Nowhere to Go

Chapters

Chapter 2: In the Dark
Chapter 3: Blind
Chapter 1: Everyday
Chapter 4: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Chapter 2: In the Dark

Applejack was laying in a small bed, covered with a dark blue cloth. Even though it was past midnight, she couldn't sleep. Something inside her was preventing her from doing so, and even though she didn't know what it was, she was glad it was there. Its presence kept her from entering the dark worlds that she found herself in every time she closed her eyes.

Even though she was awake, Applejack didn't dare to make a sound. She didn't want to wake up the other ponies who were successfully sleeping in the nearby bunk beds. Each section of the barracks had two bunk beds and one normal bed, allowing five ponies to sleep in it. In Applejack’s section, Apple Bloom silently slept on the bunk below, which belonged to Twilight, who rarely slept in it, while Rainbow Dash loudly snored on her left. There were two empty beds, which were supposed to belong to Rarity and Fluttershy, but the two never slept in them. They were always too busy in the hospital.

Seeing that there was nothing to do, Applejack slowly climbed out of the top bunk of the bed, entering the small candle light that illuminated the room. With a tiny thud, she reached the floor, and looked into the bunk below hers. Apple Bloom was curled up into a little ball, sleeping as peacefully as she had before the war started. Applejack climbed into the bunk, trying not to wake Apple Bloom, but nothing seemed to disrupt her rest, anyway. Applejack smiled, looking at her sister's innocence, then hugged her as tight as she could. Apple Bloom didn't even stir when she felt her sister's warmth.

“Thank goodness we still have each other,” Applejack whispered in Apple Bloom’s ear. “I have no idea what I’d do without you. Having someone I need to protect… Sometimes it's all that keeps me going.” She sighed, before kissing Apple Bloom's forehead. “I love you, sis,” she said, beaming at her sleeping sister.

Suddenly, Applejack heard a shrill shriek coming from behind her. She turned around, only to find Rainbow Dash screaming in her sleep.

“No! Stop! DON'T DO THIS TO HER!” Rainbow screamed, her voice was filled with fear. She rolled around, all over her bed, covered in sweat. She was having a nightmare.

Applejack quickly left Apple Bloom in her bed and trotted over to Rainbow Dash, who was violently kicking her cloth all over the place.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called to the pegasus, trying to wake her. “Wake up! You're dreaming!”

“Stop it! YOU'RE HURTING HER!” Rainbow screamed, rolling off her bed and falling onto the floor. Rainbow continued kicking, as if she was fighting someone. Blue feathers were flying through the air.

“Rainbow, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!” Applejack yelled, shaking her friend vigorously. Rainbow suddenly stopped kicking, and her hooves fell to the ground. Slowly, the pegasus opened her eyes. Applejack was staring at her, looking extremely worried.

“Hey, AJ,” Rainbow said, looking confused. “What's wrong?”

“I was screaming and kicking?” Rainbow gasped, horrified. It had been about ten minutes since it had happened. Applejack was sitting in her bed, explaining the the whole thing.

“Yep,” Applejack said, frowning. “Frankly, it was kinda terrifying to watch.” She walked over to her friend, with a puzzled look on her face. “Rainbow, what happened? What did ya dream about? What caused this?”

“I…” Rainbow began, looking away from Applejack. Her face turned pale. “Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s not important.”

“Yeah, it is,” Applejack insisted. “Rainbow, you've got a problem.”

“No, I do not,” Rainbow said firmly. “I'm fine.”

“Really? Then why didn’t you come to the funeral or dinner last night?”

“Um, well…”

“Come to think of it, you haven’t come to dinner in a week!” Applejack looked into her friend’s eyes. “Dash, something is up. Please, talk to me.”

Rainbow Dash remained silent. Her eyes moved all around the room, trying to avoid Applejack’s gaze. The two sat there, completely silent, for two whole minutes before Rainbow Dash’s stomach rumbled, breaking the silence. Applejack smiled.

“Of course you’re hungry. You haven’t eaten in a week,” Applejack chuckled, grabbing her hat from a nearby desk. Inside her hat, there was a piece of bread. “I saved this just for you,” Applejack said, handing the bread to Rainbow. “Eat up.”

“No, I- I couldn’t,” Rainbow stuttered, pushing the bread away. “You need this more than I do.”

“No, I don’t,” Applejack insisted, pushing the bread back towards Rainbow. “You’re on the battlefield, fighting Sombra and whatnot. I’m just in the kitchen cookin’. You need your strength more than I need mine.”

“Fine,” Rainbow groaned, grabbing the piece of bread. She looked at it, then quickly swallowed it whole. She didn’t leave a crumb uneaten.

“See?” Applejack grinned at her friend. “You needed that.”

“I guess,” Rainbow shrugged, finally looking at Applejack. Applejack patted her on the back before turning around to enter her own bed. As she was climbing the ladder, however, someone else opened the door to the barracks quietly.

“Hello?” Rainbow Dash whispered to the figure who crept into the room, attempting to make no sound. It was Spitfire.

“Rainbow Dash,” she whispered back, signaling for her to come to the door with her hoof. “Come here, it’s important. You too, Applejack.”

The two looked at each other, unsure, then crept out of their respective beds and walked toward Spitfire.

“What’s up?” Rainbow asked, silently landing on the ground beside Spitfire. Applejack quickly followed. “Why do you need us?”

“The whole army’s waiting in the meeting room,” Spitfire said, opening the door for the two mares. “Something really big just happened.”

“What?” Rainbow and Applejack said simultaneously.

“Princess Luna just visited Twilight in her dreams.”

With that, the three ponies were running out of the barracks and toward the meeting room as fast as they could.

When the group finally arrived at the meeting room, they found it the most crowded it had ever been. The entire army, plus some, was squeezed inside the tiny room. Spitfire had visited each of them and told them to come, promising new intel. They silently waiting for it.

Soarin was, once again, sitting in the undersized chair. He tried to rock it back and forth, but when he kept bumping into Cheese Sandwich, Big Mac, and Bulk Biceps, who were looking at the bookshelf, he gave up.

In the other corner of the room, Rarity and Fluttershy were holding Fleetfoot. Rarity and Fluttershy looked somewhat uncomfortable, while Fleetfoot looked exhausted, continuously almost falling over. Her cut was concealed by a bright blue bandage, courtesy of Rarity.

Twilight flew over all of them in circles, expressionless. It was clear she was thinking very deeply about something.

When Spitfire entered the room with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, all the ponies, with the exception of Twilight, stopped what they were doing and watched her. She flew onto the table, then cleared her throat.

“Ahem,” Spitfire loudly began, carrying her voice throughout the room. “I suppose all of you are wondering why I’ve called you here so late at night.”

The ponies nodded, murmuring sounds of agreement.

“Well,” Spitfire continued, “I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t important.” She paused to take a breath. “For a lot of this war, we’ve only been going on information we already knew. All the info we have has been based on our past experiences fighting Sombra, as well as the small amounts of knowledge we’ve managed to take on the battlefield.”

The group nodded again, this time silently.

“Well, all of that could potentially change,” Spitfire finished.

“How?” Rarity asked, confused.

“Well, tonight, while Twilight was sleeping, she got a little visit from Princess Luna in her dreams.” All the ponies stood up, their attention at its peak.

“Are you serious?” Cheese exclaimed.

“Princess Luna hasn’t visited any of our dreams in months,” Soarin sighed. “Why did she decide to now?”

“I don’t know,” Spitfire admitted. “But in the dream, Luna told Twilight that she left Sombra’s side and wants to join the fight against him. She said that she was going to Dodge Junction, and that she wants to meet us there to give us information that could help us win the war.” She paused again, this time for dramatic effect. “This could be our chance to get the information we need to win. However, it could also be a trap.”

“Of course it’s a trap,” Cheese Sandwich interrupted. “It’s Dodge Junction. That’s the dodgiest place in Equestria!”

“I’m inclined to agree with Cheese,” Rarity said, levitating Fleetfoot so she would stop falling. “This seems incredibly sketchy.”

“But what if it is true?” Soarin asked, trying to give a different perspective. “What if Luna really is there? We could miss out on a lot of information.”

“He makes a good point,” Applejack said. “Then again, it could all be a trick. She could just be luring us over there to kill us.”

“I’m sure Luna wouldn’t do that,” Fluttershy quietly responded.

“Yeah, but Sombra’s army might,” Twilight said, ending her flight and landing on the table. “However, it’s all we have to go on right now. We should at least check it out. But not all of us. If it really is a trap, and they do try to kill us, we can’t have our entire army ending up injured or worse.” She turned to Spitfire. “Spitfire, I suggest that we send only your best soldiers to Dodge Junction. If things go fine, they can report back here. However, if things do go wrong, your best should have the best chance of being able to escape, right?”

“Right,” Spitfire said. “That plan sounds good to me. Anypony have a better one?”

Nopony said anything. Rainbow began walking towards the door.

“Good,” Spitfire continued. “Then I suggest that you should go get packing, Big Mac and Bulk Biceps.”

Rainbow stopped in her tracks, surprised. Soarin and Cheese looked at Spitfire, puzzled by what she just said.

“YES, MA’AM!” Bulk Biceps yelled as he exited the room. Big Mac followed him silently, waving at his sister, who looked equally as puzzled as Soarin and Cheese did. Twilight also followed, but she went in a different direction.

Spitfire watched them exit the room, with a smile on her face.

What is she doing? Rainbow asked herself.

When Bulk, Big Mac, and Twilight were out of earshot, Rainbow confronted Spitfire, who was looking for a book on the bookshelf.

“What was that?!” Rainbow demanded. “Yesterday, you claimed Cheese and I were your best soldiers, but now you send Big Mac and Bulk Biceps on a dangerous mission?! What are you doing?”

Spitfire barely even flinched upon hearing this.

“I did what’s best for the army,” Spitfire calmly responded. “In case this is really a trap, there’s no way I’m losing my best soldiers. If I lose you two, we lose our chance at winning this war. On the other hoof, if we lose Big Mac and Bulk Biceps…”

Rainbow was taken aback. She took a few steps backward, and bumped into Soarin, who was also walking over to Spitfire. Applejack and Cheese were following him.

“Kay, Spitfire, what’s going on?” Soarin asked, approaching her. “I know Bulk and Big Mac aren't our best soldiers. Why’d you send them?”

“They could get killed!” Applejack exclaimed. “I can’t let that happen! How would I explain it to Apple Bloom? She’s already experienced too many deaths. I dunno if she could even take another.”

“Like I told Dash,” Spitfire said, just as calmly as she had before, “it’s what’s best for the army.”

“What about the ponies who aren’t in the army?” Soarin questioned.

“Look,” Spitfire said, ignoring Soarin. “Big Mac and Bulk Biceps are going. That’s final.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Spitfire firmly stated. “They’re going.”

The ponies sighed and bit their lips. They knew they had no chance changing Spitfire’s mind.

“Can we at least say goodbye?” Applejack asked, her voice cracking.

“Yeah,” Spitfire said. “But make it quick. We can’t waste any time.” Spitfire quickly flew out of the room, leaving Soarin, Applejack, Cheese, and Rainbow in the center of the room, feeling down.

“Make your goodbye count,” Cheese sympathetically told Applejack, putting his hoof on her shoulder.

“It could be the last time you talk to him,” Soarin frowned.

“I know,” Applejack weakly said, tears rolling down her face. “I know.”

Soarin and Cheese returned to their section of the barracks, their heads hanging low. Even though they would be required to return with the army to see Big Mac and Bulk Biceps leaving, the two wanted to get a little bit of rest before they did so. They were aware of the inevitable heartache that was going to come with Bulk and Big Mac’s departure, and wanted time alone before they would have to deal with it.

Their section of the barracks was darker than all the others, as the candle that lit up the room was dying out. It seemed to always go out faster than any other flame in the the base, and nopony understood why. Soarin always lit it again when it went out, though, and the room almost always had light.

“Poor Applejack,” Soarin sighed, watching the candle’s flame. “Big Mac going away is going to be so hard on her.”

“I’m afraid to see what happens when he doesn’t come back,” Cheese frowned, climbing into his bunk.

“Well, if he doesn’t come back,” Soarin said, flying into his bed. “There’s a chance he might return.”

“Soarin, it’s a suicide mission. He’s not gonna return.”

“What’s this I hear about a suicide mission?” A voice asked from below Soarin’s bunk. It was Wind Rider, who was lying in his bed, half-awake.

“It’s, uh, nothing for you to worry about,” Soarin reassured. “Go back to bed.”

“Sure,” Wind Rider said, dozing off.

Soarin and Cheese inspected their other two bunkmates, Party Favor and Mr. Cake, to make sure they were sleeping before they continued to talk.

“So,” Soarin began, quietly, “any decisions on the funeral situation?”

“Not yet,” Cheese admitted. “I would’ve slept on it, but..”

“...we got no sleep,” Soarin finished. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so.”

For a moment, the two remained silent. They sat on their beds, watching at the candle’s flame dancing on the wick. Even though it was only a small flame, it filled the stallions with warmth. Inspired, Cheese began to hum.

“What are you humming?” Soarin asked. “It sounds so familiar…”

“It’s The Heart Carol,” Cheese sang, concentrated on the fire. “We used to sing it at the end of our Hearth’s Warming Eve plays.”

“Oh yeah,” Soarin said. “I remember that!” He cleared his voice, then began to sing. “The Fire of Friendship lives in our hearts…”

“As long as it burns,” Cheese continued, swaying back and forth, “We cannot drift apart...”

“Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few…”

“Laughter and singing will see us through!”

“We are a circle of pony friends…”

"A circle of friends…”

“We’ll be to the very end!” the two finished together, laughing. They beamed at each other, then continued to watch the fire dance. They didn’t move their eyes away for minutes. Something about the fire had made the stallions feel at peace.

Eventually, the flame went out.

“There goes our ‘Fire of Friendship’,” Cheese muttered.

“Ah, no worries,” Soarin said, flying out of bed. He walked over to the candle, then looked for a match.

“Hey, Soarin,” Cheese asked, looking away. “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” Soarin responded, attempting to light the match.

“Do you think...” Cheese paused, midway through his sentence. He hesitated, then continued speaking. “Do you think Pinkie could ever come back?”

Silence filled the room when Cheese uttered that last word. Soarin stopped trying to light the match, and the other ponies’ snoring seemed to cease at that moment. There was no light, and no sound.

Cheese looked at Soarin, who was frozen in the middle of the room, thinking over Cheese’s question. He remained motionless for a minute, then silently lit the candle with the match.

“Well?” Cheese asked, hopeful.

“It’s possible,” Soarin said, carefully, trying not to upset Cheese in any way. “It’s… been awhile since Sombra’s army took her, but there’s a chance. Maybe they didn’t kill her. Maybe she escaped.” He paused, thinking of what to say next. “What I mean to say is, yes, there is a chance Pinkie could come back.”

He eagerly waited for Cheese to respond, hoping that he hadn’t said anything to offend, but Cheese remained silent.

“Cheese?” Soarin asked, slightly worried by the silence. “Did I say something wrong?”

It took a moment for him to respond.

“No,” Cheese finally said, turning to Soarin. He had tears in his eyes. “What you said was perfect.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“These are tears of joy, Soarin. Joy that I’ve finally found someone else who thinks Pinkie’s alive.”

He climbed out of bed and hugged Soarin, who looked surprised. He hadn’t expected his kind of reaction, but quickly welcomed it. It was the first time someone had hugged him in months.

“Thank you,” Cheese cried.

“No problem,” Soarin responded, smiling at his friend.

"Big Mac is doing WHAT?” Apple Bloom gasped, sitting up on Twilight’s bed.

“I told you,” Applejack sighed, trotting over to her sister. “Spitfire’s sending him on a secret mission.”

“We came down here to tell you so you could say goodbye before he left,” Rainbow said as made her bed.

“He’s going TONIGHT?!” Apple Bloom yelled, nervously clutching onto her blanket.

“Yeah,” Applejack frowned. “So you’d better hurry.”

“Where is he now?!”

“Prob’ly saying goodbye to Granny in the hospital.”

"Thanks!” Apple Bloom called to Applejack as she ran out of the barracks. Applejack watched her disappear before turning to Rainbow.

“Did you get to say goodbye?” Rainbow asked, unsure.

“Yeah, I did,” Applejack said, looking at the ground. “I wanted to make it sound final, but I couldn’t bring myself to it. I couldn’t make it sound like it was the last time we’d speak to each other.” She began to cry. “I tried so hard to, but I just couldn’t, Dash. I can’t part with him. I—”

“Calm down,” Rainbow said softly, lifting Applejack’s head. “It’s okay, AJ.”

“Is it?” Applejack sobbed, turning away from Rainbow. She was about to continue talking, but noticed Spitfire in the doorway. “Spitfire?”

“Sorry to interrupt whatever it is you’re doing,” Spitfire began, “but it’s time.”

“Time for what?” Rainbow asked.

“For you to become a princess,” Spitfire said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “No! For us to see Big Mac and Bulk Biceps leaving, obviously!”

