The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

27 - Aftermath, Part 1 of 5

Sparklefly practically flew to the castle door in her haste. Her heart raced as sounds of heavy fighting outside had put the entire platoon on alert. Brax was behind her; on their hooves was Digger's squad. As they came down the stairs to the main entrance, a loud pounding against the door could be heard, accompanied by shouting and the clashing of metal on metal. LD’s squad was ready for action, though LD was still in CIC tending the wounded.

"They'll beat the door down!" Digger cried out. "Brace the gate!"

Sparklefly appreciated his fast action. His and LD’s squads pressed hard against the entrance, but the pounding wasn't nearly so strong as to drive the doors in. It took her only moments to realize that they had misunderstood the situation.

"Listen.”

The sounds outside were more like fighting near the castle.

"What's going on?" Digger asked.

Confused, Sparklefly replied, ”I’m not sure.”

"Are they fighting among themselves?" Brax asked. "Get to a window!"

Sparklefly flew up to one of the windows and looked out cautiously. She didn't really know what she had expected to see, but the truth of the matter caught her completely off guard. She found herself rubbing her eye patch and stopped. Her mind was trying to understand what could possibly have led to what was unfolding before her, but it just didn't make sense.

"Report," Brax said calmly.

Returning to the ground, Sparklefly said, "Major, the zebras have attacked the rebel position outside.”

Everypony looked as flabbergasted as Sparklefly felt.

"Heavy fighting is taking place even now. I can't even estimate what casualties are being suffered."

"Zebras," Brax said vacantly.

"So, this is good, right?" Digger asked. "The zebras are taking out the rebels?”

"Not necessarily," Sparklefly answered grimly.

"The zebras may not know anything about the coup," Brax said. "They may just be taking Ponyville."

"More than that; we don't have any way to warn anypony. If Scootaloo gets Shining Armor away and they come here," she paused.

"Yes," Brax agreed. "But that isn't within our control. All we can do is make this place as secure as possible in case the prince does make it this far."

It was a disturbing thought. The prince might survive the coup only to be murdered by a zebra uprising. Somehow this didn't quite add up, but Sparklefly couldn't see any other likely explanation. If this were a happenstance uprising by the zebras, they certainly picked the right day for it. Either they knew that Ponyville would be stripped of its defenses, or they had been waiting for the opportunity.

"Lieutenant," Major Brax interrupted Sparklefly's thoughts.

"Sir?"

"Double check all entrances and windows. See to it that this place is locked down," Brax ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

Digger was left with the two squads to cover the entrance. That would be the obvious point of entry. When Sparklefly found Clyde, he had left his unicorns at the tower staircase to safeguard it. The rest of his squad was already meticulously checking every room and window in the entire castle to ensure that there were no weak spots. Several points had already been barricaded. Sparklefly had the unicorns put up additional magic shields to cover them. If it was to be zebras, they'd have to settle for the ground entrances, but this was no time to take chances. Rubbing at her eye patch, Sparklefly snorted a laugh to herself as she realized that this was the second time she'd been trapped in the castle preparing for a siege. She pushed the thought aside, as there was no time to muse on such things.

"Now that the entrances are secure, I want you to keep your squad at the top entrance. See if you can get the unicorn shields extended farther out so we can put a lookout on top of the tower," Sparklefly said to Clyde. "We'll need to have that position when the prince and Scootaloo arrive. That is your objective."

"Yes, ma'am!" Clyde saluted her.

She'd need another squad to patrol the corridors. She expected Locknload's to be done helping with the wounded. In any case, Lightning Dasher's squad would be able to handle that with the help of LD and the medic they'd found. Sparklefly caught herself smiling as the thought of him crossed her mind. She swallowed the feeling; she needed to remain focused. Still, it was good to know that her medic friend was safe.

As she walked back toward CIC, where they had taken the wounded, Sparklefly found herself alone in the corridor for a moment. An extreme sense of hopelessness came upon her rather suddenly, causing her to sink to the floor as if she'd just been punched in the stomach; tears began streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.

She let it go for a minute or so before attempting to contain herself again. They were all still alive; Duster was alive, and they were going to save the prince. They’d made it this far. Truly, she felt that the success of their operation had been nothing short of miraculous considering how light their casualties were. She straightened herself up and continued walking as the zebras weighed heavily on her mind. Why would they choose this moment to attack? What was their objective?

Comments

[OmalleyCaboose5]

I hope they don't hurt the zebras

[Jatheus]

8741787
I'd be more worried about the zebras hurting them.

[TheLocalCannon]

not attack, defend. I read the chapter before this, I'm no idiot

[Jatheus]

8813752
Hah! But she didn't know that.