“I’m sorry.”

Scootaloo sighed and looked at her companion. Gilda was lying on the ground, her tail curled around her, digging a small hole with a talon. The only light came through the windows in Zecora’s hut, where the zebra was still tending to Sweetie Belle. The two soldiers had spoken little to each other since returning from the jungle clearing, though Zecora had given the griffon quite a tongue lashing when they brought Sweetie Belle’s limp body into her hut. Until this moment, Gilda had been almost silent since.

Gilda pried a rock out of the soft earth and studied it for a moment. “It’s just… it’s Shadow Strike,” she said, flicking the rock away. The rock sailed through the air and disappeared in the shadows that lay beyond the broken circle of torchlight. “Dash and I… we were close, you know?” Gilda looked over at Scootaloo, who gazed wordlessly back. “I guess I let myself get carried away.”

“Shadow Strike’s still out there,” Scootaloo replied, turning her attention toward the shadows. “We’ll get her eventually.”

Gilda poked at the ground a couple times. “Look, Scoots, I hate to keep bringing this up, but how do you know we haven’t found her already?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer, and Gilda returned to digging holes. To be honest, Scootaloo couldn’t answer. She didn’t know that Sweetie Belle wasn’t Shadow Strike, and she had to admit the evidence wasn’t in her favor. Still, a part of her couldn’t believe her childhood friend was Nightmare Moon’s spy and assassin. Or did she just not want to believe it?

The orange pegasus sighed again and closed her eyes, resting her head on her forelegs. This was by far the most confusing guard assignment she’d ever had.

The hut’s door creaked open, and Apple Bloom stepped out, her head hanging a little lower than usual. “Howdy,” she mumbled. “How y’all doin’?”

“Fine,” Scootaloo muttered back.

“Okay,” Gilda added.

Apple Bloom sat down behind the two and yawned. “Well, you’ll be glad to know that Sweetie’s doing okay,” she said.

“Is she awake?” Scootaloo asked, perking her head up a little.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Shutting down a spell that powerful is dangerous at best,” she said. “On the bright side, we know this latest potion is at least half-ready.”

“Potion?” Scootaloo repeated. “You mean the one for Nightmare Moon?”

“Wait, back up.” Gilda sat up and brushed a little dirt out of her fur and feathers. “What’s this have to do with the potion?”

“The potion is supposed to suppress all kinds of magic,” Apple Bloom explained. “I was going to test it out on Sweetie Belle once you were done talkin’ to her, but… well, it got a little more dramatic than I thought.”

“Test?” Scootaloo said, her voice rising. “You were using Sweetie Belle to test a poison?”

“Relax, Scoots, it’s not a poison,” Apple Bloom said, raising her hooves defensively. “After what happened five years ago, Zecora and I decided to make the potion non-lethal. Besides, Sweetie’s been helping test the potion for months now. That’s how I knew where to meet her.”

“You were still testing on her!” Scootaloo shouted. “What if the potion was too strong and she lost her magic forever?”

“You think she didn’t know that?” Apple Bloom snapped. “She was hopin’ for it! You think she wants to keep summoning those… those… things every time she gets mad?”

“Cool it, sergeant,” Gilda said.

“You’re one to talk,” Scootaloo shot back.

“Scoots, I wouldn’t have dreamed of testing it on Sweetie Belle if I thought it wasn’t safe,” Apple Bloom said. “We needed to be sure it would work with pony magic, and she was the only unicorn available.”

“Pony magic?” Scootaloo repeated. “What other kind of magic is there?”

Apple Bloom smiled in the dim light, despite the bags under her eyes. “Come with me. I’ll show you.”

“Don’t think so,” Gilda replied, getting to her feet. “Scoots and I have a potion to collect.”

“It’ll be fine,” Apple Bloom said. “Nightmare Moon won’t find it here.”

“She found it once,” Scootaloo said. “Gilda’s right. Unless it’s to keep the potion safe, we can’t leave.”

Apple Bloom’s smile faded, and she stared at the ground as she ran her hoof up and down her foreleg. “Listen… Scootaloo, we’re friends, right?”

