to don my formal uniform. Things were actually going okay until I heard the sound of fabric ripping. I looked over my shoulder to see the sharp edge of a silver synthetic feather poking through a freshly made tear in the cloth.

“Buck it all!”

The jacket was magically pulled from my back.

“There is no need to curse sergeant,” Golden Platter scoffed. “One does not work at her majesty’s royal palace without learning a thing or two about clothing repair.”

He took my uniform and with his magic he mended the jacket; connecting the threads where they had been torn. He passed the jacket back to me, it looked as if the hole had never been there.

“Wow, thanks…” I said.

“You must be great at parties,” my wingman remarked.

Our royal escort simply rolled his eyes at us.

“Do try to be more careful sergeant.”

I extended my left wing, staring at the three silver magically crafted feathers attached to my wing bone.

“I swear that these things are getting sharper.”

Show Off took pity on me and helped slip my wing thorough the specially designed slit in the jacket.

The door to the shower car slid open and Famosity stepped out. All four colts in the car fell silent as we stared dumbstruck at the mare. She was wearing an elegant black ball gown; it hugged her tightly around the chest giving her a slim look. The skirt of the dress was trimmed with a small length of gossamer fabric that allowed just a hint of her sensual nature. She completed the ensemble with a ruby pendant and her signature peacock feathers weaved into her main and tail.

“Now boys, I know I’m hot in black but you probably should close your mouths; you don’t want to drool on your uniforms before your dates.”

Show Off’s teeth clacked together as he followed her order. I couldn’t help but smile at how the two of them egged each other on. They were an odd couple indeed, but I wouldn’t have them any other way.

The train began to slow as we approached our destination; I rushed over to the window to see the platform come into view. I began to feel giddy and excited as I looked over to the palace; it was as if I were a young foal again.

“Hey!” Show Off shouted at me. “Don’t forget this!”

I turned to see what he was talking about and was hit in the face by my garrison cap. The hat hung briefly on my muzzle before falling to the floor.

“Nice shot, Show. Now if only your aim had been that good against the CBs, I might have not spent half the war in medical,” I teased.

“Hey, I’ve pulled your feathers out of the fire dozens of times.”

“Are we keeping score now? I’ve chase a few bandits off your tail too, ya know.”

All further conversation ceased as the train lurched to a stop as we arrived at the platform. I turned to grab my saddlebags but Golden Platter stopped me.

“I’ll have your bags delivered to the Silver Shoe inn on Bridle Lane, where your rooms have been reserved.”

He walked over to the railcar door and slid it open.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, I give you Canterlot.” He stated with the most enthusiasm that he had expressed the entire trip.

The city was magnificent, golden trimmed buildings lined the streets accented with a cavalcade of colors. Ponies from all walks of life milled about the avenues and sidewalks. Though most were likely refugees from the outlying Equestrian settlements, few seemed distressed about their situation. Far in the distance, the royal palace stood acting as a beacon of hope for those who had to flee from the fighting. We had finally arrived.

Author's Note

Special thanks to http://britishstarr.deviantart.com/ for letting me use her character.

Rendezvous

We stepped out into the train station and found two mares waiting for us. Famosity reared up in excitement, whinnying like a foal presented with a sugar cube. I looked over at Quill, who stood dignified on the platform but I saw tears welling in his eyes.

“Marshmallow!” He exclaimed in surprise, finally losing his composure and running over to where the unicorn was waiting.
His mare was wearing an elegant sky blue ball gown and a slim silver tiara to accent her purple mane. She returned his greeting with a quiet smile.

I didn’t recognize the other mare, a pink earth pony with a maroon, boyish mane. She was dressed in formal military attire with the rank of Lieutenant on her shoulders. I thought she might have been another escort but to my surprise she charged
Famosity; throwing her forehooves around the captain’s neck.

“Maquillage! You made it!” Fam cried out.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” the mare replied.

Famosity gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and flashed a broad smile. Maquillage noticed us staring at her and quickly shied away. Her ears turned almost the same color of her mane with embarrassment.

“Oh!” Fam exclaimed. “Maquillage, these are my friends; Lieutentant Quill Weave, First Sergeants Show Off and Snap Shot and Quill’s marefriend Rarity. Everyone this is Maquillage.”

I stepped forward and acted as spokespony for the group.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant.”

I snapped my hoof to my brow in formal recognition of her rank. The crimson mare didn’t return my salute; she simply pawed the ground nervously with a hoof.

“A pleasure…” she said to the gilded slats of the platform.

“She can be a little shy,” Fam explained the obvious as she nestled up close to her friend. “But she’s pretty fun once you get to know her.”

I looked out to where the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. The time of day began to weigh heavy on my shoulders.

“Well, we’ll get to know her on the way to the palace. The Wonderbolts will be performing soon.”

Famosity glared at me and I realized that my statement was devoid of any tact at all.

“What Snap is trying to say is he is currently dating one of them and doesn’t want to miss her performance,” She translated.

“Um, yes…sorry for being rude. I’m just a little anxious.”

Maquillage’s ears perked up at that statement, but she didn’t raise her eyes to me.

“I’d like to see the Wonderbolts too,” she said quietly. “I wanted to be one as a foal but…no wings.”

Rarity stepped away from Quill for a moment.

“Wings are overrated, darling, believe me. I’d rather walk than fly.”

“I wouldn’t mind them,” the other mare said softly.

Show broke his silence to cock his head at the white unicorn.

“Speaking of flying, how did you get here?”

“Well, Show Off,” she said disdainfully. “When your friend is a general and owes you a favor you can get some time off. It also helps that my friend happens to be a unicorn and can zap us to places we need to be so we can surprise a certain colt.”
She batted her eyelashes seductively at Quill. I saw the feathers on Show’s wing bristle, obviously annoyed by her response.
Thankfully, Famosity decided to intervene before things got out of hand.

“Well, we had better get a move on, or we’ll miss the show.”

The mint green unicorn headed off the platform and her friend quickly joined her; the rest of us hurried to catch them. I couldn’t help but smile at the captain, not only did she stop the argument but she had us walking at a quick pace so that it couldn’t start up again.

As they walked in front of us, Maquillage began to talk with Fam. As quiet as she had been when we were introduced, the earth pony talked non-stop with her companion. I had never seen Famosity so quiet, the captain simply listened; hanging on to every word. She didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the way her tail was swishing about behind her that Fam was truly happy.
I looked over at Show, who had a grim expression on his face.

“You okay?” I asked concerned.

He looked back at me and blew out a sigh.

“Yeah, I told you that we had grown apart...and I was pretty sure she was seeing someone. I’m just surprised…”

“Heh, yeah. Who thought she’d be here? And who thought that Captain Famostiy had a thing for pink?”

The mint green mare stopped abruptly and turned so that we were nose to nose.

“She’s not pink,” she said glaring into my eyes. “She’s lightish red.”

I looked around Fam to where Maquillage was standing in the street, her ears once again bright red with embarrassment. While it was true that she was definitely a darker shade than what I would normally consider “pink”, to me there was red and there was pink and the earth pony was definitely on the pink side of the spectrum. But since Famosity was an artist in her civilian life she probably knew better than I did.

“Okay, okay. She’s red, not pink,” I said quickly, hoping not to incur her wrath. “Especially now that she’s blushing.”
Fam smiled mischievously and turned back to the earth pony. Walking over she nuzzled the other mare gently and Maquillage turned an even deeper hue.

“Isn’t she adorable when she does that?”

Before any of us could respond, a series of fireworks erupted above the palace and three trails of smoke cut across the sky. The Wonderbolts had started their performance.

“Buck it all,” I mumbled.

Rarity trotted to the curb.

“Yoohoo! Taxi!” she shouted, waving a hoof at a passing carriage.

The cab pulled over and we all piled in as the driver opened the door.

“To the castle and hurry!”

It was a little cramped inside with six of us but we would manage.

“Not nearly as bad as those three months we had to share that tent,” I joked.

Famosity and Rarity glared as me but Show Off laughed.

“Yeah, that was an interesting experience. You mares will try to behave yourselves for the ride out there won’t you?”

We received more piercing stares, before both of the fillies broke into giggling fits.

The taxi pulled up to the castle grounds just as the Wonderbolts were entering the final stage of their routine. Like all great performers, they saved the most exciting and daring stunts for the very end. This was also the part of the show that concerned me the most. I was a combat flyer; I was trained to avoid the type of situation that these flyers put themselves in willingly. While close passes looked flashy and created intricate smoke shapes in the sky, anytime you have pegasi passing in close proximity, at high speed, it could be disastrous. As close to the ground that they were performing, the slightest miscalculation or hesitation at the wrong moment could result in a one way trip in a pine box. I frantically searched the sky for a blue streaked mane and tail, catching a glimpse as she flew over the crowd. It was difficult to follow Misty as she weaved around the other flyers with her wingman. Not being able to keep an eye on her made me even more nervous. Show must have seen how worried I looked, because he tapped me with his wing.

“Hey, relax a little. She’s been doing this long enough to know how to stay safe.”

He was, of course, right. I needed to have more faith in her, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. It was difficult, but I did manage to pull in the reigns a little. Though I did feel my heart skip a beat as I watched her dart through the center of a slow flying formation.

Thankfully the performance ended without incident and the Wonderbolts set down on lawn to the cheers of the audience. Ponies, mostly foals, crowded the barrier separating the spectators from the garden grounds, hoping to get a glimpse of the talented flyers. The performers didn’t disappoint, greeting the gatherers at the fence. I could see Misty standing next to her teammates, putting a hoof print on any photo or scrap of paper thrust in front of her. She saw me and gave me a brief wave before a young filly diverted her attention with a magazine cover to autograph.

