A/N: Conversation in another language is present in this chapter. However, I've written everything so that the dialogue will be immediately translated, should it be important. Don't worry, you'll see. :)

Chapter 4

An Understanding

Equestrian Central Intelligence Bureau

Lunar Contingency | Mission Directive 1498

Agent: Lunabelle "Luna" Quasar | Princess, Captain (Equestrian Special Forces)

Agent: Phaseshift "Phaze" Radian | Corporal (Equestrian Special Forces)

Princess, Corporal,

Equestria's relationship with our neighbors to the north has been fairly peaceful, albeit held onto with a tenuous grasp. That is, we have kept a relative peace because we are one of few nations that could fully stand up to and (possibly even surpass) the military might of Greifenraum. Our no tolerance policy on aggression also has led to a relative calm, albeit not without a few close calls. However, we fear that more aggression might be around the corner. According to our listeners, reports indicate that Greifen military scientists have made an enormous breakthrough. It appears that the Greifens have been able to replicate and successfully test a prototype military grade Magic Dampener. This is concerning news. As one of the only nations whose population is made up significantly in part by magic adepts, as well as the infrastructure being quite interlinked with the force itself, Equestria has a distinct advantage over its neighbors. Naturally, we can negate magic with our own technology, but if the Greifens now possess the capability to do so, this could spell a rather unpredictable diplomatic future including but not limited to the lucrative selling of this technology to other nations, possibly with hostile intent, while Equestria may lose much of its own advantage and influence in intercontinental and international relations. Not to mention the vulnerability on the homefront.

The mission is as follows:

You will infiltrate Greifen airspace via a stealth aircraft. Once at the designated height and drop point, you will drop approximately two miles outside of the town of 'Pferd,' which is about one hundred miles from the Equestrian border. Interception of encrypted transmissions indicates that a convoy will be passing through the main highway outside of the town proper. The convoy, which will most likely be guarded (and thus, armed), will hold the Dampening Technology. We do not have any other reports of what it may look like exactly, so use your best judgment. Once the tech is located, secure it and call for extraction. Unmarked stealth aircraft will be on standby. You are authorized to use deadly force if at all necessary.

Field Dir. Monochrome Contrail

A whole week had passed since Luna met her new subordinate and had not seen him since. Intelligence confirmed to her that the mission was still to proceed as planned. Currently, Luna was waiting by the castle's chariot landing pad where she would be taken to Canterlot military airport. She was equipped, armed, and ready to go. However, the one thing stopping her was her new partner, Phaze. She said to be at the pad by midnight sharp and it was currently 11:59 PM. Figuring he was a no-show, Luna rolled her eyes and started for the open chariot. After all, it wouldn't be her fault if he didn't show up when he was ordered. She was on a strict schedule as of late; Celestia could understand.

"Didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you, Princess?" a calm voice called out from behind her. Luna turned around and saw Phaze, clad in combat gear and armed as well. He had an optimistic look about him and Luna sensed a little wave of excitement in him. It almost warmed her heart… almost.

"Damn… and here I believed, or hoped, rather, that thou wouldst be a no show," Luna said, her words dripping with sarcasm. Phaze only raised his brow.

"That's readily apparent. However, I do not believe it is wise to get on the bad side of royalty," he replied with sarcasm in return. Luna took his quip to heart. Not what he said, but more of how he said it. By returning her own sarcasm back to her, Luna could easily see that he was not afraid of her, like many others were. Luna mustered a small, determined grin. A small one, mind you.

"Quite. Very well then, let us depart. The sooner we accomplish our task, the sooner we can sleep," Luna said, beckoning him to follow her into the chariot. He nodded as he followed her inside. They took a seat and got comfortable for the short ten minute ride to the airport, facing opposite of each other.

"Hast thou read the information brief?" Luna questioned.

"Several times. I know our mission, we just need to get there now," he replied. Luna nodded.

"Good. I suppose I do not have to hold your hand the entire time then," Luna said, moving her gaze back down to some papers. Alright, at first, Phaze was quite accepting of Luna's sarcasm and degradation. He understood at first. Now, it was actually starting to irritate him. Princess or not, she was genuinely being rude. However, now was not the time to call her out on it. He merely rolled his eyes and kept silent until they arrived at the airport. They disembarked and Luna led him to a much larger aircraft… a plane.

