Sundance blinked an eye open and groaned in pain. His body ached from head to hoof and his mouth and throat felt like they'd been rubbed raw with sandpaper. "Fuck... everything hurts." He felt a hoof rest over one of his own and he squinted up at the orange shape above him, slowly adjusting his eyes to the light.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Tangelo said, beaming at him. "Don't try to move or you'll just make it worse."

"What... what happened?" Sundance croaked, struggling to form words around the cotton stuffed into the bleeding hole in his gums.

"Bittersweet beat the shit out of you and you've been out for a couple of hours," Tangelo replied bluntly. "Vermilion got him back though and chased him off." She shook her head. "You should have told Vermilion about Bittersweet from the start. He could have stopped this from ever happening."

Sundance shook his head feebly. "Didn't want to involve anypony. Is he okay?"

Tangelo nodded. "He'll be fine. Bittersweet sliced the tip off one of his ears and he's probably going to have a scar under one eye, but nothing too serious."

Sundance sighed. "I knew he'd get hurt."

"He got involved because he cares about you. You have to stick with your family and trust them to take care of you. That's what they're for." Tangelo tapped him lightly on the nose. "You can't handle everything yourself, you know. We're all here for you."

Sundance shook his head again. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden, not to any of us. Just because we might have to do work to help each other, that doesn't make it unpleasant. Vermilion even got his cutie mark because he protected you."

"Really?" Sundance said, his eyes brightening slightly.

Tangelo nodded. "Yeah, it's a really cool flaming shield. You'll have to see it next time he comes in here."

Sundance smiled to himself. "That's great." He was happy that at least something good came from today, even if it cost Vermilion a bit of pain. While he hated being indirectly responsible for Vermilion's injuries, helping him earn something as important as his cutie mark was worth it in his eyes.

Tangelo stood up and rubbed one of Sundance's shoulders gently. "Well, now that I know you're okay, I should be heading to training. The others will want to know you're awake and I can't imagine the Commanders are very happy with me at the moment," she said with a smile. "You look like you could use some more rest anyway. Cornsilk is around here somewhere if you need her. Just rip off your heartbeat monitor or something if she's not in the room. That would be sure to get her attention."

Sundance smiled back. "Sure thing."

Tangelo walked over to the doors and pulled one open, letting in a gust of cold air. The sun had started to go down, but sunset was still a few hours off. "See you later, Sundance. I'll stop by again after dinner," she said as she glanced back at him.

"See you," Sundance said, waving weakly to her as she shut the door behind her. He placed his hoof back down on the bed and sighed happily. He wasn't sure why, but even though he'd only known Tangelo for barely more than a day, he found himself thinking about her quite often. Maybe it was her affectionate, almost motherly nature, her easygoing yet firm personality, her contagious smile, her deep, beautiful eyes that spoke of passion and gentleness, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Sundance leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes. "Alright, I admit it. I guess I might have a crush on Tangelo," he thought to himself, his face flushing slightly. "I never thought I'd bother with romance, but I guess these things kind of sneak up on you."

Sundance sighed again, letting his thoughts wander as he felt his eyes growing heavy. Tangelo was right; he was exhausted, and sleeping was the only thing he felt he could do right now. As much as his mind wanted to focus on the events of the day and what it meant for his future his heart kept dragging it back to Tangelo. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Even when his mind began slowing, the thought of her was still there.

As he slipped from consciousness, drooling slightly from his open mouth, Sundance drifted off into a deep sleep. After having accepted his feelings and knowing his most immediate worry was taken care of, his dreams were undisturbed by dark thoughts, and he slept peacefully, truly peacefully, for the first time in years.

"Okay, cadets. This should be a fairly quick training exercise. You might even make it to the mess hall before it closes if you're lucky. To win, you have to either destroy all the enemy Mechs or destroy the enemy base and make it back to your DropShip without letting your own base fall. If you get taken out, stay powered down until the exercise is over. You will power back up automatically when that happens. Simple, right? Any questions?" Commander Charcoal asked. His Mad Dog and Commander Juniper's Gyrfalcon almost looked like they were made of gold in the setting sun, especially next to the cadets' 'Mechs, which were all painted to match the dark greens and dull browns of the forest.

They were standing in the southeast training field today, which was really more of a small clearing with numerous pathways leading from it. The cadets were separated into two mostly even groups, ready for their first real combat training exercise. The training programs were still installed on the Mechs but it was as real of a battle as they were going to see until they were sent off. The cadets of previous years would have continued their training with live ammunition instead of going straight to real battle simulations, but with the recent changes to their schedule the Commanders decided to omit live ammunition from exercises like this one to save time. Teaching specialized combat such as this in four years time just wasn't possible to do the right way.

None of the cadets said anything, so Commander Charcoal nodded. "Right, then. Follow your Nav Points and wait at the base when you get there. Once I have confirmed all of you are where you should be, I will give the signal to start."

"Aff, Sir," the cadets said before turning to leave. Everypony in each group had the same Navigation Points, so they walked as units to their bases. The paths ended after a while and they had to continue deep into the forest with only the navigation systems of their DI Computers to guide them.

Sundance glanced at the top of his HUD to make sure they were following the Nav Points. The massive trees in this part of the forest were spaced far apart, making it relatively easy for the larger Mechs to navigate their way through. He glanced at a particularly large tree as he stepped around it. It was nearly as wide as his Mech was. "That's a huge fucking tree."

"I've seen bigger," Tangelo said as she sprinted past him. "All the trees in this part of Dike are large. It's really not that impressive." She had switched into a configuration 3 Piranha a while back, the fast 'Mech she had told Sundance about a few years ago. She couldn't use it to its fullest potential in a forest like this where she had to be careful to not smack into a tree, but the 'Mech was still more than nimble enough to slip between cover with ease. "There's one a bit further out that's as big around as the mess hall."

"Bullshit," said the cadet in the Stormcrow, one of the other Mechs in Sundance's unit. He was a little ways ahead of the others and he turned the torso of his 'Mech to look back at them. "Trees can't get that big."

