//------------------------------// // The Medical Unit in Danger // Story: Star Knight and the Nine-Tailed Fox // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// The night brought a certain calm and tranquility, with the full moon illuminating everything with its calm light. But that night didn’t give the tranquility it should give, as the Alliance was very alert, for the case the enemy attacked. At the Badlands, the Second Unit was camped, with some ponies acting as sentinels. At one position, Cloud Chaser and Rainbow Dash were in surveillance duty, but the later was having difficulty to focus, due to a pain she had on one of her wings. “Ah, this damn wing is driving me crazy!” she exclaimed. “I can’t focus with this pain.” “Maybe you should go to the medical core, cuz” Cloud Chaser said to her. “I can handle things here.” He then took a map from one of his saddlebags and opened, observing what was the nearest post of the medical core. “There’s a medical base located at the rear center of every company” Cloud Chaser said, reading the map. “Let me see the coordinates…” At another location, Pandora and Scorpan were walking at a forest. They were one of the few reincarnated beings that Gentle Light didn’t call back. While they were walking, Scorpan asked to Pandora: “So, what do you know about this new plan of our dear old master. I have to say that he always can surprise me.” “I don’t that very much” Pandora replied. “I died at the time where we were setting preparations, but what is certain is that he is trying to revive the infamous Ten-Tails by capturing the nine Tailed Beasts.” “It’s funny that even when our alignment is no longer with the Lord of Chaos, he always find a way to make us his slaves again” Scorpan said. “I have to say, enslaving the General of Death and making her bring back the deceased with great power was a great move.” “Maybe this is also some sort of punishment for I betrayal” Pandora said. “We both know that the Lord of Chaos hates being betrayed.” “But he certainly enjoys seeing his villains betray each other” Scorpan added. There was a pause and then Pandora said: “I lived for a long time and I met with Gentle Light a couple of times. She has the same ability to trick and conceal as Heartbeat and also has a terrible mood when someone messes with her. I wonder what she’s up to.” “She may be just waiting for the right call to act” Scorpan said. At the medical base near the Second Unit, a lot of wounded were being transported and treated by the members of the medical core, who had all the doctors, nurses and adepts in medicine each kingdom could dispense to the war. Between them existed unicorns who used healing spells, but also other beings, mainly from the Enchanted Forest, that could use magic as well. The others used their knowledge in medicinal herbs to treat the wounds or fight infections. Of course there was times when they weren’t successful or there were complications. Fluttershy, who had the help of some of her animal friends, was supervising her bear friend, Harry, getting some boxes with supplies to distribute through the tents. “Are you sure you can handle this much?” Fluttershy asked, a little worried. “I don’t want you to hurt your backs.” But Harry just nodded his head, as saying for her to not worry. “Okay, if you say so…” Fluttershy, taking another box to put it over the ones Harry already had and the bear advanced to deliver them. At the entrance, somepony advanced towards the base. “Hold it right there!” a unicorn guard exclaimed to the new-arrival, while the griffons that were guarding crossed their spears to block the entrance. “By order of the headquarters, we must verify if you’re not an imposter before you can enter. No one passes without confirmation.” The new-arrival was Rainbow Dash, who said: “Fine, but be quick. I have a wing that hurts a lot.” Inside a tent, Cherry Blossom said to a guard, while wrapping his foreleg with a bandage: “It’s almost done. I healed completely what I could, but you still need to put some rest.” “Great, thank you” the guard replied, while getting up and heading to the exit. Fluttershy then came in transporting a few flasks. “I brought you some ointment as you requested” she said, putting them on a table nearby. “Thank you, Fluttershy” Cherry replied. “Although nothing would make me happier than using my magic to heal all my patients, I get tired if I overuse it. These will serve finely for burns and regular wounds.” “I’m just glad I can help you” Fluttershy said. The tent then opened and Rainbow Dash entered. “Rainbow Dash, what a surprised” Cherry asked. “What do you have, Rainbow?” Fluttershy, worrying about her friend health. “Is anything serious?” “My wing is hurting and, since I was closed by this base, I decided to come and see if you could give a look” Rainbow Dash said to Cherry. “Of course, just sit here and I’ll take care of it” Cherry said. She did so and Cherry took a look to her wing. “It seems to be a little dislocated, but I can resolve that in a moment” Cherry replied. “Okay, just warn when you…” Rainbow Dash started. But it was then that she felt a little pain that caused her to exclaim: “Ouch! Hey!” “Sorry, but I told you it would be a moment” Cherry said. “Now it is on the right place. Just let me put some ointment and then you can go.” Cherry did so and then Fluttershy asked: “How are things where you are? Is everything all right with our friends?” “Well, things are not like the First Unit, but we’re getting exhausted” Rainbow Dash said. “I just hope that nothing happens during the night. We really need to rest. Well, I think I’ll go now.” At the base, something was moving