The desert beneath Sparklefly had succumbed to a mountainous region that was the western border of the badlands. It was only a short space of time before the entire Assault Corps was turning to the north toward Apple Loosa. It wouldn't be long now; they would soon gain the heights, and then the real work would begin. The natural defensive qualities made the location some of the best ground they could hope for, but there were always preparations to make. Some places the slopes were not quite as steep or high, so a fair amount of digging would have to take place in order to remedy that. Scouting parties would have to be sent out to keep them informed of the enemy movements in all directions.
The dark thoughts didn't stay gone for long. Soon, Sparklefly couldn't think about anything but making some decision that would get her brother or medic friend killed. More than that, it was as if she were back in that cave, Ash Eater’s hot breath on her neck, ready to hurt her again. It made her skin feel clammy and threatened to steal her strength to keep flying. She was in a kind of daze as they arrived at the place where she’d played as a filly.
Just west of Apple Loosa, the heights were like a small plateau. The edge closest to town rose steeply about three yards or so above the surrounding area. On top was a grassy, fairly flat space with a few sporadic trees. They were a little larger than the scrubby thorny kind that they had found in the badlands, but none of them bore edible fruits. The grass may have been fodder, had not the timberwolves soiled and trampled it so thoroughly. The slope was climbable, but the top of the rise was a perfect position to hold off enemies. The best way to improve this would be to build a stone wall on top, but they would have to make do with a trench.
The Taskforce split up upon landing, each overseeing different areas of the preparations. Mane Crusher was sent with a pair of guards to see to building up the western side of their line. Everypony went about their duties, and Sparklefly heard herself respond to questions and issue orders. It was as if a veil were between her thoughts and actions. She was detached, feeling small and helpless. The events around her became a whirlwind as the sun set. Nopony rested. The flurry of activity endured throughout the night and until the hint of dawn was on the horizon.
The trench was already complete on the east side, and likely all around the top of the heights. Work was slowing and soldiers were now able to take rest. Sparklefly sat alone on a gently-sloped hill a few hundred yards from the eastern edge of the plateau. It rose only about two yards above the rest, but it gave a perfect view in all directions, making it an ideal place for a command post. Her mind was still a prisoner of fear, unable to determine how to proceed without resolving within herself what to do. It was only after she was touched that she realized Scootaloo had arrived and had been speaking.
"I'm sorry," Sparklefly shook her head, "What was that?"
"Are you okay?" the orange pegasus seemed concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her voice sounding hollow even to her own ears.
"Hey," Scootaloo said softly, "What's wrong?"
Trying to put this to words was more than Sparklefly could manage. Between her fears for her brother and medic friend and the guilt and shame for what had happened in the cave with Ash Eater, she was rendered helpless. She wasn't sure from where they came, but tears burst from her and ran freely. Scootaloo grabbed her and pulled her in close.
"That's okay," she said softly. "But keep it down."
Unable to regain control, Sparklefly dropped all defenses and let it out. She buried her face in her friend’s shoulder. Great heaving waves of emotion poured out in the utter darkness of an approaching dawn. Sparklefly was glad for the dark. She wouldn’t have wanted to be seen by others. As the sun drew near to breaching the horizon, her tears abated, and the young mare began to regain herself.
"There you go," Scootaloo said, patting Sparklefly on the back before gently grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Now, what's going on?"
Taking a shaky breath, Sparklefly considered her response. Keeping her own counsel to this point had not provided a solution. She was more in turmoil now than she had been during her time as a prisoner. She wanted relief from the strain.
“I... I saw Ash Eater when I was captured in Canterlot.”
Scootaloo’s ears folded back defensively and her eyes grew wide.
Her voice was a ghostly whisper, “You didn’t mention it in your debriefing.”
Sparklefly continued, pushing herself through the overwhelming shame she felt, “I know. I should have, but... I... he...” She took a deep breath, “We were alone for a long time, Nitro and me. Then three changelings came down; Ash Eater was one of them. He asked me questions, and I refused to answer. They beat me. Then they hurt Nitro, but I wouldn’t talk. Then... he...” she couldn’t find the words.
Scootaloo sat patiently waiting, saying nothing.
“He threatened me. He tried to force... he almost... like when a stallion and a mare... when they...
Scootaloo’s face contorted, overcome with rage at what she was hearing.
“I told him about our winter strategy to make him stop. I’m a traitor.”
Her companion’s expression became even harder, as though resolve was forming.
