Paper laid on his back up in the top bunk, turning his helmet over in his hooves repeatedly and fidgeting with the jaw plate. The wait was absolutely killing him and he had already written down everything he could think of in his journal. They had all arrived back at the project's headquarters late, the sun having already set most of the way below the horizon, but given all that had happened, he couldn't figure out how to fall asleep. There was just far too much on his mind. This was a quality shared by everyone else in the team.

Bastion was on the bunk below Paper and though his eyes may have been closed, he was wide awake, the events of the day going through his head. Across the room, Foxtrot sat up with his rifle deconstructed into numerous large and small pieces, a bottle of firearms cleaning solution in one hoof and a rag with increasing amounts of black on it in the other. At the only window, Star sat with her head resting on the sill, looking much like a homesick puppy even with all of her gear and helmet still on.

The door suddenly burst open, allowing a cold draft and a few flurries of snow to enter the heated cabin. In walked Nightfall as tired as ever. He promptly kicked the door shut with his back leg and collapsed on the floor, letting his helmet and backpack drop haphazardly from his body.

"Well?" Paper asked as he sat up, more than eager to know what was going to happen now.

Nightfall sighed. It was one of both relief and of exhaustion. "Teams 3 and 4 just showed up a few minutes ago. Their being debriefed right now. I guess Striker found them in time. As for us, all operations are being suspended for the night until we can get some more solid intel on the situation. Command's working on getting a message to Canterlot to get us some reinforcements, but apparently their having trouble getting it through."

"But the mission isn't cancelled, right?" Bastion asked.

"No, of course not," Nightfall answered. "They're working on revised sectors for us to search. They want all teams operating closer together in case of another attack. When we'll be sent back out is anyone's guess." He yawned suddenly, before practically crawling his way over to one of the beds and slipping out of his snow suit. "Good. Night." he said with a great deal of finality in his voice.

Paper shrugged and laid back down, trying not to think about all that was happening. All he could be certain of was that he was uncertain. "So, did command have any idea what all this means?" he asked after a moment of thought.

"Nope," Nightfall answered, now firmly in bed, laying on his stomach and facing the wall. "The pictures sure spooked the MSAD guys though."

Star Mist left her place at the window. Nightfall wasnt sure how, but he could suddenly feel her standing at the side of his bed, looking at him. He rolled over and returned the look. Why in the world did she still have her gear on? "Yes?"

"Oh sorry," Star Mist replied, apparently not having realized that she was staring at the thestral. Backing away, she found her way over to her own bed, sitting on the edge and just staring at the floor as if in deep thought. "Do you guys think we're going to be okay?" she finally asked.

"I don't see why not," Foxtrot answered as he began to reassemble his weapon. "Windigos, ice wolves, bandits. I've seen it all. Whoever these guys are, they're just the next group of baddies who need bullets in their heads." He held up a magazine for his rifle. "And I've got plenty of bullets."

"Well, sure, but..." Star stopped, not entirely sure what she was wanting to say. "I dont know. We've already lost one team. I just dont want to lose anyone else."

"That's a perfectly reasonable concern," Bastion said reassuringly. "We've been doing this a long time though. We'll watch each other's backs and make sure nothing happens. And if something bad does happen, we'll be there to help."

"How long have you guys been in the Initiative?"

"I've been in for about seven years now," Bastion answered. "Not sure if I'll renew for another four though. Paper up there has been in a year and a half. Foxtrot's been in..." he stopped, looking over to the pegasus in question. "Actually, I dont know. Foxtrot. How long you been in the Initiative?"

"Eight months," Foxtrot answered flatly, as if his time serving was of no consequence. "I was a merc for ten before that though. Those were the fun times."

"Right," Bastion replied. "Oh, and Nightfall's been in for five."

As if on cue, Nightfall let out a faint snore, extracting an eye roll from Bastion. Despite his outward expression, Bastion never failed to be inwardly impressed by Nightfall's ability to fall asleep on demand. He himself had to lay with his eyes closed for a few minutes before drifting off with no way to determine the moment that he actually fell asleep. When Nightfall decided he wanted to fall asleep, he just did it.

"How long have you been in?" Paper asked from the top bunk, not able to sleep and figuring he might as well participate in the conversation. "I dont think I've ever seen your name on a roster or anything before."

"You wouldn't have," Star answered. "I've actually been gone for a while. I was in for four years, but took a break after that. Ended up coming back just for this mission."

"Oh, well in that case, welcome back," Paper replied.

"Thanks. It's good to be back." All of this had only been a partial truth. Yes, she had been in the Initiative for four years, but wasnt exactly in the same role as the ponies she now found herself with. Agriculture and land surveying. Foxtrot would have a fit if he found out that she wasnt actually ever a ranger. Despite this, she had picked up more than a few tricks over the years, though admittedly, lying always made her feel a little dirty. The rest of her just felt plain dirty from not having taken off her snowsuit in at least forty-eight hours.

"Okay," Star began with a bit of a chuckle. "I have really got to go take a shower now." She got up from her spot and began to make her way to the door.

"Hey," Foxtrot called, catching Star's attention before she could leave. "Do us a favor and come in quiet when you get back. I'm probably going to hit the hay pretty soon."

"Well, in that case, I'll see you in the morning," she replied matter-of-factly before turning to Bastion and Paper. "Good night, guys."

