Unknown Date
Unknown Location
Snapshot

I ducked underneath a tree branch as I ran through the woods, my armor weighing me down as I sprinted. There were only four of us left, Snowstorm, an earth pony named Stone Quarry, a Unicorn named Bright Flash, and myself. It was our first operation, and things had gone wrong immediately. Now, instead of moving to secure our objective, we were running for our lives, doing anything that we could to evade capture. Despite his size, Snowstorm was in the front of our group, leading us through the thick brush, and away from where the rest of our team had been slaughtered.

There was a loud Crack and Stone Quarry, who was in the rear, fell to the ground in a hump. Bright Flash slowed for a moment to look back at his fallen comrade. There was another Crack, and I didn't need to turn around to know that they were both done for. We had been misinformed, we were supposed to be moving against a simple target, lightly defended, and relatively easy to take. Instead, we were heavily outgunned by a foe who seemed to melt into the terrain around us. I dodged around another tree, running straight into a clearing. I swerved to the side, trying to make my way back into the tree cover, when I heard a Bang Bang Bang.

I dropped to the ground as my front right leg gave out beneath me. As fast and low as I could, I made my way over to a boulder, trying to keep myself hidden from the gunfire. I peeked my head out from cover, trying to get a bead on where the enemy was. I saw Snowstorm in a similar position across the clearing. We made eye contact and he nodded to me. I nodded back, and leaned out to spray the treeline with bullets. Once I started, Snowstorm broke cover and sprinted over to me. When he was almost to me, there was a loud burst of gunfire, and I saw three red plumes explode across his chest. Snowstorm hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop near my boulder. I stared at him, before turning to return fire on where I thought the enemy was.

When my magazine ran dry, I heard a Snap behind me, and I turned to address the intruder, when my weapon was hit from my hooves. I reached for my sidearm, but my assailant pinned it to my body, hitting me with a series of blows to the chest, knocking the air out of me. I slumped against the rock that was supposed to protect me, and I looked up at my attacker. All I saw, however, was the barrel of his rifle pressed against my forehead.

Two and a half Hours Earlier

0947, 23 September, 2085
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest
Snapshot

I stepped off of the airship with the remaining candidates. It had only been a week, and there was already a noticeable drop in the amount of Ranger hopefuls. After Blitz's training camp, there was only a hundred and seven candidates out of the original hundred and twenty. By the end of the first week, there was only ninety-one of us left, and more were sure to leave. During that terrible week, we had all gotten as used to the rhythm of training as we could, but it was difficult. Every day was different from the next. The first day had been expected, they were making sure that we had everything that we needed to begin training, but after that... It seemed as though the instructors couldn't decide on what to do. One moment we would be at the firing range, training with our rifles, the next, we would be running obstacle courses. Then there was cleaning the buildings, studying the organization of the Ranger Units, a touch of hoof-to-hoof combatives, and learning basic, large unit tactics. They had been pounding us with the strategies of large troop movements, but gave little to no information on smaller units like platoons or squads. Even when we had a rare chance to sit, we were constantly doing something, not a single second was wasted. My stress was at an all time high, and I could feel that most of my class was feeling the same.

It didn't help that we were about to embark on our first exercise. We had been dropped off in the Everfree Forest, loaded with armor, three days of food rations, and our rifles. Our ammo, however, was made up of simulation rounds. When they impacted on target, they would burst, not breaking the skin, but giving off a paralysis magic so that the affected body part couldn't be used. If you were hit in the chest or head, then it would paralyze your entire body, simulating a kill. We had been briefed about our mission before we left base. We were to move into the forest and secure a package inside castle that lied within. The instructors had told us that there was a light enemy presence defending the castle, so we figured that it would be a cakewalk for us. The moment that I stepped up to the candidates who were taking charge, however, I knew that it wouldn't be as easy.

"I don't care what you think, I'm not going to follow somepony who's never seen real combat!" one of the griffins shouted at the three other 'leaders'.

"And I'm telling you," A pony said, getting very frustrated with the griffin, "That we have to think before we act, we don't even know how many-"

"Enough!" a minotaur said, tossing his helmet aside, "It's clear that the Instructors will never respect us if we appear weak, we need to strike hard and fast! I agree with Talon" apparently Talon was the griffin's name.

"Hey," I said, trying to speed things up, "I don't care what we do, but we have our balls hanging out, out here. I'd suggest moving into the forest at least, might as well try and get some cover, someone will have heard the airships taking off" all three candidates turned to look at me. The pony didn't trust me, but he didn't seem to disagree with me. The minotaur snorted and turned back around, not bothering to address me.

