Time seemed to slow down.

Nightfire's hooves kicked up small plumes of dirt as his legs slowly pumped and pushed him forward. His eyes were wide and frantic as the deep bellow of the Thunder-Hoof behind him sent a wave of pure, cold fear through every inch and fiber of his body. He could see the three ponies in front of him waving and shouting frantically "Jump! JUMP!!!!" He turned his head slowly, looking behind him as the Thunder-Hoof drew in close. The behemoth roared as it reached the top of the hill with Nightfire, the brute swinging wide with one of its massive hooves. Nightfire could feel the wind soaring past his tail as the swipe came up short, the Pegasus turning back forward with wide, panicked eyes.

He looked down as the deep ditch before him came into view, the steep face of the other side proving to be what could be a formidable barrier against the Thunder-Hoof. With a mighty cry, Nightfire reached out with his front hooves as he kicked off with his back legs, his wings fanning out and carrying him over the pit. The Thunder-Hoof roared as it tumbled into the ditch, landing on its back with a thunderous 'BOOM!' It flailed on the ground, roaring and banging its hooves into the ground and dirt wall. Above, Nightfire hit the ground in a roll, coming to a sliding stop and heaving for air.

"Nightfire! Are you ok!?" Rainbow Dash gasped, rushing to his side as Shadow-Mane carefully peered over the edge towards the Thunder-Hoof, grimacing as it panted with ragged, rotten breath. It stared back up at Shadow-Mane with such hate in its glowing eyes, that the colt could have sworn that if it stared any harder, it'd burn a hole in his head.

"W...water!" Nightfire wheezed, clutching his chest with a hoof and pushing another against his head. Macintosh reached into his saddlebags, producing a small canteen that sloshed with the waters of life that Nightfire was begging for. With a quick unscrewing of the cap, the canteen was pushed into Nightfire's hooves.

He took two large gulps before coughing, moving the canteen away to retch and get the burning sensation out of his throat. "Fuck a DUCK!" he hollered, tears in his eyes "This thing's spiked with cider!? The hell Macintosh!?"

Macintosh blushed slightly and shrugged "Heh...sorry bout' that. It helped with the pain of mah wounds...."

Shadow-Mane sighed, moving away from the edge and muttering "Alright, let's keep moving. I want to put as much distance between us and this Thunder-Hoof as we can before it discovers how to get up here."

With a hard nod and a grunt, Nightfire got up to his hooves with a little help from Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh. They set off, Shadow-Mane and Nightfire taking the lead with Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash settling for the back. As they walked, Rainbow turned her head to the workhorse and asked "What ARE you doing out here anyway!? I thought you were in Canterlot?" At this, Shadow-Mane and Nightfire both turned their heads to listen in, their curiosity peaked as well. Macintosh frowned at the question, a look of guilt passing over his eyes and causing Rainbow Dash to whisper "Oh no...Canterlot wasn't...it wasn't hit was it!?"

Macintosh shook his head, drawing a sigh out of all three of them as he said "Eee-nope. Canterlot's was still standin' when ah left. Although...ah can imagine Applejack has probably torn apart the city herself already lookin' for me."

"And how...exactly is that possible anyway?" Shadow-Mane asked, his voice low with suspicion.

"Well...erm...." Macintosh began, trying to find a way to sugar-coat his reason without making himself look an irresponsible ass. "Ah may have...gotten a little too carried away with the idea of finding Twilight. You see...there was this wrapped up mare outside the shield, and-"

"Stop right there." Shadow-Mane growled, turning to face the work horse "Tell me every little detail you know about this, 'wrapped up mare'."

"Well," Big Macintosh began, putting a hoof to his chin "She was about adult size, was covered all up in bandages, had this funny lookin' mask on and-"

"DID SHE LET YOU OUT OF THE SHIELD!?" Shadow-Mane suddenly roared, getting into the stallion's face.

