(A1) - Chapter 4: Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

No Glory Won

Chapter 4: Wrong place at the wrong time

“You don’t like it here? Well, too bad! This is your new life now, Private! Get used to it.”

Perspective: Sunshine Tempest

“I knew at a later time that you were reading my letters. When Spitfire came back, she told me that you will get the message. But, I never heard anything from you, so I didn’t know if she was lying or telling the truth.” Night Light concluded.

“I’m sorry. I never got the chance to write back immediately. A pencil and paper were surprisingly in short supply. I never knew why. But, I am sorry I didn't write back. I didn’t mean to make you worry like that.” I firmly planted a kiss on her cheek to prove it. She still looked troubled, so I put my hoof under her chin. “You’re not upset, are you?” I asked.

“No... but I was curious why you never wrote back.” Night Light gazed at the horizon, the sun now set and the moon gleaming its pale light on both of us. We’ve been sitting up here on this same cloud for about an hour now. It was getting late.

“I was constantly being threatened with a Changeling attack. There was always one skirmish or another going on where I was. And it was a cold and cruel place, I remember.”

“Can you explain how, specifically?” Night Light asked. "If you don't want to, I understa-"

“No, it's fine. I put you up to this anyway, so I might as well." I interrupted. "When I said Cold, I meant literally. When I was first deployed, I was assigned to a special Pegasi Division: ‘Thestral’ was our callsign. We were to be deployed in the Ruby Mountains…”

October 17, 1011. Time Unknown.

I was sitting in the back seat of a Jackalope transport truck, on our way to the frontline. My training was finally finished about a week ago, but I was deployed in Whinnyapolis, so it took some time to actually get to the frontline. We’ve been in this same truck, cramped together for days now. I and about ten to twenty other ponies were sitting together in this truck, each of us clearly anxious. The driver signaled earlier today before we departed that we should be there by mid-afternoon.

It’s been hours since then, and all the while, we heard a familiar buzzing noise from overhead. Large amounts of aircraft, moving towards and away from the front, were constantly buzzing overhead. The ponies shifted in their bench seats, clearly nervous about their new fate. Some even looked downright terrified, Hyperventilating as the aircraft continued to fly overhead. I closed my eyes, leaving me to my thoughts to pass the time. I kept thinking all of these questions: Where are we going? Who else will be there? How many will be there? What will happen afterward? Some of these questions I already knew the answer to. My mane was suddenly tingling, and standing on end. I couldn’t help but feel - not think, but feel - that something bad was about to happen.

The truck’s loud engine was all of the sudden muffled by a larger sound from a distance. We couldn’t see anything; a Tarp had covered the back seat benches of the Jackalope, preventing us from seeing anything outside, except to our rear. But we heard a large explosion coming from the front of a truck. Actually, we heard multiple explosions. Each of them getting louder as the truck continued its course. We were very close now.

I could feel some of the ponies shivering and shaking next to me. I was shaking myself, but not because of how afraid and anxious I was.

But because of how fucking cold it was.

When we were in ponyville stopping for a moment of rest, everything was temperate and warm. That was just 2 days ago. Now, we can see our breaths and we were all shivering in this cramped truck.

“Why is it so fucking cold all of a sudden?” I barely heard one of the ponies asked over the constant rumbling of the engine.

“Because we’re close. The frontline is not far now.” I heard another pony answer. I saw a tiny white flake drift in front of my vision, disappearing just as fast before I got a good look at it.

Winter. It was either artificially placed by Pegasi, or it had arrived a little earlier this year. Either way, it did not bode well.

Another half-hour passed. The sounds we heard at a distance were getting even louder now. No more planes were buzzing overhead. There were just sounds of distant explosions ahead.

Then the truck stopped.

The ponies in the seats were staring at each other, all of them wondering why we stopped, especially in such cold weather. Did the truck bog down? Did we run out of fuel? Was the driver dead? To our rear, we could see other Jackalopes closing in behind us, each of them carrying more troops. When they got close, they stopped as well.

“Alright, Everypony out!” the driver yelled over the idle engine, which was pale in comparison to how loud the gunfire and explosions were now. They were unbelievably close. We must be near the frontline. One by one, the ponies stood up to their hooves, ducking their head in this claustrophobic space of the truck, hopping out through the back. I followed behind, walking ever so slowly to the back and hopping out.

And then I saw what the noise was.

