When Rainbow Dash awoke, light was pouring into the cave from the outside. She lifted her neck, it hurting from the way she had been sleeping. She moved against the crystals holding her in place, but they were still tight around her. She blinked sleep from her eyes and looked in the direction of the cave's mouth, seeing blue light filtering in and moving. Some ponies were coming to find her, it seemed. She flinched as light shined on her. When it shut off, she recognized the other members of Burning Rescue.

"Dashie!" Pinkie shouted, running over to the mare and cupping her face in her hooves. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Rainbow said with a smile. She was still emotionally hurt from yesterday's events, but she wasn't sure if she should tell everyone else what happened. She was still holding onto Twilight's threat; if she told any pony where the Burnish were going, Sparkle's Fire would kill her.

"Have you been here all night?" Applejack asked to break Rainbow out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," Rainbow answered. "I fell asleep when it was still dark out. I don't know how long I've been out for."

"R-rainbow, what happened?" Fluttershy stepped forward to ask, brandishing her pistol. She pointed to the crystals on the side of the rock, and fired a few blocks of ice. Rainbow shuddered as the crystals broke into ice around her, and the air felt even colder on her skin now that nothing was providing them heat. She got up and stretched her body, finally being able to stand and get all the kinks out of her joints.

"The Burnish," She confessed. "I found a few here and they held me here until they left."

"Burnish?" Applejack twitched her ears. "Well, it ain't no surprise that's for sure. Y'all found a Burnish just yesterday that was livin' in the city without bein' caught. More of em are prolly on the run now."

"I guess so," Rainbow said. She swallowed hard. She was lucky that they couldn't figure out it was Sparkle's Fire that had come out here. She stared down at her hooves, guilt coursing through her body.

"Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie gently nudged the mare. "Are you okay? You look really down, it's worrying me."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rainbow lied. She smiled and waved her hoof. She flapped her wings and lifted herself into the air. "But, now that you guys have freed me, I have somewhere to be. You guys can go back to the station, I just have something I need to do really quickly."

"What are you doing?" Applejack asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'll tell you when I get back," Rainbow promised her. "I just need alone time for now."

She didn't wait for the other mares to speak again before she dashed out of the cave, a rainbow trail following her. It took her a few minutes of being lost to find the road that lead out of the city. She followed the side of the road, and saw the buildings that made up Whinnyapolis in the distance. She recognized the pointed tops of Celestia's Sunlit Tower and the sisters' castle. She narrowed her eyes and let the smile drop from her face. She took a deep breath and quickened her pace, lowering her head so she could fly faster. She knew exactly where she was going.

Ponies on the ground looked up as she sped overhead, watching as she flew past. Few wondered where she was going, some became worried that a fire had started. She ignored them all as she went straight to Celestia's Sunlit Tower. She skidded to a stop on the steps outside, giving herself a few seconds to catch her breath. She swallowed down the air, and walked up the stairs. She pushed open the doors, and walked to the front desk.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash," The light brown mare at the front desk greeted her.

"Hey Mayor," Rainbow hummed in greeting. "Um... c-can I see Celestia? It's kind of urgent."

"I'm not sure," Mayor Mare scratched her head and looked to the computer at the desk. "Celestia has been quite busy lately with her research, I'm not sure if I can fit you in."

"Please, Mayor?" Rainbow hated begging, but this really was urgent business! "I have to see her now, this is important for her research too."

"Okay, okay," Mayor Mare sighed, pressing a button beside the computer. A beep sound was heard, and she spoke into a speaker on her desk. "Princess Celestia? Rainbow Dash is here to see you. She says she has urgent business to speak to you about."

Silence passed through the room for a few minutes. Rainbow worried that Celestia wouldn't talk with her. Eventually, the speaker buzzed to life and Celestia's voice rang through.

"Send her up," She said simply. Not another word was uttered before the static was cut off.

"Come with me," Mayor Mare said, motioning to Rainbow with her hoof.

The mares said nothing as they walked to the elevator. Mayor Mare pressed the button for the highest floor when they were inside, then moved to stand at the back. Rainbow's wings fluttered with her nerves as the doors shut, and she felt her full weight on the ground of the elevator as it began to go up. She looked at the mayor, trying to catch some feeling in her eyes. Her eyes were blank, staring at the doors of the elevator. She very rarely blinked. Rainbow tried to mimic her, calming her expression and staring at her reflection in the door. She let her eyes widen back to their normal size when the door opened.

