//------------------------------// // "Penalty!!!!" // Story: The Winds of Change: Fog of War // by AgentSnail //------------------------------// "Penalty!!!!" "Dash, how does this tent not leak?" Jason asked, not expecting a response. "You're still awake? You slept what? Two, three hours?" "Well you're awake too..." He pointed out, opening his mouth widely and yawning in the dim light. "You rolled away from me and laid like that on your back. It's getting a little hard to sleep without you here." She hugged herself slightly. "You know." "Yeah, sorry I'm not the best colt friend right now." He said, continuing his staring contest with the pattering canvas. "Wait, it's raining?" "I guess, that or all the rest of the leaves fell off at the same time." He replied with another yawn, sticking a hoof above his head to touch at the tent. "And yet it's not wet." "It's probably enchanted." "Of course it is." He went silent for a few minutes. "I'm going to take a walk, I need to clear my head a little." "How long of a walk?" Dash asked. "I'm not trying to pry, but you know, I have trouble sleeping." She tapped her fore hooves together nervously, giving him a glance. "Shouldn't be too long, I'll try not to come back soaked." He got up and sighed, walking around the bed to give Dash a kiss on her forehead before he took his leave. As soon as he walked outside he was hit with a blast of frigid rain, plowing into his face with enough force to make him rethink coming out here. But as he tentatively took a few more steps, it was clear that there wouldn't be a repeat occurrence. Judging by the amount of water already on the ground, there must've been quite the storm since he'd fallen asleep, a little surprising given how clear the sky had been. But he had noticed a cloud bank to the west, maybe that had moved in. His fur was starting to get soaked already, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Besides the original gust, the only slightly chilly rain was a welcome feeling as it chilled his skin. These past two days, all he could think about was the mission. How was it going? was everyone alright? If it didn't work, how many deaths were directly attributable to him? And he never had an answer, unless he could talk to Eravel. And that was still spotty, he never seemed to have everyone there, and Jason knew he wouldn't have an answer for the blame card. But it really was his fault if this went south. Sure, sometimes he went a little overboard with heaping on the blame, but this was different. He'd come up with the idea, he'd sent the griffins to their very possible deaths, and by extension it would be his fault if they died. And that's what always got him, partially the guilt and fear that something would go wrong, but also that he was risking Eravel. A shiver traveled down his back as the thought hit him for nowhere near the first time. One of his best friends around here, someone that he could've sent to his own death, no matter how willingly he had decided to go. Sometimes he liked the power, the ability to tell ponies to go here, do that, and not be questioned. He liked the fear that they held, to an extent, something that had seemed to turn into more of a respect than a longstanding grudge, something he had initially feared. Jason's hoof sank into a gopher hole and he tripped, landing on his side in the mud. Not that it mattered to him, he could just get rid of the fur and burn it off, but it still sent an unpleasant feeling through his skin. Jason got up and started to turn back, realizing that his attempts to empty his mind had only exacerbated the problem. He wasn't alone in this though, right? He had Dash, Shining, Tank... But only Shining and Dash would understand the decisions. And at that point, Shining had been doing this so long Jason doubted he'd understand, if he even thought that way. And Dash... Why the fuck hadn't he talked more with her? He picked up his pace slightly, looking through the haze and the slight fog at a camp that was totally deserted. It was creepy, really, to see something that was usually so busy take on the appearance of a ghost town. Jason bumped into something warm, and turned his head forward again. He'd bumped into one of the griffins, who was apparently just as preoccupied as he was. "Why're you out here?" Jason asked, more curious then demanding. "Just restless." The griffin replied nervously, giving Jason's muddy side a glance. "Yeah, same here. Just wandering, I assume?" "Kinda, last time I was out like this I got lost." He paused. "But I guess it wasn't all rainy like this yesterday." Jason mumbled back a response, as a couple squished plants caught his eye. He navigated over with the griffin, levitating, well, some sort of thing off the ground. He couldn't really tell what it was, considering that it was black and all. His night vision was only so good. But there was a football next to it, he could tell that much. He shrugged and levitated