Prologue

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria...

The sun rose slowly over the vast expanse that the ponies called home. In a small town far to the south, a pegasus stretched in his bed as he awakened. As Gallant Bulwark’s eyes opened, he could see the light growing on the horizon in shades of gold and red, the beauty of it a testament to Princess Celestia’s handiwork. His eyes then fell to the mare that lay next to him. Twinklestar still slept soundly, as was her nature. The stallion allowed himself a moment just to look at her in total contentment.

As if beckoning him to work, a twinge of pain worked its way up his left hind leg. The stallion crept from the bed as gently as possible and donned his leg brace. The accident that had ended his career as a city guard in Canterlot had left that lasting impairment. The brace, which was little more than a hinged splint, made him able to walk on it, though it did nothing to alleviate the frequent pain.

When morning rituals were completed, the floor creaked under Gallant Bulwark as he left the bedroom and went down the stairs. The house was completely quiet, but for his clumsy ambling. He headed into the kitchen, resigned to the eventual need to awaken his oldest daughter. She had inherited her mother’s love of sleep.

“Good morning.”

Gallant Bulwark reared back in fright before recognizing that he wouldn’t have to wake Sparklefly; she was sitting at the kitchen table with a book.

She smiled, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s a small matter,” he shook off the feeling. “I didn’t hear you moving about.”

The small firefly lantern by which she’d been reading was indistinguishable against the morning light. She set the book down.

“I woke up early,” she shrugged. “I didn’t want to be late again, so I came down and started reading about an hour ago.”

“And what is it this time? More history of Equestria?”

His daughter shrugged as she pushed the book toward him.

“The Forgotten,” Gallant Bulwark read from the cover.

“It’s about a mare who is so sad about her special somepony breaking up with her that she goes into a complete despair. She is found that night by some magical butterflies that guide her to an enchanted tree that feeds on sadness and takes the memories away.”

“So, what happens to her?” he asked as he began the ritual of brewing his morning coffee.

“Well, she was so sad, that they accidentally took away all of her memories.”

“Huh, careful what you wish for...”

“Oh, that’s just the beginning,” Sparklefly added, “That happens in the first chapter. The book is more about what she does after that.”

Gallant Bulwark felt himself smile, “Maybe I’ll try that one when you finish.”

Sparklefly frowned, “I don’t think there’s going to be any action.”

“It’s a small matter if not. I read more than just war stories.”

His daughter gave him a look of disbelief that made the stallion chuckle. He returned his attention to the coffee and poured some for himself when it was ready. His custom was to take it black. There was a small amount left over after he’d filled his mug, which he put into a mug and presented to his daughter. They sat in silence for a moment before he began to drink. Sparklefly’s face contorted when she tried the bitter brew.

“Still don’t like it?” her father asked.

The daughter shrugged, “I guess not.”

“You have to get used to it. It’s an acquired taste.”

Her head tilted to one side in thought as she asked, “But if it’s an acquired taste, who would have bothered to acquire it in the first place?”

He chuckled at the question, “That is one of life’s great mysteries.”

She frowned at the answer, but didn’t press the point. After a light breakfast of honeyed oats and dried apple slices, the pair left the house and crossed the small town. They were the first pegasus family to move to Apple Loosa since it had been founded. The primary crop was apples that grew in the vast orchard. In a sense, this gave them job security in weather control. When more or less rain is needed, pegasi are the best ponies for the job.

“Aren’t we going to bring some rain today?” Sparklefly asked.

“Yes,” the stallion replied. “I want to show you something first.”

They continued walking until they were deep in the middle of the orchard. Apple trees surrounded them as far as the eye could see. Green grass grew everywhere underneath, except for a wide stampede path that ran through the middle of the apple tree forest. Buffalo had roamed the southern plains long before the ponies founded their town, and the stampede path was a compromise to which both sides had agreed.

“I know you understand about moving clouds,” Gallant Bulwark began, “but there’s more to it than just that.”

“It’s about the why,” Sparklefly added the next line.

Her father smiled, “Okay, so you’ve heard this speech before.”

“A few times,” she grinned back before she continued reciting, “We are stewards of the land. It has been here before us and will be here when we are gone. We should always try to nurture and care for it, for in so doing we take care of ourselves and each other. As such, it is important to be at the right place at the right time. Otherwise the trees will get too much water or not enough. If the trees die, ponies go hungry.”

He smiled again and teased, “You don’t have to be so smug about it.”

“Who, me?”

He snorted a laugh, “Come on.”

The pair stretched their wings and shot up into the sky. The pain in Gallant Bulwark’s leg always seemed much less when he was in the air. The two of them got to work gathering smaller clouds and making larger ones out of them. From their vantage point above, they could see the other workers down below, the wingless earth ponies, working their jobs to tend the orchard. By midday, Gallant Bulwark and his daughter had covered half of the orchard with the vaporous blanket.

Clouds may be thought to be lightweight due to their natural ability to float on the air, but this is a common misconception. They actually can easily have several tons of water in each one. They are, however, not incredibly dense, and buoyancy allows them to maintain their position in the sky. Due to that fact, pushing them around can be exhausting work.

"That’s good," Gallant Bulwark said as Sparklefly brought another small cloud into the group.

"Okay," his daughter replied, breathing heavily.

She wiped sweat from her brow.

"Now we make it rain," he said with a smile.

The pair flapped their wings and gained the altitude needed to come on top of their day’s work. They then began stomping on it from one end to the other. Packing the cloud even tighter increased the density. Before long, drops of water began to fall out of it. Rain poured from the bottom of their cloud to water the trees below. The pair stopped, their work now completed. Gallant Bulwark sat down on the cloud for a moment. He loved the smell of the rain. His daughter flung herself down beside him.

”Are you already worn out?"

"No, sir," she panted.

The older stallion chuckled to himself.

"It’s a small thing if you are, but you know, this is easy work. It’s good work," he looked out to the horizon.

Memories of his former life, some twenty years before, came to mind. He had been a royal guard in the Equestrian capital city of Canterlot. He never served in the palace itself, but the training that his company had received was equally strenuous. As if responding to the memory, his braced leg began aching. He rubbed the pain out of it. While his injury hadn’t been life-threatening, it was enough to get him discharged from his duties. He had returned home to Cloudsdale to settle down. He later married and the family moved to Apple Loosa shortly after it was founded to help the earth ponies with the weather.

Something caught his eye. It was almost more of a feeling than anything else. The hair on the back of Gallant Bulwark’s neck stood up. He rose and strained his eyes to see. His daughter noticed his change in disposition, also standing to look.

"What is that?" she asked about the movement they saw on the horizon.

"Timberwolves," he replied.

While Gallant Bulwark had seen them before, he had little experience with the beasts. They had never been sighted in Apple Loosa.

"Come on," he said.

The pair took flight, zipping back into town. The wind rushed in the stallion’s ears as he considered their options. If his eyes were correct, there had to have been dozens of the beasts coming from the north. Glancing over his shoulder confirmed it. The large pack of timberwolves were heading for town. He turned to his daughter.

"Go to the sheriff and tell him that we need to evacuate the orchard," he said. “He needs to raise the alarm.”

"Yes, sir," she said, her voice wavering.

"It’s okay to be scared," he said as gently as his adrenaline would allow. "But you do not have permission to panic."

“Yes, sir...”

"I mean it. Panic gets you killed. Focus, analyze the problem, work through it."

His daughter nodded.

"Go to the house as soon as you’re done, that’s where I’ll be."

The pair separated, and Gallant Bulwark was home within moments. He entered the house and darted up the stairs. His wife began shouting after him.

“I know you are not stomping through this house, Gallant Bulwark!"

He ignored the comment and continued into the bedroom. Opening the chest at the end of the bed, he found what he needed. The armor he had worn years before lay waiting, as did the spear he had been issued. The stallion quickly began donning the musty-smelling equipment. Rust had begun to take its toll, but there was still plenty of strength in the metal. The town bell began ringing.

"Wha... what’s going on?" his wife stood behind him; her tone had softened with fear.

"Gather up the children. We’ve got dozens of timberwolves heading straight for town."

He pulled the straps, tightening his armor into place. It didn’t fit nearly so well as it once had. He was in need of losing some weight. He turned, seeing his wife still standing there. This caused a fair amount of anger, but he knew it wouldn’t help. He swallowed it and turned his attention to his wife. Looking directly into her blue eyes, he tried to convey the severity of the situation.

"They might not hit town, but if they do, you and the kids will be safe in the house.”

"You’re going to fight them," Twinklestar said; it wasn’t a question.

“I might be able to lead them away from the orchard."

Tears welled up in her eyes. He shushed her.

"Hey, we don’t have time for that now," he pulled her close in an embrace. "You know I love you. I need to know you’re safe."

Thundering hoof steps worked their way up the stairs. It was Sparklefly.

"Dad, I told them it was timberwolves. The sheriff and his deputy are headed to the orchard to get everypony out.”

"Thank you," the stallion said. He let go of his wife and turned to face his oldest daughter. "I have to protect the town." She returned his gaze, but said nothing. "I need you to do my job here. You are a grown mare now. You help your mother look after the family until I get back."

“Yes, sir,” Sparklefly replied.

"I’ll rejoin you as soon as everypony is safe. Now go find your brothers and sisters and get them inside.”

Sparklefly nodded and darted away. The stallion looked again at his wife. They didn’t have to share any words to know what the other was thinking. Long years of marriage had caused a blending of spirit. She wanted him to not go, but he had to. Sounds of near panic in the streets broke their connection. Gallant Bulwark kissed her, and then returned to his armor chest. He fastened on the grieves that guarded his hooves and finally his helmet. Taking up his spear last, he turned to exit the room. Twinklestar had gone.

The stallion left his house and found that a bit of chaos had erupted in town. A train whistle blasted in the distance. Gallant Bulwark took flight and shot like an arrow across Apple Loosa and into the orchard. The downpour that he had started began to soak him through as he flew deeper. Near the other end of the orchard, he landed and assessed the situation. Workers were fleeing toward town, and he could hear howling as the beasts approached. Getting his spear ready, the stallion ducked behind a tree and waited.

Fat drops of rain fell in heavy sheets. Peering around his concealment, he could see the magical wooden beasts were snarling as they came. He gripped his spear tightly as they closed on his position, apparently unaware that he waited for them. Moments became like years as he anticipated their arrival. Adrenaline coursed through Gallant Bulwark’s veins as he sat like a coiled cobra, ready to strike. He ignored the rain that ran down his face, tickling his nose.

The savage beasts would have run past him, but like lightning, the stallion shot out, his spear bursting through one of the creatures and felling it where it stood. He sprang back as the rest of the pack lunged hungrily at him. Side-stepping around a tree, he struck another of the beasts with the butt of his spear, spinning it around just in time to impale another. Growling met him as their numbers closed around him.

Gallant Bulwark spun, the lethal tip of his spear singing through the air, and cutting another timberwolf like a knife through warm butter. They pressed even tighter, having him surrounded on three sides. Backing away, he struck blow after blow, fending off teeth and claws that relentlessly pursued him. His initial count had been wrong. Their numbers continued increasing. Now there had to be no fewer than fifty that pressed the attack.

He had already killed three and maimed several others, but they grew thick and pushed him farther back toward town. His hind left leg ached from use, the pain pulsing with the beating of his heart. He slashed and stabbed at the timberwolves, but by the time Gallant Bulwark realized he was in trouble, they had completely surrounded him. Claws raked against his armored back, scraping metal.

Shifting his weight, the stallion slapped away the timberwolf with the back of his spear before thrusting into a lunging beast that knocked him off balance. Sharp pain shot up his braced leg as it gave way and he fell to the soggy earth. Regaining his hooves, there were teeth and wicked eyes all around. The spear was lost, so Gallant Bulwark smashed the nearest timberwolf with his fore-hooves. He let kicks fly, but it was a losing battle, and the stallion knew it.

He was pushed aside as a beast leapt onto his back. It bit at him as Gallant Bulwark hurled himself into a tree, smashing the timberwolf against the bark. Another one was in his face, jaws about to clamp down into an unprotected throat. The stallion rammed his head down, smashing the ravaging mouth with his helmet and giving himself a bloody nose in the process. With another half spin, he managed to clamor up the tree just far enough to extend his wings and take flight.

Jaws snapped in the air in a vain attempt to get at his hooves as Gallant Bulwark soared above the orchard. From his new vantage point, he could see many more ferocious timberwolves running through the orchard. There had to be hundreds of them. weaponless, he turned and flew back toward town. Sweat and rain stung his eyes, and his leg ached.

The stallion was surprised to discover that the citizens were still not all inside. They seemed to be heading for the train that had arrived. Nearer the orchard, pony soldiers had set up a defensive perimeter and were already engaging the first small packs of timberwolves that had reached the edge of town. He thought it strange that soldiers would have arrived so quickly. The nearest would have been hours away by train. The pegasus spit out the taste of blood and changed course to intercept the fight.

Spears skewered the beasts, and claws raked against armor. The ponies were outnumbered, but they were trained warriors. Several were already wounded when Gallant Bulwark arrived. His rusty armor was quite a contrast to the golden polished gear that the soldiers wore. Timberwolves got around the flank and hit the force from two sides.

Gallant Bulwark grabbed up a spear from the ground and sped into the middle of the fray. He impaled one of the beasts and then side-stepped a massive clawed paw that swiped at his head. He deflected another with the butt end of his spear before coming around striking another. He threw his hind legs in a kick that knocked over another, which sent a stabbing pain through is old injury.

Shouting, snarling, and screaming filled the air, as did the putrid stench of timberwolf breath and the unmistakeable scent of spilled blood. Minutes stretched on, but there was no end to them. For every one that Gallant Bulwark cut down, two more seemed to spring up. Another soldier killed a timberwolf that was about to come down on the rusty armored stallion, then a timberwolf killed that soldier. Gallant Bulwark kept fighting. As the numbers of the foul beasts swelled, the pony warriors began pulling backward into the town.

Using the buildings as a bottleneck, they were able to prevent themselves from being hit on their flanks again. Everything became a blur of fangs and blood as a kind of giddiness took over the stallion. He wasn’t quite so spry as he’d once been, but he hadn’t lost his skill with the spear. He fought alongside the other soldiers, ripping the beasts to bits one after another.

It ended with the remaining ponies out of breath, all having expended a great deal of strength to accomplish this goal. Gallant Bulwark’s lungs burned, screaming for rest and more air than he was able to take in.

"Who are you?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Gallant Bulwark," the stallion panted. "I live here. Who’s in command?"

The soldier looked around and said, “Both captains are dead. I guess I am."

A great sound of howling went up as the raincloud drifted into town from the orchard. Glancing back further into town, there were still civilians evacuating.

“You need to get to the train.”

Gallant Bulwark took a breath and gripped his spear tighter, “We’re about to have more incoming, and the civilians aren’t all out yet."

The commander simply nodded and began redeploying his force into a stronger position. A quick count revealed that they had already lost about a third of their soldiers. The stallion in the rusty armor joined the formation that they made. All they had to do was keep from getting surrounded. They could keep the timberwolves coming up the main street and the buildings would slow their advance.

‘Just a little longer,’ Gallant Bulwark thought, ‘just hold out a little longer and they’ll be safe.’ He’d nearly caught his breath, and the most of the pain had subsided from his leg. As he prepared for the next wave of timberwolves, the pegasus stallion felt more alive than he had in years...

1 Cloudsdale Cadets

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The start whistle blasted, shattering the calm of a spring day filled with puffy, white clouds lazily floating by. Before the echo even thought about subsiding, a hundred Pegasus ponies shot off from the starting line faster than lightning fills the sky. They were hurtling through an obstacle course at break-neck speed, dodging hoops, flying around markers, occasionally colliding, sending one or both parties spiraling to the cloud floor of the arena. Barely stopping to see if they were hurt, they would shoot back into the air, trying to regain lost time.

At twenty-first position, Scootaloo's wings were beating the air furiously. Her eyes were aflame with unbridled desire for victory. She zipped around a marker, through a hoop, and then a drop. She shot into twentieth, and then nineteenth position. She knew she didn't have much more, and she wasn't sure whether wanting to be first more than anybody else could help close the gap, but there wasn't time to think about that just now.

One of the ponies ahead, probably in the top ten, lost control and caused an accident. He spun wildly, unintentionally kicking one of the other racers as they attempted to pass. A third racer was caught in the fray as she tried to fly underneath them. All three spiraled down. That quickly, Scootaloo was in sixteenth position. She felt a little tired from the effort already, but pressed, passing another pony that slowed down from fatigue; fifteenth position now.

Scootaloo tried to focus on her breathing. With this kind of athletic exertion, not breathing properly is all it takes to send you falling to the deck. Inhale, hold it, exhale, hold it, inhale... It was an interesting rhythm, the breathing and the beating of the wings. They would synchronize when she paced herself. Her thoughts were broken as they came around the last sharp turn to the straightaway.

Every pony in front of her wasn't going to give up or make a mistake at this point. As Scootaloo rounded the turn, she shot ahead as fast as her wings would carry her. All of the others were sprinting as well, but this was Scootaloo's strength as a flier. Fourteenth position. Others were much more maneuverable, which is why she hadn't caught them yet, thirteenth, twelfth, but Scootaloo may have been the fastest of them all on a straightaway. Eleventh position, and still she pressed on. Tenth, and as Scootaloo shot into ninth position, she realized that her breathing was not synchronized, and she was becoming winded.

She ignored her body crying for rest, and decided to press to the finish line; she could see it. She put everything she had into a final burst of speed. Eighth place, seventh, sixth; she could see the dumbfounded expressions on the other ponies faces as she left them behind. Fifth, fourth; this was almost too easy. Third, second, and finally she achieved first place! All that was left was to maintain speed until...

...

The next thing Scootaloo knew she was looking up into the face of a monster. She began to panic, kicking wildly. She then realized that she was being held down by two other ponies, and it wasn't a monster. A field medic was checking her for injury.

Scootaloo asked, "Did I win?"

The medic had a very stoic look that somehow resembled anger. She heard one of the others laugh. It was Cloud Blazer, "Did I win, she says?" and he laughed again. Cloud Blazer was a brown Pegasus pony with some white patches and a darker brown mane. His eyes were emerald green. When the direct sunlight would hit him, it would reveal reds in his mane. Like Scootaloo, he had moved to Ponyville while much younger, and he had been taken in by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were the only two Pegasus ponies, and after Cloud Blazer helped teach her how to fly, they became very close friends. Unlike Scootaloo, he got his cutie mark, a white cloud with a fireball blasting through it, before they left Ponyville to take combat flight training at the Wonderbolt Military Academy. Equestria was at war. Nearly a year ago now, hordes of timberwolves had come out of the southern end of the Everfree Forest. A group of ponies led by Princess Twilight Sparkle had stemmed the tide, but it only bought them a little time. The entire Canterlot Guard was deployed to assist, but they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Apple Loosa was the first to fall, followed by Dodge Junction, but the Guard was able to hold off the timberwolves long enough to evacuate the most of the citizens. During that time, the princesses were able to deploy enough Unicorn ponies to the remaining cities in an effort to get protective shields up. Nowhere else had to be evacuated, but food shortages had already begun with the loss of so much farmland. Princess Celestia put out a call for every able-bodied pony that was willing to fight to assemble for training. Since it is on an island, and therefore much more defendable, Manehattan was the logical choice for the earth and unicorn ponies. The Equestria Guard Academy was built there, and available Pegasus ponies have been ferrying prospective trainees to Manehattan ever since. The Pegasus ponies were able to freely travel, and assembled very quickly in massive numbers. Cloudsdale was chosen to host all of the Pegasus trainees, and the Wonderbolt Military Academy was established.

Still stoic, the medic said, "You'll be fine." With that, they let her up, and the medics flew off to check on other injured ponies. Scootaloo sat half up and looked around to see the track above her was completely empty, and she was still short of the finish line. She laid back down to allow herself a moment of despair; her head was throbbing.

"Well, you fell a hundred feet after hyperventilating, and somehow you didn't manage to break anything. I'd call that a win," Cloud Blazer teased.

"You know what I meant," Scootaloo snapped at him.

"Oh, the race?" he mocked, "No, you lost that. Completely. I think you managed to come in behind last place."

She sighed, and then rolled over to get on her hooves. "How long was I out?"

"Oh, not that long, just a few minutes. You really had us worried when you didn't jump back up like most everypony else does." He was genuinely concerned.

Exhausted and humiliated, she started walking off.

"Where are you headed now?"

Without stopping, she said, "To get cleaned up."

He pranced up to keep pace with her, "Are you alright, Scoot?"

She hated it when he called her that, but she was too tired to argue, "I'll be fine. See you at dinner, Brownie."

He didn't mind the nick-name. He stopped and watched her walk away for a moment. Then he turned and took flight, lazily heading to the score board. He saw the medics had finished up with their work, and they were resting by a group of drill sergeants. They were all huddled near the score board, probably discussing the fate of the cadets. He could see the Wonderbolt colonel in command. She was a blue mare with a mane in the colors of a rainbow. She was the only Pegasus, so far, ever to create a sonic rain-boom. It was an amazing thing to have a living legend like Rainbow Dash be your trainer.

Not watching where he was going, Cloud Blazer slammed into the scoreboard, tried to catch himself, but was too high with nothing to grab, and he fell down. He wasn't hurt, but when he heard the roaring laughter of the drill sergeants, he was more than a bit embarrassed. One of them called out, "You okay over there?"

He sheepishly replied, "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Thankfully, they went back to talking amongst themselves. He searched the scoreboard for his name and rank. For this course they just did, he came in twenty-third place. "Not bad," he said to himself. He then noted that Sparklefly was first place, again. He then turned to the overall leader board. He had advanced overall to twelfth place. He searched for Scootaloo's name. She had been eighth this morning, but given the score from this race, she had dropped to fifteenth. He was in a bit of wonder for a moment that the top ponies were that close in score that she could lose position so quickly when his thoughts were broken by a voice, "Cloud Blazer, right?"

He turned to see Rainbow Dash talking to him, and he panicked a little, "Oh, me? Yes sir! er, ma'am? Yes sir, ma'am?" he fumbled.

"Ma'am is fine. You are Scootaloo's friend from Ponyville, right?"

He wasn't sure whether to be afraid for Scoot or not, "Yes ma'am, I mean, sort of. I mean, we're having dinner together, ma'am." Rainbow Dash was a bit amused at his manner, but he misread her expression, "No, not like that, ma'am. We're not... I mean, we're just friends ma'am. We eat in the mess hall, ma'am."

"Look, I know you're nervous, but try to calm down. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask if you'd tell Scootaloo to come find me when she has a chance."

Relief flooded him, "Yes ma'am. Of course, ma'am; I'll tell her."

"Thanks, kid." Rainbow Dash and the other drill sergeants headed off toward the officer's mess.

Relief slowly turned to curiosity and then concern. What could Rainbow Dash want with Scootaloo? Maybe she was concerned at Scootaloo's fall today. In any case, he wouldn't be able to find Scootaloo before dinner, so he began gliding to the southeast corner of Cloudsdale. There was a place right on the edge that he called his thinking spot. He and Scootaloo would go there sometimes and reminisce. On a clear day, you could see Canterlot, and the outline of the Everfree Forest. Sometimes, they'd both swear they could see Ponyville as well.

As he sat on the edge, the ground below looked alive with timberwolves. There must have been thousands upon thousands of them. So many that they were massed on top of each other, covering the ground like grass is supposed to. Even at this height, the stench of the timberwolves wafted up and could be faintly detected in the air. They were perfectly safe in Cloudsdale, but it was an unsettling sight. On such a very peaceful day in the clouds, the mass of timberwolves below served as a stark reminder that there were storms that still raged below.

...

Sparklefly took her ration and found a seat with her squad. She was pleased with her performance, but concerned for Scootaloo. She’d have to check on her later. Other thoughts began to fill her mind. It had been a year since the battle at Apple Loosa. One year since the town had been taken by the timberwolves. One year since her father had charged headlong into battle and never returned. She shuddered at the thought and tried to clear it from her mind.

“I’m with you,” Treble Cleft said, “These oats are stale.”

“These are oats?” Cherry Blossom asked.

“Yeah, but at least the company is good,” Treble Cleft added and winked at Sparklefly.

She felt herself smile in spite of everything.

“Easy,” she replied, “I’m on my way to becoming an officer.”

“Oh, I won’t forget to salute,” the amorous stallion quipped.

Sparklefly shook her head. Treble Cleft had seemed rather interested in her since the first day of their training. It was flattering, but she didn’t have time for such things. The timberwolf crisis had taken it’s toll on Equestria. More than that, Sparklefly had her family to think about. Her dad left her with the responsibility of taking care of them. Between a growing food shortage and lack of work, joining the military seemed the best way to accomplish that.

“I think this is hay,” Cherry Blossom mocked the food.

“Are you sure? It tastes more like dandelions,” Sky Burst added.

Treble Cleft snorted, “That would explain the texture.”

“It’s a small matter what it actually is,” Sparklefly interjected. “I’m just glad it doesn’t taste like old mattress today.”

She was trying to let her heavy thoughts go for a while and join in the banter with her squad. It did seem to help her feel better.

...

Scootaloo was ambling into the mess hall. She saw Sparklefly motioning her to sit with her squad, but she passed on and found a spot that was more or less away from everypony else and tried to ignore them all. She attempted not to overhear how excited some of them were for how they had advanced today. She didn't have much of an appetite, but ate anyway. Completely lost in thought, she was staring into her plate and unaware when Cloud Blazer came in and sat down across from her. She finally noticed him and looked up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I just can't believe I fainted earlier."

"Oh, well, you didn't really faint. You hyperventilated. Everypony does that at least once when they're trying to fly too fast."

"I wasn't flying too fast!"

"I just meant that you lost your rhythm, that's all."

She stared quietly at her plate for a moment, then asked, "So how bad is my score now?"

He hesitated, "Well, the top ponies are all really close. Overall, you dropped a little bit, just to fifteenth place." He could see her despair, "But fifteenth out of a hundred in our company is really good," it wasn't helping. "Besides that, our training isn't finished yet; there's still time for you to get back on top."

"Just forget it."

"What?"

"Never mind." Scootaloo's mood was bordering on complete despair.

She was the oldest pony she had ever even heard of that didn't have her cutie mark. She pretended not to care anymore, but it was just a façade. She still felt that there was some secret about herself that she couldn't figure out, and until she did, her cutie mark wouldn't appear. The thing that made it even more frustrating was that if she knew what her cutie mark was, it would probably give her a hint as to what she was supposed to be good at, and who she was. It's not something that anypony else seemed to understand. Her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both have had their cutie marks for years now. If how long it took Scootaloo to learn to fly was any indication, she feared she may never get her cutie mark. When the war broke out, she came to the Wonderbolt Military Academy to help save Equestria. When she saw how good of a flyer she was becoming, she'd been certain her cutie mark would follow. She pushed harder and harder, always outperforming and trying to be the best, but still no cutie mark.

They finished dinner in silence. Cloud Blazer didn't speak again until they were about to leave, "Oh, I am supposed to tell you that Colonel Dash is looking for you, when you have time."

That got Scootaloo's attention, "Rainbow Dash?"

"Yes, she's looking for you; she didn't say why."

Scootaloo raced out of the mess hall, and then composed herself, restricting her speed to a trot. The setting sun had turned all of Cloudsdale into brilliant shades of gold. As she approached the office, she began getting nervous. This was the first time in almost two months of training that Rainbow Dash had asked to see her.

"Hey, Scootaloo, wait up!" Scootaloo turned around to see a silver mare with pale blue eyes that matched her mane trotting up behind her. It was Sparklefly, lead pony in her cadet squad. Scootaloo stopped and waited for her.

"What do you want?" Scootaloo asked defensively.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I feel like you've been avoiding me," she replied innocently.

"Well, I'm fine, aside from being farther from your top score; now go away."

A little hurt, Sparklefly said, "I'm not here to gloat-"

"What, are you going to give me more flying tips?" Sparklefly was always trying to be helpful to others. Sometimes this came across as very annoying, especially to Scootaloo.

Sparklefly calmly continued, "A lot of us are really concerned about you." Scootaloo didn't know what to say. Sparklefly continued, "You're not in this alone; we're all training together. We're a team."

Scootaloo's pride was bruised from the events of the day, but she realized now that Sparklefly was being honest with her and that she genuinely wanted to help. Scootaloo looked passed her into the sunset. The last golden rays of sunlight were just shining above the horizon, and then it was gone. Day had faded into twilight, and the air felt much cooler now. The fluffy cloud floor beneath Scootaloo's feet was warm and moist.

She finally looked back at Sparklefly, "Thanks," she paused, uncertain what to say. "I'm going to be alright, really. We'll talk more later, okay?"

Sparklefly seemed almost relieved, "I'd like that. See you then."

"Later," Scootaloo said as Sparklefly walked away.

You almost hate some ponies because they are so naturally good at everything. Sparklefly was one of those, at least when it came to flying. It seemed as though every stage of their combat flight training was designed for her to show off her abilities. The most frustrating part was how humble Sparklefly was about her own talents. She never bragged or boasted, but always tried to encourage others to do better. She and her family had been in Apple Loosa when the first wave of timber wolves overran the town. Her dad had been part of the Royal Guard before he had retired and taken up farming. He and her mother married later in life and had three fillies and two colts. Sparklefly was the oldest. They were working their orchard when the bells rang out, sounding the alarm. After making sure his family was on the train, her dad flew into the battle to help the Canterlot Guard, which had arrived to defend the city. Sparklefly had begged to help her father, but he told her she had to protect the family. She'd heard later that the group that her father fought with became surrounded. Even after the defenders from the other positions had retreated, and the commander had died, her father took command and continued fighting until they were all overwhelmed and killed. Sparklefly was the first to arrive at Cloudsdale when the call went out for able-bodied ponies to train for combat. It somehow sounded glorious when told like that, but that was no comfort to the family he left behind.

Scootaloo took a breath, still a little nervous to see Rainbow Dash, and pushed the door open. There were several rows of desks and tables, and the walls were covered with charts and maps. Cadets didn't often come inside. This was where all of their training was planned. Every obstacle course and scenario that they worked through had originated in this place. At the end of the room was an open door, and Scootaloo could see Rainbow Dash sitting at her desk with some paperwork. Scootaloo walked inside and approached the open door, almost holding her breath. She stood there for a few moments, watching Rainbow Dash pour over her work. As she turned a page, Rainbow Dash looked up and saw Scootaloo standing in the doorway. She waved a hoof to call her in, and looked back to her papers. Scootaloo walked in and sat down next to the desk.

Rainbow Dash pushed aside her paperwork and said, "How are you feeling?"

"Just fine, ma'am; couldn't be better."

Rainbow Dash pushed one of the papers on the desk, "You're not hurt at all from that fall you took today?"

Scootaloo struggled to not be defensive, "No ma'am, the medics checked me out, and I'm fit to fly, ma'am."

"That's a relief. Not many could take a fall like that and walk away without even a scratch."

"Just lucky this time, ma'am."

Rainbow Dash watched Scootaloo for a moment, "You were eighth place this morning, and I see you've dropped down to sixteenth."

"Fifteenth place, ma'am," Scootaloo corrected her.

"Yes, fifteenth. Look, Scootaloo, I know you've worked really hard to be this close to the top, and you've really done a great job. You don't anything to be ashamed of."

"I just have to push myself a little harder, ma'am."

"That's not what I meant." Rainbow Dash stood up and walked around the desk to sit beside Scootaloo. "Pushing yourself isn't your problem. Scootaloo, you probably work harder than any pony I've ever seen. What you need is to learn to pace yourself just a little bit. I mean, giving a hundred percent is admirable and all, but if you push so hard that you don't have the strength to finish what you're doing it doesn't count."

"It's just, I... I just need to win, ma'am."

"This isn't about winning." Scootaloo was shocked at hearing that. "When we're out there, you don't fight alone. You'll be part of a team, and every pony in the team depends on every other. If you fall out in combat like you did today, what do you think would happen?"

Scootaloo shifted very uneasily. She couldn't find any words to reply, and she could feel tears trying to well up behind her eyes. It was all she could do to choke them back so they didn't spill out.

Rainbow Dash spoke softly, trying to be gentle, "We wouldn't leave you behind. It would take two of us to drag you out of danger, and that puts even more of us at risk. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Scootaloo swallowed hard, "Yes, ma'am. I need to pace myself, ma'am; even if that means I can't be the best."

"All anypony can ask of you is to be the best that you can be. You don't have to be better than everypony else."

Scootaloo couldn't let that go; something akin to a flash of anger shot through her, "If you don't mind my saying so, ma'am, that's easy for you to say. You are better at everything than everypony else, ma'am."

Rainbow Dash seemed a little more guarded with her posture now, "Is there something else that is bothering you?"

Scootaloo instinctively cast a fleeting glance to her flank, and then she tried to look away, but it was too late. Rainbow Dash saw it.

Rainbow Dash walked to the door and closed it, "Anything said from this point is off the record, okay?"

Scootaloo nodded, the tears were working their way passed her defenses.

"It's okay that you don't have your cutie mark yet. It doesn't matter."

The tears flowed hot and fast, and Scootaloo practically screamed, "How can you say that? How can you tell me that?" Her voice was cracking, "You've had your cutie mark for years; everypony gets them when they're little! But not me! I'm... I... I just..." the sobbing was uncontrollable at this point. Rainbow Dash put a hoof over her shoulder for comfort. Scootaloo cried it out for a little while, eventually degrading into quiet sobbing. She finally broke the silence calmly, "I've seen everypony else I know get their cutie marks. Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, even Cloud Blazer, and every other pony in school below me back in Ponyville. When I learned how to fly, and everypony saw how fast I could go, I was just sure I'd get my cutie mark for flying. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or be good at, or who I'm supposed to be. That's what cutie marks tell us, right? They tell everypony what makes us special? Well, what makes me special? I'm great at flying, but if it's not that, then what is it?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Scootaloo. I don't know why you haven't found your cutie mark yet. All I can tell you is that pursuing it is not the way. Whether it comes, when it comes, these aren't things you can control." Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash, a little pitiful, but somewhat comforted. "Tell you what; I'll make you a deal. You learn to focus on the things you can control, like pacing yourself, and doing what's best for your team, and anytime you need to talk, my door is open. How does that sound?"

Scootaloo considered this for a moment, and then nodded. The tears had slowed.

"Alright, now go get cleaned up before you hit your rack. Lights out in a half-hour." Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a little squeeze on her shoulders before letting go.

"Thanks Rai- I mean, ma'am," she said as she straightened up.

"Anytime, Scoo- I mean, cadet," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

Scootaloo left the office at a slow trot back to the barracks. It certainly had been the most full day she'd had in quite a while. She went from the glory of near victory, through the pain of complete failure, and finished it off with an emotional release that left her feeling completely drained. A good night's sleep would be just the thing to take care of this. Unfortunately, not a pony in all Cloudsdale would sleep on this particular night...

2 Attack on Canterlot

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The lights stabbed Scootaloo in the eyes, breaking her sleep. She and all the other cadets scrambled to their hooves as they heard a drill instructor barking orders at them, "Out of bed, ladies! Everypony, gear up; you'll need harness and boots only. Leave your racks as they are, and rendezvous in the assembly area. Five minutes!" Every pony in the barracks got to work with their gear. Scootaloo pulled her combat harness on and then her horseshoe boots. She cast a thankful glance at the armor plates and helmet, the weight would be very heavy for a normal pony, but they had been training with this equipment for nearly two months, so they barely noticed. Still, it was nice to only need the light gear for a change. The really bad days were when they had to carry weights from their harnesses and perform distance flights. There were supplies in packs on their harness that contained two day rations, drinking water, a flashlight, rope, a first-aid kit, fire starter, knife, flight goggles, and field survival kit. Scootaloo yawned; she was very groggy, then cinched up her harness and joined the group.

As everypony filed out of the barracks, the clopping of their horseshoes echoed in the emptying building. The night air was cool and damp. Scootaloo was in the middle of her squad, but she could see that the other barracks all over Cloudsdale were emptying like theirs was. The entire city was lit up. Whatever training op was going on, it looked like every cadet in the city was going to be part of it. She caught sight of a clock, and read the time as 01:47. Still waking up, Scootaloo was very curious as to what this could be. They'd been up in the middle of the night before, but never this early. She caught sight of Cloud Blazer. She always thought he looked a little silly all geared up. Of course, she probably looked just as ridiculous, but with everypony sporting the same cropped mane and tail and wearing the same harnesses, it'd be hard to tell anypony apart from any other.

The cadets all fell into their assigned positions; the briefing would be next. Scootaloo was amazed at the difference when it wasn't just a hundred at this gathering, there were thousands of cadets packing the assembly area. Rainbow Dash stepped forward, addressing all of them, "Good morning, cadets. Less than an hour ago, the timberwolves launched an all out assault on our capital city of Canterlot; this is no drill." Gasps and low murmurs were heard as Rainbow Dash paused to let that sink in. "The magical shield that protected the city failed within the first few minutes of the attack. As some of you already know, Canterlot sits high on the edge of the mountain, so the citizens are cut off from retreat. Royal scouts arrived here to ask for our help, and we are going to give it to them." It was an eerie feeling, such heavy silence in the presence of so many other ponies. Scootaloo was now wide awake. "Our mission tonight is to fly to Canterlot and evacuate the civilians to Cloudsdale. There are already unicorn ponies on the way here to prepare the stadium to receive earth and unicorn pony refugees. This is the hour we've been training for. Tonight is when we once again tell the timberwolves that they can't take our friends. Am I right?" There was still silence from the cadets. Rainbow Dash shouted, "I said, am I right?" The pony cadets roared a battle cry that stirred something in Scootaloo, something a little different than she had ever felt before. She joined in their battle cry; she felt powerful. "Each group will see drill instructors for assignments. We depart in five minutes. That is all."

Drill instructors began shouting for ponies to go this way and that, arranging their squads into a formation. Squad leaders would actually be commanding their squads today. Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer were under Sparklefly's command. The others were stallions Thunder Boomer, Sky Burst, Flame Out, Treble Cleft, and mares Rain Dancer, Cherry Blossom, and one that Scootaloo couldn't remember her name; the others usually called her 'Pink'.

The drill sergeant in charge of their company of ten squads began speaking quickly to them, "Listen up, ladies, this is our strategy. We are not going to engage the enemy unless there is no other choice. You have been trained well, but today is not the day for heroics. Colonel Dash has already left to scout the combat zone. When we arrive, she'll provide us with our LZ and additional instructions. Double check your harnesses, we're going to be carrying earth and unicorn ponies all the way to Cloudsdale from Canterlot."

Hearing the sound of buckles as everypony checked their harnesses, Scootaloo realized suddenly that those miles and miles of hauling weights didn't seem quite so silly now.

The instructor continued, "We have mustered every cadet and able-bodied Pegasus that we could find a harness for. Those that can't fly are helping prepare the city for arrivals. There are no civilians in Cloudsdale tonight. Final note; we are mobilizing three-thousand, one-hundred and twelve Pegasus ponies for this evacuation. It will take us three trips to remove the entire population of Canterlot." The instructor looked directly at Scootaloo as he spoke, "Do not outpace your instructors tonight. You need to save your strength to carry as many ponies back as possible." Looking back around at the group again, he shouted, "If you fail, innocent ponies die. Is that understood?"

En masse, they replied, "Sir, yes sir!"

"Alright then, goggles on; company, on me!"

The instructor galloped to the south-east, and every pony followed, squad by squad. As they approached the edge, they all jumped, spreading their wings to take flight. Scootaloo exchanged glances with Cloud Blazer and Sparklefly, but nopony spoke. They moved into a flight formation with Sparklefly in the lead.

There was a slight headwind, but they would be thankful for that on the return journeys when they had cargo. Canterlot was lower in elevation than Cloudsdale, which made the flight in more of a gliding than flying. They moved at a brisk pace, but not very fast. The other squads formed up around, ultimately taking the formation of a V for maximum aerodynamic benefit. Scootaloo could hear what she thought was quiet crying. She barely noticed at first because her own heart was pounding so hard. A quick glance in one of the rear-view mirrors on her boot toe revealed one of the ponies right behind her fighting to hold back tears. It was the pink one.

Scootaloo was unable to break formation, but she called back to her, "How's it going back there?"

The other pony, a mare, swallowed hard, "A-okay, ma'am."

Scootaloo was not even a little convinced and snorted, "I'm not a ma'am. Name's Scootaloo, what's yours?"

"I'm Pibs," came a timid reply.

"Where are you from?"

"What? Oh... Dodge Junction... I was there... when..." she didn't have to finish.

Everypony knew what had happened in Dodge Junction. The ponies defending used a rather large amount of fire to burn the timberwolves down before they could take the city. It was working initially, but their numbers surged so much that burning timberwolves broke through the pony lines and set the entire city ablaze. The evacuation fell apart, and ponies were taken by the flames. That was how Dodge Junction was lost. Pibs was in the heart of town with her family when the fire ravaged the city. Her mother was an earth pony, and her father wouldn't leave the others behind. Pibs was the only one to escape. She went to Cloudsdale, and finally joined the military because she had nowhere else to go.

"I'm from Ponyville, and I can tell you Pibs, I've seen a lot of crazy stuff. I know you've been through even worse. Up ahead, there are a lot of ponies that need our help. They need us to focus, to be clear, and to do the job. If we don't help them, no one else will, right? I know you're scared, Pibs. I'm scared too, but we can't think about that right now, okay? We've got to get to the LZ and help save some civilians. Some day, you and me, we'll pay back these stick dogs for what they've done, but not today. Just stay close to your friends, and you'll be fine."

"Scootaloo... I don't really have any friends..."

"You have one now, Pibs; and I'm going to be counting on you to have my back in Canterlot. Are you with me?"

Pibs felt confidence surge through her, "I'm with you, Scootaloo." While her fear was only slightly diminished, she was comforted a great deal.

As they continued on, they could make out the glowing lights of Canterlot in the distance. A single Pegasus pony shot passed them, heading in the other direction. Word was passed back that it was a scout, ferrying news back to Cloudsdale of the situation in Canterlot. Orders started filtering back from the leaders as they neared the end of their forty-five minute flight. The scouts would fly so fast that they could make the trip in twenty minutes flat, but they only had to make one trip before resting, and they weren't carrying a payload. A different scout would fly information back the other way when needed.

Sparklefly addressed her squad, "We have identified the LZ. Our squad will be in front, and lead the entire force into a single pass of the city. Then we will land first on the nearest side of the platform. Landings will be at squad leader's discretion, so stay on me."

They responded as one, "Copy that!"

The entire mass of pegasus ponies began to take shape and formed into several attack lines. The leaders led them on to circle the city and the entire group followed behind. As they came about, they could see heavy fighting near the bridges that led into the city. They could make out that all of them had been destroyed to some degree or another, but the timberwolves had filled the gaps with their bodies. Hordes of them were clawing their way passed the dead and into the city. Unicorns had formed up in firing lines and were blasting away with all the magic they had, and earth ponies were fighting a desperate hoof to claw melee on the southern side. All of that fell from view, and they saw the citizens of Canterlot fleeing to the west. Then the landing platform came into view. It wasn't nearly large enough for an evacuation of this magnitude, but it was the farthest point from the fighting, and it had good access to get in and out easily. They could see Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia conversing with the leader of the Royal Guard, General Mane Crusher. There were very few soldiers here. Most of them were Wonderbolt drill instructors. They were holding the civilians back to give the flight squads a chance to land. Without a word, Sparklefly led her squad to a perfect touchdown.

There was a great amount of shouting, practically a cacophony of voices all trying to be heard. Families were trying to stay together, but they were being split up in all of the confusion. The drill sergeants were reassuring everypony that they were all heading to Cloudsdale together, and that they would be reunited with their families there. The squad hooked their tow package onto ponies to evacuate them. It consisted of a heavy duty carabineer that attached their harness to one that their evacuee also wore. Sparklefly checked each of her squad's harnesses personally, and then double-checked her own.

"Sparkle-squad, on me!" she commanded, and they all made the jump off of the edge, extending their wings to keep as much altitude as possible. The payloads were heavy, but they had been training by carrying weights for this very purpose. Scootaloo glanced back to see other squads still circling, and others following them already. They would not have the large formation that they had come out with initially. Suddenly, a scout flew passed them from Cloudsdale, and circled around to address Sparklefly.

"Ma'am, Cloudsdale reports that they are dropping altitude all the way to the deck. It should make for an easy coast," the scout quickly rattled off.

"Cloudsdale dropping altitude, copy that," Sparklefly responded.

The scout was off again like a flash. He did not stop at the next squad, but continued on into Canterlot to tell the ground personnel. The second squad followed 'Sparkle-squad' in not gaining altitude. The tailwind was very nice, but it wasn't very strong. All in all, it only shaved about two minutes off of the return trip. As they approached Cloudsdale, it was eerie how low to the ground it actually was now in the darkness of the night. It couldn't have been higher than three-hundred feet. They dared not go any lower for fear of the timberwolves amassed there, but it was low enough for the recovery efforts. Sparklefly led them directly into the stadium, and were waved in by the unicorns. The squads began landing and quickly unbuckling their passengers.

"Thank you for flying Scootaloo airlines. Please watch your step as you exit, and have a nice day, cause we pretty much just saved your lives." Scootaloo joked, "we're awesome like that." Cloud Blazer grinned, but he was already sweating from the flying.

Sparklefly ruined the mood, "Take one drink of water, we're in the air in thirty-seconds!" She didn't have to tell them twice to get some water. They hadn't realized how thirsty they were, but they only took one drink before capping their bottles and replacing them in the harnesses. "Sparkle-squad, are you ready?"

In unison, they replied, "Yes!"

"Then let's save some more lives. On me!" Sparklefly shouted to them, and with the flapping of wings, they were off again, back toward Canterlot.

The trip back was a bit more miserable. They were gaining altitude the entire time, and flying into the wind. Sparklefly kept the pace slow. They passed other squads with refugees heading the opposite direction, stretched out in a long line nearly the entire way back to Canterlot. When they arrived, the LZ was full, so they circled the city to wait for it to clear. Half of the city was in flames. The smoke was a blinding and choking fume that was rising into the darkness above. The fighting was much more widespread in the streets now. The defenders were trying to slow the timberwolves advances down as the evacuation efforts continued. The northern quarter had some kind of labyrinth of shields going this way and that, and the timberwolves were almost stopped there. The south side was in complete retreat, and the middle was trying to reinforce the south. As they passed over, they saw Princess Celestia arrive on a tower that overlooked the southern field, and she put up a blast of energy that stopped the timberwolves in their tracks. She continued to channel the energy as 'Sparkle-squad' flew out of view. They came back to the LZ, and were able to touch down.

The evacuees looked much more desperate, and were getting near to panic. As quickly as was possible, the cadets harnessed up all of their passengers and followed Sparklefly again off the edge, and back toward Cloudsdale. They would still see scouts zipping one way, and then the other from time to time. The sky was growing darker now. They couldn't see the stars anymore. As they dropped off their second load of refugees, the clock struck 5:00am. Scootaloo looked around at the others, and they were all tired, but the resolve in their faces was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. They took some more water, and took flight a final time for Canterlot.

...

Not ten minutes into their flight, it started to rain. It wasn't heavy, but it made flying that much more miserable. Their goggles were designed for all weather, but rain made it difficult to see, especially since it was still dark. As they neared Canterlot, the earliest light was on the horizon, but at least the rain had stopped. It looked as though the entire city was engulfed in flames. 'Sparkle-squad' had no one directly behind them anymore, and they hadn't seen any other squads of ponies for a little while. As they flew in, a scout came out of nowhere, shouting a warning to them, "Hot LZ, hot LZ, not safe to land!"

"Copy hot LZ," Sparklefly shouted to the scout. "Sparkle-squad, are you with me?"

Scootaloo shouted, "Yes ma'am!" The others all exchanged a nervous glance. Scootaloo shouted, "Sparkle-squad are you with us?"

Pibs, Cloud Blazer, and then the rest shouted, "Yes, ma'am!"

They followed Sparklefly around and came upon the LZ to find what can only be described as absolute mayhem. Timberwolves were all over the LZ, unicorns were blasting away left and right, Pegasus ponies were throwing timberwolves off of the edge, earth ponies were fighting tooth and hoof. Sparklefly led them on a pass, but did not land.

Scootaloo shouted, "We have to help them!"

"We are here for the evacuees first, then we help them!" Sparklefly replied.

Scootaloo desperately wanted to assist the others fighting on the LZ, but she stayed with her squad as they circled higher, looking for a place to land where they could find ponies to evacuate. Princess Celestia was nowhere to be seen. The defense on the south side of the city had completely folded, and there was fighting all over. Small pockets of defenders were still holding on, but they were all separated from each other.

A barrage of magic zipped into one of the buildings they passed close by, which sent a shower of debris into the squad's flight path. Several of the ponies were hit instantly, and Sparklefly was shouting, "Contact left, break! Break! Break!" The squad split into different directions, two going left, three up, one straight down, and the rest right. Sparklefly shouted, "Rendezvous at the LZ!"

Scootaloo noticed that it was Pibs going down, and she was alone. She wasn't flying. Pibs was falling. Scootaloo shouted, "Brownie, on me, now!" She didn't wait for a reply, but made a burst of full speed for Pibs. Cloud Blazer was right behind her. Scootaloo grabbed her harness to slow her fall and wings beat the air as hard as they could. Cloud Blazer went underneath Pibs and did the same, but they couldn't reverse the fall. They all slammed into the ground and sprawled out on the street below a terrace.

Scootaloo was the first up, trying to figure if she had broken anything, but then turned her attention to Cloud Blazer. He was a little dazed, but he was already getting up. Pibs was groggy, but alive. It looked like she had taken a direct hit to her head. They could hear fighting all around, but couldn't see much due to the smoke and fires.

"Now what?" Cloud Blazer asked as he surveyed the area around them.

"I'll take her on my harness," the answer shot back.

"Fine, take some water first," he suggested, and they both did. They tried to give some to Pibs, but she was out cold. As they were hooking Pibs to the harness, several timberwolves came around a corner and saw them. Their snarl made Scootaloo drop the harness and attach her knife to her front horseshoe. She and Cloud Blazer just had time to put a little distance between themselves and Pibs when the timberwolves reached them. Scootaloo bucked one, then spun around and pruned another with the knife. Cloud Blazer reared back, using his front hooves to kicked two of the others to hold them back, but there were more coming around the corner. As they fought viciously against their attackers, they heard Pibs cry out. Scootaloo did another spin, bucking and kicking with her hind legs so she could see. Pibs was awake, but disoriented, and near panicking.

"Pibs! It's Scootaloo! We don't have time to panic. We need your help right now, so you can suck it up and help us fight these timberwolves!"

Pibs shook her head, and was almost back when one of the timberwolves got passed Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer. As it reached her, she dove right into its legs, sending it crashing to the ground. It jumped back up, and rounded on her. As it was about to pounce, it was crushed by two pony stallions that had jumped from the terrace above. They wore the armor of the Canterlot Guard. They charged directly into the fray, letting out a battle cry that nearly made Scootaloo loose her own nerve to fight. The stallions made very short work of the remaining timberwolves.

"Th- Thanks..." Scootaloo said, almost in shock at the display of raw power she had just witnessed.

"My pleasure. I'm Brax, the unicorn is Lighthoof. We're with the Canterlot Guard."

"I'm Scootaloo, this is Cloud Blazer, and the groggy one is Pibs. We're cadets from the Wonderbolt Military Academy."

"They've called the cadets out to fight?" Brax seemed shocked.

Cloud Blazer answered, "Well, not exactly, sir... We are with the evacuation force. We got separated from our squad."

"We've been separated from the rest of the forces for at least an hour. We've been trying to fight our way to the LZ."

Scootaloo spoke, "The LZ was overrun; we couldn't land. We were circling, looking for survivors when we came under attack ourselves. Pibs was shot down, and that's how we ended up here."

Lighthoof said, "Well, we are certainly sorry to interrupt your party, but your guests were incredibly rude," he had a very sweet and smooth voice for a soldier.

Cloud Blazer said, "You guys need a lift? We are supposed to rendezvous at the LZ anyway. We can take you there and then decide what to do."

Brax and Lighthoof nodded, and they got into the harnesses. The two almost looked like they could be twins, both being solid white stallions in matching armor. Their eyes told them apart. Brax had deep blue eyes, and Lightfoot's were green. Brax was also much older than Lighthoof, and there was also Lighthoof's horn. Pibs had recovered enough to fly, but she had a massive headache. Scootaloo took Brax; Cloud Blazer took Lighthoof. They were able to get off the ground without further incident, and they stayed close to the buildings, avoiding the windows, until they gained enough altitude to fly safely. They could see squads of cadets circling overhead, looking for a place to set down, but there just wasn't any safe place to land. As they came around to the LZ, it had been completely taken by the timberwolves. They had filled it and were snarling at the cadets that circled out of reach. They couldn't see Sparklefly anywhere. They circled the city twice, but couldn't find anyone in command. Their rescue efforts had fallen apart.

Scootaloo said, "This is hopeless. Brax, we're going to get you two to Cloudsdale."

Brax objected, "Wait, what's that?"

"What?"

"Left, and down, on that edge. That building; do you see?" Brax pointed a hoof. The smoke cleared for a moment and they spotted a group of unicorn and earth ponies fighting at the entrance of a building. It was one of the few that didn't have any terraces, so there was no safe place to land.

"We can't fly into that." Scootaloo observed.

"Take us down." Brax ordered.

"We'll be dead before we reach the ground," Scootaloo argued.

"Take us down; we are going to assist and assess their situation." Brax insisted.

"No; we're not dying today."

"Cadet, I am a commander in her majesty's Canterlot Guard, and I am giving you a direct order. Fly away after you drop us for all I care, but take us down, now!"

Scootaloo was about to object again, but then she saw that Cloud Blazer was already on his way down, so she followed. As they came in close, Lighthoof shot out a beam of energy that cleared the road for almost two blocks. They hit the ground at a gallop and got inside the building. As their eyes adjusted, they were dumbfounded to see hundreds of ponies, mostly civilians crammed inside. There may have been as few as five soldiers actually defending it, and they immediately returned to their positions at the door.

Unhooking himself, Brax shouted, "Who's in charge here?" Everypony looked around uncomfortably. "Alright then, is there a medic?"

An older stallion in the back raised his hoof and said, "I've been a doctor here in Canterlot for almost thirty years."

Lighthoof smiled, "You'll do. These Pegasus ponies were gracious enough to give us a ride, but they were assailed along the road. Please see to returning them to flight status immediately."

Brax turned to the cadets, "You have my thanks; I'll likely be asking more of you soon. Until then, rest here." To the others, he ordered, "find anything you can to block that door and seal it up." Panic swept the room, as did murmurs of being trapped and dying. Brax shouted, "Did I give you permission to panic?"

A deafening silence ensued and, somewhere in the room, a pebble dropped to the floor.

"Now, seal that door. You've all done an amazing job holding this building, but we need a safe back down here; we're going out another way. Lighthoof, come with me."

The other ponies all hurried themselves sealing up the door. Brax and Lighthoof ran for the stairs and disappeared up them.

...

Sparklefly and the remainder of her squad were still circling. The cadets had no drill instructors to yell at them, and they didn't know what to do. They had no LZ, so they just kept circling. It was the same for all of the cadets. Thousands of them were just flying around the city, waiting for somepony to tell them what to do. Though she felt uncertain, this spawned an idea.

Sparklefly said, "Alright Sparkle-squad, listen up. We haven't seen any of the commanders, but we know there are still ponies down there that need to get out. We are not going to leave them behind. See the palace tower? That will be our rendezvous point. I want you all to split up, go to each of the other squads and get them to join us there. Thunder Boomer, you take the north; Cherry Blossom and Sky Burst, you go west; Flame Out, handle the east; Treble Cleft, you and Rain Dancer cover the south. We've got to get organized or we're not going to be help to any-pony. Go!" Her squad shot off in their assigned directions in complete compliance. Now Sparklefly was incredibly nervous. She was worried about Scootaloo, Cloud Blazer, and Pibs. Dread was making her question herself in what she was about to do, but she just couldn't think of another way. She wanted desperately to go home as she flew toward the palace tower. Home to her Momma-Mare, to lay down and let her stroke her mane; listen to her dad gripe about worms in the orchard or some other pest. But Apple Loosa was lost, her home destroyed, and her father dead; she came back to the present. Looking down at the heavy fighting below, Sparklefly knew that they were going to regret not bringing their armor. She arrived at the rendezvous point and awaited the other squads to form up. They all came. In total, it was an awesome sight. Over three-thousand cadets were waiting for her to tell them what to do. The squad leaders came near. It was now early dawn, but the sky was filled with the smoke and stench of battle. The others looked as weary as Sparklefly felt from a lack of sleep and the physical exertion of the flying they'd been doing through the night.

Sparklefly used her best authoritative voice, but she could feel it quivering a little, "Listen up everypony! We're not done here. There are ponies down there that need our help. They were told to go to the LZ. They were told that it would be safe there. They were told that we would save them if they can just get there. That means that they will be headed to that platform. That means we need to clear off the timberwolves so we can save them." The more she spoke, the stronger her conviction became. She could also see in the other squad leaders that they knew she was right. "We're about to do something that's not safe, but if we don't do it, thousands of ponies will die. Do you understand me?"

There was silence for a moment, and then the roar of over three-thousand ponies calling back in one voice, "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

A quiver ran down Sparklefly's spine unlike any feeling she'd ever had before. "Dodger! Take your squad and continue circling; I want you to look for any other survivors that still need to be evacuated, got it?"

"Copy that, ma'am! My squad, on me!" Dodger and his squad began circling the city.

"All squads from the north barracks, listen up! There is a choke point about six blocks back from the LZ. Do you see those staircases? Go and take them, and don't let a single timberwolf past you. I'll send relief as soon as it's available." The north barracks squads immediately formed up and headed off to the staircases.

Sparklefly looked to the remaining companies of cadets, "The rest of you, follow me! Squad leaders, keep enough space from the squad in front of you to maneuver." They all nodded in assent. "Alright, let's form up!"

She started flying out in a wide arch, and all squads formed up behind hers.

"Nice speech," Treble Cleft said.

He sounded nervous, but Sparklefly had no words to comfort him. She was doing her best to keep her own fears in check. The group of cadets came around and in sight of the LZ.

Sparklefly roared, "Charge!"

She shot off like an arrow, with all the others behind her. They picked up more and more speed, hurtling towards the platform. The entire terrace was covered with timberwolves so much that they were falling off the edge. The wind swirled around the formed up Pegasus ponies, rushing in their ears as adrenaline coursed through their veins; they charged headlong into the mass of enemies. They collided hard smashing their way directly into the heart of them. Some of cadets flew straight through, knocking timberwolves left, right, and off the edge. Others followed Sparklefly and rammed their way into a landing and began wildly kicking and bucking and biting their way through the mob of wooden enemies. She saw Cherry Blossom hit in the head and killed, and Treble Cleft was overcome and buried out of sight. The timberwolves pushed, but the Pegasus ponies kept coming, wave after wave. They smashed into the timberwolves again and again, grinding them to sawdust.

...

"This'll have to do," Brax said as he surveyed the stone rooftop of their building.

Lighthoof looked a little unsure, "Brax, I am impelled to note that it shall be rather hazardous for me to blast through this."

"Well, if you don't do it, we're all going to die, so what difference does it make?"

"I concede that point to you, sir. Now, if you'll do me the courtesy of removing yourself to a safer location, I shall proceed." Brax turned to go. "Brax, even should I be successful, you might do me the courtesy of gathering some medical supplies, and having the good doctor prepared in the event that anything goes amiss." Brax snorted and continued down the stairs.

There were many families in the building. They had all been fleeing to the LZ when the defenses on the south end folded, and they were cut off by the fighting. A handful of soldiers had held them to this point, but all of the Canterlot Guard that remained at this location were Brax, Lighthoof, and five other soldiers. Brax returned to the ground floor to find the door had been very solidly blocked by furniture. It didn't look very strong, but it should buy them a few minutes. The three cadets had a look of weariness about them. Pibs was holding her bandaged head, and it was no wonder after the blow she had taken. Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer were sitting quietly. The air inside was stale and hot from too many ponies crammed inside. There were a few timberwolves outside, and they were already snarling and biting at the barricade, but it was holding them out for the moment.

Brax broke the silence, "Alright everypony, we need to start moving up the stairs. We're going to block the staircase from the second landing."

Scootaloo asked, "What are we going to do after that? Is there a window we can get out of?" She knew how impractical this would be. There were well over a hundred ponies crammed into this building. There was no way they'd all get out the windows.

"No. Our good friend Lighthoof is about to make short work of the roof. As soon as he blows the roof off, he and I will defend the barricade while you cadets go for help." A small amount of hope seemed to revitalize everypony. Early morning light coming in through the small windows was helping. They busied themselves blockading the stairs on the second level, and when they were about half way finished, there was an explosion that shook the building down to its foundation. Nearly everypony lost their balance and fell to the floor. Scootaloo and Pibs collided and went sprawling. Cloud Blazer somehow managed to flap his wings and fly for a few seconds until the rumbling stopped. They could all hear crashing noises, some close, others far away. Brax and the cadets ran up the stairs. When they reached what should have been the attic, they came face to face with open sky.

Brax looked around, and then called out, "Lighthoof?" He looked all around. "Lighthoof!"

Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer took flight, circling a little, and they both saw him. Cloud Blazer got to him first, "Are you okay?" he asked Lighthoof.

Brax jumped over rubble to them. At first glance, he knew it was bad. One of the large stones from the roof had fallen on Lighthoof, crushing his front right leg. He was unconscious. Brax turned to Cloud Blazer, "Find the doc, now!"

Cloud Blazer galloped down the stairs, and returned moments later with the doctor.

"Oh my, oh my this is bad. This is not good," the doctor said.

Brax said, "We need to get this off."

The doctor shook his head, "It's no use. Look here." The doctor pointed near the shoulder joint. "Those bones are shattered. I need a med kit, a knife, a strap or some rope; anything will do."

Brax asked, "What else do you need?"

"A couple of stallions to help hold him down."

Pibs saw him, "Oh no, oh no, no, no..."

Brax replied, "You'll have whatever you need, doc. Cadets, it is time for you to take your leave. We'll hold out here until you return."

Scootaloo was holding back tears, Pibs couldn't stop them, Cloud Blazer had gone completely stoic for the moment.

Scootaloo felt a very strong resolve and said, "You'll never know we were gone."

Brax was already on his way back down the stairs when he called back, "Just hurry."

Scootaloo called to the other two, "Sparkle-squad, follow me. We've got to find a rescue party." They took to the air, going straight up initially. The first thing they noticed was how empty the sky was. When they had gone into this building there had been cadets everywhere. They turned around in slow circles a few times.

"There!" Cloud Blazer pointed at the stairs near the landing. All three cadets were in awe of what they now observed. Pegasus cadets were fighting on the stair cases near the LZ. They were actually pushing back the timberwolves.

Scootaloo shot ahead, and the other two followed. As they got near, they saw ponies of all kinds start flooding out of the buildings near the tops of the stairs. Many of them joined the battle on the steps, and the Pegasus ponies began taking back to the air. There was also some action closer to the LZ, but they couldn't see from here.

"Hey, Scootaloo!" Dodger called from below. His squad came around and matched pace with her, "Where have you been?"

"Dodger, follow us, we've got some ponies trapped that need help," she replied.

"How many?"

"I don't know, maybe two-hundred."

"Wow, okay, we'll need some more help. You know the location?"

Cloud Blazer replied, "Yes, we do; let's go."

"Follow me!" They all headed off to the LZ. As they arrived, the Pegasus ponies were being joined by soldiers and drill sergeants, and they were throwing the smashed timberwolves off of the terrace to clear the LZ. Some had already begun carrying survivors off. The earth and Pegasus ponies had taken refuge in the buildings nearby, and they came out to help when the Pegasus ponies began clearing the LZ. As Scootaloo's party came in for a landing on the LZ, they saw Sparklefly shouting orders.

"Move, move! Clear this LZ so we can get out of here." She seemed different somehow.

Scootaloo addressed her first, "Sparklefly! We found about two-hundred survivors holding up in a building in the southern end of the city."

"In the ruin?" Sparklefly asked.

Cloud Blazer answered, "Yes, they were retreating when they were cut off. They've been trapped in there ever since."

"Okay, Scootaloo, you're in charge of their evacuation. Pibs, are you okay?"

Pibs looked horrible. Her bandage had turned red from her wound, but the bleeding had stopped. She glanced at Scootaloo, "Yes, ma'am. Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer saved me, ma'am."

"Dodger, help Scootaloo round up enough squads to evacuate that building, then you bring the rest of the cadets back here. Scootaloo, don't bring any of those survivors here. Once you have them harnessed, you get them straight back to Cloudsdale."

"Understood, ma'am," Scootaloo and Dodger spoke in unison.

They hurried around, but the squads came together far faster than Scootaloo had thought they would. Within twenty minutes of leaving, they were on their way back to rescue those they had left behind. When they came through the smoke, they could see that the timberwolves were all over the building. They had failed to break the barricades, but now they were piling on top of each other half way up the building.

"I've got this. See you back at Cloudsdale!" Dodger called to Scootaloo. Then his squad charged in low, knocking the support out of the pile of timberwolves. They came crashing to the ground with no small amount of yelping and howling.

Scootaloo landed and they began the evacuation. There was room enough to get about thirty ponies on the roof at any one time, so they were able to load up fairly quickly. Cloud Blazer took Lighthoof in the first load. They were forced to amputate his leg to get him free of the roof stones. Dodger did fine work keeping the timberwolves from getting up the side of the building. His squad kept knocking them down until everypony made it into the air. Scootaloo was the last to leave, and she was carrying Brax again. He left his armor behind.

As they flew away from the embattled capitol city of Canterlot, Scootaloo took a final glance back at the burning city in the morning light. The LZ was alive with activity as ponies were being buckled onto their Pegasus carriers and evacuated. There were bodies of fallen ponies and timberwolves piled together. Scootaloo suddenly felt sick.

Brax must have noticed because he practically barked, "I swear if you throw up on me-"

He didn't have time to finish his threat. She had already started to vomit. It didn't last long, as Scootaloo hadn't eaten anything. She felt several kinds of terrible and expected to be yelled at, but Brax said nothing for a long time. The other cadets with their passengers were very spread out now, weary from all the flying, fighting, and carrying others to safety. Scootaloo took a drink from her canteen, hoping to wash the acidic taste from her mouth; she felt as though she could have fallen asleep in the air. All she wanted was to rest.

Almost half way to Cloudsdale, Brax finally broke the silence, "You did all right, kid. You did all right."

...

Sparklefly was becoming desperate. Her goggles had cracked from the fighting earlier, so she had thrown them off. She had a black eye. She was also a little dehydrated, soaked with sweat, bruised, battered, and exhausted. Rainbow Dash lay next to her, awake, but injured. She would be unable to fly. Princess Celestia was also resting, weary from the magic she had used defending the city. The city was nearly empty now, but the new problem they faced was getting the last of the soldiers away from the timberwolves to complete the evacuation. They were holding the stairs so everypony else could get out, but they can't really harness some-pony in the middle of a fight. She was considering using rubble to block the doors when she heard a collective gasp from everypony on the LZ. She turned to see four Pegasus ponies flying in. They weren't Pegasus ponies, they were alicorns.

It was the princesses: Luna, Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, and Hope's Glimmer. They flew in and landed on the platform, quickly crossing toward Sparklefly and the others.

"Hey, Twilight, I was wondering when you'd show up." Rainbow Dash teased.

Twilight Sparkle was very concerned, "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What can I do?"

Sparklefly interjected, "We need time, ma- your majesty."

Twilight Sparkle snorted, "We don't have time for 'your majesties', just tell us what you need, soldier."

Sparklefly spoke quickly, "We can't evacuate the last of our forces unless we can hold off the timberwolves for a few minutes. I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes to get everypony harnessed up? They're holding them at a choke point on the stairs."

Luna answered, "Leave it to us, be ready to get these ponies in the air."

"But what about-"

Princess Celestia interrupted, "You have already done all that you can, young one. Just make sure the rest of these get out while my sisters hold off the timberwolves."

"Yes ma'am." The four princesses took flight for the staircases. Sparklefly found herself barking orders again, "Alright cadets! Listen up! The princesses are about to free up the last of the defenders, so let's harness them up and get out of here. It's time to go home!"

Rainbow Dash regarded Sparklefly with what looked like admiration, "Wait, wasn't that my line?"

Sparklefly suddenly felt a lowly cadet again and sheepishly began, "Sorry, ma'am, I-"

"Forget it. Get me harnessed up. We need to get ready to go."

The dark smoke from the burning city soon lit up with powerful magic being unleashed from the alicorns. Within a minute the rest of the defenders came charging through the doors into the LZ. The cadets flew into action getting everypony buckled into their harnesses. In minutes they were taking flight. Sparklefly and Rainbow Dash made sure they all made it out before they joined them in the air.

Sparklefly came about and flew up above to the princesses. They had destroyed the staircases, and the timberwolves lay slaughtered in the hundreds, but thousands upon thousands more still poured though the city. Sparklefly called to the alicorns, "We're all out. Let's go!" Cadence nodded, and informed the others. Just before they all turned away, they all let out a final blast of fire, which began incinerating the timberwolves as they massed on top of each other. They were soon turned into a smoldering ruin.

Sparklefly and the princesses brought up the rear of the evacuation. A scout flew up to them and reported, "Majesties and madams, Cloudsdale reports everything on their end is well in hoof. There is food, water, and medics waiting for everypony." It was a comforting thing to hear. Sparklefly's heart felt heavy as she took a final glance back at the smoking ruin that had once been the great capital city of Equestria; she felt very small.

Rainbow Dash asked, "What is it?"

Sparklefly slowly replied, "The battle for Canterlot is over; we lost..."

3 Rest

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The morning after the attack on Canterlot was filled with cries of sorrow mixed with joy. As the last of the refugees arrived at Cloudsdale, the city lazily floated back up to its normal altitude. Families were being reunited, and everypony was working together to see to the needs of others. All in all, the cadets had evacuated almost ten-thousand ponies, and an additional four-thousand had fled from Canterlot and made it to Cloudsdale by other means. Two-hundred and eighty-three of the cadets were killed in the fighting, not to mention an uncounted number of Canterlot Guards. The unicorn magic allowed the refugees to be in Cloudsdale, but it had limits. If the spell wore off, they couldn't stand on the cloud floor of the city. They would have to begin ferrying them to other cities throughout Equestria for their own safety. The cadets were all told to stand down and rest until further orders came.

Scootaloo was sitting down in the middle of the chaos. She dropped off Brax, but didn't have strength to do anything else. Pibs had been taken directly to the infirmary, and Cloud Blazer was assisting with reuniting families. Brax was passing by, and saw Scootaloo still sitting where they had landed. He approached her.

"Are you alright, kid?"

Scootaloo looked up at him, but didn't say anything for a while. He sat down beside her and they stayed there in silence. She didn't even know how to sort out her feelings, except for exhaustion. She almost felt like Brax was sitting there for a reason; it was as if something was understood between them.

She finally asked, "Is it always like this... after?"

Brax looked at her gravely, "The first time is the worst. Can you walk?" She nodded. "Then come, we will find Lighthoof and your friend in the infirmary. Pibs, wasn't it?" Scootaloo nodded, and followed behind Brax as he pushed his way through the crowd.

...

Sparklefly wasn't sure she belonged in this meeting, but she was ordered here by Colonel Rainbow Dash. The colonel was in need of medical care, but she had shouted the medics down so she could be in this meeting before they treated her. The five alicorn princesses had gathered in a large empty hall in Cloudsdale. It was to be the new war room, according to the rumors. Notably, Colonel Rainbow Dash, General Mane Crusher, and several other high ranking officers who had been in charge of the night's operations were with them, which made perfect sense. Sparklefly had no idea why they might want with her here.

Rainbow Dash started, "Basically, from the reports I've heard, the cadets have done an outstanding job in the worst kind of situation. We effectively saved the entire population of Canterlot last night."

Princess Twilight Sparkle added, "And they did it under fire. You were right, Rainbow Dash, putting a military academy here was a great idea."

Princess Celestia somberly observed, "I agree, but only with heaviness of heart that such a thing should be necessary. If we cannot stop the timberwolves soon, the peaceful society we have built won't be recognizable anymore."

Rainbow Dash continued, "Also, don't forget, we owe thousands of lives to Sparklefly here. She took command after we all got pinned down and had to find cover."

Sparklefly shifted uneasily but didn't say anything. She was so very tired, and the additional mix of emotions she was experiencing was hard to sort out.

Princess Cadence said, "What's important now is our next move. How soon would it be feasible to retake Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, "Well, I don't exactly have a plan for that worked up, but as well as the cadets performed last night, I'd say they'll be ready to go in two weeks."

Princess Luna interrupted, "No, two weeks is no good. The earth and unicorn ponies are only beginning their training, and they're all the way in Manehattan. We'd never be able to get them down here in time."

Twilight Sparkle added, "Not to mention that the way the timberwolves are swarming, I'm not sure that even three-thousand Pegasus ponies, no matter how well trained would be enough to retake the city."

Rainbow Dash snorted, "Yeah, Twilight, but you didn't see them last night. They were amazing!"

Cadence said, "Rainbow Dash, no one would question that what your cadets did last night was incredible, but I think Twilight is right; there are just too many timberwolves."

Rainbow Dash was about to argue further, but Princess Celestia put up a hoof, "We are not going to retake Canterlot." There was stunned silence in the room for a moment.

"With respect, your majesty," General Mane Crusher began, "The attack on our capital cannot go unanswered. We must adopt a more aggressive posture."

Princess Celestia continued, "With the threat of starvation becoming a very real possibility, we can't waste any resources retaking the capital. Furthermore, my subjects have lost their homes, and now I have lost mine. We will not retake Canterlot until the rest of Equestria has been freed from the timberwolf scourge."

Silence fell again, settling the discussion. Twilight Sparkle was the first to speak, "So, what we need to find out is how the timberwolves are multiplying so quickly."

Luna added, "Scouts still report that they are pouring out of the southern end of the Everfree Forest in droves. Thousands per day or more."

Cadence asked, "Have the scouts had any success identifying where the timberwolves are coming from?"

Rainbow Dash answered, "No, by last report the trees are just too thick, and anytime the scouts try to get low enough they come under attack immediately."

Twilight Sparkle added, "It seems that short of burning the forest down, we're just out of options."

"That forest is filled with death," Princess Hope's Glimmer said. "Eight are true; only four walk out."

The others looked at her, but said nothing. Sparklefly had heard about Hope's Glimmer. The Princess of Future; the rumors of her speaking in what seemed to be a nonsensical way were now confirmed. It was said that she could see things that haven't yet happened, but that she didn't always understand them.

Princess Celestia looked at Sparklefly, "Young one, you are too quiet. Have you any thoughts on these matters?"

Sparklefly wasn't really sure what to say, and now she was even more nervous than she'd been just sitting there, "Your majesty, I'm only a cadet, but it seems to me the counsel you are receiving is wise. We must stop the timberwolves, and we must keep Equestria from starving, whatever the cost. To do that, we have to know how the timberwolves are multiplying so quickly." Sparklefly swallowed hard.

Luna Asked, "What about the food stores in Canterlot? Were they brought to Cloudsdale?"

Rainbow Dash answered, "There wasn't time. We were planning to get them, but the timberwolves cut us off. Of course, even if they hadn't, every cadet we have was mobilized, and they were exhausted after carrying the population out."

Princess Celestia added, "This is true, but what is also true is that the timberwolves don't eat pony-food. The stores were sealed up in the cellar of the palace. It is likely that they are undisturbed."

Cadence said, "That means we really have two plans to make for our next move."

Twilight Sparkle finished, "We have to secure that food, and we have to find the source of the timberwolves in the Everfree Forest."

Luna chimed in, "Agreed, those should be our priorities."

Princess Celestia stood up, with what appeared to be sadness in her eyes, "I also agree. Luna, go back to Manehattan and continue overseeing our efforts to train the ground ponies for combat. We may not have enough strength of arms even with all of Equestria out to fight, but we must be ready; Cadence, I want you to take a small company and visit the griffins in the east. Extend to them a plea for help in our desperate hour. Twilight Sparkle, you know the Everfree forest better than anypony I know. You will remain here and assist in the planning of our efforts to find the source of the timberwolves. General Mane Crusher, you and Rainbow Dash will draw up a plan to retrieve the food stores from the Canterlot palace. We will let all who suffered last night have rest while they can. I think we can manage three days." She looked at Sparklefly, "It is the least we can do for them."

The medics carried Colonel Rainbow Dash toward the infirmary to deal with her injuries. The meeting was adjourned, and Sparklefly left as quickly as her aching legs would carry her. There were ponies swarming all over Cloudsdale, going this way and that. Sparklefly just wanted to get away from all of them, just for a moment to herself. She was exhausted, but broke into a gallop, not really paying attention to where she was going. Her weary body kept moving, almost like she was trying to get away from something. Her mind was filled with the events of the night. When she finally stopped, she found herself on one end of Cloudsdale, looking at Equestria as it lay before her in the mid-morning light. She was looking down on Unicorn Range, and the Smokey Mountain in the distance. She collapsed and burst into tears. It was a heavy, heaving sort of crying. She had been keeping it in for several hours, but now she had no more strength to hold it back.

...

"Ouch!" Pibs squeaked as the nurse attended her head wound.

"I warned you," she replied dryly, and then walked away.

Pibs was trying to sit still, but the antiseptic was burning ferociously against her scalp. She just knew they were going to have to shave her mane to get to it. It was bad enough having the cropped cuts that all of the cadets wore, but this would be ten times worse. Truly, it was a small matter compared to everything she had just been through. Fighting, and flames, and death... Pibs shuddered. And then there was poor Lighthoof. He had been so brave to save her from that timberwolf, and now he was missing a leg and might die. Pibs hadn't cried since Dodge Junction burned, and her family with it, but she felt great sorrow for everypony in Canterlot. Hearing a commotion, she looked across the overcrowded hospital to see that it was Lighthoof. He had regained consciousness, and had started thrashing. There weren't any nurses close by, so Pibs jumped up and darted to him. At first she tried holding him down, but he was too strong. She nearly lost her balance when he shoved her.

Regaining herself, Pibs spoke quickly, "Lighthoof! Lighthoof, it's okay! You're okay! It's me, Pibs!" He stopped thrashing, but was looking around, completely disoriented. "You're in Cloudsdale, in the hospital."

He laid back down; it looked like he might have understood, "Water..." he spoke weakly, "please..."

"Okay, I'll get you some water, but you have to promise me not to move." He didn't respond. "Promise Pibs you won't move, okay?" Lighthoof nodded, and Pibs reached for her canteen. As she got it out of her harness, she found that it had several pieces of stone shrapnel in it, courtesy of the explosion that had knocked her out of the air. She began searching through the infirmary, pushing her way passed nurses and injured ponies, many of them cadets, but many more were Canterlot refugees. Most injuries were not severe. The cadets that were badly wounded never made the flight back.

"Pibs!" Scootaloo called out. Brax was with her.

"Help me find some water." Pibs called back to them.

Scootaloo made her way though the crowd. "I still have some in my canteen," she said as she pulled the canteen free of her harness and gave it to Pibs.

"Thanks!" Pibs said as she returned to Lighthoof. Scootaloo and Brax followed her.

Lighthoof looked terrible. He was very weak from having lost so much blood. His injury was such that he received immediate attention, so he was already bandaged. There were just so many wounded that they had left him as soon as the worst danger was past. The pain he was in must have been incredible.

"As promised, we brought you some water." Lighthoof raised his head slightly and reached for the canteen, but he knocked it to the floor. Pibs picked it up, "Let me," she said, and she put the canteen to his muzzle and he drank from it.

After he'd had his fill, he said, "My thanks... to you... fair mare..." Pibs felt herself blush a little.

One of the nurses approached and said, "He's awake? I'll have to give him a shot. Please, go back to your bed." She turned to Scootaloo and Brax, "Are either of you injured?"

Scootaloo started to answer, "Well, not re-"

The nurse cut her off, "Then out! I'm sorry, but we don't have room in here for visitors just now. Come back again tomorrow."

Scootaloo looked like she was about to explode in a fit of rage, but Brax put his hoof on her shoulder to get her attention. He motioned for her to follow him. Still seething, she followed Brax out of the infirmary.

Pibs returned to her bed and waited for the nurse. When she finally returned with sheers, Pibs sighed. It was as she had expected, but she didn't object. She just stared across at Lighthoof, who was now sleeping again. She hadn't really noticed before, but he was kind of handsome for a unicorn.

...

Cloud Blazer was approaching a very small puffy cloud that was hanging just twenty feet above Cloudsdale. He flew up to it, and started hitting it from one side, and then the other. Once he had it all packed up, he flew on top of it, and stamped twice. Rain began pouring out of it. Then he zipped down beneath it into the cold water. He could feel it washing away all of the struggle from the night he'd just been through. His muscles were sore, and he felt completely out of energy. He laid down and rolled onto his back, basking in the shower.

He'd spent the last few hours reuniting a single family. He had happened upon an unattended little colt that couldn't have been older than a yearling. He had picked him up and then continued on, finding a filly that turned out to be his sister; she had recognized her baby brother. The entire family had been separated from each other and scattered across one side of the stadium. All seven of them had survived: seven. Reuniting them was stressful work, sifting through a crowd of over ten-thousand to reunite them, but it was very rewarding. Cloud Blazer's mind turned to the close calls of the night before. He rolled onto his side and shuddered. He and Scootaloo, at the claws of timberwolves, had looked death in the face and survived. He pushed it out of his mind, letting the rain continue to fall on him as he drifted off into a peaceful mid-afternoon sleep...

...

"Then out!" Scootaloo scoffed to Brax, mocking the nurse. She was still angry about their brief infirmary visit. "I can't believe the nerve of some ponies!"

Brax flatly said, "The room was full, and we were in the way. Get over it."

That didn't appease Scootaloo's anger. She began stamping the cloud floor and muttering to herself. Brax let her do it for a few minutes, staying very cool in contrast. He was apparently in no hurry to calm her, at least so long as she didn't attempt anything rash.

Brax finally said, "Cadet, I lied to you before." This caught Scootaloo's attention, and she quit her stomping and looked over at him. "I am not a commander. In fact, I haven't made lieutenant yet; I'm just a soldier. I only said that before to get your attention."

Scootaloo burst into laughter, but she wasn't really sure why. Brax seemed equally puzzled. Maybe it was that they had been through so much; they could have died going in there, and it was a lie that got her moving. It really wasn't funny, but the emotions of the day had been very confusing. Her laugh faded, and they sat there in silence for a while as other ponies moved this way and that.

After a while, Scootaloo saw Sparklefly ambling by toward the barracks. She was moving at a rather leisurely pace with her head down. Scootaloo trotted over and called to her, "Hey, Sparklefly!"

Very slowly, Sparklefly stopped and then faced Scootaloo. She looked horrible. She had a black eye, not to mention a number of small cuts and bruises. She also might have been crying; it was hard to tell. "Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo said, "Yeah... are you alright?"

Sparklefly practically mumbled her reply, "...just need to... some sleep..."

A nod at Brax was all it took to get him to come assist her.

Scootaloo said, "Sparklefly, you've got some nasty cuts that need to be looked at. How about you come with us to the infirmary."

Sparklefly didn't argue, but started following her. Brax nodded a farewell to Scootaloo, and the mares made their way the short distance to the hospital. It was every bit as busy as when they had tried to visit Lighthoof and Pibs. Scootaloo was able to get the attention of a nurse. They brought Sparklefly in immediately, but they didn't have any more beds. As Scootaloo was about to leave, she saw Pibs heading toward the door, so she waited for her.

"Hey, Pibs, are they letting you out?" Scootaloo asked.

Pibs winced, "Oh, not so loud. I've got a headache."

Pibs closed her eyes when they went outside, almost as if she were blinded by daylight.

Scootaloo spoke softly, "Need some rest? I was about to head back to the barracks. I've got some rack time saved up from last night."

Pibs replied, "Yes... doctor's orders. I hit my head pretty hard; they gave me twelve stitches and said I need to sleep." They walked on in silence.

As they neared the barracks, Pibs spoke again, "Scootaloo..." She seemed to be trying to find the words, "I don't think... I wouldn't have survived that fall..."

Scootaloo had turned to face Pibs. "I just... I wanted..." Pibs looked up at Scootaloo, "Thank you... you saved my life..."

Scootaloo wasn't sure what to say, "Well, I'm sure you'd have done the same if you'd had the chance."

"I'd have wanted to, but..." the words were still trying to form. "You were amazing... I wouldn't have known what to do... thanks."

"Don't mention it. Let's get some rest."

They went into the barracks, and Scootaloo was pretty sure that a friendship had just been born.

...

Sparklefly lay on her bed in the infirmary, completely silent. They'd given her some water and said they'd come back to tend to her shortly. She lay there just staring ahead blankly, watching all of the other patients. She was very well off considering some of the injuries she was seeing. Gashes, lacerations, concussions, amputations, and burns were the majority of what she observed. She could tell they were already using antiseptics sparingly, which was understandable considering how many injured there were. Most of them were not cadets. It seemed that the refugees took far more injuries in the panic that flight for their lives had induced than did her comrades. Her comrades; that thought brought the tears flowing from her eyes again. She didn't try to hold them back. She just didn't care anymore.

Sparklefly lay there for what seemed like several hours, trying without strength to push the thoughts of the night from her mind, before a nurse came to see her. She spoke; Sparklefly answered, but she really wasn't paying attention. The nurse put a cool pack on her eye, and cleaned her cuts. The antiseptics burned, but it didn't matter. Sparklefly just lay there, quietly sobbing into her pillow.

4 Recovery

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The three day break from drills was very welcome. The cadets were only required to report in for roll call, meal times, and chores. They were also forbidden from leaving Cloudsdale. Pibs spent most of her time taking leisurely flights around the floating city with Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer; she hadn't really seen anypony else from their squad, but the others had told her that Sparklefly had been in the infirmary the last time they saw her. Her new friends showed her their thinking spot, and pointed on the horizon to where Ponyville is. She agreed with them that you could see it, but she couldn't. She'd never been there before. In fact, she hadn't really traveled anywhere before her home had been destroyed when Dodge Junction was lost. The other thing she spent her time doing was visiting Lighthoof in the infirmary. He was awake by the second day, and he welcomed her company. Brax was also there as often as he was able. She was glad that injured unicorn would be able to walk again, in time. He would, however, almost certainly be discharged from his duties as a soldier. He wouldn't be able to run or fight effectively with only three legs, and that would be a problem.

Pibs was most relieved that her headache had finally stopped after the second day. She still was wearing a bandage, but it was just to protect the healing cut in her scalp. The nurse had told her that it would be sensitive for a while, but that they would remove the bandage at week's end. Pibs was already afraid to be running around without a mane. It would be months before it was grown back in.

It was now early afternoon on the third day. Pibs was sitting in the thinking spot with Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer. It was a very peaceful day; vast cloud formations floated above and below them, but they could still see plenty of blue sky all around. Laying down on a fluffy cloud floor was what days like this were made for, that is, for a group of Pegasus ponies with nothing better to do.

Scootaloo interrupted the quiet, "So, you think he's cute?"

"Oh yeah... Wait! What?" Pibs was caught completely off guard, "Who are you talking about? Who are you talking to?"

Cloud Blazer chortled.

Scootaloo continued, "Ah ha! That's what I thought."

Pibs was becoming alarmed, "Wait, no; it's nothing like that."

Cloud Blazer asked, "Who are we talking about?"

Pibs said, "Nopony at all."

Scootaloo said, "There's really no point denying it, Pibs. You've spent every second the infirmary allows visitors in there with Lighthoof."

Pibs blushed uncontrollably, and quickly hid her face in the cloud floor.

She was a little angry now, "I can't believe you did that!"

Scootaloo asked, "What? I just asked if you thought he was cute. It's not like I asked you if you thought Cloud Blazer was cute right here in front of him."

Cloud Blazer got up, seeming disgusted, "Hey, leave me out of it, but if you two are going to talk about boys, I'm leaving." He flapped his wings and flew low away from them, back into the city.

Pibs asked, "So, you think Cloud Blazer is cute?"

Scootaloo shrugged, "I never really thought about it. Why, do you?"

"Well yeah... but I mean, I don't like him like that."

"Back to the point. You really like Lighthoof, don't you?"

"Yeah... well, it's no big deal. Just a little crush; it's not like he likes me or anything. I notice you've been hanging out a lot with Brax."

"Gross, Pibs! He's old enough to be my dad. He's just interesting is all. Besides that, we all kind of bonded the other day."

"Oh yeah, that's why I've been visiting Lighthoof... cause we all bonded..."

"Nice try, Pibs; I'm not buying it."

An embarrassing situation to be sure, but at least Scootaloo wasn't relentless in her teasing. Pibs definitely felt a fair amount of confusion for the situation, but she was grateful enough for the rescue that she would continue to visit the hospital no matter what anypony else said. Just as long as they didn't tease her too much.

...

Cloud Blazer was aimlessly flying around Cloudsdale. He had no place to be until the assembly at sunset, and that was still hours away. He finally decided to hug the eastern side of the city, so he flew in that direction. The sun was warming his back, and the breeze was very refreshing. He was now passing their main training area, which was alive with cadets grouped up here and there. They were all making the most of their time off, which was quickly running out.

Near the edge of Cloudsdale, Cloud Blazer could see a single pony sitting alone. He thought nothing of it at first, but then realized that it was Sparklefly. He hadn't heard a word from her or anypony else in their squad since they had returned from the battle, three days earlier. The last time he had seen her was at the LZ during the rescue operations. Wondering whether she might want to hang out, he altered course. It was a short distance to cross, and he landed near her, approaching on hoof.

"Hi, Sparklefly," he spoke in a very friendly, informal manner.

She sat there, staring off into the distance, but didn't respond. Her black eye was still pretty bad, but it was on the mend. He turned to see where she was looking; it was in the direction of Canterlot. Smoke was still rising from the derelict city. As he came up next her, she turned to face him. She had obviously been crying. There was a deep sadness in her eyes that was making no attempt to hide.

"Sparklefly?" he tried again.

She started, almost as if she was awakened from sleep. The sorrow retreated from her, and she dried her eyes. "What? Sorry, I didn't hear you come up," she lied unconvincingly.

"Oh, it's no big deal. I was just flying around Cloudsdale and I saw you sitting here. You want to hang out?"

"No thank you. I came out here to sit for a little while. I don't really feel like flying," she said as she turned back to face the ruin, far to the east.

"Oh, well that suits me just fine," he said as he sat down beside her.

Sparklefly sighed, but didn't respond.

He tried something else, "I heard about what you did back in Canterlot. I almost couldn't believe it."

Without a word Sparklefly stood, turned, and began walking off.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"It's too crowded in this spot."

Cloud Blazer was confused as he looked around. "But I'm the only one here," he said more to himself, but he said it loudly enough that she heard him.

Sparklefly did not respond. She simply continued walking away. He watched her go and decided it would be best not to follow.

A voice from behind him said, "Do not feel injury at her words."

Cloud Blazer turned around, and was rather surprised to see Princess Celestia, her multicolored mane flowing with the breeze. He felt very startled by her presence and wasn't sure if he should bow or salute. Her eyes were heavy with sadness, but she smiled at him disarmingly.

"She pushes you away because she's not ready to share what happened yet. The pain and grief are still too near."

Cloud Blazer was very concerned now, "Is she going to be okay?"

Princess Celestia was grave with concern, "I don't know. All we can do for now is hope, and when she is ready, we must be there for her."

They stood there together, watching Sparklefly walk aimlessly into the distance under the weight of an unshared sorrow.

...

The rest of the day passed without incident. As the sun began descending into the west, the cadets all gathered in the assembly area near the leader boards. Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle were already on the stage. The drill sergeants were putting everypony into ranks. Unceremoniously, the vacation was over. Scootaloo took her place, but then was moved by an instructor. They placed her between Pibs and Cloud Blazer, right beside Dodger, who was next to Sparklefly. This didn't make any sense. Normally they would be with their squads, and Dodger wasn't even in their company. She looked up at the leader board, and for a moment, she was confused to see the names of everypony in her squad but herself, Cloud Blazer, Sparklefly, and Pibs had been crossed out. Upon realizing the full extent of the situation, she felt ashamed. They had been marked off because they never made it back from Canterlot. Thunder Boomer, Sky Burst, Flame Out, Treble Cleft, and Rain Dancer were dead.

Rainbow Dash was now on the stage, still wearing bandages on her left wing. They had immobilized it against her body. Apparently, a pair of timberwolves had jumped her and one had bit down on her wing. In the struggle, she got free of them, but her wing was broken. Rumor was that she'd be grounded for at least six months. Scootaloo felt horrible for her. Having been a late bloomer herself, she was grounded far longer than anypony else she knew growing up. There's nothing like flying; being grounded is the worst.

Colonel Rainbow Dash spoke, "Cadets, we wanted to formally thank all of you for responding valiantly to the need of your fellow-ponies in Canterlot. Ten-thousand ponies are alive today because you stepped in and wouldn't leave them to their fate. This evening, we are here to honor those who sacrificed their lives to save others. There is nothing we can do to exalt what they have done. It holds a place in the hearts of those they fought to save. Any words we say will be very little thanks for what they've done. We have decided to honor them, by saying their names here and now. The honor falls to the princess of friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Rainbow Dash stepped back, and Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. "It is said that there is no greater act of friendship than to sacrifice yourself to save your friends. Everypony on that list did even greater than that. They gave their lives to save ponies they didn't even know." She began saying the names of the fallen cadets. As she spoke, the Wonderbolts began circling the field, flying in Missing Pony formation. Scootaloo had a very heavy heart. She hadn't realize how many of them she'd known. She thought she heard Cloud Blazer sniffling, but now wasn't the time to make a scene. Twilight Sparkle finished reciting the names, and then she added, "We thank you all for your service, and your sacrifice. You will be in our hearts now and forever. There is one more honor to bestow, and it will be offered by Princess Celestia." Twilight Sparkle stepped back.

Princess Celestia stepped forward, her expression somber. But there was a light of hope in her eyes. "I am proud of each and every one of you. You have all risked your lives to save others, and to preserve our peaceful way of life. Yet, there were a few that I felt needed a special mention of their deeds. Firstly, Dodger of Cloudsdale."

The drill instructor motioned to him, and he stepped forward, approaching the stage, and ascending the steps to stand beside Princess Celestia. He knelt before her.

"Dodger, at peril to yourself and your squad, you searched the city until there was no doubt that nopony else needed to be evacuated. For this brave act, you have my thanks, and I bestow upon you the Shining Star."

Rainbow Dash brought a small case of medals. Princess Celestia took a Shining Star Medallion and put it on Dodger's neck.

"Stand here, and be recognized."

Dodger stood to the side.

Princess Celestia continued, "Second, Pibs of Dodge Junction."

Pibs looked completely stunned. Scootaloo had to gently kick at Pibs' hooves to get her moving. She climbed onto the stage and bowed before Princess Celestia.

"Pibs, you were severely injured in the fighting, but you did not retreat. You stayed to help your friends rescue others. For your persistence beyond that normally expected, I give you my thanks, and I bestow upon you the Shining Star." Princess Celestia took another Shining Star Medal and put it on Pibs. "Stand here and be recognized." Pibs stood beside Dodger, still in complete shock.

"Third, Cloud Blazer of Ponyville."

He stepped forward in perfect marching steps all the way to the princess and bowed.

"Cloud Blazer, when your squad was under fire, and your friend in need, you put yourself at great risk to come to her aid. Furthermore, upon finding a building filled with ponies that needed help, you first went in with Lighthoof to see what you could do. For these selfless acts, you have my thanks, and I bestow upon you the Canterlot Shield." She placed the medal on Cloud Blazer. "Stand here, and be recognized."

He took his place next to Pibs.

"Fourth, Scootaloo of Ponyville."

Scootaloo's heart was pounding uncontrollably. She walked very carefully toward the stage. It seemed like it was much farther away now than when Pibs and Cloud Blazer went up to it. She climbed the steps, tripping on the top one, but she caught herself. Now she was incredibly nervous and embarrassed. She approached Princess Celestia and bowed. Her mouth was suddenly very dry.

"Scootaloo, when your squad took fire, and you saw your friend was hit, you went to her aid in spite of the danger. Furthermore, you personally oversaw the evacuation of a building that resulted in the saving of one-hundred and seventy-three lives. For these acts of steadfast courage, you have my thanks, and I bestow upon you the Shining Star, and the Canterlot Shield."

Scootaloo was surprised at the weight of the medals.

"Stand here and be recognized." Scootaloo stood by Cloud Blazer, her legs were feeling more than a bit shaky.

"Finally, Sparklefly of Apple Loosa."

Sparklefly mechanically approached the stage, climbed the steps, and bowed before the princess. She looked completely stoic.

"Sparklefly, by every account, your deeds in Canterlot exceed in all ways what is expected of a cadet. You maintained combat composure and use of your intellect while under fire. In the absence of instructors, you took command and devised the plan that resulted in the saving of two-thousand, seven-hundred, and fifteen lives. Furthermore, you did not leave this to others, but led the charge into enemy forces yourself. You demonstrated the very best of Equestria. For these extreme acts of gallantry, you have my deepest thanks, and I bestow upon you the Shining Star, the Canterlot Shield, and the highest honor I can give, the Equestria Cross. Stand here and be recognized."

Thunderous applause erupted after the Equestria Cross was given to Sparklefly. She was the first pony to receive Equestria's highest honor in nearly a hundred years. Princess Celestia went on to recognize other ponies for their deeds, but it all became a blur to Scootaloo. She did hear that both Brax and Lighthoof were awarded the Canterlot Shield.

The ceremony finally ended, and ponies were on their way back to the barracks. Training would resume the following day, and nobody wanted to be caught without getting enough sleep. Scootaloo was going to head there herself, when she got a summons from a drill instructor, ordering her to Colonel Dash's office.

Upon arriving, she saw that Princess Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were pouring over a map on the desk. Scootaloo walked straight in.

"You wanted to see me?"

Twilight Sparkle was very warm, "Yes, hi Scootaloo, how are you?"

"I'm well, your majesty, thank you."

"Oh, please don't call me that; we've known each other for far too long."

"Yes ma'am; twelve years, I believe," Scootaloo was put at ease by Twilight Sparkle's manner.

The princess smiled at her, but then became all business, "I'm sure you're wondering why we called you here tonight."

"Yes ma'am, I am starting to."

"As you know, the timberwolves are still coming out of the Everfree Forest in massive numbers. We are putting together a plan to get into the forest and find the source of the timberwolves. I'm looking for ponies to come with us, and there are very few that have actually been inside the Everfree Forest. There are even fewer that have been in there and have combat training."

Scootaloo was a little surprised, "Are you asking me to be on a team that's going into the Everfree Forest?"

"No," she replied, "I'm asking you to lead the team."

Scootaloo was completely stunned for a moment, the second time in as many hours. She finally asked, "Wouldn't Rainbow Dash be a better choice? She's been in the Everfree Forest lots more times than I have."

Rainbow Dash answered this, "It's true, I'm pretty awesome, but I can't do everything. I'm busy planning a raid on the food stores in Canterlot."

Twilight Sparkle was solemn, "Scootaloo, this mission is going to have to happen very soon. Rainbow Dash won't be able to fly again for a while."

Rainbow Dash said, "I'm sure I'll be back up before you know it."

Twilight Sparkle answered, "From what the medic said, you were really lucky. Had that broken on the joint, you might never fly again." The Pegasus shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

Rainbow Dash added, “You'll be pulled from your class and receive advanced Wonderbolt training that will last six weeks. You will graduate with the rank of sergeant, and this will be your first assignment. You'd be under Twilight Sparkle's command."

The princess continued, "Yes, I'll be with you, but I'm not a soldier, meaning the field decisions for the safety of the group would be yours. So, what do you say, Scootaloo?"

Without a second thought, Scootaloo exclaimed, "Absolutely! I've got this."

Twilight Sparkle replied, "Are you sure? It's going to be very dangerous."

Scootaloo wouldn't be deterred now, "If danger's the game, I'm your mare."

Twilight Sparkle smiled, "Sounds like I recruited Rainbow Dash after all." Scootaloo grinned at this. "You'll meet with Rainbow Dash in the morning to pick your team, so put some thought to who you may want tonight."

The colonel added, "Once your team is assembled, we'll be all in for the next six weeks."

Scootaloo saluted, "We won't let you down, ma'am."

After Scootaloo was dismissed, she headed back to the barracks. Even if she hadn't had wings, right now she could fly.

...

Sparklefly again found herself at the eastern edge of Cloudsdale, alone. She had intended to go to the barracks, but there was too much activity there. She felt the need for solitude, at least for a little while. She sat, staring at the darkness where Canterlot used to light up the night. The fires had burned themselves out the night before; Sparklefly knew because she'd been watching as the glow of the conflagration subsided. She wasn't crying anymore, but her heart was aching.

"You bear great grief, Sparklefly," a voice said from behind her. She turned around to see Princess Celestia striding up. "I hope I didn't startle you," she said sweetly.

"No, your majesty," she replied vacantly, "I wasn't startled."

"It is good to grieve, but you must not bear this burden alone. It is too heavy a weight for you to carry by yourself."

Indeed it was heavy. Sparklefly had been under it ever since they returned from the battle. She kept replaying in her mind how things could have been different. She knew that she could figure out a way to save everypony.

She finally said, "I failed them..."

"You failed no one," the princess said softly.

The sorrow made her feel like she would explode, "You don't understand... they are dead because of me... I yelled charge; I did, and my friends followed me, and now they are dead. My Sparkle-squad, they were beside me when we went in; they were right beside me, and I let them die..." tears were burning hot from Sparklefly's eyes now.

"The death of your friends was not your doing, young one."

Princess Celestia didn't seem to understand. Sparklefly rephrased, "Two-hundred and eighty-three cadets are dead because I told them to rush in... I should have found another way."

The princess gazed into Sparklefly's eyes, boring into her very soul and said, "You have now had three days to consider another way. What other way have you found?"

Sparklefly was silent. She had thought on it nearly every waking moment since it happened, and she had realized no viable alternative as of yet.

"You could not in three days discover the answer, even knowing what you now know. How is it you feel you should have found another way at the time?" Princess Celestia asked. "There were nearly three-thousand lives in the balance, and your actions saved them. The ponies that followed you didn't do it because you told them to. They knew you were right. They knew that the ponies of Canterlot would all die if they didn't intervene. Your actions were measured and incredibly effective. Every pony that risked life and limb to follow you could see that you understood what was at stake."

Sparklefly sat silently, tears flowing freely. "Will it always hurt like this?"

Princess Celestia looked at her gravely, "It always does for me. Every time one of my subjects falls prey to the timberwolves, I wonder whether there was more that I could have done to save them. But you cannot let yourself be consumed with what might have been. If you do, you will be lost, and the next time lives depend on you, they may be lost as well."

Sparklefly shrugged, "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a soldier."

The princess made a bitter smile, "We ponies were not made for war, young one. However, if we succeed soon, we can save many other young ponies from that, or a worse fate that lies in store."

Now it was all out in the open. Sparklefly really understood what was at stake, and she didn't have to suffer the endless 'what if' questions on her own. She wasn't alone. Somepony understood. Losing her sense of boundaries, she hugged Princess Celestia, burying her face in the princess's shoulder. The princess put a hoof around her, and let her weep in sorrow for her fallen friends.

5 The Forging of an Elite Squad

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Pibs woke up screaming, or so she thought. It was a dream that hadn't quite ended as she was awakening. Her heart raced as she lay in her bunk; she realized that she hadn't screamed, but she was covered in a cold sweat. She sat up, and it was all she could do to just try and keep breathing. It wasn't her first nightmare. She got them fairly frequently ever since Dodge Junction was destroyed. She was with her family again in this dream, which was typical. They were walking through the forest near Hayseed Swamps, which was near home. Her mom had a picnic basket, and they were going for lunch on a beautiful spring day. They spread the blanket in a clearing, and Pibs was playing ball with her younger brothers and sister. They kicked it around, and threw it through the air. Sometimes they'd throw it back and forth, and Pibs would fly up and knock it back down. Her baby brothers would laugh and laugh. On one such attempt, Pibs accidentally hit the ball too far, sending it sailing out of the clearing. When she went to get it, the plants in the forest became alive and angry. The vines and the trees attacked her, so she flew up above them. That was when she heard screaming; it was her family. She raced back to the clearing; it was somehow now miles away. She arrived only just in time to see her entire family being consumed by the forest. She wanted to help, and she flew down to them, but her dad stopped her shouting, "Pibs, go. Daddy loves, but you have to go now. Go!" The vines came for her, reaching, scratching, and grabbing. She flew up high to escape and saw her family taken by the forest. She screamed, and that was when she woke up.

She didn't know what time it was, but nopony else was up yet, so it must still be late in the night. 'Just keep breathing,' Pibs thought to herself. 'It was just a dream.' Pibs wasn't afraid of the forest. In fact, she had a love for all manner of growing things. She had developed a keen interest in plants as a filly. That love became a rabid fascination to learn everything she could about all plant life. They had a little garden back home that she would tend, so when her cutie mark appeared as an assortment of rare flowers, it didn't surprise anyone. Pibs was the only one in all of Dodge Junction that had even known the names of each flower in her cutie mark. Before the timberwolf invasion, she was all set to go and study at the Equestria Botany Institute in Vanhoover. She had hoped to one day become a botanist, studying exotic plants. Either that or a florist that sells exotic plants. Botany would probably have been lonely work, and Pibs was far too social to see herself out in the field alone. If she was on a team, that'd be fine, which is why she strongly was leaning toward florist. Everypony loves a florist, and what better way to meet a strong, handsome stallion that might one day become her special somepony? That would have been the perfect way to spend her days, near home with her family in Dodge Junction, but these plans had to be put on hold. If she ever had foals of her own, they would never know their grandparents.

Pibs was saddened by these thoughts of what should have been. She suddenly realized that she was very thirsty. Quietly, she lowered herself down onto the cold floor, and slowly padded over toward the end of the hall where the fountain was. As she approached it, a chill ran down her spine, and she froze on the spot. There was a headless horse standing by the fountain. Pibs shut her eyes tightly, trying to breathe quietly. Her father had often told the story of the Headless Horse that roamed the Hayseed Swamps, looking for little fillies and colts that wandered into the woods and got lost. He would take their heads so he could have one of his own, and the young ponies would be doomed to wander Equestria headless for the rest of the their lives. Pibs loved scary stories, but she always had nightmares about them. Her heart was pounding now, and fresh cold sweat glistened in her coat. She dared not open her eyes. She could hear the blood rushing through her ears as her heart pounded even faster. She told herself that it wasn't real, that she was still dreaming. Pibs was wide awake.

"Can't sleep?" the headless pony whispered to her.

Pibs was nearly in a panic. She fought to remain calm, imagining what it would say next. It would probably be, 'That's too bad, for now I have to take your head!' or something to that effect with a twisted maniacal laugh for good measure.

Pibs finally forced her eyes open, and it wasn't a headless horse at all. It was just Scootaloo. Relief washed over her like a wave hits the beach.

"Scootaloo! You scared me half to death!" Pibs frantically whispered.

Scootaloo snorted, looking amused, "All I did was stand here," she whispered back, "how did I scare you?"

"It was dark, and for a moment there, I thought you were the Headless Horse."

Scootaloo stifled a giggle, "Rainbow Dash got me with that story one time too."

Pibs was completely relieved now, and drank some cool water from the fountain. It was very refreshing. Pibs asked, "So, why are you up? You can't sleep either?"

Scootaloo shook her head, "I'm too excited to sleep. Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight Sparkle have asked me to lead a team into the Everfree Forest-"

"Take me with you!" Pibs cut her off in an ecstatic whisper, excitement overflowing good sense. "I've always wanted to go to the Everfree Forest! I've read about all the plants that are there. I know about the trees, and brambles, and the poison joke-"

"Whoa there, slow down." Scootaloo hushed her as Pibs pranced in place with excitement. "This is going to be extremely dangerous. We're going to try to discover how the timberwolves are multiplying so fast. That means we'll be headed into the very heart of where they're coming from, and we're only taking a single squad."

Her excitement faded only a little, "I can be a great help to you in there! Many of the plants are also very dangerous," Pibs argued, "What other pony do you know that can keep you safe from the plant life?"

Scootaloo nodded, "Well, you do have freaky knowledge about plants, I'll give you that. On the other hoof, the training is going to be really rough. I'm not sure what Rainbow Dash has in store for us, but you can bet it's going to be brutal."

"Please take me with you, Scootaloo!" Pibs was almost on her knees, begging.

"Geez, don't be so pathetic. I'll recommend you for the team."

Pibs leaped in the air for joy, landing a little louder than she intended to. The thud of her hooves hitting the floor sounded throughout the barracks. Both Scootaloo and Pibs cringed, but it seemed that nopony was awakened by it. They nodded at each other, grinning, and they each went back to their bunks to try and get some rest. It would now be even harder for Pibs to sleep, but for a much better reason.

...

Cloud Blazer was up early for his leisurely morning flight around the training grounds in Cloudsdale. He always tried to get up before everypony else so he could have the whole sky to himself. This had been his morning ritual ever since he learned how to fly. There was nothing like the wind in your mane as you soar around your home. He had tried to get Scootaloo to join him. As it turned out, she was not the morning pony that Cloud Blazer was.

It was still dark, just before the faint hints of dawn creep into the sky. Sunrise was the best, and a dawn during a morning flight couldn't be beat. As Cloud Blazer came around, he saw somepony at the cadet leader board, the one that had the rankings of all of the cadets. As he got closer, he noticed that it was Scootaloo, and she seemed to be taking notes. Anytime Scootaloo was up this early deserved some serious investigation to determine the cause. Cloud Blazer dropped down and landed not far from her.

Scootaloo glanced back and saw Cloud Blazer, "Hey," she greeted him, and then immediately turned back to the leader board.

"Hey, yourself. What are you doing up so early? I doubt if you've lost any ranking since just last night."

"Very funny," she said flatly, "I've got a special assignment that I have to work on."

"A special assignment?" curiosity flooded him.

"Directly from Colonel Dash and Princess Twilight."

His imagination was beginning to run wild, "And...?"

She looked back at him. He could tell that she knew he wanted to know more. She finally said, "Sorry, I can't talk about it."

"Oh, come on!"

"Sorry, it's all top secret and stuff," she said in a lighthearted manner as a wry grin appeared on her face.

"Don't be like that, Scoot!" As soon as he said it, he realized he shouldn't have. The look on her face went instantly from light teasing to exasperation and frustration.

"Don't call me that!" She almost shouted quite abruptly. Without another word she stomped off back toward her barracks.

He hadn't intended to make her angry. He wanted to apologize, but the way she was storming away made him think again. He'd do it later. It would be best to let her have a chance to cool off first. They usually got along just fine, but sometimes he was a bit of an idiot. Cloud Blazer chastised himself, and then continued his morning flight around the compound. He and her other friends, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, had all called her 'Scoot' when they were younger. However, the moniker seemed to increasingly annoy her in the last few years. He took to the sky and returned to his approximate position. Somehow, the air was less fresh, and the flight not nearly as enjoyable today.

...

Scootaloo made it all the way back to her barracks before she even began to calm down. She didn't usually get that upset at Cloud Blazer, but she just wasn't in the mood for that kind of foolishness. She'd already told him on several occasions that she didn't like to be called by that childish nickname anymore, but he'd been using it since before she could fly. Back then she hadn't minded at all, but enough was enough. Maybe he hadn't meant to be offensive; sometimes old habits die hard. She let out a sigh of frustration and tried to push it from her mind.

The morning was otherwise uneventful. Everypony assembled for roll call, and did the normal routine of breakfast, making beds, and chores. Scootaloo got to be excused once drills started, and she went back to Rainbow Dash's office, as ordered. Unlike the previous two times she'd been here, the outer office was full of ponies that were coming up with plans and scenarios for the cadets to run through. It was full of noises and cross talk, which made it seem like a very exciting place to be.

Scootaloo walked silently passed everypony and to Rainbow Dash's office, but the door was shut. She stood for a moment, and had just decided to knock when it opened in front of her with the glow of magic.

"It looks like you beat me here," Princess Twilight Sparkle said from behind her.

Scootaloo smiled and followed her into the office.

Rainbow Dash greeted them, "Good morning!" They all sat around the desk.

Twilight Sparkle began, "Alright, Scootaloo, do you have any ideas for our team?"

Scootaloo answered, "Yes, your majesty. I looked over the leader board this morning for some help, and I know of some that I definitely want, but I'm open to suggestions."

"No problem, we're here to help," Colonel Rainbow Dash said, sounding rather informal.

Twilight Sparkle added, "Plus we'll have plenty of time to work together to make sure it's a solid team. Just one thing, Scootaloo. I already told you; you don't have to call me 'your majesty'. We've known each other way too long, just call me Twilight."

Scootaloo just couldn't do it, so she said, "Yes, ma'am." It was strange, really; she had been calling her Twilight for years. Something about the command structure that had been drilled into her for the past few months was making it difficult.

The princess smiled, "That works too."

Rainbow Dash giggled. It was the first time Scootaloo had seen her this relaxed since she'd arrived in Cloudsdale.

Scootaloo realized that she now had the undivided attention of the other two. She sat up straight, "For starters, I definitely want Cloud Blazer. He was with me in Canterlot, and he responds well under pressure. He's handy in a fight, too. Also, I want Pibs," Rainbow Dash was making notes. "I didn't really get to see her fight, but she kept her cool in Canterlot, even after being shot down and suffering a concussion. More importantly, she has freaky knowledge about plants and stuff. She was studying to be a botanist or something before the timberwolves invaded, and she says she knows about all the plants in the Everfree Forest. I think she'd be very useful. I've also considered Sparklefly because she's such a great flyer; she's always been at the top of our company's leader board since the first day."

This was mostly true. It was also true that it would give Scootaloo a certain feeling of accomplishment to have Sparklefly under her command. It may have been a bit petty, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be ahead of her this once.

Rainbow Dash said, "Not to mention how awesome she was in Canterlot!"

Scootaloo resisted the urge to frown at the colonel's praise of Sparklefly.

Twilight Sparkle added, "True, but we may not be doing a lot of flying. Every time scouts have tried to fly into the forest we have lost them."

Rainbow Dash countered, "That's true, but Sparklefly's a natural leader, and really good in a fight."

Scootaloo, feeling a little deflated, continued, "Those were my main thoughts. For the others, I was looking at the company leader boards to see who had the overall highest scores, and I've made a list from that of ponies that I think would be good candidates."

Rainbow Dash seemed to approve of this strategy and agreed, "Sure, we can get them in and see how the group performs together starting first thing tomorrow."

Rainbow Dash took the list from Scootaloo. She began to read over it.

Twilight Sparkle asked, "Cloud Blazer is a friend of yours isn't he? What about Pibs?"

Scootaloo replied, "Yeah; I've known Cloud Blazer since I lived in Ponyville. He moved there while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and I still had our Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse." She suddenly felt very self-conscious about her cutie mark, but the princess didn't seem to pay any attention to the lack thereof. Of course, Twilight was already well aware of its absence. Scootaloo continued, "I only really just got to know Pibs on our way to Canterlot. She's been in my squad since I arrived here, but we never really talked until then."

Twilight Sparkle said, "That's good; friendship can be a powerful thing." Scootaloo and the princess shared a knowing look, remembering simpler times in Ponyville, before the Cutie Mark Crusaders grew up, before Rainbow Dash joined the Wonderbolts, before Rarity, Sweetie Belle's sister, moved to Manehattan... Life seemed much simpler back then, but the lessons learned and the friends made were never forgotten.

Rainbow Dash looked up at Scootaloo, "I only see one problem. I don't think we should take Breeze Flicker. Her scores are good, but she's afraid of only two things. Enclosed spaces and spiders, both of which are in large supply in the Everfree Forest."

Scootaloo replied, "I had no idea, thanks."

Rainbow Dash said, "No problem. I’ll give you Regal Masquerade instead. He’s usually not quite at the top of the boards, but he’s one of the best. I’ll have the rest of these assemble this evening so we can all meet each other."

Twilight Sparkle said, "I want to add one final thing. This mission is going to be very dangerous. I believe we should only accept members on a volunteer basis."

Rainbow Dash looked a little skeptical but shrugged, "It's your party, Twilight."

...

That evening, just after dinner, the ponies chosen for Scootaloo's squad assembled at a small new training field across the city from the rest of the Academy. There were nine including Twilight Sparkle. In addition to Scootaloo, Sparklefly, Cloud Blazer, and Pibs, one mare and three stallions joined the squad. They were Nimba, Regal Masquerade, Lightning Dasher, and Nitro. Nimba and Nitro were twins, though they looked nothing alike. Regal Masquerade was from Manehattan, and Lightning Dasher was from Las Pegasus.

It was Sparklefly's impression that they had a solid team put together. She had met Regal Masquerade once or twice during their war games, when they would pit one company against another competitively. The others were strangers to her, but they all had been at the top of their respective companies, just like she was.

Colonel Rainbow Dash blew a whistle. Everypony but Twilight Sparkle instinctively formed a line facing the colonel. "Alright, listen up! For those of you who don't know, you've been asked here tonight to be part of an elite squad for a special mission. It will be led by Princess Twilight Sparkle, with Scootaloo as second in command. Twilight, you're up."

Twilight Sparkle walked over to Rainbow Dash, faced the cadets, and the spoke, "I'm very pleased to meet all of you. I wish it were under better circumstances, but I need your help. I've been tasked with infiltrating the Everfree Forest and finding the source of the timberwolves unchecked ability to multiply. We will go in, assess the situation, and come up with a strategy to stop them. I believe that this will be extremely hazardous, and so I wanted to let you all know that this will be a volunteer mission. Nopony will look down on you for not wanting to come."

Rainbow Dash continued, "As of this moment, everything you know or hear about this mission is classified. If you choose to be on this squad, you'll be pulled from regular training and ranking. I am personally going to handle your preparation for this mission. Additionally, everypony graduating from this squad will receive the rank of corporal or better. You'll have the night to decide so be here immediately following roll call in the morning. We're not doing any drills tonight, so why don't you all get to know each other a little bit before you hit your racks."

Looking around at the ponies that had been assembled, Sparklefly doubted whether any of them would be remiss in taking this opportunity. She felt really good about this group. Taking all of the best cadets and having Colonel Dash personally see to their training would make them tough to beat, but they also were going to have an alicorn with them. That would make them unstoppable.

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood to the side with the colonel and spoke quietly to each other while the cadets began introducing themselves. Nimba and Nitro were the most gregarious two. Nitro began by telling a joke at his sister's expense. She smacked him playfully in response for it and returned the phrase with a rather degrading comment of her own. These two were no strangers to sparring with each other, that much was evident. Lightning Dasher had the confidence of the colonel, but it seemed to be tempered with a little more humility. Regal Masquerade seemed impressively strong for a Pegasus. Pibs seemed rather taken with him at first glance. Sparklefly couldn't blame her; he was rather handsome as well. As for Scootaloo, she seemed very pleased with herself to have her own squad. Sparklefly didn't miss the glances she made or the look in her eyes. She had the unmistakable look of pride about her. She couldn't be certain, but Sparklefly suspected that Scootaloo was especially glad to be in command of so many top cadets, including herself. Whatever the case, Sparklefly was happy for her and also felt relief that they hadn't asked her to command the mission. She still didn't feel up to being in charge of anything for the hurt she still carried.

Her sadness was heavy, and her emotions were raw. The previous evening that Princess Celestia had come to talk to her had been immeasurably helpful. In addition, words of wisdom that Sparklefly had grown up hearing were now rattling around in hear head, compliments of Twinklestar, her "Momma Mare". She knew that time would help her heal, and that little bit of hope was enough to drive her forward.

The pony cadets mingled for an hour or so before they started heading off, one by one to their respective barracks. Sparklefly didn't really have any misgivings about the group initially, but after spending time with them all, she felt even better about them. She knew one thing for certain: first thing in the morning, she was reporting to be on the princess's elite squad.

...

Pibs was amazed, not to mention horrified, at how intense the new training was. Somepony had the bright idea of replacing everything in their combat harnesses with lead weights. In addition to all of that and a leaded vest, they wore their armor at all times during the day. They also carried an extra weighted pack. She had nearly passed out the first day, twice. The flight training was extremely rigorous as well. On top of all the extra weights, they had to practice with the "rescue pony" weights. It was all any of them could do just to stay in the air for the first two days. Colonel Rainbow Dash had become rather sadistic to their squad members. She was constantly yelling at them and berating their abilities. She used all sorts of demeaning phrases to describe the way that they completed their drills, which was very disheartening at first. She seemed to take particular pleasure in yelling at Twilight. It was still rather thrilling to be working with an actual princess, but Pibs was beside herself in that they were specifically told not to address her by any royal titles: just Twilight.

On the bright side, all the new ponies she met were great, and Regal Masquerade was quite handsome. Scootaloo had teased Pibs since the first day that she was cheating on the unicorn of her dreams. It was all so confusing. Pibs first started going to the infirmary to visit Lighthoof because he had saved her life, and she felt so sorry for him, losing his leg like that. After he awoke, she talked to him to pass the time. Of course, she had thought he was handsome from the beginning, but the more time she spent with him, her perception changed. She got to know him in a way that she'd only ever taken time to get to know family before, and they did have several things in common. He had also lost his parents when he was young. He also loved nature, but not nearly to the same extent that Pibs did. While he appreciated the beauty of trees and flowers, she had to understand everything that could be learned about them.

Another thing that caught Pibs' attention was his attitude. Lighthoof had only ever wanted to be a soldier. With the loss of his leg, he wouldn't be able to do that anymore. He was sad about it at first, who wouldn't be, but a few days later, he had told her that it was a good thing. He had given his all as one of Princess Celestia's warriors, and had directly helped save almost two-hundred lives. True, it had cost him his leg, but he would have given his life just as surely, and he nearly did. He decided that his leg was the cost not to save the lives of others, but to save his own. That being the case he'd be a sorry soul indeed if he didn't make the most of the life he'd be able to have.

Pibs also was head over hooves for his voice. Lighthoof had such an eloquent way of speaking. She'd told him that he should do dramatic readings of poems, and the next day, she arrived to discover that he'd acquired a book of poetry to read to her when she came to visit. They eventually did talk about what he planned to do next. He wasn't sure yet, but he mentioned that if the war ended soon, maybe he'd find a beautiful mare to settle down with. They could maybe open a florist shop in Baltimare. Plus, if he were fortunate enough for a Pegasus mare to fall for him, she could fly to the ends of Equestria bringing back rare and exotic flowers to sell. Pibs knew that she must have blushed bright red when he said that, because he quickly changed the subject.

On the other hoof, Regal Masquerade was really handsome, not to mention uncommonly strong, and Pibs wasn't sure whether she was ready to settle down just yet. While it was true that she always thought of herself as having her own foals and building a family, she'd always pictured that as a few years down the road. Not that Lighthoof had even proposed such a thing, but the implication he hinted at her was enough to evoke some serious thought on the subject. So far, all it had accomplished was to make a great deal of confusion stir up inside her.

In spite of these conflicting internal forces, at the present moment, Pibs was on break and found herself heading to the infirmary to see Lighthoof again. She just couldn't stay away from him. More often than not, she found herself flying meet him, so as to not waste time walking. Although the training was rigorous, they did allow short free periods throughout the day, as long as she reported back on time. One such failure to do so had previously caused their entire company to lose privileges for two days. Thereafter, everypony found promptness an imperative.

Pibs landed just outside the infirmary and entered. It was much more empty now. Most of the injured had already been released. Pibs even had her bandage off finally. The others didn't tease her too much for her completely shorn mane. Dark blonde stubble had already traced the path along her scalp, but it was still going to be months before it was back to their cropped military mane-cuts. It was the one thing that made Pibs thankful for having to wear a helmet all the time during training now. As etiquette required, she had removed it when she entered the hospital. Within moments she saw those green eyes light up when they saw her.

"Hey, you!" Pibs called out cheerfully.

Lighthoof answered smoothly, "I see that you have again chosen to grace an insignificant pony such as I with your presence. Welcome."

She felt her heart flutter. He could just keep talking all day as far as she was concerned.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Of truth, I must say that my leg hurts with a furious pain. It is, however, not all for naught. I am filled with much extra strength this fine day."

"That's good to hear."

"So, tell me, how does your new special training leave you today?"

"Much better. The first few days were horrible, but I think we're all getting a lot stronger from the weights."

They talked for a while about everything and nothing. Pibs couldn't help but notice that she somehow felt whole in a way that she didn't completely understand. It was probably just a really strong crush. She'd had many of those before, but this was the first since her home and Dodge Junction had been destroyed. Before she knew it, time was running short again, and Pibs would have to report back to her drill instructors.

Pibs reluctantly said, "My time is almost up, I need to get back to training."

Lighthoof was suddenly very serious, "Alas, I am most saddened to be the one to inform you, dear Pibs, but my time here also comes to an end this very evening."

Pibs was immediately saddened at this news, "They're shipping you out tonight?"

"Of a certainty, yes." Lighthoof read the sadness on her face. "Pibs, it may be that we must say our goodbyes, but it is not to say we shall not see each other again."

Pibs wasn't sure what to say. She finally managed, "I suppose that's true..."

"I shall be making my way to the fine city of Manehattan to assist in the proper instruction of unicorn soldiers." Pibs didn't respond. He continued, "Once this nasty business with the timberwolves finds itself at an end, I hope to return to Baltimare. Have you dedicated to memory of what we spoke as to my plans?"

Pibs nodded. She wasn't sure why, but she'd started to feel almost nervous.

"Pibs, will you come to find me when your obligations are completed? Would you have me wait for you only and look for no other mare?"

Pibs was completely floored. Was she getting proposed to? Did he just propose? Her thoughts worked through it. He was asking her if he had a reason to wait for her. Her mind raced, unsure exactly how she should respond. The confusion of the past few weeks had now culminated into one massive moment. This could be her entire future unfolding as a result of this one decision.

As Pibs sat there in shocked silence, Lighthoof waited patiently for an answer, gazing directly into her soul from those beautiful green eyes. What to do? What to answer? Pibs decided one thing on the spot, she wanted to see Lighthoof again. He was really great in every way, and even though he'd never run again, together, their hearts could fly.

Pibs tried to speak, but an unintelligible chocked noise was all she got out at first. She was also tearing a little. She cleared her throat and said, "Promise me; promise Pibs that you'll wait for me, and I'll come find you." Her trepidation gave way as confidence and the warmth of joy washed over her.

Lighthoof leaned over to her, drawing close, and whispered in her ear, "Though it be to my dying day, sweet Pibs, I will wait for you and no other, this I swear." He then kissed her lightly on the cheek, and sat back on his hospital bed.

Pibs was blushing again, massively, and her churning emotions seemed to now have focus. They sat across from each other for fleeting moments that felt like a glorious eternity, his green eyes staring back into her dark blue eyes. Neither wanted to say goodbye, but Pibs had to report in.

The flight back to the training grounds was different. Pibs didn't feel the weight of her helmet, or the armor, or even the lead in her harness. She felt strangely powerful and alive; it was a feeling stronger than she had ever experienced in her life.

...

Cloud Blazer was fast making friends with the twins. Nitro and Nimba were pretty awesome. These twins were quite the jokesters. It must have been some kind of sibling rivalry, because they only directed their mischievous endeavors on each other. They had already made a fine art of pulling a prank that went off so flawlessly, and so quickly that they'd be done without Rainbow Dash noticing, not a small feat. It was so common that the other rarely fell for them, but they were constantly trying to get each other. The one advantage that they both gained from that constant back and forth was a keen situational awareness. It made them seem as though they had very fast reflexes.

Lightning Dasher was the fastest of the entire group, and he was also cross-trained as a field medic. Regal Masquerade was undoubtedly the strongest. The team drills were nowhere near up to Rainbow Dash's demands, a fact of which she constantly reminded them in a scathing way. Not surprisingly, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the weakest link in the flight and strength drills. She was incredibly smart and a quick thinker. Cloud Blazer was sure she wouldn't get them into anything they couldn't handle, but it was hard to get out of the competitive mindset in their elite squad drills. It was rather telling to see how much the princess had to learn about their drills and procedures. Only two months before, none of them had known anything about it. Cloud Blazer really appreciated how much they had all been learning once he saw the contrast. During the first day, there had been a confusing moment where Nimba called for Twilight Sparkle, and got her and Sparklefly's attention. After that, the princess insisted that she was only to be referred to as Twilight. This proved rather helpful to the squad.

Cloud Blazer didn't particularly care for Lightning Dasher. He always made sure to be polite, but they were just on different planes. Everypony else seemed to like him just fine. In fact, Lightning Dasher and Scootaloo had hit it off pretty fast. She even showed him the thinking spot. That was rather annoying to Cloud Blazer, but in the spirit of team bonding, he decided to let it go. He didn't really understand why it had upset him; he wasn't bothered that Pibs was allowed to join them anytime she wanted.

Colonel Rainbow Dash was incredibly cranky. It was probably a combination of the intense training and being grounded. Cloud Blazer couldn't even imagine being grounded for several months. Whatever the cause, Rainbow Dash had been magnificently harsh on a consistent basis. One time, she even shouted at Twilight for a solid minute and a half for making a mistake in one of the drills. The princess took it well, but she was clearly hurt by it. Cloud Blazer suspected that Rainbow Dash and the princess had talked about it later to clear the air, but he couldn't be sure.

As their break came to an end, Pibs finally returned; she must have been visiting Lighthoof again. She landed lightly, and pranced over to Cloud Blazer and the twins. Nimba looked over at Pibs, and then instinctively ducked, dodging Nitro's hoof that was intended to smack her on the back of the head. Cloud Blazer snorted at the pair; Lightning Dasher and Scootaloo also walked up just then.

Scootaloo said, "Hey guys, hi Pibs."

Pibs sighed blissfully. Her expression was obvious enough that even Cloud Blazer noticed, and he wasn't known for being terribly sensitive to mare moods.

Nimba said, "Uh-oh; Pibs, what's that face for?"

Nitro added, "Pibs, Pibs, Pibs... So, you had a nice break, did you?"

Pibs spoke softly, almost as if she wasn't even there, "Oh yes... It was... lovely..."

Cloud Blazer and Lightning Dasher both grinned, until Cloud Blazer saw Lightning Dasher grinning, and then he stopped.

Scootaloo asked, "Oh Pibs, did you go and get all mushy on your break? We don't have time for that stuff!"

Pibs nodded, still half-off in her own daydreams. Sparklefly and Regal Masquerade joined them.

Sparklefly said, "Oh wow, Pibs... Are you alright?"

Regal Masquerade waved a hoof in front of Pibs' face; she didn't react. "Wow, I've not seen one this bad in a long time," his uncommonly deep voice boomed.

Scootaloo took charge, "Alright Pibs, there's plenty of time for that later, and you are going to tell us all about it, but we need you back right now!"

Pibs shook her head and her mind came back, "Huh? What?"

The others all laughed at her. The whistle blew, letting them know that break time was over. They instantly formed up and prepared to continue their drills.

"You call that forming up?" Colonel Rainbow Dash yelled. "That was so slow half of you would have been killed off before you even tried to fight!"

That had become a familiar sound; nothing they did was ever good enough. Twilight's elite squad now did everything together. They had their own barracks, and they ate together in the mess hall. Graduation came and went, but their training continued. A new group of cadets came, but Twilight’s squad was still under the merciless whip of Rainbow Lash, a nickname only spoken with great care and secrecy. As their graduation day fast approached, they all became flawless at reading each other. Cloud Blazer felt totally safe around all of the others. He knew they had his back. Even the princess had come a long way in the six short weeks they'd had to train. He knew that she'd seen her share of dangerous situations, but it was military discipline that she had initially lacked.

Pibs seemed a little distracted at times, but then she would devote herself even more to the drills. She had told everypony about her and Lighthoof. Sparklefly and Nimba thought it was adorable. Cloud Blazer was pretty sure that Scootaloo did also, but she just kept dismissing it as 'mushy stuff'. She was so cute. Wait, where did that come from? Cloud Blazer shook his head and quickly buried the thought. Unlike Pibs, he wasn't any good with those sorts of feelings, so he dared not even think about it. More and more, those thoughts about Scootaloo would hit him. They were becoming difficult to contain.

The graduation ceremony itself was very welcome. Each member of the elite squad received special recognition and rank. There was an air of excitement among all of the former cadets. The same day, good news began coming in from all over Equestria, a welcome change. Another air academy had been set up in Las Pegasus; it would be able to house and train almost five times as many pegasi at a time as Cloudsdale. On the other coast, almost fifty-thousand earth and unicorn ponies had completed their training and left Manehattan, led by Princess Luna. In a matter of days, they had waged a successful campaign in securing everything from HorseShoe Bay at Baltimare, to the Foal Mountains, and up to the plain northwest of Neighagra Falls. Also, hordes of timberwolves had attacked VanHoover, and were pushed back all the way to the Galloping Gorge. Victories were being won, and now an elite squad from Cloudsdale was joining the fight.

6 The Ponyville Library

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Scootaloo was all geared up and ready to go. She had practically been tingling with excitement when she woke up. She quickly got into her harness and then armor. She finally strapped on the last piece of gear, her crossbow. It was a rather clever device that securely attached to the front right boot. It was a cumbersome thing to have, but the potential for combat effectiveness was undeniable. As part of standard-issue equipment, she had seven steel-tipped bolts to fire from it. All reports indicated that they were not very effective against timberwolves unless they were hit in the head.

In a few short moments, her new squad would be leaving Cloudsdale for Ponyville on the first leg of their first mission. Twilight had still not filled the rest of them in on everything, but they now knew the basic plan. First, they go to the Ponyville Library to do research. Although she hadn't told Scootaloo what, Twilight seemed to very strongly believe that there was some information in the library that would be vital. After that, they would go into the Everfree Forest on hoof, so as to hopefully spot any timberwolves before they came under attack. Most of the timberwolf activity flowed out east of the Ghastly Gorge, so that would be their first stop. They would check to see if it would be a good place to fall back to in case they ran into trouble. After that, on deeper into the forest to find the source of the timberwolves; it was simple enough.

Scootaloo left the barracks for the last time. She must have looked quite menacing in her full armor and harness, and she had saddle packs loaded with a few extra supplies; it was all very light compared to the lead weights they had carried in training. Dawn was on the horizon, but the sun hadn't risen yet. Scootaloo could see Cloud Blazer doing his morning flight. That silly stallion was always up early. She decided to join him, so she dropped her helmet and bags and took the sky.

The wind beneath her wings was always wonderful, especially on a cool, crisp morning like this was. She could see Cloud Blazer's breath on the air; it was almost clear enough to create a trail behind him as a train does when it speeds across the countryside.

Scootaloo called out to him, "Hey, Brownie! Mind if I join you?"

Cloud Blazer glanced back at her, and then replied, "Sure thing."

They flew side by side, silently heading around the entire city.

Scootaloo broke the silence, "It really is pretty cool."

"What's that?"

"Cloudsdale in the morning."

"Most every place I've ever been is something special at sunrise. Ponyville was always my favorite. Do you think we'll have time to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?"

"I don't know, Brownie. I'd figured we'd be staying pretty close together and on task. As far as I've heard, everything has been completely quiet in Ponyville, but we just don't know what to expect."

"I got a letter from Apple Bloom a week ago."

Scootaloo had also received one; she felt a little ashamed and admitted, "I kind of forgot to write her back because I've been so busy the last few weeks."

"Don't worry, I let her know that you are well, and I told her about Canterlot. She said that she's been helping run the farm. With all the rumors of food rationing going into effect, Pinkie Pie hasn't been throwing parties anymore, and she's moved to the farm to help run things there. The Cakes also have had to close up shop because they can't get flour."

"That's just awful," Scootaloo said. She and the other crusaders had spent far too much time at Sugar Cube Corner eating carrot cupcakes. It was sad to hear that it was gone.

"They plan to open it up again as soon as they can," he said optimistically.

"Did she say how Sweetie Belle is?"

"She hasn't seen Sweetie Belle in a while. She used to see her once a month when Zecora would come into Ponyville for supply runs, but they stopped about two months ago. Apple Bloom wanted to go check on them, but Applejack wouldn't let her because the forest is so dangerous right now."

"That's right; after Sweetie Belle and Rarity had their falling out, and Sweetie Belle moved into the forest with Zecora."

"Yeah, apparently Zecora's knowledge of potions and brews includes some information on beauty care products, but I think Sweetie Belle was more interested in studying different kinds of magic."

Scootaloo grinned, "Beauty potions, that figures. She and Rarity are more alike than either would care to admit. I hope they make up someday."

"No doubt; they'll make up," he sounded confident. "I think they both regretted the way they parted. I bet one of them will be on the first train once it is safe to travel again."

Scootaloo certainly hoped so. It was always a sad thing to see family have a rift. That was one thing about the Apple family you could always count on. No matter how crazy they made each other, they always came around at the end of the day. Rarity and Sweetie Belle didn't have that advantage, but they truly cared for each other; they just didn't always know how to show it.

Cloud Blazer continued, "Maybe we'll get to see them; it'll be like old times..."

Scootaloo thought nostalgically for a moment. There was, before she could fly, an unbelievable amount of trouble the Cutie Mark Crusaders used to get into. They were simpler times. The nostalgia turned sour as Scootaloo remembered Apple Bloom getting her Cutie Mark, followed not long after by Sweetie Belle. Last of all was Cloud Blazer, leaving Scootaloo as the only pony ever to grow up without one. It brought up bitter feelings.

She finally said, "Yeah... old times..." a bit more somberly than she had meant to.

"Are you alright, Scoot--taloo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She could tell that he was genuinely concerned, but she didn't want to talk about it. Confiding in Rainbow Dash had been very helpful, but right now there were other things that needed Scootaloo's full attention.

They finished their flight just as the sun was rising over the barracks. The entire city was bathed in golden-red light. They came in to land where Scootaloo had dropped off her gear, and found that the rest of the squad was already assembled and ready to go. Scootaloo put on her helmet and her saddle packs.

Twilight exited the barracks in full armor also. She looked rather formidable, and had also learned to carry herself in a way that was a bit less regal and more intimidating. She looked at Scootaloo, who took charge.

Scootaloo called out, "Twilight Squad, form up!"

The other seven members of the squad formed a line instantly. Scootaloo stood to the side by Twilight, awaiting instructions.

The princess spoke, "Good morning everypony. I'm very glad for the opportunity we've had the past six weeks to get to know one another. Rainbow Dash tells me that we've had the most intensive training ever thrown at a Pegasus or an alicorn, and we came through it like champions."

Rainbow Dash interrupted, "What I actually said was, 'with flying colors'." She had come out of nowhere.

Twilight responded, shocked, "Rainbow! What are you doing here?"

"Aw, come on, Twilight; I couldn't let you guys head out and not see you off."

"That's very nice of you."

"Ah, forget it," Rainbow Dash suddenly looked far more serious. "I wish I was coming with you."

Twilight replied, "So do we. Isn't that right, Twilight Squad?"

As one, Twilight Squad replied, "Ma'am, yes ma'am!"

In the morning light, Scootaloo could have sworn she saw a tear in Rainbow Dash's eye, just for a moment, but then it was gone. The colonel and the princess embraced for a moment, and said their goodbyes.

Twilight addressed the squad again, "Alright, we're going straight to Ponyville in a standard 'V' formation. Regal Masquerade, how do you feel about taking point?"

Regal Masquerade answered, "My pleasure to serve, ma'am." He had a very deep voice, and the proper build for a soldier. Scootaloo and the other members of the squad were impressed by his uncommon physical strength.

The princess said, "Alright then, Twilight Squad, let's move out!"

With wings beating the air, they were up in the sky in a flash, and in mere moments they were heading out of Cloudsdale. As they formed up, Scootaloo caught a glance back at Rainbow Dash, who was watching them go. Her wings were still bandaged from the injuries she'd received in Canterlot. Twilight Squad headed directly for Ponyville, putting the morning sun to their left.

The wind was cool beneath their wings. On mornings like this they were especially glad for their flight goggles. They maintained a high altitude, but even from this height, they could see masses of timberwolves beneath them heading northwest up Unicorn Range. They didn't see anypony else in the sky today. Ponyville wasn't exactly a hub of activity at the moment, as the war had been much more heavily fought in other places around Equestria. There had been a minor skirmish at Ponyville early on, but compared to what had come after, it was of little consequence. The south field at the Sweet Apple Acres orchard was lost during that fight, but Applejack had worked overtime replanting it.

It was about an hour-and-a-half flight to Ponyville, and fortunately, it was uneventful. They arrived to see the purple glowing magical town shield was still intact. As they got close, they were all watching for signs of the Combat Air Patrol, or CAP, assigned to Ponyville. Nopony in the elite squad saw them before they had done a fly by from above.

Regal Masquerade, still on point, shouted, "Break left!"

Twilight Squad veered left in unison. The CAP was now below and to the right, and Scootaloo could see that they were grinning like idiots for that stunt. She mock saluted them. The CAP came around and assumed a position near them. Everypony took up a hovering position above town.

A teal Pegasus pony with golden eyes and a mane to match addressed them, "Welcome to Ponyville air space. I'm Lieutenant Lightning Dust, in charge of the CAP. How may we assist you today?"

"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. My squad and I need entrance into Ponyville."

"Sure thing, your majesty, please stay on station while I get the shield opened for you."

"Why thank you, Lightning Dust," Twilight replied.

Everypony's hearts were pounding a little harder after that surprise fly-by by the CAP, but they were now very relieved. Out of the corner of her eye, Scootaloo saw Nimba land a spit wad in a direct hit on Nitro's boot. Several minutes passed, and they hovered there. Scootaloo couldn't help but notice the expression on Pibs' face. It looked like unbridled bliss.

Scootaloo asked, "So, Pibs; you heard from your snuggle boo?"

Cloud Blazer shot Scootaloo a revolted look.

Pibs said lightly, "He sent me a letter so I'd know he made it safely to Manehattan."

Nimba begged, "And...?"

Pibs said, "He loves me!"

In unison, the others all groaned and shook their heads.

Nitro said, "Hey Pibs, we like you and all, but this is ridiculous," and he laughed.

Twilight Sparkle added, "Pibs, don't mind their teasing; we're all happy for you!"

The others nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the shield went down. They saw Lightning Dust motioning them on, and they flew down to the ground, landing in the center of Ponyville in front of the town hall. They hadn't been on the ground for even a minute when the magical shield went back up. Twilight Squad removed their flight goggles and put them in a pocket in their harnesses. The doors to the town hall opened, and Mayor Diamond Tiara with her aid, Silver Spoon, walked out to meet them. Scootaloo's stomach sank a little bit at the sight of them.

Diamond Tiara said, "I welcome you on behalf of the citizens of Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle and friends."

Twilight greeted her, "Hello, Diamond Tiara. We are here on official business for Princess Celestia."

"Of course, your majesty; we are at your service," she said with a bow. "My aid, Silver Spoon will see to any needs you have."

"You have my thanks, Mayor," Twilight Sparkle responded.

"Will you be in town long?"

Twilight answered uncertainly, "We're not entirely sure; we have some research to do, and then our business will take us elsewhere."

"Should you find yourself in town, I'd be honored if you and any officers that travel with you would join me for dinner," Diamond Tiara said smoothly.

"If we are able, we would be honored to attend. We'll let you know," Twilight replied graciously.

Diamond Tiara said to Silver Spoon, "See to the princess's needs. I can do without you for the time being."

Silver Spoon answered, "Yes ma'am," and she approached the squad and stood by the princess.

Twilight said, "Thank you." She then turned to Scootaloo, "Follow me." The squad mechanically formed a line two ponies wide behind the princess and marched in formation.

Scootaloo could tell from the expressions on the faces of the towns-ponies that Twilight Squad was quite a sight in their full armor and marching in formation. If they'd announced they were coming, they might have been compelled to be part of a parade the way that Diamond Tiara was fawning over the princess. Knowing Diamond Tiara as she did, it was enough to make Scootaloo sick.

...

The squad covered the short distance to the Ponyville Library very quickly. It was located in the castle, Twilight's castle. It almost felt out of place to have such a large stone structure in such a small town. With few exceptions, the other houses had thatched roofs and cottage-like designs.

Upon arriving at the large gate, Twilight said, "Sergeant."

Scootaloo answered, "Yes ma'am?"

The princess ordered, "Form teams, go get Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Tell them I'm here, and that I would like to see them in the castle library at once."

"Right away, ma'am." Scootaloo turned to the squad. "You heard the princess, Cloud Blazer, do you remember where Sweet Apple Acres is?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Good, take the twins and locate Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Lightning Dasher, get in touch with the local EUP force and assess the tactical situation in Ponyville. We need to know exactly what their strengths are here in case they fall under attack. Sparklefly, I want you to remain with Twilight until we get back." To Pibs and Regal Masquerade, she said, "You two are with me. We're going to find Fluttershy. Move out!"

The teams shot into their different directions. Twilight, Sparklefly, and Silver Spoon went into the library. Scootaloo's team cantered southeast across Ponyville to Fluttershy's house. It didn't take long to get there, but it was a little eerie in Ponyville with the magic shield completely filtering out the sky. The purple hue of the energy field colored the entire city. Fluttershy's house was so close to the edge that Scootaloo could hear it humming slightly as they approached.

The first thing Scootaloo noticed was the great number of additional animals that Fluttershy had taken in. There were new fences up to keep some of them separated from each other, and there were far too many for the space. The path between the fences leading up to the tree that was Fluttershy's house was so narrow that the team had to walk single-file.

Pibs asked, "She lives in a zoo?"

Regal Masquerade snorted, "A run-down cramped zoo?"

Scootaloo answered, "Guys; you can't say anything like that to Fluttershy. She's incredibly sensitive."

A bear stood up near them and roared. Scootaloo's heart leapt into her throat. There was nowhere to go, so the three dropped to the ground. It was only then that realized that the bear was far enough away that it couldn't actually reach them, and in fact, it wasn't roaring at them, it had simply been yawning. Scootaloo felt silly; she knew this bear. Fluttershy had tamed it, as much as a pony can tame a bear, that is.

Regal Masquerade said, "That's a bear. We can't tease her because she's sensitive, and she keeps bears. Did I miss something?"

Scootaloo answered as they all stood up again, "She loves animals-"

Pibs cut her off, "We can tell!"

Scootaloo continued, "Ponies are a different story."

Regal Masquerade shook his head, and they all approached the door where, thankfully, the path widened out again. Scootaloo stood in front, and the other two behind. Regal Masquerade looked around the area, scanning for threats; Pibs was also alert. Scootaloo was grateful that her goofy love-mood had finally given way for a while. The last thing they needed right now was distractions. Scootaloo knocked on the door with one of her booted hooves, and then waited for a few moments.

The door opened, just a little bit, and they heard a very tiny, almost inaudible, sweet voice say, "Yes, who is it?"

Scootaloo answered, "Fluttershy? Princess Twilight Sparkle has sent us to find you. She'd like to see you at once. I'm-"

The door flew open, and Fluttershy said, "Scootaloo?" Scootaloo nodded. "Oh, my goodness, it's so good to see you! Do come in, I was just making tea."

Scootaloo said, "Thank you, but we are supposed to report back with you immediately."

Fluttershy said, "Oh, I'm sure Twilight will understand. We can bring her some tea as well. Please come in, and your friends."

Pibs and Regal Masquerade looked at their sergeant uncertainly. Scootaloo shrugged and followed Fluttershy into the house. Their host motioned them to a small table where the three sat while she returned to her stove to finish the tea.

Fluttershy said, "So, please tell me all about your travels. I haven't seen you for such a long time."

Scootaloo was a little confused, "What do you mean? It's not even been four months, and you knew I was in Cloudsdale."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Silly me," came the timid response.

Both Pibs and Regal Masquerade were now wearing a very disconcerted expression. When Scootaloo saw the tray that Fluttershy was bringing back, she joined their sense of unease. The teacups were sitting on top of it, just like they should, but the tea kettle was upside down on the bottom of the tray. She held out their cups to them. After taking them a bit uneasily, Fluttershy motioned for them to turn the cups upside-down. When they did, she took the tea kettle from underneath the tray, and poured the tea up into their teacups. A few drops spilled from Regal Masquerade's cup, and it fell straight up, dripping onto the ceiling.

They sat there, not exactly sure how to drink their upside-down tea. Scootaloo had seen a lot of strange magical things in her life, but not from Fluttershy, and none quite like this. Fluttershy took her own upside-down cup, and took a drink from it. After seeing her do it, they all followed her example. Scootaloo was the last to attempt this, but she was very proud of herself for not spilling the gravity-defying tea. When she swallowed the hot liquid, it had the most curious sensation of trying to lift up inside of her. It was a little bit unsettling at first, but once it got all the way down, it felt very light and good. It was a bitter tea, but after swallowed, there was a sweetness, perhaps like honey.

"Good tea," Regal Masquerade said awkwardly in the quiet.

Fluttershy flew into a rage, "Oh! Do you really think so?" She was shouting at him, and then threw her half-full teacup against the wall, shattering it. The tea ran up the wall and pooled up above, but fragments of the teacup came raining down all over the room. The three soldiers were in complete shock. Fluttershy had stood and continued, "I know I'm usually a soft-spoken pony, but nobody likes being mocked!" Regal Masquerade was wide-eyed, and Scootaloo jumped back in a moment of terror as Fluttershy, without even flapping her wings, levitated up off of the ground, and began spinning over in mid-air with small bolts of lightning striking from her around the room. A furious wind picked up, and the team was against the wall now, with nowhere to back away. Fluttershy spun faster and faster as the electrically-charged air crackled around them.

Suddenly, Scootaloo heard a noise on the stairs, and looked over to see Fluttershy standing there, another Fluttershy. She said, "Excuse me," but the first Fluttershy kept spinning.

The spinning Fluttershy screamed, "Now I will have to make you pay!"

The Fluttershy on the stairs then raised her voice slightly, "What did I tell you about greeting guests that way? Discord!"

The spinning Fluttershy suddenly popped in a puff of smoke bringing an end to the disturbance; it was a draconequus named Discord. As all ponies know, a draconequus is a creature with the head of a pony, and the body of all sorts of other things. In his case, an antler, a horn, a single fang, a bird leg, lion paw, a dragon leg, a cloven hoof, and a serpent's tail. He also had mismatching wings. Given the rather unlikely friendship that had developed between the pair, Scootaloo should have known Discord was involved from the moment they got the tea.

Discord, through stifled laughter, said, "Oh, Fluttershy, really! You know I do love to make a memorable first impression."

Walking down the stairs, Fluttershy said, "Yes, but these ponies seem to be in a hurry. I think it would be rude to delay them any further."

"Oh, I suppose your right," Discord said as he sulked away from the team. They all started breathing a little more easily.

Fluttershy continued, "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it if you clean up the mess before you go out again."

Discord mumbled something inaudible, and then magically began straightening up the place. He suddenly was wearing a maid's apron.

Fluttershy turned to face the group, "Oh, Scootaloo! Hi!"

"Hey, Fluttershy; why is Discord here?"

"Oh, he's been here to help for a few weeks. I've had to take in so many extra animals since the Everfree forest is so unsafe now. The poor little critters had nowhere else to go. Discord has been very helpful with them."

Discord interrupted, "And what thanks do I get? Other than from Fluttershy here. The mayor called me a public nuisance! I should show her what a real nuisance is," Discord said with a fiendish grin.

Fluttershy said, "Now, now; that's no way to treat our friends."

"Diamond Tiara, friend!" Discord scoffed and then let out a hearty laugh. "Now there's the best joke I've heard all day!"

Scootaloo seized the brief silence that followed, "Miss Fluttershy, we've been sent here to escort you to the library. Princess Twilight Sparkle has requested your pr-"

Fluttershy cut her off, "Twilight's here!" She was clearly excited, and then remembered herself. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt."

Scootaloo continued, "Yes, ma'am; if you'll come with us, we can go see her presently."

Fluttershy said, "Of course! Discord, would you mind managing the animals while I'm gone?"

With an almost evil grin, he said, "Of course, what are friends for?"

Scootaloo was very unsettled by his expression, and even more so by his tone, but Fluttershy seemed pleased with his answer. She followed them out of the house and back toward the library. Scootaloo earnestly hoped that the others were having less excitement on their errands.

...

Sparklefly escorted Silver Spoon out of the castle. Twilight had asked for some quiet for a few minutes. They stood there, Sparklefly acting as a silent sentry, and Silver Spoon looking incredibly bored. For several minutes, the sounds of ponies milling about town and the faint hum of the energy shield filled the air.

Silver Spoon finally broke the silence, "Excuse me."

"Yes ma'am?"

"Would you mind if I go back? I have duties to attend," she said in a snobbish tone.

Unimpressed, Sparklefly replied flatly, "I'm sure you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Silver Spoon asked as if concerned she was being insulted.

"It means that it has no impact on my duties whatever you do. Go, stay; I don't care," Sparklefly replied almost flippantly.

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it," Silver Spoon was still using that snobby tone. It irked Sparklefly.

"No ma'am, nor do you have to be a snob."

Silver Spoon stormed off, stomping her hooves. Good riddance as far as Sparklefly was concerned. She'd known ponies like that all her life. They value the least important of things and look down on others for no good reason at all. She had no use for that sort of pretentiousness. In one or two instances, she had found common ground with some that had grown out of their pettiness, but this was more often not the case. Generally those were the kind of ponies you just had to steer clear of.

...

Pibs' heart had finally stopped pounding on the walk back to the library. She'd heard stories about magical creatures, but she'd never seen anything like a draconequus before. Fluttershy seemed really nice, albeit a bit eccentric with her love for animals. Regal Masquerade also seemed to be doing better. He tried to maintain a stoic calm, but this time everypony could see that even he was unsettled by Discord.

They passed Silver Spoon on their way to the library. She let them know that if they needed her, she'd be at the Town Hall, attending to her duties. Pibs thought that it must be a lot of work to run a town, even one as small as Ponyville. It was still larger than her hometown, before it had been destroyed. She turned her thoughts to the moment at hoof.

Upon arriving at the library, they found Sparklefly guarding the door. She quickly informed them that Twilight had asked for a few minutes, and that she would call when they were needed. Scootaloo told them to hold there, and so they waited. Scootaloo and Fluttershy talked, as did Regal Masquerade and Sparklefly. Pibs' relationship radar went off at this, and she began to wonder whether Regal Masquerade might be taking a liking to Sparklefly. However, it was still too early to tell, and he was usually so stoic that he was hard to read. In any case, with everypony else occupied, nopony would mind if she re-read the last letter that Lighthoof had sent her. Just the thought of it warmed her inside.

...

Cloud Blazer and the twins, Nitro and Nimba, arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. It was just has he had remembered it, but something wasn't right. Maybe he had changed, or maybe it was the eerie purple light of the defensive shield. They could see ponies working in the orchard as they approached; the south field was completely cleared. As they were got close to the barn, Nimba began seeming fatigued. She stumbled slightly, catching herself.

Cloud Blazer saw it and asked, "Are you alright?"

Nimba answered, "Yeah. I just didn't sleep too well last night, that's all."

Cloud Blazer cast an accusatory glance at Nitro, who said, "Hey don't look at me, Brownie; I had nothing to do with it. She can never sleep before a big day." Nimba shrugged and nodded in agreement.

The barn doors burst open and a mare shouted at them, "Cloud Blazer!" It was Pinkie Pie.

Before he could respond, Pinkie Pie had leapt through the air, and she hit him so hard that they both tumbled to the ground. Pinkie Pie jumped back up, picking up Cloud Blazer in a big hug and squeezing him so hard that he couldn't breathe.

He choked, "Hi, Pinkie... you're, squishing," he tried to take a breath, "me!"

Pinkie Pie dropped him, and the twins roared with laughter.

Pinkie Pie spoke, almost franticly, "Well, you're a friend, silly, and you haven't been here, and when friends haven't been here, they are missed, and I thought how sad it would be if you felt like you weren't missed, because then you would think you weren't a friend. And friends give good hugs, so I thought I should give you the most biggerific hug ever so you'd know you are a friend and you were missed!" She took a breath and screamed, "Welcome back!"

Cloud Blazer had finally recovered, "Just make sure and do the same when you see Scootaloo. We don't want her to feel left out."

Pinkie Pie started bouncing up and down, "Okie-dokie-lokie! Wait, Scootaloo's here?" she sounded even more excited.

"Better than that, Twilight Sparkle is looking for you and Applejack. She-"

"Ooh, ooh! Twilight came back too? This could be the best day ever!"

Cloud Blazer continued, "She's in the castle library waiting for us all to return. Could you find Applejack for us?"

Pinkie Pie sat and saluted, "Right! Consider it done, sir!" Then she bolted off at a full gallop into the orchard.

The twins said in unison, "What just happened?"

Cloud Blazer grinned and replied, "Pinkie Pie just happened." It was incredibly refreshing, if not a little painful, that the dark days hadn't dampened Pinkie Pie's spirits in the slightest.

They all looked up at the sound of galloping, and thought it was Pinkie Pie returning, but it wasn't. A young, yellow mare was moving fast toward them from the orchard. She was filthy, covered in dirt and grime from working, but there was an unmistakable pink bow in her mane, a little wilted from wear. Apple Bloom ran up to them, giving Cloud Blazer a hug. He was thankful she didn't knock him to the ground, but he couldn't help feeling a little odd about it; she held on a little longer than seemed normal to him. It looked like the twins noticed also.

Letting go, Apple Bloom said, "How have you been? I was getting a little worried when you didn't write back after my last letter!" She stomped at him.

"What? I did write you back. I sent it the next day," he replied defensively. "Maybe the mail hasn't made it here yet?"

She shrugged as if she wouldn't give it a second thought. "I'm just glad to see you! How's Scootaloo?"

Cloud Blazer smiled, "She's here, in Ponyville."

Apple Bloom pranced in place with excitement, "Oh, that's great! Are you guys on leave?"

"No, we're actually here on orders," he replied calmly. "I can't really talk about it, but I think we'll be here for a few days anyway."

"You'll stay with us! We've got plenty of room. How many are you?"

"How many are who, now?" Applejack asked as she walked up; she was wearing some loaded saddle bags. Pinkie Pie was bouncing along behind her.

"Hey, sis," Apple Bloom said. "Cloud Blazer and Scootaloo are here on a mission."

Cloud Blazer greeted her, "Hi, Applejack."

The older sister and matriarch of the Apple's nodded a greeting, "Cloud Blazer, I didn't reckon on seeing you near this soon."

Apple Bloom interjected excitedly, "Scootaloo and Twilight Sparkle are here too!"

Applejack nodded at Pinkie Pie, "That's what Pinkie here tells me."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, "That's right, that's right; that's exactly what I said!"

Applejack unloaded some of her saddle bags and continued, "I guess we should head the castle and see what all the fuss is about."

He was sure he couldn't help his expression, and before he thought, Cloud Blazer heard himself say, "Applejack, you're..." then he caught himself and quickly added, "Congratulations!" What else was one supposed to say when a friend was pregnant?

"Thanks," she said as she adjusted her hat with a small smile.

"You didn't tell me!" Cloud Blazer playfully pushed Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom shrugged a bit sheepishly.

Cloud Blazer returned to the business at hoof and said, "Well, we should get going. These two are Nitro and Nimba." The twins nodded a hello. "Oh, Apple Bloom, to answer your question, there are nine of us, and as for our accommodations, that's something you'll have to take up with Princess Twilight. She's in charge."

The six headed off toward their meeting at the castle library together. Cloud Blazer hadn't realized how much he had missed this place in the few months that he had been gone.

...

Scootaloo had just finished reading the letter that Pibs had received from Lighthoof. They were sitting a little bit away from everypony else near the entrance to the castle, still waiting for Twilight to be ready for them to come in.

"Pibs, I think Lighthoof is completely head over hooves for you," Scootaloo admitted.

Pibs' stupid grin had returned, "I know..." she said dreamily.

"Here's the thing, I want you to know that I'm very happy for you, but I'm going to have to tease you mercilessly about this."

Wistfully, Pibs said, "That's fine..."

Scootaloo just shook her head in amusement, gave the letter back to Pibs, and went back to join the others. As she approached, she heard that they were talking.

Sparklefly was saying, "...the same squad, so I've known her for almost the entire time. We were both near top score in our company, so there was a little rivalry there. Hey Scootaloo, I was just telling Fluttershy how we met."

Scootaloo nodded, adding, "Yeah, if we'd stayed with regular training, I'd have been able to outscore you."

Sparklefly smiled genuinely, "Dream on, Scootaloo; there was small chance of that."

It was very nice to see Sparklefly smile and mean it again. It was the first time Scootaloo had seen her smile since-

"So, if you don't mind my asking, were you both in Canterlot?" Fluttershy asked. "I heard it was really dangerous, and that most of the ponies that went to the rescue didn't make it out again." Sparklefly's smile was gone.

Scootaloo replied, "That's not even close. We had fewer than one percent casualties from our cadet brigade, and nearly everypony from Canterlot was saved too."

Regal Masquerade added, "That is not to say it was not dangerous. We all lost friends that day." Sparklefly shuddered; Scootaloo felt something new for her, concern.

Seizing an opportunity to change the subject, Scootaloo said, "Yeah, Pibs here was shot down, and me and Cloud Blazer went to save her. I don't think we would have succeeded if Brax and Lighthoof hadn't shown up. On the downside, now Pibs and Lighthoof are all mushy and stuff."

Pibs looked up, "What? Where's Lighthoof?"

She looked around as the others giggled at her. Even Sparklefly smiled at this; Scootaloo was relieved. Just then, Lightning Dasher landed near them. He stood at attention and saluted Scootaloo.

Scootaloo ordered, "At ease and report."

Lighting Dasher spoke, "I have the defensive report on Ponyville. There is one squad of eight unicorn ponies responsible for defensive shielding. They maintain a position on the Princess of Friendship's Tower; that is where CIC (Combat Information Center) is located. There is also a squad of Pegasus ponies that maintain a four-pony CAP twenty-four seven in three shifts. There is also a platoon of earth ponies that arrived last week. That brings the Ponyville total strength to eighty-four, not counting our squad. A Lieutenant Brax is in command."

Scootaloo laughed, "So, Brax is a lieutenant now?"

Lightning Dasher replied, "Yes, ma'am. He has been informed of our presence, and sent the following message, 'Congratulations on your promotion, Sergeant.' He also assured us that if we need any supplies or support, we only need to ask."

"Thank you, relax with the others. We've got a few minutes to kill."

And so they continued waiting outside the castle. Scootaloo noticed that Pibs had begun writing a letter. As much fun as it was to tease Pibs about Lighthoof, it was good to see her so happy, especially considering the things she'd been through. It gave Scootaloo a great deal of comfort to know that she had been instrumental in helping Pibs to adjust and start making new friends. It was kind of funny that Scootaloo hadn't even tried get get to know Pibs during training; they'd been in the same squad, but Pibs was so quiet and withdrawn that nopony was able to get close. Ever since finding a friend in Scootaloo, Pibs seemed to really have found herself as well.

"Well, how are you doing, sugar cube?" Applejack said to Scootaloo as Cloud Blazer's team returned.

Apple Bloom shot forward, "Scootaloo!" she said excitedly as they embraced.

Scootaloo forgot herself for just a moment. "Apple Bloom!" They released each other, and Scootaloo introduced everyone.

Apple Bloom said, "Well, any friends of yours are friends of ours."

Applejack added, "That's right, and we love making new friends!"

Pinkie Pie yelled, "Oh, me too! Me too!" as she bounced up and down.

Applejack asked, "Are any of y'all hungry? I brought a pack full of apples."

Scootaloo salivated instantly, "Oh yes, please! There are no finer apples in all of Equestria!"

Applejack finished, "Well, don't be shy; help yourselves." Applejack placed the pack in the middle of the group, and they feasted upon delicious apples from all ends of Sweet Apple Acres.

This took Scootaloo back to some very happy times. Running wild in Ponyville with Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Cloud Blazer; getting tired and hungry from their crusading and always ending up somewhere in the orchard eating the low hanging fruit. Sometimes Apple Bloom would buck some of them down, and they would eat their fill.

Apple Bloom told them what had happened only a few days before. There had been a minor attack on Ponyville, and part of the orchard had been lost. They were working to replant the trees, but there was literally a great deal of ground to cover. Even so, it would be at least four years before they'd begin producing. Fortunately, it happened to be the right time to plant, and they did have plenty of seeds stored in the barn.

The door to the castle opened, and Twilight stepped out.

Scootaloo ordered, "Fall in!"

In mere moments the squad had formed a line at attention near the door, facing the princess. Pinkie Pie also had joined their formation with perfect precision and a most serious look on her face.

The princess smiled deeply, "Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom; it's good to see you all."

Applejack responded, "Welcome back, Twilight."

Fluttershy added, "We're very glad to see you too."

Pinkie Pie broke formation, giving Twilight a hug, "Best day ever!"

Princess Twilight Sparkle, disentangling herself from Pinkie Pie said to Scootaloo, "Come on inside, no need for standing at attention. At ease... or rest... relax? You know what I mean."

Scootaloo smiled and ordered the squad into the castle library. Once inside, the entire group gathered around the princess in no particular formation.

Twilight spoke to the group, "Alright everypony; it's time to tell you what I think is happening in the Everfree Forest. Friends, what we talk about in here cannot be told to anypony outside. As some of you will remember, we once had a situation in Ponyville that was really more of a nuisance than a crisis. There are some similarities in what is happening now to what happened then."

Everypony stared at Twilight as she continued, "Eleven Years ago, Pinkie Pie thought it would be a good idea if there were more of her, so she wouldn't have to miss out on any fun things any of her friends were doing."

Pinkie Pie bounced, "That's right! I did!"

Twilight continued, "She had remembered from when she was a young filly, that her Nanna Pie had told her the legend of the mirror pond. Simply put, it will duplicate anypony that gets inside. Pinkie Pie went through the pond several times, and before we knew it, there were dozens of Pinkie Pie's swarming Ponyville, trying to get in on all the fun."

Applejack added, "As I recall, it was more than a nuisance, and near impossible to tell one Pinkie Pie from another."

Twilight nodded, "As it turned out, there was a book in the Golden Oaks library about the legend. It even contained a spell that would send all of the duplicates back into the pond. Unfortunately, a short time later, the library was destroyed, and most of the books with it. All of the books that could be salvaged are here, as well as new ones. What we need to do is find that book, the Legend of the Mirror Pond."

Fluttershy asked, "But Twilight, what does this have to do with the timberwolves?"

Twilight Sparkle answered gravely, "If it turns out, as I suspect it has, that the timberwolves are somehow getting into the mirror pond, that would explain how there are so many to cover all of Equestria like this."

It was completely silent for nearly a minute as everypony contemplated the situation.

Applejack asked, "But Twi, if I remember correctly, didn't you cover the entrance to that pond so nopony else could find it?"

Twilight replied, "Yes, that's true. It's possible that there was another way in that we weren't aware of, or maybe the weather erosion opened up the entrance again, and that's how the timberwolves got in. I just don't know."

Apple Bloom started, "So, if we find the book..."

Twilight Sparkle finished, "We can find the spell to send the timberwolves back, which would give all of our unicorn ponies a huge advantage. I'm also hoping that there is some way that we can destroy the pond. At the very least, if we can bury it, we'll have a fighting chance against the hordes of timberwolves that are already roaming across Equestria."

Scootaloo turned to the squad, "You heard the princess, let's find that book."

They all set to work, turning the library over from one end to the other, searching for the book of the Legend of the Mirror Pond. The apples that Applejack supplied were very welcome, and occasionally the sound of a pony munching on one of them could be heard as they poured over the vast volume of books in the library. Pinkie Pie had been tasked with drawing a map, which she did, but given how long ago that incident had been plus the fact that she had marked the destination as "Happy Land", there was some doubt as to the map actually leading to the Mirror Pond. The forest would probably not look the same after eleven years.

The squad and friends continued pouring over titles, and thanks to some organized sorting that Twilight came up with, they were certain to not miss any books. They then spent the rest of the afternoon checking every place in the library for any kind of secret compartments where books might be hiding. That is where the original had been in the old library, after all. The apples gave out in early afternoon; their spirits gave out a few hours later.

Applejack said, "Whew-wee, I've about had it."

Fluttershy added, "Me too; I've got to get back to my animals to make sure their okay."

Twilight said, "We'll have to start fresh in the morning." To her friends, she said, "I can't thank you enough for the help you've been to me. I wish I could spend time with you all right now-"

Applejack cut in, "Aw, shucks, don't think nothing of it, Twilight."

Apple Bloom added, "We'd always be there to help."

Pinkie Pie said, "It's true, cause helping friends is super funnerific!"

Applejack asked, "I'm fixin' to rustle up some grub; you and yours are welcome to join us back at the orchard."

Twilight replied, "Thank you, but I'm afraid we have a previous invitation that I need to honor. If we're still here tomorrow, maybe?"

Applejack grinned, "Anytime that's good for you, Twilight. Just let us know if you change your mind," she said as she tipped her hat.

They made their goodbyes, and the friends parted ways. Lightning Dasher had been sent out to let Mayor Diamond Tiara know that they would be joining them for dinner; he returned just then.

Lightning Dasher said, "Ma'am, the mayor asked that I inform you that the preparations will be complete in an hour."

The princess replied, "Thank you, Lightning Dasher."

Scootaloo wanted to spend more time with Apple Bloom, so she decided to ask if they could accept the invitation to go to Sweet Apple Acres. "Princess Twilight, it was officers only invited to dine with the mayor. I request permission for the squad to accept the invitation to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner."

Twilight was considering this, and finally said, "That sounds okay. Tell Sparklefly she's in charge. We'll have to see if they have any dress uniforms at the base."

Scootaloo was confused, "Ma'am?"

"You're an officer, sergeant, albeit noncommissioned. Do you not want to go have dinner with the mayor?"

Scootaloo bit her lip. She absolutely did not want to have dinner with Diamond Tiara, mayor or not. The teasing from those years ago was rather brutal. Not only that, but she wanted to see Apple Bloom. Her sense of duty got the better of her as she replied, "No ma'am, nothing like that. I was just confused."

Twilight smiled; looks like she bought it. Scootaloo was very much wishing that Rainbow Dash were here. She'd have to get by without that shoulder to lean on. She informed the others that Sparklefly would be in charge, and that they had permission to attend dinner at Sweet Apple Acres. Cloud Blazer did a somersault with excitement.

"You guys are in for a treat!" Cloud Blazer said, "I've traveled a little, and I've never found better home cooking anywhere in Equestria than on Sweet Apple acres."

Scootaloo was now annoyed at him, but she knew he wasn't doing it on purpose. He was just as excited as she would have been if she'd been allowed to go. As it was, she headed off to the quartermaster, who had is own wing of the castle to store supplies. They were able to find a dress uniform for her, and they also showed her to a locker room where the entire squad could stow their gear. They were even kind enough to send somepony to inform the rest of the squad.

The hour before dinner melted away far too quickly for Scootaloo. Before she knew it, she was dressed, standing beside Twilight Sparkle, and being shown into Filthy Rich Estates. Scootaloo was not impressed by such things, but that didn't stop the servants from giving them a tour of the grounds, serving some kind of fancy hors d'oeuvres, and finally leading them to a grand ballroom that had been prepared for a feast. It was the same, but the pool had been expanded since the last time Scootaloo was here, many years ago. She wished she could have been on the farm instead.

...

"Hang yer hats wherever you like," Applejack said warmly to the members of Twilight Squad that chose to attend dinner at Sweet Apple Acres.

Sparklefly found all of it very inviting. Being from Apple Loosa, she was no stranger to farm life; it was almost like being home again. Also in attendance were Pibs, Cloud Blazer, Regal Masquerade, Lightning Dasher, and Nitro. Nimba had asked Sparklefly for permission to remain at the base, as she wasn't feeling well. When asked if she were alright, Nimba claimed that she was just tired from all of the library searching during the day.

Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie were pulling all manner of tables together for the feast. None of them matched, nor were most even the same height. Somehow, that added even more to the charm of this place. For a moment, Sparklefly got lost in a daydream of having her own farm, but only for a moment.

...

Pibs wasn't used to farm life. She had grown up near many farms, but her parents worked in banking, so she was much more used to the city side of a small town. Not that it was all foreign, but it wasn't like visiting home. There was something else here that Pibs had missed: family. Just watching the Apples, the Cakes, and Pinkie Pie interact was very refreshing.

Everypony was getting seated, and enjoying conversation and laughter. Pinkie Pie was telling a story about two years previous, when Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer had pulled their last, and most disastrous stunt with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. It had apparently become immortalized in Ponyville gossip as 'The Carrot Incident', "So when we found them, they were all completely covered in mud. The only way we could tell them apart was by Apple Bloom's bow, which was totally brown and wilted. And of course there were Scootaloo and Cloud Blazers wings, but to look in their faces you couldn't tell one from the other. It was awesome!"

"Yep!" Big McIntosh, Applejack's brother, said as the rest of the crowd laughed at the story.

Pibs and the rest of the squad gave teasing looks to Cloud Blazer, who was trying to hide his embarrassment by blaming it all on Apple Bloom. Nobody was buying it. It was nice to be in a place where family was such a normal thing that it was just a fact of life.

...

Cloud Blazer had survived reliving what was arguably the most foolish crusade that he had attempted with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, some two years before. It seemed that he would never live down 'The Carrot Incident'. The Cakes were busy preparing the food, which smelled amazing. There were some particularly wonderful apple fritters that were baking. The unmistakable scent of them filled the house and Cloud Blazer's nostrils. Breathing it in deeply, he could tell it was Granny Smith's old recipe. Applejack must have done the preparation and then given them to the Cakes to bake. It was an old Apple family secret. Inhaling that sweet fragrance took Cloud Blazer back through many years and through many good times to the first time he'd tasted them.

Apple Bloom had sat down beside him, returning him to the moment. It was really good to see her again, but she seemed different somehow. In the few months since Cloud Blazer had seen her, she seemed to have grown quite a lot older. Not that anything had actually changed; Apple Bloom had been working on the farm for several years now, helping out with chores and such. She'd become as able-bodied as Applejack or Big McIntosh. Like the rest of the Apple family, she smelled a lot like earth and fresh cut grass with a hint of apples.

...

Scootaloo was bored out of her mind. As the subordinate, she wasn't actually wanted at Diamond Tiara's dinner, but she had little choice in the matter. She did her best to pay attention to the conversation, and looked for things to contribute, but after the first three courses of the meal, Scootaloo realized that Diamond Tiara was never going to stop her own talking, so she sat and listened politely. She supposed it was useful for Princess Twilight, who had been out of Ponyville for almost an entire year since the timberwolves first began their invasion. Scootaloo came back from boredom as she noticed a silence. Diamond Tiara had stopped talking. Scootaloo was desperately hoping that she hadn't just been asked a question.

Twilight Sparkle said, "Well, it sounds like it was a fierce campaign, but the residents of Ponyville certainly seem to think you were the best choice to replace Mayor Mare."

Scootaloo sighed with relief. Twilight was very good at this diplomatic stuff. It must have taken some practice to get that way.

Diamond Tiara continued, "We were all sad at her retiring, of course, but I feel that it was time for a change. Ponyville is a wonderful place, of course, and one of my main objectives is to preserve that charm that we all love here. At the same time, however, I've been working overtime to bring comprehensive reforms to update some aspects of the town that can use it." Diamond Tiara sipped her tea as the servants carried away their plates and replaced them with the next course. She then continued, "That was before the war. Now it seems that all of my efforts are encouraging rationing and stocking of supplies. Not to mention the endless meetings with the military command on updates for our safety. I had requested additional soldiers be sent here several times, but this Lieutenant Brax is the first to arrive. Might you have any idea when we can expect more soldiers to help keep Ponyville safe?"

Twilight set down her tea, and spoke carefully, "As you said, rationing has been difficult for all of us. Unfortunately there are only so many soldiers, and they are being deployed as deliberately as possible to best protect all of Equestria. As to the exact plans on troop deployment, I'm afraid I can't say. I've not been included in those discussions for several weeks now. I had been under the impression that Ponyville hadn't seen much in the way of fighting."

"I hardly think that's a fair assessment," Diamond Tiara said, "Not even a week ago the town came under heavy attack. Everypony ran for cover as a horde of timberwolves advanced right through. Sweet Apple Acres was nearly burned to the ground!"

The princess smiled disarmingly, "That's true, Applejack had told me about it earlier today." She seemed to be humoring the mayor.

Scootaloo was tired; she didn't want to listen to anymore of Diamond Tiara's exaggerated prattle. Was dessert ever coming?

...

Sparklefly was just about stuffed. She was considering taking a walk, but then someone had mentioned dessert, and apple fritters sounded pretty good. Cloud Blazer and Apple Bloom had been telling stories and finishing each others sentences all night. Sparklefly could tell that they were really good friends.

Sparklefly was sitting between Regal Masquerade and Pinkie Pie, which was quite a contrast. Regal Masquerade was so reserved most of the time, much like Big McIntosh, and Pinkie Pie was the complete opposite. The two stallions were both big and strong, and very quiet. She doubted if between the two of them they'd said more than ten words the entire evening, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

...

The Cakes were sitting by Pibs, with Nitro on her other side. They were really nice ponies, and their young colt and filly were rather well behaved, at least for a gathering like this.

Far more interesting than the Cake Family was the way Apple Bloom was practically ogling Cloud Blazer since they had arrived to dinner. Pibs didn't think anypony else had noticed, but she considered herself an expert in such things. Her money was on Apple Bloom and Cloud Blazer becoming an item before the night was over, even if she had to help make that happen!

...

The warm apple fritters were now being placed on the table with cream. Cloud Blazer was filled with complete ecstasy at the aroma, and then the sweet flavors hit his tongue. It was like flying. Baked apples, cinnamon, sugar, and cream - it was all blending in perfect harmony.

When Cloud Blazer returned from the blissful rapture of the first bite, he noticed that Apple Bloom was looking at him.

"You'd think you hadn't had a fritter in years the way you're carryin' on," she teased.

Pibs giggled.

Cloud Blazer replied, "I have really missed these. The rations they gave us in Cloudsdale weren't all that great."

Applejack said, "Well, I figure it'd be pretty hard to have good home family cookin' when you're fixin' food for thousands of ponies."

Big McIntosh added, "Yep."

Cloud Blazer said, "I suppose that makes sense. In any case, this is the best food in Equestria."

Regal Masquerade nodded in agreement.

Applejack grinned, "Aw, shucks; it ain't nothin', you're too kind."

The twin, Nitro, added, "Miss Applejack, you're too modest. I've had fritters all over, cause we used to travel extensively. These are the best."

There was agreement from everypony.

Lightning Dasher asked, "Nitro, how's your sister? I heard she wasn't feeling well?"

Nitro replied, "I don't know; I think she got whatever I had a couple of weeks back. I'm sure she'll be fine after sleeping it off."

Lightning Dasher said, "That's good; we should take her a fritter."

Cloud Blazer could feel Pibs watching him. Occasionally she would giggle as if she knew some secret. Normally he didn't notice stuff like that too much, but she had been doing it all evening. He was starting to get a little concerned about it.

...

Anywhere but here, that's where Scootaloo wished she were right now. The only thing that seemed amazing to her was how unaffected Twilight was by the ubiquitous boredom. The food was good, but there was barely more than a little taste of everything. Scootaloo supposed that was probably necessary when having a seven course dinner, but the entire affair seemed utterly ridiculous.

"Yes, the latest reports of our forces advancing from Manehattan are true. They've been regaining a lot of ground," Twilight said.

Diamond Tiara said, "A glorious victory to be sure, no doubt a credit to your role in all of this."

"I wouldn't go that far; it was Princess Luna commanding. I've been in Cloudsdale on another assignment."

Diamond Tiara asked, "Are the food shortage rumors true?"

"I'm afraid they are. Princess Celestia herself is looking into this aspect of the crisis. Rationing will only get us so far."

"We've been putting aside a stockpile of food to use as a hedge against worse times ahead, but it's not that large yet. We have enough to feed Ponyville for maybe a month if we get cut off. The potential for famine is actually something I wanted to talk to you about," Diamond Tiara said nonchalantly.

Something in the casual tone made Scootaloo suspicious.

"I'd of course be happy to hear any ideas you have on this matter," the princess said warmly.

"Well, there is quite a lot of land in and around Ponyville that would be great for planting new crops of oats and corn," Diamond Tiara paused as Silver Spoon entered and gave her a packet. "From the estimates we've worked up, we think we could feed all of Ponyville and also begin exporting to other cities in need within three months or so."

"That sounds like a good plan," Twilight responded.

"The problem is that the ponies who own this, as of yet, undeveloped land won't hear of us using it for oats and corn." There was silence for a few moments. "To be blunt, it simply is not within my authority to make this happen. Of course, it would only be temporary, naturally only for the duration of the war."

The princess considered this. Scootaloo could tell she was trying to work out the pros and cons in her mind.

Twilight finally said, "As it will only be temporary, I can order the land owners to donate the land. Do you have enough hooves to do the work?"

Diamond Tiara looked for a moment as if she hadn't considered this, "To be quite honest, we don't. If we use volunteers, I think it would put us back at least a month, and we'd miss the best part of growing season."

Silver Spoon brought out a scroll and pen, setting them in front of the princess.

Twilight nodded slowly, "I'll write an order for the lieutenant in charge here to assist in any way that wouldn't interfere with his other duties." Looking at Scootaloo, she asked, "What was his name again?"

Scootaloo replied, "Brax, ma'am. Lieutenant Brax."

Twilight Sparkle began writing up the orders on the scroll, which left a silence that made Scootaloo feel very uncomfortable. All she could do was sip her sparkling water and hope Diamond Tiara didn't try to engage her in small talk.

"So, Scootaloo," their host began; Scootaloo attempted a smile. "I see you've made sergeant, and upon graduation no less. Congratulations."

"Thank you, ma'am," Scootaloo said formally.

"I heard you were in Canterlot during that dreadful battle."

"Yes ma'am; I was part of the evacuation force."

Twilight Sparkle looked up for a second, and then looked back down and continued writing as Diamond Tiara continued, "What they really should have done was had unicorns holding key positions to keep the timberwolves at bay. They might have saved the city."

Scootaloo felt an instant rage boil inside. How dare Diamond Tiara talk about what they should have done. She wasn't there; she had no idea. Scootaloo tried to quickly bury that thought, and calmly replied, "Well, I saw many unicorns there that day. Their sections were not the first to fall, but they did. Many of them died defending their posts."

"Well, you combine the unicorns with a well-placed air strike, and the timberwolves would have been sent running; that's how we saved Ponyville earlier this week."

Scootaloo had about all she could stand. Diamond Tiara taking credit for driving off a timberwolf attack was her limit. Fortunately, the princess had just finished signing the order she had written and said, "This should help you in your efforts to feed Ponyville. You will be able to get the undeveloped land you need for the duration of the war."

Scootaloo bit her tongue as Silver Spoon picked up the orders and delivered the parchment to the head of the table.

Diamond Tiara read over the orders and smiled sweetly, saying, "Thank you very much. It will be very helpful to more than just Ponyville; I'm sure of it. Silver Spoon, be a dear and check on dessert, won't you?"

Scootaloo sighed with relief; finally, dessert would come so she could get out of this place.

...

The evening at Sweet Apple Acres was one of the most enjoyable Sparklefly had experienced in quite some time. Being surrounded by such good friends that were so inviting was a precious thing. It seemed that the entire squad enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Nitro had left a little early to check on his sister, and Lightning Dasher had gone with him.

The rest of them were now enjoying the Apple Family's apple cider, which was fantastic. Everypony was in such a good mood that even Big McIntosh and Regal Masquerade had said dozens of words since the fritters. The only one acting odd was Pibs. She seemed to have taken some kind of interest in Cloud Blazer or Apple Bloom; it was difficult to tell which.

Sadly, it was getting late, and Sparklefly had been put in charge. It wouldn't do them any good tomorrow if they stayed up all night. She would have to bring the party to a close for the squad very soon. No need to go before she finished her cider, she thought as she took a tiny, yet satisfying sip from it.

...

Pibs was more than a little frustrated that neither Cloud Blazer nor Apple Bloom had made any kind of move yet. They were just hanging out like a couple of old friends. The Cakes were keeping her entertained at the moment, causing the entire group to laugh as they told about the first time Pinkie Pie baby-sat for them. Pinkie Pie also constantly augmented the story with bits she interjected here and there.

The children, Pumpkin and Pound Cake had passed out on the floor. It was then that Pibs glanced around, and was both excited and frustrated to discover that Cloud Blazer and Apple Bloom were gone. She quickly scanned the room, but they had left. She knew they would be an item before the night was over! She was, however, sad she missed the moment it happened.

...

Cloud Blazer approached Sweet Apple Acres' prized apple tree. It was famous for growing the biggest apples anypony had ever seen. The Apples never would tell what the secret was, but Cloud Blazer was sure that it must have been a magic of some kind. Apple Bloom walked beside him; both of them had been silent since they left the house. It was dark now, but Cloud Blazer could hear the faint hum of the energy shield protecting the city. In spite of that reminder of the dangers outside, the quiet of the farm was very relaxing. The fresh smell of the orchard always felt like home to Cloud Blazer.

"We sure missed y'all," Apple Bloom said.

He replied, "We missed you guys too. Scootaloo wanted to be here tonight, but she had to go to dinner with Twilight and Diamond Tiara."

Apple Bloom made a face that could only mean disgust and said, "Now why would anypony want to see her. She's horrible, mayor or not." Apple Bloom spat on the ground.

"Well, she didn't want to. If she hadn't asked if we could come here, I think we'd all have eaten rations at the base." Cloud Blazer began reminiscing, "Do you remember when you climbed this tree?" He pointed a hoof at the giant apple tree in front of them.

"Sure do; I got all the way to the top," she beamed.

"No, the other time. The first time when you tried to climb it."

"Oh, that," Apple Bloom looked down, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I remember we were trying to get cutie marks in tree climbing," she was stamping at the grass.

"You made it half-way up that time, and then hit every branch on the way down," he said with a light laugh.

Apple Bloom pushed Cloud Blazer aside playfully, "That's not funny; I was sore for two weeks after that fall."

Cloud Blazer turned back to the house as he heard ponies coming outside. They were led by Sparklefly. The squad was returning to base.

"Apple Bloom, it looks like I've got to get back to my squad," he said, sad that the night was over.

Apple Bloom gave him a hug, but didn't hold on. It felt good. She said, "Well don't stay gone so long this time, okay?"

Cloud Blazer looked at her big pink bow, and then into her eyes, "Nothing I can do about it; I go where they send me until the war's over. But when I have time, I'll always come back," he added with a smile. "You can be sure of that."

7 Into the Everfree Forest

View Online

Scootaloo called everyone to attention in the castle library the following morning. Twilight Sparkle gave the order for everypony to read every book in the library for any reference they could find to the Legend of the Mirror Pond. The squad had sorted the books while they were sifting through titles the previous day, and they had a pile that seemed promising; they started with these. Histories of magic, compilations of myths, and poetry of Equestria were just a few of the genres they began with. Minutes stretched into hours, and hours into the entire morning with nothing to show for it.

Becoming weary from the searching, Twilight ordered everypony to take a break and get some food. Rather than taking the time to go find the mess hall, they simply took rations from their harnesses. There was a small amount of quiet chattering amongst the silence of their break.

Cloud Blazer asked Scootaloo, "So, how did dinner go last night?"

Scootaloo scoffed and said, "I don't even want to think about it. I'll bet you had a better time than I did."

Cloud Blazer smiled, "Yeah, I suspect that's so. Was Diamond Tiara awful?"

Scootaloo thought a moment, "Not to me, she was just Diamond Tiara. I was nearly bored out of my mind."

Cloud Blazer said, "Well, I'm sorry you missed the Sweet Apple Acres dinner; it was a good one. Pinkie Pie told everyone about 'the carrot incident'."

Scootaloo gasped and blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too."

Now that may have been Scootaloo's most embarrassing memory. Apparently there are some things in Ponyville you just never live down. The ponies finished their rations and got back at their work, scanning every line of every book for something helpful.

The rest of the day passed in this manner with nothing to show for it. The sun went down, and Twilight made them continue on by candlelight. As the nighttime hours ebbed on, Sparklefly got Scootaloo's attention.

Scootaloo asked, "What is it?"

Sparklefly showed Scootaloo a passage in a book titled, Practically Impractical: The Exhaustive Guide to Spells, Hexes, Curses, Magic, and Dispelling. Scootaloo read, 'The most powerful dispel that is known to exist is the Usque Incantatores. This complicated ritual can be used to permanently end any kind of magical enchantment within the casting radius.'

Scootaloo called, "Princess Twilight, we've found something."

Twilight trotted over, "What is it, Scootaloo?"

"Look here," she said as she showed her the book.

The princess's eyes ran quickly over the text, and she seemed very encouraged for the first time all day. "Thank you, Scootaloo. This could be very helpful."

Scootaloo pointed to Sparklefly, "I just report, ma'am. Sparklefly here found it."

"Thank you, Sparklefly," Twilight said, exchanging a nod with her. "Now it's time to sleep. I was hoping we could find something a little more definitive, but this will do for now."

Pibs asked, "What have we found?"

Twilight replied, "It might be a way to dispel the mirror pond, if indeed that is how the timberwolves are replicating themselves."

Everyone perked up at this news. Nitro asked, "Does that mean we're going in? Will we put a stop to it tomorrow?"

Twilight spoke slowly, "We are going in tomorrow, but we won't be able to perform this ritual. It is the most complicated spell I've ever seen. I'll have to coordinate this with Princess Celestia. Scootaloo, I have some things to finish. Please have everypony geared up and ready to enter the Everfree Forest at dawn."

Scootaloo replied, "Yes ma'am. Alright, let's hit the hay. Back to base everypony."

There was a renewed sense of hope to their purpose. A great deal of frustration had been growing in the past two days in the library, and everypony was excited to finally get a move on. Nimba went to bed first. She was out almost instantly. Scootaloo found Nitro nearby.

"She's been really exhausted the last few days," Nitro said.

Scootaloo asked, "Is she going to be okay tomorrow? We can't have her falling out on us."

"She'll be fine after a good night's sleep," he reassured her.

Scootaloo was unconvinced, "Alright, but it's your mane if she's not and you don't tell me."

He saluted instinctively, "Yes ma'am."

She left him there with her. He talked like she was fine, but he seemed genuinely concerned that Nimba wasn't as well as she claimed. Scootaloo was a little nervous at the possibility of being one short before they had even hit the field, but she was also very eager to get out and prove herself. If she had any hopes of one day becoming a Wonderbolt and making Rainbow Dash proud of her, she couldn't mess this up.

...

"This is where things will get rough," Sparklefly said to the group. She, Cloud Blazer, Pibs, Regal Masquerade, and Lightning Dasher were ready for sleep, but they were checking all of their gear so it would be ready for morning. They had re-supplied their rations from stores at the base.

Pibs said, "It's only timberwolves I'm worried about. I'm so excited to get into a forest again!"

Cloud Blazer shook his head, "I don't know, Pibs; the plant life in the Everfree Forest can be pretty lively. It may be more dangerous than the timberwolves."

Lightning Dasher mocked, "Brownie, you told us you've been in there a dozen times. If that plant life was anywhere near as dangerous as a horde of timberwolves, you wouldn't be here telling us about it."

Cloud Blazer insisted, "This isn't a joke."

Regal Masquerade interrupted, "I believe what Brownie is telling you is to be cautious."

Sparklefly added, "No unknown situation should ever be taken lightly."

On that they could all agree. Sparklefly noted that Pibs' excitement for the forest was very deep. It was going to be good to have somepony that knew the plants and dangers they were getting into. All in all, Sparklefly felt that they had a solid group that was well prepared. Three of them had actually spent a considerable amount of time in the Everfree Forest, and a fourth was an expert on the vegetation. Odds are, they'd be safer than the Pegasus strike force that was rumored to be returning to Canterlot. They'd heard rumors that Rainbow Dash had drawn up a plan to recover the food stores from the palace that had been abandoned when the city was evacuated. That would be for tomorrow. Right now, it was time for them all to get some sleep.

One by one, the sound of their breathing indicated that the restful state had indeed taken them. Sparklefly was tired from reading all day, which was somehow more mentally exhausting than all of the strength training they'd been doing to get to this point. She wondered about that spell she had found referenced in the book. Twilight hadn't said as much, but she looked rather doubtful as to whether it would work. If it were a magic pond replicating the timberwolves, it might be difficult to get them to stop. She could only guess at how the creatures had found the pond in the first place. Maybe one had fallen in and began duplicating before it could get out. Sparklefly let out a long yawn, and tried to quiet her mind. Soon she drifted into a very restful slumber.

...

Pibs wasn't the first one awake. Cloud Blazer was gone already. Even in the pre-dawn morning, she couldn't sleep anymore. The thought of the Everfree Forest had become too exciting and terrifying. Since she couldn't rest, it was time to finish her letter to Lighthoof.

She took it out and read it over, 'Dear Lighthoof, I am glad to hear that your new position is rewarding for you as you help to train new recruits for the war. I'm sure you'll be able to make them all as brave as you are. I'm very excited that we're going to get to be in a forest soon. I'm not allowed to write about it, but I haven't had a chance to be under trees for quite a long time. With a little luck, I'll bring you a rare flower. This squad they've formed is a really great group. You'll be pleased to know that I've made friends with the twins. Nitro and Nimba are ridiculous, but a lot of fun when you get to know them.' That was as far as she had written. She took out her pencil and continued, 'I'm in really good hooves, so you have to promise Pibs you won't worry about me, okay? Even if we weren't trained so hard, I know Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer would never let anything happen to me. We got to go to Ponyville. It's a really nice little town. It might be a good place to settle down after the fighting is done. We had dinner at a farm called Sweet Apple Acres, and I got to meet some of Scootaloo's friends. They were all really nice. I could tell that they didn't have great stores of food, but they shared generously with us. I'll tell you all about the dessert when I see you, but I'll give you a hint: it was apple fritters! Also, I've discovered that apple cider is the best. On another note, I'm pretty sure that Cloud Blazer has a thing for Apple Bloom. She's one of Scootaloo's friends. I have to go now, but I'll write again soon. Know that my thoughts are with you, and you are always in mine. With love, Pibs.'

That should about do it for the letter. No other ponies were up yet, so Pibs decided to go find Cloud Blazer. She put the letter in her harness pocket for safe keeping. Once outside, Pibs took to the air and surveyed Ponyville. He wasn't that hard to find. She flew to meet him.

Pulling alongside, Pibs asked, "Out for your morning flight?"

Cloud Blazer said, "Hey, Pibs. I didn't take you for a morning pony."

She shrugged, "I couldn't sleep. I figured you'd be out here. Scootaloo told me that you always take a morning flight."

Cloud Blazer sighed as they began passing over Sweet Apple Acres.

Pibs took this as a sign that he was thinking about Apple Bloom. She tried to be nonchalant, "Somepony special on your mind?"

"What do you mean?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Oh, come on, Pibs. You know I don't have time for that mushy stuff."

"Brownie, don't play dumb. I saw that way you were looking at her."

Cloud Blazer blushed a little, "What? When? Who are you talking about?"

She shook her head at him, "You can do better than that. I saw you two sneak off alone. Don't tell me you didn't confess your undying love."

Cloud Blazer looked confused, "Sneak off? What are you talking about?"

Frustrated, she replied, "You and Apple Bloom, silly!"

Cloud Blazer laughed, "It's nothing like that, honest. We're just good friends."

Pibs was unconvinced, "Are you sure? Didn't you think it was odd the way she was so attentive to you all night? Tell me you noticed that."

"We're friends! If Scootaloo had been there, I'm sure she'd have sat with her instead."

"Nimba told me that she gave you quite a hug when you first went to the farm," she said with an air of superiority. She knew she had him on this one.

"What?" he replied.

Pibs could tell he was rethinking how he had interpreted this. He apparently was that oblivious.

"Don't worry, Brownie. I can give you plenty of pointers."

He gave her a sideways glance, "That's okay, Pibs. I know that mushy stuff is your thing, but don't get me mixed up in any."

"Brownie, you already are mixed up in it," she replied confidently.

"Let's talk about something else," he said, sounding a little annoyed.

Pibs tried to change the subject, but only a little, "Applejack and her husband seemed nice."

"Her husband?" Cloud Blazer said. "He wasn't there last night."

"He was," Pibs was now confused. "The red one that sat by Regal Masquerade. He hardly talked all night."

Cloud Blazer giggled, "No, Pibs, that was her brother, Big McIntosh."

Now she felt embarrassed.

He continued, "Her husband enlisted and went to Manehattan to join the war effort."

"Oh," was all she could think to respond.

The morning sun was nearly breaking the horizon, so Pibs and Cloud Blazer returned to the base and got geared up. While in the castle, she was able to find the quartermaster, who would get her letter on its way to Lighthoof in Manehattan. Rejoining the group outside in front of the castle, Pibs thought the entire squad looked very menacing in their full armor. The purple filtered dawn light bathed them above the top of the forest to the east.

Scootaloo addressed the squad, "Good morning. We've mapped out our path today. We're going to be moving slowly, as we have very little information on the strength and position of the timberwolves inside the Everfree Forest. What scouts have reported is that flying in is too dangerous, so we're going to walk in from Ponyville. We'll stick to the path to Zecora's house first. We're going to check on her and Sweetie Belle. Afterward, we'll head south to the Ghastly Gorge. There is a good ridge there that is clear of the tree line that we can use for easy access tomorrow to scout deeper into the forest. Anyone have anything else?"

Pibs spoke up, "Don't forget, in our situation, poison joke is no laughing matter." She giggled, "Puns aside, the effects are unpredictable, and they can be debilitating."

Lightning Dasher asked, "Do we get another plant lecture? I can't wait!"

Scootaloo shot him a look that elicited complete silence. With attention diverted, Nitro was able to tag Nimba with a spit wad on the back of her helmet. It stuck there.

Twilight concluded the meeting, "Just stay sharp everypony. Remember, we're not going to engage the timberwolves unless we have no other choice. All we have to do is find out how they are multiplying."

Scootaloo gave the command to move out, and they left the safety of Ponyville. Pibs heard the shield go back up behind them. Cloud Blazer took the point position, and they moved forward into the Everfree Forest.

Sadly for Pibs, there wasn't much exciting for quite a long while. There were a few patches of poison joke. It briefly crossed her mind to send some to Lighthoof. Apparently the twins mischievous nature and constant back and forth was getting to her a little bit.

...

Cloud Blazer led them on through the dense trees and foliage toward Zecora's house. He had traveled this path at least a half-dozen times before to visit the zebra, but it had always seemed much safer than it did today. The squad moved at an amble, paying close attention to everything. Everypony seemed optimistic but cautious. The strangest part to Cloud Blazer was the quiet. Usually when going on an adventure like this there would be lots of idle chatter, but the squad was concerned enough with the timberwolves to not say anything at all. Even Pibs seemed much more subdued now than when they had first entered the forest.

The morning was cool but was warming up already. It seemed like it was going to be a little hot for spring. The glimpses of the sky that came through the tree tops revealed almost no clouds as they pressed on deeper into the thickening woods.

It was nearly mid-morning when Cloud Blazer brought them to a halt. Scootaloo quietly ordered them to spread out, and they crept up on Zecora's hut from three sides. As they moved silently in, Cloud Blazer noted a few things that seemed out of place. The path leading in wasn't clear as it had been. It didn't look wild yet, just unkempt. He crept even closer. There it was. Cloud Blazer took in what he was seeing, sitting completely motionless. The door had been smashed in, and one of the windows was broken. The house felt deserted.

Scootaloo quietly came up beside Cloud Blazer. She whispered, "We're going in on my signal; be ready for contact, and watch for friendlies." She then silently padded up the line, letting everyone know they were about to go in ready for battle.

Cloud Blazer could feel that he was sweating a little, but it wasn't from the heat. In some ways, this uncertain waiting was worse than moving headlong into a fight. He continued scanning the area that he could see, but it was completely quiet. If there were anything about, it was being completely motionless.

Scootaloo gave a silent command to move in, "Pssst, pssst," and they all went directly and quickly to the little hut. Cloud Blazer arrived at the door along with Regal Masquerade, Lightning Dasher, and Nitro. Lightning Dasher looked into the broken window, then at Cloud Blazer and shook his head. Cloud Blazer pushed passed the broken door with Nitro right on his tail moving right and Regal Masquerade behind them moving left. It was dark inside, and the place was wrecked. There was nothing inside except smashed masks that had decorated the walls, broken glass from containers, and a few other odds and ends. Regal Masquerade signaled everypony else to come in.

Scootaloo asked, "Anypony see anything helpful?"

They all searched, but there was no evidence of where Zecora and Sweetie Belle might have gone, nor was there any evidence that they had been here when the place was trashed. They simply were not home, and it appeared that they hadn't been here for several weeks at least. Cloud Blazer felt much more at ease now, but a nagging feeling that there were timberwolves nearby watching them was somewhat unnerving. He took a drink of water.

Twilight said, "There's nothing more we can do here. Let's rest a minute and then keep moving."

Scootaloo commanded the brief rest, and sent the twins outside to watch the perimeter. Then she and Cloud Blazer began straightening up the place. He noticed that she was very preoccupied, but he didn't have to ask why. He was also worried about Sweetie Belle.

...

Before long, they were moving again. Scootaloo felt a slow seething anger burning inside at the discovery of Zecora's house in the state it was in. She desperately wanted to find Sweetie Belle, but had to keep reminding herself that they had something much more important to do just now. It didn't help. Their brief stop seemed to have put everypony a bit more on edge than they'd been all morning. They continued pressing south, heading directly for the Ghastly Gorge.

It was a silent group that marched onward. Pibs would occasionally take a close look at some plant or another, but they hadn't come across anything particularly threatening. Morning faded away into afternoon, and afternoon drudged on, but there were still no signs of timberwolves.

Nitro was on point, and he rather suddenly hissed and dropped down low. The rest of the squad followed his lead, falling to the ground and freezing in place. Scootaloo couldn't see what he had seen, so she crept the short distance to him. The rest remained motionless, watching in all directions.

"What is it?" she asked him in a whisper.

Nitro pointed at the gaping mouth of a cave that was barely fifty yards across a clearing from where they crouched. It was dark inside, and they couldn't see anything. It also gave Scootaloo a bad feeling. She frowned. She motioned at Pibs to come forward. The pink mare crept up to the other two and looked at the cave.

"Look at the trees," Pibs said quietly.

The trunks all around the cave had been clawed and gouged. They were old wounds that hadn't killed the trees, but it was on most of them.

"No vegetation near the mouth of the cave," Pibs continued. "An ursa major lives in there."

That would be an unpleasant discovery. Just one of the great celestial bears could easily kill a pony. Even the nine of them would be hard pressed to fight it off if it came to that. However, they did have an alicorn with them whose magic undoubtedly would turn the balance in their favor.

Scootaloo said, "Okay, Nitro, let's go around this thing and keep some distance. Then get us back on course for Ghastly Gorge."

"Copy that, ma'am," he replied, a sheen of sweat could be seen on his brow.

With a name like the Ghastly Gorge had, one would have thought it would be a terrifying place. Upon arrival, Scootaloo was so happy to see once again that it could have been more appropriately named. That last time she had been here was during the now infamous Ponyville legend of the 'carrot incident'. Sheer rock-face walls led to the deep floor of the canyon, but how does that make it ghastly? A stream ran through the bottom that was only a yard or two wide and shallow. To the west, Scootaloo could already see that the sun was below the top of the trees on the horizon. They wouldn't have enough light to continue on safely. Timberwolves can see much better in the dark than ponies are able.

Princess Twilight said, "Good job, everypony. I'm glad that we've all made it safely here together. We'll fly back to Ponyville and continue from here in the morning."

Scootaloo was taking a drink of water when she noticed Pibs back at the tree line.

"Pibs, what are you doing?" Scootaloo asked.

Pibs returned with a small purple flower with bright green speckles.

"What is that?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Is it for your boyfriend?" Nimba teased.

Pibs was in wonder, "It's a speckled purple cyclamen." She blushed at Nimba's comment.

"Presumably not dangerous?" Regal Masquerade asked.

"Oh no," Pibs dismissed the comment, "but very rare."

Scootaloo said, "Okay, stow it, we need to get airborne."

Pibs flattened the flower in a handkerchief and tucked it into her pocket.

Within moments they were all flying, circling high above the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo continued scanning for any signs that might lead them to Sweetie Belle, but as they climbed higher and higher, there was nothing to find. They headed back to Ponyville for the night.

Scootaloo had trouble sleeping. She had a dream that was pleasant at first, but it turned bad when Sweetie Belle fell into the river and was swept away. She awoke to find that it was morning, so she got everypony together. They had reported everything they found out about the forest, and Zecora's disappearance to Brax, who seemed grateful for the information. They were all confused that this end of the Everfree Forest should be so empty when timberwolves were still streaming out of the southern end by the thousands every day.

Scootaloo arrived outside the castle just as Cloud Blazer was returning from his morning flight around Ponyville.

"It's too early to be doing laps," she teased.

Cloud Blazer stretched out his wings, and then folded them. He said, "Early is the best time to do a lap. You should try it sometime."

Unconvinced, she said, "I prefer to wake up by squeezing every last bit of sleep from my pillow."

"Now that sounds familiar," he replied. "I bet you learned that from a certain rainbow colored pegasus that likes to yell at her cadets."

"Hey now," Scootaloo rebutted his teasing, "I have always liked to sleep that way. Just ask Apple Bloom."

Cloud Blazer didn't reply and seemed to be thinking about something.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. I mean, Pibs tried to get me all confused yesterday."

"Was she telling you all about the plants again?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that. She was going on about mushy stuff."

"Well, you know Pibs," Scootaloo replied dismissively. "Careful you don't think on that stuff too much; you'll get yourself in trouble. You've seen how she is lately."

The two friends had a laugh about it as the rest of their squad began reporting for duty.

...

Sparklefly took point for the flight back to the Ghastly Gorge as the sun rose. The dawn light had painted the forest a golden color from one end to the other. The canyon was still in shadow, and it looked a little ominous in this morning light. They made one circle of their LZ, but there was nothing moving down below. The squad landed without incident.

Regal Masquerade led them into the forest, following the map that Pinkie Pie had made, and they cautiously continued their work of searching the forest. It seemed that it would be even warmer today, as it was still early morning, and already Sparklefly felt a trickle of sweat. Suddenly, Regal Masquerade froze in place. It was very quiet. Sparklefly looked around, but didn't see anything at first. Then she looked up.

In the trees above them, they had come to the edge of what looked like either a net or tangled vines of some kind. They moved slowly forward, watching for any signs of timberwolves, but there was nothing. Sparklefly could feel her heart pounding, she was on high alert now. Just by their expressions, she could tell that the rest of the squad felt the same way.

Surveying the net, Pibs turned and shrugged, "It's not any kind of plant I've ever seen. I don't think it's alive."

Whatever it was, it stretched out in either direction as far as they could see. It was woven tightly enough that they wouldn't be able to get through it. Lightning Dasher flew up and tried to cut it, but his knife wouldn't get through it.

Regal Masquerade said, "I don't like this, not even a little."

Nitro added, "I guess we know why no scouts were able to fly in."

Twilight said, "Stand back."

As they made room, magic charged in her horn, and a bright purple light shone for a moment, and then quickly went out. The princess looked stunned with surprise.

"What is it?" Nimba asked.

"It drains magic. I'm not going to have any magic in there," she replied.

Scootaloo said, "Where did this even come from?"

Sparklefly said, "One thing is certain. Timberwolves didn't do this."

Everypony in the squad looked at her. It didn't take them long to realize that she was quite correct. There was nothing anypony had ever observed in timberwolf behavior to make them think they'd be capable of creating such a thing. Lightning Dasher continued trying to cut through, and he was starting to have some success.

Twilight said, "That can only mean that the timberwolves have help. There is some force or intelligence that is making them do what they're doing."

It was an unnerving thought to be sure; Sparklefly's mouth felt dry.

Scootaloo asked, "Do we press on?"

The princess nodded, "We still need more information. Send one back to report what we've found, and then we'll continue."

Scootaloo turned to Lightning Dasher, "I want you to go directly to Ponyville, report about this net to Lieutenant Brax or one of his officers. Return here directly. We're heading southeast."

Lightning Dasher nodded, "Affirmative, ma'am." He turned and galloped back out of the Everfree Forest the way they had come in.

Twilight said, "Let's continue with extreme caution."

Scootaloo added, "Stay sharp; Nitro, take point. Move out."

They continued silently forward. The net above them continued from tree to tree, covering the entire forest like a blanket. They continued on for an hour, and as they walked, the air started feeling heavy. Brambles and thorns also made their progress much slower. They were growing so thick that they were forced into single-file.

Sparklefly had a very uneasy feeling about this situation. They were incredibly vulnerable spread out like this. The only advantage was that the brambles were rather impassable, but that wouldn't keep them from getting trapped. They came out into a small clearing, and they got back into formation.

A snapping noise somewhere ahead sent the the entire squad dropping to the ground. It was dead silent now. Sparklefly noticed that there weren't even any birds. All she could hear was everypony else breathing. They sat there, frozen in silence, and a rather pungent odor was in the air. They all knew the scent of timberwolves. Scootaloo motioned for Sparklefly to take a look. Her heart was pounding as she crept forward.

...

Pibs was surprised at how calm everypony else seemed to be. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of her own blood pumping, rushing through her veins. Sparklefly was moving forward noiselessly to see what had made the sound. Glancing to her left, Pibs thought she saw movement in the brambles. She blinked and looked again, but everything was perfectly still. She pulled an arrow out and loaded it into her crossbow. The others had already done this.

Pibs turned back to see that Sparklefly had frozen again. A timberwolf ambled through the brush on their left at the far end of the clearing; very casually, it walked across the space toward their right as though it hadn't seen the squad. They all sat there, unable to move; Pibs felt like a steel trap that was waiting to spring. The foul smelling creature was almost away, and then it turned, finally noticing Sparklefly. It sat there, looking puzzled for a moment, and then it twitched, tensing up to pounce, Regal Masquerade let an arrow fly from his crossbow like a thunderclap piercing the timberwolf through the head. The body fell clumsily to the forest floor. The noise from the hit echoed, fading off quickly.

In an instant, everypony got to their hooves and multiple timberwolves crashed through the clearing ahead.

Scootaloo began shouting, "Contact front! Contact front!"

The timberwolves charged across open ground directly at them.

"Open fire!" Scootaloo ordered.

Six more shots were loosed and Pibs raised her own crossbow. She was shaking as she let the arrow fly. It sped high and was lost to the forest.

"Form up the line!" Scootaloo shouted.

The squad made a line with Regal Masquerade charging up beside Sparklefly, who was the farthest forward. The others soon came into place as the timberwolves reached them, and a melee began. Cloud Blazer and Pibs were on the left, and Scootaloo joined Sparklefly on the right with Princess Twilight. Claws raked against armor, which deflected the blows rather effectively. Pibs happened to glance back and notice that Nimba was just standing there with a totally blank expression on her face, frozen like statue. Nitro was saying something to her.

Scootaloo ordered, "Advance!"

Everypony but the twins launched themselves directly into the incoming timberwolves. It was a furious pounding and slashing of hooves and claws. Regal Masquerade smashed one, Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer tripped some up, Pibs bucked them off of her. Glancing back again, Pibs saw that Nimba was still just standing there motionless. Nitro was glowing. The princess saw it too.

Twilight yelled, "Scootaloo, stop Nitro! I've seen that magic before. He's a changeling!"

Time seemed to freeze. Pibs had heard about the changelings. Everypony knew the story of how they had invaded Canterlot about ten years before. They managed to overpower Princess Celestia and nearly captured the city. It was Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence that had stopped them that time. The ramifications of this revelation were astonishing to say the least. The timberwolves were being controlled by changelings. Something had to be done, and quickly in order to save Nimba. Scootaloo was occupied with a timberwolf, and nopony was close enough to stop Nitro from sending a magical blast directly into Twilight. She was enveloped in green fire and fell to the ground with a shriek, completely surrounded.

Pibs wasn't sure what happened, but the next thing she knew, she was charging directly at Nitro with a scream that startled him. She hit him directly in the face with her fore-hoof initially, then spun around and caught him in the jaw with both hind legs in one powerful buck that sent him sprawling on the ground toward the right side of the clearing. It didn't look like Nitro anymore. It had changed to look like a twisted form of a unicorn, black as onyx with harsh features, a blue mane, and vibrant green eyes. Out of nowhere, Regal Masquerade was on him, pounding the changeling's face mercilessly as he lay on the ground, shattering his horn with a noise that sounded like the cracking of thunder.

The changeling cried out something that was impossible to understand, and a volley of lethal bolts of magic came out of the foliage on the left side with no warning. Pibs felt one of them burn into her shoulder just beneath the harness.

She shouted, "Contact left, incoming fire!"

Everypony was too busy to duck, but the changeling took advantage of the cover and scurried into the forest as Regal Masquerade dropped to the ground. Nimba still didn't move, and she was directly in the line of the magical attack. Pibs saw the energy pour through Nimba's body, her armor completely ineffective. Nimba blankly staggered backwards, and when the timberwolves came through the brush; she was surrounded. Cloud Blazer was suddenly there. He and Pibs fought alongside Regal Masquerade in an attempt to reach Nimba, but she didn't stand a chance. Even as she came out of the changeling inflicted daze, she was down within seconds; there wasn't even time to scream.

Cloud Blazer was already bleeding from a wound to his flank, and Scootaloo and Sparklefly weren't doing much better on the other side. They were now arranged in an L shape with timberwolves in front and left. More of the wooden enemies crashed through from the right, and they were now surrounded on three sides.

"Contact right! Advance!" Scootaloo yelled.

The squad pushed forward with Regal Masquerade holding the rear almost by himself. It was a thing of beauty to see his raw power shatter anything that got close. Still, the continually increasing numbers of timberwolves put them at a real risk of becoming totally surrounded as the furious onslaught continued.

Cloud Blazer howled in pain as a timberwolf claw raked his leg. Pibs bucked the timberwolf off of him. The five of them fought side by side, working their way into a smaller grouping. Twilight was gone; all that remained was a smoldering patch of leaves where she had been.

"We can't hold this!" Sparklefly cried out.

"Twilight's still alive!" Scootaloo shouted over the noise of battle. "That changeling magic teleported her to somewhere nearby! If we can get to her-"

Another volley of magical fire blasted through the left side of the clearing. It cut down several timberwolves, and then Regal Masquerade was hit. He dropped on his face with a grunt. Pibs' heart nearly stopped. A moment later, as if powered by some unseen force, he stood again and clobbered the next timberwolf that charged the rear. He wasn't done fighting yet.

Pibs heard Sparklefly yelling, "We're at half strength! We have to fall back now or we all die!"

Scootaloo must have already reached the same conclusion as even more timberwolves began pouring from all three sides.

She gave the order, "Fall back to the LZ! Ponies, we are leaving!"

Regal Masquerade pushed forward, now at the front of their movement as they attempted to withdraw. Pibs was on his right, and Scootaloo on his left as they fought their way though the flurry of snapping jaws to the relative safety of the brambles. A timberwolf got under Pibs' guard and his teeth sank into her harness. It ripped into her chest enough to make her cry out before Cloud Blazer knocked it off of her. Pibs stomped on it and then darted to the brambles right behind Regal Masquerade. She cast a fleeting final glance at Nimba's body, surrounded by timberwolves in the middle of the clearing, then she vaulted headlong into the narrow path with thorns scratching at her face and scraping armor. They were abandoning Princess Twilight.

...

Cloud Blazer had made up his mind that he would bring up the rear; he had to keep Scootaloo and the others safe. The timberwolves were getting too thick to effectively hold them off any longer, and Sparklefly had just made the exit following Regal Masquerade and Pibs. He and Scootaloo were side by side, holding the timberwolves with enraged fighting.

Cloud Blazer yelled at her, "Go, I'm right behind you!"

She didn't wait to argue. A well placed spinning kick got her oriented and she leapt into the path. Cloud Blazer backed in to keep his eyes on the timberwolves. He tried to fight while retreating into the brambles but quickly lodged his rear in a tangle of long spines that managed to find the unprotected places in his flank. Standing up on his hind legs and smacking the closest timberwolf in the face for good measure, he pivoted on his hind legs and went forward up the narrow path.

He galloped quickly, ignoring the thorns and brambles that were clawing and biting at his face and anywhere else his armor didn't cover. He could see the other end; the remaining four had made it out of the worst of the brambles when the thorns caught Cloud Blazer's armor sending him straight to the ground. The taste of earth and dead vegetation filled his mouth, and he struggled to move but didn't even have time to get up before the timberwolves were on his back, biting at his neck.

Cloud Blazer desperately threw his head back and forth, striking the timberwolf with his helmet. With a warrior's cry, Pibs threw herself over him. She spun in that small space, straddling Cloud Blazer, and then kicking with her hind legs to knock the beasts back. At the same time, Sparklefly and Scootaloo had grabbed him by the front horseshoes and pulled him clear. Pibs joined them as Cloud Blazer got to his hooves, and the five of them took off at a full gallop back toward the LZ at the edge of Ghastly Gorge.

They crashed through the brush, forced to abandon all caution in a desperate effort to escape. There was howling in the woods all around them now. Pushing even faster, Sparklefly took the lead. Cloud Blazer saw them before she did.

He cried out, "Contact front!" but it was too late.

Timberwolves sprang up from the foliage ahead, and a powerful swipe caught Sparklefly in the head as she tried to duck under it. Cloud Blazer thought her helmet had deflected the blow until the blood began pouring from her face as she fell to the ground. Regal Masquerade unleashed a savage flurry of kicks into the timberwolf until its head was flattened. The squad soon had the others under control and found a brief respite.

Cloud Blazer shouted, "Right flank?"

"Incoming left!" Regal Masquerade shouted.

Pibs had helped Sparklefly up. She already had her medical kit out and was trying to put pressure on the wound.

Scootaloo quickly glanced left, "Copy that, left no good, move right! Go, go!"

Cloud Blazer knew that this was problematic, as the LZ was somewhere to their left. They pushed in the opposite direction, fighting deeper into the forest which they were trying to escape. As they moved fast, a single changeling ran out ahead of them. He seemed completely surprised. Regal Masquerade shot an arrow but missed the stopping target. The changeling returned a blast of magic that hit the powerful pegasus in his hindquarters, causing him to spin completely around like a rag doll as he fell to the earth, dust and leaves scattering as he dropped. Scootaloo fired her own crossbow and the bolt lodged in the changeling's chest. A somewhat pitiful cry escaped as Sparklefly charged up onto it and finished him with her knife. Somehow, Regal Masquerade got up again.

"Let's move," he said very gruffly; one wouldn't have to be an expert on his mannerisms to know that he was very angry now.

He was limping badly on his left rear leg where he'd been hit, but Regal Masquerade was able to keep up as they charged further into the woods, trying to make their way left again. They happened upon a small defilade comprised of thick bushes and all five of them ducked inside. A pack of timberwolves ran past but didn't notice them. Pibs tried to stanch the wounds that Regal Masquerade had received, but they had already used up two of their medical kits. All of them were breathing heavily and practically covered in sweat, blood, and earth.

"The princess?" Regal Masquerade asked.

"She's alive," Scootaloo said with a tone of certainty.

"How can you be sure?" Pibs asked as she checked Sparklefly's wound.

"Twilight has fought them before," Scootaloo answered. "She told me that she'd been transported that way from Canterlot into the caves below the city. They don't kill you; they replace you. Where is Lightning Dasher?"

"Hopefully he wasn't in the forest when this started. They are trying to kill us," Sparklefly said looking up. Her left eye was ruined from the nasty gash left by the timberwolf's claw. "That netting is covering a much larger area now. We're trapped."

Cloud Blazer looked up. The netting had been spread out even further since they had entered this place only a few hours before.

"I know," Scootaloo replied. "I'll take point. Whatever happens, we have to get to that LZ and out of here."

"Changelings," Pibs said with a shudder.

"We're the only ones that know," Regal Masquerade added. "We have to warn the others."

Cloud Blazer didn't say anything; he couldn't find words. He took a sip of water to quench his dry throat. The only thing he knew right now was that he had to keep any more of his squad from dying. Whatever happened, he had to get Scootaloo out of here.

"Sparklefly, Regal, are you good to move?" Scootaloo asked.

They nodded. Scootaloo jumped up with a nod and charged out of their little hiding place. The rest followed, and once again, Cloud Blazer took up the rear. They moved quickly following after her, but already their pace was much slower than it had been before; Regal Masquerade was unable to put weight on his back left leg. The squad encountered another pack of timberwolves and had to fight their way through. There were only ten of them, and the ponies put them down without any trouble. They finally turned south again toward the clearing and safety.

They walked into a trap. A barrage of magical energy burst through the trees on their left. Pibs was hit and screamed as she fell. Sparklefly would have been injured if Regal Masquerade hadn't leapt in front of her. He took at least two hits as the others aimed and returned fire with their crossbows. The noise of magic burning and the cry of metal being torn asunder filled the air. A shriek of pain from beyond the trees signaled that some of the ponies had hit their marks. There was not a moment to lose. Cloud Blazer galloped hard, hooking left and bursting through upon the unsuspecting changelings. There were only three of them, one of which was already dead. The other two looked afraid as the pegasus charged down upon them. He knocked one down but then slipped rather clumsily to the ground himself on a mossy patch of rocks. The green magic of the third changeling glowed brightly, and Cloud Blazer knew he was looking up at his own death. Scootaloo flew through the air, tackling the changeling; the blast of magic impacted into the ground nearby and sent rock fragments into the air and raining down on them. Shards of stone pelted Cloud Blazer's helmet, making his head ring for a moment. Sparklefly crashed through the bushes and dispatched the other enemy.

"You okay?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah!" Cloud Blazer replied.

Pibs had already applied a crude bandage to her own wound, which had been superficial, and now she was trying to save Regal Masquerade. He was lying down, his many wounds clearly visible. His armor was burned and cracked where the magic had ripped through it. She was using the last of the medical supplies.

"We have to move," Sparklefly said.

"Help me up," Regal Masquerade insisted.

"Are you sure?" Scootaloo asked.

"I've got him," Cloud Blazer volunteered. "She's right, we have to go."

He lifted the wounded pegasus and drug him as they continued toward the LZ. This was bad, and there was nothing Cloud Blazer could do about it. As they continued, a changeling burst through the foliage behind them. Cloud Blazer was in no position to fire his weapon, and the changeling was ready to use his deadly magic. Regal Masquerade managed to land a shot right between their would-be attacker's eyes, killing him instantly. The others paused for a moment, and then they all continued inching their way to Ghastly Gorge.

A noise to the left had become an all too familiar one. Cloud Blazer dropped Regal Masquerade just in time to get his crossbow up as a pack of timberwolves came through the brush at high speed. Scootaloo was shouting orders and the other two joined the battle. The wounded pegasus fired his crossbow at least twice more that Cloud Blazer saw in the middle of this fray. Claws raked against armor, teeth tore savagely at the squad. They had become surrounded for the moment, but several blasts of magic helped clear the way. Two more changelings were hitting everything in their path, which happened to mostly be timberwolves. It gave just enough respite for Scootaloo to get off a shot, killing one of them. The other turned and ran away. At best, his retreat might buy them a little time.

When the exhausted squad finished the timberwolves, Cloud Blazer returned the short distance to Regal Masquerade. His mind didn't know how to process what he was seeing. The pegasus pony lay completely motionless, flat on his back with his head turned up as if he were looking at something. His helmet had split and was burned from a blast of magic that had pierced it in the fighting. He understood, but didn't want to believe it. Regal Masquerade was dead.

Scootaloo sighed. Cloud Blazer knew that tone; it was filled with the same kind of sorrow that he felt right now.

"Leave him," she said, her voice sounded like one accepting total defeat as she took one of his dog tags. "We're almost there. We've got to keep moving."

Abandoning Regal Masquerade was the hardest thing Cloud Blazer had ever done. After taking the remaining arrows from their fallen comrade, the four pressed on much faster now until they reached the edge of the tree line by the LZ. They arrived to find that the netting which covered the trees now blanketed the entire area all the way to where they now stood. They would have to get out into the open if they hoped to escape. The plant life was too dense to even attempt to fly through. It was at that moment the Cloud Blazer's heart dropped. The LZ was already covered with timberwolves.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath.

Scootaloo spoke quickly and quietly, "Listen up. We don't have any other way out but this. They've worked hard to cut us off, but I think they don't expect us to try this way."

Sparklefly said, "That's because it is covered with timberwolves."

"No sweat, we can take them!" Pibs said; her eyes betrayed a sadness not present in her voice.

Cloud Blazer didn't share her apparent optimism. There had to be fifty or more of them against four ponies. He said nothing. Everypony else looked like they were in terrible shape. Sparklefly's eye was mangled and she had several other small wounds, Pibs was bleeding from her shoulder and side, and he was pretty sure she was missing a tooth. Scootaloo had at least as many cuts and bruises as the rest of them. They were all cut up from the brambles, not to mention exhausted from the effort of fighting their way through to this point. Cloud Blazer felt horrible for leaving the princess behind, but if they survived there might be a chance to rescue her. If they didn't make it out of here, she would be replaced by changelings, and no help would be coming for her. That meant that whatever the way, they had to try. The entire population of Equestria might well depend on it.

Scootaloo said, "We drive right into them, make for the cliff face, and jump. Once we're clear, we fly back to Ponyville for reinforcements."

They all nodded in agreement. After a three-count, Cloud Blazer and the rest of the squad, Pibs, Sparklefly, and Scootaloo, charged headlong into what had to be several dozen timberwolves. They were kicking and trying to push their way to the edge. Their momentum was halted half-way there, and ranks of timberwolves closed around them. The ponies stood back to back, a flurry of kicking hooves holding their attackers at bay. Then the timberwolves began howling, calling for reinforcements. Kicking, biting, smashing, thrashing, the noise was a constant cacophony in their ears. If they could just cut down their numbers a little, they could make a break for the edge. More of the savage beasts clawed their way out of the forest and joined the attack. Cloud Blazer missed a strike and saw the timberwolf coming down, jaws wide open to bite his head. An arrow zipped through the air and struck the timberwolf at the base of its skull, and it fell in the midst of the fray.

From somewhere above, Cloud Blazer heard the sweetest sound in his life: the beating of Pegasus wings followed by a battle cry. Lightning Dasher had returned. He dove directly into the timberwolves between the squad and the edge of the cliff with his hooves down. He probably smashed twenty of them as he flew in, skidding to a stop. This cleared enough of a path for the others to all make a run for it. Lightning Dasher rolled off the side of the cliff on his hooves. He galloped awkwardly down the canyon wall until the wind lifted him by his wings. He was bleeding from injuries sustained in that maneuver; it was hard to see how badly he was hurt.

As they made for the edge, Cloud Blazer threw out a few extra kicks to make sure the others could make the jump. He was right behind them, holding the rear. Pibs went first, and then Sparklefly. Scootaloo made the jump; it was his turn. After one final spinning kick, Cloud Blazer's tired legs launched him over the edge of the cliff into thin air. He spread his wings to freedom, and then he was hit from above.

A timberwolf had leapt out after Cloud Blazer and landed on his back. It had a hold of his right wing it its powerful jaws, and then the world was spinning out of control. The timberwolf was clawing at him and biting as they tumbled. He tried twisting to get an angle to push the creature off as they hurtled farther and farther down. The timberwolf bit into the back of Cloud Blazer's neck, and then the wind was knocked out of him. They had struck something, it was impossible to tell what. The pair, locked in combat, tumbled off of it in a fast spin, still falling until Cloud Blazer felt the timberwolf shatter beneath him and a loud crunch, then his own right rear leg bent in a way that it was not designed to as they rolled off of solid rock. He was still falling.

Cloud Blazer did a half twist to orient himself properly and stop tumbling, but as he tried to open his wings, a bolt of pain shot from his wingtips down through his hooves and into his heart. He couldn't stretch them out. There wasn't time to even consider the ramifications of this before he struck something else hard, began rolling again and continued falling, and then he slammed something else. Pain shot through him each time, and continuity of thought was difficult to maintain. He thought he heard something snap, but his ears were ringing, rendering him unable to be certain. The pain was intense, but a moment later he was floating, so he knew it would be okay. He wasn't floating.

The final impact into the canyon floor felt crunchy, then cold, and it made everything go totally black and silent. Aside from a vague throbbing, all of Cloud Blazer's senses were completely numb. Moments or minutes later, it was impossible to tell which, his hearing began to return, followed by stars in his vision. There was the sound of running water, and then he could vaguely see smooth rocks all around and a river cutting through the floor of Ghastly Gorge. He was at the bottom. The chalky taste of rocks mixed with blood was in his mouth. His sight seemed to be growing brighter and darker in rhythm with his heartbeat. One futile attempt to stand up sent so much pain pulsing throughout his body that it came out as a cry. To his own ears, it sounded more like a whimper than a yell as he crumpled back to the ground, a tangled mess of mangled armor and a heap of flesh. He realized he was about to pass out. His vision blurred and was beginning to go dark again as the rest of his senses also faded away. Cloud Blazer was alive, but his body was broken.

8 No Rest for the Weary

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Scootaloo’s weary muscles gave everything they had in that final burst before she leapt from the top of Ghastly Gorge. She saw Lightning Dasher make it to safety, and she followed Sparklefly and Pibs off the edge of the cliff and into the air. They were picking up speed, having escaped the timberwolves. The only other thing to worry about was changeling magic; they also had wings. Still, the flight from their enemies had left her with a kind of exhilaration as she flew fast away from what might have been all of their deaths. The thrill of survival had a rejuvenating effect, temporarily.

She called back, "How about that, Brownie?”

There was no reply.

“Cloud Blazer, you good?"

He didn't answer. Scootaloo banked hard left, coming around and scanning the area until movement caught her eye. She spotted her friend, the paint pegasus Cloud Blazer, just before he hit the ground at the bottom of Ghastly Gorge. He looked so small at this distance. She was frozen there in that moment as she processed what had happened; it didn’t make any sense. Her friend lay on the canyon floor, unmoving.

All thoughts of sense escaped her, and Scootaloo cried out in near panic, "Twilight Squad, follow me!"

She darted directly for Cloud Blazer without even checking to see whether any of the others had heard that order. Wind rushed against her face and her heart felt like it would explode for fear. She landed a little harder than she meant to and sprawled out on the canyon floor near the river. She spat out the taste of rocks and dust and jumped up, limping on one knee that had hit the ground with the brunt of her weight. She ran to Cloud Blazer. There was blood everywhere, with more of it still seeping from wounds hidden inside his wrecked armor. His right hind leg was twisted out at an unnatural angle, and his wings were a disfigured and nearly featherless mess.

Scootaloo was bordering on complete terror. Her face felt like fire, and it was hard to see. She was crying. Wiping the tears away, she moved right next to him, but wasn't sure what to do. She hesitated there, tears running freely down her cheeks for her fallen friend.

"Don't touch him!" she heard Lightning Dasher yell from behind.

Sparklefly and Pibs were with him. Lightning Dasher was freely bleeding from several small wounds to his hindquarters, and one gash in his neck. The other three members of the squad approached slowly. Pibs and Sparklefly pulled Scootaloo back just two steps. Lightning Dasher threw off his helmet, and got down on the ground near Cloud Blazer's mouth. He sat there silently, only the sound of the river and Scootaloo's crying could be heard. She couldn’t seem to stop.

Lightning Dasher looked up gravely, "He's alive."

Scootaloo and the others gasped with relief.

He continued, "But this is bad. Really bad. I don't think there's anything I can do." The yellow pegasus shrugged and shook his head. “It’s hopeless.”

Pibs was also crying now, softly.

Sparklefly asked, "Should we at least try to get his armor off?"

Lightning Dasher replied, “I think his armor might be all that's holding him together. He undoubtedly has several broken bones; if we move him... At this point, I can only make things worse.”

Scootaloo didn’t realize she had slumped to the ground and was sitting on the rocky surface. All sense of duty and responsibility was lost to her for the sorrow she now felt. An unknown voice called out from a little way down the canyon. It was unintelligible between its own echo and the sound of the river.

Scootaloo leapt up and ordered, “Form a firing line; prepare for contact!"

The three mares and stallion formed a defensive perimeter a few paces in front of their fallen comrade. In a moment crossbows were locked and loaded, aiming at a single target that stood alone ahead of them. Scootaloo blinked the tears away and saw a white unicorn mare with green eyes standing in front of them. Even in her present state, she recognized the face and her curly pink and lavender mane.

"Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked, confused.

Sweetie Belle took a step back at being called by name. "Who are you?" she asked.

Scootaloo attempted to answer, but only was able to croak inaudibly. She lowered her crossbow and waved the others to stand down. They followed her example and relaxed.

Sparklefly replied, "We are soldiers in Her Majesty’s EUP. I'm Corporal Sparklefly, these are Corporals Lightning Dasher and Pibs, and this is our sergeant, Scootaloo."

Sweetie Belle blinked in disbelief. Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder how horrible she must look for her friend to not recognize her. A sinking feeling came over her.

Scootaloo ordered, "Stand fast! She could be a changeling."

Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher dropped into a combat stance again, weapons raised.

"Changeling?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo nodded, and then said, "Tell me something that only Sweetie Belle would know."

Sweetie Belle stood there as if she were trying to come up with a reply.

Tension hung in the air as they waited. Scootaloo was prepared to order the squad to take her prisoner. The thought of accidentally killing Sweetie Belle was too much to risk hurting her.

"Well?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged, “I haven't seen you in several months, but I know why you left. You went to save Equestria and to find your cutie mark," she said carefully. “More than anything, you want to be just like your big sister, Rainbow Dash, even though you’re not really related.” The unicorn shrugged again, “Scoot, I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would be completely convincing.”

Scootaloo suddenly felt very heavy and collapsed to the ground again. She heard Sparklefly give the order to stand down, and they let Sweetie Belle approach. Scootaloo looked up to Sparklefly, but could only see blobs of color because she was crying again.

"I need to rest a minute. Please take command," she said weakly as her head sank down to the canyon floor. The emotions that were running through Scootaloo right now were extremely volatile, and even if her physical condition hadn’t been as weakened as it had from the strain of combat, she would not have been in shape to continue making good decisions just now. The frightening part was not that she had become aware of this fact, it was that she no longer cared.

...

Sparklefly was somehow still in control of her feelings as if she had shut them down completely. They had been betrayed by Nitro, who was a changeling, Regal Masquerade and Nimba were dead, the princess was captured, and now Cloud Blazer was dying. It would have been overwhelming, and for this reason, she only felt sympathy for Scootaloo right now as she lay incapacitated on the rocky floor of Ghastly Gorge. She dreaded the prospect of being in command, but there was little choice at the moment.

“Pibs, get the sergeant some water." She turned to Sweetie Belle, "You are a friend of Scootaloo?"

"Yes," came Sweetie Belle's reply.

Sparklefly nodded, “Then I'm sure you know him also; I'm sorry to be the one to inform you." Pointing at the heap behind them, she said, "That's Cloud Blazer."

She intentionally said this bluntly to assess Sweetie Belle's reaction. The shock and sadness that flooded her face was enough to convince Sparklefly that she was not a changeling.

"How is it that you arrived here?" Sparklefly asked.

"We moved here when the forest became unsafe. I came out because I heard a lot of noise," the unicorn answered, tears filling her eyes. "I guess it was from you fighting at the top. Sound bounces around down here and it’s impossible to tell where its coming from."

This made some sense to Sparklefly.

"What happened to him?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to dry her eyes.

Pibs finished giving Scootaloo water and answered, "We were scouting in the forest and got ambushed."

Sparklefly added, "One of our number was a changeling; he led us right into the trap. Two were killed, and Princess Twilight was captured. We escaped, but Cloud Blazer didn't make the jump. He fell."

“Is he...” she began but couldn’t finish.

“Not yet,” Sparklefly said gravely, “but he will be soon.”

Sweetie Belle spoke quickly as if some hope had been restored, "We need to get him to Zecora. If anypony can help him. It'll be her!"

Lightning Dasher said, "We can't move him. The injuries are too severe. There's nothing we can do."

Sweetie Belle said, "If there's nothing we can do, then it won't hurt for me to try."

Lightning Dasher objected, "You'll kill him."

"I'll use an immobilizing spell. We should be able to move him after that."

Sparklefly decided there were no better options. Staying here would be too dangerous, and she didn't want to just leave him. Besides, the unicorn was right: if he were about to die anyway, then any attempt to help would be better than waiting for the inevitable.

"A small hope is better than none. Do it," she said to Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo had recovered enough to stand again, but she wasn’t responding to anything that happened at the moment. The pale blue-green of Sweetie Belle's magic glowed about her horn, and then rays of light covered and filled Cloud Blazer's body, making it completely stiff. Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher, with no small amount of effort, picked up the pegasus and carried him between them. Rocks and pebbles were driven into him where he had hit the ground. They could now see that the bank of the river where he’d landed was a little softer than further away from the stream and had formed a small crater where he'd struck. If he'd been only a few steps over, he'd have hit solid rock and likely have died on impact.

Sparklefly was glad to have help lifting the rigid body. She didn't realize that Cloud Blazer was so heavy. They carried him down the canyon to a cave that wasn't far around the bend. Weary muscles kept moving as quickly as possible under the weight. Scootaloo was still in a daze, but she followed Pibs without question.

As they approached the entrance to the cave, Sweetie Belle called out, "Zecora, I'm back. My friends need help; they're hurt."

A zebra mare greeted them at the entrance to the cave, "Bring your friends in, young Sweetie Belle; we will do what we can to make them well." She had a thick accent, and a rather deep voice for a mare.

Sparklefly took note that this cave would be defendable if necessary. The entrance was only just large enough for two ponies to enter side by side. The only concern she had was whether there were another way out. The canyon was large enough to put a force in to trap them without any difficulty. It wasn't a large cave, but it was the size of a small house. It was evident that the zebra and unicorn had been living here for a few weeks or longer. There was food, and even some furniture, though it was rudimentary. They had actual straw beds. Along one wall were shelves that were filled with flasks and jars filled with herbs and strange-colored liquids. There was also a large iron pot on a fire and a small opening that passed for a chimney above it. It did well to vent the smoke from the fire, but it would be far too small to climb into. There was only one way in or out.

They placed Cloud Blazer on the table. Sweetie Belle refreshed the immobilizing spell, and she and Zecora got to work removing his armor. In the mean time, Lightning Dasher saw to the wounds the rest of the squad had sustained. Sparklefly couldn't see out of her left eye. She was afraid it might never recover. One look in a mirror confirmed her fear. The powerful claws of the timberwolf had raked deep across her face; her eye was destroyed. The other injuries included several shrapnel wounds and magic burns. Notable damage included Pibs's shoulder, Scootaloo's left flank, and Lightning Dasher's hindquarters, the back of his neck and wings. Additionally, there were cuts, scrapes, and bruises beyond counting. Considering what happened to Regal Masquerade and Nimba, the survivors were very fortunate.

Everypony was terribly thirsty and dirty from the exertion of battle, and they all drank long refreshing drinks of their water and cleaned the earth from their faces. The water was hot and tasted horrible, but it might have been the best that Sparklefly ever drank. Lightning Dasher's canteen had been punctured, as had Cloud Blazer’s, but there was plenty of water in the river. Scootaloo was still dazed, and heaviness hung over all four remaining members of the squad. Sparklefly considered their options, none of which seemed good. If they fell back to Ponyville, they almost certainly would have no hope of rescuing the princess. If they went back in to get her, there's no way they'll ever make it out alive. There were just too many timberwolves, and the forest was so thick back there that they'd have no hope of getting in undetected, to say nothing of getting out again. They needed two things: a way to thin out the horde of those beasts, and a way to destroy the net with which the changelings had covered the area. At the moment, they had neither.

Zecora was brewing something that smelled horrible. The others were compelled to go outside for fresh air. Sparklefly filled Sweetie Belle in with more detail of what had happened to them and how Princess Twilight had been captured.

"This is just awful," Sweetie Belle said. "What are you going to do next?"

Scootaloo interrupted, "We have to go back in." She spoke very flatly.

The rest of the squad looked at her. After all of the cuts and scrapes, and tears shed, she looked rough. Sparklefly could tell that Scootaloo had returned, which was a relief.

The sergeant continued, "Our mission is not complete, and one of ours has been taken prisoner. We have to find a way to get to her and complete the mission. First thing's first. Lightning Dasher, are you well enough for another trip to Ponyville?"

Lightning Dasher nodded, "Yes, ma'am. I'm fit to fly."

Scootaloo said, "Good. I need you to find Brax, inform him of our situation, and request all available support he can muster. He’ll also need to inform Cloudsdale about the changelings immediately.“

Lightning Dasher nodded and took flight, leaving the Ghastly Gorge and heading back to Ponyville.

"The problem is getting in undetected. Any ideas?" Scootaloo asked.

Sparklefly and Pibs were silent. Dread was welling up inside Sparklefly at what was coming. Now they were only four ponies against whatever was in the forest. Even if reinforcements came, they had fewer than a hundred soldiers in all of Ponyville. It would take too long for them to arrive any way but by air, which would reduce the numbers of those that could come drastically. At best, they could hope for maybe a dozen.

Sparklefly finally said, "Ponyville is too far away to send help all the way in here in time."

Scootaloo countered, "The rail lines are still functional. If they take the train, they can have the entire Ponyville defense force here within an hour or two. Those lines run just around the bend from here. We’ll be back in action in no time."

Pibs asked, "Are you sure there's a train in Ponyville? I thought they had all been shut down since the war started."

Scootaloo replied, "That's true, but one is in Ponyville even now, just waiting to be needed. Today is the day it is sitting for."

Sweetie Belle's ears perked up as if she heard something. She ran into the cave and then turned back around.

"Scootaloo! He's awake!" she said almost frantically.

Scootaloo, Pibs, and Sparklefly all hurried inside together. Sparklefly saw Cloud Blazer's armor, a crumpled mess on the floor. He didn't look much better. Zecora had cleaned his wounds out and applied a foul smelling green sludge to all of the open cuts. She was giving him water with some herbs crushed up in it to drink. He coughed and sputtered, wincing in pain. He was nearly as crumpled as his armor.

Zecora certainly knew her medicines. She had set his broken leg and immobilized his wings. The right side of his face, where he had impacted, was very swollen. There was poultice of some kind that he was resting on. His eye was open. It was bloodshot and weary. Sparklefly was certain that he couldn’t actually see them. There was no light of life in his blank gaze.

Scootaloo asked, "Will he live?" She was looking at Zecora.

"We can only know for certain that which has passed, but I believe that this day will not be his last," she replied.

Scootaloo approached him softly. "You're going to be fine, Brownie. You'll be flying again before you know it."

He coughed. Blood came out.

Zecora spoke softly, "Hush for now, young one; your healing has only begun."

They sat with him for a while as Zecroa continued applying medicines and tending to his injuries. Sparklefly was glad for the rest. She could tell that Pibs was also. Scootaloo was incredibly preoccupied with Cloud Blazer. Sparklefly knew how hard it was to lose somepony that close. Her thoughts drifted to Apple Loosa, when she last saw her father alive.

A short while later, Scootaloo and Sparklefly went outside to talk.

Scootaloo started, "I'm not a hundred percent anymore. To be blunt, I don't feel I can lead this next op. I want you to take command until we rescue Twilight."

Sparklefly didn't even hesitate, "No, I can't."

"Sparklefly, when Twilight went down, you were the one that called the evacuation. As soon as you said it, I knew you were right. You've got the mind for strategy."

"I'm not a leader. You were chosen for this."

"You have a great ability to assess a situation and know what has to be done. I've also noticed that you are able to shut down distractions. That's something I haven't learned to do."

Sparklefly hesitated, "I can't do it."

Scootaloo spoke softly, "I nearly got us all killed back there. I know what you did in Canterlot, and I saw how you handled yourself today. More than any of us left, you have what it takes to lead us in and out of there. Our best chance at walking away from this one is for you to take charge."

Sparklefly gently touched the bandage over her bandaged left eye. It burned with a pounding pain with every heartbeat. Hearing the flapping of wings, Sparklefly and Scootaloo both looked up to see Lightning Dasher returning. He landed near them and saluted Scootaloo.

She said, "I've placed Sparklefly in command of the squad, please make your report to her."

Lightning Dasher turned to Sparklefly without question, "Ma'am, Ponyville reports they are under heavy attack. Lieutenant Brax sends his regrets, but he will be unable to send reinforcements at this time. He recommends you return to Ponyville at once."

"At ease," Sparklefly said as she walked away a few paces.

This was even worse than she feared. No help was coming. Four ponies against the entire horde of timberwolves in the Everfree Forest. Princess Twilight's life was on the line. Scootaloo's words resounded in her head. Then a thought struck her.

“Wait, under attack from where?” she asked.

“Timberwolves are pouring out of the Everfree Forest by the hundreds. The city defenders are on high alert, but the shield is still up.”

Sparklefly considered this. Ponyville was under attack because the squad had escaped. That meant that the changelings were trying to stop the knowledge of their involvement, even if they had to raze all of Ponyville to do it. That sort of desperation might make them throw everything they have at the town to ensure success. Maybe, just maybe that would reduce the guards they keep at their base in the forest. That might just give the four of them a fighting chance.

“Let’s get back inside,” Sparklefly finally said. “We’ve got some planning to do.”

...

Pibs was sitting near Cloud Blazer on the soft earthen floor of the cave. Her facade of being brave and ready for action had been put aside for the moment. Fear had never left her from the moment they encountered the first timberwolves; it was all she could do to keep herself together. Being around the others was inspiring, and Pibs knew that she couldn’t do anything to let them down. Zecora was going about her foul-smelling healing work, which constantly seemed to be putting her patient in even more pain. After she would delicately move him, there seemed to be a peace come back over his face. The herbs seemed to be helpful, so long as he stayed still. Breathing aside, he didn’t move on his own.

Pibs couldn’t help but think about Cloud Blazer’s friends back in Ponyville, particularly Apple Bloom. She knew exactly how they would feel if he didn’t make it. These friends that she had gained were the first since her family had died. For a long time she had felt dead to the world and everything warm. Then Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer helped her through Canterlot. It was like being reborn. It was a debt she didn’t think she could ever repay.

Sweetie Belle was busy mixing some kind of potion in a cauldron. It also smelled horrible, but in a sickeningly sweet way. The contrasting scents were nearly enough to make one sick, and they brought Pibs back from her thoughts.

She finally asked, "What is that you're making?"

Zecora answered, "If you want to achieve success, you will need some better dress."

"Excuse me?" Pibs asked, confused.

Sweetie Belle smiled, but her face betrayed the concern she felt for Cloud Blazer. “Zecora had me start making this as soon as we stabilized him. It’s camouflage.”

Scootaloo, Sparklefly, and Lightning Dasher entered the cave.

"How does it work?" Pibs wondered aloud.

Sparklefly asked, “Camouflage?”

"Yes," Sweetie Belle said, a little uncertain. "Zecora said that when you drink it, you could stand still, and you look like whatever is behind you. It’s almost like disappearing.”

Scootaloo and Sparklefly exchanged a knowing glance. Pibs knew what it meant. They were going back into the forest. She shivered.

Zecora said, "What we tell you is true; a clever camouflage is that brew."

Sparklefly looked to have a resolve in her face as she asked, "How long until it is ready?"

...

Cloud Blazer awoke with every sense he had relaying a pounding pain. He could see and hear the others, but they seemed very far away, and he was unable to actually focus his eyesight. As the jagged knives ripped and pulsed through his being, so did his vision and hearing come and go. By his count through the blur, it looked as though everypony else had made it, which made him feel relieved. He wanted to know just how badly he was hurt, but the one attempt to speak had been disastrously painful, so he dared not try again just yet. He was a little confused to see a unicorn and a zebra that he didn't recognize. Cloud Blazer felt like he had known a unicorn before, not to mention a zebra, but the memories were as scrambled as the rest of him at this moment. His ears reported clearly off and on a discussion of potions and rescuing the princess. They talked about the magic-stealing net and how much more desperate their situation had become with Nitro actually being a changeling. Cloud Blazer became very concerned when their talk turned to firebombs. He wished desperately that he could help them. He might have been awake for a half hour before the pain made him lose consciousness again.

...

Scootaloo wasn’t sure if she would ever feel quite herself again after what she’d been though only a few hours before, but she knew she was again able to function for the mission ahead. Seeing Nimba and Regal Masquerade cut down like that was proving difficult to manage. However, Cloud Blazer’s fall had done far more to wound her psyche. It was like a layer of sadness hung over everything now. The sun was already working its way lower in the sky, which meant they would lose the light if they didn’t go soon. Field rations and water had done quite a lot to restore strength to weary muscles, but there was no replacing the arrows they had expended. Between the four of them, they had about three shots each; Pibs only had two. The sound of timberwolves howling somewhere in the distance had started an hour ago, and it hadn’t let up since. The orange pegasus mare stood alone outside the cave, looking up toward the forest.

“Hey, I need to say something,” Sparklefly’s voice broke Scootaloo’s thoughts.

“What is it?”

The light blue mare, now wearing a bandage over her left eye stood next to her sergeant.

“If we make it through this, not one word of your placing me in command will be in any report I write, ever.”

Scootaloo was a little surprised by this, “You don’t have to-“

Sparklefly put up a hoof, silencing the other. “Here’s the thing. I appreciate that you’ve been through a lot today, we all have. If it had been one of my close friends or brothers that had taken that fall, I don’t know if I’d have handled it any better than you. In my assessment, you did as fine a job today as anypony could have done. You kept your team together, and most of us made it out of there. I just wanted you to know.”

Not typically given to an overabundance of emotion, Scootaloo couldn’t help but be moved by this. Perhaps it was just because of the long day. She chocked back tears that tried to come up.

“Hey, Sparklefly, I...” Scootaloo began contritely. “I owe you an apology. I picked you for this mission because...” the words were very bitter coming out, “I never could get ahead of you when we were cadets. I guess what I’m saying is, I was taking advantage of the chance to finally be better than you at something. Don’t get me wrong, I think you were the best choice to bring, but my motives weren’t exactly right. I’m sorry.”

Not sure what the outcome of this would be, it was relieving to see Sparklefly smile just a little. However, what she said next was more gracious than Scootaloo would have imagined.

“It’s a small matter. We won’t speak of it again.”

“Hey guys!” Lightning Dasher called out as he emerged from the cave.

“What is it?” Sparklefly asked.

Pibs and Sweetie Belle followed the stallion out.

“Look at this,” he seemed rather excited.

He held a small flask that had a stopper in the lid to prevent spilling. Inside was a fluorescent orange liquid that sloshed around like water.

“What is it?” Scootaloo asked.

“Zecora uses it to start fires,” Lightning Dasher replied. “You put a drop of this on anything but glass and it burns.”

“What if you poured all of it out?” Sparklefly asked.

“Boom,” Sweetie Belle replied, giving another identical flask to Sparklefly.

The mare examined the flask and a grin formed on her face.

“That’s the last piece we needed,” she announced. “We have to get moving soon or we’ll be in the dark.”

Scootaloo’s heart was pounding in anticipation.

“We’re going to split up into two teams,” Sparklefly began. “Lightning Dasher and myself will sneak back to the clearing where we were attacked and hopefully locate the changeling base and the mirror pond. I expect we’ll encounter plenty of timberwolves or changeling guards, but we have to know what we’re dealing with. Scootaloo, you and Pibs will keep these firebomb flasks with you and go directly north from the LZ at the top of Ghastly Gorge. Do you remember where the ursa major cave is?”

Pibs spoke up, “Yes, I can find it, but why would we want to?”

Sparklefly took a breath, “What I need from the two of you is to go into that cave, draw out the ursa major, and bring it down to the mirror pond. Lightning Dasher and I will be waiting for you in the clearing.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Scootaloo protested. “Dealing with timberwolves is bad enough. Fighting an ursa is suicide!”

“We won’t be fighting the ursa,” Sparklefly said. “We’ll be using it to fight for us.”

Silence was the only response that came from the others now. Pibs looked nervous. Scootaloo had serious doubts about this plan.

“The thing is,” Sparklefly continued, “we are still drastically outnumbered. Calling it outmatched wouldn’t even do it justice. But, if we can create enough of a distraction with the ursa, not to mention setting the forest on fire, we can get inside and replicate ourselves in the mirror pond.”

Scootaloo almost felt sick at the suggestion of making copies of themselves, and several of the others gasped. Still, she had to admit that if they could manage to get into the pond, they could raise a force large enough to deal with all of the changelings on site.

“Any questions?” Sparklefly asked.

“If we do that,” Pibs replied, “how will we know which us is the real us? I mean, which one is me if I have ten copies of me running around.”

Sparklefly shrugged and said, “One thing at a time; we have to save the princess.”

Somehow, that wasn’t very reassuring.

“What time do we need to run in a slap the ursa?” Scootaloo asked.

“An hour before sunset would be perfect. That should give us enough time to scout the area.” Sparklefly thought a moment before adding, “If everything goes wrong, and anypony finds themselves as the last one standing, get back to Cloudsdale and report what happened here. There’s a chance that Ponyville hasn’t been able to get any scouts out. We have to assume that the changelings have infiltrated the EUP on all levels.”

Scootaloo suddenly saw a weak point in the plan, “We should have a call and response. That way when we meet up again, we’ll know we aren’t changelings.”

Sparklefly smiled and said, “That’s a great idea. When we meet up, the call word is ‘applesauce’, and the response will be ‘Starswirl’.”

Scootaloo repeated this under her breath several times, committing it to memory.

“Anything else?” Sparklefly asked. “Okay, we leave in five. Gear up.”

The others began preparing to leave. Scootaloo caught Sweetie Belle looking at her a little nervously.

“You okay?” she asked her unicorn friend.

“I just wish there was something more I could do to help.”

Scootaloo said, “Sweetie Belle, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve already done. Just take care of Cloud Blazer; that is more than enough.”

Sweetie Belle replied, "Don't worry. He'll be up and about before you know it." She looked like she was just being hopeful.

Sparklefly asked, "Thank you again for your help. How long before this camouflage stuff takes effect?"

