For whoever receives this letter after I die, you can remember me as Shadow. Seriously, don’t call me Hunter. I am that pony who lives on his own in the apartment at the end of the row. You'd find me working at anything else other than being a guard, but that is my life. What you don't know is that I fight the battles that keep Equestria safe, the battles that 'never happened'. I raise the glass, red with my own blood to the lips of those who hate our kind so that you may rest easy tonight.

They make every royal guard write a letter like this for his loved ones, something for the wives and foals to hold onto for the damned rare case that they die on duty. I don't have anypony to the give this letter to, but I'm writing it anyway to say that I wish I did. I've been shot, stabbed, had my wings and bones broken, and yet nothing I've ever endured can hurt like a mare. If I should die before there is one that I may give it to, I leave this note to my team to remember me by. A hail to Celestia and Luna, and I'll see all you mules in Tartarus one day.

Lieutenant Grade Six Shadow Wing
Timberwolf Team Deputy Commander
Equestrian Royal Guard

The Canterlot night was calm, a lonely hour at which streets were quiet and the city lay still. Even the poorer districts of the city, usually up late with the dregs of society conducting their crimes and illicit works were devoid of motion. Far above the sleepy rooftops, the crescent moon lay some ways past it's zenith, casting a cold gray light upon the row of apartments.

Inside, that moonlight spilled in the front windows, shedding light upon a small wooden coffee table. Placed haphazardly on top were a set of old and worn saddlebags, next to a glass bottle, three-quarters of a hoof less full than it had been a few hours before. In the silence, the clicking of a small clock nailed to the wall rang out, almost drowning out the faint sound of the slow intake and exhale of breath of the stallion sitting on the sofa by the table.

He held still, but his eyes betrayed his wakefulness, reflecting the moonlight. It was so easy to sit motionless, but so hard to fall asleep. Alone with his thoughts, acting like a statue would not have been out of the question, had the clock not struck two in the morning with a faint chime. At the sound, Shadow stirred faintly, then stretched wide, popping many vertebrae. Crud...how did it get this late?

Though his hooves were a bit unsteady under him, Shadow slowly slid down onto the carpet and forced himself to walk over to the kitchen. The lights were out, but it is a space well memorized within his tired and tipsy mind. After a moment or two, he found the sink, stuck his face under it, and turned on the cold water. For a few seconds, he allowed the flow to slick his hair and mane down, but soon starting drinking. And drinking. ...eighteen...nineteen..twenty swallows. Ought to be enough to make sure I don’t wake up super hung over…

As much as the water felt good, Shadow turned it off, and walked back over to the sofa. A moment’s indecision gripped him as his eyes found the bottle, but he put the cap back on it anyways. When Riff had told him not to drink anymore, Shadow knew that there was no way he’d live up to that. What he didn’t count on was how little more alcohol would help. When the demons of his past came up to haunt him, the sting of liquor would always wash it away long enough for him to fall asleep and confront them in nightmares, but not tonight.

Once Riff had said goodnight, Shadow had more or less immediately went back to his bedroom and dragged out the bottle, then plunked himself down on the sofa. He had figured he’d pass out on the sofa, and with his pager and antidote injector both securely on his forelegs, if something for the Timberwolves came up, he could deal with it. Unfortunately, nothing had come up to take his mind elsewhere. Nothing more important than deal with himself. Given four hours by himself with his bottle, all he could do was think. And think he did.

He thought of Sherry, and the times they shared together. How he met her in his third year of college, how he had fallen for her...hard. He’d never cared for a mare like that before in his life, and neither had any mare cared for him. How he shared everything about himself he could talk about, the hours he spent listening to her talk about her cares and woes. The night where they had gone for a walk up in the mountains, and she took him out onto a ledge in the moonlight. While he was taking in the view, she slipped a gold bracelet with a diamond on it onto his left foreleg...and how she later took it away. How it went away when he couldn’t find work in the music she loved so much, and put aside the muse for the armor of a guard.

He dwelt on the time spent in the guard, how it had become everything he didn’t want it to be. Just a job, in which his father, who was often working but five minutes from where his office was, never could spare time to visit. Polish the armor, put on a brave look for the most mundane efforts. Years of running the guard in the city and castle, while his contemporaries bragged of posts in the forts on the border, and hunting down criminals and vagabonds.

