The Ambassador

When Savanna awoke, she raised her head drowsily and, upon realizing her companion wasn't inside the tent with her, stretched deeply, occupying nearly the entire interior of the tent. The delicious scents of roasting coffee and cooking food were wafting in, and her ears perked up at the pleasant smells as she took a deep sniff. Moving aside the tent's front flaps and poking her head outside to investigate, Savanna caught sight of Rose in front of a campfire, cooking.

"Good morning," Savanna greeted politely, stepping outside. Rose responded with a small nod of greeting, then lowered her eyes, using a stick to poke at the embers of her magical fire. The flames were a peculiar shade of coppery-gold—the color of Rose's magical aura. Above them was levitated a pair of metal cups and a pair of opened steel cans.

Savanna took a few steps forward, her hooves creating soft squishing sounds on the soil. Indeed, Rose's prediction had been correct—it had rained heavily during the night. In the background behind Rose, Savanna saw raindrops still dripping from the branches of trees.

She sat down, warming herself by the fire across from her companion. The early morning air was surprisingly cold, and she found herself shivering when hit by a breeze. The sun had barely began to rise that early in the day, and the forest was foggy and chilly. The fire and sun together provided enough light to comfortably see by, but only barely.

"Are you..." Savanna hesitated before finishing her comment, trying to read Rose's expression. The young mare looked tired and irritable. "...okay? Ya don't look quite right."

"I didn't sleep last night." Rose's voice was but a murmur. "And I spent close to two hours getting this damn fire going. Wet wood isn't easy to work with. Coffee?" She levitated Savanna one of the metal cups. Savanna took it in her hooves, cleverly noticing the steam rising out from the top. She decided to wait for it to cool down before she tried to drink some. "Thank you."

The pair sat in silence for a long while. Savanna watched the steam rise from her cup of coffee and get swept away by a breeze. In the cold air, the puffs of steam were visible as they ascended. After some waiting and aggressive blowing, Savanna eventually found her coffee to be the right temperature for drinking. She took a small sip at first, savoring the flavor.

She had finished the coffee when Rose offered her one of the steel cans. Savanna exchanged it for her empty cup, peering inside curiously. Within, beans floated in a clear, bubbling liquid. "What's this?" Savanna questioned, giving the liquid and beans inside a small, experimental swirl.

"They're kidney beans canned in brine."

Savanna grimaced. "Starvin' would be preferable."

"I'm sorry if things aren't up to your standards, princess." Rose snapped, glowering. "Eat your damn food—or don't, I don't care."

"Sorry," Savanna quickly apologized, her ears lowering. Not wanting to push her luck, she held her tongue for a bit, eating her food hot and watching curiously as Rose studied the Emperian map.

"When are we leaving?" Savanna spoke up only to ask the vital question before falling silent again.

The mare hesitated before replying, taking a sip of her coffee. "Soon. I'm just making sure we're headed the right way. Go pack your things, or make yourself useful and take down the tent." Her eyes were glued to the map, and she waved her hoof in the general direction of the tent, not looking. "Go."

Savanna obeyed, though reluctantly. She tossed her empty metal can aside and grabbed her satchel, slinging it over her back. She then went about loosening the tent's main support poles, eventually collapsing the entire thing. She also had to individually draw each spike from the ground.

After a few minutes had passed, when Savanna had finished disassembling the tent, she noticed Rose hadn't moved from her original spot and was still poring over the map. "The town's clearly labeled, ain't it?" she spoke up. "Should just be a straight shot."

"No." Rose automatically responded, before frowning and considering how she had just responded. "Well, yes, it is, but... Get off my back, won't you‽"

Savanna nodded silently. She stretched deeply once again and yawned, waiting patiently. The tent, secured in a tight roll of fabric and metal poles, was balancing across her back.

Rose stood, levitating her saddlebags and slinging them across her back. "You walk ahead this time, kid. I'll be behind you... trying to stay awake." The last comment was said as mostly a grunt as she kicked some dirt over the campfire to extinguish it.

"Which direction?"

"Northwest. We'll come across a road eventually—it'll be impossible to miss. Follow that for a bit, cross a bridge over a river, then follow that river downstream. We can take a shortcut and cut across some more forest to reach town sooner. Might even make it by nightfall tonight if we cover enough ground, but I doubt it."

Savanna drew her compass from her satchel and consulted it, turning and motioning in the direction of northwest. "Okay. Follow me, ah guess."

Savanna lead the way through the forest, a metaphorical spearhead cutting through bushes and brambles. The occasional needle-like thorn found its way around her protective poncho and snagged her directly in the legs, and she winced, but persevered nonetheless. After a brief half hour of hiking, they had crested a hill and reached the northern edge of the forest. A wide, muddy dirt road ran along atop the hill where the ground was flattest. The ground quickly sloped downwards until meeting a river. Across, another hill sloped upwards, and together the two hills formed a small valley.

As Savanna and her companion emerged from the trees, they startled a grazing family of deer, who all fled toward the river together as a group. At the water's edge, they stopped and warily looked back one by one. They seemed prepared to cross the river and make the treacherous climb up the steep hill if needed.

With a dramatic clap of thunder, the first raindrops of a new storm began to fall from the sky. Savanna glanced upwards, only to have a drop land directly onto her forehead. Rose hardly reacted, only lifting a hoof to draw the hood of her poncho over her head.

"Again?" Savanna wondered aloud, pulling her own hood over her head. "Is this kind of weather common here?"

"Can't say it is. Usually we get most of the rain in the summer months, not this late in the year."

Savanna shrugged.

Follow the road, cross the bridge, follow the river downstream.

Savanna looked down, realizing her hooves had sunk into a puddle of mud. Her hoofprints weren't the only prints, though—several trails of hoofprints ran through the mud, along with several pairs of consistent, patterned stripes. Savanna frowned, confused, before realizing they must have been the tracks of wheels formed by vehicles.

"Other ponies have been this way," Savanna called to her companion, waving her over.

"These had to have been made recently. They would have gotten washed away by all this rain," Rose mused, studying the tracks carefully. She followed them back and forth, tracing the same tracks several times, but eventually gave up, showing obvious frustration. "I can't tell which way they were going. Could be heading towards Juniper, but I hope not."

"Is there any chance of us catching up with them?"

"Why?"