“Oh, right.”

“I need you two to go meet up with the others in Sugarcube Corner,” Spitfire continued. “I’m gonna go make sure Big Mac and Bulk Biceps are ready.” She turned to leave, but Applejack ran in front of her.

“Can, uh, Apple Bloom come and see them off with us?” Applejack asked, nervously. “He is her brother, after all…”

“Sorry, no can do, AJ,” Spitfire coughed. “We’ll be leaving the base. It’s too dangerous for her out there.”

“Fine,” Applejack sighed. “I understand.”

“Good,” Spitfire said, turning away once again. “Now get going.”

As Spitfire left the room, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked each other. Applejack still had tears in her eyes from before, which slowly began rolling down her face once more. Rainbow noticed this and hugged her tightly.

“It’ll be okay, AJ,” Rainbow repeated, softly, patting Applejack’s back. “It’ll be okay.”

Everything was dark inside Sugarcube Corner. There were no sources of light within the building, so the darkness of the night filled every inch of it.

When Rainbow and Applejack left the base and entered the messy Sugarcube Corner, they found Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy already there, quietly conversing with each other. Twilight and Rarity were using their horns as flashlights, while Fluttershy held a small, pink flashlight in her hooves. They kept their voices low, so no one could hear them, but kept their conversation going, each mare taking turns talking and intently listening.

The group was so into their conversation that it took them a minute to realize Applejack and Rainbow Dash were standing there.

“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed when she saw the pair. “Hi, Applejack! Hi, Rainbow Dash!”

“Howdy, girls,” Applejack said, cheerfully. “How are you doin’?”

“We're fine,” Twilight answered. “Just catching up while waiting for Spitfire.”

“That's good. It has been a while since you spoke to each other.”

“Well, like I said before,” Rarity began, looking at her friends. “We've been busy in the hospital.”

“Speaking of the hospital, why aren't you there right now?” Rainbow asked, scratching her mane.

“Because Spitfire asked us to come see the two off. I'm not sure why, though, since we aren't in the army.”

“Well, we have taken care of both of them a few times,” Fluttershy piped up. “Maybe that's why.”

“Regardless of why,” Twilight interrupted, “I'm glad you're here. Big Mac and Bulk need all the support they can get, given the mission they're going on.”

“Yeah,” Applejack sighed, pretending to look at a cake pan on the ground. She turned away from the group, her head hanging low.

“So, uh, Twilight,” Rainbow began, changing the subject. “Princess Luna appeared in your dreams, right? That hasn't happened ever since she went to Sombra's side. What was it like?”

“Surprising, to say the least,” Twilight said, scratching her mane. “I was having a nice dream about living in Ponyville—you know, before Sombra destroyed it. I was doing the fun things we used to do together before the war, like solving friendship problems and hanging out. Then, suddenly, while I was in Sugarcube Corner, Luna burst in through the door with her message.”

“A dream about the old Ponyville?!” Rarity exclaimed, giddy with delight. “That sounds marvelous! Your night sounds so much better than ours.”

“We’ve gotten no sleep at all,” Fluttershy moaned. “We've been too busy.”

“Well, I think it's worth it,” Twilight said. “You two are saving lives in there. You're a real help to the cause.” She turned to Applejack and Rainbow. “What about you two? How was your night going before this?”

Applejack was about to speak, but Rainbow cut her off. “It was a’ight,” she lied. “Nothing big happened. Just… slept, ya know?” She faked a yawn to further her act.

“Good to hear,” Twilight nodded, failing to detect the lie. She turned back to Rarity and Fluttershy, who continued their prior conversation with her, while Rainbow walked over to Applejack, who was standing alone in the corner of the kitchen’s remains. Rainbow could only see her outline in the dark, but she could tell that Applejack was glaring at her.

“Why didn’t you tell them?” Applejack asked, her voice hushed, but harsh.

“Tell them about what? My dream?” Rainbow snapped. “I don’t want to worry them with something like that! All of them are already busy dealing with their own problems. Why should I give them another burden to deal with?”

“Because this is important! Rainbow, something’s going on inside your head. You need to talk to somepony about it.”

“But none of you have been through what I’m going through right now! None of you would understand!”

“Do we need to understand to help you?”

Rainbow remained silent, trying to think of a counter response. When she couldn’t, she turned away from Applejack and looked at the trapdoor.

“Look,” Applejack said, trying to sound as sympathetic as she could. “It doesn’t have to be me. But you need to talk to somepony.”

“Who do I talk to?” Rainbow asked after a brief moment of silence. Her voice was shaking.

“That’s your choice, not mine.”

“Any suggestions?”

Applejack thought about it for a minute. “Soarin,” she finally said. “I think he could help you. He helped Cheese last night with what he’s goin’ through. Maybe he could help you with what you’re goin’ through.”

“Maybe,” Rainbow sighed. “Thanks, AJ.”

“No problem,” she smiled. “I’m always happy to help.”

Rainbow nodded, then returned to Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who were still talking about their time away from each other. Rainbow quickly joined their conversation, while Applejack remained to the side, watching the trapdoor. She was waiting for Big McIntosh to walk into the building so she attempt one last goodbye before he and Bulk Biceps left.

Instead, when the trapdoor opened, Soarin and Cheese Sandwich came through.

“Hey, girls!” Cheese exclaimed as he bounced into Sugarcube Corner. “How are you doing tonight?”

“Fine, I guess,” Rainbow shrugged.

“Spitfire hasn’t arrived yet?” Soarin asked, a touch of confusion in his voice.

“Not yet,” Applejack said. “She told us that she was gonna go prepare Big Mac and Bulk Biceps for their mission or something like that.”

“Well, I hope she arrives soon. It’s kinda cold out here.”

“You can say that again,” Twilight shivered, as her teeth began chattering. “This is exceptionally cold for a night in winter.”

“We’re in WINTER?” Rarity shrieked. “When did that happen?!”

“A few days ago,” Twilight said, searching for a source of heat.

“Goodness. I had no idea.”

The ponies shared a worried look, then stopped talking. Applejack pushed Rainbow towards Soarin, but Rainbow resisted and shook her head. Not yet, she mouthed to Applejack. Applejack sighed, then continued to watch the trapdoor to see if it would open.

For fifteen minutes, the seven ponies sat there, shivering in the remains of Sugarcube Corner. None of them spoke. They all remained silent, trying to find as much warmth as they could within the darkness.

When the trapdoor finally opened, Spitfire flew out of the base and into the light of Twilight’s horn, followed by Big Mac and Bulk Biceps. The two stallions were carrying large brown backpacks that were filled to the brim with food, clothes, and other necessities. The two were also wearing flashlights as necklaces, and had their blankets wrapped around them as protection from the cold.

“Ah, there you are!” Soarin exclaimed upon seeing them. “You’ve finally arrived!”

“What took you so long?” Rainbow inquired. “We’ve been waiting here for ages!”

“Calm down, Dash,” Spitfire said. “I was helping Big Mac and Bulk Biceps pack, which took a bit longer than I thought it would.”

“Well, are they fully prepared?” Twilight asked.

“YEAH!” Bulk Biceps shouted. “I’M READY TO GO!”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied.

“Good,” Twilight said, looking at Spitfire. “Then they should leave as soon as possible.”

Applejack gulped. Time was running out. “Can’t we wait till morning?” Applejack asked, nervously.

“No,” Spitfire firmly asserted. “It’d be way too dangerous to send them off in the morning. In the daytime, Sombra could find them and our base with ease. It’s best if they have the cover of the night.”

“But—”

“No buts. They’re leaving NOW.”

When Spitfire said this, Applejack retreated behind Soarin, who was looking at the two stallions that were about to leave.

“Everypony, say your goodbyes,” Spitfire ordered. “We don’t know when, or even IF, we’ll be seeing them again, so make them count.”

The ponies formed a line in front of Big Mac and Bulk Biceps, then began to give hugs and say short speeches in honor of the two. When Applejack reached the front of the line, she stared at Big Mac. She wanted to say something big and final, but she couldn’t. Instead, she paused, trying to form words while also holding back her tears.

“I wish you the best of luck,” Applejack said, choking up. “I love you, brother.”

“I love you too, AJ,” Big Mac smiled, wrapping his leg around Applejack. The two hugged, tears falling down Applejack’s face.

“That’s enough hugging,” Spitfire stated, looking at the moon’s position. It was high in the sky. “It’s time for you two to go.”

“Okay…” Applejack said, shakily. Big Mac let go of Applejack, and all the ponies walked towards the door to the outside, none of them noticing that the trapdoor to the base had been left open. One by one, they left the building and entered the freezing land they called Ponyville.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Soarin, and Cheese stood by the building in a line, their manes blowing in the freezing wind. They watched as Big Mac and Bulk Biceps took their first steps on their mission, leaving hoofprints as they walked in the dirt.
Applejack couldn’t stop crying.

“Goodbye, y’all!” Big Mac called to the army as he began walking into the darkness.

“Goodbye!” the ponies called back. They watched the two stallions walking forward into the darkness, going from full figures to outlines in seconds.

When they completely faded into the darkness, Applejack collapsed to the ground, tears falling into the dirt. She tried to cover her face with her hooves, but she couldn’t. She just kept crying.

"Applejack," Soarin softly said as he sat down next to her. He patted her on the back, then turned her head toward his. "I'm sorry. I know this can't be easy for you."

"It's not anywhere close to easy," Applejack choked. "Big Mac is my brother. He's stood right by my side through, well, everything we've gone through. From the loss of mom and dad to the Flim Flam Brothers' crazy antics, he's always been there, lookin' out for me... supporting me... comforting me..." The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became. She began weeping more than before. Soarin proceeded to try and hug her, but it wasn't enough. The tears kept flowing.

"Applejack, everything will be okay," Soarin tried to assure.

"Will it, though, Soarin? I can't even imagine living without him. What if he dies out there? What if he doesn't come back?" She paused for a moment. "How am I supposed to help Apple Bloom deal with that if I can't even deal with the thought of it myself?" She managed to cover her face with her hooves, then began to weep even louder than she had before.

The rest of the army members walked toward Applejack.

"We can help you," Soarin said, pulling Applejack's hooves away from her eyes. "Even though you may be losing a family member, you've still got us."

"How in the hay are y'all going to help?" Applejack asked, briefly pausing her tears.

"I don't know how, honestly," Soarin admitted, looking at the rest of the army. "But I'd like to try anyway."

"So would I," Cheese said.

"Same here," Rainbow agreed.

One by one, all of the army members, except Spitfire, walked over to Applejack and gave her a giant hug. Applejack, feeling the warmth of their bodies, smiled, then began to tear up.

"Applejack, dear, why are you still crying?" Rarity questioned, looking at Applejack's eyes.

"Because I'm happy," Applejack coughed, smiling at all her friends. “I really appreciate this, guys. Thank you,” she said, weakly.

“No problem,” Soarin nodded, beaming back at Applejack.

The group remained silent for a moment, continuing to hug in the cold. After a while, they let go of Applejack, then turned back toward the building to start heading inside.

Midway there, however, they heard a loud sound. It sounded like a gunshot, and it came from behind the army. It echoed a few times, then was immediately followed by another large sound:

“AUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!”

The army turned around, afraid of what they had just heard. The scream had come from a stallion. Another shot was fired, and soon after, another scream came. Somepony had just been murdered.

The ponies were horrified when they heard the sound of a body dropping to the ground.

“Oh no,” Applejack cried under her breath. “Please no.”

Following the drop, one more shot rang through the night. It pierced the silence and echoed throughout the sky. No scream followed it, though.

There was only silence.

Chapter 3: Blind

“This can’t be happening.”

The army was running toward the sound of the shots as fast as they could. All of them were panting, covered with sweat. Darkness surrounded them, while cold air seemed to seep into their bodies.

“What WAS that?” Cheese asked, horrified as he ran.

“We’re about to find out,” Spitfire replied.

“Not to go against your word, Spitfire,” Fluttershy called, falling behind the group, “but shouldn’t we be running away from the loud, scary noises?”

“No,” Spitfire called back. “If somepony’s hurt, we can’t just leave them lying around! We have to help them!”

None of the group argued with that statement, so they continued running, guided only by the dim light of Twilight’s horn. They could barely see, but they kept searching.

Eventually, Twilight saw something out of the corner of her eye.

“Guys!” she called out to the group, signaling them over to her with her head. “I found something!” She shined her light on the entrance to the Everfree Forest. There, the group saw Bulk Biceps lying on the ground, motionless. There was a pool of blood beside him.

“Oh my goodness,” Soarin gasped, covering his mouth with his hoof.

“Fluttershy, check for a pulse,” Rarity said, entering her hospital mindset.

“There isn’t one,” she replied, checking over the body. “He was shot three times, with what looks like magic. The wounds are bad.”

“Oh dear,” Rarity sighed. “Well, let’s see what we can do.” As the two began inspecting the body, Applejack ran into the forest. Within seconds, she reemerged, with large tears in her eyes.

“Anypony see Big Mac?!” she cried, frantically looking in every direction. The other ponies shook their heads.

“I don’t see him anywhere,” Cheese said, scanning the area. “No hoofprints, no body, no nothing!”

Applejack was becoming increasingly worried. “Well, he can’t have just vanished!” she screamed.

“Maybe he ran away when he heard the shots,” Soarin suggested.

“But what if he didn’t?!” Applejack hyperventilated. “What if Sombra’s army captured him?! Or worse: what if they killed—”

“CALM DOWN, Applejack!” Spitfire shouted. Applejack became silent. “We don’t know what happened to Big Mac, but that’s not important right now! We need to focus! Right now, what’s important is the fact that we’re down two soldiers!” Upon hearing this, Applejack shrunk away and kept her mouth closed.

“Any chance you can save Bulk?” Soarin asked Rarity, trying to change the subject.

“A small one,” Rarity admitted, looking at the body. “I would need my equipment, though, and that’s at the base.”

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” Rainbow exclaimed. “Let’s go!” She tried to lift Bulk Biceps with her hooves, but midway through her attempt, Spitfire pulled her away.

“Wait,” she whispered to Rainbow. “I think I hear something.”

The group became dead silent, listening to the sounds around them. At first, they heard nothing but the cold wind blowing and the rustling of dead leaves. However, after a moment, a new sound entered their ears.

“Hoofsteps,” Twilight gasped, hearing the soft sound of hooves colliding with the ground. “That means…”

“...there’s another pony out there,” Fluttershy finished, her voice quiet and afraid.

“Not just a pony,” Cheese corrected, hearing more hoofsteps. “A group of ponies.”

The ponies continued to listen, silent and motionless. As the hoofsteps drew nearer and nearer, five silhouettes emerged from the darkness. At first glance, all of them looked like ponies. However, as they drew nearer, the army saw that the silhouettes belonged to two unicorns, two pegasi, and one changeling, each wearing a gray helmet and body armor.

“Sombra’s soldiers,” Twilight gasped.

The soldiers hadn’t noticed Spitfire’s army yet, but they were moving toward them at an alarming fast pace. Each of them was carrying a spear, and had a fake red horn coming from their helmets.

After a moment, the changeling turned its head and looked directly at the army.

“We have to move!” Spitfire said suddenly. She prepared herself for flight, but Rarity grabbed onto her tail.

“What about Bulk?” Rarity asked. The soldiers began running toward them.

“We leave him! Right now, we need to get to the base!”

“But you said that if somepony’s hurt, we have to help them!” Cheese recalled.

“Circumstances are different now!” Spitfire shouted. “We have to run!” She escaped from Rarity’s grasp and ran in the direction of the base, leaving the army alone with Bulk.

“What do we do?!” Cheese asked, afraid.

“I don’t know!” Twilight responded.

Sombra’s soldiers were approaching them quickly. One of the unicorns fired a shot from its horn, aiming for the group, but missed and hit a tree instead.

“See?!” Spitfire called out, running back into the light. “This is why we have to go!”

The army looked at each other as if they were having a shared thought, then nodded. They followed Spitfire, leaving Bulk Biceps’ corpse behind.

Sombra’s soldiers were right on their tails.

The army was running side by side, weaving through the remains of Ponyville as fast they could. The dirt below them was hard and uneven, causing pain every time their hooves collided with it, and there was barely any light to guide them. Still, the group ran, using all the strength they could muster.

Cheese looked behind the group and saw that the soldiers were mere yards away.

“Well, this is bad,” he sighed, turning back to the army.

“We can’t let them find the base!” Spitfire shouted to her group, nearly tripping over a rock. “We have to lose them!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Rarity asked, panting.

Spitfire was about to respond, when suddenly the group heard a large sound that made them jump. A second later, Soarin saw a blast of magic flying past his muzzle, just missing hitting him.

“Whoa!” Soarin yelled, jumping back. He looked behind the group, and saw that the unicorns were charging their horns for more powerful shots, while the pegasi were preparing to fly straight at the army.

“If we’re going to do something,” he called to the army, “we need to do it now!”