He recalled how one day after he insisted on seeing his father, who couldn’t possibly be constantly busy just as the records clerk. From Lieutenant Wing to Captain Skyward, demanding a meeting. How he’d been told to show up early one Friday morning, and his entire world got changed upside down as he was brought in for an indoc session with the secret unit his father was in charge of. How he passed, trained, and learned to be a killer. How he’d ‘left’ the guard to become a waiter...and his whole life changed. How his hooves became stained red as a salute to the deeds he lived with.

More painful still, he remembered how he met Spitfire again, the joy at meeting a pony who’d always held a treasured place in his mind. His new employment, easy hours and good pay for filling in the extra workout sessions that his father mandated the Timberwolves to do when they were not out in the field. That was all dust compared to spending time with Spitfire.

She’d always been so nice to him. Tried to pay him more, not knowing that he was being paid handsomely for his other job. Hazard combat pay and all that. She tried to always have him put up in a nice place to sleep, when after so many nights in the field, simply having somewhere dry to sleep was comfort, and a bed a luxury. She gave him a new desire in life, to help her team succeed, in hopes that she would be happy. It gave him something to do while he tried to find a way to explain his feelings to her. Feelings. Ugh.

He always had the hardest time with that, because he didn’t even understand his own feelings. If he couldn’t explain them to himself, how could he explain them to her? So many countless hours he’d spent trying to understand why he felt the way he did. If there wasn’t a good reason behind them, it seemed to Shadow like they shouldn’t exist, but logic be bucked, they did. If it was just her lithe body and beautiful mane, her fiery spirit and drive to succeed, her stern yet caring personality, if it were just one thing that grabbed his attention so, he could justify those feelings to himself.

Yet he’d met mares before that had those traits. By means of magic and time and effort, a mare could, honest to Celestia, make herself beautiful beyond compare if she so wanted, yet Spitfire barely bothered with more than making sure she had a clean workout uniform most days. Shadow had known mares in his basic guard training who had such a will to carry on that it could inspire anypony, no different from Spitfire. He’d been hit on by mares before, when he was still ‘in the guard,’ who had wanted to capture the attention of a stallion in armor making decent bits, but such attempts were easy to see and even easier to despise. For the life of him, he didn’t understand why she so captured his attention, and kept it despite every attempt to let her go.

It had all been a foalhood crush; one that really couldn’t be helped. He’d been so hungry, and his parents hadn’t given him anything to eat. The food was a simple gesture, but one that stayed with him over two decades later. He’d longed to see her, and was so foolish as to bring such things up. Life had gone from the frying pan to Tartarus...and then Dive had found him. Then his time became about everything else other than mares, and the only mare that had mattered was Dive’s wife, who he later came to know as Mama Wolf instead of Sure Splint. Later, after he’d joined up with the Timberwolves, he heard that the foalhood friend of his had achieved fame, and called her to congratulate, only to be dragged into coaching for her team.

There was no way he’d say no, especially when those old feelings had returned a hundredfold upon meeting her, though holding himself in check at the restaurant had taken all his self-restraint. That burden grew worse as time went on, as what was friendly affection grew into a crush. And into love? Whatever it had become, it wasn’t something he could deal with. Should he have been so lucky as for her to return his affections, there still would have been the issue of dealing with his constant disappearances and inability to explain them. So for a lack of a way to explain his feelings, and an inability to hold up a relationship, he kept those feelings to himself.

Kept them to himself, at least until she found out for herself. Shadow shook his head slowly, dizziness faintly numbing the feeling. That mission...was the worst first mission a deputy commander could have. Difficult rescue, lost my weapon, got shot, blew my cover, and pissed off my civilian job boss. Since that day, Dive had been out the the eight mission calls that they’d had. Every time, Shadow had been assigned as acting commander, and with the exception of that first one, they’d gone smoothly. They were getting closer and closer to finding the core elements of Rex Auguilares, but that success had not brought cheer with it. Neither had his success in his day job. If it can be called that. How the buck did I end up doing this? Right...because dad sent me out to do so, and it worked out too well.

In the end, it somehow cruelly brought him full circle with Spitfire. When he thought that he just might have gotten over her, she quite literally beat her way back into his life, only to snuff out his hope again. And yet I can’t stop thinking about her. Back to the start of ‘I don’t understand myself.’