Sweetie Belle answered, "Only a few minutes. It only lasts for up to an hour, so keep that in mind.”

Sparklefly nodded. To the squad, she said, "Twilight Squad, take your medicine; we have a princess to rescue."

Sweetie Belle went back inside the cave, using her magic to move a giant boulder in front of the door. They drank down the potion that Zecora had made for them, which had smelled rather terrible, but somehow had a fruity taste. Then they took to the air with Scootaloo on point. Sparklefly seemed much more confident now, and it was a very comforting force to be present with them. It was all she could do to keep her mind off of Cloud Blazer. The hope that he would be all right was desperately overwhelming.

The flight back to the LZ at the top of the Ghastly Gorge was brief, but they went slowly as to give their potions a chance to take effect. As it came into view, Scootaloo could see that there were still timberwolves about, but they weren't crowding the LZ anymore. They were swarming through the trees, heading toward Ponyville. Scootaloo nodded at the others and then left them, landing silently on the cliff. The timberwolves hadn't noticed her. They stood there a moment, and the rancid stink of the timberwolves filled the air. Scootaloo turned to look back at the others, but nopony was there. She was confused for a moment, but then was frozen by surprise when Sparklefly spoke.

“Well, it looks like this camouflage works rather well.”

Scootaloo saw her face for a moment, a distorted blur in what was otherwise a perfect recreation of the background. They tested moving and found that if they crept slowly, they remained almost completely undetectable.

“We have enough for one more hour after this wears off,” Sparklefly finally said. “Just be sure that when it does, you are somewhere that you won’t be spotted. Let’s go.”

“Lead the way, Pibs,” Scootaloo said.

This proved to be somewhat difficult. Even though Scootaloo knew she was watching for an invisible ally, that didn’t make her any easier to see. Occasionally, Pibs would flick her tail, making the distortion stronger so Scootaloo could see her. They crept up to the tree line and waited for their moment. The timberwolves were passing by in massive packs, but there were plenty of breaks between them. Choosing their moment, Pibs moved forward. Scootaloo followed behind her, and the two of them moved through the mass of foul-smelling beasts. If these had been actual wolves, their keen sense of smell would have given the ponies away, but timberwolves are so malodorous that they aren’t that acute with the use of their olfactory senses.

Scootaloo’s mouth was suddenly very dry, and there was nothing she could do about it. They continued moving on, and she could feel a thick sweat had formed on her. Each step seemed to take minutes as they crept along, surrounded by timberwolves. Scootaloo’s ear began itching, which was a most uncomfortable sensation. She paced her breathing and just tried to focus on following Pibs.

It took the pair of ponies almost a half hour to move barely a hundred yards, but it was worth it. They got clear of the timberwolves and into the brush. Moving a little faster, they went up an incline, safely out of sight. They didn’t dare move too fast for fear that there might be changelings or more of the stick-dogs around any bend. When the camouflage began wearing off, Scootaloo noticed it first. She could just start to see the outline of Pibs in front of her.

Scootaloo hissed to get her attention. Pibs turned to face her and nodded. They moved faster and found some thick foliage to get into nearby. Once they were hidden, Scootaloo finally scratched her ear. It was heaven.

...

Sparklefly crept slowly past the roving packs of timberwolves back to the clearing where they had lost the princess. She was coated in sweat, and the wound on her eye was burning from the saltiness of it. She breathed almost with mechanical rhythm as she and Lightning Dasher moved stealthily on toward their goal. Her feelings told her to be scared, but she was working so hard to focus on the next step that her emotions were like an afterthought right now. Her body was tense, and her muscles aching as they continued deeper into hostile territory. Any mistakes now would likely mean both of their deaths. The dense foliage made their invisibility potion somewhat less effective. Any brushing against bushes or weeds could give away their position. The timberwolves likely wouldn’t even notice such, but if there were changelings about, they certainly wouldn’t miss that sign. Even taking the surreptitious route that they had, they were already nearing the thickest of the brambles.

A hissing noise behind her caught Sparklefly’s attention. Slowly turning, she could see the faint outline of Lightning Dasher behind her. The potion was wearing off. Scanning around, there didn’t seem to be a better place to hide, so she eased herself to the ground. A trickle of sweat rolled down her face, tickling her nose. The earthy smell of rotting vegetation filled the air as it crunched quietly under her weight. It was a relief from the stench of timberwolves that were crashing through the foliage somewhere nearby. Sparklefly unstoppered the second vial of camouflage potion and drank it down. The fruity flavor was unpleasant to her. It tasted strongly of cherries, not the fruit, but the sickening sweetness that is associated with cherry-flavored things. Replacing the vial and stopper into a pocket, she turned to look at Lightning Dasher. He was faintly visible, also drinking his potion. She remained motionless as he also replaced the vial into a pocket. It was a strange situation. It might be like watching paint dry while there are packs of bandits nearby that want to kill you.

It was only a minute or so before the outline of her comrade again faded away. Not wasting even a moment, Sparklefly slowly stood and continued toward the thick brambles that lay ahead. The ground was still very torn up from the events that had transpired earlier in the day, so finding their way was rather easy. The narrow path was clear, but for the bodies of a few timberwolves that had been left behind. Lightning Dasher made a very low breathy noise, just to remind her that he was there. The pair moved into the brambles, carefully stepping over the bodies. Sparklefly felt more apprehensive as they made it to the other side. She now stood in the clearing where the battle had begun. There were several dozen dead timberwolves strewn about, but there was no sign of Nimba’s body. An eerie feeling washed over Sparklefly, causing her to shiver involuntarily. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end; she froze, completely still as stone. There didn’t seem to be anything in the clearing, but she felt like she was being watched. Unnerving as it was, after a minute or two, she had little choice but to trust her other senses. She had the briefest hope that Nimba might be alive, but she remembered how many times she’d been hit. There wasn’t medical attention in existence that could have saved her after that. Additionally, the place where she’d fallen had no small amount of dried blood staining the forest floor a deep dark red. It was nearly black.

Her eye and ears didn’t report anything threatening nearby, so Sparklefly began moving slowly forward through the clearing. On the other side, just as they reached the bushes, which were mostly some type of ferns, timberwolves came into view. This pack was moving directly towards them. Panic wouldn’t help anything, so Sparklefly’s mind quickly ran through her options. Any sudden movements would give away their position, and they might be killed. They could run, but they’d never get back here in time to complete the mission, to say nothing of rescuing the princess. Standing their ground wasn’t a good option either. Much like the first, as soon as timberwolves ran into them, they would be discovered. There was only one thing to do. The moment when the incoming pack reached the brush, Sparklefly dropped to the earth on her belly, put her face down, and lay motionless. She could only hope that Lightning Dasher had done the same. In moments, the first of the putrid smelling beasts came through the foliage. There were several dozen of them in this group. Even her breath was held as they began passing by, far too close for comfort. One of them stepped on her left fore hoof. Sparklefly buried her face in the earth and held in any noise that she might have cried. Another wooden enemy stepped on her back. So far, they didn’t seem to see her. A crashing noise behind her could only have been one of the beasts tripping on Lightning Dasher and falling to the ground. It let out a slight yelp, and Sparklefly waited for the roaring and howling and the attack. It didn’t come. The pack of timberwolves passed by, heading out the other end of the clearing and into the forest.

She had forgotten that she’d been holding her breath, and Sparklefly let it out as her lungs were screaming for fresh air. Her body was shaking a little bit, but she managed to get it under control and regain her hooves. She thought she might have just experienced unbridled terror for the first time in her life. A sigh of relief escaped her. It came with the hope that she wouldn’t have to do that again. The bushes impeded their progress, but the pair of ponies managed to get through them with neither making much noise nor any sudden movements to themselves or the flora. What lay beyond wasn’t exactly what Sparklefly had expected, but she knew they were in the correct place. In front of them, maybe another fifty yards or so, was a gaping hole in the earth. It may have been ten yards across at the widest point. There were scorched rock fragments, which looked like they had shattered from a single boulder. The bits lay strewn in all directions, as if they had exploded from the opening in the earth. The pair moved forward, creeping ever closer to their destination. There was a relatively gentle slope that went down into utter darkness. Sparklefly took a breath and continued into the cave.

The temperature dropped as they descended, making Sparklefly cold for the sweat that coated her body. The air was foul with the stench of timberwolves. The opening turned out to be a tunnel, which wound around for a short distance before it opened up into a cave with a high vaulted roof. It was obviously a natural formation. A single shaft of sunlight penetrated the darkness from some smaller opening above. There were also torches that had been set into the walls that added their own dim light to the massive cave. Their path now seemed more ramp-like going down, almost to the edge of a pond. It was the pond. Sparklefly had no doubt in her mind that they had in fact discovered the mirror pond. Noises in the darkness quickly drew her attention. As her vision adjusted to the dim light, things became all too clear. On the far side, there were changelings using their magic to control the timberwolves. The beasts went into the water and then came out again, doubled in number. It was impossible to determine how many changelings might be about in the dim light, but as it turned out, it wouldn’t have mattered if she had been able to calculate it.

A bright blast of green magic engulfed Sparklefly. She tensed to make a run for it, but her muscles wouldn’t move. She was frozen in place. She couldn’t see Lightning Dasher, but she also couldn’t hear him, which made her certain that he had also been hit. How had they been spotted? The potion couldn’t have worn off yet.

“Well, well, well,” a very confident feminine voice spoke from the darkness. “What magic could have brought the two of you all the way here undetected?”

A changeling, much larger than the one that had impersonated Nitro flew across the pond toward them. She was in the shaft of sunlight for a moment, revealing a long teal mane. She landed by them and sniffed the air as at least a dozen other smaller changelings swarmed the area, the buzzing of their wings echoed throughout the cavern. Sparklefly recognized the mare from pictures she’d seen and stories she’d been told. It was Chrysalis, queen of the changelings.

“Smells like zebra magic,” Queen Chrysalis hissed. She spat on the ground. “I have half a mind to kill you right here for consorting with zebras. However,” she almost spoke glibly as if she were amused, “I would hate to waste two more sets of EUP armor along with the faces that come with them.” Her eyes flashed like green fire went through them.

Sparklefly's mind was racing almost as fast as her heart was beating, trying to find some way out of this, but unable to move, outnumbered, and surrounded, there were simply no options. She and Lightning Dasher were trapped, and there was nothing she could do about it.

...

The tree canopy overhead was providing a problem that neither Pibs nor Scootaloo had considered. It obscured just enough light that it became difficult to tell exactly what time it was. Pibs hoped that the hour before sunset would be clear enough, but as the pair found a good place to hide near the ursas cave, she had heavy doubts. They still moved invisibly, but the potions were bound to wear off shortly. It had been over an hour since they had last seen any timberwolves. It appeared that even they stayed clear of this place.

“This’ll do,” Scootaloo said in a voice that could barely be called a whisper.

“So far, so good,” Pibs agreed, trying to not betray how utterly afraid she felt.

It was a most unnerving sensation that she had begun to experience when they first found that clearing. She felt sort of soft like jelly inside, as if there were no strength in her body. It hadn’t left her since. Perhaps a better word for it would be dread. All Pibs knew was that she couldn’t let the others down. Scootaloo, Sparklefly, and Lightning Dasher were depending on her. The pair sat back to back, wedged into some ferns that grew densely around a small clump of trees. It gave them a commanding view of the surrounding area and the entrance to the ursas cave.

It was a gaping mouth of stone and earth that opened before them. It could swallow a dozen ponies, and then a dozen more with no effort. The size of it was particularly upsetting to Pibs. She had heard stories about ursa majors, the great celestial bears. Their massive size was reason enough to steer clear of them at all times. While not necessarily aggressive by nature, when their anger was aroused, they had the raw power to rampage the destruction of entire cities. If it needed a cave as large as this to sleep in, Pibs could only imagine how massive the beast inside would be. A chill ran down her spine.

“Not to worry,” Scootaloo said in the same hushed tone, “Drawing the ursas around is going to be easy. We’re a lot faster once we’re airborne, but more importantly, we can outmaneuver one of those dumb bears in our sleep, even if we hoof it.”

“I’m not scared!” Pibs insisted. She lied.

“Seriously?” Scootaloo said with a strong disbelief.

“Well, maybe a little,” Pibs admitted.

“It’s okay to be scared. I get scared all the time,” Scootaloo replied. “Of course, if you tell anypony else I said that, I’m going to deny it.”

Pibs stifled a giggle. She was beginning to feel a little more like herself. Since they found themselves with time to kill, Pibs would have loved nothing more than to read the last letter from Lighthoof again. However, it would be too dangerous to allow the distraction. Besides, she pretty much had it memorized by this point. Every dot, curve of script, and mark had been devoured by her eyes. It was a poor substitute for the companionship of the stallion that had made them, but it was a piece of him. He had touched that page, and poured his thoughts and heart into it for her. It was priceless.

A rustling in the bushes to Pibs’ right caught her attention. Only her eyes moved, taking in the scene. She couldn’t see what it might be, but some kind of creature was definitely moving through the brush. She glanced to the sky but still couldn’t tell what hour it might be. Her heart began pounding faster in anticipation.

“Easy,” Scootaloo hissed under her breath.

The two soldiers sat so still that they could have been sculptures in their small hiding place, their potion having worn off. If it were a pack of timberwolves, they’d be in trouble. If it were changelings, there wasn’t much hope. The foliage whipped back and forth now. Pibs didn’t think she could move if she had wanted to. Holding her breath, she stared to her right, not even daring to blink.

Suddenly, the largest feral cat that Pibs had ever seen burst out into the open. It crouched low, eyes darting this way and that with ears laid back. It shot off like a thunderbolt, darting away from the cave and into the forest, disappearing in a moment. But for the sound of birds and insects, the still quiet began to return. She couldn’t hear it so much as feel it, Scootaloo was laughing silently, her body convulsing as she did.

“What’s so funny?” Pibs asked quietly.

“I thought we were about to have to run into the cave,” Scootaloo replied. “Stupid cat!”

It was rather refreshing to see that not everything in the forest was out to get them. Indigenous life still remained in this place. It made these woods seem much more friendly than they had only a few hours before. The two continued scanning around for any sign of threats. All was quiet.

“Are you good?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Pibs paused a moment. “Is it true that ursa majors are as big as a house?”

Scootaloo snorted, “Not even close. When I was a little filly, a baby, an ursa minor attacked Ponyville. It was bigger than a house. That can only mean that an ursa major is even bigger.”

Pibs swallowed hard at the thought of them. They were silent for a while, and she tried to calm herself by bringing more pleasant things to mind.

“You’re not thinking about Lighthoof are you?”

Pibs felt stunned, “No... I mean, I was. How did you know?”

“Just a guess. You’re too predictable, Pibs!” the orange pegasus teased.

Pibs didn’t mind. She knew there was no malice in it. The sky seemed frozen in a mid-afternoon light. Sitting still was beginning to make her itch all over. Pibs knew it was in her mind, but that didn’t help to alleviate the condition. Strangely, it almost made her long for evening. Her tired muscles, on the other hoof, were very glad for the respite. She didn’t know how many timberwolves she had clobbered today, but it had certainly taken a toll on her body. Bumps, bruises, cuts, magical burns, and one of her teeth had been knocked loose. Lightning Dasher’s skills set everything to mending, but her mouth hurt where she’d been hit. She was relieved that he had saved her smile, but considering what they’d been through, losing a tooth would have only been a minor inconvenience. With nothing to do but wait, Pibs let her mind drift back to Lighthoof as she continued scanning the area with her eyes. Sitting here, with enemies and dangerous things potentially very close to them, she wore that dopey grin on her face again. She didn’t allow it to distract her too much. She was as prepared as she could get; the next few hours were going to be very dangerous.

...

Sparklefly's mind was racing, trying to find some way out of this but, unable to move, there were simply no options. In the dim light of the cave, her eye had adjusted to the low light. She looked around, trying to make a mental note of everything she saw. It wasn't a horde of changelings, which was a bit surprising. From everything she'd ever heard about them, they tended to stay in massive swarms. In this cave, there were maybe fifty to a hundred in all. There were also at least as many timberwolves. Still, if they couldn’t get themselves into the mirror pond, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

As for the duplication process, it seemed to only take about a minute all in all. The changelings put in twenty timberwolves each time, and forty came out of the pond. At that rate, they could easily produce over a thousand in an hour. This was a staggering revelation. If they did this non-stop, day and night, they could create almost thirty-thousand timberwolves a day. Princess Twilight had been correct. If they didn’t shut this place down, and soon, there would be absolutely no hope of overcoming such overwhelming numbers.

Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher, their invisibility no longer in effect, were magically lifted and taken to the back of the cave. A cool damp was in the air, and a mossy smell could be detected once you got past the stench of the timberwolves. The same netting that covered the forest practically covered every wall of the cave. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to impede the changeling magic in the slightest. There were several chambers in the back of the cavern, some of which looked carved out rather than natural. The last of which was a dark place with a thick iron door. It swung open silently, which added to the thought that this must have been built somewhat recently. A foul odor of excrement permeated the air from inside; chained up all along the wall were maybe thirty unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi that had been taken prisoner. Princess Twilight was not among them. The pair of soldiers was stripped of their armor and gear, which was taken away. They were then chained to the wall like the others.

"You've really done us a favor," an injured changeling hissed.

Sparklefly recognized him. It was the one that had been impersonating Nitro. His face wore several cuts, a black eye, and his horn was broken. Dried blood had crusted on his nose.

“It's difficult to replace you in your cities. We have to sneak in and catch somepony off guard. You just walked back in here and gave us two more and sets of armor." He shook his head at them. "If you need anything, just ask for me; name's Ash Eater,” his voice was full of sarcasm.

Sparklefly could feel that she was regaining some small ability of movement, but it was very weak and slow.

She managed to speak, "What did you do with Nitro?"

Ash Eater threw his head back in deep laughter. He got right up in Sparklefly’s face and practically spat, "You silly mare! You never even knew Nitro. You only met him the one time. I went through the training with you," his words came out like venom. "Since you're able to speak now. I have a question for you. Where are the others? Where are Scootaloo, Pibs, and Cloud Blazer?”

Sparklefly didn't answer. They must not have known that Cloud Blazer was injured.

Lightning Dasher quickly thought up a lie, "We sent them to Ponyville to get reinforcements. They're on their way."

Ash Eater looked at him, staring for a moment. Sparklefly turned to face him and looked back at Ash eater just in time to see him come down with his full force with his fore hooves, hitting her in the face, the left side where her eye had been shredded. She dropped to the ground, head throbbing with sharp stabbing pain. She could see colors that weren’t there. Lightning Dasher pulled hard against his chains. The other prisoners only cowered quietly.

"That's for breaking my horn," he spat. "This is for lying," he screamed as he kicked her once in the ribs, hard.

The blow almost knocked the wind out of Sparklefly. She doubled over, coiling up in an attempt to cover the softer area of her belly and her head.

Lightning Dasher roared at him, “Pick on somepony your own size, you coward! If I'd have been there when you revealed yourself, you'd have had a lot more than your horn broken off!"

Ash Eater was on him in a flash, landing a flurry of blows at Lightning Dasher’s head. He got his hooves up and his head down, but the changeling struck him repeatedly; it looked very painful. The attacker finally staggered backward, looking faint. Sparklefly surmised that his injuries inflicted by Regal Masquerade had taken their toll. If only he'd hit Ash Eater a little harder.

"Enjoy your stay," Ash Eater spat at them as he walked out of the room, followed by the other guards that were with him. The iron door slammed shut behind them. Sparklefly looked over, very concerned for Lightning Dasher. He was standing again, rubbing his head; a trickle of blood was running from his scalp. Some soft murmuring had started among the other prisoners. Sparklefly noticed one of them that looked familiar. It was Silver Spoon, the mayor’s aide that she’d met in Ponyville.

Sparklefly spoke, "Silver Spoon, is that you?"

Silver Spoon replied, "Do I know you?"

“Well, I guess not,” Lightning Dasher sighed. “We met your duplicate in Ponyville."

“It was during the attack,” Silver Spoon said. “I was at Sweet Apple Acres taking an assessment of food production for the mayor. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by changelings. Then I woke up here.”

"We're all going to die," some pony said, and there was a general feeling of sinking despair flooding through the room.

Sparklefly had to prevent a panic and said, “Calm down! We're not going to die."

The feeling in the room didn’t seem changed. Her heart was pounding harder now, her head throbbing where she was hit by the changeling. To say she was nervous wouldn’t even begin to describe the feeling.

Sparklefly continued, "We are soldiers in her majesties EUP Elite Force. We didn't get captured and tossed in here by chance. We came to rescue all of you and take care of these changelings."

This statement caused much curiosity, and a faint spark of hope was kindled. This was a relief, but she wished she could convince herself that things were going to be okay. Even if Scootaloo and Pibs were able to find their way back here with an ursa major, two ponies against no fewer than two hundred timberwolves and changelings seemed rather hopeless.

“Just sit back and relax; this is almost over. We have a plan," Sparklefly confidently proclaimed. Strictly speaking, they didn't.

9 Attack Underground

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Sparklefly didn’t like lying to the other prisoners, but she wished she felt as hopeful she’d been able to make them seem. Even if they could break free from their chains, there was still a large iron door in their way. Should they manage to get past that, there were no fewer than fifty changelings, not to mention twice as many timberwolves at any given moment. It was impossible to tell how long they had been down here. The stench of waste and timberwolf had become an accustomed smell, but it was still rather foul. It must have been an hour or more already, but still no sign of Scootaloo or Pibs. Had they even made it to the ursa’s cave? The pessimist inside suggested that they had been caught or killed. Sparklefly shook her head, banishing the thought. It wouldn’t do to build straw ponies to tear down, as her Momma Mare would have said. All she could focus on was what she had in front of her. That was iron shackles and very thick bars that made the door.

A commotion outside caught her attention. There was shouting, and it sounded like magical blasts and fighting in general. Some quiet talking began rippling through the other prisoners. Sparklefly glanced over at Lightning Dasher; he shrugged back at her before looking back to the only way out. While they could see through it, the angle where they were positioned didn’t give them a good view of the room beyond. An arrow shot through the bars, clattering into the wall near Silver Spoon’s head. Several of them shrieked in fear as it clattered harmlessly to the ground. There were several more shouts and battle cries outside. This went on for several minutes before it quieted down. A changeling ran into the door with a wild look of terror on his face as he fumbled with the lock. Somepony from behind snatched him back, and Sparklefly heard him shriek as a loud thud followed. Then there was silence.

“Did somepony order a rescue?” Scootaloo said, her face suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Relief flooded Sparklefly and the rest of the prisoners as well.

“All secure back there?” another voice called out; it sounded like Pibs.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo called back.

“We’re in here!” Lightning Dasher yelled.

“Duh,” Scootaloo said, looking at him through the bars. She suddenly looked disgusted, grabbing her nose, “What did you do back here; you guys stink!”

“Just open the door!” Sparklefly yelled back at her, hope spreading like a wild fire.

“Hang on, I’m trying to find the key,” the orange pegasus replied.

She disappeared from the door.

“This one?” Pibs asked.

Scootaloo was back and trying to work the lock. The mechanism turned with a sturdy-sounding click. The ponies pulled the door open, and Scootaloo stood inside rather heroically.

“No need to thank me,” she bragged. “It’s all in a day’s work. Pibs, try the keys on their chains.”

“Okay,” Pibs said.

“You guys alright?” Scootaloo asked.

“You guys made it!” Sparklefly exclaimed.

“Yeah. No way we’d leave you behind,” Scootaloo said.

“Scootaloo?” Silver Spoon seemed surprised.

“Whoa, what are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked, equally caught off guard.

“It seems like I’ve been replaced,” the silver mare replied.

“We probably all have,” Sparklefly began. “They saw right through our invisibility potions. How did you get in here?”

Scootaloo brandished her crossbow, “We fought our way passed them, of course. They made a big push for Ponyville, so there were hardly any left to guard.”

This seemed rather unlikely to Sparklefly. It was just enough to make her question what was unfolding. Pibs got to her and began trying keys on her manacles.

“So, we’ll head back to Zecora’s. It’s a lot safer than Ponyville right now,” Scootaloo said.

“Is it safe to go that far north?” Sparklefly asked, testing Scootaloo.

“What are you talking about?” Pibs said. “Zecora wasn’t to the north; not from here.”

Sparklefly wasn’t completely convinced. They knew that much, but there was only one way she could think of to be sure. Pibs got the lock undone on Sparklefly’s front restraints and moved to the back.

“Aren’t you going to use the call and response?” Sparklefly asked.

Scootaloo shrugged coolly, “Why would I?”

“There’s changelings about,” Sparklefly said. “How do you know we’re us?”

Scootaloo looked at her like she was stupid, “So you think they’d chain themselves up with the rest of the prisoners so I could rescue you?”

“What’s the call sign?” she asked.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Cloud Blazer appeared in the doorway.

“We have to go!” he said.

“Don’t go with them!” Sparklefly shouted, the thrill of the confirmation of her suspicion overpowering any other thoughts. “They are changelings; all three of them!”

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room when she said this. The prisoners that had been loosed cowered against the walls. Sparklefly’s hind legs were still tied, so she stayed where she was positioned. She could have kicked her self as she realized that it might have been more prudent to let them free her and Lightning Dasher. Then they might make a fight of it. Of course, they had no weapons or armor, and the changelings had their magic. Also, they were still hopelessly outnumbered.

The impostors glowed magically in their bright green and transformed back into their natural form. No resistance was offered as they put chains back on each of the prisoners and left the room. The changelings seemed to take it in stride as if it were all part of the plan. This was somewhat unsettling. The incarcerated ponies sat in silence for quite a while, despair having returned. Sparklefly hoped that she hadn’t given away information more than that the fact that they had a call and response worked out. They had mentioned Zecora by name. That meant that they definitely knew which zebra lived in the forest, not that such information was a secret.

Lightning Dasher broke her thoughts, "There's just one thing I don't understand. If the changelings wanted to take over Equestria, why multiply timberwolves? Why not just replicate themselves in the mirror pond? Obviously they can fool us. Why not take over that way?”

This was something to which Sparklefly hadn’t given a great deal of thought, but it did seem to be worth considering.

Silver Spoon offered, “Maybe it doesn’t work on them?”

Sparklefly replied, “That doesn’t seem likely. But would you want a hundred copies of yourself running around?”

Lightning Dasher said, “But they must have tried that first.”

Sparklefly shrugged, “They might have. It is really beside the issue. Whatever their reason, they have created a disposable army out of timberwolves.”

Lighting Dasher added, “Then they infiltrated our forces to keep us from finding out what they’ve been up to."

“You have to admire the misdirection; tactically, it’s brilliant. In any case, the why is a small matter; we can only deal with one thing at a time. We get out of here, then we can figure out why they did what they did,” Sparklefly said.

Silver Spoon asked, “But how were they going to deal with the timberwolves? Were they just going to use them to cover all of Equestria? Then what?"

It was silent a moment before Sparklefly grimly offered, ”Revenge.”

The feeling in the dimly lit stone room seemed to go cold at this.

Lightning Dasher asked, "Revenge?"

"The last time changelings invaded, they nearly captured Canterlot before they were defeated," Sparklefly answered. "If that is their only motive, they’ll go to any length, pay any price for victory. It only makes them that much more dangerous."

“This time they have captured Canterlot,” Lightning Dasher added. “If you’re right, that would mean no bargaining, no peaceful resolution."

Sparklefly shuddered at the thought.

“All of this speculation is very interesting, but how is that supposed to help us get out of here?” Silver Spoon asked with a tone of superiority identical to the one the changeling version of her had used in Ponyville.

Precociousness aside, that statement brought them all back to the most immediate problem: getting free from their chains. Sparklefly’s thoughts drifted for a moment, but then she began pulling at the restraints, trying to work them free. She pulled one way and then the other, but it was no use. The manacles were digging into her legs as she tugged, but they were anchored quite securely in the the solid rock of the cave walls. After a few minutes, she stopped in defeat, having had made no progress other than bleeding a bit from rubbing her skin raw. The rest of the prisoners were very quiet. Many of them were sleeping, but Sparklefly worked her brain to come up with something before the rest began to realize that they didn’t actually have a plan to rescue everypony.

The iron door sprang open with an almost inaudible creak, and Ash Eater returned. He was followed by several other changelings that were dragging something else into the room. It was Princess Twilight. Sparklefly struggled to see with her one good eye, but the changelings were blocking her view. The princess was awake, but apparently didn’t have the strength to walk. They drug her across the ground and chained her to the wall across from Sparklefly. Queen Chrysalis spoke smugly as she entered the prison.

"Don't worry, your highness," the changeling queen said, "I'll take good care of Equestria during your absence."

With a flash of green magic that electrified the air, she transformed, becoming an exact replica of Princess Twilight.

The purple alicorn weakly raised her head and spoke defiantly, "You will fail! My friends will never fall for your tricks, Chrysalis.”

The changeling Twilight got face to face with the original, "They always do," she sneered at her. Then raising up, she kicked the princess in the face.

Twilight fell hard, her head striking the stone floor; she lay there unmoving. Another flash of changeling magic and there were now duplicates of Lightning Dasher and Sparklefly. They followed Queen Chrysalis, now a Princess Twilight impostor, as she exited the prison. There was no doubt that they would report back to Ponyville or Cloudsdale and give false information. There was no knowing what amount of damage they could cause. The other princesses might be in danger, to say nothing of the rest of Equestria. As the door clanged shut, only two changelings remained inside with the prisoners. Ash Eater laughed as he walked toward Sparklefly. An abnormally large changeling was with him. The big one was slightly lighter in color than the dark black that the rest of them wore in their coats; he had a dull stupid look about him. It didn’t require much guesswork to understand what his function would be. Sparklefly felt her heart pounding in her chest; she suddenly noticed that she was very thirsty.

“Now then,” Ash Eater began, “this is one of my friends. We call him Drob. He only likes to do one thing. Can you guess what that is?

Her limbs felt weak, but Sparklefly made her expression like steel. She knew what was coming.

“Drob, she seems to not want to talk to us,” Ash Eater teased. “Why don’t you show her what you like to do.”

The big one didn’t say a word, but a wide grin appeared on his face in the poorly lit room. One thing that was rather unexpected was how fast he could move. He struck Sparklefly’s hindquarters with a blow from a fore hoof. She slid hard into the wall as the pain from it shot through her. Lightning Dasher was yelling something, but she couldn’t make it out. When she looked up again, Lightning Dasher had pulled against his chains, but he couldn’t get very close to the others. Drob was standing back as if awaiting instructions as the room got quiet again.

“Now, this is how this works,” Ash Eater began. “I ask you questions; you answer truthfully. If you don’t, Drob gets to have some fun.”

“That’s your plan?” Sparklefly mocked through her facade of strength as she climbed back to her hooves. “And I thought you were a little more imaginative than that.”

The look he gave her after she said that was more than a little unnerving; it was as if he were devouring her with his eyes. It somehow made her feel incredibly vulnerable in a way that she never had before.

“All in good time, little mare,” he said.

“You coward! You are the worst kind of scum!” Lighting Dasher shouted, his restraints clanking as he pulled against them.

A look from Ash Eater and another blow came Sparklefly’s way from Drob, again aimed at her flank. It connected at nearly the same place, but with less force than the last one. She staggered into the wall but remained standing. Catching Lightning Dasher’s gaze, Sparklefly shook her head at him. He looked completely infuriated, but she saw him nod. He understood the situation. Any interference from him and she would be hurt for it.

“Now then, where were we?” Ash Eater said to Sparklefly. “Oh yes, questions.” His tone became completely dry now, lacking the humor he had come in with, “Where is the rest of your squad?”

She stood there without answering. There wasn’t going to be any defense against anything they did to her. The chains were too short to put up any kind of effective struggle. Maybe she could get a hit off if he got too close, but this didn’t seem likely. Drob struck her in the shoulder this time, sending her the short distance into the wall. It was almost like being hit from both sides.

“Not even a convincing lie?” Ash Eater mocked. “You’ve certainly been in here long enough to think of something.”

She still didn’t answer, Drob hit her again, this time in a downward motion that made her stance buckle as she dropped hard to her knees. He could hit hard.

“Where is the zebra, Zecora, that gave you the magic potion?”

Sparklefly wasn’t sure how much of this punishment she could take, but she was afraid that she was about to find out. On cue, Drob hit her again. She fell against the stone wall; this time she didn’t get back up. Breathing had become a chore, and she was aching from several bruises that were forming in addition to the wounds she had suffered previously. The bandage on her eye was burning again.

“We’re going to find her even if you don’t help us,” he said.

That gave Sparklefly a sliver of information. By use of the word, “her”, she surmised that they might not know about Sweetie Belle. this wasn’t necessarily useful, but it was noteworthy. Casting a glance at Lightning Dasher, it was a little surprising to see that he hadn’t moved. He stood like a statue, watching helplessly as she endured this. The look on his face betrayed a whirlwind of rage that was begging to be released.

“Where is your squad?” the changeling asked again.

She looked back at him, still laying against the rocky wall of the cave. She made no attempt to speak. Drob moved in and threw another hit; at the last second, Sparklefly ducked beneath his blow. He struck the wall hard as Sparklefly pushed against the floor with all of her strength. The chains were too short for anything other than what she had in mind. She brought her forehead down, catching Drob on his left side, right where the jaw connects to the skull. The was a loud cracking sound at the point of impact, and the next thing Sparklefly knew, she was on the ground and the room was spinning. Drob staggered backwards and lost his balance, falling to the floor. Silence filled the room for a moment. Ash Eater was stunned, his mouth hanging open rather stupidly. Sparklefly stood up again, a little dizzy and aching all over, but she felt very proud of herself. Drob was down, motionless for almost a minute. Then he managed to regain a standing position also, but he looked more than a little shaky.

“Drob, level two,” Ash Eater said almost blankly.

Drob grinned. His horn and eyes glowed green with a charge of magical energy. What happened next was the most pain Sparklefly had ever experienced in her life. Every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. A scream escaped her involuntarily as she collapsed and writhed on the ground. As suddenly as it began, it was over.

“Just a taste for now,” her interrogator said. “Where is the rest of your squad?”

It was all she could do to catch her breath at this point. Drob’s magic hit her again; this time it was like she were being pulled apart. The sensation of being ripped into pieces was almost as bad as the fiery one. She knew it was all in her mind, but that did nothing to diminish the sensation. She held her breath, trying to not scream again. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. After a minute, maybe more, it felt like an hour, Drob stopped. Sparklefly sank to a resting position again and tried to breathe. The putrid air was almost sweet now.

“Where is your squad?” Ash Eater asked again.

“I thought...” she began between breaths, “you knew... me better... than that... by now...”

He didn’t look amused. “Put her out,” he said simply.

Another blast of magic and Sparklefly could feel herself drowning. The panic that comes with that sensation was far worse that the feeling itself. She wanted to believe that it was just in her head, but there was just no way to be calm. The visceral drive to fight for life was too strong, and panic was the only available response. There was no reassurance that this was going to be okay; she realized she might be about to die. In only moments, everything went dark, and Sparklefly passed out.

...

Pibs was glad that Scootaloo was with her, but frightened seemed to be her normal state of being now. A light breeze tickled the tops of the trees in the light of early evening. If the changeling’s net hadn’t been above them, they might have tried to see where the sun actually stood in the sky. As things were, the had to suffice with guessing.

“Yeah, we have definitely waited longer than we should have,” Scootaloo said, still using their very quiet whisper. “I think we’ve only got a half-hour or so before sunset.”

Pibs felt herself shaking a little.

“Hey, I’m sure the others are fine,” Scootaloo reassured her, “but we need to move.”

Pibs nodded, and the pair slowly stood. They hadn’t had any sight or sound, not to mention scent, of timberwolves since they had arrived at the cave entrance. They were still cautious. Pibs stretched, which felt wonderful after sitting so still for a few hours. Nothing had fallen asleep, but her joints felt stiff and sore. The bruises and burns were bothering her, but it was manageable. The weirdest feeling was the loose tooth. It was rather tender. After a small sip of water, they performed a quick weapons check: two crossbows with five arrows between them, two combat knives, and two rolls of clean bandages that Sweetie Belle had given them to replace their exhausted medical supplies. They already had the tension pulled back on the crossbows, but a nod from Scootaloo and they each loaded an arrow. Pibs’ heart was beating rapidly as they slowly moved out of their little fern covered hiding place in the clump of trees that had been their shelter. The ursa’s cave opened before them. As they crept closer, the sheer size of it dwarfed everything around, nearly reaching to the top of the trees. The rock formation went higher still, but the changeling net effectively obscured the view much beyond that.

Feeling herself freeze in place there was something that Pibs had to say, “Scootaloo.”

The orange mare stopped, glancing back, “What is it? Did you see something?”

“No,” Pibs said nervously. “I just... I...” She took a breath. “If anything happens... If I don’t make it out of here, I need you to go tell Lighthoof...”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Scootaloo interrupted. “Nothing bad is happening to you today. You’re with me.” A confident smile spread across Scootaloo’s face. “We just have to take care of this so we can help Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher rescue the princess. It’s no big deal.”

“I’m with you,” Pibs said, feigning confidence and nodding.

Without another word, they made the entrance to the cave, passing into darkness. Inching quietly forward, the air felt cold but surprisingly wasn’t stale. They moved silently onward at a slow pace. It didn’t take long for their eyes to adjust. There was a luminescent moss that grew on the walls, which made the faintest blue outline on some of the faces of the cave. Pibs could hear her own breath in the stillness of this place. The entrance took the form of a large corridor—like formation. They followed it, Scootaloo in the lead until the last light from outside had faded away. But for the faint glow of the moss, Pibs wouldn’t have been able to see her own hoof in front of her face. Every subtle noise that she heard made her turn in that direction, but she couldn’t see anything moving. It must have been insects or small rodents. Surely an ursa would make much more noise than what she heard.

A low growl coming from somewhere in the darkness stole the very warmth of Pibs’ blood and sent a shiver up her spine. Frozen in place, her eyes searched the darkness, but she couldn’t see anything. The noise stopped; Pibs held her breath. They stayed motionless for a minute, waiting for something that might happen, but nothing did.

“Pibs,” Scootaloo whispered from ahead, “stay here. We’re close. I’m going ahead to see if I can get a look at what we’re dealing with. If you hear any loud noises, you come in there and save me. Don’t run off!”

She could almost see Scootaloo’s grin, but it did little to diffuse the tension that Pibs felt. Scootaloo padded away stealthily while Pibs stayed as ordered. Alone in the dark, it was impossible to tell how much time was passing. Each minute felt like an hour. She could hear her pulse surging through her ears. To call it unsettling would be an understatement. She’d have loved nothing more than to let her mind wander to a happier place, but now was not the time for any distractions. Her senses were heightened in the darkness. Nothing moved that she couldn’t hear. Her body shook slightly from the adrenaline that coursed through her. Pibs slowed her breathing because it seemed to be too loud to her. A noise caught her attention, and she stared into the darkness. It was hoof steps. Scootaloo returned at a fairly brisk pace.

“Okay, this is the situation,” she spoke softly. “We have two ursas in here, a major and a minor.”

Pibs swallowed, unsettled at the news. Just one celestial bear had been a thought that frightened her. Two was somehow ten times worse. She wasn’t sure how that math worked, but she had neither the time nor the presence of mind to worry about it.

“We’ll go in together; it’s not much farther up the bend,” Scootaloo continued. “I’ll get their attention, and then we run for the exit. Do you know your way back to the clearing from here, in case we get separated?”

Pibs thought quickly, “East-Southeast?”

“Right,” Scootaloo said. “Here’s the thing; we are a lot more maneuverable than they are, and running through the forest will slow them down a little, but we have to keep from moving in a straight line as much as possible. Anytime there are trees to dart around, do it.”

“Okay,” Pibs acknowledged.

“If they get too close to you, I’ll fly across and draw them off. I need you to do the same if they get too close to me.”

Pibs swallowed hard at this; she tried to put on her best brave voice, “Look, all this waiting is getting boring; let’s do this!”

Scootaloo grinned back at her, barely visible in the dim blue glow of the bioluminescent moss.

“Now you’re talking!” Scootaloo said in a normal tone. “Let’s go!”

They moved forward, abandoning stealth and proceeding swiftly. When they rounded the next bend, Pibs very much wished she were anyplace in the entire land of Equestria other than here. Scootaloo hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that the ursa minor was larger than a house. The great behemoths that lay in the gaping space before them were gigantic. They seemed to glow in the darkness, the smaller one blue, the larger one purple, and their coats twinkled in patterns that appeared to be in the form of constellations. It was no surprise why their species had been named for star formations.

“I’ll get them,” Scootaloo said. “Get ready to run.”

Without waiting for a response, Scootaloo went forward. Pibs turned around, orienting herself to flee as quickly as possible. Her mouth was dry, but there was no time to take a drink. Her heart wanted to leap out of her chest. Her legs all shook uncontrollably, and it was all she could do to remain standing. ‘Stop it!’ she thought to herself. ‘You’re doing this, and you’re not going to let anypony down!’ A loud noise behind caught her attention. Scootaloo had flown up into the air, kicked the ceiling of the cave and drove straight down at the belly of the ursa minor, the smaller blue one.

“Wake up!” the insane orange pegasus shouted.

A deafening roar filled the cave, and Pibs fell over from fright. She scrambled back to her hooves, by which time Scootaloo had grabbed her and was pulling toward the exit.

“Go, Pibs! Run, run, run!” she shouted.

The pair thundered as fast as legs would carry them to get out of the cave. It was a blur, and suddenly they were bathed in blinding evening light again. They had only been inside for minutes, as the sun still lit the forest. A roar, followed by another that was larger and more guttural followed. The ursas were right behind them. As they had previously discussed, Scootaloo and Pibs separated, putting just a couple of yards between them as they galloped south from the cave. They turned to their left, to the east, and the ursa minor burst through the trees, looking like a big blue blur to Pibs. A massive clawed paw swiped at Scootaloo, who dropped, rolling beneath the blow behind a small tree. The powerful hit bent the tree over as if it were a blade of grass; it crashed down noisily. Pibs stopped, assessing how she could help Scootaloo.

“What are you doing?” Scootaloo shouted. “Run!”

Pibs didn’t wait beyond that. Another roar, this one much louder than the first split the air. The ursa major was close. Scootaloo took flight, putting a little distance between herself and the ursa minor before landing and resuming her gallop. Pibs was keeping up, already breathing a little harder from the effort they were exerting. They came through a small clearing, the celestial bears in hot pursuit, and that’s when they stumbled upon their first pack of timberwolves.

“Air!” Scootaloo shouted.

Pibs understood the meaning, and the pair flew up as high as they could to get over the timberwolves, which snarled and also began chasing them. Dropping back to the ground, they darted through the forest, zig-zagging their way to the clearing where they would meet up with Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher. The ursa major, a massive purple beast that didn’t seem to belong in a forest so much as it seemed to dominate the place, burst through to Pibs’ right. How the giant beast had moved so quickly to get around that side was something that Pibs would have to worry about later. She ran as fast as she could, darting around trees, but the bear was close; she could hear it breathing. Out of nowhere, Scootaloo flew overhead and let out a battle cry. The ursa major swatted at her, but missed, striking a tree limb instead. Scootaloo circled back around and resumed her position to Pibs’ left as branches exploded, showering the forest below. Timberwolves began howling behind them.

At this rate, they wouldn’t get to the clearing very far, if at all, ahead of the ursas, to say nothing of the other beasts in the Everfree Forest. Pibs took flight again, increasing her speed. It was difficult to not hit any trees or hanging vines as she vaulted through the air. It took all of her focus to navigate this dangerous terrain, and she lost the ursas for a moment.

“That’s enough!” Scootaloo shouted from her left, also flying.

The pair landed and continued running. They had already arrived where the thick brambles had slowed them down before.

“Go!” Scootaloo yelled.

Pibs threw herself into the narrow path, the thorns and thistles scratching at her once again. She moved quickly through, with Scootaloo directly behind her. They made it into the clearing, and nopony was there. There were bodies of several dozen timberwolves, but no sign of anypony at all. Pibs and Scootaloo stood there a moment, not sure what to do. Sparklefly wasn’t here. A roar from behind them caused the pair to exchange a glance. No words were spoken, but it was as if they knew each other’s thoughts. They charged forward, across the clearing and into the forest beyond. It was not even a moment too soon, as the ursa minor crashed through the brush, growling angrily at them as it did so. The pair continued forward, and Pibs might have fallen into the gaping hole that opened in the ground if a pack of timberwolves hadn’t been coming out of it. She darted right, while Scootaloo went left.

The ursa major leapt out at Scootaloo, its massive paw coming straight down at the little pony. Scootaloo skidded in the dry vegetation of the forest floor, changing direction and darting left. The impact of the ursa major shook the ground, the noise of it echoing through the forest. It was then that Pibs realized Scootaloo was in trouble. She had gone left, back toward the ursa minor and the other pack of timberwolves. Without time to think, Pibs took flight, kicking off of a nearby tree to change direction faster. She didn’t know what she intended to do because it happened so fast. She was over the first pack of timberwolves, speeding toward Scootaloo and the two ursas. The ursa minor was about to strike Scootaloo out of the air as she took flight to avoid the stick-dogs. Pibs flew in hard, hooves down, and slammed into the ursa minor’s head, catching it on the left side of its face. The dazed creature fell backward awkwardly, crashing into the forest. There was a moment of unbridled glee, almost like a thrill that Pibs felt as she turned about.

Before everything went dark, the last thing Pibs saw was the great paw of the ursa major as it came at her with full force. Her next sensation was like falling. She crashed through what must have been tree limbs or branches, which snapped and slapped at her. Her vision went red as the wind was knocked out of her with a cracking sound. The roughness of tree bark on her face told her enough. She had been slapped out of the air by the ursa major and landed against a tree. She fell backward, landing in the crunchy dried leaves that covered the floor of the forest. Pibs writhed on the ground, trying desperately to breathe. Her sight returned, and that’s when she realized that she was on fire. It was on her back right side, where the fire potion had been stored. Time seemed frozen in that moment. The ursa major was burning, its right arm completely engulfed from the shattered potion; howling, it rampaged through the forest in a rage. Timberwolves were chasing it. Her breath returning, Pibs tried to use both forelegs to beat the fire out that was on her gear. Only one hoof responded, but she managed. Assessing damage proved difficult; Pibs couldn’t find her front left leg. It was bizarre sensation. It felt like it was right in front of her, but she couldn’t see it.

A shout drew her attention; the other firebomb flask was hurtling into a tree. It exploded on contact, flames leaping out and licking their way up the tree to the canopy above. The ground brush, with years of dried dead leaves also began to burn as the fiery liquid spread. Then she saw it. The ursa minor was above her, and brought down a paw to smash the mare. As its weight shifted, Pibs felt herself being pressed against and into the ground. She couldn’t move or breathe, the life was nearly crushed out of the little pony. Then there was relief. The ursa minor staggered backward and off of her. Scootaloo was overhead and fired an arrow, striking the ursa minor in the head. Timberwolves now were biting at it, and the enraged celestial bear began crushing them like an angry child destroys toy soldiers. It raised paws and brought them down again and again, smashing the beasts to splinters.

Scootaloo landed and drug Pibs into a somewhat concealed position behind some bushes and a tree, but there was no way to know if they would be safe.

“Pibs, your leg!” Scootaloo gasped.

Pibs looked down and could see her front left leg again. It was at an angle that made her feel sick at the sight of it. Her gut wrenched and heaved, but nothing came up.

“Don’t look!” Scootaloo said, pulling Pibs head up.

The medical knowledge, while rudimentary, came flooding through her mind, “Splint, I need a splint!”

“Hang, on.”

Scootaloo glanced behind them toward the battle and then darted away. The growing numbers of timberwolves combined with the roaring of both ursas signaled that the fight was very much still underway. The ground rumbled with the noise of the enraged beasts all fighting for their own survival. Scootaloo returned with a large stick. She felt up Pibs’ broken leg, checking for just how many breaks there were; she suddenly jammed a smaller stick into Pibs’ mouth.

“Bite this,” Scootaloo said.

Without waiting for a reply, Scootaloo grabbed her broken leg and pulled it straight. Pibs heard herself growl in reply, biting down hard on the stick Scootaloo had given her. A cold sweat hit her forehead as the pain like a stabbing fire shot through her. Things went numb for a moment, but then everything came back into focus. Scootaloo pulled out the bandage from Pibs’ kit and quickly tore it into several long strips, tying the larger stick to Pibs’ leg to immobilize it. Every bump and touch sent sharp pain shooting through the injured mare. The sounds of battle changed, and magical blasts now began to fill the air.

“Well, this is definitely the right place,” Scootaloo said as she glanced over their paltry concealment.

Changeling battle cries and shrieks of terror could be heard as they joined the fight. The ursas smashed their way around, but the magical bombardment increased, as did the snarling and yelping of timberwolves, whose numbers must have also surged.

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t think we’ll get into there with your leg hurt.” She shook her head, “Just too many.”

Hardly a moment later a great crash shook the ground. One of the ursas bellowed.

“The major is down,” Scootaloo reported. “The other won’t last long at this rate.”

Pibs felt ill, “What do we do?”

Scootaloo shook her head, “You’re injured, and we are hopelessly outnumbered. I mean, if you think you can make it out of here, I might get inside, but even if I could... I’m not sure there’s anything we can do, not without reinforcements.”

It was a kind of despair, similar to heartbreak, that Pibs felt for the others. Something had happened to Sparklefly and Lightning Dasher, and she couldn’t help them or Princess Twilight. Another sound caught her attention. It was like the thundering of hooves and a pony battle cry. Timberwolves began howling and changelings shrieked, unleashing a massive flurry of their magic. A cacophony of shouting and blunt impacts filled the air along with the cries of the dying.

“Pibs,” Scootaloo said in complete awe, “you’re not going to believe this.”

In the quickly fading light of sunset, Scootaloo looked as though she’d seen a ghost.

...

The disgusting smell was the first sensation that Sparklefly noticed as she began to drift back to consciousness; pain was the second. Her body ached all over from injuries, but the dull hurt of the new bruises inflicted by Drob were the worst of it. She opened her eye slowly and was relieved to see that the changelings had gone for now. She let out a sigh of relief and got up onto her hooves, stretching a little. She felt horrible.

“You don’t look so good,” Lightning Dasher said.

Turning toward him, it was evident that he had been questioned in the same manner as she had.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Just a few bruises,” he shrugged. “I’ll live.”

In a dark and twisted way, Sparklefly almost found that statement amusing considering their situation.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, maybe an hour.”

“It was less than that,” Princess Twilight spoke.

“Your highness,” Sparklefly said, having actually forgotten that she’d been there.

“Just Twilight is fine,” the alicorn replied wearily.

“You weren’t here when we were brought in; we’d feared the worst.”

“No,” the princess replied, “they were introducing me to Drob.”

“Are you okay?” Lightning Dasher asked.

She nodded slowly. Just by looking at her physical status, Sparklefly wasn’t sure that they could depend on her if they managed to attempt an escape.

“The rest of the squad?” Twilight asked.

“Regal Masquerade and Nimba are dead; Cloud Blazer’s hurt,” Sparklefly replied. “You already know that Nitro was a changeling. His real name is Ash Eater, and he is still alive. I’m not sure about the others. I expected to rendezvous with them later, but I can’t even tell what time it is down here. If they followed orders, they may have left the forest by now.” It occurred to Sparklefly that some of the other prisoners could still be changelings; she decided it was best to only give vague information.

“So you lied,” Silver Spoon spoke up. “There is no rescue coming.”

Murmuring and a sinking feeling again flooded the room, Sparklefly was about to try to bolster everypony's spirits again before it gave way to panic when she heard a metal catch click. It sounded like a lock being opened. Turning to the sound, Lightning Dasher was removing the manacles on his front legs. He immediately went to work on the hind leg restraints. The room went silent again as he worked it free in a matter of seconds with another click.

“How did you?” Sparklefly asked.

Winking at her, he shrugged with a grin, "Family trade secret. My dad's a locksmith."

He approached Sparklefly and began working on her chains. She bent close to whisper in his ear.

“What’s the call and response?” she asked so only he could hear.

If he were a changeling, he wouldn’t know the call word, let alone the response.

“Applesauce,” he whispered into her ear.

“Starswirl,” she whispered back.

Relief washed over Sparklefly. She knew that there was at least one pony in the room she could trust without reservation. He had her chains removed very quickly, and then he freed Princess Twilight.

Twilight said, "Well done, Lightning Dasher," as her manacles fell away. "Can you get us past the door?"

Without even glancing at the door, he said, "Without a doubt."

He then began moving about the room to loose all of the prisoners from their bonds. Sparklefly paid close attention to this process. She had wondered whether any changelings among them might have been not actually chained, but no evidence of this was given. As Lightning Dasher finished his work, Sparklefly said, "Everypony, stay where you are for now. Put the manacles back on, but don’t lock them. That way, the changelings won't suspect anything is amiss.”

Princess Twilight hung her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "We have to get back to Ponyville. Then we'll return in strength to deal with these changelings."

Sparklefly said, "That's the plan, ma'am."

Silver Spoon asked, "Lightning Dasher, if you could pick the locks the whole time, why did you waste so much time just sitting here chained up?”

“Tactics,” he replied. “You’ve got to know when to move and when to keep your cards close to your chest.”

Sparklefly said, "In any case, well done, Lightning Dasher."

The yellow stallion strutted over to the iron door, cautiously looking through the bars to see if any changelings were about, and then he went for the lock.

Sparklefly watched intently as he worked. She asked, "Princes Twilight, did you find out anything useful since you’ve been down here?”

Twilight shook her head, "No, they've been interrogating me since I was captured."

Silver Spoon interrupted, "Why haven't they just killed us all?" Everypony turned to stare at her. Even Lightning Dasher left working on the door and looked at her. She was answered with silence initially.

"They can't," Twilight finally replied. "They can shape shift into us, but they can't take on the form of anypony that's dead."

Sparklefly said, “That follows, otherwise there’d be no reason to keep us around.” Another thought struck her with a certain amount of horror and she blurted out, “That means Nitro is alive, somewhere."

"Yes, somewhere," the princess gravely replied.

Lightning Dasher went back to work on the lock.

“Did you suspect changeling involvement from the beginning?” Sparklefly asked.

Twilight sighed, “No... I had no idea. In all of our discussions nopony, not even Hope’s Glimmer had even suggested the possibility.”

It was at that moment that Sparklefly remembered what Princess Hope’s Glimmer had said after the battle at Canterlot. ‘That forest is filled with death. Eight are true; only four walk out.’ There had been nine members in Twilight’s squad. Nitro was a changeling, which only left eight, the ‘true’. After that initial battle, Sparklefly, Pibs, Scootaloo, and Lightning Dasher were the only four left still standing. Cloud Blazer lived, but he had to be carried out, and Twilight didn’t make it out because she’d been captured. A shiver ran up Sparklefly’s spine.

A commotion in the room outside the cell caught everypony's attention. In a flash, Lightning Dasher had quietly spun around the rock face and away from the door where he could have been seen. There was shouting and the sound of hooves stamping and running. Silence returned moments later, and Lightning Dasher peered through the door again before resuming his work. Sparklefly looked to Twilight, who shrugged back at her. Sparklefly quietly removed her shackles and crossed the room to Lightning Dasher.

“This might be our chance,” she said.

“I know,” he replied tersely.

“You need to hurry.”

“I know!”

There was a rather noisy clicking sound as the lock on the door gave before Lightning Dasher’s efforts.

“Hah!” he exclaimed.

“Great work,” Twilight said.

Sparklefly ordered, “I need the rest of you to stay here for now. We’ll go assess the situation.”

Princess Twilight removed her chains and joined them at the door. Sparklefly nodded at the yellow stallion, and he swung the door open slowly. As soon as they were able to squeeze through, the three silently worked their way into the next room, which was empty. Four doors were in this room, two of which were opened on the far wall. The other two were cells, one of which they had just been inside. There were several cups of water and apple cider on several long tables, but several of them were only half-empty. There were also plates of unfinished oats. Whatever had caught the attention of their captors, it required immediate attention. Sparklefly felt herself smile. It would seem that Scootaloo and Pibs had arrived outside. A noise to the left, her blind side, impelled Sparklefly to drop to the ground. No sooner had she done this than a blast of magic impacted against the wall. The noise of rock splitting deafened her for a moment as a shower of rocks rained about the room. Sparklefly moved low around the table toward her right; Lightning Dasher went left. She found herself face to face with Drob. Sparklefly got her head covered just as he sent a blow into her. She spun, landing against the wall. Princess Twilight charged in between them to defend Sparklefly. Lightning Dasher came up from behind, but Twilight blasted him with a green magic that threw him crashing into one of the tables. It fell over, sending everything that had been on top scattering across the floor. The stallion flipped over it as it fell and landed on the far side. Then Twilight turned around, her eyes glowing green with changeling magic.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid we’ve tricked you again,” the changeling impersonating Princess Twilight said.

While stunned by his revelation, she wasn’t rendered unable to act. Sparklefly quickly swept the ground with a kick, knocking the changeling down. Drob came at her, and the mare rolled aside and charged to the other end of the room. He grabbed her from behind, tossing her like a rag doll. Sparklefly fell down against another table and rolled to the floor. She jumped back to her hooves to see Drob coming at her again. She grabbed a drink from the table and threw it into his face, then quickly darted beneath another table. Scrambling toward one of the doors, another blast of magic, this one from the changeling Twilight, zipped through the air. It burned metal as it struck the other prison cell door. Drob was coming around one side, and the changeling Twilight around the other. Sparklefly was trying to summon the strength to fight them, but she had already pushed herself to the breaking point throughout the day; each subsequent fight was getting harder. Since Drob was closer, Sparklefly flipped the nearest table, charging at him with it. He stopped her with seemingly little effort. Lightning Dasher leapt over the table with a battle cry and thundered across the room. The Twilight impersonator fired at him, but he rolled underneath the blast and came up with a hard uppercut that caught her squarely in the jaw. She wobbled and fell to the ground. Drob tossed Sparklefly, but quickly using her wing power, she was able to lessen her momentum before hitting the wall. Lightning Dasher spun and unleashed a two-hoof buck directly into Drob’s side. The massive changeling grunted and reared back, bringing down a powerful fore hoof that caught Lightning Dasher’s flank. The stallion collapsed beneath the blow. Sparklefly rushed toward him to buy a little time. She hit Drob repeatedly in the flank. The massive changeling simply turned and thew a hit across her face. She blocked, absorbing the impact in her fore-leg. It worked; Lightning Dasher was up. He took advantage of the distraction and leapt up, striking Drob with a right hook. It was the same place that Sparklefly had managed to head butt him earlier. The large changeling staggered backward and fell over. Lightning Dasher barely had time to grin before the other changeling shot him in the back. A powerful blast of fiery magic ripped through his body. Lightning Dasher’s expression quickly went from one of pride to surprise before going blank as his smoldering body collapsed to the ground. There was nothing Sparklefly could do; he was killed instantly.

“Now, back to your cell!” the changeling said, her magical horn smoking after that discharge.

A battle-cry surprised both of them, and another Princess Twilight flew out of the second prison cell at high speed, smashing into the changeling impostor. The two tumbled over, crashing into a table and falling to the floor. That’s when Drob got back up. He grabbed Sparklefly from behind and picked her up by the throat. She began throwing wild punches, several of which connected with his neck and head, but she just didn’t have the strength to do enough damage to him. With blood flow cut off, Sparklefly’s vision began fading. Lightning Dasher leapt into view and tackled the massive changeling. Sparklefly fell to the ground, gasping for air. She must have been hallucinating; that was the only explanation. She wasn’t. When she looked up, there were four Lightning Dashers all beating Drob, who was putting up quite a struggle. One of them managed to get onto his back and grab him in a head lock. The brutish changeling fell, but his attacker didn’t let go. Another Lightning Dasher helped Sparklefly up.

“You...” she couldn’t find words.

He winked at her with a grin, “According to plan, like you said.”

Turning to the Twilights, two more Lightning Dashers had put a stop to their fighting. They both looked as identical as one might expect, which was more than a little disconcerting.

“Sparklefly, I’m the real Twilight,” one of them said.

“No she isn’t, I am! I trained with you in Cloudsdale,” the other objected.

“Stop!” Sparklefly said. “We don’t have time to play this game right now.” To the Lightning Dashers she said, “Keep an eye on them. Knock them out of they try anything.”

“Okay,” both of them answered in unison.

It was difficult to tell which was more upsetting, multiple Lightning Dashers or a changeling Princess Twilight. Sparklefly walked over to the other door and discovered that it was a small armory that had several dozen sets of EUP armor. Her armor was not here; most of the pieces stored inside were damaged from magical burns. Likely, these had been taken from scouts that had ventured too close to the forest.

“Lightning Dasher, Dashers,” Sparklefly shook her head. “We’ve got a couple of dozen sets of armor in here; gear up.”

It was a very simple matter to find harnesses, as they were designed to be adjustable. Armor was a little more difficult to find a good fit, but they managed. Within moments, Sparklefly felt a little more like a soldier again. The group of Lightning Dashers and their Twilights went out into the main chamber of the cave. Flabbergasted might be the word Sparklefly would have chosen to describe how she felt when she saw the mirror pool. There were already several hundred Lightning Dashers inside this chamber, possibly more than a thousand crammed into the cave. They were guarding the exit and keeping watchful eye around the room. There were scores of dead timberwolves laying near the pond, as well as several of the Lightning Dasher duplicates. The entire cave shook as the ground rumbled, sending ripples across the mirror pond. Sparklefly looked up instinctively, but there was nothing to see. They would have to go outside.

“Listen up,” Sparklefly said. “It’s time to take care of the changelings here. The six of you, guard our Twilights down here until it’s safe. The rest of you, don’t forget that we’re trying to find Scootaloo and Pibs out there. Kill any changeling or timberwolf you come across.”

“Yes ma’am,” they all answered in perfect unison.

“Alright then,” Sparklefly replied. Her heart was pounding in anticipation. She then cried out the order as loudly as she was able, “Charge!”

Thousands of hooves thundered up the ramp and into the tunnel to join the fight that was going on outside.

...

Scootaloo simply stood there in complete shock at what she was witnessing. The forest was blazing, and burning bits of the changeling net were already falling like snow flurries all over, quickly becoming nothing more than ash. Smoke filled the air, but the clearing where the fighting was happening was relatively safe from the flames, which were moving away due to a light breeze in the failing daylight as dusk had overtaken the sky. All of this was being ignored by the pegasus as she stared ahead. Out of the ground, hundreds upon hundreds of duplicates of Lightning Dasher poured and charged directly into the changeling force that was killing the ursas. The larger of the two, the ursa major, had already fallen. The baby was badly wounded; it wouldn’t last long. The changelings, realizing that they were under attack turned around and unleashed a savage barrage of magic, quite literally blasting hundreds of the Lightning Dashers to bits. They kept coming. The changelings managed to set up a firing line with nearly military precision, but the incoming duplicates of the pegasus spread out, coming from both sides to turn the flanks. The fury of the magical fire increased. More copies of Lightning Dasher flew straight up into the air and charged down. One got through, crashing into the enemies before he was killed. The ursa minor dropped to the forest floor with fatal wounds as timberwolves jumped upon it, ripping at it with their sharp teeth. At the same time, the changeling reservoirs of magic began to fail. A few more Lightning Dashers got through and began a melee struggle against changelings and timberwolves alike before being killed and pushed back. The Lightning Dashers kept coming. Panic swept through the group of changelings, and a dozen or so fled different directions into the forest as the rest continued battling hoof to hoof. Scootaloo could plainly see that the changelings were outmatched. Barely a moment later, hundreds of Lightning Dashers surrounded them on all sides. The outnumbered enemy put up a fierce struggle, but only briefly. In a matter of minutes, every changeling and timberwolf in the area was lying dead on the ground.

“I never imagined...” Pibs said.

The injured pink mare had managed to stand, but she didn’t put any weight on her broken leg.

“Come on,” Scootaloo said.

For the moment, the fighting was over and all was quiet but for the sporadic sound of coughing as the wind rushed in to feed the flames that crackled and consumed the vegetation. The pair of ponies worked their way through the bushes and toward the Lightning Dashers. Several of them spoke at once.

“Stop.”

Looking to each other, the closest of them stepped forward, “Applesauce.”

“Starswirl,” Scootaloo and Pibs said together.

That closest Lightning Dasher grinned and turned around, “I found Scootaloo and Pibs!” Looking back, he noticed Pibs’ left fore leg. “What did you do?”

He darted to her, and three more of his copies also came.

“She broke her leg in the fighting,” Scootaloo said. “I straightened it and made a splint.”

“You idiot!” he said, smacking her upside the head.

“Hey!” Scootaloo yelled back, ready to fight.

Lightning Dasher undid the bandage that tied the splint on; Pibs whimpered from the pain.

“First of all, you didn’t set this properly,” he chastised Scootaloo. “Second, you tied this so tight that she had no circulation. Are you trying to make sure Pibs loses a leg?”

Scootaloo’s face flushed in embarrassment. The four Lightning Dashers quickly found some smaller and straighter sticks to use as splints.

“This is going to hurt,” the one said to Pibs.

Two of them held her down while the one that spoke repositioned her broken leg. Pibs let out a scream through gritted teeth that felt like a knife stabbing Scootaloo. The fourth came back and they worked quickly to immobilize the appendage with their new splints. Pibs went limp, apparently having passed out.

One of the Lightning Dashers that had been holding her down said, “Seriously, did you even pay attention in basic field medic training?”

Anger began burning inside Scootaloo, but her attention quickly was taken when she saw Princess Twilight emerge from the underground. Scootaloo trotted quickly ahead but stopped short when she saw another princess follow her out. With the two of them were six more Lightning Dashers and Sparklefly, whose bandaged eye was soaked red. As for the duplicates of Lightning Dasher, there had to be still more than two-hundred milling about, not counting the dead that lay strewn about the forest floor. There could have been a thousand bodies. The living copies were forming a perimeter, and the majority of them were unarmed. The six, not to mention a few others, wore damaged armor. Two Twilights was a problem. How could they tell which one was the real one? They looked identical. One of the princesses looked up and smiled. Scootaloo glanced upward to see open sky above that grew darker with each passing minute. The fire, which was burning toward the south, had cleared the netting away. This would make their escape back to Ponyville much easier. A magical discharge caught Scootaloo’s attention, and she dropped into a combat stance and raised her crossbow, which wasn’t loaded. One of the Twilights had shot the other with some kind of magic from her horn. The other staggered backwards in a daze as the Lightning Dashers forcibly restrained the attacker. The victim fell over, and her facade fell away to reveal that it was a changeling. Scootaloo wasted no time loading her crossbow and closing the distance between them. One of the Lightning Dasher’s got there first. The changeling shrieked and blasted him with a bolt of magic, nearly taking his head off. He ducked out of the way and Scootaloo fired. The arrow lodged in the changeling’s chest, and it slumped down unmoving.

“I wish you hadn’t done that,” Sparklefly said.

Scootaloo looked at her, puzzled.

“I know you had to, but we might have been able to get some information from her.”

The Lightning Dasher that she had nearly killed stood up, a nasty gash on his cheek running horizontally under his right eye was bleeding freely.

“You okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, applying pressure to the injury. “That figures. I did it to myself.”

“Well, considering you nearly lost your head,” Sparklefly began, “I’d say it’s a small price.”

“Scootaloo!” Princess Twilight said.

Her guards released her and she ran to the pegasus and gave her an embrace.

“You brought ursas?” she said, backing away; she looked impressed.

“Well, you know,” Scootaloo said, feeling very proud of herself. She knew she needed to give credit where it was due, “It was Sparklefly’s idea.”

Timberwolves began howling somewhere nearby, which put everypony on alert.

“We have to go,” Sparklefly said.

“Alright, let’s get into the air,” Princess Twilight said. “Get the rest of the prisoners and let’s head for Ponyville!”

Scootaloo was dumbfounded to see how many ponies the changelings had already captured, most notably Silver Spoon. The howling drew closer, punctuating the need for alacrity in their evacuation of the site. Scootaloo hooked Pibs, who was now awake, to her harness; the group took flight through the gaping hole that they had burned through the changeling’s net, leaving behind at least a thousand dead copies of Lightning Dasher that were piled on the forest floor. Princess Twilight let out a blast of magic toward the entrance to the cave. The ground rumbled and smoky dust shot out of the hole. The group, several hundred strong formed up and headed west just as the last hints of daylight were failing. Once in formation and moving fast over the forest, they turned slightly to the north toward Ponyville.

“I cannot commend you all enough,” Twilight said. “You’ve shown some real tenacity and creative thinking to get us out of this mess. What is our status; where are the others?”

Sparklefly looked to Scootaloo, who realized that she must again fulfill her role as sergeant of the squad.

“Nitro was a changeling,” Scootaloo began, “Nimba and Regal Masquerade are dead. Cloud Blazer is wounded,” she paused, again having to face the concern that threatened to overpower her ability to think straight. She took a breath and continued as they flew away from the taste of smoke and death, “We left him with Zecora and Sweetie Belle; they are treating his injuries.”

“You found them?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’re safe for now, but we’ll need to go pick them up once its light. Ghastly Gorge is no place to be flying in the dark. Besides that, I don’t think it would be safe to move Cloud Blazer.”

“I see,” Twilight said, a hint of sorrow on her face. “How long had Nitro been tricking us?”

“His actual name was Ash Eater,” Scootaloo began.

“Is Ash Eater,” one of the Lightning Dashers interrupted with a scowl on his face. “He fled into the forest before we overran their position. He lives.”

Sparklefly answered, “If we can believe what he said, he had replaced the real Nitro after he was chosen for your squad. They knew everything about our mission that we knew.”

Twilight’s expression became even more grave. "That can only mean that there are other changelings already in Cloudsdale, and probably throughout Equestria."

Scootaloo said, "That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" Pibs asked.

Sparklefly answered, "Canterlot didn't fall from timberwolves. There were changelings on the inside that took down the shield. They must have been thwarting our efforts to defend the city all along."

Looking directly at her, Scootaloo said, "Thwarting? Really, Sparklefly? But you're right; that means we need to get back to Ponyville at once. If they're already under attack-"

Sparklefly finished, "They won't hold out long with barely two platoons and no shield."

“Then there’s no time to lose,” Princess Twilight said. “Let’s move, ponies! Don’t spare the horses!”

As they increased speed, Scootaloo asked, "What about the mirror pond? Did you destroy it?”

Twilight replied, ”No. I collapsed the entrance. That will slow them down, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. My magic isn't strong enough to undo it on my own. I’m going to need the others.”

This was a somewhat unsettling thought, but Scootaloo wasn’t concerned by it. The fact that they had unravelled the mystery concerning the changelings and how the timberwolves had multiplied was enough for now. She tried to not think about Cloud Blazer, Nimba, and Regal Masquerade, but it was difficult with nothing to occupy her mind as they sped toward Ponyville. It made her heart heavy, but the loss only hardened her resolve. If so much as a single changeling or timberwolf got in her way at Ponyville, she was determined, fueled by a slow-burning rage, to personally smash every last one of them.

...

Sparklefly urged everypony on as they hurtled back toward Ponyville as fast as their wings could carry them. It was a very unpleasant flight for everypony, especially when they first flew over the burning Everfree Forest. The air had been thick with smoke and ashes, blinding and choking all of them. Sparklefly had made a rough count of the Lightning Dashers. By her estimate, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of three-hundred of them left. Many had minor injuries, but they would have to deal with them after they landed. Ponyville came into view; the shield had already collapsed.

Princess Twilight ordered, "Give me one pass of Ponyville so we can assess their situation!"

"Copy that," a close Lightning Dasher acknowledged.

Scootaloo had just come up beside them again, "Twilight Squad, form up on us!"

The Lightning Dashers moved into formation, with Twilight leading the group with Silver Spoon and the rest of the rescued prisoners being carried by Lightning Dashers; this was cumbersome without harnesses. They were going to attempt to head to the castle, provided it was a safe place to land. They had to find the other Silver Spoon and expose her as a changeling. Undoubtedly, she would be the one responsible for the collapse of the magical defensive shield. A flare shot up into the night sky, brilliantly illuminating the town a pale blue-white. Fluttershy’s house on the eastern edge of town had already been overrun by timberwolves. The edge of the forest had been destroyed, the downed trees having taken a great number of timberwolves with them. Brax's forces were holding the the enemy at the river. There were only eighty-four of them total. Twelve Pegasi, eight unicorns, and sixty-four earth ponies was the total force that had been stationed at Ponyville. It seemed to Sparklefly as though their numbers had grown a bit. She saw many unarmored ponies with the defensive line. It looked as if some of Ponyville had come out to defend the town.

Probably three quarters of their earth ponies, and at least six unicorns were holding the river on the east side. The unicorns were spread out along the line, blasting the timberwolves with their magic. The river was slowing the beasts down, and the ones that were making it across weren't lasting very long. One squad of the Pegasus ponies were engaged on the north side of town, where a group of timberwolves was attempting to cross the railroad tracks to get around the river. More of the stick-dogs were heading that way, but their numbers hadn’t massed thick anywhere yet.

“We need twenty to go down and reinforce the chokepoint at those railroad tracks!" Sparklefly suggested.

Scootaloo looked down and then pointed at a group of unencumbered Lightning Dashers. "Consider yourselves under command of the ponies in charge at that position until we meet up again. Move out!"

"Yes ma'am!" they responded in unison, heading down for the battle.

Coming around left, they said goodbye to Princess Twilight’s group, which consisted of thirty Lightning Dashers and twenty-eight rescued prisoners. They were taking those they'd rescued to Twilight's castle, which was still safe. As Sparklefly and the rest of them came over Sweet Apple Acres, Sparklefly's heart sank. In the moonlight she could clearly see what had to be thousands upon thousands of timberwolves coming from the northwest. Where they had come from was baffling, but irrelevant; they were here. This side of Ponyville would be much less defensible, and they didn't have much time.

Sparklefly called out, "Alright, this is where we are going to have to join the battle. Sweet Apple Acres is where we'll make our stand." Pointing at one of the Lightning Dashers, she said, "I need you to fly to Cloudsdale, as fast as you can. Tell them that Ponyville is under heavy attack. The enemy force numbers in the thousands, and we need all available reinforcements immediately. Go!" He sped away. She pointed at another Lightning Dasher, "I need you to inform Brax of our situation. Let him know that we've got massive incoming from our flank off of Sweet Apple Acres; if he can spare a unicorn or two, we'd appreciate it. Afterwards, I want you to circle to all positions and keep us all advised as to how the other positions are fairing. Go!"

Scootaloo was beside Sparklefly, still carrying Pibs, she surveyed what was about to become a battlefield. "We're going to need high ground," she said.

"Yes, do you know any good spots?” Sparklefly asked.

Scootaloo gazed intently at the orchard. "It's all hills, nothing too steep. There is a sort of ridge that runs through the middle there, but the slopes are pretty gentle."

Sparklefly said, "That'll do. Listen up, Twilight Squad! We've got to protect Sweet Apple Acres from the timberwolves. Form up a fighting line on that ridge. We do not let them pass, understood?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" two-hundred and forty-two Lightning Dashers answered in unison.

And so they flew down, landing in the middle of the orchard. The Lightning Dashers quickly spread out into position as Scootaloo unhooked Pibs.

“So we hold here?” Scootaloo said.

“Yes,” Sparklefly replied. “With any luck, they’ll get the shield back up and buy us some time.” Looking over at Pibs and her broken fore-leg, Sparklefly considered their options. “If they don’t get the shield back up, we’ll be in trouble. Pibs, I want you to round up all of the civilians in the city; get all of them into the castle. If we aren’t able to hold this, that’s were we’ll fall back.”

“Okay,” Pibs said, her voice a little shaky as she turned and flew away into town.

“Take a Lightning Dasher with you, and see if there’s anything in the armory we can use!” Scootaloo ordered.

Two of the copies that were nearby followed Pibs into town.

If Sparklefly hadn't seen the timberwolves heading in, it would be a very peaceful night to be in the orchard. A soft and cool breeze gently tickled the tops of the trees. Sparklefly had little time to appreciate such things; she was far too nervous in anticipation of what was about to happen.

10 Overwhelmed

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Scootaloo saw a light come on in the farmhouse. Somepony must still be at Sweet Apple Acres, unaware that they were about to be attacked.

"Sparklefly," she said, "There are civilians still here."

Sparklefly glanced back, “Pibs didn’t check the house? Take a Lightning Dasher and evacuate everypony. Get them to the castle and report back here.”

Oddly, Scootaloo suddenly felt amused and was compelled to ask, “Which one of us is actually in charge?”

Sparklefly shook her head, apparently unamused, “We’ll figure it out later. Get going!”

"Copy that!" Scootaloo replied, her grin fading. Pointing at one of the Lightning Dashers, she said, "Come on."

"Yes ma'am!" he responded.

They set off at a gallop, and then flew into the air to cover the distance as quickly as possible. They could hear noise from the battle on the other side of town, but Sweet Apple Acres was eerily quiet. From the ground, there was no indication that timberwolves were coming. Scootaloo was feeling a bit awkward with all of the Lightning Dashers around. It was much easier to just have one with her now. They arrived at the house within moments, landing by the door. Scootaloo knocked hard and fast.

"It's Scootaloo, open up!"

The door opened, "Scootaloo? Where'd y’all come from?" Apple Bloom asked, a bit caught off guard.

"Get everypony out, it's time to go." Scootaloo said bluntly.

Applejack interrupted, “Hold it there. Go where, now?"

"We don't have time to talk," Scootaloo took a frantic tone. "There is a horde of timberwolves heading this way. The shield has failed, and it is time for you to leave."

"Oh no! I ain’t goin’ nowhere!" Applejack said stubbornly. "This here is my farm, and I'm not about to let no timberwolves on it."

"It is not safe here!" Lightning Dasher protested.

Applejack pushed passed Apple Bloom, "And I'm not leavin'."

"Applejack!" Scootaloo yelled at her. She took a slightly lower volume before continuing, "We don't have time for this. We will do everything we can to protect your farm and the rest of Ponyville, but right now there are several thousand timberwolves heading this way and I've already lost too many friends today. I can't do my job if I'm worried about your family.”

Apple Bloom seemed to understand just how severe the situation was becoming.

She said, "I'll get everypony ready," before going back inside.

A breeze fluttered through the trees. Scootaloo said, "You can rebuild later; I'll help. I just need you all to be safe.”

Much softer, Applejack said, "Alright, sugar cube. Just where are we supposed to go?"

"We'll head to the castle. It'll be the safest place in Ponyville." Lightning Dasher said.

...

"That's a great idea," Sparklefly commended one of the armored Lightning Dashers. He was the one that had gained a distinctive gash on his right cheek when the changeling tried to blast his head off. "I'm going to call you LD okay?"

He snorted at her, "Sure; will you be able to tell me apart from the rest of me?"

"Well enough," she answered. "Take fifty with you. There are rocky formations west south west of here. See if there's anything big enough. Just get back as quickly as you can."

"Yes ma'am," LD responded, and he gathered up a group and headed off.

The Lightning Dasher assigned to be the runner returned, landing hard. "Brax informs that he will send two unicorns immediately; that's all he can spare."

Sparklefly sighed, "It'll have to do."

“All other positions are still holding," he said. He then galloped off to continue his rounds.

Sparklefly rubbed at her bandaged left eye and looked up at the trees swaying in the gentle breeze. "Twilight Squad; well, I guess we’re more of a battalion now. Twilight Battalion, listen up! I've got a plan."

...

Pibs felt her heart pounding in her chest. The noise of the fighting from the east side of town by the river was growing louder as she banged on doors and ordered the occupants to evacuate their homes. Most of them had a wild look of terror on their faces. Pibs understood exactly what they felt. It hadn’t left her since they first got into combat in the forest. It would strengthen and lessen in intensity, but fear had become a constant companion. This had certainly been the the most eventful day Pibs had ever seen since her family had been killed. The thought threatened to bring heavy sadness back to her heart. She swallowed hard and hobbled to the next building with her Lightning Dasher escorts following. Pibs managed to push the sadness aside as she approached a coffee house, but the fear was unshakeable.

...

Scootaloo and Lightning Dasher led the Apple family, Pinkie Pie, and the Cakes into Ponyville toward the castle. The group was quiet, even Pinkie, which was unnerving in and of itself. There were some ponies running this way and that. Many of the houses had already been shut up, and a growing crowd was already heading where Scootaloo and Lightning Dasher were telling everypony to go: the castle. As they rounded up everypony they could find, they came upon Silver Spoon. She was going to pass by them, heading toward Sweet Apple Acres.

"Silver Spoon, what are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked.

She replied, "The mayor has put me in charge of the civilians, and we're getting volunteers to help defend the river."

"Where is Princess Twilight?" Scootaloo asked.

There was a moment of hesitation on Silver Spoon's face, and both Lightning Dasher and Scootaloo realized that she was the changeling, not the real Silver Spoon. She saw the change in their faces as they recognized her for what she was. There was no time to waste.

"Get her!" Scootaloo ordered, but it was too late.

As they charged in, a bolt of green magic ripped right through Lightning Dasher, killing him instantly. With a single flap of her wings, Scootaloo was in the air, and she came down knife out before the changeling could fire again. The false Silver Spoon deflected Scootaloo's knife, and they both sprawled on the ground. It quickly became a wrestling match as Scootaloo scrambled on top and pushed the changeling's face into the earth, redirecting what would have been a fatal blast; dirt shot into the air and rained down all around. She couldn't get her knife in position. The changeling managed a leg twist, sending Scootaloo tumbling over on her back with her assailant on top. As her eyes glowed green with lethal intent, Apple Bloom’s powerful hind hooves landed squarely on the changeling's chest. Scootaloo heard a snapping noise as her adversary fell hard. Scootaloo seized the advantage, flipping over on top of the foe and stabbing it through for good measure. The changeling, still bearing the look of Silver Spoon convulsed before going limp. Applejack and the Cakes were looking on in shock at what had just taken place. Pinkie Pie and the children were gone.

"Come on," Scootaloo said stoically as she stood, adrenaline surging through her veins. She felt odd having killed that changeling. Even with her history with the real Silver Spoon, killing her wasn’t ever even a consideration. There was a strange satisfaction in it that left a foul aftertaste in Scootaloo’s soul. She was brought back to the moment by the others.

Apple Bloom was visibly upset, "But, your friend; Lightning Dasher!"

Scootaloo glanced back at his smoldering remains. He had practically been incinerated.

"He'll be fine," she said.

Her statement elicited a disgusted look from the others.

"It's kind of a long story, and I'd love to tell it, but we have to get moving. Where’s Pinkie?”

“She ran off toward the castle with the young ‘uns when the fight started,” Applejack said.

“Let's go,” Scootaloo said dryly.

They followed her through the chaos that was overtaking the streets of Ponyville.

...

Sparklefly's little battalion of Lightning Dashers had formed up in the trees, leaving only fifty or so on the ground, out of sight. They could now hear the first sounds of timberwolf activity somewhere out in the darkness, breaking the calm of the night. The wind was rustled the leaves of the apple trees and tension filled the air. They had ripped several branches out of the trees to use as makeshift spears.

Ahead in the darkness, Sparklefly could now make out movement. They were getting closer. A little here; a little more there. Within moments there wasn't anywhere to look ahead without seeing the steady uneven movement of timberwolves skulking through the orchard. They cascaded over the hills like a tide washing in. Hiding behind the trees, the ground force was prepared for initial contact.

Suddenly breaking into a run, the timberwolves swept in rapidly, perhaps not expecting any resistance. According to plan, as the timberwolves approached the tree line on the ridge, the grounded pony's kicked out from behind the trees, taking out the entire first row. Then the second group came down from the trees, knocking out the rows behind. Their momentum was halted, and a snarling and howling went up all across the line as the battle was joined.

There were hooves and claws flying every direction. Stamping, chomping, biting, scratching, impaling. The trees were invaluable as shields against the timberwolves, and Twilight Brigade used them masterfully for cover. They had slowed the advance, but there was no end of the timberwolves in sight. They continued pouring through the trees almost as fast as they could be taken out.

...

Pibs and her Lightning Dasher escorts had reached the center of town, but that left many houses to check. Her broken fore-leg pulsed with dull aching pain with each beat of her heart. She took a drink from her canteen.

“That’s a lot of houses,” the Lightning Dashers said simultaneously.

“Yeah,” Pibs said. “I think we should split up. You need to head to the armory anyway and see if there’s anything Sparklefly can use. I’ll take this right and head to the end of town.”

“Okay,” the one Lightning Dasher said.

“I’ll get everything toward the river on the north side and work my way back south,” the other agreed.

“Sounds good,” Pibs said, feeling nervous. “I’ll see you back at the castle.”

“Right,” they said together.

The three went their separate ways. Pibs had a sinking feeling in her heart, but there was nothing to do about it; she found the next house and banged on the door.

...

Scootaloo had led her party past earthen and garbage-made breastworks barricades that were now being rapidly constructed around the castle. Each end met at the castle walls and went out circularly, somewhat in the shape of a horseshoe.

”You'll be safe here, just stay inside. We'll come get you when it's over,” Scootaloo reassured the Apple family and the Cakes.

"Thanks, sugar cube," Applejack said. “Sorry I was fussy.”

Apple Bloom asked, “Where’s Cloud Blazer. Is he...?" she couldn't finish.

"What? Oh, no! He's fine. He's here somewhere," she lied convincingly.

Apple Bloom seemed relieved. Scootaloo felt bad for lying to her friend, but she just didn't have time or the emotional stability to explain what had happened right now. She put it from her mind as they disappeared inside the castle.

"Scootaloo," Princess Twilight called to her. "What is our situation?"

There were still thirty Lightning Dashers with her.

Scootaloo reported, "We've deployed twenty to the northeast railroad crossing to hold it. We're being outflanked at Sweet Apple Acres; Sparklefly is commanding over two-hundred at that position. They won’t get past us without a fight.”

Twilight said, "We need to find the fake Silver Spoon."

"That's already been dealt with, ma'am," Scootaloo said.

"Is she dead?" Twilight asked.

"Yes ma'am," Scootaloo said dryly, still having uncertain feelings on that matter.

The Lightning Dasher that was sent to scout landed right beside them. "Pardon my intrusion. There's been an increase in the timberwolves at the bridge. We've got several casualties and need to reinforce in order to hold that position."

The princess said, "We're on it! Come with me."

"Yes ma'am!" Scootaloo replied.

Twilight, Scootaloo, and the Lightning Dashers took flight and headed straight for the bridge. Glancing to her right, Scootaloo could see the fighting at the river was looking more intense than before. The unicorn magic was much less prominent, and there were already many casualties, but they were still holding the timberwolves at bay. Turning back ahead, the bridge was in a much more desperate situation. It was crawling with timberwolves. There were only six ponies left defending it; all of the previously dispatched Lightning Dashers lay dead on the tracks across the length of it. The timberwolves were piled thick and landing blow after blow of their sharp claws onto the defenders, most of which bounced harmlessly off of the armor of those that wore it, but the vicious beasts were pushing them back. The ponies were using the bridge as a bottleneck to help reduce the fighting effectiveness of the enemy, but there were many hundreds trying to cross. The bodies were helping to block the way.

"Follow me, we're going in," Princess Twilight called out.

As they got near, she sent a purple blast of magic sizzling though the air that knocked a gaping hole in the middle of the timberwolves in a line that stretched all the way across the bridge. They flew in fast, sweeping through the enemy and pushing the beasts back across to the other side. Ferocious fighting met them, inflicting painful wounds throughout the group.

...

Sparklefly saw a buildup on the left flank toward the barn, and she redirected twenty of her Lightning Dashers over to that side. Several had already fallen from their injuries, the lack of armor being a primary cause for reducing their fighting effectiveness. Their ranks were spread out more than she'd like, but there were just too many timberwolves. The ponies were holding their own, but they were already tired from their exertions of the day, and the lack of proper weapons was crippling to their abilities.

A massive surge in the timberwolves pushed through the line just right of center, and the stick-dogs began flooding through. Sparklefly darted through the air with only a single armored Lighting Dasher following. They charged headlong into the gap, stopping it up, but twenty or so timberwolves got past them and were heading into town. It would have been considered odd behavior if there hadn’t been changelings directing this attack, none of which had dared to show themselves as of yet.

Flashes of light bolted through the night behind them. A pair of unicorns had engaged the timberwolves that got through the line, making short work of them. They came up into the weak spot and began blasting away at the incoming enemy, cutting down their numbers. Lightning Dashers reformed the line, keeping the timberwolves at bay. Sparklefly was able to disengage and get back to the unicorns. She took a look up and down the line, and it was holding again.

"Thank you, sirs,” she said to the pair of stallions. The taller of the two was white with a golden mane and tail. He had searching blue eyes that implied an unspoken wisdom beyond his years. The other was tan, with a dark brown mane and tail that matched his eyes. “Your arrival was most timely.”

"Thank you ma'am. I'm Radiant Pyre, and the short one is Clyde," Radiant Pyre said with a salute.

Sparklefly said, "They're building up pretty fast, but we should be able to hold them here a while longer. Do you know if anypony has worked on defenses farther inside town in case we have to fall back? Have the civilians been evacuated?”

Radiant Pyre answered, "Yes ma'am. Lieutenant Brax has two squads plus some civilians building makeshift barricades around the castle. If we get pushed back, we're to rendezvous there; it’s a good spot. As for the evacuation, there was not an order for it, but I saw some of yours rounding up civilians and sending them to the castle. Good thinking.”

"Excellent,” Sparklefly answered. “Clyde, how would you like to have the high ground?”

"Yes ma'am," the shorter stallion replied with a wicked grin.

"I'll have one of mine get you on top of that barn. You'll have good visibility on our entire left flank from there; well, as good as moonlight gives.”

“I brought some flares. They won't pass me ma'am, not before they’re crispy," he said with a salute.

She couldn’t help but smile at his bravado.

...

It may have been been Pibs’ idea to split up, but she was already regretting the decision. Now she found herself alone on the south end of Ponyville. The last building ahead of her was the schoolhouse. It would be empty at this time of night, but she felt the need to check it in spite of that certainty. For such a happy place for little colts and fillies to spend their time, it had an eerie feeling about it in the darkness as the sounds of battle came from all sides. She took a sip from her canteen to try to quench the dryness of her mouth. The next sound Pibs heard made her heart sink. Somewhere at the school, a foal’s laughter rang out.

Pibs secured her canteen and hobbled ahead as quickly as she could on three legs, the broken one sending pain shooting through with each step. Everything seemed quiet enough, but she turned and ran around the side of the schoolhouse to discover the playground. On the swings, a colt and a filly were playing as if without a care in the world. The air was thick with the stench of timberwolves. This area was beyond the right flank of Brax’s forces. It was effectively a gap in the defenses. Sparklefly had the northwest covered at Sweet Apple Acres, and the river ran across the east toward the south side of town. Between the river and the rocky formations to the west was this undefended gap. Surely there were air patrols, but Pibs hadn’t seen any in the darkness. If there were incoming, she’d have to get out of here, quickly.

“Hi!” one of the foals greeted her, leaping out of his swing and trotting up to her. “Are you a soldier?”

“Yes, I am,” Pibs replied, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

“I’m going to be a soldier when I get big and strong!” the colt exclaimed.

Pibs heard a snarling sound somewhere nearby; she had to convince these two to come with her.

“Is that your sister?”

“She is,” the colt replied as the filly got off of her swing and approached warily.

“What are you doing here?” Pibs asked, her eyes scanning for any signs of danger. She knew it was close, but she couldn’t see it.

“Mommy said to always come to the school if we were lost or scared,” the little colt recited.

“We’re supposed to wait for teacher,” the filly said, hiding behind her brother.

That gave Pibs an idea.

“Well, you did great,” she tried to sound upbeat. “I was sent to get you. Everypony in town is going to the castle right now so the soldiers can fight off the timberwolves.”

“Did you get hurt?” the colt asked, pointing at Pibs’ broken fore-leg.

She nodded, “I did while I was fighting. We need to go to the castle.”

The filly shrank almost out of sight behind her brother. Pibs had to think of something.

“I bet you two are really fast,” Pibs said.

“I, I’m the faster, fast,” the colt stumbled over his words in excitement. “I’m fastest!”

“Nuh uh!” his sister protested.

“I know how we can find out,” Pibs said. “I’ll race you to the castle!”

“But you’re all grown up!” the colt protested.

Pibs heard a rustling in the foliage nearby. She still couldn’t see them, but the timberwolves were close.

“But my leg is hurt. I’ll only run on three legs,” Pibs said. “Come on, I bet you can’t beat me.”

She turned as if she were going to run. The light of exuberance filled the little colt’s eyes and he took off at a gallop. His sister, caught somewhere between surprise and anger bolted after him as Pibs trotted behind to keep up.

“You cheated!” the filly said.

“I’m faster than you!” the colt squealed with delight.

The three rushed through the darkness deeper into town. All of Pibs’ senses were on the alert. With every step, stabbing pain intensified and shot through her from the broken limb. As the trio moved up the path, a timberwolf sprang out of the bushes on the right. The filly screamed when she saw it, but Pibs was close. She pivoted on her good fore-hoof and came around with both hind legs. Her kick found its mark in the timberwolf’s throat and jaw as it was about to snap the little filly’s head. Hooves connected with a cracking that sounded like a thunderbolt; the beast fell dead.

“Run!” Pibs screamed.

The colt moved even faster now, but the filly turned back, grabbing Pibs’ broken leg. She let out a noise that was more a grunt than a cry. Grabbing the filly with her good fore-hoof, she flapped her wings to get into the air. She stayed near the ground to keep the colt close. Pibs felt a little dizzy and sick; she was unsure if they would make it to the castle.

...

Scootaloo was fighting desperately on the bridge. It had become a complete knock-down drag-out fight in close quarters. Even if she’d had more bolts for her crossbow, she didn’t have time to reload it. Timberwolves were climbing over the piles of the dead to get at them. The ponies were down to half strength now, but they were determined to hold the bridge if it killed them. Scootaloo was becoming concerned that it might come to that, but there wasn't time to dwell on such thoughts. There were just too many timberwolves crawling through that had to be smashed. The one edge they had was Twilight’s alicorn magic and her ability to blend it so seamlessly with physical attacks. She would create a weak shield to take a hit or to, then crush the incoming enemy with her hooves. Sometimes she would blast away with concussive magic that would blow the beasts apart. Scootaloo had previously seen the princess perform much more powerful feats. She was saving her strength. The training she’d had in Cloudsdale had improved her abilities as a fighter.

A blinding flash of light from the river swept through town and lit up the night. It was quickly followed by a boom that rattled the structure of the bridge they were standing on. Scootaloo glanced back, but it was too far away to see what had happened, and there were buildings blocking her view. It was soon followed by another, and another that was much farther away.

The Lightning Dasher scout landed behind them. Scootaloo only had a moment to glance back; he was looking as tired as everypony else was, and he'd been wounded. He now wore a bandage that was already soaked with blood on his right flank.

"Ma'am," he shouted to Princess Twilight. "Brax's forces have destroyed the bridges on the east side of Ponyville to slow the enemy advance. He requests that you keep this bridge intact and hold it. That is all."

Scootaloo called back, "If we have to hold this thing, try and get us some reinforcements, we're getting slaughtered over here."

A fresh push from the timberwolves swept into their lines, and the fighting continued with Twilight loudly blasting magic to thin their numbers. Scootaloo didn’t know if the scout had heard her.

...

Sparklefly had withdrawn herself to the rear. She'd been thrown against a tree, and her wing hurt. She didn’t think she’d be able to fly for a while. Her previous eye injury had soaked the bandage on the left side of her face. One of the Lightning Dashers had just removed it and was applying a fresh one. She was weary from the day. Her legs ached, her wings were bruised, she'd been cut and shot, who even knew how many times, and she was afraid she’d lost an eye.

As Lightning Dasher completed the bandage, Sparklefly took a very concerned look at her fighting line. It was holding, but without any reserves. It wouldn't take but a fault in one position to send the timberwolves crashing through again.

"Hey, Sparklefly! We found some gear at the castle,” LD, the Lightning Dasher with the gash on his face, called from overhead.

She looked up just in time to see him and his fifty flying overhead with large rocks strapped to their harnesses hanging beneath them. They flew passed, circled up and came down between the trees, letting their payloads hang just low enough to smash timberwolves as they went by. The rocks were heavy enough that they pounded through them like a hot knife through warm butter. Timberwolves were going down left and right. The ponies were gaining the advantage.

A volley of magical energy took out the Lightning Dasher that was standing next to Sparklefly with a direct hit to his head. She dropped low and returned to the line, taking cover behind a tree. LD and his group were now taking fire as well and dropping fast. The reduction in their numbers didn’t go unnoticed. Clyde and Radiant Pyre began firing their own lethal magic in the direction of the changeling fire, but the trees obscured the result. Three successive explosions split the night somewhere on the other side of town. Sparklefly had no way to know what it was, but it couldn’t be good. If they could just hold out a little bit longer, maybe help could arrive. Sparklefly realized that this was a problematic hope at best. They'd only sent that request to Cloudsdale a half hour ago, maybe. They would be on their own for at least another hour or two. In the mean-time, they were paying dearly for their lack of armor.

...

Pibs was distracted by the sounds of things exploding somewhere near the river and didn’t see the tree limb that caught her full in the face. She tumbled through the air as the the filly on her back screamed. She was able to manage a half twist and not land on her broken limb, but she got a mouthful of dry dusty earth. Her broken fore-leg was throbbed with a stabbing pain. The little filly fell off and crashed into a fence that ran alongside the road. The little colt ran back to them.

“Are you okay?” he asked, puffing for breath as his sister let out a loud wailing cry. He looked up behind them and yelled, “Look out!”

Pibs tired muscles pushed her upright as she glanced backwards. A timberwolf was mid air, jaws wide open; it was too late to avoid the beast. It collided with the armored pony, sending the pair of them sprawling. Teeth sank into Pibs’ right shoulder, penetrating her armor and ripping at her. She got her legs against the body of the creature and pushed it away, but it shook its head to deepen the wound. If she hadn’t been wearing armor, the beast might have ripped her shoulder to shreds. Pibs found her knife and jammed it into the throat of the timberwolf multiple times until it released her. She pushed it away and scrambled back onto her hooves, and then she drove a death blow through the head of her adversary. She staggered backward, her energy spent. Assessing her shoulder proved impossible, but while it was bleeding, it didn’t seem to be a deep wound. Turning back to the foals, they were hiding behind the fence.

Without even time to catch her breath, Pibs said, “I’m fine. We have to go!”

Both of the little ones were crying quietly now. The memory of what Scootaloo had done for her in Canterlot came to mind.

“Hey,” Pibs said softly as she drew closer. “We can’t have any of that.” She looked directly at the colt. “My name is Pibs, what’s yours?”

“Shrub Keeper,” he said with a tremor of fear in his voice.

“You’re the oldest. You have to protect your sister. You have to get her to the castle.”

Over the sounds of battle on the other ends of town, more howling could be heard.

“You hear them,” Pibs continued. “There are more coming. You won’t be safe until you get to the castle. I’ll do everything I can to help you, but you have to be strong right now.”

“I’m scared!” the little colt whined.

“I know you are. I’m scared too,” Pibs admitted.

Shrub Keeper sniffled and through a confused look said, “But you’re a soldier.”

“Nopony is old enough or well enough trained to not be scared sometimes,” Pibs said softly. Her eyes quickly scanned the area before looking back at the little colt. “To be a soldier, they teach us how to overcome it and keep fighting. Right now, I need you to run to the castle. I’ll be with you, but if I fall behind or anything happens to me, I need you to keep going.”

“Okay,” the little colt said shakily.

“Promise me; Promise Pibs that you’ll get your sister to the castle.”

“I...” he hesitated. “I promise.”

“Okay, now move!” Pibs said.

As the foals started running, the colt was practically dragging his sister along behind him. Pibs did a final check around to make sure they weren’t in any other immediate danger. No threats spotted, she trotted to keep up with the children, her broken leg and hurt shoulder shooting spasms of pain with every step.

...

Scootaloo and the remainder of their force had been compelled to retreat back across the bridge. There were only six of them left, including herself and Twilight Sparkle. The situation was bad, but Princess Twilight seemed determined to stop the timberwolves at this position. She hit them with a temporal phase spell that slowed their movements a little, but they kept coming. Even if strength didn’t give out, which it soon would, there just weren’t enough of them left to properly defend. Another Lightning Dasher fell from a swipe to the throat. He sputtered as he slammed to the earth, but nopony could help him. In moments, he bled out and died; now there were only five. Scootaloo had a brief flash of her own mortality when she heard a battle cry from behind that quickened the flow of blood through her veins, and twenty earth ponies from Brax’s force charged in to the rescue. They were fresh, and they swept right into the timberwolves, pushing them back across the bridge. Scootaloo and the squad, exhausted, followed behind them and joined their formation.

...

Sparklefly was there, but it happened so suddenly that there wasn't a thing anypony could have done about it even if there had been twice as many of them. The failing light of the latest flare that Clyde had fired revealed timberwolf numbers surging to such a point that they were crawling and clawing over each other to get at the defensive line on the ridge. They were simply overpowered, and any sense of a proper fighting line crumbled within moments. Sparklefly was horrified to see her brigade getting completely destroyed. Radiant Pyre was beside her, blasting away freely at the timberwolves.

"We can't hold this," she said gravely, mostly to herself. Then she cried out as loudly as she was able, "Fall back! All personnel, fall back!" Casting a glance over at the barn, she could see that Clyde was firing nonstop into a mass of timberwolves that was trying to get up the side of the structure at him. The Lightning Dasher that had been with him lay dead nearby. "LD, go get Clyde off the roof," she called to him.

With a nod, LD dropped his little boulder, smashing three timberwolves, and then he sped off to the barn. And so the retreat began. Sparklefly and Radiant Pyre turned and took off at a gallop back toward town, and with one of the Lightning Dashers lifting Sparklefly due to her injured wing, the rest of her shrinking brigade took to the air.

...

Scootaloo was impressed by the earth ponies that had reinforced their position. However, just when things were looking up, it fell apart. One of the Lightning Dashers began shouting something inaudible from the rear, and Scootaloo turned to see a mob of timberwolves coming at them from the Ponyville side of the bridge. Either the river side where Brax was defending or Sparklefly at Sweet Apple Acres had let them through. No report had come from the scout, which could only mean that things were getting bad.

“Contact rear!” Scootaloo cried out as she thundered across the bridge toward the incoming timberwolves.

Several of the earth ponies joined her, but dividing their force made them weak at both ends. They were now completely cut off. Scootaloo considered flying away, but the earth ponies wouldn't be able to retreat. Fighting their way out seemed the only option. They didn’t have anypony to spare, but they needed help. Twilight was relying more heavily on her magic now, a clear sign that the situation was only getting worse.

Pointing at one of the Lightning Dashers, she called out, "Go find Sparklefly and get us some reinforcements!"

He bolted straight up into the air and turned toward Sweet Apple Acres, but he didn't even get past the river before he was shot down by changeling magic. Twilight grunted in frustration and let out a blast that ripped all the way across the bridge. More timberwolves filled the gap in moments and charged toward them. No help would be coming.

...

Pibs got dizzy and fell to a sitting position as the world spun around her. She closed her eyes and held her head with her good hoof. The broken one felt numb and tingly, which was better than the pain, however it was undoubtedly not a good sign of her overall health.

“Are you okay?” Shrub Keeper, the little colt, asked.

“I’m fine,” Pibs said.

The fit passed after another minute or so. The sounds of battle began growing louder, or perhaps closer. Recovered, Pibs regained a standing position. The three of them continued forward at a much slower pace. They had arrived near the heart of town, which appeared to be deserted. She wasn’t sure why, but Pibs was overcome with a strong feeling of dread in addition to the fear she already felt.

“Get down, behind that,” she pointed to a garbage can that sat beside a building.

The little colt and filly did as she asked without question. Pibs also pressed herself flat against the wall. Between the position and the darkness of night, they were well concealed. From this vantage point, she could see the town hall across the open area that surrounded it on all sides: town square. Everything seemed quiet, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen, and so they waited. If they’d kept running, they’d have made it across the square by now. Pibs had just decided that her nerves were getting the best of her when a small pack of timberwolves ran by in the town square ahead of them. They had come from the east side of town.

“Follow me,” Pibs said.

Turning back, they went back amongst the buildings and turned to the west toward where Sparklefly would be defending Sweet Apple Acres. If she had harnesses or were in better condition, she might try to fly the foals to the castle. As it was, she didn’t think she could carry more than one, and leaving either of them behind was out of the question. Attempting to sneak through town seemed to be the best option as they moved silently to the next building.

...

Sparklefly quickly assessed the new position they had found. LD and Radiant Pyre were with her.

”This'll do, reform the line here!" she ordered.

They had found a place on the west side of town that the houses were close enough together to provide some structure to slow the timberwolves down. Looking around, she could tell that her brigade was as tired as she was. They had outpaced the timberwolves, but not by much. They would only have a couple of minutes to prepare for incoming. The bandage on her injured left eye was burning again; she wondered whether it was something that would heal properly.

"I'm sorry about Clyde," LD said.

“What happened?” Sparklefly asked.

“He had never made it off of the barn. They were all over the roof, and he fell back to the other end. Two more seconds and I’d have been there before he fell off the back into the swarm of them. I just couldn’t get there in time.”

"Not your fault," Radiant Pyre said coldly. "I'm going topside," he said, trotting off to a nearby house.

The line was reformed and ready for action. Radiant Pyre began firing from a second story window, illuminating the timberwolves and helping to cut down their numbers. Another daylight flare was fired by somepony on the other side, but it went up directly over Ponyville this time. It illuminated the battlefield in a pale blue light. It revealed the ever-increasing numbers of timberwolves as they swarmed through, overrunning Sweet Apple Acres and coming into the outskirts of town. The situation was grim. Sparklefly calculated that half of the Lightning Dashers must have already been killed on the farm. The savage beasts arrived, and her weary force joined the battle once more.

...

The bridge was lost, and Scootaloo knew it. By light of the last flare that had been fired, it was plain that they were completely overrun by the burgeoning numbers of the timberwolves. She, Princess Twilight, and the remainder of the earth ponies had all fallen back to the center where they were fighting for their lives, backs to each other. All of their Lightning Dashers had been killed, and no reinforcements would be coming. They really had only two options left. They could either abandon the bridge and hope they survived the jump into the river, or they could stand their ground and die fighting. Green magical light from overhead caught Scootaloo’s attention. Twilight threw up a shield at the last second. The impacts of the magical attack smashed loudly into it. The princess burst away into thin air, appearing above the bridge near their assailants. She let out a blast of magic and then teleported again before they could fire at her. Popping up behind them she killed another one. The last three turned to flee, but she cut them all down before returning to the bridge.

“We’re in trouble,” Scootaloo called to the princess, who was directly behind her now.

“We have to get out of here,” Twilight called out.

“You mean we’re going swimming?” one of the earth ponies called back.

“Can you teleport us?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not in the middle of this. We’ll have to jump!”

“Buy me five seconds and consider it done!” the earth pony yelled.

“How long can you survive the river?” Scootaloo asked as she reared back and came down, crushing a timberwolf.

“The rest of my life,” he yelled back, grunting as he smashed another one. “Longer than here!”

In another time and place, Scootaloo might have been amused by such a statement.

“Five seconds; you've got it!" the princess replied as she let out a burst of magic that shattered many and pushed even more timberwolves this way and that back away from the ponies. It electrified the air and send a burning tingle throughout Scootaloo’s body. Twilight staggered before regaining her balance.

Without a hesitation, all of the remaining earth ponies jumped off of the bridge, diving into the river below on the downstream side. Scootaloo and Princess Twilight also leapt, wings bearing them through the air, leaving the timberwolves and the bridge behind. They were compelled to stay low and fast by incoming fire. The river nearly lapped against their hooves before they put enough distance from the bridge to gain altitude. As they climbed into the sky, Scootaloo was in a kind of awe at the destruction before her. An orange glow of flames from the Everfree Forest was helping to light the town. Brax's forces had fallen back from the river and were retreating house to house as the timberwolves advanced. The southern side of town and Sweet Apple Acres were completely overrun, and the fighting on the west end of Ponyville was intense. Their right flank had been turned, and timberwolves were sweeping up the line. Sparklefly's side was on the verge of being routed.

"There!" Princess Twilight called out, pointing down at the river below.

All seven of the remaining earth ponies had surfaced without their armor. They were making for the bank at the northeast corner of town. It wasn’t exactly a safe place, but it was better than the other bank, and it would be fine for a brief rendezvous. Princess Twilight and Scootaloo turned, flying down to meet up with them.

...

Sparklefly’s canteen was empty, but thirst was the least of her worries. Their right flank was heavily embattled, and she didn’t think they’d be able to push back again.

"This position is folding; we must withdraw!" LD yelled to Sparklefly.

She was pretty sure that his assessment was correct.

Just then, the Lightning Dasher scout came down. "Ma'am, Brax's force has suffered heavy casualties. They are falling back to the castle barricades, and he orders you to do the same. Princess Twilight’s position on the bridge has been overrun. Nopony has seen them.”

"Copy that! LD, go get Radiant Pyre safely back to the castle." She then called out very loudly, "Twilight Brigade, we are leaving! Fall back to the castle!"

Their right flank had been crushed by the timberwolves, and their retreat went badly. Timberwolves had already gained the town behind their position. They had no choice but to fly out. They fought their way into the air, only to be shredded by changeling magic that split the sky. Their organization fell apart on the way. LD and Radiant Pyre stayed close to Sparklefly and the Lightning Dasher that carried her as they sped toward the castle.

...

Pibs managed to get the foals and herself concealed in a bush just before the pack of timberwolves ran through. They had avoided two other groups already. The defenses of the town must be in poor shape to let so many through. She could already see the top of the castle in the distance. It wasn’t much farther. She just had to wait for their moment. She took a drink from her canteen, a difficult task while shaking. Pibs tried to calm herself by thinking of her friends. They were counting on her to complete the evacuation, and these two little ones were part of that. She had to get them to the castle. The little filly was crying, and it started getting a little noisy.

Pibs shushed her and whispered, “Just a little longer now and we’ll be at the castle. Don’t you worry, little one. I need you to be brave like your brother. Be brave for Pibs.”

The little colt was also scared, but he stuck his chest out proudly at the praise. At this moment, Pibs would have given anything to have one of her friends with her.

...

Scootaloo helped the last of the earth ponies out of the water. None of them had drowned, which brought their total number to nine. They were sitting by the bank, watching the fighting in town in an eerie moment of peace that they had found. The sound of the river made it difficult to hear much else.

Scootaloo asked, "Do we ferry them in two by two?”

Twilight shook her head, "No, too dangerous. Even if I shield us, we’ll be a huge target.” Covered in sweat with eyes that betrayed the level of effort she’d expended, she looked exhausted.

No sooner had this been suggested than magical attacks filled the air on the west side of town. Scootaloo felt sick to see so many ponies being shot down, especially since she knew that Sparklefly and Pibs were somewhere in the middle of it.

"Well, what then?" Scootaloo asked.

Twilight seemed engrossed in thought and didn’t reply immediately. Scootaloo took a look at the earth pony soldiers. They were all wounded in one way or another. There were bruises and cuts on everypony. Several had been hit with shrapnel as well.

“We can teleport,” Princess Twilight finally responded.

"Into the middle of that?" one of the earth ponies asked, seeming uncertain.

"No," Twilight said. "We'll go directly into the throne room. That should be far enough away from the fighting. I didn’t want to do it from the bridge because I was afraid I might leave somepony behind. I can take all of us at once, but I need a moment to concentrate.”

They stood silently for a few moments while Twilight prepared herself. As the magical energy began to envelop them, Scootaloo felt almost weakened from it. It was similar awakening to find your muscles won’t respond for a while. Then, with a flash of light and a loud popping sound, a blast of wind seemed to hit from all sides. The next thing Scootaloo knew, she was in the throne room of Princess Twilight’s castle. They were standing on the large map that had sent the princess and her friends on many adventures. The room was filled with a collective gasp of many citizens of Ponyville that were already crammed inside.

...

Sparklefly and many of the Lightning Dashers came in for hard landings at the barricade. The night was full of shouting and the sounds of battle. LD and Radiant Pyre were still with her. Timberwolves were roaring, aimlessly charging through town, prowling for anypony that they could find. They finally reached the barricade, getting over the top of it. Brax was in the center, shouting orders, and the remains of his platoon had formed up around the makeshift defenses, and they were already pushing timberwolves off of the east side. About two dozen Lightning Dashers had already landed and formed up as well. The rest came in at a steady pace.

"Where's my scout?" Sparklefly called out.

"He got shot down," one of the earth ponies informed her.

A quick count of their forces painted a dismal picture. They had only a hundred and thirty-four Lightning Dasher's remaining in Ponyville, and Brax's forces weren't doing much better. Only twenty-five of his earth ponies, three unicorns and one pegasus remained. The rest of his pegasi had been sent out hours before to call for aide, but none had returned. Well below half strength, they had basically now abandoned the entire town. The only good news was that the citizens had been safely evacuated into the castle. They were safe for the moment, but it was fewer than two-hundred soldiers that now stood between them and death and the paws of the timberwolves.

Sparklefly reported in to Brax, "At your command, sir."

Brax said, "The battle does not go well, but we have you to thank that we've lasted this long."

Princess Twilight came out of the castle with Scootaloo and joined them. "What is our situation, lieutenant?"

Brax bowed slightly, "Grim, your majesty. Every one of these defenders is worth ten or more timberwolves, but even so we are outmatched.”

Scootaloo said, “It looks like Pibs got the civilians all safe for now, but it won't be long before they hit us with everything they have on all sides.”

"I agree," Sparklefly said.

"Did you bring any survivors back from the bridge?" Brax asked Twilight.

"Only seven made it back with us," she replied.

"That brings our total strength to a hundred and seventy-four with three unicorns and one alicorn. We might make something out of that," Brax said.

Twilight said, "Now that we're all in here, I thought I might try a barrier."

Brax agreed, "Go ahead, but my unicorns have been trying ever since the town shield collapsed. They haven't been able to get one to hold together. The attempt also seems to be draining on them far more than before."

The princess said, "Maybe we can channel our strength together and work something out. Please send the unicorns to the observation post on top of the castle. I'll meet them there immediately.”

Brax said, "Yes ma'am."

Twilight trotted briskly into the castle.

“Have you seen Pibs?” Scootaloo asked.

Sparklefly’s heart sank, “No. Not since I sent her to start the evacuation.”

Sounds of heavy fighting caused Sparklefly to spin around, and she saw a group of timberwolves get over the west wall.

"Come on!" she shouted at Scootaloo, and the pair charged into the fray along with several dozen Lightning Dashers.

The roar of battle became deafening. Shrieking, howling, shouting and smacking, destruction was so widespread that it drowned out everything else. The Lightning Dashers pushed back and stopped the tide, but the timberwolves had piled on top of each other at that point to get over the barricade. From the top of the little wall, Sparklefly could see by the moonlight that there was just no end to them. The town was completely lost except for their small barricade around the castle.

...

Pibs and the foals were close now. They could see the castle, and they were nearly ready to make a run for it across the last fifty yards of open ground. To Pibs utter horror, that was when the defensive shield went up around the structure. Timberwolves were growing thick in number on all sides, and she was trapped in the open with two foals. They hadn’t been spotted yet, but it would only be a matter of seconds, minutes if they were lucky. The darkness wouldn’t keep them concealed for much longer. They had to get inside somewhere, anywhere. The nearest building was little more than a house with a thatched roof, but it would be far better than remaining outside. There was no time to waste.

“Stay here,” she said to the colt.

She flapped her wings, flying up the side of the building and finding a window. It wasn’t high, but it was locked. She turned around and kicked with her hind legs, a difficult maneuver in the air. It was enough to shatter the window. The little foals squealed as glass rained down on them. Timberwolves snarled nearby. Pibs turned about and quickly pushed in the rest of the glass with her booted hoof before dropping back down to the ground. The little ones seemed okay, but the colt had a trickle of blood running from a small cut on his forehead.

“You okay?” she asked.

He was fighting back tears, “The glass fell on me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said as she picked up the filly. “We’re going inside.”

The little one squirmed, making holding her with one hoof difficult. Flying up, they made it to the window, and the little one scrambled through it and to the floor inside. Dropping back down, Pibs lifted the colt from the earth. He was much heavier, but he held on to her, which made him a little easier to carry. He worked through the small window, thudding to the floor inside. Climbing through herself proved to be more difficult than Pibs had expected. With only one good fore-leg, and the other sending shooting pain if anything touched it, she had to be careful. Falling from this height would have been problematic to say the least. Pushing her head through the window and gripping with the one good fore-leg, she stopped flying to fold her wings up, catching herself on the outside of the house with her hind legs. She pushed and wriggled, finally coming through and landing awkwardly on her right side, broken glass crunching beneath her. Pibs could have laid there all night, but she had to keep going. The house was a two-story, so the first thing to do would be to block the door with whatever she could find. If the timberwolves got in, maybe the stairs would provide another way to slow them down.

...

Every muscle in Scootaloo's body was aching from the effort she was exerting, and she was pouring sweat into her armor. Killing timberwolves was very strenuous work. They had been defending the barricade for what seemed like hours. In fact, it had only been a few minutes; the weariness from the day threatened to overcome her. They were constantly on the makeshift wall, and the ponies were pushing and kicking, cutting and killing. Given the size of the barricade and the force that was pressing to get in, every soldier was now in play to defend their position.

The armor they were wearing was very effective against the beasts. Scootaloo had already received several glancing blows that would have otherwise inflicted serious damage, but instead they bounced harmlessly off of her. She was, however, already freely bleeding from several gashes that caught weak spots that the armor didn't cover. As soon as she would knock back one timberwolf, another was on her. The barricade wouldn't hold much longer at this rate.

A magical purple light suddenly washed over them all, and it formed a shield that was just a little larger than the perimeter. As it hardened into place, an entire row of timberwolves was split in half to one degree or another, killing them where they stood. With enemy reinforcements cut off, it was only a few minutes before the barricade was clear. Scootaloo looked around, almost frantic to find another enemy as adrenaline continued to surge through her.

Sparklefly said, "Calm down, we've got them for the moment." She was breathing very heavily, and also covered in sweat. The bandage on her eye had begun turning red again and needed to be changed.

Brax called out, "Water! Take water and rest in place!"

He didn't have to say it twice. Scootaloo took her canteen and took a long, satisfying drink from it. She could easily drink all of it, but she capped it again instead. There was no way to know how long the shield would hold, and she didn't need to weigh herself down.

Sparklefly was sitting beside her, both of them breathing heavily from the hard work they had done defending their section of the barricade. She tossed her empty canteen to the ground. Scootaloo passed hers, and her friend took a drink before returning it without a word. Scootaloo hadn't noticed before, but the civilian hospital staff was all around the field, treating injuries of the wounded ponies. By the look of them, they'd been at it for a while. Lightning Dashers were also darting about, treating the minor injuries. Scootaloo and Sparklefly weren't bad off, and the few cuts and gashes they had were bandaged in no time.

"We're going to need another count," Sparklefly said.

"I'll come with you," Scootaloo offered.

Sparklefly only nodded. It was miserable work, walking over the dead to count the living. Most were now being piled just left of the castle entrance, around the side. The numbers that they came back with were even more depressing than they'd expected. Falling back and holding the barricade had cost them fifty-three ponies, forty-one of them Lightning Dashers. If that rate held up, Scootaloo was pretty sure that none of them would see dawn. They returned to their place on the barricade, laying down to rest.

Sparklefly vacantly said, "I never got to thank you for before."

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.

"I know we haven't really talked about it,” she continued as if forcing the words out, “but I've been having a lot of trouble ever since Canterlot. I commanded there, and my friends got killed. If you'd have been with me, you might have been killed."

Scootaloo shrugged, ”It wasn't your fault, you know. It was a bad situation."

"I know,” Sparklefly said thoughtfully, “but ever since then, I've been unsure of myself, but today you believed in me. I can’t tell you how much that meant. Thank you."

Scootaloo smiled at her, "Don't mention it. You're strong and smart; much more than you realize. Seriously, you had us use ursas as a weapon. Who does that?”

Brax called out to everypony, "The shield should hold for now. I want everypony that is able to sleep if you can. Officers, report to me for assignment," Brax ordered.

Standing upright, Scootaloo asked, "Will you be able to sleep, Sparklefly?"

No answer came. Sparklefly had already drifted off while lying there. Scootaloo smiled at her, and then walked briskly over to Lieutenant Brax; Princess Twilight was with him. Two-thirds of Brax's platoon had been killed or wounded since the battle began, and his lack of remaining officers was a testament to that fact.

Twilight said, "We're confident the shield will buy us a few hours, but it took all of us to get it formed. If it doesn't hold, we won't be able to try again for a while."

Brax said, "That'll do. I'm afraid that we might be in a very bad situation here. We have water and food inside, but with every pony in Ponyville to support, I don't think it'll last more than a day or two.”

“Only a day or two?” Scootaloo was shocked. “Diamond Tiara said there was a large enough stock pile to feed the town for a month?”

“If that store of supply exists, it is not in the castle,” Brax replied grimly.

The princess said, “I’ll find her and ask about it. Are reinforcements on the way?"

Becoming grave, Brax said, "I have no reason to believe that they are. None of my scouts have returned."

Scootaloo's heart sank at this news. She knew that Sparklefly had also sent at least one out for help, but they hadn't heard from him either.

Twilight said, "Then there's nothing we can do but hold here for now. If the others got through, help will be on the way. If they didn't, there's no reason to think sending additional scouts out will be helpful tonight.”

The lieutenant grimly started, "If they've been intercepted..." He didn't have to finish.

They all knew what it would mean if nopony in Cloudsdale even knew that they were under attack. The timberwolves began slamming into the shield in a great rage. It encompassed the entire castle, so there was no way for them to get in. The sound was loud like unsteady drums being hammered relentlessly on all sides.

"They won't be able to break it," Twilight said confidently. "Still, I'm going back up top to be ready in case the changelings discover a way to get through.”

Brax said, "Back to your positions. Nothing to do now but rest and wait. I’ve got a few sentries that are ready to raise the alarm if anything happens.”

Scootaloo returned to her position where Sparklefly lay fast asleep. She somehow looked much younger sleeping there. They'd all been through so much in the past few weeks that they didn't seem like the children that they had been not long before. Dealing with life and death made them feel much older than their years, and it showed in their eyes. But as Sparklefly lay in peaceful slumber, she looked again like the nineteen year old girl she was. Scootaloo wasn't sure how anypony could sleep with the timberwolves pounding away at the shield. She looked over the barricade at them. They were actually destroying themselves by slamming into the magical field. They didn't seem to be affecting it, but it wouldn't hold forever. Scootaloo sat down, recalling the events of the day. Regal Masquerade, Nimba, Cloud Blazer... She slammed shut her mind on that, shaking her head. It was too soon to think about them. Scootaloo laid down beside Sparklefly, trying to quiet her thoughts, which then drifted back to Cloud Blazer. She felt horrible leaving him behind, but what else could they do? At least he was receiving care. While she was certainly weary enough, she wished she were able to get some sleep...

...

The house in which Pibs now found herself was dark. She pulled closed the shutters on the broken window and locked it, obscuring even the little moonlight that had been coming in.

“Stay here,” she whispered to the foals.

Moving silently, Pibs checked the rooms on the second level that they now occupied. There were two bedrooms, and a small study that had no windows. She made certain that all of the windows on the upper floor were locked. At least they’d have some warning if any changelings tried to get in. She ushered the little ones into the study and shut the door. There was absolutely no light inside, and the filly began crying again. Pibs found a lantern and gently shook it, agitating the fireflies that were contained in it to produce their soft glow. There was a desk in the study, which had a single chair; on the wall away from the door were bookshelves that went from the floor to the ceiling. The other walls had pictures on them, and in one corner stood a small fake plant. The little colt was blue with a light blonde mane. He had a nasty cut on his forehead that was bleeding freely where the broken glass had hit him. The little filly was pink, a darker pink than Pibs herself, and she also had the same light blonde mane as her brother. She held on to him tightly.

“Okay,” Pibs said. “I have to search the rest of the house. I need you two to stay here.”

The colt nodded, but the filly just continued to silently sob. It was enough to break Pibs’ heart, but she had to make certain that they were all safe for now. She quietly left the study, returning to the darkness of the house. As she moved down the stairs, they creaked under her weight. The scent of fresh baked bread filled the air. Pibs’ mouth was dry, but her eyes and ears were sharp. If anything had moved in the darkness, she would have detected it. The only thing she could hear was snarling of timberwolves outside the house. She padded to the door; whoever lived here had been thoughtful enough to lock up everything before they left. Pibs took the extra precaution of securing the entrance by dragging a sofa in front of the closed door, a difficult task with one broken leg, but she managed. Moving into the kitchen, she discovered that there was indeed fresh bread. It was still a little warm inside, so whoever lived here must have only fled in the last hour. She took the bread and some water without hesitation. Returning to the second floor, she found some clean towels in the bathroom before returning to the study. The foals gasped when she returned, but they seemed relieved to see her.

“I found some bread. Are you hungry?” she asked.

“You shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you,” the filly said.

“I know,” Pibs replied.

This was hardly the time to worry about such things, as their survival probably depended on using anything they could find. However, Pibs herself felt a little guilty about it.

“We need these things if we’re going to make it to the castle,” Pibs said. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll leave a note so when the owners come back, they’ll know it was us and we can repay them.”

The filly seemed pleased by that and took a piece of the bread that Pibs offered to her.

“I don’t like the crust,” she said with a frown.

“Don’t eat it,” Pibs answered, turning her attention to Shrub Keeper. “Hold still.”

She used the water and towels to clean him up. This process involved no small amount of squirming and squealing from the little colt. With a broken fore-leg, making a bandage proved rather difficult. After a half hour of struggling with it, Pibs managed to get the wound wrapped enough to stanch the bleeding. Once that was taken care of, Pibs sat down and took a drink of water. It tasted much sweeter than her canteen usually did, a welcome surprise. The bread was also incredibly satisfying; there is nothing quite like the delicious fluffiness of freshly baked bread.

“Can either of you write?” Pibs asked.

“I can!” Shrub Keeper volunteered proudly. “I know all the letters.”

“I want to!” the filly chimed in, seeming less worried than before.

“You can’t,” her brother frowned at her. “You don’t know how.”

She pushed him, tears forming in her eyes.

“Hey,” Pibs said. “You can both write.”

Searching the desk, she found some paper and quills, but only a single inkwell.

“You have to share the ink,” she said, eyeing them. “We need to write a note and tell the ponies that live here that we used some of their things, and that we’ll repay them.”

The foals went eagerly to work, the colt was writing, and his sister was happily scribbling on her page. Some of the shapes she drew were attempts at letters, but there were also some crude pictures forming as well. With the foals distracted, Pibs slipped out and went downstairs to a window that faced the castle. The shield was still holding. That was great news for everypony inside, but it might be the thing that gets her and the foals killed. She shuddered at the thought. The ground between the house and the castle was completely covered with timberwolves. They were constantly cramming closer to the castle. The shield flickered as they impacted into it, though it showed no signs of failing. The next problem: how to get herself and two fillies to the castle if the shield failed. In her present state, Pibs couldn’t just pick them up and go, but that is precisely what she needed to do. They didn’t have harnesses. Perhaps they could jump on her back and hang on. Pibs felt herself frown; if they fell off, she’d never forgive herself. She left the window and went to one of the bedrooms. Stripping the bed, she took one of the large sheets. If she wrapped the little ones in it, maybe she could carry them that way. She returned to find them still working with quill and ink.

“I did it!” the colt proclaimed.

Pibs took the note and read it. The writing was as rudimentary as one would expect from such a little pony: ‘To the owner of this hows. Thank you for the stuff we use. We ate bread. We needed towels. We ar sorree that we took them without asking. We will get new stuff for you.’

Pibs smiled and took the quill in her mouth. She added her name to the bottom so whoever found the note would know how to find her.

“Read mine!” the filly said, waving the paper at Pibs.

There wasn’t anything legible enough to read on it. Perhaps it made some kind of sense to the child, but Pibs couldn’t get anything out of it.

“That’s perfect,” she said as she placed the papers together on the desk.

By the dim light from the lantern Pibs opened up the sheet she had brought and worked it into a shape that could carry the foals. Then, for practice, she had them jump inside. She bundled it up, throwing the ends over her and grabbing hold with her good fore leg. The first attempt was almost laughable. They didn’t even get off the ground before the little ones tumbled out onto the floor. They giggled, which lightened Pibs’ spirits a little. Her broken leg was throbbing with a stabbing pain now in addition to the dull ache that consistently burned. By the fourth attempt, she had figured out how to keep it all wrapped up and fly with the foals inside. Half the night must have already been spent, but another check revealed that the protective shield guarding the castle was still holding. Pibs made a little bed in the study with the other sheets and blankets from the bedrooms and left the little ones when they fell asleep. This wasn’t exactly intended, but they were also exhausted from the day. With everything well in hoof, Pibs returned to her position at the window at waited. The timberwolves were so thick outside that the stench of them had penetrated the house. Their foul fume overpowered any other scent that might have been in the air. It was a lonely vigil, staring out at the shielded castle and hoping that she’d be able to get there, to safety. It was only fifty yards or so, but there were so many timberwolves that she could have walked there without touching the ground. Pibs waited, but she was completely drained from the day. Unable to fight it off, she succumbed to a state where she could still see the shield and the timberwolves outside, but she was not aware of any of it. Her eyes were open only through force of will. She was in a light sleep-like state in a matter of minutes, filling her semiconscious thoughts with sweet imaginings of Lighthoof.

...

Sparklefly awakened to a tearing shattering sound that split the night. She leapt to her hooves to see the shield was disintegrating under a glow of green magic. It split like fracturing glass under the pressure. She could just make out changelings on the rooftops of nearby houses against the early morning sky. Scootaloo scrambled to a standing position.

Blasts of purple and blue magic began flowing freely from the castle tower, ripping through the shield, punching holes in it. The shots were well aimed, impacting all around the changelings, killing several of them. The sky was lit with purple and green bolts, a heavy exchange of fire. The shield collapsed, and Sparklefly could hear Brax shouting at everypony to prepare for contact.

The timberwolves slammed though the failing barrier, running directly into the barricade. They came from all sides simultaneously ramming the defenses, breaking them down in several points. The ponies fought to keep them out, kicking and crushing their assailants as they tried to gain entry. It was a complete melee.

...

Pibs was awakened by the noise. Her confusion only lasted a moment before she found the window and saw the shield collapsing and the ensuing magical firefight. With not a moment to lose she leapt from her chair. Accidentally putting weight on her broken leg, the pain that shot through her body reduced her to a crumpled heap on the floor as she crashed into furniture. Cold sweat poured from her forehead, and her body went numb as an icy shiver worked through her. Feeling was beginning to return as she forced herself off of the ground, taking care to not make the same mistake again. She banged her shoulder into a chair, regained her balance and worked her way back up the stairs and into the study where the foals still slept.

“Up, up!” Pibs shouted. “It’s time to go!”

Both of the little ones seemed confused, but Pibs managed to get them into the makeshift carrying sheet and wrapped them up as they had practiced. She pulled it over her shoulder and held it in place. It was then that she realized the error in her plan. The only way to get out would be the front door. She quickly negotiated the hallway and flew over the railing and down to the first floor. With effort, she pushed the sofa from in front of the door and unlocked it as quietly as possible. She took a breath, steeling her courage and opened the door. The timberwolves had their backs to her, a complete stroke of luck. With determined flapping of wings, Pibs shot out, accelerating like a rocket and gaining a little altitude. The only thing that saved her was the fact that none of the enemy had been aware of her presence, a truth that wasn’t wasted on her. She bolted through the night, wind in her face as she sped toward the castle. Several rooftops and the castle tower had caught fire, and the barrage of lethal magic that shot back and forth showed no signs of abating. The makeshift barricades were completely surrounded, practically overrun by enemies trying to claw their way inside. Pibs dropped lower, aiming straight for the open great doors. She went through them with far too much speed. With no way to stop, she did a half turn, slamming into the staircase back first. The last thing she heard before passing out was the filly screaming and a great deal of shouting.

...

Sparklefly and Scootaloo fought viciously, side by side, the roar of battle all around. The stench of timberwolves, sweat, and death choked the air. Somewhere on the other side of the barricade from them, Sparklefly heard a massive explosion that rocked the earth beneath her hooves. She turned to see part of the barricade had been destroyed, pieces of it ripping through ponies and the air. No fewer than thirty EUP soldiers fell dead where they had stood defending the wall. Shards of exploded timberwolves also filled the air.

The unicorns redirected their fire to the breach, taking out the changelings and trying to keep the hole blocked, but it was too big. Within seconds savage beasts were flooding inside the perimeter.

"Fall back! All personnel, fall back!” Brax began shouting madly. "Fall back to the castle!" He then charged alone headlong into the gap, pummeling timberwolves on his way.

Scootaloo shouted, “Everypony fall back to the castle!"

And so they all left the line. The timberwolves poured over in hot pursuit. Once the enemy had gained the barricades, it was a slaughter. The changelings sprayed lethal bolts of magic from all sides, raining death down on the retreating ponies and the attacking timberwolves alike. Sharp hot pain ripped through Sparklefly as she took a hit to the flank and fell to the ground, the taste of earth and blood in her mouth. Scootaloo, bleeding from a neck wound, helped her up. Together they followed the retreating group toward the great castle door. Many of them were cut down before they made it.

Scootaloo took a hit to her side and went down, taking Sparklefly with her. Sparklefly heard something pop. They were surrounded by chaos and death. The air buzzed with lethal magic and shrapnel flying in every direction. Something bounced harmlessly off of Sparklefly's helmet. She pushed Scootaloo forward, and regaining their hooves, they made a final mad dash for the relative safety of the castle. Brax was right behind them, and they all got in together. The lieutenant wasted no time in slamming the large wooden door behind them. He was bleeding from several injuries, not the least of which was in his head. Blood covered half of his face, making for a grotesque visage.

"Get the unicorns to put another shield up!" he ordered as they put the heavy cross-beam in place to seal the entrance. "Secure all windows! I want to know if anything even thinks about trying to get in here."

Sparklefly took a small drink from her canteen, which had been refilled when the medics came around. Scootaloo inspected her latest injury.

"How bad is it?" Sparklefly asked.

“Barely a scratch,” Scootaloo said. "What about mine?"

Sparklefly looked at Scootaloo's side, and a large wooden projectile was sticking out. It must have been part of a timberwolf that had exploded from a direct hit of changeling magic. The shard had penetrated her armor, burying itself in her side.

"You'll live," she tried to sound unconcerned. She also noticed that Scootaloo was holding up her right fore-hoof. "Did you hurt your leg?"

"I must have. I felt a snap, and now it hurts,” Scootaloo admitted uncertainly.

The inside of the castle was crowded with the citizens of Ponyville. Their eyes were wide with fear. The defenders didn't look much better. There wasn't a single one who wasn't injured in multiple places. Their numbers had been reduced to a total fighting strength of only forty-seven, twenty-three of which were Lightning Dashers.

"Hey you two, let me take a look at those wounds," one of the Lightning Dashers said. It was the one that Sparklefly had nicknamed.

"Thanks, LD" she said to him.

"LD?" Scootaloo asked.

LD replied, "Yeah, she felt the need to give me a nickname. I think all of the rest of us are jealous." One of the other Lightning Dashers snorted at him.

They sat quietly while he tended to their wounds. He was wearing a few extra bandages himself. They could hear the timberwolves outside, testing the perimeter. There were also occasional blasts from the tower. The unicorns and the changelings were still exchanging sporadic fire.

Sparklefly dryly said, "Those reinforcements need to hurry up and get here. I'm tired of hogging all the fun."

LD chuckled at this. Scootaloo did not. The stallion stood and walked away without another word.

“Ow, be careful!” a familiar voice said.

Sparklefly turned to see Pibs on the stairs. She was being lifted by one of the Lightning Dashers. They opened the blanket she was wearing to find two little foals inside.

“Pibs!” Scootaloo yelled.

Pibs looked up, gave a weak smile and waved her good hoof. She was carried down to them. The little ones followed her.

“I know you always wanted a family, but where’d you find kids in the last few hours?” Sparklefly asked lightly.

“They were at the school,” Pibs said. “South side of town. They didn’t know where their parents were, so I brought them here when the shield collapsed.”

“Wait a sec,” Scootaloo said, “you mean you were out there this whole time?”

Pibs looked a little sheepish, “Yeah, we were stuck when the barrier went up.”

Sparklefly threw a salute, “I am amazed. You are made of sterner stuff than I thought you were.”

Pibs blushed, “I’m just glad you guys are okay. Sparklefly, you’re bleeding!”

Taking a look at her flank, which was bleeding, she shrugged, “It’s a small matter; I’ll live.”

Lightning Dasher said, “I’ll see if I can find the parents of these little ones.”

“Thanks,” Pibs said. “Go with him.”

The little colt and filly nodded warily before following Lightning Dasher.

LD returned with a fair amount of fresh bandages and antiseptic ointment.

"This is bothering me, so I have to ask," Scootaloo started, "LD are you the original Lightning Dasher, or are you one of the duplicates?"

"Yeah, I'm the real one. Well, I think I am," he suddenly looked very uneasy. "Honestly, I'm not sure. If we survive this I don’t know how my next family reunion is going to go.”

“What do you mean?” Pibs asked.

“Well, I can’t just go home and say, ‘Hi mom, there's more of me now.’”

The four of them shared an awkward moment, but they were interrupted by shouting.

"Scootaloo? Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom was running through the crowded castle. Looking right at Scootaloo, she didn't recognize her at first.

"Right here, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said waving her hurt hoof.

Apple Bloom stopped dead in her tracks, "You look awful!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah? Well it turns out that this hero stuff is a lot harder than anypony told me in the brochure,” she said sarcastically.

“Maybe you should get a refund,” Sparklefly quipped.

Apple Bloom ran up and gave Scootaloo a hug. Sparklefly saw her wince in pain. Apple Bloom had apparently nudged that right fore-hoof, but then she let go.

Apple Bloom said, "I kept hearing horrible things. They said everypony defending outside was dead."

LD snorted, "Not hardly. There's enough of us left to keep those timberwolves out, don't you worry about it." He put a hoof under her chin.

Apple Bloom said, "Don't be a pig," slapping his hoof away.

Sparklefly was sure she caught a dejected look from several of the Lightning Dashers, LD included.

Scootaloo asked, "How's the rest of the family? Are they alright?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom answered. "We've been down in the dungeon this whole time. My sister seems okay, and Pinkie Pie keeps singing and dancing to keep everypony cheerful, but I don't know how long she can keep it up. Did y'all hear anything from Fluttershy? Big McIntosh and I tried to go get her when all of this started, but we couldn't get through."

Scootaloo answered, "Her house was overrun by the time we got back from the forest.”

Apple Bloom looked nervous, “I hope she’s okay.”

LD said to Scootaloo, "This is going to hurt a bit." Before she could ask what, he pulled the shrapnel from her side. Scootaloo gritted her teeth and stamped her hind hooves on the floor. Then LD got it bandaged beneath the armor to stop the free-flowing blood.

Apple Bloom asked, "Where's Cloud Blazer?"

"He's not here," Sparklefly said, totally unaware of Scootaloo's previous deception.

"What do you mean he's not here?" Apple Bloom was suddenly very alarmed. "Scootaloo said he came here with y'all!"

Scootaloo tried to speak carefully, "Apple Bloom..."

On the verge of tears, Apple Bloom asked, "Is he dead?"

"No," Sparklefly answered immediately. "He’s with Zecora."

"But why?" Apple Bloom asked, fear written across her face.

Scootaloo somberly forced the words out, "We got into a nasty fight yesterday. Nitro was a changeling, and he led us into an ambush. Regal Masquerade and Nimba were killed, and Twilight was captured by the timberwolves. During our escape, we had to jump into the Ghastly Gorge and fly away. The timberwolves were so thick we couldn't get off the ground anywhere else. When we all jumped, one of the timberwolves caught Cloud Blazer, and he fell to the bottom.”

Apple Bloom was restraining from crying, "How bad is it?"

LD shrugged with his answer, "I don't know. It's bad. In all honesty, I was surprised the fall didn't kill him."

Pibs continued the story, "That's when your friend showed up. Sweetie Belle, wasn't it?"

"You saw Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom’s concern was tempered with excitement at this.

"Yes," Scootaloo answered. "She used her magic to move Cloud Blazer to take him to Zecora. They went to work on him immediately with some of her potions.”

"This doesn't look good," LD said when he got to Scootaloo's right fore ankle. It had already swollen up much larger than the other one. "Does this hurt?" he asked, gently applying pressure.

"Ouch!" Scootaloo cried, smacking his helmeted head with her other hoof. "Of course that hurts, you chowder head!"

"Relax, you big baby," he said nonchalantly. "It's just a sprain. I'll have to see if there's any ice. You need to stay off of it for a few days."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," she quipped.

“Chowder head?” LD asked.

“Just get the ice,” Scootaloo growled at him as he walked away.

"So, how did you get the princess back, and how come there are so many of… of him?" Apple Bloom asked pointing at LD.

Sparklefly answered, "We went back to rescue Twilight, and we were captured by changelings. There is an old magic deep in the forest called the mirror pond."

"Pinkie Pie," Apple Bloom said, realizing what must have happened.

"Yes," Sparklefly acknowledged. "We managed to get free, thanks to some handy lock-picking skills by this one," she gestured at one of the Lightning Dashers as he took a bow. "Then we made for the pond, but Lightning Dasher was the only one that made it. Somewhere over a thousand duplicates later, we were able to kill most of the changelings and get back here."

“Pibs and I brought a pair of ursas to cause a distraction,” Scootaloo said proudly. “We were pretty awesome.”

Pibs shuddered, smiling nervously.

Sparklefly continued, "Yes, you were pretty awesome. That's also where we found several prisoners, including one called Silver Spoon."

With an understanding look at Scootaloo, Apple Bloom said, "So that's why you killed her earlier."

"Yeah, that one was a changeling; probably the one that took the Ponyville shield down in the first place," Scootaloo said.

LD had returned with ice for Scootaloo, and now he began dealing with Sparklefly's injuries. He started with the burn on her flank. A stinging pain shot through her as he applied antiseptic on the area. The relief afterward was nice. He got it bandaged, and then started with the ointment in the smaller wounds that burned with each use.

Scootaloo asked, "Why didn't Discord do more to help with the timberwolves?"

Apple Bloom pawed the ground and said, “Nopony has been able to find him since any of this started. When the shield first collapsed, some of the towns folk blamed Discord. I heard that he got kind of mad and said that if after all this time the good folk of Ponyville still didn't trust him, he'd just stick with his friends. After he'd said that the rest of us were on our own. At least, that's what Applejack told me that Snips told her. Snips heard it from Ditzy Doo-"

"I get the idea," Scootaloo replied. “Wherever he is, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back.”

LD finally got to Sparklefly's wing. "Can you spread your wings for me?"

Sparklefly slowly stretched her wings out as far as she could but was only able to get them out a little less than half way. It felt like stabbing fire was shooting through her, and she began to sweat. She could feel bolts of pain shocking her all over as LD gently touched a few places near a swollen joint. She focused on her breathing to put her mind elsewhere.

"That's enough, thanks," LD said.

Sparklefly let her wings rest, feeling a great amount of relief. Her breathing was heavy from the effort. She wiped the sweat from her face.

“They’ve been getting gradually more stiff since our little fight with Drob. Then I got slammed into a tree.”

LD said, "The good news is they're not broken. You've got a bruise on one, and the other looks like a sprain."

LD also had several small cuts and a few gashes that Sparklefly noticed. He removed the bandage from her left eye. She could tell by his expression that it was not good. She couldn’t see anything out of that side.

He shook his head at her. "This isn't going to heal. I'm sorry, Sparklefly; you're blind in your left eye."

Sparklefly could only think of Regal Masquerade and Nimba.

She said, "It's a small price considering..."

LD finished his treating of Sparklefly, giving her a fresh bandage on her eye.

"We're a mess," Sparklefly said to the others.

Scootaloo snorted at her; Pibs groaned.

Apple Bloom said, "I'm just glad y’all made it."

The timberwolves pounded on the door, startling everypony nearby. Many of the soldiers sprang into combat stance, ready for action. It was then quiet.

Sparklefly rubbed the new bandage on her left eye and said, "I'm not sure any of us have made it yet."

11 Siege

View Online

Everything was hazy and then blurry. Things would be clear and indistinguishable at the same time. Hearing was even worse. Everything would be silent and muffled, but it would suddenly shift to being too sensitive to bear. This foggy perception hung over Cloud Blazer for what seemed an eternity, and yet it was also no time at all. He could trust none of his senses. The calm would come, which was almost like a bliss. It was frequently followed by intense pain of one kind or another.

Sometimes it would feel like a burning that covered all of his being. Other times it was like stabbing shooting pain that began sharply in one place and then spread across him like shattering glass, fracturing and ripping its way through. There was also the dull throbbing pain that beat in rhythm with his heart. Once there was a tightening, which felt like a suffocating crushing feeling accompanied by a loud ringing that blotted out all other thoughts.

Now and then, Cloud Blazer would become aware that he was breathing. Each breath felt like he had gravel in his lungs. Stabbing pain would shoot up his sides as he inhaled and again as he exhaled. 'Keep breathing,' is what he kept thinking to himself whenever conscious thought became possible. 'Just keep breathing. I have to survive this. I have to go on. I have to tell her how I feel.'

All too rarely, he escaped into a dream. Most of these were very pleasant until he woke up, but some were about falling. One of the most recurrent dreams was flying around Ponyville with Scootaloo. It was half memory, and half imagined. They would glide about the town, talking about their future plans, and how they would stick together, no matter what. In truth, Cloud Blazer hadn't even begun to sort out his feelings for Scootaloo until after the attack on Canterlot. He had always admired her strength and determination, but they had been friends for a long time. Something had unexpectedly changed about how he thought about her. It was just friendship, but like a single spark that ignites a forest into a blaze, a different emotion had begun to overwhelm all others. It burned through him, consuming his heart and soul while he lay there, fighting to stay alive. It was more yearning than he’d ever experienced before; this sensation was at the same time exhilarating and terrifying. He'd have told her everything, if only he had understood it sooner. 'Keep breathing, just keep breathing. I will survive this. I must survive. She has to know.’

...

Scootaloo blinked at the sunlight which streamed through the small remaining openings at the tops of the windows on the lower level of the castle. The massive shutters inside had been secured to block those weak points, leaving only a small gap at the top that let the light in some ten yards off the ground. Aside from the grand entryway and the throne room, the entire structure was filled beyond intended capacity with the citizens of Ponyville. They had become quiet now, paralyzed with fear concerning their impending fate. Scootaloo worked her way through the crowd on her three good hooves, climbed all the way to the top, and emerged on the pinnacle of the tower where Lieutenant Brax was standing. It had been quiet for several hours, and Scootaloo now knew why. The unicorns had put up a magical barrier that stopped the changeling's spells from hitting them atop the tower. That at least made it safe to look out and see what the timberwolves were up to. They were sleeping. Thousands upon thousands of the beasts lay still in slumber all over Ponyville, an even higher concentration in any given area than the ponies that were packed inside the castle. They were piled so thick that it was impossible to tell the live ones from those that had been killed in the night. They covered the ground in a living wooden mass. It was almost as if somepony had laid down a breathing hardwood floor over the entire town. A flick of movement caught Scootaloo’s eyes. She strained to see; it was a changeling. She saw it look at her with an icy gaze before darting behind a house; Ash Eater was indeed still alive. He was easily recognizable across the distance by the bruises on his face and the fact that his horn had been broken off. A chill went up her spine as she realized that he had allowed himself to be seen by her intentionally. It was a taunt. As frustrating as this was, she couldn’t do anything about it.

Brax stood beside her quietly for several minutes. He finally said, “That’s an incredible sight."

"Yes, sir, it is," Scootaloo agreed. Ash Eater had gone, and there was no further sign of movement.

"How's that ankle?" Brax asked, pointing at her sprained right fore hoof.

"It looks worse than it feels, sir. I'm fit to fight," Scootaloo lied. There were some things that you just didn't admit, and being too injured to carry on was one of them.

Princess Twilight, Mayor Diamond Tiara, Applejack, and Fluttershy came up the stairs and the wooden hatch of a door creaked shut behind them.

“Hi there, Scootaloo. Look at who I found,” Applejack gestured at Fluttershy.

Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice how frightened the timid yellow pegasus looked any more than she could have missed the swell of farm horse’s belly, a tell-tale sign of the foal that was growing inside of her that seemed more noticeable day by day. It was something of a mystery that she hadn’t told anypony about it. While the young sergeant herself was no expert on children, everypony knows that they take eleven months to develop, and it isn’t until about six months that the mother begins to show.

Twilight interrupted her thoughts, “First things first.”

Without another word, magical energy began glowing purple from the alicorn’s horn. It grew like a ball of violet light that encompassed the small group. Scootaloo felt tingly all over, like needles were stabbing into her skin. It especially burned her swollen ankle, but moments later, the magic dissipated.

The princess said, “Now I’m sure we’re all us. For those of you that didn’t know, changelings are fighting alongside the timberwolves. As for the battle yesterday, you’ve all done a fine job keeping the citizens of Ponyville safe. They are pretty shaken, but everypony is calmed for now.”

“We’ve got Pinkie Pie to thank for that,” Applejack added. “I swear, she could make a pony laugh at their own funeral.”

The princess asked, “Lieutenant Brax, what is our supply situation here?"

"We began bringing food and water in for a reserve as soon as we were stationed here," Brax answered. "When the fighting started yesterday, I assigned a group to finish those barricades outside and bring any additional supplies they could find into the castle. From their report I calculated that we have enough food for about three days."

"That's it? Only three days?" Diamond Tiara seemed incensed. “What about the stockpile in city hall?”

"Yes ma'am, that is all we were able to appropriate with the help of the citizens of Ponyville. As for stores in city hall, this is the first I’ve heard of it.” To Twilight, he continued, "Water, however, is a far more dire situation."

"How bad is it?" the alicorn princess asked.

"If we drink our fill, I'd suspect we have enough water for a day, perhaps less."

"I can't believe this; I thought the EUP prepared for situations like this!" Diamond Tiara snapped at Brax.

Scootaloo could feel a twinge of anger in her belly, burning like a candle.

”With respect, madam mayor, we do," Brax said, almost delicately. "We've been at this post barely a week, and we have been building up our supply this entire time. Had we been made aware of your efforts to stockpile, I would have recommended that we combine our supplies here at the most secure location.” Turning back to the princess once more, he said, "I have my unicorn ponies looking for a safe place to attempt to teleport out for water, but the river is overrun. The water we have is already under guard, and we’ll begin rationing to everypony. We should be able to stretch it for several days if we’re careful.”

Scootaloo was unsettled by the lack of supplies, but Diamond Tiara seemed downright livid. Twilight and her friends were patiently taking in all of this information.

“I don’t suppose we could dig a well?” Applejack offered.

“We’d have to get through the stone floor,” Brax answered. “Besides that, we’d expend a great deal of resources in the effort with no guarantee of success.”

The princess asked, “Fluttershy, have you heard from Discord?”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” the yellow pegasus replied with her gentle voice. “He left yesterday afternoon for the Crystal Empire. We thought it was you that asked him to go, but it must have been one of the changelings.”

“About that,” Brax interjected, “Your majesty, you left yesterday morning for the forest, and you didn’t come back until after dark?”

“That’s right,” she answered.

“Then it was a changeling,” Brax concluded.

Scootaloo thought out loud, “They knew they’d have to attack Ponyville to keep their involvement a secret. They sent Discord away in hopes of a quick victory.”

“They might a had one too if y’all hadn’t come back with about a hundred of your friend,” Applejack said. “Lighting Dasher right?”

Scootaloo nodded her reply as Twilight walked to the edge and looked out over the town. She was silent in thought for about a minute. Scootaloo wasn’t at all happy about being outmaneuvered by the changelings, but considering that they had managed a daring rescue and a successful assault on their headquarters, she felt good enough about how it all had played out. Of course, this didn’t count the fact that they were now trapped and likely about to starve to death.

"Help will have to come to us," the princess finally said as she turned back to face the group. "There are too many that can't fly to evacuate, and even if there weren't, those changelings are not going to just let us fly past them. When did you send for reinforcements?"

"The moment the shield failed I sent two squads of pegasi all over Equestria for aide. We should have heard back by now."

Scootaloo asked, "What if they can't send reinforcements?"

"Not likely," Brax answered. "Even if that is the case, we should have had scouts return by now."

"So, you're telling me that nopony even knows we're under attack?" Diamond Tiara asked in a frantic tone.

"Not at all, madam mayor," Brax replied. "I'm only telling you that I've sent scouts, and we have received no reply. There are many reasons that this could be the case. What we are saying is that we don't know if help is coming, and if they are, we don't know how long it will be before they arrive.”

"Incompetence! Complete incompetence," Diamond Tiara shouted angrily. She opened the door and went back down the stairs into the tower, slamming it shut behind her.

Twilight said, "She seems to not be handling this very well."

“You think? She's always been a petty pony; what did you expect?" Scootaloo agreed.

"Be respectful, Sergeant," Brax corrected her. "We are servants of the civil authorities."

"Yes, sir,” she said, swallowing her pride.

“Well, I ain’t,” Applejack said, “and I think that pony has spit her bit if she thinks she’d a done a better job keeping everypony safe than y’all have done.”

The workhorse grinned at Scootaloo.

To Twilight, Brax said, “Have you been able to send any messages to Princess Celestia?”

“No,” she answered. “My magical communication spells aren’t getting out. The changelings must have discovered a way to block it.”

The lieutenant continued, “If they’ve thought that far ahead, it is safe to assume that they intercepted all of our pegasi. Either way, we must find out whether help is coming. If it's not, we need to get word out. Your majesty, I would like for you to be the one to go for reinforcements."

"I can't leave everypony behind like that,” the princess objected. “We stay together."

Scootaloo countered, "You're both right." They looked at her. "As you said, ma'am, the changelings aren't going to just let us fly out of here, so no pegasus will be able to escape. A unicorn might be able to hold them off with their magic, but they can't fly. You can do both."

"Well said, sergeant," Brax smiled. “Your majesty, if you don’t go, we will likely all die one way or another.”

“Listen, sugar cube,” Applejack began, “I know you don’t like leavin’ us behind and all, but these two are right. You’re the only one that has a chance to get out a here to get help.”

Fluttershy didn’t speak, but her eyes agreed with everypony else.

Twilight bowed her head, and then slowly nodded. She said, “If that is what I must do.”

“I have one pegasus still fit to fly, if you would have her along.” Brax suggested.

“I won’t be able to guarantee anypony’s safety,” Twilight replied.

A faint smile appeared on Brax’s face, “You misunderstand. I want to send her to keep you safe.”

“I see,” she hesitated, “If you think it best, I’ll allow it. One final thing; I taught your unicorns a spell last night that will reveal changelings. You’ll need to test everypony in here to make sure there are no enemies among us. On the bright side, that should keep you guys busy for a while."

Brax answered, “That it will. Sergeant, prepare two light supply packs with plenty of food and water. Have Lightning Dust report here immediately. They’ll need to keep their strength up if they have any hope of reaching Cloudsdale.”

Scootaloo was concerned, but she knew that if anypony could escape and get help, it would be Princess Twilight.

...

Sparklefly asked, ”But where did it come from?"

"It arrived yesterday morning while your squad was out. We kept it here pending your return," the quartermaster replied.

"Thanks." Sparklefly said as she took the letter from him and began searching for a quiet place to open it. This was a difficult task in the current situation.

Every hallway and room seemed packed with the citizens of Ponyville. A few were frantically pacing the corridors. Most were sitting and helplessly staring vacantly at nothing in particular. She searched nearly the entire castle before finding herself in the throne room, which had been converted into Brax’s Combat Information Center, CIC. Typically this would not be a deserted room, but nearly ever soldier was in one part of the castle or another, ready to defend against an attack. There were three sleeping unicorns, the first wave of what would likely become an even rotation soon. The pegasus mare understood how tired they must be. It had only been a day and a night, but she felt as though she hadn’t slept for a week.

The letter was from her mother. Sparklefly found a place beneath the great table, the home of the legendary map that had sent the Princess of Friendship and her closest confidants on so many missions across Equestria. Between that and the throne in front of her, which was emblazoned with the image of three balloons, she was out of sight of the door. Rubbing her bandaged eye very lightly to the result of stinging and relief from the itching, she opened the letter and began to read, 'Dear Sparklefly, we were very relieved to get your last letter. When we heard the rumors about Canterlot and the Cloudsdale cadets being sent into combat, we were very worried. We heard that you were awarded the Equestria Cross for leading the cadets that day. Your brothers and sisters, not to mention their mother, are so very proud of you! Everypony here has been asking me what you did to merit such an honor, and I must admit, we are all very curious to hear about it. Why didn’t you say anything? Your brother, Thunderfly, has fallen ill. He has the same fever that is running through all of Baltimare. We've already taken him to see the doctor, so no worrying about him. He's going to be just fine. I very much would like to meet your friends that you had mentioned previously. They all sound like good ponies that will stick by your side, no matter what. It greatly comforts your mother’s heart to know that you have such stalwart companions helping to keep you safe. We can't wait to hear from you again. Know that wherever you go, the love of your family is with you always. Missing you, Mamma Mare.'

Sparklefly’s vision blurred as tears began welling up. She quickly looked around, making sure that the others were still sleeping. She didn't exactly feel sad, but she couldn't make it stop. Deep down, she knew why, even if she didn’t admit to herself what she felt. Her family would never meet the friends she had mentioned before because they had all died following her in Canterlot. For them, for Nimba, for Regal Masquerade, she felt a sorrow growing inside darker than the blackest night. The bandage on her mangled eye became saturated and the saltiness burned the injury. Then it was only moments before she was able to fight it back and swallow the emotion.

...

Pibs awoke to find herself still in the entryway of the castle. Ten Lightning Dashers sat around the room, apparently on sentry duty. Apart from exhausted, they seemed wary. She wondered what it would be like to have one’s self copied as they had been. Pain quickly drew her attention. Her broken leg ached and throbbed. Her muscles were more sore than they had ever been in her life. Moving only increased these discomforts, but staying still meant she couldn’t get water or take care of other biological necessities that were insisting on relief. She pushed through the hurt as they had taught her in Cloudsdale and managed to get up onto her hooves.

“You look awful,” the nearest Lightning Dasher said to her.

Pibs managed a smile and said, “Look who’s talking.”

She went past him and up the steps to the second level. Finding the latrine was easy enough; she had only to follow the line that wrapped around the hallway. The citizens of Ponyville looked in spirit as bad as her body felt. There was some despair, but it was mostly fear in their eyes. Pibs certainly knew that look well, not to mention the feeling. It seemed a little lessened today as she stood in the queue, waiting for the restroom. They moved along at a snail’s pace, a predicament that would need resolution soon for the sake of Pibs’ bladder. Minutes stretched into a half hour before she finally achieved her objective. The sweet relief that followed that most necessary function almost made her forget about the variety of unpleasantnesses she was experiencing from fatigue and injury. The little sleep she had managed didn’t do much to aid her recovery, but only due to the lack of time. Returning to the crowded hallways, finding a place to sleep seemed a sensible course of action. To do that, she’d need to find Scootaloo or Twilight to get permission.

“Momma! This is her!” a little colt’s voice rang out above the soft murmur of ponies talking.

Pibs turned to see that it was Shrub Keeper and his sister. A tall lavender mare, their mother, stood close by and an uneasy smile flickered across her face.

“Hi there, little guy,” Pibs tried to sound as cheerful as possible as she called to him.

“Momma!” he tugged his mother toward Pibs, stepping on anypony in the way.

This caused a small commotion for which the mother apologized profusely.

“Momma!” Shrub Keeper said, “This is the soldier that found us. We went to the school like you said. Her name is Pibs. She brought us here, and we went to a house and ate bread!”

The mother looked at Pibs blankly at first, but then her expression changed to one of overwhelming gratitude.

“Oh, thank you so much!” she said without reservation. Her voice continued sweetly, “I was so scared when I lost sight of them. I just don’t know what I would have done if…”

Pibs tried to fill the silence before it became awkward, “It was no trouble at all, ma’am. I’m just glad I found them when I did.”

The mother smiled, but she seemed so bewildered that Pibs decided it might be best to end the conversation.

“Well, I have to report in; you take care of your sister,” she said with a smile.

“I promise Pibs,” he recited with childlike mechanism, “I will take care of my sister!”

“Me too, me too!” the little filly eagerly tugged away from her mother, who didn’t let go.

Pibs couldn’t help but smile at those two as she left them and their mother and moved through the castle on her three good legs. She wasn’t completely aware of it, but the presence of a mothering instinct had been born and was beginning to grow inside of her.

...

Scootaloo, not to mention every other pony in the corridor, had little choice but to silently observe what was unfolding.

“You did what?" Diamond Tiara screamed at Brax.

"With respect, madam mayor, it is not in your authority to question my command or the decisions of royalty," Brax coolly replied.

"It very much is ‘in my authority’ when it concerns the few resources that we have left! I’ve got a town to think of!” Diamond Tiara was livid.

"Ma'am, yelling at me is not likely to change what is done."

"You sent away food and water with our only hope of being rescued. As long as the princess was here, we were guaranteed that reinforcements would be coming to save her. Now we're on our own!"

Scootaloo would have been amused by Diamond Tiara’s outlandish conclusion had their situation not been so dire.

Brax countered flatly, "There were no reinforcements coming. We sent scouts, and none returned. We should have heard back before dusk yesterday. It is now well past dawn, and still no word. If the princess doesn't get through, we're on our own."

Diamond Tiara turned away, and stomped off as the citizens of Ponyville began chattering. A fresh wave of fear was sweeping through them. It had been quite a while since Scootaloo had seen such a fit thrown by any pony. Brax turned to her and shook his head.

"I need you to double the guard on the food and water. Make sure every soldier has a full canteen. Also, reduce rations on the water at one scoop per soldier per day, and half that for everypony else."

"Yes, sir," Scootaloo replied. "If I may say, sir," she hesitated. Brax nodded at her, and she continued, "Please get some sleep, sir. I'll work out duty shifts for everypony else as well."

Brax nodded at her and started to walk off. He then turned and asked, "Sergeant, is Corporal Sparklefly still alive?"

"Yes, sir," Scootaloo replied. "Alive and fit to fight."

Brax nodded, his expression difficult to read.

"Inform her that I’m giving her a field promotion to sergeant. Work out a command schedule for the three of us,” he said before he turned and walked away.

Scootaloo took to her tasks immediately and was excited to deliver the news. Sparklefly took her promotion with very little reaction. The day passed uneventfully. All of the civilians were upset by the small portion of water they were being given, but Diamond Tiara’s fit aside, there was no trouble. Scootaloo made sure that the soldiers slept in shifts, but she was determined to remain awake until Brax was back on his hooves. They were the only two officers left, not counting Sparklefly. The unicorns had begun screening every pony in the castle, looking for changelings. They told the civilians that they were casting a spell that would protect them. The other task to which the unicorns had been appointed ended in failure. There was just no safe place outside the walls to which they could teleport for water.

Scootaloo was weary from the fighting of the previous day, not to mention not having slept even a little. Still, Pibs and Sparklefly looked worse than she thought she did. They didn’t. No small amount of determination kept Scootaloo’s sore muscles moving that day. Fortunately for her and everypony else, all was quiet outside the castle. When evening came, there was a great amount of snarling heard from the timberwolves. Once or twice they hit the door, but it was a mostly quiet night. Pinkie Pie came out and did a silly dance for the soldiers, which was the most eventful thing that happened that evening of which Scootaloo was aware.

...

Pibs drew guard duty on the first night. She was grateful for the time she’d had to rest during the day. Staying awake proved difficult, but in a standing position, her broken leg hurt much more. This did have the advantage of keeping her alert. She, Lightning Dasher Number Six, and a unicorn from Brax’s force were the only soldiers at this position. Several more slept nearby. The three of them mainly just had to sound the alarm and get everypony ready to fight if anything happened. The watch drug on hour after hour in complete silence.

Standing near the door, Pibs thought she heard something. Silently, she crept over to it, pressing her helmeted head against the thick wooden barrier that kept the enemy out. She had heard something. It was a voice, speaking quietly.

“Help me,” it said from the other side of the door.

Pibs shivered as the fear that had never really left surged through her again. It was only for a second that she believed that somepony was in trouble. Her brain reminded her that the changelings were outside, and they would play any kind of trick to get what they wanted.

“Help yourselves; surrender or you will all die,” the voice hissed.

Pibs didn’t answer, but she felt transfixed by what she heard.

“Sparklefly, Scootaloo, Pibs, Lightning Dasher; you’re all going to die.”

She nearly lost her ability to stand after that. It must have been Ash Eater.

“Pibs,” Lightning Dasher Number Six said.

She jumped, startled by the interruption.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Step away from the door,” he said icily.

She did so; Lightning Dasher Number Six had a stern expression locked into his features as he stood there. He also walked away and returned to his position by the stairs that led to the second level. He seemed calm, and Pibs wished he could share that resolve with her. She was bordering on sheer terror at the moment.

“You okay?” Lightning Dasher Number Six asked.

“Yeah,” she lied. “I’m fine.”

He tilted his head, regarding her for a moment before saying, “Why don’t you work on a new letter to Lighthoof?”

She nodded.

“Just keep your ears open,” he said with a softened expression.

Pibs was saddened to discover that she didn’t have any paper. She consoled herself by trying to think up a new letter instead. It was successful in calming her nerves a little while she remained on guard duty for the rest of the night.

...

Scootaloo was glad for the pause in the hostilities, as was her ankle. LD had assured her that it wasn't broken, but it had become swollen, and she couldn't put any weight on it. They had wrapped it, and she was keeping it off the ground. When combined with all of her other cuts, gashes, bruises, soreness, and where she had been impaled by shrapnel, simply walking was a painful task. She was determined not to let any of the others know how bad off she was. The situation was stressful enough for everypony without her making it worse for the others. By the dawn of that second day, everypony was hungry and thirsty.

The second day proved to be worse than the first. There had still been no word from Princess Twilight or Lightning Dust since they had teleported out of CIC the previous morning. Surely the changelings hadn't spotted them, but there was no word. The unicorns finished checking every pony for changelings, and there were none among them, much to Scootaloo and Brax's relief. Sleep was a bit fitful for Scootaloo. She was hungry, and her thoughts kept turning to Cloud Blazer. The long lines that had formed to use the restrooms continued to grow, which only helped to increase how cranky everypony was. On the bright side, they took some time the second day to number all of the Lightning Dashers so they could tell them apart. This was no easy task, as they all wanted the same nickname, then the same number, and then the same second pick for a number. Sparklefly finally had made them line up and then she just counted off, marking their helmets. The few of them that were left were easily equipped from the armory in the castle, but arrows were in short supply.

The second night was a little more eventful. Timberwolves beat on the door for half the night, and around midnight the changelings opened fire on the tower, causing an impressive light show, but it caused no damage. The unicorn's spells blocking the hostile magic was working very well. They had used a layered strategy that was three shields thick. While none of them were nearly as strong as the one that Twilight had conjured, they were able to strengthen any two of the shields while one was under attack. They looked exhausted after the action, but nopony was injured.

Day three saw some arguments turn into fights among the civilians. The soldiers acted quickly to keep order, but Scootaloo was concerned about things getting too far out of hoof; there weren't enough soldiers to keep everypony calm. Diamond Tiara wasn't helping. She had been having shouting fits at Brax that were progressively increasing their intensity.

“What are you even doing?” the mayor scolded on one of these occasions.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking, madam mayor,” the lieutenant replied with an icy chill in his voice.

“You’re just sitting here, waiting for them to attack again. You are soldiers, you should be out there retaking the town!”

“With respect,” he said through gritted teeth, “there are fewer than fifty of us, and several thousand of them. What would you have us do?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice overflowing with sarcasm, “maybe try setting them on fire? They are made of wood, and piled up on top of each other like they are you can take the lot of them out like yesterday’s trash, or hadn’t you thought of that?”

Brax looked at her, unable to mask his feelings about her stupidity.

He spoke flatly, “We would do exactly that if we wanted to burn the town to ashes. Also, think of where we are.”

“We’d be safe from flames in this castle. It’s not made of wood,” Diamond Tiara countered.

The lieutenant sighed, “No, it is made of stone. We would be surrounded on all sides by fire while inside a stone structure; we’d effectively turn this castle into an oven. Do you have any other bright ideas on how to get us killed faster?”

Still in a high state of distress, she stormed away. After that, Brax mostly confined himself to CIC in an effort to minimize these encounters.

...

Sparklefly returned from watch duty on the tower and entered CIC. Not surprisingly, she found Brax and a few of the other soldiers there. Most of them were sleeping. Brax looked up at her for a moment before looking down again at a sheet of paper.

“Anything to report from the tower,” he asked.

“No, sir,” she replied. “It’s been a quiet day.”

The commanding stallion sighed. He had the look of a pony that was sagging under a great weight that was pushing him down.

“Are you alright?” Sparklefly asked.

He snorted, “There’s just no way around the inevitable.”

She looked over his shoulder at the paper. It was a supply list. She didn’t have to look long to see how dire their situation was. The math told an unsettling tale.

“There’s just too many of us and not enough water,” he said.

Considering how low their rations already had been cut, Sparklefly knew they wouldn’t be able to cut them much more, if at all.

“If Twilight doesn’t get back soon…” she began; there was no need to finish.

“She may not be coming back,” Brax said coldly.

A chill ran up Sparklefly’s spine. The lieutenant glanced at her and shrugged.

“I didn’t send her away to save us,” he said. “I know she will return to help, if she’s able, but I also knew that her best chance to survive was to get out of here.”

“She’s coming back,” Sparklefly said, confidence returning.

“She should have been back with an army by now,” Brax said. “Two days, tops.”

Sparklefly countered, “There are a number of reasons she hasn’t returned yet. She knows what we’re up against, and she knows how long our supplies can hold out. She’s coming back.”

Brax nodded slowly, “I hope you’re right, Sergeant.”

...

Scootaloo was on guard duty on the third night when the action began again. Pinkie Pie was doing a song at the entrance when she suddenly stopped. She had just said something about her knees feeling pinchy when timberwolves began slamming headlong into the door, pounding loudly over and over again. The soldiers moved into position to brace the door.

"Anypony that's not a soldier, fall back into the interior," Scootaloo ordered. “Contact at the gate!”

Changeling magic ripped through the windows, impacting into the massive internal shutters. A few bolts of lethal energy streamed through the high openings and into the room, raining down on the soldiers from above as the civilians exited.

One of the Lightning Dashers called out, "Contact right high!" just before he was hit and dropped hard against the stone floor.

"Take cover!” Scootaloo ordered.

The ponies that had been sleeping had awakened and charged in by now, Brax and Sparklefly among them. Everypony in the room dove out of view from the small openings, trying to stay clear as bits of the stone floor exploded and shot about the room.

"Report!" Brax ordered.

"Incoming fire from the windows, and they're pounding on the door again,” Scootaloo replied.

"Runner!" Brax shouted. Sparklefly darted up to him. "Get topside and see if the unicorns can direct some fire to clear the windows and gate. Go!"

Sparklefly bolted up the stairs toward the tower.

"Barricades!" Brax shouted. "We need to plug those holes!"

"Copy that!" Scootaloo answered. "You five, follow me!" she shouted at some of the earth ponies that were guarding the door. The incoming fire rained down all around as they charged out of the room. They went straight for some furniture that it was quite a shame to destroy, but they had little choice at this point. Returning to the entrance, they waited for the break in fire before flying up to the windows. They were able to use the broken pieces to stuff the small high windows tightly. It wouldn’t hold up to much, but it would keep them concealed from enemy eyes.

Sparklefly returned and reported that the unicorns had been able to inflict several casualties on the changelings. At least a dozen had participated in the attack, and eight of them were shot down. There were several small injuries among the EUP soldiers, and two Lightning Dashers were killed. Once the windows were blocked up, the timberwolves stopped pounding on the door. The rest of the night was quiet.

...

Pibs had been on water duty when the attack happened. Given her injuries, she was ordered to remain in place. Fortunately, their casualties had been somewhat light. She wasn’t really sure how to feel about Lightning Dasher anymore. The one she’d been on duty with the night before had been killed, but she didn’t exactly feel sad about it; she felt confused. More than that, the fear had grown even stronger inside her. On occasion, she would begin shaking for no apparent reason. She did her best to keep anypony else from seeing, but she was becoming afraid that she was losing her nerve. It was nearly dawn when she was relieved from duty and told to go rest.

She left the water supply and wandered around the castle, looking at the endless mass of faces that were everywhere. Ponies from all walks of life, most sleeping, some staring around the dimly lit stone structure. It was swelteringly hot inside. Keeping this many ponies in such close quarters only served to combine their body heat. The high ceilings helped, but after the second day, it grew steadily warmer inside. Pibs felt a sheen of sweat forming on her brow. Add that to the list of complications they faced. Their water supply was all but exhausted already. The heat was bound to start claiming them soon if they weren’t able to resupply. The air was also becoming stale and stagnant.

Feeling what passed for a cool draft, Pibs found herself ambling on her three good legs down into the cellar. Familiar voices greeted her in whispers from the darkness.

“Hey, Pibs,” spoke Scootaloo.

“Howdy,” Apple Bloom said.

Pibs hobbled down the steps into the cellar and nodded at them. Like the rest of the castle, the cellar was filled with citizens of Ponyville. They weren’t packed quite as thick on the lower levels. The air was noticeably cooler down here. On the ground nearby, Applejack and the Cakes slept on the stone floor. Apple Bloom looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her bow was as messy as her mane, now dirty and rough. Scootaloo looked even worse and kept her right fore-leg in the air, not putting any weight on it.

"How's you're ankle?" Apple Bloom asked.

“Better than Pibs’ leg. How are you guys doing?"

"As well as we can, I'd expect. We're still here."

Scootaloo nodded, "Still here is pretty good at this point."

Apple Bloom's stomach began growling.

"How are y'all holding up?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo snorted, "We've been better. Don't worry; there's plenty of fight left in us," she said confidently.

Apple Bloom smiled uneasily.

Scootaloo asked, ”So, how have you been? Are you still dating-"

"Nah," Apple Bloom cut her off, shaking her head. "He was useless.”

“You think?” Scootaloo teased. “I told you that from day one. What changed your mind?”

“I’m a farmer; I need a stallion that’s ready to settle down and give me some foals to work the orchard.”

A bewildered look was working its way across Scootaloo’s face that drew a fiendish grin from Apple Bloom. The two of them giggled at the joke.

“How ‘bout you? Anypony special?"

“No way,” Scootaloo replied. “You know I don't have time for that mushy stuff. Have you heard from Babs?"

"I got a letter just last week. She joined the EUP."

"Oh?"

"Darn tootin'. She was with the group that came out of Manehattan. I heard they retook from Baltimare to Foal Mountain."

Scootaloo nodded, "All the way up to Neighagra Falls.”

The friends grew quiet. Pibs wished they would continue talking; listening to them was soothing her nerves.

Apple Bloom broke the silence, "I'm worried about Cloud Blazer."

"Me too," Scootaloo replied.

Pibs opened her mouth to say something, but she lost the thought and changed her mind.

“You okay?” Scootaloo asked.

Pibs looked at her and lied, “I’m great.”

Apple Bloom’s expression changed, “You sure about that?”

The fear inside sent a quiver through the mare. She felt like she was falling apart. She could have burst at any minute, and it wouldn’t have come as a surprise in the least. Scootaloo stepped closer.

“Hey,” she said.

Pibs looked into the orange mare’s lavender eyes. They were filled mostly with concern.

“I...” Pibs tried to speak, but she couldn’t. She was trying so hard to be brave, but she had run out of strength.

“Look, you don’t have to put on a brave face for me,” Scootaloo whispered. “I know you’re scared.”

Pibs felt shock at that statement.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Scootaloo continued. “I knew you were scared since we first went into the forest.”

“You’re not...” Pibs felt a lump in her throat. She tried to speak around it, “You’re not disappointed?”

Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder and whispered in Pibs’ ear, “I’m going to tell you something, but if you tell anypony else, I’m going to deny it… I’m scared too. It’s okay; only an idiot wouldn’t be afraid when the timberwolves are trying to tear you apart.”

The warmth of relief flooded through Pibs, dissolving the lump in her throat and allowing a tension that she hadn’t noticed before to begin to relax.

“The fact that you kept fighting anyway is why I’m not disappointed,” Scootaloo said. She then added with a smile, “I’d always pick you for my squad.”

Pibs felt tears well up in her eyes. She tried to stop them, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. The emotions were running too high for her to control them.

“Why don’t you get some sleep? Maybe you’ll have a nice dream about Lighthoof,” Scootaloo suggested.

Pibs nodded and said, “Thanks... for everything.”

“Don’t mention it,” Scootaloo said. “Seriously, don’t mention it; I’ve got an image to maintain.”

Pibs snorted a laugh before limping over to the wall on her three good legs. The soreness in her muscles had dissipated, a minor bonus. Her injuries were more than enough of an inconvenience. It had become a constant fiery ache in her leg. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom continued talking near the steps as Pibs found a place by the wall that was unoccupied. Letting her mind drift proved much easier now, and the fear that had been with her since they first set hoof in the Everfree Forest was finally gone. She knew it would come back at some point, but she didn’t worry about that right now. It was time to follow Scootaloo’s suggestion and dream about Lighthoof while she had the chance.

...

Sparklefly had the watch on the fourth morning. It was quiet, but for the sound of her stomach grumbling for food. She and LD were on the tower watching the timberwolves sleep, as well as scanning the horizon in hopes for reinforcements that were nowhere to be seen. There was a light mist in the air that looked like it might turn to rain if the blazing orb of the sun would leave it alone. It was going to be another hot day. The light breeze on the air was never enough to cool the castle on the inside with all of the windows shut up.

"All quiet," LD said softly.

"Yes," Sparklefly replied.

She felt in somewhat good spirits at least as far as her physical condition. Her wings still hurt if she moved them, so flying would be out of the question for a while, but the fatigue and soreness from the fighting was much eased. Given the stale air inside, tower watch-duty was almost a welcome relief.

"What do earth ponies like?" he broke the silence again.

"What?” Sparklefly asked, confused. “Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I mean... you know. Mares."

"Oh, brother," she replied, shaking her head. "Are you still going on about Apple Bloom?"

Blushing, he said, "No, I just meant in general."

"Come on, LD, I know you better than that."

Squirming, he admitted, "I just can't stop thinking about her."

"First of all, you're asking the wrong mare. Scootaloo knows her way better than I do. Secondly, this is hardly the time or place to be thinking about that sort of thing. Also, didn't she shoot you down pretty hard already?"

Hanging his head, he answered, "Yeah, she really did."

"What about the rest of you, guys? The other Lightning Dashers?"

"Oh, well… I guess we all like her,” he scratched the back of his neck. 
”Don't you think that could cause a problem?"

He looked exasperated, "How did this all get so complicated?"

She shrugged and gently rubbed at her bandaged eye.

"Still hurts?" he asked.

"It's not too bad. It mostly itches,” she said. Not sure how to help the stallion with matters of the heart, she finally offered some advice that her own mother had once given, “Look, there's no sense getting all weird about Apple Bloom. If you like her, go and tell her how you feel and ask her if you two can get to know each other better."

“You think that’ll work?”

She shrugged, “Beats me, but you can’t do any worse than you did on that last attempt. Who knows, she might appreciate the honesty.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Well, I suppose you’ll crash and burn like you did last time, but at least you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

He pawed at the floor of the tower on which they stood, silent for several minutes.

“I wish it would rain,” LD said.

A dull thud rumbled through the ground below, even shaking the tower beneath the pair of sentries. It was several seconds before it calmed down, and Sparklefly felt her heart begin to race.

Exchanging a glance, she said, "Stay here," before darting down the stairs.

...

It was blindingly bright for a moment, and the concussion of the sound blasted all thoughts from mind. Scootaloo was thrown to the ground by the deafening explosion that rocked the entire cellar. All-sized stones rocketed through the room like bullets, followed by a cloud of dust that filled the air. For a moment, Scootaloo actually thought she had been killed. Then she realized that she was coughing and sputtering in great, uncontrollable heaving spasms. Even still, she couldn’t remember what she had been doing. The disorientation was unsettling to say the least, but she was able to retrace her steps in her mind. She and the Apples had all gone up to stand in line for the lavatory. Then she was returning to check on Pibs because they had left her sleeping by herself. Scootaloo rolled off of her back and began pushing herself back up onto her hooves; she couldn't hear anything but a sharp ringing in her ears. Looking about, the entire cellar seemed buzzing with panicking ponies, barely visible through the cloud of smoke and dust in the dim light. The mare tried to tell the civilians to get out, but her own voice sounded only like muffled vibrations to herself. Scootaloo starting pointing toward the stairs. Some of the others saw her and began moving in that direction. Scootaloo shook her head, rubbing at her ear with her left hoof. It came back with a little blood on it. She should have been able to hear the sounds of ponies stamping and trying to get out, but she couldn’t; the ringing was unbearable.

Scootaloo stumbled farther into the cellar, tripping over somepony. It was Pibs, who winced when she was inadvertently kicked. Scootaloo shook her to wake her up. She couldn’t see well in the darkness, and another fit of coughing took her for several seconds. The wall behind Pibs had a gaping hole blown out, but only darkness could be seen inside. Realizing what had happened, Scootaloo moved to the stone wall beside the opening and waited, watching the other ponies evacuate. A timberwolf poked it's nose through the hole, sniffing the air. Scootaloo turned, putting all of her weight on her left fore-hoof and bucked the timberwolf in the face, dropping it against the side of the newly formed tunnel. She turned and jumped on it, stamping it's head. Another came out at her, and she bashed it with her fore hoof, stunning it. It took a swipe at her. Ducking, the blow glanced off of her helmet.

Suddenly, Pibs was up and threw a powerful kick, smashing the second timberwolf. Scootaloo motioned for her to get to the other side of the hole. No sooner had they moved to either end than a blast of hot magic zipped through the opening, just missing them. It impacted against the far wall, spraying bits of stone about the cellar. They had to hold the enemy here, just until the room cleared, then they could fall back. As the next timberwolf came though, they caught it from both sides, killing it on the spot. This helped, as it slowed the next one by blocking the entrance, but that didn’t stall their resolve. The pair of ponies smashed three more, and the next few were clawing at the bodies to get through. As the dust began clearing Scootaloo could see much better, and she realized that it wasn’t Pibs, it was Apple Bloom fighting by her side. She was filthy, and her bow had come undone and was just a torn ribbon in her mane now.

A blast of green magic broke up the dead timberwolves, and a changeling burst out from the hole. It rounded on Apple Bloom, but was knocked over as Scootaloo jumped it from behind. They rolled on the floor, pawing and beating each other furiously. Another pony came out of nowhere and knifed the changeling in the back. It was Sparklefly. The next thing Scootaloo knew there were several soldiers all around her, and the unicorns were blasting away at the tunnel. She saw one of the Lightning Dashers leading Apple Bloom out.

Pibs was still down. Scootaloo grabbed her by the armor and began dragging her out of the chaos that had erupted in the cellar. The gap in their defenses was being exploited with no time lost by the changelings or their stick-dog army. Scootaloo tripped, dropping Pibs and landing hard. She managed to not hurt her sprained ankle again, but she saw stars after her helmeted head struck the stone floor. Regaining her balance, she again grabbed Pibs and drug her up the stairs and out onto the first level. Her lungs burned from the smoke and dust she had inhaled, and sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes as it mixed with the dust in her coat.

Sparklefly was there moments later and was speaking, but all Scootaloo could hear was that high pitched ringing even louder than before. Whatever Sparklefly was trying to communicate, Scootaloo couldn't make it out. She pointed at her ears and shook her head. Sparklefly darted away back into the cellar as even more soldiers poured into the fight. Scootaloo turned her attention to Pibs, whose chest rose and fell with shallow breaths as she lay unmoving nearby. Now that Scootaloo was able to see clearly, there was no question why Pibs hadn’t tried to get up. She couldn’t hear it herself, but Scootaloo let out a cry of despair as she realized that the explosion that shattered the stone wall had also mangled her friend who had been sleeping beside it. Scootaloo might as well have dragged a corpse out of the dungeon. Pibs’ skull had been crushed.

...

Sparklefly was yelling orders, having already expended her arrows. She doubted whether she could easily be heard above the roar of the battle that was taking place. Timberwolves howled and snarled as they clawed their way through the newly formed tunnel. Unicorns and changelings were exchanging magical fire in rapid succession that sent little bits of rock shrapnel zipping through the air. The concussion of the sound was like some grand fireworks-display finale. In spite of this madness, she managed to finish evacuating the cellar and return to the hallway where Scootaloo was now screaming. Sparklefly grabbed her by the shoulders, which quieted the mare, but then it became apparent why she’d been so upset. Sparklefly didn’t have to look twice, she knew the injury Pibs had sustained was fatal. She pushed emotion from her mind and turned back to the cellar as Lieutenant Brax arrived.

"Report!" he demanded.

"Some kind of explosion. The timberwolves tunneled in. We still hold the cellar. Scootaloo is deaf, Pibs is down,” Sparklefly rattled off.

“Radiant Pyre!” Brax called.

"He's dead," came a reply.

"Some unicorn collapse that tunnel. Now!" Brax shouted.

“I’m not dead!” Radiant Pyre shouted as he charged into the cellar.

Moments later there was a dull boom, and the ground shook. Dust and smoke filled the cellar, spilling out into the hallway. Soldiers came out coughing and choking. Radiant Pyre made it out last and shut the door.

“Sweet Celestia, are they okay?" Lightning Dasher Number Seven asked.

A loud bang resounded up the hallway from the direction of the front door. Sparklefly looked at Lightning Dasher Number Seven and said, "I've got to go, you take care of her."

She raced off to the gate without waiting for him to respond. There was a pounding on it, again and again. As Sparklefly entered the room, everypony was on alert, but there were only a dozen or so still at this position. The rest had gone to the cellar. The massive door shook with each hit, creaking. The wood was stressed, but it was still holding for the moment. Then there was scratching at the windows.

Suddenly noticing her thirst again, Sparklefly took a quenching drink from her canteen, as did all of the others. Even if this weren’t the last of her water, she didn’t think it likely that there would be another opportunity to use it. All but one or two of the soldiers had arrived, their total fighting strength reduced now to just under forty by Sparklefly's estimate. Pibs was as good as dead, Scootaloo was injured, and at least one Lightning Dasher was tending her and the other wounded. Even if those were the only casualties, their numbers were too few.

Brax ordered, "Unicorns, give me some kind of strengthening spell on the door, and prepare to focus fire on the windows. Every Pegasus fit to fly be ready on the windows when the unicorns need relief. Earth ponies, we've got the floor.” He then shouted, “Are you ready?”

“Sir, yes sir!” came a reply in unison from every soldier in the room.

Just then, a timberwolf burst through one of the barricades. It didn't even get to the ground before it was cut down by a unicorn blast. The remaining Lightning Dashers took to the air to plug the hole.

The size of the room was a problem. The doorway was large, and once the shutters on the windows gave way, there just wouldn’t be enough ponies to defend them.

"Lieutenant!" Sparklefly called out.

"Yes?"

"The hallway on the second level would make a good choke point, if we can get some barricades at the opening on the other end-"

"Do it!" he commanded.

Sparklefly raced up the stairs and back up the hallway and found some furniture. It was heavy, but she began pushing it toward the door as panicking civilians backed as far away from her as they could.

“Can we help, sugar cube?” Applejack said from behind her, a stern expression on her face.

“Tables,” Sparklefly puffed. “Need to block… the door.”

The matriarch of the Apple family along with her brother and sister aided in the fortifications. Sparklefly knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything for anypony on the lower levels, which was especially distressing as Scootaloo was down there, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.

“Thanks, now stand back,” she said as they completed the task.

Sparklefly could hear the splintering of wood as one of the window shutters gave way. The distinctive sound of hostile magic filled the air, as did other sounds of battle. She couldn't build the barricade too high, or none of the others would be able to retreat to this position. Most of the civilians were watching her in horror, pressed tightly against each other. It had only taken a couple of tables to effectively block the lower end of the hallway. This was the choke point. If they couldn't hold here, they wouldn't be able to hold anywhere. A shiver ran through Sparklefly that threatened to steal her strength as she realized that this is where they would make their last stand.

As she hopped over the table and thundered back to the top of the stairs at the entry room, there was a loud cracking sound as the door gave way. Sparklefly saw it coming apart in front of her. The earth ponies charged into the collapsing defense, broken bits of wood falling on them and timberwolves that leapt into the fray. It was an uncontrolled melee for several seconds before Brax began yelling for everypony to fall back. Sparklefly returned to the other side of her barricade and watched. It was absolute insanity in the entry room. The unicorns laid down a suppressing fire that was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Several of the timberwolves actually exploded under the intense magical barrage. Earth ponies galloped up the hallway and poured over the tables, but there were fewer now than before. Brax came last, but none of the unicorns made it, nor did any of the Lightning Dashers that had been holding the windows. Timberwolves reached the top of the stairs first, and as soon as they did, anypony that had been left behind was now cut off. Sparklefly counted sixteen remaining soldiers.

The timberwolves were clawing their way up the hallway toward them now. The ponies flipped the tables up, blocking the opening. The timberwolves slammed into them at full speed, rocking the makeshift wall back against the ponies’ bodies.

"Push!" Brax ordered. "Push!"

The few remaining soldiers pushed as one, moving the thick tables back against the gap. The timberwolves slammed into the blockade again, shoving them back. Six of the beasts slipped over the top as Brax ordered them to push again. Sparklefly left the line, kicking one of the timberwolves away from another soldier. Things were falling apart. Just then, several of the civilians, led by Apples, joined the defense, kicking and stomping at the timberwolves. Big McIntosh and his sisters’ powerful hind legs kept the creatures off balance and killed some until the soldiers took care of the rest. The remainder had managed to get the weakening tables back into position, and they were now joined all along their barricade by Ponyville citizens, pushing the tables against the opening. Sparklefly was between Apple Bloom and Applejack, workhorses whose strength was impressive to say the least.

The timberwolves slammed into them for what seemed like several minutes, but they couldn't overcome the combined strength of the ponies. Sparklefly knew this was only temporary. It was only a matter of time, and probably not very much time, before the changelings realized that the unicorns were all dead. Then they'd come in with their own magic and blast their way through; their best efforts could only delay the inevitable. It would be over soon. The shouting and grunting of everypony working together became a deafening chant. Sparklefly was covered in sweat as they pushed to hold their fragile barricade in place. The forces of life and death were reduced to muscle against muscle, each fighting desperately to come out on top.

As suddenly as it had begun, the timberwolves stopped pushing. There was still a great noise of commotion, but it was different. It sounded like fighting was happening outside in the corridor. Surely there hadn’t been enough soldiers still on the lower levels to challenge that many timberwolves. Sparklefly and Brax exchanged a confused look. He motioned to her to go up to the tower.

She raced passed everypony else, all cringing in fear of their impending fate. Through the corridors, up the stairs, across the third landing, and more stairs. Finally coming out on top of the tower, Sparklefly pushed past LD, who was still standing guard on top, but he ignored her completely. Then she could see what was going on, but she was stunned to silence at the sight of it. A train had arrived, and it must have been carrying thousands upon thousands of ponies. Blasts of magic were sweeping through the timberwolves, cutting them to shreds in every street in Ponyville. Earth ponies had set up a perimeter, and more were still flooding from the train. As this was unfolding, what had to be an entire division of Pegasus ponies zipped down from the air, raining down like death on the timberwolves. To the west, blasts of alicorn magic ripped through the sky from no fewer than three alicorns. Toward the forest to the east, massive clouds of sparks began raining droplets of ashes onto the timberwolves, Discord’s handiwork, no doubt. All of the beasts that were hit by them flew up into the air, twenty or thirty yards, and then fell again, shattering on impact before they could reach the safety of the forest.

LD vacantly said, “All of Las Pegasus is here.”

Sparklefly sat down in awe for several moments. After everything she had seen in the past few days, she almost couldn't believe the situation unfolding before her. The timberwolves were getting slaughtered. They were being completely massacred by the efforts of the surging numbers of soldiers. These weren't scared ponies that were running and hiding. They were pushing a coordinated counter-attack in great enough numbers that the timberwolves simply didn't stand a chance. Sparklefly guessed that there must have been more than than twenty-thousand trained EUP ponies involved in the battle. She was right about that much; there were actually six divisions that had coordinated this retaliatory strike; from Manehattan to Las Pegasus, Baltimare to Van Hoover had all rallied their forces to engage the enemy.

Sparklefly and LD returned into the tower, shutting the door behind them and locking it. When she arrived back at the barricade, all was quiet but for the noise outside. There was frantic murmuring among the citizens, and none of the soldiers had left their positions.

"Report!" Brax ordered.

Silence fell over the citizens, petrified with fear. Sparklefly blinked, and then rubbed the bandage on her left eye. She was still in awe of what she had seen.

"Sir," she began, her voice almost weak, “an overwhelming EUP force has arrived in Ponyville. The siege is over. We've won."

12 Fallout

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Flying above Ponyville was always the best. It was a beautiful morning, with the most vibrant golden and red hues in the dawn horizon. There was a crisp chill to the air that was almost cool enough to bite at ears and noses, but not quite. The smells of dew and grass mingled with the unmistakeable scent of the cooking of breakfasts from homes all across town. Cloud Blazer and Scootaloo glided, the cold air pushing them upward and playing through his mane as they circled the sprawling town. They had been flying since before daybreak, the blackness of which had only been betrayed by the stars shining above and the moon on the horizon. He was completely content to fly around with her forever. It was the beginning of a perfect day.

"What about over there?" the stallion asked the mare, pointing to a hilly piece of land west of the city.

"Just there on the other side of Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked.

"Yes. I think that would be a perfect spot. Just out of town, but close enough to friends."

"Yeah," she replied, the wind tossing her mane as they flew. "That would be a great spot for a house."

“Come on, you lovebirds,” Pibs teased. “And I thought I had it bad.”

“You said it, Pibs,” Nimba called back.

The rest of the squad let out giggles.

“That enough,” Princess Twilight sang back playfully, smiling at them.

And so the nine of them flew over Sweet Apple Acres, heading toward the spot that Cloud Blazer and Scootaloo had picked for the house: their house. The very thought of it filled Cloud Blazer to bursting with a joy and contentment he had never experienced. Everything seemed focused and right with the world.

"What's that?" Regal Masquerade asked.

"What?" Scootaloo said.

"That!" Sparklefly pointed, becoming alarmed.

There was a darkness or cloudy void that was sucking in all the light and cheerfulness around it. The grass, the trees, the animals, nothing was able to stay out. It grew larger, and the wind began pushing the squad toward it. As they drew closer a roar grew louder, like a train or the rushing of a mighty waterfall as it devoured everything.

"We have to get out of here!” Lightning Dasher yelled.

“Go!” Princess Twilight shouted.

They turned to fly away, but Cloud Blazer felt caught. He couldn't gain any speed. He turned to look back as the others sped away, and a timberwolf had grabbed his back right hoof. He tried to shake it off, but it was too heavy. He was falling into the void.

He beat his wings harder and harder, trying to at least make a powered landing so he could remove his assailant. He hit the ground hard, a shock shooting through his bones. He was sliding still toward his demise. He shook off the timberwolf and began pushing against the unseen force with all of his strength, but to no avail. His squad also wasn’t safe; Nitro turned on them, breaking their formation and they were pulled in. Seeing them go made surviving seem hopeless. Cloud Blazer let go and was sucked into the blackness; the world went gray and streaked passed as everything was consumed by the dark.

Pain shot through Cloud Blazer from his right hind leg, and then it echoed everywhere throughout his body. He realized now that he had been dreaming. He could hear muffled voices. He slowly became aware that his muscles were all tensed and he was being held down. Relaxing, he lay flat, and the pressure from those holding him gradually eased. Stabbing pain was still rippling through him, and his breath was heavy, like lead weights were on his chest, which served to make arduous even that simple task of drawing air.

He tried to open his eyes. It was dimly lit wherever he was, but not too dark to see. Everything was incredibly blurry. His vision pulsed bright and dark with the sensation of pain that went through him. Something smelled horrible; something else tasted worse. He didn't know what either could be, but the odor was pungently foul. He tried listening, but there wasn't anything at first. After a minute, he became aware of a fire crackling, but it sounded far away or muffled somehow. Unable to move his head, he looked around for it, his eyes darting about to search the room, but the stallion couldn't quite make out where it might be. There was a bright orange blob over to one side, but he couldn't tell if it was flickering or not.

As he looked for the fire, something, rather someone approached. Cloud Blazer blinked his eyes, trying to make them focus, but it was no use. He felt whoever it was touch him, and then they began very softly stroking his mane. It was a nice feeling, especially juxtaposed against the pain. Then a voice came from her, speaking softly, but he couldn't make out who it was or what she said. He was mistaken, and realized only moments later that it wasn’t speaking he had heard; she was singing softly. Cloud Blazer sighed with relief; he now knew that he was not alone.

...

Scootaloo sat motionless in a kind of listless stupor. Exhausted and out of breath, the battle had left her drained of everything. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she forced herself to keep breathing. The ringing in her ears was still loud, but she was beginning to hear more than that. Loud noises would register, though they sounded far away. It was similar to having cotton stuffed in her ears. Her eyes were still functioning perfectly, the grit from the explosion having worked itself out. What they beheld only served to continue crushing her spirit. Pibs’ lifeless body lay still, exactly where she’d been left almost an hour before. Scootaloo hadn’t been there when she’d stopped breathing. When Radiant Pyre had run up the hallway, the few of them that were left had barricaded the opening to stop the timberwolves. Scootaloo was so busy helping with their failing efforts to defend the castle that she hadn’t had time to stay with her friend. Then the reinforcements had arrived and it was over. By then, Pibs was already dead.

Scootaloo felt herself sigh. There were no tears; she was far too dehydrated for that. As she stared at the body, Scootaloo became aware that Pibs’ fore-leg, the one that wasn’t broken, seemed to be clutching at one of the pockets in her harness. Scootaloo’s tired muscles pushed her over to the remains of her friend, and she moved her hoof to search the pocket. The only thing inside was a small folded napkin. Scootaloo opened it up, and had she the ability, she would have begun crying. The napkin contained, now pressed flat, the little purple flower that Pibs had found in the forest. It was the one she had picked to send to Lighthoof with her next letter, a letter she would never write. The weight of sorrow piled heavily upon the young mare as she folded the flower back into the napkin and put it into her own pocket. Something else was kindled inside as well: rage. Pibs hadn’t deserved to die like that, none of them did. Scootaloo hated the timberwolves, and she was beginning to hate the changelings too. Conviction began to burn deep in her heart, and she set her resolve on course. She would do whatever it took to stop more of her friends from dying.

The sergeant removed one of the dog tags from Pibs’ neck. It occurred to her that she hadn’t retrieved one from Nimba. In all of the chaos of the fight in the forest, there just hadn’t been time. She knew that it was something she was supposed to do, but somehow, it just didn’t seem to matter.

“Sergeant,” LD’s muffled voice came through the ringing as he spoke loudly.

Scootaloo looked up at him. He was offering a cup of water. The mare took it greedily and drank it down. It was warm, but it was clean and refreshing. She thanked him, but the words only felt like strange vibrations to Scootaloo.

He spoke again at the same volume, “They’ve started letting ponies out one at a time. Should we go?”

Scootaloo shook her head and said, “There’s no rush.”

She sat back down, staring at the cold body of her friend, wishing that she could have done something to save her. Had she only arrived two minutes before, they may have not even been there when it happened. Scootaloo felt her shoulders slump, the futility of her wish weighing her down. She buried the rage and hatred within, knowing that she would need it the next time she faced the enemy.

...

Sparklefly had arrived at the shattered remains of the main gate of the castle. The reinforcements that came to rescue them had immediately taken command of the exit and kept everypony sequestered inside. After making initial contact, they brought in water and a little food, but hadn’t let anypony leave for nearly an hour after they had secured the town. Once they got their unicorns in position and removed the bodies from the foyer, they started allowing the citizens to exit one at a time, after subjecting themselves to a scan to detect changelings. One of Brax’s soldiers had been kind enough to bring her a cup of water while she waited. The despair was somewhat lifted from the ponies that had been trapped inside the castle, but their expressions still bore no small amount of concern to say the least. Lightning Dasher Number Seven had also informed her that Scootaloo and Radiant Pyre had survived and also of Pibs’ death. This didn’t come as a surprise, but she was saddened by the loss. Of the nine of them that went into that forest, one was injured so badly that he may not survive, three were confirmed dead, and another was missing in action. They had certainly had a rough week.

Sparklefly’s turn to exit finally came, and the unicorn at the gate pointed where she was to stand. She complied. Standing still, she became showered in magic that burned. It felt as if her skin were on fire for a moment, a most unpleasant sensation, but it passed quickly.

“You’re free to go; next,” the unicorn said emotionlessly.

The acting sergeant walked out into the sunlight. It was bright, but the air, even filled with the putrid stench of timberwolves and death, was cooler than inside the stuffy castle.

“Corporal Sparklefly!” Princess Twilight’s familiar voice called to her.

She turned and saw the alicorn nearby, surrounded by guards. Her brother, Prince Shining Armor, was with her. There was a sadness in her eyes. Sparklefly approached slowly. The town was buzzing with activity. Soldiers were beginning to clear the carcasses of the timberwolves and changelings that were strewn about everywhere. There wasn’t a direction she could look that was not littered with remains from the battle. The guards watched her sternly as she passed them to approach the princess.

“Your majesty,” Sparklefly said with a bow. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, her tone echoing the look in her eyes. “There is to be a debriefing in ten minutes. I’ve already got Lieutenant Brax ready, but we need to get Sergeant Scootaloo to report on the squad’s actions.”

“I’m afraid she may not be up to it, ma’am,” Sparklefly replied hesitantly. “She was in an explosion in that last attack and she can’t hear very well right now.”

“I see,” Twilight seemed even more somber at the news. She took a breath, “In that case, it falls to you.”

All Sparklefly wanted was rest, but force of will drove her forward.

“Yes ma’am,” she replied.

“Are you alright?”

“Just tired,” she answered. “It’s a small matter; I’ll be fine to give the report.”

Prince Shining Armor’s stern expression became a little lighter with a smile, “Don’t worry, by all accounts, your entire squad did a fantastic job, especially for your first time out. I’ll see to it that you get some leave.”

A little leave would be quite welcome, and Shining Armor, as Field Marshall of Princess Celestia’s armies, certainly had the authority to make it happen. Sparklefly followed as the pair turned and walked toward city hall, their guards staying close. A path had already been cleared, and many of the streets were becoming passable again. All things considered, the town had suffered only minor damage. The buildings themselves were mostly intact, save for a few places where concussion magic had punched holes in rooftops. There were many shattered windows, and lower to the ground, anything that had a corner had been chewed. Sparklefly climbed the small set of steps that led onto the porch and then walked into the town hall. The room was filled with generals and commanders, not to mention every prince and princess in Equestria. They were all around the sides, facing the center of the room. The princesses sat around the innermost circle. They were all here, even Prince Blueblood, a distant cousin of Cadence and somehow removed nephew of Celestia, and Princess Flurry Heart, the adolescent daughter of Cadence and Shining Armor. Discord was hovering above the meeting with a fiendish grin on his face.

“Welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “Now that thou art here, we shall begin.”

The doors closed behind the trio and they approached the center of the room. Mayor Diamond Tiara somehow had managed a front row seat. Sparklefly couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of her.

Princess Celestia stepped into the space at the center and spoke, “Through the efforts of our combined strength, Ponyville has been saved. I want to thank each and every one of you for your stalwart efforts to ensure that we did not lose yet another city to the ravenous appetite of the timberwolves. This is our first great victory in what has become an all-out war for our very survival. Some of you are already aware of the full truth of the matter, but it is now time that everypony knows the extent of the great threat that has really been attacking Equestria.” She paused for a moment before turning to Twilight and nodding.

Celestia left the center, and Twilight took her place before speaking, “We had come to suspect that the timberwolves had been replicating themselves somehow in a magic pond that lies deep in the Everfree Forest. Almost a week ago, I led a secret mission into the forest to determine whether this was the case. We had nearly arrived at the mirror pool when we were ambushed. It was a coordinated attack to stop us. During the battle, I discovered that one the members of my squad had been replaced by a changeling.”

Whispers and gasps rippled throughout the room at her final statement. The princess waited for them to quiet down.

“I was captured by the changelings, and I would not be standing here today if it had not been for the members of my squad. The four of them that managed to survive the ambush mounted a rescue, and we escaped only to find Ponyville under heavy attack. It was decided that I should go for help. I’ll leave the details of my squad’s involvement to Corporal Sparklefly.”

Sparklefly took a breath as the princess motioned for her to come into the middle of the room. She did so, her legs feeling shaky. Then all eyes were on her. The bandage on her eye began itching, but she refrained from scratching it. Her mouth felt so dry. The nervous pegasus took another breath before she began to speak.

“After Princess Twilight was taken by the changelings, teleported away by their magic, we were forced to retreat. By the time we made it out of the forest, two members of our squad were dead, one was discovered as a traitor, and another had been critically injured. We left him in the care of a zebra and a citizen of Ponyville that are living in the wild.” Sparklefly knew that it was safe to speak freely, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was better to not give too much information on some points. She continued, “Using a magic potion that rendered the four of us invisible, Lighting Dasher and myself continued scouting to find the mirror pool, and hopefully Princess Twilight, while Pibs and Sergeant Scootaloo returned to an ursa major cave that we had previously discovered. Both myself and Lightning Dasher were captured by the changelings, and it was then that we discovered how many prisoners they had already taken. One of them was the mayor’s aide, Silver Spoon. Sergeant Scootaloo and Pibs...” she trailed off.

Sparklefly’s heart was pounding, and she found herself fidgeting uncontrollably. She took another deep breath, but now she was having a hard time thinking about anything but Pibs’ death. She could almost see her, laying on the floor. “They...” She tried to continue, but it was becoming difficult to concentrate.

“We lost several good ponies that day, and in the days to come. Nitro was captured by the changelings while we were still cadets, just for being chosen for our squad. He may be still out there somewhere. It could have just as easily been me that was replaced. His sister, Nimba, was on our team as well. She was under the influence of his magic, and when we were attacked, she couldn’t even defend herself. Regal Masquerade continued fighting after having been shot and stabbed multiple times. Toward the end, he couldn’t even walk anymore, and Cloud Blazer dragged him through the forest, but he kept firing his weapon until they killed him. I have never seen a pony keep getting up after being hit that many times.”

The room had grown completely silent. “Cloud Blazer may not recover from injuries he received to protect the rest of us. He brought up the rear in our escape, and he didn’t make the jump into Ghastly Gorge with the rest of us. And Pibs... Pibs was the bravest mare I have ever known.” Tears had begun running from Sparklefly’s eye and soaking the bandage. “She was so afraid from the moment we first came under attack until she was killed just over an hour ago. She continued pulling her own weight even after breaking a leg. Nearly a week, she lived in constant fear, but she never once let any of us down.” Sparklefly looked around the room, her vision blurry, but she read mostly compassion on the faces that returned her gaze, from the princesses on down the ranks. It was a kind of somber reverence that stared back at her; it was as if they understood. She cleared her throat, realizing that she was supposed to be reporting on their movements. It took a moment to remember where she had been.

Sparklefly paused, shuddering as she remembered Drob and Ash Eater asking her questions in the dark. She decided to omit this and continued, “Sergeant Scootaloo and Pibs went into the ursa cave and brought a pair of ursas that created a distraction. Because of this, Lightning Dasher and I were able to get free. We thought that Princess Twilight was with us, but it turned out to be a changeling. While I fought them, Lightning Dasher made it to the mirror pool and copied himself enough times to wipe out all of the changelings and timberwolves in the area. Once that had been accomplished, we found the real Princess Twilight, and collapsed the entrance to the mirror pond before returning to Ponyville.”

“Thank you,” Princess Twilight said, signaling that it was time for Sparklefly to leave the floor.

She walked toward the Princess of Friendship, a little wobbly, and sat down beside her. Lieutenant Brax then marched to the center of the room.

He started, “When the attack on Ponyville began, we had a little over eighty to defend the city. Our shield collapsed near sunset on that first day, and I immediately sent out scouts to request reinforcements. I had already been informed of the changelings in the Everfree Forest, but we didn’t know the extent of their involvement. It seemed reasonable to assume that the scouts had a chance of getting through. Once Princess Twilight and her squad returned, I came to suspect that all of my scouts had been intercepted. The attack was laid out deceptively. We set all of our defense toward the forest on the east side of town at the river, where they hit us initially. What we didn’t know, was that the changelings had been moving the timberwolves to surround us even before the shield went down. Acting Sergeant Sparklefly over there took it upon herself to deploy her force, now numbering in the hundreds due to the magic mirror pool, on the west side of town to keep us from getting outflanked. This bought us the time we needed to get the citizens into the castle. Once we were secure inside, we fended off several small attacks over the course of many days. They hadn’t actually breached the castle until this morning. During our siege, we sent out Princess Twilight for help, and our unicorns scanned everypony to make sure there were no changelings among us. As for our ability to hold the line as long as we did this morning, I again have to credit the foresight of Acting Sergeant Sparklefly, who began preparing our last barricade before the door even came down.”

Sparklefly was certain that she felt herself blush as she ignored the urge to scratch at her eye bandage. She didn’t feel proud of herself or how she had expected it might feel to be considered as heroic by others. She mostly felt embarrassed. She did notice a peculiar look on Prince Shining Armor’s face that was echoed in his wife’s visage. Undoubtedly they would have strong feelings about changelings, considering their history with them. Princess Twilight again took the floor.

“As you know, the last time the changelings came, they were a great threat to us all. The challenge ahead is even more dire than that attack. They have been infiltrating our ranks for at least a year, probably longer.”

“I’m afraid that will have to wait,” Princess Celestia spoke as she stepped forward. Twilight returned to her seat as the supreme ruler of Equestria continued, “We have a much more pressing matter to discuss before we deal with the changelings: the destruction of the mirror pool.”

“Oh, goodie!” Discord interrupted as he did a somersault. “I do love to make a little chaos now and then.”

Celestia ignored his comment and added, “I’m afraid that for security purposes, I must now ask everypony under the rank of general to leave the room.”

There was a small amount of commotion as they all began to go. Sparklefly also stood to leave.

“I’ll fill you in on what I can later,” Princess Twilight said. “Would you do something for me?”

“Anything,” Sparklefly replied.

“Please go check on my friends and Sweet Apple Acres. I haven’t had an opportunity to see how the battle affected the orchard.”

Sparklefly nodded and said, “I’ll check on all of your friends.”

Twilight smiled warmly and replied, “Thank you.”

Soon the acting sergeant was outside, and the door to city hall closed. Finding Scootaloo seemed the first order of business, as she was much more familiar with the princess and her friends than was Sparklefly.

...

Scootaloo found herself in awe of how different Ponyville seemed. The cleaning up of the town was a massive undertaking, but the number of soldiers that had arrived were making fast work of it. They had set up a solid defensive perimeter all along the edge of the Everfree Forest, and now the CAP was a thousand strong at any given moment. Every one of the survivors, which was the entire population of Ponyville and seventeen soldiers, were magically scanned by a sadistic unicorn that seemed to enjoy making the procedure as painful as possible. Once they were allowed to move about freely, they all went to the river and drank their fill. Food was still a problem. They had run out. The soldiers shared their rations, but they hadn't brought enough supplies for the population.

The first order of business after the timberwolves were cleaned up was the solemn task of burying the dead. Lieutenant Brax had organized a brief commemoration for those who had fallen. The grim truth was that there were very few bodies to bury. All who had died outside were never found, save for scraps of armor. The survivors were given the remainder of the day off to rest. Several were hospitalized. Of the enemy killed, there were nearly a hundred changelings, and an uncounted number of timberwolves. The one point of interest to Scootaloo was that there was no body matching the description of Ash Eater. There was a good chance that he had escaped yet again.

Everything sounded to Scootaloo as if she were listening through a pane of glass, but that was a drastic improvement from just a few hours before; that nagging ringing persisted still. She walked on her three good legs beside LD and Sparklefly; a dry warm breeze was beginning to carry the stench of timberwolves and death away from town. The mist from the morning had completely evaporated, and now there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The Apple family was just ahead of them.

As it came into view, Scootaloo's heart sank at the destruction that had been the Sweet Apple Acres orchard. The barn and the house were still standing, but the trees were in pathetic shape. The party had come to a halt as they gazed at the damage. Apple Bloom had started crying.

Big McIntosh stared silently at the desolation that had been the fields he'd been working for his entire life. The trees that still stood had been stripped of their leaves, and many of their branches. Many more looked to have been uprooted or burned, hit hard with unicorn magic during the battle.

"Now, now, sugar cube," Applejack said, pulling Apple Bloom close. "The important thing is that we're all okay. We’ll replant all of it; every single last tree.”

“But you heard what Doctor Horse said this morning,” Apple Bloom protested. “You’ll lose the baby if you keep on strainin’ yourself.”

Scootaloo was concerned about that development. She’d heard how Applejack had helped build the final barricade and block it to keep the timberwolves out. That sort of stress can’t be good for a mare that is at least half-way into a pregnancy.

“Quit your fussin’ now,” Applejack replied. “I won’t let anything bad happen to your nephew... or niece.”

Scootaloo followed the Apple family as they approached the farm. Every passing step brought home a moroseness as it became even more clear what they had lost. Even the prized tree that grew the giant apples had been uprooted. Food was already scarce in Equestria, but now Ponyville would not be able to contribute. Things were only going to get worse.

As they passed the barn, the cellar door lifted slightly with a squeaky hinge. It was the reaction of the others that first got Scootaloo's attention, as she didn't hear it. Sparklefly and LD bolted into position between the Apple family and the opening door, weapons raised. Scootaloo heard a muffled voice from inside.

"EUP. I'm coming out," a stallion said.

The door slowly opened, and a unicorn emerged.

"Clyde!" Sparklefly practically shouted.

The tan unicorn was looking a bit rough: his helmet was dented, he had a black eye, and he didn’t put any weight on his left hind leg. Scootaloo was wondering at his sudden arrival, uncertain whether he might be a changeling. She didn’t have to wait long to find out. Within moments, two squads of pegasi, each of which carrying a unicorn, landed and started shouting as they raised their crossbows.

Clyde obeyed their instructions, laying down on his belly and putting his fore hooves over the back of his head. He lay there, making no movement as they disarmed him.

“Scan him, corporal,” a sergeant said.

Scootaloo waited, feeling much better now that the situation was under control.

After each unicorn had used their magic on him, one of them said, “All clear.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, soldier,” the sergeant said. “You’ll need to report to your commanding officer. Return his weapons.”

“Yes sir,” Clyde said dryly. He was clearly not pleased with the greeting he had received.

That quickly, the CAP squads took back to the air and were gone. The entire affair couldn’t have lasted more than three minutes.

Clyde seemed a little confused when he spoke, addressing Sparklefly, ”Were you able to hold this position? I thought you had retreated days ago.”

“We thought you were dead!" LD exclaimed. “I saw you fall off of the roof.”

Sparklefly added, "We did fall back, into the castle. How did you survive?"

Clyde shook his head back at the cellar, "I hid from them. I was fighting on the roof, and it got really bad. There were so many timberwolves up there that I just couldn't hold them back. When they were almost on me, I slid down the back side of the barn, falling off to the ground. As I went over the edge, I saw a swarm of them down there. I fell right into them, which is how I twisted my ankle and got this," he gestured at his black eye and dented helmet. "At the last second, I teleported into the barn; I accidentally took two of them with me, but I made short work of them. After you all fell back, I picked my moment and made for the cellar. I've been down there ever since. Lucky for me it was stocked with dried apples and cider.” Looking at Applejack, he added, “I’m afraid I helped myself.”

Applejack nodded, “Don’t you worry none about that; I'm just glad they went to good use." 
Scootaloo felt a little relieved to hear his story. It was nearly miraculous that he had survived the siege by himself. If only all of them could have been so lucky.

...

Sparklefly assisted with distributing the remaining food stores of Sweet Apple Acres to the town. It was Applejack’s idea to make sure they got everypony fed, and between what was left in the cellar and the changeling ravaged stores in city hall, they managed to achieve this. However, the situation was becoming problematic. As long as they’d had crops in production, they were able to maintain the food supply, but now there were no more crops. It wasn’t just the orchard; all of the farmland in Ponyville had been trampled. Maybe a dozen apple trees had survived, but that wouldn't be nearly enough to feed Ponyville.

The more Sparklefly considered this problem, the more hopeless the future was beginning to look for all of Equestria. Food had been becoming scarce already. The loss of Sweet Apple Acres was certain to be felt far and wide. Sparklefly was looking over the desolation on the farm as she thought about these things, occasionally rubbing the bandage on her left eye.

It didn't hurt as much now, but it frequently itched. She would be glad when she wouldn't have to wear the bandages anymore. Having been practically raised on an apple orchard herself, Sparklefly knew just how much work it would be to put this one back together. Their own efforts in Apple Loosa were not quite so grand as this, but the kindred spirit she shared with the Apple Family made Sparklefly want to help. As she sat there, she heard the flapping of wings and a soft impact of hooves against the grass nearby. Turning her head, she saw Princess Twilight approaching. She quickly rose and bowed to her.

“How was the meeting?” Sparklefly greeted her.

There was more sadness in her eyes as she looked about the farm.

Twilight said, ”You can relax. No need for formalities right now.”

Sparklefly slouched into a more comfortable stance. “This is the worst of it. I’m technically on leave, but I did check on all of your friends with Scootaloo’s help.”

“How is she?” the alicorn asked with concern.

“She hears a loud ringing in her ears, but the doctors think it is only temporary. She can already understand speech again, but we sort of have to shout at her.”

“I see,” the princess replied thoughtfully. “So, you were promoted to sergeant while I was away?”

"Yes, ma'am, acting sergeant; Brax needed another officer."

“Well, it turns out that it will be a permanent promotion; congratulations. What is the status of Twilight Brigade?"

Sparklefly’s heart felt heavy as she recalled their losses, ”I think we can safely be considered a squad again. As far as I've seen, only two Lightning Dashers survived the fighting in Ponyville, but that doesn't count one that was injured very badly; he is not expected to make it. Another one suffered some injuries, but they are mostly minor. I sent Scootaloo to the infirmary. She hurt her leg, was hit in the side, and of course the hearing loss from the explosion that killed Pibs. We all have more cuts and bruises than I cared to count. I've somehow managed to sprain one wing, so I'm unable to fly for the time being. Also, LD tells me that my eye is a total loss.”

"LD?" Twilight asked.

"Yes ma'am; I had given that nickname to one of the Lightning Dashers, and he wasn’t at the gate when the timberwolves crashed through. He was on guard duty on the tower. Lightning Dasher Number Seven was with Scootaloo after that explosion. The others were all defending the door and held it until the rest retreated, but not a single one of them made it out."

Princess Twilight let out a sigh that was filled with remorse, ”I’m sorry we took so long getting here. I couldn't let anypony leave Cloudsdale until we'd scanned them all." She paused. "We should have come sooner."

Sparklefly wasn't sure what to say. “Well, we did save all of Ponyville."

"Yes," Twilight said slowly. Looking around the remains of Sweet Apple Acres, she added gravely, "But the cost... it will only grow higher.”

Sparklefly was concerned, "Are you alright, ma'am? Is there any way I can help you?"

Smiling weakly, Twilight replied, "I'll be fine. For now, just rest."

...

Scootaloo, in spite of her difficulties, heard rumors that were circulating about the entire royal family being in Ponyville. Not only the five that had been in Cloudsdale ever since the Canterlot had fallen, but Prince Shining Armor, he and Cadence’s daughter, Flurry Heart, and even Prince Blueblood had come. This would be the first time that all of them had been gathered in one place since the war began. Cadence had returned from her mission to the Griffins without success. She was unable to convince them to join the fight.

Despite his track record for the past decade, Discord’s return was met with suspicion by the good citizens of Ponyville. Scootaloo, with no real basis, suspected that the nasty things she heard were coming from the mayor’s office. Unfortunately, there was no way to be sure. His disappearance hadn’t been a mystery, and by all accounts, he had helped with the battle to save them all. Scootaloo was annoyed by the ignorance that pervaded such rumors.

One of the most interesting things that Scootaloo heard was that when Princess Twilight arrived in Cloudsdale, it was shortly after a changeling Twilight had left. Based on Sparklefly’s observations while in captivity, Scootaloo was certain that it had been Queen Chrysalis herself. The imposter had reported that there was nothing to be gained in the Everfree forest, that the timberwolves were breeding on their own, and that there was no magic to it at all. Upon her arrival, the real Princess Twilight immediately scanned the changeling squad that had remained in Cloudsdale and they were captured. Queen Chrysalis had already been gone nearly a full day before Twilight and Lightning Dust arrived, which made tracking her impossible. After that, they had to scan everypony in Cloudsdale. They didn't catch any more changelings, but several ponies disappeared rather suddenly and were not seen again. Among them, three of the EUP drill instructors that had been training new recruits. The need to ensure there were no changelings in their ranks was what slowed their efforts to mount a rescue for Ponyville.

The medics were rather fussy with Scootaloo's injuries, which irritated her greatly. They kept talking in whispers, and her hearing difficulties made it impossible to listen to them when they did that. They did tell her that there was no major damage and that her hearing should recover in a few weeks. Apparently, LD was the only remaining member of Twilight Squad that was still fit for duty at the moment. Lightning Dasher Number Seven had fractured a leg. They gave Scootaloo fresh bandages and re-wrapped her sprained right fore ankle before letting her go. They didn’t have the bed space for injuries as “minor” as hers.

Considering the sudden shortage of lodgings for the soldiers, Scootaloo was lucky. Applejack insisted that she, Sparklefly, and LD stay with them at Sweet Apple Acres, which is where she was now headed, hobbling on her three good legs. On the bright side, that would give her plenty to do in the medical leave she was bound to get. She would have to go check on Cloud Blazer as soon she got a chance. It was all she could do to not think about what might have happened to him after they left. Not surprisingly, she hadn’t heard anything. This left the mind to wander.

Upon returning to the farm, the sergeant saw a single pony laying down in the middle of the orchard. Even across the distance, she recognized the silver pony with a blue mane. Scootaloo crossed the ground in just a few minutes to discover that it was indeed Sparklefly. She was sleeping in the early afternoon sunlight. Scootaloo decided not to wake her and turned to walk off.

"You don't have to go," Sparklefly said loudly, without opening her eye.

Stopping in her tracks, Scootaloo turned back and said, "I didn't want to disturb you. You look very peaceful there."

"I've always been a light sleeper. How are you not exhausted?"

Now that it was mentioned, Scootaloo was sleepy. A nice warm patch of grass in the sun sounded like a wonderful place for a nap, and the CAP flying overhead made it feel completely safe.

“Mind if I join you?"

"Please do," Sparklefly said with a yawn, her eye still closed.

Scootaloo found a soft patch of grass nearby. There were very few that hadn't been completely trampled flat by the battle. This one wasn't under a tree and had been warmed by the sun all day. It was nice to have a friend close. Scootaloo had a fleeting thought that Pibs would love this before remembering that she was gone. The absence left a cold emptiness inside that even the grass and sun couldn't warm. Somewhere nearby, a bird sang its cheerful song, completely oblivious to the battle and suffering that had taken place.

...

Hunger woke Sparklefly from a restful dream. There was still a little food in her pack, but she decided to save it for later. Instead, she took a mouthful of grass and chewed on that. The afternoon had become early evening, and Scootaloo was gone. The morsel she ingested helped cut the edge off of her hunger pain. She rubbed her bandaged eye and laid back down to try and sleep some more. To cease expending effort was rewarding, but her mind ran through the events of the past week. It had been filled with great hopes and folly. Scootaloo had made a good account of herself. She was shaping up to be a fine soldier. The loss of their comrades was still raw in Sparklefly’s soul. She didn’t try to bury her feelings this time. She had time to allow herself the luxury of letting them consume her for a while before she drifted off into slumber once more.

...

Scootaloo was leading a regiment by air into the Ghastly Gorge to get Cloud Blazer, and the sun was already low on the horizon. It had been at least five days, and she was glad that she’d been given permission, not to mention a thousand ponies to retrieve him. Scootaloo pushed out of her mind any thoughts that he may not have survived. She couldn't think like that right now.

Scootaloo led them around and down into the canyon. Cautiously avoiding the Moray Eel caves so as not to end up becoming dinner, the landing party set down not far from Zecora's home in the rock face. The stones and earth were still warm beneath her hooves. She put down the sprained one very lightly, but then decided against it, keeping it off the ground. All was quiet but for the river and the sound of pegasus wings flapping overhead, all muffled to her ears. LD, Radiant Pyre, and a few dozen others had landed with her, but the rest of them continued to circle above looking for any threats.

Fifty or so of the pegasi patrolling above had unicorns with them, which would be invaluable if they ran into changelings. Radiant Pyre was walking beside Scootaloo and LD. Sweetie Belle's massive boulder still blocked the entrance to the cave, a promising sign. With a purple glow of magic, the unicorn stallion lifted the giant stone and set it aside as easily as though it were a pebble.

"Sweetie Belle? Zecora?" Scootaloo called out.

A banging was heard inside, and Sweetie Belle appeared presently. Deep lines marked her face as if she hadn’t slept for days on end and carried great worry. Her mane was rather unkempt and a smear of some kind of green paste streaked the side of her face from her cheek down onto her neck.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, her initial trepidation fading.

She started to gallop forward, but stopped short when Radiant Pyre stepped in front of Scootaloo.

"Halt!" he commanded her, giving Sweetie Belle pause. "Please stay still, ma'am." His purple magic lit up his horn, and then engulfed Sweetie Belle briefly.

"What is this?" Sweetie Belle asked, wincing from the sting of his magic.

"Procedure," he replied dryly.

Zecora stepped slowly out of the cave and spoke as she walked, “Allow them to see who you are, young Sweetie Belle. In a moment, we will test their truth as well.”

"They have to scan everypony for changelings," Scootaloo explained, unsure of exactly what Zecora meant. “Twilight taught him how.”

Radiant Pyre then scanned the zebra with his magic.

“They’re clean," he said, weariness in his voice.

There was a moment of silence as they stood there in the heat. Zecora, wearing some of the same green paste on her face in a tribal pattern, approached slowly.

She dipped her hoof in a small bowl that she had brought with her, and smeared the contents across Scootaloo’s forehead.

“This salve is a zebra potion of truth,” Zecora’s heavily accented voice explained. “If you are a changeling, it provides the proof.”

The zebra also applied the cold, thick solution to Radiant Pyre and LD before she stepped back and regarded them. Radiant Pyre grimaced at her.

“Thanks,” LD said flippantly.

Scootaloo’s heart was pounding in her chest as she began to ask, "Cloud Blazer..." but she couldn't finish.

"He's alive," Sweetie Belle replied.

Scootaloo nodded, trying to bury all of her emotions, which were truly a jumbled mess. The four of them went inside. When Scootaloo saw her injured friend lying on the table, she had to work even harder to suppress her feelings. They were much more focused on sadness now. If it were possible, the stallion looked even worse now than when they had left him here. He was swollen over much of his body, and the foul smelling remedies that Zecora had applied were all over him. His breathing sounded ragged, but it was strong as his chest slowly rose and fell. If she hadn’t known it was Cloud Blazer, Scootaloo wouldn’t have recognized the mangled lump of flesh that lay there.

Radiant Pyre scanned him, causing a spasm through the disfigured pegasus, but after that was done he left them alone, returning outside.

“We’ll go as soon as you are ready, but don’t take long,” he said as he exited.

LD didn’t say a word; he had become completely stoic.

"We've come to take all of you back to Ponyville," Scootaloo said, turning to Sweetie Belle.

"We'll need everything,” Sweetie Belle replied, gesturing to the shelves in Zecora’s cave that were filled with flasks of various kinds of potions and ingredients. “He still needs the medicines.”

Scootaloo nodded, ”We brought enough wing-power to move whatever you need."

"All these things will be needed for sure, if young Cloud Blazer will have a cure," Zecora added. “But another thing I have for you, changelings can be revealed with this brew.”

The zebra pointed at a small jar of green paste.

“The same kind you used on me?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle nodded, “Zecora made it after you left. If you put it on a changeling, it will force them to return to their original form.” With the look of a sudden remembering, Sweetie Belle asked, “So you found Twilight?”

Scootaloo smiled thinly, “We did, and she’s safe. I’ll tell you about it later, but we need to get back before dark.”

The Pegasus ponies were expeditious to their work of carefully clearing Zecora's cave. Sweetie Belle put another immobilizing spell on Cloud Blazer, and they took him outside, harnessing him to LD. He was in much better shape than Scootaloo at this point, otherwise she'd have insisted on carrying him herself; as things were, she didn’t have the strength to argue about it. They took to the air, climbing up out of the Ghastly Gorge, and leaving it behind. The sun set as they left the canyon, and it was getting dark. The wind was cooling off, but the warmth of the day hadn't been completely stolen by the night yet. To Scootaloo, the air smelled clean somehow. It was an incredible relief to have Cloud Blazer back again.

As they approached Ponyville, an intense light, brighter than the sun, lit up the entire countryside. Everypony that turned was nearly blinded by it. There was a violet tinted white flash first, and then a red glow coming from somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest. It got bigger and bigger like a giant fireball. Scootaloo noticed that the trees were bending from a wind that was blowing out from that point, and it came toward them fast. The shockwave rippled through the trees, and when it reached the regiment, a loud boom was heard; Scootaloo felt the vibration from it in her chest. It was not deafening, but for them to be as far away as they were, it was more than a little unsettling. They were all hovering now, staring back as the fireball spread out and a massive smoke cloud rose up in its wake. It looked very much to Scootaloo like a giant tree or mushroom of smoke reaching high up into the sky and towering over the forest. It dwarfed everything else by its sheer size.

The smoke cloud from the explosion must have been a dozen miles away and was soon indistinguishable in the gathering night, and the pegasus regiment continued on, landing in Ponyville only minutes later. Everypony in town was in a near panic by what had just unfolded on the other side of the forest, the lack of actual knowledge causing a frenzy of rumors. Wild stories about the princesses going into the forest before the explosion were spreading like wildfire. Others said that another attack was already underway by the changelings, despite EUP forces quickly and strongly maintaining that there was no truth to it. There were consistent reports of the ground rumbling or an earthquake, which was unsettling considering how far away the town was from the event. Scootaloo was sure of one thing: nothing could have survived a blast like that.

13 Changing of the Guard

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By the time the sun came up, the air was choked with a thick haze that covered the sky. Sparklefly rubbed her bandaged left eye as she stood on top of the castle looking into the Everfree Forest. The trees that Scootaloo and Pibs had burned nearly a week before seemed like a campfire compared to the blaze that engulfed it now. Everypony was coughing from the smoke, and most had taken to staying inside already. There was no relief for the soldiers guarding the perimeter or flying above as part of the CAP.

There was another concern as well. Five of the princesses, not to mention Discord, that had been in Ponyville had indeed left just before evening. Rumors swirled that they should have been back shortly after dark, but they still had yet to return. Everypony in the castle was stirring about this already. The exact nature of their mission wasn't disclosed, but Sparklefly believed the rumors that they had gone to the mirror pond. The mysterious explosion was alarming to everypony, especially considering the magnitude of the blast. A reconnaissance team had already been dispatched by the corps commander, a General by the name of Mane Crusher, to assess the damage.

Sparklefly soon grew tired of coughing and sought refuge inside the castle. It was as crowded now as it had been with the entire population of Ponyville trapped during the siege. The activity that buzzed inside, however, made it feel much more alive. The main encampment for the soldiers had been set up on the north and north east sides of town along the railroad tracks. Ponyville was now host to about thirty-thousand EUP soldiers from all over Equestria. But for the happenings in the forest, it had been quiet since the previous morning when they fought off the horde of timberwolves. Couriers arrived in the night informing them of an attack on Baltimare, but further reports indicated that it was a minor skirmish. No reinforcements were requested. Sparklefly had been relieved to hear that, as her family had been living in the port city since the fall of Apple Loosa.

Passing by CIC, Sparklefly noted that it seemed more frantic than usual. The General was busy with reports and writing up orders. Sparklefly was far too low ranking to go inside, so she continued on. Her attachment to Princess Twilight had created an interesting circumstance that allowed her a great amount of freedom for the time being. The princess wasn't here to give them orders, and they hadn't been reassigned yet, so they pretty much just had to stay in Ponyville until they were needed. Sparklefly suspected there would be no hurry on this, as their injuries should no doubt earn all of them medical leave.

She left the castle to find Scootaloo, who had gone early to visit Cloud Blazer in the hospital. There were plenty of wounded from the fighting the previous day, but his injuries were such that they made room for him. There was much astonishment that he had survived the fall in the Ghastly Gorge. The doctors were completely baffled that he wasn't killed on impact. They were even more amazed that he'd lasted this long. He was a mangled mess, but apparently Zecora knew her medicines. They allowed the zebra to continue his care. Their hooves were already full tending to the other casualties, but they did assign a nurse to assist her as needed.

Upon arrival, Sparklefly noted that Sweetie Belle still hadn't left his side. Even after Cloud Blazer was settled, the young unicorn mare stayed the night in the hospital with him while Zecora slept. Scootaloo was also there. It wouldn't be surprising at all if the hospital staff had to throw the two of them out to get them to leave him.

Scootaloo sighed.

“Are you alright?” Sparklefly asked.

“We should have told Apple Bloom that he was here.”

Sparklefly considered this a moment, “Really, she has a lot on her mind right now with her family and the farm in shambles. Let her sleep.”

Sweetie Belle yawned, seemingly not paying attention.

Scootaloo shrugged, cradling her sprained right fore-ankle, “She’d have wanted me to tell her last night.”

“In the long run, it’s a small matter. Zecora says he’s going to make it.”

Scootaloo accepted this. Sparklefly didn’t want to stay in the crowded hospital and decided she would head back out to Sweet Apple Acres to see if there was anything she could do to help with the chores. There were bound to be plenty of them considering the cleanup it would take to get the farm producing again. Her specialty had been the irrigation and weather control side of farming, but she had also learned quite a lot about the digging in the earth part, her father’s idea. Besides, she felt obligated to make herself of use since the Apples had allowed them to stay in the house.

A soldier, probably a scout, pushed passed her as she crossed the waiting room. Sparklefly exited the hospital into the hazy smoke-filled morning. There was a stale heat in the air that made everything that much more miserable. Her stomach grumbled, making her wince a little. The grass in all of Ponyville was now short, as it had already been consumed by the town’s ponies and soldiers, trying to keep their bellies satisfied. Coughing from the noxious air, Sparklefly turned and headed off toward Sweet Apple Acres.

...

Things seemed to be coming more into focus, but clarity was still beyond reach. The pain was as intense as ever, but the deafening noise wasn't returning as often, nor was it as overwhelming as it had previously been. The grinding pain of breathing was also becoming a little more tolerable. Coughing was horrible. Those spasms shot so much pain through Cloud Blazer that on two separate occasions they had caused him to pass out.

He was grateful to have his wits about him again, and the passage of time seemed to have returned to normal. This in turn caused a certain level of boredom to set in. On the bright side, there was a lot more movement in his field of vision now. His ears reported a constant low chatter, like far off voices that can't quite be understood. Cloud Blazer was coming to the conclusion that he had been moved, but he had no idea as to where. His other senses were still saturated with the stench and foul taste of potions that were applied to his body.

In addition to boredom, worry was another foe that came now. He could only wonder what had happened to Scootaloo and the rest of the squad. They had made it into the air, but did they survive? He had heard them talking about going back into the forest, but he hadn't been able to make out anything since then. He tried to bury his worries for Scootaloo, Sparklefly, Lightning Dasher, Pibs, and Princess Twilight, but it was difficult when all he had left was time to think.

...

Scootaloo was sitting by Sweetie Belle, across from Cloud Blazer, in the large lobby of the hospital. The rooms were crammed full already, and the wounded lay all around. Nurses went about checking on them, but the sense of urgency had finally left with the most severe cases being dealt with. Cloud Blazer’s breathing seemed much stronger than it had been even last night. Scootaloo couldn't tell if that was just her hopefulness getting the better of her. The medicine that Zecora kept him covered with smelled completely horrid. It was so foul that Scootaloo wondered that they had let him stay in the hospital at all. Sweetie Belle didn't seem to notice. She had fallen asleep a little while earlier on Scootaloo’s shoulder just after Zecora had arrived. It was nice to be able to hear him breathing. Scootaloo's hearing was still sketchy, and everything sounded hollow, but she had hope now that it would return to normal. At any rate, the intense ringing was growing much more faint.

The zebra began methodically checking Cloud Blazer from one end to the other, hind hooves to mane, carefully inspecting every injury and the progress of the healing. Scootaloo thought that Zecora looked beyond tired. Both she and Sweetie Belle had been devoting their full attention to Cloud Blazer for the better part of a week by this point, so it was understandable. By their report, he still hadn't spoken since they’d begun caring for him. He’d had the good sense not to bite his tongue during the fall, but his teeth were all knocked loose from the impact. Sweetie Belle had made sure they were back in place while his gums were still tender.

Zecora finished the routine check of the stallion and sat down for a moment. She seemed deeply engrossed in thought, and was muttering something to herself that Scootaloo couldn't quite make out thanks to her hearing loss. She didn't acknowledge Scootaloo as she got up and walked back outside, presumably to mix up some more medicinal brews of some kind or another. Cloud Blazer sputtered a little, and then coughed. Scootaloo saw him wince from it. His eyes were opened now, and he was laying there calmly. He looked around some, and closed his eyes again. The steady rhythm of his ragged breathing resumed.

Lightning Dasher Number Seven, one of only two surviving Lightning Dashers, was on another row of chairs nearby. His leg had been fractured and was now in a cast.

Cloud Blazer coughed again; Scootaloo felt helpless. She wanted to do something to make him better, but there was just no way to fix this. Maybe if she'd stayed closer to him when they’d made the jump... She'd been thinking this since he fell, and that's why she had asked Sparklefly to lead the rescue mission for the princess. The regret and guilt, however misplaced it might be, was overwhelming, especially at first. She had been able to push it to the back of her mind while there were lives on the line, but now all Scootaloo could do was sit face to face with the consequence of her moment of carelessness. She should never have let him bring up the rear. The only hint of relief was that she didn’t order him to do it. Had that been the case, the guilt would have been unbearable.

...

Sparklefly was almost back to the farmhouse. It took no small amount of coughing to get there due to the polluted air. She heard a noise from the barn as she passed, which made her stop to investigate. It was LD. The stallion was doing some exercises, which had made him work up a sweat already.

“How are you not worn out from the last few days?” she asked.

He hardly glanced at her, “I kept getting assigned where nothing was happening. You know I never did anything but guard duty away from fighting during the siege? Besides, we’ve got to stay fit for duty, right?”

“True enough,” she coughed. “I might join you later.”

He nodded in reply and continued. Sparklefly walked the short distance to the house. Upon entering, she was able to breathe again. It was a welcome respite from the hazy smoke filling the air outside. Sparklefly rummaged around in the kitchen, but the pantry was bare except for a bag of oats. It looked small considering it was all the food they had to feed several ponies for the next three days. Sparklefly closed the pantry without taking any.

"You can have some; don't be shy,” Apple Bloom's voice said from behind her.

Sparklefly replied, "No, thank you. I'll eat later."

"Come on, you gotta be hungry by now," Apple Bloom insisted.

"I'll wait for the others," Sparklefly said.

Apple Bloom opened the kitchen window shade, and the hazy daylight flooded in softly. A concerned look overcame her expression while looking out at the sky. She looked at Sparklefly, a bit confused.

"The Everfree forest is on fire," Sparklefly informed her.

"From that bang we heard last night?"

"I think so. Scootaloo returned after dark,” Sparklefly said; she then hesitated.

Apple Bloom tilted her head to one side asking, "And?"

"They brought Sweetie Belle, Zecora, and Cloud Blazer back to Ponyville."

"Well how come you didn’t tell me?" Apple Bloom asked frantically as she straightened her pink bow. "Where are they? Can I see him?"

"It might be a bit of a shock,” Sparklefly searched for the right words. “He's been hurt very badly."

"I know; y'all told us that already." She finished fiddling with her bow. "I want to see him. Is he in the hospital?"

Sparklefly hesitated only a moment, and nodded saying, "I'll come with you."

The pair went back outside. Sparklefly’s lungs were irritated by the noxious air. As they passed the barn, Sparklefly caught a sight that served to amuse her. LD saw them walking by and quickly darted to the door, lifting a wheel barrow over his head in a ridiculous pose. Apple Bloom saw it and rolled her eyes at him.

“That stallion,” she muttered under her breath.

Sparklefly found it difficult to hold in her laughter as LD put down the weight and scurried to catch up to them.

...

He hadn't realized he was dreaming until he woke up, but this was common now, and Cloud Blazer was not nearly so startled this time. Fortunately, it was not an unsettling dream. Upon awakening, he noticed colored blobs moving about. This was a rather exciting development, especially given how bored he'd been for the last few days. He was still unable to move, but that was expected.

As he lay there, trying to make out the fuzzy shapes that were moving back and forth, Cloud Blazer became acutely aware that he was intensely thirsty. This was a sensation that he hadn't noticed in several days. In fact, his senses had been so overloaded with pain that he hardly noticed anything else at all. It hadn’t subsided in the least, but he must have come to a point where he was able to pick out other sensations as well. Thirsty was as good a place to start as any. His tongue felt dry as if it were stuck to the roof of his mouth, and his throat was burning for water.

He decided that the only thing he could do was to try speaking. Hopefully, this wouldn't be nearly so painful as the last time he'd made the attempt. For all of the dreams and time with nothing to do, that seemed a lifetime ago. He drew in a painful, grinding breath.

...

Scootaloo's shoulder was falling asleep under the weight of Sweetie Belle's head. A gentle nudge was enough to rouse her.

Sweetie Belle sucked in a deep awakening breath and rubbed her eyes, "What? Huh? Did I forget something?"

Scootaloo answered, "No; you were putting my shoulder to sleep."

"Oh, sorry. I must have dozed off for a minute."

"More like an hour," Scootaloo teased, moving her leg to get the blood flowing again.

She heard Sweetie Belle's stomach growl loudly. The unicorn seemed a little embarrassed by it as they exchanged a glance. Scootaloo was going to say something dismissive when she heard Apple Bloom somewhere behind them.

"Where is he?" she asked. "I'm looking for a stallion named Cloud Blazer. Do you know where I can find him?"

Sweetie Belle stood straight up on her hind legs on the bench Scootaloo was seated on.

"Apple Bloom!” she called out.

The farm pony trotted quickly through the maze of wounded to reach them. She was followed closely by Sparklefly and LD. As they arrived, Sweetie Belle jumped down, and she and Apple Bloom embraced.

“Why didn’t you come back when the forest wasn’t safe?” Apple Bloom asked. "You had us all worried sick."

"I'm sorry I didn't return sooner. Zecora and I had to run away from her house. We found an empty Quarray Eel cave in the Ghastly Gorge and made our home there."

"But why didn't y'all just come back to Ponyville?"

"We tried, Apple Bloom, but we couldn't get through. The timberwolves were showing up everywhere when we tried to get back to town. I was working on learning to teleport, but I just couldn't figure it out. Then Zecora found a recipe for a potion that would help us turn invisible so we could walk right past them. We were going to use it to get back, but that's when Scootaloo showed up."

Scootaloo nodded, "That potion was very helpful."

Apple Bloom then noticed Cloud Blazer. Her face contorted at the sight of him and tears filled her eyes.

“Brownie...” she said.

Cloud Blazer stirred slightly, but it was enough that they all noticed. Then he became still again, with only the ragged sound of his breathing giving a sign that he was alive.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle.

Cloud Blazer gasped, sending Sweetie Belle shooting to his side. The others were right behind her. He made kind of a gurgling noise as he exhaled. It almost seemed deliberate, but Scootaloo couldn't be sure.

Sparklefly pointed, "He's moving!"

Scootaloo moved around the side of the group where she could see. Cloud Blazer had opened his eyes, laying on his right side. With his left fore hoof, he was slowly reaching at his face. He made another noise, but it was almost inaudible. It sounded sort of like, 'wuhg.'

LD asked, "What did he say?"

"Quiet!" Sweetie Belle scolded. She leaned in closer to listen.

Cloud Blazer looked like he was expending great effort. He had closed his eyes, and he took another breath. "Wuh... ahh..." he coughed, wincing sharply from the pain. "Kreh... hur..." He coughed again. Cloud Blazer was breathing more heavily now, but he seemed almost intent. He was trying to communicate.

Sparklefly said it faster, "Wuhahhkrehur. Wahkreur?"

Sweetie Belle checked his mouth. "His tongue's dry. He needs water."

"I'm on it!" Apple Bloom said, and she trotted off to get some.

"Water," Scootaloo understood, "he was asking for water."

LD asked, "Had he spoken before?"

"No," Sweetie Belle answered, "this is the first time since we've been caring for him."

Sparklefly smiled; Scootaloo’s heart was filled with great warmth at that sign of recovery. He was still in there, and he was going to be okay.

The unicorn began gently stroking Cloud Blazer’s mane, "Don't you worry; we're getting you some water."

Apple Bloom returned moments later, and Sweetie Belle helped him drink. It was a slow process, but some coughing and sputtering aside, he managed to get most of it down. He laid his head back down, seeming exhausted from the effort.

"Don't you worry, Brownie," Sparklefly said, "we paid them back for what they did to you."

“We paid them back for you, Nimba, Regal Masquerade, and Pibs,” Scootaloo added.

His breathing became deep and steady, as if he'd drifted off to sleep again. Zecora walked up just then with a bowl of foul smelling brown paste. It had a much thicker consistency than the green sludge he was currently coated with.

"This new potion I'll need to apply; but first Sweetie Belle, we must clean him dry," the zebra said.

Sweetie Belle nodded and walked off.

Scootaloo said, "Miss Zecora, Cloud Blazer spoke a moment ago. He had asked for water."

"That is good to hear, young Scootaloo; a sign that the medicine is working true,” she replied.

Sweetie Belle returned with some clean wash cloths and a basin full of water. They set to work gently washing the old green sludge from Cloud Blazer. The injuries looked much more severe when they weren't covered with Zecora's medicines. There were several places where he was swollen and bruised, and there were more cuts than could even be counted. His back right leg still was immobilized from having been broken and set. His wings were a total mess. They didn't retain their normal shape anymore. They also had been immobilized in a stretched out position. They were mangled and swollen much thicker than was natural.

As Scootaloo was watching Zecora and Sweetie Belle work, an EUP officer approached them. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Sergeant Scootaloo in command of Princess Twilight Sparkle's squad."

Scootaloo turned to face him, glad that he had spoken loud enough for her to understand him, "I'm Scootaloo." He was a black colored earth pony with red eyes.

"Ma'am," he began with a rather official demeanor, "General Mane Crusher wants you to gather your squad and report to him in CIC immediately. That is all."

Scootaloo was baffled by this. "Thank you," she said, dismissing him.

As he trotted away, LD asked, "Are we in trouble?"

"I wish I knew," Sparklefly said.

"I guess we'd best report in. I'll see you later, Apple Bloom."

"I'll be here," Apple Bloom replied without looking back.

Sweetie Belle was deeply engrossed in what she was doing, so Scootaloo decided not to interrupt. Looking from Sparklefly to LD she said, "Let's go."

Scootaloo led the other two from the hospital and into the smoke-filled air outside. There were very few of the towns-ponies out and about. The noxious haze from the burning forest effectively shut down the entire town. As they crossed to the castle, Scootaloo noticed a rather large number of pegasus ponies had already taken flight to attempt to control the weather. They were pushing clear air into town from the west, but the smoke was so thick that it was slow going. The guards at the gate let them walk past. Several carpenters were already rebuilding the doors. It looked like it would be twice as thick as the old one, and it also had an iron outer face. Even a thousand timberwolves would have a hard time trying to get through that one.

The air inside was much cleaner, but the castle was crowded with EUP soldiers. Repairs were being effected to all windows, and the cellar was also under reconstruction. The squad worked their way through the narrow corridor, past their discarded barricades from what would have been their last stand, and found the stairs up to the second floor. As they walked down the large corridor toward CIC, a voice called from behind them.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Scootaloo and the others stopped, and turned to see another Lightning Dasher coming up behind them. He had a black eye that was swollen shut, and one of his legs was in a cast. He was hobbling on the other three. It was Number Seven.

"Oh, hi, always nice to see a familiar face,” LD said.

“You guys just left me in the hospital; what gives?" the other Lightning Dasher asked.

Scootaloo felt awkward. "I'm sorry. LD was with us, and I guess I forgot."

Lightning Dasher was miffed, "Look, I could get that if there were dozens of me still, but there's only two."

LD looked a little uncomfortable also, “He's right. We're both me still. No treating us different."

Sparklefly said, "I'm sorry too; I'll try to be more thoughtful. You have to admit, this is one situation they didn't exactly train us for."

“Who called us and where are we going?” Lightning Dasher asked.

"CIC," Scootaloo answered. "We were summoned by the CO."

LD added, "Yep, General Mane Crusher himself."

“Come on,” Scootaloo said.

The four of them continued down the corridor, eventually finding themselves in CIC. The room was buzzing with activity as couriers were being dispatched here and there. Orders were being sent, and maps were being updated as scouts came in and gave their reports from all over Equestria. Scootaloo led the group right up to the General, and they waited to be addressed. He was conversing with his officers and pouring over a map of Equestria. There were little figures all over it representing the various armies of the EUP. There were others that represented the timberwolves at points where their strength was known. Scootaloo noticed that the EUP had fallen back from the river they had taken only a week ago, they had given up all of the ground they gained all the way back to Filly Delphia and Baltimare. They still held everything north of Foal Mountain, and it seemed the bulk of the EUP forces were laid out in the gaps between the mountains, using the terrain to hold the area with a smaller force. Scootaloo wondered whether they had given up that ground to save Ponyville.

The black earth pony with red eyes spoke, "General, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle's squad."

"Thank you, Swiftlight," the gruff voice answered. Mane Crusher was light gray in color, and his mane, tail, and small mustache had turned white from age. He had a solid, no-nonsense look about him. His flank was emblazoned with a battle axe, the edge of which was dripping with crimson. He turned to Scootaloo, and the squad saluted. He returned the gesture. "At ease," he said, and began sizing them up quickly. “Is this all?”

“No, sir,” Scootaloo replied. “We have one other survivor, but he was critically wounded.”

“You have twins?" he asked, pointing at LD and Lightning Dasher.

"No, sir," Scootaloo replied. "They are duplicates."

"Ah, so this is Lightning Dasher," he said with a slow nod.

"Yes, sir," Scootaloo replied.

General Mane Crusher addressed LD and Lightning Dasher, "Jumping into the mirror pond like that was quick thinking, son. Fine work."

Together, LD and Lightning Dasher said, "Thank you, sir."

Mane Crusher squinted at them. Scootaloo couldn't tell if he was disapproving or not. Maybe he was also a little uncomfortable with the duplications.

Scootaloo hadn’t noticed Shining Armor until he approached the group, “General.”

“Your majesty,” The general said. “It’s time.”

The prince nodded gravely.

Standing back from the squad, the General spoke loudly, "Hold everything; I need everypony's attention." The room instantly fell silent as he produced a scroll and opened it. "I have orders signed by the princesses that I am to read now. 'To General Mane Crusher commanding the third corps, the following directives are given. This letter is to be read in the presence of Prince Shining Armor, Princess Twilight Sparkle’s squad, and witnesses. Our mission, which we felt required the utmost haste and secrecy can now be known. We went into the Everfree Forest to deal with the mirror pond. Princess Twilight had found a spell that would unleash the magic inside, rendering it powerless. It is a complicated process, and will take several of us to complete properly. For this reason, we have taken Discord with us also. With all of our combined magical abilities, we will dispel the mirror pond by releasing the magic contained within. We do not anticipate any problems, yet as we five princesses will all be in one location, we felt that precautions should be taken. Provided that no princesses return to Ponyville by dawn, the following actions must be taken. First, organize a search party to determine the fate of the royal alicorns and to determine the success of our mission. Second, effectively immediately, all executive power in Equestria is given to Prince Shining Armor until such time as any of the princesses are recovered. Third, concerning the squad that had previously been assigned to Princess Twilight Sparkle: they are to all receive promotions at the discretion of Captain Brax, to whom they are now assigned, further reassignment as needed. Signed in hopes that our absence will see Equestria healed for all ponies that live here: Princesses Hope's Glimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia.'"

The silence in the room was almost unbearable. Scootaloo felt that now would be the perfect time to panic, but her training told her unquestionably that the thing to do is to keep her head. The fear that was initially gripping her was also dissipated by the fact that one alicorn is powerful, five plus Discord would be unstoppable. There was simply no way that anything too bad could have happened to them. They must have just been delayed. Then she thought back to the explosion, and a second wave of fear threatened to take hold. Something had indeed gone wrong.

Mane Crusher continued, "I want both pegasus divisions to begin SAR operations in the Everfree forest immediately. That is all."

The silence was shattered with orders shooting this way and that, and Swiftlight darted out of the room on some errand. Scootaloo wasn't certain what to do at this point, so she remained motionless with Sparklefly, LD, and Lightning Dasher.

“I’ll return to Cloudsdale,” Prince Shining Armor said solemnly to the general. “I’m counting on you to find them.”

“With everything at my disposal,” he replied.

The prince left the room, escorted by his personal guards. Mane Crusher turned back to the squad.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," he gruffly said to Scootaloo.

"Thank you, sir," she said, a little more awkwardly than she had intended to sound.

"You all look horrible. You're on medical leave until further notice. Dismissed!"

Scootaloo saluted, the others following suit, and they marched silently out of CIC.

Once in the hallway, Lightning Dasher asked, "Now what do we do?"

Sparklefly said, "I wish we could join the SAR." 
LD objected, "Hold it; you're in no condition to fly."

