Snowrunners

by Argonaut44

Chapter One: The Mission

“Good morning, Equestria! This is Starline Radio 98 coming at you straight from Las Pegasus, I hope you’re all doing well out there. Celestia knows I am. This one goes out to the boys and girls in the Ninth all the way up north! I’ve got a friend up there. Wear a jacket, for Luna’s sake! It’s gotta be cold as hell this time of year!”

Extending a disoriented hoof towards her dingy alarm clock radio, attempting to shut up the enthusiastic radiopony Aux Bumper’s voice, Guardian Angel was not at all pleased to have been woken up. For the first time in weeks, she had been having a pleasant dream rather than nightmares, and by all means she had been loving it. She had seen her home, fields of bright green grass beneath a warm sun, and pillows of winds that rocked her back and forth deeper and deeper into blissful slumber. A paradise devoid of worry or pain, a timeless field of calm.

But all good things had to come to an end, especially when they were fictitious, subconsciously-derived fantasies.

Smashing the button to turn off her radio, she checked her watch lying on her nightstand to confirm it was currently 7:00 a.m. She had been afforded an extra hour of sleep by her lieutenant, as compensation for covering a shift on latrine duty the previous day.

Guardian, a pegasus, had a light cyan coat and a short, wavy turquoise mane that was usually hidden underneath her golden helmet, which she only ever took off to sleep. Her helmet was fixed with a crest holder fitting a row of straight-cut plumes, the same color as her mane. Her eyes were a soft orange, like a faint furnace glow.

Wiping some drool from her mouth with the faded white cover of her pillow, Guardian shambled off of her quaking cloth cot, planting her bare hooves squarely on the dirt floor of the tent she had called a home for the past several months. The tent was small, only large enough to house two ponies along with all of their gear. Guardian had always believed in traveling light, though the same couldn’t be said for her tentmate, whose bags of unnecessary extra equipment took up an entire third of the space. Guardian wasn’t one to start a conflict over things as trivial as that, though for the mornings when she accidentally tripped on something and landed flat on her face with a mouthful of dirt, she couldn’t help but be bitter.

She climbed into her armor, which was molded in gold the same as her helmet, complete with the distinct Equestrian blue star as the centerpiece. She took great pride in keeping her armor clean, soft light from cracks in the tent flaps peeking in and illuminating the armor’s spectacular shining glory.

Guardian had formerly been a personal guard to Princess Celestia herself, though, as for most ponies in Equestria, her life was drastically changed upon the outbreak of the Great War, perhaps the greatest war to ever plague the land called Equestria. She had been moved out of the Canterlot guard and deployed into the 23rd Infantry Solar Regiment, well-recognized for their pride in service and dutiful dedication to the nation. Guardian had always considered herself a patriot, so much so that a position in the 23rd was accepted with little hesitation.

Yet she hadn’t really known what she was getting into, as she quickly discovered in her first few months serving as a measly grunt in the infantry. Long gone was the classy elegance and civility of being a guard in the Canterlot Palace. In the front lines, life was grimy, harsh, and undesirable. She had never served in the field before, merely as an ordinary guard who patrolled the lush marble hallways of Celestia’s regal Canterlot palace. She mostly spent her days trying to avoid getting too bored. Her new life, surviving day to day in the cold brutality of the Northern Theater, living off of minimal rations and spending most of her time exercising her muscles doing physical labor, was therefore a significant change of pace.

The war, which began in the spring of the previous year, had carried on into the winter. And for the ponies fighting in the North, the change in temperature and inclement weather conditions made surviving even more of a challenge.

Guardian could recall the day she had first set off from Canterlot, marching with her regiment northwestwards. She had been so confident at the very start, certain that the royal forces would crush those pesky rebels with little difficulty. They had four alicorns on their side, after all.

She hadn’t necessarily lost her sense of optimism over the course of the war, though her perspective certainly did change. The rebel enemy, officially titled the Equestrian Nationalist Coalition, proved to be technologically equal, if not superior, to the royals. And the rebel queen, the dreaded, malignant witch pony whose name was rarely uttered for fear of summoning her, came to be a fervent match for the magical prowess of all four of Equestria’s proud princesses. However, their battles were so catastrophically destructive, that neither the Witch Queen nor the princesses often came out into the field anymore, strictly sticking to strategic planning from the safety of their respective bases of operation.

The fighting, as a result, was largely left to the average ponies of Equestria, few of which were well-accustomed to conflict. A war of such caliber was especially rare in Equestria’s history, and for most ponies, the idea of committing murder or other atrocities, even for the sake of protecting loved ones, was farfetched, possibly even insane.

The Witch Queen had indeed proven to be a charismatic leader, having raised a grand army primarily consisting of conquered civilians and idealistic volunteers. She was infamously ruthless, a trait of which seemed to seep down through the chain of command, guaranteeing an army determined to be victorious. She was passionate in her rejection of Celestia’s rule, a sentiment that surprisingly gained traction among the most disillusioned of Equestria’s citizens. The rebels proposed a restructuring of Equestria as a pony-only haven, arguing for a return to the traditional structures of old.

The war itself had initially begun in the Crystal Empire, spiraling down across the North and eventually encompassing the entirety of Equestria, and even some of the lands beyond. The cities of Vanhoover, Stratusburg, Sire’s Hollow, Saddleopolis, Hope’s Hollow, and numerous other smaller settlements had already been claimed by the Coalition, who now effectively held an advantageous domination over the North. The Crystal Empire itself had also fallen to the rebels, rather early in the war, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor both having been deposed.

Guardian never considered herself to be particularly well-versed in diplomacy or politics. She thought of herself as a warrior more than anything else; a defender of the defenseless, fighting for her beloved country and all those innocent ponies back home whose lives were at stake. She wasn’t entirely sure what the rebels even wanted other than the overthrow of Celestia, the eradication of the government’s pro-species integration policies, and the complete and utter submission of Equestria to the Witch Queen’s rule. Though, she wasn’t about to risk letting them gain enough power to find out for sure.

On the way up north from Canterlot, Guardian had first seen real combat at the deadly battles at White Tail and the Hovering Heights. She survived both, though a good third of her regiment wasn’t so lucky.

Taking a moment to grieve her fallen brothers and sisters in arms as she did every morning, Guardian gave a tired sigh and finished her morning preparation routine, gently slipping her legs inside her golden metal boots, which were just as uncomfortable as ever. It was true that she owned some more cozy, decorative, bright pink-colored boots, though she rarely wore them, wary of damaging or dirtying them, as they were her prized possessions.

Adjusting her helmet over her head, Guardian stepped through the dark grey tent canvas flaps outside, taking a breath of fresh air as she reaccustomed herself to the cold. Maybe she would have found the abrasive, inhospitable, wintry world of the north to be overwhelming in her first few weeks fighting in the front, though by now it was typical. Grim, but typical.

The 23rd Regiment soldiers’ official colors were gold with green edges, though Guardian had never particularly been a fan. She stuck with her typical solid golden Canterlot guard armor, making her stand out in a place where most ponies were made to look the same.

In every direction from her tent, there were more tents, haphazardly set up in a series of rows that stretched for at least half a mile in every direction.