“Are you Sergeant Snap Shot?”

I looked around to see tan Pegasus regarding me with one eyebrow raised.

“Yes…?”

“My name is Crescent; I’m the manager of the Wonderbolts. Misty sent me to tell you that she will meet you at the banquet. Things get a little chaotic after the show, as you can see, so she felt it would be better that way…”

The tan pony shifted from hoof to hoof slightly before continuing.

“She also wanted me to pass on more personal messages…but I’m not really comfortable with that.”

His embarrassment brought a smile to my face. I was pretty sure that Misty was just messing with Crescent with how forward she was supposedly being. I hadn’t gotten to know her too well, but from what I knew of her so far, she had a great sense of humor and loved to have fun; sometimes that fun came at the expense of others but it was never anything so cruel as to instill harsh feelings toward her.

“That’s okay, Crescent. Please let her know that I’ll meet her in the main dining room.”

I looked back at the garden; the crowd gathered at the fence seemed to have tripled in the brief time that we had been talking.

“Assuming that she can ever escape that mess,” I added.

“I’ll let her know Sergeant.”

“Thank you Crescent.”

He trotted off to convey my message.

Show Off was watching the other patrons begin to file into the palace.

“I take it you want to head to the banquet.”

My wingman looked at the mass of ponies heading to the castle.

“Yeah, that would probably get a good idea…I’m getting a little hungry too. That salad didn’t really stick with me.”

“That’s because you barely ate any of it.”

He looked up as if trying to recall a distant memory.

“Oh yeah…”

We trotted over to where the mares were gathered chatting excitedly. Rarity seemed to be handling the bulk of the conversation.

“Oh my dear,” she commented to Maquillage. “You’ll have to tell me the salon that does your makeovers. They did an excellent job with your mane and makeup.”

“Actually,” the mare replied. “I did it myself; I can show you some…”

She trailed off as we approached. I don’t know what she found so intimidating about us, but she didn’t seem to be quite so willing to talk while Show and I were around.

“Hey girls, we are about to head up to the banquet,” I said with a smile.

All three fillies returned my smile.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Famosity said. “You all go to the banquet and we’ll head to the sculpture garden.”

“Um, can we go to the banquet too?” Maquillage asked quietly.

“Aww…”

“Well, it will only be to get a bite to eat. Then we can head to your statue.”

The mint green unicorn flashed a look that could melt even a Windigo’s heart but the earth pony didn’t bite.

“The pouty puppy face didn’t work to get me into a fancy ball gown; it won’t work to get you to skip dinner.”

Famosity turned to us.

“She never wears what I want her too,” she grumbled playfully.

I waited for some sort of snide comment from Quill concerning proper military dress, but it never came. The lieutenant wasn’t with them.

“Where’s Quill?” I asked, Fam.

“Oh, Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him and said she was feeling a little hungry. So he rushed off to secure our table at the celebration.”

She turned to the pristine white unicorn.

“You really got him on a set of short reins.”

The other mare feigned ignorance.

“Whatever do you mean, dear?”

Famostity was obviously annoyed by the unicorn’s response but she didn’t say anything.

“Well,” Show Off said taking charge. “Let’s not keep him waiting.”

The five of us joined the procession into the palace, as expected security was tight on the grounds. Armored ponies guarded the gates but they were supported by much larger creatures. They were equine, but they were roughly twice the size of a normal pony but slightly smaller than Celestia.

“Who are these guys?” I asked.

“Mercenaries,” Maquillage replied, a hint of disgust in her voice. “From Saddle Arabia. They were brought in to reinforce the guard…a lot of the home guard has been deployed because of the war.”

That didn’t make a lot of sense to me until I realized that when the fighting broke out, Equestria hadn’t been to war in over a century. The only trained soldiers available, aside from the small militia groups, would have been the Royal Guard. Those who knew how to fight would have been called to train those who did not. So when my “friend” in the CIA said she was going to double the guard around the princess it meant that she was going to hire outside help. Mercs made me uneasy, as they would any soldier; we were bound by honor and loyalty, they were only bound by a contract. I tried to push the thought out of my mind, if the war had taught me anything it was you had to sometimes take less than desirable options in order to obtain your objectives. One of the royal guards saluted us as we passed; we returned his gesture briefly as not to hold up the line. When we made our way into the entrance hall, I noticed that we were not the only members of the military invited. The crowd of ponies in tuxedoes and ball gowns was speckled with the pristine snow white dress uniform of military officers and enlisted.

“Is that Snap Shot?”

I groaned inwardly at the sound of that voice, I knew who it was even before I turned to see him. Big Scoop was the head editor at the Trottingham Times; the paper I served as a photographer before the draft.

“It is!” he gasped coming over to our group, his own entourage in tow.

“Give me minute,” I told Show and met the oncoming unicorn halfway; not wanting to turn this into a spectacle in front of my friends.

I braced myself for what was to come. Scoop looked down on everpony, regardless of their status. He always seemed to take pride in demeaning others, and since he was the editor in chief, you just had to take it. Those who took a stand against him were fired and those who refused to join him as he insulted others were given the worst available assignments. I was usually on the receiving end of the latter, as I was unwilling to participate in his various tirades on how those under him were not worthy to work at the paper. Over time, I had learned to just avoid his office whenever possible. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option at this party.

“Well, look at you,” he sneered, his bushy grey moustache bristling. “Looks like you actually made Sergeant, who’d have thought it? I guess no pony can be completely useless.”

His little group of “Yes-Ponies” sniggered at his remarks. Anger nagged at the back of my mind but I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to make a scene.

My lack of reaction seemed to spur him on further.

“Well, I’m sure you miss chasing movie stars. I just might have to give you your old job back once you get out.”

He was full of it, I knew the law; those drafted in the REA were guaranteed to retain their employment after their service was complete.

“Although,” he continued. “I’m not sure if I’d like having a laggard ex-squaddie taking photos for me.”

He managed to find the one insult that I would not stand for. I had sacrificed so much for Equstria; my wing, my career and the last days with my love. I was not going to allow him to mock that. I strode up to him, seeing a small spark of fear in his eyes as I did. When we were nose to nose I spoke, and to my surprise my voice came out calm and level.

“Scoop, I have heard every lame insult and sorry put down you’ve got, but you just crossed a line that you shouldn’t have crossed. I didn’t buy my way out of service like you; I have been to the front line, I have fought and bled for my country, and I have been personally thanked by Celestia herself for what I have done. Do not ever question a soldier’s service. As for my ‘old job’, you can shove it up your ass, I quit.”

I turned on my hoof and headed back to where my wingman was waiting. Show must have watched the whole exchange but I doubted he had heard what was said over the crowd.

“What was that all about?” He asked, glaring daggers at my old boss.

I had to smile; my wingman was still covering me.

“Nothing,” I dismissed his question. “Though I think that I’m now unemployed.”

The statement caused a pit in my stomach, I wasn’t sure if I was making the right decision. Show Off was much less concerned.

“Eh,” he replied. “You hated that job anyway.”

My wingman was right; it wasn’t much of a career. I spent most of my time chasing celebrities and ducking security, it wasn’t what I had dreamed of when I decided I was going to be a photojournalist as a foal. It also wasn’t the end of the world either, if the ceasefire proved to be permanent, I still had my press pass and could make ends meet freelancing until I found another paper. A sense of freedom washed over me, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulder. It might be short lived when I was looking for work after I got home, but for the moment I was free.

“Hey,” Show told me with a quick bump of a wing. “We have to get to our table before Quill gets overrun.”

He followed the mares into the grand ballroom; the fillies were prancing with excitement at the sight of all of the tables and ponies milling about. A group of blue and yellow clad ponies caught my attention. I scanned the Wonderbolt group searching for Misty.

“Looking for someone, Flyboy?” a voice whispered in my ear.

I jumped at the sudden intrusion into my personal space, but was rendered speechless upon casting my eyes on the speaker. Misty was standing there, wearing a simple yet elegant blue ball gown. Her normally windswept mane had been braided and trailed back behind her. She stared at me with her icy blue eyes and wore a broad smile on her face.

“Glad to see I still have that effect on stallions,” she teased. “I’ve missed you.”

She came up and nuzzled me gently.

I finally found my voice as I returned her affection.

“I’ve missed you too, that was quite the performance this afternoon.”

“Well, it was a special routine for the gala…”

She noticed my wingman standing next to me.

“And you must be Show Off. I’ve heard a lot about you from Fleetfoot. ”

Show gave her an overly exuberant salute.

“All good I hope.”

His display brought a laugh from Misty.

“She said you had a flair for the dramatic, but you were also a good stallion.”

Show simply responded with a shrug.

“Fleetfoot was right about the flair, I just do my best on the second part.”

“Well, I think she was right on about both, and I do need to thank you.”

My wingman cocked his head at her statement; it obviously wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.

“Why is that?”

“You’re the pony who got us together,” she stated nodding at me.

Show shook his head.

“That was all Snap; I just wrote the letter to Fleetfoot.”

Misty’s ears perked up at the name, and she immediately waved at the gathered Wonderbolt group.

“Fleety! Come over here for a minute!” She cried out.

Fleetfoot, still in her Wonderbolt uniform, meandered over to our little group; wearing a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

“Misty,” she addressed the mare as though she were talking to a young foal who was misbehaving. “This is a formal event; you should maintain your composure.”

