“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles, and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely with his lips, follow me.”

– Giuseppe Garibaldi

Sunset was in more than merely in pain. She was enraged.

Her memories of yesterday were foggy and, no matter how she tried to piece them together, uncertain. She remembered panic and terror, followed by a horrendous pain, and then suddenly nothing. The world became a haze until she had awoken in the hospital with no one beside her.

At first, Sunset had begun to panic. She felt trapped in a nightmare; what had happened to her, where even was she? It was though she had just awoken for the first time. Yet the more she struggled, the louder the sounds around grew until she finally began to focus somewhat and found her thrashing about had set off a number of alarms, alerting the nurses to come and check on her. Their expressions suggested that Sunset was in a graver state than she had perhaps realized.

“Where am I?” Sunset had asked, each word scratching at her throat as though she had swallowed sandpaper. How long had it been since she had even had anything to drink?

“You’re at Winn Army Hospital on base, ma’am,” one of the nurses had answered, a younger woman with a friendly, resting expression upon her features. “And right now you need to calm down or else you could do yourself and your baby some serious harm.”

“How’d I get here?”

“Your friend brought you here earlier today not long after you collapsed. She’s sleeping in the communal area right now,” the nurse replied.

“What happened to me?” she had asked.

“You had a severe panic attack. Your body tried to enter labor prematurely, but we may have been able to cease functions for now. But you need to stay calm to keep that from happening.”

The news was barebones and horrible. She had tried to give birth? How could she not remember it? The pain had been the most horrific thing she had ever felt, worse than even when her power had overloaded and nearly consumed her. How could she not panic, knowing that she may very well restart the whole process without even trying?

“Can I at least have something to help me sleep?” Sunset had asked.

The nurse hesitated before answering. “I’ll see what I can bring you.”

Whatever they had given her was worthless, for Sunset had failed to sleep the entire night and now found herself in a fit of exhaustion and rage. The morning had already come and gone, yet still she had yet to meet her actual doctor, who had departed before she had even awakened the night before. With little food, no rest, and the terror of possibly going into labor now hanging above her head, she was in a foul mood that bode ill for all those around her.

“Sunset?”

At last, a voice she recognized and was glad to hear. “Applejack!”

“You’re alright! Thank God, when ah first brought you here I was worried you were in real trouble,” Applejack said, rushing to her friend’s bedside and immediately resisting giving Sunset a tight hug but thinking better of it. “How do you feel?”

“Furious. Tell me you’ve seen my doctor,” Sunset said, her voice already dangerous.

“Ah haven’t. Ah didn’t- is it like this a lot in the Army?” Applejack asked hesitantly.

“It very well shouldn’t be,” Sunset growled, pressing a button at her bedside that called for a nurse. A few minutes passed and the friendly-faced nurse from last night appeared at the door.

“Mrs. Reyes? I was actually about to come check on you, I hope nothing’s wrong. Do you need something to eat?”

“I’m not trying to be a bother, but I’d like to speak to my doctor, is he even in this building or is he making you deal with all his problems?” Sunset said, her voice sinisterly sweet.

“Dr. Grey is in the building, though I don’t know where he is at the moment. I’ll go see if I can find him and send him to you. Is that all you needed at the moment?”

“Yes, please.” Sunset tried to let the venom leave her voice, knowing her fury had no reason to be directed at this helpful woman- rather that her doctor had not even bothered to yet show.

Applejack watched her friend intently. “Do you want me to leave?”

“I’m sorry if I’m being unpleasant,” Sunset said, giving a long-winded sigh. “If you want to leave, I certainly don’t blame you.”

“Ah can stay for a while, don’t you worry,” AJ replied.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the figure of Dr. Grey appeared at the door. Sunset’s first impression was that he seemed to be very on edge, with an expression that suggested he was about to be sick. How could such a queasy-looking man be capable of being a doctor?

