Dawn's Candor

by Clarke Otterton

Chapter 3

Dawn found the two cornets within the first two blocks from the station, sitting at an airy restaurant patio. The Crystal Vase Café, according to the painted wood sign that hung outside the establishment’s door. Belle was about to take a bite out of an apple and daisy sandwich when her ears pricked up at the rapid clatter of the approaching lieutenant’s canter. Star put down her eucalyptus punch and stood up ready to investigate as Dawn leaped over the whitewashed fence that surrounded the patio and skidded to a halt in front of the table.

“We have a problem,” Dawn said. Her chest heaved against her saber belt as she caught her breath.

“It’s only been ten minutes, what could possibly have gone wrong?” Belle said without taking her eyes off her sandwich. She floated a napkin to wipe a speck of flower from her nose.

“There’s no time to explain. I need both of you to round up as many of your ponies as you can and send them back to the platform to unload the cargo. Turns out they need that train really bad in Canterlot.”

“They’re not going to be too pleased to be taken away from lunch,” Belle said. “Besides, this sounds like your problem, lieutenant.”

Dawn felt the blood rush to her face. “I’m not asking, Cornet Belle. Now get off your ass and get to it. That’s an order!” She was almost yelling now, drawing the attention of a couple of crystal ponies at a nearby table. Belle shot her a glance that matched the intensity of the lieutenant’s voice but continued to chew away at her lunch.

Star backpedaled from the confrontation, eyes darting between the two officers. Then, finding some courage within her, she turned to address Belle. “Come on, Belle, you can take your sandwich with you,” she said with a soft tone barely above a whisper. It grew in confidence as she found the right words to say, “The lieutenant’s problems aren’t just hers – they’re the unit’s problems, too, and by that they are ours as well.”

Belle considered her friend’s logic, then packed the sandwich in her saddlebag and got up to stand beside her peer. “Very well, they can’t have gotten that far.”

Dawn felt her face cool off as she watched the pair trot off. But her heart was still beating rapidly. She pulled out her watch. - forty-six minutes left. She walked out of the patio and started cantering deeper into the city.

The Crystal Empire was a spectacular city that sparkled at every turn. The streets were a dark polished purple, reflecting the colorful assortment of pedestrians, who likewise seemed to be polished, that walked between shops and engaged one another in pleasantries. A group of mares sat outside a flower stand, taking turns smelling each other’s purchases and chatting idly. All of the ponies sported well-groomed manes and tasteful trinkets of jewelry that beckoned to a simpler, foregone era. A few turned to look at the red-coated officer cantering down the street, puzzled looks appearing on their faces.

Dawn hardly noticed them, though, focusing instead on the buildings that lined the streets in search of places where soldiers might have visited. The architecture of the stores and houses was jagged and organic, taking advantage of the natural formations of crystal that dominated the urban sprawl. Even the street layout mimicked the crystalline-structured theme, with main avenues radiating outward from the city center in symmetric angles. From a pegasus flying overhead, the city would look like a large snowflake that gradually melted into a patchwork of fields and narrow country lanes.

Dawn was thankful for the well-designed street plan which was unlike the confusing labyrinth of winding streets and alleys that dominated Canterlot. It would make finding everypony that much easier. She turned a corner and sighted a restaurant with a sign that advertised “Best oats in town for your money! Try our new OatBurger, just one Bit!” Outside the restaurant were at least a dozen red-coated ponies. Perfect, Dawn breathed in relief. This might not be so hard after all.

In twenty minutes, Lieutenant Dawn had managed to round up most of the soldiers under her supervision and set them to work unloading the cargo crates from the train. Combined with the efforts of the two cornets, only three ponies remained unaccounted for. But where in Equestria were they! Dawn had searched everywhere she thought they might be. They were not at any of the cafés along the main streets, nor were they dining at one of the small eateries that populated the connecting side streets.

Dawn turned around to enlist the help of one of the locals when her ears picked up a violent commotion from an unmarked storefront. She trotted up to investigate, taking note of the wooden barrels that were stacked beside the building’s dilapidated door. Dawn was glad to have been observant for as soon as her hoof touched the porch two barrels were flung from the stack giving her barely enough time to duck as the wood cracked open against the road, spilling amber liquid that pooled on the shiny surface. The culprits who launched the projectile were a pair of soldiers. Dawn’s soldiers. The two, disheveled and clearly inebriated, were exchanging hooves and vulgarities.

“You little shit, come ‘ere. I jus’ wanna have a friendly little talk ‘bout what you owe me,” the larger of the two, a green stallion, slurred. The other party, a spritely unicorn with a tan coat, wriggled around her opponent’s hooves, whistling an unrecognizably silly tune. Dawn recognized them as the card-playing ponies from the train. She figured that their current dispute must be related to the outcome of that game.

