//------------------------------// // CH.10 - Credit // Story: The Line // by Sooks //------------------------------// "They were good out there, Fly. I wasn't watching the whole time, obviously, but they took down five dragons between them all, including a broadwing." Rainbow Blaze swirled his drink. Outside, the rain poured ceaselessly. "I don't think you should count a suicide run as a kill, Blaze," Firefly said without looking up from her charts. Her second in command shrugged. "All the same, they did well. I think it would help their morale a little." "Fine," Firefly huffed, "like I give a buck about their ranks." "You sure make the brass aware of that whenever they bother to send you a message." Rainbow was never one to miss a joke, especially with her, but it was hard to be funny given the circumstances. "There's one other thing." "Hm?" "I want to recommend airponies Shimmer, Ray, Firefoot, and Nimbus for sabre training." "Aren't Shimmer and Nimbus a wing?" The lieutenant checked her list. "Awfully unusual to have two sabres with no vanguard, don't you think?" Rainbow shrugged. "Three months ago, it was unusual to fly a company on airships. We keep flying." Firefly smirked. "That we do, Blaze. Fine, give your foals some sabres and see which of them don't cut themselves. You really think Shimmer and Nimbus can pull off a dual sabre wing?." "They're resourceful kids. I'll bet they can figure it out." "Since when did you start betting?" Firefly chuckled. "That's not like the stallion I know." "Maybe you're just a bad influence?" "Careful, smartass. Fine, we'll give them a shot. We don’t have many spares though...Who are you imagining is gonna train them?" He watched her expectantly. "No." "You're our best sabre, Fly. Nopony could teach them better, and we don't have the time to ease them into advanced weaponry." "You really can be a pain in the ass, you know that?" She walked to the flap of the tent to watch the rain fall. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were growing attached to your little flock of foals." "Maybe I am." Rainbow sat on a bench and watched her. "They're good kids in a bad place. We've already lost some of them, you know. The rest have meshed with their squads, they work with the others naturally. They're us, Fly, not our charges. They've earned that much." Firefly was slow to respond. "Maybe they have." She didn't turn from the rain. "I really would have gotten that bookworm a job in the back if I could have. Stupid foal." "I know you would have. And yes, she is. But she's here, they're here, we're here. We have to make do with that." Rainbow traced patterns on the floor as he spoke. "So we'll just have to watch out for each other as best we can." He suddenly found his lieutenant nuzzling him. He dared a glance up to find her warm gaze looking back. "For an idiot, you have a knack for words." She pulled away. "Come on, two platoons are down to half strength from injuries. We need to reorganize, and I'd like to get some sleep tonight." Rainbow chuckled and hopped to his hooves. Anything for his lieutenant. ~*~ Stratus blinked unresponsive eyelids as he set down his coffee and his breakfast. The storms were keeping him awake, and no amount of caffeine was going to fix it. “Morning, Drifter.” Stargaze made a spot for him. “What do you hear?” “Nothing but the bucking rain,” Stratus groaned as he drank deep of the rich, brown drink. “Have I missed anything?” His wingpony shook his head. “Let’s hope it stays that way.” Much to his frustration, it did not. More of their platoon arrived, already deep in conversation. As usual, the lemon colt was leading the scene. "I'm starting to think airships might not have been a great idea." Willow Wisp's oatmeal was going to get cold if he kept up his talking. Or, it might wind up splattered on his face. "What, you don't like having a flying fortress for a home, Cheerleader?" Nope, coffee was just not doing it. "That part's fine, the guns are fine, but I'm thinking they're too vulnerable." "Well buck you too, flyboy," a unicorn down the table said. Willow threw his hooves up defensively. "Woah, hey, I'm not trying to badmouth any of the crews. But look what happened to the Bulwark. If that dragon had breathed fire, nopony would have walked off." "For once, we seem to have thought the same thing." Sparky Bolts sipped his coffee. "I must be getting stupider out here." "Oh ha ha. Look, it's a real risk. I don't think-" "No, Airpony," Firefly stood over him, "you don't. That's what I'm here for." She looked over the four tables where her company was seated. Some were out on watch, some were grabbing early exercises, but the ones she wanted were here. "Nimbus, Bolts, Fang, Beam, Star, Shimmer, Raindrops, Firefoot, Stargaze, outside." The nine in question grabbed a last bite or drink and made their way out of the mess area. Silver and Lily had to float along, the former’s hind still sore and heavily bandaged, and the latter’s foreleg bound in a sling, but their wings were just fine. Rainbow Blaze, Firefly, and their squad leaders awaited them in the mud. All of them wore neutral expressions, though humor lurked just underneath. Firefly joined the line of senior ponies before nudging her second in command forward. He looked back at her expectantly, but she gave him a quick "Don't give me that" look. He was on his own. Rainbow Blaze donned his neutrality again and addressed his troops. "Right. Airponies, for your distinguishable service in the face of mortal peril, particularly for your acts of courage, determination, and calm thinking under combat during the engagement yesterday, we have seen fit to bestow upon you the rank