I don’t fear to kill. Why would you ever fear to destroy those who would harm your loved ones? If you are the kind of pony who would feel guilt over killing your foe, think instead on how much more guilty you would feel if you left him alive and he hurt somepony you cared about.

-Granite Face

Three and a Half Years Before…

The sun had just set, even though it was little past four in the afternoon in the height of summer. Daylight had yet to fade from the high mountain valley, and the dull heat would not leave until later that night. As the blinding light in the sky slipped behind one of the bare, rocky peaks, it became far easier to see in the curious mix of light and shadow that pervaded the alpine meadow.

Toward the edge of the field, where the forest met the creek, the earth had been upturned, and drenched. Above the mud pit, a heavy iron bar lay suspended from two posts. Hanging from that bar, Shadow Wing gasped as he struggled to hold on. Sweat rolled down his face as his forelegs shook under the strain.

“Come on, rookie. Keep it up there. Two more minutes and you can be done for the day. If ya’ let go, it’s another five.” Wild Wind paced back and forth beside the pit, occasionally glancing at the stopwatch screen on his fetlock pager.

Everything came back to the pullup bar. Pullups, wing pullups, hindleg hangs, and flagpoles. The day began and ended there. That end was close, but his forelegs felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. “Yes...Sergeant Wild Wind…”

“Stow it rookie, you’ll need your breath. Keep breathing. And don’t get formal with me, we’ve been over this before. It’s ‘Chaff’ to you. I’ve earned that name, and that’s what you’ll call me. Just like you’re ‘rookie’ until you merit one of your own.”

“Ok...Chaff…” Shadow panted around breaths. One more minute…

“Hey rookie, you seem like a good fellow, so I’ll tell you about my sister Marigold. She used to live in Spurlin a few years ago.”

“Wait...didn’t that place...get...ah...bombed…?”

“That’s right, it did. Whole damn city wiped out. And do you know where Marigold went when the bombs fell?”

“Uh...the shelter?”

“No. She went everywhere.”

Sore muscles no longer able to hold steady, Shadow fell, landing with a loud squelch. The impact threw mud into the air and drove the wind from his lungs, ending his shocked laughter. Coated in mud, he forced air back into his tired body, coughing at the pain in his gut.

“Yeah you’d better stop laughin’. It aint funny.”

“But...hrk! Chaff, you don’t have a sister.”

“Not anymore I don’t. Now get your ass back up on the bar! Five more minutes.”

Complaining would have been useless, and Shadow didn’t have the energy to protest. Chaff had been a jerk, and they both knew it, but the rules had not changed. Giving his wings a few shakes to dislodge the extra mud, Shadow jumped and flapped his way to hang his forelegs back on the bar. Once that lift stopped, all of his body was suspended from those leg muscles, and the pain began again.

Seconds stretched on, each one in no hurry to arrive and long overstaying before departing. It was easier to give up on counting the ever slowing ticks of time, and rather focus on the drops of sweat running along the skin under his coat to drip off his nose and wingtips. When numbness overcame the pain in his legs, it refused to go away, instead sinking down to become a dull ache in the sockets and joints.

Five months gone, and while that pain gradually went away, his trainers were skilled at bringing it back. It had started with long days of nothing more than a workout, but it soon had become apparent that a tough body alone would not be enough to get through. After the first week, he had to find his instructors in the air or on the ground, among the trees and clouds before the day could begin. After two weeks of hoof-to-hoof combat training, meals were no longer free, and sparring or grappling with Savage or Crash had to happen before Shadow could eat. Soon enough, the workouts gave way to weapons and tactics training, though they didn’t disappear away completely. Dive had promised that they never would.

Difficult as it was, each day was a new challenge and a new test. Every time he’d thrown up during training, every time he’d fallen in the mud was another day that he wasn’t at a desk, dealing with the disciplinary forms for a guard that had gotten rowdy at the bar. Moreover, while there was the promise of a glorious future, there was also the promise of a break; less glorious but still very desirable.

“What’s that? Alright.” The sudden noise caused Shadow to surface from the haze of memories and pain to look over at Chaff, who was talking over his headset. “We’re done, and will be there asap. See you.” Crash paused to look over at Shadow, but this time didn’t raise his voice. “Come on rookie, we’re due at base. Go on, get off the bar.”

Gratefully letting go of the bar and easing his weight onto his wings, Shadow fluttered off into the air, following Chaff into the blue. One more wing workout for the day.

“Why do you want to be here, guardspony?”

