//------------------------------// // 29 - Trail, Part 9 of 10 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// Scootaloo and her three companies sped through the night. The cloud with the remainder of their regiment was behind them, but it would take them much longer to get into position. "Light it up!" Scootaloo called out. One of her soldiers fired a 'daylight' flare that burned white and illuminated the countryside almost as bright as the sun. The dark of night that had covered the town fled, revealing that a fight was already in progress. The QRF had hit the east side of the city. They were being resisted by what looked like the towns ponies. They were actually holding back the QRF. She wanted to engage and help them, but she had to find the landing party first. "Get a scout down there! I need a sit-rep from the QRF!" Scootaloo ordered. The daylight flare revealed a plume of smoke ascending from one of the buildings in town. "That's our objective. We'll secure that first." Scootaloo felt pleased with this situation. It looked like that was the same objective the QRF had been moving for until they were pushed back. Now she could drop in behind the enemy and have them pressed on both sides. With the bulk of her force, she could keep them busy and send in a team to extract their people. ... Sounds of fighting could be heard in town, but all of Sparklefly's attention was on the squad that approached. There were ten unknown ponies crashing noisily through the brush. Two of them were unicorns, and those were the two that Charging Lance and Sparklefly were targeting with their crossbows. If they could take out the squad's magic users, they'd have a fighting chance on the remaining eight. None wore armor; they were definitely not EUP. A bright light burst through the trees; Sparklefly recognized it as a 'daylight’ flare. Her heart leapt at the realization that reinforcements were close. When the flare lit up the night, the approaching squad stopped and turned toward it. She didn't have to be told; both Sparklefly and Charging Lance loosed their bolts together while the others were distracted. One fell silently; Charging Lance had aimed true. The other yelped and fell crying out. Sparklefly quickly reloaded in the moment of confusion while the squad members turned this way and that to find out what was happening. Charging Lance loosed a second arrow, and again a lethal hit sunk into the chest of an adversary. The rest began moving and found cover behind trees. Sparklefly saw a leg sticking out and sent a bolt through it. The recipient howled in pain, cradling his injury. "Stop, stop shooting at us!" one of them cried out, a stallion. Sparklefly looked to Charging Lance. He was loaded and looking for a target. He caught her glance and shrugged at her. "We can't let them go," Flittergear said. "They'll bring the others down on us." The same one called out again, "Who are you, and why are you attacking our town?" Sparklefly felt a chill run up her spine. She quietly turned, scanning around to see if anypony else was approaching. Everything seemed quiet aside from the fighting in town. One of the others screamed; it was a mare. Charging Lance sighed, but raised his crossbow again. "Drop your weapons and come out where we can see you; slowly!" "We don't have any weapons," the first one said again. "They killed him!" the mare shrieked; she started crying. Sparklefly felt sick. "I'm... I'm coming out. For Celestia’s sake, don't shoot!" the first one said. He walked out on his hind legs in a surrender pose. He didn't seem to have any weapons, but it was hard to be sure with only the patches of light from the daylight flare. He did wear saddle bags. "All of you come out or we'll fire again!" Charging Lance threatened. "Come out, guys," the first one said. One by one, they revealed themselves. The first one that Sparklefly had shot was still breathing, but he was down. Her second target came limping out with the bolt still through his leg. The seven of them stood there. Charging Lance nodded, and the three moved forward. Flittergear and Sparklefly took up the flanks, and Charging Lance passed his crossbow to Flittergear. With his knife at the ready he began searching their saddle bags for weapons. “Now!" one of them shouted, and they rushed out in all directions. Charging Lance stabbed the closest one, then spun around, tossing him to the ground. Sparklefly loosed a shot that caught another in the shoulder, dropping him to the forest floor. The 'frightened mare' came at Flittergear, who missed her shot. As it turned out, Flittergear didn't need to use ranged weapons. She turned, using the butt of the crossbow to hit the 'frightened mare' in the face. She went down and Flittergear hit her again and again with full swings; her crossbow broke in half over the mare’s bloody back. Another stallion ran at Flittergear; she sidestepped around a tree and rammed the splintered crossbow into their side. Sparklefly was hit from her blind side. The world spun and she dropped her crossbow. She backed away and cleared her vision just in time to see her assailant pick up the weapon. She darted behind a tree as he fired it, a loud 'thwack' reported the bolt hitting the tree. She came back around in time to see Charging Lance drive is knife into the stallion’s throat. A rock sped by Sparklefly's ear so close that she heard a buzzing noise. Two of their attackers were on the ground, wounded too badly to fight, five were dead. The other three were now hidden. Sparklefly, Flittergear, and Charging Lance circled up and got low, loading the one crossbow that still functioned. One of the enemies must be the one that had been shot in the leg; he wasn't here. Another rock came, but it was too dark to see. It struck Flittergear in the shoulder; she yelped and turned to face that direction, cradling the injury. “There’s more of them now,” Charging Lance whispered. Sparklefly could see some movement, but they were at a distance. Their own position was far more exposed that she liked. Charging Lance raised the crossbow only to be hit in the head with a rock from a different direction. He dropped, unconscious. "We have you surrounded now!" the leader called out. "Do not resist and we won't harm you." Sparklefly didn't believe his offer; she picked up the crossbow. Rocks sailed at them from different directions. All the two mares could do was drop low and cover their heads. Charging Lance was bleeding from where he'd been hit. Sparklefly didn’t have time to tend to him until they were out of immediate danger. As long as the rocks flew, they were pinned down.