The sight of the mossy ceiling above her flooded Berry Punch's eyes as she regained consciousness after a long night's sleep. Berry groaned and rolled onto her stomach. The dry mud on her hooves cracked as her front hooves met the soil.
"Ugh," she groaned as she rose from her woven mat. "So glad I didn't have any nightmares last night." It wasn't uncommon for Berry or any of her comrades to be woken after a Changeling nightmare. Berry swept her matted fuchsia mane out of her vision and groggily walked out of the hut. To her surprise, the camp was already humming with activity. Civilians busied themselves with chores. Berry caught sight of her own sister, Pina Colada, who was gathering berries at the edge of camp.
Berry wasn't a civilian herself. She, among other ponies, had joined the Elite, the guard force, the patrols, whatever you called it. While the civilians led relatively normal lives in their reclusive grove, the Elite guarded their home and searched for any dangerous Changelings.
"Berry Punch!" Bon Bon popped up right in front of Berry.
"Bon Bon? What gives?" Startled, Berry took a step back to avoid being clobbered by the cream mare.
"You slept in!" Bon Bon accused, poking a hoof at Berry's chest.
Berry offered a half-hearted smile. "Sorry?"
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Bon Bon exclaimed, throwing her fore hooves in the air, obviously exasperated. "What if Chrysalis's spies attacked, and you were snoring away on your cot?"
"Jeez, Bon Bon, I didn't mean to-"
"You made it into the elite force!" Bon Bon hissed, leaning in. "Don't blow it, Punch! The fate of our dwindling civilization could depend on it!" Bon Bon turned on her tail and stalked away.
Berry winced. "Gosh," she muttered to herself. "I don't patrol until later. She needs some cider, that would calm her down." Of course, there was no cider. Nothing fresh like the kind she used to enjoy.
Berry made her way over to the largest hut, which housed Zecora, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. She needed to wash off her mud and apply a new layer.
"Hey, Berry." The mint unicorn already sitting inside turned and smiled at Berry as the former dotted her hooves with the magic mud.
"Bon Bon just yelled at me," Berry told Lyra Heartstrings, gingerly taking the top off a jar of the mud.
"Aw, don't blame her," Lyra replied, smiling sympathetically.
"Of course you defend her," Berry retorted as she wiped her face. "She's your best friend!"
"Bon Bon used to be a spy before this whole mess started," Lyra told the pink pony softly.
"I knew that. Everypony knows that. That's practically the entire reason she's leading the Elite!"
"She's fiercely loyal to this tribe," Lyra answered. "Bon Bon only wants us all to do our part."
"Okay." Berry sighed before she carefully added decorative dots above her main mask. "Forget I said anything, 'kay? I don't care for the 'try to be in somepony else's shoes' mumbo jumbo."
"Fine." Lyra set down the jar of mud and trotted out of the hut. "See ya later, Berry!"
After Berry was coated in fresh truth dirt, she cantered outside to begin work for the day. "Pinkie Pie!" She waved to the pink pony.
Pinkie Pie was brushing back her unkempt pink curls as she constructed a stick fort. "Hey Berry," Pinkie replied as she carefully placed a leaf on the top of her creation.
"Sorry, I slept in!" Berry apologized to her superior. "What are ya doin'?"
Pinkie's gaze wandered from her art project to Berry's face. "Fluttershy and Coco Crusoe were talking it over earlier. We're gonna start building a new base down South. Maybe we can rescue some Appleloosans if we slowly head South. Anyways, I am in charge of design. Looks good, right?" Pinkie Pie gestured to the pitiful pile.
A stick fell over.
"Anyways, is there anything I can do to help?" Berry asked, completely side stepping Pinkie's query.
"Fluttershy's patrol left ages ago," Pinkie replied. "But if I recall, you weren't scheduled for that shift, were you?"
"I work best at night." Berry rolled her eyes.
"Right." Pinkie winked at her. "Do us all a favor and stay away from the berries, okay? Don't want you intoxicated during your patrol."
Berry forced out a defensive laugh. "Me? I take being a guardian of this tribe very seriously!"
"Which is why you slept in today," Pinkie replied.
