//------------------------------// // 26 - Coup d'état, Part 2 of 9 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// Duster was on his way to his rack after what had been a long day of drills when Jewel caught up to him. "Duster, where have you been?" she asked in her annoyed tone. "In the mess hall, where else?" he huffed back. "Locknload said to find everypony. We need to gear up, like now.” "You've got to be kidding me," the stallion complained. "He said on the double; let's go!" she griped at him. He ran after her as she galloped toward their tent. It was a short run from where she’d found him. The rest of the squad was already there, putting on full armor. "What's going on?" Duster asked. "Can it, soldier," Locknload barked at him. "Get your gear on. Full armor, full weapons. Leave the weights." Duster complied without hesitation, but he was confused. They never did anything without the weights. They were for strength building. "Lieutenant Sparklefly has some special training for us. She didn't say, and I didn't ask.” "Sounds about right," Quickbeam said sarcastically. Swiftly moving nose to nose, smashing their helmets together, Locknload said, "I've had about enough of your sass. Are you finished?" "Sir, yes sir," Quickbeam answered. The squad completed gearing up, and moved out after Locknload. Gunnysack was behind him, followed by Moonsliver, Jewel, Quickbeam, Rolling Thunder, and Duster in the rear. The squad seemed much smaller without Sergeant Scootaloo and Doff. Duster was not at all happy with Locknload acting as the new sergeant, but he Scootaloo had recommended him for the job when she left. Sissy and Drill instructor J had agreed. The squad ran toward the far end of the training ground at a fast canter. "Halt!" a passing guard shouted. A signal from Locknload brought the squad to a stop, and they all stood at attention. The guard wasn’t alone; Captain Radiant Pyre was passing with two squads of his own. "Where are you headed?" the captain asked. "Sir, training on the far end, sir!" Locknload answered. "It's been cancelled," Radiant Pyre replied. There was a tone in his voice that didn't feel right to Duster. He seemed uneasy somehow as he looked over the squad. "Return to your barracks and disarm. Get some sleep." "Sir!" Locknload saluted and led the squad back in the direction of their tent. Now Duster was completely confused. It was bad enough having to gear up and run half-way across the training grounds in the first place, but now they were going back to their tent. Apparently somepony wasn't communicating well. They continued toward their tent until they were completely out of sight of Captain Radiant Pyre, and then Locknload turned, leading the group east. None in the squad questioned him, which was the wiser course considering how he generally responded to such things. Locknload acted as if any question of that sort were a personal challenge to him or his authority. The protective shields surrounding Ponyville and the training ground began sparkling and suddenly collapsed. That was cause for concern, as those defense fields were left on day and night. Looking about, Duster soon realized that their squad was the only one outside. A strange feeling that began forming in him. He felt compelled to keep checking behind them as they continued. He knew that something was wrong, but he didn't know what. ... Sparklefly stood before her platoon. All except for Locknload's squad had reported to her as expected. Sergeants LD, Lightning Dasher, Clyde, and Digger had their squads fully armed and ready for action. Locknload was definitely late, but they couldn't wait, and she couldn't spare anypony to find out what had happened to them. Looking over her squads, Sparklefly was painfully aware of how few they seemed now. There were almost forty of them, but if what Scootaloo had told her was accurate, a thousand rebels would be in Ponyville. Her team only possessed two advantages: Mane Crusher’s rebels would be busy securing the town and Major Brax, leaving the castle itself mostly unprotected, and of course, the element of surprise. If they were lucky, there would only be about five to ten inside at any given time. Once Brax was taken by the rebels, they would move him to the cellar where they could keep him locked up. This was Sparklefly's twofold objective: get to Brax and protect him, and move as many loyal soldiers into the castle as possible. If they could succeed in securing the castle, Scootaloo would have a place to fall back, should she succeed in her endeavor. "It looks like this is it," Sparklefly finally addressed her platoon. "Somepony's coming," Sergeant Digger said. Sparklefly tensed up for a moment, but was soon back to a normal level of fear. It was Locknload and his squad. She felt relieved to see Duster. "You're late, acting sergeant," Sparklefly said evenly. "Explain yourself." "Sir, we ran into our captain, who ordered us back to our tent to disarm. As per your instructions, I pretended to obey and then we circled around and came here as fast as we could," he replied. "Well done.” Sparklefly felt herself smile. She could see the raw materials for a good soldier in him. Turning to the others again, she said, "I have ordered you all out in full gear because we are under attack; this is no drill." Sparklefly took a deep breath as fear filled the faces of her platoon; her eye patch was itching. She was trying to think of something inspiring to say, something befitting 'the Hero of Canterlot'. "I'm going to be asking more of each of you tonight than I have any right, but Equestria needs you. Our forces have been infiltrated by changeling spies. They are moving against us tonight, and we are part of the plan to stop them." Sparklefly didn't like lying to her soldiers, but it provided a small chance to protect them if things went badly. Besides, it seemed only fitting considering the fact that it was the very same lie that Captain Radiant Pyre was telling to any of the loyal soldiers that he needed for the rebellion. "Our objective is to protect Major Brax. He has been captured, and even now is being escorted to the castle in Ponyville. We may come under fire from changelings posing as EUP soldiers or officers, or actual EUP soldiers that don't know what's going on. We must do whatever is necessary to protect the major and take that castle. Do you understand?"
 The sergeants answered in a muted tone. "Sir, yes sir.” Duster looked petrified. Sparklefly almost wished he wasn't here. Taking him directly into harm's way was not on her to-do list, but there was no way around it. "The defense shields are already down, which means it has begun," she continued. "Let's move out." The five squads followed behind her, and they moved silently into the edge of the Everfree Forest, using the foliage for cover. They stayed near the edge of the tree line, coming closer and closer to Ponyville. The little light that came from the first quarter moon couldn’t penetrate the canopy to reveal their presence. Sparklefly's heart was pounding in her chest. She tried to just remain focused on what was immediately important. Find Brax; take the castle; hold out for reinforcements. A strange feeling came over her all at once, and she signaled everypony to halt. They all dropped in place, laying flat on the ground. Sparklefly sat crouched, looking around. She could have sworn she had heard something. No, it wasn't that; she’d felt something. It was almost like being watched. A shiver went up Sparklefly's spine, and she unconsciously rubbed at her eye patch. The minutes stretched on as they sat waiting for something to happen. Insect life aside, the night was forebodingly quiet. Using gestures, Sparklefly commanded Sergeant Digger to send two scouts to walk around and return. He silently sent two of his unicorns. They went right first, disappearing into the blackness of the night. Sparklefly tilted her head, mistakenly thinking she heard a drum in the distance. It only took her a moment to realize it was the sound of her own blood pumping, rushing through her ears. Sweat was trickling down her neck as the platoon waited. Only minutes later, the two scouts returned from the front, signaling that the way was clear. The platoon continued moving toward Ponyville, and the eerie feeling that had bothered Sparklefly subsided. She decided that they weren't actually being watched, that it must have just been her nerves. It wasn't.