Choosing to ignore her friend’s statement, Misty pushed Show Off toward the other flyer.

“Look who I found!” she sang.

A quiet smile graced Fleetfoot’s muzzle.

“Show, it’s been a long time.”

My wingman returned her smile, though his seemed more nervous than hers.

“It has, how have you been?”

“Good, we’ve been doing a morale tour. I’m sorry you had to put your acting career on hold,” She nodded at the uniform that uniform that he was clad in.

Misty took the opportunity to step in.

“Well, I think you two have some catching up to do. Snap and I will grab some drinks at the bar, would you like anything?”

“Just a cider,” Show replied.

“Make that two,” Fleetfoot added.

Misty pulled gently on my sleeve and I followed her over to where a line of ponies was waiting for their drinks to be poured. She was acting strangely, it wasn’t like her to simply call someone over and then blow them off.

“What was that all about?” I asked her.

“I was that obvious, huh?”

“Pretty much.”

She looked down and pawed at the exquisite royal carpeting with a hoof.

“I’m worried about Fleety. I don’t think she’s quite moved on from Show Off.”

“What makes you say that?”

She looked back over her should at the two pegasi who were now talking like a couple of old friends.

“She still has a picture of the two of them in her locker back at the academy. How can you move on from someone if you have something that will always remind you of them?”

I felt a pang in the pit of my stomach and instinctively my hoof went to the dragon scale under my uniform. Misty still didn’t know about my past or the memento that hung around my neck. It didn’t come up on our last date, and I didn’t want to tell her in a letter. Still, her words hurt, even if she hadn’t intended them to.

“It is possible,” I said more harshly than I had wanted.

Misty’s ears suddenly drooped, she knew that she had said something wrong but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Snap, what’s the matter? I didn’t mean anything by it. Really, I didn’t,” she apologized.

This was not how I wanted to tell her, but it was going to have to come up eventually.

“Misty look, I…”

A mare’s scream pierced though the crowded banquet hall, after it ceased there was nothing but silence. The royal guard who was by the door staggered out into the middle of the floor before collapsing in a heap, blood began to pool under him from a gash in his throat.

“Nobody move!” an authoritative voice shouted at the entrance.

Dangerous Dance

A pack of maybe ten diamond dogs followed the guard’s bloody hoof prints, behind them strode one of the Saddle Arabia mercenaries.

“Hehe, the white pony bled good!” one of the dogs shouted with glee.

“Can it!” the mercenary stallion barked and the dog immediately closed his mouth, allowing him to continue to order his troops. “Secure the west and south entrances; nopony leaves this room.”

Several of the dogs scattered like insects to obey the commands they were given.

I quickly looked over to Show Off, trying to ask him what to do without arousing suspicion. He caught my eye and quickly shook his head back and forth.

“Not now,” he mouthed silently.

He was right; if we made a play prematurely it was likely that somepony would get killed. For now we had to bide our time and wait until an opportunity presented itself.

To my left Misty was shaking uncontrollably, I had never seen this side of her. I wrapped my wing around her trying to comfort her as best I could. She stopped quivering, but she began to mutter softly.

“He’s dead, oh Celestia, he’s dead,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on the bloody guard lying in the middle of the ballroom.

“Misty,” I soothed. “Take a deep breath and calm down, the worst thing we can do in this situation is panic.”

One of the dogs walked in front of us brandishing a blade menacingly. Misty immediately cowed at the sight of the weapon. I stood my ground but didn’t advance on him. The dog continued on past us before returning to the commanding stallion.

“They look rebellious,” he said with a toothy smile.

The stallion scanned the crowd as if assessing a flock of sheep.

“Just kill one of them, the rest will get in line.” he said darkly, and headed back out of the ballroom.

The gathered ponies sucked in a collective breath. I quickly took a head count of my friends. Quill was with Rarity at a back table, they were most likely out of danger but too far a way to help. Famosity was standing in front of Maquillage, shielding her from the pack but she wasn’t going to be able to support us either. I once again looked over to Show Off, this time he nodded and began to move amongst the crowd. We couldn’t wait any longer; the execution order had forced our hand.

“Stay here,” I told Misty.

She gave a small squeak as I left her side, but she stayed where she was.

One of the diamond dogs dove into the crowd, grabbing his unfortunate victim by the mane and dragging her screaming form out next to the guard’s body. She begged for her life as she struggled against his grip, but this just seemed to excite the dog more. Two more members of his pack came help him force the mare to her execution.

Mentally, I went over my hoof-to-hoof training I had received back in basic, trying to formulate the best plan of attack.
Unfortunately, every option I could come up with required me to be closer. I crouched, trying to stay out of sight as I moved behind the gathered ponies, some of which were crying, others had their eyes shut tightly as though that would allow them to escape what was to come.

“You all watch!” The dog shouted to the crowd. “You don’t do what we say, this happens to you!”

I wasn’t quiet at the best angle but I could make out the obsidian coat of my wingman waiting at the edge of the crowd.
The mare fought them as the two dogs pinned her forelegs on the ground. The leader raised the spear he was carrying over his head about to pierce the mare behind the neck.

Show rushed forward, catching him in a tackle the sent the dog crashing to the floor. The dogs pack mates released the mare and attempted to aid their leader. I pushed my way out of the crowd and faced them. These dogs were untrained brutes, and came at me swinging their weapons wildly. I sidestepped as the first one ran at me with his metal tipped spear. Trapping the spear under one forehoof and used my free hoof to deliver a blow to the dog’s throat. He grabbed his neck and staggered backwards, releasing his weapon. I picked it up as his companion rushed me his club raised above his head for a two handed strike. I fell backwards with the spear point up and the dog impaled himself.

I jumped to my hooves to help Show Off, but his dog was already a sprawled out on the floor.

“On your right!” He shouted a little too late.

A sudden impact on my side lifted me off my hooves and knocked the breath from my lungs; it felt like I had been hit by a runaway cart. A massive hoof pinned me down and a blade was placed against the back my neck.

“Well, hello hero,” the Saddle Arabian mercenary said standing over me.

I couldn’t move, he was much larger than I was, and had all of his weight on my back pinning me to the carpet. I felt the blade raise and my blood chilled; I realized that I was about to die. Suddenly, in a brief moment of clarity, I had a brilliantly stupid idea. I flared my wings, and the silver synthetic feathers cut into his stomach. The slice wasn’t deep enough to cause any real damage but the sudden unexpected pain made him jump, giving me a little leverage to buck out with my hind legs. My hoof caught his rear fetlock joint, and with a sickening snap, it bent in a direction it wasn’t designed to go. He cried out in pain and released me. I shot forwards, propelled by a down stroke from my wings and grabbed as much altitude as the ballroom ceiling would allow. I circled back and dove, using all of my momentum to add force to the punch I landed on the side of his head. The large stallion dropped to a heap on the floor. I looked around the ballroom trying to assess other threats.

While Show and I were stopping the execution, it seemed that other ponies, most of them military, had taken advantage of the distraction to subdue the other dogs. Several were sporting wounds on their bodies; one was lying on the ground as two other ponies tried to stem the flow of blood from her side.

Show Off came galloping up to me.

“You alright?” He asked.

My wrist ached from the impact on the horse, but I didn’t think it was broken. My ribs were a different story; at least one was certainly cracked from where the merc had hit me. Neither injury was serious enough to put me out of commission. I was more concerned with the situation at hoof.

“Yeah, what the hell is going on?”

“No idea, Fam and Quill are trying to get everypony organized.”

Show Off pulled the spear out of the dead diamond dog, as I kicked the Arabian over. He had a small curved blade attached to his hoof and a larger one strapped to his back. I relieved him of his arsenal and his radio, he groaned in pain as I jostled him.

“Tie him up,” I instructed an able bodied stallion. “But don’t kill him; he’s a prisoner of war.”

I followed Show to the group of ponies in military garb; most were enlisted with a smattering of officers. The latter were arguing over who was to take command as the palace was now apparently under attack. A lone colonel was shouting at the others as he pointed to the epaulets on his shoulder. Any higher ranking officers would have likely been in a VIP room when the attack started.

My wingman regarded the proceedings with a mix of concern and disgust. He walked in between the arguing stallions and drove the spear into the ground. The metallic clang of the spear against the marble floor ceased all of the bickering immediately.

“Alright, put a bridle in it,” Show said in hushed but serious tone. “There are ponies, civilian ponies, counting on us and you lot are squabbling like foals. I’ll make this simple, those dogs tried to kill us, so this is now officially a combat situation which means we need a combat experienced officer in charge. Who here has had combat experience?”
The colonel didn’t raise his hoof, nor did the only major. Two captains remained with their hooves in the air; Famosity and a crimson pegasus stallion.

“When did you make captain?” Show said pointing at the colt.

The flier hesitated at being put on the spot.

“Um, three months ago.”

My wingman turned to Famosity.

“And you?” He asked, though he knew perfectly well when she had been promoted.

“13 months,” she replied without hesitation.

In this situation, it was probably best that the others didn’t know that we were in the same unit. The last thing we needed was a power struggle that would waste time.

“Alright, you’ve got seniority so you’re in command.”

Fam looked around nervously before regaining her composure. The mint green unicorn had always been a great tactician but she had never been willing nor able to lead other ponies. However, she was lucky enough to know somepony who was.

“Lieutenant Weave! Front and center,” she said with as much authority as she could muster.

Quill stepped forward, standing next to Fam looking as strong and noble as possible. He addressed the other officers and began our brief council of war.