"Touché," Berry replied. Both ponies chuckled lightly. Berry remembered Pinkie's epic parties that had ceased after Chrysalis's invasion. It was rare to get a genuine laugh from Pinkie these days.
"Anyways, why don't you assist Cheerilee with the school ponies today?" Pinkie suggested.
"Roger that!" Berry saluted Pinkie and trotted off to carry out her instructions.
The schoolhouse was nestled in the back of camp between two intertwined trees. Berry brushed past the mossy overhang and stepped inside the enclosure.
"Oh, hi Berry!" Cheerilee's voice was unusually peppy considering the circumstances. Berry hadn't talked to her in a while.
"Class," Cheerilee continued, "say hello to Berry Punch!"
"Hi Berry Punch!" the foals chorused in unison.
"I'm sure a number of you knew Berry Punch previously," Cheerilee commented. "For those of you that don't recognize her, Berry is part of the force that protects us from the Changelings."
Berry noticed a couple students spit in distaste, as if they couldn't bear to hear the name of the bugs that haunted Equestria.
"What brings you here today, Berry?" Cheerilee asked pleasantly.
"Oh, I slept in," Berry admitted nonchalantly. "Pinkie Pie suggested I visit you and the school foals."
Cheerilee sighed and wiped her brow. "Pinkie always has the best ideas." The fuchsia mare leaned back in her seat, obviously hoping to take a break. "Why don't you entertain them with some stories?"
Berry planted herself in the front of the classroom. "Any questions you'd like to ask me?" she asked, grinning.
A colt in the front row raised his hoof. "Do you kill timberwolves?" he asked with wide eyes. A couple other foals squirmed in their seats, waiting for gory tales to spill from Berry.
Berry rolled her eyes. "Please. I've killed plenty of timberwolves. I usually work the night shift, so I see lots of them."
"How do you defeat them?" scoffed a pink fill who wore a diamond tiara that looked out of place in the woodsy setting. "Since after they little ones are destroyed, they form a monster timberwolf?"
"Zecora leads this resistance!" Berry stifled her snickers. "Some magic dust from her, and timberwolves are obliterated! They're out of commission for the next week!"
A collection of ooohs filled the room.
A filly, who Berry recognized as Pina Colada's friend Noi, raised her hoof.
"When will Princess Celestia defeat Queen Chrysalis?" Noi asked softly.
"When can we go back to Ponyville?" Apple Bloom chimed in.
"I miss the old schoolhouse," whined another filly.
The school burst into a hubbub of foals calling out what they missed of normal life.
Berry's purple eyes met Cheerilee's green ones.
"Um, kids!" Cheerilee called hesitantly. Nopony paid attention.
"Hey!" Berry stomped her hoof adamantly. The foals quieted down and turned to look at Berry.
"Okay." Berry swallowed hesitantly. "The truth is, I don't know when this war will end. Right now, I'm just trying to protect you all. But don't worry!" Berry grinned in determination. "There are ponies who are working to defeat Chrysalis!"
"That's right," Cheerilee cut in, though Berry couldn't help noticing that her voice was shaky. "Actually, Berry has given me an idea! Let's all exercise our writing skills" -the class groaned- "and write about what we look forward to doing when we get back home!" Cheerilee passed Berry Punch a stack of parchment. "Berry, could you pass out paper?"
"Sure thing." Berry got straight to work at her task, placing a paper in front of each filly and colt.
"Miss Cheerilee?" Pina Colada raised her hoof. "Can we draw instead?"
"That would be just fine," Cheerilee agreed.
After all papers were distributed, Berry returned to Cheerilee's side.
"What do you miss the most about Ponyville, 'Lee?" Berry asked softly.
"Me?" Cheerilee's ears flicked up in surprise. "I suppose the bright sunshine and warm smiles. The feeling of being clean." Cheerilee chuckled softly a brushed a bit of dirt off her mane. "The forest is so dense, sometimes I forget what the sun looks like." Cheerilee interrupted her monologue with another chuckle. "And, of course, I miss the ponies who aren't here..." Cheerilee's gaze fell to the floor and her voice fell silent.
"I miss my friends, too," Berry replied. "I miss my bar, and the punch stand at the marketplace. I got to talk with so many ponies, ya know?"
