Zoner: Shadow of Cherneighbyl

I didn’t change my mind. It took a couple of days for Blossy to set things in motion, which we used to rest and recover from the Manehattan Central attack, and to do a bit more research on the Zone. Not that we were able to find out anything new, though.

Daisy had been relieved to see us return after the bombing. She thought we were just going for a nice holiday. I still felt guilty about that; a lie by omission is still a lie. She was a good pony, she didn’t deserve to be lied to. Ultimately, however, this was something that both my best friend and I wanted to do. We both needed to get this out of our systems.

We opted to fly by Pegasus Airlines since trains were out of the question. Flying was faster anyway– Manehattan to Stalliongrad in just under two hours.

Once more, I found myself looking out of the window of a taxi, watching the unfamiliar city pass me by. The architecture here made me feel like an outsider, the distinctive onion domes reaching out to the sky. Even the air smelled different, foreign.

I was a long way from home. A shiver of apprehension shot through my spine. Now was not the time to get cold hooves! I remembered the words my friend told me: ‘You’re stronger than you think’. Time to prove her right.

The buildings started to thin out and get smaller as we approached the outskirts of the city. “Hey Moony, you okay?” I heard from beside me. “You’ve been awfully quiet, even for you.”

“Yeah, I’m okay, I think. Just… never really travelled much, you know? I don’t feel like I belong here,” I responded, trying to put on a brave face as I fidgeted with my forehooves.

“D’aww, you’re getting homesick!” Blossy teased. She shuffled a bit before looking at me more seriously. “Sorry, I shouldn’t really be poking fun at you right now. Remember what I said? If you want, we can turn around right now. But once we commit to actually going into the Zone, coming back out will be harder.”

“No, let’s do this. Besides, how bad can it be?” I smiled at her, and she reciprocated. As long as I was with her, it would be alright.

“Ah, here we are.” My friend paid the driver with her usual cheerful ‘Keep the change!’ and we both vacated the vehicle. I stretched my legs and looked at our destination: The Equipped Equestrian. The building had a faint military style to it. Well, apart from the store’s logo of a bullet-riddled gryphon.

“Um… After you,” I said, feeling shy. Blossy just shook her head with a smile before leading us through the entrance to the shop. A shop that sold weapons. You know, ‘shop’ didn’t really seem like the right word for such a place. One buys clothes or food from a shop. Not guns and armour.

Immediately I was hit by the smell of metal, oil, and some sort of chemical, too. The cold lighting highlighted the various hardware in stark detail: Armour, both bulky and sleek types, some being showcased on ponyquins; deadly-looking blades of all kinds lined a wall, while guns of wildly different sizes and configurations covered the largest section of the store; and at the back, a large brown earth pony sat lazily behind the counter. His gaze washed over us and he grinned widely. I almost felt violated in some way, but I had no idea why.

“Welcome to the Equipped Equestrian, the finest place for all your self-defence needs,” the heavyset pony called out in a thick Stalliongrad accent. Somehow, he made that sound a tad sarcastic– maybe it was just a Stalliongrad thing.

My friend beamed a friendly smile and I let her take the lead as we made our way to the stallion. “Thank you. My friend and I are here for a nice trip to an exotic location,” she said as she floated out a card with a furtive glance over her withers. Really, Blossy? You’ve been watching too many cheesy films.

The broad stallion inspected the card, then nodded, apparently satisfied. “So you’re the mystery mares who want to go to the Zone,” he said in a hushed tone. I didn’t notice any other customers around, but I knew this wasn’t exactly legal. “Your essentials are already paid for, but if you’re really serious about this, I strongly recommend you get some armour and weapons to take with you. Trust me, where you’re going, you don’t want to cheap out.”

“Don’t worry, we can afford it,” Blossy said confidently. The wide smile she got in reply made me think we’d just made a new best friend. Eurgh, this guy made my hide crawl.

“Excellent! By the way, the name’s Iron Anvil, though you can just call me Anvil,” he boomed jovially.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Blossom, my friend here is Moonlight,” my friend politely introduced us. She was keeping her tone friendly, but there was none of her usual warmth.

“Um, hi,” I muttered.

Anvil nodded in acknowledgement before holding his hoof up for a moment and turning his head to look at the door behind him. “Ratchet!” he boomed over his shoulder.

After a short pause, I heard a slightly nasal voice reply, “Yes boss?” A slim, green unicorn buck came trotting through the door, his orange eyes lingering on me. Please stop looking at me. Please? I felt my cheeks heat up, and I shuffled to put Blossy between the two of us.

“Watch the store while I tend to our special customers,” the large pony heaved himself to his hooves. I was struck by his size– he may have been overweight, but there was plenty of muscle driving him. He casually threw a set of large saddlebags over his back and secured them with typical earth pony dexterity.

“Ooh, yes boss,” I heard Ratchet reply.

“Alright, well… let’s get you two ladies kitted out for your little… holiday,” the chunky stallion gestured us to follow, leading us to the armour section of the shop. My friend started moving, which gave Ratchet a clear line of sight to me again. I smiled self-consciously at the staring buck and awkwardly turned and trotted after his boss.

“So, what kind of armour do you recommend, Anvil?” Blossy asked as we walked past a ponyquin decked out in grey camouflaged armour and a pair of long-barrelled guns mounted on either side, their flexible ammunition feeds flowing from their receivers to the armoured saddlebags installed further back. Pouches housed thick protective plates over the front, while thinner plates protected the sides. Even though it was just a ponyquin, I was more than a little intimidated by the arrangement.

We came to a stop and our host explained, “Well, it’s a personal choice. Lighter models obviously don’t protect as well, but they’re easier to move around in. Heavier models will of course offer strong protection, but can be difficult to handle and will wear you out if you’re not in top shape. Some models are even self-powered, but I don’t have the right contacts to source such armour. Not that I’d get away with selling military-grade gear anyway. Hrmph,” his face darkened as he vocalised his latter thought, but brightened up again as he continued, “Other than that, spend as much as you can afford on your armour– it’s more important than having a great weapon.”

“Oh, we shan’t be skimping out, Anvil. Only the best for my friend and I. I’ll not have our equipment fall apart on us at the first sign of trouble out there,” my friend replied in a stern tone.

“Of course,” Anvil said, beaming. He stroked his chin, his stubble rasping against his hoof as he looked at my friend appraisingly, before pointing to the ponyquin we recently passed. “I think this armour would be a perfect match for you, Blossom. My top-end medium model, has fully replaceable and thick protective plates where they’re needed the most,”– he pointed at the armour’s breast area –”while using thinner plates and tough fabric in the less vital areas, to keep the overall weight and bulk down. It will feel a bit cumbersome at first, but you look like you’ll be able to handle it.”

Blossy gave a nod of approval, “I’d like to try it on, just to make sure.”

“Certainly! The stallion picked out a fresh set of neatly folded grey armour from a nearby shelf and passed it to the unicorn. “The changing rooms are over there,” he said, pointing his hoof to the nearby stalls.