"Maybe we could hitch a ride on whatever they're driving?" Savanna immediately felt foolish for even suggesting such a risky idea. Still, the idea sparked obvious interest in Rose's expression.

"Maybe, we'll see. It would save us a lot of time... Let's keep going. I'll watch our flanks."

Savanna nodded, following the road. She stopped only once to photograph some curious, fire-red flowers. Rose didn't comment on how often Savanna was stopping, though, judging by her expression, it seemed she wanted to. They didn't share more exchanges until they reached the bridge, when Savanna spotted the vehicles parked. There were two of them paired together in a small convoy. In tandem with Rose, she ducked behind a small, natural incline of earth and hid to the best of her ability. A pair of ponies were idling around the second truck to the rear of the convoy, waving their heads back and forth as they scanned the environment around them. They clearly were looking for something.

Some were definitely CED. Savanna recognized their uniforms. Others wore dark-grey uniforms that Savanna was unfamiliar with. Best case scenario: the ponies wearing the dark-grey uniforms were CED VIPs. Worst case scenario: they were military.

The rear of the truck toward the back of the convoy was full of stacks of unlabeled wooden crates and boxes, perfect for concealing two stowaways—but there were a lot of ponies guarding the supplies.

"I spy just the two standin' out there together," Savanna murmured, nodding in the direction of the pair of soldiers.

"No," Rose replied quietly. "There's more. Two more in the rear of the first truck."

Indeed, there were two ponies sitting in the rear of the first truck that Savanna hadn't spotted initially.

"That's four..." Savanna began.

"Plus two more, at least. The drivers," Rose pointed out.

"It's risky," Savanna admitted. "Can you te—"

Rose waved a hoof in Savanna's direction to silence her. "Wait! They're speaking!" She hissed.

Indeed, the ponies were talking amongst themselves. Savanna cocked her head to a side, listening in.

"They're wanted alive, you know," a purple-maned one spoke. He was a short, stout pegasus, and looked muscular and strong.

"What if they attack us?" Another stallion responded. He was scrawny, and had the attitude to match his meager appearance. He seemed nervous, occasionally shifting his weight or looking over his shoulder. "I'm just worried, I guess."

"You're being paranoid. Triton is 20 miles east from here, so they're probably headed straight for Juniper. If they are, they won't be our problem anymore."

"If they keep resisting, they'll need supplies eventually—and haulers like us will be big targets in their eyes, is all I'm saying. I hate guerrilla fighters," the scrawny one spat.

Savanna shifted her weight, looking over to Rose. "What do you think, can you teleport us into the back of that truck?"

Torn, Rose sighed. "I want to, but my better instincts tell me that would be a good way to get ourselves killed. Still... it would save us a lot of time. Hm."

They exchanged glances for a moment. Savanna nodded. "It's your call, Rose. It'd be dry in there, though. And we could rest."

Rose considered it for a moment. She shrugged, her horn glowing as she prepared the teleportation spell. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Savanna blinked, and when she reopened her eyes, she found herself teleported to the rear of the truck. Rose was beside her, and the mare motioned silently for her as she retreated behind one of the stacks of crates. Savanna followed, and she sat down, peering through a gap between the stacked crates.

She watched as the soldiers jumped into the rear of the second truck. "There's nopony out here!" The purple-maned one called out.

"Let's get going, then!" An unidentified officer replied.

Then, finally, the convoy began to move.

Savanna felt the truck beneath her jerk forward, and she almost lost her balance, but managed to stay upright. Rose's eyes widened, and she cursed under her breath at Savanna's indiscretion.

"Sorry," Savanna whispered. Her voice was almost drowned out by the loud growling of the trucks' engines, and the pair had to lean close together to communicate.

"I'm going to get some rest. Wake me up when we're close, alright? These fools are probably hauling supplies to or near Triton, so they're going to be taking a right turn at the next fork in the road to head east. We'll need to disembark then. Stay discreet, ok?"

"Got it." Savanna nodded.

Rose responded with a small nod, then settled down to rest, lying on her side.

They probably had a long drive ahead of them, but Savanna couldn't get too comfortable. She needed to keep an eye out for when, exactly, the convoy passed the fork in the road.

At least the rear of the truck provided adequate protection from the rain. Savanna craned her neck, looking upwards. The tan-colored sheet of hessian fabric outstretched over the truck bed flapped in the wind, and the raindrops created a soft pattering sound as they battered against it.

Savanna's ears pricked upwards as she listened to the pattering of the rain. She released a soft sigh, trying to relax. The constant jostling of the truck beneath her made her feel slight motion sickness, but the motion was subtle enough to not make her feel completely nauseous.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, their ride would end much sooner than anticipated. Only partway through the drive to Triton, the truck drove over a particularly-deep pothole, causing the vehicle to lurch to one side. Some unsecured crates toppled over, and one landed directly onto Rose's sleeping body, waking her immediately and causing her to yelp involuntary.

"What the hell was that‽ Hey! Stop! Stop the truck!"

As the vehicle slowed, crept to a crawl and finally came to a stop, Savanna knew she only had moments before she was discovered. Fear struck her powerfully, and she looked to Rose in desperation, only to realize the mare looked dazed and confused and hadn't yet completely awoken from her slumber.

The soldiers turned to investigate the noise, grabbing weapons as they did so. The crates providing Savanna and Rose with cover had been scattered, and now they were plainly visible. "Hey you! Behind the crates! Stand up!"

Rose stood first, followed by Savanna. There was tension in her muscles—her joints were locking up. She exchanged a brief glance with Rose, trying to communicate silently that they should teleport away to escape, but Rose just shook her head, frowning.

"Stowaways? On our truck?" The purple-maned soldier squinted suspiciously. "You both aren't the ones we were looking for, but..." He trailed off, locking eyes with Rose. "I know you... I've seen your face somewhere. What's your name?"

"I don't have a name," Rose responded firmly. "And no, you haven't."

"No, I believe I have." The soldier was insistent. He tightened the grip of his firearm in his wings, pointing it directly at Rose. "You're Rose Gold, aren't you? You're a wanted terrorist."

"You're mistaken, buddy. I've never heard that name before in my life." Rose was defiant. She narrowed her eyes, staring down her aggressors.

"She's lying!" The scrawny one spoke up. He aimed his firearm between both Savanna and Rose, swapping between the two occasionally.

