//------------------------------// // Just a Weapon // Story: Just a weapon // by I Vicious I //------------------------------// We arrived back at the base in a slightly different location than we had come from.  “Oh Celestia I missed my return target” said daybreak with chagrin. “Silver, come with me quickly, we need to find a medical team immediately, I won’t be able to teleport again for a moment and you're faster than me. Azure, put pressure on her neck.” I held my hoof firmly against her wound as they both dashed off towards the base, shouting for help.     I looked down at Chronos. I stood over her and held my hoof tightly over her wound, but it did little to hold back the deluge of blood. Her eyes were half open, but she was... smiling? she sighed, reached up and placed her hoof on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.     She spoke softly. You would never know what a effective killer she was, based on how sweet and delicate her voice was. I motioned to stop talking, but she paid little attention to my request. “Before the war I worked with my father in a little clock shop. Clock making is such a delicate art that no Earth pony or Pegasus could manage the needed precision. Only a Unicorn with an extremely delicate touch can handle it. I joined the School for Gifted Unicorns before the war because I wanted to learn to be even more accurate with my magic. I was so excited when I got in, and I can still remember the look of joy on my fathers face when we found out. I wanted to make our business to the envy of every clock maker in Equestria, but that dream died when the war started, my father, a civilian, died in the early days of the war when the Changelings made their first aggressive push. I stayed in school hoping that one day I could still carry on his legacy.” I could see a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “That was until I was ordered into a special program where my horn was modified to make me into a weapon and after that, I would never be able to return to my trade after the war. I fought in the war, and I fought hard, maybe looking for revenge, maybe seeking out some new purpose, but I felt nothing, I felt empty, and I doubt that would ever change, I'm just a weapon now” she said in a whisper. Her smile widened as she removed her hoof from my shoulder “You did a good job today soldier. Please don’t mourn me, I died a long time ago”. She closed her eyes, her smile faded, and... she was gone.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    One week had passed since she died next to me, and in that week both Silver and I had received promotions and recommendations for Officer Training School, we had both received any number of medals, and had even been given time off for us to recuperate.     Killing their top general had caused major issues, as generals and resources were shuffled around while a new Field Marshall was being chosen. The death had caused a logistics nightmare for the Changelings. This allowed Celestia to lead a breakthrough on the front lines and gain back a significant amount of Equestrian land before the Changeling front lines were able to stabilize. We were told that this could potentially shave months off the length of the war and save the lives of countless ponies. Despite knowing all of this I felt numb to the world.    The mess hall which had returned from it's unusual quite to its regular dull roar. Silver Wing once again was sitting next to me at our table and for the first time in her life she had nothing to say, instead opting to sit quietly, barely nibbling at her food. I turned to look up at her, she looked down at me and met my gaze. Wordlessly, the numb look on her face told me all I needed to know about how she was feeling. She placed her wing around me as a small token of comfort, she tried but failed to muster a smile for me.    I looked back at my food; a plain bread sandwich with tomato and lettuce. I levitated it up to my mouth, and the wirr of the magics sound filled the air as I hovered the food in front of me. As I went to take a bite and just before my teeth met the bread, I stopped. I levitated it in front of my face for a few seconds before setting it back down on my plate. I leaned my head forward and started to eat directly from my plate, my face was down and I pushed the food into my mouth with my hoof, just like an Earth Pony.