Bastion and Paper both returned the gesture and then Star exited the room, the wind carrying some snowflakes through the door during the brief moment that it was open. On the other side, Star sat for a moment, before sighing and attempting to calm her nerves. That conversation had gone well enough she figured, but as she began to think about it, she feared that she might slip and give something away. On top of that, her hooves had been trembling ever since meeting Striker. A hot shower would definitely do her some good.

Meadow had discarded her snowsuit, hanging it on a hook along with her helmet. She now stood with her front hooves against the wall just under the shower head, allowing the hot water to run across her back and trickle down her legs. She felt every muscle in her body relax as the tension from the last few days washed away in an instant. The windigos on their heels. The killer elements. Even the unknown threat that was hanging over all their heads. For a moment, all that weight just faded from her shoulders.

She gave out a satisfied sigh as she ran a hoof through her mane, which had been a tangled and matted mess, but now hung heavily and straight, soaked with water. She no longer shook, the comforting effects of the steam seeing to it that her entire body went calm and loose. She switched hooves, beginning small circular motions across the back of her neck as she found a particularly sore spot, giving it extra attention as she worked her way down.

After all that had happened and with everything that was happening, this was a moment of pure bliss. She was lonely though. She craved the touch of a certain someone else's hooves on her. She wanted to put her hooves on his chest as he explored her body and they gave themselves to each other. It was strange. Together all these years and never had they just gone for it. Now here she was, wanting that more than ever. "Dammit, Nightfall. What have you done to me," she whispered to herself.

She moved her hooves lower down across her frame rubbing at each and every knot, her mind wandering to and fro until she had remained under the hot water's influence for longer than she had intended. Soap came next, the light blue substance turning into bubbles as she worked the suds into her scalp, rinsing it all away when she felt that she had washed it adequately. Next came her coat, which took far longer and only increased her desire as her hooves continued to glide across her body.

She completely forgot whether or not she had originally intended to do a full wash, but god knew that she needed it, even if she was only going to end up smelling even worse in only a few days time. Regardless, she did eventually finish up, allowing the last of her stress to wash down the drain with the soapy water. She found herself a towel and began to dry off, basking in the afterglow of the session.

Finally, Meadow turned back to her helmet and snowsuit, the two things that currently gave her her false identity. She wasnt at all eager to put them back on. She was enjoying the feeling of being clean far too much and she probably would have just sat there for a few moments, continuing to enjoy it had the lights not gone out and the earth not quaked violently, as if hell itself had arrived to collect.

"What in the world?" Paper complained, popping up from his pillow and banging his head on the ceiling. "Gah, son of a-" He had no time to recover before another quake rocked the entire cabin, causing him to fall from his spot, dragging half the sheets down with him. "Ouch," he said in a bemused tone.

Bastion was already on his hooves, his rifle slung across his back as he scrambled to get to his gear in the dark, his instincts from being in the guard going off and telling him that he needed to suit up. Foxtrot quickly followed suit, lighting a flare to illuminate the room after finding that the lights would not turn on. "Quit screwing around," he scolded, yanking the sheet off of Paper and dropping his gear on him.

Paper groaned in annoyance, finding that the entire room was cast in an eerie red light from the flare. "What the hell is going on?" he finally managed as another quake shook the earth. This one was followed by the sound of weapons fire from outside. "Oh my god. We're under attack."

"No shit," Foxtrot said as he clamped his helmet shut.

Nightfall hadn't said so much as a word so far, instead hurrying along as he rushed to gather up his gear. He was somehow already ahead of everyone else, his snowsuit and helmet dawned and his own rifle already on his back. He strapped his sidearm to his leg and headed for the door, followed closely by Bastion who was right there with him. "Hurry up," the thestral ordered, his voice sounding strained as adrenaline pumped through his body.

Paper was the last to join the group and all at once they made their way out the door.

The scene before them was an absolute mess. The night seemed almost like day as fires burned all around them. In the direction of the armory, gunfire and heavy ordinance could be heard going off as large black columns rose into the sky. In the courtyard in front of them, ponies were running back and forth. Some were carrying others on blood soaked stretchers. Others were carrying their comrades off by hoof. In the other direction, the base's security forces ran towards the sounds of chaos. Further down, just across from the groups current position, several ponies were attempting to combat the blaze that had engulfed a large building they recognized as the main ops center, its roof seemingly somehow caved in.

A watchtower to the east suddenly exploded, putting out a spotlight that had been shining down. The sound of bullets impacting against something hard, prompted everyone to dive for cover.

Nightfall looked over to his right to see that a few guards had taken cover just around the side of one of the cabins. The red crosses on their armor designated them as medics. Currently, they were working on one of their buddies who appeared to have taken a great deal of shrapnel and was now unconscious.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Nightfall asked frantically. "Who's attacking us?!"

"No idea, sir!" one of the medics called back. "We just got out here and found everything like this! All I know is that half this place is on fire and that the power is out! No, alarm! No, warning! Just boom and then this!"

"Where's the hospital?!"

"On the other side of that mess!" the medic replied, motioning towards the storm of flames that was quickly spreading and tenting the entire sky orange.

"Okay, you hold here and do what you can for the wounded! I'm going to start sending them your way with whatever medical staff I can find! We need to clear this area and keep it secure so that ponies have a place to go!"

"Copy that!" the medic called back.

Nightfall took off, ducking across the short stretch of open ground and back into cover with the others. "Alright! We're clearing this area and then linking up with whoever we can find! Foxtrot, Bastion, I need you two to rally anyone you can and set up a perimeter! We're going to have a lot of wounded who need attention and the medics cant do their jobs if they're taking fire! Paper, you're coming with me! We're going to try and make it to the hospital and send back anyone we find! If we can clear these streets up ahead, they should have a straight shot! We clear?!"