“Mrs. Reyes! My apologies for the delay, it’s been mad here,” he said, coming to sit down beside her. “My name is Captain Grey, I know you must have some questions for me.”

“How did I get here?” Sunset said.

“You can thank your friend here for her quick thinking to bring you here,” Cpt. Grey said, gesturing to Applejack. “As your nurses may have told you, you had a severe panic attack and your body attempted to go into labor. Fortunately for your baby, it failed to do so. Unfortunately for you, your body seized and nearly collapsed from the failed effort. Right now, you’re still in a sort of middle ground between normal pregnancy and a premature birth- meaning that if you have another panic attack, your baby will certainly come early, if it even survives the trauma your body would produce from such an event.”

“So I’m just supposed to practice calming techniques, so I don’t freak out again and possibly kill my own child?” Sunset asked. “And how am I supposed to do that without any help? I already had one panic attack over something I couldn’t control, but now I’ve got to make sure I don’t lose it over that and possibly killing my baby?”

“I know it seems daunting, but you are stabilizing- slowly. We took a look at your womb and found some unusual- it almost appeared to be as though you had scarring inside your body. The internal damage is likely what caused your panic attack to have an adverse effect on the child. It thought there was a threat and tried to be prematurely born,” Cpt. Grey answered. “I’ve taken a look at your medical history and you seem to have no indicators for this- is there something I should know about?”

If she kept the secret now, her child could be at risk. Did she dare reveal herself? Not yet, not if there was a chance she could escape detection. “No. Not anything that I’m aware of.”

“Right now, you need to let yourself relax. If all goes well, you could be released by as early as tomorrow. Today, you’ll be staying her under observation. Is there anything else you need from me for now?”

“Nothing I can think of.” Sunset remained stoic as he left, Applejack’s gaze burning deep into her as she watched the man depart the room.

“What happened?” AJ asked.

“Marc’s in trouble,” Sunset said quickly. “Which means Big Mac is in danger, too. I don’t know how I know, but I do. Something bad is happening- or may happen, I don’t know!”

“Sunset, please, try to relax,” AJ said soothingly. “We don’t want you or your little girl to get hurt, right? So- so try to keep calm, and maybe it’ll be better. You might just be worryin’ over nothing.”

“And it might not!” Sunset said hotly.

“Alright, it might not,” AJ said peaceably. “But still, try to relax, sugarcube. It’ll be OK in the end, won’t it?”

Sunset hoped so, but still found the day dragged by slower than a snail’s pace. Everything about the day seemed incorrect. She tried to keep her mind occupied, forcing herself to focus on simple, brainless things, but no matter her efforts the thought still remained- something was wrong.

As evening began to creep in, Sunset felt the sensation intensify. She watched person after person walk by her room with a sense of hurry and urgency, quickly whispered words spoken into people’s ears. Something’s happened.

“Sunset!” Applejack crashed into the door at full speed, struggling to regain her balance and enter the room.

“What’s going on, AJ? This whole place is moving like mad-”

“You need to see this,” AJ said quickly, speaking over Sunset’s angry words and fumbling for the TV remote, quickly powering the cheap machine on and flipping over to a news channel. “Look- you were right-”

The screen showed crowds lined outside the White House, another camera showing throngs standing anxiously in Times Square, all of them glued to the news as information continued to pour in. “… with the whole nation at a standstill as confirmation comes in from the President that the terrorist known as Discord, the mastermind behind the Manhattan Bombings and the Los Angeles Port Bombing, has been killed only two hours ago. However, the reports that the team behind the mission to kill Discord is still currently engaged with enemy forces has yet to be confirmed. For now, this information has yet to be verified by any official source, though the anonymous leak states that the team has been engaged by Imperial forces and still remain under fire in hostile territory.”

Sunset’s heart dropped. Marc. It had to be. The one unit whose movements weren’t being reported, the one unit not involved in nuclear cleanup or the invasion of the Imperial capital. It had to be him.

