Plum looked up at the moon poking it’s ethereal tendrils of light through a thick curtain of clouds. “For as long as history cares to remember, Leaky, ponies have been creatures of sacrifice. Know what I mean?”
 
She looked at Leaky, who blankly stared back, intrigued but lost.
 
“When the folks of Stable 30 first came to what is now Plumwood, they didn’t have the amenities we enjoy today. We took our Pipbucks, one of the last bit of home we had left, and we broke them down fer parts to build our power grids. Our Stable-grown trees, the things we had cherished more than anything, were chopped down and became our houses. Countless lives were lost defending our people from the savage creatures that fill this horrible place. And fer what, Leaky? A few crops? A couple of houses? The luxury of stuffin’ yer face with food everyday?”
 
She shook her head and continued. “No. We did it fer our future. Do ya get what I’m smellin’ at?”
 
Leaky nodded slowly. “I… think, Ms. Plum”
 
“Even those infernal flanamingos were created a long time ago so frontline soldiers didn’t have to go die fer some meaningless war. Sure, it didn’t… quite pan out in the end, and it was really morally shady to be messin’ with the laws of nature like that in the first place. But ya gotta be willin’ to do whatever ya can to guarantee yer people’s future, even if it means doing somethin’ you don’t fully agree with.”
 
Plum let out a long, drawn out sigh as she clasped the rifle in firing position. “It’s our sacrifice, Leaky. Our sacrifice makes us ponies.”
 
Leaky held her hooves together, not knowing how to respond to the monologue.
 
“And now yer folks are comin’ over and makin’ Plumwood stronger. Sure, it will be a bit rough at the start. Sacrifice always is. But we’ll get there, and when we do, we’ll have no regrets.” She smiled her first genuine smile since Leaky found her on the steps of her house. “And that’s what life should be like, shouldn’t it? No regrets? Not even in the face of armageddon?”