"Nocturne crushes the will and fate of the weak," - so this city was spoken of even in ancient times, even at the time of its foundation. Last but not least, this is exactly what he did now, despite his own destiny.
After our return, Soarin was furious. Even when we flew back, by his sight alone, it was obvious to everyone, including the fact that this rage spreads to the rest of the Scars. I'm weak in alchemy and bioengineering, but even I understand that this is the Spitfire inheritance in their genetic seed. True, it still remains a question of where it comes from herself.
We hurriedly dispersed to our bases in this territory. Fleur covered my retreat and told me to meet later, or to hold the next meeting through the vox network. I had nothing against it. Soarin is now quite dangerous for me, although, as it seems to me, he will not raise a hoof on me while I wear these colors and do not cross the line.
I returned almost on time. Flower returned from the Evergreen Forest, and they were already quartered and rested after the operation; however, it was obvious that many licked wounds. Many injured and damaged equipment; in particular, I saw traces of missiles on the "Predators" Nightmare Krieg. I knew that this pony hates, when the spirits of machines of his technique suffer.
On the advice of Flutterbat and the marks in my behavior from Ebony, I should still start fighting in dueling and spending more time in training halls, so that the first place I went after I took off my armor was them. Strangely enough, I saw here a lot of ponies, actively trying to pretend that they are relaxed and not nervous, in particular - Nightmare Krieg and DeathMark near the heavyweight simulators. The first was actively gesticulating with the wing, while the other was leafing through the direction of Bulk Biceps. Let this muscular big man and not a bat-pony, or even a thunderbolt, should say that he did a lot for us.
The whole room was huge and took into account the presence of all kinds of ponies. Alas, I did not help in its arrangement, so it was not in dark colors, for which the earth sockets probably were extremely grateful.

• Valdes! I certainly did not expect to see you here.

Nightmare Crig came from the Navy. Once he could become an admiral of the heavenly fleet, if we had not lost him all during the Great Storm. Slightly low for a thunderbolt, he nevertheless received ethereal ringlets, which separated him from the crowd, as well as the fact that he was one of the "bright" beta ponies. His fur was brightly grape-colored, but more importantly, he showed: if your cutie mark is a wrench and a wheel, this does not mean that you work with pipes all your life. He was rightfully our tank commander, though, in my opinion, too ... clean.

"Wow, have you finally got it?" Glad to see you, you were missing here.

Frankly speaking, they spoke as if I returned a year later; but I was not strong for a month. Since I lost my rank, I'm not that caught the rest of the eye. Of course, our Master of the Artillery - the part-time responsible for all the reconnaissance in our company - the unicorn DeathMark was the first to notice this. The cutmark is a target with a measuring ruler across, gray mane and red fur ... He practically did not get anything from our mother's genosemy.

"Greetings, lieutenants. You do not need to be you to look and understand: something is wrong. DeathMark, what happened?

It was clear from their eyes that they were not surprised, although Krieg seemed to be a little upset that I was not friendly. However, he quickly distracted, returning to the problem that has appeared with us.

"Listen, Valdes, I know that you are an amateur of officialdom, so let's start right away: either we are silent, or you give your word that you do not tell the captain about our opinion."

DeathMark's low threatening voice contrasted with the high in Nightmare Krieg, but frankly, I did not understand why he threatened me.

"Come on, Mark, calm down, I do not think Valdes will hand us over."

• To the point.

• In short ... we failed. Straight to Tartarus, their shadows.

It was evident that Nightmare blamed himself unnecessarily. I do not think that he could fail without a reason. He covered his face with a wing, trying not to show me weakness.

"What happened?"

"Flower forced us to attack." Hell, I told her that the wind was not the same, and it did not seem like the behavior of ordinary Dogs ... In short, Valdes. We ambushed. Krieg lost six "Predators", I lost intelligence and two "Whirlwind" with the crew. On the convoys, the Diamond Dogs headed south, and we decided to intercept them, divided. We were beaten one by one, we hardly managed to escape from the ring. Losses are not that big, but fighting spirit is simply no. It's also the dogs of the Beast, the very ones that escaped from us; when Princess Luna killed him, they were almost paralyzed! But, as soon as they realized that we are not so terrible ... we just trampled on.

Nightmare Krieg opened his wings, and his eyes almost covered the red veil.

"We just needed to remind them who we are!" You should have seen this, Valdes! I personally turned the ram into a war carriage! And how these shouts screamed in horror, when they realized who attacked them! .. And only when they saw that we were few ... we just did not inspire terror, Valdes! They did not frighten us when they realized that we were not afraid ...

I did not quite understand what the problem was: a sudden attack brings enough chaos to win, not to mention what I am now talking about with the second and third speed ponies, the first among the armored units.

• What happened?

"Commandos, many, we were ambushed, I swear, Valdes, the one I threw from my Damocles, pissed before I climbed it, and even if I did not do it, I could smell it: I put my cloak out of the skin dog, he would not even have thought about it!

I looked at both of them. It does not sound adequate, but nevertheless, this is the opinion of Nightmare and Mark, and these two are not the last person, speaking of our company.

• You said that they are going to the south?

• Yes, we have patted them, basically mobility, so there is still a chance for a strike.

"How many days from Las Pegasus?"

Nightmare seems to have calmed down, but the fact that he grabbed a pair of dumbbells of maximum weight and began to mow down his hoofs indicated that he was still hotheaded.

"Six moons, Valdes." Six moons.

Bad, we must immediately tell Fleur and Soarin. Nightmare put out of action the battle car ... but I do not know the configuration ... you need to get acquainted with the data of the shock groups. If there are a lot of commandos, this is already bad. Diamond dogs knew how to surprise, especially if they knew how to surprise a commando.