“Do you think it’s them, Sunset?” Applejack asked, her voice beginning to quaver.

Sunset’s fury reignited and she slammed down on her help button, calling for the nurse.

“Mrs. Reyes? Something wrong?” the nurse asked.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I have a question for Dr. Grey, do you know where he is? I’d love to speak to him,” Sunset said, her sinister tone nearly giving her intentions away.

“I’ll let him know you were asking for him,” was the reply and the nurse disappeared from sight. Minutes passed in silence, save for the noise emanating from the nearby television where the reports on Discord’s death continued to come in.

“Mrs. Reyes, I was told you were asking for me,” Cpt. Grey said, entering the room and coming to a halt at the foot of her bed.

“Captain Grey, you’re in the Army just like my husband, correct?” Sunset asked, her voice oozing a false sweetness.

“I am,” he said, seemingly uncertain of her intent.

“So I’m guessing someone who’s in charge of him already knows I’m here,” she guessed.

“I would assume so, we did send a Red Cross message.”

“But my husband didn’t get it, did he? Cause he’s in the middle of a firefight right now, isn’t he?”

“He- excuse me?” Cpt. Grey fumbled, his eyes flashing a barely visible look of concern.

It was all Sunset needed. The door slammed shut and the lock sealed itself, she coming to a sitting position, her face riddled with the fury of a thousand storms.

“Where is my husband?” she snarled. “You’re going to tell me- now!”

Twilight wondered how long she could simply sit by and watch. She had been working diligently for hours now, doing her best to see the mission through- but her will had begun to erode the moment the Black Hawks had been shot down. The hours that had passed since had become torturous in a way she had never known time could flow.

The drone that had first established contact with Shining Armor was in a steady position some several hundred feet above their position, following just ahead of their position in the hopes that the noise of its rotors would be too weak for the Iron Guard to overhear. It was all a gambit; trying to maintain contact with the remnant Troop could put them at risk of being detected, but losing contact would mean they would have no clue whether or not they even still survived.

Sergeant Buckner, what have we got for a potential rescue?” Col. Roark asked.

“I’m in contact with 4th Batallion, sir, but they’re having difficulty getting moving,” Sgt. Buckner replied, turning around to face his Commander. “The weather in the Empire is below normal winter temperatures and their fleet is struggling to warm up. They’re worried of freezing over during flight.”

“Dammit,” Col. Roark muttered. “The whole damn planet is against us getting these men home… how soon will they be airborne?”

“In approximately three hours, sir, with two hours flight time.”

Twilight, listening to the conversation intently, quickly performed the math in her head. Shining’s group was smaller than the Iron Guard’s battalion, but was moving at a slower pace. By the time five hours had passed, it might well be too late. There needs to be something faster.

“Holy shit!” the cry was so loud all heads raised to look at the source-

The screen suddenly flashed white-hot as an explosion filled the screen, obscuring Knight Troop from view for a brief period as the heat of the bomb passed away and was replaced by smoke-

“What the hell-”

“Imperial air forces,” Col. Roark said. “Lieutenant, get eyes back on that Troop!”

“Doing what I can, sir!” Twilight gasped, his words relinquishing her from her shock. She returned back to her screen, speaking urgently to the drone pilot, who began to swerve in and out of the smoke, trying to find the figures of the Cavalrymen once again-

Another flash of white, and then another. A series of bombs continued to cascade into the area, leaving the drone helpless and blind-

“We’re blind, sir. Unless we stop that bombardment, we’re not going anywhere,” Twilight reported.

“Someone get air support in contact. We need to free the skies so that Troop can continue moving. Who’s nearby?”

520th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Wing- Undisclosed location

“Everybody up!” Cpt. Chang’s voice rang through the sleeping quarters as loudly as the normally quiet man could manage, he running to each and every bunk to wake his men. “Come on, get up! You guys need to see this!”