“Well I want to serve--”

“No, you don’t, and you’re not getting through this if you don’t know why you’re here. You can lie to us all you want, and we won’t care, but you can’t lie to yourself.”

“Fine. I’m here because I joined the guard when my fiance told me to go burn in Tartarus, and guarding a desk sucks. I want to do and be more than that.”

“Well, you can and will, but first you have to learn how. And that will hurt like your trek last week every day for the next half of a year. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“I am.”

“And know that you will not be the same afterwards. You’ll be a killer.”

“I understand.”

“Very well then. On your face.”

Getting mud in his feathers had never really bothered Shadow, but as the hot stream of water from the showerhead eased dirt and sand through every inch of his plumage, it sure did itch. All the better though, he couldn’t afford to linger in the shower. When he’d arrived with Chaff back at base, the sergeant had told him to get cleaned up, and report to the briefing room ‘as quickly as equinely possible.’ Cleaning up had been a long process though, with most of his body caked in drying mud.

Not that Shadow was just waiting for it come off. Every moment was another of furious scrubbing and cleaning, even if it had taken more than a little effort to reach a hoof up to grab the soap bar. It had been like that every evening in the shower, finding out just how exhausted and beat up he was from the training that day. Those would be the days he would just sit under the flow of burning water and wonder if that time was worth the seconds he was losing from the scarce few hours of sleep later that night. Not this time though. Something was going on, and if it was important enough to end training early, it was certainly important enough to hurry up in the shower for. That thought held his tempo as he dried off, and neglected to spend too long preening his wings, favoring speed over appearance.

His room was far more spacious than the average barracks room, moreso even than standard officer quarters. For all that space, it only made the room seem empty. Four bare, gray stone walls looked down on a cot and a chest of drawers. The floor was made the same cold stone, as was the ceiling. No armor stand or armor adorned the space, and he had no clothing other than the cold weather gear left over from his indoc months ago. Nor was it necessary for the warmth of summer, and so Shadow pushed open his door and made a swift trot the the briefing room.

He’d been in there several times before, when assigned training ‘missions’. It was the same dull gray as the rest of the mountain base, with two long benches set out in front of several tables, screens, and a chalk board. In the months past, one of the Timberwolves would give him mouth-drawn maps, camouflage gear, tranquilizer guns, and anything else he had needed to make it through. Today though, the room far more full.

Corporal Razor Wings was the first to look up as Shadow entered the room. The youngest of the enlisted on Timberwolf Team, Razor Wings was probably the one Shadow liked the most. Having been dubbed ‘Savage’, Razor Wings preferred to just go by ‘Raze’, and didn’t throw any punches he didn’t have to. Nor did he pull them when Shadow didn’t live up to his standards. Seated next to Razor Wings, Chaff gave a grin to Shadow.

“Well get on over here.” Crash pointed toward the next spot on the bench over. “We’re all waiting on you.”

Shocked into motion, Shadow bounded over to take the seat. It was a curious mix of emotion he felt, and the moment was a bit too much to figure it all in. Crash, or Stable Sergeant Storm Crasher had been his head trainer for the past few months. Every morning before the sun had come up, Crash was there and ready to work him out, and he was there to mentor the younger stallion each evening long after the sun had gone down. Never once had Crash yelled, but when he grew angry, he would lean in close to make sure his point got across. There was no question in their interactions. Shadow may have been an officer, but Crash was the one in charge when it was training time, and would continue to be until Shadow had finished. There was apprehension against the admonishment for making the team wait, but that could not overcome the excitement mounting in Shadow’s chest. For the first time since he’d sworn himself, something bigger than his training was happening.

The door gave a slight click as Dive Skyward, captain of the team strode through and closed it. At the head of the room he joined a figure familiar from the days before training had begun. Colonel Argent Fire, commander of the Intelligence Division had stopped pacing, and cleared his throat. “Alright, now that you’re all here we can begin. I know most of this is old news to you colts, but the lieutenant here has been out of the loop for a few months, so we’re going to go over relevant information to the intel.”

“Two weeks ago, changelings under the control of Queen Chrysalis attempted a hostile takeover of Equestria. The invasion was successfully repelled, but their army was quite literally thrown into the swamplands along our southeastern border. We’re not quite sure how many survived the landing, but there are likely five hundred to one-thousand combat capable changelings remaining, and two to three thousand in various states of injury. As you’re likely aware, that region is far too vast for us to search, and too hazardous to consider mobilizing to clear out. However, we can’t leave a force that large unchecked just outside our borders.”