“I somehow get the feeling our assistance wouldn’t be appreciated this time," Scootaloo observed. The others looked at her. "We're on medical leave. We need to report to the infirmary. With a little luck, they'll approve me for travel." The others looked at her questioningly. A dark thought, more of a feeling, had been growing in Scootaloo’s mind. It became tempered with resolve that action was required. "There's something I need to take care of."

14 Loss

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Like a bolt of lightning through the night, Cloud Blazer shot across Equestria. He was moving so swiftly that he zipped right by Las Pegasus, then Philly Delphia, swung by the Crystal Empire, and then came around to hit the other coast all in a matter of seconds. The stars burned brightly overhead, and the moon was like a pale fire illuminating the land below. Turning right, he ripped past Canterlot and Cloudsdale, heading straight for Ponyville.

"Come to me!" a strange voice boomed across the darkness.

Cloud Blazer came to a complete stop, spinning around one way and then the other, looking to see who had spoken. None were nearby, and a great stillness was his only companion.

"Come to me!" the voice said again.

Cloud Blazer looked up and saw a face in the moon. It was a mare, but she didn't look like anypony he'd ever seen before. The face seemed to stare directly into his soul as his gaze was captivated by her. A shiver went through him. The moon spoke again; the voice was like a chorus.

"Come to me!"

Cloud Blazer felt pierced to his core, and he began to slowly fly straight up toward the silvery disc in the sky. He didn't seem to be moving quickly, but he arrived at the surface of it in mere moments. As he drew close, the lunar sphere was so large that it filled his vision completely. He turned back for a fleeting moment to see Equestria far below. Lights twinkled from towns, very much like stars across the countryside. Facing the moon once more, he felt a hint of trepidation as he reached out a hoof to touch it. As he made contact, his entire body burst into flames, and he burned from the inside out. The stallion screamed, crying out as the world, the moon, and the stars melted away, ending the dream.

Light was fading to darkness, and then back again. Sounds were becoming distinct and less muffled. Cloud Blazer still was unable to move to any significant degree. The pain that pulsed through him was excruciating, but his senses seemed stronger every day. So far, that was the strangest dream he’d had.

...

Scootaloo walked down the bustling streets in the city of Manehattan. It was a great relief to her that she had been cleared for the trip. She was wearing her off-duty uniform, a starched dark blue long-sleeved tunic with brass buttons and her rank insignia on the straight collar. She drew little attention from passersby on the crowded streets. She still wore a few bandages, most notably a wrap on her right fore-leg. The ankle was mending nicely, but she was still unable to put any weight on it. She moved slowly, needing to be extra cautious due to her impaired hearing. Dread began to fill her with each passing step. The memories of the past few days were vivid. The previous night, Scootaloo had dreamed of her friends that she would never see again, and then there was Cloud Blazer.

They had been close friends for so long that his absence was keenly felt. The comments and quips he would make, even his dumb morning flights would be welcome right now. He had looked so pitiful, and even though Zecora kept saying that he would recover, just one look at him was enough to fill Scootaloo with doubt and fear. As awful as it was to see him in the hospital, those visits would undoubtedly be much more pleasant than this one.

LD and Lightning Dasher had wanted to come, but Scootaloo insisted that she must do this on her own. Each step was heavier than the last. After getting lost in the streets twice, she finally found herself standing in front of a tall apartment building that was housing EUP drill instructors and cadets. It had a brown molded stone facade that stretched up into the sky. The double-doors were glass framed in dark stained wood. She went inside.

The elevator ride seemed an eternity, climbing higher and higher. The brass metal doors opened on the twenty-third floor, where Scootaloo got out. The hallway was a soft beige with a colorful carpet that bordered on gaudy. She turned right and walked down the hallway, her three good hooves silently padding on the threadbare floor. Her mouth felt dry, and she could feel her heart beating nervously. It wasn't until another pony passed her in the hallway that she realized how slowly she was walking. Wishing she hadn't chosen to do this alone, she continued on.

There it was; room number twenty-three forty-five stood directly ahead. Scootaloo took a deep breath to calm herself and then rang the bell. She heard a stirring inside and nervously shifted her stance a little. A magical glow covered the door, and the sound of the lock working could be heard. Then the door swung slowly open, and the unicorn Lighthoof stood before her wearing a fresh bandage on the stump of his right front leg. He smiled slightly when he saw her initially, but it only took a half second before a look of recognition crossed his face; his demeanor transformed, becoming rather grave. He stood aside, gesturing for her to come in.

"Welcome to my domicile, Miss Scootaloo. I must say, your appearance seems rather disheveled since we last saw each other," he said regarding her sprained ankle as she entered.

The door closed behind her. It was a small, but open sort of space. The living room and dining room were one in the same. There was a slight separation on the right by a counter that kept the kitchen apart from the other main area. There were two doors against the left wall as she entered, which she assumed were a bedroom and bathroom. Unlike the hallway, the color scheme inside was tame: white walls with new smelling industrial blue carpet.

“May I interest you in a glass of water? Are you hungry?” the stallion asked.

“Water,” Scootaloo simply replied; it was all she could do to keep breathing.

Her heart was thumping in her chest, the noise of it filled her ears as he filled the glass of water. Lighthoof magically levitated the cold glass to the mare. She took a drink from it.

"I... uh... I'm sorry," Scootaloo fumbled, not sure how to deliver this message.

She took another sip, looking down; her mouth seemed impossibly dry. When Scootaloo looked back up, Lighthoof was staring calmingly into her eyes.

"I believe I know why you have made the long journey to visit a pony as insignificant in this conflict as I. If you have indeed come for the reason that I suspect you have, then please do me the courtesy of saying what you came to say."

He had gone completely stoic, steeling himself against the worst thing he could imagine.

Taking another deep breath, she began, "I came to give you news... the worst news.” Her legs had just begun shaking. Scootaloo felt somehow simultaneously hot and cold all over. “Our mission into the forest was a success, but... the greatest cost. Several ponies were killed," the words were choking her, and she was on the verge of tears again. "I'm sorry,” she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, “Pibs was among them." Scootaloo fought hard to hold back the tears, but a few small ones leaked out.

Anguish covered Lighthoof's face and his head hung low. He made no sound now, but Scootaloo could see that he was weeping freely. That silence made Scootaloo want to run, to get away to anywhere else. She felt incredibly sick, sad, and angry. The emotion was churning all around inside. She considered making for the door, but Lighthoof nodded and then looked up at her, his face wet from the sorrow.

"Were you with her when it happened?" It was not an accusation.

Scootaloo nodded slowly, "I was with her... at the end." Not completely true, but true enough.

He seemed somehow comforted by that, and then said, "I thank you for that small kindness, Miss Scootaloo. Death is something best done in the company of a close friend... I can tell you that you were such to my dear Pibs."

Scootaloo said, “I don’t feel like I was a great friend... I couldn’t save her.”

Lighthoof gestured to a chair, which she sat in. He sat across from her.

"She wrote to me several letters, and you were fondly mentioned in each and every one. She was losing her nerve that day in Canterlot when you reached out to her. Did you know that she was on the precipice of leaving the EUP? She had planned to simply fly away that very night, and that is the reason she was crying. She had reached the breaking point, and there was no comfort for her; it wasn't only for fear of the upcoming battle."

Scootaloo wasn't sure how to respond to this. She'd had no idea that Pibs was on the verge of going AWOL. Pibs hadn't told anyone, except Lighthoof.

"Your act of friendship changed Pibs forever. The last months of her life were more full than many of the years prior. You encouraged her, and she became a very fine mare indeed."

Scootaloo had joined him in quietly crying now; she was also shaking and glad that they were sitting down. Tears were spilling freely to the floor.

Lighthoof took a breath and continued, "Do not hold back. Weep now, dear Scootaloo. We will all miss her in the days to come."

And so she let all restraints down so the tears could fall. She couldn’t help thinking of the future that Lighthoof and Pibs wouldn’t get to have. It was bad enough the way that she’d died, but the repercussions of her passing would effect them all for years to come. They cried with each other for a great while, occasionally breaking the silence to say something about Pibs. Scootaloo recounted the entire mission at the stallion’s request; she held nothing back from him. Lighthoof seemed concerned about Cloud Blazer. Scootaloo wanted to reach out, give him a shoulder to cry on, but he never approached closer. It was nearly an hour before the tears had run their course. The stallion got up and crossed into his kitchen, took out two small glasses and a carafe filled with an amber liquid. He poured some for each of them.

"A day with news like today requires a stronger drink than water," he said, giving her a glass. "To the loved, and lost," he said, raising his glass.

"To the loved and lost," Scootaloo agreed vacantly, consuming her drink.

The liquid burned like fire in the back of her throat, causing Scootaloo to cough uncontrollably. She'd never had a drink so stout before. Lighthoof swallowed his with ease. She felt a little embarrassed at this, but the stallion paid her inexperience no attention. The warmth of the drink was now in her chest, and spreading through her body.

Recovering from the coughing fit, the mare said, "There is one final thing, and then I have to go."

"Go ahead, Miss Scootaloo.”

From her pocket, Scootaloo took the folded cloth that Pibs had been carrying. "This was... It's for you," she said, giving it to him. "Her final thoughts were of you."

He opened the napkin and saw the little purple flower, now pressed flat. Fresh tears welled up in his eyes. Scootaloo stood to leave.

“Must you go so soon?”

She was about to reply, but words stuck in her throat. Unable to speak, the mare simply nodded. Lighthoof stood, stepping toward her. He embraced the pegasus closely; she could feel his own heart pounding in his chest.

”I thank you for bringing this message to me yourself,” he said as he let go.

She nodded, straining at holding in more emotion that threatened to reduce her to uselessness again. He opened the door and let her out. Scootaloo found herself heading back to the elevator. Her tears were all dried for now, but the loss of Pibs was a deep wound. It wasn't all heaviness. She felt a little lighter now that the task at hoof was done, but her thoughts were still consumed by this when she stepped out of the building. A carriage shot by, startling Scootaloo as she was stepping out into the street. She saw it out of the corner of her eye and spun back up onto the curb, narrowly avoiding an impact.

“Watch where you’re going!” the burly pony that pulled it called out as he continued by.

The medics had told her that the hearing loss was temporary, but moments like that made her afraid that it would become permanent the hard way. The city was much less glamorous than she had expected it to be. It was overcrowded, filled with refugees that had the distinctive hungry look that Scootaloo recognized from Ponyville. A newspaper caught her eye as she stood on the curb. She put a bit into the machine to release the contents. The front page had a picture of the Wonderbolts in their uniforms. Rainbow Dash was pictured behind Spitfire and Soarin. Scootaloo had seen the photo before, but the headline was what really caught her attention, ‘Wonderbolts Raid Occupied Canterlot for Food.’ The article was mostly about how rationing of the remaining supplies had become strict. The good news was that the farms all around Manehattan and all the way down to Filly Delphia were operating again, but there wouldn't be any produce from them for several months. The grasslands had also been recovered but were so trampled that there wouldn’t be much to graze. The other focus was about the raid on Canterlot. Colonel Rainbow Dash had drawn up a plan that was led by Spitfire herself commanding Wonderbolt teams one and four. In conjunction with some support troops, they had rescued the food stores in Canterlot and taken them to a secure location in Las Pegasus.

Scootaloo's thoughts were broken as the air was pierced by Manehattan’s raid sirens. In a moment, the streets began to clear as everypony ran for cover, finding a place to get inside. Scootaloo absently dropped the paper and began charging down the street at a gallop but stopped short as pain shot through her sprained ankle. She continued as quickly as she could on three legs but finally gave up on running and spread her wings, taking to the air. She climbed up above the buildings, and a platoon of pegasus ponies bolted past her, heading west. She followed behind them. Her heart was racing, anticipating the horde of timberwolves that must be assaulting the city, but how would they have made it this far behind the outer defenses? Additionally, the city was on an island, and it was certainly not likely to be vulnerable to a massive attack. As they drew closer, Scootaloo remembered that the railroad tracks came in on the west side, so it would be the only place that a ground force could get in.

She saw the armored platoon drop suddenly, and as Scootaloo approached the edge of the row of buildings, she stopped in mid-air, hovering. There was no enemy in sight. The platoon made a low fast circle in an intersection to make their landing. There was some commotion on the ground, but there were no timberwolves. Then she saw it. A single changeling was being restrained. They had broken its horn, crippling its magical abilities, and now it was struggling to get free. Another pegasus squad flew by, one of them stopping briefly and addressing Scootaloo.

"You active duty?" he asked.

"No, sir, medical leave," she replied.

"Get inside, the situation is under control," he ordered before darting off without waiting for a response.

Scootaloo decided to heed his order, and she flew back east a few blocks and landed on a sidewalk. The raid sirens still echoed through the city, but the streets were eerily empty. She stood there a moment, and then turned to head to the closest door. A nearby shop caught her eye, and she changed course. It was a boutique. As she stepped inside, it had the look of a place that regarded high fashion. However, the racks and shelves seemed a bit bare. There were already a few dozen other ponies that had taken shelter inside.

"Are we under attack?" a frightened filly asked, having noticed Scootaloo’s uniform. She was a golden colored crystal pony with brown eyes and a bright blue mane and tail. She had no cutie mark.

Scootaloo smiled at her and said, "Don't worry. The soldiers outside are taking care of it."

The child smiled weakly, still clearly afraid. She was starting to shake beside her mother, who was a much darker gold with a pink mane. The child spoke to her mother, "Are daddy and brother with them?"

Her mother attempted an unconcerned smile, "No, dear. They've only just reported in today. They won't be in the fighting for a long time yet." The mother looked to Scootaloo in hopes that she spoke the truth.

Scootaloo smiled and nodded at them reassuringly, "It looked like only a small security concern. I'm sure we'll be out of here before you know it."

"Scootaloo?" a familiar mare’s voice said from the back of the shop. It was light, but somehow fancy.

Scootaloo stood up straight, looking to the back to see who had addressed her. The group was making room to let a beautiful white mare through. She was wearing a simple, yet elegant light blue frock with gold trim. It was Rarity, Sweetie Belle’s older sister. Her perfectly styled purple mane looked as equally fabulous as the last time that Scootaloo had seen her.

"Rarity?" the pegasus said, suddenly realizing why she’d been drawn to this shop.

It was Rarity For You, Rarity’s boutique on Saddle Row. Scootaloo could only surmise that she hadn’t put it together sooner due to the sirens and tension that was going on outside. Add to that her complete lack of expectation to find Rarity’s shop, and it made sense. The raid sirens stopped blasting. Moments later, almost as if completely unshaken by the event, everypony began exiting the boutique.

"Why, whatever are you doing here?" Rarity asked. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, "How long will you be in the city? You simply must let me show you around!"

Scootaloo was so caught off guard, she wasn't sure what to say. The fact that one of her best friends and Rarity had parted so badly was the first thing that she thought of, but that didn’t seem an appropriate subject about which to talk.

"Is something the matter, darling?" Rarity asked, genuinely concerned.

A wild idea formulated in the pegasus’ mind and began to come out of her mouth before she had time for a second thought.

"I have a message for you," Scootaloo began carefully. "It's from Sweetie Belle.” It was not.

Rarity's interest was peaked, "Well, don't just stand there. Tell me."

Scootaloo walked up to the fancy unicorn, embraced her in a big hug, and said, "I'm sorry."

Rarity seemed caught off guard, and she nearly backed away instinctively. Her tension eased, and Scootaloo let go. It was a complete lie that Scootaloo had thought up in the moment. Before the potential repercussions of it were clear to herself, she had already spoken. Normally it would be Sweetie Belle that would make a game like this, but Scootaloo would have to figure out how to work this in a way that they would start talking again. The falling out they’d had was a bitter one. Siblings shouldn’t quarrel.

"Well, thank you, dear,” Rarity said gracefully to cover the awkward moment. "I hope you don't mind my saying; you look simply dreadful. Have you been in the thick of the fighting to be injured so? And your poor mane!”

Scootaloo snorted a laugh. "Yes ma'am; in her majesty’s service in the EUP, cosmetic concerns are secondary."

Rarity smiled broadly. As usual, it was impossible for Scootaloo to discern whether it was genuine or a facade. Rarity was gifted that way. Scootaloo did not miss the quick glance that the fancy mare made at her flank, obviously noticing that she still lacked a cutie mark. It didn’t bother her from Rarity; she knew it wouldn’t come up in conversation.

“But to answer your questions,” Scootaloo said, “I’m only here for the day on personal business, which I've already taken care of. I have to report back to Ponyville by midday tomorrow.”

"Then I absolutely insist that you spend the evening with me!” Rarity insisted. “I can show you around the city, and there are one or two places where a decent, if not tiny, meal can still be found.”

Scootaloo hesitated.

Rarity put on a pouty face, “Oh, please say you will! It’s been ages since I’ve seen anypony from back home, and I do miss everypony so! You must get me up to date on the latest gossip!”

Scootaloo knew she had the time, and the distraction might be helpful.

“I’d like that,” the pegasus replied.

Scootaloo and Rarity spent the rest of the day together. There were really too many sights to take in for Scootaloo to even process everything she'd seen. There was the free market, with a statue of a warhorse on one end of street, and a mule on the other end. There was the bay, and the Statue of Equestrian Liberty that faced east toward the sunrise. They weren't able to go see the face of it as travel in the bay was restricted. There were novelty shops, shows, and of course the fashion shops. Rarity became incredibly giddy when they got to fashion. It was a little bit sad to Scootaloo that there were not actually many dresses to look at. Not that she was much on fashion herself, but a girl likes to dress up now and then. They all had the same lack of variety that Scootaloo had witnessed in Rarity’s boutique. There were magazines with examples in plenty, but the war effort had stripped many businesses of the supplies to create new things. Rarity explained that the textile industry was in full gear supporting the military, so everything was hard to come by. The other thing that was missing was food. Rarity pointed out that there were usually street vendors selling all kinds of things on any given corner, but ever since the war got bad and rationing took effect, they hadn't been out and about. They did find some delicious, if not diminutive, dinner in the late afternoon. As dusk approached, Rarity insisted that Scootaloo stay with her for the night.

"It won't exactly be a party. I'm afraid I don't have the necessary supplies to justify calling it that, but I do have a small tub of chocolate frosting that I've been saving for a special occasion."

Scootaloo felt a little embarrassed, "Rarity, I can't take your last chocolate."

"Oh, don't be silly! We're going to share it. Special moments are best shared with friends, and I don't get to see dear friends often these days.”

Scootaloo felt rather honored and humbled by the sentiment; she smiled, "Okay."

Rarity's apartment was in a high-rise overlooking the bay. It was just high enough to see over the top of the other buildings so there was a clear view of the statue. Those eastward facing windows were nearly floor to ceiling at one end of the living room. It was very much like having a wall that was made of glass.

"That's quite a view," Scootaloo said.

"Don't you just love it?" Rarity asked, pleased. "I never was much of a morning Pony, but the sunrises here are simply divine!”

Scootaloo looked around the apartment, which was spacious, though not compared to the houses in Ponyville, but it seemed to be missing something. It had a small kitchen and two bedrooms, one of which Rarity had converted to a craft room. There was also a bathroom and the main living room, which had a breakfast nook. It was large compared to Lighthoof’s flat, but that wasn’t saying much. As Scootaloo looked around, she realized that it was the furnishings that were lacking. Considering how Rarity typically decorated, this was incredibly plain. Scootaloo turned to Rarity, who had pulled the small tub of chocolate frosting and two spoons from her cupboards.

"It's just dreadful isn't it?" Rarity asked.

Tilting her head to one side, Scootaloo asked, "What is?"

"The decor," Rarity answered. “I’m afraid I donated every last scrap of it for the war effort. You know, I had no idea how many bandages could be made from my own small stash of silk.”

Scootaloo giggled like a kid. Rarity's gaze snapped to her, and then her questioning expression melted into amusement, and she giggled herself. They started on the chocolate, which was, as Rarity would say, divine. It was creamy and rich, but not too sweet. It was the very taste of perfection itself in a blend of delightful creamy ecstasy. They consumed it in silence, savoring every moment. This was only the second sweet thing Scootaloo had eaten in at least three months. The last, at Diamond Tiara's house, was somehow much less desirable. It was doubtful that the quality of the Ponyville mayor’s dessert was the reason for this. Scootaloo decided that a tub of chocolate with a friend is better than the finest confectionaries money can buy.

As they finished cleaning the tub out, Rarity asked, "So, tell me, how is Sweetie Belle getting along?"

"I saw her yesterday," Scootaloo began. She then told the story from the beginning: how they had come to Ponyville, searched the forest for Zecora and Sweetie Belle, been ambushed by timberwolves, and then about Cloud Blazer's fall. Then, Sweetie Belle had arrived, and was tending to Cloud Blazer's wounds in Ponyville. Scootaloo did spare the more gory details.

"I must say, that is quite a story," Rarity said. "I'm so sorry to hear how you lost your friends."

Scootaloo nodded silently; the raw emotion for Regal Masquerade, Pibs, and Nimba stole anything further she might have said.

"Well, I'm rather relieved to hear that Sweetie Belle's back in Ponyville. The Everfree forest was dreadful even before the war began," Rarity said, tossing her head back a little.

"Yeah, but we always managed to be going in there for some reason or another," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Indeed," Rarity said.

There was silence for a long moment. Darkness had overshadowed the city outside.

“It used to be a huge secret, but did you know that Sweetie Belle used to have the biggest crush on Cloud Blazer?” Rarity asked in a mischievous tone.

“Really?” that news was actually a surprise. “Huh, I never saw that one coming.”

Rarity nodded, “Of course, she had sworn me to secrecy, but that was years ago.”

Scootaloo remembered how the unicorn hadn’t left Cloud Blazer’s side since he’d been hurt and how she had gently stroked his mane. She could only wonder whether she might still have feelings for him. It just seemed so unlikely. Sweetie Belle had never mentioned it, not once. Rarity had a look of expectation on her face as though she were waiting for Scootaloo to return the favor with some juicy bit of gossip. Not sure what else to say, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Applejack’s pregnant.”

Rarity’s mouth hung open for a moment in complete shock. She uttered a noise that was an attempt at words, but like an engine that is failing to start, she just stuttered for a moment. The fancy unicorn quickly regained her composure.

“Well congratulations for that! How far along is she?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Scootaloo replied. “The weird part is, they don’t seem to want to talk about it that much. She has to be six or seven months by the look of her.”

Rarity raised an accusatory eyebrow, “You mean to tell me that one of my dear friends has been carrying a foal for seven months and never said anything?”

“You’re telling me. I was in Ponyville for most of that time and nopony told me either. Pretty weird, don’t you think?” Scootaloo was pleased that she found some appropriate gossip.

“Indeed. You know, I haven’t seen Applejack since her wedding. How long has that been? Two years?”

Scootaloo nodded, “I get to see her almost every day for the moment. Ponyville has a lot of soldiers living there now. Applejack has been housing my squad.”

“I see.”

The thought of her squad gave Scootaloo an idea.

"Rarity, can I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course, darling, anything!”

"I need something for a friend, and I think your talents would be perfect for it.”

Rarity looked inquisitively at Scootaloo, curious as to what she could possibly want.

...

Sparklefly rubbed her bandaged left eye. Her stomach was growling, and hers wasn't the only one. LD and Lightning Dasher looked hungry as well. They had been expecting Scootaloo to be back by nightfall, but she still hadn't returned from Manehattan. There were no longer any Pegasus ponies trying to clear the air, which made it apparent how successful their efforts had been. Save for a small CAP, the entire force of pegasi and been ordered to search the Everfree forest for signs of the princesses. The five princesses being missing was unsettling, but surely nothing could have happened to them. Alicorns are far more powerful than timberwolves, and even the changelings couldn't overpower five of them. This didn’t even consider the fact that Discord was with them.

The squad coughed all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres after their morning visit to the infirmary. The orchard looked even more pitiful in the haze that blanketed Ponyville. They were going to have to clear the smoke and get some rain coming down if they hoped to replant anything soon. It wasn’t the right season to plant the apple trees, but they also have some smaller fields closer to town that had a variety of other foods. They'll need plenty of sunlight and water. Growing up in Apple Loosa, Sparklefly had to help whenever it was time to change the weather. Her dad taught her how when she became strong enough to fly. More than that, he'd taught her about the plowing and planting. She knew farming. As a filly, she was less than enthusiastic, but lately, she very much missed weather duty.

As they got near the gate, they passed Silver Spoon as she was leaving the farm. A flustered disposition seemed apparent by the way she walked. She did not speak to them, and just as she passed, Sparklefly could hear Applejack yelling from the barn, "...and don't come back!"

"That can't be good," Sparklefly said.

LD and Lightning Dasher exchanged a nervous glance.

"Come on!" Sparklefly ordered, and she started off at a gallop. LD and Lightning Dasher hurried along behind her. The smoke-filled air burned in her lungs, but they quickly reached the barn, going straight inside.

Applejack was stamping at the ground and fuming in the way that only a pregnant mare can do. Apple Bloom was sitting on a galvanized metal bucket with a look of complete and utter shock on her face.

Sparklefly began cautiously, "Applejack, is everything alright?"

"Alright? Alright! They're taking our orchard!" she barked, brandishing an official looking piece of paper. "No, ain’t nothin’ alright just now!"

"But they can't; they just can't!" Apple Bloom insisted.

"Yeah, well, they are," Applejack shot back, throwing the paper to the ground. "Bunch of good for nothin’...” she kicked an empty bucket that crashed into some tools leaning against the wall. Sparklefly couldn't hear what Applejack was saying as the tools clattered into each other and to the ground, but it was certainly unkind.

”What can we do?" Sparklefly asked.

Apple Bloom was still in shock, "They just can’t.”

"Ain't nothin' we can do," Applejack said, a little more calm now, but still seething. "The order gives the mayor of Ponyville permission to take anypony's land."

LD asked, "The order was signed?"

"By Twilight Sparkle?" Lightning Dasher finished.

"It was," Applejack replied.

"I can't believe this was what she intended," Sparklefly said.

Applejack answered, "Intended or not, this is what's happening, and there ain't a thing we can do about it."

"They just can’t...”

"Will you shut up, Apple Bloom!" Applejack snapped, stomping toward her. "They just are, so get over yourself and face this. We've lost Sweet Apple Acres; it's going to be an oat farm now."

LD and Lightning Dasher moved in front of Apple Bloom as Applejack approached. "Knock it off!" they yelled in unison.

Applejack got right up to them, "Don't you dare tell me how to behave in my own house!" They didn't budge.

Sparklefly was trying to think of something, anything she could do to diffuse the situation. "Applejack," she said softly, "what if-"

Applejack turned and stomped loudly out of the barn, cutting off Sparklefly. She went out into the hazy day, and kicked the barn door shut so hard that it slammed with a bang. Apple Bloom started crying. LD and Lightning Dasher turned around to face her.

"Shh," LD said, "Don't cry."

"We'll figure something out," Lightning Dasher finished.

Sparklefly picked up the signed order that Applejack had thrown on the ground. 'By order of her majesty, The Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle,'

'Authority is hereby given to the Mayor of Ponyville to appropriate such land is suitable and necessary for the planting of crops for the duration of the timberwolf crisis, and as long thereafter as is necessary for the replanting of the other farms across Equestria. Furthermore, the commanding officer of the EUP forces in Ponyville, as much as it will not interfere with his military duties, shall offer any and all assistance to the Mayor of Ponyville in the execution of her plan to make emergency farmland for the duration of the war.'

Sparklefly shook her head. The way the order had been written, it was completely at the mayor's discretion which land to choose. They might be able to challenge it on the grounds of being necessary, but with the absence of the princess that wrote the order, it would be impossible to get any clarification on that point. General Mane Crusher didn't seem likely to be sympathetic to their cause either.

"Apple Bloom," Sparklefly began, "Is the land surrounding Ponyville, outside Sweet Apple Acres, suitable for farming also?"

Still crying, Apple Bloom nodded. She started drying her eyes.

"At least the order isn't permanent, right?" Sparklefly was trying to look at the bright side.

Apple Bloom said, "But you don't understand; if we don't replant the apple trees now, we'll lose at least a year. It takes apple trees three to five years to grow up enough to produce." She sniffled a little, then noticed how close LD and Lightning Dasher were. She turned away a little, grunting at them.

LD and Lightning Dasher stood back from her. Apple Bloom continued, "If we don't get the apple trees producing, as soon as we can, we'll go broke for sure once this is all over. Who'd want to buy oats from Sweet Apple Acres?"

Sparklefly sighed, looking at the order again, as if it would magically change. "Can we plant the apple trees before they have a chance to sew the oats?"

"They're coming tomorrow morning," Apple Bloom said. "They'll have thousands of soldiers planting the oat seed. We haven't even been able to clear the dead trees off yet."

She looked from LD, to Lightning Dasher, and then to Apple Bloom again, but it was hopeless. This was a problem that was just beyond their ability to fix. Sparklefly slowly walked out of the barn into the smoky day. She rubbed at her eye bandage while looking out at the remains of the orchard through the haze. There must be an answer. There must be something that they can do to help the Apple family.

"Hey Sparklefly!" a voice called from above.

Sparklefly looked up just in time to drop to the ground for fear of being hit as Scootaloo flew by only inches overhead. She began laughing uproariously.

"Where have you been?" Sparklefly barked at her as she regained her hooves and dusted herself off.

"I had to go to the infirmary to check in," Scootaloo came down for a landing.

"We just came from there."

"They barely even looked at me. They sent me off about as soon as they saw me."

"Sometimes I wish I could do that," Sparklefly teased; she wasn’t that upset, but her friend deserved a ribbing after that stunt.

"Ha, ha."

"We've got a big problem," Sparklefly said as LD, Lightning Dasher, and Apple Bloom came out of the barn.

It only took a glance for Scootaloo to ask, ”What's wrong, Apple Bloom?"

"They're going to take the farm away," Apple Bloom said, still on the verge of tears.

“Wait, what? Who’s taking the farm away?”

“The city...”

Scootaloo looked to be instantly enraged, "Oh no they're not!"

Sparklefly gave the signed order to Scootaloo; her eyes quickly scanned the words.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Scootaloo screamed, her anger boiling. "I was there; she never said anything about Sweet Apple Acres. That cheap, lying... I'm going to kill her!"

Scootaloo began to storm off on three hooves, but LD and Lightning Dasher grabbed a hold of her.

“Easy LT!” LD and Lightning Dasher spoke as one.

Both Apple Bloom and Sparklefly ran in front of her. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what sort of trouble would ensue if they didn’t calm her down, not that Sparklefly believed for a second that she would actually murder Diamond Tiara.

"Hold on there!" Apple Bloom said.

"Let me go!" Scootaloo spat.

"Don't be crazy," Sparklefly said emphatically. "You can't threaten the mayor!"

"I'm not going to threaten. We're past threats." Scootaloo spoke harshly. Her anger had already made her mind too foggy for reason.

Sparklefly tried a different approach as Scootaloo struggled with LD and Lightning Dasher, "We definitely need to act, and fast, but this is not the way."

"Okay, fine," Scootaloo said as she ceased her struggle. "I won't kill the mayor." LD and Lightning Dasher let go. "I'll just pound on her a bit," Scootaloo said, attempting to dash forward, but they caught her again.

This back and forth went on for several minutes before Scootaloo finally calmed down. They all went into the house to get out of the haze, where they found Applejack, Big McIntosh, Pinkie Pie, and the Cakes sitting at the table. The expression they were all wearing clearly indicated to Sparklefly that Applejack had already told them the news. It was a bit distressing to see Pinkie Pie so still. In Sparklefly's experience, she was always so... bouncy. The foals were playing elsewhere in the house, their joy was quite the contrast to the adults’ sorrow.

“Applejack," Scootaloo said, "I just heard..."

Applejack nodded.

They all stayed around the table for a while in silence. Everyone looked as depressed about this news as Sparklefly felt.

"We've got to do something," Scootaloo said.

"We are all kinds of open to suggestions on that point," Big McIntosh replied.

“Yep,” Applejack added.

Sparklefly said, "There aren't enough of us to replant the entire orchard this afternoon, and even if there were, the trees wouldn't grow up fast enough to keep them from being uprooted tomorrow."

"That's about the size of it; besides, it ain’t planting season yet for apple trees anyway,“ Big McIntosh concluded.

“Yep,” Applejack agreed.

"There has got to be a way," Scootaloo insisted. "Even if we can ride out the oats or whatever they're going to plant, there's got to be a way to come out with the orchard."

"We just don't have the money," Big McIntosh countered. "We're in a heap of trouble as it is. All the pigs and chicken were slaughtered by the timberwolves, and we practically gave away the last of our apples to keep the town from starving. Sure, they ain’t gonna take Sweet Apple Acres from us as long as they need us to work it, but after the war is over..." he didn't finish the thought; he didn’t have to. “We've got one cellar full of cider that we bottled after last season, but I reckon that won't be near enough to keep us afloat for long."

“Yep.”

The room grew silent again. Try as she might, Sparklefly couldn’t think of a way out of this. Her heart went out to them, and she knew she wanted to help. But what could be done?

"What about the zap apples?" Apple Bloom asked.

Everypony looked at her.

"Zap apples," Applejack said, as if she was trying to put something together.

“What are zap apples?” Sparklefly inquired.

“Those trees are gone, little sis,” Big McIntosh said somberly.

“I know that! But they’re magic; didn't Granny Smith tell me one time that she planted them when she was a little filly, and they grew up into full sized trees right before her eyes?"

"She told that story more than once the way I remember," Applejack said, her spirit returning to her.

Lightning Dasher asked, "Do we have seeds for these, zap, apples?"

The Apples all hung their heads in unison as Big McIntosh said, "Nope."

Scootaloo said, "So we need the seeds.”

“Where do they grow?" Sparklefly asked.

"Granny Smith said she found them in the Everfree Forest," Apple Bloom answered.

"We'll need permission to go out there.”

"You're not going into the forest," Scootaloo replied. "You can't fly on that wing just yet, and it's still far to dangerous. LD, Lightning Dasher, and I can handle this."

The Dashers nodded in unison.

Mr. Cake spoke next, "Even if we get out there the rest of the day, are there enough of us to plant the zap apples and have them grown up before tomorrow?"

Pinkie Pie leapt out of her chair and onto the table; her hooves clattering against the wood startled everyone, "Sounds like it's time for a party!"

"Not now, Pinkie Pie," Applejack scolded. "We're trying to save the orchard."

"Well duh!" Pinkie Pie replied. "What do you have at a party?"

There was a moment of silence, but then everypony started to humor her.

"Cake?" Mrs. Cake said.

"Food?" Both LD and Lightning Dasher spoke together.

"Presents?" Apple Bloom suggested.

Sparklefly asked, "Decorations?"

"Knowing you, a party cannon," Scootaloo said.

"Yep,” Big McIntosh agreed.

"You guys are silly!" Pinkie Pie said. "The number one thing you have at a party is guests!"

"Guests," Applejack said as she began to understand Pinkie Pie's meaning.

"Guests!" Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping off of the table and landing by Applejack.

"Lots of guests," Apple Bloom said.

"Oh my gosh, yes! Lots of fun-having, seed-planting, want-to-help-you-save-the-orchard guests!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"A save Sweet Apple Acres party?” Sparklefly asked.

Scootaloo nodded at everyone, "This could work; great thinking, Pinkie Pie. LD, Lightning Dasher, you're with me. The rest of you have a lot of invitations to get out."

"Darn tootin'!" Applejack said. "Big Mac, take charge of clearing the zap apple field. The Cakes will help you. I’ll stay here to organize the cleanup,” she acknowledged her large belly, “I can’t really do any liftin’. Pinkie Pie, I want you, Sparklefly, and Apple Bloom to start inviting guests. Get as many as you can as fast as you can."

"Oh, maybe I can use an invitation cannon!" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically.

"There ain't no time for that, Pinkie," Applejack said, "And no singing invitations, neither!"

"Aww!" Pinkie Pie sounded her disappointment.

"Even if we get the zap apple trees grown up, we never know when they'll bear fruit until the timberwolves start a howlin'." Applejack noted.

"One thing at a time," Scootaloo said. "Let's get moving!"

Everypony rose from the table and went about to their tasks. Sparklefly felt a bit of hope kindled inside herself that was shared amongst them all.

...

"I'm not sure what to make of it," Captain Swiftlight answered the General.

The SAR teams had brought back their initial reports from the Everfree forest, and that wasn't all. The devastation they described simply defied belief. Several miles in any direction from the center of the blast, everything was dead. All that was left was ash, dust, and a massive crater in the ground. The epicenter was reported to be something amazing indeed. The ground had turned to glass from the heat of the explosion. The SAR teams also reported that the destruction went almost from the edge of the Ghastly Gorge all the way to the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters on the other side of the forest.

In addition to information, one of the SAR teams had brought quite a mystery. Near the center of the crater, they found a pink glowing sphere. It was about the size of a beach ball, giving off heat, and heavy for its size. The first who had touched it had received a shock and been thrown backward. Medics had already cleared him, no permanent damage. They had finally managed to move the relic by rigging up straps to lift it without getting too close. It took three pegasi to get it off the ground. Swiftlight had never seen anything like it.

“Just as I thought,” a brown unicorn with a white blaze on his forehead spoke.

His horn glowed yellow with magical energy as he examined the object.

“What is it, Quick Quill?” the general asked.

The unicorn didn’t answer, but pushed his glasses up as he continued probing the artifact for information. Swiftlight smiled to himself, knowing that Mane Crusher would likely begin cursing at any moment for having been ignored.

“Well, I can’t say with complete certainty,” Quick Quill finally answered. “However, it is not dangerous.”

“Just how, ‘not dangerous’, is it?” the general asked.

“Completely harmless,” the unicorn said confidently.

“It shocked one of the members of our SAR,” Swiftlight replied.

“Well, mostly harmless. I suspect it is nothing more than slag.” He glanced up at the bewildered looks from the other two. “Magic residue,” he explained, “probably just the last remnant of the energy from the mirror pool.”

“Is there any chance it can still duplicate timberwolves?”

Quick Quill shrugged, “I wouldn’t be concerned about it. Most likely it will burn itself out eventually.”

Mane Crusher looked intently at the object again, "Take it down to the cellar and post a guard. I want at least ten guarding this thing at any time," General Mane Crusher ordered.

"Affirmative," Swiftlight replied.

“If you’ll allow me,” Quick Quill said.

He used his magic to levitate the orb. Swiftlight noticed there was some strain involved as he walked out of the room with it hovering just behind him.

As soon as he had made his exit, Mane Crusher said, “That’s the only magic expert you could find?”

“Did I say expert?” Swiftlight shrugged, “I think expert might be a bit of a strong word. But he has traveled from one end of Equestria to the other, so he’s seen a lot of strange stuff. If you want a more expert analysis, we could send for Starlight Glimmer or that friend of hers in the Crystal Empire, but it could take them days to get here. Quick Quill was available.”

The general nodded without otherwise replying. The black earth pony quickly set about making the requested arrangements to safeguard the slag. Getting things done was Swiftlight's specialty. Ever since becoming Mane Crusher's aide, he hadn't seen much fighting, at least not up close. He was always involved behind the scenes supporting any effort instead. They set up a stone pillar, and placed the orb on it with a sign warning ponies to not touch it. The cellar was dark, but the orb glowed brightly enough that it lit the space with a faint pink light. Looking around, it was evident that the repairs had been completed. One wall had new stone that didn’t quite match the old. Satisfied once the guards were in place, Swiftlight exited the cellar.

Having returned to CIC, Swiftlight began compiling paperwork that would need to be signed. Some days it seemed that there were more papers to sign than enemies to fight. The supply list was looking pretty good. The food rationing was tight, but it would be enough to keep everypony alive through the summer. If they could just hold the farmland through harvest, they'd buy themselves another year. Then there were post action reports from every unit down to squads in their corps. Swiftlight felt that Mane Crusher was a tactical genius. It was his battle plan that had liberated Ponyville. He had also been on the staff that drew up their strategy to strike out from Manehattan. Swiftlight had been scared, not that he'd admit that to anypony else, but the general's confidence was reassuring. He could see the layout and know the outcome of the battle before the action began. Now that the massive numbers of timberwolves were cut off from further multiplication, the EUP had a real chance at victory. All they had to do is survive and keep the timberwolves out of the cities. Surviving might be the hardest part. The food stores had been as evenly distributed as possible, with the exception of the recent stockpile in Las Pegasus, but rationing was the only sensible course of action from one end of Equestria to the other.

Mane Crusher was pouring over maps and receiving updated reports on all fronts. He was writing up plans for different actions they might take, and he was also studying the defensive capabilities of every major city in Equestria. This was a constant endeavor of his: running scenarios of actions from this side or that, changing the number of forces attacking and defending, throwing in unexpected turns in the battle. As a strategist, one must continually be thinking about such things. He was also well read, especially in histories of warfare.

The paperwork consumed Swiftlight's entire morning. After their lunch ration, Swiftlight was getting sleepy from the endless drudgery. There was something else on his mind as well.

Swiftlight yawned silently and said, "Sir, permission to take thirty and find some coffee?"

Without looking up, the general said, "Granted. Bring me one."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight replied.

Stretching as he stood felt wonderful. He walked out of CIC at a brisk pace in order to outrun the sleepiness that was following him. The hazy smoke choking Ponyville seemed a little less today. It was still thick, and blocking the entire sky, but there was now a noticeable bright spot where the sun was hiding. The first day after that explosion it had been anypony’s guess as to what time it might have been, short of finding a clock of course. Coughing occasionally as he went, Swiftlight trotted through the empty streets of Ponyville, looking for the coffee house. This was the first time since arriving that his duties had been light enough to allow this. Swiftlight had been careful to not ask for time to see her. By his estimate, it had probably been nearly seven years since she left Van Hoover to start a business in Ponyville. As Swiftlight had joined the military shortly thereafter, he hadn't had an opportunity to visit once she got her shop up and running.

Swiftlight came around the corner and saw the coffee-house. It was a small two-story structure with a living space on the second floor. These houses were typical in Ponyville. A large wooden sign hung above the door, swaying slightly in the almost non-existent breeze. On it was a carved relief of a coffee mug, and a single word in dark green: Java's. He pushed on the wooden door, which creaked open with ease causing the bell to ring, and he stepped inside. As the door shut behind him, he heard the low talking of the other patrons. There were several ponies inside, but it was a light crowd given the number of empty chairs that were available. There was a bar with stools on the far end, and working to make an order was the very mare he'd been looking for, Java Chip herself.

Swiftlight had thought Java Chip was beautiful from the first day he'd seen her when they were teenagers. They'd met in a rock-climbing group that was scaling the peaks near Van Hoover. She was a beige-colored earth pony with small brown spots, like freckles in patches here and there. There was the cutest cluster of them accenting her nose, below her hazel eyes. Her mane and tail were light brown and curly. A ceramic cup filled with coffee beans emblazoned her flank, so the coffee-house came as no surprise. Sharing an interest in climbing, they spent much time together afterward, either actually climbing or planning their next trip. Then there was the time that they went caving. They only attempted this once; it was such an unpleasant experience that neither of them ever spoke of it afterwards. Swiftlight had missed Java Chip since she left, and the letters had been few and far between. They had just lost contact at some point. He never lost the desire to see her again, but this was the first opportunity that had presented itself. He was glad to be part of the force that saved Ponyville; it made him feel heroic, as if he had charged in to her rescue.

"Order's up!" she called out, placing two steaming hot drinks on the bar.

One of her machines started flooding steam into the air. She spun around an smacked it hard on the side with her hoof, which resulted in a loud bang. The steam stopped pouring out of it, and she turned back around, noticing Swiftlight. It was as if she didn't recognize him at first, but he saw in her eyes that moment when she knew she'd seen him before, and a moment later she put it together. She smiled at him; he loved her smile.

"It's been a long time," she said.

"Hi, Java," he replied. "How are you liking the coffee business?"

"It's good. How have you been?"

"Oh, you know; this hero stuff is hard work," he answered. She rolled her eyes at him. “Mock all you want; I saw you all hiding in the castle when we showed up to save the day."

"You're so heroic," she said flatly, dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, if everypony could do it, I'm sure they would."

"What can I get you?" she asked.

"Give me two mediums with cream to go."

"Have a seat," she said, turning back to her machines.

The one that had belched steam before was now seeping a little again. She ignored it as she prepared the drinks for him. The door opened, causing the bell to faithfully make its sound again. A young mare with a pink bow in her mane walked in.

"Welcome to Java's; I'll be right with you," Java Chip called over her shoulder without looking back.

“Hi, everypony, I’ve got a request for y'all," the young yellow mare said loudly but nervously into the air, addressing the entire coffee shop. She had a genuine country accent.

Several of them looked up at her. Swiftlight only gave a glance before turning back to watch Java Chip work.

“We just got word that the mayor is trying to take over Sweet Apple Acres." Java Chip stopped her drink preparation, turning around to hear better. Her face was filled with a mix of concern and rage. The young mare continued, "There was an order written by Princess Twilight that gives the mayor the authority to choose any land she wants for the duration of the war to plant crops, but if we don't replant our apple trees, we'll go broke once the war is over. The soldiers are coming tomorrow to clear the land." This got Swiftlight's attention. She continued, "If we're going to save the orchard, we need your help.”

"What do you need us to do, miss...?” Java Chip asked.

“Apple Bloom. We need everypony that is able to come to Sweet Apple Acres today to help us clear the land to replant the zap apple orchard," Apple Bloom replied.

"What difference will that make?" Swiftlight asked, looking in her direction.

"Zap apples are magic. When you plant them, they grow up into full grown trees just like that,” Apple Bloom answered. “We can’t stop them from using the parts of the orchard that are destroyed, but if we can get the zap apples growing again, it could make all the difference for us.”

"Sounds like a waste of time," Swiftlight said, turning back around. He caught Java Chip's gaze, and she glared at him.

"I will come," Java Chip replied. "And half off drinks the next time I'm open for anypony else that helps at Sweet Apple Acres today."

The room began buzzing excitedly from everypony except Swiftlight. Apple Bloom's mouth dropped open in shock, but she looked pleased. Swiftlight rolled his eyes.

"You're gonna drive yourself broke, Java," he teased.

"Some ponies are worth that risk," she replied flatly.

Apple Bloom approached the counter. "Thank you so much for this," she said. "I can't tell you how much it means to my family."

"Forget it," Java Chip answered.

"What, like you forgot my drinks?" Swiftlight said.

Without a word being needed, Java Chip communicated her mood quite effectively through a glance. She was miffed by his joke.

"I'll be over as soon as I can get this place closed up," Java Chip said to Apple Bloom. "I need to put a sign out so everypony else knows to come help for a discount on coffee."

"See you later!" Apple Bloom said, practically skipping out of the coffee shop.

Swiftlight sighed, looking longingly at his drink that Java Chip was just finishing up. She slid them to him.

"That'll be six bits," she said.

"Six bits? I thought I was your friend," he whined.

"Six bits," she said again.

"I did save the town yesterday," he countered.

"Look, either pay or steal the drinks; either way, I need to close,” she spoke in a dry tone that sounded incredibly annoyed.

Java Chip turned suddenly and stomped quickly to the door, turning the open sign around. The other patrons were all making their way out as she shut down the bar and made her discount coffee sign. Swiftlight sat there with his drinks watching her. This was not going at all like he'd imagined it. Sure, they'd had arguments before, but this seemed to just happen out of nowhere. Placing seven bits on the counter, he decided that he better try to apologize before it got any worse.

"Hey, listen, I didn't mean any-"

"Yes you did," she cut him off. "You meant every word," she said hotly, throwing down a dirty rag under the counter.

Well, apologizing wasn't working, so now what? They were alone.

"I can't have you coming in here and being rude to my customers."

He instinctively defended, ”Well, it’s not like she bought anything. Besides she did-"

"No!" Java Chip yelled. "No 'she did', or 'it wasn't me', or 'I didn't mean', or anything like that. You were rude, and it is unacceptable; end of discussion," she spat back.

Taking the drinks, he walked to the door. As he exited, he said, "Whatever," in Java Chip's direction and continued on. 'That was some fine thanks for how I helped save the city,' he thought to himself as he walked through the smoke-filled air. He was taking shallow breaths at first, but by the time he got back to the castle, he was coughing from the smoke anyway. He waited to drink until he got back inside, and the coffee helped. It was hot, and creamy, and deliciously bitter. He returned to CIC, delivering Mane Crusher's drink.

"Thank you," the general said when he saw the coffee. He immediately picked it up and took a long slow drink from it. He set it down, seeming satisfied. A little of the foam was caught in his mustache, but he quickly wiped it with a cloth he had pulled from a pocket. "New orders," the general said to Swiftlight, giving him a paper.

Swiftlight quickly read over it, 'From Shining Armor, Field Marshall of Her Majesty’s Armies, Prince of Canterlot, and Steward of Equestria, to all field army and corps commanders. We have achieved a difficult thing in the retaking of as much farm land as we have before spring. Our strategy will continue as planned, in that we will commit all of our forces to hold this ground in efforts to raise sufficient crops with which to feed the population through the next winter. We shall continue to raise armies to assist with such defenses, and should all go well, we'll be in a better position to strike out in an offensive as early as next summer. Well done all. On behalf and in place of her royal majesty, Princess Celestia, Prince Shining Armor.'

"Well, I'm glad to see all of our training will be put to good use," Swiftlight commented as he tossed the paper down on the table.

Mane Crusher snorted. "We have enough of a force here to retake Canterlot. We need to have a more aggressive posture."

Swiftlight nodded, "Even if we have a good growing season, we've barely recovered enough land to feed every pony."

"We've had the enemy on defense for the first time these last two weeks. Now is the time to press our advantage. We should push south to Apple Loosa instead of waiting to be attacked again.”

"What is he thinking?"

The general sighed. ”He's just too afraid of losing what we've regained," Mane Crusher said, taking another drink from his coffee. "We're going to regret this later."

They sat quietly for a moment. Reports were still coming in from the SAR teams searching the Everfree Crater, as they were now calling it. Nothing else substantial had been found, but the smoke was still rather thick, making search efforts difficult. The forest all around the edge was still burning freely. Swiftlight got back into his paperwork, rejuvenated from the coffee. The work went much faster, and nearly an hour later, he was almost done.

A scout burst into CIC and saluted. He was winded and drenched in sweat. "Urgent report from Las Pegasus," he said.

Mane Crusher regarded him a moment and said, "Go ahead."

"Sir, Las Pegasus is under heavy attack by enemy forces of unknown strength, tens of thousands. Commander Swift Justice is requesting all available aid. The outer defenses are still holding, but there are confirmed sightings of changelings all across the line. It's turned into a firefight down there. That is all."

"Take some rest, we'll send a return scout," Mane Crusher replied calmly.

"Thank you, sir," the scout said, saluting.

Mane Crusher's normally-stoic expression looked somehow even more stern as he looked at the map.

"About three hours to fly, nearly seven hours by rail," he said quietly, as if speaking to himself. "Swiftlight!"

"Sir?"

"Send word to Las Pegasus: message understood, please continue to send updates as to your disposition. That is all."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight answered. He quickly found a scout to deliver the message and sent him off.

"Another thing," Mane Crusher said as Swiftlight returned. "Recall all SAR teams from Everfree."

"We're abandoning the search? What of the princesses?" Swiftlight asked.

"In the event that any action is required, they'll need to be rested. We've had nearly nine-thousand pegasi searching the blast radius for any sign of them, and so far they have found nothing conclusive. If they were down there, we should have had some sign. Our resources can be better spent elsewhere," he replied dryly.

"Affirmative," Swiftlight said again. He was unsettled about ceasing SAR operations to say the least, but the general was right. This could only mean that they had either been killed or captured; a shiver ran through the stallion.

"Set all able personnel on standby alert. I want the entire corps ready to move. And get Captain Brax in here,” Mane Crusher ordered.

CIC, which had seemed rather calm only moments before, was transformed as aides and officers were seeing to their duties. Swiftlight was becoming accustomed to this kind of energy. It is the way it always felt in the hours leading up to a battle.

...

Scootaloo was relieved when they'd been granted permission to pass beyond the outermost checkpoints. They were now skirting the northern end of the Everfree Forest, heading south. They didn't know where they might best find zap apple trees, but this approach afforded them the advantage of clean air. The smoke was moving more westward of this position, directly into Ponyville due to the same east wind that covered the town with smoke. It was a warm spring day, but uncommonly humid. The air seemed fresh now that they were out of the haze, and the scents of the different flowers and trees of the forest were dancing across their olfactory senses.

"So what do zap apples even look like?" Lightning Dasher asked.

LD added, "I was thinking the same thing."

"They are shaped like regular apples," Scootaloo answered, her eyes and ears focused on anything that might threaten the three ponies. She could still hear the ringing that seemed to grow more faint by the hour. "The main difference is the colorful stripes on them. They are patterned like a rainbow."

There had not been sight nor sound of even a single timberwolf. The forest was quiet, but for the insects and birds. By comparison the trio of ponies made quite a lot of noise, their booted hooves crunching through the undergrowth. Lightning Dasher was dragging his casted fractured leg behind him, and Scootaloo still couldn't put her sprained ankle down. She hadn't wanted to mention it before, but this may have been the weakest point in their plan. Apple Bloom had told her before that if the zap apples aren't picked during the one day they are ripe, they magically vanish before the next day. Scootaloo certainly remembered their one attempt to harvest them early ending in complete failure. Also, they didn't have time to search the entire forest, and that made it even more unlikely that they'd be able to happen upon zap apples that were ready for picking. It didn't help anything to dwell on such negativity. At this point, all they could do was press on. The minutes stretched into hours as they searched the forest. They had become excited at two different occasions early on, but it turned out that they hadn't found anything important. Scootaloo began feeling a bit dizzy, and her sweat started feeling cold under her helmet.

"Let's take five," she said nonchalantly, sitting down.

"You okay?" LD asked.

Scootaloo's stomach growled loudly as she took a drink of water from her canteen.

"I'm fine," she replied flatly. Her head was swimming, but she was determined not to pass out. She focused on a tree ahead of her.

Lightning Dasher said, "If you start getting dizzy, you let me know."

Annoyed, Scootaloo snapped, "I said I'm fine! I just want to sit a minute."

LD and Lightning Dasher exchanged a glance. Scootaloo could now hear their stomachs growling also.

Scootaloo asked, "Getting used to the smaller rations?"

LD and Lightning Dasher shook their heads in unison.

"Me neither," Scootaloo said. The dizziness was fading, but she was feeling weak. Her hooves felt as if they were made of lead as she stood. "Let's go."

They continued deeper into the forest. Scootaloo was leading, and she slowed her pace in hopes of preventing more dizzy spells. It was successful, but every step felt heavier than the last over the next hour. They spread out just a little bit so they could see more of the forest. Scootaloo was in the middle, LD on the left, and Lightning Dasher on the right. They couldn't see each other, but they were talking back and forth constantly. Scootaloo still felt a bit off; the heaviness in her legs aside, there was a kind of prickly sensation working its way up them as well. She was just coming to the realization that if they did run into timberwolves, she was in no condition to fight. That’s when Lightning Dasher cried out in terror.

Energy surged through Scootaloo as she wheeled about and made a three-legged gallop into the brush on her right. She could hear LD coming after her also. Her heart was racing as the underbrush whipped at her face and slowed her by catching on her empty saddle bags. LD caught up to her. As they crashed through into a small clearing, a root tripped Scootaloo. She came down hard, unable to catch herself. The world went spinning and she saw stars after she hit the ground chin first. The earthy scent of the crunchy dead leaves on the forest floor filled her nose, and she spat the taste of blood out of her mouth. She shook her head trying quickly to recover, only to realize that she couldn't see anything. The only thing that stopped her from panic was the sound of LD roaring with laughter. She wouldn't have known which of them it had been, but he was standing beside her. Her vision slowly returned, beginning as a spot directly ahead, and spreading out back to normal. Her chin throbbed from where she landed on it. She stood back up, a little light-headed and feeling the threat of another dizzy spell; her armor felt sticky from a sheen of sweat that covered her body. LD was rolling on the ground, having fallen over due to the magnitude of his laughter.

"Will you shut up and help me!" Lightning Dasher snapped.

Scootaloo looked over at Lightning Dasher. He wasn’t under attack by timberwolves. Upon seeing him, her first instinct was also to laugh, but the pain from falling, not to mention the proximity of dizziness, and a small amount of confusion squelched any such outburst from her. The stallion had apparently climbed on top of a massive tree that had fallen some years before. It was now mostly hollow, and where Lightning Dasher had been walking along the edge, it had given way beneath him. As he fell, it caught his good hind leg, leaving him dangling upside-down. He was just high enough that he couldn't reach anything. He was quite a sight, caught upside-down with legs and wings splayed out in every direction in a vain attempt to reach something.

"Are you alright?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, now get me down!" he demanded, folding his wings.

Scootaloo couldn’t stifle the giggle that escaped. LD was now crying from the high exuberance.

"I'm sorry," he got out between heaving breaths, "I'm sorry. I just... you look so silly with one foot in a cast, and the other stuck in a tree." He laughed a little more. "We thought you were dying," he took a breath. "We were coming to save you, and you're stuck in a tree," the laughter took him again.

Flapping her wings, Scootaloo flew up to the top of the great fallen tree. "That's enough, LD. Help me,” she called out; her head was still swimming a little.

Scootaloo began taking deeper breaths, which seemed to help.

Getting up off of the ground and quieting himself, LD asked, "You want me under him?"

"Yes, don't let him hit the ground," she replied.

"Okay. Oh, I wish I had a camera," LD said with a giggle.

"I said, that's enough!" she snapped lightly.

LD cleared his throat, the laughter ceasing. "Okay, I'm in position."

Scootaloo took a look at Lightning Dasher’s booted hoof and attempted to release him, but it was caught too tight. Needing a different strategy, she took her knife out. Normally, she would have locked it into her right front boot to use it deftly. However, with her ankle sprained and bandaged as it was, she hadn’t worn the boot, nor would she have had the ability to use it. Instead, the mare took the blade in her mouth haft first and began working at the tree. The breeze had stopped, and the warm day was becoming stifling under the forest canopy. The outer layers of the tree were rotten, but there was an inner layer that was still fairly solid. Scootaloo was pouring sweat after only a few minutes of effort.

Lightning Dasher said, "Not to be pushy, but how's it going up there?"

Trying to talk with the knife in her mouth, Scootaloo said, "Ihts, cohmihng, 'hlow. 'his olh' 'hree iss toughh."

LD asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Leg's falling asleep," Lightning Dasher replied. "But I'm still prettier than you."

LD turned his head instinctively, hiding the gash that was still healing just under his right eye. Scootaloo stopped to catch her breath, wiping the sweat from her face. This wasn't going nearly fast enough. It looked like he should never have been caught in a fall like this, but the wood had somehow pinched his leg just so.

"LD, come up here a second," Scootaloo said.

LD flew up to the top of the ancient tree and looked at the problem with Scootaloo.

"It's a lot more solid than it looks," he said.

"You think?" she snapped back, a little exasperated.

"This is all very interesting, but I can't feel my hoof anymore," Lightning Dasher said.

"What if we pick him up from below. Do you think we can lift him free?" she asked.

LD shrugged, "Let's give it a try."

They both jumped down and got in position underneath Lightning Dasher, squeezing into the widest part of the hollow. Standing up on their hind legs, they lifted him up, carefully taking the weight off of his leg. He sighed with relief.

"Oh, that's nice; thank you," Lightning Dasher said.

Grunting from the effort, LD asked, "Can you wiggle your hoof free now?"

Scootaloo was straining, and sweat was running down her neck from her mane. Lightning Dasher began twisting one way, and then the other. He finally braced his other hind leg, cast and all, against the tree and pulled. The three were breathing heavily from the effort. The entangled stallion grunted as he continued pulling.

"No use," Lightning Dasher said, relaxing.

"Okay, we're going to let you down now," Scootaloo strained.

They gently lowered him back to the hanging position. Scootaloo and LD sat down, drenched in sweat and panting from the exertion.

"You know, the way we get hurt all the time, it's a wonder we ever get anything done," Scootaloo said.

LD asked, "How did you even get stuck?"

"I have no idea," Lightning Dasher replied. "I thought I saw something in that tree over there, and I flew up for a better look. I came back down on this tree, up that way, and walked to this end. I felt it give way, but before I could react I was hanging upside down."

"Well, we're just going to have to cut your leg off," LD said.

"That's not funny," Scootaloo scolded.

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you!" Lightning Dasher shouted back.

"It'd serve you right!” LD snapped back. “I don’t know what kind of duplicate you’re supposed to be; you’re just mean and nasty!”

"Just you wait till I get down!" Lightning Dasher was pretty mad now.

"And what?" LD replied. "Your leg is broken; your other leg is caught in a tree; the first thing you're going to do when you get down is fall over."

"Guys, knock it off!" Scootaloo shouted at them. "We don't have time for this. We need to find another option, and fast."

LD began to calm down and said, "Well, for starters, what if we took a rope, hook it to his harness, and tie it on that tree branch up there?" He pointed up into the trees. Scootaloo looked up and could see it. "It'll take two of our ropes tied together to reach it, but at least we can get him lifted so the weight is off of his leg while we work to free it."

Scootaloo nodded, "Let's do it."

The two free pegasi took their ropes out. LD did the knots, as he was better at them, and they attached one end to the tree, and the other end to Lightning Dasher's harness. Scootaloo positioned herself underneath him and lifted while LD got above to cinch the rope up and tie it in place. Scootaloo was panting from the endeavor, and sweat had soaked through the bandage on her ankle. She could hear LD flapping his wings to stay in place, and he was muttering as he often did while focusing on detail work. Scootaloo's legs started to shake from the strain. She was about to ask him to hurry.

"Got it!" he exclaimed.

Scootaloo slowly let go, and Lightning Dasher hung in the air, now suspended by his harness.

"That's much better; thanks," Lightning Dasher sighed with relief.

"Anytime," LD said, grinning as he landed on top of the massive trunk.

Scootaloo sat down, exhausted. "LD, you want to take first shift on that tree?"

"Sure thing," he said, affixing his knife to his boot.

Scootaloo mustered the strength to fly up top before sitting again. She took off her oven of a helmet and watched LD as he worked carefully, but quickly, to widen the crack that had caught Lightning Dasher’s booted leg. He was making progress, but it was slow work. They really needed a saw or an axe or something. Scootaloo took another drink from her rapidly shrinking canteen. Her head felt much cooled now that her mane was open to the air. LD finally sat down after about twenty minutes of chipping away at the trap. He looked as pitiful as Scootaloo felt. With renewed strength, Scootaloo set to work, widening the crack that LD had been working. After another ten minutes or so, and no small amount of sweating, grunting, and toil, Scootaloo heard a crack. She and LD instinctively froze in place for a moment before flapping their wings, flying up above the tree. Her helmet was knocked aside in their haste, tumbling to the ground and getting lost in some brush.

"What was that?" Lightning Dasher asked, looking awkwardly up at them.

Scootaloo and LD exchanged a glance from where the crack was widening to each other.

He asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

She nodded. Without another word, LD shot straight down, slamming into the tree near Lightning Dasher. With a loud snapping, the edge gave way. LD managed to catch himself on the edge, and Lighting Dasher was now dangling free, suspended only by the rope tied to his harness. A chunk of the tree that had been ensnaring him fell away, crashing to the ground below. Lighting Dasher let out a yelp that was somewhere between relief and pain.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm fine," LD said.

Lighting Dasher vocalized a wince, "I think my leg is waking up."

He swung back into the ancient fallen tree, shielding his helmeted head against impact. LD and Scootaloo smiled at each other and dropped down near their comrade. They both got under him, stopping him from swinging and propping him up. Lightning Dasher pulled the release on his harness, unlatching the rope. Scootaloo felt his weight drop onto her. He rolled off across LD's back, stood for a moment, and then promptly fell to the ground.

"Lightning Dasher?" Scootaloo called at him with concerned. He looked awful.

"He'll be fine," LD said. "He just stood upright too fast. Give him a minute."

"I'm okay," Lightning Dasher sounded a little woozy.

"Hey, what did you see earlier?" Scootaloo asked as she prepared to take a long satisfying drink from her canteen; it was almost empty.

Slowly pointing a hoof at a nearby tree, Lightning Dasher said, "I saw some fruit up there, but it's not the right kind."

Putting away her canteen and retrieving her helmet from the bushy undergrowth, Scootaloo strained to see what he was pointing towards. She summoned enough energy for liftoff, and flew up to the low branches. She stared blankly at the tree for for a moment before her mind understood what she saw. It certainly appeared to be an apple tree, and the fruit in it looked exactly like apples in their shape. They were completely devoid of color, appearing as gray as a blank page of newspaper. Scootaloo was flooded with such excitement that she forgot herself for a moment, falling toward the ground. She came to her senses in time to make a landing.

"You did it! You did it!" she chortled.

Lighting Dasher finally stood up again. "What do you mean?"

"That's a zap apple tree!" Scootaloo said excitedly, hugging Lightning Dasher around the neck as she pointed with her bandaged hoof. “All of these are!”

He pulled away from her embrace, “You've lost your mind."

"I definitely have to agree with myself on this one," LD quipped. "Showing affection for a subordinate officer has to be against regulations. Taste notwithstanding."

"What?" she asked in confusion. Realizing they were referring to how she had hugged him, she waved them off, saying, "Oh, get over yourselves."

"You told me that zap apples are rainbow colored," Lightning Dasher said.

“Absolutely,” Scootaloo answered, "when they're ripe. This batch will be soon. Very soon!" she was excited. "When they ripen, they'll only be good for one day."

"So, we did it?" LD asked.

"We did it!" Lighting Dasher exclaimed.

"We did it!" Scootaloo agreed.

The massive stroke of luck to find zap apples that were about to ripen wasn’t wasted on Scootaloo. Now they just had to wait for the fruit to become ready. Hopefully, the others were having as much success getting the field ready for planting.

...

"Push!" Sparklefly called out.

All of her muscles tensed as she shoved both fore-hooves against a fallen tree. It was moving, but barely at the pace of a snail. Big McIntosh was pulling from the other side, and Apple Bloom was beside her, also pushing. Sparklefly's rear hooves dug into the earth, finding solid ground for traction. She slipped slightly, and dug in again. Aching with effort, she put her strength against the tree. Her coat was glistening with sweat, and her lungs burned from the smoky haze that still covered Ponyville. The tree slid again, and they got it moving, inching toward the edge of the zap apple field. They had only been able to clear a half-dozen of the trees so far, but given how few of them there were at the moment, that wasn't a bad start. The bandage on her eye was soaked again, but not with blood this time. It had finally healed enough that it didn't bleed much anymore. It was a warm day, and the exertions of every pony had already made them filthy. Apple Bloom was still fresh, as she had only just returned from inviting ponies to come. A few dozen had already arrived, and Applejack was busily getting them coordinated into work teams. Sparklefly hadn’t taken nearly so long in spreading the word. She didn’t really know anypony in town, so she focused her efforts on talking to any off-duty soldiers she could find. None came.

The tree continued its progression, almost lazily against the effort of the three ponies. Apple Bloom seemed no stranger to hard work. She was really putting her back into it. Big McIntosh was amazing. With him on the team, you didn't need five or six ponies to move a tree. Still, Sparklefly wouldn't have complained about having a few extra hooves on this one. As they finally got their cargo into position, Sparklefly heard Big McIntosh call back to them, "Ho!”

Both Apple Bloom and Sparklefly relaxed their muscles, leaning on the tree a moment. Apple Bloom was panting, and Sparklefly was in even worse shape. She rubbed her bandaged eye, which was itching furiously. Her stomach growled loudly as she set her back against the tree, sitting down. In addition to everything else, her injured wing ached.

"Oh my," Apple Bloom said to Sparklefly as Big McIntosh came around the tree, sitting next to them.

"It's a small matter,” Sparklefly said. "I just need a minute."

"We're right there with you; ain't that right Big McIntosh?"

"Yep," came his reply between heaving breaths.

Sparklefly was relieved. She hadn't been feeling too badly until just now. She took a quenching drink from her canteen, the only piece of her gear that she had with her; then she passed it to Apple Bloom. They couldn't afford to sit there for too long. Sparklefly estimated that they still had nowhere near the strength they would need to clear this field by morning, to say nothing of plowing and planting. They passed the canteen around twice before the three of them used it all up. Big McIntosh got back up on his hooves, and the other two followed his lead. As the stallion untied the ropes against which he’d been pulling, Apple Bloom took the canteen.

“I’m gonna get this filled up. I'll be right back," she told them.

Big McIntosh tossed the rope over his broad back as he began silently walking to another tree; Sparklefly followed him. They passed another team that was pulling a particularly large tree off of the field, and the seven of them were having trouble moving it. Applejack had another six starting elsewhere. Sparklefly cringed when she saw the next tree that Big McIntosh had picked. It was larger than the last one.

"I think we'll need a second harness," Sparklefly suggested.

Big McIntosh didn't respond but was silently sizing up the tree.

"And maybe two or three more sets of hooves to push," she continued.

Glancing over at her, Big McIntosh simply said, "Yep."

"I'll get them," Sparklefly offered.

Taking his lack of response as a silent ’yep', Sparklefly headed over to Applejack. She couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed like the haze was getting thinner. There was still no blue sky to look at, but she could definitely see Applejack's shadow. As refreshing as that was, there was still no way to smell the difference.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to you?" a sweet voice asked from Sparklefly's blind side.

She turned left to see yellow mare with a light pink mane that had addressed her.

"Fluttershy, right?" Sparklefly said.

"Yes; are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh this?" Sparklefly said, pointed at her bandaged eye. "I'm afraid I lost it, but I'll be fine." Sparklefly was feeling a bit self conscious.

"Was that during the battle in Ponyville?"

"No, it was before in the forest. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you since the castle; how are you holding up?”

“Oh, I’m okay. I just feel to bad for my poor animals!”

“Did the timberwolves get them?”

Tears formed in Fluttershy’s eyes.

“I’m sorry."

“But at least the ones in my house are safe. They have been so scared though. I guess that’s to be expected with all the changelings around,” Fluttershy said, looking about nervously.

Sparklefly tried to be reassuring, ”Trust me, we've all been scanned, many times.”

"Howdy do there, Fluttershy!" Applejack said as she approached.

She seemed in much better spirits than she had that morning.

"Oh, hi Applejack. Pinkie Pie came by earlier and told me what happened. I'm so sorry."

"It ain't your fault, sugar cube. Thanks for coming," Applejack said.

"Oh, I'd always come to help a friend!" Fluttershy said sweetly.

Turning to Sparklefly, Applejack asked, "What can I do ya for?"

"Big McIntosh and I are about to take on that tree," Sparklefly said, pointing at Big McIntosh tying off his rope.

"Whew, doggy, that is a big one," Applejack exclaimed. She was definitely in better spirits. "How about it Fluttershy, feel like lending a hoof with this one?"

"Gosh, I don't know; it's just so," she swallowed hard, "big."

“Ain’t nothing we can’t handle, sugar cube!”

Applejack led the way with Sparklefly and Fluttershy following close behind. Apple Bloom had returned with Mr. Cake, ready to work. Applejack had a second yoke. She put it on Mr. Cake, and tied a rope, attaching it to the tree to help Big McIntosh pull evenly. Mr. Cake and Big McIntosh got into position, testing their ropes and pawing at the earth beneath their hooves. Sparklefly could hear their harsh breaths as they prepared to pull. Upon inspection, it was discovered that some of the roots were still connected. The taproot was not, so any thought of saving the tree was quickly dismissed. With the ropes being pulled, they were able to make it budge just enough for Apple Bloom to get an angle to cut the remaining roots with an axe. A mixture of dirt and sweat flew through the smoke-filled air as she chopped them up. Once that was complete, Mr. Cake and Big McIntosh rested for a minute and took some water. Fluttershy volunteered to refill the canteen after Apple Bloom finished it off. When she returned, they all got set for the real challenge.

"Y'all ready back there?" Applejack called back.

“Darn tootin’!” Apple Bloom called out.

“Y’all ready up here?”

“Yep!" Big McIntosh replied.

"All together now," Applejack said. "Push!"

Sparklefly pressed hard against the tree, which at first didn't so much as budge. The ropes snapped taut as Big McIntosh and Mr. Cake pulled, Fluttershy pushed against the tree on Sparklefly’s left, and Apple Bloom gave it all she had on the right. She could tell that each of them were putting their strength into it, but the tree just wasn't moving. They heard Applejack call again, and they all renewed their attempt. Sparklefly's muscles were straining, and she could feel the tree vibrating from the ropes pulling on it. All five of them were grunting as they worked at it. Applejack called again, and with another burst of great effort, the tree finally began to move.

"That's it, everypony! Keep it up!" Applejack called out.

They continued, and the tree slowly inched out of position. Sparklefly was pouring sweat in great drops that were running down her face and dripping from her chin. She was keeping her breathing at a controlled pace, in rhythm with their pushes.

"Watch out for-" Applejack was cut off by one of the ropes going slack, and everypony grunting together as the tree came to a sudden stop. Apple Bloom was pushing so hard against it that her hooves dug into the ground, causing her to lose her grip. She found herself laying flat on her belly with her face in the dirt.

"You okay Big Mac?" Applejack asked.

Sparklefly got up and darted around the tree to see that he had slipped on a large smooth stone that broke the surface in his path.

"Yep," he grunted as he got back to his hooves. His breaths were heavy, his chest heaving to take in every one.

The other four were in the same condition. They rested for a minute or two, again draining the canteen. Applejack refilled it and returned as they were preparing to go again.

"Push!" Applejack called.

Sparklefly doubled down, her entire body set to this one purpose. The tree began moving again, and she wasn't about to stop. Several minutes passed this way, and it felt like an eternity. Her every muscle was now burning from the strain they were under, but she pressed through it.

"Ho!" Applejack called back, and the five of them rested from their efforts.

Sparklefly sank to the ground, laying flat, panting. Her heart was pounding after the exertion. Apple Bloom had the same idea, melting down next to the tree. The five of them lay there for several minutes before Sparklefly heard Fluttershy speak.

"Did we make it? Are we there?"

Applejack’s answer was incredibly disconcerting, "Nah, we're only about half-way.”

Sparklefly's heart sank. At this rate, they would definitely never clear this field by morning. If they could keep up this pace, they might be able to do it in a few weeks. Time, food, and workers were what they needed, and they were short on all three. Even so, something was stirring inside of the young mare. It began the night she first had dinner at Sweet Apple Acres. When Apple Loosa had been overrun, Sparklefly lost a great deal, but this was the first time since then that she had felt a sense of home.

"So, you tired of farm life yet?" Apple Bloom gasped.

Smiling, Sparklefly shook her head, "Never. You know I grew up on a farm?"

"That sounds nice," Fluttershy panted.

"Why'd you leave?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sparklefly’s feelings flooded through her for a moment. She became a little grave when she answered, "I'm from Apple Loosa."

"Oh," Apple Bloom responded, lowering her head. Her little pink bow had wilted, making her look even more sad now.

"Did you ever meet Braeburn?" Fluttershy asked.

"Everypony knows Braeburn," Sparklefly answered with a smile.

“How ‘bout it, y'all; ready to give it another try?" Applejack asked from the other side of the tree.

"Copy that," Sparklefly replied.

The three got up on their hind-hooves, bracing against the tree with their fore-hooves, weary shaky muscles ready to push.

"We're in position," Sparklefly said.

"Push!" Applejack called.

Summoning her energy, Sparklefly leaned forward hard, and the tree began moving. It seemed much easier this time. She continued pouring her strength into it, and the massive fallen tree seemed to move by her strength of will as much as her physical efforts. Sparklefly was a little confused, but she was almost was being outrun by the tree. Redoubling her speed, she pressed on until Applejack called back to them.

"Ho!"

The tree came to rest as effort ceased. Sparklefly looked over at to her right, and somepony else was standing between her and Apple Bloom. It was Sweetie Belle. Confused for a moment, Sparklefly turned about and saw that there were several more ponies here that she didn't know. In all, another eight residents of Ponyville had helped them push the tree.

"Thank y'all for your help. This one was a doozy!" Applejack said cheerfully.

“Hey, Java!” Apple Bloom called out.

Java Chip said, "We've spread the word, and I've got about half of Ponyville on the way. What do you need us to do?"

Scrambling to the top of the tree they had just pushed to its new resting place, Sparklefly was amazed to see that there was no exaggeration. At least half of Ponyville had indeed come to Sweet Apple Acres.

Sparklefly said, "Applejack, I thought you were kidding when you said you were friends with everypony."

Applejack let out a laugh.

Apple Bloom said, "Darn tootin’!”

"Let's get to work everypony," Applejack called out.

"Yep!" Big McIntosh heartily agreed.

The Apple matriarch was able to get their burgeoning numbers sorted out to teams, and the work went much faster. They had enough horsepower to clear the trees off and pile them up around the perimeter of the field before dusk. They had plows on several ponies, and others were helping them pull. Still more were gathering every pitcher and bucket from town and filling them with water. At this rate, all they were going to need was seeds, and they'd be set. Their speed was ultimately limited by equipment more than lack of hooves, but they had already borrowed every plow in Ponyville. They'd be working late into the night to get this finished, but as long as the seeds came soon, they really might do it. They just might be able to save Sweet Apple Acres.

...

Swiftlight watched with a knot in his stomach as yet another scout entered CIC. They were getting updates from Las Pegasus every half-hour now. The situation only continued deteriorating.

"Report," General Mane Crusher said.

The scout answered, "Changeling fire has compelled the defense force to abandon the grain mill and fall back. Applewood was overrun shortly after it was abandoned. The remaining force is holding back the enemy at the inner barricades in the center of town. Commander Swift Justice begs for reinforcements; none have arrived."

"Dismissed," Mane Crusher said.

He looked down at a second written order that had come from Cloudsdale. It informed all commanders that Shining Armor was aware of the situation in Las Pegasus, and that all forces were to hold their positions and await further instructions. Swiftlight knew the look on his face; his mind was already made up.

"How long until dark?" Mane Crusher asked.

Swiftlight glanced at the window, the dim light coming through the stained glass was all he needed to see, "It is nearly twilight now. Another hour for dark."

“Captain Brax."

"Sir?" Brax saluted.

"You are to command the forces that will be left behind to defend Ponyville. In addition to your new company, I will leave four of my own at your disposal.”

"Bringing our defense strength to about five-hundred. Very good, sir."

Mane Crusher regarded Brax a moment. "I'll have my officers report to you; dismissed."

Brax saluted and exited CIC. Swiftlight could tell that Brax was a no nonsense sort of soldier. It did seem a bit strange to Swiftlight how old Brax was for the low rank he had achieved. Most soldiers of his years would have had their own battalion.

"Swiftlight, we need to get orders out," Mane Crusher said.

"Affirmative," Swiftlight responded.

"We'll move under cover of darkness. I want that train loaded with every soldier we can fit on it. We'll have two combined pegasus unicorn squads flying ahead of them to make certain they don't run into an ambush on the tracks. The rest of us will fly directly to Las Pegasus. It's a little out of our way, but we'll swing south of the mountains, coming in from the southeast. We should have some element of surprise on that flank."

Swiftlight carried the orders to the division commanders. Everything was prepared as efficiently as expected of this corps. Mane Crusher always demanded speed from them, and they gave it to him. The soldiers loaded down the train, filling it well beyond comfort. An entire division was loaded in the cars before dusk had quite given way to night with another on top. The train pushed off, heading west out of Ponyville. The tracks went as directly to Las Pegasus as you can go by ground, but they wouldn't arrive until just before dawn. Swiftlight wasn't too keen on having a third of their force separated from them when they joined the battle, but even so, they still had greater numbers than were stationed in Las Pegasus. There were only a few thousand soldiers, and maybe twice as many cadets.

The train puffed off into the evening, disappearing into the tunnel under the mountains west of town. They blew no whistles and had no lights. Swiftlight returned to CIC. Mane Crusher would not allow any scouts to return to Las Pegasus now that they were moving, as he was afraid the message might be intercepted. They packed up their gear and headed to the southwest side of town to an area that had been designated for their rally point. The pegasi were all harnessed and ready to fly. The other soldiers all reported to their positions, each hooking their harness to their designated pegasus. It was quiet, aside from sporadic coughing from the smoke layer still blanketing Ponyville. Swiftlight hated flying. He approached a dark yellow mare by the name of Golden Hour. Her mane was filled with the reds and purples one would expect from a sunset.

"Evening, Swiftlight," she said to him in her usually friendly demeanor.

Swiftlight nodded, but didn't respond otherwise. He was trying to focus on the mission and ignore the flying aspect of it. She attached him to her harness, and then gave a light kick off of the ground. She picked him up using her wing power to test the harness. She set him back down. This little ritual was repeated silently by ten-thousand other pairs of ponies. Swiftlight performed a weapon check. He had a spear and a crossbow, not the small collapsible kind that the pegasi had attached to their boots. The earth pony crossbows were larger and had better range and power. As was standard, he had seven arrows. He secured all of these items in their places.

"Let's move out," Mane Crusher ordered.

The flapping of wings filled the night, and the cooling air tickled at Swiftlight's face. He put his goggles in place as they lifted off and the ground fell away. Swiftlight shivered as he recounted the mission ahead. Their primary objective was the grain mill on the eastern side of town. It had a stockpile of food that was set to be distributed all over Equestria. Whether the changelings were aware of this or not, it needed to be secured first. Then they would move through the city and connect with Commander Swift Justice about the same time the train should arrive.

”Nothing to worry about, hun; I haven't dropped anybody this week," Golden Hour said to him.

"Is that supposed to be reassuring? With your average, that means you’re bound to soon,” he said snidely.

"I just didn't want you to be worried is all. Fear of heights is nothing to be ashamed of," she replied with a hint of teasing.

"I'm not afraid of heights. I climb mountains for fun," he shot back.

"My apologies; just don't pull that release cord when we're too high or you won't be climbing any more mountains."

“The way you fly, I always wear a parachute.”

This sort of jabbing was constant from Golden Hour. Swiftlight had been flying with her since the corps struck out of Manehattan. He tried to avoid it whenever possible, but one of the downsides of being the general's aide was having to go wherever he goes. Sometimes, that included flying as well. Swiftlight looked back at the fading lights of Ponyville. He thought he saw movement on the west end of town as they were leaving, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness now. Maybe Java Chip had actually persuaded a bunch of ponies to go out to that farm. 'I guess I'm going to have to apologize once she’s cooled off,’ he thought to himself. Looking around, he could just make out the rest of the corps, twenty-thousand strong flying through the air in massive formation. They formed up into four waves of twenty-five hundred pegasi in each line. As usual, they were spread out in a 'v' shape. The longer route they were taking to the south of the mountain would add almost an hour to their flight time, but that did have the advantage of bringing the other group on the train that much closer. There would likely be no other reinforcements coming tonight.

Once they were away from Ponyville, the air was clean and clear. It was nice to be able to breathe again. The flight to Las Pegasus was basically four hours of boredom for Swiftlight. There wasn't much to see in the dark, and making a lot of noise was not a good idea either. Somewhere, probably two hours into the flight, he actually managed to sleep for a little while. It was short-lived. He never had been able to sleep before combat. When they were about an hour out, they saw light from the city. No one said anything, but it didn't take long to understand what they were looking at. The hills surrounding the city on the northeast side had been set on fire. It was mostly tall grass lands, but they were burning freely now. Swiftlight looked to his left to see Mane Crusher. He stared stoically ahead, looking for any information that would be useful.

The city was built on the edge of the San Palomino Desert to the south. If the changelings had discovered the grain mill, there would probably be plenty of enemies guarding it. One division would need to cut off the timberwolf reinforcements, and hopefully they could at least hold until their own reinforcements arrived. At best, that would be about three hours. They flew straight into the outskirts of the city, everypony keeping their eyes open for any sign of trouble.

None of them saw it coming. Green fiery bolts of changeling magic suddenly filled the air thick with destruction. There was a great deal of shouting and disarray as the pegasi broke formation to dodge the incoming fire. The order had been given to prepare for a hard landing. Golden Hour dropped fast and then banked hard right. Swiftlight nearly vomited, he felt so ill from the maneuver. She then came back up and hard left. Several had already been hit by the intense barrage, but the corps didn't stop their approach. The unicorns began returning fire in the direction of the changelings, but they were far enough away that it was impossible to tell if anything was being hit. Swiftlight lost sight of Mane Crusher and was about to mention this when nearly being caught between hostile and friendly fire elicited some crazy maneuvers from Golden Hour. The sound of the magic bolts sizzling through the air made the hair on the back of Swiftlight's neck stand on end. In spite of the cool temperature, he was sweating for fear. Oddly, he was far more afraid from the flying than the changeling attempts to kill him.

Just as Golden Hour straightened out, a bolt zipped right by Swiftlight's head. He instinctively ducked his face away from it, not that it would have hit him anyway. As it passed, he heard a noise that sounded like a dull thud, a grunt, and then sizzling. Then the world turned upside down. They had gone into a dive unlike anything Golden Hour had done before. They were spinning as they dropped altitude. The incoming fire, the burning hills, and the stars, everything swirled by Swiftlight in a blur. It was only then that he realized that Golden Hour had been hit. They weren't diving; they were falling.

"You okay?" he yelled to her. There was no response.

Swiftlight jabbed her hard in the breast-plate, but she didn't react whatsoever. This was bad. This was very bad. Swiftlight's mind raced, but no answers were coming. The wind rushed through his ears like a hurricane; it was deafening. He turned, looking for the release strap, but because of the gyrating, he couldn't find it. He was really picking up speed. With great effort, he tried to calm himself by slowing his breathing. Once the panic abated, Swiftlight spread out his legs in every direction in hopes that it might slow his fall some. A few moments later, the spinning stopped, and Swiftlight was staring up at the stars. They seemed peaceful and unmoving. In that moment, he realized that he was no longer accelerating; he had reached terminal velocity. Swiftlight turned his head to look toward the rapidly approaching ground to see if there was something, anything he might be able to do to get out of this situation. He just had time to think, 'The ground is coming up awfully fast,' when he slammed into it at an unrestrained speed.

15 Gain

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Frigid snow crunched beneath Cloud Blazer's hooves as he padded quietly up the gentle slope at the summit of the mountain. The air stabbed around his eyes and nose like ice, and his breath was a foggy cloud as he exhaled. The cold, though a bit numbing, felt incredibly exhilarating. The lone stallion took off at a run, galloping around in the snow bank. He darted one way and then another with snow spraying the air when he changed direction. He charged up to the very peak itself and finally rolled in the snow, stopping on his back to stare up into the night sky. It was the deepest black imaginable, punctuated by thousands of stars, refusing to be overcome by such darkness.

Panting for breath, he lay there, the frozen ground as his cushion, and nothing between him and the heavens that were sprawled out above displaying all their glory. As he lay there, Cloud Blazer could have sworn he saw a star disappear. He didn't think much of it until the second and the third vanished as he stared at them. He sat up, looking wildly around. The lights were being extinguished right in front of him. It was as if some great snuffer were putting them all out. Soon, only blackness remained.

Scanning the sky for what seemed like ages, Cloud Blazer's gaze finally came to rest on a single glowing point in the sky, one final star that still shone faintly above. It seemed to be growing brighter. Soon he realized that it wasn't gaining intensity, it was falling. He stood up, shook the snow from his coat, and found it again. It was moving fast now, a shooting star. It flew overhead, and was coming down far south of where he stood. He saw Ponyville in the night, lit up just as he remembered it from his childhood. The shooting star fell into Ponyville silently.

"Come to me!" a voice boomed, shattering the quiet and echoing across the land.

Cloud Blazer shook his head. The voice was coming from Ponyville. He darted down the snow-capped summit to the edge of a cliff face and leapt off, spreading his wings to take flight. The icy wind rushed through his mane and under his wings; he was back in Ponyville in a matter of moments, landing on top of the Princess of Friendship's castle tower. He looked around, but he couldn't see any indication from where the voice had come. As he turned to the Everfree Forest, a massive explosion painted the sky brighter than the daylight of the sun. It was as blinding as the roar of it was deafening. As Cloud Blazer turned his head away from the light, he saw Princess Twilight standing on top of the tower with him, her eyes glowing white.

"Run!" she frantically screamed.

Leaping from the tower, Cloud Blazer glided down to the ground and galloped away from the incoming destruction as fast as he could. The ground became slick, melting as though it were made of wax. His hooves sank into it, and he could barely even walk. He flapped his wings to fly away, but he was unable to get off the ground with his hooves stuck. It was getting impossible to move at all. The explosion finally overtook him, burning hotter and hotter. He couldn't walk, or fly, or even turn now. He was completely immobilized as his entire essence burned away.

Slowly, the pain of burning became the pain of waking. Cloud Blazer realized that this had only been a dream. He felt himself shivering slightly, with stabbing pain shooting through his entire body. A gentle hoof began stroking his mane. It had an amazingly soothing effect, and soon he stopped shuddering. He was glad that Scootaloo was there. He couldn’t actually perceive who was with him, but who else could it have been? It must have been her, and he loved her all the more for it.

...

"You think?" Scootaloo said to Lightning Dasher. His relationship with his duplicate notwithstanding, this aspect of their personal situation was extremely laughable. Sometimes stallions just wouldn’t listen.

"Why? Should it be obvious?"

"She just thinks we're not good enough for her friend," LD said.

"It's nothing to do with that," Scootaloo replied. "You just don't know Apple Bloom very well."

LD and Lightning Dasher exchanged a glance.

"No offense, but you're just not her type.”

"What is her type?" LD asked, his tone betraying the hopefulness he felt inside.

"Let me put it this way," Scootaloo began. "What do either of you know about farming?"

They stared blankly at her for a moment.

She giggled slightly and said, "Well, there you go."

"There's more to her than farming," Lightning Dasher said. "I just have to find the right moment."

"Didn't she already shut one of you down pretty hard a few days ago?"

“Why is everypony on about that?” LD asked as he sheepishly hung his head. He sighed, "Yeah, that was me."

"Don't get me wrong, I wish you... guys... the best of luck. May the best stallion win and all, but you’re barking up the wrong apple tree."

The pair of them seemed dejected. Scootaloo looked back up at the zap apple tree, but there had been no change. The drab gray fruit hung lazily in the branches, illuminated by firelight, still waiting to ripen. LD was on top of the massive fallen tree trunk acting as lookout. Scootaloo and Lightning Dasher were near the fire. It wasn't a cold night, but there was a chill in the air. Now that they had been resting for a few hours, she was feeling much better. All signs of the wooziness had gone, but her sprained ankle still throbbed uncomfortably.

"Not to be nosy," LD began, "but I've been wondering."

"About what?" Scootaloo asked, laying down.

"You... don't have a cutie mark," LD said almost gently.

Scootaloo immediately shifted into defensive mode, leaping to her hooves but keeping weight off of the sprained one, "What of it?" she asked with a hotness in her voice that startled LD and Lightning Dasher.

Shaking his head disarmingly, LD said, “No, no, I didn't mean; I would never-"

"Never what? I want to hear what you have to say," Scootaloo barked at him.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. A burning rage inside the mare was about to lash out.

“I’m sorry; I didn't mean to upset you," LD finally said.

Scootaloo began to realize that she was not under attack and began trying to calm herself. She believed that he wasn't trying to offend her, but she was just so tired of this same thing. Everywhere she went, whatever new ponies she met, they would always get around to bugging her about this. It’s not like she hadn’t tried everything she could think of to get a cutie mark. She’d spent half her life in pursuit of it. It’s not like it was something she could control.

"Forget it," Scootaloo said, turning away from LD in frustration.

Lighting Dasher was being deathly quiet, staring into the fire. Scootaloo started walking into the forest.

"Hey, don't go alone," Lightning Dasher said as he stood up.

"I'll be right back; I just need to walk around. Hold this position," she ordered.

Scootaloo left their little camp behind her as she walked into the forest. She crashed through the foliage, away from the light, from LD, from her anger. At this point she didn’t even care what cutie mark she got so long as she could have one. Why couldn't she just be normal? She padded on a little more quietly but didn't go far. It would be much too dangerous to go any distance away from the other two. Her anger was cooling when she heard a rustling nearby. She spun on three hooves to see it was just some squirrels chattering over some acorns that they had found. Her heart was pounding loudly, either from the anger or being startled by the squirrels. Lightning lit up the sky above the tree canopy, casting strange contorted shadows through the foliage. Moments later, thunder rumbled overhead; it was close. Scootaloo didn't really want to be outside in a storm, but they were not about to risk missing the opportunity to get the zap apples. They were incredibly lucky to have found the trees that they had; there was definitely no excuse to let this opportunity slip by. Another flash of lightning was followed almost immediately by the bang of thunder, and wind began howling through the treetops. Deciding she had best return sooner than later, Scootaloo trotted as quickly as she could through the undergrowth back to their camp.

LD was still sitting up top looking around, and Lightning Dasher was scratching at his cast-covered fractured leg. The wind really started picking up. The trees creaked under the strain, and leaves began to fall.

“Applesauce,” LD called out.

“Starswirl... LD, get down from there," Scootaloo commanded.

LD jumped down, and another lightning bolt crashed overhead, startling the three of them. A gust of wind nearly blew out the fire.

"Into that hollow tree, let's go!" Scootaloo shouted.

LD, Lightning Dasher, and Scootaloo sought refuge inside the ancient dead tree, which was just big enough for them to go into single-file. They didn’t even have room to turn around as they squeezed themselves inside. Scootaloo backed in so she could see. The wind whistled through the doty trunk, rustling through the exposed parts of Scootaloo's coat, sending a chill down her spine. A small amount of rain began falling, and the lightning began coming in rapid succession unlike anything Scootaloo had ever seen before. It struck multiple times close to them. Instinctively, they all dropped down as low as they could, covering their heads. Boom, boom, crack, pow, boom! Each bolt of lightning lit the forest brightly in shades of white and purple. It was pleasantly surprising to the mare that the noise actually hurt her ears, which was probably a good sign for her physical condition. Her hearing may not have been quite back to normal, but it was getting close.

Quite suddenly, the lighting and wind stopped completely, the trees and their branches eased back to their resting positions, and there was an eerie calm. Moments later a much smaller sound of electricity could be heard, and silvery sparks showered down all around outside, dancing on the forest floor and vanishing. When that stopped, all that remained was the sound of three frightened ponies breathing softly and the crackling of their scattered fire. Scootaloo slowly stood, inching her way out of their temporary shelter. Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest that she could feel her pulse in her head. As she emerged, a sigh of relief flooded over her. Scattered firebrands threatened to catch the forest ablaze, which simply wouldn’t do.

“Let’s get that cleaned up,” Scootaloo said as she stamped out a small conflagration in the darkness as the sounds of the night creatures returned to the area.

LD and Lightning Dasher emerged from the tree and helped her put the flaming wood back into place, and they rebuilt the fire. As it began to flicker and grow, it lit the forest again and revealed what magic had taken place. The zap apples had ripened. An immeasurable joy filled the mare at the discovery.

“Look! It's just the zap apples!" Scootaloo said excitedly.

“That’s the most dramatic fruit I’ve ever seen,” Lightning Dasher said.

“Right?” LD agreed.

Scootaloo stood in awe for a moment at the rainbow colored zap apples, ready to be picked. She grinned at the other two, and then the flapping of three sets of wings could be heard as they flew up into the trees to collect as much of the magical fruit as their saddle bags could carry.

...

The desert is a difficult place to build a city, especially a large metropolitan area. Sometimes a location is the perfect site, but it has to be altered in order to serve as such with regard to supporting a population. In the case of Las Pegasus, reservoirs were built to hold water for the city during the times of drought, which were frequent. There were several of them around the city, but the odds of falling out of the sky and landing in one uninjured must be astronomical. These thoughts flooded Swiftlight's mind as he splashed down, still strapped to Golden Hour's lifeless body. When he had spread his legs in every direction, the drag had reoriented him into a falling position with her body beneath his. In the darkness, he had no way of seeing where he was falling. In fact, he had thought he was about to die even as he hit the water. Certainly, if Golden Hour's body hadn't taken the brunt of the impact, he would have been killed. As it was, he survived the fall shaken, but he seemed otherwise completely unharmed.

He was beneath the surface for a mere shadow of a moment before he realized that he was still in as much danger as he had been only seconds before. Swiftlight had exactly one lungful of air, and he was sinking to the bottom of a reservoir like a stone. Weighted down by Golden Hour's body, not to mention her armor as well as his own, Swiftlight struggled to reach the release cord that would unlink his harness from hers. The seconds ticked by like minutes, and the impulse to panic was almost overwhelming. Swiftlight took a moment, remembered his training, and put his right fore hoof back, reaching for the cord. In a sweeping motion, he pulled it forward but found nothing. He began counting to give his mind something to do other than panic. One, two, three... He reached back again, making that same sweeping motion. Four, five, six... He still couldn't reach the release cord. Seven, eight... 'Don't panic,' he thought. 'What are my options? I'm going to drown. No! What is at your disposal? You are in the fight while you are alive, and you are very much alive. I can't reach the release. Can I cut it free? Yes!' His thoughts poured through him frantically. He pulled out his knife and attempted to fix it to his boot, but in a moment of clumsiness brought on from a combination of cold water and adrenaline, it slipped from his grasp and sank into the murky depths.

Panic nearly took him a second time. Nine, ten, eleven... 'Okay, that was bad, now what? Do you have anything else to cut yourself free with?' He removed his helmet and dropped it. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen... ‘My spear. What about Golden Hour's knife? Yes!' Swiftlight twisted as best he could, his lungs already burning for air. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen... He was just able to grip the knife in his mouth and pull it from its sheath. He went immediately to work on the first strap that he could reach, part of Golden Hour’s harness, cutting through it in a moment. Kicking his hind legs, he was now able to twist about to get the main strap that connected him. This one was harder to reach, but he was just able to get it. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty... The severed strap fell away with Golden Hour; he was free but still sinking. Swiftlight quickly removed his breastplate, spear, crossbow, and armored boots, keeping only the knife in his mouth and his combat harness. His lungs were screaming for air. He still was holding it in to help himself float, and he now began kicking toward the surface with all of his strength. There was light above, which made up and down easy to distinguish. He began trembling and let go some of his breath. He stopped, holding the rest and taking in some water, but soon he would lose his air regardless of his intent. 'Almost there; just a little farther,' he thought as he propelled himself upward.

As he burst forth above the water, he quickly exhaled and then drew in a deep breath of sweet air, also chocking on a lungful of water. Coughing and sputtering as he thrashed in the reservoir, it was all he could do to stay afloat. After what seemed like minutes of catching his breath, he opened his eyes again, wiping the water from his goggles. The light he had seen was an impressive barrage of lethal magical bolts being shot back and forth. Changeling magic from somewhere nearby on the ground, and unicorns returned fire from the air back that same direction. Had it not been so deadly, it would have been rather beautiful. The last waves of their force were moving into the city.

The combination of near death, falling from three-thousand feet, and inhaling water had a churning effect inside, and Swiftlight took the knife from his mouth just before he vomited. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least as it hit the water and splashed his face. The heaving wrenching of his innards subsided, leaving an acidic taste in his mouth.

A loud splash nearby diverted Swiftlight’s attention from his own disgust as another downed pegasus hit the water. That could be another lucky passenger; Swiftlight was sure he could hear others impact into the ground not far away. The knife in his teeth once again, he swam to the loud splash. Taking a deep breath, he dove under the surface of the water, and was able to find the cause of it. It was another earth pony that had been with a pegasus. Swiftlight swam to him quickly and pulled his release cord. He didn't move. Swiftlight took off his helmet and armor for him, but kept the spear and crossbow attached to his harness. Then then he pushed him upward.

At the surface, the firefight had died down somewhat, but there were still sporadic blasts of magical energy heading this way and that. The soldier that Swiftlight had just rescued finally came to his senses and began thrashing.

"Calm down!" Swiftlight shouted.

Shaking his head, the other pony, a white stallion with a black mane replied, "Yes, sir; sorry, sir."

"Quite a ride," Swiftlight said disarmingly, "but I need you to buck up and deal with it."

The other pony nodded. They began swimming for the shore.

"Name and rank," Swiftlight demanded.

"Earthroot, private," he replied.

"What was your objective?"

"We were on our way to the grain mill to secure it."

"Okay, we'll head that way and hook back up with your unit."

"Yes, sir," Earthroot replied.

As they emerged from the water, the surrounding bank was quiet. There were many noises of fighting farther into the city. Stowing their goggles and dividing the weapons, they moved at a brisk walk. Earthroot had a slight limp, presumably from that fall, but he seemed in good shape otherwise. Swiftlight’s neck felt a little stiff. There were no trees, but there were low scrubby bushes that they had to work their way past that scratched at the ponies’ unprotected legs as they padded silently through the night. The air was foul with the putrid stench of timberwolves. Swiftlight was glad to have a spear at least. He saw them out of the corner of his eye and just had time to drop down out of sight to the ground as they charged toward the pair, snarling as they came. Earthroot staggered backward slightly, a wild terror in his eyes. He then turned and galloped away as quickly as he could. Swiftlight laid still, clutching the spear close as the timberwolves crashed through the bushes. They passed over him and followed after Earthroot. There may have been twenty or thirty of them in all.

After they had gone, Swiftlight stood and looked after them. 'Even if I go, there’s too many,’ he thought to himself. ‘I can't help him.’ Turning the other way, he galloped on toward the city. He arrived at the outskirts without further incident, but the firefight had a renewed intensity as the unicorns began massive bombardment on areas that they suspected timberwolves or changelings might be hiding. Swiftlight slowed his approach, creeping stealthily into the edge of the scraggly wild bushes he was using for cover. After a few minutes, he spotted the grain mill, which was surrounded by EUP soldiers. The windows and doors were shielded with a bright magical barrier.

Swiftlight was moving closer, and then a green blast of magic struck the ground directly in front of him, kicking dirt into his eyes. He dropped immediately and rolled left over and over again, scrubby bushes scratching him and sticking him with thorn-like projections. Blinking hard to clear his eyes, his vision was blurred, but the stallion managed to scramble behind a small slope, a safer position as it shielded him from view, a natural defilade. Skirting around the other side of it, he took off at a full gallop toward the mill. He pushed faster and faster, his breath pumping in and out, almost mechanically. His heart was racing even faster than his hooves were. More raw energy exploded right behind him, he instinctively glanced back and then abruptly came to a complete stop as he collided with an armored pony. He lost his spear and they both went tumbling to the ground. Something hit Swiftlight in the head. He rolled over and put his hooves up defensively, but no more blows came.

He had stumbled into a squad of unicorns and earth ponies. As he cleared his eyes, he saw the unicorns had directed some fire back at the changeling that had been chasing him and killed it.

"Thanks," Swiftlight said.

"Where'd you come from?" a sergeant asked.

"Captain Swiftlight, aide to General Mane Crusher."

"If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing down here, sir?"

"I was shot down, landed over in that reservoir," Swiftlight pointed.

"Welcome to the party, captain," the sergeant said. "Alright, our sweep is done, let's get back to the mill."

After retrieving his spear, they moved quickly back to the rest of their force. As they approached, Swiftlight heard the unmistakeable sound of chaos reigning there. Two regiments had been assigned to secure the mill. The main force must have already continued into the city. There was a kind of a square directly before them, and that is where the EUP force had landed. They had clearly fought their way into the position they now held, but it looked as though their progress had halted. Most of them were pinned down in one place or another, trying to reach their objective. The left flank was mostly filled with timberwolves pushing through the buildings on that side. The ponies were holding it well enough at the streets and alleys. The right had so much magic energy blasting back and forth that the noise was deafening. It lit up the night in flashes of green, blue, purple, and white. The very air felt alive with electricity.

As the squad approached, the sergeant called out, "Colonel Greymane, I found a captain for you."

Colonel Greymane was a white pegasus with a gray mane and silver eyes. He was yelling to a scout, "Tell him I have already lost a quarter of a regiment! I need more support on the right flank, now! We do not hold the mill!"

A loud explosion nearby sent everypony ducking for cover. Debris rained down in tiny particles all around. The scout nodded, flapped his wings, and took to the sky. A green bolt of energy cut him down immediately. His charred body fell back to the ground.

"Celestia's mother!" the colonel swore. "Lieutenant!" Greymane called out. "Our scouts are all dead; find me a pegasus to use as a runner!"

"Aye, colonel!" the lieutenant replied, running off.

Finally turning to Swiftlight, Greymane asked, "Captain Swiftlight? What's your story?"

"I got shot down. I fell in the-"

Another loud explosion cut him off. Swiftlight felt the ground shake underneath, dropping him to his knees. A charred, empty helmet landed near him.

"We have got to get some air support," the colonel said. "Did you see anything on the way in that might be helpful?"

Swiftlight shook his head. "If you're thinking of a flanking run, I'd say forget it. Those ranged attacks are bad enough in here. I came in alone and they started taking shots at me from the right."

A barrage of changeling fire compelled everypony to duck low. It was coming from the top of a nearby building, and it poured through several lines of the ponies taking refuge, killing them where they lay. Several unicorns and earth pony archers returned fire, and after a brief exchange, the changelings were forced to fall back, several of them dead from the encounter. Swiftlight heard an explosion somewhere in the distance, followed by two more that were much closer.

"Sir," Swiftlight began, "Can we not get inside the mill?"

"That's the best part, captain. It's all sealed up a magical shield stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. We can't get in."

“How did they put up a shield that we can’t get through?”

Another explosion prevented the answer.

Colonel Greymane surveyed the area from his position, and shook his head, "This is suicide; we can't stay here. Major, I need some volunteers." Turning to Swiftlight, "I'm afraid I can't spare anyone to get you back to where you belong; as long as you're here, I'm going to put you to use."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight said. He needed something to do to keep his mind occupied.

"Find yourself some armor, and go join our left flank," the colonel ordered.

Swiftlight saluted, and then crawled off toward the buildings on their left flank. Unfortunately, spare armor was in abundance. It didn't take Swiftlight long to find some that fit. 'I just hope this armor does more for me than it did for the previous owner,' he thought to himself. He was also fortunate to find another crossbow and arrows.

The again-armored Swiftlight approached his new mission, and it looked to him as if the timberwolves were pressing all along the line to the edge of town. The ponies on that side, mostly earth ponies, were holding their own. They were using the buildings as bottle-necks, and forming gauntlet-like funnels, cutting down the timberwolves as they tried to pass. An explosion off the right flank sent a fireball into the night sky, lightning the urban battlefield in oranges and reds from its glow. Swiftlight couldn't tell what had gone up, but it made the entire area look like the lowest level of Tartarus for a few moments. Searching for the commander on this side wasn't difficult, but as Swiftlight approached, sniper fire from nearby buildings scattered everypony as they sought cover.

Dropping down behind an abandoned cart, Swiftlight peered around it. The line was still holding, but sporadic fire from the changelings was keeping everypony else pinned down. Some unicorns began returning fire, and Swiftlight picked his moment to advance. He dashed past several lines of soldiers that were stuck here, waiting for orders. He finally located the major with a few of his officers using a stone fountain for cover.

"Captain Swiftlight, reporting for duty," he said.

"Right," the major answered.

Just then a bolt of changeling energy struck down a lieutenant that was standing nearby.

Shaking his head, the major said, "We're getting murdered out here." Turning to another nearby officer, he said, “Captain, I want you to take your company, push around the left. Get into those buildings and take out those snipers."

"Yessir," the captain responded, galloping off.

To another, he said, "Take your company and see if you can push right. Make a hole, and get into those buildings on the right. We've got to get those snipers."

"Copy that!" he replied, galloping off.

Turning to Swiftlight, the major asked, ”Captain, eh? How much fighting have you seen?”

"I was in the middle of it when we retook the river a few weeks ago. I also was in the action at Ponyville; I'm fit to fight," Swiftlight answered.

An energy blast struck the fountain, which exploded, sending gritty shards of stone in all directions. Swiftlight and everypony else fell down as they were pelted by the fragments. Swiftlight's adrenaline was already flowing fast. His mouth was dry, and he was certain that this entire place was a bad position.

"That was fun," the major said loudly.

"Sir, sir!" a runner yelled as he came up, "The middle! We need-" he was cut down by sniper fire as he ran and fell down groaning.

Glancing in that direction before putting his head down again, the major said, "Looks like you're up, captain. Get in there and do what you can. We can't afford to lose the center."

"Affirmative!" Swiftlight yelled back.

He put his head up, and dropped it again as a bolt of magical energy sizzled by. He then mustered all of his strength to power his legs. The stallion sprang up and immediately went into a full gallop. As he charged in, he could see snipers exchanging sporadic fire with unicorns and earth ponies with crossbows on the ground, and the EUP defense line in the middle was in the process of falling apart. He began yelling at the soldiers that were fleeing, "Stop where you are! You do not run from this fight!"

They ignored him.

As he got close, he reared up, clubbing the first one he came to directly in the face with the butt of his spear, sending him sprawling on the ground with a bloody nose. Those behind stopped short as they got near. "You do not run from battle! You do not cower; you do not fear; you do not die unless you are ordered. Is that understood?" he yelled at them in a voice that was so terrifying that it commanded their complete faith and attention. "I'm going into that breach, and you are all coming with me. Now get on my flank, and let's take care of these stick-dogs! Charge!” he cried as he vaulted through the crowd that had gathered. He didn't stop to see if they were following, but galloped headlong through the mess that had developed as the fighting had spilled out all along the middle. There was no line anymore; it was much more akin to a brawl. None that saw him would have known it, but Swiftlight was actually afraid that nopony was following him.

The dark coated captain ran right through the middle of it, and much to his surprise, he was largely ignored until he arrived in the street where they needed to form the line. There were timberwolves pouring through, and he picked the first one that came at him. It lunged forward as he reared back, and he came down smashing through its body with his spear, driving it into the stone street. A half spin and he was bucking another so hard that its head came completely off. At this point the other ponies that had been retreating joined him in the gap, and they hit hard and fast enough to stop the flow of timberwolves into the square. Ponies and timberwolves were dropping left and right from their injuries; it was total madness. In fewer than two minutes, so many bodies had piled up from the carnage that they were able to use them to choke the alley even further to slow the advancing enemies.

Swiftlight was able to pull himself back from the front line for brief a rest, but he’d lost his spear. Looking around for an officer in charge, he realized that he was the only one at this position. The fighting in the square was getting much thinner with the timberwolf reinforcements cut off. A massive explosion somewhere off of his left sent everyone, timberwolves and ponies alike sprawling as the ground shook beneath them. Swiftlight regained his hooves and turned to see a massive fireball reaching upward into the sky. In that direction, he noticed a squad of unicorns that were pinned down by changeling sniper fire. They were in a trench in the street that looked to have been made by a previous explosion. He made a mad dash for their position, sliding down into the ditch with them.

"Who's in charge here?" he yelled over the cacophony of the battle.

One of them pointed at a lieutenant whose head was missing, apparently burned off by magical fire.

Swiftlight turned back to them, ”Alright, it's time you guys helped us out. We're getting slaughtered in the middle, and those snipers are taking out the entire field. I need you to spray those buildings with everything you've got." Another blast nearby shook the ground; dirt rained down moments later. "I don't care if you can see them or not, just shoot anywhere close; we've got to get them pinned down or we're dead!"

"Aye, sir; on your command," one of them replied. They all moved into a ready position.

"Open fire!" Swiftlight commanded, and the unicorns unleashed a barrage into the nearest of the buildings. So much smoke and debris was raised that the changelings were only able to blind-fire through it. "That's it; keep it up!" Swiftlight yelled to them over the roar of the fighting. The captain looked around to assess the situation, and it wasn't quite as grim as before, but their numbers were still shrinking. The dead were strewn all across the square in quite a macabre scene. The wounded were crawling back toward the center. He could easily have believed that they were below half strength by now.

Swiftlight jumped back up and dashed forward to the middle again. He reached it just in time to see a changeling flying between the buildings. He only had a moment to look at her, but she was much larger than any of the others. Easily being twice their size or better, she must have been the queen. Time slowed as he beheld Queen Chrysalis; Swiftlight raised his crossbow, but a blast of energy shook the ground, ruining his aim. His shot went wild, and as her horn glowed brightly, he instinctively dove to the side. A massive burst of raw lethal energy ripped through timberwolves, ponies, stone, and earth in a sweeping path that cut down all of the defenders at that center street in one attack. The ground shook as it burned under the fierce power that was unleashed. Smoke obscured what happened to the queen, but Swiftlight had another concern.

"To the middle! We need reinforcements at the middle!" he cried, once again charging in alone.

He was the first living thing to arrive, and he stood in the center of the burned street, waiting for the mass of timberwolves that was spilling around the corner. The ground was hot beneath his boots and steaming as he loaded his crossbow and fired. The stick-dogs were heading directly at him, snarling and growling as they came. Just then, several dozen more ponies arrived and formed the line. They met the timberwolves head on, colliding and bringing the tide of them to a halt once again. Then something happened that Swiftlight had never seen before. The timberwolves piled so thick that they were on top of each other, three or four high in some places. It was like a rising tide on a windy day. They were over and on top of the defenders, trampling them. Swiftlight managed to side-step this flood and flattened himself against the stone facade of the building at his left as the remaining defenders turned and ran back toward the center of the square. The changeling snipers began spraying magic at the fleeing soldiers. As Swiftlight decided to join them, timberwolves came from the other side. The left had collapsed, and a timberwolf leapt at the stallion. He put one hoof against its throat, and the other against its fore-leg. They pushed back and forth for a moment with jaws snapping at the captain’s face, and then Swiftlight did a half spin, bringing it to the ground and stamping on the timberwolf's body. Not wasting another moment, he clamored quickly up the side of the stone building. In a matter of seconds, he had made it two stories up; his years of rock-climbing in Van Hoover had apparently been time well spent. The timberwolves couldn't reach him for the moment, but he was hardly safe.

Looking back around the battlefield, he saw the nest of unicorns get overrun. Timberwolves poured in on top of them even as they were being blasted apart by the frantic flood of magic from the soldiers inside. They destroyed several dozen of the beasts before the firing stopped. The entire exchange lasted only a few seconds. Deciding that down was no longer an option, Swiftlight climbed farther up the building, working his way to the high windows from where that sniper fire had been coming, some of the damage aiding his ascent. He could clearly see his objective from this vantage point, but they wouldn't be able to see him until he got to the window, unless they happened to stick their heads out. Being careful to mind his grip, Swiftlight climbed up, positioning himself beneath the opening. His muscles were burning from the effort, and he rested there for a moment. This last part would be the worst of it. He had to get into that window and take out the sniper before it could get him. His heart pounded furiously as he waited for his moment. By the frequency and positions of the blasts, there were at least three of them. Swiftlight got his crossbow ready; he only had one arrow remaining. Just as the nearest changeling unleashed a blast, Swiftlight pushed hard up, grabbing the window with a front hoof and vaulting with his hind legs against the outer wall. He sprang up and into the window, firing the arrow into one changeling, he dropped his crossbow, grabbing another enemy and twisting as he landed. The look on the changeling's face caught Swiftlight off guard. The creature was much smaller than he'd expected, and in the eyes, he didn't see hatred or evil. Surprise and terror were the only emotions Swiftlight detected as he slammed the changeling head-first into the wall and threw him out the window. Drawing his knife as he spun, Swiftlight identified another changeling that was aiming to fire. He threw the knife, which spun through the air, striking the changeling in the face, handle first. A misdirected blast of magic hit the ceiling; he was not seriously injured, but the knife bought Swiftlight a precious moment that he needed. The captain sprang forward hard, just being missed by another magical blast from a fourth changeling that he hadn’t noticed to his right. He caught his target in the throat with one hoof, and in the side with the other, slamming it against the wall. Grabbing it in a headlock, he spun around as the other fired twice. The first shot struck Swiftlight's armor. He felt a sharp pain as it burned into his back. The second shot struck his own comrade in the head, killing it instantly. As it fell, Swiftlight leapt forward, ramming the remaining changeling with his helmeted head. It tried to dodge, rearing up, but Swiftlight caught it in the belly, sending it to the ground writhing as furniture as knocked out of their way. He then used the prow on his helmet again to strike the changeling in the face, stunning it. Using his powerful hooves, Swiftlight ended the creature’s suffering quickly.

In a frenzy, he scanned around the room; Swiftlight found that he was now alone. There were more snipers in the building, and every moment he delayed would mean more dead soldiers outside. He took a quick drink from his canteen before replacing it in his harness. He picked up his knife, fixing it to his boot, grabbed his crossbow, retrieved his arrow from the dispatched changeling, and crept silently to the door. He held his breath as he opened it to the hallway, trying desperately to listen to anything that might give him a clue as to what he'd find out there. The explosions outside were loud, and while that made sneaking easier, it also made it difficult for him to hear anything else that might be moving about. Sweat trickled down his nose, and he wiped it away. Once the door was open, he could clearly see that the corridor was empty.

Silently padding up the dark hallway to the next door, Swiftlight found it open. The room was empty. He moved to the next door, which was also open. Green flashes of light against the wall told him that there were enemies inside. Slowly he peered around the corner. There were three changelings, their backs to him as they fired their deadly magic mercilessly through the open windows. They were not watching their backs at all. Swiftlight slunk into the room, dropping low behind a big cushioned chair. He waited there a moment, sweat now running into his eyes. He wiped it away and crept low behind a table, the injury on his back burning with each movement. This was the last bit of furniture he could hide behind. As he was about to spring out, a bolt of unicorn magic shattered one of the closed windows, the energy impacting into the ceiling and exploding. Swiftlight froze in place as bits of wood, glass, and plaster splintered about the room.

The changelings swore as they ducked.

"Close one, eh?" one of them said, almost cheerfully to the others.

"Nah, they were aiming for you!" another laughed back.

They carefully got back up and resumed firing. Swiftlight hadn’t been seen. He chose his moment and approached the one on the right quickly and quietly. His heart was pounding in his chest, and all he could hear was his own breathing. He sprang up, and at this close range, fired his crossbow, striking the farthest one away in the head with the arrow. Dropping his crossbow, he leapt from the ground and onto the nearest changeling's back. He pulled its head to one side with his left fore-hoof as his knife found its mark in the changeling's throat. It sputtered as he held it there, and Swiftlight turned his attention to the last one. It was backing up, too far away to leap to, and it had already turned to face him wearing an enraged look on his onyx face. The one he held was as good as dead but still clinging on to that last ounce of life. He had to move quickly, before his changeling shield expired. Swiftlight dove to his right, ramming his shoulder into the wall and scrambling his way across the room to the other. It flapped bug-like wings and flew up onto the table. In the moment of flight, Swiftlight dropped the one he’d been using as a shield and dashed straight for the live changeling. A green blast of magic flew past his head as Swiftlight rolled, sliding under the table. He kicked up hard with all four hooves, embedding his knife into the wood and shearing the blade in two as the table toppled over. The changeling fell directly onto him, and they struggled hoof to hoof.

Swiftlight caught the changeling with a left jab, deflecting what would have been another magical blast. The changeling kicked him in the ribs, a blow that was absorbed by the armor. Embracing the changeling and rolling to one side, he got it off-balance, and now they were both on the ground. He tried to work his broken blade into the changeling's throat, but teeth found Swiftlight’s fore-leg, drawing blood. The armored pony head-butted the changeling, for which the prow on his his helmet was designed, twice before it stopped biting him. It was only dazed for a moment, but that was long enough for Swiftlight to gain the advantage. He was now on top, his right front leg pressed into the changeling's throat. It struggled, wings flapping, hooves clawing, but Swiftlight was too heavy. Green magic glowed on the changeling's jagged horn as if he were powering up another shot, but the light went out as the life left his eyes.

Swiftlight held the dead changeling there for a moment, just to be sure, and then rolled over onto his own back, panting. He lay there for barely a minute before he got up, drenched with sweat. He took another small drink, and searched for anything that might make a good weapon. The arrow he had fired had broken when the dead changeling had fallen. All he came up with was a broom handle. Once separated from the bristly end, he used the stump of his knife to cut a crude point in the wooden shaft. It was not the best spear he'd ever made, but it would have to suffice. As he was turning to leave, he heard a voice in the hall.

"Hey guys, you'll never believe what I just found," a changeling rasped as it entered the room without hesitation.

Swiftlight launched his spear without a second thought. The changeling panicked, spinning ineffectively to dodge and was pierced through his flank and pinned to the wall. It cried out in pain, dropping a book to the ground. Not wasting any time, Swiftlight ran up on him and sliced at his throat with the broken knife. It didn't cut deep, but it was enough. The changeling wouldn’t cry out again. Turning his attention to the book that had fallen to the floor, Swiftlight was surprised to discover that it was a volume of nursery rhymes. He could only wonder what the beast could have wanted with it.

After a search of the rest of the floor, Swiftlight was satisfied that there were no more changelings in the building. He moved to the corner of an empty room, hiding behind a book case. He sat there and tried to catch his breath. The soldier was exhausted from the last hour of fighting, and by the noise outside, things could only have turned for the worse. The explosions were constant now with almost no time in between them. Swiftlight considered finding a way back to the battle, but he collapsed from a lack of strength, sweat saturating his black coat. The entire building was shaking from the destruction that was unfolding outside. His fore-leg was still bleeding, so the captain used his med-kit to put a stop to it. There wasn’t much he could do for the magical burn on his back, but he managed to stuff a bandage under his armor to stop the bleeding. Swiftlight could only wonder at the new tactics the changelings were employing. Until Ponyville, they had been keeping their involvement completely secret. Now, they were out in full force with their timberwolf minions, a most lethal combination. In any case, the situation at hoof wouldn’t allow Swiftlight to safely exit the building. He hunkered down in his corner behind the book case and rested, waiting for an opportune moment to rejoin the fight.

...

Sparklefly pulled her plow with Java Chip and Apple Bloom. With three of them it was fast work, but she was nearly ready to pass out from a combination of hunger and exhaustion. Coughing was widespread in the darkness with the smoke from the Everfree Forest still hanging thick over Ponyville. It had combined with the dampness of night and the scent of churned soil. They had already completed plowing about half of the zap apple field, but there had still been no word from Scootaloo.

"Keep it up, everypony!" Applejack shouted in the darkness that was the orchard, lit only by firefly lanterns that were being carried in front of anypony that needed to see.

It had been hard work, but it felt rewarding for Sparklefly. It was good to be on a farm again. The fresh tilled earth under her hooves, everypony working together, and even a sense of community were all here. It didn't completely replace what she'd lost back home, nothing could do that, but Sweet Apple Acres was definitely having an effect on her. She was a bit impressed with Apple Bloom's abilities as a work-horse. If she’d been a pegasus, they could have been sisters. Unlike Sparklefly, she had lost both of her parents when she was just a filly.

After finishing their row, they’d earned a water break and returned to the barn where some had congregated to rest. Most were still out working, but a few dozen were inside at any given time to get water and some relief from the haze in the air. It irritated Sparklefly’s lungs most unpleasantly. The barn was dimly lit by a few firefly lanterns, and everypony inside was chatting about the progress they were making. A few had taken to napping already. A refreshing drink of cool water brought Sparklefly back from sleepiness for a moment.

"What time is it?" Java Chip asked.

“I dunno,” Apple Bloom shrugged.

Sparklefly answered, “It’s well after midnight.”

"I think we're in pretty good shape, considering," Apple Bloom said.

"We just need to get those seeds back before dawn."

"Anypony heard anything?" Java Chip asked.

Apple Bloom spoke confidently, ”My friend, Scootaloo, is searching the Everfree forest for zap apples right now. If there are any in there, she'll find 'em!"

Sparklefly was a little more skeptical, but she wasn't willing to dash anypony’s spirits. The ‘if’ was certainly the factor on which the plan hinged. She remained silent, scratching at her bandaged eye.

"What happened, if that’s not rude to ask?” Java Chip asked.

Quickly dropping her hoof down, Sparklefly simply replied, "Timberwolf."

"I'm sorry," Java Chip said.

Unsure what to reply, she said, ”I got off pretty lucky... we lost friends that day.”

There was a long awkward silence. It was filled only by coughing and muted talking amongst the other ponies that were resting in the barn.

"Has anypony heard any news from Van Hoover?" Java Chip asked.

“Not me; why?" Apple Bloom replied.

"That's where I'm from.”

Sparklefly began, "The last I heard out of Van Hoover was that a timberwolf swarm had attempted an attack, but they were beaten back by EUP forces there. Apparently, they chased the timberwolves all the way back to the Galloping Gorge before returning to the city.”

"Get 'em!" Apple Bloom praised.

A commotion outside drew everypony's attention. Sparklefly turned toward the barn door trying to listen, but she couldn't hear well enough.

"What's that?" Apple Bloom asked as Sparklefly stood and began walking toward the exit.

A gentle push from the pegasus and the old doors creaked open. Through the darkness, only illuminated by firefly lanterns, she could see a crowd of ponies all gathered together. She trotted over to them, followed closely by Apple Bloom, Java Chip, and several other curious ponies. The night air was cool but still filled with smoke.

"Make room! Make room!" Applejack was hollering.

As the pack of ponies parted, Scootaloo, LD, and Lightning Dasher emerged from the crowd, their saddle bags full to bursting with zap apples.

“Y’all did it!" Apple Bloom cried out as she ran to Scootaloo, giving her a big hug.

"Easy there, or all you’ll have is applesauce,” Scootaloo said with a smile.

“No hugs for me?” LD and Lightning Dasher said together.

Applejack interrupted any response that Apple Bloom might have made, "We need to get those into the house."

"My squad plus a volunteer or two can start getting the seeds out right away," Scootaloo offered.

"That's mighty kind of ya," Applejack said, tipping her hat.

"Let's go!" Apple Bloom said excitedly. "Come on, Java Chip!"

Scootaloo led the way through the now excited crowd, and the squad followed her to the house. As Sparklefly walked away, Applejack addressed the crowd again, bringing back the sense of urgency.

"Alrighty everypony, we’ve got the seeds now, so they’re waitin’ on us to do our part. Back to the plows!"

Sparklefly was glad to have something much easier to do, but the apples looked quite enticing. Her stomach growled in agreement.

Java Chip voiced a similar sentiment, "Now those look amazing!"

"Ain't you had our zap apple jam before?" Apple Bloom asked as they entered the house, the door squeaking shut behind them.

"No, sorry," Java Chip said.

"Well, then; y'all are in for a treat!" Apple Bloom beamed, her pink bow bouncing as she spoke.

Sparklefly’s eye devoured the zap apples as Scootaloo, LD, and Lightning Dasher dumped out their saddle bags on the kitchen counter. They must have gathered a few hundred of them, all ripe and inviting.

"Go ahead and have one; don't be shy!" Apple Bloom encouraged.

Sparklefly picked up a zap apple and examined it. She had never seen this multicolored variety before. She bit into it. The flavor was initially just like a red apple would be expected to taste, but after a moment it began to change. Suddenly it was the flavor of a golden delicious, and then a tart granny smith. The tartness was followed by another sweetness that was similar to an apple crossed with something else, perhaps a pear or plum. Maybe those were two different tastes that she was getting confused. The mixture of flavors was heaven dancing across her tongue.

"Oh, wow!" Sparklefly exclaimed as she wiped the juice from her chin.

"These are fantastic!" Java Chip agreed.

"Told ya so!" Apple Bloom said proudly.

Scootaloo was grinning widely as she sank her teeth into a zap apple. LD and Lightning Dasher didn't seem quite as impressed as everypony else, but they were each enjoying one as well.

"You brought the zap apples!" Mr. Cake almost shouted as he entered the kitchen.

"They sure did. Now we just need to get the seeds out and ready to plant."

Apple Bloom found some bowls in the cabinet and set them on the counter where she found a place not covered in the magical fruit.

"Mr. Cake, do you have a good recipe for zap apples so we can share them with everypony that came to help?" Apple Bloom asked.

"If I had the flour I'd make us some pies," he replied, a little saddened at the thought.

Scootaloo said, "At any rate, we need to get to work."

In general agreement, everypony began cutting up the apples to get to the seeds. They quickly decided to quarter them for easy sharing later. They set the quarters aside in one bowl, and the seeds were all going together in another one. The repetition of Sparklefly’s job made for mechanical efficiency. Grab, set, slice, turn, slice. Pass the quartered apple on. A few dozen apples later, the door creaked open.

"How's is coming in here?" Applejack asked.

"Great, sis," Apple Bloom answered.

Glancing at the seed bowl, Sparklefly said, "If you get a can or something to take these in, you can go ahead and start planting."

"I'll get one," she replied.

It was much nicer than plowing. Sparklefly’s muscles were already weary; they would be aching soon. She and the others had time to talk and laugh as they cut up zap apples into the breaking of dawn.

...

Scootaloo felt her head falling as she gave in to slumber. The monotony of separating seed from flesh of apple had joined with the lack of sleep to hypnotize her. The kitchen, with all of its sounds and scents began fading away. Just before her head hit the wooden counter, she managed to shake herself awake again.

"You alright?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to walk around a little," Scootaloo replied as she stretched.

"Not to worry," LD began.

"We're just about done," Lightning Dasher finished.

"You know, it's kind of creepy that you guys do that," Sparklefly said.

Java Chip made a face and nodded in agreement. Scootaloo let out a long yawn and went to the door and opened it. As she stepped outside, she was surprised to see that the haze which had been covering Ponyville was gone. The air was fresh and clean, and the orchard was bathed in golden morning light. She walked away from the house, and saw that the plowing and planting teams had nearly completed their tasks. Turning east, Scootaloo could see that a southern wind had pushed the smoke off to the north, away from town. The weather was just so unpredictable when not being managed by teams of pegasi like it had been before the war. The seemingly random patternless weather from the Everfree Forest now dominated all of Equestria. In a way, it was somehow exciting to never know from day to day whether it would be sunny or rainy. Everypony on the farm seemed in high spirits. Scootaloo was as well, but she was also hungry; her only regret was that they hadn't found more zap apples. As it was, they'd barely had enough to give one to everypony that had come to help work the farm. On the other hoof, the fact that they had found food in the Everfree Forest was likely to guarantee that foraging teams would soon be out daily. LD trotted past her with the last can of zap apple seeds.

"Keep it up every pony!" Applejack encouraged the workers. Deep circles under her eyes betrayed the weariness she felt. She sort of lumbered as she turned about, her large belly an obvious encumbrance.

"Have they already been planting?” Sparklefly asked. “I thought these zap, apples, were supposed to grow up immediately.”

“They have, but I don't see anything growing yet," Scootaloo said as she turned to face Sparklefly, who seemed deep in thought. Seeing the bandaged eye, Scootaloo remembered something. "Hey, Sparklefly, I had completely forgotten. While I was in Manehattan, I had a gift made for you."

Coming back to the moment, curiosity brimmed as Sparklefly asked, "What is it?"

"This comes from an old friend. Sweetie Belle's older sister, actually. She is the finest fashionista in all of Equestria," Scootaloo said as she held out a small gift box, retrieved from one of her harness pockets.

She watched intently as Sparklefly opened it. Peering inside, her friend seemed uncertain what to say, and the expression on her face told that she was even less sure how to feel.

"It's all hoof-stitched, and it's reversible too. Flip it over," Scootaloo tried to be encouraging.

Sparklefly turned over the present, and then turned it back the other way. Rarity had make a silk eye patch at Scootaloo’s request. It was solid black on the back side, and on the front, it was black with embroidered golden thread that created an apple tree with red apples. Stitched above this was a silver cloud, and blue raindrops falling to water the tree. It was exactly like Sparklefly's cutie mark, the color of the apples notwithstanding. The silken embroidery glittered in the morning sunlight.

Scootaloo went on, "That is a hybrid silk; it is the finest thread in Equestria. Rarity makes it when she can get the raw material. This was from the last spools she has."

Sparklefly continued staring at it for so long that Scootaloo was becoming concerned. She certainly hadn’t intended any embarrassment or discomfort with the gift.

"It's beautiful," Sparklefly finally said. She looked up, clearly touched by the gesture, "Thank you so much."

"Ah, it's nothing," Scootaloo deflected. "I was just tired of seeing that bandage on your head."

Sparklefly smiled with an understanding that Scootaloo read plainly from her face. Then Sparklefly looked down, took off her bandage and tied the eye patch on, placing it over her mangled left eye. The embroidery was facing out, shining in the sunlight.

Looking back up at Scootaloo, Sparklefly asked, "Well, how do I look?"

"Amazing," she replied with a wicked grin, "I think it's a real improvement. We should do the other one too."

Sparklefly looked incredibly uncomfortable, actually taking a half-step backwards.

Scootaloo quickly said, "Hey, I'm sorry. Bad joke. It looks good."

Sparklefly smiled uneasily as she rubbed her eye for a moment, fiddling with the eye patch. Apple Bloom came out of the house with Lightning Dasher at her hooves and approached them.

With a yawn and long stretch, Apple Bloom said, "I am plumb tuckered." Looking at the other two, she noticed Sparklefly's new adornment, "Oh wow! Where did you get that?"

"Nice eye patch," Lighting Dasher agreed.

"Thanks," Sparklefly said as she instinctively turned her head to hide it.

A small stir among the towns ponies caught Scootaloo’s attention. It was caused by the arrival Mayor Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo sighed her frustration out. Making a gesture with her head, she beckoned the others to follow her as she went to see what had caused the commotion. They trotted together, joined by LD on the way there. As they approached, Scootaloo could see that Diamond Tiara had brought her newest project along, the Ponyville City Guard. Just after the siege had ended, the mayor had put out a call for all able-bodied ponies that were interested to report in for the formation of a civilian militia in Ponyville. She had ten recruits so far, but they hadn't had any sort of training to speak of. They were dressed quite officially, and Scootaloo found herself wondering where Diamond Tiara had found the fabric for their uniforms.

"Mornin' Mayor," Applejack called out cheerfully as the squad approached.

"Why are all of these ponies here? What’s going on?” Diamond Tiara was clearly confused.

"I had some friends over last night to help me with some replanting," Applejack replied coolly. “We’ve got to get the apple trees up again and the orchard producing.”

Diamond Tiara sighed, clearly annoyed, ”Well, you've all been wasting your time. I sent word yesterday that you were not to plant trees. Princess Twilight Sparkle signed an order that gave me the authority to appropriate land for the planting of crops. All of this land is reserved for growing oats."

Scootaloo looked around at tilled and planted rows; whatever magic was supposed to make the trees grow hadn’t happened. The Ponyville citizens that weren't finishing up the planting had crowded around the developing situation.

"No can-do, Miss Mayor," Applejack answered. "You see, we've got these trees here that are ready to produce at any time."

Diamond Tiara glanced behind them and stifled a giggle.

Looking up into the sky, Applejack called out, "Hit it, Fluttershy!"

"Okay," came the timid reply as a few dozen pegasi flew over with watering cans, raining on the rows of planted seeds.

“It will take trees, what, a few years to produce?” Diamond Tiara began. “We don’t have time to waste on...”

She was interrupted by magical lightning that made the very air feel alive with its presence as trees began shooting out of the ground. It made a splitting sound and dirt showered through the air, retreating from the rapid growth. The seeds sprang up into full grown trees in a flash one by one, right before all of them. Cheering erupted from the citizens of Ponyville, and Diamond Tiara's mouth dropped open in complete shock. She wasn’t laughing now. For Scootaloo, this was an incredibly satisfying moment. The mayor so often had the last word; it was nice to see her flummoxed for a change. As the pegasi made the end of the field, the trees all grew up in place, there had to be hundreds of them.

"You!" Diamond Tiara spat as she turned to Scootaloo. "You're EUP! Where are my soldiers? Where is the detail that was promised to be out here this morning?"

Scootaloo hadn't considered where the soldiers might be; she had assumed that they were on their way even now. Shrugging, she replied, "I honestly have no idea."

"Well, don't just stand there! Go and find General Mane Crusher. I demand an explanation!" Diamond Tiara fumed.

"First of all, I don't take orders from you. Besides, my squad and I are on medical leave.”

"Mind your tone!" one of Diamond Tiara's guards snapped.

"Seriously?" Scootaloo yawned back. "If it's zap apples or oats, what difference does it make to you as long as ponies are getting fed? It's not like there isn't plenty of land around Ponyville that's good for farming."

“I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself. You're practically still a child," Diamond Tiara seethed as she stared directly at Scootaloo's lack of a cutie mark. "What would you know about anything?"

Scootaloo took one step forward as a rage kindled inside her. She felt Sparklefly's hoof gently on her shoulder. Looking left at her, Sparklefly was shaking her head and whispered, "She's not worth it."

"Ponies all over Equestria are starving," Diamond Tiara continued. "I am part of a coordinated effort to generate more food as quickly as possible to help feed everypony."

"Now how in the hay are we supposed to think we're not helping that effort?" Applejack asked. "Half the town just pitched in and we now have hundreds of zap apple trees, ready to feed us all. If you’re bent on using the apple orchard, there’s lots more of it to grow your oats.”

"Just under three-hundred trees by my count," Sparklefly added.

"And just when are these supposed to produce?" Diamond Tiara retorted, growing hostile. "Does anypony even know? They're magic. They only bloom when they want to. I'm sorry, but we need the entire orchard to accomplish our goal; you've all wasted your time. Remove these trees at once."

It was all Scootaloo could do to rein in her anger that was growing steadily to a boil.

"Easy, Serg... LT,” Lightning Dasher whispered.

"You've got this, LT, don't give her the satisfaction," LD agreed. They were both apparently concerned at Scootaloo's increasing frustration.

"How's that now?" Applejack asked.

"I said you have to remove these trees immediately," Diamond Tiara repeated with feigned calm.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna happen!" Applejack said defiantly.

"This order was written by the Princess herself," the mayor insisted.

"Don't you princess me," Applejack cut her off. "Everypony here knows that my friend Twilight would never give you Sweet Apple Acres for any reason.”

Diamond Tiara stomped forward savagely right up until she was face to face with Applejack. Scootaloo felt her whole body tense up as the mayor issued words like venom. Had she not been standing so close, Scootaloo would not have been able to hear.

"This is my town! I swear to Celestia, I will bury you if you don't take these trees down."

Applejack put her hoof against Diamond Tiara's shoulder, giving her the most gentle nudge, "Go home, miss mayor."

Diamond Tiara dramatically threw herself back on the ground screaming. Rolling back, she cried out, "She attacked me! Arrest her!"

The look on Applejack's face was utter confusion. Scootaloo's eyes darted from Applejack, to the crowd of citizens whose eyes were wide with terror, to the mayor, and then to her goons on the Ponyville Guard, which were now rapidly approaching Applejack. Now the soldier had had enough.

Scootaloo darted forward, shouting to her squad, “Defensive line on me!"

Scootaloo, LD, Lightning Dasher, and Sparklefly shot in between Applejack and the ten incoming Ponyville Guards with such speed that Diamond Tiara’s brutes hesitated.

"Hold here! They do not pass us," she ordered her squad.

"What are you doing?" Diamond Tiara shouted. "She attacked me, and she's under arrest!”

"Now I did no such thing and you know it!" Applejack objected.

"Stay where you are, Applejack," Scootaloo commanded, her voice flooded with a strange power. Applejack froze in place. Turning back to the mayor, Scootaloo said, "If you want to arrest her, you have to go through us."

Diamond Tiara laughed, standing up again. "If you hadn't noticed, there are only four of you."

That was true. It would be four against ten. The four were injured from cuts to sprains and fractures, and Scootaloo would much have preferred to have armor and weapons. However, she did know that they possessed one thing that the ten didn’t: combat experience.

"Yes, there are four, so I recommend you withdraw before your goons get hurt," Scootaloo spoke defiantly. "On my authority in her majesty's EUP, I order you and your stallions to leave Sweet Apple Acres immediately."

Turning to her town guards, Diamond Tiara said, "Arrest all five of them."

The guards did not hesitate this time, they bolted straight at Scootaloo's position. They weren't in any particular formation, and Scootaloo let out a cry, charging directly toward them. Followed closely by her squad, she met them head-on. Holding her sprained right hoof close, she clubbed one in the face with her left, and Sparklefly crossed and tackled one that was rushing up on her right. LD jumped, and with a short flutter of his wings leapt over Scootaloo, dropping on another of the mayor's stallions. Lightning Dasher cut off one that had tried to go around them at Applejack. His fractured leg wasn't slowing him down too much. Scootaloo turned and was just able to duck under what would have been a nasty blow to the face. Pivoting on her good front hoof, she let go kicks into two of their assailants with her hind legs, knocking one back and dropping the other one with blood gushing from his nose. In that moment that she was turned, she saw Sparklefly take a kick in the ribs; she twisted, grabbing around the fore hooves of her attacker and threw him on the ground. As he tried to get up, she kicked him in the face and then sprang backwards. Scootaloo rounded on another one, taking a glancing blow off the top of her head. It hurt, but she maintained her focus, pushed into him, stomping on his hoof. LD darted behind him, tripping the stallion as Scootaloo pushed him back. Lighting Dasher came out of nowhere and sacked another one. It was a full-on brawl, but it was actually over in less than two minutes. As the dust settled, eleven ponies were on the ground, and four remained standing. Scootaloo’s eyes scanned for threats as her breath heaved in an out. Adrenaline surged through the mare, chasing away the sleepiness and making her feel powerful. It was then that she realized that eleven ponies were on the ground.

Diamond Tiara moaned, "You crazy blank-flank! You've crossed the line now."

Scootaloo almost felt as if she were going mad. She knew that Diamond Tiara hadn't charged in with her goons, but there she was, laying near them in the dirt.

"Get up you big faker!” Java Chip yelled at the mayor.

"You're all going to pay for this," Diamond Tiara said as she got to her hooves and galloped away.

The other ten were all groggily standing back up and stumbling after her. Their fancy uniforms were all soiled, wrinkled, and bloody now.

"Serves y'all right!" Apple Bloom taunted them as they left.

Scootaloo held up a hoof to silence her. Looking around, she realized that the crowd had largely dispersed in the few minutes since the mayor had arrived. Scootaloo's anger was subsiding, and she let out a long sigh. As often follows in the wake of such an outburst, a certain remorseful reflection overcame her. Considering the likely consequences of this turn of events, she wished that her rage hadn't taken a hold of her now.

"Sparklefly; you're in command until I return. Do not allow the mayor or any of her guards back on this farm.” Scootaloo ordered. “Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am; completely," Sparklefly answered.

"I'm going to find Brax and report this," Scootaloo said uneasily, the potential ramifications of her actions now sinking in. She paused a moment, exchanging nervous glances with the rest of her squad, "Hopefully I didn't just get us all court-martialed.”

16 Injustice

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Cloud Blazer found himself walking the deserted streets of Ponyville. A thick smoke was filling the air. It was kind of funny: he couldn't smell it. It was definitely smoke, not fog, but unscented smoke. He walked around for what seemed like an eternity, a specter of trepidation leading him on. The longer he walked the more he became afraid. It had begun as a shadow of a thought, but it grew stronger in his mind. The fear that there were no other ponies, that he was the last one, had become overwhelming. It was quite a terrifying prospect. He began shouting for anypony to answer, but nopony came. He was becoming frantic, charging through the streets. He went to Sweet Apple Acres, but it was empty, just as every other place was. He sat down, bewildered, but then heard a voice behind him.

"Come with me."

Turning around, he saw Scootaloo, but it wasn't her voice.

"Scootaloo! I'm so glad you're safe!" he cried out as he galloped to the mare and embraced her.

She didn't react at all. She just stood there like a statue. When he let go, it was a stone statue of Princess Twilight Sparkle he was holding. Backing away from it, he was now on top of the Princess of Friendship's tower.

"Come with me," the same voice said from the stairs that led inside.

It still had the body of Scootaloo, but he knew it wasn't her. He followed the figure into the castle. The smoke seemed to be coming from somewhere inside. They walked down the corridors, their hooves clicking against the stone floors. Cloud Blazer noticed that the tapestries and stained glass windows had changed. They depicted a story, his story, right up to the last battle he fought in the forest. There were others also, things that he didn't understand. One looked like a massive explosion in the Everfree forest. Another looked like Las Pegasus was on fire. There was one with some kind of brawl at Sweet Apple Acres, and another with a great assembly in Ponyville at the town hall.

"What do these mean?" Cloud Blazer asked.

The form of Scootaloo stopped, slowly turning her head to face him. The strange voice said, "Come with me."

It turned and continued walking. As the stallion followed, the smoke seemed to be getting even more dense. They went down what had to be ten different flights of stairs. The air was so thick now that he could barely see in front of him. There was a light ahead. He followed the form of Scootaloo to a door at the end of a long corridor, the source of the smog. It was glowing silver like the full moon. The form of Scootaloo walked through it as if it weren't there. Cloud Blazer found it more solid than did the apparition. He pushed against the door, but it wouldn't budge. He strained with all of his effort, but he felt weak. Examining the door, he noticed that there were several keyholes along one side. They had different shapes: some more jagged and pointy, others more round with softer curves. He counted five of them.

"Use the keys,” the voice said from inside the door. “Come to me.”

Looking around, the hallway was empty. Cloud Blazer couldn't see far for the thick smoke that was emanating from the door. He turned and galloped up the hallway. At the other end, he found another door. This one opened with a creak, shattering as it swung back. As he stepped out, Cloud Blazer realized that he was now in Sugar Cube Corner. There were sweets everywhere: cupcakes, custards, and pies of all varieties. It was a wondrous bounty that no pony had seen since the war began. As he picked up a cupcake, he had kind of a giddy feeling all over. It sprang from his grasp, bouncing away from him as if by its own will. Hot in pursuit, he chased the cupcake through the door, out of Sugar Cube Corner, and through the streets of Ponyville. It was incredibly fast, and it was already outpacing him. Cloud Blazer stretched out his wings and took to the air, speeding along to keep up with the bouncy cupcake. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the castle again. The misty smoke was flooding from the front door.

Then he woke up. Still immobilized and in excruciating pain, Cloud Blazer finally understood that he had been dreaming again.

...

Swiftlight didn't realize that he'd fallen asleep until he awoke. From his hiding place in the corner behind the bookshelves, he could see morning sunlight flooding through the damaged windows. There was still a great deal of dust in the air, but there was an eerie calm that bordered on complete silence. There weren’t even any birds singing. A little groggy, he checked himself for the extent of his injuries. The stallion was relieved to find only a few bumps and bruises, other than the bite on his fore-leg. His neck was even more stiff than it had been the night before. He had trouble turning his head. The energy burn on his back didn’t feel too serious, but it ached. As he stood and took his first step out of the corner, he realized too late that his front right leg had fallen asleep from how he had leaned on it in the night. He crumpled to the ground as it gave way. Wide awake now, he jumped back up and reared back on his hind legs, picking his front right leg up with his left. There was absolutely no feeling at all and he couldn’t move it. He used his left to move it, but it hung there like a dead appendage. Disturbing as this was, the experience was short-lived. Within moments it began to feel like pins and needles were stabbing him from just below his right shoulder all the way down to his hoof. He shook it vigorously and walked out on three legs, carefully inspecting the hallway. It was completely deserted. He then turned and crept up to the window, slowly peering outside.

The scene that lay before Swiftlight was utterly appalling. The dead timberwolves, changelings, and ponies were piled so thick through the square that he could hardly see the ground. What of the street was visible was stained red from the fallen. Other than smoke rising from several small fires, everything was completely still. He shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming. The pain in his stiff neck and his leg waking up helped confirm that what he was seeing was real. It appeared as if both EUP regiments had been slaughtered trying to gain entry to the mill, and they had taken at least as many timberwolves with them. The strangest thing was how it was now completely abandoned, only a few hours later. If the changelings had wanted the mill so badly, why discard it once the EUP soldiers were out of the way? Why hadn't more reinforcements arrived to safeguard the mill and the grain that was inside? Swiftlight knew one thing for certain: those answers were not going to be found where he presently stood.

Finding his way to the bottom floor was uneventful aside from his leg becoming fully functional again, but he kept his makeshift spear close all the same. Getting outside proved more of a challenge. The dead were so thick against the sides on the ground level that every door and window seemed blocked. Returning to the second floor, Swiftlight found a room that had blast damage where the wall should have been. He carefully crawled out and dropped down. Landing in a pile of bodies was rather unsettling to say the least. The mingled smells were even worse once he was on the ground. The stink of timberwolves, smoke, and blood all permeated the air. Stepping as carefully as he could, Swiftlight worked his way to the center of the square where Colonel Greymane had been. He searched the bodies that were there, but he didn't see Greymane or the lieutenant that had been with him. If they had been killed, they had moved to a different position first. Swiftlight continued on toward the mill. The only sound was the noise of the stallion walking through the aftermath of the battle. He picked up a discarded spear, a new knife, and some arrows for his crossbow. His senses were keen, but nothing stirred.

There was no longer a magical shield protecting the grain mill. Cautiously entering, surprise is what met the captain more than anything else. It was completely empty inside. More than that, there was the complete lack of any sign of a struggle. Had the EUP forces been wiped out before the changelings got in? Where was the grain? Did the changelings take it all in just a few hours? Swiftlight didn't think they’d have been able to empty the supplies that quickly, but there was nothing more he could do here. He very much felt that the longer he stayed separated from the other soldiers, the more likely it became that the changelings might find him first. As he exited the mill, his ears picked up the distinct sound of a train engine. Swiftlight galloped west through vacant streets the short distance to the railroad. He arrived to find the tracks as empty as the rest of the town, discarded bodies and other debris notwithstanding. Turning north, he could see the train was approaching slowly. Any moment now, the reinforcements that they had sent from Ponyville the night before would begin to pour out and he could join them.

Swiftlight stood there as the train approached. The engine lazily pulled up and past him. The locomotive showed no signs of slowing. It simply continued puffing by at idle speed. No ponies got off, and none were on top of the cars either. After several went by with no change, Swiftlight decided that this needed to be investigated. He stowed his spear in favor of his crossbow and knife, galloped alongside the train and jumped onto the staircase on one of the cars. The door was unlatched. Pushing it open, he went inside. The captain rounded the corner into the car to find nothing in his line of sight. There were no enemies, no allies, nopony at all. Swiftlight’s heart began pounding as he walked through the empty passenger car. There were no signs of a fight, or anything else for that matter. The train, inside and out, seemed perfectly intact. It was as if everypony had simply decided to get off at some point. Working his way from there toward the engine, he only found more of the same. The entire train was empty. The only thing that seemed out of place was some of the doors were opened as he went by them. When he arrived at the engine, it was not surprising to find no engineers. Swiftlight stowed his crossbow and located the brake. He pulled it, bringing the mechanical behemoth groaning to a halt. He had ridden it all the way to the edge of town as he had moved through the dozen or so cars he had checked. If they had still been loaded, he should have seen hundreds of ponies crammed inside.

Swiftlight exited the train into tall, yellow desert grasslands on the south side of the city. It would have been delightful if the variety had been edible. But for the sound of some crickets, and the outgassing of the brakes on the train as they released steam into the air, it was completely quiet outside. The perplexed captain turned and walked back up the train toward town, looking around, but seeing only the countryside and the city around him. Then the crickets went dead silent.

"Shambulia!" a deep voice called loudly from somewhere behind, a cry that was echoed hundreds of times over in a moment.

Swiftlight turned quickly on his hooves, dropping into a combat stance and bringing his spear to bear, gripping it tightly. As he came around, he saw what had to be hundreds of armored zebras charging directly at him. The entire horde of them let out a fierce battle cry as they rushed at him, and his courage melted. Spinning around again, Swiftlight galloped farther back into the city as fast as his hooves would carry him. They were fast, too fast; the zebras were gaining on him. He dropped his spear and pressed as hard as he could go. Their wicked cries were drawing closer as they thundered across the plain behind him. Finding an open door into one of the cars, Swiftlight mounted the steps, but then was pulled backward off of the train by one of the zebras. He turned, pushing his attacker away, and continued running back toward the city at a full gallop. He kept close to the train on his left side, and by the time he realized the error of that strategy, it was too late. A zebra came out from one of the cars and dove down into Swiftlight's legs, tripping him.

The world spun around and then he slammed into the ground hard, rolling in the field by the train. He tumbled over and over before coming to rest with the taste of blood and earth in his mouth. He was dizzy, but he tried to get up. Before he could regain his senses, the zebras had him pinned down, and several of them were whooping cries that terrified the lone soldier. Worse than this was the realization that if the zebras would attack an EUP officer on sight, it could only mean that they must have joined forces with the changelings, and they had come to support the attack against Las Pegasus.

"Je, wewe ni rafiki au adui?" one of them said.

Another raised up a short spear aggressively. It was about half the length of an EUP spear, but the sharpened head of it looked every bit as lethal. Swiftlight wanted to fight, even though he knew the situation was hopeless. On his back, he simply laid there like frightened prey.

"Je, si kumchinja!" another shouted.

One that was decorated in red armor approached through the crowd that had thoroughly surrounded Swiftlight. "Watu watano wa kwenu, kumchukua kwenye ulinzi. Kila mtu mwingine, kuendelea katika mji," it said calmly.

This seemed more like an order. Swiftlight had not seen the half of them initially; there were thousands upon thousands of zebras. The entire mass of them continued on into the city, leaving only five guarding the EUP captain. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he caught his breath. He had only seen a single zebra before, the mare that lived in Ponyville, but he had heard of them. They lived in lands far to the south, and their dark magic was the stuff of ghost stories back home in Van Hoover.

The five were chattering amongst themselves for a moment, and then one spoke directly to Swiftlight, “Kuinuka na kufuata yetu."

He lay there looking back, not daring to move. Pointing directly at Swiftlight, it spoke again, “Wewe." The zebra then motioned with both fore-hooves with them down, and then lifting them up saying, “Kuinuka." He repeated this, and Swiftlight decided it was telling him to get up.

Carefully avoiding any sudden movements, Swiftlight rolled over, placing his hooves on the ground once more. He sat there a moment, looking up at the zebra that had addressed him. It nodded at him, and Swiftlight began to stand slowly. "Unaweza kuona? Yeye gani kuwa na ubongo," he said, causing the others to chortle for a moment. Looking at the rest of his captors, Swiftlight could see at least three of them had their spears at the ready. Despite their seemingly jovial attitude, if he tried to run, he'd likely not make it far. The one in red armor seemed to be their leader.

He spoke again, "Sefu, wewe kuangalia naye kutoka nyuma ya."

One of the others that wore a necklace made of teeth nodded and walked around behind Swiftlight. Not otherwise moving, Swiftlight turned his stiff neck as far as he could manage, wincing as he did. The zebra kept the business end of his spear pointed at him. Turning back, the one in the red armor that had addressed him previously came close. He produced a small container and opened it. He dipped his hoof in a thick green paste and reached for Swiftlight. Without taking a step, he recoiled as far as he was able. The zebra stopped a moment, and then continued more slowly. He wiped the sludge in a pattern on the EUP captain’s face. Then the zebra stepped back, regarding him for a moment. With a nod, the rest of them lowered their spears. Zebra magic was fabled to have all sorts of abilities to curse and control one. Swiftlight didn’t know what the green paste was supposed to do to him, but he didn’t feel any different. Though their wary eyes still followed him, they seemed a little more at ease. They didn’t take his crossbow or knife away, which the stallion found strange.

Red armor spoke again. "Zuberi," he said, touching his right-fore hoof to his own chest. "Jina langu ni Zuberi.”

"Zuberi," Swiftlight repeated.

The red armored zebra, Zuberi, stood there silently for a moment. He had a look of expectation on his face.

The EUP captain slowly lifted a hoof, touching his own armored chest and said, “Swiftlight.”

The heavy accent came back, “Sweeft Lahght.”

Swiftlight nodded.

Zuberi smiled at him, and then motioned with one hoof. From extended out, he brought it close to him, and then repeated this, saying, "Kuja.” Swiftlight took a slow step toward Zuberi, who smiled at him again. He then held his hoof straight at Swiftlight and said, “Kuacha." Swiftlight stopped, and Zuberi smiled once more. He then put his hoof high and brought it down half way, saying, “Kujificha." He repeated this motion. Swiftlight turned his head as far as the stiffness in his neck would allow as he tried to understand. The zebra repeated it again, and Swiftlight dropped down to the ground, laying flat. Zuberi’s grin grew large this time, and he said, "Nzuri sana. Tunaweza kufanya kazi na hili."

They repeated this exersise several times. Swiftlight decided that 'kuacha' must mean halt or stop. 'Kuja' would have to be follow or perhaps come here. 'Kujificha' was said when they wanted him to lay down. He wasn't sure if this was to show submission, or if they taught him this in case they ran into trouble. After they practiced these no fewer than a dozen times, with him laying down, and then being told to 'kuja,' and then 'kuacha,' again and again, they finally began moving into the city.

Of all of the outcomes Swiftlight had imagined, he never considered being taken prisoner as a likely scenario. He'd always imagined that he'd go out gloriously fighting to the death face to face with the enemy, if it ever came to that. In spite of his preconceptions, here he was, being marched back into the city, a prisoner of a zebra horde. All he needed was the right opportunity to escape. Then he could find an EUP unit and let them know that the zebras were a new enemy that would have to be dealt with. The ramifications of this information were astounding, but it was odd that they hadn’t taken his weapons. They were walking up a street now that was littered with rubble and timberwolf bodies. If he were being magically controlled, wouldn’t he be able to feel it? It was an unsettling thought, especially since his own survival depended on complying for the moment. He would just have to take his chance when the time came.

"Kujificha!" Zuberi yelled loudly, and all of the others dropped to the ground behind what they could find, some a large bench, one a trash can.

Swiftlight hesitated a moment, forgetting what kujificha meant. As the realization hit him, so did a sweeping kick from the zebra that was behind him. As he fell, a deadly bolt of changeling magic sizzled through the air, just missing Swiftlight's face, and catching the edge of his helmet with a dull thudding sound. His head was tossed as he struck the ground, and pain shot through his neck. He rolled off to one side, hiding behind an abandoned carriage that Zuberi was also using for cover. He was incapacitated for a moment by the pain.

Swiftlight hadn't seen where it had come from, and it took him a moment to regain his hooves. The zebras were completely quiet. They were all looking around, mostly trying to see forward. Zuberi ducked just as another shot sizzled harmlessly past, impacting on something farther down the street. Now Swiftlight was even more confused. Changelings were shooting at the zebras. The stallion quickly decided that he may have misunderstood why he was taken prisoner. The zebras must have suspected that he was a changeling. At the very least, he was quite grateful that they kept him alive to find out for certain.

The zebras chattered something in their native tongue for a moment. Then Zuberi began giving orders and pointing.

“Sefu na Ishara, wewe mbili kwenda karibu na upande wa kushoto. Safi na Zakiya, kupata njia yako karibu ubavu wa kulia. Sweeft Laght na mimi ni kwenda up katikati.”

From what Swiftlight read of Zuberi’s gestures, it looked like he was going to send Sefu and Ishara to try the left flank, Safi and Zakiya around the right, while he and Swiftlight charged the middle. The captain looked around the corner, and then understood better better what the plan must involve. There were several places up the street to take cover; now if he just knew where the sniper was-

A flash of green light shot right at him, and Swiftlight dropped to the hard surface of the street. He pulled his head back in before they could get another shot off, but now he knew where the enemy was positioned. At least one sniper was on the roof of a three-story building about four blocks away. There would be easy access from either of the side streets.

"Kuja," Zuberi said, looking directly at Swiftlight. "Kuja," he repeated, tapping his own chest with his hoof.

Swiftlight nodded in agreement. "Kuja," he replied, pointing from himself to Zuberi.

Adrenaline was already flowing in anticipation of the next moment. They were about to spring out toward their objectives, and Swiftlight's looked to be straight toward the sniper. He loaded an arrow, but realized that he and Zuberi were basically bait. He wondered briefly if anypony else got as nervous as he did when they knew they were in harm's way. Mane Crusher always seemed cold like ice, especially in the worst of situations. Those thoughts had to be pushed aside. All that mattered right now was to focus on the problem at hoof. Get the sniper; don't get killed.

Zuberi shouted, "Shambulia!"

Like a flash, the other two pairs of zebras sprang from their cover, and Zuberi charged forward with Swiftlight on his tail. As they came out, the changeling opened up rapid fire at the group that went left, and then redirected at Zuberi. Swiftlight took aim, let his arrow fly, and then galloped after the red armored zebra. They turned right, running around a cart and back to the left, zigzagging their way up the street. Several shots rained down around them, the street stones exploding when hit. Swiftlight's legs were peppered with the shards of rock that blew out in every direction, an indication that his own shot had missed. They continued on and had almost reached a dumpster when Zuberi took a direct hit in the head. He collapsed to the ground, falling next to the dumpster. Swiftlight ran into it, almost at full speed for fear of slowing down. He turned at the last second, letting his armor take the brunt of the impact as he slammed into the trash bin with a loud clang. Turning about, he was surprised to find that Zuberi was back on his hooves, crouched down.

Swiftlight motioned at his helmet, and Zuberi smiled at him, knocking a hoof against it. The surface was barely even burned by the magic. A direct hit like that would have incinerated an EUP soldier, armored or not. The sniper fire stopped completely, and it again grew quiet. Zuberi put his head up, looking over the dumpster for a moment, and then dropping down again. He pointed left across the street. Swiftlight nodded.

"Kuja!" he said, darting out of their hiding place.

Swiftlight followed close behind. They weren't taking any fire just yet. Glancing up at the roof ahead, he couldn't see the changeling anymore. Magical energy began raining down around them, exploding into the street. Zuberi stumbled as he took another hit, this time on his back. He kept running. Turning hard left, the unlikely pair galloped into a shop. There was a counter, and both of them jumped over it, crashing down behind the makeshift concealment. Swiftlight’s heart was pounding as he lifted up just high enough so he could see. The changeling flew down to land on the street outside. Staying still, he watched the onyx equine as it approached the building. It looked tired and was breathing heavily. A little steam was coming off of its horn. Zuberi had his short spear ready; he was also looking over the counter. They both slowly ducked behind it, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Swiftlight quietly retrieved an arrow and pulled back the action on his crossbow. He had five arrows remaining, but would likely only have time for one. They listened to the clicking of the changeling's hooves against the street. Tension filled the pair like a rubber band that was stretched as far as it can go. They breathed silently, waiting, anticipating. Zuberi’s mouth moved as if he were speaking, but he made no noise.

The sound of the hooves changed the moment they came through the door, and that's when Zuberi sprang up, throwing his spear. It zipped silently through the air as the changeling let out a blast of magic. Wood splintered in every direction from the counter as a hole was blasted through it. Swiftlight and his new friend leapt out ready to fight only to discover that the spear had hit its mark. The blow was fatal, and the changeling lay dying in the entrance of what Swiftlight decided was a carriage repair shop. They stood there a moment, still ready for action, but all the changeling did was gasp for air. It looked rather pitiful just now, and Swiftlight might have felt sorry had it not been trying to kill them only moments before. As it was, he felt no pity, shame, or remorse at the outcome.

"That's what you get," Swiftlight said coldly.

Zuberi shot him a disapproving look, and then shook his head. The changeling tried to speak, but was unable as the spear had pierced his lungs. The zebra took a hold of his weapon; pulling it out, he finished the changeling quickly. He then checked outside briefly and afterward did something that Swiftlight didn't understand. Zuberi knelt down by the changeling, put his hoof over his face, covering his eyes. He then closed his own eyes, and gently said, "Sisi walikuwa maadui katika maisha haya. Natumaini sisi kupata njia yetu katika amani katika maisha yajayo."

Barely a moment after he said this, the rest of the zebra squad came upon them suddenly, spears poised to strike. When they saw the changeling and Zuberi, they simply turned around and kept watch. Zuberi stood, cleaned his spear, and then looked at Swiftlight. He pointed at Swiftlight's leg, which was bleeding a little from some splinters that had hit him from the counter that they had been hiding behind. It wasn't serious, and Swiftlight tried to communicate this. They seemed to understand his gesturing, and the group went outside. They didn’t say another word to him. It seemed that he had gained some small measure of their trust. Their watchful eyes still followed him as they continued their walk through the battle-torn, deserted city.

...

Scootaloo stood rigidly as the unpleasant situation unfolded. A lump had formed in her throat. The outburst she’d allowed had felt so satisfying at the moment, but in its wake was only regret and a sinking feeling that everything she had worked so hard for was slipping away.

”Just what in Equestria were you thinking?" Brax yelled hotly.

She and Brax were basically alone in CIC. Among the few officers that were present, there was no small stir concerning her actions at Sweet Apple Acres. The only other one she recognized was Clyde, so stood near the door.

"We are soldiers in service of the civilian authorities. We are here to protect the population, not to attack them!"

"Permission to speak?" Scootaloo asked, trying to swallow the lump.

With a sigh, the captain said, "Go ahead."

"The mayor has no right to command any citizen to do anything with their own land. Furthermore, she was attempting to commit an illegal arrest."

"Is your hearing still weak from that explosion? None of that has anything to do with us," Brax countered. "Those sort of things are for judges and courts to figure out."

"So what was I supposed to do, just let Applejack be taken away?"

“That’s exactly what you should have done.”

“What of justice?”

“Who do you think you are?” Brax rose to shouting again. “You’re not here to dispense justice or your version of it. By Celestia, you’re here to follow orders and protect Equestria. That doesn’t involve policing the citizens, and it certainly doesn’t give you license to harass public officials.”

“But I never touched the mayor.”

“It doesn’t matter! She has already filed a formal complaint that claims your squad assaulted her and interfered with Ponyville police jurisdiction.”

Scootaloo's anger was getting the best of her again. "I thought we were sworn to defend the citizens of Equestria from all threats, foreign and domestic."

"Careful," Brax warned, his own emotions running high. “There are no princesses to bail you out right now. I consider you a friend, but my first duty is to Equestria. I’m going to do everything I can to help you, but if you don't keep your temper under control and your mouth shut until we get through this, you may end up spending the rest of the war in the stockade."

Scootaloo's anger boiled, but she had sense enough to remain silent now. This was incredibly frustrating; it was all just so completely unfair. It was senseless and wrong, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"In the spirit of avoiding further situations, I'm going to request that the mayor stay clear of Sweet Apple Acres until this matter is resolved. This is not something I can enforce. You, on the other hoof are confined to the infirmary until further notice, pending the outcome of my investigation. Sergeant Clyde," Brax called.

"Sir?" Clyde said as he stepped forward.

"Escort the lieutenant to the hospital. I want you to stay with her and keep her away from the mayor.”

"Yes, sir!" Clyde saluted.

"Dismissed," Brax said formally.

Scootaloo saluted, and then turned, walking on three legs out of CIC. She was followed closely by the unicorn. They passed silently through the nearly deserted castle. Scootaloo's thoughts were filled with far too much rage to notice much around her. The anger burned hot at the blatant abuse of power that Diamond Tiara was getting away with. They went down the stairs and out into the morning. It was a clear blue sky with only a few small clouds overhead. They padded though town without speaking, nearly all the way to the hospital.

"Thanks for making my day interesting," Clyde finally said.

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"I was all set. I just got promoted; hopefully I'll get a squad soon, but for the moment, I get to babysit a hot-head. This is so much better than what I had planned," his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Scootaloo's instinct was to lash out. Turning suddenly, she got right in Clyde's face. His horn began glowing purple with magic. They stood face to face, both tensed like a pair of cobras ready to strike.

"Just give me an excuse," he said, staring her coldly in the eye.

Before she made an aggressive move, she fought to reign in her frustration. "Glad I could help," she finally managed to deflect.

Turning away from him she continued the short distance and entered the hospital. It was as dismal a place to visit as ever. Shadowed by Clyde, Scootaloo went up to the second floor and down the hallway. She decided that she might as well check on Cloud Blazer while she was here, and he had been moved to a room as the hospital was not so overcrowded as it had been only a day before. Both Zecora and Sweetie Belle were sleeping soundly. Their patient didn't look any better and was still covered in the foul smelling potions.

"A friend of yours?" Clyde asked.

"Yes," Scootaloo replied.

"What happened to him?"

Facing Clyde, she used a menacing tone, "He said the wrong thing to me."

Clyde snorted at her, apparently neither amused nor afraid of her. "You can be as difficult as you like; you're in a heap of trouble one way or the other," he reminded her.

In truth, she didn't need to be reminded. She was already keenly aware of how badly she had jeopardized her career with her latest stunt. Rainbow Dash would not be happy when she found out. Without a doubt the mayor would be making accusations against her specifically. Scootaloo began to feel sick as the lack of sleep caught up to her. She found a spot against the wall by Cloud Blazer’s hospital bed and sat on the floor watching the doctors and nurses pass by in the hallway. Clyde found a place nearby so he could keep an eye on her. It wasn't necessary. At this present moment, Scootaloo was resigned to accept her fate, not having any fight left in her.

...

Sparklefly, LD, and Lightning Dasher were exiting the castle. The beautiful sunny day was quite the contrast to her spirits, which had become downright gloomy. It hadn’t taken nearly as long as she might have expected for the squad to be escorted to the castle. Brax had wanted to hear their accounts of the events at Sweet Apple Acres, and he sent two squads to ensure that they were brought in without incident. He had them in one at a time in an uncomfortably official manner. They were ordered to not take any similar action, but as their lieutenant had given the orders they followed, Scootaloo was the only one placed under guard for the moment. The fear of punishment had diminished, but now it had transformed into concern for Scootaloo.

"How did it go?" Java Chip greeted them; Apple Bloom, expressionless, was with her.

"Better than expected," Sparklefly attempted to sound cheerful.

"Not in trouble?" Java Chip asked hopefully.

"Well," LD started.

"Sort of,” Lightning Dasher finished.

"Scootaloo is confined to the hospital, pending the outcome of the investigation," Sparklefly said. "Even if she doesn't get court marshaled, there's going to be some kind of disciplinary action. We're not out of this yet."

"Not even close," Java Chip said.

As Apple Bloom spoke, moroseness was what defined her tone, ”Applejack was arrested not five minutes after y'all left.”

"Why that rotten-" both LD and Lightning Dasher started, but they stopped short.

Sparklefly sighed, "And things seemed to be going so well this morning."

They were all feeling the effects of working through the night. Sparklefly unconsciously rubbed at her patched eye.

"Celestia help me, if I ever find a way to fight back, that rotten mayor will be history," LD said.

Lightning Dasher added, "I wish I had hit her. That would have at least made this worth it."

"Keep cool, guys. We have to be careful now," Sparklefly cautioned.

"What if we can fight back?" Java Chip asked.

The other four looked at her; Sparklefly felt a little puzzled.

"I mean, this isn't a fight for hooves, but what if there's another way?" she continued.

"Like what?" Sparklefly asked.

"Diamond Tiara is basically having a power trip," Java Chip said.

"That Diamond Tiara's just awful; she's always been selfish and proud. I guess some ponies never grow up," Apple Bloom added.

“What are you suggesting?” LD asked.

"We take her power away," Java Chip offered. "We have a recall election and get rid of her."

That caused a brief silence. Sparklefly felt it was a nice thought, but it would be incredibly difficult to pull off.

"Even if you manage to get a recall election, you'll need a candidate to replace her," she pointed out.

"It would definitely have to be somepony that's from here. Somepony that everyone knows and respects," Java Chip said, half to herself.

"But who in Ponyville could we find that's that well liked and would want to run against Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom asked.

"Why don't you do it?" Lightning Dasher asked Java Chip.

"What, me?" Java Chip seemed a bit surprised at the suggestion. "No way. I'm too busy with getting my coffee business off the ground. Besides, I haven't lived here nearly long enough to earn the kind of trust we're going to need. We can't just build a candidate out of thin air."

"Who's been in town the longest?" LD asked.

Apple Bloom snorted, "No luck there. Diamond Tiara's family has been here since Ponyville was founded. Only Sweet Apple Acres has been here longer."

Sparklefly felt a chill run down her spine. From the corner of her eye, she saw the other three turn to look at Apple Bloom at the same time that she did. They stared at her for a moment.

"What?" she asked.

"Applejack," Sparklefly and Java Chip said together.

"You want my sis' to run for mayor?" Apple Bloom asked in confusion.

"It makes perfect sense," Sparklefly said. "She's the one who was wronged by Diamond Tiara most recently, and your family is the only one that has been here longer."

"Also, Applejack has a huge reputation here," Java Chip said. "I hadn't even met you guys before I commonly heard the phrase, 'honest apple.' Honesty is a great trait in a candidate."

"I don't know," Apple Bloom said doubtfully. "I don't think she'd want to do anything that'll take her off of the farm."

“In her condition, she can’t really work the farm anyway. This could be her best chance to save Sweet Apple Acres," Sparklefly pointed out. "Do you think she’d have a chance against Diamond Tiara?"

“Maybe...” the farm pony was doubtful.

“Would she do it?” Lightning Dasher asked.

Apple Bloom thought for a moment and shrugged, "Well, I guess it can't hurt to ask."

"So, let's go ask!" Java Chip said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

They tried to keep their volume down as they walked to the jail. They didn't want to get too far ahead of themselves. They would have to talk to Applejack first to see if she would even go along with this scheme. If they managed to succeed, it would be a huge commitment for Applejack. She wouldn't be able to give her full attention to running the farm for the foreseeable future.

Sparklefly wasn't sure whether she was more hungry or tired. The satisfying effect of the zap apple she'd eaten earlier had already worn off, but the memory of the flavor was still strong in her mind. She could almost still taste it. The Ponyville jail, not surprisingly, was as quaint in design as the rest of the town. If it hadn't had a sign on the front door indicating the function of the building, Sparklefly wouldn't have been able to pick it out from any of the larger houses that were nearby. They entered carefully, keeping watch for any of the mayor's thugs. None of them were present. There were three simple desks with papers stacked all around, and the unmistakeable scent of chewing tobacco permeated the air. Sitting at one of the desks was the sheriff of Ponyville, the lone occupant of the office. He was an older stallion with a blue coat. His mane, which had once been jet black was going gray, and his long mustache matched. His head was topped with a brown cowboy hat, which was similar to the one Applejack always wore. Strapped to his back was an well used leather saddle that had a rope and keys attached. They jingled as he shifted in his seat.

"Good morning, ladies; sirs," The sheriff greeted them with his tenor voice.

He removed his hat and placed it on the desk.

"Good morning," LD replied.

The sheriff sat up straight, looking at LD and Lightning Dasher. "Now, would you fella's happen to be twins?"

"No, sir," Lightning Dasher began.

"It's kind of complicated," LD continued.

"Yes, they're twins," Sparklefly said. The other's looked at her. "Identical twins."

Sparklefly decided it was the simplest explanation that they’d be able to give for the pair of Dashers. It might also help the way everypony thought about them. The sheriff bore a puzzled look, but his curiosity was interrupted by Apple Bloom stepping out from behind the others.

"We've come to see my sister," she said.

Standing, the sheriff said, "Of course, of course! My apologies, miss Apple Bloom. I didn't see you come in."

"Can we see her?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yes, ma’am. This whole thing is a rotten business if you ask me. I've known your family ever since I was just a colt. Shoot, I’ve known Applejack since she was just a filly, and she'd never do a thing like she's been accused of. Attacking the mayor my hoof," he said, spitting a wad of tobacco into a brass pot that was on the floor beside his desk. "Pardon me, ladies."

Sparklefly smiled at him, "It's a small matter."

He nodded at her and said, "This way."

They followed him up to the second floor, where an iron door at the top of the stairs was locked. He unclasped the keyring and found the key quickly. He opened the door, which swung easily on well-greased hinges. They followed him into a large room with eight iron cages that filled the entire second floor. There was a kitchen off to one side, but the entire floor was devoid of any kind of solid walls. The hardwood floors creaked under their weight as they walked on them.

"Miss Applejack, you have some visitors," the sheriff called out as they approached.

Applejack was sitting on a stool in the corner of her cell. She looked up at them as they approached. She then stood and wiped her eyes. Sparklefly wasn't sure whether she was tired or if she had been crying. Given her condition, it seemed especially sad to see her incarcerated. It just didn’t seem the right place for an expecting mother to be.

"Hey, sis," Apple Bloom greeted her.

Applejack nodded sullenly.

"I'll leave y'all to it then," the sheriff said as he walked back toward the stairs. He stopped, turning back for a moment, "Just knock hard on the door when you want out." He disappeared through the iron door, closing it solidly behind him. This was followed by the distinct sound of the lock turning a moment later. Sparklefly felt rather uneasy being locked in. She could only imagine how Applejack must be feeling. Realizing that she was unconsciously rubbing her eye, she stopped.

"I'm sorry for all this trouble.”

"It ain't your fault," Applejack said. "If anypony owes an apology, it's me."

"What could you possibly have to be sorry for?" LD asked.

"Apple Bloom, I never believed you when you told me how rotten that Diamond Tiara is," Applejack said. "I should have listened to you."

"Forget it, sis,” Apple Bloom shook her head, her little pink bow tossing as she did.

"What about Scootaloo?" Applejack asked.

"Confined to the hospital pending the outcome of an investigation," Sparklefly answered.

The jailed workhorse sighed.

"Applejack," Java Chip began, "we've been talking. What Diamond Tiara is doing is downright horrible."

"You're telling me," Applejack half-heartedly kicked the bars of her cell, perhaps an indication that some fighting spirit remained within.

"She has to be stopped," Lightning Dasher added.

"And we think you're the mare to stop her," Java Chip continued. "She's trying to take your farm and tell you what to plant. She's done more than that. Have you heard of the ‘small imports business tax'?"

Applejack shook her head.

Java Chip continued, “Most ponies haven’t. It is a tax that new businesses in Ponyville must pay if they meet the following criteria: if they were started in the last five years, if the owner has been a resident of Ponyville for fewer than ten years, if they have fewer than five employees, and if their sales are more than half of an imported good. Do you know how many businesses in Ponyville have to pay that tax?"

Applejack shrugged.

"Just one," Java Chip said. "My coffee house. If that weren't strange enough, this tax wasn't implemented until shortly after I catered Diamond Tiara's birthday party last year. She tried to talk me into giving her half off because it was her birthday, but my business was new. I couldn't afford to take that hit, so I politely explained that I couldn't do that for her. Within two months I got hit with this new tax, and it's all I can do to keep the doors open now."

Sparklefly was suddenly glad that Scootaloo wasn't here with them. She'd probably have grown enraged by this point. Even tempered as the rest of them were, Sparklefly could see that they were all incredibly frustrated by what Java Chip had just told them. Applejack still seemed depressed.

"I really wish I had hit the mayor," Lightning Dasher said.

"Me too," LD agreed.

"I'm sorry for your troubles," Applejack said, “but why are you telling me this particular story just now?"

Java Chip took a breath, "Diamond Tiara is rotten. She is selfish and unscrupulous. She thinks nothing of running over anypony who gets in her way. We have to get rid of her, and we need your help to do it."

Tapping the bars, Applejack asked, "Just how am I supposed to help?"

"We want you to run for mayor," Java Chip said.

Applejack stared back at her blankly.

Apple Bloom added, "We can get a petition going for a recall election. Then it'd be up to a vote."

Shaking her head, Applejack said, "So, first you want to convince all of Ponyville that we need a recall election, and then you want to make them think that I'd make a better mayor?"

"Not all of Ponyville, just a little over half," Sparklefly pointed out with an uneasy smile.

"I don't know nothing about politics," Applejack said.

"We would definitely have to work on that," Java Chip admitted, "but that's the least of our worries. You know a lot about Ponyville.”

"Everypony here likes and respects you," Sparklefly said. "Winning is more about perception than reality. After today, not to mention her tirade in the castle last week, I think you'd easily be perceived as more likable than Diamond Tiara. Besides, you already have a strong sympathy in town because of what happened to the farm. Everything that happened today only helps that.”

"I don't know. I just don't know," Applejack said. "What about Sweet Apple Acres? I won't be able to run the orchard if I'm running Ponyville."

There was silence for a moment.

"If you don't run Ponyville, you may not have Sweet Apple Acres," Java Chip said.

“Not only that, sis, but you can’t work the farm till after your foal comes anyway.”

Sparklefly couldn’t have said any of that better herself. She added, "Do you think the mayor will give up and let you keep the zap apple trees?"

Applejack had the look of hardening resolve as she thought on these things. "No. No I do not," she finally said. Sparklefly was now certain that she was coming around to their thinking. Her demeanor was transforming from having made a decision.

"Well," Applejack said, "we've got a lot to do."

“You’ll do it?” Sparklefly asked; she knew the answer, but she needed to hear it.

“I’ll do it.”

Apple Bloom became excited, speaking rapidly, “We do have a lot to do! Like tell everypony how nasty that Diamond Tiara is, get enough signatures for a recall, run a campaign, have a debate, then an election, and save Sweet Apple Acres!”

"Whoa there, sis, simmer down now,” Applejack said, a hint of levity in her voice. "First thing's first; we've got to get me out of here."

17 Strategies

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Cloud Blazer was on point leading Twilight Sparkle's squad into the denseness of the Everfree Forest. It was the middle of a bright day, the sunlight blocked only by the forest canopy above. They trudged silently through snow drifts that were all over the ground, piled up against the north side of the trees. He was on edge, ready for action, but all he got was endless walking through the snow with no sign of anything eventful. The frosty dreariness seemed to continue endlessly.

A giant timberwolf, larger than a house, rumbled by pushing the trees aside as he passed. They bent easily out of his way and stood back in place after it. Cloud Blazer halted the squad, and they waited as it continued lazily on its way. Pibs sighed wistfully, drawing the stallion’s attention.

"Still?"

Nimba and Scootaloo shook their heads. Sparklefly snorted.

"I can't help it!" Pibs cried out in her own defense.

"Not to worry," Twilight said.

Regal Masquerade nudged her playfully. Cloud Blazer looked around, but he didn't see Nitro anywhere.

"Where's Nitro gone?" he asked.

"Beat's me," Lightning Dasher replied.

It began snowing again. Cloud Blazer shivered from the cold. It seemed to cut deep, all the way to his core. He shook his coat and flapped his wings to ward off the frigid numbness that was penetrating them.

"We can't stop for him. We need to keep moving," the princess insisted.

Cloud Blazer began walking again, and the squad followed in formation. As they continued deeper into the forest, it began getting much darker. The snow began falling thicker, impeding their progress. They finally had to stop when they came to a sheer rock face rising up from the middle of the forest.

"Pibs, Brownie, scout ahead. We'll wait here while you check out the top of that cliff," Scootaloo ordered.

Extending their wings, the pair took flight. Leaving the darkness of the forest behind, they circled higher and higher. The stone formation seemed to reach up without end. After a few minutes, Cloud Blazer could see the entire forest, all the way to Ponyville. They continued upward through the clouds and climbed higher still. After they passed a second level of clouds, they finally made it to the top. Landing softly, the first thing that Cloud Blazer noticed was the complete lack of snow. It was still bitterly cold, and an icy wind chilled him to the bone. Pibs pointed off into the distance, and as he looked up, he saw the abandoned castle of the two sisters. It looked exactly like Princess Twilight's castle from Ponyville, but he didn't notice the oddity of this discrepancy.

"That's it," Pibs said, her breath fogging the air as she spoke.

"We'd best go get the others," he answered, his words similarly visible.

As he turned about, there were three young fillies behind them. It was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, but they looked as they had when Cloud Blazer first met them almost a decade before.

"Who's your new friend?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Hi there," Pibs said in greeting.

"Hey, Scoot, this is Pibs."

"You think?" Scootaloo replied; she was older now and wearing her armor.

"We're going on an adventure!" Apple Bloom said.

"I found this great armor, and we're going to save the princess!" Scootaloo added.

"From some deplorable evil!" Sweetie Belle chimed in.

As Cloud Blazer turned to face the castle, it was no longer in the distance, but it loomed above them only a few yards away. The cold seemed to be at its most bitter here. It was almost as if the castle itself were made of ice. It wasn't day anymore, but the full moon lit up the castle. It seemed to be sitting directly on top of the highest spire.

"That's where we have to go," Pibs said.

"To the top?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Y'all have it all wrong," Apple Bloom said.

"You have to take us where they are!" Sweetie Belle insisted.

Cloud Blazer followed Pibs through the door, and as they entered, they were in the woods again, in a clearing that looked all too familiar. The rest of the squad was around them.

"Keep low," Regal Masquerade whispered.

"I know," Nimba said. "I can feel it."

"Feel what?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"The energy," Twilight replied.

Cloud Blazer was shivering uncontrollably now, ”I can only feel the cold.”

"That's why we have to release it," Pibs said.

Sparklefly added, ”We have to set them free.”

"Look out!" Lightning Dasher yelled as a horde of timberwolves burst into the clearing.

"Contact front! Defend this ground with your lives!" Scootaloo roared as the timberwolves crashed into them.

Cloud Blazer struck down several, and then a large one came right at him. He smashed it aside, and it swung away as if tethered to a rope that was attached to a tree branch above. As it returned he bludgeoned it again and again. This continued until Cloud Blazer realized he was striking a piñata. The cries of battle had become the cheers of his friends. They were all there, even his friends from Cloudsdale that he hadn't seen since he had moved away as a colt. They cheered him on as he unleashed all of his fury, breaking open the effigy of a timberwolf. Instead of candy, energy flowed out in sparks, dancing all over the room. Everypony was pleased by this and began dancing around Cloud Blazer. The sparks began hitting him and burning into his coat. It felt good against how cold he was.

Cloud Blazer awoke from his dream to find his condition basically the same as before. Still in pain, still unable to move, still only aware of his surroundings in the most vague sense, he lay there. The only change he could perceive now was how cold he was, so bitterly cold.

...

Scootaloo’s heart began racing at Sweetie Belle’s sudden shift in demeanor.

"He's burning up!" the unicorn cried in alarm.

The pegasus sprang to her hooves, ”What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. Either one of his wounds got infected or maybe he got sick," Sweetie Belle said more thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. We've got to get his temperature down."

Scootaloo looked back to Cloud Blazer. Sweetie Belle had been cleaning off the old medicine to apply more when she realized he was running a fever. His coat was soaked with sweat, and he was shivering slightly. Sweetie Belle's horn glowed with blue magical light as she renewed the immobilizing spell on him, a necessary step to make certain that his bones were mending properly. The unicorn wobbled slightly as she completed the spell, almost looking dizzy for a moment before she recovered.

"I've got to go get Zecora," Sweetie Belle said to Scootaloo. "Just make sure he doesn't stop breathing. Call the nurse if..." she didn't need to finish.

"Go," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle sped away as quickly as she could through the hospital. Scootaloo stood next to the bed, the sheets now damp. Most of the swelling seemed to have gone down, but the lacerations all over Cloud Blazer’s body still made him look rather grotesque. She was very worried for him, that he might not recover. If he died, she didn't know how she would be able to forgive herself. Everyone said that what had happened was not her fault, but the entire squad was trusting her judgement to keep them safe. Regal Masquerade and Nimba had been killed; Cloud Blazer very nearly died with them. Then there was Pibs. Scootaloo felt as if she'd failed all of them. Tears began silently falling as the emotions overwhelmed her. She didn't try to stop them.

"Look, lieutenant," Clyde began softly.

"Shut up," Scootaloo said.

“I am sorry about your friend."

"Shut up!" her voice croaked as she screamed back at him, not turning around. "You don't say anything to me."

"Yes ma'am," he replied, standing back.

Scootaloo wished desperately at this moment that there was something that she could do to help. As it was, she was even afraid to touch him for fear of making his injuries worse. She stood there silently for quite a while, helplessly watching him breathe.

"Not yet," she said softly to him after a while. "You can't go yet. The fight isn't over. We have to go win the war, remember? You and me...”

Her vision blurred, and she wiped away the tears with her bandaged hoof. A nurse walked up just then.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. It was Nurse Redheart, a white mare with blue eyes and a pink mane and tail. She had a red cross for her cutie mark.

Sweetie Belle pushed past the others, putting a cold pack on Cloud Blazer's head. "Nurse Redheart, he's got a high fever."

"Where's Zecora?"

Sweetie Belle placed more packs of ice under his shoulders and at the groin as she replied, ”I can't find her. She might have gone back to the forest to find some herbs.”

"I'll get Doctor Horse. Good thinking with those ice packs," Nurse Redheart said as she left the room.

"Thanks," Sweetie Belle said.

She turned back to face Cloud Blazer, concern was carving deep lines in her face.

Looking for some way to pass this moment, Scootaloo said, "It looks like Zecora has taught you a lot."

"Only a little about medicine. Mostly I was studying zebra magic," Sweetie Belle said absently. Her attention was still focused on her patient.

"I'm sorry we haven't had time to catch up," Scootaloo said, everything felt awkward.

“Later,” Sweetie Belle replied, her focus unwavering.

She gently began stroking Cloud Blazer's mane as Scootaloo watched. Her touch was supremely gentle. Scootaloo turned her head to face Sweetie Belle, who was holding back tears of her own. Her green eyes focused on Cloud Blazer, as if there was nothing else in the world that mattered. She looked exhausted and much thinner than she should. Nopony was getting enough to eat these days, but Sweetie Belle seemed to be suffering from the effects of hunger far more than the others.

"Are you alright?" Scootaloo heard herself ask, her own voice sounding hollow.

"Yes, I'm fine," came an empty reply.

"When did you eat last?"

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked, turning to Scootaloo.

"You look horrible. When was the last time you ate?"

"Oh, I... I, can't really remember."

"Sweetie Belle...”

“I’ll be fine. He's hurt, and he needed it more than I did," she said defensively, turning back to face Cloud Blazer.

That did explain where the amount of food paste they had been giving to him came from. They must have been making it by combining his and Sweetie Belle’s rations. Scootaloo was going to press further on this, but Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart entered just then. Doctor Horse was a tan colored unicorn with a dark brown mane and tail. He had dark blue eyes, and a cutie mark that looked like a heart monitor readout. They gently pushed passed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and got right to Cloud Blazer.

"Let's see what we have here," Doctor Horse said.

Nurse Redheart began by taking his temperature as Doctor Horse began checking him from hooves to head and mane to tail. They put the ice packs aside while they made their initial examination, during which they cleaned off many of the remedies that Zecora had applied. They paid special attention to his wings, which even Scootaloo could tell were swollen. Some parts had been stripped of feathers, and the color of the underlying flesh was dark as if it were all bruised. Cloud Blazer seemed to be awake, and his face contorted every time they touched his wings. Doctor Horse and Nurse Redheart would speak softly to each other in a kind of jargon that Scootaloo didn't understand. She was about to ask what they were saying when Sweetie Belle spun around.

"Zecora!" she cried out, practically running to the door. "He's burning up! I got some ice, but you weren't here and I didn't know what to do!"

"Calm yourself, young Sweetie Belle; by using ice, you have done well," Zecora calmly replied.

Looking up, Doctor Horse said, "Ah, welcome back, Miss Zecora. I must say, I'm rather impressed with the work you've done here. For this patient to have made it this far is nothing short of miraculous."

"We had the right medicines for a start, but this one survives by strength of heart," she replied.

Doctor Horse nodded, "Yes, the will to survive is a powerful thing after a traumatic injury. Nevertheless, we have a serious problem here."

Scootaloo felt her heart stop for a beat when he said it. Zecora walked over to the bed.

"See his wings, here? Everything below the upper wing has suffered vascular damage, presumably from that fall. The constriction, which I'm sure has been very painful for the patient, has also reduced blood flow. We might have been able to manage that, but look at this. There is foreign material that has caused a secondary infection that is spreading into the muscle tissue here. We'll have to remove it, all of it."

Zecora nodded at him without saying anything.

"Nurse Redheart, please prepare an operating room. We'll need to get him into surgery, stat."

“I don’t understand. What are you going to do to him?" Scootaloo asked, not even sure how to feel anymore.

"The amount of damage to his wings is, well, catastrophic. The tissue beyond the first joint is basically already dead, and the muscle tissue is infected,” Doctor Horse said in a dry tone. Becoming more grave, he continued, "If we don't amputate immediately, he will die."

Sweetie Belle starting crying. Everypony else was silent as the world stopped.

"No," Scootaloo said. Her rage was beginning to burn hot again. Her breaths became short and fast. All she perceived now was a threat. "Get away from him!" she screamed loudly, startling everyone else in the room.

Scootaloo moved directly in, pushing Doctor Horse back with her body. Everypony else backed away toward the door.

"Don't touch him!" she commanded.

Scootaloo was now standing between Cloud Blazer and everypony else. Sweetie Belle was still crying.

Zecora spoke first, "One thing I know for sure, this must be done for his cure."

"No!” Scootaloo shouted. A combination of things, hunger, lack of sleep, frustration with Diamond Tiara and who knows what else had melted into a blind rage that was burning her up inside. She felt powerful, like she was on fire, like she might explode at any second. "The only thing he ever cared about is flying. I can't let you take that away from him." Scootaloo crouched into a combat stance, prepared to kill anything that threatened her friend.

"Do something," Doctor Horse said to Clyde.

"Not my problem," Clyde shrugged, unmoving. "My orders are to keep her in the hospital."

Scootaloo's eyes darted back and forth wildly at them; she was ready to strike.

"We don't want to hurt him," Nurse Redheart said into the tension that filled the room. She took a small step forward, “but he is hurting now. We want to help him, but we can't if you don't let us."

"Stay back!" Scootaloo screamed.

"We're not coming any closer," Nurse Redheart said serenely, stopping where she was. "We know you care about him."

Scootaloo felt completely confused at this moment. She knew that what they were saying made sense, but she just couldn't allow it. No more injuries, no more deaths; she’d had enough.

"I'm going to get security," Doctor Horse said softly.

Scootaloo tensed up.

"You'll do no such thing!" Nurse Redheart snapped, freezing him in place. "Nopony will lay a hoof on her! This is not a matter for security." She paused a moment in thought. "Doctor Horse, surely there are other patients you can attend to just now?"

"Why, yes, I suppose there are," he said awkwardly.

"Then by all means, go attend them," Nurse Redheart said stiffly. "And you, EUP, wait in the hall," she said to Clyde as Doctor Horse exited.

"This the only door in this room?" he asked.

"Of course it is," she replied flatly.

Clyde walked out into the hallway, followed closely by Zecora. Sweetie Belle was somewhat recovered, but she was still sobbing quietly. Scootaloo held her ground in front of Cloud Blazer. Nurse Redheart turned back to face her.

She began speaking in a soothing tone, "Nopony will touch him without your permission, okay?"

Scootaloo nodded slowly, untrusting.

"Honey, I know you've been through a lot these last few days. Everypony's been talking about your mission into the Everfree forest."

"That has nothing to do with this," Scootaloo defended.

Undeterred, Nurse Redheart continued, "I can't imagine the horrible things you went though out there. I know this isn't worth much, but thank you."

Caught a little off guard, Scootaloo shook her head slightly, "What?"

"I know you lost some friends in there and more saving Ponyville. I can’t imagine how horrible that is. But you saved my life, and the lives of my family and friends. Thank you," she said again.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Scootaloo asked; the rage was subsiding, and she was standing upright again.

"The point is, I owe you my life. I owe every EUP soldier that came to save us, and I want to repay that debt, even if it's only in a small way."

Scootaloo was still uncertain, but she couldn't deny what Doctor Horse had said. If they don't operate, Cloud Blazer will die. This thought was ringing in her head louder and louder.

"I want to save Cloud Blazer's life," Nurse Redheart said. "And I know you do too."

Scootaloo still didn't move. She stood frozen there. She glanced over at Sweetie Belle, who was now looking up at her with tear-filled emerald eyes. They were pleading with her, and in that moment, the two friends communicated as clearly as if they had spoken to each other. Scootaloo felt her heart melt, and her knees became weak as she slid down to a seated position, hardly realizing that she had begun crying as well.

Looking back up at Nurse Redheart, Scootaloo said, "Do what you have to do. Just save Cloud Blazer."

Scootaloo's vision blurred and she sank to the floor. She had suffered far too much loss in too short a time, and she couldn't take any more right now. Nimba, Regal Masquerade, Pibs, and very possibly Cloud Blazer as well. Sweetie Belle was with her only a moment later, fore-legs wrapped around her. They cried together as the orderlies came with a stretcher and carried Cloud Blazer off to an operating room.

...

Swiftlight stowed his weapons in order to ensure that he did not offend his escort. After the way they had taken down that changeling, he didn't think he’d last too long if there were a misunderstanding. Of course, he no longer feared that they intended him any harm, but the one was always behind him. The deserted city was littered with bodies of timberwolves and changelings as the unlikely group worked their way inward. A dull noise that was like many voices talking could be heard as they approached a structure that had been named the citadel, which was near the center of the city. As they drew close, they began passing several checkpoints of zebras that were arrayed in a strong defensive posture. There were also unicorns on the rooftops, and a large CAP securing the sky. As the citadel came into view, Swiftlight was dumbfounded to see a large force of crystal ponies as well. They had the look of having arrived not long ago.

He was scanned at the first unicorn checkpoint. Zuberi and his squad left him there without any ceremony beyond a nod and rejoined their own ranks. In addition to the zebras and crystal ponies, Swiftlight was pleased to see that his own corps had survived the night. Once past all of the ponies on alert, most of the rest were milling about, waiting. That was a situation with which the captain was only all too familiar. Hurry up, and wait.

"So, he lives?" a voice said.

Turning to face it, Swiftlight was a little surprised to see Colonel Greymane standing beside him. Aside from exhaustion and a rather immense amount of dirt covering him, he still looked to be in good health.

"I could say the same," Swiftlight replied.

The colonel snorted, “I saw you go up the side of that building as we were pulling out. What in the wide world of Equestria were you thinking?”

The stallion shrugged, “I got cut off, so I thought I’d do something about those snipers.”

“Trust me, I noticed when they stopped firing. I’m going to recommend you for a medal. There had to be what, ten to fifteen of them in there?”

Swiftlight felt himself grin, no need to say exactly how many there were. It was nice for his deeds to be recognized.

“Well, not more than I could handle. I wasn’t sure if we were going to survive the night the way they were hammering us.”

Greymane replied, ”Truly, it's a wonder any of us made it out of there. I do believe our General is looking for you."

"Thanks," Swiftlight said.

He continued on in the direction that Colonel Greymane had indicated. The captain was allowed entrance into the citadel. It was crammed full of the citizens and the EUP force that was stationed in Las Pegasus. Everypony seemed calm but tired. Colts and fillies played under the watchful gaze of their parents. They wore the now ubiquitous hungry look that Swiftlight had come to recognize everywhere in Equestria that he travelled. The citadel was a massive structure that had been composed of a ring of larger buildings. Stone had been added between them to cut off the streets and make it a more defensible area. The top was as open as the rest of the city, but unicorn magic made it as secure as any rooftop would be. It took Swiftlight about fifteen minutes to reach CIC once he was inside. It was incredibly noisy as commanders of various ranks were receiving reports from scouts and sending orders out to the field. There were zebras decorated with large feathers and crystal ponies of high rank in addition to Las Pegasus officers and Mane Crusher's corps commanders. It was another five minutes of wandering through CIC before Swiftlight located the general.

"Off you go, on the double," General Mane Crusher barked at a pegasus scout. "Swiftlight!" he said with a tone that was either cheerful or relief. "You still in one piece?"

"As much as can be expected," Swiftlight answered, turning to show the hole that had been burned through his armor. His neck was still stiff also. He’d been trying to stretch it out without much success.

"After we're done here you will report to the infirmary to get patched up. I can't spend all my time training a replacement," Mane Crusher said lightly.

"Affirmative."

"I've just sent scouts to assess the train. We got reports that it came into the city empty this morning."

"That report is accurate," Swiftlight began. "I was near the mill when the train came in this morning, so I went to join forces with our divisions that were inbound. After the train didn't stop, I boarded it, worked my way up to the engine and applied the brake. There was no sign of a struggle, and no pony on board."

Mane Crusher tilted his head in thought, "A disturbing discovery. Why would they abandon the train without a fight?"

Swiftlight shrugged, unsure how to answer that question. He’d been hoping somepony else might have a reasonable explanation.

“We’ve also sent scouts north up the tracks to see if there are any other signs of the missing divisions,” Mane Crusher said. "I heard you made a good accounting of yourself with Greymane's regiment."

"I was with them. I put their left flank back together a couple of times and took out a sniper nest.”

"You were one of the fortunate ones, then. They suffered nearly ninety percent casualties fighting over that mill. Eighty percent dead, and the other ten will either die or be discharged from injury.”

Swiftlight took a breath as he cringed at that news. Sixteen-hundred dead. Another two-hundred dying. Luck, it seemed, had spared him.

Mane Crusher continued, "The rest of us fared much better. Reports seem to conclude that we suffered thirty percent casualties overall. About half of that will be back to duty eventually.”

"Did the timberwolves give up the attack? Why is it so quiet now?"

"Funny thing, Greymane figured out how to get through the shielding on that mill, and once he discovered it was empty, he took his regiment and fought their way back to a stronger position. Within an hour there was no sight nor sound of timberwolves or changelings, and it's been quiet since then. We also had reports of Queen Chrysalis sightings.”

“Yes, sir, I saw her,” the captain said as his mind recalled the moment. “I shot at her, but missed the mark. She let out a blast of magic that ripped through an entire street. I’m not sure how many of ours she took out with it, twenty or thirty.”

Mane Crusher nodded, “By all accounts, she got away.”

Swiftlight sighed at that, but then asked, "How did the Las Pegasus defense forces fare?"

"They were hit pretty hard," the general said, furrowing his brow. "I don't have a report on their losses, but they managed to hold the citadel until we arrived. They also held off the attack until the citizens could get inside. Fine work, all around I'd say."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight agreed.

Quite unexpectedly, the room began to fall silent. Turning to face the entrance, Swiftlight saw Prince Shining Armor standing in the doorway, flanked on either side by royal guards. He was a white unicorn with a blue mane and eyes. Everypony parted as they walked into the room. His armor was the most impressive gilded metal that Swiftlight had ever seen, and his red undergarment had a tall collar on it. He had somehow expected the prince to be taller. For the moment, he was the supreme leader of Equestria. The prince walked around the room slowly, looking at the various officers and maps as he passed by. When he made his way to them, he stopped in front of Mane Crusher.

Turning to face the others, Shining Armor said, "Give us the room." His tone was far too serious for Swiftlight's liking.

The room cleared without another word spoken. The eerie silence as everypony exited was incredibly uncomfortable. Then the sound of their hooves making a dull thudding noise against the thin carpet was gone, and CIC stood empty but for Swiftlight, Mane Crusher, Prince Shining Armor, and his guards.

"What are you doing here?" the prince asked directly.

“Your Majesty?” Mane Crusher asked.

"What are you doing here?" Shining Armor repeated.

"Las Pegasus called for aid. We answered."

"So your SAR was successful and the princesses have been found?" The prince paused for a moment; his voice was ice. "I gave you specific orders to stay in Ponyville."

"The situation here was out of control when we arrived. The defense force had been driven back to the citadel, the timberwolves had occupied the entire city. We drove them out. I'd call that winning a decisive victory for you, your majesty." Swiftlight could tell that Mane Crusher was caught off guard by Shining Armor's level of hostility, but he was trying to be respectful.

Shining Armor snorted, "They left, because they chose to leave. Do you know why they attacked Las Pegasus in the first place?"

Mane Crusher tilted his head in thought. "Perhaps they knew our strength was weak here. We are at war; nowhere is safe."

"They attacked us here, because I led them here. We sent out a false report that we had managed to stockpile enough grain to ease the rationing. They went straight for that mill with everything they had."

"Tactically sound," the general observed.

"Yes, and predictable. Queen Chrysalis was here. I put together a special Taskforce as soon as I heard she was involved. We’ve been working to track her movements day and night. At the same time, we were able to begin imbuing armor with magical resistance in the Crystal Empire. We arrived with five-thousand armored crystal ponies and almost fifty-thousand zebras to catch them by surprise and capture their queen."

Mane Crusher was silent. Swiftlight suddenly felt ill.

Shining Armor continued, "The mill and the city were bait, and they fell for it. Had you stayed in Ponyville, we could have captured the queen this morning. The war might have ended today, but instead, the queen escaped and knows that the zebras are on our side. That is your fault."

"With respect, had you informed your senior commanders of this plan-"

Shouting, Shining Armor cut him off, "Have you heard a single word I've said? They already have intelligence as to where our food stores are! It took them less than a week from the time we sent out that information to launch a full scale assault on this city! We couldn't risk the changelings knowing our plans." He began to calm a little, but there was a fire in Shining Armor's eyes, "Every other commander had enough sense to stay put as ordered; I ask again, why are you here?"

"I only sought to honor you and to defend Equestria. Forgive me," the general said, lowering his head as a sign of submission.

"The next time you want to honor me, do as I command," Shining Armor said with a stern tone of finality. Mane Crusher was about to say something, but the prince cut him off, "Take your corps and return to Ponyville immediately. Continue the SAR in the Everfree forest until you locate the princesses. Find my wife; find my sister; find Celestia, and Luna, and Discord, and Hope’s Glimmer. Dismissed."

General Mane Crusher turned and marched stiffly to the exit. Swiftlight followed behind him in step. They exited CIC and were greeted by wide eyes from all of the other commanders. They had apparently heard the shouting. Everypony quickly began dispersing. Many went back into CIC to continue their work, but others went different directions. The hallway was a little less crowded now. It looked as if the civilians were being permitted to leave the citadel. As they worked their way farther from CIC, a pegasus commander approached them alone. It seemed a little odd to see a high ranking officer with no aides. He was yellow with a green eyes, mane, and tail.

"General Mane Crusher," he said.

"Glad to see you still live, old friend," came the reply.

"How are you?"

"I'll live. I need to get my corps back to Ponyville. Any word about my divisions that had come on the train?"

"Nothing yet from my SAR teams. We should know something soon."

"Much thanks," Mane Crusher said.

"I for one am glad that you came last night," the commander said cautiously. He looked back and forth as if to ensure that nopony else was listening. "Just know that you have many friends that support you.”

Without another word, the commander walked away. Swiftlight wasn't sure how to process what he'd just heard. Initially, he didn't think much of it, but it was a strange thing to say.

"Swiftlight."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he replied, "Sir?"

"Get our corps together. I want everypony that is fit to travel headed back to Ponyville within the hour. We've got some paperwork to do for those too wounded to travel."

"Affirmative, I'm on it," he said as he trotted down the corridor. There was quite a lot to do to get their corps ready to leave Las Pegasus.

...

"See you later," Sparklefly said as she parted from Apple Bloom and Java Chip. They were on their way to make bail for Applejack. They’d had to pool some resources, but getting her out of the jail was a necessary first step. The unmistakeable scent of illness covered over with industrial cleaner hit Sparklefly as she entered the Ponyville Hospital. This building had become old news to her since she'd been reporting here frequently to be evaluated. The last time she had come in, the doctor had told her that she could probably begin flying again in a week or two. The impacts that had hurt her wings hadn't broken anything, but the bruising was pretty painful. That had been quite a relief. She wasn't here to see the doctor today. The others had decided that someone should tell Scootaloo what's going on. Lightning Dasher and LD stayed on the farm to help out there. Big McIntosh had begun mobilizing the others to start clearing the rest of the orchard in preparation for planting season. They all had the look of exhaustion from the hard work the night before, but somehow they found the strength to keep going. Sparklefly could already tell that they were all going to sleep well tonight.

The mare walked past the nurses’ station, up a flight of stairs, and found the hallway that led to Cloud Blazer's room. She suspected that it would where she’d find Scootaloo. There were still many injured here, but it was much quieter than it had been only a few days before. The Ponyville doctors seemed to really know their remedies. As she rounded the corner into Cloud Blazer's room, confusion was the first thing she felt. The bed was empty, and while Scootaloo was indeed here, she was curled up on the floor, sleeping at the foot of the bed. Clyde was reading a magazine, sitting in a chair nearby. Sweetie Belle was pacing nervously back and forth.

"What's going on?" Sparklefly asked.

Sweetie Belle spun to face her, "It's horrible!"

"What's horrible? Is Cloud Blazer..." she couldn't finish as her stomach sank.

"No, he's alive," Clyde said nonchalantly, still reading his magazine. "The doctor seemed to think his chances are looking good. They took him for surgery."

"What do you mean? Sweetie Belle, what's happening?"

Nervously and quickly, Sweetie Belle answered, "We thought he was recovering completely, but he was getting worse. He got a fever, and he had an infection in his wings." Tears were filling her eyes.

"So they're fixing it?" Sparklefly asked, trying to remain calm.

"They're going to... amputate...” Sweetie Belle said as she was taken by an overwhelming fit of tears. She sank to the floor.

Sparklefly was mortified at the thought of it. To never be able to fly again would be a horrible handicap for a pegasus. She pushed the thought from her mind. There wasn’t any way to know how extensive the damage had been. She’d seen many pegasi with prosthetic wings that were able to fly and lead a normal life. That would be something discuss with the doctors after the surgery. Sweetie Belle was a complete mess. Sparklefly quickly decided that the unicorn’s state was the only problem before her that she could actually do anything with. She crossed over to Sweetie Belle and hugged her.

"Hey, now, that's not going to help anything," she said in a sweet and soft tone. “Brownie is strong. He'll get through this."

Sparklefly wasn't sure what more to do, so she just held Sweetie Belle for a while. This had always been her best bet when her sister, Glitterdust, had nightmares. They had started after the fall of Apple Loosa. In this case, Sparklefly might have liked to cry also, but she couldn't. She felt she had to remain strong for everypony else's sake. They sat there for a time while Sweetie Belle wept. Eventually, she began to quiet down.

"I failed him," Sweetie Belle said.

"What?"

"We failed him. We tried so hard to make him better, but he's going to be crippled, and it's my fault."

"No, not at all," Sparklefly replied. "If you hadn't done what you did, he'd have died a week ago. I saw that fall he took. Nopony could have done better for Cloud Blazer than you and Zecora did. Sometimes things are just too broken to fix. Lightning Dasher thought Brownie was as good as dead, but you got him this far. I've seen you here every minute of every day that you can be. None of this is your fault."

"If only he only could have jumped a second sooner that timberwolf never would have caught him, and he'd be fine," Sweetie Belle said with a sniffle.

"Perhaps," Sparklefly began thoughtfully, "but we'll never know. He might have gotten away from that and been killed later at the mirror pond or in Ponyville." She suddenly felt distant. It was almost as if she heard herself speaking but had no will or control over her words. "When we went to Canterlot to evacuate the city, our plans fell apart. The defense collapsed, and we had three-thousand cadets that had no one to lead them. I didn't know what to do, so I started barking orders, and I had them all follow me into a horde of timberwolves. Scootaloo, Pibs, and Cloud Blazer should have been with us, but we'd been separated only minutes before. There were seven of us: myself, Thunder Boomer, Cherry Blossom, Sky Burst, Flame Out, Treble Cleft, and Rain Dancer. They followed me without question. They didn't even hesitate when we flew down to that platform. They all died there. They were right next to me, and then they were gone. It could have been me, maybe it should have been. They didn't deserve to die any more than I deserved to be spared. I must have run through it in my mind a thousand times in the days after the battle. I just knew that there was another way to save everypony. Maybe I missed something in my haste to act. If I did, if I could have saved them, I'll never know now. You can only do the best you can with what's in front of you. After it is decided, it does no good to dwell on possibilities that could have been."

Silence filled the room and Sweetie Belle was breathing softly and regularly now. "I'm sorry you lost your friends."

Sparklefly nodded, still holding Sweetie Belle, "I'm sorry about Cloud Blazer."

Scootaloo half sat up, facing them. She had obviously been crying, and was as much a mess as Sweetie Belle. "Thank you for being here," she said to Sparklefly.

She nodded in reply. The situation seemed much more stable now, so Sparklefly let go of Sweetie Belle, and found a chair to sit in. She was so tired. Working the fields the night before and now dealing with everypony's emotional distress was draining. Her stomach growled as she rubbed her eye patch.

"I guess you heard I've been confined," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah; you're not the only one,” Sparklefly replied.

"Not Applejack?"

Sparklefly nodded. "The sheriff came to arrest her after you left. We had been called to the castle before it happened. Big McIntosh has already got some more ponies moving. They're still working on clearing the rest of the orchard.”

"What about Diamond Tiara?"

“I don't know. We haven’t seen her since this morning, but I found out something else. Mane Crusher’s entire corps left last night; they aren't here to do any planting anyway."

"Wait, where'd they go?" Scootaloo asked, looking a bit confused.

"I'm not sure. I overheard a rumor that Las Pegasus was under attack, but who knows if it's true." Sparklefly paused for a moment. "Scootaloo, I came here to fill you in on the plan."

Scootaloo snorted. ”We have a plan?"

"Yes, Applejack is going to run for mayor."

Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle blinked with disbelief. Clyde seemed to be ignoring them. He was still flipping through his magazine.

"We're nowhere near elections," Sweetie Belle observed.

"We've been looking into the Ponyville bylaws all morning. If we can get enough of the citizens to sign a petition, we can have a special recall election at any time."

"How many is enough?" Scootaloo asked.

“A third,” she replied. "But one problem at a time. First, we're bailing Applejack out of jail." Glancing up at a clock on the wall, she continued, "She may already be out by now. Then Applejack is going to study everything she can find out on Ponyville law, but we'll start the petition immediately. It might take a while to get all those signatures."

"You think?"

Sweetie Belle shushed her.

"If we can get all of the signed petition filed at the court house, the judge will set up a debate for one week later. Everypony in town is allowed to ask one question to either the mayor or the challenger, and then they talk about it. After everypony is finished asking questions, they place their votes."

A bit concerned, Scootaloo said, "Applejack's awesome and all, but do you think she can out-debate Diamond Tiara? That mare's been arguing since she was a filly."

"Well, that tantrum she threw in front of half the town this morning should give us an edge, at least initially," Sparklefly answered. "At any rate, this is the plan. Get the orchard ready for replanting the apple trees, get the mayor thrown out of office, and find some other land to go ahead and plant the oats and hay she wanted. If we can do all of that, we'll be able to save Sweet Apple Acres."

A feeling of optimism began swimming about the room. Sparklefly wasn't completely sure why, but saving the orchard was important to her. Perhaps it was because it reminded her of home. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. It was Captain Brax. Clyde, Scootaloo, and Sparklefly stood and saluted.

"I was told I'd find you here," he said to Scootaloo. "Dismissed," he said, looking at Clyde.

Clyde and Sweetie Belle exited the room, and Sparklefly followed them.

"Not you, Lieutenant; this concerns you as well."

Her mouth went dry, and she returned to stand by Scootaloo, both of them at attention.

"At ease," he said, causing them to relax their stance. "I'm sorry to hear about Cloud Blazer. A nurse at the front desk told me. In Canterlot, he gave me the impression that he knew how to handle himself."

"Thank you, sir," Scootaloo said, swallowing hard.

"Now, you are already under my command temporarily, but I have put in a request to make it permanent. This will be the only way I can help you. If it goes through, this is how things are going to play out. Scootaloo, you will be demoted back to sergeant, and you'll have thirty days of latrine duty. That way the mayor can't complain that you weren't punished."

Scootaloo groaned, “But we never touched the mayor.”

“Shut your mouth, sergeant, or it’ll be sixty days,” Brax said sternly before he continued. Sparklefly’s heart was pounding like a drum as the captain continued, "I have received word that we're going to get new recruits, nearly five-hundred of them out of Baltimare. I'm to organize a battalion that will be stationed here in Ponyville for defense of the city. They're giving us a drill sergeant, but I'll also be assigning the two of you to assist in the instruction of the recruits." Reading her expression, Brax asked Sparklefly, "Do you want to say something, lieutenant?"

"Permission to speak, sir?" she asked.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you, sir. I recognize and appreciate that you are trying to clean up our mess. I would only like to point out that we have no experience training recruits."

"True," Brax replied, "but you do have valuable field experience. More to the point, the events of today have shown me that you two need something constructive to do to stay out of trouble."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Sparklefly replied, not wanting to push her luck.

"I'm going to put you in command of a platoon, and Scootaloo will be one of your sergeants. That means it will be your tail if she get’s out of line.” Brax looked behind himself as if to check that nopony was standing there, and then turned back to the pair. "The four of you, injured, really took out ten of the mayor's Ponyville Defense Force?" he asked. If Sparklefly wasn't mistaken, he had a slight grin on his face. It almost looked as if he were proud of them.

"Yes sir," Scootaloo replied.

The captain snorted and shook his head; the smile flashed across his face for only a moment before evaporating as he began walking out of the room. "I'll let you know if those orders go through. Until then, stay out of trouble."

"Yes sir," they both said together.

The old warhorse left. Sparklefly listened to him walk down the corridor. She let out a sigh of relief. Scootaloo made a noise that almost sounded like a growl. A little startled, Sparklefly stepped back and turned to face her.

"Latrine duty," Scootaloo said.

Sparklefly could see the anger in her eyes.

"Honestly, you'll be getting off easy if that's all that happens."

"I know!” Scootaloo practically shouted.

Sparklefly took a step back. For a moment, she was unsure whether Scootaloo might be about to do something rash.

"No, I..." Scootaloo began. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired, and hungry. Just give me a minute.”

“It’s a small matter,” Sparklefly replied. Confidence returned that Scootaloo had checked her anger. "One thing's for certain. Our plans just got complicated."

Scootaloo snorted, “You mean more complicated?”

Sparklefly nodded slowly in reply.

18 Campaign

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"Tag! You're it!" Cloud Blazer yelled as he sprinted away, galloping as fast as his little legs could carry him from Scootaloo.

"Oh, it's on now!" she screamed back.

Apple Bloom squealed as she dodged around a barrel, also running from the orange filly. Sweetie Belle was hiding in a hay bale, and she burst forth just as Cloud Blazer and Scootaloo ran by. She taunted them and ran off in a different direction. The orchard was filled with the joyful sounds of the colt and fillies as they played together. Glancing back, Cloud Blazer could see that she was gaining on him. He aimed for a fence, charging toward it as fast as he could run. At the last second, he leapt as high as he could, flapping his wings just enough to get him over it. Scootaloo shrieked a moment later as she crashed into wooden planks. The colt landed on the other side and turned around. She looked a little dazed, and the other two were actually rolling on the ground laughing. Scootaloo shook her head, her mane unkempt from the rowdiness.

"No fair! We can't play if you cheat!" she huffed at him.

"Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom was still laughing.

"I'm sorry," Cloud Blazer said, approaching her with the fence between them. She looked rather angry with him.

"No you're not," she pouted. "You're it!" she cried as she reached through the fence, tagging him by surprise.

He instinctively stepped backward, and she had already run halfway back to the barn. Sweetie Belle had the sense to hide has he scrambled through the gaps in the fence. Apple Bloom was still laughing so hard that she couldn't run. He walked right up to her and tagged her. She sort of waved him off as she recovered.

"You just," she took a breath, "You should have seen her face when she hit that fence."

Apple Bloom looked silly rolling in the mud, her pink bow filthy. Cloud Blazer let the moment take him and joined her guffaw.

"Aren't you going to chase us anymore?" Sweetie Belle called out from her hiding place.

A clap of thunder startled the four. Sweetie Belle let out an ear piercing scream. The thunder rolled and subsided. They stood now, staring into the sky. Dark clouds were rolling and almost boiling above. They came in fast, and wind began blowing fall leaves all around in swirls.

"Y'all get inside! A storm's brewing," they heard Applejack call from the house.

With only a moment of hesitation, the four galloped toward the safety of shelter. Half way there the rain came down in heavy sheets, so thick that it blinded Cloud Blazer. As they continued running, his hoof caught something, maybe a root or a rock. He went sprawling on the ground, taking a face full of mud. The smell of the rain filled his nostrils as he got back to his hooves and continued running. By the time they made it into the house, they were drenched. Dripping and covered in mud, Applejack threw towels at them.

"Get cleaned up, y'all. I'll fix some supper," she said.

“I wanna help!” Apple Bloom offered.

"Thanks, sugar cube. I'm about fit to be tied today," she replied, gesturing at her pregnant body. From the look of her, she could deliver a pair of foals any minute.

As they prepared for dinner, Cloud Blazer cleaned himself up, making a mess of the towel.

"Come to me!" a voice interrupted him.

Startled, he turned about. He wasn't in the house anymore. He was outside in the rain, standing in front of Princess Twilight's castle. Applejack and the three fillies were still with him.

"Should I go? Should I follow the voice?" Cloud Blazer nervously asked Applejack.

The rain was coming down, and running off of her hat in a steady stream. "I don't think she's calling to you," Applejack said solemnly.

Everything went suddenly dark, and pain shot through Cloud Blazer, followed by numbness. The dream faded away and for what seemed like several minutes, he lay there in agony, unable to see or hear anything. The sharp ache was still there, but after a few minutes he felt almost giddy. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Blurry at first, things eventually came into focus around him. He was in what looked like a hospital room. Despite the euphoria, he was afraid to move, as it had been so painful the last time. He couldn't tell if he was alone, but the door to his room was open. There was a curtain on the left side, which probably was dividing the room between himself and another patient. This looked just like the Ponyville hospital.

Trying to remember how he'd come to be here proved difficult. His mind was so foggy at the moment, he began to wonder if he were dreaming again. But if he had been dreaming, he would never have wondered that, so he decided that he must be awake. Breathing was not nearly so painful or gravelly as it had been before. Gently, he began to turn his head a little. On the right side of the room, there was a wall with shelves and all sorts of medical supplies and things stored there. There were also chairs, and a white mare was sitting in one of them. He didn't recognize her, but he felt like he should. She had a purple mane, two different colors, and a horn. She must be a unicorn. She looked like she was sleeping. As he watched her, the feeling that he should know her was growing stronger, but he still couldn't place her identity. It was a curiously unsettling sensation.

Turning his thoughts back to his current situation, Cloud Blazer tried to think back through it. He remembered playing in the field by the barn, and then it started raining. Had he been injured in the rain? Turning back carefully, he tried to assess his physical condition. There seemed to be bruises and healing cuts all over. He had bandages on his legs, and a cast on his hind right leg. It was completely immobilized. If the bandages had been only a little more complete, he'd look quite a lot like a mummy.

The unicorn stirred, and Cloud Blazer looked back at her. Her eyelids fluttered, and she awoke, making a good long stretch. She shook herself a little, and then opened her green eyes. They sat there a moment looking at each other before Cloud Blazer recognized her.

"Sweetie Belle," he said. He wasn't actually trying to address her; it was more a statement of recognition.

"Cloud Blazer!" she practically leapt to his bedside. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? We've been so worried about you."

"Oh... yeah..." he said, still feeling far away. "I'm alright... I think I fell down in the mud..."

"What?" she seemed a little confused.

"The rain... I must have fallen down..."

“It’s not raining, and there isn’t any mud.”

“You didn’t see? The thunder.”

"It must be the medicine," she concluded. “They gave you something for the pain. Well, I'm just glad to hear you speaking again."

"Was I... not speaking? Sorry..."

She smiled at him, and somehow, that made everything seem better. Things began to go foggy again. Cloud Blazer could feel himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

"I'm... going... again..." he said.

She began to speak, but he couldn't understand her. He had a fleeting thought that Scootaloo was also there because he could feel his mane being gently stroked again. He made a final effort to see her or say something, but it was no use. The euphoria, the pain, the good feelings, and everything else slipped away as Cloud Blazer drifted to sleep again.

...

"Thank you for your time,” Sparklefly said as the door was shut. She sighed at the polite refusal she had received for the petition for a recall election. Her hooves ached as she left the house to find Apple Bloom waiting for her.

"I sure thought gettin’ signatures would be easier," the farm pony said.

"I guess nopony wants to rock the boat," Sparklefly agreed as she rubbed her eye patch.

"We've been at this a while already and I don't think we have half the signatures we need," Apple Bloom sulked.

“It’s a small matter; we’ll get them. Look on the bright side; your sister's had a lot of time to catch up on her end of things.”

"Yeah, I guess that's so," Apple Bloom admitted as they began walking back toward Sweet Apple Acres.

The setting sun produced a golden sky that was punctuated by perhaps a dozen lazy clouds drifting by. The last week had been a busy one. Cloud Blazer survived his surgery, and his fever had broken the following day. His temperature was back to normal now, and he had returned to a similar state as before. He would lay there doing nothing. Sometimes he would open his eyes, but he didn't communicate. They also couldn't tell whether he was aware of his surroundings. This meant he was likely totally unaware that his wings had been amputated. The doctors filled the rest of them in on his condition, which was worse than Sparklefly had thought. The infection had spread into the muscle tissue that connected to his wings, all of which had to be removed. This made any chance of him being able to fly with prosthetic wings highly doubtful at best. The thought of it sent a shudder through Sparklefly.

The transfer orders did go through for Twilight Sparkle's elite squad, and they were now permanently under the command of Captain Brax, who would soon be promoted to major. Scootaloo had been released from hospital confinement, but Clyde was still assigned to follow her around to make sure she stayed out of trouble. This was, no doubt, unpleasant for Clyde as Scootaloo had been digging latrines the entire time. Sparklefly was rather alarmed to hear about her incident in the hospital, but she wasn't sure how to discuss this with Scootaloo. At any rate, it was old news now, so she had decided to not bring it up.

The war was still underway across Equestria. Little action had been taken in the past week, but there was a small attack on Baltimare that had been easily repelled. General Mane Crusher's corps had returned to Ponyville, and the news of the battle at Las Pegasus had everypony talking for days. They had lost nearly half of their strength during the battle, but by all accounts, they made the enemy pay dearly for every life lost by a factor of four to one. One welcome turn of events was that the soldiers still hadn't come to plant anything at the orchard, most likely because the entire corps was now engaged in constant SAR of the Everfree Forest. The rumor was that those orders had come from Prince Shining Armor himself.

Sparklefly, still on medical leave, was helping round up signatures for a recall election in Ponyville. Without missing a beat, Mayor Diamond Tiara had put up posters all over town with all sorts of sappy political messages. Also, she had actually kissed a foal at a town meeting. This may have back-fired in a way, as it drew attention to the petition to have her removed. To say the least, signatures had been a little easier to get since that meeting. Applejack had been spending almost all of her time pouring over books in the library, and she seemed to loathe every minute of it.

As Sweet Apple Acres came into view, back-lit by the setting sun, Sparklefly could see the workers coming in from the field. Lightning Dasher and LD were making themselves useful, but Lightning Dasher had to take it slow for his broken leg. They were making decent progress, but clearing the old trees was hard work.

Apple Bloom yawned, "I'm beat."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing Sparklefly to turn. It was coming up from the southeast. It was difficult to see in the evening light, but there were rapid flashes of lightning punctuating the edge of the clouds.

"That's going to be a big one.”

"Looks like," Apple Bloom agreed. "We'll have to make sure the barn is all closed up. I forgot one time last spring and it nearly flooded inside."

They changed course slightly to go check the barn. Thunder resounded across the distance behind them. The barn was open, but it didn't take long to secure everything. In the few minutes that Apple Bloom and Sparklefly closed it up, the wind was beginning to come in cool, uneven gusts. They entered the house to find Fluttershy and Applejack in the living room.

"Welcome back, girls. How was your day?" Fluttershy asked as more thunder rolled.

"Just fine, thanks. Are you staying for supper?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Oh, no, I need to get home to feed my animals.”

"Well, you might want to go soon. It looks like the weather is about to turn pretty nasty outside," Sparklefly suggested.

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy became concerned. "I'll be off then. Thank you so much!"

The soft-spoken pegasus hurried out, gently closing the door behind herself.

"How was your day, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Mighty fine," Applejack replied. "I took a break from the library and started getting signatures on the south end of town."

"You did?" Sparklefly asked. "How did it go?"

"I'd say they listened up," Applejack said. "Java Chip went with me, and plumb near everypony we talked to was ready to sign."

“That’s amazing; way to go, sis!” Apple Bloom praised.

Java Chip and Swiftlight entered the room.

"It was more than amazing," her voice brimmed with excitement. "The ponies are on fire. There are so many of them that got fed up with Diamond Tiara after last week on the farm."

Thunder crashed outside, causing the lights to flicker. Apple Bloom let out a screech.

"Everything okay?" LD burst into the room. Lightning Dasher was following directly behind him.

Sparklefly grinned, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just the thunder startled me is all," Apple Bloom admitted with a sheepish giggle.

Applejack asked, ”Did anypony hear timberwolves howling earlier? Maybe last night?"

There was a general shaking of heads.

"Looks like the weather's turned on me. Would you mind if I stay until it clears up a bit?" Java Chip asked.

“I was hoping we’d get some more zap apples, but I figure this storm is just a storm. It’s not likely they’d come that soon at any rate. Make yourselves at home," Applejack replied to Java Chip and Swiftlight.

“Affirmative,” Swiftlight said.

The captain that followed Java Chip around was not a mystery to Sparklefly. She was not deeply interested in matters of which-pony-likes-which, but with some it was impossible to not read their feelings. Whether the sentiment were reciprocated was not usually as simple to discern. In this case, no obvious sign was given, and she didn't know Java Chip well enough to be able to tell. The group discussion turned to the politics in Ponyville. After a quick count, Sparklefly estimated that they actually now had a bit over half of the signatures they needed. It should be less than a week before they'd be able to present their challenge to the judge. Following that would be a week of trying to convince the town that Applejack is the better choice, and then at the end of that week, the debate. According to the Apples, there was a long history of these debates being an "anything goes" kind of open forum. There was no way to know what questions might be asked, and since everypony can ask one question, the event could last for days. That would be something they could worry about after they had all the signatures they needed for the recall election. It wouldn’t do to take this any other way than one step at a time. Her Momma Mare might have told her not to put the cart before the horse, she remembered wistfully.

"You didn't open your shop today?" Apple Bloom asked Java Chip.

"No, I usually take the day off on Sundays," she replied. "I'm open sunup to sundown the rest of the week. I'd go crazy if I didn't take a break."

"That's a shame. I bet it'd be worth your while to be open," Sparklefly said.

"Yes, it would. In fact, I was looking for somepony to work the weekends for me when that small business tax hit. Ever since then, it's all I can do to keep open at all."

"Hopefully that won't be a problem in a few weeks," Applejack said with a wink.

She seemed to be in a good mood, no doubt a result of her respite from library reading all day. Thunder boomed outside, causing them all to flinch in reaction. The rain had begun.

Becoming a little concerned, Sparklefly asked, "Is Scootaloo here?"

"Why else would I be here?" Clyde spoke from the corner.

"Oh, hi Clyde. I didn't see you back there," Sparklefly said.

"Yeah, she may have latrine duty, but I still have to keep an eye on her. I'm not sure which of us got the bad end of that deal," he dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm sure she'll be along," Applejack said as she slowly stood and stretched. "It's starting to get a bit crowded in here. I’m gonna round up some more chairs."

“I’ll do that, sis!” Apple Bloom objected. “You have to take it easy for the baby!”

Applejack snorted, “Fine, just quit your fussin’.”

Sparklefly felt a warmth inside that made her smile.

...

Scootaloo sat under the downpour of steaming hot water flowing from the shower at the Apple's house. It was almost too hot, but after a long day digging latrines, it felt good to let the excessive warmth cascade over her. Every muscle was being soothed at once. Glorious as this was, it could only do so much to lift her spirits. In a way, she felt as if she had let her friends down. If she hadn't let her anger get the best of her, she could be helping them get signatures to recall the mayor. As it was, she was stuck doing hard labor for the next month. That would have been bad enough even if she hadn't had a sprained ankle. She examined the injury near her front right hoof. It definitely felt better than it had two weeks before, but it was still mending. She'd found that she was able to put a little weight on it, but the doctor had cautioned her to take it easy, and she had no intention of causing any further damage. Most of the cuts and scrapes from the fighting she'd been through were better, and her hearing was completely normal again. All that was left was the ankle, and one particularly deep gash. She couldn't even remember where she'd picked it up. The clearing, perhaps, or the fight in the cave. Maybe it was during the siege of Ponyville. It was probably during that explosion. The explosion. For a long moment, her heart felt heavy, and the lone mare was nearly reduced to a sobbing heap as she remembered Pibs, but as abruptly as it began, it passed. In any case, it didn't matter where the gash had come from. The important thing was that it was mending nicely.

A shiver of delight ran up Scootaloo's spine as the temperature of her shower fluctuated hotter for a moment. She had already finished washing the grime away from the day, but the temptation to just bask in the blazing water had been too strong to resist. This was also the one place she could be alone and have time to think. It had become her favorite way to unwind after digging in the dirt all day. New latrines were the best ones. Filling in the used variety was a most unpleasant proposition, but it went with the job. Her thoughts always eventually drifted back to her friends, those that were here, and those that were... absent. While it was a relief that Cloud Blazer still lived, Scootaloo ached inside over his disfigurement. He would never fly again. She didn’t know how he’d be able to continue. Then there was Pibs. While Scootaloo seemed able to function normally most of the time, waves of grief would occasionally overwhelm her. In those moments, it was as fresh as when it had happened, and she would find herself reduced to a blubbering mess. She hated it, but had managed to keep it together when she was observed. That was another thing about the time alone in a hot shower that she had grown to love so much.

She swallowed anything that passed for the sadder emotions and turned the water off just as a loud thunderclap shook the house. Scootaloo was a bit startled, but she recovered quickly. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off. That was one nice thing about having a shorter cropped mane and tail. They were much easier to wash and dry. Her filthy uniform lay discarded on the floor. She picked it up, trying to keep as much of the dirt off of the floor as possible, and put it into the "wash bucket", as Apple Bloom had called it. With cleanliness restored, Scootaloo exited the bathroom into the cooler and drier house. Walking down the hallway, she made a brief stop in Apple Bloom's room, where Scootaloo herself was now staying. She took fresh bandages for her ankle and the one cut, carefully wrapping them the way she'd been taught. Once this was accomplished she went back to the hallway to go downstairs. She could hear talking in the living room.

Upon entering, Scootaloo felt like a small party had unfolded since she went to get cleaned up. There were the Apples, of course, Pinkie Pie, and the Cakes. Sparklefly, LD, and Lightning Dasher were there. Finally, Java Chip and one other. The black earth pony that worked for General Mane Crusher. Clyde, of course, sat in the corner. The room was packed.

"Come on in," Applejack said cheerfully.

"I saved you a seat," Apple Bloom said, making room between herself and Sparklefly.

As Scootaloo sat, a bright bolt of lightning lit up the windows, and the thunder boomed immediately on its heals. Half the ponies in the room jumped. LD and Lightning Dasher began laughing. Swiftlight vanished. Uneasy laughter soon followed, and the captain looked up from behind the couch, wide terror in his eyes.

"You alright?" Java Chip asked Swiftlight.

He didn’t answer, but his eyes darted back and forth in a frenzy. Sparklefly and Scootaloo stood and slowly approached.

“Captain,” the lieutenant addressed him.

The manner in which he acted gave Scootaloo a shiver of fear, stopping her approach. He didn’t seem to recognize any of them. It was almost as if he had gone somewhere else.

“Captain, Swiftlight,” Sparklefly said as she drew closer, almost face to face.

He seemed to hear her, “Report.”

“Stand down,” she said. “It’s thunder. We are safe here.”

Scootaloo wasn’t sure if she should do something to help. She stood there, ready but uncertain.

“Thunder,” he repeated vacantly.

Everypony else sat silently while Sparklefly stood in front of him, calmly staring back and speaking softly.

“Yes, sir. Just thunder, no sign of the enemy. There is nothing to fear.”

Slowly, he seemed to come out of it. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to sit by Java Chip.

“Are you okay?” she asked him as Sparklefly returned toward the sofa.

"Affirmative," he said, sounding a little uneasy.

A loud bang on the door became a fast knocking, again startling everypony. Sparklefly was already up, so she went to answer the rainy night. The door pushed open, and Sweetie Belle burst in, practically shouting.

"He's awake! He's awake!"

She was completely drenched from the rain, her mane was a mess, and she was already shivering a little.

"Whoa, slow down," Sparklefly said.

Sweetie Belle pushed past her when she saw Scootaloo, trying to catch her breath.

"He talked to me; Cloud Blazer is awake," she said.

An exuberant cheer went through the room, and Scootaloo felt warm inside. Everypony was on their hooves now, crowding around Sweetie Belle. The storm raged outside as Sparklefly shut the door.

"What did he say?" Scootaloo asked.

"Not much, but he recognized me. He said my name," Sweetie Belle answered.

Happy faces were seen all around; they looked like Scootaloo felt. Apple Bloom was wearing a wide grin, and a few tears had escaped from her eyes. Sweetie Belle suddenly was aware that she was dripping on the floor.

"I'm making a mess," she apologized.

"Don't think nothing of it, sugar cube,” Applejack said. "Apple Bloom, how about you fetch a towel?"

With a quick nod, Apple Bloom trotted away. There was a great deal of murmuring and cross discussion about Cloud Blazer. Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle glance at Swiftlight and Java Chip, and realized that they might not have met before.

"Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo began, "had you had a chance to meet Java Chip yet?"

“We pushed trees together. Nice to meet you properly,” Sweetie Belle said, still shivering.

"Likewise," Java Chip said.

Scootaloo gave a glance to Java Chip, which she read perfectly.

"This is my friend, Captain Swiftlight," Java Chip said.

"Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have been my close friends since we were little fillies," Scootaloo said to Java Chip.

"Well, any friend of the Apples is a friend of mine," Java Chip replied.

"Oh, oh, new friends!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Best gloomy-rainy-thundery-scary-night-time-storm ever!"

Thunder crackled outside as Apple Bloom returned with the towel. Everypony returned to their seats as Sweetie Belle cleaned up the water she'd been dripping everywhere. In spite of how pitiful she looked just now, freezing cold and soaking wet, there was a bright joy behind her green eyes. Clyde was the only one who didn't move, even when the good news came. Scootaloo accidentally caught his gaze, and his look surprised her. Normally, he was just sarcastic and combative toward her. At that moment, he looked genuinely sympathetic.

"I'm glad your friend is doing better," he said to her.

Caught off guard, all she could manage was, "Thanks."

A flash of lightning came simultaneously with the deafening boom of its landing, causing the lights to flicker and go out. Somepony screamed in the darkness, which was punctuated by another flash of lightning. This one was much farther away, but it was still loud. A general commotion had erupted, but Applejack was soon heard calling over the shouting.

"Just settle down, everypony," she began. “I got some lanterns around here. Big Mac, did they get put back in the wash room?"

"Yep," he replied.

"Okay, okay, I'm on my way," Applejack said.

"Ouch!" Mrs. Cake yelled.

"Sorry, sugar cube," Applejack replied.

With a bit more fumbling, the mare made it out of the room, and felt her way through the kitchen. Scootaloo couldn't see anything. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark, but only the faintest outline of the windows could be seen.

"It's too quiet," Java Chip said.

"What? Where's quiet? I can't hear it!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Seriously?" Clyde asked.

"Never! Don't be silly," Pinkie Pie replied.

"Anypony know any good jokes?" Mr. Cake asked.

"Oh, oh, oh! Pick me, pick me!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I do hope the little ones don't wake up," Mrs. Cake sounded concerned.

With excitement, Pinkie Pie asked, "What does a glabberdoodle’s nose smell like?"

"What even is a glabberdoodle?" Swiftlight asked; he seemed completely restored.

"It's a mythical creature that has the head of a dog, the body of a walrus, and a tail like a snake. They roam the woods in Equestria stealing pies that have been left out to cool!" Pinkie Pie answered. "So what does a glabberdoodle's nose smell like?"

Clyde sighed in the darkness.

"Pie?" Sparklefly suggested.

“Snot?” Mr. Cake offered.

“Honey!” his wife chided.

"I don't know," Scootaloo said.

"No pony knows," Pinkie Pie said with a chortle as she pointed at her own nose, only just visible as eyes adjusted to darkness. "Get it? No pony nose?"

There was groaning throughout the room as Pinkie Pie giggled. A light pierced the darkness from the kitchen. Applejack appeared in the doorway with a firefly lantern.

"Here y'all go," she said as she brought it in, setting it on a small table.

The lantern just provided light to see the room dimly, but it was enough to lift Scootaloo's spirits as the storm continued outside. She felt safe inside the house; it must have been well built to feel so solid during such inclement weather.

"So, Swiftlight, tell us a bit about yourself; how'd you and Java Chip meet?" Applejack said.

Sitting up a little bit straighter, Swiftlight said, "Well, I'm from up north. Java Chip and I come from Van Hoover. My parents took me hiking a lot when I was little, and that wasn't my favorite thing until I discovered climbing."

"You mean mountain climbing?" Sparklefly asked.

"Oh dear, that sounds dangerous," Mrs. Cake said.

"It definitely can be. Rock climbing is not for the faint of heart. It's best left for those of us that have the natural ability," Swiftlight replied.

Scootaloo wasn't sure, but Swiftlight sounded like he was full of himself.

"There's nothing like working your way to the top of a rock face, the wind in your mane and nothing but your own wits and strength keeping you alive. Inexperienced climbers can get in over their heads, but that would never happen to me; I'm a natural," he continued.

Now she was sure.

"Anyway, there was a big group rock climbing trip one day. It was on one of the smaller peaks, so not much of a challenge, but I was eager to take any chance to climb. That's when I met this one," he said as he gestured at Java Chip. "I practically saved her life."

"You did not save my life," Java Chip replied lightly.

"Your harness was compromised."

"You took a pebble out of it," she said, almost playfully.

"It was more like a rock," he defended.

"Annoying, yes, but hardly life threatening."

There were sporadic giggles about the room. The storm continued beating against the house. The rain was a pleasant sound, but the thunder was exhilarating. It boomed and clapped in rapid succession. The lightning lit up the room in strobes of varying intensities.

"In any case," Swiftlight continued, "that's how we met. She’s the only pony I’ve ever met that has as much drive and almost as much talent for climbing as I do. Afterward we must have climbed every single peak and cliff-face around Van Hoover."

"Solo climbing is fine, but I found that it's much better to share the experience," Java Chip added.

"Now that's a truth," Applejack said. "Most things are better when shared with friends."

"Even a power outage during a lightning storm?" Apple Bloom asked playfully.

"Definitely!" Sweetie Belle said, giving Apple Bloom a big hug.

Apple Bloom, now damp, pushed her sopping friend away.

"I agree," Sparklefly said cheerfully.

"Much as I hate to break up a party," LD began.

"I know where you're going with this; I'm tired too," Lightning Dasher finished.

"I guess... we're, off to bed," LD spoke with a hint of annoyance.

Following their lead, the Cakes, Pinkie Pie, Big McIntosh, and Applejack all retreated to the rooms after two more lanterns were retrieved to light the way.

Looking out at the storm, Java Chip said, "I hope my shop is doing okay."

"I'm sure it's fine," Apple Bloom said. "The buildings around here are pretty sturdy."

"Remember the old town hall?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh, when it was falling apart, and Rainbow Dash crashed through the floor?" Sweetie Belle added.

The three of them giggled.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Java Chip said.

“Either way, there's nothing that can be done until the storm blows itself out," Sparklefly said.

Thunder crashed in the wind outside, as if to punctuate that last comment.

"Don't you fret about it," Apple Bloom said reassuringly. "We'll be able to find some good strong hooves to help you fix any damage."

Java Chip smiled and glanced back out the window, still a little uneasy. They stayed up only a little longer before sleepiness came for them. Java Chip slept on the couch, and Swiftlight said he was fine on the rug, so they let him sleep there. As Scootaloo went up to the room and laid down, she was already dreading the next day. Even if the rain stopped now, she'd be digging in the mud. It was bound to be an entirely new kind of misery. She thought on these things as the sound of the rain singing against the tin roof lulled her into the sweet embrace of dreamless sleep.

...

Swiftlight awoke with the memory of the previous night still powerful in his mind. He mostly felt annoyed with himself for overreacting to the thunder. For a minute there, he had lost perspective and didn’t know where he was. Confusion had taken hold, and he’d have sworn he was in the middle of Las Pegasus again. He stood and stretched. The injuries he had received just over a week before were healing nicely, but they twinged a little now and then. Java Chip still slept on the couch nearby. He allowed himself a moment to be captivated by the sight of her before getting prepared to face the day.

The captain exited the Apple's house to be met by the clearest blue sky he had ever seen. The spring morning was fresh and the songs of birds filled the crisp air. He'd have loved nothing more just now than to find a mountain to climb, but he didn't even have time to linger in the morning's glory. He quickly trotted off, briskly making his way into and across town to the castle. The muddy ground, saturated with spent rain was the only indication that a storm had unleashed its fury the previous night. It seemed that Ponyville had survived unscathed. The mystery of what had become of the two divisions that were on the train took over his thoughts as he walked. Scouts reported finding the location where they had disembarked, but there was no evidence to suggest why they might have abandoned the railway. As of the last report, the surrounding area was being searched. Swiftlight stopped by the barracks just long enough to don a fresh uniform. Checking a clock, he realized that he was a few minutes early as navigated the corridors.

As he approached CIC, the doors opened, and several officers and soldiers of various ranks began exiting. This struck Swiftlight as a little strange, as he would usually be informed of any scheduled meetings. They walked past him, not acknowledging with more than a nod. Swiftlight entered a now deserted CIC. Only General Mane Crusher and a few staff members remained. The morning shift would be due to arrive soon. The captain approached Mane Crusher, who was pouring over a map of Equestria. They had added figures to represent civilian population in addition to the military and timberwolf strengths.

"Did I miss a meeting, sir?" Swiftlight asked as he approached.

Looking up, the general seemed almost surprised to see him, "What? Oh, no. We had a few squads caught in the weather last night. Nothing important."

"I'll get the report," Swiftlight offered.

"It's all taken care of," Mane Crusher said shortly. "We have more pressing matters to be concerned with."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight replied.

Mane Crusher took out a new map of the Everfree Crater, complete with the surrounding forest. They had sectioned it off with a grid.

"This is what we have thoroughly searched," Mane Crusher said. "That storm was heavy, and likely anything we hoped to find in the crater is washed away. One report said that we've got a lake forming in the middle now."

"Lovely," Swiftlight answered.

"Even with our entire force out there, we managed to search just under half of this in a week," Mane Crusher said, shaking his head slightly. "There are many better things we could be doing."

“Are the timberwolves still quiet?”

“So far,” the general frowned at the map. “Their masters are no doubt looking for their next target of opportunity.” He took a breath and sighed, “We’ll have to keep searching, our prince won’t let us stop unless we find something conclusive. A waste of horsepower.”

The implication was unsettling, “You’re convinced they are dead?”

“I am,” the general said measuredly. “Our CAP saw the blast from here, and you’ve seen what it did to the forest. Survivors?” he scoffed, “No. They were incinerated along with everything else that used to be in the blast zone.”

Swiftlight couldn’t disagree with the assessment. It was the same thought that had been nagging at him. If any of the alicorns or Discord had survived, why hadn’t they returned? Surely they would have within a day as powerful as their magic was. He shuddered at the thought and forced his mind back to his work.

It turned out to be another boring day. The timberwolves continued to lay low, which put everypony on edge. It was strange to have no actions taking place anywhere, but that was the latest news in all reports. They had received a dispatch only that morning that they would be receiving additional forces to augment their corps within a month. If all went to plan, they'd be receiving an entire division. This was not counting the new recruits that were to be permanently assigned to Ponyville. Brax was to be promoted to command his own battalion soon, but he would have to train them first. No word on exactly when those recruits were supposed to arrive. Mane Crusher frequently vocalized his irritation at the inaction to which they'd been ordered. He had been itching to get back into the fight since Las Pegasus.

Swiftlight went to file paperwork with their corps clerk, a light tan pegasus that wore glasses. His cutie mark, unsurprisingly, was a file folder.

"Anything good for me today?" the clerk asked with his squeaky voice.

"Just routine papers," Swiftlight answered. "I'm sure nothing as exciting as last night."

"Oh? What happened last night?" the clerk asked as he began sorting the documents for filing.

Swiftlight was a little confused by the question, "The squads that got caught in the weather last night?"

The clerk stopped what he was doing and looked directly up at Swiftlight. He stared for a moment, and the pushed his glasses up and said, "Nopony was left out last night. I got reports from all company commanders that all squads were pulled in ahead of the storm."

Swiftlight wasn't sure how to answer that, "I guess I'll look into it."

The clerk shrugged and went back to his filing.

It was incredibly odd that a report hadn’t been made about the incident. The clerk was one of the few ponies in the entire corps that knew everything that was happening, everything. For him to not be informed was highly irregular to say the least. It bordered on bizarre. Swiftlight was going to have to ask the general about this again to find out what happened to the report.

As the captain returned to CIC, one of the aides came in and gave him a dispatch. He opened it and let his eyes quickly scan over the words. As he comprehended their meaning, his blood ran cold. This was followed by a sinking feeling.

"What is it?" the general asked.

Swiftlight answered in a cross between disbelief and horror, "They've found them.”

"Whom have they found?"

"They've..." he stopped again as he re-read the page, not wanting to believe.

Swiftlight’s eyes told him one thing, but his mind simply didn’t want to accept it.

"Spit it out, son," Mane Crusher demanded coarsely.

"They found the two divisions that we sent to Las Pegasus by rail," Swiftlight said in a ghostly whisper; then he swallowed hard. "They're dead. They're all dead."

19 Recruits

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Cloud Blazer coughed, which was rather painful. Doctor Horse was using a stethoscope to listen to his lungs. A nod from the good doctor impelled him to cough again, sending the rippling waves of pain throughout his body that made him wince in agony.

"You're sounding much better today," the doctor said.

"Glad to hear it," Cloud Blazer replied, his voice sounding harsh in his own ears.

He took a few more deep breaths before the doctor began packing up his things to leave. As Cloud Blazer looked up, Scootaloo entered the hospital room. The stallion gave her a smile, which she returned upon seeing him. It made his heart leap for joy.

"Hey there," he said to her.

"You're awake," she replied.

"Yeah, the doctor's been prodding at me."

“You think? You did take a nasty fall. What did he tell you?"

"He said that Zecora's medicines are far more potent than anything he's ever seen. Without them, I wouldn't have made it."

Scootaloo regarded him a moment, her face becoming grave.

"What is it?"

"What else did he tell you?" she asked callously.

A little confused, he answered, "Nothing, that was all. I mean, I'm supposed to make a full recovery. I'll be flying again before you know it."

She stared at him for a moment before saying, "No, you won't."

Before he could ask what she’d meant by that, Scootaloo leapt onto the hospital bed and began pummeling him with her hooves. Cloud Blazer rolled off and slammed into the tile floor, but she pursued, stomping and biting at him. He cried out for help and then in pain as her teeth sank into his wing. Timberwolves clawed their way into the hospital room, jumping on top of him. He felt he was suffocating under their weight. They tore at him and sliced and ripped until there was nothing left.

Cloud Blazer awoke sweating and terrified. He looked wildly about, finding himself in the same hospital room of which he’d been dreaming. The fear and panic overpowered his senses in the initial disorientation. Then, the most gentle touch began to draw him out of it. He heard somepony shushing him.

"It's okay, quiet down now," Sweetie Belle said as she stroked his mane.

Cloud Blazer sighed with relief as the horror gave way to the quiet. Her touch was soothing. He laid back down against his damp pillow. Pain snaked its way through him from his leg, his ribs, his neck, behind his eyes, his back, especially his back... It seemed that anywhere he had a place, there was a pain in it.

"You just had a bad dream,” she said in a calming tone. “It's over now.”

"I thought I was awake," he said to her.

“Can you hear me?” her tone changed, now containing a hint of excitement.

“Yes, I can hear you,” he looked at the unicorn mare.

She was clearly tired in the early morning ambience created by the light streaming through the window.

“Do you know me?” she asked.

He snorted, “You’re Sweetie Belle.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“Looks like the hospital, but I don’t remember how I got here. I’ve had some dreams that you wouldn’t believe.”

With concern, she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

"I was here, and Doctor Horse was examining me. Then Scootaloo attacked me, and timberwolves ran in to help her, and I was ripped to pieces,” he shuddered at the remembrance of the nightmare.

“Is that worse that usual?"

"I don't know, maybe. Really, most of them are just strange," he replied.

"Have you always had dreams?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Sometimes, I mean, I guess I dream as much as anypony else would. Since the battle in the forest, I dream almost every time I'm asleep, which is a lot."

Sweetie Belle nodded, still stroking his mane. “How are you feeling?”

It didn't take any thought to answer that question, "Terrible."

She didn’t answer this, but sat with him in silence. His mind still was unsure of many things, but his own curiosity was beginning to demand answers.

“Did I fall into Ghastly Gorge?”

"Yes," she replied. "You fell all the way to the bottom."

"I survived that?" Cloud Blazer said, lifting his head with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"Yes, you did; I was there. I mean, I didn't see you fall, but I was nearby. I heard everypony shouting after."

"How bad am I actually hurt?"

She shrugged, “At least a dozen broken bones and fractures. Thirty or more lacerations and more small cuts and bruises than we were able to count. You nearly bled out the first night."

Cloud Blazer put his head back down. His mouth felt dry.

“What do you remember?”

“Some,” he thought deeply, trying to discern dream from memory. “We were surrounded by timberwolves; we couldn't get away. Lightning Dasher came, and we jumped off of the cliff. I was the last one; I had to make sure she... to make sure the others made it. Then I heard water, and I remember smooth stones. Everything was numb, and then I hurt all over. After that, everything was blurry until I woke up and spoke to you earlier."

"That was three days ago," Sweetie Belle said softly. She stopped stroking his mane.

“Three days? How long have I been here? I mean, since I fell?”

“I’m not sure, a little over two weeks. Two-and-a-half?”

She sat up a little straighter, pulling slightly away from him.

“You don't have to stop. That's actually really calming.”

"Okay," she agreed, gently running a hoof through his mane again. "Just don't read anything into it."

"Fair enough," he replied, wondering what exactly she’d meant by that.

The idea of any sort of romantic feelings between himself and Sweetie Belle seemed ridiculous to Cloud Blazer. They had been friends for a long time, so surely if there were to be any sort of development in that direction, it would have happened by now. Of course, the stallion had only just recently become aware of the depth of his feelings for Scootaloo. He just didn't think of Sweetie Belle that way, and he'd never considered whether she might be that-kind of fond of him. He decided that this was something best left alone for now.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"From your squad?"

"Yes, Scootaloo and the rest. Did they save Princess Twilight?"

"They did,” she replied with a nod. “Once you were safe, they went back and found the mirror pond. They told me that they saved several ponies that had been held captive, and one of yours, Lightning Dasher, ended up duplicating himself."

"He did?"

"Yes. They told me that there were hundreds of him at one point. That's how they got out of there. When they got back to Ponyville, the city was under heavy attack. Most of the duplicates died defending Sweet Apple Acres and the castle."

"Is Lightning Dasher okay?"

Sweetie Belle hesitated a moment. “Yes, well. There are two of him left, so I guess he’s fine.”

