24 - Reassignments, Part 2 of 3
Scootaloo shouted at her cadets, “This is your last day of sick leave.” Sometimes being the trainer was kind of fun. "So I don't want to hear any whining from any of you in the morning."
"Sir, yes sir!" her squad answered.
She walked up the line of them. Seven were still alive; six were in front of her. Doff was the only one from her squad to die from the fever, and Duster was still in the infirmary.
"Alright, as you were," she released them.
"Sir, permission to speak freely, sir?" Quickbeam asked as the others dispersed.
"Go ahead, Cadet," she replied.
"What if we're really tired?" he mocked.
"Are you kidding me?" she yelled back, only slightly annoyed in truth. "You never even got sick! I don't hear Gunnysack, Jewel, Moonsliver, or Duster complaining, and he stopped breathing; he practically died, twice!"
"That's true, sir. Doff only died once and he's not complaining either," Quickbeam replied sarcastically.
Now she was actually annoyed. "Okay Quickbeam," Scootaloo replied calmly, trying to exude an icy rage. She drew a dark satisfaction as the expressions on the other cadets’ faces let her know she had achieved it, "I think you will be tired tomorrow. Grab your gear and report to me in five. Move!"
She saw a look of despair in his eyes as he saluted and trotted quickly off to gear up. If he didn't learn anything else, she was determined to teach Quickbeam when to keep his mouth shut. Scootaloo walked out of their barracks tent, nearly running into a courier.
"Watch it there," she said in reaction to the close call.
"Apologies, sir," the white stallion said with a salute. He held out a written dispatch, ”General Mane Crusher orders you to report to him at once.”
Scootaloo was confused, but before she could ask for details, the stallion turned and trotted away. The written order wasn’t any more informative, simply telling her where to report. Why would the general be calling for her? The confusion was soon followed by terror. Had her secret mission to Cloudsdale been discovered? Thoughts of escape flooded Scootaloo's mind as she tried to work out what was going on. She barely noticed Quickbeam behind her, geared and ready to go. She entered the tent again.
"Locknload," she called.
"Sir?" he replied with a salute.
"I've been ordered to report to General Mane Crusher immediately. Gear up and see to Quickbeam's punishment. He'll take you as payload and do fifty laps of camp. Don’t let him shirk.”
"Yes sir!" Locknload answered with a grin.
She departed as he quickly began getting his gear ready. Scootaloo saw Quickbeam's disgruntled face in passing as she left, but he didn't say anything. She made her way to their battalion clerk and showed him the written order before complying with what was written on it.
As she walked toward town, she calmed herself as she considered the possibilities. If Mane Crusher viewed her as a threat, he probably wouldn't summon her. It would be more likely that he'd keep as much distance as possible. He wouldn't risk anypony else drawing a connection between himself and mysterious disappearances. In spite of this optimistic line of thinking, Scootaloo's hooves felt heavy before she ever reached the castle.
She hadn't felt any pain in her bandaged right fore hoof for several days. The medics were still having her wrap it tightly, but it felt nearly healed. Her mouth suddenly went dry as she entered the castle. Scootaloo couldn't even remember crossing town, but there she was. She climbed the stairs and made her way toward CIC. Standing outside the door, she could already hear loud chatter from officers, couriers, and scouts relaying information. Taking a deep breath and mustering her best confident face, she entered the room. The map of Equestria was the focus of everypony's attention, and it had several markers all over it that illustrated actions that were in progress. It looked as if there were a dozen or more. There hadn't been that many timberwolf attacks in a single day for a while.
One of the clerks had just received some information and was moving the little flags and figures about on the map. Notably, Hollow Shades was under attack. The changelings had apparently gone in without timberwolves and were making an air raid behind EUP lines. Foal Mountain was a natural barrier to keep the timberwolves out, which meant that it wasn't heavily defended.
Scootaloo watched as another pony moved some pieces from Ponyville toward the fighting in the northeast. It looked to her as if Mane Crusher had dispatched about two-thousand reinforcements that were en route to Hollow Shades. While they were still far away, there were also timberwolf attacks in Baltimare and Filly Delphia. That must be the reason that they hadn't sent reinforcements of their own. Scootaloo finally spotted General Mane Crusher. She got a lump in her throat as she slowly approached him.
