Author's Note

Greetings!

See?! SEE!? I did not forget! We are back on the wagon train, folks. However, this one did come a bit later than I wanted. My editor works nights now, and they had pulled a double Saturday trying to pull in as much money as possible.

First, thank you for the warm regards for the story's return. I greatly appreciate it. Secondly, I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend thus far.

Without too much rambling, here is the chapter. Enjoy!

Thanks for Reading.

Peace!

Errors and Triage

"Twilight? Are you listening to me?"

Twilight Sparkle jerked in surprise. Her mind had wandered again, something that was happening a bit too often as of late.

Glancing about reminded her that she was still at Donut Joe's Donut Emporium. It was the latest name the stallion had installed to drum up more business. Judging by the fact that they were the only ones in the establishment, the purple filly was leaning toward the name change being another failure.

The myriad of subdued greens and tans actually promoted a pleasant atmosphere. And the gold glass casing where a wide variety of donut goods were on display reminded ponies that they were in the wealthier districts of Canterlot, thus, nothing to raise their noses at.

Her eyes swept back to who had spoken to her. Lemon Hearts. She was annoyed, and Twilight could only grimace apologetically.

She had drifted back to the book again, a habit she had recently redeveloped during the early summer months, so much so that it was distracting her from other studies.

She sighed inwardly. This was supposed to be her effort in reinforcing the friendships she had tentatively formed over the past few years. The four ponies sitting around her at Donut Joe's had invited her out for a study session, and she had readily accepted.

Or so they had originally claimed.

While they did touch on some topics in class, they had more or less focused on gossip and rumors. Well, all except Moondancer. Who had instead, like herself, buried herself into one of the biology books she had brought with her.

To Twilight, the soft yellow mare in an overly large pristine blue sweater and pink skirt was a bit intimidating if she was honest with herself.

Whenever she caught her looking, the gaze sent a shiver down her back. Like she was being sized up. It was really bizarre.

Thinking in terms like that simply reminded her of what Orion had done a little over a year ago. That had been the look of a beast ready to tear her apart. But where he was frightening, almost predatory, Moondancer's was more analytical.

She shuddered, then shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Lemon, I got lost in my own head for a moment. What was it you said?"

"I said, where is that shadow of yours?" The filly asked again, visibly peeved at being unintentionally ignored. The almost blinding yellow pony was a good pony, but would often get annoyed if she felt she had been pushed to the background in some topic. Technically, the dark sky blue maned unicorn was not actually invited to this "study session". She was currently apprenticing under Donut Joe himself since she had discovered her talent for baking a couple of years prior.

While the pale yellow earth pony stallion was only the latest in a long line of apprenticeships, he was likely the most lenient of her previous employers. Twilight was convinced the filly planned to apprentice under every baker in the city.

The decision to hold their get-together in her latest place of employment found her at their table more than behind the counter. But Joe seemed not to care too much. It was a rather slow Sunday afternoon, and he had turned a blind eye to the filly's less-than-attentive job performance.

Twilight frowned at her term "shadow". And inwardly groaned that he had been brought up. Again.

Since his disappearance to Griffonia a month ago, she had worked hard to forget about the colt for the time being. Every time she thought of him, her heart would ache, and she was tired of it. So she began burying herself in her studies again.

Namely, Starswirl's book of prophecies. That is where her mind had drifted before the yellow baker’s apprentice pulled her back.

"Lemon, I haven't seen Orion all summer, and he is not my shadow." It was about all the rebuff she was going to give the prodding pony. He had been the subject of much of her inquiries in the past few months, and if she was honest with herself, Twilight was tired of it. "If you are so curious, why not go to his orphanage and ask him where he has been? I am not his keeper!"

She winced. While it may not have been her intent, her frustration with the questioning and the colt's own tendency to annoy her whenever possible had given the end of her sentence more bite than she had wanted.

"Trouble in paradise?" That mocking question got a flat stare from the purple filly. A very flat stare.

"Give it up, Lemon. Can you not see it's a sore point for her." Minuette's half-defensive, half-teasing effort to divert her friend only frustrated Twilight further.

Why could they not leave it alone?

"Fillies. Stop." Twinkleshine interrupted the snickering between the two. "That's not nice, and we didn't invite Twilight out to tease her. Whatever may be going on between the two is none of our business, and you." She pointed a slim cream-colored finger at Lemon Hearts. "You are supposed to be working. I thought that if we came here on your work day, we could give you some company while on shift. Instead, you've left poor Joe to do much of the work. Now quit being a bully and get back to it."

There was no heat in the pink-maned filly's voice. There never was. Out of the three of them, she was likely the most level-headed of them all. Calm, rarely driven to open anger, the unicorn was often the voice of reason in their little group.

She reminded Twilight of her mother. Always sure, even if she did not know how to deal with a problem, she could often pick apart the issue till it was solved.

"...sorry, Twinkle." She raised an eyebrow. "And sorry, Twilight. I just…I don't mean to annoy you, but I haven't seen tail nor mane of that colt in the past month and a half." She tapped the table in a rhythmic, nervous pattern. "I…I'm worried you two have broken up…"

The purple filly blinked in surprise. So did Minuette and Twinkleshine. Even Moondancer's eyes had risen above the rim of the book she was invested in.