Despite how foul the conditions of the camp were, her regiment comparatively had little to complain about. They were currently stationed in the back lines of the Northern front, relatively safe from the rebel threat that was running amuck beyond the Smoky Mountains. The back lines camp sat right below the mountains to the north, vulnerable to the cold winds and frequent bouts of unsavory weather.

Guardian sauntered through the camp grounds, beneath a steely grey sky of feathery clouds, passing through the hive of sleep-deprived, shell-shocked ponies. Some were lying on the ground by their tents, aimlessly waiting for their next work shift, and terrified of being called up to leave the temporary safety of the camp. There wasn’t much to love about the camp, except that it meant safety from the horrors that waited outside. Guardian felt pity for her fellow soldiers as much as she did for herself. But, as she saw things, they were the ponies whose job it was to sacrifice their own well-being to protect their everypony else back home. But despite her invigoration, sanity typically ran thin when death lingered so close by.

The camp had been undersupplied for weeks now, and Guardian was feeling the consequences as much as anypony else. The troops were already greatly fatigued from weeks of continuous combat and marching, and supply lines were stretched extremely thin. The Commander of the Northern front, Shining Armor, had chosen to hold the Northern Forests with as few troops as possible, due to the favorable terrain of a densely wooded area and the limited number of operational objectives in the region. However, the inability for any of the troops to reach any nearby shores caused enormous supply issues, on top of the problem of transportation vessels not being able to fit through the narrow waterways that dominated the region. The only coastal port the royal forces had successfully taken was a small fishing town in the Northeast, Frostlick, which had already been decimated by the rebel Coalition to prevent the use of any leftover supplies.

During these grim times of desperate hunger and intense struggling, Guardian Angel intended to persevere, to stay optimistic, both about the cause for the war and her own day-to-day survival. There was simply no point in wasting time complaining and being miserable, as she saw it.

The camp was worn down after months of enduring seemingly endless unfavorable weather. Ponies were typically two-to-four per their designated tent, with the exception of new transfers, who slept in the barracks for their first few days after arriving. The barracks were a long enclosed building made of mud-plastered wood on the verge of rotting. It was often said that it was colder inside the barracks than out, and having to be cramped alongside fifty-plus other ponies was certainly not pleasurable.

The officers of the camp were spared from both the claustrophobic discomfort of the barracks and the melancholic filth of the tent city. Instead, they were afforded the grand luxury of little private shacks, made of wood the same as the barracks. They had heating inside too, and real beds, as opposed to the stiff cots everypony else was forced to sleep on.

But for the past few days, the camp was enjoying a brief period of calm weather. No snow other than the small clumps that lingered on the ground here and there, no rain, and best of all, little to no wind. On one side of the camp was the tent city, where the majority of the soldiers slept, and on the other side was the fairgrounds, as it was unofficially titled by one soldier back in June. It was a more open area compared to the narrow walkways that wound between the soldiers’ tents, and it contained all of the constructed buildings, including the camp kitchen, mess hall, showers, officers’ quarters, barracks, and numerous other command facilities. The camp was originally meant to be temporary, until Shining Armor’s order that the position was to be held until new mobilization orders were given. That was months ago, and those orders still had yet to arrive.

Guardian entered the fairgrounds after carefully stepping over the body of a sleeping soldier draped in a raincoat, who was lying in the path.

The fairgrounds were full of life, ponies running around carrying out an array of tasks, from training exercises to supply transportation. Guardian was behind them all, having woken up an hour after everypony else, though she had a difficult time feeling guilty, since more sleep was always something to be grateful for.

Trotting past a line of ponies doing push-ups dangerously close to a large puddle of muddy water, Guardian noticed something odd. There was a crowd of ponies near the mess hall building, slowly dispersing away from what was left of some sort of commotion.

She reached for a good grip of the strap of her duffel bag that was wrapped around her back, and cautiously approached the scene to find out what had happened.

“You just missed it,” said one pony, leaning against the wall of the mess hall building, by the warm ambient glow of a hanging lantern. She was a female unicorn, with a soft light purple coat, icy blue eyes, and a fluffy white mane. She was no stranger to Guardian, in fact they considered each other one of a few ponies in this entire camp they could possibly call a friend. The unicorn’s name was Silver Saber, Guardian’s tentmate for the past several months, having replaced the previous pony who had been blown to bits stepping on a landmine. They had known each other since their training days, and their reunion came as a mild bright spot in an otherwise dreary, stagnant time. Silver had also previously served as a Canterlot guard, much the same as Guardian, with the exception that she had served under Luna instead of Celestia.

“Missed what?” Guardian asked Silver, waiting for a pony to finish walking between them so she could get closer. Most of the ponies in the crowd were leaving the scene, returning to their responsibilities after what had ended up being a brief spout of entertainment.

“You know Greenwich?” Silver asked, mid-chew of a juicy yellow apple.

“Sure,” Guardian replied.

“Well those new recruits, they came in through here, after they did some exercises with old Hardball out in the pitch. They come over here, and apparently Hardball was making them have their chow out in the cold. They get pissed about it, the lousy sligs. One of ‘em, I don’t know his name, but he was good looking. Looked like he had a chip on his shoulder, though. You know how I can tell those things,” Silver said, smirking.

“Right,” Guardian said, humoring her with hopes of getting on with the story.

“So this guy starts making some comments, about how it isn’t fair that they’ve got to eat outside. And Greenwich, the jawbone bastard, he overhears all this, and he gets pissed, says that the runts are all ungrateful pigs, and, oh, you should’ve seen it! Greenwich starts cracking jokes, he’s got the whole division on the ground! So the recruit, he’s eventually had enough, so he starts wailing on Greenwich! Beating him right into the dirt!”

Guardian winced, slightly, while imagining a pony having his face beaten in. She held no admiration for violence, despite her profession.

“Greenwich is a big guy,” Guardian pointed out, skeptical of how an inexperienced recruit could even dare to attempt a brawl on their first day, and with the likes of Greenwich, who happened to be a hulking titan of a stallion.

“This kid was quick, Guardian, I’m telling you. He was dodging punches and all that. I was rooting for him by the end of it.”

“He won?” Guardian asked.

“Gratuitously. He’s lucky, that’s for sure. Hardball didn’t come back until it was already over,” Silver said, taking another bite from her apple.

“I guess I shouldn’t have slept in,” Guardian said, regretful of having missed all the action.

“Remember that one fight? All the way back, Canterlot?” Silver said, already unable to contain her laughter.

Guardian hesitated, and then remembered, joining Silver in bursting into a fit of laughter.

“‘Leave him alone!’” Guardian said, mimicking the exaggeratedly dramatic voice of a pony from their training days, who had come to break up the fight they were reminiscing about. Their laughter eventually subsided, and Guardian took advantage of the opportunity to restore some seriousness to the conversation.

“Hey, um, have you heard anything about Lieutenant Fanfare?” Guardian asked, biting her lip nervously. She had a sinking feeling there wasn’t much good news to be delivered.

Silver finished off her apple and tossed it to the ground, taking her sweet time to provide an answer.

