“Y'know, you really could join track or something!” Rainbow Dash said over her shoulder. “You're a great runner!”

Sunset tried to smile through the pain in her lungs, gasping for the breath to talk. “Why... haven't... you?”

This second mile was really taking its toll on her. She found herself wondering how she had been so easily convinced to join her on her daily runs, when Rainbow Dash was clearly in much better shape than she ever expected to be.

“Meh. I like more direct competition. Soccer and tennis are my thing.” Dash turned back around and made the turn for Canterlot High, slowing to a brisk walk to the girls' lockers. The two quickly showered and changed into their daywear, Rainbow Dash stuffing her old clothes into a locker, and Sunset Shimmer neatly tying hers into a plastic grocery bag to be washed later without stinking up her school things.

“Thanks for running with me. Really,” Dash said as they walked out. “Used to go with Gilda, but...”

“Yeah.” Sunset had heard. Miss Gilda Grifont had dropped out early last year. Rainbow Dash had taken the news rather personally, having been good friends with her. “I'm sure you can catch up. I mean, you got along with me, you can make up with her just fine.”

“Yeah... What time is it?” Rainbow Dash looked at her wrist as if expecting a watch to materialize there. Sunset glanced up at the school clock pointedly: 6:40. School wouldn't start for another two hours. “We got a bit. Hey, wanna swing by Pinkie's place? Maybe she'll feed us!”

Sunset nodded, somewhat reluctantly. She felt awkward around more than one of the girls; the bond they shared was tangible.

Rainbow Dash skipped ahead down the block, clearly not tired in the slightest after their run, and made it to the Pie residence well in front of Sunset, impatiently tapping her foot. Sounds coming from within the house piqued her interest as they walked up the driveway to the garage. It sounded startlingly like a war zone. The girls looked at each other as they heard the tinny report of machine-gun clatter and Pinkie's voice shouting incomprehensible battle-cries from inside.

“Maybe she's... playing video games?” Sunset suggested. Dash shook her head.

“Pinkie only has a handheld. Must be a movie. Come on!” Rainbow stepped around the corner of the house to the garage's' side door and opened it.

Inside, there was indeed a movie playing (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Commando” if Sunset was not mistaken), but the better spectacle was Pinkie herself. Wearing a pair of baggy camouflaged pants, her bra, and a red ribbon as a headband, she was dramatically reenacting the current battle scene on the tiny television set up against the garage door, yelling at the top of her lungs.

And toting a very large machine gun.

“YA! GET TO DA CHOPPA! CHU-CHU-CHU-CHU-CHUH! CHU-CHU-CHUH!” the heroine of her own little world mimed while firing wildly, then turned and rolled towards where Dash and Sunset were standing, firing again. “CHU-CHU-chuh... chuh chuh... uhh.... Hi there...”

Sunset let her mouth stay open as she glanced over the rest of the garage. A variety of pistols and rifles, most with orange plastic tips on the barrels, were littered on the floor amongst Pinkie's usual collection of comfy sitting pillows. She had pretty much taken over the garage with her own personal style, several rows of streamers had been pinned to the roof, and a portable sink and the TV stand were blocking the carport door from opening.

Pinkie herself was kneeling on the floor, looking like a deer caught in the headlights as she slowly set down the machine gun.

“Umm, I can totally explain-” she started, her usual bounciness left behind for the moment. Rainbow Dash was having none of it.

“THAT THING IS AWESOME! Where'd you get it!? Does it work!?” She leapt into the room, dropping to the floor to look at the weapon. Pinkie perked up instantly as she realized Dash was on her wavelength.

“I got all of them at a yard sale for like, fifty bucks! This one's called an M-60, and I can't figure out how it works. They’re all air-pellet guns, they sold me a bucket of these too!” Pinkie held up a three-liter jar of colorful plastic pellets. Sunset knelt down and picked up one of the handguns, examining it, careful not to touch the trigger.

“I've heard of these!” Dash was getting more excited by the second. “People play wargames with these. They form teams, then go and shoot each other! It's like playing army but you actually know if you got hit, I heard the pellets really can sting! Awesome!” she repeated, hefting the M60 and aiming it around the room.

Sunset finished her examination of the pistol, pointed it at the wall and pulling the trigger. With a snap, a pellet flew out, bounced off the wall, and hit Rainbow Dash in the thigh, who leapt into the air in surprise, dropping the machine gun. Sunset gasped, fumbling the safety on and running over. “Oh my gosh! Are you ok?”

Dash nodded, slightly shaken. “Yeah. Just surprised me. Didn't hurt.”

Sunset slowly put down the handgun. “Ok. New rule. Nobody plays with these things unless everyone has eye protection, and not until we learn how they work.”

“Okie-dokie-loki! I mean, I had no idea any of them were loaded! That's scary!” Pinkie nodded vigorously.

“I'll help you figure out how they all work, if you want, Pinkie. They seem like they could be fun, even if just for target shooting. I mean, if you want to.” Sunset said, surprising herself. Maybe this whole friendship thing was finally rubbing off on her.

Pinkie's joyous gasp and hug sealed the deal.

Sunset opened a new tab in her laptop's browser, absorbing more information at a glance as she poured over the article. She completely failed to notice anyone coming up behind her in the quiet library.

“Darling, what are you reading?” came Rarity's cultured voice from directly over her shoulder.

Sunset Shimmer had to stomp on her old instinct to turn and shame the fashionista for startling her, but she caught herself in time, taking a deep, controlled breath, and turned the screen so she could see more clearly.

“Pinkie Pie just bought a whole truckload of pellet guns, and I offered to help her figure out how they work, and make sure they're safe. I found out at least one of them was loaded the scary way. Want to help? Me and Rainbow Dash are going back to Pinkie's after school to sort through them,” Sunset explained.

“Certainly, I'll help, but what in goodness’ sake is Pinkie going to do with Airsoft guns? She never really struck me as the type,” Rarity mused. Sunset snickered and told her the events of that morning in full.

“Really? How many of the things did she get?” Rarity giggled, probably imagining Pinkie's Schwarzenegger impersonation.

Sunset shrugged, closing her laptop. “I have no idea, at least ten, I'm going to catalogue them all tonight, and try and organize them so we can figure out what is what.” The class bell rang, and the two got up. “Thanks for offering to help.”

“Anytime. I think it’s wonderful that you’re helping as well!” Rarity beamed.

Sunset felt an unpleasant stirring in her gut and got snippy before she could stop herself. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Rarity blinked, going even paler than usual. “Well, um, just that. It’s a good thing that you are going out of your way to help somebody.”

Sunset snorted, stuffing her things roughly into her bag. Rarity put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sunset, dear, I didn’t mean to offend you. It was a compliment. You don’t just become ‘good’ overnight,” she soothed. Sunset knocked her hand away, standing up.

“And that is what this is about. Rainbow used to do the same thing, point out every little good deed I do to try and prove ‘yay, Sunset, you can be a nice girl too!’” Sunset rounded on the fashionista. “Because guess what? I can become good overnight. I learned the power of friendship. It literally hit me like a train, put me in a crater in the school grounds, and I realized that I was after the wrong power for my whole life. Now all I need is for people to stop treating me like a walking bomb that needs to be babied every day!”

Rarity bumped into the bookshelf behind her, and Sunset noticed she had been advancing. She felt heat rise in her cheeks as she stepped back, aghast, and turned away, marching quickly from the library. If there is a god in this world, can he please give me a kick up my flank before I ruin my own point in the same sentence I make it? Pretty please? What is wrong with me?

Sunset turned down several halls without really looking where she was going, then stopped and leaned back against a locker and let the crowd pass by, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. The crowd passed by, ignoring her.

“ 'Parden. That's my locker.”

Sunset started, looking up to see Applejack standing expectantly in front of her with an unamused expression on her face. Sunset jumped aside, quickly trying to rub her face with her sleeve as the door was popped open.

“Somethin’ the matter?” Applejack asked, through the locker door between them.

“N-no. Thank you for asking,” Sunset said robotically.

“Anytime.”

Struck by an idea, Sunset leaned around the locker door. “Hey, Applejack, I don't know if Rainbow or Pinkie told you yet-”

Applejack nodded, closing the door and snapping the padlock shut. “About them BB gun-things? Yeah, RD wouldn't shut up about them until Principal Celestia pulled her aside to check that she ain't talking about real guns. What about 'em?”

Sunset nodded, that sounded like Rainbow Dash. “I was going back to Pinkie's after school to sort them out. Just wanted to know if you wanted to come along.”

“No, thank you. I have work t'do.” Applejack responded, just as deadpan as Sunset had.

“Oh. Ok. See you later, then.” Sunset nodded, turning and trying to swallow a lump in her throat. Somehow, out of all of them, Applejack was still the hardest to talk to, even more so than Fluttershy.

Last-period Calculus went by smoothly, most of the class Sunset spent reading more about how the various types of pellet-gun worked. The closer the class got to finishing, however, the more excited she found herself getting to leave and go apply what she was learning. As much as she wanted to do this to become better friends with Pinkie, she was starting to want to try the replica weapons herself, making a list of all the things they would need to get them started. The bell rang, and Sunset Shimmer practically flew out of her chair, pulling out her cell and dialing Pinkie Pie as she went.

“Hellooooo!” Pinkie sang as she picked up.

“Hi, Sunset Shimmer here. I gotta go downtown and pick up some things. Just don't touch any of the-" Sunset looked cautiously before continuing, "-the Things until I get there, and don't let Rainbow Dash touch them either. Rarity, uh, might be coming to. I'll see you in a bit.”

“Wow, Rares too?! This is awesome! I'll invite Fluttershy and AJ, we'll have a sleepover!”

“I just ran into Applejack, she said she's... busy. Later.” Sunset told her.

“Awww…. Ok! Later!”

Sunset hung up and jogged to her car, speeding off to the hobby shop downtown and was gratified not only to find everything on her list, but that the shop itself sold and rented pellet guns and all the accessories. Less than an hour later, she was pulling into the the driveway of the Pie house and unloading a large cardboard box full of supplies. The garage door rolled up as she hauled it closer.

“Hey Sunny! Whatcha got there? Huh?” Pinkie bounced out to meet her, catching the other end of the box and helping her maneuver it inside. Sunset was gratified to see that all of the guns were still pushed up against the far wall like they had left them.

“Everything we need. I hope. Let's get started.” Sunset pulled a pillow underneath her and sat down.

“Yeah, what are we doing?” Rainbow Dash and Rarity walked in from the door to the house itself, carrying a pitcher of iced tea and a stack of glasses.

“Organizing these, and making sure everyone who wants to use them knows how they work. Safety first!” Sunset reached into the box and pulled out a handful of protective glasses. “Put these on anytime someone is handling these. I tried to get colors you might like, plus a few extra.”

“Sweet!” Dash slid on the blue glasses, then sat down cross-legged next to Sunset. Pinkie giggled as she grabbed the pink pair.

Rarity hesitated as she took the violet set. “Sunset, I'm sorry about-”

“Don't be,” Sunset cut her off, knowing where this was going. She really didn’t want to embarrass herself again. “I really overreacted, don't worry about it. Seriously.”

“If you're sure… but you did make a good point.” Rarity left it at that and put on her glasses, carefully kneeling on a pillow. Sunset slid on her own crimson pair with a grateful look.

“Thank you, Rarity. Ok!” She clapped her hands, then picked up one of the handguns she had researched, a black, angular piece with black plastic grips and a metal slide emblazoned with “S&W Sigma” along one side. There were three others like it, so she figured they would be a good place to start.

“Ok, this is the licensed Smith & Wesson model, and it looks like the original owner was a fan. The magazine release is here.” Sunset pushed the button on the grip, and the metal magazine slid out. She examined it and pointed out where the pellets went. “This one holds twenty-six shots, and under here...” She wiggled off the rubber cover on the bottom to reveal a hidden valve. “...is where the propane goes.”

“P-PROPANE!?” Rarity gasped.

“Relax, I'm sure it’s safe. Right?” Rainbow asked. Sunset shrugged.

“Well, it’s not straight propane. It's a mix they call 'green gas,' I bought a canister. Give it here, carefully, please.” Rainbow Dash handed the large canister of pressurized chemicals over, and Sunset looked over her shoulder to check that the garage door was open enough to prevent fumes. She took the bottle and mated the two valves, pressing them together with a small hiss of escaped air, then pulled them apart when the whisper of flowing gas stopped. “According to the manufacturer, that should be enough for two full reloads, but some forums say more. Now we pull the magazine spring down and drop pellets in the top. Simple as that.”

A minute later, she had filled the magazine, the other girls all leaning over her shoulders. Checking one last time that everything was where it belonged and looked clean, she slid the magazine into the grip, pulled back the slide, and let go. It snapped forward with a satisfying clack.

Sunset looked around at the girls, all of them sharing the feeling that they really might be doing something dangerous. “It either works or it doesn't. Here we go.” Sunset took aim at a cardboard box full of old newspapers and pulled the trigger, musing that the third option was that it exploded in her hand.

With a mechanical “pop!” of gas, the handgun spat out a pellet and its slide jerked back, poking a tiny hole in the side of the box. Dash gave a whoop of victory and Rarity and Pinkie clapped. Sunset unloaded the pistol, setting it down. “Ok. Your turns!”

“What?” Dash balked. Sunset picked up the other three identical handguns, handing one to each of them, and divvied up the magazines.

“So you know how it works, and can take care of it. Unload it, recharge the gas, load the pellets, and check that the gun is all clean. I'll walk you through it!”

A few minutes later she turned away, going about setting up three paper targets on the plastic stands she had bought. The girls were merrily going about filling the ten magazines that fit the Sigmas, so Sunset set about disarming all of the other guns and organizing them into boxes.

There were two sleek-looking electric M16 rifles, one of which had an adjustable stock and mounting rails along the top and all around the barrel, the other an older-looking design with the sights and carry-handle built together. Another pistol, larger than the others, had a bulky flashlight and suppressor screwed onto the end, along with a much smaller handgun that may have been the one she shot Rainbow with, and a revolver made with a real wood grip that hid a gas canister, which Sunset removed. There was one long-barreled bolt-action rifle with a scope, the underside of which had clearly been modified with custom plastic parts to fit a pistol-like magazine. Next was a lightweight electric design with a folding stock, modeled on an MP5 submachine gun, but with a much thicker, bulkier barrel that may have been designed to look like an integrated suppressor. Sunset noted its magazines had large internal reservoirs that led into a forty-shot hand-wound feed, and most of the other rifle magazines did as well. The M60 was easy enough to empty the simple tank that held pellets disguised as an ammo box, and she quickly found how to replace the batteries with the new ones.

Finally, Sunset picked up the last rifle as the girls finished loading their handguns and started an impromptu competition, the pop-pop of the gas guns and laughter at their marksmanship filling the garage. Sunset ignored them for the moment, something had caught her attention about this particular item. It seemed... more.

The stocks and barrel-handguard where solid wood, and the barrel and most of the casing seemed to be metal as well, making the rifle much heavier than the others. The design was clearly based on some kind of Warsaddle Pact weapon, a short-barreled AK with an stamped steel body. She removed the magazine, finding it held a gas cartridge, and pulled back the slide. To her disgust, a pair of small plastic parts fell out if the bottom of where the magazine went. Ponyfeathers, she swore to herself, the spell shattered. This one was definitely broken.

“Sunset! Come on! I filled an extra thingie for you!” Pinkie slid down next to her, dropping one of the Smith & Wesson guns into her lap with a spare magazine, then pulling her to her feet, the AKM clattering to the floor forgotten. Sunset found herself lined up with the others, their excitement infectious. “Ready! Aim! Go!”

They all opened fire, and the already abused targets fell apart under the barrage as multicolored pellets bounced across the floor. Pinkie finished last, pulling out the magazine, spinning the pistol like a cowgirl and tucking it into the top of her skirt. “Best idea ever!”

Rarity examined her own. “I wonder if I could make proper holsters for these. I mean, how hard could it be?”

“That'd be cool!” Rainbow was practically dancing with excitement. “Hey! Hey Sunset! Shoot me!”

“WHAT!?” all three girls screeched. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Come on. These things are literally made for this. Just not in my face, or whatever. How bad could it be?” She marched to the far corner of the garage and turned to face them.

“If you're sure.” Sunset removed and pocketed her last magazine, picking up a new one to reload.

“Totally! Bring it!”

*pop!*

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide, and she very slowly mouthed “ow” before bringing both hands to the spot the pellet hit. “That really, really hurt! You shot me in the boob!”

Sunset sputtered. “You only said don't aim for your face! I aimed at your chest! It could have hit anywhere!”

A quiet knock on the wall announced Fluttershy's arrival, who cowered by the entrance to the garage when all of them turned to look. “Umm, sorry. Is this a bad time?”

Rarity and Pinkie looked at each other and collapsed in peals of laughter.

“But… isn't this… dangerous?” Fluttershy held out the pistol cautiously, her grip far too low to reach the trigger. Rainbow Dash corrected her, moving her hands into a better position.

“Just dangerous enough to be fun! Now, all you have to do is look at the target, line up the sights, and pull the trigger. Easy!” Dash stepped back.

Rainbow Dash had enthusiastically taken it on herself to teach Fluttershy to shoot. Sunset had been happy to let her, Fluttershy was still terrified of her reverting to her bullying ways, and Sunset could not blame her in the slightest. Rainbow seemed to be doing a fairly good job of instructing, anyways, she assured herself.

*pop!*

Fluttershy started violently at either the sound, or the motion of the slide, and a hole appeared high on the outer edge of the paper, outside the target. She cringed.

“Oh! Oh dear. I'm not a very good shot, am I?”

Pinkie shook her head. “That was like, your first time ever. Try agai-in!”

“No pressure, darling. I'm a terrible shot,” Rarity professed.

Fluttershy nodded, steeling herself and taking aim. She slowly squeezed the trigger, taking slow breaths between each shot.

*pop! pop! pop! pop! pop! pop!*

The second shot poked the zero out of the number ten ring, and the following shots proceeded to make the hole slightly bigger, until the further shots simply sailed through the hole unobstructed. Fluttershy looked at her handgun in confusion as the slide locked back on the final shot. “Um, what did I do? I-I didn't break it, did I?”

She turned to see all the other girls with their jaws hanging wide open in shock and instantly flushed pink with embarrassment. Rainbow Dash was the first to find something to say.

“Holy SHIT you're a good shot! Look at this!” Dash went over and held up the target, looking through the hole. “You never missed the bullseye! Not even once!”

“B-but I did miss, I barely hit the target the first-” Fluttershy insisted. Sunset shook her head and held up the last target she had used. Only a few had even come close to the center, most were clustered in the lower-right of the seven and eight ring and at least three had missed entirely.

“You're a natural. This is all of our first times, and none of us could do that well.”

Pinkie gave a squeak of excitement and grabbed Fluttershy in a giant hug, spinning her around. “This is awesome! How did you do that! Can you teach me? Or was it magic?”

Fluttershy extracted herself with some difficulty, and examined the gun. “I-I just took my time... that's all.”

Rainbow threw an arm around Fluttershy, beaming. “Come on! Let’s have Sunset show you how to reload the thing... what is it again?”

“A Smith & Wesson Sigma, darling, it's literally written on the side,” Rarity explained patiently.

“Sure, whatever. Then you can practice yourself!” Dash drug her over to the box where all the supplies were and sat her down. Sunset sat down next to her, making a conscious effort to try and be less intimidating.

“Umm... hi...” Fluttershy muttered. Sunset winced internally. Good job on the whole not-intimidating thing.

“Hi. Again. I guess.” Well done, Sunset. Well done. “Ok, right. This button...” Sunset walked Fluttershy through rearming and reloading, then noticed Pinkie slowly leaning in over their shoulders, grinning. Sunset growled in annoyance. “Pinkie, I know for a fact you have had the concept of ‘personal space’ explained to you before. What?"

Pinkie giggled. “I just had another idea!” she announced.

This time it was Rarity's turn to roll her eyes. “I temper my sense of sanity in preparation.”

“Ok, so, Dashie said that people play games with these things, right? Well, since we're all here, and my folks are all out...” Pinkie bounced in place on her cushion.

The others all nodded, waiting for her to finish. Pinkie looked around at them expectantly, and Rarity caught on first.

“Wait, now?! But Pinkie, its almost ten o'clock at night! We should be thinking about bed!”

“Hey, I'm up for it!”

“Of course you're up for it, you're Rainbow Dash,” Rarity countered.

Fluttershy fidgeted with her hair. “Umm, I'm not sure it's a very good idea... This late... at night... in the dark.”

The four looked expectantly at Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, surprised at suddenly being the center of attention, stared back. “What?”

“Swing vote,” Pinkie explained. Sunset wished she would blink.

“Umm...” It suddenly struck Sunset that not only did they want her input, but actually were going to value it. They cared about what she had to say. No one had since... since Twilight had appeared. And now this group of people were going to listen.

Sunset grinned, a real, happy smile that hurt her face. “Why not!?”

The school always looked different at night. All the lights were out, but Sunset had double-checked around the back to make sure Vice-Principal Luna's car was gone. The lady was notorious for staying late, and Sunset had found out by a very close shave one night of snooping around that the Vice-Principal usually left all the lights off. Sunset shivered, regretting not having brought a sweater like the rest of the girls. Her leather jacket was not really cutting it.

“Ok, I got an idea!” Rainbow pulled back her black hoodie, looking around. “We have uneven teams, so let's do a VIP match, like in Counter-Strike!”

“I've never played Counter-Strike, dear,” Rarity explained, flipping the tail of her scarf over her shoulder. “I have played quite a lot of Bejeweled, if it's anything like that?”

Rainbow Dash stared at Rarity open-mouthed, fumbling for the right words, making Rarity giggle. “I'm joking, of course. I know of the game, it's a shooter of some description, right? So what is a VIP match?”

Rainbow Dash shook herself. “Bejeweled? You total casual. Anyway, in VIP, one team has a... well, a VIP. If the VIP gets taken out-”

“Oh dear...” Fluttershy muttered.

“-then that team loses, instantly. But if the VIP makes it safely to the objective point, then they win.”

Sunset raised her hand. “So the VIP team gets more players, right?”

Rainbow nodded. “Exactly. Let's see... The main statue right here in front of the school will be the safe zone. If the VIP makes it here, they win. Escort team can start on the other side of the building, and the defenders will start here.”

Rarity cocked her head. “So what happens if the Non-Important Persons get hit?”

“Right! Umm... I don't know.” Rainbow Dash hung her head. Sunset stepped in.

“I read some overall rules to pellet-gun and paintball battles. If you get shot, you have to yell 'hit' and put your hand up, then walk to the safe zone. It's the honor system.”

Pinkie was grinning from ear to ear, rocking back and forth like a child in line for ice cream. “Ooh, this is so tactic-cool! Who's VIP? Who's VIP?”

“Fluttershy? Do you want to be 'it'?” Sunset asked. “That way, your job is to stay safe. If it all goes right, you don't get shot.”

“Umm... Sure...” Fluttershy reluctantly took out her glasses out of her yellow sweater and slid them on. She had been handed the much larger pistol, modeled on a Heckler & Koch Mark 23 handgun. The gas cartridges that Sunset had bought had been fairly easy to fit into its three magazines, and each held almost thirty shots. The pistol was so large and heavy Fluttershy was holding the large mock-suppressor up with her left hand, like some kind of stockless rifle.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy! I'll protect you!” Dash threw her arm over Fluttershy's shoulder, giving her head a sharp bob to flick her own goggles down to her eyes.

“Dibs!” Pinkie jumped over to Fluttershy's other side, turning it into a group hug.

Sunset looked over at Rarity. “Think we can do this?” Sunset challenged.

Rarity pushed her protective glasses up her nose, the took out her pistol and posed. “I believe a catchphrase is in order.”

Sunset smirked as she put on her own glasses.

“It. Is. On!”

A sharp blast of Fluttershy's whistle rang out through the chilly night air, and Sunset followed Rarity out of the light to concealment near a hedge. If we hear it again, match is over. We either won or lost.

“Which way do you think they'll go?” she asked, peering out into the darkness.

“Rainbow Dash will definitely think she's being clever, and try to talk them into going the long way around. Pinkie, however...” Rarity spread her hands and pouted. “She can be a mite random.”

“So they might do anything, huh?”

“Anything,” Rarity smiled, “Except sit still. Fluttershy alone can't keep them from running around. Let's go to the far corner, but you keep an eye on the east end. If they go the long way, we'll be between them. If they go the short way, we'll be able to shoot at them as they run for the statue.”

Sunset nodded sharply. “Good plan. Let's go.”

The two set off at a jog, instinctively keeping their heads slightly lower as they ran. Rarity reached the corner and peeked, then yanked her head back and snapped her fingers to get Sunset's attention. She raised a finger and carefully pointed around the side of the building. Sunset got the message: one, that way.

Sunset signaled got it with a sharp nod and listened. Footsteps were approaching fast, someone was running toward them. Sunset raised her free hand and started a countdown: three, two, one!

Rarity and Sunset wheeled around the corner of the building at the same time, pistols up and searching for targets. Rainbow Dash, running toward them full-speed, provided one. Sunset began pulling the trigger as fast as she could, gritting her teeth as she tracked Dash's brilliantly colored hair.

Rainbow Dash had absolutely no plans to get hit, even caught mid-sprint. With inhuman reflexes, the star athlete juked to the side, and both girls pellets sailed through the space she had been in before Dash dropped, rolled and came back up with burst of speed parallel to them, slipping behind the cover of a waist-high hedge, spraying pellets blindly as she went. Sunset hastily ducked back as the shots whizzed past and pulled the magazine out of her pistol, pocketing it and drawing her spare.

“They're up to something. What now?” Rarity whispered hoarsely as she checked her own magazine and decided she still had enough shots to keep it. A taunting shout of “Is that all you got!?” echoed out back at them.

“Now...” Sunset peeked around the corner. “Now we hunt. Go to the right corner, I'll circle left. Careful not to shoot each other when we catch her.”

Without waiting for Rarity's response, she crouched low and ran to the far end of the hedge before looking back to see Rarity sidestepping to get a clear shot as well. Sunset preformed another mental countdown before leaping around to shoot.

She promptly forgot about shooting as Rainbow Dash seemed to be waiting for them yet again, launching herself in an impressive sideways dive and firing as she sailed through the air. Sunset ducked so quickly her feet left the ground, remembering halfway down that she even had a means of attack. She hit the ground in a clumsy kneeling stance, firing wildly.

In the madness, one extra “pop” filled the air, and Rainbow Dash yelped, spinning around and clutching at her back.

“Ow-ow-ow! Damnit! Hit...”

Sunset leaned to look past her and saw Rarity still aiming, grinning widely, then noticed how badly her own hands where shaking. She lowered her gun and gave a hasty thumbs-up as Rainbow grumpily got up and started walking out of the battle-zone.

“Good save!”

“You’re most welcome!”

“SUP-RIIIIISE!!!”

Sunset felt the most peculiar sensation of her bowels running to jelly as Pinkie Pie leap out from the corner they had just come from, her first shot whizzing past Sunset's shoulder so close she heard it pass with a faint “fwip” of displaced air. Her second shot, which Sunset was sure was much more luck than skill, hit Rarity on her belt.

“Eek! Oh, I mean, I'm hit!”

Sunset unleashed a flurry of both Equestrian and English swear words under her breath as Pinkie dodged back around the corner with a giggle before she could shoot back. She ran along the low hedge, passing Rarity and checking her magazine as she went. One-quarter. Have to be accurate. Heh, who am I kidding? Sunset pocketed that magazine and fished out her first one, which was about half-empty.

She sidled up to the corner, pistol at the ready, and hesitated before peeking around. “Pinkie? Are you there?”

The resultant giggle was all Sunset needed, but Pinkie answered anyway. “Sure am! Where else would I be?”

Sunset considered how she could dive around the corner, then realized the flaw in that plan was that she was not Rainbow Dash. “Well, I thought you might stick with Fluttershy while Rainbow ran interference.” Sunset stalled. If I can keep her talking, and maybe distract her enough to give away where Fluttershy is...

“Oh, wow!” Pinkie sounded legitimately surprised. “That's exactly what we did, but now I came to guard the corner so Fluttershy could go to the statue!”

Sunset blinked. “I've made a terrible mistake.”

Out of sight, Fluttershy blew her whistle in victory as she touched the statue in front of Canterlot High.

Sunset leaned against the cold stone wall and slid down, letting her handgun slide out of her hand and hanging her head so the night air could get under her hair. It felt good, her skin was flushed and hot after the brief exertion and several consecutive adrenalin rushes.

They had split up. Rainbow Dash had ran around the long way, and Pinkie and Fluttershy had gone the direct path. Either way we would have had a hard time winning, Sunset noted.

“Wee! That was- oh?” Pinkie skipped around the corner, and stopped short when she saw Sunset slumped against the wall. “Sunny? Are you alright?”

Sunset felt her body give a small spasm, quickly followed by another. She rolled her head back, and let the first burst of laughter out, then another, and another. Pinkie giggled as well and plopped down next to her, giving her a push.

“That was... T-that...” Sunset gasped for a breath, throwing an arm around Pinkie.

“Was FUN!” Pinkie hugged Sunset and pulled her to her feet in the same motion. “Like, intense awesome! Dashie was like 'I'll be a hero!' and 'zoom!' and me and Fluttershy were like-” Pinkie mimed sneaking like some sort of hunchback, “-and super-scared the whole way and I got to you and Rarity and you were all like ninja-action-chicks and, and...” Pinkie stopped, mouth opening and closing in confusion. “I... I actually can't describe it! I can't even make up a word! And I'm good at that!”

Sunset grinned, grabbing up the pellet guns and heading back to meet the others. Pinkie was right, she had no idea how to explain the rush she had just felt when she had teamed up with Rarity, the natural flow of how their gut feelings had met and formed strategy and fun. Something... ha!

The other three were gathered at the statue, and Sunset threw her own congratulations onto an embarrassed and emboldened Fluttershy, giving her a hug for good measure. Sunset grinned, looking back at the school, dark and foreboding in the night, and back at her friends.

“That was magical.”

Well, from my experience, I'd say this looks pretty bad. Sunset looked around Canterlot High's administration office, where Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack were all sitting uneasily. Sunset briefly entertained the thought that Principal Celestia had called them there to check up on Sunset's "good girl" progress, but the thought was quickly banished when the door to the Principal's office opened.

Celestia did not look happy.

The six of them filed into the room and stood shoulder-to-shoulder, looking various degrees of nervous or guilty. Celestia walked back around her desk and pushed her chair in, then picked up a styrofoam cup and tipped its contents out onto the table. Sunset winced when a handful of plastic BBs went bouncing across the wood.

"Oooooh..." Pinkie folded her hands behind her back, looking away. "Umm... We didn't think-"

"No, no you did not." The principal turned around with a sigh. "You are good kids, but no matter how good you are, I never like getting a call from the Canterlot PD about students running around school property with guns at midnight."

"Hey! They weren't real guns! And Applejack wasn't even there!" Rainbow Dash stepped forward aggressively. Fluttershy tried halfheartedly to rein her in by pulling on her arm.

"I know they aren't real guns, the chief and I found the pellets. But the fact remains that you cannot have anything even resembling a firearm on school property, even after hours. The police got two separate calls from concerned individuals about this." Celestia kept her back turned on them while she talked, tapping her fingers on her arm.

Pinkie gave a sniffle, the abruptly burst into tears. "They're mine! It was my idea! I didn't know, I didn't think-"

"Ma'am, you really must see, Applejack wasn't there, she had no involvement in this fiasco!" Rarity insisted, hugging Pinkie protectively. "She hasn't even seen the things!"

