38 - Countermeasures, Part 5 of 11
Scootaloo felt on the verge of physical breakdown. It was only a thin facade that kept her moving. There was a chance she was fooling everypony else, but she fully expected to either collapse from exhaustion or be killed in the coming hours. Getting Duster moving again had been something of a victory, but the entire corps was in at least as poor physical condition as the two of them. They were in no shape to be fighting.
They looked horrid, smelled worse, and there were no supplies or relief coming. On a good day, the timberwolves were known for their putrid stench; today, the ponies of the Assault Corps could probably have overpowered them had it been a contest of odor. At their current status, words like hopeless and dire just didn’t seem to capture the utterly impossible situation that lay before them. They were simply out of options.
They managed to arrive at what would be their most forward position, and they still had a little over three divisions. The CAP reported timberwolves massing only two miles away, so their work was cut out for them. Scootaloo found a spot where she could be seen and stood to oversee the preparations. Her heart was heavy, and every thought in her mind told her that she was insane for even being there.
She knew she couldn’t let any of this be seen or even thought by anypony else. Losing Sparklefly had been bad enough, but something had changed when she’d killed Radiant Pyre. It was as though everything she cared about didn’t matter anymore. The only thing that remained was fighting the enemy. It was a difficult thing to unravel, but Scootaloo began to realize that she hated herself. Why she felt this way was more difficult to sort out. Even if she hadn’t had the order to do so, killing Radiant Pyre was probably the smart move. However, it still didn’t sit well with her. His final moments were burned into her mind.
Raging and conflicting emotions torrentially ran through the weary mare. She wanted to just scream and run far away from this place. It simply wasn’t a viable option. There were over twenty-thousand ponies looking to her for strength. She wasn’t about to let them down. That lonely resolve was keeping her standing as she watched her force dig into the earth and construct their battle line.
They made a modest trench and piled the dirt behind it to make a dip and then a rise. It wouldn’t stop the timberwolves, but it would slow them down. Scootaloo had already decided to send Colonel Skyflame, Commander Rain Chaser, and Flittergear five miles back to oversee the next position. She would handle the first encounter herself with the bulk of their force. The only thing left was to wait.
The rest did them all good, helping to give back some small amount of stamina. The timberwolves did not disappoint the expectation that they would come. It was less than an hour before the scouts reported that the beasts were moving. The moment had arrived. The little water that remained had been consumed.
Scootaloo felt a small amount of strength ebb into her. From what reserve it came, she couldn’t tell. She felt willowy and thin, as if a soft breeze might be enough to scatter her as autumn leaves are driven before it.
She found her place atop the most forward rise they had created. From that position, she made quite a target, but she didn’t think it likely that any changelings would take a shot at her. They’d give away their own positions, and she had unicorns standing by to return in kind.
The dust cloud was the first thing that she saw. Stirred up by the surging numbers of beasts savagely charging toward them, no doubt.
As the wave of them drew closer, orders were given, weapons were loaded and trained on the approaching enemy.
Then something changed.
The dust began to clear, revealing that the timberwolves had halted about five hundred yards away. They were just standing there.
"What are they doing?" Duster asked, poking his head above the dirt mound.
"Keep your head down," Locknload scolded.
Scootaloo answered, "They’re just standing there."
Perhaps they were taking some time to assess the EUP formation and decide whether it was worth the trouble. The skies looked clear of changelings at least. That’s when she saw him, a spec of black against the browns of earth and beast. A single changeling strode forward ahead of the enemy force.
Scootaloo sighed.
"I’m going to see what he wants," she said.
A murmuring swept through the defensive line.
To answer it, she added, "I want every unicorn trained on him. Make sure he never gets back to the line if anything happens to me. You all know what to do. Be ready."
She trotted forward, down the dirt pile and into the trench. She came up the other side and walked at a medium pace away from her force. Scootaloo was tired, but she could afford to show no weakness before the face of the enemy. She set her will to put up a good front. The desolate field seemed much larger now that she was crossing it alone. Wind was beginning to pick up from the northeast. That would be helpful once they lit the enemy on fire. As she approached her foe, the lone changeling stopped.
Uneasy and aggressive feelings washed over the mare when she recognized him by the broken horn and savage scowl. She had to maintain composure. If for no other reason than to buy time.
"Scootaloo, we finally meet again," he hissed.
