*BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! BREEP!*

Sunset Shimmer groaned and rolled herself out of her bed and onto the floor, landing blearily on all fours. There was still the faint moment of disorientation of limbs and fingers, but nothing she wasn't used to as Sunset slapped at the alarm clock and drug herself to her feet.

School. Sunset wasn't exactly sure why she continued to go, she had already learned everything she needed academically under Princess Celestia. The only reason she kept going was habit at this point.

Well, that and the girls. They could freak out a bit if I didn't show up. Sunset shook her head, wandering into the bathroom and splashing water over her face before going about fixing her hair. Wouldn't want that, now would we. Might think I was plotting world domination again.

A knock at the door announced Rainbow Dash, and Sunset started, rushing back to her drawers to find her running clothes. "Hang on, hang on, I'll be out in a minute!"

"Take your time!" Came a muffled response through the door. "Slowpoke!"

As usual, they started their run in silence, jogging a long, winding path towards the middle of town. Sunset focused on her breathing and pace until Rainbow Dash decided it was time to chat.

"So! I heard you finished fixing all of Pinkie Pie's guns yesterday!"

"Yeah." Sunset coughed. "All but one. We got the machine gun and the SMG running," She paused for breath, trying not to fall behind, "So we have five rifles total, and seven pistols."

"Cool." Rainbow Dash pulled out her water bottle and took a long drink, reminding Sunset to do the same. "I was thinkin' about buying one more. You know, so everybody ends up with a rifle and a pistol."

Sunset just nodded. It would be cool, that's for certain. They would have a place to play, equal equipment for all... what else would they need for hours of fun?

"I heard there is a Airsoft team that plays out of Canterlot." Dash mentioned. Sunset gave her a sharp look.

"Another team? What, you want to join them?" Sunset asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, grinning. "Aw, heck no! I want to play them! I bet we could take 'em!"

Sunset chuckled as they split apart to go around a walking couple as they passed by the town hall. "Dash, we are total amateurs. We'd get taken apart!"

"You think?" Rainbow sounded disappointed.

"Oh, come on. The only ones that can shoot straight are Fluttershy and Applejack, the only one with a grasp on even basic strategy is Rarity, and the only ones crazy enough to compete are you and Pinkie Pie." Sunset took another swig from her bottle. "Would you challenge a pro soccer team with a schoolyard pick of High School students? It's not like we can just..." Sunset slowed down as her brain connected some dots. "Oh."

Rainbow Dash stopped and turned around. "Sunset? You ok?"

Sunset shook her head roughly to clear it, the started jogging again. "Yeah. Fine! I just had an epiphany."

"A what-now?"

"A really good idea. Let me think about it for a bit, I'm not sure how to spit it out."

"Ok, that's cool." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I do that a lot. Then I usually forget."

Sunset surprised herself when they rounded the corner and Canterlot High was directly in front of them. She had been so preoccupied with her thought, she lost track of how much farther was left in the run. They took a few minutes to shower, and came out to find students already trickling in. She split up with Dash with a wave, then went to the library and hopped on one of the public computers.

Within a few short minutes, Sunset had found what she was looking for. Squad structure, Military Operation in Urban Terrain, Close-Quarters Battle Tactics, hand signals... You really can find everything on the Internet. This might be easer than I thought.

This might be harder than I thought. Sunset thought, hesitating as she brought her lunch tray over to the table with the rest of the girls. Never had the thought of outright rejection weighed so heavily on her before, usually, there was always another way. But with friends, if they said no...

"Hey, Sunny! Why the long face?" Pinkie slapped Sunset on the back as she sat down. Sunset just smiled tiredly.

"I think too much recently, that's all." Sunset stabbed at her salad. "That and Rainbow Dash ran me into the ground this morning." Sunset glanced around the table, generally noting how weird it was that everybody there were more or less best friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were discussing the upcoming Wondercolts' football game earnestly (Rainbow Dash seemed to lack confidence in their passing game), Fluttershy and Rarity had fused their interests and chatted about the difficulties of making sweaters for cats (it seemed the shelter had acquired a "hairless cat," the thought of which made Sunset shudder). Pinkie, meanwhile, was slowly using her fork to drag away Applejack's milk carton.

Sunset looked down at her tray and cleared her throat. To her surprise, everyone at the table instantly stopped talking and looked over to her. Oh. Ok, sure.