“Don’t get your hopes up. Last night was their latest return date. Forest patrols three miles out of the camp saw no sign of ‘em. Can’t send anypony farther than that,” Silver said, dismissively. She’d much rather not talk about it.

Silver reached into her satchel to retrieve a metal flask, filled up with whiskey, which technically wasn’t allowed in camp, though she had yet to be caught or scolded for it. She offered it to Guardian, whose face was wound tight with concern over the fate of Lt. Fanfare and his division.

“No thanks,” Guardian said, turning her head away.

“Water?”

“Fine,” Guardian said begrudgingly, unable to deny she was a bit thirsty.

Silver handed her a different bottle from her bag, filled up with water from the camp well. Guardian drank it greedily, unable to quell her distress over the possibility that Fanfare and the sixty-odd ponies under his command were all dead.

“Ponies die everyday, Guardian,” Silver reminded, in an attempt to comfort her friend, though Guardian didn’t find it helpful in the slightest.

Guardian drank the entire bottle, and attempted to hand it back to Silver, who quickly declined.

“Keep it, now that it’s got your disgusting mouth all over it. You still drool in your sleep right?” Silver asked, smirking.

“Shut up,” Guardian shot back, stifling a laugh to preserve some dignity.

“I heard there’s a new delivery today,” Silver said, picking up her bag to start walking off with Guardian.

“Of what?”

“I’m not sure, I tried asking Miss Manage, but she wouldn’t tell me. I hate that pony, she’s so stuck up,” Silver whined.

“Well let’s go and I’ll ask her, she’s always been nice to me,” Guardian said.

“Sure, but we’ve got to be on the shoveling group by like, nine.”

“Then we’ve got more than an hour, let’s go,” Guardian said eagerly.

Every time there was a delivery, a sense of excitement would race through the whole camp. New rations were a rarity nowadays, and basic pleasantries were even fewer. However, deliveries could also just be more ammunition or mechanical parts, which often ruined ponies’ good moods for weeks, having to wait even longer just for the hope of some more food.

Guardian and Silver walked close beside each other through the camp, passing by groups of ponies mid-exercise and ponies moving supplies and parts to and fro. It was chaotic, and yet there was a strange organization to it. Everypony was set to their individual task, and was thoroughly dedicated to doing a good job, no matter how unmotivated or physically strained they were. Though strangely, there seemed to be far less ponies out and about that day than per typical.

“Where is everypony?” Guardian asked. Silver shrugged in response, indifferent to the status of everypony else.

“Hey! You two!”

The duo of ponies both stopped in their tracks, turning around to see a stern-faced stallion officer marching right up to them. He had thinning grey hair, a burly body, and a coat the color of oak. His face was worn with the hardened brutality of war, and his eyebrows were fixed to look angry at all times. His name was Splinter, and to Guardian and Silver, he appeared to be about to tear them a new one.

“Where are you going?!” Splinter asked, as if he was about to crack their heads open in rage.

Guardian and Silver shared a look of confusion, neither sure what to say. They hadn’t thought they had done anything wrong recently, yet by Splinter’s furious expression, it appeared they were one disrespectful comment away from being executed outright. Then again, Splinter happened to always look like he was about to pop somepony.

“Um, just to the supply depot, Colonel, sir,” Silver replied, hesitantly.

“Are we in trouble?” Guardian asked, innocently.

Splinter shook his head, trying to calm himself down, realizing he must’ve scared both of them with his intense demeanor.

“No, forgive me, we just...You’re both aware the Commander is visiting today?”

“Yes sir, to see off the 13th on their campaign,” Guardian confirmed.

“Right, he’s giving his send-off speech in less than thirty minutes. We were supposed to give him a private escort of our own soldiers while he’s up there talking, as a show of respect, and hospitality and whatnot.”

“We know, sir, that’s Hotspot and Misty’s job,” Silver said, unsure what any of this had to do with them.

“Yeah well, we found Hotspot and Misty head over heels drunk with a pack of their moron low-life friends this morning. Apparently they thought now was a good time to throw a party. That’s why I’m so pissed, can you tell?”

“Yes, sir,” Silver said, dryly.

“Good. Because I’ll be even more pissed if you say no to me, when I ask the two of you to step up and replace them.”

“Replace them? We get to escort the Commander?” Guardian asked, shocked. Neither of them were often picked for important tasks like this, which made it even more of a surprise to hear Splinter’s offer.

“It’s in your best interests to say-”

“Yes! Absolutely! Do we need to get ready?” Guardian asked, after glancing at Silver to get her affirmation. Though Guardian was far more excited about the prospect of serving the Commander directly, Silver wasn’t opposed to it, seeing it as a possible opportunity for a promotion.

Splinter eyed them each up and down, and tilted his head in reluctant satisfaction.

“You’re both passable as you are. But maybe tidy yourselves up. For Celestia’s sake, Saber, you’ve got dirt on your cheek.”

Silver said nothing, silently wiping her cheek with her hoof, embarrassed.

“He’ll be here in a matter of moments, both of you come with me,” Splinter ordered.

Once he turned around, Guardian and Silver glanced in each other’s eyes, both communicating a combined sense of nervousness and high expectations. Neither of them had seen or met with royalty since their days as guards in Canterlot. Guardian was elated, seeing this as a way to recapture that famous Canterlot glamour and sophistication, a remaining bright spot in a world shrouded by darkness and uncertainty.

“I can’t believe we weren’t invited to Misty’s party,” Silver said jokingly, as they started catching up to Splinter, whose quick strides were fueled by his frustration with the hiccups in that day’s itinerary.

“I gave her my desert last week!”

The trio of ponies rushed through the camp, Silver and Guardian both struggling to keep up with Splinter’s aggressively quick pace. He stopped suddenly when passing the camp armory, taking a detour inside while the mares waited out in the cold.

Splinter reemerged with two golden spears in his hooves, handing one to each, who were a bit frazzled by his abrasiveness.

“Be at attention when you’re in front of the Commander, and do not embarrass me, understand?” Splinter demanded. His voice was like venom, and his red hot glare was dangerously close to burning holes right through each of the mares’ foreheads.

“Yes sir,” Guardian replied instantly. She really didn’t want to screw this up, what could end up being the chance of a lifetime. She had a burning desire to come off as impressive, to do her duty and do it well, with hopes of some highly-sought after recognition or appreciation. Or at the very least, a ‘good job’ would suffice to. She felt unfulfilled, though she had felt that way for most of her life. Any opportunity she could get to boost her own weak self-esteem or garner some attention from her superiors, she would likely take with little thought.

They continued to the eastern gate, which was already wide open. To Splinter’s frustration, they were a few minutes late to the esteemed commander’s arrival.

A large, elegant carriage with expensive golden decorations and soft purple satin curtains was parked in the mud just inside the camp, a splash of grace and bright color in a world of grey drab dullness.

Outside the carriage was an outfit of soldiers, all crystal ponies with shimmering metallic skin and stone-cold expressions. Splinter stopped in his tracks a few yards in front of the carriage, as did Guardian and Silver behind him, when the distinct sound of a hoofstep on the metal stair of the carriage signaled that the star of the show had arrived.