Cloud Blazer felt uneasy at the thought of more than one of anypony.

"One of them might be the original, or neither of them are. There's just no way to tell. In any case, now that the cave has been destroyed, I don't know if we could send the copy back even if we wanted to.”

"Destroyed? What happened?"

She hesitated a moment, ”The princesses, five of them, flew out into the forest. Later that evening, there was a massive explosion. I've heard rumors that as much as half of the Everfree Forest was destroyed."

"By Celestia...” The power to destroy even half of a forest that large was beyond Cloud Blazer’s comprehension.

"It's worse. They never returned. Soldiers had been searching ever since, but they called it off last night after Shining Armor sent out a proclamation about it. Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Hope’s Glimmer, and Twilight Sparkle, and Discord are presumed dead,” Sweetie Belle shivered, great concern worn on her face.

A stunned silence filled the air for a minute.

"I just can't believe they're gone," was all Cloud Blazer could think to say.

“I think that’s how we all feel... Your squad fared better. I know for sure about Sparklefly, Lightning Dasher, and LD, which we've nicknamed one of them. Then there's Scootaloo and you."

Cloud Blazer’s stomach knotted as he asked, ”What about Pibs?"

“I haven’t seen her since...” her expression turned sour.

Cloud Blazer knew that she had died; he could feel it. Sadness filled his heart as he lay there. Sweetie Belle was still stroking his mane, which was wonderfully comforting, but only a small consolation at that moment.

"There's more, now that you're awake," Sweetie Belle began, then hesitated.

"What?" Looking at her, he could see her eyes filling with tears.

"I'm," she stopped and pulled back, looking away for a moment. Finally composing herself, she continued, "There was one other thing I hadn't mentioned." The wetness escaped her eyes and ran down her cheeks. "We did everything we could, but you got an infection. When you fell, your wings were broken very badly. The doctor..." her composure was failing.

Cloud Blazer’s heart began pounding in dread. He felt an urgency to know what she was trying to tell him.

"How bad is it?" he heard himself ask.

She shook her head, the tears flowing freely now. "They couldn't be saved," she finally got out.

“How bad is it?” he repeated, his voice now a hollow whisper.

Her face contorted in anguish, “They had to take them. You’ll never fly again.”

Cloud Blazer stared blankly at her for a moment, her words having sucked the air from the room. Slowly he turned his head and attempted to spread out his wings. A burning pain rippled through him from his heavily bandaged back. When he turned to her, he could tell that she read the look of horror that must have been on his face. He felt completely lost now. His wings were gone. Sweetie Belle buried her face in his neck, crying freely. Cloud Blazer had no tears for this. He felt blank. He was in too much shock for the full weight of his situation to have hit him yet.

...

Sparklefly had read the proclamation twice since it had been issued, but she found herself again staring at a copy of the official scroll. ‘Loyal subjects of Equestria, It is with the heaviest heart that I, Prince Shining Armor, Sovereign Ruler of all Equestria and Field Marshal of the Royal EUP Armies, do officially order an end to the search for any sign or remains of the princesses and Discord in the Everfree Forest Crater. Powerful beings as they were, surely some sign would have been discovered of them by now had they survived. We will all miss them in the days to come, but take comfort from the knowledge that their sacrifice was not in vain. My sister’s plan to destroy the mirror pool, in which the timberwolves were multiplying, was a success. I know that each and every one of our princesses would have without hesitation given their lives to protect the rest of us. That does little to assuage my own feelings of loss, but it does harden my resolve to free our land of the timberwolf and changeling threat once and for all. For Cadence, for Twilight, for Celestia, Luna, and Hope’s Glimmer, I will do everything within my power to bring a quick and decisive end to the war. If you are able, enlist in the EUP to join the fight. If not, find another way you can contribute. With all of our combined strength, we will prevail. Victorious, an Equestria free of the shadow of death is how I will honor their memory.’

The mare rubbed at her eye patch and then rolled up the scroll, tossing it on a table. Sparklefly took a deep breath as her mixed feelings took focus. It wasn’t the prince’s words that made her feel apprehensive. In fact, she wasn't even sure why she should be nervous. She'd faced down timberwolves and changelings. She had been captured by the enemy, wounded, and in peril of almost certain death. After all of that, was she actually skittish at meeting new recruits? They had set up a training field southwest of Ponyville. The mountains west of town were to their north, and a large portion of General Mane Crusher's corps had been stationed around the other sides to safeguard the recruits from attack. The entire new battalion was going to be staying in tents for the time being.

One of the larger of these had been named the Officer's Mess. Major Brax had summoned all of the command staff to have a meeting before they would be formally introduced to the new recruits. The group consisted of the one major, five captains, and ten lieutenants, including Sparklefly. Brax’s officers had all been getting to know her better, as she was the newest member. The others had been promoted from the remnants of his original company that had been stationed at Ponyville, fewer than twenty of which had survived. Sparklefly had met them all during the siege, but most only in passing.

Brax and the captains were dividing up the new-recruit roster to assign them to their units. It had already been decided that Scootaloo, LD, Clyde, and Lightning Dasher would be assigned to Sparklefly's platoon, each of them having their own squad. This did make things a little easier, as she was already well aware of the abilities of each of them. Brax had decided to arrange his battalion’s squads into groups of five pegasi, two unicorns, and two earth ponies. His theory behind this was to increase effectiveness of the smaller units. With this structure, they would all have flight mobility, a medium amount of hoof-to-hoof strength, and ranged magic capability. For this reason, he had specifically requested numbers of recruits that would allow this arrangement. The traditional way to organize was in companies of each specialty. Everypony was curious to see whether Brax's integrated way would be able to improve fighting effectiveness.

A gray donkey walked stiffly into the tent. With his starched uniform, hat, and no-nonsense disposition, he was instantly recognizable as a drill sergeant.

"Drill Sergeant J, reporting as ordered, sir!" the donkey spoke sharply.

He had a rhotic accent that Sparklefly couldn't place.

"At ease, sergeant," Major Brax replied.

Even when repositioning to this stance, the drill sergeant looked solid and purposeful.

"They tell me you're one of the best," Major Brax said as he approached.

Drill Sergeant J, stone-faced, stared forward without reply.

"What do you say to that?" Brax asked.

"Sir, I prepare ponies for combat. That is all, sir," he replied.

"Very good," Brax answered. "Form up the battalion. We'll be out to begin drills soon."

Drill Sergeant J saluted mechanically and exited the tent. Sparklefly was sure that only moments later she could hear him shouting rather loudly at the recruits. Captain Lightning Dust pinned up a list with the recruit names, which was swarmed moments later by lieutenants eager to know the names of those that had been assigned to their platoons. Their excitement dropped off when they realized this was not the assignments list, it was an alphabetical census. They began walking away, but before Sparklefly did so, one of the names caught her attention. She blinked her eye several times, but there was no mistake about what she saw. In the list of recruits, one name stood out to her: Duster - Apple Loosa. It was her brother.

"Are you alright?" one of the other lieutenants asked her.

She didn't answer initially, but finally nodded slowly. She had been caught completely off guard by this development and was trying to understand how this could have happened. While he was next oldest after her, Duster was still too young to join the EUP. Sparklefly had barely been old enough when she had signed up, and that couldn’t have been more than seven months before. She decided that something must be done about this immediately.

She approached the table where all of the captains were huddled around their battalion clerk, a blue earth pony by the name of Rolodex. He was working on the assignments list with their input.

"Captain Radiant Pyre, sir," Sparklefly addressed her superior officer.

His blue eyes looked up from the incomplete assignments sheet and met her gaze, "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Request permission for Duster of Apple Loosa to be assigned to my platoon," she replied with feigned calm.

"Any particular reason you make this request?" he asked, sizing her up.

"Yes sir," she replied cautiously. "I want to ensure he gets the best training. He's my brother, sir."

He stared at her for what seemed an eternal moment before looking to one of the other captains who nodded at him. Captain Radiant Pyre replied, “With your reputation, I’ll trust you on this. Permission granted. Any squad preference?"

"Sergeant Scootaloo's squad, sir."

He nodded at her, and then looked back down at the roster. Rolodex marked through names, switching Duster in and another pony out to a different company.

Sparklefly let out a sigh of relief that he had consented. That soon gave way to renewed concern. Of the things for which her brother was known, strength and toughness were not among them.

...

The magical buzz of the unicorn shield was suddenly heard as the camp became surrounded by it. Many of the other recruits were jabbering away and making friends, but not Duster. Silver with a dark blue mane and eyes, he was sitting quietly on his slender haunches, waiting for somepony to tell him what to do. He'd only been away from his momma mare for two days, but he already missed her and his siblings terribly. He'd initially been excited when Prince Shining Armor had lowered the age limit for ponies to join the EUP. He'd been ecstatic when he was accepted and passed his physical exam. When he heard that he'd be stationed in Ponyville, he'd been hopeful that he'd have a chance to see Sissy again. Now that he was here, all he wanted was to go home. Memories of the many fights he'd had with his oldest sister were foremost on his mind.

One of the first things that struck Duster was how different this training camp looked than what Sissy had described in her letters. Where she had been, it was pegasi only. In front of him was a mix of earth ponies and unicorns as well. More than a few were all the way from the Crystal Empire, far to the north. Duster had always been intrigued by the stories he'd heard when he was just a little colt. The day the Crystal Empire returned was a pivotal time. Even the farmers down in Apple Loosa could hardly talk about anything else. Captivated by these tales, Duster had always wanted to travel to see new lands. He would spend hours in his room while his brother and sisters were playing, and he'd draw pictures or use blocks to build the places he wanted to visit. Any chance that presented itself, he and Sissy would go exploring in the surrounding countryside.

After one particular incident where he'd used all of the furniture and curtains in the house to create a scale model of Cloudsdale, his parents sent him to a Fillies and Colts Art Summer Camp in Hollow Shades. Through those lessons, Duster discovered he had a love for sculpting. His cutie mark manifested as a carved crystal heart. Before the timberwolves came, he had planned to continue his art studies in Manehattan when he was old enough. Ever since his father had been killed and their home overrun, Duster had withdrawn into himself. The most vocal he became was when fighting with Sissy. He'd noticed a change in her as well. She’d become bossy, like she was in charge. This was rather annoying to the rest of the siblings, most especially to Duster.

Much like that week at art camp, his newest adventure had also begun with a terrible homesickness. Before either of them had gone, their mom did everything she could to hold the family together, but now two of them had left to fight the war. Food was short for everypony, but for a family that has lost their home, money was even shorter. Two fewer mouths to feed that were now able to send money back was a huge help for the rest of the family. All such notions of nobility had evaporated as the reality of his decision to become a soldier were beginning to take hold.

A donkey in a starched uniform began shouting loudly at every pony, killing the light mood that had been permeating the group. It was mostly startling, but it didn't take long for the drill sergeant to get all of them arranged into a large square. It took a little longer for him to make them quiet. The officers finally came out of their tent with the assignments roster. Duster had overheard that the first thing they would do was be sorted into squads. After this, the training would begin.

It was at this moment that Duster got his first look at Sissy in nearly seven months. He didn't recognize her for a moment and was dumbfounded when he did. She wasn't the skinny weakling he had remembered. She was always a talented flyer, but she hadn't been particularly fit otherwise. Her shoulders and flank muscles were much more well-defined now. When the officers found their position, she turned to face the recruits, and that’s when he noticed her eye patch. Duster’s stomach knotted up. They'd been writing letters to Sissy ever since she had left for basic training. He knew she'd been in combat several times already, but she hadn't mentioned anything about getting hurt.

The sergeants on the front row found their squad assignments and began yelling. Duster lost sight of his sister in the organized chaos that followed. Names were being shouted left and right as the entire group reorganized themselves. Duster was listening for his name, but he couldn't hear well over the sea of voices, so he stayed where his hooves were planted. As the ranks drew thinner and thinner, everypony moving to a new position with their squads, Duster found himself lost in thought amongst the cacophony. He was imagining what must have happened to Sissy's eye. Perhaps a knife-fight with a changeling, or maybe a timberwolf had tried to bite her head off. This led to other imaginings of how the injury had occurred, each more wild than the last. An orange sergeant with pink hair and a bandaged front right ankle called out something at him, but he couldn't hear. It was at this moment that Duster came back to the moment and realized that he was alone.

"Are you deaf?" she shouted, approaching him.

"What?" he replied in confusion.

Drill Sergeant J came out of nowhere, hitting Duster in the belly with a front hoof jab. Caught completely off guard, the wind was knocked out of him. Duster crumpled to the ground, unable to breathe.

"On your hooves!" Drill Sergeant J shouted at him.

His face buried in the short grass and earth, Duster tried to respond, but all he could get out was a pitiful croaking noise. He put his fore hooves down, forcing them back into position, but he was unable to stand.

"So you do know where your front hooves are? Now the others, we don't have all day!" the donkey continued yelling.

A sweet earthy gasp filled Duster's lungs as his air returned to him. His eyes were watering as he breathed deeply and regained a standing position. The other sergeant, the orange one was face to face with him. Her lavender eyes were sizing him up, and she didn't look pleased in the slightest.

"Are you Duster from Apple Loosa?"

"Yes," he replied, still catching his breath.

J slapped him and began shouting again, "You will address all officers as sir when you speak!"

Fumbling to not get hit again, Duster replied to each of them, "Yes sir. Yes sir."

Turning to the assembled and neatly aligned rows of recruits, J shouted to them, "That goes for every single one of you juicy pieces of timberwolf fodder. Whenever answering or addressing a superior officer, the first and last words out of your useless mouths will be 'sir'. Is that understood?"

After only a moment of hesitation, about half of the recruits weakly replied, "Sir, yes sir."

"Celestia's crown down an outhouse," the donkey swore. "I haven't heard such a pathetic response since I taught a group of yearling fillies to brush their own manes. Can you do better?"

This time they thundered a response, "Sir, yes sir!"

All but one of them, that is. Duster heard a single pony trying to stifle a laugh. He got quiet, but it was too late. Drill Sergeant J was already half-way to him.

"Did I say something funny?" he barked at him.

Doing his best to remain straight faced, the brown pony, a stethoscope for his cutie mark, only stared ahead.

"I'm talking to you, son!" the drill sergeant said, jabbing the recruit's shoulder hard. "Did I say something funny?"

"Sir, no sir," he replied.

"Why are you laughing?"

Completely serious now, the unicorn replied, "Sir, I am not laughing, sir."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Drill Sergeant J shouted.

"Sir, no-" he began to answer, but he was cut off when the donkey head-butted him.

The brown unicorn collapsed to his knees, blood gushing from his nose.

"Stand at attention when you are talking with an officer!" the drill sergeant shouted at him.

The brown unicorn staggered back up to his hooves, ignoring his nose bleed. He stood at perfect attention. Nopony was laughing now. Drill Sergeant J looked back at the orange sergeant with the pink mane, and he stood at attention as he faced her.

"Duster, I am Scootaloo, your squad sergeant. That is our squad," she said as she pointed at one of the groups. "Go stand in line with them."

"Sir, yes sir," Duster replied, terrified he was going to be hit again.

He quickly trotted over to the rest of the squad, most of whom looked as fearful as he felt. Duster was again able to see Sissy. She wore bandages on her wings in addition to her eye patch. She was looking in his general direction, but not at him. He knew she’d seen him; she couldn’t have missed that outburst. She saw him and did nothing to help. A seed of resentment was growing stronger, but the pain in Duster’s stomach from that blow reminded him to pay attention to what the drill sergeant was telling them.

They all stood at attention as the drill sergeant began going over the different pieces of equipment that they would be learning to use. There was a combat harness, which contained a medical kit, rations, a knife, and a quiver for crossbow bolts. Integrated on the left boot was a small crossbow that could be collapsed when not in use. Then there was the larger crossbow and spears that the earth ponies would use. For several hours after this, they practiced marching around in different formations. There was much yelling from Drill Sergeant J, not to mention several more ponies struck by his iron-shod hooves. Duster had only one desire now, and that was to make it the rest of the day without being hit again.

...

Scootaloo had been grumpy since she’d had to move to the training ground and live in a tent. Her only joy these days had been a hot nightly shower, which she had to skip in favor of a cold wash bucket at their camp. The only advantage to this development was that most of her time was spent doing drills with recruits instead of digging latrines all day. This would effectively use up most of her punishment. Sparklefly had surmised that this was Brax's way of going easy on her.

In spite of this, she somehow still found herself making some holes in the earth at the end of the day. Saturated with sweat, and no small amount of dirt, Scootaloo removed her soiled uniform and began the nightly cleanup ritual just after sunset. The cold water did nothing to soothe her aching muscles, but it was nice to be clean for a little while as she thought back on the day.

Scootaloo was rather unimpressed by her new squad. There was Jewel, a prissy looking dark pink unicorn who wore far too much makeup, originally from a ranch on the Unicorn Range. Her legs were scrawny, indicating that she hadn’t actually done much work as a filly. Scootaloo did have a bit of wicked satisfaction when she saw Jewel's long and beautifully-kept black mane. She hadn't told the recruit that it was going to be cropped off the next morning.

Gunnysack had reasonable physical strength, which was typical for an earth pony, but he had no natural coordination when they did any sort of marching or lineups. If he'd had thumbs, he'd have been all thumbs. He also stood out, being a crystal pony. His brown coat and mane normally would blend in to everything, but his shiny crystal coat was difficult to ignore. This could prove problematic if they were going to be sneaking anywhere.

Rolling Thunder showed some promise, but he was rather arrogant. A handsome gray pegasus with an even darker gray mane, he loved nothing more than flying fast and winning. He was the type to throw caution to the wind, which Scootaloo was beginning to recognize as a common trait among ponies that hail from Las Pegasus. That sort of fearlessness could be a good thing as long as it didn't get him killed. He very much reminded Scootaloo of herself in some ways, but not the best ones.

Locknload was the only one that showed strong spirit. A white unicorn with a black mane and blue eyes, he had already learned some relatively effective attack spells. Apparently he was in trouble quite frequently back home in Baltimare for the stunts he'd pulled while learning his magic. He seemed to love nothing more than the idea of being a soldier and blowing things up. Those skills were in need of further development, but it was a good start.

Moonsliver was interesting. She was a little weak for an earth pony but seemed eager to learn. She had a phenomenal grasp of mechanical things. Her pale blue coat and blue mane were offset by her green eyes. She aspired to one day be a locomotive engineer, but with her natural abilities, it wouldn't surprise Scootaloo if she ended up designing and building trains rather than operating them.

Quickbeam had one noteworthy talent. He was fast, incredibly fast. He would fly past and all you could see was a yellow streak, the color of his coat, as he shot by. That would have been a nice contrast to the others in the squad, but every time he spoke that first day, he seemed to say the wrong thing. Aside from being incredibly annoying, he kept drawing the drill sergeant's ire. Scootaloo was trying to keep her squad out of his sights, but her subordinates weren't making it easy.

There wasn't much to say about Doff. He was a light gray pegasus with a black mane and tail, but he could barely fly, let alone carry anything while airborne. His only real interest seemed to be in the birds that were flying about, his vast knowledge of which was a little disturbing.

If possible, even more useless than any of the others was Duster. He was a fair flyer, but incredibly shy. Scootaloo had done a double-take when she first saw him, as his coloring and delicate features had so reminded her of Sparklefly. He was silver with a dark blue mane and eyes. She'd have to ask her if they were related, because by the look of him, they could almost have been twins. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to daydream, which drew frequent attention from both herself and Drill Sergeant J.

Her initial assessment was that this group would take a lot of work to get them into fighting form. While Scootaloo and the rest of the sergeants had busily shouted at their squads to teach them new things, it occurred to her that this must be how her own instructors had felt when they saw her for the first time. Had it only been four months ago? Had it even been four months? It already seemed like a lifetime since she'd left Ponyville to enlist in the EUP. In many ways, she felt different. Not unlike herself; she still had the same hopes and fears, albeit there was a much greater amount of courage inside. She felt much more sure of herself ever since the mirror pond. There was also a sadness that stayed with her constantly now. Lost friends, especially Pibs, haunted the still moments. She kept it buried deep so as to not be consumed by sadness. For the time being, she was short on quiet moments, and that was a welcome change from full medical leave. Her hoof was still wrapped, but she was now able to walk on it again. Another week or two and she'd be able to take the bandages off. At present, these new recruits needed her full attention.

Presently, Scootaloo had only a half-hour to herself, a precious time each day that she wouldn’t waste. Her recruits had been put to bed for the evening, and she was now finished cleaning up and headed, without escort, to the Ponyville Hospital. New recruits aside, the last few days had been filled with highs and lows. Prince Shining Armor had officially declared the princesses and Discord presumed dead, and the search had been called off. Scootaloo couldn’t believe it. She’d known Twilight for most of her life, and she just couldn’t accept that she was gone. She also felt out of touch with Applejack’s efforts to oust Diamond Tiara from the Mayor’s office. She’d have to ask somepony about it. More on her mind, Cloud Blazer was awake and talking. That reason alone was why she was on her way into town.

As she entered the hospital, the familiar sanitized smells hit the mare. She negotiated her way through the waiting room and up to the second floor, where her friend stayed. She still hadn’t managed to find him awake since he’d fallen. Before she knew it, the door was in front of her. Scootaloo could hear voices. She stopped and took a breath; Sweetie Belle and Cloud Blazer were talking to each other. He was awake. Scootaloo’s heart began pounding. She felt unsure of herself, of how he’d feel to see her, of everything. She swallowed and pressed on, and then he came into view. The pair looked up at her, and Cloud Blazer smiled.

“Hey, Scoot.”

An incomprehensible warmth of relief spread through the mare. His expression twinged, either in pain or some similar feeling.

“I mean Scootaloo, sorry.”

An attempt to speak caused the mare to clear her throat, “It’s fine.”

“Don’t be a stranger; come in,” Sweetie Belle beckoned.

Scootaloo approached the hospital bed. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“How are you?” she managed.

He made a grin, “You know me; I won’t be down for long.”

The tension she felt continued to ease. The stallion wore heavy bandages, testaments to the mending that was still in progress.

“I’m glad to hear it... You had us really worried for a bit there.”

Sweetie Belle began walking to the door, “I’ll let you two catch up a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Without any other explanation, the two of them were more or less alone. She looked back at him, and his gaze was devouring the sight of her. An attempt at a smile fluttered across her face for a moment, but she couldn’t hold it. She’d had so much time to think of the things she needed to say to him, but somehow, they had all slipped from her mind now that the moment had arrived.

“Did you hear about Pibs?”

Cloud Blazer nodded, his expression becoming downcast, “Yeah, Sweetie Belle has been filling me in on current events. The princesses lost, Applejack has a debate scheduled in a recall election for mayor... I heard you and Sparklefly got promoted.”

Scootaloo snorted, “Yeah, mine turned out to be temporary.”

“I know. It was rotten that stunt that Diamond Tiara pulled. If I’d have been there, I’d have done the same thing.”

It was comforting to hear.

“Thanks, Brownie.”

She hadn’t intended to, but they sort of locked eyes for a moment after that. Having been friends for as many years as they had, she knew that something was behind his expression. There was some unsaid thing that needed to get out. While she didn’t know exactly what at first, Scootaloo felt butterflies in her stomach and her mouth went dry. Her heart pounded in anticipation as he drew a breath to speak.

He spoke softly, “Scootaloo...”

Hoof steps signaled Sweetie Belle’s return and also effectively silenced Cloud Blazer.

“The bathrooms in here are nasty,” the unicorn said a bit sheepishly. “Somepony really needs to clean them.”

Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer giggled at this. When the mare looked back at the stallion, the unspoken thought had retreated from his visage. Sweetie Belle now had his attention.

“Well, I’m not feeling up to that just yet. If I volunteer, will you do it in my place?” Cloud Blazer teased.

“Not that I’m keeping score, but I’ve already been cleaning up after you enough as it is,” Sweetie Belle replied with a wicked grin. “I could give details.”

“Nope, that’s okay,” he let out a nervous laugh, and then winced in pain.

As much as Scootaloo hated it, she knew her time was up.

“I have to get going,” she said. “I’ve just got time to back before I’m AWOL.”

A sadness took over Cloud Blazer’s eyes. He almost looked as if a fresh wound had just been inflicted.

“I understand.”

“Hey,” she tried to be upbeat, “I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”

He smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep him company until then,” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo nodded and said, “I’m really glad you’re getting better.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The three of them said their goodbyes, and then Scootaloo was on her way back through the darkness to the training ground. It would be an early morning, not that they had mentioned this to the recruits. She wasn’t sure why, but as her thoughts returned to Cloud Blazer, she felt a sort of nervous excitement inside.

...

Swiftlight sighed as he tackled the mountain that lay before him. Paperwork was boring, but it was much safer than facing the enemy head to head. The timberwolves had been much more lively, systematically hitting every major town and city that the EUP still held across Equestria in the past week. All positions had repelled them, and it was the general consensus that these attacks were not intended to overrun anyplace. The common belief was that they were testing for weaknesses. Between the unicorn shields and battle-hardened soldiers, no vulnerabilities had yet been revealed. The strange thing was that the timberwolves seemed to now be acting alone. No sign of changelings had been seen since Las Pegasus. General Mane Crusher was convinced that they were planning their next move. He wanted to take the fight to them, hit them while they were weakened and take advantage of their disarray. He felt that it would be a much better strategy than to wait for them to attack again. However, orders had once again come down for all forces to hold their positions.

They had finished a thorough sweep of the Everfree Forest and the crater. No sign of the princesses had been found. In Mane Crusher's official report, he offered his condolences to Prince Shining Armor for the loss of the alicorns, especially his wife, Cadence. Giving up the search sent ripples of rumor and gossip throughout Ponyville. It was only the following day that the official announcement came from Cloudsdale that the princesses were presumed dead. Swiftlight heard whispers everywhere about the uncertain future of Equestria. With the corps being freed from the SAR, they had turned their attention to a more immediate concern, the fortification of Ponyville.

There was much digging involved for the building of terrain that was more defendable than the basically flat ground that surrounded the town. There were now several lines of trenches and breastworks in progress to slow down advancing timberwolves. Additionally, Mayor Diamond Tiara had practically demanded the use of some soldiers to begin a farming program. The general consented, and they had begun clearing Sweet Apples Acres for planting oats and hay. They also were working the land north of there, all the way to the river, and west to the forest that grew there. Mane Crusher felt this was not the best use of their time, but he’d agreed because it was far better to have something for his soldiers to do. The general had said on many occasions that boredom leads to complacency, which in turn gets ponies killed.

Reinforcements had augmented their corps, and this is what led to much of the paperwork. A few thousand zebras now called Ponyville home, and they were officially attached to Mane Crusher’s force. They had also been sorting out all of the companies, assigning, and then often reassigning officers and soldiers. Several promotions had gone through, with many of them being reassigned to positions all over Equestria. It struck Swiftlight as odd that these officers were requesting the transfers. All of them were either colonels or commanders, which also was a little strange.

Swiftlight was not inherently suspicious by nature, but there were several things he'd been observing ever since the battle at Las Pegasus that had him confused. The comment that the officer from Las Pegasus had made was the first thing. After that, Mane Crusher had been in at least three meetings that Swiftlight had not been part of. This was highly irregular, but there was always some excuse as to why Swiftlight hadn't been informed. Finally, the officers that were now being promoted and reassigned had all been part of those meetings. Not all of them had been transferred away, but at least half of them were already gone to their new assignments. Those that remained had been of lower ranks, and they were now promoted within Mane Crusher’s corps to replace those that had left. The odd thing wasn't that officers were being promoted and transferred. In spite of how many there were, this wasn't too unusual. The thing that really bothered Swiftlight was that he had learned about all of this by talking to the corps clerk. Normally, he'd have been aware of these kinds of changes.

The investigation on the train tracks between Las Pegasus and Ponyville was an upsetting affair. Each report that came back was even more grisly than the last. The two divisions that had been on that train had apparently disembarked in the middle of the Whitetail Woods for no apparent reason. The train showed no signs of damage, and the tracks were clear all the way to Las Pegasus. The lack of reason was maddening to Swiftlight as he tried to make sense of the loss. It was quite clear what had happened after they left the train. The entire force, ten-thousand strong, had gone north into the woods for about two miles. By the look of the area, they had moved quickly. Then they had engaged the timberwolves. It had been a trap, and not a single soldier made it out of the area. It looked as if they were hit on the front first, pulling them forward before they were hit on both flanks and the rear simultaneously. They had no pegasi, so they were effectively cut off once the battle had begun. Swiftlight could only wonder how many changelings and timberwolves they’d taken with them.

The captain left CIC for lunch, informing them he was going to Java's and then the mess hall. It was a nice day, but the beauty of it was somewhat obscured by the defensive shield covering town. This new technique had first been employed at Las Pegasus. It was a different kind of magical shield that the changelings had more trouble getting through. There was some hope early on that this would draw them out in larger numbers, but they were being far too cautious to make that mistake again. As much as they had been chided for their involvement in Las Pegasus, Mane Crusher’s corps had inflicted significant casualties on the changelings. Several thousand were killed in the fighting.

Finding that old converted house with the coffee sign, Swiftlight opened the door. It was busy inside. The jovial noise level was a pleasant surprise with citizens of Ponyville and soldiers all having a good time.

"Good afternoon, Swiftlight!" Java Chip greeted him heartily.

He nodded to her in reply and approached the counter, dodging around several patrons that were moving about.

"Slow day?" he asked in a sarcastic, good-natured tease.

"Surprisingly, yes," she replied cheerfully. "This whole week has been amazing."

"I guess this corps marches on their coffee."

"Well, you won't hear me complaining," she beamed.

"I don't think you'll hear them complaining either," he said nodding his head at the other patrons that filled nearly every seat in the house.

"At least until the coffee runs out," she said with a smile.

"I'll have the usual," he said, placing his money on the counter.

"I'm already on it," she said, working her machines.

Swiftlight was pleased to see his friend doing so well. This was markedly different than how the coffee house had seemed only two weeks before. While still devoid of pastries, the whole place was alive with excitement now. Perhaps the petition she’d been spreading around town had the side-effect of making more ponies aware of the coffee house.

Swiftlight picked his moment when Java Chip's back was to him, and he slipped a note to her behind the counter. He casually turned about after he did this, but nopony was paying him any attention. His heart was pounding in hope at her response. She smiled when she turned around. He loved her smile.

"Order's up," Java Chip said, setting down Swiftlight's drink in front of him.

"Thanks," he replied.

She grabbed a towel and hurried off to clear a table as the doorbell rang, announcing new customers entering. She hadn’t noticed the note, and Java Chip was so busy taking care of her customers that Swiftlight, though disappointed at the lack of time to visit, decided to make his exit. She was practically glowing with joy. Taking his coffee with him, Swiftlight nodded a goodbye and went to the mess hall. As usual, the rations were meager. Hunger was driving everypony to the point where even a small amount was somewhat satisfying. With a little luck, the rationing would be eased some after the harvest. All they had to do was hold the farmland and keep the crops alive. It was encouraging to hear that the new recruits were going to be helping out under the leadership of Lieutenant Sparklefly. He'd only met her a few times, but it was reassuring that a farmer would be heading up their efforts on the west side of town. Not only that, but she was becoming something of a celebrity among the EUP. Reports of her heroics were being told and retold constantly, especially among new arrivals. Swiftlight wasn't terribly impressed by her, but he felt he should be if even half of the stories were true. He doubted that level of veracity.

Swiftlight's mood became much more uneasy as his thoughts were again consumed with the strange things he'd been observing. He had been wanting to press General Mane Crusher further, but prudence had cautioned him not to. Curiosity was about to win. One thing was certain: if there was a plot, asking questions could be a dangerous thing to do.

His rations were finished far too quickly, and Swiftlight began his short walk back to the castle and CIC. Upon arrival, everything was as it should be. Swiftlight got back to work, sifting through the papers. After about an hour of this, General Mane Crusher retired to his quarters. Swiftlight picked this moment to confront him. He could feel his heart beating rapidly as he went up the corridor and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came Mane Crusher's gruff reply.

Swiftlight pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind him. He had a strange tight feeling in his flank, the kind that signals you are somewhere you’re not supposed to be.

"Yes?"

"Sir," Swiftlight began. "I've been seeing some things lately that have seemed a bit odd." He paused, trying to gauge the general's reaction. His face was as unresponsive as stone.

"Go on."

"Well, sir, there have been a number of reassignments that I was not made aware of, which is irregular. Additionally, there have been meetings you've been attending without me present. Also, it didn't take much digging through records to discover that our reassigned officers are now in key positions all through EUP forces."

"Your point?" Mane Crusher said, almost impatiently.

Swiftlight swallowed hard, ”Sir, I just want to let you know, whatever is happening, you can count on me."

"Should I have had reason to suspect otherwise?"

"None that I'm aware of, sir. I just wanted to make certain you knew where I stood. I follow your orders, your orders alone, sir."

They stood apart from each other in silence for what felt like an eternity to Swiftlight. His heart was pounding and he could feel sweat beginning to trickle down his neck. Mane Crusher's gaze felt like a knife, boring through his heart.

"We're taking over," Mane Crusher finally said.

"You, sir?” Swiftlight did his best to hold everything in, but his legs felt weak and his stomach had just knotted up.

Mane Crusher nodded. "Very soon, I'll be assuming command of the EUP and Equestria."

"I understand." Swiftlight swallowed; a lump had formed in his throat.

"We are under a great threat at this present moment from the changelings and the timberwolves. We need to be in the field, fighting the enemy. For whatever reason, Shining Armor refuses to act. I will not stand by and have our entire population slaughtered like cattle," Mane Crusher spoke with deep conviction.

Swiftlight nodded slowly, not responding otherwise. He was letting this all sink in, and additionally, he was in complete agreement with that strategy.

"We will do what we can to make it a peaceful transition, but I suspect if we are not extremely cautious, there will be bloodshed." Mane Crusher paused a moment. "Make no mistake, anypony who opposes us is an enemy of Equestria, and we will not hesitate to deal with them. Am I clear?"

"Affirmative, sir." Swiftlight felt a cold sweat forming on his brow.

"There will be a meeting tomorrow night at twenty-one hundred. Meet me here ten minutes before that."

"Affirmative," Swiftlight replied.

"Dismissed," Mane Crusher said, that piercing gaze still focused.

With a salute, Swiftlight turned and exited the general's room. He was consumed with dread after that conversation. He found a quiet hallway to sit down in for a minute while he let this work through his mind. His legs were still shaky, and now his stomach felt sick. General Mane Crusher was organizing a coup. Given the positions and locations of the new assignments, they could potentially have control of well over half the EUP already. They would only have to remove the other generals that weren't part of the conspiracy. This would likely be their first step. A dangerous decision was made inside Swiftlight as he sat alone in the dark corridor. He would have to find a way to warn Prince Shining Armor about the conspiracy before it was too late.

20 - Revolution, Part 1 of 10

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Cloud Blazer flew over the Everfree Forest, his eyes scanning for anything amiss. The night air was warm as it flowed over him. Scootaloo was beside him, and together they shot through the night like arrows loosed from a bow. The forest beneath them was dark, lit only by the full moon overhead.

"See anything?" he asked her.

"Nothing yet.”

They continued moving fast, the trees just far enough below that they wouldn't hit them. They swayed in the warm breeze, and the scents of the forest filled the air. The stars were burning so brightly above that Cloud Blazer was certain he'd never seen a night sky so lit.

"There!" Scootaloo shouted as she changed course, heading directly into the Ghastly Gorge.

"Wait!" he called after her.

"Keep going; I'll catch up," she called back.

He halted and hovered there a moment, watching her go. Cloud Blazer turned back to continue when he saw something running across the forest floor. He dropped straight down to the ground, which had been a forest until he landed. It was now a crater with low destroyed tree stumps scattered about the perimeter. Everything was burned, and ashes fell from the sky. He saw it again, darting from tree to tree.

"Wait!" he called as he began running forward.

The pale yellow streak zipped right in front of him, and Cloud Blazer spun to his right and galloped after the little yellow rabbit. He was able to overtake it, leaping on top and cradling it in his front legs. The rabbit squirmed and struggled against him, but he held it as firmly as he dared for fear of crushing it.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said as gently as he could.

The rabbit stopped struggling and looked at him with large teal eyes. It was almost solid yellow, but for its pink, fluffy tail. The face that stared at Cloud Blazer was filled with trepidation as it quivered in his grasp.

"It's going to be okay," he tried to calm the rabbit.

"Come to me!" that familiar chorus voice boomed.

Cloud Blazer jumped up onto his hind legs, holding the rabbit close and looking around. As usual, nopony was nearby, and he suspected that the voice was coming from the moon again.

"Check this out!" Scootaloo said, startling Cloud Blazer a little. "You found the rabbit?"

"Yes, I did," he said, clutching it with one fore-leg and turning on three hooves to face her.

Scootaloo grinned as she held out a blue crystal.

"That's perfect!" he exclaimed.

Removing his saddle bags, Cloud Blazer opened them. They put the rabbit and crystal inside, but the cupcake leapt out. Scootaloo reached for it, but missed. As he scrambled to close the pack, Scootaloo ran off after the cupcake as it bounded away through the crater. In a moment, Cloud Blazer was in the air. He flew above to spot for Scootaloo, but the cupcake was so small that he would have to stay low just to see it in the moonlight. It bounded one way and then another with Scootaloo keeping pace behind it. She closed the distance in a small straightaway, but when she dove to capture it, the pink cupcake leapt high into the air, flipping several times. Cloud Blazer seized the moment and dropped down to grab it, but he was too far away. Barely touching it, the cupcake spun as it fell back down; Scootaloo had just enough time to get back up and snatch it out of the air before it landed.

"Nice catch!" Cloud Blazer exclaimed.

He came down beside her, and they got the little pink cupcake into his saddle bag before it could leap away again.

"Come to me!" the voice from the sky boomed again.

Cloud Blazer cringed, but Scootaloo did not react.

"What do we need next?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied, his mind too foggy for actual thought.

"Come to me!" the moon insisted. The deafening noise of its voice reverberated through the night.

When Cloud Blazer looked up, the entire sky was filled with the silvery moon. It grew larger and larger until it had consumed the heavens, the forest, the crater, and even Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer with pale silver pulsating light.

He awoke to find a crowd in the room with him. Camera flashes were going off in rapid succession. Looking about, Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen. It looked like news photographers were taking the pictures.

"He's awake!" a silver mare with purple eyes exclaimed. It was Silver Spoon.

"And how are you feeling today?" the subject of the photographers asked him. It was Mayor Diamond Tiara.

Cloud Blazer coughed, and then nodded. "Better than yesterday," he replied.

"Glad to hear it," she said. "If there's anything you need, you just ask for me, okay?" she said as the cameras clicked away and other ponies took notes. She then gave him a business card and posed for another picture.

"Thanks," he said in confusion by what was happening.

The mayor walked away, the photographers parting for her and following after as she made her exit. Cloud Blazer turned to face the other patient in his room, as the curtain was pulled back, but the teal mare was asleep. He laid his head down and listened as the entourage made its way up the hall.

20 - Revolution, Part 2 of 10

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Duster grunted from his effort as he plunged a hoe into the ground. The sounds of hundreds of iron tools striking earth filled the air nearby. Some of the more fortunate cadets had been given plows to work with. The training was physically strenuous, and Duster had been sore all over since he'd arrived only two days before. The stallion hadn’t expected to be doing any farming, but here he was. He glanced to his right and watched as Gunnysack easily sank his hoe blade all the way into the earth in one effortless swing. Duster raised his own implement and struck again, and again, and again. It was taking him five swings to get the blade deep enough to open the packed soil for the seeds they were planting.

"Keep it up!" Sergeant Scootaloo drove her squad. "We've got this entire field in front of us, and an afternoon off is at stake, so I want to see you planting faster than any other squad in the battalion!”

Drill Sergeant J had promised extra rations for the platoon that plowed the largest portion of the field, and to the squad with the highest efficiency, he'd promised an afternoon off. Duster tried to imagine what he might do with such a mini-vacation. He’d be able to explore Ponyville and see if there were any sights worth seeing. Maybe they had an art museum. Glancing over his shoulder back at town, he doubted it. Perhaps he could find Sissy. She hadn't said a single word to him since he'd arrived. This had enraged him at first. What if she hadn't recognized him? Surely she just hadn't seen him, that must be it. A nagging feeling washed over Duster that he was forgetting something important. He looked down to discover that he was propped up on his hoe, not doing any digging. He'd allowed himself to become lost in thought again. Unfortunately, he came to this realization a moment too late, as Drill Sergeant J was already kicking the tool out from under him. Duster stumbled awkwardly but was unable to catch his balance. He fell in a heap at the donkey's hooves.

"Are you alright down there, miss?” Drill Sergeant J mocked.

"Sir, yes sir," Duster answered. "Sir, permission to stand, sir?"

"Oh, I don't think you should," he sneered as Sergeant Scootaloo came up beside him. "It looks to me like you'll suffer heat stroke," the donkey said as he snatched up the hoe. "Doff!" he called, turning about. "Doff, where are you?"

Doff ran up stumbling and presented a pathetic salute. "Sir, Doff reporting, sir!" he panted.

"Your friend here is dehydrated, go get him some water," Drill Sergeant J replied.

"Sir, yes sir," Doff answered, again weakly saluting as he stumbled away. Sergeant Scootaloo was shaking her head in disgust.

"Sir, if I may," Duster began.

"You may not. Stay quiet before you hurt yourself," Drill Sergeant J spat at him. "Gunnysack!"

"Sir?" Gunnysack ran up, making a salute.

"Go find a towel and hold it to make shade for your fallen comrade here before the heat gets him."

"Sir, yes sir! For how long sir?" Gunnysack asked, a little confused.

"Until I say stop," the donkey replied flatly.

Gunnysack saluted and galloped off to get a towel.

"The rest of you, carry on," Drill Sergeant J said as he walked away with the hoe.

"Couldn't you just focus for once?" Scootaloo asked Duster. "With you and Gunnysack not working, there's no way we're going to get that afternoon leave."

Duster hung his head, not sure how to respond.

"You've let your entire squad down," she seethed. "Think about that while you rest."

Duster was ashamed of himself as Sergeant Scootaloo sulked off. He wasn't trying to let anypony down. As they continued working, the rest of the squad periodically glanced back at the resting stallion with expressions of severe contempt, everypony but Doff that is. He was the only one that seemed to have as much difficulties here as did Duster; he understood. Scootaloo, bandaged leg and all, grabbed up Gunnysack's hoe and worked alongside her cadets. Apparently, she wasn't at all afraid to get her hooves dirty. Gunnysack held the towel to make shade for the next three hours. When the plowing of the field was finished, their squad had made less progress than any of the others. When Gunnysack was finally relieved of his shade-making duty, he sank down to the ground to rest a moment.

"I'm sorry about this," Duster said as contritely as he could.

Gunnysack looked directly at him with a rather menacing expression. "When we get out into the war, you’d best watch your own back, because I’m not watching it for you. You got that?"

Duster felt hurt by this, and instinct put tears in his eyes before he really had a chance to think about it. Gunnysack saw them, but returned not even a shred of pity. He snorted at Duster unsympathetically and walked away.

"There she is!" Drill Sergeant J bellowed as he approached.

Duster jumped up onto his hooves and saluted, burying his annoyance. Drill Sergeant J had begun referring to him in the feminine late on the first day, and he hadn’t stopped since.

"Fall in!" Sergeant Scootaloo shouted, and the squad obeyed.

"Are you feeling better?" the donkey sneered at Duster, a fiendish grin on his face.

Duster hesitated a moment before replying, "Sir, I'm fine now, sir."

"Glad to hear it," the donkey said, his wicked smile widening. "Since your squad wasn't able to work as hard as the others, you'll be doing some special relay training for the rest of the day."

As Drill Sergeant J spoke, the protective shield around their training ground evaporated, letting the breeze through. Several squads of pegasi joined a CAP that flew overhead.

"You see that mountain peak?" the donkey asked, pointing to the north. "You are going to do two laps to the top and back."

"Sir, if I may, sir," Quickbeam said.

"What is it, cadet?" the drill sergeant asked.

"Sir, there are four of us that can't fly, sir."

"By Celestia, you may be the smartest cadet out here! I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out that you only have five pegasi. You'll just have to pair off and carry your partners." Turning to Scootaloo, he said, "Sergeant, if you’d do me the honor of flying with me?"

“Absolutely,” Scootaloo replied. "Grab your gear, everypony. We went over the harnesses yesterday. I want you ready to fly in five minutes. Move!"

The squad took off at a gallop back to their tent with Duster bringing up the rear. As they quickly grabbed their harnesses and ran back to their starting position, Duster saw and felt hateful glances from everypony else in the squad. He had to watch the others get their gear on, as Duster couldn't remember how it all was supposed to fasten. Upon completion, while the sergeants were inspecting them, Duster was focused on making sure all of his buckles were secured. When he looked up, he realized that everypony had already paired off, and he was going to be carrying Locknload, the heaviest member of their squad. Doff would be carrying Jewel, which made sense as she was the lightest, and Doff was definitely the weakest flyer.

“Lady, are you trying to get your passenger killed?” Drill Sergeant J barked at Duster as he struck the side of his head. “This strap is twisted. Take it off and start over, Missy.”

Duster quickly took it all apart and put it on again. Once they were certain that everything was secured properly, the squad took to the air. Duster strained at the weight of his comrade. As they continued, the mountain seemed taller and farther away than any of them could have imagined. Duster tried to bury his feelings and press through this, but his body was not in shape. His lungs burned, and every muscle ached. The others were no better off. It looked like they were about half way there when Doff started losing altitude.

"Doff! What in Celestia's name are you doing?" Drill Sergeant J shouted at him. "You flap those wings and keep up!" To Scootaloo, he shouted, "Take me over there!"

She complied, and just when he got close, J kicked Doff on the rump, putting him in a slight spin. Jewel screamed rather loudly, and the donkey shouted over that to be heard.

"I swear to Luna if you don't gain altitude and keep up with your squad I'm going to march you down to the gates of Tartarus and feed you to Cerberus!"

"Sir," Doff panted and puffed as he recovered from the spin, "I'm... trying... sir..."

Drill Sergeant J kicked him again, causing Jewel to shriek once more. Duster cringed at the noise she made. Doff continued losing altitude. Drill Sergeant J then unleashed a barrage of shouting and swearing that was so fast that Duster couldn't understand it. More like a growl than speech, it did have the desired effect, but Doff only just maintained his altitude. This continued all the way to the top of the mountain. When they landed on the summit, Duster was winded. The rest of the pegasi weren’t much better off. Only Sergeant Scootaloo seemed completely unaffected by the thinner air and exertion.

"Take five," Drill Sergeant J bellowed.

There were no complaints at this suggestion. Duster pulled the release on his harness, disconnecting from Locknload. Then he sank to the rocky ground of the mountain top. His wings and back were burning from the effort he had just put them through, and he was pouring sweat. He took a gulp from his canteen, which may have been more satisfying than any water he’d ever had. Any thoughts of relief for the moment were broken by the despair-filled realization that they still had to get back down. They were only a quarter of the way through this.

20 - Revolution, Part 3 of 10

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Sparklefly was leaving the officer's mess after her lunch ration. She turned to look at the mountain peak where Drill Sergeant J had taken Scootaloo's squad, unconsciously rubbing her eye patch for a moment. She had intentionally been ignoring Duster, but she hadn't missed the way that he'd looked at her, especially that first day. She imagined she was quite a sight with her bandaged wings and eye patch. Ultimately, the mare knew that she would have to learn how to interact with her brother in the new setting in which they found themselves. Even though her role in the instruction was fairly small, it was a strange feeling to be training her own cadet platoon.

"That's a lot farther away than it looks," Scootaloo interrupted her thoughts from behind.

Sparklefly turned to face the sergeant as a gentle warm breeze tickled her mane, "Oh?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she added with an assurance or pride. "These cadets are pretty wimpy.”

Sparklefly nodded, speaking thoughtfully, "I can't even remember if we were as useless our first week.”

"You might have been," Scootaloo teased.

Grinning, Sparklefly replied, "Maybe, but you never were able to outfly me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," came a haughty answer.

They both snorted a giggle. The shield rematerialized around the training grounds with its energetic hum and eerie purple light. It effectively killed the wind.

"For what it's worth, your brother's not the most useless one," Scootaloo said.

All silliness evaporated from Sparklefly. Her feelings on this matter were ambivalent. She did not want Duster here to train or in the EUP at all, but at the same time, he was here; she wanted to make absolutely certain that he would be the best soldier he could be. She was compelled to ensure that he had the best chance to survive. She pawed at the earth with her hoof.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.

Sparklefly didn't answer, but stared at the ground for a moment, sorting out her feelings. She finally looked back up and said, "I'm fine. I was able to get us leave for the evening, after our last ration. I was instructed to keep you out of trouble.”

Scootaloo snorted and said, "That figures."

"We'll stop by the hospital first and see if Cloud Blazer wants to go to the debate. I've already made the arrangements, but make sure you let your squad know that you'll be gone."

The sergeant nodded. They stood silently for a moment, then Scootaloo said, "I know you better than that; you're not fine. You've been a little off since the recruits arrived."

Sparklefly stared blankly at her friend. She didn’t want to talk about her brother until she made peace with it in her own mind. There was a determination or resolve in those purple eyes that looked back at her.

Scootaloo continued, "I understand that you have a certain image to project, being in command of a platoon and all, but if you ever need to talk, you know, off the record..."

Sparklefly nodded slowly. Her feelings were still rather wound up; she wanted to fly away, high and fast, but her wings were still bandaged for at least a week. Then again, the doctors and medics had all been telling her, “it will be about a week,” ever since she’d been hurt.

"Thank you," Sparklefly finally replied. "The same goes for you."

Scootaloo smiled.

"Go see to your squad. I'll meet up with you at the hospital later. Until then, see you in drills, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Scootaloo said sharply with a salute.

Sparklefly snorted at her and returned the gesture. They parted ways for the moment. On her way to the quartermaster, Sparklefly came across the donkey drill sergeant.

"Good afternoon, Drill Sergeant J," she addressed him.

The donkey changed course, walking straight to her and snapped to attention with a stiff salute. "Sir!”

"At ease, drill sergeant," she said, still a little surprised at how formal he was at all times.

When he moved into the "at ease" position, it somehow looked almost as starched as he was when at attention. He stared ahead, almost past her.

"What is your estimation of the cadets?" she asked him. She couldn’t help but feeling she had created an awkward moment. If she had, the drill sergeant showed no sign of feeling it.

"I will make them soldiers, sir!" he replied sharply.

"Of that I have no doubt. Do you know one called Duster from Apple Loosa?"

"Yes, sir!"

"How do you assess him?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Sparklefly replied.

"Some ponies should not volunteer to be soldiers, sir."

Her heart sank a little and she nodded, considering his words, "That may be. Make certain that he receives the best instruction you can give."

"No compromise on that for any cadet, sir!"

She was satisfied with his answer; it actually made her feel somewhat better.

"Will that be all, sir?" Drill Sergeant J asked.

"Dismissed," she said.

She returned his salute and continued on her way. The quartermaster's tent was buzzing with excitement when she arrived. A new batch of post had finally come through, and there was a crowd several dozen thick trying to see if they had any news from home. It took a little while to work her way through, but it lifted her spirits to hear that she had a letter. She retrieved it and went outside. Getting a little distance from the tent, she sat down and opened her mail in the few minutes that remained before training would resume. The outside of the brown parchment had the return address for Baltimare, which is where her family had fled after they’d left Apple Loosa.

She read, 'Dear Sparklefly, The last three of your letters came at once. We've been hearing all sorts of horrible rumors, many of which are completely outlandish. However, we thought the same of the reports of Canterlot falling when we were first told. The common stories now are that Las Pegasus has been destroyed and Manehattan was infiltrated by changelings, but I try not to put much stock in such things; we are glad to hear that you are well. I hope this reaches you soon. Your brother, Duster, is shipping out in two days to join the EUP. We're all very proud of both of you. Food has become even more scarce in the city, but we have heard there is a supply coming in from the griffins. Another rumor, but if it’s true, the shipment should arrive in port within a week. We've been saving as much of the money you've sent as we can for this sort of occasion. We had to spend some for medicine. Thunderfly's fever is worse now, and I'm afraid that Shimmerpuff may have caught it as well. But the medicine is helping, and if the illness is the same fever that hit our neighbors, it should break soon. It has been a very widespread infection in our part of Baltimare. There has even been some talk of quarantining the city, but I don't think that is likely. The EUP is still actively recruiting here. Duster requested Ponyville for his assignment because he knew you were there. If you see him, he can tell you more about all of this. They are starting a new farming program outside the city now, but I've not been able to get any work there yet. I gave them my name, and they know I come from a farming family, but I've been so busy taking care of the little ones that I just haven't been able to get out to work. Glitterdust will go tomorrow to see if she can work in the new fields, but you know how she is. She didn't take to keeping the orchard back home the way that you and Duster had. Braeburn's cousins, the Apples that you mentioned before, sound like a really great family. If they are as knowledgeable as Braeburn, I'd imagine Sweet Apple Acres is quite a place. Maybe we'll all get to come and see it after the war is over. I hope to hear from you again soon; we are all eager for any news, and it always sets my heart at ease to see a letter from you. Know that wherever you go, the love of your family is still with you. Missing you, Mamma Mare.'

Sparklefly pulled the paper close, cherishing the moment. ’After the war is over...' what a wonderful thought. Sparklefly hadn't considered the possibility the war ever ending since the siege of Ponyville. She'd been so focused on the problems at hoof, she had almost forgotten that such an achievement could be realized. She carefully folded the letter, her emotions rolling through a wide range. There was a depth of sadness that had been with her since her father had been killed, but her heart was warm and feeling well loved as it usually was after receiving a letter from home. Then there was the anger at Duster for enlisting. Sparklefly wondered whether the money she’d been sending home was enough. If food and work were as scarce in Baltimare as Ponyville, a single soldier's salary probably wouldn't be enough to support an unemployed family of five. Still, if Duster and Sparklefly were sending money, and Glitterdust was able to get that job on the Baltimare farming program, they just might be okay. Sparklefly felt somewhat inadequate at that moment. All of her efforts to support and help her family were not enough. She gently placed the letter in her pocket. She would have to deposit it in her hoof-locker later. In any case, it was time to get back to drills; she took a breath and started walking.

20 - Revolution, Part 4 of 10

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Trying to stay positive was becoming a full-time job for Cloud Blazer. His reputation as an optimist might be in jeopardy given the current situation, not that reputation was a major concern. The pain-numbing medications were being used much more sparingly now, which made sleep difficult, a shame for it was the one sweet relief he could get from the numerous hurts now. His body ached all over as it mended. Sometimes stabbing pain would shoot through various places, and headaches were frequent. Sometimes even the faintest light would be intensely upsetting to him.

He didn’t receive many frequent visitors. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were the only two that were around often. In actuality, Sweetie Belle was there constantly, for which Cloud Blazer was grateful. Sparklefly and Scootaloo also visited daily, but only for minutes at a time. Sweetie Belle didn't have much knowledge of the war in general, but she told him everything she knew. Scootaloo's promotion and sudden demotion had been of particular interest, especially as those events had caused such a stir in town. Cloud Blazer had never been overly fond of Diamond Tiara, and he very much hoped that Applejack would defeat her in the election. More than anything, he kept wishing that all of this was just a nightmare, that he had hit his head when he fell but wasn't otherwise hurt. Try though he might to keep his mind occupied, dread and grief always found him quickly now. His wings had been amputated; this was not a dream. A cold sweat formed on his brow as the thought crossed his mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Sweetie Belle asked from the visitor's chair.

"What? Oh, nothing really," Cloud Blazer lied.

"How bad does it hurt?"

"Which part?" he attempted a joke.

She smiled uneasily at him. He hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm getting better, but I try not think about the pain. It only makes it worse."

"I'll try not to bring it up again," Sweetie Belle apologized.

"It's fine," he replied as he winced from a stinging that shot up from his back right leg. It was apparently the worst injury, not counting his wings. The one thing he didn't break was his spine. Doctor Horse had explained to him that the intact spine would provide him with a “very good possibility” to “eventually” be able to walk and run again. He had an “optimal chance” to lead a “full life”. Cloud Blazer could only wonder how the doctor could know what it was like to lose the ability to fly when it was something he'd never experienced. Still, he was trying to stay positive. There remained hope for happiness, even if he never flew again. The main thing Cloud Blazer wanted right now was to find some time with Scootaloo to tell her how he felt about her. Every passing day made him much more certain that it wasn't a dream, delirium, or the medication that had caused him to fall in love with her. Perhaps some combination of those things made him realize it, but the attraction had been there for a long time. The very thought of her made his pulse quicken; it was almost intoxicating. They'd been close friends for several years, but there was never previously any cause to think of her differently...

"Now what are you thinking about?" Sweetie Belle asked again.

Shaking his head slightly, Cloud Blazer said, "Still nothing."

"Well, look who's finally awake," a familiar voice said.

Cloud Blazer looked up just in time to see Sparklefly pushing a wheelchair into his room. She was followed closely by Scootaloo. He felt his heart begin to race at the sight of her. Time could stop for all he cared; he could live in that moment. She smiled at him. Somehow, she seemed much prettier than he had ever noticed before.

"Hi, Scootaloo; hi, Sparklefly," Sweetie Belle got out of her chair.

"Hey," Scootaloo replied.

"Where's Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"She wanted to stay with her sister in case she needed anything," Sparklefly replied.

The newcomers from Cloud Blazer's old squad approached the bed. He could have sworn that Sparklefly blushed and turned so that her eye patch was away from him.

"Welcome to my new mansion," he said, trying to sound overly cheerful. "The food's not that great, but they wait on my every need. I haven't had to get up for anything."

Scootaloo snorted a laugh. She asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Better every day," he lied.

She smiled again. He decided he really liked it when she smiled.

"Feeling up for a ride?" Sparklefly asked.

"Are you kidding? I was hoping you guys would show up to break me out of this joint."

Scootaloo asked, “Didn’t you just call this your mansion?”

“Hey, that’s the past. Try and keep up, will you?”

"I've already been over everything with Doctor Horse," Sweetie Belle began. "Zecora helped me learn another immobilizing spell that will strengthen all of the injuries, but you’ll be able to move."

"So I can walk?"

"Oh my, no!" Sweetie Belle almost squeaked. "You're not nearly ready for that."

Cloud Blazer realized that his expression was disappointment when he saw their reactions. Trying to quickly cover his feelings, he said, "Eh, no matter. I'll be running soon enough." It looked like Sweetie Belle and Sparklefly were convinced, but he could have sworn there was a lingering concern on Scootaloo's face, if only for a moment. He'd have given anything to be alone with her so he could tell her... but he was far too nervous to even attempt to make that happen.

"Are you ready?" Sweetie Belle asked, her horn beginning to glow with pale green magic.

"I've been ready for a week," he said, still feigning cheer.

Everypony was silent as Sweetie Belle's magic began flowing over the stallion. He could feel several joints stiffen and become completely rigid. Her face had extreme concentration written on it. She worked her way from head to hoof on him, and as she finished, a small shower of sparks shot from her horn, making him flinch. Sweetie Belle teetered a moment and sat down abruptly.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked, trying to catch her as she went down.

Sweetie Belle shook her head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a second. How do you feel, Cloud Blazer?"

He tried moving everything, but two of his legs, as well as some other muscles were immobilized by the magic. The best part that he noticed was the lack of sharp shooting pain when he did move. The strong dull ache continued, but he could manage that.

"I feel like I could fly," he said with a smile. The grimaces on everypony else's faces made him realize that he should have chosen his words more carefully. That choice of words had to make them all feel uncomfortable. This in turn reminded him of his newfound lack of wings, but he wasn't sure how to spin this in a positive way. He finally said, "So, are you guys going to put me in that chair, or what?"

Scootaloo and Sparklefly loaded him in the wheelchair, which was an uncomfortable process. More than once, he was poked or positioned in a way that was rather painful, but he did his best to politely have them change it. After a few minutes they finally had him sitting as comfortably as possible and ready to go on an excursion. Cloud Blazer was able to breathe a little more easily once they had him situated.

"Alright, shall we go?" Sparklefly asked.

"I'm pushing first," Scootaloo declared.

"As if you don't push me around enough anyway," Cloud Blazer teased.

"Well, I have to stay in practice," she retorted.

They made it out of the hospital without incident. Sparklefly and Sweetie Belle led the way with Scootaloo pushing Cloud Blazer following behind them. As they emerged into the afternoon light, Cloud Blazer's eyes had to adjust from the interior lights of the hospital. It was a cloudy warm day; it looked as if rain might be coming soon, not that it would get through the protective shield. The air was much more fresh than inside, but there was a scent of dust and a faint lingering smell of sweat. As he looked around, the thing that amazed him most was the near total transformation of Ponyville. There were gigantic banners blanketing many of the buildings with pictures of Diamond Tiara on them. They had sayings about her and her politics. From his knowledge of her, most of it was either stretched truths or outright lies. As they continued on toward town hall, everypony stopped suddenly. It took him a moment to see why, but when he did, he understood the expressions of shock on their faces. The biggest banner they had seen yet was right over the town hall, which is where the debate was to take place. Engulfing the building, it had a photo of Mayor Diamond Tiara visiting Cloud Blazer in the hospital. The caption read, ‘Your mayor supports the troops and the defense of Ponyville. Re-confirm Mayor Diamond Tiara!'

"How did that even get printed today?" Cloud Blazer was aghast.

"She came to see you this morning?" Sweetie Belle asked.

He nodded in reply.

Sparklefly said, "It certainly does defy sense that she'd even be able to get something that large printed on such short notice, but I think they really captured you."

"That's not funny," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle sounded frustrated, "Oh, that Diamond Tiara just makes me so mad! I do not like her, not one bit!” she exclaimed as she kicked the ground.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Cloud Blazer said, "No, you guys have it all wrong."

"What do you mean?" Sparklefly asked.

"This is going to work out well for us," he continued.

“What are you talking about?” Scootaloo asked.

"Well, I'm a citizen of Ponyville. That means I'm allowed to ask one question during the debate. One just came to mind," he said with a fiendish grin.

20 - Revolution, Part 5 of 10

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Swiftlight shifted a little nervously in CIC. Everypony had left for the day, and the conspirators had gathered for a meeting. His every endeavor was to be incredibly discreet in how he gathered information. He knew that if his intentions to warn Prince Shining Armor about the plot were discovered, they'd probably kill him. This now constant threat of danger made Swiftlight a little shaky at times, and he had opted to avoid Java Chip for the time being. The last thing he needed was for anypony to suspect he might have told her anything.

"Thank you all for coming; we'll keep this brief tonight," General Mane Crusher said. "We have now confirmed our positions throughout the EUP. We are poised to take control at every corps and division level of the entire army."

Swiftlight involuntarily gasped, and he was pretty sure one of the captains from Brax's battalion saw him. He tried to play it off as an excited gesture. None of the others paid him much attention, but he was certain he was convincing to the captain.

"Now that preparations have been made, we must contact all forces and prepare to move quickly," the general continued. "I have sent dispatches that will arrive by morning. We execute the change in three days."

"Three days? We’re not ready,“ one of the officers objected.

“We have to be,” Mane Crusher countered, stroking his mustache. "The faster we move, the less chance of being discovered."

Swiftlight's heart was racing, but he was doing everything he could to stay composed.

"What about the local battalion under Brax?" another officer asked.

"Leave that to me," came the reply. "I'm the senior-ranking captain, and there are several officers I can trust when it is time. Brax won't be a problem, and once he's out of the way, the others will follow me."

“We have our work cut out for us, take care with the final arrangements,” Mane Crusher said in conclusion. "We will strike so quickly that Prince Shining Armor won't know what hit him. My only hope is that he will step down peacefully. The less blood shed in the transition the better it will be for all of us."

There was a general consensus around the room. Swiftlight wondered whether that was simply a nice sentiment or if it were sincere.

"Dismissed.”

The group dispersed, casually leaving CIC. Swiftlight's panic was on the verge of returning. If they were moving in three days, he had run out of time to gather information. If Shining Armor was not made aware of this with time to prepare, he wouldn't stand a chance.

...

"I don't stand a chance!" Applejack sulked.

Scootaloo was trying to think of anything she could say to be helpful, but she just didn't have any wisdom for this sort of situation. The debate was going to begin in the next few minutes, but the waiting was apparently getting to Applejack.

"It's just nerves, sis," Apple Bloom said.

Applejack snorted.

Cloud Blazer spoke up, "All you have to do is answer questions the best you can."

"You'll do fine; we all believe in you," Sweetie Belle added.

“They’re right,” Sparklefly began. “Remember when Diamond Tiara came to you yesterday with an offer of selling the produce off of the farm and giving you a fifth of the income if you dropped out of this? She wouldn’t have done that if she weren’t scared you could win.”

Applejack smiled nervously. Scootaloo could tell that no amount of well-wishing, rationale, or pleasant sentiment was going to change Applejack's disposition as she paced the room. Her fears, combined with her ever growing pregnant belly made her seem somehow more vulnerable.

"Just keep breathing," Scootaloo finally said.

Confused, Applejack turned to her, "What was that, now?"

"Breathing," Scootaloo answered. "All you have to do is keep breathing. You're going to get through this. You are the most honest mare I've ever met, and everypony in town knows it. It's Ponyville out there; they already know you. In fact, the whole town already likes you."

Applejack nodded, her green eyes boring directly into Scootaloo. The anxiety was lessening, but it was still strong.

"The fact that we've even made it this far is huge," Scootaloo continued. "If the town didn't want to give you a chance at being mayor, they'd never have signed the recall petition, and we wouldn't be here tonight."

The fear faded from Applejack's eyes, and she began to grin. It was small at first, but widened in the moments that followed.

Just then, Silver Spoon poked her head in the door and said, "It's time to begin."

She left without awaiting a response.

"We all believe in you. Make that awful Diamond Tiara sorry she picked this fight," Scootaloo concluded.

Applejack crossed the short distance of the room and embraced Scootaloo in a sideways hug. "Thanks, sugar cube," she said. "Come on, everypony!"

At Applejack's invitation, the rest of them approached and joined the embrace for a moment.

"Thanks to all of you for getting me this far,” she said. "I've got to go. See y'all out there!"

Applejack left, seeming much more confident. Once she was gone, Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. Now if Applejack could just stay focused through the debate, they had a fighting chance. Scootaloo caught Sparklefly smiling at her.

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"Nicely done," she replied.

"How'd you do that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't know," Scootaloo shrugged. "I guess I just tried to think how to make me feel better if I were about to give a speech."

"That was amazing," Sweetie Belle chimed in.

Cloud Blazer was smiling, but he looked as if he were going to be ill.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked him.

He cleared his throat and coughed, wincing from the pain. "Yeah, I think that immobilizing spell needs to be done again. I'm starting to hurt all over."

Sweetie Belle nodded, and the others stood back as she closed her eyes to focus for a moment. Her horn glowed green as she reapplied the spell to Cloud Blazer's injuries. When she finished, Sparklefly was already in place to catch her as she nearly fell over again.

"Thanks," Sweetie Belle said. Her eyes were shut, and she looked exhausted.

"You alright?” Apple Bloom asked.

She nodded her answer.

Scootaloo said, "The immobilizing spell drains her a little. It's a complicated one."

Cloud Blazer sighed relief, "Thank you."

20 - Revolution, Part 6 of 10

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"You're welcome," Silver Spoon said as she permitted Swiftlight to pass. He opened the door in town hall and found Mayor Diamond Tiara inside. She was engrossed in what looked like speech notes. Her office was cluttered with campaign materials and other paperwork. He approached her slowly, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"Madam Mayor," he spoke as calmly as possible through his fears.

She looked up, and then gave him her full attention, "Captain Swiftlight. I take it you have a message from the general?"

"No, ma'am," he began. "But the matter is of the highest importance."

"What do you mean?" she asked. Without waiting for his reply, she continued, "What could you possibly have that is of higher importance that what's going on here right now?" She suddenly seemed rather frantic.

"I have information that-"

"Do you realize what I'm dealing with?" she cut him off. “I should be making Ponyville a better place, not campaigning again. This entire town has risen up against me." Swiftlight had never seen her so ill-composed. "I'd have never thought it would come to this, but they might be throwing me out tonight, me. They might actually do it. I'm about to go into a debate with the one mare in the city the nopony questions her honesty. Do you realize what kind of advantage that gives her?”

Swiftlight was already frustrated. "Ma'am, I get that you're stressed, but we don't have time for this. We're all-"

"That's where you're wrong, captain. I don't have time for this! I am very busy trying to save my position, so whatever you have to say can wait until later!" she spoke aggressively and stood from her desk.

Frustration was nearing a breaking point, “Ma’am-“

“Get out!”

"Well, I hope you lose tonight!" Swiftlight's anger flash-boiled, "I'm not sure how a toad like you ever got elected in the first place!"

He stormed out of her office, slamming the door as he went. He could hear her shouting after him as he walked down the hallway. He didn't care. There were more important things to figure out presently. He stomped loudly through the corridor and left the town hall. A lungful of fresh air outside was helpful, but clearing his mind was troublesome after that unpleasant confrontation. As he stamped around in the fading light of day, he caught sight of the setting sun and Java Chip's words came to him from long ago. 'You're fine, just relax. Rushing around like that is bound to get you hurt sooner or later. Now take a deep breath, calm yourself, and let's keep moving. We'll be fine.'

They had been climbing a mountain and making good time when she’d spoken those words to him. Swiftlight was sure that they'd be able to break the speed record for reaching the summit, but then he'd made an unsure step and slipped, sliding down a slope. As they were tied together, she was pulled down after him. Neither of them were seriously injured, but they lost too much time to be able to beat the record. It was sound advice that he had never forgotten.

'So, what do I do now?' he thought to himself. 'Think, think,' but answers were slow in coming. 'What is my objective? Warn Prince Shining Armor. How can you do that? Get a message to him.' Swiftlight perked up a little as his mind worked through this. 'Or get a message to someone he can trust.' Swiftlight knew just the pony to receive such a message, but how to get it to him? Shining Armor's aide would be trustworthy, and he would certainly pass along any message of such importance. 'But how to get it to him undetected? I can't just send a letter; I'd get caught. What about the sit-rep dispatches?' Swiftlight grinned and began walking toward the castle. He now had a plan. He was going to include a covert message inside the normal report that gets sent up to Cloudsdale every week. Once those reports were assembled, nopony looked at them until they were in Cloudsdale. It was his best chance to get a message to Shining Armor that would be read quickly.

As he walked away, everypony in Ponyville was heading toward the town hall to gather in the square. From what he had heard, the debate was supposed to begin at sundown. That seemed a strange tradition to Swiftlight, especially considering that everypony was allowed to ask a question. This thing could take all night.

"Hey Swiftlight," Java Chip called through the crowd.

He stopped and waited for her to get to him.

"You're not coming to the debate?" she asked.

He shrugged trying to not let her distract him from his purpose, "No, I've got things to do."

"At night?" she inquired, tilting her head.

"Nothing serious; I just need to go over some paperwork. We filed it earlier, but I just have a feeling that they weren't done correctly." This would make a good excuse if anypony else asked why he wanted to see the report. It was not uncommon for Swiftlight to go over these before they were dispatched to Cloudsdale.

"Okay, well come find me if you change your mind,” she said cheerfully.

"Affirmative; I'm sure I'll need coffee in the morning," he replied.

She grinned at him before walking off, following the amassing crowd. Swiftlight pushed his way through. By the time he got near the castle, there was nearly nopony around. As it came into view, a voice called from a nearby building.

"Captain Swiftlight," it said to him in a hushed tone.

Swiftlight stopped, turning to face the one addressing him. It was the captain from Brax's battalion that had been at the secret meeting before. Swiftlight approached warily.

"What is it?"

"I saw you in that meeting, and I know you feel like I do," the captain began.

"I don't know what you're talking about. If you'll excuse me, I have work to do," Swiftlight said dismissively as he turned to walk away.

In a hushed tone the captain frantically said, "I don't want there to be a coup!"

Swiftlight stopped dead in his tracks as his heart began pounding. That was a foolish thing to admit to somepony that is involved in a conspiracy. He wasn't sure how to respond, and all options quickly ran through his mind.

Turning suddenly back to the captain, Swiftlight quietly said, "Are you insane or just stupid? Don't ever say anything like that, not to anypony."

"I saw your face when they were talking about it. I know you don't want this any more than I do," the captain said.

"You're serious about stopping it?" Swiftlight asked. At this point, he decided that the captain was likely sincere, and a complete idiot.

The captain nodded with a defiant fire in his eyes.

Swiftlight said, "Meet me at the Ponyville school two hours before dawn. Do you know where it is?"

"On the hill on the southwest side of town," the captain replied. "I'll be there."

"Do not speak of this to anypony," Swiftlight cautioned him.

The captain walked silently away, leaving Swiftlight standing there a moment. The last light of the setting sun could just be seen beaming over the treetops to the west. Swiftlight turned and walked into the castle. His pulse was quickened from that exchange, and from what he knew he had to do. This captain had just provided him with a perfect distraction to ensure that he'd be able to get to the dispatches and add his covert message undetected. Of course, this was only an opportunity. This was still a dangerous game to be playing, and Swiftlight was well aware of it. His heart was still beating rapidly inside his chest as he entered the castle.

...

A quick heartbeat was the tell-tale sign of the nervous excitement that Scootaloo felt as Applejack and Diamond Tiara came out on the stage to address all of Ponyville. The judge was going to moderate, and he was making the opening address. The open square around town-hall was jammed full of stallions and mares, colts and fillies from all over town; nearly everypony had come. Outdoor illumination had been set up to spotlight the candidates and also for the thick congregation to be able to see as well. Up the center, an aisle had been roped off that went up to the platform they all faced. The air was crisp in the early evening.

"Hey guys," Java Chip said quietly as she pushed through the crowd to get to Scootaloo and the others.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom greeted her.

"Have you met Cloud Blazer?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, I hadn't. Hi, I'm Java Chip."

Cloud Blazer turned in his wheelchair to see her, "Nice to meet you. I'm Cloud Blazer."

"I know," Java Chip replied cheerfully. "Your friends have told me all about you."

Scootaloo shushed the others as applause broke out. The introductions were over, and it was time for the opening statements. Applejack stepped forward, as it was custom for the challenger to speak first.

"Howdy y'all!" she said heartily, only a hint of nervousness seeping through. "I must say, I'm plumb amazed at the faith you've all shown in me to let me come here today. So, first of all, I wanted to thank y'all for giving me the chance to come here and speak." She paused briefly before continuing, "I'm not terribly fond of politics, but sometimes things just ain't being done well, and they need fixing. I've lived here in Ponyville all my life. Most of you knew my Granny Smith; she was just a little filly here when the town was founded, and we Apples have been here working the land ever since. I only mention that 'cause I want what's best for all of us. That begins with personal rights and fair laws. The way I see it, and I'm not the only one, there've been some things of late that just don't add up. Did y'all know there's a tax that only affects one business in town? Now, I don't claim to know the full truth of the matter, but I do know that Java Chip catered the Mayor's birthday, charged her full price, and within two months this new small business tax hit, and Java's is the only business in all Ponyville that has to pay it. Now that seems a might strange to me, and I think some investigating needs to be done. In case anypony here hasn't heard, the mayor sent her aide to tell me that by some new authority she had been given, she was effectively seizing Sweet Apple Acres and telling me what I can and can't plant. More than that, they were gonna give away the food that was produced, so I would have got nothing. Never mind that there is land of plenty all around Ponyville that's fit for farming, and that she did eventually offer to pay me something for the use of the land; it just ain't right to tell somepony what they're gonna grow on their own land. That’s the way I see it.”

The moderator motioned at Applejack, and she stepped back. Diamond Tiara had made some notes, but she set her pencil on the lectern and stepped out from behind it to address everypony.

"Good evening," Diamond Tiara greeted the crowd. "I would not argue against anything my esteemed challenger has said so far... in the best of times. However, as we all know, these are far from good times we are living in. The war has threatened to destroy us all, especially in the last few weeks. All of the recent measures that have been taken to help Ponyville and Equestria have been completely necessary as part of our comprehensive survival strategy. Who wouldn't support personal rights?" She paused a moment; Scootaloo thought she seemed incredibly polished as she spoke without notes. "At this very moment, the greater concern is that we survive. What would our rights matter if we all starve to death? Sweet Apple Acres was chosen as the beginning of the new farming initiative. It is already prepared to be planted, making it the best possible place to begin, and that gives us the best chance to not only support ourselves here in Ponyville, but we'll be able to export to the rest of Equestria. It is true that we had initially thought to give away the produce, but the wisdom of selling it was quickly accepted. In time, that will mean lower taxes for all of us. When the war is over, and we stand victorious, all personal liberties will be restored, and I should add that nothing has been done without the approval of your city council.” Diamond Tiara began pacing to one side as she spoke, "I'm asking you to join me right now. Let us band together, and each of us give of our strength, of our abilities, of our talents, of our very lives to see that victory comes soon. If you join with me, I will make certain that everypony receives what they need to live to see that day."

The moderator was motioning again, and Diamond Tiara bowed her head slightly and returned to her lectern. The sound of her hooves clopping on the stage echoed through the early evening, the sun having set only moments before. Sporadic applause erupted throughout the crowd. Scootaloo was sure it must have been started by Silver Spoon, but she couldn't find her in the masses. The moderator banged his gavel, restoring the calm and quiet.

Standing, the moderator spoke, "Everypony that would ask a question, please form a line up the middle aisle."

The stillness of the crowd became a great deal of movement, like waves on the ocean with bobbing and rippling as ponies made their way to line up. It was going take some time for Scootaloo to get to ask her own question.

20 - Revolution, Part 7 of 10

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Time was growing short; Swiftlight was certain about that much. He took a deep breath, already feeling shame in anticipation of his next action. He knocked on the door of General Mane Crusher's room and waited for a reply as dread began to fill him. It was a quiet evening, which only underscored the anticipation that filled the stallion’s mind. The door opened, and Mane Crusher was there.

"What is it, Captain?" the general said directly.

"Sir, we have a situation," Swiftlight said in a hushed tone. "I was approached only moments ago by a captain from Brax's battalion. He was in our meeting earlier."

“You mean Radiant Pyre? Go on," Mane Crusher said slowly.

Checking to make certain that the hallway was empty, Swiftlight continued, "He seemed to think that I was not committed to our cause, and he suggested that we work together to prevent the plan we discussed in that meeting."

"I see," the general replied; a look of deep concern etched itself on his face. Looking directly at Swiftlight, General Mane Crusher said, "I want you to take care of this, permanently."

Swiftlight swallowed hard and heard himself say, "Affirmative."

The door closed, and the stallion stood alone in the corridor. That had gone about as he’d expected, and certainty was assured of Mane Crusher’s determination. The captain turned and walked to the clerk's office. The hallways seemed much larger, or perhaps he was stepping more slowly than usual. A member of their group would be stationed there at all times to assist with monitoring information that came and went. He was sitting outside the door, looking rather bored.

"Corporal," Swiftlight addressed him.

The corporal stood and saluted, "Sir!"

Speaking softly, Swiftlight said, "Go find Captain Radiant Pyre in town and keep him in your sight at all times. He is not committed to our cause, and you are to do whatever is necessary to prevent him from telling anypony else about our plan. If he does not attempt to do so, just follow him. Is that understood?"

"Yessir!" the corporal said, trotting down the hallway.

Swiftlight entered the corps clerk's office. There were stacks of paperwork everywhere. It would have looked messy if not for everything being so neatly arranged.

"You're in late," the clerk's squeaky voice greeted him.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to double-check some paperwork for discrepancies."

The corps clerk pushed his glasses up, looking a bit offended, "There are no discrepancies on anything that comes through this office!"

"Look, I just follow orders," Swiftlight said with a tone of bored exasperation. "Just give me the last five sit-reps we sent to Cloudsdale, will you? I don't want to be at this all night."

The corps clerk rolled his eyes, "Fine, do you want the new one?"

"Huh?" Swiftlight played dumb. "Oh, yeah, better get me that one too."

The clerk went about his files and rapidly gathered the requested documents.

"You'll be needing a pen?" the clerk asked indignantly.

"No, there are no discrepancies on any paperwork that goes through your office," Swiftlight replied sarcastically.

The clerk snorted as he dropped the files on a desk for Swiftlight.

"If you need anything, I'll be in my rack," the corps clerk said.

He exited into a small room next door. Swiftlight tried desperately to contain his excitement. For several minutes he went through the old paperwork, exactly like he’d said he would. When all was quiet, he took a paper and pen from his pocket. Quickly, his heart racing, he composed a brief, but direct letter for Shining Armor's aide. He described the details of the conspiracy to overthrow the prince that they had discussed. Then he added the names of the conspirators that he was sure of. He had strongly considered not signing his own name to this, but in order for it to be believed, he thought it worth the risk. Additionally, if things went badly, he would need the prince to know that he was still loyal. He completed the message and buried it in the new report. After this, he put his pen back into his pocket and continued pretending to pour over the reports in search of anything that was amiss. Now that this was taken care of, all he had to do was finish betraying Radiant Pyre. The thought sickened him, but it would ensure that he was completely trusted by the conspirators. Also, it had served as a fantastic excuse to send the guard away so that Swiftlight could get his message to the prince unnoticed.

...

Several hours worth of questions had come and gone, effectively consuming half of the night already. The full moon hung almost directly overhead now, and Scootaloo was tired of waiting in line. Moonlight aside, the paper lanterns that had been strung across the square for the occasion provided a soft glow. The murmur of the audience was a low background noise to the speakers bandying their words.

"So, Applejack you're saying that you don't believe in taxes? How would you fund the city without them?" a stallion asked. Scootaloo suspected that Diamond Tiara had many supporters that had been given incentive to be here.

"Oh, my, no, now that's not at all what I'm sayin'," Applejack replied. "I don't have a problem with taxes; I just think they should be fair is all. Let me put it this way. If we're going to have a sales tax, everypony should pay the same percent of it. If it's going to be an income tax, everypony should pay the same percent. Now, that would mean that anypony earning more will pay more tax, but it won't be as convoluted as what we have right now. Our tax code is longer than the city charter. Basically, I just don't think any government should be giving things to one pony and not to another, especially if they have to take that from somepony else. The only way to be completely fair the way I see it is to have the taxes the same, and the services offered the same too."

Scootaloo could tell that Applejack was still nervous, but she was at least able to speak intelligently to everything that had been asked of her.

"An excellent question," Diamond Tiara began; it was her turn to answer. "I for one wouldn't try to fund a city without taxes. My opponent speaks of fairness, but what could be more fair than protecting the citizens of Ponyville? What Applejack is asking you to accept is a tax code that puts more of the burden on the middle and lower classes. Right now, we have a more comprehensive approach to our tax code than the idealistically simplistic model that was just suggested. If such a system actually worked, we'd already be using it...”

She continued talking, but Scootaloo stopped listening. Those exchanges were becoming frustrating to Applejack, and Scootaloo could see it. When her time ran out, Diamond Tiara finally stopped, and the next question was asked.

An older pony spoke, "Mayor Diamond Tiara, you talked a little about your new farming initiative; why did you pick the orchard at Sweet Apple Acres?"

This had Scootaloo's complete attention. The entire gathering went totally silent. Somewhere on the other side of the square, Scootaloo could hear a foal crying.

"I'm glad you asked me that," Diamond Tiara said, still completely composed. "Our goal is to get oats and hay grown up as quickly as possible. Sweet Apple Acres is an ideal location for this, as it has already been very well-farmed and prepared. Once the attack on Ponyville was over, and the orchard had been destroyed, it only made perfect sense to begin there, as it is closer into town, and already irrigated. Even from the beginning, we had plans to expand beyond that, but we determined that it would be our best place to start."

She continued talking until her time ran out. Then Scootaloo noticed that Applejack was grinning ear to ear.

Applejack said, "Well, shucks madam mayor, I didn't know you knew that little about farming."

Stomping and applause broke out briefly, but Applejack held up a hoof to silence the crowd. The moderator was banging his gavel against his lectern to calm the outburst.

When order was restored, he scolded, “I’ll not have you turn this business into a circus! Keep your response to answering the questions.”

"My apologies, your honor," Applejack said to the moderator. “The part of Sweet Apples Acres that she picked is an apple orchard. I grew up there; I've worked there since I was just a filly, and I've been running the farm for the last twelve years. Everything that the mayor just said about it being so ideal for hay and oats is just a load of hooey. Just clearing the roots of the downed trees was quite an undertaking. Shucks half of you were there when we cleared the zap apple field; y'all know what I'm taking about. But there was also a lot of damage to the irrigation pipes that still haven’t been repaired. There are plenty of places around Ponyville, as the mayor even agreed earlier, that are good for farming. The fact of the matter is that they would have been as easy, if not easier to farm than the Sweet Apple Acres orchard. To answer your question, I've been a farmer my whole life, and from a farming point of view, I have no idea why she picked Sweet Apple Acres. It don't make a lick of sense."

Applause erupted again, and Scootaloo could see a crack in Diamond Tiara’s heretofore solid composure. The moderator banged on his gavel in an attempt to calm the crowd, but the noise was lost in the thundering applause.

...

Swiftlight turned his head to the sound coming from downtown. At first, he'd thought a storm was coming, but then he decided it sounded more like a crowd had become excited about something. ‘The debate must be rather fired up right now.’ Though he didn't have much use for politics, he'd have rather been there, if only to spend the evening with Java Chip. Each passing minute grew worse for Swiftlight. He was already filled with regret for how he had handled this situation. His choice was likely about to get Captain Radiant Pyre killed. Swiftlight wished that there was some way he could warn him, but it just wouldn't be possible. Even attempting such a thing would surely only serve get himself killed as well. A great swell of laughter washed out from the center of town as the captain headed to the barracks to get some more ponies to come with him. Three should be enough. That would make four, not counting the corporal that was already following Captain Radiant Pyre. After they finished the job, they'd have to dispose of the body. Five against one would be plenty.

...

Sparklefly felt hopeful, but not certain as to the outcome of the election as she listened to the questions and tried to read the crowd. A few of the others had gone to stand in line several hours before, but Sparklefly had stayed in their place with Sweetie Belle. Fluttershy had only just found them and was there also. All of them were still recovering. Pinkie Pie had asked a question that caused an uproar of laughter from not only the towns ponies, but both candidates and even the judge had also lost their composure. As they settled back down, Sparklefly strained to see but couldn’t tell who would be speaking next.

“Mayor Diamond Tiara,” Java Chip began, “with regard to Ponyville’s ‘small imports business tax’, when exactly was legislation for that actually first drafted?”

Diamond Tiara took a sip of water, “I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that on hoof. I know it was sometime last year, but we do so much city business every day that I can’t remember something that specific. I’m sorry.”

Her tone was cool, but Sparklefly suspected that she did in fact know. Applejack began to answer next.

“Well, Java, I actually took the time to look into that over the past few weeks.” Diamond Tiara’s fake smile became a slight grimace. “I can’t say for certain when it was first thought up, but the first record I could find of it in the minutes from city council meetings was from last year, one week after you catered Diamond Tiara’s birthday party. Also, ever since it passed, yours is the only business on the books that has ever qualified to pay the tax.”

A murmur returned to the crowd as Applejack finished speaking. Sparklefly felt herself grin as she rubbed at her eye patch.

20 - Revolution, Part 8 of 10

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Scootaloo was trying to contain her excitement. Cloud Blazer hadn't told any of them what he was going to ask Diamond Tiara, but he had seemed quite confident that it was going to be good. She pushed his wheelchair up and stopped at the little podium near the stage. He up at the mayor, now only about ten yards away.

"Mayor Diamond Tiara," Cloud Blazer began, "you came and visited me in the hospital this morning, and put my picture up there." He pointed up at the massive banner that hung from town hall with the two of them. "I am Cloud Blazer, and you have known me for several years." Scootaloo could see the smile on Diamond Tiara's face evaporate, becoming a thin and obvious facade. “I have no idea how you didn’t notice my name on the chart on my hospital bed. My question is, considering how horribly you've treated me since the day we first met, did you honestly think I would ever vote for you or intentionally endorse your campaign?"

It was as if the air had been sucked from the audience. The noise that Diamond Tiara made as she attempted to answer can most be likened to a shrill squeak. She had been caught completely off guard. Scootaloo hadn't realized how different he must look to the mayor, not only from his injuries, but his military mane-cut also.

Regaining some level of composure mere seconds later, Diamond Tiara answered, "Well, Cloud Blazer, you sure put me on the spot with that one," she let out a nervous laugh. "I never said you endorsed my campaign, and especially after that question, I don't expect you to vote for me. That's okay; that is how democracy works. If I have offended you, I'll have them take that banner down immediately.” She paused a moment before continuing, “However, ultimately, this is really about who is most fit to lead the city council and govern Ponyville. That’s something I’ve been trained to do, and I have far greater experience with this than does my opponent.”

It was the first time Diamond Tiara had stopped speaking before her time ran out. Applejack simply said, ”Well, that sounds like a matter between those two, so I'll decline to respond.”

That may have been the most contrite thing Scootaloo had ever heard Diamond Tiara say. She was a little bit in shock, so much so that she completely forgot to ask a question and instead pushed Cloud Blazer off of the podium. The two of them silently returned to their friends.

"Way to go, Cloud Blazer!" Java Chip said excitedly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to answer a question like that; I'd have panicked!" Fluttershy said.

"Hey Fluttershy, when did you get here?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was on the other side. I only just found where you were sitting a few minutes ago. I should have looked harder," she replied, hanging her head.

Scootaloo just smiled at her disarmingly.

"It won't be long now," Sparklefly said.

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"They're almost out of ponies to ask questions," Cloud Blazer said.

"Yes," Sparklefly replied. "Maybe another hour, and then the vote."

...

Swiftlight had waited as long as possible. It was now time to act. Three more of the conspirators had joined him near the west side of town. It was far enough away from the town hall that their movements should go unnoticed. Without a word, they all nodded at each other and began walking silently south around the edge of Ponyville toward the schoolhouse. Swiftlight's hooves were heavy; he had never marched to an execution before. He could not shake the feeling that it was more like murder.

...

Scootaloo checked Applejack's name on her ballot and put it into the drop box. There was already a frenzy of counting in progress as they pulled the boxes every five minutes to count the votes cast. She then rejoined Cloud Blazer and the others; it wasn’t long before they had all voted and returned to their place where Sparklefly was waiting. As was custom, the candidates stayed on the stage at their lecterns until the vote was decided. Applejack looked anxious, but election volunteers had brought her a chair and some water.

"She looks more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs," Apple Bloom said as Scootaloo approached.

“I know the feeling,” Sparklefly replied with a frown. “I wish I had a vote.”

“Are you kidding?” Scootaloo asked. “All the work you did to help them get this far was worth way more than one vote.”

Sparklefly smiled. Fluttershy was cowering behind everyone, and Pinkie Pie was doing cartwheels and campaigning as close as they’d allow her to the ballot boxes. All they could do now was wait.

...

The wait was over. Swiftlight and his party of conspirators had arrived at the schoolhouse. Nopony was in sight. They walked around to the back, which faces out of town, but nopony was there. Captain Radiant Pyre hadn't shown up. Swiftlight became concerned that something was seriously wrong. Looking into the sky, the moon was getting low near the horizon. He checked his watch, and it was two hours before sunrise.

"Where is he?" one of Swiftlight's companions asked.

Shaking his head, he replied, "I don't know."

...

"There it goes, there it goes, there it goes!" Pinkie Pie was screaming in Scootaloo's ear.

"Hey!" Scootaloo protested.

"There what goes?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That was the last ballot box!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "That means they're almost done counting. We're about to find out if Applejack's hopes and dreams will be saved, or if she'll suffer a humiliatingly crushing defeat!"

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy said as she cowered.

"Oh come on, now!" Apple Bloom said. "Pinkie Pie, we're all nervous enough as it is!"

"I know! It's so exciting!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Scootaloo shook her head and smiled. It was good to be home.

...

Swiftlight was sweating, but there was nothing they could do but wait. He had the others hide out of sight. They agreed that if Radiant Pyre saw more than one, he might not approach. His mind was turning over all sorts of possibilities that might have delayed the captain from being on time. As direct as he had been earlier, it was most likely that he tried to tell somepony else about the coup, and the corporal did something about it. That didn't make Swiftlight feel much better, but at least he wouldn't have to be there when it happened.

20 - Revolution, Part 9 of 10

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Scootaloo could feel the excitement in the crowd; everypony was holding their breath. Even Pinkie Pie was completely silent as the moderator stood like a statue on the podium and awaited the envelope with the final vote count. Apple Bloom was staring up at the stage, apprehensively chewing on her lip. Applejack looked equally nervous, unsuccessfully refraining from biting her hooves. Fluttershy was quivering; Cloud Blazer was sweating, but Java Chip seemed somehow serene.

Finally, one of the ballot counters began approaching the stage with the results. Seconds seemed to last for hours as she ambled methodically up to the podium and turned over the envelope. Ponyville’s judge opened it and poured over the results for what felt like an eternity. Scootaloo was itching, probably from the anticipation. Sparklefly was absently rubbing her eye patch. The silence grew even thicker when the judge faced everypony.

"The results are in and have been counted thrice, as is our tradition,” he began. The air was almost electrified with tension. "We have a clear mandate from the citizens of Ponyville. The mayor, by a majority of sixty-seven percent of the vote is..." he paused, presumably for dramatic effect, "Applejack!"

Cheering erupted throughout the crowd. A Pinkie Pie explosion practically tackled Scootaloo before bounding through the sea of ponies toward the stage. The surge of unbridled jubilation spread like a wild fire. The moderator was beating his gavel again, but silence was not restored for several minutes. As the exuberant noise finally died down, Diamond Tiara stood to speak.

"I uh..." she hesitated, her expression was of ghostly shock. It was as if she’d been sucker-punched in the gut. Scootaloo thought she seemed much smaller somehow. "I didn't have a speech prepared for this." She paused again, clearly deeply wounded at the outcome. “But let me say that I'm sorry that I let you all down. Had I done better as mayor, perhaps tonight would have gone differently..." she trailed off again, as if searching for words. Before she spoke again, she walked over to Applejack, motioning for her to stand. "This isn't procedure, but..." Diamond Tiara took a deep breath, "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your victory." She shook a stunned Applejack's hoof firmly, and then turned to the crowd again and forced a smile. "Ponyville, give it up for your new mayor!"

The crowd roared with approving applause. Scootaloo was watching closely, and through her large smiling facade, Diamond Tiara was crying. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Cloud Blazer were together with Scootaloo, and the four of them shared this moment in the midst of the uproar. Their childhood enemy had been defeated.

"After all the mean stuff she’s done to us, I thought I'd feel happier right now," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know what ya mean," Apple Bloom agreed.

"Don't worry about it," Cloud Blazer said. "I'm sure she'll bounce back to her nasty old self soon enough."

"Maybe," Scootaloo said, "maybe so, but right now I just can't help feeling sorry for her."

Applejack held up a hoof to silence the crowd. It was her turn to speak.

"Well, first off, let me say thank you; that's mighty kind of you to say," she said to Diamond Tiara. She then turned to the crowd, "And thank y'all for coming out tonight. I'm much obliged to each of you. I'll do my very best to be the best leader of Ponyville that I can be." She paused a moment, looking completely uncertain what to say next, but then she grinned wide. "I don't much feel like sleeping, so anypony that wants to, come join us immediately after this at Sweet Apple Acres. We're short on food, but we've got some cider. I know it’s not the same as getting it fresh, but it’s what we got, and we haven't had a proper barn dance in far too long."

The crowd began to cheer as Applejack was sworn in and the candidates retreated into town hall.

Sparklefly was wearing a large smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Apple Bloom asked her.

Pinkie Pie interrupted, "Because it's the best day ever! Woohoo!" She did a cartwheel, and then her enthusiasm was poured out on the crowd by way of jumping and shouting. It was truly a rare occurrence that nearly the rest of town bore equal excitement.

"Yeah, what she said," Sparklefly said. Then she smiled and added, "I'm just thrilled when one of my plans goes right!"

Scootaloo shot her a look, "Since when have any of your plans not worked?"

"Hey, don't jinx it!" Cloud Blazer said emphatically and with a grin.

Sparklefly's face became serious, and Scootaloo was certain that she was pondering something specific. She was trying to think of a way to discreetly ask what it was when Java Chip interrupted.

"This is so awesome!" she shouted as she grabbed a hold of Apple Bloom.

"Darn tootin!" Apple Bloom replied.

"I have to go tell Swiftlight; does anypony want to come?" Java Chip asked.

Sparklefly nodded as Scootaloo said, "Sure, I'll go with you!”

Apple Bloom answered, "I need to get back to open up the barn.”

"I'd better pass on both counts,” Cloud Blazer said. "I'm really tired, and I think I need to get back to the hospital anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good barn dance; I’m just not feeling up to it today.”

Scootaloo could tell he intended this as a joke, but nopony else seemed sure how to react to it.

"I'll take you back," Sweetie Belle volunteered.

“You know, I think you actually enjoy pushing me around!”

Scootaloo felt like there was something off about his mood, but she wasn’t sure what.

“Sweetie Belle, you really have been constantly keeping an eye on him; why don’t you go with Apple Bloom and get the barn set up? I’ll take Brownie back to the hospital and meet up with you guys there.”

“Okay,” Sweetie Belle replied.

Cloud Blazer’s spirit seemed lifted by the suggestion, but he didn’t say anything.

Apple Bloom asked, “Hey, where's Fluttershy?"

"I'm right here," she said in her soft sweet voice. It was nearly inaudible against the noisy crowd. "I'll come with you, Apple Bloom. If you don't mind that is!"

"Course not!"

"Lead the way Java," Sparklefly said.

Java Chip began walking toward the castle as she said, "I can't wait to see the look on Swiftlight's face!"

“I know! Oh, I wish I could be the one to tell Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said as she and the others headed toward the farm.

Scootaloo took her position and began pushing the wheelchair away from the others. It was slow progress to navigate the crowd. They proceeded silently toward the hospital.

20 - Revolution, Part 10 of 10

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As he listened to the fading roar of the cheering crowd in the center of Ponyville, Swiftlight suddenly became aware of how eerie the playground seemed in the moonlight. It was normally such a cheerful place, but in the darkness there was a sense of foreboding that hung in the air. He was just beginning to believe that the corporal had taken care of Radiant Pyre when he heard hoof steps. The two of them walked up together, both clad in full armor. Swiftlight felt a knot form in his stomach.

"Good evening, Captain Swiftlight," Captain Radiant Pyre said. "Thank you for coming and for picking such a perfect place to meet. One might have thought you knew what was happening, but if you did, you wouldn't be here."

His mind raced to decide what this could mean, and his instincts told him that he was in danger. The three that had come with him came out of hiding, and got onto Swiftlight's flanks in a defensive posture.

"Captain Radiant Pyre, I see you brought a friend," Swiftlight said, trying to be as ambiguous as possible.

"Yes, I have many friends here. It's a shame that you didn't bring any," Radiant Pyre replied.

There was a tone of arrogance or superiority that Swiftlight didn't like. He turned his head to glance at the three behind him. They seemed surprisingly calm. The four of them were in uniform, but not wearing armor. As for weaponry, they only had their combat knives. The other two had spears.

"Oh? And I thought we were all friends here," Swiftlight said evasively as his heart began pounding harder.

Snorting, Radiant Pyre answered, "No. The general wasn't completely sure you were on board with us, so he devised this test to see how loyal you actually are. I have to admit, you had us all convinced when you went straight to him and turned me in. We were going to leave it at that, but he had instructed that we let things play out until he gave the word." Radiant Pyre produced a piece of paper and gave it to Swiftlight.

"What's this?" Swiftlight asked.

"Don't you know?"

He did know. It was his own writing. They had found the note that he had hidden in the weekly report. His feigned repose shattered.

“Looks like you do. I guess nobody thought to mention that the corps clerk is in our circle. He monitors everything that goes up to Cloudsdale. I must say I'm disappointed that you were this sloppy."

The three ponies that were by Swiftlight backed away, and he was now surrounded by enemies. It was five to one, just not the way he’d intended.

"We don't have to do this," Swiftlight said, hoping he could reason his way out of the situation. “Lock me up. I won’t make any trouble.”

“You heard what the general ordered. ‘Take care of it, permanently,’” Radiant Pyre replied coldly.

Swiftlight hope grew thin that there was still a chance to talk them down.

"We may not agree with the way Shining Armor does things, but if Mane Crusher will turn on him, he'll turn on any of us down the road. How can you give your loyalty to somepony who has none?”

"Nice try, but the general is going to lead us to victory. Victory means survival. I for one would rather be alive to wrestle with my conscious.”

The tension in the air only grew stronger in the silence that followed. Swiftlight’s mouth felt so dry. The two in front of him were armored; they would charge first. The three behind were would come in after the attack began. Radiant Pyre seemed reluctant to strike; if Swiftlight could catch them off guard, he might have a chance to run.

“You know what the saddest part is?” the armored adversary continued, “the information you put in that message was all false. That last meeting was a ruse to put pressure on you to act. The hope was that you would make a mistake, which it seems you have.”

Swiftlight was rather alarmed by this; not only had they discovered his true intentions, but they masterfully built this trap for him. They were incredibly crafty. If he could just get into an open space, he might have a chance at outrunning them. But then, Radiant Pyre, and the one directly behind Swiftlight were both unicorns. They’d probably try to avoid using magic so as to not make noise. Swiftlight hoped that would be the case. He decided that he needed to act before they did. ‘Escape? Then what?’ He buried the thought for the moment, ‘One thing at a time.’

”Guys, I'm really tired," he spoke. "Don't make me have to kill you all before I get some sleep. That's bound to leave me cranky."

Radiant Pyre snorted and the others began to laugh at his threat. Swiftlight chose this moment of uncertainty to strike. He leapt backwards, kicking the unicorn officer behind him with full force in the face. There was a snapping sound as hooves made contact, jerking his head around under the strain. He crumpled to the ground.

Swiftlight spun and lunged away. The others were surprised, but they charged onto him before he could get clear. With a front hoof he punched one in the head, and a third reared back, grabbing hold of Swiftlight’s hind legs. He fell hard, biting his tongue. Blood filled his mouth as he rolled over and back onto his hooves. The other caught him, and they wrestled around, standing on their hind legs a moment. Swiftlight managed to get free enough to send an uppercut hard into his assailant's diaphragm. He fell away just as the armored two came at him.

A spear was thrust directly at Swiftlight’s head. He dodged and slapped it aside. Another came from his right. Vaulting left, Swiftlight crashed into Radiant Pyre, striking his armor ineffectively but causing him to topple over. At the same time, sharp pain shot through Swiftlight's hind left leg in multiple spasms that made him completely lose balance and tumble. With a push from his right, he spun around as a spear skewered the ground. He rolled on top of the armored foe he'd just been fighting. Another was about to jump on him, but a stiff kick utilizing their momentum sent them crashing into some playground equipment. Swiftlight scrambled back up and bolted away on three legs in the only direction available, drawing closer to the schoolhouse. At least with it behind him he could have a safe back. His hindquarters gave searing pain with every movement, and he couldn’t put weight on his left hind leg.

Two of them closed cautiously on either side as the wounded stallion backed away. Spears were aimed menacingly at their prey; Swiftlight drew his knife. They kept their distance, giving him a moment to breathe. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he was panting already from the brief struggle. A cold sweat had formed on Swiftlight’s forehead. He felt ill, as if his stomach were churning. Glancing back, he was rather distressed to discover that it had been a knife attack on his hindquarters that had hurt so much. The muscles in his flank had been shredded with multiple puncture wounds. They were deep, and he was bleeding freely. Turning back to his attackers, Swiftlight noticed that one of them seemed to be out cold at first glance; it was the other unicorn. Even in the dark, the captain could tell that the angle at which his head lay indicated a broken neck. Another was writhing on the ground, trying to get his wind back. The other three had cut off any hope of escape, but they were not advancing... yet.

"What, need a break? I'm just getting warmed up," Swiftlight taunted them, knife at the ready. In truth, he knew it was going to be a hard fight to get out of there.

Radiant Pyre snorted, "No; we're waiting for you to bleed out."

That was a problem. He didn’t have to look at his flank again to know how bad it was. So much damage had been done already that they only had to wait. Win or lose, Swiftlight needed to get to a medic quickly. He’d also be hard pressed to outrun them. Short on better plans, he decided to make the attempt before he had no strength to fight them. He just had to go far enough to be spotted by the crowd of towns ponies.

"Show me what you've got," Swiftlight taunted again.

As Radiant Pyre began to answer, Swiftlight threw his knife. It flew silently through the air, finding its mark in the shoulder of the stallion on his right, the one that was unarmored. He went down, and Swiftlight charged in that direction simultaneously, but he didn't get far. Radiant Pyre was on him, and as Swiftlight deflected the point of the spear, the shaft of it had him pinned against the schoolhouse wall. A flurry of fore-hoof kicks went back and forth before the other armored stallion struck Swiftlight from the side, knocking him to the ground, flat on his back. A brief struggle ensued, but within only seconds he was completely pinned down by three ponies. Swiftlight twisted and turned, but their grip on him was too strong. He wasn't able to wriggle free.

"For what it's worth, this is nothing personal. I'm sorry it has to be this way," Radiant Pyre panted as he drew his knife.

Having no other options, Swiftlight spit in his face.

Radiant Pyre ignored the insult, and almost looked sad as the bloody insult ran down his face. He added, "I didn't enlist to kill ponies."

Swiftlight lay there, muscles struggling in vain to overpower his assailants. His injury pounded sharp pain through his body. The scent of blood and earth mixed with fresh cut grass filled the air. This struck Swiftlight as odd considering that nopony would be cutting the grass at this time of night. For a moment, he thought he heard something, maybe somepony approaching nearby. He was just about to cry out when Radiant Pyre covered his mouth. Swiftlight continued to struggle against them as his mind raced for some way, any way, to survive this... even as Captain Radiant Pyre slashed his throat and the life drained out of him.

21 - Discovery, Part 1 of 7

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A mix of high emotions ran through Cloud Blazer as Scootaloo pushed him back to the hospital. He was elated for Applejack’s victory; there was also a gloriously nervous exhilaration that came from he and Scootaloo being basically alone. Despite his injuries, for the moment he felt indestructible. The immobilizing magic that Sweetie Belle had used was beginning to wane, a fact revealed by the aches that were slowly returning to strength. The stallion didn’t mind them so much. The further they traveled from the town square, the thinner the crowd became as ponies went their separate ways. Most had gone toward Sweet Apple Acres. The closer they drew to the hospital, the shorter his time became. This was his moment. Cloud Blazer was going to tell Scootaloo everything. His heart was beating like a marching drum, the rhythm overwhelming everything else.

Their destination was dark from the outside, but as soon as they passed through the doors, they were bathed in sterile white light. The waiting room was empty, but for a nurse at her station. She looked up as Scootaloo found the appropriate form and signed Cloud Blazer back in.

“How’d the election go?” the nurse asked.

Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer grinned wide as she replied, “We have a new mayor.”

The nurse nodded, not seeming all that interested, “No surprise there. Diamond Tiara gets a lot done, but she makes enemies.”

She rose from her seat.

“I’ll take him to his room,” Scootaloo volunteered.

The nurse smiled as she sat back down. The pair of friends continued into the hallway. Each passing step that Scootaloo pushed the wheelchair made Cloud Blazer’s level of anxiety shoot higher like a rocket. He was beginning to find fear something to contend with. His throat was so dry, and he was beginning to think he shouldn’t say anything to her. As his room came into sight, the stallion took a deep breath to steel his resolve. No excuses, no more delays.

They silently entered the darkness that was his room, the rubberized wheels of his chair making a light squeaking sound on the smooth tile floor. They got to the bed, and then Scootaloo came around the front as Cloud Blazer locked the brakes. He reached out, and she embraced the stallion, gently lifting. She moved slowly, getting him up onto the bed. Stinging came from his various injuries with every motion; he hardly noticed. Just being that close to her was intoxicating. She smelled good. Once he was more or less in position, she pulled the sheets up so he could reach them.

“Quite a night,” she whispered as she completed her tasks.

“Yeah,” he whispered back.

His roommate was sleeping soundly, and it would have been rude to wake her. The drum in Cloud Blazer’s chest beat more and more violently than before. It felt more like a blasting range filled with cannons that fired in sequence.

“Well, goodnight,” she said as she turned to leave.

The moment was slipping away. It was now or never.

“Scootaloo,” he said.

Fear filled him as she turned. Her smile melted his qualms and warmed the thumping in his chest.

“I love you.”

She stood there in silence. The darkness made her warm expression almost difficult to read, but he could see her smile.

“I have for a while,” he continued as a hammer pounded an anvil in his heart. “I mean, I didn’t know what it was at first. But I’ve had time to think about it, especially lately. That’s when I sorted it out. Joining the EUP, being the last one out when we were in Everfree... I did all of that for you, to keep you safe. I’m pretty messed up, but I don’t mind that so much. I just want to be with you, forever. More than anything in the world, I love you.”

She stood like a statue, her gaze locked with his as he awaited her reply.

She spoke, “I don’t want to hear that.”

Her words were like a dagger through his heart. All of the life and warmth was sucked from the room. Overwhelming fear filled Cloud Blazer. She remained where she stood, but the stallion now realized that her expression was actually impossible to read in the darkness.

“I mean, I’m... flattered, but no.”

Cloud Blazer’s hooves were shaking. He felt like he was falling into a deep abyss as tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. He thought he should say something, but any words he would have used were caught in his throat. He couldn’t swallow for the lump that had formed there.

“I... I’m just not interested in you that way... Sorry...”

She abruptly turned and walked out of the room, leaving Cloud Blazer alone. The shaking sent shards of stabbing pain throughout his body. He wept bitterly, doing everything he could to remain quiet, though he was nearly beyond caring. His heart was melting as the last fortress in which he’d placed his hope had been ripped away.

21 - Discovery, Part 2 of 7

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Scootaloo ran through the night. No small amount of turmoil had just been stirred up inside her, and she felt the need to flee. Her hooves thundered against the ground as she galloped in no particular direction. She just had to get away. She was in total disbelief at what had just happened. Cloud Blazer had been her friend for years, and she’d always liked him. But love? That kind of love? It had never crossed her mind, at least, not in a serious way.

She found herself drawing near Twilight’s castle before the panic began to abate. What had happened? How did she get here? She stared at the stone exterior of the structure as her thoughts became a jumble of random memories. They began to take focus on Cloud Blazer. She’d been caught completely off guard by his feelings for her. It just didn’t make any sense. One thing was certain: she did not have romantic feelings for him.

Scootaloo felt herself sigh. The coolness of the night was peaceful. She was more comfortable now that she was alone, and her mind tried to work through the problem. They had always been friends, that wouldn’t change. Somehow, she felt as if it already had. The mare hoped she hadn’t been too abrupt with him, but she hadn’t been at all sure how to react. It wasn’t exactly a common occurrence for a stallion to confess their undying love to her. In fact, that was the first time it had happened.

She kicked at the earth beneath her hooves as she thought. She stood, staring at the castle for a time. When no answers seemed likely to come, she decided to continue on toward Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps the impromptu party would get her mind off of this for a little while. Her hooves felt like they had lead weights inside as she began walking. Even in the dim light of that hospital room, she’d seen the look on his face. He was crushed, and it was her fault. Somewhere inside, she wished she could have returned his affection. It would have been worth it, if for no other reason than to not hurt him.

Scootaloo heard the party before she saw it. There was already music blasting into the night, and so many ponies had come that they had spilled out and were surrounding the barn. Finding Sparklefly could prove challenging in the celebration. The mare walked through the crowd, trying to lose herself in the jubilation. It didn’t get her mind off of things. For some reason, she felt alone. She would have to find some way to bury the feeling.

21 - Discovery, Part 3 of 7

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Duster was enjoying a pleasant dream when his sleep was shattered by the light coming on in his squad's tent.

"Up, up! Out of your racks and onto your hooves!" Drill Sergeant J yelled to the members of Scootaloo's squad.

It was disorienting to be thrown from the quiet dark into bright light and noise so suddenly. Duster was the last one to come to attention.

"Load up with full harness and packs. You have thirty seconds!" Drill Sergeant J roared. Nopony budged, prompting anger to flash across the donkey's face. “When I tell you to move, I expect you to move, now!"

They all sprang into action, fumbling with their harnesses and trying to get their packs on. Another drill sergeant, a blue pegasus mare, was watching a timer. This only made Duster even more nervous than he already felt anytime Drill Sergeant J was around. When they finally finished getting their harnesses all set, the pegasus with the timer looked up and shook her head.

"That's a minute and a half,” she said rather flatly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duster noticed that Doff was still struggling with his gear.

"By Luna’s tail, what is the matter with you?" Drill Sergeant J asked Doff.

"Sir, I'm having trouble with my harness, sir," Doff replied.

"Do you know how to work a harness?"

"Sir, yes sir," Doff replied.

"Then why are not you finished?"

"Sir, I don't know, sir!"

"Colt, I asked you a question! I don't know is not an answer. Do you know how to put on your harness?" Drill Sergeant J asked again with his usual severity.

"Sir," Doff quivered fearfully, "no sir."

"Featherplume, assist Cadet Doff," Drill Sergeant J said, stepping back.

The pegasus drill sergeant stepped forward, and with incredible ease she stripped the harness from Doff, untwisted and put it back on him. Duster didn't have a timer, but he was amazed that it seemed to go with such ease when she did it.

"We were going to go on a short ten-mile trot, but since you took three times longer to get geared up than ordered, we're going thirty miles instead."

Everypony groaned, causing anger to flash in Drill Sergeant J's eyes, but then things took a turn for the worse.

"Can't we just fly it instead, sir?" Quickbeam asked.

"Forty miles then, at a canter!" Drill Sergeant J bellowed.

Quickbeam was about to speak again, but Locknload cleared his throat loudly.

Turning on him, Drill Sergeant J asked, "Do you have something to say, Cadet?”

"Sir, no sir!" Locknload replied. "Sir, I am simply ready to follow your orders, sir!"

Duster wasn't sure, but he could have sworn a small smile flashed across Drill Sergeant J's face for a moment.

"Fall in! Ladies first, Featherplume!”

With the mare leading the way, they started out into the darkness. In spite of the distance they were about to run, Duster was actually grateful that they weren't flying. He had a cramp in his left side from the relay they had done only a few hours before. That was a small favor considering he had never tried to canter forty miles. They reached the perimeter of the training grounds and the guards opened the shield for them. They were heading south, directly into the western edge of the Everfree Forest. The sun hadn't even come up yet, and it was already shaping up to be a horrible day.

21 - Discovery, Part 4 of 7

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Sparklefly felt like she was going to be sick. With all of the strength she had in her, she trudged wearily behind Scootaloo. Loud music aside, the victory celebration had been rather tame, but the combination of a lack of sleep and the apple cider had left her feeling horrible. With the food shortages, she had grown unaccustomed to sweet beverages, and the cider on an empty stomach was making her regret the frivolity of the previous night. One cider would have probably been okay, but she’d had five.

“This isn’t the training ground,” Sparklefly observed woozily.

“We’re heading to Java’s.”

“It’s Sunday.”

“She told me she was opening this morning since nopony got any sleep last night.”

Sparklefly groaned, “You sound far too chipper this morning.”

"Stop being such a baby," Scootaloo teased.

"What did you say?" Sparklefly turned slowly.

"Stop being a baby, ma’am!” Scootaloo teased again with a salute.

Sparklefly snorted a laugh, but felt so queasy that she had to stop. Apparently, Scootaloo had only consumed the one cider. She must have been sipping on it the entire time. Sparklefly specifically remembered that she'd still had a drink when they were getting ready to leave. As they approached, Scootaloo ran around and opened the door for Sparklefly, which was a welcome gesture. The smell of coffee kissed Sparklefly's face, making her smile. She didn't drink it often, but something bitter like coffee was the only thing that sounded palatable in her current condition. There were several ponies in line, but it didn't take the pair long to reach the counter. Java Chip looked about like Sparklefly felt, but she was still wearing a smile.

"I'd like a mocha latte with whipped cream," Scootaloo placed her order.

"How in in the wide, wide world of Equestria can you even think about something sweet right now?" Sparklefly asked.

"I told you to go easy on the cider," Scootaloo replied.

Sparklefly frowned, ”No you didn't."

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't," Scootaloo grinned wide.

"What'll you have?" Java Chip asked, her voice weary but cheerful.

"Just black coffee, the darkest you have,” Sparklefly said, just trying to keep from being ill.

As Java Chip got started, she asked, "Have either of you seen Swiftlight this morning?"

"Not me," Scootaloo said.

"No," Sparklefly replied. "Maybe he's still out on maneuvers? The corps clerk last night said that he didn't know when they were due back."

“Yeah, but it's just weird. He told me he was going to be here this morning," Java Chip said as she put down Sparklefly's steaming cup of coffee before her. The deep rich aroma filled her nostrils, beginning to push the sickness away. "He can be a jerk sometimes, but he's usually pretty good about being where he says he'll be."

"Maybe he didn't know how long they were going to be out last night?" Scootaloo offered.

Sparklefly took a small sip. The coffee was too hot to drink, and she burned her tongue a little. It was worth it for the relief that grew inside her. She felt herself, for a moment, taken back to her family’s kitchen in Apple Loosa, when her dad had first given her coffee to try.

"Maybe," Java Chip replied as she worked her machines to create Scootaloo's drink. Steam was puffing out of the top of it as she worked. She seemed unconcerned about the leak and unconvinced about Swiftlight’s absence.

"Don't worry," Sparklefly came back to the moment and put the memory away. "If we see him, we'll let him know that you're looking for him."

"Thanks," Java Chip replied with a small smile.

They paid and left, walking slowly back to the training ground on the west side of Ponyville. It was when they reached the perimeter that the coffee had cooled enough for Sparklefly to take a long, satisfying drink. It warmed her inside and out, and she began to feel like herself again. It was not a cold morning, but storm clouds were rolling in. They'd have rain by the evening without fail. Sparklefly caught herself unconsciously rubbing her eye patch as they waited for the shield to be opened.

"Does it hurt?" Scootaloo asked.

Feeling embarrassed, Sparklefly stopped and quickly replied, "No... it just itches a little."

Scootaloo nodded but didn't say any more, for which Sparklefly was grateful. By the time they reached Scootaloo's tent, they had both finished their coffee and discarded the empty cups. Sparklefly checked the time, and found that they were due at morning assembly in only thirteen minutes.

"Right on time," Scootaloo said with a grin as she entered the tent. "What in Equestria?"

"Are you alright?" Sparklefly asked. She was about to follow Scootaloo in to see what was wrong, but Scootaloo came out.

"My squad isn't here," she said with a dumbfounded look on her face.

Sparklefly's head tilted as she considered this. She was immediately concerned for her brother's safety, "Well, we'd best find them. You go check with the guards at the perimeter. I'll see if I can find Drill Sergeant J."

Scootaloo nodded and began heading back the way they’d come. Sparklefly briskly walked in the other direction, but when she arrived at the assembly area, her worry abated, giving way to anger. Scootaloo's squad was there, and they looked horrible. Completely covered in dirt, grime, and sweat, they were now being made to leap into the air from lying down, and then return to that starting position. Every one of them was drenched with sweat.

"What do you think, Featherplume, have they had enough yet?" Drill Sergeant J asked loudly.

"Yes, sir, I do," she replied.

"Five minutes rest!" he bellowed.

Sparklefly was trying to remain calm and assess the situation. When rest was called out, the entire squad collapsed on the ground gasping for air. Her brother was no exception. His chest heaved as he lay on his back. It wounded her to see him like that.

"Drill Sergeant, a word," Sparklefly said.

The donkey and the pegasus instructors quickly moved to her and put themselves at attention.

"Why has this squad been singled out this morning?" Sparklefly asked in a voice low enough to not be heard by anypony else.

"Sir, they performed poorly yesterday, and they are receiving extra attention, sir!" Drill Sergeant J said sharply.

"Is your intention to exhaust them so that they will be continually unable to perform?"

"Sir, no sir."

"Then explain yourself."

Drill Sergeant J made eye contact with Sparklefly for the first time. His no-nonsense persona was not an act. She could see in his eyes nothing but a rigidity that she’d not ever witnessed before. He was hard like a rock, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

She nodded.

"You seem to have personal interest in Cadet Duster, sir," he said.

Sparklefly considered her response, but decided to be direct, "He's my brother."

"I see, sir. I am following your order to make him the best soldier I can, sir," his gruff voice was putting Sparklefly on edge. "Might I suggest, that you let me help him grow up, sir."

She wanted to change things somehow, to help keep him from any agony, but the drill sergeant was correct. Duster had always been a soft-spirited colt. If he were to become a soldier, his best chance to survive was to be trained well. Her heart was heavy, but there was nothing to do but trust the drill sergeants.

“Very well. Carry on," Sparklefly said to him.

Both drill sergeants saluted and went back to Scootaloo's squad. They lay on the earth, still heaving for breath. Sparklefly decided that she should leave before Duster noticed her.

21 - Discovery, Part 5 of 7

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Entering the cave as quietly as possible, Cloud Blazer could already feel fear tingling down his spine. He just knew that there was going to be something hideous waiting for him; he could feel it.

"Good morning, kids!" a cheerful voice broke the silence.

Cloud Blazer turned to see Mr. Cake standing before the counter from Sugar Cube Corner.

"Carrot cupcakes today?"

"You know it!" a young Scootaloo said.

"Thank you, kindly," Apple Bloom chimed in.

"With sprinkles!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Me too!" Cloud Blazer begged. He felt like a giddy colt.

"Coming right up," Mr. Cake replied. "You'll need to keep your strength up."

"Why's that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Full moon tonight," Mr. Cake said.

The light from the moon poured into the shop through the open door, and Cloud Blazer felt strangely drawn to it. Gazing up at the moon, he had the strangest feeling that there was something he was supposed to do.

"Are you ready?" a voice said from beside Cloud Blazer.

He turned and saw a pegasus mare that he didn't know. She was teal with golden eyes. Her mane and tail were blonde or golden; it was difficult to tell by moonlight. She spread her wings, revealing a cutie mark that looked like a movie camera. She was tall and of a strong build.

"I'm ready," Cloud Blazer replied, "but I don't know the way."

"I will take you, but you'll have to lead me," she said.

Had he been awake, Cloud Blazer might have been confused by this. As he was dreaming, it didn't bother him in the slightest. They took flight together, leaving Ponyville behind. They continued on and on, but they didn't seem to actually get anywhere.

"I'm tired of this game!" Scootaloo whined.

"Oh, but I was just starting to have fun," Sweetie Belle squeaked.

Cloud Blazer found himself in the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse.

"It's no fair; you always get to be the pretty princess!" Scootaloo complained.

"I do not!" Sweetie Belle countered.

"Yeah, no offense, but you kinda do," Apple Bloom agreed.

"Well, I called it," Sweetie Belle pouted.

Cloud Blazer sighed, "This is boring!"

They sat quietly for a moment, and then Sweetie Belle leapt onto the table.

"What about a new game," she said in an ominous tone. "What if there were no princesses."

"What kind of a game is that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Like they've all been caught in a powerful spell, and we have to work together to rescue them!" she continued in the same voice.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Scootaloo asked, drawing closer.

"Nopony knows," Sweetie Belle continued mysteriously, "but we'll need the most powerful magic that there is!"

The three sat captivated by Sweetie Belle's imagination for a moment.

A loud bang outside caused all four to scream with fright. The door to their clubhouse was being beaten in.

"What is it?" Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer dashed to the window to see timberwolves swarming all over, and they were at the door. When he turned around, the crusaders were gone, and instead Scootaloo's squad from the Everfree Forest was there, all except Princess Twilight. The door began splintering as the timberwolves pounded away at it.

"Form up at the door!" Scootaloo ordered, and they did so.

"I've got the window," Regal Masquerade said.

Within moments the wooden door shattered, and the timberwolves began ripping through the ponies. They fought hard, but in moments Cloud Blazer was the only one left. He found himself cowering in the corner, completely surrounded. The timberwolves began to laugh at him. The deafening roar was more than he could bear. He sank down, as small as he could, but they just came close, and laughed even harder. Cloud Blazer wanted to die with his friends, but the beasts wouldn't attack him anymore.

"You can't stay here!" a voice shouted at Cloud Blazer. When he looked up, it was the teal pegasus with golden eyes again. "Get up and come through the window, quickly!”

Cloud Blazer looked back at the timberwolves; they were still laughing. The mare kicked him in the ribs.

"We have to go, now!" she barked before she turned and jumped through the window.

He followed her, leaping out and taking flight. She was getting farther away, and as he sped above the tree line after her, a timberwolf leapt up and bit his leg. The stallion cried out in pain and crashed into the orchard.

Cloud Blazer awoke at the same moment of his sudden stop. This caused disorientation, and he thrashed around a moment. Pain shot from his injuries as he settled down. His heart was racing and he had soaked the bedclothes with sweat. It always took him a few minutes to recover after those kind of dreams. He began to settle down, and the fear was soon replaced by deep sorrow as he remembered the situation with Scootaloo.

"Are you okay?" a strangely familiar voice asked.

Cloud Blazer turned to see that the curtain that divided the room was open, and there was a new patient in the other bed. Her head was bandaged across her eyes, and both of her hind legs were wrapped. She was a pegasus, but Cloud Blazer's heart nearly stopped when he saw that she was teal with the same golden mane and tail, just like from his dream. They were cropped short, EUP style.

"Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry," Cloud Blazer finally replied.

"Were you dreaming? You sounded so upset."

“Just a nightmare."

"Oh. I get those too, sometimes...” she replied.

"My name is Cloud Blazer."

"I'm Pixyglitter; nice to meet you," she replied mechanically.

"Have we met before? You seem familiar.”

She laid her head flat on the bed, "Cloud Blazer... I don't think so. Have you been to Manehattan?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"That's where I’m from.”

"I see," he replied.

His new neighbor didn't say anything else, and he wasn't sure what further to talk to her about. It would probably not come out right if he told her he'd been dreaming about her. He decided to keep that to himself for now. Surely it had been a coincidence that she had appeared in his dream. In any case, his mind went back to more lugubrious things. Scootaloo’s words dominated his mind and crushed his spirit. He laid down, quietly soaking his pillow with fresh tears.

21 - Discovery, Part 6 of 7

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Duster coughed. His muscles burned all over, his legs felt like jelly, and his head was pounding. His company was doing crossbow training. He had thought that it might be fun; as it turned out, they weren't actually firing them. They were learning to completely tear them apart and put them back together. As much of a disappointment as it was, he was grateful that they were permitted to do this sitting down. He wasn't sure if he could have made it standing the rest of the day. Doff had actually fainted during their previous exercises, twice. They brought a medic each time, and sent him to the infirmary after the second. Locknload seemed incredibly capable with the disassembly of the weapon. He'd have the entire thing stripped apart and then put back together in a matter of minutes. Moonsliver was equally adept at the mechanical workings of the device. Duster had trouble figuring it out.

"Hey guys," Gunnysack whispered. "I heard that new armor is being forged back home in the Crystal Empire. My sources tell me it can withstand magical attacks."

"Don't believe everything you hear," Locknload said, not taking his eyes off of his third disassembly. "There's no such thing."

"I just hope the armor doesn't cause too much drag and slow down my flight speed," Rolling Thunder said. "I'd rather be faster and take my chances."

Locknload just shook his head. Duster listened quietly and then made another attempt to get his crossbow together. They had walked him through it one time already, but he seemed to have a spare clamp. He just couldn't figure out where it was supposed to go. He caught his sergeant looking at him.

"That one goes in like this," Sergeant Scootaloo said. "See? Once it is in place, it can slide over, allowing the bow to fold." She collapsed her bow, and then opened it up again, sliding the clamp into place with a click. "See here? Now it's locked. It won't collapse unless you press the release here." Another click and the bow spring folded in two. Pushing the release again now that it was folded, Scootaloo was able to remove the clamp.

It was just beginning to make sense. Duster tried to execute the instruction and did manage to get it together, but the clamp popped off when he tried to lock it open. Jewel laughed at him as he got down on the floor and searched for it. They were supposed to be able to go from the folded position into ready to fire within ten seconds, but at this rate it would take Duster closer to a minute. This teardown and rebuild business was another matter entirely. He coughed again as he continued his attempt to assemble the crossbow.

21 - Discovery, Part 7 of 7

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"Well, that was a long day," Scootaloo said. “But at least I got to dig a new latrine instead of filling an old one.”

“I thought for sure you’d be on the other end of it today,” Sparklefly replied.

They were sitting atop Scootaloo’s completed work. Her orange coat was saturated with sweat and dirt that had combined into something like salty mud. She was glad that she’s thought to take off her uniform so it didn't get filthy. It was also much cooler to work without it. Her muscles were all weary, but she was so accustomed to such work that she likely wouldn’t be sore.

“Yeah, Radiant Pyre got in trouble for something, so I got to dig a new one instead.”

The orange pegasus stared expectantly at silver for a moment.

“What?”

“Come on, Sparklefly! You’re an officer. Tell me what he did!”

The lieutenant snorted, “First of all, he’s my superior. They didn’t tell me anything about it. Second, he was obviously fighting.”

Scootaloo’s ears perked up as she leaned closer, “How do you know?”

“Simple, when anypony says they fell and they have a black eye, they were fighting.”

Scootaloo grinned at the gossip as she looked back at the results of her work. She let her mind wander back through the day.

"My squad seems pretty good with the crossbow," Scootaloo said. She then smiled and snorted, “I’d never admit it to them, but a few of them are already better at breaking it down than I am."

She looked up in time to see Sparklefly stop rubbing her eye patch; she decided not to mention it again. Sparklefly had seemed self-conscious about it when they talked before.

“Breaking them down is important, but it won’t matter much if they can’t shoot,” Sparklefly noted.

"Yeah, I guess we’ll find out about that tomorrow." Scootaloo dug around in her discarded combat harness and found her canteen. It was truly amazing how refreshingly wonderful even a sip of water was after hard work. She looked down on the pit she had created with complete satisfaction. "As much as I hate the labor, there is something comforting about it."

"That's not surprising; completion of a task, especially a difficult one, is found cathartic by most.” Sparklefly added, "You have created something, and done it well. It only makes sense that you'd be pleased by that in the end."

"Cathartic?" Scootaloo teased, "I thought you grew up on a farm. Where'd you hear cathartic?"

Sparklefly grinned back at her, "I did used to read a lot."

Scootaloo nodded, "That explains it."

In the silence that followed, Scootaloo’s mind went back to Cloud Blazer. Trying to quickly think of anything to get her mind off of that situation, she asked, “How are your wings?”

Sparklefly regarded her bandages and shrugged, “They still tell me, ‘about a week.’ I’m going to have to learn to fly all over again at this rate. It’s a small matter, considering...”

Hearing a noise, both of them turned to see a guard approaching. Java Chip was walking with him.

"Sirs," the guard said, "This civilian asked to see you and was granted permission. She is not allowed on base without an escort."

"Thank you," Sparklefly replied. "We'll take it from here. Return to your post."

They exchanged salutes and the guard walked back the way he had come.

"Hi Java, what-" Scootaloo began.

Java Chip interrupted in a hushed and frantic tone, ”They've killed him." She seemed incredibly upset and began looking around to make certain no other ponies were nearby.

"What?" Scootaloo was confused and instantly put on edge, unsure how concerned she should be.

"Killed who?" Sparklefly asked the pair stood.

Java Chip was shaking, and tears began flowing from her hazel eyes. "Swiftlight," she said quietly with a quiver in her voice, "They've killed Swiftlight."

Sparklefly looked around casually, and then said, “Both of you, into that ditch, now."

The three of them climbed down into the new latrine that Scootaloo had been digging all afternoon. The scent of freshly disturbed earth and clay was all around them.

"What are you talking about?" Scootaloo asked. "Who killed Swiftlight? There hasn't been an attack."

Java Chip held out a piece of paper. Sparklefly unfolded it and started to read.

The distraught mare added, “I found that this afternoon. I closed early after this morning, and I finally had time to do a proper cleaning... I’ve been so busy with the election that I hadn’t got around to it... I swept that out from under the counter and picked it up off the floor. It must have fallen down there...”

"By Celestia..." Sparklefly said as she lowered the note. “This was dated three days ago. What happened next?"

"Well, I wasn't sure what to think, but I was worried. Swiftlight can be a real jerk, but he doesn't really do pranks. I went to the castle and asked where he was, and they told me that he'd been transferred to another unit. They said he had left this morning and he wouldn't be back." She began sobbing harder now.

Sparklefly gave the note to Scootaloo before embracing Java, “That’s okay, let it out.”

Scootaloo read, 'Dear Java Chip, Whatever you do, don't let anypony see you reading this. You were the only one I knew for certain I could trust. I have discovered something very disturbing. I have reason to believe that there is a plot to overthrow Prince Shining Armor. I don't know who all is involved yet, but I'm certain that General Mane Crusher and some of his officers are part of it. I'm going to try to infiltrate the conspirators and get more information, so I won't be around much. I don't want to draw any attention to you that might get you hurt. No matter what anypony else tells you, I will not leave Ponyville without saying goodbye. If I suddenly disappear, and there is some excuse as to my whereabouts, then I have been found out. That would mean I'm probably dead. If this happens, trust nopony. Just keep your head down and do what you have to do to survive. Destroy this note, and let's hope I'm just being paranoid. Ever yours, Swiftlight’.

Scootaloo sat down as this information began to sink in. A plot to overthrow Shining Amor... EUP officers involved... It just didn't make any sense.

"Do you think it's the changelings?" Scootaloo asked.

"No," Sparklefly replied thoughtfully. "They wouldn't have killed Swiftlight. If changelings were in control of the military forces in Ponyville, they would have simply replaced him. If he has been," Sparklefly hesitated. Java Chip continued crying. "If he has been murdered, then this is a pony conspiracy; we're looking at a coup."

Thunder rumbled distantly. The three were quiet in the bottom of the ditch. Scootaloo just couldn't believe it.

"But why?" she finally broke the silence.

Sparklefly shook her head, "Lust for power, maybe? Who knows. With the princesses out of the way, it might be possible."

Scootaloo shuddered at the thought. She felt more afraid than she had in a long time. "So, what do we do about it?"

"Let me think a minute," Sparklefly replied.

Fear spun into anger, "I don't know if you've noticed, but time is kind of against us just now."

Sparklefly put her hooves up, "Patience. Swiftlight got too close to this and he's probably dead. We have to be extremely careful."

Scootaloo calmed herself with the knowledge that her friend was absolutely correct. She paced back and forth a little in the cramped hole in which they were hiding.

"We do have an advantage," Sparklefly said after a minute or so. "If anypony had thought that Swiftlight had contacted Java Chip, she'd probably be dead by now. That means they have no reason to suspect that we have any knowledge of the conspiracy.”

Scootaloo nodded, "So we have the element of surprise. The problem is, we don't know who all is involved. How do we form ranks against an enemy of unknown strength and disposition?"

Sparklefly tilted her head and considered this, unconsciously rubbing her eye patch again. Scootaloo noticed that she frequently did this while deep in thought.

"Whatever happens, we cannot trust anypony with anything we've talked about down here,” Sparklefly said. “It's just too dangerous for them and for us. That maybe how they caught Swiftlight.”

"Agreed," Scootaloo replied. "We tell nopony about any of this without a good reason. Are you up for that?"

Java Chip nodded. She had cried out for now, but her face was still wet with tears.

"Now, we just need to find a way to get a message to somepony we can trust. We need somepony that has access to Prince Shining Armor," Sparklefly said.

"Normally I'd talk to Twilight Sparkle," Scootaloo said with a shudder. She was still grieved to not know what had happened to the princess. "What about Rainbow Dash? She's still in Cloudsdale preparing for her next assignment.”

Sparklefly nodded, "Yes, she could probably get an audience with him. Are you certain we can trust her?"

Scootaloo gave a look that caused a sheepish grin from Sparklefly before saying, "Yes, she would never betray anypony. We can trust her."

"That's settled; now all we need is a pretext of some kind to get a message to her. I think mailing anything would be far too dangerous," Sparklefly said. "For all we know they've got ponies screening all communications by now... I would if I were them.”

They sat in thoughtful silence. Scootaloo turned over possibilities in her mind, but they were slow in coming. More thunder rumbled overhead, and the first light drops of rain began drizzling down. By the look of them, the other two weren't coming up with anything credible either. A shiver shot through Scootaloo, and the fog cleared from her mind as perfect solution struck her.

"Guys," she said suddenly, "I have an idea!"

22 - Bonds, Part 1 of 8

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Sparklefly’s mane was tickled by the breeze just before dawn as she walked side by side with her comrade and friend.

"Fly fast," deep concern was etched in Sparklefly’s face. "Manehattan is a long way, and you're due back on base in forty-eight hours."

Scootaloo nodded and gave a knowing glance. She had already donned her combat harness, but she had an extra one slung over her armored body. The sergeant walked briskly away, not looking back. Sparklefly's thoughts were consumed with the information they had gleaned from Java Chip only two days before. She knew that Scootaloo must have felt the same. Sparklefly had destroyed the message that Swiftlight had written for fear of it being discovered, and they hadn't spoken of the conspiracy since then. Finding evidence of who could be involved proved impossible through passive observation alone.

The only potential clue that Sparklefly noticed was the unexplained black eye that Captain Radiant Pyre had acquired. Not that it was suspicious of itself, but it had happened the same day that Swiftlight had gone missing. A thin coincidence at best, it wasn't nearly enough evidence to properly suspect him of anything, but Sparklefly was watching for any other signs that he might be involved. Those dark thoughts aside, the last two days had been completely routine. Applejack was settling in as the new mayor of Ponyville. Not surprisingly, the first thing she did was change the emergency farming program to avoid any further desecration of Sweet Apple Acres. She’d decided to leave what had already been done, as there were several acres of oats that had already been planted. That aside, she redirected their available resources and horsepower to developing land around Ponyville for the needed additional farming.

The sun broke the horizon, signaling the beginning of the day. The sky was golden with red clouds accenting the morning. She spent only a moment trying to remember if that meant rain was coming. The weather acting of its own accord was still a new concept, and the pegasus struggled to understand its moods.

It would be time for assembly soon, and Sparklefly began heading to wake Scootaloo's squad. Entering the tent, she found them sound asleep.

"Up, everypony!" she rang loudly. They all began scrambling off of their cots and stood at attention. "We've got assembly in ten. Move it!" she commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" they called back in unison. Duster didn’t make eye contact, but stared ahead as he’d been trained.

Sparklefly smiled to herself as she turned to exit. Scootaloo's squad was definitely showing signs of improvement.

...

Duster coughed as he stood in formation. He felt groggy still from the night before. He must have been sleeping much deeper than he had realized. He coughed again and decided that the climate in Ponyville must have been messing up his sinuses. His muscles were sore all over from the full days of excruciating exertion he had been enduring, and he was pretty sure he had a bruise on his shoulder from knife training the previous day. He was glad that they had used wooden sticks instead of pointed blades. The coughing was about to drive him crazy. Drill Sergeant J had just finished roll call.

"I know you were looking forward to planting today, but it seems that there will be some weather heading in," Drill Sergeant J gestured to the red clouds in the east.

They did seem to be moving in rapidly.

"On account of rain, we'll be cancelling today's scheduled plans.”

“Oh, yay!” Doff quietly celebrated.

Nearly all of the cadets in formation echoed his cheer a little, but Duster was wondering whether they were actually going to get a day off. He doubted it.

Drill Sergeant J continued, "Instead, we're going to perform combat drills on the other side of the Everfree Forest. General Mane Crusher was good enough to volunteer sorties to ensure that the area is clear for us.”

Duster's heart sank. The other side of the forest likely meant they'd be running all morning just to get to the location where the drills would take place. Given the choice, planting would have been preferable.

"Commanders," the donkey bellowed, "Form up your companies in full combat armor, no weights! We move out in fifteen minutes!"

Duster's head pounded as he coughed. There was much shouting as they all sprang into action. Thunder rumbled in the distance as they went to get their gear.

22 - Bonds, Part 2 of 8

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Scootaloo adjusted her goggles against the wind that pressed against her face as wings propelled her and one passenger through the air.

"Thanks for taking me to Manehattan," Sweetie Belle said.

"Don't mention it," Scootaloo replied.

They were flying fast away from Ponyville, heading northeast. Scootaloo was hoping to beat the weather. She adjusted her goggles again.

"You okay down there?"

"Yes, I'm fine," came the nervous reply.

Sweetie Belle had not been too fond of the idea of flying by harness, but Scootaloo had assured her that it was perfectly safe. However, she hadn't told Sweetie Belle the real reason that they were making this flight. Taking a friend to Manehattan to see her sister seemed like it would provide a plausible enough cover to prevent anypony from becoming suspicious. She was fortunate that Brax had approved the leave without much question. There were some advantages to being technically on medical leave.

What she hadn't been able to figure out up to this point was how to uncover any more information on the conspiracy. Scootaloo had briefly entertained the idea that Diamond Tiara might be involved, but she ultimately decided that it wasn't likely. Rotten though she was, staging a coup would be far beneath even her standards.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle.”

"What is it?"

"I wasn't allowed to tell you while we were in town, but we have to make a stop at Cloudsdale on our way.”

"Why?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about it. I have a priority message for Rainbow Dash; it's top secret," Scootaloo evaded as cryptically as she was able. It was true, in a sense. "Don't worry, we won't be there for very long, and I think the Cloudsdale Mall is still open. Maybe you can find a gift for Rarity."

"That's a great idea!" Sweetie Belle seemed excited by the change in plan.

Scootaloo was pleased with herself for misdirecting her friend so easily. This was quite the role reversal. Usually her unicorn passenger would be the one with some scheme or another that she'd be convincing everypony to go along with. Scootaloo felt herself smile until the carrot incident came to mind, which always served to create a frown.

They flew on in silence until they reached Cloudsdale. The trip took longer than normal as they started out heading northeast, directly toward Manehattan until they were out of sight. Scootaloo didn't want to take a chance on anypony knowing that they had actually gone to Cloudsdale instead. That was at least one problem she could deal with. The other problem that had been on Scootaloo's mind was that the inability to know if there were any conspirators already in Cloudsdale. It was a risk they had to take.

The CAP around the floating city intercepted the pair as they drew near and escorted them to an entry point in the magical shield. With the changelings’ ability to fly, nowhere seemed safe anymore. The new security measures in the great floating city certainly would prevent any easy incursion.

Upon landing, they were promptly separated, questioned, searched, and scanned. Scootaloo did her best to remain as pleasant as possible, and maintained that they had come here to avoid weather and stop at the mall. Her travel papers did specify Manehattan as her destination. After causing a twenty-minute delay, the guards made a weak apology for any inconvenience and allowed them to enter the city. They were kind enough to put a spell on Sweetie Belle so she didn't plummet through the clouds and fall to her death.

Passing through a section of shield that the unicorn guards opened for them, the pair entered Cloudsdale. Scootaloo was amazed at how different everything looked. The purple glow of the energy shield discolored everything, but as usual, there were thousands of cadets doing drills. They looked to be a few weeks into their training already. There were also many soldiers about the city, probably on standby, waiting for orders. The changelings would have been insane to even attempt an attack here. After pointing Sweetie Belle in the direction of the mall, Scootaloo walked to the cadet HQ where Rainbow Dash commanded. The guards stopped her at the door.

"No entry permitted," one of them said.

"Sergeant Scootaloo, requesting to see Colonel Rainbow Dash," she said stiffly.

“The colonel is no longer assigned to this office,” a gruff reply came. “Check the Wonderbolt’s barracks.”

It took a bit of searching to track down Rainbow Dash. A guard at the barracks told her to check the war room. There, she was again denied entry.

"Sergeant Scootaloo, requesting to see Colonel Rainbow Dash," she repeated her request.

One of the guards nodded to the other, which turned and disappeared into the building. Scootaloo heard the door lock behind him. She stood there, turning about to watch the pegasi cadets performing flight maneuvers. They were mere specs from where she now stood, but some of them showed real talent. Provided they could handle themselves in a fight, they were going to be valuable assets to the war effort. Scootaloo's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened again, and the guard was standing there. He motioned her to follow, and she did so.

There wasn’t much time to look around as they marched through the command center of all Equestria, but this gargantuan room reminded her of CIC back in Ponyville: maps everywhere. The room was a great hall filled with desks on which the maps sat. At the far end was a set of steps that led to a higher level upon which a large table sat. The high vaulted ceiling made everything seem grandiose. It was fairly quiet inside the headquarters, but there were probably a hundred ponies planning out and assessing the war effort. It didn't take long to reach an office in the side of the building. It somehow seemed a lifetime since she had seen her mentor; in fact, it had been almost a month.

"Hey there, long time no see," Rainbow Dash greeted her from the opposite end of the small room. She still wore a bandage on her wings.

Several other ponies stood around a messy table, which was covered with sloppily stacked piles of papers.

"Hi, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but can I talk to you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Of course! What's on your mind, kid?" Rainbow Dash replied, cool as always.

Scootaloo looked back and forth to the other officers and said, "Well, it's kind of personal."

Putting up a hoof, Rainbow Dash said, "Say no more!" Turning to the others in the disheveled office, she said, "Give us the room. Reconvene here in an hour."

The others cleared the space, the the last one out shutting the door. Scootaloo could feel her heart pounding already in anticipation. She was relieved to have made it this far. Rainbow Dash looked a little concerned, but Scootaloo had the feeling that it was nothing compared to how she was about to feel.

“I see you’ve got a bandage too now,” Rainbow Dash observed.

“Yeah, it’s just a sprain.”

“I hear you. I get mine off tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back in the air again. So, what's going on?" the colonel asked.

"Well, it's not personal, I just had to get rid of the others," Scootaloo began.

Concern on Rainbow Dash's face transformed into curiosity.

"I have received information that there is a plot to overthrow Prince Shining Armor."

The silence in the room grew thick. They stood there, staring at each other.

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash finally asked in disbelief.

"There is going to be a coup," Scootaloo replied as her heart kept thumping loudly. "And if we don't prepare, we may not be able to stop it."

“What are you saying? Are you telling me that changelings have infiltrated our ranks?"

Scootaloo shook her head slowly. "No," she replied, her voice wavering. “Well, maybe. As far as I can tell, this is completely internal."

"Who is involved?"

"I don't know all of them. The only name I have is General Mane Crusher."

"Wow... What evidence do you have?"

"A letter was written to a civilian in Ponyville. It was from Mane Crusher's aide, a Captain Swiftlight that I have been getting to know over the past few weeks. He wrote that he had observed several things that made him believe that there was a plot in progress, and that he was going to investigate further. He also said that if he suddenly disappeared that he had probably been killed by the conspirators. He did suddenly vanish three days ago. At first they kept telling us he was on maneuvers, even though there was no indication of anything else happening in or around Ponyville. Then they finally told us that he had transferred to another unit."

"Are you sure that he wasn't transferred?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He wrote in his letter that no force in Equestria could make him leave without saying goodbye. Also, when we asked about it, the clerk found the transfer order and showed it to us."

"So, a helpful clerk is evidence of a conspiracy?"

"Well, no, not by itself. But combined with everything else... He just seemed to be going to extra lengths to make sure we believed him."

"Show me the letter," Rainbow Dash ordered.

"I can't," Scootaloo hesitated a moment. “Sparklefly destroyed it."

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"We were afraid of being caught with it. If they did kill Swiftlight, none of us are safe.”

"So, let me get this straight," Rainbow Dash took a step forward. "You got a note from a pony you barely know that indicates a conspiracy that he didn't know anything about. Now you can't find him, and the note was destroyed.” She paused before concluding, “You brought me nothing."

"We have to prepare," Scootaloo said, becoming alarmed.

“It’s whispers and hearsay... What would you have me do? March over to Shining Armor and tell him that there might be a conspiracy, but we really don't know anything more than that?"

Scootaloo thought it did sound rather silly when put so succinctly. If the fate of Equestria hadn't been in the balance, it might have been amusing.

"No," Scootaloo said. "I want you to take me to Shining Armor so I can tell him about General Mane Crusher myself."

Rainbow Dash regarded Scootaloo for a moment. "This is a very serious accusation. Do you understand the consequences? Do you realize that it will be your neck on the line?"

Scootaloo stood silently, her gaze falling to the floor.

"What if you are wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked. "This could be the end of your career in the EUP at the very least. I can't help you throw your life away."

Scootaloo looked into Rainbow Dash's magenta eyes and said, "What if I'm right, and we do nothing?"

Rainbow Dash walked away, slowly circling the messy table. Her head nodded and shook as she considered all of this to herself. She came around and stopped facing toward the corner where Tank, her pet tortoise, was sleeping on a pillow. The older mare sighed, but not with exasperation. It was like a caring but hopeless expression.

"For all our sakes, I hope you're wrong. But for your sake, I hope you're right. Wait here. I’ll get Shining Armor."

22 - Bonds, Part 3 of 8

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The silent darkness was shattered by a thousand blasts of magical energy that ripped through the night. The shouting and chaos that ensued were immense, but the pegasus mare didn’t panic. She expertly navigated the air fearlessly with her passenger. She’d never been afraid of combat. She was invincible. At least, that was how she’d felt right up until the moment when everything changed. The last thing she’d seen was a unicorn and pegasus pair ahead of her. As the unicorn was about to return fire, they were hit and spun wildly. The hostile magic intended for changelings was released and struck her full in the face.

That hot blue energy burned into her vision, melting through her goggles and into her eyes. She shrieked in pain as fear became real to her. The noise, the roar of battle, became deafening. She heard her passenger shouting at her, trying to calm her down. The air was alive with fire and death, and she couldn’t see. There was no way to get her bearings. The earth pony stallion she carried kept talking. She listened to him as he guided her down, down, down. His forced calm was the only thing she could hold on to. The last thing she could remember was the sound of something snapping as his final cry went up. She shook her head, trying to forget the horror of the memory that was still as fresh in her mind as the moment it had happened.

The pattering of the rain against the hospital room window was incredibly soothing. It was wonderfully melodic to Pixyglitter's ears. It was like the world was playing a sad song that echoed how she felt. Each droplet was a note, continuing in endlessly nuanced harmonies against the glass. There was something different about it. Somehow, it was as if she had never really heard the rain before. She had, of course, been in rain many times, but she hadn't had as much time to just listen.

Loneliness and boredom filled her days now. The nurse had been by to check on her, but that seemed like it had been hours before. Cloud Blazer, the patient in the bed next to her, wasn't awake, but that was normal for him. He seemed to sleep most of the time since she had arrived. He usually had a visitor watching over him, but she couldn't hear anypony else. Left with her thoughts, the feeling of loss grew heavier with every passing moment. She was now blind, and nothing could change that.

The sound of hoof steps disturbed Pixyglitter's thoughts. She had become rather amazed to discover that she could tell many ponies apart by only the sound of their walk. This one was light on its feet but made strong, decisive steps. Upon entering the room, the steps grew quieter, as though it were now trying to be silent. The unknown pony approached Cloud Blazer's bed and stood there near him for a little while. Then it moved into a nearby chair and sat. Pixyglitter could hear the chair creaking under the weight of the visitor. It sat there quietly for a time before the tell-tale sound of breath changing gave away the fact that they had fallen asleep. Once again, Pixyglitter was left alone with her thoughts.

...

Cloud Blazer walked in the dead of night. He was aware that he was dreaming, which was an odd sensation. He recognized the mare that was with him in this unconscious shadow world. Pixyglitter walked along side him as they crept down a mine shaft. Deeper and deeper it wound, until the last light of the moon had faded.

"I can't see to go further," Pixyglitter said.

"Me neither," he replied.

“Great, now what?"

As Cloud Blazer considered his response, his eyes adjusted to detect the faintest torch light ahead. He nodded toward it, and he could see her begin to creep forward in the darkness. When they reached the corner, they could see a small fire blazing on a torch that was sticking out of the wall. The rocky cave-like tunnel was lined with them. The two ponies exchanged a smile and continued on. They descended the gentle slope until they came around to a place where there were two tunnels. Cloud Blazer eyed the separate paths, but they were practically identical. Both were lit with torches and both continued downward.

"What's your pick," Cloud Blazer asked, "left or right?"

"What?"

"Well, there's two of us. There's two directions. I'm sure we'll find what we're here for if we split up."

Shaking her head, the mare replied, "I think we should stay together."

"It's not like there's anything dangerous in here. This cave has been abandoned for years. Besides, this is just a dream."

Her face contorted into a near panic, "Don't leave me alone!"

"Are you okay?" he asked, becoming concerned.

"I'm fine; its... I just... I don't like being alone."

"Okay, we'll go together," Cloud Blazer replied softly.

He was just beginning to wonder whether the real Pixyglitter had the same fear when the cave split open and everything burned bright white. His injuries seared like fire. He felt like he was being ripped apart at the joints. Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped, and Cloud Blazer now stood in front of Princess Twilight's castle in Ponyville again.

"Always here," he said to himself.

"What do you mean?" Pixyglitter asked, approaching him from behind.

"My dreams. I always end up here eventually. Also," he looked up at the full moon directly overhead. "It is always at night, and the full moon is always directly overhead."

"Did you find them?"

"Find what?" Cloud Blazer turned to Pixyglitter.

Her eyes were glowing white, "Find the keys to open the door." Her voice sounded strange. It was far away and booming; the echo rebounded from every building in Ponyville.

That was another common element of his dreams now. There was a door, usually in the castle that needed to be opened. There were always five locks, and he didn't have the keys. He was wondering whether to go into the castle when he became completely disoriented. Everything spun and went dark. Pain began throbbing from each of his healing injuries, pulsating in rhythm with his own heartbeat. Then he could hear talking, but he couldn't make it out at first.

As Cloud Blazer awoke, the dream faded, and things that had seemed so clear only moments before became as nonsense once again to be ignored by his conscious mind.

"Well, it's fine to make your acquaintance," Apple Bloom said.

"I'm just glad somepony else is here. It gets too quiet sometimes," Pixyglitter replied.

Cloud Blazer opened his eyes and looked about. Apple Bloom was over by Pixyglitter's bed. He decided that he must actually be awake now, as he was in pain, and Pixyglitter was bandaged up. So far, she was always in perfect health in his dreams. Also, his heart felt heavy again from the rejection he had suffered.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Cloud Blazer said. "Would you get me some water?"

Turning to face him, Apple Bloom smiled, "Good to see you too." She then left the room on her mission.

"You have great friends," Pixyglitter said.

"Yeah," Cloud Blazer replied. "They are pretty awesome. Have you had any visitors?"

She didn't answer, but simply lay still on her bed. The sound of the rain coming down outside filled the silence. Cloud Blazer wondered about the extent of her injuries, but given her responses to him in general, he thought it better not to ask just yet.

22 - Bonds, Part 4 of 8

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Duster was completely drenched as rain came down in heavy sheets in the Everfree Crater. His head was swimming, but he was not about to lose his squad in this mess. He wouldn't give Drill Sergeant J the satisfaction. The donkey instructor was only observing for the moment. Sissy didn’t seem to be having any trouble, and he wasn’t about to fall short where she could see him either. Their platoon’s objective was to cross the crater in formation to reach a designated position on the other side from where they began. They slid and slipped in the mud as they went. Duster coughed, and several times had nearly lost his balance.

"Keep up!" Locknload growled at Doff. He was the acting sergeant while Scootaloo was on leave.

Doff stumbled, splashing down face first in the mud. Duster stopped to quickly help him up, and they continued moving forward.

“Thanks,” his comrade spoke quietly.

“Don’t mention it,” Duster whispered back.

"Hold position!" Sissy called back in a hushed tone.

She made a motion with her hoof that was echoed by the sergeants, prompting the entire platoon to drop down into the mud.

They lay quietly, the rain beating incessantly down upon them. Duster was just realizing that he couldn't smell the rain or the mud when he saw another platoon moving through the thick sheets of precipitation. For this simulation, Sissy’s platoon was wearing green bands around their left fore-legs, and they were enemies of anypony wearing red bands. If Sissy chose to engage, they would try to take the other ponies’ colors as evidence of a kill. The other platoon was wearing red, and they also had stopped. Duster was having difficulty discerning what they were doing.

Sissy began making motions, two of the squads began crawling off to the right. Locknload quietly ordered his squad left. Duster and the rest of them crawled through the mud, working their way around the flank. Clyde's squad was with them. When they finally stopped, Duster couldn't even see Sissy anymore. Jewel, who was next to Duster, looked rather pitiful. The rain had washed all of her makeup away. She was quite a sight compared to how she normally presented herself. Why she bothered to smuggle makeup in and put it on was anypony’s guess.

"Prepare to charge," Locknload whispered, and everypony in the squad echoed the whisper all the way to the back of the group.

Everypony had their hooves down, ready to jump into action. Duster felt a little dizzy. Suddenly, there was a commotion from the red-banded platoon ahead. This was a signal that one of the other squads had either been spotted or engaged. Almost as one, they leapt up, found traction, and galloped directly into the red platoon, which had been forming up against their middle. With extreme precision, both flanks of the red platoon were hit at once. Duster actually managed to take hold of one red band, pulling it free, before a stray hoof caught him in the face. He became completely disoriented and fell over. His head began pounding. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see; his vision had become blurred. Something was wrong; he knew he hadn't been hit that hard. Unable to function, Duster stayed on the ground and covered his head, hoping he he wouldn't get trampled in the chaos as the world spun around him.

...

Sparklefly was rather pleased with how her platoon performed the mock attack. They really caught their adversaries off guard and had it been a real fight, it would have been a slaughter. They sorted through the aftermath and discovered that they had taken every red band from the other platoon and had lost only eight of their own. The pouring rain had soaked them through and through. Drill Sergeant J was shouting orders to the others when Sparklefly heard yelling from her left.

"LT! We've got a problem!" one of the cadets sounded alarmed.

Sparklefly made her way through the mix of cadets to discover Locknload was the one making the noise. Duster was on the ground. She knew that no matter what, she could not appear vulnerable in front of her platoon. She checked her own feelings, burying them for the moment.

"What happened?" Sparklefly asked flatly.

"I'm not sure," Locknload replied. "We found him like this after the skirmish."

Jewel spoke up, "I saw it happen. He took a hoof to the face. I didn't think he'd been hit very hard, but then he sort of wobbled and fell over."

Duster was writhing in the mud. "I don't feel good," he groaned woozily.

"What in Celestia's kingdom is this?" Drill Sergeant J yelled as he arrived on the scene. "This is no time for a nap! On your hooves, Cadet Duster!"

Her brother rolled a little, and as he tried to stand up, he tipped over, splashing in the mud again. Sparklefly noticed then that he still had one of the colored bands that he had taken from the other platoon during the skirmish. At that moment, she felt her chest swell as she filled with pride.

"I did not give you permission to fall over, soldier!" Drill Sergeant J was right on Duster, yelling in his ears. "Do you think you'll get time to lay down in battle? You'll get yourself and your whole squad killed!"

Duster tried again to stand as the donkey continued yelling and swearing at him, but he fell over again. The drill sergeant kicked Duster in the flank.

"Get up!" J yelled. He kicked again, "Get up!"

Duster lay flat now, apparently unconscious. Sparklefly’s heart began pounding in fear.

"Wow, talk about a complete ass," Quickbeam said quietly. He didn't say it quietly enough.

Sparklefly was about to respond to this, but Drill Sergeant J was already on Quickbeam, striking him in the face and swearing. That being taken care of, she turned her attention back to Duster. Everypony else was now standing at attention.

"Moonsliver and,” Sparklefly looked for another pony that had lost their green arm band, “Digger, I want you two to take Cadet Duster over to the medic tent set up on the west side, where we entered the crater."

They saluted and struggled to pick him up. Locknload assisted them, and then the pair took Duster away into the downpour. Quickbeam looked as if he would have a black eye and a busted lip from this encounter with the enraged donkey. Sparklefly didn't like his methods, but it seemed that he would be making tough soldiers. This entire group was coming together much faster than hers had when she’d trained in Cloudsdale.

"Settle down," Sparklefly ordered. "We still need to reach our objective. Let's move out."

They continued in the rain. The lieutenant felt equally proud of and concerned for her brother.

22 - Bonds, Part 5 of 8

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Scootaloo waited nervously in the small room for Rainbow Dash to return. The mess of paperwork and maps seemed to make little in the way of sense. It was mostly field reports that didn’t seem to have any common thread to the cursory glance she had given them. The clutter didn’t stop at the table. Scores of overlapping maps and reports had been attached all over two of the walls. There was a thematic circling of different passages and areas on the maps, but it was a complete jumble.

The door opened with a low squeak. The prince was flanked by two of his personal guards with Rainbow Dash in tow. The guards positioned themselves near the door with their backs against the wall. The other two approached the end of the table nearest the door, opposite Scootaloo.

"I remember you," Prince Shining Armor said dryly as he entered. His pale blue eyes looked nearly gray. "You were a flower filly at my wedding."

Scootaloo was a little surprised that he had recognized her. That had been many years before. While not always the most adept at reading emotion in others, Scootaloo could see a deep sadness in Shining Armor. She quickly surmised that this was, no doubt, due to the disappearance of Princess Cadence and the other alicorns. The doors having been shut behind them, the five were now alone.

"I've come as you requested," Shining Armor said flatly. "What did you need to tell me?"

Scootaloo took a breath and tried to swallow a lump that was forming in her throat.

"Your majesty," she began, "I have heard the most distressing news. I have reason to believe that you are going to be betrayed. Members of the EUP are going to attempt a coup."

He stared at her blankly: either in disbelief or shock.

“Present your proof,” he finally spoke in the same dry tone.

“I have no solid evidence," she replied cautiously. "The suspicion began with Captain Swiftlight of General Mane Crusher's corps. He was the general's aide. He'd been observing things that seemed strange, and he started his own investigation. He is missing as of three days ago."

"I suggest you get to something relevant," Prince Shining Armor warned.

The lump grew heavier in Scootaloo’s throat as she continued, ”He left a letter that described his concerns, and added that if he went missing without telling anypony that he was probably dead, murdered by the conspirators. The letter, we felt compelled to destroy for fear the conspirators would catch us with it."

"Who are, 'we'?"

"Myself, Lieutenant Sparklefly, and a civilian by the name of Java Chip. She was the one that brought us the letter."

After another eternal moment of silent thought, the prince suggested, ”Don't you think it more likely that this captain was angry with the general and has gone AWOL?"

Scootaloo hadn't considered this, but she didn't think it possible.

"I knew Captain Swiftlight," she defended, "He never spoke ill of the general. In fact, Swiftlight had told me on more than one occasion where he and the general agreed that our overall war effort was not being handled as effectively as it should be." As those final words escaped Scootaloo's mouth, she realized that any other way to phrase that would have been preferable, but it was too late.

“He said this to you?”

“Yes.”

The prince sighed, “This is hear-say.”

Scootaloo became alarmed, just as she had when Rainbow Dash had dismissed her claims. Her mentor had a look of caution on her face.

“You have to act!” Scootaloo blurted out.

“If we start fighting amongst ourselves, then the changelings have already won.

“If you don’t prepare, Mane Crusher has already won!”

It suddenly felt as if the air had been sucked from the room.

"You have an incredible amount of gall, young mare," the prince said with a coldness in his voice that Scootaloo had never heard from him before. He began walking around the table toward the young mare, "You come in here, with absolutely no proof, and accuse one of my most trusted generals?"

Once again, it did sound silly when it was said so concisely. He was now in front of her, nose to nose. Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Silence!" Prince Shining Armor’s voice boomed, his eyes magically flashing red for a moment. "You will return to your unit, and you will not speak of this matter ever again to anypony; do you understand me? You do not accuse any pony on whom I depend without evidence."

"Your majesty," Rainbow Dash stepped forward.

"Not one word, Colonel," the prince said hotly without even looking at the Wonderbolt colonel. She stopped dead in her tracks.

To Scootaloo, he continued, "I have heard of you and the hero of Canterlot. It is only because of your reputation that I'm not having you locked up for making false charges and spreading dissent. Don't make the mistake of thinking I'll be that lenient again."

Scootaloo stood there silently at attention. She wanted to cry, but was far too afraid to do so.

"Get out," Shining Armor said with finality.

Without a word, she and Rainbow Dash turned and walked quickly out, through the War Room and finally outside. Scootaloo's eyes were fogging, but she swallowed the tears and sadness. There would be time to mend her bruised ego later. Scootaloo had to figure out what to do next to prevent a catastrophe. She was convinced of two things: that there was a coup being planned, and nopony was doing anything to stop it. Presently, she was unable to assess her emotional state, but she was quivering as she walked out into the day. It wasn't panic, but she was having a heightened state of thought shooting rapidly through her brain. Unfortunately, it was fueled by adrenaline, and none of it was useful. Scootaloo turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked mortified.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm..." Scootaloo trailed off, wanting to apologize, but not sure she actually had anything about which to be sorry.

"Just don't," Rainbow Dash replied. "I knew I was putting my neck on the line for you today. That's what friends do."

Without another word, Rainbow Dash turned and walked away. Scootaloo could tell that she was deeply troubled by the events that had unfolded. The multitude of emotions that Scootaloo herself was feeling began to take shape as she watched her friend, her mentor walk away. Anger was the lone surviving feeling that emerged. She had patterned her life after the things that Rainbow Dash had taught her, and to have her own integrity questioned so blatantly was infuriating.

Turning and walking quickly, the soft cloudy ground made stomping pointless. She was trying to save Prince Shining Armor; she was trying to save everypony, if only they would listen. Blinded by hot feelings, Scootaloo cantered along briskly through Cloudsdale, becoming oblivious to almost everything around her. The next thing she knew, she had found Sweetie Belle in a park near the mall.

"Hey, Scootaloo! I'm over here," Sweetie Belle called out cheerfully.

Somehow, the happiness of the greeting combined with the bright sunlight only served to frustrate Scootaloo even more as she walked over to her friend.

“Look at this fabric I found.”

“Let’s go,” she spoke directly.

"Are you alright?" Sweetie Belle replied, concern written on her face.

Shaking her head, Scootaloo said, "I'll be fine, but we need to get going.”

They walked together in silence to one of the exits in the city. With the shield up, there were only a few places to get out. It was different than how it had been before; the city was so open that one could fly in or out at any point back then: another casualty of the war. After getting past the guards, they worked quickly hooking Sweetie Belle back into Scootaloo's harness. Skipping the double-check of everything, Scootaloo took to the air. They gained altitude, and the city shrank in the distance as they flew east north east toward Manehattan. Rage was boiling inside, which was making cohesive thought difficult.

Sweetie Belle broke the silence, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes!" Scootaloo practically shouted back.

"You don't have to bite my head off."

"Well, stop pestering me, then!"

“Scootaloo, I'm not trying to be a bother; I'm just concerned."

“Well quit it!”

“If that’s how you’re going to be, then fine! Celestia forbid that I’m worried for my friend!”

"Just shut up!" Scootaloo yelled, hitting against Sweetie Belle’s back with her hooves.

There was a metallic snapping sound, and suddenly Scootaloo felt much lighter. It only took only a second to realize what had happened, and then Sweetie Belle let out a bloodcurdling scream confirming the fear. The harness clasp had come loose, and Sweetie Belle was in free-fall, horror filling her green eyes as she tumbled.

Scootaloo went immediately into a dive and closed the distance between them. Sweetie Belle was flailing about in a panic as she screamed. This caused two problems: she was falling faster because of it, and it would be dangerous for Scootaloo to get close. The pegasus quickly checked the distance to the ground. They had plenty of space to arrest the fall, she just had to calm her friend first.

Scootaloo yelled to her, "Stop kicking and lay out flat like I showed you!"

Sweetie Belle screamed, "Help me!" as she continued to fall.

"You're going to be okay!" Scootaloo yelled back. "Just stop kicking and I'll grab you!"

Sweetie Belle did as Scootaloo had instructed, and in a moment the pegasus closed the gap, grabbing her friend and extending her wings. She then oriented herself facing down at first, and then tilted up, using her momentum to climb out of the dive. All in all, they only used up about half of their altitude in the excitement. Scootaloo held Sweetie Belle firmly in her grasp as they glided down to the ground. When they touched down, Scootaloo was ready connect the harness and get into the air again. They had landed in an area that was not controlled by EUP patrols, making it extremely unsafe. Sweetie Belle was crying, and pushed Scootaloo away, hard.

Sweetie Belle screamed, “What is the matter with you?”

“What?”

“Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

The anger gone for the moment, Scootaloo replied, "I'm sorry; the harness came apart. I didn't do it on purpose."

Sweetie Belle, on shaky legs, sank to the ground, still crying and trying to catch her breath. Scootaloo scanned about, but didn't see anything threatening, timberwolves or otherwise.

Scootaloo spoke softly, “Hey, I would never drop you on purpose. Are you okay?”

Between sobs, Sweetie Belle nodded. The pegasus approached and hooked the harnesses together again. This time, she double-checked the connection to make certain it was correct. If the latch wasn’t secured properly, it could cause a false catch. She’d been warned about it when she was a cadet, but this was the first time she had actually experienced the phenomenon. Flapping her wings, she lifted off, bringing them just above the ground. Scootaloo pushed against Sweetie Belle, but this time the harness held like it was supposed to.

“Everything’s okay now," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle didn't reply as they climbed back up into the sky, again heading toward Manehattan. The pegasus was glad that they hadn't come down on top of a pack of timberwolves; now she just hoped that the rest of this trip would be without incident. Her mind continued turning over the coming crisis.

22 - Bonds, Part 6 of 8

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Duster's head was swimming, and he felt completely miserable as he marched along after one of the medics. It hadn’t taken them any time at all to diagnose him. He had contracted the fever that was sweeping through Baltimare unchecked; it was the same illness that two of his younger siblings, Thunderfly and Shimmerpuff, had caught. A little time had helped his vision return. Though he was on his hooves, it took all of his strength to keep moving.

Upon arrival at a quarantine tent, Duster was dismayed to discover that there were already a dozen other patients with the same symptoms. All of them had enlisted or transferred from Baltimare in the last week. The ill stallion felt himself wobble, so he widened his stance to stay on his hooves.

After stripping off his gear and towel drying him, the medic led Duster to a bed, where he laid down without hesitation. The pounding in his head was easier when laying down, but he had no more energy. All he could do was stay put and rest, and he wasn't about to object to that plan. His mind was still working, but his body was far too overcome by the sickness for him to be of use to anypony. Coughing filled the air all around as Duster drifted away into dreamless sleep.

...

‘A dream; this must be a dream,’ Pixyglitter hoped to herself. There were fiery wolves all around, snarling and slashing at her. They stung her eyes with smoke and embers that flew threw the air and burned as she struggled against them. No matter how hard she fought, they kept hurting her. In desperation, she took flight to escape, but then flaming changelings blazed their way across the sky to intercept her. Every way she tried to flee, she would be cut off. Eventually, succumbing to the assault, she fell down, and the conflagration surrounded her. All hope was lost, leaving only fear. Suddenly, a pegasus broke through, kicking the timberwolves away.

"Follow me!" the brown paint stallion yelled to her. His emerald green eyes almost spoke to her in a way that delivered meaning beyond the capability of words.

She followed, and they took to the sky. The changelings came, and he fought them away, protecting her. Day turned to night as darkness consumed earth and sky. The moon was large and bright overhead, and then it spoke.

"Come to me!" a chorus-like voice boomed, blasting the flaming beasts into wisps of smoke and driving them away.

"It wants me to come to it?" Pixyglitter asked the stallion.

He shook his head, "No, she wants both of us."

Suddenly they were standing in front of a castle. It looked like the one she had seen in Ponyville, where the citizens had taken refuge during the siege. Pixyglitter had been there when it ended. While she hadn't come face to face with any changelings that day, she had personally taken care of a few timberwolves.

"Let's go," he said to her.

"I can't go with you," Pixyglitter replied. "I don't even know you."

"If we don't go together, we won't make it at all. But you do know me.” He looked at her with a puzzled expression. “I’m Cloud Blazer."

Pixyglitter awoke fitfully as everything went dark. She was disoriented for a moment, but then remembered that she was in a hospital bed. She stopped thrashing just as a voice spoke to her. It was Apple Bloom.

"Now just hang on there; are you alright?"

Calming herself, Pixyglitter replied, "Yes, thanks. I'm fine now."

"You startled us when you started jerking around like that," Cloud Blazer said.

"Really, I'm okay," she replied as she caught her breath. "It was just a... just a dream."

"I get those sometimes too," Cloud Blazer spoke with a knowing tone.

"Yeah," Pixyglitter sighed. "I don't usually remember mine, but they've been more frequently bad since..." she trailed off and gestured at her bandaged eyes. They made no audible reply.

"Well, I can't say they'll get better. Mine just keep getting more strange," Cloud Blazer said.

"How about we talk about something else?" Apple Bloom suggested. "Maybe we can get your mind off of it."

"Thanks," Pixyglitter felt somewhat relieved. "I'd like that."

22 - Bonds, Part 7 of 8

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Sparklefly frowned in response to the medical report at which she was looking. The entire battalion had been recalled from the crater, and now the officers were meeting about this problem. Including Duster, twenty-four recruits from Baltimare were already incapacitated by the sickness. They hadn’t taken time to get cleaned up, and all were muddy and soaked.

"The medics recommend we quarantine everypony by the region they came from for now," Brax said.

The others all nodded in agreement.

Captain Radiant Pyre asked, "What are the chances that they've already infected others?"

Brax looked rather grim, “Reports indicate that this particular virus is contagious before symptoms manifest. I've been informed that it starts with a persistent cough, but they believe it is contagious even before that for at least a day, maybe two. They're calling it the Baltimare Fever."

Somepony coughed. Sparklefly rubbed her eye patch as she considered the gravity of this situation. It was possible that everypony in the battalion had been exposed to the infected. If even only a few dozen had caught the illness, there was no telling how far it could spread. More immediately, she was worried about Duster. He'd been pushing himself pretty hard through various strenuous activities in his training. If that weakened him, the virus might be even more dangerous. She needed to find a way to help him.

"As there is no cure for this yet," Brax continued, "we are taking the precaution of enacting a total quarantine of the training grounds effective immediately. Anypony can come in, but nopony goes out."

Sparklefly realized how fortunate their timing was. If Scootaloo hadn't left that morning, she'd have been trapped here also. Of course, there was still a chance that she'd been infected, and given her traveling, there's no telling how many more might be exposed to the virus. That could be bad if they didn't have any medicine to fight it. Sparklefly’s mind wandered for a moment as Brax continued talking, and then she remembered something Pibs had said while in the Everfree forest. There was a pause in the discussion, so she decided to take the opportunity.

"Major Brax, Sir," Sparklefly said.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"The first time I was in the Everfree Forest, we had a botanist with us by the name of Corporal Pibs. She showed us a moss that acts as a fever reducer. With your permission, I would be able to collect it and bring it back here."

Brax shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, but the quarantine is already in effect. No pony leaves."

"If I may," Captain Radiant Pyre began, "There would be little to no risk of spreading any infection. If a small team goes directly into the forest and comes directly back, we shouldn't contact anypony to infect."

"Do you know what to do with this moss once you have it?" Brax asked.

"No, sir," Sparklefly replied, “but I would bet anything that the zebra, Zecora, would know how to use it."

Brax shook his head again. "No, we're not going to risk infecting anypony else. The quarantine will stand."

Sparklefly considered her options, but there were none. If there were a way to contact somepony outside that could get the moss for them, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, the EUP was still restricting civilian access to the Everfree Forest. On the other hoof, Scootaloo was already outside, but she wouldn't be returning for at least another day and a half.

"In the meantime," Brax continued, “all drills are cancelled. It will be up to the medics to keep fevers down and everypony hydrated. Go get yourselves cleaned up. We will continue to meet at dawn, noon, and dusk every day until further notice. Dismissed.”

They all separated and began exiting the tent.

Sparklefly decided that she'd make sure and let all of the guards know to not let Scootaloo inside before Sparklefly could talk to her. She was the only EUP soldier that had definitely seen the moss before. She would be their best shot at gathering it.

Captain Radiant Pyre spoke under his breath as he passed Sparklefly, “He should have let us go get that medicine.”

The mare shrugged and answered, “It’s a small matter.”

He continued walking away. Sparklefly was certain that Scootaloo would be able to get it for them. Somepony would also have to get a message to Zecora to bring her up to speed on the plan. There wasn't anything else to do but wait.

...

Arrival in Manehattan was the same routine as Cloudsdale. Scanned once, move along, and scanned again. Scootaloo's whole body tingled uncomfortably every time they did it.

"I do not like that, not one bit," Sweetie Belle groused after they were through the checkpoint.

"I hear you, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo replied.

The unicorn did seem much happier now that they were on the ground again. Scootaloo's wings were aching already from the flight. Manehattan was a long distance from Ponyville, but it seemed much farther with another pony as a payload. Scootaloo's own mood was improved somewhat, but she was still concerned about the events of the day.

She had thought that getting to Cloudsdale to warn Prince Shining Armor about the coup was going to be the hard part. She had never imagined that getting him to believe her would even be an issue. Another concern that had been growing for some time was her newfound propensity to become enraged so easily. That stunt with Sweetie Belle could have gotten one of them killed. Scootaloo found herself wishing she could return to Ponyville immediately to tell Sparklefly what had happened, but if she went home early, it might draw attention to her behavior. That would be the worst thing she could do.

They walked through the bustling streets of Manehattan while Scootaloo wrestled with these thoughts and tried to keep calm with this new knowledge. Sweetie Belle was leading the way, looking at all of the buildings with a bit of wonder. They were funneled with crowds of civilians around one area that the EUP was using for training that day. There was a great deal of shouting coming from over that way. Scootaloo mused that Lighthoof was probably in there, griping at his cadets. After about a half hour of wandering through the crowd-filled streets, Sweetie Belle stopped and turned to Scootaloo.

"Where does Rarity live?"

Scootaloo felt silly for letting Sweetie Belle lead the way for this entire time when she didn't actually know where she was going. "Oh, um," Scootaloo began looking about to get her bearings. "Where are we?"

Sweetie Belle giggled a moment, "How am I supposed to know?"

Scootaloo snorted a laugh. "Let's go this way," she pointed her bandaged hoof to the east. She’d hardly noticed that she was walking on it again, almost all traces of the injury having faded.

They continued on, but it didn't take Scootaloo long to figure out where they were. They had actually been heading more or less in the correct direction.

"She lives in here?" Sweetie Belle squeaked when she saw the high-rise apartment building towering in front of them.

"She sure does," Scootaloo said as she pushed her way into the rotating glass door at the entrance.

Sweetie Belle seemed rather awed by the structure. Scootaloo wondered whether that was how she had reacted when she'd seen it the first time. One thing was for certain; if Sweetie Belle liked this, she was really going to like the view from her sister's apartment. As the elevator climbed higher and higher, Scootaloo began to feel a little nervous. The last time that Rarity and Sweetie Belle had seen each other, it had been rather unpleasant to say the least. Combining that fact with the current situation, this could well go horribly wrong. On the other hoof, that had been several years ago. Maybe time had softened their tempers. When the elevator door opened, Scootaloo realized that her mouth was dry. She led on, as if she were unconcerned with any of these things. Her hooves felt heavy as she lead Sweetie Belle to the door and knocked.

Rarity's muffled voice called from inside the apartment, "Who's there?"

"It's us, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.”

"Hey sis!" Sweetie Belle practically shouted.

"My dear! This is a pleasant surprise!"

The door opened wide as Rarity motioned them in. Sweetie Belle and Rarity exchanged a big hug.

Rarity added, “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

Scootaloo's heart was pounding now, and she knew that she had no choice but to tell them.

"I have a confession," Scootaloo began. They both looked at her, quizzically. "I lied to both of you. Neither one of you told me to tell the other that you were sorry."

Shock overcame their faces. An unbearably deafening silence filled the next moment. All the fears and what ifs were now jetting through Scootaloo's mind. She only held the single hope that she hadn't made matters worse between them. Suddenly, Rarity pulled Sweetie Belle close into a hug.

"Well, I may not have told her to say it, but I'm afraid I behaved simply dreadfully the last time we spoke! Would you ever forgive me?" Rarity sounded genuinely apologetic.

"Yeah, about that," Sweetie Belle said as she pawed at the carpet with a hoof. "I know I was upset, but I shouldn't have lashed out like I did. I'm sorry, sis."

"Oh!" Rarity exclaimed as they embraced again.

Scootaloo sighed with relief.

"You're not off the hook!" Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo's gaze found her.

Sweetie Belle continued, "You lied to both of us to make us think the other was sorry first so we'd come see each other!” A terse expression slowly formed a grin, “When did you get so sneaky?"

Scootaloo snorted a laugh, "Sweetie Belle, who do you think I learned it from?"

The sisters giggled, still holding each other as if to make up for lost time. The eastern sky was darkening as evening began taking hold. It was a great comfort to Scootaloo that at least one of her missions had been successful. There was nothing she could do about the other one just now. She needed to get back to Ponyville; Sparklefly would know what to do.

22 - Bonds, Part 8 of 8

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Pixyglitter and Cloud Blazer stood upon the surface of the moon. They began walking side by side upon the face of it, a bright silvery dust beneath their hooves. Each filled with a giddiness, it was unlike any dream either of them had previously experienced. Cloud Blazer suddenly stopped.

"Look!" he said as he pointed up into the sky.

Following his gaze, Pixyglitter began to ask, "Is that...?" She didn't have to finish.

"It is.”

The world hung above, suspended in the blackness. All of Equestria could be seen laid out before them. They stood, captivated by the beauty, wondering at how far away they must be for it to appear so small. Cloud Blazer could clearly see the oceans, mountains, and rolling plains that formed the land. Near the center would be Canterlot, and Cloudsdale must be nearby. Ponyville would be to the south, but he couldn't see it. Pixyglitter was in complete awe. They stayed like this for what must have been several minutes, then they looked at each other uncertainly. Normally the subconscious mind would create actions in addition to context of a dream, but everything was so quiet and vivid here. It was as if they had stumbled into some world that existed on a different level of consciousness.

"Now what?" Pixyglitter asked.

Cloud Blazer shrugged, "We could go exploring. I've never been to the moon before."

She smiled at him, and her golden eyes seemed to twinkle. They began galloping across the barren plain. The shimmering silver dust kicking up in their wake; they ran far and fast. Before long, they came upon some rolling hills. They charged up the first, and Cloud Blazer threw himself down, rolling down the hill like a yearling, laughing all the way. With the flapping of wings, Pixyglitter flew over to him.

"You are covered in moon dust!" she teased.

He jumped up onto all four hooves and shook himself off; the silvery dust sparkled in every direction as it fell back to the ground.

Breathing deeply, he said, "I have never felt more alive than I do right now."

Pixyglitter could feel it too. It was as if everything was perfect in this moment. She felt like all the joy of an entire lifetime had been brought here, coursing through her veins, making her body tingle with the warmth of mirth from her head down to her hooves. The moment stretched on, and the sheer joy that flooded the two of them was the most pure feeling either had ever experienced. It was so exhilarating that they could never have imagined such a sensation.

With Cloud Blazer leading the way, they took flight together over the lunar surface. They travelled as one, stopping sometimes to look at the natural beauty of the magnificent desolation that extended before them. From the deepest valley canyons to the highest mountains, they flew. Rolling plains sprawled out beneath them and craters dotted the landscape here and there. They must have explored for hours, but no weariness or sense of boredom ever invaded the adventure.

As they soared, Cloud Blazer saw a circle carved into the surface. It looked as if it had been dug into the ground, and there were five large boulders set equidistant around the perimeter of it.

"Look at that.”

"Let's go check it out," Pixyglitter replied.

They landed near monoliths and approached slowly, their hooves sinking in the shimmering sands beneath them. They walked around it for several minutes, examining the giant rocks, but there didn't seem to be anything special about them, other than the fact that it was not a natural formation.

A voice that sounded like a chorus of waves pounding against a seashore spoke to them from the rocks, "Welcome!"

It was so loud that the pair nearly fell over. The voice resounded off of the mountains and finally faded in the distance.

"As you have come, so you must go!" the voice boomed.

"What do you mean? Where are we going?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Remember the dreams!" The voice spoke a little softer now, "Find the keys to open the door."

"What dreams?" Pixyglitter asked.

"My dreams," Cloud Blazer replied; they all flooded back to him in crystal clarity. "Have you been giving me these dreams? Who are you?"

"We are that which remains when all else is ash and dust!" the voice boomed, and the moon shook beneath their hooves for a moment.

"What do you want from us?" Pixyglitter asked.

A rumbling from above caught their attention, and the pair looked up at the world; all of Equestria was becoming consumed with a great fire. In only moments the smoke grew so thick that the ground could no longer be seen. Pixyglitter gasped.

"What is this?" Cloud Blazer demanded.

"This is the fate of your world if you fail," the voice said, almost sounding saddened or resigned to this outcome. "The world will burn, and you are the only hope to save it.”

The joy that had filled the pegasi only moments before faded away. The ground shook again, but not from the voice. Exchanging a glance, both Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter took flight, gaining some altitude so they could see.

Just over the nearest hills, and laid out across the lunar landscape all the way to the horizon was an innumerable horde of timberwolves. They were like the sand on a seashore, and they were charging into a much smaller army of ponies. Changelings flew through the air casting down magical bombardment. The pair was speechless as they observed. There had to have been a hundred thousand ponies by Pixyglitter's estimation, but even so they were hopelessly outnumbered. Even though he couldn't see them, Cloud Blazer knew that his friends were in the fighting; he could feel their presence. The pair returned to the circle of stones on the ground, which were now glowing with a purple light.

"Our magic wanes, and we cannot prevent this fate for much longer. You must hurry," the voice insisted.

"But what are we supposed to do?" Pixyglitter asked.

"The keys!" the voice boomed loudly, knocking the pair down.

Timberwolves began pouring over the nearby hills and running straight at them.

"We have to go," Cloud Blazer said, acute fear gripping him.

As the pegasi ran away, they heard the voice boom one final time, "Find the keys to unlock the door!"

As they took flight, changelings intercepted them, and a flurry of kicking and biting followed. The fighting quickly became too thick for either Cloud Blazer or Pixyglitter to escape. Soon, they couldn’t even see each other. They both were beaten horribly until everything began spinning and went dark.

...

Pixyglitter awoke screaming. She could hear Cloud Blazer yelling something.

Without a doubt, that was the most vivid and bizarre dream she had ever experienced. She hadn't realized she was sitting up, and moments later she laid back on the bed. The sheets were soaked with sweat, and she was trying to catch her breath as her heart raced.

"Are you okay?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"What do you mean?" Pixyglitter replied; she was shaking.

"You look upset," he replied.

"It's nothing," she evaded, "just a dream."

He became silent for a minute. A sea of raw emotions stirred inside the mare.

...

Cloud Blazer was considering his own dream that had just awakened him. It seemed strange that they would awake from nightmares at the same time. Looking at Pixyglitter, he felt sorry for her; she was shivering. Slowly sliding off of the bed, the dull throbbing that came from every injury began pounding much harder. As Cloud Blazer stood there, putting his weight on the three legs that were not broken, he nearly passed out as the waves of pain hit harder and harder. Carefully, he shuffled across the room toward Pixyglitter; she was crying. Climbing halfway on the bed, and putting the rest of his weight on his left hind leg, he half hugged her.

"Quiet down now," he spoke softly to her. The pain was still beating through his body. "It's going to be alright; you're awake now."

"I'm sorry," she replied, still shaking as he held her.

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about. I have bad dreams ever since I was hurt too. I get ripped apart in most of them," he tried to sound cheerful as he said this, but then wasn't sure talking about such dark things would help. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she replied quickly. Twisting to push him away, she said, "Get off of me; I'm fine."

He backed away from her, standing on three hooves again. He wasn't feeling so well, and decided that he needed to get back to bed before he passed out. Each step sent the pain, now more like lightning bolts, through his body from each injury. He was sweating profusely, and his mouth was impossibly dry. Climbing back into bed was arduous, but once he had achieved it, there was minor relief. He lay there for a while before the pain began subsiding. The fact of their simultaneous awakening was nagging at Cloud Blazer.

...

Pixyglitter felt bad for pushing him away, but she didn't know what else to do. Normally, she was totally self-sufficient. Now she'd been reduced to a blubbering blind idiot from some dumb nightmare. It was making her hate herself; she should be stronger than this. Now she'd let some pony she barely knew see her crying like a filly.

Cloud Blazer spoke suddenly, "You were on the moon, weren't you?"

An icy chill took hold of Pixyglitter, and the tears stopped.

"What?" her voice came out as a ghostly whisper.

"You ran across the surface of it, and then flew. You found a circle with rocks embedded in the edge of it. Five giant stones that spoke of a coming disaster," he continued.

Curiosity and fear replaced the sadness and embarrassment.

"You saw Equestria burning and the largest horde of timberwolves, a number of them beyond imagining. You were told that you could stop it."

Completely dumbfounded that he knew her entire dream, she had to ask, "How did you... how could you guess all of that?"

He took a breath before replying, “I’m the stallion that was with you.”

Her heart nearly stopped.

Cloud Blazer said, "I also had that dream, and I wasn't alone either." He paused a moment before saying, “You had golden eyes.”

Pixyglitter shivered as the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end. Both of those things had been impossible. There was no way he could have known about her dream, but he did. He also knew another thing about her that he couldn't have known; he’d met her after they had been lost, and she never told him what color her eyes had been.

23 - Quarantine, Part 1 of 5

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Scootaloo felt rather warm inside as the siblings embraced in a goodbye hug.

"Are you absolutely sure you won't stay here in Manehattan with me?" Rarity asked as she made a pouty face.

"I'm sure, sis. Somepony's got to keep your shop clean in case you come back to Ponyville.”

There was a kind of hopelessness in Sweetie Belle’s voice that was echoed in Rarity’s expression. They were at the western edge of the city, near an EUP checkpoint. Scootaloo had already shown the guards her travel pass, and now she was just waiting for her passenger to finish her goodbyes.

It didn't take long to get harnessed up; Scootaloo made sure to double-check everything this time. The entire visit seemed to go by incredibly quickly. They'd only had a little over a day in Manehattan because of the time it took to travel, not to mention their detour to Cloudsdale. Scootaloo decided to address this one last time now that they were in the air and out of earshot.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle?"

"What is it?"

"Just remember, that detour we took to Cloudsdale is top secret, so don't mention it to anypony back home."

”You told me that like six times! I’m not that forgetful," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo didn't have to look at her to know she'd rolled her eyes. They flew on in silence, heading straight for Ponyville. The weather couldn't have been better for flying. The warm afternoon air was pleasant, especially since they had a slight tailwind. Large puffy white clouds were scattered through the sky. If the pegasi were still controlling the weather, they'd make days like this specially for flying around in. That hadn't been the case for nearly a year. Left to its own devices, one never knew what to expect from the weather.

Her mind wandered and eventually came back to the horrific fate of Discord and the princesses. Just thinking about it made Scootaloo shudder. Any thought that Twilight Sparkle and the others may have been killed in that explosion was something that she wasn't ready to accept. Still, if they weren't dead, then where were they? 
"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle broke the silence.

"What is it, Sweetie Belle?"

"Thanks for bringing me to see Rarity."

"What are friends for?" Scootaloo replied with a smile.

They flew toward the afternoon sun, bound for Ponyville.

...

Pixyglitter was trying to forget the strangeness of the previous day, but Cloud Blazer being in the next hospital bed was a constant reminder. She was deeply unsettled by the situation. She wanted to run away, but where could she go? Given her lack of sight, not to mention her injured hind legs, she'd have trouble just making it down the hallway.

The dream she had apparently shared with Cloud Blazer had been so vivid that she had nearly believed it was real. Pixyglitter heard a rustling sound, and the way he was breathing changed. She knew he was awake now, so she lay completely still. Maybe she could switch rooms with somepony else.

"Pixyglitter, are you awake?" Cloud Blazer whispered at her.

She did not respond. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone. She could hear him shifting in bed a little. His breathing did sound better today that it had when she'd first arrived. With all the broken bones he had, it was unlikely that he would be released anytime soon. That meant that moving to another room was likely to be the fastest way for her to get away from him. Another thought began to trouble her. How does one escape from dreams?

...

Duster wasn't delirious; his mind was working perfectly. Feeling so sharp almost made him think that he could push through this sickness and still function. His body, on the other hoof, was not cooperating. He lay on a bed in the infirmary tent, basically immobilized without any energy. Lack of desire for anything was the primary feeling he experienced. Frequently, this would be interrupted by anger. In spite of him being deathly ill, Sissy hadn't come to visit him even once. While he could accept her ignoring him during training, this was getting ridiculous.

Medics entered the infirmary carrying a light gray pegasus on a stretcher. It was Doff. He would be the fifth member of Scootaloo's squad that was definitely infected. Jewel, Gunnysack, and Moonsliver were also sick. Duster only briefly saw Doff as they carried him by, but he looked terrible. Overcome from the strain, Duster laid his head back down on his cot pillow, exhausted.

Fighting against falling asleep, Duster listened to the medics talking about turning the mess tent into a secondary infirmary. It was rather disconcerting to think that it was already so bad that they were out of space. He struggled against it fecklessly; everything was beginning to feel so far away right now. Duster slipped off, succumbing to a deathly sleep.

...

Sparklefly cried out in alarm, ”Medic! Medic!"

Duster had stopped breathing. She shook him as she shouted wildly for for help, a near panic having taken hold. Two of them arrived within moments, pushing Sparklefly aside. They checked his eyes with a flashlight, and then listened for a heartbeat. Seconds later they were pumping air into his mouth and repeatedly pushing against his chest. Sparklefly's heart melted and she sank to the ground. They were performing CPR on her brother. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Duster was dead.

Unconsciously rubbing her eye patch, Sparklefly shuddered with abject terror. Her brother was dead, and there was nothing she could do; she was helpless. A thousand thoughts were burning through her mind: things she’d meant to do, things she should have done, ways she wished things had been different. All of this would be meaningless now. The hard truth was stabbing through her soul; every opportunity to do better was gone. If only she'd paid more attention to his symptoms sooner. He'd been coughing for days before he’d passed out the first time. They'd pushed too hard; she’d pushed him too hard.

Just as despair was taking over, Duster began coughing. Sparklefly jumped back up onto her hooves and watched as the medics stopped performing CPR. They turned her brother on his side, and he vomited. He looked horrendous, his body convulsing in great heaving spasms, but he was breathing again. Her heart was still pounding as relief began to take hold; it washed over her like a cleansing rain.

"Good catch LT," one of the medics said, glancing at Sparklefly.

She smiled weakly at him. Her emotional state was bouncing all over the place as adrenaline surged through her. Shaking from fear and excitement, she sat back down.

"We're going to have to keep an eye on all of them," the other medic said.

"I'll get an orderly to get this cleaned up," the first one said.

They set off about their business checking on the other patients. Sparklefly sat by her brother, determined to be there if he stopped breathing again. At this moment, nothing else in the entire world mattered to her. All of Equestria could burn, but if she let anything happen to Duster, she would never forgive herself.

23 - Quarantine, Part 2 of 5

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Scootaloo said goodbye to Sweetie Belle as she left her at Sweet Apple Acres. The work that had been taking place in the fields was coming along nicely. Not being a farmer, Scootaloo didn't know too much about all of that, but the rows that had been plowed already stretched over several of the rolling hills of the orchard.

There was a line of ponies that had come to get zap apples. A crop of them had apparently ripened while Scootaloo was in Manehattan. Apple Bloom had told her that, after a town meeting to get the consent of the population, Applejack purchased the new crop from herself with city funds to distribute to everypony.

The stormy weather that had been in the sky when she'd left two days earlier had completely cleared out. It was a nice evening, and Scootaloo walked briskly through the edge of Ponyville. She needed to get to Sparklefly and tell her what had happened. Nopony believing her about the impending takeover was an outcome for which they hadn't planned.

Scootaloo stopped suddenly in her tracks and blinked to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her. There were zebras everywhere. As she made her way though the northwest edge of Ponyville, many small squads of the striped equine moved freely though the town. It seemed as if they were memorizing the layout. The officers, presumably, were speaking in their native tongue, with which Scootaloo was unfamiliar. It was rather fascinating, but also a little dizzying to see so many of them walking by at once.

When Scootaloo finally arrived at the training ground entrance, the guards refused to open the shield for her.

"I'm sorry, sir," one of them said. "This area is under quarantine."

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

The other guard replied, "A fever came with the recruits from Baltimare, and it has been running through the recruits unchecked. By order of Major Brax, this entire area is under quarantine. If you go in, you can’t come out again.“

"How many are trapped inside?"

"Brax's entire battalion is inside," the guard answered.

“I need to get a message to my lieutenant; otherwise I’m AWOL.“

"Yes, sir."

"Please inform lieutenant Sparklefly that I have returned." Scootaloo thought for a moment what to say next. "Tell her that I request permission to stay at Sweet Apple Acres until the quarantine is lifted."

"Yes, sir; I'll relay the message," the guard said.

This was bad; this was very bad. If their battalion was down, there was a chance that others would catch the illness. If the changelings became aware of the situation, they'd send in the timberwolves while the EUP was unable to mount a resistance. Not only that, but how were they going to stop the coup? Maybe the illness would slow it down. Thinking about all of this was going to drive Scootaloo crazy, so she sat down and tried to clear her mind. There wasn't much else to do but wait to hear back from Sparklefly.

...

Sparklefly, while as yet unaffected by the illness, felt sick.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but there just wasn't anything more we could do; he's dead," the medic said.

She simply nodded, staring down at the corpse that had been breathing, clinging on to life, only moments before. The motionless form didn’t even resemble the spirit that no longer inhabited it. Doff was now the first to succumb to the fever that had infected nearly half of the battalion. He lay there, already growing cold.

"Do you have a place to put the bodies?" Sparklefly asked flatly.

The medic nodded, signaling for an orderly. Sparklefly took one of his dog tags, placing it in her pocket.

"And to think, yesterday we were all afraid of the timberwolves killing us," the medic mused.

Sparklefly snorted. Turning around, she walked away without another word. It was a real shame about Doff, but she had no emotion to spare on him. The worry for her brother was consuming her. Duster was still alive, but his condition was about as bad as Doff's had been. They were keeping ice packs on him to bring the fever down, but it was becoming difficult to keep him hydrated just from how much he was sweating. It was a comfort that he was still breathing since she had left a few moments ago. He stirred from his sleep.

Looking up at her, Duster weakly said, "Hey, Sissy."

Touched deeply by this, Sparklefly was almost unable to reply. Choking back a mixture of emotions, she finally asked, "How are you feeling?"

Duster groaned a reply initially and then said, "Terrible." It was quiet for a while, then he said, "I'm very cold."

"You've got a fever. It's the same one that Thunderfly caught."

His frail voice managed to ask, "What happened?"

She decided to be honest with him, "Several of the recruits from Baltimare already had it, the fever, and they have infected others. About half of the battalion is down already, and we’re under quarantine.”

"No," he replied in little more than a whisper. "What happened to you,” he asked, pointing at her face, “to your eye?”

Sparklefly instinctively turned her patched eye away from him. She swallowed hard as she remembered the events of that day, slowly turning back to face him. She took a deep breath; her mouth was dry.

"My second mission was scouting the Everfree Forest with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Your sergeant, Scootaloo, was commanding. We walked into an ambush, and within moments we were down to half strength, so we retreated. A timberwolf tried to take my head off, but I ducked. The brunt of the blow was taken by my helmet, but his claws caught my face."

Sparklefly shuddered, but not from remembering the pain. The sadness for her lost friends was still far more devastating. Regal Masquerade, Nimba, Pibs...

...

Duster had forgotten his anger at Sissy for the moment. In spite of all the grudges he felt, she had come to see him. His mind spun a daydream as the details of her injury became revealed. He saw her and Scootaloo running through the woods, beating down hordes of timberwolves rather valiantly before she took that hit. He saw a timberwolf bring up a massive paw to strike down one of her comrades and Sparklefly leaping between them, heroically sacrificing her eye to save them. It all seemed rather epic in his mind, but her reaction to the memory made her seem rather small and frail somehow. She shivered as she finished telling the story.

Rolling Thunder walked up behind her as she finished recounting the tale.

“Lieutenant," he said with a salute, "perimeter patrol reports Sergeant Scootaloo has returned. She is awaiting your instructions at the north entrance, just outside the quarantine zone.”

"Thank you. Stand post here," she replied flatly. "This one has already stopped breathing on me once. Stay here and call the medics if it happens again."

As Sissy nodded a goodbye, Duster's mind was racing with panic at what she had said. She was gone before he could think of what to say to her. He felt so tired, so weak. Closing his eyes for a moment, Duster lay there wondering if that was why she had visited. Maybe she'd thought he was dead. That wasn't at all comforting. His head was pounding so that the blackness of his shut eyes seemed to pulse brighter.

"Lucky for you I'm under orders," Rolling Thunder said to Duster, who looked up at him. "If not for that, I'd let you die."

Duster didn't reply to the insult. He had no love for anyone else in his squad, except maybe Doff. Looking about, Duster tried to see if he could spot where they'd put him. After a few seconds, the exhaustion took hold again, and he gave up.

23 - Quarantine, Part 3 of 5

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Scootaloo kicked at some pebbles, scattering them across the railroad tracks where she was waiting at the north checkpoint of the training grounds. It seemed as if she'd been there for over an hour. The sun was getting low on the horizon, and she still hadn't heard anything from inside the quarantined area. The zebras aside, Ponyville was quiet.

"Sergeant Scootaloo!" a muffled voice called through the barrier.

Looking up revealed that it was Sparklefly speaking. Scootaloo trotted briskly over to the magical shield and saluted.

"At ease," Sparklefly said, her voice distorted by the magic that separated them.

"What's going on?"

"About half of the battalion is infected with a fever," Sparklefly replied. "It's some kind of virus that came from Baltimare."

"What about my squad?" she asked, feeling rather helpless at the news. Timberwolves were one thing, but what could be done against a fever?

"Several are sick. Doff is dead," Sparklefly replied solemnly.

Concerned for her friend, Scootaloo asked, "What about Duster?"

"He lives... Do you remember the first day we went into the Everfree Forest?" Sparklefly asked; she seemed understandably pre-occupied.

Scootaloo nodded as her mind returned to the events of that day.

"Pibs found that purple moss everywhere, and I'm certain she said it was medicinal."

Brightening up as the realization struck her, Scootaloo replied, "You're right! She said it helped with fever."

Sparklefly nodded. "I've already been in contact with Zecora, and she says she can make it into medicine, but Mane Crusher won't let any civilians into the forest, and Brax won’t let anypony break quarantine. See if you can get a squad to go with you."

"I'm on it, LT," Scootaloo replied with a salute.

A look of deep concern was etched into Sparklefly's face as she added, "Hurry.”

Scootaloo smiled in an effort to be reassuring, “I’ll be back before you know it. I’ve got this.”

"One final thing," Sparklefly said as Scootaloo was turning to walk away. She stopped and looked back at her lieutenant. "How was your trip?"

Scootaloo took a breath and answered, "Rarity and Sweetie Belle made up. They actually got along rather well. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see any shows."

At that last statement, a knowing look overtook Sparklefly's expression. She nodded slowly and said, "I see. You'd best get going before you lose the light."

Saluting, Scootaloo turned and trotted briskly away. The two of them had previously agreed to not talk directly about the impending coup, so as to not be overheard and found out. The last thing they needed was for any of the traitors to suspect that they were trying to warn Shining Armor. It was Sparklefly's idea to use the code of whether or not they were able to go see a show while in Manehattan as a way for Scootaloo to inform her whether she was successfully able to warn the prince or not. While not a perfect solution, she was at least able to let Sparklefly know that her secret mission had not been successful. This did raise the problem that further communication would likely be necessary, but Sparklefly would be able to figure that out. Of the two, she was far better with cautious planning.

Walking briskly through Ponyville toward the castle, Scootaloo had made it half-way there when she spotted Apple Bloom by her distinctive pink bow. The chance encounter could help her save some time.

"Hey, Apple Bloom!" she called out.

Turning around, the farm pony grinned, "Welcome back."

Scootaloo approached and stopped. "I need your help."

"What is it?"

"My whole battalion is under quarantine. They caught some virus from Baltimare. I've been ordered into the Everfree Forest to find some medicinal moss that grows there. I need you to find Zecora and let her know that we'll be coming back tonight, and I need her to make it into medicine."

"I'll come with you," Apple Bloom offered.

Scootaloo shook her head, "No, General Mane Crusher won't allow civilians into the forest anymore. It's too dangerous."

Seeming rather offended by this, Apple Bloom replied, "Too dangerous? I'll show him too dangerous!"

"Easy, I've got this," Scootaloo tried to calm her friend down.

“Fine, Apple Bloom sighed, “I’ll go find Zecora.” She galloped off to her task.

Scootaloo continued on to the castle. It only took her a minute to climb the stairs and find the corps clerk's office.

"No, no, no!" Scootaloo could hear Filefolder, the clerk, shouting in his squeaky voice. "Combat readiness reports! These are supply reports!"

Looking inside, Scootaloo could see an exasperated look on the stallion’s face. The subject of his frustration was a zebra that was trying to give him files while staring at him somewhat blankly. The zebra in question dropped the files and started rummaging around for new ones. Scootaloo knocked on the open door with her bandaged hoof.

"What is it?" Filefolder squeaked as she entered. "Oh! Good, an Equestrian."

"I'm Sergeant Scootaloo of Major Brax's battalion," Scootaloo introduced herself. "I've been ordered into the Everfree Forest on a foraging mission, and I was instructed to see if I could get a squad to go with me."

Looking alarmed, Filefolder’s voice pitched even higher as he asked, "Wait, aren't you supposed to be under quarantine?"

"I just got back from leave in Manehattan," she replied calmly.

"Oh, I see," he looked a bit more at ease. "Would you take some zebras? We're practically giving them away," he spoke sarcastically.

"Anypony you can spare," Scootaloo said impatiently.

"Okay, but don't think this is going to be a field day. These zebras have only been taught basic commands, so don't expect to get much conversation out of them."

"They don’t speak our language?" Scootaloo asked. It made sense enough to her, given Zecora's accent.

“Hardly,” he replied. "That's why I've been having trouble with this one," Filefolder gestured at the zebra in his office as it tried to give him another folder. "No!" he squeaked, "these are tactical reports!" The zebra continued sifting through files. "I don't know what they’re even thinking about, assigning zebras to help in clerical positions."

Scootaloo's attention was grabbed by this, and she decided to probe to see his reaction, "There's been a lot of that going around lately."

"What do you mean?" Filefolder asked as he watched the zebra.

A brief moment of panic struck Scootaloo. It was a good thing that the clerk was looking away, but she wouldn't be able to feign repose for long. Her mind grasped wildly, catching the first thing she could think of.

As Filefolder turned back to her, she blurted out, "I mean the way they used Las Pegasus as bait. We know where the timberwolves are. There's no need to risk civilians to go get them."

“I know what you mean. It seems like were in a sitting war lately. I for one don’t like sitting.”

"I can't argue with that," she agreed with him in hopes of drawing this out further.

He tilted his head questioningly at her.

"I just mean that I signed up to fight and save Equestria. I've been in two actions, and ever since the siege here at Ponyville, I haven't been able to get out and face the enemy. What are we training for if not to go on the offensive?"

"Aren't you serving with The Hero of Canterlot?" the clerk asked.

"Yes, Lieutenant Sparklefly is my superior, and a dear friend. But at this point, I'm sort of stuck in her shadow. I've got nothing against her; it's just I want to get out where the action is," Scootaloo was wondering what she was even saying at this point. She felt like she was in over her head. "I'm sorry to be trouble, but I really need to move out ASAP," Scootaloo said, trying to end the conversation and get out of there.

"Fine, fine," Filefolder replied. He began writing an order for her. "Deliver this to the zebra CO in CIC. Red armor, you can’t miss him. He'll get you sorted out."

"Thanks," Scootaloo replied.

Relieved to be out of the situation, her thoughts turned to Mane Crusher, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about him yet. First she had to get that medicine for her battalion; she’d have to deal with everything else later.

23 - Quarantine, Part 4 of 5

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Cloud Blazer awoke to the familiar and incessant pain that dominated his waking hours. Something seemed different, but he couldn't quite put his hoof on it at first. The light coming into the hospital room window bore the tell tale signs of evening. It took a full minute before he realized that he hadn't dreamed. It had been the most restful sleep he'd had in weeks. In spite of this, not having a dream made it feel incomplete somehow.

Pixyglitter hadn't spoken to him all day. Ever since they had talked about the dream that they had shared, she'd been silent. At first he actually thought she was sleeping, but he was now alarmed to believe that she was ignoring him. He knew the dreams had purpose, and the fact that they had both shared one made it seem all the more imperative to understand the meaning.

With Pixyglitter ignoring him, and no visitors right now, he had time to think. Naturally, his mind turned back to Scootaloo and the deep sadness that had been caused by that situation. More difficult than that were the permanent injuries he now bore. Cloud Blazer looked back slowly, and for what seemed like several minutes, he stared at the bandages that covered his back, where his wings had been. He would never fly under his own power again; the thing he loved more than any other was gone. He ached all over. Laying back down eased some of it, but the pain continued to throb through his entire body. There was no relief from that constant companion.

Without warning, tears began welling up and streaming from his eyes. Normally he wouldn't cry if anypony else was around, but he didn't even worry about it this time. It had begun slowly, but when he didn’t try to restrain it, a great heaving of emotion poured out. There were several minutes of sobbing before he had cried it out. So much had gone wrong... He let it flow until it stopped on its own. Afterward he stared at the wall, his thoughts evaporating into nothingness. He didn't care. And so he lay there, not really waiting for anything to happen, and not so much as caring what would be next.

...

Pixyglitter could hear Cloud Blazer crying. She had been pretending to sleep, but she hadn't actually been able to after the bizarre dream they had shared. It made her sorry she'd been ignoring him all day, but it was already too late to do anything about it. He was upset, and it might make him feel worse if she started talking to him now. As much as she tried to push it out of her mind, the dream wouldn't leave.

The last thing she'd ever seen was the skies over Las Pegasus during the battle. Now the surface of the moon and the circle of rocks were burned into her mind like a ghostly after image. She could almost still see it in the void of her blindness. The voice, or chorus of voices, seemed to echo in her ears in spite of the silence in the room. Her desire to escape this was becoming desperate. And yet, a small piece of her heart longed to return to the dream. The mere thought of being able to see again threatened to consume her.

She listened and waited as Cloud Blazer cried for several minutes. He finally stopped on his own. There was nopony else in the room. His friends had gone for the day while he slept. Their round the clock vigil had now ended, a result of his continuing recovery. They had other matters that needed their attention, including getting some sleep at night. From what she'd overheard, he wasn't expected to survive the fall he'd taken. It was practically miraculous that he was even alive, let alone recovering as quickly as he was.

Whatever; it didn't matter. If he was strong, he'd get through it. It's as simple as that. The thoughts rang hollow in Pixyglitter's heart. She had always thought of herself as strong, but she had been reduced to something rather pathetic. If only she'd been flying a little higher. Or maybe lower. If only she'd fallen a little toward the rear when the shooting had started. If only they'd put the unicorns in front when they were flying into combat. If only...

...

"We need to intubate stat!" Sparklefly heard one of the medics call out. Her heart stopped.

In moments there were three of them surrounding Duster. He looked completely lifeless laying there. He had again stopped breathing only moments before. Tears were blurring her vision, and she knocked off her eye patch as she wiped them away. She fumbled for it, replacing it over her left eye socket. The medics were performing CPR again, but Duster wasn't getting any air. They gave him a shot and began inserting the intubation tube in his mouth. Within moments they were pumping air and pressing his chest in perfect rhythm. An eternity of seconds later he shook and began breathing on his own. The medics stopped, giving him space but staying close until Duster settled into a more normal pattern of respiration.

Wiping sweat from his brow, one of the medics said, "One more saved... for now." He shook his head.

"How many have we lost?" another medic asked. Sparklefly couldn't see them well for the tears in her eye.

"Five, I think."

"Six," the third medic said. "They're just... burning up. We need more ice packs."

The others nodded at him and marched wearily away.

"Are you alright, LT?" the remaining medic asked Sparklefly.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Yes, I'm fine."

"When did you sleep?"

She tried to remember, but after a moment she gave up. "I don't know."

"Well, you've done a great job staying with him. If you hadn't let us know when he stopped breathing, we might not have found him fast enough."

She snorted, half smiling, but only as a reply. She didn't feel cheer of any kind, only a minor amount of relief. She coughed, and it felt scratchy in her throat. Was this the first symptom?

"I'm about to be on break. Why don't you get some sleep?" he offered.

"No, I can't," Sparklefly answered; she was too afraid to leave her brother's side.

"You'll not do him any favors if you're not alert and he stops breathing again. Just lay down beside the cot. I'll wake you if I have to leave."

She looked at him, still unconvinced.

"I promise," he said.

She nodded at him, relenting. Crawling to one side of the cot, she laid down on the floor. It was made of rubber mats they had put over the dirt. It made for a fairly comfortable place to lie. She was only awake for a matter of moments before exhaustion put her into a dreamless sleep.

23 - Quarantine, Part 5 of 5

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Scootaloo was finding her assigned zebras much more useful than Filefolder had found his. It was true that they didn't speak her language, but they mostly did seem to understand her commands. There were five of them in all, but she only knew the name of Zuberi, their leader. One of the officers in CIC had instructed her to hide behind the zebras if they should run into changelings as their armor could absorb magical attacks.

The six of them moved into the forest. Her striped companions were unbelievably quiet; they hadn't said so much as a word to each other since they'd left Ponyville, and they stepped with stealthy precision. Not even the sound of their hooves could be heard as they silently crept deeper and deeper. The zebras didn't know what they were looking for, but Scootaloo was keeping her eyes open for any sign of the purple moss that Pibs had shown her nearly a month before. She must have spotted a hundred different kinds of plants that she didn't recognize before her eyes passed across something that demanded a closer look.

Upon first sighting, Scootaloo had walked past it. She then suddenly stopped and turned. The zebras all dropped into defensive stances when she did this. The mare trotted over to a tree on which the purple moss was growing. Zuberi and the others followed. It was only a small patch of it, but it was definitely the correct variety. Scootaloo excitedly began scraping it off of the tree and putting it into her saddle bag.

"We need more of this," she said to Zuberi.

He looked at her, inquisitively tilting his head to one side.

She held up the moss for him to see and said, "We need to collect this."

Scootaloo put it in her bag. She pointed at the moss again, and then back to her bag.

Zuberi nodded as if he understood before speaking, "Nadhani yeye anataka zaidi ya mimea hii zambarau. Kutafuta zaidi na kurudi kwa eneo hili katika dakika kumi."

The zebras shot out swiftly in different directions, leaving Scootaloo alone. She was a little startled at their speed, but she went back to scraping the last of her purple moss from the tree. When she finished putting it into her saddlebag, she continued forward. It was quiet, but after only a minute or so, one of the zebras found her and began stuffing moss into her bags. The others began arriving shortly thereafter, and before Scootaloo realized it, her bags were so stuffed full of the earthy plant that she couldn't close them.

"Thank you," she said to Zuberi.

He tilted his head at her again, and she wasn't certain if he understood her or not.

“No more,” she said with a forced smile.

He stared back at her as if trying to understand.

She pointed to her overflowing bags, “All full; no more room.”

He nodded, and moments later the zebra squad was formed up and escorting her back to back to Ponyville. Her spirits were lifted at how quickly they had accomplished this leg of their mission.

...

Sparklefly awoke to the medic gently shaking her. It was a little disorienting at first, as sleep had made her completely forget her surroundings. She didn't know why she was in the infirmary for a moment. Then she remembered Duster and the fever.

"LT, I have to go make my rounds," he said.

"Thanks," she replied as she stirred.

Standing proved uncomfortable. She was groggy, but forced herself to move. Sparklefly’s throat was scratchy, and she felt as though her legs were stiff and weighted with lead. The nap she'd taken made her feel even worse than she had before, almost nauseous. The medic had already walked off, and she could hear shouting on the other end of the infirmary tent. It seemed that another life hung in the balance. Duster looked rather pitiful. He was sweating in spite of the cold packs on his neck, head, and chest. He still had an intubation tube keeping his airways open, and his breaths were shallow but even.

The window flaps were open, and Sparklefly could see that night had fallen. She didn’t know for how long she'd slept, but it was longer than the half hour she'd expected. Sunset had been at least an hour away when she laid down. She shrugged, deciding it didn't matter; Duster was still breathing. Scratching an itch on her left eye, Sparklefly made certain to reposition her eye patch. She still felt shame for how little enthusiasm she had demonstrated when Scootaloo had given it to her. It was a thoughtful gift, and the detail on the embroidery was magnificent. It matched her cutie mark beautifully.

A patient in the cot next to Duster, a mare, began convulsing. Sparklefly ran over to her.

"Medic!" she cried out.

She wanted to do something, but she wasn't sure whether she might make things worse if she tried to hold her down. Suddenly the mare stopped, everything. Her chest fell in a final exhale, and she didn't breathe in again.

"Medic!" Sparklefly shouted again.

One of the medics finally arrived. He checked her quickly and began shouting. In the noise that followed, Sparklefly's attention went back to Duster. In spite of how horrible he looked, he seemed rather peaceful in the middle of this situation. The medics worked on the mare for nearly ten minutes before they gave up, exhausted and drenched in sweat from their effort. Sparklefly helped them carry the body out and took one of her tags.

Like Doff, Cadet Stormyweather never got to see the enemy in combat. She was killed by a virus before she ever even took the field, a side-effect of close quarters living inside an energy shield. They had a small pile of them now, including some that had died in the last few hours. If this was all of them, that brought the total to eleven lost to the fever. If the infected didn't start recovering soon, they were facing a huge problem. The number of sick had grown to almost three-hundred with the early symptoms.

Sparklefly returned to the infirmary to find a welcome sight. Scootaloo had arrived with Zecora and some zebras. They were distributing medicine that they had brought to all of the sick.

"Hey LT!" Scootaloo called out with a wide grin.

"Hey yourself, Sergeant," Sparklefly shot back, relieved to see her. “I thought you were going to stay at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“What, and miss my chance to strut in here like a hero and get all the credit for saving everypony? Do you even know you’re talking to?”

Sparklefly smiled at her friend.

“It looks like all that botany stuff was pretty useful after all. Pibs just helped save lives," Scootaloo said with a kind of cheerful solemnity.

It seemed to Sparklefly that Scootaloo had taken Pibs' death particularly hard. They didn't speak of it, but there was something in her eyes that gave it away.

"This will cure them?" Sparklefly asked.

Zecora answered her, "This is one disease that has no cure; treat the symptoms, and they'll recover for sure.

That was bound to make the medics feel better. Their efforts had been the correct steps for this illness. Sparklefly still found herself only caring whether Duster survived. She stumbled as she approached his bed, but caught herself before she fell.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.

Nodding, she replied, “It’s a small matter; I'm just tired."

"You should get some sleep."

"No," Sparklefly said, a little frantically. "I can’t leave now; I’m not leaving his side.”

"Don't worry about it," Scootaloo reassured. "I'll watch him."

Sparklefly nodded and resumed her place beside the bed on the floor. She found herself wondering how Scootaloo's trip to Cloudsdale had gone wrong. There were any number of things that could have prevented her from seeing Shining Armor or anypony else that she’d be able to trust. They would have to find some time to talk about it. Trying to work out these thoughts, Sparklefly’s head swam and her mind wandered to other things. She pondered who Cadet Stormyweather had been. What had brought her to enlist in the EUP? Did she have any family? How different was it for any of them who could have lived or died with no more ceremony than that? Eventually, she drifted off into a deep, perfectly comfortable sleep.

24 - Reassignments, Part 1 of 3

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Sparklefly began by stretching her wings. They had been bandaged for so long, she'd almost forgotten how good it felt. She'd been practicing the simple act for the last week in preparation for this day. The Baltimare Fever had passed. The medicine Zecora had brewed from the moss did ease the symptoms of the sick; they were all finally recovering, and the quarantine had been lifted. It would be back to regular training by morning, but for this day, Sparklefly was going to attempt to fly again.

Ever since they had removed the bandages, she'd been careful to stretch more and more each day to make certain she wouldn't injure herself by using her full range of motion in her wings. The soreness was gone, and she finally felt ready for this.

"Very good," Sparklefly's medic friend said to her.

He was the same one that had watched Duster so she could sleep. He was brown with a darker brown mane, and crystal-blue eyes. When he looked at her, he didn't seem to notice her eye patch. It was as if he saw beyond her mangled face. In a way, she felt like he could see right through her icy tough-girl facade that she tried to exude at all times. In spite of that apparent ability, he accepted her anyway. That intrigued her.

Since the illness was no longer a threat, he'd been helping with her wing rehabilitation. She was glad of this, but would have been terribly embarrassed if anypony else knew that she was nursing a huge crush on him. The EUP regulations for such fraternizations were clear, so she kept these thoughts to herself for the time being.

She felt rather silly about it, but the thought of being around him was almost intoxicating. Oddly enough, she had never asked his name. She did know that he was from Manehattan, hated chocolate, and zap apples were his favorite food, even though he'd never had one before he’d come to Ponyville. He also had a morbid fascination with strange illnesses that Sparklefly couldn't understand. In his off-duty time, he could always be found with his nose in a book, a past time she could understand.

"How does this feel?" he asked as he pressed on her wings, paying special attention to the joints on her left side.

Feeling a tingle, Sparklefly hoped she wasn't blushing.

"Fine, no problems," she said as flatly as possible.

He nodded, walking around in front of her.

"Well, I think you're ready to give it a try and see how some actual flying feels," he spoke with a smile.

She liked his bedside manner, but he could be a bit clinical. Sparklefly took a breath and unconsciously adjusted her eye patch. Standing still, she began gently flapping her wings. They went faster and faster until she felt the earth gently fall away beneath her. She maintained this pace, staying only a few inches off the ground. After only about fifteen seconds, she touched down again.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. "Any pain?"

"No," she panted, "but that's a lot harder than I remember."

She hadn’t realized just how much effort it took to get off of the ground. Before she’d been grounded, it was almost effortless, unlike the serious strain she now experienced. This was somewhat disconcerting.

"That's to be expected," he replied stoically. "After an injury like you sustained, immobilization causes muscle atrophy. It'll probably take you a few weeks to build your strength up again."

Sparklefly felt a little disappointed at this, remembering her weight training as a cadet.

"How about you take a real test flight?" he suggested.

Grinning, she nodded, taking off at a canter and spreading her wings. She poured on more speed, her wings whipping the air, and the ground fell away much faster this time. The rush of the wind against her body was exhilarating. It was so good to be in the air again. She picked up some altitude, remembering to control her breathing, and did a barrel roll. The breeze kissed her face and tossed her mane; it felt fantastic to be flying.

...

Beigh had to smile as he watched his patient fly, shoot, zip and soar up into the air. She wasn't really "his" patient, but he had been trading shifts with all of the other medics to make sure he was the only one that got to do her physical therapy for the last week. The devotion Sparklefly had shown to her brother was what first had caught Beigh's attention. Her first physical therapy had been a chance encounter, but a welcome one. After that he kept finding his thoughts drawn to her. The battles she had fought, and her genuine humility about those accomplishments fascinated him; he always looked forward to their time together.

She soared through the air, growing smaller in the distance before banking and coming back around. Sparklefly looked even more graceful in the air than she did on the ground. Beigh found himself wondering what it would be like to be with her up there. While Sparklefly wasn’t unattractive, it wasn’t such that drew him to her, she had a determination about her that was intriguing. It wasn’t really a romantic attraction at all. It was more a derivation of celebrity. He’d heard of her, but meeting the Hero of Canterlot had been a completely different experience. She was just so normal.

Beigh had come to join the EUP after the fall of Canterlot. He'd been studying medicine in Manehattan when the attack happened, and like many others, he went straight to a recruitment office when he heard about it. His plans of becoming a doctor were put on hold, much to the chagrin of his parents. Not only was he not becoming an archaeologist as they had originally wanted, but now he was putting all of his higher education on hold to go fight a war. The letter they sent expressing their disappointment mainly served to make Beigh feel like a complete failure and harden his resolve to excel at something of which his parents did not approve. His feeling on this had improved somewhat when he was accepted into the EUP medical auxiliary, and they'd given him a useful crash course on first aid and triage. This soldier business on the other hoof was rather frightening.

At the time he'd signed up, emotions were running high. Everypony had the will to fight back. That stalwart resolve lessened as time went by and victories began being won. It gave way to feelings that the EUP was going to succeed, even without more volunteers. Unfortunately for Beigh, he had already signed up. During the beginning of his training, he longed to return to medical school and finish his studies. But that was all before he met Sparklefly.

This mare was some kind of special. She had saved thousands of others in Canterlot, was injured, continued fighting, got wounded again saving the princess in the Everfree Forest, and then fought through a siege for a week. Everypony said she had single-hoofedly killed over a hundred timberwolves. Still, there was a softer side to her that was brought out by her relationship with her brother. The Hero of Canterlot was truly remarkable.

Sparklefly made a large sweeping arc as she began descending. She circled around twice more as she came down, finally making a precise touchdown just in front of Beigh. She was glistening with sweat, and there was a large grin on her face.

"Not bad; good as new, don't you think?" he said.

"I certainly do," she said as she stretched her wings out one more time before folding them up again. "Thanks again for all your help with the rehab."

"It was nothing," he replied.

"Looking good over there, LT," a yellow pegasus with a tan mane and tail called out.

There were two of him. It was Lightning Dasher and LD.

"Sergeants," she said to them.

"You'll still never be as fast as me," LD said.

"Or as good looking," Lightning Dasher finished.

Sparklefly snorted at them. Beigh decided they must be good friends to talk that way to each other. It seemed rather undisciplined. Drill Sergeant J's words echoed in his ears, as did the sting of an attack on his nose on the first day.

"So, glad to be back in the air?" LD asked.

"Very much," she replied.

"We've started early morning flights around camp," Lightning Dasher started.

"Just the two of us," LD continued. "Now that you're feeling better, you should join us."

"I'd love to, thanks," she answered.

Beigh felt something akin to jealousy, but it passed quickly. It was more like a mild case of envy. He wanted to join them as well, but being a unicorn, he'd be rather ill equipped to even ask.

"Well, you're definitely fit to fly, just take it slow the first few days, and remember to drink plenty of water," Beigh said.

"Right, thanks again," she said.

He turned and walked off, back toward his duties. They were chattering away, barely noticing his departure. It must be good to have friends here. The medics always did stuff together, but the others were different from Beigh. They just didn't really hit it off too well. For one thing, most of them showed promise with the fighting aspect of soldiering, but Beigh was completely ineffective at it. Though he was a unicorn, his abilities at offensive magic were totally feckless. He could make some passable shields, but he'd never been talented with that particular part of his biology. That caused him to draw no small amount of ridicule from the drill instructors, not to mention the ire of his peers.

24 - Reassignments, Part 2 of 3

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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?

24 - Reassignments, Part 3 of 3

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Cloud Blazer hadn’t felt well ever since that dream he'd shared with Pixyglitter. Afterward and still he found sleep elusive, and when it did come, it was restless and void. His thoughts returned frequently to the things that Scootaloo said to him after he had confessed his feelings for her, and he couldn’t shake the overwhelming sorrow that he felt from her reaction. Trying to stay positive wasn't even a consideration anymore. His strength in that department had finally failed.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle greeted their friend as she entered his hospital room.

"Howdy, y'all," she cheerfully called back. "Where's Pixyglitter?"

Looking over at the empty bed on the other side of the room, Sweetie Belle answered, "I think she went to physical therapy."

Pixyglitter had changed after that dream, hardly speaking to him since then. As a result, Cloud Blazer had barely noticed her absence that morning. Something was wrong between them. He knew the dreams meant something, but how could he get her involved if she only pulled away?

"Are you okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

Cloud Blazer wasn't sure what to answer. He was not okay, and he almost didn't care what the others thought of him.

"He started physical therapy today," Sweetie Belle replied. "I think it was painful."

'That was quite an understatement,' he thought to himself. Nurse Redheart had taken Cloud Blazer down to the physical therapy room and tried to get him walking. He hadn't gone more than ten steps before collapsing from the pain. Even after that, she made him try again and again. He hadn't seen Pixyglitter there, and deep down he knew what that meant. She wasn't in physical therapy as Sweetie Belle had suggested; she had been moved to another room.

...

Duster could feel energy in his body again, and it was wonderful. He was still tired from the ordeal, but the fever had broken two nights before. Soon he'd be his old self again.

"How are you feeling?" Duster heard his sister's voice ask.

He turned to see Sissy approaching his cot. "Much better," he answered. "The medics tell me I'll be back to regular duty tomorrow."

"Good," she replied. Her manner felt cold or detached somehow. "We've already lost enough training time on this."

Duster didn't have any answer for that. He wasn't even sure how much time had actually passed.

"There are going to be some changes in your squad," Sissy continued as she sat down by the cot. "Sergeant Scootaloo is being reassigned effective immediately. Locknload will be your cadet sergeant for the duration of training."

"So there are only nine of us now," Duster said.

"Eight. Doff is dead," she answered bluntly.

Duster was in shock. "Dead?" was all he could manage to say.

“The fever took him.”

“But, he can’t be dead.”

Doff was the closest thing he’d had to a friend in Ponyville.

Sissy continued, ”This is war. Ponies die."

Duster was enraged by her callousness and shouted at her, ”How could you say something like that?"

The rest of the infirmary went silent.

Sissy stood slowly and said, "Do not forget your place, Cadet.”

Her voice had an icy chill that was intended to be intimidating. He bit his tongue for fear of lashing out further.

Without another word, Sissy walked away and exited the tent, not looking back. Duster mostly felt confused, but also overwhelmingly sad. He had expected that things would get rough once they got out to fight, but they hadn't seen a single timberwolf yet, and Doff was dead. Duster realized in this moment how close he had come to death himself. It was an eerie revelation to have stared his own mortality in the face and survived when his friend had not.

One of the medics approached and said, “Cadet Duster, you are cleared to go. If you should start feeling faint or otherwise ill, take a rest. If you feel fine in a minute or two, go back to regular duty. Otherwise come back and see us."

Duster gathered himself up and began walking away. His joints ached, and although he was tired, it did feel good to be moving again. The air outside was fresh, and much sweeter than he'd remembered it being. The walk back to his squad tent didn't take long, and the sun shone through the purple shield that surrounded camp and warmed his back.

His feelings were also running hot, and he was almost back to his tent before he realized his face was wet. The tears burned his cheeks with the fire of anger. Sissy was just so cold toward him. Why would she treat him that way? How could she be so callous about Doff's death? Duster's only desire was to find rest in his rack. Upon entering the tent, laughter was dying down.

"Well, well, look who's finally back," Locknload said. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"If at all," Gunnysack chimed in.

Duster ignored them, going straight to his bed and lying down.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Quickbeam asked.

"Come on guys, he just got back," Moonsliver said.

"All the more reason to be welcoming," Rolling Thunder sneered.

Gunnysack got close to Duster and said, "Yeah, we thought you were getting on the same train that Doff left on."

The other stallions laughed, but something inside of Duster snapped. A quick jab caught Gunnysack completely off guard and he took a direct hit to the eye. Not wasting the momentum, Duster leapt from his bed, pinning Gunnysack to the ground. Duster felt a little light-headed, but he got at least two more good blows in before Rolling Thunder and Quickbeam jumped him. Something got knocked over in the ensuing scuffle, and Duster hit his head on a hoof-locker. Locknload finally was able to get them broken up. The scuffle only lasted for a minute or less. All in all there were only bumps and bruises suffered, wounded feelings aside.

"What is the matter with you?" Locknload yelled at Duster.

"I don't care what any of you think!" Duster yelled back at the group. He was in a corner now. "Doff was my friend, and more than that, he was one of us!" Anger was making it hard to think, and weariness was making it even harder.

"You watch your back," Gunnysack said. "First time we're in combat, you watch your back!”

Locknload spoke, his voice becoming eerily calm, “I’ll tell you what. I’d suggest both of you learn to keep that in check, or neither of you will ever see combat.”

Gunnysack snorted, but then said, “Aye.”

Duster nodded, “Yes, sir. It won’t happen again.”

The tension seemed to be dispersing, and Duster made his way back to his bed to rest. The conflicting emotions raged inside. All he could do was try to remain calm.

...

Pixyglitter was trying to stay awake. The nurse had told her that her new room didn't have a window, not that she could look out one anyway. Still, the warmth of the sun had been a refreshing thing when it came. The hospital rooms always seemed to be refrigerated. Drowsiness tugged at Pixyglitter again, and she shifted in her bed to hold it off. She hadn't been sleeping, but it was by choice. That strange dream that Cloud Blazer had known was just too much.

As she lay there, trying to stay awake, she opened her eyes to blurred vision. Blinking a few times cleared it up, and she could clearly see the hospital room. She wasn't aware that she was now dreaming. A nurse walked in, checking the patient in the next bed, but she left without saying anything. Pixyglitter looked at her legs to find that they weren't sprained or injured at all. Just as she decided to get out of bed, the ground shook, and the building split in half and fell away revealing the night sky. The full moon hung high overhead, and it captivated Pixyglitter as if she had never seen it before.

The chorus of voices blasted down at her, "Go with him!"

As the voices spoke, Cloud Blazer's face appeared on the moon.

Pixyglitter rolled off of the bed, hiding under some nearby rubble. The bright intensity of the moon continued increasing until it was blinding.

Pixyglitter screamed.

"Go with him!" the voice blasted again. The noise of it brushed aside the rubble and dust, leaving Pixyglitter alone, bathed in the moonlight.

She awoke screaming and thrashing in her hospital bed.

"Whoa, calm down," a nurse said gently, but firmly, as he held her down.

She tried to catch her breath. The sheets were soaked with sweat.

"I'm," she said, "I'm okay... now... thanks."

He let her go and asked, "Bad dreams?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine," she said.

“I can get you something to help you sleep.”

“I said I’m fine now.”

"Okay," the nurse said as he walked away.

Pixyglitter doubted if she would be tempted by sleep again for several hours. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made her feel powerfully awake, and a little shaky. It was exactly as she had feared. She sensed some intelligence or will behind the experience that she and Cloud Blazer had shared. There was no running or hiding from it; the dream was waiting for her.

25 - Preparations, Part 1 of 4

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Beigh had finally completed his assigned task: inventory his company’s medical supplies. He'd been working on it for what seemed like an entire day, but in reality, it was only most of the morning. The Baltimare Fever had drained their resources significantly, but barring any other emergencies, they should have several weeks to restock. With the illness leaving and training returning to normal, the types of infirmity that were coming had been the usual bumps and bruises plus the occasional broken bone. Something felt missing, but Beigh couldn’t put his hoof on just what it was.

He was a little sad to have no more physical therapy sessions with Lieutenant Sparklefly. She’d been far nicer to him than most officers or the other cadets. In spite of her celebrity, actually meeting her on the occasions he'd been able to was quite different than he had thought it might be. It was amazing to discover that she seemed to be just another mare, like anypony else. While he didn't doubt that she'd been involved in each of the feats he’d heard told and retold, it did make Beigh wonder how much of the stories were true. In any case, she didn’t seem to let it go to her head.

He knew that a friendship developing there was likely rather slim. She was interesting, but she was also an officer, and the EUP had rules about that sort of thing.

Beigh decided that he'd best get the inventory report finished and turned in before anypony had to ask him for it. It never hurt to impresses the boss.

...

The scent of the pine needles filled Pixyglitter's nostrils. Oddly, it reminded her of home, which was comforting albeit false. She was from Manehattan, and were she awake, city smells would have been more likely to make her experience nostalgia. In any case, the feeling didn't last; the moon shone brightly overhead, and she realized that she was dreaming again.

Darting under the young tree, Pixyglitter hid beneath the low branches. She accidentally brushed her nose against the bark, which was cold and rough. She wanted nothing more than to wake up, but she didn't know how. This sort of experience was exactly like being awake. If she hadn't been able to remember what all had happened, that she was actually blind, she might have just accepted all of this as real.

"Come to me!" the lunar voice boomed above.

It sounded less like a chorus, and more like a singular voice this time.

"Come to me!" it repeated.

Pixyglitter cowered against the tree trunk, scratching her body against the bark. She crouched on the crunchy carpet of brown pine needles and covered her head. Now there was only silence and a stillness to the night air. The quiet was almost unbearable, but even worse was the feeling that she was being watched. It was as if the intelligence that brought the dream could see her, no matter where she hid from it.

The ground began to rumble, and then it shook. The trees swayed without a breeze and began toppling over. Pixyglitter ran off in a panic as the behemoths crashed down around her. The earth split open in front, and she was left with only one option. The flapping of wings took her quickly above the trees. She flew hard and fast, trying to escape. Faster and faster she flew, the cold night air stinging her eyes.

"Come to me!" the voice said a third time, now filled with rage.

The world, the clouds, the moon, and even the air itself burst into flames. Within seconds the heat also ignited Pixyglitter, and her body roasted in the fire until she awoke screaming. After the pain and fear had subsided, Pixyglitter was relieved to find that her room was empty. She lay back down on her sweat-drenched pillow, hoping she could stay awake for a few hours. The dreams were becoming consistently nightmarish.

25 - Preparations, Part 2 of 4

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Scootaloo's first few days adapting to her new duties were somewhat less exciting than she'd anticipated. So far, she hadn't learned anything new about Mane Crusher's questionable loyalties. He seemed to be carrying out his charge as a General exactly as he should. This didn't come as much of a surprise, but after the insinuations from their conversation at Java's, Scootaloo had suspected he was going to bring her on board immediately. As it was, she had mostly been trained to do paperwork. On the plus side, she had been promoted to lieutenant again.

At that present moment, Scootaloo was returning to CIC, having just turned in some status reports for the clerk to file. He was still agitated by the zebra that had been assigned to his office. Their abilities to communicate were limited, but orders had come all the way from the top that these sort of integrations were going to happen. The official reasoning was that the more closely the zebras and ponies work, the stronger the bond they'd form against the changelings. This seemed to make sense, but if the ponies that had been assigned to zebra regiments were having as much trouble communicating as the zebras were, the success of this plan looked doubtful at best.

"Walk with me, Lieutenant," General Mane Crusher said, a little more gruff than usual, as he exited CIC.

Scootaloo turned and followed him. One thing about the job that she found out quickly was that no matter what else was going on, if the general needed something, that was her priority. They walked silently down the hall, ending up at Mane Crusher's quarters. They only stopped there briefly for the general to retrieve his hat. The brim went all the way around, not unlike the cowboy hat that Applejack typically wore, but it didn’t look nearly so worn or farm-like.

Having retrieved Mane Crusher’s cover, they walked up to the top of the castle. As they exited the trap door, there were already five other officers waiting for them. Scootaloo recognized them all, but the only one she actually knew was Captain Radiant Pyre from Brax’s battalion. After a motion from Mane Crusher, Scootaloo shut the trap door behind them. The seven of them were alone.

"Lieutenant Scootaloo, we talked the other day about how far you would be willing to go to protect Equestria," Mane Crusher spoke with a terrifying quietness to his voice.

"Yes, sir; I remember," she replied as calmly as she could. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest.

"You said you would follow me," he said, then paused for her to reply.

"Yes.”

"Prince Shining Armor will not allow us to field our armies and attack the enemy. This is a disastrous tactic for many reasons. We can't hope to feed the population until the harvest, to say nothing of next winter. More than that, every day we wait, the changelings strengthen their positions and probe for weaknesses in ours.”

Scootaloo nodded. Her mouth was suddenly painfully dry.

"I am going to take command of the EUP," Mane Crusher said.

His eyes bored into her soul to judge Scootaloo's reaction. Even after everything she suspected, it was still somehow shocking to hear it said so directly. Scootaloo realized that her mouth was hanging open, and she shut it. The silence grew unbearable.

"I understand," she replied with a quiver in her voice. Scootaloo quickly cleared her throat and added, "I trust you completely."

"Very good," he said.

The other five being so quiet was a little disconcerting. Scootaloo tried to swallow, but it stuck in the back of her throat like a lump.

"We are already in key positions. We'll be able to take out the heads of every field unit, battalion size or larger in three days."

"Oh, wow," Scootaloo blurted out without thinking. Frantically trying to think of something more useful to reply, she said, "That is very fast work, if you don't mind my saying so, sir."

"We've been planning for a while now," he said, almost to himself. Then he continued gruffly, "That is all for now. Return to your normal duties; discuss this with no one."

"I understand," she replied, nodding slowly.

"We'll have a meeting in CIC tonight at twenty-two thirty hours," he said. "Dismissed."

Without another word, one of the other officers opened the trap door, and they exited one by one. Scootaloo scarcely was aware of the walk down the stairs and back to CIC. She was relieved to find a glass of water, but her head was pounding with this new knowledge.

Their fears were true; Swiftlight must have been correct, and they killed him for it. The next few hours of work went by in a blur as Scootaloo grappled with this information. She tried to not let anything distract her, but she knew that was impossible. It was all she could do to continue working at all.

It seemed like only minutes before it was time for Scootaloo's lunch ration. She left CIC, with her mind still in a fog. She wanted to go to the cadet's mess hall, but fear that they might be watching her was foremost on Scootaloo's mind. The specter of death felt like it was hanging over her shoulder, waiting for her to slip so it could make the kill. Her legs felt heavier with each step toward the mess hall.

"Lieutenant," a voice called out quietly.

Scootaloo, startled, jumped and spun around to face Captain Radiant Pyre.

"Easy," he said calmly. "Come here."

She followed him without question, becoming even more on edge. He was leading her into an alley that was obscured from all main traffic in town. Her heart pounded; her eyes darted around, looking for anything to indicate that this was a trap. If it were, she might be able to fly away. But Radiant Pyre was a unicorn; he could shoot her down. Also, if they wanted to trap her, they'd have pegasi on the rooftops.

It was a fearful enough thing to be in a fight, but the anticipation of an unknown was considerably worse. The unicorn captain stopped in the middle of the alley. He also was looking around as if to ensure that they were alone before turning back to face her.

"I know this business makes you uneasy. I feel the same as you," he said quietly.

Scootaloo had no idea what to answer. Was he saying that he didn't like the conspiracy? Would he be an ally? She was too afraid and untrusting to say anything that might get her killed.

She finally asked, “And how do we feel?" as dryly as possible.

"I know you don't want to betray Prince Shining Armor," he said quietly, looking around again. "I don't either. We have to find a way to warn him before it's too late."

Scootaloo was rather stunned to hear this so directly. Her instinct was to agree and help him. She wanted to warn the prince and prevent the coup more than anything. What should she do? If he were telling the truth, she had found an ally, but what if they got caught? If she gets herself killed, who will warn Shining Armor then?

These thoughts flooded through Scootaloo's mind in a moment, causing an intense frustration that combined with fear. Not sure what to do panic overtook her in the form of a defensive blind rage.

She leapt forward, a swift jab catching Radiant Pyre off guard. He staggered backwards as her onslaught continued. He reared back to protect his head just as she spun and kicked low, dropping him onto the ground. She was on top of him before he could get back up, and she continued pounding at his face.

"Shut up, shut up! Shut up!" she spit at him in a violent whisper.

"Stop," he gurgled as she hit him one last time.

Still panicked, Scootaloo heard herself say, "You do not speak anything against General Mane Crusher, not ever. Do you understand me?"

Blood was flowing from Radiant Pyre's nose, a bright red contrast to his white coat. Hooves were heard galloping up behind her, so Scootaloo spun around, grabbing up Radiant Pyre and putting him in a headlock.

"It's okay! Stop!" Radiant Pyre called out to them. "Don't hurt her."

Three of the other conspirators that she'd met on the roof were slowing their approach. Scootaloo was confused, but still too frightened to let Radiant Pyre go. She debated putting her knife to his throat for good measure. She didn't want to get him killed, but she had no idea who was on which side.

“Stand down, lieutenant,” a chestnut mare said. "This was a test."

"A test?" Scootaloo asked, still confused.

Radiant Pyre spit out blood that had been draining into his mouth. "It was a test," he confirmed. "We had to make sure you were on board with this."

"Lieutenant," the chestnut mare said sternly, "Let the captain go."

Scootaloo was shaking from the excess adrenaline; she felt her fore-legs go slack, and Radiant Pyre pulled away. Her mind was working through this situation. One of them coming to the new recruits and trying to get them to warn the prince must have been how they caught Swiftlight. He must have done something that had given himself away. If this was all accurate, Scootaloo couldn't have received better news. That meant that they didn't suspect her after all.

With a sigh of relief, Scootaloo said, "I'm sorry, Captain, I-"

"Forget it," Radiant Pyre said. He pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and began cleaning the blood. "In light of the circumstances, we'll skip the court marshal."

Scootaloo couldn't help but smile uneasily at this. She could now add striking a superior officer to her list of achievements in the EUP. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, almost cheerfully. “You hit like a girl. Besides, a bloody nose is a small price to pay to find out how committed you are." He let out a sort of laugh as he pressed the handkerchief to his nose and tilted his head back.

With the help of the other three, the two of them were straightened out quickly. The entire incident was less than ten minutes in the alley. Scootaloo was shaken, but significantly more confident. She had successfully infiltrated Mane Crusher's inner circle. Now she just had to figure out how to use this position to Shining Armor's advantage without getting herself killed.

"There you are," a familiar voice called out just as Scootaloo and Radiant Pyre were arriving the mess hall.

They stopped and turned around to see Sparklefly approaching. Her eye patch was turned so that the embroidered side was hidden.

"LT," Scootaloo instinctively said with a salute, forgetting that she'd just been promoted to lieutenant herself.

"Captain Radiant Pyre," Sparklefly saluted. "I didn't see you."

"As you were," he replied casually.

"I had actually been looking for both of you. LD and Lightning Dasher and I thought it would be appropriate to give you a little sendoff," she said to Scootaloo. "With your permission, of course, sir."

"Granted."

"How about tonight?" Sparklefly suggested.

Scootaloo's secret meeting was foremost on her mind, but she couldn't tell Sparklefly about it in public, especially front of Radiant Pyre.

"I can't. I have plans already." Scootaloo thought quickly to make up an excuse. "It's an orientation thing. What about in the morning?"

Sparklefly looked at Radiant Pyre, who nodded his consent. Scootaloo could feel her neck hairs standing on end, but she did her best to feign a pleasant disposition.

"I'll tell the others. Captain, you would be welcome to attend, of course," Sparklefly said cordially.

Scootaloo felt something like panic about to overtake her. Sparklefly had no idea that Radiant Pyre was part of the conspiracy.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll have other duties that will require my attention," he replied.

"It's a small matter. See you tomorrow morning then."

"Where are we gathering?" Scootaloo asked as Sparklefly turned to walk away.

Looking back, she said, "Oh, Sweet Apple Acres. Mayor Applejack has allowed us the use of her barn."

"See you there," Scootaloo said as Sparklefly trotted off.

"Do you think she would be sympathetic to our cause?" Radiant Pyre quietly asked Scootaloo.

Facing him directly, she replied, "No, I don't think so. Even if she were, it would be too dangerous to try to get her involved."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"She's a thinker," Scootaloo said, looking back at Sparklefly as she walked away. "She might see through any test we could give to determine her loyalty. I have to admit, you had me fooled.”

"Forget it," Radiant Pyre said dismissively.

With a quiet sigh of relief, Scootaloo was more than happy to drop that subject. A lunch ration, though small, would undoubtedly help calm her nerves. Any measure of relief would be most welcome.

25 - Preparations, Part 3 of 4

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Duster still wasn't accustomed to seeing Sissy with an eye patch. It would occasionally catch his attention during their drills. Today was all about marching in formation. This seemed a rather pointless exercise, given that he would probably be flying more than anything else after basic training. Still, it was nice to not be in the air for a change.

Duster was still sore from the last payload flight training. Drill Sergeant J seemed to have reduced his interest in their squad for the past few days, but Duster wasn't holding his breath. He knew somepony would screw up and bring him back sooner or later. Doff's passing was likely the reason they were being left alone, but surely that wouldn't hold for long. Duster, for one, would much rather have kept Doff, even if that meant the donkey’s ire would still fall their way.

After some distance marching, they went into repeatedly changing their formation between marching columns and firing lines. When they would change from one to the other, Duster could always see Sissy snapping into her position with extreme precision. Be it from sibling rivalry or some other cause, Duster mainly felt contempt for her. Doff was under her command, and she didn't even care that he was dead. Every step, Duster hardened his determination that he would surpass her. He would learn to out-march, outfly, and outfight Sissy. He could be better than her; he would be in every way.

Duster felt a daydream coming on, but he crushed it before it took over his mind. He sharpened his focus and redoubled his efforts as they continued moving rapidly into their different formations. His own drives aside, Locknload wouldn't put up with any mistakes; he and Drill Sergeant J had that in common, and Duster didn’t want either of them yelling at him, not again.

...

Cloud Blazer lay in his hospital bed staring out the window. Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep in a nearby chair. He envied her ability to do something so simple. He didn't remember how many days it had been since that dream, or if he had slept since then. The nights were now long and dreamless, and the constant pain from his injuries gnawed at him.

He still hadn't heard anything from Pixyglitter, which was frustrating. One of the nurses had confirmed what he’d suspected: she'd asked to be moved to another room and never said a word to him about it. Things certainly seemed to be getting worse at every turn. He was crippled, rejected by Scootaloo, and in spite of discovering something really important, he was abandoned by the only other pony that understood.

As he thought about this, Cloud Blazer decided that he was tired of laying down and feeling helpless. Something akin to anger began to fuel him, and he carefully climbed out of bed. Dull pain was coursing through his body, especially from his back right leg. Even keeping weight off of it, just standing upright made it throb uncomfortably.

Gritting his teeth, Cloud Blazer slowly walked to the door and left the room. He'd been doing this in physical therapy enough that he knew he could make it, though it was most unpleasant. Slowly, Cloud Blazer worked his way down the corridor. Each step made the pain pulse through him, but he kept going.

A nurse walked past him from behind. He was only slightly startled when he saw her, but she didn't pay him any attention. It only took him a few minutes to make his way to Pixyglitter's new room, but it seemed like a half hour because of the effort involved. He waited a moment outside the door to catch his breath. Cloud Blazer was sweating and aching all over. As quietly as he could, he opened the door and walked slowly in. Pixyglitter was sitting up in her bed, facing the door.

"Who's there?" she asked.

Cloud Blazer quietly shut the door and moved toward the nearest chair.

"I know you're not a doctor or a nurse. Is that you, Cloud Blazer?" her voice quivered.

"Yes, it's me.”

"I don't want to talk to you right now," she said coldly as she turned away.

"None of us get what we want lately," he answered, matching her tone.

"Why are you here?" she challenged, turning back to face him.

The bandages on her eyes looked wet, but not from blood. She'd either been sweating or crying.

"I need to talk to you. That dream we had-"

"No," she interrupted. "I definitely am not talking about that."

"We need to. I've been trying to figure these dreams out for over a month, and ever since that one, I can't sleep at all. I can't dream anymore."

"I don't care. Go away," Pixyglitter’s voice seethed with anger.

Cloud Blazer felt deeply cut. Tears welled up in his eyes, the sting of her words hurting more than his healing injuries. Without another attempt to speak, he turned and slowly walked out of the room to return to his hospital bed. He felt like he was melting inside.

25 - Preparations, Part 4 of 4

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Sparklefly said, "Thank you for letting us use the barn."

"Shucks, don't think nothing of it," Applejack replied cheerfully.

A rooster crowed, a harbinger that the morning was fast approaching. Applejack had only been mayor for a little while, but Sparklefly noticed that there was already a kind of weariness behind her smile, the glow of coming motherhood somewhat dampened by it.

The two of them, joined by Pinkie Pie, Lightning Dasher, LD, and Clyde were putting up some simple decorations for a small farewell party for Scootaloo. Sparklefly hoped it would give her a chance to have a final talk with her about anything related to the coup. Scootaloo had suggested that they have it early in the morning.

Cloud Blazer and Radiant Pyre had also been invited, but neither had opted to attend. In truth, Radiant Pyre had only been invited because he’d been standing there. It wasn’t that Sparklefly didn’t trust him, but she felt a need to keep as few in attendance as possible. Also, in the unlikely event that he were one of the conspirators, he’d be less suspicious about an event to which he was welcome. Sparklefly had hopes that more could be warned about the coming upheaval, but she had mixed feelings about speaking of such things. She also felt bad for not inviting Java Chip, but given the situation, the less they all saw of each other, the better.

"This is going to be great!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in her usual cheery way. "Sparklefly, would you mind passing up those streamers?"

"Sure.”

Her thoughts were drawn to Duster. The relief that he had survived was waning in favor of old grudges that Sparklefly and her brother had formed over their lifetimes. His abilities as a soldier were improving significantly, which did make her somewhat proud of him. The barn door opened, and Mrs. Cake entered.

"What'd you find?" Applejack asked.

"I'm so sorry, Applejack; I mean Mrs. Mayor!" Mrs. Cake fumbled her words.

"Aw, heck, ain't no need to gettin’ all proper on me," Applejack laughed in reply.

Mrs. Cake smiled and said, "We just finished searching the house, and we've only got one zap apple left, and a little hay. There's just nothing to make any kind of sweets with."

"Sorry about this, everypony," Applejack apologized.

"It's a small matter,” Sparklefly tried to reassure her. "We're all well aware of the rationing. This is definitely one case where the thought will count."

Applejack seemed to accept her disarming smile.

"Are you kidding?" Pinkie Pie started. "It'll be way more than fine once Fluttershy gets here with the balloons!" She finished by doing a cartwheel off of the ladder upon which she’d been standing.

"Is she always, this...” Lightning Dasher paused.

"Manic?" LD finished.

Sparklefly snorted, "You know I hate it when you two do that."

"Do what?" they asked in unison.

"Heh, heh," Applejack laughed. "Getting those two to think different ain't likely. Hey, Clyde, would you mind terribly checking the cellar one last time. I think there might be some cider still down there."

"Alright," the unicorn replied.

The thought of cider made Sparklefly feel ill all over again after her post-election celebratory debacle.

Mrs. Cake and Clyde exited the barn as the rest of them continued their festive work. They pulled some empty barrels around to serve as tables, but there was more than a little sadness that they had nothing to serve on the tables. LD and Lightning Dasher worked to create a banner. Despite their constant like-mindedness, there was a fair amount of arguing between the two of them about it. This was rather fascinating to Sparklefly, but she decided against bringing it to their attention. Things were nearly complete when Fluttershy arrived.

