The elements of harmony have been gone for over a hundred years now, and there is no easy way out of conflict in Equestria anymore. It is foretold they will return again in eight hundred years, but until then it is up to the common pony to do his duty to protect his country.

The time has come where crisis has struck Equestria again, this time in the way of foreign allies being attacked. Politics are too complicated for most, but the demand for resource can move mountains.

All this doesn't matter when you think down to the single pony in the sands of Zebrica, fighting for a country they love in a place that is thousands of miles away from everything they know and love.

Sniper for the Royal Guard, a position that housed the most elite of shooters in the entire world. This isn't the Royal Guard of the old age, this is the Royal Guard of the new age, a killing machine unmatched by any other.

To qualify to qualify for this elite group, you need an insatiable hunger for adventure, and a conscious that would put nightmare moon to shame.

Many boast that they can do things beyond comprehension of the normal and innocent mind, but behind the facade there is always that pony that was born to a happy family in a land that is so blind to all that goes on in a war.

River Rapids did qualify for this group, and he does his job with extreme pride and a sense of accomplishment. However, his psyche is under constant assault from every single time he pulls the trigger, and smashes the gavel down condemning another life to the eternal fire of Hell. Sometimes, war isn't about being able to kill, but being able to find solace in a world that revolves around killing.

The cover image is only temporary. This story does contain graphic depictions of modern violence. It is anthro, because it allows the versatility of a modern war. I am more interested in telling the story of a soldier in a more modern light, and that does involve depictions of a violent nature.