"It's true. It's over near the waterfall. Go take a look later if you don't believe me."

"Fine, I think I will," the cadet said before turning to face forward again. He slowed down until he was walking between Sundance and Chartreuse. "I'm Bistre, by the way. Best medium pilot in the Sibko."

"Only medium pilot in the Sibko. Fern is running a scout 'Mech, so he barely counts," Tangelo remarked as she stepped over a fallen tree.

Bistre pulled his shoulders back proudly. "Exactly. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't the best."

Sundance raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Wow, he's really taken what we've been taught to heart," he thought. "Does he actually want to be here?"

Tangelo sighed and shook her head. "Way to feel sorry for everypony else in our Sibko who didn't make the cut. How many of them do you think are already dead?"

Bistre shrugged. "Not saying I don't feel sorry for them, but there's no point dwelling on that. We're here to train so we can kick some ass. We can't stay stuck in the past."

"And you think you could actually take on a seasoned Clan MechWarrior?" Chartreuse asked dubiously.

"Of course. I did say I was the best."

Tangelo sighed again and sped ahead of them, disappearing through the trees. "Come on, we're almost there."

Sundance glanced at Bistre's 'Mech as they hurried after Tangelo. "Either that pony has an inflated ego or he's hugely underestimating what other Clans' MechWarriors are capable of," he thought.

Probably both, Solis said. Not that she knew much about other Clans' MechWarriors, but their skill level couldn't be too far off from the ones in Draconequus.

Sundance nodded and glanced at the rickety structure that was meant to be their base which had begun to appear through the trees. He could understand most of what Solis said by this point, having been her pilot for nearly four years. It almost seemed weird to him now, imagining not being able to talk to your Mech like another pony. "I wonder how the others do it, not being able to communicate fully with their Mechs?"

Solis hummed in a way that Sundance generally took to be a sort of mental shrug. After so long she had forgotten what it was like to have a pilot who couldn't understand her as well as Sundance could, so she could understand what he meant.

As they neared the fake base the cadets all slowed down to a halt. The base was a jumbled mess of wood, and it looked like any holes knocked in it during training were just sloppily boarded up. Bistre shook his head at the abomination.

"Commander called this a base? It's more of a shack if you ask me. Is there even a way in?" Bistre said as he stretched in his seat to try and look around it.

"If there was, it was boarded over a long time ago." Chartreuse adjusted her neurohelmet slightly. "I guess they don't really want to put in the effort for something as insignificant as that for a freeborn Sibko."

"At least we're still alive," Bistre said.

"For now." Sundance scratched his neck underneath the neurohelmet. "I'm kind of doubting we're going to last long at this point. Our four years are nearly up, and we're only just now starting combat simulations."

Vermilion and Chartreuse will protect you, Solis said reassuringly.

Sundance just shrugged and glanced at the sky through the trees. After a few moments, he heard a light crackling as Commander Charcoal cut in on the comms.

"Okay, cadets. It seems like everypony is in position, so we will begin. As soon as your Nav points change, that is your cue to start. The 'Mechs on the opposing unit are keyed in as hostile on your IFF Transponders, so there is no excuse for friendly fire. You will be reprimanded for damaging a friendly. Good luck." The Commander's voice cut out along with the static, and a few seconds later the cadets' DI Computers beeped as their Nav points were updated.

"So, what's the plan here? Who's going to defend, who's going to attack?" Tangelo asked as she turned to face the others.

Bistre scoffed. "Plan? Just go out there and shoot them. It's not much harder than that." He immediately charged off into the forest, shaking the ground as he ran.

"Don't just run off alone, hothead!" Tangelo hissed and shook her head. "That unicorn drives me crazy." She turned to face the direction Bistre ran off in and rotated her torso back to face Sundance. "I'm the only one fast enough to keep up with him. You two stay behind and defend. I'll come back and warn you if we run into trouble we can't handle. I've got an ECM and speed, so I should be able to get away if anything happens."

Sundance frowned. "ECM? What's that?"

"Electronic Countermeasure. I don't have time to explain fully, but think of it as a signal jammer that only affects hostile Mechs," Tangelo said hastily. She pushed the throttle forward and broke into a run to catch up to the Stormcrow. "Fern has an ECM in his Ice Ferret too, so keep a sharp eye out for him."

Sundance and Chartreuse glanced at each other as Tangelo disappeared rapidly through the trees. It made sense for Chartreuse to defend, given her large size and slow speed, but having their two weakest Mechs on the offensive didn't seem like a great plan. "Do you think this will work?" Sundance asked.

Chartreuse shrugged. "I guess we'll see. It would have been nice to actually talk through a plan instead of just going for it."

Sundance nodded in agreement. He remembered the Commander telling them before that a good plan was usually the key to winning a battle. However, he also seemed to recall the Commander telling them plans almost always fell apart, and a good soldier should be able to act on instinct. Either way, a plan would have at least made him feel more confident.

Many minutes went by in silence with Sundance and Chartreuse turning slowly back and forth to watch for hostile Mechs. Sundance kept thinking he saw a 'Mech moving out of his peripheral vision, but whenever he looked it was always just a branch swaying in the wind or an animal scurrying up a tree. Nothing seemed to be happening at the moment and the comms were still dark.

Suddenly Sundance heard gunfire in the distance, followed by the faint sound of missiles. "I guess they found somepony," he said, shifting in his seat.

"Or somepony found them." Chartreuse glanced in the direction the noise was coming from. "Vermilion or Mist could easily tear both of them apart in close range like this, especially if they're together."

Sundance nodded nervously as the weapon fire abruptly cut off. Judging by the sound of the guns, he thought Vermilion and Mist were together. He knew he heard the machine guns in Vermilion's Timber Wolf firing constantly, and he was fairly confident he heard a few shots from the UAC/20 in Mist's Summoner, too. "I never thought about how scary of a combination their 'Mechs make. Vermilion can soften up an enemy 'Mech from range, then Mist can dash in and finish them off."

