//------------------------------// // 31 - Raid, Part 7 of 7 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// Scootaloo was not happy with how things had gone. Her force made it into the city, but were stalled when they moved to the east quarter. They regrouped and made a push through the center of town where they met up with Charging Lance and what remained of the feint. They actually were able to drive off most of the changelings and secure the town, but no sooner had they achieved this than they saw the entire support division retreating to the air. Now the timberwolves that had come from the swamp were pressing the edges of town, and Scootaloo had to make a decision. "We can't hold this without them," she said to Flittergear. "I agree," Charging Lance said. "We must withdraw." "I hope something good came out of those green flares; I lost almost a third of my force taking this town to get to you,” Scootaloo said. Charging Lance looked behind him and then said, "I started with two regiments." Scootaloo felt sick. Charging Lance only made it through to her with about four-hundred, but if she hadn’t pressed, they’d have been slaughtered. She sighed. "Saddle up! We are withdrawing!" she ordered. The remains of their forces quickly got together and took to the air. Changelings came out of hiding places and began firing at them, but unicorns returned in kind to cover their retreat. Surveying the battlefield showed mostly smoking remains from the carnage. The first drops of rain from an incoming storm began falling as they regrouped with the rest of the forces at the cloud. Scootaloo began searching for Rainbow Dash immediately. Major Skyflame was in CIC organizing flight teams to dispel the storm. "Where is the colonel?" Scootaloo asked. "She has headed southeast toward the badlands in pursuit of the changeling queen with Sparklefly. They had four companies total,” Skyflame replied. “I’ll put together a regiment to follow them and assist. Get the entire force ready to withdraw and assess our status." "Understood." Scootaloo left and went into the confusion that was their army. Wounded covered the top of the cloud as medics worked feverishly to save them. As she searched for General Brax, she happened upon a lone pegasus that didn’t seem injured, though he sat among the wounded. It was LD; he looked to be in a daze. "LD? Are you hurt?" she asked. He stared straight ahead, as if unaware of her presence. "LD?" He slowly turned and looked at her. "If you're not hurt I need you. We have to go help Rainbow Dash get the queen." LD began laughing. A cold shiver ran down Scootaloo's spine at the horrific sound of it. He seemed to have no comprehension of his surroundings. She slapped him. "Get a hold of yourself!" she screamed. He only continued laughing. Scootaloo felt sick, but didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t waste any more time, so she left him there convulsing as if in some kind of twisted amusement. It was only a minute later that she found General Brax toward the tail. "Captain?” She quickly responded, “I need a thousand pegasi to assist the colonel's efforts to capture Queen Chrysalis." “Right away,” he replied and began shouting at one of his subordinates. The rain became heavy as they prepared to leave and a the biggest tornado Scootaloo had ever seen touched down to the east. This delayed their efforts for another half-hour, but they had sufficient wing-power to unwind it, and soon the wind's wrath was appeased. Scootaloo was frustrated at the delay, but somewhat more at ease to be moving again with a thousand pegasi in the modest rain that continued coming down. They were moving fast, but after a few minutes one of the soldiers started crying out. Looking down, Scootaloo saw parachutes on the range that bordered the badlands. With no sign of anypony in the air, she needed whatever information they had. Scootaloo led her force down to discover a scattered and injured group of survivors from Sparklefly’s detachment. It didn’t take long before she heard her friend’s voice. "Scootaloo!" Sparklefly called out, her tone was strained. She looked more horrible than she sounded. There was a hole in Sparklefly’s helmet, and her armor had been burned. The unmistakeable scent of charred metal followed her. "What happened?" Scootaloo asked as the mare drew close. "We flew right into that storm. The queen has escaped us, last seen heading southeast." "We'll pursue, how many do you need to help here?" Scootaloo asked, itching to find the queen, but also a little impressed at the level of organization that had already formed in the battered group of survivors. Sparklefly's face had a graveness about it that was unsettling. She also hadn’t answered immediately. Something was wrong. "What is it?" Scootaloo asked, her mind beginning to race. "It's Rainbow Dash," Sparklefly replied stoically. "She's dead." Scootaloo felt her heart stop. It was as if the air was being sucked from the mare’s lungs as the weight of what her friend had just told her sank in. Scootaloo’s mentor and dearest friend, who was practically family, Rainbow Dash, had been killed.