"Sergeant Scootaloo, reporting as ordered," she heard herself say without even a quiver in her voice.
Not looking up, Mane Crusher's gruff voice answered, "At ease, Sergeant."
She stood there watching as he examined the map as it was updated. Not having any response from him, she also watched the unfolding situation. The timberwolves at Las Pegasus were just removed, and another thousand were added up north near the Crystal Mountains. There was apparently an attack at one of the river checkpoints. Reinforcements from Manehattan were almost there.
"What do you make of it, Sergeant?" Mane Crusher asked, still not turning to Scootaloo.
"Sir?" she asked, feeling somehow caught off guard.
"The situation on the map. I want your analysis."
"Yes, sir," she replied. She swallowed hard, the lump in her throat making this difficult. Then she began, "They've hit many places simultaneously. Our reinforcements should be enough to counter them."
"Yes, what else?"
She thought as she stared at the map. What was he getting at? "We may have some vulnerabilities in our defensive posture. Hollow Shades, for example. As it is a changeling force, I'm guessing they flew in."
"That is correct. What else?"
She really wasn't sure what to answer. What conclusion did he see that she did not? What was this map telling him? "I don't know, sir," she finally answered.
With a knowing sigh, he turned to her and said, "They're not trying to capture any of our positions in these attacks.”
Scootaloo looked again at the map. It was true that there were attacks all over, but it was also true that each one was certain to be repelled as everything currently stood.
"Assuming that they're not trying to actually gain any territory, what is their objective?" Scootaloo wondered aloud.
A small smile seemed to form under the general's mustache. "That is the question to ask," he said, looking at her as if he expected her to answer it.
Feeling very much on the spot, Scootaloo's mind worked hard to solve this puzzle. Why attack if not to win? What else could they want?
"Well," she began, "if they're not going to gain any ground, then they are after something else." Her thoughts were coalescing. "They didn't hit any of our crops, so our food supply won't be affected." She could see Mane Crusher nodding out of the corner of her eye as she stared at the map. "They do get to see our troop locations, but they should already be well aware of our relative strengths." A thought finally occurred to Scootaloo, and she blurted out, "It's our response time!"
She looked at Mane Crusher, but without any change of expression, he simply looked back at the map. "That is a likely possibility," he finally replied.
"Now that they know this, what should we do? Redeploy our forces?" she suggested.
"Only if a stronger position can be made. Naturally, we will increase the CAP over the mountains, and any other place that changelings might venture without their timberwolves." He stood silently a moment, apparently in thought and said, "We already have redeployed our forces."
Scootaloo nodded slowly, the map now revealing more to her, "To fend of these attacks." She could already feel her brain hurting.
"So, what have we now left undefended?" he asked, but not to her. His gaze was devouring the map.
She couldn’t see anything that looked particularly vulnerable. While Ponyville had sent reinforcements into the fighting, all reports around Ponyville were clear.
"If their plan failed, we may never know what they were after," Mane Crusher said, "But it is always prudent to examine their actions to cover any possibility. If we can determine what they're after, they become predictable. If they are predictable, we have an advantage to press."
"Would they have that advantage?" Scootaloo asked. Mane Crusher looked at her as though the question was either stupid or unsolicited, so she quickly added, "I mean that our deployments are obviously to protect the ground we've retaken. They can then move freely in places that we've abandoned."
His look became less severe, but he didn't answer as he turned back to the map. Rather abruptly, he turned away from it and said, "Walk with me, Sergeant."
"Yes, sir," she replied, falling in step behind him.
The two of them left CIC, eventually leaving the castle. Mane Crusher didn't bring any guards with him, which did set Scootaloo a little more at ease. However, she still had no idea why he had called her to see him, surely not to quiz her on troop deployments. The pair walked quietly through the streets of Ponyville. It was a little surreal being a soldier and walking with a general past all of the streets she used to buzz up and down on her scooter. They finally ended up at Java's.
"Do you drink coffee?" he asked her when they were inside.
There were plenty of seats, but a good number of patrons sat at the various tables. They enjoyed their drinks and conversations, happily ignoring everypony else in the room.