Chartreuse nodded. "That's why the Commander split us up this way. Vermilion and I are good at range, You and Mist are strong up close, and each unit has a scout and a support fighter. The teams are evenly balanced. Or at least they were, until Bistre ran off like that."

Sundance's ears perked up as he heard heavy footsteps running towards them from the direction of the weapon fire. He turned towards the sound and tightened his hooves around the controls anxiously.

It's Tangelo, not a hostile, Solis said. Look at the T&T.

Sundance glanced at the radar screen, and sure enough, there was a friendly signal moving towards them. He relaxed back into his seat as Tangelo's Piranha dashed into view. Her targeting data pulled up on Sundance's HUD, and he was surprised to see how much damage she had taken. Almost all the armor on the left side of her Mech was stripped off, and the right arm was destroyed. They certainly didn't take it easy on her. "Shit, what happened to you?"

"Vermilion and Mist ambushed us. I managed to get away, but Bistre's down. I think both of them are coming here, and Fern is out there somewhere," Tangelo said as she slowed to stop in front of them.

"Who's defending their base, then?" Chartreuse asked, looking out into the forest.

"Mint in her Adder. I didn't see her out there anywhere." Tangelo sighed. "I can't fight Mint, especially not in my state. Her Mech carries two ER PPCs. It would only take one or two shots to finish me off."

Sundance raised an eyebrow. "Two ER PPCs on a light Mech? That can't be very heat efficient."

"It's not, but that doesn't mean it's weak." Tangelo glanced behind her. "I don't know how useful I'll be in this condition. I'll try to spot them for you, but I'm going to have to hang back a bit."

"Please tell me there's a plan this time. We're already at a disadvantage as it is," Chartreuse said.

Tangelo nodded. "I've got something, but it's risky." She glanced behind her again before turning back and moving closer to them. "Here's what I was thinking..."

Sundance moved into position behind a rock outcropping overlooking a ledge. "Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked. He glanced at his weapons loadout again. "One LB 20-X autocannon with cluster rounds, one ATM-6 with short range ammunition, and the lasers. This should be good for close combat."

"No, but it's the only plan we've got," Tangelo said as she moved swiftly between the trees. She was patrolling the area around their base, trying to spot any hostile Mechs. Either they were waiting in ambush or they were taking the long way around because she wasn't finding anything.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Chartreuse glanced around her, still guarding the base. "We need to know all of their locations for this to work. It's a big problem if you can't find any of them."

"I'll find them, don't worry. They're just not here yet." A few moments went by with none of them saying anything. Sundance held his breath, waiting for something to happen. He hated waiting around like this.

Suddenly he heard a beep from the radar, and he saw a red dot pop up on it. "There. A Timber Wolf by itself. It's Vermilion," Tangelo said over the comms. "He's heading your way, Sundance."

"You got eyes on Mist yet?" he asked.

"No, he isn't here. They must have split up. Keep an eye out behind you, Chartreuse," Tangelo said.

Sundance ran his tongue over the gap in his teeth apprehensively. "This is it. Our first real battle. Sort of," he thought. "It's just a training exercise, but it's scarier than I had expected."

We'll be fine. Focus on breathing, Solis hummed. They had worked on a system of breathing that got Sundance to feel a bit calmer and focus whenever he felt his anxiety getting out of hoof. It wasn't perfect, but it helped.

Sundance nodded, slowing his breathing and counting each exhale. He certainly needed to stay calm in a situation like this.

One... Two... Three...

"He'll be underneath you in a few seconds, Sundance. Get ready," Tangelo said.

Four... Five... Six...

Sundance wrapped his hooves around the controls, keeping his muscles relaxed to mirror his breathing.

Seven... Eight... Nine...

"Almost there..."

Ten.

"Now!" Tangelo shouted.

Sundance's eyes shot open and he flung the throttle as far forward as it could go, quickly bringing his Hellbringer up to a sprint. "Here we go, Solis!" he shouted in his head as he leaped over the tall ledge, about twenty meters above the ground below. He saw Vermilion's Timber Wolf off slightly to his left which had just begun to turn around at the noise. Sundance brought the torso of his 'Mech around to face the heavier machine and fired everything he had in midair as the targeting data pulled up on one of his screens.

Half of his lasers hit the left torso, with only the ER Medium lasers missing their mark. All the missiles from the ATM-6 landed on the torso, slightly weakening the Timber Wolf's armor further. This was followed by an LB 20-X shot, which damaged both the left and center torsos.

Sundance winced as the Hellbringer hit the ground and the legs bent at the knees to take up as much of the force form the drop as possible. It felt almost exactly like Sundance had been the one to jump off the ledge, not the Mech. "Ow. I guess different types of damage are supposed to feel different," he thought. He straightened back up and bolted forward, moving to get into cover while he cooled down and reloaded. He heard the Timber Wolf's inordinate amount of missiles sail past as he ducked behind a tree, but hissed through his teeth as he felt a sharp pain in his left foreleg, right above the elbow.

Moderate damage, left arm. Armor holding, Solis informed.

"Not too bad. He's starting off in worse shape than we are," Sundance thought as he glanced at the heat gauge. He took a deep breath and tightened his hooves around the controls. "Let's do this."

Sundance charged out from behind the tree, aiming at where he thought Vermilion was going to be. However, the large 'Mech had vanished and was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around nervously. "Talk to me, Tangelo. Where'd he go?"

"He ran off into the trees somewhere. I'm trying to find him, just hold on," Tangelo replied. "He can't have gone far."

Sundance turned in a slow circle, scanning the forest around him. He thought he could hear the faint sound of footsteps, but he had no way of knowing whose they were, and it was nerve-racking.

He glanced at the radar as it beeped and a red dot reappeared off to one side. "There he is. Coming up on your right," Tangelo said. "Alpha Strike him again when he pops out, then get back into cover. You have a chance here."

Sundance glanced at his heat indicator. "Sitting right around 25%. I need to be careful." He turned the torso of his Hellbringer to face the direction indicated on the radar and waited. "Could you give him a few shots in the back after I get into cover then run away? I'll need time to cool off.

