The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

26 - Coup d'état, Part 4 of 9

Duster followed his platoon through the edge of the forest. His heart pounded so violently in his chest that he thought it was going to explode. He couldn't understand how his sister was so cooly leading them into the uncertainty ahead. The rest of his squad seemed fairly calm also, perhaps with the exception of Jewel. She was definitely nervous.

They had been moving toward town but then turned east, keeping Ponyville on their left. Sissy had said that it was not a drill, but Duster hoped that it really was. Either way, there wasn't much he could do about it. His options were only to follow orders or desert his squad. The moment that thought had crossed his mind, it made him angry. He would never let Sissy show him up like that. He could be every bit as tough as she was.

Following the tree line forced them to backtrack south to get to the water. Duster decided that this was to avoid walking out in the open. After about fifteen minutes or so, they arrived at the river. A silent signal from Sissy brought all of them to approach in as tight a group as they were able. The darkness was thick, and the stallion could barely make out the others. The stream babbled and gurgled quietly nearby.

"Listen up, town is being patrolled too heavily for us to get in unnoticed,” Sissy began. "Our best option is the river. Unicorns will put an underwater breathing spell on the entire platoon, then we'll walk on the bottom until we get into town."

Duster was made nervous by this. He’d never been much of a swimmer, and drowning was not on his list of things to do. The unicorns began putting the breathing spells on everypony. When it was his turn, his body tingled and he felt light-headed for a moment.

Sissy continued, "Once we're in, we won't be able to talk. Sergeants, pay attention to your squads and make sure they keep up. When we get to the other end, we'll have to cross part of town, so stay close and be ready for action the moment we get out of the water."

"Don't you worry," Locknload whispered to Duster, almost glibly. "That armor you're wearing will make you sink straight to the bottom."

That didn't make Duster feel any better. Everypony began putting on their goggles, and LD's squad led the platoon into the river. The water was cool on the warm evening. The others walked straight in, disappearing under the flowing waters. The only thing that gave away their presence at the bottom were bubbles that came up from their expelled breaths. Duster continued forward, stepping carefully to not slip in the mud as he got deeper. He instinctively held his breath as the water covered his head. The goggles were water-tight, which enabled him to see the squad turning left, up-river and toward town.

His lungs burned before long, and Duster realized that he had not resumed breathing. He exhaled, sending bubbles up to the surface, and nearly panicked before inhaling involuntarily. Two quick breaths in and out, and Duster realized that it was just like breathing normally. This calmed him, and he tried to quicken his pace, as his squad was leaving him behind. The water, not to mention the current, made walking a rather arduous task. For the first time, Duster was actually glad for all of the weight training that they'd been doing.

...

Scootaloo struggled with the flight. The general was a bit heavier than Sweetie Belle, so she had to work harder to stay airborne. Not only that, but she was more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. Her goggles had fogged from sweat twice already, and she'd had to remove them. She could already see Cloudsdale. With lights off, it hung like a great black mountain against the twinkling stars. They hadn't run into any patrols yet, which was not unexpected. The risk of capture by changelings was too high at night to warrant venturing too far from the perimeter. Nopony in the formation spoke so much as a single word as they approached the great floating city.

Scootaloo followed the rest of the rebels to the landing area outside the shield on the south side. As soon as she was free of the general, the hard part would begin. All she had to do was sneak away, avoid any patrols, find Shining Armor, and get him out of the city. As she thought through this, she couldn’t shake the sense that it seemed like suicide.

"Halt, who goes there?" one of the sentries guarding the city asked.

There were only two of them.

"General Mane Crusher, reporting as ordered," Mane Crusher replied.

"Yes, sir. We need to scan you, sir."

"Go ahead," the general replied calmly.

The unicorn guard's magic lit up the general, but no transformation occurred. The guards stepped aside now that his identity was confirmed, and the entire rebel force began to move forward.

"Halt!" the other guard said.

"What now?" Mane Crusher asked.

"We can't let anypony in that hasn't been scanned," he objected.

"Take him,” Mane Crusher ordered.

In a flash, several of the rebels attacked the guard, catching him unprepared. He was rendered unconscious without much of a struggle. The other stood like a statue, making neither move nor sound. Silence returned to the night within moments. Scootaloo’s heart pounded in anticipation, but no alarm had been raised. Scootaloo watched for an opportunity to escape, but there were too many eyes on her. She wondered whether that struggle, however brief, may have been her best opportunity.

Without another word, the remaining guard turned and used his magic to open the shield for them.

"Well done," Mane Crusher said. “Let’s go.”

Scootaloo followed the general and the rest of his force into the city, unsure if she would get a chance to save the prince. She wasn’t even sure if she’d been able to break away what she could have accomplished; the shield had still been up. Now she was watched closely again. She couldn’t help thinking that the situation was bad, very bad.

Comments

[Emperor]

Somehow I expect Mane Crusher ordering his rebels to attack the guard after the guard saying they needed to be scanned won't end well. After all, there may very well have been changelings lurking among his rebels, fomenting unrest!

[Jatheus]

8237454
The schemes are endless when changelings can steal your face!

[OmalleyCaboose5]

"Listen up, town is being patrolled too heavily for us to get in unnoticed,” Sissy began. "Our best option is the river. Unicorns will put an underwater breathing spell on the entire platoon, then we'll walk on the bottom until we get into town."

Apparently I am wrong very much so

[Jatheus]

8741660
Haha. Single file!

[OmalleyCaboose5]

What if their was a changeling sleeper agent that thought itself pony and truly wanted to help that is nearly killed by our hero's but eventually the befriend and becomes part of the team.

[Jatheus]

8741667
That... oh man... I wish I’d thought of that.

That’s clever.