Gale gasped, rising to his full stature, coming out of the memory in a violent sweat. His chest beat up and down violently, and his heart thumped as he panicked in his sudden revival.

His neck snapped this way and that as he looked for the place he had come from, only it wasn't there. his brain was still in Germaneigh, but he was no longer bleeding out in the trench, desperately hoping, praying, that Miles would somehow make it. Bullets no longer snapped overhead; mortars no longer came howling down from above. It was quite the opposite.

Rather, there was silence, and instead of lying in cold, dark mud, he was sitting on hardwood. The walls of the trench had been replaced with oaken bookshelves, and the corpses around him were now living, breathing ponies.

His breathing began to calm as he realized he was back in friendly company, only the mares weren't the same as he remembered them.

They were like him now.

Their heads snapped back and forth as they came out of the trance, and while they seemed to be coming back to reality better than he was, their breathing was just as labored as his, and their eyes held the terrified expression of agony. Some were teary, others were horrified, but regardless, they all had seen the same thing, and were reacting appropriately.

No words were said. Nopony moved, except for quivering ribs and frantic, twitching eyes and ears.

Each of the mares recoiled in shock, and wound up sitting on the floor as Gale was; Flash was the only one who remained standing, and even then, his hesitant approach from the side of the room was delayed by his fear of re-contacting his darkest day.

They turned their eyes to Gale, and he recognized their expression; he had seen it before in his mirror, and he knew they understood everything. Those whose tears weren't already overflowing were beginning to choke on sorrow and fear and agony, and it didn't take long for the floor to be wet with salty water.

Gale fell backwards in shock; it had been exactly as he remembered it, exactly like his nightmares, and it was just as horrible in recollection as it had been in reality. He felt something coming up from his interior; a warm, moist release coming to his head, and his vision grew blurry.

He bowed his head, and he cried.

His muffled sobs and whimpers were distinctive from the mares'; they were more painful, more real.

Flash came to his brother's side, and hugged him. He squatted on his haunches, wrapped his sterling brother in his forelimbs, and held him tightly as his own tears began to seep forth.

From the center of the circle, the brothers felt no shame in crying in front of mares. They were no longer just mares; they had been transformed into something more by the lifelike experience of war. Even though they themselves had done nothing other than be transported inside the head of an unfortunate soul, they now knew what war was like, and likewise, knew it as a justification for emotion and experiences unlike those provided by any other experience. They understood.

And it was all awful.

The mares, still crying, looked to the center of their circle to the two stallions in their company, wrapped in a fraternal embrace.

Applejack was the first to move. She slowly walked to Flash's side, knelt, and joined in the embrace. She became like velvet, and she wrapped placed her hooves on their shoulders, leaning into them with shallow, quiet breaths.

The others exchanged nervous glances, unsure if approaching the warriors they had just witnessed battling in ferocity was a good idea, but when they saw that Applejack's presence did more good than harm, the uncertainty left.

Twilight and Pinkie came in next, joining in the tearful, consoling embrace. Next was Rarity, followed by Fluttershy, closely followed by Rainbow Dash, until all were gathered on the floor of the library, not saying a word.

They understood now, but words of consolation or understanding could do no justice.

They only sat in silence, and together, they cried.

Author's Notes:

Short and late, I know. forgive me. More coming within the day.