As the three arrived in the Navy base, as directed by Gilda, but a few sights there which would have shocked them before only made their pain enduring faces even more depressed. Bodies of people they knew only once before, now lay in beds, dead, proclaimed dead, or hardly living. Hawk could barely keep her eyes on the sight and doubled over, losing what contents of her empty stomach had left.

"Easy there Hawk, don't do that too much, it does make bad character here. I think it's time to bring you to the leader of the base. Follow me.", Gilda commanded.

Along with the three Crusaders, a few others joined in the walk to the headquarters of the base. It was a long walk, considering the turns and corkscrews of passaging through the tents and just the sheer size o it. Once the larger tent came into view, Gilda gave a chuckle.

"Why are you laughing? Why would you be laughing?", Laura quizzed her.

"You'll see."

As Gilda entered the tent she tilted the head of each of the three sulking mares and each stopped in place. There, standing like badass war heroes were the six mares which the htree looked up to, including Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and also Pinkamena. Whatever sanity Laura had left was quickly lost. The result ending up with her pinning down Gilda, one wing held tightly in one arm and the pistol at the end of the other, aimed directly between her shoulder blades.

"Applebloom! Put that gun down this instant!"

Laura stopped, for three reasons. One, she realized what she was doing. Two, she was called Applebloom. Three, her sister addressed her. She let go of Gilda's wing and she crawled away from Laura, who sheathed the pistol.

"Why didn't you tell me!", Laura Demanded.

"Hello! That was an old joke played on that camp weeks ago! It was originally for motivation to keep going on, but it was still worth a laugh!", Gilda responded.

"Gilda, I've seen you as a straight up ass, a good for nothing cheat, and a backstabbing bitch. But whatever respect I used to have for you is now lost. Should you ask me for help on the damned battlefield, don't expect me to help you."

The cold, angry fact that Laura had given quite scared Gilda enough. She didn't approach or move from her spot, and the fact that she did something to lose her ability to be saved in battle by this particular pony out of several thousand was enough to make her rethink the upcoming battle.

"Damn, Applebloom, I thought you were a lot more timid than that.", Rainbow Dash spoke.

"It's no longer Applebloom, it's now Laura. Laura, Hawk, and Bloody Mary."

"I can tell who is who.", Applejack answered.

"Atleast none of you are gone.", Bloody Mary smiled.

"In fact, I think it would be more of a relief to know that you are all still alive and well.", Hawk said.

"I still want to know who authorized the sending of any prank message in my command!", Twilight burst out.

"Twilight...", Laura began.

A loud gasp came from everyone.

"Excuse me? Did you just call me...Twilight?"

"Uh, yeah. Got a problem with me callin you that? I'm pretty sure I have the right to."

"...But I've never told anyone my real name! Nor did my parents. It was an immediate war transaction. Who are you?! Do you have my parents?"

"We don't have your parents.", Laura replied.

"Well it's too bad anyway, they died a long time ago."

"Shocker. So, what should we call you, your highness? Or do you prefer miss in command?"

"That works fine, but for obvious reasons, call me Spark."

"Ah, for your last name, but as a codename. Now what about the others? All of them."

Spark sighed, "Pinkamena, Wonder Dash, Mother Nature, Red, and Queen. "

"What about her highness, who we know as Preincess Celestia?"

"Same name, being a sun goddess, she doesn't want to stoop to as low a level of a codename."

"Didn't think it. Now, greetings are over, what now?"

"Red, see to them all."

"Aye, Cap'n! You three just follow me. And I have a good guess who made that prank message, Gilda."

"I told you not to call me that! My name is Raven! Dash calls me that!"

"Only in the bed love.", Dash returned.

Gilda, out of Anything, snapped and spoke several words inapprehensably in another language, laying on the floor, hands covering her head as she cowered.

"One more slip up like that, and I will personally nail you to a fucking wall, do you hear me Gilda?", Spark threatened.

"I-I-I-I-I-I'm sorry, o-ok?!"

"Good to see we understand."

"Mind if I get to put a few nails through her if she does?", Laura asked.

"Sure, why not. We don't need any emotional soldiers who can't keep themselves together. And if she did that to you without ever showing us to you three, you'd easily go down in the field."