“Alright!” Spitfire shouted. “I have a plan! Everypony get into that building up there!” She pointed to the outline of the Quills and Sofas in the distance.

“Why?” Soarin asked.

“Don’t question me. Just go!”
With that, the army ran toward the building, their manes rapidly blowing in the wind.

When they arrived, Rainbow Dash kicked down the door and the group ran inside. Much like Sugarcube Corner, the inside of building was dark, with broken glass scattered all across the floor. Most of the inventory was gone, and had been replaced by large clouds of dust.

“Stay away from all the walls,” Spitfire said, inspecting the area. She looked through a nearby window, and saw that Sombra’s soldiers had remained outside. They were staring at the building, quietly speaking to each other.

“What do we do now?” Cheese whispered, shivering in the cold. He tried to rub his hooves together for warmth, but failed.

“We get rid of the soldiers,” she responded, walking away from the window. “Twilight, I’m fairly confident that the five out there are either going to shoot us through the walls, or blow up the building entirely.”

“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy gasped.

“If you knew that was going to happen,” Applejack began, glaring, “then why did you make us come in here?! We’re even more vulnerable than we were before!”

“Not if we can get to them before they can get to us,” Spitfire said. She pointed at the door. “Twilight, I need you to go outside and ambush them with a blast of magic.”

“Wait, what?!” Applejack exclaimed. “If she does this, she could DIE!”

“But if she doesn't do this, we ALL die. Think about it, Applejack. This is the only way!”
Applejack turned away from Spitfire, teeth clenched. She looked out the window, and saw the unicorns charging their magic. She gulped, then turned back to the army.

“If you're gonna do it,” she sighed, looking at Twilight, “you need to do it now.”

“Okay,” Twilight responded, nodding. She looked at the army, then ran toward the door. “If anything happens to me, please don't wake up Spike.”

“We won't,” Cheese assured. “You have our word.”

“Please be careful,” Soarin said, frowning.

“I’ll try,” Twilight replied. She then proceeded to run outside, leaving the army alone in Quills and Sofas.

“Let's hope she does this right,” Spitfire coughed.

The army remained silent, attempting to hear what was happening outside. At first, all they heard was silence. Then, after a moment, a loud shot penetrated their eardrums, causing them all to jump. Spitfire ran toward the window to see if she could see what had happened, but when she looked outside, nopony was there.

“They’re all gone,” Spitfire said, her face expressionless.

“All of them?” Cheese asked.

Before Spitfire could respond, something walked through the doorframe and collapsed onto the ground.

“Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed. “You made it!”

“I feel drained,” Twilight panted. She was coated in even more sweat than before. “Using that amount of magic took a lot out of me.”

“How much magic did you use, exactly?” Rainbow asked, trying to help Twilight onto her hooves.

“Enough to blast the soldiers deep into the Everfree Forest,” Twilight said. A stern expression came across her face. “We need get back to the base now. While my magic may have postponed the soldiers from getting to us, I doubt it stopped them. I think they’re going to find their way out of the Everfree. When they do, they’re going to want revenge.” She paused to take a breath. “We need to get to safety.”

“Well, then, let’s move!” Spitfire ordered, beginning trot through the door frame.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, can somepony carry me?” Twilight asked. “I’m having trouble moving.”

“I got you,” Rainbow volunteered, picking up to the alicorn. Once Twilight was up, the army left the building and went back into the night, heading for Sugarcube Corner.

Midway through the walk back, Soarin looked at Twilight.

“You did great today,” he said, smiling.

“Thanks,” Twilight responded.

When the group arrived at Sugarcube Corner, they found it in the exact same condition they had left it in. Broken glass still covered the ground, and the pots on the floor hadn’t moved an inch.

“Good to know the soldiers didn’t find this place while we were gone,” Rainbow said, carefully placing Twilight on a counter.

“Yeah,” Spitfire responded. She entered the room right in front of the one with the trapdoor. “Now, let’s make sure they don’t find this place at all.” She turned to Twilight. “Twi, are you sure that the soldiers going to come back?”

“Ninety-nine percent sure,” Twilight stated.

“Well, then we need to do everything we can to secure the base,” Spitfire continued, turning to the army. “We’re going to have to wake everypony up, break the news to them about Big Mac and Bulk Biceps, not to mention put the entire base on lockdown.” She sighed. “This is going to be difficult. Darn soldiers. We wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for them.”

“No, we wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you,” Applejack said, bitterly.

Upon hearing this, everypony froze and looked at Applejack, confused.

“Excuse me?” Spitfire grunted.

“I said, ‘we wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you,’” Applejack repeated, glaring at Spitfire. “You’re the one who caused this whole mess.”

“How?!”

“Well, for starters, you were the one who decided to send my brother and Bulk Biceps on a dangerous mission instead of sending Rainbow and Cheese like you were supposed to!”

“Wait, what?” Twilight interrupted. “I told Spitfire to send her best!”

“Yeah, well, she didn’t!” Applejack shouted. “And now, we lost two members of the army because of her!”
Twilight stared at Spitfire, her mouth wide open. “How could you?” she asked.

“Hey, I did what was BEST for the army!” Spitfire shouted back. “If I sent Rainbow and Cheese on that mission and we lost them, we would lose the WAR.”

“You don’t know that!” Twilight said. “Spitfire, I’m the army’s strategist. You should've followed my strategy!”

“Twilight, think about it this way. Because I didn’t send Rainbow and Cheese, we didn’t lose our best soldiers! We only lost the expendable ones!”

“Expendable?!” Cheese screamed. “Nopony’s expendable! Those two were good soldiers!”

“And one of them was my brother!” Applejack growled, looking directly into Spitfire’s eyes. “I don’t understand you, Spitfire. You say you’re doing things for the army’s welfare and such, but then you keep calling the soldiers who die expendable! You can’t be working toward the best for a group of ponies you don’t care about!”

“I do care about you guys!” Spitfire said. “And you know why? Because you guys are actually helping us win the war! All those ponies who died in combat, they were expendable, because they didn’t help us win the war in the end. All they did was DIE!”

“That’s ludicrous! Spitfire, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re the underdogs in this war! Nopony is expendable! The efforts of everypony count!”

Spitfire was about to yell at Applejack, but was interrupted by Soarin.

“Okay, everypony, how about we all just calm down,” Soarin suggested. “Let’s all just—”

“Not now, Soarin,” Applejack interrupted, glaring at Spitfire.

“No, I-I agree with Soarin,” Fluttershy stuttered. “Let’s stop this fighting.”

“Applejack,” Spitfire began, ignoring Fluttershy, “everything that I do is to help the army so that we can win the war!”

“Well, because of you, we’ve gone from an army of fifty to an army of five!” Applejack cried out.

“It’s not my fault all those ponies were expendable!”

“Spitfire, do you think that Pinkie Pie was expendable?” Cheese suddenly blurted out. Upon hearing this, everypony froze. Then after a moment, they all looked at Spitfire, expecting an answer.

“No,” Spitfire said, calmly. “Pinkie Pie’s loss was a tragedy.”

“And the loss of all those other ponies wasn’t?” Applejack asked, walking toward the army leader. “Spitfire, do you know how blind you are?”

Upon hearing this, all the ponies gasped. Spitfire, appalled, took a few steps backwards, but tripped over a pot and fell onto her back. She looked at the other seven ponies, who were watching her every move.

Applejack was about to continue talking to Spitfire, when suddenly, the army heard a loud bang coming from the next room.

“What the—” Spitfire yelled as she and Applejack team into the next room. Inside, they saw the trapdoor, wide open, with a changeling right next to it.

“CHANGELING!” Applejack screamed. She ran toward the changeling, attempting to grab it with her hooves, but it kicked her in the side, knocking her into a wall.

As the other six ponies ran into the room, the changeling grabbed a pot and threw it at Spitfire, who narrowly managed to dodge it.

“Applejack!” Soarin called out as the army ran over to check on her. She was bruised, but otherwise unharmed. The changeling, seeing them distracted, took advantage of the situation and ran through the trapdoor, entering the base.

“Oh no,” Spitfire gasped. She picked up Twilight and followed the changeling. “Everypony, after it!”

Together, the group ran into the base, hot on the changeling’s heels. They followed the changeling through every empty hallway and around every corner, trying not to lose it.

They followed the changeling for three minutes before it turned around a corner and vanished.

“Darn it!” Rainbow screamed. “It’s gone!”

“Well, this is bad,” Cheese stated, scratching his mane. “Really bad.”

“We need to put the base on lockdown,” Spitfire said, carefully putting Twilight on the ground. “If that changeling escapes, it could tell our location to the enemy.”

“Plus, there’s still those other four soldiers outside,” Twilight pointed out, trying not to move her body. “We don’t want them coming inside, either.”

“Right. We need to make sure nopony gets in or out.” Spitfire turned to her army. “Soarin, Cheese, I need you two to go to every section of the barracks and wake up all the ponies inside. Tell them all to go into the dining hall.”

“Why?” Soarin asked.

“To get them all in one place. Right now, the ponies are spread all throughout the base. If we can put them all in one room, it’ll be easier to find the changeling in the rest of the base, since it’ll be the only one out there.”

“Makes sense,” Soarin said, nodding. “We’re on it.”

“Good,” Spitfire said, watching Soarin and Cheese run off into the distance. She turned to the hospital workers, who had been keeping their distance from the army. “Rarity and Fluttershy, get into the hospital. Help Nurse Redheart bring all the hospitalized ponies to the dining hall.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Rarity and Fluttershy chorused with a salute.

As they left, Spitfire turned to the remaining soldiers. “Applejack and Twilight, you two aren’t in the best condition. Go into the dining hall and make sure you get yourselves some seats.”

“Alright,” Applejack agreed, putting Twilight onto her back, and walking off in another direction.

“What about me and you?” Rainbow asked, cracking her neck. “Are we gonna continue looking for the changeling?”

“Nope,” Spitfire said. “We’re going to lock up base before anything can escape or get in.”

“Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

The two flew off in the direction they had came from, trying to make as little sound as they could.

The dining hall was packed to the brim. For the first time in months, everypony was present. Every single chair was filled, leaving many ponies standing or sitting on the floor, trying to squeeze into the room.

“Wow, this place is packed,” Applejack said. She was sitting at a table with Twilight, Soarin, and Cheese, who were silently watching the ponies behind them talking.

“Yeah, it is,” Cheese agreed. He was about to say something else, but stopped midway through the first word in order to listen to a conversation Party Favor was having with Sugar Belle.

“Why do you think we were called here?” Party Favor asked. He was facing Sugar Belle, oblivious to the fact that the four ponies at Applejack’s table were watching him.

“I have no idea,” Sugar Belle admitted. “It has to be an emergency, though, since we’re never woken up in the middle of the night!”

“What if somepony died?!” Party Favor yelled. His entire body was shaking.

“No, I’m sure it’s not that,” Sugar Belle reassured, patting Party Favor’s head. “It’s probably just some sort of new plan or something. I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.”

“Poor ponies,” Cheese sighed, turning back to the ponies sitting at his table. “They don’t know what’s coming.”

“I doubt they’re going to take any of the news well,” Twilight groaned. “We’re probably going to have a large amount of crying ponies on our hooves.”

“Speaking of crying,” Soarin began, putting his hoof around Applejack, “how are you holding up?”

“Not very well,” Applejack admitted. “I just lost my brother, ran through Ponyville twice, yelled at the army leader, and got kicked by a changeling.” She sighed. “I haven't been having a very good day.”

“Neither have I,” Soarin said, laying his head down on the table. “It was bad enough losing Bulk, but then you guys fought, and now we're being threatened by a changeling.” He turned away, and looked at the stage. “Things aren’t exactly going well for us today.”

“You can say that again,” Cheese moaned.

Two minutes later, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash silently flew into the dining hall, looking for the rest of the army. When they found them, they flew over to their table and sat on the floor next to them.

“We’re back,” Rainbow announced. “Sorry we took so long. The door wasn’t closing, for some reason.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight yawned, looking down at the two. “We haven’t been waiting for that long.”

“That’s good,” Spitfire said. “Listen, I’m going to go up on stage and make a speech about the current situation, and then I’m gonna go look for the changeling.” She pointed at the large crowd of ponies in the room. “If things get out of hand, can you promise to stay here and calm these ponies down?”

“I promise,” Twilight stated, crossing her heart.

“Good. Well then, here goes nothing…” Spitfire moved away from the group, and flew up above all the ponies in the room. A majority of them were talking, having similar conversations to Party Favor and Sugar Belle’s.

As Spitfire landed on the stage, she cleared her throat, then took a deep breath in. Unlike with the funerals, there was no pre-written speech for her to use. Instead, everything she said would be her own words.

“Attention, everypony!” Spitfire yelled, attempting to project her voice over the many voices of the other ponies. “I have an announcement to make!”

Everypony stopped their conversations and looked at her. Silence filled the room quickly.

“Uh, well, earlier in the night, while you were all sleeping,” Spitfire continued, “Twilight had a dream about Ponyville. And in that dream, she was visited by Princess Luna.”

Upon hearing the princess’s name, all of the ponies simultaneously gasped. Many expressed their amazement aloud, saying “wow”, and “I can’t believe it!”, while the army just looked toward the ground, trying to avoid looking at Spitfire.

“Luna told us to meet her at Dodge Junction, and she said if we showed, we’d be given information that was crucial to winning the war.” Spitfire noticed that she was still sweating, even though she wasn’t running anymore.

“If she told you to meet her,” Braeburn piped up from the middle of the audience, “then why aren’t you there?”

“Well, we all decided that it would be best to send Big McIntosh and Bulk Biceps alone on the mission.”

“Did we now?” Applejack whispered to the army through gritted teeth. She glared at Spitfire, who ignored Applejack’s facial expressions and continued with her speech.

“When we sent them on the mission, however, the two got ambushed by Sombra’s soldiers.”

The crowd shared another collective gasp. Apple Bloom, who had been in the back of the crowd with Granny Smith, began weaving through the ponies in order to make it to the stage. Granny tried to follow her, but she couldn’t get her wheelchair through the crowd.

“Are they okay?!” Apple Bloom screamed as she arrived at the stage.

“They’re dead,” Wind Rider suddenly said, emerging from the crowd. All the ponies turned to him, their faces in complete shock.

“What?” Apple Bloom asked, shaking. She was beginning to cry.

“I said, ‘they’re dead,’” Wind Rider repeated. He began walking toward Spitfire. “There’s something Spitfire isn’t telling us. You wanna know how I know? Because I overheard Cheese Sandwich calling Bulk and Big Mac’s mission a ‘suicide mission.’”

All the ponies turned toward Spitfire, eyebrows raised. Spitfire tried to wipe away some of her sweat, only to find out that her entire forehead was wet.

“What aren’t you telling us, Spitfire?” Trixie demanded, glaring at the army leader.

“Well, you see—”

“There’s a changeling in the base!”

Everypony froze upon hearing this. Slowly, they turned to Rainbow, the source of the outburst, who was standing on the table, blushing.

“There’s a what?” Mr. Cake asked, looking in every direction. “I’m not sure I heard that correctly.”

“There's a changeling in the base,” Spitfire confirmed, sighing. “One of the soldiers that ambushed us was a changeling, and while we were distracted, it got into the base.”

“WHAT?!” Everypony seemed to yell at the same time. Many ponies were getting prepared to run. Spitfire felt more sweat going down her face.

“Don't worry, everypony,” she said. She was visibly shaking. “We have everything under control. While the army and I look for the changeling, we need you all to stay in here. I promise, inside this room, you are completely safe.”

The ponies were shaking, making nervous glances around the room.

“I don't think they believe her,” Applejack whispered to the army.

“I don't think I believe her,” Cheese responded, shaking his head.

“Everypony, please, just stay in better and remain calm,” Spitfire continued. “If you need help with anything, just ask Twilight, okay?” She looked at the ponies, awaiting a response. Instead, the ponies just stared at her, their eyes wide. She sighed, then slowly walked off stage. The eyes of everypony in the room followed her, and not a single one of the ponies made a sound.

When she reached the table the army was sitting at, she gestured toward the door with her head. “Soarin, Rainbow, Cheese, Applejack, come with me,” she said. “We're going to find that changeling.”

Without saying a word, the four ponies followed Spitfire out of the dining hall. They could feel the gaze of every other pony watching them the whole way to the exit.

“How are we supposed to find a changeling in this base?” Rainbow asked, shaking her head. She was walking beside Applejack and Cheese in one of the base’s corridors, following Spitfire’s lead.

“We look for it,” Spitfire simply stated. Beside her was Soarin, who was looking back at the three who were following them.

“But how will we know it’s the changeling when we see it?” Rainbow briefly looked inside a bathroom. “Changelings can take the form of anypony, remember?”

“I know that, Rainbow.”

“So how are we supposed to find it? I mean, for all we know, the changeling could be in the dining hall with everypony else, pretending to be a member of the rebellion!”

“Rainbow, I know what I’m doing,” Spitfire firmly stated. “Just trust me.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because trusting you went so well last time,” she muttered under her breath.

