For Peach, it was like the Great War had started all over again. The enraged roars of plane engines rattled the furniture in her house whenever they flew over. Outside the windows, all she could hear was gunfire and the low rumble of tank engines as the newly-formed Equestrian Liberation Front engaged the Changeling forces. The sound of artillery shells hitting the ground initially made her want to jump out of her seat every time she landed. But she had been hardened to the noise by now.
And all she could do now was the same thing she did in the last war. Hide in her home and wait it out. Except for this time, the war had literally started on her doorstep. The destruction caused by the first war still hadn’t been repaired, but this was going to take it to a whole new level. She could only hope that a bomb from a plane or artillery shell didn’t find its way to her house…
But despite all that, all she found herself thinking about as she hid in her kitchen was Sea Salt. She had cared for that stallion for over a month, waiting for his injuries to heal. And now, he was off once again fighting. No doubt getting even more injuries in the process. Her life just felt empty without him. She thought she finally had somepony back in her life. But now, here she was. All alone… again…
All she had left to remember was the letter he left the night he took off. She unfolded it in her hooves and read it again. She had already read it countless times, but all she could do was obsess over it while she wondered if she would ever see him again.
Peach,
First of all, I’m sorry. This probably wasn’t the goodbye you were hoping for, but I couldn’t tell you anything because it could put us more at risk of discovery. All I can tell you is to expect something big to go down any day now.
I know this won’t have the same effect reading on paper, but I’ll try. I don’t know how to thank you for saving my life, taking me in and taking care of me for over a month. If you weren’t there to catch me, I probably would have been taken by the Changelings and probably wouldn’t even be alive to write this to you right now. You welcomed me with open hooves and I don’t know how I could ever repay you.
Since the war has already started, there’s probably something I should tell you. While I’ll do everything I can to stay alive, there’s a possibility that I won’t live to see you again. So there’s something I want to say.
The only trouble is, I don’t know how to say it…
(There was several crossed out lines on the paper following this statement)
Peach could only smile at the thought of what he was trying to write. She could even make out some of his compliments through the crossed out sections of the letter. That and when she combined it with her own thoughts and feelings, it only became clearer. He was away and was the only thing that was ever on her mind. There was only one conclusion she could come to.
She loved him. He filled the empty space in her life. Without him, she just felt incomplete.
And now he was gone. Possibly forever. She felt her eyes begin to water at the thought.
A sudden loud bang of her door being kicked down. She gasped and jumped backwards, almost tipping her chair over. The sound was followed up by the sounds of Changeling voices, which made her pupils narrow. She had no idea what they were saying, as she didn’t speak the Changeling language, but she guessed they were looking for her.
She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide… she bought herself to her hooves, ready for whatever might happen. All she could do was tremble as she heard the sounds of hoofsteps on her floorboards getting closer and closer.
All of a sudden, a figure appeared in the doorway of her kitchen, dressed in the black and grey uniform of the Changeling Army. His dark green eyes concentrated with a furrowed brow as soon as he spotted her. “HALT!” He barked, exposing his fangs. He immediately aimed his rifle at her.
Peach couldn’t do anything else but scream at the sight, dropping to the floor and hiding her head under her hooves. But she cowered for all but a matter of seconds before she was being roughly handled by a pair of hooves, dragging her up to her own hooves. He jabbed her with the barrel of his rifle and said something in Herzlandish that Peach didn’t understand, but she presumed he was asking her to move.
She trotted slowly out into her hallway where she encountered another changeling sporting the same uniform, also keeping a hoof on his rifle. Probably a precaution in case she tried anything clever. He conversed with his colleague in Herzlandish as Peach was escorted out of her house, down into the street.
At the end of her road was a parked truck. Peach suddenly understood what they were doing. They must be locking up (or worse) ponies to prevent them from supporting or joining the Equestrian Liberation Front.
A sudden bang from behind her caused her escorts to freeze in their tracks, so Peach followed suit. A moment later, they dropped down onto their sides. Motionless… dead.
Before she even had time to comprehend the situation, her head flicked upwards towards the shouting of Changeling soldiers in front of her, aiming their weapons. The flash of gunshots firing into the adjacent street filled her ears. The ELF were here.
“PEACH!”
That voice…
She spun around on the spot to see the very stallion she was hoping for. But Sea Salt seemed more concerned about something else as he flew low along the street, several other pegasi alongside him. “TAKE COVER!” He yelled at her, drawing his weapon.
Peach instantly reacted to the voice she trusted, running along to the line of terraced houses. Living on this very street made her familiar with it, and she dived for cover in one of the doorways of the nearest house, pressing her back against the brickwork just in the nick of time as she heard the bullets begin to fly.
She remained still with her flank against the wall, her body completely stiff. Even if she wanted to move, her fear of getting shot in the crossfire prevented her from doing so. All she could do was occasionally twist her head to take a peek at the action happening just up the road from her. Or more to the point, see how Sea Salt was doing. But it was all happening so fast she could barely make him out.
As the fight progressed, the number of gunshots she heard slowly reduced, until she heard the sound of the Changeling truck revving its engine and driving away. A few more stray gunshots fired off, but it sounded like the fight was over. She tentatively poked her head around the corner to examine the situation. No Changelings… only ponies. It seemed safe.