“Commander,” Splinter said, nodding at Shining Armor, who took a deep breath of the crisp cold air after stepping out from the carriage, and carefully walked down into the mud below.

“Colonel! How are you?” Shining Armor asked energetically, rushing over to greet Splinter, who was uncomfortable with how laid-back Shining tended to be.

They shook hooves eagerly, and then Shining took notice of the starstruck Guardian and Silver. His eyes stayed fixed on them for a moment, distant memories trickling back into his mind.

“Hey...I know you, don’t I? Both of you, I think…” Shining said, struggling to recall how he exactly knew these two vaguely familiar faces.

“Commander, these are Corporals Angel and Saber, they’ll be your escort, courtesy of the 23rd,” Splinter said, awkwardly, not having intended for too much attention to be shifted towards the replacement escorts.

“That’s it, you were both guards in Canterlot, weren’t you?” Shining asked.

“Yes sir,” Guardian replied, delighted that the commander remembered her. Being recognized by the Prince of the Crystal Empire was definitely something to feel proud of.

“Not under my command though, I think I was gone by then,” Shining said, struggling to recall exactly when his tenure as captain of the guard expired.

“Yes sir...though I would’ve very much liked to have served under you,” Guardian said. Silver couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Guardian's forced attempt at flattery.

Kiss-ass.

“Well it’s nice to see you’re both alive and well. And you too, Colonel! How are things here? Is everything running alright?” Shining asked.

Splinter stared at him with solemn disbelief, unimpressed with Shining’s pretend unawareness of the regiment’s desperate situation.

Not seeking to start an argument so soon, Splinter withheld from delving into the details of the camp’s supply issues and low morale, for the time being at least.

“As expected, Commander,” Splinter said, scornfully.

Shining ignored Splinter’s visible resentment towards him, walking past the colonel to get a better view of the camp. Though it was grey and miserable as usual, Shining saw the camp as a fine example of the gritty resilience of Equestria’s finest, though the colonel very likely didn’t feel the same.

“Lead the way then, Corporals. Colonel, walk with me, I think we should have a talk.”

Guardian and Silver swiveled in their posts to face the opposite direction, holding their spears straight upwards, formally.

As they began their march through the camp, the outfit of crystal pony guards who had accompanied Shining were trotting in lines right behind Silver and Guardian. Shining Armor and the Colonel were right beside each other, having a bitter exchange over the camp’s situation, that Silver and Guardian both tried to avoid eavesdropping on.

Marching over to the parade field, Guardian and Silver were both impressed by the size of the crowd that had drawn in to receive the commander, explaining why the camp had previously appeared to be depopulated. Ponies from all over the camp were standing together in a cluster, anxiously waiting for the commander’s arrival.

Guardian and Silver correctly assumed they were to lead the commander up to the podium platform to give his speech. The platform was a raised wooden deck, standing above the crowd of filthy soldiers cluttered together, who numbered a few hundred.

The crowd watched as Silver and Guardian led Shining up the platform steps, which noisily creaked under their weight. The colonel and Shining’s escort stayed down below on the ground, joining the crowd to listen to Shining’s highly anticipated speech.

Guardian and Silver awkwardly hung back on the platform deck to allow Shining some space to mount the podium stand. Also on the deck was another pony, who had been waiting for Shining since before he had arrived. Guardian’s eyes widened, recognizing the pony instantly. She was a young unicorn with a spotless white coat and a wavy cerulean mane. Her cutie mark was an eagle seated above a ring of gold stars, and she was clad in spectacular purple armor with golden lining. She was Periwinkle Radiance, the darling Captain of the 13th Velvet Regiment, who were due to ship off up into enemy territory that very day. She had only shown up to the camp the day before, after her regiment’s lengthy trek up from the south. Guardian had been aware that Periwinkle and the Velvets were stopping by, though she hadn’t yet seen the young unicorn captain herself.

The 13th Velvets were quite renowned in Equestria, famous for having never lost a battle, and commanded by the widely beloved Periwinkle Radiance. Beginning in the summer of the previous year, Radiance and her regiment had blown through the rebel position in the Southwest of Equestria. Aside from her military prowess, her reputation as a kind-hearted leader had won over the hearts of many of Equestria’s fearful civilian ponies at home. When the world was at its darkest, heroes were just the thing ponies needed to see in action to keep hope alive and well. And for some ponies, Guardian included, there wasn’t a single pony in Equestria who was more of a hero than Periwinkle.

Shining took his stand at the podium, clearing his throat and glancing at the dazzlingly beautiful Captain Periwinkle to his left, whose enticing smile distracted him for a brief moment.

Turning back to the podium, Shining was affected by how grim most of the soldiers in the crowd appeared, their spirits having been broken down after months of living off scraps and constantly fearing for their lives.

“Friends,” he began, his voice thundering over the silent crowd, “I’m going to be telling you the truth today...This has been a hard time for us,” Shining started, already feeling uneasy with having to put up with the soldiers’ intense hope for good news, when he really had none to give them.

“And the longer it takes to clear that passage...it will continue to be hard. The colonel has kindly let me know that the supply constraints here have begun to be dire...I apologize for that, sincerely. The situation up north, to reclaim the seat of the Crystal Empire, has proven a costly endeavor. Myself, and the princesses, and all of the commanders have agreed that the Northern theatre cannot be won without the control of this region. We still have an opportunity here, it’s not too late. It will take weeks for the rebels to rebuild the railway from the Crystal Empire to Vanhoover, which means we’ve still got a window to use while their supplies run out. We can no longer afford to hold this position steady. I misjudged how vital that passage would be to the enemy, and I regret that. They’ve been stocking up their resources to defend this area, to prevent us from advancing. You older ponies, and you with experience, know only too well what a siege of this kind means...it means an all-out war. Every battle, every victory, from small to large, is one step closer to resecuring order and control over Equestria. Every single one of you...Each of you decides how much longer this war will last. We will not have cowards, and we will not turn around,” Shining said, firmly.

Guardian glanced at Silver, who was expressionless for the entirety of Shining’s patriotic, if not slightly foreboding words.

Shining motioned with his hoof towards Periwinkle, who was standing proudly at attention. She was truly immaculate, clad in her purple-decorated golden armor, well-known to the soldiers as the aristocrats' daughter, Canterlot beauty.

“Today, Captain Radiance here will be leading her regiment northwards, into the passage, to destroy the rebel battalions active there. This fight will change the tide, I’m sure of it. Victory is too close to back away now,” Shining said, confidently. The crowd gave up their misery, briefly feeling the patriotic inspiration that had first driven them to enlist. They cheered out enthusiastically, Shining raising Periwinkle’s hoof into the air, as a decorated champion of the war.

Guardian too felt inspired, joining in the applause. It was the kind of energy that Shining displayed that made her remember why she had joined this war to begin with. Her homeland was at stake, and should she back down, she could very well be sentencing all of her loved ones to death.

Guardian’s smile faded, however, when she noticed Silver, who hadn’t even cracked a smile during Shining’s entire speech. The unicorn seemed completely unimpressed with his sentiment.

As opposed to Guardian’s firm belief in the good of the system and the value of fighting for Equestria, Silver had always found herself less ardent about sacrificing her life for the cause, whatever that cause really was.