Cheerilee nodded in acknowledgement, and then the two friends fell silent. The only sound was the scratching of quills against paper and an occasional sneeze from Twist.
Berry followed Cheerilee and the foals out of the schoolhouse, paying no mind to her rumbling stomach.
"Ponies! Come, now it's time to eat!" Zecora called, standing in the center of the village. "I think today you'll be in for a treat!"
"A treat?" Berry's grin widened. Treats were rare nowadays, but they always meant-
"Candy!" squealed a gaggle of foals, rushing forward to get their share.
"Now slow down, please hold you horse!" Zecora called as hungry foals surrounded her . "Candy comes after the main course."
"What's the main course?" Berry wondered aloud.
"Soup," Trixie Lulamoon told her, voice dripping with disdain. "Trixie was on kitchen duty. And while most things Trixie does are worthy of eternal glory, this endeavor was not. The soup disgusting, not fit for Trixie's divine lips!"
"Really?" Berry flattened her ears. Surely there was something else to eat if it was that horrible.
"Oh, don't listen to Trixie," Dr. Hooves said. "I was on kitchen duty as well, and I can assure you our soup will be delicious!"
"Really?" Cheerilee asked curiously.
"I'd bet my bowtie on it!" Dr. Hooves replied, despite the fact he had long ago lost his bowtie.
The soup was soon dispensed to all the ponies. Berry's "lunch buddies" for today seemed to be Cheerilee, Trixie, and Dr. Hooves, as well as Derpy and another pegasus named Sour Sweet who Berry didn't know very well.
"I've been trying to figure out a way to get my lab back," Dr. Hooves was saying. "No such luck so far."
"It's very sweet of you to try," Sour Sweet said, patting his hoof sympathetically. "But give up already!" The pegasus rolled her violet eyes and turned away.
"I'll talk to Fluttershy and Zecora," Berry offered. "I'm sure they could arrange an expedition to Ponyville." And find some missing refugees like the Apple family, she added silently.
"That would be a great triumph, Miss Punch." Dr. Hooves smiled cheerfully.
"This soup is sure good!" Derpy exclaimed, licking the bottom of her wooden bowl.
"I have to agree," Cheerilee concurred. "I was expecting something dreadful like swamp water."
Trixie stuck her nose in the air. "Hmph! When you have Trrrixie on your staff, anything cooked is bound to be delectable!"
"Give it a rest," Sour Sweet growled, shoving a spoonful of soup into her mouth.
"What was that?" Trixie cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. 
"I said you're such a great pony for cooking this all for us!" Sour Sweet beamed.
Before Berry or anypony else could respond to the sarcastic comment, Pinkie Pie called out: "Will foals please come to receive a piece of candy?"
"I wish I was a foal," Berry sighed.
Cheerilee nudged her playfully. "If you were a foal, you couldn't have all that punch you drink up!"
"Touché," Berry conceded before slurping down the rest of her soup.
When she was finally allowed to receive candy, Berry led the group up to Pinkie Pie. She held her hoof out expectantly.
"Here." Pinkie Pie gently placed a candy cane on Berry's hoof.
"Aw, it's so small!" Berry knew she should be appreciative, but she couldn't help being disappointed.
"Grow up," Sour Sweet snapped as she accepted her candy from Pinkie.
"Ugh, fiiine," Berry groaned. "I'll just have to make it last."
With an uncharacteristic carefulness, Berry began to lick her candy cane, savoring the taste of minty freshness in her mouth.
Trixie, on other hoof, noisily chomped on her candy. "Trixie wants- and deserves -more!" she proclaimed when the last piece had been devoured.
Berry, Cheerilee, and Sour Sweet shot the narcissistic magician dark looks.
"Berry Punch!" Pinkie Pie called. At the sound of her name, Berry looked up. She had been working on a puzzle to "sharpen her cognitive skills," as Cheerilee had phrased it.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Our patrol is leaving now," Pinkie informed her. "Come on."
Berry got up and followed Pinkie to the edge of camp. She grabbed a sharpened and looked around for the patrol. "Who's gonna be with us, Pinkie?"
"Sea Swirl, Bon Bon, Noteworthy, and Goldengrape," Pinkie answered. "Sea and Bonnie already left. We're just waiting for the stallions." Pinkie rolled her eyes.
