The house was silent, save for the gentle snores of a blue unicorn sleeping next an assassin with her head on his lap. He was already awake, and was gently brushing her mane away from her face as she slept. He was gladdened beyond words to have finally admitted his feelings for her. On the other hand, he feared that anyone looking at him would instantly know as well; he was not ready to let everyone in on the secret just yet. His face was set in a peaceful smile while he watched her sleep.

Despite all that had happened the day before, his sleep had been sound and he knew who he could thank for it. Trixie had become a talisman against the horrors he faced. She and his other friends helped keep his head on straight in these dark times. He only hoped that he could protect them all from what was to come. Especially the ponies, he knew that they weren’t ready for the ravages of a war with beings they did not understand. His one wish was that war had never come here, to this last bastion of peace in the galaxy.

While Jaze was absorbed in thought, Trixie had begun to stir. The first thing she was aware of was his hand running through her mane in a calming way. It threatened to put her back under, but she fought to come fully awake. Today was an important day, she felt, and she did not want to miss anymore of it.

The unicorn forced her eyes open to see Jaze deeply absorbed in thought, but still wearing a smile. She was glad to see the ugliness of the day before had not dampened his spirits much. Trixie found herself unable, or perhaps just unwilling, to move from her comfortable position. She felt she could lay there forever and let the world would take care of itself. That is until her stomach gave a rumble that startled the soldier from his revere.

He looked down at her, still wearing a small smile, “Morning. Hungry much?”

“I guess so.” she replied as she stretched, “Shall we make breakfast?”

“I’m going to get breakfast at the human camp. It would be a good idea for me to stay around there a lot so the soldiers can get used to me.

“Okay, I’ll just cook for myself.” She fixed the scarred assassin with a penetrating stare, “You be careful, okay? I’m still a little worried that Sands creep will try something.”

“I can handle anything that kid tries to throw at me. Besides,” he gave the worried unicorn a wink, “I promised you that I’d be immortal. I’m not one to go back on a promise.” He stood to exit their little cottage and grabbed Sairugi from where he had set it, just within arms reach.

“Good, and don’t you forget it!” Trixie called out as he left. He threw a nod and a wave over his shoulder as he started for the camp.

The walk was short, and it didn’t take him long to find the mess hall. He was one of the last to join the queue and refused the offers to be bumped up in line. Even so, it was not too long before he had his food and was finding a place among the soldiers. At first they were stand-offish, thinking of him like they did most other officers. When one finally asked why he was not at the officers’ table, the Colonel told them that he wanted to know the men and women that would be trying to keep him alive, and that he would be trying to keep alive in return.

This warmed them up to him and soon they were laughing and sharing stories with him. Some of the soldiers were veterans of Vaseti and many thanked him for his and the Angel’s work in holding the line.

“Is it true,” one soldier asked curiously, “that you charged into the Cye and killed thousands with only your sword?”

“That,” the assassin replied bemusedly, “is a load of bull. I only killed less than a hundred with Sairugi.”

“Is that the sword?” another asked excitedly, point to the blade on Jaze’s hip.

“Yes it is.” He drew Sairugi to show it to the impressed soldiers.

“What are the Angels, exactly?” the first soldier asked.

“That’s a stupid question, Corrion.” A soldier teased.

“No, it’s not.” Jaze looked to the soldier, Corrion, “The Angels are a special task force. Most of the time, we’re just regular soldiers. But if Command has a job that is too delicate for normal troops, they call us in.” The Colonel smiled, “Basically, it means that we got the worst jobs in the worst places in the galaxy.” The room shook as the soldiers laughed, recognizing the complaints as the ones they themselves made on a regular basis. This, more than anything, made the soldiers trust Jaze. They knew he was one of them, not just some upper-crust fool whose father paid for officer training.

“It’s been fun guys,” Jaze said when he stood to leave, “but there are some things I need to take care of. You know how it is, a war must be won on paper before it can be one on the ground.” The soldiers grinned as they said goodbye, and at that moment, they gained a healthy respect for just how hard it must be to run an army.