The griffin, however, looked furious, "Does it look like I care what you think, Grub?" the instructor's nickname for me had carried over to the candidates, and it annoyed me to no end. "I suggest that you get out of my sight before I put you down myself" he flexed his talons menacingly towards me. I rolled my eyes and walked away. The few times that I had actually tried to be productive and step up, I was shot down because I was a changeling. So far the only pony who even listened to what I had to say, was Snowstorm, who had run up to me and started walking alongside me.

"So," he said, "What's the plan?" I stopped, looking down the line of candidates, who were hunched down in a defensive line where the airship had dropped us off.

"I don't know, our esteemed leaders are bickering like children. Honestly, I'm about to just move into the forest myself, maybe try to sneak in and scope out the castle before we all get shot" as I was about to start walking, three ponies and a griffin walked up to me.

"Hey, changeling," the pony who was arguing with Talon said, the few candidates who didn't call me 'grub' simply called me by my species, "First off, I don't trust you," shocker, "But you made a point back there, we need to move, and no one's coming up with a good plan. Since nopony has the balls to take charge, I figured that I'd grab a few ponies and do it myself. Are you in?" I was surprised that he had even thought to include me. Then again, I was surprised that I hadn't been shot in the back the moment that the airships had left the area.

"Ya," Snowstorm said, "We were thinking the same thing. We could probably make our way to the objective faster in a small group, rather than moving as a whole unit. My name's Snowstorm by the way, the kid here is Snapshot. How about y'all?" The charismatic pony never ceased to amaze me. Even after a week of getting the crap beat out of us, and standing exposed in a field, he was still looking to be sociable.

The pony looked at me for a second, "Pleasure. My name is Bright Flash. The griffin is Alexi Stormfeather, the earth pony is Stone Quarry, the pegasus is-" Bright Flash was cut off as the Crack of a rifle rang out through the clearing. I whipped around, weapon ready, searching for the source. I saw a pony on the ground, a large red mark on his helmet.

"Sniper!" someone shouted, and the clearing rang out with a hail of gunfire. Candidates were dropping one by one with well placed shots, while we couldn't even see our attackers in the dense forest.

"We need to move!" Snowstorm shouted, scanning the treeline for muzzle flashes. I looked around, there was incoming fire from our front and right flank, only our rear and left were clear. As I scanned, I saw a couple candidates run away from the firefight, out towards our rear. As they approached an opening in the treeline, however, I saw them get gunned down in a hail of bullets. We were surrounded, and our numbers were dwindling quickly. I searched for a weak spot in the attack, when I saw an area where there weren't many flashes.

"This way! Follow me!" I shouted, and took off running towards the opening. Dirt was being kicked up around my hooves as I was attracting fire. I fired blindly towards the flashes of gunfire, seeing one of them cease. I heard someone shout something behind me, and there was a roar of hooves stomping across the clearing. As I reached the treeline, I turned for a moment and saw the macabre scene behind me. Candidates were laying out in the open, some dragging themselves away from the trees, others taking cover behind their 'dead' comrades. I saw a candidate stand up, and immediately his chest exploded in the red mist of a simulation round.

I froze. Memories were coming back to me, Outcast changelings pinned down in a clearing, blood and bullet holes coating the trees, I saw a group of changelings running towards me, some falling as they were shot, others running past me into the forest. One changeling stopped in front of me, "Snapshot!" It shouted, "What are you doing? Run!" I saw an image of a changeling on her back, her leg bleeding profusely, screaming at me to run away.

Something collided with my face, and my vision returned to normal. The changeling was gone, in its place was Snowstorm, holding his hoof up, ready to hit me again. "What the fuck, Snapshot, run!" I shook my head for a moment, before turning and running back into the forest, leaving a scene of simulated carnage behind me.

One and a Half Hours Later

I stopped running, having caught up with the remaining candidates. After the first ambush, we had been constantly hounded by our foes. It was obvious that they knew the forest like the back of their hooves. We were all panting and leaning against trees. I looked around, seeing only sixteen candidates around me. "Is this it?" Snowstorm said, looking around the small gathering. One of the candidates looked up and nodded at him in confirmation. I took a look around, and noticed that several of those in the clearing had been wounded during our long trek through the forest.

I walked through the group, constantly keeping a lookout on the trees around us. As I looked at each of the candidates, most were looking down at the ground or at the trees as well. Some were checking their rifles, and a few were looking at a map, trying to plan our next move. I walked up to the ponies with the map, and they suddenly went silent.

"What do you want?" one of them asked, covering the map.

"Well I was hoping to find out what we're going to do next, you know, so we don't all get shot again." I was tired of all of the mistrust being thrown at me. I understood that they didn't like my kind, but I had been nominated for the Ranger program by the freaking Princess. I had hoped that that would get me some credit, but as it turned out, I was very wrong.

