The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

38 - Countermeasures, Part 8 of 11

Duster and his squad made the flight from Ponyville to Canterlot without incident. Roving bands of timberwolves could be seen moving this way and that far below them. They weren’t like what Duster had become accustomed to seeing. They were much smaller, numbering in the hundreds. Several of these were headed toward Ponyville, but from the air, it was clear that their defenses would be able to repel these attacks without too much trouble.

The great capitol city came into view, still a blackened ruin of its former glory. They had barely come within sight of it before being intercepted by a CAP. After showing their orders, they were escorted to a landing platform where they were scanned by unicorn magic and smeared with the green sludge that the zebras made for the same purpose. Guards were on every corner of the city.

When he’d been just a colt, Duster had once been here on a business trip with his dad. It hardly seemed like the same city that he remembered. The magnificent grandeur was crumbling beneath an iron fist of tactical considerations. Truly, this seemed prudent, but it also made him sad that it had come to this. They had been instructed to not fly over the city, as this was strictly forbidden. As they drew closer to the castle, they were scanned at three different checkpoints despite the magical paste that they wore.

Duster’s tired legs pushed him up the steps and into the great hall of Celestia’s castle, now home to Prince Shining Armor and his daughter, Flurry Heart. A burly dark brown stallion guard escorted them into a small waiting room.

"You will remain here," his deep voice proclaimed. "You are not allowed to roam the halls without an escort."

"Understood," Locknload replied.

"I will take your orders directly to the prince," he said.

The guard and sergeant exchanged salutes before the stallion marched away with the written orders Duster had delivered to him, locking them into the room as he went.

"At least it’s plush," Gunnysack said as he sat down on a cushioned sofa.

A glance about the room revealed two small couches that faced each other with a low table between them. All of the furniture was ornate, as one would expect.

"Way to look on the bright side," Jewel replied sarcastically.

"And why not?" the crystal pony asked, closing his eyes as he reclined across the seat. "We’re out of harms way for the first time in... I don’t even know how long."

"Out of harm’s way...” Duster said vacantly.

Everything seemed to draw his thoughts back to the still fresh loss of his sister and Beigh. Had it been a physical wound, it would have been bleeding freely.

"I know it doesn’t help much," LD began, "but I’m sorry about Sparklefly."

Duster turned to see the scarred face staring back at him. It looked as if there might be tears in his eyes, but if there were, none spilled out.

"She really was the best of us," he added with what passed for a smile.

Duster was far too overcome with grief to speak on the subject and simply nodded. Moments later, hooves were heard marching up the hallway again, and the guard that had left them was back.

"Follow me," he ordered.

The six of them fell in line, walking back up the hallway toward the throne room. Evidence of repair could be seen everywhere. From windows that had been replaced to new stonework that didn’t quite match the old, the hoof-prints of the work ponies were obvious. Undoubtedly they would refine such reconstructions eventually.

The large arched golden door that led to the throne room swung open, and Duster followed their escort up the long red carpet. The stained glass for which the throne room was famous had not been replaced yet, and a gentle breeze drifted through the cavernous room. At the other end, atop the throne of all Equestria sat Prince Shining Armor. He wore a scowl on his face as a group of advisors at the foot of the steps prattled on. They were difficult to hear at a distance, but upon closing the gap, Duster could discern that they were talking about the war.

Prince Shining Armor looked up at the approaching group.

"Your Majesty," their escort said with a bow, "Private Duster and his escort to see you with urgent news from your Taskforce."

The others continued speaking as the squad bowed, and the prince nodded at them. Duster stepped forward, suddenly feeling more trepidation than anything else. Shining Armor was an imposing figure as he sat confidently upon the throne. The nervous pegasus wasn’t sure whether he should speak when the monarch held up a hoof, silencing his councilors.

"I have heard disturbing reports of the Assault Corps being wiped out," the prince said gravely.

“The rumors are not accurate, your majesty," Duster began, his heart pounding harder. "We suffered a defeat near Apple Loosa. I don’t know the numbers, but we lost at least half of our force, probably more.”

Gasps from everypony in the room gave the pegasus pause for a moment while he waited for them to quiet down.

"And what of the members of my Taskforce?" Shining Armor asked.