"Whoa, WHOA!" Nightfire shouted, putting his hooves on Shadow-Mane and attempting to pull him back "Go easy Shadow! Go easy!!!!"

"Answer the question!!!!" Shadow-Mane barked at a frowning Macintosh, Rainbow looking on in confusion.

"Well...yeah, she let me outta the shield, but it looked like she had a REAL hard time doin' it. By the time ah got out, she had gone n' teleported herself away."

"Luna DAMMIT it all!" Shadow-Mane groaned, bowing his head and pushing a hoof up against his face.

"Shadow, come on!" Nightfire whined "Cut him some slack, he didn't know! And besides, it's not like she was plotting an attack on Canterlot anyway. According to him, she had too much trouble even getting the shield open!"

"That's not the point Nighty!" Shadow growled, looking up at him "The point is that she was able to! What if getting him out was just a test to see if it was within her power to!? She could have already attacked Canterlot by now!"

Nightfire let out a low 'hmmm...', scratching his chin with a hoof before looking up at the work horse and asking cautiously "Exactly how big was the hole that she made to get you out? And what color was her magic, do you remember?"

Macintosh looked up for a moment, recalling the instance in which he had escaped from the city. After a moment he whistled and muttered "Oh...not too big, bout the size of a market cart, just enough for me to slip by. Her magic? Well...if ah recall it had a sorta' pinkish glow to it."

Shadow-Mane let out another frustrated groan as Nightfire sighed and whispered "Dammit...I should have known."

Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up, her impatience finally becoming too great to handle. "Alright, that's it!" She growled "You two have been hiding information from me, Twilight, and the rest of us this whole time! It's time to start coming clean with what you know!"

"I told you I'd give you answers dammit!" Shadow-Mane shouted, looking up as the Thunder-Hoof bellowed from some distance away "All I can tell you is that things have just gotten a lot more dangerous for the lot of us! The mare that released you from Canterlot, Macintosh? She was a CARRIER of the Ravage Virus, and based on her magical aura, it could very well be the same one that we lost Cloudsdale too! Did she say anything to you before she let you out, anything at all that might give us a lead on her or her plans?!"

"Well she did say something about Twilight bein' in Appleloosa," Macintosh explained, drawing a gasp out of Shadow-Mane and Nightfire "That's why ah was travelin' in this direction when ah ran into ya'll"

"Oh SHIT, Shadow you don't think...!?" Nightfire squeaked, looking towards his wide-eyed Captain

"I think we better get to Post Golf...Appleloosa, on the double and fast. It may very well be in danger. Shadow-Mane growled, turning and breaking out into a gallop.

"Oh come on...more running!?" Nightfire groaned, his hooves aching as he chased after the Captain "Can't we ever WALK to someplace?!"

Macintosh's jaw dropped as he learned the identity of the mystery mare from Canterlot, him and Rainbow Dash running after the two. "Whoa, you mean to tell me that Macintosh was freed by a carrier!?" Rainbow hollered "If that's the case, why didn't she just attack Macintosh then?! Why would she want him to go to Appleloosa?!"

"I couldn't tell you Miss Dash," Shadow-Mane shouted back to her "Carriers are a nasty business, witty and smart, not to mention lethal. She wanted Macintosh to go to Appleloosa for a reason, and I'm scared to find out what that reason is."

"Maybe Twilight really is in Appleloosa!" Macintosh gasped, his spirits rising and a smile passing over his face. It faded slightly though, as Nightfire shook his head, the sounds of their galloping carrying across the wide-open plains.

"I don't know..." he said, looking back towards Macintosh "The Carrier could have very well been lying about Twilight's location. Hell, we don't even know if she's ALIVE Macintosh...there's been no word, sighting, or anything concerning her since she left that train."

"Ah know..." Macintosh sighed, a frown returning to his face "But ah gotta have hope. If she's out there, ah'll find her! Ah won't go back until ah've either found her or her body! Even if ah end up dying, ah won't quit!"

