Author's Notes:

Hello my faithful readers! Just a reminder that the map I gave you at the beginning of this story will come in handy for this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 13: Training Day (Part 2)

August 6, 2558
1305 hours
Everfree Forest Tree line
Field Combat Training Grounds

A pair of F-41 strike fighters soared overhead, heading back towards a distant Cloudsdale on their now daily patrols of the skies above Equestria.

Below stood Captain Robert Peterson, Gypsy Company Commander, and his enlisted tech expert whom sat in a chair in front of an array of big monitors that had just been turned on.

“Alright Corporal,” said Captain Peterson. “Are the screens set and ready to go?”

“Yes sir,” said the Corporal, not glancing away from the screens. “All we`ll have to do now is connect each participating marine`s helmet cameras to a monitor before starting the field exercise.”

“Looks like we`re all set up then. Good work.”

“Sir,” came a voice from behind. “The Captain is here with the princesses.”

Captain Peterson turned around to see Captain Lasky with Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight approaching his makeshift outpost.

“Captain Peterson,” started Lasky as both he and Robert Saluted each other. “Is everything ready?”

“Yes sir,” said the Marine Captain. “All we need now are the marines themselves to arrive.”

“One early morning `bout zero-five!” came a few voices off in the distance.

“ONE EARLY MORNING `BOUT ZERO-FIVE!” came the sound of almost two hundred more.

“Speak of the devil…” said the Marine Captain as all of Gypsy Company began jogging into earshot, singing the rest of the UNSC Marine Corps cadence.

The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky!
Helljumper helljumper where`ve ya been?!”
Feet first into hell and back again!
When I die please bury me deep!
Place an MA5 down by my feet!
Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!
Just pack my box with PT gear!
Don't you worry, don't come undone!
It's just my ghost on a PT run!

By the end of the verse, the company had arrived at their destination. All four lieutenants then gathered by their Captains.

“Your men are quite disciplined,” said Celestia.

“Princess,” said Captain Peterson. “May I ask where your sister is?”

“In Canterlot,” she replied.

“She`s overlooking the fortification of the City and the training of Castle Company,” said Lasky. “Focusing now on what we`re here for, now that the marines are here I believe we should get our field training exercise underway?”

“Yes sir,” said Captain Peterson as he began to walk towards a small, gridded holo-table near the big TV monitors. “If you would all follow me please.”

On the holo-table there projected a 3-D holographic map of the Everfree Forest. As the two Captains and two princesses approached it, so too did the four lieutenants from the group of marines that had just marched over.

“Gentlemen,” said Peterson once everyone had gathered around the table. He pointed a finger at the map. “Today you will be conducting a field training exercise here in the Everfree Forest. Before I continue, Captain? Is there anything you`d like to say before I debrief them on the details?”

“Yes,” said Lasky. “The point of this exercise, plain and simple, is to get you and your men used to fighting with this planet`s slightly-less-than-you`re-used-to gravity as well as warm you all up for the war you are to fight ahead. This forest is very similar to an environment you`d find on any of our worlds, as well as simulate what the rest of this planet is like. Captain Peterson, you may continue.”

“Yes sir,” said the marine Captain as he began pointing out different spots on the map. “You will be divided into two teams: Alpha and Bravo will be the blue team, Charlie and Delta will be red team. You and your men will each receive removable Velcro stripes of your respective team color that can be put on all of your helmets.”

He pointed to the northern end of the map at a river that split the forest in two. This was the same river that Ponyville was built next to.

“Red team will start here,” he said. “On the eastern side of that river.”

He then pointed to the southern end of the map at the same river.

“Blue team is to start there, on the southern bank of that river. You will be using non-lethal sim-munition rounds in your weapons to ensure safety. Anyone who is hit is to lie down on their backs where they stood. Any questions?”

“Sir?” asked LT Daniel Dietz. “What areas are off limits?”

“Lieutenant, once I send the message to your holo-pads to start the exercise, every location on this map will be up for grabs. The only places you aren’t allowed to go until this is over are any place not on this map. Make sense?”