fast between the shadows. At one tend, an experienced medical pony was preparing to make his rounds when someone get in. The doctor turned around, thinking it was a patient, but then he found himself being impaled, with blood covering the cloth of the tent. But he was not the only to be attacked, as other two were also attacked. It didn’t take long for them to be found. They were put at the center of the base and covered by sheets. “How did this happen?” Fluttershy asked, looking terrified by what happened, being close to Cherry that was comforting her. “We’ve been infiltrated” a deer healer replied. “It’s the only explanation.” “They specifically targeted three of our best medics” an earth pony doctor replied. “But did they get in? Everyone that gets in here is verified to make sure they are not changelings or if they have any kind of transformation spell.” “But, if that’s the case, then the only explanation is that someone is being controlled” Cherry said. “It must be a powerful magic.” It was then that Rainbow Dash appeared and asked: “What’s happening here?” They explained everything to her and then she said: “If that’s the case, then it would be impossible to know who’s the responsible. It could be anyone standing here right know.” “Oh no…” Fluttershy said, getting even more scared. That made everyone to look suspicious towards one another. “That would create suspicion and tear apart the trust, possibly even turning us against each other” Cherry Blosson said. “We from the medical core are critical” a female griffon nurse said. “Without us, our battle strategy can’t succeed. We’re fighting those who were brought back by the Reincarnation Curse. There is no way fight them, if there is not medical backup to cure the injured.” “If we let this paralyses us now, we’ll lose the battle that starts at dawn” the earth pony said. “Don’t worry, I will find out who’s behind this” Rainbow Dash said. “Are you sure you can do this?” Cherry asked. “Don’t take me wrong, Rainbow, but you’re a little… impulsive to do something like this.” “Hey, I can do this” Rainbow Dash said. “You can be sure of that.” “In the meantime, we can’t neglect the treatment of the wounded under our care” the deer said. “We’ll continue to treat them. We just need to watch our backs.” Later on, Fluttershy went with Cherry to her tent. “It’s horrible!” Fluttershy said. “How can something like this be happening?” “Calm down, Fluttershy” Cherry Blossom said. “Do you want me to make you some tea?” “No…” she said, while taking deep breaths. “I’m fine. At least, I know you can’t be the infiltrator. We’ve been together during the attacks.” “Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to take your guard down” Cherry said. At another tent, Rainbow Dash entered to meet with the deer and the earth pony from earlier. “Miss Dash, what a relief” the deer said. “I’m sorry, but with our current situation we get startled at the sight of anyone we cross by.” “I’m sorry, I’m just wondering if any of you saw something suspicious” Rainbow Dash said. “I think I saw somepony acting strangely around here.” “No, we didn’t” the earth pony replied. “And this pony, can you tell us how he or she looks like?” the deer asked. “Let me see…” Rainbow Dash said, thinking. “Well, actually…” It was then that a wicked smiled appeared on her face and, getting two small blades, she stabbed those two, saying: “She looks exactly like me.” At Cherry’s tend, a few birds get in and then they told something to Fluttershy who then said: “Oh dear… Is he okay?” “What happened?” Cherry asked. “It was Harry” Fluttershy replied. “He made a backache. I told him to not carry too much boxes. I have to go help him.” “Be careful, don’t forget about the infiltrated” Cherry warned. Fluttershy nodded to her and then got out. Outside, the evil Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy getting out in the shadows with her evil smile. Pandora and Scorpan made a stop, sitting and looking to the sky. “What do you think it’s happening?” Scorpan asked. “Why did they separate us from the enemy? If they wanted to punish us, forcing us do evil would be the perfect punishment in the same way they are using Discord’s magic to get a boost of power.” “Right now, it’s night time, with both sides in stalemate” Pandora replied. “But I know that, sooner or later, the General will use us to break the silence. He has something under his sleeve.” “But he can’t discard the possibility that this may be Gentle Light’s work” Scorpan said. “Yes, that can be a possibility” Pandora agreed. At Cherry’s tend, she was occupied organizing the ointments Fluttershy brought her. Evil Rainbow Dash get in, displaying her evil smile, and approached Cherry. She then turned and saw her who then said: “Hey, Cherry, is everything okay around here?” “Yes, it is” she replied. “But I can’t stop being a little nervous.” “It’s normal in a situation where we don’t know who to trust” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s troubling.” That choice of words and her sudden appearance caught Cherry’s attention who said: “Yes, I know. We have to be careful.” “You’re right…” the pegasus said. At the Second Unit’s camp, Cloud Chaser asked to the real Rainbow Dash: “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the medical core? You may have a dislocated wing.” “I already told you I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “As if somepony as awesome like me would let a wounded wing prevent her from kicking some butts.” Cloud Chase sighed, knowing perfectly well how stubborn his cousin was. At Cherry’s tent, she finished organizing everything when the fake Rainbow Dash asked: “By the way, I saw Fluttershy getting out of here. Where did she go?” “She had an emergency” Cherry replied. “She went to treat Harry. He has a backache. Poor thing…” “I’m sure he will be fine” the fake Rainbow Dash said. “A backache can be treated easily. Now if it was a hoof…” Listening that, Cherry got her suspicious confirmed. “Will he be able to rejoin the battle?