“Applejack,” Spitfire growled. “Because of me, we're alive, aren't we?”

“Yeah, but Bulk Biceps isn't. And speakin’ of Bulk, why did you lie to those ponies back there? They work hard for the rebellion; they deserve to know the truth!”

“Yeah, well there's no need for them to know it!”

“Can we please not fight right now?” Soarin said, looking at the fellow soldiers. “Remember, we’re all on the same side here. There’s no reason to form more conflicts. I get that you don’t agree with Spitfire, Applejack, but I’m sure there’s a better way of communicating that to her.”

“Alright, fine,” Applejack sighed. “I just want everypony down here to be completely safe, that’s all.”

"I want everypony to be safe, too, Applejack.” Spitfire asserted.

“Great!” Soarin exclaimed, smiling with his hooves in the air. “You two just found some common ground!”

“I guess we did,” Applejack said, smiling at Spitfire. Spitfire smiled back.

For the next fifteen minutes, the group remained silent as they looked inside every room for the changeling. They checked every single section of the barracks, the meeting room, the kitchen, and the two bathrooms, but to no avail.

“We’re running out places to look,” Cheese sighed, leaning against a wall. “Are you sure the changeling didn’t leave before you could lock the base up?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “The changeling is likely unfamiliar with the base’s layout. There’s no way it could’ve found it’s way back that quickly.”

“So where is it then?” Cheese asked. “As I said, we’re running out of places to look.”

“Well, we still have the hospital to check,” Spitfire coughed. She looked at Cheese, who was slowly sliding down the wall.

“Alright,” Cheese said. “Let's go.”

The group began to gallop in the direction of the hospital, passing no rooms or ponies along the way. The entire path to the hospital was empty.

When they arrived inside the hospital, the group immediately began searching for the changeling. Spitfire, Rainbow and Soarin began looking inside every cabinet, while Applejack and Cheese searched in and underneath every single hospital bed.

There was only searching for thirty seconds before Rainbow found something.

“Aha!” Rainbow yelled, opening the cabinet nearest to the wall. Inside was Lightning Dust, curled up into a ball. “We've got you, changeling!”

“What?” Lightning Dust asked, looking at around the hospital. Her teeth were chattering. “I-I'm not a changeling! Just look at me!”

“You're not fooling anypony with that act,” Spitfire said. “Lightning Dust is DEAD. We saw her die in action yesterday.”

“Ugh,” Lightning groaned, beginning to glow green. “You ponies are so hard to keep track of.” As she said it, her body faded from green to black. Holes began to cover her entire body, and a horn sprouted from her head. Within seconds, the changeling underneath had been revealed.

“I knew it,” Spitfire said. Then, in the blink of eye, she kicked the changeling in the face, knocking its head into the back of the cabinet. It rolled out and fell onto the floor, completely unconscious.

When the changeling woke up, it found itself lying down in a hospital bed with beige ropes tied around it’s body. It tried to move its legs, but it couldn’t. The changeling was trapped.

After giving up trying to move, the changeling noticed that Spitfire, Soarin, Rainbow, Cheese, and Applejack were all standing next to the hospital bed. All of them were staring at the changeling, and Spitfire, who was right next to the changeling, was holding a long, wooden spear.

“Oh, good,” Spitfire said, looking directly into the changeling’s eyes. “You’re awake.”

“What do you want from me?” The changeling asked, trying to shake it’s way out of the ropes.

“Just to ask you a few questions,” Rainbow answered.

“Now, we can either do this the easy way,” Spitfire continued, “or the hard way.” She pointed the spear at the changeling’s head, causing it to sweat. “If you take the easy way, you get to live.”

“I’m not going to tell you ANYTHING!” the changeling hissed.

“Hard way it is,” Spitfire sighted. She held the spear up high above the changeling’s chest, and was about to thrust it down, when the changeling suddenly screamed.

“NO! DON’T DO IT!” It shouted, violently shaking it’s head. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just don’t kill me!”

“Smart choice,” Spitfire said, dropping the spear onto the ground. “Alright, changeling. Why are you here?”

“And how did you find us?” Rainbow added.

“I’m here because Princess Luna told me and the other soldiers to come here,” the changeling responded, finally remaining still. “She gave us the orders to find and kill the members of the rebellion here in Ponyville.”

“But how did she know we were in Ponyville?” Cheese asked.

“The dream, obviously.” The army looked at one and another, sharing confused looks. The changeling sighed. “Princess Twilight’s dream? Does that ring a bell?”

“How did that tell Luna where we were?” Soarin questioned, taking a few steps away from the changeling.

“Because Twilight dreamed about living in Ponyville before the war. Luna took that and assumed that Twilight was dreaming about the place she was living in during a better time. Obviously, she was right.”

“So, why did she tell us to go to Dodge Junction if she knew we were in Ponyville?”

“That was to lure you out into the open so we could take you out easier. And it worked, because we were able to kill those two stallions of yours.”

Upon hearing this, Applejack’s eyes widened. She jumped onto the changeling’s bed, and put her face right in front of the changeling’s. “You killed my brother?” she growled.

“Big, red earth pony with an Apple for a cutie mark? Yep.” The changeling said, without hesitation. Applejack growled and was about to reach for the spear, but was pulled away by Soarin.

“Calm down, Applejack!” Spitfire ordered, watching Soarin pull on Applejack’s tail. “I’m sure it’s just saying that to mess with us!”

“Right,” Rainbow agreed. “We need to focus.” When Applejack was pulled completely away from the changeling, Spitfire picked up the spear and laid it next to the changeling’s head.

“Don’t mess with us,” Spitfire said, glaring at the changeling. “Now, tell me, if you were assigned the job of killing us all, then why did we find you hiding in a cabinet?”

“Because the hospital is the only safe place in this base right now. You’ve fortified it so much, I think it could probably withstand anything.”

“Explain yourself,” Rainbow demanded.

“Well, when we came here to Ponyville, we brought a bomb. So when I found my way out of the Everfree and found your base, I placed it inside the largest room I could find.”

“The dining room!” The army simultaneously shouted.

“Bingo!” the changeling exclaimed, trying to clap its hooves. “You win a prize: the death of your entire rebellion. We rigged the bomb to explode at 1AM. And that’s in…” the changeling looked at the clock, “...four minutes.”

“Darn it!” Spitfire gasped. “Applejack, Soarin, Rainbow, Cheese, evacuate the dining hall NOW! Get every single pony in here!”

“But the changeling’s still here,” Cheese pointed out.

“I’ll take care of it! GO!”

“But what about you?” Applejack asked.

“When I’m done with the changeling, I’m gonna go attempt to find the bomb and dispose of it!”

“But, Spitfire, if you don’t find it, you could die out there! And I may not agree with your judgement sometimes, but I don’t want you to DIE!”

“Yeah, but I can’t let us lose the base! It’s too important!”

Without saying a word, Applejack planted herself in front of Spitfire.

“Look, Applejack, please, I need to do this. Can you please just trust me this ONE time?” Spitfire looked directly into Applejack’s eyes, and bit her lip. Applejack sighed, then nodded her head.

“Good,” Spitfire said. “Then let’s move!”

Applejack, Rainbow, Cheese, and Soarin ran out of the hospital as fast as they could, leaving Spitfire alone with the changeling.

“You’re never going to win this war,” the changeling told Spitfire. “Sombra has more allies than you could ever imagine. To get to him, you’ll have to get through all of them and the princesses first.”

“Why are you even with him, anyway?” Spitfire asked. “I’m pretty sure he’s drained all the love in Equestria.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Spitfire,” the changeling said. “King Sombra is giving us all we need.”

Before the changeling could say anything else, in one large motion, Spitfire grabbed the spear and thrust it through into changeling’s chest. It spent the last few moments of its life gasping for air.

Spitfire was flying through the base as fast as she could. There were only two minutes left before the bomb was set to explode. She looked behind her, and saw that only half of the ponies had made it into the hospital. They better hurry, she thought to herself, or they’re not going to make it.

When she flew through the doors of the dining hall, she found the room completely empty. There was not a single pony in sight; only a mess of tables and chairs remained in the room. She landed on the ground with a small thud, then began rapidly searching for the bomb. Where is it? she kept asking herself as she flipped over tables. I’m running out of time!

After flipping over three tables, she found it. It seemed to have been kicked into a wall and was lying upside down. From the bottom, it looked like a brick. However, from the top, Spitfire could see that there was a complex system of grey wires that connected to a screen emerging from the inside. The screen displayed a countdown, which was at 1:23, and quickly decreasing. Spitfire grabbed the bomb and put it between her front hooves, then flew out of the dining hall as quickly as she could.

With a minute and ten seconds remaining, Spitfire found the trapdoor to the outside. She put the bomb on the ground, then unlocked the door. She attempted to push it open, but the door wouldn’t budge. Spitfire looked down at the bomb. Things were not looking in her favor.

Then, all of a sudden, Spitfire heard the pattering of hooves coming in her direction. She turned around, and saw Applejack running her way.

“Applejack, what are you doing here?!” Spitfire shouted, still pushing on the door. “Get to safety!”

“I’m sorry,” Applejack answered back. “But I couldn’t follow your orders! I remembered Rainbow saying something about the door not closing, so I got worried.” She looked at the bomb. 57 seconds remained. “We’ve had too many losses for one day. We’re not going to have anymore. Together, you and I are going to open that door and dispose of that bomb!”

Spitfire couldn’t stop beaming at Applejack. “Well, don’t just stand there!” she cried. “Come help!”

Together, the two began pushing the door forward. With all the strength they had in them, they slowly managed to get the door partially open. The space was just about the size of a pony.

“We did it!” Spitfire exclaimed, looking at the bomb. There were only 26 seconds left. “C’mon, let’s go!”

One after the other, the two ran through the space and entered Sugarcube Corner. The freezing air from outside entered their bodies, but they tried to ignore it. With ten seconds left, Applejack, who was carrying the bomb, ran out of Sugarcube Corner, and threw the bomb into the darkness.

Seconds later, the two heard a loud BOOM!, and saw a large, fiery explosion in the distance. They covered their eyes with their hooves as tiny bits of debris and dirt came flying at them, making their bodies and manes turn black. When the last bits of debris stopped raining down from the sky, they looked and saw a large crater just ten feet way from Sugarcube Corner. Spitfire sighed.

"We did it," she panted, looking at the crater. "We just saved everypony and the base."

"Yes, I suppose we did," Applejack said.

The two looked at each other, grinning, for a moment, before Spitfire let out one large sigh, and passed out right in front of Applejack's hooves. Applejack smiled before picking her up. She looked at the sleeping Spitfire.

"Finally, we can all rest for a little bit," Applejack said to Spitfire, sighing in relief. "We've had a long day, haven't we?"

With Spitfire lying on her back, Applejack slowly walked into back into the base and shut the door, leaving the cold and darkness of the night behind.

Chapter 1: Everyday

Spitfire emerged from the Everfree Forest, carefully stepping over every rock, stick, and piece of debris on the ground. She moved as quietly as she could, not daring to make a single sound. When she reached the the border between the forest and Ponyville, she looked around in every direction. She had to make sure no one was there. If anypony saw her, the entire mission would be put in jeopardy.

As Spitfire stealthily entered Ponyville, all was quiet. There was nothing left outside besides buildings, which were completely empty and soundless. When she thought she heard something, she flew behind one of the shops. Like almost every other building in town, it had been boarded up when the war began. She tried to blend in with the building, which proved to be difficult, as her army camouflage uniform clashed with the dull yellows of the house. It didn't matter, however, as long as no one saw her.

Again, she looked in every direction. When the coast seemed clear, she signaled to a group of ponies, who were hiding behind the dead bushes in the Everfree Forest. The group, comprised of Rainbow Dash, Cheese Sandwich, Big McIntosh, Bulk Biceps, and Fleetfoot, slowly walked towards Spitfire’s hiding spot, following in her hoofsteps. When they reached it, they all nodded with each other, and Spitfire moved ahead to another building, repeating the same process.

They were the only ones to return from the battle, and they hadn't returned unscathed. Rainbow and Cheese had bruises all over their bodies, while Fleetfoot had an enormous cut down her side. Spitfire had tied a blue cloth around Fleetfoot's body to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't enough. She could barely move, and was being carried by Bulk Biceps.

Twelve ponies had gone into the battle, and only half had returned. Everyday, the odds had seemed less and less in the rebellion’s favor.

When the army reached Sugarcube Corner, Spitfire carefully opened the creaky wooden door, hoping it wouldn't make too much noise, and went inside. The others followed, trying to leave the destroyed Ponyville as quickly as they could. There were broken pots and pieces of glass everywhere inside the building. Every window was broken, and through them, the only thing that could be seen was the small remains of past trees. Ponyville had been hit hard by the war.

When the army finally reached the kitchen, they found Applejack sitting on the counter, waiting for them.

“Oh, thank the heavens you’re back!” Applejack sighed when she saw the army. She quickly hopped off the table and ran to them, giving each member a large hug when she arrived. “All of us in the base were gettin’ worried!”

“Sorry we had to keep you waiting," Spitfire said, pushing Applejack away from her body. “The fight was long, and pretty intense, but we’re mostly fine, Applejack." Spitfire turned to her army, which was in the process of looking through the windows to make sure they hadn't been followed. "We fought well, didn’t we, guys?”

“Yeah!!!” Bulk Biceps whispered, not taking his eyes off the window.

“Pretty well, at least,” Rainbow Dash said, turning around to look at Applejack. "But I think I could've done better."

Cheese just nodded, remaining silent.

“Well, that's good to hear,” Applejack responded, grinning. She then looked at the army as a whole, counting them under her breath. “Although, I do recall you guys havin’ a bigger army. What happened?”

“They ambushed us,” Cheese sighed, leaning against the counter. He turned his face away from the soldiers. “We lost six of our own soldiers.”

“And Fleetfoot here is injured,” Rainbow Dash piped up, pointing at Fleetfoot. “A changeling cut her. She needs stitches. “

“Well, I can get her to the hospital,” Applejack said, quickly dashing over to Fleetfoot. “Big Mac, can you lend a hand?”

“Eeyup,” he replied, walking over to Bulk Biceps. The two transferred Fleetfoot from Bulk Biceps' back to Big Mac's, trying not to touch her wound. Once they had succeeded, Applejack wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, then smiled at the army, who had been watching them help Fleetfoot.

“Y’all did good today,” Applejack said to the army, lifting up a wooden trapdoor on Sugarcube Corner's floor.

“I guess,” Rainbow sighed, looking down. “But we could have done more. I should have been faster. And I shouldn’t have taken out that one changeling before the unicorn. And I—”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Dash!” Cheese interrupted. “You did what you could.”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, as the group entered the trapdoor and began to walk down the slope that lead into the base.

The base was an elaborate system of rooms underneath the shop. Once the war began, the ponies had built it for the rebellion. While it was mainly large, empty metal rooms, it was safe. Very few knew of its existence aside from the ones who lived in it.

When the army walked in, they saw a large crowd of ponies. All of these ponies were a part of the rebellion, and each of them had a job in the base if they didn't join the army, whether it was cooking for the rebellion, or making sure the base was completely sanitary.

The army watched them running around, doing their respective jobs. Mr. Cake, one of the chefs, was carrying a small brown basket filled with apples across the hall, while Party Favor and Trixie were using their magic to levitate mops and clean the floor. Other ponies, like Cheerilee, Braeburn, and Photo Finish, were walking around the base, asking if anypony needed help with their jobs.

As soon as the crowd saw the army, however, the room was filled with silence.

“So, how’d it go?” Apple Bloom asked, running from the crowd over towards the army. When she reached them, she clung onto Big Mac's front legs.

“Did you stop Sombra's army?” Sweetie Belle asked, following Apple Bloom.

“Did you win the war?” Diamond Tiara asked, a spark in her eyes.

“Sorry, foals,” Spitfire responded, shaking her head. “We’re far away from that.”

A moan emerged from the crowd. The ponies, whose heads were hanging low, began to turn around to finish their work.

“However,” Spitfire continued, “We did manage to take out at least a hundred of Sombra’s soldiers!”

Suddenly, the crowd turned back around and gasped. The ponies dropped everything they were holding, and flung their hooves into the air. A cheer rose from the crowd, and ponies began prancing throughout the hall, hugging and joyously singing. The sight of it made the army chuckle.

Once the excitement died down, Spitfire continued talking.

“We did lose a few soldiers of our own, though,” she sighed. “Tonight, we will be having a funeral to remember them by.”

Just as quickly as they had began cheering, the crowd’s happiness drained away. Many of the ponies began moaning again, while others completely froze. Several of them sank to the ground, crying.

"Who did we lose?" Party Favor asked, stumbling through the crowd. His voice was shaking.

"That's not important right now," Spitfire said, turning to the crowd and pounding her hooves together. "What's important is that we keep doing everything we can to support each other and take down Sombra’s army.”

