Sunset adjusted her Sigma in its holster and double-checked her equipment. She had five of the team's pistol magazines, since that would be her only weapon this time around, a small compass that they managed to dig out of Fluttershy's bag, and one of Pinkie Pie's garishly girly walkie-talkie radios with her headphones plugged in. Behind her, Rainbow Dash fiddled with the folding stock on the MP5, trying to decide if she wanted it extended or compact, and Pinkie Pie filled her second M16 magazine with pellets. Sunset glanced around as her earbud buzzed.

"Hello? Testing, testing, doe-ray-mi!" Rarity's voice came through with a slight echo, she was standing not to far away from Sunset's fireteam. Sunset pulled the pink princess-print radio out of her jacket and pushed the mic button.

"Loud and clear. Ready?"

Sunset got the impression that the pause before Rarity responded was a heavy sigh. "Ready as we will ever be, sans several months of practice. Give the signal."

Sunset swallowed hard past the sudden lump in her throat and walked over to the nearest of the Diamond Dog's trucks, were a single Roman candle was sitting. Rover was already at the capture point, having brought both their flags, the airhorn, and was waiting to set the alarm clock before going back to meet his team. Sunset glanced over to where the Diamond Dogs were glaring at them, then took the firework and lit it, holding it over her head.

*FWISH!*

With a shout, the Diamond Dogs went crashing into the trees, and Rarity's cry of "Go! Go! Go!" signaled her that Applejack, Fluttershy and herself were doing the same. Sunset dropped the expended firework and ran back to her own squad.

"Come on, girls. Remember, no rush yet." Sunset pulled a branch out of the way, waving them past. "Pinkie Pie, you're on point, Rainbow Dash, rear guard. Keep it slow, keep it quiet."

"Okie-dokie-loki!" Pinkie bounced past her, followed by a slightly grumpy looking Rainbow Dash.

"Why am I rear guard? I'm faster."

"Exactly." Sunset explained. "I expect our targets to be in front of us, so I'd rather put the one who can move fastest in the back to rush up and support. I would, but I have the radio and pistol. Alright? Keep your spacing, we don't want to get taken out all at once."

They pushed through the bushes until they could not see the road anymore, then Sunset turned them toward the west, aiming to cut across the path the Diamond Dogs had taken. Pinkie Pie wove through the trees, keeping her head down but occasionally peeking up to see over the bushes. Sunset concentrated on keeping them pointed the right way and counting her steps. Rarity's plan counted heavily on careful positioning during the set-up.

She started violently and nearly dropped the compass when her walkie-talkie spat a muffled burst of static into her ear. "…reached the clearing. I'll… …ready." Rarity's voice was garbled by the poor transmission, and Sunset frowned, trying to piece the sentences together. Someone reached the clearing, but who? Probably both. Sunset raised her arm, pointing one finger straight up and twirling it in a circle, the signal for "gather here!"

Rainbow Dash was only a few feet away and carefully stepped over a bush, but Pinkie Pie stayed frozen, squinting off into the trees to their east. Sunset made a quiet hissing noise through her teeth to catch her attention. "Psst! Pinkie!"

Instead of turning, Pinkie suddenly ducked lower, raising her left fist. Freeze. Sunset blinked, then ducked and pulled down Rainbow Dash after her as she figured it out. "H-hey! Wh-mmph!"

Sunset took her hand off of Rainbow's mouth. "Pinkie sees something, quiet."

Pinkie Pie had not moved, but Sunset could see she was tense as a coiled spring. She sighed several quick, deliberate signals; grabbing her wrist with her left hand, enemy. Fist, index finger extended, one. Palm flat, waved left to right, circle right.

Then she stopped, bracing her rifle against the trunk of a tree, still intent on her target. Sunset eased herself into a more mobile position and whispered to Dash. "Watch our backs from here. If it hits the fan, just start shooting."

"Got it..." Rainbow Dash breathed, looking a distinct shade of nervous green. Sunset swallowed, suddenly aware of how nervous she was as well. Not stopping to dwell on it, Sunset kept in the lowest crouch she could manage while sneaking through the brush to the north-east. Once she felt far enough away to peek without giving the others away, she stood up behind a large maple and peeked over a branch.