"Now that's no way to treat the one who saved our asses, now is it?" a new voice said. I turned around to see Bright Flash standing behind me, "If he hadn't found that opening, then we all would’a been shot back at the LZ."

"What? You trust the changeling now, Bright Flash?" I could taste the venom in the air around this pony.

"I don't quite trust him yet," Bright Flash said, "But the fact remains that he's the one who got us out of that tight spot back there." I was shocked, I didn't sense trust from the unicorn, but for once, the animosity I had been surrounded by wasn't showing up. Another pony besides Snowstorm was actually standing up for me. There was some murmuring throughout the clearing, no one seemed to believe that somepony was taking my side. Heads were turning to watch the argument with interest. I didn't sense that any of their opinions had changed towards me, but the fact that they weren't jumping on me too was a good sign.

"So what if he found a way out? It just means that he was running away first!" The pony said, squaring off against Bright Flash.

"If he was trying to save his own hide, would he have yelled for us to follow him?" Bright Flash wasn't backing down from the angry pony. I found myself being in an uncomfortable position as the center of an argument. It was something that I couldn't remember happening for a long time.

"Look, we should just keep on moving, we don't know where the enemy might be hiding" Snowstorm said, getting between the two ponies.

"Fine," The angry pony said, turning away from us, "Just keep that thing away from me." With that, he walked off through the crowd of candidates.

"Thanks for helping out," I said to Bright Flash, "But really, I'm used to that stuff. There's no need to get on their bad side for me"

"It shouldn't matter," Bright Flash said, his head tilted to the side, "We're all here for some reason or another, if the Rangers trust you enough to let you be trained... Then I guess that I'll just have to trust you too" He held his hoof out in front of him. It took me a moment, and a nudge from Snowstorm, to realize that it was a hoof-bump. I pressed my hoof against his, and I felt a similar emotion to that of Snowstorm trickle into me. He didn't fully trust me yet, and he was a bit apprehensive about befriending a Changeling, but I could tell that he was being honest.

"Well ain't that something, kid?" Snowstorm said behind from behind me, "I told you that not everypony hates your guts. Only most of them!" I turned to stare at Snowstorm, I could see a large smile through his helmet visor.

"Okay then," Bright Flash said, breaking the silence that had fallen while I just stared at Snowstorm's overly happy smile, "I'm going to try and get everypony organized, they seem to have left us alone for now, and we should capitalize on that"

"I agree," I said, looking around the clearing, "If we can convince everyone to make a steady push towards the objective, then we might still stand a chance" Bright Flash nodded, and walked off towards one of the groups in the clearing. I was about to follow him, when Snowstorm stopped me.

"Hey, Snapshot. While we have a moment, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, I like to think that I'm a fairly open book."

"Why did you hesitate back there at the edge of the LZ?"

I froze. Memories flashed through my mind of changeling corpses scattered all over the ground. Some dragging themselves away from their dead friends. My family. "It's... My... I...." I sighed, looking down, "I lost focus, and I'm sorry, I should have had a better reign on my emotions."

"That's good and all, but I didn't want to hear what you shoulda done, I want to know why you did it." Snowstorm was not wavering in his request.

"... It reminded me of my family," Snowstorm was silent, waiting to hear the rest of my story, "When I was very young, my Hive was attacked. Until recently, I thought that it was the Equestrian Guard that did it, but with the Princess' help, I now think that it was The Swarm that is responsible. They destroyed my home, chased me and my father out of it, before killing him and the rest of my family in front of me. As far as I know, I'm the only one who survived. I should have had a better lid on my feelings, but when I saw everyone getting gunned down in that clearing... I felt like a hatchling again. Weak. Pathetic. Unable to do or change anything." There were a few tears flowing down my face. Before I knew what was going on, Snowstorm had wrapped his hooves around me in a quick hug.

He released me, and put a hoof on my shoulder, "Well that's why we're here now right? So that we never have to be weak again. I'm sorry to hear about your family, but right here," He pointed at the ground, "Right here is where we start to build a new family. You just saw a few minutes ago that eventually, ponies will start to ignore the fact that you're different. Right here and right now is where we build our new family, and we'll be able to make sure that no one has to go through what you went through. Ever." There was a sternness in his voice, mixed with the warmth of friendship and passion that I felt from him. I felt like I could take on the entire Swarm single-hoofed.

'But now, I don't have to' I thought with a smile. "Thanks," I said, holding my head up high, "You know, if this whole Ranger thing doesn't work out, you should try writing speeches. With a little work, you might be half decent at it" I smirked, until Snowstorm's hoof collided with the back of my helmet.

"Way to ruin the moment, kid." Snowstorm smiled at me and walked away to help Bright Flash rally the remaining candidates. I couldn't help but smile too, I had a feeling that we would pull through on this exercise.