That had covered the last three hours, but Shadow had never done well getting over anything without a plan. Looking as deep as he could into himself, he’d told himself to accept that he’d never be with her. It hurt, but it allowed him to ask of himself the question he needed to know that answer to. So what do I want, now that she is not an option? The answer had been...hard to swallow, but he couldn’t refute it. It was how he was going to live from now on, no matter how much it hurt.

Carrying a resolution on what to do, he could at least nod to himself that he’d done the best he could, even if that couldn’t get him to sleep. The liquor didn’t help either. With the thinking done, and the vodka nothing but a grim-tasting method of making himself hurt upon waking, he had little else to do than to sit and stare into the moonlight. Sunrise would be along in a few hours, and he’d do little. He had to go work out the next day, and that was it. Riff wouldn’t be needing him for anything, and Shadow had no plans.

Looking out through the window, he saw a figure approach his door. Far from alarmed, he simply held still. If it was a burglar, he’d tell him to get lost, and if the crook was stupid enough to pull a weapon, Shadow would beat him senseless. It would probably feel satisfying at this point. The figure drew closer. Oh wait...that’s dad. What is he doing here now of all times?

Rather than play the pointless game of waiting for the older pegasus to knock, Shadow got up and opened the door just in time for Dive to reach up to knock. If Dive was surprised, it didn’t show on his face.

“Didn’t think you’d still be up.” Dive stepped inside and shut the door, as Shadow sat back down on the sofa.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Yeah, but I don’t approve of your drinking habit to help it,” noted Dive as he pointed at the bottle.

“Heh. That’s the one thing I have that could be considered a problem. Can’t be proud of me dad? I finished college, commissioned in the Guard, coached the Wonderbolts, became a killer, and am becoming a bucking rock star. I did that last one just for you, you know? I have more bits than I’d ever know what to do with, between the guard pay and this new job. I think I can justify going through a forty-bit bottle of liquor every month or two. Besides, it was a rough day.”

“I heard about that, and that’s why I’m here.” Dive sat down next to Shadow.

“Heard about what, exactly? And from who?”

“Just that my son is having some filly problems, and might need some fatherly advice, or at least somepony to talk to.”

“And you think you can help me...how?”

“Because I’ve been where you are before. I can’t say the circumstances were exactly the same...”

“I’d hope not.”

“...but honestly, just tell me what’s going on. Spit it out.”

Shadow looked askance at Dive, but only got a concerned stare in return. Ah buck it. Taking a deep breath, he launched into his rendition of the night’s events. He stopped at the point where Riff dropped him off at home, hoping Dive wouldn’t ask the obvious questions.

“...and once I got inside, I drank about a fifth of this bottle, and still can’t sleep.”

Dive rubbed his chin for a moment, and then did exactly what Shadow feared he would.

“Well you seem to be taking this an awful lot better than you did with Sherry. It makes me wonder what you’ve done to get over her so fast. I remember with Sherry, you poured yourself into your guard duties to the exclusion of all else, and it took you over a year to get past all that. Seeing as you’re holding together pretty well, I want to know how you did it.”

Shadow sighed and looked straight forward, and spat it out.

“I’m done trying to find happiness with mares.”

“What?”

“I can’t understand my own feelings toward them, let alone find a better way to share them than to awkwardly vomit out what is on my mind. I have nothing loving or caring enough to offer them that they might still want me, and live a damned double secret life that constantly will have me gone, and perhaps coming home in a body bag. I can’t give them that, and I can’t ask for such happiness for myself. You warned me when I started on this path, remember? How I’d have to give up most everything for Equestria. So that’s what I’ve decided I want most, a noble death for her. I don’t even need to be remembered, because we both know that’s not going to happen, but at least let me--”

“Shadow, I know it hurts, but this is not the answer. You can’t give up hope on this so easily.”

“Why not? It’s not as if it’s ever going to work. I’ve got nothing going for me.”

“Nothing? It seems you have a good physical form,” said Dive, poking Shadow in various muscles. “...a mostly intelligent head on your shoulders, a lot of bits you’ve never spent waiting around in your bank account, and now a popular name to boot. The only thing you don’t have going for you is social experience, and you can get that. Giving up yourself as dead already is no better than suicide, and if you seriously are thinking like that, I’m taking away your vodka.”

