"Why do the Yankees always win?"
"Because, the other team can't stop looking at the pinstripes."

"Aaaand... there." Miracle said, as she finished adjusting the sling. "How's it feel?"

I grimaced, giving it a little test as I tried to move the stem of my wing. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise that I had dislocated it. And after several excruciating minutes of screaming into my hoof while Miracle snapped it back into place, she decided it best to constrict it in a sling to prevent anymore pain... She might as well have been a medical goddess compared to what I know about medicine, but 'prevent' certainly felt like a strong word. Even an hour later, after following her further down the mountainside, I could still feel my wing throb in a painful chorus with my heartbeat. "You uh... wouldn't happen to have any painkillers?"

I regretted asking that after seeing her hopeful smile ruthlessly crushed under my words. "No good, huh?" Miracle sighed, "Sorry, ma'am. I'm still getting used to the field... To be honest, I've never had to put my training to use before now."

I winced as I felt a little Sky Vapor pony smack me aside the head, insisting that I cheer her up. I was way ahead of that. I was seconds away from wrapping my forelegs around her and pulling her into a tight hug... However, there were a few problems I noted before doing that. First of all, that might have been too sympathetic for a Captain... and second, I was reminded of how embarrassed I felt when Dad hugged me while in uniform. So, out of concern for blowing my cover in hypocritical fashion, I kept my hooves to myself, and instead gave the cute pegasus a soft smile. "Hey, I'm not saying you didn't do a good job. You'll get the hang of it. Besides, once you get back to the clouds, you'll probably be the most experienced field medic in your class."

She blushed... Holy Flash Magnus, I actually made her blush! I've never made another mare blush before! Not like that anyway... She gave a ghost of a smile before looking a bit perplexed as she thought on what I'd said. "You really think you'll be able to get us back to the Enclave?"

I paused. Did I say I could do that? I replayed the words of encouragement I put together in my head. Okay, so I didn't explicitly say that, but I certainly suggested it, didn't I? Damnit, Sky, you featherhead! Even if I could somehow contact Neighvarro, they'd need a video feed to confirm my identity... and the identity that'd pop up would probably doom me, Miracle, and the rest of her platoon for associating with a de-facto Dashite. Maybe if I could convince them to fly back through the cloudlayer...

I glanced to the sky, searching our ocean of clouds for the HQ-sized hole where I fell through, but when I looked to where I swore I'd seen it last, nothing was there... or more like, something was there to plug it up. I may have dismissed it as the mountain fog just being too thick to see through, but the fresh batch of greyish-orange clouds were as clear as the blue sky above them... Stratusburg must be working overtime to have filled that so fast-- Aaaand... trip.

Guardians damn you, stupid rocks!

I stumbled so hard that I fell on top of Miracle Breeze, nearly knocking both of us over.

Way to go, klutz... The little Sky Vapor quickly corrected me with, 'Captain Klutz'.

"Sorry!" We both stammered in chorus, before awkwardly turning away to hide each other's embarrassment. Luckily nopony else was around to see that. We quickly recovered with a mutual silence and understanding that... we probably should forget that ever happened. I grumbled under my breath as I heard the voice of my older sister again, this time teasing me with, 'Sky Bliss and Miracle Breeze, sittin' in a cloud...'.

NOT FUNNY, Vape...

Well, the awkward moment helped change the subject of me helping her... for the time being, at least. If she's taking me to meet her platoon, they're going to be expecting at least something from me. It was time to put my brain in overtime as the silhouette of a crashed sky chariot transport came into view through the heavy fog along the path.

My ears perked as I caught the sound of music in the wind again... This time, however, instead of that DJ ground-pounder or Pon3 or whatever his name was, it was the familiar parade music permitted by all Enclave stations. Well, it's good to know we can still catch the frequency all the way down here. There must be something wrong with it though, or else they would have been able to radio for help.

Maybe... they needed a new receiver?

Before I could bask in the sound of pegasus patriotism, a mare suddenly cried out from the distance. "You see anything out there, Thunder?" Even muffled from under the sky chariot, I could still hear her smooth voice practically drip of rural Neighvarro.

I heard a stallion sigh a few paces to her right. "I'm gettin' sick of answering that question, Bell..." He warned, tiredly. I couldn't quite see them through the fog, but the mare sounded as if she were tinkering with something, due to the occasional sparks lighting up her silhouette, while the stallion sounded like he was on the edge of the mountain. "Damnit, Corsair!" He suddenly scolded, "Give the poor buck some space..."

