“Mac, is that you?” Splintstitch asked, holstering his pistol.

“Yeah, it's me.” Mac replied. “How did you find us?”

Splintstitch ran to the door and called out. “Hey! We found him! He's over here!” Then, he turned back to Macintosh. “Thank Celestia you're okay. We came as soon as we could.”

“What about the rest of the Company?” Mac asked, placing his beret on his head and adjusting it. “Is everyone else okay?”

“Better, actually.” Splintstitch smiled. “The guys from your half of the squad, the ones who got captured. Well, the Zebras took a route that came right through where we were waiting for you. We took 'em by surprise, and believe it or not, we won. So we got the rest of the squad back together.”

“That's fantastic!” Mac exclaimed, perhaps a bit loud.

He may have woken up Marktime, but it didn't matter. They were saved, and the rest of the squad was fine. Macintosh could make up for his failure. He walked over to Splintstitch and offered him a hoof shake. Splintstitch accepted it, but cut it short, looking over Macintosh's shoulder to the Zebra standing in the corner.

“Speaking of Zebras.” Splintstitch was suddenly very serious. “Who the Hell is that, and why is she here?”

Macintosh looked over his shoulder and walked over to Zecora. He could understand why Splintstitch would have resentment or fear towards her, he did at first. He wanted to show Splintstitch that she was not a threat. He put and arm around Zecora as a sign of friendship and introduced her.

“This is Zecora.” Mac began. “She's the one who saved me and Marktime. We wouldn't have made it without her.”

“Well, thank Celestia that Marktime's fine, but how do you know we can trust her?” Splintstitch asked. “She's one of them, remember?”

“What do you mean, one of them?” Macintosh countered, taking a step towards Splintstitch. “She may be a Zebra, but she's nothing like those soldiers you guys fought. She's a doctor. We've been here for two days, and she hasn't slit our throats in our sleep.”

“Well, of course not.” Said Reelin, coming through the door. “You guys outnumber and outgun her.”

“It's nice to see you too, Reelin.” Mac noted sarcastically. “We didn't outnumber or outgun her when she found us. I was having a panic attack, and Marktime was holding his guts in. He passed out from the pain, and I fell asleep from sheer exhaust. She could have killed us, but she didn't. So, yes, I trust her.”

Reelin and Splintstitch shared a look. They wanted to believe their friend, but they weren't sure if he was completely sane. They whispered to each other for a moment and turned back to Mac.

“Where's Marktime?” Splintstitch asked.

Macintosh and Zecora led them into the room where Martime had been sleeping. He now lay awake in bed, having heard the entire discussion from the next room over. He had kicked off the blankets and was just about to pull himself out of bed when they came in. Marktime looked towards the door and smiled.

“Reelin, Splintstitch!” Marktime cheered, putting his beret on. “It's great to see you guys.”

“Good to see you too, Marks.” Reelin nodded, looking directly at the gunshot wound his friend had sustained.

“How are you feeling?” Zecora enquired, stepping closer to get a better look and offering a hoof to help him off of the bed.

“I'm feeling much better, thank you miss.” Marktime replied, taking her hoof and pulling himself onto the floor. He then addressed the two newcomers. “Zecora helped me and Mac a lot. I might not still be here if it weren't for her. You can trust her, I promise.”

Now that Splintstitch and Reelin had two accounts to go off of, they believed the story. Splintstitch turned to Macintosh, with a look of remorse on his face. He walked over and offered a slight bow to Macintosh.

“I'm sorry I didn't believe you.” Splintstitch apologized. “It's good to have you back, Mac. And it's nice to meet you, Ma'am.” Splintstitch added, facing Zecora.

“I'm sorry too, Mac.” Reelin said, scratching the back of his head.

“Well thank you both.” Mac smiled, and after a moment, asked, “Where's the rest of the Company?”

“We elected to look for you after we got your message. With the help of the rest of your squad, we found you. Otherwise it would have taken days.” Splintstitch replied. “The rest of the Company is headed towards the capital. We should hurry to meet up with them, they may need us.”

“Why didn't you respond to our transmission?” Mac asked.

“In case there were any other patrols scanning the area, we didn't want them picking up on the message.” Reelin responded.

“Smart thinking on your part.” Mac nodded.

“It'd be smarter for us to get back to them, ASAP.” Splintstitch noted. He turned to Marktime, “Are you good to walk?”

“I think so.” Marktime took a few paces back and forth. “If someone can carry my kit for me. And if the doctor will clear me.” He added, looking to Zecora.

“Well, she's coming with us, so she can keep a close eye on you.” Macintosh confirmed.

“Woah!” Reelin raised his forelegs in disagreement. “Take her with us? Can we even do that?”

“We can, and we are.” Macintosh stated, he took a spare green tunic out of his pack and handed it to Zecora. “You'll need this for camouflage if you're still coming with us.”

Zecora took it, and silently slipped it on. It was a little big, but she did up the buttons on the front and used the draw-strings to tighten it. Unlike the others, who had their sleeves rolled up, she kept hers down to cover her Zebra stripes. She took up her medical supplies in the bag she had left next to Marktime's bed and threw it onto her back. She nodded, letting the others know that she was prepared to go at any time.

“Rally the others, we're leaving.” Macintosh ordered as Reelin ran out to get the rest of the squad together.

“Thank Celestia you're okay.” Splintstitch said.

“You've already said that.” Macintosh noted.

“And I still mean it.” Splintstitch smiled. “Looks like the gang's back together.”

Author's Note

The plot thickens! And hopefully, so do the chapters from here. Sorry this one's a little on the short side, but I think I'm starting to fall prey to writers block.... AAAAAAAAAAAAH *thunder crashes
-Cog out.