"Get out, both of you," the purple-maned soldier ordered, motioning with his firearm to outside. Already, the officers from the other truck had gathered outside, waiting for their new prisoners to step out. Rose went first, leaping down onto the ground, and one of the guards moved to slip a magic-suppression ring around her horn. "Don't try anything, now," he warned her, quickly slipping the ring onto her horn. Despite the warning, Rose was docile. Savanna could see anger in her expression, but she knew Rose was smart enough to resist the urge to lash out.

Savanna was next. She jumped down onto the ground, splashing into a puddle of mud, and the purple-maned soldier moved in front of her to address her. "Spread your legs out, kid, and don't make any sudden movements," he warned her.

Despite the fact she was being spoken to, Savanna looked past the soldier in front of her and met Rose's gaze. They exchanged a look, and Savanna tried to the best of her abilities to silently communicate with the mare, but all she could read in her expression was distress. Savanna didn't know what to do. She was panicking—she didn't want to surrender completely and be at the mercy of the CED.

The rain had begun to come down heavily, then. The sky had grown overcast with grey clouds, and a loud boom of thunder made Savanna jump. The dirt road they all stood on had been reduced into a slick, muddy surface by the constant hammering of the rain.

The purple-maned pegasus in front of Savanna lowered his weapon, peering at her almost curiously. "Who are you?"

"Ah'm nopony." Savanna was quick to repeat Rose's assertion. She wanted to sound strong, but internally she was terrified.

Dissatisfied, the stallion frowned. He looked like he wanted to prod her for information, but momentarily held his tongue, shifting his tone instead.

"You never should have associated yourself with criminals like her." He nodded slowly, emphasizing each word. "But, if you tell us where you two were planning to go and where the rest of her terrorist friends are hiding out, we'll let you walk free, kid. Don't get involved in this," He cautioned, poking her hard on the chest with a hoof. She flinched, taking a step back.

Savanna looked downwards, refusing to meet the stallion's gaze. He seemed reasonable enough, but she was afraid he would lash out if she said anything too hastily. Nervous, she fidgeted, rubbing one foreleg with another. She watched the stallion's dark-grey uniform stretch as he flexed one foreleg, then another, shifting his weight.

"Savanna," Rose called from the background. Savanna raised her gaze and looked past the stallion standing in front of her. Rose met her gaze, and when she was certain she had Savanna's attention, she distinctly shook her head. "Don't—"

A unicorn standing beside Rose raised a rifle he was levitating, spun it around and bashed the butt of its stock against Rose's head. Her body lurched to the side from the recoil, but she recovered quickly, her body tensing as she growled in frustration. She looked ready to retaliate, but several officers aiming firearms at her made her reconsider. "Quiet!" One ordered, "let the filly speak!"

"Tell me where they're hiding out," the purple-maned stallion demanded. Savanna slowly looked up, meeting his gaze. She swallowed dryly, her throat tightening up. "T - Triton," she stammered, lying through her teeth. It was a terrible lie—her feeble tone gave it away.

"Where?"

The inevitable question hit hard. Savanna knew nothing about Triton—she had never been there to familiarize herself with the physical structure of the city, and Rose had obsessively kept the map to herself since they had left Cerise.

Savanna realized she was out of options. They probably knew she was lying, and she didn't have enough knowledge to double down on her last claim. She decided, then, that her only option was to commit to a bold and, admittedly, stupid plan.

Savanna reached for her revolver in one hoof and drew her other foreleg around the neck of the soldier, spinning him around and heaving him forcefully backwards up onto his rear legs. To balance on just her rear legs, she leaned back against the truck. She didn't know where the strength had come from to lift all of the soldier's weight up and lift him onto his rear legs, but now he hung there being used as a shield, supported only by her foreleg wrapped around his throat. No longer able to hold it in his wings, his firearm dropped to the ground, and his wings folded against his back.

All of the other ponies immediately aimed their weapons at Savanna, but it was futile. Savanna held one of their own at gunpoint then, and they knew exactly what she wanted before she had to say it.

"Let the unicorn go!" Savanna demanded. A few of the ponies began to lower their weapons, but most held still, training their guns directly at her. "Drop the weapon, kid!" One soldier called out.

Savanna's hostage began to squirm, trying to free himself from her grasp, but Savanna pressed the barrel of her revolver against his head. He froze immediately. "Don't make me do this," she threated him.

"I know you won't shoot me," he retorted. "I know your type, kid. All talk—and not even good at that. You're soft."

Savanna knew he was right. His assertions made her doubt herself, and when he began to squirm again in an attempt to free himself, she could do nothing to stop it.

It was an intense standoff. They stood aiming weapons at each other for what felt like an eternity. At some point, Savanna's hood had slid backwards and was no longer protecting her head from the storm. The heavy rain soaked into her mane and made the hair cling to her neck and jaw. Water was dripping into her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to maintain her vision.

"Look!" Savanna called out. She had to raise her voice to be heard over a loud crack of thunder. Desperately, she tried to control the situation. "This is all a misunderstanding! We were just stowaways lookin' to travel to Triton! Ain't nopony wants to get shot, here! Drop your weapons, and ah'll let your friend go!"

Most of the ponies had surrendered and dropped their weapons by that point, accepting the deal. All appeared to be going well until the purple-maned soldier Savanna was holding hostage squirmed aggressively. She shifted her weight in an attempt to stay upright, but one of her rear hooves ended up slipping in the thick soup of mud the dirt road had long since been reduced to. She dropped her revolver and hit the ground hard on her side near one of the rear wheels of the truck. Chaos ensued.

The purple-maned soldier and Savanna stood up at the same time, but Savanna was in no way trained to fight. The soldier gave her a quick jab in the jaw with a forehoof and a powerful buck into her ribs with a rear leg. Unable to defend herself, Savanna took the blows and fell onto her side again in the mud, clutching her muzzle with a forehoof.

Mud was in her eyes, but despite being partially-blinded, Savanna could clearly see her revolver on the ground next to her where she had dropped it. Without thinking, she grabbed it and rolled onto her back, pointing it at her attacker. Indecision plagued her—she knew she had to defend herself, but it wasn't some wild animal attacking her this time, it was another pony...