"Yes, please; extra sugar and cream," she replied. Scootaloo didn't care for coffee, but she found it bearable when sweetened.
"Get that table by the window," Mane Crusher said gruffly.
Scootaloo avoided looking at Java Chip. It was difficult enough to keep her own poker face up around the general, but she didn't want to involve anypony else without warning. She sat in a chair by the window at the small table. There was only room for two. Mane Crusher placed their order and sat down across from her.
"I hear you are unhappy in your current assignment," Mane Crusher said softly. The noise level in the room made it difficult to hear him.
"Not exactly unhappy, sir. I have good officers all around me, the very best," she replied, trying to be careful.
"That doesn't sound like what you said to Filefolder a week ago," he said bluntly.
Java Chip came up to the table and put down their drinks. "Here you go! Let me know if either of you need anything else," she spoke a little too cheerfully.
It was all Scootaloo could do to maintain her facade. Fortunately, the general was already making her uncomfortable, so any awkwardness that showed might have been attributed to that.
"It's just," she paused, searching for the right thing to say. "There's just not going to be good opportunity for advancement where I'm now stationed."
"I hear you are also looking to get back into the war."
"Yes, sir. I'm sure Ponyville hasn't seen their last siege, but I'd rather be taking the fight to the enemy."
"Are you looking to transfer, then?" he asked, a little too casually.
Scootaloo shrugged, "If the right opportunity were available. I'm still hoping to join the Wonderbolts and make colonel someday."
Mane Crusher paused, frozen in thought for a long moment before replying, ”I read the report on the incident at Sweet Apple Acres. You were fortunate to not get court marshaled."
Scootaloo took a deep breath at the sting of that memory, "Yes sir, I understand that. While it is no excuse, there are two things about that situation that I would like to say."
"Go ahead."
"The mayor was attempting to perform an illegal arrest, which is why I ordered my squad to intervene. Also, I asked them all about it afterward, and none of us ever touched Diamond Tiara. We didn't see how she ended up on the ground, but it wasn't us that put her there."
"I expect not," the general replied nonchalantly. "I saw on the medical report that she didn't sustain any injuries."
Scootaloo felt a bit dumbfounded at this. If they had known that she hadn't assaulted the mayor, why was she punished for it?
Mane Crusher continued as if he’d read her mind, ”Things do not always unfold the way that they should.” He took a sip of his steaming coffee. It looked black and bitter. "You have to understand that sometimes injustice must be suffered to protect other things."
"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked, her old anger heating up again.
His tone became stone cold, "We cannot allow a perception that the military is fighting against the civil authorities. That could cause panic, riots, or even civil war."
Scootaloo had never considered that possibility inasmuch as her own actions had been concerned.
"For that reason, it was necessary to make a good show of your discipline. Punishing wrong and rewarding right is an ideal; ideals are wonderful to strive for, but they are just that: ideal. Life, often, is not. I've been keeping an eye on your squad ever since your Everfree mission. You're a good soldier with plenty of potential, but you’re still a little green.”
He became quiet as he drank his coffee. Scootaloo took a sip from hers. It wasn't quite sweet enough, but she could manage it without making faces.
The general continued, "I am intrigued by your decision to oppose the mayor head to head."
Scootaloo's mind went racing on this, which birthed a moment of clarity; she realized that things were not what she had expected. He hadn't called her because he suspected she was aware of the coup. Mane Crusher was going to recruit her. That's why they were in a noisy public place where nopony else could hear them. That's why he was so interested in her outright act of rebellion. Maybe he thought that if she did it once, she'd do it again.
"Like I said, she was performing an illegal arrest," Scootaloo replied. "We are sworn to defend Equestria from all enemies, both foreign and domestic." She choose her words thoughtfully, wishing Sparklefly could advise her. "At the time, I felt that in acting against a citizen without just cause, the mayor made herself an enemy."
"How far are you willing to go?" he asked, a certain determination in his face.
Scootaloo thought it best to continue feigning ignorance, "I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir."
"To defend Equestria from all enemies," he said.
Not sure how to answer, she finally said, "As far as I'm able."