"The Greifens are very technologically advanced. As a result, flying a simple stealth chariot into their airspace would be an immediate ticket to getting shot out of the sky. So, we're using a faster, more agile, and more aptly stealthed aircraft. Remember, we are jumping as well," Luna reminded him as they boarded the large plane. They sat down and buckled themselves in for takeoff, which went rather smoothly. The plane then got to cruising altitude and made haste for Greifenraum.

"We have about two and a half hours until we reach our drop point. Until then, feel free to get comfortable," Luna suggested. Phaze, once again, only nodded and stretched out, laying down on the comfortable bench seats which were lined with cloth cushions, catching a bit of shut-eye before they arrived. Before he completely dozed off though, Luna wanted to check on something:

"Phaseshift?" Luna asked. Phaze tilted his head towards her, acknowledging that she called him.

"How's your Greifen?" she asked. He couldn't hear her completely.

"I'm sorry?" he asked for clarification.

"Können Sie gut Greifen sprechen?"

"Bestimmt nicht," he quipped back. Genuinely for the first time, Luna mustered the tiniest of smiles before turning back to her papers. Phaze felt somewhat accomplished now. With that, he intended to catch a bit of shuteye before they arrived. Luna wrote down a few things before she too succumbed to the grasp of a nap. So far, so good, and Luna was easing her qualms.

The stealth plane passed through Greifen airspace without a hitch and soon, the two of them were roused from their slumber by a pilot over the intercom:

"Five minutes to drop zone!"

The two looked at each other and nodded, readying their equipment. Luna was outfitted with her standard loadout while Phaze had both a full-fledged rifle and an SMG strapped to him. They both added the necessary suppression attachments to their weapons, strapped their helmets and masks on, and were eventually ready to go. As a final touch, Luna casted some magic which suppressed the magic in her hair. It was now just a standard blue and lifeless.

"Thirty seconds to drop! When the green light flashes, it's a go! Good luck down there!"

The two positioned themselves by the now open door on the side of the plane chassis, ready to jump. They secured their parachutes and checked their equipment one more time. Soon the green light flashed brightly with a loud beeping sound and they instantly jumped into the cold night air, thousands and thousands of feet above the ground. The two fell in silence as they passed through the endless sky, plummeting towards the earth; freefalling gracefully. They were able to see the town of Pferd as well. Soon, however, it was time to deploy the parachutes. Luna looked over at Phaze, who only looked back in understanding. They both deployed their parachutes and glided silently through the air, slowly but surely landing in a grassy knoll about two miles outside of Pferd, just where they needed to be. They both hunched down low and were ready to move.

"All is well?" Luna asked, unclasping her assault rifle from her back.

"Peachy," Phaze replied, stuffing a magazine into the center of his long rifle.

"Good. Remember: you fall behind, I leave you behind. Let us move," Luna remarked. The two stood up and began their trek towards Pferd. Not a word was spoken as they quickened their pace to their destination. Luna glanced back over her shoulder to notice that Phaze was casually glancing up at the night sky. While they were in a different nation, Equestria contained the people (namely Celestia and Luna) who were magically proficient enough to manipulate the heavenly bodies for their side of the hemisphere. Either way, Phaze seemed rather pleased at the night sky tonight, despite Luna putting little work into it tonight. She smiled inwardly and they continued onward.

Soon enough, the pair was on the outskirts of Pferd, and all seemed quiet, most likely due to the small population sleeping soundly.

"Well, we've arrived at the town. Now where's the highway?" Phaze spoke softly.

"It should be east of the town proper. Let us pass through the town itself for a quicker route. The main convoy should be passing through in half an hour," Luna said, beckoning him to follow her. He nodded and they moved, entering the town silently. It could be observed that Luna and Phaze had small "cold war" between them, but that was put aside for the time being. Now, it was all business… the business of not getting themselves killed. The two raised their rifles and stacked up against buildings, careful to avoid street lights and any lit windows. The complex sneaking around instilled a slight bit of nervousness in the two of them as they found it becoming a bit stuffy in their face masks, their blue visors fogging up slightly.

The two rounded a corner when Luna held a clenched fist up where Phaze could see it. They stopped immediately. Luna made a hand gesture, signaling for him to take a look. The two were shrouded in shadow, but they could see a few Greifen soldiers entering the town's limits. Their gray uniforms, onyx black helmets, and menacing stares were unmistakable.

"I don't hear any mechanized movement, and I'm pretty sure soldiers aren't quartered in towns…" Phaze thought out loud.