We were standing beneath a very high mountain. I saw multiple white flakes drift down to the ground, my breath clearly visible in the air. At the base of the mountain, I saw a line of artillery guns continuously firing away to the west. Further down along the mountain, I saw flashes of light and tracers flying back and forth of each other.

We were at the frontline.

I looked ahead of the truck to what made it stop. I saw a road, leading higher and higher towards the peak of the mountain. There was also a checkpoint that was blocking our path. An equestrian roadblock, no doubt.

“Thestral! AttenSHUN!” A stallion barked, making me spastically trot my way to a makeshift line that other ponies have formed, wearing the same uniforms as I was. Another pony, this one clearly different from the others, trotted into view, walking back and fro in front of us, inspecting us. He was wearing a specially made uniform, with multiple medallions and ribbons on its chest. He had to be an officer of some kind.

“Everypony, welcome to your humble abode: The Ruby Mountains!” Instinctively, everybody looked up towards the mountain peak, admiring its height and might. “You’re now assigned to the 3rd Equestrian Army, just south of the Shire River, and in this mountain. I hope you like snow because you’ll be seeing a lot of it. Thestral, your division is stationed at the top of that mountain, and yes, you heard me right: Atop the mountain.” The ponies eyed each other nervously. Clearly, being atop a giant mountain was not what they had in mind when they were on their way to the frontline. “You are a part of the 7th ‘Whinnyapolis’ Division. You’re a squad of 9, and your call sign is ‘Thestral’, as Corporal Smiley pants so kindly demonstrated.”

The corporal in question didn’t reply. He stood still, facing forward as the officer continued to talk.

“From now on, you are in my squad. And from now on, you will refer to me as ‘Sergeant Baker’. Do you Understand?

“Yes, Ma'am!” me and each of the foot soldiers yelled simultaneously.

“We’ll be taking this truck, and Drive our way up the mountain until we get to the command bunker atop. There will be trenches and bunkers facing to the west, Occupy them as soon as you disembark. Understand?” Baker asked again.

“Yes, Ma'am!” we replied. With that, Baker turned and walked toward the driver. “When I give the say so, get to the top, and drive easy. Winter has arrived, and it’s slippery up there.”

“Got it, sir.” the driver answered back cooly.

“Alright, everyone mount up, clear the roadblock!” Baker yelled, waving his hoof around signaling us to get a move on. We each broke from the line and embarked the cramped Jackalope once more. It was easier for me, I just had to hover up and sit down in one of the benches. For the others though, some who weren’t pegasi were struggling to get on. Eventually, though, everyone was on board, and the engine roared to life once more.

The road trip lasted for about 40 minutes, each minute passing by getting more and more colder than the last. Yet, it was also, metaphorically, hotter at the same time. The rapid gunfire became more frequent and louder. The artillery pounding away its targets as the battle continues. We were all a nervous wreck, huddling close to each other for warmth. Some were shivering very intensely, their uniforms looking ill-fitted for winter. Mine was more snug and warm. It covered my entire body, even my rear hooves and my flank, blocking my cutie mark. At the ends of my hooves, there were black rubber caps encasing the hoof entirely, keeping the snow and cold air out. The only part of my body exposed was my face, neck, and wings.

Some ponies weren’t so lucky with their uniforms. Some were just wearing a standard ‘front hooves’ uniform. Thy only covered the torso, and the front pair of hooves, leaving their flanks and lower torso exposed to the chilling weather.

When we arrived at the top, we came to a halt when we were inside some sort of heavily fortified command outpost. We each disembarked again, and I managed to get a good look around me. There were Artillery batteries about 30 meters away from where I was standing, and a group of ponies on each gun operating them, yelling coordinates and statistics to each other.

"Girdref 175! High Explosive!" A pony barked, as the crew got to work loading the battery. I trotted along with the others as they moved closer towards the center of the complex when three of the Artillery Gun's barrels elevated upward. "Distance to target is set to 2500 meters. Salvo of three shells is requested, let 'em rain!"

"FIRE!" Another pony bellowed, as the three guns one-by-one unload their ordnance with rapid succession. I felt the shockwave of the blast encompass me, the sounds of the blast almost deafening to my ears. It actually felt painful to my ears for me to listen. I knew I was gonna have to stay away from the guns if I wanted to retain my hearing.

“Everypony, inside. Let’s get out of this fucking cold.” Baker ordered, to which we gladly complied. Upon entering the building (which was a 2 story bunker with a radio antenna) we were greeted a sight of a very large table, with the whole map of Equestria. The table had a steel outline, with bolts fixed into it. The table was bolted into the ground.