them both, before turning back. He needed to get back to Dash, she could make this better. "You good?" He asked the griffin. "I'm going to head back." "Yeah, no problem." He waved a talon, before going his separate way. Jason waved back as he walked the last steps to the tent, moving the shit inside and setting it in a relatively unoccupied spot. He could clean it off in the morning, whatever it was. Dash noticed him through her sleepy haze, and mumbled something about his appearance. He chuckled and walked back outside before dropping the disguise and watching the mud and water slide off. Jason burnt anything else off and walked back inside, quickly curling up next to Dash. "Dash, tell me I'm doing the right thing here." "What, you mean in the Capitol?" "Yeah, I can't convince myself, all I see is Eravel at risk from my plan. Which is stupid, I haven't had this problem before." "He volunteered, you didn't order him to go." She said, sitting upright in the bed. "Come here." She reached over and pulled him into a hug. "I know this stuff tears at you, but it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. It's your job to make these decisions for the best of the army, not for a few guys, right?" "Yeah." "So then what's wrong with sacrificing a few to save hundreds?" "It's just-" "Think of it this way, if you didn't sacrifice Eravel, you'd risk losing Tank, Hunter, Morning Rain... Maybe even Evening if things got bad enough." "Well yeah, but-" "You're doing the best with what you can, you should be proud that most of these ponies are going to survive. Gotta break some eggs to make an omelet, right?" "Curse you, using my own words against me." He replied with a light chuckle. They lapsed into silence, before Jason pushed her shoulders back and planted a kiss on her lips, wrapping a hoof around her head and pulling her in tighter. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He mumbled after breaking away. "I love you, Dash." "Same here, you big goof. Now come on, we got a lot to do tomorrow, no sense being tired through all of it." "Heh, usually I'm the one complaining about sleep." He chuckled as he laid down, his chest against Dash's back and his hooves around her chest. "We don't lay like this enough." She muttered. "I kinda like it this way." "What? Spooning?" "Yeah, if that's what you call it." "This works better as humans." He said, resting his head on her shoulder. "This only works because I'm taller and my legs go past your flanks." "I still like it though, silly." She said, opening her mouth in a massive yawn. "Besides, it's something different, right?" "I guess I can't argue with you there." He paused, yawning alongside his mare friend. "Good night, Dash." "Night, Jason." ____________________________________________________________________ "The fuck?" Jason asked out loud, scratching his head. He was sitting in a patch of grass, looking up a, well, a city. It was upside down, the buildings stretching out towards the ground. A few ponies passed by, which wouldn't have been strange if there weren't humans running around down--up--over there. He let his gaze drop as Dash walked up from behind him, staring at the city much like he had. "Well this is an interesting dream, Jason." "Yeah, especially since that's San Francisco down there. City Center, I think." Amplified words reached them, of someone giving a speech, presumably. "Wow, look at all the people!" "Pretty cool, huh?" "Yeah, it just stretches on all over the place too! Come on, let's go look around!" "I don't know much about town around here, this dream's probably pretty limited. I can't really dream a lot of stuff I haven't seen. Or maybe I can, but it's just stuff I make up?" "Oh shush, let's just get up there!" She took off and rose, waiting briefly for Jason to catch up as he ascended as well. "I expected to see Evening around here, but maybe she's not asleep?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. "Yeah, may-Aah!" She flailed her limbs as gravity turned over, pulling her towards the city. "Hey, that was kinda fun!" "You're peppy today." Jason noted before going through the same process. It honestly didn't feel good for his stomach, which was a weird concept inside a dream. How much could he really do here? Dash landed on top of a building, watching a person go by, not noticing them at all. "Hello human!" She waved her arm around, trying to get her attention. "I come in peace!" "I guess they aren't really much of conversationalists." He chuckled. "Come on, let's get to street level." He took off over the edge, gliding his way down around a brick building and under a clothesline, dodging an American flag that was flown at half mast for some reason. Jason landed with a soft clop, sliding slightly on the worn brick. "How big is this place? It just seems to go on forever..." "I could show you a map, if it comes through. Oh wait, there's one right here." He walked over to a BART map, and