"But of course their presence here is reasonable. They are scouting and securing ahead just in case. The Greifens are never too careful, especially in a militarized society like their own."

"So, what's the best course of action?" Phaze asked.

"They are not alone. There are undoubtedly at least a dozen more that entered elsewhere. They are going to check every bit of the town's shadows and radio in the all clear. We must avoid them until that signal is sent. Then we must subdue them," Luna explained.

"Sounds good, I'll follow your lead."

"Thou art my subordinate, and thus have no choice."

The two remained hidden as the soldiers began to speak to each other. One of them was obviously in a position of power:

"Haben wir unser Befehl: Wir werden dieser Stadt nachsehen. Bewegen wir!"

"Ja!"

"Sicherlich, Feldwebel!"

The two understood that perfectly.

"Alright they're going to inspect the town now. Let's move through the shadows… quietly," Luna whispered. Phaze nodded and the two slipped further into the shadows. Rifles clutched closely to their bodies, the stacked the walls and perfectly moved in silence. Luna would give hand signals when Patrols of soldiers would run by and scan things; often times they would have to make fast but quiet evasive maneuvers. This process continued for a good half an hour… probably even more time than that, they figured. However, at one point they weren't so lucky:

Luna motioned for the two of them to slip into an alleyway when a soldier came around the corner and spotted one of their feet enter the shadows.

"Hey! Stoppen Sie!" the soldier shouted, raising his rifle. It was a stroke of luck that he was alone. Right now, he ordered the mysterious person (he only saw one of the feet enter the shadows) to halt. Luna and Phaze froze on the spot with fear stricken across each other's face. They looked at each other and subtly communicated something.

"Kommen Sie ins Licht, jetzt!" The soldier barked out, demanding that they come into the light. If they escaped, the soldier would definitely raise the alarm. Phaze disappeared back into the shadows and Luna decided to answer back as innocently as possible.

"Bitte! Abschiessen mich nicht!" Luna 'begged' very convincingly for the soldier not to shoot her, removing her helmet and mask in the shadows and only revealing her face to the light. Had the soldier seen her combat clad body that would have caused a few complications. Upon the Greifen soldier seeing the beautiful face of a girl, his stern demeanor calmed down only slightly.

"Es gibt ein Ausgangssperre! Wo gehen Sie?" he asked, informing her harshly that there was a curfew and inquiring where she was headed. He lowered his weapon but Luna was wondering where the hell Phaze was.

"Nur nach hause…" she answered meekly, saying that she was only going home. Right when the soldier was about to respond, a black clad hand emerged from the shadows, covered his mouth, and dragged him into said shadows. The soldier screamed in fright through Phaze's hand before he cracked his neck… not enough to kill him but knock him out good. He came through for Luna, so she couldn't argue that.

"And here I thought you would let me get shot by him…" Luna said sarcastically.

"Have you that little faith in me?" he asked, mock offended.

"Quite possibly," she responded in kind. He only smirked playfully in return. Their little banter was cut short when a voice emanated from the downed soldiers waist: his radio.

"Heinrich, was geht? Ich habe Sie schreien gehört," the voice on the other end of the radio called in, saying that they had heard yelling. Luna and Phaze looked at each other concernedly and Phaze reacted immediately, picking up the radio.

"Ja, alles ist gut. War nur eine Katze," Phaze replied into it, masking his voice as much as possible and saying that it was only a cat.

"Haha arschloch! Sehr gut. Achtgeben Sie, ja?" the other voice replied humorously, telling 'Heinrich' to take care of himself.

"Sicherlich," Phaze said once more before dropping the radio. He and Luna then moved the body deep into the alleyway.

"That ought to buy us some breathing room. Where to?" Phaze asked. Right when Luna was about to answer, another transmission came from the body's radio, one that was calling all units:

"Alle soldaten, Der Statd ist frei. Der Konvoi ist auf ihrem Weg. Umgruppieren sic h im Stadtmitte. Aus."

"That sounded like the leader. Sounds like the convoy is on its way now and they're regrouping at the town square. Let us move to the highway," Luna said. Phaze followed suit as they made haste in the shadows towards the town limits where the highway was located, using the shadows to evade the Greifen patrols. Phaze had to admit that this was quite a bit more demanding yet exciting than standard special forces missions. He was happy with the decision so far, unless they got killed. Then he wouldn't be too pleased.