A sniffle came to my ears as another mare quietly sobbed under the tinny assortment of drums and horns from the radio. "I... I ain't leavin' him, Thunder!" She said with a shaky voice. "H-he wouldn't leave, me!"

"C'mon 'Sair, he's dead." Thunder paused, only for her heartbreaking sobs to continue. "HE'S DEAD!" His roar was enough to make Miracle and I stiffen in our tracks, abruptly silencing both the crying and the tinkering from the other two mares. "Just... just leave him alone." He finally said, giving a mournful sigh himself as he returned to his former task.

"O-oh no..." Miracle's heart sounded as if it had sunk as she quickened her trot toward the three ponies.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT, THUNDER!" Bell raged from under the sky chariot, her once smooth voice now loud and direct.

I was finally able to match the voices to the ponies, as the fog grew thinner between us. I presumed the chestnut stallion near the edge of the mountain was Thunder. He laid on his belly as he peered out into the mist of the wasteland through the scope of a long beam rifle, his ashy white and golden streaked mane cut short into a mohawk. The usual shine that I would expect from the sleek black power armor he wore was replaced by scratches, dents and dried-up mud... not all of it, I assume, from the crash. I could picture him rolling his eyes behind his bug-like visor at the mare's outburst. "Ain't you fixed it yet?"

Bell scoffed, "Ah'm gettin' sick of answerin' that questio-- Oh, goddamn you!" Her silky blonde and pink tail angrily swished between her orange legs. It, as well as her wing feathers, suddenly jolted outwards, as the sky chariot gave her an electrical shock, eliciting a feminine squeak to echo around the mountainside, only to be followed by a blitzkrieg of angry sailor phrases. She punched the underside of the chariot with her hoof, before muttering 'it's your fault we're here', over and over again, each time in a different colorful way.

"There's more where he came from..." Thunder replied, making a navy-blue mare with a blasted-back arctic mane to stand up in outrage.

"What did you just say, sergeant?" Corsair hissed, rubbing her teary eyes with her wings before pinning the stallion with a fiery glare. If the two were to fight, they just might have been an even match for each other, as the mare wore the same sleek black and scorpion-tailed power armor as Thunder, only she sported a battlesaddle of mid-ranged beam rifles, while the latter appeared to be a sniper. She wore her visor up, allowing her lovely face and beautiful deep blue eyes to burn holes of purebred rage through the stallion's head. "He was our FRIEND, Thunder! You take it back!"

"If you would have flown us away from the fire, we wouldn't be in this mess..." Bell continued her begrudged mumblings, prompting Thunder to twist around from his perch and kick her legs in retaliation. "OW! Fuck! What you do that for?! I'm tryin' to fix this!!!"

She crawled out from under the wagon to stand in front of him, her long blonde and pink mane drooping over a pair of goggles she wore over her eyes. She was smaller than the others, so she had to look up to meet Thunder's gaze. If it wasn't for the grease stains covering her orange coat and ragged coveralls, she'd actually be drop-dead gorgeous. They all began arguing, occasionally pushing each other with their hooves, Thunder going back and forth between Bell and Corsair, before they all descended into a chaotic physical struggle of grappling, punches and headlocks.

"TEN-HUT!!!"

They all froze in mid-fight, locking their tangled limbs in place, as they turned their attention to the young field medic, standing with her chest proudly puffed out. The three seemed to weigh the order a moment, looking from pony to pony in confusion before finally untangling themselves.

"Where the hay have you been, 'M'?" Bell asked, as she lifted her goggles above her eyes with a wingtip.

Miracle looked a bit crushed by that as she sagged her shoulders. "Wha--? I said, ten-hut, guys!"

Thunder gave a skeptical glance at his comrades before tilting his head at Miracle with a condescending smirk. "Aaaand? What're you sayin' 'ten-hut', fooooooooor--?" His patronizing question trailed off as he caught me galloping up from behind her, my face plastered with outrage.

Something about the way he said that to her... I was reminded of the ponies in my barracks back at Stratusburg, and how they would purposefully ignore my relay of Captain Short Fuse's orders to get me in trouble...

