We arrived at the meeting point in the early morning. We were just outside our base; the sky was still a deep black, dew still clung to the wet grass, and the uncomfortable dampness could be felt under hoof. Chrono was already there, standing silently, facing a solid orange stallion unicorn.
Seeing that we had arrived, the orange pony spoke up. "You're late".
I was confused. "We were ordered to be here by 0400 it's 0355" I responded.
"Yes, that's late, don't let it happen again" He snapped. I wanted to argue, but I thought better of it and kept my mouth shut. “Now that you’ve arrived I can debrief you, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I will answer to best of my ability, but know that we’re on a tight timetable. My name is Daybreak Gleam” I raised my hoof so as to indicate I had a question. Daybreak gave me a dirty look, “This isn’t a classroom kid, if you have a question, just ask.” I went to open my mouth but before I could get any words out he started speaking again. “What you’re doing today is the highest of top-secret missions, and your actions today will have a major impact on the war”.
“What are we doing exactly?” I blurted out, causing both Silver and Chrono to turn their heads in my direction.
Daybreak smiled. “Today we’re going to kill their top general, today We’re killing Trimmel”.
Silver and I both gasped, Chrono remained stoic and nodded. “How are we going to go about this exactly?” I asked.
Daybreak dropped his smile, becoming serious. “Yesterday we got intel that their top general will be visiting near here at a Changeling supply depot, not far behind enemy lines for a meeting with some Officers. Now, he absolutely loves to talk endlessly to any troops present. He's known for being extremally personable, not batting an eye at chatting with low ranking enlistees. so what we’re counting on is that after the meeting. He will get in front of his troops, out in the open to speak with them where he will stand still, and that’s when you will take the shot. Your mission is to identify a good position to take the shot and to keep Chrono protected should anything go wrong. I on the other hand specialize in teleportation, I will teleport you a great distance, two miles outside their encampment to be exact, and I will wait at the drop position until you return".
Silver piped in “Why were we chosen exactly? Azure and I aren’t exactly special forces”
Daybreak nodded quickly. “The short story is that this is the best we could get on short notice, we got this intel recently, and we can’t get anyone else in time, so we choose who we evaluated to be the best soldiers at this base. You barely missed the bar for entering the Unicorn Officer program and Silver Wing failed out of the Wonder Bolts. That might sound mediocre, but even being considered for either program puts you at the upper echelon of soldiers.”
I turned my head to face silver “You failed out of the Wonder Bolts and didn’t tell me?” She blushed and turned away from me. Since when does Silver Blush? I thought to myself.
“Your roles will be as follows. Azure Light, you will be carrying equipment and will act as Chronos bodyguard as well as her spotter, Silver will be acting as reconnaissance and will be taking lead in the field. I will teleport you about two miles outside the supply depot, teleporting this far will exhaust me, and I will remain at the teleportation target while I recover and prep for another teleport. At that point you will not be able to use any magic other than flight or you will risk being detected. For the same reason, you will have no electronics on you, and you will be given only low-tech rifles. You will be alone out there. Are there any more questions?”
Silver and I shook our heads “no” while Chrono just stood motionless, seemingly unperturbed by this new information.
Daybreaks horn began to emit a glow and with a loud popping noise I felt my body stretching and distorting before finding myself within a forest. Chrono seemed mostly unaffected by this unusually powerful teleport, but Silver and I immediately collapsed, and struggled to regain our sense of balance, while Chrono was able to catch herself before she hit the ground. I pulled myself to a standing position and looked back at Daybreak. Daybreak pointed into the forest. “You will be walking two miles in that direction at which time you will identify your target. Silver make sure proceed in the correct direction” Silver gave a salute and flew up into the trees, with Chronos and I following closely behind.