of Lancer Second Class." Each of their squad leads presented them with little pins to add to their dress collars. The edges of smiles were showing under their masks. "Additionally, under recommendation from your squad members, Lancers Nimbus, Firefoot, and Shimmer, as well as Airpony Ray will be trained in the use of sabres." The promoted ponies looked to each other with equal parts surprise and excitement. "Lancer Beam, I expect you will deliver the news to your wingpony." "Without delay, sir." Moon Beam saluted. "Are we still to fly as a wing, sir?" "You are." "Will I be receiving vanguard training then, sir?" "That remains to be seen, Lancer. Secondary training for sabres and vanguards is allocated when we find ponies that qualify, not when somepony else gets-" "Sergeant, Lieutenant, if I may," Slipstream said. "What is it, Sergeant?" "Sun Ray and Moon Beam's greatest strength is their coordination. They are able to work off of each others actions in a way I have rarely seen before, if ever. I believe it would be a mistake to grant one of them sabre training and not the other, sirs." "You think we should give them both the training program?" Slipstream glanced at the snowfall blue filly apologetically. "Or neither, sir." The three officers looked between each other for an answer. Moon Beam's breath was caught in her throat as the decision was made entirely without her. It was true, what Slipstream had said: she and her sister worked best when they could work together. Did that require them to have the same equipment? It probably helped, yes. "We don't have the spares for it," Firefly said. "Lancer Beam." "Ma'am." "Given your squad leader's recommendation, we will be rescinding your sabre training for the time being. Both you and airpony Ray will be considered for it, however, when we receive more equipment to field sabre teams." "Thank you, ma'am." Moon Beam saluted, and the fuschia mare noticed she seemed genuinely happy with the decision. Whatever kept those two together, she supposed. "That will be all, then. Congratulations, ponies. You are dismissed." The nine new lancers saluted and returned to their breakfast. Even from outside, the officers could hear the clamor when their squaddies found out the good news. "Funny what a title can do." "It tells them we noticed," Surf Crest said. "It says they're doing good work." "If that's what keeps them sane, then that's enough." Firefly looked to Crescent Platoon's senior staff. "Since your platoon is so beat to hell, you're grounded from morning exercises. I want to round up everypony we're promoting to sabres and vanguards and get them started instead." "Ma'am, I know a few of the ones from Crescent are injured," Rainbow Blaze said, "and I imagine the other platoons are the same." The others nodded. "Then send me the healthy ones. Broken wings and bound limbs don't mean the war's on hold. Blaze, Surf Crest, I'll be taking Slipstream, Aurora, and Desert Spring to lead the training. I want you two to get Fir Bough and Snowdrift to look over our roster and figure out what we can field and how best to do so. The rest of you, have a talk with your squads. Discuss maneuvers, go over combat logs, hold hooves and sing if you want, just talk. I don't want anyone wandering off alone, not after yesterday." Firefly wrinkled her nose. "The survivor's guilt is so thick you can smell it. Everypony know where they're supposed to be?" "Yes Ma'am." "Best company I could hope for." Firefly smirked and headed for her tent. Her sabres were right where she left them, and for the first time in while, she was actually looking forward to putting them on. ~*~ The boots, Comet admitted, did not impede her walking as much as she had expected. It was the surprisingly heavy blades jutting out on either side that impaired her stride. Metal leg guards adorned her upper foreleg to compensate for the decreased protection of the boot. Looking around the gathered group, she counted five vanguards to eight sabres; apparently the lower ranks weren't the only ones getting specialty training. Lily Nimbus was attending the instruction, but her banged leg kept her from suiting up. If Comet could walk in her sabres, Firefly could dance. She looked the new specialists up and down with her usual unimpressed demeanor. "Alright, kiddies, here's the deal. You've been recognized by somepony in your group as having skills ideal for specialization as a sabre or a vanguard. This does not mean you are one yet; if we decide during the training period that you are, in fact, not cut out for it, you'll be back to your regular gear. Is that clear?" "Yes ma'am." "Good. Now, the basics." Firefly gestured to her own weapons. "Sabres are weapons that excel in speed and agility. Where polearms tend to require a flying start to line up their target, sabres can bank in and make their attack with effectively zero preparation. They can also spin in place to attack targets with either edge. The downside is a decrease in effective range. Where polearms give you a good distance ahead of your target to attack and defend with, sabres are only as far as your reach. This makes you more open to attack even when you’re on the offensive. "This is what the vanguards are traditionally for. With heavier armor and a longer polearm, vanguards provide defense while the sabre is able to go in for the kill. Normally, we group two sabres to every vanguard, but between a supply shortage and an enemy that doesn’t fly in squads like us, we’ve been running pairs to better spread out our numbers. All of our new vanguards," she looked at the five, "will be paired up with sabres in their platoons in need of wings. Most of your wingponies will still be using a glaive instead of a vanguard lance, so you will need to figure out how to make that work. And Shimmer and Nimbus, both of you will be sabres with no vanguard. Your defense as a wing will take a hit, so you will need to figure out how to deal with it. Any questions?" Resolute silence returned. "Perfect. Let's get started." Firefly took to the sky, forelegs straight ahead. Comet took off after her, legs tucked underneath her, and she was almost immediately pulled back to the ground. Her blades, angled as they were, were acting almost like sails, catching the wind and throwing it against her. After struggling and grunting for a few moments, Comet angled into a dip. With her blades and her course more in line, she was able to bring the sabres up in front of her and swing upwards. In the right direction, the weapons sliced through the air, making the filly's flight a little easier than when she had been using a glaive. "It looks like you guys are figuring out the first rule of sabre use already," Firefly said once she'd reached her hovering altitude. "Flight requires extended forelegs. You can tuck your legs low enough to completely invert the blades, but flipping them back is a pain in the flank. Perpendicular is a no go. Alright, let's start with some banks for you to learn how to follow the sabre wake. Vanguards, with Aurora and Desert Spring. You lot," she cut the group of sabres evenly in half, "with Slipstream. The rest of you will be with me." The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon were spent running drills. Nothing was particularly new, but using sabres made everything feel different, like flying with a different pair of wings. The trainees were panting and sore when they broke for a late lunch, but Firefly seemed pleased. "This will work, I think. It's unorthodox, fielding this many sabres without the classic trio, but you guys have the stuff." She waved a hoof. "You have the rest of the day to yourselves. Practice, talk, relax, up to you. Just be ready to fly if any lizards come knocking." Without waiting for an affirmative, she walked off to deposit her own gear. Comet found Lily, who had been hovering around the training. She was surprised to find the twins with the pink filly. The three of them were discussing the exercises amongst themselves. "Hey girls. What are the two of you doing out here?" Comet directed to the yellow and blue ponies. "Watching, duh." "If there's a chance we can be sabres, we want to know everything we can now." "They might be more inclined to promote us if we're prepared." "Makes sense, but you can't use my sabres for practice. I can't need them while you're practicing." Comet turned to her wingpony. "How's the leg?" "I've had worse." Nimbus gave it an experimental shake. "Still sore though. Sorry, Egghead, I think we're both grounded for now." "Unless they saddle me with another wing, yeah." It was not unheard of. historically, sabres and vanguards rode in wings of three, and with Crescent Platoon as short staffed as it was, it was unlikely anypony would be grounded for any reason short of debilitating injury. "Well, Thunder Clap needs a wingpony," Sun Ray said, "maybe you can fly with him." The four of them tried very hard to ignore the implication of Thunder's absent wing. It wasn't working. "Yeah... excuse me." Comet trotted awkwardly away, determined to get her weapons stowed so she could walk normally again. The others from training had almost all finished by the time she arrived, so she had plenty of room to throw her armor off into her chest. "No reason to dent it yourself, Lancer," Snowdrift said, "there'll be plenty of opportunities for that." "Oh shut it, will you?" Comet didn't look up from unfitting her blades. "Easy, kid, it was a joke." He sat on the bench beside the filly. "Something gnawing on your ear?" "I'm fine." "And I'm a princess." Snowdrift placed a hoof over hers to stop her hurried undressing. "Talk, kid. You'll go nuts if ya keep all that garbage in your head." Comet kept glancing around the room, her brow furrowed, as if the shadows were whispering things at her. She sighed. "Yesterday, during the battle, one of the ponies I graduated with was killed." It still hurt to admit. "He flew right into a dragon's mouth, lobotomized it, and died in the process. He was looking out for his wingpony. And he's gone. And... I feel like I didn't even know him that well. We were friends, sure, but we didn't spend a lot of time together. We didn't talk much. He spent more time with Thunder Clap and the guys." The filly bit her tongue. "Why didn't I get to know him better?" "Ya think that would make losing him any easier?" "It wouldn't feel like I'd ignored him, at least," she shot back. "With him, with Crescendo, with Sprinkle, I keep feeling like, if I pretend they're not dead, they'll walk into breakfast in a day or two, like they were out with an injury or something. But they don't. They're never coming back." Her nerves were starting to escape her. Snowdrift draped a wing around her. "And all I can think of is what I should have done for them." Snowdrift waited a good long while, making sure Comet was done, before he replied. "I've been there, kid. We all have. It don't get any easier, but I guess it hurts a bit less after a while. Remember, when you guys and girls showed up, you were replacing the ones we'd lost. Nineteen in six months, and some in other companies. I lost... some good friends in there." He swept half a sniffle under the rug. "You'll try and do all these things, think of all these ways to try and rationalize it, but let's be true, it don't make sense, it don't and it won't ever. "But it also don't make sense to carry the dead around everywhere. It slows ya down, makes ya timid where ya need to be bold." Snowdrift looked Comet in the eye. "The living are the ones that need ya. Never forget that. Remember the dead, struggle for the living. 's what I've been doing, and it seems to work out well enough." Comet smiled. "See, ain't ya glad ya said something instead of being a sourpuss and tossing your crap about?" "Ha, yeah. Thanks, Snowdrift." "Anytime, Shimmer. Now hurry and finish stowing your crap. I'mma go find some food." The pegasus stood and walked out as if they'd just been discussing the weather. Comet unbuckled her back plate and slid it off. The contraption weighed heavy in her pocket. She pulled it out and gave it a few twists. The damn thing would never open, assuming it even could. But hearing the even clicks as the parts moved from state to state brought a smile to Comet's face. At least something was constant. ~*~ According to Comet's journal, it was day 57 since arriving at Thunderhooves Pass. According to her mind, and the minds of her platoon, it was closer to year 57. They had spent six months training at Fort Hurricane, an eternity compared to the eight weeks they'd soldiered through out in the desert, and yet that time seemed so much shorter by comparison. What was dragging the minutes into hours and the hours into days? Out on the frontier, every day was the same. Wake up, eat, drill, watch for dragons, go to sleep. That wasn't it, Basic had been a daily routine. Out here, though, any time the routine was broken, it was bad news. Sometimes, it was deadly news. But that wasn't it either. Horrid as they were, they could mark the time passing by the battles. If anything, that should make the time move faster. No, it wasn't that. It was the inbetween. When they were watching and waiting for a dragon attack, often they were literally waiting. Comet might hazard a few pages of a book, some might take a lap or two to keep loose, maybe nap to catch up on sleep, but most of the time, they waited on that impending horn and avoided anything that might impede their response time. For eight weeks, they had fought or waited, drilled or waited, slept or waited, and they were sure they would die of old age before the year was over. The Autumn equinox was a few weeks past when the news came from the west. A dragon flight had crashed against the camp there, a titanic base by the name of Fort Solaris. Named for the sun that constantly beat down on the surrounding arid plane, the fort boasted more batteries, stronger walls, and comparable terrain advantages to Thunderhooves Pass. It was all the more disparaging, knowing this, to hear their forces had lost more than twenty five percent to the dragon's assault. The fort had held, but rather than turn tail and retreat like normal, the dragon flight had crashed off of the fortresses defenses, splintered, and flown east and west. It was to be expected, then, that some would reach the Pass. How would the Pass's defenders manage given their decreased air power? And to make matters worse, the constant downpours had caused a mudslide along the trench's left flank. Only three ponies had been injured, thank Celestia, but it could prove an exploitable weakness if the assault on the ground was too strong. These were the thoughts Comet Shimmer was writing in her journal when Night Light found her. "Hey, Shimmer, you want to play some cards?" "Will it be a game I know this time?" The stallion shrugged. "Fine, give me a minute. Hey Drifter, you want to play?" "Buck it, too tired." Stratus rolled over in his bunk. He quickly added, "Thanks for the offer though." The chiroptequus finished off a thought and hopped down from her bunk. A few ponies were already gathered around the card table -- a barrel that had long ago lost its ability to hold water. Snowdrift was dealing, and she spotted Evening Star and Fir Bough in the circle. Rainbow Blaze was among them too, eyes scanning over his cards and an imitation blank expression adorning his face. He glanced up at the filly and smiled, then motioned to the two empty spaces beside him. Night Light and Comet Shimmer sat, they were dealt some cards, and this time, the filly had an idea of what she was doing. The stars favored her that night as her winnings piled up. A small fortune of bits sat in even stacks to her left, a mug of cider than never ran dry to her right, and an unamused unicorn and pegasus to her flanks. "Night, I told you to find someone to fill the seat, not steal ours out from under us," Rainbow Blaze grumbled. "Hey, I didn't know she actually knew Solstice Salute. It's a super rare game, most ponies don't." "Book, cover, shut up. It’s popular among the librarians in Canterlot, according to my mother. I’d think your lady friend would have told you." “Actually, Velvet’s the one who taught me it.” “Oh, well there you go.” Comet took a drink of her cider. "Hey Sergeant, do you remember who it was that said they wouldn't mind sitting around for six months and going home if that's all this war amounted to?" "Damn, I don't. I wish I did so I could rub it in their face." Rainbow chuckled through his mug. "’How goes the sitting, airpony?’" The group all laughed, and Night Light offered to get them some refills. "Hey, did you guys hear the rumor?" Snowdrift asked. "About what, Crosseyes?" "Word is, one of our ships is gonna head south and west, see if they can find any sign of dragons heading our way." The ponies all glanced at each other over their cards. "I don't see much point in that. If a bunch of glimmerbacks see the ship, they'll overtake it before it can get back without a decent wind. What's the good of sending a ship then?" "It's that or wait for a fight that might never come," Rainbow said. "And if some other flight attacks us, we think it was the Solaris splinter, and then the actual splinter actually shows up, what then?" "And what if something attacks us and we're down a bucking platoon because it's off on a wild goose chase?" Evening Star did not have trouble making her displeasure known. She had woken her tents a few times in the night after Berry Thrush and Gale Force had died, screaming to cover them in her sleep as they were devoured again and again in her mind. The nightmares had stopped, so she said, but the bags still hung heavy under her eyes. "Then we'll make do," Fir Bough said. "Besides, it's just a rumor. No use getting worked up until the orders come down." "Well while we're on the subject of rumors," Comet said, "has anypony heard anything about reinforcements? We're all worried sick about another big engagement, haggard as we are, but that's not going to change unless we get more wings out here." "Nothing yet." Rainbow sighed. "Even if we do, it'll probably be a company of fresh graduates, and just enough officers to hold the company together. Besides, when did you foals graduate again?" "Eight... nine, ten weeks ago?" Evening Star tried to count on her hoof but gave up. "Graduations are on a four month rotation. At best, we might get a greenhorn company assigned to us in two weeks, plus another week or more for them to arrive." Comet set down her cards. "I don't feel like playing, actually." She willed herself to get off the bench, but her legs would not comply. Instead she sat in the circle while her wings flitted like leaves in a storm. Before anypony could focus the spotlight on her, however, a commotion flared near one of the mess tents. A unicorn and an earth pony were going at it over a spilled meal. Tussles were becoming common enough to not be surprising, but fights that drew blood were both extremely rare and entirely against the law of the camp. That didn't seem to matter to the earth pony, who seemed hellbent on ripping an ear off of the unicorn. "Cocoa Shot, that's enough!" Another earth pony threw herself on the raging stallion, trying to throw him from the unicorn, but he kicked her in the chest and sent her flying back. Pinned as he was, the unicorn could not focus his magic enough to grab his attacker, and opted instead to release a blast wave in all directions, hurtling both Cocoa Shot and a few others too close to the fight. Though freed, the blows he had already received made him slow to rise, while the earth pony's natural resilience was making itself known. "What in Tartarus is going on here?" Captains Candescence and Startstruck approached the brawl. Before Cocoa Shot could attach himself to the unicorn, however, he found himself floating in midair. He was brought over to the two unicorn captains, who looked him up and down as they might examine a rat that had been caught in the hold. Their captive yelled a few choice words regarding their mothers' professions, which earned him an immediate, high speed trip to the dirt. When he tried to get up, an earth pony slammed him back down and sat on his back. She placed a hoof on his neck, a sure promise of what would happen if he tried to get up again again. "Get him out of here. He'll be dealt with in the morning," Starstruck spat. As a pair of earth ponies and a unicorn hauled the defeated attacker off, the medics rushed in to see if the unicorn's ear was salvageable. "Wonderful," Night Light muttered as he returned with the drinks, "dragons aren't enough for some ponies. They have to start fighting each other too." When he passed Comet her drink, the filly brought it to her mouth and leaned her head back. "Easy there, Shimmer. Don't drink yourself sick." But she continued until the mug was dry as a bone. Caught between cursing him out, thanking him, and doing nothing, the filly snorted and buried her head in her hooves. ~*~ The Crescent Platoon tent was probably one of the few places where the situation had taken a turn for the better. Four weeks of recovery, and blessed few new injuries, had brought most of their platoon back into fighting condition; only three remained too injured to return to duty. It was a much needed return of cheer. For four weeks, the tent had stunk of antiseptic and dirty bandages. The empty bunks sat like sentinels through their tent, constant reminders to everypony what could be for each of them. Those had not gone away, but they were slowly fading into commonality. Thunder Clap had been a mess to deal with. For a week, he had trained himself to the bone. It likely would have been more than a week if he had not collapsed in the middle of a low altitude corkscrew. Confined to his bunk while he recovered, he spoke to nopony, did almost nothing, ate only because the doctor made him. He muttered in his sleep, demanding more of himself in his dreams when his body had failed. Stratus Drifter was the one to finally find a way through to the giant hunk of stallion. He had rounded up a group to play a game of hoofball out on the mesa and asked Thunder to head one of the teams. Comet's guesses back in Basic were right on the money; his ears perked up immediately at the sound of his pastime. Like when he had first come to evening practices, he was timid and quiet. But the more his team asked of him, the more he delivered, until finally he was calling passes and running the ball like the stallion they knew. The Thunder Clap they ate with that evening was not the same as the one that had lost Gale Force two weeks prior. He laughed and drank with his comrades, and he smiled a more open, honest smile than they had ever seen him make before. But there was still a shadow that clung to the edges and dug into his skin. It was anypony's guess how deep those claws sank. When the card players returned to the tent, he was wrapped up in another sort of game all together. The twins had brought one of their favorite games from home: a simple wooden board with a grid carved into it. Each of them took turns placing little black or white stones to surround territory and capture each other's stones. Comet recalled seeing it once before, perhaps in a book about deer culture, but she had never played it. Judging by the speed at which the twins were placing their stones, she was not about to start with them. "Exercising the mind, Clap?" Rainbow Blaze stood over the board and watched the game progress. Black had cut the board cleanly in half and was dividing up its ground to make recapture harder. "Would be if I still knew what's going on." "It's almost over, Ogre, don't worry," Sun Ray said. She placed a white stone down. "Who's gonna win then?" "She is." Moon Beam sighed. "How?" Comet examined the board. "You look like you have so much more of the board-" The yellow pegasus set down a stone, stealing a large chunk of the black territory. "Why do I always fall for that?" Moon Beam ruffled her hair and groaned. "Because you never learn, oh sister mine." She cleared the board and spun it around, as if that made a difference. "Go again?" "Yes!" "No." Thunder Clap stood and left. If the twins noticed, they were too busy laying stones again to care. "Sergeant, you in here?" Willow Wisp and Easterly View entered the tent. Rainbow waved them over. "The armorer wanted to talk with you or 'somepony who can make a Faust damned decision around here.' I think he's upset about how many spare suits we've got left." "I better go see what he wants then." The ranking officer stood and left the tent as well. "What had you two down at the armory?" "Raindrops needed a new backplate now that she's better," Easterly View said. "Fittings are always easier when you've got an extra pair of hooves to hold things in place. "So what were both of you doing there, then?" Evening Star asked. "Well, I was doing my job as a senior squaddie," Easterly View huffed, "and I'm pretty sure lover boy here is glued to her." Willow chuckled sarcastically. Rain had not been one of the most severely injured in the platoon, let alone the company, but her injuries had been among the most painful. Willow had only left her side when it was necessary of him, which was fairly often given their situation. Still, he had done everything he could for the brick red pegasus without question, which earned him a great deal of playful ribbing from the rest of the platoon. "It's good to hear she's ready to fly again," Comet said. "We're almost back to full strength." "I won't forget that, rookie," Cinnamon Cane said from his bunk. His leg was slow to mend, and while he could fly wherever he needed, landing and walking were almost out of the question. "I said almost, sir. It wouldn't be the same without you," Comet said sweetly without looking. Rainbow Blaze returned a short time later, displeasure drenching his face. His platoon followed him curiously, and he sighed. "Apparently, the supply problem is worse than we thought. Nevermind the sabres and vanguard gear -- with all the armor suits we took back at Dodge Junction, we're almost out of spares again." The silence was pregnant. "That means, if your armor gets torn up or beat to tartarus, you might not get a replacement piece anymore. I put in a request for more supplies, but it will take time." "How long?" "Weeks? However long it takes, I don't know." Rainbow Blaze sat on his bunk and looked to his ponies. "Look, we've faced worse. We're going to get through this, all of us, as long as we hold to each other. Watch each other's backs out there." The ponies nodded. "Ok. Now, I want to go over what we're going to do to keep our platoon flying. Let's see... twins, Drifter, Star, go find everypony else and tell them to get back here." The four messengers departed and left the tent. Silver Raindrops passed them on the way in. She was wearing her new plating: a shining hunk of metal and mail that clashed with her weathered, older suit. It could be green as long as it did the job. "All done, sir, and reporting as ordered." The red filly saluted. "Take a seat, Lancer. We're just waiting on the others." It only took a few minutes for the rest of the platoon to gather. Rainbow had to make this meeting quick -- Squad One was on CAG in a few minutes. "Here's the deal, ponies. We're down four heads, plus three still injured. For any of you who can't count good, that's a large chunk of our crew. We've been getting relegated to support and defensive positions up until now, but it's not quite done the job we've been hoping for. "It's likely we're going to be more forward in our positioning so that the ships are farther back from the combat zone. And there's a fair chance that, if this scouting mission does happen, we'll be one of the two platoons to run it." The gathered ponies murmured amongst themselves. Sending two platoons was going to leave the air defenses horribly understaffed. "Shut it. We're still deciding on a course of action, let alone the details. But that's where we stand, as a platoon, as a company, as a camp. But we as a group need to figure out how we're going to survive whatever comes at us next. "As much as I want to, I can't keep you all safe. Lt. Firefly can't keep us out of harm's way either. We're soldiers. It's an occupational hazard. But we can be smart about how we engage. Squads traditionally fly tight formations and break up right before they engage a target. Against opponents with such a broad range of attack, this could mean the death of an entire squad in one or two passes. I want all of you flying loose formations. Keep to your wing and maintain a wide berth from the next one over. If we spread out, the dragons will hopefully have a harder time going after any one of us." The sergeant looked over his platoon. They followed what he was saying, but it was not having the effect he had hoped for. "Honestly, I wanted to have us operate as a single unit. The entire platoon would engage the same target, quickly defeat it, and move to the next. But a single dragon flying through our group, one rogue target that needs to be taken down, and the whole formation falls apart. We need to stay loose out there, and we need to adapt to whatever the situation calls for. You've all proven you're capable of that. Know that I trust all of you completely." That seemed to get the reaction he had wanted. A few smiles crept their way into the platoon. A few heads nodded in affirmation. The tent flap burst open and Duster rushed in. "Everypony, outside. Boss's orders." He was gone as quickly as he had appeared. Crescent Platoon stood and exited. Even the wounded found some way to make it out to the open area in the center of the grounds. All the commanding officers were standing in a circle whispering amongst themselves. Comet spotted Firefly among them, and immediately the filly knew something was wrong. Firefly had been cold before. She had been aggressive. She had been condescending. She had been sarcastic. She had been hard. Comet had never seen her genuinely angry. The colonel in command of Thunderhooves Pass, a terracotta giant of an earth pony by the name of Redwood, had made the climb up from his usual camp in the valley. Most of the pegasi had only seen him once or twice; he left the business on top of the mesas largely to the officers already there. The only exception was when something of serious consequence occurred. Once the camp had gathered, the colonel cleared his throat. The other officers lined up behind him, all of them rigid and still as statues. "We have received word from High Command. In response to the attack on Fort Solaris, it has been determined that the current defensive strategy is 'resulting in excessive loss of life and resource with sub desirable results.' As such, we, as well as bases all along The Line, will be leading an offensive campaign south to capture new territory and force the dragons from theirs. Success in this campaign will, they argue, increase the dragons' desire to sue for peace and end this conflict swiftly. "Thunderhooves Pass will be receiving an ample resupply of everything we need, including what reinforcements are available, before we deploy. Celestia willing, we will be departing south in one week's time. Your company officers will be overseeing preparations leading up to departure. In one week, ponies, we take the fight to them. In one week, we will make them know what it is to suffer loss. In one week, we will bring such reckoning upon our foes that they will not dare to tread within a thousand miles of Equestria. Are you with me?" "Sir, yes sir!" It was almost deafening. "Then make your preparations. Dismissed." ~*~ Firefly threw a folder against her storage chest. Papers exploded in every direction, some drifting dangerously close to the fire. "Out. Now." It was rare that the fuschia mare was ever angry enough to spook her officers. The few instances where she had lost her temper had earned her her nickname, one that nopony who enjoyed living ever used in her presence. This was one such instance. The air seemed to freeze around her, all of its energy being sucked away until the skin burned just from looking at her. The platoon leaders did not think twice about vacating her tent. Only Rainbow Blaze remained. "Are you deaf, Sergeant?" "Just stupid, ma'am." Firefly clacked her teeth at him and tromped in circles, knocking more things over in her rage. "I wanted this, I was practically begging for it. 'An offensive would beat sitting in trenches for months on end and waiting for them to come to us.' I said that!" "And now we're going on the offensive." "With no intelligence, with no plan. We're going out on a vague understanding of where the dragons are nesting and we're going to -- what -- smoke them out of their holes. What is territory to a dragon? What is our plan, Blaze?" "Well-" "We don't bucking have one!" Firefly kicked her work stool over. "I swear to Celestia, I..." She sat, completely spent. "I'm a fool. I wanted something we have no idea how to do. How are we going to win a fight against enemies we know so little about?" Rainbow Blaze draped his wings over her. He never dared anything of the sort when the others were present, but he had a sneaking suspicion they already knew anyway. "I don't know, Fly. But you were right. We're dying here on The Line, suffering attack after attack and gaining nothing for it. I don't know what we'll find out there, but taking the offensive can't be more impotent than sitting here and dying a slow death." "And what if what's out there is more than we can handle?" "...Then we were never going to win this war to begin with." They sat in the wreckage of Firefly's tent for a while. He would rub her mane with his chin, she would press against his chest with her wings, and neither of them disturbed the silence. "We have to," Firefly finally whispered. "We do." The fuschia mare wormed her way out of his grip and stood, her rank draping over her shoulders again. He followed her up, the sergeant his lieutenant needed back in form. "What is your platoon looking like, Sergeant?" "They're ready, ma'am. Ready as they'll ever be." "Good. Get the others, we need to see if we should rotate the platoons given losses and injuries. Since Downpour lost the Bulwark, we'll likely be taking point." Rainbow saluted and made for the tent flap. "Oh, and Blaze..." He stopped. "If you breathe a word of this to anypony-" "Rip my wings off and feed them to me, I know." He gave her a smile and left the tent. He did not have many left of late, but he always found one for her. ~*~ All of them hated Thunderhooves Pass. Although it had a natural beauty to it, none of Cyclone Company wanted to ever lay eyes on it again. The sooner they packed up and sailed away, the better. But still, as she carried her stuff onto the Adamant, Comet Shimmer felt a sense of impending longing for the mesa camp. She hated it, no question there, but she knew it. The Adamant was bound for nopony knew where or what, and that was automatically worse. The filly sighed and went below deck to store her stuff in the crew quarters. At least everything on the ship was where she remembered it to be. And the faces she knew were still there; they seemed as happy to see their winged friends as she was to see them. All throughout the camp, ponies were loading supplies and double checking equipment. The first territory they were to seize was a rocky crag sixty-and-change miles south of them -- six or seven days of marching and flying. Everypony needed to be ready for a battle at any minute, and they needed to be stocked not just for that first objective, but for a campaign that could stretch for weeks or months. The effective stowing of 90% of Thunderhooves Pass was being handled with peak military efficiency, mostly because nopony wanted to stop and think about what was to come. The only ones who seemed interested in chatting were the reinforcements. A company of pegasi and two battalions of unicorns and earth ponies had arrived, almost all of them fresh from whatever training camp they had just graduated from. They were so energetic and ready for action. Comet detested and pitied them at the same time, but part of her caught herself in the thought. What reason did she have to hate them? And more importantly, when had she become so jaded that their energy seemed so foreign? However, as Rainbow Blaze had predicted, no airships accompanied the new air company. Instead, they would be marching with the ground forces. With three companies occupying five airships, crew quarters were cramped enough already. Comet was almost ready to join them on the ground as she bumped through the hallways and forced her way into the bunk room, but the mere thought of walking sixty miles exhausted her. She tossed her pack and her rubber-guarded sabres on the cot and started undoing her armor. "Hey, Egghead, did you see?" Stratus and Stargaze slid into the room. "Hearth's Warming Eve came early. We got sabres, lances, armor, miniature crossbows, new ballistae, everything." "I hope the ship can lift off with all this stuff and all these ponies on board," Stargaze said. From the sounds of things, supplies were still being carried aboard. "Any more and this tub will burst." "Well, agility was never her strong suit to begin with," Stratus replied. "Hey, I was going to head up to the deck and see if I could snatch some blankets for CAG rounds. You two want to come with me and help lay claim?" It was better than hiding in her bunk while everypony bustled about, so Comet dove back into the traffic behind the two pegasi. "Oh, did you two see that new company? How long you think they'll last?" "I give them ten days." "Stargaze, come on," Comet said, "you're being too harsh... Fourteen, tops." The others laughed. Of course, part of their job now would be to make sure the foals did not get annihilated on their first sortie, but even Faust could only do so much. And if it came down to helping one of them or one of Cyclone Company, the choice was painfully clear. "I'm just glad we have some more glaives in the air. Whatever helps us win." The trio reached the top deck just in time to see the ramp being stowed. Anchors were hauled up, magic was fed into some intricate buoying mechanism, and the Adamant rocked gently as it eased away from the mesa. No turning back now, then. The south frontier lay open to them beneath the late morning sun. Behind and beside them, the other four airships cruised like whales in the sky. Far below, thousands of ponies marched in long columns out into the open desert. Would all of them be dead in a week? A month? Or would this idiotic plan pay off? The only thing Comet knew for sure at that moment was that nopony would miss a couple blankets as they swiped them from a crate. November was just setting in, and by Canterlot reckoning, the nights were about to get unforgivingly frigid. Off by the bow, Lily was poking Rain near her cutie mark, asking repeatedly if it still hurt. Farther down, the twins, Evening Star, Moon Fang, Sparky Bolts, and Vertigo were doing some stretches. Across from them, Thunder Clap was cleaning his armor. Billow Blast, Surf Crest, Cinnamon Cane, and Slipsteam were talking in a circle, likely something about their respective squads. Snow Veil, Pastelight, Clear Morning, and Willow Wisp were chatting over cups of some drink they had pulled from all the supplies. Comet could hardly remember a world without her platoon. She could not hope to know them all as dearly as she wanted to, but that would not stop her from trying, and it would not stop her from trying to keep them all safe.