"HEY!" I growled, skidding to a halt right in front of him as I stuck my muzzle into his face. "Just who do you think you are, soldier!?" I instinctively snapped the rehearsed line, the words leaving my throat before my mind could fully recover from the memory.

Wait... Crap! Did I just--!?

My eyes widened as I realized what I'd done. Damnit, Sky! You can't just berate a pony like that! ...especially one who's in power armor! My mouth drying out in panic, I was pretty sure I had already outstayed my welcome. But, before I could make a hasty retreat away from the stallion, shooting out apologies as fast as my lips could move... I saw first hoof the effects of my outburst...

Actually, from the second I'd made myself known to these ponies, all three of them had instantly stiffened, snapping to attention after sharing a moment of wide eyes and agape jaws. Finally having followed Miracle's order, they quickly saluted their wings in a perfect line of stunned statues.

Huh?

Bafflement darted my gaze between them as I tried to comprehend what had just happened, eventually having to shake my head out of its daze.

Right! Captain... I am... a Captain. Soldiers salute Captains... and now they're... I... I can't believe they're saluting! I soon had to keep myself from looking smug. Heh... They're saluting me! A Captain! Miracle Breeze saluting me an hour ago was one thing... but having seen these ponies do it too... it all started to sink in. The irony of three ponies, who otherwise would be patronizing me as a recruit -not to mention as a Dashite- now saluting me as an officer, was pretty hilarious. And now...

Oh... okay, now they're all staring at me! Quick! Do something... Captain-y!

Calming myself down, I decided to narrow my eyes, my glower trying its best to be intimidating as I casually stepped closer to inspect the three pegasi. I stepped so close, I could see the look of surprise in Corsair's eye, the occasional nervous twitch of her ears on either side of her raised visor, then the tiny beads of cold sweat pushing through the short layer of Bell's orange fur. And lastly, even though his muzzle was the only exposed part of his face, I could still see the anxious glance of Thunder's pupils through the gold tint of his bug-eyed visor. I stopped abruptly after noticing the stallion's lip quiver... and he gulped.

"Well?" I asked, impatiently. "Does an Enclave medical mare, a pony who may be tasked with saving your life, not deserve any respect when calling you to attention in front of an officer!?"

"U-uh..." He began, "W-well, I--"

"As a decorated Enclave Captain," I quickly interjected, growling as I poked his armored chest with my hoof. "...should I tolerate such disrespect!?"

His face recovered swiftly and hardened. Though caught off guard, the stallion was obviously experienced when responding to a higher rank. "-Ahem!- No ma'am!" He said, direct and clearly. "Sorry ma'am!"

...but I wasn't quite satisfied.

This time, I stomped my forehooves in front of the other two pegasi next to him. "AND WHAT ARE YOUR EXCUSES!?"

While still saluting, the two mares' other wings instantly pomfed outward in shock, both their bodies flinching from a few stray drops of my saliva.

"NO EXCUSE, MA'AM!" They screamed in reply.

I held my glare between the three for several seconds before finally approving them with a nod. I turned back to the medical pony in question, where Miracle Breeze stood, now just as stiff as the others, as she tried her hardest not to recoil at my gaze. I couldn't help it. Letting my expression soften, I smirked, giving the adorable mare a reassuring wink... which proceeded to turn her cheeks all different shades of crimson.

Heh... I think I'm getting good at that...

While her stature remained mostly solid, her lips threatened to smirk back at me, only to quickly snap out of it. "O-oh! Right!" Miracle sheepishly blurted, sounding as if she'd forgotten the obvious. "-Ahem!- Ponies, this is Captain Sky Bliss."

The three of them blinked, each pegasus sharing a look with the other. Watching them gave me little defense against my amateur, albeit growing, sense that they might suspect something, feeling helpless as my teeth slowly moved over my lip to gnaw at it. I knew I could scold them like before, and put a stop to the inquiring looks on their faces, but... I couldn't! What if I'd already pushed too much of my luck!? What if calling out their discipline a second time in a row is a step too far!? It was my turn to sweat, as I saw their expressions range anywhere between surprised and skeptical... and I, the sudden, strange appearance of the Enclave Captain in front of them, was the only recognizable thought in their eyes.

"Ma'am?" Corsair finally asked, being the first to brave the question. "Permission for us to speak freely?"

Curling my lips back over them, I nervously ran my tongue along my teeth. I nodded meekly, preparing for the worst as they all lowered their wings.