“Oh hell- sir, what time is it?” Lt. Schreiber extracted himself from his pillow unwillingly, staring about in the dark and seemed hardly awake.

“About one in the morning,” Cpt. Chang said excitedly.

“Sir, what’s going on, we’re supposed to be sleeping-”

“Never mind that! President just announced Discord’s been killed,” Cpt. Chang announced.

“Holy shit- you serious, sir?” Schrieber woke as though she’d just been slapped.

“Whoever did it might still be in trouble. Come on, word is we’re the closest air support unit nearby. We may be flying.”

The rest of the room suddenly came alive with activity as the rest of its occupants suddenly roused themselves, revealing they had been listening the entire time. Pilots rushed to grab their flight suits, struggled to don their boots, their sudden rise to the waking world seemingly staggering them.

“There’s coffee in the common room going. Start waking up, and fast. If the Squadron gets called, I want it to be us. You in?”

“You better fucking believe it,” Lt. Gibbons replied, forcing his foot down his socks and tearing a hole at the heel.

Ten minutes later, Dagger Flight was fully dressed and wide awake, glued to the TV along with everyone else who shared the building, every eye glued to the television for any hint of new information.

“Hey, shut up! I can’t hear it!” someone yelled.

“Turn the damn thing up!” another cried.

Someone nearest to the remote obliged, and the voices of the commentator grew louder until it dominated the room with totality. “Though the President will not officially confirm that the unit for responsible for Discord’s elimination is still engaged, all White House activity seems to point that some sort of major military activity is still ongoing, as both the Secretary of Defense and the President have not been seen since the announcement of Discord’s death. So far, neither the Green Berets of the Army, nor the Navy SEALS, have yet to claim any sort of responsibility for the operation.”

“So who the fucking hell was it, then? Marines?”

“They’re over in the Russian wilds with the SEALS, jackass.”

“So no special forces unit in the whole goddamn military killed the asswipe? So who the fuck did?”

“Like I know. Fuck.”

“Attention!” The chatter that had permeated the room ceased instantly as the commander of the Squadron, Lt. Col. Blythe, entered into the room to observe them all.

“There’s a unit in trouble. Pinned down by enemy air support. These are the guys who killed Discord and they’re in serious danger. We’ve been tasked to move in and break up enemy air.”

Every Wing Commander suddenly was in sight, each one eager to be the one to take the first flight against the Empire.

“Cpt. Chang, you’re already dressed,” Lt. Col. Blythe remarked, taking note of the man.

“Dagger Wing is ready to go, sir-”

“You’re it. Get ready to fly, move!”

It was exactly what they had hoped for. Wasting no time, the four pilots rushed out of the building and into the frozen air of the Imperial winter, caring little of the cold and zealous to be of service for such a moment.

Marc wondered if the bombing would ever stop. He tried to settle himself deeper into their hiding place but found nothing but cold, unforgiving rock at his back, allowing him no additional refuge-

Another thunderous Boom! struck the mountain, the device detonating so close that he felt the pulse within his own skull, his teeth screaming their displeasure. Each one that fell unsettled the area a little more. Their situation was desperate: either their hiding place would be blown open –and they along with it- or the mountain would fall atop of them and they would slowly suffocate in the blackness of the deep earth.

Another rumble outside, the blast falling dangerously close to the cave entrance. They were becoming more accurate with every passing second. Soon there would be a perfect hit.

“They just don’t fucking stop,” Cpt. Armor said, he having taken the position closest to the cave mouth. “Jesus, how much do they have?”

“They must be cycling through. Each run trying to do a little more damage,” Big Mac said. “It won’t be long, sir. They’ll make their mark- we either stay here or we try to risk it.”

Cpt. Armor gave a growl, knowing either decision would likely kill them all. He wanted to bring these men back home- alive, and in one piece. The hopes of doing so were becoming slimmer with every passing second.