Soon, the two made it out of the town and waited low near the large highway. Neither Phaze nor Luna said anything to each other for several minutes until Phaze spoke up:

"How guarded do you suspect the equipment is?" he asked.

"Fairly. I suspect a few fire-teams and elite troops along with APCs. Something along those lines would be reasonable," Luna replied back. A low rumbling was heard and they turned their attention up the road. There was a rather large transport truck with about a dozen troops marching on either side of it. What drew Luna's attention more were the two tanks driving in front and in back of the transport.

"… or they could have two medium tanks as well. That complicates things quite a bit," Luna said, deeply concerned with the developments. She had her thinking face on.

"Well, I don't think we will last particularly long against those armored beasts. Got a plan?" Phaze asked. The convoy was about a quarter of a mile up the highway and approaching quickly. Luna was running through scenarios in her head rather quickly before she came up with something solid:

"Lay low until they pass. Maybe we can persuade them to let us commandeer the rear tank. Then we'll have a bit of a chance," Luna formulated. Phaze shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. On your signal…"

The two lay prone deep in the grass outside of the highway. The rumbling became louder and louder until it passed right in front of them, the soldiers scanning lazily around the horizon and barking commands to each other. Soon enough, the rear tank passed and it was time to put their plan in motion.

"Very well, let us move… carefully," Luna said softly. Phaze followed close behind her as they quickly caught up to the rear of the rear tank, using the enormous sound of the armored vehicles to cover their footsteps. The pair walked low behind the tank as Luna flashed some signals to him. He nodded and they proceeded to climb on top of the tank quietly. Luna stealthily climbed to the turret, finding a tank commander lounging out of the entrance. She silently slipped in behind him, slipped a hand over his mouth and contorted his head in an unnatural direction. In all honesty that probably killed him. She then lifted his body out of the hull and let it fall to the ground behind them. With no more obstruction into the tank itself, Luna beckoned Phaze up to the entrance. He climbed up and the two slipped inside, finding the driver and gunner at work with headphones on, communicating to each other. It was a wonder that they didn't hear the commander get dispatched, for Luna had completely forgotten about the other crew. Inside the tank, Luna made a hand signal towards the gunner and Phaze nodded. He made his way over silently and slipped an arm around his neck, cracking it violently before yanking the now lifeless body out of the seat. The driver had noticed this, this time and was about to react when he heard the distinct 'click' of a weapon arming. He turned and saw Luna, face covered by black face mask and reflective blue visor, aiming a pistol right at his face.

"Fahren Sie weiter," Luna calmly ordered him to keep driving. The driver gulped hard in fear and nodded, continuing his calm speed behind the target transport.

"Wenn Sie versuchen jemand zu kontaktieren, werde Ich ihr Gehirn überall verspritzen," Luna said very venomously, warning him that she would 'splatter his brains everywhere' if he attempted to warn anyone else. This made him even more apprehensive and he complied flawlessly, removing his headset for good measure and handing it to Luna.

"Phaze, how doth it look out there?" she asked, pistol still aimed to the back of his head and not taking her eyes off of him.

"They don't know anything is different, so we're in the clear for now. But as you know, we can't stay here forever," Phaze informed. Luna nodded.

"Indeed. We must stop the vehicle though… we can shoot its treads out and deal with the infantry around it. When that is taken care of, we finish off the front tank, get the equipment, and leave with haste."

"Very well then. The gun is armed, so on your signal!" Phaze announced. Luna peered out one more time before reaching over and cracking the neck of the driver, knocking him out. This forced the tank to an immediate stop.

"Do it."

Without any word, Phaze pulled a trigger and the tank's main gun went off, completely obliterating the rear end of the armored transport and dismembering its tracks. It was now immobile. However, the enormous blast got the attention of the other troops and tank, considering many of the other soldiers were maimed by the explosion.

"Der Panzer!" one of the soldier shouted before Phaze activated the tank's coaxial gun, mowing down the other troops in the area in an enormous volume of fire. They didn't stand a chance. From the other side of the immobile transport, the other tank peeked its hull and turret out towards them.

"Target acquired," Phaze announced, the main gun armed.

"Fire!" Luna ordered. Phaze pulled the trigger again and the other Greifen tank exploded in a hail of fire and shrapnel. With that, all immediate threats had been neutralized.