The Colonel exited the mess hall as soon as he had dropped off his tray to be cleaned. He paused a moment to take in where he was; he was still learning the exact layout of the camp. He turned towards where he thought the command center would be and set off at a brisk pace. Thankfully, he was able to get directions from a soldier when he got a little lost.

When he walked in, the young man running Control that day bolted out of his seat, knocking his chair over in the process. “Colonel, sir!” He snapped a smart salute.

“As you were, soldier.” Jaze glided over to his desk, “There are a few things that I need to happen now, if not sooner.”

“Sir, yes sir.” The Control operator grabbed a pen and note pad, “Ready, sir.”

“First things first, I want a four pilot team in the void at all times.” the soldier behind the desk started writing quickly, “We never know when the enemy will appear and I want someone to be up there to stall them while we scramble our own fighters. If we can keep them pinned in space, that is a victory in and of itself.”

“Yes sir,” the young soldier replied, “anything else?”

“I also want Lieutenant Wagner, Chief Warrant Officer Meadoz, and my own fighter prepped and ready at all times. We will be the quick reaction force if something hostile does enter the system. I will also have my mike on me at all times,” Jaze leaned down to the soldier and looked directly into his eyes, “if anything at all happens, I want to know first. If there are any problems, and I mean any, I want to be told. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night. Clear?”

“Crystal, sir.”

“Good,” the assassin straightened up, “I also need one more pilot to be put at the ready with Shelby, Vincent, and I. Any suggestions?”

“Yes sir,” he brought up the files of the pilots currently on the planet, “there’s a couple that you could look at.” The young soldier quickly downloaded the files to a data pad and handed it to Jaze, “They are in order from most to least skilled.”

“Thanks,” the assassin turned to leave.

“Um sir,” he twisted back around to look at the operator, “it’s an honor serving with a hero.”

“Hero is something others call you to justify stupidity. It’s severely overrated.” Jaze quickly exited the command center, pouring over the list that the soldier had prepared for him. Third from the top was Sands. Jaze was rather impressed as he looked over the boy’s record. It gave him quite a few honors as well as a single reprimand. The file said that he had abandoned his post in order to save a family under Cye attack. Officially he had been reprimanded, but the assassin knew that was a mere formality. Maybe, Jaze thought with a smile, the kid isn’t so bad.

He set off for the personal quarters, hoping to find Shelby and Vincent. On the way, he could hear an angry voice yelling, but he could not tell what the voice was saying. As he got closer, he could begin to make out just what the voice was saying.

“I don’t care how innocent they seem!” the voice shouted, “They could become enemies at any moment! You will not give them a firsthand knowledge of our weapons!”

“Sir yes sir.” a meeker voice replied. Jaze finally found the source of the disturbance; a Sergeant in his mid thirties had a group of soldiers standing at attention in front of him. Jaze was not sure what the dressing down was about, but he decided to let the Sergeant do his job and started to leave. Until he saw a purple tail flick in annoyance from behind the soldiers and a familiar angry voice preparing for a lecture, that is.

“I’m not your enemy! I am just trying to learn as much as I can about this war thing!” Twilight retorted angrily.

“For now you’re not, but there are no guarantees for the future; now is there?”

Jaze stepped up to the older man, “What is the problem, Sergeant?”

The Sergeant looked down at the assassin, “And who the hell you think you are?”

“The guy running this circus.” Jaze pointed to his Colonel’s pin, “Now tell me what is happening.”

“Sir,” the Sergeant’s tone became respectful and he snapped a salute, “these soldiers were teaching the alien…”

“She has a name. It’s Twilight; you’d do well to use it.”

“Yes sir,” he sighed, “they were teaching Twilight about our weapons and tools.”