Everyone either nodded or made some indication that they understood. Just as they were about to bolt from cover, they instinctively dove back down as several shots passed over their heads, wood from their cabin splintering just behind them.

Nightfall and Bastion both popped up, firing several shots back in the direction from where the initial rounds had come, as Paper and Foxtrot both scattered to stretch their line and prevent them from being surrounded.

Several ponies who had been caught out in the open, wounded and able bodied alike, fell as more shots range out, a group in combat gear becoming visible through the smoke on the other side of the courtyard. They were just as Striker had described the ones who killed Team 2. Well equipped and heavily armed and they wasted no time fanning out and beginning to fire on the rangers from as many directions as possible.

Nightfall and Bastion both dropped down as quickly as they could, a volley of rounds crashing into their cover only a split second later.

The enemy hit them hard, the cascading fire of automatic weapons drowning out any other sound other than the grenades that were thrown their way. They did not stay long though, as more and more of the security forces began to close on the courtyard. Teams 3 and 4 also managed to get out of their cabins and into cover only a few of them being struck by fire.

When there was a break in the rounds being sent their way, Bastion leaned out of cover, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The flare shot across the open ground slower than a bullet but faster than a rocket, finding its target on the other side of a pile of crates.

The hostile dropped dead on impact, the flare penetrating the side of his helmet and lodging itself deep into his skull. Sparks shot from the hole in the side of his head as the flare continued to burn. His body went ragdoll, toppling over like a sack of meat that gravity did not take kindly to, and then laying still in the snow that was now stained red with his blood.

"There's one," Bastion said nonchalantly as he dropped back into cover.

Nightfall peaked up, counting as many of the ponies as he could. "There's twenty, give or take a few," he said, before leaning out himself and sending several flares down range. One ripped through someone's shoulder, setting his suit on fire and causing him to stagger back. Another flare went low, hopped off the ground, and came up to catch another pony in the neck.

Several more security force personnel arrived on scene, each brandishing their own weapons and beginning to fire at the invaders, the sound of gunfire growing more and more into a single blurred together boom.

Seeing as they were now outnumbered and consequently outgunned, the hostiles began to flee from their positions, continuing to fire as they did. For many of them, this proved to be a fatal mistake. Recognizing an opportunity, the security forces and ranger teams opened up on the now exposed hostiles as they attempted to scurry back into the buildings.

Bullets and flares from every rifle barrel shot out across the courtyard, tearing the opposite end apart. Wood, metal, or flesh, nothing was spared from the onslaught of fire. Devastation and havoc were wreaked upon the enemy. Their fragile and pathetic bodies were ripped and torn through, nature having never intended for this hellish scenario to play out. All the snow on that side was completely red. Barely an inch was spared from being bathed in equine blood.

Nightfall instinctively rushed forward into the next piece of cover before realizing that the enemy had, for the moment, been routed. "Bastion!" he called back. "Get everything here organized! Paper! You're with me!"

The unicorn and the thestral rushed forward, over the objects that the enemy had used as cover and beyond the field of bodies that laid beyond. They were now joined by another six, all of whom wore the dark navy blue uniforms of the base's security forces. "You with us?" Nightfall asked, after seeing that they were not alone.

"Yes, sir," one of the security guards answered.

"Since when did I become a sir?"

"You're the only one who seems to know what they're doing. We figured you were in charge."

"Right," Nightfall sighed, not too thrilled at all with being given this responsibility. Regardless, he was more than glad to have the extra support. "Okay, listen up. At the moment, we are assuming that this whole town is now hostile territory. This courtyard is our beachhead. We do not lose it or else we're screwed. Send anyone you find back this way. Our goal is to reach the hospital and attempt to gather supplies and evacuate survivors. I want two to a street. We converge on the hospital. Clear?"

Just as before, everyone here indicated that they had understood and promptly spread out across the four streets. Shots quickly rang out again as they found that the enemy had now dug into the buildings further down, at least the ones that weren't on fire. From the courtyard, several more fire-teams joined the fight, having been already instructed to set up a perimeter. Fire was exchanged between the two groups, the hailstorm of lead providing at least some kind of cover for Nightfall and Paper as they worked their way up.

Body after body laid on the ground, the ones away from the fires having already frozen and faces iced over from the wintery conditions. Even with the storm spires, there was no stopping them from freezing. It was a sickening sight, but the two pushed it to the back of their minds as they advanced, returning fire whenever they had the chance and providing cover to civilians who attempted to flee from the battlefield. Their progress was slow, even more so as they became farther and farther away from the courtyard. Eventually, the gunfire did die down and they were left only with ambient sounds of fire burning.

"I do not like how quiet it just got," Paper muttered quietly, scanning the street and alleys for movement. He was correct. Other than the roaring blazes, all other sounds had seemed to cease. No gunfire. No explosions. Only fire and the cracking of logs.

"Oh my god," Nightfall muttered, his ear splaying across the back of his head under his helmet. He rushed forward several times, moving cover to cover, before coming to realize that the only ones around were him, Paper, and the security forces that were quickly retaking the base.

Nightfall left his cover along with Paper, who looked on in horror at the sight before them. The hospital was on fire, the second floor almost entirely engulfed in flames and smoke billowing up into the illuminated night sky. It only took each of them a few seconds to get their bearings before they rushed forward, full sprint towards the entrance, followed by a few security guards.