The mare noticeably relaxed beneath her power armor. "Ma'am..." She said again, as her muzzle split into a thankful, albeit weak, grin. "Gods, are we glad to see you here!"

I actually had to bite my tongue to keep myself from sighing too loud in relief.

Corsair then turned to the stallion, arching her brow. "Aren't we, sergeant?" She asked, her tone rather forewarning.

Thunder didn't look to actually appease her hint as he did genuinely look to feel the same as her anyway, if not more so, coughing out a grateful chuckle as he shook his head in agreement. "I couldn't have said it better, 'Sair."

"Agreed!" Bell drawled with a thankful smile. "It's about goddamn time those feather brained dolts sent somepony like you t'a help us out!"

"And if you don't mind me sayin' ma'am..." Thunder continued. His armored forehoof suddenly raised off the ground, lifting the gold bug-eyed visor above his face. "...hot damn! It's been a while since I've been chewed out like that!" He chuckled, "I swear, you had me worried I'd be doin' wing push-ups for a month back there!"

My face lifted in surprise after seeing his eyes for the first time. They were a sea blue, if just a hair shade different than Corsair's stormy ones, but with a noticeable scar down his left brow. I felt myself staring for an uncomfortable amount of time, before his words finally registered, and I was almost thankful for the burning sense of embarrassment in my cheeks. "O-oh..." My tail swished at the stallion's compliment.

It was a compliment, right? Yeah... it sounded like a compliment!

"You really think--? I mean, I'm glad you like-- U-uh..." I quickly caught my words before they could continue along a... certain train of thought. The one that never seems to arrive at a good time.

What's our fraternization policy again? Wait... Damnit, Bliss! Mind out of the gutter!

"I-I mean--!" I hid the crack in my voice behind what was probably the weirdest cough anypony has ever heard. "-Ahem!- Heh... well, you know... with the situation we're in right now... you'll have to excuse me losing my temper like that."

My inner pony was still trying to sort through the haze clouding my mind, made only thicker by the fuzzy feeling this stallion was suddenly inducing... and I wasn't sure whether to hate or treasure the fact that the charming smile he gave me after hearing my little bashful filly moment had warmed my-- ...well... a number things.

Thankfully, Miracle Breeze had quickly doused the heat, her sweet voice clearing my head as she approached our side. "I was telling the Captain about our platoon, and--" She never finished, however, her ears falling back as she scanned the three pegasi in front of her. "W-wait..." Miracle's eyes stretched wide in realization, before her gaze landed on Corsair. "S-sergeant... where's Comet Chaser?"

Just like that, Thunder's handsome smile was gone, and Corsair's beautiful blue glare instantly became downcast, a soggy heartbrokenness drawing attention to the damp fur on her cheeks. "M-Miracle... He's--"

Before she could say, there was an abrupt stir within the crashed sky chariot, shortly followed by a sharp click of a dial, which echoed throughout the transport's hull.

The only thing keeping the mountainside from descending into a silent void was now the anxious and occasionally mournful breaths of the pegasi before me, as the staticky tune of Hail Cloudsdale was cut short, its orchestra dying with a scratchy end to the radio's frequency.

The wind shifted... and it was as if it took every last ounce of my newfound confidence along with it.

When the vehicle's door opened, I suddenly felt like a timid filly again, as the black and silver uniform stepped into the murky light.

"TEN-HUT!!!" Another hurried shout came from Miracle, noticing the officer stallion herself as the four pegasi once again snapped to attention. Her voice was tiny though, barely worth registering in the back of my mind as I watched him approach me.

The officer was a yellow stallion, not as burly as Thunder, but where he lacked in that, he made up for in class and style. His gold mane was combed into a pompadour as he brushed it back with a hoof. He tilted his head down and put his cap on, covering his eyes with the shadow of its bill as he left only his muzzle to express his otherwise cold emotions. I could tell he wasn't just staring at me... he was staring right through my uniform. Through my eyes. Even through my very soul with only an icy sneer to pivot his gold pencil thin mustache on one side. He seemed amused by my presence as he trotted forward. I just stood there in a cold sweat, hoping nopony could hear my heart beating against my ribs as loud as I could.

The other three ponies didn't dare flinch, but the officer's entrance pulled Miracle's attention away from Corsair, and towards a bloody mound of blankets, a gray hoof sticking out from underneath. It was the same spot that Corsair had been crying over the moment we arrived.

