Fluttershy sat on one of the many marble benches in the Canterlot gardens, morosely watching the beautiful small lake in front of her.

"So there you are!" a familiar voice called from above. "Geeze, Fluttershy, you make it really difficult to find you when you're in a bad mood!"

She grimaced as Rainbow Dash did a loop above her before slowly sitting down at her side.

"So! What's up?"

Fluttershy sighed. "I just don't get why Twilight would do something like going out to fight intentionally."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "What do you mean? They would have killed her if they could…"

"But she went out there on her own," Fluttershy said. "She could have stayed behind without going out looking for a fight. I know the others have no choice, but Twilight isn't one of them. She's trapped there."

"Huh," Rainbow Dash turned to look from herself to the water. "I don't know about that, I mean, doesn't she have friends there? Doesn't that make it her problem too?"

Fluttershy winced. "I don't mean that they don't matter!" she exclaimed, shocked at the implication. "It's just that Twilight could have chosen to help in a different way that didn't involve her going out with a weapon and intent to kill."

Rainbow Dash sighed, wrapping a wing around Fluttershy. "There's a difference between going out looking for a fight and doing your duty, Fluttershy."

"I know, and if Twilight was part of the guard, or-or a human, then I—" Fluttershy cut herself short, not liking the pitying look from Rainbow Dash. "It's just not the same. Twilight was there by accident, not by choice. She was supposed to stay safe, not look for danger. She was supposed to study magic and friendship, not kill others."

"Sometimes there's not much of a choice," Rainbow Dash said slowly. She didn't look at Fluttershy, frowning as she fought to find the words that fit what she wanted to say. "I mean, sure, she could have stayed in the base, but why would she? It's like… like when we went to fight Nightmare Moon, or went all the way to the Crystal Empire, or fought Discord… you could have stayed home."

"Oh no," Fluttershy said immediately. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Weeeell…" Rainbow Dash droned, "Then why would you want Twilight to do so?"

Fluttershy pursed her lips. "But she doesn't need to. Over here if I didn't go with you, the Elements wouldn't work."

"You really think that?" Rainbow Dash asked, nodding back at Fluttershy when she did. "Then… why is it so hard to imagine that Twilight feels the same way?"

"I—" Fluttershy paused.

"I mean, sure, they don't need a specific mare in their team to activate magical artifacts, but it's like… like 'Daring Do and the Onyx Minotaur", right? If Daring had been alone, who would have warned her about the Nagas about to ambush her?"

"I-I don't...really read those books…"

Rainbow Dash groaned. "I mean… look, what if… Twilight was the one pony, in all their team, that noticed a really dangerous monster? Maybe it's magical, or some egghead science that she knows about would give her a warning, and she's the only one that knows how to deal with it? Like… like Pinkie and the Parasprites? Only worse. What if somepony else went instead of her, and they all died and Twilight knew that she could have made the difference?"

Fluttershy flinched, considering her words.

"Look, I don't like our egghead going out there and… and getting into things that could get her hurt either, you know? None of us do." Rainbow Dash elaborated, "But… I mean, I couldn't live with myself if I knew my friends were going out to possibly die and I could make a difference… and I chose to stay behind, could you?"

"No," Fluttershy admitted with a sigh. "No, I couldn't."

"I don't think that Twilight wants to do that kind of thing," Rainbow continued, "but I think that maybe she knows that it's not really a choice, not if… not if she's really their friend and knows she can do something about it."

She sighed. "And… don't get me wrong… it's really scary to find out so many of her friends were killed right in front of her, and… just thinking about that happening to her makes me sick, but I do get where she's coming from, and I think the princesses and the others do too."

Fluttershy buried her face on Rainbow's shoulder. "I just miss my friend. And I don't want her to do those things. Is that so bad?"

"No," Rainbow said, "It's not. But Twilight will need our support more than ever and… saying that thing about Spike and walking out…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay Fluttershy… we were more worried than anything." Rainbow Dash leaned in, resting her head atop her friends'. "Let's hang out here for a bit and then we can go back to the others, alright?"

Angel's Point, when it wasn't being set on fire by ADVENT, was as idyllic a settlement as you could get. The housing might not look as modern as a city, for example, but there was a sense of welcoming and warmth that was missing from the mostly sanitized feel of the alien-produced option.

There were entire families here, far more than they had seen before, and Sunset suspected that there were probably a lot of hideouts that they had missed last time… the place was very well organized, with the 'streets' wide enough to let everyone walk through them unimpeded and several spots that had been set already for defense.

Whatever had happened last time, Fluttershy had not been idle, she had fortified her settlement and repaired it without turning it into a den of rough types like New Heaven had been. Here, children ran on the streets, shouting and laughing and calling each other; couples walked hand in hand, the market traded goods and people seemed generally happy.

That wasn't to say there were no serious defenders around. She saw a few of the fighters she had seen before walking around. She recognized Mohinder, who waved at her from where he was picking up some fruit at the market, and Krav, who was standing guard at the entrance to the settlement.

"Hey," Sunset said, smiling at him. "It's been a while."

Krav grinned. "It has. I'm glad that you get to see this place as it usually is." He gave her companions a long look, particularly Mox. "I see you brought new friends."

Sunset nodded. "Right, Mox, Elena, this is Krav, he's one of 'The Rabbits'. They're the team Fluttershy set up to protect the settlement."

"A pleasure to meet you," Mox said.

Elena simply nodded.

"What happened to your other teammates?" Krav asked, nodding in return. "I hope the one that got injured got better?"

