• Published 29th Jan 2016
  • 1,726 Views, 1,533 Comments

The Last Cutie Mark Crusader - Jatheus



Equestria is at war. The land is plagued by an unending horde of timberwolves that pour out of the Everfree Forest. Cities have fallen, and it seems everypony is powerless to end the slaughter. Scootaloo was one of the first to enlist...

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11 Siege

Everything was hazy and then blurry. Things would be clear and indistinguishable at the same time. Hearing was even worse. Everything would be silent and muffled, but it would suddenly shift to being too sensitive to bear. This foggy perception hung over Cloud Blazer for what seemed an eternity, and yet it was also no time at all. He could trust none of his senses. The calm would come, which was almost like a bliss. It was frequently followed by intense pain of one kind or another.

Sometimes it would feel like a burning that covered all of his being. Other times it was like stabbing shooting pain that began sharply in one place and then spread across him like shattering glass, fracturing and ripping its way through. There was also the dull throbbing pain that beat in rhythm with his heart. Once there was a tightening, which felt like a suffocating crushing feeling accompanied by a loud ringing that blotted out all other thoughts.

Now and then, Cloud Blazer would become aware that he was breathing. Each breath felt like he had gravel in his lungs. Stabbing pain would shoot up his sides as he inhaled and again as he exhaled. 'Keep breathing,' is what he kept thinking to himself whenever conscious thought became possible. 'Just keep breathing. I have to survive this. I have to go on. I have to tell her how I feel.'

All too rarely, he escaped into a dream. Most of these were very pleasant until he woke up, but some were about falling. One of the most recurrent dreams was flying around Ponyville with Scootaloo. It was half memory, and half imagined. They would glide about the town, talking about their future plans, and how they would stick together, no matter what. In truth, Cloud Blazer hadn't even begun to sort out his feelings for Scootaloo until after the attack on Canterlot. He had always admired her strength and determination, but they had been friends for a long time. Something had unexpectedly changed about how he thought about her. It was just friendship, but like a single spark that ignites a forest into a blaze, a different emotion had begun to overwhelm all others. It burned through him, consuming his heart and soul while he lay there, fighting to stay alive. It was more yearning than he’d ever experienced before; this sensation was at the same time exhilarating and terrifying. He'd have told her everything, if only he had understood it sooner. 'Keep breathing, just keep breathing. I will survive this. I must survive. She has to know.’

...

Scootaloo blinked at the sunlight which streamed through the small remaining openings at the tops of the windows on the lower level of the castle. The massive shutters inside had been secured to block those weak points, leaving only a small gap at the top that let the light in some ten yards off the ground. Aside from the grand entryway and the throne room, the entire structure was filled beyond intended capacity with the citizens of Ponyville. They had become quiet now, paralyzed with fear concerning their impending fate. Scootaloo worked her way through the crowd on her three good hooves, climbed all the way to the top, and emerged on the pinnacle of the tower where Lieutenant Brax was standing. It had been quiet for several hours, and Scootaloo now knew why. The unicorns had put up a magical barrier that stopped the changeling's spells from hitting them atop the tower. That at least made it safe to look out and see what the timberwolves were up to. They were sleeping. Thousands upon thousands of the beasts lay still in slumber all over Ponyville, an even higher concentration in any given area than the ponies that were packed inside the castle. They were piled so thick that it was impossible to tell the live ones from those that had been killed in the night. They covered the ground in a living wooden mass. It was almost as if somepony had laid down a breathing hardwood floor over the entire town. A flick of movement caught Scootaloo’s eyes. She strained to see; it was a changeling. She saw it look at her with an icy gaze before darting behind a house; Ash Eater was indeed still alive. He was easily recognizable across the distance by the bruises on his face and the fact that his horn had been broken off. A chill went up her spine as she realized that he had allowed himself to be seen by her intentionally. It was a taunt. As frustrating as this was, she couldn’t do anything about it.

Brax stood beside her quietly for several minutes. He finally said, “That’s an incredible sight."

"Yes, sir, it is," Scootaloo agreed. Ash Eater had gone, and there was no further sign of movement.

"How's that ankle?" Brax asked, pointing at her sprained right fore hoof.

"It looks worse than it feels, sir. I'm fit to fight," Scootaloo lied. There were some things that you just didn't admit, and being too injured to carry on was one of them.

Princess Twilight, Mayor Diamond Tiara, Applejack, and Fluttershy came up the stairs and the wooden hatch of a door creaked shut behind them.

“Hi there, Scootaloo. Look at who I found,” Applejack gestured at Fluttershy.

Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice how frightened the timid yellow pegasus looked any more than she could have missed the swell of farm horse’s belly, a tell-tale sign of the foal that was growing inside of her that seemed more noticeable day by day. It was something of a mystery that she hadn’t told anypony about it. While the young sergeant herself was no expert on children, everypony knows that they take eleven months to develop, and it isn’t until about six months that the mother begins to show.

Twilight interrupted her thoughts, “First things first.”

Without another word, magical energy began glowing purple from the alicorn’s horn. It grew like a ball of violet light that encompassed the small group. Scootaloo felt tingly all over, like needles were stabbing into her skin. It especially burned her swollen ankle, but moments later, the magic dissipated.

The princess said, “Now I’m sure we’re all us. For those of you that didn’t know, changelings are fighting alongside the timberwolves. As for the battle yesterday, you’ve all done a fine job keeping the citizens of Ponyville safe. They are pretty shaken, but everypony is calmed for now.”

“We’ve got Pinkie Pie to thank for that,” Applejack added. “I swear, she could make a pony laugh at their own funeral.”

The princess asked, “Lieutenant Brax, what is our supply situation here?"

"We began bringing food and water in for a reserve as soon as we were stationed here," Brax answered. "When the fighting started yesterday, I assigned a group to finish those barricades outside and bring any additional supplies they could find into the castle. From their report I calculated that we have enough food for about three days."

"That's it? Only three days?" Diamond Tiara seemed incensed. “What about the stockpile in city hall?”

"Yes ma'am, that is all we were able to appropriate with the help of the citizens of Ponyville. As for stores in city hall, this is the first I’ve heard of it.” To Twilight, he continued, "Water, however, is a far more dire situation."

"How bad is it?" the alicorn princess asked.

"If we drink our fill, I'd suspect we have enough water for a day, perhaps less."