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Probably, he can easily recover” Cherry said. “Mainly because he has his horn to compensate his physical condition.” “I see…” the fake Rainbow Dash said, while going secretly to her saddlebag to get one of her blade. “That’s good. Can I ask you a favor, Cherry? Would you mind take a look to my wing again? It’s still bothering me.” “Sure, just take a sit” she replied, while turning to the ointments in order to get some. Taking advantage of Cherry’s distraction, the fake Rainbow Dash made her evil smile and prepared to attack her. But then Cherry attack her with a blast of magic, strong enough to cause an explosion and make the fake Rainbow Dash to moan in pain. She then proceed to subdue the infiltrator, who had her body full of pain due to the blast. “But… how did you know?” the fake asked, not wanting to believe her cover was found out. “Because bears don’t have hooves or horns, your big fake!” Cherry exclaimed, charging her horn with magic again. The fake then remember the talk they had about Harry. “Are you telling me that Harry is a bear?” the fake asked, as the form changed to turn into one of Petal Sprout’s clones, still not wanting to believe that she tricked him. “That’s right” Cherry said. “And that makes you the murdered!” And she casted another blast of magic, stronger than the one before that cleared hurt clone. That blast was heard by everyone nearby, including Fluttershy that was massaging Harry. “What was that?” she asked. “Spill it!” Cherry exclaimed. “Unless you want to take more of my magic, you will tell me how you were able to take Rainbow’s appearance. What kind of spell is this?” “This transformation spell… isn’t anything you can possibly handle” the clone said with a smile. “Not even the changelings can match this. Do you really believe I was the one clone to be able to infiltrate in your ranks?” That shocked Cherry. She had heard about that capability about Petal Sprout in the information they got from the Generals of Order and Thicket. Cherry, from what she had heard, knew that worked with Petal Sprout stealing energy from the target and then taking their form and replicating their energy signature. “I get it” Cherry said. “You used the energy that you took from someone and then you copy them and their energy signature. Is that right?” The clone couldn’t believe how fast she was able to find out everything. But he couldn’t let her think she got it right. “Ah… maybe” he said. “But then again, maybe not.” “You may be able to camouflage very well, but you’re not very good at lying” Cherry told him. Fluttershy got him, along with one of the griffon guards, asking: “What’s going on, Cherry? Are you okay? Wait, but that’s…” “We don’t have much time, Fluttershy” Cherry said. “We have to contact HQ now. The guards can secure him.” At other camps, all kind of murders where happing that soon arrived to the HQ. “Another one” one of Diamond Glow’s underlings said. “We have word from all the units about victims falling in multiple surprise attacks. It’s chaos. They don’t know who the enemy is.” “What can be going on?” White Light asked. “We have a lot of sensing warriors around each base and camp. How can the enemy be infiltrating?” “Do you think it’s changelings?” Ingrid asked. “They can be getting in without passing by the entrance.” “Maybe, but even so changelings can only change their appearance, not their nature and energy signature” White Light replied. “The sensing guards from the Enchanted Forest specialized in differencing all kinds of energy signatures.” “It can be some kind of controlling spell or illusionary spells” Ingrid said. “Maybe a villain specialized in dark magic… like Pandora.” “Pandora…” Boreal Blizzard said. “I faced her once when she tried to infiltrate our kingdom to get information about Bubble Sweet, our jinchuriki. My sensing skills were not able to detect her.” “She was also able to infiltrate the Light Kingdom when Prince Star Knight was young” Diamond Glow remembered. “And at that time we were also unable to detect her.” “But controlling this many in multiple locations is impossible” Ingrid said. “No magic user is capable of doing that.” It was then that Diamond Glow received Cherry’s message and said: “Wait, hold on! There’s word from the medical core. It seems the enemy is… Petal Sprout has been impersonating soldiers of the Alliance. He is able to mirror our energy imprints.” “That explains it” White Light said. “He has absorbed one of our soldiers and then turn completely into her” Diamond Glow said. “What should we do?” Boreal Blizzard said. “There’s no way we can tell the difference between friend or foe now. How can we prepare for when the dawn comes? We have to be able to tell the difference fast. If we lose time, all our soldiers will be in danger. They can even kill each other by mistake.” “So that’s why they retreated” Ingrid said. “They want to cause suspicion and chaos between us. The battle at the daytime was just so they could make this night assaults. And since they have Discord, they can easily get personal intel about the ones they turn into.” White Light closed his eyes and tried to concentrate in order to find a solution to that problem. He had to do it, or else the Alliance would most likely lose the war.