pointed out the peninsula. "We're here, above City Center station." Some slight rumbling went under their feet. "And that's either Muni or BART right there." "Where?" She looked around, before looking at her own hooves. "Down there?" "Yeah, subway trains. Below ground to save space." "How fast do they go?" She asked, looking back up. "Oh, didn't expect that one." Dash flashed him a winning smile and he sighed. "I'm not sure what their top speed is, but one time I brought a GPS and we went seventy five at one point." "That's not too fast, really." "How fast do your trains go?" "Like forty." She muttered, not wanting to let him overhear her statement. "Oh, I see how it is." He chuckled and looked up, his laugh cutting off as he stared at one of the humans. She didn't look away, and much to his distress, made her way over. Jason took a step back, craning his neck up as she stood over him. He was only a little over waist level, and chances are, she was five foot something. God damn, that made him short. "Jason?" The human asked, squinting her eyes. "Huh?" "It's Evening!" She yelled, kneeling down and wrapping Jason in a hug. "Urk, you look different, Evening." She stood back up and looked at her arms. "Oh, yeah, I'm wearing different skin this time." "Those are clothes, Evening. But your face looks kinda different." "Ooh, well I fell asleep like a changeling, so..." "Okay, how come?" Dash asked, taking a step back to give her neck a rest. "Cuz keeping a disguise up like that gets harder the longer you keep it up. I haven't been in full changeling form for like three weeks." She smiled down at them. "First thing I did: stretch my wings and move some things with my magic. There's no substitute for changeling form, huh Jason?" "I guess, I haven't really been disguised for more than a few days at a time." "So what's this place?" She asked, showing some of her characteristic ADD. "This is a city from earth, or part of one anyway. There should be a few correct blocks and a realistic skyline, but that's about it." A person bumped into him and kept walking, trampling Jason into the ground. "I think that part of them not knowing we're here goes hand in hand with random collisions." He muttered, before standing back up and trying to dust himself off. "It's kinda weird being here though, even if it is in my imagination. Lots of memories." He started walking, before he broke out into a gallop. "Jason! Where are you going?" He didn't respond, but only turned into an alley and stopped dead. "Thought so." He said dryly, looking at a bloodstain on the wall. "What?" Evening asked, sticking a finger into the blood. "Eew, it's still wet!" She yelled, shaking her hand around and attempting to get rid of the blood. "That's my blood." Jason broke in quietly, starting to walk down the alley. "Remember what I said about memories?" Dash started to say something before deciding against it, giving Evening a gesture that said to keep quiet. They followed Jason as he walked around a corner, coming into view of a man with a knife stuck through his eye, a pool of blood covering the nearby area, as well as a trail of droplets. "Is this... one of the guys you killed?" Dash asked, moving closer to the corpse as her hooves splashed in the blood. Jason was silent for a long time before answering. "Yeah. He tried to mug me, then he got a pretty good stab in my side before I did...that." He sighed. "Well, kill or be killed, right?" She asked. "I mean, you really went to town on that guy." She gestured with a chuckle. "Yeah, but it'd be nice if for once I could have a nice fucking dream." "It's just the war, I'm sure these things'll pass." Dash affirmed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Do you ever want to go back? Just for a visit?" "Of course I do, I died and ended up in Equestria, and no one knows that. I'd want to go see Ben and Mankin if I could, maybe some of my other friends. But it's hard, knowing that I left them without so much as a goodbye." A tremor moved through the city as the dream began to deteriorate, and buildings started to crumble. "Oh Jason." Dash said, wrapping her hooves around his neck. "You're too stressed. I'll fix it, don't worry." "I don't know how you can, not with all this stuff that's going on right now." A building collapsed, sending dust through the alleyway and partially blotting out the sun. "I can try, right? I'm at least worth that much." She leaned over and kissed him as the remaining buildings crumbled, while Evening seemed to be overreacting in the background. ____________________________________________________________ Jason didn't wake up. As his dream faded, backlit walls began to pop, showering him with their brightness as he tried to shield his eyes. Eventually they seemed to adjust and he took away his hoof, the view exactly the same minus the appearance of Luna. "It's a lot easier to just make a new dream, rather than go into yours." She said, looking