The colonel paused, manipulating the controls for the screens. An old topographic map of the near swamp region zoomed into focus; lines meeting themselves in circles to indicate a large number of hills. “Unfortunately, our intelligence on the area is dated. This is the newest map we have, and I’ll make sure it gets uploaded to each of your helmet sets. One of our regular patrols in the area noticed smoke toward the southern end of the hills. Upon closer inspection, the source was found to be an entire changeling scouting camp.” A red point flashed in a low area toward the bottom of the map. “Our scout didn’t manage to get video, but we have this image here.”

A still flashed onto the screens, replacing the map. Though slightly blurred, the camp was still visible. The ‘camp’ was certainly of changeling make, half constructed out of cloth tarps strung up into makeshift tents, and the rest of the structures built out of dirt molded into stable huts with green slime. Moving between those structures were unmistakable black demi-equine creatures, some carrying weapons that were shorter and sleeker than the HAY-K rifles they normally bought from black market dealers.

“While our scout couldn’t stay on site long enough to get a full mapping and force estimate, this should give you some idea of what you’re up against. We can guess at full occupation, the camp has between fifty and one hundred armed hostiles.”

Chaff let out a low whistle. Everypony else shifted a little in their seats.

“Which is why their armament is important too. While most changelings just rely on magic based attack like plasma bolts and enervation rays, or knock-off griffon rifles, these have collected Equestrian firearms and guard’s shoes. We can only speculate they stole those from slain guards, as they lack the infrastructure to machine them on their own.”

“So how does this make things any better?” Savage was rubbing his forehooves together slowly.

“Before our scout had to pull out, she spotted two sealed crates of demolitions grade explosives. Yes, they were of Equestrian make, and also likely stolen in the invasion. The important part was that they were moving them into one of the tents. We don’t want those going anywhere, and while recovery would be ideal, it wouldn’t be feasible. Instead, if you can get into the middle of the camp, crack one of the cases, and set a timed charge on it, you’d have enough force to breach both crates, and utterly incinerate the camp. Unless the camp got a lot bigger in the last few days, that should easily be enough explosive to leave the camp as a crater. Trouble is, cracking one of those will take some time. That’s why I insisted you need overwatch for this mission.”

“Mission is as follows: Assault team will be Captain Skyward, Stable Sergeant Crasher, Sergeant Wind and Corporal Wings. Overwatch will be provided by Lieutenant Wing. Tomorrow morning at zero-four-hundred, you will move out from base and attack target at zero-five-forty-five. Overwatch will post on a cloud, or if no cloud cover is available, a hilltop, guide the assault team in, and cover them during the arming. Assault team will move in under camouflage, gain access to the crates, set a charge, and clear camp for detonation. Both teams will stay on site to mop up survivors. Any questions?”

“I’ve got one.” Crash leaned forward. “If they have our guns, our shoes, and our most powerful explosives, is there anything they don’t have?”

“As of this point, we really can’t confirm either way. Just assume you could face any level of weapons tech outside of what is provided to Timberwolf Team.”

Shadow paused for a moment, mulling his questions over. It seemed so stupid, but this was a live fire mission. Real bullets, real targets, and very real consequences. Looking stupid was a lot cheaper than patching up a wound, or burying somepony. “Under camouflage? Sir, I know these stallions are the best, but it will be daylight by that hour, and nearly impossible to get to the middle of a camp that is actively guarded. That and...how are we getting all the way over there in less than two hours?”

Savage, Crash, and Chaff all began to chuckle, and Dive and Argent both grinned. The low warmth of embarrassment began to flush his gut until Dive spoke up. “Lieutenant, I’m afraid you aren’t familiar with all of the gear we’ll be taking on the mission. Rest assured, the Colonel isn’t just sending us all to die...I think. That last April Fools mission was pretty damned good. Sir, is that all the intel you’ve got for us?”

“I’m afraid that’s it. I’ll be in touch the whole time tomorrow. Good luck out there, boys.” Argent Fire left the room, leaving Dive with his stallions.

“Alrighty gents, it’s about time we’re going to do something like this without making Chaff play designated markspony.” Chaff let out a whoop and raised his forehooves toward the ceiling. “My thoughts exactly. Take the intel to heart on this one, they really could have anything, so I want you to prep your gear both for the infiltration mission, but imagine you’re preparing an assault for Canterlot. Grim to think of I know, but that really might be what we’re up against. As for you, Shadow, it’s time we took you to the armory.”