“Stop this right now!” Dawn used her command voice, but to no effect as she pulled her head back to miss a flying hoof. The green pony swung around and shifted his weight to his forehand, rear legs springing back to kick another barrel towards the unicorn. It flew upwards, buffeting a lock of black hair that belonged to an older dark green pegasus who was floating over the scene, wise enough to keep himself out of the way.

“You don’t have to do this, Applesnack. She’s just a filly. She didn’t mean nothin’,” the pegasus protested.

“This is between me an’ her, Crag!” Applesnack roared back. More barrels fell victim to his kicks, yet the unicorn dodged each with apparent ease. Perhaps she isn’t as drunk as I thought, Dawn assessed. The thought was quickly replaced with frustration when a bursting barrel doused her in cider. Her blood was boiling now. These ponies needed to learn some respect for the authority an officer carried. Without thinking, she rushed between the two, holding out her forelegs in an attempt to break up the fight.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you, ma’am,” Crag stated from above. Dawn looked up, about to ask what he meant by that when she felt the sharp pain of a hoof make contact with her head. She did not even feel her body hit the ground before the world around her went dark.

The first thing that confronted Dawn when she woke up was the earsplitting headache. A quick glance at her watch confirmed she had only been out for two minutes, though her aching body made it feel longer. She pulled herself to her hooves, grunting with the effort, then looked around to take stock of the situation. The two ponies were sitting quietly on either side of the porch, the fight resolved although Applesnack’s angry scowl persisted across his face. Crag had landed and was consoling the unicorn by straightening the braiding of her brown mane. “You’re alright, Ditty, it’s over. Should’ve known better than to tussle with Applesnack when he’s had too much to drink.”

A fifth pony, standing next to Applesnack, must have arrived on the porch while Dawn was unconscious, and she gathered that he was likely the one who had stopped the fight. She shook her head to clear the stars still floating in her vision and then walked over to thank the stranger. He was large with a reddish coat and short orange mane, his size giving a calm authority which must have helped him bring the brawling ponies under control. Dawn’s eyes fell on the pony’s distinctive yoke and freckles and immediately recognized him from her time with the Ponyville Yeomanry. “Big MacIntosh, what a pleasant surprise!”

“Eeyep,” Big Mac replied.

“What brings you all the way up here?” Dawn asked. Although Big Mac was a sergeant in the Yeomanry regiment, he spent most of his time working his family’s apple orchard. He would always bring fresh apples to dressage weekends for everypony to enjoy after a long day of training.

“I was deliverin’ some pies for my sister,” he said, his country draw oddly homely in Dawn’s ears. She recalled his experience with wagons being an invaluable asset with the regiment’s wagon train during her tenure with the regiment. She had never figured that delivering apples for his family’s business could yield so many of the adventures he referenced when working in the wagon train.

“How is your family doing?” Dawn had only met the Apples twice at the regiment’s social gatherings, but those occasions had been enough for her to admire the bond the family shared for each other.

“A.J. an’ her friends ‘ave gone up t’ Canterlot for the week. Some assignment for the Princess. Apple Bloom got accepted int’ her school.” Dawn remembered the filly chatting with her at a regimental picnic about her plans to be an architect.

“That’s great for her. What about you? Surely you must be up to more than just delivering pies.”

“Actually, it’s pretty much jus’ been pies. But I was plannin’ on takin’ a few days t’ explore this place afore headin’ home. Ain’t really been up here much.”

“Well, I’m glad you chose this particular pub to explore first.” Dawn nodded toward Ditty’s and Applesnack’s respective ends of the porch. “How did you get them to calm down anyways? I took a hoof to the head for my troubles.” She rubbed the still tender spot under her ear.

Big Mac chuckled. “It was easy, really. I jus’ told that green stallion he had t’ fight me afore that filly an’ he seemed t’ change his mind ‘bout the whole thing.” Dawn took another look at the large red stallion and reached the same conclusion Applesnack likely did.

“Well, thank you so much for your help resolving this,” Dawn said, gesturing again to the two sulking ponies.
“Eeyep, no problem.”

“Perhaps you might be able …” Dawn started, unsure of whether to ask more of the big stallion. She decided she could use his wagon expertise for the march to camp, so continued with her request. “Would you be able to help us out with some wagons. We have to transport some crates of food and supplies to our camp on the other side of the Yaket mountains. We could use a pony with your experience.”

“Eeyep,” he replied simply. “I was plannin’ t’ head up through there anyways. Locals say it’s mighty pretty this time of year.”

Dawn felt her headache lessen at the positive news. “Glad you can lend a hoof, Big Mac. Now let’s get these troublemakers back to the station.”

The detachment of soldiers was already formed up along the platform when Lieutenant Dawn arrived. From the sweat that darkened their fur she could tell that they had worked hard unloading the crates and placing them in the wagons that stood further down the platform. Dawn felt a pang of pity looking at them. She had denied them food and rest then made them work like mules all because of her mistaken weakness in giving her initial orders. Her desire to put her ponies first had put them last instead.