Noteworthy and Goldengrape came running up and snatched the remaining two spears for themselves.
"We had to use the little colts' room," Noteworthy explained.
"Oh well. Let's get on with patrol," Pinkie responded, leading the ponies out of the camp's entrance.
Leaving the village, even just by a few inches, sent shivers up Berry's spine. No longer could she hear the chatter of her tribe. The scene felt like one out of a Daring Do book: dark, mysterious, and foreboding.
She'd deny it until her death, but patrols scared Berry.
"Alright, team," Bon Bon said surveying each pony. "Usual routine. Pinkie and I have some powders and potions equipped in the rare event we find a refugee, and in the more common scenario we run across some timberwolves. Stick within a few meters of each other. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal!" Sea Swirl chirped.
How did this mare make it onto the Elite? Berry wondered of Sea Swirl as they set off. Sea Swirl might've been the ditziest pony in camp. Though Berry loved her, she often questioned Sea Swirl's usefulness on patrol.
Berry kept quiet as they moved down the path.
"Noteworthy," Pinkie said at a normal volume, "climb up and see if anything looks suspicious from the tree tops."
"Roger that." Noteworthy dutifully scrambled up a tree. The patrol stopped, waiting for him to return.
A couple moments later, Noteworthy dropped down from the tree.
"What did you see?" Berry asked.
"Nothing suspicious," Noteworthy replied, shrugging. "I think this is gonna be a normal patrol."
"That's what they all say," Pinkie muttered darkly.
"Wha-?" Berry muttered the half-formed word as she turned to look at the pink pony. Pinkie's lower eyelids were twitching as if she was on a sugar rush.
"Pinkie, did you steal the candy?" Sea Swirl accused. "You look higher than a cotton candy cloud."
Berry rolled her eyes.
"Lame joke." Goldengrape coughed.
"Let's just keep moving," Bon Bon suggested, tightening the grip she had on her spear. "I want to destroy some timberwolves tonight."
"I know something else we can destroy," Goldengrape joked.
Berry made a face. "That's completely irrelevant! And disgusting!"
"...I was just saying we could destroy the Changelings," Goldengrape hesitantly replied, raising an eyebrow. "What did you think I meant."
Berry's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, though nopony could tell since it was so dark. "Never mind."
"Okay, ponies, we've gone far enough," Bon Bon announced. To show her authority, she stabbed her spear into the dirt.
"Good, because my hooves were aching!" Goldengrape complained.
"Sorry, bro," Noteworthy responded sympathetically.
"Nope!" Pinkie announced.
"No, as in, we stay out later?" Berry asked, cocking an eyebrow. "'Cause I'm down with that."
"We already found a timberwolf," Bon Bon pointed out, referencing the monster that they had faced earlier. It hadn't been exactly a challenge, in Berry's opinion, considering they had ambushed it from the tree tops and quickly doused the remains in magic to prevent the timberwolf from reassembling. "Let's all go home and get some rest," finished Bon Bon.
"I like rest," Sea Swirl agreed amiably.
Pinkie responded to Bon Bon, but Berry had tuned out. A movement in the underbrush had caught her attention. In all likelihood, it was a squirrel, but just to be sure...
Berry narrowed her eyes, watching the trembling bush. "Come out," she whispered, surprising herself.
A pair of grass green eyes suddenly appeared, staring up at the patrol. Berry's breath caught in her throat.
"Berry? What's wrong?" Sea Swirl asked, noticing Berry's expression of shock.
"Hey, we're not going to hurt you." Berry ignored Sea Swirl and focused spoke to the pony. "Come on out; show yourself."
"Who are you talking to?" Bon Bon asked crossly.
"She found a pony!" Noteworthy gasped.
Slowly, an orange hoof poked out. It was soon followed by the rest of the pony, revealing a little filly with wavy orange curls and the aforementioned green eyes.
"Are you a changeling?" Bon Bon accused, stepping forward to address the small one.
The foal vigorously shook her head. "N-no, of course not!"
"We'll see about that!" Pinkie Pie pulled out a canteen and doused the poor filly in mud. Berry and the rest held their breath as they waited for the Changeling's true form to be revealed.