"You got it. He's almost in the open, so get ready."

Sundance narrowed his eyes as the footsteps got louder. Suddenly he saw the Timber Wolf run out from the trees, the torso turning wildly to search for his Hellbringer. Sundance aimed straight at the left torso again as Vermilion spotted him and locked on, just a second too slow.

Sundance fired everything again, having enough time to fully aim this time. All of the lasers hit dead on the left torso, while the missiles peppered the entire torso again. He followed up with an autocannon shot directly where the lasers had hit, before getting back behind cover. All of the return shots missed, harmlessly hitting the tree in front of him.

"LT is just about gone. An LBX shot should disable half of his weapons," Tangelo called as she hurtled off into the forest at top speed. "I didn't do much damage but I got his attention. He should be distracted for a moment. I'll go looking for Mist. You've got this, Sundance."

Sundance nodded. "Thanks for the help." He glanced at the heat indicator again. "60% and falling. A few more seconds and we'll be good. You ready, Solis?"

Always ready, she replied, determined to win this fight.

"Then let's go." Sundance ran forward through the trees, ducking in and out of the cover of the trees. Vermilion fired his machine guns and lasers after him, managing to get a few small hits in but unable to do any significant damage.

Light damage, all torsos. Armor holding. Heat at 30%.

"I need to get in closer. He could chew me up at this range if I'm not careful." Sundance scanned the forest ahead of him, noting a large rock he could use as cover. "There. We'll use that to close the distance. Get ready for some serious stress on your actuators."

Solis beeped, ready for his plan. It was a risk, but it was the only thing Sundance could think of at the moment.

Sundance eyed the rock as it got closer, placing one hoof on the throttle. "Just a little closer..." He slammed the throttle all the way back as he ducked behind the rock, digging the legs of the giant Mech into the dirt. He felt the joints in his legs strain as the actuators in the Mech struggled to keep its weight from flying forward. Once the Mech stopped behind the rock, he spun around and charged back out the same side he came from and rushed forward towards his unsuspecting opponent.

The Timber Wolf turned it's torso hastily, noticing Sundance hadn't popped up in the spot he had thought. Too slow though, as Sundance fired the ER Large laser and LBX at the left torso, managing to hit with the laser but only glancing the left arm with the autocannon. He managed to disable the weapons in the left torso but not destroy it, which meant most of its weapons were still intact. He followed up with an ER Medium laser, but that still wasn't enough to destroy the torso, leaving Sundance out in the open for longer than he should have been.

Vermilion fired his remaining LRM launcher and followed up with successive shots from the two ER Large lasers. All the while the remaining machine gun was blazing away, dealing low but consistent damage. Sundance sucked in a breath from the pain and ran forward, trying to close the gap between them.

Critical hit, left arm. Moderate damage, center and left torsos. Armor holding.

"Shit, I need to end this quick," Sundance though as he ran closer and fired his remaining medium and small lasers. "He has a lot more armor than I do." He turned the torso of his Hellbringer, allowing the right arm and torso to soak up the damage from the medium lasers and machine guns. "Let's see how you like this."

Sundance rotated the torso back around and brought the left arm up as he got within spitting distance of the Timber Wolf, making absolutely certain this next shot wouldn't miss. He likely wouldn't survive if it did. He fired his autocannon directly into the left torso, destroying it and the left arm, along with their attached weapons.

"Nice, that's what we needed." Sundance sprinted past Vermilion, forcing him to pull the 'Mech around for any return shots. "I think we've got this," he thought, slowing to turn back around.

Don't get cocky, Solis said, concerned. Even in its damaged condition, the Timber Wolf was still a very strong Mech.

"Don't worry, he's almost out of it. I've got this." Sundance dug the legs of his 'Mech into the ground and spun around to face the Timber Wolf, readying his weapons. Instead of being the first one to fire, however, he was immediately met with an Alpha Strike from Vermilion, and he gasped and clutched his left shoulder in excruciating pain.

Internal ammo explosion detected. Left torso destroyed. Weapon destroyed. Damage critical. Solis hummed, sighing mentally. I said 'don't get cocky.'

Sundance shook his head to clear the pain. He took a deep breath to calm his mounting anxiety. "We still have a chance. He's in the same boat we are, and we've got more weapons left," he thought as he glanced at the loadout on his HUD. The only weapons he had lost were the LB 20-X AC and the ER Small laser. It sucked that he lost his main weapon, but it wasn't over yet.

"If we keep him on our right he won't be able to hit our weak spot." Sundance pushed the throttle forward again and charged towards Vermilion to close the distance between them. "Let's do this."

Sundance ran straight at Vermilion before firing the ATM-6 and medium lasers at the Timber Wolf's center torso. While he didn't manage to strip the remaining armor off, there wasn't much left. He suddenly dashed off to his left as Vermilion fired his remaining large laser again, taking most of the damage on the right torso and arm. Sundance raised the right arm of his Hellbringer and fired his own large laser directly at the Timber Wolf's center torso as he ran by, exposing the internals on that sector.

Critical hit, right torso. You need to end this, Solis said. He wasn't going to last much longer in this condition, and another ammo explosion would quickly put an end to his part in this training exercise.

"I'll think of something," Sundance thought as he moved behind a tree in time to avoid the missiles that followed after him. An idea popped into his head and he peeked around the tree before ducking back as Vermilion fired at him again. "I think I've got an idea but Cadmium is going to hate me for it. We're not supposed to cause any actual damage to our 'Mechs."

You already did. The legs, remember? Solis remarked.

Sundance grimaced. "Good point. If he already has to repair one thing, we might as well just go all out." Sundance took a deep breath and ran his tongue over his missing tooth again. "Here we go."

Sundance pushed the throttle forward yet again and rushed out from behind the tree, slowly bringing his Hellbringer up to its top speed of eighty-seven kph. He turned the torso to the left again to absorb the lasers and machine guns in his remaining armor on his right side, before spinning the torso all the way around to the right. Vermilion had exhausted all of his main weapons, and Sundance's center torso had more than enough armor remaining to absorb the machine gun fire for another couple of seconds. "Bingo."