"Who cares?" Applejack cut in front of them. "You know they ain't real, everybody there was willing, no'un had a chance o' getting' hurt," she pulled her hat off in frustration, "'I don't see what the deal is!"

"You can't get us in trouble for rules we didn't know about!" Rainbow Dash shouted rebelliously. Pinkie's tears intensified as Rarity and Fluttershy tried to comfort her. Celestia was now holding her forehead in her hand, looking equal parts annoyed and sympathetic as everyone tried to be heard at once.

Sunset closed her eyes, arms folded and head down. "Everyone shut up."

Unsurprisingly, nobody heard her in the chaos, so Sunset took a deep breath and made herself heard.

"QUIET!"

She got quiet. Pinkie even forgot to cry for a moment. Sunset didn't move from her spot on the wall, and went back to her brooding position. "Everybody out."

"Hey! We aren't letting you take the heat for this!" Rainbow folded her arms stubbornly.

Sunset shook her head. "I'm not 'taking the heat,' you lot are still in trouble. Get out. I want to talk to the principal."

"But-" Rainbow Dash started, getting Sunset to look up and glare at them.

"I. Said. Out."

The five girls filed out the door, and Rarity closed it slowly behind her, giving Sunset a worried look. Principal Celestia watched her with an unreadable expression.

"Ma'am..." Sunset returned to her spot leaning on the wall. "Let's be simple about this, shall we?"

Celestia raised one regal eyebrow. "Certainly. Lets."

Sunset nodded. "The school firearms rule is strict, and it most certainly applies to Airsoft pistols. Despite the fact that we rather conveniently 'forgot' the school rules, you will have to admit we were very responsible about how we went about this. We chose a location with no bystanders, we all had eye protection, and the fact remains that as the rules are in place for real, lethal guns, the consequence should reflect that these are toys." Sunset gave the principal a sidelong look. "Don't you agree?"

Celestia sat down slowly at her desk, lacing her fingers together and keeping her expression unreadable. "Go on."

Sunset stood up straight and began to pace. "I just want to get all the pretense out of the way. We forgot the rule intended 'nothing resembling a firearm' and instead interpreted it as 'no firearms near other students,' which, while wrong, is understandable. So now that we're on the same page, this is the part where I assure you it will never happen again and you tell us how many days we are suspended for. Simple and painless." She stopped and spread her arms, resisting the urge to mock-bow. I await your judgement, your highness.

"Two days suspension for everyone involved, I will inform your teachers and have your classwork brought to you. Is that simple enough?" Celestia stated, a small grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "And it really had better not happen again. Do you want to tell your friends, or shall I?"

"So, let me get this straight." Rainbow Dash kicked her soccer ball slowly ahead of them, bouncing it off the curb. "We break the rules. You explain to her exactly how and why we broke the rules. And we get a four-day weekend?! You are comeing with me any time I get in trouble, Sunset."

"It's not a 'weekend,' Rainbow. We're suspended. And that's terrible." Rarity pointed out.

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow Dash hiked the ball into the air with her toe. "I bet Applejack is jealous right now! She let us off as easy as it gets! I don't think she was even mad!"

Sunset shrugged. "It's the strangest punishment I ever head of. In Equestria its usually a stern lecture and a hour or two of community service. Sorry I dragged you into this."

"You dragged us into this?" Pinkie skipped along behind them. "The entire thing was my idea!"

"It was fun..." Fluttershy mumbled.

Sunset nodded, hands in her pockets, playing with a few of the BBs she had taken off of Celestia's desk. "Hey, girls, I have something I want to check out. I'll see you later."

"Ok, sure. Bye!" Rainbow Dash focused on keeping the ball in the air, juggling it as they walked down the street. Sunset made a sharp turn down a different sidewalk, waving as she went.

Half-an hour of walking later, Sunset came to the end of a cul-du-sac with a large empty lot on the edge of the Whitetail Woods. Without breaking stride, Sunset cut across the lot and into the trees. There might have been a road once, but nature had done its best reclaiming it and covered in in bramble, so Sunset took her time picking through the foliage. It wasn't much longer though before she broke through the trees and found what she was looking for.

A cinderblock wall loomed in front of her not five meters away, moss taking over the side facing her. She followed it around to the left. The wall turned sharply inward, and Sunset stepped back to get a better view of the building it was a part of.

The Rich Select Private School had been abandoned partway through construction after a scandal about its proximity to the official Whitetail Woods boundary, and Mr. Ritch had simply given up on the project. Sunset had heard the rumor that the school was being made specially for his own daughter, Diamond Tiara, five years ago. Sunset grinned. And now you leave it all for me. Us. Totally meant us.

What had become of the building was a large "F" of concrete foundation with cinderblock walls, fighting back against the local flora. The courtyard, formed by the tines of the "F" faced west into the field, had what would have become a fountain forming an indentation in the middle of it, while the main part of the building stretched up two stories higher behind it. The roof was nonexistent in most places, as were doors, windows, paint… there was very little that was not made of concrete and brick, only a conspicuous piece of scaffolding braced in the corner.

Sunset waded through the tall grass to the main entrance at the end of the courtyard, minding the large step-up intended for stairs that had never been made. Inside, a thick layer of dirt hand made it inside, but little plant life had managed the knee-high jump up the foundations. The light was filtered through the windows and took on a surreal golden-brown hue, and the faint scent of a dead rodent was present. Sunset made a careful examination of the dirt on the floor, finding no human shoe prints but what might have been fox tracks. The stairs up were visible through a frame where more double-doors would have gone, and Sunset followed them up to the top, hesitating before stepping out onto the roofless second floor.

Come on, Sunset. Just because humans don't have magic to reinforce structures doesn't mean their engineering isn't up to snuff. Even incomplete. After five years. It should hold. Really. Sunset grimaced to herself and stuck a leg out, dropping the heel of her boot down hard. The concrete felt reassuringly solid, so she stepped out all the way, seriously missing her unicorn-magic for the millionth time. The wall over the windows had collapsed in on themselves without the frames to support them, making odd battlements around the entire second floor. Sunset walked out to a section where the wall had completely gone, only a short piece of bent rebar sticking up, and looked out over the rest of the building and the field.

This could work. In fact, with a little effort... Sunset pulled up a notepad on her smartphone and started jotting down what she would need. This could be perfect!

> RARITY

"Seriously now!" Rainbow Dash groaned, "has anyone seen Sunset the past two days? She's totally blowing the vacation that she got us!"

Rarity tried to keep her expression neutral as she repeated her explanation for the fifth time. "I told you, she told me and Pinkie she had a 'project' to work on and nothing else. Besides, have you finished all of your homework yet? Hold still."

Rainbow Dash gave a snort of annoyance and raised her arms so that Rarity could loop a pair of straps across her shoulders and back, fitting the cloth holster under her armpit. Rarity snapped the clasp shut and stepped back. The webbing of the holster consisted of a figure-eight that both arms slipped through and made an X across Rainbow's back, and a single securing strap across the front that buckled just under her chest.

"There! Now all we need is this," Rarity quickly threw a long brown coat over Dash's shoulders and plopped a fedora down on her head, "for the finishing touches! Detective Dash!" Rarity's expression cracked and she began to giggle. "Oh, goodness, you look ridiculous."

Rainbow Dash took a look in the mirror and snatched off the hat, throwing it at the fashionista. "You have an evil, evil streak deep inside, Rarity." She shrugged off the coat, tossing it over a unused rack. "Probably why I like you. Thanks for the holster, though, it looks awesome!"

"Thank you! If the pistol doesn't fit, just bring it back and I'll resize it. It took three tries to get Pinkie's right before I realized she was trying to fit that monster suppressed handgun in." Rarity smiled. Another success in a very new field. If anyone had told me a week ago I would be making holsters of all things, I would have laughed in their face!

"So, uh, Rarity." Rainbow Dash turned, examining herself in the mirror. Rarity made a mental note that the securing strap might ride a little high under Rainbow's breast. "Do you want to swing by Pinkie's and play with these? Maybe do a little 'Wild West' shootout?"

"Y'all ain't gonna beat me in any quick-draws!" Came a familiar drawl.

Rarity turned and beamed as Applejack stepped into the botique. "Wonderful! You came!" Did you bring that old belt of yours?"

"Sure did," Applejack held up a thick leather belt with a heavy iron buckle, emblazoned with a stylized apple, "You know this is on the understanin' that this is a heirloom, righ'? It's older than I am."

"Absolutely, dear, I just want to fit something over it." Rarity took it with an appropriate degree of reverence, noting the quality of the leather and craftsmanship of the rolling plains motif along its length. Hopefully, she could do it better justice, but not today. "Do bear in mind this is only temporary, Applejack. The real one will probably take months."

"The real one of what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Rarity reached into one of the boutique's shopping bags and pulled out its contents with a flourish. The revolver from Pinkie Pie's new Airsoft collection had seen some polish on its wooden grip, and was nestled in a thick holster of treated canvas with a wide loop for a belt and a small strap to be secured around one's leg. "Tada! A gift from Pinkie Pie and myself for one Miss Applejack! A Colt Firearms 'Peacemaker', Airsoft Edition! For all of your Rainbow Dash shooting needs!"

Applejack took the package wide eyed. "I... Wow. That's real nice of you, Rares. Thanks."

Rarity beamed. "You're welcome! I'm afraid it might look a bit strange if you wear it with a skirt, since it hangs off of your belt instead of sitting up high like the rest of ours, but you do pull of jeans better than the rest of us. Oh, and your glasses, too." Rarity pulled out a pair of green plastic goggles for her, and tucked the earpiece into a small slot in the canvas for safekeeping.

Applejack nodded, pulling the revolver free and looking it over. She deftly spun it around her finger and brought it up, looking down the sights and cocking the hammer with her thumb. "Almost like the real thing, only it don't weigh nothin'." She put her thumb on the hammer and pulled the trigger, easing it back into a uncocked position.

"Hey, yeah! You've shot real guns before! You should teach us some tricks!" Rainbow Dash mimed drawing and taking a shooting stance, then peered out the front window of the boutique. "Hey, isn't that Sunset's car?"

Rarity glanced out as well, then caught Rainbow's elbow as she made for the door. "Ah! One, don't go running around in public wearing a gun holster, and two, what if she doesn't want to-"

"So she's avoiding us?" Dash frowned and pulled free, unbuckling her holster. "Well, I'm going to find out what's going on!"

Rainbow Dash was out the door like a shot, and was across the street standing by Sunset's convertible in seconds, looking around for any sign of its owner. Rarity sighed. "Well, we may as well."

"If I have to." Applejack muttered, dropping her new Airsoft gun into a bag and following Rarity out the door. Rarity winced internally at her friends tone.

Sunset hesitated as she came out of the hardware store and saw a Rainbow Dash waiting impatiently next to her Jaguar. Dash hadn't seen her yet, but across the street, Rarity and Applejack had. Well, now is a good a time as ever. Sunset gave a sharp whistle and waved.

"Yo! Where have you been?" Rainbow Dash leapt up the sidewalk in front of her. "Have you been avoiding us?" She accused.

Sunset pretended to consider for a moment, stepping around Rainbow and setting her bag of supplies down and popping open the trunk. "Hmm. Yes, technically, I have been."

Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open, shocked and hurt. "B-but, I thought we were friends! How could you!"

Sunset snorted and gave Rainbow a pat on the shoulder. "I'm kidding! I just had a surprise for you. For all of you, really." She added for the benefit of Rarity and Applejack.

"A surprise? I thought you said it was a personal project?" Rarity asked, shooting a glare at a slightly embarrassed a Rainbow Dash. "You implied you wanted to work on it alone, but I admit I am a bit curious myself."

"That's fine," Sunset dropped her bags into the trunk with a heavy clanking of screws and bolts, "Let's go pick up Pinkie and Fluttershy, then I'll show you. Hop in."

Sunset called ahead to Pinkie's cell phone, confirming that both she and Fluttershy where at Sugarcube Corner just a few blocks away, and where ready and waiting when she pulled up.

"What's the surprise? Wait DON'T TELL ME!" Pinkie jumped in the back with Applejack and Rarity, practically pulling Fluttershy in on top of them. "It won't be a supriiiiiise, then~!"

"I think you'll like it. Try to remember where we are, too, so you can find the way yourself." Sunset caught herself, snickering. Oops, almost gave it away!

Rarity seemed to catch on. "Well, aren't you cryptic. You have my attention, dear."

"Come on!" Rainbow Dash turned around in the passenger seat to look at the other four girls squashed into the back. "All comfy back their?"

"Rainbow, don't you start." Applejack grunted, trying to make room for Fluttershy's legs. Sunset shook her head at the teasing and dove into traffic, heading for Whitetail Woods.

The drive wasn't long before they pulled into the cul-de-sac, where Sunset parked and got out, pulling her supplies out of the back of the trunk while Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack extracted themselves from the back seat. "All right, ladies. Help me carry all this. It's a bit of a hike, so divvy it up." Sunset commanded.

"What the hay are you buildin'?" Applejack asked, lifting the three sheets of plywood out of the bottom of the trunk with an ease that made Sunset's struggle to get it in look pathetic.

"And in the woods?" Fluttershy gasped. "Have you been working on a treehouse?"

"No, but close!" Sunset shook her head, carrying her final, secret box and leading the way into the trees. The route was slowly getting easer each pass as the foliage began to get pushed back and Sunset herself got better at stepping through it. Judging by the sounds of annoyance and snagged clothing behind her, it was more of the latter. It didn't last long before the broke out into the field just west of the abandoned construction site.

"What" Rarity dropped the bags she had been carrying in awe as she caught glimpse of the building.

"You... How did y'all..." Applejack stuttered.

Pinkie Pie just stared, blinking. "Is this real life?"

"I'm seeing this to, it must be." Rainbow Dash passed a hand in front of her face, shocked.

The old building had some new features, namely, a ramp up to all the doors and erected a flag from the roof made from a Canterlot Wondercolts jersey, as well as some belt-high wooden barricades, currently stacked over in one corner.

"Y-you did all of this?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah!" Sunset nodded, feeling the soreness of the work in her bones. "I found the building years ago, and thought I'd touch it up. The barricades were the hard part, I'm not sure I built them right. Think it will do for Airsoft games?"

Rarity stepped forward, taking it in. "For Airsoft? For us? Sunset, darling, you found us a wonderful clubhouse! This is incredible!"

Sunset sighed. Worth it, then. "Well, we had a problem and I went and solved it: no playing with air guns near schools or public place, dig up an old building in the middle of nowhere. Go on, check it out. Watch out for the old boiler room, though, something died in there a while ago, I boarded it up."

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash took off like a shot, whopping and hollering, with Fluttershy and Applejack following at a more leisurely pace. Rarity, however, stayed behind.

"Sunset... I... Please don't take this the wrong way." Rarity brought a hand up to her mouth, blushing and looking like she was going to cry.

"Take it the wrong- Rarity! What's wrong?" Sunset felt a cold grip of fear on her heart. What could I have done wrong? This was a good thing!

"I just want you to know that this is the most generous thing that has happened to any of us." Rarity sniffed, smiling. "I mean it. You went so far above and beyond... You did all of this in two days?"

Sunset looked away, embarrassed. "Well, two and a half. It's not done yet, I wanted to put shutters on the windows and the inside could use some kind of furni-ulp!" She cut off as Rarity threw her arms around her in a great hug, then held her at arms length.

"It's perfect, Sunset. Come on, give me the grand tour!"

"Of course I brought the stuff to play a game" Sunset lifted her duffle bag onto the simple plastic table set up on the roof of the newly christened Castle CinderPly. "I'm always prepared."

"Sweeeeeet!" Rainbow Dash bounced in place. "Even teams. This is gonna be epic!"

"Um, I'm not really sure it can be even... I'm kind of a handicap... Sorry." Fluttershy mumbled.

Pinkie giggled. "Says the girl who shot a quarter-inch pattern on her first try ever. You are on my team."

"Right!" Sunset opened the bag and pulled out one of the M16s. "One more surprise. I got both of these working properly, so each team can have one. The one with all the ridges and mounting rails is a M-16 A4, and can shoot semi-automatic or full-auto, and..." She pulled out the second black rifle as well, laying them both on the table. "...this one is an A2, it shoots a three-shot-burst as well as single-shot. I got all of the pistols working as well, Applejack's just needs gas."

"S'how does this all work? Airsoft battles, I mean?" Applejack asked, belting on her holster before handing over her Peacemaker for a gas refill.

"Simple enough. If you get nailed, yell 'hit' and raise your hand, then go to a safe zone. I marked two, one outside in the middle of the courtyard, and one inside in the middle of the entrance hall. I tried to put them somewhere you wouldn't trip over them." Sunset admitted. "Oh, new rule if you guys want to; its called 'winging.' If you get hit in the torso or head, you are out, but if you get hit in the arm or leg, you can take one more hit anywhere before being out of the game."

"Cool, I'll go with that. Go for them headshots!" Rainbow Dash punched the air, then paused. "On second thought, try not to hit me in the head, those things really hurt."

Rarity nodded sympathetically. "So what kind of game this time? What would even be a 'normal' game?"

"Deathmatch?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "Three-versus-three, last team standing?"

"I'M ON FLUTTERSHY'S TEAM!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, grabbing the girl in question..

"T-thank you, Pinkie, but I... need... air..."

Rarity slipped her Sigma into its new holster, high on her hip. "I suppose I'll join you as well, if there are no objections."

Rainbow Dash grinned, picking up the M16A4. "So that leaves me with AJ and Sunset, team kick-ass!"

Sunset snatched the rifle out of Rainbow's hands. "I'll be taking that. Unless you took the time to research how to use an A&K M16 while I was gone?"

"Oh, and you have?" Rainbow snorted. Sunset raised an eyebrow, then deftly locked back the bolt, inserted a magazine, slapped the side to close the bolt and flipped the fire selector to "Semi."

*wrrtap!*

A pellet flew cleanly out the window. Sunset lowered the rifle, keeping her face expressionless. "Any questions? Here, Fluttershy, I'll show you how it works."

Sunset, Applejack and Rainbow Dash kneeled in their room, waiting and discussing strategy. They had taken shelter in one of the classrooms on the south wing, and little of the evening sun filtered in, making it dim inside.

"Ok, so if they are in the north part of the building, we have three ways to go." Rainbow Dash noted. "We can sprint straight across the courtyard, go through the lobby, or take the stairs up and walk across the roof."

"And they can do the same." Sunset pointed out. Rainbow rolled her eyes in a well, duh! fashion.

Applejack idly spun her Peacemaker around her finger. "We ought to stick together. More firepower, an' all that. Someone to watch our backs."

"I think I have a pretty clear shot into the lobby from here. How about you two stick together and I cover you up until you get to the lobby, then you wave me over." Sunset peered out the window, sighting her M16 in on the wide windows near the school entrance.

Applejack nodded. "Sounds good. Anythin' last minute I should know about?"

Sunset thought for a second. "Yeah. Rarity has a great grasp on strategy, Fluttershy is the new Annie Oakley, and Pinkie Pie likes to pop out at the least opportune moment. Good luck."

"Won't need it." Rainbow Dash chambered a pellet in her pistol, then leaned out the window and yelled. "WE'RE READY!"

"Three-two-one-go!" Came Pinkie's signal, echoing from across the courtyard. Applejack and Rainbow Dash padded their way out of the room.

Sunset took a knee and braced her rifle on the windowsill, watching out across the courtyard. She saw a brief flash of pink hair though one of the windows, then nothing. Taking a deep breath, she lined her eye up with the rear aperture of the sights, floating the front post vaguely over the main windows.

Moments later she scrambled backwards as burst of pellets whizzed overhead, bouncing off of the walls. What the hay? Where did that come from? She stood up, recovering from the sudden scare, and raised the rifle again. Standing well back from the window, Sunset began to step in a slow, careful circle around it, trying to pick out where she had been shot at from. Halfway around, another trio of pellets sailed in and ricocheted off the floor, one tagging her squarely in the boot. Damn! Good thing I called that winging rule... I can't stay here.

Sunset dashed out of the room, following the hall east after Rainbow and Applejack. She slowed as she approached the main lobby and heard a shout and a flurry of clicking pellet guns.

"Hit! I'm hit, I'm out!"

"Me too! Hit!"

That was Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Ok. Still even teams. Sunset thought. She carefully leaned around the doorframe and saw Applejack hurriedly reloading her revolver, kneeling by the far door as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie walked out the front door to the outside safe zone, hands raised. Sunset quickly crossed the room with her gun up and trained on the window.

"Sorry, had to leave my spot. Fluttershy had a bead on me." Sunset apologized, kneeling next to her remaining teammate.

Applejack nodded. "Pinkie was on her own, jumped us. Ain't much I could do to save Dash, this thing is hard to shoot fast. It's weird not havin' any kick. Any idea where the other two are?"

Sunset closed her eyes and replayed the times she had been shot at, doing her best to work out the angle the shot had come from. "Fluttershy was on the top floor of the north wing, all the way at the end."

"Rares would have stuck close to Fluttershy, otherwise Pinkie wouldn'ta come." Applejack peered out the window carefully. "I don't think we could get sniped if we stick to the north wall outside, then we could come in behind them. Problem is Fluttershy can probably see the front door from here..."

"We'll run for it, I'll cover you." Sunset shouldered her rifle again. She realized she hadn't even shot yet, then leaned around the edge of the window and squinted against the sun, picking out the shape of the other M16's barrel peeking off the edge of the second floor where the wall had not been finished. She squeezed the trigger gently, lining up the sights, and barked "GO!"

*wrtap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!*

Applejack darted out the school entrance as an arc of pellets streamed out of Sunset's gun, peppering around her target. She put a few more bursts toward the edge of the roof before slipping back down and pulling out the magazine, winding the small crank at the top to transfer more pellets from the reservoir to the feed. Sunset patted her jacket pocket to assure herself her spare rifle magazine was really there, then peeked again. Applejack glanced back at her, pressed up against the wall directly below where Fluttershy had shot from and jerked her head impatiently: Come on!

Sunset nodded, backing up, and dashed out the door, jumping down the ramp she had made and sprinting to her teammate, thudding roughly into the wall. She looked up and saw the orange muzzle of Fluttershy's M16 peeking over the edge, still pointed toward the main entrance. Did she not see us?

Applejack wordlessly began picking her way along the side of the building, stepping noiselessly through the tall grass, and Sunset followed her lead. They got to the corner and AJ leaned around it, gun-first. Sunset carefully moved around her and took a position next to the ramp for the smaller door, clearing the inside as far as she could see. She put her arm out to stop Applejack before she went ahead.

"The stairs are the fourth gap down, on your left." Sunset whispered, "Fluttershy should be the first room in front of us at the top, south-east corner if she's still there."

"Gotcha. That's a lot of hidin' places in between here and there, tho." Applejack double-checked that her revolver was full, and Sunset was struck by an idea.

"Here. How's your left hand aim?" Sunset unholstered her S&W Sigma handgun, offering it to Applejack. "It's loaded and ready, just point and click. I have plenty of ammo for the M16, pistol won't do anything on my hip."

"Thank'ee." The two girls stepped up into the hallway, Applejack first, with the autoloading handgun pointed down the hall and the revolver flickering between each door as she came up to them. Sunset kept herself in a low stance, gun up as she did her best to step smoothly down the hall, covering whatever door Applejack was not looking at.

The farmer reached the stairs first, and started up. Sunset tightened her grip on the rifle, annoyed. Come on, slow down. She glanced down the ground floor halls, then followed. We still don't know where Rarity is, and it's way too quiet to talk!

Sunset sighed in relief as Applejack stopped, arms spread to point a gun down either hall at the top of the stairs, and twitched her Peacemaker to wave Sunset past her. Sunset fiddled with the stock of her M16, telescoping it down shorter so it would fit through the tight doorways better, then stepped carefully up onto the second floor, heart pounding in the silence and trying to keep her breathing silent. She focused on the door to the unfinished room where Fluttershy had fired from, gently setting her heel down and rolling her boot gently onto the toe, one after another. She glided through the door, swinging her rifle around to point at the edge of the roof.

Sunset realized that moment things had gone terribly wrong. Fluttershy was not in the room, just an abandoned M16A2 balanced on its magazine and stock to point out over the edge of the building. A sharp jingling came from around her feet, and she looked down to see a tiny decorative bell go bouncing across the floor. "Applejack! Look out, it's a-"

*pop! pop! pop!*

A stinging pellet hit Sunset on the lapel of her jacket as Rarity ducked back into one of the classrooms. "-trap. Hit!" She put her hand up, taking a knee to stay out of the way. She hesitated before leaving, wanting to see what happened next.

Applejack sprang into action, bringing both pistols to bear and beginning to advance down the hall. Rarity peeked around the corner again, then ducked back with a squeak of surprise as AJ fired both guns simultaneously. Applejack continued down the hall, keeping up a slow, steady stream of fire as she went. She made it to the door, then dove head first into the room.

*poppop-pop poppoppop!*

"Ouch! Hit!" Rarity yelped.

"YAHOO!" Applejack came out first, repositioning her hat and covered with a long streak of dust down her side where she had slid across the floor, followed by a wincing fashionista.

Sunset waited for Rarity, then walked down the stairs with her. "That was clever, Rarity. Who's idea was that?"

"Hmm? Did you mean abandoning the rifle as bait or the tripwire?" Rarity rubbed her abdomen where Applejack had hit her.

"Tripwire? Is that what the bell was?" Sunset frowned. "Where was the wire?"

Rarity giggled. "That was a team effort! I had the idea of some kind of alarm, and we used a bell from a collar we found in Fluttershy's bag and a strand of her hair, taped across the door. You broke it when you stepped through."

"Ah. Clever." Sunset said again. Fluttershy's hair was so long and light it would have been totally invisible.

They made it out to the safe zone, where Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash waited, sitting on the edges of the shallow pit that was to house a fountain, now marked off with yellow safety tape. Pinkie had produced a pair of binoculars and was peering into the second story windows.

"Hey! So just AJ and Flutters left, huh?" Rainbow stood up, offering a hand to step down into the pit. "What happened to you?"

Sunset shrugged. "Rarity shot me, AJ shot Rarity. They propped up the rifle as bait, but now that means Fluttershy only has her pistol, and AJ has my pistol too."

Pinkie laughed, binoculars trained on the window. "Ha ha! I see her! She's got one in each hand!"

"Pity she ruined her shirt with that dive. Impressive as it was." Rarity commented.

A minute later, Fluttershy marched out the front door, hands up with Applejack behind her. "Lookie what I caught! That was all kinds of crazy, I'm sorry I haven't played before!"

"Wait, we won?" Rainbow Dash jumped out of the safe zone, punching up at the sky. "Yesss~!"

"Aww! Well, it's only fair!" Pinkie climbed out two and wrapped Fluttershy in a hug. "We won last time! And loosing can be fun! Was it an epic last stand?"

"N-not really..." Fluttershy cringed. "I... I kind of... gave up..."

The group fell silent for a second, the Pinkie gasped. "OhMyGod, girls! We should have a 'We All Play Awesome Games Party and We're Awesome Too' party!"

Sunset grinned, shaking her head in amusement. "I have no objections."

"And we simply can't forget who put this all together for us!" Rarity put a hand on Sunset Shimmer's shoulder. "You are the guest of honor."

Rainbow Dash grabbed her away, lifting her into the air in a giant hug. "Yeah! Cheers for Sunset Shimmer!"

"HURRAY!"

Pinkie led the way back through Whitetail Woods as they left Castle CinderPly behind. "Do you think Mister and Missus Cake would have a problem with six girls coming into Sugarcube Corner this late, armed to the teeth with pellet guns? I don't think they'd care, but I didn't think they'd have a problem with me bringing Gummy to work either, and they had a HUGE problem with a miniature alligator on the pastry counter. Or that time when I got that kid from the science class to bring liquid nitrogen in and we froze cookies and the big mixer! Or that time when-"

*BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! BREEP!*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You think?" Rainbow sounded disappointed.

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

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

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

"A what-now?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Right. So who's with me?"

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

"U-umm... hell yeah?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Having nothing better to do, Sunset followed her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"GUYS WE HAVE PROBLEM!"

Sunset spun around. "Rainbow Dash?!"

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

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

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

"Hobby... Shop..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"YEAH!" Pinkie yelled.

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

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

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

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

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

"Fireteams..." Fluttershy supplied.

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

"MMG?" Rainbow Dash asked.

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

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

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

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

"You wanna say that again, jackass?"

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

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

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

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

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

"Eh?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Loud and clear. Ready?"

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

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

*FWISH!*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"HELLO? SPOT? FIDO? ANYONE?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Ack! Hit!"

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

"Hit! Hit!"

"Aww, come on!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*BWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now it just had to be taken.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Fluttershy! Where is she?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunset stopped. "What?"

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

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

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

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

"W-what?"

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

"H-hell yes?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Hell yeah!" Sunset insisted.

"Hell yeah."

"HELL YEAH!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good! Shoot!" Sunset ordered.

*snap!*

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

"I see him..." Fluttershy muttered

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

*snap!*

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

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

*snap!*

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

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

*snap!*

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

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

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

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

*snap!*

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

*snap!*

"I-I got him!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"HEY!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The girls all nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

"Rarity? You there?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good. Rainbow? On your mark."

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

In a single moment, they "clicked."

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

"Left clear!" Sunset barked.

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

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

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

"YEEEEAAAAA~!"

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

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

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

"We win."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surrounded by magic and friends.

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

And she had never been happier in her entire life.

Sunset Shimmer sat on the counter in Fluttershy's bathroom, sulking as she had the oozing cut on her arm cleaned.

"Oh my goodness, you poor thing! This must really hurt." Fluttershy cooed, lightly dabbing it with peroxide. "Have you had your tetanus shot?"

"Yes. I'm not a 'poor thing.'" She snapped.

"Well that's no way t'talk to your doctor!" Applejack objected from the door. Sunset snarled, but Fluttershy grabbed her arm in a surprisingly firm grip and continued her ministrations.

"I am bleeding! I have every right to have a bad attitude right now!"

Ten minutes ago Sunset, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy had been at Castle CinderPly, playing a round of free-for-all. It had been too warm for her jacket, and Sunset had set herself up with Rarity's M16 on the second floor when Pinkie Pie had taken a very good potshot at her and made her flinch into part of the wall. The rough stone had cut a shallow but long slice from the back of her left hand halfway down her forearm; not particularly painful (although Sunset had screamed embarrassingly loud) but bleeding profusely. Fluttershy's house was easily the closest and within walking distance, and her cache of veterinary supplies were now being used to treat it.

Pinkie Pie hovered over them. She had been terrified that she had seriously injured Sunset, and was perhaps overeager to make it up. Sunset flinched as the deepest part of the wound was cleaned and she jumped in. "Are you ok!? Can I help!?"

Sunset sighed, anger and annoyance burned out. "I'm fine, Pinkie. My pride is hurt more than anything, it's really not that bad. We can just slap a bandage on it and head back out."

Applejack cleared her throat. "Maybe we should think about some per'tective equipment first. Like these." The farmer held up her own hands, encased in thin but tough workman's gloves.

Sunset nodded, holding her arm steady as Fluttershy finished wrapping it in a bandage. Her arm would be sore for a few days, but it was nothing to bad. "Yeah, sure. Where did you get those?"

"Lugnut's Local. Thought that was where ya got the goggles we been usin'?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"No, these came from Quill's and Sofa's hobby shop!" Pinkie Pie sang, brandishing her pair. She dropped the lenses as Sunset made to stand up, rushing to help.

"Pinkie, seriously, I'm fine! Let's go back to the truck, see if we can find something at the hardware store." Sunset flexed her wrist and elbow, testing the bandage's strength. Her elbow would be tender for a few days, but not debilitating. "I've been thinking about knee pads for a while now, too."