“Alright, I’ll be right back” Blossy said eagerly as she trotted to the changing rooms. Which left me with this giant stallion. By myself. Yay.

Said stallion then turned his head to look at me, “So, are you really sure you two want to make this trip, Moonlight? No offense, but you don’t seem the type. Especially you.” His severe look made me balk. Was I really out of my depth here? Were we?

Memories of the bombings flashed in my mind’s eye and I felt my expression firm up. “Yes, I’m sure. This is something we need to do.” I looked up at the earth pony, noticing one of his eyebrows raise. Scepticism? Concern? Or just curiosity? “We have our reasons,” I said, my gaze switching to the floor.

“Fair enough. Just look out for each other out there. From what I’ve heard, it’s a rough place,” he sighed, his deep voice sounding gentle for a change.

“So have I. But there’s nopony I’d rather go with. Blossy’ll have my back. She always does,” I replied softly with a smile.

“Hrm, well, why don’t we find some armour for you, while your marefriend gets changed?” Anvil asked.

“Sure, sounds good,” I replied. I blinked when I realised what he just said. “Wait! I’m not, uh…” I fumbled for words, feeling my face burning. As if it wasn’t bad enough with Blossy always playing matchmaker with me. “Um, armour sounds good,” I said lamely.

I heard Anvil snort, “Could have fooled me, with the look on your face when you were talking about her. Heh, anyway, let’s see… Ah!” His yellow eyes lit up, “I just recently received a batch of new ultra-lightweight armour, should be ideal for you.” He moved over to another shelf, the folded armour looking much less bulky than Blossy’s model.

Despite my relief at the change in subject, I felt a little disheartened by his suggestion. “Oh.” I was sure I could have handled normal light armour!

“It’s actually a really nice bit of kit,” he said as he unfolded a jet-black set. “Uses a new type of ballistic fibre– very strong and light.” There are no bulky plates to slow you down or restrict your movement; instead you’ve got extra padding in the vital areas.” He held out a leg of the suit, pointing at the hoof, “Special rubberised hooves give you good grip and cut down on noise– I think that’s right up your street. And the whole suit has been treated to absorb some measure of magical radiation. It’s no hazmat suit, but it’s a nice feature,” he finished his summary with an appreciative smile.

I, however, had some doubts. “Are you sure it’s going to be strong enough? It doesn’t look anywhere near as protective as Blossy’s.”

“Like I said, it’s up to you. You could get a set of the same, but you’re not built as strongly as her," he observed. "You ask me, you don’t want to be fighting your gear as well as whatever’s out there.”

An image of myself waddling into the Zone, looking like the Michelin Mare, popped into my mind. A pack of vicious mutant dogs rushing me, effortlessly staying out of my reach before diving in and tearing me to shreds. I shivered at the thought– sometimes I really hated my imagination. “Yeah, I’ll take a set,” I nodded towards the armour.

“Alright,” he said, quickly folding the suit and placing it on his ample back. “You’re making the right choice. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it would work best for you.”

I had to admit, I was starting to warm to him. He really seemed to care about his customers. Or maybe that’s just because we’re buying his most expensive products. Still, he didn’t seem all that bad.

That’s when I noticed a grey form trot out from the changing stalls. The imposing figure headed towards us, armoured hooves thudding against the floor. My jaw hung open– Blossy really looked like she meant business!

An appearance she utterly destroyed when she turned to the side, wiggled her hindquarters and asked with a grin, “Does my plot look big in this?” I heard a soft slap as Anvil facehooved. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes– typical Blossy.

“Oh come on,” she said, still grinning. Then she noticed my suit on the stallion’s back, her eyes lighting up, “Ooh! You simply must try yours on, Moony! I feel like a new mare in this!” The armoured mare stretched out experimentally. “Though it could do with a bit of tailoring. The legs in particular don’t feel quite long enough.”

“Mares,” I heard Anvil mutter under his breath as he unfolded my set once again. “I’ll get Stitches to take a look at it for you, once we’re done picking your gear,” he said more openly. “In fact,” he continued as he held my armour beside me with a smirk,” Stitches had better do yours too, Moonlight. The built-in magical auto-resizing can only do so much.” A sigh escaped my lungs. Obviously it wasn’t worth trying it on right now. Couldn’t they make a size for the smaller pony?!

Some kind of framework around my friend’s flanks caught my attention, “Hey, what’s that for?” I asked, pointing a hoof at it.

The big stallion followed my hoof with his eyes. “You mean the weapon mounts?” Oh, right. “All good quality armour comes with them as standard, and also have a basic magical-neural interface so that the wearer can fire them with just a thought.”

“Huh, is that really necessary? I mean, we’re unicorns, can’t we just levitate any weapons we need?” I asked, marvelling at just how much effort had been put into creating something with the express purpose of causing harm.

That earned me a patronising look from the store owner. “And if you were an Earth pony or a pegasus?” Ah, point taken, I thought as I sheepishly looked up at our host. “This system was designed to allow everypony to be able to fight with similar effectiveness, should open war with the gryphons ever break out. A lot of unicorns suddenly found out that they weren’t the most valuable asset in the Equestrian Armed Forces anymore, when these started to get issued,” he explained with a hint of smugness. I deflated a little– it’s so easy to take magic for granted when you have a horn on your head.

“Anyway,” the stallion continued, going back into lecture mode, “this kit is useful for unicorns, too. It provides a good, stable platform for weapons that are too much for you to handle with your magic. Now, speaking of weapons, shall we take a look?” He lifted a hoof, gesturing to the other side of the shop.

“Sure,” Blossy said and I gave a tentative nod.

We followed Anvil across the store, walking past a relatively small section filled with melee weapons. My gaze fixated on a slightly curved sabre on the top row and I stopped in my tracks. The shiny blade had a subtle wavy pattern on the cutting edge. It would have been just as well-suited to being a piece of art as it was a weapon.

“Moony?” my friend called out, snapping me out of my reverie. “You see something you like?” she asked as she trotted back to me, following my gaze.

I heard a deep chuckle. “You sure have expensive tastes,” the huge stallion reared up and deftly grabbed the sword with a forehoof. He held it out so we could get a better look. The ripple pattern in the metal grabbed my eye again– it really was beautiful. I tore my eyes away from the blade and saw the greedy grin on his mouth.

Only now did I register the price tag, ten thousand bits?! Surely, they accidentally added a zero on the end! “No, no. Just looking! Besides, we’ll be getting guns. Not much point in buying some obsolete sword if I’m gonna be able to just shoot from a distance, right?” I replied self-consciously.

“Don’t be so quick to discount a good melee weapon,” Anvil said with a reproachful look. “Guns can run out of ammo. And since you’re a unicorn, you could use it over a distance, if your magic is good enough.”

My sceptical look turned curious. “But why’s it so expensive?”

“Well, that's because it was made by a master swordsmith, and contains an enchanted gem that self-hones and sharpens the blade after every use. You could cut down a hundred gryphons with it and it will still be good as new,” he said with a glint in his eye.