"Captain Scootaloo has taken command. Pacer has a fractured force somewhere in the Everfree Forest. We’ve been unable to reconnect with him. Major Flittergear and Commander Skyflame also live. General Brax and many of the commanders are among the dead.

"And the traitor, Mane Crusher?"

"Dead."

A light of red magic flashed through Shining Armors eyes. If Duster didn’t know better, he’d have thought the prince looked pleased.

"Charging Lance, Masher, and Sparklefly?"

Duster felt his blood run cold. He didn’t reply.

Prince Shining Armor regarded the rest of the squad, "I remember you. LD, right? You proved loyal to me before. Tell me, what happened to them?"

"All killed," LD replied. "Sparklefly was his sister."

"I see," the prince said, a knowing look on his face.

Duster swallowed hard, "Captain Scootaloo," he choked down his feelings, "she needs water, food, and reinforcements. She also needs Ponyville to be evacuated. The entire timberwolf horde we were fighting is heading north; there still must be six-hundred thousand of them or more. They could arrive in Ponyville by tonight."

Prince Shining Armor sighed as his councilors began shouting above each other to be heard.

"We must throw everything we have at them at once!" one said.

"Retreat is the only option!" yelled another.

"We just don’t have the resources!"

"Forget resources! It’s about numbers!"

"A starving and exhausted force of less than forty-thousand cannot hold them back!"

Their voices escalated into an unintelligible cacophony for what some minutes. Shining Armor seemed to be lost in thought, as if he were paying them no mind whatsoever. He finally stood, bringing an end to the bickering.

"Time is against us, as it has been since the beginning," the prince said thoughtfully. "I’m afraid you are all correct. We can’t stop them, and we can’t spare the resources to rescue the Assault Corps, let alone Ponyville. So, we save what we can." Shining Armor’s blue eyes flashed red again as he continued, "We’ll order the Assault Corps to retreat, taking whatever resources from Ponyville are to be found, and we’ll abandon the town."

"What about the civilians?" one of the councilors seemed appalled.

"They will either keep up with the soldiers, or they are on their own," came an icy reply.

Another councilor objected, “They’ll all get slaughtered trying to march to another town!”

Duster did not like this situation at all. He couldn’t just leave everypony to die. He heard himself speak before he thought, "There just has to be another way."

"Oh?" the prince glared at him. "Tell us, then."

The silence that followed was deafening. No thoughts would coalesce in Duster’s mind, so he finally shut his mouth and stood there, not sure what to say next.

"As I suspected," Shining Armor said. "Dream all you want, but this is war. Right now, we’re losing, and the only thing we can do is mitigate the damage we take until we can regroup and strike back. It’s ugly, but that’s the way it is. Now, unless you can come up with another option, return to duty and don’t presume to speak out of turn in my presence again."

Duster decided that a simple salute would be sufficient after that, so he stood to attention and made it. A slight bow of the prince’s head signaled that he was finished. As Duster turned and followed their escort, the councilors went right back to shouting over one another to be heard. The wind ticked Duster’s face as they walked out, but he felt an emptiness inside.

Author's Note:

The supreme ruler of Equestria with a magical amulet that corrupts the user? What could possibly go wrong?

Comments

[Blaster M]

And Team Blazer is going to fly right into this, aren't they?

[Jatheus]

8644685
It wouldn’t be much of a climax if they didn’t. 🍪

[OmalleyCaboose5]

"They will either keep up with the soldiers, or they are on their own," came an icy reply.

That doesn't sound right.

[Jatheus]

8757157
No it does not... could it be... the Alicorn Amulet?

[Emperor]

Huh. Where the heck has Flurry Heart been during all this time, anyways? Up in the Crystal Empire? I would have thought she'd come visit her father at least once and give him a good scoldin' for wearing the Alicorn Amulet. Hah, now that would make a funny scene, but we're deep into this fic that a comic relief moment like that would be out of place unfortunately.

Still, with Shining Armor's orders, Scootaloo will live another day. It looks like she'll get her Cutie Mark at some other epic confrontation!

[Jatheus]

8799616
Yes, flurry heart is in the Crystal Empire for her own safety.

You are assuming that Scootaloo will follow an order to abandon civilians...