After the end of that first exercise, we had learned that the instructors had been stacking things against us. They had better gear, more ponies, and they knew the area well. As we were brought back to our barracks, things resumed their rushed pace. Without a moment to rest, we were brought into another Unit Tactics class, this time focusing on slightly smaller units than before. Now we were being instructed on how to operate on a company basis, which would generally have slightly more numbers than we still had in training. After another week, we were dropped back into the forest, this time with a set leader and a rough plan. We moved into the forest as quickly as we could, and had managed to make it within fifteen kilometers of the objective before we were ambushed again.

Once again, however, things had fallen apart once the fighting began. The instructors had made a hole in our line and scattered us, causing panic and rash decisions throughout the unit. With the same result as the first exercise, we were brought back to our barracks, beaten, bruised, with our heads hanging. The next day, it began again. They broke us into three groups, and taught us how to conduct operations on a smaller scale. We began to see how the different parts of the unit could work together, while operating separate from each other.

The cycle continued, after a week of training in smaller units, they dropped us into the forest again. We used everything that they had taught us, moving through the underbrush as quickly and quietly as we could. We made our way towards the castle, until we were attacked again, this time in a direct, frontal assault. The first platoon had collapsed immediately, while the second and third moved in to help them. As they moved up, however, they were caught in the rear by another attack. We had all held together, to the displeasure of some candidates near me, and repelled the first attack. As we tried to move closer to the castle, coming within sight of it, we discovered how against us the odds really were. Waiting inside the castle was the remaining instructors. As we took cover from the defenders, the group that ambushed us in the forest had moved behind us and hit us again, trapping us in our cover.

As we were brought back towards our airships to return to the base, I had taken a look around and noticed how many of the 'enemy' had been lost in their attack on us. More and more candidates noticed it, and as we returned to our barracks that night, the mood was different from the previous weeks. We were still beaten halfway to Tartarus, but our heads were held high. That ragtag group that had been wiped out in the first exercise, was starting to become formidable against the mighty Rangers.

Every day was a flurry of classes, grueling physical training, repetition after repetition of the skills we were learning, and constant harassment from our instructors. When it came time for us to enter the forest again, there was a general feeling of hope for the coming exercise, everyone was more confident in our abilities. We had been taught how to operate in every unit from a Battalion with support, down to a fireteam, how to clear buildings, basic combat medical aid, been issued upgraded helmets with a functioning radio and HUD system that could display basic tactical information and communicate with almost anyone in the area of operations, there wasn't a candidate who had qualified below a Markspony level with their rifle, and everyone had passed through the other weapons qualifications. We felt ready for anything.

As we entered our airships to begin the exercise, I sat next to the other members of my fireteam; Snowstorm and Bright Flash. As per usual, we were near the ramp, so that we could be the first to sweep the LZ for enemy contacts. Though some of the candidates actively distrusted me, most had taken a passive attitude towards me. The new leaders of our group had questioned me about the extent of my sensing abilities, and decided that I would be of the most use scouting ahead of the main group. With help, I had chosen the candidates that were best qualified for recon, and organized them into fireteams. Though I hadn't realized it immediately, I had been given a command of my own.

We waited near the ramp as our airship flew towards the LZ. Each exercise began at a new location, but the end goal was always the same: make our way to the castle, capture the package waiting inside the throne room, and make our way back to the extraction point alive. When I looked around the interior of our ship, some candidates were checking their equipment, looking over a rough map that we had been given, or going over our new approach to getting towards the objective. The three platoons of candidates would be spread out over an area about one hundred meters around, with six fireteams sixty meters out from the formation in a hexagon pattern, with mine at the tip of the spear. If any of the recon teams, dubbed 'Specter' teams, made contact with the instructors, they would report in to the leaders of the unit, given the callsign 'Warrior'. Depending on the size of the enemy force, the Specter team would engage the enemy, fall back to the main group and wait to engage, or keep track of the enemy as the main group made their way around them. It wasn't a perfect plan, but with our limited numbers and lack of experience, it was the best that we could do.

Because we were separated from the main group, the Specter teams were to be issued heavier weapons. I had kept my rifle and sidearm, while Bright Flash had traded his sidearm for a backup shotgun, and Snowstorm was carrying a Light Machine Gun. If we did have to engage, then we would be able to hold our own until help arrived. Some squads were given heavier weaponry as well, bulking up our firepower as a whole. This time around, we had been issued magical stun grenades to simulate an actual explosive. It would feel like you were being electrocuted when it went off, and it would shut down your armor, making you 'dead'.

We were given a warning over the radio that we were approaching the LZ, and everyone began to get ready. Packs were rustling as maps were stowed away, and the 'Slap Clack' of magazines being loaded rang through the cabin. A red light turned on above the ramp, and a voice came over our radios, "Thirty seconds to drop zone!" we all stood up and formed a line in front of the ramp.