Despite her indecision, Savanna knew internally that she didn't have a choice. She fired a shot, and the purple-maned soldier slumped down into the mud, incapacitated. Immediately, regret flooded Savanna. The tension released from her body, and she gasped for air after not breathing for a moment, dropping the revolver. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Her eyes were wide open in shock as she stared at the body of the soldier. She wanted to believe she saw movement from him breathing or moving, but she genuinely couldn't tell. Sections of his mane had been slickened with mud and stuck to his head, while the dry parts were swaying in the wind from the storm.

To her side just out of view, several gunshots rang out. Rose had managed to free herself during the chaos and take the magic-suppression ring off of her horn, and she was using magic to defend herself. A magical shockwave sent several ponies flying. One hit the metal door of the front of a truck head first, while another landed and hit the metal rim of one of the truck's tires. Another flew past the road and hit the trunk of a nearby tree, slumping to the ground.

The two remaining officers surrendered, dropping their weapons and spreading their legs and wings.

"Savanna? Let's get the hell out of here." Rose's voice sounded weak as she offered a hoof to her companion. Savanna looked at the hoof, blinking, not completely comprehending what was being offered to her at first. Eventually, she accepted it, letting herself be pulled up. She could barely hold herself up. The mud, rain and guilt weighed her down.

She quickly threw her revolver into her satchel, and then, together, Savanna and her companion fled to the trees of a nearby forest. It was a desperate, adrenaline-fueled sprint. Savanna didn't want to stop and look back out of fear that they were being pursued. Instead, she forced herself to keep moving. She could feel branches and brambles whipping at her face as she galloped through the undergrowth, but she was panicking and didn't do anything to stop it.

They didn't stop until, several minutes later, they stumbled upon a small cave leading into a rocky outcrop. It was nothing more than an indentation in the rock with an angled slope of rock above serving as a roof, but it was shelter nonetheless, and it would serve as a hiding spot if any of the ponies attempted to pursue them.

Panting, Savanna fell onto her side in the cave, only to have a new, sharp shock of pain bolt down her left foreleg and entire chest. She grunted in pain and switched the side she was putting her weight on, trying to rest.

They laid apart on opposite walls of the cave, resting in silence. Outside, the storm still raged on.

"Rose?" Savanna spoke. She regretted speaking, reaching a hoof up to clutch at her muzzle. Her jaw ached where she had been struck. It hadn't broken any bones, but she would find speaking difficult for a while.

"Those bastards shot me." Rose grunted matter-of-factly, clutching her side where she had been injured. With effort, she slipped out of her rain poncho and used some restoration magic to heal herself. Savanna watched the process briefly before looking away, losing interest. To occupy herself while she waited, she tried to clean some of the mud off of her face.

She wiped the side of her muzzle with a foreleg and raised her hoof in front of her face, seeing blood. She frowned, confused, before realizing her face must have been cut badly by all the sharp bushes she had ran through earlier.

"Are you okay?"

Savanna hesitated, grimacing in pain as she tested her shoulder by rolling it. "No. Ah don't think ah can get up..."

"Let me see," Rose offered, standing. With effort, Savanna sat up and pivoted so her companion could see her shoulder clearly. She removed her muddy poncho, letting it fall to the ground.

"You took a bullet back there, kid," Rose remarked quietly. "One of them must have missed me and hit you."

"Really? Ah didn't even feel it at first..." Knowing exactly what had happened felt like it escalated the pain. In reality, the adrenaline from barely surviving the encounter with the group of CED and military was probably wearing off. Either way, Savanna felt awful.

"That happens sometimes, don't worry. Sit still," Rose ordered, her horn igniting with light as she prepared the restoration spell.

Savanna closed her eyes. Through the ordeal, she tried to stay still, resisting the urge to twitch. The spell was painful as it slowly reversed the effects of the damage. To a degree, the magical aura was cool and refreshing, but it did nothing to mask the stinging pain.

After she was healed, she leaned back against the wall of the cave, trying not to vocalize too much. While the physical injury had been healed, the pain from the shock still remained. In synchrony with her beating heart, a shock of pain frequently migrated up and down the left side of her body.

She closed her eyes, trying to relax and release the tension in her body. All she could think about, though, was what had happened during the skirmish with the CED. The memories of the event that had just occurred organized themselves in her mind as snapshots, like photographs from a camera. What she had done to the soldier who had attacked her played continuously in her mind over and over.

"Why didn't you accept the offer?"

Interrupted from her thoughts, Savanna opened her eyes, looking over. "W - what?"

"Why didn't you tell them where my buddies back in Cerise were hiding out? They offered you your freedom in exchange."

"Ah..." Savanna reached a foreleg up, massaging her aching jaw. She considered it for only a short while. She knew the answer; it came to her as second nature. "Ah didn't because... because of Loyalty."

"Loyalty?" The mare repeated, confused.

"There's no deal or proposal offered to me that could possibly be worth more than Loyalty to my friends." Taken aback by her own words, Savanna's eyes widened. She had no idea where that had statement had come from, she had simply said it by instinct. It felt right. It felt true to her very core.

"You... consider me a friend?" Rose frowned after hearing the unexpected response. "Why? What have I done for you?"

"You've helped me, haven't ya? Even if ya didn't realize, ya helped me when ah needed it the most. Ah was so lost... and confused. Ah still am to an extent, but this journey is so much easier with somepony by mah side." Savanna nodded with finality. The words were coming from her heart now—she didn't need to stop and consider what to say, the words simply came to her naturally.

"Rose, ah suspect somethin' happened to you a long time ago... If ya don't wanna tell me what it was, that's fine. Ah understand. But ah think you're taking advantage of this terrible situation you're in to abuse other ponies to vent your frustrations. While it may not seem like it, everypony's in the same boat, they just have their own ways of handlin' things. Some ponies are really terrible, but not everypony deserves..."

Savanna trailed off. It was a long train of thought, but Rose's attention had been perfectly captured. She sat still, captivated, quietly listening.

"Ah know what ya did to those officers, Rose. A while ago. I heard some CED officers talkin' about it when they captured me a couple days ago. I think, inside, you're a good pony, it's just... I think something happened to you. Something bad. I think you're frustrated. You're angry. Ya have no friends to help you, and ya think you're stuck without any other options. Don't lose yourself."