The crowd made quiet sounds of agreement before slowly returning to work. Applejack and her brother left to put Fleetfoot on a stretcher, while Bulk Biceps went to the his section of the barracks. Rainbow and Cheese stayed with Spitfire.

“Well,” Cheese started, looking at his fellow army members, “that went well.”

“You two are some pretty good fighters,” Spitfire complimented, patting the two soldiers on the back. “The best here, for sure. Cheese, you're very resourceful. And Dash, with your speed and strength, you could have been a Wonderbolt.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow said. “Although, I think I could use some work.”

“So, Spitfire? Where do we go now?” Cheese asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Well, I’m going to talk with Twilight and the others,” Spitfire responded. You've been here for a while, you two. I'm sure you know what to do.” She flew off, leaving Rainbow and Cheese. The two stared at her until she was out of sight, watching her fly away, wondering what she was thinking about. After a while, Cheese turned to Rainbow.

“Looks like I have a funeral to plan.”

The meeting room was a small room in the right-most corner of the base. Inside, there was only an empty table, an undersized chair, and an almost empty bookshelf. The walls were grey and covered with mold, and it was almost always cold. Very few went inside, and when they did, they left quickly. Ponies only stayed when they were waiting for someone. Soarin and Twilight were waiting for someone.

“She’ll be here,” Twilight repeated to herself again and again. She was rapidly twiddling her hooves. “She’s always come back. Why shouldn’t she this time? Hopefully she’s not in trouble!” Twilight began to pace around table, making the floor slightly shake beneath her.

“She's the army leader for a reason, Twilight," Soarin said as he sat in the chair. "I'm sure she's fine. Probably just late or something.”

“But she's never been late before! What if she got hurt?” Twilight asked, beginning to chew on her mane.

“Listen to me, Twilight. I'm sure she's fine.”

“Soarin, we can't win this war without her. She's lead the army through so many fights since this war began. The battle of Manehattan, Appleoosa, Canterlot, that was all her! We can't lose her!”

“And I'm sure we won't. Spitfire is pretty awesome. She can handle herself.”

“Yeah, but--”

“Maybe we should talk about something else. Like, uh, your research, Twilight,” Soarin suggested, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. “I haven't heard anything about that in a while. How’s it been going?”

“Fine, I guess,” Twilight responded with a shrug.

“Anything useful?”

“Not really. I still can’t figure out why or how King Sombra came back. I thought Spike had destroyed him when he put the Crystal Heart back in its place. And it’s even more confusing figuring as to why Celestia, Luna, and Cadance joined his side, even though he took over Equestria, and enslaved HUNDREDS of ponies!” Without realizing, Twilight had begun to shout. When she looked at Soarin, she saw that he had been staring at her, concerned. She laid her head on the table and sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little frustrated because I can’t figure out why any of this is happening. And since Sombra destroyed my castle and its library, I don't have much to work with.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Soarin said, beaming. “Have you tried a new angle?”

“Hundreds,” Twilight moaned. “The war began over a year ago. Ever since then, all I’ve been doing is finding new angles.”

“Well, are you close to finding out how to stop Sombra and his army?“

“Sorry, Soarin. I wish. Normally, I would turn to the Elements of Harmony or the magic in our friendship, but we wouldn't be able to activate either of them without Pinkie. And then I would turn to the princesses, but they're WITH the enemy, which is another thing I can't explain. Plus, Discord is just GONE, as is Starlight, I can't get into a connection with Sunset, and we don't even know—”

“Kay, you need a break,” Soarin interjected.

“I can't,” Twilight responded, getting up and pacing slightly faster than she had before. “The fate of Equestria relies on me figuring this out.”

“I get that," Soarin responded. "But you can only solve a problem with a clear mind." He got up out of the chair and planted himself in front of Twilight, effectively putting an end to her pacing. "You've got way too much on your mind right now for this. Remember the last time you studied this hard? Didn't you almost completely miss out on learning about the Magic of Friendship?”

“Yeah…” Twilight admitted. She tried to walk past Soarin, but he blocked her.

“Well, maybe your studying is making you miss out on something here."

“Maybe...”

“Look, Twilight. I promise. A break would make you feel so much better.” He looked into Twilight's eyes and gave her a giant smile.

“Alright,” Twilight sighed, turning toward the bookshelf. "I'll take a break."

A few minutes later, the door crashed open and Spitfire flew inside the room. She was no longer wearing her army uniform, and was instead wearing no clothing at all, as most ponies in the base did.

"I'm back!" she loudly announced as she flew onto the table.

“See? She's fine,” Soarin said, planting himself back in the chair. He grinned at Twilight.

“Sorry I'm so late,” Spitfire apologized. “The ponies wanted to know what happened, and well, had to tell ‘em.”

“Tell them what?” Twilight asked. “Did my strategy work? Did you take down Sombra's base in Canterlot?”

“Well, your strategy worked. And while we weren't able to take down the base, we did manage to take out a lot of his army,“ Spitfire said. “A hundred, give or take.”

“Haha, awesome!” Soarin cried in joy. He flung his legs into the air, almost knocking himself out of the chair. “Does that mean we have a better chance of winning the war?”

“I wish, Soarin, but I can't say. We don't know how many soldiers Sombra has. He’s got small bases all across Equestria, plus his large base in the Crystal Empire. Each one of them has tons of ponies who work for him. For all we know, there could be thousands of ponies on his side, not to mention the griffons. Maybe taking down a hundred didn't affect them at all.”

“Oh,” Soarin groaned. “I was hoping…”

“Did we lose anyone?” Twilight broke in, ending her pacing.

“Six, but they were expendable." Spitfire said. Upon hearing the word expendable, Soarin cringed. He was about to say something, but decided to let Spitfire finish. "All the best soldiers: Rainbow, Cheese, they’re all fine. Fleetfoot’s in the hospital, though. A changeling got her real hard.”

“Another changeling with Sombra’s army? Why does this keep happening? Could Queen Chrysalis be working with him?”

“Hard to tell, since we haven't seen any of the leaders on his side ever since the battle in Las Pegasus. I'll keep you posted, though,” Spitfire said, turning toward the door. “I'm going to go see how the funeral planning is going. See ya.” She flew away, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

“I should go with her,” Soarin said, watching the dust floating around the room. “I am her second-in-command, after all.”

“Alright. Make sure she isn't too hard on Cheese,” Twilight said, levitating one of the lone books toward her.

“I will,” he said. He began to leave, but turned back. “Hey, Twilight?”

“Yeah, Soarin?”

“Remember to take a break.”

The hospital was one of the largest rooms in the base, second only to the dining hall. Unlike the other rooms, the large, white room was always kept clean and neat. Applejack rushed into the room, pushing the stretcher before her.

“Goodness, Applejack,” Rarity exclaimed, turning from her previous patient. “What happened?”

“A changeling happened,” Applejack explained as she gave the now-unconscious Fleetfoot to Rarity, who immediately began to inspect the cut. “She's lost a lot of blood. Will she be okay?”

“Of course she will, darling,” Rarity said, levitating the patient onto a bed. “I've stitched dresses much messier than this wound. This should be easy.”

“Thanks, Rarity. You're a lifesaver. Literally.”

Rarity grinned, then immediately got to work. She covered the workspace with a dark purple curtain; it was one of the few things they had been salvaged from Carousel Boutique. Applejack stared the color as if it was the first time she had ever seen it.

“Hi, Applejack,” a small voice suddenly called from behind, startling her. She turned around to see Fluttershy, who was carrying another pony into the hospital. Fluttershy looked worried. “Oh no. Did I startle you?”

“Not at all!” Applejack called, beaming at her friend. “Good to see ya, Fluttershy!” Applejack called. She looked at the pony Fluttershy was trying to carry, and went over to help carry her into a bed. Together, they managed to lift her up. “Feels like we haven't seen each other in a while.”

“Well, ever since the war began, Rarity and I have been quite busy working here in the hospital with Nurse Redheart. A lot of ponies come in everyday.”

Applejack looked in Rarity’s direction. “You know, I'd never have thought Rarity would be workin’ as a nurse. I'd have thought she'd be making war outfits for the army or something.”

“Well, I guess this war has brought out new sides of everypony we've never seen before,” Fluttershy said, looking proud that she was able to lift a pony onto a bed.

“Guess you're right,” Applejack said, staring at the curtain Rarity was behind.

“The surgery is done,” Rarity said a few minutes later, as she emerged from the curtain. She wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief she had levitated towards her. “Fleetfoot will need bed-rest for a little bit, but she should be able to go on the battlefield again in the near future.”

“Oh, that's great! Nice job, Rarity,” Applejack said with a smile. Rarity nodded before inspecting the patient who had just been lifted onto a bed. Applejack looked at one of the few remaining clocks. “Aww, shucks, I gotta go help Mr. Cake make up some dinner. It was great talking to y'all, though, after so long.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity replied, looking away. Fluttershy nodded towards Applejack.

“Bye!” AJ called out to the two as she left the room.

There was very little time before another mare flew inside.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity exclaimed, turning to look at her. “What brings you here? Are you hurt?”

“Not at all,” Rainbow said. “I made it from the battle unscathed.”

“Yay,” Fluttershy quietly cheered. Rainbow smiled at her.

“I just came to check on the hospital's fortification,” Rainbow began, flying all around the room. “I have to make sure this room is completely safe. Have you built up the walls recently? Did you remove every single possible gap in the perimeter? Is it safe from outsiders?”

“Well, there's one gap,” Rarity slowly told Rainbow, not sure what reaction would follow.

“What!? There can't be any gaps! What if one of Sombra's soldiers sneaks in?! You’ll have to fortify it more," Rainbow said, landing on the ground.

“We have to be able to get in, Rainbow Dash.”

“No you don't! You can stay in here!”

“How would we eat? Or get new patients?”

“You could--”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy sternly interrupted. “We know you feel bad about what happened here in the hospital last time—”

“Last time was MY fault.” Rainbow shouted, tears forming in her eyes. “Everything that happened then is on me! I need to make sure nothing like that ever happens again so that nopony gets hurt like she did!”

“Oh, Dash,” Rarity said sympathetically. “It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known.” She tried to put her hoof around Rainbow, who swatted it away.

“But I SHOULD have known!” Rainbow continued to shout. “I should have been there to protect her! I had made a PROMISE to!” The tears began to roll down her face.

“Oh, Dash…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“It wasn't your fault,” Rarity said, laying her hoof on Rainbow's back. Rainbow was silently crying, the tears now falling onto the floor. She couldn’t stop.

“I gotta go,” Rainbow whispered before quickly flying out of the room, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy with their patients. The two stood there, watching her fade into the distance.

“Poor Dash,” Fluttershy said, turning away. “This war has been so harsh on her.”

“It's been harsh on us all,” Rarity replied.

All the funerals were held in the dining room, right before the ponies ate dinner. The funeral was comprised of a short ceremony, in which Spitfire made a speech and presented tombstones and medals for all the lost soldiers, and a moment of silence following it. When it ended, all of the ponies were allowed to begin eating, and their days carried on as they normally would. There was a funeral almost everyday, and during it, there was one shared emotion throughout all of the hundreds rebels living in the base: sadness.

Cheese Sandwich was the one responsible for planning every aspect of the funeral. He had to set-up the dining room, position and clean the tables, make the medals, write the speech, everything. It was a tough task, but Cheese was able to accomplish it every time.

As he worked on cleaning all the tables, Cheese was humming his favorite tunes from the past: The Super Duper Party Pony, Make a Wish, and some of Sapphire Shores and Countess Coloratura’s best works. It kept him calm as he worked. Working on a funeral was never easy.

Cheese didn't even notice when Spitfire and Soarin flew in, and he just kept on humming.

“Ugh, Cheese,” Spitfire said, breaking Cheese's song. “What did I tell you about the humming?”

“The songs are so catchy,” Cheese shrugged. “How can I resist?”

“The same way the rest of us do, Cheese. Those songs are from long before the war. You've got to stop dwelling on the past, and start focusing on the present.”

Soarin was about to speak, but Spitfire was glaring, so he didn't.

“I do focus on the present, Spitfire.” Cheese continued. “I'm doing this funeral, aren't I?”

“Yeah, that's what I'm here to talk to you about,” Spitfire said, clearing her throat loudly. “We've got to stop having these funerals.”

Soarin and Cheese’s jaws dropped.

“Wha- Why?” Cheese asked, scrubbing the tables with a towel at an alarming speed. “I'm confused…”

“It's for the better of the ponies,” Spitfire said. “These funerals make the ponies depressed, and their depression is hurting productivity. We make less army uniforms, there's less food, and ponies are getting less sleep, making them do less.”

“But…” Cheese began, on the verge of tears. “The funerals are a time when we remember and honor the loved ones we've lost! They're super important! So many would be forgotten without one!”

“Say, if funerals are how we honor the loved ones we've lost,” Soarin chimed in, “then why haven't we given one to Pinkie Pie?”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it.

“Because Pinkie is NOT dead,” Cheese Sandwich said, trying to sound calm. The table he was cleaning was shaking. “Nopony saw her die, so there's still a chance!”

“Cheese, she's been gone for so many moons,” Spitfire groaned. “Sombra's army has her! We saw them take her!”

“But Pinkie's strong and… and unpredictable! She could've made it out!”

“So why isn't she here then, Cheese? Think about it! You've got to let her go!”

“No! I can't! She's still out there! I know it!”

“No you don't. You don't know ANYTHING.” Spitfire’s voice echoed throughout the room. “Like, I said, you've got to stop dwelling on the past, and start focusing on the present. She's gone, Cheese. Pinkie is GONE.”

Upon hearing this, Cheese changed. All of a sudden, he looked traumatized. He sat down, and stayed silent. Spitfire looked at him sternly, as Soarin backed away. For a whole minute, all there was was silence.

Spitfire was the one to break the silence. “Cheese, look, I get it. She was your friend, and she was a great soldier. But you have to accept the truth sometime.” She began to fly away, but turned back. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not we have the funerals. Think over both sides carefully, and come to me when you've made a choice.” With that, she left Cheese with Soarin, who had been quietly standing against the wall, watching Cheese and Spitfire fight.

Cheese's eyes were wide and teary, and he sat completely still and silent.

Soarin decided that giving Cheese time alone was a good idea, and decided to leave the room. As he turned to go, however, he said something to Cheese:

“If it makes you feel any better, I liked your humming.”

At sunset, everypony was expected to go to the dining hall for dinner and the funeral. While almost everypony attended, there were a few week didn't. Some were too busy working. Others just didn't feel like attending. But no matter what the reason, they were there in spirit. Everypony was there, physically or not.

The dining room was filling up as ponies entered the room. While the funeral wasn't going to start for a while, ponies always arrived early to ensure they would get a portion of food, and a seat. Too many times, ponies would be left without food, or sitting on the floor.

Twilight was sitting alone at a table in the dining room, waiting for the funeral to start. In front of her, there was a tray full of food. While she couldn't start eating until the funeral was over, Twilight was very hungry. Like all of the ponies in the base, she hadn't eaten since the day before. All that was on the tray was a slice of bread, applesauce, and a few flower petals. Before the war, it would have seemed like a little, but now, it was what kept many ponies going.

“Hey there, Twilight,” a voice called from behind, making Twilight jump.

“Oh, hey, Applejack!” Twilight said, turning to see her her friend. Applejack was wearing her hat and was also holding a tray of food. She who sat down next to Twilight, who smiled at her. “Great to see you! How are things going in the kitchen?”

“Fine, actually,” Applejack said. “For once, we aren't low on food. We were able to cook a nice meal for y'all today.” The two looked at their trays. “Well, as nice as we could get with our resources.”

“It looks fine, AJ,” Twilight reassured her. “It's more than we had last week, at the least.”

“Yeah, that's true,” Applejack said, pushing away her tray. “So, I saw Rarity and Fluttershy today.”

“Really? I haven't seen those two in forever! How are they?”

“They seem fine. Just busy, that's all.”

“Well, they work in a hospital during a war,” Twilight sighed. “Of course they're going to be busy.”

“What's wrong, Twilight?” Applejack asked, detecting sorrow in Twilight's words.

“I just… miss them. We used to be so close, but ever since the war began…”

“...we've barely seen them at all,” the two finished together. They looked each other, their bodies sagging and lips trembling.

“Where are they right now? Are they coming?” Twilight asked, with a small bit of hope in her voice.

“Rarity and Fluttershy are still in the hospital,” Applejack answered. “Doubt they'll be coming out anytime soon. And I dunno about Dash.” There were tears in Twilight's eyes as AJ told her this. Realizing this, AJ put her leg around Twilight and hugged her.

“This life is so lonely,” Twilight said.

“You can say that again,” Applejack replied.

“Funeral begins in two minutes,” Soarin announced to all the ponies, from the stage in the front of the dining hall. The ponies listened, then nodded before returning to their conversations. At the moment, the ponies were talking, loud and lively. In two minutes, however, they'd be quiet and saddened. Everyday, the funeral caused sadness for the rebellion. Losing a friend wasn't easy for the ponies.