"So... I was thinking," Sunset started, feeling uncharacteristically awkward, "or, Rainbow Dash got me thinking... We might actually have the makings of a team. An Airsoft team, I mean." She clarified. "I think we could be pretty good if we put our hearts into it."

"Yeah!" Rainbow grinned, "I told you!"

Rarity pouted, resting her elbows on the table. "But what do we do as an Arisoft team? Is there some kind of league or competition besides pelting each other?"

Sunset nodded. "There is, tournaments, usually. That and it might just be fun to go out and play as a team instead of against each other. Thing is... I went and watched a few videos on the Internet of Airsoft matches, and frankly we suck."

"Well, that ain't hard to fix. We practice!" Applejack slapped the table.

Pinkie jumped out of her seat, hands on the table. "Yeah! We could... We could, uh... How would we practice?"

Sunset put a hand on Pinkie Pie's shoulder, easing her down. "Well, that's the thing. We need to teach each other." She gestured across the table. "Applejack, Fluttershy, you are the best shots, you can help us on our aim. Rarity, you are great at outmaneuvering all of us, help us with strategy! All of us have something to bring to the table, and I bet we could get really good!"

Sunset stopped, realizing she has stood up and was nearly shouting in her excitement. She toned it down, but remained standing.

"Right. So who's with me?"

The silence that followed was the single most terrifying moment of Sunset's life, as each of the girls stared up at her with expressions that spoke volumes that Sunset could not read. Slowly, cautiously, Fluttershy raised her hand. Sunset acknowledged her. "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"U-umm... hell yeah?"

Sunset sat down with the biggest grin she had ever worn since leaving Equestria as the rest of the girls gave a cheer.

Sunset buried her face in her hands, fighting off sleep. The glow of the computer screen was starting to make her feel woozy and unfocused. Next to her, Rarity yawned, slowly petting at Pinkie Pie's head in front of them, who was sound asleep. Fluttershy was already fully wrapped in her sleeping bag, breathing fitfully,

"Goodness, I think I'm going to be dreaming in room-clearing procedures." Rarity took the initiative to close Sunset's laptop, plunging the room into near-darkness. Sleepovers at Pinkie Pie's tended to last well into the night, but tonight was much quieter than the usual. The four of them has spent the entire Friday evening alternating between research of the finer points of close-quarters gun battles, and acting out what they learned to see if it really would work and how it should look, or if it even pertained to Airsoft. Sunset now had a name for her strategy of going around corners slowly ("cutting the pie," ironically, something Pinkie Pie was terrible at remembering), and Rarity and Fluttershy had had a most in-depth discussion of how to hold an Airsoft rifle while in cramped quarters.

"Yeah, don't tell me how late it really is." Sunset muttered, wriggling down tighter into her own sleeping bag. "I'm just gonna pass... pass out-"

The next thing Sunset knew, morning sunlight was streaming in through the living-room windows of the Pie residence, making her blink. She must have slept soundly, because somehow all three of the other girls had managed to snuggle in tightly around her, making movement difficult.

With a yawn, she began the difficult task of sliding herself out of the pile without disturbing anyone. It took some very precise wriggling to get her shoulders free, and then she was able to crawl out from under Fluttershy's head, which had been using her legs as a pillow, without dropping her. She climbed to her feet and stretched, fingers brushing the ceiling, then stretched out on the couch to absorb some of the sunrise, feeling sore after the night on the floor.

She started when she looked down and saw a pair of brilliant blue eyes looking back up at her. Pinkie Pie was curled up catlike under Rarity's arm, staring back at Sunset, clearly wide awake. Pinkie raised a finger to her mouth in a shush motion, then slowly rose to her feet and padded out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Having nothing better to do, Sunset followed her.

Pinkie Pie carefully got out two bowls and poured them both cereal and milk, setting them down at the counter before whispering to Sunset. "Those two always sleep in after a party. I take it as a complement." She grinned, sitting down on a stool.

Sunset remained standing, trying to subtly stretch out her back and taking her cereal ("Frosted Velocity," a brand she hadn't heard of before). "You do throw good parties."

"Can't say I've ever thrown a 'Lets Research MOUT Strategy Party' before!" Pinkie giggled, then tried the word again. "MOUT. Military Operations in Urban Terrain. MOUT. That's such a weird word!"