Mud. Coating his cheeks and chin, caking his lips and blocking his nostrils. The price of letting that last pushup go. For easing that fire in his muscles, it was worth it. It wasn’t the first time he’d been covered in mud in the last hour.

“Get up rookie! I SAID GET UP! What the hell do you think you’re doing? It took more effort to get through the first fucking hour of your indoc! And here you are, giving up after just a few pushups. You’re not even going to be welcome in the first circle of Tartarus with how pitiful you are!”

Bending one foreleg over to brace himself, Shadow forced himself back up to near standing. Raising his gaze, he found himself level with Savage, who was staring him right back.

“I said I’d do every last one with you, but I didn’t count on you giving up. So you’re going to do thirty more, right now, before we start counting again. You think you can do that, little filly?”

“Rgh!” He spat the word around mud and saliva. “Yes.”

“Drop.”

“You’re going to love this. Heh, this might be my favorite part of the job.” Dive chuckled as he led Shadow down the hall. “And I’m pretty sure our tech has been working on something special for you.”

“I don’t understand. I know you’re pulling me for this mission, but that’s really sudden. Don’t I have training left?”

“You were going to ‘graduate’ in two days anyways. And by graduate, I mean we were going to let you have one good fight with Chaff, Crash, and Savage all at once, and then we’d get you really drunk. I see no reason why we can’t do that afterwards. There’s also a final mission, but I’m fine with substituting the real thing.”

Shadow frowned. “That’s why I’m concerned. Do you think I’m ready for this? I haven’t really had any training with the team as a whole.”

“Oh but you have. Remember your training op when you got a radio headset, and Savage as your wingpony, where you had to try and get through Hangmare’s Pass undetected? Or when you were put in charge of everypony to try and hunt me down in the woods? You’ve had over a dozen training session where you worked with us as some form of a team. And the kicker? You were in charge for all of them. You may not have always succeeded--”

“Yeah...about that…”

“The point is, the only difference is that we’re all on the same side now. Oh, and you’ll have gear.” Dive stopped in front of a doublewide steel door and bit down on the handle. It swung inward silently at his push.

The first thing visible once the door opened was a bright yellow reflective sign with red lettering.

DANGER!

EXTREMELY HIGH VOLTAGE

TOUCHING CAUSES INSTANT DEATH

50 BIT FINE

Immediately below the sign, the large cables came through a notch in the wall and ran into an open copper transformer, from which a faint buzz emanated. Shadow could feel the hair on his body shifting just a little bit as he walked past the device.

“And don’t mind that-but don’t touch it either. I keep telling Ray that he needs to cover the damned thing up, but he never listens.”

“Did I hear my name?” A stallion’s voice, high pitched and excited wafted from somewhere in the massive room. Shadow craned his neck, but couldn’t see anypony. Not that there wasn’t plenty room to hide. Dozens of steel and wooden tables covered with machinery, tools, parts, and other equipment filled the open space of the room. Along the left wall, weapons of all kinds well hung from pegs. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, shoulder mounted machine guns, and weapons he had no name for were displayed, painted black. Below them, open bins filled with small mountains of brass lay against the wall. To the other side of the room, helmets and various kinds of body armor were set on shelves. The clanging of hoofsteps on the steel floor grew closer, until their source became clear.

“Shadow, I’d like you to meet Refract Ray, our armorer and techie.” The unicorn was a light beige, and while taller than Shadow, still shorter than most. His red mane was a mess, long and unkempt, and burned off in some places. Over his eyes sat a reflective set of protective goggles. The rest of him was covered by a formerly white lab coat, stained in a number of places and burned in others.

“Well hey! I was wondering when I’d finally get to meet the new guy! Welcome to my lab, and if you have any questions, feel more than free to ask at any time.”

“Just one.” Shadow gestured toward the sign. “Should I seriously touch that, how are you getting into my bank account to pay for...what kind of damages are there from that anyways?”

“Oh! Well you see, your next of kin would be notified, and they would pay to have your body removed, and any ashes cleaned out of the lab. Not likely though...you are a pegasus. Oh, and by the way, that was three questions.”

Dive coughed and punched Shadow in the shoulder. “If my boy here is really dumb enough to stick his tongue on the power coils, I’m NOT paying for you to carry out the body, Ray. You already get paid a small mountain of bits for your work. I’ve been waiting a long time to wow him, so lets get to the good stuff?”