Soarin walked off the stage, looking for a table where he could sit and watch the funeral. Though there weren't many chairs at each table, the tables were crowded with ponies who were trying to spend as much time as they could with their friends. The ponies never knew when they might lose each other, and held onto their friendship as much as they could. Fear was present almost every minute.

Soarin looked at every table before deciding where to sit. He walked toward the table Applejack, Twilight, and Cheese Sandwich were sitting at, trying not to interrupt what they were doing. Applejack was playing with her hat, spinning it on her hoof, while Cheese just sat there, resting his head on the table. Twilight was looking away at something else entirely.

“Mind if I sit here?” Soarin asked them, trying to smile at the frowning Cheese.

“Not at all,” Applejack said, pushing the nearest chair toward Soarin. “Make yourself nice an’ comfy.”

“Thanks, AJ,” Soarin replied happily.

“No problem,” AJ said, looking at Soarin. “Ready for the funeral?”

“As ready as I'll ever be,” Soarin sighed. “These constant funerals take so much out of you, you know?”

“Maybe Spitfire was right,” Cheese broke in, speaking for the first time in hours. There was a feeling of pain within his voice. “Maybe I should stop doing these constant funerals. They make everypony sad, and well, that goes against what I did my entire life before the war: making ponies happy. But on the other hoof, they help us remember the ponies we've lost throughout this war. I don't want to forget them.” He sighed. “I guess I'm just super conflicted about what should be done.” Soarin and Applejack looked at each other. Twilight kept looking away.

“Well, think it over,” Soarin said. “Consider what you really want, but also consider what's best for everypony. Stay true to yourself.” He gave a smile to Cheese, who slowly lifted his head. A tiny smile formed on his face.

“Thanks for that,” Applejack whispered to Soarin. “I think he needed somethin’ like that. “

“Hey, not a problem at all.” Soarin was grinning. Shortly after, the lights in the dining hall began to dim. “Kay, seems like the funeral is starting.”

“I guess Dash isn't coming,” Twilight moaned, turning away from what she was focusing on: the doors.

“Guess not,” Applejack said, frowning.

Within seconds, all of the ponies’ chattering ceased. All attention turned to the stage, and the room was filled with an eerie silence. Spitfire, who had been waiting for her cue in the hallway, slowly walked onto the stage. Every time she stepped on the wooden floor, it creaked. Her hoofsteps could be heard all throughout the base. It was the only sound.

When she made it onto the stage, Spitfire coughed. There was no microphone, so she had to project her voice all throughout the room. It constantly hurt her throat.

“Good evening, everypony,” Spitfire loudly began, reciting her speech from memory. “As of today, we've been in this war for over a year. We've been through many fights, and together, as a rebellion, we've tried to make a stand against King Sombra’s army and allies. Many times, we've succeeded. However,” she paused, “there have been many, many causalities.”

All the ponies in the audience nodded, knowing what was to come.

“Tonight, we are gathered here to remember and honor six of those ponies who lost their lives through this time.”

The room was dead silent. Many ponies had tears in their eyes.

“These six soldiers were brave,” Spitfire continued, carrying her voice throughout the room. “They all died heroically, fighting Sombra’s army until the end. We must honor their sacrifice,” she said, clearing her throat. “All of these ponies should not be remembered as soldiers, but as heroes. All of them: Lightning Dust, Noteworthy, Misty Fly, Blaze, Double Diamond, and Joe.”

Suddenly, a cry broke out throughout the room, interrupting Spitfire’s speech. Several ponies who knew the deceased had begun loudly sobbing and moaning. Other ponies quickly tried to hug them or wipe their tears away, but the ponies kept on crying. Within seconds, sobbing and sorrow filled entire the room. Seeing this, Applejack, Soarin, Twilight, and Cheese sunk down in their seats.

“I can't believe this is what every day of our lives was become,” Applejack sighed as she listened to the crying ponies.

“I know,” Twilight said, trying to get beneath the table. “And everyday, I wish we could go back to the lives we had before.”

Together, the group watched the ponies cry, and tried not to get engulfed by the sorrow that filled the entire room. It was a sorrow that almost never left the ponies. It filled the base almost everyday.

Chapter 4: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

When Rainbow Dash awoke, she found herself lying on the ground, sweating, covered with a gray piece of cloth. She looked to her right, and saw Applejack and Apple Bloom lying together on the bottom half of a bunk bed, both sleeping peacefully. On her left, she saw her own bed, which looked like it had taken a beating. The mattress was covered in blue feathers, and the entire thing had been ripped up.

Oh no, Rainbow thought, climbing to her hooves. She inspected the blue feathers, and pressed them against her body. They were hers. No… this can’t have happened again.

As she moaned and sat on her bed, Rainbow noticed that there was a large, purple bruise on her flank that hadn't been there when she went to sleep. When she touched it, she felt a sharp sting that made her cringe.

“Applejack!” she called out to the pony across from her. “Applejack, wake up!”

Slowly, Applejack opened her eyes. “Rainbow,” she yawned, scratching her head. “Hey. Is the base still on lockdown?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow admitted. “Haven't checked.”

“Oh,” Applejack said, letting go of Apple Bloom and beginning to stretch her legs. “So, why'd ya wake me up?”

“Because, uh, something… bad happened while we were sleeping.”

Upon hearing this, Applejack became fully alert. She leapt out of the bed she had been sleeping in, then ran across the room to Rainbow's bed. “What is it?!”

“This,” Rainbow sighed, pointing to the bruise and the beaten-up bed. When she saw them, Applejack gasped.

“Oh my goodness!” Applejack cried, covering her mouth with her hooves. “What happened?!”

“I happened,” Rainbow said, picking up a blue feather from the bed. She held it in front of Applejack’s face. “This was all me!”

“Holy… Rainbow, this is not good!” Applejack screamed, taking a few steps back. “What happened?! Was it another bad dream?”

Rainbow nodded, looking away from her friend. Applejack sighed, then sat on her bed, her face in her hooves.

“Rainbow,” Applejack began, “this is the second time this has happened. If we don't do something about it, it's only gonna keep happening!”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?!” Rainbow yelled, pulling on her mane.

“Get help,” Applejack said calmly. “Talk to Soarin, like you said you would. Get this burden off your chest. Talking to somepony will help, I promise.”

“And what if he can’t help me?” Rainbow cried, with tears forming in her eyes.

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it. For now, please, just talk to him.”

Rainbow took a deep breath in, then exhaled. “Alright,” she agreed, finally looking at Applejack. “I'll talk to him.”

“Great!” Applejack exclaimed with a big smile on her face. “I promise you, it'll do you a lot of good.”

“One can only hope,” Rainbow said, turning to the door. When she was a foot away from the exit, however, she turned back to look at Applejack, who had walked back into Twilight’s bed with Apple Bloom. She was now hugging her sleeping sister tightly.

“Hey, AJ?” Rainbow began, walking back toward Applejack. “How are you holding up after, uh... you know... Big Mac?”

“I’ve been better,” Applejack admitted, not taking her eyes off of her sister. She began slowly rocking Apple Bloom back and forth in her hooves. “The night was rough. After you went to bed, Apple Bloom and I couldn’t sleep at all. Just the thought of him being…” Her voice trailed off, and a small tear fell onto Apple Bloom’s forehead. After a moment, another tear followed.

“I-I'm sorry, AJ,” Rainbow said, putting her hoof on Applejack’s back. “Is there anything I can do?”

Applejack shook her head. “Just go talk to Soarin. Trust me, you need comfort much more than I do.”

“Are you sure?” Rainbow asked, reluctantly moving toward the door.

“Yes, Rainbow.”

“But, what if—”

“Just go!” Applejack screamed, slamming her hooves on the ground. Her teeth were clenched together, and she was breathing heavily. Large tears began streaming down her face.

Rainbow gulped, then slowly began taking steps toward the door. Her entire body was shaking, and her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest.

As she left the room, she saw Applejack sobbing, hugging Apple Bloom even tighter than she had before. Tears continued to fall down her face, and her moaning echoed through the halls.

Applejack, Rainbow thought as she flew through the hall. I'm sorry.

As the few clocks in the base struck seven, Cheese Sandwich walked through the base’s corridors, heading in the direction of the dining hall. For the most part, the hallways were empty, save for the occasional pony that was walking to the bathroom. Most ponies were still inside their sections of the barracks, getting sleep after all the excitement of the night.

When Cheese entered the dining hall, he found Soarin already inside, fixing one of the tables Spitfire that had flipped over the previous night. He lifted up the table's legs and began to turn it back to its original position, only to have it slip out of his hooves at the last second and fall back into the ground. He moaned, then began to lift the table up again.

“Want some help?” Cheese asked, walking over to Soarin, whose forehead was covered with sweat.

“That'd be great,” Soarin panted, pausing what he was doing so Cheese could grab onto the table. Once he had a good grip on it, the two began lifting again, this time successfully flipping it onto its legs.

”Huzzah!” Cheese exclaimed once the table was back in place. He took a few steps back to admire their work.

“Thanks for the help,” Soarin said, beaming at Cheese. “I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, it's no problem,” Cheese replied with a wink. “Happy to help.”

Soarin winked back, then began to walk toward the room’s exit. However, midway there, he paused, then turned back and walked over to Cheese, looking inside of a box on the stage.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Soarin began, climbing onto the stage, “but why are you up so early? With Spitfire still asleep, I’m sure all the other ponies are relaxing in bed right now. Why aren’t you?”

Cheese pulled a small, gray rag out of the box. “I couldn’t sleep,” he admitted. “My heart was still racing from all the craziness of last night.” He slowly began to wipe down the table. “Plus, I still can’t make a decision about having the funerals or not. I spent the entire night thinking about it, and I can’t reach a conclusion.”

“Well, you better hurry,” Soarin said, digging through the box. He pulled out a gray rag similar to Cheese’s. “After last night, Spitfire’s gonna want to know if we’re having a funeral tonight for Bulk or not.”

“Exactly,” Cheese sighed. “But, like I said, I can’t reach a conclusion.” He put down the rag and looked at his hooves. “On one hoof, I want to make sure we honor everypony we’ve lost. And yet, on the other, I want everypony to be happy and productive, not sad and worried.”

“Well, which one do you value more?” Soarin asked as he wiped down the table behind Cheese. “Honoring everypony we’ve lost, or keeping the rebels happy?”

“Keeping the rebels happy, I guess,” Cheese admitted. “Like Spitfire said, ponies who are depressed have less productivity, and the funerals have been making the ponies depressed. Plus, my entire life has been dedicated to making ponies happy.” He paused his work to look at Soarin. “But... I still value honoring the ones we’ve lost. I guess that’s my dilemma.”

“Well, Cheese, we’re in a war. This is the time when need you to decide what’s really important. I know you value both honoring the lost and making ponies happy, but they really don’t go together. If we want to stop Sombra and be the best rebellion we can be, we can only have one.” He walked over to Cheese and patted him on the back. “You have got to consider what’s best for not only you, but for everypony.”

When Soarin was finished speaking, Cheese froze, his eyes were wide and watery. After a moment, he blinked, and a small tear fell down his face. He slowly sat down at the table he had been cleaning, then put his face in his hooves. Soarin could hear him quietly weeping.

“Cheese,” Soarin began, patting him on the back, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“SOARIN!!!”

Upon hearing the loud shriek behind them, both Soarin and Cheese jumped. Their heads turned to the exit, where they saw Spitfire, who had a scowl on her face. She was growling.

“SOARIN!!!” Spitfire repeated through clenched teeth as she began approaching the stallions. Soarin began backing away from her, while Cheese remained in his chair, watching them.

“Spitfire! W-what’s, uh, wrong?” Soarin asked, his voice shaking. As he walked backward, he tripped over a chair leg and fell to the ground, taking the chair with him.

“I'll tell you what's wrong,” Spitfire said, standing over Soarin. She grabbed his hoof and dragged him towards the door. “This is what's wrong!” she yelled, pointing at the hallway. It was completely empty; not a single pony was in sight.

“Uh, I don't get it.”

“Why are none of the ponies working right now?!” Spitfire screamed in Soarin’s face. “I always make the ponies get to work as soon as they get up! That way, we get the maximum amount of work done each day!” As Spitfire was yelling, Cheese got up out of his seat and helped Soarin back up to his feet, causing Spitfire glared at both of them. “Soarin, you’re supposed to lead this group when I’m not available. That means when I’m asleep, it’s up to you to do what I would normally do. So why are the rebels still in bed?!” She climbed onto the stage and looked down on the two stallions.

“I thought they deserved a break,” Soarin said, flying up to Spitfire’s eye level. “Yesterday was kinda rough from them. After you and AJ left to stop the bomb, everypony was panicking. We were all crammed inside the hospital, and there was so much screaming because everypony was worried that they were going to die. And it certainly didn’t help their nerves to find a bloody changeling tied to a bed in the center of the room.”

Spitfire sighed. “Sorry about that,” she apologized, looking down at her hooves. “You see, I killed the changeling when I got all the info I needed from it, but I didn't exactly have time to get rid of its body.”

“Well, its corpse certainly created quite the ruckus,” Cheese piped up.

“That's why I decided to let the ponies stay in bed,” Soarin finished, attempting to sound professional to Spitfire. “Last night was so stressful for them. I just thought they deserved some time to relax and cool down, that's all. I didn't mean to hurt our productivity.”

When Soarin had finished talking, he slowly flew onto the ground next to Cheese and looked directly at Spitfire, who was still standing on the stage. She was completely silent, and appeared to be looking through the stallions, rather than at them. Her motionless body was still covered in dirt from the explosion.

After a moment, Spitfire blinked a few times, then slowly flew off of the stage. “Fine,” she sighed, landing in front of Soarin. “I guess that makes sense, although I still think you should’ve gotten them to start working.” She began to brush the small pieces of debris out of her mane. “Did you at least keep the base on lockdown?”

“Yep,” Soarin affirmed. “After you and Applejack returned from outside, we locked the trapdoor again just in case the other soldiers were still out there.”

“Good,” Spitfire said, searching through the box of cloth. After a few seconds of digging, she pulled out a dark blue rag, then began wiping herself down. “So, when were you planning to get the ponies out of bed?”

“In about an hour or so,” Soarin replied, beginning to wipe down his table again.

“Alright. I was going to do this later in the day, but I guess I can do it now if nopony’s around.”

“Do what?” Cheese asked, scratching his mane.

“Have a group meeting,” Spitfire responded. “I need to talk to all of you about the events of last night, as well as what I have planned for tomorrow.” She carefully placed her now-dirty rag on the stage. “Cheese, can you go and get Rarity and Fluttershy from the hospital?”

“Alright,” he responded, slowly exiting the room.

“Soarin, can you find Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow?”

“Sure thing,” Soarin responded, tossing his rag back into the box. He began to follow Cheese out of the room, but paused right in front of the door. He just stared at the doorway, biting his lip.

“Soarin, what are you doing?” Spitfire asked, seeing her friend's hesitation. “Get going.”

Soarin sighed, then turned around to face Spitfire. “I wish you'd be nicer to the ponies,” he said, walking back toward the stage. “You barely give them any time to relax, you call them ‘expendable’ behind their backs, and you lie to them about what's going on with us in the army.” He planted himself directly in front of Spitfire. “It's not very kind.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Soarin, being nice isn't going to win us the war.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Look, Cheese will be back here with Rarity and Fluttershy any minute now.” She pointed to the door. “Get going.”

Soarin moaned, then turned to the door and sulked out of the room. Spitfire rolled her eyes again as she watched him leave.

Why can’t they understand what I’m doing? she thought to herself as she climbed back onto the stage. This is what’s best for everypony. Everything I do is to help the rebellion flourish. By doing this, I’m saving lives.

As she waited for the army to arrive, Spitfire sat on the stage, and contemplated one simple question:

Why can’t they see that?

Spitfire cleared her throat.

Directly in front of her, all the ponies she had just called were sitting at a table, quietly waiting for the meeting they had been promised.

Applejack, who was closest to the stage, was lazily spinning her hat on her hoof, while Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight watched her. Rainbow, on the other hand, was watching Soarin, who had reclaimed his rag and was wiping down the table with Cheese’s help.

Once Spitfire began talking, however, all of them froze and looked up to their leader.

“Alright, everypony,” she began, walking to the edge of the stage. “There’s a lot of things I need to talk to you about today.”

“I would imagine so,” Rarity said, looking at the reflection in her hoof.

“First,” Spitfire continued, “I would like to commend all of you for your performances last night. Even though there were some bumps in the road, all of you handled the situation very well. Thank you for that.”

All of the group nodded, except for Applejack, who went back to playing with her hat. Spitfire glared at her, then began speaking once more.

“So, I was thinking over what Applejack said yesterday, and there was one thing that really stood out to me.”

“Only one thing?” Twilight asked, her mouth gaping open. Spitfire ignored her and continued.