Rover was standing not five meters away, looking around the forest with an expression of worried confusion on his face. His oversized rifle was hung limply by its sling across his chest, and he certainly hadn't seen them. Sunset quickly pieced together what must have happened. Fool tried to rush back and meet his team, and got lost on the way. They already must be at the clearing, and he's heading back to the starting line. Sunset slunk back behind the trunk as Rover turned toward her, taking a step in her direction.

Sunset carefully backed away from the tree, eyeing the undergrowth. Rover seemed to be walking across the smooth rocks of narrow, dry drainage stream that wound through the trees, the plants that grew over it where easily brushed aside and made for easy going. Sunset carefully repositioned, nearly on hands and knees, to a rock mostly overhung with the branched of a young tree, leaning back into a position that would keep her out of sight from upstream. She looked around and saw Rainbow Dash's eyes peeking over a fallen log. Rainbow flashed the "OK" signal, and Sunset nodded, sending back "stay low" with a flat palm, parallel to the ground, lowered sharply. Rainbow Dash complied, ducking out of sight. Sunset drew her pistol, suddenly very aware of her own breathing.

A clack of disturbed rocks less that a meter behind announced that Rover had indeed continued along the stream bed, as was quickly approaching. A second later, he passed Sunset's rock, and Sunset rocked herself forward, bringing her Sigma to bear. She froze as Rover's head turned ninety degrees to the right at the sound of a crunching leaf. Sunset finger tensed on the trigger, she was clearly in his peripheral vision, if he turned any further... Why haven't I shot him?!

Because... Said the little voice in the back of her head, you want to be better than him. Rover cupped his hands to his mouth and bellowed.

"HELLO? SPOT? FIDO? ANYONE?"

Sunset felt herself smirk as she swooped across a pair of rocks to stand right behind him, gun to his back. She quietly purred to sell the situation even more. "Do I count?"

Rover made a horrific choking noise as his head spun around so hard his neck cracked. Sunset made a small popping noise with her lips and mimed firing. "Hello. Goodbye. By the way, your camp is..." Sunset pointed due north, "that way."

Rover was still bug-eyed with shock as Pinkie Pie slunk out of her hiding place, rifle still up but grinning like a loony. Sunset jogged to her, and whistled for Rainbow Dash to catch up. "That took to long, we gotta hurry! This way!"

Pinkie Pie put a hand on Sunset's shoulder, suddenly concerned. "Sunny. Breath. Your hands are shaking like cray-zay!"

"Huh?" Sunset looked down, and was unnerved by how much her gun hand was visibly trembling. She holstered her pistol and started taking calming breaths. "I'll be fine, just a bit of a rush. Come on, we seriously have to move." Sunset pointed due south, holding back a massive tremor in her arm.

"Okee-day!" Pinkie Pie stepped off, almost but not quite at a jog. They would make more noise, but at this point, the remaining Diamond Dogs should have their mind on other things. Sunset tried her radio again. "Rarity, this is Sunset. We got one straggler, we'll be there in a minute."

"…derful timing." Rarity's response sounded somewhat dry. "We're holding them back from the base of the hill, but we're spread thin and could really use some assistance. They're pretty much circling the entire north side of the clearing."

"Got it." Sunset gave a short whistle for her group. Pinkie stopped and Rainbow Dash was next to her in a few steps. "Ok, we make a wide line, and we sweep up behind them. They're all focused on the clearing, we want to make a clean sweep of as much of their team as we can."

"Ready!" Rainbow snapped the stock of her MP5 out straight. Pinkie nodded grimly.

"Rainbow Dash, take the left, Pinkie Pie, the right. Move quick, don't get caught!" Sunset drew her Sigma and started forward. Right away she caught the tap-tapping of electric Airsoft guns. Within twenty steps she caught a glimpse of the back of a Diamond Dog jacket, and slunk lower, trying to get within range for a sure shot. Off to her left, she heard the sounds of a sudden engagement and a yelp.

"Ack! Hit!"

Scratch another one. Good shooting, Dash. Sunset leapt over a bush and brought her sights to bear on her first target, who had turned to his friend's cry. He had another friend with him, still shooting up the hill. Sunset targeted the alert one first, firing two shots into his side and then pulling the trigger twice on his friend. Sunset's heart leapt into her throat as the slide locked back on the final shot, but her aim had been good and both of them yelled in surprise and pain.

"Hit! Hit!"

"Aww, come on!"