"Twenty seconds!"

"Ten seconds!"

The ramp fell from in front of me with a 'Thud' and we all streamed out into the field, taking cover behind a nearby berm. The radio channels were alive with chatter as the squads all got organized to form our defense. Candidates were checking fields of fire all around us, scanning the treeline ahead of us for any sign of movement. After the last candidates exited, the airships closed their ramps and took off through the air, filling the field with silence as the rumble of engines faded away.

For a few minutes, no one moved, we were all waiting for the trees to explode with gunfire. When none came, I keyed my radio, "All Specter callsigns, Specter Zero-One. Move out, advise when in position"

I was answered by five voices saying "Roger" before the teams broke off from the group and moved slowly towards the trees. It was only twenty meters from my position, but I felt so exposed. When I made it into the trees, I began to weave my way forward until I was at my set position ahead of the group. I radioed in confirming my position, and reached out with my magic, searching for any signs of the enemy. In the past weeks my magical prowess had been increased as I was constantly being pushed to my limits. During a few of the combat lessons, an instructor had worked with me on enhancing my sensing abilities. Together, we had found a way to bypass the anti-changeling wards placed on most Equestrian armor. My understanding prior to undergoing training was that the ward was to block me out entirely, but it seemed that its intended purpose was to stop me from feeding from the armor's user. It hid them pretty well, but with enough training, I was able to feel them out.

The other Specter teams had confirmed their positions, and we were all on our way towards our objective. Bright Flash and Snowstorm were keeping an eye out around us, while I was scanning for anything ahead that would be a threat. 'This is gunna be a long day' I thought to myself.

The last few weeks had broken me down and pushed me to my limits time and again. But somehow, I had never felt better. Every time that I passed through a course, or when another candidate would acknowledge me as something other than an enemy, I felt something new swell up inside me. It reminded me of when I had first seen sunlight outside of my hive. Things were changing, and I was changing with them, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I had realized that I was no longer just trying to survive, but that I was striving to succeed. Every challenge thrown my way, I wanted to conquer it. Every time that an instructor told me that I wasn't good enough, I wanted to shove it in his face and prove him wrong, and it was showing. I was already so different from that weak pegasus on the first day of pre-training struggling to do a push up, and some of the other candidates had noticed it too. It started out with them not wanting to be shown up by me, but as the tests grew harder, and we were all forced to rely on each other more and more, they had begun to outgrow their old views and work with me. Though the majority was still neutral towards me, almost a third of the candidates were openly accepting of me. They would work with me, and I would work with them. For the first time that I could remember, it seemed like I belonged. And I would do anything to keep it that way.

We had been moving through the forest for an hour and a half at a steady pace without any contact, and a light rain had started to fall through the trees. Snowstorm and Bright Flash would occasionally make comments back and forth, but I was too focused on my magic. Even though I had improved dramatically over the past weeks, it was still strenuous for me to focus on such a large area for so long. It didn't take much for me to cover a small area, but to actively search over a large area was draining me. I pushed onward though. I wasn't going to show any weakness.

I was becoming nervous at the lack of contact with our 'enemy'. While they hadn't outright attacked us during the last few exercises, they would have normally hit us by this point. Suddenly, I sensed something. Holding a hoof up to motion my team to stop, I focused on the disturbance. About forty meters ahead of us and seemingly in a tree, I could feel two ponies. They weren't nearly as nervous as I was, but I could tell that they were paying a lot of attention to the area around them, searching for something. I was confident that this was going to be the first contact we would have.

I keyed up my radio, "All Specters, Specter Zero-One. Hold position" after the confirmed that they heard me, I switched over to the Unit Command Channel, "Warrior Actual, Specter Zero-One, halt progress"

After a moment, a male voice came over my radio "Specter Zero-One, Warrior Actual. Progress is halted. What do you have?"

"Warrior Actual, Specter Zero-One. I have two potential hostiles forty meters out from my position, request permission to engage"

"Specter Zero-One, Warrior Actual. Confirm hostiles first, then engage at your discretion. Keep us updated."

"Warrior Actual, Specter Zero-One. Confirm then engage, Roger Wilco" I motioned for my team to follow after me, before slowly moving through the underbrush towards the two ponies. When we got close enough to see where they were, I could feel them out much more clearly. It became obvious that we had run into another recon team, but we were able to see them first. Snowstorm set up so that he could pepper them with fire from his LMG, while Bright Flash and I prepared so that we could rush to the tree and confirm that they were taken out. With a nod from me, Snowstorm opened up with a deep Rat-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta as Bright Flash and I made our way towards the tree, weapons at the ready. Once Snowstorm had ceased fire, I hopped into the air and started buzzing my wings to fly up to the perch. I landed in front of the two instructors, who were covered in multiple red marks where the training rounds had hit them.