"Let's get out of the tank and retrieve the dampener," Luna said. The two exited the tank and jumped down towards the maimed rear doors, stepping over several bodies and having to move them out of the way. The two then pulled on the rear doors simultaneously, forcing it off of its hinges since it was already damaged. Inside was a wooden box, and only a wooden box. Luna went inside and pried it open with her spade, revealing a large glass object with cylindrical connectors on the outside which were not attached to anything. Inside the glass sphere was some material that was coursing with electrical and anti-magic. Oh yes, they most definitely found the dampener. Once Luna touched it to pick it up, her magic ability went away immediately. This took her by surprise and she dropped the object in the box again, her magic returning to her. When she got close again, her feeling of magical presence went away again. No doubt in her mind, they got what they came for. She picked it up and placed it gingerly in a knapsack on her back.

"Excellent! We found it. Let's get out of here and call for evactuation," Luna stated. Phaze was about to reply when they heard loud shouts coming from behind them. They turned to examine and found a large amount of troops converging on their position from behind them on the highway. The two's eyes widened at the realization that they would be surrounded soon.

"Well, no sense in standing here. Let us move!" Luna shouted and the two made their way back to the tank. Right as they reached it the tank exploded in a ball of fire and shrapnel, forcing them backwards onto the ground. Coming out of their daze, they found mortar team in the hills getting ready to fire at them again.

"Phaze! The forest periphery is naught two miles from here, we must move now! Cut through the southern edge of the town!" Luna yelled and the two made a dash for it. Luna sprinted ahead and ran into the safety of the streets between the buildings. Phaze followed close, firing his weapon behind him to help cover their escape. They then heard other soldiers making their way closer to them.

"Shit! Princess, we forgot about the soldiers already in the town!"

"Very well, we are going to have to fight our way out once more!" Luna commented back, checking her rifle. Due to the urban environment, Phaze swapped out for his submachine gun. He heard footsteps coming behind them.

"Luna, move up ahead, I'll cover our back and catch up!"

"Don't do anything stupid," Luna commented before nodding and jogging up ahead. Phaze turned around and knelt in the shadows, aiming his weapon towards the corner. The first Greifen solder ran out from the cover of the building and Phaze pulled his trigger, mowing down the first solder before a second one came out, him repeating the process. A third soldier attempted to just peek out and return fire, but Phaze shot him in the face.

"Offizier am boden!" a soldier shouted.

"Wir brauchen ein Sanitäter!" another called for a medic.

Phaze decided to take his leave and sprint after Luna, he eventually caught up with her, finding her in a firefight against a few entrenched Greifen troops which were blocking the exit to the town. Luna turned to find him jogging towards her, she almost looked happy to see him… almost. He hunkered down next to her and, with renewed resolve, Luna got out from cover and returned fire with him, striking one of the enemy troops in the helmet.

"We need to break out… now!" Phaze said out loud as he reloaded.

"Do you not think I am aware of that?! Or maybe you did not see the line of troops across from us—"

"Granate!"

Luna was cut off when a stick grenade landed in between the both of them. Luna's eyes widened enormously. With instant thinking, Phaze picked it up and cocked his arm back.

"Nein, Danke!" Phaze shouted before tossing the grenade back at the line. It exploded in a hail of shrapnel, violently dealing with many of the enemy troops, if the screams of agony were anything to go by.

"That should do it! Let's go!" Phaze said to Luna before he sprinted towards the new opening. Luna followed suit. They made it out of the town and were heading towards a hill where the forest periphery was coming up when Luna shouted:

"Phaze! Watch out!"

Phaze turned around before his hearing cut out and he was forcefully flung several feet from his position, landing hard on his back. Dirt and gravel rained down on him, his ears were ringing, and his vision blurred. Soon… it faded into blackness.

After an undetermined amount of time, Phaze came to, his vision still blurred and his ears still ringing. He realized that he ran out in the open once they cleared the blockade from the exit of the town. That was stupid, so Luna probably left him behind. He felt that that was adequate. He almost got the two of them killed by… whatever hit him. However, he felt himself moving and it wasn't by his own volition. As his hearing cleared up and his vision became clearer, he was able to determine that he was being dragged, some scattered gunfire was going off, along with an occasional explosion. He looked up and found Luna dragging him through the grass and dirt. He looked up at her, still in bewilderment from coming to (which he realized that he wasn't knocked out for even two minutes) and she looked at him.

