//------------------------------// // 32 - Glory, Part 5 of 6 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// Duster maintained his high altitude with the rest of the attack force, some nineteen-thousand strong by the estimates he'd heard. A quick count of the formations confirmed that this number had to be close. Some high wispy clouds aside, the sky was otherwise clear as yielded to day; Princess Flurry Heart’s dutiful attention to the solar cycle was impeccable. The weather was still being left to its own whims. There was a slight briskness to the air, a harbinger of the changing seasons. "Stop that!" Jewel scolded him. "Sorry.” They'd previously had an argument about his tendency to push against her back when they flew tandem. He didn't realize he was doing it until she pointed it out, but it was a difficult habit to break. "Can it!" Locknload ordered. "Platoon, on me!" Lieutenant Clyde called back to them. Duster banked with the formation, following the leaders ahead of them. Before he'd enlisted, the stallion had dreamed of this day, storming the capital to reclaim their seat of power in Equestria. The taste of actual combat had somewhat changed his perspective. He tended to instead dream of returning home and such simple things. Of glorious battle, he had become much more wary. The city itself didn't look at all like he'd imagined it. Growing up, he had heard it described by his father in rich detail: tall stone towers, the great drawbridge, gardens, and terraces beyond counting. It was mostly blackened rubble from fires that had raged through the city after it was evacuated. Some of the towers still stood tall, but the lower levels were charred and burnt. It was a haunting sight, to be sure. Duster heard whispers and gasps rippling through the other soldiers, and he soon saw the reason. Timberwolves were flooding out of structures and into the streets. The sound of some explosions finally reached them. Within a minute, the flares were seen. It was the signal for the attack to begin in earnest, as the advanced guard had already landed. "EUP soldiers!" Captain Scootaloo cried out. "Do not stop your attack until the city is ours. Today we retake Canterlot!" A roar of approval rang back from thousands of voices. "Sound the charge!" Major Skyflame roared, wheeling back around to face the city. Buglers blasted, and it began. Duster followed in formation with his squad now speeding, down, down, down! His goggles protected his eyes, but the wind rushed in his ears like the sound of a mighty waterfall. Magical fire began coming from the city, cutting down several teams, but the formation didn't break. "Return fire!" officers began shouting. The unicorns let their magic fly in deadly bolts back, exploding on contact with whatever targets they could find. Stone split, sending showers of pebbles flying this way and that, and clouds of dust came up in the wake of the destruction. This effectively blinded the changelings for the moment. It was enough. Regiment after regiment flew over the causeways, which were only passable for the dead timberwolves inside, and as they passed, their unicorns let out fiery magical attacks. Within seconds the flames engulfed the passage, effectively cutting off any land retreat or reinforcements. Duster followed his formation to land near this position. Their regiment, along with two regiments of new recruits were to hold this while a cloud with the rest of the force hit from the other side and the city was secured. The clattering of hooves against stone rang across the morning as a third of their force put down there. Duster was proud of his own landing. He set Jewel down, pulled the release and dropped next to her in record time and softness. "Contact right!" Locknload shouted, and a hundred unicorns began launching magical attacks in that direction. Timberwolves lunged viciously at anypony they could find. The force that landed, some six-thousand in all, began pushing against them immediately. Chaos threatened to overtake the moment, but the ponies were well organized. More death rained down from the divisions that were still airborne, and it gave the ground forces enough time to get a solid defensive line formed. They were able to push back with magic, arrows, and spears until they had secured the area. Half of the force continued on into the city as planned. All Duster could do now was wait. He winced as he was slapped on the back. "Nice landing," Jewel said to him. "It certainly was delicate," Locknload teased. "She's a soldier, not a princess." Gunnysack snorted. Rolling Thunder added, "Come on, a fine landing is nothing to sneer at. What good would any of you be with a twisted ankle?" Loud echoing explosions silenced everypony. One of the taller buildings collapsed. Time seemed to slow, allowing this moment to be experienced as each stone fell, smashing into whatever lay below. It came mostly straight down, but some of the upper spire actually fell from the cliff on which the city was positioned. Fortunately, nothing of importance was likely at the bottom. "By Celestia...