“As have I, and yes, let us indeed.” Refract Ray turned and lifted a foreleg, making a sweeping gesture across the armory. “Welcome to my lab; ‘Ray’s Really Ridiculous Rifle Reserve’, ‘Timberwolf Tools and Toys‘, and ‘Boots, Bolt-Actions, and Big Bucking Bombs.‘ I would give you a grand tour, but Dive insists that we cut to business. Still, once you’re done out there tomorrow, do come back and let me show you around, mmm?”

Not waiting for an answer, Ray led them deeper into the shop. Delicately steering his way around a small collection of saws and chisels hanging off the edge of the nearest worktable, he hurried over to the gear shelves. They clanged their way past sets of metal guard armor, and continued on, Ray not even looking at the sets of lighter cloth based gear some city police forces had started using. “I brought all this junk in here to figure out what exactly it could and couldn’t do. There was a lot of the latter, and not much of the former. Rest assured, you’re getting all the bells and whistles too.”

Shadow leaned over to Dive, and whispered just loud enough for him to hear of the hoof-falls. “What the hay is he talking about?”

“You’ll see.”

Reaching the end of the row, Ray pulled a black body suit off the shelf, and tossed it to Shadow. “Here, put it on. I’m mostly sure this one is in your size.”

Whatever Ray had just given him was no more than a few mots in weight, and felt like a halfway mix between rubber and cloth. Curious, he donned the strange body armor. Or at least I hope it’s body armor.

“So I’ll bet you’ve been wondering how we got to those chokepoints before you, or why you never saw any of us until we jumped you? And you wanted to know how we’ll achieve an ‘impossible’ level of stealth, and cover six hundred miles to the objective in under two hours? Well here is your answer.” Dive nodded to the gear. “Though...I figure Ray would rather explain the fine points.”

“What you’re putting on is the Combat Skin, Version Two. Version one had--”

Dive cleared his throat loudly. “Ray, I’m sure you can tell him about everything in the darned room after we get back tomorrow. Right now, just run him through what it does and how to use it.”

“Oh...ok. Well, Version Two is a combat ability amplifier in a body skin form. This beauty is a little pinch of technology, but mostly woven with a lot of magic. It will reduce the friction coefficient around you, your wings, and your tail to the point that you can fly very fast without tiring or overheating. When you get the helmet on and the visor sealed, it will regulate its own pressure, allowing you to submerse or travel through toxic environments. The whole system has a built in cloaking device. Spell isn’t perfect just yet, but it’s better than painting yourself.”

Once the skin was on, the loose parts shrunk to fit his form. The inside warmed, and then cooled to the point that Shadow couldn’t tell that he was wearing anything at all. Ray picked up a sleek helmet, which he handled with ease. As Shadow took it, he couldn’t help but notice how light it was compared to his ceremonial dress armor.

“The helmet has a built in communications system. Not something you need to manually use, again, it’s all spell based. It has verbal override though, in case you can’t seem to keep your thoughts straight. I put that in after Chaff couldn’t stop opening the comm lines for wisecracks. Other than that, it shows your airspeed, vertical airspeed, altitude, pressure, air temperature, local topography, holds your mission data, and allows intel to send you anything else you might need on the fly. There is an IR filter, night vis filter...I can’t get the passthrough view filter up yet, but that’s coming soon. Oh, and there is an integrated zoom. Dive said you didn’t have room to pack binoculars.”

“No, we have plenty of room, we just don’t often have the time to use them. There is a difference. Anyways, Shadow, what Ray didn’t tell you is that the combat skin isn’t body armor. Don’t let yourself get hit, because even small rounds will go through this. You should be ok for a hard landing in case that happens, or crawling over gravel, but for the love of the moon don’t get shot. Once that happens, your pressure seal is gone, most of your flight aids will be gone, and of course there is the injury problem. The helmet isn’t much better. On the plus side, if you’re getting shot at, odds are the mission has really gone to hell anyways. Try it on, will ya?”

At the insistence of both stallions, Shadow set the helmet over his face. As the bottom of the neckline met the top of the body skin, the two fused together, leaving his skin prickling underneath. It constrained his vision a little to each side, but no worse than traditional guard armor would have, and it was oh so much lighter. Wearing this helmet for a day wouldn’t leave his neck cramped and aching. I wonder how I put down the visor. The sudden response caused him to jump, as a clear visor slid out from the top of the helmet to seal with a faint hiss. Numbers appeared on the side of the screen, showing that his altitude was below ground level, and that he wasn’t moving at all.