Sunset grimaced. "Yeah, if it wasn't for you guys and Fluttershy's help she wouldn't have made it… she and Shintaro… they decided to retire from active fighting. They're doing well, but now keep to assisting the engineers in Shintaro's case, and Paula is training to be a nurse."

"Ah," Krav sighed. "At least they live. After the last attack we have been free of retaliation so far, and we aim to keep it that way."

"Alas, fighting is not for all," Mox said, "I met Shintaro and Paula as well, and I had hoped they would remain steadfast with us, but while they might not carry guns into battle, their assistance is still essential in the grand scheme of things."

"They give up too easy," Elena stated. She weathered everyone else's look. "Volk would have never suffered that cowardice."

Sunset sighed. "If they're not ready for it, they could cause more harm than help."

Elena shrugged. "Not everyone is meant for battle... as Pratal Mox said."

Krav gave her an amused look. "Very pragmatic. You'll pardon me for saying this, but neither of you look like XCOM soldiers."

"They're not," Sunset said. "Mox here is a Skirmisher, and Elena is a Reaper."

Krav's eyes widened. "We've heard of you," he said turning to the others. "Even though we've never seen either of your forces here, your reputation precedes you." He have Sunset an appreciative look. "It seems XCOM is building quite the army."

"Friendship is Magic, Krav," Sunset stated.

Mox turned around coughing and Elena smirked.

"Indeed it is," Krav said, giving them an amused look. He glanced out to the field, where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were having a conversation. "She sometimes tells us about her friends from high school. She misses them, and she thought most of them were dead. When she figured out your pilot was one of them and hadn't told her last time… I thought she'd shoot you guys down from the sky."

Sunset chuckled nervously. "Well. I'm glad she decided to call in first."

"Same here," Krav said with a grin. He nodded at Angel when the viper hissed. "Come on, let's get you settled in."

As they walked down the streets, Krav pointed out places of interest. "Last time you were here, most of the civilians were already in our shelters… we didn't build them, however. There quite a few caverns accessible only from the cliff side. We discovered them when building our stairwell there, and then did our best to hide them.

"When we hear about incoming ADVENT, we send as many people in there as we can evacuate, and they have ladders, rope and food to survive and escape later whatever happens."

"That is very smart," Mox said with a nod. "ADVENT is only interested in destroying the camp and will attempt to leave as fast as they came in."

Krav nodded. "That is how most people survived the first attack. Fluttershy also organized teams to lead people deep into the jungle, where we found some ancient structures. She went there herself and planned the routes and taught us how not to disturb any dangerous animals."

"She's proven a capable leader," Elena stated. "Volk would approve."

"But do you?" Sunset asked.

"...yes."

The group was lead to a small tent, where a table was set for them. Krav said something and the promised tea was served, along with some fresh fruits and cooked food.

"Please, go ahead and eat," Krav said, motioning with his hand at the morsels. "It's all been farmed or hunted by us."

"Self-sufficient," Elena muttered with a tinge of respect.

Shortly after, they saw the Skyranger flying away, and Fluttershy made her way back to camp.

It was heartwarming how the people of Angel's Point treated her.

To Sunset, the only viable comparison was that of Celestia walking into a small town in Equestria: all of the people living and working there would stop to speak to her or offer her something in gratitude, and even though she seemed to make time to speak with all of them, she still managed to flow through the settlement without a problem.

"The site is about two days walk from here through the jungle," Fluttershy explained, as she pointed their position on a topographical map of the area, then slid her finger towards the main land, where a location was circled in red. "That's as far as we've been able to make it, but there is a trail that goes deeper into the jungle and we see plenty of tracks along it. Mostly vehicles."

She pulled out a notepad and put it on top of the map. "They get deliveries every month, and your Commander says that they match the vehicle signatures from the location you investigated before." She pointed out the schedule she had written down.

"We can't confirm that directly, but I trust that she wouldn't send you here without making sure. If that's true, then the next delivery should happen in three days… if you reach their depot before then, you should be able to find more information."

Sunset nodded. "It will also make it easier to follow them past it… although, are you sure that's reachable in two days?"

"It does seem a bit far, unless we're supposed to run," Elena added.

"If you went alone, yes, it might be a little difficult to make it in time," Fluttershy said, "It would also be difficult to navigate from here to there without falling for any of the traps we have laid. But I'll be sending a guide with you."

Sunset blinked.

"That would prove fortuitous," Mox said. "A fighter with knowledge of the area will simplify things considerably, but we were under the impression that none of your forces really dared venture deeper into the jungle."

"That, and we don't want your people to risk their lives," Sunset added.

Fluttershy smiled. "I've been there plenty of times myself, but don't worry… your guide is the one that had the idea of leading you there in the first place."

"Oh?" Elena asked. "And who is this person?"

Angel hissed, raising her fist and tapping her chest.

"Seriously?" Sunset asked.

"You have got to be kidding." Elena rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I have worked with your kind before," Mox said, nodding. "It would be my honor to do so again."

Sunset chuckled weakly as the viper cuddled up to her. "I'm looking forward to traveling together."

"I bet you are."

They all turned to look at Elena, who pretended she was studying the map and hadn't said anything.

"We'll get started in two hours," Fluttershy said. "Your equipment was brought in by The Rabbits, make sure you pack everything you need, I'll get Angel ready as well." She handed them a few maps. "There are plenty of places to replenish your rations, and we have some hidden caches that Angel will show you how to find in case you need some additional equipment."

"Thanks," Sunset said, taking the map and locking eyes with Fluttershy. "We'll be ready."

The seriousness of her statement was then undermined by Angel hissing something in her ear and making her giggle.