It seemed today was ‘making Moonlight look like a foal day’. If I had a bit for every time I’d been corrected by this guy, I’d probably have been as rich as Blossy. “I suppose you have a point,” I conceded. “It would make for a good backup weapon at the very least.” And it’s really pretty, I mentally added. I wisely kept that last thought to myself, though. “May I?” I asked, gesturing towards the sword.

“Go ahead. Be very careful, though,” the stallion rumbled.

I wrapped my violet magic around the sabre, mentally feeling the razor-sharp edge, and gently lifting it as Anvil watched me very intently. I carefully floated the sword into an open space, giving a few careful, experimental swings. It was almost too easy to control; as though it was eager to respond to my thoughts. I quickly developed a profound respect for the weapon. And to think, I’d written it off as obsolete…

I bit my lip as I looked at Blossy for permission. She rolled her eyes with a lopsided smile, “Sure, add it to the pile.” I pulled the matching sheath down from the display shelf with my telekinesis and slid the sword home before passing it back to Anvil, who briefly gave me an inscrutable look. “My friend has a proclivity for shiny things, you see,” the unicorn explained to the earth pony.

“I do not!” I hastily replied with a mild blush. “I just happen to appreciate quality when I see it!” Blossy giggled at my little outburst, the mischievous look in her eyes wordlessly saying: ‘gotcha!’

I let out an indignant huff. To be fair, I was halfway grateful for her teasing. It was one thing to read about the Zone, but our trip was starting to get very real indeed.

The deep rumbling of a throat clearing turned our attention back to our host. “Now that we’re done, shall we move on to the guns?” he suggested impatiently. Right, yes, let’s not annoy the nice, giant stallion who has a whole arsenal at his hooftips.

I saw a flash of annoyance on my friend’s face at his shortness. Instead of complaining, though, she asked, “Yes, of course. What do you think is best for us to take? Again, we can afford the best you have to offer.”

The earth pony guided us to the guns with a wide smile; he was going to be making a lot of bits today. “Well, it’s not that simple. Let’s start with mounted weapons. For example, a carbine can work great at medium-short ranges, but will lose its effectiveness at longer ranges and against toughened targets.” We came to a stop, surrounded by various guns mounted up for display.

“Then you’ve got to consider the weapon generation. First gen weapons are typically lacking stopping power, but are cheap, reliable and easy to handle. The second generation was rushed out after it was found that the G-1s weren’t as powerful as expected. Unfortunately, they tend to be fairly high-maintenance, and the bigger rounds they fire meant they weigh more and have stronger recoil,” the stallion told us. “There’s also a third generation, but since that’s the current military standard, I can’t even acquire them,” he finished with an almost mournful tone.

Ugh, why couldn’t anything ever be simple? “Isn’t there a gun that just does everything?” I asked, rubbing my temple with a forehoof.

“Well, the closest you’ll get is the assault rifle. This one –” Anvil replied as he grabbed a longish gun from the wall to show to us “– is one of the best I have available. It’s a G-2, so it has a fair punch, and as long as you keep to either single shots or short bursts, is accurate out to a good range. It’s a little cumbersome at very short-range, mind. You might struggle with the recoil, so it might be a better choice for Blossom.”

I rolled my eyes. I’m going to end up with water pistols at this rate, I just know it. I hoped mutants really hated water.

My friend looked at the assault rifle with interest. “A good all-rounder, huh? Sounds promising. I’ll take it,” she said with a quick nod. “So what about something for close-up?”

Yellow eyes gleamed as the burly pony placed the assault rifle in one of his saddlebags, the barrel pointing out the top. “Ah, I’ve got just the thing!” He turned around and walked over to another section of the wall, pulling another, more chunky gun off of it. “My personal favourite– a G-2 fully automatic shotgun. Utterly devastating at short range,” Anvil said eagerly with a fond glance at the weapon. “And if buckshot doesn’t have enough range for you, it can also fire dart rounds.”

Okay, I could understand having an interest in something, but this guy was way too enthusiastic about guns. I shuddered as I imagined a big dart exploding out of that barrel at high speed. It seemed unnecessarily nasty.

The unicorn considered, her eyes going distant. “Alright. I think that will round out my armament quite well,” she said after a moment.

“You’ve got good taste,” Anvil said as he put the weapon in his other saddlebag. “Now, it would be a good idea for you to get a freehoof weapon, too. Mainly just as a backup,” the Anvil suggested. “They were mainly designed for unicorns to use, but they can, with some difficulty, be used by those of us who weren’t blessed with the ability to do magic.”

Another gun? That raised my suspicions– was he trying to milk us, now? I wasn’t sure. He apparently cared enough to help us personally. Plus, he put the effort into explaining his reasoning.

My friend nodded and we allowed ourselves to be led to another, smaller gun section. The whole gamut of weapons sat on just this section of wall; going from small to large, the higher up the wall I looked. “How about this?” she asked while floating out a thick-barrelled pistol with her light-blue magic from low on the wall. “I think I’ve got something that can hold it on my foreleg.”

Anvil’s mouth twisted into a smile, his eyebrows raised slightly. “Good choice, a silenced pistol will complement your mounted armament well. And yes, you’re absolutely right; your armour was designed to accommodate a side-arm for easy access,” he responded as he pulled out a slightly more refined-looking gun of the same type. “This is a slightly better model. Still a G-1, but you’ll want the extra ruggedness that comes with it. You don’t want your emergency weapon jamming when you need it.”

“I’ll have that one, then,” the unicorn gestured to the pistol Anvil pulled out. “So, I think that’s me done?”

“Yes, I’d say so… Now,” both ponies looked at me. I could only smile back weakly. “Your turn,” the big pony said to me with a grin. “See anything you like?”

I looked at the wall in front of me. Okay, my magic’s pretty good, so if I can’t handle a powerful gun attached to my barrel, perhaps my horn can? I craned my neck up, a gun with a scope catching my eyes. It was like Blossy’s assault rifle, only bigger and more slender. I fired up my horn, carefully taking the weapon off the wall. I suppressed a gulp as it became apparent just how long it was- it was nearly as long as me!

I heard a whistle and I looked back at my audience with a bashful smile. Anvil was wearing a look of surprise while my friend just smirked. Yeah, I must have looked pretty silly. “You sure you can handle that?” she asked.

I brought the sight up to my eye and pressed the padded buttstock firmly against my shoulder, awkwardly closing my other eye. The blurry form of the other end of the store filled my vision. Oh, wait, it’s just like my old telescope! I fiddled around with the little knob on the scope and the store came into sharp focus. The magnification didn’t seem particularly high, but it did give a very clear view.

“Hm, it actually looks like she can,” the bemused stallion stated.

I pulled the weapon away, blinking a few times as my vision returned to normal. I hated having to close one eye like that. “Um, is there any chance you have a sight that lets me use both eyes? Like binoculars?” I asked.

That earned me a little chuckle from Blossy and a flat look from the big stallion. “I can honestly say I’ve never heard anypony ask for a binocular-scope before,” he commented, shaking his head.