Sundance swung the torso back around and brought the right arm up, level with the Timber Wolf's center torso. He fired his large laser right as he swung the fist of his 'Mech with all of its strength at the center torso of the larger 'Mech. He heard metal groan and glass crack as the lights in the cockpit flickered off and the Timber Wolf fell backward, its reactor powering down. It plummeted slowly to the earth, almost in slow motion, and shook the ground with an almighty thud as it landed.

Sundance sighed and leaned back into his seat, breathing heavily. He shook his right hoof to try and get the pain out of it. Punching a 'Mech ten tons heavier than your own certainly hurt. "Fuck. I can't believe that worked."

"You got him? Good job," Chartreuse said, more than a little impressed.

"Yeah, but I had to push Solis really hard, and I'm pretty sure Vermilion's Mech is going to need repairs, too," Sundance said as he glanced at the Timber Wolf's cracked cockpit and dented armor guiltily. "Cadmium is not going to be happy."

"Hey, it's his job to repair the 'Mechs so it's no big deal. These things happen in training. Let's just get you back to base for now. How are you holding up?"

Sundance glanced at his armor indicator. "The only armor left is on my legs and rear torsos, I lost my left torso and arm, and my ER Large laser was destroyed in that last attack. I won't be of much use. It's pretty much just you left, Chartreuse." He grimaced. The large laser was probably actually destroyed, or at least severely damaged. That was going to be an expensive fix.

"We can still win this," Tangelo said. "Just get back to Chartreuse. You shouldn't be out there alone in your condition." Sundance nodded and turned towards their base, but stopped when Tangelo cut in again. "Wait... hold on, there's something out here. It's Mist! He's coming your way!"

Sundance heard the radar beep as a red dot appeared on it directly behind him, He spun around in time to see Mist's Summoner step out from behind a tree and turn towards him. Sundance fired his medium lasers, but there wasn't much he could do in this situation. The Summoner's left arm extended forward and fired a rapid volley of shots from its UAC/20, and Sundance felt an intense pain in the center of his chest. The lights in his cockpit flickered off as the reactor powered off, and he felt the 'Mech lean forward, out of balance. It plummeted to the ground and slammed into the dirt, the crash echoing through the forest.

"Shit," Sundance thought as he shook his head. The impact of falling had dazed him, but luckily the cockpits were designed to keep the pilot from feeling too much pain from an impact like that. "I guess it's up to Chartreuse and Tangelo now," he thought as he grabbed onto the straps around his shoulders. In his position, he was stuck in his seat staring at the ground, suspended by the shoulder and waist straps attached to the seat. This was going to be an uncomfortable wait.

"Damn it. Sundance's down," Tangelo said, moving to head back to their base. "Mist is heading your way. I'm going to try to find Fern before he gets to you."

"No, stick with the plan. I can handle both of them. Just hurry up and destroy their base."

"Are you sure? His Ice Ferret is fast." Tangelo slowed slightly as she crested a hill and scanned the forest around her. "That 'Mech doesn't have a lot of weapons, but it doesn't matter against your rear armor."

"I'm positive. I'm not going to make it that easy for them," Chartreuse said.

Tangelo slowed to a halt and turned to face the other direction. "If you say so. We lose if you go down, though."

"Don't worry about me. I'll do my part, so make sure you do yours."

"I will. See you when this is over." Tangelo sped off through the trees and weaved through the thick trunks. She and Chartreuse knew they both had feelings for Sundance, which made their few interactions tense. "I guess we know which one of us matters more to him," she thought, smirking. She shook her head. "No, that was uncalled for. I shouldn't be rude. It's just hard to not be smug when she's such a bitch about everything."

Tangelo leaped over a small stream and continued running as her Piranha's legs slammed into the ground. "I wonder if I could talk to him before dinner. We should have time at this rate, and I think it'd be nice if we started officially dating," she thought, smiling and squirming slightly in her seat. Her heart always felt lighter whenever she thought about him and she couldn't really imagine going off to war without him. "Does he feel the same way about me?"

Some sort of sixth sense went off in the back of Tangelo's mind and she glanced up at where she was running. Her eyes went wide as she saw the tree hurtling towards her, and she managed to scramble out of the way to avoid slamming face-first into it. She let out a nervous breath. "That was close." Even though 'Mechs were designed to lessen the force the pilot feels whenever it falls over or hits something, there's nothing her 'Mech would have been able to do if she had suddenly smashed into a solid object while going almost one hundred kph, and she probably would have died.

Tangelo shook her head and continued forward. "Focus, Tangelo. Training now, sappy stuff later." She glanced at the Nav points at the top of her HUD. She was almost to the enemy base. She wouldn't be able to destroy it that quickly, given her measly loadout of four ER Micro lasers and two micro pulse lasers. Normally a Piranha in the third configuration would have eight ER Micro lasers instead of four, but hers had been modified to hold an ECM which took the place of the missing weapons.

Tangelo heard the faint sound of gunfire in the distance behind her, assumingly from Mist's Summoner. "I guess he's at out base now. You'd better take care of him fast, Chartreuse," she thought. She glanced at her radar as it beeped and a small red dot appeared on it. She noticed a break in the trees at the same time and saw Mint standing in front of the enemy base in her Adder, looking the other direction. The dot disappeared a few seconds after she moved out of line of sight, but she had a good enough idea of where to attack from now. The ECM would have kept her from being detected by Mint's radar, so with any luck, she'd be able to sneak up and start taking apart their base without being immediately noticed. Tangelo tightened her hooves around the controls. "I only get one shot at this. I have to make it count."