"Oh good, no worries then..." Shadow-Mane mumbled under his breath, the four of them pushing onwards across the land. For a good solid hour, the four of them galloped over the land, stopping repeatedly to rest and get some energy back before pushing on.

Eventually, the four of them came across a long, straight set of railroad tracks, drawing Big Macintosh to speak through large gasps of breath "Ah think....this is....the rail-line...to Appleloosa!"

Shadow-Mane nodded with a smile, pointing further down the track "I think so to. And look, I think we're in luck!" The group looked over in the distance to where Shadow-Mane was pointing, the group smiling as they spotted a sort of rail-cart with a two-pony operated lever. "Me and Rainbow Dash will take the lever first" Shadow-Mane said "That'll give Nightfire a chance to rest his fat ass and for Big Macintosh to tell us a little bit more about how Canterlot's been doing."

"I keep telling you Shadow..." Nightfire growled as they made a go for the cart "If you got stuck on this Guard's diet, you'd let yourself go to!"

One Hour....

Two Hours....

Three Hours Later....

"If I EVER, see another rail cart again, I'll throw a fit." Nightfire groaned as he practically fell from the rusty vehicle. They had come to a stop at a junction where the tracks changed, the four of them having the misfortune of discovering that the tracks they were on had been torn apart. The main track was still in one piece however, a sign nearby displaying the message <==APPLELOOSA-MANEHATTEN==>, the other message right underneath it reading <==APPLELOOSA-PONYVILLE==>.

"Well...at least that makes a little bit more sense" Macintosh noted as they began their walk across the tracks leading towards the western town, the grassy plains now dry sands with large, towering cliffs and rocky pillars.

"What makes sense?" Nightfire winced, his hooves giving little aches as he walked beside a weary looking Rainbow Dash and behind a determined looking Shadow-Mane.

"Twilight could've run from Ponyville and gone to Appleloosa via train." Macintosh said, drawing a slight frown out of Nightfire. "What?" he asked, seeing this "You don't think so?"

"I have no clue," Nightfire said, a tinge of sympathy in his voice "I don't know where she could have gone after the train Macintosh. Better yet, why would she even go down to Appleloosa? Wouldn't it make sense for her to travel to Canterlot instead? There's too many mysteries and no answers to any of them Macintosh...we should just focus on getting to Appleloosa first before we start determining anything."

"Ah...ah suppose yer right..." Macintosh sighed, lowering his head slightly.

"What I'd like to know..." Rainbow Dash began, suspicion still dripping in her voice "Is what Shadow-Mane's hiding from us. I'm going to keep pushing till I get SOMETHING! You already told me you lied to Twilight, which means you've lied to all of us as well!"

"Say what now? You lied to Twilight?" Macintosh asked, a tone of angry surprise in his voice. The two of them had stopped, causing Nightfire to stop as well.

"Shadow...?" he asked, watching as his Captain stopped and gave a heavy sigh.

"Alright...you wanna know the truth?" he growled in annoyance, turning around to face Rainbow Dash. With a firm nod from her and Macintosh, the Captain began to speak. "The truth is, me and Nightfire have been involved in the 'Ravage Project' for years, even before the incident in Ponyville. I lied to Twilight because I needed her to trust me, I needed her on my side so I could make sure the evacuation ran smoothly. Me and Nightfire were there in the war room when the Gryphon Threat was discussed. That was when we first learned of 'Ravage'. Luna knew about it as well, and pleaded for Celestia to stop this suicidal project, but as we all know, she didn't listen. It was only by sheer dumb luck that myself and Nightfire were allowed to accompany Celestia during her tours of the royal castle's science wing. That was before the Virus was moved to its classified location. While there, we learned about the Variants, its maturation, its capabilities. The Ponyville incident was only just the beginning, which is why we had hoped to kill it when we destroyed the town! We wanted to nip the problem in the bud before it got a chance to mature and start producing Variants! IS THAT ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR YOU!?"