Rose nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah." She breathed a sad sigh, looking down at the cave floor. She rubbed a forehoof against the ground awkwardly, clearly unsure how to respond. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I haven't been myself, recently. I just... get so angry, sometimes. I'm angry at the world. I guess... I'm angry at everypony."

"Ah'm sorry." Savanna's ears laid back, and she bowed her head sympathetically.

"What for? None of this is your fault."

"Ah know." Savanna nodded quietly, unsure of what else to add. She had shared everything she felt obligated to say in one single line of thought, and then, afterwards, she felt she had made a difference. Rose's expression was abnormally soft. Her cheeks were red, and she appeared to be on the verge of tears.

There was a moment of silence. Respectfully, Savanna stayed quiet. She dug through her satchel and drew her revolver from within. Holding it in a hoof, she slowly rotated it back and forth, examining it. It was caked in mud and dirt from when she had dropped it in the struggle with the soldier. Eventually, she would have to take time to clean it. For the time being, she hung the weapon from the carabiner attached to her satchel's strap.

Savanna was about to close her satchel when the wanted poster inside caught her attention. She lifted it out of her satchel and unfolded it, reading it over again.

"What's that?"

"It's a poster ah found in Cerise. It's actually about you. They know who you are, Rose... and they want you." Savanna held the poster forward for Rose to take it. The mare accepted the offering, levitating the paper as she read it silently to herself.

"I know they want me. They want us all. It's their world. It's their laws. Or nothing—to hell with you." Rose glared down at the paper, reading it one final time. With a flick of her head and a spark, she lit the poster aflame with magical fire, balling it up and tossing it aside. Savanna watched the ball of paper bounce along the ground deeper into the cave. When it grew still, it blackened and shrunk, releasing smoke as it burned and curled further inwards.

"What do we do now, Rose?" Savanna raised her voice, asking.

"Now..." Rose cast her eyes downwards in thought. "I need to get some damn rest. I haven't slept properly in days. Wake me up in four or five hours. We can leave at twilight, try to avoid any CED who may potentially be patrolling. Hopefully arrive at town before sunrise. I know a place there we can take refuge."

Savanna nodded in response. "Understood."

The two laid down in synchrony. Savanna rested on her uninjured side, applying her weight to her right shoulder, and kept her eyes locked onto the cave entrance. Warily, she watched for interloping animals or ponies. Outside, the storm continued to rage on, rain weaving through the leaves of the trees above and pattering against the soil ceaselessly.

As Savanna laid still, her eyes gradually began to lose focus. While she stared out of the mouth of the cave, watching the rain falling, her mind was elsewhere. Now that Rose was asleep, Savanna was alone with only her thoughts to keep her company—and they weren't welcome. She visualized the facial expressions the soldier had made as he charged her. Rage, then his expression had contorted into shock and pain as he fell to the ground after she shot him. She saw herself lying on the ground in the muddy road, then she saw the stallion charging her as she held the revolver, and, finally, she saw his legs give out from under him as he slumped to the ground.

Ashamed, Savanna covered her face with her hooves and curled into a little, miserable ball. She wanted to curl into an even tighter, impossibly-small ball and disappear. She hadn't intended to hurt him—fate had forced her to.

For once, she was grateful to be alone; nopony was around to witness her shed tears for her enemy.

The sun had only just began to rise when Savanna and Rose arrived at Juniper. The pair had spent the entire night walking in relative silence, avoiding roads whenever possible and keeping a lookout for potential CED patrols. The sky was beginning to transition from black to blue, and the stars were fading from sight.

Savanna had spent the journey silently ruminating. She was still soaked with mud, and her filthy rain poncho was clinging to her body in some spots. The early morning air was chilly, and, when combined with the fact that Savanna was still damp and muddy, she was shivering from the cold. Her situation became ever worse, though—her shoulder still ached from the pain after she had been shot. She felt miserable. It was the most miserable she had felt in perhaps her entire life. She wanted nothing more than to relax in a warm, safe space and have an opportunity to sleep soundly and safely.

Juniper was mostly deserted. The majority of ponies were probably sleeping and taking refuge inside their dark, unlit houses. On the porches of several nearby houses, some strangers made lingering eye contact as Savanna and Rose passed through. Uneasy, Savanna avoided their gazes, keeping her eyes to the ground as she walked.

From what Savanna could see during the nighttime, the town was surprisingly familiar. It reminded her of Maripony. Dirt roads, small, wooden cottages and rolling, grassy plains. Compared to Maripony, though, the grass in Juniper was a healthy green, and there were more trees.

In the outskirts of town, Rose finally stopped before a large house. While not quite as immense as the old mansion in the outskirts of Maripony, the building before Savanna was still imposing. Planter boxes outside of the porch were filled with colorful flowers. Dim light shone out from a large bay window overlooking a dining room. A wide balcony outstretched above, and to either side, dormer windows peeked out from a sloped roof. Drawn curtains concealed the rooms behind the glass.

To the side of the house were rows upon rows of growing crops. Savanna immediately recognized the familiar mature and immature stages of corn stalks, but there were a wide diversity of other plants growing that she couldn't easily identify from a distance.

Rose climbed several steps and entered the house's porch, raising a hoof to knock on the front door. Savanna followed close behind, impatiently shifting her weight every few seconds as she waited for a response from the ponies inside. She wanted desperately to get inside and warm up.

"Who is it?" A male voice on the other side of the door called.

"It's me," Rose responded.

When the door swung open, periwinkle light spilled out from the entrance. The pegasus who had opened the door stood before them. He wore a fancy, gold-buttoned trench coat. He was tall—taller than Rose, surprisingly. He looked muscular, strong and intimidating, but, most importantly, he looked shady, especially considering the black coat. His eyes were narrow as they shifted back and forth and he scanned Savanna and Rose. His gaze lingered on Savanna. It was clear he didn't recognize her.

"Rose," he greeted, nodding.

"Maverick," Rose greeted in response.

"Come in," the stallion offered, taking a few steps backwards to give them room. "It's cold outside this morning."

Rose stepped through the doorway and into the main corridor. Savanna followed suit, closing the door behind her. Her eyes naturally drifted past Maverick and to a young unicorn standing beside and behind him. She looked to be no older than Savanna, with a fair, lilac-colored coat and a brighter, orchid-colored mane. Her gentle luminescence spell appeared to be one of the only sources of light in the house. Long, dark shadows cast by the four ponies huddled together danced on the wall as the young unicorn shifted her weight and the source of light on her horn moved.