"Did I not tell thee… that I would not drag thy… sorry ass out of danger due to your own… stupidity?" Luna said to him through her pants; obviously she had been moving him for quite some time. She dropped him suddenly to lift her rifle and return fire for a couple seconds before picking his upper torso back up again and continuing to drag him backwards.

"What… What the hell happened?!" Phaze finally asked, getting his senses straight.

"Thou ran out in the open without care and nearly got blown to pieces by a mortar shell. You are lucky that the blast radius only caught thee. Can you move?" Luna asked. Phaze got to his feet fine by his standards but he felt a little dizzy. Once his vertigo subsided he grabbed his weapon and nodded.

"Is the dampener safe?" he asked. Luna patted the knapsack and nodded.

"Indeed. I still cannot cast magic either. Let us continue before the mortar team gets a beat on us. I have a feeling the Greifens may have sent more troops and even scrambled aircraft," Luna said. The two then continued over the hill. Once the hill was crested, the forest periphery would be just after it. Once they crossed said periphery, they could safely call for extraction. However, things tend to not go according to plan.

As soon as they reached the peak of the hill, thus leaving the town behind, they had the misfortune of spying a small group of elite troops scrambling to meet them.

"Looks like we're not out of this yet," Phaze remarked before swapping out for his rifle. Having the advantage of height, the two were able to turn their rifles down towards the small valley, effectively cutting down many of the preliminary advancing troops. However, something caught Luna's attention from behind. Oh yeah, that's right. The town was behind them, which was now crawling with forces who were advancing on them as well.

"Keep them busy to our front!" Luna shouted. This was a bit difficult since there was no cover to be had. Luna turned her rifle the other way and fired down the hill, only for the volume of fire to be returned to her three fold.

"Princess! Help me clear the front, it's our only chance!" he shouted, nearly panicked as bullets and projectiles were whizzing past them and striking the ground before their feet. Yes, that could work. If they could quickly be rid of the Greifen troops in front of them, Luna could call for immediate extraction on the outside of the periphery. Luna nodded and turned away from the larger advancing force from the rear and concentrated fire on the front. The Greifen elites fell quickly with their lack of cover and high ground, the green grass beneath them being stained with their bodies and blood.

"Exfil, this is Luna. We have the device and our almost to our destination, requesting immediate extraction!" Luna screamed into a radio while Phaze mopped up the last troops in front of them.

"Copy that, Princess. We are headed to the designated pickup, ready for immediate takeoff. Over and out."

"Very well! We're all ready, let us—"

"PRINCESS!" Phaze shouted. Luna turned towards their rear, to which she was not paying attention, and found another tank looking right at them.

"AAAAH!"

In the same instant her sense of gravity was completely destroyed as she flew backward through the air, hitting the hill hard and rolling down the hill, landing completely still. She couldn't hear nor see anything through her own vision as it became more cloudy… eventually blacking out with a final moan of pain.

Luna slowly and groggily opened her eyes and raised her hand to her face, which was covered by her mask as well as in dirt and grass. She felt as if she was being moved involuntarily. She looked back saw Phaze dragging her backwards.

"Well, I can safely say that I didn't expect to have to drag your ass to safety," Phaze said as he dragged her limp body into the obscurity of the forest. Her first instinct, as brain function slowly returned to her, was to check the magic dampener. With a stroke of luck, it was safe, save for a tiny scratch on the spherical glass.

"Ugh… My head…" she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Are you alright? Can you move your legs?"

"Uuy-ayy… yeh!" Luna said, struggling to form a coherent sentence. Phaze kept her covered as she attempted to stabilize herself and get to her feet.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Luna screamed as she put weight on her left leg, she buckled and fell to the ground in agony. Phaze fired several rounds towards the hill, which was starting to be crested by Greifen troops, before turning towards Luna's downed form.

"I… I can't put weight on my left leg! Fuck! This is excruciatingly painful!" Luna cried out, pain clearly evident in her voice as she gripped her upper thigh. Phaze knelt down next to her to assess the damage.

"Damnit… and evacuation will arrive momentarily. If something happens to them, we are the 'fucked.'" Luna remarked. At that moment, Phaze felt he had little choice.

"Forgive me Princess, but this must be done," he stated. Before she could even react, he shoved his arms under her legs and her back, picking her up bridal style. She gasped audibly from the startling sensation of it, as well as the sudden change in weight distribution hurting her leg.