"Good morning there, Fluttershy," Applejack greeted her.

"Oh! Did you get them? Did you get them?" Pinkie Pie bounced toward her with unbridled enthusiasm.

"Oh," Fluttershy said, looking away, and sort of kicking the dirt floor with one hoof. "Gosh, I'm really sorry, but I looked all over Ponyville yesterday. They didn't have balloons anywhere."

Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped open in shock.

"It's a small detail," Sparklefly reassured them.

All in all the decorations were fairly dismal. The banner that LD and Lightning Dasher made was good, and they had quite a lot of streamers, but that was about it. While the barn was much more colorful and festive, Sparklefly now felt like this had been a dumb idea. She was glad that she hadn't tried to make it a surprise party. Clyde finally returned.

"Make no mistake, these are the last two bottles of cider on Sweet Apple Acres, unless you have another stash somewhere," he said to Applejack.

"No, sir," she replied. "That'll be the last cider on the farm for sure."

When the appointed hour finally arrived, there was one thing in plenty, and that was good cheer. The Cakes stayed in the house to keep a watchful eye over the sleeping "young 'uns". Scootaloo arrived with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and everypony began having a good time just visiting. In spite of Sparklefly's feelings about the decorations, she too was enjoying the company of the others. There was a kind of intangible quality to this sort of gathering that was present, even though the expected ingredients were sparse at best.

It was heartwarming to see Scootaloo with such dear friends. They were all lucky to have each other. The little food they had went fast, but everypony took care to savor the two bottles of apple cider. There was hardly half a cup for any of them, but it was delicious. Sparklefly was almost able to forget the unpleasant business that prompted this gathering, almost.

Watching all of them, she considered each one. Scootaloo's friends were definitely trustworthy. LD and Lightning Dasher also had never done or said anything to make Sparklefly feel that they would join a coup. That only left Clyde. He'd been with Brax for quite a while, but she didn't know him that well. They had defended the farm together, and he'd been assigned to Scootaloo during her punishment. Maybe Scootaloo would know something more by now.

As time grew short, Scootaloo stood up on a barrel and said, "Well, very soon we'll all have to report for duty. Thank you all for coming; you are the best friends a pony could have.” She became serious and continued, “I’ve had such a good time, and I hate to spoil it, but... I’m afraid I have to say something now that will put all of our lives in danger."

Everypony became instantly silent when she said this. Scootaloo looked to Sparklefly, as if asking something.

Sparklefly was holding no small amount of trepidation inside, "It is safe to talk here."

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to be as straight as I can,” Scootaloo paused and swallowed hard. "There's about to be a rebellion against Prince Shining Armor."

Sparklefly heard gasps and quiet chatter throughout the room, and her own heart sank at the news. She had hoped that Swiftlight had been mistaken, or that the letter was a prank of some kind.

"Whoa, there, nellie," Applejack spoke up. "Just how in the hay are we supposed to buy something like that?"

Scootaloo looked somehow sad, but resolute as she replied, "Not long ago, we received a letter, written by Captain Swiftlight." 
"Java Chip's friend?" Fluttershy said.

Sweetie Belle asked, "What did it say?"

"It warned that there was a plot to overthrow the prince, and that the military was behind it. It also said that if Swiftlight were to suddenly disappear, then he had been killed." Scootaloo took a breath. "He has disappeared, which is what got Sparklefly and me involved."

Everypony's eyes turned to Sparklefly. She had been rubbing her eye patch but quickly stopped, feeling embarrassed about it.

"Everything she is saying is true. Swiftlight had left the letter for Java Chip to find, and she didn't know what else to do, so she brought it to us," Sparklefly confirmed.

"I got reassigned in order to see if I could get close to General Mane Crusher and find out more," Scootaloo continued. "He is the one behind this."

"I think it's mighty brave of you to go investigating and all, but shouldn't we warn somepony?" Applejack asked.

"We already tried," Scootaloo replied. "Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash dismissed everything I said out of hoof. The thing is, we didn't have any evidence except for the letter, which we destroyed for fear of being caught with it. I'm telling you all this now because I want to keep you safe. This coming insurrection is now a verified fact; I have become... involved with the conspirators."

"So, can't you warn Shining Armor now, now that you know for sure?” Apple Bloom asked, a quiver in her voice.

"There isn't time," Scootaloo said as she hung her head, "It happens tonight."

Sparklefly felt her blood run cold.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 1 of 9

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Scootaloo sat silently in CIC. She had just entered the castle minutes before, and the sun would soon set. The moment the great glowing orb passed below the horizon, a foul plan was going to be in motion. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, there would be no stopping it. Should the conspirators hit the mark, the Equestria she knew wouldn’t survive the impact. Her nerves were raw as she prepared herself for this coming storm.

She held some measure of confidence in the plans that Sparklefly and her other friends had come up with only that morning. They were as solid as they could be under the circumstances. Each of them would be risking their lives in a deadly game this night. Scootaloo was quite aware that her role was likely the most dangerous: playing as part of the rebellion in order to derail it. The likelihood was growing in her mind that if one side didn't kill her, the other might. Caution and decisive effective action would be her only real defense. CIC had been emptied of anypony that was not involved in the conspiracy.

"The sun has just set," one of the scouts came in and reported.

"It is time, then," General Mane Crusher said solemnly, stroking his mustache. "Fall to your duties. Minimize casualties as much as you can. The less blood shed tonight, the better for all of us."

Officially, the plan was to capture Prince Shining Armor, Princess Flurry Heart, and all of the EUP officers that were not part of the conspiracy to force a surrender. Only about a thousand of Mane Crusher's force would be left in Ponyville. They were counted on as loyal to the general. Another three-thousand would be going to Cloudsdale to secure the prince. The rest, who were not part of the conspiracy, were being sent to reinforce battles that were not actually in progress all across Equestria. By the time they returned to Ponyville and realized what had happened, it would all be over.

"Move out," General Mane Crusher ordered.

The group went to their assignments quietly, causing a feeling of eeriness. Within and hour, all of the gears would be turning, and Scootaloo would be on her way to Cloudsdale.

"I would have had Sparklefly join us," Mane Crusher said, almost wistfully toward Scootaloo. "Her popularity among the troops would have made her a valuable asset.”

"Me too," was her simple reply.

There had been some debate over using part of their force to contain Sparklefly, but in the end Mane Crusher decided that she wouldn't be enough of a threat to worry about. If she tried to mount a resistance, her platoon would be hopelessly outnumbered. Scootaloo remained as silent as possible on the subject, only answering questions asked of her. The last thing she wanted to do was draw more attention to any of her friends.

Every detail had been meticulously planned. The only factor that couldn't be directly controlled was the zebras. There were two-thousand of them assigned to Ponyville. Yet, as if by a cruel trick of fate, they were out on maneuvers overnight in the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo wasn't sure what they might have accomplished even if they had stayed in Ponyville. For all she knew, they might side with the general as well.

"Go and get yourself prepared, Lieutenant," the general said to her. "We all wear armor tonight."

Scootaloo nodded, swallowing hard. She trotted quickly down to her new quarters to grab her gear. The hour that was spent preparing the bulk of their force to be scattered to the wind flew by quickly. Rumors were running back and forth about the fighting that was happening in Baltimare and Las Pegasus. It was all a ruse. Minor actions aside, the timberwolves and changelings had been quiet all day.

Scootaloo felt like she was going down a slide or a roller coaster and it was dropping too quickly. She had assembled with the general and their group just after all other regiments had disembarked. They had a mix of detachments totaling one-thousand five-hundred pegasi and a mixed thousand five-hundred earth ponies and unicorns. The final thousand was now set to begin their sweep to secure Ponyville.

With a nod from General Mane Crusher, everypony attached their harnesses in preparation for flight. Scootaloo herself would be carrying the general. It crossed her mind that she could drop him somewhere over Equestria, but she'd never get away with that. He wore a parachute, so somepony else would pick him up, and she'd probably get killed. She felt somewhat helpless.

Another nod from the general sent wings flapping, and the entire attack force lifted off and turned on a direct heading of north-northwest. It would be about an hour-and-a-half flight to Cloudsdale. Scootaloo found herself hoping for a headwind, but the sky was still. But for the flapping of wings, it was a quiet night as they headed into the darkness of a first-quarter moon.

...

Cloud Blazer had drifted into an uneasy half-sleep, which was interrupted by the door to his hospital room opening rather suddenly. Several ponies poured in and shut the door behind themselves. They were chattering quietly as he watched them. They were all hooded and cloaked. He was just about to push the button to call for the nurse when Apple Bloom threw off her hood and spoke.

"Please don't!" she begged.

"Okay," he replied. Confusion began filling the stallion. "What's going on?"

"Do y'all hear that?" Applejack asked.

The rest of them took down their hoods as they listened. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Sweetie Belle were with Applejack and Apple Bloom. Cloud Blazer could now hear sounds of soldiers outside. Fluttershy turned off the light as the group moved to the windows.

"They're mobilizing," Sweetie Belle said quietly.

"Looks like we got here right on time," Apple Bloom said.

Pinkie Pie was silent, which sparked a kind of ominous terror in Cloud Blazer more than anything that the others had said.  
"What's happening?" he asked again. "Are we under attack?"

Sweetie Belle came to the bed, "No, it's a rebellion."

Fear and disbelief flooded Cloud Blazer's mind.

"No, no way," he said in shock. “That’s impossible.”

"I'm afraid so," Applejack gravely confirmed.

Fluttershy started whimpering and quivering.

"Don't you worry about your animals," Pinkie Pie said, her voice devoid of her usual cheer. "They'll be fine," she embraced Fluttershy.

"That they will," Applejack agreed.

"A rebellion?" Cloud Blazer heard himself ask vacantly. 
"General Mane Crusher is taking over," Apple Bloom began. "Scootaloo and Sparklefly warned us about it."

"They told us to hide Applejack tonight. They’re going to ‘secure’ the civil authorities," Sweetie Belle added.

"I just can't believe it," Cloud Blazer said.

"Believe it," Applejack said, "y'all see that there?"

The others crowded the window as Cloud Blazer pulled himself off of the bed. They made room as he approached, every injury screaming as he moved. His eyes convinced him that their words were true. About twenty soldiers had surrounded the city hall as others were moving through the city. Another squad pushed past the door at city hall and stormed the building. Blinking his eyes didn't change what he was seeing. Cloud Blazer hoped that he had finally begun dreaming again. He hadn't.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 2 of 9

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Duster was on his way to his rack after what had been a long day of drills when Jewel caught up to him.

"Duster, where have you been?" she asked in her annoyed tone.

"In the mess hall, where else?" he huffed back.

"Locknload said to find everypony. We need to gear up, like now.”

"You've got to be kidding me," the stallion complained.

"He said on the double; let's go!" she griped at him.

He ran after her as she galloped toward their tent. It was a short run from where she’d found him. The rest of the squad was already there, putting on full armor.

"What's going on?" Duster asked.

"Can it, soldier," Locknload barked at him. "Get your gear on. Full armor, full weapons. Leave the weights."

Duster complied without hesitation, but he was confused. They never did anything without the weights. They were for strength building.

"Lieutenant Sparklefly has some special training for us. She didn't say, and I didn't ask.”

"Sounds about right," Quickbeam said sarcastically.

Swiftly moving nose to nose, smashing their helmets together, Locknload said, "I've had about enough of your sass. Are you finished?"

"Sir, yes sir," Quickbeam answered.

The squad completed gearing up, and moved out after Locknload. Gunnysack was behind him, followed by Moonsliver, Jewel, Quickbeam, Rolling Thunder, and Duster in the rear. The squad seemed much smaller without Sergeant Scootaloo and Doff. Duster was not at all happy with Locknload acting as the new sergeant, but he Scootaloo had recommended him for the job when she left. Sissy and Drill instructor J had agreed. The squad ran toward the far end of the training ground at a fast canter.

"Halt!" a passing guard shouted.

A signal from Locknload brought the squad to a stop, and they all stood at attention. The guard wasn’t alone; Captain Radiant Pyre was passing with two squads of his own.

"Where are you headed?" the captain asked.

"Sir, training on the far end, sir!" Locknload answered.

"It's been cancelled," Radiant Pyre replied. There was a tone in his voice that didn't feel right to Duster. He seemed uneasy somehow as he looked over the squad. "Return to your barracks and disarm. Get some sleep."

"Sir!" Locknload saluted and led the squad back in the direction of their tent.

Now Duster was completely confused. It was bad enough having to gear up and run half-way across the training grounds in the first place, but now they were going back to their tent. Apparently somepony wasn't communicating well.

They continued toward their tent until they were completely out of sight of Captain Radiant Pyre, and then Locknload turned, leading the group east. None in the squad questioned him, which was the wiser course considering how he generally responded to such things. Locknload acted as if any question of that sort were a personal challenge to him or his authority.

The protective shields surrounding Ponyville and the training ground began sparkling and suddenly collapsed. That was cause for concern, as those defense fields were left on day and night. Looking about, Duster soon realized that their squad was the only one outside. A strange feeling that began forming in him. He felt compelled to keep checking behind them as they continued. He knew that something was wrong, but he didn't know what.

...

Sparklefly stood before her platoon. All except for Locknload's squad had reported to her as expected. Sergeants LD, Lightning Dasher, Clyde, and Digger had their squads fully armed and ready for action. Locknload was definitely late, but they couldn't wait, and she couldn't spare anypony to find out what had happened to them.

Looking over her squads, Sparklefly was painfully aware of how few they seemed now. There were almost forty of them, but if what Scootaloo had told her was accurate, a thousand rebels would be in Ponyville. Her team only possessed two advantages: Mane Crusher’s rebels would be busy securing the town and Major Brax, leaving the castle itself mostly unprotected, and of course, the element of surprise.

If they were lucky, there would only be about five to ten inside at any given time. Once Brax was taken by the rebels, they would move him to the cellar where they could keep him locked up. This was Sparklefly's twofold objective: get to Brax and protect him, and move as many loyal soldiers into the castle as possible. If they could succeed in securing the castle, Scootaloo would have a place to fall back, should she succeed in her endeavor.

"It looks like this is it," Sparklefly finally addressed her platoon.

"Somepony's coming," Sergeant Digger said.

Sparklefly tensed up for a moment, but was soon back to a normal level of fear. It was Locknload and his squad. She felt relieved to see Duster.

"You're late, acting sergeant," Sparklefly said evenly. "Explain yourself."

"Sir, we ran into our captain, who ordered us back to our tent to disarm. As per your instructions, I pretended to obey and then we circled around and came here as fast as we could," he replied.

"Well done.”

Sparklefly felt herself smile. She could see the raw materials for a good soldier in him.

Turning to the others again, she said, "I have ordered you all out in full gear because we are under attack; this is no drill."

Sparklefly took a deep breath as fear filled the faces of her platoon; her eye patch was itching. She was trying to think of something inspiring to say, something befitting 'the Hero of Canterlot'.

"I'm going to be asking more of each of you tonight than I have any right, but Equestria needs you. Our forces have been infiltrated by changeling spies. They are moving against us tonight, and we are part of the plan to stop them."

Sparklefly didn't like lying to her soldiers, but it provided a small chance to protect them if things went badly. Besides, it seemed only fitting considering the fact that it was the very same lie that Captain Radiant Pyre was telling to any of the loyal soldiers that he needed for the rebellion.

"Our objective is to protect Major Brax. He has been captured, and even now is being escorted to the castle in Ponyville. We may come under fire from changelings posing as EUP soldiers or officers, or actual EUP soldiers that don't know what's going on. We must do whatever is necessary to protect the major and take that castle. Do you understand?" 
The sergeants answered in a muted tone. "Sir, yes sir.”

Duster looked petrified. Sparklefly almost wished he wasn't here. Taking him directly into harm's way was not on her to-do list, but there was no way around it.

"The defense shields are already down, which means it has begun," she continued. "Let's move out."

The five squads followed behind her, and they moved silently into the edge of the Everfree Forest, using the foliage for cover. They stayed near the edge of the tree line, coming closer and closer to Ponyville. The little light that came from the first quarter moon couldn’t penetrate the canopy to reveal their presence.

Sparklefly's heart was pounding in her chest. She tried to just remain focused on what was immediately important. Find Brax; take the castle; hold out for reinforcements.

A strange feeling came over her all at once, and she signaled everypony to halt. They all dropped in place, laying flat on the ground.

Sparklefly sat crouched, looking around. She could have sworn she had heard something. No, it wasn't that; she’d felt something. It was almost like being watched. A shiver went up Sparklefly's spine, and she unconsciously rubbed at her eye patch. The minutes stretched on as they sat waiting for something to happen. Insect life aside, the night was forebodingly quiet.

Using gestures, Sparklefly commanded Sergeant Digger to send two scouts to walk around and return. He silently sent two of his unicorns. They went right first, disappearing into the blackness of the night.

Sparklefly tilted her head, mistakenly thinking she heard a drum in the distance. It only took her a moment to realize it was the sound of her own blood pumping, rushing through her ears. Sweat was trickling down her neck as the platoon waited. Only minutes later, the two scouts returned from the front, signaling that the way was clear. The platoon continued moving toward Ponyville, and the eerie feeling that had bothered Sparklefly subsided. She decided that they weren't actually being watched, that it must have just been her nerves.

It wasn't.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 3 of 9

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Pixyglitter sat nervously in her hospital bed. There were noises outside that sounded like some kind of attack was underway. She had already hit her button to call a nurse, but nobody came. Sitting there alone, fear was her only companion. Her physical therapy had gone well enough that she was now permitted the use of a wheelchair, which stayed by her bed, but fear kept her from the attempt. If the nurses wouldn't come to her, it was probably too dangerous for her to leave. What options did she have? Being blind, she'd only be a burden to anypony that found her. She could try to barricade the door, but that seemed a futile gesture if the hospital were actually under attack.

As she considered these things, Pixyglitter suddenly fell through the bed and the floor, directly into a dreaming state. Bright light shone all around her, and she landed on the moon again. She began to rear back, petrified, and then she fell up off of the moon and back toward the ground. She let out a scream but couldn’t even hear it. Equestria grew larger and larger as she accelerated toward it. She was too afraid to even try flying, but she shut her eyes just before she hit the ground. There was no pain.

"Look and see!" the moon's chorus voice said.

Pixyglitter opened her eyes to see the moon sitting beside her. It was now tiny, about the size of a pony.

"Look and see!" the voice repeated.

Pixyglitter looked down to see Ponyville. EUP soldiers were running all around, and a group of them forced their way into the city hall. The hospital was untouched for the moment, but it looked like they were securing the entire town. Suddenly, she was over the training ground, and she saw a major with a bag over his head being escorted toward Ponyville. Then she was in the air, with what had to be thousands of other ponies flying in a combat formation. The rapid movement made her feel nauseous.

"Stop, stop!" Pixyglitter cried out.

The next thing she knew, she was in Cloud Blazer's hospital room. He had others with him; she didn't know them. They all seemed worried about the events unfolding outside. The room went dark, and all Pixyglitter could see was Cloud Blazer, lying in his bed. She had never been able to see his injuries, as in the rest of her dreams he had been in perfect health.

He looked so much smaller than she had thought, almost frail like he was wasting away. Bandaged wounds were all that remained of his wings, and his face looked hollow, as if the life had been drained from it. The next thing Pixyglitter knew, she had awakened.

Blind and helpless again, her heart pounded in her chest. All she could do was listen to what was happening outside.

...

Beigh was startled by an officer shouting at him.

"What are you doing?"

It was Captain Radiant Pyre.

"Sir, I heard the signal to return to quarters and was heading back to my tent, sir," Beigh replied uneasily.

He thought it odd that Major Brax was with them, and that he had a bag over his head. Noticing that Captain Radiant Pyre saw his glance, Beigh quickly looked down. He heard the captain sigh.

"Fall in behind us," Radiant Pyre ordered.

In a flash, two that were with him had positioned themselves on each of Beigh's flanks.

"Yes, sir!" he replied.

They began marching toward Ponyville. Even if he were good at fighting, Beigh was ridiculously outnumbered, not to mention unarmed. There was no way out of this one. He considered what he might say to put himself in a more favorable position, but the entire situation reeked of something foul. He decided to remain silent.

They continued past the normal checkpoints, but there were no guards at them. It wasn't until they made it to the border of Ponyville that they discovered any patrols. One look at Captain Radiant Pyre, and they were allowed in. They didn't scan any of them to ensure that they weren't changelings. Had there been an attack? What was going on?

...

Sparklefly silently ordered a halt as they arrived at the edge of the forest closest to town. She crept as far as she dared and assessed the situation. It was dark, but there were enough lights to make out soldiers patrolling everywhere. It was a solid deployment, and her platoon would never get through it unseen. If they were lucky, they’d get escorted back to their barracks. If it came to blows, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

She looked back at her platoon, their eyes all on her from the darkness. Their next move was going to be tricky. LD slithered up beside her.

"What do you think?" she whispered to him.

LD shook his head, "There's no way we'll get through that."

His blue eyes almost twinkled in the darkness. The deep scar under his right eye was barely visible. Sparklefly nodded, looking back into town. Scootaloo's information had been flawless so far. It looked like there was at least a regiment guarding the town. That meant they had only one recourse.

"As discussed, we'll take the river," Sparklefly ordered quietly.

"Yes, ma'am," LD replied as he moved back to prepare the platoon.

According to Scootaloo, there was only one real weak point in the rebels defenses of Ponyville. They had the perimeter patrolled, a strong CAP, and the bridges were all covered. The only thing they weren't considering was anypony to come out of the river itself. That provided an opportunity to get pretty close to the castle without being detected. Unfortunately the river didn't run beside it; they would still have to cross the edge of town to get there.

The platoon got moving again, a little more quickly this time, but maintaining stealthy silence. They followed the tree line almost due east toward the river. That feeling of being watched was on Sparklefly again. She looked around, but the shadow of night obscured anything that might have been lurking in the trees.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 4 of 9

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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.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 5 of 9

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Beigh was given a final shove from one of his captors, nearly making him slam into the stone wall.

”You sit there," Captain Radiant Pyre commanded.

"Yes, sir," he replied, sitting beside Brax in the castle cellar.

"Lock them in; stand guard outside," the captain ordered.

Beigh watched helplessly, overcome by fear as one squad followed the captain up the stairs, and the other squad secured the door from the other side. Left alone with the major, Beigh took a moment to calm down and consider the situation before speaking.

"I know I'm not a changeling; I conclude you're not either.”

Major Brax sighed, saying nothing.

"They could have at least taken the bag off of your head.”

Getting up, he moved over to the bound major and executed that small mercy. Brax's eyes contained a murderous fire that was rather unsettling to behold. Beigh began looking for something to cut the ropes that tied the officer’s hooves. If there ever had been anything sharp in the cellar, somepony had seen well to removing it. There was mostly broken harnesses and other damaged equipment.

The only other thing of note in the room was the magical light source in the corner, a pink glowing orb somewhat smaller than a beach ball. Somehow, it drew in his attention, and Beigh forgot all about Brax and being imprisoned. As he stared at the artifact, the moment seemed to stretch into eternity, swallowing all thought and feeling.

...

Sparklefly might have felt more uneasy being underwater were she not so focused on the task at hoof. The spell was working perfectly, and her platoon was still behind her. All they had to do was find the right spot to come out of the river. Walking against the current was time consuming, and although she'd considered going faster, she didn't want to wear anypony out before they even had to fight. The faint glow from the magic was the only thing that allowed her to see. The blackness in the river was even darker than the night had been.

Sparklefly kept her breathing steady and slow. The magic that enabled her to inhale air through water had a curious effect of forming little bubbles all over her body. It might have been like diving into a pool of club soda. Around her nostrils, they grouped together and made pockets of air. It tickled a little bit, but it was a sensation to which she’d quickly become accustomed. She couldn't hear well, as everything was muffled by the water rushing downstream past her ears.

They felt their way forward. Eventually, even the darkness at the bottom of the river became faint variations of shadow. Sparklefly began to make out dim shapes. There wasn’t much to see aside from sand and the vegetation one would expect to find clinging to the underside of a river. The only tell-tale sign that they had made progress was the litter under the bridges as they went by. Carelessly discarded bottles and bricks, while not in great number, were plenteous enough to let Sparklefly know that they had passed three bridges already, and they were now under the last one. It was time.

Sparklefly was in the lead and cautiously approached the bank. She slowly pushed her head out of the water facing into town. As expected, the spell ended as soon as she hit the open air again. The air smelled somehow sweeter after being under water.

She stood there, mostly submerged, looking around for any threats. It appeared as if this was a gap in the defenses after all. Scootaloo had come through for them again. Slower than a snail, Sparklefly shuffled out of the river, the water shedding off of armor and her body. It made the night feel much colder, but there wasn't time to worry about that. The platoon came out of the river the same way she did.

"Lightning Dasher," Sparklefly whispered, "I want your squad on point with you in front. I might be recognized."

"Yes ma'am," Lightning Dasher replied.

"Take us straight to the castle as confidently as you can," Sparklefly said. "If we're lucky, we won't be stopped." She took a deep breath. "One final thing. Unicorns, you must be ready. If we run into trouble, the order to open fire will probably come without warning. Be ready.” She looked around at nervous faces of her squad leaders and cadets. Duster was afraid, but there wasn’t anything she could do to help him this time. She took a final breath, “Let's move."

As Lightning Dasher took the lead, Sparklefly blended into the second squad in their formation. She very much hoped that their luck would hold out a little longer. This was the single most dangerous part of their plan, unless the coup were successful. There really was no backup plan if Shining Armor got captured or killed. Sparklefly pushed these thoughts from her mind as they continued walking directly into town toward the castle. As they drew near, Sparklefly's heart sank as two platoons came out of the main entrance and headed directly for them.

"Keep calm and keep moving," Sparklefly said quietly.

Lightning Dasher led them on, closer and closer to the incoming soldiers. Sparklefly was holding her breath when she realized that none of them had drawn any weapons or done anything defensive. They altered course slightly, passing right by her platoon, not even paying a moment’s attention. They continued away, heading in the direction of the hospital. This made Sparklefly nervous for a different reason: Applejack.

...

Cloud Blazer could see them. About a hundred soldiers were heading directly for the hospital, presumably to search for Applejack.

"See that?" Applejack said. "They sure are coming this way."

"What are we gonna do, sis?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't know, sugar cube," came the reply.

Pinkie Pie was still holding Fluttershy, who was crying. Cloud Blazer's adrenaline was flowing, which reduced the pain he felt from his injuries, but he knew full well that he was in no condition to fight.

"We could hide behind the beds," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"If they're thorough at all, it won't help," Cloud Blazer said sullenly.

"Maybe we can barricade the door?" Applejack suggested.

Everypony looked around, but they didn't really see anything that would do the job.

"If they find a blocked door, they'll know they need to come in," Cloud Blazer said thoughtfully. "I think Sweetie Belle is right."

The others looked at him.

"We all hide behind the beds and open the door. If the room looks empty, maybe they'll pass by."

"I don't know," Applejack said. "It seems awful risky."

Cloud Blazer replied, "If you're going to fight, you have to hold them at the door. You can't run. They'll have a CAP watching the roof by now. Also, we’re unarmed and impossibly outnumbered.“

He watched the mayor as she considered the options. She stood still, faint light from the window illuminating the curve of her belly, another party to protect. All eyes in the room were on her.

“Alright, like Sweetie Belle said,” she finally decided.

The group hid, half of them behind Cloud Blazer's bed, and the rest behind the other empty bed. Sweetie Belle opened the door, scurrying back to her hiding place. They could already hear soldiers shouting in the corridor. Cloud Blazer’s mouth went dry in frightful anticipation.

...

Pixyglitter felt she was going crazy from the noise of the soldiers in the hallways. She finally did get into her wheelchair and began barricading the door with anything she could find. This still felt utterly pointless, but she couldn’t restrain herself. She was able to tie off the handle with one of the curtains that divides the room. It wouldn't hold for long if somepony were determined to get in, but it would at least slow down an intruder.

Now she just needed a weapon, but there were none to be found. There was a clipboard on the end of her bed, but it wasn't heavy enough. The pen in it might be useful if she could see to gouge out somepony's eyes. In her present condition, that was a doubtful prospect at best. The rails on the bed would work if she could get them off, but they were attached far too well.

The bed sheets would have to do. She could use them like a net to confuse anypony that came in. Maybe that would put them on more even ground. Turning the lights off, Pixyglitter wheeled herself to sit behind the door. If it were forced open, she'd at least not be directly in view. Her paltry fortifications completed, all she could do was wait. A cold sweat on her brow, her heart pounded a fast steady rhythm.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 6 of 9

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Cloud Blazer knew that more soldiers had arrived by the echo of pounding hooves spreading out through the hallway. It sounded like they were searching room to room. He lay in his bed, facing the door and pretending to sleep. The others were hiding on the floor behind the beds, so at least they wouldn't be seen from the corridor. His breath became shallow as the soldiers drew closer and closer. He still couldn't see them, but they couldn't be more than a room or two away. Banging noise from above signaled that solders were searching several floors.

The stallion tried to swallow, difficult as his throat was parched. His heart pounded against his ribcage as two unicorns came up to the door. They turned on the light, effectively stopping time for a moment. Cloud Blazer was blinded by the brightness, and started to sit halfway up, squinting at them. One of them took a few steps forward just when shouting came from the hallway.

"We found her! Let's go!" a soldier cried out.

The two unicorns darted away, leaving the light on in their haste as they charged down the length of the hospital. Cloud Blazer laid back down, and everypony in the room sighed in collective relief.

...

Pixyglitter had no intention of complying, no matter what they said.

"Madam mayor, open this door right now!" a soldier shouted.

"There's been an attack, and we have orders to bring you to the castle for your own safety," the soldier said.

"There is no mayor in here," Pixyglitter shouted, her voice full of fear.

She had managed to find a vase in the room and shatter it, taking up one of the larger shards to use as a knife. It wouldn't be long now. It sounded like the one was now joined by several others. They began ramming the door.

Leaving her wheelchair to block the door, Pixyglitter rolled up one of the bedsheets to use it as a rope. She quickly tied off one end to a door stop, and the other to a cabinet handle on the other side. It wasn't strong, but it should be enough to trip the first one that came in. This task was difficult without the use of her eyes. They pounded again and the door cracked. Pixyglitter crawled to sit near the opening and waited; her thoughts were only on the battle ahead. They would be wearing armor, so her best bet would be to go for the throat.

They pounded again and again, but eventually the door broke open. She heard one of the soldiers yelp as he stumbled on the bed sheet, and his heavy body fell on her with full force. Not wasting the opportunity, she jammed the broken shard of vase up into him, hearing a metallic scrape, and then she was covered in the warm effusion that followed. She had hit her mark.

"By Celestia! Stand down!" a soldier shouted.

Pixyglitter groped on the body of the dying soldier and found his knife. There was some fight still in him, and he began struggling against her. She pulled it from the sheath and held it forward.

"Back away or I swear I'll kill you all!" she screamed viscously.

"Put the knife down; we're not going to hurt you," the soldier spoke in a forced calm.

"Then why beat in the door?" she said, her voice quivering from the adrenaline surge.

She heard the light click on and then collective gasp.

"You let a blind girl take your knife?" one soldier asked.

Another snorted. Pixyglitter groaned at the callous description.

"We don't have time for this," another said.

Pixyglitter heard the action of a crossbow being loaded.

"I'm not going to ask again. Put that knife down," a soldier said.

The tone in his voice let Pixyglitter know that he would kill her if she didn't comply. Her resolve failed, and she heard the knife clatter to the floor. There was some scrambling, and she was soon restrained.

"Medic!" one of the soldiers shouted down the corridor.

"Nah, I'm fine," another said. "She only skewered my canteen; I'm not hurt."

The soldiers moved about, finally placing her back in her hospital bed. It didn't take them long to finish their search of the room. They talked quietly among themselves before walking away and leaving her there. Pixyglitter felt the bandages over her eyes become soaked with tears. She was just a useless blind girl. She had become helpless and she knew it.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 7 of 9

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Duster's heart was pounding as they approached the castle. They had passed right by several platoons only moments ago, but there was no way to know how many more were inside. Two guards were visible as they came around to the entrance.

"Halt! Who goes there?" one of the sentries asked.

"Lightning Dasher commanding Sparklefly's platoon, reporting as ordered!" Lightning Dasher boldly proclaimed as the platoon halted.

"We weren't told you were involved," the guard said.

Duster was shaking, and his mouth went dry. The guard obviously didn't believe Lightning Dasher.

"Look, they tell me report, I report," Lightning Dasher said in a condescending way.

"I don't think so," the guard said firmly. "Return to your barracks at once!"

Lightning Dasher sighed, "Fine; follow me, everypony.”

"Open fire!" Sissy shouted.

Six of the unicorns had an clear line of sight, they blasted the guards with magical energy that split the silence that had been growing in the night. The guards went down fast, and burn marks were left in the stones around them. Duster shivered with fear.

"Inside, move!" Sissy shouted.

Duster was quick to follow as the platoon charged forward to the gate. He could hear confusion and shouting erupting from all directions. As he reached the door, crossbow bolts and magical energy began impacting around him.

"Push the gate!" LD shouted.

The doors slammed shut.

"Draw crossbow actions, don’t load until prepared to fire!" Lightning Dasher yelled.

"Get a shield up. We can't have them blasting their way in," Sissy ordered. "We need to sweep the building. LD, your squad remains here to guard the door."

"Yes, ma'am!" LD replied.

Duster fumbled to set his crossbow as everypony else finished preparing theirs. The noise outside was growing louder. He finally managed to lock his crossbow open and draw the string back.

"The rest of you with me; we have to get to the roof before they take it from outside!" Sissy cried out, and they all moved forward.

Galloping up the stairs and into the castle, everypony was on edge. They went fast, Duster's squad still bringing up the rear. They came around a corner and Sissy ran into another group, sending herself and several others sprawling on the floor. Duster wasn't quite sure what happened next. There was shouting and then unicorn magic began blasting everywhere. Smoke and dust filled the air, as did the scent of charred flesh. Duster ducked behind a wall and loaded his crossbow.

He came back around the corner to see that several others had also taken cover behind furniture, and there was a brawl in the middle of the room. Sissy was on the floor, and he saw an earth pony rearing back to drive his knife into her. Without hesitation, Duster raised his crossbow and fired, the bolt catching the earth pony in the back, piercing armor and flesh. Duster galloped into the brawl, tackling his sister's assailant. There was a flurry of hitting and sweat. The next thing Duster knew, it was over. Blood was everywhere, and the one he had attacked lay dead on the floor as he stood over, his knife dripping crimson.

"Everypony okay?" Sissy called out.

"I've got one down," Digger said.

"We can't stop," Sissy said. "Let's move!"

Duster was almost in a trance, barely hearing what she had said. He was somehow transfixed by the body that lay before him, suddenly rendered so helpless. He felt a thrill of some kind; he was somehow excited at what had just happened, and that made him feel something he didn't anticipate: shame. He was waiting for the body to transform back into a changeling, but it didn’t. The implications made Duster’s stomach turn. He had killed a pony.

"Duster!" Locknload called out, hitting the back of his helmet. "Let's move!"

Nodding, he followed his squad up the stairs, trying to swallow his feelings. On the go, Duster pulled back the action on his crossbow again to make it ready. The steps to the roof were narrow, and they could only fit two on the stairs at a time.

"Okay, unicorns only! Get to the top, get us a shield around the building." Sissy ordered said. "Locknload, you and Jewel, and two of yours Lightning Dasher."

"Move!" Lightning Dasher yelled.

Four unicorns scrambled up the stairs as fast as they could run.

"As for the rest of us," Sissy began.

She was cut off by unicorn fire impacting into Lightning Dasher's squad. Several of them howled in pain as the magical energy burned through their armor and into flesh.

"Contact right! Everypony down!" Sissy yelled out. "Return fire!"

Duster dropped down, trying to see from where the unicorns were shooting. He put a bolt on his crossbow and moved forward as the platoon's remaining unicorns returned fire down the hallway. Bits of stone showered all around as the blasts of magic impacted into the wall. Duster got to where he could see one of them, aimed and fired. The bolt clattered harmlessly against the wall. Several others began loosing their crossbows as well, felling one of the unicorns that was shooting at them with a hit to the throat.

"Digger!" Sissy called out. "Take your squad back down the stairs and see if you can outflank them. There's a landing on the other side."

"Ready!" Digger called back.

"Cover fire!" Sissy shouted, and the rest of the platoon loosed their crossbows in sequence with some unicorn fire.

"Go! Go!" Sparklefly shouted.

One of Digger's pegasi spun awkwardly as she took a direct hit to her head from an enemy unicorn blast. The rest made it down the stairs and out of the line of fire. The mare who was hit fell flat, dead.

"Contact rear!" Digger began shouting. "Contact rear!"

Duster turned to see a mixed group coming up the stairs, two pegasi were flying up. Digger's squad fired on them, bringing one of them down. Gunnysack jumped up and leapt from the stairs, landing on a pegasus. The two of them fell to the next floor and landed with a crash. Rolling Thunder leapt over the bannister and flew down to assist him.

Duster reached for another bolt for his crossbow, but found his quiver to be empty. Shock overtook him for a moment; he knew he hadn't fired seven shots yet. Looking back, he saw where he had crawled across the floor when they had first taken fire, and four of his bolts lay there. They had fallen out in the confusion.

Locknload burst down from the stairs with a battle cry that sent a chill down Duster's spine. He charged directly at the unicorns. They opened fire, and he teleported to the other side of the hallway. Then he returned fire.

"Charge!" Sissy cried loudly.

The platoon sprang up from what little cover they had found and thundered down the hallway. Locknload had used a magical shield on himself, and was taking heavy fire. An avalanche of punching and kicking erupted. Duster drew his knife again and joined with the rest of them, driving the blade through an armored flank. The unicorns were too few and some well-placed injuries brought the fight to a close. All in all, only about two full squads of rebels had been inside when Sparklefly's platoon taken the gate.

”Good work all," Sissy said. "Clyde, take your squad to see to the entrances and set up a patrol. We can't let them find a way in. Lightning Dasher and LD, see to the wounded and the prisoners. Locknload's squad will assist you. Digger, bring your squad and follow me."

"Yes, ma'am!" several of them saluted together.

Duster was on an adrenaline high, but the shame he'd felt earlier was coming back. He watched his sister and was genuinely impressed by how calm and cool she was during combat. There was a coldness about her that he'd never seen before. She adjusted her eye patch, and while she did this, Duster caught her taking a glance at him. It only lasted a moment, and Duster couldn't be sure, but he thought she had smiled. It looked like pride.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 8 of 9

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Beigh didn't know for how long he'd been staring at the orb, but it was Major Brax's voice that broke the spell it seemed to have over him.

"Come over here.”

Shaking his head, Beigh forced himself to comply. He could hear voices as he approached the door.

"Hide behind the pillars and get ready," Brax ordered.

Moving into position as commanded, Beigh asked, "Ready for what?"

"You're a unicorn. When they open the door, you're going to blast them. Then we fight our way out of here," Brax said.

Beigh was horrified by this for several reasons, the foremost of which was his total inability to successfully cause any kind of destruction with his magic.

"I can't," he quickly said, "I don't know how."

Disgust could easily be read on Brax's face, "What do you mean, you can't? Are you a soldier or aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. I'm a medic, sir."

"And I'm a major, and I'm ordering you to fight," Brax said shortly.

"Yes, sir. I will fight, but I don't have offensive magic. It doesn't work.”

"A defective unicorn, just what I needed," Brax hissed.

The door opened, and the pair of prisoners crouched down, ready to jump out. Whoever had opened the door didn’t enter the room; they simply stood at the top in silence for a moment.

"Major Brax, are you in here?" Sparklefly called out.

They didn't answer. Beigh was initially relieved to hear that it was her, but then he felt uncertain as he tried to decide whether she were involved with whatever was going on. The moment stretched on as the two prisoners looked at each other uncertainly.

"We're here to rescue you," she said. "We have Captain Radiant Pyre in custody."

That was enough to coax Brax out of hiding. He nodded at Beigh, and they revealed themselves.

"You have the captain in custody?" Brax asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied as she came down the stairs.

There were several others, presumably from Sparklefly’s platoon at the top of the stairs.

"Just what in Equestria is going on?" the major asked.

She took a breath before answering, ”There's an insurrection in progress, a coup d'état. General Mane Crusher is trying to overthrow Prince Shining Amor. Scootaloo and I became aware of his plan-"

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Brax shouted at her.

"Sir, we didn't know who to trust," she replied defensively, lowering her head. "We didn't even confirm any of this until this morning. There just wasn't time to safely get others involved. I'm sorry I doubted you."

Brax sighed, calming himself, ”What is our status?"

"My platoon has taken the castle. One regiment of rebels holds Ponyville, minus the two squads we captured when we took this position. Those squads have suffered modest casualties. Three are dead, and the rest are injured. We have seven wounded and one dead of our own."

"Can I help?" Beigh asked, finally stepping out.

"By Celestia, yes!" Sparklefly replied warmly. “They’re in CIC.”

Beigh began trotting up the stairs.

"You have a plan?" Brax asked.

"Yes, sir. We are to hold Ponyville in hopes that it will provide Shining Armor a safe place to which he can retreat."

Beigh stopped to listen.

"Is he aware of this?"

She hesitated, “No, sir. We had tried to warn him, but without evidence, he didn't believe us."

The major sighed and then spoke grimly, “They'll kill him, you know.”

"Yes, sir," Sparklefly replied, “Prince Shining Armor’s best hope right now lies with Scootaloo."

Beigh continued out of the room, his heart heavy with the dark news of what was happening across Equestria.

26 - Coup d'état, Part 9 of 9

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Scootaloo was by Mane Crusher's side; no opportunity to get away and beat them to Shining Armor had presented itself, and the situation had only grown worse. The rebel forces had effectively secured Cloudsdale, and now they had prince’s headquarters surrounded. Scootaloo's heart was heavy as the updates came in. Mane Crusher looked as stalwart as ever.

"It's time," he said simply.

Two-hundred hoof-picked ponies followed the general inside the great doors. Scootaloo didn't think there was any way she could help now, but if she failed to save the prince, her friends in Ponyville would likely be the next to die. She felt a lump forming in her throat, along with a powerful sense of helplessness.

The war room was completely empty, which she guessed was normal this late in the evening. There was a great deal of information and paperwork scattered around. It was like CIC in Ponyville, but much larger. Each step was heavier than the last as they crossed several rows of tables; it was almost as if time had slowed nearly to a complete stop.

The two-hundred rebels easily filed into the room, and as they made it to the other end, they found Prince Shining Armor, standing at the top of the stairs in the great hall. His back was to them; Scootaloo guessed he was looking at the war map. The group of rebels came close, with Mane Crusher and Scootaloo leading them. As they drew near the bottom of the steps, the prince finally turned around.

He regarded the intruders, but his expression was impossible to read. He looked tired, but there was a stoniness to his features.

"General Mane Crusher, to what do I owe this, surprise?" the prince asked in a calm, but somehow severe tone.

The general halted and looked up at the prince, ”You are leading us to our deaths, and we will not let Equestria fall.”

"I do what I must to protect us all, but you didn't answer my question."

Mane Crusher sighed, ”I am here to take command of the EUP."

"To what end?"

The general turned his head a moment in thought. Scootaloo felt sick. She wasn't sure what she had expected of this moment, but it had already been far more cordial than she had anticipated. It only served to add to her dread.

"We are going to take a more aggressive posture and take the fight to the enemy," General Mane Crusher replied. "We can't sit back and hold what little gains we've made while the enemy looks for weaknesses."

"I have considered these options. Surviving the winter is our priority, and without food, we don't survive. Return to Ponyville at once," Shining Armor said.

Scootaloo could feel the defiance in the air. It was like a spring or a rubber band that had been stretched as far as it could. The energy of it was just begging to be released.

"No," Mane Crusher said firmly, "my forces are with me, and we are taking command."

"If you return to Ponyville now, I will forget all of this business,” there was ice in the prince’s voice that grew colder with each word spoken.

"With respect, you do not command here any longer," the general said with finality. "Either step aside willingly, or we’ll take you into custody by force.”

Prince Shining Armor sighed; Scootaloo thought it almost looked like sadness on his face. Then his eyes glowed red as he loudly declared, "So be it."

The next moment, the spring released, time sped up, and the tension in the room exploded into violence. From all around the edge of the room, the walls began moving as short spears sped through air and into the bodies of the rebel force.

“Shambulia!”

Cries of fear and confusion went up as the movement revealed the zebras that couldn’t be seen; Scootaloo remembered the invisibility potion that Zecora had given her squad in the Everfree Forest. Chaos erupted as the unicorns began firing back with their magical energies. The zebras leapt wildly into the rebel force, attacking with incredible ferocity.

"Take the prince!" Mane Crusher shouted over the noise of battle.

Hostile energy flew at Shining Armor, but his eyes glowed red as a magical shield came up in front of him and absorbed the blow. Several unicorns teleported to surround the prince, and then a wave of energy shot out from him, throwing them all back.

The rebels pulled into a tighter grouping, setting up a perimeter behind Mane Crusher to hold the zebras back. Arrows flew and spears pierced armor and flesh. The zebras redoubled the attack with reinforcements that entered the great hall. They were EUP. They joined the tangled confusion of the battle.

Scootaloo had been far too stunned to do anything as the situation unfolded around her. General Mane Crusher loaded his crossbow and aimed it at Shining Armor. Deciding that it was the only opportunity she’d have, Scootaloo vaulted herself into Mane Crusher, throwing off his aim.

She attempted to restrain him, but he was surprisingly spry for such an older stallion. He twisted free from her grasp and punched at her face. Scootaloo ducked, bringing the hit onto her helmet, which absorbed the impact but made the world spin for a moment.

She pushed forward, hitting back hard, but the general deflected her blow. He caught her left fore-leg and twisted her around. Feeling a burning in her shoulder, Scootaloo pulled her knife and jammed it hard into Mane Crusher's leg. He grunted as he dropped to the ground, wrapping around her body and head in a tangle of legs and pulling her fore-leg with all of his strength. Scootaloo had never experienced a pain quite like it, and she screamed as her appendage was pulled from the socket. The general released, spun upright, and pulled her knife from his thigh. He was bringing it down to make the kill when a magical blast struck him in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Scootaloo's shoulder burned with a fiery pain. She was about to stand up when a zebra ran upon her suddenly and put a spear to her throat. She laid back down in submission, but he stayed there, unwavering in his intent. Metal scraped through metal, and savage cries filled the room, fewer than before.

As the sounds of fighting died away, an eerie silence fell upon the room. It was only punctuated with moaning and other sounds of pain. Hoof steps were heard coming down the stairs, and in a few moments, Shining Armor was standing above Scootaloo. The scent of smoke and charred metal was permeated with that of freshly spilled blood.

"No need to guard this one," he said to the zebra, which nodded and walked away. To Scootaloo, he asked, ”Are you alright?"

“He understands you?”

“They all do well enough,” he replied with an enigmatic grin.

Scootaloo felt like she was going to throw up. She felt the need to tell him what she knew, "There are more outside. Three-thousand strong in Cloudsdale, and they've taken Ponyville.”

"I know," he said, helping her stand.

“It's about a thousand in Ponyville, and they have agents all over the EUP."

Scootaloo felt somehow hot and cold at the same time, and she was sweating.

"Your shoulder looks bad; we need to get you to a medic," Shining Armor said calmly. Reading the distress on Scootaloo's face, his eyes glowed red, as if with a kind of sick delight as he said, "Don't worry about the rebels. I’ll explain the details in time, but suffice it to say, they’ve already lost.”

Scootaloo was confused as to how Shining Armor could have so soundly outmaneuvered the conspirators, and any relief she felt for Shining Armor’s safety was overshadowed by the dread of what was unfolding in cities and outposts all across the land. She could only trust to hope that Sparklefly’s mission had been successful and that reinforcements could rescue her platoon before the rebels killed them all. She shuddered at the thought.

27 - Aftermath, Part 1 of 5

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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?

27 - Aftermath, Part 2 of 5

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Beigh, alongside LD and Lightning Dasher, worked the injuries before him at a feverish pace. Having studied medicine before enlisting, they were deferring to his judgement and effectively letting him lead their healing efforts. They did have the advantage of medical supplies that had been stockpiled inside the castle. Lightning Dasher and LD were fair medics in their own right, but they were far more skilled with the immediate battlefield trauma control.

The rest of Sparklefly's platoon didn't have much in the way of medical training yet. Between the rest of them it was rudimentary at best. The three were able to quickly triage and keep the wounded from dying on them. That was a good start.

The door to CIC opened, and Lieutenant Sparklefly entered. Beigh only gave her a cursory glance before looking back down to his patient. For the briefest moment he’d feared it was rebels forcing their way in.

"Locknload," Sparklefly said.

"Sir?" Locknload said as he quickly moved to her.

“Take your squad and patrol the corridors from the main entrance up to the high tower. We need to keep an eye on any possible weakness in our defenses."

"Yes, sir!" he saluted. "Alright, now, let's move out!"

His squad jumped up and followed in no particular formation. Looking up, Beigh saw Sparklefly and Duster exchange a glance. Even if he hadn’t known, there was no doubt that they were related because they looked so much alike.

Finishing up with his patient, Beigh moved on to the next one. Mostly it was lacerations and magical burns to deal with, but one unfortunate unicorn had a crossbow bolt in his neck. They carefully bandaged it up and set him down by himself, having decided it was too dangerous to remove it at present. If they hit an artery, he would die for certain.

"What is our status here?" Sparklefly asked.

Lightning Dasher answered, ”Our wounded are going to be fine, but I recommend keeping them on rest."

Beigh listened to the clash going on outside, he looked up at them doubtfully and added, "If possible."

Her expression was almost a smile, but it evaporated before it finished forming. "And the others?"

"They'll live. That one that was shot in the neck is going to be tricky," Beigh said thoughtfully.

"We'll get that out, and he'll be fine," LD added. "Don't you worry about it LT."

"Keep your squad here to guard the... the prisoners," she said to Lightning Dasher.

Sparklefly walked over to the dead. Beigh had asked Locknload to get them covered with sheets, which he had. However, his efforts were now stained with drying blood. The lieutenant picked them up, one by one and took their dog tags. Lastly, she arrived at the mare from Digger's squad and hesitated a moment.

Beigh could only guess at what she was thinking as she waited, almost as unmoving as the body of the fallen soldier. So far, the only one from their platoon to die from their injuries. Then the moment passed, and she took the dog tag and covered the corpse.

...

Cloud Blazer made his breaths calm and deep as complete chaos overran the hospital. The power had failed, and in the darkness, blasts of magical light shot through the hallway as arrows and spears zipped through the air outside. The scraping of metal on metal was loud, but above all else, the screams of war and death filled the night. Applejack and the others were still huddled behind the beds.

"I don't think leaving the door open is the best idea anymore!" Cloud Blazer shouted over the noise.

"I'm on it!" Apple Bloom yelled back.

She and Sweetie Belle ran together and slammed the door shut. Pinkie Pie and Applejack scrambled from their hiding place to help move the bench seats to barricade the door.

“No lifting!” Apple Bloom scolded her sister.

“I think we got bigger things to worry about just now!”

Apple Bloom, Pinkie Pie, and Sweetie Belle managed to scoot the combined seats across the small room and wedge it against the door.

"That ought to slow down anypony tryin' to get in," Apple Bloom said.

"A little," Cloud Blazer added.

“Y’all have to see this,” Applejack spoke vacantly.

Approaching the window sent shards of pain through all of Cloud Blazers mending wounds. The view of outside was unbelievable. Zebras were in a full-on battle against the EUP rebels that had control of the town.

“What’s going on?” Sweetie Belle asked with a shiver.

Cloud Blazer was dumbfounded by what he saw. He was even more-so when he saw a zebra charge a unicorn. Several magical blasts were unleashed, bouncing off or being absorbed by the zebra's armor. He finally got close and impaled the unicorn with his spear.

"You girls don't need to see this," Cloud Blazer said as he pulled the curtains across the window, leaving them all in complete darkness.

Fluttershy whimpered. A moment later, magical energy lit the room from Sweetie Belle's horn. Cloud Blazer ached all over as he climbed back into bed. He sighed relief when he stopped moving and the pain finally subsided to the normal throbbing. Despair was mixing with confusion and filling the room. Even Pinkie Pie was taken by it, having returned to her post comforting Fluttershy.

In the dim teal magical light, Cloud Blazer shut his eyes and listened. He could almost see the Everfree Forest in his mind, the day that they were ambushed. Pibs had saved him; Sparklefly lost her eye. Regal Masquerade had fought so valiantly. Lightning Dasher flew in to help them, and Cloud Blazer himself stayed behind to cover everypony's escape. He ran for the cliff, and then...

The stallion opened his eyes, and he was still in the hospital room. He had survived that day in the forest, but he would never fly again, not under his own power at any rate. The noise inside the hospital grew much greater. It sounded as if there were a fight in the corridor outside. Some shouting was followed suddenly by a hard bang against the door. Fluttershy screamed, but quickly covered her own mouth.

"Easy now," Applejack said. "If they was tryin' to break in, they'd hit the door a lot harder than that, sugar cube."

Cloud Blazer agreed with her assessment. Whatever had impacted into the door was not with intent to break through. Hoof steps thundering down the hallway were heard coming closer and closer, but then they began receding just as suddenly. The fighting started to sound farther away.

"Look here," Apple Bloom said, peering out the window. "The zebras won!"

Cloud Blazer didn't need to look. As little sense as it made, he accepted it. The sounds of battle were much smaller now. They couldn't hear much of anything from outside.

"That's good, right?" Sweetie Belle offered.

"I hope so," was all Applejack could muster.

"It is very good," Cloud Blazer agreed grimly, "as long as they are content with killing rebels."

27 - Aftermath, Part 3 of 5

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Duster wasn't at the main entrance, but even from where his squad patrolled on the second level, he heard the pounding on the gate. Startled, he jumped and whirled around to face that direction. The loud bangs sounded again and again, sending his heart racing.

"To the gate, move it!" Locknload shouted as he barreled out ahead of the rest of the squad.

They all followed behind him, running through the halls, down the stairs and finally arriving at the entrance. To Duster's surprise, the door wasn't being beaten in. The zebras were knocking. Brax and Sissy were watching, and LD and Digger's squads were tense, ready for action. Duster could hear talking outside, but he couldn't understand it. The more he listened, the more it sounded like the unique dialect spoken by the zebras.

"What are they doing?" Digger asked nopony in particular.

A cry of pain was heard outside along with some more zebra speech. It was followed by a frantic sounding soldier. LD set his ear to the door to listen. His scarred face scrunched as he strained to hear what was being said through the thick door. The talking seemed to stop all at once.

"Report," Brax said quietly, almost a whisper.

"It sounds like they're asking why the castle is shut. I think..." LD stopped talking as he pressed his ear again to the door.

Duster couldn't hear anything now, but LD seemed able to. Looking around the room, everypony looked different somehow. He knew all of them, at least in passing, but right now, he felt like they were all strangers.

Quickbeam usually had something sarcastic to say about any situation, but he was completely silent. Gunnysack, with his immense strength was never scared of anything, but he just stood there looking somehow helpless. Jewel appeared quite a mess after the fighting earlier, but for the first time Duster could remember, she held no concern over her appearance. Rolling Thunder was quiet; if Duster didn't know better, he'd think the pegasus was afraid. Moonsliver and Locknload seemed the most at ease. She usually took things seriously, so this was no change for her. Locknload on the other hoof seemed almost excited.

Sissy was the greatest difference. It was as if she were somepony he’d never met. To look at her now, there was a cold graveness about her that Duster didn't recognize. Still, she seemed completely in her element, ready to deal with whatever turn presented itself next.

Duster’s own mouth was dry with fear.

Digger broke the silence, "What if-"

He was silenced by LD holding up a hoof as he continued straining to listen. Sissy was rubbing at her eye patch again. Duster wondered in passing whether it might itch. Loud knocking against the door caused LD to jump back, and everypony dropped into a combat stance. A zebra spoke, probably shouting, with a thick accent that sounded not unlike Zecora's.

He said, "Who is in there? Open this door in the name of Prince Shining Armor!"

Duster's mind went racing on this. He was a little confused, but it sounded like the zebras were on their side. Brax slowly approached the door.

"Zebra commander, this is Major Brax of Her Majesty's EUP, commanding the Ponyville Battalion. It is on behalf of Prince Shining Armor that we have taken this castle and locked it down."

There was silence for what felt to Duster like an eternity.

"Open this door!" the zebra said. "You are to lay down all arms at once!"

"Can it," Locknload spat under his breath. "That's not going to happen."

Brax continued shouting though the door, "Do you have written and sealed orders to that effect?"

"There is no written orders," the zebra replied.

Brax sighed before shouting back, “Then we will hold this castle from any who would take it from us, be they rebels or zebras.”

"And what do you know of these rebels?" the zebra asked.

Considering his response, Brax said, "I know that they stand against Prince Shining Armor, and we took the castle from them."

"Good," Sissy whispered, "no need to tell them too much."

The zebra spoke again, ”I am to capture all rebels in Ponyville."

Brax shot Sissy a look. She shrugged back at him.

"I need proof that your orders come from the prince," Brax said.

It was quiet for what seemed like minutes.

"There is no proof," came the zebra's reply.

"Then what more is there to discuss?" Brax said. "We will use whatever force is necessary to defend this position until we receive proper orders to do otherwise."

It grew quiet outside as the zebras talked amongst themselves. Duster was afraid that they might just try to use force to gain entry. If that happened, the platoon was hopelessly outnumbered.

“I don’t understand,” LD began. “Wouldn’t we trust them?”

Sissy looked at him as though something were on her mind.

Digger said, “Surely if they figured out that changelings had infiltrated our ranks and have been fighting them, they won’t be a threat to us.”

Sissy sighed, “I’m afraid I lied to you, to all of you. There are no changelings involved in tonight’s actions so far as I know. There never were.”

Duster felt his heart stop at the realization. They’d been fighting and killing their own. But why? The stallion would have asked her, but Brax interrupted the conversation with a question of his own.

"What do you think?"

Sissy stood silently in thought. Duster knew that face well. She had come to some conclusion or idea that she didn't want to mention.

"My thoughts are small difference in this situation," she finally said.

Brax sighed impatiently, "Small or great, I want them."

"We are outnumbered, maybe worse than an hour ago. They have already demonstrated plenty of willingness and ability to overrun EUP positions. The fact that they are talking to us instead of attacking most likely means one of two things." She took a breath before continuing. "Either they are telling the truth, or they are afraid that this position will be far more difficult to take than the rest of town."

Brax considered the possibilities, "So how do we determine if they're lying."

"Without written orders...” Sissy began and then trailed off.

"Which follows that they wouldn't have any, given the circumstances," Brax added. "Now I want your recommendation, the one you didn't mention a minute ago.”

Sissy swallowed hard. Duster could see a hint of fear seeping through her icy facade. He doubted anypony else could see it.

"One option," she began. "I could go outside and assess the situation."

A feeling of uneasiness filled the room.

"If they take me prisoner, it's a good bet they are lying," she finished.

Fear filled Duster, and he was near to panic. Moonsliver put a hoof on his shoulder. Looking into her eyes, she seemed to communicate in a way that was beyond words. He felt that she understood him. It was like she was tying to tell him to keep calm, that everything would be okay.

"I don't like it," Brax said.

"It's a small matter, whatever happens to me," Sissy replied.

“Not to me. You’re the reason I’m not a prisoner, and I think every one defending this position is worth at least three or four trying to break in.” The major thought for a moment that stretched on, but finally looked her in the eye and coldly said, "Very well." He walked back to the door and began shouting into it, "Zebra commander! I would like to send out one of my officers to assess the situation outside."

"For what purpose?" the zebra's thick accent came back.

Brax replied, "To verify your intentions.”

It grew quiet outside. Duster couldn't hear anything over his own heartbeat. Locknload glanced back at him and gave a half-smile. It wasn't happy, but an understanding sort of look.

"Send out your officer with no weapons, and we will return him to you alive. On my life I swear this!” the zebra replied.

"Very well," Brax called back.

"Be ready to push them back if they rush the door," Sissy said.

She then stripped off her weapons and helmet, leaving them with Locknload. LD got ready to open the door. She faced it, away from Duster, as if with unwavering conviction. Duster hoped she would look back one last time, but she didn't. The door slowly opened, just enough for her to get through, and the lieutenant exited. LD pushed the door shut, and the others secured it. Moments later, it sounded like Sissy let out a scream but was suddenly cut off.

"Lieutenant, report!" Brax called out.

He was met only with silence. Duster wanted to panic, but he was too afraid even for that. Moonsliver pulled him close into her, a dull scraping sound as their armor pressed tight. He could hear the breath of everypony standing silently and motionless. His own heart pounded heavily. An eternity of seconds passed before the moment ended.

"All is well, Major. Stand by," Sissy called through the door.

Relief flooded Duster, and he melted into a sitting position. Smiles from a few members of his squad met him. Notably, Gunnysack was not among them.

The next hour seemed to drag by, but it was rather uneventful. Duster followed the rest of the squad as they were put back on patrol, but there was no attempt by the zebras to gain entry into the castle. They did, however, put forth significant efforts to keep everypony else inside. It was LD shouting for Brax that brought Locknload's squad charging back to the main entrance.

"Major," Sissy called though the door. "The zebras are standing back so I can come back in."

With a nod from Brax, LD unlocked the doors and opened them a little. Sparklefly entered, flanked by a pegasus that wore the armor of the royal guard. LD shut the door behind them. Duster’s heart stopped when he saw her; she was the most beautiful mare that he had ever seen. A tall and slenderly muscular white pegasus with a white mane, her serious pink eyes had a quiet beauty about them. Her expression declared rather boldly that there was no nonsense about her.

"Report," Brax said, looking suspiciously at the pegasus.

"I surveyed Ponyville," Sissy began. "The zebras have captured the entire rebel force that was here. They have also tended to the wounded. Actual casualties among the traitors are somewhat light. Major Skyflame here arrived and confirmed the zebra's orders. I located the mayor, and she is safe."

Brax turned to Major Skyflame, "Report."

"Sir," she spoke with a slight bow. "On behalf of Cloudsdale, I am here to report that all rebel activity has been quelled. Your Lieutenant Scootaloo has informed us of your plans to hold this castle. We appreciate your service, but things are well in hoof already. You are ordered to return your forces to their barracks until further notice. You and the officers of this platoon are ordered to Cloudsdale immediately."

Duster's heart was thumping for a different reason now, but Locknload, left in charge of the platoon, snapped him out of it fairly quickly. They opened the door and proceeded back to their barracks. There was evidence of the fighting readily seen all over Ponyville. The zebras had taken all key defensive positions and were holding them. They had a grave look in their eyes as they watched the platoon trot back to the training grounds. As the sun rose the morning after the coup, Duster felt relieved to have survived the night.

Somehow, more than that, he felt ashamed and a seed of bitterness was growing inside. Sissy could have told them that there were no changelings; she knew the entire time. Duster could still see the pony he had killed, almost as clearly as if it were standing before him again. It was the eyes that haunted him. He’d seen the look in them when he’d driven his knife home. No hatred or bloodlust had been there, only fear as the life that was there had been extinguished. It was unlike anything Duster had expected to experience in his grandiose daydreams of glorious combat. He realized with complete certainty that that they too were false.

27 - Aftermath, Part 4 of 5

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Pixyglitter felt broken inside. The tears had come after the soldiers had left her, laughing as they went. Later, when the fighting erupted in the hall, she didn't have any fortitude left. She just lay in her bed waiting to die, crying with her back to the door. It had begun with an impotent rage that descended into an acute awareness of her own helplessness. Having already spent all of her tears she simply lay there. Her sight was gone. She was not strong. These facts were not going to change. The coldness of it cut through her soul like a knife through soft bread.

The dreams told her to seek out Cloud Blazer and help him, but what use could a blind pegasus be to anypony? On the other hoof, what did she have to lose? She didn't have a better plan. At any rate, if she could get the crazy dreams to stop, she could get some sleep again. Hoof-steps approached.

"By Celestia! What happened here?" Nurse Redheart exclaimed.

Pixyglitter didn't answer initially. She could hear the nurse stumbling through the remnants of the barricade that Pixyglitter had built in front of what was left of the door. She hadn't noticed, but the fighting had stopped a few hours before.

"Are you okay?" the nurse asked.

Pixyglitter nodded. Her pillow felt soaked against her cheek. Within moments Nurse Redheart gently replaced it with a fresh pillow.

"You just let me know if you need anything at all,” the nurse said. “I’ll be around while we’re trying to put this place back in order.”

She began walking away, muttering something about getting maintenance in to get the door fixed.

"Nurse Redheart," Pixyglitter said. She heard the nurse stop and turn about. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie.”

Pixyglitter could hear the smile in her voice. It was like a ray of sunshine that had pierced though a gray cloudy day. After the nurse left, Pixyglitter's thoughts began to take focus. She would have to find Cloud Blazer and see what it was she was supposed to help him with. Doubt filled her mind as to what role she could possibly play, broken as she was, but she decided to try.

...

Sparklefly was tired from the long night as she and Brax entered barracks thirteen in Cloudsdale. It had most effectively been converted into a prison for captured changelings. It now housed traitors as well. The light of the sun was shining down the corridor, making it seem somewhat cheerful until the guards shut the door. The dimly lit hallway then looked appropriately depressing.

“Thank Celestia!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Sparklefly from the side.

Only slightly startled, Sparklefly let out a nervous laugh as she returned the hug, "Hi; glad to see you too."

"Lieutenant!" Brax said to Scootaloo, his voice filled with relief. "I'm glad that you are well."

As Scootaloo backed away, Sparklefly noticed that her left fore-leg was in a sling.

"Oh, this is nothing," Scootaloo said with a smile. "The doc says it'll be sore for a few days, and then I'll be good as new."

"Where is he?" Brax asked, killing the joyful mood of their reunion.

Also becoming serious, Scootaloo nodded a gesture and turned, "This way."

She led them past cells, all full now beyond their intended capacity. Of the three-thousand traitors that had attacked Cloudsdale, most of them were now incarcerated here and nursing injuries. There had only been a few hundred deaths all across Equestria during the attempted coup. The rebels had been so well outmaneuvered that most of them gave up without much fight. All the way at the end of the corridor, and past even more guards, Scootaloo led them to Mane Crusher's cell.

"Major, lieutenants," the traitor greeted them.

Sparklefly could hear the defeat in his gruff voice.

"Sir," Scootaloo began glibly, "I'm happy to report that it is over. All rebel forces have failed in their missions. Prince Shining Armor is still in command."

“I’m no sir to you anymore, and gloating does not become you," Mane Crusher replied. He turned to Brax, "I take it this is your doing?"

Shaking his head slowly, Brax replied, "I'm afraid not. I wasn't aware of anything until Captain Radiant Pyre and some of yours took me prisoner."

Mane Crusher nodded thoughtfully, ”I know that Shining Armor couldn't have suspected anything unless he had been warned. So, I was outwitted by you two girls?"

"Not exactly," Sparklefly said. "A great deal of credit also goes to Captain Swiftlight,” she paused; the silence could be felt. “Where is he?"

"His fate is no different than mine will likely be,” he spoke gravely. Turning to Scootaloo, Mane Crusher asked, "How's your shoulder?"

She snorted at him, "It's sore, but I'll live."

Sparklefly cringed at the comment. Though there hadn’t been a crisis in Equestria that warranted a death penalty for over a thousand years, their current situation had already put it in the minds of many, especially with dwindling resources to feed everypony. Mane Crusher already had his upcoming execution on his mind. Rubbing his nose in it wouldn't make him more compliant. The expression on Scootaloo's face betrayed that she hadn't meant that jab how it had come out. Sparklefly decided to redirect the conversation again.

"What happened to Captain Swiftlight?" she asked.

Mane Crusher stood there quietly for a long while. "I don't know for certain. I believe he is dead."

Sparklefly felt sorrow for Java Chip. Somehow, she'd been holding hope that they had just imprisoned him somewhere.

"Who would know for certain?” Brax asked.

Mane Crusher sighed at them, "I take full responsibility for the actions of the officers under my command. I will not betray the trust they placed in me."

"Loyalty? That's rich coming from you," Scootaloo sneered.

"The actions I took, I believed were in the best interest of all of Equestria. What happens in battle is just that, battle. I will not degrade myself or my soldiers by apologizing for any of my choices in this matter."

Sparklefly felt that there wasn't anything more to discuss. She turned to walk away, and the other two followed her.

"However," Mane Crusher said, bringing the trio to a halt. "I will admit one thing. Prince Shining Armor does have what it takes to save Equestria. I misjudged him, which was a critical mistake, and in that I was wrong."

Something resonated in Sparklefly from what he said. It wasn't an apology, far from it. He was aware that he had chosen wrong and freely admitted as much. He may have deserved to die for what he had done, but somewhere inside, Sparklefly wondered whether they would need his tactical genius again before the end of the war. He certainly wasn’t the type to make the same mistake twice.

...

Beigh exited the castle, flanked by a pair of zebras. He had been left with the wounded in CIC under his charge. As they were being moved to other locations, his skills were no longer required. They had managed to save all of them that had survived to that point, for which the stallion was relieved.

A faint shadow of fear still hung over him as he crossed through Ponyville. The town had survived the fighting almost unscathed. There were a few tell-tale signs of the struggle that had taken place the night before.

Beigh was exhausted, but he kept pace with his escort all the way back to his squad’s tent in the training grounds. Every place they passed was deserted but for the patrols of zebras walking about watchfully.

As Beigh entered, his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior.

“Where have you been?” Sergeant Emerald Dream scolded.

In moments, he was surrounded by the other members of his squad.

“We thought you were dead!” Ruby Red added.

“No, I’m fine,” he replied. “I was on my way back last night when I was taken to the castle.”

Starbright asked, “What’s happened?”

“Have the zebras taken over?” Emerald Dream demanded.

“What? No. The zebras are on our side.”

“They won’t let us leave,” Ruby Red replied.

“Okay, just calm down,” Beigh said. He wanted to sleep, but he could understand that they needed answers. “Here’s what I know...”

27 - Aftermath, Part 5 of 5

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Scootaloo was surprised at the lack of pomp and circumstance for what was about to happen. She stood at the top of the stairs in Shining Armor’s war room in Cloudsdale, several of her friends alongside. The room was amazingly clean considering what had taken place there only hours before.

"Thank you all for coming," Shining Armor said as he entered the room, flanked by six guards and his daughter, Princess Flurry Heart, the last alicorn.

Scootaloo thought the prince looked as dashing in his red ceremonial uniform he now wore as he had when she’d been the flower-filly at his wedding all those years ago. Standing next to her were Sparklefly, Lightning Dasher, LD, Clyde, Digger, Brax, and Applejack. She had taken the longest to arrive, being pregnant had rendered her unable to fly by pegasus harness. They had used a hot air balloon instead.

Princess Flurry Heart, barely ten years of age, seemed happy. Her youthful innocence seemed to not care for or understand the events that had unfolded in the night. Scootaloo wondered whether she were even fully aware of how close she and her father had come to being murdered.

The prince spoke, “The seven of you played a pivotal role in what happened last night. You showed extreme loyalty in the most dangerous situation. For that, you have my thanks. As recognition for your bravery, you will each be advanced in rank and awarded the Canterlot Shield."

Princess Flurry Heart opened the small box she had been holding and distributed the medals to each of them. The guards had severe expressions on their faces, almost as if daring anypony to make a move that was out of line. They weren’t carrying spears just for show.

“To answer one question that is no doubt on your minds, I was able to outmaneuver the rebels due to a special Taskforce that Rainbow Dash leads here in Cloudsdale. They analyze information and make recommendations to me. In fact,” he looked at Scootaloo, “after you warned me of Mane Crusher’s treachery, I asked my Taskforce to analyze any data they could get their hooves on and tell me how likely it was for what you’d said to be accurate. They rarely come back with a consensus of over ninety-percent, but in this case the did within two hours of looking at troop reassignments.”

A swell of pride aside, Scootaloo didn't feel nearly so heroic as she had when Princess Celestia had given them awards after the evacuation of Canterlot. Perhaps it was the lack of ceremony this time; the room was empty but for the seven, Shining Armor and his daughter, the guards, and one aide. Or maybe it was her aching left shoulder; during the struggle, Mane Crusher had nearly pulled it out of the socket. She'd had to keep it in a sling and put ice on it.

"Moreover," Shining Armor continued, “You didn’t just support Equestria in her hour of need, nor me. Your actions were also instrumental in saving my daughter,” he paused a moment as a flash of pain crossed his visage. “Inasmuch as I feel that talk and promotions are too small a reward for your actions... ask whatever you will; if it is within my power, I will grant it."

Scootaloo gasped along with everypony else, not really certain what to respond. She had never before been offered anything she wanted by the most powerful authority in Equestria. After a long moment, Sparklefly stepped forward.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Shining Armor smiled, "Or should I say Captain?"

"Thank you, your majesty," Sparklefly said with a bow. "Did I hear correctly that the officers who organized the attempted coup are to be executed?"

Shining Armor's eyes glinted a moment in thought before he said, "Yes. You heard correctly."

Sparklefly took a deep breath, "Your majesty, with your permission, I would ask for the lives of the traitors. I mean to spare them."

The room was now dead quiet; all eyes were on Sparklefly.

Shining Armor regarded her before replying, "Do you have friends among them?"

"No, your majesty.”

"Do you not agree that they should be held accountable for their actions?”

"They must be punished for what they've done, your majesty.”

Scootaloo could tell that Sparklefly was choosing her words carefully.

She continued, “Their betrayal, attacking EUP forces, and the murder of Captain Swiftlight, it is unforgivable."

"Then why spare them when resources grow so thin?” Shining Armor asked.

Sparklefly took another breath, “I have never met a tactician like General Mane Crusher, your majesty. I feel that he may be of further use to us before the war is over."

Silence followed for nearly a minute. Scootaloo felt extremely uncomfortable as Shining Armor paced around his large table-map of Equestria as he thought. The only sound was his hooves against the tile floor.

"Very well," Shining Armor said to Sparklefly. "Their lives are in your hooves. What would you have us do with them?"

"I would strip them of all rank and honor, disbursing them into separate units throughout the EUP. The senior officers, I would send somewhere to keep them safe until they are needed; the Crystal Empire, perhaps."

"Then that shall be their fate," the prince replied. “The senior officers will be imprisoned in the Crystal Empire.”

Scootaloo was a bit dumbfounded now. She could ask for anything, but what to request? She’d been so distracted by what Sparklefly had said that she’d not made a decision. At this point, what she wanted most was for the war to end so her friends could be out of danger.

"With your permission, your majesty," Brax bowed his head.

"Speak," Shining Armor replied.

"I would ask only to serve you further."

The prince smiled, "Very well, I will make you my general in Mane Crusher's place. You will command his corps in Ponyville until further notice."

"Thank you.”

The prince moved down the line, coming to Clyde next.

"I feel I have only done my duty; there is nothing that I would ask of you, your majesty.”

"Nothing?" Shining Armor probed.

"Nothing that is within your power to give, your majesty," Clyde replied with a solemnity in his voice.

Shining Armor nodded; Scootaloo could tell from their expressions that they understood each other. Shining Armor turned to Lightning Dasher.

"We have only one request," LD said.

"And that is that you send me home," Lightning Dasher finished.

"Go on," the prince said.

"I'm sure you're aware, we came from the same place," LD began. "We were both once Lightning Dasher, and when we were duplicated, there were hundreds of us, but now there are only two."

"I bet you can imagine how we feel, having with our own eyes witnessed so many of us fall," Lightning Dasher continued. "For the sake of my, of our family; we ask that I am released from further service to the EUP so I can be sent back to them. LD would like to stay and continue fighting.“

Prince Shining Armor smiled, "In all fairness, we have already received more of you than we are able to ask of most soldiers. This I will grant for you, Lightning Dasher."

"Thank you, your majesty," LD and Lightning Dasher said in unison.

"Applejack, congratulations on being elected mayor. I know you are one of my sister's closest friends; your integrity was never in question." With a smile the prince added, "Rainbow Dash made sure I didn't forget it. She would have been here today, but she is in the Crystal Empire until the shock from the rebellion cools down. What would you ask of me?"

"Well, I've come into some hard times at Sweet Apple Acres. Princess Twilight signed an order allowing the mayor of Ponyville special power to seize land and use it for whatever farming purposes they had in mind. The previous mayor tried to turn the orchard into a grain field. Getting elected fixed that problem for me, but now I'm too busy with those duties to replant the orchard. I could use more hooves to work the farm." Glancing at Sparklefly, Applejack continued, "I know there are heavy restrictions on travel right now, but I know a farming family that can help us out. Sparklefly here has kinfolk from Apple Loosa that are living in Baltimare. I sure would appreciate it if you could get them moved to Ponyville to help out on the farm."

"Of course, provided this is what you and your family want," Shining Armor said to Sparklefly, who nodded her reply.

“Then it is done.”

"Your majesty," Digger began. "I grew up living in Canterlot. I worked on the irrigation team that maintained the sewers until the city fell. I would ask only that we reclaim our capital city so I'll have a home to return to when the war ends."

"That is not something I can grant at this time, but I am able to make sure there is always a place for you until you can return home. If you wish it, I will appoint you to my royal guard."

“Thank you, your majesty," Digger said, a large smile forming as he bowed his head.

"You will, of course, have to pass muster," the prince said, gesturing at the other guards in the room.

"Of course, your majesty, thank you!”

The prince came to Scootaloo last, and her mouth felt dry. Her legs were shaking slightly, and she still had no idea what to say.

"All I want is to win the war," she said; a fleeting thought of her as yet undiscovered cutie mark went through her mind. "I know this is not within your power, and you are working to do that already." Another thought struck her and she blurted out, "But there is one thing," she hesitated, afraid she had spoken out of turn.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"I have a dear friend," Scootaloo began, "his name is Cloud Blazer, and I would ask for recognition of his deeds. When we went into the Everfree Forest, our squad was ambushed, and we were nearly all killed and captured. Cloud Blazer brought up the rear to cover our retreat all the way out to make sure the rest of us were safe. This is when Princess Twilight Sparkle was captured. Who knows what would have happened if we hadn't made it out of there. When we jumped off the cliff, he was hit by a timberwolf and fell to the bottom of Ghastly Gorge. He survived the fall, but had several broken bones, and his wings were amputated. He'll never fight or fly again. So far, there has been no recognition or reward for anything he did that day.“

"He shall be known as the Hero of Everfree," Shining Amor began thoughtfully. "We didn't know how the timberwolves were raising such numbers until you all went with my sister into the forest that day. I believe your deeds on that mission marked a turning point in the war. For that reason, I'll award him the Shining Star." Scootaloo smiled at Shining Armor as he continued, "As for the other matter, I do have the power to put you into a position to be part of bringing the war to a swift conclusion."

He must have read the expression on her face; elation and excitement weren't things Scootaloo was adept at hiding.

He continued, "Do not answer quickly. You might be volunteering for the most dangerous position in the entire EUP Guard. The Taskforce I mentioned earlier, their primary purpose is the location and capture of Queen Chrysalis. Their efforts on that front have garnered mixed results, and I would be willing to assign you, and anypony else of your choosing to serve on that detachment. Take a day to think it over."

Scootaloo could feel Sparklefly looking at her; neither of them needed a day to think about this. The prospect of capturing Queen Chrysalis was more than enough motivation to jump head-first into whatever Shining Armor had in mind. If they could just catch her, the changelings would be finished. If they caught her, the war would be over.

28 - Taskforce, Part 1 of 5

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Pixyglitter felt nervous at the thought of talking with Cloud Blazer again so soon, especially after the way she had treated him the last time they had spoken. The pervasive nature of the dreams had birthed a certain desperation to make them stop; she had given up trying to avoid the fate toward which they were steering her. She would do whatever it took to help him figure out what they meant, if only to put an end to them so she could sleep.

Nerves or not, she would be in his room within moments. The nurse had just finished loading her into a wheelchair and began pushing her into the corridor. The door had been removed after the attack on the hospital. They hadn't found a replacement yet, but it had only been a day. Pixyglitter’s ears reported that everypony still seemed on edge after the excitement. Zebras had locked down the all of Ponyville, as well as other positions all across Equestria, according to rumors. Military business aside, the entire civilian population was under a forty-eight hour curfew. Sealed orders from Prince Shining Armor himself had come through early in the morning, and the mayor was supposed to make an address.

The wheels on her chair squeaked as they rolled down the hallway. The floor was smooth. Even if she hadn't heard the ding of the elevator, or the doors opening, she felt the wheels grapple with the rough crossing from the hallway into the lift. She felt giddy as they dropped down gently to the next floor. The nurse pushed her out into the hallway and guided the chair across more smooth tile until taking the left turn into Cloud Blazer's room. Pixyglitter was angry at this entire situation, but she couldn't go on without sleep. As she came to a stop, she could hear rustling against bed sheets. He must have been facing away from the door.

"Will you be needing anything else?" the nursed asked sweetly.

"No, thank you," Pixyglitter replied.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," she said, turning to walk away.

It sounded as if she were half-way down the hall before Cloud Blazer broke the silence.

"What do you want?" he asked curtly.

Already filled with anger, his tone struck her distastefully. The lack of sleep did not improve her manners or disposition.

She shot back, "Nothing if that's how you say hello.”

The mare backed up her wheel chair, running into something. She turned, trying to find the door, but she got caught up in one of the sheets that divided the room. Her anger morphed into a heightened state of frustration. Try though she did, she couldn't manage to get free once the chair became entangled in the curtain. She wasn't even sure how such a thing could happen so quickly.

In a much more polite tone, he said, "Hold on."

Pixyglitter stopped struggling against her inanimate captor. The low creak of bedsprings easing as tension was taken off of them was followed with the sound of hooves on the floor. A three-hoofed walk approached her slowly. Cloud Blazer's breath was labored, as if he were in pain. In a few moments, with a bit of grunting and tugging, he had her untangled.

"If you really want to leave, I'll call the nurse," he slowly puffed at her, out of breath and through gritted teeth.

Feeling a bit sorry for him and also grateful to be untangled, she replied, "No, just go lay down before you make any of your injuries worse."

He sighed what almost sounded like a laugh. A scraping on the floor followed by the clicking of his hooves reported that he was moving back to his bed. She carefully pushed on her wheels to follow him. She stopped as soon as she was away from that awful curtain. Cloud Blazer breathed deeply and exhaled relief. Pixyglitter’s last dream may have accurately revealed his injuries to her. She hadn't noticed before how difficult it was for him to move about. That was no surprise, as they were both basically confined to their hospital beds when they’d met.

"So, why did you come see me?" he asked.

"I can't get the dreams to stop," she said, feeling a nervous quiver in her voice. "I can't sleep anymore... I'm afraid to sleep."

Pixyglitter knew she was on the verge of tears, more from exhaustion than anything else, but she held them back as best she could.

"I have to make them stop, and the voice from the moon insists that I help you. So, here I am; what do you need me to do?"

Pixyglitter awaited an answer, but all she heard for at least a minute was the steady rhythm of Cloud Blazer's breathing and the rustling sound the sheets made as he shifted in the bed.

"I don't know," he finally replied.

She could tell by the tone of fear in his voice that he truly didn't. That only served to make her more nervous than she already had been, but it didn’t dissuade her determination. She would have to try and get transferred back to his room and wait for an opportunity to help him... somehow.

...

Duster was sleepy, but Drill Sergeant J was driving the battalion in training as hard as ever, and he showed no signs of letting up. He had been left in command with the absence of so many senior officers. The day was filled with drills that had become so second-nature to Duster that he didn't have to think about them anymore. From a marching column into a firing line and back happened with complete ease. They would charge, fall back, dig in, and then there were the flight formations. All of these were made even more physically strenuous through the use of the training weights. By mid-day, Duster's body was exhausted. His mind, however had never completely caught up with current events.

It was as if he were trapped in that moment from the night of the attempted coup. His sister was on the ground, possibly about to die. Duster aimed his crossbow at her attacker and fired. The pony staggered clumsily as Duster jumped on him from behind, his hooves becoming hammers against an anvil made of flesh. The other one fought back from the ground, trading hits against armor. He tried to twist free, but Duster got his knife into position at the end. When he drove it through the breastplate he saw no hate in his opponent's eyes. He saw only a reflection of the same things he was feeling himself; the visage of his enemy held mainly fear and a will to survive. It had faded in death as Duster stood over him feeling proud of himself.

The fallen adversary hadn’t transformed into a changeling; it had actually been a fellow soldier. Then the shame had come. Those moments had been relived a thousand times, and Duster now knew that it hadn't been necessary to kill that pony. He nearly had him subdued on his own. The others would have helped him, but he didn't wait for them. He had no regrets about saving Sissy, but his feelings on killing her attacker were much more difficult to sort out, leaving a taste of guilt in his mouth.

His squad seemed to have changed since then. Sissy’s entire platoon was weary, but they were much more sure of themselves. Duster also noticed that some of the others were treating him differently. Locknload actually acknowledged him for more than just making snide comments. Quickbeam wasn't as fast to make jokes at Duster's expense. Rolling Thunder had even made a nod at him after they had completed the flying maneuvers, an acknowledgment of a job well done. Gunnysack was the exception. He seemed as filled with contempt toward Duster as ever.

The lunch ration was as un-filling as ever. Stomachs were heard loudly growling as the battalion formed up for the afternoon's drills. Duster's body was ready, but his mind was having trouble focusing as it began to force him to relive the killing again. He didn’t try to stop regret from making itself his companion.

28 - Taskforce, Part 2 of 5

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Sparklefly, laden with the few effects she always kept at base, watched her former battalion as they practiced their formation flying. She couldn't see Duster but knew where his squad was located. They moved swiftly overhead as a single unit. She almost thought she could hear Drill Sergeant J yelling at them from somewhere, but if that was what she’d heard, the wind had spread the voice too thin to understand.

“So, you coming or what?" Scootaloo asked.

Sparklefly's attention had been recaptured, and without turning around, she said, "Yeah, I'm coming." Looking to where Duster would be, she whispered, "Goodbye."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Sparklefly replied as she turned and followed behind her friend.

The thought of leaving Duster was both liberating and terrifying. Brax had promised that he would look after him and make sure he got trained up properly. Though she desperately wanted to ask for much more than that, Sparklefly knew it was the best he could do. They walked on, heading back toward town and Sweet Apple Acres. Neither of them wanted to leave without saying their farewells.

"I guess this is it, then," LD said as he emerged from behind a tent.

"Were you just going to forget about us?" Lightning Dasher asked, flanking his twin.

Sparklefly smiled at them. She was glad they had adjusted as well as they had in accepting each other. She couldn't imagine what they had gone through, especially in the days after the siege, when they realized that they had to share that identity. It seemed like so long ago now.

"Of course not," she said.

"Are you kidding?" Scootaloo snorted. "Forgetting you two and all the trouble you cause is the first thing on my list when I get back to Cloudsdale."

LD and Lightning Dasher shook their heads and together said, "Figures."

Sparklefly laughed to herself.

“That right there! That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Scootaloo jokingly chided.

Sparklefly said, "She means to say that we'll miss both of you, and if you ever change your minds, you're always welcome by our side."

They both smiled uneasily. She knew them well enough to read their nervousness. Perhaps they had just lost their stomach for combat. They always seemed to perform well in a fight, but something had changed in them. They weren't quite the same after the siege. Sparklefly found herself wondering whether the original Lightning Dasher had been killed. If these were both copies, what differences would have been introduced in that process? It made her remember their initial escape, before she’d realized that Lightning Dasher had copied himself, and she saw the first one get killed. She tried to put it from her mind.

"Well, it's a small matter either way; see you around," she said.

"Yeah, what she said," Scootaloo agreed.

"Bye," LD and Lightning Dasher said in unison.

Scootaloo and Sparklefly continued on toward Sweet Apple Acres. She didn't know about the others, but she was drained from the night before. Thwarting the coup had been exhausting work. Her thoughts turned back to Captain Swiftlight as they walked. She was ashamed for even thinking it, but she was glad she hadn't known him better. Of course, if she had, he might have trusted her with information. Maybe she could have worked out a strategy that wouldn't have gotten him killed. One in her own platoon had also died when they took the castle: Cadet Merryweather. She had been a pegasus in Digger’s squad. She had taken an arrow to the head and didn’t last long enough for medical treatment. It made Sparklefly’s heart heavy to think of it.

After they passed through the EUP checkpoint at the end of the training grounds, they passed another one entering Ponyville. Zebras had locked down the entire city, if not the entire country. Anypony without written orders were subject to the forty-eight hour curfew that Shining Armor had ordered. It almost felt like a ghost town, if not for the sporadic zebras patrolling the streets. Sparklefly turned right, diverting from Sweet Apple Acres. The moment she did it, her heart began pounding with a mixture of nervous sadness.

"The farm is this way," Scootaloo said.

"I know," Sparklefly replied with a slight quiver in her voice. She couldn’t mask the raw emotion that was building, ”I want to go to Java's first."

She definitely did not want to see Java Chip under these circumstances, but somepony had to tell her what they'd found out.

"Oh," Scootaloo followed alongside, a knowing tone in her voice and a look of understanding in her eyes.

The silence between them was thick. The day was also quiet aside from birds, oblivious to the troubles of ponies, cheerfully singing their spring songs.

"You did this for Pibs," Sparklefly said. She had meant to ask a question, but she forgot what it was when she began to speak.

"Yes," Scootaloo replied solemnly.

They continued padding along, Scootaloo on three legs with the fourth in a sling. Sparklefly could see the thoughts burned into her face, and surmised that she was remembering when she'd given Lighthoof news of Pibs' death. The coffee house had the "closed" sign on the door. This was expected. With a total curfew, no civilians were able to move about, to say nothing of purchasing coffee. Scootaloo had a grave look on her face.

She began, "Do you want me to-"

"No,” Sparklefly cut her off. "I need to do this."

She didn't understand why she felt so strongly that it had to be her that informed Java Chip. It wasn't as if she'd had any involvement in the situation whatsoever. Maybe it was for all of the others that had been lost under her command that she hadn't been able to do this for. Maybe she was just a glutton for anguish. Sparklefly took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A zebra patrol walked behind them, but moved past, hardly paying them any attention.

"What was that?" Scootaloo said, her ears having perked up.

"Are you still hearing things?"

"My hearing is completely recovered," Scootaloo replied snidely.

A muffled voice called through the door, "Who's there?"

Scootaloo beamed at Sparklefly, who rolled her eye in answer.

"It's us, Sparklefly and Scootaloo," Sparklefly replied.

Sparklefly suddenly felt nervous again as she heard the locks on the door being worked from the inside. A few moments later it opened just slightly, paused, and then all the way.

"Come in," Java Chip said, looking cautiously around.

Scootaloo went first, and Sparklefly followed. As soon as they were inside, Java Chip shut the door and quickly reset her locks.

"You don't have to do that," Scootaloo reassured her. "It's perfectly safe now."

"Were you here last night?" Java Chip asked. "Zebras attacked the town."

"I was," Sparklefly replied. "I was in the middle of it. The zebras are on our side."

"But, what was all the chaos? They told me I can't leave the building," Java said nervously as she sat down at a nearby table.

The dimly lit shop was cold and devoid of the friendly ambiance which typically was found therein. Sparklefly’s emotional state continued elevating. She wasn’t sure what it was all the way to the coffee house. Sitting here, looking Java Chip in the dark, she identified it as dread. She desperately wanted to avoid the next few moments, but a sense of duty drove her forward.

"There was a rebellion last night. General Mane Crusher tried to overthrow Prince Shining Armor."

Java Chip looked at Sparklefly, but it was as if she was looking past her.

"Just like Swiftlight warned us," she said vacantly.

"Yes," Sparklefly confirmed. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "It was exactly as he said. Scootaloo warned Prince Shining Armor when she flew to Manehattan the other day. If you remember, it was the very next morning that zebras showed up in Ponyville."

Java Chip nodded slowly, this new information sinking in.

"See, Shining Armor told me to buzz off," Scootaloo added. "He made me think he didn't believe me and threatened to have me locked up if I told anypony else what I suspected. So Sparklefly and I made plans to rescue him. As it turned out, he looked into it himself after I warned him, and he prepared better than anything we could have done."

"He stationed zebras in key positions throughout the EUP that very day," Sparklefly said. "The zebras attacking last night was actually a counter-attack against the rebels."

“So, we won?" Java Chip asked.

“Totally!" Scootaloo grinned.

"What happened to your fore-leg?”

"Ah, it's nothing," Scootaloo shrugged at Java. She bragged, "Mane Crusher pulled it out of socket when he realized which side I was on. You should have seen the look on his face!”

Java Chip seemed to grow uneasy, and Sparklefly knew what it meant. The barista was trying to form words, but looked somehow unable to do so.

"We did find out about Swiftlight," Sparklefly felt shaky and hollow. She looked in Java Chip's hazel eyes, so filled with concern and hope. Her voice lost power, so she practically whispered, "I'm so sorry."

The beige mare nodded, a single tear escaping and running down her cheek. Snorting a sigh and looking down, she said, "Just like we thought, huh?"

Sparklefly tried to smile, but managed more of an uneasy grimace. "I know it won't make you feel better, but he saved us all," she said quietly.

"Do you really think so?" Java Chip asked, looking back up to the pair.

“Absolutely,” Scootaloo said as upbeat as possible, but Sparklefly could hear the same sadness in her voice. "If he hadn't given you that letter, we wouldn't have warned the prince, and the zebras wouldn't have been in position. Shining Armor would have been caught completely off guard."

Java Chip nodded, another tear escaping. "Thank you for coming to tell me yourselves," she said. "I think I'd like to be alone now."

Sparklefly nodded, holding back tears herself. Java Chip unlocked the door and opened it. As Sparklefly was exiting, she was grabbed in a hug from Java Chip. With her other fore-leg, she brought Scootaloo into it for a moment, and then let them go.

"We are shipping out today for Cloudsdale," Sparklefly said.

Java sort of smiled at them and shut the door without another word. It was over. Sparklefly sighed with relief as feeling returned to her body. The experience hadn't been nearly so bad as she had thought it would be, but it was one of the most unpleasant things she'd ever had to do. She earnestly hoped that she’d not have to go through it again.

28 - Taskforce, Part 3 of 5

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Sparklefly adjusted her eye patch.

"On to Sweet Apple Acres?" Scootaloo suggested, a bit less cheerful than she'd been.

Sparklefly made an empty smile back, and they started walking. One patrol of zebras stopped them, demanding to see their orders, but they were quickly satisfied. Feelings of sadness for Java Chip consumed her thoughts as they continued through town.

"It was worse for Lighthoof," Scootaloo said as the farm came into view.

"How do you mean?" Sparklefly asked.

"He didn't know anything might be wrong until I arrived. Java Chip had already believed Swiftlight might be dead. Still, that's the worst kind of news to deliver."

Sparklefly didn't have an answer other than to agree. Her own mortality now took the place of other thoughts. If something were to happen to her, or, Celestia forbid, to Duster... She shuddered at the thought of her mom receiving that news.

Even the farm wasn't being worked due to the curfew. It was a little eerie to see plows and other equipment that seemed to have been abandoned at the beginning of a work day. This seemed also a little odd, since the town had been on lockdown since the previous night. They must have been getting equipment out when the zebras came to put everypony back inside. Back home, before the war, the stillness of the orchard had always felt right. Sparklefly mused to herself that the sounds of work aside, it should be a quiet place.

When they reached the farm house, Scootaloo banged on the door and tried to make her voice deeper, "EUP, open up!"

She stifled a laugh.

Sparklefly shook her head as Apple Bloom answered from inside, "Scootaloo?"

“Oh my, you've been had,” Sparklefly said flatly, “your cover is blown.”

The door opened to Scootaloo bursting into laughter at her own joke. Apple Bloom was not amused, but she was visibly glad to see her friend again.

"Come on in!" she warmly greeted them.

Just like at Java's, it was dark inside the Apple's house. It made the place feel almost gloomy. The Cakes and Big McIntosh were there, most looking visibly nervous. The "young 'uns" were playing on the floor, oblivious to anything being wrong.

"Do you have news?" Mr. Cake asked, a little timidly.

“I’ll say we do!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

All trace of Scootaloo’s depressed mood about Swiftlight was completely gone. Sparklefly suspected that this was simply a facade so as to not concern the Apple Family.

"We won," Sparklefly said simply.

The mood in the room was instantly transformed. Apple Bloom grabbed Scootaloo in a huge hug, causing her to stagger backward in order to keep her balance. Mr. Cake kissed Mrs. Cake, and the "young 'uns" were looking around, confused at the levity. Joy began flooding through the house, and no doubt might have erupted into a party had Pinkie Pie been present.

Sparklefly's thoughts turned to her medic friend, whose name she still did not know. She realized she would miss the opportunity to see him again. It dispelled any misgivings she’d had about her feelings. She liked him, and she knew it. Catching herself grinning like an idiot, Sparklefly shook her head and cleared her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.

Several eyes were on her; they had seen. Sparklefly squirmed uneasily, hoping she wasn't blushing and trying to think up something to answer. Her usual composure, lost for that moment, was difficult to regain.

Glancing at Mr. and Mrs. Cake, then back to Sparklefly, Apple Bloom accused, "You were thinking about your special somepony, weren't you!"

"No!" Sparklefly denied, a lump forming in her throat. She knew she was blushing now.

"Oh my gosh, you totally were!" Scootaloo gasped.

"Special somepony, special somepony!" the young ‘uns began chanting.

Desperately seeking to say something in her own defense, Sparklefly managed to get out, "No, it's not like that; it's a small matter. I don't even know his name."

"Seriously?" Apple Bloom scoffed.

"Anyway, we have more important things to discuss," Sparklefly hoped to change the subject. "Shining Armor has put down the rebellion all over Equestria. He was also very pleased with our efforts to hold Ponyville."

"That's why we're going to Cloudsdale!" Scootaloo interrupted.

"Cloudsdale?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We sure are! We're being assigned to a special-" 
"Captain!" Sparklefly cut her off. "As you recall, we're not to speak of that."

"Geez, it's just family," she replied, the wind taken out of her sails.

Slightly annoyed, Sparklefly continued, "Also, Applejack has arranged for my family to move to the farm to help work the orchard."

Apple Bloom lit up at this, "That's great! Does that mean you'll move back to Ponyville after the war?"

There it was again. 'After the war.' This seemed like such an elusive concept to Sparklefly. Apparently it wasn't to everypony else; many were thinking to the future. It made her feel warm inside in a way that she often didn't. Somehow, she couldn’t see that far. The next battle, whatever it would be, consumed her thoughts of tomorrow.

"I honestly hadn't thought about it," she finally replied. "I suppose so, if you’ll have us.“

"Oh that's great!" Apple Bloom said, prancing in place.

Scootaloo snickered at her.

"Applejack will be able to fill you in on the rest of the details. Suffice it to say that the zebras are on our side, and hopefully, we'll see you soon."

Sparklefly now staggered to keep her balance as she received a hug from Apple Bloom.

"I swear; we leave for one night and you get all sentimental," Scootaloo teased, but Sparklefly could see though it. She was genuinely relieved to see everyone safe and sound.

"You know you'll miss us!" Apple Bloom bantered with her friend. To Sparklefly, she added, "Now make sure to say goodbye to your brother before you go.

Sparklefly actually took a step back from shock. "How did you-"

"Scootaloo can't keep a secret," Apple Bloom grinned.

"Hey! I can so," Scootaloo protested.

"So you know who Sparklefly's special somepony is?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No, now that you mention it," Scootaloo's gaze was accusingly boring into Sparklefly, who could feel herself blushing again. "But I'll bet anything it's somepony in Ponyville."

"Come on, we have to go," Sparklefly said, turning to exit.

"Oh no you don't!" Scootaloo teased, blocking the door, “not until you tell us his name."

The two seemed to be surrounding and drawing closer, like sharks circling their prey.

Defeated and trapped, Sparklefly finally said, “I already told you; I don't know his name."

"What?" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

The Cakes looked a bit amused but were now paying more attention to the children. Scootaloo projected an arrogance of disbelief.

"You're not getting off that easy!"

Not seeing any other options, Sparklefly volunteered, "He's a medic in Brax's battalion, okay?"

"A cadet!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a giggle. “You fell for a cadet?”

"And you don't know his name?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's right. I met him during the Baltimare Fever quarantine. He helped me keep watch when Duster was sick."

"So, basically he has no idea?" Scootaloo prodded.

Sparklefly sighed, "No, he has no idea."

"You have to tell him!" Apple Bloom squeaked, her pink bow bouncing.

"I can't, it's against regulations."

"Look, we're transferring away," Scootaloo added. "Just tell him how you feel and then leave. At least you'll not have to worry about not having told him."

With a sigh, Sparklefly said, ”Guys, it just doesn't matter.”

"I dare you to kiss him right on the mouth!" Apple Bloom said.

"Apple Bloom!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed, shooting a look to the children. They weren't paying attention.

Sparklefly laughed it off but was incredibly uncomfortable.

Moving to help block the door, Apple Bloom said, "We're not letting you go until you promise to do it."

"And you can't tell him anything either!" Scootaloo snickered.

The young ‘uns began chanting about special someponies again.

Only wanting to get out of there, Sparklefly spoke out of exasperation, "Fine! I'll do it! I promise!" No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than she wished she hadn't said it.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo giggled together, partners in crime. After finally making their goodbyes, the pair left the farm. Sparklefly knew she was blushing and was grateful that Scootaloo didn't try to engage in any more conversation as they walked. She caught herself shaking her head as they went back in the direction of the hospital. She couldn't believe she'd promised to kiss that medic.

28 - Taskforce, Part 4 of 5

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Cloud Blazer was exhausted from his newfound inability to sleep and could barely keep his eyes open. However, when he heard the familiar voice, he identified it immediately when Scootaloo spoke. His ears perked up and his heart quickened. It was a mixture of excitement and despair that confused the stallion, but hope sprang up inside.

"They told me I could find you here, Sweetie Belle."

"Scootaloo! You made it!" Sweetie Belle excitedly embraced her friend.

"Hi, Cloud Blazer," Sparklefly greeted as she entered the hospital room.

"Hi, LT.”

She smiled at him. The sight of her eye patch reminded him of that day again. No matter how far away he got, it sometimes came rushing back and made him shudder, a painful expression due to his injuries.

Remembering his manners, “I don't know if you've all met Pixyglitter; this is Scootaloo and Sparklefly. They were with me when I got banged up."

An uneasy smile on her face, Pixyglitter said, "Pleased to meet you.”

Sparklefly answered, “Any friend of Cloud Blazer's is a friend of mine. He saved my life, you know."

Cloud Blazer shot her a confused look. He didn't remember having saved her life. In fact, the others had saved his, twice.

She must have caught his expression as she added, ”You remember; you told me to duck. That timberwolf that took my eye was aiming for my throat.”

He did remember. He couldn't forget. Perhaps if he'd yelled out sooner, she'd still have her eye. Sweetie Belle chatted on with Scootaloo about the previous night's events. He got the gist of it: zebras were on the prince's side, the rebels were soundly defeated, Mane Crusher was captured.

"So we're being reassigned to Cloudsdale," Scootaloo finished.

"Cloudsdale?" Cloud Blazer asked, almost panicked at the thought of his friends leaving him.

"It's a small distance,” Sparklefly said. "We should be able to visit often."

The look on her face told him that this was likely not true. He decided to accept it anyway.

She continued, “But we do have some exciting news. You've been awarded a Shining Star, and Shining Armor has granted you the title, ‘The Hero of Everfree’. What do you think about that?"

Cloud Blazer considered this a moment. He hadn't really done anything heroic in the forest that day, especially when weighed against how hard Regal Masquerade fought until his dying breath and the way the other four mounted a rescue by themselves. He had only brought up the rear in their initial escape, but somepony had to do it. It could have just as easily been any one of them. He felt uncomfortable about it and decided to make a joke, "Does that mean I can demand that everypony address me as Hero Cloud Blazer?"

Sweetie Belle and Pixyglitter giggled; Scootaloo seemed to be ignoring him. Sparklefly snorted, "No!"

He scoffed at her, "That's easy for you to say; everypony's been calling you the Hero of Canterlot since we were cadets."

Her smile in reply betrayed that she didn't feel comfortable with that title. He couldn't blame her. Just like the day in the forest, the day in Canterlot had seen the deaths of several of their friends. For the first time, he thought he might begin to understand her feelings on the matter. Although, there was a rather large difference in their situations. In Canterlot, she’d led them to their deaths. In Everfree, he was trying to keep them alive. The conversation remained pleasant, but Sparklefly and Scootaloo soon said their goodbyes. Cloud Blazer wanted to make things right again with Scootaloo, but by design or by chance, the opportunity didn't present itself.

"I'm thirsty," Sweetie Belle said when the others had gone. "Anypony else want some water?"

"Yes, thanks," Cloud Blazer said.

Pixyglitter nodded her agreement.

The confused emotional state in which Cloud Blazer found himself was unsettling. There wasn’t anypony he could talk to, so he tried to keep it to himself, but the feeling of loneliness only made it worse.

All of his injuries ached and throbbed as Cloud Blazer shifted in bed. Comfort wasn't something he could achieve anymore, but minimizing the pain was always worth an attempt. He rested in his new position, which took pressure off of some places and moved it to others. It was an acceptable trade. He made a long, unsatisfying yawn, and when he opened his eyes, he didn't know he was dreaming. Unlike his recent vivid dreams filled with cryptic messages, he had found a normal, much needed sleep where the subconscious mind wanders and one’s vigor is restored.

...

Beigh scoffed at the idea of even calling it lunch. The rations had become so small that he couldn't figure out how they were still training as hard as they were. Still, the gardens they'd been working as part of their daily routine were coming along. In another month or so they should have more food to add to the "feast". Looking down at his bowl of maybe two dozen oats, he wondered that they had made it this long with so little. The portion was quickly finished, and the medic found himself with nearly twenty minutes before he had to be anywhere. It was a rare and wonderful thing, but he remembered that he'd neglected to turn in a supply report they'd made only that morning. Several soldiers had required medical attention after the fighting the previous night, and updated supply lists were one of the things with which he had been tasked.

Beigh quickly exited the mess tent and started walking to the infirmary. He was about halfway there when he happened to look up. He smiled in recognition of Sparklefly. Both she and Scootaloo were walking directly towards him. He decided he'd best make a greeting as to not seem rude.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant," he began.

He was just about to say something else, maybe ask her how her wings were feeling, when she reached him. He was so caught off guard by what happened next that he didn't know what to do. Without warning, and most abruptly, Lieutenant Sparklefly kissed him on the mouth. The stallion was rendered incapacitated as his senses were assaulted with a barrage of confused feelings. He felt excited and terrified, hot and cold, hard and soft all at the same time. Instinctively, he backed away, but she was close enough that it took him two steps to break contact. He was so surprised that his attempt to ask why she had just kissed him came out as inane sputtering. Scootaloo began laughing uproariously.

“Cadet, I’ve been promoted and I’m being transferred to Cloudsdale, and I wanted to say goodbye before I disembark," Sparklefly spoke casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

He read absolutely no emotion from her.

Still in complete shock, Beigh didn't realize that the mild admiration he had felt before was being transformed into something else. Much as a spark ignites a blaze, a kind of flame had been kindled and was sweeping through his heart. Saddened by the news of her transfer, he could only think to finally introduce himself, then they could at least keep in contact.

“My name-"

He was silenced by Sparklefly placing a hoof over his mouth. She whispered in his ear, "Don't spoil it." A wry grin crept across her face as she backed away.

The next thing he knew, the two left him standing there alone, grinning like an idiot. Panic replaced the other feelings, and Beigh spun about, looking in every direction. It seemed that the entire incident had gone unnoticed. This would be of mutual advantage given their vastly different stations.

After regaining some measure of composure, he remembered that he still had that report to turn in. Continuing on to the infirmary didn't feel like walking; it felt like flying. In truth he wasn't flying. Feelings can be deceptive like that. He was actually falling... head over hooves.

Author's Notes:

Today, July 5, 2017, is a special day! It marks now 3 years that I have been working on this story.

The idea first came to me way back in 2014, and I wrote the first two chapters in a matter of days. The work slowed after that, but I have been diligently pressing on daily since then to see it through!

I have completed the first draft, for anyone who was wondering, and my proof-reader has finished reading through my second pass. The proofing was one of the things that had previously been slowing the posting, but as many of you may have noticed, I post nearly daily now.

Thank you guys for taking an interest in the whimsy of my imagination and sticking with me while it meanders toward the conclusion.

Also, a special thanks to all of you guys that comment, especially Emperor, who has by himself left more comments than anybody else, maybe more than everybody combined. Check out his stories sometime. He has a great writing style and is rather entertaining!

28 - Taskforce, Part 5 of 5

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Scootaloo growled through her rage as she caught up to Sparklefly, "Thanks for taking off like that!"

They were flying high and fast across the sky, already over half-way to Cloudsdale. Sparklefly was soaring like the wind, and it had taken some time to catch up once Scootaloo realized that she'd been left behind.

"Sorry, I just don't want to be late," she replied.

Scootaloo didn't believe that for even a second, "Whatever!”

Too angry to say anything else, Scootaloo followed in silence and seethed. Sparklefly didn't offer any other excuses for disappearing the way she had. One minute they were looking for Duster and the next Scootaloo was alone. It didn’t take long to find a guard that had seen her go, but Sparklefly always had been the faster flyer.

By the time they were in the airspace of the great floating city, Scootaloo’s anger had calmed to a manageable level. They arrived in Cloudsdale and submitted to being scanned by the guards before they were allowed entry.

As soon as they made it through the checkpoint, Sparklefly turned to face Scootaloo and said, "Look, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Good job," Scootaloo shot back sarcastically.

"I just had that... whatever that was with the medic, and then I was trying to find Duster. I don't deal with this sort of stuff very well."

"Oh come on!" Scootaloo almost yelled. She realized her tone was an indication of growing anger. Trying to cool it down, she held up a hoof, pausing the conversation for a moment. "If I can learn to stop this rage," Scootaloo said deliberately, "then you can learn to face this silly stuff without freaking out."

Sparklefly hung her head, turning away. Her eye patch faced Scootaloo, obscuring what her facial expression would otherwise have told. When she looked back, it was something akin to fear that faced Scootaloo in the visage of her friend.

“It may seem a small matter to you, but some things are better left alone," Sparklefly said rather timidly.

Scootaloo could only wonder what from Sparklefly's past might have motivated the difficulty with her feelings. She knew about her dad’s death, and guessed that was at least a piece of the reason. At any rate, the wiser course seemed to be resolving this disagreement.

"I can live with that," Scootaloo replied carefully. "But you can't just run off like that. I'm your friend, and I'll worry if you disappear. We can figure out your other..." she searched for the right word, "feelings later. Okay?" Scootaloo held out the hoof that wasn't in a sling.

Sparklefly nodded slowly, thinking the way that she often did before finally looking up and slapping the extended hoof. Scootaloo was appeased, and motioned with her head that they continue on, which they silently did. Cloudsdale seemed even more militaristic than usual. Everything was locked down, and armed soldiers were everywhere. Scootaloo thought it was likely that the civilians had been placed under curfew across all of Equestria. Unlike quiet of the civilian areas, the war room was alive with activity.

"I was wondering when you two would show up!" Colonel Rainbow Dash's familiar voice greeted them as they entered.

"Hey, sis," Scootaloo answered as the colonel caught her in a hug.

It was slightly embarrassing, and Scootaloo pulled away. She suspected that the breach in normal behavior was an expression of relief that they were all okay after the danger they’d just gone through.

"So you're here for good now?" Rainbow Dash asked, almost cheerfully.

"Yes, ma'am," Sparklefly replied.

"You two want to meet the group?"

“I’m so excited, but I was surprised to hear that you’re on the Taskforce!” Scootaloo asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Rainbow Dash teased. "Like they're going to put together an elite force without me?"

"I had thought you were still training the new recruits," Sparklefly offered.

“Your class was my only one before I rotated back to a combat assignment. Of course, then I had to wait until my wings healed, but now I'm fit to fly!" she proudly declared, spreading her wings out.

Scootaloo had always been amazed at her mentor’s wingspan. It was no wonder she was able to fly with such agility and speed. Curiosity and excitement began to overtake her as Rainbow Dash led them to a smaller room off the main hall. Scootaloo had been here the day she’d come to warn Shining Armor.

"This used to be a conference room," Rainbow Dash began, "but when Shining Armor ordered the Taskforce to be put together, we made it our headquarters."

It was a fairly small and poorly-lit room. There was a long rectangular table in the center, and maps practically coating the walls. They had notes scribbled all over and different parts highlighted. Scootaloo paid them closer attention this time and noticed that they seemed to all have different dates on them, but they were not arranged in any particular order. Also notably, the ponies that were sitting at the table made no attempt to salute or even recognize that Rainbow Dash had entered. Looking around the room, Scootaloo counted four ponies in all. There were three stallions, two of which were unicorns, and a mare.

"Now we have almost as many pegasi as everypony else combined," Rainbow Dash said loudly.

"Oh that's nothing," a silver crystal unicorn spoke as he stood. His mane and tail were bright red, and his eyes dark green. "I'll bet we can take you if we were to wrestle.” He quickly sized them up and continued, "My my, you've brought new mares to grace our group. Are they new recruits, or are they here for fun?“

Sparklefly made a disgusted face at Scootaloo, who was already off-put by the bawdy insinuation.

"That's a laugh," Rainbow Dash mocked him. "These two could tear you up in ten seconds flat."

Practically devouring them with his eyes in a manner that repulsed Scootaloo, he said, "Oh I'd love to give them a try. What do you say, one on one for starters?"

Sparklefly mocked his downright lewd comment by snorting. A white earth pony stood.

"Sit down, Pacer. Don't mind him; he's not quite house-broken yet."

Pacer replied, "Whatever! I can take you down anytime I want."

"So the last three times I pinned you, I won by accident?" the white stallion asked, his blue eyes flashing with delight.

"Oh, that's nothing; I was having an off day," Pacer defended.

"My name is Charging Lance," the older white stallion said. "Those two are Flittergear and Masher."

"Hey," Masher greeted them.

Flittergear sat silently, staring at the newcomers with large green eyes. Normally Scootaloo would be uncomfortable to be sized up in that manner, but there was no sense of malice or challenge in the gaze. All Scootaloo could detect was genuine curiosity. Charging lance looked old enough to have foals her age, at least as old as Brax.

"Well, I'd best let you all get to know each other," Rainbow Dash said, suddenly turning to exit the room.

"You're not staying?" Scootaloo asked, saddened by the departure.

"Oh, I'll be back," the colonel replied. With a smile, she added, "You know how it is; there are always reports to file."

With that, Rainbow Dash was off, and the pair were left alone with the detachment to which they had just been assigned.

"We are captains Sparklefly and Scootaloo," Sparklefly said with a gesture.

"Look, rookie," Pacer started, "Whatever rank or combat experience you've seen to this point doesn't matter much. We have our own system here."

Scootaloo's familiar boiling anger returned rather suddenly, and she felt it beginning to steam as Pacer continued to speak.

"We don't get many visitors, so I apologize in advance if our manners are lacking," Charging Lance said. “What my, esteemed colleague, meant is that we are all minds here. All ideas can be helpful to explore, even if they are incorrect.”

This helped her to reign in the rage, but Scootaloo had just decided that she did not like Pacer, not one bit. The introductions complete, the two were basically ignored as the other four launched back into the reports they were looking over. Flittergear had been circling different phrases in them and showing them to the others.

"I'm sure you already know what we do here," Charging Lance eventually addressed them again.

"Basically," Scootaloo replied. "You're hunting for Queen Chrysalis."

Simultaneously, all of the others shushed her.

"We never say her name!" Pacer said.

"I say it all the time, but we don't say it in here," Masher added.

Charging Lance said, "We use code names." Gesturing at the vent in the ceiling, he added, "You can never be completely certain who is listening."

"Our primary target bears the code name Omega," Masher said. “We are also searching for their base of operations, which we call Lambda. Baby changelings have to come from somewhere. But you are quite correct, we are mainly looking for Omega.”

"We have been ever since the siege at Ponyville," Charging Lance noted, turning back to the documents.

Flittergear was still sifting through them.

"How do the documents help?" Sparklefly asked.

Charging Lance grinned at her, “Already with questions. You are quite the thinker, aren't you? I had heard as much about The Hero of Canterlot from everypony that I've talked to."

Scootaloo could practically feel Sparklefly squirm uncomfortably when he used her title.

"The reports come in from all over Equestria," Charging Lance continued. He didn't seem to notice Sparklefly's discomfort. “Every scout and soldier is our eyes and ears. They don’t always know that what they’ve seen is important. Sometimes we get clues about the whereabouts of Omega."

"I put together the clues the last time we had her cornered," Pacer said.

"It was a group effort," Masher added.

"Group nothing," Pacer said, "I got that information out of a report you'd been sitting on for a week, and I'd only been here for two days."

"Yes, we couldn't function without you," Charging Lance said, each word dripping with sarcasm. "All the ground work that had been done before you saw the data wasn't a factor in the slightest.”

Scootaloo grinned. It was nice to see a loud-mouth not get away with that sort of behavior. Her attention moved to Flittergear, who was whispering something to Masher. He looked at some reports she was organizing.

"We nearly had her trapped in Las Pegasus," Charging Lance continued. "Several survivors independently verified seeing her."

"What went wrong?" Sparklefly asked.

"General Mane Crusher!" Pacer blurted out.

"Former General," Charging Lance corrected. "The forces in Las Pegasus were to distract and keep them there until dawn. By the time we were in position to spring the trap, the changelings had already fled, beaten back by Mane Crusher’s corps.”

"I think we've got something!" Masher interrupted.

Scootaloo and Sparklefly closed in with the others as they were checking over a series of reports. They were assessments of relative EUP strengths cross-referenced with frequency of timberwolf attacks.

"I see," Charging Lance said.

"Yep, that's a pattern," Pacer agreed.

"Do you see it?" Sparklefly whispered to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo shook her head.

"The conventions we employ are often rather unconventional," Masher said with an enigmatic smirk.

"Look here," Charging Lance said while pointing.

"Hoofington?" Scootaloo asked, a bit confused.

"I see that it hasn't been attacked, but I don't think I follow," Sparklefly admitted.

"It is practically unguarded, and it is on the southern boarder of the Everfree Forest," Charging Lance continued.

"Of course it's unguarded. Strategically, it's worthless," Scootaloo countered, not sure whether they had actually found anything.

Charging Lance said, "It might be worthless to us, but why didn't the timberwolves hit it before anything else? It would have been easy to overrun such a small town on the way to Apple Loosa a year ago.”

"The terrain does obscure it from view on the eastern side," Sparklefly said. "They may have simply not seen it."

"But changelings can fly," Masher said. "If it had been overrun before, we'd never have thought a thing about it."

"Okay," Scootaloo said, now understanding what they were getting at. "So what does it mean that they haven't attacked it?"

"Oh, I have no idea," Masher said.

Scootaloo shot him a look that made the others laugh a little.

"We work in questions," Charging Lance said cryptically.

"Maybe the entire town has been replaced by changelings already, and they use it for a headquarters," Pacer said. “Maybe Lambda is nearby and they don’t want to disturb their own nest, so they leave a small pony town unchallenged as cover.”

"Maybe they are sympathetic to the cause and have been letting the changelings use their town as a secret base," Masher offered.

A gesture from Charging Lance caught Scootaloo and Sparklefly's attention. Scootaloo realized that this was part of their process. They find some information that doesn't make sense and try to offer an explanation.

"Maybe it's worthless so they just haven't bothered with it?" Scootaloo said, half-expecting them to laugh at her again, but they didn't.

"Maybe we should go to Hoofington and see what we can find out," Sparklefly suggested.

“What’s our percent on finding anything useful?” Masher asked.

Flittergear scribbled some math on a scrap of paper.

Pacer shrugged, “Over thirty-percent. Not bad.”

“I say we go,” Masher concluded.

“For only thirty percent?” Scootaloo was bothered that they’d waste resources on something that thin.

"I agree with Masher,” Charging Lance said. "It is definitely worth a trip. Most of our leads don’t pan out, but the intel that led us to Las Pegasus was barely above forty-percent. It’s usually much less.”

Scootaloo could feel her brain hurting, but she now understood why Shining Armor had been so impressed and acted so decisively on a ninety percent assurance from this group that Mane Crusher was plotting his overthrow.

“I know flying isn't new to either of you, but have you ever traveled by cloud?"

Scootaloo never had, but she was growing excited that things were beginning to take shape. The others seemed to all agree that Hoofington was likely to reveal some secret about Queen Chrysalis. Scootaloo was ready to charge in, catch her, and end the war by herself if necessary.

29 - Trail, Part 1 of 10

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Cloud Blazer hadn't realized that he’d drifted to sleep until he awoke. It was the most fulfilling rest he could remember having had in his entire life. For the first time in what seemed an eternity, nothing hurt. It was as if he were wrapped in a thick warm blanket on a cool autumn day. Waking from his sweet slumber wasn't jarring either. He drifted to consciousness very much as he had left it. He wasn't initially certain what had happened, but upon looking about his hospital room, it was readily apparent that time had passed.

Pixyglitter was still there, but she had fallen asleep in the empty bed on the other side of the room. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were gone. Most telling, light was streaming into the window from outside. His stomach growling was the first harbinger of the pains he would be feeling throughout his body. The dull aches, throbs, and sometimes sharp pains came back slowly at first, and then they were almost all he could think about, as usual.

Hoof steps came up the hallway, and Nurse Redheart entered the room moments later. Cloud Blazer was sure he saw a smile flit across her face when she saw Pixyglitter in the other bed, but it was gone in a flash. She was all business. Finding a blanket in one of the cabinets, she spread it over the sleeping mare before coming over to Cloud Blazer's bed.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked with a hint of good humor.

"I slept.”

"Oh?" she said nonchalantly as she took up his chart. "I see you hadn't been for several days. Did you dream?"

"No... I mean, I don't remember if I did. I feel more rested than I have in weeks."

"That's good," she said just as his stomach growled loudly. "How's your appetite?"

"Not enough food to satisfy it," he smiled, trying to be light-hearted.

"Rationing has us all eating less than we're used to," she replied flatly.

The tone made Cloud Blazer wonder whether she was annoyed by his comment. That wouldn’t be too surprising. She probably got complaints about the food from patients a hundred times a day. He’d have to remember to be a little more thoughtful how he joked about it.

"Are you ready for your PT?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied through gritted teeth.

Dread immediately replaced the stallion’s remaining warm feelings. Physical therapy was rather painful with all of the damage that had been done to his body. Sitting still hurt enough; stretching and moving in general was brutal, and he had no desire to go through it each day. However, they had already informed him that it was absolutely necessary at this phase of his recovery. If he didn't keep working, at least as much as he could to keep moving, that he may permanently lose much of his physical range of motion. He found it difficult to care about this at first, given that he'd already lost his wings. In time, he came to realize that it would only be worse if he didn't cooperate. Not flying would be bad enough, but that was no reason to cripple himself so that he couldn't walk either.

As gently as she was able, Nurse Redheart loaded Cloud Blazer into a wheelchair, sharp pains bolting through his body all the while. She pushed him out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. The strange dreams that he and Pixyglitter had been having were foremost on his thoughts. It served as his primary distraction whenever he did physical therapy. There were several stretches that they did, delicately testing the limits of his ability to move. Walking was difficult, and that was one time he especially tried to keep his mind otherwise occupied.

What could they have meant? Princess Twilight’s castle seemed frequently featured, and there was something locked in the dungeon. In the waking world, there wasn't a dungeon in the castle, and even if there were, nothing he’d ever seen there took more than one key to unlock. Why would it take five keys to open the door?

"Well done!" Doctor Horse cheered.

This somewhat startled Cloud Blazer and brought him back to the moment. He was pleased to discover that he was walking at nearly a normal pace for the first time since he'd fallen. The pain, now that he was focusing on it, was strong, but it felt a little more dull than usual. A new feeling seemed to surge through Cloud Blazer, beginning at his heart and shooting through his extremities. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it was warm and empowering.

"I still don't understand it, but I have to admit, that Zecora knows her medicine," Doctor Horse shook his head. "I think you're about ready to take longer walks."

"Longer?" Cloud Blazer asked, hopeful but uncertain.

"Yes. Your bones are mending remarkably, and you're past the point where you are likely to get infection from any of your wounds," the doctor said thoughtfully. "It is nothing short of miraculous that you're standing here at all."

Cloud Blazer couldn't help but smile. However, there was an emptiness inside over the loss of his wings, not to mention the disastrous turn his relationship with Scootaloo had taken. It was as if a hole had been punched in his heart, a hole that couldn’t be filled. It often threatened to swallow every ounce of joy he knew. The stallion battled daily to maintain a positive attitude.

"We can't really send any of the staff with you, but if you can get one of your friends to accompany you, I don't see any reason why you can't go for a walk around Ponyville."

The warm feeling spread through Cloud Blazer again. He hadn't realized just how trapped in the hospital he'd been feeling until that moment.

"Just don't overdo it," the doctor cautioned. "Also, be sure to take a wheelchair, just in case, but you can start by walking back to your room.“

Joy began pulsing through Cloud Blazer as he made for the hallway. With every painful burst, that happiness followed behind, growing stronger with each step. This made the walk back up to his room much more bearable. He was pleasantly surprised to find Sweetie Belle talking with Pixyglitter when he arrived. Nurse Redheart left him at the door.

"You're walking!" Sweetie Belle squeaked when she saw him.

"Well, I have to get back to running somehow," he replied with a fiendish grin. He puffed for breath, “I thought walking was a natural, step, in that direction.”

She made a face at him, apparently only somewhat amused at his humor, "Har, har.”

Cloud Blazer detected a scent in the room just then that caused his stomach to growl again.

"I smell zap-apples," he said hopefully as his mouth began to water.

"Wow, Cloud Blazer," Pixyglitter said. "You've got quite a sense of smell."

"I almost forgot," Sweetie Belle said as she produced a zap apple from her bag.

Cloud Blazer got back up onto his bed with a small amount of pain from the usual places and took the fruit from his friend. He looked at it for a few moments, letting his eyes devour the majesty of the tasty morsel. When he sank his teeth into the flesh of it, the juicy sweetness made him shiver as the flavors danced on his tongue.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get more than one for each of you."

"You're kidding, right? You are the best, Sweetie Belle," he said with another mouthful of apple impeding his speech.

She shook her head at him and smiled.

"You sound like like a pig when you eat; you know that?” Pixyglitter’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

He took another bite, slaking his hunger for the moment. He made the effort to swallow the apple before speaking.

"The doctor has cleared me to go for walks outside the hospital."

"Really? That's great!" Sweetie Belle chimed, almost dancing in place from excitement. "Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking about taking a stroll. Maybe I can make it to Sweet Apple Acres. I keep hearing about all the damage and work to fix it up. I'd like to see it for myself. What do you say, Pixyglitter, are you up for a walk?"

There was a mixture of hope and fear at what he might see, but the need to get outside was far greater than any hesitation he felt.

29 - Trail, Part 2 of 10

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Pixyglitter was rather enticed by the very thought of fresh air. The restfully dreamless sleep she'd just had only made the offer seem much more tempting. However, being blind, 'going for a stroll' wasn't something she was effectively able to do.

"I'll be fine here. You two go ahead," she politely declined.

She could hear Cloud Blazer shift in his bed, "Don't be like that. How often do you get a chance to get out of here for a while? It's a beautiful day!"

She doubted whether he was actually as cheerful as he was trying to sound. Still, he did have a valid point. Nopony else was lining up to take her outside these days.

“I’m still not supposed to be walking, so I’d need a wheelchair," Pixyglitter hesitated, "but only if you don't mind."

"Oh not at all!" Sweetie Belle practically squealed; she sounded most delighted to be of assistance.

Pixyglitter hated herself a little in that moment: reduced to only being able to go outside on the charity of others. Her own physical therapy didn't involve walking yet, but she had been taught how to steer the wheelchair. The only problem being that she still couldn't see where she was going.

"The doc says I'll need one too, just in case," Cloud Blazer said. "Sweetie Bell, if you can push mine, and just make sure Pixyglitter steers straight, I think we'll be fine."

In spite of some amount of autonomy, that suggestion didn't make her feel much better. Sweetie Belle got the wheelchairs, and it seemed like only moments before they were on their way. Pixyglitter felt her heart-rate increase as they neared the doors. She could hear the activity in the lobby with several patients being admitted. Nurses were chattering about one thing and another. Somepony was bleeding; she could smell it. Cloud Blazer talked to the workers at the desk to get permission to leave.

"We're all set!" he sounded excited as he walked back to them; his breath was already heavier.

The wheelchair that Sweetie Belle was pushing clattered as they negotiated the door. Then Pixyglitter felt the bumps of the threshold for herself, and fresh air kissed her face. It was the sweet scent of spring. Some kinds of flowers were already blooming; they didn't have a strong smell, but they were pleasant. The sun was also beaming straight down on her, and she turned toward the radiance of it and inhaled deeply. Her remaining senses were enough to make this an enjoyable experience: a gentle breeze pushed at her mane, the warmth of the sun on her coat, the aroma of flowers, and the sound of birds singing made her lost in the moment until Sweetie Belle spoke.

"Watch it," she said to Cloud Blazer. "There you go, that's fine. This way, Pixyglitter."

The discovery that she could hear Cloud Blazer and Sweetie Belle walking quite well was a pleasant surprise indeed. That made the journey much easier on all of them. It became unnecessary for anything to be said to lead Pixyglitter, except for the occasional warning about any rough ground that might cause a problem. The town sounded fairly quiet. This was not unexpected after the frightening events several days before. It seemed that most of the civilians were still skittish of coming outside. There were several dozen that had braved the day, and they all sounded in good spirits.

The three traveled for what seemed like an hour. Pixyglitter's fore-legs were beginning to burn from the effort of pushing her chair. The doctor had told her that this would be expected. On the bright side, the injuries to her hind legs weren’t severe. They expected she would walking again soon, so they kept saying.

Their pace slowed somewhat as they began climbing up and down gentle slopes. Cloud Blazer’s breathing became as deliberate as each step he took as the other two followed.

"Last... hill..." the stallion panted.

"Yep, almost there," Sweetie Belle said cheerfully.

"I think... I'll sit a while... when we get there..." he said.

Pixyglitter didn't say anything, but she would be glad for the rest. Although it wasn't a hot day, she was already sweating. She wished she'd remembered to bring some water.

"Oh my..." Cloud Blazer said blankly.

Pixyglitter stopped, only to have Sweetie Belle take over and push her just a little farther until they reached a flat spot.

“I can do it!” she lashed out in annoyance.

“Sorry.”

"It's all gone," Cloud Blazer said, still panting.

Pixyglitter turned her attention to the others as Sweetie Belle walked around her.

"Well, it's bad, but just look at how much they've already done,” Sweetie Belle replied optimistically.

Pixyglitter wished more than anything that she could see what they were talking about. She wasn't even sure whether she’d seen the orchard while she’d been stationed in town or not. Several minutes of silence followed. It was broken only by the songs of birds on the breeze and the sound of ponies working in the fields in front of them. It was a peaceful place to sit, but Pixyglitter could tell that Cloud Blazer was upset.

"The last time I was here, the orchard was whole," he said, “just like I was."

There was a heaviness to his voice that resonated in Pixyglitter’s heart. The loss he had suffered wasn’t far less than hers.

"You'll both be good as new in no time," Sweetie Belle replied.

Pixyglitter did not share this optimism, but she could only wonder whether Cloud Blazer did. He would never fly again, she herself was blind, but what had Sweetie Belle ever lost? How could she possibly understand what they were going through?

"I'd like to go back now," Cloud Blazer said, almost devoid of feeling.

Apparently he didn't share Sweetie Belle's positive outlook either.

29 - Trail, Part 3 of 10

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Scootaloo was already tired of traveling by cloud. They were finally approaching Hoofington, but it had taken them nearly a week to get there. A long and uneventful week that saw few dispatches from Cloudsdale and no small amount of reading and re-reading reports. The analyzing work was droll at best, and the pegasus mare was itching for some action.

From the edge, she stared down at the small town that lay beneath them and wondered what mysteries they were about to uncover. Flying was normally a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled affair. Flying on a cloud, however, was as boring as being in Cloudsdale, and it moved about as slowly. The other members of the Taskforce had told her that this was a form of camouflage. Any untrained eyes looking up at them wouldn't take much notice of a stray, slow-moving cloud.

From where she now stood, they also had a good view of the Everfree crater. The edges of which were already giving way to the forest creeping back into it. In spite of everything that was going on, the flora just kept growing day by day, reclaiming what it had lost.

Scootaloo felt the unnerving sensation that she was being watched. She slowly turned to check behind herself and discovered a golden coated mare, Flittergear, behind her. She was standing there eating some oats at a safe distance from the edge. While she wasn't exactly startled, it was a little unnerving how Flittergear would sneak around like that. She was just so quiet.

"You can come closer," Scootaloo ventured, trying to be friendly.

She didn't answer, but quietly swallowed the mouthful of oats she had been chewing.

"Do you need something?" Scootaloo asked, a little annoyed.

Flittergear nodded.

"What do you want?"

Again met with silence, Scootaloo turned from the edge with a sigh and faced her reticent comrade. Their eyes locked for a few moments. There was a twinge of fear in the green eyes, but mostly a quiet curiosity. Scootaloo had little choice but to keep asking questions.

"Do you need me to do something?"

She shook her head, no.

"Are we supposed to be somewhere?"

She nodded, yes.

"You're not going to tell me, are you."

No.

Scootaloo sighed loudly in exasperation. Charging Lance had mentioned that she was quiet around ponies she didn't know, but this was just absurd.

"Fine, lead the way."

Flittergear smiled sheepishly and turned to lead Scootaloo to wherever they were supposed to be. They walked past their regiment of soldiers, dug into the surface of the cloud, many in full armor. Rainbow Dash had worked out a rotation to always keep one brigade on standby alert, should they be attacked.

Their destination was at the aft of the cloud, where a team of Pegasi were acting as the sole means of propulsion. Their wings silently beat the air to keep the cloud moving, but not too quickly. It only took a few dozen to keep it moving at their ambling pace, which was insurance that they’d always have a fresh team to keep them moving.

Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Taskforce were waiting for them.

"Nice of you to drop by," Pacer said. "Flittergear, we sent you a half hour ago."

The quiet pony hung her head as if ashamed.

"Lay off," Charging Lance defended.

Ignoring their exchange, Rainbow Dash began, ”We're finally close enough to send a landing party. I want Charging Lance, Flittergear, and Sparklefly to go down alone and assess the situation."

"What?" Scootaloo protested before she thought better of it.

Rainbow Dash shot her a look that insisted silence. Scootaloo was so bored at cloud minding that she wanted to get down and see Hoofington herself. She was upset for not being picked for the scouting party, but had to content herself with seething about it for the moment.

“Masher, you'll be on flares with Scootaloo. Pacer and I will rotate with you. We'll relieve each other every hour."

"Flare duty?" Pacer objected.

"Yeah, I need to be in the thick of the danger," Masher said.

"Can either of those girls even handle themselves in combat?"

Sparklefly snorted at him.

”I get that you guys have been outside of the normal command structure for a while, but seriously, I don’t have to remind you about this every time we go out," Rainbow Dash said. “When we leave Cloudsdale, I am in command of all tactical decisions on this Taskforce.“

“Our analysis of this situation would be best served with all of us going down," Masher said.

“This isn’t up for debate. Besides, after the way you rushed in last time, forget it,” the colonel took an icy tone, "You are reckless, and that's why you're on flares. This is reconnaissance, not combat.”

"What about me?" Pacer asked.

"You're a loud-mouth and you annoy me,” she replied. "Are you guys done griping now?" Silence was their reply. "Okay, you'll be going down dressed as oat traders. We got a small supply from Cloudsdale as usual. Sparklefly, it's just like we've been talking about at briefings all week. First thing to do is just observe. If you get into serious trouble, fire a red flare. We always have one company on call as your Quick Reaction Force, and they’ll be down to your location before you have time to bleed out.”

Sparklefly snorted a laugh. Scootaloo was not amused.

“The rest of us will be right behind them. Any questions?"

Scootaloo looked around at the others, but there was no sign of question or further comment. It was likely that they were all too familiar with this drill. She'd been told that they'd been on many similar missions already. This made their mouthiness surprising, but it may have been that they were so accustomed to speaking their minds in the analysis phase that they sometimes forgot structure.

"Okay; dismissed," Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo worked to keep a check on her seething anger as everypony began disbursing.

"Don't worry about it," Sparklefly said quietly, leaning in close. "I bet you'll be on the next landing party."

"Watch your back," Scootaloo said.

Sparklefly smiled in acknowledgement and turned to follow the other two. Scootaloo didn't follow Masher as ordered; she pursued Rainbow Dash instead. It only took a moment to catch up.

"What was that about?" she snapped at the colonel's back.

Rainbow Dash turned to face Scootaloo. Taking in the younger mare’s expression, she asked, “What do you mean?”

"You know what. Why are you keeping me up here like I need a foal-sitter?"

The colonel's curiosity evaporated, "Look, you're great in a fight, but I've read a lot of reports about you. You're impulsive and hot-headed. These sort of missions require stealth and tactics: brain, not brawn."

“I’m a better pick if stealth is such a concern; Sparklefly's not exactly hard to recognize. She’s known from one end of Equestria to the other,“ Scootaloo pointed out, the tension she was feeling was spilling into her tone.

"Scootaloo, I get that you want to be in the action," Rainbow Dash said calmly, almost sweetly. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. You just have to be patient sometimes."

"I know that's not what you did," Scootaloo shot back.

"Kid, I don't have time for this right now. I've got to double-check our readiness, and you need to go watch for flares; dismissed,” Rainbow Dash turned to walk away.

"This is-"

"Now!" Colonel Rainbow Dash interrupted rather forcefully.

Scootaloo felt she might as well have been slapped. Her rage was boiling over now, but stomping on clouds wasn't satisfying at all. She began to run, and then took flight. She went straight up, beating her wings furiously in the climb and letting out a growl. She didn't get very high that way, which was probably for the best. Gliding back down in a circle tight enough to keep the cloud below her, she had a little time to cool off. Masher was sitting at the edge closest to the little town below. He grunted at her but didn't say anything in greeting. They sat silently for a few minutes. He also seemed to be fuming about being left on flare duty.

"If it's not one CO it's another," Masher said. "I swear, everypony's against me."

"Whatever," Scootaloo replied dismissively.

She was in no mood for conversation. A light breeze tickled her short mane. Not being in the QRF, she wasn't wearing armor at the moment. While they waited, she caught sight of Sparklefly, Charging Lance, and Flittergear flying toward town in a balloon. They drifted lazily on until they vanished from view. Scootaloo could only sit and wonder what they’d be discovering soon. Anything had to be better than sitting and waiting for a signal flare that may never come.

29 - Trail, Part 4 of 10

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Duster didn’t believe the asinine nature of what he was hearing, “You've got to be kidding me.”

"I'm telling you, it's true!" Quickbeam insisted. "Why else do you think it's such a mystery?"

"What are you two going on about now?" Jewel asked.

Duster and his squad were in their training barracks for the last time as cadets. They had all passed muster, and they were going to have a small ceremony for their graduation. Everypony in town was excited about this as it coincided with some of the first fruits of the cadet's gardening as well. A party with food was a tradition that was becoming scarce in Equestria.

"It's dumb," Rolling Thunder offered.

"Apparently," Gunnysack began with a sigh, "Quickbeam here is convinced that Drill Sergeant J has been keeping his actual name a secret this entire time."

"What does it even matter?" Moonsliver asked.

Duster was getting his new dress uniform on. They were so starched and stiff that they nearly stood upright without a body filling them. Unlike their normal everyday garb that was a dark blue, their formal wear was white with blue trim and insignia of their rank.

"Okay, I'll bite," Jewel said in an exasperated tone. "What's his name?"

"Jasione," Quickbeam said with a smirk.

"I stand corrected," Rolling Thunder turned to Quickbeam, “you are dumb."

"Can it!" Locknload called out.

He looked rather formidable in the new uniform. The events that led up to their graduation had secured him the rank of sergeant. Duster couldn't help but admire his abilities. Locknload seemed like he had been born for combat. He was at home while in the fray, very much like Duster was on a farm.

"I'm telling you, Jasione," Quickbeam whispered as they all finished straightening their uniforms and checking for lint. "It's a kind of flower."

When they left the quiet of their tent, the training grounds were already flooded with cadets marching to the ceremony.

Duster's thoughts kept returning to the night of the attempted coup. Initially, it had been only when he slept, but now it was almost constant. He would see that soldier in front of him, the one that he killed. Moments before it was like a monster that threatened to kill his sister, but the moment Duster got the upper hoof, that soldier transformed into a frightened pony. They must have been about the same age, both having enlisted to be on the same side, fighting to save Equestria. The fear in his eyes was like a mirror. Duster wondered whether they might have been friends if they had met differently.

"Are you still not marching in your formation?" Drill Sergeant J shouted loudly as he approached from Duster's right.

The squad halted and saluted. Duster felt instantly tense, like a tightened rubber band.

The donkey got directly into his face and screamed, "How dare you go to graduation and forget the first thing I taught you. That reflects poorly on me! Do you want to make everypony think that I didn't teach you how to walk?"

Something inside Duster snapped. Perhaps he'd been overly influenced by Quickbeam and his ridiculous mannerisms. Maybe he’d just had enough of the donkey yelling at him for little provocation.

Whatever the cause, Duster quietly replied, "Sir, no sir, Drill Sergeant Jasione, sir."

Drill Sergeant Jasione looked as though he'd been struck in the face. The silence that followed was one of the most uncomfortable that Duster had ever experienced. He immediately regretted having spoken those words.

"Very well, cadet. Honest mistakes happen," the donkey replied in a manner that can only be described as extremely polite.

To say that the entire squad was completely dumbfounded would be an understatement.

"Carry on."

Nopony moved as the drill sergeant turned and began walking stiffly away. Duster was just breathing a sigh of relief when Quickbeam ruined it.

"Thank you, Drill Sergeant Jasione, sir!" he called after the donkey.

Duster was turning to warn against pushing their luck and was stunned to see the drill sergeant already face to face with Quickbeam, pushing him backward.

"I don't like you, cadet!" Drill Sergeant Jasione bellowed at Quickbeam. "I have never liked you. That sort of cocky smugness will get ponies killed. You're a coward and a fool, and if it was up to me, you'd spend the entire war digging latrines! Get down and give me fifty push-ups; now!"

Sheer terror was emblazoned across Quickbeam's face. Without so much as a moment's hesitation he dropped down and began performing the demanded penance.

"Sir," Duster heard himself speak, unsure if it were wise, "I don't understand, sir."

"What would that be, cadet?"

"Sir, I'm only confused about your reaction," Duster said, still uncertain.

The others silently stared ahead, ignoring the situation.

"It's very simple," Drill Sergeant Jasione said, his gruff voice sounding a bit softer somehow. "I started the rumor about my name on the second day of training. In all that time, you are the first to be brave or foolish enough to say it to my face. I respect courage. This loudmouth only said it after he saw you get away with it. I don't have any place for cowards."

"If I may; I grant you he is foolish, but I saw him in combat when the coup was attempted. He is no coward, sir.“

The donkey eyed Duster thoughtfully until Quickbeam finished his push-ups. It was almost like an understanding had been achieved.

"Carry on," was all he replied.

The ceremony itself was a pleasant experience after how grueling the training had been. Quickbeam was dismayed to have somehow managed to get grass and mud stains on his new white dress uniform, to the amusement of the rest of the squad. The first of the food crop had indeed come in, so there were oats and fresh green hay in plenty. This drew out the entire town. After the commencement, the mayor made a brief thank you speech on behalf of the citizens of Ponyville. It was directly after this that the feasting began. Duster smiled to himself, remembering when the amount of food would have been considered paltry, but the last year had seen many changes across Equestria. It rendered the perception of their meal a proper feast.

29 - Trail, Part 5 of 10

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Beigh was glad to be done with training, but at the same time he was terrified that they might see combat soon. Rumors had already been flying through town of enemy movements in the area or that they would be deployed soon. They had only graduated days before, but so far they had been protecting Ponyville. For one unicorn stallion medic, focus had become a problem.

Every time he tried to take care of important things, Sparklefly invaded his thoughts. Why had she kissed him like that? The curiosity and admiration he had felt for her before that moment had transformed into blinding desire. The idea of a relationship developing was preposterous given their stations in life. Still, the war couldn't last forever. When it was all over, maybe that wouldn't seem so far-fetched. He would finish his studies and become a doctor; once he got established, there was no telling what could develop between them. The intoxicating thoughts were beginning to consume him.

Beigh shook his head. The priority was to survive the war. In the meantime, get some line of communication with her to better understand how she feels. The one signal she had given was clear enough, but jumping to conclusions would only cause trouble. 'Don't spoil it,' she had said. What was that supposed to mean? She didn't want to know his name? It made no sense to the stallion.

His thoughts were interrupted by the report of a bugle sounding a 'call to arms' blast. Like a flash, ponies were running in every direction, and Beigh was among them, his heart pounding. He had to get to his gear and report for duty. Early in training, this would have been chaotic, but he could see the well-planned pattern to everypony's actions. Within three minutes they were all geared up and assembled. Before anything could be said, Beigh heard the sounds of battle at the southern end of the training grounds; this was no drill. Zebras thundered past them toward the fighting.

Beigh stood with his squad; Starbright to his left and Ruby Red to his right. Sergeant Emerald Dream was in front, standing silently and listening for Lieutenant Clyde’s commands. Beigh’s legs began shaking, and a cold sweat formed under his helmet.

“Just keep breathing,” Starbright whispered. “You’re going to do fine.”

Beigh nodded, and attempted a smile as a lump formed in his throat. He’d never been in combat, not really. He was imprisoned during the coup and never saw any fighting. Starbright didn’t look as confident as she sounded when she spoke. There was an ocean of terror behind her pale blue eyes.

Orders began to be shouted to move out. It was done seamlessly as though they were all one being.

Beigh was gripped by his won fear. His body had been conditioned to this course, and it knew what to do, but his mind was having trouble. He knew he didn't want to be in the middle of a battle. As a medic, he hoped he wouldn't be at the front for long. Tending the wounded would be his priority, just like in the drills. Dust was kicking up into the air and choking him as he rushed headlong into danger. What strength drove him forward, he couldn’t say, but his limbs felt numb as though they had no strength, even as he put one hoof in front of the other, clutching his spear close.

When the outer defensive line came into view, it was clear that the shield had already been breached. The zebras bolted headlong into the fray. A melee of hooves and claws ensued, spears skewering the timberwolves that lunged savagely forward. The soldiers from the rear advanced, and before Beigh realized what had happened, he was only a few yards from the ferocity that was unfolding. Officers were yelling commands and cries of rage and pain filled the air. Unicorn's explosive magical bolts were sizzling and popping through the enemy in rapid succession. Beigh lost his squad in the insanity.

Then it seemed as though the timberwolves were all around. They had pushed through the line to Beigh’s right, and more had gone around left. Arrows zipped through the air, and wild cries of battle rang in Beigh’s ears. The stink of timberwolves turned the stallion’s stomach.

In the middle of the madness, Beigh looked over just as an EUP soldier took a direct hit to the throat as timberwolf claws swiped at him. Time seemed to freeze. The brown crystal pony tried to cry out, but only silence came from him as he staggered backwards from the blow. Beigh saw a bead of sweat on his brow just under his helmet; terror was written on his face. This was the moment of action.

Strength returned as Beigh charged forward, pressing his spear home into the flank of the beast and pushing it back as it howled. Turning, the stallion quickly pulled the wounded pony back from the line as blood erupted from the wound. With bare hooves at first, he applied pressure to the nasty injury. Bleeding freely, it was warm and slippery. Panic nearly overtook Beigh; his mind raced through his training, but they were being buffeted on all sides by the throng of soldiers fighting to hold the line.

Several waves of pegasi began flying overhead. Letting out a cry, they made a dive into the battle, unleashing arrows as they went. Quickly reaching into his medical bag, Beigh pulled out a heavy pad and pressed it onto the wound. Pulling on the injured pony, they moved toward the rear as best they could. They didn't get far before stumbling.

"Can you walk?" Beigh yelled above the cacophony.

The wounded pony tried to speak, but only a gurgling noise came with a spray of blood from his mouth; he was bleeding into his wind pipe and ran the risk of drowning on his own life-spring. The light was leaving the soldier’s eyes. Looking down, the pad was already nearly soaked, red and dripping. Pulling his patient a little farther, they were able to clear the worst of the line.

There wasn't time to get to the infirmary; this one was about to die. Beigh went to work; his focus returned and the rest of the world faded away as his every effort was consumed in saving this one life. There was no choice but to sew the wound shut to slow the bleeding and then perform a tracheostomy. According to the weakening pulse, there were minutes or less now. Like lightning, he pulled out his supply kit and found what he needed. He went immediately to work, closing the wound bit by bit. The patient was still choking, but his breaths grew much more shallow.

Beigh wiped the sweat from his brow as he feverishly continued the struggle to save a life.

Another pony fell down in front of them, reminding Beigh that they were not alone. The medic gave him no attention as he began cutting into his patient’s throat to perform the second procedure. Beneath the wound, at the base of the neck, Beigh made the appropriate incisions. He then inserted a small rubber tube into the opening and listened. Air began moving freely through it, and the wounded pony’s breathing became stronger.

“How is he?” the pony that had fallen down in front of them asked.

The medic was surprised to see someone he knew.

“You’re hurt,” Beigh said when he noticed Duster's shoulder.

"I'll be fine; how is Gunnysack?"

A quick assessment didn't leave much hope. Shallow ragged breaths could be heard, but blood was still seeping from the closed wound. Beigh pulled another pad from his bag and applied it to the wound.

"Nothing else I can do from here," Beigh said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Duster replied, "The armor took the worst of it."

Turning his back, Beigh saw a deep gash in Duster’s armor. The blow would have been far worse indeed had he not been wearing it. Suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings again, Beigh noticed that everything had changed. The battle sounded far away now. All that remained was moaning and shouting that sounded mostly like medics calling out for supplies and help.

"What happened?"

A grim smile crept onto Duster's face as he said, "Looks like we beat them back for now. The shield is up again."

"Go to the infirmary and get a stretcher. We need to get him back there," Beigh replied.

Duster ran off to the task. The entire skirmish couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but still bodies lay scattered around the field as the living were sorting through them, looking for survivors. It all seemed so hopelessly senseless. Shouts began going up all over, ponies crying out for medics. The stallion gave Gunnysack plasma and then left him to help anypony else that he could.

Beigh’s heart pounded in his chest. He felt sick.

29 - Trail, Part 6 of 10

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"Come again!" Sparklefly feigned cheerfulness as the sale was completed.

The balloon made a really great base from which to sell oats to the citizens of Hoofington. They had a logo emblazoned on the skin of it that could be seen for quite a distance. Sparklefly would have to remember this when she was back working Sweet Apple Acres. It would be a perfect way to expand their sales reach after the war.

Hoofington was the epitome of a small town. The farmland around it was much larger, and the population couldn't have been more than a few hundred. There was no EUP presence there. In their short stay, they had learned that when the troubles began, the town began training their citizens for defense. Two different EUP observers had inspected their combat readiness, and both of them had recommended that no additional soldiers were needed. That was high praise, and it was readily apparent to Sparklefly that they had taken serious steps to secure the town.

They didn't have the ability to produce a magical energy shield, or enough well trained pegasi to form a CAP, but they did have an observation post in a clock tower. They always had two ponies on watch duty. They had also constructed thick gates that lay flat between the buildings in the middle of town. If an attack did come, they would release the restraints, and counter-weights would raise the gates into place, securing the town square. It could go from wide open to locked down in a matter of seconds. They were working to expand this idea to surround the entire town, but it wasn't yet completed. Sparklefly was impressed by the feat of engineering, and would have to make note of it in her official report.

The mare was glad to discover that the rationing wasn’t quite as strict in Hoofington as it had been in Ponyville. There was a small apple orchard, and quite a lot of hay from their farming efforts. Oats were in small supply, which made their cover work that much better. The towns ponies seemed open and friendly for the most part. Sparklefly wasn’t certain, but she occasionally thought she’d caught sideways glances. Even still, they always had morphed into welcoming smiles.

”That's the one," Charging Lance said quietly.

Sparklefly turned and saw him lazily pick up a small rock from the ground and put it into his pocket. Flittergear wasn't affected by this; she sat quietly, munching on some oats.

"A rock? What does it mean?" Sparklefly asked.

After two days on the ground and nothing conclusive discovered, she was ready to find out any new information.

"What? Oh, nothing," he replied.

"I saw you put it in your pocket."

"Yeah, I did. It's a kind of tradition." Charging Lance shifted, almost uneasily. "I travel a lot, and about ten years back, I started collecting Equestria. I haven't been to Hoofington before."

He shrugged.

"Collecting Equestria," she repeated.

Sparklefly smiled at the quaint notion. If she had been doing this, her collection probably wouldn't be large yet, though it would undoubtedly be growing in the weeks to come.

With a sigh, Charging Lance said, "I think we're wasting our time here."

No customers were nearby, but they spoke quietly all the same.

"But we haven't found out anything yet," Sparklefly objected.

"I don't think there's anything to find."

Flittergear nodded in agreement. Silence followed.

"So, now what do we do?" Sparklefly asked.

"I say we give it the night. Unless we find any reason to stay here, we should head back first thing in the morning," Charging Lance replied.

Flittergear nodded silently again, still consuming oats. She seemed to be eating most of the time, and although Sparklefly had been in the Taskforce for nearly ten days now, she couldn't remember having ever heard her speak. The sun was low on the horizon, just kissing the tops of the trees on the west outskirts of town. Sparklefly's eye patch was itching again, but she was making great efforts to not scratch at it.

They waited just a few minutes until the shadows foretelling the coming night crept to their balloon before packing up their wares. Sales had been good, so they had been staying in the local hotel. This helped with their cover story of being traveling vendors. It wasn't that long ago that three in a room might have seemed cramped to Sparklefly, but barracks life had made her far less choosy when it came to accommodations. She now could accept a hard bed in a cramped space, and it wasn't out of the ordinary to share whatever space in which she found herself with others, including stallions. She hadn't had her own room back on the farm in Apple Loosa, but it was different with siblings.

They packed up their remaining oats and other supplies, leaving the balloon staked down. There was a guard on duty, a young stallion that looked bored with his night job. He didn't inspire much faith in Sparklefly, but at least she didn't have to worry as much about the balloon.

Their room was fairly well kept, but it did look lived in from the past two nights they had spent there. It was rather small for three ponies, with only a single bed that was large enough for two. The old blue carpet seemed as if it were cleaned regularly, but it was thin and hard from years of wear. A light breeze tickled the golden curtains in the open window. The screen was intact, which was good to keep bugs out. A gaudy picture hung on one wall, and to the left of this was a small desk against the bathroom wall.

"Which of you ladies gets the shower first?" Charging Lance asked.

Flittergear looked to Sparklefly, who gestured at the small bathroom permissively. A frail smile shot across Flittergear's face in thanks, and she went inside.

"It's nothing personal," Charging Lance said.

"What?" Sparklefly wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

"She didn't talk to me for over a month."

"Oh, that," Sparklefly said. Her eyepatch was itching again, "It doesn't bother me."

He smirked a little as if he were amused, "But you have to admit, it is odd."

"It's a small matter."

"Yes, but she joined up and went through basic like the rest of you," Charging Lance said thoughtfully. "I haven't been able to understand how she got through it."

"Did you ask her?"

He snorted a laugh as he laid on the bed and answered, "No. Maybe I should."

He turned to look at Sparklefly and held her in his gaze as if he were working through something.

"You're bothered that we haven't found anything."

Sparklefly smiled. It hadn't yet ceased to amaze her how observant the other members of the Taskforce were. Several of them had already picked up an uncanny ability to read her and Scootaloo by their body language. Their innate ability had already proved costly at a game of cards.

"It just doesn't make sense," she answered. "Why haven't they attacked here?"

He shrugged, "We may never know. For what it's worth, quite a lot of our missions come up with nothing conclusive."

"But there has to be a reason," she insisted.

"There is," he replied. Looking away, to nowhere in particular, he continued, "But it doesn't mean we'll ever know what it is. It also doesn't mean it's an important reason. They may have simply not noticed the town. It is pretty small."

"That's true enough, but if they really are trying to starve us out, why haven't they hit the farms here yet?"

He thought on this, but ultimately shrugged again, "I don't know."

Sparklefly wasn't satisfied with this. She knew there had to be something that she just wasn't seeing. Rubbing at her eyepatch gave sweet relief from that annoyance as she tried to think it through. What were they missing? She attempted to read a book to get her mind off of things but found herself unable to focus on anything but the frustrating mystery at hoof.

Flittergear left the bathroom, a puff of steam following her out. Sparklefly went inside, shut the door, and undressed. Their clothes helped them look the part as traveling salesmen and also helped make them harder to identify by covering their cutie marks. They also had caps that covered their short cropped manes; Sparklefly thought they looked like fast food waiters in their disguises. Lastly, she took off her eye patch; the mirror revealed her face. The look of it still horrified her initially every time she saw it. The scar left by the timberwolf claw had cut deep just above the left eye and into the cheek before it tapered off. If she had been any closer she might have been knocked out from the force of the blow.

Leaving her reflection in favor of the shower, she turned on the water and stepped in. The curtain was white, but its brilliance had faded from years of use. There were some stains near the bottom where it was becoming yellowed. There was no tub, which saddened the mare. Back home they'd had a large copper bath tub, and she'd never seen another one like it; she wondered if it was still there. Showers were a new experience when they fled Apple Loosa, but not an unpleasant one. She liked the water much colder than most others seemed to. It was a refreshing luxury to have so much water on hoof today, unlike on their cloud. All they could manage up there was sponging off, and occasionally they'd spare enough water to wash their manes as well. There were far too many soldiers on board to be wasteful.

29 - Trail, Part 7 of 10

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Sparklefly found herself staring down the drain, lost in thought as the cool water flooded across her mane. She became hypnotized by the motion of the water as it cascaded down her body and into the bottom, seeking the lowest point and finally swirling away like a small whirlpool. It transfixed her for what seemed minutes, her mind wandering to no place in particular. She considered everything they had observed in the past days as the drain swallowed hungrily everything that came at it. A spark shot through the mare’s mind that made her shiver. Water comes in, water goes out. The farms... the farms!

Sparklefly was so elated with her thoughts that she scrambled to get out of the shower, forgetting to turn it off. She slipped, banging her head against the wall as she caught herself. It throbbed painfully, and she rubbed at it. She put on her eye patch and grabbed a towel, but didn't take time to dry off as she ran out into the hotel room.

"It's the farms!" she exclaimed, wrapped in a towel and dripping everywhere.

The other two looked up, Flittergear tilting her head inquisitively.

"You're soaking the carpet," Charging Lance said as he glanced at her.

Shaking her head, Sparklefly took a step forward and continued, "The farms here are way too big." She was so excited that she found herself stammering, "They produce too much food for the population. If we get reports on what they're exporting, I'll bet it's way less than it should be!"

Charging Lance sat up and spoke thoughtfully, "We'd have to see that report, but that isn't necessarily conclusive."

"No, but if they aren't eating all of the food, what are they doing with it?" Sparklefly asked.

The three sat in silence. Only the sound of Sparklefly dripping on the carpet could be heard for nearly a minute.

A quiet voice, frail as a whisper of a fluttering breeze came from Flittergear as she spoke, "They're feeding it to the changelings."

The expression on Charging Lance's face became stern. "Feeding it to the changelings," he repeated.

It was only a moment later that a loud bang startled Sparklefly, and the other two sprang onto their hooves. Something had crashed into the door. Sparklefly whirled around in time to see the lock turning from the other side.

"I'm sorry," Flittergear said. "They were listening."

Sparklefly dashed forward, slamming her body into the door just as it was opening. She put her weight against it, holding the door shut. It was being pushed against her, forcefully. She was losing ground and somepony reached a fore-leg around to get in when Charging Lance slammed against it with his full force. The intruder who had reached in howled in pain as his fore-leg was caught between the door and the frame.

"Flares!" Charging Lance called out.

Sparklefly nodded and left him with the door, his massive strength holding it shut as their assailants slammed into it again and again, splintering the frame. Flittergear had already found a flare gun, and she was arriving at the window. Sparklefly was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of dread knotting up her stomach. Charging across the room, she threw Flittergear down just as she had opened the curtains, causing the flare to discharge into the wall with a loud hiss. Another moment, and she would have been too late; deadly bolts of magic ripped through the screen and window, shredding the curtains, and impacted into the ceiling, slicing through the air where Flittergear had just been standing. Shards of glass rained down on top of them; the larger pieces were caught in the curtains. The flare burned bright and hot in the wall.

The look on Flittergear’s face was apologetic.

"It's fine!" Sparklefly called back.

Staying low, she worked her way around the bed, deafened by the pounding on the door, and found the other two flare guns. She tossed them over the bed to Flittergear, who aimed and fired through the destroyed window. Smoke began seeping from the curtain that the first flare had stricken. Another bang against the door came as Sparklefly made it back to help hold it shut.

"Flares away!" she yelled when she heard the second flare fire.

"Good! Help with the door!" Charging Lance cried out.

"What do you need?"

"Bedframe!"

Sparklefly ran back to the bed and flipped it up. While Flittergear put the mattress in front of the window, Sparklefly turned the metal frame on its side and pushed it into the narrow hallway against the door.

"Got it?" Charging Lance asked.

"Yeah!" she yelled back.

Pushing all of her weight against the bed frame, she held the door against the pounding from the outside while Charging Lance got free. Together they pushed the frame in farther and managed to wedge it into the tiny hallway.

"That's not going to hold," Sparklefly said doubtfully.

"No," was all Charging Lance replied.

Flittergear gave Sparklefly her knife and crossbow from the bag. She felt better to be armed, but the knowledge of being trapped had her more than a little worried. More magical fire tore through the mattress, ripping holes in it and filling the air with fluff from the bed’s innards, finally knocking it over.

"Well, they haven't shot through the door yet," Sparklefly said.

"Get back," Charging Lance said. "Cover the door."

The mares moved around the corner and stayed low. The stallion crept to the window once the incoming fire had stopped. Crossbow loaded, he popped up, aimed, fired, and dropped back to the floor in a single fluid movement. Sparklefly could hear shouting outside.

"You got one," she said.

"At least three more," he replied without looking back as he reloaded.

A crash against the door dislodged the bed-frame. Sparklefly was on it before any ground was lost, and Flittergear helped her hold it in place. Smoke began to fill the room as the flare caught the curtains on fire. The three began coughing as the air was choked from their lungs.

"Push left and hold!" Flittergear cried out.

Sparklefly pushed the bed-frame left against the wall. Flittergear shimmied between the makeshift barricade and into the bathroom. She returned a moment later with a towel that was soaked through. The twang of Charging Lance's crossbow was followed by a howl of pain from outside. More magical shots impacted, exploding into the ceiling, spraying plaster about the room. Flittergear was able to pull down the curtains and smother the fire, but the air was still thick with black smoke that made it hard to see and harder to breathe.

"Any chance we can get out the window?" Sparklefly yelled back.

Charging Lance shot her a look that denied the possibility with absolute certainty. The mares again braced the door, holding against the pounding from outside. The wooden door was beginning to disintegrate in front of them. Sparklefly wondered if Scootaloo was coming. Maybe nopony had seen the flares. Maybe it was going to take them too long to arrive.

"I'm out!" Charging Lance yelled as he fired his last bolt.

Flittergear tossed her quiver to him. That meant they only had fourteen shots left. While the possibility of death in combat had always been something that Sparklefly took seriously, she couldn't remember being in many situations that had seemed quite this dangerous. ‘Is this how I'm going to die?’ Where was Scootaloo?

29 - Trail, Part 8 of 10

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Scootaloo fought against the urge to panic as she fastened up her armor. She had been on watch when they’d seen it. She'd been talking with Pacer on the second night since their ground party had left. He was complaining about Colonel Dash, which she didn't take well. Some hot words were exchanged; as that tension was mounting, a tiny bright red light shot up from town. The two of them had fallen silent as they watched it climb. They knew what it meant; they had been briefed on it a hundred times. A red flare is a distress signal. It means something in the mission has gone wrong, and the ground team is in trouble. The second flare came up only moments later.

Scootaloo turned, trying to keep up with Pacer as he ran back shouting, "Red Flare! Red Flare! Action stations! QRF deploy to the ground team!"

Within moments the cloud had come alive; the hundred that were on standby in the QRF departed within a minute of the alarm being sounded. The pegasi team that moved the cloud immediately put it into top speed with a course for town. The rest was a chaotic mixture of gearing up and working the edges of the cloud into a static frenzy to make lightning, their most potent weapon.

Now ready for combat, she made it to the command deck where Rainbow Dash was waiting. Orders were flying one way and another; Pacer and Masher were making sure everypony was prepared and informed as to what was happening.

"Colonel Dash," Pacer said above the organized chaos, "All stations report ready for action.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and then turned to Scootaloo, "I want you to lead the next three companies down."

"You can count on me. We'll find the enemy and butcher them," came her eager reply.

"No," Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo was confused; her elation at being chosen for an important component of the mission gave way to uncertainty.

"That's not what we do here," Rainbow Dash explained. "Find our ponies and get them safely here. Once we're all back, then we decide how to proceed."

"So I'm not to engage the enemy?" Scootaloo asked for clarification.

“We don’t know who the enemy is... Search and destroy is not your mission. But don’t avoid confrontation either. Do whatever you have to do to get our landing party back safely and quickly. We need the information they have gathered. It could be vital.”

“I understand. I’ve got this," Scootaloo replied.

The company captains followed her out and within seconds they had their teams assembled. Most of Rainbow Dash's force were pegasi, which made dropping in and getting out much easier. That came at a price; with little magic to rely on, and even less brute strength, they had to be far more careful how they chose to engage an enemy.

Scootaloo led the charge and the wind lifted her and the rest of her force as they leapt from the cloud. Blood was pounding in Scootaloo's ears; she hoped that they weren't too late to rescue Sparklefly and the others. In an effort to stay focused, Scootaloo tried to calculate how much time had passed since the flares had been fired. There had only been two, what did that mean? Had somepony already died? It took at least three minutes for her to get her armor on from when she’d first seen the signal, maybe another five to get the companies ready to go. In any case it couldn't have been longer than ten to fifteen minutes. Surely they could hold out that long.

...

Sparklefly coughed, knowing that her strength was failing. The mis-aimed flare couldn't be put out, and it had caught the remains of the mattress on fire. Her lungs burned from the smoke that was again filling the room; her muscles were weary from holding the door barricade.

"We can't... stay in here," Flittergear coughed out.

"Only two shots left," Charging Lance yelled back. "It looks clear."

"We jump for it?" Sparklefly asked, coughing.

"Yeah!" he called back.

Running to them, Charing Lance helped wedge the bed frame in place again, but Sparklefly could tell it wouldn't hold for more than a few seconds. Returning to the window, he took up the defensive position with the crossbow as Flittergear climbed out. Sparklefly couldn't see the other end of the small room, but she could hear the door falling apart. She went out the window after Flittergear. She was on the ground in a second and crouching low. Moments later Charging Lance thudded into the ground behind them. The fresh air felt sweet, but they all were gasping for breath.

Somewhere, Sparklefly found the will to keep moving. The area directly on this side of the hotel led to a small wooded area. It was empty, but for the bodies of four unicorns that lay dead. Flittergear grabbed some of the bolts as they went past them. A few moments later, they were in the relative safety of the trees. Glancing back, Sparklefly decided that they were right in time. A face came through the smoke and looked out the window for any sign of them. The three held their breath, lungs aching from the smoke they had inhaled.

"We can't stay here," Flittergear said, her voice little more than a whisper.

Sparklefly began shivering. She hadn't realized that she was still soaked from before, and she had lost her towel in the excitement. The cool night air had just enough breeze to make her quite cold. Without a word, Charging Lance took off the coat he was wearing and gave it to her. It wasn't thick, but it did help block the wind a little.

"Back to our balloon?" Sparklefly asked, but she didn't think it likely.

"They'll be guarding it," Charging Lance replied.

"We have eight more shots now," Flittergear said as she distributed the ammunition.

She nearly didn’t make her next suggestion, but thought it best to at least have it considered.

“I could fly for help.”

“We don’t split up,” Charging Lance replied.

“Not unless we have no choice,” Flittergear added.

Taking a quick stock of their assets, it was discovered that they had left one of the crossbows in the room in their haste, so Flittergear gave hers to Sparklefly along with five of the bolts. With a nod of his head, Charging Lance led them away from the burning building, deeper into the small wooded area. It was a kind of park in the middle of town. The trees were tall and ominous in the night, but it was a drastic improvement over the hotel room. The darkness was thick, but they crept onward, circling around in the direction of the balloon. Moving slowly, Sparklefly was dismayed to discover that it was indeed being guarded by at least twenty of the town guards. They also had closed all of the gates, which would make moving about difficult. Sparklefly’s heart was pounding, and her lungs still burned.

Hoof steps crashing through the brush made the three of them freeze in place, slowly lowering down to the ground. Sparklefly turned to see a squad moving through the forest in a loose, spread-out formation. There had to be at least ten, and it looked like they were searching. The worst of it was that they were heading straight for her team. Exchanging a quick look with Charging Lance, the two of them raised their crossbows and took aim.

29 - Trail, Part 9 of 10

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Scootaloo and her three companies sped through the night. The cloud with the remainder of their regiment was behind them, but it would take them much longer to get into position.

"Light it up!" Scootaloo called out.

One of her soldiers fired a 'daylight' flare that burned white and illuminated the countryside almost as bright as the sun. The dark of night that had covered the town fled, revealing that a fight was already in progress. The QRF had hit the east side of the city. They were being resisted by what looked like the towns ponies. They were actually holding back the QRF. She wanted to engage and help them, but she had to find the landing party first.

"Get a scout down there! I need a sit-rep from the QRF!" Scootaloo ordered.

The daylight flare revealed a plume of smoke ascending from one of the buildings in town.

"That's our objective. We'll secure that first."

Scootaloo felt pleased with this situation. It looked like that was the same objective the QRF had been moving for until they were pushed back. Now she could drop in behind the enemy and have them pressed on both sides. With the bulk of her force, she could keep them busy and send in a team to extract their people.

...

Sounds of fighting could be heard in town, but all of Sparklefly's attention was on the squad that approached. There were ten unknown ponies crashing noisily through the brush. Two of them were unicorns, and those were the two that Charging Lance and Sparklefly were targeting with their crossbows. If they could take out the squad's magic users, they'd have a fighting chance on the remaining eight. None wore armor; they were definitely not EUP.

A bright light burst through the trees; Sparklefly recognized it as a 'daylight’ flare. Her heart leapt at the realization that reinforcements were close. When the flare lit up the night, the approaching squad stopped and turned toward it. She didn't have to be told; both Sparklefly and Charging Lance loosed their bolts together while the others were distracted. One fell silently; Charging Lance had aimed true. The other yelped and fell crying out.

Sparklefly quickly reloaded in the moment of confusion while the squad members turned this way and that to find out what was happening. Charging Lance loosed a second arrow, and again a lethal hit sunk into the chest of an adversary. The rest began moving and found cover behind trees. Sparklefly saw a leg sticking out and sent a bolt through it. The recipient howled in pain, cradling his injury.

"Stop, stop shooting at us!" one of them cried out, a stallion.

Sparklefly looked to Charging Lance. He was loaded and looking for a target. He caught her glance and shrugged at her.

"We can't let them go," Flittergear said. "They'll bring the others down on us."

The same one called out again, "Who are you, and why are you attacking our town?"

Sparklefly felt a chill run up her spine. She quietly turned, scanning around to see if anypony else was approaching. Everything seemed quiet aside from the fighting in town. One of the others screamed; it was a mare.

Charging Lance sighed, but raised his crossbow again. "Drop your weapons and come out where we can see you; slowly!"

"We don't have any weapons," the first one said again.

"They killed him!" the mare shrieked; she started crying.

Sparklefly felt sick.

"I'm... I'm coming out. For Celestia’s sake, don't shoot!" the first one said.

He walked out on his hind legs in a surrender pose. He didn't seem to have any weapons, but it was hard to be sure with only the patches of light from the daylight flare. He did wear saddle bags.

"All of you come out or we'll fire again!" Charging Lance threatened.

"Come out, guys," the first one said.

One by one, they revealed themselves. The first one that Sparklefly had shot was still breathing, but he was down. Her second target came limping out with the bolt still through his leg. The seven of them stood there. Charging Lance nodded, and the three moved forward. Flittergear and Sparklefly took up the flanks, and Charging Lance passed his crossbow to Flittergear. With his knife at the ready he began searching their saddle bags for weapons.

“Now!" one of them shouted, and they rushed out in all directions.

Charging Lance stabbed the closest one, then spun around, tossing him to the ground. Sparklefly loosed a shot that caught another in the shoulder, dropping him to the forest floor. The 'frightened mare' came at Flittergear, who missed her shot. As it turned out, Flittergear didn't need to use ranged weapons. She turned, using the butt of the crossbow to hit the 'frightened mare' in the face. She went down and Flittergear hit her again and again with full swings; her crossbow broke in half over the mare’s bloody back. Another stallion ran at Flittergear; she sidestepped around a tree and rammed the splintered crossbow into their side.

Sparklefly was hit from her blind side. The world spun and she dropped her crossbow. She backed away and cleared her vision just in time to see her assailant pick up the weapon. She darted behind a tree as he fired it, a loud 'thwack' reported the bolt hitting the tree. She came back around in time to see Charging Lance drive is knife into the stallion’s throat. A rock sped by Sparklefly's ear so close that she heard a buzzing noise. Two of their attackers were on the ground, wounded too badly to fight, five were dead. The other three were now hidden.

Sparklefly, Flittergear, and Charging Lance circled up and got low, loading the one crossbow that still functioned. One of the enemies must be the one that had been shot in the leg; he wasn't here. Another rock came, but it was too dark to see. It struck Flittergear in the shoulder; she yelped and turned to face that direction, cradling the injury.

“There’s more of them now,” Charging Lance whispered.

Sparklefly could see some movement, but they were at a distance. Their own position was far more exposed that she liked. Charging Lance raised the crossbow only to be hit in the head with a rock from a different direction. He dropped, unconscious.

"We have you surrounded now!" the leader called out. "Do not resist and we won't harm you."

Sparklefly didn't believe his offer; she picked up the crossbow. Rocks sailed at them from different directions. All the two mares could do was drop low and cover their heads. Charging Lance was bleeding from where he'd been hit. Sparklefly didn’t have time to tend to him until they were out of immediate danger. As long as the rocks flew, they were pinned down.

29 - Trail, Part 10 of 10

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"Report!" Scootaloo called out, nursing her shoulder.

A well-aimed and fast-flying rock had struck the joint of her armor. It wouldn’t cause any permanent damage, but it stung.

"They are crack shots with those rocks. We shouldn't fly over again," the scout said.

"You think?" Scootaloo barked.

The citizens of Hoofington had mounted a formidable defense considering what they were working with. Annoyed though she was, Scootaloo had to admire their gall to attack such a superior force with slings and rocks. She was considering adopting a more aggressive attack posture when a new daylight flare was launched from behind her.

It was followed by another, and then another. The light from them split the night and revealed that the cloud had arrived with Rainbow Dash and the rest of their forces. The few unicorns they brought stood on the edges, ready to rain magical death down on the enemy.

A single thunderbolt clapped as a warning, booming through town and echoing across the countryside. As it faded, Rainbow Dash's voice blasted out through a loud-speaker.

"This is Colonel Rainbow Dash of her majesty's EUP Guard. Drop your weapons and surrender immediately. If you resist, we will set your town on fire and burn it to the ground."

Scootaloo turned her attention back to the citizens of Hoofington who, much to her surprise, began throwing down their slings to surrender. Within a minute the gates were opening, and the QRF was advancing unchallenged.

"Let's go everypony," Scootaloo ordered. "Take them all into custody. Collect their weapons!”

This was accomplished with relative ease. There were only about four-hundred citizens in the entire town. Those that had come out to fight barely numbered two-hundred. Sorting out just what was going on was another matter entirely. First, they had to put out the fire in the hotel. Scootaloo hoped that Sparklefly and the others were okay.

...

Sparklefly was low on arrows. They’d been able to keep the rock-slinging towns-ponies from getting any closer, but one or two more shots and they’d be able to advance without fear. Charging Lance was awake and angry from the headache he’d received as a result of the stone that had stricken him. He seethed unpronounceable things under his breath that Sparklefly guessed was a chivalrous defense mechanism to avoid cursing in front of his mare comrades.

They had no options in Sparklefly’s estimation. She knew the other two were thinking about a way to get out of this, but there was no clear weakness in their enemy’s deployment. They didn’t know how many there were, only that they were outnumbered by a group with a highly accurate, if not completely lethal, ranged attack. Flying out for reinforcements was also no longer a likely option. While Sparklefly might get into the air, it was far more likely that she’d be shot down before she could get through the trees and into open sky.

Foliage crunched to their right. Somepony was moving again. Whether advancing or retreating, it was impossible to tell. Shouting erupted from the same direction. Sparklefly recognized Skyflame’s authoritative voice.

“EUP Guard, drop your weapons or we will fire!”

Charging Lance let out a snort of laughter, “The good guys are here!”

Flittergear was also grinning a smile as large as the joy that swelled up in Sparklefly’s heart. The battle was over.

...

Scootaloo’s forces were able to get the town secured and the hotel fire put out within an hour. Then she had begun interviewing various ponies that had slowed their progress and prevented them from retrieving their comrades. All of Hoofington’s fighters seemed to think that they had been under changeling attack. It had taken another half hour to get most of them contained in the town square and find somepony in charge that actually knew what was going on. It wasn’t long afterward that Skyflame returned with Sparklefly, Flittergear, and Charging Lance.

"I got your message," Scootaloo said glibly when she saw them.

In truth the relief she felt was as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was good to see her friends alive and well.

"What took you so long?" Sparklefly teased.

“Well, I had to polish my hooves. Can’t go out when not looking your best; you know how it is," came Scootaloo's sarcastic reply.

Sparklefly grinned at the banter.

"We need to talk to the colonel at once," Charging Lance said. His head was bandaged with a shirt.

"Not a problem; follow me."

Rainbow Dash had set up a temporary command post in the town square. They were on a platform built for multiple uses like band concerts or outdoor theatre. She had Pacer, Masher, and the mayor of Hoofington with her. He was a short, fat, balding stallion whose tail was going gray. Scootaloo hadn't noticed before, but it seemed that everypony here was rather well fed. She hadn't realized how lean she and her fellow soldiers had become in the last few months.

"Captain Scootaloo, report."

"The town is secure, and Skyflame located the ground team, safe and sound,” Scootaloo beamed.

"Well done," Rainbow Dash said.

Flittergear, Sparklefly, and Charging Lance approached.

"Colonel," Charging Lance began, "We have reason to believe that this entire town is supporting the changeling army."

"That's a lie!" the mayor squeaked.

Turning to him, Rainbow Dash said, “You’d best stay silent for now. You are the leader of a group that attacked EUP forces. I’ll deal with you in a minute."

The mayor’s face went pale as he looked down.

Charging Lance continued, “The amount of food that they are growing here is more than enough to feed this population.”

“We need to check the export records to see how much of the food is getting to the rest of Equestria,” Sparklefly added.

Rainbow Dash turned to the mayor, “Well, what do you say to that?”

He fidgeted uneasily before responding, "Perhaps if I show you."

Rainbow Dash eyed him uneasily for a moment, "Major Skyflame, you have the command. The rest of you are with me.”

Scootaloo, Sparklefly, Pacer, Masher, Charging Lance, and Flittergear followed behind Rainbow Dash and the mayor. Scootaloo noticed that the others had their weapons at the ready.

Scootaloo got next to Sparklefly and quietly asked, "What do you think?"

"Something's definitely not right," she whispered back. "But what I don't understand is why they surrendered as soon as Rainbow Dash shouted EUP."

"I know,” Scootaloo agreed, “it’s weird.”

They found themselves entering the town hall, which didn't look like much of a structure until they got inside. Every door and window had internal shutters that could swing into place to cover the openings. Each one was solid oak no less than three feet thick. The small size of the building caused Scootaloo to wonder why they would use such strong defenses here. It was far too little a space to accommodate more than a quarter of the town's population crammed wall to wall.

In the mayor's small office, he began to push his desk aside. Pacer and Masher helped when he began to struggle, and this revealed a hidden trapdoor in the floor. The mayor opened it and went inside, followed by the others. Scootaloo was the last to enter the room. It was an underground chamber that would have been large enough to house all of the citizens of Hoofington five times over had it not been completely full of food.

"Your whole town could eat on this for months," Sparklefly sounded astonished.

Charging Lance grimaced.

"As you can see," the mayor said, "we are not supporting the enemy."

"Why hasn't your town been attacked?" Pacer accused.

"We, we have been!" the mayor stammered. "We have f-f-fended off three attacks in the last two months alone!"

"Why weren't there any reports about it?" Scootaloo asked.

"What reports? We don't have any EUP soldiers here. We're on our own."

Scootaloo did have to admit, they seemed to know how to defend their town.

"So why the food store?" Charging Lance asked. "Half of Equestria is starving. Why haven't you been exporting?"

“You think we could tell anypony how good our harvest was? After what happened at Las Pegasus?" the mayor squeaked. "We can't afford to have an attack like that here."

Colonel Rainbow Dash sighed. Scootaloo knew the look in her eyes; she had seen it many times. It was somewhere between exasperation and boredom with somepony's stupidity, but it meant she had already made up her mind.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Rainbow Dash said to the mayor. "We're going to forget that you attacked EUP soldiers. We're also going to overlook the fact that you've been blatantly disregarding Prince Shining Armor's authority by stockpiling the food down here. But, all of that ends today. We're taking the food with us, and you are going to share with the rest of Equestria from this day forward."

"But, but, but..." the mayor sputtered. “You killed several of our citizens!”

“And it was your citizens that started the fighting. Look, this isn’t a negotiation. You play it my way, or your only other option is to resist, in which case we will have to treat you and your town as an enemy. We will take this food by force and then a little well-placed lightning will burn your crops and buildings down, leaving you to fend for yourselves. Your call."

Scootaloo watched Rainbow Dash as she eyed the mayor. While the colonel was one to boast, she was rarely one to bluff. As much as Scootaloo didn't want to admit it to herself, she believed that Rainbow Dash actually would destroy the entire town if it came down to it. The mayor was sweating profusely; completely flabbergasted, he relented and silently nodded his head.

"Good," Rainbow Dash said. "The official story will be that we arrived to discover a siege in progress. That’s why you weren’t able to export the food until we came. I'm going to have a regiment dispatched to guard the farms here."

"Thank you," the mayor said through gritted teeth. "The soldiers will be very helpful to defend the town."

"I'm not doing it for you," Rainbow Dash said. "You disgust me. The fact of the matter is that we’re all in this together. I’m sending them to make sure you don’t forget that.”

The mayor took the most dignified option available to him and walked sullenly away. Scootaloo was amused and couldn't help thinking, 'You get him, Rainbow Dash!'

“Now, let's get all this stuff up to our cloud. I want to disembark before dawn.”

The total losses suffered on both sides were relatively light. Of the regiment assigned to the Taskforce, three were killed, another fifteen were seriously injured, and another eighty-three had bumps and bruises. The townsfolk were not quite as fortunate; they suffered fourteen deaths and over a hundred wounded. The medics had their hooves full seeing to everypony's injuries.

Every single pegasus in the regiment made more than one trip loading up the food, but they were able to complete the task by dawn. In the end, they did leave about five percent of what had been down there so the towns-ponies would have a small reserve. It was Flittergear’s idea, and Rainbow Dash grudgingly agreed.

Scootaloo was relieved that her friends had made it out alive. The worst they had suffered was minor injuries and a nasty case of smoke inhalation, but it was nothing some expert medical attention couldn’t clear up; Scootaloo mused to herself, Sparklefly had looked worse after other actions she'd been a part of. In spite of having solved any mystery surrounding Hoofington, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel disappointed. The trail they had followed was a false one. There was no sign of Queen Chrysalis or any interference from changelings whatsoever. All she could do was hope their next mission would bring them a step closer to victory.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 1 of 10

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Sparklefly felt herself fidget nervously. Talking with reporters hadn’t been on her list of things to do, but orders are orders. The small side-office in the Cloudsdale Command Center must only have been used for such things. There were no maps or any sensitive information to be seen. In fact, it had the look of a sterile office, devoid of anything that might hint at its purpose. The reporter sat and produced a pencil and notepad from her saddle-bag, an eager look on her face as she spoke.

“My name is Tell-Tale,” the beige mare began. “I was told that you were the mare with the answers on the action in Hoofington, and our readers want the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth.”

The journalist’s blue eyes glistened expectantly. Sparklefly tried to remember what Rainbow Dash had said about their official story.

The soldier took a breath, “Well, we were, um... We were patrolling some of the outlying areas. Normally those patrols are pretty... well they’re boring. Mostly it’s just days of nothing happening, but sometimes you find timberwolves.”

“Not to interrupt, but isn’t your organization called SECRET?” the journalist was flipping through some notes as she spoke, “the Special Equestrian Changeling Response Elimination Taskforce? So you weren’t investigating a changeling threat?”

“Oh my no, I mean yes. I mean...” Sparklefly felt embarrassed at her seeming inability to speak.

The code-name SECRET had also been Rainbow Dash’s idea. It was one of many that they had used when they travelled around to keep their exact mission secret. Rainbow Dash had laughed at the pun when she’d first told them, as well as every time it came up thereafter. Scootaloo seemed more amused by it than did anypony else.

“I’m sorry!” Sparklefly took a breath and tried to refocus. “Yes, SECRET’s primary mission is to investigate and eliminate any changeling activity. Between missions, we patrol.”

“I see, so you were patrolling near Hoofington?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hoofington didn’t really have much by way of an EUP presence, but we still kept an eye on the town.”

“I see, and so what happened that day?”

“Night.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We arrived in the night.”

“Oh, I see. Please continue,” Tell-Tale looked down at her notepad, on which she’d been feverishly scribbling.

“In the dark, we couldn’t exactly tell what was going on. When we got close, we knew timberwolves were around because of the stench,” she was drawing on everything she could remember to sell this tale of half-truths to maintain their operational security. Sparklefly hated that Rainbow Dash had made her do this. “It was Major Skyflame that first scouted the area and called us to action stations. Once we had fired a daylight flare, it was clear that the town was in trouble.”

“So your group consists of how many soldiers?”

“About three regiments,” she lied, far more easily than she liked. “We didn’t have time to wait for reinforcements. The townsponies had done a fine job holding them off, but Colonel Rainbow Dash had us saddle up and engage before dawn.”

“So, what was your role in the attack?”

Sparklefly’s mouth felt impossibly dry. She wished she’d had more time to come up with the story so she didn’t get her lies crossed.

“I led the feint.”

Tell-Tale looked up, “I’m sorry, a feint is?”

“Oh, it’s a small attack that should appear to the enemy as an actual attempt to break their lines. All it is actually for is to get them to attack in the wrong direction. If they take the bait, the real attack hits them on one of the flanks. In this case, Captain Scootaloo brought two regiments in from the side away from town, which the enemy would have thought was a safe rear of their formation.”

“I see.”

“I had three companies, and once the timberwolves did commit, we retreated while my friend Scootaloo led the main attack. Major Skyflame patrolled the skies and relayed information to the various actions and kept us coordinated. Colonel Rainbow Dash commanded everything from the cloud, which also acted as support.”

“So, after the battle, food was found in Hoofington?”

“Yes,” Sparklefly tried to swallow a lump that formed in her throat. This was the most important part of the deception. “They had been under repeated attacks and unable to ship out anything for months, so they had stored everything until we arrived.”

“The townsponies did all of that on their own?” Tell-Tale looked up, a hint of surprise on her face.

Sparklefly nodded, “They did a fantastic job defending their town, especially considering what they were working with. Of course, since the battle, we’ve seen to shoring up their defenses.”

While she was glad that the conversation had more or less come back to a mostly true area, she was ready for this interview to be over.

...

Scootaloo felt a slow simmer cooking her emotions as she read the newspaper. The article from Sparklefly’s interview had finally been published.

‘Captain Sparklefly, better known as The Hero of Canterlot, led a successful raid to rescue the citizens of the embattled Hoofington and bring their food stores to the rest of Equestria. As one of the leading members of the Special Equestrian Changeling Response Elimination Taskforce, known as S.E.C.R.E.T. for short, she planned and led the attack that rescued the citizens...’

“Unbelievable,” Pacer seethed. He was also reading the paper, “Only three of us mentioned by name, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think Sparklefly was in command here.”

Charging Lance answered, “Don’t put too much stock in what goes in the papers; we have to mislead them, and don’t be jealous just because you didn’t get the spotlight.”

“Come on, all our work is top secret and stuff,” Masher pointed out. “You can’t get too hung up on the public side of it.”

Pacer answered something that prompted a further response from Masher, but Scootaloo had stopped listening. She knew that Charging Lance was right, but it still wounded her pride. She’d been with Sparklefly in their missions almost every step of the way, and nopony seemed to even know about her. The door opened, and Sparklefly entered with a letter.

“There is the mare of the hour!” Pacer mocked.

Sparklefly cocked her head in a confused look. She apparently hadn’t read the article yet.

“And here I thought we were a team. I had no idea that you were single-hoofedly leading us,” Pacer dripped with sarcasm. He noticed the letter in her grasp, “What’s this? You even get fan mail? Now, that is something.”

Sparklefly wrinkled her nose, clearly uncomfortable at the teasing.

“Knock it off, Pacer,” Scootaloo interrupted.

“Oh yeah?” the mouthy stallion stood.

“All of you sit down,” Charging Lance said. “Clearly, you are all far too worked up about this. One more word and I’ll put up the suggestion that we run PT drills until our next action.”

That seemed to get Pacer’s attention. He snorted and sat back down.

Sparklefly approached Scootaloo, “What was that all about?”

Scootaloo pushed the paper over and watched Sparklefly’s expression scrunch into a mix of embarrassment and horror at the lies printed in black and white. Scootaloo knew that it hadn’t been Sparklefly’s intent, but she still felt a bit of envy as to how the situation was unfolding.

Author's Notes:

I'm back! I'd been away for a bit because of real life getting in the way of my fantasies. In any case, the break did give us this brand new scene! Albeit brief, this was not part of the first draft at all, but while I was thinking about this chapter, I decided to give it some extra oomph with this bit about the interview. It also serves to better develop things that are... developing.

Also! Huge thanks to Emperor! I've been reading a bunch of his stuff, which is all fantastic! Seriously, go read his stuff. He is quite talented and skilled in the ways of storytelling. He gave me the acronym for S.E.C.R.E.T., which was used in one of his fic's about Lyra and Special Agent Sweetie Drops! S.E.C.R.E.T. That one is a fun one-chapter silly story, but he does a lot more with heavier and mind-blowing things too. I cannot stress enough, go check out his work! I may have also unintentionally begun to be inspired by his writing... I think some faces got scrunched and noses wrinkled in this bit... which are not normally go-to phrases for me.

Anyway, time to press on!

30 - Symbiosis, Part 2 of 10

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Cloud Blazer was sweating just from the effort of walking. Small sharp pains were shooting from every injury, but he was intent on making this happen. He knew he couldn't fly again, and his morning flights were what he missed most. The light of the sun was creeping up the eastern sky as it neared the horizon. Apple Bloom walked beside him pushing an empty wheelchair. The morning air smelled alive with the dawn; it was the first day of summer.

Progress was slow, but Cloud Blazer was determined that he would eventually run again. He wouldn’t have the sky, but he could still feel the wind on his face as the sun rose. The more he understood his injuries, the more he realized that the quick thinking of Sweetie Belle and Zecora had saved his life, not to mention aided his recovery beyond what might otherwise have been possible. It was a sobering thought. They moved silently for a while, Cloud Blazer's labored breaths notwithstanding.

The town always looked so peaceful in the morning. It was covered with a layer of beaded dew that glistened in the light of a swiftly approaching dawn. The last hill, as usual, was the most painful part of the walk, but he made it to the top unaided, a small but meaningful triumph. Apple Bloom pulled the wheelchair around and faced it toward Ponyville and the rising sun. Cloud Blazer sat in it, sighing relief as most of the sharper pains gave way to the manageable dull ones. He finally had a chance to catch his breath.

Within minutes the sun burst over the horizon, and golden-orange light smothered the town and the Everfree Forest beyond. It hit the tops of the buildings first, working its way down as the long shadows became visible. The town was still asleep, unlike Sweet Apple Acres, which was behind him. Cloud Blazer could already hear Big McIntosh and other field hooves hard at work. That is normally where Apple Bloom would be, but Sweetie Belle had been running herself ragged staying in the hospital, so they worked out a deal to take turns; Apple Bloom had insisted.

When he had taken his fill of the sunrise, a nod to the farm-pony prompted her to turn the wheelchair around to face the orchard. It looked much better than it had when he had seen it a few weeks before. It was still mostly in shadow, but for the top of the barn. It looked like they were working in the south fields today. Debris was being pulled away and the ground cleared of anything that would impede the growth of new saplings that would be planted in the winter. A controlled burn would have been preferable to clear the fields, but the shielding of the city did somewhat restrict air-flow, putting a restriction on lighting fires, especially on a large scale.

"This is one sight I'll never get tired of," he said, having finally caught his breath.

"I know what ya mean," Apple Bloom replied. She sat on the earth next to him.

As the quiet of the morning returned, Cloud Blazer's thoughts became filled with Scootaloo. The dull ache in his heart still left him feeling void. He turned his mind to a problem that was closer at hoof: Pixyglitter. It saddened him that the simple bliss of a sunrise was something she wouldn't be able to enjoy ever again. He wished he could help her, but he wasn't sure how he might make a difference. There had to be some way he could lift her spirits. Of course, he had to be careful to not give the wrong impression.

He ventured, "I need to do something nice for a mare, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

Apple Bloom eyed him suspiciously, "You're not about to get weird on me, are ya?"

Cloud Blazer snorted a laugh to himself and tried to deflect by making a joke about it, "No. Been there, done that. It didn't end well."

“Oh really,” she said, more a statement than a question as she looked back to the farm.

The sun brightly lit the pink bow in her mane. The light cascaded past them and was now just kissing the hilltops on the farm. It would all be washed in morning’s light soon.

"No, I meant Pixyglitter, but I'm not getting weird on her either."

"Go on."

"I've finally come to a place where I think I can move forward. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'll ever be exactly completely my old self again. But at the same time, I feel kind of..." he searched for words, "put back together inside. My bones still ache, and walking is really painful. Honestly, I'm scared for what I'm going to do next. Flying has been my life, but I won't be able to do that anymore."

They exchanged a glance; Cloud Blazer saw deep sadness in Apple Bloom's eyes. Maybe he had said too much.

Turning back to the farm, he continued, "But look at the farm. It's getting cleaned up; it won't be too long and you'll be growing apples again. That's how I feel inside. Eventually, I’ll find a way to be alright. But Pixyglitter isn't..." how could he phrase this, "she lost a lot more than I did. She'll never see another sunrise."

The two sat quietly for several minutes.

"I think she's a lot like me," Apple Bloom began. "She likes to take care of things herself. For me, that would be the worst part about being blinded. I'd feel like I had nothing to contribute. Maybe if there was something she could do..." she trailed off.

Cloud Blazer knew why she stopped. Pixyglitter was blind; what could she do? How could they find a genuinely meaningful way for her to be useful? It would have to be something that didn’t feel like she was receiving pity or charity.

"It's a shame she can't take you for a flight," Apple Bloom said with a sigh. "Maybe then she'd feel better 'cause she'd be helping you with something you can't do."

Cloud Blazer snorted a laugh at the absurd notion, but then a chill caught him. It started slowly tingling its way up his spine and made him shiver as it hit his neck and filled his brain. The idea hung in his mind far longer than something so ridiculous should have, and yet there was something to it, just begging to be seriously considered.

"That... Wait... Why not?"

“Hang on there, do what, now?"

"Why can't we learn to fly?" Cloud Blazer's mind was rapid firing with insane thoughts of a reckless venture.

"Brownie, she's blind."

"I know! I'll be her eyes, and she can be my wings!"

Apple Bloom tilted her head, regarding him with intense skepticism.

"Obviously we'll have to be careful. I don't think I can handle another crash landing, but if we practice over the pond-"

"Whoa there, slow down now," Apple Bloom interrupted. "First you need to find out if she even wants to try this. Second, you can't be going off to the pond, not until y’all are both well enough to swim on your own."

Cloud Blazer tried to slow his thoughts. She was right, of course; this was a long shot at best, and they would definitely both need parachutes to be safe, not to mention a pair of flight harnesses. However, it could be just the thing to help Pixyglitter get out of her depression. She didn't have the advantage of good friends visiting and trying to help her, but Cloud Blazer was determined to fulfill that role.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 3 of 10

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Sparklefly took the letter from the Cloudsdale quartermaster, but was surprised to find that she had received two of them. She thought it was a mistake at first, but upon closer inspection, they were both addressed to ‘Captain Sparklefly’. The first was in a familiar script that her mother had written. The second was a writing she didn't know, but it was from Ponyville. She opened it with curious eagerness as she walked back outside into the morning. The cloud city was washed a golden color from the new dawn.

Turning so the rising sun would be at her back, she pulled out the contents of the mysterious letter and read, 'Captain Sparklefly, Your last words to me were, "Don't spoil it." I admit, since that moment, I have had great difficulty thinking of anything else. While I'm not sure exactly what you meant, I had to talk to you again to find out. Since I was trying to tell you my name when you stopped me, I have chosen to not give it here either.'

Sparklefly quickly looked about, having realized from whom the letter had come. Her heart began pounding like a drum, and she was sure she was blushing, but she didn’t recognized anypony around.

She continued reading the letter from her medic friend, 'Ever since the first time I heard of you, I was curious about your exploits. I suppose that is a very common thing. What really got my attention was how faithfully you stayed by your brother's side while he was ill. Our last encounter, needless to say, got my attention in an entirely different way. I trust it is not out of place for me to mention this, given your actions that day. If you mean what I think you meant, I am definitely interested in pursuing this. Do you feel the same? Please direct any response to the Ponyville EUP infirmary, addressed to Private R. I have arranged for the quartermaster to deliver anything so addressed to me. Wishing you clear skies, R.'

Sparklefly quickly looked around again. Nopony seemed to be paying her much attention; she walked at a brisk pace away from crowds. Searching for a place to be alone, she found herself on the east side of the city looking toward the sunrise. This would have to do. She knew she must be blushing a bright shade of red. She couldn't believe he had actually written to her. Flattery, embarrassment, longing, and a host of other feelings were rippling through her as she sat alone with her thoughts.

Her heart pounded even harder as she took out a scrap of paper and began to write a reply, ‘Private R, you did not misread me. I am indeed interested in seeing how things develop, as much as our stations permit.’ She stopped, unsure what to say as her emotions made her feel giddy. She was sure that she was grinning like an idiot.

Needing to get her mind off of that for a minute, she opened the other letter and read, 'Dear Sparklefly, We heard about how you led the mission to rescue Hoofington and their supplies from a siege. We are so proud of you!'

Sparklefly felt herself twinge. She was angry when that rumor had begun, courtesy of a newspaper article. Rainbow Dash claimed to have no part in starting it, but she didn't deny helping it grow. She also said that she didn't see the harm in letting Sparklefly be a kind of symbol that the nation could rally around. It didn't ease the frustration; Sparklefly didn’t want to be a celebrity, especially as she began experiencing it. Sure, everypony knew her name, but it was getting to the point that most of the facts about her and the victories that ‘she had won’ were becoming fictitious, bordering on absurd.

She continued reading, ‘You’ve become so well-known among the populace that we are looked at differently now. I don't go a day without at least three different ponies that I've never met telling me how much they love you. That maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but allow a mother some pride in her daughter. In fact, a few stallions have also come by asking if you are promised to anyone. I have been as vague as I can be without being rude. Do you have a special somepony?'

Sparklefly felt herself blushing again at the thought of her medic admirer. She was caught somewhere between fright and relief that he reciprocated her feelings.

'I haven't heard anything from your brother, Duster, for several weeks. I suppose we’ll get the chance to see him soon. I don’t know when they will be moving us to Ponyville, but we’ve been living out of suitcases, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Glitterdust has taken to farming, which will be useful when we finally do get to Ponyville. She does have a knack for it, but I’ve noticed that she seems sullen lately. I don't think the work is to her liking, but there may be something more to it. We have all recovered from the fever, and the city seems to be as close to normal as it can get these days. Shimmerpuff and Thunderfly ask about you often. I know you have plenty of cares to keep you occupied; please don't let us be among them for now. We are well, and between Glitterdust working the farms here and the money that you and Duster are sending home, we are going to be fine. Loving and missing you, Momma Mare.'

All of the conflicted feelings melted away as the golden colors of dawn yielded to a bright sunny day. In spite of the hardship and death that had become so commonplace, Sparklefly felt a ray of warmth in her soul. It felt good to remember, to really remember what she was fighting for.

...

Pixyglitter heard them enter the room. It was one set of hooves and one set of wheels. It must be Apple Bloom and Cloud Blazer returning. She had awakened when they left over an hour before, but she hasn’t wanted to get up. She didn't want to do anything but lay there and be left alone. Unfortunately, she knew Cloud Blazer well enough by now to expect that he would interrupt her momentarily.

"Pixyglitter, you awake?" Cloud Blazer asked.

Right on schedule. She sighed her answer, "Yes, I'm awake."

“Wakin’ her up like that ain’t all that thoughtful. It's no wonder nopony else wants to be your roommate," Apple Bloom teased.

"I need your help with something," he continued, ignoring the jab.

Pixyglitter noticed that his voice sounded strained, almost fearful. She didn't answer, but instead rolled onto her back and turned her bandaged face toward him.

"I want to fly again; I mean, I want you to help me fly. I think we can do it if we work together.”

The battle Las Pegasus came suddenly and vividly back to her mind. The shouting and dying, the explosions and magic, and her sudden pain and blindness all came rushing back. Runesplitter was with her. She'd been hit, and he was scared; she could hear it in his voice. He talked her into dropping altitude to try to land. 'Trust me,' he had said. She did as he asked. She came lower and lower, but he suddenly shouted for her to pull up. It was too late. She hit something and tumbled. He was killed on impact.

Pixyglitter snorted in disbelief, "You're crazy."

"I'm with you on that one," Apple Bloom said.

"Hey, no teaming up!" Cloud Blazer whined.

"Why can't you get one of your friends to do it?" Pixyglitter felt herself bristling.

"I only have one other friend that is a pegasus, and she is off fighting the war. Besides, you are one of my friends. That’s why I’m asking.”

There was something almost glib in his tone that struck the Pixyglitter wrong. The sensitive nerve he had agitated blasted pain and anger through blinded mare.

“Look," she said hotly, "I'm only here because I couldn't sleep without those awful dreams driving me crazy. I'm not here for you, and I don't want to get us killed, so just back off!"

She rolled to face away from them. She didn't realize that she was crying for several minutes. The other two became quiet, and Pixyglitter wished that things could be different. The awkward quiet continued until a nurse came and took Pixyglitter down to see the doctor. They were going to begin her physical therapy and teach her how to walk with a cane. Everypony kept acting like she should be excited about this, but she would still be blind. What difference did it make if she could walk or not?

30 - Symbiosis, Part 4 of 10

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‘R, I was surprised and, I admit, overjoyed to receive a letter from you. I’m glad to write that you did not misread me in our last encounter. I am indeed interested in seeing how things develop, as much as our present stations permit. It may go without saying that our positions will not allow anything formal, but there is no harm in becoming closer friends for now. I guess you’ll just have an added incentive to work hard and get promoted to an officer. Until then, I certainly welcome your correspondence. Looking forward to hearing from you soon, Sparklefly.’

‘Momma Mare, I’m afraid the newspaper greatly exaggerated my part in the mission at Hoofington. I’m not certain whether the reporter misunderstood me or if they saw a chance at a more sensational version of the events that unfolded there. I’ll have to tell you about it when I see you. Suffice it to say that I didn’t personally lead our forces into battle that night. While I don’t have a special somepony per se, it would not be accurate for me to say no. Before you let your mind race on that, I am behaving myself, and the stallion in question is stationed in a different unit, so I don’t even know when I’ll see him again. I suppose if anypony asks, you can tell them that yes, I am seeing somepony. I’m excited for your move to Ponyville! Sweet Apple Acres is truly a wonderful place. Maybe the open spaces and small farm life will improve Glitterdust’s mood. I know none of us liked the cramped apartment they stuffed us into in Baltimare. Missing you, Sparklefly.’

...

Duster entered the infirmary too quickly, nearly crashing into Beigh.

"Hey, watch it!" the medic barked.

"Sorry," Duster shot back, looking past him. "I heard Gunnysack's awake."

"He is," Beigh confirmed. "He's in bed twenty-nine."

"Thanks," Duster nodded and continued on, leaving the medic to his duties.

The enemy had been pressing their attacks on several fronts, and Ponyville was among them. Casualties had been relatively light, but the fatigue of constant battling was wearing on everypony. A small boost in the food supply had helped matters greatly, but protecting the land that was being farmed in Ponyville was proving a difficult task.

Reaching bed twenty-nine, Gunnysack looked much better than the last time Duster had seen him. There were bandages on his throat and evidence of stitches snaking up onto his face.

"Oh, great," the patient’s dry cracked voice was filled with disdain.

“And I thought you'd be happy to see me," Duster spoke sarcastically.

"Then you're dumber than you look."

"How are you?" Duster tried to let the insult go.

"I was getting better. Suddenly, I'm worse."

Duster sighed at the sour attitude, “Well, look at the bright side, if you kick off, you won't have to see me again."

Gunnysack snorted, "I'd never give you the satisfaction. I'm going to live at least long enough to see you buy it."

Duster smiled in spite of the hostility. In a strange way, it was almost comforting.

"Well, if you need anything, just say the word."

"You'll be the last to know," Gunnysack spat back at him.

Duster turned and walked away. He wasn't entirely surprised by the reaction, given their history, but it was a little unsettling. Duster had seen the injury when it happened. They were both in the thick of the fight that first day, but there was no way to help. Since then they'd been repelling attacks every three hours, like clockwork. Due to this, everypony was on standby alert now and the infirmary was full. Rumors had come in that this pattern was consistent all across Equestria. So far, no cities had fallen, but the regiment that had been dispatched to Hoofington suffered moderate casualties to hold the town.

Duster's thoughts turned to that first pony he'd killed; he had looked so frightened. The stallion shook his head and tried to put his mind on something else. He hadn't slept for the last three attacks, and his eyelids were getting heavy. It should be at least another two hours before the next one; maybe he could find a few minutes to rest.

...

‘Sparklefly, I just had to write quickly to tell you that we have finally been given our travel orders! There is still quite a lot to do, but I’ll be sure to write from Ponyville once we arrive. Also, my dear sweet girl, you cannot tell your mother that you have a special somepony and then neglect to give details! Be sure to tell me all about him in your next letter. Missing you, Momma Mare.’

...

Scootaloo grimaced at the craggy terrain that was Galloping Gorge. They had come up to investigate after reports of changeling activity north of the Unicorn Range, but if they went much further they'd be heading into the Crystal Empire. That was one place the timberwolves didn't dare go for the cold. The scouts that had been through the area had all come back with the same unsatisfying information.

"It would seem we've found another dead end," Charging Lance spoke as he finished reading Skyflame’s report.

“You think?” Scootaloo vented her exasperation.

Flittergear stood next to her, munching on some oats, and Pacer was with them also.

"Yeah, we get lots of those," Pacer agreed. "I can't remember a solid lead since Las Pegasus. You'd think with such renowned heroes like Colonel Rainbow Dash and The Hero of Canterlot we'd have found Omega twice by now."

Scootaloo gritted her teeth, instantly feeling defensive at the sarcasm in that last remark. She was further annoyed that she wasn't recognized enough for her own accomplishments. Recently it seemed that everypony was exaggerating Sparklefly's abilities. Scootaloo was dumbfounded when she'd heard the reports about what had supposedly happened in Hoofington. The other feeling was anger at the loud mouth for often insulting Rainbow Dash.

“Do you ever shut up?” Scootaloo shot back.

He gave her a sleazy grin, “Only when I’m with a mare.”

“By Celestia you really are a complete moron.”

"You want a piece of me?" Pacer challenged.

Flittergear darted between them.

"No, a piece of you, any piece, is the last thing I want," she quipped.

"Ah ha!" Masher laughed as he approached. "So, Pacer, I guess you're not as popular with the mares as you said you were."

"Oh, please, I thought this one was a stallion."

Charging Lance sighed, “Settle down, children.”

Scootaloo felt her rage beginning to seethe again. She turned and walked away. Masher and Pacer took to arguing among themselves with Flittergear standing between them. Trying to control her breathing, Scootaloo walked faster toward the rear of their cloud. She wanted nothing more than to scream as loud as she could. That’s when she accidentally came across Sparklefly. Hoping she hadn't been seen, Scootaloo turned to walk away and maintain her solitude.

"Hey!" Sparklefly called out. "Guess what?"

Nodding at the letter Sparklefly was holding, Scootaloo snapped, "What? Answering your fan mail?"

Sparklefly frowned, stopping short. Scootaloo knew she hadn't found that joke funny the first time Pacer had said it, but she was so filled up with anger that it had to go somewhere.

"What got you all wound up?" Sparklefly asked curtly.

"Maybe I'm just tired of you getting credit every time anything happens."

"You know I hate it as much as you do."

"Yeah, it must be such a burden being so well-liked," Scootaloo realized her tone had become rather harsh. “If anypony lead an attack into Hoofington, it was me!”

“That’s what I told the reporter.”

“I’ve been with you every step of the way, and everyone thinks you’re so much better than me, but you’re not! You get yourself in trouble all the time, and I come save you. I did in the Everfree Forest, and I did again in Hoofington. Where would you be right now if I hadn’t?”

Sparklefly stood rigidly, “I’m well aware of all of this. I have never undervalued or looked down on you. You’re a fine soldier and have earned your rank and position, but some of the things we do just can’t be public knowledge right now.”

“That’s easy for you to say since you’re the one getting the credit for everything we do! Just be sure to remember us little ponies after your coronation!”

"Anything else you need to say?"

Scootaloo was coming up with another insult when she saw it. There was a look in Sparklefly's face that she had never seen before. Normally, Sparklefly had an icy shield that guarded her emotions fairly closely, but in this moment, Scootaloo realized that she had broken it. A tear escaped from under the eye patch and ran down her cheek. Her other eye was filled with hurt and sadness. Nothing else about her posture gave away the injury. Scootaloo no longer saw the battle-hardened soldier in that moment. She was reduced to the nineteen-year-old filly that wanted no part of hardship or war.

They stood face to face in silence for a moment, then the wounded mare quietly turned and walked away. Scootaloo wanted to apologize, but she felt so conflicted that she decided to sort out her own feelings first. Pacer was annoying, but how was he able to get under her skin like that? The realization that she had intended, even wanted, to hurt her friend made Scootaloo’s anger heavy with sorrow.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 5 of 10

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Beigh was assisting in the operating room. They were at a frenzied pace trying to keep soldiers alive, with a respectable degree of success. This last attack had left nearly seventy injured. That brought the total wounded in Ponyville to almost a thousand. He had fallen asleep twice in the middle of surgery, but there was no end to the madness in sight.

Beigh didn't even go back to his rack anymore. He just stayed at the infirmary as he had for the last two weeks. Every three hours another attack would come. The only thing he looked forward to now was a letter from Sparklefly. He had only received one so far; naturally, he'd written her back immediately.

As he finished cleaning up and preparing his assigned operating table for casualties, he felt incredibly weary. He found a corner and sat down for a moment of rest. He pulled the now wrinkled and stained letter from a pocket and looked at her deliberate script. The words were running together from his fatigue, but it was soothing just to see it. Before long, Beigh drifted to sleep.

"Incoming wounded! Let's look alive!" one of the other medics shouted.

Startled awake, Beigh jumped up, slightly confused for a moment at his surroundings. He snatched up the letter, stuffed it into his pocket and ran to get scrubbed for surgery. It was the same as usual: punctures, burns, concussions, lacerations, impalements, and occasionally something had been severed.

The injured quickly filled the room as the medics tried to put them back together. After treating a nasty abdominal wound that would never survive the night and setting a broken leg, Duster stumbled into the infirmary with his sergeant. They were carrying a mare between them. She was so covered with blood from a head wound that Beigh couldn't tell what color her coat was supposed to be. At first she was trying to walk, but she suddenly went limp.

Beigh and another medic reached her together and got her onto a table. She was still alive. A quick check of her dog tags revealed her name as Moonsliver. The injury itself wasn't terribly severe, but it had bled to the point that she had passed out. A day or two would see her to a full recovery. Her helmet was ruined, nearly split in half, but it had saved her life. They would have to check for a concussion. She was the last of the wounded to come through that day. Night had fallen, and the next attack would be in the dark.

"Are you okay?" Beigh asked when he found Duster sitting near the tent exit.

Duster looked up vacantly and stared, eventually nodding.

Noticing several small cuts and bruises, Beigh offered, "Let me check your wounds.”

Duster complied without any sort of struggle, following Beigh to one of the few empty beds. His physical injuries were not severe, but it was still good to get some antiseptic ointment in them to ward off infection.

"I hear they're going to start rotating soldiers away from combat for rest."

Duster looked up. He smiled and for a moment resembled his sister. "Rest? What's that?"

Beigh snorted a laugh, "That's what we all need right now."

"I think I should have stuck to farming."

“Funny, I never took you for a farmer. Is this not what you expected?"

Duster shrugged.

"That figures," Beigh replied. He suddenly realized how tired he was, "For what it's worth, I've felt like that since the jackass head-butted me in boot camp."

Duster smiled again, nodding slowly. He returned to staring vacantly ahead as he sat there.

"My recommendation," Beigh began, "get some sleep. You can stay there for now until we need the bed, but we've got barely an hour and a half before the next attack.

Duster laid down on the cot, and that's where Beigh left him. After getting cleaned up, he went outside and found a soft patch of dust next to the tent and laid down on it under the stars. His thoughts returned to Sparklefly. She was the only oasis he knew in the bloody days in which he found himself. He soon drifted to sleep once again.

...

Scootaloo sat quietly watching the sunset. She could hear the soft muffled sound of hoof-steps on the cloud behind her.

"Quite a view," the colonel said.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash."

The two were alone, just out of earshot of anypony else. Rainbow Dash approached and sat down beside Scootaloo. Quiet moments like this were never frequent enough.

"I really thought we were going to find something up here," Scootaloo said as they looked over the Galloping Gorge far below.

"Yeah, me too. That Omega is a slippery one. If she was here at all, I don't think it was recently." Rainbow Dash pounded her hoof into the cloud, a puff of which floated into the air from the impact. "How are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking down into the canyon.

Scootaloo considered her response for a moment, but decided to be forthcoming, "I thought I'd at least have made major by now. Also, I think I'm driving all my friends away."

"What do you mean?"

”Well, Cloud Blazer...” she searched for the right words. She hadn’t spoken of this with anypony, but she strongly believed that she needed some guidance. She again decided to be forthcoming, steeling herself to talk about it, “He told me... that he loves me, and I didn't take it well. We've been friends for a long time, but I just don't like him that way." Silence fell for a few moments. "I think I pushed him away too hard. We haven’t spoken since, and it’s been weird. And yesterday I yelled at Sparklefly. Pacer got me all upset, and I guess I took it out on her."

Rainbow Dash sighed knowingly, "Yeah, he's a real loud-mouth. I think that stallion gets on everypony’s nerves. If he weren’t almost as good at seeing patterns in the reports as Flittergear, I’d have tossed him out by now. So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Scootaloo sighed, staring down. A sudden feeling of loss came over her, "I just wish Princess Twilight were here."

If possible, Rainbow Dash looked even farther into the distance, almost as if she saw something on the horizon. "Me too, kiddo. She was the best pony I knew at sorting out friendship problems."

Curiosity came back for the first time that Scootaloo could remember. She'd spent so much time focused on the problems in front of her that she always pushed out of her mind what might have become of the alicorns.

"Do you know what happened to them? The princesses and Discord, I mean.”

"No, I don't," came a solemn reply. "Something must have gone wrong. I would have been there if I'd been fit to fly. Skyflame was in command of the guard, but even she didn't see it. After they cleared the area above the forest, Princess Celestia ordered them to make a final sweep. When the explosion happened..." the colonel trailed off for a minute. "She searched for them while her force rounded up again. Half of them were killed in the blast, and the rest were hurt. I don't see how anypony could have survived that. I should have been there."

"It's not your fault," Scootaloo replied, hoping there was something she could say to make this better. No amount of words or wishing was going to bring them back. "You know you would have been there if you hadn't been hurt."

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly, the golden light of the setting sun lit her face brilliantly. "Take it from me, kid," she said, now looking directly at Scootaloo, "friendships aren't the easiest things. Twilight once told me that one of the hardest parts is going back to a friend you've hurt and telling them that you were wrong." With what passed for a laugh she added, "You saw how hard it was to get Sweetie Belle and Rarity talking again."

Scootaloo smiled.

Rainbow Dash became serious again, “Kid, all you can do is swallow your pride, admit you were wrong, and apologize. The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be."

The younger mare hadn't considered that. She had been delaying in hopes that it might get easier. She quickly checked to make certain that nopony was watching, and she threw a hug around the colonel. "Thanks," her voice was shaky as Rainbow Dash returned the embrace.

"Forget it," came the reply. "Now go take care of the one that's here while you have the chance."

Scootaloo nodded as they separated. Her eyes were trying to water, but she choked back the tears. With a small smile, she walked away in search of Sparklefly.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 6 of 10

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Pixyglitter was amazed at how much more free she felt just being able to walk again. The special medical boots with which she had been outfitted were uncomfortable, but they immobilized the sprains so that she could walk without doing further damage as her tendons healed. Though it took her by surprise, the sensation that tasted of freedom was quite welcome.

"Thanks for talking me into coming out today," Pixyglitter muttered sheepishly at Cloud Blazer.

"Don't... mention..." he puffed.

He still had much more difficulty moving about than she did, even though her injuries were more recent. They were approaching Sweet Apple Acres. She could always tell when they were nearby; a rich earthy smell filled the air. While Pixyglitter didn't really know anything about farming, she thought the scent was appropriate. It reminded her of the farms in the countryside surrounding Manehattan where she grew up. The sound of the workers plowing and shouting to one another was easily heard as they drew steadily closer.

Walking proved somewhat more challenging than the wheelchair had been. One of the doctors had been teaching her to use a cane to feel her way ahead, but today she was following closely behind Sweetie Belle. Once or twice she had stumbled but was able to catch herself. The whole thing was frustrating, but she was beginning to ignore that fact in favor of the relative freedom gained by walking in the sun.

"I need... to sit... a minute..." Cloud Blazer said, drawing heavy breaths.

"Sure thing," Sweetie Belle said.

Pixyglitter could hear him sit in the wheelchair that Sweetie Belle had been pushing. It creaked as the fittings and fabrics began supporting his weight.

"We've gone farther today," Pixyglitter said.

"We're almost at the barn," Sweetie Belle replied.

Pixyglitter heard hoof-steps and smelled sweat approaching them from their left side. She guessed it would be Apple Bloom.

"Howdy y'all!" the farm-pony called out.

"Hey Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle greeted her.

"Sure is a hot one, eh Cloud Blazer?"

"Heh... not... hot... enough!"

Pixyglitter shook her head. His optimism was probably a facade, and she doubted anypony else would fall for it either. She, for one, was sweating profusely under the summer sun. Being from a so much further north, the heat was not something to which she was accustomed.

“Brownie, you always say that!”

"The farm is really coming along," Sweetie Belle noted.

“It sure is. It's long hours, but well worth it. I just wish my sister had time to see it."

"Too busy still, with her mayoral duties?" Cloud Blazer asked, his breathing sounded a bit easier now.

"Shucks, we're not sure how Diamond Tiara didn't seem busy while she was mayor," Apple Bloom replied. "Big Mac and I offered to help in any way we can, but she told us to just get the orchard ready for planting. I hope she's okay."

"Most ponies seem happy with her as mayor," Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Yeah, but it sure is a lot of work on her. At least the new farm-hooves are helping out round here.”

“You’re all getting along now?”

“Heh, for now.”

The three continued talking about the farm and then local politics, and Pixyglitter soon felt as if she were invisible. It didn’t take long for her to become bored, and after nearly a half-hour of the reminiscing, she finally tuned them out and tried listening to the birds that were singing all around. She recognized some of their songs, but others were foreign to her.

...

Sparklefly unconsciously rubbed at her eyepatch as she re-read the last letter she'd received from her mother.

'Dear Sparklefly, I am happy to be writing this letter to you from Sweet Apple Acres. Ponyville is as charming as I had remembered. We had stopped through on our way when we moved to Apple Loosa, if you recall. Glitterdust immediately made enemies with Apple Bloom, but they were able to put aside their differences after a few days. Thunderfly is also now working the orchard, which is something they'd never have allowed in Baltimare. Shimmerpuff stays by my side, curious but fearful of this new place. Duster seemed happy to see us, but he has changed somehow. Maybe it’s just that he looks so grown up in his uniform.'

Sparklefly thought about Duster. Everything had happened so fast the day of the coup, she hadn't had time to talk to him about it. She would have died if he hadn't saved her, a sobering fact that was not lost on her.

She continued reading, 'You were right about this farm. It is a wonderful place, and with all of us working together with the Apples, I'm sure we'll have it back in shape soon. I look forward to the day when you and Duster finish your other duties and return to us. Missing you always, Mamma Mare.'

Sparklefly smiled as she thought of her family. She was a little surprised to realize that night had fallen. She had been reading by the light of a waning crescent moon. By the look of the stars, the cloud was turning to head back to Cloudsdale. She'd never have guessed that their first mission would have been the most interesting. So far the rest had been dead ends with nothing of value accomplished.

Sparklefly stood and stretched. She must have been laying there for a couple of hours re-reading her letters and writing replies. Tucking them all safely into her pocket, she made her way to the front of the cloud. The night below was warm, but the wind was cooling. Summer was always a welcome change. Somehow, the air smelled fresh in a way that spring didn't.

"Hey, Sparklefly," Scootaloo's voice came from behind her.

Her good mood evaporating, Sparklefly spoke without turning, "Hey yourself."

Scootaloo padded gently up alongside her and sat. It was quiet for several minutes. Sparklefly saw a small light on the ground. It might have been a campfire, but then it was gone again. More likely it had been a door or a window in a house that had been opened for a moment.

"Look, I'm not good at this stuff," Scootaloo said, "but I'm sorry about what I said before." Sparklefly looked up. Scootaloo was looking into the distance and fidgeting slightly as she continued, "I was being a jerk, and it was uncalled for."

Anger melted away.

“Pacer really had me worked up, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I know you aren’t comfortable with the extra attention you’ve been getting. I just...

“Forget about it,” Sparklefly felt herself smile. “Besides, it's a small matter. You’d think I’d have a thicker hide by now to stand up to a little teasing. I guess I was just caught off guard. I expect it from Masher or Pacer, but we’ve been through so much together that I kind of let my guard down.“

The apologetic pegasus took a breath, “Well, you don’t have to be on guard around me.”

“I’m glad, and that goes both ways.”

Scootaloo nodded with a sense of finality, stood, and turned to leave.

"You don't have to go. I never got to tell you what happened."

Returning to sit by her friend, Scootaloo asked, "From your letters?"

Sparklefly nodded, "My family has moved to Ponyville."

“How are they liking it?" Scootaloo asked with a smile.

"Very much from what my mother wrote. Glitterdust and Thunderfly are already working on the farm."

"I can't wait to meet them.”

Sparklefly wished they could go back to Ponyville immediately, but it didn't seem likely. Unfortunately, she couldn't travel as freely as her letters. She had little choice but to quiet the longing for family that pulled inside and console herself with the thought that there would be time enough to see them all later.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 7 of 10

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‘Dear Sparklefly, Thank you for writing back so quickly! The mail doesn’t exactly go through as fast as I’d like, but it was good to hear from you. Needless to say, you’ve put my heart at ease. As for being formal, I’d say we don’t have to worry about that for now. We’ll have plenty of time to get married and raise foals later. I can wait. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. I’m originally from Manehattan, and I studied medicine before the war broke out. I enlisted after the fall of Canterlot when the call went out. My parents were pretty mad about it, but I felt I’d be more use as a medic saving lives than if I continued studying rare diseases for the next few years to become a specialist. That is still the ultimate plan, but it’s on hold for the moment. I’ve noticed we do have one thing in common: a love of reading. I’m sure you’ve also been frustrated with how difficult it is to get your hooves on new books these days, but we do what we can, you know? I have to get back to work, but I’ll write again soon. Love and kisses, R.’

...

Cloud Blazer wiped sweat from his brow under the blazing summer sun as he put one hoof in front of the other. Pains were shooting through his body, but he had been cleared for swimming, and he was determined to get to the water-hole. As usual, Sweetie Belle and Pixyglitter were with him. Apple Bloom had mentioned bringing some of Sparklefly's siblings, but only if they were able to get enough chores accomplished. The job is never done on a farm, as she reminded him.

Coming around a bend, he could see it, and Cloud Blazer's heart leapt for joy. His breaths were heavy and the air hot, but the water was sure to be cool. He wanted to run, but Sweetie-Belle was watching, and he knew she'd stop him from the attempt, even if the sharp pains from his leg didn’t. Pixyglitter felt her way behind them with her cane. She'd been using it to move more freely about the hospital, but she still wouldn't leave the building without them. Outings such as this were one of the few things that seemed to cheer both of them up a little. Cloud Blazer suspected this was because they could keep their minds busy and not think about the things they couldn't do.

"There it is!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "I don't see the others, though," she added with disappointment.

Cloud Blazer didn't reply as he trudged onward. Each step now seemed longer than the last. Sweat trickled down his nose as he closed the distance. He finally arrived at the water. Stepping in, it was indeed cool. It did nothing to ease the pains from his injuries, but it felt incredibly refreshing as he submerged his body in it. A painful shiver shot through him as he immersed himself. He didn't go deep enough to swim, not yet. Sweetie Belle parked the wheel chair and came in also, standing near him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"It's nice!”

He was invigorated.

Pixyglitter sat down in the wheel chair, which was in the shade of a tree near the bank. Cloud Blazer closed his eyes and turned his face to the warmth of the sun. Sweetie Belle began to swim away, leaving him to rest there a while. Time melted out of thought as he listened to the sounds of foals and fillies playing on the other side of the pond. Bird songs completed the peaceful atmosphere. He wasn't sure how long he stood there entranced by sound and water before Apple Bloom arrived.

"You made it!" Sweetie Belle’s voice brought him back to cohesive thought.

Apple Bloom called back from the bank near Pixyglitter, ”Howdy! This here's Miss Twinklestar, Glitterdust, Thunderfly, and Shimmerpuff.”

Cloud Blazer opened his eyes to see Sparklefly's family standing close to each other near the tree. He could clearly see the resemblance. Her siblings all bore the same silver coat that she did, though her mother had a white coat but the same light blue mane and tail. More than anything, her mother shared her daughter’s blue eyes. Shimmerpuff and Thunderfly's flanks were still blank, but Glitterdust had a plow tilling earth for hers. Twinklestar had a single golden apple.

"I'm Sweetie Belle, this is Cloud Blazer, and that's Pixyglitter."

"Nice to meet you," the stallion replied.

"Thank you," Twinklestar’s voice was appropriately motherly.

"He's the one I told y’all about. He was with Sparklefly in the forest,” Apple Bloom said.

Expressions changed: Twinklestar seemed curious and hopeful, Glitterdust looked either bored or uninterested, Thunderfly became excited, and Shimmerpuff hid further behind her mother.

Thunderfly erupted into speech, ”Did you fight the timberwolves? Is big sis really a hero? Tell me about it; I want to hear everything!"

Glitterdust rolled her eyes.

"Hush! Where are your manners?” Twinklestar gently scolded her son. "I'm sorry; it's just that we don't get a lot of news."

“It’s not a problem," Cloud Blazer answered. He felt slightly confused and had to ask, “She doesn't write?”

He had seen her writing letters when they were cadets and after.

"Oh, she does," Twinklestar replied. "I just get the feeling she doesn't tell me very much of what's actually happening. She’s still never told me about Canterlot, but it’s always the first thing I hear when ponies find out she’s my daughter.”

Cloud Blazer's mind returned to that day. The squad had nearly been shot down, and he and Scootaloo went to rescue Pibs when she’d fallen. It seemed as if it had been a lifetime ago.

Cloud Blazer took a breath, ”She may be the bravest mare I've ever met.” Thunderfly perked up, listening intently. "She can see things others can't. It's like she knows what to do especially when things go bad." Twinklestar looked concerned at this. He continued, "She has a gift for tactics and doesn't needlessly put herself or others in danger."

"Did she kill a bunch of stick-dogs?" Thunderfly asked, still overexcited.

Cloud Blazer smiled at the enthusiasm, but he felt a little strange about it. Somehow, he felt he was seeing himself before he had actually fought the enemy.

"Twice as many as I did," he replied with a grin.

Pixyglitter looked bored sitting under the tree as the rest began chatting about Sparklefly and then about farming. Cloud Blazer wanted to include her in the conversation, but apparently she knew nothing of either. Her mood still seemed depressed, but what could he do?

30 - Symbiosis, Part 8 of 10

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‘Dear Private R, I take from the tone of your last letter that you are not even half the mature adult that I had thought you were. First of all a marriage proposal is not the sort of thing one should send in a letter. Second, it is not something to take lightly and about which to make jokes. While I might be prepared to consider and discuss in earnest such things, you clearly are not. Third, I have already told you that our stations would prohibit such talk. I could send you the regulation if you need to see it. I would appreciate it if you won’t be so thoughtless in the future. I grew up in Apple Loosa, and I was there when the timberwolves first came. Farming is my first love, specifically cloud irrigation. I grew up with it, and my parents taught me everything they knew. They also instilled in me my habit of reading. My father had been a guard in Canterlot, and he would say that a spear is only as sharp as the mind that wields it. I have two brothers and two sisters. You know Duster, but the rest moved to Ponyville just recently. I haven’t told them about you yet, and I’m not sure if I’ll need to. I suppose that will depend on you. One hint, I don’t want to discuss our future again for at least a year after the war. Sparklefly.’

...

Beigh knew he'd made a mistake, but he wasn't sure how to fix it. Sparklefly was angry, judging by the tone of the letter he had received, and he knew why. He felt like an idiot for the glib manner in which he’d written to her. She liked him, that much was obvious, but he had boldly assumed a future that needed yet to be built. He sighed, lamenting his own stupidity.

All the wishing in the world wouldn’t be able to take back a word, written or spoken. She had finished the letter without demanding an apology, but she had made it crystal clear that she didn't want to discuss their future until after the war. Beigh sighed again and stuffed the letter into his pocket, his pride bearing the brunt of the injury.

"What's wrong," Duster's voice came from behind him.

"Oh, nothing," Beigh lied as Duster sat down. They were in the mess hall, but appetite had evaporated after the letter from Sparklefly.

"You got bad news?" Duster pressed.

Considering his response, Beigh wasn't sure how to proceed. He really should have told Duster long ago how things were developing between himself and Sparklefly, but he just didn't know how to do it. So much time had now passed that it was sure to be worse. It was almost like an out-of-body experience as Beigh took the crumpled letter from his pocket and gave it to Duster. A twinge of fear ran up his spine as his friend began reading it.

“Private R?”

“I’ll explain later,” Beigh said as his companion’s eyes began scanning further into the juicy personal correspondence.

”Mare trouble," Duster smirked, "I'd have guessed as much."

He continued reading, looking somewhat amused. This expression continued until he evidently reached the middle. Shock took over as his eyes raced to the signature on the bottom. Then it became anger.

"What's wrong with you? Is this a prank?" Duster said hotly as he threw the letter at Beigh and shoved him.

The force wasn’t enough to throw him from the bench, and apologies began as he recovered his seat, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry; I should have told you, I'm sorry."

“I’m sorry? I don't think 'I'm sorry' quite covers this," Duster shot back. "How would you feel if a friend of yours was writing love letters to your sister and didn't tell you!"

"I'm an only child," the words escaped before thought could caution otherwise.

Duster slugged his shoulder, "You're also an idiot!”

Beigh felt completely defeated now. He hung his head in shame, but was surprised to feel Duster's fore-leg thrown around him in an embrace.

"You definitely should have told me," the friend said in an almost cheery tone, "but on the other hoof, I know you’ll treat Sissy well.”

Beigh looked up at Duster, now hopeful.

"Besides, if you don’t, I'll kill you," Duster said flatly, making it impossible to tell if he were joking.

Beigh let out a nervous laugh as Duster pulled away and began eating his oats and hay.

...

It was all Duster could do to keep from laughing at the look on Beigh’s face. He certainly deserved any amount of teasing that could be mustered. Duster was indeed a little angry about the situation, but he felt confident that he’d be able get back at Beigh at least twice over for the insult. Plus, he’d likely be able to give Sissy quite a ribbing about it as well. It would be worth it.

Nonchalantly looking away, Duster noticed Lieutenant LD sitting nearby. He seemed lost in thought.

“LT,” Duster said in greeting. After a complete lack of response, he added, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," LD offered a halfhearted reply. "Would you excuse me," he said in the same vacant tone before rising from his seat and walking away.

"What was that about?" Beigh asked.

“No idea,” Duster said. He then noticed the untouched tray of rations that LD had left behind. "You're in his platoon aren’t you?"

“Yes, but I hadn’t noticed anything strange with him before,” Beigh shrugged.

Disbelief quickly became concern. Something was definitely wrong with the lieutenant, but it was anypony's guess as to exactly what.

...

‘Captain Sparklefly, I received your last letter, and truly I can’t blame you for your reaction. I’m afraid I was so overjoyed at your response that I let my heart get the better of me. I can’t take my foolish words back, but I will offer my apology in hopes that we can put it behind us. It won’t happen again. As I shall be choosing my words much more carefully going forward, what would you like to talk about? Hoping this finds you well, R.’

...

‘R, Thank you for your response. Apology accepted; we don’t need to speak of it again. I can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up in Manehattan. I’ve never been to a city quite so grand, though it would have to be quite a sight to be more impressive than Cloudsdale. I suspect I’m somewhat predisposed to be in awe of a cloud city, but I’d like to test that someday. Maybe when we have a chance, you can show me around all the best places of the big city. As I mentioned before, I grew up on farms. My dad had been injured before I was born, and he took up farming after getting discharged from the Canterlot Guard. He had grown up in an irrigation family, so that’s what he went back to. It was supposed to be temporary, but then he met my mom and their relationship grew. He continued with weather minding until I came. The way they told the story, it was when he first looked into my eyes, he was filled with such joy that he knew the simpler life would be enough. We ended up moving a lot because he became a kind of efficiency consultant, going from one community to the next to help improve their weather and cloud irrigation. When Apple Loosa was founded, and had no pegasi, we moved down to be a permanent aid to them. My parents thought it would be best for us to be able to keep some friends for a change. The south is a hot and dusty place, but it felt like home to me. You get a bright sunrise and a stunning sunset almost every day, as if the sky were set aflame. What was it like in the city? Looking forward to hearing from you soon, Sparklefly.’

30 - Symbiosis, Part 9 of 10

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Sparklefly watched, not sure at what point she should intervene as tensions between Scootaloo and Pacer escalated. They had returned to Cloudsdale and were going over new reports to find their next mission, still aboard their mobile cloud. The disagreement had only begun minutes ago, but it had quickly become heated.

"Look, she's a fine colonel; I'm just saying that she's not here to increase our effectiveness as an intelligence asset,” Pacer said.

“And I’m just saying, shut your ignorant mouth before I shut it for you!” Scootaloo shot back.

Flittergear sat across from them, quietly eating some oats; her eyes were widening as the argument developed.

"Tough talk," Pacer sneered, "Why don't we take it outside?"

Scootaloo started toward him, "Why wait?"

Sparklefly leapt between them when she saw the wild look in her friend's eyes, "That's enough!" She caught each of them and held them at length.

"Looks like your friend saved you again," Pacer declared triumphantly.

Slapping across his face with her wing and pushing him back, Sparklefly snorted, "Actually, I'm worried she'll ruin your face."

He snorted, “Oh? Is that what happened to your eye?"

Sparklefly suddenly knew the rage that Scootaloo had been battling for several months, and had the door not opened when it did, she might have leapt onto Pacer herself and given him the beating he was asking for. Fortunately, the distraction was sufficient for Sparklefly's senses to maintain thought above anger. She heard her mother's voice inside her head, 'Anger is like a stick of dynamite, harsh words make it explode, but a calm answer can diffuse it.' Mamma Mare would always have a wise proverb or metaphor for any situation.

"No," Sparklefly said softly as Charging Lance and Rainbow Dash entered the room. "That happened in combat; I'll have to tell you about it sometime." She could actually feel the tensions begin to abate.

"We can share war stories later," the colonel interrupted. "You'll want to see this."

Rainbow Dash threw down a report, and they all gathered around it. The truth of it was unsettling, but also exciting. An entire squad of scouts had gone missing near Dodge Junction. The area had been well-scouted since the war broke out.

"It's not normal for scouts to go missing in that area," Charging Lance said what Sparklefly was thinking.

"Nope," Rainbow Dash confirmed, "This is the first, and it was an entire squad."

"We should go," Flittergear's soft voice whispered.

Sparklefly could feel the room shifting; the cloud was turning.

"We're already in motion," Scootaloo observed.

"Right again," Rainbow Dash said.

The argument forgotten, Sparklefly felt excited. This could be the actual trail of Queen Chrysalis. It seemed weeks since they'd had any promising information. Charging Lance and several of the others had told her that this was often the case.

"We're going to be pushing this old baby to maximum speed. All personnel will be on combat alert round the clock, and everypony needs a parachute until further notice," Rainbow Dash continued.

Masher entered the conference room, “Major Skyflame reports full speed for Dodge Junction at combat ready."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "If anypony needs some air, go ahead; then we'll get back to the rest of these reports and make sure we're not missing anything else that's going on."

Sparklefly and Scootaloo made a quick exit as Pacer began bragging about how he could take out the queen by himself if they got close. It was more than either of them could bear to listen to. Sparklefly was a little surprised when they got out on the deck to discover that they were already away from Cloudsdale and moving rapidly south. A breeze caught her mane, signaling that they had a tailwind.

"I can't believe that loud mouth!" Scootaloo fumed.

"I know," Sparklefly said gently, and certainly with understanding. "It's a little stallion that boasts big things, as my mom would say."

Scootaloo snorted a laugh, "Thank you for stepping in earlier. My temper was about to get the better of me again."

Sparklefly smiled at her friend, "Believe me, I was well aware of it."

"For a second there, I thought I was going to have to hold you back."

Nodding, Sparklefly answered, "For a second there it was almost necessary."

"How'd you calm down so fast?" Scootaloo cocked her head to one side in curiosity.

"I just remembered something my mom used to say," Sparklefly began feeling warm and nostalgic. "It's funny how those lessons come back to you when you need them."

"You'll have to teach me some of those, but until I master them, I know you'll keep me from smacking him in the face," Scootaloo replied with a grin.

"It's the least I can do," Sparklefly returned the smile.

They grew quiet, and the wind shifted to coming from ahead instead of behind. Sparklefly correctly assumed that this was due to their acceleration. There would be nothing covert about this movement. The sun was getting low on the horizon as Scootaloo and Sparklefly returned to the conference room. They passed a scout team that was heading out.

"...is set," Rainbow Dash was saying as they entered. "We'll arrive by the end of the day tomorrow at the earliest, the following morning if the wind doesn't hold. In either case, we'll have reinforcements meet us before we get there."

"Welcome back," Charging Lance said to the pair.

Scootaloo nodded at him. Many of the reports had been piled on the floor to make room for them to see the map on the table. It was larger than their conference room in Cloudsdale, but the dampness of the cloud tended to soak their pages if they weren’t careful. Sparklefly's heart began racing when she saw that the reinforcements were coming from Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash continued, "General Brax will be leading his force under orders to assist us as needed. I will have the command."

"How many is he bringing?" Sparklefly asked.

Masher answered, ”Given the farming situation, he has to leave a significant force to defend, but he'll bring two divisions.”

Sparklefly craned to read the paper, upside-down to her, but she saw the name she was looking for. One of the division belonged to Commander Rain Chaser. It was worth noting as his division contained Brax’s original battalion.

"Ten-thousand," Scootaloo said.

"Yes," Rainbow Dash replied, "not counting our own regiment.” She suddenly became somehow even more serious, "Make no mistake, this could be a pivotal battle. If we catch the changeling queen, we might be closing on the end of the war. We are committed to this at any cost."

"At any cost," Sparklefly heard herself say. She believed that the strategy was correct, but she couldn't help but think of her brother and her medic friend. Trying to choke down the worry, she asked, "Has it been considered whether we're walking into a trap?"

"We have already discussed this at length with Shining Armor," Charging Lance answered. Gesturing at Rainbow Dash and Masher, he added, "We four were in agreement that it is worth the risk.“

Rainbow Dash added, “We’ll have Flittergear look over everything as usual, just to be safe.”

Flittergear whispered in the silence that followed, "I would make a trap look more enticing."

That seemed correct to Sparklefly. All they had was a missing scout squad. This sort of thing happened frequently enough, but it was rare for one to go missing in that area. Still, her thoughts returned to Duster and the medic she knew only as R. Trap or not, they would all be flying into harm’s way soon.

30 - Symbiosis, Part 10 of 10

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‘Momma Mare, I’m so sorry for neglecting to write! We have been busy on assignments and I haven’t made the time to sit down and put quill to parchment. The amount of paperwork they have us doing here is enough to drive one mad, but I’ve got a lot of good friends here to keep me sane. Scootaloo, as always, helps me immensely. She has such a fire inside, a passion for life that is practically infectious. She does have a bit of a temper, but I’ve been teaching her some of the lessons I grew up on. We’re working on it. I think I wrote to you about Charging Lance before also. He’s a career soldier, probably older than you are. The rest of us are like colts and fillies by comparison. He keeps us together in a way that is almost patriarchal more than commanding. Of course, Rainbow Dash keeps us in line. She doesn’t play around when it comes to maintaining military order. My newest friend is Flittergear. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of getting to know her, which was no easy task! It seemed like she wouldn’t even speak in my presence for two weeks. She has a technical mind that puts just about anypony I’ve ever met to shame. She has a way with numbers and mechanical things that astounds me! She sees patterns where others see chaos. That seems to have stunted her social abilities, but once you get past all of that, she is really very sweet. However, I wouldn’t exactly call her gentle. A few of us have occasionally butted heads, and she is quick to jump in the middle and break us up. I may have been scolded more than once by Charging Lance. It’s a side-effect of the stressful situations in which we so frequently find ourselves. Most of the time, cooler heads prevail. I need to go soon, but there is one more topic that you begged me to speak of... I know I haven’t told you much about my special somepony, but I didn’t want to write too soon. I have been in correspondence with him by mail. As I mentioned, we are in separate units, so I haven’t seen him for quite some time. In fact, I don’t even know his name. He is a medic in Brax’s corps that goes by the letter R, and he is from Manehattan. When the war is over, he’ll resume his training to become a doctor. I see challenges ahead for us, if a relationship is to be sustained. Our occupations don’t exactly mix, but there will be plenty of time to think about that later. Give my best to the brothers and sisters and everypony at Sweet Apple Acres. Missing you, Sparklefly.’

...

‘I am blind. I cannot see. I don’t have sight,” the thoughts rolled through Pixyglitter’s brain, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.

Pixyglitter was blind, and nothing was going to change that fact. No deals could be made; no sorrow could bring healing; no amount of rage would reverse time.

‘What’s done is done. I have only four senses. I will never do the things I did before.’

What was done was done, and there just wasn't any way to fix it. Her eyes were now dry from the tears she'd shed throughout the night, and she felt hungry for the first time in weeks. The sun had risen; Pixyglitter could feel the warmth of it from the window.

‘I have changed. What I had, I lost. I am crippled.’

Coming to terms with what her life could be was an unsettling prospect. It was too much to deal with, so she boiled it down to just one thing that she could do. All she wanted right now was to talk to Cloud Blazer. He had been by her side the entire time. Although she had spent so much time pushing him away, she felt grateful for his persistence.

Shifting in his hospital bed, the stallion inhaled vigorously, signaling that he had awakened. Pixyglitter sat up, wiping her face to ensure that no tears remained, but there were none. The bandages on her eyes were long dry from time passing in the night.

"Good morning," Cloud Blazer greeted her.

"Hi," Pixyglitter replied nervously.

"Are you okay?" he sounded concerned.

"Yeah," she started. "I know I've been horrible to you, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." He didn't respond. Deciding that he was listening, she continued, "I never told you anything about before, but I want to now.”

She waited for him to reply, her heart thumping loudly.

“Go on.”

She took a breath, “I was a photographer. I shot stills and video for an advertising agency in Manehattan before the war. When things got bad, I was out of a job, and I had nowhere else to turn. That's why I joined the EUP. In Las Pegasus..." She took a deep breath and felt herself shaking. "I was hit by friendly fire; that's how I was blinded. I had a passenger with me, Runesplitter, and he tried to talk me down to a landing. It was dark, so he couldn't have seen the trees until the last second." Tears began welling up in Pixyglitter's eyes again. "He screamed at me to pull up; I could hear the... the terror in his voice.” There was a lump in her throat that made speaking difficult as she pressed on, “It was too late; we hit the tree and tumbled to the ground. That's how I hurt my legs, and he was... I lay there with him... with the body for over an hour before the medics came." The tears were flowing freely again, but she no longer cared to hide them. "I'm sorry," she got out through the uneven breaths.

She barely heard him leave his bed and approach her. Before she knew it, he was wrapped around her, and Pixyglitter had buried her face in Cloud Blazer's shoulder. He said nothing, but just held her as she sobbed. As much as she hated to depend on anypony, this somehow felt good. A kind of relief flooded through her and filled her up. In a strange way, she felt content. It was like a perfect moment in time that could last forever. In actuality, only a few minutes passed this way.

"I was part of the weather team," Cloud Blazer broke the silence when she'd calmed down.

Pixyglitter stayed buried in his shoulder listening to his heartbeat. He was nervous.

"Flying was all I ever wanted to do, and I lost my wings," he continued. "Your loss is harder than mine, but in a small way I understand."

For the first time since the accident, Pixyglitter wasn't offended by the words of comfort that were offered. He knew, if only a little, what she felt because he had lost the thing he loved most. There would be no road back for either of them now. However, for the first time, she didn’t feel alone. As such, there still remained possibilities for the future.

Pixyglitter took another deep breath and spoke, "If you still want to, I'm willing to try and learn to fly with you."

"I'd like that," he replied softly in a different tone; he sounded vulnerable.

They held each other for a while, but Pixyglitter had no idea for how long. She and Cloud Blazer found some comfort in each other against a harsh world that had beaten them down, and together they regained the most important thing that both of them had lost: hope.

31 - Raid, Part 1 of 7

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Beigh ran though his equipment list to make certain he had everything he needed. In addition to his armor and weapons, he was responsible for an extra bundle of medical supplies that would be needed. Lives would depend on him and his equipment functioning without any flaws, a fact of which he was well aware. The last thing he wanted was to forget something.

The Ponyville corps had become frenzied with activity as soon as the orders to mobilize had come down. Wild rumors were being told and retold, becoming more outlandish every time they swept through the ranks like an unchecked wild-fire. One told him that Manehattan was under attack. Another said that Cloudsdale had been destroyed. The most incredible tale was that the Crystal Empire had been seized. Beigh was now no stranger to these sorts of outrageous stories circulating before a battle. Though they made him nervous, he knew full well that most, if not all of them, lacked any truth.

"Hey," Duster called out as he approached.

The stallion was already geared up.

"Which column will you be in?" Duster asked.

"The third one, you?"

"First, on the far left," Duster replied.

"Well, maybe we'll run into each other," Beigh said nervously. The thought of battle was still frightening to him, but he at least knew what to expect.

"You'd better hope not," Duster said with a stern look. "If our lines get that tangled it'll be a wonder if any of us survive."

"Eh, well, yeah. I guess..." 
Duster shook his head and slapped Beigh on the shoulder, "See you when we both get back."

Beigh nodded; a lump had formed in his throat. The final check of his own gear completed, he quickly joined up with his squad in time for a briefing. General Brax stood atop a small box to make himself seen by the two divisions that had been assembled.

“Good afternoon,” the general spoke with his back to sun, late in the day as it progressed toward the horizon. “Normally I would give more information than I’ll be able to today. Our mission objective is classified for the moment, but suffice it to say that any rumors you have heard about cities falling or massive attacks are false. We are going on the offensive tonight.”

Whispers shot through the ranks, and officers silenced their subordinates. Beigh said nothing, but wondered how much more they could push themselves than they had been. The round-the-clock attacks hadn’t stopped, and everypony had been on edge repelling them.

“I know you’re all tired,” General Brax continued, “but the fact that we are going on an offensive can only mean that we have an opportunity to deal a crippling blow to the enemy, perhaps for the first time since our princesses sacrificed themselves to destroy the Everfree Forest. I’m counting on each of you to give me everything you’ve got. Mount up to fly in five minutes. That is all.”

Talking burst out like a flood from a breached dam.

“You heard the stallion,” Sergeant Emerald Dream began, “Lock harnesses together and prepare for liftoff!”

“I am ready!” Starbright sang as a small shower of fireworks crackled from his horn, “Ready to kick some changeling tail!”

Beigh heard himself laugh nervously, but he felt weak and sick at the same time. He felt the clasp on his harness click together on his back.

“I’ve got you,” Ruby Red announced.

Beigh nodded in confirmation as she tugged against the harness, but he said nothing. He noticed his lieutenant, LD, mechanically shouting to his sergeants to confirm that the platoon was ready, a process echoed hundreds of times across both divisions. Unlike the other lieutenants, LD did it with absolutely no emotion.

Then came the order for liftoff.

As the ground fell away and the noise of tens of thousands of wings filled the air, Beigh felt himself go completely limp. Defending a town was one thing, but the thought of open combat had stolen the medic’s resolve. He tried to muster enough strength to at least hold a facade together, but Beigh was no longer convinced that he could make anypony else believe that he wasn't terrified.

31 - Raid, Part 2 of 7

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Cloud Blazer saw a soldier passing by and asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," came a stiff reply. "You should get indoors immediately."

Cloud Blazer nodded. It looked like the entire force defending Ponyville was taking flight, heading away from the sunset. Scanning around, many posts of guards were still in position, and there were other soldiers milling about calmly. Not all of them were heading out, and no sirens had sounded. That must have meant that the city wasn't under attack.

Cloud Blazer stood watching the soldiers doing what he had been trained to do. There was a kind of majesty to their formation flying. He wondered where Scootaloo was right then. He hadn't heard from her since that last day before she departed. The thought of her made his heart heavy. Their friendship was broken, and he couldn't repair it. The all-too-familiar pain from his injuries brought him back to the moment. Deciding that the soldier's advice was sound, Cloud Blazer continued on toward Sweet Apple Acres. He'd been walking without Sweetie Belle for two days, but she still often accompanied him. He was alone today.

"Well, howdy do, there Cloud Blazer!" Applejack greeted him.

"Mayor Applejack," he said, "I was just heading back to the house.”

"Mind if I walk with ya?"

"Not at all," he replied. "You seem in better spirits today."

She sighed and said, "Yeah, today was a bit easier than most. How are you holdin' up?"

"Me? Oh, I'm the rock that's keeping everyone else steady," he replied with a smile.

Pain shot up from his hind right leg that made Cloud Blazer wince.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just my leg. It likes to argue with me sometimes."

“Heh, I hear ya,” she said, acknowledging her large belly. “This one here has taken to kicking.”

“You still have a while, yet, don’t you?”

She nodded, “Another month or two.”

He didn’t feel comfortable asking any followup questions, so they walked in silence. Before long they were approaching the farm house. The sun setting behind it looked rather picturesque. The sky was golden and it nearly made the land look ablaze. Entering the farmhouse was to make the transition from a calm evening into utter pandemonium. Children were shrieking and squealing as they galloped through the lower level. Pinky Pie was among them. The adults that were, in vain, attempting to have a quiet conversation included the Cakes, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Twinklestar, and Glitterdust.

"What are all these young 'uns doin' inside on an evenin' like this?" Applejack shouted over the noise.

"Well, we saw all those soldiers moving about so we got everypony inside quick," Mrs. Cake answered.

"Where is Big Mac?”

Apple Bloom replied, "He's in the barn; I'm sure he'll be back soon. Hey, Cloud Blazer."

"Hi.”

The noise was difficult to be heard over, but it was a pleasant change from the normal hospital sounds that filled his days. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom walked to him as the raucous laughter intensified.

"How about we go up to my room?" Apple Bloom suggested.

The other two nodded and followed behind her. The stairs were a little tricky for Cloud Blazer. His legs were now used to walking again, but he was still taking fairly small steps. Sweetie Belle walked beside him, lifting from one side while he used the bannister for support on the other. He hated tiring so easily, but it was well worth the effort to be in the company of friends. Besides that, he was on a mission. They entered the bedroom, but Apple Bloom hesitated before shutting the door.

"You can come with us if ya want to," she said into the hallway.

Glitterdust walked in, somehow looking more disinterested in everything than usual. Apple Bloom muffled the delighted sounds of the children by closing the door.

"Hi, Glitterdust," Cloud Blazer greeted the newcomer.

She nodded at him without speaking. She was only three years younger than he was, but she seemed only a child to him. He could only speculate as to the reason behind her generally foul disposition, but her family had been through quite an ordeal before arriving in Ponyville. Both of her older siblings had gone to fight a war in which their father had been killed, not to mention fleeing their home and dealing with sickness in Baltimare; that was bound to leave a mark of some kind. The three friends talked for quite a while, with Glitterdust listening, before Cloud Blazer told them why he'd come.