“Our first priority is getting the civilians out safely…”

The colonel stepped forward, determined to voice his opinion.

“Lieutenant, shouldn’t our first priority be protecting the Princesses?”

Quill refused to back down from the superior officer.

“Colonel, if Princess Celestia were here right now, what would she tell us to do? Those dogs all had radios; reinforcements will likely be on their way if they don’t check in on time. Celestia would not want us to leave close to a hundred souls to be massacred at the hands of those mangy dogs because she herself was under attack. She would order us to evacuate them and that’s what we are going to do. Famosity what are our best options.”

The unicorn thought for a second and then began to draw a map of our immediate area in mid air. It floated as if it were resting on an invisible table; she used this to her advantage to diagram the escape route.

“Our best bet would be to take emergency exit out into the garden. The mercenaries forces will probably be spread thin so there should only be one or two guards on sentry duty. If we can make it to the wall and outside, we should be safe. The hard part will be getting this many ponies out unnoticed.”

Quill nodded in agreement.

“Second priority; protect the crown and drive them back. These blaggards know that reinforcements will be sent as soon as the Princesses doesn’t raise the sun tomorrow, so they will have to find them and force them to surrender before the morning. I say we rain on their parade, where are the closest garrisons to Canterlot?”

The crimson captain spoke up.

“Probably the 49th Combat Flier Group out of Cloudsdale or the 12th Cavalry regiment out of Ponyville.”

Famosity looked around at all of the soldiers assessing our fighting strength.

“Even if we could contact them directly they wouldn’t get here in time. We are going to need to fight, bide time for the reinforcements to arrive. To do that we’ll need weapons…if we can get to the armory we’d be able to mount a valid defense with what we have here. But the armory is bound to be heavily guarded.”

“We could use a distraction,” Quill added his two cents.

Show Off looked over at me, as if asking if I would volunteer with him. I responded with a nod.

“Snap and I can handle that,” my wingman responded.

Quill looked at us but hesitated.

“Sergeant, that is honorable but…”

“I said we can handle it, lieutenant. Look, if we head towards the royal chambers, hit anything that’s not a pony, and just cause general chaos they’ll have to pull some troops...”

Famosity interrupted my wingman.

“That’s all well and good…but there’s one problem, you don’t know your way around the castle. The last thing you want to do is get lost and run into a dead end,” she looked around at our small group. “Has anyone here been to the palace before?”

No pony responded and the unicorn sigh audibly, this wasn’t what she was hoping for when she had formed her evacuation strategy.

“I was afraid of that,” she muttered.

Quill looked out over the crowd of civilians who were now starting to stir with anxiety

“Faust forgive me,” he said solemnly.

The lieutenant jumped up on a table and tapped his hoof on the stained wood to get everyponies attention. He took a deep breath and addressed the ponies who were now looking for answers; an air of authority and charisma radiated from his words.

“May I have your attention please? As you know by now the Princesses are in danger from an attack by those entrusted to protect her. As soldiers of the REA we have sworn to protect this country and its citizens at all costs. Our top priority is to make sure that every single one of you returns home to see your families once again. However, I must ask for two volunteers who have a knowledge of the castle grounds. I am sorry, it will be dangerous and I cannot guarantee your safety, but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary for the safety of the Princesses and the security of Equestria.”

A small handful of ponies stepped forward out of the crowd; Quill jumped off the table and went to talk to each one. He returned to the gathered soldiers with two mares, both seemed nervous about what was to come, as they should be.

Quill introduced the first of the mares, a grey pegasus with a curled fiery mane that flowed like water back behind her neck.

“This is Bookwind,” he said. “She works in the royal library, according to her the armory is across the garden from the archives, and she’s willing to take us there. We’ll send a small group to evaluate the armory guard and take control of that point if possible.”

“Hi,” Bookwind addressed all of us shyly. Shyness apparently didn’t translate to a lack of courage because it was obvious that she knew the risks involved.

As if bolstered by the pegasus, Maquillage stepped forward, there was blood on the front of her uniform from some unidentified source. A sword she had confiscated from some unfortunate diamond dog was slung across her back.

“Quill, I can take command of the assault team,” she offered.

Famosity opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it when Maquillage gave her an apologetic look.

“Thank you lieutenant,” Quill continued. “Please pick your team, make sure to have at least one pegasus who will be able to escort Bookwind back to the castle wall. Okay, who are the two fastest flyers here?”

“Probably, me and Hot Streak,” One of the pegasi said, giving a quick nod over to the crimson captain from earlier. “We were the fastest in our squadron.”

Quill evaluated the pony; he had a blue coat, a fiery red mane and the build of a racing pony. The lieutenant nodded his approval and gave them their orders.

Okay, I want you two to leave now and got to Cloudsdale and Ponyville. Get our reinforcements.”

The two of them saluted and sprinted off to one of the windows of the ballroom. The radios we had pillaged off the dogs suddenly blared to life and a voice began taking a head count.

“Quill, they are asking for sitreps.”

To my surprise, there was more than just one group that failed to check in.

“Heh,” Show scoffed. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones who put up a fight.”

The radio suddenly squealed and filled with static.

“Magical encoding?” One of the ground grunts asked.

In order to hide our radio communications from the bears, unicorns had developed a way of scrambling the radio frequencies with magic. In order for the Arabians to do the same they would either need to have a diamond dog shaman or…

“A unicorn?” one of the privates asked concerned.

Quill ignored the question; the more prudent issue from the radio was that hostile reinforcements would be on their way to check on the missing team. The lieutenant stepped forward and quickly put the evacuation plan into action.

“Colonel, major, take three soldiers apiece and guard the doors, you are going to be the rear guard. Maquillage, take your squad and get to the armory. Show, Snap get acquainted with your guide and get to the Princesses. Be careful, radio communication is now ineffective because of the jamming, so we are now operating as individual groups. Everyone else be ready to escort the civilians.”

We both saluted as Quill jumped back up on the table and began to ask the gathered ponies to remain calm.

I turned to head out and found myself nose to nose with Misty.

“You are going out there aren’t you?” she said quietly.

“Snap, we have to leave,” Show interrupted urgently.

“Two minutes,” I begged.

“Alright, meet us at the door.”

I turned back to Misty.

“I have to do this,” I told her.

“Why?” she asked, sorrow in her voice. “Why do you have to rush out to your death?”

“I have a duty to the princess…and I can’t sit idly by and lose somepony I care about again.”

I nuzzled her gently, trying to make my reasoning clear.

As if knowing he’d be ruining a moment, my wingman called out from the door.

“Snap! Now!”

I gazed deep into the mare’s eyes which were now filling with tears.

“I have to go,” I told her as I gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

“Wait!” She cried out as I galloped off to where Show was waiting.

“Famosity!” I called out over my shoulder. “Keep Misty safe!”

I didn’t look back to see how the captain responded. I knew that if I looked back it would make it that much harder to run out into the fray. Show was standing impatiently by the door, eager to get to the Princesses. He busied himself by adjusting the harness that held the spear he had armed himself with.

“Everything alright?” he asked, seeing the expression on my face.

“No,” I replied tersely.

I pulled out my good luck charm and gave it a kiss. At this point, any luck I could get would be a gift.

“Okay, better,” I lied.

Show nodded started briefing me.

“This is Butterbeam. She’s a waitress here at the palace. She’s going to show us the fastest way to the princesses.”

Show looked at the colonel guarding the door, who gave us both a pitying look. He was pretty sure that this was a suicide mission, I wasn’t sure that he was wrong.

“Everypony ready?” My wingman asked.

“Yes…” Butterbeam said with a shaky voice.

I took a deep breath and felt my nerves settle down.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go!” Show Off shouted and he took off down the hallway.

I flew up to the ceiling and our civilian guide followed. A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over me.

“I feel like we’ve been here before.”

“Outnumber and out gunned while Quill has to try and get everypony out alive…yeah.”

He was referring to our evacuation of Fort A almost two years ago. We had barely survived that mission, I was in no hurry to repeat the operation, but I was hoping for the same result.

“There! Three flying ponies!” A raspy voice shouted.

A pack of six dogs was massed up ahead of us; we hung a hard right to and shot down a hallway. The tight space of the corridor was not conducive to flying and we were hemmed in by the walls and ceiling. I could hear the dogs running behind us.

“Double Time!” Show shouted.

We increased our pace, the tapestries and statues rushed past, becoming a continuous blur of color. The growls and shouts of the dog pack slowly dulled as they grew further distant.

Looking back I saw Butterbeam was having difficulty keeping up, she was physically fit but obviously not as conditioned as we were.

“Hang in there, Butterbeam!” I called to her.

“I’m alright,” She wheezed out. “Make a left up here!”

We banked left into a narrow hallway, but found ourselves facing a dead end.

“What are you doing girl?” Show called out as he landed.

He quickly drew his spear, and rushed back to the main corridor to guard against the inevitable attack.

Butterbeam pushed past him, ignoring the dark look he shot at her. Breathing hard, the golden filly galloped to the wall and put a hoof on the embossed shield that hung on a hook.

There was a clicking sound, as if something was falling into place, and suddenly the marble glowed green briefly before parting. I found myself staring into a dark hallway.

“Come on!” she cried out.

We both followed in behind her and the door imidiately closed behind us with a whoosh of air.

“What the…?” I said looking around. I was astonished that something like this existed in the castle.

“Secret passage,” Butterbeam smiled. “They’re everywhere around the palace. This one leads to the VIP area where the princesses were.”