around. "This wasn't supposed to look like this though, I had selected something a little less...white." Jason shrugged. "I don't know how much you were expecting." "One moment." She shut her eyes as he horn started to glow. The walls simply fell outwards, giving Jason a view of a slightly hilly grass field. Luna looked around, smiling to herself. "Ah, much better." She started to walk off the box, gesturing behind herself with a wing for him to follow. "So what's the situation?" Jason asked as he pulled up beside her. "Do you prefer princess?" "It does not matter to me, you're welcome to say whatever you want. Tis not an honor I bestow unto all...beings." "Oh, well thanks!" He said a little louder than he had meant to. Luna chuckled. "Yes." Her expression sobered, and she turned away. "Things are getting a little out of control. A pony tried to use this on me before I captured him." A snub-nose revolver popped into existence, slowly spinning around at the Princess's head level. Jason didn't have to crane his head up that much, at least. He wasn't princess size, but he was a lot closer than anyone else. "You found that?!" Jason asked, hoping she was mistaken. "Yes, he pulled it out of a drawer and missed twice before it started clicking." "Well this puts an interesting spin on things. You at least got some information?" "Some, I have a new lead at least. One that actually shows promise." "Does that keep you in Manehattan?" Jason asked, running a hoof through the moist grass. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Now go, your mare friend is probably worried that you haven't woken up." She gave him a quick wave before the dream turned white again, and he closed his eyes against the brightness. ____________________________________________________________ "Jason! What's going on?!" Dash asked, shaking him by the shoulders. He opened his eyes and stared up at her for a moment before finally responding. "Luna checked in." He said, hugging her down on top of himself. "And she said she found a gun on one of the guys, but that she has a lead now." He listened for a moment. "Hey, it stopped raining." "Is she okay?!" "Yeah, she looked fine." He moved his head upwards and pushed his muzzle against hers. "Let's just take this whole situation one thing at a time, okay?" "Yo, Jason?" Eravel asked over the walkie talkie, "You awake yet?" Jason chuckled and floated the device over. "Yeah, what's goin' on?" "Well, the good news is, everyone's fine. The bad news is, I might need some more time. It's hard to get these people behind me." "Can't say I didn't expect that." Jason replied, sighing. "Just take your time, within reason. Things'll get tougher if we get found out." "I know, I'm trying my best." "I'm not saying you aren't. Give me a heads up if something happens." "Sure thing." The signal cut out, leaving the sound of static in its wake. "Jason, what's that black thing over there?" Dash asked, pointing off the bed. "Oh yeah, I found that while I was walking around." He pulled himself out of bed and trotted over lightheartedly, before stopping suddenly. Jason's staring match continued for a few more seconds before he started dancing around and cheering. "Coolest. Thing. Ever!!" He yelled, before kneeling down to get a closer look. He pressed a button and a tiny screen lit up as the backside, covered in lenses and cameras, started to whir and preform diagnostics. "What is it?" Dash asked, tossing the covers from her body. She walked over and tapped at one end. "A giant gun or something?" "You could say that." He replied with a chuckle. "Assuming this isn't damaged, and I'll clean it out and everything before even attempting to use it, this shoots guided missiles." She snickered a little, tapping the barrel with a hoof. "What's it named?" "Uh, hmm. I've never seen something like this in person, but..." He levitated it into the air and turned it over a few times, looking for tags. "It's US Army, Javelin class. So yeah. There's only one missile in here, assuming it came loaded. Otherwise it's pretty useless." He tapped it with a hoof as it touched back down. "Oh well, I'll get to this later." He hopped back up and started going through a different box of stuff. "Jason?" "Yeah?" "Why're you acting like this?" "You were right, I'm doing the best with what I can." He replied, pulling out a book. "And I was thinking, why not do something with the rest of today?" He asked, tossing her the book on football. "After all, we have all the junk to play now." "Found a ball?" "You bet I did." "This better be as fun as you said it was." She replied with a smirk, closing the book back up. ______________________________________________________________ "ATTENTION!" He yelled, watching the troops salute in front of him. "I bet you wondered why I brought you out here today, and one of the reasons is that we've been going through alcohol really quickly. You're soldiers, not drunkards!" A few ponies shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe I should just order a charge?" There was an uproar from the crowd. "That's what I thought!" Dash sighed next to him. "Just get to the point, Jason." "But I like yelling at them..." He said, keeping his voice low. "We came out here for sports, not more of this." She gestured around. "Funny as it is." Jason turned back with a grin. "Anyway, all this lying around all the time isn't good for any of us, not if we're going to be battling in so little time." There was a quiet groan, although the few griffins that had shown up didn't make a sound. He liked their discipline. "Oh shut up, we're doing something new anyway. Tank come here." Tank walked over with Morning Rain, looking Jason over momentarily. "What do ya need?" He asked, yawning in the warm noon light. Jason handed him the book, and Tank looked at the cover. "Football?" "Yeah, I just need to figure out kickoffs and stuff." "I'm pretty good at kicking, I don't think that's a problem." "We're going for hang time, it needs to arch and go pretty far." "Well then allow me." Morning said with a smile. "This is that ball, right?" "Yeah, but it-" "Goes up on it's end?" "Yeah." She handed it back to Jason, who knelt down and held the ball on it's end with a hoof. Morning took a few steps back before sprinting at the ball, sliding out her back hoof as she passed and sending it flying over the crowd of ponies. "I guess that works." Dash said, her face drawn. "So we gotta get stuff set up, right?" She asked, looking at Jason. "Yeah, you two are team captains I guess, just try to give them a rough idea of what to do. It's not that complicated of a game. Oh yeah, and we're using helmets from the armor, no flying or magic, and, well, no lowering the head for obvious reasons. Any other penalties are in there." "Just tell us when you're ready to lose." Tank replied with a smile before turning around. _____________________________________________________ "You're using the landing strip for what?!" Shining asked, throwing his hooves up in the air a moment later for emphasis. "Why?" "Because I wanted to do something with the troops, at least some of them anyway. It's a good distraction from all this." Jason said, gesturing around himself. "I think it's a good idea." Cadance spoke up. "As long as this foot-ball isn't going to make them worse off for battle." "I'm sure it won't, not more than a few small bruises and a little soreness. It's not like this is the Super Bowl, we don't have to try too hard." Jason replied. "Alright fine." Shining mumbled. "Just make sure to move for any traffic and all that. If it's any good, maybe I'll have to join in." He chuckled at his wife's expression. "Do you have any paint? I need to make lines..." "Uh, well I have this paint-in-a-can stuff." He pulled out a box of spray paint and set it on his desk with a thump. "Why didn't you show this to us?" Dash asked. "We clearly don't have this here." "Hey, I forgot that I had it. I confiscated it a week ago from these guys that put a giant-" "Dick, right?" Jason filled in, giving shining a glance as he burst out laughing. "Yeah, how'd you know?" "Cuz we invented spray paint! What do you think happened over there?" "Heh, I dunno, but-" His semi-straight face broke as he let himself laugh as well. "It's funny how we're that much alike, really." "Because that's a good argument, graffiti penises." Dash replied, giggling to herself. "I married such a mature stallion." Cadance said, deadpan. "Oh, you knew what you were getting into." Jason chuckled at their banter and levitated the box off of Shining's desk, quickly bringing it over to the 'field.' "So how long is this thing?" Dash asked. "I'm pretty good with distances, I betcha I could get it to within a foot." "Oh really?" He looked around, noticing tents on either end that he could call the bottoms of goal posts. "A hundred twenty yards long, forty yards wide." His smirk faded as she took off with a can of white paint, strafing next to him as she made her first line. A couple seconds later, she went by a ways away and made another, before flying back and landing next to him. "You don't even need to check." "Okay then, Mrs. Ruler, Give me two more lines, ten yards from the sides, and then at five yard increments." She grinned and saluted, before flying off again and starting on the remaining lines. Jason just shook his head in disbelief, a slight wave of admiration moving through him as he watched her fly. That happened to him a lot, really. There was always something she could do that made his jaw drop. But that wasn't the best part. No, the best part was watching her, in her element, flying around without a care in the world. Eventually he tore his eyes from her brilliant mane and tail as it sailed through the atmosphere and brought it lower, until he focused on the main group again. He walked over slowly, figuring that Tank wouldn't be done anyway, and that there'd be