My face fell. Such a thing would look a bit silly, sure. But it’d be so much easier to look through! “I suppose I can try to get used to it,” I grouched.

“Well, if you’re sure. You’ll want to be careful when firing it; it has quite a sharp kick, as you’d expect from a second-gen sniper rifle. Long-ranged, very powerful. Needless to say, it’s too cumbersome for short-range work.”

I looked the rifle over as I mulled it over. Being able to stay at range sounded ideal– the further from trouble I could stay, the better. “Right, I think I'll have it, then,” I declared.

Anvil took the rifle and rested it on his back. “Alright. Now, we need something that’s going to cover you over medium and short ranges. Let’s take a look at the mounted weapons again.”

I marvelled at how he managed to keep the armour and rifle securely on his back as we went. Whenever I tried balancing things on my back, they’d always slide off. My mind snapped back to the present and I wondered out loud, “Did you say something about a carbine before? Wouldn’t that fit the bill?”

“That’s right, good idea.” We came to a rest and the burly stallion plucked a more modest-looking gun from a shelf. It almost looked like a filly’s version of my friend’s assault rifle. “Yes, this should do. A G-1 light carbine. The 5x35mm rounds don’t have much punch, but it can spit them out at a good rate and the recoil is easy to manage. Also, that ammo is dirt cheap and lightweight, so you should have no problem keeping it fed.”

I chewed my bottom lip. I supposed my options were somewhat limited, but I’d rather be able to control my weapons, even if that meant sacrificing power. Considering that the first generation weapons were supposed to be more reliable and relatively low-maintenance, I found myself warming to the prospect.

“Okay, I may as well go for it,” I reply, my mind made up.

“Good! Now, for your other side, hmm. I’m partial to shotguns, but…” Anvil muttered away to himself.

“Um, why don’t I just get two of these?” I asked, pointing a leg at the light carbine.

“Heh, I like the way you think!”

***

After finally picking our gear out, Blossy took off her armour and we went to the desk to pay. Or rather, she paid and my jaw hung open when I heard Anvil ask for one hundred and eighty-something thousand bits. The unicorn didn’t even bat an eye as she dug out the cash she’d withdrawn in advance. I’d never seen so many platinum bits before; it even took my mind off the freaky stare Ratchet was giving me again.

Currently, we were standing before a red unicorn who was sitting behind a desk covered with neatly folded fabrics, various tools and a heavy-duty sewing machine. She looked up in annoyance, her pink-eyed gaze switching from myself, to Blossy and then Anvil. “Da, what now?” Her sharp tone cut through before the stallion had a chance to speak.

“Got some armour for you to adjust, stitches. Make these your top priority. The ultra-light armour is for Moonlight,”– Anvil gestured to me, and then to my friend –”and the medium is for Blossom.”

The red mare got up with a huff, standing to face us properly. “More work. Wonderful,” she drawled sarcastically, her accent even thicker than the brawny stallion’s. With a resigned huff, she rolled her eyes and levitated the armour off of the stallion’s back. “Very well, let’s see…”

“Alright, while you’re doing that, I’ll go get your Zone essentials ready. Have fun, ladies!” With that, the big smirking stallion left us with possibly the strictest armour-mare in Equestria.

After a slight pause, the unicorn pointed a hoof at me. “You, little filly!” I let out a quiet meep in response. “Stay still. Will measure now.” Her intense eyes locked onto me as her horn glowed and enveloped me in her matching pink aura. I stood stock-still, not wanting to get on her nerves as she jotted on her notepad. After an awkward eternity, her magic faded away and she turned to look at my amused friend.

“Your turn, supermodel mare,” Stitches stated forcefully before starting the same process with Blossy. Yes, it really does seem as though sarcasm is a Stalliongrad pony thing.

“Ooh, does that mean you want me to pose for you?” my friend teased.

Blossy never was easily intimidated. Usually that was a good thing, but not always. This seemed like one of the exceptions. I cringed as I waited for the world to explode.

However, Blossy balked from the death-glare the shorter unicorn gave her. If looks could kill… “Um, right. Standing still! Yes, I can do that,” she placated the strict mare.

I bit my lip to suppress a giggle. The only other pony I knew of who could bring the normally ebullient unicorn up short was Daisy.

After some more scribbling on her notepad, Stitches released her magic and sat back at her desk, grabbing my armour.

My friend and I looked at each other, unsure if we were still needed. Neither of us dared to speak up or move.

Unfortunately, staying still won’t hide one against certain predators, and the scary unicorn glared up at us. “Why still here? Get out!” she snapped.

We nearly stumbled over each other in our escape from that room.

Out in the corridor, we came face-to-face with Anvil, who grinned knowingly once he took our expressions in. “Heh, don’t worry, she’s all bark, no bite. I’ve never met a pony who could work armour like her, though, so you’re in good hooves,” he said in a hushed tone. No doubt to ensure the fiendish mare didn’t overhear him.

He led us down the corridor to a fairly barebones lounge. In the center, some sitting cushions surrounded a coffee table with various magazines strewn over the top. We walked over to one side of the room, where more sitting cushions lay before a long table against the wall. I noticed our weapons and some other gear on the desk, neatly set out.

“Right, here's the plan,” Anvil addressed us. “In a few hours, we’re going to get you each into a crate, which will head for the EAF base just inside the Zone. Once there, wait for my contact to get you out. Do not, under any circumstances, try to get out before then. If they catch you, they will arrest you.” I felt a lump form in my throat at that. “Now, if you get cold hooves and decide not to go, that’s fine by me. I mean that; if you change your minds, speak up. I can refund you your weapons only, if you wish. But once you get inside those crates, there’s no going back. Do you understand?”

My friend and I locked eyes, and she gave me a small smile. “Yes, I understand,” she said confidently.

After her look, I gained the confidence to add, “So do I.” We’re going together; we can do this.

“Okay. With that being said, let me show you your new toys,” Anvil said, plucking a computer tablet device from the table. “This is your PDA. It will be your lifeline out in the Zone. All your information, your money, everything, is handled by this. It has a full magical neural-interface and can integrate with the servos built into your weapon mounts to provide advanced eyesight-tracking functionality. You can access most of the features with thought alone, but if you can’t get used to that, the screen is touch-sensitive as well. Are you with me so far?” he asked.

We both nodded in reply. I had no idea technology had come so far– I wondered if the thinking telephones we never got to see were actually derived from this technology.

“What if it gets damaged, though? I don’t like the sound of being so dependent on one device,” Blossy asked with a touch of concern.

“Well, it’s essentially military technology, just… repurposed for Zoners. Inside, there’s a magical regenerator which will fix it up, should it get damaged. It stores its essential programs in your brain, which can also be used as a processor if necessary,” Anvil explained. He rolled his eyes at the look of horror on our faces. “Don’t worry, it won’t change who you are or mind-control you or anything. It just ensures that you’ll have the important functions like weapon tracking if your PDA gets smashed.”

Of course he would be casual about it. He wasn’t the one who was about to have a computer go rummaging through his brain.