Shadow gave a quiet chuckle at this, but then pressed on.

“Seriously though, how the hay do you and mom do it? It’s not like you somehow have more spare time on your hooves than I do.”

Dive pondered the question for a few moments.

“Well granted it helps a lot that she not only knows what I do, but works with us...but we got together before Celestia asked me to take charge of a new unit for her. Back when I really was just the clerk, and she was just a nurse. And it never was easy. We both had to work at it. We fought, and made up, and eventually one day found ourselves married for it. Needless to say, that doesn’t answer your problem, but what will is that she was the fifth mare I seriously dated. To this day, I think you’ve been in one relationship. So keep trying. And you know as well as I do that we’re a matter of months away from finishing off Rex Auguilares...and then who knows, but odds are we get a lot more time for ourselves.”

Shadow nodded slowly.

“So you gonna perk up and keep trying for me? You know if you start giving up on life I’ll just make Crash pt you until you scream for Chaff to play matchmaker for you.”

“Oh...” Shadow laughed. “Sure, count me as still trying Captain Skyward.”

“Don’t you get formal on me. Not here, not now. Though, you can’t call me captain anymore.”

“Wait, what?”

In answer, Dive hoofed Shadow a small pouch. Inside, Shadow found a sets of insignia in the shape of a crescent moon. No way!

“Congratulations Captain Shadow Wing.”

“Wait, what does that make you then?”

“Well...after spending...ten years as the captain in the records office, Princess Luna has seen fit to ‘give me a chance at something better’ and set me up as the new head of intelligence, since Colonel Argent is retiring.” Dive grinned at his own joke.

“So, who’s going to command the Timberwolves?”

“You, of course.”

Shadow started to cough.

“But I don’t have the experience for that! I’m just being put in charge like that?”

“Oh come off it and think, I know you’re not that sloshed. There’s been a reason why I couldn’t go on mission with you guys time and time again. Each of those times you were the commander, even if it was just acting commander. Well guess what? You were completely in charge, without the pressure on your shoulders for it. You’ve already been doing the job of a captain for a while now, so Princess Luna and I agreed it would be good to just go ahead and give you the rank and the pay grade to go with it. “And you’re gonna be wanting a new guy for your team. I’ve found the perfect new recruit already, and I’ll let you do the honors of his indoc, but if you need help with how to train him, feel free to let me know.”

“Uhm...uh yeah, I will.”

“Alrighty, well that takes care of everything, except mom wants you to come visit soon.”

“Like she doesn’t see me enough already?”

“She sees soldier you, not ‘little colt she got to raise’ you. Help her, come visit us, eat the cookies she makes you, and have a good time. That’s all she wants.”

“Oh alright. Thanks dad, for everything.”

“No problem, now get some sleep, you look like you need it.”

“Mhmm.”

Dive got up, shutting the door behind him, leaving Shadow much the same way as he was found: sitting on the sofa, staring into the moonlight. After a few moments, he let out a sigh, got up, and grabbed his saddlebags and bottle and went down the hall to his bedroom. The door opened to show a space as equally un-decorated as the living room. Each of the walls was bare, and the only piece of furniture was a twin bed, which Shadow promptly tucked the bottle under.

Normally the saddlebags would go in the closet, something about keeping all kinds of classified military tech secret, but Shadow seriously doubted it was much safer in the closet than under his bed. With a shrug he tossed them under his bed before throwing himself on top of it.

Though his eyelids remained open to stare at the ceiling, for the first time that night they were heavy, begging sleep for his tired body. Well it worked, I’m finally sleepy. Captain Shadow Wing...I like the sound of that. Now to close my eyes for just a moment…

EepEepEepEep.

Wires. He rifled through the bunch looking for...where the buck is it!? Red with blue dashes...red with blue dashes...sweet Celestia yes!

The beeping grew louder as Shadow bit down hard on the wire and pulled. One sharp twist of the neck, and it broke free; the copper wire splaying out from the break in the coating. Beside the severed end of the wire, the countdown remained on 00:00:21 for another half-second, before continuing.

EepEepEepEep.

“It didn’t work!” howled Shadow.

“Horseapples!” came Dive’s reply over the helmet comms. “Get out of there, Shadow!”

Turning back, the room seemed much bigger. The window he’d come in through, and the only quick exit was a dozen lengths away, shards of glass littering the carpet in a trail to where he stood. There is still time.