Rainbow Dash was taken aback as Shadow-Mane pushed his forehead against hers, shouting at the top of his lungs. "I've fought and killed more of these bastards then you could ever COUNT! I'm sick of this shit, and I don't like it anymore then you do!" He took a few steps back, leaving Rainbow Dash and Macintosh to simply stare at him in wonder. Nightfire simply turned his head away, a look of sheer guilt written all over his face.

"Well...I..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, trying her hardest to piece her words together. "If...if that's the case, what about the Carriers, how did you know so much about them?"

Shadow-Mane seemed to get stuck on this question, his mouth opening but no words coming forth. He closed his jaw slowly, looking away as Nightfire sighed and spoke his own words "It's because we knew one...way back in the day."

"We don't have time for this!" Shadow-Mane barked suddenly, cutting off Nightfire before he had a chance to say more "We need to get to Appleloosa, NOW! Once we've determined the town is safe, THEN we can provide some more answers, alright?!" Shadow-Mane growled, turning back towards the correct direction of travel.

"Alright...you've bought some time Shadow!" Rainbow growled in warning "But I'm still expecting an explanation after all this!" Shadow-Mane merely grunted, and with that, the group continued through the rocky passages.

~*~

"Well ah'll be damned" Big Macintosh whispered as he looked out over the wide expanse of open dessert "It's still standin'!"

Nightfire narrowed his eyes and stared far off into the distance as the town of Appleloosa sat over towards the horizon, shadowed in the shade of the rocky pillars surrounding it. He spotted a pony thrashing about near a cactus further down the field, his voice low and filled with warning "Yeah...and it looks like the Afflicted are here t-"

'BANG!!!!'

The loud crack of a gun echoed out from Appleloosa, the thrashing pony by the cactus falling still as the shot pierced its skull. "Or not..." Nightfire muttered in surprise, drawing a sharp whistle out of Macintosh.

"Alright then..." Shadow-Mane sighed "Everyone just act normal and keep a steady pace towards the town. It's being watched by armed sentries, obviously, so we need to make sure they don't mistaken us for Afflicted." With a nod from each of them, the group started their casual walk towards the small town.

"Oh boy...oh boy! I can already taste the cider now!" Nightfire squeaked in delight, licking his dry lips in anticipation.

"Cool it Nighty...we've still got our duties as Guards to fulfill before we take a break." Shadow-Mane chuckled as they moved past the cactus and the dead Afflicted's body. "We need to make sure that the other Lunar Guard, as well as the rest of our squad, made it here alive."

"I know...," Nightfire sighed "But still, cider!"

Rainbow Dash simply chuckled at the colt, a smile spreading across her face. Macintosh however, looked over the town with a heavy frown and a thudding heart. 'Could she be in there...?' Macintosh thought 'Could my sweetheart really be in there?'. As they approached the edge of town, the clicking of a rifle could be heard as well as the loud shout of a colt from one of the rooftops.

"Hold up now!" shouted the colt "Ya'll best state yer names n' business here for ah go lettin' ya in!"

"Let me handle this..." Shadow-Mane muttered to the others before shouting up at the roofs "I'm Captain Shadow-Mane of Her Majesty, Princess Luna's 142nd Lunar Guard, Shadow Squad! I'm here with Seargent Night-Sky Fire with the same company designation and squad, as well as two civilians! We're regrouping after the Cloudsdale assault and are seeking food, water, rest, and the regrouping with our colleagues!"

There was a pause for a few moments until a shout came from above "Alrighty then...it seems ya'll ain't the first Guard fellers to come on through here anywho. Ya'll enjoy your stay in Appleloosa now!"

"Dammit Joe!" came a sudden, second voice "That's not the way ya'll say it!"

"Wait..." Macintosh gasped "Ah know that voice!"