Up until a few months prior to the outbreak of the war, Silver had still been in the service of Princess Luna as a Lunar Guard. It wasn’t Silver’s choice to leave, and in fact her departure from the guard was anything but a pleasant affair. She had been demoted, removed from the guard, personally by Princess Luna herself. Since then, there was a residual resentment boiling inside Silver’s heart, expectedly, after perhaps the greatest blow to her confidence ever encountered. She had kept her lunar guard armor as an attempt to spite her superiors, though she knew they probably hardly cared to even look in her direction. She had joined the army believing she could have become something greater, though that sense of fulfillment still seemed utterly out of reach.

And aside from personal disillusionment with the royals, Silver had also experienced far more than Guardian during her time in the war. She was there at the most infamous, deadliest battle, at Galloping Gorge, where she had to watch ponies be cut down by the thousands. In the heat of such chaos, and insanity, and violence, no call of patriotism or honor could convince her that it was all worth it. She had seen entire villages burned to the ground, the charred corpses of entire families stacked in droves in mass graves, wiped away from the face of the earth as if their very existence was completely meaningless. Lush forests reduced to foul brown wastelands, cities turned to rubble, lives torn apart. War was certainly hell, though at least hell cared to spare the innocent.

Silver’s old unit, the 14th Rangers Recon Division, had been cut in half after that campaign at Galloping Gorge, and Silver ended up being transferred over to the 23rd until the division could be properly restocked. Every now and then, memories of the unmistakable, ghastly stink of rotting flesh would pop into her mind, as would the crashing, hellish chaos of shrieking cannon shells and magical bombs of indescribable devastation, that leveled homes and reduced ponies to gaseous particles of red ash and agony. Needless to say, the inspirational words of Shining Armor were not nearly enough to convince her that the mission statement of the war justified its casualties.

Silver snapped out of her traumatic reminiscing, as the applause of the crowd grew stronger, like a wave of jubilation. She noticed her left hoof was quivering uncontrollably, and quickly tried to regain control of herself, trying her best to prevent the anxiety of memories past and futures uncertain from consuming her.

While the crowd continued to cheer, Shining Armor stepped down from the podium and shook Periwinkle’s hoof one last time, whispering something in her ear, likely bidding her good luck in what would be a fateful campaign northwards into the mountain passage.

“Oh, Commander! Would it be too much trouble for a picture? With you and the Velvets, before they leave?” called out one pony from nearby the platform, holding a large tripod and a box-like camera in his hooves. As he spoke, he motioned towards a selected group of the 13th Velvet Regiment soldiers, who were waiting eagerly by the platform.

Shining glanced back at Periwinkle, whose tight smile signaled to him that it wouldn’t hurt anypony to take one picture.

“Of course,” Shining said, moving out of the way to allow the photographer pony and the group of soldiers to mount the platform.

Guardian and Silver glanced at each other, and decided it would be best to step out of the shot, that was until Shining Armor stuck his hoof out to block their escape.

“Where are you going? You’ll be in it too, come on,” Shining said, smiling, riding the high of his celebrity status.

Guardian couldn’t remember the last time a photograph had been taken of her. And though she seemed to be ecstatic over the opportunity, Silver seemed to want to be anywhere else but on that platform.

While the photographer prepared his camera at the top of the platform, the other ponies all gathered together in a group, Guardian on one end and Silver on the other. The group of ponies seemed to be restless, as the anticipation of being photographed grew by the second.

“Alright, stay still now!” the photographer said, pausing while the crowd behind him stayed silent.

Guardian flinched when a bright flash of light and a loud click simultaneously burst out of the box-like camera, immediately followed by applause from the crowd.

The platform was now filled with ponies as they broke apart from the photograph group and began talking amongst each other, Shining Armor stepping ahead to address the crowd a final time.

He gave one last strong-armed wave to the crowd before he walked off the podium, rejoining his outfit of Crystal ponies and Colonel Splinter below.

As the crowd rejoiced and the platform turned into a social gathering of ponies, Guardian again noticed Silver’s demeanor, cold and unimpressed while everypony around her celebrated.

Before Guardian could question Silver on her somberness, a pony intercepted her, catching her by surprise. And not just anypony, but one of whom Guardian had least expected.

“Excuse me,” Captain Periwinkle said, stepping in front of Guardian right before she could head towards where Silver was. “Hello there, don’t mind me asking, but did you once serve in the palace? At Canterlot, I mean,” Periwinkle asked, her posh accent making Guardian sentimental for her past role as a palace guard.

“Yes! Yes, I did. Both of us,” Guardian replied, nodding over at Silver, who was already heading off of the podium. Guardian tensed up, and she doubled her focus on the words that were to come out of her mouth, for fear of embarrassing herself in front of the captain.

“I recognized you from some of the military balls,” Periwinkle said, smiling at the sight of a familiar face, “It seems I’m not the only one very far from home then,” Periwinkle said.

“Yes, very far,” Guardian said, nervous over fumbling over her words in front of a pony she so greatly admired.

“It’s all been so mad lately, hasn’t it? I do pray things get better soon. It’s like the Commander said though, it’s all up to us, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Guardian said, smiling.

“I wonder if I’ll see you again when we return...You and your friend, I’d very much like to learn about the life of a Canterlot guard,” Periwinkle said.

“Good luck on your campaign, Captain,” Guardian said.

“The honor’s all mine, Corporal…” Periwinkle started, leading into a blank.

“Angel, my name is Angel.”

“Angel, very good. Till we meet again,” Periwinkle said, giving a nod of courtesy and turning around to depart from the platform.

Guardian waited until Periwinkle was far enough out of earshot before releasing a squeal of excitement, having just met one of her idols in the flesh.

She stepped down off the platform to join back up with Silver, who was waiting in the grass nearby.

“Did you see that? She spoke to me!” Guardian exclaimed, elated.

“That’s great,” Silver replied, petulantly.

“She wanted to talk to you too, why’d you run off?”

“I didn’t run off…” Silver muttered, glumly.

Guardian eyed her down, unsure why Silver’s mood had suddenly soured.

“What’s wrong? You seemed to hate every second of being up there,” Guardian said, her mouth curling into a smile. “You don’t have stage fright, do you?”

“No, I don’t have-...You know I don’t.”

“Well?”

“Forget it,” Silver said, not seeing the point in having a discussion.

She did love Guardian, like a sister almost, but she just didn’t believe the pegasus truly understood the reality of the war, not the same way Silver did. It was Guardian’s dedication and common sense that kept Silver from giving up on making an effort to stay alive. Silver had always felt isolated in the 23rd. The regiment had only seen combat twice, and fared poorly both times. They weren’t weak fighters necessarily, but they did happen to be a little too over-confident, without much to show for all their talk. Guardian was the closest to an exception to that over-confidence, which is what made her stand out to Silver. They had known each other fairly well from their training days in Canterlot, serving as the backbone for what would become a balancing friendship.

“Chin up, buttercup. We’ve got shovel patrol,” Guardian said, nodding for Silver to catch up as she started trotting away from the parade field.

“Great, just what I needed,” Silver replied, sarcastically.