“I can still disarm it! Conventionally!” Shadow kept his gaze over his shoulder long enough to line up the most powerful buck his hind legs could give, and ram it it the metal cylinder the panel was build into. CLANG! The steel of his guard’s shoes echoed against the hollow tube. It didn’t feel as if it gave. Recovering, Shadow looked back in horror to see that it wasn’t even dented.

“You get your rump out of there now! That’s a bucking order!”

“No! I can stop it!”

Shadow bucked the steel again, and again. Pain ran up his legs and diffused through his joints, and the hammering of steel meeting steel rang in his ears. Through the pain and the clamor, one noise still held steady.

Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep.

Hindlegs shaking, gasping for air, and covered in sweat, Shadow awoke to the sound of his foreleg pager beeping at him. One tap served to silence the darn thing, so his racing heart could slow down enough to read the display. The backlight offered only the slightest modicum of green glow in the sunlight coming through the window.

13:42:53

Incoming Call

Riff Runner

“Mmmrrrghhh...” groaned Shadow, sliding off his bed and digging the skyphone out from his saddlebags. “Hello?”

“Hey Shadow! It’s me, Riff. How you doing?”

“Fine, just fine.”

“Not too hungover?”

His head wasn’t aching, but his mouth tasted like rot and pains of either hunger or a stomachache clenched his belly.

“No, not entirely, but I could be better.”

“Well, just good to hear that you’re still kicking. That and wanted to let you know that we’re taking the next few days off. The split on that gig was a few hundred bits each, and Sable and Viv’ got seriously wasted last night. Probably won’t be up for anything for a little while. Found them both at her place...I don’t want to judge, but you bet I’m judging.”

“Heh, it would figure. Well thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem, take care Shadow.”

Growling echoed through the room as Shadow hung up. His body wanted food and water pretty badly, judging by the dry throat and painful stomach. Both would be easier to get in the kitchen. The contents of the refrigerator and cabinets hadn’t changed much in the last few months, but that didn’t stop him from opening up each one several times in a row in hopes that somehow, one of the packages within would strike his fancy. After three laps around the kitchen, nothing seemed any more appetizing than when he had started.

For lack of any results, Shadow stuck his face under the faucet again. Cool water fell slaked his thirst and eased the aching in his stomach. Now sated, it was time to hit the gym.

Today was leg day. It went ‘leg-wing-cardio-leg-wing-cardio-rest’, at least when he didn’t get called off on mission. It was something he wanted just as much for himself, as pumping iron gave him something to do other than dwell on the past, but now he had the motivation of making sure he was the best in shape to lead by example.

Before heading out the door, there were a few things to take care of. Check to see that the arcane stream battery in the pager was still in the green. Fill a water bottle and grab the gym bag. Spray on a bit of deodorant in hopes that nopony would notice his lack of shower. All ready--no, wait. Shadow bit down on the anti-alcohol injector, and set it on the coffee table. Ok, lets do this.

Two hours later, hide matted with sweat, and a faint smile on his face, Shadow pushed his front door open. It was a day of much lifting, and absolutely zero interaction with anypony else at the gym. One look at him, and the few other regulars just went back to their reps.

There was one surefire way to tell if it had been a good workout, and that was a shower. If he had trouble lifting his forelegs up far enough to reach the bar of soap, it was good. It also made the normally two minute shower take just a bit longer, but he had plenty of time. This was one of those days where there was both nothing to do, and he wanted to do nothing. So, Shadow sat on his rump under the steam of hot water and let it steam through his mane Not that there was much mane to experience that sensation with, but he enjoyed it for a while. His stomach had other plans though, and eventually forced him back into the kitchen to make a large pot of pasta and a protein shake.

Over dinner, he paged through the latest intelligence report on his datapad. No change in relations with foreign diplomats, no armed incidents of any kind, two new weapons designs that Ray wanted field tested, and a bio on the candidate for Timberwolf Team.

Sergeant Sky Rover...hmm...looks like a freaking show-off to me. The tall and wiry pegasus stallion in the picture was giving a brilliant smile to the camera. His black mane had been buzzed to a fine stubble, showing the brown coat underneath. On his ribbon rack were perhaps as many colors as Shadow would wear, should he ever find an occasion to wear a dress uniform. Ah well, we’ll see what he’s made of soon enough.