They where halfway back to where Applejack had parked her truck when Fluttershy's phone rang. She took it out to answer as they walked, and Sunset casually fell back a pace to eavesdrop before she even realized what she was doing. Feeling slightly guilty, she looked up ahead at Pinkie Pie and Applejack, hopping for an excuse to start talking and distract herself, only to realize they were doing precisely the same thing. Sunset suppressed a chuckle.

"Hello? Oh, it's wonderful to hear from you... No, not anymore, we had a bit of an accident. Sunset Shimmer cut herself and was bleeding everywhere, so we had to..." Fluttershy winced as a tinny "WHAT?!" made it out of the phone's speaker. Sunset thought she recognized Rarity's voice. Applejack and Pinkie Pie snickered and went back to whatever they had been talking about before while Fluttershy continued her conversation.

"… is all fine, there's not need to worry. In fact, we are going to go get better protective clothing right now, so it doesn't happen again. … Of course you can come, if you want to, I-I mean, we… oh. Um… I'm not certain… ah."

"Everything ok?" Sunset asked as Fluttershy lowered the phone uncertainly. They had reached AJ's truck, and split up to get in.

Fluttershy smiled weakly. "Oh yes. But Rarity may want to meet us at Lugnut's in order to… umm… accessorize?"

That brought Applejack to a full stop, keys in-hand. "Wait. How in tarnation does one 'access'erize' with kneepads and gloves?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, vaulting into the bed of the pickup. "I have a feeling we are about to find out the hard way."

"Shotgun!" Pinkie Pie shouted, diving for the door, then opened it for Fluttershy, who looked understandably confused as Pinkie hopped into the truckbed with Sunset. "You go ahead. I just like calling it. Like 'dibs.' Hey, why is it called 'shotgun?' It's a seat, not a gun. Hey, hey Sunset? Why is it called that? Why is anything called anything? Who came up with the word 'anything?'"

Sunset banged on the back of the cab, worried for her sanity if the trip took a moment too long.

Sunset pulled on the first pair of black gloves she found that were small enough and immediately noticed a problem. She growled under her breath.

"They really don't make these for girls with nails, do they? They're too short."

"Oh…" Fluttershy had found a pair of tan gloves with pink stripes across the back, both she and Pinkie Pie were trying them on. "I'm sorry, I hadn't thought of that…"

"Not your fault, nothing to do with you, chill out." Sunset said absently. She really liked the look of the gloves, too: black fabric with shaped caps over each of the knuckles and thin leather on the palms and partway up the fingertips. I feel like a badass just wearing them. I'll trim my nails, I guess. Pity.

"Incoming, brace yer'selves." Applejack muttered as the shop doorbell tinkled, insistently examining the display of wooden dowels next to the workman's gear. Sunset turned around and instantly facepalmed when she saw what was coming in the door.

"Uh, ma'am? Are you sure you got the right address?" The cashier gaped as a long and fully laden rolling coatrack was pushed past his register and into the hardware store. Pushing it was a very annoyed-looking Rainbow Dash.

"Don't. Even. Ask."

Rarity was right behind, trailing a rolling suitcas. "Ah, we found the place! Oh, don't worry, sir, we won't be long! Excuse me!"

Sunset left her hand over her face as she spoke, utterly amazed at the fashionista's adaucity. "Someone get the phone."

"Yeah." Pinkie Pie poked her head into the hangers. "You called it."

"Hmm?" Rarity ignored them, pulling Fluttershy closer as Applejack sidled away, looking at the gloves she had picked out. "Oh, dear, these are hideous! But they suit you the best from what we have available, so they must be saved, it seems. A-ha!"

Rainbow Dash stepped up next to Sunset, whispering over her shoulder. "You can't stop her when she gets like this. I got pulled in just because I happened to be walking down the street. Oh, those look cool!" She reached a machete on the rack behind them and Sunset swatted her arm.

The next forty minutes had them tossed about in a whirlwind of Rarity's creative direction, trying on different combinations of everything, badgering the clerk for different colors and patterns of pads and straps, and cycling through the hardware store's single restroom an what had to be the single weirdest fashion show the world had ever seen. In the end, Sunset ended up wearing a thin white longsleeved shirt with a black vest over it, and black slacks with a crimson stripe down the side. Simple grey knee and elbow-pads fit over it all quite well, and it was comfortable enough to wear with her gunbelt.

"You look like quite the dashing rogue! Give us a pose." Rarity insisted.

"I'll pose when there is a camera. This is not really practical, is it?" Sunset closed her eyes and folded her arms, cutting off any further conversation. Rarity was already distracted and not paying any attention.

"Rainbow Dash! Try these!"

Rainbow ducked as a pair of trousers where thrown at her. "Hey! Come on, Rarity, I'm just going to end up wearing a jersey anyway! I need something I can move in and get ripped up!"

One glare later and Rainbow Dash scurried into the back to get changed. Sunset did her best to get the situation under control, as it was starting to devolve into chaos.

"Rarity."

"And Pinkie Pie, if you can fit into-"

"Rarity."

"Oh, no no no! Applejack! We can't have colors like-"

"Rarity!" Sunset barked. Everything in the crowded hardware store isle came to a halt. Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose. "Isn't this going a bit far? We're scaring Junior over there."

All of the other girls looked toward the front of the store, where the still very confused and unnerved cashier stood behind his desk, one hand uncertainly inching toward the desk phone to call his manager. Sunset gave Rarity a pointed look. "We appreciate your willingness to do this, but there is a time and a place. I don't think 'in Lugnut's Local Hardware' and 'now' are on the list. Come on, let's take this step-by-step."

Rarity blushed furiously. "Oh dear. I got a mite out of control, didn't I?"

"Ah'll say! Come on, y'all. Let's clean up the mess we made." Applejack laughed. She had mostly managed to avoid the chaos by hiding an isle over, but was still sporting a new coat and scarf from collateral fasion. It only took a minute to gather up all of the clothing and replace it haphazardly on the rack. Sunset idly noted that Pinkie Pie was wearing somthing completely different from what she had walked in wearing,

"I don't know what came over me… quite silly. Quite a silly idea." Rarity said apologetically. Sunset patted her back.

"Hey, don't give up on it yet. Help us pick out some gloves, but we need to think practical first. It's not like we really are gonna be seen wearing this stuff except by each other and other teams, right?"

"I suppose you are right." Rarity sighed, then brightened. "Perhaps I could design uniforms sometime!"

"Yeah, there is a…" Rainbow Dash started to speak, then trailed off, turning away to examine a shelf of bolts and nuts and humming tunelessly. Pinkie Pie was on her in an instant.

"'There is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…' thing? What kinda thing?" She leaned slowly toward Rainbow, who stepped away.

"An… uhh. Nevermind!"

Sunset grabbed Rainbow by the shoulder and whispered in her ear as Pinkie Pie began vibrating. "You will tell her, because I don't know how much more Pinkie I can deal with today. I had to drag out a thirty-second explanation on the origin of the term 'riding shotgun' for nine minutes on the way here."

"STAGECOACHES!" Pinkie sang, somehow close enough to eavesdrop. Rainbow Dash and Sunset nearly leapt into the shelving.

"Alright, alright! I… I did some research!" Rainbow hung her head. Sunset blinked, nonplused. "Like, a lot of research. I even went to the library."

"Rainbow Dash does not read nor study unless it is life or death, dear." Rarity explained to the still bewildered Sunset, leaning in to listen. "This is quite the 'big deal.'"

"Anyway, I found out about the Yanhoover Survival Games." Rainbow Dash went on. "It's a huge convention for paintball and Airsoft, for like, four days. There a bunch of tournaments, different competitions for teams and singles, a real shooting competition with real guns, even a special ladies round that… uh, starts with a fashion show."

The girl's jaws hit the floor, all for different reasons, except Fluttershy who smiled cheerfully. "Oh! Just for the girls? That sounds wonderful!"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah. But the big one is the twenty-four hour game. A ton of teams go at it for the craziest capture-the-flag game you have ever heard of. It has a two-thousand dollar grand prize and huge trophy for the winning team."

"Two-thousand?" Applejack whistled.

"Trophy?" Sunset felt a stirring of familiar flame in the back of her mind.

"Fasion… show…" Rarity murmured, eyes glassing over.

"Well that settles that!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "We are so going! When is it?"

"Yesterday. The final day was yesterday, they do it every spring." Rainbow Dash stated. Three daydreaming bubbles popped at once.

"Damn." Sunset growled. "Fine. A whole year."

Fluttershy fiddled with the gloves she had selected, tan with a pink stripe along the back, looking thoughtful. "Well, that is a whole year to prepare, isn't it? We wouldn't do very well if we went a few days ago. Or even a month from now. I hadn't even fired an Airsoft gun before… how long has it been?"

"Seventeen days." Sunset said. "Eighteen since Pinkie Pie got them. But you're right, it's more time to practice. Come on, let's check out and… I don't know, what next?"

"Ah think we got everything we came for." Applejack said, looked them over.

Rainbow Dash grinned as they went to check out. "Are you going out to play another game? I'm in!"

Sunset spread her arms. "We kinda just came from there, I'd like a chance to relax first. Anyone want to go to Sugarcube Corner?" The girls all made various noises of approval as they made their way out of the hardware store.

The clerk at the desk breathed a huge sigh of relief as the door finally shut. He looked around the store to make sure no other customers, or his boss, had come in, then stealthily glanced at his cell phone to see if his picture had gotten a response.

> woah, dude! sunset getting another army? lol jk <

Pinkie Pie slid into her seat at the corner booth of Sugarcube Corner at high speed, jostling Sunset and nearly causing her to spill her smoothie. Rarity was the last to sit, sipping from a frappuccino with an ridiculously long name.

They all fell silent for a moment as they enjoyed their drinks, and Sunset's mind wandered. Rainbow Dash gave a sharp whistle over her milkshake to get her attention.

"Yo! Ground control to Sunny. Why the long face?"

Sunset blinked, but Pinkie interjected before she could answer. "That's her thinky-face!"

"Well, whatever the case, darling, you look positively distressed." Rarity noted. "What's on your mind?"

Sunset smiled ruefully, shaking her head. "Not much. I was just thinking about what I would be doing, right now, if..." She trailed off, no longer certain of where she had been going with that train of thought. If I hadn't cast that spell during the exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? If I had never seen that mirror? If... If Twilight Sparkle had done anything differently? "...if I was still home, I guess."

"Well?" Rainbow leaned forward on the table eagerly. "What would you be doing? In your old world?"

"I don't know. Probably studying. Or on an errand for the princess." Maybe even ruling myself, Sunset noted, shrugging again.

"H'actually, Ah'm a mite curious." Applejack tapped her spoon on her banana split bowl. "Twilight kinda explained that there was three pony races, and we were her friends before, on the other side. She told us she was a unicorn, and Ah kinda figured out that RD and Fluttershy were pegasus'. Wings are kind of a giveaway." She finally looked up at Sunset. "What am Ah? Y'know, other me? In Other Equestria."

Sunset sat up, surprised at the question. "Well, I never met the other you on that side of the portal, but I got a good look when all of them were chasing me through the palace. You, er, other you is an Earth Pony. Strong, dependable... mostly strong."

"Ooh! Ooh! What am I?! What am I?!" Pinkie waved her hand in the air.

"Also an Earth Pony. Rarity and I are Unicorns. Other Rarity is a critically acclaimed dressmaker, and Other Rainbow Dash is one of the fastest pegasi alive."

"Fascinating. I always though I'd make a good magician." Rarity said, a faraway look in her eyes.

Sunset grinned, imagining the insanity that would ensue if Rarity was to make dresses with telekinesis. Her grin vanished, though, when a male voice chimed in.

"And, uh, what would I have been?"

Sunset spun around in her seat to see Flash Sentry standing outside the booth, looking uncomfortable. A host of emotions fought for dominance in Sunset's mind; rage, fear, joy... but shock won. "F-Flash?! What are… ah?"

"Coffee." Sunset's ex-boyfriend held up the paper cup. "I just wanted to know… did you know an other-me back where you came from?"

"Y-yes." Sunset clamped down on her feelings. "Very well. You- Other You is a Pegasus of the Royal Guard when I last went back. Did well, you always were the selfless type."

"Cool. Thanks." Flash nodded, then seemed to notice the rest of them at the table. "Oh, hey Pinkie. Looks like you've been having fun."

Pinkie grinned. "I'm always having fun! But I'm having a lot more fun ever since your parents sold me all of those Airsoft guns!"

Flash gave a short laugh. "Ha! I'll bet. You where lucky, they had no idea how much they where worth. You're using my old Mark Twenty-Four, aren't you? It's the only gun big enough to fit in that holster." He pointed toward her hip.

"Yup! You can have it back if you want to come out and play with us, anytime!" Pinkie offered. Under the table, Fluttershy put a hand on Sunset's leg, and Sunset released the death-grip she had on her smoothie glass.

"Thanks, but I don't play anymore. They're all yours. Have a nice day, girls. It's almost spring break!"

"Thanks!"

"You too!"

"Bye!"

"Are you ok, Sunset?" Fluttershy whispered. Sunset nodded, despite the pain in her chest.

"I will be." She groaned through clenched teeth. "Pinkie?"

"I'm sorry…" Pinkie Pie deflated, hanging her head. "I didn't think you would have cared."

Sunset nodded, slowly and jerkily. "It was just a bit of a surprise. A little warning would have been nice."

Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy put an arm around Sunset's shoulder, and Sunset realized just how low she had sunk into her seat. She straightened up, rubbing her face. "Alright! Sissy feel-sorry time is over. Everybody about done?" Sunset looked around, most of the girls pushed their glasses away, except Rainbow Dash, who sucked hard on her straw in a rush to finish. "Good! It's been a bit to much stress for today, let's go shoot each other."

"WOOHOO! OW!" Rainbow Dash threw her hands in the air, then winced and grabbed her temples. "Brainfreeze. Ow, ow, ow."

They scooted out of their seats, collecting their things. Sunset looked up in time to see Principal Celestia stand up from one of the tables and walk over.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." Sunset said as she got close enough, feeling a little self-conscious about the empty holster hanging off of her waist.

"Good afternoon, girls. You look like you are ready for trouble." Celestia smiled gently at them. All of them adjusted their gear awkwardly, realizing for the first time how odd they must look with gunbelts and kneepads, even if they had left the weapons themselves at Fluttershy's house.

"We, ah, found a new hobby. Don't worry, we won't be playing anywhere near the school or town." Sunset pointed out.

Celestia gave a small laugh. "I'm not worried about you anymore, Sunset Shimmer. I can see already that you've made incredible progress since the Fall Formal."

"Really?" Sunset asked, legitimately surprised. Sure, she had been trying to be a better person, but she still made so many mistakes...

"Absolutely." Celestia placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sunset, those of us who care about you can see how much effort you are putting out, and that's the essence of progress." She took her hand back and looked around at all of them. "And you do not stand alone, clearly. I am curious, how did this... sport... start for all of you?"

The girls all looked at each other in surprise. "I dunno." Applejack noted. Sunset spread her hands.

"Chance, I guess. It's fun, it gives me something to focus on, and it really seems to bring us together. Mostly it's a rush." She gave a sly smile. "You should try it sometime!"

"Perhaps I should!" Celestia laughed, surprising them. "It's so wonderful to hear from you, can I make a small request?"

Sunset nodded slowly. "I don't see why not."

"I had the opportunity to speak to Twilight Sparkle at length before she left, and she went through a very similar process in discovering the magic of friendship. Her mentor had her write regular letters back with her friends about the lessons she had learned. Could I ask you to do something similar?"

"So, a friendship sit-rep?" Sunset felt a wry smile flicker across her face at the ridiculousness of the idea. "Sure, why not. I'd like a way to benchmark how I'm doing. Girls?"

"I think its a wonderful idea." Rarity said.

"Sounds fun!" Pinkie Pie bounced in place, miming writing in mid-air. "Dear Principal Celestia?"

Rainbow Dash raised her hand. "Can we use eMail?"

They all broke out in laughter, except Rainbow Dash, who stamped on the floor. "I'm serious! Writing is a pain!"

"You can, of course. I'll, ah, be sure I check often." Celestia smiled and bowed her head, stepping out of their way. "Have fun, you six!"

"So, what are y'all gonna play?" Applejack leaned back in one of the rickety wooden chairs they had hauled into the Castle.

Sunset shrugged, filling her pistol magazines with fresh gas. "I dunno. Something quick, sun is going down soon."

"Well..." Rarity stood over the table, practicing quick reloads of her M16. "Personally, I'm just a wee bit sore about our first-ever game at Canterlot High."

"V.I.P, then? Sounds cool to me." Rainbow Dash idly spun a magazine for her submachine gun around her fingers. "Should we do the same teams?"

"Sure." Sunset got up. "Applejack can join our team, so it's even. Pistols only? We only have five long guns."

"Ready to get your butts whupped again?" Rainbow Dash challenged.

"Ready to get shot in the backside again?" Rarity countered playfully, dropping her rifle and drawing her pistol.

"Alright, already!" Sunset raised her voice to get them back on track. "What's the objective point, so we can get the game started."

"Let's make it the pit in the courtyard!" Pinkie said. "If Fluttershy makes it there, we win. We'll start around the back, give us two minutes!"

Applejack got up and picked her Peacemaker off the table, flipping it through a complicated series of spins around her finger before returning it to her holster. She gave a sharp nod to Sunset and Rarity. "Le's get started!"

Rainbow Dash led Pinkie and Fluttershy out, and Rarity formed her team into a huddle.

"Well, ladies, last time we lost this kind of match. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash managed to cut us off and we could not prevent them from reaching the goal. Now, we should be able to to do a lot better."

Applejack tapped the brim of her hat. "I'm the best shot, and I have the most powerful gun, so I should stay within sight of the courtyard."

"Ok. Me and Rarity make a fireteam again?" Sunset asked.

"I don't think so." Rarity shook her head. "We'd best split up entirely to cover the halls. You can see all the way down each side from the first turn, and we should be within shouting distance."

"Sounds good. Break!" Sunset patted their shoulders and turned, out of the dayroom and pounding down the stairs, then turning right to the north wing. The hall ran east-west the entire length of the building, and she could clearly see all the way to the jury-rigged plywood door at the end. Rarity would be doing the same on the south wing, while Applejack remained in the dayroom as overwatch. She took a knee in the doorway to one of the classrooms and drew her pistol.

And waited. She maintained her mental count she had started when the V.I.P. had left.

One hundred and eighteen, one hundred and nineteen, one hundred and twenty seconds. Two minutes. Here goes...

A shadow broke the light showing around the edges of the door, and Sunset raised her pistol, lining up the sights. The rough wooden latch lifted painfully slowly as Sunset watched, focusing on controlling her breathing as her heart started pounding.

The door burst open and blinding light from the descending sun poured in, interrupted only for a moment by a flicker of rainbow-tinted speed. Sunset squinted and opened fire, working the Sigma's action as fast at it would go and firing in an expanding pattern designed to catch Rainbow Dash as she sprinted down the hall.

Rainbow Dash gave a faint smile as the pellets whizzed toward her, and bobbed to the side, pushed off of a doorframe, then leap into the air, landing feet first on the wall and continuing her run with improbable speed and athleticism. Gravity finally took over, dropping Rainbow to the floor where she tucked and rolled as Sunset stepped fully into the hall and readjusted her aim. She came up at point blank range inside Sunset's reach.

Panicked, Sunset fired again, missing by a inch over Rainbow Dash's back. The slide on her pistol locked rearward, signaling an empty magazine as Rainbow raised her weapon.

Sunset reached out and caught the slide of Rainbow's pistol, forcing it back. Rainbow Dash pulled the trigger.

The pistol didn't even click. Sunset felt a dizzy rush of adrenalin course through her veins.

They remained frozen there for a second, slightly hesitant. Sunset held Rainbow Dash's gun in place and smirked, tapping the release on her own sidearm and sending the empty magazine clattering to the floor. "Heh. The Sigma can't fire with the chamber opened, and now you have a feed mechanism jam. Let's see who has the-"

"Skills!" Rainbow finished, twisting away. Sunset whirled around opposite, pushing off back to back as she snatched a new magazine out of the slot on her belt and slamming it into the grip of her pistol. She thumbed the locking lever, sending the slide forward as she continued her spin to face Rainbow Dash, ready to aim.

They met forearm to forearm, and Sunset quickly pushed Rainbow's arm so that she could not aim as Rainbow did the same. The slide on Rainbow's handgun was fully forward again, meaning she had probably cleared the jam. The two paused again.

Sunset reached her free hand up and grabbed the top of Rainbow's gun again, Rainbow Dash did the same.

"Well. This is awkward. What now?" Sunset asked, flicking a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"You would be so toast if I had a knife." Dash made a face. "Let go on three?"

"Sure."

*POP!*

Sunset leapt back as Rainbow Dash yelped and spun around. Applejack stood just around the corner of the hall, condensed mist fading away from the barrel of her Peacemaker.

"Applejack! You shot me in the butt!" Rainbow Dash screeched, tossing her Sigma to the ground.

"Sure did. Heard the commotion, thought I'd help." Applejack tipped her hat. Sunset waved her back down the hall, completely ok with the underhanded attack.

"Get back to the courtyard, Pinkie and Rarity probably went together! Let's go!"

The two turned and ran back to the entry hall of the Castle, and Applejack leaned around the edge of the empty window. "Ain't nothin' in the courtyard yet."

"Copy." Sunset took a deep breath and called out toward the south wing; "RARITY!"

There was no response. Applejack winced. "Great. Jus' great. Now they know exactly where we are."

"And we know where they are." Sunset shot back. She aimed her sidearm and began firing steadily at the doorways as she walked toward Rarity's last position. There was a gasp of surprise as Pinkie Pie darted out of hiding and across the hall into another classroom. "Told'ya. I got this one."

"Have fun." Applejack snorted, peeking out the window again.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Thanks, I will." She dashed to the corner of the door Pinkie Pie had dove through, then whirled through, pistol up and ready. The room was empty, except for a large cardboard box that had been used to bring supplies to the Castle. A tingle of paranoia tickled the back of Sunset's mind.

Is it big enough to hide a Pinkie Pie? Sunset stepped cautiously into the room, gun trained on the box. She carefully stretched out her toe and kicked it over. A number of spare parts tumbled out from under it and bounced across the ground. Metal gears? When did I bring those?

"HI THERE!" Pinkie Pie shouted, popping up from the window, outside the room. She swung her giant suppressed pistol up over the sill and opened fire. Sunset turned and scrambled for the door, diving down and sliding the last few feet on her new kneepads as pellets bounced off the cinderblocks around her. She pressed herself into cover, heart pounding as she fought for control of her breath.

"Did I get you?" Pinkie asked cheerfully. Sunset dropped herself on her side and rolled around the edge of the door, but Pinkie Pie was gone.

"No, you have to aim, Pinkie." Sunset taunted, mind whirring as she got to her feet. On a whim, she stepped back into one of the other classrooms, the one that the hyperactive party-planner had ran from initially. She hid in the doorway and listened.

"Umm..." Came a quiet voice.

"Quiet, Fluttershy." Sunset shushed over her shoulder, then did a double take and nearly choked in surprise.

Someone was in the room already, hands raised submissively. Sunset facepalmed. "Fluttershy? What the... I can't... really?" She holstered her Sigma, throwing her hands in the air. "I should be yelling 'hit' right about now! You had the drop on me!"

Fluttershy shrank back, and Sunset realized her voice was starting to rise. With effort, she toned it down to a hoarse whisper. "You can't just give up, you have a team relying on you. Just... try to think of fighting for your friends as another way of being nice! We can't be having this conversation all the time."

"I'm s-" Fluttershy started to apologize, but Sunset held up a hand.

"Fluttershy." She stepped across the room and took the shy girl's hand. "Maybe I'm not your friend yet, but I want you to try and do something for me."

Fluttershy shied away, but nodded. "I-I'll try. If I can."

"It shouldn't be hard." Sunset spoke slowly and carefully, lying through her teeth. "I want you to realize that I think you are the best player on the team."

"W-what?"

"I'll explain later, but right now, I'm going to walk back to that door. The game is still going, nobody has won." Sunset gently pushed Fluttershy's hand toward her holstered pistol. "I wonder what will happen when I do?"

Fluttershy quivered, and Sunset let go, turning her back and walking away the three steps toward the exit. Time seemed to drag on forever with each step until Sunset heard the "snap" of a holster clasp being undone.

Sunset grinned, ducking and drawing her own gun, turning back to face her new target. Fluttershy's eyes where hard and her mouth set in a thin line as she brought her weapon up in front of her. Sunset bobbed sideways, pulling the trigger hastily and sending her first shot high and wide. Fluttershy reacted, free hand snapping the slide of her pistol back, charging it as she pushing off with her right foot, juking to the left before Sunset's second shot cut through the place she had started.

Sunset turned her ducking dodge into a sideways sprint, firing one-handed as she scrambled for the wall, aiming out of the corner of her eye. Unsupported, her shots went wild, while Fluttershy brought her feet together and simply fell sideways. The black-and-silver of her Sigma rose and slid into place between her icy blue eyes, and Sunset knew right then and there there was no winning this duel.

*pop!*

"Gah! Hit!" Sunset stumbled into the wall, rubbing the base of her ribs where the shot had connected. She grinned up at Fluttershy, only to see her already recovering from her fall and dashing from the room. She crossed the hall, firing a quick burst of shots into the entry hall as she passed to dissuade Applejack from investigating.

Sunset remained in the empty classroom for a moment, running a finger along the guard around her pistol's trigger thoughtfully and massaging the newly-forming bruise on her torso. Maybe she can be good, if she can focus like that more often. That really hurt. She noted that this was the first time she had been hit in such close-quarters without her leather jacket on, then carefully peeked out into the hallway.

To the south, Rarity was leaning casually at the corner, trying to watch what was happening. She gave a flick of her head when she made eye contact with Sunset and started toward her, making sure to keep one hand raised.

"What happens to you?" Sunset asked.

"Oh, Pinkie Pie again. That girl is a master of the unexpected." Rarity said airily. "She held me up, I'm fairly certain she climbed through the window to get behind me."

Sunset nodded. "She tried something similar on me. Got out of it, but Fluttershy shot me when I tried to set up an ambush." Sunset explained, omitting the part where she had had an entire conversation about it.

Rarity seemed slightly doubtful. "Fluttershy, really?"

Sunset shrugged, remembering the icy look in Fluttershy's eyes. "She's got potential. I think we lose again, unless Applejack can pull a hat trick."

"Applejack is stubborn enough to give them a run for their money." Rarity commented. "Let's stay out of the way."

Sunset gazed longingly down the hall, wanting to see what was happening.

>FLUTTERSHY

What am I doing what am I doing? Fluttershy sprinted along the inner wall of Castle Cinder-Ply, ducking under each window, pistol ready in front of her. Pinkie Pie ran beside her, sliding to a stop at the edge of the main door and leaning around.

"Go! I gotcha!" Pinkie shouted, then jerked back.

*POP! POP!* A pair of high-power shots zipped through the door.

"Nevermind!"

Fluttershy darted across the doorway, providing her own covering fire as she went. Applejack ducked into a lower crouch and hesitated a moment too long to shoot back.

Oh my goodness, Fluttershy! What are you doing?! Part of Fluttershy's mind whimpered, but something else seemed to be moving her limbs. She lifted her weapon up in front of her and slid the magazine partway out, checking its contents. six, seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven... What am I doing!?

"Flutters!" Pinkie Pie snapped her fingers, then waved her palm over her head, then jabbed it toward the center of the courtyard, signaling I'll cover, you run for it.

Fluttershy shook her head, drawing a box in the air with her finger then making a sideways jabbing motion from her wrist; breach the door.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

Pinkie Pie's eyes went round as bubbles, then glimmered with excitement as she nodded enthusiastically. She reloaded her pistol, and Fluttershy followed suit.

Pinkie raised three fingers, then switched to two, one... and unexpectedly tossed her half-empty magazine into the room ahead of them.

"BREACH!"

Fluttershy was already moving, feeling like the world had had a film pulled away and was full of sharp edges as she wheeled around the corner, pushing her handgun out in front of her into a firing position. Applejack's eyes flickered up from watching the magazine slide across the floor and brought her revolver in line with her eye again.

Right hand grip set. Cup with left hand. Shoulders squared. Head up, don't tuck your chin. Lock right elbow, keep left straight but not locked. Thumbs parallel to barrel. Left eye closed. Front sight over target, rear sight comes up to alignment. Pad of finger on trigger. Smooth pressure, don't twist.

That's what I'm doing.

The tiny plastic pellet lanced out of the barrel in a puff of gas, and the slide of the Sigma flew backward and snapped back into place. Applejack winced and slapped a hand over the center of her chest, then danced back as Pinkie shot her twice more for good measure.

"Ow! Hit! Hit! Watch it!"

Fluttershy dropped her gun, bringing her hands up to her mouth in horror. "Ohmygoodness are you alright!?"

"Whelp, you're back to normal." Pinkie giggled, holstering her Mk. 24. "Weeee wiiin!"

"Dear Principal Celestia-"

"Her term of address isn't Principal, it's Miss. That just sounds odd, doesn't it?" Rarity noted. Sunset made a noncommittal grunt, making the correction and continuing to type on her laptop out loud.

"Dear Miss Celestia, Today we learned the strength that supporting your friends gives you. We already learned that one person alone is nowhere near as powerful as a team, but one person who fights for their team can rise above any challenge."

Fluttershy gave a small smile, blushing heavily before continuing the letter. "Knowing you have people who are relying on you can be stressful, terrifying, even..."

"But knowing those people are your friends and will catch you if you fall makes it that much more important!" Pinkie Pie added.

"Sincerely..." Sunset hesitated, having been about to put her own name, but all of them had contributed to the letter. "What do I sign?"

"'The girls?'" Rarity offered.

"We need'a team name." Applejack stated. "Somethin' we do that no'un else does."

"Shooting For Friendship." Rainbow Dash said. They all looked at her. "What? It's what we're doing, and it... it's..."

"Clever." Sunset praised, typing out one last line:

Team Shooting For Friendship.

Let's see where this goes...

She pressed "Send."

Sunset woke suddenly, cracking an eye and giving the sunlight streaming through the blinds of her apartment a suspicious glare.

Wait… it's Monday. Why hasn't my alarm gone off? She rolled over and pawed her bedside table for her phone. The screen softly pulsed with a silent alarm.

> 8:23
Spring Break YAY :) <

Sunset smiled and curled deeper into her bed.

…

"A-GO!" the phone blasted at maximum volume, inches from Sunset's face. "SO ONE-TWO-THREE TAKE MY HAND AND COME WITH ME-"

"Oh, Bless Me!" Sunset yelled, jerking upright and jabbing buttons to shut it off. She got the volume reduced to a tolerable level, then rubbed her eyes and got a better look at the caller ID. Sighing, she answered.

"Yeee'ello. What's up, Dash?"

"Heeey, Sunset!" Rainbow Dash greeted, sounding way too awake for Sunset. "Where you at? I'm about to run in the Canterlot Spring Fit marathon, though you might want to come down!"

"Aaaaaargle" Sunset responded fluently, flopping facedown into her pillow.

"M'kay, I getcha. You still on for the barbecue at Sweet Apple Acres, though?"

"Mmph-humph."

"Cool. Just fair warning, though, Pinkie is going to set pretty much everything, so show up late unless you really want to get involved." Rainbow Dash warned. "I'll let you get back to sleep."

"Pffffft. Mmph." Sunset dropped her phone over the side of her bed, considering her options. Eventually, her belly gave a growl and motivated her to get up. She ate a breakfast of chocolate puffs straight out of the box as she watched a rerun of an old cartoon before she finally felt guilty enough to start her day in earnest.