Through the doors they found that the lobby was clear, save for the few dead bodies of their attackers laying around, broken and bloodied. There had been a fight here, of that there was no doubt, but who exactly had been the victor had yet to be discovered. Nightfall kept his rifle shouldered as he worked his way from room to room, the smoke making it hard to see at times, but his helmet's filter allowing him to breath more easily.

Two security guards followed him, checking corners and keeping guns on the smoked out hall. Paper wasted no time taking three others upstairs with him into the most intense parts of the blaze.

The farther down Nightfall went, the more smoke he found, until finally he was completely blind. He easily would have become lost in the smoke screen had he not had a wall to guide him. Suddenly, the sound of crashing came from above and he dived only just in time to avoid the ceiling collapsing in above him. The fire now lit up the entire hall, setting the ceiling ablaze and casting everything in a bright orange haze. The fire shot across the ceiling like it would dry timber, completely engulfing the panels in the blaze.

Underneath his suit, Nightfall could feel himself sweating, the heat increasing with every passing second. "Is anyone here!?" he called out in desperation, now separated from his team. There was no reply and with that he found himself running through the hall, his head low as fire began to rain down on top of him from the floor above. The entire building shook as something exploded and he was knocked to the ground, dropping his rifle.

The ceiling fell down again, a large ball of fire coming down towards him. He rolled, narrowly avoiding it, but losing his weapon to the inferno as he came face to face with another dead hostile, this one having taken several bullets through his head. He quickly made it to his hooves, tugging at the strap for his secondary weapon, but giving up on it and moving on further down the hall only seconds later. He coughed suddenly, his mouth becoming unnaturally dry. All moisture in the room was gone. Air was quickly becoming a rare commodity.

He couldn't breath. He coughed again, this time much more violently. Another piece of the ceiling fell in front of him and he stumbled back, backing straight into a door. With the building coming down around him, his mind set into panic. How long had he been in here? Which way had he come from? How was he supposed to get out? Another cough came as he gasped for air. The filter on his helmet worked fine, but there was no oxygen. His lungs cried out with pain as he grasped for a doorknob behind him. Finding it, he twisted and barreled into the room behind him where the smoke had yet to invade. He slammed the door behind him.

Finally turning around, Nightfall found himself face to face with at least twenty ponies, all huddled in the corner and staring at him in terror as if he had come end to their lives. He took several deep breaths, opened his mouth to say something, and was immediately smacked in the side of the head with the butt of a rifle.

Crack!

The helmet absorbed the impact, but Nightfall still felt his eyes go all screwy. His vision blurred and the adrenaline rushing through his system instinctively brought him into a rebound, knocking the assailant's rifle barrel away before it could be leveled at him. He found his knife, but was only able to bring it halfway up out before being tackled to the ground. He latched his hooves around the rifle, not letting go and struggling to keep it close to his chest as his attacker hopped up on top of him and attempted to rip it away. He bucked out with his lower legs, but missed several times, unable to dismount the pony on top of him. Instead, he pushed the rifle up, catching them right in the chest, before rolling over several times, their bodies hitting the floor over and over before stopping as they ran into the far wall. The thestral was now on top and finding his knife again he yanked it up, ready to deliver the final blow.

Nightfall stopped suddenly, all sense of rage subsiding as he stared down into a pair familiar blue eyes. "Meadow?" he breathed, realizing just who he had been fighting for the first time.

Meadow Spring laid on her back, looking back up at Nightfall in utter shock, half from figuring out what was going on and half from seeing the knife in his hoof, ready to come down and end her life. "Nightfall," she replied quietly. The mare was completely covered in soot, her pale green coat seeming more of a grey color and her once long and free flowing mane now a tangled black mess.

The knife clattered to the ground as Nightfall's entire body went numb and he realized that he too was covered in soot, covering any patch or tag on his suit that identified him as a ranger. He looked back to the ponies back in the corner. All of them were wrapped up in bandages or standing on crutches. Not a single able bodied individual was in sight. He looked back down to Meadow before throwing off his helmet and falling back onto his haunches, allowing Meadow to crawl out from under him. "This building is coming down," he said, still staring at the mare in disbelief. "I dont know how to get out, not with this many wounded."

Smoke had already been coming through the bottom of the door. Meadow quickly wedged a towel underneath, one that had been there earlier but was dislodged with Nightfall's entrance.

"Everyone up!" Meadow demanded, rushing to a second door that led to the next room over. She opened it and revealed another room, this one still untouched by the fire, but not for long. Acting on instinct and with no other option, the two herded the group into the next room, escaping just as the first sign of fire began to break through the walls.

"Are they gone?" Meadow suddenly asked.

"There was no one outside when Paper and I got here," Nightfall answered. "He took a few others upstairs, but I dont know if he's still up there."

Meadow seemed to think for a quick moment, before responding. "I know a way out. I can lead everyone through, but I need you to bring up the rear and make sure no one falls behind."

"I can do that," Nightfall answered, giving her a confident nod.

Meadow Spring returned the nod and made her way to the door to lead back into the hall. She stopped suddenly though, halfway between the door and Nightfall. She turned and ran back, unexpectedly planting a kiss on Nightfall's lips. It was short, but displayed all the qualities of a long, passion filled act of affection. "Good luck," she said, a look of infinite worry still spread across her visage. She hesitated to go, her hooves firmly in his as they stood there.