"Broken…up?" She said softly, not believing the words that had come from her own mouth despite the fact that she was only repeating Lemon Hearts's words.

"Uh…yeah. Wait. Were you two seriously not together?"

"Lemon." Came Twinkleshine's stern rebuke.

"Together?!" Twilight's incredulity was loud and clear. Minuette cocked her head in surprise.

"You guys weren't?" She asked curiously. "It was a popular belief amongst the school that there was something more going on between you two than just friends."

Twilight Sparkle could only mentally reel.

"How?" She mumbled. "No… No! I mean, sorry." She fumbled.

The purple, not quite a mare filly often wondered what the point was of having such a large lexicon of words when she almost always got tongue-tied in these embarrassing situations.

"It's okay, Twilight." Twinkleshine's hand reached across the table to grip her own. "You know you don't have to say anything."

"I…" Twilight swallowed sourly, and looked around the shop to mentally reset herself. "I'm sorry." She inwardly cringed. She was apologizing far too much lately. "Orion and I have never been a…thing. Just friends. He has never wanted anything more than that." There was a touch of bitterness in her voice despite her acceptance of the issue, but she believed she had hidden that well.

Over the years since his declaration on the steps of the castle, she had grown to accept his inclinations, if not understand them. The purple filly had also come to accept that his treatment of her was merely friendship.

It hurt, but as he would have said, it was what it was.

"Ouch." Muttered Lemon said in a commiserated tone. "Took a chance and got rejected, huh? Sorry Twilight. I really didn't mean to bring up such a painful topic."

"It's okay." At the doubtful look of the aproned filly, she repeated it. "It is, okay. Though I hadn't actually taken any chance at it. Orion…Orion doesn't want a relationship. With anypony."

That revelation got a round of gasps from the group. Moondancer had gone back to her book.

"What the hay? He doesn't want a herd?!"

"Every time I hear something new about him, it goes against accepted norms."

"Anypony? Or is it more like anycreature? Maybe he just has a preference for some other species. Oh! Maybe he's a stallion chaser!"

"I think. That Twilight is indicating that Orion would rather not be with anycreature or pony."

All eyes turned on Moondancer, who had placed her book down for the first time since they came together that day. An imperious look that matched her tone perfectly silenced the group.

"What? Is it so unimaginable that he has no desire at this point in time for a herd or special somepony of any kind?"

"Well, no…" began Twinkleshine. "But it is weird. All I ever hear from colts in class is how excited they are to find somepony to be with."

"True. But let us not forget, as you have said before, Twinkleshine, Orion is anything but normal. Every time anypony hears of something new about him, it's always a shock." The only other bookish pony gave a slightly condescending look at the mothering filly.

Rather than let this get any more awkward, Twilight chimed in.

"It's true. Orion has been everything but normal. Since the day I escorted him around the school, he has been nothing like anypony would expect."

"Okay, let's not keep beating the dead timberwolf here," Lemon said, rubbing her temples. "If he's not looking for love, what is he looking for?"

"I don't know. He won't actually tell me anything. When I try to learn more about him, he will throw up walls that keep me out." She brushed a few strands of mane away, remembering those math equations that ran her into circles for days. "He is friendly enough with me, but he is quick to keep me at arm's length as well."

She tactfully kept to herself the fact that she already knew one of his secrets, the only one she could learn. And that had been by accident.

"Well, his academic scores are no fluke. So perhaps he wants to focus on research." Twilight's head shot up, eyes wide at Moondancer. "I am volunteering in Student Records, Twilight. His file has come across my station more than once."

While she was at a loss for words, Minuette jumped in with a smirk.

"Look at you! Snooping into students' records like it's nothing. And here I thought you were nothing but straight-laced!"

"I do not snoop, Minuette. Part of my duties is to update records. I've done yours too, and might I mention, you really should seek a tutor. Your math scores are beginning to slip." The blue filly blushed and turned away. "As to my idea behind him becoming a researcher, Lemon, do you know that spell you use to bake? The one that requires no fire? That was first pioneered by Orion for his final in his magical studies last year."

Lemon Hearts's eyes grew wide. To hear her tell it, the spell had been a goddessend. Allowing her to bake whenever she wanted without the need for an oven present.

The spell was a heavily modified levitation matrix designed with something completely new. Something nopony had ever heard of before. A vibration matrix is formulated to heat the air inside the levitation field without the need for a fire cantrip.

True, an oven often gave the baked goods spirit, but when somepony was traveling, it was an easy-to-use spell that eliminated the need for a campfire.

However, she had not learned it in class, but from her mother, who was currently in the guard.

The Cast Oven spell, as many in the armed forces had come to call it, had been taught to Equestria's armed forces first in order to test the viability of the skill. It has been hailed as one of the most innovative camping spells to have been developed in the last fifty years.

Lemon's mother had taught her the formula as a way of helping her daughter improve her talent.

"No way…" The bright yellow filly breathed.