“Then he left. I haven’t seen him since then, but I can’t sleep. It’s constantly on my mind, and I have so much else I’m worried about... I just spend so much time living up to what everypony expects, and then..." Sparklefly again tried to find the right words. "I worry about my brother. I don't want him here with me. I want to send him home so I don't have to think about getting him killed."
A few more tears slipped through. Sparklefly’s head hung low, as if the trampled brown grass could give her some answer she’d been unable to find. She looked back up and met her friend’s gaze.
"You are not a traitor, and Duster’s safety is not in your control," Scootaloo said firmly. "I know you feel like it is, but it just isn't. Brax deploys his own forces where he needs them. Besides, if your brother did stay at Ponyville, there's no guarantee that they aren't being attacked right now."
"I know," the scenarios had all been played out, but her heart yearned to keep him safe. She took another shaky breath. "I'm sorry."
"No, there's nothing to be sorry about. We are putting all of our lives on the line here. Don't you dare apologize for anything. I know you wouldn’t have told Ash Eater anything without a fight, and since we haven’t finalized any details of that plan, he likely didn’t get anything useful anyway. I swear to you, we’re going to kill him. Do you hear me? Whatever it takes. If I have to hunt him down and do it myself, that changeling is going to die."
Somehow, there was comfort in her friend's words. Golden light pierced the darkness of night. The ground in the distance seemed to be moving; it was likely the timberwolves returning. It would be sometime during the day that they would arrive.
“Are you going to be okay?”
Sparklefly nodded.
"Now, we need to check on the preparations," Scootaloo said as she pushed Sparklefly away.
It was the right call. Under cover of darkness there was time to feel vulnerable, but not in front of the other soldiers.
"If you need to talk more about this, come find me. I don't think I know anypony as brave or smart as you," Scootaloo added as she began to walk away. "If we feel sorry for anyone, it should be the stick-dogs and their changeling masters."
"Hey, Scootaloo.”
Her friend stopped and looked back.
"Thanks... Thanks for being here for me."
The reply came with a shrug and that familiar disarming grin, "What are friends for? Besides, if you lose it, who can plan our defense? I want to go home in one piece when this is over."
Sparklefly smiled and dried her face. Her stomach growled, but there was no food to satisfy it. All of the rations had been consumed, and the water wasn't far behind. All that was left was what each pony had in their canteens. Surveying the defenses on the heights put Sparklefly back into her cool detachment for which she had become known.
She checked in with several other members of the Taskforce in their respective sections of the field. Charging Lance commanded nearest Apple Loosa, while Flittergear and Masher had the southeast covered. The northeast had Pacer and rough terrain. General Brax took up position on the hill that Sparklefly had found, and it became the command center. Scootaloo and Skyflame were in command of the CAP, and they kept careful watch of the skies. Once everything was in order, all they could do was wait. Sparklefly returned to the little hill. Aids scurried this way and that.
"Welcome back," General Brax said. "How do our preparations look."
"Perfect," Sparklefly said, her mood improved enough to feign positivity. "Now all we need is a deck of cards."
Mane Crusher snorted, but Sparklefly wasn't sure if it was approval or disgust at her joke. For the first time in days, she didn’t feel quite so self-conscious as if everypony knew her secrets. They still weighed on her, but somewhat less.
"We just got a report from the CAP that the skies are clear," Mane Crusher said. "I think it is from the skies that they will hit us, when they're ready."
"I agree," Brax said.
Sparklefly nodded and thought on this. It was their weakest defense, but the changelings had never shown a large enough air presence to be a threat to an army this size. They might strike from the air, but there would have to be more to it if they wanted to overcome the advantages that had been gained. Besides that, it should be soon that the griffins would be sending reinforcements, making their air superiority even stronger.
"We certainly need to keep our eyes on the sky," she said, "But I'm more worried about something we might have missed."
The other two looked at her.
She shrugged and said, "I can't think of anything, but if I could, we wouldn't have missed it. You can't see what you can't see."
Mane Crusher had a serious expression behind his mustache, but General Brax smiled thinly. Sparklefly took a sip from her canteen, which was less than half full now.
"Any word on our resupply?" she asked.
"None yet," Mane Crusher said. "They were supposed to be here at dawn?"
She nodded. This concerned all of them greatly, but they couldn't waste resources to send more than the scouts that they had already sent.
Brax added, "Our scouts report the timberwolves will be here by midday. If we aren't resupplied by then..."