Several seconds ticked by.
The filly coughed, asking, "What is this supposed to do?"
"Well, if you were a Changeling, that mud would reveal you!" Pinkie, in a burst of energy Berry didn't remember her having, swept the filly up into a hug, squealing,"Peachy Pie!"
"You know her?" Berry asked, mildly confused.
"Duh!" Pinkie snorted. "I used to be Ponyville's Premier Party Planner, I knew everypony!"
"We need to get her back to the village, so she can explain herself!" Bon Bon commanded.
Suddenly, Berry felt something brush up against her flank. She cocked her head to find Noteworthy backing up into her. "Do you mind?"
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Noteworthy said, voice an octave higher than usual, "but... timberwolves!"
Berry's focus shifted from Noteworthy to the arching figures leering in the darkness. The timberwolves' putrid stink filled her muzzle, forcing Berry to gag.
"Pinkie, get Peachy Pie to safety!" Bon Bon ordered, pushing the pink pony back towards the village. "The rest of you, it's time to handle this timberwolf!"
"There's more than one!" Sea Swirl cried. Proving her point, two more timberwolves made themselves known, growling in anticipation.
"Hey!" Berry cried, thrusting her spear out. "You'd better scram! Go find some changelings to eat!"
The leading timberwolf licked its lips, obviously ignoring her command. It crept forward, delighting in the terror it inflicted in the ponies.
"Bon Bon," Goldengrape cried, "now would be a good time to get that potion!"
"Oh, candy sticks!" Bon Bon cursed.
"What is it?" Berry asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Pinkie had the potions!" Bon Bon blurted out. "We'll have to defeat these without Zecora's magic!"
Berry cursed, but she knew she had to do something. She picked up a rock and hurled it at the timberwolf's face. It smacked against the wooden visage, and the timberwolf whined in pain.
"Use your spears!" Sea Swirl shrieked, rushing forward to tackle the great beasts. The other two timberwolves careered forward.
Battle time! Berry thought as she galloped into the fray, spear at the ready. She rammed her sword into a timberwolf's chest and pulled, hoping to dislodge some timber. The wolf's paw smacked her in the back. "Ow!" Berry fell to the ground. Wincing, she pulled herself back up.
"I have an idea!" Noteworthy shouted. "I'm going to lead them away!"
"Got it!" Bon Bon yelled as she continually bashed the timberwolf's side.
Berry watched as Noteworthy pelted the monsters with rocks and taunted them. Seeming to forget about Berry and the rest, they rushed off to eat Noteworthy.
The blue stallion scrambled up the tree. The timberwolves surrounded the base, saliva dripping from their snarling jaws. Berry, Bon Bon, Sea Swirl, and Goldengrape crept up around them, keeping quiet.
Suddenly, Noteworthy unleashed a blood-curdling scream and hurled a large rock out of the tree.
"Why the buck is there a rock in the tree?!" Berry's query was drowned out by the crashing of the bolder on the timberwolves' heads. The beasts shattered; sticks littered the ground.
"Let's get out of here before it morphs into a monster timberwolf!" Bon Bon hissed.
Berry didn't need to be told twice; she turned on the timberwolves' scattered remains and galloped away as fast as her tired hooves could carry her.
"It's past your bedtime!" Candy Mane scolded Twist, cuffing the latter on her head.
"But I want to see the patrol!" Twist protested. "I heard they found a new pony!"
Candy Mane pushed the curious filly back into their house. Twist was not the only curious pony that night. Berry Punch, Pinkie Pie, and the rest of the night patrol sat around the fire, while Sour Sweet secured bandages around the few injuries members of the group sustained. Berry felt the stares of ponies on her back, but she didn't really mind. There were more pressing things to think about
"Is there anything else I can get for you?" Sour Sweet asked, checking over the group one last time. When nopony responded, Sour Sweet's ears flopped down and she scowled. "Why did I get picked to be the medic?" Gathering the extra bandages, she flew off to return them to Zecora.
Aside from the crackling of the fire and the buzzing of insects, everything was silent. Berry glanced down at the soaked moss that Sour Sweet had bound around her torso. The point where the timberwolf had smacked her was still tender. Berry couldn't help herself; she poked her side, just to irritate her flesh.