"I can't believe this; I thought the EUP prepared for situations like this!" Diamond Tiara snapped at Brax.

Scootaloo could feel a twinge of anger in her belly, burning like a candle.

”With respect, madam mayor, we do," Brax said, almost delicately. "We've been at this post barely a week, and we have been building up our supply this entire time. Had we been made aware of your efforts to stockpile, I would have recommended that we combine our supplies here at the most secure location.” Turning back to the princess once more, he said, "I have my unicorn ponies looking for a safe place to attempt to teleport out for water, but the river is overrun. The water we have is already under guard, and we’ll begin rationing to everypony. We should be able to stretch it for several days if we’re careful.”

Scootaloo was unsettled by the lack of supplies, but Diamond Tiara seemed downright livid. Twilight and her friends were patiently taking in all of this information.

“I don’t suppose we could dig a well?” Applejack offered.

“We’d have to get through the stone floor,” Brax answered. “Besides that, we’d expend a great deal of resources in the effort with no guarantee of success.”

The princess asked, “Fluttershy, have you heard from Discord?”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” the yellow pegasus replied with her gentle voice. “He left yesterday afternoon for the Crystal Empire. We thought it was you that asked him to go, but it must have been one of the changelings.”

“About that,” Brax interjected, “Your majesty, you left yesterday morning for the forest, and you didn’t come back until after dark?”

“That’s right,” she answered.

“Then it was a changeling,” Brax concluded.

Scootaloo thought out loud, “They knew they’d have to attack Ponyville to keep their involvement a secret. They sent Discord away in hopes of a quick victory.”

“They might a had one too if y’all hadn’t come back with about a hundred of your friend,” Applejack said. “Lighting Dasher right?”

Scootaloo nodded her reply as Twilight walked to the edge and looked out over the town. She was silent in thought for about a minute. Scootaloo wasn’t at all happy about being outmaneuvered by the changelings, but considering that they had managed a daring rescue and a successful assault on their headquarters, she felt good enough about how it all had played out. Of course, this didn’t count the fact that they were now trapped and likely about to starve to death.

"Help will have to come to us," the princess finally said as she turned back to face the group. "There are too many that can't fly to evacuate, and even if there weren't, those changelings are not going to just let us fly past them. When did you send for reinforcements?"

"The moment the shield failed I sent two squads of pegasi all over Equestria for aide. We should have heard back by now."

Scootaloo asked, "What if they can't send reinforcements?"

"Not likely," Brax answered. "Even if that is the case, we should have had scouts return by now."

"So, you're telling me that nopony even knows we're under attack?" Diamond Tiara asked in a frantic tone.

"Not at all, madam mayor," Brax replied. "I'm only telling you that I've sent scouts, and we have received no reply. There are many reasons that this could be the case. What we are saying is that we don't know if help is coming, and if they are, we don't know how long it will be before they arrive.”

"Incompetence! Complete incompetence," Diamond Tiara shouted angrily. She opened the door and went back down the stairs into the tower, slamming it shut behind her.

Twilight said, "She seems to not be handling this very well."

“You think? She's always been a petty pony; what did you expect?" Scootaloo agreed.

"Be respectful, Sergeant," Brax corrected her. "We are servants of the civil authorities."

"Yes, sir,” she said, swallowing her pride.

“Well, I ain’t,” Applejack said, “and I think that pony has spit her bit if she thinks she’d a done a better job keeping everypony safe than y’all have done.”

The workhorse grinned at Scootaloo.

To Twilight, Brax said, “Have you been able to send any messages to Princess Celestia?”

“No,” she answered. “My magical communication spells aren’t getting out. The changelings must have discovered a way to block it.”

The lieutenant continued, “If they’ve thought that far ahead, it is safe to assume that they intercepted all of our pegasi. Either way, we must find out whether help is coming. If it's not, we need to get word out. Your majesty, I would like for you to be the one to go for reinforcements."

"I can't leave everypony behind like that,” the princess objected. “We stay together."

Scootaloo countered, "You're both right." They looked at her. "As you said, ma'am, the changelings aren't going to just let us fly out of here, so no pegasus will be able to escape. A unicorn might be able to hold them off with their magic, but they can't fly. You can do both."

"Well said, sergeant," Brax smiled. “Your majesty, if you don’t go, we will likely all die one way or another.”

“Listen, sugar cube,” Applejack began, “I know you don’t like leavin’ us behind and all, but these two are right. You’re the only one that has a chance to get out a here to get help.”

Fluttershy didn’t speak, but her eyes agreed with everypony else.

Twilight bowed her head, and then slowly nodded. She said, “If that is what I must do.”

“I have one pegasus still fit to fly, if you would have her along.” Brax suggested.

“I won’t be able to guarantee anypony’s safety,” Twilight replied.

A faint smile appeared on Brax’s face, “You misunderstand. I want to send her to keep you safe.”

“I see,” she hesitated, “If you think it best, I’ll allow it. One final thing; I taught your unicorns a spell last night that will reveal changelings. You’ll need to test everypony in here to make sure there are no enemies among us. On the bright side, that should keep you guys busy for a while."

Brax answered, “That it will. Sergeant, prepare two light supply packs with plenty of food and water. Have Lightning Dust report here immediately. They’ll need to keep their strength up if they have any hope of reaching Cloudsdale.”

Scootaloo was concerned, but she knew that if anypony could escape and get help, it would be Princess Twilight.

...

Sparklefly asked, ”But where did it come from?"

"It arrived yesterday morning while your squad was out. We kept it here pending your return," the quartermaster replied.

"Thanks." Sparklefly said as she took the letter from him and began searching for a quiet place to open it. This was a difficult task in the current situation.

Every hallway and room seemed packed with the citizens of Ponyville. A few were frantically pacing the corridors. Most were sitting and helplessly staring vacantly at nothing in particular. She searched nearly the entire castle before finding herself in the throne room, which had been converted into Brax’s Combat Information Center, CIC. Typically this would not be a deserted room, but nearly ever soldier was in one part of the castle or another, ready to defend against an attack. There were three sleeping unicorns, the first wave of what would likely become an even rotation soon. The pegasus mare understood how tired they must be. It had only been a day and a night, but she felt as though she hadn’t slept for a week.