“Yes sir,” he said as he and the other platoon commanders began to eye the old, medieval-style castle at the northern end of the forest.

“Any other questions?” asked Captain Peterson.

The four lieutenants shook their heads.

“Alright, get to it then. We begin at 1500.”

“Aye sir,” said the four in unison before jogging back to their respective platoons.

“Hold on a second,” said Twilight, who had been silent up until now. “So you humans are about to fight…each other?”

“Oh yes Twilight,” said Lasky. “I should mention, you`ll finally get to see what a human battle looks like.”

“But why would you ever fight yourselves? It just seems wrong.”

“Well, we have fought each other in our past numerous times for multitudes of reasons. All I know is that it`s the reason we`ve become so powerful as a species, because we mastered warfare, by using it on each other.”

As if Twilight didn’t seem dumbfounded enough by what she had just heard, Celestia leaned in and spoke into her ear something even more shocking.

“As a matter of fact twilight,” she whispered. “Humans have been fighting wars with each other longer than ponies of this era have been in existence.”

“Oh my,” was all the lavender alicorn could say.

. . .

August 6, 2558
1495 hours
Everfree Forest
Field Combat Training Grounds

Alpha platoon was crouched, motionless among the trees. Among them was Fireteam Icebreaker, the platoon`s six-man, scout-sniper squad. The squad sniper was Corporal Marcus Williams, he held his sniper rifle in his hands and his M6D sidearm on his hip. The assistant squad sniper was also the team leader, Gunnery Sergeant David Alvarez, who held a BR85HB SR battle rifle in his hands with an M45D tactical shotgun on his back. PFC Ogden Jenkins was the squad radio man; he held an MA5D assault rifle in his hands with an M6D on his hip as well. Sergeant Alex Thompson, the squad`s light machine gunner, held his M739 squad automatic weapon in his arms and an M395 designated marksman rifle on his back. Private Eugene Phillips and Private Oscar Morgan both had an M395 DMR in their hands and an M6D pistol on each of their hips.

A couple hundred meters away crouched Bravo platoon. Just a few meters to their north ran the river they were told to start next to. The sound of its rushing water was calming and serene. The marines all now wore blue stripes going down the middle of their helmets. Between them stood their two commanders, who also wore helmets with the same appearance, looking down at a holographic map on one of their holo-pads. They were putting the finishing touches on their plan.

“So, let`s review the plan,” said LT Dennis Ackerson of Bravo platoon, pointing at the castle to the north. “Your men will capture and secure this abandoned castle while we follow this river to the center of the forest.”

“Then, when the enemy attacks the castle,” said LT Daniel Dietz of Alpha platoon. “You can move in from behind and hit their flank.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Dennis before shaking Daniel`s hand. “Let`s get back to our guys.”

“Alright, let`s do this,” said Daniel before they parted ways.

As Dietz approached Fireteam Icebreaker, Gunnery Sergeant David Alvarez saw his Lieutenant approaching and stood up to walk over and greet him.

“So what`s the plan, sir?” he asked.

“Bravo`s going to move northeast along this river,” started the LT. “We are going to cross it and head north to this castle.”

He pointed to the castle`s location on the holo-pad.

“But before we make the clearing, around here,” he pointed to a spot about half a mile away from the castle. “I need you and your squad to scout ahead and stop at the clearing. Once there, you are to recon and survey the castle and the surrounding clearing. Radio back to us if you see any enemies in or around the objective, okay?”

“Aye sir,” said gunny as he turned to head back to his squad.

“And Sergeant?” said the LT.

Gunny turned back around.

“Yes sir?” he said.

“I understand that you and your squad used to be ODSTs,” said Dietz. “I just want you to know that that`s why I chose you for this task.”

“I understand, sir.”

At that moment, LT Dietz`s holo-pad vibrated, signaling that it had just received a message.

It read one simple word:

BEGIN

Dietz, upon reading this, looked up to see Bravo moving forward.

“Okay men,” he said, pulling out his M6D pistol. “Let`s move!”

. . .

August 6, 2558
1501 hours
Everfree Forest Tree line
Field Combat Training Grounds

“Okay,” said Captain Peterson as he observed the holo-table. “The exercise has begun.”