Sunset nodded, looking at her bowl. "I would never have known either of those was a thing before last night. We've learned a lot of tricks in the past few days."

Pinkie Pie reached over and put a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Sunny? You ok? You look kinda sad."

"Wha? No, Pinkie, this is my thinking-face." Did I seriously just say that? Sunset set down her breakfast and rubbed her eyes. I must be going crazy. "It's just I get a weird feeling when I'm hanging out with you and the others. Like... I feel like I'm trying too hard, if that makes any sense."

"Well, duh?" Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at Sunset. "That's because you are! If you feel something, you gotta believe it!"

Sunset gave Pinkie a halfhearted glare out from under her hair. That makes an interesting contradiction, because most of the time I feel that you are an idiot.

Pinkie kept going, still keeping her voice low enough not to carry into the other room. "You should just smile more, Sunny! Have fun! I know that you're a serious person and all, but its possible to have serious fun! Like after our first-ever Airsoft game, remember?"

Sunset paused, thinking for a second. Yes, she had been taking the little game very seriously. But, as a result, it had been more fun. Serious Fun?

"Exactly!" Pinkie nodded like she could hear Sunset's thoughts. "I can be so smart sometimes," she congratulated herself., "I surprise myself."

Maybe you are smarter than you let on... Sunset mused, then was promptly distracted as Rarity wandered in, doing her best to comb her hair with her fingers.

"Don't look at me, I'm hideous." She professed, then looked up at Sunset. "I take that back. What happened to you?"

Sunset leaned back on her stool to look at herself in the mirror down the hallway, and smirked when she saw how her hair was sitting. She looked like she had tried to wear the Element of Magic again, minus the bat-wings and crimson fangs.

"I slept in a pile with you on top of me. We can't all be fabulous, all the time." She did her best to tame it, then gave up and went back to her (now soggy) Frosted Velocities.

"Ha! Not on my watch!" Rarity marched over and began to attack Sunset bed-head, only to walk away and begin managing her own breakfast. "Good enough."

Sunset felt the back of her head. A ponytail. "You literally just tied it back?"

"It's Sunday morning. They should be spent wearing pajamas and watching children's cartoons. 'Tis a fact of life!" Rarity claimed, looping her own hair back in on itself and clipping it into a loose bun.

"Aww! I thought the plan was to go to the Castle!" Pinkie moaned.

"Mmph." Rarity grunted past a spoonful of cereal, the swallowed. "It can wait. Besides, we want to have everyone there, Applejack has chores, Rainbow Dash wants to go by the hobby shop-"

"She's still on about that?" Sunset rolled her eyes.

"-and not everyone is even awake yet. Trust me, Pinkie, we are all excited, but have patience." Rarity finished, then dug back into her breakfast.

"'Morning, everyone." Fluttershy muttered as she wandered in. "I sorry I fell asleep on you. It was very interesting."

Pinkie Pie laughed cheerfully. "It was, like, two in the morning. I fell asleep too. I'll be in the backyard if anyone needs anything!" She bounced to her feet, much less restrained now that everyone was awake. "The TV remote is probably under the couch!"

Sunset tossed her bowl into the sink and followed the manic bundle of pink energy outside onto the grassy suburban lawn, watching as Pinkie Pie ducked into the garage and came out with the M16A4 and MP5SD, both missing their magazines but miming firing both like Rambo nonetheless.

"Rachachacha~! Hee hee!" Pinkie tossed Sunset the submachine gun, and Sunset quickly checked that it was, in fact, empty. Pinkie jumped and rolled on her lawn, sliding into a shooting position on her belly: left leg stuck out to the side, rifle propped up on her supporting arm. "Hey! It really is easer to keep it steady if you do it right! Hiya!"

Sunset chuckled as Pinkie Pie did a log roll to a new position, then frowned as she caught a glimpse of something as she did it again. "Watch your finger, Pinkie Pie. Trigger discipline, you don't want to accidentally shoot your own team, right?"

Pinkie sat up, looking comically guilty. "Oops! Right! I was testing you!" She deliberately and intentionally pointed her finger outside of the trigger guard in a position that it could not slip in on accident, then jackknifed agilely to her feet and took cover behind the grill. Sunset allowed herself a wry smile and kneeled behind her.