some waiting involved. As it turned out, he was right, and he motioned to Tank that he should notify him when he was done. Tank nodded, and Jason returned to the tent. Dash landed beside him about halfway there, showing off several empty cans of paint. "There...It's not ten seconds, but close enough." She said, slightly out of breath. "Yes, I warship you for your field painting skills." "You should, I'm like a god." She replied, putting a hoof to her chest and striking an important pose. "Can I be a heretic?" Jason asked with a smirk before walking inside. "I'll have to burn you at the stake." Jason chuckled, before a thought struck him. "Wait, how'd you know about that?" "Well, I read a history book." She walked over to another box, moving stuff around. "It's here, I think." "How did I not notice?" "Because I never told you. It's just a history book." She said with a shrug. "I know. Twilight would kill for that though." Dash stuck her hoof fairly deep into the box, before straining her arm and pulling the book all the way out. "Here, tell me if some of these things were right." She opened the book, flipping through pages until she came across a chart of World War II casualties. "There's no way the Ruse-ians lost that many guys, right?" "Geez, are you determined to mispronounce everything?" She gave him a glare. "Russians." He repeated. "And yeah, they sucked at fighting wars, just threw people at a problem." "But what about this other box that says six?" "Ha, you found American citizen casualties? That's what you get from being across an ocean, I guess." He sighed, prying up one end of the launcher. "Help me clean this, even if it doesn't do a lot of damage, this would really be a shock and awe type weapon. It could really freak them out." "Oh, sounds like fun." Jason chuckled, grabbing a rag and looking around for a jam rod. "You got any-" Dash handed him a metal rod, nodding her head. "Where did you..." "What? I can't find things too?" He put up his hooves in defense. "Geez Dash, I was just asking a question." "Yeah, sorry." She watched him push the rag inside, pulling it back out without much mud. "Well this makes my job a lot easier if it's already this clean." He said, taking a closer look at the rag. "I'm not sticking this in any farther though, in case this thing is loaded." He got up and turned the screen back on. "It says loaded, I think it is." "If I didn't know you, I'm sure I'd feel really unsafe right now." She chuckled dryly. "Dash, your boredom is showing." "Oh god, where?" She looked herself over hurriedly, before breaking into giggles. Tank walked in and waved. "We're ready whenever." He said, grinning. "Good," Jason replied. "Hopefully you're ready to lose." __________________________________________________________ "Hey Evening." Jason asked, seeing her looking over the pre-game movement. "Hey, can I play?" "Well we already went over rules..." She seemed to deflate. "But you could ref if you want." He continued quickly, grabbing the book from Tank and handing it over. "You need something bright to throw though, to notify everyone and stuff." "Okay!" She planted her rump on the ground and started reading, her expression much more ecstatic than Jason would have expected. __________________________________________________________ "Hike!" Jason yelled, watching as the ball sailed towards him and the line broke into action. The visibility on this helmet wasn't good, but it's not like he wanted to be at some huge advantage. The fact that he was taller than most everyone else pretty much did that already. Tank broke through the the line, blazing past as Jason sidestepped. He threw the ball downfield awkwardly; it was only so easy when you needed to rear up to throw. And then he almost immediately met the ground as Tank hit him in the back, barely put off path by an offensive lineman. Jason chuckled and rolled over, taking Tank's extended hoof. "Good hit." He offered, watching Tank nod in agreement. They moved down the field a few yards; apparently even though Jason's pass had connected, it hadn't given them enough yardage to actually get a first down. So now it was third and one, probably somewhere around Tank's twenty. So easily within field goal range, but he wanted to at least start this thing out with a touchdown, if at all possible. "Evening, how much time?" "Play clock or time in the first quarter? Do I need the chains again?" "Just the quarter time." She nodded and looked at her arm, covered in watches. "Eight forty nine." Jason nodded as the line formed up again, before moving up right behind the center. He flicked his back hoof and a cornerback switched sides. "Hike!" He grabbed the ball and turned, thrusting it into the hands of Hunter, who immediately took off in a sweep pattern as the guards pulled to block for him. He tried to stiff arm a griffin before the guy got a hold of one of his legs and pulled, bringing them both down to the dirt. All that for