Soldiers on the map were shown as either red or blue dots, for red and blue teams respectively. It had been only a minute since the marine Captain had sent his message to begin the combat and already he and his ship Captain, along with the two princesses that were present, could see the dots moving out.

“Now this battle may take a while,” said Peterson. “A lot of times they go well on into the night.”

“So I hope you two can stay long,” said Lasky.

“Oh, we should be fine,” said Celestia.

“Yeah,” said Twilight. “Number one, I've spent many sleepless nights studying before, so a long night shouldn’t be anything I can`t handle; and number two, if anything urgent does come up, either Celestia or I can teleport to wherever we need to be and back in a jiffy.”

“Hey!” came a shout from a few hundred feet away in the general direction of Ponyville. “This area`s off limits to civilians!”

Twilight turned around to see two human marines holding back her five friends.

“Oh, c`mon! Let us through!” said Rainbow Dash.

“Ma`am, I'm gunna have to ask you stand back,” said the other marine. “We are under direct orders not to let any civilians in here.”

“Oh, that`s okay,” came Fluttershy`s soft voice. “Sorry to bother you, we were just leaving anyway, right girls?”

Her implied suggestion seemed to go unnoticed.

“We jus` wanna check up on our friends!” said Applejack. “We`ll be in and out, quick as a fiddle.”

“I can`t allow that ma`am,” said the marine. “Once again I'm under strict orders to–”

“Well now you`re under orders from me,” said Twilight from behind. “Let them pass.”

“Oh,” he said as he turned his head and then let the five through. “Of course your highness.”

Twilight and her friends trotted up to and greeted each other.

“Thanks Twi,” said Rainbow.

“Now do tell,” said Rarity. “Where are our newest acquaintances?”

“Well,” started Twilight. “You really can`t talk to them right now, they`re still in the middle of a training exercise. Speaking of training, Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? I thought you had Wonderbolt practice.”

Rainbow just shrugged.

“It ended early today,” she said.

“Any particular reason?” asked Twilight.

“Well, it may have had something to do with one of those human flying machines soaring straight through our practice area, but I'm sure it won`t happen again.”

“Let`s hope not,” said Twilight, looking a little worried.

“So where are they?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I don’t see them.”

“They`re training in there.”

Twilight pointed into the Everfree Forest.

“What?!” squeaked Fluttershy. “Oh, those poor things! I hope they`re okay.”

“Oh don’t worry Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “Their Captain tells me that the kind of environment that`s in there is very similar to a typical forest they`d find on any one of their worlds.”

“So, they`re used to it?” asked Rainbow.

“Yep, it`s like they`re right at home in there.”

“Well is there any way we can see how they`re doin` without havin` to trot on in there?” asked Applejack, clearly scared that she may have to. “I mean, it`s pretty likely that we ain`t allowed in there anyway.”

Twilight was easily able to see through her excuse.

“Don’t worry AJ,” she said. “We won`t have to go in there. Thanks to the wonders of human technology, we can see how they`re doing from right here.”

“Nah howkin` that be?” asked Applejack.

“Just follow me girls,” said the lavender alicorn before turning and heading towards the array of monitors.

Her friends followed suit, soon attracting the attention of Captain Peterson.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Ah!” said Lasky. “The Elements of Harmony, welcome! May I ask what brings you here?”

Seeing that his ship Captain recognized them, Captain Peterson decided that the five newcomers were of no real threat.

“They just wanted to check up on their human friends,” said Twilight. “It is the friendly thing to do.”

“Umm…oh-kay,” said Lasky. “But are you sure you wanna see this? It gets pretty intense.”

“We came here fur a reasn`” said Applejack. “We ain`t gunna turn away now. Right girls?”

“Uh-huh!” said the other four in unison.

“Alright then,” said Lasky. “Corporal, pull up Fireteam Icebreaker`s helmet cams.”

“Aye sir.”

“Who`s an Ice-breaker? They must not like the cold,” said Pinkie as the six nearest monitors switched to each individual member of Fireteam Icebreaker.