The two carried out their act as they took turns peeking out from behind chairs, flower pots and whatever else they could pretend was protection, practicing bounding movements against imaginary enemies.

"Contact! Fluttershy incoming!" Pinkie waved as Fluttershy joined them, fully dressed unlike the two of them. To Sunset's surprise, she was wearing her gold protective glasses and holding the Mosin Nagat rifle uncertainly.

Sunset waved her over. "You seem to be taking a liking to that gun."

Fluttershy hid her face behind her hair and shook her head. "Nobody else seemed to want it. I- I'd rather let you pick what you want than take the important ones."

Sunset frowned in confusion. "That is an important weapon, Fluttershy. It's a sniper rifle, you sacrifice being able to shoot quickly for longer range. It's also the only gun we have with a scope, so you are our eyes on the field."

Pinkie Pie bounced over. "And don't forget you're our super-amazing-accurate shooter!"

"Thank you, really," Fluttershy twisted her hand around the barrel of the rifle nervously, "but I'm not sure I can actually shoot at-"

"GUYS WE HAVE PROBLEM!"

Sunset spun around. "Rainbow Dash?!"

It was indeed. Their star athlete crashed through the back door, panting, with a confused and worried Rarity right behind her.

"Haa... Haaa..." Rainbow panted. "I... May... Have... Said... So dumb..."

"Good lord, where did you run from?" Rarity kneeled down next to her and patted her on the back.

"Hobby... Shop..."

Sunset whistled in amazement. That's almost three miles!

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, managed to get control of her breath. "I... I was at the shop... Ran into Spot Diamond... He... He heard 'bout us playing Airsoft, that we were forming a team..." Rainbow took a deep breath, and Sunset realized that not only where her cheeks flushed from exertion, but no small amount of embarrassment. "I kinda-sorta-definitely accepted a challenge to a match. Like, today."

"Oh really?" Sunset folded her arms, eyes narrowing. "And you thought this was a good idea?"

"Didn't think at all." Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!?" Pinkie shrieked, then looked at the flinching girls in surprise. "Too much panic? Not enough?"

"Well, we tell them there has been a mistake, and we won't be playing them." Rarity waved a hand airily as she recovered. "I've dealt with the Diamond brothers before, they are not precisely difficult to, ah... negotiate with."

"Brothers?" Sunset asked. She had only ever heard of Spot and one of his cousins at Canterlot High.

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash had gotten control of her breathing and took a gulp out of the glass of water Fluttershy offered her. "Two. And he has some other dudes on his own team, said they where called The Dogs or something."

Sunset continued to frown. There is no way we could win, not without an incredible amount of luck. We've only just learned how to move as a team, Applejack hasn't even practiced with us yet, one of us has severe confidence issues, one of us has too much confidence... Sunset shook her head, prepared to tell Rarity she should call it off, the looked up and saw Pinkie Pie grinning directly at her. And one of us has completely failed to give a care. I kinda like that.

"Screw it!" Sunset said out loud, making everyone jump. She smiled, feeling slightly evil. "Why not? Let's kick their sorry tails in."

"YEAH!" Pinkie yelled.

***
"And none of y'all thought this was a terrible idea?" Applejack asked, hopping into the back of Sunset's car.

"Oh, it's dumb. We're doing it anyway." Sunset pulled out of Sweet Apple Acres and started south, toward the Everfree Forest where they planned to meet Team Diamond Dogs. "You get the M60, by the way, its a bit too bulky for the rest of us."

Applejack growled in annoyance. "I never used it before, Sunset. How do you expect me to do anythin' with it if I don't even know how it works?"

Sunset shrugged, her previous burst of confidence waning. "It's pretty easy. Pull the trigger, it shoots. Holds two-thousand pellets, so I don't think you'll need to reload. Rarity? Now that we're all here, maybe we should talk strategy."

"Well... We won't have any advantages that I know of," Rarity said, "but we may be able to press our particular skills to create some advantages. We can form several... miniature teams?"

"Fireteams..." Fluttershy supplied.

"Thank you, dear. The way I see it, we can form two fireteams, one to provide firepower, and one to be a reconnaissance and flanking element. Applejack, and Fluttershy, led by myself, will be our M-M-G team. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, led by Sunset Shimmer, will be the assault team."

