“Excuse me!”

Twilight sidestepped, allowing a couple of human nurses to dash past her as they carried a bed with an injured Zebra. She watched them go, the patient moaning in pain. She looked down to see her hooves had stepped on a puddle of blood, and recoiled at the sight. A foul smell creeped into her nostrils the further she remained in place. She couldn’t help but gag, never before having been exposed to such an assault to the senses. For a moment she stopped, looking around to find herself somewhere inside a hospital. The white tiles, both floor and wall, were stained crimson. The sounds of suffering were maddening, adding to the sense of pungent death. All around her were ponies, changelings and more than a few humans lying in beds. Most of those in the hospital were sitting against the walls.

Without thinking, she began walking again. She wanted to escape the smell and the noises, but most of all, the ambiance of death. Everything became numb, she processed what she was seeing. Worry began to crawl in, for loved ones and friends. The death toll kept rising steadily, that much she knew, she could feel it. A distant scream broke her from her trance, the scream of a young child in pain. Out, she wanted out. Walking turned into a gallop, rushing through the hallways, trying to find a destination she didn’t know.

One of her hooves touched the ground, then slid along a patch of fresh blood. She fell onto the floor ungraciously, then fumbled to stand back up, but found herself staring into the eyes of an old stallion who was also lying on the floor.

She remained like that, locked into his eyes, those glassy eyes. His stare, unblinking, pierced into her. Once she finally broke her stare away, she carefully got back onto her hooves, then looked down at the stallion. She gagged at the sight of his intestines spread on the floor, the stench of death now stronger than ever. She covered her mouth with a leg and stepped back, tears welling up in her eyes.

Someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, causing Twilight to recoil and turn, finding a woman standing next to her. “We’ve got another one! Get more body bags!” the human yelled.

Twilight began stepping back, completely repulsed by the sight. She turned around, unable to look on for any longer, and continued her panicked gallop. The mare closed her eyes, trying to block her senses, focusing on her breathing and heartbeat. She just ran, until the stench and the noise stopped. She panted, breathing heavily, gallop turning into a jog, then into a walk. Eventually, she stopped, opened her eyes and looked around, seeing clean white tiles, no noise, nothing.

She leaned against a wall and looked down, trying to catch her breath, then gagged, finally releasing the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Twilight held her stomach, coughing loudly, then noticed that one of the doors on the hallway opened up.

“Twilight?” a concerned Rarity muttered. “Twilight!”

Twilight spit on the floor, shaking her head. “Rarity…”

“What happened to you? We’ve been waiting for you!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’re covered in blood and... What happened? Tell me…” She reached over and began adjusting her friend’s mane.

Twilight’s mind flashed with the images from before, and smell came back to her. She gagged again, then took a deep breath. “I think I took a wrong turn somewhere in here…” She coughed, lifting her head up. “There’s so many dead, Rarity, I didn’t think it was this bad…”

“W-well, yes…” Rarity muttered. “Let’s just… Let’s just go to Rainbow’s room, we’ll get you cleaned up.”

Twilight nodded, then walked after Rarity. Together they entered a room, and they were presented with the sight of the rest of their friends sitting around Rainbow’s bed, who was sitting up. They all looked at their alicorn friend, Fluttershy gasped.

“H-hey girls…” Twilight muttered, walking over to them and plopping herself on the floor. “Don’t mind me I just… I just walked through the wrong section of the hospital...”

“I’ll get some clean towels for you,” Rarity stated, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Looks like it’s another farewell forever maybe party…” Applejack muttered, rubbing her head, Twilight noticing her hat was gone. “Just wish there’d be some cake…”

“Haha,” Pinkie said. Twilight could see that her mane was completely deflated. “Everyone’s dying and you want cake? Should’ve asked before they killed Mister Carrot Cake.”

“Forget I said anythin’...” Applejack sighed and looked away.

“I just hope my little critters are doing okay…” Fluttershy trailed off. “But... “ She looked down. “It’s really bad out there… For everyone.”

“I know…” Rainbow muttered.

The door slid open. Twilight looked over her shoulder to see Rarity holding a couple white towels, but behind her was an armored man. Rarity walked over to her unfolded a towel, beginning to clean Twilight’s fur. The guardsman walked in, holding a holopad on his hand. He stood tall, then looked down at the pad.

“Miss Rainbow Dash and Applejack?” he asked.

Twilight watched as the two mares stood up. Rainbow stretched her bionic wing, giving it a good couple flaps, then walked over to the man along with Applejack.

“What’s this?” Rarity asked, rubbing the towel on Twilight’s bloodstained hoof.

“Alright,” the man began. “The paperwork is done, I just need your biosignatures.” He kneeled down and showed the pad to the two mares. Twilight lifted an eyebrow, looking at the two, who glanced at each other, nodded and placed their hooves on the pad. Soon after, a small beep sounded off and a light on the pad turned green.

The man stood back up. “Welcome to the Colonial Guard, mares! A dropship will pick you up at the hospital’s landing pad in about two hours. You’re allowed to bring three personal objects with you.” He nodded at them and turned to walk out the room. “I just wish we didn’t have to bring you to this but... We do need more natives like you,” he said as he walked out, the door closing behind him.

Twilight frowned, looking at her two friends.

“Whaaaat!?” Rarity yelled, causing Twilight to flinch. “Are you two insane!?” she continued. “Have you seen what is happening outside? You’re going to get yourselves killed!”

“Shut it, Rarity!” Applejack yelled back. “I know what’s going on, I lost my entire farm, my life! If it weren’t for the guardsmen, I wouldn’t even be here right now! We need more people doing the same for others!”

“Oh don’t give me that!” Rarity exclaimed. “A-and what about you, Rainbow? I thought you would have learned your lesson after losing your wing!”

“My lesson!?” Dash retorted. “The only thing I learned from that is that we need to fight back! I’m not standing around while people are getting killed!”

“Shut up!” Pinkie yelled at the top of her lungs. “SHUT. UP!”

The room fell silent. Twilight’s eyes widened, staring at Pinkie, who was breathing heavily as she stared out the window.

“Let them fight, I just… I just don’t care anymore!” the pink mare exclaimed. “If we’re gonna be friends… If our friendship’s gonna last after this whole thing blows over… We need to just... step back.” She took in a deep breath. “We need a break.”

“Y’know what?” Applejack stood straight. “Agreed!” She tapped Rainbow on the shoulder and nodded towards the door. “Come on Rainbow, we’ve got a dropship waiting for us!”

Twilight watched as the two made their way to the door and walked out. Tears began to well on her eyes, she wanted to speak but no words could come out. Rarity placed her hooves on her.

“Come on Twilight, I think we should leave.”

Without saying a single word, Twilight shakingly got up and followed Rarity. Just before walking out of the room, she looked over her shoulder at Pinkie and Fluttershy, a tear streaming down her face.

Alone with Pinkie, Fluttershy looked down and began to sob.