"Moondancer, I don't think you should be telling us his personal information like that. Student records are private, after all." Twilight said, uncomfortable with going too deep into her friend's private affairs.

"I am not saying anything that isn't well known. His name is attached to the spell." Moondancers stern countenance rebuffed her mild effort to get off the subject. "I know we all consider Orion to be an arrogant fool that is far too violent. However, without going into detail, I can say he is at the top of his class. His arrogance is well placed, if unnecessary." The looks she received pulled a rare smile from her. "I know. I was shocked too. The first time I saw his scores made me question whether or not teachers were giving him a handicap."

"Oh…wait a minute," Twinkleshine said, a considering look on her face. "He's been friends with Twilight for years. Could it just be her influence?" She shot an inquiring look at the personal student of the Princess.

"No," Twilight spoke first. "I did try to help him at first, especially when his limitations had first been discovered. I gave him a lot of low-level spells to help make up for some of his weakness." She shook her head. "However, he overcame that all on his own. He wouldn't tell me how."

"He still has the range issue," Minuette spoke up. "Everypony knows that."

It was well known that there was something wrong with his ability to project spells. A few students in his class spoke of the instructor using a high-yield analysis spell to see what the issue was. It was described: "It's as if the spell was never there at all, and just phased out".

"I think we should stop." Twinkleshine finally said after a few minutes of silence. "We are here to study, not gossip about a colt, no matter how weird he is."

That got a few laughs from Lemon and Minuette. But Twilight could only frown, troubled by the subject, and the fact that Orion had been pulled into conversation like that.

For the rest of the time at Donut Joe's, the fillies managed to get some progress, but in the end, it was agreed the mood just wasn't there.

As they were packing up their things, Lemon had left to head home thirty minutes prior; Moondancer approached Twilight as she closed the flap on her satchel and snapped it closed.

"Twilight. It might be wise to warn Orion about a sudden increase in offers."

She blinked in surprise.

"Offers?" She wondered if she meant herding offers. "Why would he be concerned with that? Nopony had approached him in a couple of years about that."

"Why?" She asked hesitantly, looping the strap of the bag over her shoulder.

"Because, for the longest time, fillies avoided him because it was believed that you and he were an item. I hadn't realized it at the time, but we just spoke in front of two of the biggest gossips in school." She jerked her head toward Minuette, who had just shot out the door.

"Oh no…"

"Unfortunately, yes. We might be able to keep Minuette quiet, but Lemon has likely already told somepony. More like three someponies."

Twilight could only groan. Orion was going to be so mad.

Shining Armor groaned as he worked his shoulders under the thick cloth armor that weighed him down. The chainmail underneath did not help despite the undergarments meant to protect. He was chafing in places he didn't realize existed.

He was tired, sore, hungry, and wanted a bath. Even just dunking his head in a river would do at this point just to relieve some of the heat that had built up since early into the evening.

The reason for his condition lay at his hooves. One of a dozen.

Griffon raiders, dressed in old brown leather armor and strapped on plates, were scattered dead around him and his team.

Dawn's early morning light was just now breaking across the eastern horizon to filter through the canopy of trees, revealing the carnage not truly seen in the darkness of the night.

"Still think…that Sigurd wanted us…to help…his son?" Huffed Spitfire.

Shining had no answer, nor was he inclined to give one as he surveyed the area, searching for any survivors that may provide answers to why he and his team were attacked so suddenly in the early hours of the morning.

If he hadn't followed protocol, if Earnest had not set up the perimeter with tangle wire. Had he not had a personal shield cast on himself and his squad, the results would have been disastrous.

They had made camp the evening before in a copse of trees that had thick underbrush they cleared the way for. The pegasi of the group complained about the limited space to flex their wings until he pointed out the fact that their potential enemies were also winged and would suffer the same restrictions.

Spitfire and Storming's discomfort was a small price to pay for better security.

Earnest Hearts, the only campaign veteran beside himself, had rightfully fallen back to proper field training and, with the help of Pestle, were able to set up a wire field around their small encampment.

Finally, as an added precaution, he set up his personal shield to encompass all of them. Another thing his second in command had grumbled about.

He did understand her reasoning. Pegasi were naturally free ponies. It is part of their culture to be unbound. Between his shield and the lack of freedom of flight from the branches that hung low above them, he held no doubts that they were likely feeling claustrophobic.

They were mostly complaining to complain, as expected in her Highness's Armed Services.

The attack came in the early hours of the morning. Pestle Break had been on watch at that time, and was first alerted by the perimeter warning chime she was connected to. Her shout of alarm roused the rest of them, just as a blade struck his shield, where Spitfire had been resting.

He doubted she would complain again on this mission.

After the failed initial strike, it was as if all Tartarus had broken loose as the trees let loose a volley of arrows, and a horde of bandits burst from the bushes shouting war cries into the suddenly not-so-quiet night.

It was, at first, a futile attempt despite their superior numbers. Once the opening volley had struck Shining's shield, which he had noted with a snort of amusement that it didn't affect the strength of the magical bulwark whatsoever, he dropped a section of the barricade long enough for Spitfire and Storming Wing to take to the trees to start picking off the archers that were no doubt going to start moving now that the battle had begun in earnest.