“No time to lose then,” Show said urgently. “Where’s the light?”

“The glow lamps are magic, they’ll light as we go. Come on!”

To demonstrate, she ran down the passage a short ways and the light seemed to follow her, as though it were alive. Show and I galloped to her.

“Hey,” Show said. “You rock, Butterbeam.”

The three of us ran as hard as we could the lights chasing us as we progressed. The sound of our hooves echoed out into the empty space.

“What I wouldn’t give for a lightning gun right now…” Show Off mused, filling the silence.

Butterbeam took up the conversation, acting like she was our tour guide for an evening stroll.

“Lightning guns have been banned in the city,” she stated knowledgably. “The princesses believed that it wasn’t safe to have them around a civilian population, and as long as the lines were holding they wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Well, at least we won’t run into them ourselves,” I said hopefully.

We came to another dead end, our guide walked up to the blank wall, caressed it gently and it took on a golden hue before being absorbed into the floor.

“Okay, let’s go,” the filly said with a smile.

She walked out of the passage and stepped out into the main corridor. Her eyes went wide and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mouth opened to scream but I quickly grabbed her and pulled her close to me.

“Shh,” I whispered as comfortingly as I could.

A dead pony lay before us; his eyes open, staring vacantly at us. His blood dripped off his golden armor pooling beneath him. There was a gaping hole in his neck where his throat had been ripped out; it was truly a grizzly sight. Three dead dogs lay around him; he at least took a few of them with him. Show Off trotted over and gently closed the guards eye’s with a hoof.

“It’s okay,” I said to Butterbeam. “Which way?”

I tried to get her mind on anything other than the dead guard. She didn’t respond, she was too catatonic to even know I was there. I took her muzzle in my hooves and looked directly into her eyes.

“Look at me,” I told her. “Listen to the sound of my voice.”

She blinked and her ears perked up.

“Take a deep breath.”

She inhaled.

“Okay, close your eyes.”

Her eyelids fell shut.

“Feeling better?”

She gave a quick nod and exhaled.

“Now, walk with me.”

Cautiously, I took her by the hooves and guided her past the dead guard. The poor mare simply followed everything I had asked of her. Her mental state had deteriorated to the point that she would comply with any instruction. Once we were a good distance away, I stopped and tucked her away into a recess in the hallway containing a stone effigy of Commander Hurricane.

“Alright, rest here a while,” I told Butterbeam.

“Snap,” Show glared at me. “We don’t have time for this!”

I tried to keep my voice even.

“Buck it all Show, she’s got battle shock. Until she calms down we can’t do anything.”

“If she’s useless, then we should just leave her.”

I stood up slowly, not wanting to startle the mare who was now curled in a ball using her wings to cover her eyes as she cried.

“Lunatic will you listen to yourself,” I said quietly, using his callsign. “You need get your priorities straight!”

“I do, and it’s the princess!”

Understandably, he was getting frustrated. I did my best to keep my voice level as I tried to reason with him.

“You once told me that Luna protected foals from their nightmares, what do you think Butterbeam is going through right now?”

My wingman looked past me at the pathetic mare. He glared back at me and let out a weary sigh before finally relenting.

“You’re right, Shutterbug. She wouldn’t be happy with me if we didn’t help her.”

“Look, scout ahead a little and then come back in five, hopefully she’ll be back on her hooves by then.”

He nodded and took to the air, speeding off down the hallway. I returned to our charge, she had stopped crying and was looking at me with a tearstained face.

“I’m okay now,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I know him.”

Tears began to roll down her cheeks again.

“He’s my friend; we just talked right before the party. I can’t believe he’s…”

I hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry, I am so sorry,” I whispered in her ear.

I looked up at the stone pegasus, who was on her hind legs, wings spread in a heroic pose.

Such a brave warrior race¸ I thought, as I looked down at the crying filly. We weren’t meant for this.

Masquerade

Four hooves clacked on the floor behind me.

“Snap, we have an emergency,” Show said hurriedly.

I released Butterbeam, her tears had once again subsided.

“Wait here,” I told her. “If we aren’t back in ten minutes, get to a window and fly as fast as you can away from here. Okay?”

She nodded.

I didn’t want to leave her there, but in the state that she was in, she was likely to get killed if we ran into trouble. The safest thing for her would be to stay hidden while we dealt with any hostiles. Though I still didn’t know what the emergency was.

“What’s going on, Show?”

He gestured for silence and only indicated that we needed to hurry. I quickened my pace at my wingman’s order; whatever the situation was time was of the essence. As we approached an offshoot he waved his hoof for us to land. I floated to the ground and hugged up against the close wall. We crept slowly toward the junction, and I could hear scraping and growling from around the corner.

“How shall we kill these ponies?” A raspy voice asked. “Skewer them? Beat them? Skin them?”

I chanced a brief look down the hallway. There were three guards, still in full armor, bound, beaten and bleeding, but they were alive. Five dogs surrounded them, each taking turns stabbing at the defenseless ponies with their weapons. They were like foals probing insects just to see how they would react. I locked the small blade tied around my hoof into place; it was designed on a slide for ease of access in a combat situation. I hadn’t quite got hang of the mechanism, but I had seen earth ponies use them before on the battlefield fairly effectively. That being said, the small blade was definitely a weapon of desperation and last resort. As one particularly mangy dog lowered his crossbow level with one of the guard’s head, I knew that this was a desperate time.

I rushed out into the pack and plunged my knife into the back of one of the dogs. He screamed and reached back, clawing my side. Blood began to run down my flank, I twisted the knife and pushed him off me. One of the guards had gotten loose and bucked the crossbow dog into the far wall. The remaining enemies scattered like startled starlings; one ran directly into the point of Show’s spear, the other two ran back down the hall. We let them go, it wasn’t worth the fight but I knew it was a mistake to let them escape.

“Where are the princesses?” Show Off demanded as he cut the other two guards loose.

One of them, blood caked under her nose, spoke up.

“Celestia is in the safe room behind the throne, she was teleported there by her sister against protests. Princess Luna then ordered all of us to evacuate as many civilians as we could…but there were just so many dogs. We were overwhelmed, she tried to lead the attackers away…we covered her retreat the best we could.”

One of the unicorn guards finished tying a sash around his wounded left eye.

“We didn’t do a very good job, but we bought her a couple of minutes,” He commented.

“Which way?” My wingman asked, worry in his voice.

His eyes began to dart from hallway to hallway. He was slowly beginning to panic, and that wasn’t something we needed right now.

“Show calm down, you can’t help Luna if you run off and get yourself killed.”

He whirled on me, getting nose to nose.

“What do you want me to do, Snap? Just let her die.”

“Buck it all, Show! We need a plan!”

The three guards stared at us quietly, not wanting to interfere with two armed and angry ponies. Suddenly, one of the guards’ eyes went wide.

“Get down!” he shouted and shoved me to the ground.

A crossbow bolt appeared in the golden armor on his chest, and he fell backward with a grunt. I scrambled to my hooves to see two of the Arabian mercenaries standing down the hall. One had a wrist mounted crossbow that he was struggling to reload. Drawing the large blade awkwardly, I prepared to charge, the remaining guards picked up the fallen dogs’ weapons. The two larger equines scoffed at us briefly but they failed to notice the magical aura enveloping them. They were both bodily thrown against the wall, hard enough to make the paintings rattle. Two small blades shot out of another hall, each embedding themselves into each of the Arabians’ necks. A tall pristine white unicorn walked out from the direction the knives came from. Her elegant ball gown was in tatters and her face was stained with blood that seeped from a gash in her cheek. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Agent Snow?”

She magically removed her weapons from their victims; I noticed they were shaped like tiny fleur-de-lis. They wiped themselves on the dead mercenaries and they attached themselves to her dress; having the appearance of simple pieces of jewelry. The mare whipped her pink mane off of her face. Her eyes fell on me and her mouth fell open.

“Sergeant Snap Shot? What in Cerberus are you doing here?”

“Trying to rescue the princess, I assume you are doing the same.”

Show Off came walked up returning his spear to its holster. He looked Snow up and down with a critical eye.

“This is your infamous CIA ghost?” he asked me not believing.

“Yeah,” I replied turning back to the guard ponies.

The one that caught the crossbow bolt for me was sitting up. He cringed as he tried to get to his hooves.

“Phalanx, don’t try to move,” the mare guard said.

“I’m fine, Crest. My armor stopped it.”

He reached down and pulled the arrow out with his teeth, the tip was coated in blood. He spat in on the ground in disgust.

“Mostly…” he added.

Show Off once again asked the guards about the princess.

“Where did Luna go?” he asked urgently.

The guard with the wounded eye, stepped forward, he seemed to be the highest ranking amongst them.

“The princess flew down towards the basement,” he said hurriedly. “Silver Wind was still with her so they should be okay.”

“Who’s Silver Wind?” My wingman inquired urgently.

“She’s one of the pegasus guard, probably the best of the pegasus guards.”

Show wasn’t reassured by the statement and he was itching to go after the princess, whether an ace flyer was protecting her or not.

“I’m still going to back her up,” he stated bluntly.

“You don’t expect us to just sit around and do nothing do you. We’re going too,” Phalanx said, sheathing a sword.

I stepped up and modified the plan.

“You four head to the basement and protect Luna, Agent Snow and I will get to the throne room and find Celestia. She might be in a safe room, but those aren’t impenetrable. Crest, there’s a pegasus mare behind the statue of General Hurricane. Get her to a place where she can fly to safety, then rendezvous with the others.”