I could hear a muffled sigh from one of them through his helmet, "You're the changeling aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," I said, before turning to address my team, "We're clear. Bright Flash, radio in to the group, Snowstorm get up here and help me sort through their stuff"

"I don't believe you were given permission to do that, grub!" the muffled voice said again as I started sorting through his gear.

"I'm sorry sir, but it was also never forbidden" I replied as Snowstorm joined me on the small platform.

I heard him whistle as he saw how many marks there were on the instructors. "Damn, I mighta gone a bit overboard with that" he said as he started to sort through the other instructor's gear. It was mostly useless for our purposes, however, near the bottom of my pack, I found a map of the forest. It was similar to the ones that we were given, except it had more markings on it. From what I could recognize, the positions of other instructor scouts were marked, and it went into better detail about the surrounding terrain.

"This looks pretty interesting" I said, showing the map to Snowstorm, who held up a similar map. "We should show these to the commander" Snowstorm voiced his agreement and we both glided down from the platform.

One Hour Later

Thanks to the captured maps, we had managed to get to the castle much faster than originally planned. We had set up a defensive perimeter in the treeline looking over the castle. In order to get to it, we would have to go over twenty meters of open group, cross a gorge, and get across another sixty meters uphill until we could reach the castle. From past experience, we knew that it would be well defended, and once the fight started, the defenders would most likely call in the scouting teams to hit us from behind. It was a difficult challenge, but I supposed that that was the point.

The current plan called for a three pronged assault, each platoon would move in from a different side. Anyone not capable of magic or flight would lay down suppressing fire on the castle, while the rest would move forward and erect makeshift bridges to get across the gorge. After that, sharpshooters would stay back and try to keep the defenders pinned down while the rest of us made a dash for castle. There was a large amount of rubble around the building itself, so once we got there, we would regroup and split into fireteams to enter the castle from wherever we could. The inside was thick with boobytraps, so it would be tricky to make our way through it. The most resistance, however, was expected in the throne room, where the objective was. After the objective was secured, we would pull back and make our way to an evacuation site a few kilometers away.

We were all waiting for the word to come down and begin the assault. The Specter teams had broken down into the platoons. My team had joined the first platoon attacking the south side, we had the most ground to cover, but once we got to the castle, it would be a straight shot to the throne room. It was silent in the forest around us. I could feel that everyone was riding high on adrenaline, it gave off a certain smell in their emotions. You could just feel the apprehension. I saw the platoon leader, Steel Hammer, the minotaur from the first exercise, nod his head before turning to look at the castle.

His deep voice came over the radio, "The assault is about to begin! You all know your jobs, so get to it!" there was a pause as we all got ready to run, "Now! Go! Go! Go!" the treeline lit up with gunfire as I charged forward, holding a rolled up rope bridge on my back. I could see the training rounds flying over my head as the instructors were starting to return fire. I got to the edge of the gorge and dropped my bridge, slamming the first set of stakes into the ground, before taking flight over to the other side ten meters away. I saw a pegasus near me get shot mid-flight and fall into the gorge, being caught by a safety net down below. I slammed the stakes into the ground on the other side, pulling the ropes taut, before taking cover behind a nearby rock and firing at the defenders in the castle.

After what seemed like forever, candidates started to cross the bridges and move forward to the castle. I had gotten about halfway there, when I used my wings to propel myself over another rock. I was jerked out of my temporary flight, however, when a round slammed into my wing, throwing me back, and making the limb go numb. Cursing, I pulled out a med-kit and placed a small bandage over it to show that I was wounded. Then I took out a small cord from my pack and strapped my wing to my side to keep it from moving, before I continued my assault. As a result, I made it to the rubble surrounding the castle with the last few candidates.

Snowstorm came over, dropping into cover next to me, "You're still with us huh? I thought I saw you take a round" he said, keeping his eyes on the castle.

"They caught me in the wing," I said, motioning to my 'injured' limb, "Hurt like a son of a bitch"

"Well at least you can still walk then," Snowstorm said, "There's not many of us left who can" I glanced back towards the field I had cleared. Sure enough, a third of the platoon was laying out there waiting to be picked up after the exercise.

Bright Flash came up to us, making our fireteam complete again. As the last candidate passed into the rubble, everyone broke off and made our way into the fortifications. We covered each other as we made our way through the halls. Since we had come from the front, there was only a few routes to the throne room. I snapped around a corner on my knees, with Snowstorm peeking out above my head, both of us firing on the first targets that we saw. We could see the throne room at the far end of the hall, behind a small barricade. More candidates started to stream through the halls, and eventually the barricade was overrun. As I entered the throne room, I could see that the other entrances were being assaulted as well. I moved behind a pillar, to begin firing on the remaining defenders, who had defenses set up throughout the room. It was a good feeling to be on the winning side of a fight for once.