Sunset didn't have time for their complaints as she ducked behind a new tree and focused on her gun. A quick pull on the slide freed it, and a quick test-shot into the ground fired normally. Not wanting to risk a potentially faulty magazine, Sunset reloaded and peeked around her cover, tucking the old magazine into the black fanny-pack she had brought. Rainbow Dash was already walking into the clearing, a cheer echoing down the hill. Sunset clicked her radio on. "Did we get them?"

"… think so! They've stopped shooting." Rarity responded. Sunset stood up and walked out to meet them, a pouting Pinkie Pie emerging next to her.

"I didn't get any!" Pinkie whined. She looked up to see the ramshackle hut at the top of the hill, made of a bunch of shipping pallets and a few sheets of plywood, and giggled. "Ours is bigger. Teehee!"

Applejack was taking stock. "So, I wasted one, Rainbow Dash got Fido, y'all got someone on the way here... Who else?"

"I just got another two right after Dash. I got lucky, my gun jammed on the last shot." Sunset supplied. "That makes five."

Applejack stopped tapping on her fingers and glared at her. "I can count!"

Sunset arched an eyebrow and turned away to look down the hill. "Did someone say you couldn't?"

"Humph!" Rarity sniffed, taking a knee and scanning the treeline. "If you can hold off on your verbal abuse for a moment, you would realize that there are two more Diamond Dogs out there."

"Oh, umm..." Fluttershy raised her hand. Sunset turned to her expectantly.

"Yeeees?" She pushed when no response seemed to be coming. Fluttershy hid behind her hair, cradling her rifle.

"I might have seen someone going around the back of the hill..."

Rainbow Dash stamped in frustration. "Why didn't you say-"

*BWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

The entire team looked up toward the shack in horror as the airhorn what off to see a gently flapping grey flag emblazoned with a cut gem.

And the cackling face of Spot Diamond behind a large machine gun.

"LOOK OUT!" Sunset screamed, Rarity and Applejack dove aside, and Rainbow Dash dropped her gun, practically tackling Fluttershy out of the way and shielding her with her body. Pinkie pivoted on her toes and dropped to a knee, firing a wild burst before wincing under a hail of pellets.

"Hit! Hit hit hit! Ow! Hit!" Pinkie Pie put her rifle up, rubbing over the various spots she had been struck.

"M-me too!" Rainbow Dash stood up, head hanging as she went to recover her submachine gun. Fluttershy whimpered, burrowing down deeper into cover.

Sheeeee-it! Sunset poked her head around her rock she was hiding behind and got a spray of pellets directed at her for her trouble. Flinching back, she looked over at Rarity, who had her back to another boulder and was... Putting on makeup? Sunset opened her mouth to yell at her when she realized what was happening. Her makeup mirror! She using it to look around corners!

"Applejack!" Rarity shouted. Sunset looked around to see the edge of AJ's hat poke around a rock just down the hill from her. "You need to get to Sunset to shoot into the fort!"

"An' how d'you expect me to to that!?" Applejack yelled back.

"Very quickly!" Rarity snapped as she shut her hand mirror and pulled the butt of her rifle into her shoulder. "Sunset, be a dear, distract him and make room!"

Sunset glanced to her right and saw a low natural step, just high enough to lie down behind, and tossed herself into the dirt on her back. A stream of pellets flashed over her, then suddenly cut off as Rarity opened fire with her M16. Sunset sat up and fired her pistol one-handed up the hill, and was gratified to see the barrel of Spot's machinegun be pulled back behind the pallets he was using as cover.

"Yaaaaaaaa-oomph!" Applejack slid into Sunset's rock back-first, then spun up and around, deploying the giant M60's bipod across the top of the rock. She shifted her grip to have one hand on the trigger and one holding the stock by her cheek and took aim. "Go!"

Sunset scrambled to her feet and started hopping rock-to-rock up the hill as Applejack opened fire.

*Wrrthrap-thrap-thrap-thrap-thrap-thrap!*

"Ya' come on and git some! Yeeeeee-haw!"

Sunset raised her pistol and added her own fire to the mix as they began their assault.

She wasn't in the Everfree Forest anymore. She wasn't questioning it either. Her vision was awash in a faint sepia light, and her eyes watered from the sting of gunsmoke as she scrambled up to the fort's outer barricade. The pistol in her had wasn't made of plastic, but solid steel and chrome. She kneeled, listening to the roar of the machine gun behind her as she re-loaded. Far to her left, Rarity advanced more slowly, firing bursts rhythmically from her M16 over the tops of the walls. The fort was completely suppressed.

