//------------------------------//
// A Letter to the Princess (a.k.a. Twilight Sparkle the Sniper) 
// Story: Equestria Fortress 2 
// by nightelf37 
//------------------------------//

As EqU made its way to another area via their trailer, with Tasic on the wheel and Chronicle "riding shotgun", Jothicu was telling some kind of story to Fluttershy while he continued his research (particularly on something called the ÜberCharge), Spike was licking at his gem-on-a-stick, Rainbow Dash was boredly resting on a 'hammock' Tasic had set up, and Thenam was making some tasty treats alongside Derpy Hooves, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack while explaining to Rarity about her Spy gear's masks. As for Twilight Sparkle, she was writing a letter on a piece of paper, using a 'pen' Jothicu provided.

Dear Princess Celestia, 

I hope this message makes its way to you.

It's been ten days since we've been mysteriously sent to this world. Me, Chronicle, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Derpy Hooves. I have no idea why Derpy is with us as she isn't…well… Anyway, I'd like to talk about what we're doing here.

As I have mentioned in my previous letter, we're fighting against some rather strange enemies. Thanks to our friend here, we've obtained equipment equivalent to theirs so we can fend them off. 

Twilight stopped writing for a moment as she looked back at one of her finer moments, not that she takes pride in it.


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During one 'mission', Twilight had set her sights on the RED Heavy. Remembering some pointers from Tasic, she held her breath so that her breathing wouldn't affect her aim, then fired. The bullet hit directly on the head…and struck the bottle his fellow Demoman was drinking from. 

The bottle shattered, causing its top half half to lodge itself in his remaining eye. Naturally, the Demoman flailed around, bumped into a wall in the process (which lodged the bottle further in), took out his Grenade Launcher, and fired grenades wildly in the air before falling over a ledge and down into a cluster of barrels containing some dangerous stuff. The Demoman's grenades fell there as well and exploded…causing the barrels to explode as well, obviously killing the Demoman.



"Oww." was all Twilight could say, cringing at how she took down two enemies with one bullet. Technically, the Demoman finished himself off, but she was indirectly responsible for it.


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After a while, after their trailer passed over a "rumble strip", Twilight resumed writing.

My task as the team's Sniper is relatively comfortable. I still get a bit queasy before starting a battle due to needing to kill our foes, and while they somehow always come back, it doesn't make me feel any better. Chronicle seems to be taking it better than any of us, though. Still, I have to watch out for Scouts headed by way and Spies creeping up from behind. Several times I was so focused on taking out an Engineer, Heavy, or Medic when I was suddenly sent to the limbo room because a Spy stabbed me in the back.

I'm sure everypony back home is probably worried about us. Our families, our pets, the Cakes, Carrot Top, and Mystic Shield to name a few. And who knows when some sort of evil comes out while we're gone and the Elements of Harmony are needed?


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During a 'mission' in Gold Rush… Well, that wouldn't be perfectly accurate. In truth, the EqU Team were just resting around in the place, specifically the area called "Stage 3", when BLU came in on the attack. However, unlike last time, EqU was ready and already had positions set, learning from last time at Dustbowl. For some reason, they had entered the area via the train tracks that spanned the area, and they were pushing a cart of some kind. It was seen before back at Target.

"Oh, snap!", cursed Tasic. "That's a Payload bomb! If they push that to the checkpoint at the back, we're finished! Team EqU, battle positions, now!"

Of course, as EqU hastily prepared themselves (and Thenam prepared the "Copyspawn system"), BLU were on their way, and Twilight's teammates were fending them off. However, a few have bypassed them and were securing positions ahead. As Twilight scanned the area for those BLUs, she thought she saw a Sniper aiming at her.

"Hmm…I wonder if he saw me…", she mused out loud as she glanced away from the scope for a moment. She was answered by a bullet ricocheting off the ledge under her. "Aah! Yes, he did!", she then cried out as she took cover and left her position. 

As she made her way to a different vantage point, she sensed a Spy coming right for her from behind. To the unaided eye, all that could be seen was a shimmer. But thanks to her magic, she got a fairly more specific hint on his whereabouts. She then remembered that Thenam had told her teleporting was okay, but only for short distances.

And that was what she did. One second, her horn was glowing and the next, she was gone in a flash of light. She then emerged a pace behind the Spy, who had stopped in puzzlement when she disappeared. Then, 'taking out' the "kukri", she 'thrust' it right into the Spy's back. Next, she came up close and used her memory spell on him. She once used it to restore her friends from Discord's spell; now she used it to remove the knowledge of her teleportation from the Spy's mind as he'd remember it after being respawned.

Finally, the Spy fell to the floor as Twilight 'pulled' her blade off of his back, looking rather grossed out from the need to attack up close.