"Rainbow Dash," Celestia greeted her from the throne situated at the very end of the room. She spread her wings, and motioned her hoof toward herself. "Come forth, we can speak here."

While Rainbow Dash was busy, the Burnish were still walking. Twilight felt the heat of the sun beating down through the black leather strapped down around her torso. She knew she couldn't rest now, for the fear of Freeze Force units flying overhead and catching them all as they walked.

"Twilight," one of the fillies yelled up to her from the center of the crowd, running forward so they could speak with her as they walked. "My hooves are killing me... can we please rest?"

"Not yet," Twilight said, knowing the filly was going to get upset over it. "I don't think we're safe just yet."

"We've been walking for hours!" Twinkleshine complained. "We've already cleared half of this forest!"

"And tell me, Twinkleshine, have we come across a shelter?" She snapped back at the mare. She didn't respond, and simply looked elsewhere in the woods. "My point exactly. Until we find another safe place, we have to keep going. No where outside of a secure shelter is safe for us. We always start our own flames for warmth, not use what is natural, and if any pony in the air comes across that, we're all going to die."

Twilight hated the truth, and the rest of her group was tired of hearing it. She knew it, they didn't have to make a sound and she knew it. But she didn't mind; everypony had to remember what the dangers were. If they let their guards down for even a moment, they would all die. She flinched as she heard a pony collapse behind her. She spun her head around, seeing the filly that had spoken to her before laying on the ground. Her white hooves were caked with dirt from the mud they had trailed through, but Twilight could tell they were sore. She used her magic to gently lift the filly, and rest her on her back.

"Every pony, a new plan for now," Twilight said to the crowd. "If you can, pick up a foal or an elder. If anything, I think they deserve the most rest. I'm not going to force them to walk any longer on their own. We adults can rest when we find a shelter, but it's not fair for them. Aching joints and little legs shouldn't have to suffer like ours do. When everypony has been accounted for, we'll keep going. Consider this our brief rest."

The ponies sighed in relief at the last sentence, and quickly got to work ensuring that every foal and elder would be safe on their backs. They spoke to eachother and ensured the ponies they held that everything would be alright. The pain would fade when they got their rest here, and soon they would be somewhere safer where they all could sleep peacefully. When everypony was finished, Twilight turned and kept walking. She already heard the filly on her back falling fast asleep, gentle snores emitting from her. She hummed with a smile, knowing she did the right thing now. She should've thought of it sooner, but it only made sense for her to do this now. If everypony could travel on their own, they should until it becomes unbearable. She knew if she was a foal in this situation, she would've pushed on without a pony carrying her.

She sighed, feeling the tiredness even in her legs. She wasn't aware of it until other ponies mentioned it, but her body was aching. She hadn't gotten proper rest in days, too terrified that she would wake up at Freeze Force HQ again. She made the decision to herself that when they got to the new shelter, every pony would rest. Yes, they would have guards to watch over them while every pony else was sleeping, but they all needed to sleep when they could.

"Twilight!" A light blue pegasus said to her from above. Twilight stopped, and looked up.

"What is it Cloud Chaser?" She asked, her head cocked.

"I think I see a new cave over the tree line," Cloud Chaser said. "It looks smaller, but it may go further than the other. It could make a better shelter for us because it isn't so open."

"That sounds perfect," Twilight let a genuine smile come to her face. "Cloud Chaser, lead us to this cave. Let's see just how far it goes!"

Cloud Chaser flew through the trees, and every pony galloped after her. Some of the foals and elders on their backs awoke, but excitement flooded their bodies as well at the fast pace. They must've assumed they were finally getting to safety too, or some of them were scared that they were being chased. The tree line ended sharply by the rocky walls of a mountain, and Cloud Chaser motioned for every pony to come to the small cave opening.

"Cloud Chaser, you head in first," Twilight ordered. "See how far it goes, and we can then be able to tell if every pony can fit."

"Yes ma'am!" The pegasus mare held her hoof up to her forehead, a salute to Twilight.