When Guardian had first joined the 23rd Regiment, her expectations were endless fighting on the front lines, possibly even leading to a glorious last stand or something that could be made into a heroic story for others to be inspired by. Though that certainly wasn’t the case. Her life for the past few months barely contained any fighting. No, it was mostly just digging.

Guardian and Silver were put alongside in a group of twelve ponies, that week’s shovel group. Each week, ponies would be picked at random by Colonel Splinter to expand the outer trenches northwards. There were rarely any rebels hanging out that close to royal territory, though there were occasional traps laid out for them to avoid.

“I’m just questioning the sense in it, is all,” said Silver, between her shoveling. The group was far away from the main part of the camp now, standing a little bit beyond the northern lines, digging into the earth to clear a route towards the nearby forest.

The grey muddy plain that the back lines camp sat on eventually led into an evergreen forest to the north, that grew between and atop the Smoky Mountains. Captain Periwinkle and her company had headed off into the forests earlier that day, making the long and dangerous trek through the mountain passage.

The ground they were digging in was frozen solid, making the digging process exponentially more difficult.

“If I had to make a guess,” Silver said, grunting after putting some effort into digging up a heavy rock stuck inside the ground, “I’d say it takes us about a whole day just to make a five yard difference from here to there…” Silver said, wiping some sweat from her forehead.

Guardian, and the other ponies who didn’t have the benefit of being able to grip their shovels with magic, were having a much more physically strenuous time digging through the mud dirt.

“That’s amazing. You should’ve been a mathematician,” Guardian said, getting a small chuckle from the other ponies in the shovel group.

“We could be spending that time better, is what I mean,” Silver said.

“Somepony’s gotta dig. Today that’s us. Tomorrow we might not be around to do it,” Guardian said.

“You think five yards is going to win the war?” Silver asked, sarcastically.

“Maybe,” Guardian replied, smiling, “If it’s five yards for us instead of five yards for them, then I take that as winning.”

“Whoa!” yelled one of the other ponies in the group, who suddenly jumped back from something, frightened out of his wits. He landed hard on his back, his whole body shaking with fear.

“What the hell’s the matter, Sandlot?” Guardian asked, dropping her shovel in preparation for an imminent ambush or some other frightful surprise.

“Mine!” he yelled, trying to pick himself up from the floor and put some distance between himself and the landmine he had discovered buried in the ground ahead of them. The others all noticed the small metal device, which was shaped like a hockey puck, and all began backing away nervously.

“Holy-!” yelled one of the ponies, dropping her shovel and backing up.

“Did he set it off?” asked another, confused as to how they weren’t dead yet.

“I think we’d be in pieces right now if he had,” Silver said, plainly.

“Nopony get near it, nopony touch it. Turn around, head back to camp. The inspection team apparently missed some of these…”

“Morons. They’ve got one job! They’re gonna get us killed,” Silver said, angrily. If she was indeed going to die in this war, she’d hate for it to be so impersonal.

“That was lucky, how close do you think we were from being blown to bits?” Silver asked, incredulous as to how Sandlot had managed to avoid setting the mine off.

“Not our problem, we’re alive. Let’s get out of here, before we actually do set one off,” Guardian said, heading back in the direction they had come from. Her heart was beating fast, as she realized how close she and the others had been to meeting their untimely ends. The other ponies all followed after her, cautiously checking where they were walking to avoid any other potential hidden landmines.

Upon returning to the camp, it was afternoon, and Guardian and Silver stayed with each other, as usual. They both agreed to hit the showers after their muddy, nearly fatal trench excavation work. The showers were separated between the boys and girls, though neither sex was particularly comfortable with bathing in the freezing outdoors. The showerhouses were open facilities, with enclosed wooden stalls, but no roofs. It made bathing a cold, awkward, unpleasurable experience, though still essential in such a filthy place.

Guardian and Silver showered in next-door stalls, both watching to make sure nopony was going to bother either of them.

Once clean, they took turns using the disgusting, foul-smelling toilet, which was really just a hole in the ground with a tiny wooden enclosure built around it. The only privacy anypony could find in the back lines camp was in their own tent, and even then, it was unwise to do anything risky that could end in a reprimand.

They at last arrived back at the mess hall for their dinner, as the cloudcast sky above them began to darken. To their delight, there was indeed a new shipment of food rations, likely done by Shining Armor’s own order, as he was visiting that day.

Regardless of the reason, both Silver and Guardian were beyond excited to get some full rations for once. They took a seat in the mess hall on one of the benches after retrieving their trays. Sitting opposite to each other, they both took a moment to admire the food in front of them. In truth, it was aggressively disgusting to gander at, and didn’t even resemble real food. Though once gotten used to, it was enough to make their mouths water. Some sort of thick, mealy brown paste or chum, along with bland-colored vegetables, a single apple, and a small cup of water.

Like every dinner, Silver pocketed the apple to save for later, as she usually got hungry at random times during the day and didn’t like to wait. Guardian had mushy peas as her vegetables, sitting in a pool of some strange liquid that closely resembled urine. In fact, the warm yellow liquid didn’t taste far from it either, though Guardian was so hungry she didn’t care.

“Hey, I overheard something. About Lieutenant Fanfare’s division,” Silver said, mid-chew of her chum.

“You did?” Guardian asked, her ears perking up.

“Might just be rumors, I don’t really know...Apparently their communications were cut like...halfway into the passage,” Silver said, somberly, implying that the division-worth of ponies were likely all killed.

Guardian, however, simply refused to believe such a harrowingly tragic outcome.

“They must’ve had to ditch their equipment to travel lighter. Terrain difficulties,” Guardian said, dismissively, unwilling to accept the possibility that Fanfare and his troops were all dead.

“Everypony’s been saying that they didn’t make it through. Not even halfway, can you believe that? Celestia help Periwinkle and the Velvets, looks like they’re in for the fight of their lives,” Silver said, hopeful that the day could still be saved.

“She’s competent. I’m quite sure they’ll have no problem making it through,” Guardian said.

“I don’t know, Guardian...nopony’s ever made it through that passage. Remember Lieutenant Iodine last October? And Fast Track, with that Fillydelphia company? They disappeared too. And now Fanfare. He was one of the best scouts we had, if he couldn’t make it through…” Silver said, refraining from filling in the blank. “We don’t even know how many rebs are in there, it could be full battalions. If the Velvets win this fight, it’d be a miracle. I just hope they aren’t wiped out,” Silver said.

Guardian sighed, dissatisfied with the seeming hopelessness of Equestria’s predicament.

“Have you still got those cards you stole from Fleetwood?” Guardian asked, seeking a distraction.

“Borrowed. And yes,” Silver said, grinning.

“Ok, let’s go, I’ve had enough,” Guardian said, deciding to hold off from finishing her foul-tasting peas.

They left the mess hall right as it was really beginning to fill up with ponies who had just finished their work for the day. It was now dark outside, the camp illuminated by various soft orange-lit lamps hanging around buildings and tall stakes stuck in the icy dirt ground.

They walked towards the tents, but didn’t make it far, when a pony stepped out from around a corner right in front of them to block their path.

“Who’s there? I can’t see,” Guardian said, squinting her eyes to try and see through the pitch black.