“And that thing was the fact that the size of our army has dramatically decreased since the beginning of the war. As of right now, our army is only comprised of Rainbow, Cheese, Fleetfoot, Soarin, and myself, and Fleetfoot isn’t even in a condition to go out onto the battlefield right now.” She briefly paused to make sure the others were listening. “Let’s be honest: a four pony army isn’t going to win the war.”

“You can say that again,” Cheese muttered to himself.

“I realized this, and decided that if we want to win the war, we need to recruit more ponies to the army.”

Once the sentence was out, the room fell silent. The group blinked a few times, then rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

“Wow,” Twilight said, breaking the silence. “That's a really good idea, Spitfire.”

“Yeah,” Applejack agreed, pausing her hat-spinning. “Can't say I expected that you’d want more members, though, given the fact that you called almost all of the past ones ‘expendable.’”

“Well, the more members we have, the better chance we have at winning,” Spitfire admitted.

“But how are you going to recruit anypony? And who were you thinkin’ of bringing in?”

“Well, I thought we could start with you, Applejack.”

Upon hearing this, the mouths of everypony in the room dropped. All eyes were on Applejack, who stumbled out of her chair and fell onto the floor in surprise. Soarin and Rainbow quickly ran over to help, while Applejack began gasping for air.

“M-me?” she stuttered, using Soarin and Rainbow to get up.

“Yes, you,” Spitfire said. “Yesterday, you proved to me that you were ready for the army. You stuck with us through thick and thin, fought the changeling, and stopped the bomb alongside me. That warrants a spot on my team.” Spitfire paused for a second, thinking over something in her head. “And… I think it might be good to have somepony on the team who doesn’t always agree with me. That way, I’ll have somepony who can reel me in if I ever go too far.”

“Sounds great to me!” Soarin exclaimed. The other ponies nodded, once again looking at Applejack. Rainbow had a large grin on her face.

“I dunno,” Applejack said, sitting back in her chair. “Ever since the beginning of the war, I’ve always been workin’ in the kitchen with Sugar Belle and the Cakes. I can’t just up and leave them. Plus, making food for the entire rebellion is a lot of work. I don’t even know if they can handle it by themselves.”

“Applejack, they’ll be fine,” Spitfire replied. “You can still help them when you’re not on missions.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Look, the army needs you. This is your chance to really get out there and fight for Equestria.” Spitfire briefly paused so she could walk over to Applejack. “Plus, by joining the army, you’ll get the chance to avenge your brother.”

For Applejack, that was all it took. “I’m in,” she said quickly, jolting up in her seat.

“Good,” Spitfire replied with a smile on her face. “I’ll get you started on your training as soon as this meeting is over.” She walked away from Applejack and turned to the rest of the group. “Same goes for you, Twilight.”

Upon hearing this, the alicorn’s face went bright red. “Whoa, wait,” she gasped, holding her hooves out in front of her. “Are you saying that you want me in the army?”

“Yes, I am,” Spitfire said. “After you blasted those soldiers into the forest last night, it only makes sense to bring you in. Your talent for magic would give us a much needed boost.”

“Plus, you’re an egghead,” Rainbow added. “Your intelligence would seriously help us on the battlefield.”

“I guess,” Twilight replied, unsure.

“Look,” Spitfire continued. “I know you turned me down the last time I asked you to join, but that was before. Right now, we need you more than ever. Please, Twilight.”

The words echoed throughout the room as the group stared at Twilight, who was sitting down, deep in thought. After a few seconds of silence, she got up and sighed.

“Well, it’ll severely interfere with my research,” Twilight began, “but if you really need me as much as you say, then I’m in.”

“Great!” Spitfire exclaimed, flying off of the stage. She grabbed Twilight and Applejack and stood them next to each other. “Welcome to the army, you two!”

The rest of the group nodded and similarly congratulated them, causing their faces to become an even brighter shade of red than before.

“Now with you on the team, we’ve really got a chance!” Soarin cheered, clapping his hooves together. After a second, though, he abruptly stopped, and a confused look appeared on his face. “Or, at least, a better chance than we had five minutes ago.”

“Yeah, a seven pony army isn’t really much better than a five pony army,” Applejack said, walking away from Twilight and sitting back down.

“I know,” Spitfire replied. “I figure we’ll recruit more ponies as time passes. For now, let’s just move on to the second part of the meeting.”

The army murmured sounds of agreement, so Spitfire flew back onto the stage and faced all of the ponies at once. After clearing her throat, she addressed the group.

“If there's one thing I've learned this past year,” she began, projecting her voice throughout the room, “it's that living during in a war is difficult.”

“Understatement of the year,” Cheese muttered, staring at the table. Spitfire glared at him, then continued.

“I understand that there's a lot of times where things get out of hand, and we really just need a break from all the excitement.”

All seven of the other ponies nodded, unsure of where Spitfire was going with this.

“And, well, I figured that, since tomorrow is Hearth’s Warming Eve—”

“TOMORROW IS HEARTH’S WARMING EVE?!” Rarity shrieked, interrupting Spitfire’s sentence. “But… I thought winter just started!”

Spitfire sighed. “Rarity, that’s why it’s happening tomorrow!” Spitfire replied, scowling at Rarity in annoyance. “Hearth’s Warming takes place on the fifth day of winter, remember?”

“Ohhhh, right,” Rarity said, composing herself in the chair. “Sorry about that. Please, um, carry on.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes, then continued. “Like I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, since tomorrow is Hearth’s Warming Eve, I thought that maybe everypony could have the day off to celebrate.”

Once that last word had left Spitfire's mouth, the jaws of everypony in the group dropped. All of their eyes became wide and watery, and Applejack had to blink her eyes top make sure she wasn't dreaming.

“Who are you and what have you done with Spitfire?” Rainbow asked, getting out of her chair and slowly backing away toward the door.

“Relax,” Spitfire said, flying off of the stage and onto the table. “It’s still me talking, don't worry.”

“Okay, but why are you suddenly doing this now?” Cheese questioned, looking Spitfire in the eyes. “I don't think you've ever even considered giving us a break before.”

“Yeah, but, ever since last night, I’ve been thinking: I want to do everything I can to win this war. That means I need to make sure that everypony living in this base is happy and productive. Right now, they’re neither. I mean, you saw them last night. They’re feeling awful. I figure that celebrating Hearth’s Warming would really boost their spirits, which would in turn boost productivity.”

“Plus, everypony would finally get a break from the war,” Applejack added, thinking over her leader’s words. “That… actually sounds like a really good plan, Spitfire!”

“Yeah!” Soarin agreed, nodding his head. “I fully support that.”

“I’m not so sure,” Cheese admitted, getting up out of his chair. As soon as he said it, the eyes of everypony in the room focused on him exclusively, causing him to sweat. “I mean, think about it. We don’t have any decorations, gifts, or even a tree! It’s a good idea in thought, but how are we supposed to pull it off?”

“I’m leaving that to you,” Spitfire replied, “Since you’ve planned every single event we’ve had in the base thus far, I’m sure you’ll be able to plan how we’ll celebrate Hearth’s Warming.”

“You don’t understand,” Cheese insisted. “I may have planned all those big parties and funerals and stuff in the past, but for those, I always had something to work with. What do I have here?”

“Well, for starters, you have us,” Soarin said, getting up and putting his hoof on Cheese’s shoulder. “I’m sure we’d be happy to help you out. Right, guys?”

Everypony in the room nodded, except for Spitfire, who raised an eyebrow at the two stallions.

“Plus,” Soarin continued, tapping Cheese’s forehead, “I’m sure you have a bunch of good Hearth’s Warming memories from the past that we could use for tomorrow. Ones that don’t necessarily need material things to be special.”

Cheese paused, then thought over Soarin’s words for a minute before sighing. “I don’t really have any Hearth’s Warming memories,” he admitted, scratching his head. “My parents and I never really celebrated the holiday, aside from the two times we went to see the Hearth’s Warming Eve play in Canterlot.”

“And we can’t possibly perform that in such a limited time,” Rarity said, brushing Fluttershy’s mane. “The production was filled with costumes, decorations, and props. While I’d love to make those, there’s no way I could do it by tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Applejack sighed. “It’s a shame, too, since almost everypony in Equestria loved that play.”

“Well, uh, since we can’t perform the entire play, how about we just do a scene or two?” Soarin suggested, turning everypony’s attention back to him and Cheese. “I’m sure the ponies would be happy to see even a little bit of the play.”

“Okay, but what scene can we do?” Rarity asked. “I would like to remind you that we don’t have any scripts, so any scene we do has to be from memory. What’s a scene that at least one of us knows word-for-word that we can do without any props or costumes?”

The ponies thought in silence for a moment, each of them biting their lip. In their minds, they searched for an answer to Rarity’s question, but none of them could seem to find one.

Then, after two whole minutes of silence, Cheese let out a large gasp and jumped up into the air.

“THE HEART CAROL!” he exclaimed with a broad smile on his face.

“The what?” Spitfire asked, her eyebrow still raised.

“The Heart Carol,” Cheese repeated, bouncing up and down. “It was the song that we used to sing at the end of the play! You know, ‘The Fire of Friendship lives in our hearts, as long as it burns we cannot drift apart?’”

“Oh, yeah!” Rainbow said. “I remember that!”

“Of course you do,” Cheese sang, jumping onto the stage. “It was the best part of the play! And it’s perfect for a performance tomorrow since we don’t need any props to sing it, Soarin and I know all the lyrics, and it’s short and should be easy to rehearse!”

Soarin nodded his head. “Sounds like we’ve got our million-bit idea!”

“Not so fast,” Spitfire interrupted, holding Cheese down in an attempt to make him stop bouncing. “Soarin suggested that we do a scene from the play. That means ‘The Heart Song’, or whatever it's called, doesn't apply, since it occurred after the curtains closed and the play ended. And even if it did qualify, you know my policies about singing in the base.”

“I know your policies about humming,” Cheese corrected. “And besides, this time, the music isn’t just for me. This is for everypony.”

“Cheese, we need to win the war, not sing a forgettable song from the past.”

“Singing this song is going to help us win the war, Spitfire. It's going to boost everypony’s spirits, which then will boost productivity and morale. Isn't that exactly what you wanted?”

Once that last word came out, it was clear that Cheese had won. There was no use fighting back. Everything he had just said was true. Spitfire wanted to boost ponies’ spirits, and performing the song could do just that. Deep down, Spitfire knew what she had to do.

“Fine,” she sighed, letting go of Cheese. “I'll let you perform your song tomorrow. But only on one condition.”

Cheese stopped bouncing and scratched his muzzle. “What is it?”

“You agree to stop doing the funerals altogether and let me be the one to handle all of the events in the nearby future.”

The room went dead silent. All eyes were locked onto Cheese, who didn't even break a sweat. He remained calm on the stage, and faced Spitfire with a straight face.

“Alright,” he said, shaking Spitfire’s hoof. “It’s a deal.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Rainbow interjected. “You can’t be serious. You’re giving up doing the funerals just so we can perform a short song tomorrow?”

“There’s more to it than that,” Cheese admitted. “For the past few hours, I’ve really been thinking about what I want. And I’ve realized that, while I do want a lot of things, the thing I want the most is for everypony to be happy. I don't believe I can accomplish that with the funerals going on. I mean, you saw how the rebels were yesterday. All of them seemed miserable!”

“I see your point,” Applejack agreed.

“If I ever want to make everypony happy,” Cheese continued, the funerals have to go. I know it seems wrong, but, this way, hopefully everypony will be able to move one step closer to happiness in this wretched time.”

“Glad you finally saw the light,” Spitfire said, nodding her head at Cheese's words. She then turned to the rest of the group. “There'll be one last funeral tonight for Bulk Biceps and Big Mac, if that's alright, but once it's over, we won't be having another funeral until the war ends.”

“Okay,” Rainbow sighed. “I can live with that.”

"I am still going to plan the one tonight?" Cheese asked, wringing his hooves together.

"Yeah, why not?" Spitfire agreed. "You've planned all of the other funerals. It wouldn't make much sense to switch over command just for this final one."

"Thank you, Spitfire," Cheese said, nodding his head. "I won't let you down."

“Does that conclude our meeting?” Rarity asked, tapping her hooves on the ground. “Not to rush you or anything, but Fluttershy and I really need to get back to our patients.”

“Yeah, we can end it right there,” Spitfire responded. “Thanks to all of you for your cooperation and patience. Let's hope these new changes give us a better shot at winning the war. “

“Agreed.”

With that, the meeting was over. All of the ponies began walking toward the door, with the exceptions of Soarin and Cheese, who went back to cleaning the tables.

“Hey, Cheese,” Soarin said, grabbing the same gray rag as before. “I'm proud of you. I think you did the right thing back up there on the stage.”

“Thanks,” Cheese replied, blushing. “I couldn't have done it without your advice, though. Thank you so much for your help, Soarin.”

“Anytime, Cheese. Anytime.”

Once the dining hall cleared out and almost everypony had gone down separate corridors, Rainbow quietly peeked back into the room she had just come from. Inside, Soarin and Cheese were wiping down the tables, laughing about something from the past.

“Alright, Rainbow,” she whispered to herself, taking multiple deep breaths. “You're going to go in there and tell Soarin everything. Tell him about the dreams, tell him about how you feel, tell him everything. He's going to help me. Applejack promised.”

After wiping the sweat off of her forehead, Rainbow took one more deep breath, then entered the room. She was positive that the two stallions could hear her heart racing.

“H-Hello, Soarin,” Rainbow stuttered, taking small steps towards the pegasus. “Hey, C-Cheese.”

“What's up, Rainbow?” Soarin said cheerfully, scanning his friend. “Is everything okay?”

“No, not really,” Rainbow admitted. “Something bad has been happening, and I really need to talk to somepony about it. And, well, that somepony is you.”

“Um, okay,” Soarin hesitated. “Take a seat. Uh, Cheese, could you leave us for a few minutes?”

“Of course,” Cheese said, nodding his head. “Just holler when you need me.”

“I will,” Soarin agreed. Cheese then turned around and exited the room, leaving Rainbow and Soarin alone with the now-clean tables. Rainbow took a seat at the same table she had just been sitting at minutes earlier, while Soarin remained standing, staring at his friend. Rainbow knew that she had to be the one to start the conversation, so she took one last deep breath and began.

“Soarin, have you ever… blamed yourself for the death of somepony else in the war?”

“Umm, not really,” Soarin admitted. “I haven't been on nearly as many missions as you have, since Spitfire always wants me to be here to lead while she's away. I haven't really seen any deaths.” He briefly paused. “But, I have blamed myself for stuff other things in the past.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked. “Tell me about it.”

Soarin smiled. “Well, it’s kinda silly, but… Remember the dinner before the opening of Celestia’s royal garden?”

“Of course I do. How could I forget it?”

“Well, while we were in line to grab dessert, I noticed that there was only one slice of apple pie left, and I really wanted it. However, behind me in line, there was a young little filly who also really wanted the pie to eat. So when I got to the dessert table, I quickly put grabbed the one slice of pie, put it on my plate, and ran to my seat to make sure I’d get to eat it. The filly chased after me and begged me for the pie, but I just apologized to her and ate the pie in one gulp.”

“Right in front of her?”

“Yeah, not exactly my best moment. The filly ran away from me like I was a monster, and I just shrugged it off and continued my life like that had never happened.” He paused for a moment, then sighed, “However, later that night, I was drinking some cider alone in the hallway, when I saw that filly again with her parents. She was screaming and crying and her parents couldn’t make her stop. And then, when that filly pointed at me with tears in her eyes, my heart sank.”

“She was crying because you ate the last piece of apple pie?”

“That’s what I thought had happened, at least,” Soarin confirmed. “It turns out she was crying because her parents wouldn’t her go to the Wonderbolt performance the next day, and she was pointing at me because I was one of the Wonderbolts she was excited to see perform. But since I didn’t know that at the time, I felt so guilty. I thought she was crying all because of me. And for the next hour, I spent all my time beating myself up over it, wishing I had never even seen that slice of pie in the first place.”

Rainbow laughed. “You seriously thought you made a filly cry from eating a piece of pie?”

“I did tell you it was silly,” Soarin giggled, smiling. “But it’s true. Maybe it wasn’t as big as a death, but I have blamed myself for something.” He once again paused, then stared at Rainbow. The smile on his face vanished.

“Dash, I told you that story because I wanted to give you a good laugh to make you feel a little more comfortable talking to me,” he said, sitting down next to Rainbow. “But now it’s time to be serious. You asked me that question in the beginning of our conversation for a reason. I think I know what that reason is.” He paused for a moment, then grabbed Rainbow’s hooves.

“Rainbow,” he began softly, “do you blame yourself for the death of somepony else in the war?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened, and her heart managed to start racing even faster than it had before. As she slowly nodded her head, she could feel the tears rolling down her face.

“Who?”

Rainbow wanted to tell Soarin about the pony she was dreaming about, but she couldn't bring herself to it. Instead, she chose a completely different pony whose death she blamed herself for.

"B-Bulk Biceps," Rainbow coughed, trying to hold back some of her tears.