"Is... is that--?" Miracle's voice whimpered, "Oh gods, Comet's hurt guys!" And just like that, she broke her own call for discipline to gallop over to the mutilated stallion.

The officer suddenly spread his wings and galloped between Miracle and her comrade, hooking them around the sobbing mare to stop her. "I do believe he's dead, Breeze." He said in a quiet classy voice.

"N-no!" She cried, struggling to get passed him. "I-I can still--!"

"You lock it down now, Private!" He growled, pushing her back in front of him before nodding toward me. "It looks like you brought us an important visitor. Now you will show restraint."

She sniffled into her wing, before giving a gloomy nod. "Y-yes, sir..."

The mare looked so heartbroken, I wanted to cry right along with her. Oh gods, that's exactly how I felt watching the HQ collapse into the clouds! The few friends I ever had... A-and my parents... Biting my lip, I tried to keep it from quivering as I hastily looked away, mainly to avoid the gaze of the officer, but also to think of what I would say to him.

Okay. You can do this... just... do the same thing you did with the rest of them.

Making use of my one good wing, I made sure to dry my eyes, before returning my gaze, its previous intimidation ruined by melancholy shyness.

They both trotted back into line in front of me. The officer gave me another skeptical look, and I suddenly felt self-conscious about my uniform as his eyes traced the extra length of my sleeves. My heart stopped. Oh crap! Does he know?! Has the Enclave REALLY never made a measurement error before? Oh, c'mon! It could happen, couldn't it?!

Just when I was about to start thinking of the different ways I could plead for mercy, the officer himself finally straightened his smirk and slowly raised his wing to his bill. "Lieutenant Yonder Wild, reporting ma'am."

My mind just about exploded with relief. Thank The Council... Practically choking on the breath I'd been holding, I saluted him back, hoping he didn't sense my near panic attack.

"I apologize for my platoon's... under-preparedness. Been a rough pack'uh days." He suddenly puffed out his chest and shouted, "Platoon! SOUND OFF!!!"

Starting with Thunder, each pegasus shouted their name one-by-one down the line.

"Sgt. Thunder Bolt!"

"Sgt. Corsair!"

"Cpl. Rotor Belle!"

"Pvt. Miracle Breeze!"

Hesitation forced a dangerous, "U-uhm?" to my lips as I stuttered.

Alright... Equestria calling back tougher Sky Bliss! It's still your time to shine!

"At ease." I finally spat with the gruffest voice I could manage. "Well... uh, it's good to finally see who's in charge here. -ahem!- I'm Captain Sky Bliss..." I paused, thinking back to the crashed Vertibuck, before adding, "...17th Stratusburg Verti-assault squadron. The Council's Headquarters in our Stratusburg branch was bombed by a terrorist... Uhm, we were sent to evac the officials and put out the fires, but we got caught in the chain of following blasts and crashed."

"That Vertibuck we saw go down was yours? So, your... your not our rescue?" Corsair asked. "Do they even know we're down here?!"

I shook my head with a sorry sigh. "None of us were aware... But, it's still my mission to extract the survivors from the HQ here on the ground. My... my crew didn't make it..." I quickly distracted the pit in my stomach before it grew too sour, arching my brow as I took in the five ponies in front of me. "I... thought there were 10 of you. Where's the rest of your platoon?"

The five looked at each other with a nod, before all agreeing in unison, "Deserted."

Yonder gave a nod to the dead stallion behind him and sighed, "Four... after we sent Breeze to investigate your vertibuck... one came back and killed poor Comet Chaser..." They all hung their heads, ranging from sorrow, to regret, to anger.

"How long have you ponies been down here?" I asked.

"About five days ma'am..." Bell said, before drearily adding, "Haven't eaten in three..."

"Protocol demands we not interfere with any surface dwellers, however we've been getting desperate." Yonder explained. "We had reports of a settlement made up of these... 'wasteland ponies' to the south of the mountain, but we didn't want to move in case a rescue team came to extract us. Contacting the locals is, of course, a last resort."

That's when it hit me. That's how I'm gonna get to the HQ!