“Twilight is a close personal friend of mine.” The Sergeant paled, “She has my absolute trust, as do the Princesses and their people. From now on I expect you to show respect for these ponies, especially Twilight and her friends. They are very important ponies.”

“Yes sir!” He gave another salute, spun on his heel, and walked away with a stunned look on his face.

“Sorry about that boys and girls.” Jaze smiled to the group of soldiers the Sergeant had been yelling at, “Don’t worry, these ponies are our allies. If they have any questions, feel free to answer to the best of your abilities. We’re all in this mess together, and the more we trust each other, the better.”

“Sir, yes sir.” The soldiers replied in unison and they, too, quickly left; glad to have escaped without getting a punishment.

“Are humans always this mean?” Twilight asked the assassin in a huff.

“Not usually, and not all the time. He was just trying to do what he thought best for humanity.” Jaze laid his hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry about him, and those like him. They’ll come around sooner or later.”

“Okay then,” she sighed. “By way, I’ve been looking for you. Princess Celestia wrote to tell me she would be here to speak with you. I think she said she would be here around noon.”

“Thanks, I’ll search her out. Someone will have seen her.”

Jaze sat across the table from the Princess, a dark look set on his face, “What did you say?”

“I said,” Celestia repeated, “that you should allow some of the Canterlot doctors to augment your current medical staff.”

“I can’t do that, Princess.”

“Why not, pray tell?” she replied, anger beginning to creep into her voice.

“Your doctors may be great, but they are unprepared for the horrors of being frontline personnel. The wounds that get inflicted during conflict can be terrible, and there is more they are not ready for.”

“Like what? Tell me, if you would.”

“Could they let someone die?” His question stunned Celestia, she could not believe he had asked it.

“Why do you ask such a terrible question?” she replied, her horror evident in her voice.

“In war, there will be time that some soldiers can’t be saved. The only thing that you are able to do is ease their passing and move on.” He pointed a finger at the Princess, “Your people aren’t ready for that. They’ll try to save everyone who is brought in, and in the end lose more lives than they save.” He let his arm and eyes drop, “I know that is hard to hear, but it is the truth. I know that it is hard to take, but please listen to me.”

“Jaze,” He brought his eyes up to meet hers, “you realize that I can order you to accept the help? Besides, if you have more doctors to help you, you can save more lives when the fighting starts.”

Jaze stood up, “If that is truly your wish, then I will accept the help. But I want you to know, war is utter hell. Even those that come back alive will not be the same.” He leaned back down and planted his hands on the table, “You are damning somepony to see things that no living beings should ever see. They will never be the same. Do you understand?”

“I do.” she replied firmly, “What else can I do? I have to try and help in any way I can.”

“I know Celestia,” he gave a wan smile, “you’re doing what you think is best. That’s all anypony can do right now.”

He started to leave, but Celestia called him back. “So, are you glad to see your friends again?” She asked with a caring smile.

A wide smile crossed the assassin’s face, “You have no idea how glad I am to see them. I feel a lot better knowing that they’re safe.”

“Maybe you should take the day off and visit with them today.”

“You read my mind, but I’ll still be available for official business.”

“Have fun today Jaze.”

“I’ll try.” He gave Celestia a wave and entered back into the bright sunlight. The day was still young and he wished to spend as much time as he could with his friends now, while all was quiet.

The assassin’s happy thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cold realization. I’m being watched, he thought as he cast his eyes around for the perpetrator. Whoever it or whatever was watching him was well hidden; he could not find them among the jumble of soldiers and equipment surrounding him. He still felt the presence of eyes on him though and he set off at a brisk pace. The assassin wanted to escape the prying eyes, as well as get to his friends as quickly as possible.

It took him a moment to find Shelby and Vincent’s tent, but he figured it was the best place to start his search. Pushing aside the flap covering the entrance, he entered the cool darkness within. He was greeted by the sight of Vincent and Shelby locked in a deep kiss. He stood in shock as the embarrassed couple broke apart and turned so red they glowed.