Cloud Chaser took a deep breath before she dove into the cave, the sound of her flapping wings becoming fainter as she went in further. Twilight waited patiently while the mare went further in. Ponies around her murmured, wondering if they could find anything inside the cave. Some questioned whether or not this place would truly be safe, but Twilight believed in her heart that this was the best place they could possibly be. A cave was their best shelter, and if they were lucky, no pony would know they were there.

"Twilight!" Cloud Chaser finally emerged from the mouth of the cave. "These tunnels seem to go on forever, but there's a huge cave inside! It's beautiful in there... you have to see it!"

"Come on everypony," Twilight motioned for the rest of the Burnish to follow.

She went in after Cloud Chaser, and heard the hoofsteps of the Burnish falling in line behind her as they walked the tunnels. They seemed to be walking for some time until they finally broke into the cavern. Every pony around gasped at the sights inside, and Twilight's eyes even sparkled. The cave was huge, and full of life. Moss was growing across almost every stretch of rock, and a pond made up the center of the cave. A thin waterfall was crashing into the water from a small hole in the ceiling, but it was so far up Twilight could barely tell there was a hole there. Some flowers were sprouting on the moss, and vines stretched down from the ceiling. Few lights lit up the area, that being a few fireflies and the hole that the waterfall was coming from.

"Cloud Chaser was right," Rarity said, her voice breathless as she took in this beauty. "This place is wonderful..!"

"I think this is going to be our new home," Twilight said confidently. "Every pony, let's get to work! We can use the moss to make beds and act as kindling for our fires. Don't get rid of it all, I want to leave some of this natural beauty to grow as long as we're here. We don't need to make homes, we can sleep in the open on the beds. Let's get moving!"

"Yes ma'am!" The ponies filled the cave with their voices.

Immediately, they got to work. On the soft moss, ponies lay down the foals and elders they had been carrying, with Twilight following suit. She got to work with the other ponies as well, rolling up patches of the moss and ripping it in order to make soft nests. The ponies placed their nests together, lining one of the walls of the cavern. When enough nests were made, they set down any extra moss back where they had found it in the hopes that it would grow and spread with the rest. Ponies began chattering happily as they found a nest to settle into. Some complained it wasn't soft enough, but others felt as though they were sleeping in a real bed.

Twilight watched the ponies as they navigated the cave, and drank from the water. She wondered how she could get food to them all out here, but somehow she knew that they would be fine. She sighed, settling into her own nest. The voices began to die down, and she heard some ponies offer to guard the nests while they slept. She didn't hear the rest of their speaking, as her eyes closed the second her side hit the moss. She let sleep take over her, and prayed that everything would be alright.

Meanwhile, in Celestia's Sunlit Tower...

"I don't understand," Celestia said, blinking her gentle eyes. "Why do you want to return your badge?"

"I don't deserve it," Rainbow said, drawing circles on the ground with her hoof. She cleared her throat and lifted her head so she could stare the Princess in the eyes.

"Why wouldn't you?" Celestia tilted her head, confusion in her expression. "You arrested the leader of Sparkle's Fire, and put an end to their attacks on the city. That is worthy of a medal."

"But Twilight Sparkle has escaped," Rainbow confessed.

"...Has she now?" Celestia hummed, resting her hooves on the velvet seating of her throne. "No pony told me of this."

"I met her for a brief moment," Rainbow said with a sigh. "That was the only way I found out myself. But, she told me some things about you, and I... I'm not sure if I should believe her."

"Why would you believe a Burnish?" Celestia questioned.

"I don't know," Rainbow answered. "That's why I came to talk to you, to see if she was telling the truth."

"Well, go on then," Celestia relaxed in her throne. "I want to hear what this 'Twilight Sparkle' has said about me."

Rainbow took a deep breath. She knew Celestia wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Rainbow didn't want to say it either, but she had to know the truth. This was going to change her entire life as she knew it, and change everything that she stood for. She sighed, finally letting out the breath she had been holding onto. She lifted her head to stare Celestia in the eyes as she spoke.

"Twilight called you a murderer," Rainbow said bluntly. She saw Celestia's eyes widen with shock, but she kept going. "She said that you were killing Burnish for your own personal gain when we and the Freeze Force captured them. She said that she saw it herself in their headquarters, that ponies were covered in bandages and gauze because of experiments that were being done on them. Princess Celestia, please tell me that isn't true. You aren't really killing them, are you?"