"Go," Nightfall said, his expression a mirror of Meadow's own. And with that she left, leaving him standing there, entirely uncertain if he would see her again.

Bastion bolted into the hospital with complete disregard for his own safety, crashing straight through the door after finding that it would not open. Paper followed close behind, still covered in soot and ignoring the cries from the security guards telling him to get clear of the fire.

The lobby was now a total loss, the front desk having already burned up all the way and the fire quickly spreading along the walls and the ceiling. "Nightfall! Respond! Where are you?" he called out over the radio, getting nothing in return but static. Several flaming wood boards fell before him.

"Oh, damn it all to hell!" Bastion shouted in frustration at their gear not functioning. "Nightfall!" he cried into the smoke and flames. "Nightfall, we're here! Can you hear us?!" Still there was no response, but they did not stop. They ventured further into the blaze, the flames surrounding them and quickly beginning to bring the entire building down.

Again and again they called out above the roar of the flames, doing all they could to be heard, while avoiding the debris that still came crashing down around them. The inside of the building was rapidly being hollowed out and it would not be long before the entire structure collapsed in on itself.

Crash!

A flaming door further down the hall suddenly burst open, the large piece of wood snapping in half when it hit the floor.

"Nightfall!" Paper called after seeing a dark silhouette across from him.

"Paper, is that you?" a female voice called back, sprinting through the hall and bounding over fiery debris.

"Meadow? What in the world are you doing here?!"

Without any amount of hesitation, she grabbed the unicorn by his collar and pulled him forward. "I need your help," she said desperately, dragging him down the hall as fast as she could. Bastion asked no questions, following close behind as his teammate stumbled down the hall.

Pony after pony suddenly appeared through the smoke screen, each moving slowly as they tried to avoid the flames. Bastion immediately recognized what was happening and moved to guide them through the burning building and back to safety. There was suddenly a terrible rumbling noise that sounded even over the roar of the flames as a part of the building fell inward.

"Blast it, Paper! Now!" Bastion yelled, prompting the unicorn to jump out in the direction of the exit. He took a stance, his horn lighting up with a raging magic aura as he called upon every ounce of magical energy that his body contained. Hooves planted in the ground, head held low, horn out. He let his spell fly with all his might. A blast of magic shot out, clearing the way down the hall of smoke and debris, but only for a moment.

"Go, now!" Paper yelled.

Bastion wasted little time, hurrying the patients along, trying his best to take into account their injuries, but also quite literally pushing them through the hall. Each one was received by a few brave security personnel who had run into the building themselves after realizing that ponies were still coming out.

Another terrible rumble rocked the building and the sound of collapsing stone, wood, and shattering glass filled all their ears.

Meadow's face filled with horror as she anxiously ran to and fro, realizing that although most of the ponies had made it out, Nightfall was still nowhere to be found. She hastily shot deeper into the building, ignoring the sounds of destruction all around her now. A hoof grabbed her by the leg and she was stopped dead in her tracks.

"We gotta go!" Bastion cried, dodging a support beam that nearly fell on him, but succeeded in taking down an entire wall with it.

"We cant leave Nightfall!"

Bastion stopped, his breath catching in his throat as he looked back to see Paper standing behind him, beckoning them over to get the hell out before it was too late. Nightfall was absent. He firmly placed another hoof on Meadow and dragged her back to safety as several more flaming wooden planks fell, cutting off the hall.

"No! Stop!" she cried out, tears pouring from her eyes as she desperately tried to claw her way back into the inferno.

Every fiber in Bastion's body ached in grief at what he was having to do, but it was the only option. Any second now, the building would collapse and that would be the end. They couldn't be inside when it did. He pulled at Meadow again and again until finally she was back on her hooves.

It was then, by some miracle, that the thestral appeared through the smoke.

Meadow felt her broken heart reignite with hope as the thestral ran through the smoke towards her, his strides coming a bit awkwardly as he avoided patches of fire . "Go, go!" he yelled, waving for everyone to start running. Bastion had stood there, struck by the sight, only for a second before taking off out of the building and into the street where a large assortment of security forces and rangers waited.

The terrifying sound of the entire building collapsing came only twelve seconds after they had all made it out. The roar of the fire. The crashing of the splintering wood and breaking stone. It all came together in a final symphony of destruction as the once two storied hospital disappeared downward, a large cloud of smoke and dust shooting up and out. All that remained was a pile of rubble and flames... and blood. It was not visible, but Nightfall knew it was there. It was just one more thing that would forever haunt his dreams. One more thing to add to the list that already kept him up at night.

"We made it!" Paper yelled as he triumphantly held his hooves upward in the air.

Nightfall made no comment despite being fully aware that this was only a half truth. In that building, surrounded by the inferno, he had made a decision, one that saved his life and yet made him feel like a coward. He wrapped a hoof around Meadow, pulling her into a tight hug. She returned it, squeezing him tighter than she had ever before and never wanting to let go.

"Ahem," Foxtrot suddenly interrupted, much to Meadow's annoyance.

"What is it?" Nightfall asked wearily. "I thought I told you and Bastion to take care of things back at the courtyard."

"You did," Foxtrot answered. "We set up a perimeter and started pushing outwards. We've made it this far without any resistance. Team 3 managed to get some comms up and get through to the security forces on the other side of the base. A few minutes ago, all hostiles broke contact and fled. They're making their way to us now and securing everything as they go. As far as I can tell, the fight's over."

"Any idea how many we might have lost?"