Show briefly smiled at me.

“You sound like Quill,” he teased.

I scowled at him.

“You take that back!” I joked.

He raised a wing and I presented my natural feathered one. After a quick exchange, I nodded at him.

“Break a leg, Lunatic,” I said, wishing him luck in an actor’s fashion.

He returned my nod.

“And try to keep yours intact this time, Shutterbug,” He replied. “See you at the end of this.”

“Yeah, alright everyone! Move out!”

We all went our separate ways, but I was worried. I wasn’t so sure we would actually be surviving this one. We had been through a lot of missions together, but throughout all of those we had a distinct advantage; we could fly. Now, we were in close quarter and our wings were useless. While we had basic training in armed combat, it wasn’t our forte, but flying or not, we had a duty to keep Equestria safe and our country was never in more danger than at this moment.

“Those bucking mercs you hired are behind this,” I told Snow.

The agent just scoffed at me, she obviously wasn’t amused. She checked around a corner before moving up and I followed.

“I didn’t hire them,” she informed me. “And they all didn’t turn on us; they’ve killed their own in this attack. There were three in the green room, one didn’t know about the plan…he was disposed of.”

That raised another question.

“How did you get out?” I asked her.

Her horn glowed and the two small blades detached themselves from her dress.

“I persuaded them to stop what they were doing, with these gifts from my colt friend. On a different matter, what did Show Off mean when he said keep your leg intact?” She asked as she returned her weapons to the sleeves of her gown.

“Last time we helped Quill evacuate a group of ponies, I ended up in the medical ward for four weeks with a broken leg, but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

The agent shot me a sideways glance as we approached a set of stairs leading upwards.

“The throne room is up three flights of stairs, and we need to get Celestia out of the castle grounds.”

“Why didn’t she simply teleport out of the palace once the attack started?”

The agent regarded me in the same manner my history teacher did when I failed to read the assigned pages in the textbook.

“The palace grounds are guarded by a magical barrier; it’s there to prevent teleportation into the palace by assassins to the crown. The drawback is it works both ways, nothing can get in and nothing can get out. The safe room has the same protection but it only activates once Celestia’s magical aura enters it. The CIA constructed it after the Nightmare Moon fiasco.”

“So basically, she’s a prisoner in a cage now; they can’t jump in but she can’t jump out. Was your magic box designed to withstand explosives?”

The agent worriedly brushed some of her pink mane out of her eyes.

“No,” she answered bluntly.

I looked up the elegant marble stairwell.

“Then there’s no time to lose,” I stated and flew a little ways up the stairs.

Snow grabbed my tail with her magic, stopping me dead in the air.

“Sergeant, we don’t know what we are getting into,” she cautioned.

I looked back at her.

“More reason for me to go first.”

She considered for a moment, whether she was weighing my expendability or considering that I had the tactical advantage because I was smaller and quieter than she was, I didn’t know. However, she released my tail, letting me fly upwards.

I peeked around the corner and not seeing any threats motioned for her to follow. After three flights we reached the landing to the throne room. It was completely deserted aside from the bodies of two guards, but what I saw turned my blood to ice. The doors to the royal court had been blown completely off their hinges; the walls bore long black scorch marks that were not made by magic. The Royal Equestrian Crest lay shattered on the ground, its pieces scattered by the explosion. I was afraid that we had responded too late, until I heard the voices.

“General, what do I pay you for? You promised me that your stallions could handle this! That the palace would be under my complete control and that Celestia would be in my hooves!”

A deep voice with an Arabian accent responded.

“My stallions based their attack on your intel! You didn’t tell us that there would be a large military presence here today, we only planned on the royal guard but you will have your victory.”

“My victory? Celestia is locked in a safe room, there are parts of the castle that aren’t secure, you have lost the armory and Princess Luna is still fighting us! This was supposed to be over quickly.”

The Arabian didn’t sound very concerned.

“We will snuff out what little resistance remains, as for Princess Luna I sent Cyrus after her.”

“Don’t underestimate how strong the princesses’ magic is.”

The general raised his voice to defend his honor.

“And do not underestimate my soldiers. I trained Cyrus personally, he is a match for any pony and that Diamond Dog Grand Shaman is with him. If those damn dogs are as powerful magically as you claim, then we shouldn’t have a problem with Princess Luna. As for this one, I say we blow it like we did the doors.”

“No! I told you we need her alive, we can’t risk killing her before she signs the transference.”

Snow joined me at the entrance and levitated a small compact make up mirror allowing us to view the speakers undetected. I couldn’t believe my eyes; a well dressed unicorn was addressing a large intimidating Arabian.

“Well,” the Arabian was getting perturbed. “How do you propose we get her out of there to sign your paper?”

“Celestia’s weakness is her sister,” the unicorn explained. “However, in lieu of that, get one of the hostages and bring them up here. That may get her to listen to reason.”

Snow and I were so careful not to be seen by the two traitors we failed to hear the sound of hooves on the stairs.

“Stay where you are!” a voice shouted behind us.

We both turned and I felt my heart sink, an Arabian with a large spear was standing at the top of the stairs. I groaned inwardly as he approached, he never took his weapon off us as he advanced.

“Put your weapon on the ground!” He ordered as he jabbed at me with the spear.

I took the blade off my back and gently set it on the floor.

“Kick it over!” He shouted.

I did what I was told, and the sword skidded across the marble landing. The mercenary picked it up and tucked it in his own weapon belt. He looked over at Snow, taking a particular interest in her hind end. The Arabian was so intrigued in Snow he didn’t see the tip of the small blade poking out of the sleeve of my uniform.
Eventually, he decided that she didn’t have a spear hidden in the tatters of her dress and once again became belligerent.

“Alright, move!” He shouted at us.

We complied, being marched into the throne room as captured trophies. The intricately designed stained glass panels lining the chamber depicted the various triumphs of equestrian ponies. The two leaders of the insurrection stood in front of Celestia’s throne, both with grim expressions on their muzzles.

“I found some eavesdroppers, General,” our captor gloated.

The large stallion gave us a menacing smile; I felt the mane on the back of my neck raise. The eyes behind that evil grin were hard and deadly, we were neck deep in the cow chips. If Snow was as intimidated as I was, she didn’t show it.

“Senator Signet, what an unexpected surprise,” Snow said darkly.

The unicorn stepped forward; he seemed amused at her presence.

“Well, well…if it isn’t the CIA’s Winter Crown Jewel, and you brought a little toy soldier with you. That’s cute.”

Snow must have figured the best tactic was to keep him talking because she seemed to be compelled to aggravate him.

“You’ve always been a pain in the ass Signet, but I never figured you’d sell out your country!”

The smile disappeared and was replaced with nothing but cold rage. He paced back and forth, his voice echoing around the throne room.

“Not selling Agent, saving it. Don’t you understand? This war will last forever unless we do something to stop it! The lives lost hasn’t mattered, the destruction of land hasn’t mattered. The royals will keep this conflict going until there is nothing left of this country but a smoldering husk.”

Snow wasn’t convinced.

“But the ceasefire…”

“Was engineered by me, I convinced both sides to agree to stop killing each other long enough for me to suggest celebrating our victory. Then all I had to do was force Celestia to sign over control of Equestria to the senate, but that seems to be problematic.”

“And what if the senate doesn’t agree with this plan?” Snow asked playing the skeptic.

I felt her tail flick up against my flank. The agent had never been much of an affectionate pony towards me, so I interpreted that as a signal to get ready to act.

“The senate is disposable,” Signet continued. “I can rule Equestria if necessary and end this war myself. Do you know what this war is about Agent? Food and Mining. All the bears want is some of our farming land, our southern gem mines and a pony work force to mine it. We give them that and the fighting stops.”

For the first time, Agent Snow showed some emotion.

“So you would have us be slaves?”

“A necessary sacrifice of a few to save the lives of many, and it’s a sacrifice Celestia and Luna are unwilling to make. Do you know how many ponies have died from the fighting Agent? Too many.”

Snow raised herself up, taking an aggressive stance. The Arabian behind us moved around and pressed his spear point to her throat; she ignored the trickle of blood that stemmed from the cut.

“Better to die free than live as a slave,” she shouted at the other unicorn. “And do you really believe the bears will stop there? A couple of mines and farms? The bears have no sense of honor, only power and subjugation.”

There was no reasoning with the deranged Senator.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. Everyday more ponies die while the Princesses rest their hooves back here in Canterlot. I can end this war right now! If you are so willing to die, I can arrange that.”

“Not likely,” Snow said darkly.

Her horn glowed brightly and the small blades rocketed away from her sleeves. The first firing straight up, passing through the skull of the mercenary with the spear; the second shot off at Signet. For a brief moment I thought she had him, but the other unicorn deftly caught it with his magic.

“An interesting trick,” he said calmly, before tossing the blade away. “But mine is better.”

His horn glowed red and then his aura turned black. A river of pitch black crystals grew out rapidly from in front of him and we were both forced to dive out of the way as he attacked. I looked up to see the body of the dead mercenary impaled on the hard obsidian stones. My sword still tucked in his weapon belt. I flew up and took the blade in my teeth gaining altitude as I did. I turned and dove at him, hoping to slice him in half. I was almost on top of him when I was knocked out of the air by a huge hulking mass. The sword was ripped from my jaws by the impact and went skidding out of reach. Another trail of crystals rushed at me but was halted by a magical blast from Snow. I tried to get to my hooves but the Arabian general leaped over the dark crystals and landed with his full weight on my shoulder. There was a sickening pop, and I cried out as pain shot through my arm and down my back.