"Hello, Ash Eater," she replied evenly.
"You remember me," he grinned wickedly, "I’m touched."
"How could I forget," she said; it wasn’t a question.
"My superiors commanded me to offer you a chance to surrender.”
"Did they," she said flatly.
"I told them it wouldn’t happen. I know you too well, Scootaloo. You will fight to the very last ounce of your strength."
She wasn’t sure how to feel about being complimented by a changeling, especially this changeling. Her instincts told her to kill him on the spot, like she had sworn to Sparklefly that she would. The fact that she even considered this made her feel sick.
"If you knew I wouldn’t accept, why did you come out here?"
"You know how it is, orders...” his manner almost seemed coy. “But also, I also wanted the chance to thank you.”
She snorted, "For what?"
"When we first met, I was nobody special. After our defeat at Ponyville, I was lucky to survive my own people, let alone yours. It was a bit of a low point. After that, things began turning up for me."
"You don’t say," she had no idea where he was going with this.
"As fate would have it, I was reassigned to an attack on Las Pegasus to capture a secret food supply," he continued. "I was in the right place at the right time to discover that there was no grain store. I saved our queen that day from a trap that had been set for her.”
“Fine work, I guess. You know we caught her, right?”
“A bold plan of hers that went south, but she felt it worth the risk. I have been promoted through the ranks since Las Pegasus. Did you know, we even helped foster that little coup that nearly dethroned Shining Armor?"
"I’m shocked," she replied with no emotion.
"It wasn’t our idea, mind you. But when we found out about it, we did everything we could to move it along. You and your friends seem to have outmaneuvered us on that one."
She couldn’t resist a little sarcasm, "If it makes you feel any better, I had no idea that you were involved."
He put a hoof up, "Only in the smallest way. It was mostly an internal pony matter. Had our information been better, we’d have launched our own attack in the confusion, but it only takes a moment of hesitation to miss an opportunity.”
Scootaloo sighed, gritting her teeth against her primal side that wanted to silence the overly loquacious changeling.
"Did you know that I saw you at Dodge Junction?" Ash Eater asked. "You remember that night, I’m sure. You commanded the flanking maneuver, quite successfully I might add. If it had been up to me, I would have killed you then and there, but the retreat was ordered before I got the chance."
"What a shame," she said dryly. If he were trying to scare her, he was not succeeding.
"Yes, well, you can’t win every battle, I suppose," he continued using that coy manner of speech. "I was second in command of this force after one of your little raids took out our leader. Then the fool that followed you into Ghastly Gorge was killed by that avalanche. Thank you for that. I wouldn’t have risen to command without your help.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but didn’t otherwise reply.
“Did you know, I was the one that planned our counterattack at Apple Loosa that cut your force down," a fiery grin shot across his face. "I spent enough time among you that I know how ponies think. I gave you victories you couldn’t ignore to keep you there while we dug under your lines and prepared. Just another step towards my ultimate goal. I’ve been working hard to find you all again, the ones that escaped. I think only three remain."
He was talking about the members of her squad, her first squad that had gone into the Everfree Forest. The burning rage nearly overwhelmed Scootaloo’s defenses and began clouding her mind. She managed to hold it down for the moment.
"Choose your words carefully, changeling," she heard herself say with an icy chill in her voice.
A spark of life flashed through his eyes at her tone. Perhaps that was what he’d been looking for. Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to ram her knife into his throat, to see how smug he would be as he bled out. She also felt something new along with that desire: shame. When had she become so twisted and hateful? Her mind wandered in the brief moments they stood in silence. She found herself running and playing with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. She found herself remembering where she’d come from. That was who she was supposed to be, not a stone cold killer. It was as if she had become somepony that she didn’t even know.
"So, here we are. Each of us on our own side, coming from nothing. Now we have worked our way to leadership in the forefront of the largest forces in play. We are deciding the future, though, we both have suffered our losses along the way. I can’t shape-shift because of the injuries you ponies gave me. As for you... Nimba, Regal Masquerade, Pibs, Princess Twilight, Nitro," Ash Eater seethed. "Lightning Dasher only has to die, what, two more times? I know Cloud Blazer still lives... more or less. And let’s not forget my favorite recent death: our friend, Sparklefly."
Scootaloo quivered, strength surging within as her body prepared to strike. He continued speaking.