I cleared my throat before I got too giddy and put the mask of authority back on. "My mission is in that settlement... and seeing as you ponies are also in need of rescue, I'm making you a part of my mission. If I'm right to believe you're radio is... not up to the task of contacting Neighvarro, then the only way we can get an extraction for all of us, is if we get to that town, deal with the locals and help the survivors."

If there's any survivors...

I... I don't know if I'll be able to go back to Stratusburg, but... it's the best chance I've got if I want to find my parents... or, frankly, survive.

I raised my eyebrow as I turned to Rotor Belle. "Can you fix your sky chariot?"

"You mean the lost cause I've been workin' on?" She sighed, posture sagging along with her enthusiasm for the idea. "Yeah, why not?" She shrugged, tiredly.

"Good..." I nodded, before looking back over to Yonder. "Now, about your... deserter problem..." I met his smug gaze, still seeming to drill right through to my soul. I hated looking into his eyes... It was like I could see my own knowing deception reflected right back at me.

He doesn't know! He couldn't... just keep on talking, Bliss!

My heart settled with relief when he finally took his eyes off of me, and widened in surprise at what I pulled out from under my wing. I swear, I saw every pegasus before me shiver at the sight of it. Them, and every other pegasus, both friends and foes of the Enclave, knew the cloud and lightning bolt brand all too well. An hour or so ago, I would have feared it the most out of all these ponies...

So... why did I have the cockiest smirk in the history of pegasi on my face? It was REALLY cocky... it was so cocky, it made Yonder swap expressions with the one I had when he was looking at me... Now it was his, Miracle's, and every other Enclave pony's turn to be intimidated by my gaze.

But it wasn't just intimidation... they were afraid.

Even Sky Vapor winced...

"It appears... I have the solution to that... right here~" I purred, dropping the Dashite brand in front of them. "But, first thing's first..."

It looked as if my voice was barely registering with them as they all continued to stare at the Dashite brand. I could see the two power-armored soldiers swallow dryly, while Miracle Breeze tried to keep herself from shuddering. My eye caught Rotor Bell's tail instinctively wrap around the side of her leg as if to protect the vertibuck propeller on her flank. While even Yonder appeared to twitch as if he could feel a slight imaginary burn across his own cutiemark.

I glared sharply. "-AHEM!-"

That snapped them out of it, their eyes blinking away the nightmare scenario, while their heads shook themselves back to reality.

I made sure to lock eyes with everyone of them -with the exception of Yonder's. I tried to avoid those fiery beams as much as possible- before finally lowering my stern guard with a sigh. "...three days, huh?" I asked, making Bell jump as I turned towards her again.

"T-that's right, ma'am." She confirmed, "We're... we're all pretty hungry..."

I nodded, giving her a friendly smile. "Well then... let's make this our first order of business." Tilting myself down to my haunches, I let my saddlebags slide off my back. With a kick of my hind leg, I knocked the satchels over to allow a healthy amount of MREs to spill out before them. "We'll have pegasus grade preservatives all around..." I smirked, presenting them with a pan of my forehoof. "...Vertibuck emergency ration flavors."

For a minute, I thought they might have gone back to reeling from the image of the cloud and lightning bolt, even as it lay disarmed at my hooves and slightly muddy from landing in the mountainside muck. But, while their wide-eyed expressions of trepidation and hesitance returned, their uneasy glares were instead staring down at the pile of packaged dehydrated meals in disbelief.

And yet, the remnants of the platoon still could have been mistaken for a row of cloud chiseled gargoyles outside the Enclave council building, though I could have sworn I saw a string of drool ooze down from Corsair's maw, hanging loose from shock, while her eyes filled with a lustful fire that could only be doused by my MREs.

"YEEEEEHAAAAAW!"

Thunder Bolt suddenly blurted, the stallion giving a shockingly cute whinny of excitement as he reared up and pedaled his forehooves in the air. "Now, that's what I'm talkin' about, Cap'!" Grinning wide, his wings flared with elation. "Lets dig in, ponies! Chow is served!"

The others hardly even flinched, as they soon followed, thankful smiles on their faces as Thunder, Miracle, Corsair and Bell all galloped as fast as they could, fighting each other to get their hooves on the first meal they had in days. That is... everypony except--

"I must say, Captain..." That Neighvarro aristocrat drawl sounded as if it had just slithered up my neck and bit my ear. "...this is a wonderful and, I might add, much needed surprise. I do believe you just saved us from starvin' to death in the middle of nowhere."