Reports due...pay statements...exhaustion followed quickly on the heels of the paperwork. That was Shadow’s cue to put away the dishes and plop himself in bed. The forms would still be there in the morning.

Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep. Eep.

Wakefulness came swiftly, the chains of unconsciousness falling quickly under the force of two nights of good sleep. Shadow sat up and looked at his pager. Words all too familiar ran across the front:

03:27:02

Incoming Call

Elder-Urgent

Adrenaline coursed through his limbs, propelling his form out of bed, to grab his saddlebags, and rip out the phone. “I’m up, and one my way.”

“Good, get here fast.”

The call was cut, and bags hastily thrown over his back. Only pausing to shut and lock his door, the short pegasus quickly took off into the night. Cool night air rushed over his face as his wings furiously drove him higher into the dark, high enough that anypony on the ground could not see. Oh goodness...my first one in charge. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be anything too crazy. Elder was the callsign of the head of intelligence, and the pony who was in charge tasking Timberwolf team in both planned and emergency operations. This one was certainly not the former.

After what Shadow guessed was about four thousand hooves in the air, he eased off the climb and turned toward Mount Eternity. Below him lay the upper spires of Canterlot Castle, and forward the sheer cliff face. Pulling back into a near vertical climb, his wingtips nearly brushed the rock as he went past. It was only by flying so close to the mountain that the overhang halfway up would be apparent, and even then for one who had been there before.

His head passed harmlessly through the illusion of rock, leaving him inside a small cave on the other side. The only feature was a circular pad large enough for a half-dozen ponies in gear, in the shape of the same pentacle several thousand hooves below. It was meant to save time in the case that they were in a hurry, and couldn’t be bothered to walk all the way to the entrance in the lower passages of the castle. Like right now! Shadow ran over to the pad, and blinked his eyes.

Upon opening them again, the walls of the teleportation chamber shone all around him. Wasting no time to admire the spellwork, Shadow bolted down the hall to where the gear lockers were. The one on the far left had the name HUNTER written with black marker on a strip of duct tape stuck on the locker. Somepony had torn off the new moon and six stars underneath the name, and replaced them with a crescent moon. He’d find out who and thank them later. For now he settled on putting on his combat skin and guard’s shoes as fast as possible. The helmet could wait until after the briefing.

In the briefing room, Crash and Savage were already waiting, suited up and with weapons on the tables in front of them. Standing up at of the front of the room beside a bank of monitors stood Dive and the former Colonel Argent Fire. The aging red and orange earth pony was yielding to gray, but his eyes bespoke seriousness. Shadow wasted no time taking his place next to Crash, who was now wearing the new moons of a lieutenant.

“Where’s Chaff?” demanded Shadow of everypony present.

“Should be here in the next minute or two. We’re gonna hold off filling you in until you’re all here.” Dive checked the clock again, while Argent milled about, staring at his datapad.

“Right.” Making use of that minute would have been a lot better than pretending to be busy, but all they were in need of was a location, and something to shoot. The wait always seemed to take longer when everypony was running on a cocktail of nervousness and adrenaline, but in reality it took two minutes for Chaff to bound into the room and slide in front of the table.

“Ok, thanks for getting here gentlecolts. We have another hostage situation. Same bad guys, different locale, multiple hostages.” Dive gave the briefing while Argent pulled up several maps on the screens. Pointing at the first screen, displaying a large compound, he continued. “At about 2300 last night, Rex Augilares broke into the ‘Bird’s Eye View’ resort here, forty miles northeast of Alsborough. We have only limited security footage, but it was clear this was a premeditated attack.” On screen, the dimly lit front entrance to the resort came into view. Griffons in black, bearing rifles, streaked over the walls.

“Lucky for us, we do have a good idea of where they are being held.” Argent pulled up another image, this one a daytime still-shot of a stone fortress built into the side of a mountain. “This is Redoubt Shatterclaw. Left un-garrisoned by the current government, but our contacts say that it has recently become active again, without permission. This leads us to believe that Rex Augilares has taken it for their own purposes. Their ambassador did give us schematics, and those will be uploaded to your helmets.” He paused for a moment before continuing, a faint smile now ghosting his lips. A new view of the fortress appeared onscreen, this one at night, with several familiar gold and red banners gently swaying in the wind. “But we’ve got one more thing. Ray got the Sky-View systems online.”