"MMG?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Medium Machine Gun, that's the M60. It has a lot of firepower, so it's our best gun, hands down. I am so glad I fixed it." Sunset swallowed nervously, taking the turnoff for the Everfree. A pair of pickup trucks was already stopped up ahead.

"Let's get this party started..." Pinkie mumbled. Sunset looked at her in concern, and to her surprise she looked nervous. In fact, everyone looked quite nervous. Well, shit. Maybe this was a worse idea than I thought. Sunset refocused her attention on the Neanderthaloid male that hopped out of the cabin of the nearest truck.

"Aww, the little girls stopped playing with their dolls and tea to come play with the big boys!"

Sunset suddenly found her hand on the grip of her pistol, popping loose the strap that secured it in its holster. Applejack and Rarity made similar movements, and Rainbow Dash actually drew hers completely, pointing it at the offender.

"You wanna say that again, jackass?"

"Easy, Dash." Sunset used her free hand to push down her friend's gun, releasing her own with some effort. "He's not wearing his goggles, yet." I can see how Rainbow accepted their challenge so easily. These guys are jerks. She stepped forward and assessed the gathering opponents; the squat and neckless Spot, the thick Rover, and the giant Rarity had told her was called "Fido," plus four near-identical, and thus equally ugly, boys behind them. "How many cousins did that have again?"

"Those must be the quadruplets." Rarity wrinkled her nose. "Don't call them that, they think all big words are insults."

"Got it." Sunset cracked her knuckles, then walked up and looked down at Spot, the apparent mastermind behind this.

"Keyh heh heh! I didn't think you would actually come!" Spot cackled.

"Rules." Sunset said, long practice putting a look of mild annoyance on her face as she looked down her nose at him. That brought Spot up short. Let's see how you handle a world class jerk, mutt.

"Eh?"

"Rules. Come on, I don't have all day! What's the objective, and do you lot play with any special rules?!" Sunset barked. The entire Diamond Dog team flinched back at her fiery presence. Haven't lost my touch, then, Sunset smirked internally.

Rover raised one gorilla-arm. "W-well, we usually just play till the last team standing-"

"Feh! Boring." Sunset cut him off arrogantly. We'll loose by numbers alone. No, we need something with a win-condition. Preferably one in which mistakes can be made. Now, if one of them will just take the bait...

"Well, what do you want to do?" Fido grunted, sulking.

Bingo. "Oh, I don't know." Sunset put a finger on her chin, thinking. "How about 'King of the Hill,' should be simple enough. We put two flags in a clearing somewhere and set a timer for... Let's say thirty minuets. Whoever has their flag up when the timer goes off wins."

"We have a good place to set that up, but thirty minuets is a long game." Spot observed. "Are we doing respawns?"

Respawns? Oh, right, to get back in the game. "Sure, but with a twist. Hit players go back to their base, but can re-join anytime the 'hill' changes hands. We'll put a air horn next to them so we can send a signal. One blast for 'respawn,' three for time's up. Sound good? Easy enough to understand?"

"What, you think we're dumb?" Spot challenged. Sunset smirked, bending down to his level.

"No, of course not! I just want to make sure you are all on my page. See you on the battlefield!" She sang, turning around and dropping her facade for the worry she was really feeling as she walked back to her friends. "Good news, I got them to play 'King of the Hill. Bad news is they are picking the hill." Sunset briefed them on the rules.

"Sunset, you are genius!" Rarity clapped her hands.

"I am?" Sunset blinked. "I mean, I am! Why am I?"

Rarity pulled them all into a huddle. "Because... We can pull this off!"

Author's Notes:

I must request that any edits or writing recommendation be sent to me as a PM, not in the comments. Please. Otherwise I LOVE COMMENTS.

This had no right to take as long as it did, but I'm a gibbon so it took that long. Next time will be much faster, I promise.

Its an interesting balance to try and strike between a Sunset Shimmer that is broken and confused, and one that still has her old, angry and undeniably powerful personality. She also is extremely studious and I had no doubt she could learn almost everything I've picked up over the first few years of tactical gaming and obsession over military history. Almost.

See you next time as our pFNG's meet their first real challenge! Can they win? No, seriously, can they win? It's not like their is a major penalty for loosing. They might well lose.

'Till next time!