“I doubt if she told you what happened in that cave under Canterlot. She didn’t want to cooperate. She even lied to me at first,” he tsk’d. “Every pony has their breaking point, I suppose. Did you know, she’s the only mare I’ve ever been with? My only regret is that she doesn’t live to cherish the memory as I do.”
The rage was burning white hot now, but other forces churned inside Scootaloo that urged calm. She didn’t know whether to believe what he was telling her, or if Sparklefly had told the whole truth about it. The doubt weighed like a stone in her stomach. The deceased mare in question had said that the Ash Eater had stopped short of what he now claimed. She said that she’d put it all behind her...
Scootaloo wanted to grab the changeling and smash his head into the ground and break his neck. She could signal her unicorns to blast him to a cinder, or maybe she could rip his wings off and drop him from high altitude. Her eyes hadn’t missed the loaded crossbow that he had slung across his back. She would have to strike quickly.
Was this who she had really become? She was a Cutie Mark Crusader once, and now she was somepony who was so vicious that she would consider wanton slaughter as an appropriate option. When did she change from a pony that was doing what had to be done into this? No answers were forthcoming, but Scootaloo was certain of one thing. That is not who she wanted to be. She knew there was no way to change how she felt, but at the very least, she could choose to follow a different path. Ash Eater stared directly through her, waiting for a response.
Not sure what to say, she blurted out, "I don’t hate you."
He seemed confused, "What?"
"I don’t hate you. I don’t even hate your people, or the timberwolves," she said, unsure if she actually believed herself. "I hate what you’ve done to Equestria, and that my friends have died trying to stop you."
"I’m glad they're dead," he hissed at her. "I enjoyed killing them."
The battle being fought inside Scootaloo was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before that moment. In her mind, she saw herself murder Ash Eater a hundred different ways as she struggled to maintain control of herself. ‘Shut it down,’ she heard Sparklefly say inside her head. ‘To hate somepony else is like drinking poison and expecting them to die; you’ll only hurt yourself; shut it down. It’s like my momma mare used to say... Anger is like a stick of dynamite, harsh words make it explode, but a calm answer can diffuse it.’
She refocused her thoughts on how she wanted to respond if she were the mare she meant to be. How does one get past hating somepony so vile? He deserved to be hated for what he’d done.
"I know you did, but I...” she paused, unsure what she actually meant to say.
"You what?" he sneered.
‘I let it go,’ she heard Sparklefly say again. ‘I put it behind me, and you can do the same.’
Scootaloo said, "I forgive you."
The moment the words left her lips, it was as though a chain inside her shattered, releasing the rage that she had been feeding for so long. A shudder rippled through her body in an uncontrollable spasm. Ash Eater stepped forward, coming nose to nose with Scootaloo.
"Then you’re a fool, and I will kill you too," he spat.
He was well within striking distance now, but killing him suddenly didn’t seem so important. A peace came over the mare as the hatred left her.
She quietly answered, "It’s a small matter if I live or die, and you alone are responsible for your actions. If we meet on the battlefield, I will do what I must."
He let out a noise in frustration that was something between a grunt and a growl before quickly turning to walk away. Scootaloo felt like herself again, perhaps for the first time since Pibs had died. A great weight that she had been carrying was gone. Her walk back to the line felt springy, as if she grew lighter with each step. Her mind began working toward things that needed to be done, apologizing to Cloud Blazer being at the top of her list. However, there wasn’t time to think on such, so she pushed it out of her mind to focus on the coming battle to be fought.
She regained her perch on the front line and called out, “We defend this ground! Prepare for contact!“
The faces of her brave soldiers showed the weariness they felt inside. She didn’t know how much further she could actually push them before they gave out, but they had to try. She turned back to face the enemy once more; they were moving. A great savage growl went up from the beasts as they picked up speed, closing the distance between themselves and the ponies.
Scootaloo glanced back at Duster. He stared ahead with a resolve she had never seen him wear before. His crossbow was poised, ready to fire. He didn’t resemble the child she had met on the first day of his EUP basic training in Ponyville. He had become hardened into a soldier. The rest of his squad, Locknload, LD, Jewel, Gunnysack and Rolling Thunder all stared ahead with the same hardness about them.