“It`s the collective codename for the six-man Fireteam that each of your friends are a part of,” said the ship Captain.

“Okey dokey lokey!”

“Uhh…alright…I guess?” said Thomas awkwardly.

“My goodness!” exclaimed Rarity now looking at the screens. “They really are deep in those woods!”

“Yes they are little lady,” said Captain Peterson. “Hold on, are they separated from their platoon? They`re all by themselves out there.”

“They`re probably just scouting ahead,” said Lasky. “They are a scout-sniper squad after all.”

Lasky then pointed at a group of six moving blue dots on the holographic map, far ahead of a much larger group of nearly fifty stationary dots further south.

“That`s Icebreaker right there,” he said. “And that must be the rest of Alpha platoon. They currently appear to be holding their position, probably waiting for Icebreaker`s assessment of the terrain.”

Captian Peterson decided to stay by the holo-table, watching the battle as a whole unfold. The rest of the group continued to watch the Fireteam`s helmet cams on the monitors.

“They`re not talking to each other,” observed Rainbow Dash. “Why are they just using a bunch of hand signals?”

“It`s called silent team communication,” explained Lasky. “It`s commonly used when performing stealthy tasks, such as reconnaissance missions.”

Lasky gestured to the screens in front of him at the end of that last statement, implying that that was what Icebreaker was doing.

On screen, the group could see that Fireteam Icebreaker was using maneuver tactics. One or two men stood behind a tree with their weapons at the ready while the rest moved to another area of cover, and then repeated the process with the next two men. They were ever ready to fight any enemy that may come their way, though it was quite unlikely since it was a big forest and the game had just begun. Still it didn’t hurt to take precautions.

Captain Peterson came back over to the monitors.

“They should be approaching some kind of clearing by now,” he said.

On screen, the team was, in fact, approaching a tree line. Beyond laid a seemingly abandoned, medieval-style castle. It was in ruins; the midsection of the building appeared to have halfway fallen in on itself, and all that remained were two towers on either side of the foundation as well as a few windows around a central doorway at the front. A canyon separated Icebreaker from the castle, bridged only by an old and ever weakening wooden rope-bridge.

“Wait,” said Twilight. “Isn`t that the castle of the two sisters?”

“The one that nearly scared us all to death?” said Fluttershy.

“Well, not me,” said Rainbow. “But, you know.”

“It appears so,” said Celestia, a concerned look adorned on her face.

“Oh shit,” said Captain Peterson. “My bad, princess. I told them that once the game started, anything would be up for grabs. It seemed only logical then that they`d go for that castle. It`s a very strategic point if you ask me.”

“Oh it`s quite alright,” she responded. “I'd actually like to see what your men will do with it.”

. . .

August 6, 2558
1507 hours
Everfree Forest
Near the Castle of the Two Sisters

Fireteam Icebreaker stood crouched just behind a tree line overlooking the castle. It was at this point that they decided to speak again with their voices instead of using mere hand signals.

“There she is,” said Jenkins in a low voice. “Should we radio back?”

“Yeah,” whispered gunny. “You do that while we set up.”

“Aye gunny,” said Jenkins before moving back a few yards to send a radio transmission.

Meanwhile, gunny got right to work.

“Okay. Marcus, you find a good overwatch position to cover our rout in,” he ordered. “Sidney, go be his spotter.”

“Aye gunny,” said the two in their unified, low voices.

“Sir? Weren't we ordered to stay back?” asked Private Eugene Phillips.

“Yeah, but this could be our only chance to secure this place, Shifty,” said gunny. “I don’t wanna risk this strategic point getting into enemy hands.”

“But what if we`re attacked while we`re in it?” asked Sergeant Alex Thompson. “We won`t last five minutes!”

“While they`re attacking, the rest of Alpha can come in from here and flank `em. They`ll have no choice but to fall back if that happens.”

“Okay, but you`ll be disobeying a direct order.”

“What`re they gunna do? Court-martial me? Sometimes it takes a little insubordination to win a war.”

“It also takes the same amount to get yourself killed. You sure you know what you`re doing?”