The Summoner crashed to the dirt, shaking the ground as it fell on its back. Chartreuse sighed and lowered the arm of her Marauder. Mist had gotten better over the years, but he still wasn't much of a match for her. As brave as taking her head-on was it wasn't a very smart move, considering their skill gap and tonnage difference. She glanced at the screens in her cockpit. "Armor on the left arm is gone and the left torso doesn't have much left, but there's nothing else concerning. 62% heat and falling. Mist almost had me worried there." Chartreuse reached a hoof over and flicked on the thermal imaging view. Now that she didn't have to worry about fighting so much, she just had to focus on making sure Fern didn't get anywhere close. "Almost."

"How are you doing out there? Mist is down, so there's not much to worry about on my end," Chartreuse said over the comms.

"I'm almost done. I can't destroy their base quickly with my weapon loadout and Mint isn't making it easy for me." Chartreuse could hear weapon fire faintly through the comms. "Just give me a little more time."

Chartreuse sighed and leaned back in her seat. If Tangelo went down before she took out their base, there was no way they'd be able to win. Not with the mission conditions. She frowned as she heard a series of noises behind her. It almost sounded like footsteps, but they were too slow for that, weren't they?

Chartreuse turned her 'Mech around to investigate, and saw a small 'Mech inching towards their base. It stopped as Chartreuse turned around before sprinting behind the rickety building. "Shit, it's Fern!" she said, firing after him. One of the PPCs managed to hit, but she wasn't entirely sure where since she couldn't target him fast enough.

"That's bad. He'll be able to destroy our base much faster than I can destroy theirs. You'll have to slow him down."

"I'm trying, but the bastard's too quick," Chartreuse said, walking around a corner of their base just as Fern disappeared around the other. "I can't catch up to him. What am I supposed to do?" She glanced at her damage indicator as it flashed, the left arm having been shot by Fern.

Critical hit, left arm. ER Particle Cannon destroyed.

"Fuck. How is he that fast?" She turned the torso of her Marauder to the left in time to see Fern slip behind her and run back around the base, firing at it. "There's nothing I can do. He's running circles around me."

"You have to stall him. I'm working- crap, I'm working as fast as I can. It's not simple with something like an Adder chasing me."

"Easier said than done." Chartreuse stepped back and glanced between the far corners of the base, waiting for Fern to pop around one of them. "Come on out, you little bugger."

The Ice Ferret charged around the corner on Chartreuse's left and scrambled to a halt when it saw her aiming right at it. "Gotcha." She fired her remaining two PPCs at Fern's 'Mech, connecting with the center torso with both shots. She fired her lasers after it as it turned and ran back around the corner of the base. She hissed under her breath. "How am I supposed to target this thing? I have no idea how much damage I'm dealing. I've hit Fern with three PPC shots and he's still going."

"It takes a while to target a 'Mech with an ECM mounted. The Ice Ferret has almost as much armor as Sundance's Hellbringer, so it won't be that easy to destroy."

"Seriously? Why does it need that much armor?" She glanced back and forth again, waiting for Fern to come around another corner. It's entirely possible he'd just sit and wait, considering she wasn't doing much moving herself. She'd have to move at some point, but what if she went around the wrong side and Fern just charged around behind her again? She groaned when she heard her DI Computer's voice chime in as Fern destroyed the base, almost mocking her.

Friendly base destroyed.

"Damn it!" Chartreuse yelled as she threw the throttle forward. She crashed through the weak wooden structure, collapsing the whole thing and revealing the tiny 'Mech hiding behind it. The Ice Ferret scrabbled backward, trying to get away from the much larger 'Mech. Chartreuse fired her lasers after it, followed by successive shots from her PPCs. This time it was easy to tell where her shots landed since the 'Mech stopped running and had to limp away through the forest. Even at a reduced pace though, Fern was moving faster than her Marauder could, so she gave up the chase. Chartreuse sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Fern got away, but I destroyed one of his legs. You almost done?"

"Just about. One more shot..." The computer's voice butted in again, a little less annoying this time considering it was a message she actually wanted to hear.

Enemy base destroyed.

"Nice. Now hurry back. Fern's still pretty quick with only one leg working," Chartreuse said before turning towards their DropShip. It was a pretty far distance away, but she could easily get there before Fern got to his own DropShip.

"I'm on my way. Just give me-" Tangelo cut out suddenly and the comms went to static.

"Hello? Stupid orange pony, are you there?" Chartreuse asked, getting no response. She shrugged. "I guess Mint got her. Oh well, she did her part, and now we're pretty much guaranteed to win." She pushed the throttle forward and headed towards the DropShip icon on her HUD, stepping through the rubble of the collapsed base as she moved through the forest. She raised an eyebrow at the pile of wood, not realizing the entire base had collapsed after she had crashed through it until now. "Oops. I hope we don't get points deducted for that."

Sundance powered down his Hellbringer in the hangar and swung the cockpit open. While the Commanders had been impressed with their unit's performance, Cadmium was not. Commander Charcoal had cleared them of any punishment, saying they hadn't broken any rules. However, that didn't stop Cadmium's resentment. Sundance sighed. At least they were leaving in a few months and he wouldn't have to see the bad-tempered blue unicorn anymore.

Sundance climbed out onto the catwalk with his neurohelmet tucked underneath one hoof. "I wonder what Tangelo wanted to talk to me about?" he wondered as he walked down the stairs to the floor below. She had asked him if he had time to talk on the way back from training, and of course he had said yes. Being around her always made him feel happier, as if nothing could possibly go wrong. His mind went guiltily to Chartreuse. He still felt bad about rejecting her, but he just didn't feel the same way about her.

He made his way into the locker rooms and opened his locker before pulling his cadet jacket out and placing his neurohelmet in its place. Bistre was already in the locker room, stripping from his cooling suit in an annoyed way. The Commanders certainly hadn't been impressed with his performance.

Sundance heard the door swing open and turned to see Mist walk through, followed by Vermilion and Fern. Mist waved at Sundance with a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Sundance! Good job out there."

"Thanks," Sundance said, smiling at his friend. "You guys did really good, too."

"That was really clever back there," Vermilion said with a nod to Sundance. The long scar under his right eye and the missing tip of his matching ear almost made him look like a real MechWarrior, bred for battle. "I remember now that Charcoal mentioned melee attacks, but I had completely forgotten."