Her feelings were quickly doused as she turned to the trio of troublemakers she was escorting. “Private Ditty, Private Crag, fall-in to the detachment,” she instructed. The two snapped quick salutes and trotted off to join the line. She had no issues with them – they were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Her tone sharpened considerably as she addressed the real instigator, “Now then, what do I do with you, corporal? How do you explain your behavior today?”

“No excuse, ma’am,” stated the stallion. Somehow his voice had lost all trace of intoxication, replaced instead with a firm grumble.

“Why were you upset with Private Ditty? Why did you decide to act now, of all times?” Dawn was hoping to get more than a basic response out the stubborn pony.

“Ma’am, I do not know, ma’am.” She was disappointed. This conversation was leading nowhere.

“Corporal Applesnack, are you aware that striking a superior officer is grounds for a general court-martial and punishable up to dismissal from Their Majesties’ Armed Forces to include forfeiture of all pay and allowances?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Applesnack held a perfect position of attention, his moving lips barely breaking the grim expression he wore. He was visibly sweating, but Dawn could not tell whether it was from his response to the reprimand or the trot back to the station. She assumed it was the latter and continued.

“However, I recognize that your blow may very well not have been intended for me. Nevertheless, Private Applesnack, I am recommending a reduction in grade and fatigue duty for two weeks.” Dawn drew her saber and cut the two white stripes from Applesnack’s sleeve.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dawn could hear a subtle difference in his voice, the static gruffness tinged with a waiver of hurt at the demotion. This was her least favorite part of being a lieutenant. But discipline had to be maintained even if it meant she had to become the villain.

“Fall-in.” Applesnack turned about and walked to file into the rest of the detachment.

“That’un is one t’ keep your eye on.” Big Mac had walked up beside Dawn during the conversation.

“Yes, I know. He’s a ruffian and will no doubt be causing me more trouble,” Dawn sighed.

“Actually, ah meant he’s the kind of pony that’s got potential,” Big Mac corrected. Dawn failed to see his reasoning, expressing as such through a raised eyebrow. Big Mac elaborated, “Didn’t you see how he handled your reprimand? He didn’t flinch one bit, not until you struck somethin’ that mattered t’ him. He’s stubborn but got spirit when it counts. Ah reckon that’s the kind of pony I want by my side in a tough spot.”

Dawn considered the advice, shocked by Big Mac’s ability to read the pony. She concluded he was right, glancing at the end of the formation where the trio had taken their places. All three of them probably had potential. Ditty’s agility and attitude had surprised Dawn, and she admired both the practical wisdom and care that Crag had displayed. And despite his temper, Applesnack was definitely a fighter. Ponies to keep her eye on, indeed.

Dawn turned her gaze from the formation of red-clad ponies to the other side of the platform, where a rapid clattering of hooves had drawn her attention. Filing from the station’s building was a platoon of Crystal Empire soldiers who lined up next the train’s passenger car, forming an unbroken corridor from the train to the station door. The crystal ponies were not wearing the pastel red tunics of Equestria, but rather were clad in the uniform of their native land. The long blue coats were flashy, with the bottom hem turned up around the hindlegs to reveal the red lining along the inside. Each pony wore a stiff kepi that bore a purple crystal, the symbol of the Empire, embroidered into the circular top. Dawn had never seen the Crystal Empire’s military before. Although a dependency of Equestria and ruled by members of the Royal Family, the Crystal Empire still retained an independent government and, consequently, an independent military with its own set of traditions.

“I bet that’s why they needed the train,” Star commented, joining the lieutenant as she gawked over the foreign uniforms.

“I suppose you are right,” Dawn said. “It must be something pretty important to warrant that kind of escort. Although the engineer pony didn’t say what, or who, they were transporting back to Canterlot …” Dawn trailed off, suddenly remembering the earlier exchange, and, in particular, the message the engineer had given her.

Shit! She still had not read it. She reached back and pulled the scroll out of her saddlebags. Star’s horn glowed as she floated it in front of the lieutenant to read.

“What is it?” Big Mac asked, reading the troubled expression in Dawn’s flattened ears.

“We need to get going now,” Dawn said. Celestia’s fucking Sun, why didn’t I read that earlier, she cursed to herself. She turned to face her detachment, drawing her saber for extra attention as she started giving commands. “Two columns, marching order. Wagons in the rear. Move!” The formation dissolved and rapidly reformed according to the lieutenant’s directions. Behind the column, the puller ponies strained against their harnesses to lug the heavy wagons into place. Big Mac’s deep voice carried over the din, directing the placement of each wagon.

Satisfied with the formation, Lieutenant Dawn gave the order, “at the collected trot, forward, MARCH!” Private Ditty, the detachment’s sole bugler, blew the dancing pair of pitches that echoed the command as the files of red uniforms clopped and clattered off the platform and onto the dusty road that lead into the Yaket Mountains where gathering storm clouds darkened the distant peaks.