Blossy shot me an apprehensive glance. “Um, Moony, are you cool with that? I uh… I don’t know.”

My face scrunched up as I gave it some thought. “Actually, I’m starting to think I am,” I replied after a pause. “It’s just using magic to transfer information. It’d be like if we learned to talk to each other telepathically. I think.”

“Right. I guess I can live with that. Sort of,” the unicorn said hesitantly. “But I don’t get how it using our brains allows us to keep using things like the weapon tracking feature if the PDA gets trashed.”

“Or, you can do what most ponies do: forget about it and let it do its thing,” Anvil offered helpfully. “As for how it works, I don’t know. I doubt many outside of the military do.”

“I suppose since it uses the brain it could propagate the link through a pony’s intrinsic magical field,” I postulated. I had no idea as to the specifics of how that would be achieved, but it seemed superficially plausible. Everypony looked at me like I’d grown an extra head. “What? Magic’s fun!” I blurted out defensively.

It could also be scary and unpredictable, as I found out when I tried to teleport my hoofball, back when I was at school all those years ago.

“If you say so,” Anvil muttered quietly. I didn’t think he realised I had good hearing. “Anyway, like I said, your PDA is absolutely vital. Once you’ve gone through the setup process, it will be yours forever; nopony else can use yours, even if you become separated from it or die. Not that you should be planning to do either,” the earth pony continued in deadpan. “Now, these will come preloaded with the bits you’ve already paid for: fifty-thousand each. I recommend you take some time to familiarise yourself with your device after I’m done with you.” He returned the PDA to the table.

“Alright, next we’ve got: your basic combat knife, useful for self-defence and prying things open; gun cleaning kit; sleeping bag, which has a nifty magical self-packer, and finally your potions,” he said, pointing to each item, finishing on some clear pouches with different coloured liquids inside them. “Red for healing, yellow for magical radiation.”

“Wait, those are potions?” I asked, my voice etched with doubt. “I thought they would be in proper bottles.”

Anvil let out a snort. “Maybe a couple of decades ago. We’re not in the middle ages anymore,” he drawled sarcastically. Hey! I remember they still had glass-bottled potions when I was a filly, the cheeky… “These pouches are much more resistant to damage, and they won’t leave you with shards of glass sticking in your hide if they do get ruined,” his deep voice cut off my mental indignation.

“Anyway, nearly done, now. You also get binoculars…” the big pony paused, giving me an odd look. Ooh, binoculars! I wonder– “Don’t even think about duct-taping them to your rifle, Moonlight. Seriously, that scope has been engineered specifically for the job,” he said sternly.

It was almost as if he read my mind! “I wasn’t thinking of doing that. Not at all.” My cheeks burned as I noticed Blossy biting back a smirk.

“Just, don’t.” The stallion let out an exasperated sigh. “Anyway, lastly, you get a pack of bolts.”

My eyebrow quirked at that. “Bolts?” both my friend and I questioned together. We stared at him incredulously for a short moment, but nothing, no trace of mirth to indicate a joke. “What the hay would we want a pack of bolts for?” I asked.

“Simple, to help you spot anomalies. Your PDA has a feature that will beep more rapidly as you approach one, but apparently some can be hard to see,” Anvil explained. “Anyway, that’s pretty much it for now; I’ll get Stitches to see you once she’s finished with your armour. I’d better get back to tending the shop. Feel free to make use of the facilities here, and if you have any questions, come find me, alright?”

“Of course. Thank you, Anvil,” Blossy answered.

The stallion exited the room. I felt nervousness creep into my mind once again, now that I knew there wouldn’t be another lecture to occupy me.

“Heh, that guy sure likes the sound of his own voice, don’t you think?” Blossy said to me. I could only manage a wan smile in response. I was going to be properly dangerous with all this gear. Me. It was a scary thought. “Hey, are you alright?” she asked when no reply was forthcoming.

“I’m just… scared,” I admitted. Why couldn’t I be brave, like her?

The unicorn leant in and nuzzled me, the gentle contact bringing me back to the here and now. “So am I, Moony. I don’t think anypony could do this without feeling some degree of apprehension.” Her subtle, reassuring scent filled my nostrils before she slowly pulled away with an encouraging smile. “We can still call it off, if you’re having doubts. You know I don’t care about the bits.”

It was so tempting to wimp out and be my usual, weak self… “No, we both need to do this. And, as long as I’m with you, it’ll be alright,” I said, gaining confidence as I looked into her strong, blue eyes. “Besides, we can get ourselves smuggled back out as soon as possible if it’s really bad.” It seemed like a good plan.

“Exactly, we will have the bits for it. And Moony, there’s no way we’re splitting up. We’ll do this together, every step of the way,” Blossy said confidently. “I suppose we’d better let these PDA things burrow into our brains, huh?” She shuddered at the thought.

“Oh, how bad can it be? In fact. I’m more worried for the PDA’s sanity. I dread to imagine the things it’ll be privy to, in there,” I teased with a smirk.

“Psh! Please…” She looked at me knowingly. “Yours will have it far worse. Everypony knows the quiet ones are the worst,” the unicorn retorted with a suggestive wink. My entire face felt like it was on fire. Oh, for the love of Celestia, why did I have to try to tease her? It never ends well for me.

“Right, so PDA, here we come!” I blurted out. Without waiting for a response, I levitated mine in front of me, the display activating as my magic made contact. It displayed a simple prompt:

Tap next to begin user integration.

“Ooh, one day you’ll simply have to tell me what’s going on in your head. Given your avoidance, it must be juicy,” Blossy continued. Nope! Not gonna give you the satisfaction of a reaction- this screen is far too interesting, anyway.

“Heh, alright, let’s get this started,” my tormentor finally relented. I saw her take her own device from the corner of my eye.

I let out a calming breath, feeling the excess blood drain from my face. Well, here goes nothing. I pressed the tip of my hoof against ‘next’ and… bright green text appeared right in the center of my vision?

Success! This setup wizard will guide you through the basic functions of Combat PDA 2.3. Tap the screen to continue.

Ooh, this is weird. I subconsciously sat down. No matter where I looked, that text was always there, even if I closed my eyes! I tore my attention from the invasive words and noticed my friend pawing her hooves at the air in front of her. I held back a snigger; she looked ridiculous, but honestly, I had to resist the urge to do the same. I tapped the screen.

***

Well, I survived what had to be the strangest experience of my life. I decided to leave the so-called ‘Augmented Reality HUD’ up so I could try to get used to it, even if some functions weren’t available yet. Strangely, I found myself adapting quite quickly to using the device, soon abandoning using the screen and instead opting to use mental commands to navigate the PDA.

At the bottom-right of my vision was a blank panel ready to display information about my weapons, above that was a single bar for magical radiation levels (thankfully empty); in the bottom-left, a little panel with the profile of a pony, whose posture changed to match my own. It even had bars either side for how much noise I was making and how visible I was. Finally, in the top-left corner was a little blank minimap, which also had a red/blue compass pointer. The map itself would function when I reached the Zone and my PDA could connect to ZoneNet.