That was news indeed. Refract Ray had been working on something he called a ‘satellite’ or such, a hunk of metal with all sorts of cameras on it ever since the new altitude records came out. He’d made the Timberwolves fly up to the edge of the atmosphere and release the objects, which by some nefarious magic just hung there. They were supposed to give video feeds of large tracts of land, by due to some error they had never worked.

“...and so we have a live feed for you of the scene, force estimates, and we’ll be able to track from one more angle on top of your helmet cams from back here at base. So you know, the force holding the structure is not one that you want to be engaging in an open firefight. From what we’ve seen moving around, we place the enemy forces in the area between one and two hundred. As such, we’re recommending you use one of two strategies.”

Lines appeared on the screen, indicating a path through the fortress as the camera panned to get a better view on it.

“Follow these routes to evade what patrols we’ve seen so far, and you can likely get to the room we suspect the hostages are being kept. Option two...notice how that room is right by the outside wall? You can try breaching it if need be, but considering just how much noise you’ll make, plus that potential for harming the hostages makes it a very risky option. All the hostages are pegasi, so once you get them released, you can most likely make a very easy break for it. Captain?”

“We’ll go with the stealth option,” answered Shadow. “Crash, make sure to carry those breach charges just in case we have to go to a plan B. Sir, just how many hostages are we trying to extract?”

“Uhm...at least a dozen, maybe as many as twice that.”

Shadow winced.

“That’s going to be darn difficult to get out unnoticed with that many bodies in tow. And what if they are not all in great condition? I can’t imagine the griffons treated them very nicely. If more than a few have broken wings, we wouldn’t be able to carry all of them out of there.”

“You are correct. In light of that, we are rushing to get Second Cavalry unit armed and ready as we speak right now. We’ll have the unicorns put on sky chariots, and the whole unit will be assaulting the redoubt within two hours. That being said, if you can evac the hostages without being noticed by the regulars, do so. We don’t need another PR nightmare.”

“Yes sir. Also on the note of the hostages, do we have a positive ID on any of them? I’d like to know who we’re looking for.”

Dive bowed his head slowly as Argent nodded.

“We do indeed.”

A range of ID cards zoomed into focus, and Shadow gasped. Staring right at him were the smiling faces of the Wonderbolts. Spitfire and Soarin’, Twitch and Buzz, Tameless, Rapidfire, Double Dare, Rainbow Dash and Eagle Claw, Valkyrie, Sidewinder, Falcon Cry, Skyline Spirit, and Endless Skies. All now being held with their lives at ransom. It would probably be later that day, or perhaps tomorrow that a video would show up on the magicnet with Equestria’s favorite racers and aerial performers bound to chairs, knives at their throats and gun barrels pressed against their heads, while a masked griffon would read a list of demands.

As his gaze passed over one of the pictures in particular, a wall of raging emotion threatened to shut him down right then and there. She almost deserves this, after what she’s done. No! You swore on your own life and blood to fight when things like this happen! It doesn’t matter who she is. No...it does matter. Maybe she’ll change her mind if I can save her!? Why does this have to happen to me! Isn’t it enough to get shot at for a living!?

“Captain, is there a problem?” asked Argent. Dive continued to stare at the floor.

Oh Tartarus. Time to lock all that down, and make them pay for what they’ve done.

“No. Sir.” Shadow paused then addressed his team. “Timberwolves, get your rumps to the teleportation chamber! I want you geared and ready to leave in two moons! MOVE IT!”

Hooves pounded on the concrete floor as they raced out of the room. Shadow was hard on their tails when Dive reached out to stop him. Oh what now!?

“Hang on there colt, I know you’re not thrilled about what you gotta do, but you know just how important this is.”

“My opinion of or personal relation with the hostages is of no concern to any mission priorities. All that matters is getting them out alive. Everything else is secondary.”

Dive nodded his approval. “And when you do get them out, even if it doesn’t wind up how you’d like it to be, take care not to lose yourself again.” The two shared a glance for just a moment before Shadow bolted off down the hall after his stallions.

Author's Note

And here is the other one that was collecting dust in my gdocs. This is the last bridge chapter before everything really picks up again (hang onto your tails).

My thanks to Dizziestbeef for his remarkably targeted editing.