The letter was from her mother. Sparklefly found a place beneath the great table, the home of the legendary map that had sent the Princess of Friendship and her closest confidants on so many missions across Equestria. Between that and the throne in front of her, which was emblazoned with the image of three balloons, she was out of sight of the door. Rubbing her bandaged eye very lightly to the result of stinging and relief from the itching, she opened the letter and began to read, 'Dear Sparklefly, we were very relieved to get your last letter. When we heard the rumors about Canterlot and the Cloudsdale cadets being sent into combat, we were very worried. We heard that you were awarded the Equestria Cross for leading the cadets that day. Your brothers and sisters, not to mention their mother, are so very proud of you! Everypony here has been asking me what you did to merit such an honor, and I must admit, we are all very curious to hear about it. Why didn’t you say anything? Your brother, Thunderfly, has fallen ill. He has the same fever that is running through all of Baltimare. We've already taken him to see the doctor, so no worrying about him. He's going to be just fine. I very much would like to meet your friends that you had mentioned previously. They all sound like good ponies that will stick by your side, no matter what. It greatly comforts your mother’s heart to know that you have such stalwart companions helping to keep you safe. We can't wait to hear from you again. Know that wherever you go, the love of your family is with you always. Missing you, Mamma Mare.'

Sparklefly’s vision blurred as tears began welling up. She quickly looked around, making sure that the others were still sleeping. She didn't exactly feel sad, but she couldn't make it stop. Deep down, she knew why, even if she didn’t admit to herself what she felt. Her family would never meet the friends she had mentioned before because they had all died following her in Canterlot. For them, for Nimba, for Regal Masquerade, she felt a sorrow growing inside darker than the blackest night. The bandage on her mangled eye became saturated and the saltiness burned the injury. Then it was only moments before she was able to fight it back and swallow the emotion.

...

Pibs awoke to find herself still in the entryway of the castle. Ten Lightning Dashers sat around the room, apparently on sentry duty. Apart from exhausted, they seemed wary. She wondered what it would be like to have one’s self copied as they had been. Pain quickly drew her attention. Her broken leg ached and throbbed. Her muscles were more sore than they had ever been in her life. Moving only increased these discomforts, but staying still meant she couldn’t get water or take care of other biological necessities that were insisting on relief. She pushed through the hurt as they had taught her in Cloudsdale and managed to get up onto her hooves.

“You look awful,” the nearest Lightning Dasher said to her.

Pibs managed a smile and said, “Look who’s talking.”

She went past him and up the steps to the second level. Finding the latrine was easy enough; she had only to follow the line that wrapped around the hallway. The citizens of Ponyville looked in spirit as bad as her body felt. There was some despair, but it was mostly fear in their eyes. Pibs certainly knew that look well, not to mention the feeling. It seemed a little lessened today as she stood in the queue, waiting for the restroom. They moved along at a snail’s pace, a predicament that would need resolution soon for the sake of Pibs’ bladder. Minutes stretched into a half hour before she finally achieved her objective. The sweet relief that followed that most necessary function almost made her forget about the variety of unpleasantnesses she was experiencing from fatigue and injury. The little sleep she had managed didn’t do much to aid her recovery, but only due to the lack of time. Returning to the crowded hallways, finding a place to sleep seemed a sensible course of action. To do that, she’d need to find Scootaloo or Twilight to get permission.

“Momma! This is her!” a little colt’s voice rang out above the soft murmur of ponies talking.

Pibs turned to see that it was Shrub Keeper and his sister. A tall lavender mare, their mother, stood close by and an uneasy smile flickered across her face.

“Hi there, little guy,” Pibs tried to sound as cheerful as possible as she called to him.

“Momma!” he tugged his mother toward Pibs, stepping on anypony in the way.

This caused a small commotion for which the mother apologized profusely.

“Momma!” Shrub Keeper said, “This is the soldier that found us. We went to the school like you said. Her name is Pibs. She brought us here, and we went to a house and ate bread!”

The mother looked at Pibs blankly at first, but then her expression changed to one of overwhelming gratitude.

“Oh, thank you so much!” she said without reservation. Her voice continued sweetly, “I was so scared when I lost sight of them. I just don’t know what I would have done if…”

Pibs tried to fill the silence before it became awkward, “It was no trouble at all, ma’am. I’m just glad I found them when I did.”

The mother smiled, but she seemed so bewildered that Pibs decided it might be best to end the conversation.

“Well, I have to report in; you take care of your sister,” she said with a smile.

“I promise Pibs,” he recited with childlike mechanism, “I will take care of my sister!”

“Me too, me too!” the little filly eagerly tugged away from her mother, who didn’t let go.

Pibs couldn’t help but smile at those two as she left them and their mother and moved through the castle on her three good legs. She wasn’t completely aware of it, but the presence of a mothering instinct had been born and was beginning to grow inside of her.

...

Scootaloo, not to mention every other pony in the corridor, had little choice but to silently observe what was unfolding.

“You did what?" Diamond Tiara screamed at Brax.

"With respect, madam mayor, it is not in your authority to question my command or the decisions of royalty," Brax coolly replied.

"It very much is ‘in my authority’ when it concerns the few resources that we have left! I’ve got a town to think of!” Diamond Tiara was livid.

"Ma'am, yelling at me is not likely to change what is done."

"You sent away food and water with our only hope of being rescued. As long as the princess was here, we were guaranteed that reinforcements would be coming to save her. Now we're on our own!"

Scootaloo would have been amused by Diamond Tiara’s outlandish conclusion had their situation not been so dire.

Brax countered flatly, "There were no reinforcements coming. We sent scouts, and none returned. We should have heard back before dusk yesterday. It is now well past dawn, and still no word. If the princess doesn't get through, we're on our own."

Diamond Tiara turned away, and stomped off as the citizens of Ponyville began chattering. A fresh wave of fear was sweeping through them. It had been quite a while since Scootaloo had seen such a fit thrown by any pony. Brax turned to her and shook his head.

"I need you to double the guard on the food and water. Make sure every soldier has a full canteen. Also, reduce rations on the water at one scoop per soldier per day, and half that for everypony else."

"Yes, sir," Scootaloo replied. "If I may say, sir," she hesitated. Brax nodded at her, and she continued, "Please get some sleep, sir. I'll work out duty shifts for everypony else as well."

Brax nodded at her and started to walk off. He then turned and asked, "Sergeant, is Corporal Sparklefly still alive?"

"Yes, sir," Scootaloo replied. "Alive and fit to fight."

Brax nodded, his expression difficult to read.