“I’ve actually had a breakthrough today," he said. "Pixyglitter is talking to me. I can't share what she's been through, but I think she's going to be okay. She asked if I still wanted to learn how to fly with her."

"That's great!" Apple Bloom grinned.

Sweetie Belle was more skeptical, "I don't know; it sounds really dangerous."

"It will be," Cloud Blazer said gravely, "but I'm willing to take the risk. Besides, I'll wear a parachute, and we'll practice over the pond until we get good at it."

"Where are you gonna get a parachute?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's the catch," he admitted. "I was actually trying to find LD to ask him for one, but half the force was mobilizing, so I couldn't get through. I'm doing much better walking, but it's just a lot of ground to cover for me right now."

"I'll get you one," Glitterdust spoke for the first time.

All eyes turned to her. She still looked bored, but there was something more that was trying to reveal itself in her expression. Cloud Blazer thought it looked like sadness.

"That would be great," Cloud Blazer said. "I need a combat harness and two parachutes."

"My brother visits pretty often. I'll get him to get what you need."

"Thank you!" he said.

"Don't mention it.”

The light from the window was fading from the orange of sunset into the purples and darkness of dusk.

"I have to get back; I'm late as it is," Cloud Blazer said.

"I'll walk with ya," Apple Bloom said. "How about it; y'all up for a walk?"

Sweetie Belle yawned, "Not this time. I need a bath."

A crash was heard in the house and Twinklestar called for Glitterdust, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Just us then," Cloud Blazer said to Apple Bloom.

They departed the house and found Ponyville had practically fallen asleep already in the early dusk. No movement of soldiers could be seen any longer. Wherever they had gone, they were not in the area.

"So, what's goin' on with you and Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.

Completely caught off guard, Cloud Blazer panicked and stammered, "Ah, um, er, nothing, why?"

"Come on, Brownie, I know you better than that. I know her better than that."

They stopped walking. He sighed, resigning himself to finally speak to somepony about the situation, "When I first woke up in the hospital. I told her..." fear made the words stick in his throat. He took a deep breath and let it out, "I kind of confessed my undying love for her."

Apple Bloom blinked at him, and they stood in silence for a moment. She continued walking, and he moved to keep pace with her.

"I'm sure you can guess the rest," he continued. "She kind of freaked out and things have been weird ever since."

A patrol of zebras cantered by, paying the pair little attention. Cloud Blazer's legs were aching, and every injury was now throbbing in turn. The pain in one would wane just as it would wax stronger in another area. Above it all, his heart was pounding with a sort of nervous fear.

"Are you over it?" Apple Bloom asked.

He knew he wasn't and decided to be forthcoming, "No, not yet... I want to be. I just want things to go back how they were."

"Granny Smith always used to say that a broken branch on an apple tree can't be unbroken. All you can do is let it heal."

He couldn't help but smile at this. He had heard Granny Smith say that before. She was such a dear old mare when he'd known her, and he knew that he wasn't the only one that thought so. Most of the town remembered her fondly.

"Well, I don't know what I can do," Cloud Blazer said. "I might get over all of this eventually, but how can I help Scootaloo?"

Stopping again, Apple Bloom turned to him and revealed the sadness in her eyes, "You can't. She's got some things to work out herself, and she doesn't know how to deal with 'em. All you can do is leave her be."

They walked the rest of the way back to the hospital in silence, and Cloud Blazer considered her words. Without warning, she embraced him in a hug; thankfully, she was gentle about it.

"You let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Apple Bloom said.

"Thanks," he replied. "You and Sweetie Belle have already been so helpful to me these last few months; I don't know how I could ever repay you two."

Pulling away, she shrugged and said, "What are friends for? But if ya really want to pay me back, we can always use an extra hoof on the farm." Apple Bloom grinned, and her pink bow seemed to bounce when she did.

"You never know,” Cloud Blazer snorted a laugh. “Good night."

"Night!"

She turned and walked away as dusk was giving way to darkness of night. He truly felt much better just to have told somepony what was going on between himself and Scootaloo. In that pain, though it still ran deep, he was no longer alone.

31 - Raid, Part 3 of 7

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The confusion of sleep took a few moments to clear when Scootaloo opened her eyes. A magical red light filled the small bunk room in which she had been resting. It was time. Moving as swiftly as possible, she donned her armor. She had slept in her combat harness to save time. Inside of a minute she was geared, head to hoof. Lastly, she locked the crossbow in place but left it folded for the moment.

Leaving the chamber, she discovered that every interior space of the cloud was lit with the same dim red light. It must have still been night. She silently walked the corridors until she found the conference room, which was empty. She continued on to the command center. The Taskforce was there, joined by General Brax, some of his officers, and Major Skyflame, Rainbow Dash's second in command and CO of the cloud. They all had the look of weariness from the journey, but spirits seemed high. Sparklefly was rubbing at her eyepatch, but stopped when she noticed Scootaloo’s arrival.

"Good morning," Rainbow Dash began. "As you all know, we are going to engage the enemy shortly. What we haven't made public until now is our exact objective.” 
Brax and the others regarded her, looking less of a rainbow as they were all bathed in the red light. Scootaloo heard thunder rumble somewhere in the distance outside.

"We have reason to believe that Queen Chrysalis may be using Dodge Junction for a hideout, at least temporarily. We have drawn up a plan," Rainbow Dash said pointing at the map. “Charging Lance.”

The older stallion began to speak, weariness in his voice, "We don't know the strength of the enemy, and there is a swamp to the east, which will be on our left flank. We'll hit them directly from the northwest of the city with two regiments. If they encounter strong resistance, which we expect they will, they will fall back into the middle of the second division while they come around both sides. If we succeed, we'll draw them into the middle of our force and crush them outside the city. At the same time, the other three regiments from the first division will hit the city from the south. Our cloud firepower and remaining regiment will be directed wherever needed once the battle begins."

"We cannot afford to let the queen escape," Rainbow Dash said gravely. "General Brax, I want you leading the frontal assault. Charging Lance and Pacer will lead the vanguard feint. Scootaloo, I want you to lead our outflanking maneuver with Masher and Flittergear accompanying you.”

Scootaloo felt a swell of pride filling her chest. She may have been more proud at that moment than she had ever been in her life. Rainbow Dash was trusting her with the most important, and possibly the most dangerous part of the plan. While the action at the north was going on, the flanking force would have little support and high chance of catching a fleeing queen off guard.

"Sparklefly, you'll remain here with me. You'll be commanding any detachment from the cloud that will act as we see fit." Rainbow Dash paused a moment, looking around the room. Scootaloo knew her well enough to read that she was making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. "Upon sighting the queen, fire a green flare immediately. Use them to signal which direction she goes if she flees. Any questions?"

The room was silent. There was an apprehension or excitement that charged the air. Scootaloo felt invigorated by it.

"It'll be dawn in an hour, we need to hit them while we still have the darkness to make certain we take them by surprise," Rainbow Dash concluded. "General Brax, it's up to you and Charging Lance now. The rest of us will move as soon as you engage. Dismissed."

The room cleared as everypony went to their duties. Scootaloo was following Brax and the others when she felt Rainbow Dash looking at her. She stopped and turned around to face her mentor. There was a concern in her eyes that Scootaloo hadn't seen in several years.

"Don't worry, ma'am," Scootaloo said with confidence, "I've got this."

A wry grin fluttered across the colonel's face and vanished, "I know you do. You're one of the most awesome ponies I know."

Scootaloo could tell that she wanted to say more, but the reputation she'd built for herself wouldn't allow that sort of sentimentality, especially in the presence of subordinates, though they were seeing to their cloud-minding duties, effectively ignoring the pair.

"See you soon," Scootaloo said, giving her a way out.

Rainbow Dash nodded and turned away without another word.

Scootaloo caught up with the others at the tail of the cloud. In close formation to the rear were two divisions of EUP soldiers armed for combat. Five-thousand pegasi carried another five-thousand, a mix of earth ponies and unicorns. While it was a significant force, Scootaloo was quite aware that there would be no reinforcements. The logistical necessity for alacrity and fear of having the operation discovered was almost as much an enemy as were the timberwolves and changelings.

"There's a swamp down there," Flittergear whispered.

Scootaloo looked but couldn't see it in the darkness of the night. Another rumble of thunder sounded faintly in the distance, but Scootaloo couldn't see from where it was coming.

Flittergear continued, "That's where I'd put an ambush."

That statement amused Scootaloo more than it frightened her. Flittergear was always looking at places and pointing out how it would be a good spot to make a trap or an ambush. That kind of thinking had already come in rather useful several times, but more often Flittergear’s conclusion turned out to not be shared by the enemy. Scootaloo wondered for a moment whether her old squad was in one of the divisions behind them, but her focus was drawn back to the moment as the bulk of the force began descending.

Masher returned and said, "Captain, three regiments await your command."

Scootaloo turned and looked over her force. It was not the largest one in play, but it was by far the largest one she had ever led. In the darkness, she could feel all of their eyes on her. Scootaloo locked her harness to Flittergear and checked the connection. A swift tilt of her head, and three-thousand ponies followed her as she leapt from the cloud. She spread her wings and turned to the west, glancing back once to make sure they were still with her.

The air was tepid and humid, causing a general feeling of stickiness. Only darkness lay ahead, but the stars made navigation simple enough. It was fortunate that the moon had already set. After a short time she banked left, turning to the south. Her three regiments followed behind her with the precision of a single will. Without warning, bright lights began flickering from town in rapid succession. She glanced over, but it was too far away to see clearly.

"Magical fire," Flittergear said, only just loud enough to be heard.

A few moments later the noise from the magical explosions signaled that the battle had indeed begun. Scootaloo increased her pace to ensure that they arrived at the flanking position on time. If this battle went badly, she was determined that it wasn't going to be because her force didn't do their part.

31 - Raid, Part 4 of 7

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Absolute madness surrounded Beigh. Bright flashes blinded him as magical attacks rained death upon the first regiments to lead the attack. Orders were being shouted, but he couldn't understand them over the explosions and screams of the dying. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst from fear.

Unicorns began returning fire as the first several rows of the line were blown to bits, and the air popped and crackled as the sizzling magical bolts zipped back and forth. Crossbows were also being loosed as timberwolves slammed into the shrinking line from directly ahead. Sergeant Emerald Dream was leading the squad forward as a magical bolt sheered through her wing, effectively severing it. Blood poured profusely as she let out a scream in pain. His breaths fast and shallow, Beigh tried to do what he always did, ignore the battle and help somepony in front of him.

Grabbing his sergeant, he shouted, "Hold still, you're going to be fine!"

His stomach felt in knots as he looked down for a second to get a bandage from his pack, trying to think how to best help. When he looked back, the headless body of the pegasus fell into the medic, taking him to the ground. He scrambled out from under the corpse and back onto his hooves, Starbright helping him up.

“I’ve got you,” he said just before a blast of magic ripped though his chest.

The light of life left Starbright’s eyes as he fell away from sight. The little courage that Beigh had been able to muster evaporated; he turned and ran from the chaos. He pushed his way through, ponies dying all around him as the fight raged on. He tripped over a body and the world spun. The medic hit the ground with his face and tasted earth; it had a burned flavor. The body grunted; it was Beigh's own lieutenant, LD. He was alive, but he had a wild look of panic in his eyes. Beigh wasn't sure how aware of the situation he actually was, but he was in no condition to fight.

"Focus fire on those buildings!" Charging Lance cried out from behind. "Pacer, get to the front and form up our lines, they're falling apart!"

"I'm on it!" Pacer called back as he and a few squads thundered through the chaos to get to the slaughterhouse that was the front.

Beigh stayed down beside LD for the moment.

A pegasus scout landed near Charging Lance and yelled, "Sir! Massive forces coming out of the swamp behind us. We are cut off from-"

His report was stopped by a blast magic that stuck his throat. The scout clumsily fell drowning to the earth as a medic ran ineffectually to his aid.

Beigh was frozen by the specter of terror as he watched this unfold.

Charging Lance barely reacted to the death of the scout, but turned to one next to him and said, "See if you can get through to General Brax and advise of our situation. Unable to fall back, need assistance if possible. Go!"

This second scout shot up into the air and away. Blinding flashes split the night to their rear as the electrical discharge from the cloud opened up on the enemy. Lighting began ripping into the ground to the east near the swamp and thunder banged in rapid succession with it. Charging Lance jumped on top of an old cart that had been long abandoned and looked around. Beigh was in awe of how calm the other stallion seemed in the middle of this insanity. LD was shaking; not certain what to do, Beigh grabbed and held him.

To another scout and one of the regiment commanders Charging Lance said, "We can't stay here. This is a meat grinder. Advise all officers that we are moving into the city."

"Sir!" one of the officers cried out, “We’re getting wiped out up ahead! We'll be sitting ducks in there."

Charging Lance replied, “Going back that way isn’t going to be an option. If the changelings are going to shoot at us, better we're surrounded by timberwolves. At least we'll take some of them with us. We need to connect with the flanking force on the south side of town." Taking off at a gallop, he cried out, “Sound the charge. On me!"

The rest began to move forward on his hooves. If it were possible, Beigh began to panic even more. His heart pounded to the bursting point as his life surged through his veins. Sweat soaked his coat and armor, the air stifled with bloody burned scents as the medic focused just long enough to take a deep breath. He became aware of one thing; panic is death, and he had to move.

"We have to go!" he said to LD as he shook him.

The other didn’t react in any way, still staring ahead with a blank expression. Since the sergeant wouldn't budge, Beigh left him, following with the rest of the soldiers. His thoughts were wild as he saw so much fighting and death all around.

Suddenly, he stopped. At first he wasn't sure why, but within a few moments a feeling grew inside that he couldn't abandon his Lieutenant. If he ran, LD would die. He turned back and went to him, pushing his way through soldiers that were moving forward. Timberwolves were growling and howling somewhere nearby, difficult to hear over the barrage of thunder booming from the cloud. Beigh found the paralyzed pegasus where he’d left him.

“Lieutenant LD, you have to move!" again to no answer. “You have to get up! You can’t stay here!”

There was no response. LD’s breaths were shallow, his eyes wide and unresponsive to the chaos in which they were enveloped. Not sure what else to do, Beigh struggled to pick him up. He was heavy, but in a few moments, the medic succeeded in getting the lieutenant onto his back. Each step was now much harder, but he pressed as fast as he could to stay away from the outside of the force where the timberwolves were biting.

”Just keep moving," Beigh shouted, more to himself than anypony else. "Just keep moving."

Changelings began to fill the sky. They came crashing down into the force as it charged forward. They drove their bodies with magical auras that exploded on impact. Waves of heat blasted out, and they rose seemingly unharmed. Snarling and hissing as they came, they launched an attack throughout the vanguard, magically transforming into saber-cats, bears, and other equally ferocious creatures. Others used their magic to deal death to the ponies that had dared to come find them.

The ponies fought back as they were able, though the vanguard was outmatched. Beigh did his best to avoid anything hostile. He wasn’t exactly running with LD on his back, but he kept as quick a pace as he was able. Sweat poured down his face, and his throat felt swelled shut for how parched he’d become. He developed tunnel vision, just focusing on the next step and staying away from savage claws and lethal magic that filled the night.

31 - Raid, Part 5 of 7

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The humid air whipped across Scootaloo’s wings as her regiments followed behind her. The southern end of Apple Loosa still seemed calm. Masher was being carried directly on her left, and Flittergear was secured to Scootaloo’s own harness as they flew fast and low. The sounds of the battle into which they were flying grew louder as they approached. There was no delay between explosions of magic and the thunderclaps. It was a constant roar, loud enough to compel them to shout to hear each other, even at a distance.

“As planned!” Scootaloo called out, “Masher take a regiment left; Colonel Abattoir, go right. I’ll go up the middle, and we’ll converge on the edge of town. All three sides hit at once!”

“Copy that!” Masher replied.

“Yes ma’am!” Colonel Abattoir shouted.

“Here we go,” Flittergear’s voice was barely audible above the wind and noise from the battle.

The other two split off, peeling their regiments away from Scootaloo’s force. If all went well, they would go unnoticed until they were on top of the town and arrive in sufficient force to catch the opposition unprepared. She knew it was a long-shot to expect an easy landing.

As the distance rapidly closed, Scootaloo could taste a burned electricity on the air. As she locked her crossbow in the loaded position, green magical light came from directly ahead as the changeling scouts on the ground saw the incoming force. Lethal energy zipped by Scootaloo’s head and into her ranks. She dropped her altitude slightly in anticipation of the next volley.

The amount of magical fire that they took was far less than a proper defense would have mounted. Scootaloo felt a sort of thrill as adrenaline surged through her. She took aim and fired, as did many others in the front of her formation. It seemed only moments later that she came in for a hard landing, dropping Flittergear and plowing her own body into a changeling that was on a flat rooftop. It grunted as she made contact, falling backward as she landed a head-butt with the prow of her helmet.

She spun, narrowly missing a blow intended to light her on fire as another changeling came from behind. Flittergear’s arrow ripped through his temples, and the body fell with a thud. Scootaloo quickly engaged another changeling as the rooftop became covered in attacking ponies. There were perhaps a few dozen scattered enemies on the few flat rooftops, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

The flanking forces arrived at the same time, and within moments the high ground was secured. Timberwolves began surging through the streets in large numbers, and the clash erupted on the ground as unicorns lit up the night. More changelings began pouring out into the battle, putting up a stiff resistance as Scootaloo’s forces pushed toward the east side of town.

Scootaloo reloaded her crossbow and began shouting orders. They formed up a strong defensive perimeter and continued the offensive. The west side of town seemed to be folding, but the east was another matter. A frenzied exchange of magical energy was blasting both ways, burning buildings, earth, and flesh alike. Scootaloo’s line redoubled their efforts in an attempt to contain the east side of town, but the greater concentration of changelings had effectively stopped them. It was total mayhem on the ground. On the north side of town, Scootaloo was certain she saw the pony forces charging into the city hotly pursued by timberwolves as the sun rose.

Against the fresh crimson of the morning sky, a green flare streaked east. Scootaloo’s heart nearly stopped. Another followed, and then another. She began working to get her force disengaged to make pursuit. Someone had spotted their objective, Omega. Somepony had found Queen Chrysalis.

...

The dawn sky was red like blood. Duster thought it was a funny thing to notice in the middle of his present situation. He was part of General Brax's main force, in Lieutenant Clyde's platoon, and they were trying to push through to rescue the feint, but a horde of timberwolves had come out of the swamp and wedged between them. Duster didn’t know if the right flank had any success getting around to reinforce, but the left flank was bottled up and fighting for their lives.

Savage snarling and biting was met by battle cries of enraged ponies that refused to be slaughtered as lambs. Magic ripped through the stick-dogs, and arrows cut them down as they charged headlong into the rearguard’s battle-hardened soldiers.

Locknload’s squad was holding their own toward the rear of the formation. Locknload and Jewel unleashed false-mass magic, thinning out the timberwolves like cannonballs wiping holds in the line. Gunnysack and Moonsliver crushed the ones that passed them; Duster, Quickbeam, and Rolling Thunder loosed arrows in rapid succession. The squads on either side of them put up an equally fierce a struggle.

In support of their efforts, the cloud had arrived overhead. Things had begun looking bad just before they finally opened up a barrage of lightning. The electrical energy exploded through the dawn, blasting the beasts to flaming splinters and scorching the earth a little closer to the left flank than might have been advisable. It proved a sound tactic, as they may have been routed but for that. The roar of constant thunder overwhelmed Duster’s hearing.

He barely heard Moonsliver cry out when a timberwolf blow caught Gunnysack in the face, dazing him. Two more jumped on the crystal stallion before Duster could stop them. A flurry of kicking and biting followed. Gunnysack made it back to his hooves, apparently uninjured. Rolling Thunder took a hard blow squarely on his helmet, driving him down to his knees. His squad was able to pull him back. That was when they began hearing the order to retreat, a difficult task as the thunder still blasted directly ahead.

"All squads fall back! We are pulling out!" officers began shouting.

Duster quickly hooked his harness to Jewel and lifted off of the ground. She and Locknload were still firing into the enemy as their squad made it into the relative safety of the air. From this point, Duster could see the moving mass of timberwolves, still trying to get out of the swamp and at the ponies as the constant roar of thunder pounded them to sawdust.

He held position with the rest of his squad, Jewel providing magical cover-fire for the rest of their force to get into the air.

“That’s it!” Locknload shouted above the roar, “Increase altitude, and keep up with our platoon!”

Duster silently complied, following behind the rest of the soldiers as they pulled back toward the cloud. There was no explanation of why the attack had been stopped, but Duster saw dozens of green flares arcing across the sky toward black clouds that threatened to obscure the sunrise to the east. He could only wonder as to what the signal meant, but he knew enough to surmise that it was both important and the reason they had stopped the attack.

31 - Raid, Part 6 of 7

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Sparklefly lifted her flare gun and fired it high toward a hidden sunrise as she led a small force, only about three-hundred, away from the battle in pursuit of their target. They were keeping pace, but the changelings were flying fast enough to maintain their distance. The humid air cooled, and the clouds ahead became dark as a storm rolled in. None of them had heard it coming over the sounds of the battle, but now they were flying directly into it.

Sparklefly looked back at her force and realized that she had made an error. Most of them were flying tandem, which hindered their speed. However, if they continued on without any magical support, the changelings would have the upper hoof. She quickly thought of her options, but wasn’t happy with any of them. Rainbow Dash's words rang in her ears that they must catch her at any cost.

She turned to the second in command and said, "I need three squads of pegasi to drop their passengers here. We will fly ahead and slow them down for the rest of our force to catch up."

"Ma'am?" the officer, a captain, questioned her.

"If she gets away, this has all been for nothing!" Sparklefly snapped back.

"Yes ma'am!"

The order was given, and thirty unicorns were dropped, deploying their parachutes when they got clear.

"Let's go get her!" Sparklefly cried out as her pegasus team followed behind.

They were now gaining on the small party of changelings. There couldn't have been more than a dozen, but they were certain to take issue with being followed. Lightning rumbled ahead as they pressed on, and rain began falling in fat drops as the wind picked up. That was when Rainbow Dash arrived, another hundred pegasi struggling to catch up.

"Report!" she called out.

"That's Queen Chrysalis!" Sparklefly pointed.

"Right," Rainbow Dash yelled. "Give it everything you've got! Let's catch the queen!"

They pressed into the wind and rain as fast as they could fly. Two of the changelings turned suddenly and unleashed deadly bolts of magic.

"Hold formation!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

The pegasi charged ahead, undeterred as the energy impacted into them. Arrows streaked across the sky in response, missing the two incoming changelings. By the time they drew close enough to take them out, six pegasi had been shot down, and three more engaged the changeling pair. The rest continued on.

Lightning flashed ahead, blinding Sparklefly for a moment; the deafening roar of thunder followed immediately behind. Still they pressed on. Rain was beginning to fall in heavy sheets, nearly obscuring the party of changelings ahead of them. They were close enough that Sparklefly could count them now. Only seven changelings remained.

A gust of wind nearly threw Sparklefly into a spin, but she fought to maintain control. During that moment, she caught a glance back. The wind took out five more pegasi, and she couldn't even see the rest of the companies that had been following. Rainbow Dash was ahead of the others, pressing hard toward the queen. Four more of her guard turned and began firing blindly.

"Hold formation!" Rainbow Dash shouted again.

The rain sizzled as the magical energy burned through it. Sparklefly joined the others in sending a volley of arrows to answer. Time froze for a moment, and it was as if Sparklefly could see each puff of steam that came from the raindrops as a blast of magical energy came directly at her, striking her helmet. She wobbled slightly and her ears rang, but she regained stability and pressed on past the changelings, trying to keep up with Rainbow Dash.

She didn't see what had happened to the rest of their group, but now they had barely ten remaining. Lightning forked between them and the three remaining changelings and the thunder boomed; every hair on Sparklefly stood on end and her insides rattled with the concussion of the noise. The rain grew so heavy that it was becoming difficult to see Rainbow Dash, let alone Queen Chrysalis.

"Colonel!" she yelled, her voice sounding thin and small in the rain. "We have to abort!"

"Not happening!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "She is not getting away!"

A faithful soldier, Sparklefly knew she had no choice but to continue on. She could feel her strength ebbing out with each flap of her wings. Though it was morning, the sky was filled with black clouds, only illuminated by what light came in around the storm. The bits of sky that were visible held a sickly green color.

Rainbow Dash pressed hard, and Sparklefly threw all of her strength into attempting to keep up. If she hadn’t been riding behind her, Rainbow Dash would have sped away. Sparklefly was in awe of the raw power she possessed. She was buffeted wildly by the wind, and it was all she could do to maintain her course.

Without warning, a shockwave formed in the air that pushed Sparklefly from behind. Suddenly it was smooth flying for her and Rainbow Dash at an unbelievable velocity. She’d heard tales of sonic rainbooms, but she’d never been able to produce one herself. In this instant, she found herself riding the wake of one. The wind roared in Sparklefly’s ears as they closed the distance. They were perhaps thirty seconds from overtaking their prey.

Another flash of lighting erupted from everywhere. Sparklefly and Rainbow Dash were engulfed by the discharge in an instant. It was as if a giant hand had slapped Sparklefly from the sky. Everything went black, and all she could hear was a roaring like a freight train in her ears. Her whole body had gone limp and tingly, and she was unable to control her wings.

Sparklefly tumbled in a free-fall for what seemed like an eternity before she began to regain some muscle control. Still unable to see, she attempted to arrest her fall, but the wind and rain beat mercilessly against her. She waited as long as she could, but as she was unable to get her bearings, ultimately there was only one choice; she pulled the rip-cord on her parachute, come what may.

31 - Raid, Part 7 of 7

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Scootaloo was not happy with how things had gone. Her force made it into the city, but were stalled when they moved to the east quarter. They regrouped and made a push through the center of town where they met up with Charging Lance and what remained of the feint. They actually were able to drive off most of the changelings and secure the town, but no sooner had they achieved this than they saw the entire support division retreating to the air. Now the timberwolves that had come from the swamp were pressing the edges of town, and Scootaloo had to make a decision.

"We can't hold this without them," she said to Flittergear.

"I agree," Charging Lance said. "We must withdraw."

"I hope something good came out of those green flares; I lost almost a third of my force taking this town to get to you,” Scootaloo said.

Charging Lance looked behind him and then said, "I started with two regiments."

Scootaloo felt sick. Charging Lance only made it through to her with about four-hundred, but if she hadn’t pressed, they’d have been slaughtered. She sighed.

"Saddle up! We are withdrawing!" she ordered.

The remains of their forces quickly got together and took to the air. Changelings came out of hiding places and began firing at them, but unicorns returned in kind to cover their retreat. Surveying the battlefield showed mostly smoking remains from the carnage. The first drops of rain from an incoming storm began falling as they regrouped with the rest of the forces at the cloud. Scootaloo began searching for Rainbow Dash immediately. Major Skyflame was in CIC organizing flight teams to dispel the storm.

"Where is the colonel?" Scootaloo asked.

"She has headed southeast toward the badlands in pursuit of the changeling queen with Sparklefly. They had four companies total,” Skyflame replied.

“I’ll put together a regiment to follow them and assist. Get the entire force ready to withdraw and assess our status."

"Understood."

Scootaloo left and went into the confusion that was their army. Wounded covered the top of the cloud as medics worked feverishly to save them. As she searched for General Brax, she happened upon a lone pegasus that didn’t seem injured, though he sat among the wounded. It was LD; he looked to be in a daze.

"LD? Are you hurt?" she asked.

He stared straight ahead, as if unaware of her presence.

"LD?"

He slowly turned and looked at her.

"If you're not hurt I need you. We have to go help Rainbow Dash get the queen."

LD began laughing. A cold shiver ran down Scootaloo's spine at the horrific sound of it. He seemed to have no comprehension of his surroundings. She slapped him.

"Get a hold of yourself!" she screamed.

He only continued laughing. Scootaloo felt sick, but didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t waste any more time, so she left him there convulsing as if in some kind of twisted amusement.

It was only a minute later that she found General Brax toward the tail.

"Captain?”

She quickly responded, “I need a thousand pegasi to assist the colonel's efforts to capture Queen Chrysalis."

“Right away,” he replied and began shouting at one of his subordinates.

The rain became heavy as they prepared to leave and a the biggest tornado Scootaloo had ever seen touched down to the east. This delayed their efforts for another half-hour, but they had sufficient wing-power to unwind it, and soon the wind's wrath was appeased. Scootaloo was frustrated at the delay, but somewhat more at ease to be moving again with a thousand pegasi in the modest rain that continued coming down.

They were moving fast, but after a few minutes one of the soldiers started crying out. Looking down, Scootaloo saw parachutes on the range that bordered the badlands. With no sign of anypony in the air, she needed whatever information they had. Scootaloo led her force down to discover a scattered and injured group of survivors from Sparklefly’s detachment. It didn’t take long before she heard her friend’s voice.

"Scootaloo!" Sparklefly called out, her tone was strained.

She looked more horrible than she sounded. There was a hole in Sparklefly’s helmet, and her armor had been burned. The unmistakeable scent of charred metal followed her.

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked as the mare drew close.

"We flew right into that storm. The queen has escaped us, last seen heading southeast."

"We'll pursue, how many do you need to help here?" Scootaloo asked, itching to find the queen, but also a little impressed at the level of organization that had already formed in the battered group of survivors.

Sparklefly's face had a graveness about it that was unsettling. She also hadn’t answered immediately. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked, her mind beginning to race.

"It's Rainbow Dash," Sparklefly replied stoically. "She's dead."

Scootaloo felt her heart stop. It was as if the air was being sucked from the mare’s lungs as the weight of what her friend had just told her sank in. Scootaloo’s mentor and dearest friend, who was practically family, Rainbow Dash, had been killed.

32 - Glory, Part 1 of 6

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Beigh's first rest came nearly three days after the second battle at Dodge Junction. The wounded were many, to say nothing of the dead. The official report came back that in total, their force suffered nearly seventy percent casualties. Of those, over half were dead. Four-thousand, six-hundred and twenty dead in a matter of three hours. Given the nature of injuries inflicted by the timberwolves, most of the wounded survivors would return to duty eventually, but Ponyville was below half strength now.

Reinforcements were said to be on the way, but none had yet arrived. Beigh sat by the infirmary tent completely exhausted. He had worked on more wounded than he could remember, but his mind kept going back to the battle. He was ashamed for running away, even though it had likely saved his life. He told himself that he had to survive. He told himself that he was able to help save many that would have died without his skills after the battle. It didn't really make him feel any better.

"Beigh!" Duster interrupted his thoughts.

Looking up, the sky seemed somehow cheerfully blue in a world so stained with red. "What is it?"

"Hey, I need a couple of spare harnesses for a friend of a friend," Duster said.

In his current state, it hadn’t taken much to confuse the medic, ”Wait, what?”

“I know of a corporal who was discharged due to injuries that is looking for some harnesses.”

”Did you check with the quartermaster?"

"They won't issue them for this. As I said, he was discharged, so he’s not a military priority anymore.”

“Why does he need them?”

“Flying,” he hesitated. “If he hadn’t served with my sister, I wouldn’t be asking.”

The thought of Sparklefly made Beigh’s heart skip. Rumors of her involvement were circulating after the battle, thanks in large part to a newspaper article in which she had been interviewed. He hadn’t received a letter from her, but the gossip was that she had been in Ponyville. That knowledge warmed the stallion against everything else that filled his days.

Bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hoof, Beigh replied, "Okay, not a problem. There are some... used harnesses in need of cleaning in the supply tent. I can get you two of those."

It was a grizzly thought to give away a harness that had been worn by soldiers who had been killed in action, but they did have more of them than were needed. Duster nodded and walked off. Beigh meant to take care of this right away, but he sat for a few minutes longer. That's all the chance that sleep needed to take him for awhile.

...

Scootaloo sat, staring blankly at the wall of the hospital room in Ponyville. She’d been in this building a dozen times as a patient, usually covered in tree sap. That seemed a lifetime ago. She was still in shock after everything that had happened. When Sparklefly had told her that Rainbow Dash was dead, Scootaloo felt herself wither inside. She had managed to compose herself enough to send several of her companies to search for the queen, but no sign of her was found. Queen Chrysalis had escaped again.

Scootaloo could only imagine how much worse things would be if Sparklefly’s report had been accurate, an error for which Sparklefly had endlessly apologized. Colonel Rainbow Dash lay in the hospital bed, still very much alive, but unconscious. They surmised that she had deployed her parachute, just as Sparklefly had done, but she’d suffered some injuries in the fall after she was struck by lightning. The doctors were confident that she'd make a full recovery in time, some new scars notwithstanding.

The injured cerulean mare’s chest rose and fell with each breath, loose wrappings covering medicines that had been applied to burns that snaked from her neck down her belly and onto her hind legs, one of which was in an immobilizing boot.

Rainbow Dash had only regained consciousness once, and Scootaloo hadn't been in the room when it happened. She was still kicking herself for that. Given the burns and other injuries the colonel had sustained, the doctors felt it wisest to keep her sedated for the pain. Major Skyflame made the decision to keep the Taskforce at Ponyville while they tended to the wounded. General Brax was glad to have their regiment around since his force so depleted after the battle.

"We need to go," Flittergear said softly.

Scootaloo was startled, shivering slightly as she turned, "What is it?"

Flittergear had an urgent look on her face, but she didn't say more. Scootaloo turned helplessly back to Rainbow Dash for a moment.

"I'll be back soon.”

Standing and walking were both uncomfortable, but the stiffness in her muscles from the fighting was fading. The hospital was overcrowded again, but the EUP infirmary was worse. They had patients on the ground and were using the mess tent as a second post-op.

Scootaloo followed Flittergear across town to the castle. Soon she was standing in front of General Brax’s quarters. The last time Scootaloo had been here, Mane Crusher was still in command. Flittergear knocked, and the door opened; Skyflame urged them inside. Nopony's quarters were large, but this room was now packed full with the Taskforce, Skyflame, General Brax, and Prince Shining Armor himself.

"Your majesty," Scootaloo said as she and Flittergear bowed.

"No need for that," he said, sounding rather cold in comparison to the last time she'd seen him.

Scootaloo hadn't noticed his guards at first. She recognized one of them, Digger. He nodded at her.

"Now that we're all here, I have to say I am disappointed," Shining Armor spoke evenly. "Queen Chrysalis escaped, and we lost nearly half the force sent to capture her. Every report I've read over the past three days are consistent in one point. Each of you gave everything you had to accomplish the mission. If it hadn’t been for the tornado, your outlying scouts likely would have caught her. I certainly don't fault you for the outcome. However, I am no longer of the opinion that this strategy is worth what it is costing us."

Everypony seemed as saddened by this as Scootaloo felt. Some of her last remaining bastions of pride were now wounded. They had been given the mission of finding the queen and ending the war, and they had failed.

"On the other hoof, this Taskforce does seem to have a true gift for strategy," Shining Armor continued. "I want this group to draw up a plan to retake Canterlot."

Scootaloo had only thought the room was quiet before he said that. Now the silence was deafening.

"What is the status on Colonel Rainbow Dash?" he asked Scootaloo.

She felt unsure of herself for the first time in quite a while, but struggled to speak quickly. Clearing her throat, she said, "She’s alive, but the doctor said she needs to stay in bed for several weeks. She suffered severe burns and fractured her leg, not to mention a concussion.”

"I see," the prince said. He paused a moment in thought and then continued, "You will have to function without her for now. Skyflame will command the regiment. Charging Lance, you will head up the Taskforce."

"As you say," the stallion replied.

Scootaloo was sure she saw a flash of pride across his face for a moment.

"Time is against us," Shining Armor continued. "Yesterday was the first day of autumn, which means winter will be upon us before we know it. I am convinced that we're going to see a new offensive from the changelings soon. Nearly catching the queen has put them off balance; retaking Canterlot will help keep them on defense." Looking up at Sparklefly, he asked, "Did you have something to say?"

She shook her head.

"If you have any thoughts, I want to hear them,” the prince said firmly.

"Your majesty," Sparklefly answered. "I'm just a little unclear as to what advantage retaking Canterlot will actually get us. It may keep them on defense for a little while, but the resources we'll use to do it won't be available for defending our other cities."

"It is a risk, but I believe it is worth taking," Shining Armor replied. "What I'm about to say does not go beyond this room." He paused, looking at each of them in turn. "Our forces are being spread thin to defend all of the area we have. I suspect this was the purpose behind the constant small attacks we've been hit with all summer. If a large force hits any of our smaller cities, we won't be able to repel it. Retaking Canterlot is more than just to keep them off balance. We will be able to abandon nearly a third of the smaller cities and relocate their populations to the capital. That done, we can consolidate our defense into much stronger positions.“

That made sense to Scootaloo. A smaller area would be easier to defend, but they were bound to lose farmland.

"What about the farms?" she heard herself blurt out before she’d considered whether this was actually an intelligent question.

"We'll abandon many of them for the winter," he replied. "They won't be any use to us in the cold."

A sigh of relief came when he turned away from her. Scootaloo was pleased with herself for not putting a hoof in her mouth for once. The prince seemed tired; deep concern was etched on his face as the appearance of a stallion that hadn’t known rest for a long stretch of time.

"I know I’m asking a great deal of you again, but I can’t think of any group I can trust more with this." The prince took a breath before concluding, "I'm heading back to Cloudsdale. I want you to return so I can review your plan tomorrow morning."

The prince left the room, flanked by his personal guards. Scootaloo found herself lost in a memory of the last time she'd seen Canterlot. She'd been carrying Brax as they’d flown away from the smoking ruin. Rainbow Dash had been hurt that day also, though not so much a brush with death as she’d just had. That was the day that Scootaloo first had really talked to Pibs.

“Don’t you agree?” Pacer asked.

Scootaloo looked up and realized that they had been talking while she was in thought. They were all staring at her.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“We were just discussing using Cloudsdale as our staging area,” Pacer replied, “but if you’re too busy, I’m sure we can have this meeting later.”

Scootaloo forced a calm over herself and used as few words as possible, “Yes, Cloudsdale. I agree.”

Masher suggested, “We might consider using a cloud to push in a larger force of earth ponies and unicorns than we can get airborne by pegasi.”

“Good idea,” Sparklefly agreed.

Scootaloo forced distractions and worries aside to pay closer attention to the meeting. A faint spark of hope rekindled her spirit. She was ready to return to Canterlot so they could begin rebuilding what had been lost.

32 - Glory, Part 2 of 6

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Pixyglitter was nervous, and she was certain that it was showing. Her legs shook as an uncontrollable shiver gripped her body. She felt cold and clammy as a sheen of sweat beaded up on her forehead.

"Just relax," Cloud Blazer said in a soothing tone. "You've already done this thousands of times, you just need to relearn a little, that's all."

This would be the first time she had even attempted to fly since she'd been injured. They started with what seemed like an hour of stretches to ensure her wings were up for the task. Bedrest was helping to heal her legs, but it hadn't been kind to her muscles. Now they were standing on a compost heap at Sweet Apple Acres. It stank horribly, but it had the virtue of being incredibly soft. The sickly sweet scent of decay may have been unpleasant, but it was an ideal choice for their exercise today.

"Just remember, if anything goes wrong, it's okay to let yourself fall," Cloud Blazer said.

"That's easy for you to say," she replied with a quivering voice. She hated herself a little for expressing the trepidation. It made her feel weak.

"You can do it!" Sweetie Belle cheered them on from a safe distance.

Pixyglitter wondered whether the unicorn was more keen on staying safe from the flying or the stench.

"I've got you," Cloud Blazer said. "Just lift off a little and then touch down again."

Pixyglitter could feel her heart racing. She took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and began flapping her wings. She did this slowly at first and then a little faster. She was still firmly on the ground.

"That's fine, you're doing great. Just a little more," he encouraged.

Pushing just a tiny bit harder, Pixyglitter felt her own weight become much less on her hooves. Slowly, the ground fell away from beneath her. Cloud Blazer reached out and grabbed her fore hooves gently. She rose a little higher until she felt resistance from him. He gave a gentle tug, and she stopped flying. Falling back to the ground was terrifying, but the spongy pile of rotten plant-life was like a feather cushion when she landed. Fear exploded into exhilaration in an instant.

"Way to go!" Sweetie Belle was cheering.

"You did great!" Cloud Blazer chimed in.

Giddy with excitement, Pixyglitter said, "I want to do it again!"

Cloud Blazer laughed and said, "Alright, but don't overdo it. Just stay low like that and you can go as many times as you want. We've got a lot more practice to do before we can really get out and about."

That sobering thought wasn't enough to bring her spirit back down. Just getting off the ground again was the most wonderful feeling. The only time she could ever remember being perhaps as excited was the first time she'd flown when she was a filly...

They had been in the park, Pixyglitter and her parents. Manehattan was quite the metropolis, but the park in the center of the city was a vast swath of manicured fields and trails with decorative trees all around. She and her father had been throwing a frisbee while her mother was setting out a picnic lunch. She darted to catch the disc and throw it back to her father. On one of his pitches, it soared too far and fast for her to catch it. She had thundered in pursuit and leapt as high as her legs would lift her. As if by some instinct that she hadn’t known, her wings whipped the air, lifting her until she caught the disc. Of course, she had crashed into a bush moments later, but the look on her father’s face was an expression that she had only seen once or twice from him in her life: pride...

Cloud Blazer drew her from the memory, and the pair continued practice in the same manner for another hour before Pixyglitter’s wings tired from the effort. Eventually, the stallion led her to another part of the ruined orchard. Sweetie Belle came with them, and the three sat and talked for some time.

"So how are you two actually going to fly together?" Sweetie Belle’s question was filled with genuine concern.

"Well, it'll be Pixyglitter doing all the actual flying," Cloud Blazer admitted. "I'll be her eyes. We’ll use harnesses like we did for EUP service.“

"I don't know," Sweetie Belle said doubtfully.

“It’s not like we’re going to be doing acrobatics or precision canyon runs. The sky is big enough that we can stay in the open without any problem.”

”It just sounds so dangerous."

That it certainly would be, but this was something that Pixyglitter felt she needed. It wouldn't exactly be independence, but she would have a purpose and be able to do something for Cloud Blazer that he couldn't do for himself anymore. She’d be able to help him.

"It's worth the risk," Pixyglitter said, causing a brief silence. She wished she could see the expressions on their faces.

The wind shifted and the smell in the air changed.

"We'd better get inside," Sweetie Belle said.

"It's going to rain," Pixyglitter spoke; she thought she heard a gasp.

"How did you..." Sweetie Belle started.

"I've always loved the smell right before it rains," Pixyglitter answered.

Cloud Blazer smiled; she couldn't see it, but she knew he did. They shifted and the crunching leaves sounded as if the other two had stood. Pixyglitter got up onto her hooves and followed behind them, using her cane to feel the terrain along the way. There were still plenty of old roots and torn earth from the destruction of the orchard that she had to use caution to not trip. It would be several years until the, as yet unplanted, saplings had their own gnarled roots cutting up the pathways.

Great drops of rain began sporadically falling around and occasionally on the trio. They were so fat that they made a delightful splatting sound upon impact. As a filly in Manehattan, the stink of the city was constantly on the air. The cleansing scent of rain was one of the few sweet intermissions that Pixyglitter had treasured growing up. Even in the country or a town as small as Ponyville where the air was fresh, something about the smell of rain felt like home.

By the time they reached the farmhouse, the oversized raindrops had given way to a much more steady stream of medium ones that were beginning to come down heavier. Pixyglitter could hear the rain beating on the roof of the house, so she knew they were close. The nearly-soaked group entered in the middle of an Apple family conversation. Once inside, Sweetie Belle ran upstairs to get some towels.

"This rain is gonna slow us down," Apple Bloom said. There was a concern in her voice.

"Yep," Big McIntosh agreed.

Pixyglitter didn't think she'd ever heard him say anything else.

"I saw that you've been working on a wall around the barn and farmhouses," Cloud Blazer said.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "I'm not sure how useful they're gonna be, but Applejack says we need to fortify the entire town. I don't think she gets how many hooves that takes off of the other chores."

"Maybe not," Cloud Blazer replied, "but she's got a lot on her plate right now. She’s running the town, worried about Sweet Apple Acres, and her foal has to be due any day now.”

"Yep," Big McIntosh agreed.

Hoof steps signaled somepony was entering the room. Pixyglitter couldn't tell who it was, definitely not Sweetie Belle. She was just reaching the top of the stairs again by the sound of it.

"These came for you," Glitterdust said.

A slight clanking of metal buckles told Pixyglitter exactly what she held.

"The harnesses!" she exclaimed.

"Well, yeah," Glitterdust sounded confused.

Cloud Blazer smiled again, this time she could hear it in his voice, "Her hearing is amazing."

"Here you go," Sweetie Belle said, having returned with towels.

Drying off, the clinking of the buckles continued as Cloud Blazer examined the harnesses.

"Looks like we'll be in great shape once the weather clears up," the stallion said. “We won't be flying yet, but we're one step closer."

The thought warmed Pixyglitter. After her devastating loss, everything had become so dreary since her injury. It was nice to be looking forward to something again. But it was perhaps better to have friends with her in the middle of it all.

32 - Glory, Part 3 of 6

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Sparklefly was exhausted and nervous, an odd combination that was taxing on the mare. The remaining members of the Taskforce were with her, and together they awaited an audience with Prince Shining Armor. Scootaloo hadn't been keen on leaving Rainbow Dash behind, but they didn't have any other choice while she mended. They had flown ahead of Skyflame, who would be bringing their cloud with what was left of their force.

As they hadn't been in the main fighting, their casualties had been lighter than Brax's two divisions. The thirty unicorns that were dropped had not survived, and of the four companies that had gone after the queen, another hundred had been killed between changelings and the tornado. The mission had failed; the wasted life made Sparklefly feel sick. The one relief she had was the comfort that her brother and medic friend had both survived the battle. She buried the thought when she noticed Charging Lance looking at her.

"Don't be nervous,” said the older stallion. "It is a solid plan."

Sparklefly shifted uneasily, resisting the urge to adjust her eye patch.

"Yeah," Pacer said, "Just everypony make sure and let him know it was basically my idea."

Flittergear shot him a harsh look, but didn't say anything. She had managed to find some hay and was quietly chewing on it.

"Do you ever shut up?" Scootaloo launched a verbal attack.

"Only when I'm with a mare,” Pacer said with a kind of sneer that disgusted Sparklefly.

Scootaloo snorted back at him, “Don’t make me laugh. I doubt you'd know what to do with a mare if you bribed one to be alone in the same room with you."

Sparklefly joined the others in laughter at the remark, and by the look on his face, it infuriated Pacer.

"Anything you want to teach me?" he made a sleazy grin.

"Dream on.”

“Suit yourself, but I might have to dream of something a bit thinner though."

Sparklefly cringed at the insult, wondering if she would have to jump between them again, but Scootaloo didn't lash out. She just grinned right back at him, restraining any anger that was present.

"To each his own," she answered with icy daggers in her voice. "Just know that I'm sorry."

"What, for passing on a chance to get to know me better?"

Sparklefly looked to Masher, who rolled his eyes a bit dramatically.

"No," Scootaloo replied. "I'm sorry that I don’t know anypony desperate enough to help you stop dreaming and start living."

He snorted, “It’d be just another day for me, but for you it’d have been something special.”

"Enough, kids," Charging Lance said before Scootaloo could reply. "We need to focus on this battle-plan. I'm confident that there are no missteps, but let’s take another look.”

Sparklefly was glad to have Charging Lance around. More than fearless, he was old enough to be viewed by the others as a kind of authority, even though they technically didn't function that way. Scootaloo didn’t seem too upset at not getting the last word as they lost themselves in the plans again.

With no warning, the door opened. One of the guards beckoned them inside, and the Taskforce walked in. The war room was aflutter with activity. Table after table was receiving and sending reports, making scenarios and calculations of all kinds. It was a room of thinkers and number crunchers, very much like what the Taskforce did but with less imagination. They walked up the stairs to the big map that Shining Armor had on top, and they gathered near him. Digger was on duty again; he looked tired.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Shining Armor said dryly. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Charging Lance answered, "It took all of us examining every possibility we could think of; no one of us can take credit for the strategy," he added, throwing a look at Pacer.

Sparklefly rubbed at her eyepatch as Charging Lance went on to outline the details of the strategy. It was a little bothersome to Sparklefly that all of their plans seemed dependent on air superiority. Although, if they hadn’t had that advantage, they may not have survived as long as they had. Without food shipments and the ability to move soldiers about as quickly as they did, the outlook of the war would be much more bleak.

"You say you can pull this off with the remainder of Brax's divisions?" Shining Armor asked doubtfully. "That numbers at barely three-thousand still fit to fight.”

"With our regiment, it is almost four-thousand," Charging Lance observed. “By all reports, activity in Canterlot has been minimal. A few thousand timberwolves maybe.”

Shining Armor thought for a few moments. "Your plan is sound, and I want this to happen immediately. However, I don't believe that four-thousand is nearly enough. I put out the call when I received your first reports from Dodge Junction, and more soldiers are on their way from every corner of Equestria."

Sparklefly was pleasantly surprised by his forward thinking. She appreciated that the prince didn’t waste time, and even though he hadn’t been totally forthcoming, his work behind the scenes was helping them greatly. He apparently had every intention retaking the capital in short order.

"By nightfall, you'll have an additional fifteen thousand to add to your four. At least half of them will have already seen combat," the prince added.

"We will adjust our plans to accommodate this larger force," Charging Lance grinned ecstatically.

“Thank you all for your efforts on this. We retake Canterlot at dawn," the prince said with a tone of finality in his voice. "Dismissed."

Sparklefly followed the others away from the meeting. She felt almost in a daze but couldn't help wondering what defenses were being sacrificed to make this possible. A little less than half of their force was going to be green. They would have to take care how they deployed those inexperienced soldiers to maximize their effectiveness.

32 - Glory, Part 4 of 6

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Cloud Blazer watched as Pixyglitter secured her harness and then took it off. She laid it out, then put it back on and fastened everything up again. In this manner half of the afternoon melted away by the pond. It may have been boring, but it didn’t strain his injuries, making it a pleasant way to spend a day.

"I've definitely got it now," Pixyglitter said.

"I'll say you have," Sweetie Belle agreed. "You haven't asked for help in over an hour, even with it tangled up.”

Cloud Blazer was sure he saw a grin flash across Pixyglitter's face for a moment.

"Do we fly now?" she asked.

"The sun is getting low; we're going to have to head back soon," he replied thoughtfully. "But I think we have time for at least one attempt."

“Life jackets?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, I think we'd better.”

Suiting up in the harnesses and lifejackets was stiflingly bulky and uncomfortable, but it seemed a sensible precaution in the event of a water landing. Cloud Blazer made a final check over both harnesses, but Pixyglitter hadn't missed anything. It was rather impressive that she had been able to figure it out to that degree of efficiency so quickly.

"Outstanding," he said to her. "One final thought. Once we get over the water, let's just stay there and land in it when we come down. I think that'll be safest for our first try."

"Okay," Pixyglitter replied.

She was standing up straight and tall, as if trying to exude confidence. Cloud Blazer suspected that she was at least as nervous as he was. She locked her ventral tether to his dorsal latch, clasping the harnesses together. Cloud Blazer kept his quick-release at the ready. They walked to the edge of the pond, which as a bit of an awkward shuffle between the short length of the line and their disabilities.

"Are you ready?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Yes.”

Hearts raced as Pixyglitter began flapping her wings, and in moments she had lifted off the ground. Cloud Blazer felt a tug on the harness, amplifying the pain that he felt from his healing injuries. Then the ground dropped away beneath him.

"Okay, that's fine. Move forward, nice and easy," he said with a shaky voice.

Pixyglitter began moving over the pond, and the moment became almost like a magical experience. Cloud Blazer felt the air being beaten by her wings, and he saw the pond gliding gently below him. It was much like scratching an itch that hadn’t been reachable for many months. Elation flooded through his chest and how to his hooves, making him shiver with giddy delight. However, the moment passed only seconds later.

Cloud Blazer's hooves hit the water as they lost altitude, the drag from which pulled them both face first into the pond. He was just opening his mouth to tell her to pull up, but instead of speaking, he got a mouth and nose full of water. It choked him and bubbles shot past his face as he struggled to get his head above water. Cloud Blazer's lungs burned, and a sharp pain shot through his right side as Pixyglitter kicked him on the flank.

The stallion pulled hard on the quick-release, freeing himself. He managed to spin about, but had somehow become stuck underneath her. His eyes were opened for a moment before the water stung them shut, and he saw her silhouette with bright sunlight streaming through. He pushed against her and then paddled with his hooves hard. Within another moment that seemed an eternity, he surfaced. Fresh air was sweet, but it caused a coughing and sputtering that lasted for a minute or so. The sound of laughter rang in Cloud Blazer's ears from the shore.

"Are you guys okay?" Sweetie Belle asked as their coughing subsided. "I'm sorry I laughed, but-" she was interrupted by another guffaw.

Cloud Blazer cleared his eyes and looked at Pixyglitter. She was nearly facing him, as soaked as he was. When his eyes met the expression on her face, he began an infectious laughter that she shared as well. Her mane was standing almost straight up.

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle called from the shore, "Cloud Blazer! I think you guys should practice some flying before working on the landing anymore. You've got it down!"

"Anything broken?" he asked Pixyglitter when they’d recovered from their jovial fit.

She shook her head, turning to face him when he spoke, "You?"

"No," he replied, but his back did hurt where she'd kicked him.

Pixyglitter's mouth turned upward in an almost fiendish grin.

"I think your friend needs a hug," she whispered to Cloud Blazer.

"I couldn't agree more," he returned a smile that he knew she couldn't see. "This way," he added as he began paddling to shore.

"I know," she replied. "She's making plenty of noise."

It didn't take them long to get back onto dry ground. Sweetie Belle had fallen to the earth, still laughing. She didn't see it coming until they were on her.

"We're so glad you're here to help!" Cloud Blazer said as he practically jumped on her.

Sweetie Belle shrieked and tried to crawl away, but Pixyglitter found a hoof and then grabbed her up. The pair smothered her until the three were equally well soaked. Satisfied at their result, Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter let Sweetie Belle up, and the three laughed about it as the afternoon wore away.

This worked another kind of magic. Cloud Blazer had never seen Pixyglitter laugh before, at least not so purely. It was another sign to him that her soul was mending, that perhaps she would be okay in time. He'd been wrong before. This was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

32 - Glory, Part 5 of 6

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Duster maintained his high altitude with the rest of the attack force, some nineteen-thousand strong by the estimates he'd heard. A quick count of the formations confirmed that this number had to be close. Some high wispy clouds aside, the sky was otherwise clear as yielded to day; Princess Flurry Heart’s dutiful attention to the solar cycle was impeccable. The weather was still being left to its own whims. There was a slight briskness to the air, a harbinger of the changing seasons.

"Stop that!" Jewel scolded him.

"Sorry.”

They'd previously had an argument about his tendency to push against her back when they flew tandem. He didn't realize he was doing it until she pointed it out, but it was a difficult habit to break.

"Can it!" Locknload ordered.

"Platoon, on me!" Lieutenant Clyde called back to them.

Duster banked with the formation, following the leaders ahead of them. Before he'd enlisted, the stallion had dreamed of this day, storming the capital to reclaim their seat of power in Equestria. The taste of actual combat had somewhat changed his perspective. He tended to instead dream of returning home and such simple things. Of glorious battle, he had become much more wary.

The city itself didn't look at all like he'd imagined it. Growing up, he had heard it described by his father in rich detail: tall stone towers, the great drawbridge, gardens, and terraces beyond counting. It was mostly blackened rubble from fires that had raged through the city after it was evacuated. Some of the towers still stood tall, but the lower levels were charred and burnt. It was a haunting sight, to be sure.

Duster heard whispers and gasps rippling through the other soldiers, and he soon saw the reason. Timberwolves were flooding out of structures and into the streets. The sound of some explosions finally reached them. Within a minute, the flares were seen. It was the signal for the attack to begin in earnest, as the advanced guard had already landed.

"EUP soldiers!" Captain Scootaloo cried out. "Do not stop your attack until the city is ours. Today we retake Canterlot!"

A roar of approval rang back from thousands of voices.

"Sound the charge!" Major Skyflame roared, wheeling back around to face the city.

Buglers blasted, and it began. Duster followed in formation with his squad now speeding, down, down, down! His goggles protected his eyes, but the wind rushed in his ears like the sound of a mighty waterfall. Magical fire began coming from the city, cutting down several teams, but the formation didn't break.

"Return fire!" officers began shouting.

The unicorns let their magic fly in deadly bolts back, exploding on contact with whatever targets they could find. Stone split, sending showers of pebbles flying this way and that, and clouds of dust came up in the wake of the destruction. This effectively blinded the changelings for the moment. It was enough.

Regiment after regiment flew over the causeways, which were only passable for the dead timberwolves inside, and as they passed, their unicorns let out fiery magical attacks. Within seconds the flames engulfed the passage, effectively cutting off any land retreat or reinforcements. Duster followed his formation to land near this position. Their regiment, along with two regiments of new recruits were to hold this while a cloud with the rest of the force hit from the other side and the city was secured.

The clattering of hooves against stone rang across the morning as a third of their force put down there. Duster was proud of his own landing. He set Jewel down, pulled the release and dropped next to her in record time and softness.

"Contact right!" Locknload shouted, and a hundred unicorns began launching magical attacks in that direction.

Timberwolves lunged viciously at anypony they could find. The force that landed, some six-thousand in all, began pushing against them immediately. Chaos threatened to overtake the moment, but the ponies were well organized. More death rained down from the divisions that were still airborne, and it gave the ground forces enough time to get a solid defensive line formed. They were able to push back with magic, arrows, and spears until they had secured the area. Half of the force continued on into the city as planned. All Duster could do now was wait. He winced as he was slapped on the back.

"Nice landing," Jewel said to him.

"It certainly was delicate," Locknload teased. "She's a soldier, not a princess."

Gunnysack snorted.

Rolling Thunder added, "Come on, a fine landing is nothing to sneer at. What good would any of you be with a twisted ankle?"

Loud echoing explosions silenced everypony. One of the taller buildings collapsed. Time seemed to slow, allowing this moment to be experienced as each stone fell, smashing into whatever lay below. It came mostly straight down, but some of the upper spire actually fell from the cliff on which the city was positioned. Fortunately, nothing of importance was likely at the bottom.

"By Celestia...“ Quickbeam said vacantly.

Closer explosions came from somewhere to their left, and the sounds of battle became much closer. Timberwolves had apparently broken through and were trying to push the flank and hit the rear. A bugler sounded the charge, and Duster vaulted forward with the rest of them, his heart pounding the rhythm of the battle. Seeing a changeling fly out from the horde, he raised his crossbow and fired. His bolt struck it in the chest as magic burned into its body; it fell.

They continued pressing toward the sounds of the enemy. They met the timberwolves near what must have been a park. Duster nearly tripped over a blackened stone bench. It wasn't long before he was in the fray. Locknload's squad unleashed a rage that they'd been saving for this moment, and Duster was no exception. The nine of them were in perfect fighting form, making short work of any timberwolf that strayed too close to them.

An order came down the line, commanding their regiment to push into the city on the left along with one of the regiments of new recruits. A bugler sounded the charge. They smashed into even more timberwolves. As they were drawn into the buildings, their line moved around the obstacles as needed. They had just reached the first street, cutting their way though the enemy when Moonsliver started shouting.

"Up! Up! Look out for the-"

Duster glanced over just in time to see a lethal bolt of magic strike her full in the face, burning its way into her head. It was the first of many that rained down around them. Moonsliver’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

"Locknload!" Lieutenant Clyde yelled. "Get your squad topside and take out those changelings!"

"You heard him!" Locknload yelled. "Let's go! Quickbeam, you carry me!”

Duster swallowed any emotions about the fallen comrade, turned and found Jewel. He ran up to her and connected the harness, making it into the air with his squad. A nearby building provided a perfect vantage point, and as soon as he'd dropped off Jewel, incoming fire compelled him to drop straight down. He landed hard, feeling the shock of impact shoot up his legs. Locknload and Jewel immediately began firing on the changelings. The others were loosing bolts from their crossbows. After a brief but fierce exchange, the snipers were down.

"Nice shooting," Locknload complimented Jewel.

Duster turned and noticed Quickbeam was sitting behind them, completely silent. This was so uncharacteristic that something must have been wrong with him.

"Are you hurt?” Duster asked.

"Targets on our right! Open fire," Locknload shouted.

Duster drew close to Quickbeam; he could see something that resembled hopelessness on his face.

"She's dead," Quickbeam finally said. "Moonsliver was... I was her pilot and I didn't keep her safe."

Something exploded down below, causing Locknload and the others to cheer.

"I know," Duster said. "I saw. We don't have time for this right now. We have to keep moving if-"

Duster didn't get to finish. A timberwolf leapt onto Quickbeam from behind. Duster hit it square in the face, but there were more, many more.

"Contact rear!" Duster shouted.

Quickbeam howled as the timberwolves tore at him, their claws raking across armor and into flesh. Duster jumped forward and kicked at them, but realized a moment later that there were simply too many. Leaping onto one of them, he kicked hard and took flight. He was out of their reach just in time to see the rest of the squad surrounded and falling back to the edge of the roof. Duster wheeled back toward them just as they all jumped from the top of the building. There were only seconds now. The other pegasi caught their passengers, but Duster was farther away. He pressed hard, reaching Jewel in time to connect and pull up before they hit the ground.

"Nice catch!" she yelled.

An empty feeling seemed to consume the thrill of the maneuver he'd just accomplished. Duster searched the sky for the rest of the squad, but he couldn't find them. Turning back to the fighting line, he was able to spot their platoon. Lieutenant Clyde had positioned them in a perfect spot to hold the flank. He flew down and landed.

"Private, report!" Clyde said to Duster.

Unhooking from Jewel, he replied, "Sir, the snipers are taken care of, but we got separated from our squad. Some of the stick-dogs found us on the roof."

Looking back, Duster saw an entire airborne company arrive and lay waste to everything on that very roof that they had just left. Smoke rose from all around, most notably the fire they had set at the causeway. The rest of Locknload's squad flew between some buildings, fairly low, and came in for a landing.

"Oh, no; I'd hoped you two had splatted for sure," Gunnysack talked down at Duster.

"Good to see you too," Jewel shot back.

"Hey, it's nothing personal, but I could live with you dying if it meant getting rid of that one.”

Duster rolled his eyes. He didn't want to deal with Gunnysack just then. Rolling Thunder, the crystal stallion’s pilot, pulled his quick-release and dropped his passenger from about a two yards up; he hit the ground hard.

"What's the matter with you?" Gunnysack yelled.

"Oh, sorry, I was trying to drop you on Duster. I thought you wouldn't mind being sacrificed to take him out."

Jewel giggled.

"Where's Locknload?" Duster asked.

The others all looked around.

Rolling Thunder's face flushed, "Quickbeam wasn't... he was supposed to catch him."

Duster felt sick. The air ionized and a burst of magic erupted in front of them as Locknload materialized out of thin air.

"Sergeant!" Rolling Thunder said. "We're glad to see you."

"Can it!" Locknload replied, gruff as ever. "Lieutenant," he said, getting Clyde's attention.

"Report, Sergeant."

“I made contact with Major Skyflame. We are to hold this position. All enemy positions are folding; the city is ours."

A shiver of excitement ran through Duster, but it was stolen away by the hollowness he felt at the absence of two more friends.

32 - Glory, Part 6 of 6

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Scootaloo was on top of the world. Report after report kept coming in about crumbling changeling positions in the city. The EUP forces had eliminated the timberwolves from Canterlot and taken twenty changelings prisoner. Casualties had been fairly light at only twelve percent dead and almost twice as many wounded.

"Not a bad day's work," Charging Lance observed.

Scootaloo grinned, "Not bad at all."

The two of them were positioned on top of one of the tall towers that remained. The battle was effectively over, but there was much more work to do. In their planning of the mission, Flittergear had suggested that they deepen and widen the causeways to make a similar crossing more difficult. Once the defenses were shored up, the rebuilding could begin in earnest.

"Hey," Sparklefly's voice hailed from above as she came in for a landing.

"Your team did a fine job," Charging Lance said. “You had the castle secured far faster than we expected.”

“Yeah they did,” Sparklefly said with a grin. "Is everything as good as it looks?"

"You bet it is," Scootaloo said. "We've got the city. We won!“

“We will have to hold it.”

"Not to mention rebuild," Charging Lance added.

A scout flew up to them, "Sirs! Prince Shining Armor has arrived and is requesting the presence of the Taskforce in the throne room. That is all."

The scout flew away without awaiting a response.

"The prince is here?" Scootaloo was surprised by the alacrity of his arrival.

"So it would seem," Charging Lance said. "We'd best not keep him waiting. I'll find the others. Why don't you two go on ahead."

"Right!" Scootaloo agreed.

She and Sparklefly quickly found the stairs and made their way through the streets of the newly retaken capital city of Equestria. There were soldiers everywhere, which made the city feel alive, but in an eerie kind of way. Scootaloo always had remembered Canterlot as a bright and beautiful place. The militaristic atmosphere wasn't very becoming.

“What shape is the castle in?” Scootaloo asked.

“It’s a bit worse for the wear, but nothing that can’t be fixed,” she replied. “I’d have thought they’d have used it for a stronghold, but it was hardly even occupied.”

It was only a few city blocks from where they had been to the castle. It was still quite a sight, even burned as the lower levels now were. It dwarfed most of the other structures in the city and was made entirely of stone. The great doors had been shattered when they had lost the city, and they still hung open, half off their hinges. The pair made their way unimpeded past guards and soldiers at every turn, up several flights of stairs and down several corridors before reaching the throne room. They were permitted entry.

The atmosphere inside was as positive as in the rest of the city. Prince Shining Armor stood near the great thrones, with two ever-vigilant guards keeping watch. There were a number of officials milling about. Scootaloo was surprised that the palace was as undamaged as it was. Perhaps the changelings had intended a use for it after the war.

Sparklefly and Scootaloo strode down the long room, past the massive stained glass windows on either side that told the history of Equestria. The guards stopped the pair at the bottom of the steps; Digger was on duty.

"You look tired," she said to him.

Digger smiled, “That figures; long day, but it's good to be home."

The prince nodded at the pair of newcomers and addressed the others, “Please give us the room. I need to speak with my Taskforce.”

He looked at them expectantly.

“The others are on their way,” Sparklefly volunteered.

He seemed satisfied with the response and sat silently as the throne-room was cleared. The ornate, oversized doors were shut as the last of the group exited.

“I have to say,” the prince began, “I am quite pleased with...” he stopped short.

"What are you doing?" Digger yelled.

The other guard dropped into a defensive stance, spear poised to strike.

Scootaloo took a half step backward and turned to Sparklefly, who was glowing green with magical energy. Before she had time to process what she was seeing, the one guard leapt onto her and a blast of green changeling magic shot straight through him and impacted into the stairs, peppering everyone with debris. A second blast erupted just as Digger leapt in the way. The magic was absorbed by his body, and then exploded outward, vaporizing him instantly. The shockwave hit Scootaloo along with a shower of debris from the split stone staircase. She was thrown backwards, hitting the wall and falling to the ground.

Scootaloo struggled to stand and unlock her crossbow. Her mind was racing to understand what was happening. It wasn’t Sparklefly; she had been replaced by a changeling.

Prince Shining Armor thundered down the stairs toward the enemy, only to meet another powerful blast of magic that enveloped him. The female assailant laughed, and that was when Scootaloo recognized Chrysalis, the changeling queen.

The throne-room doors flew open, and Chrysalis spun on her hooves and unleashed more lethal magic, crying out in a hateful fury and cutting the guards down where they stood.

Scootaloo finally succeeded in loading her crossbow and raised it to fire. The enemy matriarch was turning toward her with murderous intent in her eyes. As the pair unleashed their hostilities, a flash of red magical light blinded Scootaloo. Her arrow clattered off of the shield and fell to the floor. The incoming magic was absorbed by the barrier.

Scootaloo was trapped. Despair was about to grip her at the murder of the prince when the air cleared, revealing that another red magical shield had protected him. It dissipated, and anger flashed across his face. His eyes glowed red with magic as he returned fire. The changeling queen darted to the side, and shattered stone sprayed through the air.

"You've grown stronger since we last met," Chrysalis hissed at him as she unleashed frost magic.

The prince teleported to the other side of the room and glowered, “You'll be lucky if I decide not to kill you.”

It seemed so strange to hear him say that. Scootaloo had never seen him so enraged in her life.

Chrysalis vaulted into the air as the prince blasted away with a barrage of concussion energy, which caused small explosions everywhere it struck.

"Oh, and I thought it was going to be a happy marriage," the changeling queen taunted him from above. "Till death do us part and all that."

The princes eyes flashed red with magic, "You first!”

The air ionized as he teleported, appearing above her and kicking hard. She ducked and he caught her body instead of her face. She spun as she fell, letting out a force wave and throwing him to the wall. Shining Armor telekinetically controlled a tapestry that came from behind and began wrapping her up in it as he hit the ground. It wound tighter and tighter, squeezing the air from her lungs. Scootaloo heard a scream, and then green fire incinerated the drapery. A wave of heat flooded the room. If Scootaloo could just get out...

The prince leapt aside as Luna’s throne was hurled at him, and he fired magical darts at Chrysalis in return. The queen began spewing fire throughout the room, leaving no place for the prince to run. He let out a shout, and a blast of red magic sent a flurry of snow on a strong wind that consumed the fire. It was so violent that the queen was thrown against the stairs. Steam filled the room.

Chrysalis leapt up and unleashed raw energy. The prince returned fire and their beams of power locked together with a violent electrical hissing. The queen growled with rage as she poured everything she had into the attack. The prince let out a battle-cry so frighting that it stole the warmth from Scootaloo’s blood. The energy between combatants exploded outward, throwing the changeling queen back as all of the stained glass windows shattered. Even through the shield, Scootaloo could feel the electricity in the air.

The prince stood his ground, unmoved by the explosion, but his royal robes were shredded by the blast, revealing an ornamental talisman around the prince’s neck. It was an onyx triangle or shield with a red inset stone and the form of an alicorn above the shield. There were red jewels set in the wings, and it bore red eyes. It looked familiar.

On the other side of the room, Scootaloo saw something she didn’t expect. The changeling queen scrambled back onto her hooves, her eyes wide and her breaths fast. Chrysalis was afraid. She scrambled to one of the windows and took flight in an attempt to escape.

"No!" Shining Armor roared, his magic aura gripping her tail and stopping her in mid air. "I didn't say you could leave!" his voice boomed like thunder.

He pulled her back into the throne room and slammed her into the floor. She was dazed, and the glow of magic was in her eyes. Debris struck the prince. He turned back to face her, telekinetically tossing her like a rag doll. Scootaloo lost count of how many times he threw her against the walls before he slammed her into the floor again. He let out a savage cry and jumped on top of the queen, striking her repeatedly with his bare hooves before gripping tightly around her throat, choking the life from her. The queen’s defenses were growing more feeble by the second.

The barrier that protected Scootaloo flickered and then failed. She already felt stiff from being thrown against the wall. She charged toward the pair, locked in combat that was about to become a death struggle. She had only one option.

"Don't do it!" she yelled.

Shining Armor flinched as if he heard her, but he didn't stop. A blind rage consumed his visage. Scootaloo had seen it many times; it was blood-lust, an expression of lethal intent.

"Don't kill her!" the mare pleaded desperately, her voice cracking. She had to think of some way to convince him, "We need her alive to end the war! Dead, she's a martyr!"

The prince flinched again, and slowly relaxed his shoulders, the red magical light leaving him for the moment. The defeated queen slumped to the floor. She was still breathing. Guards began arriving through the windows and opened doors. Each of them stood with a stunned expression, as if not sure what to do.

The other members of the Taskforce arrived, each with shock on their faces. Scootaloo could hear sounds of fighting from the hallway, but whatever action was happening there was quickly growing quiet.

"Report," Shining Armor demanded.

"Sir," one of the guards spoke, "A changeling contingent had infiltrated our attack force, and they are assaulting the palace. The situation is under control. We came to make sure you were safe.“

The prince stood above his defeated nemesis and glowed red with magic once again, but instead of a destructive spell, it engulfed Queen Chrysalis for a few moments and then faded away, only the only glow remaining on her horn.

"Her magic has been suppressed. Take her to the dungeon, keep her secure," the prince said through heaving breaths. Turning to Scootaloo, the prince spoke with an icy chill in his voice, "You dare to give me a command?"

His eyes flashed red, and fear filled the mare, “Oops... I... um... I didn't choose my words well. You told us that you wanted her alive. I was afraid that you might kill her in the heat of the moment.”

He stared at her, but then turned and walked away without another word. Scootaloo’s heart was pounding, and she felt somewhat numb all over. It didn't exactly go as planned, but they had captured Queen Chrysalis. She’d expected to feel far more satisfied at this moment than she did. Instead, there was one overwhelmingly disturbing thought consuming Scootaloo as she sat in the rubble that had been the throne room. Where was Sparklefly?

33 - Darkness, Part 1 of 6

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There was a cool dampness. That was the first sensation, or was it the dripping sound? Somewhere, water was dripping occasionally and echoing in the void. Sparklefly didn't know how she’d come to be where she found herself. In fact, she didn't actually know where she was. She felt groggy, almost heavy somehow. Her company had stormed the castle. There was only light resistance from timberwolves. She remembered flashes of green light, and then one of her officers started shouting something. What was it? Everything had gone numb after that.

Panic flooded through her in the darkness.

‘Am I dead? No, that's crazy! If I'm dead, how can I think about being dead.’ Sparklefly slowed her breathing to remain calm.

She opened her eye but couldn’t see anything. Feeling about in the blackness might give some idea as to her location. Stone and rock all around. Cold. A foul smell, like a must latrine. The quiet clinking of metal danced in her ears as she discovered the chain. She followed it up toward an iron band around her throat. So she was a prisoner, but what had become of the others? The air was cool but unmoving. She was likely in a cave or similar underground formation. The moisture in the air made her think it was likely a natural occurrence. Tugging at the chain, the other end was discovered close by, embedded in solid rock.

Somepony coughed, and it echoed through the chamber. Sparklefly's ears perked up and she listened. It could be coming from anywhere the way it bounced about. Gripping tightly, she pulled against the chain, testing its strength. Aside from a slight clinking, it made no sound as she pulled, nor did it budge. She attempted to stand, only to discover that the metal tether was too short to allow it. The links were thick, making it quite heavy in spite of it’s lack of length. There was nothing within reach but hard surfaces.

A wave of frustration overtook her, and Sparklefly pulled against her iron restraint. Then she moved to the other side and tried again. She worked at it one way and then another until she had soaked herself in sweat. Whether minutes or hours had passed was anypony's guess. Exhausted, she laid down on the hard stone floor. Left with only her thoughts, it took a while to catch her breath. Once or twice she found herself lost in a daydream, but she wasn't sure if she had actually been sleeping during those times. The silence was broken once, and Sparklefly could hear, not to mention feel, a rumbling somewhere far away. Whatever it was, the floor of the cave had trembled. Afterward, Sparklefly began counting to try to keep some sense of time. After keeping seconds in her head for what she guessed was about an hour, she started counting out-loud, softly.

The soft clinking of chains made her stop and listen. It sounded as if somepony were nearby and trying to move. Unsure how to feel about this, Sparklefly knew only one thing for certain: she was defenseless.

"Hello?" a thin, weak voice spoke in the darkness; it was a stallion.

Sparklefly thought it sounded familiar somehow, but she couldn't place it.

"That's what I thought," the voice sounded disappointed. "Dreams come, dreams go."

Sparklefly considered her options. There was a strong possibility that the changelings were playing some sort of game to get information from her. That being the case, whatever she said had to stay away from anything sensitive to the war effort. The other had grown silent again.

"Are you still there?" Sparklefly said into the darkness.

A quick movement was betrayed by the noise of the chains.

"Who are you?" the voice called out. "Don't hurt me!"

"I couldn't even if I knew where you were," Sparklefly said, shaking her own chain.

"You're like me?" the voice said, hopefully. It sounded so familiar.

"I'm a prisoner," Sparklefly replied, unsure what else to say. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"When earlier? How long have you been here? W-What is your name? Have we lost the war?" the stallion spoke quickly.

"Calm down," she replied. "I think it's been a few hours, but I'm not really sure. I was in the middle of a battle and then woke up here."

“What battle?”

Still uncertain, she decided to evade, "It's a small detail; we'll figure a way out of here."

There was silence for a moment, and then the stallion said, "Sparklefly?"

She wasn't sure how to respond, and she hesitated. How had he known her name? Was he one of her captors?

"It's me, Nitro," he said.

"Nitro," Sparklefly said blankly into the darkness. She hadn't thought of him in months. They hadn't even known where to look for him when they realized he'd been replaced.

"There's changelings in Cloudsdale!" Nitro said frantically, "We have to warn everypony."

"They know," she replied. Surely it was safe enough to talk about this much. "Don't worry, they were found out months ago."

"What about Nimba, have you seen her? Is she well?"

Sparklefly took a breath, feeling uneasy, "I'm sorry... your sister was killed in action."

He let out a sound of despair, somewhere between a groan and a sigh. He choked a moment before clearing his throat and asking, "How?"

"The changeling that replaced you came with us on our mission into the Everfree Forest. It led us into an ambush where she was killed.”

The chain fell and rested, and Nitro let out a sigh of desperate exasperation. Unsure what to say further, they sat there in silence for a while.

"Please tell me," Nitro said. "Tell me everything."

Although she didn't believe it was a trick, there still might be enemies listening. The fact that Nitro was still alive meant that they'd been feeding him, and that meant that they were likely to return. Beginning when she had last seen him in Cloudsdale, Sparklefly relayed everything that didn't seem sensitive information. Telling the story made her appreciate just how much they'd all been through since winter had given way to spring. They'd found the secret of the timberwolves in the forest, survived a siege in Ponyville, helped Applejack become mayor, trained a new group of cadets, tried to stop a coup, hunted Queen Chrysalis, and launched an attack to retake Canterlot. All in all, a busy spring and summer.

“Two months...” he sounded somewhat in shock.

"What about you?" Sparklefly asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I mean, there isn't much to tell. I woke up once on the flight here, wherever here is. That's when I saw the changelings were behind it, but they knocked me out. When I came to, I was chained up in the dark, and I've been here ever since. They bring food and water, usually when I'm sleeping. I see them sometimes, if I lay very still. They use magic to light the way. We're in a cave."

That wasn't any new information. The cool dampness of the air had already told her as much.

"Did you see any of the cave?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "It's really big; more like a cavern. I've never seen anything like it."

Sparklefly tried to think where there might be a large cavern that the changelings could be using. There were the caves in Smokey Mountain, but she didn't think any of them were as deep as this. Maybe Foal Mountain had some caves. Those two ranges were the closest, but either would have likely been seen by EUP forces. But then again, the ranges are large, and it would probably be easy to dodge any patrols.

The mare by habit tried to scratch at her eye patch, only to discover that it was missing. Somehow, that made her feel more vulnerable than being chained up in the dark.

"Please don't stop talking," Nitro said, sounding a little frantic.

"Sorry," Sparklefly replied, "I was thinking."

He sighed with relief, "It's okay. I was just afraid I'd been dreaming and you weren't really there."

"Believe me, I'm here," she replied.

There had to be some way to get free, but she had to keep Nitro occupied so she could think.

"Tell me more about you," she said.

"I've been here. I thought I was finally going crazy when you arrived."

"No, I mean, tell me about before you signed up. Where are you from?"

"Oh, that," Nitro answered. "We grew up in Cloudsdale, Nimba and me. We always loved flying, but I think my real gift was for getting into trouble. Our mother died giving birth to us, so it was just the two of us and dad. He worked at the weather factory. He would always come home sweaty and exhausted, so when we were big enough, Nimba and I pretty much took care of the house and meals and that stuff."

He kept talking and Sparklefly tried to think while still listening. This proved as difficult as one would expect. She ended up only catching most of what he said. Whenever he paused, she made sure to make some kind of sound so he'd know she was still there. He seemed comforted by this.

There had to be something she could do to escape, but as long as she remained chained, she wasn't going anywhere. She had nothing to pick the lock with, and even if she did, the skill eluded her. The chains were thick, but there might be a chance of wearing them away against the rock. This didn't seem likely, but without another plan, she decided to try it. Taking the middle of the chain, she began slowly grinding it against the stone floor, pressing down on it as hard as she could. It made a quiet scraping sound.

"One time, while dad was at work, Nimba wanted to see the edge of the city. So, we went toward the east side of town, and on our way, we found a group of kids that were also skipping school. They came with us, and one of them had this rainbow ball that they were playing with. Nimba wanted it, and I tried to get them to give it to us, but they wouldn't, so I kicked it off the edge of the city. None of us were big enough to fly down after it, and they got so mad at us! They chased us almost all the way back home before they caught us. We ended up in a brawl, the two of us against five of them, mind you, and none of us were older than ten. Anyway, the fight happened to start in a market by a tomato vendor. I don't even know how many tomatoes we ended up smashing before the air marshals got there and broke up the fight. We got in so much trouble!"

Sparklefly laughed quietly at this. Her own childhood hadn't really seen that kind of excitement. A grumbling stomach, ignored by Nitro as he kept talking, signaled the passage of time, but just how much would have been anypony's guess. Sparklefly decided that it must be near evening now. It was a comforting thought, even though it probably shouldn't have been. The longer they spent down here, the less likely it would be that they'd be rescued.

That, of course, followed the assumption that her absence had been noticed. If she'd been replaced by a changeling... she shook her head and continued scraping the chosen link of the chain against the stone floor of the cave. Those kinds of thoughts would only distract her. There was nothing she could do about an if. The chain was in front of her, so that is what she needed to focus on. Sparklefly hadn't noticed at first when Nitro stopped speaking, but she now realized that the dull sound of metal on stone was the only noise heard. It sounded loud, causing her to pause.

"You don't have to stop," Nitro said. "But I should tell you; they'll just replace it when you're sleeping."

"Maybe," Sparklefly replied as she continued, "but at the moment, I don't have any other ideas."

"How far have you ground it down?"

Sparklefly lifted her chain and felt the piece she'd been working on. There were some light scratches in it, but it felt mostly intact still.

"Nowhere yet," she replied, a little despondently.

"Keep at it; if nothing else, it'll make you feel better."

Sparklefly did keep working on it in the silence that followed. She got a rhythm going that seemed to lull Nitro to sleep. After what must have been an hour or two, Sparklefly's front legs were aching, forcing her to rest. She didn't realize how tired she had become, but sleep took her before long.

33 - Darkness, Part 2 of 6

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Disorientation was the most common sign that she had awakened, as the complete darkness made it impossible to tell if eyes were open or shut. The other conditions in the cave were equally unchanged.

"Good morning," Nitro said softly; if it were possible, he sounded worse.

"How long did I sleep?"

"I don't know. I can't have been awake for more than an hour."

Sparklefly was suddenly concerned that the changelings had come while she was unconscious and replaced her chain, but a quick check quieted those fears. Her progress was slow, but meaningful. At this rate she might be able to work through it in a few days. A sudden urge reminded Sparklefly that she hadn't been able to relieve herself since she'd been locked up.

"I don't supposed they let you off to find the latrine?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," he replied grimly. "I just picked a spot and always go there. They do clean it up... sometimes."

“Lovely.”

The familiar sharp discomfort in her abdomen signaled that there wasn't a moment to lose. Sparklefly felt around for the roughest spot on the floor, which was fortunately slightly uphill from the smoothest patch. The short, thick chain didn't reach far in any direction, so the side with the smooth face would have to do. Getting into a position that wouldn't make a mess on herself was rather difficult, but she managed.

"I can't tell you how glad I am just to have somepony to talk to," Nitro interrupted her contemplation.

She ignored him, hoping he would be quiet.

"It's pretty horrible down here," he continued. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll bring us water soon.”

Sparklefly bit her lip as she tried to concentrate. Nothing about the situation felt comfortable or natural enough to let her biological process flow easily. The stallion’s inconsiderate interruptions were the worst of it.

“They also bring-"

"Please stop!" she said a little more harshly than she had intended. "I just need a minute.”

"Sorry!" he replied, and then became silent.

Sparklefly focused on the agony in her bladder, ignoring the iron collar that was chafing her neck, now threatening to choke her. The pain becoming unbearable, she was finally able to relax in the appropriate manner, and sweet relief replaced the frantic desperation she had felt as the sound of a small stream of water echoed quietly through the cavern. There was no way of knowing how long it had been, but the moment of release may have been the most wondrous bliss she had ever experienced.

When she was finished, Sparklefly moved carefully back to the other side and began grinding her chain on the floor again. Somehow, the experience was far less embarrassing than she'd thought it might be. Perhaps that was due to living in close quarters with so many stallions, or perhaps it was the absolute darkness. In any case being locked up was again taking the forefront of her attention.

"You don't have to be quiet now. I'm sorry I snapped at you," Sparklefly said into the darkness.

"I didn't mean to be inconsiderate," Nitro replied. “They interrogated me once or twice early on, but since then... I haven’t talked to anypony else at all.”

The mare felt like a total heel for her outburst, but decided they’d both be best served to just move on.

"It's a small matter; forget it."

Sporadic talking filled what must have been several hours as she worked on the chain. The stone floor was hard against her body, which required shifting positions fairly frequently. The utter blackness seemed even deeper now, if it were possible; it could almost be felt pressing in on all sides. Sparklefly had to slow her efforts to keep from sweating. She was already thirsty, and there was no water. The last thing she needed was to dehydrate herself even more quickly by overexertion.

"How often did you say they usually bring water?" Sparklefly asked.

A minute passed in silence.

“Nitro?”

A weak answer came, "They're not that consistent, but I don't remember it ever being this long before."

"Are you alright?"

He sighed, “Not feeling well..."

It made sense. The stallion had been down here for months. He'd likely been underfed and only given enough drink to keep him alive. He would naturally succumb faster than she would.

"Hey, don't you go dying on me," Sparklefly said, "Help is on the way, and we're going to be rescued. I had a whole division with me, and they'll be looking for us by now." The concern that he might be a changeling spy or that they might be listening still threatened, so she decided that half-truths would be the best option. She had to do something to lift his spirits.

"A whole division?" his voice sounded thin.

“Yes, five-thousand ponies,” she replied. "So you hang on just a little bit longer, soldier."

"Yes... ma'am..."

Within moments, the pattern of his breathing signaled that Nitro had fallen asleep again. Sparklefly pressed down on the chain with as much weight as she could as she scraped it now in hopes that it would grind faster. She slipped, grating herself against the floor instead and chipped a hoof. Pain from the little fall throbbed up her leg, but she couldn't stop, not yet. She might be able to find water if she could just get free.

Indistinct shouting could echoed through the cavern, and it was joined by several other voices all mixing together. Sparklefly stopped to listen for a few seconds, but the noise was so filled with reverberations that any message contained in the sound was obliterated. This did confirm to Sparklefly that most, if not all, of her company had been captured. They were likely all chained up in this place. That meant that they had to still be somewhere near Canterlot. It also meant that she had her work cut out for her if they were all not being given water. Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth for lack of moisture. She redoubled her efforts against the hardened steel.

Minutes stretched into hours. Grind, grind, grind, grind... Sparklefly became lost in thought as she carried out the repetitious action. She’d been unable to get Nitro to talk to her for a long enough stretch of time that she was beginning to get rather worried for him. Her own strength eventually gave way to exhaustion, forcing her to rest. Without food or water, her energy seemed to spend faster every time she made effort of any kind. Sleep would help, but she didn’t have time. She had to save Nitro.

It was the sound that first awakened Sparklefly, but the light was the first thing she took note of. Two dim magical lights moved toward her. Uncertain, she lay still and hoped water was being brought to them.

“They’re coming,” Nitro whispered weakly.

Voices drew closer, the pattern of their speech containing a hissing quality that she recognized, making her feel in danger. Three changelings approached, two of them with faint green magical light emanating from their horns. It was enough to hurt her eyes nonetheless. A heaviness knotted up the mare’s stomach as she held her breath. The third changeling had a broken horn.

Dread filled Sparklefly as the changelings stopped over her. Lungs burned for air, and Sparklefly had little choice but to give in to that base need. Something akin to a low growling hiss escaped the one with the broken horn. He was laughing.

“Well, well,” his voice was deafening as it echoed through the cave. “I never thought our paths would cross again.”

The broken-horned changeling leaned down close to her, the dim light making him almost silhouetted, but even so she recognized him.

“Ash Eater,” the name escaped her as an almost involuntary whisper.

“You remember,” an evil grin crossed his face. “If I recall, you were less than cooperative the last time I had you for questioning.”

Since he already knew she was awake, she slowly sat up to face them more easily.

“Is she the one you told us about?” one of the others asked.

“She is.”

Sparklefly’s heart was racing. It was all she could do to just keep breathing. Ash Eater never took his eyes off of her. She could just see them glinting in the darkness.

“I took the liberty of making sure you and Nitro got to see each other again, so to speak. I hope you’ve been able to catch up while you waited.”

A chill ran through the mare. It occurred to her that she should have expected she’d been deliberately placed beside her former comrade. Her thoughts turned to her progress on the chain, and she made every effort to not draw attention to it. The other two changelings took small bottles, giving nature’s life-restoring elixir to the pair. In truth, it was hardly a sip of water, but it revitalized the mare somewhat. She could only hope it did more for Nitro.

“I suppose I’d best tell you the rules,” Ash Eater spoke evenly. “It seems your form was needed, so I won’t be allowed to make any new scars on you, which is a pity. I’d love to take an eye, or maybe an ear for a trophy, but don’t worry. There is quite a lot of pain you can endure without it leaving a visible mark. How much pain will depend on you. I ask questions; you answer, truthfully this time. Shall we begin?”

The mare’s mouth still felt dry though not from thirst; she decided her best response was to remain silent.

“Tell me something I don’t know about the EUP’s defenses.”

She wasn’t sure what to do. He was going to hurt her, of that Sparklefly had no doubt. On the other hoof, she didn’t want to betray anything useful to him. If she lied, it would likely just anger him more rapidly than her silence. Nitro was totally quiet now, but she couldn’t see him as the others stood in the way.

“No smart replies today?”

She returned his stare. Ash Eater sighed and nodded at the other two. They walked to either side of the mare, the light from their horns now illuminating the sinister expression on Ash Eater’s face. Each took a turn and kicked her ribs. She took it with a grunt and tried to steel her resolve.

“I know you’ve been assigned to a special detachment. What is your objective?”

She could only wonder how much he actually knew. He wasn’t dumb, but he was likely to play as if he were in hopes that she’d slip. Her concentration buckled as the pair struck her again in turns. Ash Eater’s eyes were gleaming with delight.

“Why did you attack Dodge Junction, only to abandon the battle after you’d taken the town?”

Another delay prompted a much more vigorous beating from the other two. Sparklefly’s sides ached. She still felt her best option was to cooperate as little as possible and hope he got bored. She noted that this time, he did maintain just enough distance to keep her from trying to head-butt him again.

“You’re a tough mare, aren’t you?” he hissed. “We’ll just have to try something else.”

Ash Eater stood and nodded. The other two changelings walked over and stood over the captive stallion. Nitro made a whimper. One of them struck him in the gut, and a child-like cry escaped, followed by coughing.

Sparklefly felt sick as the two began beating on the stallion in turns as the leader still faced the mare.

“You can make them stop,” he said above the whining cries that Nitro made.

Tears were already flowing at the brutality her friend was suffering. But she couldn’t answer the questions. She couldn’t betray everything she knew and stood for, no matter the cost. Could she live with that? Somehow, she wasn’t sure she’d have to no matter how this played out.

Nitro cried out again, and was then silenced after a blow to the head.

“Enough,” Ash Eater sounded annoyed. “Not even to save a comrade,” he mused. “I wonder how deep that conviction goes.”

Sparklefly’s heart sank, and an uncontrollable chill went through her. The look in his eyes was like an insatiable malicious hunger.

“Grab her hind legs.”

In a flash, the other two obeyed, and though she didn’t think it wise, Sparklefly struggled against them. Fear drove her, but the pair pulled as Ash Eater swept her front legs out from under her. She crashed into the stone floor, seeing stars for a moment. Before she could gain any footing, the chain tightened as they drug her backward. Panic took over. Sparklefly struggled wildly and futilely against their grip. Ash Eater sauntered around them, behind her. He ran a hoof across her flank. The iron collar was choking the mare, but she continued thrashing.

Ash Eater stepped on her back and pushed her against the stone, and then his front legs were on either side, holding her wings down. He was careful to not break anything, an effort she did not have the presence of mind to appreciate. She continued to struggle, but she was hardly able to move. Between the other two and the chain, she was practically pulled taught like a rope suspending a piano. She thought her heart would explode for the fury of its pounding, sounding out her fear as a rushing in her ears. She felt his hot breath on her neck.

“You’re not really my type, so I doubt I’ll even enjoy this, but here’s the thing. I will do whatever it takes to make you talk. You think you know pain? I will show you pain. We will explore the darkest depths of suffering. I will break you if that’s what it takes.”

Sparklefly gurgled, her voice cut off by the iron collar. It was still the blind terror driving her. If she could talk, if she could say anything at all, maybe she could buy some time. Ash Eater backed off, and the others relaxed their grip just a little. Sparklefly struggled to breathe.

“What was that?” Ash Eater asked.

She coughed, trying desperately to speak.

“I’ll talk!” she croaked. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

“I’m listening,” he whispered in her ear.

Sparklefly’s mind raced as she was unsure what to say. She had to do something, find some way out of this.

“The EUP is planning an attack,” it was vague, but might buy her a few seconds to weave together a half-truth that satisfied the psychotic changeling and didn’t betray her own kind. “I mean, a new offensive. It starts with retaking Canterlot.”

“Get to something I don’t know; this is your last chance.”

Sparklefly shivered. Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth, almost preventing her from breathing, let alone speaking.

“We’re going to press from the north, retaking everything north of Canterlot and establishing a new perimeter. That’s our next push.”

There was silence for a long moment before Ash Eater sighed.

“You know, all you had to do was follow the rules.”

Sparklefly felt herself tense all over as her blood ran cold.

“I warned you not to lie.”

The other two pulled again from either side and a fresh wave of panic took Sparklefly. She struggled, tensing every muscle in her body, as if by force of will she could overcome the iron collar, chain, and three changelings that had her firmly in their grasp. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t let this happen to her. Ash Eater sniffed at her neck as if savoring the moment. She pawed at the stone in vain, as if she could escape through her own power. The realization flooded through her that there was only one card she had left to play. She grabbed the chain and pulled, giving the collar just enough slack to allow breath to pass.

Sparklefly heard herself cry out, but it was as if she were somepony else, listening to it, “Task-taskforce! We are tracking the queen!”

There was a heavy pause, only broken by the savage pounding of the mare’s heart.

“Go on,” her tormenter whispered in her ear, his weight still on her.

“W-we... we went to Dodge Junction,” she heard herself say, a convulsion running through her body, “looking for, looking for the queen. We saw her and gave chase. That’s why, why we aban... why we...” She took another breath and continued, “After everything is... is harvested, we’re going to abandon the... abandon... farms.”

Sparklefly was shaking uncontrollably. The weight lifted from her, and the other two let go. Realization of what Sparklefly had done filled her mind, and it felt as if something in her heart died. Every muscle was sapped of strength. A hollowness grew in her soul as well that threatened to devour all the happiness she’d ever known. She was a traitor; she had betrayed her friends to save herself. Her body was bruised and sore all over. As if moving of its own accord, her frame curled itself up.

Her attacker returned to face her, the other two by his side.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it? I will return, and I expect you to be more cooperative.”

Nitro gurgled, apparently still alive. Ash Eater paused for a long moment, staring down at the mare before turning from her.

As the three walked away, the wounded form was left in the dark with nothing but her thoughts. She heard a ghastly cry of sorrow echoing through the vast cavern. It took several minutes to realize that Sparklefly herself was the source of it, but she didn’t care.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so anyone who did read Amethyst Nightmare can see just how nearly identical it is to these two parts of this chapter. I expanded on this one a bit to give Nitro as much time as possible (the other character in Amethyst wasn't as involved). Of course, the biggest difference is that this version does not include a rape. The second half of this scene with the interrogation was actually written only a week ago, with the rest having been written in the first draft. After I'd written the rape, I felt pretty bad about it, and I passed it on to my editor to see what she thought. She agreed with me that it was just too dark, even for this story where everyone is dying and suffering. So, I reworked it to only being a threat of rape. So much better, right?

Anyway, so the word count got away from me, but I actually prefer the longer sections. You get a bit more out of them, so... maybe I'll continue that trend as we embark on the final arc of this story. More on that coming up in the rest of this chapter.

33 - Darkness, Part 3 of 6

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Scootaloo sat staring at the scrap of fabric she held in her hooves, her mind wandering as she grappled with everything that had taken place. She sat in the throne-room, which had been somewhat cleaned since the battle, but a breeze pushed through the gaping holes left by the destroyed windows. She was trying to pay attention to the things the Taskforce and Shining Armor were discussing, but a feeling of dread for Sparklefly was foremost on her mind.

The eye patch that Scootaloo now held had been ripped from its band during the prince’s fight with the changeling queen, but it would be salvageable. The mare decided she would try to fix it, though sewing was never something at which she’d been skilled. Somepony had already located a scrap of red fabric, needle, and white thread.

It wouldn’t be pretty, but Scootaloo began the work while the others discussed other battles that had been taking place across Equestria. It seemed that the EUP had fended off attacks from Las Pegasus to Manehattan in the previous few days, and by current reports, no battles were underway.

After cutting the red fabric into a long strip, she folded it in a few times length-wise and began sewing it together. It wasn’t elastic, so she had to cut it in half and sew those ends up so they didn’t unravel. The others had moved on to farm output. Scootaloo finally began attaching the makeshift strap to the beautifully crafted silk that Rarity had made. The repair stitches were crude but strong.

Scootaloo tested them, trying on the eye patch to ensure there was plenty of length in the new strap. She took it of again and looked at her work. A sadness flooded the mare, but not so much that it would cause outward expression. Her gaze fell lazily to the floor of the throne-room, where bits of debris still lay scattered, and shorts ends of threads had fallen as she worked.

The mare found herself caught in a memory from when she’d been the flower-filly at Shining Armor and Cadence’s wedding. That day it was flowers covering the carpet, not debris. A shiver ran up Scootaloo’s spine as the recollection grew. That time, it was Princess Cadence that had been taken by Queen Chrysalis and hidden in...

Scootaloo leapt up and practically yelled, "The caves!"

The rest of the Taskforce and the prince stared at her blankly for a moment. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it sooner, but it would be the perfect place to hide an entire company of prisoners.

"The caves under the city. The last time changelings took prisoners here, that's where they put them," she said.

Pain flashed across Shining Armor's face for a moment, presumably at the memory of Cadence being imprisoned in that same place by the changelings over a decade before.

"It fits," Flittergear said softly.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go rescue Sparklefly!" Pacer said.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for that," Shining Armor said.

Scootaloo felt all hot inside and spoke before thinking, "But your majesty, we can't leave-"

"Silence!" Prince Shining Armor said with thunder in his voice and a red flash though his eyes. "Do not question my orders again."

Scootaloo stood at attention, but anger was building inside. What was it Sparklefly had told her last time? She couldn't remember. She told herself to just be calm.

"With permission," Charging Lance said. "May we appoint somepony to begin SAR operations? There’s no telling how many ponies they have taken down there.”

Still looking at Scootaloo in an almost challenging sort of way, the prince said, "Go ahead."

Charging Lance turned to Major Skyflame, “You have the command. Coordinate with Brax’s divisions. Make sure you send plenty of medics.”

Major Skyflame nodded, and cantered out of the throne room.

"Now that that is seen to," Shining Armor said, “The guards tell me that Queen Chrysalis is awake. I need to talk to her, and I want all of you with me. I don't know how fast rumors are spreading, but it seems that her capture has been as good for us as we hoped. Timberwolves have retreated from every forward position and no attacks have happened since we retook the capitol yesterday morning."

"Maybe they can't control them without her," Masher offered.

Scootaloo tried to focus on this, but worry for Sparklefly was robbing her of the ability to think about anything else.

"Perhaps," Charging Lance agreed.

"Oh, yeah, catch the queen and they're done," Pacer boasted, "We've got this."

"Enough speculating for now," Shining Armor said. "We need to talk to her and see what we can gather. I mean to put this changeling threat down once and for all. We have the queen, but there is much work to be done. We do not stop until every last one of them is dead."

Scootaloo was a little irked to hear him say that, especially since their secondary objective had been to locate the changeling hatchery. She didn’t think he had it in him to commit murder, let alone genocide, despite his declaration to the contrary. He had come close to killing the changeling queen, but it was in the heat of battle. The other members of the Taskforce looked equally uncertain about Shining Armor’s words.

The prince and his guards led the way; there were six of them now at any given time. Additional measures had already been implemented any time anypony went near the monarch. They were being scanned at two different checkpoints. It was infuriating, but understandable considering what had almost happened.

In spite of traveling with the prince, their entire party was scanned before they were permitted entry to the dungeon. It was a round, subterranean stone structure. The hallways went all the way around in rings, with the entrance to the next secure level half-way around the deeper corridor. It took fifteen minutes just to walk into the heart of the prison, and their identities were confirmed at each checkpoint. Scores of guards and a number of portcullises could be used to lock everything down at the first sigh of trouble.

The Canterlot dungeon was the most secure place in Equestria, and that is where Queen Chrysalis sat waiting for them. She looked much less threatening now, chained and defeated. Scootaloo had half expected the same fire of life that she'd noticed before, but their nemesis instead sat placidly.

“I’ve come to ask questions," Prince Shining Armor began. "You will answer."

The changeling snorted, and a narrow grin momentarily flitted across her face.

"What is the nature of your control over the timberwolves?" the prince asked.

She said nothing, but instead stared at Shining Armor, her eyes boring into him like drills.

"Where are Sparklefly and the company that was with her," Scootaloo asked.

Silence was the answer again as the queen continued staring at the prince. Scootaloo exchanged glances with the other members of the Taskforce, but nopony seemed sure what to do if she wouldn't respond.

"Where are the alicorn princesses?" Shining Armor asked.

An eerie, slow laugh escaped the changeling queen. ”I see you haven't made yourself king yet," Chrysalis spoke in a condescending tone. “Pity... Why not?"

The prince tilted his head slightly, "I don't think you understand the situation you're in. I ask; you answer."

"Oh, scary," she mocked, "am I shaking?"

"You should be," the prince replied with daggers of ice in his voice. "We have captured nearly two-thousand of your kind throughout the course of the war. I need you; I don’t need them. I would be more than happy to execute each and every one of them in front of you."

Her confident grin faded, her resolve seeming to waver somewhat as if she cared for the lives of her own. Perhaps they weren't so different after all. Scootaloo exchanged a look with Charging Lance; he also seemed uncomfortable with what the prince had just proposed.

"Caught or killed makes no difference to us," Chrysalis said, her facade again in full force. "We accept our fate as it lands. I would think it is your own lives you should be concerned with. My, that is a lovely amulet you’re wearing. Pity it wasn’t in the Canterlot vault when we claimed the city.“

Scootaloo found that a curious thing to say, given that the prince was again wearing robes that would hide any ornamentation he wore on his neck. She must have been referring to what she’d seen in the battle. It was so familiar...

“Back up a second, what is that supposed to mean?" Pacer asked.

"So your scouts haven't kept you updated? They must not be as much of a threat to us as I had thought. And to think how much effort we’ve made to capture and kill them,“ the queen answered with a smile.

"Just cut to the chase, will you?" Masher sighed.

"Come now, a little anticipation is what makes the chase fun."

"Silence!" the prince roared; his voice boomed and echoed throughout the prison like a thunderclap.

Scootaloo covered her ears and nearly fell down from the shock of it.

"If you won't answer straightly, then it's going to be as I said. We'll be back with one of your subjects in an hour!”

Prince Shining Armor turned to leave, and the Taskforce members scurried along behind him. Scootaloo came last.

Chrysalis yelled after them, “In an hour, I suspect you'll realize you have larger problems to worry about than whether or not I answer!”

Something in the changeling queen's voice sent a chill through Scootaloo. Their party left the prison, coming back out into daylight. The burned but reclaimed capital city was alive with activity. Citizens were already returning to begin repairing and restoring it.

"What do you think?" Shining Armor asked, stopping suddenly.

"She's crazy," Pacer said. "Just trying to get us off balance with all of that talk about bigger problems."

Scootaloo wasn't convinced, but couldn't say why. She was still far too concerned about Sparklefly to think clearly.

"Perhaps," Charging Lance said more thoughtfully, "She may be using head games to work on us. They are gifted at such. What do we know from latest scout reports?"

Flittergear timidly offered, "All timberwolves retreating. Large numbers heading south away from our cities."

"South away from our cities," Masher said. "Assuming they are still under the control of the changelings, what do they gain by going south?"

"Nothing," Pacer said. "All they do is give us time to get ready for whatever they're doing."

Scootaloo snorted, "Which won't do us much good if we think they're not doing anything but retreating."

Pacer looked angry as if he were about to say something, but Charging Lance spoke instead, "I think we need more updated reports. Have they been moving south for two days?"

Flittergear shrugged.

"Find out what they're doing and report to me," Shining Armor said. "I'll be in the throne room."

Shining Armor and his guards walked away, and Scootaloo still wondered at his behavior. Something just didn't seem right about him. Granted, both his wife and sister were missing, probably dead, and he was doing everything he could to hold Equestria together. Those circumstances alone would be enough to push anypony to the edge. However, it wasn't just his attitude; the last time Chrysalis had been in the throne room, she’d overcome even Celestia. The powerful magic that Shining Armor had performed was another thing that seemed familiar somehow. In fact, she knew she had seen that amulet before, if she could just remember where.

"How are you feeling?" Charging Lance broke Scootaloo's thoughts.

"What, me? I'm fine. The medic said I was ‘surprisingly unscathed for being that close to a magical discharge and thrown into a wall.’ I’m fit for duty.”

"So we send scouts now?" Masher said.

"That we do," Charging Lance answered. "West, southwest, south; we need to cover as much ground as we can from south of Baltimare to the San Palomino Desert. I doubt if the-" he paused, and then abruptly yelled, "Catch her!"

Scootaloo turned just in time to see Flittergear falling towards her. She caught her head but fell herself in the attempt. Flittergear started, but seemed disoriented. Charging Lance came close. Scootaloo’s heart was racing from fright.

"Have you eaten anything?" he asked her.

She made a noise, almost like a moan and shook her head.

"Go get me some oats or hay, anything you can find," he ordered Pacer.

"Why, does she have a tummy ache?" he mocked.

"Now!" Charging Lance shot back.

Pacer snorted and trotted away without any further comment.

"What's wrong with her?" Scootaloo asked, still holding the mare.

"She'll be fine," Charging Lance answered. "She has a medical condition and can't maintain her blood sugar very well. Sometimes, if she doesn't eat regularly, it crashes." With deep concern written on his face, he continued, "She told me it isn't life threatening, but it could be, depending on what she is doing when she faints."

"Huh," Masher said, "so that's why she's eating all the time."

"Yes."

Flittergear wasn't that heavy, but it was a relief when Charging Lance lifted her off of Scootaloo. She and Masher followed them into the castle and found that the library was empty.

"Go find Pacer, and let him know we'll make this our base of operations for the time being," Charging Lance ordered.

They didn't take long to find the food, and Flittergear slept until they returned. Scootaloo was amazed that she'd been with them for so long and was still able to be surprised like that. It made her wonder what other secrets might be found with a little digging. Her thoughts quickly returned to worry about Sparklefly.

33 - Darkness, Part 4 of 6

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Beigh felt frantic, but he moved forward in feigned calm. The SAR team had found the entrance to the caverns beneath Canterlot easily enough, but there was no way to tell what awaited them inside. There were only two squads here, and they were waiting for more to arrive before they moved in. He’d heard all kinds of crazy rumors about Queen Chrysalis taking The Hero of Canterlot’s form and attempting to assassinate Prince Shining Armor. They also said that Sparklefly hadn’t been seen since. He shook his head, trying to put it from his mind.

Gathering up as much courage as he could find, Beigh approached the mouth of the cave. It was a gaping maw that looked like it could swallow a dozen ponies at once and still have room to take more. The early sun was on the other side of the city, leaving only shadow-blue light to shine here. The depths beyond fell to a blackness as dark as pitch almost instantly. A coolness to the air was the first thing Beigh noticed. It was still and old, but it didn't seem stale. A flutter of wings heralded the approach of three more squads.

"Okay," a lieutenant called out, "Squad one, hold this position. Sound the alert if there are any signs of trouble, inside or out."

"Yessir!" the sergeant answered.

"Everypony else, grab a lantern."

With that, they began moving into the cave. Beigh found a place in the middle, which made him feel much safer. The pony at the rear had a large spool of twine of which they anchored an end at the entrance for ease of finding their way back out. The air was even cooler than he'd thought once they were enveloped in the blackness. The faint light from the firefly lanterns was dim. Following a cue from the other unicorns in the party, a surge of magic flowed through Beigh, and he managed a faint light from his horn.

It took several minutes for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the cave. There wasn't a sound, other than the movement of the SAR team. Above their noise, it would have been difficult to hear much. The interior of the mountain was like another world, filled with its own beauty and dangers. The rock formations allowed passage, but in some places there stood towering columns that seemed to hold up the ceiling far above.

Other chambers revealed stalagmites that resembled ancient sentries, standing post in a place that hadn't been occupied in an unfathomable amount of time. This was disheartening, as Beigh had expected to find signs of recent disturbance as they entered. The floor was uneven and wet from the moisture in the air. Progress was made even slower by sudden pits into which nopony desired to fall. Many of the passages were so narrow that the team was forced to spread out. In many places they could only get through one at a time. A metal clinking sound startled Beigh.

"LT, you'd better come see this," one soldier's voice echoed through the chambers.

"At least we're heading in the right direction. Let's keep moving, ponies," the lieutenant ordered.

When Beigh finally was able to see, the dim light from his horn revealed three sets of thick chains with iron collars on the end. The fact that they were empty was unsettling, but it didn't mean anything. There were no signs of recent death or struggle as far as he could tell. In the few moments that he stood there, Beigh inadvertently put himself at the rear, and they nearly left him alone.

"Hey," one of the other soldiers called out to him. "I'm sure those chains are interesting, but we're looking for live ones. Don't want to get left behind."

Leaving the chains in darkness, he followed. Carefully negotiating the rugged stone floor, they must have continued for hours. There was absolutely no way to tell time in the complete blackness that blotted out the sky, wind, and the sound of birds. It was just cold and quiet.

The passage continued to narrow until it was difficult for even one to pass through, forcing them to crawl to get through. Unnerving as it was to be squeezed into such a confined area, the path widened slightly before fear was replaced with curiosity: the sound of trickling water was ahead. It sounded odd somehow. If Beigh didn't know better, he'd have thought it was raining. Had he been told about the vast expanse that the tunnel opened into as they squeezed through, he would not have believed even half of it were true.

A gaping chamber in the heart of the mountain opened up. It was so large that the small lanterns were not enough to reveal the walls or ceiling far above. The rain-like sound had come from this place. Fat drops of cold water fell from the ceiling at random, very much like a spring shower. The SAR team stood in silent awe, captivated by the subterranean world they had discovered.

"Sergeant," the lieutenant said. No answer came. "Sergeant!"

"Sir?" the sergeant replied, coming back to himself.

"Take your squad left. The rest of us will go right."

Beigh followed to the left, dumbstruck by the seemingly boundless cavern. The path was passable, but caution had to be taken with every step. The ground was slick from the rain, the sound of which was soothing. The squad to which Beigh was attached found several more sets of iron chains and collars, all rusted from exposure to the water. They passed more than a dozen before he stopped counting them. The path wandered until they lost sight of the rest of the SAR team. After about a half hour, one of the others came running up the path to them.

"Sir!" he puffed, "The lieutenant wants you back on the other side right away. We've found something."

"What is it?" he asked.

"An abandoned changeling camp, we think."

“Let’s go.”

Beigh's heart was lifted by this. The thought that the changelings had fled and left the prisoners unguarded sparked high hopes. He dared not consider a more sinister alternative. Their progress was slow now that they were soaked through from the subterranean precipitation, but they worked their way back up the path and around the other side. When they reconnected with the rest of the team, they found a rudimentary structure on top of a crag that jutted out higher than the surrounding formations. It didn't have walls, but there was a roof to keep the rain out. The primitive shelter leaked in many places, but it was large enough to house perhaps two-hundred in the dry space if needed. It was a commanding vantage point to watch the surrounding area. The lieutenant had found a cache of maps and other documents that he was packing away for later study.

"Sergeant, you will take command of SAR operations until I return," the lieutenant said. "I need to get this to HQ immediately."

One squad went with him, their lights growing dim and finally vanishing in the darkness as they followed their life-line back toward the exit. Beigh amused himself by thinking that this could easily be mistaken for a dark and rainy night if one didn't know they were underground.

The team continued trudging along the wet stony path until they came to the far side of the chamber. At this end, they came to a wall that they followed around until they found another opening. This led to a series of smaller chambers that could barely hold the entire team, but they immediately began finding more sets of the chains and collars. Sometimes there was only one, but mostly they would find them in twos or threes. A stench of raw sewage was in the air. In one of these smaller chambers, something caught Beigh's attention. It looked like a passage going off in a different direction, but as he went to investigate, a corporal yelled.

"Take cover!"

Within a moment, the only sound to be heard was the fading echo of the soldiers dropping into place. Then it was eerily silent.

"Do you see anything?" the sergeant whispered.

The corporal gestured at his ears to indicate that he had heard something. Everything became still again for a few moments, and then Beigh heard a cough. It was barely more than an echo. It had bounced around so much that it was almost indistinct, but it was definitely a cough.

The corporal nodded at the sergeant, who gestured at one team to move forward. They crept slowly into the next passage, out of sight. The moments of waiting stretched into an eternity. Beigh found himself sweating in spite of the cool air. The dampness made all of his gear stick to his body in a way that felt suffocating. The silence was shattered by the sound of running. One of the scouts came back into view and stopped at the mouth of the passage.

"We've found one!" he said, excitement in his voice. "He's alive!"

As the SAR team moved forward, Beigh felt a mixture of feelings. He was excited, but also disappointed. He desperately wanted to find Sparklefly and get her out of here quickly, assuming the rumors were true about her capture. One of the other medics got to the prisoner first. He was barely conscious and showing signs of dehydration. They found him chained to a spike that had been driven directly into the rock of the cave floor; it was identical to the others they had previously discovered.

There was a powerful stink in the air of urine and feces; not the worst thing that Beigh had ever smelled, but it made his stomach churn. The prisoner was weak, almost unaware of what was going on around him. They gave him water and waited; but the chain was thick. One of the unicorns knew a cutting spell and was able to break through it, a delicate process to not injure their liberated comrade. The indecency with which the prisoner had been treated enraged Beigh. He wasn't by nature an aggressive pony, but if he'd found a changeling at that moment, he would have tried to kill it without hesitation.

"Can he walk?" the sergeant asked.

"He should be able to, but he's dehydrated," one of the medics said.

"More," the prisoner said, reaching for the water.

They gave him another drink. Beigh knew he needed to save his water for Sparklefly. If the condition of this first one was any indication of how she would be... He shook his head and pushed it out of his mind. No sense in worrying; he had to find her, and he needed to focus to do that. It didn't help ease his fears.

"Alright, this is what we're going to do," the sergeant said. "You two, head back to the surface. If there's an entire company dehydrated down here, we're going to need more water and more hooves to help carry them out. If we can get at least two more companies, that should be enough. Make sure they bring plenty of rope. We’ll probably have to drag them through some of the smaller passages. The rest of us are going to start freeing these and taking them to that old changeling HQ and set up a command post there.”

They carried the prisoner back into the rainy vaulted chamber. One squad was left with him at the changeling outpost. Everypony else went further into the cave. They began finding more and more ponies, all chained up. Sometimes they would be alone, but they frequently found two or three chained near each other. The water they had went quickly, even rationing it to only one drink per prisoner. After they had pulled almost forty prisoners back to their makeshift infirmary, they were all exhausted.

"Where are those reinforcements? We can't keep up this pace," the sergeant puffed.

Beigh felt driven to find Sparklefly. He had to succeed. "Sir," he said to the sergeant, "Permission to go further in. I can take water and assess any prisoners I come across."

“Yeah, I don’t think the changelings have hung around. Go ahead. Just use the twine,“ the sergeant replied.

The rain from the cavern ceiling danced almost melodically as Beigh set out, unrolling the life-line as he went. He worked his way through the passages where they'd liberated everypony that they'd found, and he continued on. Soon, he found more that were chained and unresponsive to his presence. He knew they needed water, but he didn't disturb them.

Walking straight past, he delved deeper into the cave. The air was still and full of the same stink of biological waste all the way down. It seemed like he had passed fifty or sixty, but he still hadn't found her. He kept thinking she would be the next one, and so pressed on. All hope failed when he rounded the next corner and found only empty chains. Exhausted and in despair, Beigh sank to the floor of the cave. The magical light from his horn gave out, leaving him in total darkness. At any normal time, this would have been rather alarming, but today he didn't even care. Everything seemed so futile.

Somewhere deep down, Beigh said to himself, 'What are you doing? If she is down here, and you stop looking, she will die.' Taking a small sip of his water, Beigh summoned the strength to keep moving. He was able to make light again and he went deeper into the cave. After passing two more sets of empty chains, he spotted more prisoners.

In the dim light he emanated they were just barely recognizable. He didn’t know he was looking at Sparklefly at first, but then he noticed her missing eye. Dogged determination transformed into exhilaration at the sight of her. She had been kept in the same degrading conditions as everypony else, and for that the changelings would suffer.

He rushed to her and gently lifted her face.

Putting his canteen to her dry, cracked lips, he said, "Drink."

Tilting it up slightly, life flowed back into the mare. She fluttered and grabbed the canteen, trying to drink faster, which resulted in a coughing fit.

"Easy!" he said, pulling it away to slow her down. "You're dehydrated. You'll be fine, just take it a little slower."

Now that he had a chance to examine at her, Sparklefly looked terrible. She took a deep breath and shielded her eye from the dim light cast by Beigh's horn.

There came a moment where she seemed suddenly aware of his presence, and she jerked, recoiling away from him as much as her chain would allow.

He was confused for a moment, but then realized that she had mistaken him for a changeling.

"I'm," he stopped, having nearly said his name. "It's me, R. There’s an SAR team down here. We came to take you home."

He realized that if this were a moment from one of the storybooks he’d enjoyed as a colt that it would be incredibly romantic, probably even how a prince rescues a princess. The stink, terror, and finally relief that made up the last few hours made it anything but. It gave Beigh a real appreciation for just how much those stories were simply flights of fancy.

"R..." she said, still keeping her distance from him. "Save Nitro."

"What?"

Lifting a hoof, she pointed.

"Save Nitro," she said again.

Beigh turned to look at the other pony that was nearby. He hadn't paid any attention to him before. What his eyes beheld made him feel more sick than anything he'd seen in his entire life. Save for the basic shape, it didn't resemble a pony at all. It was more like a skeleton with skin wrapped tightly on it. It was a black & white paint pegasus stallion. The feathers had all fallen from his wings due to malnutrition. He lay still as a stone, totally unmoving. Beigh lifted his head and poured water into his mouth. It filled and ran out. He didn't swallow. Beigh set down the water and moved along the throat, trying to get any kind of reaction. There was none from the cold form.

"R?" Sparklefly said, sounding a little more like herself.

She still sat as far away from him as she was able, her body curled up tightly like a ball.

"Welcome back," he said to her.

She shied away from the light as he moved close.

"Am I dreaming?"

He smiled at her, "No, you're awake." He wanted to say more, be comforting somehow, but he was exhausted from lack of sleep and marching into the bowels of Equestria.

Sparklefly inspected the chain by which she was bound. One of the links was worn almost halfway through.

"Not even close," she said.

"You did that?"

She nodded, “The rest of my company?"

"They're all here," he answered. "The rest of the SAR team is working their way through the caves.

"Nitro?" she said, looking past Beigh.

He turned, but the body hadn’t moved. He looked back at her and shook his head. She nodded, a somber look of understanding on her face.

33 - Darkness, Part 5 of 6

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The wind beneath Pixyglitter's wings was invigorating. Her body ached from one end to the other from all the flight practice she'd been doing with Cloud Blazer, but it was the only thing that made her feel almost whole again, if only for a short time. In the days since their first brief attempt, they had practiced as much as she was physically able, and it was taking its toll. Crash landings in the water were still common, but Pixyglitter didn't let it dampen her spirits. Communication seemed to be the key to any success they had. They certainly both knew the terms to describe flight maneuvers, but it was a foreign thing for her to learn how to perform them blind and immediately upon command.

"Bank left," Cloud Blazer said.

Pixyglitter gently turned to her left. Once they had mastered hovering in place, they started working on figure eight patterns. Bank left would always be followed by straightening out and then banking right. Sometimes he would have her adjust altitude just to mix things up. It was tiring to get back into shape.

"Straighten out," he said right on time. "Halt, hover in place."

Pixyglitter reduced forward momentum, but she was still having trouble at slower speeds. Without the use of her eyes, it was difficult to make certain she wasn't moving.

"Nicely done!" his voice praised her. "You want to try a landing?"

Fear was a constant companion with landings, and this suggestion was no exception.

"I'm not ready for that," she replied.

"I mean in the water. What if we drop down, just enough to get my hooves wet? I can't think of a safer way to practice."

"Okay," she answered, still feeling uncertain. "I'm ready when you are."

"Descend!" his voice came with complete confidence.

Slowing her wings, the descent began.

"Arrest speed, descend; that's good. Hover in place... okay, descend."

Pixyglitter tried her best to keep up with him, but it was quite a challenge. Putting complete trust in somepony else wasn't easy.

"Looking great, standby to hover on my mark... four... three... two... one... mark!"

She could hear the sound of splashing as she began hovering again. Sweetie Belle started cheering from the shore, and Cloud Blazer started laughing.

"Outstanding!" he praised. "You've got a slight drift to the left, but otherwise perfect."

She corrected right slightly to stop drifting.

"You want to practice some more, or are you tired yet?" he asked.

All pretense had fled already from the hours of practice they'd put in together. As much as she wanted to go on, Pixyglitter had no strength to continue any longer. Her body was in need of rest, and it was time to give in to that fact.

"I'm done for today," she said.

"Sounds good; descend!"

Slowly going down, Cloud Blazer pulled his release as soon as her hooves were in the water. He made a splash and paddled out from under her; she was in the water in a few seconds. It was cool and refreshing, rinsing the sweat from her body.

"Great job you guys!" Sweetie Belle sang from the shore.

Cloud Blazer began swimming that way. There was something else also. A sound on the air that was familiar, but Pixyglitter couldn't place it.

"Hey, look at that!" Sweetie Belle called out.

"Oh, wow," Cloud Blazer said.

"What is it?" Pixyglitter asked as she swam slowly toward the shore.

"Looks like about a hundred pegasi flying overhead," he replied. "I wonder where they're going.”

"South!" Sweetie Belle answered.

Cloud Blazer scoffed, "Thanks, Sweetie Belle, I can see that much."

She giggled as he came out of the water. Pixyglitter stayed in for a while, just resting in the pond. Her stomach growled. All of the flying was making her far more hungry than usual. She felt herself smile. It was totally worth it.

...

Duster could see them, coming out from under trees, going over hills, and always running. The timberwolves were moving south in droves. At least two-thousand were in the pack they had spotted near Ponyville, but it was as if they had purposefully gone around the town. That seemingly willful avoidance somehow made this feel wrong.

"It's just strange," Rolling Thunder said.

Quickbeam would have had a snappy remark to add to that. Rolling Thunder and Duster were the only two from their squad that had been assigned to a massive reconnaissance move, as the other members of their squad couldn't fly. Duster continually found himself distracted by the events of the past few days. Moonsliver and Quickbeam were gone, dead. It could have just as easily been him, but it wasn't. Sorting out his own emotions was becoming more difficult by the day.

"Look, there's another pack!" Rolling Thunder said as he pointed.

Duster looked and saw what had to be another five-hundred timberwolves, also heading south.

"Looks like they'll meet up at White Tail Woods," Rolling Thunder added. "Hey, are you alright? You haven't said two words since we left."

"Sorry," Duster replied, but wasn't sure what to say. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to confide in anypony about his thoughts, but he took a breath and continued, "I was thinking about Moonsliver... Quickbeam... and Doff."

"Oh," Rolling Thunder answered solemnly. "Yeah, it was a raw deal for all of them."

"How can I be so helpless?" Duster heard himself ask. He felt it wiser to be silent, but it was as if he couldn't stop. "I was right by them, both of them, and I couldn't save them." Now he was choking back tears.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Rolling Thunder popped back. "We are soldiers. Soldiers die; that's our dance."

Duster was confused enough by that to ask, “Dance? What are you talking about?"

”The dance with death," came the answer in a tone that chilled Duster. "Whether it is a fast, violent dance like a soldier, or a slow ambling movement of a farmer, we all dance in step with death. Ultimately, none of us will survive it. But when everything goes bad, you either keep moving or lay down and die. I feel bad about the others too, but there'll be time for that later. Right now, we have a job to do."

Duster nodded as they flew over the small mountain range below. It ran from the White Tail Woods all the way back to Ponyville. The sprawling countryside to the south lay just ahead. What he saw when it came into view was unbelievable. Before them, spread across the countryside were timberwolves beyond numbering. There could have been hundreds of thousands of them. Duster felt his blood run cold at the sight of them.

33 - Darkness, Part 6 of 6

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Cloud Blazer never got tired of coming over the hill and seeing Sweet Apple Acres. Sweetie Belle walked alongside him, pushing the empty wheelchair. He'd been needing it less and less, but she insisted on bringing it anytime she walked with him. Though the pain still bit and clawed at him from many of his injuries, he refused to be confined to that chair. The doctor told him that this was acceptable, so long as he didn't push himself too far. His one leg was still in a cast, which made walking that much more difficult, but at least he could put weight on it and get where he was going.

"There's another one!" Sweetie Belle said, pointing into the sky.

Cloud Blazer looked up, blinding himself for a moment as his gaze crossed the sun. He blinked and found what she was pointing toward. It was another squadron of pegasi, this time they were heading north. There had been all sorts of crazy rumors floating through town, as there typically were on the heels of big news. The increased activity in the skies made them even more wild than usual. As soon as word spread of the capture of Canterlot, buzz began about Queen Chrysalis being either captured or killed in the battle. The most consistent rumor that he'd heard was that changelings had attempted to infiltrate EUP forces during the battle. The official answer to all of it was still, 'no comment.' He wondered if Scootaloo had flown over Ponyville today. That wound was still perhaps the most painful of all. As they arrived on the farm, the first pony they came across was Glitterdust.

"Hi," Sweetie Belle greeted her. "Have you seen Apple Bloom?"

Glitterdust looked up from her work. She was silent for a moment, and Cloud Blazer thought she looked either bored or upset.

"I think she's in the barn," she replied.

She went back to work, ignoring the pair as they continued on the dirt path that led to their destination. It was a hot afternoon; a nap would be wonderful if his mind weren't so active. Even though he didn't do the majority of the work, flying with Pixyglitter took its toll on Cloud Blazer as well. As the barn came into view, Apple Bloom was walking out of it.

"Howdy!" she greeted them.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle answered.

"What's goin' on?" she asked.

"Not much," Cloud Blazer answered. I'm done practicing flying for the day, and thought I should practice walking. So we came to pay you a visit."

"Well, I'm heading to the south field. Y'all are welcome to come with me."

While turning to follow, Cloud Blazer's gaze caught a crescent moon that would be setting ahead of sunset. He walked behind the other two, but the sight of the moon made him think about those strange dreams again. They had seemed so vivid at first, but as dreams tend to, they had all but faded away. The only thing left behind was the sense that some urgency or some message was trying to get through, a message he never had understood. Pixyglitter still didn't talk about it; he decided it would be best to put it out of his mind for now.

"I heard they're increasing rations tomorrow," Sweetie Belle said hopefully.

Apple Bloom grinned, "Now even if I knew anything about that, I couldn't say."

"Oh, come on! You can tell us!"

"Nothin' doin' Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said, a bit glibly.

Cloud Blazer decided to play this game, "That's not what you told me when I asked you yesterday." He hadn't actually seen her the day before, but if she were just teasing Sweetie Belle, then she'd play along.

"Now, I told you not to mention that to anypony!"

Sweetie Belle gasped.

“Well, I thought you’d have told her by now!”

Their unicorn friend pouted from the betrayal.

"Come on; you know better than that! We're pullin' your leg, Sweetie Belle!“ Apple Bloom grinned again.

She scoffed at them, “You guys!”

Cloud Blazer chuckled, but tried to hold his laughter in so it didn’t aggrivate his injuries.

“I heard you’re getting out of the hospital soon,” Apple Bloom said nonchalantly.

“Oh, yeah,” Cloud Blazer answered. “The threat of death from my injuries is apparently pretty low now. Anyway, they seem to think they need the bed for others.”

“You’ll stay with us,” the farm-pony declared.

He decided to tease, “Oh, well, you know. I would, but I have to check with all of my other special someponies first. I have to make sure I don’t have any better offers.”

Sweetie Belle laughed; it was somewhat of a mocking chortle in which no derision was intended.

Apple Bloom snorted at him, “Whatever, I’d have a better chance at getting a special somepony than you any day. Besides, I wouldn’t date you if you were the last stallion in Ponyville.”

He gasped as if he were offended, but it was refreshing to jest, “What about if I were the last one in Equestria.”

“Hmm, well, I guess I wouldn’t have much choice. We can’t let all the ponies die out if we’re the last two,” she feigned thought on the possibility and added, “Now that we’ve figured out my personal worst nightmare... back to important stuff.”

He admired Apple Bloom’s skill at the playful banter. He allowed himself to giggle with Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom continued, “You can stay in Big McIntosh’s room. I already talked to him and Applejack about it. Pixyglitter can come too; we can take one more in my room.”

The stallion felt warm inside at the offer, “Thank you. It really means a lot to me.”

“We knew it would,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, “That’s why I told her to do it. Then you’d owe her one.”

“Sweetie Belle! That was just between us to know and for him to not think about!”

Cloud Blazer smiled at the levity.

It was a good visit, but in the back of his mind, Cloud Blazer couldn't stop thinking about the dreams that he had shared with Pixyglitter. Something about it was still bothering him, even though it had been months since they'd had any of those occurrences. On the return journey to the hospital, an eerie feeling came over Cloud Blazer. He couldn't put his hoof on it, but something was wrong.

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said.

He didn't have to look up, he knew what she had seen. Hundreds of pegasi were flying overhead even still. Most were now heading north, toward either Cloudsdale or Canterlot. He didn't know what all the movement meant, but he knew it couldn't be anything good.

34 - Gathering, Part 1 of 6

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Duster felt sick. He wasn’t ill, but what he had seen in the south weighed so heavily on him as to cause a physiological reaction.

”You're certain of this?" a no-nonsense Charging Lance asked.

The scout nodded, "Yes, sir. I saw a force that had to number in the hundreds of thousands."

"That's new," the inquisitive stallion murmured to himself, seeming preoccupied. "Was there anything else in your observations that you found noteworthy?"

“They were gathering together. They weren’t continuing south beyond where we saw them.”

Thinking about it in the silence that followed, Duster couldn't come up with anything to add. Charging Lance tilted his head in thought; he was practically staring, which made Duster feel uneasy.

"Are you related to Captain Sparklefly?"

A bit surprised but the question and its directness, Duster fumbled a moment before replying, "Yes, sir. Yes, I am, sir. She's my sister."

"I see," Charging Lance replied, looking grave. "You've been out scouting, so you may not have heard. Your sister was taken captive when we stormed the capital."

The panic that flooded through Duster must have been evident on his face. The battle had gone so well overall that he hadn’t considered his sister might have been harmed. His heart began racing.

Charging Lance continued, "She's okay. We have recovered her and her entire company. I have only heard reports as to her condition, but I was told that she is well and won't suffer any permanent damage."

Relief washed away nearly all of the tension that had been building. The feeling was so powerful that even the timberwolf threat wasn't a concern at the moment.

"That will be all, unless you have anything else," Charging Lance finished.

"No, sir. Thank you for letting me know that Sis... that Captain Sparklefly is well."

Charging Lance nodded slightly and said, "Dismissed."

Walking out of the castle, Duster found himself almost in a daze. He was so grateful that Sissy was not hurt that it confused him. He seemed to spend most of his time angry with her, but in that moment he realized that he didn't hate her, not really.

...

Sparklefly was overcome with feelings of emptiness and loss. Perhaps even greater still was a sense of shame. Though Ash Eater had stopped short of the threatened brutal violation, she had given up their winter strategy. She was a traitor. She felt dirty. Nitro hadn’t been the only prisoner they discovered in the depths of the caves. He and another twenty-eight that had been in the caverns under Canterlot for an extended period of time succumbed to dehydration and died. Nearly every member of Sparklefly's company had survived the incident.

Sparklefly herself felt as if a hole had been punched through her heart. It was a consuming wasteland that swallowed every ounce of joy she knew. This led to no small amount of confusion. She should have felt happy to see R. The fact that he’d charged in to rescue her was the stuff cheesy romance novels were made of, and yet, the specter of panic and fear was still strong inside, though she was now back in Canterlot. She sat waiting, her body tightly wound still, in the hospital as her entire team was being examined by doctors.

‘Just keep breathing,’ she told herself as she rubbed her bandaged eye. ‘You don’t have permission to panic. You’re a grown mare. You have to take care of the family.’

Her mind wouldn’t cooperate. Somewhere, deep down, she suspected that she hadn’t been rescued at all, that the battle had been lost and changelings had brought her to Canterlot to get more information from her. Each passing minute made her more certain of the lunacy of such a supposition, but her soul had withered either way. Hoof-steps approaching made her draw up, coiling her body even tighter than before. It was a doctor and nurse that she didn’t recognize.

He looked down at a chart that had been prepared when she’d first arrived before glancing up to meet her eyes, “Captain Sparklefly?”

She nodded at him.

The doctor passed the chart to the nurse and drew closer, his gaze having moved to Sparklefly’s circumspect posture. She felt herself tense and recoil slightly. The doctor shopped short.

“You are among friends here,” he said with practiced bedside-manner.

Slowly, Sparklefly forced her limbs to relax, sitting in a more natural way. The doctor started with her head, shining a light in her eyes and then working his way down her limbs and trunk, looking for injury. She winced at the lightest pressure on her ribs. The stallion tsk’ed and gently continued.

“I don’t think anything’s broken,” he muttered to himself.

The mare’s breaths were fast and more shallow than was normal. The doctor readied his stethoscope and placed it against her ribs.

“Take a deep breath and hold it, please.”

She complied. He made another tsk. He also took her temperature, blood pressure, and poked and prodded a few more times before backing away.

“Physically, you’re in good condition,” he concluded.

She wasn’t sure if he was awaiting a response, but he stood there staring at her face. Something seemed to be working in his mind as his golden eyes commanded her gaze.

“Physically,” he repeated. “Is there... anything else you want to tell me?”

Sparklefly cleared her throat and shook her head, “No.”

The doctor took a breath, “You know, it is not uncommon for soldiers to come back with more than just injuries of the body. Unfortunately, that’s all I can actually diagnose without some cooperation on their part.”

“I’m just tired,” a bitter-tasting lie came far too easily, “and I want to get back to work.” She couldn’t talk about what had happened, not with anypony. She’d be court-marshaled if she were lucky. Nitro was the only one that knew what she had said, and his death had complicated Sparklefly’s options going forward. Until she made up her mind, it seemed best to keep her own council.

“If it helps, I’m not a military doctor. I’m sure you’re familiar with doctor-patient confidentiality.”

She nodded, but didn’t reply as her body drew itself up again. He made a final tsk and began marking on her chart.

“You’ll be glad to know that your comrades who were rescued with you will all be back to duty in a day or so. As for yourself, you are good to go. Just be sure to take in plenty of fluids over the next couple of days and you'll be fine."

Sparklefly nodded. The Canterlot Hospital was filled with wounded who were recovering from the injuries they'd gained in the battle to retake the city. She trudged through the corridors and made it outside, finding herself downtown. Being here again felt somehow disconnected from the last time. In the wake of the destruction of the city, it was like a different place entirely.

She wished she had been in a better state to have seen her medic friend, R, again. He’d stayed with her until help had come and given her a bandage for her ruined eye. Her feelings for him had become complicated. If she hadn't been in love with him before, she certainly was now; she longed to have expressed as much when he found her. Another part of her felt it unwise. The heart may yearn, and hers certainly did, but she couldn't afford the distraction. Her standing in the EUP could be destroyed if rumors of fraternization began spreading. Though, that now seemed the least of her worries.

Sparklefly hadn't made it two steps from the hospital’s front door when a familiar voice greeted her.

"You had us all worried!"

A shiver of fright ran through Sparklefly before she recognized Scootaloo’s voice. She attempted to tease, but she wasn't herself certain if it was actually funny, “What took your rescue party so long?"

"Hey," came the reply with a quizzical look, "Deflating a bad situation with humor is my job!”

The normal interaction eased Sparklefly’s disposition somewhat, “Don’t you mean misdirecting any situation with bad humor?”

The pegasus snorted a laugh, “Maybe that was it.” Becoming serious, she began digging in her pocket, “I found this. I’m afraid it got a bit mangled, but I fixed it as best I could.”

Scootaloo held out Sparklefly’s eye patch. The original strap had been ripped away, taking some of the patch with it. The side with the cutie mark was mostly intact, the obvious repair work aside. Some new red cloth had been added to fill out the missing piece. Another strip of it had also been crudely made into a new strap. The stitching was rudimentary at best, but Sparklefly felt warmed by the gesture.

“Thank you so much,” she replied as she took it.

Within moments, she had removed the bandage wrap and donned her eye patch once again.

“Good as new,” she forced a smile.

Scootaloo nodded with a slight grin that quickly faded, “Come on, we've got a new HQ for the Taskforce, and we need to bring you up to speed."

Sparklefly had mixed feelings. She wanted to warn everypony about what she’d divulged to Ash Eater, but that would put her own future in serious jeopardy. Additionally, she’d likely have to tell them what had happened down there. She shuddered and pushed the thought from her mind. They began walking briskly down city streets toward the castle. Repairs and cleanup were already in progress, which had the benefit of making the capital feel alive again. There was so much rubble that all they could do for now was pile it up in heaps until it could be taken away.

“I couldn’t have missed that much,” Sparklefly said. The silence that answered her brought concern. “Is it bad?"

"It's bad," Scootaloo answered stoically.

They continued to the castle in silence. Even burned and damaged it looked much more grandiose walking to the main entrance. They submitted to being magically scanned at the outer wall and main gate. As they crossed the long corridors in the castle, they passed signs of a recent fight inside. Shattered windows had been swept into the corners; the shards had ripped the carpets and wall tapestries. It looked far worse for wear than it had when Sparklefly had last been inside.

"What happened here?" Sparklefly asked.

"The changeling queen and a number of her minions, posing as you and your company, tried to assassinate Shining Armor," Scootaloo said grimly. "She failed, and is now in our custody. The rest were captured or killed.“

Sparklefly's heart leapt at that news, but Scootaloo's expression was far too grave. Something must have been seriously wrong to prevent that from being the big news. Sparklefly tilted her head questioningly, but Scootaloo led on silently. They approached a large wooden door, and voices could be heard inside as they pushed it open.

"Oh, please," Pacer said, "It's a bunch of stick-dogs. It's nothing we can't handle."

"I don't think you grasp just how many we're talking about," Masher countered. "We're talking hundreds of thousands."

"So? What else is new? We've been in this situation for over a year.”

Skyflame interjected, "What is new is how they are forming up. They've been attacking as a rabble until two days ago; now they're positioning themselves in force."

Charging Lance and Flittergear were silently listening to the exchange.

"Well then put me in charge of a division and I'll take care of them."

Shifting in his seat, Charging Lance spoke, "Even you're not that much of a fool."

Silence followed for a moment, and Flittergear spoke, "Welcome back, Sparklefly."

The others now noticed that they had arrived and greeted her warmly. The attention made her uneasy.

"Thanks," she said. "I haven't been brought up to speed yet; what's going on?"

Charging Lance answered, "All timberwolf attacks have stopped as of our capture of Queen Chrysalis. However, scouts are now reporting some kind of massive gathering of the beasts at Apple Loosa. Our best guess is that there are already more than five-hundred thousand and more arriving every hour."

"Five-hundred... thousand..." Sparklefly heard herself say. She felt numb, almost in shock at the thought of it.

"While it is not necessarily evident what this means," Masher added, "we're all fairly certain they are massing for an attack."

"Not all of the timberwolves are committed," Skyflame observed. "Scouts report seeing several thousands still lurking near strategic positions throughout Equestria. My hunch is that as many as a third of their total number is not part of this gathering."

"Why a third?" Charging Lance asked.

Skyflame shrugged, "As I said, just a hunch. If it were me, I'd leave sufficient force behind to continue challenging us on all fronts while this force gets organized. If they do, then they can start sweeping through, destroying every city they come across."

Sparklefly felt sick, and silence gripped the rest of them for a minute or so.

"Why now?" Scootaloo asked. The others all looked at her. "I mean, what do they gain by doing this now? They've had sufficient force to group up like this for at least six months."

The lack of answers was unsettling, though somewhat therapeutic for Sparklefly. For the first time since the darkness of the caverns, her mind was not fighting against her.

34 - Gathering, Part 2 of 6

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Sparklefly considered the possibilities. The changeling queen had been captured; perhaps this was a sort of backup plan. Maybe something else had changed that required a shift in strategy. The enemy had been probing for weaknesses for months without finding one. Any of these alternatives were preferable to thinking that they were reacting to things she had said to Ash Eater.

"Maybe they're just trying something new," Pacer said. "They haven't actually sacked a city since they were defeated at Ponyville."

“Possibly,” Charging Lance conceded.

“I’m not sure,” Masher was more skeptical. “There has got to be something we’ve missed. There’s always a pattern; there’s always a reason.”

The oldest stallion in the group smiled at Masher, but then his gaze fell on Sparklefly, who felt incredibly uncomfortable under it. Fear welled up inside that he knew her secret. It was impossible, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.

"Food," Flittergear said. All eyes turned to her, but she remained silent.

"Food," Sparklefly began speaking as her thoughts turned back to the problem. "Winter is coming, and we never did identify how they are supplying themselves."

Both Skyflame and Charging Lance began to grimace as if they realized something that they should have known all along.

"They let us grow our crops intentionally," he said.

"But not for us," Skyflame added. "They wanted us to have food so they can take it."

That was a disturbing thought. While Sparklefly didn't like to think the changelings were capable of such a devious plan, she had underestimated them before. If it were true, it proved them a far more intelligent and capable foe than anypony had credited them to be thus far. Misdirection certainly was in their nature.

The door burst open and several royal guards entered the room and magically scanned the members of the Taskforce. Prince Shining Armor strode in after that procedure was completed. He looked weary, as though he hadn't slept for several days.

"What I'm about to say does not leave this room.”

All eyes turned to the prince, and nopony made so much as a sound.

“I know some of you suspected as much, but it is time for me to explain,” he began.

The prince removed a red cloak he was wearing to reveal an amulet about his neck. It had the form of a winged ebony unicorn with red settings.

“This is the Alicorn Amulet.”

There were some quiet gasps, but Sparklefly didn’t know anything about the magical artifact that the prince just announced. Fear tempered her curiosity.

“I have been its guardian since the war began, and when the changelings were revealed, Princess Celestia asked me to wear it. It has a magical lock, and can only be removed by the will of the wearer. For any of you who don’t know, it is one of the most powerful and dangerous artifacts in Equestria. We cannot allow it to fall into the hooves of the changelings.”

Sparklefly was amazed by the new information, though she expected a “but” to be interjected at any moment.

“However, it also corrupts the user, bringing out their darker, more evil tendencies. This is why I have been unable to join in any of the fighting that has taken place. I have become aware that it is affecting me,” the prince nodded at Scootaloo, the pair of them locking gaze for a moment. “The contamination increases through use, and so I will be unable to use any more magic in an effort to slow the effect.” He looked around the silent room before saying, "Report."

Charging Lance spoke up, "Scouts’ reports are confirmed. A force of no less than five-hundred thousand timberwolves have gathered at Apple Loosa already, and we expect their numbers to be nearly a million by the end of the week.”

Sparklefly’s stomach sank and tightened up.

“It has also been observed that significant numbers are still near our cities and farms, poised to strike if we let our guard down. We believe that their strategy to survive the winter is to keep us pinned down while using this gathered strength to run over any target of their choice for food and supplies. It could be that this has been planned for some time, and that is why the attacks lessened throughout the growing season. We suspect that they wanted us to have food so they could steal it.”

Shining Armor looked at the map on the table and nodded slowly, "How do you recommend we counter this threat?"

Charging Lance stared back at him, almost blankly. "With respect, Your Majesty, I'm not certain that counter is the proper term. With their full strength gathered, the best we may be able to hope for is mitigating some of the damage, perhaps slowing them down a little.”

“We could put all of the food in Cloudsdale,” Scootaloo offered. “The timberwolves won’t be able to get at us there, so we’d just have the changelings to deal with.”

Sparklefly felt unsettled about the Alicorn Amulet, but was trying to focus on one problem at a time.

Masher reminded, “That’s a start, but no doubt the changelings have thought of that already. They’ll be working on a plan to intercept the food on its way in. And that doesn’t negate the fact that we need to deal with a million timberwolves. We can’t put everypony up in the clouds.”

"Misdirection," Flittergear said softly.

"What was that?" Shining Armor asked.

Flittergear shrank away, but her statement gave Sparklefly an idea. "If I may," she began, "I believe she means we should misdirect them." Her heart started pounding as she tried to work through how this could be a viable strategy.

"I'm listening," the prince said impatiently.

"Well, our total strength is much smaller than theirs, and they know it," Sparklefly continued. "So we take a force," she stepped up to the map and started moving half of the EUP pieces down near Apple Loosa, "as large as we dare send on a hit and run campaign."

Charging Lance shook his head, "We'd be impossibly outnumbered."

"Even with half our army... it’d be what, ten to one in their favor?“ Scootaloo added.

"I know that," Sparklefly argued, positioning their smaller force west of Apple Loosa. "We don't have to defeat them. We just have to pull them away from our cities. With a little luck, maybe we'll even draw down their numbers some."

They all stared at her in skeptical silence.

“Look, I know we can’t defeat them head to head. There’s just too many, but if we can keep them occupied, we can buy ourselves more time to get the food into a more secure location and come up with a better plan.”

Directly to Sparklefly, Prince Shining Armor asked, "And would you lead this campaign?"

Her mouth went dry as she stumbled to answer, her own treachery foremost on her mind. Her stomach knotted even tighter. A foul taste was in her mouth already from the half-truths, omissions, and lies she’d spoken to this point. Yet, there was a sense of attainable relief ahead if she pressed on. Perhaps this was a way in which she could atone.

"Me? Oh, no. I mean, I’ll go face them. I’m fair with strategy, but you'd want somepony more seasoned in command. I can plan attacks, but there's a lot of logistics with moving and maintaining a force that large, and I just don't have the experience."

The prince nodded.

“It sounds like a one-way trip,” Charging Lance added grimly.

Pacer interjected, “Are you kidding? We’d just have to stay one step ahead of them. We have air superiority.”

“In case you had forgotten, the changelings also can fly,” Skyflame pointed out.

“Yeah, but they’ve never come out in significant numbers. If they do, we’ll mop them right out of the sky.”

“If we do this, organization and communication are going to be even more critical than usual,” Scootaloo said. “Attack, retreat, attack, retreat. If... well... when things go wrong, everypony will have to know the fall-back plan.”

“Agreed,” Charging Lance nodded. “We’ll be far too vulnerable to let any mistakes get out of hoof.”

"Very well,” the prince spoke decisively, “General Brax will have the command, but I want this Taskforce serving directly under him. I have seen how determined and intelligent each of you are, and you have my complete confidence."

He paused a moment and looked at each of them in turn. Sparklefly felt vulnerable as his regarded her. She instinctively had pulled her body into a small stance again. She could feel guilt filling her, but then he looked away, apparently unaware of her angst.

Shining Armor continued, "I have already sent word to rally our forces to Ponyville, and an arrangement has been reached with the griffins, who will be sending an army of their own to assist us in the coming week. By this time tomorrow we'll have almost eighty-thousand EUP soldiers assembled, but we dare not take any more from our defenses. It will take another two days to establish supply lines, so take care how you move in on the enemy." He looked over each of them again, "This could be the end of us all if you fail.”

Sparklefly felt a lump in her throat. That final statement hung in the air like a weight pressing down on all of them. Nopony spoke before the prince and his guards left the room. They all stood in silence for a long moment.

Sparklefly hadn’t been to Apple Loosa since she’d fled during the first attack of the war, before anypony knew what was going on. She had rounded up the others that day. Deep down, she longed for those simpler days, before all the war and death, fear and terror, killing and dying had filled her life.

She became lost in her reverie, ignoring the conversation that had begun. Moving to Apple Loosa when she was just a filly, the world had felt much safer. She smiled to herself as she recalled exploring all around town with Duster and Glitterdust tagging along behind her. Her mind snapped back to the present as an idea was sparked.

"Hide and seek!" she interrupted the others.

"We're a little old for that, don't you think?" Scootaloo said.

"That just depends on how you play," Pacer boasted.

"No," Sparklefly said, shaking her head and trying to bring her thoughts out. "When I was a filly, my brother and I used to play hide and seek here, southwest of town." She pointed on the map to the location, "You can't really see it on here, but there's a range of small steep hills that start here, and they run for miles back this way. It’s really more of a plateau. The edge is almost too steep to walk up, and it goes back in a zig-zag this way. If we can draw them to this position, we could hold them there for days, maybe weeks."

The others looked at the map where she was pointing.

"That's assuming that it hasn't been overrun by timberwolves already," Charging Lance said.

"If not, we need to secure that area immediately," Sparklefly continued. "It is very good ground, easily defendable."

"What about the flanks and the rear?" Masher asked.

"Farther south there is a range of mountains; I doubt they could come at us from that side. To the west it eventually levels out, but it would take them some time to get there. We can hold the east and north until they work their way around and then fall back to a different position."

Scootaloo shrugged, "It could buy us some time."

Flittergear said nothing, but began eating from a small pouch some food that she had stashed away.

Pacer looked at the others, "Anypony have a better idea?"

The room was silent. Skyflame looked skeptical.

Charging Lance spoke up, "It looks solid. If they already occupy that area, we can try to pull them east first, fall back and outflank from the west."

Skyflame smiled, "It might just keep them off balance. The only trick will be getting them to commit."

Scootaloo grinned, "We could always let Pacer tell them how great he is. I know that's usually enough to get me riled up." It seemed that she liked this plan.

"Jokes aside," Sparklefly said before Pacer had a chance to respond, "It's just a matter of working them. Hit, retreat, hit, retreat. We keep that up until they pursue. Then we draw them where we want them. Their only alternative will be to let us eat away at their numbers while they run away."

"True," Masher said, "but we'll still be outnumbered ten to one or worse. They can easily leave some of their force behind to deal with us while the others go on a rampage."

"Perhaps," Skyflame said, "Mobility is our greatest advantage. We can ignore any part of their force that doesn't cooperate. I think this plan is our best option."

"Sounds easy enough," Pacer agreed, "We drag them over to this high ground and rain death on them. I like it."

"Me too," Scootaloo said.

Flittergear nodded.

Charging Lance said, "Then it is decided. Insane as it sounds, we are going to go on the offensive against a force that has us outmatched in almost every way."

Sparklefly smiled uneasily. She did believe it was a good plan, but the odds were not going to be in their favor. One false step could be the end of more than their campaign. She had to do everything she could to ensure their victory. She needed a mind that was better at strategy than was hers.

"Let's get our gear together," Skyflame said. "I'll have the cloud ready to depart for Ponyville within the hour."

As the others began disbursing, Scootaloo turned to Sparklefly and said, "You're family has already settled at Sweet Apple Acres, haven't they?"

Sparklefly nodded.

"You should probably take an hour or two to visit them."

With a sigh, she replied, "I wish I could. I have a small matter up north to attend to before I go to Ponyville."

"The Crystal Empire?"

"Yes," Sparklefly answered. "There is a life I saved up there, and it's time for him to repay the favor."

34 - Gathering, Part 3 of 6

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Cloud Blazer took a final look at the hospital room that had been his home since he’d awakened months ago. He was by no means back to his former strength, but after the influx of wounded from the last two major battles, bed space had become too precious to spare. There were now six injured in the room that had been his, and this sort of crowding was widespread. It had become a noisy place once again, and he felt it was just as well to depart.

"You ready, Pixyglitter?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Yes.” She placed a hoof on his shoulder and explained, “It’s too loud in here.”

He nodded, but then remembered she couldn't see it and said, "I agree. Let's go."

Keeping in contact, they walked slowly through the crowded corridors. Wounded now lined both walls, most of which had to lie on the floor. Dodging around these obstacles with Pixyglitter in tow was a bit of a challenge, but they managed to make it outside without tripping over or stepping on anypony. To Cloud Blazer's surprise, it might have been more crowded in town than it was in the hospital. It looked as if an entire division had just arrived by train, and the sky was filled with patrols circling overhead. They were stacked up at various altitudes above Ponyville. Pixyglitter let go.

“It sounds a lot busier than usual," she noted.

"More soldiers," Cloud Blazer replied. "By the look of things, they're being mobilized for another push. That or an attack is coming to us; hard to say."

There didn't seem to be any additional fortifications being built, nor did they seem to be deploying in a defensive posture... yet. He felt it was more likely that they were going to move out soon.

"Come on, probably best if you hold on to me."

She again placed her hoof on his shoulder, and they continued through the bustling streets of Ponyville. As they walked, Cloud Blazer's mind was drawn back to the dreams that had haunted him for so long. Though now faded as a distant memory, he couldn't shake the feeling that somepony had been speaking to him through those dreams. He had first thought of Princess Luna, but every story he’d heard about her forays into dreams were not so vague as his experience had been. That theory was shot down rather quickly by the accepted truth that the alicorn princesses had died when they destroyed the mirror pond.

Like sandpaper grating at the back of his mind, the sense that something important needed to be done gnawed at him. It had never really gone away, but time and the reality of his injuries had caused Cloud Blazer's conviction to wane. The pain certainly continued, but his strength of body was still growing much to the puzzlement of the doctors. The pain in his heart was another matter entirely. At this point, he just wanted things between himself and Scootaloo to go back to how they’d been before. He longed for the restoration of their friendship.

"The crowd really is thick," Pixyglitter broke his reverie, “and noisy.”

"Not to worry. I think they'll be departing soon.”

They made their way through town, and one thing that stuck with Cloud Blazer was the look on the ponies faces. They seemed wary but confident. Listening to them talk didn't give any conclusive indication as to why they were mobilizing. Apparently, none of the soldiers knew where they would be deployed next. There were the usual rumors of attacks and similar things, but there were only two consistencies in what was overheard. These soldiers had been pulled from all over Equestria, and they all believed that they were headed somewhere south of Ponyville. As for what could draw such a force, Cloud Blazer could only guess. Arriving on the farm put these things out of his mind for a while.

"Hi guys!" Sweetie Belle squeaked when she saw them approaching.

She ran to greet them, sweaty and covered in dirt. Pixyglitter let go of Cloud Blazer and went back to using her cane to feel around.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle," he replied.

"Sorry I couldn't walk with you guys today," Sweetie Belle said, "They put me to work."

"I see that," Cloud Blazer snorted a laugh. "Don't worry about it. Between the two of us, we made it through the crowd."

"Come on, I'll show you to your rooms.”

Flight harnesses aside, they really didn't have much to unpack. The hospital had given them hygiene kits that each contained a toothbrush and a few other odds and ends, but that was about it. They had used some blankets to make a small bed for Pixyglitter in Apple Bloom's room with Sweetie Belle, Glitterdust, and Shimmerpuff. The room was becoming quite different than Cloud Blazer remembered. It was nearly all utility now that it was housing so many.

Across the hall, Big McIntosh's room was the same situation. They had made a blanket bed for Cloud Blazer, and he'd be sharing the room with Big Mac and Thunderfly. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twinklestar also shared a room, and the Cakes with their children were all staying in Granny Smith's old room. Though the house was full to bursting, it was still more pleasant than the hospital.

"I'll leave you two to get settled," Sweetie Belle said. "I'll see you later!"

The house was quiet during the day, but Cloud Blazer was exhausted. Maybe all of the flight practice had finally caught up with him. Not only that, but the pain from his ribs and leg were bothering him more than usual. He carefully laid on the hard makeshift bed and tried to get some sleep.

34 - Gathering, Part 4 of 6

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Beigh felt upset at the predicament in which he found himself, but he wasn’t certain what to do.

“Please don't leave me behind!" LD begged.

Beigh looked at him doubtfully. The sterile scent of the hospital mixed with blood and sweat in the overcrowded building.

"I'm not sure how I can help you."

"I'm not injured; I don't belong in the hospital, it was just nerves. You were the medic that brought me in; if you sign off, they'll put me back on duty."

"You realize we are mobilizing, probably to go on another offensive."

LD hung his head and spoke softly, "Yes, and that is why I need to come. I can't explain how I'm still alive. I was convinced I would die out there, I don’t know if I got anypony else killed because I didn't fight. If I have to stay, I’ll die from shame.“

He looked back up, his blue eyes boring directly into Beigh, pleading even more desperately than his words.

He shook his head, "I just don't know if you're ready."

"Figures," came a dejected reply.

Not entirely sure what to do, Beigh came to a simple decision, "I'll talk to your unit about taking you back, but I can't recommend you take your place as a lieutenant again."

LD looked back up hopefully, “I don’t care about rank or position. Just get me back in the fight; I won't let anypony down again."

Beigh nodded. He turned to leave the overcrowded room. Exiting the stench of the hospital brought a different situation. Ponyville was practically flooded with soldiers. Another train had just arrived and ponies from the Crystal Empire and VanHoover poured out. The little town was barely large enough to navigate the streets now that they were clogged with soldiers trying to get to their rally points.

As Beigh worked his way through the crowds, he found himself wondering whether Sparklefly was part of this deployment. She made him feel complete in a way that he hadn't ever known before. He hadn't known anything was missing until the day she'd kissed him. It awakened something inside, a complex determination of sorts. It was definitely going to take some doing, but he smiled to himself in knowing that he was going to marry her someday.

"What are you grinning about, soldier?" Lieutenant Clyde asked.

Snapping to a salute, Beigh replied, "Sir, nothing, sir!"

"I need you to round up the rest of LD's platoon. You've all been reassigned to me," the lieutenant said.

"Yes, sir. In that case, I need to talk with you, sir.”

"What about?" Clyde asked.

"It's LD, sir. He seems to have recovered from whatever had affected him in Dodge Junction. I believe he is fit to return to combat."

"You do," Clyde said; it almost felt more like a statement than a question.

"Yes, sir. However, I believe it should be on a trial basis. I don't believe he should be put back in command of a platoon."

"Let me get this straight," Clyde seemed wary. "You found your own lieutenant uninjured but unable to fight for nerves. Now, only a few days later, you want him back fighting by your side?"

"Yes, sir," Beigh swallowed hard. "I believe he is fit to fight."

Clyde sighed and then stepped forward, drawing face to face with Beigh and said, “Granted, but make no mistake, if he does anything crazy that threatens the lives of my ponies, I'll kill him myself."

Beigh felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The tone in Lieutenant Clyde's voice was one of complete sincerity. Unable to find words, Beigh simply nodded.

"One more thing," Clyde added, still maintaining an icy tone. "I have heard it reported that you are unable to use offensive magic."

"Ah," Beigh stumbled with his words, "Well, um, yes, sir. I never had a talent for it.I’m a medic, sir.“

"LD might have let you get away with that, but he's a pegasus. After you get your platoon informed, have them all meet up with us at the school house. You and I are going to do some extra training. Dismissed."

Unsure whether to feel relieved or concerned, Beigh made busy rounding up the rest of his platoon to inform them of the reassignment. Then it would be back to the hospital to push through the paperwork to get LD out. Ponyville seemed like it was nearly at the breaking point for the numbers of soldiers still arriving. There were tens of thousands of them, all organizing into companies. While he was walking by, Beigh saw a group outside the castle talking. It consisted of at least seven commanders and three generals. With more still arriving, something big was happening without a doubt.

34 - Gathering, Part 5 of 6

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Pixyglitter heard it even before Cloud Blazer said anything.

"By Celestia," he exclaimed.

"Where do y'all think they're headin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

“South, but... I don't know.”

"How many are there?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Hard to say. It has to be more than fifty-thousand."

The noise of the soldiers taking to the sky wasn't particularly loud from their vantage point at Sweet Apple Acres, but when that many wings start flapping, it can be heard for quite a distance. The others sounded rather entranced at the sight of it.

"Will it interrupt our plans?" Pixyglitter asked hopefully. In truth, she felt nervous.

"No," Cloud Blazer answered. "The weather is perfect for flying, and so long as we keep our distance, we won't have a problem. Besides, they've almost all moved out. Are you sure you're ready?"

"I've been ready for weeks," she lied. "Let's do this!"

The stallion backed up to her, nudging against her gently. She felt Cloud Blazer’s back and hooked her harness to his. In spite of her reservations, she was ready, but she didn't want to give off the impression of anything less than complete confidence.

"Double check all straps and buckles?" she asked.

This had become a routine.

"Check. All straps and buckles secure," he replied.

"Y'all be careful," Apple Bloom cautioned.

"You should have seen them at the pond; they're amazing!" Sweetie Belle affirmed.

Pixyglitter ignored their voices, only listening for Cloud Blazer. She had to be ready to do anything he said immediately. Any deviation from this could get both of them injured or killed.

"Liftoff, give me vertical ascent," he commanded.

Her wings began beating the air, "Copy that, vertical ascent."

The ground and the earthy smells fell away, and in the darkness of her blindness, only the wind touched her now. She was rising, but it was impossible for her to tell how quickly.

"Forward," he said.

Pixyglitter tilted and began flying ahead. She was excited, but also terrified; it was quite exhilarating to feel so free and close to danger. A shiver ran through her. Cloud Blazer would frequently give instruction to bank left, bank right, correct up, or something similar. In this moment she lived to obey his every word. This was their first flight around Ponyville. It was strangely fulfilling in a way she didn't understand. Being so dependent still seemed foreign, but she had become far more accustomed to it than she'd realized. The rush of the wind made her feel almost giddy; this was far better than flying over the pond.

"Hover in place and descend," Cloud Blazer said somewhat suddenly.

Pixyglitter complied immediately and then asked, "Is something wrong?"

"What? No. It's already been twenty minutes. We'll rest a bit and then go again."

It was hard to believe that any time had passed. She was so focused on listening for the stallion’s commands that Pixyglitter had lost all sense of time. They followed what had become a routine procedure and made a soft landing on a patch of dirt. Nose and ears reported that they were not on the farm; they had come down near the pond. The ground here smelled different from the farm, and a foal splashed nearby.

"Way to go, Pixyglitter!" Cloud Blazer praised.

"Thanks.”

It felt good. For another fleeting moment she felt whole again.

"Are you tired?"

"Not even a little!”

"I guess all that practice we've been doing has helped."

She smiled, fairly certain that he had been looking at her while he spoke. Emotions were beginning to flood through her, but she didn't want to make a scene, especially since it was hard to determine how many others were around. She wished he would keep talking.

"I haven't had any more dreams," he confessed.

She shook her head, "Me neither."

It was not her subject of choice, but it would have to do.

"I just can't shake the feeling that I'm supposed to do something. Somepony was trying to tell me something, but I just never understood what it was."

Pixyglitter shrugged, "Maybe you've already done it."

He was silent.

"I don't think they were a coincidence, as much as I'd like to. They scared me, you know that, but I'm glad we shared the dreams."

"You are?"

Her heart was pounding now. She told herself to be careful, but perhaps it was the emotional high from flying again that removed caution.

"I was blinded in combat, but in those dreams, I was able to see for one last time. Whoever was responsible for it, they gave me something that I wouldn't have even known how to feel without it now. You’ve been so helpful, even before you knew I’d be able to return the favor... they let me see your face, and I'll always be grateful for that."

Now she'd done it. She could feel tears burning a path through the bandages she still wore over her eyes and running down her cheeks. She had said too much, and embarrassment was somewhere in the overwhelming mix of emotions.

"Hey," he said softly.

"No," she waved him away, wishing she could read his body language, "I'm fine." She smiled uneasily. "I just needed to say that." She took a deep breath, "Gaining you as a friend has made all of this so much more bearable. I owe you.”

As soon as she had spoken about being glad to see his face, she felt the need to establish a boundary. She didn’t want him to misunderstand and think she was flirting.

"Pixyglitter, you don't owe me a thing.”

His voice sounded sad or wistful. Was he getting all emotional too?

He continued, "You've given me the power of flight in a unique way. Nopony else could take me up without it being a mercy or a pity. With you, as a team..." he paused as if searching for words, “because we have to do it together, it's as close as I can ever come to flying on my own."

The joyful tears continued flowing, but she didn't care anymore. In their brokenness, they'd found a way to use what they did have left to help each other. Pixyglitter never had a brother, but this stallion was what she always imagined a brother would be like. The foal splashing in the pond was joined by another, and the sound of their laughter filled the air. Pixyglitter smiled; the laughter in her heart was greater still.

34 - Gathering, Part 6 of 6

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Scootaloo now saw them, and the sight that lay before her was nearly enough to steal her courage... nearly. From a mountain on the southern side that overlooked Apple Loosa, the entire expanse of the changeling's largest force could be seen. Littered across the ground, they completely swallowed up the abandoned town and the surrounding low-lands. Like a great sea, they clamored all over each other, constantly moving. This made an exact count of them all but impossible, but Flittergear was working on it.

The Taskforce and a single regiment had secured this location while the main force was forming up northeast toward Dodge Junction. The heights they wanted were west of the town, but the timberwolves were spread out that direction, so they would to have to draw them off. Sparklefly was pointing out the features of the terrain to everypony. Mane Crusher, the traitor, was with them.

"So that there, where they rise up west of town, that's the heights we are hoping to take once we draw them off. With a little luck, we'll pull them away, swing around behind them and form up. When we draw them back to that position, we'll be able to hold them there for a while. Maybe a week or two."

"I see," Mane Crusher replied. "If they don't take the bait?"

"We've been considering that," Charging Lance answered. "As long as we can stay mobile enough to keep hitting them, we believe they will pursue us."

Sparklefly added, "Ultimately we'll just have to step carefully and hope they commit."

"And your supply trains are already worked out?" Mane Crusher asked.

"Yes," Masher replied. "We can keep fielded for about three days without resupply. A little longer if we ration, but we can't keep too many supplies with us or we sacrifice mobility."

Mane Crusher nodded, "Three days... that’s good. What about after two weeks?”

The others stared back at him without reply for a long moment. Charging Lance broke the silence.

“Every day we delay them is more time for everypony else to prepare or get out of the way. I doubt if there is a viable strategy other than keeping them occupied.”

The traitor frowned, “Then we’ll have to depend on them to make a mistake.”

He stared out over the expanse of the enemy, “You seem to have this all well in hoof. Why did you send for me?"

Sparklefly took a breath, "Mainly in case there is anything we have overlooked. You are the best strategist I've ever seen."

He turned and looked over the vast host that lay before them. Scootaloo wondered what he was thinking.

“I don’t know if anypony is that great a strategist... They will try to cut of your resupply," he finally said. "One way to help with this is to avoid sending or receiving supplies at regular intervals."

"So they can't predict our movements," Scootaloo added.

For a moment, she thought Mane Crusher smiled, but it was difficult to tell under his mustache.

"Yes. Also consider having supplies dropped at a position to which you'll be moving, if you're certain to arrive before the changelings do.”

Sparklefly nodded, rubbing at her eye patch like she usually did when she was thinking. She seemed apprehensive or distracted. At the very least, more was on her mind than the problem ahead. Scootaloo couldn’t place her hoof on it and guessed it was likely an after effect of Sparklefly’s recent capture.

"If they get the supplies, they won't even have to fight you," Mane Crusher said.

"Right, because we'll hit them fast and hard in retaliation," Pacer added.

Mane Crusher gave a bewildered look.

"Don't mind him," Scootaloo said, "He says a lot of stupid stuff, but he doesn’t mean most of it.”

Charging Lance and Masher laughed. Pacer was about to challenge what she'd said, but his expression betrayed that he wasn't quite sure if she’d meant that as an insult or not. Flittergear stood up and whispered in Charging Lance's ear.

"Well, an exact count seems impossible," Charging Lance said, "but we have an estimate. They are no less than seven-hundred and fifty thousand."

"Against our eighty-thousand?" Mane Crusher asked.

Silence followed and Charging Lance nodded. Scootaloo felt a slight sinking feeling as if they were already in over their heads. She tried to ignore it. Sparklefly stared out at the endless enemy force, her stance tight. A flutter of wings heralded a scout approaching. It was a blue pegasus mare with pink eyes. She landed and saluted.

"Sergeant Featherplume reporting!" she spoke as she submitted to being magically scanned by Masher.

"Go ahead," Charging Lance answered.

"Sirs," Featherplume spoke almost as rigidly as she stood, "General Brax has made his own assessment of the field and agrees with your strategy. His forces are arrayed on the eastern side of Apple Loosa, obscured from enemy view, and prepared for battle. He is deferring to your signal to begin the attack."

"Send the general our compliments," Charging Lance said with a smile.

Featherplume saluted, turned and flew off in the direction of Brax's forces, which couldn't be seen from this vantage point. Scootaloo turned her gaze back to the enemy. They were a large swarm just massed all over each other. It was eerily sickening how they could exist like that. Something had changed; she strained to look closer.

"Are they..." Sparklefly began.

"Moving," Flittergear said quietly.

If Scootaloo hadn't been standing beside her, she wouldn't have heard her speak.

"They're moving," Scootaloo said.

Pacer added, “West, naturally.”

"Then it seems that the time has come," Mane Crusher observed. "I recommend beginning with a small fast force to test their reaction time before you commit larger numbers.”

Charging Lance nodded, "How about a hundred pegasi?"

Mane Crusher nodded.

"Fly in, smash a little and fly out?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, but cautiously," Charging Lance answered. "We can't afford to give them a single life."

"I can lead that mission," Scootaloo volunteered.

"I want you on the CAP," Charging Lance replied thoughtfully. "We don't want any surprises from them."

Scootaloo nodded, not exactly disappointed, but she definitely wanted any chance to distinguish herself that she could find. There was also the matter of paying them back for Rainbow Dash’s injuries.

"We should send Colonel Skyflame," Masher said. "She's the fastest pegasus we've got."

The others nodded agreement, but Scootaloo caught a wry smile on Sparklefly's face for a moment. As they prepared to leave, Flittergear caught Scootaloo's attention when she kicked a small rock off the cliff. She watched it tumble as it fell, striking the steep slope as it went.

"If we could draw them to a cliff, we could drop an avalanche on them," Flittergear said with that mischievous grin she made whenever she had an idea, her mouth curling to one side.

Scootaloo looked doubtfully back at her, "Maybe, but it would have to be an awfully big cliff to cut down the numbers they have. Besides, how would we start an avalanche without getting ourselves killed?"

Flittergear shrugged. Scootaloo smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder after connecting the harness. The Taskforce flew back down to join up their own main force. As they came into view, Scootaloo felt somewhat better, but was surprised at just how few they seemed in comparison to what they were going up against. They found General Brax on a small, gently-sloped rise that offered a view of the field before them. The entire Taskforce landed without incident, and Scootaloo disconnected from Flittergear immediately.

"Welcome to the Assault Corps," Brax greeted them.

"Glad you could make it," Charging Lance replied glibly.

Brax noticed Mane Crusher as Sparklefly unhooked him from her harness. His expression betrayed distrust and contempt that his voice did not, "Mane Crusher."

"Congratulations on your promotion, General," Mane Crusher replied.

"They've started moving west," Pacer began. "We recommend sending in Skyflame with a hundred pegasi to see if we can draw them this way."

"Very well," Brax replied.

Masher added, "If they commit, we'll need to be pulling back quickly to stay ahead of them."

"It won't be a problem," the general replied. "I've already got scouts keeping an eye on our flanks and rear. It's all clear to the pass behind us, all the way to the badlands."

"We shouldn't have to run that far," Sparklefly said. "We just need to get them east of town. Let me fill you in on the plan."

Something about Sparklefly’s demeanor still seemed off. Scootaloo made a mental note that she would have to find time to talk to her soon. The pegasus left the discussion and found herself in command of a squad flying as part of the CAP. They were the highest patrol, which gave a complete view of everything that was happening. The size difference of the two armies was even more apparent now that both could be seen. The other pegasi with her were quiet, no-nonsense types. She could tell that they had been well trained to this task, eyes ever searching.

Before long, Skyflame's company was airborne. Scootaloo watched them fly fast and low, straight for the enemy. It seemed almost insane, but they knew what they were doing. They closed on the mass of timberwolves. It would only be a few seconds now, but they showed no signs of slowing. Then they made contact. Punching directly into the rear, timberwolves erupted into chaos as they spun and leapt to attack. Skyflame's company smashed through and pulled up. They turned and headed away, just out of reach.

A few dozen stragglers aside, Scootaloo couldn't see any change in movement from the main force. The pegasus formation looked still intact. They turned, dropped and hit the stragglers full on. A tangled mess resulted that lasted for a minute or so. Then Skyflame's force took back to the air and made a second run at the enemy. The timberwolves turned on them much faster the second time, but they again pulled up out of reach. The result was the same; only a few dozen stragglers pursued.

Skyflame ignored them, and instead headed north, up the line of the enemy, drawing close. Rather suddenly, her entire company turned and dove into the line, sweeping past them and inflicting what damage they could as they shot down the edge at high speed. For a moment, Scootaloo lost sight of them in the movement that occurred, but then they emerged again, flying hard away from the horde of timberwolves. Like a swell on the sea, the timberwolves began changing direction, moving at a run in pursuit of the pegasus company.

"Keep your eyes on the sky," Scootaloo cautioned her squad. "We're about to have incoming."

Skyflame's much more mobile force had no problem outrunning the timberwolves; it seemed that they had taken the bait. They charged through the destroyed eastern orchard directly to the hills where the main EUP force was sitting. The timberwolves were spread out when they arrived, and between unicorn magic and a solid wall of earth pony melee, not a single one breached the line.

The entire action lasted a little over an hour, but the main force of timberwolves didn't charge straight in. Scootaloo could see them spreading out to the north to press the ponies’ flank. The terrain was rough, but they'd be able to cross it soon enough. The bulk of the timberwolf army still remained to the west. The movement suggested that changelings were nearby, orchestrating the stick-dogs’ movements.

A scout flew up to their position and reported, "We are pulling back to the east toward Badlands Pass!"

"Copy that," Scootaloo replied. "Get to your assigned passengers!"

The CAP dissolved, and within only a matter of minutes, the entire Assault Corps was off the ground and flying east. Scootaloo found Flittergear at the command center where she'd left her. Without a word, they connected up the harness and took flight, following the rough formation. Officers were shouting and moving everypony into more precise positions, which would be important if they had to make any sudden changes in their retreat plan.

"They're smart," Flittergear said.

"You think so?" Scootaloo asked, not entirely convinced.

So they didn't rush in blindly and follow when they were hit the first time, that didn't necessarily mean they were smart. Besides, between Sparklefly, Brax, Mane Crusher, and Charging Lance, not to mention the rest of the Taskforce, Scootaloo wasn't terribly concerned about getting outsmarted, changelings controlling them or not. It was their overwhelming numbers that had her attention.

35 - Games, Part 1 of 11

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The mare stood upon her hind legs as she peered over the hedge which served as concealment. Her heart pounded against her rib cage as she clutched tightly the crossbow that was in her grasp. Only the faintest sound of her breath could be heard as she watched for the beast that approached.

Slowly, it slunk into the moonlight. It’s great cat-like paws padded silently forward. Its frame seemed far too large to move with such stealth, but it continued approaching, wings folded in. The parts of the wild manticore that commanded the mare’s attention were the tail, scorpion-like with stinger and all, and it’s lion head complete with razor-sharp saber teeth.

The mare carefully raised her crossbow into position. At this distance, it would be impossible to miss. The beast hadn’t seen her. The bolt sped from crossbow and lodged into the heart of the creature. A direct hit that should have been lethal. It turned to face her and bellowed a roar that made the mare’s efforts to reload hampered by decreasing strength. She fired again. Another direct hit, this time lodging in the massive creature’s throat. It seemed to not so much as feel the shot as it pawed the earth and charged.

Not fast enough to run, the mare dropped her crossbow and pulled out a dagger, backing up all the while. The enraged manticore howled as it burst through the hedge. The mare wasted no time, leaping upon the beast and stabbing again and again.

There was no effect.

A massive paw swatted the mare, toppling her end over end. She made it back to her hooves just as the beast was on her again. She put all of her strength into a final strike, driving the dagger home, blade and haft disappearing into the wound. Still, the creature didn’t drop.

Like lightning, his tail shot forward, striking her in the eye. She was blinded and began to shudder as the venom worked its way through her. The mare collapsed. She was helpless as the beast stood on her with his great paws, crushing the air from her lungs.

She tried to fight it, but she was paralyzed from the poison that had coursed through her body. Helpless, she was being smothered to death. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t get free...

Sparklefly awoke with a start. Her blood raced through her veins as she became aware of her surroundings. There was no manticore. She was surrounded by other soldiers, some trying to sleep, most awake and watching. Her mouth was impossibly dry. She fumbled for her canteen and took a an unsatisfying sip. She stood and stretched, fear working on her still. Charging Lance was nearby talking to a scout. She approached him.

“You still have a half-hour; you really should try to sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” Sparklefly lied.

She felt ashamed at how easily falsehoods seemed to come from her. Ash Eater was on her mind, a subject she couldn’t discuss with anypony. She felt sick.

“I always had trouble sleeping when the enemy is close.”

“What’s our status?” she asked.

“Unchanged. We are waiting to hear if they’ve reacted to any of our forces to the north and west before we try them here. I expect it’ll be at least an hour before anything is decided.”

She nodded, rubbing her eye patch. She shuddered at the memories that plagued her.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s a small matter, just a weird dream. I guess that’s to be expected at a time like this.”

“It is not uncommon,” he replied thoughtfully. “I try to bury myself in work when I can’t sleep.”

“That sounds good to me,” she replied.

Anything she could do to get her mind off of Ash Eater and what had happened in the cave would be worth looking into. The older stallion regarded her in the darkness for a moment.

“It must have been a nasty dream to affect you so.”

Sparklefly shrugged, “I’ve forgotten most of it. Something about smothering...”

“Flip your tail.”

“What?” Sparklefly asked in confusion at the subject-change.

“It’ll help, flip your tail a couple of times.”

She did as he suggested, silly as it sounded. She flicked her tail back and forth a few times, and much to her surprise, Sparklefly’s thoughts seemed to come into focus.

“How did... How does that even work?”

Charging Lance chuckled, “I have children older than you; I know a lot of tricks.”

“Really?”

Sparklefly hadn’t thought to ask much detail about personal lives of the other members of the Taskforce. Charging Lance had mentioned his wife on many occasions before, but this was the fist time he’d specifically said anything about his children or their age. Given how much he was Sparklefly’s senior, it didn’t surprise her that much.

“Yes, two colts and a filly.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his use of “colt and filly” instead of “stallion and mare”. It seemed that offspring were always children in their parents’ eyes.

“Are they in the EUP Guard?”

He smiled, “No. They have each managed to keep their jobs in spite of the crisis. I for one am satisfied that they are out of harm’s way.”

Sparklefly couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. She knew her own momma-mare couldn’t be exactly happy that she had decided to fight. Proud, yes, but not happy. Charging Lance dug in a pocket, dropping a small container. Sparklefly picked it up. A hoof-written label read, ‘E of Apple Loosa’. She gave it back to him.

“Still collecting, I see.”

“Yes,” he replied as he gave her a small round charm.

It had little ornament, but was silver with a hinge on one side. Sparklefly found the release and opened it. On the inside were two photographs. On the left was an older mare, Charging Lance’s wife. The other side had three younger ponies posing together. The two young stallions sat on ether side, making a face at the happy mare between them. All were light colors like their parents, varying in shades from white to a tan.

“That’s a good-looking family,” Sparklefly closed and returned the charm.

“I keep them close to remember why I’m here,” his tone became grim. “If I fail, they die.”

Sparklefly had no answer to that statement. She certainly felt as much every time she wrote letters to her momma-mare. It wasn’t an exact truth, but it was fuel to keep fighting.

“You really should try to sleep,” he insisted.

Sparklefly nodded, flicking her tail again. It had a somewhat calming effect that she didn’t understand. She couldn’t help but smile. The feeling, however, was mixed up inside. Though in somewhat better a disposition, the thousand scenarios of how she could have done things differently were plaguing her. She knew she hadn’t been strong enough.

The piercing sound of a bugle cut her reverie, and Sparklefly listened to the notes being played. It was the unmistakable tune used to sound an incoming alert.

“Time to go,” Charging Lance said.

“I agree.”

Within moments, they sounded the order to withdraw, and in another minute they were all awake and in the air, heading to the next safe place they could set down and continue working on the enemy.

35 - Games, Part 2 of 11

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Cloud Blazer awoke in the night, a cold sweat on his brow. The stallion’s heart was racing, and something that seemed imperative was on the edge of his mind. As much as he tried to work his thoughts into understanding, in the fogginess of only just having awakened, it all faded away within a matter of moments. Left with only the pain of his healing injuries, he lay there in the darkness and considered trying to return to sleep. The only sound was Big McIntosh's heavy breathing nearby; Thunderfly was a quiet sleeper. Whatever had troubled Cloud Blazer's slumber didn't seem to be affecting his roommates.

Suddenly realizing he was thirsty, Cloud Blazer committed to the arduous task of standing. He did this slowly, a process to which he had become all-too accustomed. His leg, still in a cast, felt heavy, and it was the most painful of his remaining wounds. His ribs and shoulders also hurt frequently, but the leg was the worst one. He crept quietly to the door, the boards in the floor creaking and squeaking beneath him. Leaving the room, he walked down the hallway and started descending the stairs. The sounds of the farmhouse had been a comforting consistency lately. He was by no means as familiar with them as the Apples, but he'd certainly spent enough time here to know where somepony was just by the sound of the floor. Achieving the bottom of the steps, Cloud Blazer crept toward the kitchen and the promise of quenching his thirst.

"Can't sleep?" Applejack's voice came out of the darkness.

Cloud Blazer's heart leapt into his throat, and an icy shiver of terror ran up his spine and into the back of his head. It took him a moment to recover enough to speak.

"Don't do that!" he whispered harshly into the shadows.

"Heh, sorry about that.”

Now that he was looking, he could see her sitting on the sofa near the door. She'd been so still and the room so dark that he hadn't noticed her before she’d spoken.

"I just needed some water; what are you doing up so early?" he asked.

Without a word, she rose from her seat and trudged into the kitchen. Rather than using the light, she pulled out one of their firefly lanterns and set it on the table. The dim illumination it provided was more than enough considering how adjusted their eyes were to the darkness. She then took a glass and worked the pump on the sink until water started coming out. She had done it just enough so that the glass was filled but no water wasted; clearly this was an operation with which she was as familiar as walking to have attained such precision. Placing the glass on the kitchen table, she quietly pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. Cloud Blazer pulled out a chair and delicately worked into a sitting position.

As he took a drink of water, Applejack finally replied, "I'm not really up early; I'm up late."

"Is everything okay?" he made a gesture at her large belly.

"Heh, yeah. I'm sure this one will be," she began; weariness was in her voice. She shrugged, ”I guess I just thought it would be easier to be mayor. I was so focused on saving Sweet Apple Acres, I hadn't thought much about after that. And wouldn't you know it, that Diamond Tiara wormed her way onto the city council. Anyway, I got back after midnight and sat down there to take my shoes off, so to speak. I guess I dozed off for a bit."

Cloud Blazer frowned in the dim light of the lantern. Diamond Tiara making trouble was never a pleasant circumstance. A twinge of pain shot up his leg, causing him to wince.

“That leg still hurts pretty bad, huh?"

"Yeah," he snorted as he made a futile attempt to scratch it; the itch was beneath the cast.

"Makes me feel like I don't have much cause to be upset," Applejack said. "Shoot, the things you and your friends have gone through make my troubles look like they ain't nothin' at all."

"For the moment, maybe," he answered, a grim feeling washing over him. “Eventually, it seems like it's life or death for all of us."

"I reckon that's so, but you can't let that stop you."

He looked up at her; Applejack's green eyes were fixated on the lantern.

"Long as you're walkin' you can keep on workin', as Granny Smith used to say."

Cloud Blazer couldn't help but smile at that, but it also made him a little sad. The illness that finally took her had done so somewhat suddenly. Still, nearly everypony in town knew it was her time. That knowledge did little to comfort any.

"So, what's keepin' you up at three in the mornin'?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged at her, taking a drink of water. "I was having a dream, but I can't remember what it was."

Applejack smiled at him, but he could see weariness behind it. The cares she carried had only grown much larger since Granny Smith passed, and now that she was mayor, Cloud Blazer could only imagine the burden she dealt with day to day. A funny look came across her face.

"You weren't dreamin' about my little sister, now were ya?"

He almost instinctively panicked, feeling embarrassed at that question, "No! I mean, I don't think so. I can't remember," he stumbled for the right words.

"Simmer down now, I was just gettin’ your goat," she smiled again.

He knew she was wondering the same thing that others seemed to frequently hint or ask about, so he decided to just go ahead and dispel any growing thoughts.

"We're just friends. Apple Bloom is great, but I guess I think of her more like family." He thought a moment before adding, "And that goes for both of us. Just friends."

Her eyes dug into his for a minute that began to make him feel uncomfortable before she asked, "Are you sure?"

Cloud Blazer let himself consider the possibility for a moment. A future of he and Apple Bloom becoming mates seemed a foreign idea that his mind didn’t like. Not that it was unpleasant, it simply felt out of place. Ultimately, he found it unlikely that Apple Bloom would have had any feelings of that nature for him, especially if nopony had discovered it by now. He always thought that if she'd felt that way about him, she'd have said something. She was straightforward like that. Confident in this knowledge, he nodded slowly.

"Just as well, I suppose," Applejack said, but her tone was hard to read. "I know one thing; neither one of you could do better."

If anypony else had said that, Cloud Blazer would have to decide what they meant by it. Coming from Applejack, he knew it to be a high compliment.

He wasn't sure how to respond, but finally managed to say, "Thanks," before hurriedly taking another drink of water.

"Well, I'd best be off to bed," she stood.

"Do you know what you're going to do about Diamond Tiara?"

She stopped, turned to him and grinned, "Well, I'm still walkin'."

He nodded at her, smiling as she continued off into the darkness of the house. He heard the floor groaning under her weight as she climbed the stairs and made it to her room. Left alone with his thoughts, Cloud Blazer tried uselessly to remember the dream that had awakened him. It had been completely unlike the vivid dreams that he had shared with Pixyglitter before. It was more like the seemingly random streams of subconscious that normal ponies have. The only thing he could remember from it was the sensation of falling.

He shivered and finished the glass of water. The quiet of the night made sleep beckon once again, and Cloud Blazer made his way as quietly as possible back up the stairs and to his bed. He lay there for a while, trying to sleep without success. Eventually his focus fell upon on the steady rhythm of Big McIntosh's breathing until slumber finally found him.

35 - Games, Part 3 of 11

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Cloud Blazer awoke.

The morning arrived without any more dreams. The smells of breakfast wafted under the door as pale rays of sunlight began peaking through the window. Cloud Blazer opened his eyes to see that Big McIntosh had already left to begin his morning chores, and Thunderfly was also gone. Rustling out of his makeshift bed and getting onto his hooves, the all too familiar pain from his injuries gnawed at the stallion.

He slowly stretched in every way that he was able without hurting himself. It was a time-consuming process, but he had found that the day would be much more easily met if he started this way. Leaving the bedroom and completing his morning rituals in the bathroom, he creaked his way down to the kitchen; the scent of breakfast became more clear. Toast with zap apple jam; also, the sound of a vivacious one-sided conversation could be heard. He found Apple Bloom doing the cooking while Glitterdust was assisting her. She had either a bored or sleepy look on her face. Pixyglitter was seated at the table with Pinky Pie.

"So that's how the barn raising actually turned out to be a barn razing," Pinkie Pie was saying as the others giggled at her antics. "I don't think I've ever seen anypony so mad in all my life!"

"How didn't you die?" Pixyglitter seemed fully invested in the story.

"Hey, Cloud Blazer!" Pinkie Pie greeted with her usual exuberance.

"It's kinda like a sixth sense," Apple Bloom said without looking back.

Continuing into the room, he replied as heartily as he could through the sleepiness, "Good morning!"

"Hungry?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Are you kidding?" he replied. His stomach growled loudly, almost as if on cue.

"Wow, even your tummy's talking!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a giggle.

Cloud Blazer took a seat at the table. The relief that came from letting the weight off of his mending leg was wonderful. It was then that he noticed Pixyglitter was already wearing her flight harness.

"You up for an early flight?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, turning toward him. "They said it's going to rain later, and I don't want to skip today."

He grinned and said, "You're the boss."

She smiled back at him, almost as if she had read his expression despite her inability to see it. Glitterdust set a plate in front of him. The meager portion of a single half piece of toast coated with a thin layer of jam looked like a feast. There was a time when this wouldn't have even been suitable for an afternoon snack... The toast had been fried in butter, a delightful treat that Cloud Blazer had only ever had at the Apple's. The flavor washed over him as he took a tiny bite. It was always best to savor food when the opportunity presented itself.

Sparklefly's mother, Twinklestar, entered the room carrying Shimmerpuff, the youngest filly. Her demeanor seemed rather uplifted.

"We got a letter," she said. "I didn't notice it when the mail came yesterday."

"Who's it from?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Oh! I love guessing games!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Twinklestar replied, “It's from Sparklefly.”

"Aw, no fair!" Pinkie Pie lamented. "I didn't even get to make one guess."

Glitterdust rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen.

“Don’t you want to listen?" her mother asked.

"Later," the sullen filly replied gloomily over her shoulder, "I have chores to do."

Looks of concern came over everypony, but none said anything before Pixyglitter broke the silence.

"I'd love to hear it.”

Taking the last empty chair, Twinklestar sat with Shimmerpuff on her lap and opened the letter. Thunderfly, his mane unkempt and the look of freshly disturbed sleep on his face, followed her in and stood behind his mother. He had apparently found more sleep after leaving Cloud Blazer’s room. When she began to speak, Cloud Blazer was reminded somewhat of his own mother. She had a kind and appropriately motherly voice.

"Dear family," Twinklestar read aloud. "I know I don't write as often as I should, but my new duties keep me even more busy than before. While I still can't talk about the particular nature of my assignment, I can say that we are facing the enemy daily now and that our campaign is going well. I have been constantly amazed by the stalwart dedication and fierce fighting abilities of my companions. They are intelligent and effective. I could never have imagined a force so capable to the mission with which we have been tasked. I can't say just yet when I will have leave, but I trust that I'll get to see you all again soon. I've had an idea for the south field at Sweet Apple Acres. From a correspondence I had with Applejack about this, it seems that a slightly different approach to the irrigation will make a drastic improvement. I'm sure it will be a big job, but with both of our families working together, I know we can handle it. Scootaloo wanted me to send her greeting. I hope this finds you well, and that we'll be reunited soon. Missing you, Sparklefly."

Cloud Blazer knew he wasn't over Scootaloo, but keeping her out of his mind was nigh impossible. The mere mention of her had sent his emotions into turmoil. It was good to hear that his friends were well; a sigh of relief was the first indication that he'd been holding his breath. Looking out the window, the desperate wish that he hadn't been injured plagued the stallion. If only he could still be out there to help his friends... He let the thought fade away.

"I always like to get good news," Apple Bloom said.

She busied herself cleaning up, and before long, everypony was off to tend to their daily duties. Cloud Blazer got into his harness as swiftly as he was able. The lifejackets were beginning to seem overly cautious at this point, but they decided to keep wearing them for the time being. Pixyglitter had become rather adept at landings, and the duration of their flights had been steadily increasing as her strength returned. If only his leg would heal as quickly; in his current state, the stallion couldn't even run.

The morning flight around Ponyville brought back memories of better times. Back then he'd be up to welcome the dawn, but today the sun was already out and about. The wind in his mane was refreshing. It was almost enough to make him forget, if only for a moment, the pain he constantly felt in his body. He and Pixyglitter didn't make conversation while they were flying. She had to focus and be ready to act on his every command.

This left him time to think when nopony else could distract him. She probably did the same, but he doubted if she could actually concentrate on anything other than listening for his voice. His mind was on trips much further afield than Ponyville, eventually. If they were ever going to fly farther or higher than near the lake, they'd really need some parachutes. As they turned east, the morning rays of the sun were transforming from the golden sunrise into the bright rays of daytime. Cloud Blazer found himself wondering if Sparklefly and Scootaloo were somewhere that they could see the sunrise.

Looking back down, he noticed that they were now near the castle. The CAP flew by them, as they often did on the morning flights. One of the wing-ponies waved, which Cloud Blazer returned.

"Slow descent," he said to Pixyglitter.

She responded without hesitation, making his will her action.

"Bank right," he ordered as they passed the castle.

They began coming down in a spiral course that brought them eventually to the ground near the military headquarters. Through his commands and her compliance, they made a soft and efficient touchdown. Gentle as it was, Cloud Blazer's leg ached. Only moments later, they were unhooked from each other and safely on the ground.

"We're not on the farm," Pixyglitter said.

"No, we're in town."

"Are you tired of flying?"

Cloud Blazer couldn't help but smile, "Never. I just remembered that I wanted to try to get us some parachutes."

"Good thinking.”

It was much quieter with only minimal forces remaining in Ponyville. When several divisions had been stationed here, it always seemed full to bursting. The stillness reminded Cloud Blazer a little of how it had been before. With Pixyglitter following, he walked into the castle. The guard barely even acknowledged them as they passed. This seemed a little odd, but Cloud Blazer dismissed it; they had likely been observed all over town by the soldiers, and it was doubtful anypony of great importance was inside.

After only a few twists and turns, they located the quartermaster. The room he was in had been modified for the war. The high vaulted ceiling was completely obscured by a quickly built wooden structure that had shelves and additional floors to make all of the storage accessible. The area that Cloud Blazer could see looked sparsely stocked. As they walked in, the quartermaster was on the right, behind a small desk. He was busily writing down something in a ledger and didn't seem to notice the pair.

"Excuse me," Cloud Blazer began.

"Excuse yourself," came a curt reply.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Yes you did," the quartermaster said flatly without looking up. "Why else would you talk to me when I'm busy?"

Cloud Blazer wasn't sure what to say to that; he suddenly felt out of his depth.

"You're from up north," Pixyglitter spoke up.

"How observant," the quartermaster replied, still focused on his ledger.

“You’re not; that was a poor choice of words," the mare answered.

With a sigh, the quartermaster put down his pen and looked up. He had a rather detached gaze that felt cold to Cloud Blazer.

"I guess it was," the quartermaster finally admitted while looking at the blind mare. "Well? You've got my attention; what do you want?"

"Parachutes," Cloud Blazer blurted out.

"Oh, is that all?" came a reply that bordered on sarcasm. "We're out of those."

Beginning to feel somewhat irritated, Cloud Blazer asked, "You don't have any?"

"Not one. I wonder what happened to them. Oh, I know, you might have heard; there's a war on."

"I think we'd know more about that than you would," Pixyglitter shot back, her tone sounding rather hot.

The quartermaster regarded them for a moment before saying, "I suspect you would." Another moment of silence was followed by a final thought as the he began scribbling something on another piece of paper, "Used and damaged equipment gets put in the basement until it can be repaired. Help yourself."

Cloud Blazer took the paper that was offered and said, "Thanks."

The quartermaster grunted and immediately went back to his ledger. With Pixyglitter following, the pair left the supply room and worked their way through the castle hallways toward the basement.

"Charming fellow," Cloud Blazer said softly.

"You just have to know how to talk to ponies from up north," Pixyglitter answered. "They're a bit more direct, and they don't tend to use polite phrases if they don't really mean it."

Locating the basement, Cloud Blazer announced, "We're here."

There was a gruff-looking guard standing stiffly in front of the door. He appeared as if he had jumped to that position upon hearing their approach. Cloud Blazer slowly walked up and showed him the paper the quartermaster had given him. The guard read over it carefully before standing aside.

The pair walked down the stairs into the dungeon-like chamber. It certainly didn't seem to be an inviting place. It was dark, but the air was noticeably cooler as they reached the bottom. The room was dimly lit by a soft pink light that seemed to be coming from one of the corners. Broken things were strewn from one end to the other. Rummaging around, Cloud Blazer found himself trying to be quiet, although he wasn't certain why. There were many harnesses and crossbows among the odds and ends that lay about, but none of them were in working order.

Cloud Blazer sighed, "This is a trash heap."

"Do you feel that?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Feel what?" he replied, looking up at her. She was facing the corner from which the dim pink light was emanating. “That’s the light. You can feel that?"

"No... well yes," she seemed to be struggling to find the right words. “I mean, I can’t feel light. It's more like a presence."

Standing up again, Cloud Blazer hobbled over to the corner. On a pedestal was a small pink glowing orb, about the size of a bowling ball. A giddy, almost queasy feeling washed over the stallion as he drew close. It was a tingling at first, but somehow he felt compelled to go closer.

Whatever the magical light was made of, it had secured his attention with near totality. It seemed to be moving. No, it was still on the pedestal. It was as if the space between him and the orb was expanding as he continued drawing closer. As the room stretched on, growing darker, a burst of sparks came out, exploding slowly and hanging in the air, much like a field of stars in the night sky.

Pixyglitter said something, but he couldn't hear her anymore. His senses had been consumed by the orb. All of his perception began to melt away: the room, the junk, Pixyglitter; all of it seemed like something from a different life or from a dream. He could hear Pixyglitter talking, or was she shouting? It was muffled and far away, almost like when listening to someone speaking from the shore while under water. Then he couldn't hear her anymore. He decided to respond so Pixyglitter wouldn’t worry.

“It’s okay, I’m just looking at the stars.”

Sounding only as muffled gibberish to his own ears, the stallion decided that his words hadn’t come out as he had intended. Within moments, he didn’t have the presence of mind to care. Everything else, emotions, thoughts, desires, and his very self faded into a sort of euphoria, which also was gone within mere moments. Only one sensation remained. Cloud Blazer was falling toward the magical artifact as quickly as it was expanding away from him, but there was no fear.

35 - Games, Part 4 of 11

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Scootaloo shouted as loudly as she was able, "Open fire!"

Hundreds of pegasi loosed their crossbows into the enemy. From the safety of their altitude, they dropped death upon a wave of timberwolves that were charging across the plain in the early hours of the morning. They loosed another volley, thinning out the enemy again. Signal flares began going up, which was a sign to fall back.

"Time to go!” Scootaloo called out. "Pick up your passengers and rendezvous at Badlands gap!"

Fluttering filled the air, as did the clicking of harnesses clasping together. Within only a minute, the entire division was airborne. Scootaloo found herself without anypony to carry for the moment, but this was not a common occurrence. The CAP formed up with her, and they began circling the perimeter of their group.

Scootaloo could only see a fraction of their force now, some five to ten thousand. The last three days had been a constant barrage of attacking and retreating. It had left their force far more spread out than seemed wise, a concern which the entire Taskforce held. The timberwolves had not taken the bait, but were themselves moving in multiple directions.

The divisions Scootaloo was with had the commanders, and the bulk of the timberwolves following them. Other divisions had been sent to try and draw the enemy east, but their plan was met with limited success. The hills east of Apple Loosa provided good terrain for the strategy, but moving quickly was imperative.

It was a short flight to the gap in the mountains that formed the entrance to the badlands. It didn't take long at all for a new command post to be set up. Scootaloo landed there to find Masher, Pacer, Charging Lance, and Flittergear already assembled.

"Welcome to our twelfth command post," Charging Lance said.

"Thirteenth," Flittergear whispered.

"The skies are clear for the moment," Scootaloo reported.

Charging Lance looked around and seemed satisfied.

"Reports have been coming in," Pacer said. "Looks like we're really giving it to them. We've killed almost two-thousand timberwolves already."

Charging Lance shot him a look and added, "But it cost us almost one percent of our force."

"Perfectly acceptable losses," Pacer said.

Masher shook his head, "You do realize that at that rate we'd all be dead and they'd still have, what?

“About six hundred thousand,” Flittergear added.

"Oh, that's nothing; we're just getting warmed up," Pacer said defiantly.

Scootaloo shook her head, but didn't get a chance to reply. Sparklefly, Featherplume, Skyflame, General Brax, and Mane Crusher arrived.

"Welcome back," Scootaloo said.

Sparklefly made a forced grin, "Well, we're still alive."

"For now," Brax said measuredly. "The good news is we are able to stay ahead of them as long as we dominate the sky. If they ever catch us unable to retreat, we'll be done."

"They still are wandering and covering Apple Loosa," Sparklefly said. "We're so spread out that we have groups as small as companies engaging and retreating from here to Galloping Gorge."

"Part of their strategy?" Charging Lance asked.

"Perhaps," Mane Crusher said thoughtfully. "The way they have been spreading out, it's been the only way to keep them mostly going in the direction we want."

"Mostly?" Scootaloo asked.

Sparklefly replied, “One of their... tendrils is getting close to Hoofington."

"I've already sent a regiment to see to the evacuation," General Brax added. "They will at least have warning before an attack comes."

"Any sign of changelings?" Masher asked.

Scootaloo shook her head as Sparklefly said, "None yet. If they're out there, they're keeping low."

"That bothers me," Charging Lance said.

"It's a small matter for them to hide behind their numbers for now," Sparklefly said, rubbing her eye patch. "They know that if they come out, we'll throw everything we have at them."

General Brax grimly stated, "In that event, things would get messy rather quickly."

"Agreed," Scootaloo chimed in.

“But whatever they’re doing to control the timberwolves, if we take out the changelings, it should be a rabble instead of an army,” Pacer noted.

Master nodded, “Yes. I just wish we knew more about how they were controlling them. It sure would make it easier to knock out the brain if we knew where it was.”

“You have your answer at to why they keep it a secret,” Mane Crusher added.

The group fell silent for a moment before Sparklefly took a breath and spoke. She still seemed bothered by something. Though, that was hardly out of the ordinary as none of them had slept much and all were painfully aware of the danger that was near at hoof.

"I think we're going to have to try something different to get their attention.”

"Did you have something in mind?" Charging Lance asked.

She shook her head.

"Sitting still makes me uneasy," Brax said. "Is the CAP up?"

"Yes," Scootaloo answered. "I'll take a squad now and check out the skies myself."

"Be careful," Sparklefly said.

Scootaloo snorted haughtily and replied, "The changelings had better be careful. I'm not in a prisoner-taking kind of mood."

With that she turned and trotted away. It only took her a minute to find a squad and get into the air. The skies were certainly clear, but movement on the ground was widespread. Dodge Junction was northwest of their position, and the badlands were directly south. The main body of the timberwolf army was coming through the pass in the mountains to the west. It was deemed a wide-enough pass that it would have been difficult to defend. If they had to pull south, the steep pass at the badlands would be equally as challenging, not to mention sweltering. To this point, the farther south they had gone, the hotter and more humid it seemed to get. Everything Scootaloo had heard of the Badlands indicated that it was also characterized by scorching heat, but nearly no precipitation or moisture at all, thanks to the mountains that shielded the perimeter from moist sea air farther east.

As they turned, Scootaloo scanned in the direction of the sea and found herself facing Hayseed Swamp. They were quite a lot further south than they had been the last time an ambush had come out of there, but Scootaloo hadn't forgotten. A strange feeling came over her while she looked at the swamp and the overgrown trees that obscured whatever might be below. The rear of their force was positioned on the dirt road that ran from the badlands in the south toward Dodge Junction north of them. They had already formed a defensive line against the swamp, which Scootaloo appreciated for their sense of caution.

Another CAP flew up the line, heading north. Scootaloo developed a curiosity as to what they might find if they pressed east a little farther. Her squad behind her, they flew above the border where the Hayseed Swamp gave way to the steep and impassable mountains that the McIntosh Hills became. Everything below them seemed quiet and still, just as one would expect if it were unoccupied. A high mountain peak lay in front of them, capped with snow.

Scootaloo was beginning to feel the strain of their constant movement. Her wings ached from the endless flying for days on end with little rest. Scanning the swamp below, her squad was silent. She glanced back at them for a second and noticed one of them looking intently to the left. Scootaloo turned her focus in that direction but didn't see anything at first. Then there was movement.

"Captain!" one of the others said.

"I see them," Scootaloo called back. "Eyes forward; ignore them and follow me."

Scootaloo continued east and then leisurely banked left and turned back to the west with her squad. She didn't see any changelings around, but that didn't mean that her squad wasn't being watched. Better to let them think they hadn't seen anything for now. The swamp suddenly seemed much more sinister than it had only moments before. There had to be thousands of timberwolves moving through it toward their main force. The movement below suddenly became much more visible.

"They're going faster!" one of the other's said.

"They know we saw them. Let's move it!" Scootaloo shouted.

She pushed ahead, her wings beating the air mercilessly to give her as much speed as she could muster. They easily outpaced the advancing horde in the swamp. In a few short minutes they were back over the few divisions that constituted their main force and Scootaloo landed at the command post. General Brax and Charging Lance greeted her.

"We have to move," Scootaloo panted.

"Incoming?" Brax asked.

Scootaloo nodded, out of breath, "From the swamp. Several thousand."

"We don't have enough pegasi. Sparklefly took half of them to try and get the timberwolves’ attention," Brax said.

Charging Lance shrugged, "Then we move south into the badlands. At least we can slow their approach in the pass."

"Well done, Captain," Brax said with what passed for a smile.

Scootaloo returned to the air with her squad. The swamp still seemed quiet, and there was no way to ascertain when the ambush would spring. Below, the entire force began moving south through the pass into the badlands. The sun was nearing the zenith, and it was beating down mercilessly. In the immediate area, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. To the north, rain clouds were giving relief, but where they sought refuge, the ponies would be left to their own devices to avoiding the blazing sun. It took several hours to get all of their present numbers through the pass, but they had achieved the badlands before the timberwolves came pouring out of the swamp.

"There they are!" one of Scootaloo's patrollers cried out.

"I see them," she calmly replied. "Better go report their position."

Scootaloo turned, her CAP squad following to keep the others informed about the ever-changing situation. If they hadn't spotted the timberwolves when they did, that retreat would have been much more difficult. All they could do was make the best of it until Sparklefly returned with their air support.

35 - Games, Part 5 of 11

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Duster labored for each breath. High altitude flying meant thinner air, and it was almost impossible to breathe at three-thousand two-hundred yards up. By the look of every face he could see, nopony else was in any better shape. Leading this mad flight was Sissy, Captain Sparklefly. She still seemed completely unshakeable in anything she did, but that only made Duster push all the harder to try to keep up with or surpass her. His lungs burned, screaming for air, but all he could do was maintain pace with the others and keep his breaths as deep and even as possible.

Apple Loosa was practically a small speck beneath them, and as for the timberwolves, they couldn't even be seen but for their sheer numbers. They looked like a feature of the terrain, as if some vast desert lay below. The warmth of the sun helped at first, but the air was so thin that it held no heat and stole their warmth. As they continued, the sun was baking from above while they were freezing from below. Duster would have laughed at his goggles beginning to frost on the edges had not the temperatures extremes been so uncomfortable.

This raid was a final attempt to draw the timberwolves together and toward the retreating Assault Corps, according to the briefing. Fly high overhead, drop on them fast and hard, and then retreat to their position near Hayseed Swamp. It had seemed simple enough, but nopony had mentioned how miserable the first step would be. Cold was biting and the sun burning, but everypony was silent as they flew in a rather spread-out formation.

Duster had heard rumors that their forces which had moved north to counter the enemy had been completely annihilated. He knew better than to trust any such tall tales at face value, but it was an upsetting thought. The stallion shivered from the cold and focused on the mission. Quickly scanning about, there was still nothing to threaten them at this altitude. They had to be west of Apple Loosa by now, but it was so far beneath them that it was difficult to tell.

It felt like they had been flying high for hours, but Duster knew it couldn't have been longer than one, if even that. Glancing to his right he saw LD keeping formation with stalwart precision. There was no apparent trace of the fear that was rumored to have incapacitated him only weeks before. Whatever had happened, he'd been stripped of rank and was now serving with the rest of the grunts. Rolling Thunder and Featherplume were to Duster's left. She had been one of the drill sergeants while he was being trained to fight. When this operation was mobilized, she'd been put into their squad as commander, even though she and Locknload both held the rank of sergeant. One would have thought that this would have been distressing to Locknload, but he didn't betray any such emotion if he felt it.

Unceremoniously the leading squadrons went into a dive. It was time. When it came to Duster's squadron, he also made the dive, pointing straight toward the ground and rotating a hundred and eighty degrees to be oriented correctly when they pulled out of it. LD, now on Duster's left, still maintained his position with the formation. They picked up speed, faster and faster as they fell. The steadily thickening air was warm, but it rushed by so fast that it was of little comfort, aside from allowing the stallion to catch his breath. Within moments, Duster's goggles defrosted and he could see clearly again. Under no power, he felt that he had stopped accelerating after fewer than ten seconds. At that speed, the entire air corps would be on the ground in a minute, maybe less.

He couldn't remember how many times he'd been in battle, but there was always a shaky feeling right before. This was far preferable to waiting to be attacked, but it was rather unnerving the first few times. By this point, Duster expected it, and brushed the feeling off. He decided to believe that it was the feeling of his body preparing to handle the stress it expected to be under. Halfway there, the ground was coming up fast. Without a word, everypony locked and loaded their crossbows. Another five seconds gone, and the shakiness was already fading. Everything seemed in slow motion as they plummeted toward the ground, nearly four-thousand strong.

Just as he drew close enough to really see them, Sissy and the lead squadron pulled up sharply to level off. Every wave that followed did the same, all unleashing their crossbows in a blanket upon the enemy. When it was Duster's turn, he did the same. The bolts were cutting through their targets; the timberwolves were piled so thick that it was impossible to miss. They snarled and howled and scrambled amongst the dead.

They were low and fast now, barely ten yards from the ground. Duster, LD, and everypony flying near them followed the plan to the letter. They reloaded and fired a second volley, and then a third as they flew above the mass beneath them. Timberwolves began leaping into the air, but couldn't reach the pegasus formation that was speeding back toward Apple Loosa and the rest of their forces. After the fifth arrow volley, magical attacks began shooting up, punching holes in the formation. Duster saw them fall, but he couldn't help them. He fired his sixth shot in the direction of one of the changelings, but he sped by so quickly that he couldn't determine whether he actually hit or killed it.

As planned, after the sixth shot, the entire formation began gaining altitude again. They had lost most of their speed from their diving maneuver and were now under their own power again as they reached two-hundred yards. Duster loaded his final shot and watched for changelings. Far below, the entire mass of timberwolves was on the move, speeding after them. He could hear shouts of celebration scattered throughout the pegasus formation. LD was not among them; his expression was like stone as he scanned the skies for signs of danger. As far as the eye could see, all of the timberwolves were moving east with a single purpose. The strike team had achieved their first objective; now they just had to rejoin the main force without getting killed.

35 - Games, Part 6 of 11

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Pixyglitter’s heart raced as she shouted, "Cloud Blazer!"

She had become alarmed when he stopped responding, and the last thing he’d said was something about looking at stars. This may not have been so upsetting had they not been in a basement. It took her a minute to find him, groping about without the use of sight.

The stallion was standing perfectly still; she couldn't even hear him breathing. Whatever it was that had his attention, she could feel it growing stronger. It was almost as if another pony were in the room. She shook Cloud Blazer; he didn't respond. Panic began to take over rational thought. She slapped him. But for the warmth in his flesh, it was like touching a corpse. Pixyglitter pushed against his body, which stood there rigid and motionless.

“Wake up!”

Crouching low, she sprang forward, plowing into him with as much force as her legs could muster. He toppled over, and the two of them fell in a tangled heap on the floor.

The stallion let out a cry in pain, ”You're kidding, right? What did you do that for?"

Relief flooded Pixyglitter as she tried to get off of him.

"You were in a daze," she answered. "I panicked."

He grunted, apparently sitting up. His breathing had returned to normal, and the other presence that Pixyglitter had felt seemed to have gone.

"I was looking at..." he sounded as if he were getting far away again.

"Hey!" she clapped.

"I'm fine," he sounded annoyed. "Help me up."

She struggled to lift him, but between the two of them, they got each other back up onto their hooves. He leaned on her as though he was keeping weight off of one leg.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "My leg is acting up again. Next time, just leave me until I come out of it, okay?"

The thought of a next time was somewhat unsettling.

"Deal," Pixyglitter answered. "Where were you? Was it another dream?"

"No, it was different. It was..." he seemed to be searching for words. “The room kind of stretched out, and I was in between here and there. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I know what we have to do. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" she asked, confused.

She heard him cross the room and begin rummaging around in the junk pile.

"These will do nicely."

As he walked away, she followed. Using her cane to search the way ahead had become second nature. They went up the stairs and back through the hallways to exit the castle. The outside air was warm, but much more fresh than the dusty cellar they had just left. The bends in the terrain told Pixyglitter that they were going to the hospital.

“Why are we heading to the hospital? What are we doing?”

He spoke over his shoulder, “You know how something looks totally different when you see it from a new perspective? It’s like that. You know how you think you know what a town is when you’re walking through, but then you fly over it and understand it even better.”

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Perfect," his tone sounded strangely glib.

The lack of answers combined with the coy answers frustrated the mare. She decided that she’d had enough.

"Stop right there!" she said emphatically. "You need to tell me what's going on. You froze up like you were in a trance or something staring at that... that whatever-it-was, and you're acting a little crazy, which isn't that strange for you, but if I’m coming to crazy town with you, you have to tell me why."

"Hey, I'm sorry," he replied as he turned, his voice a little softened. "I'm just so, it's... Everything just makes so much sense in my mind now. I'm afraid if I don't hurry, I'll lose it. Do you know what I mean?"

"No," she said flatly as frustration redoubled.

"The orb; I finally understand. It's them. I have to get the others to open it."

Tilting her head to one side, she asked, "What are you talking about?"

His voice grew quieter as he closed the distance between them, “The dreams, I was always trying to find things. Then the one we had together... The entity said it was what remains when everything else is ash and dust. It was talking about the explosion in the Everfree Forest. The orb is that which remains. Remember?" he sounded a little shaky.

"I remember the dream," she said, trying to recall it fully. "I remember the voice said to bring the others. Do you know who they are?"

A deafening silence answered her for what felt an eternity before he leaned close and said, "Yes, but there are too many ears around to talk about it here."

They stood there, somewhere in the middle of town for another minute while she processed this. It was exciting, but mostly terrifying. She very much did not enjoy feeling like a pawn in somepony else's game, but the dream had been compelling. If Cloud Blazer was determined to do this, that was enough reason, even if they got themselves killed on a fool's errand.

"Okay," she replied. "Are you just going to stand there, or are we going to go get... them... out of that orb?"

He smiled, she couldn't see it, but she knew he did. She heard him continue walking and followed after. Her mind raced through these new developments while she tried to bury any fear of this unknown. From learning to fly together, Pixyglitter had come to have as complete a trust in Cloud Blazer as one pony can have in another, but that part of their relationship was different. It was clear and direct, and their objective was easily understood. This was much darker territory, and the motives behind it were not yet clear; this is what scared her.

While she thought on these things, the pair made their way into the hospital and to the third floor. The hallways were still lined with makeshift beds; she would have felt them with her cane even if she hadn't heard them. The sounds of the living and the dying were unmistakeable. As they approached their destination, Pixyglitter could hear unhappy voices shouting. She quickly determined that it was a patient and a nurse.

"I told you I have to go!" the patient shouted.

"Sit back down!" the nurse replied rather emphatically. Pixyglitter recognized Nurse Redheart.

"I can't be cooped up in here anymore!" the patient continued. "I feel fine!"

"Either you will sit, or we will make you sit," Nurse Redheart retorted, her voice having become fiery. "Out there, you may command other ponies. In here, you are under our charge, and we will tell you when you are well."

The distinctive sound of bedsprings squeaking under somepony's weight could be heard.

"Thank you," Nurse Redheart said.

By this point, Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter had reached the door and were entering the room.

"I don't think shouting at the nurses will be all that helpful," Cloud Blazer said, almost cheerfully. "Besides, isn't that behavior unfitting a colonel?"

Pixyglitter's heart jumped into her throat at the mention of the rank. It was fine to make jokes, but officers tended to not find those sorts amusing.

"Commander," the patient said flatly. "Apparently I got promoted while I was unconscious."

"Well, congratulations, Commander," Cloud Blazer said with a smile in his voice.

“Are you here to spring me?” the commander over enunciated her words at Nurse Redheart.

“I’m afraid not. I have someone here for you to meet. This is Pixyglitter; Pixyglitter, meet Commander Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts.”

Pixyglitter fidgeted and nodded slightly in the direction from which the voice had come. She felt rather intimidated to be in the room with a Wonderbolt Commander, injured or not.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash greeted. "Is that a combat harness?"

When Cloud Blazer didn't reply, Pixyglitter quickly stood at attention and said, "Yes ma'am."

"Relax," Rainbow Dash said. "I apparently don't have any authority here."

"Push the button if you need any actual assistance," Nurse Redheart said with smug confidence as she walked out of the room.

Pixyglitter sighed relief.

"So why is a blindfolded pegasus wearing a harness?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Kind of a long story," Cloud Blazer answered. "To keep it short: she was blinded in combat, and I can't fly on my own anymore, so we've been learning to fly together."

"Wow, that's really... insane. Cloud Blazer, I never really took you for the thrill-seeking type," the Wonderbolt sounded impressed.

"I'm not; I just love flying,” he answered. “Anyway, that's not important right now. I'm glad you're still here."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"I need your help."

The commander scoffed and then loudly said, "Good luck getting me past the guards."

"No, not right now, maybe in a day or so, but we have to keep this quiet."

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked, a tone of boredom in her voice.

The bed creaked as Cloud Blazer leaned in closer and whispered, "I know where the princesses are, and I know how to bring them back."

Silence followed this declaration. Pixyglitter could hear nurses in the corridor, patients were coughing, and a foal was crying somewhere, but not even the sound of shifting on the bed in front of her could be detected.

"What?" Commander Rainbow Dash finally said with a tone that felt ice cold, devoid of the warmth and familiarity it had contained only moments before.

"They've been reaching out to me," the stallion advanced. "I just didn't understand at first."

"Go on," she sounded unconvinced.

He took a breath before continuing, "It was only days after I fell down the cliff into Ghastly Gorge that the princesses went missing. At the time, I slept almost constantly, and I started having bizarre dreams. They were vivid in a way that's hard to explain. It was almost like a different level of consciousness. When it happened, I thought it was just a result of the medicines. But they didn't stop. They were always about searching and finding things that I had to bring to the castle, where there was a locked door.“

"So let me get this straight, you think that the princesses are alive and trying to talk to you in your dreams?"

Pixyglitter thought it sounded insane when stated so bluntly. Had she not experienced the dreams herself, she wouldn't believe him either.

"If it had just been those dreams, I wouldn't have come to you with this," Cloud Blazer said. "There was another one that was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was like being awake in another world. Pixyglitter and I were on the moon, and these stones spoke to us; there were five of them. They spoke to us and told us to bring the keys. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, Hopes Glimmer; five stones, five princesses, five keys."

Rainbow Dash took a breath and countered, “First of all, there were six of them that went missing. Discord was also there. That aside, your dreams sound interesting and all, but I think they let you out of the hospital a little too soon.”

The moment the words were spoken, a powerful defensive instinct welled up inside Pixyglitter. She steeped forward and heard herself practically shout, "Don't you dare mock him! Not ever! That last dream he mentioned, I shared it with him. We had it at the same time; the exact same dream from our own perspectives,“ she shuddered. “We were in it together.”

The Wonderbolt sighed as if she were defeated, “I want to believe you, kid. I really do. But the princesses are not coming back."

The flatness in her voice was only a cover. She had been hiding something which was now unmistakably sadness.

"I was briefed on their mission before they left. They used their combined power to destroy the mirror pool so nopony else could ever use it. Why do you think that Shining Armor was able to take complete control so quickly after that? They knew they weren't coming back."

To call that knowledge unsettling would have only been the beginning of the feeling that flooded through Pixyglitter.

"I don't believe you," Cloud Blazer said defiantly. "There's no way they would have gone on a suicide mission and not left more behind than a note."

The sadness and coolness in Rainbow Dash's voice gave way to hostility, "Well, it doesn't really matter whether they knew it was a one-way trip or not. You know Twilight; they made every precaution she could think of, but it didn’t matter. The fact is, we all knew it was going to be a dangerous mission, and they didn't come back."

“They’re trying to,” Cloud Blazer protested.

“Look, even if I did believe you, they’re not letting me out of here. But I don’t, and this is why. What have they been eating while they’ve been gone?” the commander’s emotions ran high. “How could they have sustained themselves for months on end without any support? If they had survived somehow, they either starved, were captured... Five alicorn princesses and Discord. Unable to find their way back? There’s just no way.”

Cloud Blazer grunted something unintelligible and stomped out of the room. Turning around and sweeping the way with her cane, Pixyglitter followed him. He moved so quickly that she couldn't keep up. When she reached the exit, she could hear him muttering something to himself.

35 - Games, Part 7 of 11

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Pixyglitter asked, “Are you okay?”

It sounded like he kicked the ground, "Pig-headed... Element of Loyalty my hoof! Stupid!" He took a breath and then spoke a little more calmly, "Yes, thanks. I guess we're not going to get any help from her." He was seething.

"It's alright," she tried to be positive. “She’s just lost hope. We don't need her help."

He snorted, "That's the problem. She's one of the keys."

Pixyglitter felt a dumbfounded expression crawl across her own face.

"The dreams were symbols, metaphors," Cloud Blazer began. "Princess Luna can enter dreams, but whatever magic has kept them all alive has dampened her abilities. She's still able to reach out, but not clearly."

"You lost me; how is she a key?"

"It's a kind of magic. Specifically, Princess Twilight Sparkle has a special bond with five friends: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. I think the princesses encased themselves in a protective shield of some kind, and they used that bond as a way to open it. That way they would be protected from the explosion, and whatever followed until it was safe."

Pixyglitter began thinking out-loud of these familiar names, "Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Commander Rainbow Dash. Who was the other one?"

He answered with a sigh, "That would be Rarity. She doesn't live here anymore, and we're going to have to go get her."

"Wait a second," Pixyglitter said as a thought hit her, "Why would they seal themselves up that way when Rarity lives so far away? Why would they not just tell Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor how to get them back out?"

She could feel Cloud Blazer shrug before he replied, "Maybe it wasn't planned. Maybe something went wrong, and that’s why they sealed themselves up.“

This answer wasn't exactly satisfying, but Pixyglitter couldn't think of any other explanation. The dreams had definitely happened, and she hadn't forgotten the inability to sleep because of them.

"So, what are we waiting for?" the mare answered. "Let's go get Rarity."

"You're still in?" he sounded surprised.

"I had the dreams too. Besides, how often does a pony get to say this and actually mean it? Let's go rescue some princesses!" she said as cheerfully as possible. “Also, it's time we put all of this flight training to use."

He snorted a laugh, "Follow me, we're going to need one more pegasus."

She complied, and soon they were traversing unfamiliar terrain. As they walked, the sounds of several different kinds of animals began to fill the air. There were so many different kinds that Pixyglitter had trouble sorting out the different sounds she heard. A little further and their unmistakeable scent followed.

“Does Ponyville have a zoo?” she asked.

“No. It’s a friend’s house. She had taken in quite a lot of animals before the siege. What’s here now isn’t even half of that.”

They passed through the amalgam of creatures before coming to a stop. Cloud Blazer knocked on the door. A few moments later, a thin, timid voice could be heard.

"Hello?" Fluttershy said.

"It's Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter," Cloud Blazer said.

The door creaked a little as it opened.

"Good afternoon," Fluttershy said sweetly. "Won't you come in?"

"Thanks," he replied. "You two have met, haven't you?"

"Yes," Pixyglitter snorted. "You introduced us at Sweet Apple Acres; twice."

"Oh, that's right," he said with a little embarrassment in his voice.

Feeling her way through the threshold with her cane, Pixyglitter made it inside without incident.

"Won't you sit down?" Fluttershy asked. "I would offer you some tea, but I'm afraid I've run out."

"That's alright," Cloud Blazer replied. "We're actually not here to be social."

"You're not?" her voice quivered.

"Nothing to worry about," Pixyglitter interjected. "We just need your help with something."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, still sounding somewhere between concerned and frightened.

"I haven't had much luck with this strategy today, but I have no idea how else to put this, so I'm going to just come out with it," Cloud Blazer began. "Princess Luna has been contacting Pixyglitter and me in our dreams. The princesses and Discord are alive, but they need our help to return."

Silence was the only answer that came. A ferret chittered somewhere in the house.

"I've already been over this with Rainbow Dash, and she didn't believe me," he continued. "There was a magical orb found in the crater after that explosion in the Everfree Forest. Nopony knew what it was, and it was put in the castle basement and forgotten. They assumed is was a leftover of the mirror pond, kind of a magical soup. I found it this morning, and when I did, all of the dreams started to make sense. They always had two things in common: I had to find the keys, five of them, and I had to take them to the castle. I think you and your friends are the keys."

"Gosh," Fluttershy finally said hopefully, "Do you really think Twilight and Discord and the others are okay?"

"Yes, absolutely," Cloud Blazer declared. "We have a little bit of luck on our side that four of you are already here, but we need Rarity."

Pixyglitter added, "If I have followed today at all, that's where you come in."

"Me?" Fluttershy's voice trembled.

"Yes. The thing is,” Cloud Blazer said slowly, “nopony else believes us so far, and more to the point, we can't risk telling too many in case changeling spies find out what we're up to. The princesses coming back at this point would be a game-changer that they can’t allow. While they may not be exactly vulnerable, the last thing we need is for the changelings to be looking for any of the five of you. The thing is, Pixyglitter and I can fly, but we can't carry Rarity."

"I... I... I d-don't... Won't it be d-dangerous?"

"We'll be with you every step of the way," Cloud Blazer said.

Pixyglitter was becoming annoyed, but spoke as calmingly as she could manage, "Hey, it's okay. Ever since the EUP retook Canterlot, flying to Manehattan is a lot safer."

"But I'm no soldier," Fluttershy said. "I'm not even strong enough to carry Rarity all the way back here. I can’t manage more than a bunny or two.“

Silence again filled the room, but for the sound of a bird chirping.

Cloud Blazer took a breath, "You are the only one that can do this. Most able-bodied pegasi are already enlisted, but more to the point; you're the only one here I know I can trust." He paused a moment before continuing, "We can help you you to get your strength up. I'm going to need some time to get you a working harness anyway."

Pixyglitter tried a different approach, "I never met Princess Twilight, but I'm willing to do this to help her, even with the risk. You're her friend."

She hoped she hadn't misstepped or made things sound too dangerous, but she wasn't really sure how to talk to somepony that was so delicate.

"You're right, Pixyglitter," Fluttershy said. There was a kind of power behind her sweet, frail voice. "Twilight is my friend, they all are, and I'll do anything to help them. I will need to find somepony to tend my animals."

"Great," Cloud Blazer said, relief in his voice. "Meet us at Sweet Apple Acres when you're done. If anypony asks, we can tell them we’re going to visit Rarity. It’s true enough, and it shouldn’t raise too many questions.”

"I will," Fluttershy promised.

Pixyglitter stood, hearing the others doing the same. They left the house and walked back through the makeshift zoo, across the bridge that covered the stream that ran by Fluttershy's cottage and toward the middle of town.

"Now the hard part," Cloud Blazer said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Fluttershy isn't exactly known for courage or strength," Cloud Blazer answered. "Even if we make it all the way to Manehattan, getting back here with Rarity is going to be difficult."

Pixyglitter had been feeling good about this turn of events, but now she was starting to feel something akin to contempt. How could anypony stand to be so weak?

35 - Games, Part 8 of 11

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Beigh dropped to the earth and lay there as volley fire shot over his head. The barrage that was exchanged between the unicorns and changelings sizzled and burned all around. The decision to fall back into the badlands had indeed been correct. They made it out ahead of the ambush, but now they were holding the pass with little air support. No news had yet come back from the strike force.

"Cease fire!" Clyde yelled, echoing the orders that were coming down the line.

Sergeant Locknload kicked Beigh, "Get up! You do have a crossbow don't you?"

As he stood, Locknload got right next to his face, "Well?"

"Yes, sir."

"You are a unicorn?" Locknload practically shouted.

"Yes, sir," Beigh was afraid and didn't know what to say.

"By Celestia, why don't you fire at the enemy when they attack?" Locknload pushed Beigh, who slipped in the dusty canyon floor and fell. A cloud of red dirt billowed about him.

"That's enough, Sergeant," Clyde said calmly.

"Sir!" Locknload replied.

There were not many injured from the attack, and by the time Beigh made his way to the mobile aid station to which he normally reported, they were already finished. The talk amongst the other soldiers was grim. The canyon they had backed into only offered temporary safety. If the timberwolves ever came over the ridge in any massive numbers, they'd be done for. There was nothing Beigh could do but return to his position and wait. He hoped that their strike team would get back before the timberwolves attacked again. Clyde had all of his sergeants together and was talking to them when Beigh arrived.

"You are correct, Sergeant," Clyde said to Locknload. "It's only a matter of time before they build up enough numbers to come over that ridge and crush us, but we can only work with what we have. Desert behind, and not nearly enough water to cross it. Add to that problem, there is neither a source of water nor a defensible position for miles around. This is where we have to stay until our air support returns. If they were successful, we'll be moving out soon." He looked up at the sky and smiled, "In fact, we may be moving out sooner than you think."

Beigh looked up to see the strike force flying overhead. There were so many that he couldn't tell whether their number had been reduced by even one. They circled and descended, coming to a landing at the rear of their new position. Sounds of cheering were heard sporadically throughout the corps.

"Let's be ready to move out!" Clyde ordered.

Beigh ran back to the mobile aid station and helped them break down all of the tents. He loaded up with the pieces he was assigned to carry: two cots, some bottles of antiseptic, and one of the large tent poles. By the time he was all packed, Duster found him.

"What are you carrying, the entire war?" Duster teased.

"That still isn't funny.”

Duster had used this joke several times already, and Beigh hadn’t found it amusing the first time.

"Yeah, well, if I didn't have to carry you, it might be."

Duster looked tired. His eyes and posture in general betrayed a weariness from everything they'd done for the past few days. Beigh felt it to, but not nearly to the same extent. The pegasi did everything that the grounded ponies did, and then more still. They had proven to be the backbone of the operation. Every movement, and every strike involved the pegasi for their unmatched speed. The entire corps was ready to move in less than a half hour, but they waited for the order to come through. Duster laid down on the sandy ground and shut his eyes.

"You're sleeping now?" Beigh asked.

"The ground is hot," Duster replied. "I doubt I'll actually sleep. Keep watch for me, will you?"

Beigh snorted, "It's not like I can fly off without you."

Duster grinned, but didn't open his eyes. The remainder of their squad huddled close now that they were all together. Locknload looked down at Duster and shook his head.

"Any other of you pegasi need a rest?"

Without responding, both LD and Rolling Thunder laid down beside Duster. Beigh noticed that they were one pegasus short. Their new commander, Sergeant Featherplume, was absent. Scanning about, he saw her and several of the other sergeants in a huddle with Lieutenant Clyde. Beigh felt a growing tension that nopony else seemed to notice, but the minutes began stretching into hours without incident.

Every soldier in the area was resting, but for a few that remained vigilant, specifically the CAP. The sun beat down mercilessly, making everypony wish that they hadn't taken down the tents; there was no shade in this place. Beigh drank a little water, and then decided to walk about. There was no restriction on movement, provided he informed his squad and returned to position if enemies were sighted.

His official reason was to keep an eye out for any wounded that might need assistance, but he was really hoping to find Sparklefly. They usually set up the command post somewhere near the center, and that's probably where she'd be. The heat was stifling, and Beigh quickly found himself sweating just from his slow walk. It seemed that nearly everypony else, the pegasi specifically, had followed his squad's example and were now laying on the sand, trying to keep the sun out of their eyes. The air was still and dry. Another drink from his water skin took the edge off of the discomfort. Then he spotted her.

Sparklefly sat alone near the edge of the makeshift command center eating a ration. The other officers were milling about, ever vigilant, but they seemed to be waiting for something. Making his course close enough to pass by, but far enough to look somewhat inconspicuous was challenging. She looked weary, but somehow pleased with herself. She was seated in a rather compact manner, taking up little space and also sweating under the heat of the sunlight that blasted down on everypony. She noticed him as he drew close, but a slight nod was all the recognition she gave at first.

"Hi," Beigh said.

Looking up at him, Sparklefly answered, "Private."

”All is well," he said, trying not to seem too friendly.

His heart pounded like a drum. Beigh hadn’t spoken to her since that day in Ponyville. As nice as the letter-writing had been, it hadn’t been quite so satisfying as this moment.

“We’ve had some contact with the enemy since your strike force left, but our casualties were light. Your brother told me that the raid was successful."

"Yes," she replied almost stoically. "Timberwolves are moving this way." Looking past him and into the sky, she continued, "I'm sure we'll be moving out soon."

“I have to say, it sounds pretty heroic what you guys did, almost like a fairy tail."

Her expression became a little cold, "No. We're just trying to stay alive. There's nothing glorious about it."

"Maybe," he answered a little more carefully, aware something wasn’t right with her, "but those kind of stories start somewhere. I'm sure someone could write ours to be at least half-way interesting."

She looked at him directly now, her cold expression becoming completely icy, "I stopped believing in fairy tales the day Apple Loosa was attacked, and my dad went to join the soldiers defending the town. Shouldn’t you be with your squad?“

He felt sorrow for her and instinctively drew closer in an effort to give comfort.

She stood and backed away sharply, "You forget your place, private. Return to your platoon; don't come find me again."

It was as if a dagger had stabbed him through the heart. He recoiled a step back.

"One more thing," she continued flatly, "Don't send me any more letters. We're done.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned and marched back to the others in the command post. Beigh felt himself shaking, and was certain that his core was melting. It was all he could do to hold everything together as he turned to walk back to his squad. He felt like something internal that kept things together had just been utterly crushed. There was nowhere to be alone, and that is all he wanted.

Returning to the squad, he threw himself on the ground alongside the others, pretending to rest as they were. Looking up into the sky didn't provide any answers or relief. Why would she act that way? The cloudless sky soon became filled with EUP soldiers. They were coming from the north in waves numbering in the thousands.

"At attention," Sergeant Featherplume said.

Beigh got up out of habit and stood at attention with his squad.

"I have been informed that we'll be moving out soon," she said. "It looks like the rest of the Assault Corps has returned. Are you ready to take the fight to the timberwolves?"

Excitement began buzzing throughout the camp. Of all of the divisions that had splintered and left, none were absent. All missions had been successful in herding the timberwolves back down to the badlands. For the first time that Beigh could remember, all of the rumors being told were about wholesale slaughter of the changeling forces. In spite of this cause for joy, he could only feel sadness.

35 - Games, Part 9 of 11

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Sparklefly marched at the head of the column. She immediately regretted the way she'd spoken to R, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. Surrounded by eyes that would take notice of her giving attention to him made apologizing something she dare not risk. In the moment, she’d felt threatened by him. It was only after she’d processed the look on his face that she realized how far she had overreacted. A knot was in her stomach as Ash Eater still weighed heavily on her mind.

Overhead, Scootaloo lead a CAP to scout ahead as they moved south in the sand-covered rocky waste that was the badlands. The hot dry air made breathing unpleasant, and the ground was scorching everything that touched it in the afternoon sunlight.

No danger was visible ahead, but there most assuredly was behind. Of even greater concern was their dwindling supplies, primarily water. If all went according to plan, this would work out. If it didn't, things were going to be bad. They had regained most of their numbers, and at over fifty-thousand strong, there wasn't much use for stealth.

Sparklefly’s lungs burned from the gritty dry air, and her legs didn't want to go any further. Scanning about, she could see that everypony around her looked at least as weary as she felt. For their sakes, she chose to smile and feign an air of invincibility, albeit a thin facade. Scootaloo’s squad disappeared in the cloudless distance as they continued south. Mane Crusher and General Brax walked beside Sparklefly, but she was the only member of the Taskforce present at this location. The others had spread themselves throughout the corps.

A scout landed in front of them and ran to Brax, but Sparklefly couldn't hear what he said.

"Thank you, corporal," the general said, "Carry on."

"Something up?" Sparklefly asked as the scout flew away.

"Down to less than a tenth of our water. It won't last through the day at this pace."

Mane Crusher spoke, "I suspect any attack will come after that, if the changelings are well informed."

"Maybe," Sparklefly considered this.

The much larger numbers of the enemy force made any attack at their discretion. Ultimately, the only reason they were all still alive was due to their ability to outmaneuver the enemy.

Mane Crusher said, "I think we should not wait for the rest of our divisions before we make for our next objective."

He was, of course, referring to the heights near Apple Loosa.

"I'd rather have my force as whole as possible before we commit," General Brax replied, a hint of disdain in his voice. He had no love for Mane Crusher.

"It would save us resources," Sparklefly said, but she was more thinking out-loud than trying to make a point.

All of the other soldiers that were coming to meet them would have to fly much farther to rendezvous here. Not only that, but they'd then have to fly back north over the ridges to get back. Still, if everything went to plan, they would have resupply arriving within hours of making the heights. Also, continuing south would draw the timberwolves away and buy more time to get set up and prepare for the fight.

"But in this case, I think we should continue as planned."

"You realize there is no backup," Mane Crusher said. "If the supplies don't come on schedule, we could find ourselves in poor shape, no matter how good the ground is."

"You talk like you have some stake in our victory," General Brax jabbed.

Casting a glance at him, Mane Crusher retorted, "That I do. I find it rather unlikely that I'll suffer a different fate from yours if we get slaughtered.”

Sparklefly couldn't help but smile at that, a valid point to be sure. A sustained light breeze began kicking up dust. Everypony began putting on their goggles, which saved the eyes, but it didn't help much for the lungs. Sparklefly had a small handkerchief that she tied over her nose and mouth to keep the worst of it out. They trudged into the strengthening wind until visibility became so poor that the sun couldn’t be seen.

"This is no good," Mane Crusher shouted.

"On that we agree," General Brax admitted. "I'm going to issue the order to shelter in place."

"Yes," Sparklefly agreed to the decision.

Enduring a sandstorm, even a light one was bad enough, but they couldn't have anypony getting separated. Within a few minutes, the entire corps had come to a halt and made what preparations they could to warn of incoming attack. This seemed an unlikely possibility, but a few seconds warning would be far preferable to none. Sparklefly lay on the ground and burrowed inside her sleeping roll. The brightness of daylight had become a brown dim glow through the cloth. Dust was still getting in, but it wasn't stinging as badly.

Others lay next to her, and the entire corps sheltered in the same stiflingly hot manner. Hopefully Scootaloo had seen the storm coming and found a safe place to land. Time passed without a way to measure it; maybe it was an hour with no change in the situation. Unable to sleep under such conditions, Sparklefly decided to use the time and write a letter home. It may not get her mind off of how hot or filthy she was for long, but it would give her something to do to pass the time.

'Mamma Mare,' she began writing. 'I hope this finds you well. I'm very glad to hear that farm life still agrees with you. I'm sorry I still haven't been able to visit, but they keep me so very busy here. Your letters are always a source of inspiration and joy to myself and my friends. It reminds us why we are here, and what we're working to protect. I don't know what to tell you about Glitterdust. I'm saddened that she's getting into trouble, but I have doubts that she'll listen to me. I have begun writing her a letter, as you asked, but it's difficult to find the right words to say. I’ll keep at it.

‘You should see some of the places to which we've traveled. This morning, I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises over the mountains that I've seen in my life. The weather is a little on the warm side, but generally rather pleasant.'

She felt herself frown at the frequent lies she wrote to keep her mother from worrying any more than she already did. Her mother would not approve, of course, and more than one of her lessons rattled around in Sparklefly's mind every time she did it. The truth was that it had become much easier since the caverns under Canterlot. She shuddered at the memory, forcing it from her mind.

She continued, 'The days are fulfilling, but I very much look forward to the quiet life on the farm again. I'm sure you've already heard this from others, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I have a special some-pony. One of the medics here has been pursuing me with great interest. Don't worry, I'm behaving myself. He's nice enough, and he plans to become a doctor someday, but I don't know how serious things are with us.'

She considered the very real possibility that they might not actually be "us" anymore. The feelings brought on by this thought, while conflicted, made the decision much easier: she was going to apologize for what she'd said to him. Being seen by others and rumors starting was a risk she would have to take. She didn’t want it to end with the last words she had said to him.

'I haven't been in any battles since I last wrote to you, but I will tell you when we have another one.'

In actuality, she'd been in thirteen separate skirmishes since they had begun the campaign. The sound of the wind began dying down.

‘I have to go now, but I will write again soon. Missing you, Sparklefly.'

35 - Games, Part 10 of 11

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After carefully folding the letter and placing it in a pocket, Sparklefly removed her goggles and examined them. A fine layer of dust had coated them, as well as everything else in her makeshift shelter. She attempted to clean them with the handkerchief that had been covering her face, only to smear a muddy film on the surface. It took several minutes to get the one useful lens to an acceptable level of cleanliness. Putting it on, she carefully looked out to see that the wind had indeed stopped kicking up sand.

Exiting the suffocating heat of her shelter was refreshing. Instead of cool breeze, it was a blast of hot dry air. It was, however, almost pleasant by comparison to her sleeping bag. Looking about, she could see nopony else at all. Sand was the only thing visible in any direction. Removing her goggles and looking back down at her own shelter, it was covered in at almost an inch of desert. If it hadn’t been too hot to stay, they might have taken advantage of the natural camouflage.

Bit by bit, others began stirring from their hiding places. They popped up like prairie dogs at first, and before long, the entire corps was getting up and trying to shake the sand off of their gear. This created a second cloud of dust in the air, but it didn't last for long. The sound of wings caught Sparklefly's ears and she turned to see Scootaloo's squad coming down for a landing nearby.

"Glad to see you didn't get caught by that storm," Sparklefly spoke in jest.

They were completely covered in sand. Unicorn scans proved they were themselves.

"Tell you what," Scootaloo used an almost playful tone, "you lead the next one."

Sparklefly smiled, relieved that Scootaloo was okay. That small bit of joy was quickly extinguished by memories of Ash Eater, forcing their way back to her mind.

"I just got word that the last of our divisions are inbound,” Brax informed them. "We're back to full strength."

"Time for a flight then," Sparklefly said. "Scootaloo, can you get the rest of the Taskforce together for me?"

"I'll be right back," she replied.

Sparklefly pulled out a map and rechecked their position against where they needed to be. Ahead of them, to the south, were large rocky formations that stood like stone sentries in the wilderness. It was as if ancient guardians still stood vigil over the barren wasteland, waiting for it to be reborn. As tempting a detour as that would have been, there would be plenty of time for sight-seeing later; refocusing on their tactical situation, she plotted the course that would get them back near the time when resupply should be arriving.

"Good to see you again," Charging Lance greeted as he and the rest of the Taskforce approached.

"Take a look," Sparklefly said, gesturing at the map. "I don't want to tip our hoof too quickly, but I think if we fly west southwest to here, and then turn due north."

"That makes sense," Masher agreed.

"That's a lot of extra flying," Pacer said. "Why not just go straight?"

“The enemy is too spread out behind us," Charging Lance said.

"I agree," Scootaloo offered. "Keep them guessing."

Flittergear said nothing, as usual, but simply found some oats in one of her bags to munch on.

"We're still covered in sand," Brax said. "I can have us ready to move out in twenty minutes."

Skyflame nodded her approval of the plan.

General Brax looked at Mane Crusher and said, "You seem quiet for once."

The traitor shrugged and replied, "It seems sound."

Sparklefly wondered whether saving him had been the wisest course, but he did seem compliant enough.

"Then it is settled," Brax declared. "I'll get the corps ready to move."

To Scootaloo, Sparklefly said, "I have to go take care of something. See you in the air."

It looked like some kind of witty or sarcastic remark was about to be said, but Scootaloo stopped, and simply nodded instead.

Mane Crusher followed behind Sparklefly, which had become a sort of mainstay for her. He had been, in effect, remanded to her custody for the time being. It was Brax’s order to keep a guard on him. Mane Crusher swore to not cause Sparklefly trouble, and in exchange, she didn't keep additional guards on him unless they had to be separated.

They moved through the sea of soldiers that were all clearing sand from their gear and preparing for their flight. They looked worn from the journey, though they did seem to take notice of her as she passed. Sparklefly again tried to exude an air of confidence and energy. Mane Crusher chuckled as he walked behind her.

"What's funny?" she asked.

"You remind me of myself.”

She stopped and turned to him, "How's that?"

"Well, I wasn't as young as you when I got my first command, but I see what you're doing.”

There was a little smile on his face and a knowing look in his eyes, "You're trying to be inspiring through the way you carry yourself."

She almost felt as if she were a filly at Junior Speedster Flight Camp that had just been caught with her hoof in a cookie jar.

"Oh, don't worry," he said disarmingly. "I won't tell them how you really feel."

Deciding there was something to be learned, she asked, "Does it help? Them, I mean."

He nodded slowly before answering, "Yes. If they don't think you are confident in the mission, any misgivings they have will be amplified even further."

"Thanks," she said, half grinning for a moment before turning and walking away.

Sparklefly still wasn't certain she could trust Mane Crusher; she didn’t know if he could ever be completely trusted again. It was strange to her that he seemed so genuine.

The time had nearly elapsed for the corps to move out before she located him: the medic. He saw her, locked his gaze on her, but he didn't move. Duster and LD were there, but they hadn't noticed her yet. A lump formed in Sparklefly's throat, and her heart started beating heavily in her chest as she approached.

"Private, a word if I may," she heard herself say; her voice sounded thin and frail to her own ears.

With precision stiffness he stood at attention and marched after her as they walked a short distance from his squad. She could feel Duster and LD looking at her, and they likely weren't the only ones. The medic saluted when she stopped. Mane Crusher silently observed this as well.

"At ease," she said.

Drawing a breath, Sparklefly began, "I came here to apologize for the way I spoke to you before."

It would be difficult to say enough without saying too much. She could read how hurt he'd been, but a flame of hope was kindled in his eyes.

“No matter my feelings on the subject or the stations involved in such circumstance, I was out of line. I would like it if we could forget what was said."

"Yes, ma'am, very good, ma'am," he replied stiffly.

He either was having trouble sorting his feelings, or he was trying to be distant given the number of others that were watching them just now. It was impossible to determine which.

"Permission to speak freely?"

Something like panic told her not to permit this, but it did seemed rather unfair to not allow him to respond.

“Granted."

"As you say, ma'am," his eyes darted to Mane Crusher and back to her, “It is forgotten, but if we have a similar occurrence in the future, we'll just stick with that, ma'am."

It was a relief that he was at least trying to be discreet in speech, but there was little doubt that Mane Crusher was following this conversation.

"That sounds fair," she answered. "For the time being, I recommend all interaction be treated as strictly as this."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Will that be all, ma'am?"

There was so much more that she wanted to say, but they were drawing far too much attention. It would have to wait.

"Thank you, private. Dismissed."

The medic saluted, turned rigidly and walked back to his squad. Sparklefly walked away without looking back at them. She felt relieved now that they had spoken. Any possibility of a future for the two of them would still be a long shot, and it was definitely one that could not be explored until the war was over. In any case, she was glad that she hadn't ruined any chance that they had to find out. Within mere minutes, she found herself hooking Mane Crusher up to her harness and taking flight as the entire corps became airborne. They flew southwest at a slow pace initially, somewhat toward the lowering afternoon sun.

Mane Crusher broke the silence, "I may be speaking slightly off turn, but it is a mistake for you to keep anypony you care about under your command."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," she tried to be evasive.

“No need to be coy with me. I don't care," he replied, "I only mention it because I am here to advise. Your brother is in that squad, isn't he? Also, I'm probably not the only one that detected what is going on between you and that medic."

She felt caught a second time by him in less than half an hour.

The lump returned to her throat, "They aren't under my command; they are under General Brax's command." This argument seemed rather weak even as she used it. “And nothing out of regulations is going on.”

Mane Crusher sighed, "I believe you have the ability to put them into harm's way in spite of your feelings. However, I'm not sure how well you'd hold up if you get them both killed. That's why I think it's a mistake."

That thought certainly did dampen her spirit. To date, this potential outcome had only existed as an unformed thought that was nagging at the back of Sparklefly's mind, but now it was forefront. It threatened to steal her abilities to focus on the problems at hoof.

"Thank you," she replied. "I will consider this, and I'd appreciate it if you keep that observation between us."

"I already told you that I don't care.”

They continued on in silence, and Sparklefly had time to think about this as the afternoon sun gave way to evening. It was the kind of problem that didn’t really resolve itself, but it only seemed to become intensified the more it was considered. It didn’t help that her capture in the caves still hung in her consciousness, invading every moment, filling it with guilt and shame. Her stomach growled, distracting her from dark thoughts.

35 - Games, Part 11 of 11

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The desert beneath Sparklefly had succumbed to a mountainous region that was the western border of the badlands. It was only a short space of time before the entire Assault Corps was turning to the north toward Apple Loosa. It wouldn't be long now; they would soon gain the heights, and then the real work would begin. The natural defensive qualities made the location some of the best ground they could hope for, but there were always preparations to make. Some places the slopes were not quite as steep or high, so a fair amount of digging would have to take place in order to remedy that. Scouting parties would have to be sent out to keep them informed of the enemy movements in all directions.

The dark thoughts didn't stay gone for long. Soon, Sparklefly couldn't think about anything but making some decision that would get her brother or medic friend killed. More than that, it was as if she were back in that cave, Ash Eater’s hot breath on her neck, ready to hurt her again. It made her skin feel clammy and threatened to steal her strength to keep flying. She was in a kind of daze as they arrived at the place where she’d played as a filly.

Just west of Apple Loosa, the heights were like a small plateau. The edge closest to town rose steeply about three yards or so above the surrounding area. On top was a grassy, fairly flat space with a few sporadic trees. They were a little larger than the scrubby thorny kind that they had found in the badlands, but none of them bore edible fruits. The grass may have been fodder, had not the timberwolves soiled and trampled it so thoroughly. The slope was climbable, but the top of the rise was a perfect position to hold off enemies. The best way to improve this would be to build a stone wall on top, but they would have to make do with a trench.

The Taskforce split up upon landing, each overseeing different areas of the preparations. Mane Crusher was sent with a pair of guards to see to building up the western side of their line. Everypony went about their duties, and Sparklefly heard herself respond to questions and issue orders. It was as if a veil were between her thoughts and actions. She was detached, feeling small and helpless. The events around her became a whirlwind as the sun set. Nopony rested. The flurry of activity endured throughout the night and until the hint of dawn was on the horizon.

The trench was already complete on the east side, and likely all around the top of the heights. Work was slowing and soldiers were now able to take rest. Sparklefly sat alone on a gently-sloped hill a few hundred yards from the eastern edge of the plateau. It rose only about two yards above the rest, but it gave a perfect view in all directions, making it an ideal place for a command post. Her mind was still a prisoner of fear, unable to determine how to proceed without resolving within herself what to do. It was only after she was touched that she realized Scootaloo had arrived and had been speaking.

"I'm sorry," Sparklefly shook her head, "What was that?"

"Are you okay?" the orange pegasus seemed concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her voice sounding hollow even to her own ears.

"Hey," Scootaloo said softly, "What's wrong?"

Trying to put this to words was more than Sparklefly could manage. Between her fears for her brother and medic friend and the guilt and shame for what had happened in the cave with Ash Eater, she was rendered helpless. She wasn't sure from where they came, but tears burst from her and ran freely. Scootaloo grabbed her and pulled her in close.

"That's okay," she said softly. "But keep it down."

Unable to regain control, Sparklefly dropped all defenses and let it out. She buried her face in her friend’s shoulder. Great heaving waves of emotion poured out in the utter darkness of an approaching dawn. Sparklefly was glad for the dark. She wouldn’t have wanted to be seen by others. As the sun drew near to breaching the horizon, her tears abated, and the young mare began to regain herself.

"There you go," Scootaloo said, patting Sparklefly on the back before gently grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Now, what's going on?"

Taking a shaky breath, Sparklefly considered her response. Keeping her own counsel to this point had not provided a solution. She was more in turmoil now than she had been during her time as a prisoner. She wanted relief from the strain.

“I... I saw Ash Eater when I was captured in Canterlot.”

Scootaloo’s ears folded back defensively and her eyes grew wide.

Her voice was a ghostly whisper, “You didn’t mention it in your debriefing.”

Sparklefly continued, pushing herself through the overwhelming shame she felt, “I know. I should have, but... I... he...” She took a deep breath, “We were alone for a long time, Nitro and me. Then three changelings came down; Ash Eater was one of them. He asked me questions, and I refused to answer. They beat me. Then they hurt Nitro, but I wouldn’t talk. Then... he...” she couldn’t find the words.

Scootaloo sat patiently waiting, saying nothing.

“He threatened me. He tried to force... he almost... like when a stallion and a mare... when they...

Scootaloo’s face contorted, overcome with rage at what she was hearing.

“I told him about our winter strategy to make him stop. I’m a traitor.”