The map In question had a very detailed look of the front lines. So many different markers, tabletop plastic pieces of ponies and Changelings with tiny white tokens under each of these plastic pieces. There was a hoof-drawn line stretching from the northern mountains of the Crystal Empire, stretching all the way across the Shire River that divided rural and urban Equestria into two. The Changelings had advanced across almost the entire western half of Equestria with staggering speed.

There was a mountain range that stretched horizontally from the western edge of Equestria near Vanhoover, going all the way to the east just a few hundred kilometers short of Fillydelphia. About a fourth of this colossal mountain range was already conquered, the line separating the ponies and Changelings splitting the Ruby Mountains in half.

“Right, Thestral, gather ‘round.” Baker spoke, each of us slowly forming a circle around the map. Soon, Baker made space intent for one more pony.

But it wasn’t, in fact, a pony. It was a griffon.

“Ponies, this is Lieutenant Razor Claw. He is the CO of your division. He will be relaying our battle plan to you lot, so listen carefully.” With that, Baker gestured a hoof towards Razor, who turned his eyes toward the map.

“Right, ponies, we are here. At objective ‘Alicorn’. That is our mountain peak that we have currently sunk our teeth into. Objective ‘Buck’ and ‘Crystal’ are a different story.” Razor pointed a claw at 2 mountains. "Objective Buck is currently contested by changeling forces. The whole mountain range is heavily fortified, both on our side and on the Bug’s, so an attack on either side will be costly. And Objective Crystal belongs to the changelings entirely. So basically; we have A, they have C, and there is a tug of war going on at B right now."

The griffon pointed another claw (or finger) at a small valley at the bottom of the 2 contested mountains. “This small valley has been scouted, and reports say that there are no changeling fortifications or FOBs down there at all. We have an opportunity to flank behind Buck and pinch the fortifications on that mountain from both sides. If the operation goes well, Buck will be ours, giving us a lot more breathing room.

“Currently, Operation Ursa has not commenced yet. Once we regained control of the mountain, the rest of the offensive will begin, and we will gain access to a strategic Naval Base near Raspberry Grove, to the southwest. Not only that, but we will be able to secure valuable crystal mines that litter this range. We take that back, we deprive them of a strategically valuable excavation site.”

The ponies around me didn’t say anything, they all studied the map, looking at everything they can look at.

“The operation will commence in 2 months. Plenty of time to get used to the never-ending snow. Barracks are on the northern side of the base. You are ordered to stay at this position and defend it. No offensive movement will commence until 2 months. Understand?” the griffon sharply asked.

“We got it, Razor. I’ll keep them in check.” Baker replied.

“Alright, you’re dismissed.”

A couple of days have passed since I had arrived. I was sitting alone in a dug-out foxhole, my eyes glued to the west. I was given Sentry duty by Baker and was instructed to 'shoot any bug that moves'. No changeling was to get past my position, and I am not to move from my spot until someone switches me out. I was leaning over the Machine Gun with my hooves and was glazing my eyes around me, admiring the scenery. I saw the overcast sky, not too far above us considering how high up we are, as snow silently falls down. A gale howl was blowing across the mountainside, sending shivers all along my body.

Snowy footsteps were heard behind me. I turned my head, fast enough to hurt my neck, only to find a Unicorn levitating a tiny metal box trotting towards me.

“Courtesy from Chef Lavender. Some Hay with veggies.” She levitated the small box towards me, allowing me to grab it in mid-air.

“Thanks, Raisins.” was all I replied. I opened it and looked at the contents inside. There wasn’t much. Just like she said, hay with veggies. “Not a lot of variety to it, huh?”

“It’s filling.” She sat next to me, pulling out her own metal lunchbox from her satchel. “Definitely better than eating snow. Or nothing at all.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I munched on a small pile of hay. Bland and tasteless, but it was still food. She was right on that note at least, it is better than nothing. At least the veggies were healthy.

“You see anything yet?”

“No. Nothing but snow and ice. As usual.” The Vickers machine gun that was in the foxhole was already loaded and ready to shoot. All we needed now were some changelings to shoot at. But there wasn’t any, so it remained silent.

“Fucking tits, it’s cold.” The unicorn mare muttered.

“It’s not too bad. Not for me at least.”

“That’s because you’re a pegasus. Lucky you.”