The second volley of arrows met his magical defense once more as the first wave of assailants struck at the same time. There was no sound that assaulted their ears anytime an arrow or blade smacked into the barrier and was rebuffed. Years of training had gotten rid of the metallic gong that had plagued him during his early days after the discovery of his talent.

A good thing, too, as the bandits' weapons likely would have left them deaf after the first few failed charges.

Between the launch of arrows, Shining would drop the shield to allow a few to come stumbling through, tripped up by the momentum of battle and unable to recover fully. Between himself and the two others, the would-be ambushers stood no chance.

Though, as the battle raged on, even he had his limits. As his mana flow dipped below what he considered safe, he gave a warning to his companion before finally letting go. Pestle Break took over from there, firing off bolts of power at near point-blank range as he and Earnest Hearts did as much defensive push as possible with shields and swords in hand.

Shining's instructors had been correct in beating physical shield training into him as well, the metal aegis he had grown familiar with, came in handy deflecting sword strikes and blocking daggers thrown with as much ease as erecting a barrier of his own.

It seemed that the enemy was endless, but as the first rays of Celestia's Holy Sun broke over the horizon, the last opponent fell, skewered on Spitfire's slim lance from behind. It was a damn good throw.

"How many?" Shining ignored the sunflower-colored mare's veiled barbed. Getting into a pissing match with her at this moment was foolish. His eyes swept the battlefield, what had been their encampment.

Charred corpses from the earlier spellfire smoked in the sunlight that filtered in through the trees. Mud churned up with blood marked where they had held their ground. It had been so sudden, and despite the superior training and skill, they were still pushed back several paces before the end.

"I counted thirty-five," Ernest spoke up, sounding more like she went for a light jog than a pitched battle against them.

"Eighty-three." Storming countered, swooping down from a low branch. "They had a lot of archers."

"Only eighty-three?" He asked incredulously.

"After the first couple of shield drops, they pulled back a good portion of their forces. I believe they would have run had it not been for me and the second lieutenant. I myself managed to snipe six from running back into the underbrush. To be fair, sir, there were only five of us."

He nodded thoughtfully in agreement, looked at his blade, and with a cleansing spell, he purged the blood from the weapon before he sheathed it with a frustrated slam.

"Are any of them still alive?"

"That I do not know, sir."

"We got a live one!" Called Earnest, who had marched into the thicket during Storming Wing's report.

As she came out, fighting the thick underbrush with nearly every hoofstep, she pulled a bloodied body, with only one wing attached.

"Um, sort of?" She said with a grimace.

"Put them near the campfire," Shining said automatically.

Despite the battle, they managed to preserve their camp with relative ease. Fighting amongst the gear and supplies would have been disastrous for more than just risking trip hazards. The moment the alarms went off, and despite his own groggy state, he managed to cast All Fight's Defense. One of the first defensive spells he had learned, and the one that required the least amount of magic to use.

That particular construction allowed them to get untangled from their bedrolls and some distance from their equipment without worry.

"Pestle? Would you check the status of the prisoner?" Shining's talent with the healing school of magic was decent, but as he approached the bandit, he could already tell the damage exceeded his abilities to compensate.

He had trained in battlefield triage, but the damage done was beyond a field medics' capabilities.

"It's not good…" She mumbled as she bent over, her horn lighting up to an eerie soft blue. It was almost transparent. "Um, sir?"

"Yes?" He knelt down next to her, his own horn coming to life in a deeper blue as he attempted to clean away some of the blood so they could have a better look at what was wrong.

"He is not going to make it. Blood loss has caused him to lose consciousness. The tangle wire hit two arteries. Both of the wing ones here," she pointed at where the wire had completely sheared off the left, " and here." She pointed to a slowly gushing wound on the right. "The wire nearly sawed clean through."

The thin metal had cut right into the humerus. Not all the way, but enough to tear the artery in half.

"Shit. No way you can wake him?"

"I can wake him, sir. But he is going to die faster. As it stands, I don't know enough about a griffon's biology to keep him alive. Once he wakes up. It's a matter of minutes." She shook her bag gently, and the potion bottles clinked together in response. "I did not think to make any for his species either." She sighed, then nodded. "However, I can bring him to full consciousness for a very limited amount of time. If he's going to talk, he'll be at least lucid for it, but remember. It won't be long."

She gave him a look.

"We aren't…going to torture him, are we?"

"Absolutely not. Not only would that be against the Accords, but I personally would be offended if any in my command suggested it." The look of relief that washed over her face almost made him smile. Looking over his shoulder, he addressed the rest of the team. "Earnest, I need you to cover us. Spitfire, Storming, I want you in the trees to alert us if there are more inbound." He shot another glance at the battlefield. "Though I suspect they sent all they had at us. Still, a pony never rests on her laurels when timberwolves may still be in the field."

"First Lieutenant, this is a waste of bucking time. There is no way this featherhead is gonna tell us anything but to go buck ourselves." Spitfire had made no move. Instead, she adopted an insolent stance and glared challengingly at him.

