Three months later.

Fall had now come. Casualties on both sides for the war had gone into the hundreds of thousands. Deadeye, Recoil, and Earthshock did their best to stall the Steel Talons until the rest of the COLTS completed training. Luna sat on her balcony silently crying to herself. Big Mac disappeared and hadn't been seen in three months. Applejack had said something about him going to Hoofington but she had flown over there and he wasn' there. Applejack was the element of honesty and wouldn't lie so she really thought Big Mac was there. Luna had sent letters to every garrison there was and Big Mac wasn't at any of them.

"He must not like me and why should he? I almost killed everything in Equestria by trying to make eternal night, I almost killed him. I don't deserve him, he is so brave and loyal and kind and I'm just a monster." Luna thought to herself. She hated Nightmare Moon and she hated herself for giving into her jealousy. Even though it had been nearly two years since she was set free from Nightmare Moon, she still had a lot of trouble making friends and fitting in. The only pony she ever really talked to was Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. Ponies often still resented her for what she attempted to do when she was Nightmare Moon and sometimes ponies ran away in stark terror of her. Big Macintosh was one of the only ponies she knew who didn't care about what she did in the past and who liked her for who she was. She longed to see those deep green eyes again.

"I miss you." Luna said as she retreated back into her room for some sleep.

XXXXX

Of the 215 ponies present at the beginning of COLTS training, only 74 remained at this point. The remaining ponies had been utterly destroyed and slowly rebuilt into lethal killing machines but they weren't done yet. Captain Deadeye had come to moniter their progress.

"RECRUITS! FACE ME!" Deadeye yelled as the working recruits about faced to face the fearless soldier. Autumn, Blitz, Shadow, and Macintosh all smiled a little. Although Deadeye was cold and ruthless, they looked up to him as a parent like figure.

"Today is your death run, you will run fifteen miles through dense forest, swim five miles against the current, climb up a mountain that is near three thousand feet tall, than run twenty five miles back here all by midnight tonight." Deadeye said. It was currently four in the morning so the ponies had twenty hours to do this.

"I know this is gonna suck but we like things that suck! AIN'T THAT RIGHT BOYS?" Deadeye shouted.

"HA-OOH!" The recruits all screamed. Deadeye walked up to Macintosh.

"I'm impressed to see all four of you fillies here, but training is only half over." Deadeye explained. "Impress me more on this run."

"Yes sir!" Macintosh replied as he took off with the other ponies on their death run. It was gonna be along day. It was hard running through the forest when it was still dark out so the ponies had to rely on their senses and reflexes to avoid smashing into a branch or rock. After they finished the run in it was 7:00 and the sun had come up. It was time for the swim, normally swimming was easy but this time they were in freezing cold water and they were swimming upriver against the powerful current. Several ponies fell to fear and hypothermia and quit leaving 67 ponies still in play. After the brutal run came the mountain climb, this would no doubt take the longest and it did, it was about 8:00 at night by the time they made it down and one pony broke his leg falling so he had to be removed from training leaving 66 ponies. The ponies were exhausted from burning so many calories while taking in none and were running on empty stomachs. The 25 mile run back to base was long and brutal but they finally made it back at 11:47 at night, 13 minutes before the deadline. The ponies all practically collapsed at the finish line and some even fell asleep in the ground. Deadeye was impressed and remembered how hard the run was when he had to do it. The ponies than retreated back to their rooms where most of them soon fell asleep. All ponies except for a certain few.....

"So you guys got a special mare back home?" Autumn asked as he climbed into his bunk.

"No." Shadow replied.

"Used to but she fell for some other stallion." Blitz said.

"How bout you Mac?" Autumn asked.

"Ah do but ah doubt y'all believe me." Macintosh said.

"Why who is it? One of the princesses?" Blitz said laughing.

"Actually." Macintosh explained to the ponies about his status with Luna.

"Your pulling our legs!" Autumn said. "Princess Luna? That's a good one!"

"Ah'm serious! Why would ah lie bout this?" Big Mac asked.

"Sorry but it just seems a little, weird for you to be dating a princess" Shadow said.

"We're not dating! We're just ehhhh-" Macintosh said as he searched for the right word to say.

"Besides if you are telling the truth aren't you a bit scared of her?" Blitz asked.

"No why would ah be?" Big Mac asked.

"Oh I don't know maybe Nightmare Moon, eternal night, almost killed everything in Equestria." Autumn said. Macintosh frowned, as much as he liked Autumn as a friend, he could be a real jerk sometimes.

"She's not like that anymore!" Macintosh said getting defensive. "Y'all should give her a chance!"

"To what? Eat us?" Blitz said laughing as Autumn and Shadow joined in. Blitz didn't mean to offend anypony, it was just his nature to crack a joke when it presented itself. Now Big Mac was getting angry.

"Now ah'm gettin mad." Big Mac growled. The only time he ever got this defensive is when somepony was mistreating his sisters. "She's nice and doesn't wanna hurt anypony!"

"Chill Mac we're just messing with you." Autumn said putting his hooves up.

"Yeah if you really like her that much, we won't poke fun anymore." Blitz said causing Big Mac to blush, luckily for him his coat was already red so they couldn't see it clearly. True Macintosh liked Luna but only as a friend, only as a friend right?

"What about you Leaf?" Blitz asked.

"Actually come to think of it." Autumn said. "Mac do you know somepony named Rarity?"