"Inform her that I’m giving her a field promotion to sergeant. Work out a command schedule for the three of us,” he said before he turned and walked away.

Scootaloo took to her tasks immediately and was excited to deliver the news. Sparklefly took her promotion with very little reaction. The day passed uneventfully. All of the civilians were upset by the small portion of water they were being given, but Diamond Tiara’s fit aside, there was no trouble. Scootaloo made sure that the soldiers slept in shifts, but she was determined to remain awake until Brax was back on his hooves. They were the only two officers left, not counting Sparklefly. The unicorns had begun screening every pony in the castle, looking for changelings. They told the civilians that they were casting a spell that would protect them. The other task to which the unicorns had been appointed ended in failure. There was just no safe place outside the walls to which they could teleport for water.

Scootaloo was weary from the fighting of the previous day, not to mention not having slept even a little. Still, Pibs and Sparklefly looked worse than she thought she did. They didn’t. No small amount of determination kept Scootaloo’s sore muscles moving that day. Fortunately for her and everypony else, all was quiet outside the castle. When evening came, there was a great amount of snarling heard from the timberwolves. Once or twice they hit the door, but it was a mostly quiet night. Pinkie Pie came out and did a silly dance for the soldiers, which was the most eventful thing that happened that evening of which Scootaloo was aware.

...

Pibs drew guard duty on the first night. She was grateful for the time she’d had to rest during the day. Staying awake proved difficult, but in a standing position, her broken leg hurt much more. This did have the advantage of keeping her alert. She, Lightning Dasher Number Six, and a unicorn from Brax’s force were the only soldiers at this position. Several more slept nearby. The three of them mainly just had to sound the alarm and get everypony ready to fight if anything happened. The watch drug on hour after hour in complete silence.

Standing near the door, Pibs thought she heard something. Silently, she crept over to it, pressing her helmeted head against the thick wooden barrier that kept the enemy out. She had heard something. It was a voice, speaking quietly.

“Help me,” it said from the other side of the door.

Pibs shivered as the fear that had never really left surged through her again. It was only for a second that she believed that somepony was in trouble. Her brain reminded her that the changelings were outside, and they would play any kind of trick to get what they wanted.

“Help yourselves; surrender or you will all die,” the voice hissed.

Pibs didn’t answer, but she felt transfixed by what she heard.

“Sparklefly, Scootaloo, Pibs, Lightning Dasher; you’re all going to die.”

She nearly lost her ability to stand after that. It must have been Ash Eater.

“Pibs,” Lightning Dasher Number Six said.

She jumped, startled by the interruption.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Step away from the door,” he said icily.

She did so; Lightning Dasher Number Six had a stern expression locked into his features as he stood there. He also walked away and returned to his position by the stairs that led to the second level. He seemed calm, and Pibs wished he could share that resolve with her. She was bordering on sheer terror at the moment.

“You okay?” Lightning Dasher Number Six asked.

“Yeah,” she lied. “I’m fine.”

He tilted his head, regarding her for a moment before saying, “Why don’t you work on a new letter to Lighthoof?”

She nodded.

“Just keep your ears open,” he said with a softened expression.

Pibs was saddened to discover that she didn’t have any paper. She consoled herself by trying to think up a new letter instead. It was successful in calming her nerves a little while she remained on guard duty for the rest of the night.

...

Scootaloo was glad for the pause in the hostilities, as was her ankle. LD had assured her that it wasn't broken, but it had become swollen, and she couldn't put any weight on it. They had wrapped it, and she was keeping it off the ground. When combined with all of her other cuts, gashes, bruises, soreness, and where she had been impaled by shrapnel, simply walking was a painful task. She was determined not to let any of the others know how bad off she was. The situation was stressful enough for everypony without her making it worse for the others. By the dawn of that second day, everypony was hungry and thirsty.

The second day proved to be worse than the first. There had still been no word from Princess Twilight or Lightning Dust since they had teleported out of CIC the previous morning. Surely the changelings hadn't spotted them, but there was no word. The unicorns finished checking every pony for changelings, and there were none among them, much to Scootaloo and Brax's relief. Sleep was a bit fitful for Scootaloo. She was hungry, and her thoughts kept turning to Cloud Blazer. The long lines that had formed to use the restrooms continued to grow, which only helped to increase how cranky everypony was. On the bright side, they took some time the second day to number all of the Lightning Dashers so they could tell them apart. This was no easy task, as they all wanted the same nickname, then the same number, and then the same second pick for a number. Sparklefly finally had made them line up and then she just counted off, marking their helmets. The few of them that were left were easily equipped from the armory in the castle, but arrows were in short supply.

The second night was a little more eventful. Timberwolves beat on the door for half the night, and around midnight the changelings opened fire on the tower, causing an impressive light show, but it caused no damage. The unicorn's spells blocking the hostile magic was working very well. They had used a layered strategy that was three shields thick. While none of them were nearly as strong as the one that Twilight had conjured, they were able to strengthen any two of the shields while one was under attack. They looked exhausted after the action, but nopony was injured.

Day three saw some arguments turn into fights among the civilians. The soldiers acted quickly to keep order, but Scootaloo was concerned about things getting too far out of hoof; there weren't enough soldiers to keep everypony calm. Diamond Tiara wasn't helping. She had been having shouting fits at Brax that were progressively increasing their intensity.

“What are you even doing?” the mayor scolded on one of these occasions.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking, madam mayor,” the lieutenant replied with an icy chill in his voice.

“You’re just sitting here, waiting for them to attack again. You are soldiers, you should be out there retaking the town!”

“With respect,” he said through gritted teeth, “there are fewer than fifty of us, and several thousand of them. What would you have us do?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice overflowing with sarcasm, “maybe try setting them on fire? They are made of wood, and piled up on top of each other like they are you can take the lot of them out like yesterday’s trash, or hadn’t you thought of that?”

Brax looked at her, unable to mask his feelings about her stupidity.

He spoke flatly, “We would do exactly that if we wanted to burn the town to ashes. Also, think of where we are.”

“We’d be safe from flames in this castle. It’s not made of wood,” Diamond Tiara countered.

The lieutenant sighed, “No, it is made of stone. We would be surrounded on all sides by fire while inside a stone structure; we’d effectively turn this castle into an oven. Do you have any other bright ideas on how to get us killed faster?”

Still in a high state of distress, she stormed away. After that, Brax mostly confined himself to CIC in an effort to minimize these encounters.