“I’m going to leave now,” Jaze said as he pointed out of the tent, turning a little red himself.

“Jaze wait,” Vincent crossed the distance to his friend, “I’m sorry that you found out like this.”

“I apologize as well,” Shelby threw her hand on the assassin’s shoulder.

“Why are you apologizing?” The pair looked at him in surprise, “What you two do is your business; I have no need to know what goes on behind closed doors.” His tone put the lie to his calm words

“Jaze, I can see you’re upset.” Vincent looked the assassin in the eye, “We didn’t tell you because we did not want to upset you more.”

“How long have you two been, you know… an item?”

“We have been more serious since Vaseti.” Shelby answered quietly, her hand falling from Jaze’s shoulder and her eyes went to the floor, “That’s why we didn’t say anything. We knew you were upset about Evelyn and didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”

“I understand,” he put a hand on each of their shoulders, “you guys were just looking out for me, and I am grateful that you two thought of me as well as yourselves. I’m only upset because you did not tell me. I would have been happy for you both; it probably would have done me a world of good.

“So you’re not mad?” The couple asked in unison.

“Hell no,” he pulled the pair in for a hug, “you guys are my best friends. All I feel is happiness for you two.”

“In that case,” Shelby reached under her shirt and pulled out a small ring on a chain and placed it on her finger, “I guess we don’t have to hide it anymore. Vincent asked me to marry him.”

Jaze gave the pair a foolishly happy grin, “Since when?”

“I asked her when you disappeared,” the couple drew closer together.

“Well, congrats!” He started to leave, “I’ll just let you two love birds alone. Come by my house later if you want; I don’t plan on doing anything productive today. Maybe we can go fishing or something.”

“That sounds fun.” Shelby replied with a smile.

“See you then Jaze.” Vincent agreed.

Jaze set off for his house, a smile on his face. I’m so happy for those two, he thought happily, they deserve each other! I hope for nothing but happiness between them. The assassin noticed that he no longer felt watched, and wondered where the person watching him had gone. He caught sight of Twilight walking with a strange look on her face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he drew near.

“I’m a little worried.” the purple unicorn replied, “Dash went to your house, and she hasn’t come back. That was almost an hour ago.”

“I’m heading home now, I’ll look for her on the way there.” He stopped, a thoughtful look on his face, “Did she say why she was going to my house?”

“She said that she saw somepony suspicious heading there and she thought that it might be Sands again.”

“You’re worried he might have done something?”

“Yes,” she looked up at him, the fear clear in her eyes, “I don’t trust him, Jaze. There’s just something off about him.”

“I doubt he would do something so foolish. But don’t worry, I’ll look for Dash. She probably just stopped off for a nap or something.”

“Okay, thank you Jaze.” Twilight walked away; the tension still obvious in her shoulders.

Jaze started for home; his feet moving a little faster than before. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. It did not make sense, Dash would not leave her friends to worry about her. He was soon almost running, now decidedly worried.

When his house came into view, he could tell something was wrong. The front door was hanging off its hinges and he could see a cyan object curled up next to the door. His feet hardly touched the ground as he flew down the road to reach what he saw was Dash, who was obviously hurt.

He fell to his knees when he reached her and lifted her head into his lap. She had a nasty gash surrounded by an ugly black and purple bruise. She was still breathing, Jaze noted with relief. But she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Hey, Dash!” the fear-filled assassin called, “Open your eyes! Tell me what happened!” He could see that her sword was still in its sheathe; whatever had happened had been quick.

“She…” the pegasus murmured, “taken… help…” with that, she lapsed into unconsciousness. Jaze carried her inside and set her on the couch. On the table, he found a note.

Come to the other side of Sweet Apple Acres. I have your precious Trixie and I well kill her if you do not appear soon. Come alone and tell no one where you are going. This is for all the pain you have caused me. I will have my vengeance. Remember, I am not afraid to use my power over you. You cannot escape.

Dmitri Sands