“Of course, Alex, when have I ever gotten you killed?”

“Well, I am still here gunny.”

“Exactly. So once Jenkins is finished with his call and Marcus and Sidney are in position, Shifty, Jenkins, and I will cross that bridge. You stay here and set up your SAW. You are to provide cover fire if things go south. Got it?”

“Aye sir.”

“…We`re in position gunny…” said Corporal Marcus Williams over gunny`s helmet radio.

“Rodger, good hunting,” gunny radioed back.

Up on the nearby rock where Marcus and Sidney lay prone, a conversation began between the two.

“Oy, Sidney?” said Marcus as he looked through his sniper scope.

“Yeah?”

“You still think this is a dream? I mean, we`re fighting for multicolored ponies! Doesn’t that say something to ya?”

“I dunno mate, it seems pretty real to me. But hey, even if it is, it`s one I'll never forget for as long as I live.”

Sidney brought up his DMR and aimed through the scope.

“I'll spot using the scope on this gun; I'm not gunna bother taking it off though, just so you know.”

“Gotcha.”

“You see anything in the castle?”

“Nope, nor anywhere else. There`s something fishy going on here though, you feel it?”

“Yeah.”

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Jenkins had just finished his transmission and had walked back over to the rest of his squad.

“So what`s the plan?” he asked.

Gunny pointed a hand at the wooden bridge.

“We`re gunna cross that bridge and recon the castle,” he said before putting a hand to his helmet radio. “Corporal? Are the windows clear?”

“Yes sir,” came Marcus` voice. “The whole castle looks completely deserted. You should be clear.”

“Rodger,” said gunny back before turning his attention back to the three marines in front of him. “Alright, I'll take point as we cross the bridge, Jenkins has got the middle, and Shifty you take the rear. Sarge`ll stay back with the SAW. Everyone got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Alright,” said gunny. “Let`s go.”

Sarge got into a prone position behind a tree, the barrel of his SAW sticking out past it, as Jenkins, gunny, and Shifty ran for the bridge. Once they got there, gunny, then Jenkins, and then Shifty got on the bridge and quickly, but carefully, began to cross it. Once they were three-fourths of the way across, they seemed to be in the clear.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the castle.

“Shit!” yelled gunny as red paint from the sim-munition rounds being fired at them tore at the bridge around them.

Since the group was almost across the bridge when they were fired upon, they quickly made it across and dived behind some bush cover. Luckily for them, the bushes were thick enough to block the majority of the rounds being fired at them, and as if they weren't lucky enough, miraculously, none of them had been hit.

“Goddammit!” Shifty blurted out, a look of pure terror on his face, before blind-firing a few shots above the bush.

As the three of them lay prone behind their makeshift cover, Ogden was the first to state the obvious.

“We`re pinned down, gunny!” he shouted, with one hand on his helmet and his rifle in the other. “We gotta get them offa us!”

Gunny wasted no time, remaining calm despite the circumstances; his years of combat experience were kicking in.

“Roger that!” he shouted back to the PFC before bringing a hand up to his helmet radio. “Sergeant! Lay down cover fire!”

“Already on it!” came Alex`s voice as gunny began to observe that rounds from Alex`s SAW were flying over the bridge.

Meanwhile, back on the rock at the tree line, Marcus and Sidney had already started going to work.

“Targets in the windows around the door,” said Sidney, spotting with his DMR. “They`re two, three-man machine gun teams.”

“Roger,” said Marcus as he took aim.

He fired his four shots, dropping both gunners and their spotters. The third man in each group either fled or ducked back under the window.

This was followed immediately by a lull in the gunfire.

“You`re clear, gunny,” said Sidney over the helmet radio while Marcus reloaded. “Hurry back across the bridge!”

“Roger that!” gunny said back before pushing Ogden to his feet. “Go! Go! GO!”

The three marines got up and booked it for the bridge. They were only halfway there when they came under fire again, not from endless machine gun fire from SAW`s, but from a single shot that impacted the ground right next to Ogden`s left foot.

“Fuck!” yelled Shifty as another shot whizzed right past his head. “Snipers!”

