Sparklefly’s mane was tickled by the breeze just before dawn as she walked side by side with her comrade and friend.
"Fly fast," deep concern was etched in Sparklefly’s face. "Manehattan is a long way, and you're due back on base in forty-eight hours."
Scootaloo nodded and gave a knowing glance. She had already donned her combat harness, but she had an extra one slung over her armored body. The sergeant walked briskly away, not looking back. Sparklefly's thoughts were consumed with the information they had gleaned from Java Chip only two days before. She knew that Scootaloo must have felt the same. Sparklefly had destroyed the message that Swiftlight had written for fear of it being discovered, and they hadn't spoken of the conspiracy since then. Finding evidence of who could be involved proved impossible through passive observation alone.
The only potential clue that Sparklefly noticed was the unexplained black eye that Captain Radiant Pyre had acquired. Not that it was suspicious of itself, but it had happened the same day that Swiftlight had gone missing. A thin coincidence at best, it wasn't nearly enough evidence to properly suspect him of anything, but Sparklefly was watching for any other signs that he might be involved. Those dark thoughts aside, the last two days had been completely routine. Applejack was settling in as the new mayor of Ponyville. Not surprisingly, the first thing she did was change the emergency farming program to avoid any further desecration of Sweet Apple Acres. She’d decided to leave what had already been done, as there were several acres of oats that had already been planted. That aside, she redirected their available resources and horsepower to developing land around Ponyville for the needed additional farming.
The sun broke the horizon, signaling the beginning of the day. The sky was golden with red clouds accenting the morning. She spent only a moment trying to remember if that meant rain was coming. The weather acting of its own accord was still a new concept, and the pegasus struggled to understand its moods.
It would be time for assembly soon, and Sparklefly began heading to wake Scootaloo's squad. Entering the tent, she found them sound asleep.
"Up, everypony!" she rang loudly. They all began scrambling off of their cots and stood at attention. "We've got assembly in ten. Move it!" she commanded.
"Sir, yes sir!" they called back in unison. Duster didn’t make eye contact, but stared ahead as he’d been trained.
Sparklefly smiled to herself as she turned to exit. Scootaloo's squad was definitely showing signs of improvement.
...
Duster coughed as he stood in formation. He felt groggy still from the night before. He must have been sleeping much deeper than he had realized. He coughed again and decided that the climate in Ponyville must have been messing up his sinuses. His muscles were sore all over from the full days of excruciating exertion he had been enduring, and he was pretty sure he had a bruise on his shoulder from knife training the previous day. He was glad that they had used wooden sticks instead of pointed blades. The coughing was about to drive him crazy. Drill Sergeant J had just finished roll call.
"I know you were looking forward to planting today, but it seems that there will be some weather heading in," Drill Sergeant J gestured to the red clouds in the east.
They did seem to be moving in rapidly.
"On account of rain, we'll be cancelling today's scheduled plans.”
“Oh, yay!” Doff quietly celebrated.
Nearly all of the cadets in formation echoed his cheer a little, but Duster was wondering whether they were actually going to get a day off. He doubted it.
Drill Sergeant J continued, "Instead, we're going to perform combat drills on the other side of the Everfree Forest. General Mane Crusher was good enough to volunteer sorties to ensure that the area is clear for us.”
Duster's heart sank. The other side of the forest likely meant they'd be running all morning just to get to the location where the drills would take place. Given the choice, planting would have been preferable.
"Commanders," the donkey bellowed, "Form up your companies in full combat armor, no weights! We move out in fifteen minutes!"
Duster's head pounded as he coughed. There was much shouting as they all sprang into action. Thunder rumbled in the distance as they went to get their gear.