...

Sparklefly returned from watch duty on the tower and entered CIC. Not surprisingly, she found Brax and a few of the other soldiers there. Most of them were sleeping. Brax looked up at her for a moment before looking down again at a sheet of paper.

“Anything to report from the tower,” he asked.

“No, sir,” she replied. “It’s been a quiet day.”

The commanding stallion sighed. He had the look of a pony that was sagging under a great weight that was pushing him down.

“Are you alright?” Sparklefly asked.

He snorted, “There’s just no way around the inevitable.”

She looked over his shoulder at the paper. It was a supply list. She didn’t have to look long to see how dire their situation was. The math told an unsettling tale.

“There’s just too many of us and not enough water,” he said.

Considering how low their rations already had been cut, Sparklefly knew they wouldn’t be able to cut them much more, if at all.

“If Twilight doesn’t get back soon…” she began; there was no need to finish.

“She may not be coming back,” Brax said coldly.

A chill ran up Sparklefly’s spine. The lieutenant glanced at her and shrugged.

“I didn’t send her away to save us,” he said. “I know she will return to help, if she’s able, but I also knew that her best chance to survive was to get out of here.”

“She’s coming back,” Sparklefly said, confidence returning.

“She should have been back with an army by now,” Brax said. “Two days, tops.”

Sparklefly countered, “There are a number of reasons she hasn’t returned yet. She knows what we’re up against, and she knows how long our supplies can hold out. She’s coming back.”

Brax nodded slowly, “I hope you’re right, Sergeant.”

...

Scootaloo was on guard duty on the third night when the action began again. Pinkie Pie was doing a song at the entrance when she suddenly stopped. She had just said something about her knees feeling pinchy when timberwolves began slamming headlong into the door, pounding loudly over and over again. The soldiers moved into position to brace the door.

"Anypony that's not a soldier, fall back into the interior," Scootaloo ordered. “Contact at the gate!”

Changeling magic ripped through the windows, impacting into the massive internal shutters. A few bolts of lethal energy streamed through the high openings and into the room, raining down on the soldiers from above as the civilians exited.

One of the Lightning Dashers called out, "Contact right high!" just before he was hit and dropped hard against the stone floor.

"Take cover!” Scootaloo ordered.

The ponies that had been sleeping had awakened and charged in by now, Brax and Sparklefly among them. Everypony in the room dove out of view from the small openings, trying to stay clear as bits of the stone floor exploded and shot about the room.

"Report!" Brax ordered.

"Incoming fire from the windows, and they're pounding on the door again,” Scootaloo replied.

"Runner!" Brax shouted. Sparklefly darted up to him. "Get topside and see if the unicorns can direct some fire to clear the windows and gate. Go!"

Sparklefly bolted up the stairs toward the tower.

"Barricades!" Brax shouted. "We need to plug those holes!"

"Copy that!" Scootaloo answered. "You five, follow me!" she shouted at some of the earth ponies that were guarding the door. The incoming fire rained down all around as they charged out of the room. They went straight for some furniture that it was quite a shame to destroy, but they had little choice at this point. Returning to the entrance, they waited for the break in fire before flying up to the windows. They were able to use the broken pieces to stuff the small high windows tightly. It wouldn’t hold up to much, but it would keep them concealed from enemy eyes.

Sparklefly returned and reported that the unicorns had been able to inflict several casualties on the changelings. At least a dozen had participated in the attack, and eight of them were shot down. There were several small injuries among the EUP soldiers, and two Lightning Dashers were killed. Once the windows were blocked up, the timberwolves stopped pounding on the door. The rest of the night was quiet.

...

Pibs had been on water duty when the attack happened. Given her injuries, she was ordered to remain in place. Fortunately, their casualties had been somewhat light. She wasn’t really sure how to feel about Lightning Dasher anymore. The one she’d been on duty with the night before had been killed, but she didn’t exactly feel sad about it; she felt confused. More than that, the fear had grown even stronger inside her. On occasion, she would begin shaking for no apparent reason. She did her best to keep anypony else from seeing, but she was becoming afraid that she was losing her nerve. It was nearly dawn when she was relieved from duty and told to go rest.

She left the water supply and wandered around the castle, looking at the endless mass of faces that were everywhere. Ponies from all walks of life, most sleeping, some staring around the dimly lit stone structure. It was swelteringly hot inside. Keeping this many ponies in such close quarters only served to combine their body heat. The high ceilings helped, but after the second day, it grew steadily warmer inside. Pibs felt a sheen of sweat forming on her brow. Add that to the list of complications they faced. Their water supply was all but exhausted already. The heat was bound to start claiming them soon if they weren’t able to resupply. The air was also becoming stale and stagnant.

Feeling what passed for a cool draft, Pibs found herself ambling on her three good legs down into the cellar. Familiar voices greeted her in whispers from the darkness.

“Hey, Pibs,” spoke Scootaloo.

“Howdy,” Apple Bloom said.

Pibs hobbled down the steps into the cellar and nodded at them. Like the rest of the castle, the cellar was filled with citizens of Ponyville. They weren’t packed quite as thick on the lower levels. The air was noticeably cooler down here. On the ground nearby, Applejack and the Cakes slept on the stone floor. Apple Bloom looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her bow was as messy as her mane, now dirty and rough. Scootaloo looked even worse and kept her right fore-leg in the air, not putting any weight on it.

"How's you're ankle?" Apple Bloom asked.

“Better than Pibs’ leg. How are you guys doing?"

"As well as we can, I'd expect. We're still here."

Scootaloo nodded, "Still here is pretty good at this point."

Apple Bloom's stomach began growling.

"How are y'all holding up?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo snorted, "We've been better. Don't worry; there's plenty of fight left in us," she said confidently.

Apple Bloom smiled uneasily.

Scootaloo asked, ”So, how have you been? Are you still dating-"

"Nah," Apple Bloom cut her off, shaking her head. "He was useless.”

“You think?” Scootaloo teased. “I told you that from day one. What changed your mind?”

“I’m a farmer; I need a stallion that’s ready to settle down and give me some foals to work the orchard.”

A bewildered look was working its way across Scootaloo’s face that drew a fiendish grin from Apple Bloom. The two of them giggled at the joke.

“How ‘bout you? Anypony special?"

“No way,” Scootaloo replied. “You know I don't have time for that mushy stuff. Have you heard from Babs?"