I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, however, as I didn't notice how far I was from the rest of my team. As I drew a bead on another defender, I felt a large weight slam into my side, knocking me over and landing on top of me. I turned in time to see an instructor swinging a purple glowing, enchanted knife towards me. I shot to the side as fast as I could and pushed him off of me. I knew that the knife wouldn't do any real damage to me, but I didn't want to test it. I drew my pistol and tried to get a shot off, but I was hit with a wave of magic, pushing me back, and knocking away my gun. I barely had time to react as the instructor swung at me again, this time to my throat. I pulled back, the blade barely missing me, and I charged forward into him. I was pretty small, so he shook me off easily, before stabbing at me again. I sidestepped away from the knife and swung my hoof at his face, making him reel back.

Wanting to push my advantage, I moved forward, throwing more punches, most of which were blocked. As I swung at him, he deflected my hoof and hit me in the face, before grabbing me and throwing me to the ground. I was dazed long enough for him to swing with his knife again, making to stab me in the chest. I caught his hoof mid-swing, and we struggled for a moment, both sides trying to overpower the other. He was a lot stronger than me, and the knife started to move down towards me. Pushing myself to the side, I brought his hoof down just to the side of my body, before swinging my entire leg into his face. I reached over and grabbed the hoof holding the knife and twisted it, making his grip loosen. As he was bringing his head back around, I grabbed the knife and swung it towards his throat, slashing across it. There was a bright purple streak where the knife had contacted him. As the enchantment took effect, he dropped down on top of me.

I dropped the knife and started to push him off of me. Damn he's heavy, I thought. The weight was taken off of me as Bright Flash pulled the fallen instructor off of me and helped me up. I was tired from the scuffle, but as I looked around, I noticed that the gunfire had silenced.

"Did we win?" I asked, looking for my rifle.

"Ya, we won, they're grabbing the package now," Bright Flash said, looking down at the instructor who I had fought, "Did you do this? Damn, you got some serious fight in you, I'll give you that"

I chuckled and started to check all of my gear, picking up what had fallen during my fight. We had cleared the throne room, and taken down most of the defenders in the building, but there wasn't many of us left. While we had started the exercise with eighty two candidates, we were down to only nineteen. Once the objective, a small briefcase, was secured, we moved back to the front entrance of the castle, and moved back into the forest.

We were only a kilometer away from the evacuation site when I forced the group to stop.

"What's wrong?" Snowstorm said, scanning the forest around us.

"There's a small group to our left, thirty meters," I said over the radio, "A large one is trailing behind us by about seventy meters. What's left of the Specters can stay here and hold them off while the rest of you make a run for the evac site"

"Are you sure?" Steel Hammer said

"If we get bogged down here, they'll roll right through us all. We can distract them long enough to let you get away" there was only four Specters left besides my fireteam, and they were already setting up for an ambush.

"Ya," Bright Flash chimed in, "Just let us know when you're almost there so that we can peel off and rejoin you"

"Hmph," Steel Hammer grunted, "Very well. Say hello for us" at that, the rest of the group started moving through the forest towards the evac site.

It was silent in the forest again, as I felt the instructors getting closer to us. I could tell that all of us were accepting the fact that we would not be able to fight our way out of this ambush. It still felt pretty good to know that we had gotten this far though.

After a few moments, the first instructor came into sight. Before he had a chance to see us, we opened fire. There was no pause before the instructors returned fire on us, and a fierce firefight began. The ground around us was being torn up as rounds were streaking in towards us. Bushes and trees were being torn up by the sheer amount of fire both coming from us, and being directed towards us.

I don't know how long it lasted before the fire started to wear down, but it felt like hours. There were only two of us left, Snowstorm and I. Bright Flash had been shot in the side of the head during the fight, and the others had fallen one by one. We were still fighting, though, back to back. Every time that a shot rang out from the trees, we would answer in kind.

It didn't last much longer, though, before Steel Hammer's voice came over our radio, "Specter! I don't know how many of you are left, but we are at the evac site, and we can't stay much longer! If you're still there, they must have gone around you!"

"Leave! Get the package out of here. We need to win this for once" I said into my radio. Truthfully, I didn't know what would happen after the airship left. We had never gotten this far before. I turned to my side, "We need to leave, Snowstorm"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" He said, before we both stood up and charged out of our cover, narrowly dodging the shots coming at us. I didn't feel any of the instructors following us, since there wasn't many of them left anyway. As we continued running through the forest, we saw an airship take off, and start to make its way back to the base. We slowed down, before deciding to go around the evac site and whatever instructors were still there.