I turned to see Yonder Wild, keeping a calm but appreciative posture as he watched his platoon begin to tear open the MRE packages with their teeth, and dumping them into a prepared assortment of meal kits. I heard Corsair suddenly begin to flap her wings, before quickly taking to the air, gathering enough wisps of fog around the mountain side to form a cloud.

"O-oh... uh... -ahem- of course, Lieutenant." I coughed, feeling the fur on my neck stand straight. "It's the least I could do... and uh... it wasn't like my squad will be needing those rations anyway..." The thought of those burned pegasi and their hallow baked eyes from the crash returned to me, staring lifelessly at the mare who all but killed them. My stomach flipped, and I suddenly no longer felt like enjoying a meal with the rest of the platoon.

He must have mistaken my guilt for sorrow, as Yonder gave a gloomy bow of his head. "I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am." After his gaze rose back up to meet mine, I could swear his eyes relapsed back into digging through the contents of my soul, desperately searching for something I'd hidden from him.

Once again, I could feel my heart beat in a sporadic tempo. Maybe it was just the uniform that made him look like that. Or maybe it was the way the bill of his officer's cap casted its shadow across his face, where, instead of allowing them to be dimmed under the sun and now solemn clouds, his eyes, their irises bright and red, burned like power armor head lamps through an eternal shade of night. But, it couldn't just be the uniform he wore. Heck, my mom and dad were officers too... albeit, with more of a civilian role... but their uniforms were one of the same, with maybe only an assortment of alternate shades like white, gray and beige and even dark blue and purple.

But... but that sharp ocean of pitch black fabric...

-sigh- Well, guess what Bilss? You're wearing the same uniform too! You know the act, just keep on going... and... maybe you'll get out of this.

"Thank you Lieutenant... and... I'm sorry for what happened to your ponies too... A-and..." I tried to keep my nerve, clearing my throat to hide the bulge that'd formed after I'd swallowed dryly at my next words.

Well... this is it. The moment of truth...

"...and now that I'm the ranking officer..." I couldn't help but notice Yonder's glare again as his eye twitched in my direction. While I could see it in his face, that he all but knew what was about to be uttered from my mouth, the uncertainty in his gaze of what would come of it was as clear as a day above the cloudcover. I took a deep mental breath, giving my inner tomboy another boost over the timid filly in my head before finally finishing. "...I will be assuming command of your platoon to get you all to safety."

With a tilt of his head, Yonder's eyes were once again consumed by the shadow of his officer's cap, so much so that its bill eventually blocked those fiery irises of his from sight as he cast his gaze to the dirt.

A heart stopping silence fell over us, only to be broken by the cheers of Thunder and Bell, Corsair eventually fluttering back down to the ground with a nice fluffy cloud between her hooves, giving each pegasus a good amount of water to turn the dehydrated produce into... something that at least resembled diced apples and carrots. Herself and Miracle had even started to smile again at the thought of a meal, though with hints of sadness to them as both continued to glance back at the poor lifeless buck under the blankets.

"...Captain."

My ears perked, and I suddenly realized that my own head had gradually drifted to a tilt just like Yonder's, feeling the shade of my cap across my face as if instinct helped me hide the fact I'd been gnawing on my lip while waiting for his response.

Lt. Wild shot me a skeptical glare as I found the nerve to look him back in the eye. "...after what you've done today..." He began, his voice cold, but soft.

My blood turned to ice as I froze underneath the stiff blackness of my uniform. A-after what I've done? Crap! Did... did he just figure me out!? Did I push too far!? Ooooh! Stupid! Stupid! I didn't dare blink, even as the air threatened to dry my eyes to a crisp.

Yonder's glare remained narrowed and sharp, his pencil-stache tilting slightly inward. "Why..." His muzzle gently rose, finally letting me see the expression on his face. "...I'd be more than happy to relinquish command of my platoon to you, ma'am." He said, smiling softly.

Author's Note

Alright, this pretty much catches us up on where I left off with the One-Shot. Only new chapters from here on out! Unfortunately, this means that the next chapters will probably be slower, but I will try to pump them out at a reasonable rate, since I plan on them being shorter in length than my other story.

But, thanks to everyone who's showed interested so far! And stay tuned for more!

As usual, leave some feedback if you have any so I can improve my writing or fix any mistakes you point out, like grammar, lore, etc.