It was a place she had hoped never to enter again, and yet, here she was all the same. The Everfree Forest. Gateway to the Lunar Kingdom, and home to beasts and creatures that most Equestrians had created entire legends around. It was a place Mothers told their children never to go to, for fear that they would never return. And here, even surrounded by soldiers as she was, Twilight couldn't help but feel as though she was more at risk than she'd ever been. The joint force of Equestrian and Lunar soldiers had entered the Forest via the gap in the tree-line that lay just behind the Lunar Embassy, and had proceeded through what could generously be called a "path" through this place. While the Lunar soldiers marched onwards in a strict and tightly-knit line, the Equestrians were not so sure-footed, often stopping to make sure they weren't stepping on anything bad as they moved.

Because of this, it wasn't long before the Equestrians were bringing up the rear entirely, with the Lunars forging ahead. In-between the two groups however, were their respective leaders. Aurora and Shining, both keeping their eyes forward as they walked together, and beside them, keeping a fearful eye on all around her, was Twilight. The young unicorn, realising that she was with experienced military personnel, had decided not to really speak up all that much on their journey so far. But always her eyes drifted to something up in the trees, or even to the trees themselves, and could practically feel how ancient they were as they passed. During her silence though, Shining had a question for his counterpart.

"I was under the impression that your Queen faced such dangers herself. Why send her forces to face this dragon instead of engaging it directly?"

Aurora didn't face him as she answered.

"If this were some monster that we mortal ponies couldn't fight, like the Tantabus, that is exactly what she'd do. But, she takes it upon herself to ensure that her people are strong enough to fight beasts like these without her presence. After all..."

She cast Shining a sly glance.

"...we'd be a pretty feeble people if we kept on relying on some higher power to save us all the time."

Shining considered that, not quite appreciating the tone she'd spoken to him in. As for Twilight, she'd been listening carefully, and there came a time when she found that she could keep silent no longer, and so looked past her brother to Aurora.

"Captain Dash?"

The blue mare looked back to her ally, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Twilight hesitated, but soon got her thoughts together.

"I was wondering...how exactly do you plan to deal with this dragon?"

The Lunar Captain looked ahead yet again, her expression never betraying her feelings as she answered.

"Standard procedure. Issue our demands that he move beyond our borders. And if that fails, we engage."

Twilight nodded.

"Yes, I gathered that much, but...how do you plan to engage?"

Aurora replied in her usual professional tone.

"The pegasi, including me, will engage directly, encircling the beast and keeping it distracted. During that time, our unicorns will get into position and use their most powerful offensive spells."

She turned to look at Twilight directly.

"Our training has let us know of a dragon's weak points, usually on the underside, where their scales are thinner. And fortunately for us..."

The pegasus looked ahead again, narrowing her eyes.

"...our reports say that it's an adolescent. Not fully grown. So with luck, this'll be easier than tackling the adults."

Twilight took in all of those words, though it would have been a lie to say that she was entirely comfortable amidst all of this military talk. But, as they journeyed onwards, one question started to grow in her mind. A question that, perhaps, she feared she already knew the response to. Her eyes kept drifting from Aurora, to the path ahead, and back and forth, until finally, she opened her mouth, ready to answer. However, she found, to her surprise, that Aurora, still keeping her focus on the path, asked the question for her.

"You want to know what we plan to do with the dragon after its defeat?"

While taken aback, Twilight soon composed herself, closing her mouth and nodding, to which Aurora soon responded.

"Why are you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

Twilight face became one of concern, as was Shining's when he looked to her, and soon, the former spoke softly to their Lunar ally.

"...You're going to kill it, aren't you?"

Aurora said nothing for a time, but for almost a full minute, Twilight kept her eyes on her. The pegasus mare could feel her gaze, and finally, there came a moment when she'd had enough, and she raised a hoof.

"Halt!"

As befitting of their expected discipline, the Lunar soldiers stopped their march, but did not turn to their leader. Instead, they remained as still as statues, while Aurora herself turned to look Twilight right in the eye.

"Yes, Twilight, we are planning on killing it. Posing a threat to the wellbeing of Lunar citizens is a capital offense in our domain, especially when the ones doing so are within our borders while they do it."

Seeing Twilight's indignant look, Aurora soon rolled her eyes.

"But if it puts you at ease, we will be offering it a chance to leave peacefully before we take that action. I believe I told you as much before we left."

Twilight frowned.

"It doesn't put me at ease."

Aurora frowned right back to her.

"I appreciate that you might feel for this creature, given that your own son is a dragon, but..."

But Twilight cut her off.

"This has nothing to do with Spike. You can't just go around killing things, Aurora! I know there's a chance it might go off and do harm, but...ending its life isn't the answer!"

Aurora almost seemed amused by this.

"Then what is? Send it home? Let it escape and go on thinking that the worst that'll happen if it does it again is a slap on the wrist? How long before news of that soft approach spreads to other dragons? If we don't deal with this trespass harshly, all we're doing is inviting further incidents later on!"

Twilight pointed to their path ahead, keeping her eyes on Aurora as she did so.

"A dead dragon can't learn from its mistakes!"

The Lunar Captain took a single step forward.

"Nor can it repeat them!"

Aurora gained even more sternness in her eyes.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to be merciful to a monster? The Tantabus nearly killed you! Do you really want to risk that again?"

There was a wariness in the air now, as several of the Equestrian guards behind them started to look to Aurora with scorn. And likewise, as if responding to the Equestrians, two of the Lunar soldiers looked behind, watching them cautiously. Shining, looking from one mare to the next, finally intervened.

"Look...we have no idea what might happen when we meet this thing. For all we know, it'll take your offer and leave. And if not..."

He sighed, looking to his sister.

"...then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Twilight cast her brother a glance, and when she did, her expression softened. Slowly, she nodded, accepting his words. As for Aurora, she looked over to the two of her soldiers who had looked back to this little confrontation, giving them a silent nod. They nodded back, and soon, the convoy was moving again. Twilight, Aurora and Shining too resumed their walk, and as they marched, Twilight cast her Lunar companion a disapproving look.

"Just so you know...I didn't sign up for this mission just to become someone's executioner."

Aurora didn't look back to her as she answered.

"Maybe not...but it's better to be someone's executioner than their victim."

Twilight said nothing to that, merely watching as her brother and his counterpart kept on marching beside her. After a while, she hung her head low, letting out a long sigh, and in the relative silence of this place, her eyes widened slightly. She started to slow down a bit, looking around as though she'd heard something strange. It was a confusing feeling, something she couldn't quite describe. And yet, there was a sense of familiarity about it. Eventually, she stopped walking altogether, with many of the other Equestrians looking to her with confusion as they passed her. In this moment, Twilight looked off to one side, through the thick collection of trees in that direction, looking almost like she was in a trance. Something was out there, calling to her, and for just a moment, she reached out her hoof to whatever might have beckoned to her.

"Twilight?"

The voice of her brother snapped her out of it, and she turned to him, seeing the worried look he now bore.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

The young mare turned from him, looking back in the direction she'd been staring in before. She couldn't understand why she'd just done what she did, or what that prior feeling truly was. All she knew was that, under the present circumstances, it was a poor time to be dwelling on it. So, after shaking her head, she turned, trotting along the path to re-join her brother.

"It's...it's nothing. Let's just get back to the others."