"We'll have to be careful how we engage them," Sparklefly finished. "If we give up this ground, we'll never get it back."
"More to the point," Mane Crusher said, "if they get a single road in, we may be finished here."
A scout landed nearby and saluted.
"Report," General Brax said.
"Sir," the scout was out of breath, “We have resupply inbound. We should have our food and water replenished within the hour!"
Sparklefly smiled, her heart lifted to hear the news. She only allowed herself another sip from her canteen. Until she had the ability to refill it, she wouldn't waste a single drop. She didn't have to wait long. A cloud laden with supplies and under its own modest escort soon came into view. It didn't take long to get mobilized to claim the much needed rations, water, and weapons. The captain of the supply cloud, an older pegasus with a big bushy beard, came down personally to meet them.
"Glad to meet you, glad to be meeting you," he said cheerfully.
His voice was deep and gravelly, but not at all unpleasant. He seemed somehow mirthful, his smile revealing several missing teeth.
"I have a message here," he said as he pulled a piece of paper from a pocket. Unfolding it, he read, "'To our brave warriors, The citizens of Manehattan wish to extend our utmost thanks. As such, the entire city has donated half of their rations for the next month in hopes that it will bolster your strength in the face of the enemy.'" Giving the letter to General Brax, he added, "See that there? That's the mayor's seal. You down here sure see a lot more danger than me and mine do, that's for sure. I just hope you don't forget us when you tell your stories afterward!”
Sparklefly couldn't help but smile at the jovial supply captain. He seemed so genuinely proud to be doing his part to help the war effort. Though it may have seemed a smaller role, Sparklefly for one appreciated the fact that it was vital to their operation.
The cloud soon departed, having offloaded all of the desperately-needed supplies. The double-ration that was served, not to mention having enough supplies on hoof to sustain their campaign for almost a week, lifted everypony's spirits.
The sun drew high above as the timberwolves drew close below. Nearly a third of the pegasi were circling overhead to ensure that the skies stayed clear as the hour of battle approached. Sparklefly, General Brax, and Mane Crusher stood on their hill, attention focused on the incoming enemy. Sparklefly shifted a little nervously at the sheer size of their numbers. It was indeed an awe-inspiring sight the way they completely covered the land. She fidgeted a little; she wanted to see every last one of them dead.
"Calm yourself," Mane Crusher said. "They will come when they come. All we can do now is stand ready."
Sparklefly took a deep breath, and realized she was rubbing at her eye patch again. She adjusted it and stopped. They were only a thousand yards away now, coming fast. The ponies weren’t planning a retreat this time. They were going to fight head-to-head. This would be the first proper battle of their campaign.
"Give the word to all line officers," General Brax said, "As soon as the enemy is in range, you may fire at will."
"Copy that!" several scouts saluted and then shot off to the front.
Sparklefly felt cold and hot at the same time. Her throat felt dry and her skin clammy. Only a few hundred yards away now. The scouts reported acknowledgement from all line officers. Two hundred yards; it looked like everypony on the front line was set in a firing position. One-hundred fifty yards; the CAP's circling overhead pressed out a little over the enemy.
At just under one-hundred yards, thousands upon thousands of crossbows were loosed and the battle began. They zipped silently through the air, cutting down timberwolves as they fell. Fifty yards; unicorns opened fire with their deadly magic and wiped holes in the oncoming line of timberwolves. The noise from the cries of the dying timberwolves and the explosions of magic filled the air. It might have sounded akin to a massive fireworks display unleashed into a crowd of bystanders.
As the timberwolves approached the heights and began to climb, the earth ponies at the front let out a battle cry that made Sparklefly's blood run cold for the ferocity of it. The stick-dogs made the climb quickly, but were effectively beaten down by hooves and spears, their numbers already so thinned from the attack they had been enduring on the charge in. They did not stop.
Wave after wave assaulted the heights, breaking against the front line like the waves of the sea striking the shore. Over and over they regrouped and pressed the attack, snarling savagely against the armored line that was the barrier between life and death. The very fate of Equestria hung in the balance as a wall of steel and flesh held back certain destruction.
As Sparklefly observed this event unfolding before her, she found herself thinking of her mother. The memory that caught her was of her dad’s birthday party. They had baked him a carrot cake, and she had been in charge of the icing. She shook her head to focus on the battle. It was a few moments before she realized why that memory had come to mind. The timberwolves charging into their lines, the way they were being cut down, was not unlike carrots being shredded by a grater.