“Well, you don’t need to be a pegasus to be warm. A fire or good clothing can do that.”

“Oh yeah, brilliant idea. Where the hell am I going to get some firewood?" She extended both her forehooves out to emphasize the endless amount of snow around us. And also the lack of trees. "And this uniform is shit anyways. I wish those replacements would get here sooner, like what you have. I heard they were handcrafted by Rarity herself.”

“Rarity? The element of Generosity?”

“Yeah. Rumor has it that she made all of the uniforms. Created them, perfected them, then mass-produced them. That’s the magic of industry for you.”

“What happened to all of the element bearers? What about the elements of harmony? What happened to them?” I wondered aloud.

“As far as I know, it’s back at the tree of harmony. The element bearers are still in one piece, but I don’t know what each of them is doing. I know Rarity is the military’s uniform designer, and that Twilight is the head scientist for the Research facility. But I don’t know what the others are up to.”

Loud noises were suddenly emitted from the outpost behind us. I turned to look, and saw ponies scrambling around, barking orders at one another. It seemed like they were preparing for something.

“What’s going on over there?” I asked.

“There’s a special guest arriving soon.”

“Who?”

“The Field Marshal.”

I silently continued to watch the chaos back at base. Everyone was yelling orders, and moving things around. After a while, I begin to notice a shape in the Eastern sky.

“Wow. She really did come all the way from Canterlot.” Raisins exclaimed.

“Canterlot?” Now I was curious. Who could possibly be coming from Canterlot, of all places?

The shape was getting closer, and eventually, I could make out what the shape was. It was a Skywagon, pulled by 4 pegasi ponies. The Skywagon was beautifully decorated, painted with Golden stars and a pale white Crescent moon, surrounded by what looked like a black void.

The Skywagon was slowing down as it approaches the base. It flew gracefully amidst the cold winter wind, and when it was directly over the base, it stopped and hovered in place. And slowly, it began to descend down. I got a closer look at the ponies pulling the skywagon. They were Batponys, their black scaly wings visible in broad daylight.

The Skywagon touched down, and for a split second, there seemed to be total silence. Just then, the side doors of the Skywagon split open, revealing a dark blue coated Alicorn.

“That… That's Princess Luna!” I stared at her with my mouth hung wide open.

“Mhm. That’s the Field Marshal.” Was all Raisins said.

Shortly after, Lieutenant Razor Claw walked out of the command bunker and looked at Princess Luna with a small hint of surprise etched on his face. He gave her a formal bow, which Luna returned gracefully. They began to talk, though I could barely hear what they say. Still, I was able to make out some of it.

“Princess Luna. It is an honor to stand before you. What does the Princess of the Night want with me?”

“Greetings to you as well, Lieutenant Razorclaw. I wished to get a look at how progress has been since my last visit.” Luna replied.

“Well, no immediately successful attacks were made yet, your highness. But, if you would like, I can show you what our next plan of action is.”

“Please, lead the way. I want to see what you have come up with this time.”

With that, both Razorclaw and Luna trotted inside the command bunker, disappearing from sight.

“You didn’t know Luna was a Warrior Princess?” Raisins Asked. “A good Leader will stand by their Soldiers side during a war. Lead the ponies on the front. She is especially sentiment towards that mindset.”

“She was the field marshal the whole time?”

“Since the beginning of the war, yes. She was there at Acornage, Vanhoover, Tall Tales, and at Galloping Gorge. She was there at everything.”

I had no idea the princess of the night herself could care so much for the lives of thousands and perhaps millions of ponies during times of war. I never thought I would ever see a war in my lifetime, especially not in my home country.

I felt a tang of sadness wound up in myself. This war was senselessly brutal, to the soldiers and to the civilians. I only heard Rumors on what the changelings to do the civilian populous upon occupation, some even going as far as mass execution, but I’ve never actually seen any of the results myself.

I turned around back to the West and gripped the Machine gun once more, watching the western horizon for anything else that intends on visiting this outpost.

Night arrived quicker than usual. I was able to see Luna raise the moon while in my foxhole before she left with her Skywagon. Eventually, after a few hours of sitting in freezing cold, I was switched out by another pony and was ordered to patrol the perimeter. My Squad, Thestral, was assigned to patrol the Northern Perimeter. There should’ve been no changelings or ponies out there, as an offensive at night time would be crazily suicidal. Not only would you be wandering around in the dark, but you would also freeze to death out here if not careful.