Now it just had to be taken.

Sunset gritted her teeth and sprinted the last few meters up the slope, vaulting the barricade and landing hard in the shallow trench behind it. One of the enemy soldiers was at the far end, and he have a shout before Sunset shot him twice in the chest. She ran up to the bend where he had been standing and peeked around, then jerked back from the storm of bullets that were waiting for her. She swung her arm around the corner and fired blindly, then glanced up as she heard a triumphant shout from above her.

Rarity stood atop the barricade wall, rifle at the ready, and squeezed the trigger. The flame and smoke from the muzzle burned in a triple flash, and-

"Hit! You got me!" Spot said, putting his arm up and stomping away.

Sunset blinked. The humble plywood fort was back, filtered a faint red through her protective goggles. Sunset gasped for breath, high on adrenalin, and took a careful knee. Woah. That was… intense.

"Tata!" Rarity waved to the retreating Diamond brother. "Come on, Sunset, we need to raise our flag and get ready! They get a restart, they'll be back any minuet!"

"O-ok. Flag. Right." Sunset got to her feet and holstered her Sigma, ducking into the shack and finding the flagpole. She pulled down the Diamond Dog flag with fumbling fingers and shook out their own flag, looking it over for the first time. It was a deep violet in color, and along the top was a line of six embroidered symbols; a blue lightning bolt, a green butterfly, a pink balloon, a white gem, an orange apple and... a red sun.

Smiling slightly, she tied the flag to its string and sent it up the pole, then unleashed a blast on the airhorn. Applejack skidded into the entryway. "C'mon, girl, they'll be comin' back! We have to figure out defense!"

"Right! Get that MG in a position you can cover the whole north slope. Me and Rarity can cover the sides, and will come help if you need it." Sunset directed.

"You fergettin' someone?" Applejack pushed. Sunset did a double take.

"Fluttershy! Where is she?"

"Still down on them rocks, I expect. I'll grab 'er."

Sunset ran past, shouting over her shoulder. "No time! Set up, I'll get her!"

"Sunset!" Rarity called as she vaulted the barrier, bounding from boulder-to-boulder down that hill to where Fluttershy was standing, looking lost.

"What the hay?!" Sunset growled as she slid to a stop next to Fluttershy. "Come on, we need you! Let's go, up the hill!"

"I-I..." Fluttershy stuttered, cringing away. Sunset winced. Too angry.

"Look, I know I'm a jerk, but I'll apologize when we get to a place where we won't get shot at!" Sunset gritted her teeth, frustrated. "The Diamond Dogs will be back any second. Gimmie your rifle, let's go!"

Fluttershy gave up her gun without resistance, but stayed where she was standing. "I-I don't think I can fight... I couldn't pull the trigger..."

Sunset stopped. "What?"

"I can't fight..." Fluttershy whimpered.

Sunset was at a loss for words for several long seconds. "You... You can't... Are you joking?" She propped the rifle against a rock and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. "Listen to me. You are the first reason we are out here. Sure, Rainbow Dash picked the fight, but you made me believe that we could do this."

Fluttershy's eyes started to tear, and she turned her head away. "I'm sorr-"

"No!" Sunset shook her, trying not to be too rough but snap her out of it all the same. "Say it again!"

"W-what?"

"Hell yeah. That what got me thinking this was a good idea! Say it again!" Sunset pleaded.

"H-hell yes?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Hell yeah!" Sunset insisted.

"Hell yeah."

"HELL YEAH!"

"Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah." Fluttershy chanted, less of a war cry and more of a mantra.

Sunset released her and picked up the Mosin, steering her up the hill. "That's it! Come on! You're in this! Go! Go!"

They clambered up the rocks as Applejack gave a warning shout and the "thwap-thwap-thwap" of the M60 started up again. Sunset nearly slipped, trying to hang on to the sniper rifle, as Fluttershy reached the wall and hopped over.

"Thank goodness! Cover the right, I have the left side under control!" Rarity shouted as Sunset dropped over the barricade, pellets starting to fly back up at them. Rarity had switched to semi-automatic, and was focusing more on accuracy now that she had a defensible position.

"Don't forget that Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are coming back! Watch for them!" Sunset pointed out. "Fluttershy! Here!"