The party wasn't for several hours, so Sunset made her way outside and simply wandered. Her apartment was close to the center of town, and it wasn't long before she found herself passing by Quill's and Sofa's hobby shop. She pushed the door open.

"Good morning, ma'am!" The clerk greeted, then recognized her. "Ah! Miss Shimmer! What will it be today? You haven't already gone through another tank of gas, have you?"

Sunset shook her head, deliberately walking past the small glass case with all of the Airsoft guns and instead looking at a rack of incredibly dorky-looking comic books. "No, Berry, I'm just looking today. I don't think I'm getting anything."

Berry gave a small noise of disapproval. "You've stopped looking to replace that old AK, then?"

"No. I still want to repair it." Sunset pointed out. She couldn't help it, and she had gravitated back toward the Airsoft case.

"Like I said, I can't help you to much there. I've never seen a mechanism like that gun has before. Also..." The clerk gave a furtive glance around his shop. "There have been some less-than-nice rumors going on about you. In excess of the usual hate."

"Oh?" Sunset shrugged. "I can't say I'm worried. I don't talk to anyone at the school anymore. Where'd you hear these 'rumors'?"

Berry grimaced. "Snips and Snails. Not the most reliable sources."

"Then I couldn't care less. I changed my mind about buying anything." Sunset straightened up, pointing at the top shelf of the display case. "Your telling me these aren't real knives?"

The shelf in question held a number of replica blades, ranging from blunted bright-orange rubber objects vaguely shaped like a knife to expertly painted and rather realistic looking blades. The clerk nodded, opening his mouth to start a sales pitch.

"I want six."

Berry smiled thinly. "Gift wrap?"

" Frikin' sweet!" Rainbow Dash shouted, tearing the fancy tissue paper off of her new ColdSteel training knife. It was molded after the design of a K-BAR survival knife, with a large blade and the distinctive saw-tooth edge on the back. The entire thing was black rubber, but streaked and mottled throughout with electric blue.

Sunset leaned back against the barn, smiling. "Hey, it was your idea. Last game, you made it to hand-to-hand range, and both you and I got an education how much it hurts to get hit at close-quarters."

The rest of the girls opened their presents as well. Pinkie violently ripped hers open to find another survival-style knife, this one entirely neon-pink, resulting in a giggle. Rarity was next, looking surprised and confused to see a wicked-looking violet and white karambit knife, with a sharply-hooking crescent blade and holes for fingers in the grip.

"Hmm..." She gave it an twirl around one finger. "Interesting..."

"You don't like it?" Sunset asked. She could always get a refund, but...

Rarity flipped it into a reverse grip and spun it again. "No, I do! Vicious, terrifying design. But at the same time oddly elegant and hypnotic. I like it quite a bit more than I thought I would, for a weapon."

"I had no ide'r they made stuff like this." Applejack tossed her new flat-grey and wood-textured Bowie knife in the air and caught it by the handle.

Fluttershy gave a snort, like a laugh cut short, when she peeled back her own paper. She turned red when they all looked over toward her, and she held up a short-bladed dummy knife made of camouflage patterned rubber. A fuzzy rabbit toy dangled off of the hilt by a piece of cord. Sunset laughed.

"I needed a way to customize yours, since I got the same kind." She explained, holding up her own identical model by the blade before tucking it back into her belt under her jacket. "Anyway, thought it was something to address, not like we ever get into that kind of range unless we're screwing around. Anything I can help with for the barbecue?"

"Umm... nope!" Pinkie Pie bobbed her head. "I've taken care of everything but the grilling! Big Mac wanted to do that himself!"

Applejack nodded slowly. "It's gonna be a while, he was barely lightin' up the coals last I saw him. Won't be hot for a while. Anything y'all want to do in the meantime?"

"Pinthetailonthepony!" Pinkie Pie blurted. Sunset brightened.

"Oh! I love that game! Wait..." Sunset paused, then shut her eys and shook her head, trying to clear out the quantum conundrum.

Rainbow Dash dropped her new knife after trying to get it to dance across her fingers. "Whoops! We could always play a-"

"Really?" Rarity interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"What!? You don't even know what I was going to say!" Rainbow Dash complained.

"'Airsoft battle' is not the answer for everything that happens, ever. Besides, we don't have our guns, we left them-"

*CRASH!*

"CUTIE CRUSADERS AIR-GUN WARRIORS YAAAAY!!!"

Sunset ducked instinctively as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo came charging around the barn, each laden with Airsoft equipment. Their equipment.

"Sweetie Bell! Put that down!" Rarity gasped, flinching away as the tiny girl turned around, swinging the barrel of AJ's massive M60 toward all of them.

"Apple Bloom! Where in tarnation did you get that!" Applejack marched straight up to them and grabbed the barrel of her little sister's borrowed M16, trying to lift it out of her grasp.

Sunset groaned. "Probably out of the back of my car, I left the bag open in there."

Apple Bloom dangled, toes brushing the ground as she clung to the weapon. "Aww, come on, sis! Y'all don't get to have all the fun!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo cried defiantly, backpedaling and holding the Mosin Nagant out of reach as Sunset came forward to intervene. "Hey, hey Rainbow Dash! Which one is yours? Hup!" She spun on her scooter, making Sunset miss her lunge. A pair of gunbelts, each with a Sigma in their holsters, crossed her shoulders like bandoliers.

"Oh, please girls!" Fluttershy flitted around the ensuing chaos. "Those can be dangerous! You could hurt somebody! Umm... If you give them back, we'll teach you how to use them properly!"

They all fell silent, and Applejack facepalmed with her free hand, finally shaking a swinging Apple Bloom off of Rarity's M16 with the other. "Now y'all done it."

"Really!?" Sweetie Bell squeaked, nearly smashing her foot as she dropped the machine gun.

Sunset held her hands up in defeat. "You said it, you're teaching them."

"But I'd rather have Rainbow Dash teach me. How do I know you're any good?" Scootaloo asked belligerently. Pinkie gave an insulted "Hey!" and Rarity scoffed. They both reached down and pulled the handguns out of the young tomboy's holsters and racked the slides back. With a nod to each other, they turned in sync and opened fire on a bunch of balloons Pinkie had tied to a nearby plow handle for the party. The balloons made quite the cacophony as they were systematically torn to shreds.

*popopopopopopop pop! Pop!*

Rarity turned back, locking the slide back for effect and blowing across the barrel to clear away some condensation from the gas. "As you can see, we are quite competent ourselves."

"Oh my bejesus my sister is a badass." Sweetie Bell whispered.

"Nah just hold on a minute!"

Applejack stomped forward, snatching Fluttershy's rifle back from Scootaloo. "What if I don't want mah kid sister to have a gun, even if it only shoots plastic B-Bs?"

"Oh, come now, Applejack!" Rarity soothed. "We can be responsible and let them have fun as well. Sunset, darling, do you still have that spring-powered pistol?"

"The Makarov? No." Sunset pointed to the youngest Apple sibling. "Apple Bloom has it in the back of her belt."

Pinkie cackled. "Wahoooo, how many of them did you get?"

"All of them." Chorused the Crusaders. Sunset buried her face in her palm and led them all back around to where she had parked her car. Fluttershy did her best to outline a plan as they walked, gathering the rest of the gear back from the three.

"Now, girls, I'm going to let you borrow Pinkie's springer pistol, and we're counting on you to be safe. Always wear safety glasses, and for now, just learn how it works by shooting at paper targets. Don't take it off of Sweet Apple Acres. I'm trusting you, girls." Fluttershy put on the firmest face she could, which was a little underwhelming. "If you can be responsible, I'll teach you everything I know. But if I find out you are shooting each other or at some poor little critter in the orchard, you'll have a lot more to worry about than earning a Crusader badge in marksmanship!"

Sunset winced at the amount of fire Fluttershy put into her words, but saw they had the desired effect on the Crusaders. Apple Bloom nodded solemnly, taking the springer pistol and a bag of pellets before darting off.

"Come on, y'all! I bet we have some per'tective glasses in the tool shed!"

"Are y'sure this is a good idea?" Applejack muttered, watching them leave.

"Not really." Rarity admitted. "But if I just said 'no' Sweetie Belle would have found a way to do something even more dangerous. It's in her nature."

"They'll be fine." Sunset said.

Applejack snorted. "Yeah, because keepin' them safe is yer number-one priority, obviously."

Sunset whirled with a growl at her tone, only to find Pinkie Pie's hand on her chest. She stood in between the two as they glared at each other. Slowly, Pinkie lowered her arms.

"I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue, let it go, come on now." She laughed falsely, and Sunset turned away before history repeated itself.

Rainbow Dash jumped in, eager to diffuse the tension. "Hey! I thought of a new game type to play!"

Rarity and Fluttershy turned back around, oblivious to the confrontation.

"So we're doing an Airsoft battle anyways. Of course." Rarity flipped her hair. "I'm 'in'."

"Kay." Dash clapped her hands enthusiastically. "So, this mode is called 'Trouble in Terrorist Town.' All of us are 'terrorists'-"

"Oh my..."

"Relax, Fluttershy. We're all 'terrorists,' but one of us, at random, is a 'traitor.' We don't know who, but the traitor's job is to kill all of us, while the rest of us try to figure out who it is and take them out." Rainbow Dash finished. "To keep it even we'll stick with pistols. Also, instead of yelling 'hit' normally, if you're an innocent you fall down and play dead. Only the traitor yells 'hit'."

Rarity smiled thinly. "I like it. Just as much of a mental game as a physical one. Well done, Rainbow Dash. Did you come up with that on your own?"

Rainbow Dash squirmed. "Aah, not really. I... I play a lot of computer games, ok?!"

"Don't be embarrassed, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie hugged her roughly. "I mean, I still play with my stuffed animals, and Rarity likes to watch kid's cartoons with her sister, and Sunset turns into a psychopathic bat-monster! We all have our little weird things."

"Thanks, Pinkie, really needed that." Sunset said dryly, sorting her gunbelt out of the pile and clipping it around her waist.

Rainbow Dash wriggled free and caught her shoulder-holster as it was tossed to her. "That's not really fair! It's not like it's a hobby for her or something."

"Seriously?" Sunset sighed.

"Well, maybe at one point taking over the world was a hobby..." Rarity mused.

"Oh, come on! I'm standing right here!" Sunset slapped a magazine into her pistol grumpily and holstered it.

Rarity giggled. "Only teasing, darling! We know you've turned a new leaf."

Sunset felt her cheek twitch, and wasn't sure if it was a smile or a grimace. "I'm shooting you first. Let's get started."

"Is... is everybody ready?" Fluttershy stood out in front of the barn, a yellow safety vest draped over her summer dress. "Ok... Round one, Trouble in Terrorist Town. Umm... Oh! Go!"

Sunset stayed where she was, partially concealed behind a stack of hay bales. Everyone had gone off in different directions and hidden, except Fluttershy, who had volunteered to be referee.

Spying a fugitive movement off to her right, closer to the barn, Sunset glimpsed Pinkie Pie's back moving around to the back door, gun held close to her body. She drew her own pistol and set off at a low crouch to follow.

Sunset's mouth went dry and her heart started racing as she moved, sweeping her her aim in a full three-sixty around herself to keep up a semblance of security. This is so different... I don't know who to trust! She unconsciously patted the playing card in her pocket, a seven of spades. Whoever had the Joker was the traitor. I know I'm innocent, but how do I prove it?

Slipping around the barn on the same course Pinkie Pie took, she came up to the broad back door and peeked up over the closed gate section.

"Easy, Pinkie." Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie stood facing each other between the end of the stalls and the back gate, pistols trained on each other. Rainbow Dash took the initiative and pointed the barrel of her gun up, showing her palms as the pistol dangled from her trigger finger. "See, I'm not gonna shoot."

Pinkie took a very slight sidestep, just enough to put one of the stall posts in between herself and Sunset. Sunset tightened her grip and swung up over the gate as she realized Pinkie had already seen her. Ok... if Pinkie was the traitor, she would have wanted the two of us lined up like that. She's clear for now. Sunset centered her aim on Rainbow Dash and announced herself.

"Hey. Gave up pretty quick there Dashie." Sunset said, watching Rainbow jump and turn to look. "Almost like you really want us to trust you."

"Oh, heh, hey Sunset." Rainbow Dash slid her gun into its armpit holster. She started to back out toward the main entrance of the barn, and deliberately skirted around the edge where both of them would have spotty lines-of-sight. "I'm just gonna... go my own way, see?"

Sunset vaulted the back gate and stepped to follow.

"Pinkie, I trust you for now, are you ok with that?" Sunset asked, keeping her pistol pointed toward Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie gave her a suspicious look but lowered her gun. "Suuuuurre. I'll 'trust' you. For now."

Sunset hesitated. "That was ominous."

"Thank you!"

Pinkie Pie hung back, and Sunset pushed forward to the door that Rainbow Dash had left the barn from, exposing her back with a tinge of paranoia. She poked her head around the corner and yanked it back as a burst of pellets splattered against it.

"Rainbow Dash!" Sunset fell on her backside and made a mad sprint for one of the stalls. "It's definitely Rainbow Daaaaaaash!"

Rainbow Dash herself came around the corner at a full sprint, shooting as she went. Pinkie Pie braced her Mk.24 on a post and opened fire.

*Pop! Pop!*

"Ow! Hit, you got me." Dash skidded to a stop, rubbing the side of her neck.

Sunset poked her head around the corner of the stall, a piece of hay falling out of her hair. "Really? That was quick."

"I'll say!" Pinkie Pie stepped outside. "Game over, it was Dashie!"

They reconvened in front of Applejack's truck. Rarity looked slightly disappointed. "Well, round two, anyone? I didn't even see anyone up close."

Sunset nodded, gathering the playing cards and shuffling the tiny stack before handing them over to Fluttershy. She doled them out, and Sunset looked at her card, careful to conceal it. The Jack of Hearts. Innocent again.

"A-alright, girls, scatter. We'll start in thirty seconds, if that's all right." Fluttershy directed.

Rainbow Dash waved her hands above her head as she went. "It's not me this time!"

"It's definitely Rainbow Dash!" Rarity countered with a laugh.

Sunset took a knee beside a rusty old plow, closer to the barn this time. Fluttershy shouted go, and once again Sunset held her position, watching to see how events would unfold. She spun and slid down into a sitting position in the dirt as rapid footsteps approached her from behind.

Rainbow Dash slid into cover with her, and Sunset aimed her pistol away so she wouldn't shoot Rainbow point-blank.

"That's a little bit to close, don't you think?" Sunset asked rhetorically. Rainbow Dash gave a nervous smile.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm totally innocent this time." Rainbow helped up her hands, glancing away to make sure nobody was watching them. Sunset made a big show of taking her new knife away from the top of Rainbow's leg where she had been pressing it, stowing it back in an empty magazine pouch.

"Sooo..." Rainbow said, a bit more cautiously, eyeing where the rubber blade had gone to. "What do you think?"

Sunset snorted, shifting back onto her kneepads and swatting dirt off of her skirt. "I think you are way too trusting. Come on, the more people we get gathered, the higher the stress will be, and the easer it will be to fight off the traitor when it happens. Come on."

"What, we just wait around until someone gets shot? That's a great idea."

"You got a better one?"

The two rose and made their way back up to the barn, on the lookout for any of the others. Sunset took the lead as they rounded the back of the building, again. Sunset stopped short when she saw Applejack, and Rainbow Dash gently bumped into her from behind. Applejack quickly leveled her revolver.

"Hey, AJ." Sunset greeted conversationally, outwardly calm as she walked forward. She held up her hands, letting her own pistol dangle around her finger by the trigger guard like Rainbow Dash had done. "I'm innocent, so is Dashie."

"Sure y'all are." Applejack sneered. Sunset was taken aback by the overt hostility, expectantly opened her mouth to quip angrily.

She did not expect a pellet to clip the bottom edge of her glasses and draw a burning line of pain across her cheek.

"What the FUCK!?"

Sunset staggered back, throwing down her Sigma to get the weapon out of her hands as the corners of her vision pulsed with red, only a little bit from pain. She stomped toward Applejack, barely noticing the flicker of fear across her face.

"What was that for? Huh!?" Sunset seethed.

Applejack stood her ground, slamming her Peacemaker back into its holster. "Ah don't trust you!"

"You don't trust me." Sunset hissed, spare inches from Applejack now. She was several inches shorter than the cowgirl, but with the rage burning behind her right now it was hard to notice. "Oh, I can tell. But that had nothing to do with trust, did it?"

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "You're out of the game."

Sunset exploded.

"Do you think I'm playing around right now!?" She whipped off her glasses and threw them aside. Almost of its own accord, her hand came up and slapped Applejack across the face, knocking off her hat.

The glare Applejack gave her next nearly froze her blood. Distantly, she heard someone shout something off to her left, but whoever was trying to intervene was far too slow.

Sunset doubled over as Applejack punched her in the gut, propelling her a good few meters backwards to crash into the dirt. She tried to gasp for breath, but could barely manage a pained hiccup as her chest and back spasmed. Panicked, Sunset clutched her ribs, fighting to get a full inhale and exhale.

As far as life choices go, Sunset, not one of your best, Sunset's internal commentary informed her as she started breathing again. She noticed her ears ringing, and people moving and clamoring around her. She groaned and coughed agonizingly.

"-unset! Sunset!" Rarity shook her shoulder, prompting another fit of coughing. "Oh my goodness, are you all right?"

"Peachy." Sunset choked out, still managing sarcasm. She rolled onto her back, blinking away the sparks dancing in her vision. "That was... ow..."

She lifted her head to see a small scuffle as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both pinned a growling Applejack to the ground. Sunset forced herself into a sitting position. "Let her up. I don't want to fight anymore."

"Are you sure?" Pinkie asked, bobbing up and down as Applejack struggled to push her off of her face. Sunset nodded, and the two girls stepped free. Rainbow Dash ran over to Sunset, kneeling down to check on her. Sunset took it as an opportunity to help herself stand up.

Applejack stood opposite them, shoulders heaving and braid coming undone. The entire group stayed silent for a long minute as everyone got their breath back. Pinkie Pie was the first to talk.

"What. The. Hell."

Applejack twitched, and Sunset hung her head, ashamed at her loss of control.

"What the hell has gotten into you? Both of you!" Pinkie sounded furious, but then Sunset heard her choke back tears. "Why? Why can't my friends be friends?"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie..." Sunset muttered. She raised her head, looking Applejack squarely in the eye. "We need to talk. What is your problem with me?"

"I don't have no problem with you!" Applejack declared, tone indicating she had many problems with Sunset. Sunset called her on it as brutally as she could.

"Liar."

There was a blur of motion as Applejack dove for her, and Rarity stepped forward to intercept her. Sunset wasn't sure what happened; Rarity caught Applejack's wrist, pulling her expertly into a sudden and violent flip that landed her on her back, with Rarity twisting one arm to roll her facedown into the mud.

"STOP IT!!!" Fluttershy's scream brought them all to a halt. She looked around at all of them, tears welling in her eyes.

"Stop hurting each other..."

Sunset nodded, already defeated, and Rarity let Applejack up with a quiet apology. Applejack stayed sitting on the ground, head hung, not looking at anyone. Sunset gently pushed Rainbow Dash away to support her own weight and walked over, picking up Applejack's hat and sitting down across from her.

"Hey. Here."

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry." Sunset added. "I'm trying to be nice, I really want to be... I guess it's just not in me."

"Naw." Applejack pushed her cowgirl's hat down on her head. "I ain't exactly been fair t' ya. I keep... I keep wantin' to believe y'all's self-centered 'n bad."

Sunset chuckled, finding some dim humor. "Probably because I am. I'm mostly sorry because you hit a lot harder than I thought you would."

Sunset was conscious of the other girls hovering over them, and slowly stood up, holding out a hand to Applejack. "Come on. We really do need to talk."

"It's... aw, gosh darn it." Applejack kicked at the sand, frustrated. They had walked around to the far side of Sweet Apple Acres pond, leaving the rest of the girls behind. "I never had such a hard time wit' the truth in ma life!"

"Take your time." Sunset encouraged, feeling drained and exhausted. Applejack nodded slowly.

"Y'all remember the Fall Formal, right?"

Sunset blinked. "You mean that little incident a few months ago where I turned into a raging she-demon, took over the school, and tried to kill you? No, doesn't ring a bell." She hesitated. "Sorry. Sarcasm is my default setting. Can't help it."

"Naw, stupid question. Y'all left out the important part, though." Applejack looked out over the pond, and Pinkie, on the far side, waved. Both of them lifted a hand and waved back to assure them.

"I did? What part?"

Applejack swallowed hard, hands balling into fists as she looked out over the pond. "T'part where you brainwashed my brother and baby sister."

Sunset winced. "Oh..."

"I couldn't forgive myself if sumthin' happened to them. They're all me and old Granny Smith have left. The farm ain't nothin' without the family."

Sunset stayed silent, taking deep breaths.

"Y'all see why it's so hard for me t' trust you, now? You could kill me dead, but give me a handshake and a solid apology and y'all'd be fine. But that was my only family. I don't know if I can forgive you." Applejack finished, finally looking straight at Sunset.

Sunset just stood there, next to the cowgirl. The air was still, but the pond had ripples gliding their way across from an unseen source. Slowly, she spoke.

"I don't expect you to." Sunset closed her eyes, vivid memories flashing through her mind. The burning, acidic feeling of her own greed-corrupted magic coursing through her veins. The feeling of sinking arcane puppet strings into hundreds of minds. "I can't imagine the pain I've caused. The pain I tried to cause."

She crouched down and fished a pebble out of the sand, flicking it into the water. "Thank you."

Applejack grunted, kneeling next to her. "'Da hay for?"

"For not being so perfect." Sunset threw another pebble, sending a handful of sand after it and dusting off her hands. "The rest of the girls are so... so genuinely nice. So trusting, so willing to believe in me... it's... it's not right."

"Y'all don't deserve it."

"No, I don't." Sunset threw the largest rock she could find into the pond, tipping over backwards and sitting down. "I deserved to be left in that crater, but Sparkle had to reach down and help me up. It's been healthy for me, I want to be good, but I sure as hell don't deserve to be around people like you and your friends. So thank you. Thank you for reminding that there is always someone watching I need to prove myself to." Sunset laughed to herself. "Thanks for being the bigger fish I'm afraid of."

"Yer... afraid of me?" Applejack asked.

Sunset nodded. "I'm afraid of all of you. You can't even begin to comprehend the power you wield. Both in magic, and how you see me."

"Shucks, girl, you make it really hard to hate you." Applejack growled, standing up and holding out her hand Sunset took it and let herself be pulled to her feet. "My ma had a sayin'... naw, maybe later. Come on, the girls are 'prolly gettin' worried." They started back around the pond. "I still like ya about as much as gophers like flying, but... I'm willing t' give ya the benefit of the doubt, now. Truce?"

"Truce." Sunset agreed.

"Hey... I got an idea." Applejack looked at her sidelong under the brim of her hat. "Let's start another round of Airsoft, an team up. Play it 'scorched earth,' shoot'n everything that's not us. We'll get the traitor eventually."

Sunset chuckled. "Are you sure I was supposed to be the villain, because that is evil and brilliant. Let's do it."

"No!"

"What?" Sunset stepped back, shocked. "Come on, Rarity, we made up! Kinda. Just one last round?"

Rarity looked like she was wavering, but shook her head. "Not if you two are going to be angry at each other. This sport is dangerous enough as it is! Look, you even have a cut on your face!"

Sunset quickly brought her hand up to her cheek, investigating the hairline slice break in her skin the BB left. "That's why that still hurts... I mean, uh... It's only a little one!"

"Look, y'all..." Applejack stepped forward, sweeping off her hat solemnly. "I'm not angry with Sunset. I was angry, 'cause, well... it's complicated. But I can't hate her anymore."

"Aww, that's so sw-" Pinkie started, only to have Applejack's hat shoved in her face.

"I still don't have no reason t' like yeh, so don't push your luck."

Sunset smiled winningly. "See, Rarity, it's cool. Problem solved, we even have something to write to Principal Celestia about!"

Rarity pursed her lips, tapping one foot rapidly. "Fine. Same cards?"

"New ones, we already gave too many people away." Pinkie said reasonably. "Hopefully I'll get the traitor again! I didn't even get to shoot and it was exciting!"

"'Exciting' is an understatement..." Rarity said darkly, fishing out her card.

"Ok, umm... give them here, please." Fluttershy gathered and dealt the cards again, and Sunset stealthily glanced at hers. The Ace of Spades. She pocketed it carefully.

"Take your positions, if you would! We can start in thirty seconds!"

Sunset made sure to walk in a similar direction to Applejack, who glanced back, miming lighting a match and throwing it away. Scorched earth. Hoo boy. They are gonna be mad at us for this.

"Go!"

Sunset jogged over to where Applejack had knelt by her parked truck and found a spot next to her. "Hey. Game on, which way."

The cowgirl nodded her head uphill. "The barn seems plenty popular. Give them a visit?"

"You're in front."

They took off in a crouching run, checking around both sides of the stack of hay bales on the way. Applejack led them around the front, holstering her revolver and cupping her hands in front of her.

"Here. I'll give ya a boost."

Sunset looked up over the barn door to see the second-story loading door above. "AJ, that's four meters, we're not that tall."

Applejack snorted. "Aw, c'mon. Y'all was on the cheerleadin' team, wasn't ya? Less of a boost, more of a toss."

"That was freshman year."

"So? C'mon, hurry. Me and Big Macintosh used to do this all the time."

Sunset holstered her pistol and took a few paces back, bouncing nervously. Three quick steps and a hop, she planted her boot squarely in Applejack's cupped hands and leapt. Applejack heaved upward at the same time.

She expected to go high enough to catch onto the edge and pull herself up. Instead, she flew cleanly up and through the opening, thudding down in a hard three-point-landing. She took a steadying breath and snapped her head up to see Rarity clambering up the ladder on the right. Sunset waited a moment to let her get safely onto solid ground, then drew her pistol and dropped onto her belly, firing a pair of accurate shots at the fashionista.

"Yipe! Really?!" Rarity looked around to confirm where the shots had come from, then flopped down grumpily and made herself comfortable. Sunset rolled to her feet and carefully began to maneuver around the top of the barn. Applejack slipped inside on the main door and leaned against the wall, peering through a crack in the wooden slats.

Moments later, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash peeked over the back gate. Pinkie poked her head up further. "Psst! Applejack! Are you the traitor?"

Applejack blinked and turned to face them. "Uh... nope! Totally... totally innocent. Sorry!"

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "Sorry for what? Ohsh-!"

Pinkie Pie tackled her as Sunset popped off a quick few of shots from her elevated position. Growling obscenities at the manic party planner's superhuman reactions, Sunset made a stealthy dash to the closed back window of the barn, pushing herself up against it to look down through the crack. She was just in time to see Pinkie Pie slip away to the left, circling the barn. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen.

Sunset sprinted back to the loading door, signaling Applejack to stay low. Switching her pistol to her left hand, she firmly hooked her right around the frame of the door, leaning out and aiming down. Pinkie rounded the corner without clearing it and directly into Sunset's sights. Another two shots and Pinkie fell to the ground, dramatically clutching at her chest, looking around to see who hit her as Sunset disappeared back inside.

"Two down, AJ! Rainbow Dash is probably the traitor!" Sunset shouted down.

"Am not!" Rainbow's objection echoed inside the barn. "You're the one shooting everyone!"

Sunset caught sight of a sneaker edging its way around one of the stalls, and waved for Applejack's attention before firing at Rainbow's cover. Applejack ran the length of the barn as Sunset dropped down to follow her, hitting the ground hard and rolling to soften the impact.

Applejack reached the end of her sprint and dropped down into a baseball slide, drawing her knife as she slid into the same cover as Rainbow Dash. A fast swipe later and Rainbow Dash gave an enthusiastic gurgle, flopping over out of the stall. Applejack stood up, back facing Sunset as she tucked her Bowie knife into the back of her belt and fishing out a few pellets to reload. Sunset let her shoulders slump and smiled tiredly, realizing what this signified.

"So... none of them were the traitor."

"Nnope." Applejack turned to face her.

"Aaand I'm not the traitor." Sunset stayed on one knee and took the opportunity to reload.

"Nnope." Applejack raised her revolver with a twirling flourish, cocking the hammer and beginning to aim.

"Well played!" Sunset dove sideways, rolling across her shoulders before throwing her legs out behind her and tucking her elbows to her body, log-rolling behind a wall set up to store various farm implements. Dust and straw kicked up next to her from two very near misses.

Scrambling to her feet, closed her eyes and built a mental picture of the scenario. The barn was thirty meters long between the main doors. Applejack was closer to the far entrance than she was to Sunset, with three-meter wide livestock stalls evenly spaced between them along both sides of the barn. The higher velocity of the Peacemaker revolver gave it superior range and accuracy over her Sigma, but the manual action and limited cylinders meant it was at a huge disadvantage compared to Sunset's magazine-fed, blowback-operated weapon. The best chance of success would come if she forced the fight into close range, where she could overwhelm Applejack with sheer rate-of-fire and magazine capacity.

First was the trick of closing the distance. Sunset bolted forward, crossing the barn to a slightly closer stall at a full sprint. She heard two shots, but didn't feel any sting as she thudded into the shoulder-high divider, immediately popping back around the corner and firing a long flurry of pellets. Applejack turned and scrambled for cover of her own, and Sunset took the opportunity to move up another stall. She took a quick peek to see Applejack fire an inaccurate shot that bounced off the wall behind Sunset and saw a chance. Got her! Rush her now!

She dug her boots in, blasting out of her cover with her Sigma raised and already firing, sprinting at an angle that would take her past her target for a lethal strafing run.

Applejack, apparently, had the same idea, swinging herself around her wall as she fired her single-action revolver from the hip, running the opposite direction.

*Poppoppoppoppoppopclickclick!*

*PowPowPowPowPowclick!*

Sunset skidded to a stop, pistol still raised and aimed at Applejack, who held a similar stance. They had pretty much swapped places from where their duel had begun.

"Did I get'cha? Y'all didn't get me."

Sunset glanced down at herself. "No. That was some 'Pulp Fiction' right there. You lose, by the way."

Applejack slowly inched her hand toward the pouch where she kept spare pellets. "How so?"

With a smug grin, Sunset pressed her Sigma's magazine release, her left hand already tearing a fresh one from her belt. "Reloading."

Applejack turned and made a mad dash for the entrance. She reached it just as Sunset finished thumbing the slide lock and sent a single pellet zipping over her shoulder.

Shoot! Sunset sprinted after her. Can't. Let. Her. Load! She dove through the giant doorway, twisting mid-air to land on her back and skid across the hard ground, gripping her pistol firmly in both hands and taking aim at where her target was going to end up.

Applejack's thrown knife went high, a last-ditch ambush aimed at someone running, not falling. Sunset's attack did not miss.

"Gyah! Hit! I'm hit, that's game!" Applejack pulled off her hat, fanning herself.

Sunset rolled onto her back, spread-eagled in the dirt and threw her arms in the air. "YEAH! WHOO! I WIN! INNOCENTS WIN!"

"Dear Miss Celestia.

"Every action has reactions. However, the extent that they might reach and how deeply they might affect people may be impossible to know for sure. But everybody does things for a reason, and having all the sides of the story is an important step in resolving the repercussions of bad decisions." Sunset typed out loud. She looked up, hoping someone else would continue.

Pinkie Pie took the initiative. "Just as important is to give them the benefit of the doubt. People don't usually want trouble, sometimes it just seems that way. You can also give them cake, which is just as good as a benefit of the doubt!"

"I'm fairly certain cake is not mandatory." Rarity pointed out. Sunset tapped the backspace key, wondering why she had even bothered to type that out verbatim.