My squad departed from the base with Baker about 20 minutes ago. We haven’t encountered anything yet. Distant gunfire can still be heard from miles away, towards the bottom of the mountain, where the Shire River is. I’ve managed to get a good view of it just beyond the clouds. It was a very long, white river. Frozen solid, I reckon.

40 minutes have passed or so, and we nearly reached our last checkpoint. Still nothing.

“We’re almost done here. Keep your heads on a swivel, I don’t want to stay out here for long.” Baker ordered. We continued to tread through the deep snow of the mountain. Some pegasi, like me, were using their wings to hover over the snow, using their hooves to hold onto their weapons. I was shivering, both in anticipation and in the cold. 5 more minutes have passed, and we passed our final checkpoint. No enemy contacts whatsoever.

“Raisins, get over here. I need a radio.” Baker barked.

“On it.” Raisins complied. She carried a huge metal box with a long antenna on top, trudging her way to Baker. As she was close, Baker grabbed the telephone off of the side and spoke into it.

“Station, this is Thestral 2-1, Patrol complete. We’re heading back to base, over.” There was a pause. And for a moment, Baker must’ve thought the line was still dead, as he tried to place the phone back on the box, and grab it again. But before he could, there was a hiss, then a tinny voice who sounded like he was talking through a large tunnel.

“Roger that Thestral 2-1, keep your eyes peeled, we’re seeing a lot of activity to the south of our position. Out.” there was a pop, and the line went dead.

“Alright, form a Left Echelon, and stay spread out. I don’t want all of us to be hit by stray bullets.” Baker ordered. The 9 of us began to shift formation and formed a left Diagonal line as we moved up the mountain once more.

“It’s cold, very cold.” one of the unicorns in front of me muttered. “I fucking hate it.”

“Cut the chit chat, we’re still exposed here.” Baker muttered.

“Sir, may we-” the unicorn in front of me, when a very loud, sharp ‘Snap’ sound wheezed by our heads. And instantly, her head jerked to the left, and she fell in a heap.

“HOLY FUCK!” I screeched. In an instant, I ducked my head, and proned the ground

“CONTACT!” another pony yelled to my rear. More sharp snaps flew just inches over my head. Instantly, my body went numb to the adrenaline and my chest felt like it was gonna explode as I hit the dirt. I clutched onto my Brodie Helmet and dared to look up, finding white tracers flying above my head by just a few feet.

“Hawkins, throw smoke. Raisins, on me NOW! The rest of you, fucking shoot back!” Baker practically screamed. Soon after, a roar of gunfire from our side began to erupt, firing to where the enemy’s shots were coming from.

“Where are they?!” a mare screamed.

“West! Shoot fucking West!” a stallion yelled back in response.

I began to crawl my way behind my squad. Using the snow around me, I formed a little snow mound with a resting place for my rifle. I readied the rifle, and took aim towards the west, facing a downward slope. I saw flashes of light at the bottom of the slope.

“I see them! 150 meters West, bottom of the hill!” I called out and pulled the trigger. A sharp ‘Clack’ emitted from the barrel, and a tracer traveled down the mountain extremely fast. I pulled the bolt, and aimed again. I aimed where I saw one of the flashes emit, and pulled the trigger. The tracer disappeared before it reached the bottom, and I saw a shape slump to the ground.

“Killed one!” I called out, as I cocked the bolt again

“Got another one!” A mare yelled.

“Station, this is Thestral 2-1, we are under fire at grid 789-905. Break!” he paused. More gunfire was erupting. I glanced over to my left to find him huddled behind Raisins clutching onto a telephone on, while she continued to fire back. “We need a suppressive barrage due to 150 Meters to our West. How copy, over!?” Baker Yelled over the sound of combat. A Tracer landed in the snow in front of me, just barely missing me. I ducked my head instantly and crawled backward while making an audible "guhugh" sound aloud in panic. I heard indistinct radio chatter coming from Raisin’s Radio. “Alright listen up, we need to hold here for 1 minute! Dig in and wait for the Arty!” Baker yelled at the top of his lungs

“That’s gonna be a long-ass fucking minute!” I heard Raisins yell.

“Just stay in cover, and spread out. Watch for explosives!” Baker ordered. I crawled to another part of the small ridge we’ve occupied. I packed some snow in front of me, just like last time, and fixed my weapon upon a small mound of snow in front of me once more. My breathing was rapid and harsh. My heart was pounding away like a woodpecker against a tree as I continued to fire.