Sunset pointed out a patch of dirt that was relatively flat and flanked on either side by a pair of large rocks, with the pallet barricade covering their rear quarter. Fluttershy dropped on her belly and Sunset handed her her rifle, then peeked through a gap herself.

"Look! In the treeline, behind the dark bushes, see him?"

"Umm... Yes!" Fluttershy squeaked, voice strained with excitement.

"Good! Shoot!" Sunset ordered.

*snap!*

Sunset watched the pellet arc until it was to small to see, but saw the unidentified Diamond Dog suddenly wriggle back into deeper cover. "Miss, but good! Keep 'em worried! Four meters to the left!"

"I see him..." Fluttershy muttered

"Ok, breath... Shoot." Sunset watched the target expectantly, it was Fido, setting up his giant battle rifle. "Come on! Pull the trigger!"

*snap!*

The shot clearly went high, and Fido never noticed it. Sunset ground her teeth. "Fluttershy! Before he shoots Applejack! Reload, breath, shoot him!"

"Before he... R-right!" Fluttershy pulled back the bolt and snapped it shut, taking a deep breath.

*snap!*

Sunset gave a restrained cheer as the pellet vanished downrange and Fido winced, stepping back and putting his arm up. Fluttershy gasped. "I hit him!"

"Yeah you did! That was awesome! See if you can do it again, the first guy is peeking again!" Sunset peered down the hill.

*snap!*

"I'm sorry, I missed. I grazed him." Fluttershy said.

Sunset scanned the base of the hill. "I think they're catching on to us. Watch out, moving behind that white tree, left-to-right!"

"I see him. Eek!" Fluttershy wriggled backwards into the protection of the rock as pellets began to bounce sporadically around them.

"Here! Shoot through here!" Sunset helped Fluttershy to her knees and positioned her behind a pallet, slotting her Mosin through the boards.

*snap!*

Fluttershy let out her breath and re-chambered as the rain of pellets intensified. Sunset flinched as one found its way through the boards and hit her on the hip.

*snap!*

"I-I got him!"

Sunset stood up. "I'm hit. Good shooting, keep it up." She raised her hands and stepped over the barricade.

"S-Sunset! Oh no..." Fluttershy almost stood up into the line of fire, but Sunset shook her head.

"Keep it up!" Sunset insisted, giving a thumbs-up over her shoulder as she walked away.

It felt like a long walk down the side of the hill, and even longer through the forest back to the road. She found the cars easily, where Pinkie Pie was lounging in the back of Sunset's convertible. She sat up and tossed Sunset a water bottle when she saw her. "Hey, Sunny! How goes the war?"

"Crazy. I got Fluttershy to start shooting. Where's Rainbow Dash?" Sunset unloaded her pistol and pulled the slide back, thumbing the take-down lever and deftly separating the slide from the grip. She gave the insides a thorough inspection. There was no real sign of what had caused her earlier malfunction.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Me and Rainbow where coming back and we walked right into the middle of them. I got one and he got me but Rainbow Dash just ran. I don't mean like 'I'm sacred' ran, like 'holy crap I'm a ninja' ran! Shooting and zooming between the trees!"

"And I didn't hit even one!" Rainbow Dash herself stepped out of the trees, followed by Applejack. "They caught me when I tried to yell to Rarity."

"Oi! Sunset!" Applejack stormed up to the car, shaking her M60. "What was that you said about reloading this damn thing!"

Sunset looked up from her inspection. "You emptied it?!"

"Yeah! And I got shot because I didn't know how to reload! Who's ide'r was that?" Applejack dropped it roughly on the hood of the car and crossed her arms angrily.

"Easy, AJ." Rainbow Dash muttered. Sunset walked around and looked it over, ignoring the tiny scratch on the paint of her convertible.

"It's still got pellets in the hopper." Sunset noted, checking. "Let's see... Yup!" She grabbed the charging handle on the side and yanked it back, then let it snap forward. "Jam, or low batteries. I'll swap them out, and give you some spares. They go here. Oh, and before I forget..." Sunset turned around and stepped nose-to-nose with Applejack, glaring. "Don't ever up use that tone when talking to me again."

Applejack matched her glare, and Sunset felt the hairs on her neck stand up. "Or what, sugarcube?"

"Woah there..." Rainbow Dash looked between them, wide-eyed.

"HEY!"

Pinkie Pie jumped out of the back of the car, fuming. "Cut that out, both of you! That's not fair to get mad about any of this!"