"Oh come on, not now!" Joe, the first voice, whined before the second voice broke out in a loud (and not to mention annoying...) exclamation of:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPLELOOSA!!!"

"Cousin Braeburn!!!" Macintosh hollered, galloping up towards the building that Braeburn was situated on, his head peering up over the roof.

"Cousin Macintosh!?" Braeburn exclaimed, his eyes wide and his smile massive "Well call me a jack-elope and paint my ass red, what in the sam hell are ya doin' way out here!? It ain't even July Cousin, it ain't no time fer a visit yet!!!"

"You two...are family?" Nightfire asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yep!" Rainbow Dash answered for him, watching as Braeburn jumped from the roof and landed just in front of his cousin, getting scooped up in a crushing hug "The two of them are cousins in the Apple Family, Braeburn's in charge of the apple farming down here."

Nightfire simply nodded as he and Shadow-Mane made their way past the reunion, heading over towards the other pony, Joe, who had hopped down off of the roof as well, their intentions set on asking about the status of the other Lunar Guard.

"How ya'll been, ya sly rascal you!?" Braeburn chuckled and gasped, finally getting released out of Macintosh's crushing embrace.

"Survivin', like always" Macintosh said back, plopping down on his flank and chuckling.

"Well ain't that the truth about everypony round the world nowadays!" Braeburn said with equal happiness, "Ya'll came about the right time, things have been gettin' purty sad around here without anything to spice the place up. What even brings ya'll down here anyway, the Lunar Guards or whatever?"

"Sorta..." Macintosh started, scratching at his ears with a hoof "Ya see, ah kinda went and got busted out of Canterlot because ah heard Twilight might've been down here...ah ran into Miss Dash here and the other two ponies back out in the green fields. Apparently Cloudsdale went all up in smoke, and the rest of their friends were supposed to meet em' down here. Lucky fer me ah guess."

"Twilight..." Braeburn muttered, tipping back his stetson "Isn't that the girl you were all smitten with when ah visited last?"

"Eeyup," Macintosh nodded "Me and her made it official just before we escaped from Ponyville, which is why I gotta ask...Braeburn...is she here?"

There was a tense moment in the air as Braeburn looked towards Macintosh with a glint of sadness in his eyes. The workhorse's face fell slightly as his cousin shook his head and muttered "Nope...sorry Cous, she ain't here. Ain't been nothing but some of those Lunar boys flyin' in here and that runaway train that keeps going back n' forth. Nopony's been comin' round these parts before that, what with that disease lurkin' around."

Macintosh nodded sadly, but Rainbow Dash wasn't too keen on letting the conversation fade away so easily. "Hold on..." she muttered "What was that about a 'runaway train' Braeburn?"

At this, Braeburn simply groaned and rolled his eyes before growling the words "Well...it's a bit of an ass pain to be honest. There's this damn train that comes down from the Manehatten line, and blows right on through the town. Doesn't even make a stop here! It won't stop fer nothing, nearly ran down two of our boys who volunteered to stand on the track to see if it would keep goin'. That ain't the weirdest part though...."

Macintosh and Rainbow Dash went wide-eyed though as Braeburn revealed to them the next part. "The weirdest thing is...the train comes in through town every six hours, and at the front of the train, on top of the engine car...there's this weird pony all wrapped up in bandages and some kind of mask-n'-cloak type deal. We tried calling out to the bastard but...it won't respond to us at all. That, and the train's got this weird looking mark painted all over the sides o' the cars. Damn weirdest thing ah've ever seen..."

"What...mark, exactly?" Rainbow whispered, a sudden fear gripping at her heart.

"Well..." Braeburn began, scratching his chin with a hoof "It looks like it's painted in red. The mark itself looks like some kinda magic wand lookin' thing over this crescent moon. Don't know what to make of it...never seen it before in mah life!"

At this...Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and she let out a low, frightful

"Oh....no..."