“Take `em out Marcus!” ordered gunny over the radio before shouting at the two teammates in front of him. “Serpentine! Serpentine!”

“Sniper, top floor of the tower on the right,” said Sidney back up on the rock. “Another in the left, same level. I'll suppress the one the right, you go for the left!”

“Gotcha,” responded Marcus while Sidney began firing on the tower to the right.

A few seconds later, Marcus fired. He saw his target`s chest explode with red paint, the force of the hit knocking him down behind the window.

“First one`s down,” he said before turning his scope on the other tower.

By this time, the clip in Sidney`s DMR had only five shots left. Marcus could see that the suppression fire Sidney was giving was working; the enemy sniper appeared to have taken cover.

“Alright, I'm out,” said Sidney as his clip ran out.

An eternity seemed to pass as the Corporal kept his sights trained on the window. He saw his target cautiously peek out from behind his cover, but then quickly pull back. By this time, gunny, Shifty, and Jenkins had almost made it back across the bridge. Seeing but one opportunity left to make a kill, the remaining enemy sniper then slowly peeked his barrel out of the window and took aim at the three marines. When Marcus saw the first glimpse of his target`s helmet, he fired.

Through his scope, Marcus could see the red paint from the sim-munition round hit the top of the enemy sniper`s helmet. He saw his head snap back on impact, and then witness his body fall to the floor behind the window.

“Target down,” said Marcus coolly.

“Good shot, mate,” said Sidney.

Meanwhile, Alex had repositioned his SAW in the crotch of a different tree, still aiming at the castle as his teammates ran towards him and the forest beyond. But right before they reached the tree line, one last shot rang out from the castle.

Shifty went down with a cry of pain.

He had been hit in the leg. His teammates heard him fall and immediately turned ran to his aid. Jenkins ran to pick him up while Alex and gunny moved in front of him and fired their weapons at the castle. Sniper fire could be heard as Marcus shot at the enemy marine that had shot his buddy.

“Was that a DMR shot?” asked Sidney.

“Yeah,” Marcus responded.

“Did you get him?”

“Nah, but I scared him off.”

“Alright.”

Back on the ground, Jenkins had managed to get Shifty on his shoulders in a fireman`s carry.

“I got `em!” he grunted. “Let`s go!”

Jenkins ran back into the woods with Shifty on his back; gunny and Alex fired one more volley at the castle before doing the same.

Back on the rock, when Sidney saw that his teammates had made it safely back into the forest, he tapped Marcus on the shoulder, and the two pulled back off the rock.

. . .

August 6, 2558
1515 hours
Everfree Forest Tree line
Field Combat Training Grounds

The eyes of Captain Peterson, Captain Lasky, Princess Celestia, and the Mane Six remained glued to the TV screens, even though the entire ordeal that they had just witnessed was now over.

The Mane Six remained in stunned silence, while Celestia and the two Captains almost immediately began to analyze what they had just seen.

“Well, that was kind of stupid of them to just run in there like that,” said Captain Peterson.

“I think it was worth it if you ask me,” said Captain Lasky. “Because of their actions, they and their entire platoon now know that at least an entire enemy platoon must be in that castle now. If you ask me, it`s better they get shot at than all of Alpha.”

“How do they know an entire platoon might be in there? That could’ve been just another scouting party like them. The castle itself could be vacant now and they wouldn’t even know!”

“Well the thing is, Peterson, you and I both know that it isn’t.”

Lasky pointed at the holographic map, which showed a multitude of red dots inside the castle.

“All of Charlie Platoon is in there,” he continued. “The best thing they can do now is assume the worst, and with that knowledge, prepare for the worst.”

“Seems to make sense,” said Celestia. “But none of this explains why Charlie Company failed to hit your Fireteam.”

“The sun was in their eyes,” said Peterson. “When the skirmish broke out, the sun was facing the castle. What this does is throw off their aim just enough for them to miss, as well as illuminate them for enemy snipers, which in this case happened to be Corporal Marcus Williams.”

“Was that planned?”

“Hell if I know. Some of our men have so much combat experience that some things, at this point, are just instinctive.”