"Amethyst, cut the light," Maverick ordered. At once, the group was plunged into almost complete darkness. Faint, non-magical light shone from the dining room to the right and another, unidentified room to the left.

"Let's head to the kitchen," the stallion suggested, passing through the dining room. Rose followed him closely, while Savanna trailed behind, taking in the sights. There were supplies everywhere in the dining room—food, weapons, tools, junk. A lone stallion sat on a chair in the corner of the room, staring out of the bay window and observing the street outside. As Savanna passed by him, she nodded as a greeting, receiving a small nod in return. He looked tired.

In the kitchen, Maverick was leaning against the counter of an island as he spoke with Rose. "You looked... healthier the last time we spoke, Rose. What the hell happened to you?"

"I've been through the wringer. Met some ponies while traveling here from Cerise—CED and military. It didn't end too well for any of us, mostly them. I'm still breathing, though. So is the kid."

Savanna stepped past the threshold and officially entered the kitchen. She leaned against the frame of the doorway, watching the conversation unfold. Absently, she rubbed a hoof against her shoulder and the invisible mark where she had been shot. She was no longer limping as she had been hours prior, but her muscles still ached from the shock.

"Who is she, anyway?" Maverick asked, motioning to Savanna.

"Her name's Savanna. She saved my life, actually. I made a stupid choice and got myself captured, almost got us both killed. She distracted them long enough for me to take the opportunity and free myself."

"Should me and my guys be concerned about them coming down here?"

"They were heading to Triton," Rose affirmed. "They didn't know where we were planning to go."

"Good. I don't need more trouble around here." Maverick released a sigh, raising a hoof to brush a lock of his red mane out of his eyes.

"More?"

"It's a long story," Maverick admitted. His gaze shifted over to Savanna. She made eye contact with him, albeit after some hesitation. His presence still made her slightly uncomfortable. "Hey, kid, why don't you head down the hall and get yourself cleaned up while me and Rose catch up? You're also looking pretty terrible."

"Where, exactly?" Savanna's ears perked up slightly. The prospect of taking a bath after treading through the wilderness for hours in filthy clothes was enticing.

"There's a bathroom at the end of the hall, past the stairs."

"Will do. Thank you." As Savanna left the kitchen through the way she had come, she heard the retreating voices of Rose and Maverick in conversation. She passed the lone guard sitting in the corner of the dining room and took a right down the main corridor, heading deeper into the house. All of the lights were turned off, and the hallway was very dark. She was forced to navigate by only the sparse, natural moonlight.

At the end of the hall, there was a tall, thin window with its curtains drawn open. Savanna tried opening the door to the left and discovered that it was unlocked and slightly ajar.

Inside was a bathroom, as had been promised. Against the wall was a bathtub with various soaps, shampoos and other cleaning products arranged on a small, adjacent table. Moonlight was streaming in from a small window, but it would be insufficient to see by, so Savanna searched the room looking for a solution to that particular dilemma. Luckily, there was a convenient oil lamp on a table next to a collection of various toiletries. Savanna ignited the lamp and carried it over to the bathtub, placing it on the adjacent table to she could see.

She slipped her satchel off of her back and stripped out of her rain poncho, running herself a bath. A nice, hot bath would be exactly what she needed to relax. The current day and the day prior had been stressful—she deserved it.

When the bath was sufficiently filled, Savanna dipped a hoof into the water to test the temperature. It was lukewarm, hot even. Adequate, and a welcome improvement compared to the chilly air outside. She reached over and took one of the bottles of soap resting on the table nearby, reading the label carefully. The brand was unrecognizable, and she couldn't tell what exactly its intended purpose was, be it for washing pony fur, manes or for just washing clothes...

Careless, Savanna shrugged and uncapped the bottle. She lifted it in front of her nose, giving it a sniff. The contents smelled of floral perfume. She smiled a little, immediately being reminded of a distant, nostalgic memory of when she was younger. She and Spotlight picking savannah wildflowers together when they were kids...

She dolloped some of the soap into the bath and mixed it around with the water, creating an intense froth. Small bubbles rose to the water's surface and popped, while other, larger bubbles formed and floated, managing to survive for longer.

Savanna set the bottle aside and plunged one foreleg into the soapy water, then another, and another, until, eventually, she sunk completely into the water. She released a sigh, gazing up at the white, painted ceiling. She could feel the tension releasing from her body as she soaked and her body temperature gradually began to rise to comfortable levels again.

Now that she had been given time to relax and think, her mind wandered freely. She thought of Spotlight and herself when they were kids, romping through grassy plains and picking savannah wildflowers, recalling the memory in greater detail... Spotlight had picked some yellow, cup-shaped flowers, while Savanna had chosen a bunch of gorgeous, purple, spherical flowers. The grassy field and creeping flowers had outstretched for miles in all directions, the droning of hundreds of bees feeding overwhelming. It had truly been a sight to behold.

Reminiscing, Savanna smiled a little. She released a small, tranquil sigh, eyes closed in concentration. She could almost hear the giggles of young, happy Spotlight again—and then her cute little scream when a curious bee had flown too close.

Where had the time gone?

In that little moment, Savanna was at peace. Silently, she ruminated, scrubbing first her mud-soaked mane with scented, soapy water, then her peach-colored fur, scrubbing away all of the dried mud.

Feeling cleaner and renewed, Savanna stepped out of the bath. Water dripping from her fur, she wrung most of the water from her mane with her hooves, then gave a quick jerk of her head, tossing the rest of her mane out of her face and over her shoulder. A weight had been lifted.

Once partly dried off after cleaning and grooming herself, Savanna left her belongings in the bathroom and went about exploring the house in an attempt to find where Rose had left to. She hadn't been in the kitchen when Savanna went to check.

The old house was eerily quiet as Savanna crept through the main corridor. The sun was rising higher in the sky by that point in the day, and there was almost enough natural light to comfortably see by. Regardless, Savanna walked with the oil lamp held in her mouth to assure she didn't trip on anything otherwise obscured. The only sounds were her own muffled hoofsteps against the carpeted floor and the faint snores of ponies sleeping somewhere upstairs. Her quiet breaths were audible.