“Fuck, Salsa is hit!”

“We’re losing it! Stay focused!”

“Where’s the Medic!?”

“Hey, who’s got spare ammo?!”

Left and right, Ponies were screaming, panicking, shooting, crying, dying, or hiding for their life. I kept firing, didn’t falter for a second. I had to fight back. I had to keep going.

“Baker, your hit!”

“I’m fine. Keep shooting!”

“Reloading!”

"Fucking fuck, this was insane!"

“Oh for FUCKS SAKE, STOP JAMMING ON ME!” A mare screamed.

“We lost another one!”

All of a sudden a sharp hiss and pop was emitted from Rasin’s Radio. “Thestral 2-1, this is Station, keep your heads down, the barrage is underway. Eta 30 seconds. Over!”

“Roger that Station, Out!” Baker replied, “I said throw smoke!”

“Salsa had them!”

“Somepony go get them!”

“I’ll go!” I yelled and began to crawl away from my mound. “Where was she?!”

“To the south of the ridge!” Raisins screamed. I began to crawl very rapidly, treading my way through the snow. My breath was very haggard. The snow was freezing to the touch, making me shiver even more. I saw a corpse of a mare slumped to her back on the ground, motionless. I crawled towards her, looking around her corpse for any smoke grenades. I found none. Gunfire was becoming very rapid all of a sudden. Machine gun fire, from the changelings. It wheezed by over. I crawled over to her dead corpse, instinctively looking at her face.

I wish I didn’t. It was empty of any life. Her eyes were staring above her head, ever so still. I noticed a red hole through her left temple. I couldn’t help but tear up.

“Sorry.” I whispered as I began to pat down the body, tears obstructing my vision. I dragged a wing over my eyes and began to search her body. I felt a cylinder-shaped object in her pouch. Part of me feels awful for looting a dead pony, another rational part of my brain told me that now wasn't the time to get emotional. I opened it, and it revealed 2 No. 77 Smoke grenades. I grabbed hold of them in my hooves, pressed the trigger on top, and chucked them over the ridge. Instantly as it hit the ground, smoke was emitting out of it. I threw the second one, and it did the same effect. They could not see us. Tracers were still whizzing through the smoke, as the enemy blindly fired at us.

“Ok, Everypony, on me! Get back to base now!” Baker ordered. Soon afterward, ponies began to fall back towards Baker and climbed up the mountain face towards the base. Just then, an eerie sound was coming overhead. A terrifying whistle.

“Artillery Incoming!” Raisins yelled. Almost instantly afterward, large explosions detonated the face of the mountain where the changelings were. Bright flashes of light emitted from the dark mountain face. The gunfire immediately came to a halt.

Soon, the ponies were no longer running. They were now walking at a steady pace. The fight was clearly over.

We survived.

“How many did we lose?”

“About 3, sir. Salsa is confirmed K.I.A.”

Everypony was panting and shaking by the time we got back to base. When we got back, I fell down in the snow, exhausted from the climb and the ordeal that we just suffered through.

“This is fucking fucked! It was supposed to be a patrol operation! Why did they attack at night? That’s suicidal!” A stallion yelled

“If I may, these are changelings we are talking about. They are known to be… unpredictable.” Raisins noted.

“Fucking changelings.” I groaned. “I hate ‘em.”

“Okay, okay. We’re done.” Baker spoke softly. “Thestral, get some rest. Your patrol is done. I’ll relay the after report to Lieutenant Razorclaw.”

With that, we all wearily got up and proceeded to trot towards the Barracks. I sighed heavily, the adrenaline still rushing through me. I took 2 deep breaths, before proceeding to trot towards the barracks. I entered inside and slowly made my way to my bunk. I collapsed on it, and immediately, exhaustion waved over me, and sleep took hold of me quickly.

I woke up to a pony shoving my shoulder, stirring me from a dreamless sleep, to cold reality.

“You got a letter.” A teal Pegasus handed me an envelope. “Dunno who it’s from. Just said it was from a friend.” I Stirred in my bunk, and sat up, eyeing the pegasus with confusion. I took the envelope, and she began to walk out. I Inspected the Envelope, looking for a name or Initial. On the backside, I found two Italic Letters

N L

My heart jumped. I quickly tore open the envelope, careful not to damage whatever was inside. I pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. I opened it, and read aloud.

“Dear Sunshine Tempest,”