"Rarity? Eeyup She's mah sister's friend." Big Mac said. "Are you two-"

"She kissed me on the cheek when I was at Ponyville's hospital, I don't know if she does that for everypony."

"Wait you mean the mare that's on all those posters and magazines?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah that's her." Autumn said.

"That's almost harder to believe than Mac havin a thing with princess Luna!" Blitz said.

"It's true though!" Autumn said.

"She is one of the most gorgeous mares in Equestria and you expect us to believe out of the millions of ponies in the military, she kissed you?" Blitz said.

"I'm not joking!" Autumn said.

"Now you know how ah feel partner." Big Mac said referring to when nopony believed him about Luna.

"Nevermind! Believe what you want but she kissed me, in fact when we are done here I will go straight to Ponyville to find her!" Autumn proclaimed.

"Whatever man, I'm going to bed." Blitz said as he passed out. The other three ponies in the room soon did the same. Before Big Mac fell asleep he took one last glance at the moon and thought of Luna.

"Ah miss you." He said as he drifted off into sleep.

XXXXXX

Applejack waited at Ponyville train station for Skullcrusher. It had been three months and she was eagerly waiting to see him again. The train arrived as hundreds of new troops and their families departed the train cars. Applejack walked through the crowd trying not to bump into anypon. She searched for twenty minutes and could not find Skullcrusher.

"Where in the hay is he?" Applejack asked as she searched inside the train. She saw a Marine sitting inside with a checklist.

"Excuse me sir?" Applejack asked.

"Yes ma'am?" The Marine responded.

"Do you know if there was a Sgt Skullcrusher on this train?" Applejack asked.

"Skullcrusher, Skullcrusher." The Marine said as he looked down the list. "Nope, no Sgt Skullcrusher, sorry ma'am." Applejack stood their shocked, why wasn't he there?

"It's okay, thank you sir." She said as she left the train very upset. He said he would be back in three months, where was he? Wether it was the heat outside or all the angst and worry she felt from Big Mac leaving is unknown but she suddenly exploded,

"He must have gotten tired of me! That rotten colt! Ah'll bet he just tried to get on me and than ditched me!" She thought as she bucked a nearby tree out of anger nearly breaking it in half.

"Ah hate him! Ah hope he never comes back!" She thought as she began to cry. She ran back to her house holding in her tears than the moment she reached her room she fell on the bed crying. Applebloom heard her sister weeping and came in.

"Applejack? Where is Mr. Skullcrusher? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Skullcrusher wasn't there! He said he'd be back and he wasn't there! He must have just wanted to use me fer his own pleasure than ditch me!" Applejack shouted. Applebloom was confused, Applejack never acted like this before.

"Applejack!" Applebloom said in a scolding tone. "Do you hear yerself?"

"AH LIKED HIM APPLEBLOOM! MORE THAN A FRIEND!" Applejack confessed. "I THOUGHT HE CARED FOR ME BUT HE DOESN'T! AH HATE HIM!" Applejack yelled through her sobs. Applebloom suddenly remembered the flowers Skullcrusher got for Applejack three months ago. She ran out of the room and headed downstairs, she found the beautiful wildflowers under a table somehow still in bloom. She quickly brought them upstairs.

"What are those for?" Applejack asked.

"Remember that day before Mr. Skullcrusher left he was covered in bee stings and a manticore cut?" Applebloom asked.

"Yes why?" Applejack asked.

"He was so injured cause he was getting these flowers for you. He went far into the Everfree Forest and got attacked by a swarm of bees and a manticore just so he could get you these flowers!" Applebloom said. Applejack's heart suddenly stopped. Skullcrusher did all of that for her?

"Y-you mean he-?" Applejack asked as her tears began to dry up.

"He cares for you Applejack, ah think he even loves you." Applebloom said. Applejack's anger was replaced by guilt, she regretted all the horrible things she said about Skullcrusher. She was also impressed with her little sister acting as the big sister. Applejack took the flowers and held them to her heart.

"Ah didn't mean any of those things ah said Applebloom. Ah'm just so worried about Big Mac that ah'm a wreck." Applejack said.

"It's okay Applejack." Applebloom said.

"You know somethin? Ah love him too." Applejack said as she hugged her sister.

Fort Hoovler

"Sweet Celestia she is gonna hate me!" Skullcrusher said sadly. He was about to leave before he received orders from General Silver Star himself to spend three more months training a new platoon of Marines. He could have gotten on the train and left but he would have gotten a demotion and time in the brig for disobeying a direct order.

"Whose gonna hate you?" A fellow Drill Instructor asked.

"A mare back home." Skullcrusher said. "You know, the mare"

"Why is that?" The other DI asked. Skullcrusher explained how he promised Applejack he would be back in three months and now he had to spend three more months here.

"I'm sure she'll understand if you explain." The DI said.

"Maybe, its just that her brother is gone and she has no family at home except for her little sister." Skullcrusher said.

"Don't worry bout it, if she is the mare than I know she'll understand." The DI said.

"I guess you right." Skullcrusher said feeling a little better.

"There ya go!" The DI said. "Come on, we got Marines to make."

"That we do." Skullcrusher said as he approached the nervous arriving recruits. "MOVE IT FASTER RIGHT NOW!". He screamed jolting the recruits into moving faster.

"LET'S GO! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY FILLIES!" Skullcrusher screamed again. The other DI was happy to see the old Skullcrusher back.