Her companion’s expression became even harder, as though resolve was forming.

“Then he left. I haven’t seen him since then, but I can’t sleep. It’s constantly on my mind, and I have so much else I’m worried about... I just spend so much time living up to what everypony expects, and then..." Sparklefly again tried to find the right words. "I worry about my brother. I don't want him here with me. I want to send him home so I don't have to think about getting him killed."

A few more tears slipped through. Sparklefly’s head hung low, as if the trampled brown grass could give her some answer she’d been unable to find. She looked back up and met her friend’s gaze.

"You are not a traitor, and Duster’s safety is not in your control," Scootaloo said firmly. "I know you feel like it is, but it just isn't. Brax deploys his own forces where he needs them. Besides, if your brother did stay at Ponyville, there's no guarantee that they aren't being attacked right now."

"I know," the scenarios had all been played out, but her heart yearned to keep him safe. She took another shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

"No, there's nothing to be sorry about. We are putting all of our lives on the line here. Don't you dare apologize for anything. I know you wouldn’t have told Ash Eater anything without a fight, and since we haven’t finalized any details of that plan, he likely didn’t get anything useful anyway. I swear to you, we’re going to kill him. Do you hear me? Whatever it takes. If I have to hunt him down and do it myself, that changeling is going to die."

Somehow, there was comfort in her friend's words. Golden light pierced the darkness of night. The ground in the distance seemed to be moving; it was likely the timberwolves returning. It would be sometime during the day that they would arrive.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Sparklefly nodded.

"Now, we need to check on the preparations," Scootaloo said as she pushed Sparklefly away.

It was the right call. Under cover of darkness there was time to feel vulnerable, but not in front of the other soldiers.

"If you need to talk more about this, come find me. I don't think I know anypony as brave or smart as you," Scootaloo added as she began to walk away. "If we feel sorry for anyone, it should be the stick-dogs and their changeling masters."

"Hey, Scootaloo.”

Her friend stopped and looked back.

"Thanks... Thanks for being here for me."

The reply came with a shrug and that familiar disarming grin, "What are friends for? Besides, if you lose it, who can plan our defense? I want to go home in one piece when this is over."

Sparklefly smiled and dried her face. Her stomach growled, but there was no food to satisfy it. All of the rations had been consumed, and the water wasn't far behind. All that was left was what each pony had in their canteens. Surveying the defenses on the heights put Sparklefly back into her cool detachment for which she had become known.

She checked in with several other members of the Taskforce in their respective sections of the field. Charging Lance commanded nearest Apple Loosa, while Flittergear and Masher had the southeast covered. The northeast had Pacer and rough terrain. General Brax took up position on the hill that Sparklefly had found, and it became the command center. Scootaloo and Skyflame were in command of the CAP, and they kept careful watch of the skies. Once everything was in order, all they could do was wait. Sparklefly returned to the little hill. Aids scurried this way and that.

"Welcome back," General Brax said. "How do our preparations look."

"Perfect," Sparklefly said, her mood improved enough to feign positivity. "Now all we need is a deck of cards."

Mane Crusher snorted, but Sparklefly wasn't sure if it was approval or disgust at her joke. For the first time in days, she didn’t feel quite so self-conscious as if everypony knew her secrets. They still weighed on her, but somewhat less.

"We just got a report from the CAP that the skies are clear," Mane Crusher said. "I think it is from the skies that they will hit us, when they're ready."

"I agree," Brax said.

Sparklefly nodded and thought on this. It was their weakest defense, but the changelings had never shown a large enough air presence to be a threat to an army this size. They might strike from the air, but there would have to be more to it if they wanted to overcome the advantages that had been gained. Besides that, it should be soon that the griffins would be sending reinforcements, making their air superiority even stronger.

"We certainly need to keep our eyes on the sky," she said, "But I'm more worried about something we might have missed."

The other two looked at her.

She shrugged and said, "I can't think of anything, but if I could, we wouldn't have missed it. You can't see what you can't see."

Mane Crusher had a serious expression behind his mustache, but General Brax smiled thinly. Sparklefly took a sip from her canteen, which was less than half full now.

"Any word on our resupply?" she asked.

"None yet," Mane Crusher said. "They were supposed to be here at dawn?"

She nodded. This concerned all of them greatly, but they couldn't waste resources to send more than the scouts that they had already sent.

Brax added, "Our scouts report the timberwolves will be here by midday. If we aren't resupplied by then..."

"We'll have to be careful how we engage them," Sparklefly finished. "If we give up this ground, we'll never get it back."

"More to the point," Mane Crusher said, "if they get a single road in, we may be finished here."

A scout landed nearby and saluted.

"Report," General Brax said.

"Sir," the scout was out of breath, “We have resupply inbound. We should have our food and water replenished within the hour!"

Sparklefly smiled, her heart lifted to hear the news. She only allowed herself another sip from her canteen. Until she had the ability to refill it, she wouldn't waste a single drop. She didn't have to wait long. A cloud laden with supplies and under its own modest escort soon came into view. It didn't take long to get mobilized to claim the much needed rations, water, and weapons. The captain of the supply cloud, an older pegasus with a big bushy beard, came down personally to meet them.

"Glad to meet you, glad to be meeting you," he said cheerfully.

His voice was deep and gravelly, but not at all unpleasant. He seemed somehow mirthful, his smile revealing several missing teeth.

"I have a message here," he said as he pulled a piece of paper from a pocket. Unfolding it, he read, "'To our brave warriors, The citizens of Manehattan wish to extend our utmost thanks. As such, the entire city has donated half of their rations for the next month in hopes that it will bolster your strength in the face of the enemy.'" Giving the letter to General Brax, he added, "See that there? That's the mayor's seal. You down here sure see a lot more danger than me and mine do, that's for sure. I just hope you don't forget us when you tell your stories afterward!”

Sparklefly couldn't help but smile at the jovial supply captain. He seemed so genuinely proud to be doing his part to help the war effort. Though it may have seemed a smaller role, Sparklefly for one appreciated the fact that it was vital to their operation.

The cloud soon departed, having offloaded all of the desperately-needed supplies. The double-ration that was served, not to mention having enough supplies on hoof to sustain their campaign for almost a week, lifted everypony's spirits.

The sun drew high above as the timberwolves drew close below. Nearly a third of the pegasi were circling overhead to ensure that the skies stayed clear as the hour of battle approached. Sparklefly, General Brax, and Mane Crusher stood on their hill, attention focused on the incoming enemy. Sparklefly shifted a little nervously at the sheer size of their numbers. It was indeed an awe-inspiring sight the way they completely covered the land. She fidgeted a little; she wanted to see every last one of them dead.

"Calm yourself," Mane Crusher said. "They will come when they come. All we can do now is stand ready."

Sparklefly took a deep breath, and realized she was rubbing at her eye patch again. She adjusted it and stopped. They were only a thousand yards away now, coming fast. The ponies weren’t planning a retreat this time. They were going to fight head-to-head. This would be the first proper battle of their campaign.

"Give the word to all line officers," General Brax said, "As soon as the enemy is in range, you may fire at will."

"Copy that!" several scouts saluted and then shot off to the front.

Sparklefly felt cold and hot at the same time. Her throat felt dry and her skin clammy. Only a few hundred yards away now. The scouts reported acknowledgement from all line officers. Two hundred yards; it looked like everypony on the front line was set in a firing position. One-hundred fifty yards; the CAP's circling overhead pressed out a little over the enemy.

At just under one-hundred yards, thousands upon thousands of crossbows were loosed and the battle began. They zipped silently through the air, cutting down timberwolves as they fell. Fifty yards; unicorns opened fire with their deadly magic and wiped holes in the oncoming line of timberwolves. The noise from the cries of the dying timberwolves and the explosions of magic filled the air. It might have sounded akin to a massive fireworks display unleashed into a crowd of bystanders.

As the timberwolves approached the heights and began to climb, the earth ponies at the front let out a battle cry that made Sparklefly's blood run cold for the ferocity of it. The stick-dogs made the climb quickly, but were effectively beaten down by hooves and spears, their numbers already so thinned from the attack they had been enduring on the charge in. They did not stop.

Wave after wave assaulted the heights, breaking against the front line like the waves of the sea striking the shore. Over and over they regrouped and pressed the attack, snarling savagely against the armored line that was the barrier between life and death. The very fate of Equestria hung in the balance as a wall of steel and flesh held back certain destruction.

As Sparklefly observed this event unfolding before her, she found herself thinking of her mother. The memory that caught her was of her dad’s birthday party. They had baked him a carrot cake, and she had been in charge of the icing. She shook her head to focus on the battle. It was a few moments before she realized why that memory had come to mind. The timberwolves charging into their lines, the way they were being cut down, was not unlike carrots being shredded by a grater.

Author's Notes:

So, I always try to get something really good to end a chapter with, either a nice cliffhanger or something that's just kind of epic. This one had come to me, but has gone through many changes, even up to this last second as I'm posting. It was always related to cooking, but the original line was that it reminded her of "meat going through a grinder." It was pointed out to me that since ponies are herbivores, that analogy wouldn't make sense. So then I thought of cake (who wouldn't?), and carrot cake made the analogy work, even though I don't find the imagery quite as potent. I can't even remember how many times I reworded it once it became carrots, but this last version was done moments before posting. Sometimes it's hard to make up your mind on these things.

On a different note... stay tuned, because the battle for the heights above Apple Loosa is only getting started! Plus, don't forget that Cloud Blazer is now on his own secret mission, which will begin sometime in the next chapter. So, lots of fun stuff coming soon in the next exciting chapter of The Last Cutie Mark Crusader!

36 - Death, Part 1 of 10

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"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie shouted at near megaphone levels.

Cloud Blazer, startled, staggered backward narrowly avoiding Pixyglitter before regaining his composure.

"Bwah! Pinkie! Are you trying to scare me to death?" he stammered as he entered the farmhouse.

His heart pounded like a drum. Pixyglitter was snickering behind him as if she had been in on this unannounced gathering, and inside were several smiling faces, including Mayor Applejack and Java Chip.

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday, silly!" Pinkie Pie said.

He hadn't forgotten, but his mind had been filled with other things. The thought of having a celebration just wasn't something that had even registered on his list of things that were important. There were decorations laid out and some of the guests even wore party hats. Cloud Blazer smiled.

"Of course not!" he put on a cheerful facade, "I just didn't think anypony else remembered."

"Oh, I'd never forget a birthday," Pinkie Pie said in her exuberant way. "Besides, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle reminded me too!"

As parties go, it was plain. That did not make it less enjoyable. The food was scarce, but the little they had was delicious. The Cakes had somehow got a hold of some flour and sugar to make a small cake. Before he could cut it, Apple Bloom interrupted.

“Speech!” the mare hollered, her pink bow bouncing.

Cloud Blazer waved her off.

Several of the others echoed and began a chant, “Speech, speech, speech...”

The stallion stood, feeling rather embarrassed with everypony looking at him expectantly. He’d never really had the tradition of giving a birthday speech, but he was not unfamiliar with it. More to the point, he didn’t know what to say. His legs began shaking as he stood there. He felt Pixyglitter gently place a hoof on his shoulder. It was a calming gesture. When he caught sight of Sweetie Belle, he began speaking.

“It has certainly been a wild year for all of us. I think there’ve been changes that none of us would have expected. Heh, a year ago, if you’d have told me what our lives would be like today, I may not have believed you. More importantly, without several of you in this room, I wouldn’t be here to celebrate today.”

He felt the air sucked out of the room at the seriousness of what he’d said.

“Truly, I thank you all for being here for me. I hope I can be at least as helpful to each of you, and I know you’ll all be there for me when I need you, though, I hope to not be falling off another cliff anytime soon.”

There was something that passed for a nervous laugh.

“Well, you asked for it,” he shrugged. “I’m no good at speeches. That’s all I’ve got.”

He cut the cake, which was little more than the size of a few cupcakes, but everypony got a little taste. He hadn't thought to care about his birthday, but the fact that the others remembered it warmed his heart greatly. After a while, the guests disbursed themselves, either back to chores or other interests. Cloud Blazer, Pixyglitter, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle were left basically alone.

"There's one more thing," Apple Bloom said. "Y'all up for a walk?"

"Lead the way," Cloud Blazer replied.

He really didn't feel like going anywhere, but she seemed excited about this, so he decided to go along with it. Standing up was still painful, but not nearly so much as flying, not that Cloud Blazer would admit this to anypony else. The last thing he needed was for Pixyglitter to have any kind of excuse to not keep flying. Besides that, he enjoyed it in spite of how much it hurt. Dragging the one cast leg behind, he followed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle outside into the dusk.

The sun had only just set, and the sky was still bright with the scattered rays, making an orange and golden canopy overhead. The pair led on, practically giddy, a short distance from the farmhouse. The gentle tapping of Pixyglitter's cane reported that she was following close behind. They arrived at a patch of earth that looked ready for planting. There was a new fence that had only recently been completed. Cloud Blazer knew this particular spot well.

"You remember where this is, right?" Sweetie Belle's voice dripped with anticipation.

He smiled at her and spoke as politely as possible, "Of course I do; how could I forget?"

"This place was special to all of us," Apple Bloom said. "I wanted to wait until Scootaloo could be here, but seeing how you two aren't exactly getting along, plus it's your birthday and all..."

"We couldn't think of a better time!" Sweetie Belle finished.

Cloud Blazer tilted his head to one side, curious as to what purpose they had brought him to this place. Apple Bloom held up an apple seed. There was nothing apparently special about it; it was just a seed.

Apple Bloom spoke, "This seed came from an apple that I took from our tree when it was still here. I picked it when y'all came for dinner and you and me came out here to talk. We thought we should replant the tree, together."

The nostalgic sentiment was powerful, nearly bringing a tear to the stallion’s eye... nearly. The four had spent a great deal of time at this place. Of course, that had been many years ago, before the world had become so dark and terrifying.

"I'm not sure what to say," Cloud Blazer managed to reply.

"Well, what do you think?" Sweetie Belle asked.

The stallion’s feelings were mixed. His heart still yearned for Scootaloo. A foolishness, he knew. His mind was well aware that anything developing beyond friendship between them was impossible. It didn’t matter how powerful his desire, it would never be fulfilled. She didn’t love him, not like that. He instead tried to focus on the issue at hoof, the seed and what to do about it given the friendship.

He took a breath, "I'm touched. I feel like you guys do, and we had a lot of great times here. But I think I want to wait for Scootaloo."

"Told ya," Apple Bloom sang at Sweetie Belle.

"But you two are the best friends... nopony could ask for better."

"Oh, did you hear the news?" Sweetie Belle practically squeaked as she changed the subject.

"No," Cloud Blazer said, "I've been busy all day."

Apple Bloom took over, "Apparently, all those soldiers that left Ponyville a few weeks ago were joined by griffins and are fighting a huge army of timberwolves south of here."

"But Scootaloo is with them, and they are holding the timberwolves near Dodge Junction," Sweetie Belle said.

"I heard they were fighting near Apple Loosa," Apple Bloom countered. "I also heard they're outnumbered five to one, but they've been holding back the stick-dogs for several days already."

Cloud Blazer was a little skeptical of this from his own experience, but this sort of information was never complete.

"Any word on the others: LD and Sparklefly?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head.

Apple Bloom spoke up, "I heard that Captain Sparklefly already killed a hundred of the timberwolves by herself."

Cloud Blazer smiled at the absurdity of that rumor, "Yeah, I'd heard that one too."

“Oh, you mean the Angel of Death. You don't think she did?" Sweetie Belle asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, it's just crazy when you hear something like that about somepony you know. And who calls her the Angel of Death?“

“I don’t know, everypony.”

"Perhaps you don't know her so well anymore," Pixyglitter said. "Maybe she has been changed, and now Death is what she has become."

Silence followed that statement. Cloud Blazer doubted whether that much transformation were even possible, but the very thought of it was rather unsettling to say the least. Still, if even half of the rumors that were told and retold about Sparklefly were true, comparing her to a grim reaper might not have been that far off as far as the timberwolves were concerned.

"She's just a girl," Glitterdust said, startling the others.

Sweetie Belle squeaked, ”You know I hate it when you sneak up like that!"

Cloud Blazer thought he saw a smile flutter across the intruder’s, but it went so quickly that he couldn't be certain. Her usual sullen disposition was in full force today by her expression. She turned and skulked away without another word.

“You don’t have to go!” Apple Bloom called after her.

Glitterdust didn’t respond, but continued walking away.

The farm pony shrugged, “Pixyglitter, no offense, but you sure know how to give ponies the creeps."

Pixyglitter grinned at them; it was a genuine smile, the kind that lifts everypony's spirits.

Cloud Blazer shook his head and smiled, "That's horrible. Come Nightmare Night, I definitely want you around for story-time."

"So how are things going with Fluttershy?" Sweetie Belle asked.

As he considered this, Cloud Blazer worked through the challenges ahead for them.

"Well, I think she's as ready as she's going to get. I have already put in for the travel pass.” He rolled his eyes and added, “We'll see if my 'hero' status has any pull."

"When do y'all leave?" Apple Bloom asked.

Pixyglitter answered, "The day after tomorrow if all goes well."

"I wish I could come!" Sweetie Belle said.

"I know, but we just don't have enough pegasi to carry another passenger," Cloud Blazer said.

He wished desperately that he could make the flight without having to be carried.

"Look at the time," Apple Bloom said. "I need some shut eye if I'll be any good for chores in the morning."

It had indeed become late. The darkness of night had claimed the sky. Stars burned brightly overhead, little pinpricks in the blackness above. They all rose, returned to the house, and began making preparations for bed. Cloud Blazer walked behind Pixyglitter after the other two had already gone up the stairs. Arriving at the girls' bedroom he found himself doubting whether Pixyglitter actually was happy with the arrangement they had. He certainly didn't want to make her fly across Equestria and take their lives in their own hooves if she wasn't completely committed.

"Pixyglitter," he said.

She stopped and turned to face him, "What is it?"

"I..." he wasn't sure how to put his thoughts into words concisely. "Are you okay with this, flying to Manehattan I mean?"

"Of course," she answered without hesitation.

"And us, I mean, well, our relationship, for lack of a better word.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I mean, I kind of tell you what to do all the time-“

She shushed him by shaking her head, "It is beneficial. I have had to accept that I'll never be quite as self-sufficient as I once was. I'll always hate that, but I'm actually glad to have you as a friend. You and the Apples and Sweetie Belle, you’ve all been such a bright spot in all of this.“

"Thanks."

He smiled at her, feeling much more at ease.

"Now, are you going to keep me up all night or is it time for sleep now?" she asked in a tone that sounded like teasing.

They exchanged their goodnights. Big McIntosh was already fast asleep by the time Cloud Blazer made it into the room they shared. The wingless pegasus got down onto his pallet and lay awake for a time. His mind was full of all of the final preparations they would go through. Fluttershy was a fair-enough flyer, but speed was definitely not her strongest suit. If they ran into any sort of trouble, he wasn't sure what they'd do about it. Sweetie Belle had kept his combat knife and returned it, but it would be useless against changelings with their ranged magic.

A dreamless slumber stole his thoughts away and brought morning. As usual, Big McIntosh had left silently in the early hours before Cloud Blazer stirred, and it was impossible to tell whether Thunderfly had ever even come into the room. The morning stretches were as unpleasant as usual. The promise of the pain easing in time and some measure of recovery was enough to keep him moving.

After his morning rituals were completed, Cloud Blazer headed down the stairs to the living room. Pixyglitter was already wearing her flight harness, sitting on the couch near the door, but nopony else was with her. The young 'uns could be heard playing outside.

"I thought you were going to sleep all day," Pixyglitter said. "Something came for us."

"Oh?" he asked as he negotiated the stairs.

Finally achieving the bottom, Pixyglitter held up an envelope. Cloud Blazer took it, opened it and read the contents. It was the travel pass he had requested. It would be valid for two days for himself, Fluttershy, Pixyglitter, and Rarity. It would be signed and dated by a guard as they left Ponyville and contained descriptions of the travelers and their cutie marks.

"Looks like we'll be heading to Manehattan in a couple of days," Cloud Blazer said.

"At least all this practice won't have gone to waste. We'd better to tell Fluttershy."

"Yeah. Given how far we're going to be flying, I think we should rest today."

"You don't want to do a morning flight around town?" she asked, almost seeming disappointed.

"I just don't want to push you too hard.”

She scoffed at him, "Please. You're not that heavy. Besides; I like the morning breeze."

He smiled at her but then remembered that she couldn't see it, "Well alright then. You know I never turn down a morning flight. Let's go!”

36 - Death, Part 2 of 10

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Beigh sat like a coiled cobra, ready to strike. The rest of his platoon was likewise arrayed on either side of him in their trench. He watched down the sights on his weapon, always keeping it trained on the coming timberwolves.

"Open fire!" Lieutenant Clyde shouted the order.

Beigh squeezed the action on his crossbow, sending a bolt speeding toward the enemy. Duster, LD, Sergeant Featherplume, and Gunnysack did the same. The unicorns, Locknload and Jewel, let loose their magic. Their squad was at the southeast end of the line, where the mountain terrain became too steep to be passable, giving them a safe side.

The squad and platoons formed up to their left rained death down upon the approaching timberwolves from their vantage point at the edge of the heights. The incoming horde was being thinned, but they didn't slow. After a second volley, those that remained charged up the steep slope. Gunnysack was first to drop his crossbow and grab up his spear, smashing their assailants. Across the line the melee began as rear ranks continued to send lethal bolts and magic to their purpose.

Beigh did his best to reload and fire without dropping his arrows. Adrenaline surged through his body, making him feel strong. Fear, his ever present companion, told him to run, but he tried to focus on shooting. Soon he had no more bolts to loose. A timberwolf came up and swiped at his head with its massive claws. Intending to duck, Beigh fell over. Looking up, he saw the timberwolf bearing down on him. There was no way to avoid it; he realized that he was about to die. Then the timberwolf erupted as a magical blast threw its corpse back down the hill. It was Locknload that had saved him.

"Thanks," Beigh yelled over the roar of battle.

"Can it and get up!" Locknload yelled back.

The lethal unicorn practically threw a spear at Beigh before turning to continue his deadly work.

Regaining a standing position, Beigh used the spear and managed to stab the flank of another timberwolf that had come up to challenge them. As the incoming beasts began growing thicker at the top of the incline, an eagle-like cry split the air. The griffins had arrived the previous day, and already they had shown themselves quite capable in battle. Several squads of them dropped down from above, their powerful talons snatching up the timberwolves and tossing them at the mountain, smashing them against stone.

Unable to continue their magical attacks, Locknload and Jewel fixed their knives and joined the melee. Beigh continued thrusting his spear through the endless reinforcements of stick-dogs, hardening his resolve to survive. Just as the griffins began to pull up to regroup, a barrage of changeling magic exploded all around. Beigh dropped to the earth, but he saw Jewel take a hit directly to her breast-plate. She tumbled backward and landed on the ground with her hooves kicking in the air.

Locknload unleashed a savage blast of his own magic. Only moments passed before Jewel was back up on her hooves. A rage of fire was in her eyes as she let out concussive magic that caused the timberwolves to explode as it hit them, a deafening roar following after. Arrows began flying in the direction of the changeling fire, and their magical efforts soon ceased. The timberwolves redoubled their assault, and the griffins and ponies repelled them again.

Time passed in the busy work of slaughter, and when it was all said and done, it only fit into Beigh's memory as a blur of hacking and slashing. When the timberwolves finally stopped coming, their bodies littered the ground in a thick pile. Everypony around was heaving to catch their breath. Others were pushing the corpses back down the slope.

"My platoon, let's move," Lieutenant Clyde said, signaling their turn to rotate off of the front line.

"Everypony okay?" Beigh asked the other members of his squad.

They looked weary, but aside from a few minor cuts and bruises, all were in good health. The other squads seemed to be fairing at least as well from what Beigh could observe, but they would all be examined when they reached the medical checkpoint a little further in. Locknload sniffed the air in a deep satisfying draft as they walked.

Gunnysack asked, "What are you doing?"

Locknload grinned back, “Do you smell that?”

The air was filled with smoke, the scent of charred metal and blood, and an earthy aroma.

“What?”

“It smells like victory."

Beigh hardly thought it pleasant, much less heroic, but he knew better than to argue with either of those two. As they continued past rows of soldiers ready to fight, they came to a place in the center of their forces where everything was much more peaceful. Each regiment had their own area set up where they were on standby, complete with a medic tent, mess hall, and crates filled with arrows to replenish their quivers.

Duster was developing a limp as they neared the infirmary, and Jewel’s breathing seemed labored. The hospital was a large tent, almost identical to the one that they had used as cadets when they trained in Ponyville. It was crammed full of cots from end to end down the length of it. Another section at the end turned to the right, which was where surgeries were performed. Most of the beds were empty, as casualties had been fairly light so far.

"You okay?" Beigh asked.

"Yeah," Duster replied. "I clobbered one of them pretty hard with my hoof and it's starting to hurt."

"Take a seat, I'll have a look."

Examining the hoof revealed no permanent damage.

"You'll live.”

"Thanks, I feel better already," Duster teased.

“Just try to keep weight off of it for now.”

Another medic approached Jewel and said to Beigh, "Give me a hoof over here."

Her breastplate had been damaged by that nasty blow, crushing into her ribs. Loosening the straps that fastened it into place wasn't enough to remove it. The bent armor had become stuck. After no small amount of tugging, twisting, and brute strength, it popped free. Beigh and the other medic staggered backward when it came loose. Jewel sighed with relief.

"Thanks," she said, finally able to take a breath.

The other medic hummed to himself while looking her over. "It might be just a bruise. Let me know if this hurts," he said as he pressed against her ribs on the left side.

A cry that sounded like a squeak escaped her lips and the medic stopped.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You'll be fine, but you've cracked a rib or two. You'll need to stay off the line for a few days."

"Perfect," she said. "We finally get rotated to the back, and I get hurt."

"You're lucky you had that new armor plate," Duster said, "I saw that blast; if you'd been wearing the old gear, you'd have been incinerated."

"Give this to your CO," the medic said, as he wrote the medical leave orders for her.

"I'll take that," Sergeant Featherplume said. "As for the rest of you, its time to hit the mess.

The quantity of the food in each ration had increased by about threefold due to donations from civilians in various cities around Equestria. The rumors persisted that the entire nation was on the brink of starvation, and Beigh didn't doubt the veracity of these tales due to the paltry size of their normal rations. As they walked to the mess tent, the familiar howl of the timberwolves was heard from all around. Locknload perked up with a wild look in his eyes.

"Easy there, it's just their usual attack," Featherplume said. "We're off duty unless they break through."

Duster spoke to Beigh, "That's kind of funny to me. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we'd have been terrified at the thought of a timberwolf attack."

There was great truth in that statement. They had been on the line so long, and the attacks so frequent, that Beigh didn’t exactly become afraid as easily. It was as if the more delicate parts of his inner self had died. That was surprising, as it hadn't been but a few days, or had it been weeks already?

"How long have we been here?"

"What, on the heights?" Duster asked. "Two, wait," he paused. "Three days?"

"Four," Locknload said definitively.

"Nice math, Duster," Gunnysack mocked.

"No luck making friends there, I see," Beigh said as quietly as he could.

"Honestly, I'm just glad he hasn't stabbed me in the back," Duster replied in a tone that was uncomfortably frank.

The air soon was filled with the sounds of battle once again. The attacks came like clockwork, but they happened with such frequency that it really was no wonder that any of them had lost track of time. It had been four days holding their position. Resupply drops had come, and now they were well stocked.

The mess tent for their regiment was about half the size of the infirmary, but there was never a need for everypony to be there at the same time. The small, lightweight tables barely had room for practical use. This gave a cramped feeling to what otherwise might have been everypony's favorite activity. The mood inside was almost buzzing with excitement, even more so than it had been the past few days. Beigh could hear bits and pieces of conversations from other platoons. One talked joyfully about how well the line was holding. Another was counting statistics on how many timberwolves had been killed in comparison to EUP losses. One talked almost glibly about how he'd saved a comrade in the battle. From everywhere, two other things were commonly heard: references to the “Hero of Canterlot”, and talk of the "Angel of Death".

"So, I bet you just love how famous your sister is," Gunnysack jabbed at Duster. “How about her new nickname?”

Duster shrugged, but didn't answer. He looked like he was growing angry. Beigh felt himself bristling as well.

"Can it," Locknload said.

"What are you, going soft?" Gunnysack mocked.

"Captain Sparklefly is in command above us," Locknload replied flatly between bites of the ground hay and oat bread that had been served. "If you speak of any of our commanders in my presence, it will be with the respect that their position deserves."

Gunnysack rolled his eyes at the unicorn. Duster was beginning to seethe.

"Don't worry about him," Beigh whispered.

"Oh, isn't that sweet," Gunnysack said. "I always thought there was something funny about you two."

The tone he used was rather combative, and Beigh could only guess at what he was insinuating, but it couldn't be good in any case. He wasn’t sure what had caused them to draw Gunnysack’s ire, but he decided to play.

"You know, I've always wanted to help ponies," the unicorn began. "That's why I studied medicine. However, I think there is one life that I wish I hadn't saved. That's a nice scar on your neck, Gunnysack."

"Oh, that hurt," came a sarcastic reply. "Did you come up with that yourself, or did your mother help you?"

Beigh's mind began running through possible cutting replies, but he was so frustrated that he was fumbling over what to say.

"Permission to return to barracks," Duster said coldly.

"Granted," Sergeant Featherplume replied; she was watching this situation closely. "Why don't you take Corporal Beigh with you," it wasn't a suggestion.

"Nice, you two can have some alone time," Gunnysack teased.

"One more word," Sergeant Featherplume spoke sternly, "and I'll have you digging latrines for the rest of this campaign."

Beigh rose from his seat and followed Duster out of the mess tent. He wished that Gunnysack would continue mocking, but there was little hope of it. He might have been annoying, but he wasn't stupid. Hunger was quelled for the moment, but it felt somehow unsatisfactory after enduring the sheer absurdity of pointless posturing.

Beigh wanted to tell everypony about his relationship with Captain Sparklefly, but he was fairly certain that he wouldn’t still have one if he did. The last hiccup they'd experienced had caused no small amount of harsh feelings on his part. The distance they had to maintain was quite welcome for once. It gave him time to sort through his anger. In the meantime, they kept to their painfully slow letter writing.

Exiting the mess tent, the scent of battle again filled the air. The sounds of shouting and fighting could be heard at a distance from all around. Duster was walking ahead, and it was an effort to keep pace with him.

"Angel of Death," he spat. "Luck; all just luck."

"What do you mean?" Beigh asked.

Stopping suddenly and turning sharply, Duster spoke in a fervor, "If I'd been a little older and assigned to that first mission she got, I could be leading the army. Besides, our squad has probably killed more timberwolves than she has even come up against face to face."

A little surprised by the hostility, Beigh wasn't sure what to say. He'd known that Duster had felt like he couldn't get out of his sister's shadow, but there was something deeper here.

"How did she get on that first mission anyway?" Duster continued to rant. "A princess was in command of that. Did she just make the right friends somewhere?"

The silence beckoned an answer, but Beigh just shrugged in hopes of not making this situation more uncomfortable than it already had become. A lull in the noise around signaled that the latest timberwolf offensive had ended as all the others. Soon medics would be carrying the wounded to the infirmary. It was unlikely that Beigh would be needed, but he was much more comfortable dealing with those sorts of injuries. They arrived at their tent, and just as Beigh was about to say something, Duster spoke again.

"Never mind," the sound of defeat was in his voice. “I know it’s more than luck, but that was a part of it. It could have been any of us. I swear, one day... I may never be famous like she is, but I will prove to her and everypony else... I’ll outdo her." They sat quietly for a minute before he added, "Nothing like a little family drama, huh?"

"Well, she won't hear a word of it from me. I think I'm still in trouble from the last dumb stunt I pulled."

Duster snorted at this, but didn't otherwise reply. Outside, there was a sound of commotion. Beigh stood and opened the tent flap; the heat of the sun was only slightly more unpleasant than the hot shade inside the makeshift dwelling. A crowd was forming around none other than Captains Sparklefly and Scootaloo along with a few other officers that Beigh didn’t know. They seemed to be touring the camp.

They had done this once or twice before, but they had never drawn attention like this. It almost looked like celebrity worship. The EUP soldiers seemed awestruck, and whispers about "the Angel of Death", and "the Hero of Canterlot" could be heard all around. Beigh walked toward them, and it wasn't long before he couldn't have returned to the tent if he'd wanted to for the thickness of the crowd.

Captain Sparklefly wasn't exactly graceful, but she had become more beautiful to Beigh than any mare he'd ever met before. This did strike him as rather odd, considering that he hadn't taken much notice of her appearance when he’d first met her, eye patch notwithstanding. It was a funny thing how perception could change in that manner. Her left side was to him, so she couldn't see him unless she turned his direction.

Despite his previous threat, as he beheld her now, he was fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to end things with her no matter what she did. In any case, if what they had were going to be a lifelong pursuit, he'd best use caution going forward. He was completely convinced that she was strong enough to be the one to walk away, given sufficient cause. He let the party pass without attempting to get her attention, but he smiled to himself.

"You're grinning like an idiot," Duster said.

Slightly startled, Beigh squeaked frightfully and then said, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," came an honest reply.

"I was just," Beigh began, but then realized that he didn't have a good explanation, so he decided to not finish his sentence.

"Yeah, I know what you were just," Duster answered. "Not that I blame you. I was watching Skyflame."

That was amusing and interesting new information, "Oh really?"

"Yeah," Duster seemed a little sheepish. "She's kind of amazing."

Looking back at the receding party of officers, Beigh said, "Yeah, she really is."

He wasn't talking about Skyflame.

36 - Death, Part 3 of 10

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Sparklefly was caught a little off-guard by the degree to which she drew attention in the Assault Corps. She, Scootaloo, Skyflame, Charging Lance, Masher, and Mane Crusher were inspecting part of the camp, and they had attracted a rather large amount of noice from the soldiers. More specifically, she had captivated their gaze. Only a few short months before, in the spring, nopony even knew who she was, but autumn had brought many changes. Sparklefly felt like she couldn't go anywhere without being recognized anymore. This had been a bit unnerving at first, but she did her best to conceal the discomfort.

"I'm satisfied," Charging Lance said.

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed, "I can't think of a thing we could do better with our deployment."

"Well then, let's head back," Sparklefly replied.

The five returned, continuing through the masses of EUP soldiers that were streaming from all around to see them. Sparklefly could hear whispers on their lips, most of which were unintelligible, but she did make out two phrases: the Hero of Canterlot, and the Angel of Death.

"Looks like somepony's become popular," Masher said. "It's a shame Pacer's not here; he'd think they wanted to see him."

Scootaloo giggled, but Sparklefly felt a twinge of embarrassment. She wasn't at all comfortable with the new nickname, but she had no idea how to stop it. The ridiculous public relations stunts that Rainbow Dash had pulled during their hunt for Queen Chrysalis had pushed her notoriety to near celebrity levels. It snowballed then as every victory and action somehow got her name attached to it, in some cases whether she was there or not. She found herself wishing that Princess Celestia had never given her any awards after the first battle at Canterlot.

It was a relief that Scootaloo no longer seemed bothered by Sparklefly’s situation. The crowds thinned as they drew closer to the hill where they'd set up their command center. Maybe the soldiers that were positioned there were more accustomed to seeing her. This lessening of the attention on her made her feel much more at ease. The guards allowed them entry to the command post after verifying that they weren't changelings.

"I'll never get used to that," Masher said.

"I hear you," Scootaloo agreed.

"Just don't forget Canterlot," Sparklefly reminded them.

She certainly couldn’t.

"Believe me, I will never forget about that," Scootaloo said.

"I thought you were off duty?" General Brax said to the party when they arrived.

“Off duty? What's that?" Masher asked with a small grin.

Charging Lance said, “I don’t have to be told twice. I'm going to get some sleep before I'm officially back on duty. I suggest the rest of you do the same.“

He looked at Sparklefly when he spoke. The thought of sleep was unnerving at best, so she buried herself in reports at her first available opportunity, a new pastime which she found comforting. Paperwork wasn't exactly fun, but it gave her a sense that she was seeing much more than what she personally observed.

The fighting had been rather heavy for several days, but the casualty reports were light by comparison. The first day had seen one-hundred sixty-seven dead and almost three hundred wounded. The estimate of enemy casualties was nearly eight-thousand. The second day went even better: two-hundred thirteen dead, almost fifteen thousand timberwolves killed. The last two days had continued that trend. For every pony that was lost, fifty or more timberwolves were destroyed. If that pattern were kind enough to continue, they could hold the heights indefinitely.

Sparklefly was never happy to hear about their own losses, but she was glad that they were at least making the changelings pay dearly for every life. She did, of course, expect that something would eventually force them to redeploy into a less advantageous position. The changelings wouldn’t be so stupid as to waste their entire largest force on a hill that was meaningless to them.

"What's our supply status?" General Brax asked.

Masher answered, "Last check, we have food and supplies for eight days. With resupply en route, we are well set for now."

"That won't last," Sparklefly said thoughtfully. “They’re bound to intercept our supplies eventually.”

She found it a little surprising that no attempt had yet been made to cut off their resupply, but air superiority was the primary strength that the EUP possessed. She wasn’t completely convinced it was as simple as that.

Mane Crusher grunted, “It is unsettling that it has lasted this long. It is my opinion that they want to keep us here."

This drew looks of disbelief from everypony.

"What?" General Brax asked.

"It's just a feeling," Mane Crusher said. "They keep attacking, rather disastrously. They're planning something."

The griffin commander, and older male of ashy color by name of Greyko suggested, ”Maybe we took out more of their command than we thought in that last air raid.”

Masher offered, “I don’t think the attacks would be organized at all if that were the case.”

“What if they have trouble controlling a force this large?” Sparklefly pondered.

"Perhaps," Mane Crusher conceded, but he didn’t sound satisfied with any of their explanations. "Or perhaps that is what they intend for us to believe."

"So, what then?" Brax asked, "We are in a good position, demolishing their force, and so it must be a trap?"

"Can you think of better bait?" Mane Crusher asked.

Sparklefly was unconvinced, "Even if that were the case, what are they waiting for? We've been here for four days. They have us surrounded on two sides, and have been systematically attacking us on each of those side. This is very good ground."

"At what point would we abandon this place?" Mane Crusher asked. "We wait until we are completely surrounded and defense becomes untenable? Hitting us from the rear is the first thing they should have done. The terrain alone is enough that even a fool wouldn't keep hitting us from the front."

Sparklefly looked at a map, "They are spilling around. They'll be hitting us from the rear either tomorrow or the next day. They're flowing around us like they always do."

"Perhaps," Mane Crusher admitted, "But if it were up to me, we would depart this place before they get the chance."

"Then I am glad it is not up to you," Commodore Greyko said, his golden eyes seemed to shine with resolve. “We are here to support your attack, General Brax, and so the decision is yours. We will follow whichever way you go.”

The white stallion nodded at Sparklefly, “The captain knows this ground, and everything I have seen confirms what she has told me. This is a strong position. We will hold it as long as we are able." Turning to Masher, Brax asked, "How are the trenches coming?"

"Very well," he answered, "It's not quite as good as our hill here, but we've raised the entire rear. Between how much it is built up and the trench that’s in front of it, we’ve got about a two-yard climb. It will slow them down."

Sparklefly's instincts told her that Mane Crusher made a valid point, but everything she knew and considered told her that he was likely wrong. Something about that didn’t sit right with her.

She finally added, "At the very least, we should increase our CAP strength to make sure they're not planning a trap for us."

General Brax nodded thoughtfully, and Scootaloo said, "Consider it done."

They all went back to their duties as the sounds of battle filled the air from somewhere on the northern line. Sparklefly looked over the map again and scanned the horizon. There was certainly no indication that anything was amiss. The reports from all over the field took time to sort through, but there wasn't anything especially noteworthy. The griffins had made a nice addition to their force; they certainly came ready to fight.

The rest of the day passed the same as had the previous few. The timberwolves continued to systematically and frequently test the defenses that the EUP had set up, but none of them were able to get through.

After night had fallen, Sparklefly found herself at the mess tent. The extra rations were welcome. Finding an empty chair was easy. As had become her custom, Sparklefly only went to the mess tent between normal meal times to avoid as much staring as possible. This also afforded time to focus on the reports. The words began to blur together much faster as she ignored the food for a moment.

"You're not eating alone, are you?" Scootaloo said from behind her.

Sparklefly grinned at her friend, "I was planning on it, but I won’t be disappointed to have company.”

Scootaloo crossed to the other side of the table and sat down with her tray.

"I thought you were on CAP?" Sparklefly said.

"Skyflame took over for the night. I'm back on in the morning."

Sparklefly snorted, “It’s getting hard to keep straight who is on and who is off.”

“I know. I’ve resigned myself to just paying attention to when I’m on and off, and also where my passenger is, just in case we have to move. It wouldn’t do to leave anypony behind.”

Sparklefly shuddered at the thought, “That would be hard to live with. We should probably start running drills for that, just to keep everypony ready.”

Scootaloo didn’t reply, but instead stared at her own food. It looked like something might be on her mind.

"Are you okay?" Sparklefly asked.

"What?" Scootaloo asked, looking up. She almost seemed surprised. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she shrugged, “just tired I guess.”

There was something more behind those lavender eyes. She finally looked up again.

“I was thinking about Pibs."

"Oh," Sparklefly replied as a twinge of sorrow punched her in the gut.

"Did you know she'd been studying to become a botanist?"

"Really?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo snorted something that passed for a laugh. "That's how she knew all that crazy stuff about the plants in the forest."

“That actually makes sense.”

Sparklefly forced herself to take a bite of her dinner, but suddenly didn't have much appetite in spite of the gnawing hunger.

"She begged me to take her on that mission," Scootaloo's tone had become morose.

Regret was becoming a sort of companion for Sparklefly whenever she thought back, and not just from the caves under Canterlot. It was reason enough to try to stay focused on what was in front of her. At the moment, her mind wouldn't cooperate, and Scootaloo wasn't helping.

"I'm glad it was her decision to go. If I had talked her into it..." she trailed off.

“Yeah...”

Sparklefly knew exactly what that was like. She knew Scootaloo hadn’t mentioned it as a dig, but it reminded her of that first day in Canterlot when she was the one who yelled charge and over two-hundred died following her down to that platform. The weight of the friends who had been lost that and every day since under her command was not a light burden.

Scootaloo added, "Brax once told me that there are two truths in war. The first is that young ponies die. The second truth is that nopony can change the first truth."

Sparklefly considered the futility of such a statement. It was true enough, but there had to be a better way. Her mind began wandering aimlessly for a long moment before a question began forming inside. It was vague at first, but her thoughts began to coalesce into an existential and seemingly unanswerable question: why?

“What are we doing here?"

Scootaloo looked up from her food, seemingly perplexed at such a simple question, “We're stopping the changeling army.”

"That's not what I mean. What's the point? Is it for us?"

Scootaloo was silent.

"We fight, we get promoted. Our friends die, and we fight again. It never ends. Win or lose, someday the war will be over, but there'll be another one. We're here bleeding and struggling; we keep moving, but for what?"

No answer came. The two sat for several minutes. Sparklefly couldn't seem to work this out in herself, and Scootaloo didn't seem to be doing much better wrestling with the question. It was a surprisingly small word to illicit such deep thoughts.

Scootaloo finally took a breath and began her reply, “If you had asked me that six months ago, I'd have probably answered without hesitation. I would have said something about duty, or honor, heh, maybe even glory. I was so focused on getting promoted to Colonel, joining the Wonderbolts, and getting my cutie mark that I couldn't see anything else. But now..." she grew quiet.

Her lavender eyes stared off at nothing, but then she looked back at Sparklefly with something like resolve, "There are two things that keep me going now. The only family I have left is in the Ponyville hospital, and I can't let her down. The other thing is each and every pony that stands on the line next to me. I understand how you feel. Pibs was the best; she could kind of light up a room with her smile. That was something precious that is lost forever. The world is a darker place without her."

For a moment, it looked like Scootaloo might cry, but if there were tears, she kept them in check.

"And there are more that fight next to us every day. I have to pull my weight so I don't let them down. If I don't give everything I've got, they might be the ones that don't get to go home when this is over, and I can’t let that happen, not because of me.”

Sparklefly's thoughts turned to the farm in Ponyville: Sweet Apple Acres. Everything seemed to regain perspective at the thought of her family and the life that they would build there alongside the Apples. That was the goal toward which she was working.

"I've been through some moments that have changed me," she began to speak. "I know everypony has them, but I think it's more normal for the changes to be smaller and more frequent. When my dad died," she paused, searching for the right words. "I felt like a piece of me died that day too. I had to keep moving for the rest of the family. My mom, we had our hooves full with my brothers and sisters. I put on a strong face for them, but we were refugees. We didn’t have jobs or money. That's what led me to join the EUP in the first place. Then in Canterlot, I ordered my squad to follow me down onto that platform, and they all died,” Sparklefly let a tear escape. "If you had been with me, you might have died too. I taught myself to keep a little more distance from most ponies I meet since then. After that, Nimba and Regal Masquerade... Cloud Blazer got hurt, and then Pibs... Each time I lose somepony, it’s like I lose some of my own inner warmth. I guess I’m afraid I'm becoming cold inside."

Scootaloo's eyes were filled with compassion, "You couldn't be more wrong. The fact that you're afraid proves that you were just hurt. So you keep your guard up a little higher now, big deal."

The words were comforting. These moments to just talk had become fewer and farther between in the last few weeks. Perhaps that was another casualty of the war.

“And then... that cavern...”

Sparklefly felt her head hang low, her eyes falling back on the reports she intended to look over. The words were illegible, thanks in large part to a lack of rest. What sleep she did get was inadequate to restore vitality and frequently interrupted by nightmares.

“I’m going to kill him,” Scootaloo spoke with a fire of hatred in her voice.

Sparklefly looked up, nearly frightened by the intensity of blind rage on her friend’s face. It made her concerned, though not for herself. She decided to attempt to calm her friend.

“It’s a small matter.”

“No! It is anything but a small matter!” Seething anger boiled over, though Scootaloo took care to shout in a whisper, “Nopony lays a hoof on my friends, period. War is one thing, but that changeling crossed a line!”

Sparklefly put her hooves up to gesture calming, “That’s not going to help it. It’s not okay what he did, but you can’t fix it.”

“It’ll be as fixed as it can get once he’s dead.”

“That won’t help me.”

Scootaloo stared back, her attention finally turned from the blindness of her hatred.

Sparklefly continued, “What’s done is done. It can’t be taken back. I can’t go on like it never happened, no matter what we do. I have come to realize how much worse it could have been if he had... The point is, you can’t undo it. I mean, sure, if the opportunity presents itself and you find him on the field, kill him, but don’t let it consume you.”

“I won’t let it get in the way of my job here, but he’s going to die,” she said with a tone of finality.

Sparklefly decided to not argue anymore and forced the last bit of food into her mouth. It had become an unpleasant affair. She stared down at her reports again, looking for answers, but after a few minutes of silence, the words still were running together. Her own instinct was also to hate Ash Eater for what he’d done to her. Surely he had done as much or worse to others. War or no, perhaps he did deserve to die.

"When was the last time you took a leave?" Scootaloo interrupted dark thoughts.

She seemed slightly cooled down from her diatribe.

"I'm off duty right now.”

“So that stack of reports next to you is actually letters home? No, I mean a real leave, an actual day off."

She thought on this, and the moment stretched on as Sparklefly could recall many events that now blurred together like a stream of consciousness. Unsettling as it was, she was having trouble remembering the last time she'd had any time off of her duties since they’d left Canterlot.

“You, my friend, are suffering from battle-fatigue.”

Sparklefly snorted and couldn’t help but tease, “Is that your medical opinion?”

Scootaloo made a sideways glance and retorted, “I’m sure everypony appreciates how hard you're pushing yourself, but if you have to think that hard about it, you need to rest."

“When was your last day off?”

“In Ponyville just before we came south.”

Sparklefly shrugged, not really sure what to say in her own defense, "There's just so much to do."

"Yes," Scootaloo agreed. "And we'll get it done in your absence. Seriously, it's not going to kill you to take a couple of days to recharge."

The thought of several days away from the war nearly caused a panic inside, "I don't know. I don't think I could rest. I'd be too worried about what's going on."

Scootaloo thought a moment and then said, "I'll tell you what; you take two days leave, and I will keep scouts reporting to you everything that happens on one condition."

“What condition?"

"You don't issue any orders, or feel obligated do anything else that constitutes helping us. We can handle everything."

The thought was still terrifying, but there was something rather intoxicating about having no responsibility for a while. Weariness began to weigh heavy as Sparklefly considered this. Eventually, the inability to read the reports is what won out. She was exhausted, and she knew it.

"Why not," she finally replied. "I'd better put in a formal request for the leave."

Scootaloo grinned, "I'll take care of that. If you want, I'll also drop by when I can."

Sparklefly smiled, "Please do."

"I need to get some sleep," Scootaloo said. "Are you good?"

"I will be. Thanks."

"Forget it," Scootaloo answered nonchalantly as she walked away.

The weight began to lift ever so slightly as Sparklefly finished her dinner and walked back to her tent. It was large enough for a cot, a small table and a chair. She also had a chest in which to pack everything when they had to move out. It would be large enough to sleep four if not for the table, but rank did have privileges. By the time she got there, the sun had already slipped below the horizon, and the darkness was growing deeper as night took hold.

Evening rituals were completed efficiently as Sparklefly prepared to attempt sleep. Her mind did not cooperate, being filled with thoughts of troop deployments and timberwolf movements, supply disposition, her family at home, not to mention Duster and her medic friend. The stress of all these things had been affecting her more than she’d realized. It made her feel rather small indeed to be so weakened. Sleep finally took her, but it was a fitful and restless venture. She tossed on her cot most of the night, awakened by dreams of being smothered.

At one point, late in the darkness she found herself awake again. Standing and stretching felt good, but she was still exhausted. Sparklefly walked out of her small tent and stood in the cool of night. The stars burned brightly overhead. To the southwest, flashes lit up the night moments before the distant thunderings of combat followed. She stood there watching but unable to really see what was happening. The rhythm of the light and sound almost reminded her of a concert. If she hadn't known better, she might have mistaken it for a thunderstorm. Before long, as was typically the case, the fighting died down. The peace of night was restored once again as the last echoes of the explosions died away in the distance. Sparklefly was so tired she couldn't even think anymore. She went back and laid on her cot again. Dreamless sleep found her much faster this time.

36 - Death, Part 4 of 10

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The light of the morning sun peaked through the flap on her tent and stabbed Sparklefly in the eye. Stirring from her slumber, she let out a long yawn. She stood up and began preparing her harness when she heard a scout outside.

"Captain, are you awake?" the voice asked.

"Enter," she replied, which caused another yawn.

"Sir!" the scout walked just inside the tent and they traded salutes.

"Report.”

He gave her a written order, ”Captain Scootaloo asked me to report all is well. There were three attacks in the night, all of which were repelled with great loss to the enemy. She also instructed me to inform you that your presence on the field is not necessary, and that you may remain on leave. That is all, sir!"

He saluted again, which she returned, dismissing him. She read the parchment the scout had delivered, which was a two-day pass from duties. She wasn’t allowed to leave the area, but she wouldn’t have even asked for permission to do so. Taking a look at her harness, Sparklefly tossed it aside and sat back down on her bed.

She couldn't help but wonder whether that scout had been there waiting for her to wake up. That would have been quite a considerate gesture, especially because she would have been in her armor and at the command center before she remembered that she was supposed to be on leave. An uneasy feeling washed over her when she realized that there was nothing to do. Sparklefly couldn't remember the last time that had been the case. It had certainly been while they were hunting for Queen Chrysalis, but that had been weeks before. Back then, it was a common enough occurrence while traveling from one place to another, but it was quite a different situation here.

As she sat, waiting for nothing to happen, she began to feel odd without her combat harness. She’d grown so accustomed to wearing it that it felt strange to go without. Besides that, should the need to retreat from the heights arise, she’d need to be ready at a moment’s notice. She donned her harness and felt much better.

It didn’t take long for Sparklefly to remember the nature of boredom, and she was surprised to discover how magnificent it could be. She was beginning to feel lighter and lighter as the minutes ticked on. She finally decided to write a letter home to help pass the time, but she wasn't really sure what to say in it. The endeavor ended up being a bit more honest than were most of her correspondence with her mother, but she still kept some of the harsher facts of their campaign to herself. It simply would not do to have the family worrying about her and Duster. Bringing it to a close, she thought the day must be wearing on, but was rather dismayed to discover that it wasn't even noon yet. She accepted this with a sigh and sat back down on her cot. She rubbed her eye patch, which had just begun itching when another familiar feeling prompted action. Her belly was speaking to alert her of a need to consume rations. Really, she was glad to have something else to do to help eat up the morning.

She left the quiet of her tent and marched to the officer's mess. As had become her custom, she missed the most-crowded time of the morning and found it relatively empty. She felt rather strange without her armor, but tried to ignore the feeling. With a mouthful of dried oats, she realized that she was hurrying to finish her meal, and she didn't know why. Becoming amused at herself, she stopped eating and began looking around the tent.

The pegasus hadn't previously noticed how haggard it had become. There were holes from wear and use that had formed throughout the fabric of it. Upon closer inspection, some of them had been caused by stray arrows or magic. Several large patches also covered what must have been gaping rips. Sparklefly finished consuming her fare and left the mess tent. It seemed that the sun hadn't moved. Marching back to her tent also didn't take nearly long enough, so she decided to take her letter to the quartermaster to get it on the next mail delivery. She got another report from a scout on the way, which was basically the same as the last report. Several attacks, all repelled.

The day ebbed on at what seemed a standstill. Sparklefly didn't realize that she had slept through the early afternoon until she awoke to find the sun growing low on the horizon. It was the first time since her capture that proper, dreamless sleep had been achieved. She was beginning to feel better than she had in weeks.

"Anypony home?" Scootaloo's voice broke the silence as she stepped into the tent without waiting for a reply.

Sparklefly sat up eagerly, ready for the distraction.

"How's the easy life?" her friend said lightheartedly.

"I feel better, but I had no idea how long a day could seem,” Sparklefly whined.

“Quit complaining you big filly; it's good for you," Scootaloo said. “Wait, your mom doesn't have any sayings for this?"

Sparklefly shrugged, unable to think of one.

“How about that.” Scootaloo flashed a smile and spoke in a coy manner, “I have a surprise for you.”

Tilting her head to one side, Sparklefly could only guess what might be in store, "What is it?"

"You'll see," her friend answered with a fiendish grin.

There was a twinkle in her lavender eyes. That sort of answer was always frustrating, but she knew Scootaloo well enough to not press, as such an attempt would undoubtedly prove utterly feckless.

"Is there any news?"

Scootaloo shrugged, "Just the usual. No sign of changelings, and the timberwolves are still systematically testing our lines. They actually hit us directly from the west today."

"I knew it!" Sparklefly leapt from the cot.

"Relax," Scootaloo said as she gently pushed her back to sitting. "We were ready for them. In fact, I personally dropped a few arrows on them for you."

It was good to have confirmation that she had predicted their move again. Staying ahead of them was the only way any of them would survive. Sparklefly felt herself smiling at her ability to see what would happen next.

"Medic reporting as ordered," a voice said from outside.

Scootaloo grinned and Sparklefly felt her heart sink into a panic. She had recognized the voice instantly. It was R, and his presence materialized anger in the mare. He knew how she felt about their interactions.

"Enter, corporal," Scootaloo said.

The medic entered, and the look on his face showed the same abject terror that Sparklefly had experienced only moments before.

"I, um, er," he stammered, "I was ordered to report here for a medical emergency, I swear!“ he finally squeaked, showing them his medical kit.

"Relax, you made to the right place," Scootaloo assured him.

He didn't look convinced.

"Well, I need some chow," the impish orange pegasus continued, "See you later."

She pushed past the corporal and exited. Sparklefly jumped up in hot pursuit, also shooting by the befuddled medic.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Scootaloo stopped and turned about.

"Don't shout!” Scootaloo quietly scolded. With a smile, she added, "I'm hungry, besides three's a crowd."

"You can't leave us alone," Sparklefly insisted in a much softer volume.

"Hey, I won't tell if you don't. What's the matter? Don't you trust yourself?"

"Of course I trust myself!” 
"Then what's the problem? If anypony asks I'll tell them I called for him to check on you because you knew him from your brother's squad. It's no big deal."

There were a great number of things that Sparklefly might have liked to shout at this moment, but caution made her hesitate.

"This is not a good idea," was all she finally got out.

"No, it's a great idea," Scootaloo said with a grin. "You can always order him away if you're that worried about regulations."

Without waiting for a response, she continued on, trotting in the direction of the officer's mess.

Left standing a short distance from her own tent, Sparklefly quickly ran through the options in her mind. Trouble seemed the most likely end result if she didn’t immediately send the stallion away. And yet, would there really be any harm in spending a little time with him? Her adventurous spirit won out, and she went back inside. Corporal R still wore a look of bewilderment on his face.

"I'm sorry," he started.

Sparklefly silenced him by raising a hoof, "It's a small matter. I know it was all Captain Scootaloo's idea, and that she didn't tell you why you were called here."

They stood in silence for a shadow of eternity.

She finally shrugged and said, "There's no medical emergency. Why don't you have a seat?"

He sat down rather mechanically.

A forced laugh made it's way out, "That wasn't an order. I guess we both need to just relax, like the captain said."

She smiled, hoping it would be disarming. He still seemed nervous. She’d have to try something else. Maybe if they just got to talking, it would ease things a bit.

“I heard about your promotion, congratulations. I’m sorry I haven't written in a few days."

"That's okay, and thanks,” he replied. "I'm sure you've been busy."

She nodded.

"How are things in your unit?"

"Good," he answered, also nodding.

Silence grew strong again.

"Just good?"

"Well, very good?" he tried.

She couldn't help but snort a laugh at this.

"Sorry," he said. “I’m just... I was just very caught off guard by this."

"You and me both," she agreed.

It occurred to Sparklefly in the following quiet that the two of them had never really spoken since they’d started writing letters. Before then, they’d only had a professional rapport while he helped with her physical rehab after the siege in Ponyville. The way that their relationship had changed since then, it was as if they no longer knew how to talk.

"Your brother is doing well," Corporal R managed. "He's becoming quite the soldier.”

She met that statement with mixed feelings, mostly relief.

“Oh, and LD is in our squad now."

"He got demoted?" she asked, a little surprised.

"He had a mental break when we attacked Dodge Junction. It was nerves. If he hadn't been carried from the field, he would have been killed there. He just... wouldn't move."

"Scootaloo had told me a little about that, but I hadn't heard about a demotion."

"It's true. The rest of his platoon was folded into Lieutenant Clyde’s, and LD was taken off of active duty. He sat in the hospital until just before we headed here. He begged to return to active status, and I made the case for him, so he was placed under my care. I think he's fine now, but they are hesitant to give him any responsibility at this point."

Sparklefly wanted to help him, but if the breakdown had been as bad as she had heard, it might be for the best that he remain stripped of rank for the moment. It seemed so strange to her to think of LD as becoming that vulnerable. The missions on which they had served together, he'd always been strong and sure.

"Well, if you would, let him know that he hasn't been forgotten." Sparklefly smiled to herself, "I guess the list of ponies I'm going to have to get together with after the war is getting kind of long."

“Get together?”

“You know, like a reunion. It was Scootaloo’s idea. We’ve talked about it once or twice, but it seems kind of silly to get too much detail worked out until we can actually see an end of this mess. I think she’s already taking down names. I’ve been keeping a mental list, but it’s getting a bit long for that.”

"That figures, but it's a good problem to have," Corporal R replied. "How are things on your end of the field?"

"Well, there's a lot of it I can't really talk about.”

He nodded.

"Things are certainly looking up. We've managed to hold the timberwolves here for almost a week, which has given us a chance to rest since we don't have to use the entire force to engage them. I suspect it won't be long before they give up and force us to redeploy."

"Do you think so?"

Sparklefly shrugged, "If they have any sense at all, it's only a matter of time. I would have already abandoned attacking this position if we were on the other end of this. And really, all they have to do is leave. Surely they know we’ll follow.”

He looked as though he hadn't considered these things.

She decided to change the subject, "The rest of the family is doing well in Ponyville. They did tell me in a letter that several small attacks have been fended off since we left, but that was weeks ago. My sister seems to be getting more and more sullen. I just wish I could be there for her, you know?"

He shrugged, "I was an only child, but I think I know what you mean."

"Wow, I can't even imagine what that would be like."

“Being an only child?”

She nodded, “There are five of us.”

"Really? I had always wanted a brother. I thought we could be there for each other and have adventures and stuff. I don't know; it's dumb."

"Not at all," she said, feeling sad for him.

It must have been a lonely childhood. She’d certainly had her share of adventures with her siblings, Duster and Glitterdust especially. Though that was before, when they got along and the world was a happy place to live.

Sounds of battle resuming outside drew Sparklefly's attention, and her ears perked up as she tried to listen. It was difficult to tell from where it might be coming, but she knew it was somewhat far away. The sound of the concussions were echoing around.

"That's the western line," Corporal R said.

“How can you tell?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Listen. Do you hear the rhythm?"

Sparklefly picked through the cacophony of echoes. There seemed to be a pattern. It sounded something akin to a musical beat. Volley fire of one, two, three, and then a brief pause before it resumed.

"A waltz?" she asked.

Corporal R smiled at her. She loved his smile; his crystal blue eyes seemed to light up.

"Definitely the west line."

Feeling suddenly ashamed of the way that she had treated him, she felt the need to apologize. It was not born of reason or sense; it was just a compelling feeling.

"I'm sorry for how distant I am. I know it's not a great way to start a relationship."

"Maybe not, but I knew what I was signing up for when we began." He gestured at the sounds of combat outside and added, "Some things going on right now are just more important than us."

She smiled, surmising that most would have been upset by such a declaration. However, it was her own actions that had determined the priority of their relationship. It made her feel better to know that he understood her. There would be time to work on their own happiness later.

"What'd I miss?" Scootaloo's voice broke the growing quiet as the noise from the fighting died down. She entered the tent.

"Welcome back," Sparklefly greeted her. She was more relieved than annoyed, "LD was demoted."

"He was?" she shook her head gravely. "I guess that's not too surprising. He was out of his mind the last time I saw him."

"He is doing well now. Technically he still holds his rank, but he’s on a walking-wounded sort of leave,” Corporal R added.

Scootaloo nodded, "Well, that's good to hear. I hate to break up the party and all, but Flurry Heart is lowering the sun. You'll need to get back to your unit soon."

"Yes, ma'am," Corporal R said as he stood.

Scootaloo stepped back out of the tent, leaving the two alone again for a moment. They stared at each other.

"Hopefully we can see each other again soon," Sparklefly forced a smile; she knew that it was highly unlikely.

He returned a knowing gaze, but there was more. A beckoning in his eyes seemed to be asking something; it was difficult to be certain. Somewhere inside, something not intelligent or logical made sense to her. A communicated feeling had been understood. She made the smallest gesture, what may have passed for a nod, and he seemed to perceive it. He took a step toward her, closing the distance and slowly leaned down, drawing close. Time slowed and Sparklefly’s heart raced with the exhilaration of forbidden love. The mare met the stallion’s lips in a kiss that they were both ready for. The pegasus felt powerful forces exploding within as longing was slaked. She was strong, yet weak, full and warm inside; in a way, she felt whole, more than she ever had before. She was totally content and bubbling over with gratification; she could have lived in that moment for eternity. Then he was gone.

Scootaloo entered again when Corporal R left, and she grinned at Sparklefly, who could feel herself blushing as warmth radiated through her body. Her friend sat down on the chair by the table, and they shared silence for a few moments.

"I'm glad to see you made good use of your time," Scootaloo spoke rather glibly.

"Oh, shut up," Sparklefly playfully replied; she knew how red her face had become. "I just want to let you know that the day will come when you find yourself infatuated with some special somepony, and I will be without mercy,” she attempted an evil grin, but could tell that it didn't come across.

Scootaloo laughed, "Maybe so, but until that day comes, I'll have the upper hoof."

Sparklefly shook her head. She knew that it was hopeless. For the time being, she would just have to accept whatever torture her friend could devise. Thinking back at her medic, Corporal R, she quickly decided that it was worth it. She knew she was grinning like an idiot, and she didn't care. The joy she held inside was beyond anything she could have imagined to exist in a world so filled with darkness and fear.

Scootaloo changed the subject, “My final report for the day is that all attacks were stopped, and we still hold all positions on the heights. They seemed to be thinning out on the north side, but it's too cloudy tonight to get a good look at them. We'll know more in the morning."

"If they're moving out we'll have to try and draw them back," Sparklefly said.

"That was the consensus of the Taskforce and command, with one exception."

"Mane Crusher?"

Scootaloo smiled, "You think?"

"I wish he could give us something more than just a gut instinct. That's part of what got me so worked up the last few days. I hate the feeling that there's something I might be missing, so I went back over every scrap of intel I could get my hooves on, three times."

"You didn't miss anything," Scootaloo affirmed. "If they are up to something, we've had absolutely no indication of it. I've got the entire CAP on double-duty to make certain we're covered. I'm convinced he's just being paranoid."

Sparklefly rubbed her eye patch for a moment and added, "In any case, that's all we can do. Keep watching and be ready."

The pair grew silent for a long moment. Scootaloo appeared to have an unasked question behind her furrowed brow. Sparklefly waited to see if it would form, and her patience eventually came to fruition.

“How can you not hate Ash Eater?”

The mare frowned a moment and considered her answer. To not hate Ash Eater wasn’t quite to simple a thing as that, but it is the goal toward which she was working. She decided to keep it simple and treat the conversation as if she had already succeeded on that front.

“I forgave him.”

“Huh?” the other mare was dumbfounded. “How? But why? I mean, he’s evil!”

“Easy, it’s okay,” Sparklefly gathered her thoughts again, “I’m not over it, and I’m not saying he doesn’t need to die, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m letting go of what happened.”

“He doesn’t deserve that, not after what he did!”

“No, he doesn’t. But you can only forgive ponies that don’t deserve it, those that have done wrong to you. That’s why it’s called forgiveness.”

Scootaloo shook her head, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s something my momma-mare always used to say. If somepony does you dirty, it might feel good to hate them for a while, but hate is like a poison. If you take in too much, you only kill yourself.”

“I don’t know if I can agree with your momma-mare on this one.”

Sparklefly smiled, “Me neither. All I know is, that no matter what I do, it can’t change the facts. He hurt me. It happened. My attitude can only change myself.”

Silence took the pair for a long moment. Scootaloo appeared to be seething, dissatisfied with the turn their conversation had taken, but it seemed to pass as she let out a sigh.

"On that note, I'm going to hit the hay."

"Are you up early again?"

"Yeah, but you aren't. You've still got one more day of leave."

Sparklefly saluted in jest. Scootaloo snorted a laugh and stood to leave.

"Scootaloo."

"What?"

"Thank you for today.”

Sparklefly wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words. She was mostly grateful for the chance to see her medic.

"It's a small favor," Scootaloo replied with a grin.

The rest of the early evening was spent pouring over an updated map of the field that Scootaloo had left behind. It had fallen into place exactly as Sparklefly had predicted, with one minor exception. The northern side was looking thinner on timberwolf forces. Most likely they were moving away from the field toward Everfree. It would take them a day or two to make that march if they couldn’t be drawn back. Sleep came much faster and much deeper after a day of rest. In a single word, it was bliss.

36 - Death, Part 5 of 10

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Beigh felt giddy as he walked away from Sparklefly’s tent. In truth, he felt as if he were floating above the ground, riding high on a wave of amorous feelings. The setting sun was at his back, but he turned to face it, pausing a moment. It painted the sky in hues of red and gold with some backlit clouds turning a rich purple, a wondrous beauty, yet it didn’t touch the magnificence of unbridled joy that flooded his heart. He took a long draft of the air, even the stench of the timberwolves seemed somehow sweet on this evening.

The stallion turned and continued on past other divisions, snaking his way though the camp toward his own regiment and tent. He found his squad where he had left them. Their time away from the line would end with the coming dawn. The others were passing the remaining hours in various ways.

LD and Locknload were sharpening their knives and other weapons. Jewel worked with her repaired armor, but didn’t find it to fit quite so well anymore. Gunnysack seemed to be sleeping. Sergeant Featherplume was resting but keeping an ever watchful eye on her squad. Duster was the only one to acknowledge the romantic stallion’s return.

“Hey... oh...”

Beigh looked at him, feeling overwhelmed with the light and beauty that was in the world.

“I think you’d better sit down.”

“Okay,” he sighed blissfully.

Duster seemed concerned that the others would notice Beigh’s condition, but if they did, none of them acknowledged such. The evening passed in a daze, and before long they were all crammed into their tent, bedded down for the night. Beigh was nearest the flap, and managed to peek through to the stars. They burned vibrantly above.

The stallion stared up at them, wondering at the lights that were spread across the heavens as he drank their beauty. His heart was filled with light and wonder, such that he felt it rivaled even the glittering and sublime display before him.

“I have never seen you this bad,” Duster whispered, breaking the amorous unicorn’s reverie.

Beigh turned so he could hear a little better.

The disgruntled sibling continued, “I swear, if I found out that you did anything to tarnish my sister’s honor, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

Beigh felt himself smile at the threat, totally unafraid.

...

Duster was already awake when the others began stirring. No words were exchanged as they all geared up and prepared to return to the line. It had become an all-too-familiar routine that passed uneventfully. Beigh still wore the stupid grin with which he had returned to them the previous night, a fact that infuriated Duster. Not that he didn’t like Beigh, but the thought of him with Sissy... It made something inside him snap. He shook his head, unable to shrug off the feeling.

“Let’s go,” Sergeant Featherplume ordered.

Jewel had a little trouble getting her armor on, but she seemed more able to move about in it than she had before the makeshift repair. Light grew on the horizon in the humid morning and the stars faded away. They stopped by the mess tent briefly before heading out to the line. The defenders who would rotate back were pushing timberwolves down the hill, casualties of the latest attack. There was quite a growing pile of them at the bottom, the stench of which seemed to envelop the entire defensive line.

Lieutenant Clyde spoke with the platoon commander which they were relieving, and soon they had traded places. Duster found his patch of earth dug into the top of the rise. The dirt was well packed and charred. Dried blood colored much of it red. The foul scent of the dead, not to mention a nearby latrine, mixed and soured the air as the lieutenant got the attention of his platoon.

“Just a couple of housekeeping things this morning,” Clyde began. “Changelings have been using magical attacks when the timberwolves strike, so remember to keep your heads down as much as possible. Also, orders came down from Canterlot, anypony caught deserting from their duties will no longer be imprisoned. Instead, deserters are to be executed upon the first offense. So, don’t give anypony a reason to think you’re not where you’re supposed to be.” He nodded at the horde of timberwolves, “If their schedule keeps, we should be expecting an attack shortly, so be ready.”

“Another glorious day in the Assault Corps,” Rolling Thunder spoke glibly.

Jewel groaned, “It’s too early for that.”

Gunnysack added, “Yeah, and the swill they pass off as coffee doesn’t do the job.”

LD was at his post, watching for movement from the enemy. He tended to not speak much in Duster’s experience.

“Besides, I thought we finally got rid of all that loud-mouth talk when Quickbeam bit it.”

Duster flashed back to that rooftop for a moment and shuddered.

“Not as long as you’re still with us,” Jewel countered.

Gunnysack forced a laugh. Beigh still had a stupid smile on his face; Duster sat down next to him.

“It wasn’t like that, you know,” the unicorn medic spoke. “Yesterday I mean. There was no, er, tarnishing going on.” He blushed before continuing, “How’d you know where I went? I didn’t even know until I got there.”

“You’ve been grinning like an idiot since you got back.”

Beigh stifled a laugh, “I guess I have.”

“How are your hostile magic sessions going with Locknload?”

The unicorn shrugged, “I managed to make a heat beam, but it wasn’t enough to even cause discomfort to anypony I blast with it.”

Duster felt himself smile, “I guess slaughter and killing just aren’t your thing.”

Beigh snorted, “Lucky me.”

The pegasus shrugged, “I don’t know. You do a good job patching us back together when things get rough.” He nodded at Gunnysack, “Sometimes we wish you weren’t so good at it.”

“Heh, what can you do?”

Sergeant Featherplume stood atop their little trench, “Rolling Thunder, Duster, and LD, you’re with me. Locknload, you’re in charge here until we return.”

“So be it,” the ever-serious unicorn replied.

Duster stood and nodded a goodbye to Beigh, who stood and took LD’s place watching. The four pegasi did a quick check of each other’s armor to ensure everything was secured.

“We’re joining the CAP today,” the sergeant informed them. “Apparently, the timberwolves are starting to scatter and move north in some numbers. Major Skyflame is taking half our pegasi and all of the griffins to draw them back. The rest of us are on CAP until then to make sure the changelings don’t get any ideas.”

They followed her into the air and joined the formation far above the heights. But for the sounds of battle below, it would have been a peaceful day. The skies were quiet as the large force departed to bring back the timberwolves. Duster watched them go as he continued scanning in all directions for any signs of trouble. The airborne detachment was soon out of sight and the periodic ground skirmishes continued as the day wore on.

Rolling Thunder seemed bored with their patrol, but LD was ever-vigilant. His watchful gaze searched intently for any signs of trouble. Half the day was spent in this manner, slowly circling the heights and waiting for nothing to happen. Duster felt his stomach begin to rumble right at midday. He was thinking about getting some oats from his ration pack when his attention was grabbed by action on the ground.

Magical changeling fire opened up simultaneously from all sides into the line. This wasn’t that unusual, but the intensity increased manyfold moments later, and the entire edge of the line was riddled with blasts of energy impacting all around. Moments later, the ground began to quiver.

Duster watched as tents began swaying without a breeze. A great rumbling could then be heard. The stallion grabbed his ears as a massive explosion erupted in the heart of the EUP camp. Earth, tents and soldiers were scattered through the air, coming down as debris in all directions. Duster’s heart nearly stopped as, from the epicenter of the blast, timberwolves soon began pouring out from under the ground. He stared in disbelief. None in the squad said anything for a moment. Then shouting started coming from every direction.

Several thousand pegasi dropped from the formation as their units were called. They sped down toward the gaping hole in the earth to form up a perimeter. Like a spider’s web, the ground began collapsing along subterranean lines that snaked from the center of their camp, radiating out to the edges like spokes on a wheel, effectively cutting their force into several pieces. Buglers began blasting a general call to arms.

“By Celestia!” Rolling Thunder swore.

LD was scanning the skies. Their squad hadn’t received instructions yet, and continued patrolling.

Fighting erupted all along the interior as changelings and timberwolves poured out of the breaches. It was as if they had been in caverns underneath, and now were charging out of every hole and trench that had just opened up under the heights. Something like a grin worked it’s way across LD’s face, though it wouldn’t have been mistaken for an expression of joy.

A pegasus scout shot by shouting at every unit he came to, “Phalanx, phalanx! All units execute phalanx!”

“Let’s go!” Featherplume shouted at her squad.

The wind rushed in Duster’s ears as they dropped altitude and sped back toward the rest of their squad. Defensive shields began going up all over the ponies’ formation as they executed the order to shelter in place. Duster understood the situation all too well. Their position had been compromised, and they did not possess the wing-power to withdraw. They had no choice but to mitigate their losses until the rest of their air support returned.

The fighting at the center had become intense, but Duster and his squad shot past it as they returned to their position on the line. Explosions ripped through the air, as did the howling of timberwolves and battle-cries of ponies who weren’t ready to give up even an inch of their ground.

Duster’s heart pounded and his mouth felt dry as they arrived back at the patch of hill he’d been defending for the better part of a week. Several small explosions rocked the line as the four pegasi dropped into their little trench. Locknload and Jewel had the lust of battle in their eyes as lethal magic poured from their horns in answer to changeling attacks that were striking all around. Gunnysack and Beigh were using spears with deadly proficiency.

Duster loaded his crossbow and began sending arrows toward the changelings. He was focused, his breaths calm. Inhale, draw, load, exhale, aim, loose, repeat. One enemy was struck in the eye and went down; another took his place. A timberwolf gained the top of the heights, leaping over Gunnysack and into their trench. It exploded with a shockwave from the concussive blast that Locknload unleashed. Duster felt the energy of it, making all of his hair stand on end. He spun, falling down, but he quickly jumped back up and continued firing.

He soon ran out of arrows and grabbed a spear, helping the others fend off the timberwolves that were getting through. The roar of battle was a constant mix of the explosions and screams to which Duster had become all-too accustomed. Sweat poured from his brow as the onslaught continued. Thrust, twist, flip, reset. The stench of burning and death filled the heights above Apple Loosa.

As Duster impaled a timberwolf, another clamored up and stepped on the shaft of the spear, ripping it from the stallion’s grasp. He dropped backward just in time to avoid being crunched between massive jaws. The next thing he knew, his knife was out and he was struggling with the beast. It was on top of him, pressing and clawing and biting. Duster heard a savage cry escape his own lungs as he drove his blade into the massive paw that swiped at his head. The beast howled before it came down, lunging at his face. The moment hung as if time had stopped. The creature drawing closer, and Duster had no means to stop it.

The timberwolf’s head was knocked aside by a blast of magic and it fell awkwardly, pinning Duster to the earth. The beast was dead.

“I got him!” Beigh was shouting. “Did you see that? I got him!”

Duster looked up at his friend in time to see a burst of green magic strike him in the neck, just below his helmet. His crystal blue eyes, which had been filled with exhilaration, became blank as he crumpled to the ground. Duster’s blood ran cold as he shouted for LD. He pulled and clawed his way out from under the timberwolf to get to his friend.

The other pegasus left the line long enough to check the unicorn. LD looked up and met Duster’s eyes. There was a cold solemnity that said everything that the stallion needed to know. Beigh was dead. LD returned to the line. Duster sat a moment, staring at the lifeless form. A blank expression was on the corpse's face, no trace of pain or fear, or even the joy with which he’d been filled. He was simply gone. A fire ignited within as Duster grabbed the fallen unicorn’s spear. He was back in the fight, a blinding rage fueling his strength.

The infuriated pegasus didn’t bother stabbing them. He crushed several timberwolves with the flat edge of the spear. He saw himself do things that weren’t possible, that were beyond his strength. The timberwolves climbed up, and he smashed them, skewered them, slaughtered them, throwing the bodies back down in his fury. They would pay, even if he had to kill them all with nothing but his spear. The battle raged on.

36 - Death, Part 6 of 10

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Sparklefly began gearing up even before she’d heard the bugle sound the call to arms. When the deafening explosions shook the earth, she knew that the game had changed. Feeling quite refreshed from a day off, she had her armor on in a flash and was ready for action. Before she knew it, she was out of her tent and galloping toward their command center. Smoke rose from all around the heights, and Sparklefly felt a sinking inside. Whatever was underway, it was big. Defensive shields had gone up over several areas, and Sparklefly had to be let into the command center by a unicorn guard. Orders were being shouted as she arrived at her post.

"Look who came back," Pacer said in his usual cocky way. "You're not getting too important to actually come out are you?"

Masher rolled his eyes. Sparklefly wasn't sure, but Pacer might actually have been the least-liked soldier in the entire army. He did have a gift for strategy that made him valuable, but just once she wanted to see somebody punch him in the face for his mouthing off. She brushed aside his comment.

"What's our status?" she asked.

“Reports are coming in from all over the field,” Masher replied. “Apparently, they have tunneled underneath the heights. The CAP reported an explosion in the center, and then what looked like tunnels collapsing from there to the edges. They’ve split our lines, and are attacking from every breach. We’ve got widespread fighting everywhere, and the CAP has dropped down to reinforce the edges so we can form up fighting lines.”

General Brax ordered, “Pacer, get down to the center and relieve Scootaloo. Charging Lance will have his hooves full on the west side, and we need to get the CAP back in the air.”

“You even have to ask?” Pacer shot back as he galloped away.

“We’ll need to order phalanx,” Sparklefly offered.

“It has already been done,” Mane Crusher replied. “We need to abandon this position, immediately.”

Several loud explosions went off, as if to punctuate what the former traitor said.

“Not until the rest of our air support is back,” Brax declared. “If we cut and run now, I doubt if there’ll be anypony left when we return for them.”

Flittergear approached Sparklefly, but didn’t say anything.

“I agree,” Sparklefly volunteered. “It won’t do to split our forces any more than we already have, not while we’re vulnerable.

The words were barely off of her lips when a barrage of magic rained down on the command center from the sky. It crashed through their defensive shield in seconds, and the lethal bolts of energy poured into the ponies on the ground. Sparklefly looked up only to be blinded by the sun. It was as if time froze and she thought, 'Now that was clever. They attacked from the one blind spot we couldn't do anything about.’

General Brax was hit and went down; Masher used his own magic, returning fire blindly into the now open sky. It was recklessly futile. Flittergear had already dropped beneath a table. Others were being pelted with magic and being cut down, even through the armor they wore. The imbued plates that they had received from the Crystal Empire did repel and absorb a limited amount of magic, but multiple hits in rapid succession were enough to overcome the charms. Many others also attempted to return fire with crossbows.

Before she had a chance to run, Mane Crusher threw Sparklefly to the ground and jumped on top of her.

"Stay down!" was all he had time to say.

A bolt of magic struck him in the head and the traitor’s lifeless weight collapsed on top of her. The ferocity of the attack didn't let up. All of the scouts and aids that had been working there were hit and many already killed. Masher also took several direct hits and fell. Screams and the scent of charred metal filled the air. Dirt and debris were being kicked up all over in the relentless onslaught. Sparklefly was blinded by grit that got into her good eye. She put her head down and covered it as best she could.

She was helpless. She tasted again the overwhelming fear that she had experienced in the caverns under Canterlot. Her heart raced and her breaths became fast and shallow. The body on top of her took several more hits, shuddering with each impact, and more than once it made a sickening sound that was somewhere between a forced exhale and a grunt. The noise was as deafening as firecrackers being set off next to one's head as concussive bursts of fiery magic exploded all around. Nopony was returning fire. Nopony was moving.

As suddenly as it began, the attack stopped. The only thing that remained was a loud ringing in Sparklefly's ears. She lay there, perfectly still as the last of the debris fell. Everything became still, but for the thumping of her own heart and the great heaving breaths she took in an attempt to calm herself.

Eventually daring to move, she cleared the dirt from her vision and opened her eye; a great deal of smoke surrounded what had been their command center. The lifeless bodies of no fewer than two dozen lay scattered about, many of them still smoldering. It was such a horrific sight, that she stared in disbelief at the bodies for a long moment. Brax had been butchered; Masher was completely unrecognizable. She couldn’t see Flittergear, but everypony else was been massacred. The mare’s heart became heavy at the loss.

It seemed safe to move.

Sparklefly felt trapped beneath Mane Crusher's remains and worked to wriggle free. He was much heavier than she would have guessed, but after a solid minute, she was finally able to push him off. Speed would be the next course of action. Pushing off of the ground she intended to take off at a gallop and reconnect with any other part of their force and establish a new command center. Instead, something went wrong.

She fell forward, her face hitting the ground. She only saw stars now, and the taste of blood and charred earth was in her mouth. She spit it out and waited for her vision to come back. Something wasn't right. She didn't feel hurt, but why had she fallen? Had she tripped? As her eyesight returned, she tried to roll over, but found this incredibly difficult. Her hind legs didn't seem to be responding, like they were caught in something.

Sparklefly managed, through no small amount of effort, to twist using her upper body and propped herself in a half sitting position. Her legs weren't caught in anything. They were just laying there. She bent as far as she was able and slapped her outer thigh. It felt completely numb; and her blood ran cold as she realized what had happened. Pushing herself over, she rolled onto her back and pulled at the straps to remove her armor.

Then she saw it.

Blood was freely flowing out of her abdomen. She had been hit multiple times. She touched the bleeding area, and it was as if she were touching somepony else's body. There was no sense of feeling at all; one of the shots must have hit her spine. More blood filled her mouth; she spit it out as a cold sweat formed on her brow.

With lightning speed, she took out her med-kit and retrieved the bandages, stuffing them into the wounds. Within moments, they were soaked through, totally ineffective. She began to panic and swiftly stuffed dirt into the gaping injuries to stanch the bleeding. As she did this, her cold intellect took over. ‘You don’t have permission to panic. Assess damage, take action,' she thought to herself.

'This is no good. There is only so much blood in a pony, and I’m losing it too fast.’ Looking at the injuries, she counted the ones she could see that shredded her belly, 'At least seven separate exit wounds. Even if I were in a hospital, this is too severe to be fixed.' Her heart nearly stopped at the line of thinking she had reached. A fresh wave of fear gripped the mare as she continued packing dirt into her body.

Her mind raced to thoughts of her family and friends. Determination was kindled within. She couldn’t die, not yet. Reaching into one of her harness pockets, she pulled out a flare gun and loaded it, firing a red spark into the air.

Sparklefly continued to pack the wounds with dirt, but the other side of her brain told her that it didn’t even matter at this point. She had seen enough catastrophic injuries for her cold intellect to understand the score on this one. Despair flooded through the mare. The damage she had sustained was far too extensive for her to survive for more than a matter of minutes, if even that.

It was a biological certainty.

36 - Death, Part 7 of 10

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Scootaloo had been relieved by Pacer, and she quickly began getting the CAP back off the ground. Changelings were dominating the air, and widespread fighting soon filled the skies above the heights as regiments of pegasi took the battle to the changelings.

As the fighting continued, the groups became smaller and scattered in the jumbled mess that unfolded. Scootaloo led a squad silently, swiftly toward another group of the enemy. She had been so distracted by the action on the ground that the changelings had initially established their presence in the air almost unchallenged. Scootaloo recognized this now as a tactic that she had fallen for. She’d been outmaneuvered.

The size of the enemy squad they approached was unknown, as more were coming down from above, but speed would be on Scootaloo's side. The wind rushed in her ears as they came closer and closer to a group of changelings that was bombarding the ground forces. One of them looked up, but it was too late. Scootaloo fired a single shot from her crossbow, which set off a chain reaction from her squad. Seven solid hits took down their targets, and only a moment later, an aerial dogfight ensued.

The squad of ten pegasi slammed into the hovering changelings at full speed. A flurry of kicking and biting followed, not to mention magical blasts that made hair stand on end. The changelings were completely caught off-guard, and the entire action only lasted for a minute or so. It had been twenty against her ten, but the twenty were all dead or dying.

Scootaloo scanned about, and was pleased to see that her squad was still intact. In the distance, more and more groups of changelings were fighting with the CAP, which still numbered in the thousands. It was shaping up to be a mess.

"Captain, a flare!" one of her squad members shouted.

Scootaloo turned to see a single red flare burning brightly in the sky; it was coming from the direction of the command center. While she didn't know what it meant exactly, it couldn't be good.

"On me," Scootaloo said as she powered in that direction.

Her squad followed. On the ground the situation seemed to be getting worse. Several more pits had opened up underneath the heights. Timberwolves were clawing their way out of them, but for the moment they were held in check by the EUP ground forces. To the east, the main lines were in pitiful shape. A combined mass of changelings and timberwolves had punched hard in and broken the line, gaining the heights in the center. This would all have to be dealt with soon, but right now, she needed to get to the command center.

As they drew close, the sight of smoking devastation filled Scootaloo with dread. As she dropped down, her squad circled above to keep the skies clear.

Moments later, earth met Scootaloo's hooves. Her heart sank. Dead bodies littered the ground all about. Many of them were so disfigured that they were now completely unrecognizable. Sifting through them, she did identify General Brax by his armor, which made her rage boil again. She also in similar manner identified what was left of Masher. The stench of blood filled the air; it was a massacre.

"Scoo-" a voice called, interrupted by a fit of coughing.

Scootaloo turned and felt herself die inside. Time froze for a moment when she saw Sparklefly. She rushed to her, dropping to the ground. Her friend was laying in an unnatural position with her head propped up on her helmet; she was obviously injured badly. Her hind legs were turned at a sharp angle. Instinctively reaching for her own med-kit, Scootaloo stopped short. Dirt had been packed into gaping holes in Sparklefly's stomach, but it had turned to a dark red slimy mud. Her eyes looked dim.

"Medic," Scootaloo's voice was barely a whisper. "I need to call a medic."

Sparklefly shook her head, "It's too-" she coughed blood, "it's too late."

The orange pegasus sat helplessly, feeling the need to do help, but unable to think of how.

"I'm sorry," the wounded mare said. "I should have stayed on leave."

"It's not your fault," Scootaloo answered, but her words sounded empty to her own ears.

She wanted to do something, anything to change what was happening, but she didn't have the power; even her strength to be angry was suddenly lost. She slid herself under Sparklefly and held her, as one would hold a frightened child.

"Brax is dead. I don't know if Pacer made it out or not," Sparklefly's voice was growing thin.

“He did. Pacer is rallying the center.”

“Good... that’s good... Scootaloo, you need to take command. Get the Assault Corps out of here... I wanted to see it through, to see the end... of the war. I wanted to rebuild Sweet Apple Acres with your friends," a tear escaped Sparklefly's good eye. "It was a trap. I fell for it... they fooled me,"

"There was no way you could have known," Scootaloo said.

"Don't wait for the rest of the pegasi to return. Save everypony you can. This place is death," Sparklefly said, closing her eye. Her voice was barely a whisper now. Each breath she took came in with effort, and every exhale took even longer. "Watch after my brother and the medic... Medic... I never even knew his name...”

“Beigh,” Scootaloo choked on the word, “his name is Beigh.”

“Beigh,” more tears filled the fallen mare’s eye. “Get him and Duster out of this place.”

"I will," Scootaloo promised, a fire of conviction growing inside her. "I will keep them like they were my own brothers."

"Brothers," Sparklefly repeated vacantly.

They sat there together for a moment that Scootaloo wished wouldn’t end, for she knew what would come; she felt powerless, not knowing what to do. A paper and pencil were laying to the side. It appeared that Sparklefly had been attempting to write something. The page was so smeared with blood that if a message had been thereon, it had been obliterated.

"Always causing trouble," Sparklefly said weakly. "I didn't do it..."

"What?" Scootaloo asked. "Didn't do what?"

"I didn't do it, Momma Mare," her friend said, “Don’t be angry.”

Scootaloo held on tighter, as if she could physically prevent her friend from leaving.

“I’m not angry. I know it wasn’t you.”

"Thanks, Momma Mare," she said, growing quiet again.

Her breaths were becoming shallow. Scootaloo’s mind still raced, but in circles. There was simply nothing she could do.

"Scootaloo... One last order," Sparklefly said, her voice now almost impossible to hear. "Broken arrow... broken arrow..."

"Broken arrow," Scootaloo confirmed.

Sparklefly's head slumped, but she was still breathing sporadically. Scootaloo hadn't realized that she'd been crying, but her face was soaked with tears for the passing of her friend, the one constant ally upon whom she had depended since they were cadets.

A rustling noise near by caused Scootaloo to look toward one of the tables. Flittergear was emerging from beneath it. She slowly walked over to them and stood there silently. She had evidently been crying already. Sparklefly shuddered, let out something like a cough, then didn't move any more.

Scootaloo touched Sparklefly's mane; the body was lifeless. It felt as though the floor had dropped away from her heart, and it was falling further and further down. Soon, a feeling of bitterness began to overcome her: bitterness and anger. Emotion poured out in tears, and a scream escaped the pegasus.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she heard herself say a hundred times. “I’m sorry.”

An overwhelming wish that she had protected the command center flooded Scootaloo with guilt. She would have had anything but this happen. She would have done anything to change it, but it was all futility. It was done, and she had no strength to alter it. She gently set Sparklefly's body down on the charred earth and stood, looking at Flittergear.

She took a breath and spoke flatly, “I’m taking command. Execute Phalanx. We hold this position until we drive the timberwolves back off of these heights. Find Pacer and let him know what happened here.”

Flittergear nodded.

Scootaloo wiped the tears from her face.

“Phalanx,” Flittergear said softly.

She left at a gallop.

Scootaloo took a final look at the body of her friend, staring blankly into the sky and already growing cold. She was filled with a heaviness unlike any she'd felt before. Bending down, she relieved the corpse of its crossbow and ammunition. She had a mind to spend each of those bolts on the enemy.

Lastly, she took the eye patch that she had given to Sparklefly, the one that Rarity had made for her. She looked at the beautiful stitching, marred and repaired by her own clumsy efforts. It looked worn and dirty from use. She put it into her pocket. If the situation had been different, Scootaloo would have taken the body, but there was too much to do, and she couldn't afford the weight. After quickly gathering up dog tags from the slain, she made ready to depart. With the flapping of wings, Scootaloo took flight and rejoined her squad in the air.

"Listen up," she began, "The changelings have come out to play, which I mean to show them was a terrible mistake. They have killed several of our officers, and we need to keep them from escaping. I am assuming command of the Assault Corps. I want all of you to fly north as fast as you can. Reconnect with any of our other forces and get them back here. Skyflame is in command of that force. Tell her that I want her to cut off any chance for the changelings to retreat so we can crush them while they're in the open. Find me as soon as this is completed."

The faces of her squad were completely stoic.

"Where will you be, ma'am?" a concerned gray stallion asked.

"Hunting," Scootaloo replied as she loaded the crossbow, her voice full of ice. "Move out!"

They all turned north at her command and sped away. Scootaloo flew on alone, Sparklefly's crossbow loaded. She was consumed with a need to find something to kill that grew stronger by the second. Scanning the sky revealed actions taking place all over. The fighting was widespread across and above the heights. Stealing their own tactic, Scootaloo gained altitude to get into a better position.

At a fair distance, she spotted a group of five changelings. They were near one of the medical tents bombarding the ground. Keeping the sun on her back, Scootaloo got above them. She got close enough that she was sure of her aim. Anger was burning hot inside, but she was trying to keep her head. She let the bolt fly and quickly pulled another to reload. Her aim was true, striking a changeling. It fell to the earth. The others began looking about, but she had already loosed a second bolt by the time they realized where she was. Another was cut down. The three remaining spread out and were heading towards her now.

Sweat ran down Scootaloo's neck as adrenaline surged through her. She would have to be careful. She turned and shot straight up, in the direction of the sun. She had to keep her eyes closed while she faced it to not be blinded. Looking behind her, she saw that one of the changelings had not taken that precaution. She aimed and loosed another deadly shot. A sizzle filled the air, far too close for comfort. The other two had come around and removed the blinding sunlight as a factor.

Scootaloo went into a steep dive and rolled to her right. Several more bursts of magic flew past her. She was able to reload and continued to dive. They stayed close behind her, blasting away. She pulled up and banked hard left avoiding what would have been a lethal hit. She rolled, aimed, and returned fire at them, but was unable to see if she hit the target. She got even lower to the ground, finally dropping behind one of the supply tents.

Skidding to a halt, she galloped back, running into the side of it. She took aim and as the changelings flew overhead, she fired again. It caught one of them, and he shrieked, falling to the earth. The last one glanced back before speeding away. Scootaloo pulled her knife and thundered down on top of the wounded changeling. A burst of green fire enveloped the enemy, and suddenly it was Cloud Blazer laying there wounded. Scootaloo froze.

"Help me," the changeling said in Cloud Blazer’s voice.

Rage completely took over. Scootaloo let out a cry that would have stolen the strength of any that heard it, friend and foe alike, and she leapt on top of the changeling that had taken the form of her friend. Her knife found its sheath in warm flesh again and again until the life was stabbed out of it. The body began to grow cold, and the magical disguise failed.

A noise to her left made her look. Several earth ponies were retreating before timberwolves that had clamored up out of a trench. Scootaloo leapt up and thundered toward them, letting out another savage cry. She barreled into them with her body. Intense hatred filled her as she smashed with her hooves and stabbed at anything that got near her.

Everything blurred, and she lost perception of time. The violent convulsions that followed didn't even make sense to her. It was such a visceral act that her conscious mind wouldn't have accepted it even had she not been lost in a berserk blood rage.

When she came to herself, she was sitting on another changeling corpse that she had slaughtered, surrounded by dead timberwolves and ponies. Her mind began taking in everything that had happened and had started processing it again.

Chaos had erupted all around. Ground forces were fighting each other, but it was now impossible to tell which were changelings and which were EUP soldiers. Arrows and deadly blasts of magic were flying thick all around. The sky, particularly at low altitude, was becoming a much more dangerous place to be, as on the ground there was some cover.

Scootaloo looked around, and realized that she was near the center. The fighting was no longer confined to the trenches and pits. If there was fighting on top of the heights, everything might fall apart if they didn't withdraw.

She knew that staying for revenge would only get her killed, and that was a satisfaction she wouldn't give the changelings. “Broken arrow” was their code command to abandon the heights in the face of catastrophic losses and move to the fallback rendezvous point to the west. That’s what Sparklefly had ordered. Scootaloo had to make it happen. She needed to find Duster.

36 - Death, Part 8 of 10

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Explosions all around were disorienting Duster. He loaded his crossbow as the fighting came in on every side, but used his spear to save the last of their bolts. His squad was holding their position on the southeast edge of the heights, but fighting behind them had thrown everything into chaos. Jewel and Locknload were blasting the enemy with everything they had, but it wasn't enough. LD had been hit, but it wasn't bad. Gunnysack had run through for more medical supplies and arrows, but he hadn't returned yet. LD stood up, raising his spear.

Several pegasi fell from the air into the fray of timberwolves. Whether injured or dead was unclear, but either way their fate was as certain as Beigh’s.

"Just be glad you’re not still on CAP duty,” Jewel shouted as she blasted at the timberwolves clawing their way up the steep hill at the edge of the heights.

Sergeant Featherplume was looking quickly this way and that; she finally yelled, "We need to abandon this position. We will fall back toward the infirmary. Locknload, can you set them on fire? There's so many bodies on the perimeter, if we can get it burning, maybe we can cut them off and have a fighting chance in the center."

Locknload grinned.

"Where is our Lieutenant?" LD yelled.

"I can't see any other squads in our platoon," Featherplume yelled back. "If we stay here, we're dead."

A timberwolf leapt from their rear, but LD managed to catch it with a spinning kick with both hind legs. It yelped and fell into the ground. Jewel finished it off with a blast of magic.

"Here it comes!" Locknload shouted as he let out a magical conflagration.

The timberwolves howled as they began burning. Jewel let out a second blast of flames, spreading the immolation even further and igniting the mountainous pile of bodies.

"That's enough; fall back on me!" Sergeant Featherplume shouted.

She led them out of their position and in the general direction of the medical tent. Gaping holes and trenches scarred the ground. From many of them, timberwolves clawed their way out to join the battle. Jewel concussed the nearest one, but then she stumbled. Duster helped her up and they continued on together.

A scout ran up to meet the squad, but instead of information, a blast of changeling magic erupted from him, hitting Sergeant Featherplume at point blank range. LD returned fire with his crossbow, killing the changeling scout. Locknload turned to their rear and began taking shots at timberwolves that were headed towards them.

"She's alive but out cold," LD said as he lifted the sergeant onto his back. "Locknload, you're in command."

"Move!" he ordered, and they continued working their way to the infirmary.

Gunnysack came from in front; Duster nearly skewered him on instinct, but the soldier threw himself down and covered his head when he saw the spear, dropping the supplies he'd been carrying.

“What’s the matter with you?"

Duster lowered his weapon, “Sorry.”

“Pick her up and let’s move!” Locknload shouted.

Incoming fire compelled them all to drop to the ground. Somepony or changeling in the air did a strafing run on them. Bits of the earth exploded upward all over, throwing dirt everywhere. Duster's heart was pounding as he lay still. He was beyond fear. As soon as it was over, he sat up, aimed his crossbow, but didn't fire. It was two pegasi carrying unicorns: probably not changelings. Jewel was howling in pain. Her leg had been hit and was smoldering from the wound. LD quickly pulled a bandage from the medical kit that Gunnysack brought and stopped the bleeding.

"You'll live," he said, a tremor in his voice.

He helped her up, and the squad continued moving. Duster could see timberwolves massing on three sides now. If they didn't pick up their pace, they would be pinned down. They made it to a stack of supply crates. It was mostly ammunition for the crossbows.

"We'll make use of this; Jewel, can you walk?" Locknload asked.

"I can manage!”

"LD, take the sergeant and Jewel on. We'll buy you some time."

"Copy that; I'll be back for you," LD said.

"Negative," Locknload replied. "We'll be right behind you! Duster, Gunnysack, crossbows up!"

They opened the top of one of the crates and pulled bundles of bolts out. Duster loaded and fired into the fray. Some more magical fire came from the air, beating down the timberwolves. The three didn't waste the opportunity. They were loading and firing their crossbows with lightning speed. There was certainly no lack of targets. They only managed to hold that position for about a minute. Incoming changeling magic began punching holes in the supply crates.

"Fall back!" Locknload shouted.

They each grabbed a bundle of the arrows before Locknload blasted fire at the enemy and then led the retreat. Duster and Gunnysack were right behind him.

“Left!” Gunnysack shouted as a timberwolf charged in from their left.

Duster dropped to the earth, and the lunging beast shot right over him. It skidded to a halt and rounded on Duster, but he'd dropped his spear and his crossbow was empty. Gunnysack let an arrow fly, striking the beast in the head and killing it.

“Move!” Locknload shouted at them as he picked up Duster and shot a blast of fire into the supply crates, engulfing them completely.

The three staggered on, moving as fast as they could toward the infirmary. What they saw when they arrived was rather unsettling to say the least. The tent was a smoking ruin down to the beds. Most of them seemed to have been emptied, but there were at least a dozen charred bodies that hadn't made it out. LD and the others were there. They seemed safe for the moment, but the timberwolves wouldn't be far behind them.

"Any other bright ideas?" Jewel said.

"We'd get somewhere a lot faster if you pegasi flew us to a better location," Gunnysack stated.

"We can't carry all four of you," LD said, gesturing at the sergeant.

“And we’re not leaving her behind. We’re hoofing it for now," Locknload said.

Duster looked back, wishing that Beigh had survived. A vain hope wanted to see him come running up behind them, but he knew better. Instead all he could see was timberwolves moving like shadows in the smoke. They were drawing closer.

Locknload looked weary as he took a breath and said, "We have to move. This way.”

The fighting had become such a disorganized mess that Duster felt there wasn't any assurance that running one direction might be better than another. He helped Jewel walk, and they began moving as quickly in the direction of their center of their force. LD was breathing heavily from carrying the sergeant. Each of the other members of the squad had completely emotionless expressions. They just marched onward to the next unknown disaster.

They soon came to a place where there were timberwolf bodies laying in heaps all around. They moved to the edge of a tree line, slowly walking out into the open. Everything seemed okay, but then a volley of arrows sped towards them.

"Down!" Locknload shouted.

The squad crashed to the ground, LD grunted beneath the weight of the sergeant.

"Hold your fire!" Gunnysack shouted.

Duster could hear shouting behind the firing line. It sounded like a line officer was angry. A squad from the defensive position left their cover and approached cautiously.

"Medic!" Locknload yelled at them.

Duster cautiously got back to his hooves. Sergeant Featherplume’s helmet was cracked almost in half. He hadn’t seen when that had happened. He suddenly noticed a throbbing pain in his left ear.

"You're bleeding," Jewel said.

"What?" Duster asked.

"They practically took your ear off," LD replied.

It was true; he had lost almost half of his ear to an arrow that zipped by as he dropped to the ground. Duster shuddered at the realization that he had almost been killed. Locknload jumped up and moved rather aggressively toward the squad that approached.

"What in Equestria is wrong you morons?" he berated them.

After being scanned by a unicorn, and with the assistance of the others from the firing line, the remnant of Featherplume's squad moved behind the line and into a much safer position than they'd had all day. Jewel bandaged Duster's ear while the medics saw to the sergeant. They were all filthy and covered in sweat. Duster took out his canteen, but there was not so much as a drop to quench his thirst. Both Jewel and Locknload had dazed looks, as if they were suffering headaches as a result of magic fatigue.

"And here I thought you had all been killed," a familiar voice said. It was Lieutenant Clyde.

Duster stood and saluted, but found himself feeling light-headed. The lieutenant gave Duster his own canteen. The water was hot and dirty, but it just might have been the most satisfying drink he had ever taken.

"LD tells me your squad had a little adventure today."

"Yes, sir," Jewel replied.

"As did all of us," Clyde said soberly. "We've lost at least half the platoon."

"How bad is it, sir?" Rolling Thunder asked.

"The order just came down that we're going to abandon this place as soon as our pegasi return. The changelings have broken up our lines, destroyed most of our supplies, and the timberwolves are advancing on all sides. We haven’t even been able to keep our defensive shields up for more than minutes at a time. This time tomorrow, we'll all be dead if we stay here."

"I'm fit to fly, sir," Duster said, but it was all talk.

He very much hoped that whey they did move out, they wouldn't be going far.

"Rest for now," the lieutenant said. "You'll need your strength."

He sat down, his vitality wearing thin. He might have fallen asleep had not his mind been working nonstop. It had been preoccupied with survival, but now he couldn't quit thinking about Beigh. He'd been fine one moment, and then dead. He wouldn't even have been hit if he'd been just a step to the right or left. It made Duster feel heavy inside, and he was consumed by endless possibilities that could have saved his friend.

36 - Death, Part 9 of 10

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A noise above made Duster look into the sky. What was unfolding at first seemed to be beautiful, and it lifted the stallion's spirit. The entire air detachment had returned. Pegasi and griffins were sweeping through the skies and taking out the changelings. However, it was far from a solid victory. The fighting was becoming as intense up above as it was on the ground now. What had been a cloudless morning had become an afternoon filled with the choking stench of a war-zone. A look to the horizon in any direction was enough evidence to conclude that Locknload hadn't been the only unicorn to set fire to the timberwolves.

"You!" a voice caught his attention.

Looking down, Duster beheld a fast approaching mare, covered in blood. He stood up, shocked at the sight of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she approached.

"What?" she looked at herself. "Oh, the blood. It's not mine," she said emotionlessly.

It was then that he realized she was a captain. He saluted.

"At ease. I'm Captain Scootaloo."

"I remember you, ma'am," he said nervously.

"Where is Corporal Beigh?" she asked.

Then the sadness punched him in the gut. He was about to answer when she interrupted.

"I see," she spoke as though she understood what had happened. "Follow me."

He scurried behind her into the heart of this band of soldiers, which had to be at least two regiments still together.

"Report," she said.

"We thought you were dead," Charging Lance said, sounding surprised.

Major Flittergear was there as well.

"Not yet," she answered. “We need to execute Broken Arrow immediately.“

"The evacuation has already begun, compliments of our pegasi and griffin forces giving us cover, but they need to get down here and help us fall back. The changelings aren't making it easy. They have doubled down the assault from the east. I'm pretty sure we've lost several entire regiments already."

Duster's heart sank at this news. He suspected as much, but it was unsetting to hear it confirmed in such a callous way.

"We don't have time to worry about that right now," Scootaloo said. "I'll take Flittergear and go with the next group."

"You intend to assume command then?" Charging Lance asked, a curious expression on his face.

"Yes," Scootaloo replied matter-of-factly, "at least until we can get back to a safe position. We can talk about it then. You oversee the evacuation here and join us at the rendezvous. Private Duster here is joining me."

"I am?" he blurted out, drawing their attention. "Ma'am?"

"You are," Scootaloo said. "I need a wingpony, and I know the stuff you're made of, if any of it runs in the family." She almost looked distant or sad for a moment, but then she continued, "Is there a unicorn you can carry? We can use the extra firepower."

"Yes, ma'am. There are two unicorns left in my squad, and two more pegasi that are fit to fly."

"Is LD one of them?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Good," she said, seeming a little more confident. "Get him and both of those unicorns ready to go. Hooves up in five."

"Yes ma'am!"

Duster hurried off to find the remnant of his squad. They were where he had left them.

"Look who came back," LD said; he almost sounded cheerful.

“Oh, joy,” Gunnysack seethed.

"Sergeant," he addressed Locknload with a salute. "Captain Scootaloo has ordered the four of us to report to her immediately. Myself, Jewel, LD, and you are evacuating to a fall back position."

The others all looked completely puzzled.

Locknload said, "Well, let's move then. Gunnysack, looks like you’re staying with Rolling Thunder and Sergeant Featherplume.” He made a gesture for Duster to lead the way.

As they began to part, Duster stopped, looking back at the crystal earth pony that always spoke ill of and harshly to him. It was no secret that he hated the pegasus, but only hours before had saved his life.

“Gunnysack, I didn’t get a chance to thank you.”

“Just don’t,” the reply came back. “I already regret it.”

Duster nodded at him and continued after the others. Scootaloo already had attached Flittergear to her harness; Duster and LD quickly secured their passengers as well.

"Good to see you're fit to fly, LD," Captain Scootaloo said.

LD smiled and answered, "Well, I couldn't let you have all the fun."

She seemed to have that same look from before. Duster didn't know what it meant, but the captain had something on her mind.

"We're falling back to the southern end of Ghastly Gorge," Scootaloo said. "For the moment, it's free of timberwolves, and scouts report that we'll be able to regroup there."

Without another word she took flight, and the flapping of wings followed from LD and Duster. The six ponies were now in the air. LD took up the right wing position, with Duster on Scootaloo's left. As they climbed higher and higher, the battlefield became somewhat obscured by smoke. What Duster could see was an awe-inspiring sight. The first that had been set to the perimeter did little to slow down the influx of enemies that were still streaming from subterranean passages. The entire battle, possibly the entire war and future of Equestria was laid out before him. The ponies were losing.

36 - Death, Part 10 of 10

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The breeze tickled Pixyglitter's mane as she and Cloud Blazer soared high above the ground. Bad weather had compelled them to fly to Cloudsdale before turning to Manehattan. This made the trip much longer, but it was certainly safer than flying into a lightning storm. It was a bit of work keeping Cloud Blazer in the air, but she was glad to do it. Flying at this altitude was much more blissful, because the course corrections he issued were much fewer and farther between. They had done enough practice that she trusted him completely. A fleeting desire passed through her, a longing to see the view. She pushed it from her mind.

"How's it going over there, Fluttershy?" Cloud Blazer called out.

"I'm okay," the wind carried her delicate voice back to them.

Pixyglitter would never have admitted it, but she was quite relieved when they'd decided to take a rest in Cloudsdale to get food. While the rations were as small as what they were accustomed to in Ponyville, it was good to have a little more than what they had packed that morning. A noise from behind them caught Pixyglitter's attention.

"What was that?" she asked.

Cloud Blazer let out a gasp as a magical energy, a sort of tearing sound, could be heard in the distance.

"What?"

"Just keep flying," he said.

Fluttershy squealed in fear.

"What is it?"

"Cloudsdale is under attack," he replied flatly.

"What? How?"

"Changelings. They have actually come out to fight us themselves," he said.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Fluttershy sounded as if she would be afraid of the answer to her own question.

"No," Cloud Blazer answered firmly. "They have plenty of soldiers to defend the city. Besides, we're in no condition get into a fight."

Pixyglitter agreed wholeheartedly with that assessment. It was difficult enough to fly blind by Cloud Blazer's orders alone; flying into a battle would be madness. She could feel him turning frequently to either side to look behind them.

"See anything?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Nothing we can worry about," he replied.

They continued on, and the sounds of battle were nearly lost to the wind. However, he kept turning to look back so frequently that it was making Pixyglitter nervous.

"Let's increase our speed," Cloud Blazer said finally. "Fluttershy, give it all you've got. Straight ahead for Manehattan!"

"Don't we need to pace ourselves?" Pixyglitter asked.

He answered, his voice containing a slight quiver, "I think if we don't pick up some speed, there won't be a return journey to save our strength for."

Fluttershy protested, "But I can't leave you two."

“Just trust me on this. That's why we're here. You have to get Rarity back to Ponyville. Twilight and all of the other princesses are depending on you, not us. Now go!"

"Oh, my goodness," she cried out through a flurry of tears as she sped away from them.

She wasn't fast, but she could certainly outrun Pixyglitter, laden as she was.

”That's good Fluttershy, keep it up! Increase speed, Pixyglitter.”

“Pixy, you can call me Pixy.”

“Okay, Pixy.”

They went ahead even faster. The wind rushed through her mane and in her ears. Pixyglitter could feel her heart pounding as some unseen threat was at her very tail. As she hurried along, Cloud Blazer began issuing course corrections much more frequently. This was a great concern, as each time they did this, it would cost them speed. She was pushing herself harder and harder, trying to outrun whatever was behind without giving in to panic when he shouted.

"Hard left!"

Without question, Pixyglitter obeyed the command. A sizzle shot through the air, and she thought something pulled on her tail.

"What was that?" she shouted back.

"You're fine; pull up!"

She again obeyed without question, and they turned back right to continue following after Fluttershy.

"Bank right!"

Another magical blast sizzled through the air past them.

"This is no good," Cloud Blazer said. "Only a matter of time before... pull up!"

She struggled to push straight up into the sky, the air hissing again with magic. Moisture enveloped the tandem pair for a moment, then she could feel the sun on her face.

"This might work," he said, his words the product of a racing mind.

"Clouds?" she asked.

”Yeah; we might be able to lose him."

Pixyglitter was trying to stay focused and keep her wings beating as she listened for the next command.

They darted to their right into another cloud and then changed direction. She glided smoothly through it; they silently listened for the changeling. It screeched from somewhere above and the mare turned hard right. She felt the wind as the enemy passed beside them, far too close for comfort. At Cloud Blazer's command, they increased speed, vaulting up into another set of clouds, trying again to lose their unwanted guest.

The changeling proved to be far too determined to catch them. They continued evading, darting from one set of clouds to another, changing direction, dropping down, pulling up, and hiding. They were being hunted. They did eventually manage to get some distance, but still hadn't been able to lose their foe.

Pixyglitter and Cloud Blazer were soaked from the moisture through which they had been flying, and this made her efforts that much more difficult.

“There’s some clouds here that will do nicely, pull up.”

She went into a climb through the clouds. Already at a high altitude, they were pushing her upper vertical limit.

"Keep gaining altitude. Good."

His voice was clear of any fear now, but his tone contained no nonsense whatsoever.

"Give me a slow right roll and keep climbing... that's great... get ready for a quick dive and a hard left."

"Quick dive, hard left, ready,” she answered, almost mechanically as her aching wings beat furiously to continue climbing at high speed.

The moment seemed to stretch out into minutes as the air began to grow thinner and thinner, making her have to push even harder to increase altitude. Her body ached as she pressed onward.

"Now!" he shouted.

Pixyglitter folded her wings, nose diving into a free-fall just long enough for her to face down, and then spread them out again, pulling hard left as ordered. Another shot of magic electrified the air, passing by harmlessly. She felt a snap, like something had broken. She became disoriented, tumbling wildly through the air; there was a crashing noise nearby and a grunt. Pixyglitter had never been scared of losing control in flight, and she expertly worked the air with her wings until she had stabilized herself. Something didn't feel quite right.

"What's up? Did we lose them?"

There was no answer.

"Cloud Blazer!" she shouted.

Panic flooded the teal pegasus as she realized what was wrong. She was not carrying a passenger anymore; she was alone. Pixyglitter went into a slow right turn, trying to listen for anything that might give a clue to his whereabouts as she examined the harness by touch. It was intact; Cloud Blazer must have pulled the quick release and dropped himself. He didn’t have a parachute, and it would be impossible to survive a fall from her current altitude.

The jumbled feelings that flooded through Pixyglitter at this moment were varied, but it was mostly fear. Even if she were able to safely land, what then? She'd never find her way to safety. The emotion quickly resolved itself as a complete despair. Without another thought, she folded her wings and let herself fall, pointing her nose to the ground and picking up more and more velocity.

The wind blasted her ears, obscuring any other sound but her own thoughts. The sorrow at the loss of her friend only grew greater until it was powerful enough that she made up her mind. She would not arrest this fall; she would let the ground do that for her.

Pixyglitter had lost something even more important than her eyesight; she had lost hope. The only comfort was the possibility that Fluttershy may have managed to escape. No sound betrayed her elevation, but the air felt a little warmer as it blew past her. She fell down, down, down.

Pixyglitter felt her ears perk as they caught something. It sounded like a shout. She strained to hear. There it was again. Like a yell just barely audible over the wind. She turned toward where she thought it had come from, but continued falling as the faintest spark of a hope was rekindled. Then she heard it again, still from below. She was getting closer and made herself as streamlined as possible to dive even faster; it was Cloud Blazer.

"Keep coming!" he shouted to her.

She now understood what he had done. He knew they couldn't escape, so he put her into a maneuver than must have shot him directly at the changeling when he’d pulled the quick-release.

"A little more!" Cloud Blazer shouted. He was much closer now. "To your right; sorry, other right!"

She corrected left.

"Okay, up now... perfect," his voice betrayed no small amount of terror. It was a frightening tone as he spoke, "Get ready to pull up as hard as you can!"

"How close?"

"Just be ready!" he shouted back.

A few moments later, something bumped her nose, and then he was pawing at her harness. She heard a distinctive click.

"Up! Up! Up!" Cloud Blazer shouted fervently, "Pull up!"

Pixyglitter spread her wings into the air, which tore at her body now. They were falling like a meteor. The wind was fighting her attempt to change direction.

"Give it all you've got! By Celestia, pull up!" he screamed into the torrential breeze.

Pixyglitter sucked in a final breath and poured all of her strength into the maneuver; it felt like her wings would be ripped from her body as the forces mounted pushing her against momentum. She was overcoming it, and the tandem pair were definitely turning now, but she couldn't tell if it was fast enough. For a moment, everything seemed far away as if she would pass out.

"Now bank right... harder... harder!" he shouted, sounding distant.

She managed to do so. Their speed was finally beginning to reduce as they leveled off and began gaining altitude again. The heavy pulling from the change in direction waned, and Pixyglitter's remaining four senses sharpened again.

"Up," he said, gasping for air. "Take us up," with what passed for a sigh.

He sounded rattled.

"How close to the ground are we?" Pixyglitter asked.

No reply came.

"Cloud Blazer?"

The stallion let out something that almost sounded like a laugh, but it was unlike any the mare had ever heard before. It was hollow and unearthly, consumed with relief. He still didn't answer, but as they gained altitude, she decided that he didn't need to. Below them, and not far, she could hear forest birds singing.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 1 of 8

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Scootaloo desperately wanted something to smash, but there was little likelihood of finding such in their new surroundings. Hatred burned hot enough inside that had it been a flame, she'd have been consumed and ignited the sparse grassland on the east side of the brook that ran out of Ghastly Gorge.

The east was flat and barren, and the west side was covered with a fine sand and rocks. Either bank was as empty as she felt inside. Her raw emotional state was a nightmarish amalgam of extremes. Deep sadness, relief to have survived, shame that she had escaped when her friends were dying, regret that she hadn't been able to help them, and a powerful festering anger that was directed at nothing in particular were all running through her. It was all she could do to keep the blind rage from overpowering her intellect.

The first soldiers to arrive at this location had been thoughtful enough to scout the area and set up a defensive perimeter, but calling the situation grim would have been an affront to the meaning of the word. Of the force that they'd had, barely eighteen thousand had arrived at the fall-back position. Only three-thousand of these were pegasi, and they were already exhausted.

After the battle lines had fallen apart, Scootaloo had joined the evacuation force, and these pegasi had all gone back for more. Now, almost out of food, she couldn't push them to return again. The water source was the one thing that had gone right about this. Sparklefly had chosen this spot wisely.

The real problem that lay in front of her was the lack of a command structure. Everything was falling apart when they evacuated. They had what would pass for about eighteen regiments, but they were actually pieces of no fewer than forty that had fled and become separated in the confusion. In a group this size, they should have no fewer than four division commanders, eighteen regimental colonels, and almost forty majors, to say nothing of the lower ranking officers. As it stood, there was only one commander and eight colonels that were still with their units.

While Scootaloo's rank was technically captain, she had been granted special command rank by joining the Taskforce. Since she and Flittergear were the only two members to make it to this out, it was up to them to decide what to do next. Duster sat nearby with his squad, safe for the moment. They looked as weary as everypony else as the sun began growing lower on the horizon. It would be only an hour before it set.

"First things first," Scootaloo said. "Get me some scouts that are fit to fly. We need to inform Cloudsdale of our situation and request reinforcements and resupply immediately."

Flittergear nodded in agreement. Scootaloo turned to face the canyon that lay directly to her north. The slope was gentle on this end. Entering would be easy, and the steep walls would effectively provide safe sides and a rear. On the down side, canyons are a good place to get trapped, especially with the state of their pegasus teams. Speed, the one advantage they had always maintained, had been taken away for the moment. The only other option she could see was to hoof it and hope they could reach a city before the timberwolves caught them in the open. Given the state of their supplies, this didn't seem likely.

"Next, we need to get a command structure in place," she continued. "For the moment, all ground forces will report to Commander Rain Chaser. Pegasi will report to Colonel Skyflame."

From there, Flittergear and Scootaloo began reorganizing the entire group they had at their disposal. Then a faint ray of hope appeared. They heard them before they saw them; the griffins arrived. A quick estimate put their numbers at no less than five thousand. They all looked a bit worse for the wear, with sour dispositions written on their faces. It wasn't long after they'd landed that their commander stepped forward.

"Who's the leader here?" the ruffled griffin spat out.

"I am," Scootaloo walked toward him, flanked by Flittergear. "Where is Commodore Greyko?"

"Dead, and I hope you're ready to pay for the griffins I lost today," he said hotly. "We came down here to help you, not get butchered when stupid ponies' plans fall apart."

Anger erupted, obscuring rational thought, "Either shut your mouth or keep a civil tone. We’re trying to put our force back together.”

"Are you prepared to back up your insolence?" he yelled, closing the distance between them rather aggressively.

Standing stubbornly in place, Scootaloo replied, "You are picking on the wrong mare on the wrong day."

He stood beak to nose with her now, "We didn't have to come here to help you.

“Back off!”

“You owe us, you filthy nag!”

The rage boiled out of control and Scootaloo let a hoof fly, striking him squarely in the face. The griffin staggered backward in surprise.

"Well, that ought to make us about even," she seethed.

"You'll die for this!" the griffin howled.

In a flash, weapons were being drawn on both sides; Flittergear was instantly in front of Scootaloo, keeping her back, and subordinate officers on both sides were shouting to hold fire in effort to stop the madness.

"Bring it on, you coward!" Scootaloo spoke with burning hatred now focused on the griffin commander as she tried to move forward; she was blocked by Flittergear. "You are outnumbered here four to one!"

A griffin officer spoke quickly and quietly to their leader, but the insult was not to be satisfied so easily. The leader brushed him aside and spoke.

"You are a complete savage. I hope you are ready to accept the consequences of your own stupidity."

Scootaloo tried in vain to get at him again, but there were now several soldiers on both sides that seemed to have nothing on their minds but preventing this meeting.

"We fly for Griffinstone!" the leader of the griffins announced.

Scootaloo was about to speak, but Flittergear silenced her with a hoof over her mouth and softly said, "Let them go."

Frustrated, she bit her tongue and said nothing. The small amount of hope that had been rekindled was snuffed out as the griffins took flight, abandoning the ponies to their fate. Scootaloo let out a sigh as the rage dwindled to a manageable anger. Regret immediately filled the void as she calmed down. She suddenly became aware that everypony was looking to her.

"Well, what are all of you waiting for? We need to get organized."

Everypony got straight to that task. It was a rather laborious process, which they didn’t manage to complete until well after the sun had gone down and left darkness over the land. As no additional forces had arrived at the rendezvous, Scootaloo made her decision.

"Alright, we've waited here long enough. Rain Chaser, Skyflame, get all divisions ready to move. We're heading into the canyon."

"Are you certain that's wise?" Colonel Skyflame asked.

Feeling her position threatened, Scootaloo's anger shot back an answer for her, "I didn't ask for your opinion. I'm in command; that was an order. Do it."

An intense silence followed. The general talking among everypony ceased. The gentle breeze, light as it was, could now be heard. Scootaloo suddenly became incredibly aware that this moment may very well define whether or not she actually were able to stay in command. Colonel Skyflame regarded Scootaloo as if she were working out what her response would be.

"Yes, ma'am," she finally replied.

The tension eased and the soldiers were soon plodding into the canyon. Scootaloo hadn't noticed them at first, but she looked up and noticed that half of the stars were obscured. Clouds were moving in under cover of the darkness. The feeling in the air was a kind of rushing of wind swirling about them. It threatened rain. The stony floor of the canyon was packed with rocks that had been worn smooth from years of exposure to flooding. There was little chance of that at this season. Being a local, Scootaloo was well aware that it was mainly during the spring that such an event was likely.

Although not jagged, the rocky floor did occasionally slide out from under one, making their passage into the canyon arduous. The sheer rock walls rose up before them like rows of stone sentries on either side of a battle, ready to charge into each other at a moment's notice. The way was lit only by unicorn magic, as the clouds had obscured any natural light source that would have been of help. The shadows they created danced about while the weary soldiers pressed deeper into this place. As the first drops of rain began to fall, the cliff faces that made the walls of the canyon simply stood vigil as they always had.

Scootaloo found herself with too much time to think, and in the near pitch darkness she could almost see Sparklefly. Her last moments were burned into Scootaloo's mind, a sight that wouldn't go away. All joy was lost.

A small fear was growing larger in her mind as well. She hadn't been able to talk about it to anypony yet. Duster didn't know. He walked beside her with his squad, their unicorns helping to light the way. She wondered whether he could suspect what had happened. His sister might have if the situation were reversed. Sparklefly would also have a plan. Scootaloo was just trying to survive the night.

She shuddered, now completely soaked by the rain as she trudged farther into Ghastly Gorge, the weather and terrain impeding their progress. Scootaloo had managed to walk ahead of the rest of the corps, almost to the edge of the pale light that the unicorns were shining ahead for her. The rain had at least done a good job washing the blood from her; it also hid any evidence of tears that might have otherwise shown. In her mind, she could picture Sparklefly walking beside her.

"Well, we're in a fix now," Scootaloo said out loud. The rain didn't let her voice carry to the others that were following behind.

"It's a small matter," she imagined Sparklefly would say.

"I'm not sure how we're going to get out of this one," Scootaloo admitted.

"We'll find a way," came the response from the apparition of thought.

They continued walking on, and for a moment, Scootaloo almost believed that what she imagined were real. Almost.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. The CAP should have kept you covered."

"It's not your fault; we were under attack all over. There's no way you could have known they'd get that far inside the patrols."

"It's my job to know. Keeping the enemy from surprise attack is exactly what the CAP is for."

"None of us saw it coming. You can't blame yourself."

"That's where you're wrong," Scootaloo said into the rain-soaked air.

Her mind cleared, and nopony was there. A slight commotion caused her to turn back to the advancing ranks of ponies. Flittergear was on the ground.

"Are you alright?" LD asked.

Scootaloo walked back to check.

She was relieved to honestly be able to say, "She's fine."

It was no surprise what had happened considering her condition; Flittergear didn't have any more food, and she simply ran out of energy and passed out.

"LD, Duster, help me get her up.”

They lifted the mare and put her on Scootaloo's back. She wasn't too heavy, but there was little hope that she would recover soon. In the worst case scenario, this was the harbinger of things to come.

“What’s wrong with her?” LD asked.

“I don’t know what it’s called. If she doesn’t eat regularly, she passes out sometimes.”

Even ponies that didn't have Flittergear's deficiency couldn't hold out for long without food, exhausted as they were. Scootaloo was beginning to worry about the scouts she had sent for help. Even at a slow pace, Ponyville would only have been forty minutes away by air, not accounting for the rain. It had already been almost three hours, and no sign of return scouts had yet been seen.

The rain continued pounding away, as if to help drive a certain hopelessness into Scootaloo's core. She didn't know how to get through this but put one hoof in front of another. Somehow, she thought that's what Sparklefly might tell her to do.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 2 of 8

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Cloud Blazer did not like the look of what lay in front of them. Truly he had smelled it first, which he'd initially thought was odd. There was something unmistakable about the scent of a battle in progress, a sort of metallic electrified smell when unicorns were involved. Pixy had noticed it as well. This was likely due to the fact that as they continued flying toward Manehattan, they were flying into a potent headwind.

He was sure he had broken or at least sprained something in that insane jump he'd made several hours before. In order to secure himself to her quickly, he had linked their ventral lines together. He still hung somewhat awkwardly as a result, with his hind legs down, and his head up against Pixy's belly. If all had gone to plan, they should have arrived at the city before nightfall, but thanks in large part to their evasive maneuvers, not to mention the headwind, they were still some distance out.

Pixy continued beating her wings, struggling to move forward. Cloud Blazer could tell she was exhausted, but neither of them knew of a safe place to set down. His map was rather basic, and the only other town nearby was Hollow Shades, significantly to the south, not to mention west.

"How are you doing up there?" he asked.

"A-Okay," she puffed under the continued strain.

The lights of combat came into view as Manehattan lay ahead of them. It was the same as he had seen at Cloudsdale just after they departed. An all-out assault was underway. Magical bombardment lit the night in greens, blues, and purples shooting back and forth in deadly array. Even at peak physical condition, going through what was ahead of them would have been madness.

Cloud Blazer didn't feel that he should push his luck any further than he already had on this particular day. The city was shielded, and it was lit by the flashes of magical violence like a great domed light. Looking down revealed no clues as to what might await them if they simply landed in the countryside. By all accounts, they should be safely inside the EUP defensive perimeter. However, the battle before them contradicted that information. Still, pressing forward would certainly be catastrophic.

"Any sign... of Fluttershy?" Pixy gasped for air.

The rhythm of her breathing couldn't be sustained at the pace she was moving. Their options were quickly running out.

"None," he replied, looking for a cloud that they could use to rest on.

The clear night sky did not afford them the alternative. That left only one way to go.

"Begin descending."

"Copy that... descending."

She ceased beating the air and began gliding slowly downward. Even though she never turned, they were soon moving away from Manehattan due to the wind. Just that slight amount of reduction in effort was enough to ease the strain on the mare. The difference in the cadence of her breaths was evidence of this fact.

The sounds of the combat ahead could now be heard on the air. It was far away still, but it was quite a distinctive noise. Up close, the roar must have been deafening. It might have been likened to the sound of a sea of rocks lapping up against an iron shore. The darkness of night was all around. As far from the action as they were, there was no light to brighten the fields.

As much as he would have liked to have a lantern, Cloud Blazer knew that it would be far more dangerous to light up their own position than it would be to land in the dark. In any case, he didn't have the means. His eyes searched until the faintest outlines of grassy hills could be made out in the blackness below them. As quietly as possible, he issued the final commands to guide them both safely to a gentle landing.

Cloud Blazer winced as pain shot up his right front leg. He had definitely injured it when he'd leapt headlong into that changeling before. It wouldn't do to put weight on it, so he held it up, balancing on the other two legs as well as he could. His back right leg was still in a cast from having been badly broken, but it would also support weight if needed. Even though they were on the ground, they left their ventral harness lines connected, necessitating that they didn't stray from each other.

"We might have to get back into the air at a moment's notice," he whispered to her.

She nodded, her silhouette clearly visible against the backdrop of a city at war. They were close enough that several fires could be seen either near the city or in the fields just outside. It was difficult to tell what, but something was definitely burning.

"Follow me," Cloud Blazer whispered.

"Where are we going?" she asked in the same hushed level.

"To find some cover," he answered. "We'll have to wait out the battle, and you can't just fly around all night."

"I've got my second wind," she said defensively.

He didn't believe her, but decided to try a different tactic.

"It's not just that," he said, "I'm really hurting from being carried around."

It wasn't untrue, but he would hurt no matter what he did. The pain never left. However, the harness was increasingly uncomfortable after flying for most of the day. In addition to his newly injured right front leg, his ribs were also aching. He thought he might have cracked them when Pixyglitter caught him and pulled up as hard as she had. If that was the extent of his new injuries, it was certainly a small price to pay considering the fate that they both narrowly avoided. He shuddered at the thought of it.

"Fine," she said indefatigably between heavy breaths, "but I'm ready to hit the skies again as soon as you are."

They crept on in near-complete silence. Pixyglitter stayed beside him with a hoof on his shoulder. Moving in the dark wasn't a problem for her anymore, but beating the ground with her cane to feel the path ahead would be noisier than either of them wanted to risk. A pale red light vaulted skyward and shone brightly in the distance, somewhat illuminating the fields even as far away as the pair of wayward ponies were.

Cloud Blazer instinctively dropped to the ground, which sent a stabbing pain in his chest. He swallowed a grunt as Pixyglitter dropped beside him. The single light was joined by several more EUP flares, turning the battlefield into nearly daylight conditions. As they did, a barrage of arrows and magic was launched from the city, and bolts of lightning then blasted down from a nearby cloud; thunder reported each time a lightning bolt was discharged. It was impossible to discern what casualties might be inflicted either way, but the fighting was clearly stiff from both sides.

The position they were in was actually rather terrible: an open field with short crops. Cloud Blazer didn't know what they were in the darkness, but they had only just been planted. Now the flares were making the two ponies stand out against the horizon. He scanned around until something caught his eye. On the top of the next hill, the dim red light from the flare illuminated a small ridge with three massive boulders at the summit. If they could get in between the rocks, it would probably be a concealed position. In any case, it was better than sitting in the open and hoping for the best.

Getting back onto his hooves was an effort, with dull throbbing pain from each leg, and the stabbing in his ribs again. It nearly stole his breath for the severity of it, but he forced his lungs to continue working as the pair hobbled down the hill and up the next one. Pixyglitter stumbled as they reached the boulders, and she practically hissed her disgust at Cloud Blazer for not warning her of the sudden change in terrain.

They clambered up, another unpleasant process, before finally wedging themselves into a small hollow between the rocks. His assessment had been correct. The irregular formation did quite well obscure them from unfriendly eyes, and it provided a commanding vantage point of the surrounding fields. There wasn't really anything to see in the darkness, but at least nothing would be able to sneak up on them with any ease.

Author's Notes:

The horribly blasting wind that continues throughout this chapter was inspired by a real life experience (as many of the smaller details of that kind are). I was at South By Southwest in Austin a few years back, recording some of the gigs for an app company called Lively (I don't know if it is still available or not). Anyway, it was warm when I left home, but there was a chilled blasting wind that cut right through the light clothes I had brought. I was in it all day, as the gig was outside, and I was miserable. After the first night, I found a second-hand store and bought a light fleece jacket. It really was too light for the wind, but it held in just enough heat to make it bearable and mitigate my suffering.

So, another score for real life experiences adding some flavor to a fiction!

37 - Faux Pas, Part 3 of 8

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They sat silently, and Cloud Blazer kept watch, mostly of the battle. The space they were in was cramped, but just large enough for the two of them. Turning around proved difficult, mainly because his injuries made it so painful. The rough surfaces didn't budge. When he was finally certain that nopony had seen them, Cloud Blazer turned his attention back to their little hiding spot and his blind friend. She was shivering.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she spoke through chattering teeth.

The wind was one thing that penetrated their little fortress with complete ease. It was cool and constant. It continually swirled around and against them, and Pixyglitter was coated with sweat. There hadn't been much space between them anyway, but Cloud Blazer moved between her and the wind and laid down against her body, on her left side. The stabbing in his ribs nearly took his breath away again, but he managed a position that was more or less comfortable. She continued to shiver. Carefully, Cloud Blazer rubbed on her back to create friction with his right front leg, the most recently injured one. They sat this way for a time, and she shivered a little less frequently than she had before.

"Thanks," Pixyglitter broke the silence, "but I'm still mad at you."

More than a little confused, he asked, "Me? What did I do?"

They spoke quietly in order to not attract attention of anything that might be lurking in the darkness.

"Oh, goodness, I don't know," she used a tone heavily laden with sarcasm, "how about nearly getting us killed today?"

"What was I supposed to do?" he defended. "Besides, it worked; we're fine."

He tried to sound confident and reassuring, but he definitely didn't feel it. He had actually been fairly certain that he was going to die when he'd made that jump.

“At least warn me next time you're going to do something that stupid!”

"You would have stopped me," he replied, and of that he was certain.

"It's not like I'd have had a choice in the matter," she said. She almost sounded hurt, "That quick release works from either end, but it can't be locked out. You should have trusted me."

He hadn't thought of it as a matter of trust. If that is what it meant to her, it at least made sense why she was angry. Maybe he could get her to meet him half way.

"Okay," he said with some finality, "I won't do that again. I will keep you informed of my harebrained schemes, should I come up with more of them, but we work together. I come up with plans; you help me pull them off."

"Deal," she surrendered after a long moment, though she didn't sound happy about it.

They continued to sit in silence for a long time as the night lingered on, but neither were able to sleep. Cloud Blazer was too afraid of unseen dangers to allow himself to drift off. The cold only grew more intense as the night continued. That awful wind was assaulting his left side and stealing his warmth. The fighting at Manehattan had slowed, but there was still a consistent exchange of magical fire and lightning. A soft sound brought his attention back to his comrade.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

He knew her better than that. She was crying.

"Hey, he said softly; what is it?"

She swallowed hard before speaking.

"I don't know how to live anymore. When I thought I'd lost you, I didn't dive down to find you again." She took a deep breath, "I was going to kill myself."

Cloud Blazer felt his body go cold from the inside. He probably shouldn't have spoken, but he did before thinking.

"Why?" he asked in horror.

"What else could I do? I can't land on my own, and even if I could, how would I find my way back to anywhere that is even remotely safe?" she spoke fervently, but they both had the sense to keep their voices low. "More likely, I'd get injured on landing and linger for days before... So yeah, I'd rather hit the ground at full speed. At least then I wouldn't have to suffer."

He felt completely mortified by what he was hearing. He hadn't even considered what she would do if he had been killed.

"So here's the deal," she said with conviction. "Whatever this is that we have, we have it together. For as long as we are depending on each other. So if you do anything else that stupid and get yourself killed, just realize that you're killing me too."

He understood and felt terrible about it. He'd been incredibly thoughtless and brutish. There was only one thing he could think to say.

"I'm sorry, Pixy.”

Quiet filled the space between words for a few moments.

"So what are we exactly?" she asked finally.

This was another thing that he hadn't really considered too deeply, and he got the feeling that he wouldn't like where the conversation was headed either.

"I don't know how to answer that," he replied with a shrug.

"Am I a charity case? You take pity on the blind girl and help her out?"

He was rather insulted by that remark and responded hotly, "You know me better than that!"

"What then?"

His anger at the way she had lashed out made his mind foggy. He tried to regain the upper ground but couldn't think of what to say.

"I don't know."

"Then what are we doing?"

"You know what we're doing," Cloud Blazer replied. "We're trying to save the princesses. They talked to us in our dreams."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"We're friends," he said, unsure why it took him so long to come up with that much.

"And that's all?"

He shrugged again, "I don't know. I didn't exactly plan for my life to take the turns it has, any more than you did. What are your expectations?"

She sighed.

He didn't know how to make this better, but speaking seemed the wiser course to try and work out what was bothering her.

"When I first met you, it wasn't charity that attracted me to you. Even before the dreams, you were like me. We both had lost something that was very important to us. At first, I thought we might help each other heal. It wasn't pity exactly; I just thought you might be a kindred spirit."

"I don't have as many senses as you do," Pixyglitter said, the anger was gone from her voice, but she was definitely still upset. "The remaining four I have are giving me signals that I don't know how to deal with."

"Like what?" Cloud Blazer asked, still confused.

"You said we had a relationship; you practically begged me to stay at the Apple's farmhouse with you. Not only that, but you just said you were attracted to me, and you're laying by me and holding me. I don't know how to take any of this. What are my expectations? The better question is, what are your intentions?”

To himself, Cloud Blazer had to admit that her short summary did sound like he was pushing for a relationship that was more than what he had actually intended. But what precisely was his purpose? Certainly, nothing romantic was on his mind. He wanted to choose his next words carefully, but he decided to be direct.

"If I have caused any confusion, I'm sorry. I'm not looking for anything more than friendship from you, and right now I don't have anything more than friendship to offer."

"Because of her?" it was almost more a statement than a question; she meant Scootaloo.

"No," he instinctively answered. "Well, yes. It's complicated, and I haven't sorted it out for myself yet. Either way, I'm only trying to be a friend as far as you’re concerned."

Pixyglitter sighed again, but it didn't sound like exasperation this time. It sounded like relief. Perhaps she'd been feeling pressured by what she had mistakenly considered advances on his part. It was understandable why that would have made her uncomfortable. Cloud Blazer had helped her regain some sense of worth, and if he had been asking for something in return, she might have felt obligated in a way. The very thought of taking advantage of anypony when they needed help was disgusting to the stallion.

"And how long will that carry us?" she asked. "At what point do we go our separate ways?"

"To be honest, Pixy, I just haven't thought that far ahead," he spoke in complete sincerity. "I'll always count you a friend, but I don't have any plans for... well, anything really. I mean, other than rescuing the princesses... I'm just trying to make it through a day at a time."

He decided to shift the subject slightly, "You're from Manehattan, and we'll be there tomorrow, if we don't get killed first that is."

She snorted a laugh.

"If you want me to help you find your family, I can find another way to get back to Ponyville... If that's what you want."

They sat in silence for a while. In spite of the increasingly cold breeze that was blasting through the rocks and chilling Cloud Blazer, his right at least was warmed by shared proximity with the mare.

"I don't even know what I want," she finally replied; she was crying again.

"Hey, it's okay," he said as he held her again, delicately so he didn't aggravate his injuries further. He added, "But I'm only comforting you in a platonic friendship sort of way, okay?"

She let out a genuine giggle that melted the emotional ice that had formed between them.

"Deal," she replied.

In the cold of night, darkness again covered the land as the EUP flares died out. The sounds of battle became almost nonexistent, and the two wayward travelers huddled as close as they could for warmth.

Cloud Blazer's mind turned over the conversation and his situation with Pixyglitter for a time. It certainly was unique. His thoughts eventually wandered to the seemingly unsolvable riddle with Scootaloo. Surely, they'd be able to fix that friendship when they were able to see each other again, but every opportunity they'd had while both were still in Ponyville, she had avoided him. Even now, months after things had broken, thinking about it was enough to make him depressed. He'd been surviving by trying to occupy his mind with other things, to little success. He missed his friend, and he was heartbroken that everything had gone so wrong.

Pixyglitter eventually broke the silence and his reverie.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I feel the need to know exactly where I stand. I was okay until that changeling found us. I thought we were going to die. For a minute there, I thought you had died."

"Forget it," Cloud Blazer answered. "I probably spend too much time trying to not think about stuff. For the record, anytime you need to vent or talk, I'm here for you. That's what friends are for."

"As much as I appreciate that, I think I'd rather you had remembered to bring a blanket or two," she said in a lighthearted tone that lifted his spirits.

"Hah, well, I don't think either of us were planning to be out this late."

In the end, weariness from their harrowing journey caught up with them, and sleep took Pixyglitter for a while. Cloud Blazer was far too cold for his body to rest. However, despite the broken friendship and his brush with his own mortality, having a friend to share it with made everything seem okay somehow.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 4 of 8

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Duster was exhausted; nearly a full day without sleep was not the cause. The exertions he had made in the battle throughout the previous day had sapped the majority of his strength. The lack of rest and food compounded the problem. The one saving grace of their current location was the water they had running past as the shattered remnants of the Assault Corps trudged further into the rocky abyss that was Ghastly Gorge.

He hadn't suffered any injuries worth complaining about, though losing half of his left ear was upsetting. Many others hadn't been so lucky. Of his squad, Gunnysack, Rolling Thunder, and Jewel were holding up well enough, but Locknload and LD seemed unstoppable. That pair seemed bred for war.

A shard of shrapnel had pierced the unicorn stallion's left shoulder, and he had walked for half the day with it imbedded. It must have hurt, but Locknload never even acknowledged it. Beigh's skills were missed, but LD had removed it and used his bandages and knowledge as a medic to bind it well enough.

Gunnysack mentioned that he had last seen their sergeant before he and Rolling Thunder came taken to the rendezvous point. There was an unspoken fear that she was dead.

The unicorns had stopped using their magic to light the way ahead, which made the passage much more difficult. The darkness was miserable. The rain hadn't let up, so now the entire corps was slipping their way through the smooth rocks of the canyon floor as they continued forward into the pitch black. At one point, they practically had to squeeze their numbers through a passage that was barely wide enough for ten side by side.

Flittergear and Scootaloo had exchanged some hushed words about it being a good choke point, but no orders were issued either way. Several hours passed before they finally stopped to rest. The rain also decided that it needed a break; the clouds parted, revealing a waning gibbous moon. It must have been well-after midnight, but Duster had no idea how long it would be until dawn.

The pale moonlight illuminated the Ghastly Gorge, lending a frightful appearance and justifying the name of the place. Shadows against the rock formations made ghoulish shapes that might have stolen one's nerve. All of the soldiers there had been through far too much to give themselves over to such a little thing. The full impact of the day was still trying to register.

"Duster," Captain Scootaloo spoke, getting his attention. "I want to scout ahead a little. Come with me."

"Yes ma'am," he said as he stood and followed her. "Shouldn't we take a unicorn with us, ma'am?"

She didn't look back when she answered, "I don't expect any enemies ahead, but if there are, we'll have to make a hasty retreat. The additional firepower would just slow us down."

He stayed near her, his eyes scanning the obscure passage in front of them; the two walked into it by themselves. This was somewhat disconcerting, as enemies could be sitting only a few yards away without being detected. They passed the bend, leaving the rest of their force behind. As if it were by design, Scootaloo stopped as soon as they were alone. They stood in silence for a long moment. Only the sound of the running water and some nocturnal insects could be heard. The captain seemed to be staring blankly ahead. Duster tried to discern what she might be looking at, but there was nothing there.

"Are you alright?" he quietly asked.

"No." She didn't turn to face him, "No I am not."

A thought immediately jumped into his mind, 'where is Sissy?' He quickly pushed it away. Even if something were wrong, that wouldn't help. Duster felt himself become gripped with fear.

Scootaloo glanced back at him, and the faint hint of her expression was enough to let him know why she had brought him out away from everypony else. She didn't want to be seen.

"Duster," she said, but then hesitated.

"It's my sister, isn't it?" he asked, preparing for the worst.

The moonlight caught the tears that were streaming down the captain's face, and that was the moment when Duster knew. His world had just been turned upside down.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Scootaloo's lip quivered, but she simply reached into one of the pockets in her harness and produced a small bit of cloth. It was Sissy's eye patch, emblazoned with her cutie mark. The threads glittered in the moonlight. It was such a pretty thing to convey such dark news.

Fear was becoming a thing to be managed and fought, but in this case his defenses were insufficient. It was the same as that day in Apple Loosa, when the timberwolves first came. He could almost hear the screaming and feel the sheer terror again. That was when his father had died. Now his sister had also gone. Duster could barely breathe. His heart raced and his blood ran cold. He sat involuntarily for a moment as he tried to gather himself.

"She asked..." Scootaloo began, but then had to clear her throat. "Sparklefly asked me to watch after you. I promised that I would, like you were my own brother."

Even though he had spent the last year harboring little but anger toward his sister, Duster realized that he didn't hate her; he never really had. It was a sorrowful revelation since there would be no way to tell her now. He hated himself for not sending her so much a single crummy letter. The thought of somepony else looking after him, however, was enough to redirect the latent anger at a new target.

He stood and hissed at the captain, "I don't need your pity."

In a flash, her sadness turned to rage and she pushed Duster back and continued to advance toward him.

"I don't care what you want or need," Scootaloo snarled at him. "Sparklefly was my friend, and I was hers." She pushed him again and continued, "We depended on each other, and I'm going to follow through her last request."

The water splashed as Duster backed into it. The captain had a wildly savage look in her eyes as she spoke. It was as if all pretense of civilization had been stripped away, leaving only a ferocious beast. Duster would have been lying if he'd said it hadn't scared him.

"I'm sorry," he said as the fear subsided. "I guess I hadn't thought about my sister having close friends."

Scootaloo turned away from him, facing the bend that led back to the rest of their army. She stood there for a minute.

"I'm the one that should apologize," she finally said. "I think this is the worst day I've had. We got out with less than a quarter of our force. We couldn't stop them with eighty-thousand, how are we going to do any good with only eighteen? I botched things with the griffins... Everything we're working for is falling apart, and I don't even know how many more of my friends are going to die if we fail."

He walked up beside her, not sure what to say. His own emotional state was now rather raw, and he certainly didn't want to provoke another outburst.

"I don't know if you and I can be friends," Scootaloo continued, "But I'm going to do what I can to keep you safe; I have to."

She sighed and sat down. Her shoulders were slumped like a heavy weight was crushing her into the rocky bank of the brook.

Her body language seemed to echo the emotion in Duster’s heart. Still uncertain, he sat down beside her. Duster began to feel like he might fall apart at any moment. It was like his bones were melting away and his muscles didn't have the strength to hold him together.

Scootaloo snorted, "Sparklefly would be yelling at me right now. She'd tell me to get back up and take care of what I've got left."

"It's a small matter," Duster heard himself say vacantly.

"What?" Scootaloo faced him.

He returned her gaze, "That's what she would say. That’s what our dad used to say.”

Through the tears and layers of sadness, Scootaloo smiled at him. Duster swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"I'm sorry about Beigh," Scootaloo offered.

Duster shrugged, his heart heavy, "Maybe it's better this way. He was a friend, and I miss him, but he would have been crushed if he'd found out..." he couldn't finish.

The stallion, now the oldest remaining in his family, understood the things that would be his responsibility. Truly, that was the smallest weight that upset him. Sissy was dead. Like their dad, she was never coming back. The two sat for a while, he couldn't be sure how long, drinking in sorrow with only the small comfort that they were not alone in their grief.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 5 of 8

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Duster's ears perked up. Noise from around the bend got their attention and Scootaloo leapt back to her hooves. The stallion followed her, doing his best to stow his emotions away for the moment. He didn't have a talent for that like his sister had, but it was a skill which he had been developing since joining the EUP.

They didn't bother to move quietly, but instead cantered back to find out what had happened. The two rejoined the rest of their corps to discover a pleasant surprise. It was Charging Lance. He and Flittergear were standing a little bit away from the main group with Commander Rain Chaser and Colonel Skyflame. Duster's spirits might have been lifted to see her under normal circumstances, but he barely noticed her this time.

"I was about to send a party to find you," Charging Lance said to Scootaloo; there was weariness in his voice.

"I thought you were dead!" she said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I'm glad you're here."

"I knew you would be," he answered, the pale moonlight just showing a forced grin on his face. "We are four-thousand in number."

"That brings us to about twenty-two," Scootaloo noted. "Is that all?"

"Not quite," Skyflame replied. "Pacer also made it out with at least seven-thousand. They are northeast of our position, in the heart of the Everfree Crater. We made the changelings pay dearly for that air raid, but it cost us more.”

Scootaloo nodded, "We need to get them down here."

Charging Lance shook his head, "Not yet. Pacer's force was shot up making their retreat. How are your supplies?"

"We got out with practically nothing." Scootaloo gestured at the stream, "We have water, but that's about all."

"That, at least, makes sense of this location,” he spoke with a tone of indignation.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Don't you know?" Skyflame asked.

Duster couldn't shake the feeling that whatever they had just been through, things were about to get even worse.

Charging Lance took a breath, "The timberwolves have already reached the other end of Ghastly Gorge. They'll be nipping at our hooves in less than two hours."

Scootaloo seemed somehow transformed from the pitiful little girl who had just lost a friend. She was now a stalwart warrior, all business as she tried to think it through.

"Well, there are plenty of narrow places where we can hold them for a while," she said.

"True, but it'll be short-lived," Charging Lance said. "As soon as they figure out that we're trapped in here, they'll take the heights and drop on us from above. This place is a deathtrap."

"My plan had been to fly out if we got cornered," Scootaloo said.

"In ideal circumstances that would work," Colonel Skyflame agreed. "However, our ground force drastically outnumbers our pegasi."

"Yes," Scootaloo confirmed, "adding your numbers to ours, that means five round-trips to get everypony out. We can manage that before the enemy gets here.“

"Again, in ideal circumstances,” Charging Lance countered. “If your force is anything like mine, they're all suffering from fatigue. Do you think you could make five trips in your present state? Even so, it won’t be anywhere near top speed.“

Scootaloo's brow furrowed with concern. Duster was sure that his own expression was equally distorted. He wasn't sure about her, but he didn't feel like he could make more than one or two trips flying straight up. It would be all powered ascent with payload. The return could also be arduous since they were working in such a confined space. Charging Lance and Skyflame were right; this was a death trap, and they'd walked into it. If it went badly, they’d lose a minimum of a fifth of their remaining force, maybe more.

Just then a scout arrived. He approached and saluted after being scanned by Jewel.

"Sirs," he said. "Cloudsdale reports heavy fighting all across Equestria. The changelings are on a massive offensive. Baltimare has fallen, Van Hoover is on fire, and Manehattan is sieged. No reinforcements or supplies are available as rescue efforts are underway in nearly every city and town. Recommend you fall back to a stronger position. That is all."

Duster’s heart sank further at the news, panic nipping at his mind.

"Well, this just gets better and better," Charging Lance sighed.

"You think?" Scootaloo said. She took a breath and addressed the scout, "Are you fit for another trip?"

"Yes ma'am!" he said, almost cheerfully.

"Our situation here isn't even good enough to call it grim. We have lost most of our supplies and over half of our force. I want you to go to Ponyville immediately. Inform them of our status and advise them to prepare for evacuation. We’re headed that general direction. They could have overwhelming incoming in a day, maybe two."

"Right away, ma'am!" he saluted, shooting into the air in the darkness.

"So we buy time?" Skyflame asked.

Scootaloo sighed, "Anypony have any better ideas?"

"We run," Duster said before he could stop himself from speaking out of place.

Charging Lance eyed him, "What's he doing here? Is it true about his sister?"

Scootaloo looked grave as she nodded, "I saw her."

The stallion sighed, "Now that is a shame. I was rather fond of that mare. However, we don't have time to grieve right now. Even more of us will be dead by morning."

"Do you have a plan?" Colonel Skyflame asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the private is right. We run for now. Once we get out of this place, find better ground and slow them down, engaging only where we choose.“

Duster didn't know from where he could muster the strength to carry anypony out of Ghastly Gorge, but he knew he had to try.

"They'll be on us before we get even half of our force out of here," Skyflame countered.

"There's a choke point about a mile back," Charging Lance said. "I saw it on the way in. Give me earth pony volunteers, you'll need every pegasus and unicorn you’ve got. I think three-hundred should be enough. The rest of you continue to the far end as you start evacuating everypony out of here.“

"How will you fall back once we're out?" Scootaloo asked.

Silence filled the darkness for a moment.

"We don't," Charging Lance finally said.

"I can't let you do that," Scootaloo objected.

"All actions have consequences," he countered. "You may not have intended to get our force bottled up, but here we are. If you can give me another way to get us out of here with fewer casualties, I'm all ears."

She had no answer.

"My death won't be your fault," he continued. "It will be a result of my own choice. To be quite frank, the odds of any of us getting out of this alive weren't very good to begin with, and honestly, I'm tired of running."

It was the most noble thing Duster had ever heard; if he hadn't been so afraid of the coming dangers, he might have appreciated that fact.

"Now," Charging Lance said, "it will be up to you to figure out how to deal with the stick-dogs after they're done with us. If you're lucky, they'll continue to the other end of the canyon before they realize you've left."

The stallion dug in a pocket and produced a small bag. He then reached down to the canyon floor, picking up a small flat stone. He placed it in the bag and gave it to Scootaloo.

“Your collection?” she asked.

“Get these to my wife, if you make it out of this.”

Scootaloo nodded solemnly as she accepted the offering, "Tell Sparklefly her brother is safe."

Charging Lance snorted dismissively as he walked away, resigned to his fate. Within minutes the entire force was up and moving again. Duster, as well as every other pegasus began rounding up unicorns and starting the painful ascent.

The east side of Ghastly Gorge was still likely to be covered with timberwolves, but the west side had a fair chance of being clear. After the second trip, Duster's body ached all over. His wings felt like they were on fire with each beat. Rolling Thunder and LD didn't seem in any better condition. Still, he pressed on, following Scootaloo in the darkness.

Well before dawn, the sounds of battle were amplified by the stone walls of the canyon. It was a cacophony of shouting and snarling and blunt impacts that was frequently punctuated by the scraping of claws on metal. The air was filled with the sounds of screaming and death.

The ground force that remained continued marching north to the back of Ghastly Gorge. Duster felt numb after the fourth trip, but he followed Scootaloo still. It was sheer force of will that kept the pegasi in the air. They were exhausted, practically shells of their former selves, but they pressed on.

The faintest hint of dawn's first light began to brighten the sky as they picked up passengers for the final trip. It was like a daze from liftoff to landing. Duster was hungry, tired, out of breath, and he couldn't even think anymore. A sweet relief filled him when they reached the top and he was able to rest. He released his cargo, a cream colored mare earth pony, and collapsed into a heap on the ground at the edge of the canyon.

He hadn't noticed, but he couldn't hear the fighting in the gorge anymore. The only sounds from below were snarling timberwolves that were flooding throughout the area at the bottom. That could only mean that Charging Lance and his three companies had already been wiped out, but they had succeeded by buying time for the rest of them to escape.

If there were changelings among the mass below, they were staying hidden. Hordes of timberwolves scratched and clawed their way, practically on top of each other as they rushed to the other end of Ghastly Gorge. It might have been a satisfying thing to see the look on the changeling's faces when they found that their prey had slipped away. The thought of it made Duster smile. His heart was pounding and his throat was beyond dry, so he mustered the strength to take a drink of water. He uncapped his canteen and drew it close to his lips.

Rather suddenly, Scootaloo shouted, "Open fire!"

Duster nearly dropped his canteen as every single unicorn in their force, lined up along the edge of the cliff face, let loose a barrage of concussion magic against the east wall of the canyon, opposite where he now lay. The brightness of the assault lit up the early morning with blinding intensity. The report of the impacts into solid rock was deafening. Then the ground shook. Duster managed to push himself away from the precipice when the avalanche began, stumbling backwards and dropping his canteen.

The rockslide that ensued buried everything that was in the bottom of the canyon. The timberwolves howled, but were quickly silenced in death as the roar of broken stones smashed down, crushing them to sawdust. When it was over, a thick cloud of dust and smoke filled the air like a blanket that threatened to choke the soldiers on the ledge.

Duster began coughing uncontrollably as the taste of chalk and stone dominated his senses. He was convulsing as the air for which he was gasping became a dry powdery fume. A sip from what was left in his canteen helped, but it was not enough to overcome such a dense fog of pulverized rock.

Several minutes passed before the air began to clear. There was no way to know how many timberwolves had actually been down there, but it could have easily been hundreds of thousands. Scootaloo stood resolutely looking down on the slaughter she had just caused; Flittergear and Skyflame were by her side. They looked completely callous. Silence again returned to the morning.

Scootaloo turned her back to the canyon and stepped away from the edge. There was a small boulder there; she climbed to the top. With the devastation and sunrise behind her, she almost looked larger than life standing there, sunlit smoke making an impressive backdrop as she began to speak.

"Yesterday, the timberwolves took the best from us. General Brax, Lieutenant Masher, Major Charging Lance, and Captain Sparklefly were among the tens of thousands that we lost.”

She paused a moment. Duster thought her sadness might get the better of her. It didn’t.

Scootaloo continued with resolve, "I swear to you: we have only just begun. What we just did this morning was remind the changelings that we’re not done with this battle, not yet! I will fight this enemy as long as there is breath in my body. I will never submit to timberwolves or changelings, and by Celestia nor will any other citizen of Equestria, not while I’m fighting for them. There will be time to mourn for our friends, but not now. I will honor their sacrifice by staying alive long enough to see us to victory, even if I have to kill every single timberwolf and changeling by myself to get us there. There was a time when princesses protected us, and the land was at peace. They were taken, and all live in fear… It is up to you, up to us, to rise up and defend our family and friends."

She paused again for a moment, but then redoubled her conviction as she spoke, "I had heard that Sparklefly was nicknamed the angel of death by many of you. The angel of death is not a pony. It is a fighting spirit that can live within each of us. It gives us power and makes us strong. If you doubt, just look down into Ghastly Gorge. The Angel of Death is still here!"

An electrified feeling seemed to be spreading as Scootaloo shouted, "We will never surrender. We will not fail. We will stop the changeling's army. Equestria, are you with me?"

Duster felt strangely encouraged in spite of how exhausted he was physically. The roar of ponies that responded to her question startled him. They let out a battle cry that roared across the morning. Tens of thousands took up the shout as one great deafening voice. Scootaloo hopped down from her rock and turned to Flittergear.

"I'll want an estimate on their remaining forces and our supplies," Scootaloo said.

Flittergear nodded.

Scootaloo turned to Skyflame, "Send scouts to report this in Ponyville and to Pacer. Get everypony ready; even if we have to have the earth ponies carry our pegasi, we move out in five minutes. If we're going to have any chance of slowing the rest of them down, we need to form a defensive line south of here."

Duster didn't know what strength he had left, but somehow he made it to a standing position again. He felt shaky. It was astounding that Scootaloo was still carrying on. She must have been made of far sterner stuff than he had thought. If Sissy had been able to keep up with friends that had such stalwart abilities, then it wasn't blind chance that had caused her to rise through the ranks. Duster felt a new-found respect that he hadn't known before. As the rest of the force moved out, he somehow put one hoof in front of the other, forcing himself to keep up with Scootaloo and moving toward whatever death awaited him.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 6 of 8

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Pixyglitter was awakened by Cloud Blazer shivering beside her. He had positioned himself to block the wind, which must have been incredibly uncomfortable. The cold stones and ground against which they’d slept had done a fine job robbing the mare of warmth, but she appreciated the stallion staying against that side to stop blasting more cold at her. They’re shared body heat had been an oasis.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He shuddered, "Yeah."

"Did you get any sleep?"

“Not much. I may have nodded off for a minute or two,” he replied. "I'm going to try to get up and take a look around. The sun is rising."

He slowly began moving, and the chill in the air assaulted her left side as he did. She tried to stretch, but the space between the boulders where they had slept was far too cramped. She instead stayed still as Cloud Blazer turned about in their little hiding place.

"Well, I don't know if we'll make it to Manehattan today or not. It looks like the fighting is still underway."
Pixyglitter could hear it in the distance.

"The good news: EUP forces are pushing the timberwolves back again. But that means they're all headed this way. Our only chance at staying here would be if they didn't see us, but in broad daylight..." he sighed.

He didn't have to finish. She knew how dangerous it would be if they were spotted. He stepped out of the side she had been facing and then helped her down. Pixyglitter's legs had fallen asleep, and now they were all pins and needles as feeling returned in the brisk morning breeze.

"Are you good to fly?" Cloud Blazer asked.

When Pixyglitter stretched her wings, she was surprised how sore she felt. It was as though every muscle she had were aching.

"I can manage," she said. "That headwind was brutal."

Cloud Blazer snuffed the breeze, "It still is."

"What are the chances we'll get shot down?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment, presumably looking toward the battle.

"Actually rather high," he admitted. "Well, this is a bit of a situation. We're out of food, and unless you've saved any, we're almost out of water."

She felt for her canteen and took it from the harness. The weight of it told her that it was nearly empty.

"That's what I thought," Cloud Blazer sighed. "Just under half of one between the two of us."

Something exploded at a modest distance; Pixyglitter didn't need her eyes to tell her that the battle was getting closer to them.

"No weapons either, huh?" she asked.

"Not anymore. I lost my knife yesterday when I dove into that changeling."

Pixyglitter shuddered at the memory.

"You okay?"

He must have seen, "Yes, I'm fine. I was just remembering. Hey, I'm sorry about last night."

"Forget it," he said as he began walking around a little. "I think our best bet is to find a farmhouse where we can ride this out; either that or give up on Manehattan."

"So it's try to hide, give up, or charge though the battle and hope we don't get killed by one side or the other."

Cloud Blazer let out a little laugh, "Pretty much. Sit still and hope we don't get killed, leave and hope we don't get killed, or fly through it and hope we don't get killed. So, I guess be as hopeful as you can."

"Good thinking," she replied sarcastically.

"This way," he said.

Pixyglitter followed Cloud Blazer with relative ease. The fighting was far enough away that she could hear him without difficulty, but the terrain was a little rough from the cultivation of the farmers. Additionally, quite a lot of it was turned up from what must have been the timberwolves charging through. She stepped high and sure. As any truly rough terrain came up, he warned her.

They moved slowly, which Pixyglitter could only guess was due to Cloud Blazer's injuries. He was dragging his right back leg, which he'd told her before was the one that had been broken and was in a cast up to his flank. His breath also sounded labored.

"Are you alright up there?" she asked.

"Are you having trouble following me?"

"No, you just sound like you're hurting."

Cloud Blazer answered, "Yeah, my side's bothering me. I'll tell you what, if I'm having trouble, I'll let you know. I appreciate it, but you don't have to ask."

"Deal," she replied.

The scent of something burning was on the wind. It smelled like crops or vegetation that had been set aflame. The pair continued walking for what seemed like an hour. The entire time, the noise of fighting was drawing closer to them, but Cloud Blazer never quickened his pace.

"That looks good," he eventually said as they began climbing a gentle slope.

Within a few minutes, Pixyglitter heard the unmistakeable sound of hooves against wood. It was either a porch or steps.

"Careful," he said. "Feel it out."

She climbed the stairs, only five of them, and arrived on what must have been the doorstep of a farmhouse. Cloud Blazer knocked on the door, and they waited. She stretched while she had a moment to do so, which was unpleasant but also somehow satisfying. The house was completely quiet. He knocked against the door again, but was met only with silence.

"Nopony home?" she asked.

"Maybe," Cloud Blazer replied. "That or they’re afraid to open the door."

"Is it locked?"

She could hear him fiddling with the metal latch.

"It is," he replied simply.

"Alright then, I guess I'm up," she said as she walked forward, pushing him out of the way.

She felt the door and then turned her rear to it.

"What are you..." he just had time to say before she bucked the door with both hind legs.

It wasn't terribly strong, and the latch gave way under the force of her kick. What happened next caught the mare off guard. In only a moment shouting erupted and Pixyglitter had been pushed to the ground. She hit the wooden floor of the porch so hard it made her head spin. Cloud Blazer was also yelling.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" he cried out.

Then she heard another bang and her friend let out something that sounded like a yelp.

"Leave him alone!" she shouted, "He's already injured!"

"Shut your mouth," somepony commanded.

A sharp pain shot through Pixyglitter as the stallion kicked her in the head. It was disorienting. Blood trickled down her scalp as her head throbbed.

"Stand down!" somepony else ordered.

There was some shuffling about, but the assault on the pair seemed to have stopped for the moment. It was impossible to tell by hearing alone, but Pixyglitter counted at least four, maybe five by the way they walked about. The sounds of the battle were drawing closer, and the unmistakable scent of timberwolves was becoming thick on the air.

"Bring them inside," a smooth voice said.

Without delay, Pixyglitter found herself being lifted up rather roughly.
"Be careful with him; he's injured," she said.

One of them slapped her across the face. He need not have explained why; whoever they were, they wanted silence from her.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 7 of 8

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After a little more shuffling Pixyglitter heard the farmhouse door shut, and then they set her down. Dropped would have been a better word for how hard she hit the dusty floor. There was an old coarse rug that provided little padding from the impact. In mere moments, they had located something to tie her up. It wasn't rope; the restraints were crude but effective, probably made from curtains or bed sheets. A scraping sound on the floor signaled a chair being pulled up. It creaked under the weight of its occupant.

"Now it's time to talk," the smooth voice said. "Tell me who you are and why you're here."

"We're not changelings," Cloud Blazer finally spoke. “We’re just looking for a place to ride out the battle. We thought nopony was here.”

Pixyglitter was relieved to hear his voice. They apparently hadn't injured him in the scuffle.

"I never thought you were," the same voice replied, "but that hardly answers my question."

Pixyglitter felt herself pause with uncertainty. True, she had kicked in the door, but a family of farmers would not have reacted so effectively to incapacitate would-be intruders. Whoever the occupants were, she suspected that they were also avoiding the battle.

"I am Cloud Blazer; she is Pixyglitter. We are former EUP soldiers. We were both discharged due to injury."

"That's one, now why are you here?"

"We're just trying to avoid the fighting, like I said."

"Why are you in this area?"

The smooth voice had a hint of either annoyance or boredom in it now. It was difficult to tell which.

"We were on our way to Manehattan when we were attacked by a changeling," Cloud Blazer began. "We managed to kill it, but we were so slowed down that we didn't get here till after nightfall. By then the city was already under attack."

"Why are you bothering with this?" a different, more gruff voice asked in a whisper. "Let's just kill them and be done with it."

"Do you have anything better to do at the moment?" the smooth voice asked cooly. “Are you in a rush to be somewhere?”

"No," the gruff one replied.

"Then why not allow me to sate my curiosity?"

This question was followed by some stomping, as if one of them had walked out of the room. That left at least three. Blind and bound, Pixyglitter didn't have much hope of fighting her way out. Even if she did, where could she go? The timberwolves were likely close now, if not surrounding the house. Flying wasn't out of the question, but without Cloud Blazer that would be impossible. Even if it were an option, leaving him behind was something she didn’t think she could do. Any such attempt at escape would have to be initiated by him.

"Why are you going to Manehattan?" the smooth voice asked.

"To visit a friend," Cloud Blazer said flatly.

This elicited a laugh from some of the others in the room. There were more than four. An exact count was impossible, but she now estimated ten or more.

"In all this death and destruction, you wanted to visit a friend?" the smooth voice was filled with suspicion. “You two fly tandem?"

"Yes," Cloud Blazer answered.

"Forgive me if this is indelicate, but aren't you blind?"

Pixyglitter felt her face flush, but now was certainly not the time for pride.

"Yes, completely," she replied.

"So, how does that work?" the smooth voice seemed genuinely curious.

"Well," Pixyglitter began, "we have been training together since we got released from the hospital a few months ago. He is also a pegasus, so he knows flying. He tells me what to do, and I have learned how to do it without sight."

"Incredible," the smooth voice had a new tone in it now: admiration. "Under any other circumstances, I'd call you both liars. However, you are here and harnessed for flight."

Noise outside confirmed what Pixyglitter had suspected. Timberwolves had the house surrounded now. They weren't trying to get in... yet. The interrogator made the universal shushing sound. Everypony inside was quiet, listening to the sounds of the passing horde.

"We can't stay here," a frightened voice said in a low volume.

"Running means death at this point," the smooth voice replied. "Our guests here reached the same conclusion, hence the visit." He was quiet for a moment before whispering, "Everypony to the basement, quietly."

Pixyglitter was somewhat amazed how silently their captors moved. She suspected they were EUP, but if that were the case, why were they taking pony prisoners? It didn't add up. Thankfully, they were much more gentle when moving her and Cloud Blazer to the stairs in an effort to be stealthy.

The subterranean room they entered was cooler than the house, but the air was stuffy. It was probably also dark, but that consideration was irrelevant to Pixyglitter except for one reason: it gave her an advantage. Another bonus for having moved into this location was that sound didn't travel as well. The timberwolves were already much more difficult to hear.

"I know there is more you haven't told me," the smooth voice said. "If you were soldiers, then surely you already know who we are, and that we can't let you leave."

"We're no threat to you," Cloud Blazer said quickly.

"Everypony is a threat to us," came the reply.

“We don’t know anything.”

The gruff voice mumbled, “They know enough.”

"It is actually rather unfortunate for you that you found us."

"At least let her go. She can't identify any of you."

"A noble sentiment, but I can't risk it. We're going to have to kill you."
Pixyglitter was already beyond the point of feeling afraid to even bother with that emotion. She felt more like she was being manipulated. Something more akin to anger guided her response.

“Then why don't you just do it then and get it over with!"

"Pixy!" Cloud Blazer cautioned.

"Well, that's just the thing," the smooth voice began calmly, "I make it a point to know who I am killing and why. In your case, I already know why, but I'm not quite satisfied with your answers just yet. Don't take that to mean that remaining mysterious will save you. At some point, the danger to myself and my friends here will necessitate your disposal. Besides, since we're going to kill you anyway, why not have a pleasant conversation? We appear to have the time, and it’s likely to be the last chance you’ll have for one."

What sort of sadistic head games was this stallion playing? Pixyglitter shivered; perhaps her ability to feel fear wasn't that far away after all.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"We came from Ponyville," Cloud Blazer answered.

"I didn't mean today, I meant where are you from? Where is home?"

"Actually, for me it is Ponyville," Cloud Blazer replied. "She's from Manehattan originally."

"And you were stationed together?"

"No. We met in the hospital."

"I see," the smooth voice said as if coalescing his thoughts. "How did you come to be in the hospital?"

"I don't remember all of it," Cloud Blazer answered. "I was involved in an action in the Everfree Forest with my squad. We'd been banged up pretty bad and the four of us that were left retreated. We jumped into Ghastly Gorge to fly away, but a timberwolf leapt onto my back and I fell to the bottom. Everything's a blur after that until I woke up in the Ponyville hospital several weeks later."

"Would that be before or after the siege?"

"You know a lot about Ponyville."

"Please, don't be rude," the smooth voice chastened gently.

His calm demeanor was somewhat unnerving. His admonishment hadn't sounded like a threat, but it most assuredly was.

"Our action is what began the siege. When the rest of my squad escaped, the timberwolves left off of chasing us and hit Ponyville."

"So you were with Princess Twilight Sparkle... And you?" the voice addressed Pixyglitter.

"I was in the division that joined forces with the Manehattan corps under Princess Luna. I was sent with General Mane Crusher to break the siege at Ponyville."

"So you were injured retaking the city?"

"No," she replied. "I was..."

Pixyglitter found it difficult to continue. Recalling the memories, especially speaking of them, was still painful.

She took a breath and forced the words through, "I was in the force that went to rescue Las Pegasus. I was shot down."

"So you two met by chance."

"I guess so," Cloud Blazer shrugged.

Pixyglitter couldn't help but smile for a moment at the mannerism she couldn't see but knew had been there.

"I believe you," the smooth voice said.

"Well, now that we've got that over with," the gruff voice said.

"What are you doing?" the frightened voice asked.

"Out of my way," the gruff voice answered. "We've let them live too long already."

"Hoof Strike, sheath your knife immediately!" the smooth voice insisted.

"They are a loose end, and I hate loose ends," Hoof Strike replied.

The smooth voice spoke quickly now, "I’ll be the first to say that I appreciate your conviction, but until we go our merry separate ways, I lead this group, and I’m not finished with this conversation."

"I’m putting a stop to it before you get us all killed," Hoof Strike said.

"Look at the two of them. A great threat given the injuries they’ve already suffered, I’m sure,” the smooth voice dripped with sarcasm. “Honestly, Hoof Strike, the only pony that’s about to get themselves killed is you."

Pixyglitter was frozen. She heard the action on a crossbow pulled back. There was some more noise of hooves scraping the floor, as if the entire group was about to face off. She couldn’t see to even stay out of the way of the hostilities that were likely to break out at any moment amongst her captors.

"So that’s it?" Hoof Strike practically shouted, "You’ll kill one of us over nothing?"

"Not at all," the smooth voice replied calmly; his tone was ice. "As I said, I only kill when I know who I am killing and why. I know you very well, and as for why... because I don’t like you should be reason enough."

A thwack sound was followed by a grunt.

"Pixy, get down!" Cloud Blazer shouted.

Pixyglitter dropped to the dusty floor on her face as the entire group erupted into fighting amongst themselves. The noise was a mix of things crashing and breaking. It was impossible to tell how many were actively trying to kill each other, but it couldn’t have been fewer than twenty. Suddenly, Pixyglitter had been grabbed and was lifted up to her hooves.

"Move!" the smooth voice hissed in her ear.

She wasn’t sure whether to fight or follow, but the middle of a fray that she couldn’t see didn’t seem like the place to resist. Her front hooves still tied, she stumbled along behind him, tripping over a body and slamming one of her knees into some piece of furniture, or maybe it was a crate.

"Go, go," Cloud Blazer pressed from behind her.

She tripped on the stairs, but the owner of the smooth voice caught her and helped her get to the top. The fight below was beginning to get quieter, but there was still a great deal of shouting. They emerged from the basement to the sound of timberwolves clawing at the windows and door. They would be inside soon.

"We make for the attic," the smooth voice led the way.

More stairs as the house gave way around them. Wood splintered and glass shattered as the foul stench of the timberwolves penetrated the old structure. Once in the relative safety of the attic, the other noises got further away when the door was pulled shut behind them.

"Quickly now, can you carry two?" the smooth voice asked.

"I can try, but I don’t think we’d get very far," Pixyglitter replied.

"I was afraid you’d say that."

"If you let us go, we’ll send help," Cloud Blazer pleaded.

The smooth voice snorted, "I’d be dead before it gets here. I am terribly sorry about this."

A cracking noise was followed by a slumping sound. Pixyglitter’s mind raced, driven by fear as to what that might have been. She knew what she thought it was, and that was enough to engender panic.

"Cloud Blazer?" Pixyglitter shouted.

"Come with me," the smooth voice answered.

"What did you do?" she yelled at him as he drug her toward the other end of the attic.

"We have to go," the voice replied.

She struggled against him, but he was too strong. They stumbled across the rafters. In moments he had kicked open a shutter and Pixyglitter could feel a breeze from the opening. He overpowered her attempts to resist, pushing her out onto the roof. There apparently was an eave on which they were now standing. The sounds of timberwolves snarling all around were loud, but nearly lost to the roar of explosions from magical attacks that also filled the air, punctuated by yelping.

"I’m sorry about your friend, but if we don’t go, we’ll die here," the smooth voice shouted above the noise.

Pixyglitter heard the distinctive click of the harness being fastened. Then her restraints were cut. She had only one course of action on her mind, and that involved getting rid of this creep and finding Cloud Blazer.

"Fly up," he said.

Grudgingly, and with no small amount of fear present, Pixyglitter flapped her wings and lifted off of the roof. She turned against the wind, picking up more altitude.

"That’s good, just stay straight for now," the smooth voice sounded more calm now.

"I don’t think so," Pixyglitter said as she pulled the quick-release on the harness.

She heard the stallion stifle a shriek as he fell, but he didn’t make any other sound that could be heard over the nearby fighting.

The pegasus turned around, coming back into the wind and toward the house. Her heart was in her throat as she descended. All she could do was hope that she made her landing and didn’t end up torn to pieces by the beasts that snarled below. The pain that signaled her landing was all too real as she smashed her hind shins into the edge of the house's roof. She dropped, falling onto the steeply pitched shingles, then rolling down before coming to a stop. Her shins throbbed from the impact as she felt her way around. It seemed like an eternity to locate the eave from which she’d taken off.

"Pixy!" Cloud Blazer’s voice came from her left as she dropped down onto that level of the roof.

She moved toward him, still a little woozy from the crash.

"What kept you?" his tone was rather glib.

"I had to take out the trash," she replied proudly.

"Trash, am I?" the smooth voice howled with rage from above.

Pixyglitter was struck and fell against the roof. Then confusion was all she could hear as a struggle was underway. She got back onto her hooves and ran right into the pair of stallions as they fought. She took a blow to the shoulder that spun her around, her head colliding with the side of the house. Her equilibrium was lost, and the only way she maintained her balance was by pressing her body against the structure.

Then Cloud Blazer shouted, "Pixy, buck now!"

Almost automatically, Pixyglitter leapt with her hind legs and kicked hard, pain splintering up her shins as hooves made contact with a body that let out a grunt as it fell, skidding across the roof. There was a brief shout that faded quickly into the savage noises made by the timberwolves.

"You’re kidding, right?" Cloud Blazer puffed. "You actually dropped him on the roof so he could come at us again?"

While she hadn’t realized exactly what she had done until he pointed it out, Pixyglitter now understood and flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, well, if I’d gone any farther, I might not have found the house again," she defended with a shrug. "Besides, I knew your ego couldn’t handle it if I didn’t let you help."

He laughed at her; it was good to hear. The explosions from magical attacks against the timberwolves were drawing much closer. The wayward pair needed to get airborne.

37 - Faux Pas, Part 8 of 8

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Pixyglitter’s equilibrium had mostly restored itself from their little brawl, and she wasn't wobbling anymore as she stood.

"Time to go," Cloud Blazer reached the same conclusion that she had. "I just wish I had a white flag."

He backed up to her, and she fastened the harnesses together. Pixyglitter flapped her wings, once again taking flight. Her shins hurt; she was pretty sure they were bleeding.

"Bank right," Cloud Blazer said. "Increase altitude."

There was something strangely comforting about receiving commands from him this time. It was kind of funny to think that only months before, she’d have rather died than been so dependent on anypony. Sure, she’d been growing accustomed to their arrangement, but what they’d been through on their flight had help break down even more of her barriers where he was concerned.

Other thoughts took her attention. They flew with the wind at their left, flying neither toward nor away from Manehatten.

"Who were those ponies?" Pixyglitter asked.

"EUP deserters," Cloud Blazer answered.

That certainly explained why they couldn’t risk being discovered. The worst criminal offenses in Equestria had been met with banishment since antiquity. Everypony had heard of Shining Armor’s recent order to execute ponies for desertion from EUP duties. Though it had been met with shock by the populace that such a thing would even be considered, the prince hadn’t budged.

The pair continued climbing higher into the sky as the sounds of battle became closer.

"Now that is a sight to see," Cloud Blazer remarked. "A wave of soldiers is hitting the timberwolves head on. Alternating blasts from unicorns hit first, then the earth ponies are pushing into the gaps. Looks like we’re winning." He paused for a moment and then added, "Now if we could just get to the city without getting shot down."

"Any ideas?" Pixyglitter asked him.

"I don’t know," he replied. “If we’re lucky a CAP will escort us in. If anypony starts shouting at us, we're going to do as they say.”

"Deal."

It was a mere shadow of a moment later when a serious voice called from above.

"Attention! Hold your course and do as directed. Any deviation from my commands and we will fire!"

"We understand!" Cloud Blazer yelled back. "We surrender; don’t shoot!"

"Follow me in," another voice said.

"Will do!" Cloud Blazer replied. Then he began giving instructions to Pixyglitter, "Bank left... good, now straighten out. Begin descending. Not so fast!"

It took several minutes of the stallion throwing orders at her in far more precise detail than normal to get them safely to the ground. By sound alone, Pixyglitter knew that they were surrounded by soldiers that had their crossbows trained on them. She stood perfectly still. In a flash, soldiers had taken positions on either side of them and began feeling her up and down, neck to flank, presumably checking for weapons. Her instinct was to become offended at this, but she tried to swallow her pride and just let them do their duty.

"What’s this?" one of them said as he unfolded a piece of paper.

"Looks like travel orders," a mare said.

Pixyglitter heard the click of the harness release.

"You, come with us," a stallion said.

"Yes, sir, whatever you need," Cloud Blazer said.

Becoming separated from him was frightening.

As he was drawing farther away, he called back, "Pixy, tell them anything they want to know, just be honest!"

Panic was flooding the mare, and she wanted to answer Cloud Blazer, but one of the other soldiers held her back as another one spoke. She decided to omit anything about the princesses.

“Stand still; this may sting a bit."

Pixyglitter was then bathed in magic. It almost burned, but she knew what it was. They were testing to make certain she wasn’t a changeling.

"All clear, she’s a pony," a mare said.

"Okay, escort her to the others for debriefing and processing," a stallion ordered.

"This way ma’am, and we apologize for the inconvenience," the mare said. "Do you need assistance?"

Although it was against her nature, Pixyglitter replied through gritted teeth, "Yes."

She would have been able to follow unaided, but it might be best to make them think she was helpless without Cloud Blazer. The other mare guided Pixyglitter’s right fore hoof to a shoulder, and the pair walked away from the sounds of combat toward the rear, and presumably in the direction of Manehattan.

"What’s going on?" Pixyglitter asked as innocently as she could.

"Heavy fighting all up the line," the mare replied. "The changelings hit us in force last night, and that’s after they had punched through our lines and chased us all the way back to the city. If half of what I heard is true, we lost Baltimare and Las Pegasus in the night, and VanHoover is overrun. But I don’t know how much of that can be trusted. We had initially heard that our entire southern army was defeated near Apple Loosa, and that Canterlot and Filly Delphia had also been lost, but reports this morning cleared that up. What I do know for certain is that they hit Manehattan hard last night, and we’re pushing them back.”

"The southern army?" Pixyglitter asked, remembering that Cloud Blazer’s friends and some of the family that was staying at Sweet Apple Acres were with that corps.

"Yes, like I said: I only know for sure what happened here," the mare replied. "We got all sorts of crazy information about the entire command getting wiped out in a surprise attack and other insane things. Frankly, I find that very unlikely. Every report we’ve heard is consistent in one respect. Whatever happened in Apple Loosa yesterday, it was bad."

They walked for a few minutes before stopping. Pixyglitter was guided to a seat that must have been in a makeshift tent. She was shaded, but the wind was freely blowing through. Her ears reported quite a lot of movement. One voice stood out as it drew nearer.

"Alright, we’re getting ready to move again. The front has advanced another mile, and we need to keep up."

The stallion that spoke had a baritone voice. He approached and sat across from her.

"I am Sergeant Frond Dapper," he said. "I have no time for games, so let’s make this quick."

"Yes, sir," Pixyglitter replied.

"They tell me you were flying behind enemy lines. Wait, are you blind?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, completely," she answered.

“And you were doing the actual flying?”

“Yes, sir. The stallion that was with me talks me through what I need to do.”

"Wow... What are you doing in this area?"

"My friend, Cloud Blazer, and I were traveling to Manehattan, sir."

"Are you EUP?"

"Yes, sir. I was blinded in combat at Las Pegasus. I’m officially on extended medical leave, but I expect I’ll be officially discharged when the fighting calms down."

His voice seemed to take a more respectful tone, "Your travel permit indicated that there were four of you?"

"Yes, sir," she tried to maintain an innocent demeanor. “Well, technically three of us. Fluttershy was the third. We got separated when a changeling attacked us. We had just left Cloudsdale, and since I fly tandem, we couldn’t outrun it. Cloud Blazer talked me through some maneuvers to try to lose it in the clouds, but we ended up having to kill it to get away. We are picking up the fourth member on the pass in Manehattan.“

"You killed it?" he asked, apparently shocked.

"Well, Cloud Blazer did the actual fighting," she answered, feeling a little bashful at his surprise. “He’d be able to give you better details on that.”

"I see. You’ll be glad to know that your stories match up.” Sergeant Frond Dapper replied, his tone suggesting that his previous surprise had been feigned. “Wild as it is, nopony would make up and memorize a lie that ludicrous. I believe you. Blossom Posy," he said to the mare that had escorted Pixyglitter, "bring up her friends."

"Yes, sir!" Blossom Posy replied before trotting away.

"I don’t suppose there is anything you can tell me about the deserters you happened upon?" the sergeant probed.
Pixyglitter shrugged, "The one in charge had a very smooth voice, but I don’t think he survived. They were hiding in a farm house near a small hill with three large boulders on it. Cloud Blazer could show you the place."

"He’s drawing a map."

The mare took note of the phrase that had been used and felt the need to ask a follow up question.

"Did you say, ‘friends’?"

"Yes, I did," Frond Dapper replied dryly. "It seems that we found your friend, Fluttershy, attempting to enter Manehattan this morning. She didn’t have travel papers, and we couldn’t corroborate her story until the two of you arrived. We’ve kept her under guard, but she’s no worse for the wear. You’re bleeding; I’ll get a medic to take a look at your legs.“

Pixyglitter smiled her thanks; she was elated by the news. Despite their setbacks, she and Cloud Blazer would be able to continue their mission. Now they just had to find that other pony named Rarity and return to Ponyville. A few setbacks aside, things seemed to be falling into place.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 1 of 11

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Scootaloo felt completely numb inside as the shattered remains of the Assault Corps trudged south, barely a third of their force remaining. The loss of Sparklefly had left a gaping hole that didn’t seem to be healing. The worst part was that there was simply nopony to talk to. She had thought that telling Duster might make her feel better, but it didn’t. He was the only one that might feel the pain as sharply as she did.

The mare’s empty belly growled at her, but she had nothing with which to satisfy it. She took a sip from her canteen. The dry fall air was making water go faster than Scootaloo liked, but there was no way around it. Several of the pegasi were indeed being carried by earth ponies. They had exhausted themselves the previous night in lifting the rest of the force out of Ghastly Gorge.

Scootaloo herself refused to give in to the sore weariness, insisting instead to march at the head of the column. Like the food, courage was nonexistent. She wouldn’t do anything that might make morale worse if she could help it. As long as she had the ability to move, she would be out in front, looking strong for the others.

"Captain Scootaloo," Commander Rain Chaser called.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We’ve got a problem."

Her temper short, she asked more deliberately, "What is it?"

"We’ve caught a group attempting to run away."

"Deserters?"

Scootaloo somehow felt surprised in spite of the dismal outlook ahead. She’d heard that it was a growing problem, but this was the first time it had happened in her Assault Corps.

"Yes ma’am," the commander replied. "According to orders, we are to execute them.”

“If that’s what you have to do,” she frowned, “see to it.”

“The CO must be present to carry it out. It falls to you."

Scootaloo felt sick, "Lead the force while I take care of this."

The commander nodded as Scootaloo turned and walked back through the ranks, unsure if she had any other options. She certainly had no desire to kill ponies. That wasn’t what she signed up for. However, if she didn’t do something, there would be no incentive for others to not desert. That would only encourage their remaining forces to start fleeing in droves considering what they were facing.

Scootaloo knew one thing for certain. If her force fell apart for any reason, Ponyville would be destroyed. Given the situation across Equestria, it was doubtful that any forces would be sent to oversee an evacuation. The slaughter of the towns ponies was something that could not be allowed to happen.

As she approached the place where they were being held, she wondered what Sparklefly might do in this situation. Unfortunately, she would have to figure something out without her friend’s counsel.

Scootaloo’s blood turned to ice water when she saw them. She recognized three of them in passing, but she knew one by name: Radiant Pyre.

They had fought side-by-side in the battle and siege in Ponyville. He was one of Lieutenant Clyde’s friends. It had been shocking enough when she’d learned that he was part of Mane Crusher’s rebellion, but now he was deserting?

She stood there staring at the group as the rest of the corps flowed around them, stares lingering as they slowly continued their southward march. The guards had spears trained on each of them. Scootaloo finally approached, still trying to make a decision.

"You have all been accused of attempting to desert," she began, her mouth suddenly dry. "What do you have to say in your defense?"

They silently stared back at her, none spoke for a long moment that stretched on. Dust filled the air from the movement of their forces. It was Radiant Pyre that broke the silence.

"Look, just do what you have to and send us back to duty," he spoke in an annoyed droll.

She felt herself begin to quiver.

"What I have to?" she said vacantly before remembering that she needed to exude uncompromising hardness right now.

Trying to sound strong, she added, “I don’t think you realize what you’ve stepped into. I have orders to execute all deserters."

Several of them stared down listlessly, resigned to their fate, one began weeping. Radiant Pyre cocked his head to one side, his gaze like frost.

"You’re not going to do that," he said.

"Why is that?" Scootaloo asked, the quiver now making its way into her voice.

She had to get a hold of herself. She took a breath and swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"You’re a soldier, and your accomplishments speak for themselves. But you’re no murderer.”

"I do what has to be done," she said as she turned to the sergeant commanding the guards.

"Then do it yourself."

She hesitated. She knew he was reading her emotional state. He was playing in her weakness. It only served to unnerve her further.

"If you’re that righteous," he sneered, "have the guts to do it yourself."

She turned back to Radiant Pyre. If he were afraid, it didn’t show. This gave Scootaloo an idea. If he were the ringleader, maybe she could make an example of him and not have to reduce her force any more than was necessary. This newly considered option didn't alleviate the foul taste at the very thought of what was required of her. If completely honest with herself, she desperately did not want to have any of these killed, by her own hoof or otherwise.

"I take it you’re the leader of this little band of traitors?"

He snorted at her.

"You know, the only reason you weren’t executed last time was because Sparklefly asked for your lives."

"Shining Armor has what it takes to be ruthless. You don’t; neither did your friend."

She walked up to him. There was only defiance in his eyes. Scootaloo felt a cold sweat beading on her forehead, and her body felt weak. She felt as if she would throw up the contents of her stomach as it tightened, though there was nothing within to lose.

After everything she’d been through, why was she so affected by this? As an eternity unfolded in the moment she stood there, no answers were forthcoming. The only guess she could make was that she hadn’t been forced to kill other ponies before this. It’s different with a well-defined enemy that lived and breathed to kill and destroy. These simply wanted to survive, maybe that’s why it felt like murder.

Scootaloo heard something pound, and for a moment thought somepony had hit a drum. She heard it again before realizing that it was her own heart beating in her chest. Time had nearly stopped as she stood face to face with the unicorn alongside whom she’d fought to save the citizens of Ponyville. His blue eyes stared back at her without a shred of remorse or fear, only defiance and the will to survive could be detected.

She tried not to think as she mechanically pulled her knife from the sheath and rammed the blade into Radiant Pyre’s neck beneath his left ear. Then she saw a twitch of pain and complete surprise in his expression. The warm effusion from the fatal wound covered her right fore leg as she withdrew the weapon. The unicorn slumped to the ground, and the earth pony that had been holding him let go, backing away in shock.

"By Celestia!" somepony exclaimed in horror.

The dying one’s horn glowed for a moment, but the light of it faded even as the life was extinguished from his eyes. It might have been messy, but Scootaloo’s chosen blow had the virtue of being quick. When she looked up, one of the other prisoners whimpered; the rest continued looking away, the shadow of terror hanging over them all. A strange calm came over Scootaloo as she stepped back, facing them.

"Look at me," her voice wavered for the power that surged behind it.

She felt hot all over like she might boil as she held the bloody knife. One by one, the deserters complied. When she commanded the gaze of each of them, she gestured with her weapon at them.

"The rest of you will return to duty," she finally said. "Don’t mistake mercy for weakness. I had fought beside Radiant Pyre before, and I liked him. If any of you even put a hoof out of line from this day forward, your fate will be the same as his, even if I have to kill every single one of you myself."

Scootaloo felt sick at what she had just done. But there was something else, a powerful, emboldening feeling. It was pleasure. The realization only served to make her feel increasingly ill and ashamed.

The prisoners expressions were changed to a mixture of fear and relief.

"Sergeant, see these back to their units," Scootaloo ordered.

"Yes ma’am! What about him?“

She sighed, “We don’t have time to bury him. Take his tags, strip any gear we can use and leave him. Post a sign, warning everypony else that desertion will be dealt with. I don’t care how you phrase it.”
The sergeant saluted, his demeanor calloused.

Scootaloo looked down at her soiled knife. She took out a cloth and wiped it off before returning it to the sheath. Everything seemed to be in a daze, and from somewhere in the depths of Scootaloo’s soul, powerful forces were churning. She knew she couldn’t stop it and that she needed to find a place where she could be unobserved. With nowhere else to go, Scootaloo took flight and found the CAP. It took all of her strength to swallow her emotions for these moments. Her wings, tired and sore, ached with each beat.

"Report, Lieutenant," she ordered.

"All clear so far," the officer replied.

"I’ll lead for a while. Follow me."

"Yes ma’am!" came a saluted reply as the formation grew behind her.

Scootaloo couldn’t contain her own emotions any longer, and they manifested as tears running from her eyes uncontrollably. She removed her goggles, but was practically blinded anyway. It wasn’t for Radiant Pyre, although killing him definitely had an impact; it was the catalyst that eroded the armor with which she’d been shielding her heart. The tears were for Pibs, for Regal Masquerade, Nitro, Nimba, Charging Lance, Masher, Brax, Sparklefly, and even the loss of her friendship with Cloud Blazer. Perhaps more than them, it was for herself.

What was she even doing here? Scootaloo didn’t feel like she belonged in a place where she would be fighting so hard just to survive and killing anything that stood in her way. She didn’t need to be the executioner when somepony stepped out of line. This wasn’t her, and she realized it for perhaps the first time as the wellspring burst forth. There was nothing to do but ride it out. On the bright side, at the front of the CAP, nopony else would be able to see her face.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 2 of 11

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Pixyglitter was grateful for the stale oats and metallic tasting water that the soldiers had given them. She had never been as hungry in her entire life as she had been in the past month. Her ravenous appetite quickly devoured the meager portion, but it was just enough to sate her growling belly for the moment. Cloud Blazer was just finishing the account of what had happened to himself and Pixyglitter since they left Cloudsdale the previous day.

"Gosh, that sounds frightening," Fluttershy said.

"It was," he replied. "It’s a wonder we’re still in one piece. I did bang up my ribs pretty bad though."

"I bet you’ve got a knot on your head too," Pixyglitter added.

"Yeah, but he didn’t actually knock me out," Cloud Blazer replied. "He hit me pretty hard at the base of my skull, though. I couldn’t move for a minute; it hurt so bad. What I want to know is what happened to you after we told you not to wait for us."

"Well, there’s not much to tell," Fluttershy began in her sweet voice. She always sounded so demure. "I was really scared, and I kept going like you said, but I must have gotten lost. I ended up going north until I reached the Crystal Mountains. There was a lake there. By then the wind had already turned so I couldn’t go very fast when I turned back to Manehattan. I stayed at Neighagra Falls overnight and then tried again early this morning. By the time I got close enough to realize that everything was under attack, there was nowhere to set down. Then a squad of soldiers found me and ordered me to the ground. They thought I was a changeling."

"So, you didn’t run into any trouble after Cloudsdale?" Cloud Blazer asked. "Aside from getting lost."

"I couldn’t find a room at Neighagra Falls and had to sneak out since I didn’t have the travel pass, but you two had a much worse time than I did, don’t you think?"

"It definitely sounds like it," Pixyglitter agreed as she checked her bowl again for any oats she may have missed. There were none.

Blossom Posy approached and spoke, "Good news. I’ve got you all sorted out. You’re free to go."

"Oh, thank you so much," Fluttershy said.

"The colonel has signed off on your papers, so you shouldn’t have any further trouble, and he also added another day for you. It should hold up without any problem," the mare continued. "When you reach the city, do not enter the airspace above the bay unless you want to be shot down. All incoming traffic must go across the bridge on hoof."

"Thanks for the warning," Cloud Blazer replied as he took the papers. "Are you girls ready to go find Rarity?"

"Yeah, but I’m not looking forward to the flight back," Pixyglitter said.

"If we’re lucky, we can get an escort," Cloud Blazer said cheerfully.

"That sounds nice," Fluttershy said.

"That’s weird," Pixyglitter replied. "Are you being optimistic?"

"Why not? Our luck has been kind of fantastic so far."

"How did you figure that?" she asked, feeling miffed at his glib attitude. "We’ve been shot at, kidnapped, nearly fallen to our deaths, and almost murdered, twice. And all of that was in the last twelve hours!"

She could almost feel him shrug, "We’re still breathing after all of that. Sounds pretty lucky to me."

Pixyglitter opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t think of anything adequate to serve as a retort. Cloud Blazer waited for her to locked her harness to his. She finally grunted in defeat.

"I can’t wait to see Rarity," Fluttershy said. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"I know what you mean," Cloud Blazer replied.

As soon as she locked them together, he gave the order to fly.

Pixyglitter did as he said without hesitation. The rest of their flight to the city of Manehattan was uneventful. The sun had warmed the air since the previous night, and it was at least tolerable again. It wasn’t even another half hour of powered flight before Cloud Blazer gave the command to descend. A few moments later, Pixyglitter felt hard ground beneath her hooves. Once the harness was released, they began walking.

"I didn’t want to land too close," Cloud Blazer said. "No need to give anypony the wrong idea."

"Good thinking," Pixyglitter replied.

Fluttershy yawned as they walked at a considerably slower pace than seemed normal. Pixyglitter could only wonder how badly Cloud Blazer had actually been hurt by their eventful journey.

"Halt," a stallion’s voice spoke from directly ahead.

The three ponies stopped and waited. Pixyglitter could hear a single pony, presumably a guard approaching slowly.

"Do you have travel papers?" he asked; he sounded young and nervous.

"We do," Cloud Blazer replied as he removed them from his pocket.

For a minute, all Pixyglitter could hear was the rustling of paper.

"Wait here," the soldier said before walking away.

As soon as he was away, Pixyglitter muttered, "Just what we need, more waiting."

"You’re kidding, right?" Cloud Blazer said. "It still beats the welcome the deserters gave us."

"I think he seemed nice," Fluttershy said.

Something smelled like home even at this distance from the city. Pixyglitter knew exactly where she was standing. She’d been there a hundred times with her friends when she was younger. Perhaps it was the saltiness of the air that brought the memory back.

In her rebellious youth, she had stolen some candied apples from a street vendor. He had chased her for two blocks before she flew away to outrun him. He was rather agile for a fat earth pony. She met her friends near where she now stood and shared the booty with them. Her father, who definitely had believed in corporal punishment, was furious when he got wind of what she had done. Much to her own chagrin, one of his co-workers had been present and recognized her when the deed was committed.

She had returned home not only to receive a stern practicing of her father’s convictions that left her unable to sit for nearly a week, but then she also had to work to earn the money to pay for the candied apples. The big finish of the punishment came when her parents marched her down to the same street vendor so she could repay him for the theft and apologize. That was the worst of it. All in all, it was a valuable lesson that was well learned. She never even thought about pulling a stunt like that again, at least, not without weighing the consequences.

"Looks like this is all in order," the young soldier’s voice broke Pixyglitter’s memory and brought her back to the moment. "Please stand a little apart while we scan you."

Pixyglitter braced herself for what was next. The magic washed over her like pins and needles pricking her skin. She shuddered. Cloud Blazer grunted when it was his turn, and Fluttershy squeaked.

"My apologies for any inconvenience," the young soldier said. "Welcome to Manehattan. Just so you know, the air space above the city is off limits to all civilians until further notice."

"Thank you; we’ll keep our hooves on the ground," Cloud Blazer replied. "Shall we?"

With that, they walked onto the bridge that spanned the bay. Pixyglitter couldn’t remember the last time she had done this. The thought triggered another memory. This one was a date she’d been on. He was an earth pony with dreamy eyes. The pair of them had gone to dinner in a place that wasn’t that great. He had been so nervous the entire time, which was probably the most endearing part of the entire evening.

After dinner, they had walked off of the island and watched the sunset from the green grassland on the western border of the city. His stalwart efforts to be romantic were cute, but he wasn’t naturally gifted at such. That wasn’t the last time she’d seen the stallion, but it was the only date they attempted.

Pixyglitter found herself wondering what had become of him when the sounds of the city began to fill her ears: grumpy ponies walking this way and that, trying to stay out of each other’s way, a cab driver cursing at a patron for a lousy tip, construction echoing off of the buildings and creating a ruckus. These sounds, and the industrial smells of the city filled the mare with delight. It was good to be home.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 3 of 11

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Cloud Blazer was a little overwhelmed by the grandiose scope of Manehattan. The largest city he’d previously been to was Cloudsdale, or perhaps Canterlot. He didn’t count Canterlot as a proper visit as it had been a war zone at the time. He had vague memories of Cloudsdale from when he was just a colt, before his family had moved to Ponyville. It seemed a bit smaller when he’d moved back for basic training for the EUP. Even still, the city of clouds was quite a spectacle in its own right, but even it was dwarfed by the sheer scale of Manehattan. The island city had towering buildings that seemed to spring up out of the ground as if some concrete forest that had overgrown the entire area.

"Watch where you’re goin’!" a cab puller shouted at the trio.

Cloud Blazer quickly stepped back up onto the curb.

"We’re walkin’ here!" Pixyglitter responded in the same manner back to the cabby.

"Oh my," Fluttershy shrank.

"Pixy, quiet!" Cloud Blazer scolded, worried she was going to get them into a fight.

"What?" she shrugged at him.

He shook his head as the cab puller continued on his way, completely having ignored them after his initial statement.

"You can’t let ponies push you around. This is the city," she said.

He wasn’t convinced, but he had to admit, this was her home. Surely she’d know more about interacting with the city-folk than he would. It was just so... curt.

They turned and walked up the street in search of a place to cross safely, Cloud Blazer’s ribs aching and pain stabbing through him with each step. He dealt with most of this as usual, but the cracked ribs were a new kind of discomfort. Breathing was almost as difficult as finding a way to cross the street.

Traffic lights were not unknown to Cloud Blazer, but there wasn’t much need for them in Ponyville. Finding one, the trio waited for their turn in the middle of an ever-growing mass of ponies that were going one way or another. When the light changed, it was as if a flood gate on a dam had opened, releasing the ponies onto the spillway of the street as they moved across briskly. An equally-large group came from the other side, and they collided like two armies on a battlefield. Oddly enough to Cloud Blazer, they didn’t seem to impede each other to the slightest degree. They flowed around one another, each group through the middle of the other, and continued on without so much as a pause. The three wayward travelers worked the outer right side of the crowd to keep out of the way, a strategy which succeeded without incident.

"Okay," Cloud Blazer said when they reached the other side. "Rarity lives on seventy-third street in a high-rise."

"Seventy-third, huh?" Pixyglitter said thoughtfully. "Nice neighborhood."

Cloud Blazer scanned the street signs, looking for something that might be helpful. The sheer size of the city made him wish that he’d brought a map.

"I’ve been to Rarity’s house before," Fluttershy volunteered.

"Perfect," Cloud Blazer felt relieved. "Can you remember the way?"

"I think so," she replied timidly.

"Well, lead on," he encouraged.

Fluttershy cautiously did just that. Delicately placing a hoof on Cloud Blazer’s shoulder, Pixyglitter walked beside him for guidance. This was a little uncommon, but he didn’t mind. She didn’t really lean on him, which he appreciated. He doubted whether he could actually support her weight with the many injuries from which he was still recovering.
The smells of this metropolis were vastly different than any city to which Cloud Blazer had been. Ponyville is typically coated with the scents of rich earth, ripe fruit, and flowers. The air in Cloudsdale on the other hoof captures the olfactory sensation just before it rains. As for Manehattan, it was mostly industrial. The odors of metal and rubber mixed with the salty sea air were not entirely unpleasant but certainly unique.

After almost a half hour, Pixyglitter broke their relative silence, "We’re going the wrong way."

"What?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"We’re nowhere near seventy-third."

"Um, I think we’re almost to Rarity’s house?" Fluttershy offered.

Pixyglitter shrugged, "Maybe, but we’re not on seventy-third."

"How can you tell?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"It doesn’t smell right," the blind pegasus replied. "We’re still west of the exchange."

He was unconvinced, "Just keep going, Fluttershy."

"Are you sure she lives on seventy-third?" Pixyglitter asked.

Cloud Blazer shrugged, "If we’re going the wrong way, we’ll know soon enough."

They continued on for another ten minutes before Fluttershy seemed to become confused. Standing before them was the largest construction quarry that Cloud Blazer had ever seen. The streets and sidewalks all around were congested as workers scurried around on all levels of a steel frame that was being assembled. It reached up into the heavens, threatening to dwarf all of the other buildings nearby.

"I’m sure this was where she lived," Fluttershy said in a self-deprecating tone.

"Where are we?" Pixyglitter sighed.

Looking up to the street signs, Cloud Blazer read, "This is the corner of Twenty-Second Street and Squash Avenue."

"Like I said, not on seventy-third," Pixyglitter beamed.

Cloud Blazer was not amused and made a sarcastic suggestion, "Why don’t you lead the way then."

"Sure," she replied enthusiastically. "We need to head east down Squash."

With a sigh, the stallion turned and led the group down the street. As one would have guessed, the numbered streets were sequential. While Squash didn’t run all the way across Manehattan, they were able to follow it all the way to Fiftieth Street, where they turned north and continued before turning east again on Celestia Avenue.

This street was near the center of the city and much wider. The amount of traffic that bustled about was more than a little daunting, but they pressed on through the crowd. The skies were clear, as expected, except for the frequent Combat Air Patrols that were keeping a watchful eye on the city. Cloud Blazer became so focused on keeping the trio together and not running into anypony that he wasn’t even paying attention to the streets anymore.

"That’s it!" Fluttershy said excitedly. "We’re on Seventy-Third Street."

"Turn left," Pixyglitter said.

A quick check revealed that left was the only way to turn. To the right was a large structure of buildings that crossed where the street would have gone if it weren’t blocked.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" Pixyglitter boasted. "These are my old stomping grounds. I know these streets."

He shrugged it off, "Well, I can’t argue with you. We are here."

Pixyglitter faced him and a grin slowly climbed across her muzzle. It got about as large as a smile can before she spoke.

"I told you so."

Cloud Blazer snorted, a little disgusted at having become lost in the first place. It was also annoying to hear that phrase, but there was no arguing with the mare on the point. Her altered demeanor since they had arrived in Manehattan had not gone unnoticed by the stallion. She seemed either at peace or happier than he had ever seen her in the few months since they’d met. It was a refreshing transformation to witness.

"Let’s go," Cloud Blazer finally said.

From that point, finding Rarity’s apartment was incredibly easy. They found the building and rode the elevator all the way up. Cloud Blazer knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was none. The hallway was in a modern style with plenty of simple straight lines and angles but not much by way of ornament to be seen.

"Maybe she’s not home?" Fluttershy pondered aloud.

Finding a clock in the corridor, Cloud Blazer saw that it was getting close to midday.

"Where does she work now?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Gosh, I I’m not sure. She has her shop in town, but I can’t remember where it is. She had meant to move back to Ponyville eventually, but then the war started and she’s been trying to keep this store going. I think she also does some work for the EUP making uniforms."

"So you don’t know where we might find her," he replied.

"Sorry," Fluttershy said bashfully.

Cloud Blazer was unhappy at yet another delay and let out a sigh. His injuries were flaring again, and he wondered how well Pixyglitter was getting along. She didn't complain, but she had to be exhausted from carrying him. Rather than try to look up the location of Rarity's shop, he decided that they should simply wait for Rarity to return. The rest would certainly do them both good, and thanks to the additional day that had been added to their travel pass, they had the time.

"Well, we’ve got a few hours to kill."

"How about we head over to my apartment?" Pixyglitter suggested. "It’s not too far. I’m sure my parents would like to see me, and it beats waiting here."

This seemed a sensible solution, but it did little to lift Cloud Blazer’s spirits. He had become rather anxious to complete this endeavor, but he was now especially grateful for the additional day that the colonel had permitted on their travel pass. He also needed a place to sit. They’d been walking for quite a while, and his injuries were screaming at him for relief.

"Fluttershy?" he asked.

"That sounds nice," she said.

“Okay, give me a second.”

The stallion found a pencil and scrap of paper in his harness pocket and left a note for Rarity, letting her know that they would be back in the evening.

Sliding it under the door, he turned to Pixyglitter, “Well, lead the way.”

Pixy smiled again before they started their journey back down the elevator and into the bustling streets of Manehattan. She had a nice smile.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 4 of 11

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Duster knew that flying would be out of the question. His wings and muscles were so sore that he could barely stretch, let alone attempt liftoff. Marching at the head of the column gave him a fine vantage point to see that all was clear ahead for several miles, but they had quite a distance to walk before they arrived near the southern opening of Ghastly Gorge.

They had stood in that very spot the previous day, and like a sad joke, they were going back in that direction. Scootaloo had returned from an unpleasantness of some kind. Her eyes had a coldness about them, and her right fore-leg was covered in dried blood. What strength continued to drive her was anypony’s guess. Duster’s legs felt like lead from the marching and fighting of the last few days.

"Halt for rest," Scootaloo finally ordered.

The entire corps that remained, about twenty-two thousand soldiers, came to a halt and sat on the barren earth. Dried dead vestiges of grass didn’t do much to pad the ground, which had become hard packed from the bands of roving timberwolves that had constantly been crossing in the past year. His attraction to her aside, Duster was too tired to even acknowledge when Colonel Skyflame approached.

"Is this the place?" she asked.

Scootaloo nodded, "It is."

Commander Rain Chaser also approached with Flittergear.

"This is what we have to do. We leave two regiments behind to form up a defensive line here. We’ll no doubt be falling back to it soon. Up ahead, we’ll dig two more. We don’t have to stop them, just slow them down. As soon as this one is finished, we’ll keep making them every five miles or so all the way back to Ponyville."

"Seven," Flittergear whispered.

"Yes," Scootaloo confirmed. "We’ll confront them at each of these points, but when they surge, which they will, we fall back and set them on fire. As soon as we have them burning, we go into a full retreat to the next position. That five mile gap between each one should give us plenty of firebreak."

"That’s a lot of digging. Won’t the changelings catch on to that strategy?" Colonel Skyflame asked.

Scootaloo shrugged, "Maybe, but I can’t think of any other way to slow them down. We’re too tired and too few to outmaneuver them in any direction but a straight line."

"I don’t like the thought of giving them fire after what happened in Dodge Junction," Commander Rain Chaser said. “Even on the heights, they managed to use it against us.”

"I know, and neither do I," Scootaloo replied.

She had a look in her eye like she remembered something somber, but it quickly passed.

"Considering the alternatives, I can’t think of a more effective way to cut down their numbers and slow them down before they reach Ponyville."

"We are certain they are coming this way?" Commander Rain Chaser asked.

Colonel Skyflame nodded, "I just got word from my scouts. They are massing near the southern end of the canyon."

"Ponyville should be prepared for evacuation, but to where?" Scootaloo said rhetorically. "Everyplace is under attack right now. If we can just slow them down, maybe buy another day or two…" she trailed off.

"As you said last night," Commander Rain Chaser said, "It hardly even qualifies as grim."

Scootaloo looked into the sky. Duster thought she appeared to be searching for something. The commanders stood there silently for another minute. The discussion didn’t resume. It was apparent that nopony had any better ideas than to try to slow down the enemy and hope for the best. The fleeting moments of rest were a thin slice of heaven, but then Scootaloo ended their stay. Had he been asked, Duster would also have had to admit a shortage of ideas. They were just too vastly outnumbered to put up much resistance.

"We need to move. Commander Rain Chaser, pick two regiments to stay behind. Leave them a CAP and small unicorn presence. We’ll need every unicorn we can take with us."

"Copy that," the commander replied.

The orders were shouted, and the entire force struggled back to their hooves and continued walking. Duster’s legs were even more stiff than they had been on long training days with weights in his harness.

The day waned on, and they dropped off another three regiments after ten miles, bringing their remaining force to around seventeen thousand exhausted soldiers. Duster felt like he was already dead. His sore muscles had grown numb as they continued their march south. The last time they stopped was the worst. He didn’t have any strength left, and his water was nearly used up as well. He stared blankly ahead as he lay on the ground, waiting for the order to continue. When it came, he found himself unable to stand. He struggled, but his legs simply wouldn’t hold him up anymore. He collapsed under his own weight. Had he any remaining stamina, he’d have felt a poor excuse for a soldier. He didn’t care. Nothing seemed to matter to the stallion. He wanted only the strength to roll over and die.

"Are you alright?" Scootaloo asked.

"I just…" he gasped for air. "I can’t…"

"Can’t?" She looked down at him. "What do you mean you can’t?"

"I can’t go any farther," he said in defeat.

She tilted her head at him. For a moment, the briefest period of time, it looked like compassion on her face. It quickly became a steely resolve.

"Get up."

"I can’t."

"Do you think you’ve fought harder than I have? Harder than anypony else here?" She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing, "You think this is bad? Do you have any idea what your sister suffered? Her first mission out, six of her friends were killed beside her. Just like that, and they were following her orders. Her second mission, she got shot, lost an eye, sprained both wings, got captured by the enemy and tortured. Do you know what she did?"

All the depleted stallion could do was look up at her.

"She broke out of the changeling prison and fought her way through. Injured, blinded, tired. You don’t have a clue what you’re made of."

That caught his attention.

"I know what stuff your family has inside. I’ve even seen it in you when you were a cadet. You were horrible, but you never gave up. You got sick and nearly died, but you managed to take out another squad in a training exercise. Your sister told me that you saved her life in Mane Crusher’s rebellion. You have fought your way here."

"I’m not my sister," he said flatly, wanting to be left alone.

"No, you’re not," Scootaloo agreed. "But the only difference is determination. She made up her mind before we ever got into any of those scrapes that no matter what, as long as there was breath in her lungs, she would not stop fighting. She wasn’t great because her life was easy. Did you think her position was just given to her? She was great because it was hard, and she didn’t let that hardness break her. She pressed on, becoming even harder than everything that came at her, and that’s what you need to do right now. This is the stuff that heroes are made of. We might all die tomorrow, but we will be remembered for how we live the next few hours for a thousand years. You want to lay here and die? You want to be the disappointment that everypony talks about. They’ll say great things about your sister, and then wonder how you two could have been related."

A nerve had been struck. Duster’s own sense of pride, though wounded a thousand times over, had one last bastion of strength like a well that contained an ocean. Life, fueled by ego alone began coursing through him, and strength returned to his limbs.

"It’s time for you to let your potential out," Scootaloo continued. "Hold nothing back. We are all counting on you."

Duster pushed against the ground, and his weary muscles made him stand. He followed as Scootaloo began marching, leading the entire Assault Corps on toward their fate. He had once again learned a new admiration for Scootaloo’s stalwart tenacity. Was there no end to her resilience?

38 - Countermeasures, Part 5 of 11

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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.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 6 of 11

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Pixyglitter was filled with nervous anticipation as she knocked on the door to her parents’ apartment. It was strange: up to her arrival at the door, she had felt so revitalized to return to Manehattan. The sounds and smells had made her feel more at home than she had been since joining the EUP.

So many varied thoughts ran through her mind that she was unable to quiet them. She had already sent a letter home to her parents informing them of her... condition. She hated it. It burned like a fire in her stomach, an anger that she couldn’t do the things she did before. She had already played out this moment a thousand times in her mind. Her mother was certain to be just glad to see her, but her father... It was unlikely that he would be anything but condescending.

She tried to not think about it. The actual event was bound to be unpleasant enough without her imagining it again. The sound of the lock turning brought Pixyglitter’s attention back to the moment. She heard the door open, and a gasp from her mother.

"My sweet girl!" the familiar, loving voice said.

Pixyglitter was suddenly caught in a mother’s embrace. The older mare held her briefly before backing up, opening the door farther.

"Come in," she said. "All of you, please come in."

"Thanks," Cloud Blazer responded.

"Bully! We have guests," her mother called once the door was shut. "Pixy is home!"

Pixyglitter’s heart sank. Her father was in the house. The tell-tale sound of paper being folded greeted her before hoof steps came toward the entry way.

"Hmph," her father grumped from a distance.

"Mother, father," Pixyglitter began nervously. "These are friends. This is Fluttershy...”

"Hello," Fluttershy practically whispered timidly.

“...and this is Cloud Blazer."

"Hi.”

"These are my parents, Gentle Breeze and Bull Market."

"It is so nice to meet you," Gentle Breeze recited.

"Hmph," Bull Market grunted. "I’d have thought friends worth keeping would have kept you in one piece."

And there it was. Not two minutes home, and Pixyglitter already wished they hadn’t even bothered to come. She could only wonder why she had thought this was a good idea.

"Yes. Sir." Pixyglitter said coldly through gritted teeth. "I didn’t meet these two until after I was injured."

"Hmph," he grunted again. "You wouldn’t have been injured at all if you had stayed here where you belong. So what happened to the friends who were with you?"

Pixyglitter was seething. Just being around her dad was making her blood pressure rise.

"They died," she answered flatly.

The hostility was growing thick.

"Well, we’re just glad you’re here, aren’t we, Bully?" Gentle Breeze said quickly. Then she continued before he had a chance to respond, "Make yourselves at home. Any friends of Pixy’s are friends of ours! You will stay for dinner, of course?”

"Oh, well, I don’t know," Cloud Blazer began, "we hadn’t really meant to stay long. We have business in town, and then we have to get back to Ponyville.”

"You might as well humor her since she’s set on just giving our rations out," Bull Market said roughly. "All outbound traffic has been suspended until further notice anyway."

"Oh, goodness," Fluttershy said.

The older mare shivered, "The timberwolves attacking the city was just dreadful!”

"Hmph," her father added, "They shut down the stock exchange. Half of all value was lost across the board before they put a stop to it."

"Bully, let’s not talk shop just yet," Gentle Breeze pleaded.

"Hmph," he grumbled before his hoof steps retreated into his office just off the den.

"Well, that’s dad," Pixyglitter said dryly. "Sorry about that."

"Pixyglitter, do not apologize for your father,” her mother gently scolded. Turning back to her sweet tone, she added, "Come, let me show you into the den where you can relax. I want to hear everything."

"I’ll take them," Pixyglitter said. "Is there anything to drink?"

"Are you up for it?" her mother asked with a hint of longing in her voice that Pixyglitter had never heard before.

"I am," the blind mare replied stiffly. "I can remember my way through the house."

"Of course, dear, I just meant...” Gentle Breeze hesitated and then switched gears, "I believe we still have some bottles of apple cider."

"Sweet Apple Acres cider?" Cloud Blazer asked with great anticipation.

Pixyglitter could almost see his mouth water.

"No," Gentle Breeze replied curiously. "I’m afraid I haven’t heard of that vintage. Ours is from Double A Farms."

"You’ll like it," Pixyglitter declared with certainty.

Her mother shuffled back into the kitchen, and Pixyglitter led the way, feeling the hallway with her cane. The living room was laid out as she remembered it, so navigation of the space was a simple task for her. She sat on the large leather couch. To that day, it was the most comfortable seat her hindquarters had ever experienced.

"Sit wherever, except for the arm chair," she said to her guests.

"Your apartment is so lovely," Fluttershy cooed.

Pixyglitter was certain she heard her dad grunt at this from his study, but he didn’t say anything. Glasses clinked in the kitchen as her mother was getting the cider. The greeting had been about what she’d expected, but Pixyglitter couldn’t shake the feeling that things were just going to get worse somehow.

"Here you are," Gentle Breeze said as she silently walked back into the room.

She gave each of them a glass of cider. Pixyglitter took a sip, and the apple flavor flowed over her tongue, filling her being. The couch depressed beside her, no doubt from her mother seating herself.

"We’re so glad to see you again, Pixy," Gentle Breeze said sweetly, gently placing her hoof on her daughter’s back. "You’ll be staying, of course?"

Pixyglitter managed a smile; she would always make that effort for her mother. She wasn’t sure how to answer her question, but the conversation quickly turned.

"This cider is fantastic!" Cloud Blazer exclaimed.

"It ought to be," Bull Market spoke gruffly as he entered the room and settled in his chair. "It’s seventy bits a bottle."

"Oh, my," Fluttershy gasped.

"That much?" Cloud Blazer replied, "The best back home is Sweet Apple Acres cider. We usually get it for two bits a glass."
Pixyglitter felt tense at his statement.

"Hmph," her father retorted, "You get what you pay for."

A crinkling sound filled the silence as Bull Market unfolded something, probably a newspaper. He always would look through them for stock information or news that could effect such. Pixyglitter took another sip of her cider, letting the apple flavor take over her senses for a moment.

Gentle Breeze made a noise as if to speak, but then hesitated before asking, ”So, did you meet in... combat?"

"No, ma’am," Cloud Blazer answered. "We were injured in different battles and met at the hospital where we were recovering."

"I see; were you injured as well?"

"Oh, my, no!" Fluttershy explained. "I’m not a soldier. I’m looking for a friend to take her back to Ponyville. That’s why I have a harness.”

"Like I said," Bull Market interjected, "all outbound traffic is suspended for now. I’m sure it’ll be a day or two before they open it up again. Hmph! Timberwolves are a nuisance."

"That’s not the word I would choose," Cloud Blazer said, "but I guess it fits well enough."

"Pixy," her mother tried again to steer the conversation away from trouble, "I knew you were assigned to Princess Luna’s army, but what happened after that? You only sent the one letter before...”

Pixyglitter took a breath, "I was in General Mane Crusher’s corps that lifted the siege at Ponyville.

"Rotten what happened to him," Bull Market noted flippantly.

Pixyglitter continued, "From there, I went to Las Pegasus when it was attacked. That was the battle where I was injured."

"What happened?" her mother asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Well," Pixyglitter thought through what she wanted to say, "I was flying in formation when we came under attack. A blast of magic caught me right in the face, and I nearly fell." She decided to leave out the presence of her passenger. "I managed to regain control and tried to land, but I came in pretty hard and hurt my leg a little. I got lucky considering. Really just bruises other than that."

Cloud Blazer asked, "What was that about Mane Crusher?"

"The general," Bull Market said, "I heard he got replaced by a changeling. He’s probably dead by now."

Cloud Blazer snorted a laugh, "Is that what they’re saying?"

"Did you hear something else?" Gentle Breeze asked.

"Yes, well, some of my friends were in the middle of the situation. He wasn’t replaced. He attempted a coup d’etat."

"Did he," her dad said, it wasn’t a question.

Pixyglitter could feel him looking over his reading spectacles.

"Yes," Cloud Blazer continued. "Two members of my squad were part of a counter-conspiracy to protect Shining Armor. You may have heard of Captains Sparklefly and Scootaloo."

"Sorry," Gentle Breeze said.

"The Angel of Death?" Bull Market asked.

"Yes, sir," Cloud Blazer answered.

"I heard she was killed."

"What?" Cloud Blazer was in total shock.

Bull Market continued nonchalantly, "I read this morning that the entire southern army was wiped out yesterday when the push started. Fallen Angel was the name of the article... or was it dead angel... Anyway, they not only attacked every major town and city in Equestria, but they crushed the Assault Corps near Apple Loosa, which was commanded by a General Brax, with Captain Sparklefly acting as an advisor."

"Oh my goodness," Fluttershy exclaimed.

Pixyglitter was also disturbed by this development, but she didn’t know what to say.

Her father continued, "Apparently, we’ve also lost Baltimare."

"By Celestia," Cloud Blazer said vacantly. "Did they say anything else? Do you know if Captain Scootaloo survived?"

The paper crinkled again as Bull Market lowered it. "I don’t remember seeing anything about her. Is that a friend of yours?"

"Yes," Cloud Blazer replied, a hint of fear was in his voice. "She and Sparklefly were assigned together."

"Hmph," Bull Market grunted again. "Well, anypony worth knowing was mentioned. I haven’t heard of your friend, so I don’t know. Not to worry, we’re perfectly safe here, the stock exchange notwithstanding."

"You’re kidding, right?" Cloud Blazer’s tone had become icy. "You’re worried about trading right now?"

"It’s a cutthroat business," Bull Market snapped. "Not that you’d know anything about it."

"Cutthroat," Cloud Blazer replied flatly. "On my first mission, we went to rescue the population of Canterlot. Half of my squad was killed that day. On my second mission, we discovered the fact that the changelings were responsible for the timberwolves multiplying. That’s when I broke bones I didn’t even know I had. Several of my teammates weren’t as lucky. I dragged one of them, injured and still fighting, for several miles before he got killed by enemy fire. I wonder how brave you’d be if you knew that every time you went in to make a deal that you had a good chance of not walking out of that meeting alive."

"Now, boys," Gentle Breeze began, but she was cut off.

"You will not take that tone with me in my house," Bull Market practically growled.

"Fair enough," Cloud Blazer answered hotly, "but I would appreciate it if you didn’t so callously talk about ponies who are fighting and dying to protect your house. Especially my friends."

"Hmph, friends," Bull Market sneered. "They sound very brave, but for what? This whole thing could have ended already. They should have sued for peace as soon as the changelings were discovered."

"There is no dealing with changelings," Pixyglitter offered, trying to keep her own temper in check.

"Nopony even tried," her father replied.

Cloud Blazer answered, "Yeah, well, I’m sure it’s easy for you to have it all figured out from the safety of your home here in Manehattan. I’ve been there; I’ve seen them. They don’t want peace, not with us."

"I am honestly wearied by your prattle," Bull Market said. "Maybe you should have tried talking them to death. It would seem to be more effective than your efforts fighting."

A shuffling noise signaled that Cloud Blazer had stood up rather suddenly. Pixyglitter also stood, but really didn’t know what to do. This was becoming far worse than she had thought it might.

"Please sit down, dear," Gentle Breeze said.

Pixyglitter sat as she was told. Her feelings had become even more confused than they had been. Certainly her father was as unpleasant as she had remembered, but there was something strangely comforting about it. Perhaps it was just the sensation of once again being on familiar ground. The world seemed to make sense here, even if it were in a twisted and frustrating sort of way.

Cloud Blazer spoke again in rage, “You are a coward, and it makes me sick that I almost died defending the likes of you.”

The situation felt like it had spiraled out of control.

"Get out," Bull Market said coldly.

Cloud Blazer snorted, but said nothing. He began shuffling to the door with Fluttershy padding directly behind him. Pixyglitter was about to stand, but her mother gripped her front leg tightly. A powerful ambivalence took hold; she didn’t know what to do. She knew her parents would take care of her if she stayed, but didn’t Cloud Blazer still need her?

"Pixy," Cloud Blazer said in a forced calm, "are you coming?"

She was silent, the tension building in the air. Her mouth went dry, and weakness was in her legs. She wanted to stand and follow but found herself unable to do so.

“I...” she began, but she couldn’t finish; she felt her head hang in defeat.

"I understand," he answered. “Goodbye, Pixyglitter.”

"Goodbye," she managed to get out.

It was doubtful to Pixyglitter that anypony else in the room had picked it up, but she could hear the tone in his voice. It contained a sort of finality of disappointment or despair. If she were to guess, it was the anguish of loss, and the sound of it drove a dagger through her heart. Before anything else could be said, they turned and walked out. Tears welled up as Bull Market stomped over to the door and slammed it shut behind her friends.

"There, there, sweetie," Gentle Breeze said. “It’s going to be okay.”

Pixyglitter melted into her mother’s shoulder, reduced to a sobbing mess on her first visit home since she had left for the EUP.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 7 of 11

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Duster threw himself down against the earthen breastworks that would serve as their next defensive line. His chest heaved in spasms as he allowed exhaustion to have its way for a minute. Their success at the first two positions had been flawless, but he could tell that nopony expected this to continue. At the current rate of enemy attrition, they would still number in the hundreds of thousands by the time they reached Ponyville. There were just too many, and the dents made were too small.

Hunger pain shot through Duster, causing him to curl into the fetal position for a moment. His emotional state was in even worse shape, if it were possible. When they weren’t fighting for their lives or digging trenches, waves of depression lapped at the shores of his sanity, driving him farther down. More than anything, he wished he could have seen his sister one last time. He had known regret before, but it had become a mountain in his soul. There were so many things that had been left unsaid; he would have traded anything to have the chance to regain the missed opportunity.

"Get up," Scootaloo broke his reverie.

The stallion looked up at the lavender eyes that stared back at him. Something had changed. There had been an iciness before that was gone. The hardness had been replaced by determination and compassion.

"Ponies are watching," she said quietly. "I need you to stand up."

Duster rolled over and pressed his hooves against the ground once more. His legs were incredibly shaky, rendering the effort fruitless. Scootaloo helped him stand.

"Can you fly?"

He snorted in disbelief at the question. She turned and looked down the line. Even Duster could see the ragged shape they were all in. It was nearly to the point where it wouldn’t matter how high they built their dirt mounds because they were going to lack the strength to defend them. How exactly they were to continue was beyond the stallion.

"We’re a mess," she said.

Duster looked back at her.

She returned his gaze and added, "I’ve known for days. We’re all going to die out here."

The stallion felt his blood run cold at the callous way she said it.

"I think we’ll need ice arrows," she continued nonchalantly, as though her former statement had been meaningless. "They’ll be expecting fire again since we’ve found it effective. They’re going to come up with a way to counter it. If we have enough ice, we might make the field less passable."

"Ice arrows? Are you joking?” Duster asked, feeling a little beside himself. "What difference does it make? You just said we’re all going to die."

"That’s why we have to make every moment count," she replied. "None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we have to make the most of today. If we slack off, or show weakness, the others will see it, and their hope will die. If it does, we will die sooner than later." She paused, scratching behind her left ear. "We need to save as many of our friends as we can. That’s why we’re here. That’s why I am here. I had forgotten that for a long time.” She paused, staring into his soul. “Why are you here?"

Duster looked down at the ground, as if there would be some insight to the thoughts that Scootaloo was stirring in his mind. Everything outside of the past few days seemed to not exist anymore. The rough grit of sand, the pain of hunger, the taste of dirt, the smell of death, the sting of loss... he couldn’t remember any other life or purpose beyond that. He thought he should know.

"Sparklefly knew," Scootaloo said. "She was brilliant... and I miss her."

Duster looked back at the mare. He could see the wound deep in her heart through those lavender eyes. She spoke volumes in the brief silence that followed between them with her gaze. It appeared that tears had welled up, but she held them back.

"I have a mission for you," she finally said, regaining a normal composure. "With every ounce of speed you can muster, I want you to go to Canterlot. Your squad will accompany you for support. Once you arrive, go directly to Prince Shining Armor and inform him of our situation. Do not talk to his aides or generals; you talk to him directly as a representative of his Taskforce.” She gave him a written copy of the order. “We need water; we need food; we need reinforcements. Also, Ponyville must be evacuated before the timberwolves arrive. At the speed they’re moving... it could be as early as tonight. Do you understand?"

He nodded gravely.

"That doesn’t give us a lot of time, and no matter what, I will not allow them to pass us."

A shiver ran down Duster’s spine. The conviction that was in her expression told him everything. She would not retreat, not if it meant putting civilians in danger; she would order them all to their deaths if that’s what it took to buy more time. She was resigned to her fate. He swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat in an attempt to steel his own resolve.

"We’ll return straight away," he heard himself say.

"That won’t be necessary," she replied. "Deliver the message as quickly as you can, then remain in Canterlot for further instructions."

"You’ll need every hoof you’ve got here. You won’t be able to spare any more to come back for me."

"You have your orders," Scootaloo answered flatly.

The finality of her tone perfectly revealed her intention. She was sending him away to keep him alive. She knew there would be no reinforcements. Something inside Duster wanted to argue. Perhaps it was a sense of nobility or honor. However, it was an underdeveloped trait, and the desire for self-preservation screamed for him to keep his mouth shut, which is exactly what he did. Coming to attention, he saluted.

Scootaloo returned his salute and said, "Good luck."

"You too.”

She turned away from him, looking into the distance from where the next attack would come. Still no sign of the enemy. Duster turned and walked away, his legs almost numb from all of the running and fighting. A kind of euphoric hope of survival was pulsing through him, carrying him forward.

The remnant of Lieutenant Clyde’s platoon was located easily enough. They had been folded into another that had been equally devastated by casualties. Jewel, Locknload, Gunnysack, Rolling Thunder, and LD were sitting in the middle of a group when Duster found them. They all looked exhausted. Duster couldn’t remember if he had ever seen lower spirits. He gave the written order to Locknload.

"Looks like we’re making a house call," the unicorn sergeant almost sounded disappointed.

"Let me guess," LD said, "It’s really far away.”

Rolling Thunder added, “And we’ll have to carry the rest of you.”

Gunnysack snorted.

"Can it," Locknload answered. “Gear up, I’ll take this to the lieutenant and we’re out of here in five."

"Like... awesome," Jewel said sarcastically with a mocking salute.

It took longer for the order to be delivered than it took them to prepare to leave. Jewel winced when Duster locked their harnesses together.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "My ribs still hurt pretty bad, so take it easy on the turns."

Duster snorted.

Locknload returned and said, "We’re moving out. We’ll stop in Ponyville for water and food if they have any."

LD secured Locknload to his harness and took flight. Duster followed, his weary wings whipping the air once more. It wasn’t so bad once they had gained some altitude, but Duster thought he was going to pass out at one point.

They flew beyond the fortifications that were hastily being dug into the earth. There were several more lines of them that reached across the path toward Ponyville. The first two of which were complete, and three more had only begun to be created. These fortifications had earned Captain Scootaloo her own nickname from the grunts of the Assault Corps: Queen of Spades.

The last trench would be near the southern end of the city itself, beside the training ground where Duster had taken basic. It seemed a lifetime ago. The northern side of the city was under attack. It was a small band of timberwolves, but they were being fended off by a mixed force of zebras and EUP. The squad was escorted to the ground by the city’s CAP, and they submitted to being scanned. As soon as that formality was out of the way, they went to the castle, where they were given water and a little food, which they consumed ravenously.

They were quiet as they ate, and if everypony else was as thoroughly exhausted as Duster felt, they could have slept for days.

A voice unknown to Duster interrupted their hasty meal.

"Slow down there; you’ll make yourself sick.”

Duster looked up to see a blue coated, rainbow maned mare grinning at him. Then he noticed the rank insignia on her uniform: it was that of commander. He instinctively snapped to attention, as did the rest of his squad.

"Yes, ma’am, sorry ma’am!" Duster quickly replied.

"Oops, as you were, soldier, I thought you were somepony else. Sorry about that, heh, heh," Rainbow Dash said. "You wouldn’t be related to Captain Sparklefly, would you?"

Duster was relaxing a little when he felt himself go pale. The morsel on which he’d been chewing was stuck in his throat, and his gut wrenched. The commander’s face became concerned as she looked to the others. LD simply shook his head, and a saddened light of understanding filled the rainbow pegasus’ eyes.

"When?" she simply asked.

Duster found himself unable to speak, still working to not choke on the dry hay.

"Yesterday?" LD answered. "Maybe the day before. I’m not sure anymore."

"We haven’t slept," Jewel offered.

"You’re from the Assault Corps?" Rainbow Dash asked, any hint of joviality extinguished.

"Yes, ma’am," Locknload replied. "We have been dispatched to Canterlot to request aide immediately."

"What’s the situation? I’ve only heard rumors," the commander replied.

Duster thought he read concern on her face, but not the kind he might have expected. Everypony was concerned about the fate of the Assault Corps in general, but this was something much more specific. It took only a moment for him to determine what its nature. It was personal. She knew somepony down there. Recovering himself, Duster managed a drink of water to clear his throat.

LD began, "It’s bad. We got our tails handed to us. I think we lost as much as half of the force, maybe more."

"I see," Rainbow Dash said as evenly as she was able.

"She was my sister," Duster said.

The commander nodded slowly, "I’m sorry. I knew her; we served together." The mare paused, hesitating for a moment and then asked, "Is there news of Captain Scootaloo and the rest of the Taskforce?"

Duster didn’t miss the way she’d asked the question. He was glad to be able to set her mind at ease.

"She lives," he said. "The rest of them… I think there are two or three others left. Charging Lance is dead, as is General Brax, the traitor Mane Crusher, and many others."

Visible relief flooded over Rainbow Dash as she looked away.

"They need help," Duster said. "The food and water is out, and the timberwolf forces are heading this way. Captain Scootaloo personally sent me to ask for reinforcements and resupply. I don’t know what’s keeping her on her hooves."

"Then help is on its way," the commander replied as she looked directly at Duster. "Continue on as ordered. I’ll muster everything we can spare in Ponyville and head out. They’re due south?"

"Basically," he replied. "A little southwest. They’ll be to the river soon, west of Ghastly Gorge and the forest. You can’t miss them.”

"Got it," Rainbow Dash replied. With an uncharacteristic softness she added, "I’m sorry about your sister. She was a friend." Then a fire grew in her eyes, "We’ll pay them back a hundred times over."

"Yes ma’am," Duster said, the fire spreading into his own heart.

It did little to ease the pain he felt from the loss, but it did serve as a small distraction.

With a nod, Commander Rainbow Dash trotted quickly away, deeper into the castle. Duster felt somewhat shaken by the encounter, but he was glad that some help might be heading down to the Assault Corps.

"You heard her," Locknload barked, "let’s get moving!"

38 - Countermeasures, Part 8 of 11

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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.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 9 of 11

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Scootaloo felt herself grin at the sight of it. She had been quite correct that the changelings would counter the fire strategy. They pushed in a decent-sized rain cloud, dropping fat heavy drops of water on the advancing line of the timberwolves as they charged toward the Assault Corps. Their magic seemed hardly adequate to the task, at least inasmuch as pegasus abilities were far better suited to weather control, but through no small expenditure of their energies, their little deluge inched forward, an effective ward against fire.

Scootaloo admired the effort, but was glad she had prepared for the move. She glanced over at Commander Rain Chaser, who also bore a devious smile. They would let the enemy draw close in order to not tip their hoof too soon. The element of surprise should never be wasted. They were a few hundred yards away, moving slowly at first. As the rain grew heavier over the timberwolf horde, a howling went up from them. Their latest count put their number at six-hundred, thirty-eight thousand, give or take a few hundred. Their ongoing battles had cut the numbers down, but not nearly enough. Snarling rippled through the horde as the howling died down, and the front line of them vaulted forward, throwing themselves toward the defensive line of ponies.

"Load ice arrows!" Scootaloo called.

The order was repeated down the line, and soldiers faithfully responded. The unicorns had managed to make more than Scootaloo thought they’d be able to in the short time they’d had. The timberwolves slipped in the mud, but then found their footing on the dryer ground as they continued to charge. They rapidly closed the distance.

"Take aim!" she ordered.

Crossbows were raised all across the line in preparation for the advancing enemy. Scootaloo’s stomach growled rather loudly, causing her to wince from the pain. She caught one of the stallions on the line glancing back at her.

"Did you hear that, soldier?"

"Ma’am, yes, ma’am," he replied nervously.

"I’m just hungry for some more payback,” she boasted to him.

"Yes ma’am," he replied, seeming emboldened by her bravado.

Scootaloo’s emotional state wasn’t exactly as high as she was still pretending. The lifted weight from letting go of her anger was still bolstering her up, but it felt more like riding a roller coaster. Waves of sadness would come and go, and she struggled to stay focused. She stared at the advancing line of drenched timberwolves charging toward them. They bounded ahead, ready to swarm the ponies, and then the moment came.

"Open fire!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Front rank, fire!" was echoed down the line by hundreds of officers.

Tens of thousands of ice arrows sped into the air, straight toward their marks. Upon impact, the magical arrows unleashed the ice inside. The water that coated each timberwolf froze instantly, bringing the front of their line abruptly to a halt. The rear ranks crashed into them, all but completely killing their momentum. Within a few moments, more of them were piling over and forcing through. They destroyed their own front lines to get at the ponies.

"Second rank, fire!" the line officers shouted.

Another volley of ice arrows rained down. The ground began to harden with frost. The advance stopped completely as the beasts slid around, unable to find solid footing.

"Third rank, fire!" echoed across the Assault Corps.

A final time, they loosed their ice arrows into the enemy. The frost spread even further as the timberwolves began backing away.

“Unicorns, concussion magic single volley! Fire!”

As the blast was unleashed, in caused a pressure wave that shattered the frozen lines of the enemy. It was as of ten thousand windows had been broken as one. A mist hung in the air.

"Hold your fire," Scootaloo commanded.

As her order echoed down the line, Scootaloo strained her eyes, but they were reporting accurately. The timberwolves had retreated out of range of their arrows. She felt herself smile at this, but she was fully aware that it was only a small setback to the enemy. There was a chance they could hold this position a little longer, but if she chose wrong, they could lose everything.

"Commander," Scootaloo turned to Rain Chaser.

"Ma’am?" he replied.

"Take half of our force back to the next position and hold there. I think we can buy a little more time, but I don’t want to risk the entire force if I’m wrong."

"Yes ma’am, but I strongly advise against dividing our force."

Scootaloo regarded the stone-faced expression that met her.

"Don’t worry; I’ll retreat before I let them overtake us."

"As you command," he said with a little bow.

It didn’t take long for them to get moving. The remaining weakened line was only eleven-thousand strong, but it would be enough. They all crouched behind their dirt mound to provide as little visibility as possible. Vigilant eyes watched the enemy that was regrouping behind the little slick of magical ice that had been laid down in front of them. Scootaloo also got low behind their earthen defenses. The changelings would no doubt be looking for another strategy, so making herself a target simply wouldn’t do.

An hour passed, but no attack came. Scootaloo again found herself with time to think. A wellspring of regret was inside her. It proved a much more difficult thing to let go of than had been her rage. She had made many decisions in fear and hatred that she would take back. That, of course, was the one thing she could not do. She wished she’d been a better friend to Sparklefly. They had frequently become cross with each other, which Scootaloo realized was mostly from her side. She now recognized the jealousy for what it was.

While she knew it had been necessary, she couldn’t help how she felt about killing Radiant Pyre. An objective observer might have said he deserved it, but she couldn’t help the sadness. It was one more pony that didn’t get to go home to family, one more house that would be broken.

Then there was Cloud Blazer. Not that it would have been necessary to lie to him, but she shouldn’t have been so cruel while he was hurt so badly. It didn’t matter how she felt. He hadn’t deserved her response. She could only hope that it, perhaps, was a friendship that might yet be saved.

Another hour went by, with still no movement from the enemy other than their rain clouds finally using themselves up. The entire force under Scootaloo’s command sat there waiting like a steel trap that is set to spring. Not intentionally, the pegasus captain gave way to exhaustion and fell into a light sleep.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 10 of 11

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Scootaloo awoke to the sound of alarmed cries going up from the defensive line. She fumbled in her grogginess and set her crossbow forward, facing the enemy, only to discover that there was no attack. It was disorienting, but her eyes quickly scanned the field and confirmed that the timberwolves were still out of range. Her ears must have also been sleepy to misinterpret what she had heard.

Now awakening completely, cries of joy were what met her; spirits were rallying. Turning to the rear, Scootaloo saw two regiments of zebras approaching at a trot. They were laden with saddle bags as they drew near the line. Leading them was a blue pegasus with a multicolored mane; Rainbow Dash had arrived.

"Keep watch on the timberwolves,” Scootaloo said to a nearby officer, "If they move within range, give the order to fire."

"Yes ma’am!" the stallion replied.

Scootaloo stood, her legs were stiff and tired. She forced them into motion and hobbled at first toward the advancing zebras. Just as her legs fell back into the rhythm of walking, her blood ran cold. Could this be a trap? Scootaloo’s heart pounded inside her chest. Turning to her own force, she spotted Clyde.

"You, come with me," she ordered.

"Ma’am!" the unicorn replied.

Jumping to his hooves, he followed after Scootaloo. She increased her speed to a canter to gain some distance between herself and the others. It seemed a small enough force, but she didn’t need to take any chances. As they drew close, Scootaloo halted and held up her hoof, signaling the newcomers to stop. They complied. Rainbow Dash and one zebra approached alone; they were adorned with the zebras’ green magical paint.

"Hey kid," the commander said.

"Commander Dash," Scootaloo replied. "My apologies, but I need to scan you."

Rainbow Dash grinned, "You go right ahead, but we’re going to slime you with this green gunk."

Scootaloo nodded to Clyde but didn’t take her eyes off of the other two. Golden light showered over each of them in turn as the unicorn used his magic to verify their identities.

"They’re clear," he said.

Scootaloo felt herself let out a sigh of relief.

"Great, you’re turn," Commander Rainbow Dash nodded at her zebra counterpart.

The gruff-looking warrior stepped forward and took a small tightly-woven pouch and squeezed the familiar green paste onto a hoof. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them and smeared the sludge on Scootaloo’s left cheek and down her chin.

"Hebu kweli yako kuwa wazi,“ he said in his native tongue before continuing with a thick accent, “Let your truth be revealed.”

The zebra repeated this ritual on Clyde before stepping back. After waiting a moment, he seemed satisfied.

Rainbow Dash concluded, "Now that that’s out of the way, I heard that you were short on supplies, so we brought food, water, and two-thousand fresh warriors.”

A strange mixture of emotions churned inside Scootaloo at the rekindling of a spark of hope. She nearly forgot herself, wanting to give the commander a hug. The turmoil inside must have been visible. Rainbow Dash had a look of understanding on her face.

"We’ll get all of this distributed. Then I want a full report."

Scootaloo saluted, but her first attempt to speak came out almost like a grunt. She cleared her throat and said, "Yes ma’am."

The water alone brought life back to the Assault Corps, what the food did was beyond belief. Scootaloo had grown accustomed to the lack of energy and felt empowered to have something in her that replenished strength. All too quickly, the mouthful of oats and few sprigs of hay were consumed.

The orange pegasus gave an account of everything that had happened since the defeat at the heights near Apple Loosa. The enemy still had not made a move, which began to concern Scootaloo.

"How long have they been sitting there?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Looks like about three or four hours since our last contact.”

The magical ice had all melted away. No doubt, the changelings were planning something.

"You’ve done a fine job holding them this long," the commander said, "especially considering the shape your army is in."

"My army," Scootaloo heard herself say.

Her mind was drawn back to the loss of Sparklefly and the execution of Radiant Pyre. She felt hollow inside. Not wanting any continued part in the war also weighed heavily on her. How could she tell Rainbow Dash? The young mare remembered how proud the commander had been when she’d signed up for the EUP and when she got her first assignment. How could she disappoint her now?

"I heard about Sparklefly," Rainbow Dash broke the brief silence, "I’m so sorry."

Scootaloo nodded, but said nothing.

"We’ll pay them back a thousand times over," the commander said with her usual bravado.

Scootaloo felt numb and was anything but encouraged by the display. The things she felt inside had to be confronted with her mentor and dearest friend. Without a word, she turned and walked away toward the rear of their position. It was more an act of instinct than a conscious effort.

"Where are you going?" Rainbow Dash asked, following behind.

Scootaloo stopped with her back to her entire force, and quietly burst into tears. Rainbow Dash moved in front of her, but said nothing. Even through blurred vision, the look on the commander’s face was clearly pure compassion. It was all the young pegasus could do to contain her breathing and not make any noise.

"It’s okay, let it out," Rainbow Dash said softly.

"I’m sorry," Scootaloo whispered back.

"For what?"

"That I’m not strong like you are."

Rainbow Dash smiled and said, "Kid, it’s a tall order to be as awesome as I am... and you know what? You’re about the only mare I’ve ever met that is."

"But I’m not," Scootaloo’s voice was hardly more than a choked whisper. "You thrive in these situations. I just get myself hurt, and I get everypony around me killed."

Rainbow Dash’s smile evaporated, and she stood there silently. The younger’s tears continued.

"The last thing I want to do is let you down... but I... I can’t...” Scootaloo had trouble finding the words, and looked down at the ground as she continued, "I don’t want to do this anymore, any of it. I have nothing but respect for you, and what you’ve accomplished... I just... it’s not me. I know I can’t leave; I’m here until the war is over, but I don’t want a career in the EUP. I don’t want to be a Wonderbolt. I don’t want to follow in your hoofsteps... I’m sorry."

She hung her head, ashamed of herself for a long moment. Scootaloo took a breath, and as she looked back up, the concern she felt drew a serious expression on her face. The elder mare’s gaze was locked and somewhat stoic.

Rainbow Dash asked, "Do you remember what I told you in my office when you were a cadet?”

Scootaloo thought back, but it seemed a lifetime had passed since that day. She found herself again looking at the dry cracked earth beneath her hooves as she replied, "That my cutie mark doesn’t matter."

"Before that; you don’t have to be anything other than the best that you can be. You don’t have to follow in my hoofsteps, Scoot; you never did. The fact that you had the courage to tell me that just now... I’ve never been more proud of you than I am today."

Scootaloo managed to blink her own vision clear to see tears in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. To call this a rare occurrence would have been a massive understatement. Like a dam bursting, relief flooded Scootaloo’s soul for the heartfelt words that she had just heard. The commander smiled.

"Now, get your face dried up before we get back to the line. We’ve got an image to keep up," the older mare teased.

Scootaloo let out a giggle as Rainbow Dash playfully slapped her shoulder.

"You never did get your cutie mark, did you?"

The young pegasus snorted, "No, but you know what? I don’t even care anymore."

She didn’t. It seemed like such an insignificant trifle in the middle of everything else that was going on.

"I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you say that and actually mean it. Well, since the EUP is out, have you thought about what you’re going to do after all of this is over?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied as she began wiping her face with a cloth from her kit; it wasn’t clean, but it was dry. "I’m going back home. Maybe I’ll help rebuild the farm. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle… we always had a knack for helping others find their way. Sweetie Belle would say, ‘finding their true selves.’ Ever since I’ve been here, I keep finding myself encouraging others. I guess I hadn’t really realized it before, but I think that’s what I’m best at."

A shiver ran through Scootaloo. She thought she was going to be sick for a moment, but then it became a prickly tingle. Her stomach turned, and she focused her strength on not vomiting up the meager rations she’d just eaten.

Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open in surprise as the ground fell away from beneath Scootaloo’s hooves. Fear gripped the mare that another attack had begun and changeling magic had immobilized her. She was confused that there was no shouting or other indication of such.

Scootaloo was levitating magically and a blinding light seemed to be everywhere. Something was building inside, warming the young mare inside and out. It was like a great churning within that was followed by a sudden wave of giddiness. Then with a burst, a magical shockwave blasted out, and Scootaloo fell to the ground. She shook her head, regaining her bearings and trying to catch her breath. She felt good, and yet exhausted as well.

"Scoot...” Rainbow Dash looked dumbfounded.

"What happened?"

"You just..." the commander stopped, and then a grin worked its way across her face.

Scootaloo was exasperated as she regained her hooves, "What is it?"

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered with a little dance. "You did it, kid!"

"What?"

"You just got your cutie mark!"

Her heart nearly stopped as Scootaloo spun halfway around to see her flank. It was true. She had finally earned her mark. Unbridled joy filled her heart at the sight of it: her cutie mark matched Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s crusader shield marks. She had finally done it.

Author's Notes:

So... back when I started writing this, season 4 had just ended, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't have their marks yet... That's why I thought adult Scootaloo without one would be interesting. I've done what I can to incorporate some of the changes that seasons 5-7 brought, but some of them (specifically with the changelings) were too far different for me to do much with in this draft.

Anyway, instead of an understanding episode and a song, I give you 400,000 words to give Scootaloo her cutie mark!

Oddly enough, her being helpful to others and encouraging as they discover their true selves was very close to what I had originally planned, even before that was officially their cutie mark purpose in season 5... I felt good about nailing the character on that one.

38 - Countermeasures, Part 11 of 11

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Cloud Blazer’s anger was still seething over the confrontation with Bull Market. Though it was an improvement from how it had been boiling over on the walk back to Rarity’s apartment, Fluttershy had the sense to give him space while he calmed down.

Somehow, the pain in his ribs and leg felt even worse than usual. There was little outward expression of this aside from the scowl he wore, as he had become so accustomed to it.

"Well, he sounds like a complete ruffian to me," Rarity said with disdain. "Throwing out one’s guests over a difference of opinion is most uncouth."

"Oh, he wasn’t so bad," Fluttershy offered.

