//------------------------------// // 26 - Coup d'état, Part 3 of 9 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// Pixyglitter sat nervously in her hospital bed. There were noises outside that sounded like some kind of attack was underway. She had already hit her button to call a nurse, but nobody came. Sitting there alone, fear was her only companion. Her physical therapy had gone well enough that she was now permitted the use of a wheelchair, which stayed by her bed, but fear kept her from the attempt. If the nurses wouldn't come to her, it was probably too dangerous for her to leave. What options did she have? Being blind, she'd only be a burden to anypony that found her. She could try to barricade the door, but that seemed a futile gesture if the hospital were actually under attack. As she considered these things, Pixyglitter suddenly fell through the bed and the floor, directly into a dreaming state. Bright light shone all around her, and she landed on the moon again. She began to rear back, petrified, and then she fell up off of the moon and back toward the ground. She let out a scream but couldn’t even hear it. Equestria grew larger and larger as she accelerated toward it. She was too afraid to even try flying, but she shut her eyes just before she hit the ground. There was no pain. "Look and see!" the moon's chorus voice said. Pixyglitter opened her eyes to see the moon sitting beside her. It was now tiny, about the size of a pony. "Look and see!" the voice repeated. Pixyglitter looked down to see Ponyville. EUP soldiers were running all around, and a group of them forced their way into the city hall. The hospital was untouched for the moment, but it looked like they were securing the entire town. Suddenly, she was over the training ground, and she saw a major with a bag over his head being escorted toward Ponyville. Then she was in the air, with what had to be thousands of other ponies flying in a combat formation. The rapid movement made her feel nauseous. "Stop, stop!" Pixyglitter cried out. The next thing she knew, she was in Cloud Blazer's hospital room. He had others with him; she didn't know them. They all seemed worried about the events unfolding outside. The room went dark, and all Pixyglitter could see was Cloud Blazer, lying in his bed. She had never been able to see his injuries, as in the rest of her dreams he had been in perfect health. He looked so much smaller than she had thought, almost frail like he was wasting away. Bandaged wounds were all that remained of his wings, and his face looked hollow, as if the life had been drained from it. The next thing Pixyglitter knew, she had awakened. Blind and helpless again, her heart pounded in her chest. All she could do was listen to what was happening outside. ... Beigh was startled by an officer shouting at him. "What are you doing?" It was Captain Radiant Pyre. "Sir, I heard the signal to return to quarters and was heading back to my tent, sir," Beigh replied uneasily. He thought it odd that Major Brax was with them, and that he had a bag over his head. Noticing that Captain Radiant Pyre saw his glance, Beigh quickly looked down. He heard the captain sigh. "Fall in behind us," Radiant Pyre ordered. In a flash, two that were with him had positioned themselves on each of Beigh's flanks. "Yes, sir!" he replied. They began marching toward Ponyville. Even if he were good at fighting, Beigh was ridiculously outnumbered, not to mention unarmed. There was no way out of this one. He considered what he might say to put himself in a more favorable position, but the entire situation reeked of something foul. He decided to remain silent. They continued past the normal checkpoints, but there were no guards at them. It wasn't until they made it to the border of Ponyville that they discovered any patrols. One look at Captain Radiant Pyre, and they were allowed in. They didn't scan any of them to ensure that they weren't changelings. Had there been an attack? What was going on? ... Sparklefly silently ordered a halt as they arrived at the edge of the forest closest to town. She crept as far as she dared and assessed the situation. It was dark, but there were enough lights to make out soldiers patrolling everywhere. It was a solid deployment, and her platoon would never get through it unseen. If they were lucky, they’d get escorted back to their barracks. If it came to blows, they were hopelessly outnumbered. She looked back at her platoon, their eyes all on her from the darkness. Their next move was going to be tricky. LD slithered up beside her. "What do you think?" she whispered to him. LD shook his head, "There's no way we'll get through that." His blue eyes almost twinkled in the darkness. The deep scar under his right eye was barely visible. Sparklefly nodded, looking back into town. Scootaloo's information had been flawless so far. It looked like there was at least a regiment guarding the town. That meant they had only one recourse. "As discussed, we'll take the river," Sparklefly ordered quietly. "Yes, ma'am," LD replied as he moved back to prepare the platoon. According to Scootaloo, there was only one real weak point in the rebels defenses of Ponyville. They had the perimeter patrolled, a strong CAP, and the bridges were all covered. The only thing they weren't considering was anypony to come out of the river itself. That provided an opportunity to get pretty close to the castle without being detected. Unfortunately the river didn't run beside it; they would still have to cross the edge of town to get there. The platoon got moving again, a little more quickly this time, but maintaining stealthy silence. They followed the tree line almost due east toward the river. That feeling of being watched was on Sparklefly again. She looked around, but the shadow of night obscured anything that might have been lurking in the trees.