"I got a letter just last week. She joined the EUP."

"Oh?"

"Darn tootin'. She was with the group that came out of Manehattan. I heard they retook from Baltimare to Foal Mountain."

Scootaloo nodded, "All the way up to Neighagra Falls.”

The friends grew quiet. Pibs wished they would continue talking; listening to them was soothing her nerves.

Apple Bloom broke the silence, "I'm worried about Cloud Blazer."

"Me too," Scootaloo replied.

Pibs opened her mouth to say something, but she lost the thought and changed her mind.

“You okay?” Scootaloo asked.

Pibs looked at her and lied, “I’m great.”

Apple Bloom’s expression changed, “You sure about that?”

The fear inside sent a quiver through the mare. She felt like she was falling apart. She could have burst at any minute, and it wouldn’t have come as a surprise in the least. Scootaloo stepped closer.

“Hey,” she said.

Pibs looked into the orange mare’s lavender eyes. They were filled mostly with concern.

“I...” Pibs tried to speak, but she couldn’t. She was trying so hard to be brave, but she had run out of strength.

“Look, you don’t have to put on a brave face for me,” Scootaloo whispered. “I know you’re scared.”

Pibs felt shock at that statement.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Scootaloo continued. “I knew you were scared since we first went into the forest.”

“You’re not...” Pibs felt a lump in her throat. She tried to speak around it, “You’re not disappointed?”

Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder and whispered in Pibs’ ear, “I’m going to tell you something, but if you tell anypony else, I’m going to deny it… I’m scared too. It’s okay; only an idiot wouldn’t be afraid when the timberwolves are trying to tear you apart.”

The warmth of relief flooded through Pibs, dissolving the lump in her throat and allowing a tension that she hadn’t noticed before to begin to relax.

“The fact that you kept fighting anyway is why I’m not disappointed,” Scootaloo said. She then added with a smile, “I’d always pick you for my squad.”

Pibs felt tears well up in her eyes. She tried to stop them, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. The emotions were running too high for her to control them.

“Why don’t you get some sleep? Maybe you’ll have a nice dream about Lighthoof,” Scootaloo suggested.

Pibs nodded and said, “Thanks... for everything.”

“Don’t mention it,” Scootaloo said. “Seriously, don’t mention it; I’ve got an image to maintain.”

Pibs snorted a laugh before limping over to the wall on her three good legs. The soreness in her muscles had dissipated, a minor bonus. Her injuries were more than enough of an inconvenience. It had become a constant fiery ache in her leg. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom continued talking near the steps as Pibs found a place by the wall that was unoccupied. Letting her mind drift proved much easier now, and the fear that had been with her since they first set hoof in the Everfree Forest was finally gone. She knew it would come back at some point, but she didn’t worry about that right now. It was time to follow Scootaloo’s suggestion and dream about Lighthoof while she had the chance.

...

Sparklefly had the watch on the fourth morning. It was quiet, but for the sound of her stomach grumbling for food. She and LD were on the tower watching the timberwolves sleep, as well as scanning the horizon in hopes for reinforcements that were nowhere to be seen. There was a light mist in the air that looked like it might turn to rain if the blazing orb of the sun would leave it alone. It was going to be another hot day. The light breeze on the air was never enough to cool the castle on the inside with all of the windows shut up.

"All quiet," LD said softly.

"Yes," Sparklefly replied.

She felt in somewhat good spirits at least as far as her physical condition. Her wings still hurt if she moved them, so flying would be out of the question for a while, but the fatigue and soreness from the fighting was much eased. Given the stale air inside, tower watch-duty was almost a welcome relief.

"What do earth ponies like?" he broke the silence again.

"What?” Sparklefly asked, confused. “Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I mean... you know. Mares."

"Oh, brother," she replied, shaking her head. "Are you still going on about Apple Bloom?"

Blushing, he said, "No, I just meant in general."

"Come on, LD, I know you better than that."

Squirming, he admitted, "I just can't stop thinking about her."

"First of all, you're asking the wrong mare. Scootaloo knows her way better than I do. Secondly, this is hardly the time or place to be thinking about that sort of thing. Also, didn't she shoot you down pretty hard already?"

Hanging his head, he answered, "Yeah, she really did."

"What about the rest of you, guys? The other Lightning Dashers?"

"Oh, well… I guess we all like her,” he scratched the back of his neck.

”Don't you think that could cause a problem?"

He looked exasperated, "How did this all get so complicated?"

She shrugged and gently rubbed at her bandaged eye.

"Still hurts?" he asked.

"It's not too bad. It mostly itches,” she said. Not sure how to help the stallion with matters of the heart, she finally offered some advice that her own mother had once given, “Look, there's no sense getting all weird about Apple Bloom. If you like her, go and tell her how you feel and ask her if you two can get to know each other better."

“You think that’ll work?”

She shrugged, “Beats me, but you can’t do any worse than you did on that last attempt. Who knows, she might appreciate the honesty.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Well, I suppose you’ll crash and burn like you did last time, but at least you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

He pawed at the floor of the tower on which they stood, silent for several minutes.

“I wish it would rain,” LD said.

A dull thud rumbled through the ground below, even shaking the tower beneath the pair of sentries. It was several seconds before it calmed down, and Sparklefly felt her heart begin to race.

Exchanging a glance, she said, "Stay here," before darting down the stairs.

...

It was blindingly bright for a moment, and the concussion of the sound blasted all thoughts from mind. Scootaloo was thrown to the ground by the deafening explosion that rocked the entire cellar. All-sized stones rocketed through the room like bullets, followed by a cloud of dust that filled the air. For a moment, Scootaloo actually thought she had been killed. Then she realized that she was coughing and sputtering in great, uncontrollable heaving spasms. Even still, she couldn’t remember what she had been doing. The disorientation was unsettling to say the least, but she was able to retrace her steps in her mind. She and the Apples had all gone up to stand in line for the lavatory. Then she was returning to check on Pibs because they had left her sleeping by herself. Scootaloo rolled off of her back and began pushing herself back up onto her hooves; she couldn't hear anything but a sharp ringing in her ears. Looking about, the entire cellar seemed buzzing with panicking ponies, barely visible through the cloud of smoke and dust in the dim light. The mare tried to tell the civilians to get out, but her own voice sounded only like muffled vibrations to herself. Scootaloo starting pointing toward the stairs. Some of the others saw her and began moving in that direction. Scootaloo shook her head, rubbing at her ear with her left hoof. It came back with a little blood on it. She should have been able to hear the sounds of ponies stamping and trying to get out, but she couldn’t; the ringing was unbearable.