“Of course,” Scootaloo replied with a frown. “Why?”

“Well…” She glanced quickly at Gilda. “Five years ago, Nightmare Moon didn’t exactly steal the potion.”

“What do you mean?” Gilda asked, her usual scowl returning. “How did she get it?”

“She got it from me.”

Scootaloo’s mouth hung open for what felt like much longer than a moment. “What?”

“I-It was an accident,” Apple Bloom added quickly. “When we heard Rainbow Dash was going to attack, Zecora sent me with the potion we had. I was supposed to sneak into Canterlot and poison Nightmare Moon, but she caught me, took the potion, and used it against Dash’s army.”

“You mean it’s your fault my soldiers died?” Gilda yelled, her scowl deepening.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Apple Bloom shouted, her voice cracking.

“Who decided to send you in, anyway?” Gilda demanded. “You’re an herbalist, not an assassin!”

Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed, and she touched a hoof to her Stetson. “You really don’t recognize me?” she asked. “You saw me trying to get into Rainbow Dash’s tent, didn’t you?”

Gilda’s eyes widened. “You!” The griffon lunged at the yellow pony, who deftly dodged to the side. “You’re the one who killed Rainbow Dash!”

“Gilda!” Scootaloo cried.

“I was tryin’ to warn her,” Apple Bloom replied as the griffon lunged again. The earth pony sidestepped, and Gilda missed once again, nearly crashing into Scootaloo. “It’s not my fault you didn’t listen!”

“You gave her the potion!” Gilda snarled, preparing for a third attack. “You told her our plan!”

“Nightmare Moon knew about your plan all along!” Apple Bloom shouted. “You think I’m the only spy she had?”

“You’re the only one that matters,” Gilda growled.

The door to Zecora’s hut flew open, and a very angry zebra stepped outside. “What is going on out here?” Zecora yelled. “My own thoughts I cannot hear!”

“Zecora! Apple Bloom is Shadow Strike!” Gilda lunged at the earth pony for the third time, and Apple Bloom avoided her once again. “She’s after the potion!”

“Apple Bloom is no threat to us,” Zecora said. “There is no need for all this fuss.”

“No need?” Gilda repeated. “She’s working for Nightmare Moon! She’ll steal the potion and kill us in our sleep!”

“If she was going to kill us, she’d have done it already,” Scootaloo said, putting herself between the griffon and the earth pony.

Gilda stared at her. “Whose side are you on?”

Zecora stomped on Gilda’s tail. The griffon let out a high-pitched squeal and rounded on the zebra. “Hold your peace, you headstrong fool, or you will face an end most cruel.”

“Is that a threat?” Gilda growled.

“You are too hasty in your youth,” Zecora said. “Settle down and hear the truth. You’ve been tricked by what you’ve seen. Not everything is as it seems.”

“And why should I trust you?” Gilda asked. “You can’t even give me a straight answer!”

“Because I am your only chance if your plan is to advance,” the zebra answered, taking her hoof off Gilda’s tail at last.

“I’ve already waited long enough!” Gilda yelled. She turned to face Shadow Strike, only to find that the earth pony was gone. “Where is she?” Gilda demanded. “Where’d she go?”

“Apple Bloom has work to do,” Zecora said. “She just left with Scootaloo.”

“What? No!” Gilda bolted for the forest, scanning the darkness for any sign of her best friend or her greatest enemy.

“They are gone, my griffon friend,” said the zebra, walking forward to stand beside Gilda. “The time for hatred is at an end. If we are to avoid our doom, we must not judge our friends so soon.”

“You don’t understand!” Gilda said. “She… I saw her!”

“You cannot always trust your eyes with one whose life is wrapped in lies,” Zecora replied gently. “Give her time to tell her tale, and she may help us to prevail.”

Gilda looked desperately towards the trees once again, but she knew in her heart she would never find the two ponies. “Fine,” she grumbled as she walked towards the hut. “But if anything happens to Scootaloo, I’m holding you accountable.”