//------------------------------//
// Stand 
// Story: What Hurts The Most 
// by KTCO-Official 
//------------------------------//

Permafrost trotted the direction of the meeting room, showing no signs of nervousness or panic outwardly, but increasingly feeling worse on the inside. This wasn't good. His best friends were both in states of disrepair, bound to their beds by differing depression levels. A single sigh escaped his lips as he meanders to the meeting hall. A sudden stop, he looks up and sees the words "Meeting Room A" etched into the wall. Taking a quick pause to compose himself, he steps through the doorway. 

In the room sat four other ponies, the tall, blue unicorn Justician Armore, The rugged grey unicorn Stray Shot, Winter's older brother, and his own two moms, Field Marshal Cuddles GoldHeart, a white Unicorn, and Marshal Frost, a blue Unicorn with a cybernetic right eye, and a claw attatched to her metal arm. He nods to the collection of higher ups and sits at the desk, waiting for the meeting to start. 

Justi lets out a sigh and looks to him.

"Pleasure you could finally join us, Agent. Now, as we all know, there seems to be a little... tiff... between Marshal Winter Shot and Agent Eclipsa. I for one don't care about their petty childish relationship, as you all know, but I do care about this getting in the way of their work."

Stray Shot, with a slight southern drawl, chirps in. 

"Now, Justi, we both know how kids are. They're gonna go through a couple heartbreaks, I think we just let them be for now."

Perma rolls his eyes at this. Are they really just "kids" to the Marshals? They're adults, they're soldiers, hell they've taken down more global threats between the three of them than Stray ever had. He raises his hoof to add his thoughts, but was cut off by his harsher mother. 

"I say we send them to the woods alone and toughen them up that way." Frost says, scoffing. "Relationships have no place between co-workers."

Cuddles decided to join in as well, looking to her wife. "Well, dear, we must be terrible role models. I believe the two of them just need some time alone to go over their thoughts. Do we know what happened?"

Perma raised his hoof once again, hoping to talk, but was once again cut off by Justi. 

"No, Eclipsa won't tell me. She says that she's "perfectly fine and ready for the next mission." I know she's lying."

"Tch, lying to a superior officer. Throw her in for going AWOL." Frost said, looking to the clock, wanting to leave.

Stray shakes his head, looking at everypony else in the room. "Ladies, I've known Winter longer than all of you. Hell, I know him better than young Permafrost over there."

Perma looks at him, angrily. Again with the "young" comments. And knowing Winter more? That's a damn lie, he and Winter tell each other everything. 

"Then what do you recommend, cowboy." Justi says, rolling her eyes. "Send them to the ranch and have 'em herd cattle together?" She says, making fun of his accent while doing so. 

Stray shakes his head. "First of all, offensive. Second of all, I know Winter will be down in the dumps, but we need to focus on Eclipsa here, there obviously was a reason, we just need to get in her head and figure it out."

Perma slams his hoof on the table, standing up. "You obviously don't know what you're talking about, Stray. None of you do. I don't even know why getting you guys involved was a good idea, looks like I have to do everything by myself."

He storms out, slamming the door behind him, causing everypony to look at Cuddles. She sighs, looking down at her hooves and rubbing her temple. 

"I-I'll talk to him.... dammit Perma." 

She calmly trots out the door, after her son.