The pony raised the lantern he was carrying with a jolting hoof to reveal his face. He was Night Owl, a stallion unicorn, with a black coat and light blue hair that stuck upwards. He had bags under his eyes, and he seemed to be extremely anxious about something.

“Oh, Sergeant. Is there something you need from us?” Guardian asked, after awkwardly clearing her throat. She always made an effort to be polite with her superior officers.

“You, Angel, you’ve been summoned by the Commander,” he said, pointing squarely at Guardian.

Guardian stared at him blankly, shocked by the order and unsure how to react.

“The Commander...wants me?” she asked, her voice trembling. She hoped to Celestia that she wasn’t in any trouble.

“Come with me...And bring your friend,” Night Owl said, motioning for the two of them to follow him towards the command facility towards the east.

Guardian glanced at Silver, both unsure what this was all about.

“Jealous?” Guardian asked Silver with a playful grin, as they quickly caught up to Night Owl, who was trudging quickly through the muddy camp. His face was grave, which made Guardian suspect something important was happening. Why it concerned her, was still a mystery.

“Please, you could be getting thrown in the hole, for all you know,” Silver muttered, smirking.

“If that happens, I’ll be sure to bring you down with me,” Guardian shot back.

As soon as they reached the command facility, Night Owl turned to both of them, his cold demeanor snapping both ponies back to attention.

“Do as they say, and be respectful. The commander is waiting for you,” Night Owl said, stepping out of the way for them to enter first.

Guardian hesitated, as did Silver, unsure what to expect inside. Neither of them had ever been inside that building, which was reserved for high-ranking officers. They were both just lowly corporals, who weren’t meant to be concerned with the affairs of their commanding superiors.

Guardian took a deep breath to calm her nerves and entered the facility, taking a wide step inside.

There was a single room inside the building, lit by the flickering warm orange glow of several different lamps positioned around tables that lined the edges of the walls. At the center of the room was a wide table covered in maps, and waiting inside were several different officers, all of high rank. She recognized Shining Armor instantly at the opposite side of the table, his face worn low with exhaustion. Colonel Splinter was there as well, and several other officers who had thrown some commands towards the duo’s way more than once.

As soon as both Guardian and Silver had awkwardly shuffled inside the cramped command room, Night Owl followed them inside and shut the door behind them. There were about twenty other officers already inside, now all staring directly at Guardian and Silver. Guardian felt like she was being suffocated, by the several pairs of eyes all locked on her.

“Commander,” Guardian said, her voice giving out at the end as a result of her painful, crippling anxiety.

“Guardian Angel, and Silver Saber, right?” Shining asked, lifting his head from the map table to get a better look at them. Silver tried not to show her surprise, at the sight of Shining Armor, who appeared far more grizzled and unkempt since she last saw him that morning. His stubble had grown out, and his head refused to be still, swaying from side to side constantly, as if he was in disbelief.

“Yes sir,” Guardian replied. She was already sweating, small droplets of water freezing to ice right on her skin due to the dangerously cold temperatures.

“Relax, you’re not in trouble…” Shining said, sighing in an attempt to collect himself.

“We’re...We’re not?” Guardian asked, still confused, and slightly concerned as to why Shining appeared to be mid-panic attack.

“No, you’re not...The reason we’ve summoned you is...Well I’ll be frank. There’s been a...complication to the situation regarding the mountain passage.”

“A complication, sir?” Guardian asked.

Shining nodded at one of the Lieutenants, Red Holly, to take over the talking.

“Are you familiar with Field Marshall Moonbeam and his battalions?” the red-coated unicorn mare said.

“Um, somewhat, ma’am,” Guardian answered. She had heard the name before, though she didn’t know much about the pony.

“He’s currently commanding three battalions, far up north from our position here, on the other side of the passage. The 19th, 46th, and 62nd. Our three spearheads. They came down from the north a while ago, in hopes of meeting us in the middle and crushing the rebel presence in this region. Just days ago, he was sending us angry letters, complaining about us giving priority access to the southern supply deliveries to Lieutenant Rotor in the highlands, instead of him. For the past three weeks, Moonbeam’s been pushing the Coalition’s command legion westward, towards the coast. However, we’ve only today discovered that he is walking into a trap.”

Guardian and Silver were both overwhelmed by all this information, but it was clear that the loss of three of Equestria’s largest battalions of soldiers would be devastating to the royals’ chances of victory. Shining Armor grabbed their attention back, pointing at an area on the map near the North Lunar Sea coast.

“Moonbeam was led to believe that the rebels’ reinforcements from the south had been delayed, making them vulnerable in their current position. What he is unaware of, is that the rebels have already been reinforced, by a fighting force even greater than the expected numbers of the southern reinforcements. They came north by the sea, but he has no idea. Our patrols south of Vanhoover caught sight of the sea reinforcements, they alerted us just a few hours ago,” Shining said, his voice withered as if he had been talking for hours

“And have they alerted the Field Marshal?” Silver asked.

Shining shook his head.

“That’s the problem. The rebels have made a considerable effort to prevent us from reaching and warning Moonbeam of what’s waiting for him at the coast. Magical communications have been jammed, and airspace is three times as hostile as before. There isn’t time to call in more air support. We only have seven days from tomorrow morning, at most, before Moonbeam is able to make his assault. Should his battalions be lost to the enemy, we will have no viable chance of establishing control over this region...Very likely, the Northern Theatre will be lost, and...that is not something that we can allow to happen,” Shining said, his eyes darting back and forth between Silver and Guardian, terrified of the potential disaster he was alluding to.

“Sir, we have operatives all over the region that could make it to the Field Marshal! Lieutenant Fanfare and his division are still out there, if we could get this message to them, they could-” Guardian started, before Colonel Splinter could cut her off.

“Corporal...Lieutenant Fanfare is dead. His entire division was slaughtered last night near the river, we found their bodies washed up near Molestown,” Splinter interrupted, not wanting to waste time on false promises of hope.

Guardian’s mouth hung agape, and even Silver was a bit stunned. She had been skeptical of their chances of survival, but to know that an entire division was destroyed, was a frightful reality to accept.

“I, uh...All of them?” Guardian asked, distressed, choking on her words.

“I’m afraid so, Corporal,” Splinter replied, gravely.

“How long have you known this?” Guardian stammered.

Splinter was a bit taken aback by Guardian’s forcefulness, but relented, given how visibly upset she was.

“A few hours ago,” Splinter answered.

“And you neglected to tell the rest of us?” Guardian yelled, outraged. Silver subtly nudged her with her hoof to try and warn her to calm down.

Splinter scoffed, both at her nerve to talk so bluntly to a superior officer, and her naivety.

“And what good would that do, Corporal? Weaken the regiment’s hearts to the point they’re a hair away from throwing their spears to the ground and deserting into the countryside? I wouldn’t have told you either if you hadn’t said anything.”

“We all have a right to know!” Guardian contested, Silver again nudging her to calm down, this time with a stronger impact.