Sunset held her ground a moment longer, jaw clenched. Why should I back down? She started it. I'll finish it! Slowly, she unclenched her hands and dropped her gaze. Right. I'll finish it. I have to back down. I'm the bad guy here, again.

"S-sorry for jumping on you like that." Sunset muttered, rubbing her arm self-consciously.

Applejack turned away, pulling her hat lower. "Same." She bit out.

"See?" Pinkie Pie threw an arm over both their shoulders. "Was that so bad?" Sunset shivered, sensing the smallest amount of threat in the way Pinkie squeezed them. Rainbow Dash just looked between all three of them nervously.

Off in the distance, the airhorn gave a long blast. Sunset leapt into action, gathering her magazines from the back of the car and slotting them into her bag. Rainbow Dash swore and started hurriedly spinning the feed wheel on her MP5 magazines as she turned to the forest. Off to their left, the four Diamond Dogs that had been knocked out of the fight dove into the trees.

"Let's go!" Rainbow shouted, waving them in. Pinkie Pie raised her rifle over her head and shook it in a battle cry.

"Hold your horses!" Sunset stopped them. "We don't know what we're charging into. Let's take it slow, and make certain we pick up anyone else that got hit on the way in." She checked her watch. "We still have thirteen minutes until game over, and it's all going to plan so far. We have to control the fight, and capture the hill with as little time on the clock as possible."

"Fiiiine..." Rainbow Dash submitted. "I'm rear guard, I know."

"We'll need a wide line of some sort to pick up stragglers, so, no. You'll be in the middle, with me. Pinkie Pie, you have the best eyes, you take far left, Applejack, far right. Try not to shoot until we know where all of them are, and we want to collect Fluttershy and Rarity on the way in." Sunset finished reassembling her Sigma and holstered it. "I'll try and contact Rarity as soon as we're in range."

"Well? Let's gedd'along!" Applejack hefted the machinegun, setting it across her shoulders for easy carrying.

They pushed their way into the Everfree once more. The undergrowth and their spread-out formation made for slow going, but it wasn't long before they found Fluttershy walking back toward them. Pinkie Pie cried out a greeting, and they all gathered around.

"So, what's the situation?" Rainbow Dash asked conspiratorially.

"Almost more important, are you still in? Did you get hit before or after the signal?" Sunset questioned.

"Just before. I... I don't know what happened to Rarity..." Fluttershy wrung her fingers around the barrel of the Mosin. "I hope she's alright."

Rainbow Dash patted her on the back roughly. "They're pellets, she's fine."

"If she even got hit!" Pinkie Pie pointed out, rocking back and forth in her heels. "So, what's the plan? How do we take back a mountain fortress from seven cavemen with big guns? I mean, I don't think the live in a cave, but they kinda look like the pictures of cavemen, and it is a fortress on top of a rocky-"

"Pinkie!" Sunset barked, stifling a giggle. "We get it. The plan is going to be pretty simple. Ever play wack-a-mole?"

The girls all nodded.

"That's what we're gonna make them do. Applejack can set up at the base of the hill, where the big rocks are, Pinkie Pie a bit closer, over to the east. You need to be far enough apart that they have to move to shoot back. Fluttershy will set up in a hiding spot somewhere between you two, and will shot anytime you feel you safely can." Sunset kneeled and drew a circle in the leaves with a stick. "We need to make them think they are fighting our entire team on the north and east sides, at long range. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and I will sneak up the hill to west. We want to get all the way inside the fort before we start anything, so they still think all their problems are far away and we can surprise them in extreme close-quarters." She marked out their positions as she explained, half to simply help herself figure out the logistics. "Now, here is the tricky part. You have to really sell that we are trying to attack by shooting up the hill like maniacs. If Applejack and Pinkie Pie just sit back taking potshots, they aren't dumb enough to recognize a distraction when they see one. So your are basically going to have to make it a real assault up the hill, just... Well..."

"You want us three to make it look bigger than it really is." Applejack drawled. "Yeah, Ah get it. What about when you get caught?"

Sunset shrugged. "Improvise. We have nine minutes. Ready?"

"Lock and Loooooad!" Pinkie Pie roared, yanking the charging handle on her M16, purely for the satisfying "cha-chink!" it made.