While I was already mostly feeling at home with the system, the perfect focus of the HUD elements in my peripheral vision did feel a bit jarring. Blossy, however, wasn’t having such an easy time adjusting, judging by her pinned ears and the sickly pallor of her face.

“Ugh! I don’t know how you’re okay with this; I’m seeing things that aren’t there!” the queasy mare complained.

“Well, you’ve either got it or you haven’t,” I replied with a smug smile. It felt good to have something over her, for a change. Her flat expression told me she didn’t quite share the sentiment. “Okay, okay, why don’t you just disable the HUD for now? Just close your eyes and imagine telling it to switch off.”

Blossy scrunched her eyes closed for a moment, her face relaxing as she reopened them. “It worked! Oh, thank Celestia,” she exclaimed. No, you’re supposed to thank me, Blossy, I mentally snarked. I was about to voice that thought, but the door swung open suddenly, yielding to Stiches’ rather forceful telekinesis.

Both my friend and I immediately jumped to our hooves at the appearance of the red mare, who levitated out sets of armour towards us with surprising care. She fixed us with a no-nonsense glare. “You try armour now.” She certainly didn’t beat about the bush.

I took my armour in my own magic, unfolding it. I bit my lip nervously; I’d never put armour on before. “Umm,” I muttered uncertainly.

“Is problem? Little filly need big mare to dress her, hmm?” Stitches prompted with a smirk. She was enjoying this, the sadist.

“No! I’m fine, really! Please?” I quickly responded. Oh, please don’t, Stitches. Blossy would never let me forget it. A loud snort erupted from said mare, which drew the red unicorn’s intense gaze.

My friend pretended to cough, smiling nervously. “Ah, sorry. Just got something in my throat. Ahem!” After a few more blatantly forced coughs she made a show of being very interested in her own armour.

“Look here,” Stitches said with a huff, taking my suit with her pink magic and pointing at a flap of fabric that ran the entire length of its underside. Pushing her hoof under the flap, she separated the velcro seal, revealing a heavy-duty zip. “Undo, then climb in. Head first, legs after.”

“Oh, thanks,” I said sheepishly as I unsealed the rest of the velcro strip and the zip underneath. I pushed my head through the densely padded neck-sock, shaking my head when I finally got through. Ugh, this is going to make a mess of my mane, I thought sourly.

Thankfully, my legs slipped into their respective parts more easily, and, after zipping myself back up and patting the velcro strip secure, I was all suited up. Almost every inch of my body was covered, barring my head and tail, the latter of which mercifully had a hole for it to poke through. A new blue-filled bar popped into existence in my HUD, letting me know my armour was in perfect condition. How my PDA managed some of its functions was beyond me.

I had to admire the thought that went into this design; there was no reason an earth pony couldn’t put this on by themself. Even the handle on the zip was designed to be just big enough to be able to poke the tip of one’s hoof into, so it could be operated with relative ease without magic.

“Is good fit, da? Try walking around,” Stitches suggested, casting a critical eye over me.

I had to admit, it did feel pretty good. Certainly heavier than anything I’d ever worn, but not unbearable. I was not used to having my entire neck encased in thick padding, but it seemed to yield easily enough to my movements. I walked experimentally across the room, each step softened by the rubber hoof soles. The near silence of my perambulation caught me off-guard; I was so used to the reassuring clop of my hooves against the ground. I returned to Stitches and my friend, who had donned her bulkier suit already. I felt like I was gliding across the floor. “Yeah, I… It feels good. Thanks!” I finally replied.

The elder unicorn responded with a curt nod; and perhaps a trace of a genuine smile, too. “Good. Will have helmet ready soon. Little filly has big ears, will make adjustments,” she told me seriously before turning her attention to Blossy. “Supermodel mare, better fit, da?”

I touched my ears self-consciously; they aren’t that big!

“Oh yes, much better. You did a fine job,” the yellow unicorn answered. “I doubt my couturier could work such heavy clothing so well.”

“Is armour, not clothing,” Stitches said scornfully with a frown. “Will get Anvil and bring helmets later. Stay!” She stormed out of the room, which seemed to be her normal method of locomotion. She may have been a tad overbearing, but she wasn’t bad, really.

My attention drifted to the remaining unicorn, who was biting back a smirk. “Shut up! I pre-empted her.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You were going to, though.”

“Oh, alright. You can probably hear what I’m thinking anyway,” Blossy quipped, sticking her tongue out at me.

“I hate you.” I sighed, slumping in defeat.

“Heh, anyway you look good in that armour!” my friend said, admiring my outfit. “I almost want to get a set for myself.”

I offered her a grateful smile. Even little comments like that helped boost my confidence.

“Well well, I told you that Stitches could work magic with armour. Looks like she outdid herself this time.” That deep voice could only belong to one pony. I twisted my neck around, fighting the ribbed fabric of the neck-armour, to find Anvil standing behind us. “Well, I’d better make sure you ladies know what you’re doing with your weapons and gear.” The chunky stallion made his way closer towards us. I sensed another lecture incoming.

When we were ready, he began, “Okay, there’s a special transparent pocket in your left foreleg; it’s designed to protect your PDA while still allowing you to use it.” Both Blossy and I slipped our PDAs in the aforementioned pockets as Anvil carried on. “You’ve also got special pouches for artefacts. Something about their material allows them to interact with a pony’s magical field, so be very careful what you put in these ones. You can tell them apart by their blue flaps. As for the rest; whatever you want: bolts, potions, food, magazines, et cetera.”

A slight tingle shot down my spine at the mention of artefacts. We’d read some very vague things about them when we were doing our research on the Zone. Things that could magically affect their owner, yet nopony knew how they worked, or even why.

Anvils voice boomed on. “All armour has its own saddlebags built in. Yours have smart features that allow seamless integration with your weapons, and will integrate with your magical-neural interface for inventory management and mounted weapon ammunition selection.” The stallion walked over to the table, taking one of my carbines. “Now for the fun stuff: weapons!” he said with a big grin, brandishing the gun.

Blossy’s eyes met with mine. Yes, he’s way too enthusiastic about guns, we wordlessly agreed.

“Alright, first, we need to make sure you’ve both disabled your weapon tracking,” Anvil said, eagerly waiting for us to do so.

A few quick thought commands, and I was ready. Unlike a certain yellow unicorn, who was jabbing her hoof at the screen of her PDA through the pocket. I hummed impatiently, and was rewarded with an indignant glare when she finished.

“Please proceed, Anvil. Thank you for waiting patiently,” she said pointedly.

“Good. Now, weapon changing is best done by somepony else. Somepony you trust,” the stallion said gravely.

***

It turned out that mounting weapons wasn’t that hard; it was mainly a case of ensuring the weapon was securely affixed to the mounting frame, and attaching the flexible ammunition feed to the underside of the same-side saddlebag. A quick check to ensure the ammunition feed isn’t snagged on anything and flows smoothly and you were good to go.