"No," Foxtrot answered, "but they hit us with everything they had right out of the gate and separated us into isolated groups," Foxtrot explained. "It's a classic case of divide and conquer."

"So why didnt they keep up their attack then?"

"Probably didnt have enough firepower," Foxtrot suggested. "Everything about this had hit and run written all over it. Get in, hit hard, and then slip away while the enemy is in disarray. What their end goal was, I still have yet to figure out."

Nightfall thought for a moment "Did we at least, get a message out to Canterlot before the attack?" he asked.

Foxtrot and Bastion both shrugged, both of them looking like they knew it was a definite "no" despite not having any confirmation. "We can only assume we're on our own," Bastion said. "Everything is still jammed up and the ops center went up in flames. We dont have anyway to communicate with the outside world."

Nightfall sighed, before muttering a very frustrated "Dammit" under his breath. He looked back down to Meadow, who he still held in his hooves. "Okay, let's head back to the courtyard then. I need to have a talk with the other teams and figure out what we want to do."

The walk back was a quiet one. All around the group was evidence of the previous battle. Bloodied bodies, most of whom were now being loaded into bags, still littered the street. Entire buildings had collapsed inward, and emergency workers and security forces worked tirelessly to put out the remaining fires. Back at the courtyard, the wounded had all been laid out. The few doctors that Paper had managed to save from the hospital quickly met up with the TRST's own medical staff and joined the effort in caring for them.

Nothing about the situation was for certain. They had no idea who attacked them or why, or if they would be back to finish the job. What had been the goal? What were they after and what did they gain by attacking the base? Had it all been an attempt to scatter them and prevent them from completing their own mission? Were these ponies simply competitors willing to do anything to win? There were far too many questions and absolutely no answers. The only thing that any of them knew for sure, was that it was about to be a very long night.

The remaining ponies all spread out, trying to find something they could do to contribute. Meadow Spring was only able to take a single step before she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

"Meadow," Nightfall began as the mare turned around. "What are you doing here?"

Meadow had to think about her answer at first, not entirely sure how much she wanted to give away or if her cover had been blown out of the water already. "I wanted to come along," she answered truthfully. "Remember what we said, about this being the big one? I didnt just want to sit back and wait, not knowing if you were going to be okay. I wanted to help."

Nightfall sighed, running his hoof across Meadows shoulder and up the back of her neck. "I know," he replied. "Part of me is glad you're here. In any other situation, I'd be overjoyed, but..." He looked around at what remained of the base. Ash, debris, and injured ponies all around. The storm spires still stood and the signal fires still burned. They were holding on, but only barely.

"I know what you mean," Meadow said. "I thought that if I came along, I could at least see you again, maybe help to keep you safe."

"I appreciate it," Nightfall said. "You know I do. I wish you had stayed home though."

"I wish we both could have," Meadow replied halfheartedly. She ran a hoof through her mane. It was still stained with soot and both her suit and coat were caked in the same black substance. "I guess we both got more than we bargained for, huh?"

Nightfall noticed her playing with her mane. Something was certainly bothering her, aside from the obvious of course. "What happened to you?" he asked with great concern. "How did you end up in that hospital?"

Meadow shrugged, not even bothering to look up at who she was talking to. "When the attack started, all the power was knocked out," she began. "I was in the area and figured the hospital would be a place where I could do some good or at least hide out. When whoever those guys were came, I got trapped inside with the patients. When they figured out that they couldn't get to us, they set the building on fire."

"You did a good job of holding out."

"It wasnt much really," Meadow said bashfully. "A rifle and a corridor makes things easy. You taught me that... and how to shoot. We'd probably be dead now if you hadn't found us."

"It was still really brave," Nightfall insisted. "I'm proud of you. I could tell, you were willing to fight tooth and nail to the end. I actually find that... um..." Nightfall's face suddenly grew extremely red as he tried to find what he wanted to say. "Kinda hot," he barely finished, extracting a smile and then a snicker from Meadow as her face too grew red, one that he joined in soon after. Their laughter only grew, a stark contrast to the world around them, then their hooves fell on one another as they embraced in a hug, neither of them wanting to ever let go.

Nightfall's own breathing was calm and controlled, but he could still feel Meadow trembling, her shaky hooves planted squarely against his back in an effort to stop the involuntary movement. He ran a hoof of his own across her back, black soot falling off each of them. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of everything being okay, a lie that only felt right to say no matter how wrong it was to make that kind of promise, but was cut off.

"I've never done that before," Meadow muttered, sounding miserable.

Nightfall broke the hug, but kept his hooves on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. There was a great sorrow behind them. "Done what?"

Meadow didnt answer, believing that saying it out loud would only make her feel dirty. She was proven right when she found her voice. "Killed," she answered, "a pony, I mean. That was my first time."

"Oh," Nightfall replied, a million things now racing through his mind. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath. He had wanted nothing more than to protect her from the horrors beyond the city walls. She was strong, he knew that. Windigos, ice wolves, and blizzards. They had braved all those things together in the past, but this was new for her and the harsh reality was quickly setting in.

Nightfall finally sighed. "I'm sorry," was all he knew to say.

"Dont be," Meadow said, before planting a short kiss on his lips. "I'm okay."

The corners of Nightfall's mouth lifted only slightly, but it could not be said that he was smiling. She was okay. He was okay. They were okay. For now, that would have to be enough.