Sunset brushed aside the lower branches of a young tree and scanned path she and Rainbow Dash would follow up the hill. It looked clear, and a single Diamond Dog head peered over the wall on their side. In the next ten seconds, according to her watch, Fluttershy would take the first shot and get their attention. Sunset reached into her leather jacket and thumbed the walkie-talkie.

"Rarity? You there?"

There was a moment of silence, but a response came back. "Would you believe, yes?"

Rarity sounded like she was be barely breathing the words as she continued. "I am literally just outside of the west wall, hiding. In the dirt, mind you. Where are you?"

Sunset smirked. Rarity must have been really getting into this if she was willing to crawl in the dust for the sake of strategy. "I'm below you, down the hill in a bush. The rest of the team is about to start a distraction." A few echoing shouts and faint pop-pops started to filter down from the hill. Sunset started to rise, sensing Rainbow Dash behind her doing the same as the lookout in the fort turned toward the commotion.

"Don't move!" Rarity hissed. "They expected that! I can see Rover, he's behind the biggest rock at the bottom of the hill, the one with the ash sapling trying to grow out the side."

Sunset looked up at the branch brushing the top of her hair. "Rarity? I'm under an ash sapling by a big rock." She found herself whispering. The silence that followed was awful.

"Well, then I suggest you deal with it. Quietly, if possible." Rarity replied after a time. "I will wait here, and see if I can pop out at the least opportune moment. He is facing the forest, now."

"Talk me in to him..." Sunset muttered into the radio, slowly raising herself onto toes and fingertips. She looked over her shoulder to Rainbow Dash and raised a finger to her lips, then beckoned her closer and whispered. "There's a Dog on the other side of this rock. We have to get him, but silently. We can have him yelling 'hit' out loud."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "A hold-up. Yeah, I've played Splinter Cell. I got this." Dash pulled her gun into her shoulder and cautiously slunk up around the back of the rock.

"Splinter...? What? Wait!" Sunset choked, heart leaping into her throat. I've got to make sure she'll make it! How? She glanced over her shoulder, then carefully wriggled back the way she had come into the treeline. She carefully built an image in her mind's eye of the boulder, the tree and where Rainbow Dash and Rover would need to be standing. Eight seconds... If he's watching the forest, then I need to make sure he won't turn around for anything in eight seconds!

She crouched almost to the ground and carefully stepped around a bush, picking up a short, thick branch as she went and drawing her pistol. The radio carried Rarity's voice to her "Rainbow Dash is almost behind him... she can see him now."

Sunset tossed the branch into a bush. It made precisely the right amount of noise.

"HUH?" Rover's voice carried far, but it didn't sound like a warning, yet. Sunset heard the sound of a charging handle being pulled. "Who'dere?"

"Freeze!" Rainbow Dash barked. Sunset stepped out of cover and raised her own gun to see Rover throwing his hands in the air.

"H-How do you keep doing that!?" He whined, legs shaking pitifully as he collapsed to his knees, lacing his fingers behind his head. "You're like... like..."

"Freakin' ninjas?" Rainbow Dash supplied, smirking.

Sunset snorted. "More like you have the situational awareness of a concussed sloth. Come on, Dash, let's go!"

Sunset quickly holstered her pistol and leapt up the hill, scrambling from rock-to-rock. Rainbow Dash passed her just a quarter of the way up, bounding up the hill, weapon being swung wildly for balance. She reached to top and ducked down, reappearing a moment later helping a dirt-streaked Rarity to her feet.

"I swear, I will never wear nice things out to the boonies ever again." Rarity stated, swatting dust off of her skirt. "Ruined. Oh, nevermind. We have an assault to carry out!"

"Rarity, take point, Dash, breacher. Let's move!" Sunset ordered. They leaned over the walls at the same time, Sunset and Rainbow Dash quickly blasting a flurry of shots into Spot and the fast "wr-tatatap" of Rarity's burstfire rifle behind them dealing with another threat. They dropped into the trench, all moving at a steady crouch. Sunset walked backwards, one hand aiming her Sigma to cover their rear, the other stretched out to touch Rainbow Dash's back to lead her.

They stopped at the southmost corner. Rarity peeked around with her makeup mirror. "Clear! Get to the middle, go through the central shack, and we pop out right in the middle of them. What's the time?"

Sunset checked her watch, then fished in her pouch for a extra magazine to hold in her left hand. "Four minutes."

"Good. Rainbow? On your mark."

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. "Ready! Crashin' through in three... two…"

In a single moment, they "clicked."