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Twilight then paused and wondered if she had to mention… Well, one time, while they rested in Gold Rush after fending off BLU, she had been stationed at one of the "Sniper Decks". While it had been relatively quiet, she was supposed to wait and stand guard. She also had to stay alert and Jothicu provided a dark brown drink called coffee to help her stay awake. Fortunately, she didn't end up going 'high' and hyperactive as the medical researcher (and a few of her friends) had feared. 

Still, there was that urine problem; if she had to stay at her post, how was she to relieve herself? The answer was she do so with a jar. After realizing it'd be too gross, she decided not to write that down, or the fact she can throw them at enemies to force them to lower their guard.

There are also some things I'd like to remark about the Sniper's standards. "Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Of course, I'm not gonna follow the last one since that isn't for peaceful ponies like us. Being efficient, I know I'll have to follow. As for being polite, as far as I can tell, there was that one time where I realized too late that I ended up offending Pinkie Pie when I offered to help her with babysitting the Cake twins. I sorely regretted myself once I realized it a few hours after. As for the Sniper, he doesn't seem to be following that standard either as his insults he makes are rather offensive.

She thought back at one on his phrases she had heard he said. 


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At Gold Rush…

"You prancin' show ponies!", the BLU Sniper said from his vantage point after sniping Fluttershy, Derpy, Pinkie, and an EqU Sniper clone in ten seconds (flat).




At that second, Rarity came up from behind. "I'll show you prancing show ponies!", she said as she 'drew' her revolver and fired two shots at his head, killing him. 

His death gave EqU enough time to mount a solid defensive, but it wasn't enough. 

Thankfully, the bomb ended up disarming itself as its timer ran out before it reached the checkpoint. No one had any idea why this was so, but in any case, BLU started running around, Humiliation in effect as EqU sealed another victory.


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Once again, Twilight resumed writing.

Well, I don't think it's a good idea to let anyone else know what we've been through. Well, I gotta go. We got another day ahead of us. I already miss Equestria, my home, and you most of all, Princess Celestia.

Your faithful student (and Sniper-in-training),
Twilight Sparkle

With that, she 'passed' the pen to the nearest person. In this case, it was Thenam, who was just finished with one last batch of muffins and cupcakes. After he took it, she then 'rolled up' the paper she was writing on, was given a ribbon to tie the letter in, then 'gave' it to Spike, who shrugged and blew his green fire on it, turning it into smoke as it left the trailer through the ventilation system. She then gave a sigh, catching the attention of the others (except Rainbow, who was asleep).

"What's wrong, Twilight?", asked Pinkie.

"Well, all of this. Or at least us doing all this fighting and killing." Even Fluttershy, whose role thanks to her 'class' doesn't primarily focus on it, had to kill a few times before.

In particular, there was that one time where the REDs whittled down one of the small groups she was in until she was the last one left. For some reason, they had decided to just close in slowly on her rather than just 'send her away' like they did with the rest. It ended up being one of the biggest mistakes they had ever made; rage took over her, they were paralyzed in place when she used the Stare on them, and before they knew it they were all swiftly slaughtered with the "bonesaw". Of course, they (nor BLU, seemingly) never made that mistake ever since.

And each time she ended up killing, she always broke down in tears once the deed was done, unable to be of any assistance until the battle has ended, requiring Thenam to send in a replacement Medic during those times. Many times she had to be consoled, by Jothicu and Chronicle in particular.

"I'm worried as what this might do to all of us. And even if they do keep coming back, it still doesn't help."

"And we all regret having to do this, really.", replied Jothicu. "Tasic is rather torn about this, you know."

"Yeah…"

Before the conversation could continue, Spike suddenly gagged, then burped up a burst of green fire, which then formed into a sealed scroll, which dropped to the floor, there were gasps from everypony who saw the scroll. The gasps also woke Rainbow from her sleep.

"Is that what I think it is?", asked Jothicu.

"It's a letter from the Princess!", gasped the baby dragon.

"Princess? As in Princess Celestia?!"

"The one and only!"

Immediately, Twilight ran over, took the letter, and started to read it. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight…"


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And that's it for now.

"Really?! You just ended it right there?!"

Don't really know what to put in. Sorry.

"Don't you think Twilight might've been…out of character for this?"

Sorry again. I don't write other characters too well extensively.

"Okay. Why is Carrot Top mentioned in the letter?"

Well, in case you didn't know, in fanon, Carrot Top (also named Golden Harvest) is Derpy's closest friend. And as for this Mystic Shield, he is an original character in Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic, somepony Chronicle meets and starts up a dojo with. If you want to know a bit more about that, read the story provided in the link. See ya on Third!