Her weight upon a specific floorboard caused it to creak. A unicorn inside a nearby room ignited their horn alight with a gentle magical aura and peeked out of the doorway to investigate the noise.

"O - oh, it's just you," Amethyst spoke, relaxing.

Savanna nodded silently, transferring the lamp to a hoof. "Sorry if ah startled ya. Have you seen Rose?"

"She's the mare you came with earlier, right? No, I haven't, sorry." She retreated back into the room and took a seat on a sofa upholstered in velvet. She marked the spot in a book she had been reading with a bookmark and set it aside on a nearby end table.

Savanna followed, taking a look around. The room was a study. A fire crackled upon a pile of logs and ash in a stone brick fireplace, keeping the room warm and comforting. Two plush sofas and several armchairs surrounded a coffee table in the center of the room. To the right of the stone fireplace were several tall bookcases filled with colorful books of various sizes and widths. At the rear of the room was a desk and an unlit oil lamp situated in front of a grand window. A leafy, potted plant grew upwards triumphantly, leaning toward the window to achieve the superior angle and absorb the most sunlight.

Savanna extinguished her lamp and set it aside on an end table, taking a seat on the second sofa. She leaned back into the comforting upholstery, trying to relax. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, um..." Amethyst reached for her book, holding it aloft so Savanna could see the art on the front cover. It depicted twin waterfalls, one far wider than the other. "This? It's called 'The Revenant of Platinum Falls.' It's a mystery novel."

"Oh, really? Ya don't strike me as somepony who'd be interested in mystery."

"I am, actually. I love reading." Amethyst levitated the book aside and set it onto the end table again. "But, to be honest, I've just been looking for ways to keep myself occupied while I've been cooped up in here. I've been here for weeks, and the work keeps piling up."

Intrigued, Savanna leaned forward. "Why are you living with insurgents? Did your parents decide to side with them and you had no choice?"

Amethyst broke eye contact momentarily, releasing a sigh. "I... no, it's nothing like that... I'm here alone."

Recognizing she had struck a nerve, Savanna kept her voice steady and gentle, trying to coax the filly to respond. "What's wrong?"

"I... they... The CED, they took my parents."

Savanna frowned. "What happened to your parents?"

"Arrested," Amethyst admitted, her ears lowering flat against their head, "for harboring revolutionaries. I - I was scared, so I ran away... It's been weeks, now. I don't know what happened to them. I don't know if they're okay." She raised her gaze, making explicit eye contact with Savanna. "Y - you think they're okay, don't you...?"

Hesitant, Savanna broke the eye contact. She doubted Amethyst's parents—who had been detained by the CED—were alright, but she didn't want to break the tragic news to the filly.

"Ah... yeah, ah believe they are," Savanna lied, immediately regretting her decision. Despite how guilty she felt for lying, Amethyst's eyes lit up a little. Her expression softened.

"I - I know," she replied. "That's what I think, too. They have to be.

"Maverick let me stay here," Amethyst continued, "on the condition that I help with all the chores. It's not terrible work, and I'm glad to have somewhere to live now, but, i - it's not how I want be to spending my time. I feel trapped. Everything and everypony I used to know is in Triton, and I can't go back there nowadays with all the tension between the CED and the rebels. Nopony is supposed to leave town. Life just isn't normal anymore..." Unsure of what else to add, Amethyst awkwardly rubbed one of her forelegs, abruptly ending her spiel.

Savanna nodded quietly. "Ah understand. Ah—" She cut herself off, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. After some brief consideration, she realized divulging her exact origins and plans for the immediate future wouldn't be wise. Explaining everything that had happened would take too long. "Well," she continued, "let's just say ah understand and leave it at that, uh... what's your name?"

"Amethyst Dust," the filly replied.

"Dry Savanna."

"You sound like you're from the south," Amethyst commented.

"Ah'm from the west, actually. Or, well, ah was. Ah ain't currently."

After receiving the response, Amethyst immediately frowned and began asking questions. "As far as I know, there's no rebels that far west... It's mostly uncharted. You can't be a settler because, well, you're here. Why did you come all the way out here? Wasn't there news about what was happening in the east?"

"It's... complicated." Savanna sighed in frustration, wanting desperately to share her woes. Amethyst genuinely seemed interested and willing to listen, but explaining would take far too long... Regardless, Savanna began speaking. She explained her origins—her home, Maripony, her friends and family and how she had ended up in Emperia—and what had happened in the few eventful days after her arrival. Enraptured, Amethyst sat still and quiet as she listened.

"So, how did you end up here?"

"Like ah said, ah've been traveling with Rose since she and ah left Cerise. This was her final destination. Ah still have a ways to go. Speaking of, ah'd hate to bother ya for this, but... do ya know which towns or settlements near the west coast have docked boats?"

"No," Amethyst admitted, frowning. "Why?"

"Ah intend to steal one." Savanna nodded with finality.

"You're going to steal a boat?" Amethyst's eyes widened in reaction to the unexpected response.

"Maybe. Ah don't know yet. Ah'll figure something out. Ah think it's my only decent shot at getting to Cerise."

"I guess so. Still, that just seems wrong..."

Savanna released a sigh, nodding. 'Ah know. But, it's for a good cause, anyway."

There was a pause, and Savanna took advantage of it and began speaking again, changing the topic. "Ya know, Amethyst, it's been great talking with you. Your, uh..." Savanna paused, fishing for the optimal word," sincerity reminds me so much of Spotlight. Ah wish we could become friends, but... well, ah guess fate decided otherwise."

"Me too..." Amethyst broke eye contact momentarily, her eyes downcast toward the carpet sadly. "I wish I could go with you, Savanna..."

Amethyst's desperate tone made Savanna's heart bleed. She knew the filly was intent on saying more, and she wanted to interrupt and say something to console her, but Savanna couldn't. She couldn't find the words.

"I - I just want to see my family again, but... I can't." Amethyst's voice cracked, and it was becoming increasingly unsteady, but she persevered. "And now with the way Maverick is talking, it sounds like the rebels are planning on going on the offensive soon. I'm afraid he's going to force me to fight. He always says he needs as many ponies as possible. I - I don't want to fight—I can't." Her cheeks were becoming red, and her eyes were glistening.