Applejack ignored them, speaking to empty air. "My Ma had a sayin'; just cause the apple is green don't mean it's sour. Sometime you need to have a little trust, even if ya don't like green apples." Sunset made sure to type that, fitting it nicely into the last paragraph.

"I think that's wonderful that you two aren't at odds anymore." Fluttershy pointed out as Sunset signed and sent the email, finding a place to set her laptop amongst the remains of the barbecue. "I can already tell you're both less stressed."

"Meh." Sunset lazily glanced over at Applejack, who looked away pointedly. "We'll still butt heads, I think. But we're over being at each other's throats."

"Humph."

"So tell me, Applejack," Sunset needled, "does every saying in your family have to do with apples?"

"Look here, you-!"

"CUTIE CRUSADER SNIPERS YAAAAAY~!"

The three enthusiastic pre-teens interrupted by charging onto the porch, trailing sheets of paper with dozens of holes poked in them. Most where scattered, but a few were starting to form tighter groupings. Rainbow Dash was quick with encouragement when Scootaloo held hers up.

"Hey! Pretty sick shooting, huh? Can we get more bullets?"

"Ha! Sure thing, squirt! That's almost as good as my first try!"

"Sweetie Bell!" Rarity gasped, shocked. Sunset caught sight of the back side of a surprisingly tight pattern through one of the Crusader's targets. She wondered what the problem was until she turned the paper around to reveal a crudely drawn picture of the fashionista with the majority of her chest missing due to pellet-holes.

The rest of the girls cracked up as Rarity stuttered, trying to strike a balance between praise and horror.

The Pie family garage was slowly beginning to change from a bare section of the house that irregularly stored the family car and convenient place to set up speakers for Pinkie's parties.

Now, a tool rack had been mounted on the back wall, and a dozen black Sharpie outlines of the entire collection of Pinkie Pie's Airsoft guns sat above carefully positioned pegs, over which each matching weapon hung. A pair of light bulbs had been expertly placed to give the wall a sense of importance when lit, and a fish-print shower curtain was tucked off to the side for when guests were over and didn't want to see the girls' toys.

The fishies really kill the mood. Sunset thought to herself, glancing over at the armory. She was lying on her belly across one of the pillows Pinkie had strewn across the edges of the concrete floor, the broken AKM split open in front of her. She stretched the kink in her neck, then carefully drew another line on her graph paper, marking out the weapon's internal components in her hunt for the missing piece. Sunset idly turned over the removed gas regulator in her hand, checking again to see if their was anything she had missed.

And earsplitting shriek from the front yard jolted Sunset from her moment of zen, sending her scrambling to her feet and out the side door barefoot. She sprinted around the corner of the house, fully expecting to be witness to a murder, abduction or at the very least a dragon attack.

Pinkie Pie was dancing on the front doorstep, still wearing her uniform from Sugarcube Corner and clutching an Amazon delivery box. Screaming bloody murder.

"IT CAME IT CAME I GOT IT EEEEHEEHEE~!!!"

"Pinkie Pie! What the actual... Aarg!" Sunset slapped the side of the house. "You scared me half to death, and probably the neighbors, too!"

Pinkie just laughed manically, practically hugging the box. Now that she had toned it down a little, Sunset sighed and waved her over. "Come on. What's so important?"

"Cool stuff! Open the garage!" The hyperactive party-planner blurted. Sunset complied, tapping her foot and glaring as the door rumbled its way up. Pinkie Pie ducked in before it had gone halfway up and rushed to the armory wall. Reverently setting down the box, she snatched her M16A4 from its pegs. The box flew open and several smaller boxes were removed, so Sunset picked one up.

"Magpul?" She flipped it over, revealing the image of a foward vertical grip for mounting on a Picatinny rail, the kind that could be attached under the barrel of a rifle for more control. Sunset kneeled across from Pinkie Pie, looking over the other boxs. "Aimpoint? Surefire?" All big-name military suppliers. "Pinkie Pie, how did you afford all of this?"

The pink party planner couldn't stop grinning as she popped open the box with a tactical flashlight and fumbled for batteries from the locker. "I live with my parents and work, and don't buy much! You save up a lot of money that way!" Within minutes, she had figured out how to attach a holographic sight with a plastic shield in front of it to protect it from being scratched by pellets, the high-power flashlight and the vertical foregrip to the rifle's modular frame. She clicked a switch and lined up her right eye behind the new optics, and started giggling uncontrollably.

"I have got to go plaaaaay~! This is a-maze-ing!"

Sunset shook her head, bemused. "We can call around and see who's free. Applejack and I have made some more progress on the Castle." She went back over to her project on the garage floor and categorically began to pack up the pieces. "It's amazing what a difference a few battery-powered lamps can make."

Sunset looked up to see she was speaking to the Pie family car: Pinkie Pie had shot off into the house. She followed her to find Pinkie chatting on the phone already. "...really? You're super-duper sure? Ok. I'll call her next, but meet you at the Boutique if nothing changes!" Pinkie hung up and dialed again. "Hiiiiii, Rarity! Flutters just told me- no no no, she said it was a surprise and we should come to you before we go to the Castle for a quick game. Ok! I'll bring everybody! Ok! See you in a minute! Or more like eight-and-a-half minutes, it takes a while to- Hey!" Pinkie gave the phone an injured look. "She hung up on me!"

Sunset laughed. "Call Applejack, I'll call RD and we'll go pick them up."

It was a roundabout trip through Canterlot to gather everyone together, and the sky was starting to look overcast. The weatherman had reported a dry day, but Sunset had long-since learned that no meteorologist could match the intuition of even the most weather-challenged pegasus. Still, it'll keep us out of the sun at the Castle, she mused as they all piled into the Carousel Boutique.

"Good morning, dears!" Rarity called as they walked in. "I have presents for you!"

"I LOVE PRESENTS!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, zipping into the back of the boutique. Her chatter continued as she went. "I got presents today, but I bought those myself. Do those count? I think they do..."

Applejack leaned back against one of the shelves, glancing at a price tag and grimacing. "Here's t' hoping there ain't no frills on it. Ah can't say Ah do frills. 'Cept on special occasions."

Rainbow Dash laughed as Pinkie Pie came skidding back, pushing a cart. Indeed, the five boxes within were wrapped in shiny foil paper. The all clustered around as Rarity paused her stocking to watch. "I'm afraid they are not that fancy, Fluttershy helped keep me on track while I was putting them together."

Rainbow Dash had torn hers open first and pulled out the tangle of olive-drab straps, looking confused. "Not what I was... expecting. What is this?"

Sunset had her box open and was picking out everything piece by piece. "Is this a vest carrier? This is tactical gear!"

Rarity nodded as the rest of them got out their new gear. "If you recall that Diamond Dog game two weeks ago, I absolutely ruined my skirt, blouse and shoes. I put it upon myself to acquire some new clothes that are designed to get dirty, and since we already had basic protective gear, this was the next step!"

Sunset sheepishly twisted her arm around, glancing at where irreparable damage had been done to the shoulder of her prized leather jacket when she had dived across the dirt on Applejack's farm. She pulled the vest over her head; the material was thick and stiff, and would take some of the sting out of incoming pellets, with extended pads that covered her shoulders and upper-arms. The front, however, caught her attention. Between the array of magazine pouches across her chest, their was an crimson embroidered insignia: S.F.F. Underneath it was a outline of a two-tone sun symbol, stitched directly into the fabric. Even with Sunset's limited knowledge of how tailoring worked, she was able to figure it out fairly quickly.

"Rarity! You made these yourself!"

"Of course I did, darling, I had an awful lot of that horrid green around." Rarity sniffed haughtily. "It's fine for a winter fashion line, but in the early spring, ha! I had to do something with it. There is a matching belt bag for your empty magazines as well." She added as Fluttershy found hers.

Pinkie Pie giggled, looking at herself in the mirror, admiring the pink balloons under her SFF logo. "We almost seem like we know what we're doing!"

"Ain't that the truth." Applejack mused, replacing her old canvas holster with the new leather one that had been in her box. "Thanks, Rares. This is real nice."

"Awright!" Rainbow Dash finished strapping her full set of gear, and Sunset had to say, between the vest, pads and the sweatpants and sweater she was wearing she really did look somewhat professional. "Let's go shoot each other!"

"Actually..." Rarity pressed the tips of her fingers together. "Let's hold off on that for now. You see, I ran into some rather irate individuals the other day. 'Salty' is the term, I believe."

Sunset paused her re-packing of the gear, concerned at her tone. "Who? What happened?"

Rarity gave a helpless shrug. "The Diamond Dogs, yesterday afternoon. The confrontation may have ended with me stating, ahem... 'We will kick your asses any day of the week, so yes, Friday is fine.' End quote."

Sunset let that process for a second, then slowly lowered her face into her palm. "At least you had the decency to schedule it a few days out. Where at?"

"I cordially invited them to Castle Cinder-Ply. We ought to hold some advantage there. It will be classic, ah... 'Team Death Match,' last-team-standing. They insisted." Rarity informed them. Rainbow Dash punched at the air.

"Yeah! We got this! I can run circles around those lunks, just like last time!"

Applejack nodded. "Ah'd still like to get in some kind of practice, before then."

"SLEEPOVER! My place, of course!" Pinkie Pie sang.

Sunset held our her hand. "Sounds like a plan. All in?"

"I'm in." Fluttershy placed her hand over Sunset's with a surprising amount of quiet conviction.

"Solid copy!" Rainbow Dash slapped her hand down. Pinkie Pie followed suit with a giggle.

"They ain't gonna have no idea what hit'em." Applejack joined them.

"My thoughts exactly!" Rarity cried.

"WHOOOOOO~!"

With a cheer, they all threw their hands into the air.

For the fiftieth time, Sunset dropped the magazine out of the buttstock of her newly-rented FAMAS assault rifle, swapped it for one from her vest, and reinserted it, hooking her left index finger under the carrying handle to pull back the charging lever. The weapon was a "bullpup" design, meaning the magazine was inserted into the stock of the rifle behind the trigger, instead of in front like every other rifle they owned. She looked down the sights, squeezing the trigger and dry-firing it with a sharp "clack."

"Sunny, I'm all for hardcore training, but you got the muscle memory by now. Take it easy." Rainbow Dash lounged on Pinkie's couch, half-immersed in the glow of a handheld video game. Pinkie Pie had her own device, and the two had been playing some kind of game against each other for over an hour now.

"Aw, come on!" Pinkie whined, shaking her console. "I'm a higher level than you, how do you keep winning?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "You're only a few levels higher than me, so it comes down to picking the right strategy. If you're as awesome as I am you learn a few tricks."

Sunset rolled her eyes, quickly clearing the FAMAS and opening the battery case. She wanted a fresh charge in all of their weapons tomorrow, no malfunctions, and hopefully no jams.

She finished quickly, and heaved herself to her feet, making her way to the kitchen. Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity were huddled over a hand-drawn map of the Castle, Rarity speaking softly as she outlined her thoughts. She broke off as Sunset leaned in to watch.

"We were figuring out the best places to plant a sniper and machine-gunner to push the biggest advantage. The Castle really only has a few places." Rarity explained, tapping the map. "The top floor windows on the wings, and above the main entrance, facing the courtyard."

Sunset considered her point. "I see. We'll need to focus just as much on denying those areas as we do controlling them, though, most of the Dogs use light machine guns. Also, don't forget that they can and should move to adapt to the situation."

"We know that." Applejack muttered. "It's more to get an idea of what it will be like, fightin' with a full team at the Castle 'nstead of against each other."

"Who knows?" Fluttershy played with a strand of her hair. "It might be nice if it isn't... umm... crowded..."

"Target Rich Environment. Those are the words you're looking for." Sunset joked, patting Fluttershy gently on the back. "Good work, good idea planning this stuff out. Can I borrow that map when you're-AAAUG!"

All four of them shied away as a blinding burst of light erupted from the living room, shielding their eyes and, in Sunset's case, blinking away dark spots. It waved back and forth, revealing itself to be more of a spotlight beam, and Pinkie's voice came from behind it.

"Wow, this thing is really bright!" She clicked off the tactical light attached to her rifle, lowering the weapon and clicking it on and off at the floor a few times.

"Yeah it is! Don't point that thing at us, that kinda hurt!" The lightbulb behind Sunset flickered, and she voiced her most recent brilliant idea. "But that could be a great trick to make it hard to aim at you in a close-quarters fight! Blind 'em."

Pinkie rolled her eyes, snapping the weapon up and aiming at the refrigerator, illuminating it brightly. "Well, duh! That's the entire point! Otherwise it's just a giant 'shoot Pinkie' sign."

Sunset nodded, yawning hugely. "Hnnnnnnuh-huh. Hopefully we can stick to the main part of the building, instead of the halls. I have no doubt we're better at room clearing, but all those machine guns and marksman's rifles they carry will be a nightmare in any long stretch."

"Ah like how both team's plans really don't amount to much more than 'bullets, then figure it out as we get along'." Applejack noted. "All y'all had best get some sleep, be loaded fer bear tomorrow."

Sunset shot Applejack a baleful look for the slight at her planning skills, but agreed and headed back to her sleeping bag. Rainbow Dash was already in hers staring up at the ceiling as she slowly turned her blue-lightning rubber knife over in her fingers. Fluttershy was fast asleep, and the other girls wordlessly slipped in around the living room, careful not to disturb each other.

Pinkie Pie was the last to turn in, flicking off the lights. Within minutes everyone's breathing had steadied as they settled in. Sunset stayed awake, fighting the urge to toss and turn. Images of how tomorrow would go kept flashing through her mind, peppered with errant thoughts on distant subjects; how soon she would need to go shopping for food again, what she should do with her hair in the morning, advanced magical theory..."

"Psst. Sunset?" Rainbow Dash whispered. Sunset adjusted her head to hear her better in the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"I'm nervous."

Sunset closed her eyes against the darkness. "Me too. It's just a game, though."

"I'm nervous to." Rarity's voice came softly. Rainbow Dash groaned, probably thinking she had been the only one awake.

"Me four." Pinkie mutterd, sounding subdued. "It feels like more than a game to me."

Applejack grunted as she rolled over. "Kinda. Ah ain't gonna panic none, though."

There was a silence that seemed to agree, then Fluttershy's voice whispered, sounding sleepy.

"We'll do fine..."

Sunset grunted in agreement, rolling deeper into her sleeping bag.

Yesterday's overcast had turned into today's bad weather, and Sunset gazed at the low hanging cloud cooly as it made its way down Canterlot Mountain towards Whitetail Woods. In less than an hour, the entire Castle would be caught in the cold fog and drizzle. She turned away, flipping the earpieces of her glasses open and closed rhythmically.

"Maybe we should cancel the game?" Pinkie suggested, her tone indicating how much she liked that idea. "I mean, they're already late, maybe they just aren't coming 'cause of the weather?"

Rarity scoffed, searching her tactical vest for her phone. "Oh, they are coming. I will never let them live it down if they do not. Excuse me while I go verbally abuse some Neanderthals."

As Rarity went to the top floor in search of better cell reception, Sunset turned to look at the rest of the team, all sitting around on the cheap plastic chairs they had gathered. Fluttershy was the only one wearing a skirt and while she had at least had the sense to wear hiking boots and a sweatshirt, Sunset suspected she would be fairly miserable by the end of the match. Pinkie Pie was dressed nearly identically to Sunset; cargo pants (brown in Sunset's case, lime green in Pinkie's), a black longsleeve and their gear-caring vests, though Pinkie Pie had accented hers with a red-ribbon headband. Rainbow Dash was probably the most underdressed, wearing incredibly baggy sweatpants and a tee-shirt, both pulled tight by her web gear, shoulder-holster and kneepads. She was fighting off the cold by bouncing in place to keep her blood flowing.

Applejack dressed like she always did; jeans, boots and a plaid shirt, only replacing her normal leather vest with Rarity's olive-drab load-bearing one. She rattled slightly when she moved, having decided to carry the majority of the team's field supplies, and quickly lifted her machine gun out of the spare seat as Sunset moved to sit down.

"Thanks. Think the weather is gonna have an impact?" Sunset sat back and leaned her rented FAMAS assault rifle against the table.

Pinkie finished strapping the last of her magazines into the pouches across her chest. "I hope so! If it gets foggy enough, it'll be sooooo spooooky! That would be the best!"

"Pish. Again, if they show." Rainbow Dash snorted, rubbing her bare arms with her gloves to warm them up.

"They're coming!" Rarity sang, sliding down the handrail Applejack had installed on the stairs. She had gone the most gung-ho in the matter of preparations, wearing her tactical vest over green, black and brown multicam pants and jacket, with appropriate boots and a green-and-black tiger stripe bandana holding her hair clear of her eyes. Sunset still wanted to say something about her boots, though, as they had more than a little bit of a raised heel.

"They're coming now, they just parked and are following our little trail markers. Shall we wait for them?" Rarity adjusted her protective glasses primly.

"Yes." Sunset stood back up. "Let's. Look sharp, girls."

Rainbow Dash flicked her own goggles down, cracking her knuckles. "We cool? We cool."

Fluttershy just stood quietly, slipping her new rifle sling over her shoulder. Sunset gave her a concerned glance and led the girls out to the south end of the building.

The Diamond Dogs came staggering out of the treeline with the grace of a herd of cattle, quickly gathering themselves into a loose formation. They jogged closer, guns and gear bouncing wildly, and skidded to a halt. They each hefted their weapons, except Rover, who was a bit slow and only raised his rifle after a sharp whisper from Spot. Then held their positions.

Sunset felt the breeze whistle around inside of her mouth, and quickly shut it. "Are you posing?"

With a guilty jump, all seven assumed much more casual postures, shuffling awkwardly, as each of them muttered transparent denials. Sunset shook her head, holding up a hand. "Whatever. Seriously, I don't want to hear about it. You guys wanna start right away, or look around a little bit? Mi casa es su casa and all that, until I tell you to get lost."

"A'n don't break anything!" Applejack added.

Fido tried and failed to hide his bulk behind his brothers as Pinkie Pie jumped forward and grabbed him by the wrists. "C'mon! I'll give you a tour! This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Wonderful. Sunset, Mister Diamond... Spot Diamond, not the rest of you, good lord." Rarity moved toward the main entrance, beckoning the rest to follow. "Let's go and hash out the ground rules, then we can get started."

"Keyh heh heh, nice place you found. Not gonna lie, it's bigger than I thought!" Spot trailed after Rarity, followed by Rover, while the quadruplets started to wander away to explore. Sunset eyed them suspiciously, chewing on a strand of hair, then followed, making her way back to the entrance hall area where Rarity had taken Spot. Rarity turned and gave a slightly obvious sigh of relief when she saw Sunset, and quickly pulled her into the conversation.

"Y'see, if we play with this rule, we'll-"

"Oh Sunset! Thank goodness, where have you been?" Rarity gushed, interrupting Spot. Sunset ignored the question, half-hoping it was rhetorical and more concerned about her appearance in front of the opposing team anyway.

"SitRep." She said shortly, using the abbreviation for Situation Report, and eased her face into an unimpressed scowl.

Rarity reacted to the sudden change in demeanor perfectly, lifting her chin and stating the short version of what had occurred in Sunset's brief absence. "We have accomplished nothing except learned that Mister Spot Diamond thinks he is smart enough to trick us into playing by excessively complicated rules."

Sunset folded her arms and looked cooly at Spot, who shriveled. Without moving her gaze, Sunset spoke to Rarity. "Please tell Mister Diamond that we will be playing single-life 'Team Death Match.' The designated 'Safe' zone is in front of the main entrance under the plastic tent cover. One shot to the body or head is an elimination, two shots to the arms or legs. We do not need a handicap based on team numbers. Additionally, confirm that he and his team understand the rules and can in no way misinterpret them." She made certain that the last part had the tone of a threat.

Rarity had too much class to repeat the entire withering speech, and instead turned to Spot with an expectant smile. Spot nodded rapidly. "I-I'll tell my team."

"Wonderful!" Rarity clapped her hands, rattling her M16 on its new sling. "We shall let you start in the north wing, and we will start in the south. The building is symmetrical, except for the boiler room, but that's off limits. Safety hazard, you see. Lots of bolts and rusty bits of metal. Where was I?"

"Starting the game." Sunset deadpanned, still glaring daggers at Spot. Every squirm he gave revealed a bit more of what he was trying to think about.

Rarity nodded, humming happily. "Right! Whenever you are ready, darling."

Spot practically sprinted from the room as fast as his short legs would carry him, and Sunset stifled a giggle. Spot's body language had revealed quite a bit, some of it useful. Sunset would be looking to put as much stress on him in particular during the coming game to force hasty retreats. Rarity tittered as well, untucking her goggles from her headband and moving them down over her eyes. "Thank you for the save! Goodness, that boy is annoying, I'm not certain what I might have caved to had he carried on. That was most interesting to be on the other side of your bully- eep."

Rarity cut the word short, bringing her hand up to her mouth, but not fast enough. Sunset's eyes widened in shock as the implication struck her.

Oh no... That... That was bullying!

"I... I... but... I didn't..." Sunset felt dizzy as she tried to find something, anything redeeming to say. It was a tactical decision! Intimidation! Interrogation! Psychological warfare! I did it for the team! I did it for strategy! I...

Rarity scrambled for damage control, sounding desperate. "Please, Sunset, I didn't mean it that way! I'm sure you didn't have any intention of cruelty, it was all just part of- I know you don't have it in you to do that on purpose!"

You do have it in you, said a acidic voice in the back of Sunset's mind, almost gleefully, singing, You just did it~!

I didn't mean... Sunset's throat tightened, choking her.

But you did~!

"Sunset!" Rarity reached to get Sunset's attention, betrayed by the fearful edge in her voice.. "Sunset, please look at me!"

She complied, blandly noticing that the fashionista looked terrified. You messed up~! You messed up~!

"Sunset, please, I know you don't want to hear this, but you still can't become good overnight!" Rarity finally summed up the courage to grab Sunset firmly by the shoulders. Something else in the back of her memory caught and began turning gears again, this time powered by a faint flicker of anger.

"I- wh-what!?"

Rarity gave a gasp of relief and let go, stepping back. "Oh, thank goodness, you didn't look like you for a moment there." She raised her hands placatingly as Sunset took deep breaths, trying to get her emotions under control as the accusation burned a little brighter. "I'm sorry, Sunset, but it's true! I know you know firsthand how powerful friendship is, and how hard you try to be a good person now, but people make mistakes. And you're more at risk than anyone, remember? That was how you lived, that was what you where good at, and it was cruel of us, all of us, to take that away from you the way we did! You push yourself so hard, and you are doing so well, but we all make mistakes."

"Rarity... I still did it..." Sunset growled. Seriously, let me be angry at myself without-

"And I thought it was hilarious!" Rarity shouted, looking away in shame.

Sunset stopped herself. With that one outburst, Rarity's words suddenly carried weight, throwing them into perspective. With one last slow exhale, Sunset brought herself back to reality, turmoil under control. "We all make mistakes..."

Rapid footsteps came from both halls, and Rainbow Dash skidded into the entrance hall a split-second ahead of Applejack from the other direction.

"Yo! I heard yelling." Rainbow explained, looking worried. Rarity quickly rubbed her eyes and tried to regain her composure, head still hung.

"Y'all alright?"

Sunset put an arm around Rarity's shoulder. "Better than you'd think. Rarity? You still ready to roll?"

"Y-yes. Absolutely." Rarity said firmly. She raised her chin and slapped her hand down on the grip of her rifle firmly. "Rainbow Dash, be a dear and find Pinkie and Fluttershy, we are going to start in the south wing."

Sunset turned around slowly, faced the wall, and thunked her head into it. If it's not one thing...

"I'm not a magician!" Rarity sniped. "I can't predict exactly what they're going to do! This is a CQB environment; high stress, very chaotic. You'll just need to use your own head!"

"But that's what you're good at!" Rainbow Dash complained, again.

"I'm good at dressmaking! Strategic planning is an off hobby!"

Applejack inspected the feed of her M60. "Ah told yeh the plan would come down to 'bullets.' We might as well just charge them at this point."

"Shut up." Sunset said halfheartedly, thudding her head against the wall again. "We form fireteams, each take responsibility for an area of the castle..."

"See!" Rainbow Dash gestured wildly. "A plan! Rarity! You're fired!"

"Shut up." Sunset, Rarity and Applejack all said at the same time.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Jinx." She blew a raspberry. "You're all taking this way too seriously. It's about fun!"

"Winning is fun..." Fluttershy muttered.

Sunset turned back around as the other girls stared at Fluttershy. Sunset was too annoyed by the rest of them to be surprised. "Well, you're turning into a proper little psychopath. So we need to cover the entrance hall, and the top and bottom floors of each wing. Who's got what?" She asked.

"Me 'n Dash can lock down the entrance hall." Applejack volunteered.

"I got top floor! Come on, Flutters!" Pinkie Pie raised her fist and pumped it up and down like a train horn, the signal for hurry up!

Rarity stepped across the group. "Sunset and I will go through the bottom floors, then. We ought to cross the courtyard to ensue they can't get back to out starting point."

"Awesome!" Pinkie leaned out the window, taking a deep breath.

Sunset raised her hand, a thought striking her. "No, wait!"

"WE'RE READY!"

"Shoot." Sunset winced as Rainbow Dash and Applejack bolted, followed shortly their after by Pinkie Pie trailing Fluttershy by the hand. Rarity glanced at her.

"Let me guess: 'what if they just move in a big group?'" Rarity voiced Sunset's thought.

Sunset growled, shouldering her rifle and waving for Rarity to follow. "Too late now. Come on!"

Taking the lead, Sunset sprinted out the door and down the hall to the exit, slamming her shoulder into the plywood door. The crude latch gave easily and she skidded to a stop in the tall grass, pressing up against the wall and sliding down. She quickly shifted her rifle over to her other shoulder and swiveled around the corner, glancing across the ground-floor windows for threats. Rarity stepped around her with a muttered "s'cuse me," rifle up and trained on her destination as she crossed the courtyard to the north wing entrance. Sunset heaved herself up awkwardly when she reached halfway, keeping the FAMAS ready to fire and preparing to cross herself.

A second later the clatter of a electric-powered machine gun erupted from the upper floor of the north wing, and Sunset gasped as the pellets splattered around her, one glancing off of her scalp with a sharp sting. She flinched back around the corner, throwing her hand up.

"Hit!"

Rarity heard the commotion and glanced back, dropping to a knee and swinging her M16 up to the second-story windows, but too late. The shooter simply held down the trigger and swept his field of fire across the courtyard, and Rarity shrieked as she was hit several times. Sunset kept her hand up as she stepped out, searching for their attacker. She was just in time to see Rover reposition himself at the window.

"Well!" Rarity walked back to Sunset, swatting grass off of her kneepad. "That was quick and annoying. Let's hope the rest of the team does better, hmm?"

Sunset grumbled, fiddling with the fire selector on her rifle. "Let's hope they do a lot better. C'mon, safe zone's this way."

Sunset gazed blankly around at the entire team of SFF standing under the tent cover as the fog rolled in. "Wow. That was quick and brutal. What happened?"

"We got steam-rolled, tha's what happened." Applejack's grumbled. The only Diamond Dog to be hit (the one Sunset had named "Mineie") had fallen to her M60 machine gun.

"But how?" Pinkie whined. Rarity shook her head.

"C'mon! It was just bad luck, let's go again!" Rainbow Dash urged, slapping the side of her submachine gun for emphasis.

"Keyh heh heh!"

Sunset bristled as she heard Spot's distinctive cackle. The entire Diamond Dog team stepped out from the entrance hall, half-circling them.

"You can call it bad luck if you want, but you know what really happened!" Spot taunted. Sunset opened her mouth to shut him down, but she stopped herself, taking a deep breath and a step back. "Keyh! Not so tough now!"

"Hey! Don't you dare start on Sunset! If anyone let the team down..." Rainbow Dash looked around at the rest of the girls, unsure, before standing up straight. "It was probably me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, darling. I'm more to blame than you are." Rarity said.

Not to be left out, Pinkie Pie jumped in. "But I couldn't keep Fluttershy-"

"Stop!" Sunset barked, then, more quietly, "Can we not do this in front of our guests? Come on, round two."

Rover gave a satisfied smirk. "If you can make it last more than five seconds, sure."

Applejack pulled her hat lower over her eyes. "Y'all'd better move quick, then. Bring it."

Sunset led the girls back to the south wing, and very intentionally into a room that they would not be able to shout across the courtyard from. "Ok, everyone, take a knee. I know what went wrong."

"You do?" Pinkie asked, innocently surprised.

"Yes." Sunset rolled her eyes. "We suck."

The room filled with groans of disappointment, but Sunset cut them short. "We sucked worse the last time we played them, too. Remember? So what does that tell you?"

"Well, Ah guess we got lucky." Applejack observed. Sunset snapped her fingers.

"Exactly! But they aren't that much better than us, so it really just comes down to picking the right strategy." Sunset clenched her glove into a fist. "Besides, when you're as awesome as we are, we can pull off a few tricks, right?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Sunny, did you just quote my-"

"Shut up!" Sunset blushed. "No! Rarity, let's hear the situation again!"

Rarity nodded. "We are short one body for team size. Castle Cinder-Ply has a simple enough layout that we've lost most home-field advantages at this point. Their team consists mostly of light machine-guns, while Fido and Moe have DMR's."

Sunset did a double-take. "Wait, what?"

Rarity blinked. "DMR's, dear, Designated Marksman's Rifles? You're the one who told me what that stood for."

"No, no. The last cousin, the one with the funny haircut, his name really is Moe? I've just been calling him that." Sunset stifled a giggle. "Sorry, carry on."

Rarity gave Sunset a odd look. "Anyway, they favor firepower over accuracy. Try not to get caught away from cover. On our side, we have a fairly even mix. Three assault rifles, a big machine gun, an SMG, and a sniper. Good flexibility, not much else. To win, we need to eliminate all seven of them before they get all of us. We have two options, basically; move in a big group and clear each section one at a time, or divide into smaller groups and take an individual section. Overall, we have to worry about the top and bottom floors of each wing, and the entrance hall and the roof over it."

"Small groups. That's what we're gonna do." Sunset stood up.

"Uh, s'cuse me, but that really didn't work out all that well last time." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Sunset nodded. "Because we divided up wrong. We didn't act to cover each other's weaknesses. We sent a sniper to clear the top floor rooms, put a fast-attack and machine-gunner together, and the two strategists in the same group. It went to hell."

"Oh... I never thought about that." Fluttershy mumbled, wringing her hands around the barrel of her rifle.

"Ok. Rarity, you go with Applejack, and lock down the courtyard with the MG this time. Fluttershy, you'll follow the rest of us until we clear the lobby, and you'll post on the roof and make hell for anyone trying to go south. Hang back, move when you need to, bail and join AJ and Rarity if you get pressured." Sunset drew in the disturbed dust on the floor to illustrate her point. "Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash. You and I will make a fast rush straight through. We want to end up right in the thick of it before they realize what just happened, then clean up the rest."

"Umm... Would this be a good time to give out these?" Fluttershy pulled a box from her magazine pouch, handing it over to Sunset. "We kinda ran off before I could hand these out last time."

Sunset looked over the box and her eyes lit up. Tearing open the top, she revealed a set of four wireless communicators, complete with earpieces. "Cool. Thanks!"

She quickly handed them out, fitting them with batteries from Applejack's carrying vest. They gave it a quick test, dividing them between herself, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and Sunset grinned. "It's on. Let's do this!"

Pinkie Pie gave a squee and darted from the room across the hall, leaning out the window to shout. "We're really actually ready this time! GO!" She ducked back and rejoined them as they all filed into the hall. "Wow. It got really foggy, you can't see the other side of the building!"