Celestia fell silent, her hooves put together in front of her chest. She stared down at the carpet in front of the throne, not saying a single word. Rainbow's eyes widened, and her ears flattened. She blinked, knowing exactly why Celestia wasn't saying anything. She put her hoof over the badge on her jacket, and took it off. She set it on the carpet in front of her, and saw the mare lift her head when she heard the metal unclipping.

"I can't accept this medal," Rainbow said. "I don't deserve it for continuing their suffering, and you don't deserve to give out medals for causing it. Even the Burnish don't deserve a fate like this."

"Rainbow Dash," Celestia said, getting to her hooves and patting down the velvet that had stuck up. "I need you to come with me. There's something important that you have to see before you make a decision."

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash didn't hide the anger in her voice. She couldn't believe that Celestia was doing these horrible things..!

"You'll see," Celestia said.

She walked down the small slope in front of the throne, patting Rainbow Dash on the shoulder before she walked to the elevator. Rainbow Dash followed her, and stood beside her. Celestia pressed a button at the very bottom of the elevator panel, and watched the doors shut. She glanced down at Rainbow Dash as the elevator began to descend. When darkness filled the elevator the further down they went, Celestia turned her head to stare at the door. Light shined in the room, but they were surrounded in darkness. Rainbow glanced up as what was once the elevator ceiling disappeared like a computer deleting its last line of code.

"In order for you to understand what I'm doing, I have to tell you the truth," Celestia said, her wings fluttering as though she were nervous. "Equestria, and the lands outside... they are no longer safe. So long as there are Burnish on our planet, we cannot live here. I'm not killing them to save the planet from the destruction their flames cause, their sacrifice is necessary for us to find a new place to live."

"A new place to live?" Rainbow said in disbelief. "What the hell does that mean?"

"We are researching a new planet for pony kind to live," Celestia explained, staring down at Rainbow Dash. "We've not yet found one, but we are looking as quickly as we can. It is for the good of us all that we find it soon, or else we are all going to die."

The room filled with light as the world around them seemed to change. Rainbow Dash flinched as the light hit her eyes, and she looked down into what seemed to be the very center of a volcano. The magma below bubbled and warped, slowly building and rising. Rainbow felt her heartbeat increasing as the magma began to approach, and she shielded herself as it suddenly enveloped the entire elevator. Not feeling the heat or any pain, she blinked and uncovered herself, looking around at the bright orange that surrounded them.

"Because of the Burnish and their flames," Celestia continued to explain. "The magma in this planet's core is growing out of control. New volcanoes are reported sprouting out of nowhere every day. Many cities are being destroyed because of the lava flows, and the fire that it brings to the forests around. It spreads and it kills, just as the Burnish flames do within our city. We are not the only city with Burnish, even places as far as the Crystal Empire have reports of Burnish attacks. The North Winds are not enough to quench the flames."

"Even the Crystal Empire isn't safe?" Rainbow said, shock making her voice drop barely over a whisper.

"Nowhere is, as I said," Celestia sighed. "When the magma breaks the surface, everyone is at risk, and things have only gotten worse since the Great World Blaze. While most of the fires have calmed by now, the magma continues to rise for every flame that is used. That is why we have begun to develop this."

Celestia tapped her hoof, and the scenery changed again. The lines of the elevator's destination were obvious now. Rainbow Dash gasped as the scenery finally cleared up, and a massive spaceship was before her. She walked to the wall of the elevator, resting her hooves up against it and staring out at the gigantic piece of technology and metal.

"A spaceship..?" She said, dumbfounded.

"This is what my sister and I call the Eclipse. It is the staple of the Warp Project, the plan we have put in place to transport ourselves and the ponies of our choosing to a new Equestria," Celestia said with a smile. "1,000,000 ponies can fit on this ship."

"Only 1,000,000?" Rainbow said in disbelief. "But there are so many ponies just outside of Whinnyapolis! What about them?"

"There's nothing we can do," Celestia said with a wave of her wing. "We can only afford to put ponies in this ship that already come from our city. Of course, the Burnish are coming with us too. Afterall, without them, our ship couldn't run."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow said, her eyes narrowing. She walked to stand by Celestia again and stare up at her.

"You'll see," Celestia assured her, with a smile that made Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. "Just be patient, and I'll show you everything you need to know."

Author's Note

Just saying it as a spoiler now, y'all better get ready to listen to Kakusei in the next few chapters!