Sundance scratched the back of his head. "He did? I actually don't remember that. I just kind of acted out of desperation at the time. Sorry about damaging your 'Mech."

Vermilion shrugged. "It's no big deal. Cadmium said the Techs will have it fixed by tomorrow's training session."

Sundance hung his cooling suit up in his locker and shut it before throwing on his cadet jacket. It was worn thin by this point, but luckily they would get actual uniforms before they left. At least they could die knowing they'd be buried in clothes that actually fit. Assuming freeborn soldiers in their Clan even got burials, of course.

"Well, I'm gonna get going. I'll meet you guys at the mess hall later," Sundance said before walking towards the door.

"You're heading to the mess hall already? Aren't you gonna wait for us?" Mist asked, turning his head towards Sundance as he placed his own neurohelmet in his locker.

"No, I've actually, uh... I've got somewhere I need to be. I'll see you later." Sundance turned to leave, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. He had noticed Vermilion raise an eyebrow at him before he left, almost certainly knowing that Sundance wasn't telling the whole truth. "Mist is such a nice guy, and Vermilion doesn't miss a thing," He thought, smiling to himself. "I'm glad I have great friends like them."

Sundance walked over to the hangar doors and stared out at the forest, watching the green leaves flutter in the breeze. "I can't believe we're leaving this place behind in just a few short months. I'll finally be rid of the terrible food and Mist's incessant snoring," he thought nostalgically. "I think I might actually miss this place. Despite what brought all of us here, I made some pretty damn good memories."

Sundance turned as he heard hoofsteps behind him and saw Tangelo walking up to him. She smiled at him in a way that meant so much more than a simple greeting. "Hey," she said.

Sundance grinned back at her. "Hey. What did you want to talk about?"

Tangelo shrugged and nudged him playfully with her shoulder. "I'll tell you in a bit. I want to show you something really cool first. Come on, it won't take too long." She walked down the path to the mess hall, through the cool evening air and dimming light of the setting sun. Sundance followed off to her left, walking next to her.

The two of them talked while they went, just chatting about whatever things came to mind. It was relaxing, being able to enjoy themselves without the worry of a training exercise or their impending doom hanging over their heads. After a while Tangelo led the way down a path that branched off of the main one, into a thicker part of the forest where the trees cast heavy shadows and the air felt noticeably cooler.

Sundance gazed up at the dense canopy above them. "I never knew this part of the forest was here. It's pretty nice out here."

Tangelo nodded solemnly. "Yeah, it is."

Sundance glanced at her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you when we get there." Tangelo shook her head and her ears twitched. "Anyway, we're almost to the waterfall. The whole area around it pretty."

Sundance looked through the trees, now noticing the faint sound of a waterfall. It didn't sound particularly large, but he didn't think he'd ever seen one of any size so it would still be cool to see. He glanced back at Tangelo. Normally he would have pressured her more, but she made it sound like she was going to tell him at some point so he decided to give her the time to collect her thoughts. He'd ask her again later if he had to.

They came to a break in the trees, the dense forestry giving way to open air. Sundance sucked in a breath. Tangelo had said it was pretty, but that wasn't nearly doing it justice.

There was a large meadow in the middle of the forest, split down the middle by a lazy stream that began at a moderately sized waterfall at the far end of the clearing, off to their left It was outlined by the setting sun, the light casting rainbows as the water crashed onto the rocks below. Cattails lined the stream, swaying in the breeze with the tall grass. The path continued through the meadow and Sundance saw an old wooden bridge that arched over the stream.

"Wow..." Sundance said, gaping at the scene.

Tangelo smiled at him. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Sundance nodded. "Yeah. I had no idea something like this was so close to camp."

"It's not quite what I wanted to show you, though." Tangelo started walking down the path again. "Come on. As much as I'd love to stand here all day too, we need to get back in time for dinner."

Sundance followed her down the path. The wooden boards of the bridge creaked as they walked over it, but the aged structure still felt solid. He glanced into the stream and noticed small golden fish swimming in it. "I can't believe this place survives so close to a military camp," he thought.

They continued past the treeline, back into the shadows of the trees. It was quiet here with only the occasional rustle of a small animal in the undergrowth. They walked in silence for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything for a long while.

Sundance glanced at Tangelo out of the corner of his eye again. "I'm still worried about her. Maybe It's time to ask again," he thought. He steeled his courage and stepped out in front of her, putting a hoof on her shoulder and stopping her. "Something's bothering you. As dense as I am, I've known you long enough to be able to tell when something's wrong. What did you really take me out here to see?"

Tangelo turned her head away and shuffled her hooves. "Well, I originally was going to stop at the bridge. I wanted to ask if you wanted to start dating, but then I got to thinking that I should tell you about something else first." Sundance opened his mouth to say something, but Tangelo lifted a hoof and placed it over his mouth. "Before you give me your answer, though, you need to see what I brought you here for and listen to what I have to say. Don't speak, just listen."

Sundance nodded and Tangelo placed her hoof back on the ground. "Good, because we're finally here." She motioned down the path towards the biggest tree Sundance had ever seen. Tangelo hadn't lied when she said there was a tree out here as big around as the mess hall. The two of them walked over to it and Tangelo sat down in one of the hollows created by the tree's massive roots. Sundance followed suit and sat next to her, their bodies separated by only a few centimeters.

Tangelo breathed in deeply and let out a long sigh. "I know I've told you a bit about my past, but I haven't told you everything." She glanced out deep into the forest. "Despite what I've told you, my foalhood actually started without any trouble. My parents were happy, I had a baby sister, and life was just good in general. This went on until I was three, or maybe four. Then... everything went wrong." Tangelo drew her forelegs around herself and shivered.

"My mother and sister died when somepony broke into our home. My mother was carrying her baby, feeding her dinner, when the intruder crashed in and just... shot them. He murdered a young filly and her mother in cold blood. There was no provocation." Tangelo sniffed. "My father bashed his skull in, but there was nothing he could do to bring them back. They were gone.