After our crash course in equipping weapons, we were guided to the firing range where Anvil gave us some rounds and explained about proper ammunition stowage in our saddlebags. He also gave us a run-down on the basics of aiming and weapon safety.

I was starting to feel like a one mare army. A rapid-firing carbine sat each side of me, while my rifle and sword scabbard (with matching sword) were secured on my back. Blossy also looked rather terrifying, with her larger mounted weapons and holstered pistol compounding the imposing impression of her armour.

“Right, Moonlight, why don’t you start us off?” Anvil gestured downrange. “Let’s make sure those carbines work, eh? Nothing fancy, just aim for center body mass as I explained before.” The stallion passed around some ear defenders, which we all donned. “Weapons hot!” his voice a muffled bellow.

Too nervous to speak, I merely nodded before stepping up to the booth. With a quick thought command, I reactivated the weapon tracking feature. A little white crosshair appeared in the center of my vision and I could feel the carbines shifting to follow. I turned to look off to the side, the crosshairs split into two; one getting stuck pointing straight ahead of me and turning black while the other continued to track with my vision. Okay, so at least it looks like I won’t accidentally shoot my head off if I’m not lined up properly. Good to know.

The panel in the bottom-right of my HUD updated itself:

G1 Light Carbine/G1 Light Carbine
5x35 std [A]
25/25

Standard rounds, twenty-five for each gun, fully automatic firing mode.

My apprehension had me sweating, making my fur uncomfortably damp and cold. I brought my attention back to my paper target: an all-black silhouette of a gryphon against a plain white background. A pair of dull ‘clicks’ rang out as I mentally disengaged the safeties. Lining my crosshairs up with the center of the target, I braced myself. Sorry, mister gryphon…

With a mental ‘fire both’ command, my carbines flared to life either side of me, spitting hot lead downrange. I was aware of a dull rumble as tracers stabbed out towards the unfortunate piece of paper, as if hungry to puncture it. The recoil of my dual guns tugged backwards at my frame, but it was perfectly manageable, even for me. I stopped thinking the ‘fire’ command about a second later; noticing that my ammunition counter had reduced to just thirteen rounds each.

I just stood there wide-eyed, buzzing from the thrill of sending twenty-four bullets past the sound barrier via little explosions. A part of me really enjoyed that.

Clicking the safeties on, I looked back towards Anvil and my friend, the former beaming and the latter offering an encouraging smile. The big stallion took off his ear defenders, and we did the same. “Ah! I love that smell. Just try telling me you don’t feel alive right now!” he exclaimed.

His enthusiasm was almost palpable, and I couldn’t help but allow a lopsided smirk form on my lips. “That sure was… wow,” I responded dumbly. After a few slow breaths, I was calm enough to ask, “Um, how did I do?”

A big brown hoof pushed a button on the pillar beside my booth, and my target whirred forwards. “See for yourself. Be a bit less heavy with the triggers– you want short, controlled bursts, but you seemed to handle it well.” Anvils yellow eyes focussed behind me, inspecting my target. “Looks good to me. You can’t expect great accuracy when going full auto, but most of your rounds landed in the black, so your mounting is working well, and you kept on target.”

I looked over at my hole-ridden target sheet, nodding in agreement. “Not bad,” I said, unable to come up with anything else. Some of the holes looked singed, and I got a faint whiff of burnt paper.

“Now, let’s see how you handle that sniper rifle, shall we?” Anvil trotted forward, and I slinked away, letting him replace the target. The way he said that, it sounded almost like a challenge. Stepping back, he smacked the button, sending the fresh target all the way to the very end of the firing range. Oh. It looks so small! “Take it easy, don’t rush your shots. You’ve got three rounds, make them count, okay?” he offered.

“Yeah, you got this, Moony!” My friend interjected. Thanks, Blossy.

I turned to fully face my new target with a gulp, floating the rifle off my back. A new panel appeared in my HUD, pushing the one about my carbines up and shrinking it:

G2 Precision Rifle
9x45 std [1]
3/0

“Alright, ears on, everypony!” Anvil rumbled.

I slipped my ear defenders on and the rest of the world faded away. It was just me and the target again. I tried to swallow, only to find my mouth had gone dry. Safety off. Slowly, deliberately, I brought the long rifle up to my shoulder, pushing the padded buttstock against myself. Lowering my head, I rested my cheek gently on the guard and peered through the scope. After scrunching my other eye closed, I could see my target more clearly. I carefully lined up the crosshairs with the center of the gryphon with small adjustments to my levitation field.

Remember what Anvil told me. The violet glow on my rifle grew more intense as I strengthened the magic holding it. Smoothly exhaling, I gently pulled the trigger back with my magic. Keep pulling…

SNAP!

A sudden flash filled my vision and the rifle immediately jerked back against my magic and rammed against my shoulder. “Gyah! I let out in surprise as I stumbled, shoved backwards by the sharp kick of the recoil. Wow! Without the benefit of Anvil’s instruction, I was sure I would have been left with a nasty bruise and a very achy shoulder.

I took my position again; I had two more shots. A look through the scope revealed a sizeable bullet hole in the gryphon’s neck– it went high. I fought the urge to aim low this time; I was told to aim at the center, regardless of where it went. Knowing exactly what to expect this time, I followed the same process as before.

SNAP!

The harsh report of my rifle was apparent even through my ear protection. I allowed my body to rock backwards slightly, moving with the rifle to lessen the blow of its recoil. Better, at least it must have looked more dignified than stumbling like the first time.

Last shot! I took aim again, picking up the pace, but without rushing. Line it up; exhale and pull…

SNAP!

The rifle barked one last time and I floated it away, giving me room to work my shoulder. While it didn’t hurt, I suspected it would be feeling tender for a while. I flicked the safety on and returned the weapon to its holster on my back.

I turned around with a triumphant grin. If Equestria ever gets invaded by paper gryphons, I’m your mare! My spectators seemed happy enough, their mouths flapping about– but they seemed awfully quiet. I gave them a gormless expression… was this another of Blossy’s little pranks? She looked like she was shouting.

I felt something being pulled off the top of my head and the world slipped back into audible focus. Ohhh… “Aaand she totally ruined it,” the unicorn said with a smirk. “You know, you actually looked kinda cool, until just now.”

My cheeks warmed up.

“Heh, either way, nice going. You seemed to handle it quite well, Moonlight. It’s nice to see somepony who takes my advice to heart for a change,” Anvil boomed, his voice grating after my previous isolation. He gestured behind me. “Pretty nice grouping, though it looks like you’re firing a bit high. I’ll show you how to adjust the scope later. But for now, I think we’d better let Blossom have a go.”

I hadn’t even realised he’d recalled the target. These bullet holes were clearly much larger than those my carbines made. All three rounds hit the neck area. Ouch.

I stepped out of the booth to let Anvil replace the target sheet with a fresh one for the waiting mare. He set my most recent target on a nearby table with care as my friend tentatively stepped up. “Hey, it’s a piece of cake, Blossy. You’ll be fine,” I said, noticing her hesitation. It seemed to mollify her a little. I sat down to give my shaky legs a rest as I watched my friend.