"We noticed." Sunset glanced down both ends of the hall, where thin mist was beginning to creep in through the windows. "Go, go!"

Rainbow Dash led the charge of Sunset's squad along the hall to the lobby, and she sprinted into the entry hall like a thunderbolt, sliding across the floor behind the main desk. Sunset went next, bringing her rifle up and laying a thick sheet of fire at the doorway to the north wing as she went. Pinkie Pie covered Fluttershy as she dashed for the stairs, and the whole lobby burst into frantic chaos as Rover ran in and was mowed down by Sunset's FAMAS as she held down the trigger. Two other Diamond Dogs poked the barrels of their guns around the corners and opened fire, forcing Sunset down behind the waist-high barricade they had placed there days ago.

Sunset swapped magazines, sending her empty one spinning across the floor. She started to peek over the top and stopped. No, always around the side. You're a smaller target that way. She shifted position and leaned, jerking back to avoid the voracious streams of pellets being flung her way.

"Shoot. I'm suppressed!"

"I got ya!" Rainbow Dash popped over the reception desk, blasting a quick burst toward the two machine guns before ducking again while Pinkie Pie took the opportunity to join her, sprinting from the stairs. The activity earned a particularly vicious blasting from the north doorway. "Woah! Maybe I don't!"

Sunset turned and kept her head low, scanning the half of the room she could see. "Watch your backs, flank incoming! Fluttershy!" Sunset clicked on her communicator. "Fluttershy, we're pinned down here, check over the edge of the rooftop and tell me if you see anyone coming."

Fluttershy didn't respond, but Sunset heard a deliberate sounding "bzzt-bzzt" of the channel being opened and closed: she had simply tapped the transmit button twice to signal without speaking. Sunset winced a more shots hit her cover with a loud clatter against the thin plywood, the the communicator buzzed again.

"East windows!" Fluttershy hissed.

Sunset skillfully lowered herself onto her belly, deploying the FAMAS's bipod and took aim, while Pinkie Pie tapped Rainbow's shoulder and pointed her the right way as well. Rainbow took one last blind potshot toward the north door before orienting herself. The two windows on the east wall where wide, but only half a meter high and slightly higher than comfortable standing height for the girls. Sunset studiously focused on the window that Pinkie and Rainbow Dash could not see, finger slowly squeezing the trigger back until it was just about to fire. The prongs of the front sight bobbed lazily over the window.

A shadow poked up, and Sunset identified the boxy shape of a machine gun as it hooked onto the leftmost edge and its wielder rose up behind it. Shifting her shoulder to swing her sights across it, she tensed her finger the last tittle bit and engaged.

She missed. The movement of her shoulder slid the buttstock down and lifted the barrel, sending the shots inches high, and by the time she had corrected it Fido had ducked back down out of sight. A beam of light and clatter of *wrrtap tap tap* followed by a male's startled cry of "Hit!" told her that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had been much more successful. A muffled *snap* came from the roof, and another yell of "Ow!" outside announced the second flanker's elimination.

"They're down." Fluttershy whispered through her radio. "I'm coming down to help, if I can..."

"Copy-toppy!" Pinkie chirped, then waved over the top of her cover at the north door, shouting, "Didn't work, still here! Yoo-hoo!"

Someone on the other side of Sunset's board seemed to take offense to that, and she heard something clatter into the room and thump against her wall. With an earsplitting bang, plastic BBs went bouncing in every direction. Sunset landed back down on her backside, having jumped spastically into the air at the startling noise.

"What in the name of Celestia's shiny white flank was that!" She yelled, scooting on her butt closer to her cover.

"I think it was a grenade!" Pinkie yelled back, then poked her head up and fired a few shots. "Nya nya! That missed too! Eep!"

Sunset log-rolled sideways just as Pinkie Pie's cover was nearly buried in pellets, bracing her rifle's bipod and firing an accurate stream into the Diamond Dog's arm and side that hit several times. She kept up the fire, sweeping it through the doorway until the magazine was empty. Rainbow Dash vaulted over the reception desk and shot across the room, diving through the door and sliding on her back, MP5 up and ready to fire. "It's clear! The other guy ran! Ack!"

Sunset scrambled to her feet and folded her bipod, nearly tripping on the soda-can sized orange cylinder that was the Diamond Dog's Airsoft grenade as she rushed toward the door, stopping just inside of it as Dash wriggled on her butt back through. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, got winged. Sniper at the end of the hall, don't go around the corner." Rainbow Dash rubbed her bare forearm, where the combination of cold and the hit had made a bright red mark. Sunset moved up the corner leading to the hall and fished out her makeup mirror, flipping it open and using it to scan around the corner. It was hard to see through the gathering mist, but she could clearly see the far exit was open, and an irregular shadow that may have been the shooter was crouching.

"Huh. Dash, watch out backs. Pinkie, get up here!" Sunset ordered. An experimental shot came sailing down the hall and bounced off the wall as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy hustled over. "Pinkie, the hall is full of fog, but it's thin enough that we can see through the backlighting. Do you think the mist would diffuse your light enough to cover us as we cross to the stairwell?"

Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up, and she shifted her grip on the rifle, taking it off of her shoulder. "I can do better, we'll need to move fast and stay low! I'm on point!"

"I-I'm coming with you!" Fluttershy ducked her head as Sunset turned toward her. "If you don't mind. I can't really see much through the fog..."

"Ok. Ready?" Sunset pressed her back against the wall, Pinkie Pie on her left with her rifle at waist hight, Fluttershy on her right and Rainbow Dash just past her. "On my mark. Three, two, one... mark."

Pinkie Pie ducked low, clicking on her flashlight and then dropping her M16 to the floor, sliding it barrel-first to skitter down the hall. The tactical flashlight instantly turned the thin mist into a blinding white glow, and Pinkie dashed across the hall to the stairwell. Sunset was inches behind her when the pellets started flying by, nearly tripping on the first step. She turned around as she heard a startled squeek and caught Rainbow Dash as she dove into cover.

"Fluttershy got hit! Lucky shot." Dash informed them, disentangling herself from Sunset. Behind them, Sunset could hear the shy girl try and raise her voice to confirm it.

Pinkie Pie groaned, drawing her SOCOM pistol. "Aww... Revenge! I will have revenge!"

"Go! Clear the top floor, move down. Dash, on point." Sunset rushed up the stairs, stopping at the top and aiming down the hall. The mist was much thinner here, and she could see clearly to the end. Rainbow and Pinkie moved past her, quickly checking each classroom as they passed, shoes squeaking softly against the damp concrete. The weather had deteriorated into a soft drizzle that fell through the roofless sections further down, but the girls ignored it as they advanced. Rainbow Dash reached the far stairwell first and waved Sunset up.

"Movement below." Rainbow whispered hoarsely as she got closer. Pinkie nodded, holding her arm up in front of her face, parallel to the ground, palm out like she was trying to shade her face, and waved it up and down rapidly. Crossfire. Sunset got her meaning: there is an ambush waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Unless...

"Rarity... Status..." Sunset muttered into her earpiece.

"One down, all clear. A few tried to come our way and we scared them off." Rarity responded cheerfully. "What do you need, darling?"

"We're at the top of the northwest stairwell. The group you headed off is below us waiting." Sunset kept her hand in front of her mouth to stop her voice from carrying. "Ruin their day."

"En-route." Rarity chuckled darkly.

Sunset flashed a quick set of signals to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash; rally here, point of entry at stairs, watch. The girls nodded and settled into ready stances on either side of the stairwell door, where Sunset joined them.

Below them, the light filtering up from the hall suddenly dimmed. It took Sunset a few moments to process the significance of this, but the meaning was very worrying. Someone turned off the light on Pinkie's rifle, at the far end of the hall! That could ruin our ambush!

"Wait five seconds, then go down!" Sunset barked, turning and sprinting down the corridor, dropping her rifle for the tiny boost to agility. She bounced off of the wall and practically flung herself down the first flight, making a perfect three point landing and drawing her pistol, aiming it down at the ground floor door. Two... one. She quickly padded her way down the last flight and into the hall.

Right behind Spot and Moe Diamond. Time seemed to slow for Sunset Shimmer as her mind and body kicked into overdrive.

Moe was checking around the corner to the lobby cautiously, and Spot was beginning to swing back toward the chaos that was erupting at the end of the hall. He caught a glimpse of Sunset emerging from the stairs as she drew her knife in her left hand and lunged for him.

Sunset quickly turned her thrust into a parry to punch away the barrel of Spot's machine gun as he tried to bring it to bear, and felt her joints bruise through the armored knuckles of her gloves. A quick reversal of the motion slashed the knife across his chest and Sunset stepped to the side, bringing her Sigma up and blasting half the magazine down the hallway.

"Hit! Ack!"

Not waiting for the rest of the results, Sunset spun away to whisk Pinkie's rifle off of the floor, raising it to the ready position and hustling down the hall. The glowing red circle-and-dot of the holographic sight bobbed in front of her vision as she went and a shadow materialized in front of her. Sunset froze, centering the dot on the threat until Applejack emerged from the fog.

"Howdy. Guess, what?" Applejack hefted her machine gun to lean casually over her shoulder. "No survivors."

Sunset indulged in a little fist-pump. Just a few minutes later, she was standing outside the tent cover.

"What, you don't want to know for sure? It's best two out of three, right?" Sunset grinned across at the defeated Dimond Dog team. She ignored the thin drizzle around her as she enjoyed the sudden and precise role-reversal.

Spot growled. "That's it. We arn't holding back this time!"

"Settled, then." Sunset smirked as a roll of distant thunder rolled through the fog and the rain started in ernest. "T-D-M, round three. Winner takes all. Let's make it quick, I want to go put on dresses and have tea parties. Set a timer, start in five minutes."

She turned away with a flip of her hair as the Diamond Dogs grumbled. The fog quickly concealed her, and she shivered. Screw the tea, I want a hot shower! This is miserable! She jogged inside and down the south hall to where the rest of the team had gathered and was busy resupplying and rearming. "So! Weather outside sucks, I'm guessing we'll be fighting room-to-room. We also found out they have a Airsoft grenade, seems like some kind of gas-powered thing. Any clever ideas?"

"I-I'll cover our backs." Fluttershy hung her head. "I'm sorry, I can't see through the fog, and I'm too slow indoors."

"You willing to go solo again? We can't afford to loose numbers." Sunset pointed out. "Oh, game starts in about thirty seconds."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'll just hang back a bit... help if I can... This place is scary when it's-"

The timid girl was interrupted by a violent crash of thunder, causing her to squeak and duck. Sunset raised her head from where she had ducked as well.

"Stormy?" Rainbow Dash guessed. Fluttershy nodded.

"Alright, let's roll!" Sunset waved them together, taking her FAMAS from Rarity.

"Plan?" Applejack asked.

Sunset gave her a wry smile, massaging her sore knuckles. "Charge."

Rarity snorted. "You have got to be kidding me. Just... charge in?"

"Pretty much. Pinkie Pie on point, R-D behind her, me, you, Applejack followed by Fluttershy as a backup. Crash straight through." Sunset confirmed. Pinkie Pie jumped to the front of the line and hunkered down into a high crouch, rifle up and ready to run, grinning maniacally. The rest took their positions in the hall, and Sunset flicked her arm forward. "Go, go."

They set off, a swift, quiet line bristling with nervous energy. They followed the wall around to the south entrance to the lobby, where Pinkie hesitated, kneeling with her hand mirror to check the corner, and whispered back over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash nodded and leaned toward Sunset.

"Five contacts, even spread, going left."

Sunset patted her shoulder in confirmation, turning to mutter in Rarity's ear. "Five contacts, even spread, going right."

And so it was passed on. The ritual took an eternity, but as it reached the end Fluttershy nodded and flashed the ok signal.

Sunset held a deep breath, calves tensing as she leaned forward on her toes. Pinkie leaned seemed to freeze in time itself as she steeled herself for the maneuver they had all practiced. Up ahead, she head the quietest whisper in the silence from Pinkie Pie.

"Here comes the pain-train."

Then she was gone, and all hell broke loose. Sunset's vision blurred to a narrow tunnel that included the view through her sights and not much else as she dashed through the doorframe and hooked a sharp right, following the wall. She swept her aim across the room to the first boy that was not throwing his hand in the air and pulled the trigger, sweeping the stream of pellets from him to the helmet of the next target to the left, trusting that Pinkie Pie had done her job and cleared the corner they were moving toward as Applejack bounded in after her. She continued her sweep until a sharp pain revealed itself in her belly and she raised her hand, flinching away.

"Hit!"

"Hit!" Added Rarity. Applejack raised her hand as well, glancing around the room.

All four of the quadruplets had their guns lowered and hands raised, while Fido quickly cowed and whimpered "Hit, hit!" as Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash rounded on him. Fluttershy slipped into the room, doing a perfunctory sweep with her Mosin before relaxing. Sunset walked slowly out, very conscious of the standing "dead men tell no tales" rule she knew most teams played with and hoped the adrenalin had not gotten too far into the remaining three girls heads, so they could keep count. She stopped just outside the door, under the small stone overhang, to eavesdrop on the rest of the game.

"Five down!" Rainbow Dash called.

"That only leaves two! Reloading!" Pinkie Pie announced, eyes flicking between the doors to the north, south and the stairway to the roof. Sunset let out a sigh of relief that Pinkie must have heard, because she whispered loudly toward the door next. "Stop not-having trust in us, you're dead! You're not allowed to have an opinion!"

"So, where are they?" Fluttershy slowly lowered herself to a knee, setting down the bolt-action rifle and fumbling her pistol from its holster.

Rainbow Dash waved to get there attention, pointedly shaking her head as she spoke loudly and clearly. "They Prob-Ab-Ly Went Up To The Roof, Or Hung Back To Am-Bush Us La-Ter." She signaled as she walked, directing Pinkie and Fluttershy back toward the south door with an added shush-ing motion.

Just in time for the worn orange grenade to be tossed into the room from that entrance. Sunset barely had time to recognize it as a the same one that had been thrown at her before Rainbow Dash had acted. The star athlete dropped her gun and dove forward with inhuman reflexes, a multi-colored blur flying to meet the munition halfway to the ground. With a skillful swipe not unlike an open-handed volleyball dig, Dash swatted the cylinder back through the door, away from her teammates.

*PAANG!*

Rainbow Dash swore as she crashed into the floor, curling up and clutching the top of her head as shocked bellows and a huge spray of bouncing projectiles came from beyond the southern door. Sunset ran into the room, game forgotten as she slid on her kneepads to Rainbow Dash's side. Fluttershy beat her there.

"Rainbow Dash! Oh my goodness, are you all right? Did you hit your head?!"

"Aaaug! Pah!" Dash sat up and spat out a plastic pellet. "Damn that hurt! Those things are vicious! Am I bleeding?" Dash gingerly pulled aside her cheek so they could look at her gums, and Sunset shook her head. "Then I'm fine, just a face-full of Airsoft grenade. I'm sure I'm doing better than those two!"

"What was that?" Spot shrieked, stamping in fury as he screamed at his brother. "WHAT WAS THAT? How do you mess up a four-foot throw?"

Rover just shrugged, shaking his head. "I threw it right, bro. She threw it back. It was kinda awesome."

Rainbow Dash nodded smugly from the floor. "You got that right!"

Sunset facepalmed, the idea of rubbing in their swift victory, even against uneven odds and questionable weapons, was lost by her current predicament. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Yuh-huh?"

"We're gonna be hearing about this from you for weeks, arn't we?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Pinkie Pie yelled, waving her arms so fast Sunset thought she just might take off. "DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT WAS EPIC! You're gonna be hearing it from me for months!"

Sunset groaned and brought both her gloves to her face to hide her grin. It had been pretty awesome.

Dear Miss Celestia...

Today was just a lot of fun. We got a good look at just how far we've come, and how we can work together not just by aiming at the same goal, but by playing our strengths and knowing our friend's weaknesses. I've started to come to terms with my habits and history as well: they are a part of who I am, and I don't need to be angry at myself for them, I need to work with what I have and know, just like our team.

Sunset signed the short email and pressed the send button, turning away to finish toweling off her hair. The weather outside her apartment had turned properly stormy, but inside was plenty warm, and Sunset had a thick bathrobe, fluffy towels and plenty of hot cocoa. She paused as her laptop gave a musical ping.

> From: Celestia M. Jubilaus ([email protected])
To: Sunset Shimmer ([email protected])
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Shooting For Friendship SitRep 3_

I've forwarded your message to the intended recipient. You may use the attached email address, or continue sending them here, I quite enjoy reading these all the same!

Principal Celestia_ <

Sunset stared at the screen for a minute, confused, the shook her head and closed the screen. She was exhausted, and cryptic emails could wait until morning.

Life was good right now. Life was getting better.

Breath coming slightly short, Sunset lowered her pace and adjusted her backpack, wiping her brow with the sleeve of her sweater as she slowed to a walk. So far, her day had been just about perfect: the first week of school had started back up without a hitch, she had finished the biggest essay of the year for Equestrian History, not one word from her fellow classmates about dark magic and she made good time on her jog from her apartment to the middle of town. The assistant manager at Quill's & Sofa's had messaged her that he had found someone knowledgeable about some of the more exotic Airsoft guns and offered to take a look at Pinkie's broken AKM for free.

Sunset pushed open the door to the hobby shop and rewarded Berry with a smile as she swung the bag off of her back. "Hi! I got your message, did he come?"

"Indeed." Sunset's Good Mood faltered as the clerk's face betrayed something much like annoyance. He nodded his head curtly toward the back of the store. "Although I just learned that introductions will not be necessary. Which would have been great information several hours ago, not as an offhand remark ten seconds ago!"

Sunset turned in the direction the scathing comment was directed, and her Good Mood promptly threw up its hands in exasperation and left the room. Her eyes narrowed as a tall male with impeccable blue hair stepped around one of the shelves.

"Hi." Flash Sentry raised his hand halfheartedly, trying to look small.

"You..." Sunset dropped the backpack and crossed her arms. "... are a dick."

Berry snorted from behind the counter. "Yes, you are. 'We dated,' indeed. Leave me out of whatever this turns into. And you, Mr. Sentry, are not allowed in this store again as long as Miss Shimmer wishes to shop here."

Flash's eyes went wide. Sunset wanted to give him a hug for the guileless look of hurt on his face. A extremely small part.

"What was the point of this?" Sunset advanced on him, fury rising. "You know where I live. You knew what I wanted. For pony's sake- for puh- Rrrgh!" Sunset couldn't remember the right curse, and just got around to the point. "You have my phone number! You could have called if you wanted to talk to me, instead of pulling this smoke and mirrors prank!"

Flash had backpedaled all the way to the back of the shop, back bumping against a shelf of remote-control airplanes. "I was, uh... I was kinda scared to..." He looked away, cheeks and neck turning red.

Sunset leaned forward aggressively, but her initial bout of rage was simmering down. "Oh? And how do you feel now?"

"Terrified." Flash Sentry's Fluttershy impersonation was flawless.

"And?"

"Very, very stupid. 'Prolly shoulda' called."

Sunset eased up on him, shaking her head. She walked back to where she had dropped the backpack, kneeling to unzip it and pulling out the heavy if compact frame of the AKM. "So, why did you want to trap me here while you fixed your old gun? I'm not stupid, Flash. Setting up 'coincidences' is what I'm good at, and frankly, you suck."

Flash took the mini-assault rifle from her almost reverently. "I really do want to help fix it. It shouldn't take too long..."

"Ok, cool, I'll just leave it here with Berry and come back tomorrow to pick it up-"

"No, wait! Ga!" Flash slumped as he realized he'd just been completely had. "Look, I wanted to see how you're doing, ok? We don't really see each other at school-"

"You've been avoiding me."

"-every time I see you you have new bruises or cuts-"

"Two cuts, both accidents." Sunset resisted the urge to check her left arm for the thin scar and right cheek for the healed nick. They aren't that obvious, were they?

"-and you've been acting so differently when I do see you, it's got me worried!"

That caught Sunset's interest, but Flash did not seem to notice, turning away toward the workbench in the shop, next to the model train display. He did something to the Airsoft rifle that popped the casing open without tools and began looking at the insides.

"How am I worrying you, Flash? As hard of a time as I'm giving you right now, it's retaliation for tricking me into coming here. I don't want anyone concerned about me." She stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder, gently. "Or afraid of me, although it might be too late for that."

Flash nodded, squinting a small part he had removed. "I dunno, Shimmy. We can really see it, you just go through the motions of a school day, then you vanish. And show up again glued to Twilight's friends. I mean, it's nice to see you looking happy, but I never see you doing anything else!"

"I'd like to make a correction there." Sunset took her hand away, folding her arms across her chest again. "They are not just 'Twilight's friends,' they are my friends, too. And we have most of our fun away from the school, where no one will freak out if they see me."

"T-thats good to hear. Airsoft, mostly?" Flash asked, wriggling a piece back into place.

"Among other things. But mostly Airsoft on the weekends."

"And how's that going?"

Sunset thought for a second. "Fantastic, really. We make a good team, we all learn something about ourselves and each other when we play, and we totally kicked the Diamond Dogs' tails twice in a row."

"Aww, the Diamond Dogs suck, me and my brother took them apart on our own once. I've been talking to a guy I know who would probably love to play with you and your team. He should be around." Flash snapped the frame of the AKM shut with a metallic "snick" and checked over it one last time. "Do you have a magazine?"

Sunset took out one of the curving "banana clip" magazines out of her bag and handed it to him. Slowly, Flash rocked the mag into place, then turned the gun sideways and pulled back the charging handle with his left hand, checking inside before letting it snap back into place. Berry came over to watch.

"Test-firing outside, please. You can go into the alley and shoot up some cardboard boxes." He insisted.

After propping open the back door so they could get back inside, Flash handed Sunset the short rifle. Sunset inspected it herself, conscious of the fact that Flash had loaded it, and braced it on her shoulder, pressing her cheek into the wooden stock as she settled her eye behind the square-notch rear sight. She noticed the faintly luminescent red tab below the back sight was really quite helpful in finding her eye position. With a flick of her thumb, she removed the safety and set the selector to "Semi," drawing the front post over a stack of old cardboard.

*C-C-CLACK!*

Sunset's eyebrow shot up, and she took her finger off the trigger and looked at the AKM in confusion. Not only had it fired an extremely fast and loud three-shot burst, but she was certain the shots had literally curved upward and over her target mid-flight. She gave Flash a questioning glance.

"O-oh! Yeah, Sterling liked a ton of hop-up in his gun. He said all the backspin gave him more range." Flash supplied.

Sunset nodded. The barrel of most of their guns had a small device that gave the pellet backspin to aid with accuracy, and strongly affected the arc of the shot. "I get the hop-up, I helped Fluttershy tune hers. What's with the burst-fire? And why was it so loud?"

Flash shrugged. "He liked burst, I guess. The main components inside are from a Polar Star hybrid system, so you can tune just about everything, and it's a bit overgassed for the 'cool noise' factor. Biggest problem is your fire selector only has two settings other than 'Safe.' That and you might go through more gas than you think. Want me to change it?"

"I'll try it as-is for now..." Sunset stopped, something Flash had mentioned catching up with her. "Did you say... Sterling? This... this was your brother's gun?"

"Yeah. Before he joined the service." Flash rubbed the back of his neck, and a dark cloud passed over the mood in the back alley. Sunset had never met him, but the Sentry family's heartbreak had been the main reason she had never singled out Flash for punishment after he had broken up with her. Sterling Sentry had been a big part of Flash's life.

"They... they all belonged to your brother, didn't they?" Sunset confirmed. "That's why your parents wanted to get rid of them."

Flash nodded. "I still wished they had checked with me and gotten a better price. I'm glad it was you girls that got them, though." He stuffed his hands in his pockets nonchalantly, but Sunset could see he wasn't making eye contact.

Sunset brought the stock back to her shoulder, and pressed the fire selector one more click. She aimed low this time, and pulled the trigger all the way back.

*CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!*

The AKM clattered with each shot, and stayed perfectly accurate the whole while. The rate of fire was slower than the burst-fire mode, but it only served to make the gun feel more powerful. Sunset lowered her aim and removed the magazine as soon as it was empty.

"It's great. Thank you, Flash."

"You're welcome. Good aim, I had no idea you knew how to shoot." Flash seemed properly impressed as he walked over to the box she had shot and ran a finger around the single ragged hole that had been torn in the side. Torn between accepting the complement and a smart-ass remark, Sunset stayed silent.

Back inside, Berry had moved Sunset's bag off of the floor and onto the workbench. She set about getting everything to fit again as Flash stood awkwardly beside her, looking for something to help with. Flash broke the silence. "So... you still play guitar?"

Sunset sighed. "I haven't for awhile, but I still have the one you bought me. I get it out every once in a while. Have you started drinking real coffee instead of that sugary Starcolt's stuff yet?"

"Most of the time." Flash chuckled. "It's nice talking to you again, Shimmy. I really was worried about you for awhile."

Sunset nodded, keeping her eyes on her bag as she slotted the spare magazine back into place. "Same. A lot of things have happened, huh?"

"Yeah, not as surprised as I thought I would be to learn you're a dimension-hopping magical pony." He shrugged, leaning on the table. "I feel like that should have been more of an earth-shaking revelation."

"You always were quick to accept the ridiculous. What was my story when you first picked me up?" Sunset asked.

"The excuse before or after 'argle bargle wargle'?"

"We agreed to never mention that again."

"So we did. So we did..." Flash shook his head, bemused. "Sunset?"

"Mmm?" Sunset zipped the bag shut, swinging it onto her back.

"Can I... can I have a do-over?"

Sunset blinked. "What? Are... are you kidding me? You just went there?"

Flash smiled nervously. "Yes?"

"No. No, seriously, go to hell." Sunset stated. Flash's mouth fell open. Sunset wasn't finished, either. "I don't know what your damage is, but you burnt that bridge. It was one thing when you dumped me, I saw that coming before I even started dating you, but when you betrayed me, it was over. Forever."

"B-betrayed?!" Flash shook his head as if dazed. "I... how? I never meant to hurt you, Shimmy! Ever! I lov-"

Sunset grabbed the front of his shirt with her left hand and raised her right, elbow back and fist cocked. "Finish that sentence, I dare you."

Finally, Flash made full eye contact with her, and Sunset held the gaze. Shock and animal terror were the most prominent, but as Sunset twisted his shirt for a tighter grip... Flash relaxed.

"I... I made the mistake of seeing some of you in Twilight..." He muttered. Sunset relaxed her grip, shocked. Twilight reminded you of... me?

It only took her a moment, however, to rile right back up again and slap him across the face with all her might.

"Oh, snap!" Berry shouted as Flash stumbled back into a shelf, and Sunset slung her bag over her shoulder and marched out, fuming.

Thankfully for Sunset, the Carousel Boutique was just far enough away for her to cool down her head of self-righteous anger to tolerable levels. Rarity was kind enough to provide a degree of sympathy, and Sunset found herself modeling in exchange.

"And then he has the gall to compare me to Twilight Sparkle!" Sunset fumed, holding up the dress Rarity had handed her with a critical eye. As usual, it looked gorgeous, a pleasant orange cream halter top with white trimming, but Sunset was not in a complementing mood. "Me! To Twilight!"

"There are some parallels." Rarity pointed out patiently. "And it was not very tactful, but do remember who this is. Mr. Sentry is not known as a master gentleman."

Sunset snorted. "Not for lack of trying. He's just as liable to stare dreamily into a girl's eyes as he is to walk into a glass door. Probably both at the same time."

"You need to do something else, dear. You're obsessing over this." Rarity said.

"I am not obsessing!"

Rarity just raised an eyebrow. Sunset deflated.

"Maybe a little. Got anything in mind?" Sunset hung the dress on the hook just inside the dressing room door to try on in a minute. Rarity nodded as the bell over the boutique's door gave a cheery jingle

"A few things. But first I had best do my job and find out what this gentleman who just walked in wants." Rarity stepped neatly around her and headed toward the front of the boutique, where a young and apathetic looking man had just, in fact, walked in. Rarity began her spiel as Sunset stepped into the dressing room.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique. My name is Rarity, what can I do for you? While we do specialize in woman's wear, I can happily claim that I can make absolutely anything work."

Sunset smiled wryly as she set aside her daywear and pulled the dress off the hanger, thought going to the empty holster in her backpack that Rarity had made as a prime example of "anything". She perked her ears, pausing halfway through stepping into the dress as what she heard next related directly to that.

"Hi. My friends are too uncomfortable with their sexuality to come in and ask if you knew where we could find an all-girls Airsoft team?" The bored male voice said.

"Well... yes! I'm a member myself, and our leader is just in the back, she will be out in a moment!" Rarity could not quite keep the shock out of her voice, and Sunset started and banged her shin on the dressing room bench when she heard the word "leader."

"Ah ha. Knew it." The bell over the boutique's door jingled again, and Sunset got the impression the most recent entrants had been waved in by the first. "I told you this was the right place, but no, you thought it was too girly. So ha."

"Alright, fine, your 'gaydar' was right!" A much louder, aggressive man's voice barked as Sunset hurriedly tugged the zipper of the dress up, anger forgotten. Confident she was decent, she burst out of the changing room and slid into the storefront on her socks. Three males looked up and blinked in surprise: the bored one, one rather chiseled one with short-cropped hair, and one nervous looking who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Sunset composed herself and trotted up to the foremost man, who looked most confident and frankly oozed "military" through his t-shirt and cropped haircut.

"May I introduce Sunset Shimmer?" Rarity provided as Sunset held out her hand.

"Hi." Sunset stuck out her hand to the startled men. "De-facto leader of Shooting For Friendship, I guess. We're an amateur all-girl Airsoft team, but... you already knew that."

The chiseled guy shook her hand with a broad grin as he recovered, and Sunset made certain to grip a little harder than she normally would have as he introduced himself. "Yo, you can call me Pathfinder. We're most of the Equestrian Coalition Strike Force team outta West Cloudsdale. This is wuss is my brother Osprey, and this prettyboy is Prettyboy."

"Hi." Osprey waved, then stuffed his hand back in his pocket.

"He's serious, call me Pretty." The bored one noted. "Everyone does."

Sunset nodded, looking them over critically. Her first impression of Pathfinder was starting to feel more and more correct, between his bearing, haircut, aggressively loud voice and the U.P.E. Marines tattoo on his arm, he definitely looked military. She grinned, seeing an opportunity to make a good first impression, and maybe an unbiased new friend. "So, how'd you find me? Us. I mean, that we have a team?"

"Oh, your boyfriend told us to meet you at Quill's and Sofa's a while ago, he was gonna introduce us." Pathfinder nodded. Rarity winced as the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

"Well..." Sunset nodded slowly. Another attempt at a trick. What has gotten into him? "That's great. Let's pretend he does not exist, shall we?"

The boys all looked at each other, catching on to the minefield signs. "Oh, so that's why he didn't want to hang..." Osprey made a face. "I never get that dude."

Not... obsessing! Sunset ground her teeth, trying hard to relax. "So, where do you guys usually play?

"Easyglider Survival Field, it's just a few blocks away from the community college on the edge of town." Pathfinder explained. "Great place, s'got a bunch of shacks and opened-up semi-trailers, and then goes into a wooded area with all kinds of cool terrain outside, then the indoor area with the CQB maze. Pretty cheap membership, too."

"Cheap to you..." Pretty muttered.

Pathfinder punched casually at his friend's shoulder as Sunset's head spun. A whole facility, just for games? How big is this place? She refocused as Pathfinder continued talking.

"It might take a few days to get everybody on the same schedule, but I can set up a few games as practice if you girls can make it over to Cloudsdale sometime. There's a big milsim Op next month, it would be great fun!"

Rarity cocked her head curiously. "Mill-sim... Op?"