They sat quietly for several minutes as they drank their coffee. Apple Bloom walked past outside; Scootaloo could see her through the window. It looked like she was heading towards the hospital. It made her feel both better and worse that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were paying such close attention to Cloud Blazer while he recovered. She herself hadn’t spoken to him since the night of the election.
Scootaloo was thankful for the noise in Java’s, as the lack of spoken words would have made an awkward silence anywhere else. She knew that there was nothing more she could say or do to get herself invited to the coup without drawing suspicion. He was extremely intelligent and would undoubtedly see through any effort she made. It was immensely frustrating to feel so helpless.
"Our situation is dire," Mane Crusher said. "Orders keep coming down to hold our positions and not fight the enemy beyond defending the farmland we've gained."
Scootaloo wasn't sure whether that was the correct strategy, but she was certain that Mane Crusher was convinced that it wasn't. "We have no attack force?"
The general shook his head, "Not since we retook the river down to Foal Mountain."
Scootaloo sighed, not sure what to say.
"I will do whatever I have to do to protect Equestria and get us out fighting the enemy until they are defeated," Mane Crusher said sternly.
"As would I," she replied, looking directly at him with a piercing gaze.
He stared into her eyes for a moment, which she filled with every last ounce of determination that she could muster.
"I believe you will," he said. "Will you trust me?"
"Of course," she said, a little more light-hearted than she'd intended.
"Wait until I finish," he replied gruffly. "I have a plan that will get us all back into the field. We can take the fight to the enemy and pursue them until there is no safe haven for them in all Equestria. This is not about timberwolves anymore. The changelings are cunning, devious. Sitting where we are is going to get us all killed; I'm so convinced of this that I’d bet my life on it. Are you willing to trust and follow me to whatever end to ensure that this doesn't happen?"
Scootaloo put a serious look on her face. "You mean follow you alone," she replied in more of a statement than a question. Her heart began pounding, "Yes; I know you can lead us to victory."
“Wherever I lead?”
She swallowed hard, “Wherever you lead.”
He took a drink, finishing his coffee. Standing he said, "Very well then. Report to CIC at oh-six-hundred hours tomorrow. I’ll put through the appropriate orders tonight. You will be my new personal aide."
"Thank you, sir," she said, a little unsure if this had actually gone the way she'd thought it had.
While he had demonstrated a certain concern for the way Shining Armor was running the war, there was still no solid evidence of disloyalty or organization of a coup.
"I need somepony I can trust at my side, and I think that is you."
Without another word, General Mane Crusher left the coffee shop, and Scootaloo sat by herself with her drink. It felt like things were going well. She was now going to be close enough to him to find out what was going on. Even though he hadn't said anything outright, she was convinced that Swiftlight's message was true. Even so, without any tangible proof, she couldn't warn Shining Armor.
Scootaloo suddenly felt cold inside. The thought occurred to her that every move she made from that point was likely going to be watched closely. It would be likely that she would be unable share any of the knowledge she might gain without getting herself killed. That being the case, even if she were getting close to the conspiracy, then what?
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quick thinking scoots... and screw you mane crusher, youre a bad stallion
Ah, Scoots wasn't really thinking too hard about her words when she said them to Filefolder, and it's only now that she's realising how they could have been construed. Ha, not quite that clever a filly, not quite yet.
Although if the changelings didn't use the timberwolves to attack Hollow Shades, even if they had a natural defense against timberwolves, it implies they're running out of timberwolves and have to be more cautious about using them, such as not throwing them against a town that would destroy a lot of them.
8237344
It was more that the mountains were in the way, so several places would have to be taken to get there. I may not have been clear on that point.
Yeah, Scoots is smart, but not that deviously smart. She is trying though.
He Wants to be hit.
But as a person with Dexter Grif as my profile pick I must applaud that statement
Quickbeam is Grif
From now on Geoff Ramsey's voice will be how I hear all of Beam's lines
Again not medics,
This is as tense as that car even in spiderman homecoming
And he wouldn't want that
Lot of stuff to say this chapter
8741345
1) I liked to write a smart aleck into this. And I’m glad you appreciate his wit.
2) I love Grif! No joke, he is my favorite red. I think...
3) yeah... medics are not doctors. Thanks! I’ll make sure to fix that later.
4) nailed it!
5) why no, he wouldn’t want that perception, would he.