“Corporal. Watch your tone,” Red Holly interjected, practically snarling at an outraged Guardian. Holly’s voice was smooth and dominating, and as soon as she spoke, Guardian immediately shut her mouth, realizing that she may have pushed her limit with the officers’ patience. Splinter said absolutely nothing, while Guardian subtly lowered her head towards the ground.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Guardian mumbled, though she remained upset.

While Guardian was still worked up over the loss of Fanfare and his division, Silver was more concerned with her recently drawn conclusion.

“Wait, do you mean for us to deliver that message?” Silver asked.

Shining Armor scratched his stubbly beard, exhausted from the day’s events and stressed over the possibility of an imminent defeat in the North.

“You both have to understand what’s at stake here...We can’t communicate with these ponies, at all. They’re cut off from us completely, and they’re marching to their deaths! Captain Radiance will be distracted with the fight with the rebel battalions closer south in the passage. Which is why the only sensible route to take would be to send a smaller number of ponies to deliver this message to Moonbeam, while the enemy is mostly preoccupied. You two were the first ponies I thought of, that could be right for the job, I’m pleased to have met you both again today. And I had to have made a good choice...Colonel Splinter here tells me that you’re the fastest pony in this regiment, Angel,” Shining said.

“I’m-I’m faster on my wings, but I can run too,” Guardian replied, nervously. She was slowly realizing what they were asking her to do, and the more she understood, the more terrified she became. But her willingness to impress her superiors was persuasive enough to force her to keep her composure.

“It’s safer for you to travel with a companion, and it seems you’ve already got one,” Shining said, nodding at Silver. Guardian and Silver glanced at each other, both nervous about the daunting task.

“You want us to run miles into enemy territory? Straight into the mountain passage, where nopony comes back from?” Silver asked, struggling to comprehend the monumental danger of the assignment.

“You’ll be properly equipped...With full rations for seven days. It shouldn’t take you longer than that to reach them. Past that point, it’ll be too late...” Splinter said.

“So...Do you accept? We need to know now, there isn’t time to think it over,” Red Holly said, trying to frighten the two overwhelmed corporals into obedience.

Guardian blinked a few times, still in a state of intense shock. To think she may be throwing her life away, was horrifying, but the knowledge that thousands of lives were at stake was convincing enough for Guardian to come to a reluctant agreement. On top of the implied ticking clock on the mission, Guardian forced herself to ignore her fears, and do the honorable thing.

“Yes,” Guardian said, her voice quivering slightly.

“Corporal Saber?” Splinter asked, turning to Silver.

Silver hesitated as well, struggling to process all of the risks involved.

“We’ll both do it,” Silver said, against her better judgment. This assignment sounded more like a death sentence than anything else, but she wasn’t about to let Guardian go through it without her.

“You have no idea how many ponies’ lives depend on this...You’ll be doing a great service to your country,” Shining said, firmly.

Guardian and Silver were both pale with fright, unable to process what they had just gotten themselves into.

“Mr. Pepperjack, set the watch. You two, and all you with time to spare, come with me,” Splinter said, storming towards the door, unwilling to waste any time. As Guardian and Silver were quickly rushed out of the building, they both caught one last look from Shining, a combination of desperation, fear, and hope that Equestria would prevail through its darkest hour.

The duo were quickly escorted out of the command facility by Splinter and the lieutenants. They gathered again outside, underneath a tent near the edge of the camp. Splinter reached inside one of his bags to pull out a map of the mountain passage, laying it out on the wooden table that sat right beneath the tent, lit by a nearby lantern.

“This here,” Splinter said, pointing at a spot on the map.

“You’ll be entering the forest through here. Don’t stray too far from the creek, follow it northwards all the way through the passage. The creek splits two ways after a while, follow it northeast. Avoid this town, here, Pine Hearth. We believe it’s under occupation. When you reach the fields up here, head straight east, you should reach Moonbeam’s position after not too long...Avoid flying at all costs, there’s rebel pegasi patrols all over, if you’re spotted, the mission will be jeopardized. Stay on task, remember you’re on a time deadline here. Do you both understand all that?” Splinter demanded.

“Yes sir. Er, one thing, what if we do encounter the rebels?” Silver asked, concerned with the possibility of just the two of them fighting against entire companies of enemy soldiers.

“Avoid being spotted. If a conflict is unavoidable, do what you must to stay alive, and get that message to all those poor souls up north. You two are supposed to be the best in the regiment, I trust you’ll be able to handle this. I wouldn’t have let the commander pick you otherwise. He seemed to have already taken a liking to you.”

Flurries of snow began to drift from the night sky as if the stars themselves were descending down to the earth, right as Splinter was finishing up his rundown of the mission.

“In each of these packs is seven days’ full rations...Maps, lantern, extra supplies. And here is the letter you’re to deliver. Do not lose it, at all costs,” Splinter said, handing Guardian an off-white envelope, which she promptly tucked inside her duffel bag, zipping it up for safekeeping.

“Good luck, both of you,” Splinter said, nodding to both of them, prideful that two soldiers from his regiment were the ones being sent, but also deeply worried for their chances of survival and success. He gave them a final, formal hoofshake, leaving them with the nod that it was time.

“Thank you, sir,” Guardian said, her voice shaking uncontrollably. Everything had happened so fast, and she didn’t feel prepared at all for an assignment of this magnitude. Maybe it was just to scare her into compliance, but those officers really made it sound like the fate of Equestria hung on her and Silver’s shoulders.

Guardian was excited, surely, and eager to save all those ponies’ lives, but she couldn’t ignore her fears of what lay ahead in that forest of nightmares.

Silver was just as afraid, though she happened to not feel as driven about the mission as Guardian. She was really only participating for the sake of sticking by Guardian, and to get some much-desired recognition from her superiors.

Both ponies were allowed to make a quick run to their tent to gather what belongings they needed, though Splinter stressed that they stick to the bare essential. Guardian grabbed an extra canteen and some extra first aid supplies, while Silver went for a pack of gum, one of the many books she was in possession of, and, of course, an extra bottle of contraband whiskey.

Guardian and Silver correctly assumed they wouldn’t be given a formal goodbye in the same vein as Periwinkle, gathering their gear and reuniting with Splinter and the other lieutenants back near the tent.

With a final wave from Colonel Splinter, Guardian and Silver took right to slipping off towards the wilderness beyond, their fears growing with each step towards the forests ahead.

Through the dark night air, droplets of snow landed and melted right onto their helmets and armor, giving them each a shudder as they approached the frozen forest of the Smoky Mountain passage. It was practically pitch black out, Silver using her horn for light while Guardian had to use the lantern. The packs that Splinter had given to them were thicker than what they were used to, and the extra weight slowed their pace ever so slightly.

“You ready?” Silver asked, right before they would take their official first step out of the camp. Guardian glanced at her friend, but said nothing, because truthfully she wasn’t quite sure. She took one last deep breath and continued her march forward, Silver walking right beside her.

Their descent into the hellish dark forest, soundtracked by the sounds of distant screaming and cannonfire, was marked by uncertainty. Neither were sure whether they would exit this forest alive, or at the very least the same as they entered. All they had was each other, in perhaps the most unforgiving place in Equestria.

Author's Note:

Thanks for Reading! Feedback always welcomed!

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[23 KM To Nerdiness]

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