Shining was very careful not to let any anger or frustration show.

The Second Lieutenant's turn back toward the line of insubordination was not unexpected. He had even noted in his own head how this attack would be fuel for her push for a less-than-diplomatic approach while he had been in the thick of it.

Why Command had placed her in his group, he still had no idea, but he was beginning to suspect it was to give an honest assessment of her capabilities to lead and take orders. Either that or to take rightful command from him. The entirety of the military’s upper echelon of commanding officers were mares, and a good portion was already displeased that he had risen so high in ranks.

"Second Lieutenant Spitfire, if there is even a chance of knowing the why, and, more importantly, the how they found us, I will take it." He took a deep breath. Maybe he wasn't as calm as he thought he was. "Now, cover us. As Specialist Pestle has said, he won't have long once he wakes up. Either way, we move within the hour."

For a moment, Shining thought she was planning to argue the point further. Finally, she gave herself a shake, wings puffing up in agitation, and took to the air to set herself opposite of Storming Wing.

He most certainly did not breathe a sigh of relief. That was Sergeant Earnest. He gave a raised eyebrow to the mare, which earned a blush from the earth-colored pony.

"Sorry, sir. But I thought she was about to issue Challenge." Her gaze swept to the tree line.

"I think she understands the pressure of this mission more than we may give her credit for." He said without conviction. He was beginning to worry himself over the mental control the pegasus had on herself.

"She may understand it, sir." Came Pestle's voice, pulling his attention back to her and their prisoner. "However, I think Sergeant Earnests' concern bears some notice. We all agree on one thing, Sir. If she does push for a change in command of this mission, we will reject it."

The "sir" had been rather pronounced.

It was odd to the white stallion. At first, the mares of his little squad had continued to treat him as they would any random stallion they would find. Lewd comments and suggestive actions seemed to come as much as they breathed.

Typical soldier behavior.

But as their journey took them ever farther east, just north of the Unicorn Range and what the locals called the Garberithian Mountains, the group's flippancy had begun to change. Starting with their more liberal use of sir when addressing him.

If he was a betting pony, it would likely be because of the many groups of refugees they had begun to encounter with increasing frequency.

With them, they carried tales of burned-out homes, of killed family members, and of robbery. However, there were tales of hope as well, news of bandits being put to sword and ax. Of a force in the area moving swiftly to save communities, if not the land they had dwelled on.

In those encounters, Shining and Pestle worked to heal those with the most grievous injuries.

Earnest surprised them all with knowing the funeral rites and helping griffon families say their last goodbyes.

Even Storming demonstrated compassion by entertaining the little ones so that their parents could attend to more serious matters.

All but Spitfire was chipping in.

Shining Armor could not fathom how the mare could look into the face of such tragedy and not be moved to render aid. She would just stand there, posting guard, and waiting the team out as they helped those they could before moving on.

He shook his head.

"I thank you for your support, Specialist. Now, let's wake this griffon up, and see what he knows and is willing to tell."

"Dyin', ain't I?"

That had not been the first words Pestle had expected the prisoner to say upon waking up after she used a low-yield shock spell centered around the griffon's brainstem to jolt him awake.

The mild electrocution was the very last thing she did. The Specialist first did everything she could to artificially seal up the holes in the most important blood vessels in his body. The second was keeping the heart pumping, and lungs performing as they should.

Judging by his words, he could very likely feel something was wrong, which wasn't out of the norm. The array of spells being used to keep his blood and heart moving was a rather forceful one despite them being designed for delicate work such as this. Try as pony medical knowledge did, there were still gaps in understanding and skill that needed to be bridged.

"I'm…afraid so, yes." Lieutenant Armor was calm. Kneeling next to her, he towered but did not seem to dominate. A far cry from his earlier efficiency in dispatching his opponents.

"Heh heh…oh…it hurts ta lauf…" the prone bandit grimaced and licked his beak. "I can't believe I got caught by a wire, of all things. Had a nasty surprise for you lot." He chuckled darkly to himself.

"I am sure you did," Shining commented dryly. "May I ask your name?"

"Heh, so ya can pump me for information, eh? Get to know me, right? Build a rep..a repo…sod it, get in good with me? That's a laugh."

Pestle wanted to sigh. He was no dummy and knew what they wanted the moment he locked eyes with them. With no promise of survival, the odds were not in their favor of learning anything.

Despite her disagreement with the Second Lieutenant on protocol and what was important, she did have to admit that this was very likely a waste of time. It didn't help any that while she could not feel anything, the sensation of his lungs heaving as they struggled to take in oxygen past the slowly congealing blood was making her queasy.

"Something like that, yes." The Specialist's head swung to her commanding officer in shock. She almost lost her focus; she was so surprised by the blunt honesty in his words that the formula nearly spiralled in on itself. That would not have been a pretty sight.

"Hah! Hah! I like your colors!" His excitement briefly dipped into a coughing fit that nearly stopped his heart. Grimacing, he spoke again. "What's in it for me?" His arm struggled, and he only got a finger up to point in her direction. "Judgin' by 'er face, ya can't save me. What's good tellin' ya what I know?"