"Alright, why don't you start off with your pistol? We'll save the big guns 'til last," Anvil suggested as he sent the target out. Upon seeing the yellow unicorn nod in response, he declared, "Show that gryphon who's boss! No need for ears."

"Okay, here goes," Blossy said before turning her head back to her target. A light-blue aura enveloped the holster on her leg and floated the pistol up in front of her face. She took aim through though the holographic sight on the weapon, adjusting. I braced myself, just in case it wasn't quite as silenced as we were led to believe.

Pfft. Pfft-pfft. I relaxed slightly; it wasn't so bad. There were no tracers from this gun, just the target twitching from each impact gave any hint as to where the bullets were ending up. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it sounded rather weedy, even if the pressure waves from each shot felt somewhat uncomfortable against my ears.

Blossy holstered her pistol before stepping out of the booth with a grin. "That was actually pretty fun! I was worried it would be much more violent."

The target drifted towards us and Anvil spoke up, "Heh, don't be fooled by that little pistol; it may not sound it, but it's a deadly weapon, up close." Blossy's target came to rest, and I saw six holes punched through the paper, two of which were outside the gryphon. "Hmm, looks like you could have taken a bit more care with your aiming. I know it can be tempting to rush your shots, but try not to," the large pony advised.

My friend nodded thoughtfully at that. "Yes, I think you're right. I think it might be because it's so small and easy to handle with my magic."

Anvil nodded at her response before replacing the target with a new one. "Alright, now for the good stuff! Give us a few bursts from your assault rifle, then let loose with the shotgun," he said, sending the fresh target whirring out. When Blossy nodded and took up position again, he declared, "Ears on!"

Once again, my ear defenders isolated me from the world.

Given the lack of screen-tapping, Blossy was giving the neural interface a try. After a few moments her weapons shifted, no doubt tracking where she was looking. With the weapons pointing steadily, her assault rifle unleashed a storm of bullets downrange; the bright orange tracers more prominent than those from my little carbines. After a pause, she opened up again, the rifle rapidly rattling off several short bursts. A small flame flared into life, slowly eating away at the gryphon from the inside. Even from back here, I could see several more of the holes smouldering away.

Blossy seemed to relax for a moment, before tensing up. Suddenly, her shotgun blared into life, blasting the target three times. I could even feel that thing firing; shaking my lungs, and even up through my insulated hooves. The unicorn looked like she'd been taken off-guard by the sheer force of the weapon as it jerked her body backwards with each shot. She took a moment to collect herself, then let loose with another rapid burst of fire at the target, the blasts thudding though my ear defenders.

My gaze switched to her target. Well, what was left of the utterly shredded sheet– the bottom half had fallen away entirely, and a shower of confetti was fluttering its way down to the floor.

Blossy pulled her ear defenders off as she faced us with a wide smile, and the rest of us followed suit. I rose to my hooves with a daft grin on my face; even watching others shooting was more fun than it had any right to be.

“Hah! Shotguns never get old! And you even managed to start a flame in that gryphon’s heart, eh?” The animated stallion cheered. He depressed the button, bringing the tattered target towards us. “Well, from what I could see, it looked like you were nicely on-target with the rifle. You might want to brace your stance a little more before letting loose with the shotgun, though; I could see you fighting with it.”

My friend blew a stray strand of mane from her eye. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. That was… certainly thrilling!” I felt a little pang of jealousy at witnessing my friend’s ability to maintain her composure. At least her mane was a little shaken up from those shotgun blasts.

“Heh, glad you liked it. Now, unless either of you wish to try something different, we'd better see if the lovely Stitches has finished with your helmets.” When neither of us objected, Anvil lead us out of the firing range.

Blossy sidled up beside me. “So, you really enjoyed that, huh?”

“Well, yeah, it was pretty exciting!” I replied.

“Yeah, I can tell. Your tail hasn’t stopped wagging since you fired your first shot.” The yellow unicorn chuckled.

Now that she mentioned it, I could still feel my tail swishing from side-to-side, which I immediately stopped. “Oh…” I said dumbly, my face flushing like a ripe tomato. Quick, change the subject! “Ahem, so… we’re about to get our helmets! Yay?”

“You know, I’ve never seen you move your tail for anything else. Even Daisy,” she whispered in a silky tone.

“I do not fancy her!” I hissed at my tormentor, hopefully not loud enough to be heard by Anvil. I stumbled, feeling light-headed as more blood rushed to my face. “She’s a nice pony, and I respect her. Also, I have a sniper rifle!”

“And I have a shotgun. And we’re at close range.” The unicorn stuck her tongue out at me.

I let out a defeated sigh. The sooner I get to hide behind that helmet, the better…

***

I stood before the wooden crate. Anvil was briefing us. It was time.

We had been kitted out fully: my pockets were full of potions and nutrient-rich snack bars and magazines for my rifle; my saddlebags held my other supplies, including several hundred rounds for the carbines. My not large ears poked up out of my adjusted helmet, while the clear plastic visor sat in front of my eyes. I’d never felt so prepared… so dangerous.

Or so apprehensive.

“Remember, when you’re in the crate, do not move or make a sound. Wait for my inside pony to get you out. If you get caught, nopony will be able to help you… Alright, that’s everything. If you don’t want to go, now’s the time to say so. Once you get inside that crate, there’s no going back,” Anvil said solemnly.

I hesitated. My mouth ran dry, and I felt cold all over. Should we really be doing this? We could turn around and head home right now…

I looked to Blossy, who looked more serious than usual. “What do you think, Moony? Please, don’t just go along with this for my sake,” she said.

Why was everypony looking at me? Why did they keep asking me whether I wanted to go through with this? Even you, Blossy… You look at me as though I’m some weak little filly– like I need to be protected.

At that point, it came into clear focus. If I turned back now, I’d always be that weak little filly. In my own mind, as much as Blossy’s. She wouldn’t even resent me for it, I knew. But this was my opportunity. This will be what makes a mare out of me. And maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to look at Blossy as my equal, even though I’d still have to look up at her physically.

“Let’s do this,” I said firmly with a nod. What if she doesn’t want to go, now? “Unless you’re having second thoughts?”

“Not at all,” came the reply. “We’ll be fine if we stick together.”

“Alright, then. See you on the other side?” I managed a smile, but it felt hollow.

“Heh, sure thing.” Blossy’s gaze switched to the waiting stallion. “Thank you, Anvil, for your help.” I just nodded in agreement.

“Don’t mention it. Look after yourselves out there,” his boomy voice replied.

I crawled into my crate as Blossy went into her own. I didn’t envy my friend– the space was tight, even for me. I shuffled around and caught a glimpse of Anvil’s face before he went to work. He looked… sad?

I shook my head. No, this is the right thing. I’m taking control of my life. I’ll be better and stronger after this. I should have felt excited– we were about to embark on an adventure…

So why do my guts feel like jelly?