"This drove my father to alcoholism. He met some dumb whore and brought her into my life, calling her my new mother." Tangelo snorted. "As if that cur could have ever replaced my real mother. She corrupted my father worse than the alcohol did, draining his money and what was left of his life dry. She broke his mind and turned him into an unrecognizable mess, a demon. Being the only other pony around, I became the target of any rage or aggression he ever felt like taking out. Being the bitch she was, she decided to join in pretty often."

Tangelo curled her hooves around the edge of her jacket, staring blankly into the trees. Her lower lip was trembling with the effort of not bursting into tears. "I wish I could forget all the things they did to me. You name it, they did it. Cruel insults, punches, slaps, switches, burns, suffocation, drowning, starvation, rape..." Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. "All the shit I've been through, yet I'm still somehow alive." She tapped her shoulder a few times, thinking, before she unzipped her cadet jacket and slowly pulled it off.

Sundance felt a lump forming in his throat. He had never seen her without either her cooling suit or her cadet jacket on, so he hadn't known what was underneath. There were countless matching scars up and down both of her forelegs, telling of years of unimaginable suffering and anguish. There were a few larger ones along her chest as well with their jagged lines defacing her soft orange fur.

Tangelo scratched the scars on one foreleg. "It became the only thing I could do to cope. My knife was the only thing I owned, and I kept it hidden away safely. When the soldiers took us away, the pain receded slightly, but the thought of becoming a soldier terrified me. To slow my training, I injured myself as often as I could to keep myself in the infirmary. I very nearly died once when I 'accidentally' impaled my chest on a branch when I fell from a tree. I remember clearly thinking it wouldn't be so bad if I died."

Tangelo shook her head. "They got tired of me after a few years and just shipped me off here, even though I hadn't finished that part of my training. The first time I ended up in the infirmary here, Cornsilk sat me down and we had a long talk. It was the first time in years anypony had actually acted like they cared about me at all, and I started going back regularly. Not for injuries, just to chat with Cornsilk about life and stuff. We became close. One day when I was there, a cadet was rushed in with a serious injury, and Cornsilk needed all the help she could get. I helped her save his life, and that was when I realized I knew what I was meant to do, and I earned my cutie mark. It's kind of ironic, going into war wanting to save lives instead of taking them," she said with a snort.

Tangelo sighed and turned her head towards Sundance with her watery eyes staring down at the ground. "I know I usually seem calm and carefree, but that's just an act. If you want me, you're also getting the mess that's inside. I understand if you don't want to deal with that. I don't even know if I would, honestly."

Sundance stared at her, unsure of what to say. He had a feeling she had been hiding a part of her past, but all of his friends were, so that wasn't surprising. He just hadn't expected hers to be so dark and heart-wrenching. He sat there for a moment in silence and collected his thoughts. Sundance could empathize to a degree, having watched his own mother being maimed to death, but he couldn't imagine the pain she had experienced afterward.

Sundance leaned his head down and rested his forehead against Tangelo's. "We all have a past, but that's what makes us who we are. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. But you're free from it now, free to live your life." Sundance pulled his head back, and Tangelo lifted her own. He smiled kindly at her. "I do want you. Both the kind, happy pony on the outside," he lifted one hoof to wipe the tears that were forming in her eyes, "and the sad, hurt mare on the inside. Because I love you."

Tangelo smiled and lifted one of her own hooves and placed it over Sundance's. "I knew there was another reason I fell in love with you. I know you say you're nothing special, but to me, you're my hero."

They pressed their foreheads together, just enjoying each other's company for the moment. After a while, Tangelo broke the silence, giggling. "It's stupid to ask this, but I'm assuming that was a yes?"

Sundance laughed and opened his eyes to stare into hers. He wasn't sure why or how, but he felt like he knew exactly what he was supposed to do here, as if it was some deep down, hidden instinct. He smiled at her. "Is this enough of an answer?"

Sundance suddenly closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Tangelo's, surprising both her and himself. She froze for a moment, startled, before her own eyes fluttered shut and she melted into him. It just felt so right for both of them, being with the pony that meant more to them than life itself, and time seemed to freeze around them with their feelings locked together for the world to see.

After a moment Tangelo broke the kiss, her face flushed red. She leaned back to stare into Sundance's eyes, beaming at him. "It's more than enough." She leaned forward and rested her head against Sundance's chest, listening to his accelerated heartbeat.

Sundance rested his chin on top of her head, blissfully taking in the moment. He had never imagined happiness like this could come to a pony as ordinary and boring as him, but sitting here now with a mare who made him feel like his life truly had purpose, he had never been happier to be wrong.

Further into the forest, a pony was backing away slowly from the couple. She sighed in a defeated manner, turning away from the scene. "That's all I needed to see," she thought as she wiped her eyes with her wings. She frowned to herself. "What makes her so much better than me? What's so special about her that I don't have?" She let out an angry sigh. "'You're my hero, Sundance. Why don't we run off into the sunset and forget about the rest of your stupid friends?' The fucking cunt," the pony said mockingly. She smacked a branch in anger, only to have it spring back and slap stingingly against her face.

"Ow!" She shook her head and moved forward only to have the branch get caught in her long mane and lock her in place. "Ugh, stupid fucking tree. Stupid fucking nature. I wish it would all just fucking burn down already," she said as she tugged at her main angrily, to no avail. "Fucking cunt. Let go of me already you useless son of a-" the pony cut off as most of her mane suddenly released from the branch with a few chartreuse-colored strands being left behind. She fell backward and smacked her head painfully against a rock. The pony gasped in pain and clutched her hooves around the back of her head.

"Oww..." She curled up on the ground and began to cry. "Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve any of this?" She tucked her hind legs up into her chest and pushed her head into them, her entire body racking with her sobs as the sun set, leaving the forest black. The remaining dim light from the moons barely carried through to the forest floor, and night fell, bringing more than just darkness with it.