"I'm sorry once again, Princess, but with all due respect… deal with it. We're almost there," he replied back as he bounded through the small patch of forest, carrying the wounded princess while she held onto him for dear life. It sounded like the Greifens made it to the forest as well, for bullets were starting to strike trees next to them and audible commands could be heard. With one final set and jump, Phaze landed outside of the periphery with the Princess still in his harms. True to their word, the large advanced stealth-evac chariot was there waiting for them with two ESF troops standing guard. They urged the two of them in before looking out once more towards the periphery; closing the hatch then and climbing inside. Soon enough, the chariot lifted off and they were airborne, away from combat and headed home. Phaze was able to make out stealth aircraft flying in formation next to the chariot, escorting them back to Canterlot.

He gingerly went to the longest bench and laid Luna down, slowly letting her support herself on the chair. Getting a good look at her now that they were safe with masks off, he was able to see her tear stained cheeks and her face itself: dirty and grimy with sweat, nature, and a few cuts. He helped her remove some of her gear and place it aside. He then reached for her thigh to examine it, but Luna slapped his hand away hard.

"What dost thou think you are doing?" she asked harshly.

"I'm examining your wound. You know, the reason you can't walk?" Phaze said, his ability to tolerate her stubbornness wearing thin.

"I can heal it myself."

"Really now? You can heal it when you can't even cast simple spells due to that magic dampener that's sitting next to you?" he replied irritably .

"Thy sarcastic attitude is not appreciated in the slightest, Phaze," Luna said. That did it for him.

"My sarcastic attitude?! Have you listened to yourself talk for the past several hours? All you have really done for the majority of the time you have spoken to me is treat me like a child and degrade me every step of the way. I can ignore it when we're in battle or just trekking, but not now. Not when you have an injury that needs tending to and no magic is available. So how about you put aside your fucking pride and disdain for me for two fucking minutes and let me help you!" he replied angrily, finally snapping. Luna's eyes widened at his outburst, but more so at the meaning behind it. She hid her eyes behind her hair and lowered her head. She visibly eased up and allowed Phaze to examine her.

Without another word, Phaze removed the plate on her thigh and examined it. There was a laceration about six inches above her kneecap which was still bleeding, albeit not profusely. He prodded it and opened it slightly (much to Luna's dismay, due to the pain) and found a piece of shrapnel embedded inside. He retrieved one of his medical kids and pulled out some gauze, alcohol, tweezers, and a scalpel just in case.

"You have a shrapnel wound and it needs to come out now. This will hurt," he said in a softer tone. Luna didn't reply back, already accepting that statement wordlessly. Phaze cut away at the uniform around the cut and doused the area with alcohol. Luna grunted and almost growled at this measure but it was necessary. Phaze then opened the wound and stuck the tweezers inside of it, catching on to the thick piece of shrapnel. He then slowly pulled it out, but its sharp edges dug into Luna's thigh meat the entire way out, forcing involuntary screams and contortions through her teeth. Finally, the offending object was removed and properly disposed of (by flinging it against the back of the hatch). Phaze irrigated her wound with a little disinfectant and water before using a specialty numbing ointment. Then he began to stitch her up slowly. Luna gazed at his nigh flawless work the entire time. Phaze felt her penetrating stare.

"When I was first inducted into the ESF I wanted to be a field medic. I went through all the training and what not until we got to combat training. They felt me more suitable as a designated marksman as opposed to a medic. The knowledge is still good to have on hand I suppose."

Luna didn't respond as she was still caught up in her thoughts, registering everything he was telling her. He finally finished the stitching job and he wrapped that portion of her thigh with gauze, culminating the entire procedure. He looked up at her, their eyes meeting for a split second before he nodded to her; deciding to retire to the other bench and lay down.

Luna watched him go before her gaze flicked back to her now dressed wound. It already felt infinitely better to her. Still, something was bothering her.

Have I really been that insufferable towards him?

She cast her gaze towards his form, eyes closed and helmet being used as a makeshift pillow. A sense of guilt wracked her features.

In my stubbornness, I let my bitterness and pride get the better of me. He saved me too. Looking back, there really was not a proper way I would have been able to achieve this particular mission alone…

The remainder of the ride went smoothly as they made it back into Equestrian territory. When they arrived at the Chariot landing pad at the palace with barely an hour until the sun was supposed to rise, there were several military officers and ECIB officials there to greet them. When the hatch dropped, Phaze was walking out with Luna using his shoulders to support herself. When they saw that she was wounded, medical staff immediately went on the scene and put her in a wheelchair in order to take her to the infirmary. Before she left though, she gave the dampener to the ECIB officials who scrambled back to the department immediately.