“Intriguing…What happens to those who were hit?”

“Those with hits in fatal areas are considered ‘dead,’ and they’ll be picked up by pelican at the end of the day,” said Lasky. “According to the rules, guys like Private Eugene Phillips, who got hit in the leg, or in a ‘non-fatal’ area, will be ‘fully healed’ after thirty minutes.”

“Wow, you’ve really thought this through. So what now?”

“Now, we wait. After skirmishes like that, there are usually lulls in the battle, periods of time where the men plan for the next assault.”

Meanwhile, the Mane Six had finally found their words.

“That…was…AWESOME!!!” squealed Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow!” exclaimed Rarity. “How could you possibly defend such barbaric actions?!”

“So…violent,” said Fluttershy with her face in her hooves, shivering as if it were 30 degrees colder outside.

“Well, it did seem pretty coordinated,” said Twilight.

“Not you too Twilight,” complained Rarity.

“Hey, you girls are the ones that wanted to check up on them. What else did you expect to see? Our newest friends are professional warriors! How else do you think they train?”

Rarity stayed silent.

“They train for war,” said Twilight. “Because that`s what they`re best at and what we need them for.”

“Why are they using red paint?” said Pinkie Pie. “If you ask me, it should totally be green!”

The other five just stared at her.

“What?” she continued. “It`s to simulate changeling blood.”

“Uh, Pinkie?” said Rainbow Dash. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just fine. Why?”

“Oh no reason. It`s just that that was kinda…dark.”

“What? I was only giving a suggestion!”

The others then looked away as if to say, “O-kay” and went back to watching the screens along with Celestia and the two Captains.

. . .

August 6, 2558
1525 hours
Everfree Forest
Fireteam Icebreaker

The six marines of Fireteam Icebreaker were running through the dense foliage of the Everfree Forest. Jenkins had Shifty on his back in a fireman`s carry while the other four ran beside him in a defensive perimeter around him.

“Hey Jenkins?” said Shifty. “You know you can put me down now. I don’t think were being followed.”

“Oh really?” said Jenkins sarcastically. “When did that happen? Last I checked you couldn’t even walk!”

“Like, five-hundred yards ago! My leg doesn’t even hurt anymore. It was just red paint y`know.”

“Hold on just a little longer Shifty,” said gunny, who was jogging in front of Jenkins. “I see Alpha dead ahead.”

“Friendlies coming in on our twelve!” shouted one of Alpha Platoon`s marines. “Check your fire!”

Alpha was entrenched in a small ditch-like depression on the forest floor. Jenkins stopped by some rock cover to set Shifty down while the rest of Icebreaker sat down to catch their breath.

“So, does this mean I'm out?” said Shifty, referring to the red paint on the back of his leg.

“Nope, just means you have to act wounded by limping around for the next half-hour,” said Lieutenant Daniel Dietz as he approached the six-man group.

“Sorry LT, but we ran into some trouble back there,” explained gunny rather vaguely.

“Yeah, we dug in as soon as we heard gunfire from your area. Mind telling me what happened?”

Gunny stood up and looked directly at his commanding officer`s face as he spoke.

“I'll give you the truth, sir. I disobeyed your order and approached the mansion without your consent. We came under fire from the castle and just barely managed to escape, costing Private Phillips to lose his leg for the next twenty-five minutes. It was my decision, sir, and I accept full responsibility.”

“It`s okay, Alvarez,” said the Lieutenant. “I understand, and I actually don’t think you could’ve pulled off anything better, you managed to make it out of there without losing a single man. That’s actually quite a victory.”

“Thank you sir.”

“But I'd really like to know what kind of intelligence you gathered. You said you came under fire from the castle itself? Could you tell how many were in there?”

“No sir, I didn’t have the best view, but I think Corporal Williams had better eyes on.”

“I did, sirs,” said Corporal Williams. “I only saw two, three-man machinegun teams and two snipers. I managed to down both snipers and take out two men in each machinegun team. I don’t suspect that there were any more in there, but it would probably be in our best interests to not be too aggressive with this one.”