“Snap Shot!” Agent Snow cried out but she had to block another attack that Signet shot at her. She was in no position to help me as she was barely surviving herself.

The general kicked me hard in the chest and I hit the far wall under a window. I rolled over, coughing blood that splattered on the pristine marble floor staining it a deep red. A shadow loomed over me like the harbinger of death. A massive hoof grabbed me by the throat and slammed my back against the window. The glass cracked and the metal creaked under the impact, I could feel cuts open on my back and begin to bleed.

The hoof applied pressure cutting off my supply of oxygen, I tried to fight him but to no avail; there was no escaping his grasp.

“You’re weak,” the general said cruelly. “This is my favorite way to kill your kind, to just watch you struggle pathetically as your life fades away.”

My limbs began to grow heavy, and my vision swam in front of me. I focused on the pain in my shoulder to try and stay conscious.

More cracks echoed behind me but they sounded like I was hearing them from a far distance.

“Tell me little one, what strengths do you even have?”

I slid small blade out from my sleeve and thrust it into his foreleg with as much force as I could muster. I drove it deep, only encountering resistance when I hit bone. He screamed in pain and pressed harder against me. I pushed back on the window as hard as I could and the glass finally gave way under the added weight. There was a brief moment of shock on his face as we both tumbled through the mosaic of stained glass. A large shard of the tinted glass bit into my back and broke off as I fell, but I held fast to the general’s foreleg making sure he came with me.

“I can fly!” I spat, as we both plummeted in a death embrace.

I spread my wings and kicked my hind legs into his chest, pushing off him and taking to the sky. His scream of rage faded into the distance before being abruptly silenced by the courtyard bricks. I looked down at the general’s broken body lying next to a fountain down below.

“Good riddance,” I said to no one. “Bucking Mercs.”

I saw small red droplets falling like rain into the fountain, it slowly registered in my head that it was my own blood running down my leg and dripping off my hoof. That wasn’t a very good sign; the damage from flying through the window was taking its toll. A loud bang echoed from above me, and I flew back to the broken window as fast as my injuries would allow. Snow and Signet were still fighting and I had to help her.

The throne room was slowly becoming a forest of dark crystals, the original marble floor was barely visible and black tendrils lapped as the walls and climbed the pillars. Snow was doing her best to defend against his attacks, but fatigue was setting in; her magic was getting weaker. With every attack she blocked from Signet, her aura flickered, threatening to fail. I had to do something before she was left defenseless.

Signet was so focused on Snow that he didn’t see me re-enter the room, this gave me a tactical advantage but I didn’t have any plan. I looked up as though asking the heavens to guide me, and my eyes fell on the grand chandelier hanging above Signet.
I flew to it and tried to sever the cord with my blade, the chandelier swayed as I sawed through the rope. The shadows on the room shifted as the light fixture rocked, Signet noticed the movement. He looked up just as I severed the last strand and the chandelier fell to the floor. It plummeted down, until it suddenly stopped, suspend in the air with magic. I could see Signet through the rings, smiling at me. The expression on his face changed to one of shock, he looked down to the spear shaft that was sticking through his middle. The magic surrounding the chandelier flickered and then faded, causing it to crash to the floor. Snow stood by the dead Arabian, still breathing hard from the battle.

“Thanks for the opening,” she said as I floated down to the floor.

I landed awkwardly on three legs, my knees felt wobbly.

“Are you alright?” Snow asked concerned.

I looked up at her and sighed.

“No,” I replied, as I crumbled into a heap on the floor.

Finale

“Oh Faust!” Snow cried out, rushing over to me.

The entire side of my white uniform was dyed a deep crimson. The agent looked at the wound with a critical eye.

“That’s pretty deep,” she commented as she pulled one of the tapestries from the wall with her magic.

She tore the hanging into small strips, levitating one in front of my mouth.

“Bite down,” she ordered. “That’s got to come out.”

I took the scrap of fabric in my mouth and braced myself.

“Okay,” the mare told me. “On three…One.”

She ripped the glass shard from my flesh, drawing a loud groan from me. Another strip of fabric was placed on the bleeding wound and I felt myself being magically lifted as she began to wind a long section of the tapestry around my middle. Breaking off a small black crystal from one of the many large towers she threaded it through the fabric locking it in place.

“That should hold,” she sighed in relief. “It doesn’t look like it hit any vital organs…I think. You spend enough time in field hospitals you pick up a thing or two, but I’m not a doctor.”

She patted the wound, drawing another groan from me. I spat out the rag and glared at her.

“You know, you can be a real bitch sometimes, Snow!”

I knew she was just checking to make sure the makeshift bandage was secure, but her good intentions didn’t change the fact that it hurt. She didn’t seem very amused with my comment.

“I still have to reset your shoulder.”

A pink magical aura surrounded my limb and suddenly pulled hard. The joint fell back into place with a popping sound though it was muffled by a cry of pain from me.

“Buck it all! At least give me some warning.”

Another section of tapestry looped around my neck giving me an impromptu sling to rest my foreleg.

When I was patched as best as she could manage, Snow ran up to the wall behind the large gilded throne at the end of the room. She placed one hoof on the relief of a small gem set into the wall.

“Your highness! Are you alright?” She asked the gem, and to my surprise the gem spoke back.

“Agent Snow, you let me out of here this instant!” the gem shouted in Celestia’s voice.

“I’m sorry your highness, we have to wait until the palace is secure.”

Celestia’s voice suddenly began to sound worried.

“What about the hostages, Agent? How many of them are there?”

“We don’t know, a good number of them have been evacuated your majesty. Please calm down.”

The wall shuddered and then began to smoke, but held firm. Celestia was trying to break free.

“I must protect my subjects! It is our duty as the princesses of Equestria! Luna! Where is my sister? Is she safe?”

Snow looked over at me nervously. As if I would know what to tell the princess.

“We aren’t sure, your highness,” was the best that Snow could come up with.

I expected another blast to follow, instead there was silence. It took a moment before the silence was broken by a sniff.

“Oh please be safe, Luna,” Celestia begged meekly.

Her voice sounded tearful, as if all of the death and sadness had finally culminated into that one moment. I wanted to let her out to let her find her sister but I knew that it wouldn’t be wise to expose the ruler of Equestria to that much danger. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t take action myself. I got to my hooves and stretched my wings.

“I’ll go find them, your highness.” I stated bluntly.

Snow looked as if she was planning on stopping me.

“You aren’t in any condition to fight Sergeant,” she warned.

“My wingman is out there, Snow. I’m going and the only way you are going to stop me is to kill me.”

The agent didn’t say anything, she just stared at me as I flew off the ground. A tiny glint of gold caught my eye in the sea of black crystals. I went down and picked it up, tossing the small fleur-de-lis at her hooves.

“Protect Celestia.” I ordered her and flew out of the throne room.

It was about this time that the adrenaline began to wear off and the pain in my shoulder and back became very apparent and started to slow me down. I took a deep breath and tried to push it out of my mind as I rocketed down the stairs. I stopped at the floor where the dogs lay dead, and hung a hard left following the direction where I had last seen Show off. There was a set of stairs leading down, I practically dove down them moving as fast as my wings would carry me. When I finally reached the bottom cellar, I saw two pony guards; it was Crest and Phalanx.

I shot towards them and both drew weapons on me.

“Where’s Show Off?” I asked them hurriedly, ignoring the spears pointed at my face.

I looked down and noticed them standing over a pegasus, a blanket draped over her body. A small red stain had begun to form on the back of the cloth.

Crest motioned me away from the injured mare before answering my question.

“He went on ahead, but he’s fine... we thought it was best to stay put until help arrived.”

I looked back to where the downed mare lay.

“Will she be alright?” I asked.

Crest’s voice dropped to a hushed tone.

“Not unless we get her to a hospital soon. Her wing was completely severed and she’s been run through. We’ve managed to slow the bleeding…but there’s only so much we can do. Javelin went to get help but he hasn’t come back yet. We’re worried dogs got him. Go see your wingman…we’ll take care of Silver Wind.”

I flew through the door into the cellar, almost tripping over a dead dog as I did. This one was different than the ones I had seen before. He has decorated himself in animal bones and lay next to a broken staff.

“Show Off!” I called out, my voice echoing off the kegs that lined the shelves in the large room. I waited an agonizing second for a response and felt my heart begin beating again when I got a response.

“Over here!” My wingman shouted from the back corner of the basement. I flew over a shelf of barrels to see him standing next to a small glow lamp. “About time you showed up.”

I landed next to him, almost falling over because my foreleg was in a sling. He was cut in several places and there was a large burn mark on his flank but he seemed to be in okay shape.

“Where’s Luna?”

The blue coated alicorn stepped out of the shadows, her wing held at a strange angle at her side, obviously broken.

“We are here,” she stated.

I bowed as low as my injuries would allow.

“Your sister is very worried about you,” I informed her.

The princess motioned by to rise with a wry smile on her face.

“We assumed she would be very angry with us.”

A flash of light cast shadows throughout the wine cellar.

“A storm?” I asked, confused.

“No,” my wingman replied. “Lighting gun.”

He rushed over to the window and Luna followed.

I looked up to see forty or so pegasi above us, our reinforcements had finally arrived. Luna’s horn glowed brightly and a flare of magic shot from it hovering briefly falling back to earth. Four of the flyers saw it and dove down to the window. I saw several other flares erupt in the night sky behind them.