Rainbow Dash swung around the corner, trailing the others behind. She slipped in the door to the shack where the airhorn and flags were, firing a quick burst into the Diamond Dog who was guarding it, following the right wall as Sunset went left. They reached the north door and slipped through, right into the middle of the entire remaining Diamond Dog team. Sunset let her lungs empty of air as she braced her arms and let the tip of her finger work the Sigma's trigger as fast the gas action would allow, pulling her front sights across any target she saw. Her own heartbeat pounded in her ears as the trench turned into a blossom of flying plastic pellets. The slide on her pistol locked back, and without thinking she took a knee, pressing the magazine release and fumbled the fresh one in almost as soon the empty one had fallen free. The barrel of Rarity's M16 swung overhead, flashes of pellets racing to nail the last dog on the left-hand side. The entire trench erupted into cries of surprise, pain and surrender.

"Left clear!" Sunset barked.

"Right clear!" Rainbow Dash replied, standing up.

"I daresay all clear! I count seven Diamond Dogs down!" Rarity gave a small squeal of joy. "We did it!"

Rainbow Dash leaned over the barricade. "Yeah! DIDJA' HEAR THAT? WE DID IT!"

"YEEEEAAAAA~!"

Pinkie Pie's shriek might have gone unnoticed in the next state, but certainly everyone in Canterlot heard it.

Sunset picked up her dropped magazine, blowing the dust off of it. "Three minutes. Raise the flag, give the game over signal. They won't have time to make it back."

She grinned as Applejack and Fluttershy stepped over the wall, the defeated Team Diamond Dog trudging away, and turned around to watch the six-symbol flag of their team go up the pole.

"We win."

Sunset Shimmer unlocked the door of her flat and stepped inside, not bothering with the lights. She unbuckled her gunbelt and dropped it unceremoniously on the kitchenette counter, shrugged off her leather jacket and threw herself onto her bed, worn to the bone. She lay there with her eyes closed, just breathing and listening to the hum of the fan and the muffled traffic outside. After a long few minutes, she rolled herself awkwardly to pull her phone out of her pocket, and clicked it on, cycling to the photo reel.

It was rather full, now that she looked at it. She never had thought of herself as a photography-type, and none of the photos in the were really intended for memories. Blackmail, mostly. Or reference on the notable things in human culture and politics. A few pictures of movie posters she had felt were funny at the time.

One by one, starting from the beginning, she began to delete them all.

It was cathartic, really. Sunset's memory was perfect, she didn't need extra reminders of how wrong she had been. How greedy and blind. She would never forget.

It took over an hour, but she reached the last one.

Six girls at the side of a road. All of them were dirty and tired, with skinned knees and newly-formed bruises..

Fluttershy, in the front, her long bolt-action Mosin Nagat laying across her lap, looking nervous but proud to be there. Rarity to her right, assault rifle carefully arranged across her chest as she posed, betrayed by the wide, genuine smile across her face. Pinkie standing right over them, elbows playfully hooked over the M16 behind her back. Applejack on the far left, leaning casually against the barrel of a M60 machine gun nearly as big as she was, confident as could be. And Rainbow Dash, MP5 Suppressed dangling by her side as she grinned straight at the camera, flashing the V for Victory.

And herself. Down on one knee with her arms crossed. Annoyed that they would make her sit for the photo, but a amused smile on her lips. Surrounded by the single weirdest group of girls in any dimension she had been to.

Surrounded by magic and friends.

Sunset closed her eyes, setting her phone aside. She was sweaty, dirty and tired.

And she had never been happier in her entire life.

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 concludes the first arc of Shooting For Friendship.

Special thanks to my buddy Mason for picking out all my typos. You are a saint of Generosity, my friend.

That took far to long, but I won't be able to write a new chapter for months, so I wanted it to be perfect. Joining the U.S.A.F. has the side effect of no Internet access during Basic Training. Maybe in tech school. But SFF will definitely continue.

I can't let this go. There's so much left to do and explore! The CMC, rival teams, buying and customizing guns, punching Flash Sentry in the face... wait. Did I say that out loud?

I... What can I say? I never expected to write more than one chapter! But with how cool this community has been to me, I would have continued if even one of you had asked me to.

You guys are the best. Sunset will be back.

VB out.

EDIT: A R T ~ !
I don't think you get how stoked this makes me. My story has art drawn for it!!!

Done by the awesome Saywer: