"It was supposed to be simple." Rainbow Blaze sat in his boss's tent and partook of her spiced whiskey. "Jump, intercept a few dragons, come home. Hell, there weren't even that many of the buckers. But all it takes is one scaly monster and one accident, and..." He stamped his free hoof against the ground.
The cobalt pegasus expected Stratus Drifter to be downtrodden. He and Stargaze had been wingponies, and they had been friends. The two of them would go on about watchmaking, tinkering, anything that involved intricate hoofwork. It was the only time the lieutenant had ever seen Stargaze really come alive. Even in battle, the pegasus had never shown much emotion; he was the calm, collected one, good with strategy and maneuvers. Battle had been a chessboard to him. But with Stratus on those long nights on CAG duty, Stargaze was actually enthusiastic.
No, Stratus’s depression was wholly anticipated. It was Sun Ray and Moon Beam who caught most ponies off guard. They spent so much time practically fused to each other, it was hard to remember that they had been in the same squad as Stargaze during Basic. He was usually so quiet while they were so rambunctious.
Their squad had been right behind Stargaze’s when they made contact with the dragons. The two of them had had a front row seat to a glimmberback tailwhipping their training buddy across the back, bending his armor in like a book snapping shut. Comet had warned them about that attack, and they had been so keen to avoid it, but it had been too long. Nopony had thought to keep an eye out anymore.
Everypony else made it back to their ships safe and sound, save for a few injuries here and there. Sun Ray glided gracefully to the deck, but her legs failed to stretch out to meet the wooden surface. She tumbled across the deck in a tangle of limbs and loose feathers, much to the surprise of everypony around her. Moon Beam ran to her sister’s side to find her physically fine, but mentally she was still locked in that moment. Her eyes were fixed, unwavering, on the instant that tail had snapped Stargaze in half.
The daisy yellow filly was back to speaking two days later, and she was eating under her sister’s watchful eye, but her smiles were mechanical. Any time she wasn’t talking to somepony, something nopony else could see was staring her in the face. It was not the first time the senior staff of Cyclone Company had seen one of theirs on the verge of breaking apart, so they were ready to handle it. The problem was how many cases were just waiting to boil over.
Lily and Wren had, in good order, reported Comet’s behavior. Any time somepony needed to take something that strong just to sleep, it was a bad sign. Lily herself was grounded due to her leg injury. Stratus Drifter was down a wingpony. Wren Song was flying an understaffed squad with little to no experience in command. With one of the twins was ready to crack, the other was entirely dedicated to keeping them in one piece. And that was just the result of one night. Looking at every other platoon, every other company, all the ground battalions and ship crews, every single one of them was feeling the strain of a war that had dragged for months with so little to show for it.
Firefly buried her head in her hooves as Rainbow recounted his observations. “I’m seeing everything you’re seeing, Rainbow. What do you want me to do about it? I can’t give them a vacation, I don’t have reinforcements to rotate in. This is us right now.”
“I know, Fly. I just… we need to give them something.” Rainbow paced around her tent. “We have too many losses, and not enough positives. It’s killing us worse than the dragons. Another month of this, maybe two, and our ponies will be too broken to launch.”
“So what do you want me to do, Rainbow? Stop time?”
“No…” Rainbow stared at the ground. “Talk to the colonel. We need to gain ground. We need to win something, something big. We need to keep on the offensive.”
Firefly's expression was perfectly impossible to read. “Our scouts are a day late. You want to push ahead without knowing if our flank is defended?”
“They should be back anytime now. But either way, it’s push forward or wallow here forever.”
“We might be the only ones out on this part of the offensive gaining ground.”
“Then it’s up to us to make it work.” Firefly smiled and hopped up from her table.
“Good.”
“Y-wait what?”
“I needed to play devil’s advocate so I could see if somepony else agreed with me.” Rainbow gawked at her. “Yes, Rainbow, I used you to play back what I was already thinking. You should be used to this.” She grabbed a map and spread it across the low table. “Tell Duster, Ardent, and Bough to get their platoons ready, and see what the ship captains are working with. I’m going to have a word with the colonel.”
~*~
Comet patrolled up and down the deck of the Adamant. The fogginess of her exhaustion had worn away over the past couple days, but it was all but replaced by the after effects of the sleeping potion. After the one night on the stuff, she woke up before her body properly restored feeling to her limbs, and was convinced she had been eaten and was still alive in the dragon's belly. That had been the end of medically assisted rest for her.
As she came back around to the rear of the deck, a related thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Lily," she called as she made her way over to her wingpony. The pegasus in question was polishing a spot on her armor. Why spit shine one's armor when it's already scratched and dented beyond hope, nopony could say, but she still was.
"What's up, Egghead?"
"A while back, you were having trouble sleeping yourself. How is that?"
"Oh, it's fine." Lily did not look up from her armor.
"Lily?"
"I promise, Comet, it's not a problem anymore. Once we took this mesa, I started sleeping normally again." The pink pegasus flashed her a smile and went back to her armor. “Who knows. Maybe I just needed to kill some lizards.”
"I see..." The chiroptequus couldn't tell if the pegasus was holding anything back. "About the other night, I'm sorry."
"You've been apologizing for three days, Comet. It's ok."
"But I feel like you're still mad at me." Comet hung her head. She was not exactly sure when she had come to hold the rambunctious featherbrain so dear, but the thought of disappointing her weighed heavily on the chiroptequus.
"Then you're dumber than I thought." Lily set aside her suit and looked up. "Comet, I was never mad. I was worried. I am worried. I'm worried we're all falling apart. I'm worried something's going to happen that we can't protect each other from. So when you started to wall yourself in, I was afraid I was too late, that it had already happened. So if anything," Lily stammered, "I'm kind of glad. At least we’re talking, right?"
The shorter pegasus found herself caught up in Comet's embrace. She returned it with a smile.
"Sorry I made you worry, then."
"Celestia help me, you're forgiven." Lily released Comet with a sigh. "Comet... what are we going to do about the others?"
"You mean Stratus and the twins?"
"They're probably on the thinnest ice, but it's not just them. Wren is getting really stressed by her position. Fang and Bolts are fine, so far as I can tell, but with me grounded," she gestured at her bandaged haunch, "we're down to four, maybe five ponies. And every squad's in that kind of shape. Comet, we need to get rotated."
"Nopony's replacing us, Lily. We don't even know if our flanking forces still exist." The indigo filly put a hoof on her wingpony's shoulder. Lily nodded sadly. When she looked up, her gaze caught on something on the horizon.
"What is that... Are those-"
"Dragons, and they're flying fast." Comet grabbed the nearest horn and let out a long blast. "Lily, I should find Wren and see what she-"
"Just go, Egghead." Lily gave her a sad excuse for a smile. Her haunch started to throb. "I'll hold the down the fort... ship." Comet nodded, grabbed her helmet, and ran to find her squad. her back protested her intention to fight, but that was not about to stop her. Wren and Dewbead stepped onto the deck right as she reached the stairwell. "Ma'am, reporting for duty. What shall I do?"
"Are you good to fly, Shimmer?" Wren Song's tone offered no quarter for half answers.
"Yes, Ma'am. But Lily's still grounded from her leg. Do you want me to fly as your or Bolt's third?" Moon Fang and Sparky Bolts climbed up over the bow of the ship and landed alongside the others. Wren looked them over. The indigo filly noted the slight chatter in the cream colored mare's jaw as she thought.
"No. There aren't many lizards, and I don't want anypony getting killed." The mare put her helmet on. "Remain here with your wingpony. If any targets break through, intercept." Comet held her salute until the other four had disappeared over the side of the Adamant. The filly held back a low growl as she trudged back to Lily.
"You're not going?" Lily frowned. "Did she think you're not in shape?"
"It's not that. She doesn't want anypony getting caught because we over deployed." Watching the squads move to intercept, she saw that only a three, maybe four squads had jumped. They still outnumbered the dragons by an obscene number. "It's fine. This is probably smarter anyway." Still, Comet ground her teeth subconsciously. Being unable to fly was one thing. Not being trusted to fly was another. That that was a possibility was enough.
Wren Song held her squad in a diamond formation as they neared the dragon group. Now that they were close enough, the scene was becoming clear. Four glimmerbacks had caught one of the scouting squads on their way back. Only two pegasi and one chiroptequus were racing back as fast as their wings could carry them. Where the other ponies were, it was easy enough to guess.
Wren watched as the other squads drifted to run along the dragons' flight paths. "Dewbead, you're up first." She drew back behind the sky blue pegasus. "Give us a good, long gash along its back, its neck, whatever you can get. Fang, Bolts, we're finishing it off. Let's get this in one pass, squad."
"Aye, Ma'am!" Dewbead slowly edged ahead of her squad. The three polearmed ponies held to a chevron only a few yards back. With their heading, they were lined up to crash right into the second dragon from the front. There was just one thing in the way.
It was unclear whether the scout squad had the wherewithal to notice the squads of friendlies directly in front of them, or if fear had robbed them of everything but the drive to break the sound barrier. In either case, they were not getting out of the way. As the last of the distance between them and their support vanished, Dewbead twisted to her right. She corkscrewed over one of the scouts, swinging wide and putting her just under the dragon's open mouth. She quickly flipped on her side, catching the dragon's throat with her sabre and leaving a long, red line running down to its chest.
As the glimmerback's momentum crumbled under the pain of Dewbead's attack, the other three made good on Wren's plan. All three glaves found purchase near the base of the dragon's neck. The beast reared up in an attempt to throw off its attackers, but they were too embedded, and its wounds had already drained too much strength. It let out one more feeble, skyward roar before Dewbead came around for a second pass and slit its throat open. Thick, dark blood came in spurts as the scaled carcass began to fall. Wren, Fang, and Sparky pulled their glaives free and hovered as they watched their work crash to the earth below.
The other dragons fared just as poorly. Each of them were overpowered and slain in, at most, three passes by the pegasi squads. One pegasus from Gale Company had gotten caught by a slash and was being carried back. Everypony else was present and accounted for. The real challenge, surprisingly, was catching up to the scouts.
The three remaining members of the recon squad were still shaking when they sat down with Colonel Redwood and the commanding officers. There a few false starts, multiple cases of them talking over each other, and one case of nervous sobbing, but eventually they managed to report what happened.
"We got out as far as we were ordered, sir, and started looking for Strike Force Seven. Near the end of the day, we found them dug in to a position overlooking the planes. They captured their target, Colonel." Welcome news, indeed. "It sounded like it was a rough battle, but the lizards were routed and we own the roost. The problem was on our way back. With all the roosts we're kicking over, there are a bunch of dragons just roaming the wilds unchecked and unorganized. We were slow getting back, sneaking around and keeping low to avoid their flight paths. We snuck past a few groups of the buckers, but...
"We were almost back when the four of them found us. We lost Frosty right away, and then we made a beeline for home. The others... fell behind." He had done a good job holding back the stress, but recounting the loss of his squad had been too much.
"You did great work, Airpony." Redwood patted him on the shoulder. "You're safe now. Basil Root," he called to his assistant, "would you see these ponies are properly taken care of?" The unicorn nodded and led the three of them out. The colonel turned to his senior staff and set his jaw. "So we have one report. And you want to move without knowing the other?"
"We believe it to be best, sir," Captain Starstruck said. "The dragons know we're here, and they could be planning a counterattack. At the same time, we're suffering attrition while we sit here and gain nothing. If the point of this campaign is to capture territory, then we should be doing that."
"And if we overextend and expose our west flank, what then?"
"It's already exposed, sir," Captain Firefly pointed out, "if Strike Force Nine is gone. The loss of these roosts is weakening their organization along our border, but it's not going to stop them. We need to seize something they can't afford to lose."
"A commander? A valued territory?"
"Something like that, sir." Most of the senior officers nodded in agreement.
Colonel Redwood sighed. "We wait until nightfall for our remaining scouts, then we press south. We have two more objectives listed, one is another eight days out. After those, we're improvising." He consulted a large map pinned to the side of his tent. "Captains, ready your ships for travel. Given our losses, we'll be sending Gale Company to escort the wounded home. Moonlight Company will be staying on, and I think it best if we get all of our airborne companies riding as your combat wings. Will they fit?"
"We'll need to make some adjustments," Captain Candescence said, "But I believe so, sir."
"Good. Captain Firefly, any complaints about the additional company?"
"None, sir, as long as we don't have to double up on bunks."
"Then all of you ready your ponies. We depart at sundown," Redwood consulted his watch, "eight hours from now." The officers saluted and departed his tent. The colonel sighed. "Once more unto the breach."
~*~
Moon Fang frowned to himself. He had never been called to Firefly's tent before. Hell, he'd barely even spoken with her. As far as he was concerned, he had always been on the bottom tier of Squad Four's hierarchy. But here he was. He slipped through the flap and made himself known.
"Come on in, Airpony." Firefly was checking off some list or another, one of a dozen hundred she had. "I'll give you three guesses why you're here."
"...My squad, my squad, and," he paused for effect, "you need a new maid?"
"Clever," the mare chuckled. "Shimmer's the spawn of a Canterlot librarian. If I wanted someone moving my crap around, you would not be first pick." She looked up from her list. "But you're right. Your squad's down a good leader and a good pony, and from what I hear, two more are grounded. So, I want your opinion, particularly regarding your new lead."
"Is something wrong with Sgt. Song, Ma'am?"
"That's what I want to know." Firefly closed a folder and tossed it on a pile. "Blaze has every confidence in her. Others don't. What's your vote?"
"I don't doubt her dedication, Ma'am." Moon Fang chose his words carefully. "She's giving it one hundred percent, for sure. But I think she blames herself for Sgt. Cane, so she's... hesitant to make any risky decisions."
"I see." The mare stretched her neck. "And do you think this is something that can be fixed, or is it going to be a problem?"
"I think we'll make it work, Ma'am. I trust my squad -- whatever we face, we'll get the job done..."
"...'But?'"
"But I'm worried about some of them."
"You mean Shimmer, I take it?"
"Yes, and Nimbus... and all of them."
Firefly sighed. "Believe me, Fang, you're not alone. I wish we had more to work with, but right now, all we have is each other. I gather that Shimmer values your... friendship," she smirked on the word, "as does Airpony Bolts. If you're willing to trust Song, then I don't see a problem, but I think you have the greatest power to hold everypony together."
"...I understand, Ma'am." Moon Fang saluted.
"Good boy." Firefly returned a curt salute. "Go find Billow Blast and Taro Blush for me, will you? I need to talk to them about their rosters." The chiroptequus nodded and slipped out of the tent. The mare glanced after him.
~*~
"Rain, I really don't want to."
"I know, sweetie, but that's why it's so important."
"I get that, but this means a lot to me. You know that."
"I do. Willow, I promise I do. But you've seen them, especially Sun. She needs this."
"Can't I just sleep with her instead?"
"Watch yourself, mister."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Willow... I know this is something you've been avoiding. I'll be right there with you the whole time. And if you want to stop, it'll be ok. But I think this will help them more than you know."
"...Fine. But only because it's you asking."
"I love you too."
Silver Raindrops knocked on the door frame and poked her head in. The twins were lying on their bunks, muttering back and forth about something. They both looked up when they heard the knocking.
"Hey, you two, how are you doing?" Silver offered. The twins looked at each other, then at her, then lay back on their bunks and resumed their conversation. Silver huffed. "Well, if you want to be like that, then you certainly can be. It's a shame you'll miss the surprise, though."
They could never resist a surprise. The very word "surprise" got the twins all excited. So, with admittedly less energy than they would normally have put into it, Sun Ray and Moon Beam hopped out of bed and followed the brick red filly down a deck. Their game of twenty questions went unanswered by the taller pegasus, until at last they reached one of the storage rooms.
Willow Wisp sat towards the center of the room, head hung as if he'd been caught misbehaving. He looked up as the three fillies entered the room, but his look of dread only seemed to increase. Sun Ray and Moon Beam froze. The snowfall blue filly glanced at her sister; Sun Ray's wings were starting to rise subconsciously. She put a hoof on her sister's shoulder.
"We already talked that through, remember?" she whispered. Sun Ray nodded, but her sister's reassurances did not do anything to put her at ease. Strangely, it was still Willow who looked the most uneasy. He silently pleaded with Rain as she trotted over to him. She sat down behind him, smiled, and buried her muzzle in his mane. The colt looked ready to cry, but she wrapped her wings around his.
Just barely loud enough for the twins to hear, Rain said, "Just like we practiced, ok?" She gave him another nuzzle and added, "I'll always love you." Willow swallowed hard, hummed until Rain had matched, and opened his mouth.
And in the winter night sky, ships are sailing
Looking down on these bright blue city lights
And they won't wait, and they won't wait, and they won't wait.
We're here to stay, we're here to stay, we're here to stay
Nothing the twins had ever sung matched Willow Wisp for skill or tenderness. With every word, his uncertainty seemed to fade away, every syllable taken more firmly, until he matched Rain for strength and surpassed her for everything else. But at the same time, he never overpowered her, sometimes dropping back to let her own a line, while sometimes she would do the same for him.
Sun Ray was not sure when she started crying, but she was, and there were too many reasons. Compared to her and her sister's enthusiastic melodies, there was so much care, so much dedication, so much love for the art in Willow's voice, and in Rain's, but the filly's was all for the colt she still held close. It was so far beyond anything she had done with song. And she knew how much Willow did not want to sing, not out here. He was risking tarnishing one of his greatest passions for the rest of his life. And he was doing it for them.
Looking to Moon Beam, Sun Ray found her sister crying as well. Wordlessly, they both walked up to the singing pair, sat down, and grabbed them in the biggest hugs they could manage. And they cried. Everything Stargaze's death had dragged them through for the past few days, every uncertainty about their own fate, every worry and pain and regret leaked out in free tears and quiet sobs.
Willow returned Sun's embrace while Rain took Moon, and they continued to sing quietly for the fillies while they let it all go.
~*~
Comet watched the sun sink off the starboard bow, far to the west under a dozen wisps of cloud. Her CAG shift would not start for another few hours, but they had so little to do with their few duties spread across even more ponies. She would have been resting on her bunk, maybe reading one of the three books she had yet to get to, but a whole platoon had moved in, bustling about and throwing their stuff on empty racks.
She had been sure Thunder Clap was going to snap the neck of the dumb colt who threw his pack on Gale Force's long empty bunk. Frankly, she was considering it too, especially when Cinnamon Cane's was filled. Instead of letting her blood boil over, she had grabbed a book and stormed out of the cabin.
"Hey, Shimmer," Pastelight had called, "where are you going?"
"Out!" she barked around her book loud enough to make some of the newbies jump. One of them made the mistake of meeting her glare on the way. While it was usually a curse to have slitted irises, they had an amazing capacity for scaring unsuspecting ponies.
The book sat shut beside her. She had managed a paragraph or so, but her mind was elsewhere. So she sat and watched the sunset and tried to make sense of it all.
"Here you are, Comet." Moon Fang sat beside the filly and gave her a toothy grin. "Couldn't handle the newbies either, hm?"
"They're all just so..." Comet snorted. "Did we act like that once?"
"We must have. By Celestia, we would have looked so stupid, waltzing around in our shiny new suits, ready to take on the world." Moon Fang's smile just barely held. "Who knew, eh?"
"Who knew..." Comet sighed. "How are you doing?”
Moon Fang shrugged. “Alright, I guess. All these sharp turns are really doing a number on my wings.” He stretched for emphasis. “But I’m hanging in there. You?” The filly gave him a sardonic frown. “Yeah, ok, I saw. Guess I was just hoping you’d be willing to say it.”
Comet grumbled. “I’m a mess, Fang. Happy? I’m tired and my back hurts and I’m tired of seeing ponies die and I want to go home. I shouldn’t be here, none of us should. I don’t know where Lily gets the patience for it,” She hung her head. “or where you do, for that matter.”
Fang draped his chin across her neck. “‘Cause some ponies are worth fighting for, Comet.” He smiled, his canines sticking just past his lip. “As terrible as this war is, I wouldn’t have met all of you if I hadn’t signed up. I wouldn’t know you. So it’s not all bad, at least.” Comet nuzzled him in thanks.
“Why did you sign up, Fang?”
Fang pulled back. The filly rarely saw Fang frown, truly frown, but it did happen. “I wanted to leave. You know how it can be, being a chiroptequus. It’s worse in some places… like where I lived. But you know how it is: college isn’t in the cards, don’t have work that can take me anywhere. So when the war came, it seemed like an opportunity for something. Sounds stupid, huh?”
“No worse than a blind desire to ‘do some good.’ I don’t think any of us knew what we were buying into.”
“I doubt our whole damned country knew.” Fang laughed dryly. “We do now.” He breathed through his nose. “Maybe it was bad decisions that got us here. But we can get ourselves home. I won’t give up, so you don’t either, ok?”
“Ok…” It seemed like the right thing to do, so she kissed him on the cheek. His pale coat grew a shade more red, and they sat in silence for a time. “I heard from Blaze, we have two more targets we aim to take. What do you think happens then?"
"I think we'll have to play it by ear. Maybe by then, the dragons will have lost enough ground and enough of them will be dead, they won't want to fight anymore either."
"Fang, I've seen those scaly monsters do a lot of things, but I've only been told they can think. I've yet to see proof that they can actually feel loss." Comet shook her head to try and rid herself of the venom rising in her tone. "Sorry..."
"Don't be." Moon Fang thought on his next words, and went with the risky play. "Nimbus told me what happened. What the two of you talked about after that fight, I mean."
"She told you?"
"I asked." The colt gave her a playful shove. "Don't think I don't notice when the only other bat in my company starts acting strange. Nimbus told me so I could help. So... how can I help?" Comet had no words for him. She knew her wingpony had reported their fight -- hell, it would be remiss of her to say nothing. It made sense that Lily had said something to somepony, especially Fang. Comet suffering some embarrassment for cracking under pressure was a small price to pay if she did not die. Still, did it have to be Moon Fang?
"I... don't know, Moon." Comet hung her head. "I don't even know what I want to do myself."
"Right." The sorbet colt stroked her back. "I get it. But I'm here if you need me, ok?"
"You mean 'when I need you.'" Moon did not correct himself. She leaned against him. "Thank you... for everything. Since Basic-"
"Shh shh shh," Moon Fang whispered, "you don't need to say it." So she did not. She just pressed herself against him and hummed some random tune.
Three short blasts of the horn rang out just as the Adamant released its mooring -- the scouts had been spotted. All eight of them could be spotted zipping across the desert, and thankfully, no dragons were in pursuit this time. They landed to report to the colonel first, so the ponies aboard the airships heard from the messengers. Comet and Moon hurried to hear the news with the rest of their platoon.
Strike Force Nine had failed. The scouts had not been able to find them, even after extending their search, and their target was still firmly under draconian control. Perhaps they had been rebuffed and retreated back to their camp along the line, or perhaps they had been utterly wiped out. Either way, their western side was exposed.
"I knew this was going to happen," Candescence huffed.
Fir Bough patted her on the back. "Regretting backing the call to drive south, Candy?"
"Hardly." The Adamant's captain straightened her collar. "We need to be on the offensive, regardless of Strike Force Nine's failure. We secured our objective, and we can do so again. I just wish we had some method of resolving the gap in our line."
"Colonel Redwood already sent a message to Dodge informing them of the situation," Rainbow Blaze said. "In case they don't already know, hopefully, they'll take care of it."
"As if Command ever takes care of anything," Fir grumbled.
"That's enough, Sergeant." Rainbow glowered at his fellow commander. Their entire army was walking on eggshells. The last thing they needed was anypony sowing dissent, especially a decorated officer.
"Sorry, sir. Captain, we hold our course, then?"
"We do." Candescence turned to her crew. "You all know how this works, ponies. Standard work order, keep a weather eye out for combatants. Blaze, Bough, I need a word regarding the CAG rotations." The two pegasi followed the unicorn into her cabin.
Sparky Bolts and Easterly View started up a circle near the front of the ship. Firefoot, Pastelight, and Snow Veil soon joined them to form the first card table of the evening. Comet did not mind the card games so much once she had learned them, but she wished there was something else to do. She would be out of unread books all too soon, and there was little to do about the ship other than tend to it. She sighed defeatedly and turned to Moon Fang.
"How much longer until our CAG shift?"
The colt pulled out a pocket watch and checked. "...Just under two hours." The watch snapped shut and he flipped it over in his hoof.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was one of Stargaze's... Stratus was giving them out. I didn't want to, but he insisted somepony in our squad should have a time piece." He toyed with the silver disc. Everything was becoming sentimental, which made everything weigh a thousand pounds more. Comet caught the part of her that wanted to retreat before it could gain a foothold, and throttled it until its eyes popped out.
"That was nice of him. It's a nice watch." Comet squeezed her eyes shut for a second. "Have you talked to him since..."
"Yeah, some. He's hanging in there, all things considered. I don't know how well I'd handle it if Sparky bit it. I think he's trying to keep it together. For his squad, y'know?" Moon Fang looked up. "I just don't know who's doing the same for him." He looked back at Comet. "You should talk to him. I think it would help if he knew ponies cared, y'know?"
"I do... I'll do that. Thanks, Fang." Comet gave him a quick hug and started for the stairwell. "I'm going to find him and try for a quick nap before our shift. See you in two hours." Fang gave her a small wave before she passed out of sight. He absentmindedly rubbed his cheek where her lips had graced him.
Stratus was sitting on his bunk, a cleaning rag in one hoof as he went over his armor. A handful of small tools sat at his side. Comet pondered them for a second before she spoke.
"I didn't think the armory would lend out tools from their valuable store," she said.
"I found a way," Drifter said with mock villainy. "Stargaze and I figured out a new cleaning solution while we were on watch. You mix water, alcohol, a bit of cider for the fizz, and a drop of oil, and it'll buff off damn near anything." The colt stopped to inspect his work. "They were so impressed, they let us borrow stuff whenever we want."
Comet bit her tongue. "That's cool. Maybe you could show me some time?" Drifter nodded. He never once looked up from his suit. "How's the head?"
"Better. I remember pretty much everything now."
"Good..." By Celestia, she was terrible at small talk. "Drifter... Stratus... Would you like to take a crack at my contraption?" She grabbed her strange little sphere from her bunk. "I can't find anything that it actually does other than spin. You're good with small machines. Maybe you can find something?"
Stratus paused. His gaze slowly drifted up to hers. "...Thanks, Shimmer, but maybe later. I'll consider it something to look forward to for getting home." He rolled his lip under his teeth. "I... that'll be great." Comet gingerly slid onto his bunk and shuffled up beside him. "... He was the smart one, you know? He had the great ideas, the good strategies. I just took what he thought and bounced it until he had something even better." He set his helmet down, but he kept looking at it. "He'd probably know what to do with that bucki- with your puzzle."
Comet put a hoof over his. "Stratus, you know he didn't see it like that. And I don't either." He looked to her. "You try really hard at everything you do. Yeah, maybe you don't get it right, but you've never let that stop you from trying again. I'm pretty sure Thunderhead yelled at you more than anypony else, but you never quit, and you were always back to try harder. I think that's just as important." She gave his hoof a soft pat. "Stargaze didn't see you as his lackey, he saw you as his friend. And you're our friend. You're my friend."
The charcoal colt buried his head against her neck and breathed slow, labored breaths. She wrapped her leg around his neck and stroked the base of his mane. A few of the newbies gave them sideways glances as they passed. The smarter ones warned their comrades away. Stratus normally busied himself with whatever was at hoof. But right then, he just needed to stop.
~*~
Princess Celestia rubbed at her tired eyes. Her generals and her advisors were all asleep already. She frowned at the thought of them. They had wanted to call it an evening before the sun had completely set and make it home for dinner. General Gem Crusher, when the exchange had finally ended, was no longer a general, and the others worked diligently into the night. The princess had finally capitulated and allowed them to leave when they could barely remember what they had gone over already.
Through the high, decorative windows of her war room, she watched the moon swing back towards the horizon. In a couple more hours, she would have to raise the sun, and then it was another day of duties, both domestic and military. Weary as she was, perhaps some sleep would do her good.
“Do you think they get any sleep out there on the battlefield, Celestia?” The sun princess shook her head vigorously. "They are fighting and dying out there, in droves, because you failed... again."
"I did everything I could," Celestia whispered. "The dragons would not negotiate. Their demands were unreasonable, and any attempt I made to clarify was regarded as willful ignorance."
"Of course you have a reason. Of course you have an excuse."
"It's not an excuse!" Celestia's head whipped around. Only the shadows in the corner of the room answered her. "...I tried, truly I did... And I will do whatever I must to end this senseless conflict."
"Then give them what they want, Celestia."
"I do not know what they-"
"Liar!" Celestia cringed. "Don't play the fool! You're much too clever for that. But you don't want to give that away, do you? You have your own plans afoot." The princess rubbed her temples, trying to shut it out. "You already have the answer, Celestia. But you're so greedy, you want another."
"It's not that..." Celestia found a transcript of one of her dialogues with the dragons. "It's a question of why. Why would the dragons be interested in artifacts? They like gold and gems, things of material and value-"
"Stalling for time again, are we?" Celestia's ears flattened in annoyance. "You act like a great detective out to solve a mystery, when all you ask for is peace-"
"Peace is the goal I seek-"
"Yet you will not do what is necessary to achieve it." Celestia hunched over the table. "Time is running out, dear princess. The ponies are tiring, and their defenses will not hold forever. What can you hope to do when the dragons roam freely across Equestria? Decide quickly, Celestia, before the chance for choice is taken from you."
Against her own will, Celestia's chin touched the surface of the old, oaken table. Her eyes fluttered shut as she sank into uneasy dreams. It was not the first time her mind had warred with itself. Often, her darker thoughts found purchase late at night, when the sun princess was alone, and weary from a long day. She just wished, if nothing else, that the voice of doubt in her mind did not mimic the icy tones of her dear sister. In the darkness, those loveless, slitted eyes still glared at her.
~*~
Dewbead ran a hoof through her mane. The damn ship wasn't that big, it shouldn't be so hard to find a single pony. Rainbow Blaze didn't know where she was, Comet Shimmer didn't know, Sparky Bolts didn't know. She was all but down to asking random crew members like she was looking for a lost dog. She sighed to herself before poking another unicorn to ask the same question she'd asked a dozen times already.
"Hey, I'm looking for- Oh, Night Light, hey." Dewbead gave the magister a sideways smile. "Didn't recognize you from behind."
"No worries." Night Light set down the ballista part he was reattaching. "Damn thing. You're looking for something, Lancer?"
"Somepony. I can't find Wren Song anywhere. You seen her?"
The unicorn scratched his chin. "Hmm, about an hour ago. She was down near the practice room they set up across from the armory. You might try there."
Dewbead wrapped Night Light in a massive hug. "Celestia's glowing butt, I could kiss you."
"Sorry, Airpony, I'm spoken for." Dewbead gave him a playful push and headed below deck. The practice room used to be in one of the larger cargo holds after the contents had been expended, but the arrival of so many more ponies to house required the space. It had been relocated to a smaller hold down the ship, but it was as capable of its job as ever.
Dewbead poked her head in and breathed a sigh of relief. Wren Song was bent at an awkward angle, her neck and shoulders pinned against the mat while Thunder Clap was pinning her legs to her belly. The cream colored pony thrashed left and right before tapping the mat repeatedly. Thunder immediately released her, and she scrambled to a more comfortable position. Sweat matted her mane against her head.
"I wish this war was a wrestling match, Clap. You'd win by yourself." Wren rolled onto her side and focused on catching her breath. Thunder Clap chuckled between pants.
"In a room all by yourself with a giant chunk of stallion, 'wrestling', and all you're doing is actually wrestling." Dewbead sauntered into the practice room and huffed. "Only you would be so straight laced, Song." She went over to the row of crates and grabbed a towel from the stack.
"Some of us are disciplined, Dewbead." She accepted the towel and wiped her face off. "Why, are you hoping for something else?"
Dewbead looked the giant pegasus up down before shrugging. "Not my type." She stood idly as Wren Song got to her feet. "Boss wants to know if we have any ponies in our squad up for promotion."
"Bolts and Fang." Wren offered Thunder a fresh towel. He accepted quietly. "They're overdue as it is. Things have just been too hectic."
"What, and I get nothing?" Dewbead frowned.
"Your promotion is already in. I was going to surprise you with it, but since you’re going to pout about it, now you know. Good?” Dewbead nodded. "Fine, is there anything else?"
"Is there?" Dewbead spat. Wren Song froze in mid step and turned to meet Dewbead's hard stare. Thunder Clap looked between the two of them and set his towel down.
"Excuse me," the stallion muttered before hurrying out of the room. The two mares did not even notice his departure. Wren felt her brow furrowing.
"I don't follow your meaning, Dewbead."
The sky blue mare's wings started to flare. "I mean, Ma'am, you're our commanding officer now. You don't get by doing the minimal amount of work. We're counting on you to be on top of it."
"And you don't think I am, is that it?" Wren started to circle her wingpony. "You think I'm not doing what I need to?"
"Yes, but not because you mean to." Dewbead didn't bother circling. She went right up to Wren's face. "You're afraid to do anything more." Dewbead was a good hoof or more taller than Wren, and it showed as she stared down her captain. "You didn't want to step into Cane's shoes, I get that. But we need you taking charge."
"Step back, Lancer," Wren growled. Anger pooled in her eyes, but Dewbead only leaned in until their noses were nearly touching.
"We need a leader, not some scared filly who misses her favorite piece of tail so much, she-" Wren Song pounced, knocking Dewbead back and pinning her on the floor. The cream colored mare raised a hoof and lashed out at the pegasus pinned beneath her. Dewbead barely tucked out of the way before the blow struck where her head had been. She could feel the force of the blow reverberate through the mat.
Wren Song did not go for a second attack. She sat on top of her wingpony, panting with rage. Dewbead was frozen underneath her, still coming to grips that she was a mere six inches away from Wren Song, the appropriately nicknamed “Statue,” giving her a broken nose.
"I never asked to be a leader!" Wren Song roared in her face. "Cane was my captain. I trusted him, I followed him, and I failed him. I can't be him, you braying mule. I'd switch myself with him in a heartbeat if I could!" Her rage slowly started to leak away. "Every decision I make has your lives in the balance. If I make a mistake, I could get you all killed. I can't do that, Dewbead. I can’t have all of you on my conscience too."
Dewbead hesitantly reached up and cupped Wren's cheek with her hoof. Reacting to the touch, Wren pulled herself off the blue mare and scooted away. Her wingpony shuffled over and put a wing over her. "We trust you, Song. When you've made decisions up to now, they've been good. You've gotten us all home in skirmish after skirmish. None of us asked for things to be the way they are, but that's not up to us. We have to do the best we can.
"I support you, Song." Dewbead nudged her captain. "I have, and I'll keep supporting you. So, are you willing to step up?" Wren watched her for a long second. When she finally nodded, it was slow, but it was sure. "Good. We're counting on you to give it your all." Dewbead leaned over and gave Wren a quick peck on the cheek. She grinned at her captain's blush. "I know you won't let us down. See you are dinner, Captain." Dewbead got up and made for the door. She waved over her shoulder, and for the sake of looking cool, she had to imagine how flustered Wren must have looked.
~*~
Three months didn’t seem like a long time to get attached to something, but after so much time and action aboard the Adamant, Night Light and his crewmates remembered their way around the airship better than they remembered their houses and apartments back home. The wooden boards, lacquer worn and torn away, had carried them hundreds of miles without so much as a single replacement, save for the ones the dragons had done in.
The unicorn loved his boat. He hated where it took him, but the boat was still an object of his affection. And someday, hopefully soon, it would take him home. But until then, the sail riggings had to be checked, and the pegasi were busy up around the balloon. So here the unicorn found himself, half his gut out over the side of the ship, checking bolts and casings for wear.
“Enjoying the view, Mr. Light?” Candescence leaned over the side of the ship and eyed him apprehensively.
“Just,” he grunted, “feeling the wind in my mane, Ma’am. Is there something you need?”
“Seeing where my crew is, is all,” the captain said, “and thinking.”
“...What about, Ma’am?”
“About how we’re going to win the next big engagement without killing ourselves, Magister.” The stallion tried to pull himself back over the railing, and she helped him up.
“Thank you,” Night Light huffed. “Think I’ll leave that to the pegasi from now on. You think things are going to get worse, Captain?”
“I do. The more we push them, the more we condense their numbers and fuel their anger, the harder they’re going to fight. We’re pushing our limits as it is.” Candescence watched the sails flutter in the wind. “I don’t know how we can do better.”
“Maybe we won’t have to, Ma’am.” Night Light puffed up. “We’re the advanced force. So when we do well and capture another base or two, the rest will be picking up the pace behind us. We’ll have greater numbers, same as them.” He smiled, but it was not returned. Instead, she gave him a long, forlorn look that said everything she needed to say: “Do you honestly believe that?”
“I hope so, Magister.” She nodded and started off down the deck. “Either way, I’ll be counting on you.”
~*~
For the first time in a while, Stratus Drifter felt like eating. Dinner wasn’t for a couple more hours, but the cooks usually had something to tide over the crew members that couldn’t make the proper hours. So down the charcoal pegasus slipped to the galley, and sure enough, a few trays of breads and dried fruit were out for ponies to take at will. He grabbed a tray and started in.
“What do you hear, Drifter?” Stargaze said quietly from behind him. Stratus nearly dropped his tray. He spun around to find the source of the all too familiar, but considerably more feminine sounding phrase. Sun Ray and Moon Beam were standing behind him, expressions blank as they waited on his reaction.
“What- why do you know-”
“He would say it all the time in Basic,” Moon Beam muttered, “with some of us at least. It was like his way of saying who he really knew and trusted.”
Stratus laughed to himself. “I don’t suppose he ever told you what it means?”
“Not a bucking clue,” Sun Ray grumbled. She was smiling though. “He could be really strange, huh?”
“Yeah… Yeah he was. But he liked to be.” Stratus set his tray down. “He was our purple dork.”
“One of them, anyway,” Moon Beam corrected. “But yeah, he was… ours, kinda.”
“Sorta.”
“Little bit.”
Sometimes, Stratus was sure the two of them were actually the same pony, and some sort of dimensional illusion made them seem like two. The first time he’d met Stargaze, way back in the middle of Basic, they had been with him, laughing about something. Well, they were laughing, he was sort of smiling. And over the months, the purple pegasus’s armor had worn down against their endless antics. They’d won him over by graduation, so it seemed only natural when the three of them showed up together to depart with their training group.
So why had it never occurred to Stratus that the twins had known Stargaze longer than he had? Why did it surprise them that they knew him, missed him, as much as he did? His chest constricted, and he had to clench his jaw against the stabbing pain.
“Drifter, you ok?” Moon Beam put a hoof on his shoulder. But there was something unsaid in her question. Something they needed to hear hung behind the sound.
Will you help us remember him?
Stratus steadied himself and nodded. “Nothing but the rain, girls. And you?”
Sun Ray shook her head. For some reason, it helped to keep her from tearing up. She bumped up against her sister, and together they replied.
“Nothing but the rain.”