She cast one look towards Phaze, who was seeing her off, before disappearing into the corridors with the medical staff. Phaze sighed once more in exhaustion and was going to retire back to his own quarters, when he got a sight of Celestia. She had apparently come to see them home as well and found her smiling at him from a distance. He wasn't sure, but he thought she had a look of gratitude about her. He couldn't help but smile back and nod respectfully with a light bow before he returned to his ESF quarters for some much deserved rest.

The next day went off without a hitch, especially for Phaze, who slept until about four in the afternoon. He made himself presentable and went to the dining halls to eat a late lunch/early dinner before doing his normal drills and training. Due to his new 'schedule,' his other regiments worked around his time, which was a beautiful thing for him. After several hours of his own routine, he cast his eyes to a clock and found it was nearly seven in the evening once more, the sun starting to dip low in the horizon. Still tired anyway, he thought that he might retire early.

Phaze made his way to his quarters and shut the door. ESF troops were rather few in number and were thus given a bit more entitlement in terms of rooming, especially those who were stationed in Canterlot Castle proper. It wasn't an enormous room, but it was definitely a step up from Army barracks, anyone could agree to that.

As Phaze sat down on his bed, there was a firm knock at his door. He was still tired and not in the mood to see any guests at the moment so he contemplated ignoring it. However, he didn't want to take the chance of blatantly ignoring a superior officer if he was needed. He begrudgingly walked to the door and opened it, surprise gracing his features as he found Princess Luna standing there looking… rather meek.

"Good evening, Phaze," she said softly, finally making eye contact with him.

"To you as well, Princess. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, still somewhat intrigued that she would pay him a visit.

"Indeed. There is something I must tell thee. May I come in?" she asked. He nodded and she entered. He sat on the bed and beckoned her to make herself comfortable. Luna opted for sitting on the bed also, albeit at a respectable distance away.

"If I may inquire, what's on your mind?" He asked. Luna averted her gaze a bit, her teal blue eyes overflowing with thought. She furrowed her lips a bit before sighing audibly.

"Hear me, Phaze. There's a couple of things I wanted to tell you," she began. She looked to him and he nodded in confirmation.

"First, I wanted to say thank you… for, dragging me and rescuing me back there from nigh certain death… and patching me up," Luna began; she didn't know what else to add to that.

"Might I remind you that it was you who dragged me out of harm's way for my foolishness first. Consider it, returning the favor. And patching you up? Well, I'd be a bad medic if I didn't do my job, especially for my Princess," he said with a happy attitude, mustering a smile for her. She reciprocated before looking depressed again.

"Also, I would like to… apologize. I've been terrible to you. Pushing you around, degrading you, and treating you like a little child when you are clearly capable of holding your own in a fight. In the end, it was me who suffered the worst because of my own actions. You were, and are, an excellent partner to me, you've proved that. I'd like to see you as that and…" she caught her breath and sighed again.

"…maybe even a friend. You have treated me more like one than most others and I've only demonstrated pure wenchery towards you. I humbly ask for… y-your forgiveness…" she completed her heartfelt apology. Phaze, to be completely honest, was deeply moved. He figured it must have taken her an enormous amount of effort to do this.

"Of course I accept, Princess…" he replied sincerely.

"Please… call me Luna, alright?" she asked, finally mustering a nice smile for him, feeling like an enormous weight was lifted off of her shoulders. He nodded in return.

"Very well then, Luna."

"Excellent, and once again, thank you… my friend," she almost struggled to say for some reason, Maybe it was still a bit new to her. He once again, nodded wordlessly.

"Well, I must be off visiting my good friend Twilight again. Until next time, Phaze," she said, getting up and walking to the door. She gave him one more friendly smile.

"Until then, Luna. See you soon," he replied once more. With that, she closed the door, leaving him to his thoughts. He sighed in relief as he laid his head on his pillows.

Well, fighting along-side a friend is infinitely better than fighting along-side a 'superior.'

His final thoughts etched in his brain, Phaze allowed sleep to take him once more, pulling him into a quiet, peaceful, and worry-less slumber.

Next Chapter: 5: Bonding and Admission Estimated time remaining: 59 Minutes