“Yep, that’s how it’s done. Glad you figured it out so quick.” Ray chuckled, “now, try activating the cloaking system, and then pinging intel. Just wanna make sure it all works.”

With barely a flicker of thought, the entire skin faded out, somewhere between completely invisible and the same shiny gray of the steel floor. Bemused, Shadow waved his foreleg around, trying to catch a glimpse of where it was. A faint shimmer waved as he flexed the leg. “Gosh...well...I guess I know how you’re all getting into the camp now. How the heck am I going to be able to see where you guys are though? Wouldn’t want to shoot a friendly.”

“Ah...that’s one more thing. Your helmet will outline your team, so you can identify them. Civilians too...but that one is still in debugging. Just as important, it will flag the bad guys for you. If it gets a red outline, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to shoot. Got most of the problems with that one fixed...still can’t always tell the difference between hostiles and well...foals,” muttered Ray. “Anyways! Got a few more things for ya!” The armorer hurried further down the rack, til what looked like the ‘almost free’ bin from the guard surplus store was crammed onto the shelving. A number of old canteens and waterskins stood next to worn cloth saddlebags, fraying and faded.

“All this exclusive tech and we can’t afford new combat saddlebags?”

“Well what Princess Luna can’t appropriate for us, we just have to make do. She still helps me enchant the gear though, so don’t you dare be ungrateful.” Ray pulled down one of the saddlebags and looked it over, shaking his head. “No...still too big. Cap, you sure raised an undersized colt there.”

“You know it matters more how you use what you’ve got than how much you have.”

Dive facehoofed.

Nonplussed, Ray tossed over a smaller pair of saddlebags. “Try this one. I hope the straps will tighten all the way, as this model is fitted to be used by fillies.”

Staring down at the floor and up at the ceiling, anywhere other than Ray, Shadow buckled down the saddlebags. It was a bit of trouble finding where they went until he remembered to turn off the cloaking, and retract the visor to bite down on the straps. Thankfully, it fit, though he had to tuck the rest of the slack back around under the straps. Letting the buckles go again, he set it back down in front. “Yes. It works. Now what’s so magical about it?”

“Well, aside from enchanting them to not break or wear out? Open it up and see.” Ray practically danced in glee.

Well this had better be good. Biting down on the closing buckle, Shadow opened the left main pocket-and then just stared. Before him was a pocket lined exactly as he would expect, save for the size. He reached his foreleg in, and then leaned forward a little further, and still couldn’t reach the bottom.

“Hmph. I knew they’d be too big. Don’t fall in now.”

Shadow was too excited to bite back. “Whoa! And with the lighter armor...I can actually carry everything I could hold in these.”

Ray grinned again. “That’s the other thing. They won’t weigh much more than they do empty...unless of course you actually break them. Hence the armoring spell. Made them weigh a bit more, but I don’t think you’ll notice.”

“So you can armor the saddlebags but not the combat skin?”

“Well...the combat skin is saturated beyond any reason with magic at this point. Gets harder to add each spell as you go, and sooner or later it just stops taking them. Again, I’ll go over it with you when you get back. Time to move on to the goodies.”

The other side of the armory was focused towards the offensive end of the trade. Rows of standard weapons hung from racks on the walls. Rifles, pistols, shotguns, any matter of barreled weapon that went bang. Dozens more were in various states of disassembly on top of workbenches. Bins on the floor below were filled with brass, and the ones toward the corner with blocks of explosive and telltale cylinders with pins. With a whoosh of magic, one box of large caliber ammunition landed with a clatter on the table, along with an ammo belt and another box full of empty magazines.

“Load up, thirty mags.” Dive pointed toward the bin.

“Thirty?!” What the hay?

“Yes, because you’re going to need to take your weapon out to the range to get familiar with it. If you really need that much ammo downrange, we’re toast.”

Taking the first magazine in one hoof, Shadow began delicately pushing the cartridges down and then back, one at a time. Like the Starlight sniper rifle he had trained with, this magazine held the rounds in two columns. Ten rounds went in before it was full, and he moved onto the next one. Only twenty-nine to go. I wonder which one they go to. Slowly, his eyes wandered from his work to the rifles hanging on the wall. Some were familiar, others looked like they had a few modifications, and some were kinds he’d never seen before.