“ Quickbeam said vacantly. Closer explosions came from somewhere to their left, and the sounds of battle became much closer. Timberwolves had apparently broken through and were trying to push the flank and hit the rear. A bugler sounded the charge, and Duster vaulted forward with the rest of them, his heart pounding the rhythm of the battle. Seeing a changeling fly out from the horde, he raised his crossbow and fired. His bolt struck it in the chest as magic burned into its body; it fell. They continued pressing toward the sounds of the enemy. They met the timberwolves near what must have been a park. Duster nearly tripped over a blackened stone bench. It wasn't long before he was in the fray. Locknload's squad unleashed a rage that they'd been saving for this moment, and Duster was no exception. The nine of them were in perfect fighting form, making short work of any timberwolf that strayed too close to them. An order came down the line, commanding their regiment to push into the city on the left along with one of the regiments of new recruits. A bugler sounded the charge. They smashed into even more timberwolves. As they were drawn into the buildings, their line moved around the obstacles as needed. They had just reached the first street, cutting their way though the enemy when Moonsliver started shouting. "Up! Up! Look out for the-" Duster glanced over just in time to see a lethal bolt of magic strike her full in the face, burning its way into her head. It was the first of many that rained down around them. Moonsliver’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, unmoving. "Locknload!" Lieutenant Clyde yelled. "Get your squad topside and take out those changelings!" "You heard him!" Locknload yelled. "Let's go! Quickbeam, you carry me!” Duster swallowed any emotions about the fallen comrade, turned and found Jewel. He ran up to her and connected the harness, making it into the air with his squad. A nearby building provided a perfect vantage point, and as soon as he'd dropped off Jewel, incoming fire compelled him to drop straight down. He landed hard, feeling the shock of impact shoot up his legs. Locknload and Jewel immediately began firing on the changelings. The others were loosing bolts from their crossbows. After a brief but fierce exchange, the snipers were down. "Nice shooting," Locknload complimented Jewel. Duster turned and noticed Quickbeam was sitting behind them, completely silent. This was so uncharacteristic that something must have been wrong with him. "Are you hurt?” Duster asked. "Targets on our right! Open fire," Locknload shouted. Duster drew close to Quickbeam; he could see something that resembled hopelessness on his face. "She's dead," Quickbeam finally said. "Moonsliver was... I was her pilot and I didn't keep her safe." Something exploded down below, causing Locknload and the others to cheer. "I know," Duster said. "I saw. We don't have time for this right now. We have to keep moving if-" Duster didn't get to finish. A timberwolf leapt onto Quickbeam from behind. Duster hit it square in the face, but there were more, many more. "Contact rear!" Duster shouted. Quickbeam howled as the timberwolves tore at him, their claws raking across armor and into flesh. Duster jumped forward and kicked at them, but realized a moment later that there were simply too many. Leaping onto one of them, he kicked hard and took flight. He was out of their reach just in time to see the rest of the squad surrounded and falling back to the edge of the roof. Duster wheeled back toward them just as they all jumped from the top of the building. There were only seconds now. The other pegasi caught their passengers, but Duster was farther away. He pressed hard, reaching Jewel in time to connect and pull up before they hit the ground. "Nice catch!" she yelled. An empty feeling seemed to consume the thrill of the maneuver he'd just accomplished. Duster searched the sky for the rest of the squad, but he couldn't find them. Turning back to the fighting line, he was able to spot their platoon. Lieutenant Clyde had positioned them in a perfect spot to hold the flank. He flew down and landed. "Private, report!" Clyde said to Duster. Unhooking from Jewel, he replied, "Sir, the snipers are taken care of, but we got separated from our squad. Some of the stick-dogs found us on the roof." Looking back, Duster saw an entire airborne company arrive and lay waste to everything on that very roof that they had just left. Smoke rose from all around, most notably the fire they had set at the causeway. The rest of Locknload's squad flew between some buildings, fairly low, and came in for a landing. "Oh, no; I'd hoped you two had splatted for sure," Gunnysack talked down at Duster. "Good to see you too," Jewel shot back. "Hey, it's nothing personal, but I could live with you dying if it meant getting rid of that one.” Duster rolled his eyes. He didn't want to deal with Gunnysack just then. Rolling Thunder, the crystal stallion’s pilot, pulled his quick-release and dropped his passenger from about a two yards up; he hit the ground hard. "What's the matter with you?" Gunnysack yelled. "Oh, sorry, I was trying to drop you on Duster. I thought you wouldn't mind being sacrificed to take him out." Jewel giggled. "Where's Locknload?" Duster asked. The others all looked around. Rolling Thunder's face flushed, "Quickbeam wasn't... he was supposed to catch him." Duster felt sick. The air ionized and a burst of magic erupted in front of them as Locknload materialized out of thin air. "Sergeant!" Rolling Thunder said. "We're glad to see you." "Can it!" Locknload replied, gruff as ever. "Lieutenant," he said, getting Clyde's attention. "Report, Sergeant." “I made contact with Major Skyflame. We are to hold this position. All enemy positions are folding; the city is ours." A shiver of excitement ran through Duster, but it was stolen away by the hollowness he felt at the absence of two more friends.