Realizing that the poor filly was on the verge of tears, Savanna tried desperately to keep the situation under control with meticulous word choice. "Amethyst, you... it's okay. He wouldn't. Y - you, well... Even if they were going to follow through with that idea, there would still be plenty of work to be done. They would still need your help for that."

Her attempt at encouragement had failed. Amethyst lowered her head into her hooves, crying softly. Sympathetic, Savanna stood up from the sofa, acting as if she were going to do or say something, but she didn't know what to do. Truly, the situation Amethyst was in was terrible, and Savanna had tried and failed to console her.

Savanna gently seated herself on the sofa next to the crying filly. She released a soft sigh, looking down in consideration for a moment, before leaning in and reaching out with her forelegs, pulling the filly into a hug.

Amethyst resisted weakly for a moment out of surprise, but after the surprise wore off and she realized it had been a move intent on showing affection, it only made her cry harder. She reached out and wrapped her forelegs around Savanna in a tight hug.

"Ah'm sorry..." Savanna eventually murmured when Amethyst had begun to grow quiet.

The filly pulled away from the hug slowly, sniffling. The two exchanged a long, somber look. Amethyst's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her posture was slumped, and she looked exhausted.

Eventually, she looked down at the floor, breaking the eye contact. "Y - you don't have to be sorry... I - it's not your fault. None of this is..."

"Ah know. It's not your fault either, neither, though. You... You can still come with me."

"I..." Amethyst released a sigh. "I - I want to, Savanna. But..."

"You can..." Savanna trailed off, immediately abandoning the train of thought before she could finish it.

There was a moment of silence. Neither pony attempted to fill it. Amethyst rubbed her foreleg with a hoof, eventually raising her gaze again. "G - go get some rest, Savanna. Find an empty room upstairs. There's food always made around 8 or 9—you have a couple of hours to get some sleep. I'll be down here... if you need me for anything, I guess."

Savanna nodded silently, standing up and moving away from the couch. She gave a final nod of farewell before slipping away into the house's main corridor.

She entered the dining room first, approaching the lone guard seated in the corner of the room. "Have you seen Rose?" She asked him.

Realizing he was being spoken to, the stallion looked over. He nodded a slight nod. "She's the mare you came here with last night, right? Maverick and her are upstairs."

Savanna thanked him and returned to the main corridor. She retrieved her belongings from the downstairs bathroom before climbing the stairs to the second floor. Every few steps, she paused, tilting her head to a side to listen. There were distinct voices engaged in conversation, but she couldn't discern exactly what was being said.

At the top of the stairs, Savanna peeked through the relatively-tall, wooden banister. The upstairs hallway was clear. Most of the doors were closed. At the end of the hall, sunlight streamed through another tall and thin window. At that time in the day, it was finally bright enough to see by using only sunlight.

Savanna's hooves created soft, muffled pattering sounds against the plush carpet as she moved toward the source of the voices. Rose and somepony else were conversing in a room at the end of hall. Savanna pulled the door handle downwards and pushed the door inwards.

Inside, Rose was naked, with all of her belongings scattered across the room. Her long gun rested upright against one of the walls. "I say we travel at night," she spoke. "We can move through the forest and get fairly close to town without risking being detected. Two pairs of ponies watching both flanks for any signs of CED activity, while the rest move into town and escort the rebels out one by one. Once everypony is secure, we can rendezvous there." Rose pointed with a hoof to a specific point on her map. Spread out across a table she and Maverick stood around, it was visible only to them. Maverick nodded silently, considering her plan.

"Rose?"

Rose looked back over her shoulder to Savanna. She frowned disapprovingly. "Savanna? What do you want? I'm busy."

"Can you or somepony else wake me up around 9 this morning? Ah wanna try to get some rest."

"I'll send somepony for you," Maverick spoke up, offering. Savanna's eyes met his, and she offered him a small nod. "Thank you."

Savanna slowly backed out of the room, closing the door partly. "Sorry for, uh... disturbing ya." Receiving no response, she gave a final nod and closed the door completely, leaving the two to their privacy.

Immediately after she had closed the door, she heard Rose and Maverick conversing again. They seemed to be planning something, though Savanna wasn't entirely sure what. It was none of her business, regardless. She didn't intend to be around when it happened. Speaking of, Savanna would eventually have to say her goodbyes to Rose and Amethyst before departing Juniper to head west. That was later, though... In the present, Savanna was focused on finding a bedroom and getting some rest.

Most of the bedroom doors were closed and locked, but some were swung open. Savanna chose at random which bedroom to claim for herself. She entered, quickly scanned the room for occupants, found none, then turned and shut the door behind her, leaving it unlocked.

The room was fancy, yet cozy and compact. To the left were some wall-mounted pegs for hanging various items, a wooden wardrobe and an iron stove for warming the room during particularly-cold times of year. It was unlit at the moment, and clean of ash. A small, rectangular mirror was mounted into the wall. To the right of the room was the bed arranged parallel to the wall, with a short, wide chest at the foot of the bed. A plush chair sat diagonally in a corner of the room. In the center of the room was a large, oval, brown and black rug. It appeared to be made of wool, and looked hand-stitched. In the back wall of the room was mounted a wide window. Its curtains were drawn open. Below was a desk with an oil lamp and a simple, wooden chair with square legs.

Savanna hung her freshly-washed rain poncho on one of the hooks, then her satchel onto another. Immediately, she trotted over to the bed and hopped onto it, drawing the blankets up and over herself. She had no time to waste—even if she fell asleep immediately, she would only have a couple hours to rest.

She inhaled and exhaled slowly, releasing a little breath. She rolled onto her back, gazing up at the paint-speckled ceiling. Sleeping would be difficult. Knowing that getting home wasn't a guarantee, she couldn't be expected to be patient. In fact, Savanna felt the opposite of patient. The memory from her foal-hood was fading, being replaced by emotions of dread and anxiety.

Despite the fact it was her nightly routine, she felt no desire to write or draw in her journal. She felt tired, somewhat, and the aching in her shoulder hadn't yet dulled, but—above all else—she felt guilty. The guilt of harming or potentially killing another pony...

Savanna sighed, beginning to count the individual, tiny cracks on the ceiling. She counted 12 before rolling over onto her uninjured side, pulling the blankets tighter around herself. Nothing seemed effective enough to completely distract her and make her forget what she had done...

For once, she was grateful to be alone; nopony was around to witness her grieve for her enemy.