"Military Simulation Operation." Sunset and Pretty said at the same time. They looked at each other blankly, each expecting the other to continue, until Sunset gestured politely for him to go on.

"It's a survival game with a lot of people, and usually around more complicated objectives. Easyglider's Dark Business game is freaking awesome." He explained, flipping his hair back. "If you're cool with teamwork and stuff, you might wanna think about trying it."

Sunset smiled, raising her fist for a bump. "We just might do that. You want to try to set up a game for next week?"

Pathfinder returned the fistbump. "Heck yeah! See you there! Kill bodies!"

With a quick exchange of phone numbers, the door shut behind them with a quiet jingle as they filed out with a wave. Rarity sniffed.

"What a horrible thing to say. 'Kill bodies,' my word!"

"Marines are Marines, I guess." Sunset sat down to pull on her favorite black boots. "It'll be cool to see how we-"

Rarity gasped in horror, and Sunset looked around in sudden panic before she saw Rarity glaring down at her. "Darling, you will not wear those boots with that dress!"

Sunset slumped in total defeat. Some things could just not be avoided.

"Girls..." Sunset hiked her duffle bag further up her shoulder, glancing between the assembled team outside her apartment and her single, sporty convertible. A convertible meant to seat two comfortably, and four at the most. "We have a problem."

Applejack shook her head. "We ain't fittin' in that. Not the whole way to Cloudsdale."

"What about your truck, Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah..." Applejack rubbed her neck, embarrassed. "It's already over there, Big Macintosh took a special shipment this morning. Pinkie? Rares? Think yer folks would let me drive one o' their cars?"

Pinkie blew a raspberry. "Dad's outta town for the Canterlot Mineral Society thing."

"I don't think my mother would let someone she never met drive, I'm afraid." Rarity looked away, grimacing. Rainbow Dash ran her fingers through her hair, growling in frustration.

Fluttershy patted Rainbow on the back, pouting. "Ooh... this is terrible! We... we don't want to be late. Do we know anyone who might be willing to help?"

Rarity cleared her throat to catch Sunset's attention. "Well, dear, I know someone who would be willing. However, you're not going to like it."

Sunset quickly took mental stock of people I don't like who own cars and found the list to be startlingly long. She narrowed it down by people I really don't want to talk to and then, shortly, Airsoft. She rolled her eyes as her brain returned two results.

"You don't mean the Diamond Dogs, do you?" Sunset groaned, knowing full-well that was not the answer and pulling out her phone. Before Rarity could respond, she pressed speed-dial five and brought it to her ear.

It only rang once. Sunset took a deep breath.

"Hi, Flash, I need a favor."

"Uh, yeah... absolutely." Flash sounded reasonably surprised. "As long as you don't hit me."

I hate everything to do with reality right now... Sunset thought to herself as Applejack and Rainbow Dash quietly placed bets behind her.

It was only a half-hour drive following Flash's muscle car, with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack riding with him, but he seemed familiar with the area and led them right to Easyglider Survival Field. Sunset parked, and Rainbow Dash leapt out of the back as Rarity and herself got out at a more reasonable pace, taking their bags of gear with them. She could see Pathfinder sitting at a bench with a good-sized group of other males, most of them eating out of fast-food bags. Pretty saw them first and gave a nonchalant wave as all of them walked over.

"Hey. Welcome to Easy-G." Pathfinder stood up, wiping a bit of hot sauce with his sleeve and holding out his hand. Sunset did her best to match his firm handshake again. "Found it alright?"

"We had help." Sunset jerked her head back toward Flash, and the entire group of boys lit up.

"BRUUUUH!" The shortest one leapt up as dashed over, punching him in the shoulder. "Holy shit, man, haven't seen you in forever!"

Flash chuckled, swiping back at him. "Good to see you to, Mexi. How's it?"

"Pretty good, you missed a lot, though."

Pathfinder grinned down at Sunset, crossing his arms as the boys went about catching up. "Almost like the team is back together. Would you like a tour downrange?"

"Definitely. Rarity!" Sunset called over her shoulder. "Give AJ your stuff, I want you with me!"

The two girls followed him into the building, where a full-blown Airsoft and paintball shop was set up, and right out the back through a gate in a chain link fence that looked a lot like a baseball backstop. A scattering of detritus that looked much like a slightly organized junkyard awaited them, the first thing Sunset saw was the burned-out husk of a car. It really looked like a small-scale warzone.

"We call this Main Street, here." Pathfinder pointed out, gesturing down the lane, past a central two-story shack, and down to the remains of a second car. "The structure in the middle is Fort Effoff, no points in guessing how we named that. Real fun to attack and defend, lots of windows every directions, bit of a killzone around the whole thing."

Rarity nodded. "The whole thing has the feel of some kind of open-air market. A dreary, abandoned, dirty market."

"The west half is actually usually called West Market." Pathfinder confirmed. "It's a lot more open over on that side than you'd think, and it has the Tower of Doom."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the simple guardtower with a winding staircase looming over the ramshackle huts and stalls. Pathfinder was already moving along.

"East side is Residential, mostly Connex boxed divided into two rooms, very CQB. Not much to say but try not to trip on the tires or anything, and The Magic Chain-Link Fence."

Sunset and Rarity looked at each other and giggled, as Pathfinder kept a deadly serious expression. Sunset smirked and asked the question. "Ok, what is a magic fence?"

Pathfinder nodded gravely. "The Magic Chain-Link Fence is a four-foot wide strip of, well, fence, blocking off an alley on the northeast side of Residential that stops everything. Nothing can get through it beyond point-blank range. It's magic. We worship it as our guardian and savior."

"You said that with a completely straight face..." Rarity noted, bemused.

"The magic is real. Besides that, theres the forest and Alamo to the south, but that'll be out of bounds. We were planning on C.T.F. unless you had another idea."

Sunset laced her fingers together, scanning the field again and stretching. "No, capture the flag sounds good. Anything special you guys do?"

"Yeah." Pathfinder gestured over his shoulder. "Easyglider likes to run it with one briefcase in the central building, and you have to get it back to spawn. Keeps a fast fight."

"Single 'flag,' got it." Sunset confirmed. "Alright. Let's get set up!"

The entrance building had two floors, and Sunset was thankful for the cool air conditioning on the second floor and the big windows that overlooked the field. She took a moment to commit the view to memory, then joined the rest of the girls at the table where they had their gear spread out.

"Looks fun!" Pinkie chirped as she swapped out the batteries in her rifle's holo-sight. Rainbow Dash tossed Sunset her bag, she caught it and pulled her jacket off to fit her ammo vest over her shoulders. She popped open each of the pouches and slotted in the curved AK magazines in the abdomen, two pistol magazines on the side of her belt, her knife in the horizontal slot across her collarbone and picked up the short-barreled AKM, looping it's strap over her head so that it dangled in front of her.

"Oi, Sunset. Here." Applejack handed over a pair of soda-can sized plastic cylinders, black with pink grippy material around them and a toggle on the top. Sunset recognized them from their last fight with the Diamond Dogs. Airsoft grenades.

"Where did you get these?" Sunset took one and searched for a place to store it, waving over Pinkie, who took the second.

Applejack thumped the hatch on her machinegun shut. "Just bought 'em downstairs. They're impact-type, so they should go off when they bounce offa' something."

"Cool, they can't be thrown back that way, then. Thanks!" Sunset rearranged some of her magazines to put the grenade on the chest of her rig, next to the knife, before clipping her Sigma holster to her jeans and snapping the last magazine into her rifle. "Set!"

"Rock'n roll!" Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, raring to go.

Pinkie Pie braced her rifle on her shoulder experimentally, then lowered it with a wide grin and a thumbs-up. Fluttershy slapped the bolt of her Mosin closed, taking a deep breath as she stared hard a spot on the table. "I'm... ready."

"What's our plan?" Rarity asked, looping her own rifle sling over her head.

Sunset made a face. "I'm not super sure. We gotta get someone to the building and back, that'll probably be Rainbow Dash, she's the fastest. Everyone else is gonna have to help with that, so... Applejack and Rarity, you go to the market and lay down suppression, everyone else goes through the residential and surrounds the building. Dashie blitzes straight up the middle. Heck, I wouldn't even take your gun, just a pistol."

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash folder her MP5's stock and dropped it on the table, bouncing on her toes. "When you gotta go fast, I'm your girl."

Applejack rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, smirking. "Let's do it!"

Sunset held out her hand, and the girls stacked their hands on top. "We've been at this for months, now. Let's make a great debut! S-F-F!"

"WHOO!"

They trotted downstairs, where the E.C.S.F. team was waiting for them, Flash having finished catching up with his old friends. Now that the boys were wearing their own gear, Sunset noticed a stark difference. Full-body camouflage, helmets, facemasks, proper load-bearing vests completely covered with ammo and tools (and in one case, patches and emblems)...

They looked professional.

And despite how good Sunset was sure she looked, one carry harness and jeans did not really compare. The Diamond Dogs had practically been playing in tee-shirts and suspenders, so Sunset had half-assumed most teams played like that.

She didn't say anything, but she hoped nobody around her noticed how Pathfinder was getting a very sharklike grin.

Sunset had the sinking feeling they were about to get their butts kicked.

The buzzer sounded, and Sunset broke into a sprint to slip into the cargo containers that made the Residential side of the arena. She skidded to a stop and swung her gun around the corner, immediately noticing a problem as Pinkie and Fluttershy arrived on her heels.

"Pinkie, go. There's no line of sight. It's really winding back here."

"Copy-toppy!" Pinke chirped, skipping past. She pushed further up the street, leaning to get a view past a plywood shack before shouting back. "It's no good. I can't see anything worth seeing!"

Fluttershy glanced behind them as the pop-pop of distant fire echoed across the field. "How are we going to help Rainbow Dash? I hope she's alright..."

"We just rush 'em, I guess. Keep them fighting us." Rainbow is fast, she's already leaving the central area by now. She waved for Pinkie Pie to move with her with two fingers in hook-shapes. Column formation, advance.

The two girls smoothly dropped themselves into lower stances, rifles leveled and sweeping to point at entrances and alleyways as they moved. Fluttershy trailed a meter behind with her pistol out, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder.

Sunset took the liberty of hooking down an alleyway that would lead them back toward the main street, causing Fluttershy to stumble slightly as she hurriedly changed direction and fell back into position. She glided along, checking down the last gap between the cargo containers when Pinkie Pie caught the strap on the back of her verst and pulled.

*wrtak!*

"Whaa!" Sunset flailed as a pellet flew past her face and she crashed into Pinkie, rolling off of her and to her knees. "Holy.... How do you do that?"

Pinkie sat up, shaking dust off of her head. "Do what? Surprise people? Drag you into things? Or dodge fast-moving projectiles I have no right to even be aware of?"

Sunset opened her mouth, then paused. "Umm... Yes. All of those."

"Umm, Sunset!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Contact!"

"Oh, er, yeah! Push right, I'll cover!" Sunset fell over from where she knelt, exposing her head and shoulders down the alley, and pulled the trigger of her AKM, lining the gun up on the stack of distant tires almost as an afterthought.

*C-C-CLACK! C-C-CLACK!*

The shots curved sharply to the right as they flew, tilting the gun over plus the excessive backspin pulling them through the air and bouncing off of the shipping container. One of the E.C.S.F. boys scooted himself down to make a smaller target and fired again as his buddy darted across the far end of the street. Sunset blew the air out of her lungs and loosened her grip on her rifle, squeezing the trigger more gently as she estimated the unfamiliar arc.

*C-C-CLACK!*

The helmet shifted a few inches to the side, and the pellets sailed past, and shifted right back, eyes behind the goggles cold. Sunset gaped for a moment before he fired in return, and Sunset rolled across to the other side of the alley, the return pellets bouncing off the ground where her own head had been. Uh-oh! That was Pathfinder!

Pinkie Pie pulled her to her feet as she changed her plan. "Fluttershy, hold this corner for... I dunno, one magazine's worth of ammo, then run and hide. Pinkie! Follow me! Pain-train it! Get to the central building, stop for nothing!"

Sunset ran, following the twists and turns toward the main street, and trying to get closer to the far side of the field. If I can cut them off from the main street, then they won't be able to stop Rainbow Dash. We have to move fast! It only took her a few more yards to get her eyes on the central building.

*thwap!*

"OW!" Sunset clasped a hand to the side of her neck where the pellet hit and heard Pinkie dive into one of the cargo boxes behind her. She dropped her rifle to dangle by its sling and raised her free arm as she massaged the stinging spot, looking across the central street for the shooter. Seconds later she jumped violently as a sharp bang came from Pinkie's direction. Leaving her arm up, she waited, and Pinkie walked out, looking slightly frazzled and holding an empty Airsoft grenade.

"Blew yourself up?" Sunset asked wryly.

"Uh huh. The blue guy game in and shot me when I pulled the pin! Got 'm though!" Pinkie's eye twitched behind her goggles. "Can hearts explode? I think my heart is gonna explode."

They made their way back to the spawn, and Sunset's mouth fell open when she saw Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash waiting for them. "You're kidding me. You're kidding me. I expected to lose, but I thought we would at least put up a fight!"

"Wait, you expected us to lose!?" Rainbow Dash said, eyebrows coming together angrily. "And I put up a helluva fight, but it was three-on-one in that building!"

"That's impossible, dear, Applejack and I were fighting at least three on our side, and Fluttershy said there were two in the Residential zone. There are only six of them!"

"Um, 'scuse me?"

Sunset turned around to see Flash standing behind them. She felt her lips press into a thin line as she calculated the balance between tactical advantage versus emotional frustration. "Hey, Flash. What do you have for us?"

Flash rubbed the side of his neck nervously. "I, uh, thought you could use some pointers. You girls are pretty good on an individual level, but you don't really move like a team."

"Go on." Sunset sighed. She hated being told she was doing it wrong, but she wasn't about to ignore experienced advice. "Spit it out."

"For one, you stick way too close together." Flash took a few steps to illustrate. "You stick about this close in your little squads. You need to be more like this..." He jogged a few more steps, more than doubling the distance. "Otherwise you don't gain any advantage. Your fields of fire just overlap in the same direction. They can just wipe you with one burst, like they did Rarity and... um, cowgirl-who's-name-I-never-learned. No offense."

"None taken, sugarcube. It's Applejack."

"So what your saying is... spread out?" Sunset asked. Rarity nodded.

"Of course, that makes sense. Think of where we are looking like cones. When we're next to each other, and looking at the same thing, the cones cover almost exactly the same area. But if we are a few meters apart-" She kneeled and doodled a quick sketch in the dust to illustrate. "It's just like having a flanking squad. It makes the number of places the enemy can hide a lot smaller. It's basic geometry, really."

"Ok. Spread out more. Maybe we should all go through one side as well, then, just to hold a numbers advantage?" Sunset suggested. Flash coughed behind her.

"Sounds like a great way to get flanked."

Sunset felt herself flinch. "Then what is your winning strategy, oh wiseass one?"

He shrugged. "I'unno. I used to play with them, not against them."

Sunset found herself at a loss for words. There was no way that Flash was not doing this on purpose.

"I think," Rainbow Dash grumbled, "we're getting pummeled by guerrilla tactics."

"Silly, there aren't any zoos-"

"Pinkie no." Sunset lifted her goggles and rubbed her face tiredly. "No, that's a bad joke."

Pinkie Pie giggled, and Sunset felt the atmosphere lighten a bit. "Rainbow Dash is right, though. If they are pulling the hit-and-fade shuffles all over, then we need a way to shut them down before we can capture the briefcase. Remember, though, w don't need to get them all, we just need to clear a path to and from the central building."

"That briefcase is heavy, too." Rainbow Dash pointed out. "I think it has a brick in it. You sure can't sprint with it."

Sunset nodded, considering if she should swap out Applejack for that job when a new thought hit her. "Wait a sec. Flash!"

"Yuh-huh?" Flash blinked, startled.

"Just... real quick, what are they like? Your old team. I don't need much, like five words each." Sunset insisted. She noticed she was clicking the fire selector of her rifle anxiously and stopped.

"Well..." Flash made a face Sunset was sure she had made many times before, when she was forced to say something she really did not want to. "Pathfinders' a Marine, and he pretty much taught everybody how to work together. Osprey is his brother, funny guy if you can get him talking. Blazer is the guy with the grenade launcher on his back. Pretty is fast. Really fast, even with his LMG. Mexi is my bud, he's the little heavyweight guy with the PKM machine gun. And I don't know much about Shining, I guess he replaced me when I left, but that riot shield could be useful. There. You got all the intel in the world, you better not lose now."

"I'll see if I can use it." Sunset huffed. Names weren't super useful, but she could glean some ideas off of that.

Rainbow Dash patted him on the back. "Thanks, bro. You mighta' given us a chance."

A piercing whistle came across the field, and Blazer, the boy who's gear was covered in patches, waved. "Hey! You ready?"

"Girls?" Applejack asked. The rest of them nodded as Flash meandered back to the main building.

"Contact right! Rarity, your twelve!"

*wrtap-tap!*

"One moving center-to-left!" Sunset didn't have the time to fire, and just had to hope Fluttershy heard her.

"S-seen! I got him covered!"

"I'm pinned!" Applejack shouted from under the awning.

"I got'cha! Dashie, go, go!" Pinkie shouted gleefully, leaning orotund the bottom of a barrel and spraying pellets toward Fort Effoff, then winced and held her gun up. "Hit!"

Rainbow Dash slid up against the wall of the building, and Sunset lay in a particularly vicious stream of pellets toward the ground-floor windows next to her. She ducked again as the magazine came up empty, swatting the old one out and snapping the new one into place. She braced herself again, as Rainbow Dash made to leap through the window before backpedaling wildly in terror.

"Oh, bless m-"

*BAMF!*

Sunset felt her jaw drop as Rainbow Dash fell down under a huge blast of pellets. Oh, shoot, was that Blazer's grenade launcher? It's like a giant shotgun! They're already inside and making moves on us!

"Pinkie!" Sunset yelled, searching quickly for targets. "We need grenades in that room! Fluttershy, watch for an attack on the left!"

"Pinkie's out, sugarcube!" Applejack shouted back, firing her M60 one-handed through a gap in the market stalls.

Sunset swore, shifting her AK awkwardly and sliding her own grenade from its pouch, popping the pin out with her thumb. Live grenade in hand, she paused a moment to consider her life.

"I've lost my high-flying mind. Huh. Cover me!"

Dirt flying from under her boots, Sunset lowered her head and charged, spraying her gun wildly as she went. She slammed into the wall under the same window Rainbow Dash had tried to vault and tossed the grenade in hard. The moment she heard the bang, she was up, over and through.

Where's the case, where's the case, WHERE'S THE CASE? Sunset darted through the building, hastily clearing the two rooms. No suitcase, no other players... It's gone! We gotta-

"Nice shot, Fluttershy!" Applejack yelled outside. "That's the package, righ'?"

Sunset swept her aim across the far window, seeing Pretty walking away with his hand and gun raised, and thought she could make out the edge of a silver briefcase on the ground, some ten meters outside. Ok, girls, don't get cocky, just cover it. Attrition, we just don't let them move it. They have it surrounded, we have them pressured.

Sunset stepped back, leaning against the wooden railing of the staircase leading to steady herself, making certain the briefcase was framed in the window. A strange silence swept over everything as she waited for any sign of motion, hoping that the other girls knew the right course of action. The simple construction of the building around her creaked.

That was the only warning Sunset had before something poked her in the back of her neck, prompting her blood to freeze.

"Ssh. Your dead."

Sunset raised her hands and turned head a few degrees to the right as Pathfinder passed her going down the stairs, utterly silent. He crept through the room, rifle slung down by his side, holding a simple plastic spoon and a pistol.

"No way..." Sunset whispered, dropping weakly to her knee. "How did-?"

"Ssh. Stay put. Count to thirty, then you can go back to spawn."

Cheeks burning, Sunset settled in as Pathfinder finished his check and vanished back upstairs. She gave him ten seconds before she marched out. Rarity raised eyebrows as she passed her just outside, before peeking inside and waving for Fluttershy to follow her in.

"This sucks." Rainbow Dash stated grumpily the moment Sunset was near the starting area, leaning against the fence. She straightened up as she saw Sunset's expression. "What the hell happened to you?"

Taking a deep breath, Sunset unclenched her teeth, sitting down next to Pinkie Pie. "Situational awareness. That's why we're losing. We're not used to playing here. We keep... dueling them. Playing on their terms, running into their ambushes or waiting for them to sweep us up."

Pinkie rocked back and forth energetically. "Well, I'm learning! They aren't that fast, and only really are a problem if they see you first. The only place I haven't gotten a good look at is the top floor of Fort Effoff. That's a weird name, I wonder why it's called that..."

"Point is we gotta take back the pace. We gotta play it our way. Whatever our way is." Sunset blew dust off of her empty magazine before pushing new pellets in. She caught a bit of motion back in the course and spotted Fluttershy walking back, panting. The buzzer for the field sounded a minute later.

"Hey, Sunny-" Rainbow Dash glanced at her under her bangs. Sunset felt a strange feeling she normally got before doing something very, very stupid.

"I know what 'our way' is."

"Five..." Rarity said, taking a deep breath.

No "I guess." No halfway. Sunset's words echoed back at her in her mind.

"Four." Applejack rolled her shoulders, making her M60 on her back clatter.

We are good at this. I know, I watch you, I can see it.

"Three!" Pinkie crossed her arms, supporting her pistol with her brightly-colored knife.

I get it now. It doesn't matter. Win, lose, as long as we do it together.

"Two." Rainbow Dash smoothed down the strap holding her folded submachine gun to her chest.

But we can win. I trust you. Go where you think you need to go. Do what you think you need to do. We'll be right there with you. Are you ready?

"One..." Fluttershy whispered.

ARE YOU READY? The plan is-

"CHARGE!" Sunset shouted as the buzzer let off it's tone. The lot of them broke out into a dash, cutting slightly left toward the container-filled Residential zone. Applejack pulled ahead, Rainbow Dash falling in behind her. Skidding to a halt, Applejack braced as Rainbow Dash jumped and used her back as a spring board to launch up on top of the nearest container. Sunset continued past, looking for her cue when Rainbow Dash lowered her hand for Sunset to grab.

With a heave, Sunset joined her on top of the metal cargo container. She landed on her back, and gave a quick thumbs up to urge Rainbow Dash along. "I'm good. Go!"

Below them, Pinkie and Rarity darted through the winding paths, cutting in toward the center as fast as they could manage. Fluttershy had properly vanished, as per Sunset's expectations. She rolled to her feet and took a running jump to the next container, following the path Dash had taken. She stopped and took a knee, bringing her AK up to her shoulder and lining up the sights on the shortest alleyway from the E.C.S.F. starting area to the fort and squeezed the trigger.

*CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!*

The pellets arced out of sight, pinging off the walls. Sunset let go for a second, then moved her aim again, shooting over AJ and Rarity into another alley. The odds she would hit anything were astronomical, but the chance that anyone going that way would be unnerved and hesitate was pretty high as they couldn't see where it was coming from, only hear it. Applejack ran past the alley nearest the Fort, giving a surprised shout and fanning off a pair of quick shots from her revolver down toward someone Sunset couldn't see.

"Push ahead!" Rarity yelled, leaning around the corner and firing a pair of bursts before jerking back. "Shield! It's the shield-plus-one!"

"Sunset! We'll get the case!" Rainbow Dash shouted over her shoulder, jumping to another container stripping her submachine gun off of her vest with the tearing of velcro. "AJ go!"

"Rarity! Eyes on me!" Sunset empathetically pointed at a pair of barrels near Rarity, where she could crouch and be covered from the front and back. Sunset herself checked over the edge of her perch, then lay flat on her back, listening. A pair of distant shots from a gas-powered gun... then...

*wrta-ta-tap!*

At the report of Rarity's M16 was the signal for Sunset to roll and throw herself off the edge of the cargo container, pulling the stock of her AK into her shoulder with a twist of her hips to bring her legs under her. Directly to the exposed side of Shining and Pretty. She aimed for Shining and yanked the trigger.

*CLACK CLACK!*

She hit Pretty instead as the pellets arced higher than expected. Shining backpedaled rapidly, firing his pistol around his shield as he retreated to the corner. Sunset focused her fire down toward his exposed arm as she walked steadily to the side.

*CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-putt-*

Sunset dropped the AK as it came up empty, smoothly drawing her Sigma as she sped up her pace.

*Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!*

She took a knee behind a barrel as Shining retreated out of sight and Rarity crossed to join her. Sunset holstered her pistol and quickly swapped magazines on her rifle.

"Let's crash into the center, we'll leave this group confused and blunt any fight there. We gotta go fast, though." Sunset reached under her carbine and pulled the charging handle, ready to move. Rarity nodded, breathing heavily as she took the lead.

Fluttershy regrouped with them partway, very nearly shooting Rarity as she came around the corner. They ducked into the nearest cargo container to the central fort, and Fluttershy carefully peeked out to see if the coast was clear.

"It looks clear..."

"Ya' wanna bet?" Sunset growled, checking her vest. "Can you see inside? Rainbow and the others should be inside already."

"Yes, well, I can see Applejack at least. She..." Fluttershy squinted, then gave a simple thumbs-up. "She wants us to come over, she's got us covered."

Sunset made a face, stepping around the two of them to look for herself. It took her a moment to pick out the outline of Applejack's hat in one of the second-story windows. "Well, if she's got a plan... ready?"

"Set..." Rarity shifted to plant her heels more firmly.

Sunset leaned out far enough that Applejack could see and raised her arm, then flicked it forward as she stepped out and quickly aimed in an arc around her "Go!"

Applejack's machine gun sent a spray of pellets just over Sunset's head as Rarity and Fluttershy bolted past, making her duck and hurry forward. If Applejack was shooting at something that close...

*p-p-p-pop!*

Sunset nearly tripped as a burst flew by just in front of her, from her right. She swung her rifle out and fired it one-handed in the general direction of the attack, leaping for the cover of the central fort. It seemed like a lot further in the second it took her to reach it before diving bodily through the window and on top of Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Rarity managed to use the door like sensible people.

"Hello again. Nice catch." Sunset quipped as she rolled off of her. "What's the situation?"

"Oh, we're trapped!" Pinkie said brightly. "Applejack was hoping you or Rarity would have a good idea to get us out of here."

"So you called us into the trap instead of having us go around and flank them." Sunset deadpanned. Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"It seemed like a really good idea at the time."

"Story of my life." Sunset dusted herself off. "Keep it secure down here, be ready for a breach. I'm gonna go upstairs and sort this shit out."

Applejack was waiting for her at the top of the stairs. "They got us totally blocked off back to home base," she volunteered, "but we can't seem to do much. They shoot a lot, but I can't able to hit them and they ain't been able to hit me yet. Just a lot of shootin'."

The view from the windows was good, but Sunset was very careful not to be seen as she moved around the room, ducking a splatter of pellets that bounced in. She sighed heavily as she sat down for a breather.

"Well?" Applejack asked, leaning spray back with her machine gun. "What's the plan?"

Sunset shrugged. "We're screwed. We're stuck in here until they assault us. Which we have less than three minuets until they start, based on their rough positions. And I'm on my last magazine."

Applejack looked at Sunset with a raised eyebrow. "How'd y'all know that?"

"That we're screwed? Because we're cut off, inside of a killbox and they are way better than us. Even if we are up by one."

"Naw..." Applejack keeled down next to her, staring her intently in the face as though looking for something. "How'd you know we have three minuets?"

Sunset leaned away, perturbed. "B-because... that's what they're doing? We took out one in residential, so we have five out there in solid positions, if I was the bad-guy I'd have a attack team ready to crash in from the front with at least one person covering, and that would take... oh..."

Sunset's eyes widened for a second as Applejack smirked. "Y'alls pretty good at figurin' out what the both sides are thinking, aint'cha?"

She could see it, from both sides. Five-man team, three stacking on the front door, one at the rear with an extra one long-range. She could hear each of the E.C.S.F's thought's as they took positions in the optimal places...

"We have to move." Sunset snapped back to reality, grabbing Applejack's shoulder and pulling herself up. "Come on! Fluttershy! Get up here! Rainbow Dash, grab the case! Fluttershy..." Sunset grabbed her as she came up the stairs, "there is a sniper in the West Market tower, keyhole yourself. Line him up, but wait until we go to shoot."

Leaping down the stairs, Sunset grabbed Rainbow Dash by the arm and steered her toward the back door. "Ok, here's the plan. We're gonna cut this to the last second, but you need to run this back toward their side and loop the long way around through the cargo boxes. The rest of us... we're going to counter-breach."

Rarity blinked. "What? I've never even heard of such a thing."

Sunset pointed her to kneel by the door. "I literally just made it up. We're going to sit tight right by the door, and as soon as we hear them stack up, we're going to charge out and attack, and run for out home base. Make as much noise as you can, be as crazy as you can. We are the sacrifice to get Rainbow Dash through. All or nothing, how we play the best! Whatever we do, we do not go quietly!"

"IIIII like it! A big show!" Pinkie Pie undid her grenade and held it in her mouth by the rubber tab on the side, adjusting her rifle. "iff exfiting!"

"Are we ready? We have seconds." Sunset crouched behind Rarity as Pinkie Pie and Applejack coiled up under the window. "Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash gave a thumb's up, briefcase hanging from her left hand as she held her MP5 with her right. With that, they fell to silence, listening.

They all heard the crunch of gravel outside, and Pinkie quietly pulled the pin on her grenade. Sunset made eye contact and shook her head as Pinkie made ready to toss it. That could only be one of them. We need all of them. She held her hand up to signal hold, ready to drop. The sun was just low enough to filter bright, reddening light into the dust around them.

Sweat running down her back, she heard the faintest whisper through the thin plywood wall. Sunset dropped her hand.

"Eat pie, scrublords!" Pinkie screamed, lobbing the grenade. Rarity bolted for the door, Sunset with a hand on her back. They were through and Sunset sprayed wildly at the two boys just on the other side, hitting Shining as he blocked Pinkie Pie's grenade from bursting on Pathfinder's back. Pathfinder hit her in return near-instantly, and Sunset skidded to a stop, throwing both hands up and subtly shielding Rarity as she continued her run toward the main base, which worked for all of a second before he hit her as well. Applejack stumbled out as Sunset watched, hands already up, and Pinkie Pie slid her head and arm around the door frame, shooting Pathfinder in the leg with her pistol.

*BAMF!*

Pinkie Pie squeaked as absolutely everyone got splattered with a wall of pellets from Blazer's grenade launcher. Sunset sat down, gasping for breath as everyone looked around in confusion. Pathfinder was the first to start a headcount, prompting Blazer to do the same.

"Damn, ladies. I didn't expect you to get more than three of us in one round." Pathfinder reached out to help Sunset to her feet as Blazer reloaded and stepped over Pinkie Pie to get inside the building.

"Actually, he's your last man." Sunset thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock on Pathfinder's face. "We got your overwatch guy, and were ready at the backdoor."

"What."

Sunset took a deep breath, grinning. "Yep. In fact, any second now..."

Sunset's smug smirk fell off of her face instantly as Rainbow Dash walked around the building with her hands up, Spanish behind her. Blazer waved down from the second floor, meaning Fluttershy had been defeated as well.

"Sorry, Sunny, he was a better shot than I was."

Spanish looked around, confused. "She was close, though. Merda, did they get that many of us? Are we clear?"

Sunset twisted the grip of her rifle viciously, frowning around at her team and wondering what more she could have done. The lot of them looked exhausted and beaten; there was no way they could do another round as intense as that one. They were finished for the day.

"Really, I'm suppressed they did half that well." Osprey wandered up, scoped rifle slung down by his side as the rest of them left the building. He held out his hand to high-five Fluttershy. "You actually timed the counter-snipe with your runner downstairs, and I never saw you with the lighting. That was impressive."