“Yes, I know they’re pretty, but your girl is over here.” Ray trotted past the wall of black and brass to the next workbench over, devoid of tools and metal filings. Placed alone on top lay a rifle, a halfbreed between the Starlight rifle and a windigo hunter’s rifle. It was a third again as long as the former, sporting the bolt-action of the latter, resting on a bipod and the stock monopod. The muzzle brake was both wider and longer than he was used to; several more holes bored into the chunk of metal. Finished in a dark carbon fiber, it radiated a cold sense of purpose. This could be love at first sight.

“Say hello to...well she doesn’t have a name yet, I saved that honor for you. Everything on her is custom tooled and enchanted, save for the scope, which is just enchanted. Has all the same filters as your visor, ‘cause I figured you’d actually want to put your eye up to the scope instead of trust my targeting optics. Those cartridges are unique to this rifle alone, so don’t go stuffing anything else in it, and make sure you have enough. The silencing spell is built into the barrel, you activate it the exact same way as you do everything else in the gear set I’ve given you. If you use it too much though, the power crystals in the rifle won’t be able to hold up the spell, and it will weaken. Now listen up, this part’s important. While I’m giving her to you, she’s my baby. Whatever you do to her, I’ll do to you. Understand?”

“I do.” Shadow took the proffered rifle with a grunt. The extra weight caused it to sag a bit in his grip. The reach to the trigger and the points on the grip were exactly the same as the guard rifle he was used to, as well as the balance, but it weighed down slightly more on his forelegs. The metal of the body, while coated in the finish, was still cold against his coat. The chill was familiar, in an unkind way. “I know what to call her. Her name is Winter.”

“Winter huh? It fits. Cold as death...and I spent all last winter slaving away over making sure she turned out perfect. Whoa! What are you doing?”

Shadow paused, his fetlock wrapped around his knife. “Is that some kind of trick question?” Not waiting for answer from Ray, he inscribed the rifle’s name in capital letters in the stock.

“Here, take this knife. Don’t lose it, it will be the most important thing you have to get through this.”

“But I already have a starlight rifle and a set of camo body paint. Why would I need a knife to sneak across two mountains and shoot a target?”

“You can cut branches to splint a leg or a wing, you can cut your way out of restraints if you’re quick, you can use it for a signal in case your wingpony needs to be notified. Did you forget you’re in charge of you and Savage this time?”

“No, but it’s so close. As soon as I can see it, I can shoot it.”

“And if you get tackled on the way there? What then? You really think you can use a rifle that is a length long to shoot somepony that is a hoof away from you?”

“Wait...you’d really want me to fight back with a knife if I got tackled, or try to shoot one of you?”

“I expect you to do whatever it takes to get your mission done. No more. No less.”

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

The shot rang out through the darkness between the peaks. And then again, and again as the echo hung in the air. As the echo began to fade, the clink of a bolt-action sliding back overtook it, and one more empty case plunked into a growing pile on the ground. Ninety-nine down, and one to go until it was time to try the silencing spell.

Glowfly Valley had been named for the insects that lived along the creek on the south side, but it had become the firing range for being the one place in dozens of miles in the mountains that had a two and a half thousand length open space that held some semblance of being level. The targets at one hundred, two hundred, five hundred, one thousand, fifteen hundred, and two thousand lengths all had small clusters of neat holes in them. The last one had only nine holes in it. Sliding the bolt forward, Shadow raised the scope one more time until the the crosshairs sat several mils over the painted circle. One breath in, one breath out. Second breath in, halfway out, hold, and fire. Winter boomed once again, and after a moment’s pause, the final hole appeared in the target. She wasn’t so cold after twenty minutes of breathing fire into the night.

After flying out to change the targets, Shadow returned to try out the silencing spell. Slotting a new magazine in and flicking the bolt forward, he lined up the scope a bit below the hundred length target. Taking the same breathing pattern, he clenched his foreleg to fire again, and Winter kicked just as she had been doing all evening, but the sound had vanished. The only noise Shadow could hear was the click of the trigger pull, and there was no flash at the end of the rifle. It couldn’t have been the noise of the rounds; the new helmet was shielding his hearing too well. The second and third shots failed to ring out as well, but the growing numbness in his shoulder was proof that Winter was still spitting.

Shifting to the two hundred length target resulted in a cluster of almost the same size, as did the five hundred. Winter was a firm companion, the bolt sliding quickly and the magazines changing with ease. Each round seemed to go right where he wanted it to, and those were big rounds. He wouldn’t be needing a headshot with rounds like those; one to the gut of a changeling would cut it in two, and if he was in the sweet spot where the bullet just went subsonic, the round would probably blow the poor bug to pieces. It’s going to come to that...but it’s what I trained for. I’m sure I can pull the trigger when the moment comes.