Scootaloo couldn’t help but wonder how much of that change was necessary to surviving the conflicts in which she had found herself. She turned back to see the enemy, closing inside of three-hundred yards. Anticipation made her mouth dry. The enemy charged in, speeding quickly across the ever-shrinking distance that lay between them. Their eyes were wild with vicious desire. Then they reached fifty yards.
"Open fire!" Scootaloo called out.
As one, every crossbow was loosed, and every unicorn let out a blast of flames. The front rows of the beasts fell under the arrows. The following rows continued advancing over their bodies.
"Reload!" a line officer shouted.
"Unicorn second rank, fire!" Scootaloo ordered.
The second wave of unicorn magic burned its way through the incoming group, hitting the dead ones that were at fifty yards. They were beginning to ignite, and a wave of heat hit Scootaloo in the face.
"Third rank, fire!"
Another blast finished the job, setting ablaze the timberwolves that had fallen. The flames licked high, slowing down the advance. By this time, the front ranks had reached the trench.
"Crossbows, loose!" Scootaloo shouted.
Arrows sped directly into the trench, reducing the numbers of the beasts that had made it that far.
"Unicorn first rank, fire!"
The flames engulfed the trench. The heat of it was almost unbearable at point blank range. As before, the timberwolves that were able charged over the dead. They scrambled up the small slope only to be met by a wall of spears at the top. Another blast of fire swept through the earthwork.
Two of the beasts came right at Scootaloo. She ducked to her left and then pushed one of them to the right. It clumsily fell down the hill, back into the conflagration below. The second one caught her on the side with a powerful swipe of its claws. The pegasus fell to the ground uninjured, armor protecting her. She rolled onto her back and stabbed her assailant through with her knife. It fell on her, pinning her down for a moment.
The last rank of unicorns fired and a great amount of smoke began to rise from the sweltering heat in the trench. Scootaloo wriggled free just as another timberwolf gained the top of their mound. She swung at it, but missed, clumsily slipping in the soft earth. It opened massive jaws to bite her head, but a bolt of magic struck it. The beast was thrown down into the flaming pit.
"Captain! Get back!" LD shouted.
Scootaloo got back onto her hooves and regained her position. The first fire was getting the timberwolves burning, and by the time they reached the second in the trench, they were unable to climb out.
"We’re done here," she said. “All units, fall back to position two!"
The ponies left the line, falling backward at a trot. She would have loved to gallop to get into a defensive position faster, but they didn’t have the strength to spare. Duster seemed uninjured, his bandaged ear aside. The rest of his squad had also survived the skirmish. The pegasus mare was impressed how perfectly her weary force had executed the defense.
"Thanks," Scootaloo said.
Locknload nodded at her. They all looked as if they were at the end of their strength.
"Just a couple of miles," Scootaloo said. "We’ve got this. Then we can rest!"
The ponies redoubled their efforts. Scootaloo wasn’t sure how long it would take the changelings to put out the timberwolves, but if they could keep slowing them down, it would buy a little time. What they really needed was reinforcements and resupply, though it seemed that no relief was likely to be coming. In spite of it all, a small reserve of peace was growing inside her.
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Moral needs to be fixed or they will hit breaking point.
Parley
Nuts
Because the Crusades were peacefull times, no violence what so ever
8756542
1) Yep, they could really use a breath of fresh air.
2) You got it.
3) Nuts! Yes, exactly!
4) Yep. Don't mind her, just a minor existential crisis.
In Scootaloo's moment of self-reflection and her epiphany that allowed her to develop as a character, she had her chance to finally get her Cutie Mark there. But it's not quite the climax of the story yet, so that was a no-go. Maybe after she beheads Ash Eater
Speaking of Ash Eater, I would say his whole 'Break the Cutie' speech has just backfired on him. Not that he probably expected it to work in the first place, since Ash Eater is just as much a survivor as Scootaloo is and wouldn't place himself in the position he did if he thought the ponies might actually kill him (or Scootaloo herself), but he certainly wouldn't have expected Scoots' actual response.
Still, maybe he'll finally appreciate why Scootaloo is best pony
8799584
He was trying to get under her feathers, but she, somewhat unintentionally, turned it around on him.
I like that he comes across as more than generic villain. I tried to make him as interesting as you can when you only have the other point of view. I’m also glad he is unanimously hated. He’s not really supposed to be likable.
A beheading? I’ll see what I can do...