"What did Celestia want, depriving us of this, Valdes?" We did not have a lot of things to cherish, and now there is not.

Unicorn did not stop. It seems that he will not calm down soon, but I understood him. Of the three of us, only Nightmare Crig had anything. DeathMark had only war, the war that Captain Nightmare Dancer had given him. The war that we were deprived of.

"You yourself know, DeathMark: we are liberators, not conquerors."

He grinned, focusing on the scar from the demonic sword. I recognize this expression on my face.

"I thought you could lie, Talon Master." It seems that I was wrong.

Nightmare Crig turned abruptly and slapped him on the shoulder, why the unicorn only poked him with a horn in the wing with a sharp attack. I had to reassure them, as usual.

"You both know that I think about it, and you know that we must remain silent."

"For whom?" For the sake of the moon, which threw us to pieces! She told you she was sorry? She left us to die slowly into the ...

He did not finish. Gladiy entered directly under the heart - not hooked, the blow should increase the influx of adrenaline and blood circulation; the point of impact will remind you where he is. He has a cold head, he will understand; the truth, his smoothness opposite my left shoulder said that there is a chance of the opposite. Everyone looked at us. I did not need to turn around to understand this. He took a deep breath and took a towel from Nightmare Krieg.

"Lieutenant, take the lieutenant to the apothecary." I think he needs to calm down a bit. We can not afford to lose more fighters in a stupid rehabilitation center where they can not fight for Equestria. I'm definitely not swallowing words? It seems that I did not quite hear myself.

"No, sergeant, you're right." It seems that he was a bit nervous.

He took it by the side, and they slowly went to the apothecary, under the ambiguous glances of the remaining legionaries.

• Strengthen the load three times! Go-go! If I see once again that you have been overcome by some kind of dog, I'll write you down for the next match with the Equestrian Hooves and the Iron Guard!

The screams of Blizzard Stoune paused. It's not for nothing that the captain appointed her a military lieutenant, and at the same time, he put the responsibility for our physical form.
Before leaving the room, I looked at her, hanging upside down under the ceiling, examining everyone in the room. She winked at me before I evaporated in the dark corridor.

***

I do not know what I expected when I entered the captain's office. Looks like I expected to hit the rack. After all, once in this office, I was ... welcomed. And now I am a guest here extremely undesirable, so much so that here, his darkness is light!
Previously, the captain's office was built with a basis for what impression he wanted to make, in particular, the sense of threat and danger. Now it was literally a photograph of the Code. Official and well-groomed, the pegasus entering and hiding in the corner answered my immediate question.

"And what happened there?" An attack on a superior in rank, an attempt to inflict a severe wound incompatible with life, a provocation! Have you completely lost your mind ?!

I always ask myself, is this the irony of fate or a direct mockery?

"No, Captain, Lieutenant DeathMark was close to losing control, it seemed strange to me, and it turned out that he was impulsive in connection with recent disappointments.

What else could I say? She wants excuses, she will get them, and I can not hide that looking at her "teeth creak," I was enjoying myself.

"Listen, Valdes, I suggest that you stop playing like filly and start working."

I pricked up my ears, according to my calculations, she should have hated me for about another year and a half, and then, if I die, like in some melodrama - right at the end of the war - and I will not make her even more angry.

• All in attention. Captain, "I tried to translate the manner of the dialogue back, but by the way she stopped chewing the pen, it was rejected.

"Answer me, why were you against my candidacy for the captain's place?"

A simple question, the answer is no less simple, the problem is in number.

"Because Nightmare Dancer did not consider you worthy and suitable even as a lieutenant."

• But only? Do you think me unworthy only because your foster father, who was executed six months ago, considered me a weakling?

Why have not I seen a good provocation? I do not know, even the Diamond Dogs with their meager intelligence sometimes managed to get me out more. No, of course, it made me angry, but that I just got mad at it? Luna upasi.

• Because when you tell them
  has bypassed all traditions and rules - with the handouts of the solar princess - you remain the daughter of the "Queen of Terror" Tizka, the same unbearable, and so stupid.

She pricked up her ears, and I heard the heartbeat become more frequent; eared ears and sticking tusks, however, were a simpler method of determining mood.

"Forgetting, sergeant.

"It's a pity you denied me an official dialogue, well, tolerate me on an equal footing." If you want an official reason, other than personal reasons? Ask Librarian SkyKilla, he will answer you.

• Covering with your younger brother, who still left at least respect? You're pathetic, Valdes.

I sighed with fatigue, I did not sleep well for a long time, and it affected. As soon as I get the intelligence, I'll go to bed.

"I need intelligence on a convoy of dogs."

"You'll get it from Radar, if it's necessary." Let's return to the question, what should I do with you?

• Get support, and nothing else.

"And will not you go to the moon?" What prevents me from sanctifying this incident?

• What? What are you talking about, Captain?

I smirked when there was a knock at the office. I heard these steps; they were especially loud, surprised that she did not hear.

"Captain, Sergeant Valdes do you have?"

"Yes, come in."

It was DeathMark; wounds already as it had not happened ... he was angry, but only for show-off.

"Captain, I urgently need a sergeant for a rematch."

"What remath?!" He attacked you! It's all seen!

The unicorn was surprised, as I stood up.

"Come on, we've already finished here." By the way, have you seen Radar?

• No. And what?

The captain paused, and on the hoofs at the temples and the way she looked at the table, I understood what was happening to her. Yes, we mocked. I would even say, they mocked. But, in truth ... This is what I do best.

Author's Note

I found an excellent beta in Russian, so the old chapters I will soon run through the translator again and the quality of the text can go up significantly. I apologize for the delay, if someone is interested in this work ... there are many problems in reality, I hope I will not detain the next one.