Another payload fell near the cave mouth and Cpt. Armor leapt further back into the cave as smoke poured into their safehouse, crashing into the wall as he choked on the putrid fumes-

“Dammit! Come on already!” he snarled. “Alright, listen- that Iron Guard battalion is probably getting close. If we don’t get some sort of relief in the next couple minutes we’re just gonna have to take the risk and keep running.”

Marc felt his stomach twist at the thought of deliberately running out into a bombing run. His mind flashed to a memory of his wife and he immediately shook the thought away- he needed to focus on the here and now, or else he would certainly not survive-

Another earth-shattering rumble and suddenly the perpetual chaos outside ceased, with only the distant sounds of aircraft roaring through the skies. They held their breath, both dread and delight mingling within them: had the Iron Guard come at last, or had their opening finally arrived?

Cpt. Armor, his steps unsteady and slow, crept towards the cave entrance and dared to peek out into the heavens above him-

A pair of metallic screams coursed through the air, suddenly multiplied several times over-

“We’ve got air support, come on!” Cpt. Armor roared, leaping out into the mountains and charging forward-

Without another word, the six men rushed to join him and leapt out into the open air, a first left stunned by the chaos that now reigned in the skies-

Aircraft weaved back and forth amongst one another in a dazzling array of acrobatics and skill, Imperial fighters now being harassed by friendly forces. Marc saw the pristine fuselage of an F-16 ignite his foe and turn the Imperial craft into nothing but burning metal and ash-

“Reyes!” Marc’s trance was broken by his Commander’s call and he charged ahead to join them, trying to steady himself on the now-devastated earth. All around him the ground had been pock-marked by massive craters, some once-clear paths now left block by masses of rock that seemed insurmountable. He wondered if there was even a way out of this war-torn landscape-

Cpt. Armor continued to lead them onward, pressing through as quickly as he could possibly go, weaving in and out through the melee as he searched for navigable paths and means through. Whenever he found a route block by debris he would be the first to traverse it, forcing himself up and aiding those behind them. Their progress had been greatly slowed, but onwards they still pressed-

The sound of an explosion above and Marc dared to peek at the sky; a friendly fighter had been struck along the starboard wing and now careened down to the mountains below. Marc searched hungrily for a parachute but saw nothing fly out into the darkness and his vision was illuminated by flames and smoke as the fighter slammed into the rocks-

“Keep pushing! Don’t stop, keep yourself moving!” Cpt. Armor yelled out-

The fiery roar above and the fallen pilot was avenged, another Imperial aircraft struck from the sky and Marc saw the silhouette of a parachute against the soft moonlight of the winter night. The score was quickly falling against the Empire as the faster, better-armed aircraft of the Air Force continued to press their advantage-

“I’ve got an opening just ahead! Follow me down the path to the left, we’re almost halfway there!” Cpt. Armor cried-

The air just above their heads exploded with furious sound as a pair of fighters, entangled amongst one another, raced just above them and Marc felt something burst in his right ear-

The Imperial aircraft took an offensive pattern and plunged straight towards his opponent, releasing a single missile into the air-

The device struck home by the smallest of margins, ricocheting off the friendly aircraft’s hull and disabling it before exploding, the damaged aircraft now spinning out of control-

The Imperial pilot, perhaps by inexperience or by simple failure, could not evade in time and was struck, the two aircraft tearing through one another like knives until they at last fell to the ground and detonated-

The sounds of the dogfight fled from their ears and Marc, his right ear slowly bleeding, looked up into the heavens. Against the faint light of the night, two aircraft began to circle their presence, as though they were a pair of mechanized guardian angels.

“We’ve got protected passage,” Marc muttered.

“It won’t last. Keep moving!” Lt. Sentry said beside him. The young officer hoisted himself over a rock and promptly offered a hand to his comrade, the two running side by side just behind the others as they raced into the darkness, their dreaded foes hot on their trails.

Author's Notes:

Almost there. Not much further now. Are you ready for what's coming?

Comments and corrections below. As always, enjoy.