"Nothing to you, I suppose. However, do you not feel just a little bit of guilt over what you've done?"

"Sir, perhaps just a little less honesty?"

"Hah! I ain't never had a regret, except maybe drawing the bad stick on this sticky little detail." The bandit mumbled back.

For the first time this morning, Lieutenant Armor looked unsure. The silence stretched on, punctuated by the prisoner's heavy breathing.

"Names Gregory." His voice sounded weaker now, and dry. Pestle applied another layer to the algorithm keeping his heart pumping, and began fishing in her bag for some sterilzed water.

"My name is Shining." The stallion replied in kind.

"Heh, silly pony name." More silence, then: "I may have a few regrets…them hatchlings…I shoulda said…something I think. Bah. It's dead and gone… Just like 'em." He turned his beak away at the offer of water. “Don’t waste it, Luv.”

Pestle's stomach sank. Gregory had just admitted to the death of foals. Or at least some involvement on their end.

"What do you wanna know?" The drake spoke in a whisper.

"How did you find us?" Shining was wasting no time, likely knowing the end was fast approaching even without his metaphorical finger on his pulse.

"Heh…a wee bit hard to hide a group of ponies stompin'...about. Not to mention ya did very little to hide yourselves. How could we not notice?"

Her commander nodded with a wry smile, then went on with his inquiries.

"Why come after us at all? As far as I know l, we had nothing to do with one another, and not to sound arrogant but attacking us does have certain…ramifications."

"And I'd agree with ya. But, fuck it, there are those above me…well, us, that wouldl gut us as soon as look at us."

"You willingly joined with a band that would just as well kill you as employ you?" Shining asked incredulously.

"Naw, it ain't so harsh as all that. Well, it is, but I think your whorse mind sees more than I am sayin'." He coughed, and there was no way to ignore the blood dribbling from his beak.

Pestle wiped some of it away with gauze.

"Thank ya, lass. Can't be looking too dirty for when I meet the Boreas." She had no idea who that was but knew of it for the deity it sounded like.

"So you were told to come after us?" Shining prompted him.

"Yeah… higher-ups and all that. Of course, they got their own bosses too."

"Of course. However, despite our journey through these lands, we had not acted against you. I could understand it if you were simply attacking the next traveler on the road, but we purposefully hid away from the main road. So why us?"

Gregory coughed weakly, humor no longer able to turn up his beak.

"If you weren't now, you will be once you run into the prince. Figured Ol' Bloodbeak finally got wise and hired some ponies to lend his son a hand."

"Prince Gerhard is not our original mission."

"Ah, but is now, innut? That ol' bird gots something you pones want, and you are out here because of it. My bosses may be flank holes, as you would call them, but they ain't stupid."

"No, you assessed it accurately." Shining cocked his head to the side with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me, have you heard of another pony out here? A young colt, black fur and orange maned?"

"No…" The griffon wheezed. There wasn't much time left. "Other than you, I hadn't heard of wind-blasted colt running around out here…well, no. That's not true now that I think it; some new blood settlers were talkin' about a pony that had given them advice. Second hand though, none of ‘em knew him."

Her commander sighed heavily.

"Not definitive, but it's more than what we had."

"Ya out here looking for one measly pone?" At the stallion's silent nod, all Gregory could do was laugh. Laugh so hard blood bubbled past his beak, far from an acceptable amount of it. One of his lungs nearly collapsed from the strain. "I…I got a request." He coughed again and groaned. "I have…no…no right ta ask…but…" He takes a small rattling breath. "Can ye find it within ye ta give us all our last rites? P-please…don't leave us to the forest…floor. Let us soar at least one last time."

Pestle was familiar with the last rites of the griffon people, as they had helped perform it over the last few days with other Griffonians that they had encountered.

The Final Soar, as they had called it, was a ritual burning. Their bodies were placed upon a pyre of wood and lit aflame. Through this method, their ashes are allowed to scatter on the wind to join with a deity they most likely do not believe in any longer, Boreas, the God of the Winds.

Certain pegasus families practiced this method as well, but instead of Boreas, it was to honor their greatest champion, Ventum Rapidi. To become the rising heat to keep her gliding for all time.

No pony used names like that anymore, but if a mother were to name their child Rushing Wind, then that parent had high hopes for their child's ability.

"I will."

That wasn't a surprise. One of the reasons Pestle stopped her teasing of the stallion had not been the private revelation of his involvement with a rarely seen princess, but because of his compassion to help others despite the nature of their mission. The stallion had the honor of ten mares, and, if she was honest with herself, more courage than most she had met.

Truly, he was not the soft deskborns that inhabited the clerical offices of Command Administration.

"Thank…ye…" Gregory smiled. "If it's the Prince you gotta find, you are…only…a day…behind…wily…bastard…doubled back two days ago. He bloodied us good. He's to…to the…north…"

"Thank you, Gregory. May your colors burn bright." Shining smiled and placed a hand on the griffon's shoulder.

"M…may your soul…soar high…" At a nod from her commander, she eased the intensity of her spells to allow the prisoner to slip into unconsciousness again. Once done, she severed her magic entirely, and with a whistle-like sound, the griffonian passed on.