“We could’ve just taken out a simple scouting party like ourselves,” said Ogden. “And the entire castle could be vacant right now, or, at worst, both Charlie and Delta platoons could be in there right now, holding the high ground.”

“Trust us sir,” said gunny. “It looks way to easy to dig in inside that castle. We got lucky; the sun was in their eyes. So trust us when we say that a full-blown frontal assault right now could be suicide.”

“Well Alpha doesn’t attack from the front, now do we?” said Lieutenant Dietz.

“No, sir. That`s what humans did in the old days.”

“You got that right. So, thanks to your reconnaissance, I can now formulate a decent plan.”

“What`ve you got?”

“Gather `round.”

The Lieutenant knelt down next to a dry patch of dirt. Fireteam Icebreaker came and stood in a circle around it as their commanding officer smoothed it out.

“Sergeant?” he said. “Your knife please.”

“Just don’t get it too dirty,” said Sergeant Alex Thompson as he handed him his combat knife.

“So here`s the plan,” said the LT as he drew a square in the dirt with the knife. “We`re going to move out at 2200 or 2300 and commence the attack at midnight. This square is the castle…”

He then drew a circle around it.

“…and this is the hill it sits on. Alvarez? What route did you and your men take in?”

He handed gunny the knife.

“Well, there was this canyon separating us from the hill,” said gunny, drawing two parallel lines next to the circle to represent the canyon next to the hill before drawing another two parallel lines connecting the two ends of the canyon. “And there was this narrow, rope bridge here to allow passage. This route we definitely wouldn’t recommend. The only way you`re getting across this bridge is single-file, and it`s completely exposed to the front of the mansion.”

He drew an X over his drawing of the bridge.

“Simply put, we`d be sitting ducks. So we`re not gunna go that way. Before we moved in, I believe I saw an open field west of the castle. Sidney? I'm pretty sure you got a better view of that field than I did from your position on the rock.”

“Yes sir,” said Sidney, pointing to the left of the square. “There is a field to the castle`s west, but it isn’t exactly wide open, mate. I observed some tall grass that could be used to cover our approach.”

The private then pulled out his own combat knife.

“Also, I did happen to observe a somewhat hidden entrance to the castle`s east,” he said as he drew another bridge on the right side of the square. “While there were windows overlooking this pathway as well, I think this would be an ideal infiltration point, assuming that there aren’t any guards in those windows.”

“Good observation Sidney,” said gunny. “LT, do you think that while the bulk of Alpha is assaulting the castle, me and my squad can infiltrate the structure from this back entrance?”

“I don’t see why not,” said Dietz.

“But what`s our plan once inside?” asked Jenkins.

The Lieutenant thought for a moment before snapping his fingers at the arrival of a new idea.

“I've got it!” he stated. “Why don’t you take out their commanding officer, Lieutenant Evans?”

“How will we know where he is?” asked Alex.

“Trust me, I know Fred. He`ll be as far from the battle as possible. He really isn’t the kind to lead from the front like me.”

“So because his platoon can be subject to attack from almost all directions,” said gunny. “We can easily conclude that he`ll be hiding out towards the center of the castle?”

“Precisely,” said the LT. “So that`s where you`ll need to look. Your mission is then, essentially, to cut the head off the snake so the body will die.”

“But what about Delta Platoon? Couldn’t they also potentially be in there?”

“Sir!” came the voice of a radio operator. “Lieutenant Ackerson has engaged with Delta Platoon about one mile east of our location.”

“Thank you Private,” said the LT, turning back to the six men around him. “Well now we know the answer to that question.”

“Sir? While my team and I are sneaking in,” started gunny. “What will you be trying to do?”

“For us, it`ll be your standard direct-action raid,” said Lieutenant Dietz. “All of us will be using the night vision setting on the heads-up-displays of our gas masks. We`ll begin the assault under the cover of darkness from the tall-grass field to the west, and from there the objective will simply be to take that castle by whatever means necessary.”

“Oorah,” said Shifty as he shook out his leg, loosening it up.

The seven marines then shared a quick chuckle before spreading the word of the plan around the makeshift encampment.