The sun was slowly beginning to rise on the new day, one that had begun with smell of the smoldering remains of log cabins and scorched earth. Though the fires were now out, small columns of grey smoke still rose from the large piles of ashen debris, the sound of still crackling embers being the only thing to prevent total silence in many parts of the base.

There had been little sleep for anyone over the course of the last ten hours, most ponies running around the base attempting to do whatever they could to mitigate the effects of their current disastrous situation. The fire department was small, made entirely out of volunteers from the security forces, but they were entirely unable to do anything until the area had been deemed secure enough for them to work. There was also a shortage of medical supplies, much of it having been lost in the hospital fire and the sheer amount of wounded they had was not doing them any favors. Those who were of able body were of insufficient quantity.

Nightfall had had his talk with the other rangers, though it was a short one. Miraculously, Teams 3 and 4 were okay, only two of their personnel having been wounded with non-life-threatening injuries. Team 5 had still failed to show up. Only the worst could be assumed. There had been little time to discuss or debate a course of action. There was just too much to take care of.

Bastion and Paper had spent their time rounding up as many ponies as they could find and trying to get a clearer picture of their current overall status. Foxtrot and a few others were clearing out the dead and trying to secure as many resources as possible. Meadow helped to tend to the wounded. And Nightfall just tried to keep it all from unraveling, many looking to him and the other ranger team leaders for guidance.

Nightfall sighed heavily as he took a seat on a step at the entrance of a burned down building. It had been a storage unit of some sort, but the supplies within were lost to the flames hours ago. "How we looking," he asked Bastion, who took a seat next to him, dropping his helmet carelessly.

"Everything is officially secure," the earth pony began. "We did a headcount too. There were 673 ponies living on this base before the attack. So far, we've counted 43 dead and another 100 or so wounded. There's still a lot of missing, including most of the MSAD."

"Most?"

"We came here with twenty mages plus a large number of auxiliary staff. All twenty of them are currently unaccounted for. A few assistants are all that are left. The strange thing is, their cabins are still standing. As far we know, they just disappeared."

Nightfall grew visibly frustrated. He knew this was a bad idea from the start, but he calmed himself and pushed the issue to the back of his mind for later. "What about Star Mist?" he asked, his voice seeming more concerned than it did a moment ago.

Bastion simply shook his head. "Still haven't found her. The shower unit closest to our cabin is still standing so she probably survived the initial attack, but... Well, what happened afterwards is anyone's guess. I've checked every body bag that's been filled, so I guess as long as we dont know for sure, there's still some hope."

Nightfall didnt reply, instead remaining silent to think.

"I hope she's okay," Bastion muttered sorrowfully. "She really seemed to like Paper and I and I really dont want to bury another friend."

"I'll be sure to tell Foxtrot to keep his mouth shut," Nightfall said somewhat bitterly. "What about the project leads? The ops center looks like it was one of the first places to get hit and we need a chain of command."

"Paper found most of them about an hour and a half ago," Bastion answered. "They're sifting through debris right now, trying to find intel or hardware they can salvage. It's mostly hopeless, but I cant say I blame them. You spend all these years doing archeological work and studying the city only for all your notes to get destroyed in a random attack."

"I'm going to need to have a talk with them soon," Nightfall said. "This is their base. They'll need to start coordinating things if we're going have any chance of getting out of this."

"We're not going to be able to stay here, are we?"

"I dont know. We have too many wounded to just pull up stakes and go somewhere else and even if we didnt, where would we go? As much as I want to just dig in and wait, we're completely cut off from Canterlot. Team 3 volunteered to try and go back, but we just cant spare the manpower."

"Not to mention it would take them a week to get back home," Bastion noted. "A second attack may come before then."

The very idea of a second attack made Nightfall's stomach drop like a rock. They had barely survived the first and now that they were in disarray, a second would surely be the end of them all. He couldn't let that happen, but he was powerless to stop it. There just weren't enough of them to put up an effective defense if another attack did come. Sure, they could arm the civilians, but Nightfall had serious doubts that they would be of any use in actual combat. They were up against a well trained and heavily armed group. Just because a pony had a weapon, didn't mean they were a soldier.

"Do we have any clue who these guys are?" Nightfall asked suddenly, as the thought hit him.

Bastion shrugged. "You could try asking Foxtrot. He and a few others dragged all their bodies off and stripped them of gear. He might be able to tell you."

"I think I'll do that," Nightfall said, standing up and grabbing is helmet and rifle. "You know where he is?"

"Should be at the armory," Bastion answered. "Or at least what's left of it." He pointed a hoof out across the skyline, focusing on a single column of smoke. "Should be that farthest one to the right," he said. "Right next thee signal fire. I'll take you there."

"Alright then. Let's get going."

Foxtrot let out a devious laugh as he dragged the pony by his rear hooves, a long red streak being left behind in the groove that was being formed in the snow. The pony in question writhed in pain as he was dragged along, one hoof pressed hard against the hole in his abdomen and the other desperately clawing at the snow in an attempt to anchor himself to the ground. When he felt his back hooves fall back to the ground, he kicked out, trying his hardest to scoot away from Foxtrot.

"Now where do you think you're going, pal?" the pegasus questioned, his voice dripping with sadistic sarcasm. "There's still a whole lot of fun I want to have with you."

The pony didnt respond in any meaningful way, instead preferring to keep on moaning in agony. He had been shot, the hot bullet still lodged in his left side with a thin line of smoke slowly pouring from the wound. Blood continued to pool below him and stain his hoof, no matter how hard he pressed down. It hurt like hell and he felt like he was going to pass out, but he kept on breathing, his heavy breaths coming out shaky but steady.