"I hate that." She said.

"Me too." Shining echoed. "Done it often?"

"No." Pestle shook her head and dusted off her chausses, and stood. "Just a couple of times, and those were ponies. This," she gestured at the corpse, "honestly felt the same, though."

"How so?"

"Sir, I don't like the feeling of keeping a dying pony alive like that. And with him, I felt the same way. It feels…wrong."

"If it makes you feel any better, Specialist, I completely agree with you." He stood and dusted his own armored legs off. "Necessity doesn't mean we should enjoy it. The fact that we don't, I think, means a good thing."

"A good thing, sir?"

His lips quirked into a small, sad smile. "Means we haven't become monsters yet."

"I suppose you are correct." She paused. "Are we really going to see to…?" She left the question unfinished.

"Absolutely. There is enough deadwood here to start a big enough fire to consume them all." He looked over to Earnest and nodded. She had very likely heard the whole conversation. "Besides, this copse of trees is too exposed. We won't be leaving till later tonight, so my original plan was a poor one anyway."

"Why?" It was such a surprise she forgot to add the sir. He didn't seem to mind.

"I doubt they just sent these guys in without a watcher. By now, they know at least some of us are alive. Judging by the size of the force, I would say they sent what they had available considering what Gregory had told us. Prince Gerhard's force must be wreaking havoc in the area, and that should be enough of a distraction to get our flanks out of here once darkness falls." He grinned. "At least we know which direction to look."

"Are you sure he wasn't just lying to us, sir?" Earnest said, already grabbing wood to pull toward the far side of the clearing. The rain from the past two days would ensure the fire did not get out of hand once started, so a fire inside the speck of forest would do no lasting damage.

"There is the chance, but I think not. He didn't have to tell us that last bit. No." He shook his head. "Whatever he has done in this life, his final moments were honest."

Pestle could only look at her squad leader and shrugged. Time would be the only teller of whether that was true or not, and in truth, none of them were in any shape to move at that moment.

While the battle may have gone entirely in their favor, the exhaustion from so vicious a fight had sapped them all to weariness. It would be more than a few hours before she had the confidence to light more than a candle.

Second Lieutenant Spitfire put up a fuss. Mostly at the idea of giving their foes a final send-off. The idea of honoring the First Lieutenant's commitment seemed to be absurd to the pony. But even she agreed they needed rest. Still, five ponies against eighty-three opponents had to be some kind of record, and since she was not only the team's Medic and Recon Specialist, she would have to scribe the battle down for her superior's future reports.

Sneaking out of the copse was proving easier than Shining had expected.

It was sundown now, save for a slightly red hue from the west. The sun, guided by Celestia herself, was throwing out the very last rays of light onto the world's sky. The only other illumination was from the glittering stars that shone high and bright.

No sign of the moon and its haunting image of a unicorn pockmarked into its surface. Shining took that as a good sign. When the Mare on the Moon reared her head, events often seemed to become complicated.

Sometimes downright disastrous.

That might have just been superstition, though, as only ponies in sleepy little hamlets paid any mind to the fairy tales that merely served to frighten foals into their beds.

He chuckled to himself softly. Once upon a time, Shining was also sent running to his bed in fear of the Nightmare claiming him.

During the day, they had set up the mass prye, having to gather all the dead wood and fall a couple of trees for good measure. Spitfire had indeed spotted a trio of watchers, just as he had predicted, on the hills to the west and north of their position. He had been right; the force that came against them had not been alone, but seeing as no more seemed to be coming, those eyes were likely looking for the direction they would be taking.

Pestle had wondered aloud what the griffons who were still acting as lookouts on those naturally raised portions of dirt were seeing as each trunk was brought down in a bubble of silence that he himself was casting on each designated trunk. That gave the group a chuckle as they downed the last few for the field funeral. Seeing trees suddenly falling with no noise had to be a strange sight indeed.

Now, the small five-pony squad was sneaking out of the small collection of trees to the south, using the foliage as an obstruction for their would-be pursuers.

The pyre had yet to be lit. A delayed spell was running, and soon the algorithm would zero itself out, and activate the linked fire spells through the stacked wood.

Not only would Shining make good on his promise to the now departed Gregory, but by delaying the ignition of the kindling, it would serve as a distraction while he and his soldiers cleared the area and circled back northward.

"How much time do we have?" The white stallion asked in hushed tones to Pestle Break.

They were wrapped in a sound-dampening bubble, so it wasn't truly necessary to speak so low. But habits die hard; even though the armor he wore clinked noisily in the night, nopony beyond a ten-foot radius would ever hear a thing.

"Not long, maybe five minutes, sir," Pestle responded.

"Good, good. When that pyre goes up, it will be as good a marching band for a distraction. Earnest? How's the cleanup?"

"Not too bad." She huffed. "I wish we could slow the pace just a bit; doing this like I am is sloppy work at best."

Earnest Hearts had a rare ability not often found in earth ponies in this day and age. Much like a Diamond Dog, she could physically change the structure of the dirt. The difference between the two was distance. A Diamond Dog could only affect what their claws touch; with her earth pony ability to help in agriculture, had a range of a few paces from her.