"Ow!" Berry winced.
"Phooey. Stop doing that to yourself, Berry," Bon Bon reprimanded, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, Bon Bon." Berry narrowed her eyes and grinned at the cream-colored mare. "If stuff like this happened every night, I'd have an excuse for sleeping in."
"When do we get to see Peachy Pie?" Pinkie wondered.
"Hopefully soon," Sea Swirl added. "She seemed nice."
"Hey, Pinkie, why don't you throw a welcoming party for her?" suggested Goldengrape, who was sitting on Berry's left side.
"With the limited resources we have?" Pinkie laughed bitterly, as if she had eaten a sour apples. "I don't do parties." Pinkie undid the braid in her mane. Her fuchsia curls deflated and fell flat against her face. In the firelight, Pinkie seemed haunting to Berry's eyes.
Suddenly, a feeling of fatigue swept over Berry. She opened her mouth and yawned. At that moment, Zecora approached the group.
"Little Peachy Pie has been bathed and fed," Zecora told them. "You may see her and talk to her before it is time for bed."
"Cool," commented Berry, hoping up from her spot. The group followed Zecora into her tree. In the corner, Fluttershy was preparing a bed for the new arrival to sleep on until the next day when more permanent arrangements would be made. In the center of the room was Peachy Pie herself. Her freshly washed orange-and-gold mane seemed to glow in the light of Zecora's many candles.
"Hi, Peachy Pie," Pinkie said, sitting down across from the filly. Berry took a lead and sat down next to Pinkie.
"Little filly, we'd be obliged if you'd tell us," Zecora said calmly. "Have you come from Ponyville to escape a Changeling ruckus?"
"No," Peachy Pie responded clearly, fidgeting. "There were a couple of us back in Ponyville. It was mostly deserted. We were just hiding from Changeling passerbys and trying to live off the food we could find in town."
Berry found herself hanging on to every word. She so missed Ponyville, she would devour any information she could get of her old home.
"Who's 'we?'" asked Fluttershy from her spot in the corner.
"Me and Sunny Daze and Button Mash," answered Peachy Pie. "We were like a trio. There were a couple other fillies and colts-" Peachy Pie scrunched up her nose as she tried to recall every detail, "but I don't remember seeing any ponies Zecora's age."
"No adults? That sounds like paradise," Sea Swirl remarked.
Peachy Pie's green eyes widened, and for the first time Berry wondered how many terrors of war the filly had suffered through. "No. You don't understand," said she, "we lived in terror. We hid from the slightest sounds. Anypony could be a Changeling." Peachy swallowed and continued, "One week, early on, when Ponyville had just been abandoned, a filly named Rainy Feather was out in the open. A herd of Changelings swooped in like vultures." Peachy Pie shut her eyes. "Some of us watched from underneath houses. They shape shifted, morphed into her family and friends, the ones who had accidentally left her behind." Peachy's voice was trembling, her eyes misting.
"Okay, Peachy!" Pinkie cut in, "You don't have to-"
"She started crying," Peachy continued, voice quivering. "She thought the war was over already. Then suddenly, she ran to hug them, and they took her. It was like the Pied Pony story. She was only the first." Peachy shut her eyes. When she saw the tears, Berry's heart broke in two.
"Peachy Pie, that's enough!" Fluttershy's stern voice cut through the silence. The yellow pegasus bent down so she was eye-level with the filly. In a mellower tone, Fluttershy said, "Everything will be alright, Peachy. But you can't cry. It's time to go to bed."
Fluttershy and Zecora led a sniffling Peachy Pie over to the bed they had prepared for her. With a nod of her head, Zecora made her instructions clear: Go get some rest.
"I'll douse the fire," Pinkie volunteered, leaving to go do that.
"Berry," Bon Bon said softly, "if you sleep in tomorrow, I'll understand."
"No." Berry turned and looked Bon Bon in the eye. She fought down the urge to cry and stared down Bon Bon. "Tomorrow, I am going to wake up on time. Tomorrow, we are going to defeat Queen Chrysalis."
Author's Note
And of course, she doesn't. 
This takes place maybe a couple weeks or months before the Season finale?