She carefully stepped out, one hoof at a time, and witnessed a sight she was unfortunately too familiar with. The only difference this time was that it was Changeling bodies thrown across the streets, not ponies. Well, a few ponies. And that’s what she was hastily moving to check. She sighed in relief when she realised that none of them was Sea Salt, collapsing onto her flank as she wiped the sweat off her brow with her hoof.
“You didn’t think I would go down that easily did you?”
She turned her head to see him standing right next to her… and her smile grew exponentially wider. “Sea!” She jumped up, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. Her body bumped against the rifle he had strapped around his neck, but she paid it no mind. “Thank Celestia you’re alright…”
Sea sighed, returning her embrace. “I’m so sorry…”
Peach chuffed. “Well, I saved your life, now you’ve saved mine. We’re even, right?”
Sea Salt chuckled in response. “I guess we are,” He released her from his forelegs. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Peach explained, “The bugs were rounding us up. You arrived just at the right moment.”
“They’re trying to force us back down through fear and intimidation, but it won’t work anymore. Trust me. Manehatten’s in complete chaos right now, but we’re slowly gaining the upper hoof.”
Peach nodded at his explanation. “So… what are you gonna do now?”
“Well, we’re currently fighting on the street-by-street basis, popping up randomly. It’s confusing the bugs as they can’t mobilize that fast.” His eyes widened with intensity and a smile began to creep onto his face. “Once we get our hooves firmly planted though, we’re gonna start pushing them back. All the way back. And I’ll drive these bastards all the way back to Vesalipolis if I have to.”
Peach could only nod unenthusiastically. She couldn’t deny it. She could see the fire in his eyes, the passion in his voice… this was his calling, and she wasn’t drawing him away from it. “Well… I guess this is goodbye…” She glanced away, “For real this time…”
“Y...yeah…” Sea Salt rubbed the back of his neck. “But I just came to tell you… Well, I was meaning to tell you…” He sighed, “Wow I’m terrible at this… What I’m trying to say is--”
“I love you,” Peach finished his sentence.
Sea Salt felt like he had just been thumped in the chest. His heart was just calming down from the firefight, now he could feel it ramping up again. “Y-yeah…” His ears pricked up, realising what she said. “Y-you do too?”
Peach turned back to look at him. “Sea, I enjoyed every minute I’ve ever spent with you. You gave me something to look forward to every day. A feeling I’ve been missing ever since I’ve been left on my own...” She felt the tears returning, “And now… you’re going away…”
Sea Salt smiled, placing his hoof under her chin and gently tilting her head so his eyes could meet hers. “I’m so glad to have met somepony like you, Peach. Somepony so kind and generous to take in an injured stallion in his time of need and share everything with him. You deserve nothing of what's happened to you and your family, and I… I-I love you,” his words stuttered at the end, but he felt like he got the message across. Truth be told, he wasn’t thinking as fast as he was speaking.
Peach suddenly pushed upwards and planted her lips squarely on his, lifting a foreleg up and craning it gently over his neck. Sea Salt was caught off guard by the move, but he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed it. He embraced her with his wings and returned the motion, gently massaging her lips with his own. The world around them disappeared. The engine noises and planes flying above seemed to just completely fade away. They only concentrated on the sound of each others heartbeat.
Their kiss held for a few seconds before they withdrew, opening their eyes and gazing into each others daze. Peach could feel the heat in her cheeks, but probably nowhere near as much as Sea Salt looked. His whole face looked like a giant red tomato. The contrast to his blue fur made Peach grin.
The sound of gunshots down the street distracted them from the moment, they both flicked their heads to the left at the same time.
“Listen, I gotta g--”
“I know,” Peach interrupted him. “Here,” She reached over her neck and unclipped her necklace. “For good luck,” she leant up and tied it around his neck.
Sea Salt looked down at the diamond, holding it in his hoof briefly before looking back at Peach. “But… Peach, I can’t take something like this. I’m going into a warzone, and this is priceless!”
“So you better bring it back,” Peach replied snarkily before pecking a kiss on his cheek. “Now go get ‘em!”
“R-right!” Sea Salt backed away. “I’ll come back! I promise!” He spread his wings and took a little jump into the air, his wings flapping to make him over. “Goodbye, Peach! I’ll be back!” He declared before taking flight.
“Good luck, Sea!” Peach replied, waving. Even though the waving was pointless as he wasn’t even looking, but something told her that it mattered that she was at least doing it. Logic told her to get back to the safety of her home quickly, but at the same time, she felt like this was important. She waited until he was fully out of sight before she turned and took a slow trot back to her house. This whole ordeal still left her shivering, and the shock of what had just transpired was still catching up with her. Both the good and the bad. She gave her neck a rub, feeling the absence of her necklace for the first time. She felt practically naked without it.
Despite being the outcome she was hoping for, she was still somewhat disappointed. At least she found that the stallion she loved shared the same feelings for her. But at the same time, he was about to go off and fight yet another war. How long would it be before she got to see him again? Months? Years? That was if he came back at all. She had already seen how the first war went for her older siblings and her father.
All she could do now was carry on like she and every other civilian pony always had done. And pray to Celestia that this time, things would go differently…