"Bulk Biceps?" Soarin repeated out of confusion. "Why do you blame yourself for his death?"

"Because it's all my fault, Soarin," Rainbow responded, rubbing her eyes. "Bulk Biceps shouldn't have even been outside last night. It was supposed to be me going out there on the mission, but because I didn't go, his life paid the price."

“No, Dash, that wasn't your fault!” Soarin said. “If anything, that was Spitfire's fault. She was the one who made Bulk Biceps and Big McIntosh go on the mission in the first place."

"Yeah, but I should've been able to stop her!" Rainbow yelled, slamming her hooves on the table with such force that she was pushed out of her chair and onto the floor. As Soarin ran over to help her get up, he noticed something he hadn't seen before: the bruise on Rainbow's flank.

"Rainbow..." he gasped, covering his mouth with his hoof. "Oh my goodness. Wh-what happened? Where did that bruise come from?"

"It came from me," Rainbow sobbed, hiding her face in her hooves. It took a moment for Soarin to process this statement, and when he did, his jaw dropped.

"How long has this been happening?" he asked, helping Rainbow into her seat.

"This is the first time," Rainbow responded. "Well, the first time I've ever hurt myself, at least."

"Is it because of what happened last night with Bulk?"

Rainbow hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Oh, Dash," Soarin said sympathetically. "You have no need to be hurting yourself like this. Like I said before, what happened wasn't your fault." He grabbed onto Rainbow's hooves, then pulled them close to him. Rainbow gulped, then turned her head away from Soarin, choosing not to look at his face. Soarin sighed, then continued what he saying.

"Dash, let me tell you something. Beating yourself up like this is only going to make you feel worse about yourself and your actions. If you ever want to feel better, you've got to forgive yourself."

Rainbow took a quick glance at Soarin, saw a smile on his face, then looked away from him again. "Why should I take that advice from you?" she asked, trying to concentrate on anything except for her fellow Pegasus. "You yourself said you've never felt guilty for another pony's death. Why should I listen to you?"

"Because I know how you're feeling, Dashie. I know what's it's like to feel guilty for something that wasn't your fault and then hurt yourself because of it. After I saw that filly crying and thought I was the cause, I beat myself up over it, just like you're doing now." He paused. "Well, okay, maybe not physically, but mentally, I was a wreck. I cried in the bathroom, tried to avoid everypony I could, and generally, I just felt awful."

Rainbow still refused to look at Soarin. "How did you stop feeling so awful?" she asked.

"I learned the truth," Soarin replied slowly, clutching onto Rainbow's hooves even tighter than before, "and then I forgave myself."

It was that moment when Rainbow Dash finally turned back to look at Soarin, whose eyes were full of tears. As one of those tears slowly trickled down his face, Rainbow removed her hooves from Soarin's grasp and put them around his body. The stallion was surprised at first, and wasn't sure how to respond, but after a moment of thinking, he did the same.

"Soarin?" Rainbow asked, unable to control her tears. "How am I supposed to forgive myself, when I've done so many awful things?"

"There are many different ways," Soarin admitted, also unable to control the tears that were coming out of his eyes. "And honestly, not all of them might work for you. It all depends on the pony." He paused, then looked directly into Rainbow's eyes. "Rainbow... I'd like to help you find your way of forgiving yourself. I doubt it'd be easy for either of us, but I don't think anypony should have to go through something like this alone. I really want to help you out, but I'll only do it if you want me to."

"Of course I want you to," Rainbow said, nodding her head. "Thank you so much, Soarin. I-I actually feel a little happy right now."

Soarin smiled, then hugged his friend as tight as he could. "No problem, Dash," he said.

Silence followed those last few words. Once they had been spoken, the two pegasi just sat there, alone at their table, hugging and crying for what felt like hours.

When Cheese entered his section of the barracks, he found that almost every inch of the room was black. The light that came from the candle had disappeared, leaving only darkness and the smell of burnt wax in its place.

“Ugh,” Cheese moaned, rubbing his eyes. “Why does this keep happening to me?”

Even though he could barely see anything, Cheese began slowly walking through the room in search of the candle. Once he found it, he reached for a nearby match and lit the candle, once again giving the room a nice, orange glow.

“Much better,” Cheese said to himself, admiring the fire he had just created. After a wave of warmth came over him, he climbed into his bed and covered himself with a blanket. I think I did the right thing, he thought as he closed his eyes.

“Cheese? Are you there?”

Startled by the sudden voice below him, Cheese looked down from his bed and saw Wind Rider on the ground, looking up at the stallion.

“Hey, Wind Rider,” Cheese responded. “Shouldn’t you be outside, working?”

“I should,” Wind Rider admitted. “But I’m not. I wanted to see you, Cheese, before I went to go clean or whatever it is I’m supposed to do.”

Cheese removed the blanket from his body and sat up. “Me?” he asked, confused. “Why do want to see me?”

“Because you’re a member of the army,” Wind Rider said, flying up to Cheese’s eye level. “Look, Cheese, I don’t think Spitfire’s been a hundred percent honest with all of us non-army ponies here in the base.”

“Oh?”

“Last night, when she said all of you sent Big Mac and Bulk Biceps on a mission to meet Princess Luna in Dodge Junction, I knew something was up. I had heard you saying that they were going on a ‘suicide mission’, Cheese, and what Spitfire said did not add up with that. She actively lied to us last night; I can feel it.”

Cheese scratched his head and bit his lip. He didn’t know whether he should lie to Wind Rider or tell the truth, so he chose not to respond to him at all. Wind Rider, noticing the silence, gave Cheese a suspicious look before continuing to speak.

“There’s something she’s not telling the public, and it’s become something that I need to know if I ever want to feel safe in this craphole. I wanted to find you because I’m hoping you can tell me what it is.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Cheese exclaimed, nearly falling out of his bed in surprise. “You want me to tell you what’s Spitfire’s keeping secret from the rest of the ponies?”

“So there is a secret,” Wind Rider said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t deny it, either.”

Cheese sighed, then slowly climbed out of his bed and closed the door to the barracks so nopony could hear what the two were talking about. He signaled for Wind Rider to come closer, so the pegasus flew back onto the ground and leaned in to hear what Cheese had to say.

“Alright, Wind Rider,” Cheese began in a low whisper. “I’ll tell you this: there is, in fact, something Spitfire hasn’t told anypony outside of the army.”

“I figured,” Wind Rider replied. “What is it?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” Cheese admitted. “I doubt Spitfire would be happy if she found out I told somepony outside of our group something she’s trying to keep a secret.”

“Who says she has to know?” Wind Rider said with a smirk on his face. “She has a secret, so you can have one too. It’s as simple as that. And, hey, even if she does find out, what do you have to be afraid of? I mean, Spitfire can’t really do anything bad to you. That would just create an even bigger scandal, right?”

“I guess…” Cheese replied slowly.

“So how about it then?” Wind Rider asked, tapping his hoof on the ground impatiently. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on with Spitfire? Yes or no?”

Cheese hesitated, then spoke. “I dunno,” he admitted, absently looking at his hoof. “While it would be great to actually tell somepony about the things Spitfire’s been doing and saying, I don’t want to end up on her bad side because of it. Your plan sounds like it could be good, but it sounds very risky, too.”

“I understand,” Wind Rider said. “How about I give you a few hours to think it over? You can weigh the pros and cons and such, and then come back to me soon with a definite answer. That sound good?”

Cheese paused for a moment to think it over, then nodded.

“Good,” Wind Rider said, heading toward the door. “When you make your decision, you know where to find me.”

Cheese nodded once more before watching Wind Rider exit the room, leaving Cheese alone with nothing but his bed and the warmth of the candle. Yawning, he climbed back into his bed, covered himself with his blanket once more, then closed his eyes. As he slowly dozed off, only one thing went through his mind:

What's the right choice now?

The dining hall was filled to the brim with ponies, just as it had been the night before. Once everypony had realized that it was almost sunset, all of them had run to the dining hall as fast as they could, hoping that they would be able to get some food as well as a seat. Many times, most ponies either didn’t get their bread and applesauce in time, or were stuck sitting on the floor, unable to see anything above their fellow ponies’ flanks. This night wasn’t any different.

Even though the odds had been against them, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin had all managed to procure a table together and get two trays of food to split amongst themselves. Rainbow’s stomach was growling, but she restrained herself from eating before anypony else got the chance.

“I’m so glad decided to come to dinner, Rainbow,” Twilight said, smiling at her friends. “It’s been, what, a week since we last saw you here at this time?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed, eyeing the trays in front of her. “I wasn’t doing very well before, but I’ve started feeling better. Hopefully, you guys’ll be seeing me here a lot more.”

“Great!” Twilight exclaimed, hugging her friend.

“Does that mean you spoke to Soarin?” Applejack asked in a whisper so Twilight couldn’t hear her. Rainbow nodded, causing a large grin to emerge on Applejack’s face. “I’m proud of you for doin’ that, Dash.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow replied, grinning back at Applejack. She was about to remark about how she didn't get to telling Soarin about the dream, but was interrupted by a large scream coming from the back of the room.

"AM I TOO LATE?!"

The scream, which had made nearly everypony jump, had come from Cheese Sandwich, who was attempting to quickly make his way through the crowd in order to get to the front of the room. There were bags under his eyes and his mane was a disheveled mess, but he kept pushing his way to the front anyway, oblivious to the scene he was making.

"Did I miss the funeral?!" Cheese frantically asked once he reached Twilight's table. His breathing was fast, yet heavy. "Guys, please tell me I'm not too late! I can't be late! I need to—"

"Calm down," Soarin interrupted, causing Cheese to freeze. "You didn't miss anything. As far as I know, Spitfire's still in her section of the barracks."

"Oh, thank goodness," Cheese sighed, sitting down on the ground next to Applejack. He held up a small, slightly ripped up piece of paper with messily written words on it. "I have to give this to her now."

"What is it?"

"It's the speech she's supposed to read tonight," Cheese replied, carefully placing the paper onto the table. "It's not my best work, because I wrote it in literally five minutes after accidentally falling asleep and waking up thinking I was late to the funeral, but hey, at least it's done."

"And not a moment too soon," Applejack said, pointing to the doorway. Spitfire had just entered the room, carrying a piece of paper that looked similar to Cheese's.

"I'm going to go meet her up on the stage," Cheese said, grabbing the piece of paper and turning to face the entire group. "Thanks for the help, guys!"

Applejack, Twilight, Soarin, and Rainbow all nodded to Cheese, who then proceeded to run back through the crowd, attempting to make his way to the front of the room.

He reached the stage just as Spitfire landed on it.

"Spitfire!" Cheese called out to the pegasus, drawing all of her attention to him.

"Hey, Cheese," she responded, scanning her fellow army member. "What's up? You look like a complete mess."

Cheese glared at Spitfire, who pretended not to notice the expression. "I brought you this," he said, holding up the speech for her to look at. "Sorry that it's coming to you so late. I know you like being able to memorize the speeches before the funeral begins, but I hope you're okay with just reading from a piece of paper this time."

"Actually," Spitfire began, grabbing Cheese's speech and tossing it behind her back, "I won't be needing that tonight." She held up the piece of paper that she had been carrying, which contained a neatly-written speech that was as twice as long as Cheese's had been. "You see, when I hadn't gotten a speech from you two hours before the funeral, I decided to write my own. Sorry I didn't tell you that sooner. I'm sure I would've saved you a lot of trouble." She smirked at the earth pony, who just stared at her blankly.

"Y-you want to read that tonight?" Cheese asked, trying to comprehend Spitfire's words.

"Yes, I do, Cheese. Do you have any problems with that?"

"N-no, ma'am," he replied, his voice shaky and fragile. "If you want to read that tonight, be my guest."

"Wonderful!" Spitfire exclaimed, putting her speech on the ground so she could read from it as she addressed the rebellion. "Thank you so much for letting me have this moment, Cheese. I'm going to make this final funeral very special, I promise."

Cheese nodded his head, then turned away from Spitfire and walked back toward the group of ponies he had just left. When he arrived at their table, he slumped onto the ground next to them and sighed.

"What happened?" Applejack asked, looking at her friend. "From over here, it looked like things were going pretty well between you two... for once."

"Well, looks can be deceiving," Cheese moaned. "Spitfire decided to write her own speech, and completely disregarded mine. That means that all of the last minute work I did was pointless. Ugh, I feel so stupid..."

The other four ponies looked at each other. "You're not stupid," Soarin said, patting Cheese on the back. "You were just late, that's all. Nothing to be ashamed about."

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "And besides, I'm sure Spitfire's speech is going to be nowhere near as good as yours are. You've been doing this for how long now?"

"I guess you're right," Cheese replied, standing up and leaning on the table. "I do have prior experience, unlike her..."

"That's the spirit!" Soarin said, playfully punching Cheese's shoulder. The group shared a smile, then turned to the stage and remained silent, waiting for the funeral to begin.

"Attention, everypony!"

When Spitfire called this out, the heads of a hundred ponies turned to her, and all talking ceased. Within seconds, the room became just as silent as it had the night before. Anypony would've been able to hear a pin drop.

"Nice job quieting down," Spitfire said, nodding at everypony in the room. She looked at her speech for a second, then cleared her throat. "I would like to thank all of you for gathering here tonight as we celebrate the last funeral we will ever be having here in the base. Now, I'm sure a lot of you are probably wondering why this particular funeral last one we'll ever be having, and I promise that all of you will be finding that out soon. For now, let's just treat this funeral as if it were any other, okay?"

Almost everypony in the room nodded, with the exception of Applejack, who looked at her leader suspiciously.

"Thank you," Spitfire continued. "Before we can begin, however, I'd like to take this moment to acknowledge two ponies in the rebellion: Princess Twilight Sparkle and Applejack!" She pointed to the table the two were sitting at, causing everypony to stare at them. "As of today, these two brave mares have decided to aid us on the battlefield by joining the army! Let's give them a round of applause!"

As the ponies began stomping their hooves on the ground, Applejack blushed and covered her face with her hat, while Twilight put on her best smile and waved. Rainbow, Cheese, and Soarin just grinned.

"If anypony else would like to join the army, please see me as soon as possible. Thanks."

All the ponies turned their attentions back to Spitfire and nodded. After a few murmurs about potential army recruits, the room went back to its usual silence and everypony waited for the funeral to formally begin.

Spitfire took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Alright," she said to herself, reading over the next few lines of her speech. "Let's move onto the funeral." She picked her head up and faced the entire group of ponies before her, who were patiently waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat in, then spoke:

"'War is difficult'. Those are the exact three words I told my army earlier today during a meeting, and they responded by telling me I had just made a serious understatement. Well, after spending a lot of time thinking about it, I can't do anything but agree with them on that. War is more than difficult; it's painful, it's harsh, and it's unforgiving. It takes away the ones you love when you least expect it, breaks you open and pours your emotions out, and makes you take a step back whenever you get two steps ahead of everypony else."

"Wow," Rainbow whispered to the ponies at her table, who were listening to Spitfire intently. "She's actually pretty good."

"Yeah, no kidding," Applejack replied.

"War has brought famine, strife, and sadness to Equestria, but worst of all, it has brought death," Spitfire said, no longer looking at her speech. "Tonight, we are gathered here to remember, as well as honor, three of the brave ponies who fought for Equestria, but sadly lost their lives during this horrible, violent time."

"Wait. Did she just say three brave ponies?" Rainbow asked, confused. "I thought there were only two who died last night."

"I thought so too," Applejack replied, glaring at the pegasus on stage.

"Each of them should be remembered as heroes," Spitfire continued. A small bead of sweat had formed on her forehead. "Each of them fought on our side until their very last breath, and served their country very well. Their sacrifices should be honored, and never looked down upon as long as we are living. Their names are: Big McIntosh...”

Everypony in the room became tense. All of their hearts began beating at a very rapid pace.

"...Bulk Biceps...."

Please don't do what I think you're about to do, Spitfire, Soarin thought to himself. Please, I'm begging you. Don't do this.

"...and Pinkie Pie."

At that moment, the entire room froze. Everypony's heart skipped a beat, and their breathing almost ceased. All heads turned to Cheese Sandwich, whose face had turned pale. As he slowly got up and began walking his way to the doorway, everypony bit their lips and backed away from the earth pony, afraid of what he might do.

The only thing anypony could hear was the sound of his hooves banging against the hard, dirty floor.

Crap, Soarin thought as he watched Cheese exit the room. She did it.

Wind Rider was sitting on his bed, looking up at the ceiling when he suddenly heard the door loudly slam in front of him. When he looked up, he saw Cheese Sandwich in the doorway, his eyebrows lowered and his nostrils flaring.

"Well?" Wind Rider asked, watching the angered Earth pony walking toward him. "Have you made your decision?"

Cheese didn't even hesitate with his answer. The words just flew out of his mouth, and once they had been spoken, he knew that there was no going back.

"Yes," Cheese said in a low, grave voice. "I'll do it."

His response couldn't have made Wind Rider happier.