three yards, Jason thought as they reformed. "Uh," he looked at some marker words he'd drawn on his forearm. "Pistol, wait, Ten Gallon Hat!" The ponies shifted after a moment, wide receivers spreading as Jason backed up from his place on the line. "Hike!" He grabbed the ball and looked around, waiting for someone to get open. Dash executed her hitch route and he let the ball fly, flinching as an angry defensive lineman slowed to a stop without the tackle. There was no easy way for ponies to catch balls, but her strategy of diving and catching it in her chest worked, he supposed. She hit the ground and popped back up before anyone could get to her, hobbling on three legs towards the end zone. Jason cringed as a pony dove on her from behind, smacking her into the ground, and luckily, across the line. He cheered, running down the field towards her as she was swarmed by teammates. He jumped into the pile and mashed his hoof into her mane in a noogie, before she managed to get out of the circle, a big smile playing across her face. She bumped her hoof into Jason's happily, and did a little belated touchdown dance. The rest of the half went quickly, as both teams got close enough to score field goals, keeping the game a mere seven points apart. As the third quarter began and the ball was kicked off after a hurried round of subs, Jason watched it sail through the air, right into the waiting arms of Tank. Jason sprinted past a blocker, who was almost immediately occupied with another pony. He went wide, shouldering another blocker in the second line, and pushing himself hard to speed up again as he collided with Tank. It was easily comparable to hitting a brick wall. But somehow the contact, painful as it was, knocked them both over, sprawling the pair on the ground near the thirty as another body dove onto the pile. There was a slow lineup as any ponies that had been only special teams were replaced, and a new line was formed. "Uh, H-hike!" Morning yelled, grabbing the ball and dropping back. She bided her time as Jason dropped back with a wide receiver, watching as the ball launched over the line, right into the waiting hooves of a pony that was completely open. Jason broke his route and charged at the pony, watching as he was flattened by a griffin they had acting as safety. That had been one hell of a damaging run; forty yards on the throw alone, and now they were all the way down to their own thirty, already inside the red zone. "Okay guys, play it safe here, cover your guy." They lined back up, most panting heavily at the exertion, and the ball was hiked again. Morning hardly got back a step before a flag hit her in the cheek, followed by several other flags that flew in random directions. "Penalty!!!!" Evening yelled, throwing more flags. "Where did you find all these?" Jason asked as one landed on his back. "Some guy brought bean bags. Anyway, off sides, offense, uh, five yard penalty. Repeat first down." Morning groaned and got back into position, before hiking the ball again. She passed it to another pony who took off through the line, easily taking the first down before getting tackled again. "You look a little worried, Jason." Tank said from the line. "Not about this, you may as well just give up. I mean seriously, we-" "Jason!" Eravel's voice came over, sounding ragged and husky, almost like he'd been running. "Uh, official time out!" He called, before charging over to the sideline. "What is it?" "They- I don't know." He panted a few times. "There was some sort of thing that happened, and I think it leaked to the public. I don't know what it is, but there's a riot in town square, and I sure as hell didn't cause it. We've still got everyone that came along with our cause here, south side of town." "What does it look like? How are the rioters doing?" "I tried to stay away, that area was covered in soldiers, but things didn't look good. Get down here as fast as you can, this might be the only chance you get." "Roger that, give me an hour for the bulk to arrive." "See if you can get here sooner, I don't know if there'll still be resistance in an hour." "I said bulk, I can get a large group together pretty quickly." "Good, I'll see ya." "Yeah." Jason turned back to the players, who were all standing where they had been, looking over. Dash had moved to the sideline, and seemed to have heard everything. "Everyone, get ready, get armored, and spread the word. Evening, go tell Shining that we need to attack now. The rest of you, this is the battle this entire campaign has come to, this is the day we take the Capitol and WIN THIS WAR!!!!" A huge cheer went up from the soldiers, before they broke off in random directions and sprinted away. "I hope you're right about this being the end." "For once, I feel like things are coming to a close. Of course, there's nothing wrong with pushing that along, right?" "Fuck No!" She yelled, punching her hoof against his as they broke for the tent.