luttershy closed her eyes and took a slow deep breath. She held it for a second then slowly let it out. Opening her eyes she smiled and took in the beautiful forest valley before her. It was a glorious springtime day and the weather was perfect. Crystal clear and just a bit on the cool side with a slight, steady breeze blowing directly toward her. Perched on top of her head Angel Bunny constantly scanned the valley with his binoculars.


This was good because when the mare was under her partial Ghillie Suit Link it could get rather toasty, but when she was under it the pink and yellow mare simply disappear into the landscape.


The mare was listening to the encrypted radio traffic while taking a sip from her back mounted hydration pack when a series of 4 quick chirps came over the radio. A few seconds later it repeated. That was her signal to prepare for incoming instructions. A moment later Princess Twilight's voice could be heard in her ear piece.


"Harvester." Harvester was Fluttershy's radio handle. "We have the sight of the suspects. They're heading your way along fire access road. Law enforcement will be closing the road behind them once they've past. All other forces are in position. Helicopters and pegasus forces representing the second wave are holding back 90 seconds from the area to visually and acoustical mask their presence. As of now you authorized to use lethal force at your discretion if you feel any of the suspects are endangering our forces. The suspects should be in sight in 3 minutes. Over."


Fluttershy slowly reached up and toggled her mike.


"Understood your Highness. Expect the suspects in 3 minutes. I have been given authorization to liquidate any suspect who endangers any of the rangers attempting to take them into custody. Over."


At this point Fluttershy began a series of rehearsed actions. First she did one final check of the laser rangefinder mounted on the rifle. Her and Angel had spent a couple of hours measuring the distance of their location to multiple places on the valley where the suspects might take cover. Still she double-checked. Next she slowly went into a prone position on a shooting mat she'd laid out for just this purpose. Then she pulled the hood of her suit up over her head.


As she did this Angel Bunny hopped off her head and began pulling and adjusting Fluttershy's Ghillie Suit to make sure it was covering her completely. Then the rabbit pulled up his own hood and took cover on under his own camo netting. From their he resumed his surveillance with binoculars.


Because the suspects/poachers were using the same road to check their traps law enforcement had been able to set up this elaborate ambush along this macadam road. Unfortunately that had not been the case a couple of months ago when 2 park rangers accidentally stumbled across the suspects activities. That discovery had cost those rangers their lives. Today was payback.


Resting the forend of her rifle on the pack she'd brought the mare worked the bolt on her rifle and chambered the first .300 Magnum cartridge. Then set the safety. The hardened tungsten tips of the bullets in her rifle would easily defeat the light plate carrier armor the suspects were known to wear, and could reach them even they took cover behind most things in the area. Including their own vehicle.


Fluttershy made one final visual check to confirm nothing ere was no obstacles blocking the front of the suppressor on her rifle. The .300 Magnum cartridge was supersonic but the suppressor would make much more difficult to determine her firing position. Also the suppressor greatly reduced the amount of dust and debris that would be kicked up by the rifle firing. The mare had also dampening the ground in front her with a bottle of water.


Fluttershy could hear the radio traffic increasing as the suspects got closer. Finally Angel gave her little push on the shoulder. He'd spotted the suspects. He tracked their 4x4 through the binoculars for a bit until their vehicle stopped in front of the large tree limb that had been felled across the road for that purpose. The bunny set the binoculars down and moved to his spotting scope. Out of the corner her eye she saw the white rabbit give a thumbs up. Fluttershy thumbed off the safety on her rifle and acquired the driver 500 yards away in her scope reticle. Then she said over the radio.


Showtime everypony.


This is a patron reward for Relaxing Dragon and this is the story that popped into my head as I was working on the piece. For anyone who's interested, Fluttershy is using a USMC Mk13 Mod 7 rifle Link chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum.


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