“We need a medic!” Show told the first one that landed at the window. A smaller mare pushed her way past him.

“I’m a medic,” she squeaked and then turned to her wingman. “Lower me down.”

With Show Off’s help dropped down through into the cellar. She fired off a quick salute to the princess, with her small stature it was almost comical.

“The other room by the stairs, there’s a wounded pegasus.”

“Yes, sir!” she said and hurried off.

Show off looked over at me regarding the bandage on my back that was slowly becoming redder and my foreleg nestled in a sling.

“I hope she comes back to look you over. I thought I ordered you not to break that thing again.”

I took the opportunity to hobble over to a pile of hay in the corner and lay down. Show Off came and sat down next to me, and Luna followed. She extended her large feathered wing which engulfed both of us in comforting warmth. All three of us relieved that this night of terror and fighting was finally over.

“I’ve always been bad at taking orders,” I chided. “And it’s just dislocated but not broken. I’m more interested in you…you alright? You look like a barbecued apple.”

“Did you know those damn dogs can use magic?” was all he said.

“What happened to the Merc they send after you?”

This question brought a smile to my wingman’s face; he obviously found this question to be very amusing.

“That old son of a mule? About as sharp as a bowling ball. He’s over in the corner there.”

I strained my eyes to see into a small recess, I could make out a dark shape with wings spread wide. It was an image that every foal had burned into their memory since their first nightmare night; the Dark Mistress of the Night, Nightmare Moon. At the hooves of the statue lay a dead Arabian.

“Taken out by Luna’s dark side,” Show Off stated.

“We have never liked that statue,” Luna said sadly. “That is why we had it moved down here. We never thought that some good would come from Nightmare Moon.”

All further conversation was halted by a flight of ponies from the 49th CFG that barged into the cellar.

“Your highness!” The flight leader said addressing the princess. “The palace is once again under our control. You are to accompany us to the throne room where your sister is waiting.”

Luna rose to her hooves and playfully ran her tail under Show’s chin as she did.

“We must do our duty and face the consequences of our actions. Thou dost understand?” She smiled.

I looked from the piece of tapestry lashed around me to the burns that ran up Show Off’s side; we understood the idea of consequences for doing ones duty. Now that we were out of danger, I began to worry about my other companions.

“You think Quill’s alright?” I asked Show. “You know he went back into the fight after everyone was evacuated, he’s too bucking noble to leave ponies in danger.”

Show Off considered for a moment, before responding. He adopted Quill’s Trottingham accent as he spoke.

“Quill is tough as hell’s horseshoes; you couldn’t kill that pony with a four hundred pound chimera.”

I wasn’t so convinced, Show seemed to pick up on it because he called one of the flyer’s over to us.

“Has radio contact been re-established, private?”

The young colt nodded.

“Yes Sir, but we are only supposed to use it for emergency communication only.”

My wingman rolled his eyes; this flyer was so green he even smelled fresh.

“Private, I will take full responsibility. Get on the radio and see if you can find a Lieutenant Quill Weave; male earth pony, green coat.”

The flyer pressed his radio to his mouth and called in the request. It took a moment for a response to come back to him.

“That was a medic; Lieutenant Weave is being treated for an arrow wound.”

I felt panic well up inside of my chest.

“Oh Celestia, Quill’s been shot…”

Show seemed to take the news better but there was worry behind his eyes.

“Is it serious private?” he asked urgently.

The private relayed the question before turning back to us.

“It was hard to understand because the medic was laughing so hard,” he informed us. “But I think he said that the lieutenant will just have a hard time sitting for a while.”

The relief that I felt combined with fatigue seemed to multiply the comedy of that statement and I burst out laughing. The laughter was silenced by a sharp pain in my back, and I remembered my wound.

“That looks pretty bad,” My wingman commented.

“Nah,” I replied dismissing him. “Just a cut from some glass. I’m really thirsty though…”

The bouncy medic came back into the room, she was one of the smallest pegasi that I had ever seen; so short that her medical saddlebag almost dragged on the ground.

“I’m under orders from the princess to treat you two,” she said coming over.

She started with Show, dabbing his various cuts with cotton and alcohol before bandaging them. She dressed his burns using some sort of silver cream, whatever it was seemed to be working because the pain on his face seemed to fade as she applied it.
Moving on to me, she cut way the tapestry that Snow had used to bind my wound. I winced as she lifted the cloth. Her expression changed when she saw the laceration and she quickly lifted up my lips to look at my gums.

“Sir, I need to get you to a hospital.”

“What?”

“Yes sir! Right now!” She looked out the door to where the rest of her squadron was. “Litter!”

It turned out that the glass did a lot more damage that I had originally thought. The shard had pierced deeply and sliced my kidney. The doctors told me that the only thing that had kept me from bleeding to death was a small piece of white stained glass that had broken off in the wound. After emergency surgery, three days, and numerous pints of blood, the MDs finally let me sign myself out. I had many visitors during my sojourn at the hospital. Quill arrived with Rarity; he seemed to be very self-conscious of his wound because he kept holding his tail at an odd angle.

He and Famosity had not only managed to evacuate the ballroom, but they also found where the Mercenaries were keeping the rear echelon hostage and took the opportunity to liberate the high ranking officers. For his gallant effort, Quill made captain and the promotion was signed by Celestia in his presence, unfortunately Famosity made Major at the same time so he was still a paygrade below her. Fam herself had come to see me a few times, bringing Maquillage with her. The lightish red mare had warmed up to me eventually and was actually willing to look at me when we talked. Famosity would then use the time during our conversation to place decorations all over the curtains that divided my bed from the pony next to me. That practice eventually had to stop when the nurse walked in and found me in the middle of a forest scene complete with a griffon in a tree above my head. The nurse claimed it was causing me undue stress.

The one absent visitor was the most telling, Misty. One of the unintended consequences of doing one’s duty at wartime, love was usually the first casualty. Show Off was still hopeful as he watched me sign my name on the discharge papers.

“So the second date didn’t go all that well,” he said encouragingly. “You just have to get back on the horse and hope that no one shoots at you on the third.”

I looked over at him, doing my best to fake a smile.

“I seriously doubt there will be a third Show,” I replied. “I haven’t seen her since the attack.”

I put my signature on the last form and we both walked out the door. Standing in the sunlight waiting for me was Misty. Show Off saw her too, and quickly turned, heading back into the hospital. My mind raced with various apologies and excuses, none of which seemed significant enough to placate her. The mare’s face was a mixture of anger and sadness as she approached me. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came. She stood in front of me, and raised her hoof. I shut my eyes and braced myself for the blow, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see her lunge at me, and her lips pressed against mine and I felt the hair on the back of my neck raise in excitement.

“Whoa,” I said as she released me.

“Whoa yourself,” she replied.

“Not that I’m complaining…but I thought you never wanted to see me again.”

Misty gave me an apologetic look.

“I never said that,” she replied. “I just was so scared.”

“Why didn’t you visit me then?” I was more curious than angry with her.

She shuffled from hoof to hoof, fluttering her wings involuntarily.

“I…don’t like hospitals…” She admitted sheepishly. “They creep me out.”

I laughed at her antics; she could behave just like a foal sometimes.

“Does this mean you’ll be up for a show tonight?”

She looked at me with a broad smile.

“Absolutely.”

A large shadow fell over us and Misty immediately bowed. I turned to see Princess Celestia, flanked by two guards and Agent Snow.

“Misty, may I have a word with the Sergeant in private?” she asked kindly.

The mare quickly nodded and gave her a salute.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She trotted off up the road.

“We still on for tonight?” I asked her retreating tail.

“Pick me up as seven!” She called back.

I turned back to Celestia who wore a broad smile on her face.

“You wanted to speak with me your majesty?” I asked her.

The Princess spread her wings wide, showing her full size and wingspan.

“I wanted to thank you,” she replied. “To a princess the lives of her citizens are paramount to the life of herself. You and your friends were willing to sacrifice yourselves in order to defend ponies who you didn’t even know. You could have easily fled, but you chose not to. You rallied what troops you could and drove back an attack right at the heart of this country.”

“I just did what any soldier would do.”

Her eyes softened at my humility.

“No, you saved my life. I will always be eternally grateful.”

I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out a plastic jar with a tiny piece of glass rattling around in it.

“Then I think we are even,” I said showing it to her. “The docs said that this was blocking a severed artery in my kidney, if it wasn’t there I would have bled out in a half hour. If you look closely, I think it’s the horn of a white Alicorn.”

The smile returned to the princess’ face, she found this mildly entertaining. Slowly the smile faded away.

“I hate to ask this of you,” she sighed. “But the bears have broken the ceasefire and attacked an outpost. After all that your friends have done, I must regrettably ask you to return to your unit once your leave is completed. I’m sorry.”

My heart sank, that one brief glimmer of hope, the ceasefire, had died. Once again, we were at war and that meant we all had to resume the fight.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said sadly.

“Thank you sergeant,” the princess replied and then turned and walked back to where her carriage was waiting to return her to the palace.

I pulled out the dragon scale and sighed.

“You know,” I told it. “That Signet guy was one hay bale short of a loft, but he may have been right about one thing…this war my never end.”

I saw Misty at the corner, waiting for me. I looked back at the dragon scale.

“At least now I have something worth living for, and I think it’s time she found out about you. Wish me luck.”

I tucked the scale back into my coat and trotted over to the mare on the corner.

“Hey,” she said. “What was that all about?”

“Duty and consequences.”

Author's Note

The conclusion of Duty and Consequences, I hope you all enjoyed the story.