Darkness. All around him the light was gone.

“You know what it is that you must...what you want to do.” The voice was that of a mare, and it echoed as from from high mountain walls. Cruel but righteous, calm but encouraging. He gave it the only answer that came to mind.

“What? I...I don’t know what I must do. I wanted to find...love. I found the next best thing. Isn’t that enough?”

“Whoever said you could not have both? But first, you must embrace who you are meant to be.”

“And how do I know who I am meant to be?”

“A pony who has a plow and a spade is a farmer, a pony who has a hammer and tongs is a smith. So you will know who you are by what you bring on the journey.” Through the darkness shapes appeared. Far off at first, the soon became ones he knew. Winter was there, still smoking at the end of the barrel. His knife followed close behind. Lastly, his helmet came to rest in his hooves, visor staring back at him.

“If these are my tools, then what do that make me?”

“You will know soon. And when you do learn it’s name, do not be afraid to embrace who you are. But get up, for it is time for you to discover this wisdom. Get up.”

“Hey rookie, get up! Come on!”

Chaff stood in the doorway, his features darkened from the shadow he cast upon himself. His normally jovial grin was gone, exchanged for a tight-lipped frown. He was covered in the black of a body suit, his helmet balanced on his back. “It’s zero-three-thirty, and we need to dust off at four. Get your shit together and be in the briefing room at ten-til.”

The door thudded shut, and Shadow threw himself off the bed to find the light. The room was exactly as he left it the night before, the previously empty floor now covered with a small mess of gear. Ignoring that for the moment, he bounded toward the shower and then stopped. Remembering he’d showered the night before was one thing, but the thought of being unable to get his damp coat fully dry before sticking it into a full body combat skin told him it would not be a good idea.

This time it went on much faster, and he was ready for the suit to snug up to fit his form. His saddlebags went on next, already packed from the night before. Everything that could possibly create more drag in flight had been stowed inside, save for his guard's shoes. After putting them on for the hundredth time, scar tissue covered the spot. All that was left was his helmet. Cradling it in his hooves so the visor looked back at him, Shadow stared into the sheen. A shiver ran down his back as the dream came back to mind. So this is what my visage is going to be. But...is this going to be me? If he expected an answer, he was disappointed. Stowing the helmet under one foreleg, he bounded to the briefing room.

Crash, Savage, and Dive were all sitting around the briefing room tables, chewing on a light breakfast. A small collection of protein bars, snack cakes, and breakfast chow ‘borrowed’ from the guard mess hall was scattered across the tabletops as well as a few jugs of water. Not being particularly hungry was a turn-off from all the goodies, but not knowing what the day had in store was strong motivation to consume at least a little bit. He was halfway done opening one of the ‘Powerbolt Bars’ when Chaff bounded into the room and looked through the food in a frenzy.

“...what? No coffee? What is this madness?”

Dive swallowed and grinned. “I told you the only reason we let you have that is because otherwise you wouldn’t stay awake behind the scope. Well, you’re not going to have to hang back anymore, that’s Shadow’s job now, so no more coffee for you. Also means we don’t have to stop for so many darn piss breaks on the way.”

“But...coffee!”

“You can have it when we get back. Now grab something if you want it, it’s just about go time.”

Grumbling, Chaff sat down and swept up anything sweet within leg’s reach. Ripping open wrappers, he tossed the cakes into his mouth whole, chewing only once or twice before swallowing. After four, he looked up to see Shadow staring at him.

“Whrrt?!” He swallowed noisily. “I gotta get all I can before I go out there. Who knows, maybe I won’t be coming back, and then I won’t ever taste these Little Daisies cakes again. Or coffee.” He gave Dive a withering glare.

Unwillingly, Shadow’s eyes wandered back down to the half-finished protein bar in his hooves. He set it back down, and forced himself to swallow the rest. It didn’t want to go down, suddenly dry and hard. Trying not to think, Shadow seized the nearest water bottle and chugged out of it. The first few swallows washed the mix of oatmeal, nuts, and peanut butter down, but one morsel got caught in his windpipe. The sputtering and coughing got everypony’s attention, and Crash pounded him on the back.

“Don’t mind him, rookie. Chaff always goes ‘all serious’ once the mission starts, and he’s just working on getting there. We’ll be fine.”

“Yeah...I’m sure we will.”

Author's Note

Another 'break it into two' chapter, just like what happened with the story that came before it. Now to see if I can't get the next one done before graduation.