This allowed the mare to erase their tracks as they moved. Lifting the pressed-down ground where their hooves impacted, and making it look as if nopony had ever been there.

The downside was that it wasn't a quick process as one of the mutts would be able to accomplish. With their hasty pace to reach the next tree line, this forced the Sergeant to work quickly. Which made her unsure if she was successful, or just making it more obvious.

"Do what you can, Sergeant. We believe in your ability." He had gotten lucky with the team that had been provided with.

During the long train ride up, and with the mares sleeping, he had gone over the dossier on each member of his team of rescuers.

Earnest Hearts was a remarkable example of her race. He suspected if she were somehow given a focus, like the one stamped on his forehead, she might be more than capable of standing amongst the unicorns in terms of potential.

Pestle Break was excellent in both healing and illusion. Possessing a photographic memory, she could remember everything with near-perfect clarity.

Her healing talent did not come from magic, though she was thoroughly trained in field applications, but from potions, she could make for herself. A little sought-after skill amongst the majority of their shared race, but one he could easily see the advantage of.

As far as her illusions, while not a talent, however, due to her memory, she could easily remember the difficult spells in their entirety. Currently, they were inside a bubble, one that bent light itself around them to hide their presence out in the open and silence the noise they made as they trudged through the open field.

Storming Wing, he truly believed, did not belong in the Guard. Her talent for creating and banishing storms on her own was incredible. However, she had found a way to not just generate rain clouds with the flick of a wrist; all manner of weather was at her disposal, such as creating fog banks.

Her only limit was how dry an area might be.

Spitfire he already knew of. The fiery-spirited mare was, quite simply, one of the fastest flyers in the whole armed forces. In fact, she might actually be the fastest now that he thought about it.

It was clear to him that if the mission should fail, she could get back to Equestria with a report before his corpse was cold.

Not a comforting thought, but at least somepony would know what happened should the worse occur.

The question was, why? It was one that had plagued him for a couple of weeks now. These assets could have been better served elsewhere. Instead, they were being squandered on one colt.

One annoying pony who had a knack for getting into mischief and not feeling the least bit guilty over it after the fact.

No. No, that was unfair of him to think that way. Orion did regret the things he had done. However, the unicorn could not help himself but to dive in head first into trouble.

Such had been the case with that poor colt he had managed to save in a lonely alley off a park.

Or here in Griffonia, giving solid advice to the predator people on how to improve their lives.

If anything, it was a reminder that Shining himself was not that different from him.

"Ignite has activated." Pestle's more analytical voice broke him from his thoughts. "We should see something of the fire shortly."

Inside the bubble of illusion, one would normally not be able to see anything but blackness. However, a part of the formula matrix that constructed the spell, was what could be described as a sensory probe that allowed them to see outside the layers of warped magic.

It cast a perfect live visual from the outside onto the inside, allowing them to navigate the field to the next line of trees.

As Pestle had predicted, the grove of trees they had first made their camp was soon bathed in a haunting glow of orange and red.

"Heh, they've taken the bait, Shining," Spitfire said. Her eyesight was the best among them, and her job was to watch for enemy activity as they slowly made their escape.

"Excellent." The lone stallion in the group said with enthusiasm. "The moment we get to those trees over there, we hunker down and wait them out."

"Really? Just wait till they leave?" The spirited pegasus said with a frown.

"We have enough food and water to last us a few days. Bandits are not known for their patience. A day, maybe two at most, and they will have left. Likely, they will figure we teleported away."

"And once…they're gone?" Huffed Earnest. Shining grimaced, hopefully, it wouldn't be much longer, and the mare could rest.

"Then we circle around and head north."

"Are we really going to go out of our way on the word of some dead bird?" At least Spitfire sounded less argumentative.

"At this point, we don't have much in the way of options. Other than Gregory's final words, we only have the conjecture of a few civilians to rely on, and they were not very specific, mind you."

"He has a point, LT." Came their medic's dry response. "Not sure what there is to discuss now."

Shining very carefully kept his expression neutral, but couldn't help but inwardly gape at Pestle's near admonishment of their second in command. And he had at one time believed her to be the more laid back of the three.

If the yellow mare was upset at the near insubordination, she did not voice it. Instead, she remained silent, her eyes locked onto the growing bonfire behind them, and the activities of the enemy as they swarmed a safe distance away.

It didn't take long, and the lone earth pony of his team fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"Let's make camp; I'll take first watch. Sergeant, you will not be posting watch tonight." Shining smiled at the grateful expression on the mare's face as she unrolled her bedroll.

As they hunkered down for the rest of that evening, him settling against the trunk of a tree for the first watch, he thought he saw something that shouldn't be.

A lone figure stepping out of the copse of trees, the profile of a pony displayed by the burning pyre, a unicorn to be accurate.

Shining blamed it on the lack of sleep, having been up for nearly twenty-two hours. Because as he blinked and rubbed his eyes, and looked once more, the pony was gone. As if they never were there, to begin with.