Scootaloo stumbled farther into the cellar, tripping over somepony. It was Pibs, who winced when she was inadvertently kicked. Scootaloo shook her to wake her up. She couldn’t see well in the darkness, and another fit of coughing took her for several seconds. The wall behind Pibs had a gaping hole blown out, but only darkness could be seen inside. Realizing what had happened, Scootaloo moved to the stone wall beside the opening and waited, watching the other ponies evacuate. A timberwolf poked it's nose through the hole, sniffing the air. Scootaloo turned, putting all of her weight on her left fore-hoof and bucked the timberwolf in the face, dropping it against the side of the newly formed tunnel. She turned and jumped on it, stamping it's head. Another came out at her, and she bashed it with her fore hoof, stunning it. It took a swipe at her. Ducking, the blow glanced off of her helmet.

Suddenly, Pibs was up and threw a powerful kick, smashing the second timberwolf. Scootaloo motioned for her to get to the other side of the hole. No sooner had they moved to either end than a blast of hot magic zipped through the opening, just missing them. It impacted against the far wall, spraying bits of stone about the cellar. They had to hold the enemy here, just until the room cleared, then they could fall back. As the next timberwolf came though, they caught it from both sides, killing it on the spot. This helped, as it slowed the next one by blocking the entrance, but that didn’t stall their resolve. The pair of ponies smashed three more, and the next few were clawing at the bodies to get through. As the dust began clearing Scootaloo could see much better, and she realized that it wasn’t Pibs, it was Apple Bloom fighting by her side. She was filthy, and her bow had come undone and was just a torn ribbon in her mane now.

A blast of green magic broke up the dead timberwolves, and a changeling burst out from the hole. It rounded on Apple Bloom, but was knocked over as Scootaloo jumped it from behind. They rolled on the floor, pawing and beating each other furiously. Another pony came out of nowhere and knifed the changeling in the back. It was Sparklefly. The next thing Scootaloo knew there were several soldiers all around her, and the unicorns were blasting away at the tunnel. She saw one of the Lightning Dashers leading Apple Bloom out.

Pibs was still down. Scootaloo grabbed her by the armor and began dragging her out of the chaos that had erupted in the cellar. The gap in their defenses was being exploited with no time lost by the changelings or their stick-dog army. Scootaloo tripped, dropping Pibs and landing hard. She managed to not hurt her sprained ankle again, but she saw stars after her helmeted head struck the stone floor. Regaining her balance, she again grabbed Pibs and drug her up the stairs and out onto the first level. Her lungs burned from the smoke and dust she had inhaled, and sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes as it mixed with the dust in her coat.

Sparklefly was there moments later and was speaking, but all Scootaloo could hear was that high pitched ringing even louder than before. Whatever Sparklefly was trying to communicate, Scootaloo couldn't make it out. She pointed at her ears and shook her head. Sparklefly darted away back into the cellar as even more soldiers poured into the fight. Scootaloo turned her attention to Pibs, whose chest rose and fell with shallow breaths as she lay unmoving nearby. Now that Scootaloo was able to see clearly, there was no question why Pibs hadn’t tried to get up. She couldn’t hear it herself, but Scootaloo let out a cry of despair as she realized that the explosion that shattered the stone wall had also mangled her friend who had been sleeping beside it. Scootaloo might as well have dragged a corpse out of the dungeon. Pibs’ skull had been crushed.

...

Sparklefly was yelling orders, having already expended her arrows. She doubted whether she could easily be heard above the roar of the battle that was taking place. Timberwolves howled and snarled as they clawed their way through the newly formed tunnel. Unicorns and changelings were exchanging magical fire in rapid succession that sent little bits of rock shrapnel zipping through the air. The concussion of the sound was like some grand fireworks-display finale. In spite of this madness, she managed to finish evacuating the cellar and return to the hallway where Scootaloo was now screaming. Sparklefly grabbed her by the shoulders, which quieted the mare, but then it became apparent why she’d been so upset. Sparklefly didn’t have to look twice, she knew the injury Pibs had sustained was fatal. She pushed emotion from her mind and turned back to the cellar as Lieutenant Brax arrived.

"Report!" he demanded.

"Some kind of explosion. The timberwolves tunneled in. We still hold the cellar. Scootaloo is deaf, Pibs is down,” Sparklefly rattled off.

“Radiant Pyre!” Brax called.

"He's dead," came a reply.

"Some unicorn collapse that tunnel. Now!" Brax shouted.

“I’m not dead!” Radiant Pyre shouted as he charged into the cellar.

Moments later there was a dull boom, and the ground shook. Dust and smoke filled the cellar, spilling out into the hallway. Soldiers came out coughing and choking. Radiant Pyre made it out last and shut the door.

“Sweet Celestia, are they okay?" Lightning Dasher Number Seven asked.

A loud bang resounded up the hallway from the direction of the front door. Sparklefly looked at Lightning Dasher Number Seven and said, "I've got to go, you take care of her."

She raced off to the gate without waiting for him to respond. There was a pounding on it, again and again. As Sparklefly entered the room, everypony was on alert, but there were only a dozen or so still at this position. The rest had gone to the cellar. The massive door shook with each hit, creaking. The wood was stressed, but it was still holding for the moment. Then there was scratching at the windows.

Suddenly noticing her thirst again, Sparklefly took a quenching drink from her canteen, as did all of the others. Even if this weren’t the last of her water, she didn’t think it likely that there would be another opportunity to use it. All but one or two of the soldiers had arrived, their total fighting strength reduced now to just under forty by Sparklefly's estimate. Pibs was as good as dead, Scootaloo was injured, and at least one Lightning Dasher was tending her and the other wounded. Even if those were the only casualties, their numbers were too few.

Brax ordered, "Unicorns, give me some kind of strengthening spell on the door, and prepare to focus fire on the windows. Every Pegasus fit to fly be ready on the windows when the unicorns need relief. Earth ponies, we've got the floor.” He then shouted, “Are you ready?”

“Sir, yes sir!” came a reply in unison from every soldier in the room.

Just then, a timberwolf burst through one of the barricades. It didn't even get to the ground before it was cut down by a unicorn blast. The remaining Lightning Dashers took to the air to plug the hole.