"T-thanks." Fluttershy tapped her hand against his.

Shining holstered his pistol and pulled his shield off of his arm. "I mean, hell, I haven't been playing long, but you girls are scary to battle up-close. I can only cover so much at once."

"Seriously. Good game. Come on in, I got an offer for you." Pathfinder waved for them to follow. Blazer shook his grenade rifle over his head with a cheer.

"Drinks and snacks on the boss!"

"Blaze you SUNOVA-"

"You'd want to play with us on your side?" Sunset sipped at her soda from the Easyglider's snack shop. "We lost every single round, though."

Osprey nodded. "Well, yeah. You guys are new, but you got drive like nothing else! You're willing to cooperate and learn, and that's worth a whole lot more than being a sick shot."

"You couldn't have better timing, either." Pathfinder set down his burger, more relaxed than Sunset had seen him yet. "Next week is the game to play. Easyglider is hosting their Dark Business night-op, and the more we can roll, the better. Hell, even if you're cannon-fodder, it'll be cool."

Sunset nodded slowly. "I'll think about it."

"NO!" Pinkie Pie practically threw herself over the table. "Don't think about it! I wanna do it!"

Flash turned from the next table over. "Shimmy, I would. It's really fun. Three teams, pitch-black, no plan, pure insanity."

"You need to shut your face." Sunset glared at him. "You're on my list, boy. You never told us they were freaking mil-sim pros."

"Like, seriously though, it's got my vote. Sounds awesome!" Rainbow Dash butted in.

Sunset sighed, looking around the lobby at the girls. "Ok, what do you all think? We gonna try this?"

They all looked at each other in silence, until Rarity raised her hand to speak for the rest of them.

"I think I'll be stealing Fluttershy's catchphrase when I say... hell yes."

Sunset smiled, turning back to Pathfinder. "Alright. One week, and we get into some Dark Business."

Sunset put her head down and threw herself after Rainbow Dash as she put on a burst of speed. She stayed right on Rainbow's heels as their run took a sudden detour from the road to the treeline behind Canterlot High and across the athletics track. They hurdled the hedge together, sprinting across the grounds to the statue.

"Ha!" Sunset slapped the corner of the stone podium as she passed, looking back to see Rainbow Dash touching the edge as well, grinning. "Ok, I'm willing to concede a tie."

"I won and you know it!" Rainbow Dash said, stretching as they turned to head back inside.

"With a head-start!" Sunset let it go with a laugh, taking a deep breath to recover from the workout as they made their way inside to the lockers. "Pinkie invited everyone over for breakfast, should we take her up on it before class? I mean, it's a Friday, why not?"

"Sounds awesome to me." Rainbow Dash grinned at her playfully. "You're getting fast, you notice that?"

"Hey, you whipped me into shape."

Sunset caught Rainbow's workout clothes as she threw them at her so she could wash them later that day, pulling on the new outfit she and Rarity had put together. Rarity had finally forced her to retire her old jacket, and gifted her a new, lightweight one, trading black leather for a soft olive short-cropped number with orange chevrons on the sleeves. She sat herself down and pulled on the rather nice leather boots that went with it, running a finger along the matching chevrons Rarity had affixed to them. Those had taken even more convincing: before they had been modified she was sure they would have more Applejack's style.

Her old jacket had needed a break. She loved it, but she had beaten the crap out of it in the past few months.

The two girls made it to Pinkie's house, discovering they were the last to arrive. Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy had formed an efficient little assembly line in the kitchen to churn out a frankly unhealthy number of pancakes, and Applejack was trying her hardest to figure out how the Pie's fancy new coffee machine worked, nose buried in the owner's manual. Sunset quickly came to her rescue.

"So, everybody ready for tonight?" Rainbow Dash leap-frogged her way onto a stool, rocking back and forth. "I got an upgrade just for this!"

"I'd say we all have, what with our little shopping spree. I was surprised you didn't buy anything in Cloudsdale, dear, they had a fabulous selection there. Even Fluttershy got a brand-new rifle." Rarity hung her apron on the hook, stacking herself a plate of golden pancakes.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, getting in line for her own food. "Meh. I had something in the mail. And it. Is. Awesome."

"At least tell us it can mount a flashlight, though. Y'all gonna be feeling pretty silly if it doesn't." Applejack teased, blowing across the top of her coffee mug.

"Oh yeah! Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie nearly vaulted the counter as they all sat down, prompting Rarity to gasp and grab the syrup before it could be knocked over. "Oopsie! Anyway, Flutters, how's it work? Is it cool? I don't even know what it is!"

Fluttesrhy blushed, taking a gulp of orange juice to buy some time. Sunset rolled her eyes.

"Way to pay attention, Pinkie. It's a SIG 550, and I'm sure it works fine."

"It's... nice." Fluttershy confirmed. "It actually shoots farther than my old bolt-action. I'm just... it's so new, I'm afraid to break it..."

"Tell me about it." Sunset wiped her mouth and sat back, glancing at the clock to make sure there was no rush for school. "This stuff can get expensive."

"Oooh... good food." Rainbow Dash burped quietly into her fist. "Whew. Well, I'm set when you are!"

"Good golly, Rainbow, this ain't a competition!" Applejack said, looking at Rainbow's empty plate.

Rainbow made a rude noise, poking Applejack in the belly. "Says the girl who ate three more pancakes than me, in the same amount of time!"

"I'm bigger than you!"

"Everyone's bigger than me, and you're bigger than everyone!"

"Point Rainbow Dash." Rarity noted.

Sunset laughed at the antics, standing up. "Come on, girls, let's clean up and get to school."

"Leave some for Marble!" Pinkie added, already halfway up the stairs to get her school things.

Sunset tailed the blue Mustang as they passed the Cloudsdale city limits. She had put the top of her convertible up, and they had shuffled who was riding with who since last week. Being roomier, Flash had more people in his car, while Sunset had Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and their extra gear with her.

Sunset glanced over in surprise as Pinkie turned off the radio, checking behind her to see Fluttershy napping in the backseat and Pinkie looking... concerned.

"What's up, Pinks? Everything ok?"

Pinkie gave a small smile, stretching in her seat. "I was gonna ask you the same thing, silly. You got your thinky-face again."

"Do I now?" Sunset signalled and pulled onto the exit ramp. It wasn't much farther now.

"What's on your mind? I'm all ears."

"It's just nerves." Sunset assured her. "I've always gotten a bit shaky before doing things where I'm gonna be judged. Presentations, cheerleading, dimensional invasions..."

Pinkie giggled, stretching in her seat. "Heh! I think that's the first time I've ever heard you joke about that, Sunny. I think this is gonna be fun!"

"I do to! I mean, we've come a long way since plinking each other in the woods in the middle of nowhere." Sunset took the last turn to Easyglider Field, giving the brakes a sharp tap to jostle Fluttershy awake. "Morning, sunshine! Can I get a 'hell yeah?'"

Fluttershy gave a quiet moan as she came to, stretching herself as Sunset finished parking. "Mmmmmou can get a... something. Sorry, I can't think of anything not-mean..."

Sunset grinned as they all got out. "Good you got some rest. Let's suit up!"

They gathered around the back of Flash's car, pulling their respective backpacks, cases and gear-bags out of the trunk. Sunset shrugged off her jacket and hefted her thick vest over her head, strapping the three-layered velcro flaps down tight and adjusting the thin shoulder pads. Next was her old leather belt that she buckled high on her waist, over the top of her shirt and pants. The cloth rigging for her holster and spare pouces dangling loose for a moment before she clipped those around her legs securely, and she popped open her padded gun case.

Her pistol took in its holster high on her hip, radio, grenade, knife and the rest of the pouches were quickly filled with magazines, spare ammo and glowsticks, eventually leaving only the loose sack for used magazines on the back of her belt. She swung her jacket back over the top of everything and yanked her gloves on, lastly picking up her short-barreled AK, clipping the stock's sling-pivot to the handmade catch on her right shoulder. She dropped it, letting it hang under her jacket.

All around her, the other girls were doing the same. Fluttershy adjusted her kneepads and scarf, Pinkie Pie helped Applejack get her arms through the camouflaged backpack carrying their supply of spare BBs and snacks. Rarity zipped up her thick jacket, carefully tucking her hair inside the hood and making certain her leaf-print bandanna had not been knocked askew.

Rainbow Dash grinned at them as she tightened her gloves. Her shoulder-holster had a new gun in it, her Sigma had migrated down to a leg-holster, and her black-and-silver Fillydelphia Falcons jersey was obscured by a new rig holding...

"Are you girls ready to rock?" Rainbow asked, drawing the twin-barreled sawn-off shotgun from its sheath on her back and popping it open to check that the chambers were empty.

Fluttershy fiddled with the low-power scope on her new rifle. "U-umm... hell yeah, right?"

Sunset's energetic grin fell off her face when Flash straightened up from the other side of his car, snapping on a jet-black military helmet. And wearing a black military vest. Over a black sweater and sweatpants. With black goggles and a black mesh facemask dangling from his hand.

"Really, Flash? Freakin' really?" Sunset rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Did they not have any other colors? Or any color at all?"

Flash rolled his eyes, strapping the mask and goggles to sit on top of his helmet. "Jeez, you look great too. It's a night game, though, so I got every reason-"

"To be the only patch of absolute solid darkness in the entire forest? Yeah. Sure. Great. You don't even look cool. You look like a stagehand with a utility-belt fetish." Sunset shot. Applejack gave a chuckle, but Flash wasn't just going to take it.

"Yeah? And how well do you think you're gonna blend in, Coppertop?"

"Watch me. If I don't want to be seen, they won't see me." Sunset said disdainfully. She pointed a finger over her head and twirled it in small circles, signalling to rally on me as she turned toward the entrance. The rest of them fell in behind her.

There were quite a few new people in the waiting area, but it was difficult to make out faces with the setting sun glaring around inside. Thankfully, Blazer's gear was unmistakable under its coating of patches.

Sunset waved as she joined them. "Gentlemen. Pathfinder. We made it."

"Hey!" Pathfinder punched at Sunset's shoulder, smirking. "We're about to get briefed. E.C.S.F. and S.F.F. are going to form the OPFOR faction."

"Cool. What's the competition?" Sunset took a seat, kicking her boots up and scanning the room.

"Tough." Pretty huffed. "New Lunar Defense and Cabin Strategic are INDIE... but worse, the chumps from Shining's old school are here as BLUEFOR. Team Crystal Spear. No offense, Shiny."

"Hey. I resemble that remark." Shining deadpanned.

Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. "Aww, they're Crystal Prep? Buncha tryhards... wait..." she did a double take, "you're Crystal Prep?"

"Graduated with honors, my little sis goes there too." Shining spun his shield on it's edge. This one was covered in a thick layer of duct-tape so it would conform with the game's rules and he'd have to peek around it, instead of having a transparent piece of blue plastic to parry shots with. He nodded over at a small mixed team of males and females in matching dark purple gear, similar to his own. "Like everything, they take this stuff very seriously."

"I know Crystal Prep's reputation, but with good play we can beat anyone, I'm sure of it." Rarity said firmly.

Pinkie Pie poked Sunset in the side, directing her attention over to the other, larger group. "Check them out, girlie."

Sunset scanned the remaining teams. Combined, Indie would be a bigger force overall, but Pathfinder had explained that they would have their weapon selection limited to a single primary weapon each, and no extras. As such, she didn't see anything out of place, but Pinkie seemed concerned.

"What about 'em?"

"The Cabin guys. They seem really not-serious. I bet they're goooood."

Sunset looked again, closer, as she translated Pinkie's dissimile. The mish-mash gear and plain colors did not seem all that interesting, but the simple casualness of the group made them stand out. Sunset reached over and tugged on Flash's sleeve.

"Hey. How scared of those guys should we be?"

"Depends." Osprey interjected, and Flash went back to loading his pistol magazines. "If they want a clean trade and we give it to them, we can probably wipe out blue no problem with their help. If it goes weird... just fight hard, because they are damn good at being the underdog. Looks like Rush is leading, he has his stupid hat on."

Sunset noted the tall adult in the distinctive floppy 'boonie hat' and nodded. A leader identified was a prime target identified.

Any further pre-game strategy was brought to a halt as a dark and imposing member of the Crystal Spear team stood up, banging on the wall to bring all attention to him. The chatter died instantly, and Sunset felt the chill fill the room. She knew respect from fear when she felt it, and her eyes narrowed. Tall, ash-skinned, muscular, with a wild mane of black hair and perpetual glare, his uniform matched the rest of his team save for a red arrow painted on the top of his helmet; either a spear or stylized horn. Altogether not the kind of person one would like to encounter in a dark alleyway. Or anywhere, really.

Sunset would not be intimidated. In fact, she just acquired the prime BLUEFOR target.

"Greetings, and... welcome..." His voice was deep and grave, matching his appearance, and anything but welcoming. "Since there are some new faces, we will be a little more thorough with the briefing. I am Rex Sombra. I will state the Rules of Engagement. Then we will begin."

"He seems fun." Rainbow Dash whispered. Applejack fistbumped her under the table with a chuckle.

Rex continued, ignoring them. "INDIE will begin holding one BLUEFOR hostage and wants the silver briefcase. OPFOR will begin with the briefcase and wants both the hostage and to keep the case if possible, but may trade. BLUEFOR will attempt to rescue the hostage. Any questions."

He didn't wait for anyone to say or do anything, and continued right along.

"We will be using a medic system. If you are hit, drop prone and call for a medic. Each team will be assigned two medics that can 'revive' you with a thirty-second countdown. Everyone else can be use 'first aid' with a one-hundred count to revive. You may also tap out of the game, permanently, if you do not think you will be revived, or if your entire team has been wiped out. The game will begin in one hour, and will continue until both the hostage and briefcase are clearly secure near one of the designated safe zones, all members of other teams have been eliminated, or the sun rises. No speaking to other teams until the round has begun. That is all."

There was a great scuffling as everyone stood up, pushing back chairs and gathering gear. Sunset shifted her backpack and made to go, but stopped as Blazer held out his arm. She watched as the Crystal Spear team filed down the stairs, looking around for the holdup.

At the back of the room, Rush held up his rifle. Slowly, across the room with varying degrees of fumbling, everyone raised their weapons above their heads. Pathfinder gave a solemn nod to Sunset's team, prompting them to join in.

Rush reached up his free hand and chambered his gun. "Alright, everyone. Let's see a clean game! Good luck! Have fun!"

"DON'T DIE!" The room roared back, followed by a chorus of clacking and clicking as they all armed their weapons. Sunset found herself grinning at the camaraderie.

"Don't die!" Pinkie added gleefully, a full second late.

It got a chuckle out of the room.

Pathfinder took control of the group immediately as they arrived at the small clearing in the trees. A worn and mossy park bench at right in the middle, and a lone and utterly out-of-place streetlight illuminated the area in flickering yellow light as sun's light faded almost entirely. Applejack set the silver briefcase down on the bench as Pathfinder signaled them to gather.

"Ok, the plan is to steal the hostage if we can, trade as backup. Cabin Strategic is normally not that bad and NLD is pretty chill, but we're gonna need intel."

Sunset stepped up. "Fluttershy and I can scout. We have comms, and we're both pretty good at not being seen."

"Ok," Pathfinder nodded. "Head north toward the main compound. Blazer, Osprey, swing south to try and spot any Crystal players sneaking up on us, be ready to fall back and regroup. Applejack and Pinkie Pie, you two guard the package, the rest of us are gonna move north slowly to a attack position. Let's go!"

Sunset rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, stepping away from the group with Fluttershy.

"Flutters, you hang back and focus on the forested area around the market compound. We don't just want to know what INDIE is doing, we want to know if BLUEFOR is about to hit them and what they see."

"I copy," Fluttershy nodded, pulling her hood up and slipping into the undergrowth, "I'll... umm... I'll be in touch."

"Same." Sunset

She knew she was overextending. She could tell by how hard her heart was pounding.

Sunset stepped silently over a fallen branch in the night, eyeing the bright lights compound ahead of her. She could see several members of the INDIE team moving between buildings, with two static lookouts.

Sunset pushed the switch on her earpiece, whispering into her hand to keep the sound from traveling. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"This is Rarity. I hear you, darling."

The quality was bad, but clear enough. Sunset peeked around her bush again.

"INDIE has the main arena almost entirely locked down. Shifting guard patrols, lots of light, no real predictable approach. We couldn't push a team in without them seeing us. We'd have to sneak people in one-at-a-time to keep from being mowed down."

"Sounds wonderful. Can you see Fort Efoff?"

"Negative." Sunset reported. "They're strongest defense is at the east end of the market. Noone in the tower, though."

Rarity was quiet for a second before he came back on. "Pathfinder says don't count on it staying empty. I bet they're gonna kill the lights, then move the hostage to a more secure location. There's really only the Fort, one of the storage containers or the lemonade stand if they're playing risky. It's too early for anyone to attack, but if we can disrupt the hostage movement we'll have an easier time negotiating a trade.

Sunset nodded to herself, watching as a pair of INDIE New Lunar Defense moved close to the edge of the arena near her position, still well out of earshot. She kept her rifle sighted on them, screwing her left eye shut. "Understood. Flutters?"

"Here." Fluttershy whispered.

"I might be about to become a bargaining chip. Try to get a good angle, and if it get's loud start dropping people." Sunset said. Rarity would have to take educated guesses for what she was about to do, but Sunset knew if she explained it in detail she would be told "no" and the situation would go to hell. And she was about to have to move fast.

"Oh, dear."

"Don't forget, we're using Pinkie's code-phrase. 'This is random, but-' and we'll come running. Good luck." Rarity added.

"Thanks." Sunset's heart was pounding as she watched the lights start to turn off through the compound. She opened her left eye, avoiding looking at any light directly. "I'm about to need it."

The last section of the Market area went dark, and Sunset cracked a glowstick, throwing it off toward her left. Barely able to see and completely light-blind in her right eye, Sunset broke out of cover and padded across the no-man's land between the trees and the southern edge of the arena. Ahead of her, flashlights started to click on.

"Hey, over here! I had movement!" an INDIE player called out. Sunset's adrenaline spiked, but she knew she hadn't been seen. She would have been shot at, but the guard was probably looking at her now-active glowstick. She reached the buildings and huddled in a shadow.

She was in.

She quickly glided along in a low crouch, less worried about being quiet and more concerned with speed and avoiding INDIE patrols in the small area. Sunset could not take on twenty other players. She had to get farther behind their lines for her plan. The market stalls did not break up line of sight as well as she thought, either.

Without warning, the stall she was moving by got brighter. She dropped to her knees and tucked herself as best she could behind a piece of plywood.

"Stand up!" Someone barked. Sunset tensed up so badly she nearly hurt her back. The light faded, and she realized she hadn't been discovered.

"Turn that way, no looking around, no talking. March." said the voice.

Sunset had stumbled onto the hostage and their guards. She grinned, swooping out of her cover at a crouch, one hand holding her carbine to her side, the other brushing the ground for balance as she moved as quickly and quietly as she could closer. She caught sight of one INDIE as he was turning around, moving to join the sound of several more.

Sunset picked up the pace. She needed to get past the rear guard, and he was starting to lag behind.

The group was moving north, toward the Connex boxes, but were forced to take a winding route because of the dense market stalls. Sunset peeked, making certain no one was looking her way, and practically sprinted up behind the rear guard as they approached the road, reaching around and covering his mouth with a hand.

"Mmph!"

"Ssshsh~" Sunset whispered. "Sleep."

The INDIE player nodded, slowly lowering himself to the ground in front of a mocked-up lemonade stand. Sunset rushed ahead as quietly as she could, right up to the rear of the group as they broke out into the wide Main Street dividing Market and Storage.

And stood up straight, walking with them as they crossed.

This is not good for my heart, Sunset thought. She raised her gun, matching the rest of them in their low-ready stance as they paranoidly checked up and down the street. She checked herself. After all, it would be terrible if her new squad got ambushed. In the middle, a larger player in a Crystal Spear uniform walked casually, ignoring the pistol practicality poking him in the back.

The hostage-team moved into the storage area, three immediately herding the BLUFOR player into one of the smaller open trailers and sat him down on a truck tire. Sunset stepped smartly in after them as a flashlight beam swept across the group, illuminating everyone.

Somehow, nobody noticed her.

"Hostage, face the back. Alpha-Two, move down a few buildings so you have a good angle across the entrance, careful about ricochets," one of the INDIE members ordered. Sunset couldn't identify anything distinctive about him, he had pulled up his hood and facemask made him just as generic as the rest of the team. "Spooky Boot, you're the hostage guy for Alpha-One. Rush should be off to negotiate soon, but knowing him we'll be here a while. So get comfy."

Sunset leaned against one of the walls, carbine casually across her chest so that it at least partially covered up her grenade. There wasn't anything she could do about her sidearm, though. She was counting on them seeing it soon.

Her earpiece crackled, but whoever was on the other side was unintelligible.

Another flashlight lit up the alley outside, and Sunset got a good look at everyone present. Directly across from her, leaning against the opposite wall, was a young-looking boy with a scarf in the place of a facemask, watching out the door. 'Spooky Boot' was facing away from them, pointing some kind of machine-pistol at the back of the hostages vest. The hostage was more interesting.

His helmet had a long red triangle on it. Sunset leaned to get a closer look as the light outside faded slightly. Large build, ashen-black hair out the back of his helmet... Yep. The BLUFOR leader is the hostage. What is he thinking?

Distantly, outside, she could hear some commotion, and a few voices shouting, but no one shooting. Lights began to dance across the arena more rapidly. A search? What for- oh. I left a body.

"What's going on out there?" Spooky asked calmly.

"Hey..." The other guard in the trailer with her shifted, standing up properly. He was looking right at her.

He squinted, indecisive, as he looked her up and down. "Hey, we didn't get to bring a sidearm, right?"

"No? What's up, Jester?" Spooky said, not taking his eyes off his charge.

"Yeah, yeah. You're not supposed to have that. Only... oh." Jester raised his rifle fully, and Sunset heard a click of a safety being turned off. "Guys? Guys, I think there's an OPFOR in here."

"What?!" Spooky very nearly turned around, but a stir from their hostage stopped him. "Face the wall. I did not say move, so help me..."

"I'm turning on my light. Taco, get Rush! This isn't Inky!" Jester clicked on his flashlight, flooding the trailer with bright light directly in Sunset's face, she shielded her eyes and stayed leaning against the wall casually.

"There's an OPFOR in here!" Someone outside confirmed.

By the time Sunset's eyes adjusted, no less than four rifles were pointed directly at the center of her vest.

Sunset smiled at them. "Hi."

"How the hell did you get in here?" The leader of the hostage team, still unidentifiable, growled.

Sunset shrugged. "I just wanted to take a look, been here the whole time. Is Mr. Rush around?"

Someone swore quietly as the hostage gave a rumbling chuckle. The leader of the hostage team clicked the radio on his vest, not taking his weapon off of Sunset as she smirked.

"Sir, we have a OPFOR in the hostage room, one of the new girls. How advise?"

Sunset could hear the voice outside of the trailer, approaching up the street. "Tell her 'the manager will be with you shortly!'"

"The... the manager will be with you shortly, miss." The hostage-leader repeated, confused.

The much more distinctive boonie-hat wearing leader of the INDIE team practically skipped inside with them. Rush clapped his hands casually, rifle hanging loosely in front of him "Wa-hey, everyone, quite the party. Hey, do you see that?" He pointed at Sunset's vest. "That's a grenade. It will kill everyone. Everybody out, Spooky stay, Taco stay."

There was an organized shuffling as they moved out of the room. The hostage-team-leader stayed, allowing Sunset to identify him as 'Taco.' Rush nodded. "So, miss, what in the name of tossed salads are you doing in the back of my moving van?"

Sunset decided she like him. "Oh, just making sure things are being done right. Nice and clean, smooth trade. Sound good? Oh, and sorry about Inky. You got him up, right?"

A confused mix of emotions crowded across Rush's face as he sputtered. "Tha- what?! That was you! He was in the middle of my camp!"

"So was I?" Sunset suggested, then changed the subject, "So how about I take the big guy off your hands?"

Rush glared suspiciously. "You have the package?"

Sunset nodded. "It's safe."

"Where?"

"Safe."

Rush reached up and lifted the corner of his goggles, rubbing his eyes for a second. "You... you just stay here, I have to go deal with something else right now. I'll trade, you can tell your team that we want to trade and we can do it at Fort Efoff."

"Ha, no." Sunset shook her head. "We're not coming in here. Figure something better out."

"Fine." Rush turned and started out. "I'll be back in a second, Taco... get this shit under control."

Sunset reached up to her earpiece as Rush ducked out. Taco stepped forward back, settling back against the wall with his rifle unwavering on her chest. The radio had been on the entire time, in case anyone from her team had gotten close they could hear, but she didn't want anyone to know that. "Sunset to Pathfinder."

She waited a moment while Taco glared at her. Nobody answered. "Sunset to OPFOR, come in."

Nothing. Taco's eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Friends not answering? What's the range on that thing, fifty meters?"

Sunset realized she was in incredible danger. If he hits me, I'm not getting a respawn and my team is gonna have no idea...!

She bluffed.

"It goes quite a bit further th-hey! Rarity!" Sunset interrupted herself, lowering her head like she was listening to her earpiece. "Loud and clear. ... Yeah, we're doing a fair trade, Rush is about to come back to negotiate... Yeah, I'm good. ... Update in ten or you kill everyone, got it."

"She's bluffing." Spooky said, still not turning around. The guy was disciplined.

Uh oh.

"Yep." Taco shifted carefully. "Should we kill her and just tell Rush she made a sudden movement and scared me?"

Spooky shrugged.

Sunset's brain was going absolutely wild as she planned and double-planned possible escapes. She could try and diffuse the situation, force the bluff harder...

Or do the "Rainbow Dash Method."

Sunset relaxed her shoulders, letting out her breath with a sigh. She's have to be fast. "Yeah, bluffing. I'm just gonna steal your hostage."

"Wha-?"

Sunset threw her left arm up, slapping the muzzle of Taco's rifle toward the ceiling. She jumped forward as Spooky spun around for the first time. Taco's rifle popped and a plastic BB bounced off the ceiling.

Sunset didn't move her AK from where it was hanging across her chest. She just pulled the trigger for a second. Shots bounced chaotically inside the cramped space making Spooky flinch away as she wormed her free hand inside of Taco's guard, trapping his weapon between them. She sidestepped, putting him between herself and Spooky. Sunset was just in time.

*FtBWRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-t-t-tup!

Spooky's machine pistol sprayed wildly until the propellant cooled and puttered out, sending pellets everywhere as he reflexively pulled the trigger. Sunset winced as she used Taco as a human shield, and breathed a sigh of relief when somehow nothing touched her. Taco's stance went limp. There was no way he had avoided that storm. She peeked around him, bringing her rifle up and drawing her knife. Spooky was wearing a vest but she'd rather not shoot him at this range.

She didn't have to.

The hostage was standing, a rubber knife much like Sunset's own bent against Spooky's shoulder, and Spooky's face fell.

Sunset aimed at Sombra as he rose to his full height. She would not be intimidated. He was just a bigger target.

"What the hell happened in there?!" Someone yelled outside, flashlights were coming on, lighting up everything. Sombra glared down at her.

"I hope you have a plan, little girl," he rumbled.

"Of course," she lied, fumbling the velcro off of her vest

She turned and pitched her grenade outside. There was a muted bang and cries of surprise and pain.

"RUN LIKE HELL!" Sunset grabbed Sombra's arm and dragged him after her, the dust the grenade had kicked up a haze of blinding white in the glow of the flashlights. Sunset hooked a hard right, releasing her rifle to press her earpiece. "FLUTTERSHY!"

"Seen! Going loud."

One of the INDIE players saw them the moment they burst from the dust, but he never had a chance to fire before he winced and slapped the back of his neck. Sunset dashed past him, still dragging the BLUEFOR hostage by the wrist he was holding his knife in.

"Come to the Fort." Fluttershy said. The chaos around them shifted as three more shots came in in quick succession, and the people present realized they were taking sniper fire.

"You're insane!" Sombra yelled. Sunset silently agreed as she grabbed her rifle one-handed, pulled it up into her shoulder as she pulled Sombra along, and fired two long bursts of automatic fire into an NLD player coming from the main road. He threw up his hand and dropped to a knee.

Their dash for freedom started to attract fire as they went. Sunset gasped out instructions as they shifted their path back into the connex boxes. "Goal is the Fort, you don't die if you make it, simple."

Sombra stopped short, and Sunset's arm reached the maximum it could stretch very quickly. She jerked to a halt.

"Why should I? You capture me and you win."

"Sunset? I lost sight of you." Fluttershy said through her earpiece.

Sunset could hear INDIE coming toward her quickly. Keeping a firm grip on her hostage's arm, she pulled him into one of the open trailers then drew her pistol and shot him in the center of his vest. Twice. The second time was spite.

Sombra's mouth could be seen hanging open behind his mask.

"Well. Hope someone finds you, and I personally hope we find you first. Sit down, settle in and shut up. Fluttershy, hostage is down, repeat, we are leaving the hostage. Fall back and regroup, I'll meet you at the west treeline."

Fluttershy's confusion was audible. "Oh... ok..."

Sunset stepped out and closed the door most of the way, leaving him air as she jogged away. She ducked away from a sweeping flashlight and moved as fast as she dared through the maze of containers. She tailed a group of four INDIE that were moving vaguely in the right direction, relying in their instinct that since they had just been in an area, it was safe. She really wanted to shoot them in the back to remove them from the equation entirely, but that would just draw everyone to the commotion. They split up as they reached the edge of the arena and Sunset jogged out between them. She knelt in the bushes just outside of the light, making sure the light wouldn't catch her hair.

"Fluttershy?"

"Behind you. Sorry."

Sunset had a quiet heart attack as Fluttershy stood up, revealing herself. Sunset had nearly stepped on her.

"Sweet Cel- ooh, I did not need that." Sunset beckoned for Fluttershy to follow. "Let's go."

They moved carefully through the forest, and Sunset tried to get Rarity twice more. Her nerves heightened as she got no response. Fluttershy slowed their progress as they approached the clearing.

"What do you think happened to them?"

Sunset opened her mouth to voice her concerns. She never got to.

Someone else answered.

"The same thing that's about to happen to you."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sunset normally took the time to think things out, to plan at least the basics.

She had never come up with a plan so quickly, or so badly, in her life.

"You're BLUEFOR, right? You don't want to shoot me," Sunset said, blustering.

"Oh?" The voice said. Female. Collected and calm. Sunset didn't turn around. In fact, she didn't move at all. In this near-blackness it would me much harder to pick out stationary objects.

Sunset focused for half-truths to keep her attacker's interest. "I know where your leader is. INDIE doesn't have them. We do."

There was a moment of long silence. Sunset decided to push her plan a little harder. "Only one person here knows where your hostage is, and you can't win without him."

There was a cloth-muffled "pop" behind her, and Sunset heard a pitiful whimper. She groaned. "Did you just shoot Fluttershy?"

"Maybe," the voice replied.

"Aww... You didn't have to do that." Sunset turned her head as slowly as she could, hoping the ambushers were focused on her words. Same spot, twice in a row, less bargaining chips. Good job, Sunset.

"So..." the BLUEFOR girl said conversationally. "Where is he?"

"I tell you, you kill me. Not working." Sunset said, desperately trying to come up with a way to get BLUEFOR into a spot where they could be ambushed by... well, anyone, really. If anyone was left on her team, they'd need a great spot, and it would be hard to maneuver them into fighting INDIE.

"Ok..." the voice said. Sunset had managed to turn her head a few degrees and could almost make out the shape of someone in darker clothing than the surrounding forest stepping slowly through the brush.