"I'd not have it myself."

"Lets go girls. Time to catch up on news, plans, and actions.", Red announced.

All three followed Red into the next room, which was identical to the first in almost every way. The same large amount of mares and stallions occupied computers and the same circular table which had several maps on it, most with red X's, others with blue circles. The chairs that each person had lined the inside of t6he ring of a table which held every computer. Funny. That kind of technology, as Laura remembered it, was extremely expensive.

"So what has happened exactly?", Laura started.

"We were forced from the main command post weeks ago, and we must take it back. This is our temporary headquarters. What you see here is far less than what was at our old HQ. Now it's time to strike back, Zap-style. You know those complicated rainbow apples that grow once every year or so?"

"Zap apples? What does that have to do with this?"

"The storms. We keep an orchard of Zap apples, one tree planted for every day of the year, all in one big circle. Every day we get a supply of magical energy from it from every strike, granting us much more power than needed. So we devised something new. As has been goin since the past seventeen years. So much technology nowadays, I look back and think, damn, why did it take so long to make something like this?"

"So, you're basically saying that everything spike in technology in a very short time."

"Spiked is not the right word, more like exploded. We've gone from a more primitive time with electrically powered lights, ovens, and other house appliances, to a world of war involving MDC's, bigg guns, massive to be exact, and even an orbital satellite that we equipped with a massive orbital cannon. We've not need it yet, due to limited ranging and movement of the satellite, but we do have the ability to obliterate this entire camp, and canterlot, and ponyville, or its remains, with a single firing sequence."

"Sounds like everything is going downhill."

"It is. We're quickly exhausting all resources in the area, and are having to move on to newer areas."

"Anything else?"

"We have a job for you three once you're out of training. You will have to choose between killing-"

"Either the enemy leader or hundreds of thousands of others like you."

"I've not killed hundreds of thousands. Nowhere near a hundred thousand! I've killed a total of ten thousand, eight hundred fifty three people. Who told you that story?"

"Gilda."

"Gilda. Go figure."

"So, since you've killed so many, are the others as high in the numbers as you are?"

"No."

"How far below are they?"

"We all lost track a long time ago."

"But you..."

"It's a fake number, exaggerating how many I've taken down. Me and Dash still argue a lot over who has the most."

"So, do you keep a sword and gun in battle, like Gilda said?"

"That parts half true. I keep a knife with me."

"Anything else?"

"Celestia is halfway across Equestria right now, and frankly, spike isn't here. So, we have no new news until she comes back."

"...What happened to Spike?"

"I just said, he's not here."

"But where?"

"Spike is with no one! We lost him years ago in the third battle for Fillydelfia! Though, that image does haunt us every day. He gave his life for Spark's. Grenade in the room, he jumped on top. Though, Rarity was affected the most, after he started being a thief once more, he collected enough to grow to the desired horse size we are, then he locked away his things, stopped stealing. The two were together about a year. Once she caught word, we didn't see her for a quarter year. There's yer story."

"I though your accent was gone like mine."

"It's half-gone. I try to speak like a lady, keep others from askin what the hell I just said. You, you were just never taught the accent. Raised by unicorns we hired a while back. they are still alive and raising young fillies into the much needed combat type of horses we need around here!"

Do they get a choice at all? Seems like your forcing them into the military."

"Their parents are the military Appleb-I mean Laura."

"Thats understandable then. So, we just chill here for a few weeks till Celestia gets back?"

"Oh, no, she'll be here in a few minutes."

"You just said she was half way across Equestria!"

"She can teleport, duh."

"I forgot. Now, where should we be when she arrives, and wearing what?"

"Our uniforms of course. I gotta get mahn ohn raht nah, so stay here."

Red disappeared behind the tent's door cover and came back with a suit moments later, putting it on as she slowly moved across the room. It was a black shirt, and a pair of camo pants. Her hat was a general's hat, embroidered with diamonds and the flag of Equestria, or as so it is the nation they are fighting for, was on the side, a bright square against the gloomy dark colors of the hat.

As Red left, Laura looked to the other two, who were just as unsure as she was about what next.

"Should we...", Mary started.

"Yeah...", Laura finished.

End of chapter 4