The size of the room was a problem. The doorway was large, and once the shutters on the windows gave way, there just wouldn’t be enough ponies to defend them.

"Lieutenant!" Sparklefly called out.

"Yes?"

"The hallway on the second level would make a good choke point, if we can get some barricades at the opening on the other end-"

"Do it!" he commanded.

Sparklefly raced up the stairs and back up the hallway and found some furniture. It was heavy, but she began pushing it toward the door as panicking civilians backed as far away from her as they could.

“Can we help, sugar cube?” Applejack said from behind her, a stern expression on her face.

“Tables,” Sparklefly puffed. “Need to block… the door.”

The matriarch of the Apple family along with her brother and sister aided in the fortifications. Sparklefly knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything for anypony on the lower levels, which was especially distressing as Scootaloo was down there, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.

“Thanks, now stand back,” she said as they completed the task.

Sparklefly could hear the splintering of wood as one of the window shutters gave way. The distinctive sound of hostile magic filled the air, as did other sounds of battle. She couldn't build the barricade too high, or none of the others would be able to retreat to this position. Most of the civilians were watching her in horror, pressed tightly against each other. It had only taken a couple of tables to effectively block the lower end of the hallway. This was the choke point. If they couldn't hold here, they wouldn't be able to hold anywhere. A shiver ran through Sparklefly that threatened to steal her strength as she realized that this is where they would make their last stand.

As she hopped over the table and thundered back to the top of the stairs at the entry room, there was a loud cracking sound as the door gave way. Sparklefly saw it coming apart in front of her. The earth ponies charged into the collapsing defense, broken bits of wood falling on them and timberwolves that leapt into the fray. It was an uncontrolled melee for several seconds before Brax began yelling for everypony to fall back. Sparklefly returned to the other side of her barricade and watched. It was absolute insanity in the entry room. The unicorns laid down a suppressing fire that was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Several of the timberwolves actually exploded under the intense magical barrage. Earth ponies galloped up the hallway and poured over the tables, but there were fewer now than before. Brax came last, but none of the unicorns made it, nor did any of the Lightning Dashers that had been holding the windows. Timberwolves reached the top of the stairs first, and as soon as they did, anypony that had been left behind was now cut off. Sparklefly counted sixteen remaining soldiers.

The timberwolves were clawing their way up the hallway toward them now. The ponies flipped the tables up, blocking the opening. The timberwolves slammed into them at full speed, rocking the makeshift wall back against the ponies’ bodies.

"Push!" Brax ordered. "Push!"

The few remaining soldiers pushed as one, moving the thick tables back against the gap. The timberwolves slammed into the blockade again, shoving them back. Six of the beasts slipped over the top as Brax ordered them to push again. Sparklefly left the line, kicking one of the timberwolves away from another soldier. Things were falling apart. Just then, several of the civilians, led by Apples, joined the defense, kicking and stomping at the timberwolves. Big McIntosh and his sisters’ powerful hind legs kept the creatures off balance and killed some until the soldiers took care of the rest. The remainder had managed to get the weakening tables back into position, and they were now joined all along their barricade by Ponyville citizens, pushing the tables against the opening. Sparklefly was between Apple Bloom and Applejack, workhorses whose strength was impressive to say the least.

The timberwolves slammed into them for what seemed like several minutes, but they couldn't overcome the combined strength of the ponies. Sparklefly knew this was only temporary. It was only a matter of time, and probably not very much time, before the changelings realized that the unicorns were all dead. Then they'd come in with their own magic and blast their way through; their best efforts could only delay the inevitable. It would be over soon. The shouting and grunting of everypony working together became a deafening chant. Sparklefly was covered in sweat as they pushed to hold their fragile barricade in place. The forces of life and death were reduced to muscle against muscle, each fighting desperately to come out on top.

As suddenly as it had begun, the timberwolves stopped pushing. There was still a great noise of commotion, but it was different. It sounded like fighting was happening outside in the corridor. Surely there hadn’t been enough soldiers still on the lower levels to challenge that many timberwolves. Sparklefly and Brax exchanged a confused look. He motioned to her to go up to the tower.

She raced passed everypony else, all cringing in fear of their impending fate. Through the corridors, up the stairs, across the third landing, and more stairs. Finally coming out on top of the tower, Sparklefly pushed past LD, who was still standing guard on top, but he ignored her completely. Then she could see what was going on, but she was stunned to silence at the sight of it. A train had arrived, and it must have been carrying thousands upon thousands of ponies. Blasts of magic were sweeping through the timberwolves, cutting them to shreds in every street in Ponyville. Earth ponies had set up a perimeter, and more were still flooding from the train. As this was unfolding, what had to be an entire division of Pegasus ponies zipped down from the air, raining down like death on the timberwolves. To the west, blasts of alicorn magic ripped through the sky from no fewer than three alicorns. Toward the forest to the east, massive clouds of sparks began raining droplets of ashes onto the timberwolves, Discord’s handiwork, no doubt. All of the beasts that were hit by them flew up into the air, twenty or thirty yards, and then fell again, shattering on impact before they could reach the safety of the forest.

LD vacantly said, “All of Las Pegasus is here.”

Sparklefly sat down in awe for several moments. After everything she had seen in the past few days, she almost couldn't believe the situation unfolding before her. The timberwolves were getting slaughtered. They were being completely massacred by the efforts of the surging numbers of soldiers. These weren't scared ponies that were running and hiding. They were pushing a coordinated counter-attack in great enough numbers that the timberwolves simply didn't stand a chance. Sparklefly guessed that there must have been more than than twenty-thousand trained EUP ponies involved in the battle. She was right about that much; there were actually six divisions that had coordinated this retaliatory strike; from Manehattan to Las Pegasus, Baltimare to Van Hoover had all rallied their forces to engage the enemy.

Sparklefly and LD returned into the tower, shutting the door behind them and locking it. When she arrived back at the barricade, all was quiet but for the noise outside. There was frantic murmuring among the citizens, and none of the soldiers had left their positions.

"Report!" Brax ordered.

Silence fell over the citizens, petrified with fear. Sparklefly blinked, and then rubbed the bandage on her left eye. She was still in awe of what she had seen.

"Sir," she began, her voice almost weak, “an overwhelming EUP force has arrived in Ponyville. The siege is over. We've won."

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