Foxtrot leaned down and watched his new friend with a little too much amusement. "Dont worry. You're doing great," he mocked.

The pony only responded with gritted teeth and an angry growl.

"Oh, dont be like that. I had actually fired with the intent to kill you. You should be happy that I was off target. Most ponies aren't so lucky."

As Foxtrot continued to harass the mercenary, several security personnel all stood around, feeling very little sympathy or pity for him. They were not an army. This was not a war. But whoever this pony was with had decided to paint a target on their backs. Most of the ponies in the base were civilians and their entire world had been turned into a war. For what reasons, they didn't yet know, but they hoped to find out soon.

"What's going on over here?" a voice suddenly asked as a thestral and an earth pony joined the group.

"Ah, Nightfall, Bastion!" Foxtrot greeted cheerfully. "I'm glad you're here." He yanked the mercenary back across the ground several feet, extracting a pained yelp from him. "Look what I found."

Bastion felt his stomach twist up in a knot at seeing the mercenary lying there, clearly in a great deal of pain and likely not having long to live. The growing pool of blood was evident of this. Nightfall's own expression didnt change much, other than his eyes growing somewhat wider and seeming more focused.

"Nightfall," Bastion said in a hushed tone, pulling the thestral to the side for a moment. "This guy needs medical attention or else he's not going to make it."

"I know," Nightfall said plainly and somewhat unnervingly. He broke off from Bastion and approached one of the surrounding security personnel, taking a medkit from him before trotting over to the mercenary and dropping it in front of him.

The mercenary looked up at the small red cross that adorned the side of the bag and reached out, attempting to crawl his way to the medical supplies. Nightfall responded to this by simply moving few inches back, just out of reach. "You want this, dont you?" Nightfall began. "I'm going to need something from you first."

"Go. To. Hell," the mercenary spat.

"Nightfall, this guy isnt going to cooperate without a little persuasion first," Foxtrot said, cracking his hooves in anticipation. "Let me knock a few of his teeth out and show that we mean business." He took a step towards him, but Nightfall waved him off, holding up a hoof as if to say "just hold on a second." Bastion felt as if he was going to puke.

"Listen," Nightfall tried again. "I know you think you're tough, but you will bleed out if you try to keep this up. Tell me what I want to know and I can save you."

The mercenary curled back up, clearly not wanting to talk.

Nightfall sighed. "Foxtrot, hold him down."

The smile on Foxtrot's face grew ten fold all of a sudden as he climbed up behind the mercenary and pinned his hooves to the ground. The mercenary struggled for only a moment, before finding that it was useless. His body was far too broken to put up any effective resistance.

Nightfall found a patch of soot still clinging to his snow suit, rubbing his hoof across it unit it was completely covered in black. He then began to smear it across the mercenary's face, rubbing it into his coat, under his nose, and over his mouth.

The mercenary responded with a fit of coughs, each one causing the muscles under his diaphragm to tense up, and each one shooting more and more pain into the already burning wound. Then he sneezed, his jolting body seizing up instantly as his very breath was taken away. He gasped for breath, but found none, his lounges burning and crying out for life giving air, but being too strained to grasp and take it in. His head was rocked to the side suddenly as a hoof struck him.

"Nightfall!" Bastion cried, stopping the thestral from delivering another blow and stepping between him and their prisoner. "What are you doing?" he asked, a look of horror overcoming him.

Nightfall shrugged, looking both ashamed and resolute in his actions at the same time. "I dont know," he answered in a whisper. "This... asshole knows things," he continued, now sounding quite angry. "We need to know what's going on here. Right now, we're completely in the dark."

"We cant just torture him like this though," Bastion pleaded, putting extra emphasis on 'torture.' "We cant do this, Nightfall. It violates every convention of the last two hundred years."

"I know," Nightfall replied hesitantly. "You're right..." He swallowed hard as he ran a hoof through his disheveled mane, before swearing under his breath for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

On the other side of Bastion, Foxtrot waited impatiently, still on top of the mercenary and pinning him down. "What are we waiting for, guys?" he called over, noticing that the others were taking forever to make up their minds. They exchanged several more words as if they had not noticed him there. "Hey."

Much to Foxtrot's disappointment, Nightfall replied with "Patch him up." His ears splayed back and he looked to Nightfall with confusion. Bastion was also giving him the same look that Nightfall now displayed. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yes, Foxtrot," Nightfall answered sternly. "I'm serious. We can do this later."

"Later? We've got him here right now!"

"And he wont be any good to us if he's dead," Nightfall countered. "Fix him up and bring back to the staging area. We'll go from there."

Foxtrot backed off, removing his hooves from the mercenary and allowing Bastion and few others to take over. This wasnt how you were supposed to do things. The mercenary was never going to talk unless they threatened to let him die. Now that opportunity was gone. "Where are you going?" Foxtrot asked, seeing that Nightfall was leaving.

"I've got to go find space for this and see what the project leads are doing," Nightfall called back. "Do me a favor and dont start anything while I'm gone."

Foxtrot just waved the thestral off. This was a mistake, but there really was nothing he could do. For now, he bit his tongue and went back to being a good little soldier.

Author's Notes:

Originally, this wasnt going to be out until February, but I got into the mood for writing and just kinda had at it. I really wanted to have it ready for Christmas, but realized that I needed to slow down a bit. I do think though, that I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out. I've got a lot of "fun" planned for later chapters.