Three Hours Later

We had been walking through the forest towards the Ranger base for hours. While we hadn't encountered any instructors, I could feel that the local fauna were starting to take an interest. We couldn't fly above the trees due to my numbed wing, I wouldn't be able to use it until one of the medics at the base undid the spell. Until then, we had to continue walking there.

"Are you sure that you can't fly?" Snowstorm asked for the fifth time.

"Ugh, Yes I'm sure. How could I fly, if I can't even move one wing?"

"Well I could try carrying you!"

"With all of our armor and gear? I doubt it." We were both getting impatient after walking for so long. We were starting to run low on water, and we had lost our food rations during the fight. Suddenly, there was a loud Crash ahead of us. We both snapped our weapons up, looking for the cause. I sensed a pony running towards us, and whoever it was was clearly panicking.

"There's someone coming towards us" I said to Snowstorm as I hunkered down behind a tree. We were next to a small stream, so there wasn't much foliage around us, but we kept scanning the trees. As the sense of panic got closer, I picked up another sense. It was a predator, and a big one at that. The panicking pony had a good lead on the beast, but it wasn't stopping in its chase. Suddenly, a light blue unicorn mare with a yellow mane broke through the trees, running for her life. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Snowstorm and I, her golden eyes wide with fright.

Snowstorm lowered his weapon and stepped forward, "Wow, it's alright, we're friendly. What are you doing out here miss?" She was shaking in fear, and looking between Snowstorm and myself.

"I'm, uhh. I..." She was stumbling over her words, and turning her head from us to the trees behind her.

Snowstorm took off his helmet, "Just calm down, ma'am. We're with the military. My name is Snowstorm, what's yours?"

"Uhh, I- I'm... Escholtzia, uhh Esca" I always hated the taste of fear. It could help out in bad times, but I always felt dirty taking it in.

"That's a pretty name," Snowstorm said, getting closer to the poor mare, "Now what are you—" with a deafening Roar, a large manticore jumped through the trees. I hadn't seen one of the creatures since my second mother and I were attacked all those years ago. Esca screamed and jumped behind the tree with me, and Snowstorm jumped back in surprise.

There was a short moment as the beast squared off with Snowstorm and I, before we both brought our weapons back up and started firing at it. The clearing was filled with loud noises as the manticore roared, and our guns fired at full automatic. While one or two rounds would stop a pony in training armor, they had little effect of the beast's skin, other than annoying it.

"Why isn't it dead!" Esca screamed next to me.

"Because these aren't real bullets," I said, trying to keep a bead on the fast creature, "It'll take a lot of them to take it down!"

"Then shoot it more!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do? This is as fast as it shoots!" I yelled in anger. Snowstorm was flying around the clearing, keeping it occupied.

"I don't care! Shoot faster!" I glanced over at her. She was sitting next to me with her head down and her hooves covering her head.

I grunted and moved out into the clearing, eating through the last of my ammunition fast. "Catch!" Snowstorm shouted as he flew past me, throwing his LMG towards me. I caught it in my magic and put my rifle away.

"Get it to look at me!" I shouted at Snowstorm, who was flying in circles around the manticore. Almost as soon as I spoke, it reached up and swatted Snowstorm out of the air with a paw. He flew over my head before hitting the ground behind me.

I looked back to make sure that he was alright, "Well that wasn't what I meant" I turned back as the beast turned towards me. I brought up Snowstorm's LMG as the manticore opened its mouth to roar at me again. In the middle of its roar, however, I pulled the trigger and fired directly into its mouth. As it flinched and closed its mouth, I aimed for its eyes. When it reeled back to cover its face, I aimed for its genitals. With a high pitched shriek, it turned tail and ran back into the forest, leaving us alone.

I dropped the LMG and turned to check on Snowstorm, who was getting back up on shaky legs. He made an unintelligible, yet happy sound as he held his head up high.

Esca then hopped over the roots that she was huddled behind and walked into the clearing with a large smile on her face, "Well we sure showed that thing who's boss huh?" With a moan, Snowstorm fell face first into the mud beneath him. Esca looked down at him, before looking at me, maintaining her large smile. I facehoofed, and dropped my shoulders in defeat.

Author's Note

Because I forgot this last chapter, some of the major characters have a sort of theme song that helped me to develop their characters, here's Snowstorm's and Snapshot's

Also, I'm sorry about my absence on the site as of late, work has been kicking my ass and long-distance relationships are harder than I had anticipated. I'm planning on the training only taking another couple chapters and after that, it should jump into some more action.

Also, I'd like to thank SwirlingBlade for editing my story, hopefully with his help, I'll be able to produce a much better quality story for y'all to enjoy!