The trio sat in the fashionista’s surprisingly spartan apartment.

"Wasn’t so bad?" Rarity questioned. “Wasn’t so bad? Fluttershy, darling, what you have described is the absolute worst sort of host."

It was all the stallion could do to just keep breathing and remain soothe his wounded pride. As much as he’d wanted to punch Bull Market in the nose, it wouldn’t have helped anything to make an even bigger ruckus than they had. Pixy had chosen to stay behind, which was a problem. Feelings aside, it was the main problem at this point. Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to carry them both, even if they did manage to get out of town and airborne.

"Oh, no, I think he just had a stressful day. It was the first time he’d seen his daughter since she was injured. Plus his livelihood depends on the trading exchange, which got shut down.”

"Fluttershy, dear, you are being far too kind to someone who is completely undeserving."

Cloud Blazer sighed, trying to focus on the problem at hoof.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

A whistling from the kitchen interrupted any reply he might have made.

"I shall return with the tea," Rarity declared as she stood to leave the room.

The light tinkling of dishes could be heard for a few moments as Cloud Blazer gathered his thoughts. Rarity was returning with a small tray filled with some of the customary accoutrements when he finally spoke.

"If you’ll let me stay here, you two can head back to Ponyville without me."

Rarity hummed in thought before saying, "I’m afraid there isn’t any sugar, and this is the last of the lemon; the rationing has been simply dreadful."

"Anything to get the taste of their awful cider out of my mouth," Cloud Blazer pouted.

“Milk has been easier to come by, but of course you are welcome to whatever you see.”

"Now, now," Fluttershy used an almost motherly tone, "no need to be grumpy. Their cider was very good."

"It tasted like acid."

"That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?"

Rarity poured the steaming aromatic liquid into the cups, "Well, I’m afraid the tea will be just as bitter."

"It’ll be fine," Cloud Blazer said as he accepted the drink.

One sip nearly made him gag. He’d never been much of a tea drinker, and this kind had a particularly pungent taste that felt like it was pressing against the back of his tongue. It didn’t quite induce a gag reflex, but it was a similar sensation.

"Not a fan, I see?" Rarity questioned with a concerned smile.

Cloud Blazer forced a smile of his own and said, "It’s great. Thank you."

He added some milk to hopefully help the flavor.

Rarity hummed to herself again, "I don’t suppose we could find another pegasus to carry you back to Ponyville?"

"Maybe we could get a balloon," Fluttershy suggested.

"Well, that would certainly do the job, but I’m afraid it would take quite a while to get to Ponyville by balloon."

"No," Cloud Blazer answered. "Rarity’s right, that’s too slow. The longer we’re over open skies, the more danger we’ll be in. Just flying, we got into trouble twice on the way here."

"Not only that, but there’s another push on," Rarity added. "I heard that they’re not allowing any civilian travel for the next few days."

"That doesn’t apply to us," Cloud Blazer answered. "Pixyglitter and I are EUP, and we have travel orders."

"But, doesn’t that mean that we can’t go without you?" Fluttershy asked.

Cloud Blazer sighed, a powerful sensation of defeat hanging over him like a storm cloud.

"Well, we’ll just have to find a way," Rarity said before sipping her tea. She looked at the late afternoon outside and added, "Since we seem to have some time, why not tell me what this business is all about."

Cloud Blazer took a breath and organized his thoughts before beginning. He told Rarity everything he could remember from the moment he first fell into Ghastly Gorge, mainly the dreams and how he met Pixyglitter. The mare listened patiently without commenting as she sipped her tea. He omitted everything that had happened between himself and Scootaloo. Her eyes grew wide with the story of the shared dream that he and Pixyglitter had experienced. It was dark by the time he finished telling how they had arrived in Manehattan.

"Anyway, when we couldn’t find you, we went to visit Pixyglitter’s parents. I think I don’t want to go through that again," he added with a twinge of the anger remaining.

"My, my," Rarity finally spoke, "that is quite a story."

"So, you’ll come with us?" Fluttershy ventured.

Rarity let out a light giggle, "Why, of course, darling! You know I’d come just because you asked."

That, at least, made Cloud Blazer feel a little better. However, it didn’t solve the problem that was in front of them. If they didn’t get Pixyglitter to go with them, and soon, they would lose any chance they had of making the trip. Their travel orders would expire, and there was no telling how long they’d be stuck in Manehattan. Everypony’s thoughts were broken by the air raid sirens blaring across the night.

"Leave the dishes," Rarity said flatly. "Quickly now, both of you go to the restroom."

Cloud Blazer stood and followed Fluttershy into the hallway and then the restroom, each step sending shocks of pain from his hind leg. A moment later, they were in complete darkness. Fluttershy squealed in fear.

"Sorry for the fright," Rarity said from the other room.

A moment later, a faint blue magical glow from Rarity’s horn dimly lit the restroom. She followed them into the cramped space and shut the door. With three ponies inside, there was hardly any free room. Cloud Blazer wedged himself between the wall and the bathtub while Fluttershy was seated on the commode. Rarity had her back to the door, and the three of them were nearly nose to nose. Fluttershy whimpered.

"There, there, darling," Rarity consoled her in a hushed tone, "it’s going to be okay."

"Does this happen often?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Not every day, if that’s what you mean, but frequently enough I suppose."

Fluttershy was shaking a little, "I don’t like this!"

"Don’t you worry about it in the slightest. Most likely it is just a precaution. I’ve been living in this apartment since the war broke out, and nothing remotely dangerous has ever hit us here. Most likely there is an attack closer than they’d like. We turn off the lights so we don’t become targets."

Cloud Blazer shifted his weight, his flank brushing up against the curtain that concealed the bathtub. Then a stabbing pain ripped into his hindquarters. He gnashed his teeth together, letting out a growl as he turned his body away from the injury. His right side hit the wall, sending a second shock of pain through him.

The stallion pulled the curtain back, prepared to launch an attack in the confined space. The dim light of Rarity’s horn revealed a pair of glowing eyes staring back. A hiss menaced him from the tub.

"Opalescence!" Rarity scolded, "How many times have I told you to stay out of the bath! I’m terribly sorry about that, Cloud Blazer. I’m afraid she has been rather cranky these last few years."

The wounded stallion decided that direct action would be unwarranted, and let his anger steam for a few deep breaths. The cat meowed unhappily, her tail flicking back and forth.

"Don’t worry about it," Cloud Blazer finally glowered. "I’ve had worse."

The injury wasn’t severe, but he was bleeding just below his cutie mark on his left side. As they grew quiet, the sounds of magical attacks could be heard outside. It mostly sounded like concussion magic, echoing dull thuds thought the city. There was also no small amount of shouting.

Cloud Blazer broke their silence, "Looks like the changelings are trying for the city again."

"I’m not surprised, but I think it a foolish maneuver."

"You do?" Fluttershy asked, a quiver in her voice.

"Why, of course! Even if our standing force isn’t enough, there are thousands of recruits that are finishing up their training here. I’ve seen them called out before. It was quite a sight, I assure you."

The mention of this brought powerful memories back to Cloud Blazer. In his mind, he saw Canterlot in flames once again. The fighting that swept through the streets of the capitol and their defense of the tower where they’d taken shelter with Brax and Lighthoof all came back as well. He could almost smell the smoke from that day.

"So, we just wait here?" Fluttershy brought Cloud Blazer back to the moment.

"It’s all we can do," he replied. "I just wish Pixyglitter had come back with us."

"I’m sure they are taking similar precautions at her apartment."

"I know they are; I just wish she was here with us,” he repeated.

He felt little fear from their current situation. It was mostly despair at the way everything had unfolded. The widespread fighting may cause their travel orders to be overruled, Pixyglitter to help them fly or not. He sighed, swallowing his longing for the day to have gone differently.

Cloud Blazer was slowly becoming aware that it was more than just because he needed help flying that he wished Pixyglitter had come with them. They’d spent so much time together that he genuinely missed her now that she was gone. He knew that there was nothing he could do. She had willingly stayed behind, and that was that.

The stallion took a deep breath and refocused on what was most important in front of him. No matter what it took, they had to get Rarity back to Ponyville, the future of Equestria depended on it.

Author's Notes:

So... I've got a small announcement to make... There will be a short break after this chapter. I know I've been posting every day for... several chapters... Anyway, I was reading ahead, and I found some things coming up that need to be addressed in deeper revision than I've been able to get away with for the last few. It is my intent to be back posting within a week... maybe two... Rest assured, the story already has an ending, I just need to make sure that some of the revisions made to this point play out properly.

Which brings me to the second part of this... We are almost at the end of this journey. Not counting extras like prologue/epilogue sort of things, there are 41 chapters. That means that there are only three more. It makes me a little sad, because I'm having so much fun doing this, but it can't go on forever. I do already have inspiration for another story, though I think it will be far less grand than this one. I can't even guess when I'd be posting it, as I've had so much focus on this that I haven't been writing anything else.

Also... I have been asked to edit and rewrite an original story by someone else that could actually be published, so that will be my next project (after this one is completed).

I'm starting to ramble. Sorry about that.

Anyway, hold on to your hats, because things are about to get crazy! Will Cloud Blazer be able to save the Princesses? How is Pixyglitter going to function, now that she's at home? Duster had the ear of the prince, but was sent out with not further orders; is there any way he can help his comrades in arms? Will Scootaloo,with her new-found cutie-mark, be able to slow down the timberwolves and save Ponyville? Find out when we return with the next exciting chapter!

Devotion

39 - Devotion, Part 1 of 16

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Duster’s heart was heavy, a result of his dark conversation with the prince that had ended with the prospect of abandoning civilians to their own fate while pulling the EUP out of Ponyville. He followed his squad back to the landing zone on which they had arrived in Canterlot.

The night air was crisp and cool. Locknload puzzled over the orders they had received from Captain Scootaloo for a moment. He sighed.

“It looks like we’re supposed to just wait here for instructions.”

The sergeant picked a spot that was out of the way and tossed his helmet to the ground. If Duster weren’t mistaken, the sergeant was cursing under his breath. Not bothering to remove his armor, he laid down. Gunnysack shrugged and followed suit, as did Rolling Thunder.

Jewel looked at Duster. There was something behind her blue eyes that remained unspoken. He could only assume it was a shared sense of hopelessness that he also felt. She finally nodded and joined the others.

Duster walked a few steps away from his squad and stared off into the night; the stars burned brightly above, unaware of the problems of the ponies far below. A soft breeze tickled the stallion’s mane as he removed his helmet. Everything just seemed wrong. Cities lost and destroyed, ponies dying... it angered the stallion that things had gone the way they had. He should be home, preparing the apple orchard for winter. He should be getting ready to head of to school to hone his talents in sculpting. He sighed.

“You don’t see any answers up there either, I take it,” LD spoke as he strode up beside Duster.

“No.”

“When I was little, I used to think that the stars were wishes, and that each one was a solution. So, if you could fly up and catch one, you could solve somepony’s problem.”

Duster mused at the thought, “Did you ever try to get one?”

“Only once,” LD snorted at a memory. “I’m sure you can guess how it ended.”

“You flew too high and stalled out?”

“The air gets really thin as you go higher, not to mention cold.”

Duster looked back up at the lights burning in the heavens, “If only the answers were that close. We can’t even see them.”

His thoughts on the problem at hoof were pushed aside as he pondered LD sharing the memory. Duster had heard the stories about him, how he had been through the Mirror Pool and duplicated. He’d never thought to ask about it. In the silence that grew between the pair, curiosity won out.

“LD, I want to ask you something, but you don’t have to answer.”

The other stallion raised an eyebrow.

“You jumped into the mirror pool.”

Any warmth that may have been present evaporated from LD’s expression.

“What was it like?”

The other stallion took a deep breath as Duster awaited a reply.

“You know something, nopony has ever asked me that before. They always want to know if I’m the original Lightning Dasher or one of the copies.”

Silence again fell over the pair. LD stared off into the distance for a time. Duster began to think that no further answer would be forthcoming when the other stallion spoke again.

“It didn’t feel like anything. I mean, it was the same as diving into any pool or pond. But, when you come out, you’re already there, another you, standing on the bank.”  It wasn’t quite what Duster had expected, but then, he didn’t really know what he might have thought he’d hear. Taking the cue from what had just been said, he decided to dance around the question of whether LD were the original Lightning Dasher.

“So, you jumped in, and then there was another one waiting for you? You couldn’t tell where he came from?”

“If you’re wondering whether that was the copy or if I am... I don’t know.”

The honesty in the answer sent a chill up the back of Duster’s neck.

“I mean, I remember my childhood, training in EUP. I remember everything right up to the moment that there were two, and then four, and then a hundred more of me. The thing is, they all remembered every detail. There was a lot of fighting after that, but when we had down time…”

LD took a deep breath.

“I don’t know which of me is, or was the original. It could be me, it could be the other surviving Lightning Dasher. For all I know, the original could have been killed in the battle in that cave along with a few hundred of the copies. Honestly, the worst part about it is that ponies you knew start treating you different.” 
That was something Duster hadn’t considered, “Different how?”

“I don’t know,” LD shrugged, “They were just awkward, especially at first. They kind of treated us like we were all the same.”

Duster stared back a moment, “But, weren’t you all the same?”

LD sighed, “Well, yes, but… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I guess it was as if we were interchangeable. But from the moment that all the duplicates were made, we each began changing. Our experiences from that point forward started to make slightly different versions of me, if that makes sense. I mean, we all had the same likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, but… even that sort of began to play against us.”

“How do you mean?”

“When it was just me and Lightning Dasher left, sometimes he would pick something or like something, and deep down, I would too, but I’d choose the opposite. Like if he chose oats, I’d get hay, even if I had wanted oats. I was kind of compelled to, you know? It was… sort of a way to be my own person.”

Though Duster had never had a twin or clone, he felt he understood the feeling. Sometimes he would get that way with family; he’d feel a need to differentiate himself from the others. He decided to not attempt to empathize, as his efforts would likely be neither useful nor appreciated.

“Your sister actually adapted much faster than most.” 
Duster felt his gut wrench at the mention of Sissy.

“You know, she was the one that gave me my new name.”

“LD?”

“Yeah. During the siege in Ponyville. I got this scar in the forest,” he indicated the healed gash under his right eye that ran along his cheek. “I was one of the only ones that looked different because of it, so she started calling me LD in the castle. There were over a hundred of us then. The rest just got numbers.”

LD seemed to grow far away, as if the life was extinguishing itself from his eyes. Duster stared at the momentarily soulless blue eyes before he seemed to come back.

“Are you alright?” Duster asked.

The yellow pegasus slowly shook his head, “No, not really.”

“Is it like before?” Duster didn’t want to bring up the rumors that had been circulated about LD having a mental breakdown, but he spoke before he thought better of it.

LD looked back at him, “No, and it will never be like that again. I… You can’t know what it is like to see yourself, several hundred times… what it is like to see yourself killed.”

Duster’s blood ran cold, causing him to shiver.

“Everypony else was already treating us as if one was the same as another, so there was no mourning each time one of the copies died. It didn’t seem to matter. I was one of those. Eventually, I had convinced myself that I was going to die. I believed that I was just a duplicate, that I didn’t matter. Lightning Dasher had already been sent home, right? My parents… his parents got him back already. They don’t need me. It might even be simpler if…”

There were tears in the blue eyes of the other stallion, but Duster didn’t know what to do, so he simply stared back silently.

“So, every time I survived something, I’d think that it was still coming, that the next time I for sure wouldn’t get away. That raid on Dodge Junction… if you’d have been at the front where I was… They were waiting for us. I’d never seen a battle like that before. There was so much death all around, I just froze up. I kept thinking that it was my turn. I don’t remember much of that now, it’s kind of a blur after that until I woke up in the hospital. Beigh had told me that I was conscious but unresponsive for nearly a day before I came out of it.”

Silence fell again, and Duster wanted to say something helpful, but his mind was unfortunately blank. He looked up at the stars again.

“Well, it doesn’t do any good to regret the past. It happened, and I have to deal with the consequences. They’ll probably never put me in command of anything ever again, but I’m not going to let that stop me.”

He drew Duster’s gaze again.

“I decided that it doesn’t matter if I’m a duplicate, or a clone, or a copy, or whatever. I am LD, and if that means I can’t be Lightning Dasher… That is the part that doesn’t have to matter. I make my own decisions. He went home, but I’m still here. I may not have a home to go to, but I’ll make a new home somewhere. First thing, I’m never going to let anypony down in combat again. Never. Not me. That’s my choice, whether it gets me killed or not. So be it.”

Duster snorted and echoed, “So be it.”

The pair stared again into the darkness of night, each leaving the other to his thoughts for a time. Duster wondered still if there were not some way to save the Assault Corps and Ponyville. There certainly had to be something they could do without sacrificing the defense of another city, but the EUP hadn’t been able to save Baltimare either. At the very least, maybe they could muster a small force to assist with an evacuation.

The pegasus ran through what he could remember of troop deployments in his mind, even after LD left him and laid down with the others. There just had to be a way to save everypony.

Author's Notes:

I'm back!

So, we've got a nice long chapter for everybody, and we're starting it off with a brand new scene! That's right, this scene didn't exist in the first draft, but a reader from another website that uses the handle Dashiesplash asked me some pointed questions about LD and his mental breakdown in a previous chapter, Raid.

We talked about it a bit, and I eventually answered his question at length, because it isn't at all plot sensitive because he's a side-character. But then I thought, wait a second, I never did explain that in the text of the story! So I thought I could add a scene where someone asks him about it and they talk it out, explaining what happened.

Bonus, it worked out as a great setup to where we are and a checking in with Duster as to what he's doing as we get this chapter started. Originally, this chapter started with Pixyglitter, but don't worry, you'll get that one when I post next... hopefully tomorrow!

39 - Devotion, Part 2 of 16

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Pixyglitter had gone into a frantic rage when the sirens split the night in Manehattan. That prompted the exchange of a great deal of shouting between herself and her father. It ended with her pushing him out of her way and stumbling into the kitchen where she found what she was looking for: the knives. She deftly grabbed up two of the larger ones and made for the front door. The locks were fastened.

She got to one side and waited, ignoring the argument between her parents that erupted behind her. She hardly recognized it as anything but background noise. A savage, instinct-like impulse had overridden her ability to think.

She could hear the sounds of battle outside, and she was ready. If anything forced its way in, it wouldn’t be like the time in the hospital. She had her own weapons this time. Her entire being was focused on lethal intentions.

That was how she sat until she lost track of time. Her mind was stuck in a murderous loop, prepared for action that didn’t come.

"Pixy," her mother’s delicate voice said from across the room.

A chill went up Pixyglitter’s spine as she tiled her head toward the sound, unable for a moment to discern who was speaking.

"Please put the knife down."

Turning back to the door, she ignored the plea. It was enough to let somewhat normal thoughts begin to return. She felt stupid for having let Cloud Blazer leave without her; she would not disarm herself while the city was under attack. The sound of her dad muttering something from the other room evoked a shushing noise from her mother. The younger mare was almost back into her right mind again.

"Pixy, my sweet girl...” Gentle Breeze began again.

She spoke gently, but with a tremor in her voice with which Pixyglitter was not familiar. It sounded like fear.

"Listen," she continued. "The sirens have stopped. They haven’t sounded for an hour."

That assessment was accurate.

"The battle, or whatever it was is over. There is nothing to protect us from."

Pixyglitter turned back to the door, certain she had heard something. She was ready, poised to strike.

Nothing happened.

Silence was all that answered her. Slowly, she allowed her tensed muscles to relax. She sank to the floor, filled with a mixture of emotions. Relief was one of the strongest things she felt, but there was much more than that. There was a resentment at her parents for sending the others away. She shouldn’t have stayed here. Pixyglitter stood again, gathered up the knives and took them into the kitchen. Upon returning to the living room, she found her cane where she had left it.

"Pixy?" her mother spoke.

Pixyglitter turned to face the mare and took a deep breath, considering her options. She realized that she felt like a stranger. She had changed, and this place was no longer home. That simple realization brought clarity to her thoughts. She knew what she needed to say; she just had to get it out while it remained focused in her mind.

"Call father," the young mare said. "I have something that I need to say to both of you."

"Okay," Gentle Breeze replied nervously.

Within moments, Bull Market’s obnoxious voice could be heard grumbling as he entered the room.

“We should have all been asleep hours ago. Well, I’m here. What is so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?“ his agitated tone grated against his daughter.

"Mother, Bull Market, I love you both."

"So, we’re using our full names now?" he scoffed at her. "I ought to lay you over my knee."

"For once in your life, would you shut up?" Pixyglitter replied with icy calm.

He began shouting, enraged, "Don’t talk to me that way in my own house!"

"I will not be here one moment longer than I am forced to," Pixyglitter replied with a tremor in her voice. "I love you both, but I can’t stay here anymore. I’ve changed. I’m not a little girl anymore, and what you have always wanted for me is not what I want for myself."

"At least we agree on that much," her father remarked.

Gentle Breeze cried out though tears, "Bully, be quiet!"

"There, are you happy?" Bull Market began, "Now you’ve upset your mother."

Pixyglitter wanted to smash him right in the nose just once, but she held back. It was actually quite an advantage to her anger that she couldn’t see him to land such a blow. She tried to content herself with taking a deep breath. It was only somewhat effective.

"No, Bull Market," she began again, "you have upset her, the same way that you upset my friends, and the same way that you upset me. You’re mean, and I don’t like the way you treat other ponies."

He stomped closer and yelled, "I don’t have to listen to this! Be respectful or don’t speak at all, you pathetic blinded whelp!”

She prepared herself, her cane connecting just in time to show her the distance. The chairs were just far enough apart that she whirled around, dropping low and throwing out a hind leg. She caught her father completely off guard, tripping him. He tumbled to the floor, and then Pixyglitter scrambled on top of him. She banged her head agains the coffee table in the brief struggle, sending splitting pain through her body.

Her mother was shouting for them to stop, but Pixyglitter hadn’t lost her cool. She didn’t want to hurt him and was quickly able to restrain his hooves so he couldn’t strike back. He struggled against her, but the training she’d done in combat was sufficient to counter anything he attempted.

"Let me up!" Bull Market finally growled.

"Father, shut up," the mare replied. "You are a bully, and I don’t have to take it from you or anypony else. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be happy with the life you wanted for me, but it wasn’t me."

"Fat lot of good you did on your own," he sneered. "Now what can you make of yourself? You’re a blind photographer."

She seethed, but tried to stay calm, "I’d rather be free the way I am now than live the life you tried to make for me with my sight."

Gentle Breeze was sobbing on the other side of the room.

"I’m going to let you up now if you promise to be civil."

He snorted at her. Pixyglitter let go of her father and got off of him, backing away until she bumped into the sofa. He regained his hooves and retreated.

"I want you out of this house this instant!"

"Bully, no!" her mother objected. "There’s a curfew until dawn."

"I don’t care! I’ve had it with her insolent lack of respect,“ he growled before walking away and slamming the door to his study.

The release of emotion left Pixyglitter feeling drained. She sank down to the couch, suddenly becoming aware of her own tears that had begun. Moments later, her mother sat next to her and laid Pixyglitter’s cane across her lap. It had been snapped in two.

"I’m sorry, mom," the young mare croaked.

"I know, my sweet girl," a loving answer came.

"I can’t stay. I’m going through some things that you can’t help me with... Cloud Blazer has been through what I have; he understands. I have to find him.”

"I’ll be okay, dear.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just promise you’ll write."

"I will, and you can visit me anytime."

"If you’re ever in the city, let me know and I’ll meet up with you for a cider," she sounded like she wanted to say more, but Gentle Breeze stopped.

"I will try to set things right with dad, after we’ve cooled off,” it was difficult to speak through the heaving emotions that had churned inside.

Her mother let out a wistful sigh, "That stallion has a gift for pushing others away. Give him some time. Just make sure you write."

"I will as soon as I can. First, I have to find Cloud Blazer. We’ve got to get back to Ponyville."

There was something incredibly liberating about the finality of the path on which she had just set herself. There was no more question of whether she would go or stay. She knew her purpose, at least for the immediate future.

39 - Devotion, Part 3 of 16

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Scootaloo was having a difficult time containing her own excitement over the newly earned cutie mark. More than anything, she wanted to tell Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and show them that they all matched. In a simpler time, she’d have immediately dropped whatever she was doing and made the journey for that purpose. However, given her current responsibilities, she had to put such things out of her mind.

In the darkness of night, it was impossible to tell what the timberwolves and changelings might be up to. At Rainbow Dash’s order, they had begun making small mounds in the dirt to look like sleeping soldiers. They were now nearly finished with this task all along the line. Scootaloo didn’t like abandoning the position, but enough of a stall had happened that it made her wary. The enemy was planning something, and by letting them strike this position, she just might be able to find out what while minimizing her own casualties.

The task completed, the Assault Corps silently crept away from their earthen defenses under cover of darkness. Scootaloo was next to Rainbow Dash, bringing up the head of their force, opposite the zebras. The ponies were somewhat rejuvenated by the food and water they had received, but the lack of sleep and battle fatigue was affecting all of them. The next position was the halfway point of their defenses. It was also the strongest. The river that cut the field in two would be the perfect position. They built the breastworks behind it, so the timberwolves would have to cross the river first. Fire would be out, but they’d be able to hold them there a while, especially now that more arrows had been brought to feed their crossbows.

Scootaloo still felt raw inside and wished Sparklefly were here to see how well they were holding up. The young mare looked forward to the commander. Her longtime friend and mentor silently walked forward, eyes ever-searching for threats. If anypony else had arrived and relieved her of command, she probably would have been upset. As it was, she was glad that Rainbow Dash had come. She had always had time for her, more so than her actual family had. The commander wore bandages again on her chest, and a heavy boot immobilized her left hind leg from hoof to flank, making her gate awkward. It wasn’t broken, but some torn tendons needed to mend before she would have full use again.

Scootaloo hadn’t been there when she’d fallen, but Sparklefly had told her that Rainbow Dash had been struck by lightning. It was a wonder she hadn’t been killed in the fall. The younger mare could only imagine the pain that the other was enduring. In spite of whatever miracle that the two of them had survived this long, the near future was looking rather grim.

Scootaloo’s hooves touched water, breaking the stealthiness with which they’d been marching. It was swiftly followed by a soldier calling out.

"Halt!"

"It’s just us!" Scootaloo answered. "Scan or whatever you need to and let us cross."

"Right away, ma’am!"

The Assault Corps was together again. They numbered twenty-two thousand, plus the two zebra regiments that Rainbow Dash had brought in. As they finished the wet and sloshy climb up the other side of their defenses, the corps began the process of reintegrating themselves to spread out along the defensive line. There was still no sign of Pacer and the seven-thousand with which he had retreated into the Everfree Crater.

“I don’t guess there’s a medic tent here?” Rainbow Dash ventured.

“Sorry,” the younger pegasus answered.

“Eh, no biggie. Help me change my bandages.”

They walked a little behind the line to accomplish the task. Once armor was removed, Scootaloo helped cut Rainbow Dash free of her wrappings, exposing the burns that she had suffered. She took care in applying the antiseptic ointment that the commander had brought with her. The recipient of the medicine bore the stinging of the application through gritted teeth even as Scootaloo wrapped her up again to cover the injuries.

“Take it from me, kid. Don’t get struck by lightning or set on fire. It’s the worst.”

“You said it,” she heartily agreed.

It didn’t take long after they had completed the undertaking for Flittergear to find the pair and silently beckon them to follow. They had a small command post set up in the center, but they went to a smaller position east of there. Colonel Skyflame and Commander Rain Chaser were already at that location.

"Welcome back," Rain Chaser said flatly.

Skyflame added, "You had taken so long, we were becoming concerned."

"They’re definitely up to something, but they never hit our line again," Rainbow Dash replied. "Any sign of movement?"

"Not to the south," Skyflame replied. "There are reports of some activity west of here in White Tail Woods."

"Due west of here...”

"Do you think they’re trying to press our flank?" Scootaloo asked.

"They might be. I would if I were them. A frontal assault against this position would be crazy. The terrain is far more favorable for them on the flank.”

Rain Chaser admitted, "You did well slowing them down. It is no surprise that they would alter their tactics."

"I’d bet they were trying to get between us and Ponyville," Skyflame suggested.

"Maybe," Rainbow Dash agreed. "That makes sense. We’d be caught between two forces that outnumber us. That’d be a bad day for us."

Scootaloo took out her map and looked at it, which proved difficult in the darkness.

"It might be anyway," she said. "They’ve got us in front and on the left flank. I’m not sure we can hold that for any reasonable amount of time.”

“At the least, I doubt it’d be worth what it costs.”

Flittergear stood silently watching the others. She had found some oats to munch on.

"What do you think?" Rainbow Dash asked her.

Speaking in a barely audible voice, she replied, "We firebomb the forest."

Rainbow Dash grinned.

"That could buy us a little more time," Skyflame agreed.

"How far away is it?" Scootaloo asked.

Rain Chaser answered, "Not far; maybe a thousand yards off of our right flank."

Looking to Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo asked, "What do you think? Maybe we send five-hundred pegasi with unicorns? We can make one pass, light it up and get out of there."

"Not bad, but I’d say make it a thousand of each, just in case. We’ll need to concentrate fire along the edge." She looked up into the sky for a moment before adding, "The wind isn’t cooperating. It’s going to blow back this direction, so we won’t get a big forest fire."

"In that case, we should drive a little deeper into the forest," Rain Chaser said.

"I agree," Skyflame said.

"Alright, I’ll round up some fresh unicorns and we’ll get moving," Scootaloo said.

"No," Rainbow Dash replied. "Skyflame will lead this operation."

Scootaloo felt like she’d been stabbed in the back. She knew better than to argue, but she was not happy about it. It was an odd dichotomy that was within her: the need to perform her duties versus her desire to get away and lead a quieter life.

"Yes, ma’am," Skyflame said. "I’ll go now; perhaps the darkness will give us some cover."

"Fly fast," the commander replied.

Skyflame turned and trotted off.

"We’ve got other problems you need to be aware of," Rainbow Dash said. “You mentioned earlier that you had recommended evacuating Ponyville. Up to the point I left, no orders had come down.

"What?" Scootaloo was shocked by this news. "I sent word that we can’t stop the enemy a full day ago! What are they thinking?"

"There’s nowhere to go," Rainbow Dash said. "The last orders I had heard were to shelter in place and hold all positions. The thing is, they’ve been hitting us everywhere. I know you’ve had your hooves full down here, but just about every city and town has been under attack for the last two days. Most of them have held, more or less... From the last report I got, Baltimare is completely overrun, and we expect heavy civilian casualties. We aren’t getting reports out of there anymore. Van Hoover was on fire, but still holding on. They also broke our lines up north and chased our forces back to Manehattan. It’s bad.“

Scootaloo wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Falling back and trying to slow the enemy down had seemed a viable strategy until now. If there was only some other way to distract the enemy and lead them away...

"It’s a shame we can’t drag them all into that forest before we burn it," Commander Rain Chaser offered.

"Heh, right?" Rainbow Dash mused. "I guess we’ll have to take what we can get today."

They grew silent while they waited. Skyflame’s force was already moving, somewhere off of their right flank, but Scootaloo couldn’t see them. She felt herself growing sleepy. This came as no surprise, but it was unwelcome. There had simply too much to do to make time for rest. Her eyelids heavy, she was actually considering asking for permission to catch a nap when in the west, the darkness of night was split by magic, changeling magic.

It began with a flash of light that chased the darkness away. Blasts of green energy shot up from the forest and filled the sky. Within moments, the unicorns from Skyflame’s force returned fire. Scootaloo’s heart raced as she watched the situation unfold and considered the vulnerability of their position. The team that had gone to burn the forest broke apart their formation under the assault. They created shields, returned fire, and fell back in near chaos. Those that returned were far fewer than had gone out. Then it was dark again. The forest didn’t ignite.

"Give the order," Rainbow Dash said flatly. "We have to fall back, now."

Within moments, the Assault Corps was retreating again. They had assumed it was timberwolves in the forest, but by the look of it, there were actually changelings in there, thousands upon thousands of them.

39 - Devotion, Part 4 of 16

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Duster hadn’t slept. His eyes were heavy, and his head was pounding from being consumed in thought for the entirety of the night. He knew there was a way to stop the enemy, but he just couldn’t see it without abandoning another city to a similar fate. The numbers just didn’t add up. There were too many enemies and not enough allies to rally against them.

He didn’t know and therefore couldn’t appreciate the location on which he stood. It was a platform on the west side of Canterlot that had been the pivotal place that his sister had landed to get the last group of civilians out when she’d been a cadet. It now functioned as a landing zone for EUP scouts. Many had left, but Duster noted that few had returned; of those that did, not one had come from the Assault Corps.

The sun rose behind them in the east, but Duster faced away into the receding darkness. A thick layer of dew coated everything, making the floor reflective and slick. The light of the morning struck Cloudsdale in the distance, lighting it up like a giant glacier in the sky. Duster mused at the thought, but something twinged in the back of his mind, like a memory that has faded through the passing of the years.

He couldn’t put his hoof on at first, but it was definitely there. The headache in his right temple wasn’t making it any easier to clear his thoughts, but he stared at the floating city as he tried to work through just what it was he couldn’t quite remember. Like an itch that one cannot reach to scratch, he was unable to bring his mind into focus. He sighed, turning away for a moment.

He had been standing still for a while, but he now resumed pacing. LD had joined the rest of the squad and laid down hours before. They certainly weren’t wasting the opportunity to refresh themselves with some sleep. The soreness in Duster’s muscles begged him to do the same.

Deciding that he was too tired to continue straining himself, he let his thoughts wander. Before he realized it, he was home in Apple Loosa. At least, that’s where his mind had gone as he walked the perimeter of the platform.

Even as a little colt, he’d had chores to do. Everypony works on an apple farm. The day in remembrance was one where he had done extra chores. Flying through the list to get twice as much done as usual was no small feat, but the family had accomplished it.

The daydreaming stallion smiled at the memory. Sissy had developed a wing cramp that day while they were moving clouds. Not that her life was in danger from the near fall, but Duster had tried to help her glide down. The pair of them had crashed into an apple tree, and his sister had caught her mane in the branches. They had to use sheers to get her untangled.

Duster chuckled to himself. That was the day before they went to the Equestria Games in the Crystal Empire. He looked back at Cloudsdale as the reverie filled his mind. Sissy’s short mane, albeit longer than her later EUP cut, was the butt of jokes for the entire day. He and their other siblings were merciless about it right up until...

A shiver ran up Duster’s spine as things connected in his mind. That day was nearly tragic, but for the heroics of a baby dragon, the protegé and assistant of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Duster gasped before he blurted out, "It’s almost a hundred square miles!"

LD was the first one to open his eyes. He lifted his head and looked directly at Duster.

Cloud density, that was the next question. It wouldn’t be necessarily something the average pony would know, but Duster grew up in a farming family that lived by making weather. Clouds were their business; given that background, the stallion was easily able to remember that it’s about one-tenth ounce per cubic yard. His head started pounding again as he tried to multiply it out.

"Almost seventy-five trillion ounces..." Duster was muttering.

"What in the wide world of Equestria are you babbling about?" Gunnysack looked groggy.

Duster waved him off with a hoof as he continued to think aloud, "That’s nine-trillion cups, four-and-a-half trillion pints, two-trillion quarts... ahh!" Duster’s mind raced on as he neared the answer he needed, "Almost 600 billion gallons of water."

"What are you talking about?" LD echoed the question.

"It’s eight pounds per gallon!"

"Water?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," LD looked uneasy. "Everypony knows that. Why are you so excited by it?"

"Don’t you get it? Cloudsdale weighs over two billion tons!"

LD didn't respond, but simply stared back at him blankly. The look Gunnysack’s face suggested unflattering thoughts.

"He’s lost it," Jewel said.

She and Locknload had also sat up. Duster realized that he wasn’t making sense, but he couldn’t worry about that right now. He had to find Shining Armor. His legs began to carry him swiftly away.

"Where are you going?" Locknload barked.

Duster replied, "I have to find the prince; I have to tell him!"

He didn’t wait for an answer, but instead trotted through the city back toward the castle. The morning in Canterlot was quiet, but for patrols of soldiers walking this way and that. They paid him little attention until he drew near to the royal grounds. He got through the ever-painful unicorn scans to verify his identity, but was stopped at the castle gate.

"State your business!"

Duster replied, "I have something urgent to tell Shining Armor."

"Do you have orders?" the guard asked.

A bit flummoxed, Duster admitted, “No… But I need to see him right away."

"His majesty is very busy."

"This is important," he inched forward.

The guard glowered at him with an expression that screamed, ‘give me a reason’. Duster’s hooves planted firmly, halting his advance. He ignored the sound of approaching ponies from behind.

"I am Sergeant Locknload, and we have business with Prince Shining Armor."

"Show me your orders," the guard demanded.

"We have no written orders."

"Then you don’t pass."

Locknload nodded, "That is your duty. We are involved with a special detachment that reports directly to his majesty. We are not part of the Taskforce, but we reported on their activity yesterday. The prince told us to return if we had any additional strategies for our operations in the south. We do.“

The guard stared back at him without answer. It was hard for Duster to keep his thoughts in check. He wanted to scream out everything he was thinking, but it wasn’t the time.

"I understand that you can’t let us in, but if vital information doesn’t at least come to the prince’s attention, whose head do you think it’ll be?" Locknload continued.

The guard seemed more annoyed if anything, but he finally nodded to his comrade before saying, "Wait at the bottom of the steps."

"Tell him that it is Private Duster that needs to see him," the sergeant concluded.

The rest of them went back down the stairs and waited in the open garden that was outside the castle. Looking around, Duster noted that it may have been more correct to say that it had been a garden. At present, not much was growing. Likely it had been destroyed in the battle and subsequent occupation by timberwolves. Still, there were signs that life had returned. In every direction there was freshly worked earth and other evidence that efforts to revitalize the area were underway.

Locknload growled, "Look, Private, as much as I appreciate the strange situation in which we have found ourselves, you cannot run off like that."

The harshness of his tone caused Duster to snap to attention.

"Yes, sir."

"As you were," Locknload said, almost with a sigh.

The sergeant didn’t look as forbidding as usual. It wasn’t softness, but he definitely wasn’t at his normal state of rough-and-ready. He almost seemed sad. He shook his head and walked over to a bench. The others followed.

"Are you alright?" Rolling Thunder asked.

"Perfect," came a sarcastic answer. "We’re sitting here doing nothing while there’s fighting going on."

Jewel looked a bit bewildered at this, "We probably would have died if we stayed out there."

His gaze snapped up to her, "Equestria is dying now. What’s the use of all our training and experience if we can’t use it to defend everypony else? Do you really think that your life or mine is that important?"

LD’s expression went cold. Duster knew well-enough the things he had already survived. They all had seen enough death to last a lifetime. Beigh came to mind, and then his sister did as well.

"I just don’t see what good it is to die for no reason," she replied.

Locknload took a deep breath, “Don’t you know who we are by now?. We are the knife’s edge that stands between death for no reason and living to fight another day. The changelings will kill us all if they get the chance, and the longer I’m sitting here, the more of them get to live longer and get that chance. I swear by Celestia’s unmarked grave, I will kill every single one of them I can get my hooves on."

"For Beigh, for Sissy, Moonsliver, Quickbeam, Doff..." a great sadness had come over Duster as he spoke. It was hardening as resolve, "We have to do whatever we can to keep any more from dying."

"So be it," Locknload said.

LD snorted before agreeing, "So be it."

Gunnysack and Rolling Thunder nodded silently.

At that very moment, the sound of the castle gate opening again caused Duster and the others to look up. The guard had returned. If possible, his complexion had become a whiter shade of his natural beige color.

"Follow me," he said simply.

Although he didn’t say, Duster was pretty sure that the guard had just received a tongue-lashing. Locknload motioned for them to follow the guard. They went up the steps and back into the castle once more. It was the same as the previous day inside. However, instead of leading them to the throne room, they were taken to a grand ballroom that was mostly empty.

There were castle servants inside, not to mention a dozen or so guards. To one side of the room, the royal counselors sat, quietly talking amongst themselves as they poured over what must have been the latest battle reports. At the end of a long table in the center of the room sat Prince Shining Armor. They approached only as close as their escort led them.

"Your majesty," the guard said with a bow, "Private Duster and company."

After receiving a nod from the prince, he then turned and walked out of the room. The breakfast that the prince was having didn’t seem to be any more than the rations everypony else received. It certainly wasn’t befitting royalty to have so meager a portion, but it was a sign of the times.

"You have something important,” the prince said, more a statement than a question.

"Yes, your majesty," Duster said. He tried to calm his mind before he continued. "I have a plan to save the Assault Corps and Ponyville."

"Oh?" The prince seemed amused. Nodding toward the advisors, he continued, "My counselors have all told me that the southern battle is a lost cause. Do you presume to be smarter than them?"

"No, your majesty. It was something that I remembered from before. At the Equestria Games, when I was a colt, an ice arrow was shot out of the range and struck a cloud that was passing overhead."

A vacant stare came back from the prince for a moment before the light of recognition sparked in his eyes.

"That was at the Crystal Empire," the prince said.

"Yes, your majesty.”

"Spike, the dragon, burned the ice away so that it wouldn’t harm anypony."

"Yes, your majesty.”

"Do you mean to suggest dropping a few clouds on the enemy? How would that save our southern forces?"

Duster took a deep breath, realizing the insanity of his plan, "Not exactly. We don’t have enough time to make enough clues to do any good. I mean to suggest that we freeze all of Cloudsdale and drop it on the enemy."

There were gasps throughout the room. Duster now commanded everypony’s attention, even the counselors had looked up from their reports to stare at him, mouths agape.

"I ran the numbers on it this morning. Cloudsdale is made up of over five-hundred billion gallons of water. If we turn that to ice, it would weigh over two billion tons and can easily blanket an area of up to ten miles by ten miles. They can throw whatever fire they want to at it. With that much ice, they won’t be able to put a dent in it before they are crushed.”

The prince tilted his head to one side while regarding the now self-conscious private. Duster’s heart was pounding like a drum and a lump had formed in his throat.

"You would destroy Cloudsdale," the prince said.

"Yes, sir," Duster replied even though it wasn’t a question. "I would destroy Cloudsdale. We can evacuate the civilians and any necessary supplies en route. If it goes well, we might take over six-hundred thousand timberwolves and we don’t even know how many changelings with it."

The prince stood and turned to his unusually quiet advisors, "Well?"

One of them stepped forward timidly and said, "His math is sound."

“Does anypony have any better ideas?" Shining Armor asked, scanning about the room.

Silence was the only answer he received.

"You know how dire the situation is to the south. How will you move the city into position in time?" the prince asked.

Duster nearly panicked inside. That was a major flaw in his plan that he hadn’t considered. He was about to speak, but no words came.

"If I may," LD began.

Shining Armor nodded.

"Cloudsdale has already fended off the attacks the changelings threw at it, and it can’t be reached by the timberwolves. We call upon civilians to move the city. It’s not as if the changelings will know why we are moving the city.“

“It won’t matter! The moment you move, you will become a target!" one of the advisors objected.

"You can’t expect civilians to move that city under fire and maintain their composure!" shouted another.

Shining Armor put up a hoof to silence them before it descended into vain babble.

"With respect, I’ve seen the civilians of Equestria do some amazing things," LD continued. "I was a civilian only a few months ago. I’ve had training, and I’ve seen combat. We aren’t asking them to fight, and we can keep them guarded. All we need to do is move the city. For that, the civilians only need to be inspired."

"What do you suggest?" Shining Armor asked.

LD took a breath, "We use any trained pegasi you dare send, even the cadets that are still in training to act as an escort, and call every able-bodied pegasus in Equestria immediately. We tell them that the Hero of Canterlot needs their help."

The advisors immediately began scoffing, but they quickly regained silence as the prince stepped forward around the table.

"The Hero of Canterlot is dead," he said simply.

Duster felt a weight on his chest at the mention of his sister.

"Yes, sir," LD replied, "But that is not yet public knowledge. Enough conflicting information comes out that we can still use her as a symbol. The stories about her deeds, though much of it not true, did serve to give the civilians a hero. Her brother looks almost exactly like her at a distance. If he wears her eye patch, nopony will question it."

Duster glared at LD. The thought of using the memory of his sister that way felt wrong. It enraged him that it was now a consideration.

LD looked back, but it was only desperation in his eyes as he whispered, "So be it."

Duster felt his resolve harden again. He would do it. He would do whatever he had to if it meant saving more lives.

"Bring me parchment and a quill," Prince Shining Armor decided.

The necessary items were brought to him within moments, and he began writing.

"I’m sending out the call to all able-bodied pegasi that are fit to fly to report to Cloudsdale immediately. It will be from the Hero of Canterlot and Prince Shining Armor. The trainees that are in Cloudsdale will oversee the evacuation of any unfit to assist, as well as the offloading of any supplies that we’ll need to save. You’ll report to Colonel Lightning Dust at Cloudsdale with these orders. Her defense force will assist and protect the movement."

Duster was almost in shock at this turn of events. He was excited that they thought his plan was viable, but also terrified that it might not work.

"As they said, you will be a target as soon as the city begins moving, so I will give them something else to keep their attention." Shining Armor took a breath, "Call in the Wonderbolts, Templars, and Bushmasters that are not fielded. We must keep the changelings advancing, and we can’t risk letting slip what we are planning. I am going to Ponyville to serve as a decoy and personally oversee the preparation of the ice arrows.”

The shouting that erupted from the advisors was deafening. Duster couldn’t sort out any one thing that was said, but it all was in objection to the prince’s plan to take the field himself. He put up a hoof to silence them.

"This is the best plan we’ve had since we destroyed the mirror pool. We have to cut their numbers down, and this will give us a fighting chance to end the war much sooner. Even if we don’t get any changelings, the opportunity to cut down that many timberwolves cannot be ignored. My life is in my own hooves, and I am willing to lay it on the line.”

Everypony stared silently at the monarch. He stood in thought for a long moment before looking back toward Duster and his squad.

The prince snorted, “Ponyville... My sister always had a fondness for that place, and more than once the fate of Equestria seemed to be in the balance at that little town. Perhaps it is fate that we are headed there now. I for one will take it as a good sign. Win or lose, this will be a defining hour."

The prince paced in silence for a moment before speaking again.

“Princess Celestia gave me charge to watch over her subjects as she would. She risked her own life more than once in their defense, but never needlessly. As powerful as she was, she made that sacrifice for us to get this far. I strive to follow the path she would have walked, and I will see it through even to the last full measure of devotion. That is what I expect from each of you, and from every subject of Equestria. Keep Canterlot on high alert, Flurry Heart will succeed me should the battle go ill. Let’s kill the stick-dogs.”

Shining Armor’s eyes flashed red with magical energy. The very air tingled with the buildup of power. As the crimson aura unleashed from his horn, the stacks of orders caught fire and zipped into the air, bolting out the door of the the ballroom that led into a courtyard. Through the window, they could be seen as they separated like a burst of fireworks, shooting off in every direction.

Duster was given a copy of their orders without such a dramatic display. His heart was pounding even harder now as they made their way out of the castle. With a little luck, and a lot of wings, they might be able to get to Ponyville in time to save the city, not to mention the soldiers that stood between it and over half-a-million timberwolves.

39 - Devotion, Part 5 of 16

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Cloud Blazer had become somewhat accustomed to the poor sleep he’d been getting for the past few days, but it seemed to make his healing injuries hurt even more, if such were possible. He, Rarity, and Fluttershy had gone out early to resupply the rations that had been consumed from her barren cupboards.

Standing in line had become a daily ritual for ponies throughout Equestria, as had saving back part of the ration for the next day whenever possible. Rarity’s meager stockpile had only lasted the three of them the one night, but it would have lasted her for a day or two, should the need have arisen. She had insisted that they eat heartily.

There was a chill to the morning air, such that Cloud Blazer could see his own breath as he exhaled. He shivered, sending spasms of pain out from his mending ribs and his hind leg especially. He groaned against the discomfort.

"Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked.

He snorted back at her.

"Oh, that’s right; I’m sorry I asked!"

"Don’t take it personally, darling," Rarity said as they took a small step forward. "He’s just still hurting from all those broken bones. Cold air does make them ache more than usual, does it not?”

"It does," his flat answer came. He seethed, "We would also be back inside already if you hadn’t taken so long to get ready."

"A lady doesn’t need a reason to look her best,” Rarity didn’t seem phased by the criticism.

A commotion up ahead got their attention. Somepony was shouting something, but they couldn’t hear across the distance for the stirring chatter of the other ponies in line.

"Do you think they’re talking about last night?" Fluttershy asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"Hardly," Rarity let out an exasperated sigh, "These town criers are always trying to recruit for the EUP in the food lines of late.”

"I can’t say I blame them," Cloud Blazer remarked. "I mean, they have a captive audience."

"I suppose that’s true, but it always spoils what could otherwise be a peaceful morning."

Cloud Blazer considered the action the night before. He hadn’t heard any news about it yet. Whatever had happened, it seemed as though the soldiers had completely taken care of the situation well before dawn. Nopony seemed at all hindered from moving about the city. They continued standing in line silently as they inched their way closer. Before long, they were in range of the town crier, who appropriately bore the image of a megaphone for his cutie mark.

"Listen up, everypony!" he shouted. "By order of Prince Shining Armor! Every able-bodied pegasus is called upon to report to Cloudsdale immediately to assist The Hero of Canterlot. All travel restrictions are rescinded until further notice! Your cooperation is vital to the cause!”

Buzzing excitement swept through the chattering and murmuring that followed. The crier simply continued repeating the message.

Cloud Blazer turned to the other two, "That’s Sparklefly; she’s alive!"

“That means we’ll be able to go now," Fluttershy sounded excited. "Yay."

The stallion’s heart sank, remembering that Pixyglitter had left, "Well, you’ll be able to go. I’m not exactly able-bodied anymore."

"I know that is terribly disappointing for many reasons," Rarity tried to console him. "You will, of course, be welcome to stay at my apartment until we return.”

“I just wish I could see this through,” a twinge of despair was beginning to take hold. He sighed, “I’ll take you up on that, thanks.”

“Think nothing of it. I would only ask that you tidy after yourself and remember to feed Opalescence."

He snorted with disdain, "That cat."

Fluttershy cooed, "Oh, she’s really sweet.”

Cloud Blazer turned, showing the scratches in his flank and making a scowl at the timid pegasus.

"Well, once you get to know her," she added sheepishly.

They got through the line, receiving their morning portion of hay, which Rarity complained about somewhat genially. Then they began the short walk back to Rarity’s apartment. Cloud Blazer was glad to be out of the cold, but he was practically glowering from frustration. The other two remained silent as they rode the elevator back up to Rarity’s floor.

As they walked down the corridor, Cloud Blazer stared down at the geometric shapes in the carpet and the hooves of the mares that walked in front of him. When they suddenly halted, he was barely able to avoid bumping into them as he stopped. He was annoyed until looked up to see Pixyglitter sitting in front of Rarity’s door.

The three of them stood in silence for a moment before Cloud Blazer took a few steps forward, between the other two. He regarded the mare for a moment.

She had an intensely downcast expression. Truly, his heart had fluttered with excitement or perhaps something more like joy at the sight of her. It was immediately replaced by concern for her walking through the city alone. He realized that she wasn’t just his way back to Ponyville. In the short time they had known each other, they had shared quite a lot of hurt and laughter, the way only a dear friend does.

Rarity put a hoof on Cloud Blazer’s flank and nudged him forward. He glared at her, but her expression showed no apology over the brutish action. She didn’t say anything; she didn’t have to. It was clearly communicated that this moment was his to deal with.

Looking ahead once again, Pixyglitter had turned to face him. Her ears were perked up, and she listened intently as Cloud Blazer began walking toward her. She stood as he drew close, as though she knew it was him. The stallion noticed that he was thirsty.

"Hi," she said simply.

"Hi, yourself," he replied in a harder tone than he had intended.

She recoiled a little, but then planted her hooves and took a deep breath. He was on the verge of saying something disarming when she spoke.

"I’m sorry. I should have come with you before. It was just... being home... I got confused. My dad’s really good at that."

"Forget it,” he shrugged, trying to brush it off and move on.

"No," she objected. "I need to finish.”

He remained silent, glad she was back, but still somewhat upset with her.

“I have always been independent... you know that. My parents... my dad is controlling, and my need for self-sufficiency has been a reaction to that. It’s no excuse for anything I said the other day, in the rocks. The fact is, you have been great, even though I don’t know exactly what we’re doing... I mean, I know we’re taking your friends back to Ponyville, and I know why. I just don’t know what we are doing... us.”

Confused feelings worked through the stallion at the mention of such things. He still was concerned that he might have made her feel pressured to have a relationship beyond friendship, though her words now suggested the contrary.

“I know we decided before that we’re just friends, and that’s all you have to offer... I feel like we’re a bit more than that. Whatever that means... I’ve decided that I don’t care. I mean, I care... I just... Let’s not worry about it. I guess I’m trying to say I’m with you. I won’t leave your side again.”

Cloud Blazer felt himself smile, though the emotions inside were conflicted. His heart was pounding abnormally fast. He also wasn’t sure exactly what she’d meant in saying that they were a bit more than friends, but her declaration that she would stay with him was enough. They would have to define the rest at a later date.

"How about we just pretend that this little detour never happened?"

She stifled a giggle, "Deal."

The stallion realized that the mare was unable to read his facial expressions or body language, which meant she had only his words, the tone in his voice, and physical contact. He wasn’t sure if it was a wise thing to do, considering the confusion she had reintroduced into the nature of their relationship, but he stepped forward and gave her a hug. It unexpectedly made him feel warm inside.

"I’m glad you’re back," he said before letting her go.

"Yeah," she replied, "me too."

"And so are we!" Rarity interrupted cheerfully as they approached.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I’m fine," Pixyglitter shrugged.

Cloud Blazer could tell that she had been on the verge of tears, but she didn’t let any escape.

"Now we just have to hope they honor our pass."

"You hadn’t heard?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Heard what?"

"It seems that all travel restrictions have been lifted," Rarity answered. "There is a need for pegasi in Cloudsdale."

"I guess we don’t have any time to lose then," Pixyglitter said.

"Well, we’re not going on empty stomachs,” Rarity countered. "I don’t know how far you two can fly while hungry, but I suggest we each cut our three rations in half. The four of us can eat a half ration each now, and then we’ll have a little for Fluttershy and Pixyglitter for later."

The others agreed, and they went into Rarity’s house to quickly eat their small meal. In the meantime, the graceful mare prepared the cat carrier so she could take Opalescence with them.

Cloud Blazer felt himself again, emotional befuddlement notwithstanding. It was overridden by his desire to see through his mission to the end, to rescue the princesses. All the war and death aside, things seemed to be once again heading in the right direction.

39 - Devotion, Part 6 of 16

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Scootaloo stood still a moment, her body half coiled while she took in the wonder behind her. She felt as if she could have stared at her own flank for hours. Her cutie mark may have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was in the shape of a shield, just like those earned by both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. It had a dark reddish pink border and three wide vertical stripes inside. The left one was a more orange pink, the middle white, and the right a shade of lavender. Inside the shield was a purple wing with a lightning bolt in the middle. That central emblem was the only difference. Apple Bloom’s had a heart and an apple, while Sweetie Belle’s bore a star and a note from a musical staff. Scootaloo felt herself sigh contentedly as she forced herself to look away. There were much more important things to which she needed to set her mind.

Rainbow Dash had taken full command of the Assault Corps, and their redeployment was nearly complete. They had committed two-thirds of their unicorns to sit on top of the mountain range to the west. With an enemy massing that had the ability to fly over the mountain, it wouldn’t be a safe side if left unguarded. The river to the east posed the same problem. The pegasi were deployed along that flank, along with a few unicorns for support. The center was mostly earth ponies and zebras. Their unicorn numbers were so thin in the center that it was arguably their weakest point, but it was also the most likely place where the changelings wouldn’t hit. The size of the enemy force alone made them more than a match for the ponies’ dwindling numbers. Skyflame had been killed in the attempt to ignite the forest the previous night, and about a third of that force with her.

"There they are," Rainbow Dash said solemnly.

Scootaloo turned her attention to the advancing timberwolves. They were coming straight in, just like before. In a matter of minutes, they would meet the EUP line. She checked left and right, but there was no sign of any activity on either... yet.

"Why haven’t they tried the flanks already?" Scootaloo asked.

"Patience," Rainbow Dash replied. "They’ll come when they think they can push over us. We’re spread out thinner than I’d like, but my guess is still that they’ll hit center with the timberwolves first. They’ll want to soften us up and test our line before committing everything."

Scootaloo looked ahead at the advancing horde. The battle would begin soon; she could feel it. Her heart began beating harder in anticipation. She stole a quick glance at the cutie mark on her posterior.

The commander chuckled. "It’s really there, and it’s not going away," she said with a smile.

"I know," Scootaloo couldn’t stifle the grin that sprang up on her face.

The report of concussion magic sounded from the right flank.

"That’s them!" Scootaloo said.

"Easy," Rainbow Dash said. "Listen. Do you hear how sporadic the fire is? They’re just testing the line."

Scootaloo’s pulse was quickened, ready for action. The timberwolves did not deviate from expectation; they broke into a run, charging directly at the earthen mound on which the Assault Corps stood.

"Make ready," Rainbow Dash said, a measured resolve in her voice.

"Load arrows!" Scootaloo called out, and the order was echoed down the line as earth ponies obeyed.

The moment dragged on as the snarling beasts thundered toward their deaths. The line was ready, aiming their arrows high that would send them in an arc into the fast approaching enemy.

"Loose one volley."

"Single volley; fire!"

Thousands of arrows sped into the air, but Scootaloo didn’t see whether any of them hit their marks. A moment later, a flash of green magic blinded her for a second, followed by banging that began echoing all over the line. Scootaloo shook her head, and her vision cleared to see a changeling standing in front of her. Without time to waste, she jabbed it in the face, sending it reeling backward with a bloody nose.

Scootaloo was drawing her knife as Rainbow Dash kicked her would-be assailant over the mound. They were coming down all over the line, thousands of changelings. They were falling from the sky shrouded in green flame, like great drops of rain. The ponies were putting up stiff resistance, but the timberwolves were still advancing.

"Reload!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"All unicorns, fire at will!" Scootaloo ordered.

Chaos erupted behind the line as unicorns and changelings exchanged fire at point blank range. Concussive explosions sent earth, shards of armor, bone, and flesh spraying in all directions. It was an uncontrolled melee for seconds that seemed like minutes.

A second volley made its way out to the oncoming stick-dogs. Then another wave of changelings came. The noise that burst from the right flank was deafening. Unicorns exchanged a furious bombardment in the skies that challenged the sun for brightness. Scootaloo stole a glance at it, but as far as she could tell, the defenses on the mountain were holding off the enemy.

The changelings that had landed across the main line had been dealt with, and everypony redirected their attention to the timberwolves. A third volley of arrows was fired at only about twenty yards, and unicorns opened up with concussive blasts at random. A moment later, the front of the timberwolves were clambering up the earthen mound to be met by skewering spears and angry hooves that came down like hammers against wooden nails. Splintering shards of enemies went everywhere as more of the savage beasts came up. Claws and teeth scraped against armor and found their home in flesh. The ponies pushed back, holding the line, but the enemy persisted. They grew thicker and thicker with every passing moment.

"Scoot! Give me a pegasus run, one pass!"

"Pegasi, one pass, got it!" she called back.

Scootaloo took to the air, moving swiftly to the left flank. As of yet, there had been no attack from that side. She gave the signal, and two regiments of pegasi left the line and sped out as she returned to her post. As the group came up, they went into a glide and began loosing arrows as close to the line as they safely were able. Fire, draw, reload, fire, with machine-like efficiency they loosed several volleys of arrows across the line. Scootaloo was surprised that they didn’t receive any hostile magic, but she knew that they would if they did it again. As they came back to the right flank, they turned, going behind their own line and speeding back to their original positions.

Scootaloo was now certain of what they had suspected: the changelings would not risk themselves in the front line with the timberwolves, but would be coming in on the flanks or from the air. More timberwolves pressed into the line, breaking through in some places. Scootaloo grabbed up a spear and defended her position. Rainbow Dash performed a spinning kick with her good leg that broke a timberwolf in half. Other soldiers filled the gap and the commander pulled back to assess the situation. It was almost impossible to discern any lasting effect from the strafing run.

"Okay, give me a unicorn push."

"Repulse magic at the ready!" Scootaloo took a breath, "Fire!"

A force wave poured from the line, throwing the timberwolves backwards. They fell like an ocean wave, toppling on top of each other. Even though behind the effected area, Scootaloo felt the pressure from the magic that was expended. The line was cleared moments later, and the beasts regrouped. If they had been able to spare more unicorns for the front, they’d have been able to push them back much more effectively. Another volley of arrows slowed their return and thinned their numbers. The approach was becoming even more difficult with the bodies of the dead littering the field.

An explosion from the right flank drew Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s attention; the boom resounded across the countryside. One of the mountain peaks had exploded, sending boulders and smaller shards of rock flying in every direction. It didn’t directly threaten the line, as it was further behind them, but the unicorns defending the ridge were likely having a bad time of it. With renewed fury, the timberwolves hit the line again. The hacking and slashing continued, but there was no end to it in sight.

As suddenly as they had the first time, more changelings rained down from the sky, throwing the line into chaos once again. Fighting broke out on both sides, but the intruders landed much thicker this time, and they kept coming. Scootaloo feared they would soon be overwhelmed.

"Plan B, Plan B!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Scootaloo grabbed a nearby bugler and gave the order. Notes blasted out and were echoed by others down the line. Moments later, the entire pegasus force from the left flank abandoned their position with unicorns in tow. They shot straight over the enemy line, raining magical fire down on them. They began taking hostile magic themselves, but the unicorns used static shields to reduce the effectiveness of the incoming energy while others continued to blast away. Smoke rose as the fires began to spread.

Scootaloo lost all sense of the larger battle after that as they had become so overrun with changelings and timberwolves alike that she was busy cutting them down, one after another. It was a thing of beauty to see Rainbow Dash fight. Even in her current injured state, it was almost like a graceful dance she did, effortlessly throwing down everything that came against her.

A fresh wave of changelings crashed down amongst the line, throwing dirt and causing confusion. A ripping pain caught Scootaloo and sent all other sensations away. She instinctively kicked, hitting a body. As she spun, her left hind leg gave out from the wound, and she nearly collapsed under her own weight. A changeling face is what she saw: Ash Eater’s face. His eyes were filled with hatred, and his jagged, broken horn was coated in blood, her blood. A wicked grin met her, and her heart stalled in fear for the briefest moment.

She leapt at him.

The foe ducked beneath Scootaloo’s spear thrust and jumped back up, hitting the shaft of the spear and knocking it from the mare’s grasp. Time slowed. He was right there in front of her, trying to kill her. She had no need or desire for revenge, but her will to survive was unimpeded.

He attempted to drive his horn into her throat as he came up. Unable to side-step, Scootaloo let herself fall to one side, rolling over and springing back up, knife at the ready as he rounded to come at her again.

She vaulted forward just as another pair of changelings crashed down in front of her. The blow she intended for Ash Eater was buried in the chest of one of the newcomers. She turned to engage the second, but the pain in her left hind leg caused her to lose her balance again.

She wobbled sideways as Ash Eater’s arrow sped by, narrowly missing her head. Magical light charged in the other’s eyes just as arrow struck him in the jaw. He reeled and fell out of sight.

Ash Eater charged in, and Scootaloo met him. He deflected her knife, and with her free front leg, she caught his throat, each impeding the most ready weapon of the other, they were nearly face to face. The combative pair toppled over, a timberwolf having slammed into them.

The pegasus lost sight of the changeling as she scrambled back into a desperate defensive position against the new assailant. Magic burst though the beast from behind, and the mare regained her hooves, wheeling about in an attempt to find the changeling.

She caught sight of Rainbow Dash as she turned. The elder mare tossed a spear to Scootaloo, which she caught as she came around. She still didn’t see him. Gaining the top of the breastworks for a better vantage, something made the hair on the pegasus’ neck stand on end. She turned to her left.

Ash Eater wasn’t far away, also standing atop the little ridge. His face had a deepening rage on it. In that moment, he appeared to have sold himself to hatred, as though the power of his own blind anger would be enough to kill anything that stood in his way.

Ash Eater leapt over fallen bodies at Scootaloo, hooves out. She brought her spear to bear, and began to thrust forward, aiming high. He anticipated the move and dropped again.

She was ready.

Scootaloo pushed all of her strength into redirecting her spear downward. She missed the center of mass, but her body rocked as the shaft of her spear was wrenched from her grasp as the blade embedded deeply into Ash Eater’s right-hind leg. He howled as he slid closer.

Scootaloo brought her helmet down, smashing the prow against the changeling’s face. He tumbled down the hill, soon lost to her sight as timberwolves clamored up over him.

The mare turned to face them, and shuddered as hostile magic impacted into her breastplate. She toppled over, rolling down the back of the hill.

The embattled line was a mess, but the ponies still had control of the field. Rainbow Dash wore a sheen of sweat and deep concern on her face as she beheld Scootaloo, who was trying to stand up.

"Medic!" the commander called out.

Within moments another pony had practically pushed Scootaloo down. Her instinct was to fight, but part of her brain was telling her that the threat was over for the moment. The timberwolves still pressed but were being managed.

“It’s your lucky day. Looks like your armor held.”

The medic took Scootaloo’s med kit and began working on the gash in her hindquarters. As she was finally able to process what had happened she realized that her flank had been hit, her heart leapt into her throat.

"Did he get it?" fear filling her voice.

"Hold still if you want me to stop the bleeding!"

"Did he get my cutie mark?"

"Your... what? You’re worried about your cutie mark?"

"Did he get it or not?" Scootaloo howled with a fury.

"No!" the medic yelled back at her. "Now hold still!"

Having only applied a crude bandage to stanch the bleeding, he left her moments later. Upon examination of the injury, Scootaloo was relieved to discover that the inflicted damage was well below her new cutie mark. She rejoined Rainbow Dash atop the line, carefully keeping weight off of her hind leg. The ponies were still maintaining their position, but the timberwolves showed little sign of slowing. The changelings were busy using their own magic in an attempt to put out the fires that had been started.

"We won’t be able to hold this for much longer," Rainbow Dash said.

"As long as our strength lasts."

The commander sighed, “That’s the problem, and they know it.“

Scootaloo knew that the assessment was correct. No matter how many of these things they killed, there were just too many more to take their places.

"We fall back then?" she asked.

"Not quite yet," Rainbow Dash said. Then she yelled, "Zuberi! Hebu kweli yako kuwa wazi!"

The cry was echoed by the zebras as they began plastering everypony with their green sludge. Within moments of beginning this, chaos again erupted behind the line as changelings were discovered and quickly dealt with. As soon as it began, many more decided to fight or run. The line was clear of living changelings, covert or otherwise, within mere minutes.

"Shield wall and fall back!" Rainbow Dash cried out.

The unicorns that were spread across the line summoned the waning magical strength that they needed to effect a shield wall on the other side of the barricade. It trapped timberwolves and changelings inside. Then the entire force began moving at a gallop, falling back to the north toward their next position.

The unicorns atop the mountain ridge received some relief from regiments of pegasi that helped clear the changelings from the sky. That business done, they also could fall back to the next position. They didn’t run the entire distance, but slowed to a canter after a mile or so. Scootaloo would have been limping the entire way had she not taken to the sky. Upon arriving at the next position, Scootaloo realized that they were barely five miles from Ponyville. This was their last place to fall back before they would be at the city itself. She was determined to not let it happen; she let out an exhausted sigh.

39 - Devotion, Part 7 of 16

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Pixyglitter was elated to feel the wind in her mane again. The brief but tumultuous rest in Manehattan had been useful, but she was glad to have it behind her. The sounds she heard on the wind confirmed what Cloud Blazer and the others had told her. They were now flying with a large group of pegasi, civilians and soldiers alike. The population of Manehattan was mostly earth ponies, but even a small percentage of pegasi in a city that size numbered in the thousands. It was mostly quiet, but for hushed gossip that floated through the air with the flapping of wings.

Cloud Blazer broke the relative silence, "See that?"

"That little house?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, that’s where Pixyglitter and I found the deserters. I expect if the timberwolves didn’t get them, the EUP did."

“As barbaric as it is, I do hope so; they sounded simply dreadful. It’s one thing to abandon one’s duty and country in favor of self-preservation, but to bring others into it, nearly getting them killed, is simply unthinkable."

Pixyglitter shuddered at the memory. She couldn’t remember having been so afraid in all her life. She pushed the thought from her mind and refocused on the flight. One thing in their favor was the tail-wind. It was cool, a harbinger of the coming winter, and it was pointed in the correct direction to give them a speed boost as they flew toward Cloudsdale.

"You okay?"

"I’m fine," she answered, “but I’ll bet I’m about the only one out here that has to carry a friend that begged to come.”

He snorted at her, "You’re kidding, right? You know you’d offer free rides just to have to have somepony along," he teased.

"Now, now," Fluttershy interrupted. "That was a bit harsh, don’t you think?"

It actually made Pixyglitter feel much more at ease to be antagonized by Cloud Blazer. In spite of her statement to the contrary, ‘fine’ was not an accurate description of her emotional state.

She had just abandoned her parents. Add to that her relationship with the stallion to whom she was connected, which was now less properly defined, the best word to convey how she actually felt would be ‘complicated’. She was thinking of him as more than a friend, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The one saving grace was that it had been let out in the open, and he did not reciprocate the sentiment. But he hadn’t pushed her away either. Those facts made Pixyglitter breathe much more easily as the four of them flew with the Manehattan group, bound for Cloudsdale.

...

Cloud Blazer was experiencing mixed feelings about their new situation. He was relieved to have Pixyglitter back, glad to have Rarity with them and headed in the right direction, but he was nervous as to what might be happening in Cloudsdale. This wasn’t even taking account of his more amorous feelings, mostly directed at Scootaloo, which were a confused mess. Despite the hurt of rejection, he still longed for her to a point of desperation that was simply pathetic. He was aware of this fact, but that did little to stem the feelings.

The mare to which he was now tethered had developed a bond with him that was unique in his experience. In the short time that they’d known each other, they were almost more than friends, but definitely not lovers. They were practically inseparable, as he had learned in Manehattan. He hadn’t realized how dependent he had become on her until then. They had spent a great deal of time in close quarters, especially over the last few days. It was not uncomfortable in the least, but until she had questioned their relationship, he hadn’t either. Now it had been brought up. Things didn’t seem as innocuous as they had before, and the drawn-up line that linked them together had their bodies practically resting against each other. Granted, that was simply for improved aerodynamics. However, he could tell that his heart was beating a little faster than it had the last time they’d made a flight.

He took a deep breath and tried to put the thoughts out of his mind. There was no success in the attempt. The morning was clear and sunny. The tailwind, although brisk and chilling their backsides, was aiding their progress significantly. The more direct course would have taken them south of Canterlot, but it was far safer to travel with the rest of the flock from Manehattan. As it was, their course would take them north of Canterlot, directly to Cloudsdale.

...

Duster was impressed by the remarkable efficiency with which Cloudsdale had been prepared to move. By design, they hadn’t stopped to evacuate anypony. As soon as the orders had come in, they began moving the city to the south. He had arrived barely an hour later. Though it made his stomach churn to do it, he now wore his sister’s eye patch over his left eye. Some well-placed saddle bags aided in covering his sculpted crystal heart cutie mark, but the distinct embroidery on the eye patch helped make him more believable as an imposter of The Hero of Canterlot.

Gunnysack and LD seemed to be enjoying the deception, and they wouldn’t let him speak. They said it was to not risk blowing his cover. He was skeptical as to their motives, and he wasn’t at all convinced that the ruse was even necessary. Unfortunately, Locknload had backed them up and made it an order.

The squad found themselves at the forefront of the great floating city, where they could be easily seen pulling Cloudsdale in its slow procession to the south. Over half of the civilians had initially assisted with the evacuation of necessary supplies. While their wing-power would be missed, the weight they unloaded wasn’t.

"Looks like we’ve got more recruits," Jewel said.

Duster glanced back over his right shoulder to see. There were a few hundred pegasi being told where to go. Distributing them as evenly across the city as possible was important to keep it all together. Something had caught their attention, they seemed to be staring... at him. Duster almost felt panicked by the attention.

"Just relax," LD said.

"Give them a salute," Rolling Thunder added.

"What?"

"You do remember how to salute?" Sergeant Locknload growled.

Gunnysack snickered before teasing, "Apparently this hero stuff has gone to her head."

That only served to make Duster angry. He felt himself bristling.

"First of all, I’m not a her, and second of all, I didn’t like this plan to begin with!" he hissed at them.

"Can it," Locknload replied. “Nopony asked if you liked it. Private Duster, I’m still your sergeant. They think you are your sister, and they are looking to you for inspiration. Now give them a salute!"

Duster took a breath and turned back to the newcomers. They were still staring at him. He left the cloud floor and flew up toward them, though he kept a discreet distance. He nodded his head and saluted. A spark of ferocity seemed to flood through them like wildfire. Soon they were in their places, pushing the city forward with all the strength they had. Duster returned to his position at the front.

"See?" LD said. "You may not like it, but it’s important."

Somehow, that didn’t make the stallion feel any better. He continued pushing with occasional interruptions for the next hour. His ability to inspire the civilians that were arriving proved to be effective. What did concern him was the fact that nopony was checking the new arrivals for changelings. He was glad to have Locknload and Jewel by his side. Though reducing weight might have seemed wiser, they were not the only unicorns riding southward.

39 - Devotion, Part 8 of 16

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Scootaloo’s heart pounded and her mouth was dry as the timberwolves once again came into view. They rushed to close the distance and meet the prepared Assault Corps. In the sky above them, a swarm of changelings loomed.

“They’re in a firing position,” Flittergear said.

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash scarcely had time to understand what she said and duck before the changelings opened up a magical barrage. The entire pony force laid down, hugging the earth as the explosions from the opening salvo shook the ground and sprayed dirt through the air.

“Unicorns! Return fire!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the noise.

The changelings were in a far better position. The little dirt mound was protecting the ponies, but as the unicorns stuck their heads up to return fire, many of them were injured. Scootaloo managed a glance over before sliding down a little.

“Send a volley of arrows over the line!”

The soldiers complied, firing blind toward the approaching beasts.

Rainbow Dash grunted, “These guys are really starting to tick me off. Spears at the ready!”

Pinned down, all the ponies could do was wait for a break in the fire. The constant pounding shook through Scootaloo, rattling even her bones. It gave a queasy feeling in her stomach, though there wasn’t much within to lose if it came to that.

All at once, the incoming fire stopped, and Rainbow Dash shouted for the spears to come up.

The ponies on the line stood up, spears forward as the timberwolves met them atop their little ridge. At the same time, explosions were heard from the ridge on the right flank. It seemed that the changelings were pulling no punches as they unleashed their fury against the defending ponies.

Scootaloo had a fleeting thought that perhaps Ash Eater had survived their encounter, infuriated to have seen her and been unable to finish her off. Even if that were the case, it was probably more than that. The changeling force was superior in every way, but the ponies had been able to hold them off somewhat successfully all things considered.

Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Flittergear were able to pull back just behind the front and take up a position there. Orders were issued and rapidly obeyed behind the EUP line, but resources and soldiers were dwindling. Scootaloo was drenched with her own sweat, which made her armor stick to her stiflingly.

"Almost out of arrows," Flittergear softly announced.

Scootaloo could hardly make out her voice above the chaos.

"We’re going to have to pull back," she relayed.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash admitted. "At least there are more supplies in Ponyville."

A fresh push only served to increase the struggle. The unicorns began letting concussion magic fly, ripping through the timberwolves and blasting them to sawdust. As before, the endless stream of them filled the gaps, wearing out the ponies’ strength as they continued to struggle.

The commander shook her head, "Okay, light ‘em up."

Scootaloo shot a signal flare, and every unicorn in the Assault Corps began blasting fire into the timberwolves as the retreat began. Running down the back of their own breastworks, they put some distance between themselves and the flames. The unicorns continued pouring it on, and then changelings began streaking across the sky like meteors above the line and dropping to the ground behind them.

"Rainbow Dash! The..."

"I see them!”

Scootaloo’s heart nearly stopped. The force that was landing behind them numbered in the thousands, perhaps not quite as large as what she was working with, and certainly not as well trained, but they only had to keep the ponies from leaving now that there was fire behind them.

Rainbow Dash shouted, “Sound the charge!"

Their bugler blasted the appropriate notes.

The EUP force, trapped between changelings and burning timberwolves vaulted toward Ponyville, stampeding into the changelings that were crashing down behind them to cut off their escape. All earth pony and pegasus ranks converged at the new front, spending the last of their arrows, and many of them their lives to push through.

The unicorns focused fire on the timberwolves. The blaze became hot against Scootaloo’s flank as she fought side-by-side with Rainbow Dash and Flittergear. Bolts of magic ripped through the line, some deflected by armor, others finding a lethal point of contact. The changelings were still coming.

The ponies smashed into the formed up line of changelings and engaged a melee. There were too many to charge through, and the ponies momentum was completely halted. A flurry of madness unfolded as the scent of seared flesh filled the air mingled with spilled blood. The changelings didn’t wear armor, and were much more susceptible to the spears and arrows than even were the timberwolves.

Scootaloo didn’t have the presence of mind to appreciate the bravery of her foe, as she was too busy fighting for her life. The burning timberwolves drew closer. A force wave pushed them back; they continued coming, the flames only growing more intense. All forward impulse was lost, and the changelings pushed back. There were just too many of them.

For a moment, dark thoughts crossed Scootaloo’s mind. She knew they had to find a way through, or they would all die. If there were a way to beat back the changelings and pass them, she didn’t see it. They seemed totally determined to stop the Assault Corps there and then.

That was when Pacer arrived.

Screeching split the sky, and griffins dove into the changeling’s force and began ripping at them with their powerful talons. Behind the changelings that were blocking the way, another five-thousand ponies joined the battle. The sandwiched enemy panicked and some began to retreat. This caused no small amount of confusion, and their line became disarrayed.

The EUP took advantage of this and cut down as many as they were able before the sentiment to flee took complete hold, putting the rest of them out of range. The griffins put flight to them, but didn’t stray far from the retreating Assault Corps. The newcomers turned as the battle wound down and led the way back toward Ponyville and their final barricade that defended the city. They practically galloped the entire way. Once again, the pegasi assisted the unicorns on the mountainous ridge to fall back toward the city.

The orange pegasus’ heart raced even faster than her hooves as they fled northeast across familiar plains that she had run many times before as a filly. Upon arriving at their final destination, Scootaloo had a sinking feeling. She couldn’t put her hoof on it initially, but her spirit felt as if it were dwindling. Somehow, everything she’d fought through, everything she’d survived didn’t seem to matter anymore. There was nowhere else to run. It was as if she knew that she were about to die.

She cast a glance upon Ponyville, just a few hundred yards to the northeast. This was where’s she’d grown up. She’d spent so much of her life crusading here for her cutie mark. Now she had it, and Ponyville was about to be destroyed. Her friends may not even escape, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The darkness that was taking her was a bit overwhelming. Had she any tears left, she would have let them out. They were long spent, and she was far too weary to make the effort.

Up above, she noted a large cloud north of the city. It looked just like...

"Cloudsdale," Rainbow Dash said absently.

"So, I see you two finally got back," Pacer puffed, he was nearly out of breath.

“Good timing, Pacer. Where’d you find all those griffins?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They found me. Apparently, somepony got a bit mouthy and chased them off.”

Scootaloo ruffled at his statement, “Yeah? We’re just surprised to see who finally rejoined the war.”

"Do you have something to say to me?" Pacer asked, advancing with a menacing gate.

“Kids!" Rainbow Dash scolded them, "Not now. I swear by Celestia, if I have to separate you two… Darn it! Now you’ve got me sounding like an old nag,” she sighed. “What’s your sit-rep?"

Pacer saluted and began, "We have seven-thousand, minus whatever we lost in that charge, and about five-thousand griffins. Get your force formed up, and then you three follow me. I’ll fill you in at the command center.”

Those details were quickly attended to. Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Flittergear quickly found the command center. They were slugged with fresh zebra paint and unicorn scanned before entry. Scootaloo noted that unicorns were scanning soldiers all up and down the line as well.

The command center was a modestly sized tent that had a map, not of Equestria, but of Ponyville and the surrounding terrain. Sentries stood all around, facing outward, and perhaps two-dozen others were inside, many busily writing notes and checking through scrolls.

Without bothering a greeting, Pacer said, “All of our unicorns are making ice arrows, and we need yours to do the same."

"Ice arrows? Why?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Because that is key to turning the tide," Prince Shining Armor spoke as he walked through the group.

He wore full armor plates, and it was then that Scootaloo realized that they were surrounded by all three branches of the most elite soldiers in all Equestria guarding the tent. The prince looked rather imposing, ready for battle.

"General Spitfire," the commander greeted her colleague.

"Commander Rainbow Dash, and I thought you were still on medical leave."

Scootaloo thought she saw a blush, "Well, technically..."

"We’ll have time for that later," Shining Armor said. "Right now, we need every unicorn you’ve got to make ice arrows. We brought a stockpile from Canterlot, but we need about a million of these things. Direct your unicorns to the castle. They’ll need to be scanned first.”

"Sure thing; take care of it Scoot. Want to fill us in on the plan?"

Scootaloo left the command center and relayed the necessary orders. Her dark thoughts had gone as inexplicably as they had come. As soon as that was taken care of, she did a quick check of the line and left Commander Rain Chaser on duty. She found some water to refill her canteen and made her way back to the others.

The Wonderbolts were imposing figures around the perimeter of the command tent, watching outward in all directions. Since the war had begun, they had increased the size of their group to contain several squads. While Spitfire still commanded them, they now numbered at almost a hundred. At most, only half of them were here. They were the most elite soldiers that Equestria had ever seen, though the unicorn members of the Templars and the earth ponies that were Bushmasters, also present, would have disagreed. As Scootaloo made it through the formality of being scanned again, she noticed that the griffin’s leader, with whom she had parted badly south of Ghastly Gorge, was also present. She felt herself bristle defensively and tried to swallow her qualms. Scootaloo could tell that Rainbow Dash looked troubled. Flittergear also had a stern look about her.

"It’s a good plan, but they’re not going to make it easy," Rainbow Dash said.

"No, they are not, but that’s why we have to keep all of this under wraps until we’re ready,“ Spitfire agreed. "We’re going to commit Prince Shining Armor to the center of the field. The Wonderbolts, along with some Bushmasters and Templars, will act as his personal escort. Half of our pegasi will be charged with bringing Cloudsdale in; they’ll carry unicorns for support. As for the rest, we have to keep them bottled between the mountain and the river until we drop the city."

Scootaloo’s blood ran cold as she began to understand the implications of their discussion. Cloudsdale would be no more; they were going to freeze it with ice arrows and crush the enemy. The cost of the action aside, it was a solid chance to wipe out the timberwolf horde advancing on Ponyville. If they could pull it off, it would be a crippling blow to the enemy.

"Commander Rain Chaser will hold the middle with me," Shining Armor continued. "Can you fly?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, “I can, but I shouldn’t be in the air. I mean, my wings are fine, but these burns hurt like the furnace that heats tartarus just walking around. The doctors told me I should stay grounded for a few more weeks. I guess I can fly about as well as you can use magic right now.“

"The Alicorn Amulet may grant me enough power to inflict heavy damage to the enemy, but if I use it at that level, there’s no way to predict how it might corrupt me."

"Come on, you only got struck by lightning and fell from two-thousand yards.” Spitfire teased, "You’re just getting soft."

Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin at their banter.

The prince decided, “In that case, you will command the right flank at Sweet Apple Acres."

Rainbow Dash nodded solemnly, "I don't guess you could pass the amulet off to somepony who can’t use magic?"

“No, I’ll keep it,” he paused, as if rethinking what he intended to say. “There’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t be corrupted, but more to the point, we can’t risk it falling into the hooves of the changelings."

Scootaloo was sure she saw a defensive scowl on Shining Armor’s face.

"As for you...” he indicated the orange mare, "I believe you owe the griffins an apology. Admiral Gaash.”

Scootaloo’s heart leapt into her throat as the griffin commander stepped toward her. She felt defensive and as if she were being unjustly called out. After all, it was he who had started the unpleasantness between them. Though, her own response was certainly overly hostile. Her mind raced through what would be an appropriate way to satisfy Shining Armor’s command and not aggravate the situation.

Gaash stared at her, his head held high with pride.

“I apologize,” Scootaloo forced out.

It was a start.

“I had lost several friends when we last spoke, but that’s no excuse for what I did. My actions were out of line, and I regret what I did and said.”

She bowed her head slightly, looking down to avoid his eyes.

“We will not speak of this again,” the griffin spoke dryly, but he seemed satisfied.

Shining Armor continued, “Admiral Gaash, I want you in charge of the CAP. Unless otherwise instructed, just maintain that patrol and engage as you deem necessary to support our efforts and protect the town. Make sure your force is ready to go.”

“I shall see to it immediately.”

“On behalf of all Equestria, thank you.”

Everypony seemed to breathe a little easier after he had left.

The prince turned to Scootaloo, “You punched him in the face?”

The mare felt embarrassed and nodded sheepishly.

“From what Flittergear tells me, he had it coming,” he added with a smirk. “I’m promoting you to major for your stalwart efforts throughout this situation.”

Pride welled up inside, but it also came with the sting of loss. She wouldn’t be able to share the joy with Sparklefly. There was something else as well.

“Your majesty, I didn’t do that much. In all honesty, promotions are deserved by each and every member of your Assault Corps. I yelled at them a bit, but they were the ones that towed the line.”

The prince nodded before continuing, “I’ll keep that in mind. You will be in command of the pegasus regiments that will escort Cloudsdale in safely. The colonels have been briefed, and they’re already guarding the city."

Shining Armor glanced over his shoulder, "The way they’re moving, it’s going to be another four hours to get into position. I need you to get it south of Ponyville in two."

"You can count on me," she said with a salute.

"I know I can.” He looked at her sternly, “If you fail, we all die."

Scootaloo felt like she’d just been sucker-punched with that statement. The elation she had felt only moments before was stripped away, leaving only the grave understanding of the task she had just been given.

"As soon as you see signal flares, offload as many of your support unicorns as you can and report to the castle with your force to load up the ice arrows. Lightning Dust will evacuate everypony else from the city. You will not wait for the evacuation to be complete. As soon as you are loaded, you will make a bombing run over the city, dropping the ice arrows as you pass overhead."

Somewhere to the south, the first reports of concussion magic were heard.

"They’re here," Spitfire said.

“Then we must take to our positions.”

The prince led them outside and toward the line. He stopped when they reached a spot where they could see the line, and more importantly, they could be seen. Prince Shining Armor seemed to stand taller somehow, and in the Royal Canterlot voice, magically amplified, his words boomed across the city and what would soon be a war zone.

”Citizens of Equestria, hear me! I, Prince Shining Armor, have come to defend the line with you. The timberwolves are coming again, as they have been for over a year. We have done everything we can to hold them back, but this is a position from which we do not retreat. Not for Ponyville, but for the Equestria we grew up in. It is not a place, or a group of ponies. It is a dream, a grand idea that lives in the hearts and minds of us all. We carry that dream of what it is and what it can be inside. It is this that we fight and die to defend. Unnumbered hordes of timberwolves cannot smother it. Nor can changeling trickery subvert it. We hold this ground today. We hold it so the dream will continue, so that Celestia’s death will not have been in vain. This is the hour when we make the changelings and their timberwolf puppets afraid. This is the hour when we tell them, you’ve gone far enough, not one more step! This is the hour when we ensure that Celestia’s dream will live on in all of us for untold generations to come. Equestria, are you with me?"

His voice echoed through the countryside, and a calm followed. It was brief, for the next moment was filled with the battle-cry of tens of thousands of soldiers, rallying one last time. Scootaloo felt the fighting spirit wax strong inside. She locked eyes with Rainbow Dash, just for a moment. No words were exchanged in the cacophony that had erupted; they weren’t necessary. Scootaloo understood what was at stake, and how dear each of them had become to the other. It wasn’t exactly a goodbye in their exchanged glance, but more like a resolve to see each other again soon. Scootaloo shot into the air to find her squadrons.

39 - Devotion, Part 9 of 16

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Pixyglitter heard a great shout somewhere distance, almost like the roaring of the sea. For the briefest of moments, she was afraid of what it might mean, but then her heart was warmed. It was the battle-cry of ponies preparing to fight. Sporadic shouts broke out among the civilians that were pushing Cloudsdale.

"They’re so excited," Fluttershy said hesitantly.

She sounded out of breath.

"I guess we get to find out why they’re moving Cloudsdale now," Cloud Blazer said. "It just doesn’t make any sense."

“They could be bringing it close to use for a quick evacuation,” Pixyglitter ventured skeptically.

“It’d be easier to use the wing power to evacuate everypony.”

"Well, I’m sure they must have a good reason to bring so many pegasi out this close to a battle," Rarity replied.

Opalescence mewed loudly to signal her disdain of traveling.

"Here we go again," Pixyglitter said under her breath.

"Don’t worry," her payload stallion said. "No way we are flying into that. We’re in no condition to get into a fight."

"What’s the matter?" she teased, "You’re not getting soft on me, are you?"

He snorted at her, "I’m too old for this."

"You’re younger than me," she scoffed. “Besides, I’m the one that just carried you halfway across Equestria.”

"Yeah, well, I’ve had enough broken bones for one lifetime."

"Fine, but just so you know, wherever you tell me, that’s where I’m going."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

They were silenced by the report of concussion magic as it echoed across the countryside. Pixyglitter remained focused on Cloud Blazer’s every move and sound as they drew near Ponyville and Cloudsdale.

...

Duster saw flashes ahead, south of Ponyville. Even in the daylight, they lit up the area for brief moments a sickly green color as the lethal magic was unleashed. The EUP responded with arrows only.

"We’ve got to move faster," Duster said.

"Keep your voice down!" Jewel scolded him.

He grunted, putting his back into the work of moving the city. They were getting close, but it still seemed so far to go. They had to cross Ponyville and then get south of the city. Muscles were already aching, and the pegasi were nearing exhaustion. Duster had been flying for four straight hours, pulling the city for three. Lightning Dust flew up to their position and shot past them with two squads.

"Unidentified incoming front!" she shouted as she sped away.

Duster looked up to see a flying force numbering in the thousands that was heading directly for them. He strained to get a better view, but between the eye patch and the distance, he couldn’t make them out. Instead of firing, Lightning Dust turned back with her two squads and escorted the newcomers in. They were EUP. Duster put his head back down as he continued pushing.

"We’re here to help!" a familiar voice said.

Duster looked up, only to receive an utterly shocked expression on Scootaloo’s face.

She roared at him, “What in Equestria do you think you’re doing?"

Duster bristled at her hostile accusation.

Sergeant Locknload ventured to answer, "Orders, direct from Prince Shining Armor."

Scootaloo’s voice turned to ice, "You take that off right now."

Duster stopped pushing, and stood up to face her. The stallion was fed up with everypony telling him what to do. He didn’t remove the eye patch.

"I hate this more than you do," he spat back with a measure of conviction. "As he said, orders. Don’t you dare think for a second that this was my idea."

To his surprise, her gaze softened as she nodded.

“I’m sorry for thinking that of you.”

Without another word, she moved in and hugged him. Duster was confused; it took him a moment to realize that it was, as his eye patch, for appearances.

Scootaloo backed away and called out, "Alright everypony, let’s get this city into position! We’ve got two hours, so let’s give it everything we’ve got!"

"How many for the CAP?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Griffins only for the CAP," Scootaloo replied. "Our primary focus is speed. We can’t spare a single wing."

"This is a bad idea," Lightning Dust said. “We’ve got enough unicorns up here to make a fight of it, but we’ll be sitting ducks.”

"When they come, we’ll break off to fight them, but we can’t slow down unless absolutely necessary. Every minute up here is more dead soldiers down there."

The mint-colored mare nodded with a grave face of understanding. Duster got back to work, his wings beating the air in a frenzy.

39 - Devotion, Part 10 of 16

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Cloud Blazer had an itch to continue into Cloudsdale to help, though he knew that his small group wasn’t in shape to do so. Still, it would have been nice to see Sparklefly and let her know what was going on. He quickly decided against it as two pegasi left Cloudsdale and flew directly toward the approaching Manehattan group. They addressed the ponies flying at the front. Word quickly spread that they wanted all pegasi to help push the city south until the order was given to stop. At that point, they would fly north to Ponyville and wait. Whatever purpose drove them to push Cloudsdale farther south was beyond the wingless pegasus.

"We ignore them," he said. "We’ll drop altitude, fly in under the city and make for Ponyville.

"Deal," Pixyglitter agreed.

"Okay," Fluttershy puffed.

They parted from their group as they began taking up positions on Cloudsdale. The sounds and smells of the battle were already in the air. The four began descending, and soon they saw the underside of the great cloud city. It was covered with pegasi that were pushing it onward. The group easily outpaced the lumbering citified cloud mass. Nopony challenged them to change course. The steady rhythm of Pixyglitter’s heart and breath gave Cloud Blazer focus.

"Level off, maintain altitude," he said. "We’re close now."

"Leveling off," she answered.

"Just a little farther. We’ll drop off Rarity, and get the five of them together."

"What then?" Rarity asked.

"Then you will open the orb, and the princesses will be rescued," he replied, a little less sure of himself than he wanted to be.

"How will we open it?"

That gave him pause.

"What?" he finally managed.

"How are we to open this orb of yours?"

"I..." he hesitated.

It occurred to the stallion that nothing he had seen in his dreams had mentioned how the keys worked. He couldn’t help but feel unprepared as they pressed ahead.

He finally finished, "One thing at a time."

The sun beat down from above as they continued past Cloudsdale.

"I don’t... think I can... make it much... further..." Fluttershy was gasping for breath.

"We’re almost there," Cloud Blazer tried to be encouraging. "Look, that’s Ponyville. Five minutes and we’re down. Deep breaths, in and out."

"Oh... oh... okay..."

"Pixyglitter, can you carry two?”

"Forget it," she replied. "You’ve gotten too fat making me carry you all the time. I can take one or the other."

"I am not fat!" he defended, annoyed at the insult. “Let’s just glide for a bit; we can afford to lose some more altitude."

"Gliding," Pixyglitter answered.

Turning to his right, it was easily recognized that Fluttershy was in a rather poor state. She just had to make it a few more minutes. They were so close. Turning back ahead, the battle was beginning now in earnest. They were drawing close enough to see the wave of timberwolves that were approaching. They seemed to stretch on and on, even to the horizon.

"Sweet Celestia!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Yeah," was all Cloud Blazer managed.

"What is it?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Timberwolves... more timberwolves than I have ever seen in my life.”

A flurry of arrows were being loosed, volley after volley into the approaching horde. It was difficult to discern the efficacy of the defense, but thee were no evident breaches anywhere yet. Loud bangs soon followed, and dust clouds rose above the EUP line as magical bombardment exploded into the soldiers that held the location.

Cloud Blazer’s party would soon be over Sweet Apple Acres. There were soldiers on the ground, but again, they were unchallenged in their movements. This struck the stallion as incredibly strange considering what was going on nearby. Though, everypony did have their work cut out for them dealing with the larger forces in play.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity screamed.

Cloud Blazer turned in time to see the pale yellow mare awaken and arrest her own fall.

"Hard right!"

Pixyglitter obeyed without hesitation. Cloud Blazer felt the force of strain against his harness and body. Pain stabbed through his ribs.

"Bank left and descend."

With precision befitting a sighted flyer, Pixyglitter maneuvered him exactly where he wanted to be, directly above the other two. Cloud Blazer pulled the ventral line from his harness and attached it to the dorsal loop on Fluttershy’s back.

"We’re all connected now. We need to keep descending. We’re behind EUP lines, almost on top of the Apple’s farm."

"That’s the farm?" Rarity sounded astonished.

"Yeah, what’s left of it," he realized that this would be the first time Rarity had seen the farm since the siege.

"I... I just..." was all Fluttershy managed to say before she fainted again.

The weight of three ponies was far too much for Pixyglitter. As the harnesses pulled taut, she let out a shriek as her wings began beating furiously against the air. They were still dropping a little faster than Cloud Blazer would have liked, but there wasn’t anything he could do.

The four came down hot, like an aerodynamic brick. Rarity let out a scream just before she hit the ground. Fluttershy made no sound as she collapsed on top of Rarity, but the reduced weight allowed Cloud Blazer to not land hard. Pixyglitter was still trying to pull up.

"Ease down, we’re almost on the ground."

"Easing... down..." she replied as she reduced the effort she exerted.

Cloud Blazer touched down and pulled the quick-release on the bottom catch.

"Touchdown," he said as he allowed himself to lower to the ground on his belly.

Pixyglitter stopped flying and landed, pulling her own quick release. She had hardly taken five steps when she plopped on the ground and rolled onto her back, gasping for breath.

Standing on firm ground, Cloud Blazer turned and asked, "Are you two okay?"

A feline growl came from the cat-carrier.

Rarity looked up, her face covered in dark soil. Fluttershy was breathing, but otherwise lay unmoving. The stallion pulled the release on Rarity’s harness, uncoupling her from Fluttershy. Having fainted aside, she seemed otherwise uninjured.

"Is she alright?" Rarity asked.

"Yes," Cloud Blazer answered. "I think she’s either a bit dehydrated or maybe just exhausted."

“You don’t say,” Pixyglitter quipped.

The fancy mare examined the box to discover that it had taken some damage in the landing.

"A flight to Ponyville," Rarity whined, "That sounds like fun. Somehow I got icky!"

Pixyglitter let out a laugh. Cloud Blazer felt exposed out in the open. It was likely just an after shadow of his training that told him to seek cover, but they had to get help for Fluttershy.

"The farm house is close. Let’s head there."

"Oh, don’t tell me; I get to carry Fluttershy?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Can you?"

She snorted as she got back to her hooves. "I maybe tired from flying, but you’ve got a bum leg and broken ribs. You’re not carrying anypony."

"As much as I hate to interrupt your uncouth repertoire, I am perfectly capable of carrying Fluttershy myself," Rarity said.

The unicorn had already magically lifted her friend onto her back.

"Now, shall we go?"

Hissing came from the cat as her cage came apart. She dropped to the ground with a wild look in her eyes.

“Opalescence! You get back here at once!” Rarity called out as she moved forward, encumbered by Fluttershy.

The cat hissed and darted away in the general direction of the farmhouse.

“Opal!” Rarity screamed as she tried to chase the feline, who was far more swift than the injured and laden ponies.

Cloud Blazer tried to run, but found himself unable. They pursued the cat, Rarity screaming after her, but the she was soon out of sight.

There wasn’t any visible evidence of the coming battle from the ground, but they could hear it even better now that they were close. The debris from dead trees lay in stacked rows. The small group easily worked their way through them and soon found themselves standing in front of the house.

Cloud Blazer knocked on the door. There was no answer. He tried the latch; it opened with ease and they entered. The place was empty. While Rarity unloaded Fluttershy on the couch, Cloud Blazer worked the pump in the kitchen to get her a glass of water. His leg was giving him the usual achy stabbing pain every time he moved. He pushed past it and got the reviving fluid to the yellow pegasus. Her eyes flittered when the water hit her lips, and after a few moments, she had awakened.

"Oh!" she cried out as a spasm went through her. "Where? Did we fall?"

Rarity answered, "Don’t be silly, dear! Thanks to some quick thinking by Cloud Blazer here, we made it to the ground more or less unscathed."

"What happened to your face?" Fluttershy asked.

Pixyglitter snickered.

"I may have fallen in the dirt a bit, but I’ll live," Rarity put on a fake smile in pretense of good humor about the situation. "But how are you? Can you stand?"

"I-I think so."

Fluttershy slowly and shakily stood, but then sat back down.

"I’ll be fine; I just need a minute."

“And then we must find Opalescence.”

“What happened To Opal?”

Cloud Blazer replied, “No, we can’t.”

“You are a heartless ruffian!”

He didn’t take it personally, “I know you’re worried about her, but cats are good at laying low. She’ll be fine. We have to take care of first things first.”

The ground rumbled, rattling the windows in the house. Cloud Blazer darted to a window facing west and peered out. He couldn’t see anything conclusive, but there was smoke rising from that direction. The changelings must have pressed the flank. Rarity stood beside him.

“As much as I’m worried for my poor, sweet Opalescence, I’m afraid I agree with you this time.”

“Get ready to go. A minute may be all we have," Cloud Blazer said with a tremor in his voice that he was unable to suppress.

39 - Devotion, Part 11 of 16

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Scootaloo pressed against Cloudsdale and exerted every ounce of wing-power she could muster. By last report, they were almost over Ponyville. It wouldn’t be long now, just another hour, maybe less. The noises from below made her long to be in the fray. It was a silly thing to wish for, but there was something unsettling about hearing the battle happen while she wasn’t there to help down on the line. She had to remind herself that what she was doing was far more important. If they could just get into position, they’d save far more lives than she ever could have defending the line. Her weary muscles ached and sweat poured from her.

As it turned out, the battle would come to her.

"Up ahead, prepare for contact!" Colonel Lightning Dust called out.

Scootaloo left her position and looked, immediately regretting wishing anything more than pushing the city. A swarm of changelings numbering in the thousands had broken off from their assault on the line and were coming straight for them. Nearer the main defense, several squadrons of griffins had already engaged them, effectively protecting Ponyville, but many were still heading for the Cloudsdale.

"Weapon actions free! Load your arrows!" Scootaloo ordered as she performed the task herself.

With her crossbow at the ready, she joined the regiments of pegasi that were preparing to meet the changelings head on.

"All unicorns, keep this city free of changelings that get past us."

Lightning Dust stood beside Scootaloo, "Are you ready?"

Scootaloo grinned back at her, "Let’s do this!"

The orange mare led her three regiments out, and Lightning Dust followed behind with two of her own. As she passed by, she saw that Duster was still helping push the city forward. It was just as well. It might be a safer place to be, but she couldn’t concern herself with that just now, there was work to do.

"Firing formation!" Scootaloo yelled as she increased her speed.

The regiments formed up behind her and flattened out where they could loose arrows as soon as they were in range. The breeze zipped around her, stinging at her eyes. She pulled her goggles into place. Moments later, magical energy ripped through the air, sizzling as it went by.

"Open fire!" Scootaloo cried.

Aiming high, she let an arrow go before loading another. She banked a little to her left and then back to the right. Making herself a harder target made it more difficult to reload and fire, but she’d rather that than try to return fire while dead.

A second volley of arrows sped toward the changelings. Some were deflected by magic, others missed their marks, but many found their homes in flesh. The two armies continued toward each other until they collided. Many fought hoof to hoof as the changelings blasted with their magic. Knives ripped into bodies and death-cries were mingled with the shouting.

Scootaloo took a direct hit to her flank plate, which spun her around, but she was uninjured and able to recover. The armor was effective, but only to a point.

The formed-up armies had mixed into a great aerial brawl above Ponyville. Magic and arrows were being fired in all directions; crashing and scraping of hooves against armor, and the ripping of steel through flesh filled the sky. The dead fell, discarded remains that went ignored as the battle raged on. Scootaloo’s leg was still aching from where she’d been stabbed, but the sensation was at the back of her mind as she fought to survive the madness that had begun.

...

Duster was giving it everything he had, and his strength was nearly spent. He kept telling himself that it was just a little farther and he could rest. The great city didn’t seem to want to cooperate as it moved ever slowly into a position that was now crossing the skies just over the northern edge of Ponyville. His instinct had been to fly out with the rest of the pegasi that were defending the city, but Locknload ordered him to stay put. The sound of the approaching battle was growing louder.

"We’re getting close," Jewel said.

"We have done this before, and we’re doing it today," Locknload said, his tone betraying anticipation of the coming conflict.

"There!" Jewel pointed.

"I see them!"

“Prepare for contact,” LD announced.

“And I was just getting happy being bored,” Gunnysack said as he loaded his crossbow.

Duster glanced up to see several dozen changelings had broken from the fray and were heading directly toward them.

"Clear line of sight," Rolling Thunder muttered to himself as he took aim.

"Jewel, put up some defensive shields near the deck. Take them out!" Locknload ordered.

Magic began pouring from his horn in a rapid succession of blasts. Jewel manifested several low shields that they could duck behind as the others loosed their arrows. The changelings scattered as though they hadn’t expected the resistance; three of them fell dead. A grin of delight was on Locknload’s face.

39 - Devotion, Part 12 of 16

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Pixyglitter was startled by a loud bang on the roof of the farmhouse. Her heart began pounding again.

"What in Equestria was that?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy was nervously repeating, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!"

“Deep breaths, Fluttershy.”

From the window, Cloud Blazer said, "It was an EUP soldier. I can’t get a better view, but it looks like their fighting directly overhead. They’re all over outside, changelings too."

It was not a favorable turn of events.

"Is it safe to stay here?"

"I don’t know, Rarity," Cloud Blazer answered. He then sighed, "No, not really. But the way bodies and arrows are falling from the sky, it might be safer than going out there."

"What about a cellar?" Pixyglitter suggested.

Cloud Blazer took a breath, "Yeah, if we can get to one. The closest one is at the back of the house."

Fluttershy began to take deeper breaths. It sounded like she was calming down.

"Rarity, can you teleport us to the castle?" Cloud Blazer asked.

"Darling, I may be a unicorn, but we’re not all gifted in that kind of magic. Not without a great deal of training at any rate. I’m afraid my talents are more honed for the creation of art."

"Fabulous," Pixyglitter let out some sarcasm to lighten the mood.

"Granted, that does seem lacking in our present circumstance," the fancy mare admitted.

"It doesn’t matter," Cloud Blazer said. "The point is, we’re here..." another loud bang on the roof startled everypony. "We’re here and it’s not safe. But it might be safer than out there. At least we’re not targets right now."

Pixyglitter didn’t like being at the mercy of anypony else, but she was least equipped to offer tactical advice in this situation. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Where is Cloudsdale?"

Cloud Blazer shuffled over to another window, "It’ll be overhead soon. The edge of the city, I mean."

"That should alleviate most of the bodies falling," she suggested.

"Yeah, good thinking."

"What do you say, Fluttershy? Are you up for a walk as soon as we have some cover?"

The nervous pegasus took a deep breath, but her voice trembled as she spoke, "Just like old times, huh Rarity?"

The fancy unicorn let out a giggle, "So it would seem."

Pixyglitter was suddenly in awe of the pair. She knew they had been old friends; just about everypony had heard of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s group. But it made her wonder just what sort of adventures they used to have to call this situation ‘just like old times’. She, for one, had never put too much stock in the stories that she had heard about the elements of harmony, but it gave her a little more respect for the frightened pegasus to think that some of them might be true.

...

Scootaloo began shouting, "Pull back! Fall back to Cloudsdale!"

Her pegasus force was on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by the numbers of changelings that were coming out to fight them, not to mention their magical talents. In the city, they would have the advantage of their own unicorn magic to help. Not to mention that they could resupply their spent complement of arrows.

It wasn’t a total loss by any means. They had bought a little time and inflicted heavy casualties on the changelings. That was the one factor that operated in their favor: the changelings were many, but they weren’t all battle-hardened as the ponies had become, and they didn’t wear armor. Still, their ferocity was not to be underestimated.

As they achieved the city, nopony even had to give the order. The unicorns opened up a barrage of cover-fire that filled the sky. In hot pursuit of their prey, the changelings flew headlong into the lethal bolts of energy.

Scootaloo attempted a quick head-count, and it looked like she’d lost nearly a third of her force, not counting the casualties that Lightning Dust may have suffered. She was quickly organizing a new group of recruits that had arrived from Las Pegasus to assist. The orange mare wasted no time in retrieving more arrows from a weapons cache and preparing herself to fight in the city. They would have to let the changelings have the sky above for now. If she flew up, her own unicorns might shoot her down by mistake.

...

Duster had stopped pushing, but held his crossbow at the ready while ducked behind one of Jewel’s energy shields. Similar prepared positions were taken up all over Cloudsdale, as pockets of unicorns were ready to defend the civilians that were still pushing the city southward.

“Hold,” Locknload said, his voice an anticipated whisper.

Their own regiments of pegasi that had gone out were returning, hotly pursued by a growing force of changelings in the air. Moments later, the pegasi were all clear, and Locknload roared with delight.

“Open fire!”

Unicorns all over Cloudsdale opened up with raw energy as arrows also sped from crossbows, filling the air with a lethal curtain of fire. The front line of changelings scattered in death and disarray, but the coming wave didn’t even flinch. Soon they were swarming all over the city, sending their own lethal magic at the ponies.

Duster loaded, aimed, and fired in rapid succession. He could barely process what was unfolding. It was impossible for him to miss as the air was so thick with targets. Several strafing runs ripped through the cloud floor and impacted into the defensive shield. There was no debris to spray around, but the noise was deafening.
 Rolling Thunder, Gunnysack, and Jewel had stern expressions, not unlike Duster’s as they engaged nearby targets. Locknload and LD appeared to be enjoying themselves.

Seemingly unprompted, Locknload turned to their rear, a wild grin on his face as he let some concussion magic fly. He burst into thin air, teleporting away as hostile magic ripped through the position in which he’d been standing.

Duster turned to the rear to see a squad of changelings, some falling in death, coming up behind them. He and Gunnysack fired, striking two of them. That’s when they spotted Locknload.

The unicorn stallion was free-falling above the changelings. He let out an insane cry and blasted away rapidly at the changelings, shredding their wings. They all fell in horror, and Locknload burst again, teleporting back to his squad.

Duster saw another changeling that had taken interest in them on the left. He aimed and fired just as Rolling Thunder did the same to the right.

Duster couldn’t believe how fast and true LD was firing his crossbow. He was moving with machine-like efficiency.
 Jewel renewed the shields, adding a few overhead. She looked weary.

Shouts and screams filled the air as the battle over Cloudsdale grew more desperate.

39 - Devotion, Part 13 of 16

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Cloud Blazer looked out the window, his heart racing. No amount of water could quench the thirst he felt. He tried to swallow the feeling, but he was afraid to go outside. The roar of battle to the west was growing louder, and Cloudsdale was now completely over Ponyville. The need to move overwhelmed his fear.

"This is as good as it’s going to get," he said. "Are you girls ready to run?"

"Can you run?" Pixyglitter asked.

He snorted at the question, "About as well as you can."

She grinned at this; somehow it made him feel a little better.

Fluttershy took yet another deep breath and said, "Yes, I’m ready."

"Then it’s settled! We shall head to the castle to rescue Twilight and the other princesses!" Rarity seemed incredibly chipper all things considered. Cloud Blazer was certain it was feigned.

The four of them moved to the door. Pixyglitter put a hoof on Cloud Blazer’s flank. They stood there silently for a moment as he looked out. An occasional stray blast of magic or arrow would come down from the sky, but the advantage would be theirs. Nopony would be looking for them. More to the point, if the EUP force to their west folded, they’d be overrun in moments. Bodies lay littered about, probably all over town from the battle that was still underway overhead. Most of them in the area were dead changelings, but there were many pegasi also.

"Let’s go!" the stallion said.

The four left the relative safety of the house and galloped toward town. Every step sent shocks of pain through Cloud Blazer. His leg and ribs felt the worst of it, but everything hurt. He sucked air in and pushed it out with a steady almost automated pattern as he tried to stay focused.

A blast of concussion magic hit the ground not four yards in front of them. Dirt exploded in all directions, catching the stallion in the eyes and nearly stopping his heart. It brought the group to a halt; the nearby sounds of fighting highlighting the danger.

"You okay?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Yeah," Cloud Blazer replied as he cleared the grit from his vision; his legs were shaking and the rapid pounding in his ears was nearly deafening.

Moments later they were moving again, a painful task. The stallion felt like bits of shattered glass were in his chest, grinding and cutting him every time he breathed. Unpleasant though it was, the stranger sensation came from being home during a battle. With the insanity that unfolded all around, it was almost like being in a strange and unfamiliar place. Things looked similar, but everything felt different.

As they arrived at the first rows of houses, Ponyville looked deserted. More bodies lay scattered and on rooftops, some of which had been damaged; others were burning. Nopony was out attempting to fight the fires. The group turned to head directly to the castle. Cloud Blazer became uncertain as to whether he could make it that far. He began to not feel the pain quite as much, but a cold sweat had begun on his lips. That was a strange place to sweat. He also began to see odd colors in his vision each time a hoof landed. Still they pressed on.

They stopped to rest a brief moment in the town square. They stayed next to a building, all as flat against it as they could draw themselves. Cloud Blazer forced his breathing into a slow, deep rhythm. His fears were unabated, but he grew somewhat desensitized to them. The realization that they were close kindled hope inside. They began moving again when his vision cleared.

They trudged on, finally rounding the last corner, and he was sure that they were going to make it. It was no sooner than the castle came into view that Cloud Blazer heard a dull noise; Pixyglitter grunted, and her hoof fell from his flank.

The world stopped; panic gripped the stallion as he whirled around to realize his fear. It seemed to take forever to turn, and all sensation fell away except the pounding of his heart.

The blind mare was on the ground; Fluttershy and Rarity stood still, frozen in horror, mouths agape as they stared at the shaft of the arrow that stuck out of Piyxglitter’s back. Cloud Blazer’s stomach knotted as he became overwhelmed by terror. Rarity rushed the few steps forward, reaching for the arrow. Cloud Blazer had to spring to action. He vaulted between them, pushing the unicorn to the ground as strange colors again danced through his vision.

"Never pull an arrow out!" he scolded.

His sense of what was happening was fading away. The battle, the town, the princesses... all of it was gone. The only thing he saw now was Pixyglitter. She was bleeding from the wound, but she groaned, lifting her face from the dirt where it had made its home when she fell. She coughed and then winced, crying out.

"Hold still," Cloud Blazer said.

He was having a difficult time remembering what to do. Another stray arrow landed not far away, and the stallion remembered the danger in which they all found themselves.

"You two, get to the castle! If there are any soldiers in there, send some out here to help me with her. If not... I... Don’t come back for me."

Fluttershy was crying.

"What are you going to do?" Rarity asked.

"I’m getting her to the hospital."

Pixyglitter coughed blood and shuddered from the pain. The color had blanched from her face. Cloud Blazer became infuriated that the others were still just standing there.

"Go!" he snarled at them.

Rarity nodded, and tugging on Fluttershy, the pair ran past them for the castle. More than anything, Cloud Blazer wished the arrow had struck him instead. He shook his head. He could only deal with what was in front of him.

"Don’t you dare die on me," he scolded her.

Not wanting to wait, he began trying to lift her up. An involuntary cry escaped her with each movement, but he wasn’t able to get her onto his back. His own body simply hurt too much to carry the load. He set her down and sank to the earth, taking a moment to recover. A cold sweat was on the stallion’s face, and a prickly sensation worked its way from his flank to his extremities.

Pixyglitter went limp.

"Okay, okay, okay," he said rapidly, "think, think, you can do this."

He took the ventral line from his harness and attached it to hers. Releasing both umbilical tethers to full length, he was able to get a little bit of distance in front of her. Putting what strength he had to work, he began tugging, pressing his hooves into the dirt. He moved and began dragging the wounded mare. It was working.

His heart raced as he pulled her, inching closer to the hospital with each passing second. Nothing but the next step mattered to Cloud Blazer anymore. He was again aware of everything that happened around him, the battle, the sun coming out again as Cloudsdale continued south, but his own safety, and even the fate of Equestria held no importance compared to his current objective: saving Pixyglitter.

39 - Devotion, Part 14 of 16

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Duster pressed against Cloudsdale, his weary wings whipping the air. The changelings had pulled far enough above the city that his arrows could no longer reach them. The unicorns had put up more defensive shields, but the changelings were bombarding them as griffins took the fight to the sky above.

A loud sizzling filled the air.

“Incoming! Prepare for close contact!” Locknload roared with glee.

Duster looked up just in time to see green fiery rockets coming down. It was changelings. They exploded into their normal form as they hit the cloud floor of the city, letting out terrifying and unearthly shrieks that must have stolen the hearts of the civilians.

The soldiers, all veterans of many engagements, met them without hesitation.

Duster leapt up, sending an arrow through the throat of a nearby invader. His squad all reacted similarly. Locknload let out several bursts of magic. Their backs were to one another now, as the changelings were coming down all over. There was no shortage of them; the arrows would likely run out sooner. Magic impacted into energy barriers, and Locknload’s squad repelled the attackers.

As the the offensive slowed, Duster, LD, and Rolling Thunder continued pushing for a while as Gunnysack, Jewel, and Locknload thinned out the incoming enemies.

“I think they’re running out of guys to send at us,” Gunnysack gloated.

“They’re just tired of dying,” LD added.

The shields that Jewel had put in place were cracking, some had already evaporated through use. She closed her eyes, summoning whatever reserves of magic she could to create additional defenses. Her horn glowed brightly for a moment before failing. She collapsed to her knees.

“Are you okay?” Duster asked.

He rested his wings and stood, helping her up.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she answered. “I just need-“

A blast of changeling magic struck her in the face. The body fell backward as Duster watched in horror.

A rage burned inside the stallion. He loaded his crossbow and stood up sharply, only to stumble. He walked straight out from behind their remaining defenses. He fired wildly and reloaded. Advancing, he fired again. A pair of changelings vaulted into the air and made a strafing run at him, but a magical shield went up just before they fired. As soon as they were gone, Duster was grabbed by the tail and jerked back behind the cover where the others were making their stand.

Releasing the pegasus from his magical grip, Locknload scolded him, "Just what do you think you’re doing?"

"They killed Jewel!"

Locknload struck Duster in the face with a right jab. The pegasus staggered backward, tripping over Jewel’s body and falling to the cloud floor. He could taste blood in his mouth.

Locknload growled at him, "I swear, if you ever let out a childish attack like that and waste my arrows again, you won’t have to worry about the changelings killing you. I’ll do it for them!"

LD helped Duster up.

Rolling Thunder hissed in agreement with Locknload, ”Now, put that eye patch back on before somepony sees you.”

"No, no more!” the fury hadn’t left Duster yet.

Too many had died, and he was ready to kill every single changeling he could find. Locknload slapped him.

"You need to pay attention. You’re not a good soldier. The rest of us are. We are going to kill changelings. You need keep pretending to be your sister and inspire the civilians to fly faster. The sooner we get this cloud into position, the sooner we kill even more of the enemy. Do I have to spell out everything for you? This was your plan!"

"Impersonating my sister was not what I signed up for!"

Locknload simply returned an icy gaze, "Then go die if that’s what you want to do. I won’t save you again.”

Gunnysack was oddly silent, and it was equally surprising that he didn’t even wear a grin. He was scanning for enemies, paying no mind to the dressing down that Duster had received.

Rolling Thunder and LD continued pushing against Cloudsdale, while Locknload and Gunnysack watched for enemies. Duster wiped his bloody nose and discovered that he was crying.

...

Cloud Blazer’s legs were wobbling with each step, and every part of him felt aflame with new levels of excruciating pain. The world seemed to be swimming in front of him. The sun beat down on him as he moved, dragging the limp form of Pixyglitter as he went. Sweat was pouring from his brow, blinding him. A stray shot of magic impacted the ground close by. He stepped backward, covering Pixyglitter with his body.

"Why don’t you just finish me then!" he shouted madly at the sky. "What are you waiting for?" It was blind rage flowing through him. "Come on!"

The sky didn’t answer. In truth, none of the parties battling over Ponyville had taken any interest in him. He stood there, over the still form of his friend, watching the earth and sky spin across his vision. The stallion’s strength gave out, and he collapsed. His lungs burned, and stabbing pain from his ribs rippled through his body. He convulsed involuntarily and vomited.

It took him a moment to recover, laying there with this eyes closed, just trying to breathe. It was over. Despair overwhelmed his senses. He’d seen the wound in Pixyglitter’s chest. If she weren’t dead already, she soon would be. He wasn’t strong enough to get her to the hospital. He had failed.

The stallion was facing south when he again opened his eyes, and in the distance, he saw three red flares shoot up into the sky. They had reached the apex of their arc and were on their way back down when Cloud Blazer heard a voice.

"Are you okay?"

The stallion looked up to see two mares looking back at him. He recognized the green eyes under the two-tone orange mane of the one that spoke.

"Junebug," Cloud Blazer said.

"We saw you and came to see if you needed help," a beige mare with candy for her cutie mark added. It was Bon Bon.

"She’s hurt, we need... hospital," was all Cloud Blazer managed to say before he passed out.

39 - Devotion, Part 15 of 16

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Scootaloo raced away from Cloudsdale with the remains of her regiments following closely behind her. The griffins went into a full engagement of the enemy to cover everypony’s withdrawal. When she saw the flares, she left the unicorns that were defending Cloudsdale with orders to jump. There were far fewer of the pegasi left than she had hoped. She was certain that there were at least two-thousand. It might be enough.

The battle had grown thick with the putrid stench of burning flesh and death. The changelings were hitting the center in force, just as it was expected that they would. The Prince’s banner was still flying, but there was too much movement to really tell who was still alive. Beams of lethal magic sprayed out, courtesy of the Templars.

As planned, Scootaloo led her force to the tower atop the castle. There were earth ponies waiting for them as expected. As she drew close, she could see bundles of ice arrows. They held them up. She grabbed one as she went by. There had to be a hundred arrows in her bundle, and there were stacks of them; it must have been hundreds of thousands of the frozen bolts that had been created.

Scootaloo continued flying north to give the rest of her force time to grab their bundles and form up with her. They may only get one pass, so they had to make it count. The wind rushed against her face as she turned and glided over the city where she’d grown up. A few of the buildings were on fire, and the town was littered with bodies and arrows; otherwise it seemed mostly quiet.

Scootaloo began increasing her altitude and checked behind her to see that her regiments were flying to catch up with their deadly payloads. To the west, a much smaller horde of timberwolves were pressing the flank, but it seemed as though Rainbow Dash had everything under control.

Increasing speed, Scootaloo took Cloudsdale into her sight. A second set of flares was fired, indicating that the entire pegasus force that would freeze Cloudsdale was in the air. The civilians seemed to be all out, but unicorn fire was still keeping the changelings as busy as were the griffins.

The mare groaned inside, knowing that the next few minutes were going to be nasty. Dropping their ice arrows would be easy enough, but they would need to get above the fray so as to not get in the middle of it. Couple that with the increased difficulty for the unicorns to get away, it seemed likely that they were about to kill quite a few of their own, not to mention griffins. They all had been given orders to fall back, so they would have to take charge of their own safety. Scootaloo hardened her resolve as they set up for their final run.

...

Duster was again wearing the eye patch. Having left the position at the front, he was shouting for everypony else to evacuate the city. He galloped through, flanked by squad, finding any civilians that he could to tell them. Many had already fled, and it wouldn’t be long now before his plan came to fruition. That meant that it was time to go. With his crossbow loaded, he sped through the center of the cloud city. The unicorns were putting on an impressive magical defense, but the changelings weren’t giving up. It made the retreat difficult, and time was short.

Green fiery magic raining down, several of the magical creatures sprang up in front and to the right.

Duster’s crossbow came up, and hostilities were unleashed at point blank range. Several changelings fell dead, and magic impacted into ponies and their armor.

Locknload let out a battle-cry along with some well placed shots of magic to thin their attackers’ numbers.

More flew in from the left, landing hard as Duster reloaded.

As Duster’s crossbow brought his crossbow up, a changeling kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling.

The rest of the squad charged into the newcomers. Locknload teleported behind them, but took a direct hit to his left side and went down.

Duster rolled aside, drawing his knife.

"Why won’t you die?" one of the changelings screamed wildly at him.

Duster aimed and fired his crossbow as the enemy ducked sideways. The arrow missed. Gunnysack lunged at the one who spoke; the changeling had a broken horn. He ducked under the crystal pony’s spear thrust and then came back up, knocking the weapon from Gunnysack’s grasp while jabbing the stallion in the face. A blast of changeling magic struck Gunnysack in the back, and he toppled over.

LD vaulted himself into the others, and they pummeled him from all sides. He fought savagely against four of them.

Duster had regained his hooves. Noticing a wound in the closest changeling’s right flank, vaulted forward; his knife sank deep. The changeling howled and hit the pony in the face with a hoof. Duster saw stars. He blindly swung his foreleg with the crossbow, connecting to the changeling’s head. Several more blows were exchanged, but Duster had lost his knife. It was then that he noticed the changeling’s broken horn had been sharpened.

The foe ducked suddenly, underneath a kick that Rolling Thunder had intended for his head. Ash Eater loosed his crossbow, embedding his arrow in the pegasus’ unarmored belly.

Rolling Thunder staggered backward as two more jumped him from the other side.

As Ash Eater came back up, he faced Duster again. He lunged forward; the pegasus side-stepped, anticipating the move and tripping his foe. Leaping on top of him, Duster used his fore-hooves like hammers, pounding away at Ash Eater’s face.

A blast of magic hit Duster from the side, and he fell. With surprising agility, the changeling wrapped his fore-legs around Duster’s neck and twisted him around, using the momentum so that he was now in the disadvantaged position.

Struck again in the face, Duster became dazed a moment.

"This time you stay dead!" Ash Eater growled as he drove his jagged horn into Duster’s throat.

Searing pain rippled through him as the changeling pulled back, a fountain of blood covering his hideous face. His own blood, Duster realized. Ash Eater bore a wicked grin as the life drained from Duster. He made an attempt to throw the changeling off, but he had no strength. He tried to hold the wound; his hooves were soon slick and warm. The changeling struggled with him, and he was soon restrained. The world began to fade.

As Duster lay there, he could see the battle unfolding in the sky. Unicorns and changelings exchanged hostile magic, killing each other over this particular piece of air. It seemed a bit silly to the stallion. Surely the world was large enough that they could all find a way to live in peace.

It was then that he noticed another group flying far above the battle. They were unleashing something that fell into the group of changelings and beyond, directly into Cloudsdale. A magical cracking sound was heard from above and below. It was the ice arrows.

The griffins split, and departed almost as one, speeding away from the lethal bombardment. Changelings unfortunate enough to be in the way were hit and frozen solid, falling from the sky. Soon, the cloud floor beneath him would freeze solid and fall on the timberwolves.

It was a small comfort next to the fear of his own mortality. The changeling had ripped Duster’s throat open, and everything grew foggy and far away. It was almost as if he were gently floating down, but it wasn’t darkness that he saw. There was light below. He turned to face it and realized that he was no longer restrained in any way.

A lush, green, grassy field was below Duster, and it was only moments past before his hooves sank into it. The fresh scent of spring was in the air, and songbirds flitted about, filling the clear blue sky with their music.

The stallion was a little disoriented, but he didn’t care. All of the strife, fear, and struggle were gone. It seemed odd; there had been something so important that he’d bee doing, but he couldn’t remember what it had been. He filled his lungs with the aromas of the flora a moment. He had never known a contentment so pure and complete as he now felt.

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

Duster turned. Approaching from behind, he easily recognized Sissy, though she didn’t look as she had. She was whole, wearing no armor as her long mane flowed in the gentle breeze. As she drew close, she smiled, a sparkle filling her eyes, that same joyous one for which she had been named.

“Where have you been?” he heard himself ask. He then added, “Where are we?”

She smiled again, “It’s a small matter, but I’ll tell you everything. Come with me.”

He followed her, and the pair walked over a hill. Down by a swift babbling brook which ran with the clearest water he’d ever seen, Duster saw an older stallion standing by the bank. Delight filled the stallion so much that he shivered with joy.

“I’ll race you,” Sissy said with a grin.

“You’re on!” he roared playfully.

The pair galloped down the hill toward their father. The warmth of peace filled Duster’s heart.

39 - Devotion, Part 16 of 16

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Sharp stabbing agony was the first sensation that heralded a recovery of consciousness. With each breath, torrential ripples of pain worked through the chest and made the entire body hurt. Everything was a blur, but even as it came back into focus, the world was swimming in front of Cloud Blazer. He was on Bon Bon’s back, being carried. Each step intensified the hurt.

Junebug was walking beside them, carrying a limp form. Dark crimson ran down from the body, staining Junebug’s chartreuse coat.

She wasn’t moving under her own power, but her head sort of swayed with the gait of the one who bore her. Pixyglitter’s mouth hung open awkwardly. It was enough to fill the stallion with fresh despair that he’d been unable to save her.

The two mares began speaking frantically. Cloud Blazer was confused at first, because he only remembered what had happened while he had tried in vain to save his friend. The larger things going on around them had been forgotten. His hearing sharpened before his vision cleared.

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no! No, no, no!" Junebug spoke.

"The whole thing is frozen," Bon Bon said. "It’s falling."

"Oh no, oh no!"

The ground shook with the noise of a great disturbance. Buildings creaked on their foundations and a gust of wind blew the stench of battle into Cloud Blazer’s nose. The laden mares recovered and continued walking. The stallion coughed and realized that his throat was parched.

"Cloud Blazer?" Bon Bon said.

"Yeah," he replied. "I could use some water."

"We’re almost to the hospital."

"Thanks," he replied emotionlessly as he looked up.

The sky was clear to the south.

"Wait, where...?”

"The hospital," Junebug replied.

She had misunderstood. He took a moment to reform the question so as to communicate clearly.

"No, not that. Where is Cloudsdale?"

Junebug began crying.

"Bon Bon?"

"It fell," she replied. "It got frozen solid and fell out of the sky."

A great shout went up from soldiers from all around the city, pony soldiers. It sounded as if they were celebrating. It was enough to rally Cloud Blazer’s spirit only a little. It didn’t take him long to put everything together with this new development. Cloudsdale had been intentionally destroyed. Falling from altitude, a glacier of that size would have been more than sufficient to smash the timberwolf force that had been advancing from the south.

Any real joy he would have felt was eaten up by guilt. He had chosen to leave the farmhouse. It was his fault that Pixyglitter had died. He wanted desperately to ask the other two about her, but he had known from the moment the arrow hit her that there was no hope, though he hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. He’d killed her.

As he lay across Bon Bon’s back, staring at the body of the other pegasus, Cloud Blazer felt his heart wither under the weight of the sorrow. He was being crushed from within by a pain more immense than any he had ever known. He’d lost her.

Tears ran freely, muddying the stallion’s vision. The anguish seemed to become magnified with each passing moment, threatening to smother the stallion beneath its weight as the timberwolves had been smashed by the falling ice. Only one desire was left to Cloud Blazer in that moment. He wanted to die.

"Looks like it’ll still be a fight for the sky," Bon Bon broke the silence. "There’s still a lot of-“

A deafening splitting sound overwhelmed all other noise.

"By Celestia!" Junebug exclaimed in fright.

It was magic of some kind. It blasted again and again. It was like rushing of a train, or the ripping of a giant tapestry, only much louder. The air seemed suddenly to grow hotter.

"What’s happening?" Junebug cried out.

"I don’t know," Bon Bon answered.

Cloud Blazer wiped his eyes and looked. His mouth hung open as the blinding light display exploded from the center of the pony defenses. It was more magic than he had ever seen. It spewed out in great sweeping arcs of red energy, incinerating the changelings that were regrouping in the air.

Bon Bon changed the subject, "There it is, we’ll be inside in a second."

Cloud Blazer’s blood ran cold when he saw Prince Shining Armor levitating into the air. The monarch let out a wild cry that resounded across the countryside as even more magic poured from him. The injured pegasus had never witnessed anything like it in all his days, and he knew that he wasn’t likely to ever again. In spite of that, he didn’t care.

...

Scootaloo was dumbfounded. The bombing run had been even more wildly successful than she had dared hope. Cloudsdale, once they unbound their arrows and began dropping them, froze from one end to the other due to the amount of magical ice that was dropped. It broke up into three large pieces that hit the ground all at the same time. The timberwolves and any changelings that had been below were obliterated, smashed flat by the meteoric hailstorm. The few that remained were quickly mopped up by pony forces on the ground. She had been part of the victory cry that the soldiers let out. The demise of the timberwolf army, however, was not what had her attention at the moment.

It was a sweeping swath of magic that poured from the center of their line. Great red beams of energy split the sky in the direction of any changelings that were still in the air. For a moment, it looked as though they might rally and attempt a counter attack. After the third blast, they retreated in complete disarray.

Not wasting the confusion, EUP forces sprang into action and were able to capture thousands of changelings that tried to retreat in the wrong direction.

Scootaloo was so busy the rest of the day assessing damage and dealing with prisoners that it was evening before the repercussions of what had taken place really began to set in.

Over six-hundred thousand timberwolves and at least forty-thousand changelings had been killed, with another five-thousand captured. They had sacrificed Cloudsdale to take out the massive enemy army. Without it, the changelings no longer had overwhelming numbers on their side. Scootaloo realized that she had likely just participated in the deciding battle of the war. It was now only a matter of time; the ponies were going to win.

40 - Catharsis, Part 1 of 15

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Scootaloo found herself with Flittergear at the heart of a meeting to plan the EUP’s next move. Also in attendance were all of the commanders of the Wonderbolts, Templars, Bushmasters, and the CO’s of the regular units that were in and around Ponyville. They were in the late Twilight Sparkle’s castle, in the throne room with the large round table that was a magical map of Equestria encircled by six thrones. Nopony could activate the map now that the princess was gone. The room had been dubbed CIC when the EUP took up residence. All said and done, about thirty-five thousand of the Assault Corps had survived everything they’d been through. Prince Shining Armor was speaking.

"With any luck, we will soon find the changeling’s hatchery. Once we do, we’ll have the leverage we need to force Queen Chrysalis to stop the fighting."

"And if they don’t back down?" Rainbow Dash asked.

The prince looked at her, an eager lust in his eyes, "We will not lose this war, whatever it takes."

Scootaloo shifted uneasily at Shining Armor’s words.

General Fusillade, the stallion in command of the Templars, spoke next, “We’re still not done interrogating all of our new prisoners, but we’re definitely getting useful intel from them.”

Spitfire added, “Between that and some scouting we’ve done in the wake of the changeling’s retreat from Ponyville, my guys think they’re close.”

"We will have two options,” Shining Armor continued, a flash of red magical light crossed his expression, "We raise a force and attack directly or we send a small strike team to take it out. The advantage of the large force is that the changelings will have little choice but to try and stop us. If we can get them to gather in one place, we’ll have a better chance at putting them down once and for all."

"Messy," Flittergear said softly.

Scootaloo was certain in the subsequent silence that the others did hear her. She shifted her weight unintentionally onto the leg that had been wounded, and then immediately off of it again. The injury was mending, but it would be some time before it wasn’t painful to stand on.

"In either case, we need the information so we can force Queen Chrysalis to call off her dogs," the prince concluded. "Until then, we’re in a holding pattern again. The changeling advance has stopped on all fronts, though they haven’t retreated. With the exception of Baltimare, we hold everything that we did a few days ago.”

Spitfire added, "We managed to evacuate most of the city before it fell, and the farmland around Manehattan was recovered, though the crops took a beating in the exchange.”

In spite of everything that had been discussed, Scootaloo felt that there was one question still needing an answer. As no one else seemed wont to, she voiced it herself.

"If they do surrender tomorrow, what then?"

Shining Armor regarded her before answering, "We get them to disarm. They will destroy the timberwolves down to normal populations, and they will submit to having their horns broken so they cannot threaten us ever again."

"Not to belabor the point," Pacer took up her meaning, "What do we do with them after that?"

The prince shrugged and spoke callously, "That’s for them to figure out, but they can’t stay here. It’s no less than they deserve after what they’ve done."

Scootaloo knew well enough to keep her mouth shut at this point. Stripping changelings of their magic and banishing them seemed to her like a good way to guarantee another war somewhere down the line. Though, it was not as if she had a better solution. She puzzled over the problem.

To conclude the war, there were only a few possibilities. Either one side would destroy the other, or they would find a way to forge a peace that both sides could agree to. If the rest of the changelings reacted as Ash Eater had, crippling them would only make matters far worse. It wouldn’t be unlike breaking the wings of all the pegasi. Scootaloo shuddered at the thought.

But what alternative existed? It wasn’t as if they could simply integrate the changelings into their own society. Though, if they could succeed in making friends, or at least allies, the long-term chances for a lasting peace seemed much brighter. Scootaloo mused that Princess Twilight might have been a proud champion of such a notion. She turned her attention to the monarch.

Something was different about Shining Armor since the last time Scootaloo had seen him. His dark comments and line of thinking were most unsettling. She didn’t want to believe what she suspected. In the battle, she had recognized that blast of magic that slaughtered the changelings, but nopony else seemed willing to say anything. The Alicorn Amulet would be beginning to warp him; that would certainly explain his altered personality.

"If that’s all, I’m returning to Canterlot at once," the prince concluded.

Everypony stood when he did.

"Excellent work. I’ll commission statues for each of you," he said; it was not a joke.

The prince left, and the room cleared. A few lingered silently until it was only five of them left, the four remaining members of the Taskforce and Spitfire. She looked at Rainbow Dash with a gaze that held some unspoken meaning.

"We can trust these three," Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo was confused; Flittergear and Pacer seemed to share the sentiment.

"What do you think?" Spitfire asked.

"It’s time to act," Rainbow Dash said grimly.

"You mind filling in the rest of us on what’s going on?" Pacer asked impatiently.

"I was called by Princess Celestia the night before she died," Spitfire began. "She entrusted me with the safety of Prince Shining Armor from the Alicorn Amulet. At the time, it wasn’t public knowledge that he possessed it. I was ordered to discreetly share my charge with Rainbow Dash, and anypony else that we agreed could be trusted with this."

"Protect him how?" Pacer asked the question that was on Flittergear’s face and on Scootaloo’s mind.

Rainbow Dash answered, "The Alicorn Amulet is a powerful magical artifact. We saw that yesterday when he finally used it to clear the sky at the end of the battle. Keep in mind, that was only a fraction of what it can do. That’s why Shining Armor is keeping it with him at all times. We couldn’t risk the changelings getting their hooves on it. The problem is that it corrupts the wearer. The more they use it, the more twisted and evil they become."

Scootaloo didn’t like where this was going, "But this is Shining Armor we’re talking about. He hadn’t done anything bad or strange like when Trixie had the amulet."

Spitfire seemed slightly surprised by Scootaloo’s knowledge of such events, but the expression quickly waned, "There are things in his character that are out of place. Quite specifically, even contemplating genocide as an acceptable conclusion to the war."

Pacer scoffed with a snort, "Well, the changelings are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, maybe hundreds of thousands before this is over. Not to mention that Shining Armor has lost Celestia, his sister, and his wife over this. Magical trinket or no, that’s going to have an effect on a pony."

"That’s true enough," Spitfire conceded, "And we have given him quite a lot of leeway up to this point."

"I know Shining Armor," Rainbow Dash said, "war is one thing, and he’ll always do his duty to protect Equestria, but slaughtering hatchlings is not him."

That brought silence to the small group. Scootaloo couldn’t find any argument against the statement.

"Okay, so let’s get the amulet from him," Pacer said.

Spitfire grinned thinly, "It’s not that simple."

"Gee, how did I know you were going to say that?"

Her smile evaporated.

"The amulet has a magical lock," Rainbow Dash answered. "It can only be removed by the pony that is wearing it, at their own will."

"So we have to make him want to take it off," Flittergear said.

"Yeah," Scootaloo heard herself answer. "That’s what they did when Trixie had it. But you heard how he objected when Rainbow Dash suggested he give it to somepony else this morning. It’ll only be harder after the way he used it in the battle. Do we have a plan?"

Spitfire’s nose wrinkled as if in thought or perhaps a decision was being made.

"There is one... asset that may be to our advantage," she said guardedly. "The problem then would be what to do with the amulet after we get it from him."

"It goes without saying that we can’t risk the changelings getting a hold of it," Rainbow Dash added.

Scootaloo had trouble focusing on the conversation. She was fending off an overwhelming feeling of loss after everything they’d been through. Her heart felt heavy in spite of the victory they had won.

“Destroy it?" Flittergear asked.

"Yeah, right," Pacer mocked, "You saw how much energy was unleashed and how many alicorns it took to take out the mirror pond. What do you think would happen if we tried to destroy this thing?"

An uneasy feeling settled on Scootaloo; her stomach was churning.

"That is essentially the problem," Spitfire agreed.

"So, we’ll get the asset close and wait for our moment?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

Spitfire nodded. Scootaloo wondered what the asset could be, but they didn’t seem likely to be forthcoming on that subject, so she didn’t ask. Almost unconsciously, she glanced back at her flank. A smile crept across her face; her cutie mark was still there.

40 - Catharsis, Part 2 of 15

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Cloud Blazer was exhausted. However, aside from receiving water to drink, he had been mostly ignored. Neither doctors nor nurses had examined him yet, as they had hundreds of more pressing injuries to deal with.

Junebug and Bon Bon had left as soon as he was dropped off at the hospital. Bon Bon promised to find Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to let them know that he was safe. The air inside the waiting room was thick with the stench of blood and chemicals. Something like organized chaos had been reigning for over an hour.

He sat solemnly staring down at the wounded friend who lay before him, still clinging to life. Overwhelming relief had flooded his heart when the nurse told him that she was still alive. The blinding magnitude of the amelioration was beyond his own understanding. It was as if he had been reborn, the spark of hope filling his heart.

Pixyglitter was unconscious, the tail shaft of the arrow still sticking out of her back. The nurse that looked her over and made the chart indicated that the wound, while serious, shouldn’t be fatal.

Cloud Blazer was skeptical of this optimism. He had noticed that as one of many consistencies in the hospital staff. Every patient they came into contact with was told the same thing, "We’ll get to you as soon as we can, you’re injuries aren’t that severe." They had to be depleting their own stores of stamina, but some reserve of strength kept them moving.

When the nurses returned, they gave her what they called a saline fluid bolus. The intravenous solution seemed to bring some of the life back to her face. Though, it wasn’t long after that she had begun frothing a bloody foam from her mouth. The stallion had alerted another nurse, who told him that they would come soon. They hadn’t yet returned.

Considering how overcrowded the waiting room had become, it was actually a wonder that Cloud Blazer even got a cup of water. He felt conflicted about what to do next. It could be several hours before the doctors got to Pixyglitter, and he certainly wasn’t going to sit around long enough to let them look him over. It would be days, and he knew his own injuries well enough. One mending broken leg, several other old fractures that were also healing and still hurting, and at least three freshly bruised or cracked ribs that were giving him a fit. That, of course, didn’t count the amputated wings that ached constantly, but otherwise seemed to be knitting nicely.

He didn't want to leave Pixyglitter while her life was in danger. There might not be much he could do to help her, but he could at least keep a watchful eye and alert somepony if she got worse. The decision was made for him due to a lack of energy. If he’d had more strength, he might have left to complete his quest and rescue the princesses. As it was, the friends were already all in Ponyville. They just had to get to the orb and hope it opened. Especially with doubt in question, it didn’t seem like a pressing thing to attend to until Pixyglitter was safe.

His emotional state had leveled out at a somewhat wrecked state. The hope was surrounded by so much fear that he could feel his heart racing. He wanted to get past this moment, but he dreaded the possible outcomes.

Cloud Blazer took a breath, striving to calm his anxieties. In and out his lungs cycled the air as he looked down at Pixyglitter. There was every reason to think she was unconscious and unable to hear him, but the stallion felt compelled to speak to the mare nonetheless. He leaned in to the sleeping form.

“Just know that if you die, you are killing me too.”

She didn’t respond.

Cloud Blazer sat back and put the empty cup to his lips again. Shaking it gently, he was able to coax another drop out and into his mouth. He sighed, still thirsty, but unwilling to leave his companion alone.

...

Hearing was the first sensation that was experienced. There was a murmuring like voices and metal against metal. It almost sounded like somepony was having dinner, but it didn’t smell right. The pony struggled to bring thought into clarity. The scent was familiar, but from where? A presence was felt nearby, and muffled voices were heard. The confusion began to clear like a fog burns off before to reveal a sunny day.

The living form struggled to come out of it, though the difficulty was akin to running while at the bottom of a pond. Memories began flooding back. There was fighting, and then an explosion. Duster soon realized that he was in a hospital. His eyes were opened, and vision was returning, blurry at first, but things were beginning to come into focus. He was lying on a couch in a waiting room. Ponies were buzzing about, doctors and nurses running to tend the wounded.

"He’s awake," LD said from somewhere nearby.

Duster turned to see him. The deep scar under his right eye was curled upward a little as the stallion grinned at him. His blue eyes were filled with either relief or excitement. He had earned several cuts and bruises from the battle, but looked to be otherwise in good health. Locknload stood beside him.

"It seems you made a good accounting of yourself," Locknload said. "Rumor is that you’re going to be The Hero of Ponyville, Timberwolf’s Bane, Destroyer of Cities, or some such nonsense."

"That figures," LD jabbed, though he seemed weary. "We clearly did more of the work, and he gets a title."

Duster was still confused as to how he had arrived at the hospital. He was sure that he remembered being somewhere else. It had seemed to clear a short time ago. He was in a field, or was there a river? Who was there with him?

He began to sit up, and then the pain from the wound in his throat throbbed through his body, causing him to collapse.

"Easy," LD cautioned, "I patched you up, but the doctors haven’t had a look yet. You’re being held together with bandages and tape. You practically had your head ripped off by an old friend of mine.“ His eyes grew darker, "It’s a shame neither of us managed to finish him."

Duster tried to speak, which was a mistake. Pain spiked out as if a grapefruit wrapped in barbed wire were lodged in his throat. He croaked and coughed, exacerbating the discomfort that overwhelmed everything for a moment.

LD grabbed a paper and pencil and gave it to the injured pegasus.

Recovering from the fit, Duster wrote, ‘Friend?’

"A changeling by the name of Ash Eater. Your sister and I were captured by him the first time we went into the Everfree Forest. He had actually been training with our squad, impersonating a pegasus named Nitro."

Duster wrote small to use the scrap of paper again, ‘How did I get here? I thought I was dead.’

LD snorted a laugh, "No, not quite. While the ice arrows were raining down, we took out those changelings and taught old Ash Eater a lesson. I didn’t see what became of him after I shoved him away. I was busy keeping you from bleeding out.”

Locknload sighed, “He realized that we had dealt with the rest of his friends and ran. I followed him, but he is a clever one. He couldn’t outrun me with his injured leg and dove through the cloud-floor to get away.”

“Then Locknload here was good enough to teleport the three of us to safety."

The sergeant grunted gruffly. He wore a bandage over his left shoulder that was saturated and in need of changing.

‘Gunnysack and Rolling Thunder?’

“Sorry. It’s just us that made it,” LD answered grimly. Then he seemed to remember something, “Oh, I did manage to save this for you.”

LD produced Sparklefly’s eye patch from a pocket and gave it to Duster. The stallion regarded it a moment, assaulted freshly be waves of sorrow at the loss of his sister. He accepted the scrap of cloth before thinking of another question.

‘Did we win?’

"Can it, you need to rest," Locknload said. "But yes, your plan worked. Ponyville is safe for now, as is what’s left of the Assault Corps. The changelings are in full retreat for the moment, and we captured thousands of them.”

Duster lay there, hurting all over his body, but mostly from the wound in his neck. An inch in either direction and he’d probably be dead. To the grand scheme of things, his involvement in this action was truly a small piece of the titanic events that had unfolded. Perhaps for the first time, he truly appreciated his own insignificance.

40 - Catharsis, Part 3 of 15

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Pixyglitter’s head was swimming. There were voices all around, and her chest hurt with every breath. In spite of this ache, she felt almost giddy. The mare tried to push through the fog that clouded her mind but found herself unable to do so. As such, she did her best to focus her efforts on picking out the voices.

They were a jumble of talking, shouting, crying, moaning, and perhaps even pleading. Pixyglitter didn’t think this made any sense at all, as she couldn’t remember much. She’d been at home with her parents, that was the last thing she could recall. Then there had been an air raid siren.

She winced from the acute pang in her chest as she breathed. Oddly enough, though it was sharp, it and everything else seemed somehow far away. She tried to move, but found herself unable to do so with any ease. Had the building collapsed? Was she now buried in the rubble and waiting to die? She decided to try to speak to the voices.

"Hhello?" her voice sounded strange to her own ears, almost distant as though it belonged to somepony else.

"Pixy, are you okay?" a stallion spoke.

It took her a moment to recognize Cloud Blazer’s voice. That was a queer thing. Why should it be difficult to pick his voice out, and what was he doing here?

"Hey, are you awake?“

"Hheya," she replied a moment later. "I wassh whhere... you..." she found it troublesome to form a sentence. She redoubled her efforts and began again, “Dids the city gets attacked?"

"No, the soldiers were able to stop them."

“Oh… well... whhere are mhy parentssh?”

"What?"

"Mhy parentssh… are thhey vuried hhere too?"

Words were difficult to form. Something must have been wrong, but she found it difficult to concern herself with it.

"Pixyglitter? Your parents are in Manehattan, they’re fine."

"Well... thhat’ssh… no ruvvle?"

"You’re in Ponyville, remember? You got shot while we were crossing town. The doctors gave you some blood and something for the pain," Cloud Blazer explained.

"How did I gets to sshot to Ponyville?" she asked, her speech still slurring. “Pony... pony, pony... Ponyville...”

Sleep was threatening to take her again.

"Just rest for now."

"Don’t leave mhe," she begged.

"I’m not going anywhere," his voice soothed.

She lost consciousness again.

...

Scootaloo approached Sweet Apple Acres at dusk. The destruction from the previous battles had been mostly cleared away or at least pushed into organized rows of detritus. She expected to see saplings by now, but it was mostly just barren earth where the orchard had been. Other crops were growing elsewhere on the farm, but it was certain to be a hard winter on everypony. That was, of course, assuming that winter would come at all.

With the loss of Cloudsdale and the weather factory, nopony would be able to make the snow that typically would cover Equestria during the season. Of course, the weather had been left to its own devices for nearly a year. The seemingly-random whims to which it subjected Equestria were most inconvenient for everypony.

The house and barn came into view. They stood a testament that not all things had been destroyed; some of what had been survived still. Scootaloo approached slowly, limping on her left hind leg. She felt a bit out of place somehow. It was as if the farm belonged here, but she felt a stranger for a moment.

Removing her helmet eased the sensation. The wind tickled her short-cropped mane. She was about to knock when the door opened in front of her. A surprised Apple Bloom was facing her. The expression quickly turned into a grin as she threw herself at Scootaloo, embracing her in a hug. The recipient staggered backward, putting weight on the injured leg and making a small yelp.

"Careful!" she scolded.

Backing away, the other replied, "Sorry ‘bout that! You okay?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo answered. "I’ll be fine. Hey, take a look at this!"

The pegasus turned, swelling with pride as she showed her flank. Apple Bloom’s eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Whoo-whee!" she shouted into the night. "Best cutie mark ever!" she effused, brandishing her own similar icon. "How’d you get it? Tell me everything!"

"Yeah, about that," Scootaloo began a little solemnly, "You know how you two got yours on the same day. I still had plans to follow in Rainbow Dash’s hoof steps back then. Everything I’ve been through lately has taught me that I really don’t want that for myself. I was always happiest here with you guys when we were crusading. I told Rainbow Dash how I really felt and what I had decided yesterday evening and that’s when it happened."

Apple Bloom’s joyous expression went blank in shock, "Yesterday evening?”

Scootaloo was confused, "Yeah, why?"

"Scootaloo," the young mare said, her pink bow pushed slightly by the breeze, "Sweetie Belle and I had something happen that we couldn’t explain yesterday evening. Our cutie marks started glowing.”

Scootaloo considered the meaning behind this. Clearly it couldn’t have been a coincidence.

"Wow, Apple Bloom, that’s... wow," was all she managed to say. "Is Sweetie Belle here? I can’t wait to show her."

"Naw, she’s off with her sister looking for the cat."

"Rarity? What’s she doing in Ponyville? How’d she lose Opalescence?"

"I’m gonna find Applejack," Apple Bloom said. "Come on, I’ll tell you what I heard."

"Okay," the pegasus said as she turned and walked beside her friend.

They remained silent in the failing light until they had put some distance between themselves and the farm.

"Flurry Heart sure does a good job on the sunsets. I bet they’re her favorite."

"Yeah, they are good."

"I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details," Apple Bloom began. "Cloud Blazer made a new friend while he was in the hospital."

Scootaloo felt herself wince at the mention of Cloud Blazer. Apple Bloom’s gaze seemed to catch this, but she continued as if she hadn’t noticed. The pegasus let out a sigh of relief.

"She’s a pegasus named Pixyglitter. She was blinded in a battle at Las Pegasus, I think. Anyway, the two of them hit it off and have been doing just about everything together for months. The crazy thing is, the two of them have figured out how to fly together."

Scootaloo involuntarily stopped for a moment in surprise, “Wait, they fly?" She darted to catch up.

"Yeah, he tells her what to do, and she does it. I guess it’s kind of like he’s her eyes, and she’s his wings. Anyway, the two of them convinced Fluttershy to go to Manehattan and get Rarity. Of course, Rarity couldn’t leave the cat behind, so they brought her along. They got back in the middle of the battle, and the cat carrier broke. Pixyglitter was hit by an arrow, and Cloud Blazer is with her in the hospital. I couldn’t get in to see him, but Bon Bon told me what happened. I’ve been helping look for Opalescence ever since, but we haven’t found her yet."

"I guess that answers the how, but I still don’t know why?" Scootaloo noted.

Apple Bloom shrugged, "He didn’t tell me. Those two seem to have some secret that they’re not too keen on sharing. He did say that he needed all of Twilight Sparkle’s friends for something.“

The pegasus didn’t say anything to that, uncertain as to what it might mean.

"Speaking of which, I get the feeling you have something you need to talk about. I saw your reaction when I mentioned Cloud Blazer, so what gives?"

Scootaloo felt dreadful on that subject. It was no wonder that Apple Bloom was walking so slowly. It gave them time to have this conversation. She decided to attempt deception.

She shrugged, "I don’t know. We’re good as far as I know."

Apple Bloom stopped dead in her tracks. The look on her face was as accusatory as it was skeptical.

"Seriously?"

Scootaloo felt herself squirm, but no words came.

"I may not be quite as honest-apple as my sister, but I know a bad lie when I hear one, especially from somepony I know as well as you."

"I don’t know what to say."

"How about the truth," she said flatly; there was no malice in Apple Bloom’s eyes, only concern.

Scootaloo took a breath, wondering how she could come to terms with the way she’d hurt him. She hadn’t resolved these things within herself yet, and so sharing it became all the more difficult. Apparently, it was something she couldn’t keep ignoring forever. She decided to start at the beginning.

"I guess... I felt responsible for him getting hurt. He started acting weird after that, when he regained consciousness, but I didn’t think much of it because of what he’d been though. Then, I started to notice things he said... I could tell he was starting to see me as more than just a friend, but I was so ashamed of letting him down that I didn’t do anything to discourage him. I guess that made him think I felt the same way. Then, after your sister won the election, he came out and said it. He wants us to be..."

Scootaloo swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

She let out a sigh, “Lovers… I just don’t think of him that way; I never did. I knew I had to put a stop to it right there, but I overreacted a little. I never wanted anything to change between us, but now it’s weird."

Apple Bloom’s expression changed, becoming a little harder as she reached out and struck Scootaloo on the side of her head, "This is easy! Apologize."

Slightly stunned by the attack, the pegasus stood there speechless.

"What? Were you expecting sympathy? You don’t have to be more than friends; you told him that already, and you’ll probably have to tell him again. But letting things stay like this was really dumb. You could have been killed. He could have been killed. Then what would you do?"

That thought had occurred to Scootaloo, but only in the darkest recesses of her imagination. Such was always quickly swept away.

"You go fix this."

A mild panic brought all of Scootaloo’s defenses to bear.

"But, what if I can’t? What if we can’t be friends anymore? What if he won’t want to?"

"Do I have to smack you upside the head again?" Apple Bloom asked; it was not a joke. "It doesn’t matter if he rejects you. In fact, it might be what you deserve. That’s not the point. The point is, he’s your friend. You still want to be friends, and you hurt him. Now go apologize. If he tells you to buzz off, then at least it’ll be settled."

Scootaloo was amazed. Everything seemed to be much more clear the way Apple Bloom had laid it out. She gave up, allowed her pride to be wounded, and accepted the advice.

"You’re right."

"Of course I am!" Apple Bloom said with a grin flashing across her face. "I was thinking about opening shop to help ponies with their problems."

Scootaloo giggled, "You mean like we used to do?"

"Darn tootin’!"

"I think that’s a great idea," the pegasus agreed.

Scootaloo made up her mind. Her course was set, but it was with great trepidation that she decided what she needed to do. She had to find Cloud Blazer.

40 - Catharsis, Part 4 of 15

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Duster found sleep difficult to obtain. Every time he swallowed, his throat hurt with a furious twinge. They had given him a shot to dull it, but that had worn off hours before. LD and Locknload had been sent out of the hospital, and the wounded stallion found himself alone. The worst part about it was the boredom. Doctors and nurses were still rushing around, tending to other ponies while he laid there, mostly ignored. He sighed and continued to wait, hoping that somepony would come check on him and give him something to either dull the pain or help him sleep.

A nurse, as if responding to his desire, approached. One look at her was all he needed to assess just how tired she was. Most likely she’d been here since the battle had begun that morning. She checked the bandage on his throat, poking at it in a way that made Duster wince for the tightening pain he felt. The nurse unwrapped the dressing and applied fresh bandages. She seemed satisfied and began writing on a chart. She picked it up and finally looked him in the eye.

"You’re good to go. Be careful standing, and get plenty of fluids. Come back in tomorrow to have that changed or if it starts bleeding again. Don’t think about trying to fly."

Unceremoniously, she turned and walked away, taking his chart with her. Duster heeded her advice, slowly rolling from the row of armless chairs on which he’d been laying and placing his hooves against the floor. It was littered with odds and ends that had yet to be cleaned from a long hard day. Duster’s heart was pounding, and each pulse made his wound hurt sharply, but it was tolerable. He ambled to the door, glad to leave the stench of blood and chemicals behind.

Strictly speaking, calling the outside air fresh would have been a bit of a stretch. The stench of death and timberwolves hung heavily over town, as the wind that had been blowing it south was no longer cooperating. Duster found walking easy enough, but he did feel light-headed, no doubt from the loss of blood he had suffered from the wound.

"There he is!" a voice shouted from a short distance.

Duster turned to see LD and Locknload approaching awkwardly. They were staggering a bit.

"Hey, pal!" LD said, throwing a side embrace around the stallion, "I’m ghlad they let yhou go. It’ssh ghood."

Duster tried to back away but was grabbed tighter.

"Todhay wassh a ghood dhay," Locknload said; he sounded cheerful.

They both smelled sickly sweet. Duster felt somewhat amused at their state as he produced his paper and pencil. There was just enough light coming from the open hospital door for him to communicate with the duo.

‘You two are smashed.’

LD struggled to read the paper and then shook his head, "Nho... nho, I’m ghood. I only hhad… had a couphle. I’m nhot dhrunk."

"Todhay wassh a ghood dhay," Locknload repeated vacantly.

‘We should go to the castle.’

"Nhope, nhope," LD said, again shaking his head. "Whe dhon’t nheed to. Whe have a placessh to sshtay at Sshweet Apple Acres. Sshhe issh thhere! And I, will sshee hher... aghain!"

Duster had no idea about what or whom LD might be talking, but the inebriated pegasus began walking, still embracing Duster. The sober pony knew one thing he could expect to find at Sweet Apple Acres: family. Wrangling the two was quite a hoof-full especially considering Duster’s weariness, and it wasn’t exactly fun to be the one sober pony in the group.

Between Locknload repeating himself, LD’s loss of personal boundaries, and a sing-a-long that began when they reached the edge of the farm, it was all Duster could do just to keep them on the path. Their own ruckus aside, the town was quiet as they stumbled through the moonlit streets and through the countryside of the farm. The light that Duster finally saw from the farmhouse seemed rather welcoming.

LD stopped singing and said, "Thhere sshhe issh! Sshhe issh, the mhost bheautiful... the prettiests, I mean... I mean..."

He looked toward the farmhouse, but his gaze became detached, as if a thought might occur to him. Rather suddenly, he began singing again, badly. They continued in this manner until they arrived at the door. Duster knocked, but nearly fell over when LD’s weight shifted. The door creaked open, and a yellow stallion with an orange mane stood before them.

Duster realized his folly when neither of the others spoke.

He hurriedly prepared a note, ‘Hello, I’m Private Duster.’

LD stopped singing.

"Lightning Dasher?" the stallion within the house said.

LD looked up at him stupidly before a wide grin came across his face, "Mr. Cake! Whhere’s Apple Bhloom? I am hhere, to sshee Apple Bhloom!”

Mr. Cake wrinkled his nose at the stench of the amorous pegasus’ breath, a hint of disgust was detected at the way LD was behaving.

"Private Duster, you say," Mr. Cake seemed to have a recognition at the name. "Oh! Of course, you’re Twinklestar’s son. Come in."

"Todhay wassh a ghood... dhay," Locknload said; his eyes were growing heavy.

Mr. Cake called through the house, "Honeybun! Duster came to see his family!"

From an unseen vantage point, confetti blasted out and sprayed through the room. Duster’s heart nearly stopped, LD fell over from fright, nearly taking Duster with him. The sober pegasus managed to shrug off the other and let him fall. Locknload didn’t react at whatsoever, as if he hadn’t heard the noise of the canon. The injury in Duster’s throat pounded as he gasped.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!" a pink mare shouted as she zoomed out, stopping in front of Duster. "Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, but you wouldn’t know that because you hadn’t met me before, but that’s only because you hadn’t been here before, and I wanted to make sure you felt welcome when you first came, so that’s why I had the party cannon ready! Well, do you feel welcome? Do you? Do you?"

Duster was backed against the wall by the advancing onslaught of cheerfulness that was Pinkie Pie. He nodded, nearly speaking, but he caught himself and pointed to the bandages on his throat.

"Oh no! You can’t talk? I’m so sorry to hear that! Don’t worry! You can stick with me, and I’ll do enough talking for the both of us!"

Of that, Duster had no doubt. From the stairs, several colts and fillies giggled. Duster didn’t recognize two of them, but Thunderfly leapt down the stairs and bolted across the room; warmth filled Duster’s heart at the sight of him.

"Welcome back, Duster!” he said, embracing his brother in a big hug.

The life was nearly squeezed from the stallion when Pinkie Pie joined this effort to welcome the soldier home. When he was able to get air again, he saw Twinklestar coming down the stairs with Shimmerpuff closely behind her flank. His Momma Mare wore a huge grin and tears were already flowing freely from her eyes. She crossed and grabbed Duster close.

Pinkie Pie stood back and blew her nose on a cloth, "I just love family reunions!"

Duster couldn’t stifle the giggle at her antics, but it sent another wave of pain from his throat. His mother backed away, keeping her hooves on his shoulders as she regarded her son.

"Whhere… issh Apple Blhoom!" LD shouted out, having regained his hooves in a wobbly wide stance.

He effectively drew everypony’s attention for a moment. Oddly enough, it was the exuberant mare that sprang into action to deal with the intoxicated pair.

"Uh oh!" Pinkie Pie said. "It looks like somepony’s had a little too much party. Come with Auntie Pinkie Pie, I’ll get you two fixed right up!"

"Bhut I nheed to sshee… Apple Bhloom!"

Pinkie Pie tilted her head and said, "Well, she’s not here right now, and besides, you can’t let her see you looking like that, silly! I’ll help you get ready!"

With Mr. Cakes’ help, the pair led the inebriated soldiers away as LD began another song, leaving the family by themselves for the moment. By this time, Glitterdust had arrived at the stairs. She didn’t approach, but her usual disgusted look was softer than usual.

"Oh, you’re so much bigger and stronger since I last saw you," Twinklestar said, still holding her son’s shoulders.

She let a nervous glance fall on his bandaged neck before she hugged him again. Duster felt warm and whole in that moment.

"You’ll have to tell me everything," she said, backing away and looking at him again. "I know you were assigned with your sister. How is she?"

All the warmth left the room. She may as well have punched him in the gut. Duster looked away, finding even drawing breath to be laborious and difficult. A sheen of cold sweat formed on his brow as he looked down at his scrap of paper, unsure what to write. Twinklestar gently turned his head back to face her. A deep concern was in her gaze; it quickly grew into unbridled fear. His eyes must surely have betrayed his own feelings.

"To bed, all of you," Twinklestar said with forced calm.

The little ones began complaining, but she shot a look to Glitterdust, whose expression became one of understanding.

"Come on, before she whoops all of us," she said to her younger siblings.

Shimmerpuff and Thunderfly reluctantly followed their sister up the stairs, crying loudly about it. Then Duster and his mother were alone.

"Tell me," she said, her voice a ghostly whisper.

Duster took his paper and pencil again, but he still found himself unable to write anything. Speaking was out of the question. He looked back up at her. Momma Mare was shaking; she bit her lip and took a breath.

She spoke quietly, barely even audible in an icy tone, “Did Sparklefly get hurt?”

Duster was holding back tears. He didn’t want to hurt her.

“Is... is Sparklefly dead?"

The words she uttered brought time to a halt. The question hung in the air like a bomb waiting to explode. The mix of emotions in her eyes broke his heart. She knew; she already knew what he was going to tell her. She didn’t want to hear it, but she had to know.

Slowly, he nodded as the tears formed in her eyes.

"Are..." she swallowed, and a kind of grin, not the happy sort, contorted her face with a feigning of control. "Are you sure?"

His vision began to blur; Duster remembered what was in his pocket. He withdrew his sister’s eye patch and offered it to his mother. Twinklestar didn’t say another word; she didn’t have to. She embraced her son, and the two of them let their emotions flow.

40 - Catharsis, Part 5 of 15

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Cloud Blazer found it difficult to keep his eyes open. He shook himself, refusing to succumb to slumber before Pixyglitter was seen by the doctors. He had to be there for her. She had awakened briefly, but she only spoke nonsense before losing consciousness again. She was still breathing, and for now, that would have to be enough of a comfort for his raw emotional state.

He looked around the room, at the numerous other ponies that were hurt or dying, waiting for the doctors to get to them. He felt a twinge of guilt at the realization that he didn’t care about any of them. If he could have made it so, he’d have put Pixyglitter to the front of the line.

He pushed the arrogant thoughts from his mind. They were just as important to their loved ones as was she to him. Pixyglitter was not a special case, no matter how badly Cloud Blazer longed to see her healed.

The moment he spotted Scootaloo, he was wide awake. His heart began pounding with a mixture of hope and fear. She seemed to be looking for somepony in the chaos of the hospital waiting room. It wasn’t quite full to bursting any longer, but it was still crowded.

He watched as her eyes scanned the room, finally coming to rest when they locked with his gaze. She didn’t look away. She began approaching; her face held an appearance of growing concern. Within precious short moments, she was standing directly in front of him. He stared at her, saying nothing, unsure if words would be welcome. Scootaloo glanced at the wounded mare that lay between them.

"Her name is Pixyglitter," Cloud Blazer ventured.

Scootaloo nodded, "Apple Bloom told me."

Cloud Blazer’s mouth felt dry, but his heart was lifted a little. She spoke to him. She was speaking to him. The moans of the wounded and dying again filled the silence between the pair. This lasted for a minute that felt like an hour.

"Are you hurt?" Scootaloo finally asked.

"No more than usual," he replied, attempting his good humor, but he felt it fall flat.

"I was looking for you," Scootaloo began nervously. "I’ve been meaning to come find you for a while, but I’ve been away."

A bitter feeling began seeping from some unknown reservoir within the stallion. He didn’t know from where it had come, but it was rather unpleasant.

"I know I hurt you," she continued, "and if there was anything I could do to take any of it back, I would... I guess I’m trying to say… I’m sorry."

"You’re sorry," he said blankly.

The bitterness washed over him, growing more intense, banishing all other feelings and overwhelming the stallion’s capacity for reason or thought.

"You’re sorry?"

Everything that had happened since he fell began flashing through his mind.

"Do you think that’s going to help fix anything?"

He saw fear in her eyes. Had he been in a normal state of mind, he would have stopped, but after the things he had suffered combined with a lack of sleep and the very real possibility that Pixyglitter might die, he lacked any such sensitivity. Animalistic instinct pushed him to strike.

"I was hurt. I almost died, and you’re sorry? You abandoned me when I was at my most vulnerable, and you’re sorry?” his voice sprang out hotly. “I had only one hope that kept me breathing. You crushed it as soon as you had a chance. Then you acted like I had died so you didn’t have to deal with me. I don’t think ‘sorry’ quite covers it!”

She recoiled, but stopped only a step back, standing her ground.

He continued, “Do you know why I brought up the rear in the forest? I did it to keep you safe, not the others, just you.”

"I didn’t ask you to do that," she defended.

"You didn’t have to! I knew you would have done it yourself, and I couldn’t let that happen. Don’t you get it? You’d be right here or dead if I hadn’t done what I did. Oh, but that’s okay, because you’re ‘sorry’. Who do you think you are?"

"I was in command," she spoke guardedly. “But I didn’t order you to do that. You can’t put it on me."

She wasn’t wrong, but Cloud Blazer found that he didn’t care. From some unknown depth, a dam had burst, spilling a lifetime of rage and hate.

“You don’t get to abandon your friends when they need you most and then go on like nothing happened! In case you hadn’t noticed, I will never fly again because of you. I nearly died because of you! Pixyglitter may die because of you."

"I had nothing to do with that," her eyes were filling with tears that hadn’t fallen yet.

He continued to press the attack, "If you hadn’t pushed me away, I would have come to you when I started having the dreams."

"What dreams?"

"Ask Rainbow Dash. I did tell her, but she didn’t believe me just like you wouldn’t have."

Pixyglitter coughed, breaking the onslaught of Cloud Blazer’s words. The wounded mare sputtered and wheezed, more foamy blood draining from her mouth. The enraged stallion looked back up at Scootaloo. She seemed smaller somehow.

"I wouldn’t have had to find my own way to Manehattan and back. We could have been somewhere safe if you hadn’t pushed me away. That’s how it’s your fault."

She had shrunk down, as if drawing herself into a small, defensive position.

He let out one final barb, “I lost everything i had for you, and you threw me out like I was trash.”

The orange pegasus took a deep breath, as if she would speak, “I...”

"Get out,” the stallion cut her off.

Scootaloo swallowed hard and made something that passed for a nod before she turned away without another word. She walked off with Cloud Blazer’s eyes boring every last ounce of hatred he could muster into her back.

Then she was gone.

The room had grown completely silent. As the angered stallion looked around, everypony returned to ignoring him. He had thought that releasing such things might make him feel better. That is the lie his emotions told him when they surfaced. In truth, he only felt worse.

40 - Catharsis, Part 6 of 15

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Scootaloo, horrified by the vicious verbal attack she had endured, walked until she was outside, but before she knew it, she was galloping through town, her mind numb as it processed what had just unfolded. The darkness of night was a small comfort for the heavy weight that pressed her spirit lower with each step.

By the time she reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, hot tears were running down her face. The light from the farm house let her know that somepony was still awake. She didn’t want to see any of them, not yet, let alone be seen herself.

Changing corse in favor of the nearby barn, she unlatched and pushed through the the large rough wooden doors. She didn’t bother to pull them shut, but took a few steps inside before sinking to the the ground.

A great deal of guilt overwhelmed her senses. It came in waves, each one larger than the last, and it was pummeling her spirit, reducing her to the crying heap she had become. The warrior she had been might have had a defense against such emotions, but she had cast that aside already and had to find other means of coping.

Scootaloo knew that she wasn’t directly responsible for Cloud Blazer’s physical injuries. She didn’t ask him to bring up the rear. He had made that choice on his own. As for the other... There was no arguing the point; she had hurt him deeply by the things she had done. She had compounded that injury exponentially by ignoring him for several months.

She didn’t care whose fault what was. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had inflicted a hurt so deep that she was unable to fix it. The mare scolded herself for being so cruel. Being afraid or uncomfortable was a poor excuse to hurt a friend, especially the way she had.

The barn door creaked open; Scootaloo didn’t look back. Approaching hoof steps told her that somepony was there. They came to rest in front of her. When Scootaloo looked up, it was the silhouettes of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle that her eyes registered in the darkness. Her vision was blurry as she held them in her gaze for a moment, tears running freely still. A fresh wave of shame took her, and she lowered her head again.

Without saying a word, the other two sat down on either side of their friend. Each placed a hoof against her back. Time lost meaning, and the three of them stayed that way for what seemed like hours. The unicorn and earth pony eventually laid down, embracing the pegasus between them. The three friends cried together until the tears were all spent.

She knew it wouldn’t do any good, but the pegasus hated herself for letting things get so out of hoof. Cloud Blazer was right. He had been so vulnerable, and she abandoned him when he needed her most. How could she expect to be forgiven for that? The closeness of her other friends was a comfort, but in time their shared heat became stifling.

Scootaloo eventually stirred, prompting the others to give her a little space. Her head was pounding and her body felt sapped of strength. They all sat upright in the darkness of the barn, barely able to see each other’s outlines against the moonlight that came through the gaps of the slats that made the walls.

"I’m sorry," Scootaloo croaked.

A dim magical blue-green light began to emanate from Sweetie Belle’s horn, revealing the three sad faces to each other.

"I’m the one who should be sorry," Apple Bloom countered. "I shouldn’t have pushed you to go talk to Cloud Blazer like that."

Scootaloo was not surprised that they had guessed by her state what had happened. She shook her head.

"No, you were right. I had to. It had already been far too long. He just got so angry."

"So, what now?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Is there anything we can do to fix this?"

Fresh tears burned their way down Scootaloo’s face.

"No," the pegasus replied. "It’s too late. I went to apologize to him, and he just threw everything bad that has happened to him in my face. I can’t take any of it back; I can’t make him fly again. I broke everything. There’s nothing we can do."

"I bet Granny Smith would have had something really helpful to say about now," Apple Bloom said solemnly.

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "I wish she were here; I’d like to hear it."

"Do you want us to talk to Cloud Blazer for you?" Sweetie Belle offered.

Scootaloo shook her head again and quickly replied, "No, please don’t! There’s no reason to make him mad at either of you guys."

"It wouldn’t help nothing anyways," Apple Bloom agreed.

The door creaked and a voice said, "I’m inclined to agree."

The three turned, and Scootaloo thought she’d seen a ghost. Sparklefly entered the barn. Scootaloo’s blood ran cold while her mind played the trick on her. The mare that approached was a much older pegasus. The colored light from Sweetie Belle’s horn had distorted the appearance a little, but it was soon apparent that it was Twinklestar, her friend’s mother. Deep lines of worry and sorrow were etched in her face, as was evidence of recently shed tears.

“It is ea…” Twinklestar’s voice caught, and she cleared her throat. "It is easier to take a fortified city than to win back an offended friend.”

Fresh tears came to Scootaloo’s eyes as she stood. She knew what she had to do now. She had to deliver news of Sparklefly’s death. Her heart shriveled. She wasn’t ready for this, but what choice was there? Twinklestar put up a hoof, silencing the words that had been forming in Scootaloo’s mind.

"I know," she said as fresh emotions began to fall. "My son returned. He told me."

"Duster," Scootaloo said to herself.

The other two friends looked a little confused, but they had likely guessed the truth of the matter.

Turning to them, Scootaloo simply said, "Sparklefly didn’t make it."

Another wave of grief hit the young pegasus, and she sat down again. Voicing the truth had brought the moment back. She could see her friend growing cold as she held her in those final moments.

"I apologize for eavesdropping," Twinklestar said, a shiver in her voice. "I had meant to be alone right now. I almost went elsewhere when I realized you three were in here, but then I heard you talking."

Scootaloo shook her head, "No, thank you. I..."

There were too many varied emotions in play for her to form her thoughts easily.

"Please stay," she finally managed.

Twinklestar nodded and approached closer to the group.

"I guess I feel a little silly," Scootaloo said, almost vacantly. "Several of my friends have died already, and I’m sad about one that is still alive."

"Not at all," Twinklestar said with what passed for a smile. "Death is final. Where there is life, there is still hope. Anytime hope is crushed, it tends to make one heartsick."

The look on the older mare’s face seemed to have a question that grew closer and closer to being spoken.

"I have something to ask of you. I don’t know if I’ll be able to after tonight... I may not have the heart to do so. Duster is unable to speak, but he had indicated... were you with my daughter when she died?"

Now it was Scootaloo who had fresh tears coming.

"I was with her," she replied, her voice sounding hollow in her own ears.

"Tell me, please,” the older mare said with a hardening expression. “I want to know.”

Scootaloo took a breath, steeling herself against reliving the moment.

"I was on combat air patrol. The changelings had disbursed the timberwolf horde, and most of our pegasi were drawing them back to us. It was a ruse, and they hit our ground force while we were thinned out. They had tunneled underneath our position and hit the center. There just weren’t enough of us to cover everywhere at once, and soon the entire Assault Corps was fighting for their lives. The command center was hit in the second wave, and I returned there as soon as I could."

Scootaloo swallowed; she was becoming incredibly thirsty, "All of the commanders and aids... most of them were dead. When I found Sparklefly, she was still alive; she had fired a flare, which is what brought me back. Her wounds... I knew they were fatal when I saw. I was helpless. I held her," the raw emotion made Scootaloo’s voice crack. "I held her until she didn’t know who I was anymore. She thought I was you."

Twinklestar’s reaction, rife with overwhelming sorrow, made Scootaloo stop, but the older mare seemed to beckon her to continue.

She took another breath, "She asked me... asked you to not be angry, that she hadn’t done it. I held her tightly, and she thanked you. I was with her until... until it was over."

Twinklestar reached out, pulling Scootaloo close. The young mare wasn’t sure how to react to this.

"Thank you," the older mare said. "Thank you for being with her so she didn’t have to be alone."

The unicorn and earth pony also embraced the two pegasi, and the four of them sat huddled in the dimly lit barn for a time. Scootaloo, although somewhat unburdened in a way, had used all of her strength in the release of heavy emotions. When the time came, she found sleep easy to achieve.

40 - Catharsis, Part 7 of 15

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Pixyglitter awoke at an unknown hour, trying to push through the grogginess that clouded her mind as her memories returned. An arrow, of all things, an arrow had struck her. She’d been running through Ponyville when she’d been shot, and she remembered falling down. There was also a vague memory of the scent of earth and the taste of blood mingled together. Everything after that was a blur.

She turned her attention to her surroundings. There were still voices all around, but she couldn’t make them out. Her head was swimming, but even so, she was able to discern that something felt different.

She found moving painful, so she abandoned that in favor of staying still. Her chest burned, as though a red-hot iron had pierced her body all the way through, unlike the sharp pain in the back she had previously felt. The potions that were disorienting her didn’t quite eliminate the discomfort, but they did disconnect her ability to care that she was in agony.

For a moment, a fear took her as the dread of loneliness set in. The mare stopped, took a breath, and listened. Of the sounds that were nearby, she was just able to distinguish something familiar.

Cloud Blazer was sleeping not far away. She could tell by the depth and cadence of his breaths. The panic left her, and she could feel her body relaxing to accept the stupor in which she found herself. Just knowing that he was close put her at complete ease. It wasn’t long before she fell into slumber once again.

...

Scootaloo was roused from her dormancy by Flittergear standing over her. In the barn, she had made a small bed from cotton batting that Apple Bloom had given her. The others had gone back to the house, but the young pegasus had wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She must have slept for a few hours, given the feel of the air. It had grown cold and damp.

Scootaloo looked up at the dimly lit figure that stood nearby.

"I’m sorry," she offered in her usual sheepish tone.

"It’s fine," the pegasus replied as she stood and stretched, a twinge of pain making her wince from her left flank. "What’s going on?"

"He found them."

Scootaloo was instantly wide awake, "Shining Armor? He found the changeling’s hatchery?"

Flittergear nodded, and thoughts rushed through Scootaloo’s sleepy mind as the ramifications of this news sank in.

"We have to find Rainbow Dash."

Flittergear shook her head, "Soarin."

It took only a minute to grab her gear. Scootaloo had performed this ritual so many times in the dark that she didn’t even think about it anymore. Her emotional state was tentative, but she was now glad she had let it all out before. The sadness clung to her like glue, but that was something she could manage now that she had a distraction.

Harness and armor donned, she followed Flittergear into town. It was early yet, so much so that Flurry Heart hadn’t begun to raise the sun. However, it was close enough that the coffee house was open, and that is where Flittergear led her. Scootaloo moved stiffly; her left hind leg was still sore. The wound was more of an inconvenience than anything else, and the medics who had seen it said it would heal in time.

The bell of the coffee-house door jingled as they entered. Steam hung thick in the air, and Java Chip was pounding one of her machines as even more vaporized moisture billowed from it.

"Hey, Scootaloo! Be with you in a sec!" she called out cheerfully, a stark contrast to how she handled her equipment.

The shop was otherwise empty, but for Soarin, who sat facing the door at a table in the middle of the room. He stood when he saw the pair approaching.

"Flittergear, Scootaloo," the Wonderbolt stallion greeted them. "Did she bring you up to speed?"

"I got the gist," the young pegasus replied.

"Do you want anything?"

"No, thank you," Scootaloo answered.

"Espresso, triple shot," Flittergear said softly.

Soarin seemed a bit surprised by this, but then shrugged it off and relayed the order to Java Chip.

"Okay; I’ll have this working in a minute," she answered. A fresh spout of steam began pouring from another place. "Maybe two minutes," she said as she hurriedly began working on the device.

The three patrons sat down at the table.

Soarin began, "Fleetfoot’s scouting party has found the changeling’s hatchery. We had thought there might be more than one, but given the size of it, we’re pretty sure that was a false conclusion.”

"How big?" Scootaloo asked.

"We’re talking tens of thousands of eggs in there," Soarin replied. "We are to rendezvous with Spitfire in Canterlot by O-Seven-Hundred. We can make that if we leave in the next half hour."

"Where’s Rainbow Dash?"

"She left by train yesterday. She still shouldn’t fly, but that gave her an advantage. She can move about with less attention since she’s on medical leave anyway. She was supposed to be back by tomorrow with..." he stopped short. "With the asset."

Java Chip produced the drinks that the other two had ordered before she went back to her well-loved machines.

"Just let me know if you need anything else!" she called over a shoulder. "Oh, we found the cat."

Scootaloo looked curiously at Java Chip, confused by the non-sequitur.

"Rarity’s cat," the barista added.

“Where was she hiding?"

"Some cottage on the east side of town by the forest."

"Fluttershy’s house?"

"Yeah, that’s the one," Java Chip said before turning her attention back to her malfunctioning livelihood.

The pegasus was relieved to hear it, though it hardly seemed the thing to be discussing in her current situation.

"So, what’s the plan?" Scootaloo asked Soarin.

"By all accounts, Shining Armor is being affected by the Alicorn Amulet. We are to stay close and prevent him from doing anything too insane until the asset can be deployed.”

Scootaloo stared at the stallion as he took a sip of his drink. By his reaction, it must have been too hot, burning his tongue. His green eyes finally returned her gaze.

"What?" he asked.

"That’s it?" Scootaloo was already aggravated. "We’re going to stay close and see how it goes? That’s ridiculous."

"The Alicorn Amulet is incredibly powerful. If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears."

That shut Scootaloo up completely. For once in her life, when it really mattered, somepony had asked her opinion, and she didn’t have one.

"Okay, you’ve got me there," she finally managed.

"We’ll have to be as delicate as possible. If he suspects we’re up to anything, there’s no telling how he might react."

Scootaloo still didn’t want to believe that Shining Armor was capable of anything that would put any of them in danger.

“Come on, this is Shining Amor we’re talking about," she said.

"Yes," Soarin said gravely, "but it isn’t just him. The amulet has a will of its own. Given enough time, it will corrupt any user to be greedy, selfish, and power mad. Not to mention paranoid."

Scootaloo nodded, "Snips and Snails told me once that Trixie didn’t trust wheels when she had the amulet."

"See what I mean?" Soarin seemed satisfied. “Also, consider this: Trixie was a show pony and prankster. Shining Armor is a soldier.”

Flittergear sipped her over-caffeinated drink silently. Scootaloo had a dark feeling that a conversation very much like the one she now participated in was not unlike one that had begun Mane Crusher’s rebellion.

"It just feels so wrong to have secret meetings about him."

Soarin had a grim look on his face, "All we’re talking about is getting him to remove the amulet. Once he does, we obey any order he gives. We are not disloyal; we’re trying to protect him."

There wasn’t anything more to say after that, and the two finished their coffee silently.

Before long, the three of them were airborne, heading north. There was a chill to the fall air as they glided through the darkness of the morning. The moon had already set, but there was still no sign of the sun.

Scootaloo remained vigilant, but there was no indication of changelings anywhere. The night was completely silent. It gave her an eerie feeling as they passed over the countryside. The only light to guide their way was the stars. The brilliant points of light shone proudly overhead like a thousand candles hung from a great vaulted ceiling.

Scootaloo’s heart became heavy with thoughts of Twinklestar. As of their parting, the mother hadn’t told the rest of her children what had happened to Sparklefly. Guilt came with that knowledge; Scootaloo was glad that she didn’t have to deliver the news to them herself.

She did appreciate her friends and the motherly figure that had given their sage advice for how to proceed with Cloud Blazer. The only thing to do now was to keep away from him until he was ready to begin anew. Their relationship was dead; she had killed it. Scootaloo would be cordial should any interaction occur, but she was advised to passively avoid such wherever possible. Twinklestar had mentioned that reconciliation may never come. That was something the young mare had not wanted to hear, but it felt true.

A point of light on the horizon began growing larger as the trio approached Canterlot. It was not yet restored to its former glory, but the city lights broke the darkness and drew them in all the same. The earliest hint of dawn was on the horizon as they made their approach. The CAP escorted them through Canterlot air space and to the landing where they were scanned. Soarin showed his orders to the officer there and then turned to the other two.

"I’m afraid this is as far as I go. Report to Spitfire for further instructions; she’ll be in the castle."

Scootaloo was confused, "You’re not coming with us?"

"Orders," he replied. "I have another task to take care of before I meet up with you."

Then she understood. He was going to find Rainbow Dash and help bring in the asset, whatever it actually was.

"If you see Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo hesitated, "Tell her that Cloud Blazer is looking for her in Ponyville."

"Cloud Blazer, Ponyville," Soarin repeated. "If I run into her, I’ll tell her."

Without so much as a goodbye, he turned and walked away. Taking flight, he continued north away from the capital city of Equestria.

40 - Catharsis, Part 8 of 15

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Scootaloo and Flittergear walked the streets of Canterlot, now dimly lit with the orange light of the coming day. The guards stopped and scanned them at every checkpoint until they reached the royal grounds.

As expected, the castle guards had them wait while they checked to ensure that they were permitted to enter. At the end of one of the many long corridors of the castle, there was an oval shaped room full of Wonderbolts. Some were sitting around the center, but several others were doing exercises. A yellow mare with a two-tone orange mane stood.

"Welcome to HQ," Spitfire said as she approached.

"Thanks," Scootaloo replied. "Is this it?"

A stern look came across the face of the Wonderbolt’s CO, "Rainbow Dash may run things a little looser than most, but I don’t care how many princesses you were friends with; you’ll get no such privilege from me."

"Yes ma’am," Scootaloo said as she and Flittergear snapped to attention.

“To answer your question, we’ve got teams out on assignments all over. This is about half of us. Did Soarin bring you up to speed?"

“Yes ma’am.”

"At ease," she seemed pleased.

Scootaloo and Flittergear adopted the more relaxed stance.

“We’re waiting here until Shining Armor calls for us. There’s some coffee over there, and I think we have some oats."

"Thank you, ma’am," Scootaloo replied without moving.

"Go on; we won’t leave you behind," Spitfire grinned.

Scootaloo was a bit amused at the formalities. She had met some of the members of the original Wonderbolt squad before the war. They didn’t seem to remember her until Rainbow Dash was mentioned. Flittergear stuffed a pocket with oats and helped herself to a mug of coffee, hinting that the height of her caffeine tolerance must be a wonder in and of itself.

Scootaloo ate a little, but not for enjoyment. The flavor bordered on criminal. She didn’t know what those oats had been through before they were placed out for food, but it must have been horrific. The pair had only just become settled when a guard came and spoke to Spitfire. Everypony grew quiet when she turned.

"Scootaloo, Flittergear, you’re with me. The rest of you gear up."

As the Wonderbolts immediately dropped what they were doing and prepared themselves for battle, the three followed a guard down the hallways of the castle until they came to a bedchamber. Shining Armor was inside, as were several guards. He wore only the alicorn amulet when they arrived, but two of the guards were brining out his armor and they began strapping it onto him.

The newcomers bowed until a nod from the Prince signaled them to rise.

"Have you been briefed?"

"Yes, your majesty," Spitfire replied. "The location of target Lambda has been discovered. Fleetfoot delivered the news herself before returning to position. I sent a second squad to assist in securing the location. The Bushmasters and Templars have also deployed to assist in the surrounding area.“

"Excellent, now we go talk to Queen Chrysalis and force a surrender," Shining Amor said as a red magical light flashed across his eyes. "If she refuses..."

He didn’t finish, but Scootaloo didn’t have to wonder what he meant by that. The silver metal that was now affixed to the prince made him look quite menacing. It was functional, but had quite a lot more style than did the standard issue EUP armor. It had ribbed folds in the metal and decorative etchings wrought in the finest craftsmanship. Last, he donned the helmet, which had a red mohawk-like tuft of hair sticking out of it.

"Let’s go," he commanded.

Three of the guards led the way, and the prince followed behind them. Scootaloo, Spitfire, and Flittergear came next, and the rest of the guards brought up the rear.

As they walked, the prince asked, "Where is Rainbow Dash?"

"Still unable to fly and back on medical leave," Spitfire replied. "I would have had Scootaloo bring her, but she was already carrying Flittergear."

The prince nodded without asking further. Scootaloo understood the significance of that exchange, and she kept silent on the matter for fear of saying the wrong thing. When they arrived to the dungeons, Scootaloo was a little surprised to see how many changelings had been captured. They all had magical binding spells that prevented them from shape shifting or using any other magic.

The cells in which the changelings were interred were far beyond their normal capacity. It was almost like walking through a sea of hatred and sorrow. They stared back passively, all except one.

Ash Eater saw Scootaloo and threw himself against the bars of his cell. She was startled and stepped back, but then decided not to interact further. The prince stopped.

"Do you know this one?" he asked.

"Oh, she knows me," Ash Eater replied. "I gave her the limp."

The prince spoke quietly, “Speak out of turn again and I’ll have your tongue removed.”

Scootaloo was unnerved by the sadistic joy in Shining Armor’s voice.

The changeling growled softly. He had certainly seen better days. His face bore several bruises and cuts, and all that remained of his right hind-leg was a bandaged stump. The mare could only wonder is the loss of limb was a result of the spear she had thrust through that same appendage.

"Yes, your majesty," Scootaloo replied nervously. The changeling had startled her, but it was not that which made her afraid. "He was the one with us in the Everfree Forest when we went to find the mirror pond. His name is Ash Eater. He impersonated a cadet named Nitro during our training.”

"I see," Shining Armor replied with a hint of delight in his tone. “That would mean that you are the one that led my sister into that trap. Well, then, we’ll have to plan something special for you when we have the time."

He turned and the procession continued. As Scootaloo began to follow the others, Ash Eater spit, hitting her on the side of the face.

The rage threatened to return. It was through great difficulty that she chose to not respond and kept walking. She struggled to hold back the anger and let it go as she retrieved a cloth from a pocket to wipe off the defiant gesture. Her leg seemed to hurt worse as she continued limping through the prison.

Passing deeper and past even more guards, they came to the center, which was the most secure location. Surrounded by ten unicorn guards in a round cell with thick bars that afforded no privacy was Chrysalis, Queen of Changelings.

Her green eyes seemed dim; her slitted pupils found them, but she neither rose nor spoke initially. Her teal mane almost looked brown from a lack of cleaning. It was tangled and matted. She had always been thin, but Scootaloo was surprised at how her form had deteriorated in the time that she had been here. She was practically a skeleton and nothing more. Scootaloo’s nose wrinkled at the stench of the prison, especially now that they were in the center.

"Queen Chrysalis," Shining Armor spoke evenly.

The light of fire returned to her eyes as she stood. No doubt this was just a front she put on. Given her decrepit state, it was likely difficult for her to stand, let alone put on any show of strength or resolve.

"Well, well, look who decided to make a conjugal visit. You must be doing badly to come question me again," the changeling queen sneered.

The malice in her voice sent a shiver down Scootaloo’s spine. The guards looked at her with disdain.

"Only in your pathetic dreams," Shining Armor replied, the magical red light again flashing in his eyes. "In fact, it is quite the opposite. Your southern army has been annihilated."

She stared back with no change of her hard expression. Shining Armor glanced back at Spitfire, who stepped forward.

"Almost eight-hundred thousand timberwolves confirmed dead, and with them, no less than forty-thousand changelings. Another five-thousand, seven-hundred have been captured."

Either from disbelief or a strong poker face, she didn’t even flinch, "I hope it was costly."

"Fifty-three thousand ponies dead; nine-thousand wounded," Flittergear said softly.

"Is that all?" Chrysalis mocked, "Well, I’ll have to get my children to work harder."

"This is the end of the line for you," Prince Shining Armor said combatively. "We found your nest."

Again, she didn’t react.

"Even now, my soldiers are on their way to destroy the hatchery. I can still stop them if you will surrender."

"My, my," the changeling queen replied with a wry grin, "I didn’t think you had it in you."

"You tried to take everything from us, I only thought it fair to return the favor," the prince spoke with daggers of ice. "Make your forces stand down; call off your stick-dogs."

She let out an exasperated sigh, "Dear me, you have become dreadfully grim and direct. It’s worse than talking to Celestia. Is the witty banter beyond you today? A girl likes a little foreplay now and then."

He glowered at her, remaining silent for a minute.

"Order the surrender." 
"Or what?" she taunted.

"I will destroy the hatchery in the caves near Hayseed Swamps."

"Am I supposed to be frightened? Am I shaking?"

"This is your last warning. If you don’t surrender, we will destroy the hatchery and all of your spawn inside, and then we will kill each and every last changeling in Equestria, but we won’t stop there. We’ll hunt down your entire race to the ends of the world until not a single one remains, except for you."

Scootaloo felt dread within herself at the sincere conviction with which the prince spoke. She also saw a cracking in Chrysalis’ facade.

He continued, "You will watch while I slaughter all of the prisoners we’ve taken, one by one. You will witness the final annihilation of your species. Then, and only then, when you beg for death will I consider that small mercy."

"Are you really that ruthless? I know Celestia would never have condoned, let alone ordered such an action," the changeling said measuredly.

"Celestia isn’t here," he replied coldly.

A sly grin formed on her face, ”There may be hope for you yet," her facade was again in full effect. "Let’s find out."

A glint of green magic flashed across her eyes. She stared deeply at the prince, and Shining Armor returned the gaze.

"She’s making a connection," Spitfire raised the alarm. "Guards!"

Magic glowed from a dozen unicorns preparing to stop her.

"Stand down!" Shining Armor ordered. "She can’t overpower me."

He stepped closer, his eyes locked with hers. The changeling queen began levitating from the magic she had mustered. Her voice was magnified and echoed throughout the chamber when she spoke.

"I will consume all the love you have left!” she sneered at him.

Chrysalis had come to the edge of her cage, a sheen of sweat was now on her brow as she used whatever limited reserves of magic were at her disposal to siphon joy from Shining Armor.

His gaze was harsh and unwavering, "You will starve."

Her expression changed. It was the unmistakeable visage of unbridled fear.

"No...” she whispered.

The changeling queen let out an unearthly shriek as the magical light faded from her eyes. She dropped, lost her balance and collapsed to the stone floor of the cell.

She looked up feebly, her voice hardly more than a whisper, “You… you’re a monster.”

She passed out, her head falling to rest on her fore-legs.

The prince took a breath and blinked, recovering from the episode.

He let out a sigh, "That’s it then. Spitfire, prepare your squads. We move at once."

"We’re really doing this?" Spitfire asked.

Shining Armor looked back at her, his face filled with hatred, "Yes we are."

The commander of the Wonderbolts nodded, "You heard him; let’s saddle up!"

Scootaloo’s heart sank. She followed the others out, bringing up the rear herself. When she came to Ash Eater’s cell, she stopped short.

"Come to gloat?" he hissed.

She looked up at him, not really sure why she had halted. She shook her head.

"How about you come a little closer. I can break your neck through the bars," he spat.

This drew some sick low laughter from the others. All eyes were on her now. It was not unlike being in a cage under the ocean, surrounded by sharks.

She took a step toward him, "I am not your enemy."

He snorted, "You are a fool."

The mare looked at the hatred in his eyes and saw a reflection of what she had been only days before. It was as clear as if she’d seen herself in a mirror.

"If we are enemies, that is your doing," she replied. "I’m sorry about your horn and leg, but everything that happened between us… it was war."

"But the war isn’t over, is it?" he growled.

"It might be," she replied. "We found the hatchery."

His expression softened a little, but it was still rage. The ire she drew from the others changed as well. It was lessened and tempered with something else, perhaps fear.

"Hatred is what will destroy us," she continued. "Why do you hate me?"

"You and your squad!" he spat. "You broke my horn. You took my leg! I’m crippled because of you!"

"No, that is a lie. Regal Masquerade took your horn right after you killed Nimba, and he is already dead. It was war, you were trying to kill us, we tried to kill you. It came out the way it came out. As for your leg… I’m sorry,” she doubted he would be more receptive to those words than had been Cloud Blazer. “You attacked me on the line and I did what I had to do to survive. You’d have done the same. That doesn’t give you a reason to hate me specifically.“

The rancor on his face partially hid his emotions, but she could tell that he was thinking.

"She didn’t surrender," Scootaloo said.

Ash Eater grinned at her, "And she never will. That’s why we will win."

The mare let out a grieved sigh, "You don’t get it. Shining Armor isn’t content with victory anymore. He isn’t going to stop until all of you are dead. He’s going to destroy the hatchery, and then hunt down every changeling in Equestria."

He growled again, looking away without replying. The sound was echoed by dozens of nearby changelings.

“I’m not posturing or threatening you, any of you. I don’t want that to happen. We have got to find a ay to stop the fighting. Is there some way we can learn to coexist?"

Ash Eater looked back up at her, his visage filled with nothing but malice. He spit in her face a second time, to the joy of his comrades. Scootaloo backed up instinctively, taking her cloth to wipe her face again. Her own rage was again being kindled, but she took a breath and pushed it aside.

“If you are a typical example… Maybe, as a species, you do deserve to die," she said as calmly as she was able.

Without another word passing between them, Scootaloo turned and walked briskly to catch up to the group. She didn’t believe her own last statement, but she hoped that it would make Ash Eater think about what he was doing. If he would spit in the face of the only one that was trying to help him, then perhaps he wasn’t aware just how blinded he was by his own animus.

While she still didn’t want them all dead, she couldn’t see any other course of action. There had to be another way. Surely if Princess Celestia or Twilight Sparkle had survived, they’d have looked for one. Neither of them were here, and nopony else that was in a position of power seemed to share her conviction. Scootaloo set her mind to work on the matter.

40 - Catharsis, Part 9 of 15

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Cloud Blazer awoke to a ray of sunlight catching his eyes. The stallion began to stretch, and all of the familiar pains began throbbing through him. He let out a satisfying yawn and looked around. Haggard nurses were still at work, but the pace was not so frantic any longer. A calm had settled over the hospital waiting room, which now served as a place for patients of all statuses.

Beside him, Pixyglitter slept soundly. The bright light didn’t affect her to the slightest degree. Her bandaged chest slowly rose and fell with her breaths. The doctors had worked on her late into the night and been able to remove the arrow. They said there could be some permanent discomfort, but that it was more likely for a full recovery eventually. They did indicate that it would be weeks before it would be safe for her to be up and about.

The stallion sat over her, and strange confused feelings worked their way through his heart and mind. It was like a kind of contentment, just to know that she was safe. His outburst at Scootaloo had surprised even himself. His emotions had rapidly turned from a longing to an intense disdain. Even still, the thought of her made him sick, but he didn’t completely understand why. What he did know for certain was that keeping Pixyglitter safe meant more to him right now than anything else. He had once felt that way about another, before...

He shook his head, initiating a fresh spasm of pain from his ribs. Taking a slow breath, he calmed himself. He couldn’t risk feeling for her the way he had for Scootaloo. There was too much at stake.

Pixyglitter stirred, taking a deeper breath that signaled awakening. This caused a cough, and she winced.

Cloud Blazer shushed her, "Just stay still."

She groaned, "I feel terrible."

“You should; you caught an arrow," he said softly. "What were you thinking?"

She smiled; his heart warmed at the sight of it.

"I couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I?"

Her sense of humor was of great comfort to the stallion.

“I wish you would have.”

She tilted her head, almost as if amused, “I must be the most unlucky pony in Equestria.”

“How do you figure that?”

“I got hit by friendly-fire, twice.”

He shrugged, not as amused as she seemed by the notion, “Maybe you’re more lucky than you think. You survived it twice.”

A nurse, eyes bloodshot and dim approached and grabbed the scrap of paper that was serving as the wounded mare’s chart. It was Nurse Redheart.

"Looks like you’ll live," she said dryly. "How do you feel?"

"It hurts."

"That’s to be expected, but I’m afraid we’re out of pain killers. Just be glad they had antibiotics when they worked on you. As for the pain, you’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it."

"Joy."

”You’re free to go, but don’t put any weight on your right front leg. Don’t try running or flying. One of the unicorn orderlies put a sealing spell on the wound, but it’ll be wearing off in a few hours, so find a place you can rest and stay in bed. Return to have your bandage changed tomorrow morning, or if you experience any severe pain or bleeding. I’m afraid we don’t have any more wheelchairs.”

The nurse left a sling and drug herself away to check on another patient.

"Free to go?" Pixyglitter asked.

"Well, by the look of things, it’s not like they have an actual bed to put you in. Besides that, as bad as your wound is,” he snorted, “You got off lucky compared to a lot of these…“

"I guess that makes sense enough. Any plans for today?"

"Yeah, there’s one last thing to do," Cloud Blazer spoke, and his determination was rekindled. "We have to round up the keys and rescue the princesses."

"Okay,” Her stomach grumbled loudly. "Could we find some food first?"

"One thing at a time. We need to get you moving."

She smiled, slowly rolling off of the row of chairs that had served as her bed. It was actually more of a grimace. She stood on three legs slowly, taking labored breaths. She was sweating.

Cloud Blazer helped her into the sling to hold her right front leg before asking, "Are you alright?"

She nodded slowly. "Peachy," she spoke sarcastically. "I’m not sure how fast I’ll be able to move."

"That’s fine by me. I didn’t feel like running today anyway," he jabbed.

She snorted, then winced from the pain.

"Don’t make me laugh," she frowned, “it hurts too much.”

"I lost your stick. Are you going to be okay without it?"

"Yeah, you walk loudly. Just let me know if there are any obstacles."

"Sure," Cloud Blazer answered.

He was much more at ease now that Pixyglitter was awake and standing. She did look a bit shaky, but she seemed able to move well enough. The pair worked their way through the crowded but quiet waiting room to the exit. There were hundreds of ponies, mostly soldiers that had all kinds of injuries. Many were severe, but most that Cloud Blazer could see looked like they were going to make it.

Outside, life in the city seemed to be a mixture of celebration and hard work. The citizens of Cloudsdale and Ponyville were mingling in an almost chummy sort of way. Soldiers were stationed throughout and patrolling the city. Other civilians were hard at work clearing debris from the buildings that had been damaged so they could effect repairs.

Oddly enough to Cloud Blazer, they didn’t seem phased by the magnitude of what had just happened. It was an incredible battle, probably a turning point in the war, but to the ponies that lived here, it was another day of fixing something that was broken. About half way to Sweet Apple Acres, Pixyglitter felt ill and had to sit down. It took her a few minutes to recover before they could keep going.

In spite of the destruction, much of which was now in neat piled rows, the farm still felt like home, not that Cloud Blazer had ever actually lived here before his injuries. He had, however, spent a great deal of time running around the orchard with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and the other one. The thought of her nearly sent him back into a full rage, so he swallowed the memory and pushed her from his mind. The anger resounded inside despite his attempt to bury it. Fortunately, his mind was able to be filled with other things. Cloud Blazer knocked on the door to the farmhouse.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so... I know that medically, it makes no sense to let Pixyglitter out of the hospital with a "rest and come back to have that changed" instruction...

An injury like what she suffered would actually take about six weeks in the hospital before it would be safe to be up and about... so, I did the lazy thing and BOOM! magic sealing spell on the wound. This is one I had written without doing enough research on the medical side, and I've been thinking about changing it off and on for a week or two... ultimately, Pixyglitter is not going to be doing anything athletic for the rest of this story, and I want her there for what happens next... It's not pivotal to anything that happens, so I may change it in a future draft (if I should ever write one).

Just know that I know.

40 - Catharsis, Part 10 of 15

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Pixyglitter’s stomach clenched; she thought she was about to vomit. Maybe it was simply her body’s reaction to the injury or the lack of food combined with something the doctors had given her. Whatever the cause, she knew there was nothing down there to bring up. She stood behind Cloud Blazer and focused her efforts on breathing as the wound in her chest burned.

‘That’s it,’ she thought to herself, ‘just keep breathing and don’t move.’ There was a cold sweat on her forehead, and her legs were beginning to tingle and feel numb. The door creaked open.

"Well, howdy there, Cloud Blazer!" Applejack’s voice greeted them. "Miss Pixyglitter, how’ve y’all been?"

"We’ve been better," he said quickly. “She needs to sit down."

The hinges squealed as the door open wider.

"Of course, come on in."

Pixyglitter moved forward, letting Cloud Blazer guide her to the sofa. Sitting did little to ease the queasiness that she now felt, but it was better than standing. She began to regain some feeling in her legs.

Hooves thundered down the stairs.

"Y’all made it!" Apple Bloom shouted exuberantly. "I thought they’d keep you in the hospital longer."

"They had a lot worse injuries than ours, and not enough beds anyway,“ he replied.

“I’ve got to head out," Applejack said with a hint of loathing in her voice. "I got some mayorin’ to do."

"Everypony else is out helping clean up the town," Apple Bloom said. "I was keeping an eye on sis to make sure she didn’t try and do any of the work herself. She could be havin’ my niece or nephew any time now, and she still thinks she’s a workhorse."

"That’s enough, Apple Bloom," the older sister sounded irritated. “You and your fussin’... I know what I can and can’t do! You just see to your friends."

"Bye, sis!" Apple Bloom sang coquettishly.

"Applejack," Cloud Blazer said, "I’m going to need you later."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes, actually I need the five of you. We’ll need to find Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and Rarity are supposed to meet back up with me today."

"I’ve just got the one meeting this morning to get the full assessment of damage to town. After that..." The mayor let out a sigh that was filled with sadness, "This is about them dreams you were havin’, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she replied. "I’ll round up the others. You know I’ll do anything to help, but I really hope you’re not just getting everypony’s hopes up for nothing.”

There was a delay before he replied, "So do I."

The low click of her hoof-steps was followed by the door creaking open and shut; Applejack had departed. Pixyglitter was tired and wanted to sleep, but the pain in her chest would likely make that difficult. Somewhere in the house, small hooves were darting about.

"So you’ve got everypony back here now?" Apple Bloom broke the silence.

"Yeah," the stallion replied.

“Okay... We get them together to that ball you found, and then what?"

Cloud Blazer shrugged; Pixyglitter could feel it.

"That’s all the dreams told me."

"Well, I guess we have to start somewhere," Apple Bloom said. "Are y’all hungry?"

"Beyond belief," Pixyglitter spoke up.

"We’ve got a few rations left. We’ll need to get more today."

The thought of food was surprisingly appealing considering how Pixyglitter felt. She only hoped she’d be able to keep it down.

...

Duster awoke to the sound of little hooves scurrying across the floor; hushed voices scolded each other. As the scampering continued, stifled laughter was met with even more shushing.

Duster croaked, attempting to let them know he wasn’t asleep. The pain in his throat made him wish he hadn’t made the effort. It was sore, more so than he had ever experienced in his life. The sharp pain came as something of a surprise in the confusion of waking moments. He stirred.

"I told you he was awake!" Shimmerpuff squealed delightfully.

"Oh! Tell us a story!" Thunderfly practically shouted as he leapt onto the bed.

Duster opened his eyes to see the two younger siblings staring at him eagerly. His mother was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"No stories today," Twinklestar declared gently.

The sound of disappointment came from the younger pair.

"Your brother was hurt in the battle and needs to rest."

"I want to fight the timberwolves too! I’m big and strong,” Thunderfly boasted as he stood on the edge of the bed, flexing what tiny muscles he possessed.

Duster couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm, but deeper, darker thoughts hoped that the war would be long over by the time Thunderfly was old enough for such things. Duster noticed two other children that he didn’t recognize, a yellow unicorn with an orange mane and a cream colored pegasus with a brown mane.

”I sent Glitterdust into town to help the cleanup. That’s where most ponies are right now,” his mother explained. "I stayed to watch the foals. Those two are the Cakes, Pumpkin Cake is the unicorn, Pound Cake is the pegasus."

They waved at him sheepishly. He returned the greeting before they went back to whatever game they had come up with to occupy themselves. Duster’s siblings joined them.

Twinklestar smiled at her son, "I decided to let you sleep."

He smiled back at her but trying to speak was out of the question. She was correct that his voice needed to rest. Sitting up was accomplished without much effort, but the mending wound throbbed painfully. He reached for his scrap of paper and pencil. There was hardly room left to write.

‘LD?’

His mother smiled, "Those two were taken out to work with everypony else. I expect they already regret having consumed so much drink last night."

Duster’s smiled as his stomach growled loudly.

"Come on, let’s go see what’s in the kitchen," his mother suggested.

Duster was surprised to find standing up had become a bit of a chore. His injury aside, soreness filled his muscles from the non-stop exertion they’d been under for several days.

The six of them exited the small bedroom and filed down the stairs. Voices in the kitchen betrayed that somepony was still in the house. Upon arriving, Duster was reintroduced to Apple Bloom, Cloud Blazer, and Pixyglitter. He smiled and nodded, pointing to the bandage on his throat.

"There’s just enough here for a half ration for everypony," Apple Bloom said. "I have to go get more food today."

"Duster will help you, if he’s feeling up to it," Twinklestar said, casting a questioning glance at her son.

Duster nodded obediently. His mother smiled at him. Amidst the conversation at breakfast, Duster caught Cloud Blazer looking at him as if there were an unasked question on his mind. As their gaze locked, an unspoken communication took place.

It was surreal even as it happened, because the stallions didn’t know each other well. In that moment, everything faded away and time seemed to slow. Duster understood that he was being asked about Sissy. What came as even more of a surprise to him was that the answer, though also unsaid, was understood. Cloud Blazer looked down, a bit sadder than he had been. Duster did the same for her and for Beigh.

40 - Catharsis, Part 11 of 15

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Cloud Blazer was beginning to feel quite irritated.

“Absolutely not! Pixy, you’re in no condition to be up and about.”  “I think I can decide that for myself, Cloud Blazer,” she seethed.

The stallion was glad that breakfast was over and that everypony had disbursed just before their argument had begun.

“You have a chest wound. You shouldn’t be walking at all for a few weeks. You have to heal first.”

“Do you really think that after everything we’ve been through to get this far that I’ll just stop now? I have to see this to the end.”

He certainly understood the conviction behind her heated words.

“Not all of us are as delicate as you,” she imbedded a barb.

He asked hotly, “Just what is that supposed to mean?”

Apple Bloom entered the room and interrupted their spat, “Whoa there, what has got into y’all?”

Cloud Blazer forced a calm, “Pixyglitter wants to come with us, and she needs to rest.”

“I’ll make up my own mind when I need to rest, thanks,” she sneered.

“Stop being stubborn!”

Apple Bloom slapped her front hooves on the table, “Alright, I’m gonna put both of you in time out if you don’t cut it out right now.

The blind mare let out something like a low growl.

“We still have Granny Smith’s old wheelchair in the barn. Can she come with us if she uses it?”

Cloud Blazer turned over the compromise in his mind before nodding.

“Fine,” Pixyglitter said dryly.

“Okay, then,” Apple Bloom sighed. “I’m gonna go get it, and I don’t wanna hear one more cross word between you two, or you can both stay here!”

She walked off muttering something inaudible as she left the pair in silence. It wasn’t long before she returned with the wheel chair and helped load Pixyglitter into it.

When they finally departed, Apple Bloom ran ahead to get the others together while Cloud Blazer ambled along at much more leisurely pace, pushing Pixyglitter in the wheelchair. Her recovery, along with the little bit of food, had worked wonders to restore his resolve, his current miffed attitude notwithstanding.

He had to see this through; it was hard for him to really blame Pixyglitter for feeling the same way. Duster and family were left at the farm with the young ‘uns. Although the words were not spoken, Cloud Blazer knew that Sparklefly was dead. It saddened him to know that another friend was lost to the war.

"What?" Pixyglitter asked.

"I didn’t say anything," Cloud Blazer replied.

"You sighed."

"What? No I didn’t."

Pixyglitter grunted, "Stupid arrow... Yes, you did."

"Okay, fine, I sighed. So what?"

"So," Pixyglitter’s tone was agitated, "Why did you sigh? What were you thinking about?"

"A friend... she died."

"Oh," came a somber reply. "I’m sorry."

"Thanks.”

She did not probe for further details. They didn’t get much further before he decided to apologize for their tiff.

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I just… I don’t want you to risk hurting yourself worse.”

“I understand that, but you should trust me to know what I can handle.”

“I’ll work on that. Can we just forget the whole thing?”

“Deal,” she said in a flat tone.

She winced occasionally from the bumps that the wheelchair surmounted. The two of them were breathing heavily by the time they arrived at the castle. Cloud Blazer pushed past the various pains he felt with each step. Some were still sharp, specifically in his ribs. Most had become the kind of dull aches that get worse when the weather changes.

Despite the presence of soldiers throughout the town, nopony said a word to them until they approached the castle. To gain entry, they had to submit to a magical unicorn scan.

The tingling almost felt more acute than normal. It suddenly made every injury the stallion had previously sustained feel aflame.

The next thing Cloud Blazer knew, he was on the ground, the taste and scent of earth permeated his senses, as did sharp and throbbing pain. Muffled voices became clear moments later, and he looked up to see the guards standing over him.

"My apologies," the officer said. Casting an angry glance at his subordinate, he added, "He’s new."

Cloud Blazer grunted as they lifted him back to his hooves. The pain was subsiding.

"Are you alright?" the officer asked.

"Yeah," the stallion replied. "Old injuries."

Some zebras standing guard nearby said something in their native tongue and laughed. One look at their body language, and Cloud Blazer gathered that they weren’t laughing at him so much as the unicorn, who looked embarrassed. Pixyglitter was seething; she had the look of one who would spring from her wheelchair to clobber somepony.

"It’s okay, Pixy."

The unicorn officer performed the mare’s scan. She came through it unscathed, albeit an unpleasant disposition seemed etched on her face.

"Thank you for your cooperation," the officer said. "You may enter."

They continued forward. No sooner had they made their way past the first flight of stairs toward the basement than Cloud Blazer heard the officer shouting at the soldier who had done his scan. In all honesty, it made him pleased in a vengeful sort of way.

"Wipe that grin off your face," Pixyglitter said.

Confusion broke the feeling; he had to ask, "How did you know I was grinning?"

She let out a scoffing noise. It was the only answer he would receive.

"He didn’t do it on purpose. If he had, that’d be one thing, but you need to lighten up a little."

"He totally had that coming," Cloud Blazer defended.

"He did," she agreed, "but you don’t need to be so happy when somepony else gets chewed out. It’s not very attractive."

That shut him up and made him feel weird. If she detected the shift in his emotional state, she didn’t say. Cloud Blazer found the door to the castle cellar open, and three mares already waited inside. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Apple Bloom helped the pair cautiously negotiate the steps and bring the wheel chair down. The room was lit by torches along the wall that Cloud Blazer hadn’t noticed the last time he’d been here.

Once they were settled, Apple Bloom said cheerfully, "Applejack’s getting the other two."

"Good," Cloud Blazer replied.

"So, what exactly is it that we are supposed to do?" Rarity asked.

Cloud Blazer looked around, about to answer, but then his heart sank in near panic. The orb wasn’t where he had left it.

40 - Catharsis, Part 12 of 15

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Scootaloo’s pulse was quickened in anticipation of what was coming. Bearing Flittergear as usual, she flew in formation with the Wonderbolts, which would have been a fantastic experience under normal circumstances. The grave nature of their journey had stolen joy, leaving only trepidation in its place.

Their party had already past Rambling Rock Ridge and been flying above the Hayseed Swamps for over an hour. A snow-capped mountain range was to their right as they headed southeast; it was the border to the badlands, the same desert wasteland in which the Assault Corps had once sought refuge.

Banking to the right, a gaping maw that opened up in the rock face came into view. The great cave entrance had a wide ledge upon which several squads of Wonderbolts already stood guard alongside Templars and Bushmasters. The prince’s party landed without incident. If any changelings were in the area, they didn’t interfere.

Spitfire spoke first, "Major Fleetfoot, what is our sit-rep?"

The major saluted, "All quiet. There is a small contingent of changelings inside the cave, but we have denied their exit. They only tried to push past us once before we taught them not to, ma’am."

There was a small pile of changeling corpses near the entrance.

"How many inside?"

"Not sure, at least a dozen, I think less than fifty."

Sporadic laughter came from the elite soldiers. Apparently, fifty wouldn’t be an issue for them to deal with. The prince stepped forward. He looked incredibly regal and powerful in his armor. Sunlight glinted off of the shiny surface as he strode closer to the entrance. He stopped short, speaking over his shoulder.

"How many eggs; is this the only hatchery?"

"Yes, your majesty, we believe it is," Fleetfoot answered. "When we went inside to recon, it was difficult to get an accurate count, but we guess no fewer than twenty-thousand, possibly more."

"We’ll count them when we’re finished," Shining Armor said coldly.

A lump formed in Scootaloo’s throat. She wasn’t sure what to do, but this was likely to get out of hoof rather quickly.

"Spitfire, you will lead the attack. We’re going to kill everything inside."

The Wonderbolt’s commander strode forward, approaching the prince, “Wounded Sparrow.”

A silence gripped everypony as the prince turned to face her. His guards, which had been flanking him, stepped away calmly.

"What did you say to me?" his tone was filled with indignation.

“Wounded Sparrow,” Spitfire repeated, now standing in front of him.

Shining Armor regarded her and said, "Begin the attack at once."

"Your majesty," she said, "The protocol you developed for this is clear. Wounded Sparrow has been sounded; you must remove the Alicorn Amulet immediately."

"There could be changelings nearby. It may not be safe to remove the amulet. I will do it when we return to the castle," he said, patience growing thin. "Follow my order."

"Yes, sir," Spitfire answered.

She didn’t move. The air was electrified as everypony watched on. Flittergear, Scootaloo, nor the elite soldiers nearby dared say anything as these two faced each other.

"Get going," the prince said flatly.

"Yes, sir," she replied. "I will obey as soon as you comply with the Wounded Sparrow protocol.”

"Do you think this is a game!" he shouted as he stepped forward, drawing face to face.

The prince seemed to tower above all of them in that moment. Spitfire maintained her relaxed stance, standing as still as a stone wall.

"No, sir. This is no game," the fiery mare calmly replied.

"Then do as I command!"

Spitfire stood her ground, unmoving. The prince turned to Scootaloo.

"Take Commander Spitfire into custody at once!"

Scootaloo’s heart pounded in her chest. Instinctively she took a step forward but then stopped. Her throat was dry, and her legs felt weak.

"Wounded Sparrow," she heard herself say.

"So, it will be treason," Shining Armor said, his eyes flashing red.

The mention of disloyalty surprised Scootaloo. After everything they’d been through, she simply couldn’t believe it. She heard herself speaking before she considered the wisdom of her words.

"How dare you…”

“You have a lot of gall. Refusing to do as I command? Speaking to me in that tone? Who do you think you are?" he spat as he walked toward her.

Scootaloo heard herself shout, "I have always supported you and the monarchy! I put my own life at risk to warn you about Mane Crusher’s rebellion, and then again to stop him! How dare you!"

He struck her fast and hard. The blow connected to Scootaloo’s helmet, and her head rang as she spun around and sprawled on the ground. Her weight had come down on her injured leg, and the taste of dust and blood was in her mouth. He was almost on top of her when Spitfire darted between them.

"Out of my way!" he shouted.

A red wall of magic threw Spitfire as though she were a rag doll carelessly tossed aside by an angry child. One of the Wonderbolts swooped down and caught her. The pair tumbled to the other side of the ledge together.

It was Soarin.

Shining Armor reared back, ready to bring his hooves down on Scootaloo as she prepared to defend herself.

"Daddy, stop!" a filly’s voice cried out.

Shining Armor came down, missing his target intentionally. Scootaloo winced from the close call, but then the prince turned away from her. Scootaloo got back onto her hooves as the prince approached the new arrival.

The "asset" was his daughter, Flurry Heart. She had a resolve in her eyes and great fear as well.

"What are you doing here?" Shining Armor asked heatedly.

"The Wonderbolts asked for my help," the filly replied, shrinking a little.

"I told you to stay in the Crystal Empire where it’s safe."

"I know, but they told me you were going to do bad things," the ten-year-old began walking toward him as she spoke. "They told me I was the only one who could help you."

Scootaloo was frozen as the two spoke, nursing her leg.

"I don’t need help. Nothing’s wrong with me!" Shining Armor insisted. "They don’t have the resolve to do what must be done here."

"Daddy," she said, her face gaining the full vulnerability of a child, “please take the amulet off."

His face contorted, any trace of love or recognition faded, replaced by blind rage as a magical red light went through the prince’s eyes.

“You’re a changeling spy! You came to murder me!” he shouted as a blast of magic leapt from his horn.

The young alicorn princess managed to create a shield. A cracking sound echoed as the magic blast was dispelled. Waves of heat spread out in all directions. Scootaloo had to shut her eyes to the furnace that hit her face. If the princess hadn’t blocked it, she would have been incinerated.

“You can’t trick me!”

The filly screamed in terror, “No, Daddy! I’m not a changeling!”

“Liar!”

Shining Armor let a barrage of pure energy fly toward his daughter. Scootaloo stood dumbfounded, feeling helpless as these titanic forces faced off. Flurry Heart created more shields that danced in front of her, some blocking and others deflecting the energy. The air sizzled and burned. A yellow energy field created by the young princess swung like a gate on its hinges, knocking her father sideways.

He growled as he rolled back up into a defensive stance and let out a concussion wave that shattered the construct and knocked everypony on the ledge to the ground.

As Scootaloo scrambled back to her hooves, she saw the prince create fiery red darts that shot toward his daughter from all directions in rapid succession. The princess side-stepped, throwing a great amount of dust in the air and obscuring herself from view.

Shining Armor let out a blast of wind that carried the dirt away. Flurry Heart vaulted herself into the air like an arrow. The prince magically levitated in pursuit and began blasting away at her with bolts of magic.

Flurry Heart zipped through the air, creating clouds of energy that drained and disbursed the attacks that came at her. Shouting in rage, the prince dispelled them one by one and continued unleashing raw energy at her.

”Daddy, stop it!" she screamed.

He pressed the attack. Flurry Heart created layers of magical shields and then returned fire with pure energy of her own. Her attacks were clearly much softer. It likely wouldn’t cause any serious damage, even if he had been hit with it, but he was far more suited to a magic duel than was the filly.

The sky ignited with yellows and reds as each tried to incapacitate the other. They never got far away from the ledge as they continued fighting.

Scootaloo wanted to do something, but there were no options. Arrows were the only weapon at her disposal, and firing on the prince was out of the question. Anything else she attempted would only put her in the crossfire. Everypony else on the ledge stood their ground, not interfering.

The prince let out a cry that made Scootaloo’s stomach sink, and with it a blinding blast of magic that split the air.

The three layers of shields that Flurry Heart had created shattered, the single energy blast so powerful that it even ripped through her small body as she took a direct hit in her chest. A cry escaped her as she fell.

Scootaloo was caught between shock and rage; she began loading her crossbow. Spitfire stopped her, shaking her head. Nopony moved. The young alicorn princess didn’t recover consciousness before slamming against stone near the entrance of the cave.

Without a thought to her own safety, Scootaloo rushed over to the little broken alicorn that lay motionless. A single breath escaped her. She did not inhale again.

Scootaloo’s blood ran cold in horror. The sound of hooves approaching caused Scootaloo to spin. She was now face to face with Shining Amor.

"The changeling has been defeated," he said coldly.

"What in Celestia’s name is wrong with you? That wasn’t a changeling!"

He didn’t react.

"You killed her!" Scootaloo screamed.

"That was a changeling."

"Look!" Scootaloo said, grabbing him.

It was a mistake. A wave of magic threw her aside and the world spun. When she regained her hooves, she approached a little more cautiously.

"Look at what you did!" Scootaloo had an anger inside, different from the rage she had borne for so long.

It was righteous indignation.

"Changelings turn back when they die! You just murdered your own filly!”

The prince stood there, his gaze as hard as iron as he looked at the body. He waited for a long moment, but nothing happened. The small lifeless body didn’t change.

The magical fire extinguished from his eyes as full understanding of the situation became clearer.

Shining Armor’s legs buckled, and he fell to his knees over his fallen daughter. He thew off his helmet and let out a cry of sorrow that was unlike anything Scootaloo had ever heard. It chilled her to the bone as the prince fully realized what he had just done.

40 - Catharsis, Part 13 of 15

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Cloud Blazer was near the edge of despair. The castle cellar was filled with junk, but the orb was nowhere to be seen. Naturally, Pixyglitter was unable to assist them, but the other four had worked their way from one end of the room to the other with absolutely no luck. The stallion sat beside his blind friend’s wheelchair on some old blankets. His injuries were all arguing with him, adding to the frustration.

"I’m sorry," Pixyglitter said.

He accepted the sentiment without responding. He was far too upset to say anything without it coming out wrong. His thoughts turned to dark places. The dreams had stopped weeks before... could they be too late? If they were, would they just find nothing? He didn’t want to believe they had gone through all of it for naught. Apple Bloom broke his brooding.

"This place sure is a mess.”

"It is a bit untidy," Fluttershy agreed.

Rarity gave her a look, "Fluttershy, dear, this cellar is a complete and total garbage dump."

"It don’t have to be neat, we just have to find... the thing," Apple Bloom tried to sound cheerful.

It did not lift Cloud Blazer’s spirits. Voices from the hallway caught his attention. A few moments later, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were walking down the stairs. Pinkie Pie bounded down after them, taking three steps at a time. Sweetie Belle came in last.

“Hey, Rarity!” Pinkie greeted as she continued skipping as if to work the perimeter of the group.

"Well, I found ‘em." Applejack said.

“It’s good to see you again, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity greeted the pegasus.

“Hey, Rare,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Cloud Blazer, I thought it was bad enough you told me that crazy story, but apparently you’ve been telling everypony about it," Rainbow Dash said.

Cloud Blazer looked at her and tilted his head questioningly.

"Soarin told me to get back here because you needed me for something."

"Yeah," the stallion replied; though he felt a bit confused as to how Soarin would know anything about it. They had only met in passing because of his friendship with Rainbow Dash through... the other one.

“Whatever... we’re here. Now what?” the Rainbow Pegasus seemed irritated.

Cloud Blazer assumed it was more pain from her burns than actual ire directed at him. Still, he owed them an answer. There was only one thing to say.

"I’m at a loss... we can’t find the orb."

Pinkie stopped bouncing, "What orb?"

”There was a glowing magical sphere in this room. When I touched it, I had… a hallucination. Pixyglitter had to knock me over to bring me out of it. Anyway, It’s pink, about the size of a bowling ball."

Pinkie Pie bolted off into the middle of a pile and began digging. The other two shrugged. The pink mare tossed aside old rags and bits of discarded EUP gear. A moment later, she returned.

"You mean this?" in a cloth, she was holding a pink glowing orb, though it was much smaller than Cloud Blazer remembered, only the size of a tennis ball.

The stallion was stunned, "How did you know where it was?"

”It was under P!" Pinkie Pie sang as she bounced by and set the cloth and orb down in front of the stallion.

"Wait, what now?" Applejack asked.

“Pinkie, dear, you simply must explain yourself!" Rarity added. "We have been searching through this mess for hours!"

Pinkie stopped bouncing, "Really? You didn’t know this whole place was alphabetized?"

Everypony exchanged confused looks. Cloud Blazer glanced around, but he still couldn’t see any organization to the mess.

“But why would it be under ‘P’?” Pixyglitter asked.

“For Princess?” Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"Great; we found it. Good job, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said. "Now what?"

The stallion’s heart nearly stopped. They were all here, gathering around the magical artifact, and nothing happened.

"Maybe if you all touch it?" he offered.

"Whoa, there," Applejack objected. "Didn’t you say before that you touched it and fell out?”

“Basically.”

The mayor continued, “Don’t you go forgettin’ now, I have a young-un to be thinkin’ about.”

Sweetie Belle asked, "Anypony have a better idea?"

The workhorse and Wonderbolt eyed Cloud Blazer uncertainly. The animal lover and fancy pony seemed mostly concerned. The party animal looked to be up for anything.

“It’ll be okay, sis," Apple Bloom said. "You’ve got me and Sweetie Belle to get it away from you if anything goes wrong."

Pixyglitter added, “Besides that, Cloud Blazer and everypony else that has touched weren’t supposed to. It’s probably a defense mechanism. You five are the keys that they’ve been waiting for.”

Pinkie Pie put her nose right next to the orb, staring at it, “It’s so small! Do you really think Twilight’s in there?"

All eyes were on Cloud Blazer; he nodded, "Yeah. Yes, I do. Twilight, and the rest of them are in there, and they need your help."

"Okie-dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie shrugged.

Without even the slightest hesitation, she put out a hoof, touching the little glowing ball. Every hair on Cloud Blazer’s body stood on end from the magical electricity that flooded the room. Pinkie Pie went rigid, the leg that was now connected to the orb extended straight out. Her eyes became white shining lights, and her curly mane went straight. All of the others backed away in fight as a rushing wind filled the room.

"Nothin’ for it," Applejack said as she followed suit.

The charge grew stronger, and a breeze seemed to be emanating from the sphere. It was growing larger.

“We’ve got this," Rainbow Dash said as she joined them.

Rarity took a deep breath, "Uncouth as this seems, it’ll all be worth it if this works."

The discharge was becoming painfully noisy. Small arcs of electricity were connecting between the orb and the four that were locked to it. Bits of paper and no small amount of dust was swirling about the room. That’s when Cloud Blazer realized that Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. Apple Bloom had already found her and was attempting to get her to come out.

"I can see them," Pixyglitter said.

Cloud Blazer’s blood turned to ice water.

He turned to her, his voice a ghostly whisper, "What did you say?"

"Them," she said pointing at the four statuesque figures in contact with the sphere; it was still increasing in size. "It’s like a light in the darkness."

Cloud Blazer shivered as a twinge of fear worked its way through him.

Fluttershy was approaching, coerced by Apple Bloom. The look of unbridled terror was on the face of the final key. She shut her eyes and reached out. An electrical arc struck her, causing her to recoil. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stopped her from running away. The frightened pegasus took several quick breaths.

"For Twilight!" she shouted and threw her hoof out, making contact with the ball of energy.

They were all touching it, their eyes glowing like lanterns in the dimly lit castle basement. The intensity of the static discharges increased, compelling the others to back away. The wind roared in Cloud Blazer’s ears. The magical relic was even larger now, but then it began shrinking again, it’s light failing.

"What’s going on?" Apple Bloom shouted.

"I don’t know!" Cloud Blazer replied.

He felt the need to help, but didn’t know how.

"Don’t do anything!" Pixyglitter said, as if she had read his mind. "It’s okay!"

With a blinding flash of light and the crack of thunder, they were all thrown backwards. The next thing Cloud Blazer knew, he was staring up at the ceiling. All of the torches had gone out, and his ears were ringing. But for the little bit of light that came in from the top of the stairway, they were in complete darkness.

As he struggled to stand, Apple Bloom helped him up. Pixyglitter was heaving, helped back into her chair by Sweetie Belle.

The five lay on the ground. The orb had grown large enough to contain several ponies, but it was no longer glowing. It began to flatten out, and the texture on the skin of it became rough; perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him in the dark.

A pale blue-green light emanated from Sweetie Belle’s horn. It was joined moments later by a blue light from Rarity’s as the friends struggled to regain their hooves. Cloud Blazer stepped forward.

In a heap in the center of the room, the shell of the orb dissolved to ashes and fell away. Movement stirred in the heap. Cloud Blazer took another step closer. A pair of purple eyes opened and fell on the stallion. There was even more movement. It was slow, but several shapes began emerging from the ashy detritus.

"Cloud Blazer?" the purple eyed form spoke.

The stallion felt his heart skip for joy when he recognized the voice. It was Princess Twilight Sparkle.

40 - Catharsis, Part 14 of 15

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Pixyglitter was elated at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. It was not entirely unfamiliar, as she had once heard the Princess of Friendship make an address in Manehattan during a festival.

Gasps were heard across the room from everypony.

“Catch her!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Somepony collapsed.

“Twi, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Cries of concern went up from all of the friends.

“I’m fine,” Twilight Sparkle panted heavily, “I just need a minute.” 
“What happened?” Princess Cadence asked.

Luna answered, “The spell has been broken.”

“Come on, y’all, we need to help them up,” Applejack rallied them.

There was some commotion, and more than a few tears as the friends were reunited with each other and their princesses.

Pixyglitter could almost feel Cloud Blazer turn to her before he spoke, “We did it, Pixy.”

The blind mare felt a grin crawl across her face. It was true. Everything Cloud Blazer had told her… the dreams, the mission… it was all true. Warmth filled her heart, almost making her forget for just a moment the sharp pain in her chest.

Cloud Blazer put a hoof on her shoulder. She grabbed him and pulled him close into an embrace. She was so overwhelmed with a flood of joy that she forgot herself for a moment and turned, kissing him on the cheek.

As soon as it had been done, Pixyglitter realized that it may not have been a good idea. She didn’t know how he would interpret the gesture, though she didn’t mean anything by it. His face grew warm as the stallion pulled away.

…

Cloud Blazer was greatly moved with unbridled elation as he saw the friends reunited. Just to know that he hadn’t been going crazy was a relief in and of itself, but this scene before him was so purely magical that he was stricken with wonder.

He turned to Pixyglitter, placing a hoof on her shoulder, “We did it, Pixy.”

She smiled, and it grew larger as she tugged him down into a gleeful hug. She kissed him on the cheek, bringing time to a stop. He wasn’t sure where it came from, but he felt something of an attraction in that moment. He felt his face flush as the emotion washed over him. It didn’t last long, and he soon was aware of everything else in the room, not the least of which the heat radiating from his face as he backed away from his friend.

The amorous feelings, as quickly as they had come, were gone again. A slight amount of confusion aside, the stallion was otherwise unscathed. He turned his attention back to the reunion just a few yards away.

Everypony was sitting now, though, their appearance was a bit frightening. The princesses and Discord were gaunt. Their large frames were devoid of the normal muscle and fat that should make up the build of their bodies. That combined with the ashes that covered them gave a ghoulish appearance. They looked much akin to living corpses. The metallic spell of electricity combined with soot filled the air.

Celestia was looking about, blinking the grit from her eyes before her head hung low a moment, “It is as we feared, sister. Hope’s Glimmer is dead.”

The joy was soured inside Cloud Blazer at the announcement.

“Oh dear, oh no!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“What happened?” Sweetie Belle ventured.

"There wasn’t anything we could do," Princess Twilight answered somberly, tears welling up in her eyes. "When we released the magic that was in the mirror pond, it was a lot more than we anticipated. The defenses we had put in place just... we weren’t prepared for that blast. It overwhelmed all of our preparations in a matter of seconds. Hope’s Glimmer… she gave her life to save us.”

"It’s not your fault, Twilight," Cadence said as she embraced her sister-in-law.

"Well, nothing to be too hard on yourself about," Discord added as he stretched, "I never liked Hope's Glimmer anyway."

Celestia’s brow furrowed as she scolded him, “Those sort of antics are not helpful at this time."

Discord crossed his arms and sighed, ”Well that’s a fine thank you! The lot of you would have died of boredom if you hadn’t had me along. Besides, we don’t all show our grief in the same way. I’m as shook up at her loss as you are, Twilight, but I’m afraid I deflect when I’m upset.”

“But, how did she save you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

"Hope's Glimmer was the Princess of Destiny," Luna explained. "She had a gift and sometimes saw what would happen."

"Right before," Twilight continued, "she turned to me with a look on her face. She... she was afraid. She said, ‘Too much; bring the five.’ Then she used a spell..."

Twilight began sobbing.

"I know," Cadence said in a comforting voice, holding Twilight Sparkle close.

Luna continued, “It used all of her magic and her life force to create the barrier that encased us. If she hadn’t done it, we all would have certainly perished."

“The Sacrificium Expendebantur… the shield of sacrifice is the most powerful defensive magic I know,” Celestia spoke reverently. “It is a spell that I had never before witnessed first hoof… The last thing we saw was the blast as the magic was unleashed. Once her own life force was spent, the barrier fed on us to sustain itself.

“While we were kept away, our own perception of reality was skewed,” Luna added.

“What was it like?” Cloud Blazer asked.

Cadence replied, “It would be difficult to describe. Maybe… something like floating? There was nothing else… though we could perceive each other, in a way.”

“It was just a pocket dimension with a local manifestation tethering us to the world,” Discord sounded bored at the notion. “Though I must admit, the way the gate was sealed was genius. We couldn’t find a way out other than the one Hope’s Glimmer made for us.”

“It also made the passage of time impossible to determine. How long were we trapped?" Celestia asked.

Rainbow Dash answered, "It’s been several months."

"Months?" Cadence sounded horrified, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Cloud Blazer replied, "Yes, months."

“We are most grateful that you all came,” Celestia nodded.

“Actually,” Rainbow Dash replied a bit sheepishly, “it was Cloud Blazer there that did most of the work. He had the dreams and gathered us all together.”

The Wonderbolt commander looked at Cloud Blazer with a pinch of humility in her expression.

"I thank you, Cloud Blazer, for heeding my call," Princess Luna caught his attention. “In truth, I didn’t know who I had found when our minds first touched each other. I normally can speak quite clearly through dreams, but I found it much more difficult from inside the barrier."

The stallions emotions were roiling, a mixture of relief, pride, and satisfaction fought for dominance within him. He was about to say something when Rainbow Dash redirected the conversation.

"We don’t have time for this. With respect, we have problems."

"Tell me," Celestia ordered as she labored to stand.

Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie helped her up.

"The war has taken a toll since you’ve been gone," the pegasus answered. "Thousands have died, and we’ve lost two cities. The good news is that we’re winning. We have retaken Canterlot, captured Queen Chrysalis along with several thousand of her changelings, and we’ve slaughtered hundreds of thousands of timberwolves. We’re not out of the woods yet, but it’s just a matter of time. The bad news is that Shining Armor is becoming corrupted by the Alicorn Amulet."

"He still wears it?" Cadence asked, a little frantic.

Celestia’s brow furrowed grimly as she and Luna exchanged a glance with Twilight.

"Yes. He has discovered the changeling’s hatchery and means to destroy it," Rainbow Dash replied. "Nopony thought any of you were even still alive, other than those two,” she indicated Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter. “We sent Flurry Heart to get him to take it off."

Cadence struggled to stand, but was unable, collapsing to the floor. Rarity returned the room with water for the rescued princesses.

"It’s okay," Rainbow Dash said, "The Wonderbolts and Scootaloo are there to keep her safe. It’ll be fine."

“No, if Shining Armor still wears the amulet, everypony around him is in grave danger,” Cadence spoke quickly, her voice shaky.

Celestia took a sip of water. “With all haste, we need to send scouts to Shining Armor. By my order, he is to stop all actions and report to me in Canterlot immediately. Bring me a scroll. Surely he will recognize my writing. We’ll go there by train."

"I’ll arrange an escort," Rainbow Dash said.

Suddenly feeling helpless, Cloud Blazer asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

Twilight answered, "You have already done so much."

Their eyes locked for a moment. Her gaze was filled with sorrow, but she seemed to understand.

"You can come with us to Canterlot."

He didn’t know how much use he would actually be, but Cloud Blazer was glad to be included after everything he’d been through to get to this point. Given the state of the rescued alicorns, they would need to find food for them soon.

"Does that mean we get to ride the train?" Pinkie Pie excitedly broke the grim mood. "I love trains!"

40 - Catharsis, Part 15 of 15

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Caught in a strange mix of anger and grief, Scootaloo didn’t know what to do. Part of her very much wanted to kill Shining Armor. That facet of her remained only in some dark recess now. A week before it might have been the dominant side of her personality. She may have actually tried to do it.

Standing there helpless, looking on as the parent lay over his child was unbearable. The sovereign ruler of all Equestria was weeping. He cradled the small limp form as his bereavement flowed freely.

Through the sorrow, a single thought did occur to Scootaloo. She knelt down beside the pair.

"Shining Armor," she said softly. "It’s not your fault. It was the Alicorn Amulet; you need to take it off."

He looked up at her. The magnitude of anguish in his eyes was something she had never before seen. She understood only a pale shadow of what he now felt. She had first experienced it when Pibs died and again when she’d held Sparklefly until the end. Even that was not a quarter of the sorrow that now engulfed Prince Shining Armor.

“Let it go,” she whispered to him.

The prince didn’t say a word. The amulet fell away, rolling off of the body and dropping to the ground.

In a flash, Spitfire and Soarin had scooped up the relic and backed away. Scootaloo looked up at them. They seemed focused on the recovery of the Alicorn Amulet, and not at all concerned with the prince’s despair.

Shining Armor let out a bereft cry that melted Scootaloo’s heart.

“Wounded Sparrow protocol is complete,” Spitfire said as she secured the amulet in her saddle bags.

Scootaloo understood the pragmatism, but she didn’t appreciate it. A voice sent a shiver up her spine.

"Don’t cry, Daddy, I’m sorry," Princess Flurry Heart spoke.

Shining Armor stopped short, instinctively dropping the form and recoiling. The young alicorn sat up and made what passed for a smile, her own face wet from heartache. More tears burst from Shining Armor’s eyes as he embraced his daughter.

Scootaloo was bewildered at first, but then she was angry. Spitfire and Soarin had particularly smug grins on their faces that didn’t sit well with her in the slightest. She approached them combatively.

"What in Celestia’s name is the matter with you two!" she screamed.

The pair backed away sheepishly, almost seeming a little frightened.

"I might have killed him! Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would you do that to him, or to me?"

"Relax, soldier," Spitfire said, reminding the mare of her place. "We all knew what was going on, but for this to work we needed somepony who didn’t."

"Plausible emotion," Flittergear said softly; it was clear from her own visage that she had only just put it all together.

"Yes, that! That exactly!" Soarin quickly agreed.

"It didn’t have to be you specifically," Fleetfoot added. "We actually were going to use Rainbow Dash for it, but then she got hurt and couldn’t fly."

Scootaloo turned away, looking at father and daughter again. Exuberant joy had washed away the prince’s sorrow.

"Don’t ever scare me like that again!" he said through the tears.

"I won’t, Daddy! I won’t!“ she promised.

Scootaloo approached the pair and spoke to the young princess, "How did you do that? I saw you get hit and fall. That magic tore straight through you. You slammed into the rocks and didn’t move. I’d have sworn you were dead."

Flurry Heart looked up at Scootaloo, a fiendish grin on her young face, "Aunt Twilight taught me. I didn’t get hit by that magic. I used a displacement spell to warp the shape of the space around me. Then when I was falling, I used a momentum spell so I wouldn’t feel the impact at all." She let out a giggle, "Me not moving was just an illusion to make you think he got me.”

Her father nuzzled the young alicorn lovingly.

Fleetfoot added, “We’ve had some templars in the Crystal Empire teaching her defensive magic to hone her skills.”

"As much as I hate to break up this tender moment," Spitfire began.

"Not one more word if you value your rank and position," Shining Armor said coldly.

Spitfire stopped in her tracks. Scootaloo turned to the prince.

"Your majesty, I think Spitfire just needs confirmation one way or the other what you want us to do about the changeling hatchery."

The prince gave his daughter one last squeeze before letting her go. He stood, his eyes clearer than Scootaloo had seen them since the princesses had been lost.

“Slaughtering them is out of the question," he said. "However, we can’t just leave them here to grow into soldiers that will destroy us. Would it be safe to move them?"

Uneasy glances were exchanged all around.

"But, to where?" Soarin asked.

"Canterlot. There we can keep them from the enemy. When they hatch, maybe we can teach them our ways instead," the prince paused. "That, at least, is better than a summary execution when they haven’t done anything wrong. Also, it would buy us a little more time.”

Shining Armor used his magic, his horn glowed blue, as did his helmet as he lifted it and returned it to his head.

"I’m going in to talk with them."

"No," Scootaloo heard herself say.

A harsh glance from the prince silenced her.

"I’ll try and resolve this peaceably, but if anything happens to me, do what you have to do get the eggs safely to Canterlot."

The prince strode ahead alone. His daughter, the elite soldiers standing guard, Flittergear, and Scootaloo all watched as he disappeared into the mouth of the cave. Scootaloo, for one, felt emotionally wrecked for everything that had just transpired, and now she was left with fear for Shining Armor’s safety.

...

Pixyglitter wasn’t sure how much further she could make it. She somewhat regretted demanding to accompany the princesses’ party as far as the train, but she really felt like she needed to make sure things were straight between herself and Cloud Blazer before he departed.

He silently pushed her wheelchair, and the gasps and commotion that had formed around them was easily heard. A company of soldiers surrounded them, keeping crowds from getting close. The texture of the wooden ramp beneath the wheels of her chair was not as rough as the terrain had been, but her wound throbbed sharply still.

The air became humid as steam hissed from the brakes on the train. The blind pegasus heard the doors slide open as ponies began boarding. It was now or never. Sweetie Belle would be staying with her, but all of the others were going with the princesses to Canterlot.

“Sweetie Belle, could you give us a sec?”

“Sure,” the unicorn replied. “I’ll go see my sister off.”

The mare trotted away, leaving Cloud Blazer and Pixyglitter in the isolation of a crowd.

“So, this is goodbye,” she offered.

“Only for a little while,” the stallion answered.

“You mean it?”

“You’re kidding, right? You know I’d miss my morning flights if I stayed gone too long.”

She smiled, being careful to not laugh and aggravate her injury. The declaration of his return put most of her fears at ease, but she still had to say what was on her mind.

“About before, down in the basement…”

A lump formed in her throat. Why was she so nervous? Was she afraid that their friendship would end up destroyed like his and Scootaloo’s had?

“Go on.”

“I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. I mean, I didn’t mean anything by that… You know, when I sort of… I sort of…”

“Kissed me?”

Pixyglitter felt her face flush, “Yeah, that. I just… I didn’t… Please don’t let it make things weird between us. I just… I was so excited by the princesses returning and… It…”

“So, you want me to take that as a strictly platonic gesture?” he asked with a grin; she could feel it.

She smiled again, “Yes, please… that.”

“Okay. I… I wasn’t sure… Thanks for clearing that up.”

She felt him smile again, and she returned the expression. It sounded as if the platform was nearly clear.

“I have to go,” the stallion said.

“I know. Bye Cloud Blazer.”

There was silence for a moment before he said, “Brownie.”

“What?”

He shrugged, “It a nickname… some of my friends call me Brownie. You can if you want to.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip, Brownie.”

“See you soon, Pixy.”

He turned, and the sound of his slow shuffle as he drug his right rear leg across the platform was the last she heard of him before the train doors closed.

“Are you ready to get back to Sweet Apple Acres?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah,” the blind mare answered.

The pain in Pixyglitter’s chest seemed to intensify as the train whistle blasted and the locomotive began moving.

…

Scootaloo still stood facing the cave mouth. Flurry Heart stood next to her, seemingly unconcerned for her father’s safety. They had been waiting for several hours, but it was impossible to tell exactly how long it had been. Then movement caught her eye.

"Prepare for contact!" Spitfire called out.

The wonderbolts had their crossbows raised, and a dozen templars’ horns glowed with magic. The soldiers were ready to fight. To everypony’s relief, it was Shining Armor.

"Halt where you are!" Spitfire commanded.

"Check him," Flittergear said.

"Flurry Heart, do you know the spell to reveal changelings?"

The adolescent grinned and stepped forward. Shining Armor smiled at her and waited patiently for her to complete the scan. It was not a changeling.

“Everypony, stand down. My apologies, your majesty," the wonderbolt’s leader said.

He shook his head dismissively, "It was necessary. They were willing to talk, but not to surrender. I only saw twenty or so, but there could be more. They are all older, bordering on feeble as far as I can tell. They don’t leave any warriors here."

"So we take the eggs by force?" Scootaloo asked.

Shining Armor was lost in thought for a moment before answering, "No, not unless we have no other choice."

A scout arrived moments later. After submitting to a scan, he reported.

"You majesty, I have news," he said. "The princesses live. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle have been recovered, as has Discord."

Scootaloo was flooded with total shock for the second time that day. Shining Armor stood still, but his eyes were about to start watering again. He choked back the tears.

“Are you sure?”

The scout nodded, his eyes wide, “I saw them myself.”

"And Hope's Glimmer?"

"Dead," the scout replied. "Further, Princess Celestia orders you to halt all actions until she can review them. You are to report to her in Canterlot at once."

“Did you hear that, Flurry?” The prince spoke through fresh tears as he embraced his filly in a hug, “Mommy’s come back to us!”

Scootaloo let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding in as she sank to her haunches. The princesses weren’t dead. They had returned.

“Flurry Heart.”

“Yes, daddy?”

“How about we never, ever tell your mother about today?”

The filly looked up into her father’s eyes with all of the innocence of a child, and then a sly grin formed on her muzzle.

“Can I have some ice cream?”

The prince snorted a laugh, “As soon as I can find you some.”

She pressed her head into her father’s neck, tightening her embrace as she asked, “And my bedtime… can we make that an hour later?”

“I will talk to your mother. If she can be convinced, then of course.”

“Also, daddy-“

“Don’t push your luck!”

Scootaloo was overcome with relief and felt herself smile as the father and daughter shared a giggle in their embrace.

41 - Resolutions, Part 1 of 9

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“Are you sure about this?” Scootaloo asked.

LD stood beside her, staring at the entrance to the prison impassively. His expression was difficult to read, but she assumed it was because he was nervous.

“He wasn’t exactly pleasant the last time I tried to talk to him.”

The stallion snorted, “The last time I saw him, he was covered in blood, trying to kill Duster.”

They stood a moment longer before LD finally nodded. They walked forward, submitting to the security procedures to verify their identities. The prison had a distinctive scent of old sweat that hung in the air. Though every cell was still overcrowded, the conditions seemed better than what Scootaloo had been told of changeling prisons where they locked up ponies.

It didn’t take them long before they arrived at the cell of which they were in search. There was far less fire in the prisoners than the last time she’d been here. It took Scootaloo a moment to notice him.

Ash Eater sat in the corner sleeping. But for the broken horn and missing leg, she might not have recognized him. Every time she had seen him in his true form, hatred had contorted his expression. The face he now wore was quite peaceful.

One of the other captives hissed, and within moments the others had roused from their bored slumber. Ash Eater’s face transformed when he saw them, becoming alight with rage directed at the pair. He stood on his three legs, stumbling for a moment and cursing under his breath. He regained his balance and approached the bars that divided their cell from the corridor.

“So, I guess we get to have a reunion,” he sighed. “I’m flattered. But where are the others? Were Sparklefly and Cloud Blazer unable make it?”

Though somewhat numbed to mention of Sparklefly, Scootaloo felt herself cringe at the mention of Cloud Blazer. That wound was still open.

LD answered simply, “Sparklefly is dead.”

Ash Eater grinned, “I was hoping I had done enough work ripping her throat out before you stopped me.”

The pegasus cocked his head to one side, “That wasn’t Sparklefly. She died in Apple Loosa.”

For once, it was surprise on the changeling’s face.

“The pony you attacked in Cloudsdale was her brother,” Scootaloo added. “He was wearing her eye patch as a disguise.”

“Other than drawing me out, what could you have possibly gained from that?” he sneered.

“It was my idea,” LD replied evenly. “And don’t flatter yourself. It had nothing to do with you. Sparklefly was popular among the civilians. We used her name to rally them to pull off that stunt.”

The changeling seethed.

LD continued, “You’ll probably be sorry to know that I was able to save him. The doctors say he’ll recover eventually, though there will be some permanent scarring.”

“Somehow, I doubt you’re here to talk about him.”

“No, we are not,” LD took a deep breath, “I had something I wanted to ask you.”

The changeling snorted and turned to Scootaloo, “Unlike some of your friends, I’ll never betray my people.”

Scootaloo felt her familiar anger threatening to return. In spite of the new course on which she had set herself, she still felt a need to settle that score, though it would accomplish little at this point. Ash Eater was a prisoner; he was already defeated. She decided to reply calmly.

“That’s not what he meant.”

Scootaloo laughed to herself as Ash Eater raised an eyebrow.

“You were at the mirror pond when I became… duplicated,” LD took a deep breath. “I know it was chaos down there, but I just had to find out if you knew what happened to me.”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re asking,” the changeling answered tersely.

“I mean the original me. The first Lightning Dasher that jumped into the mirror pond.”

Something sparked in the changeling’s eyes. If Scootaloo wasn’t mistaken, it was wonder.

“You mean you don’t know? You don’t know whether or not you are the original?”

LD shook his head, “No… I don’t.”

“How strange…”

Then the moment passed, and the hatred returned to the captive’s visage.

“Is that seriously all you came to ask about?”

“Honestly, yes,” LD answered with conviction. “I have been wondering about it ever since… Now there are two of me. The possibility is that one of us is the original.”

“Or neither of you are.”

LD sighed. Scootaloo remained silent. The stallion seemed comforted by her presence, but she didn’t want to agitate Ash Eater if it were possible.

“Yes, that is the heart of the matter. So, did you see what happened to the original? Do you know if he was killed in the opening moments of the battle?”

A sly grin formed on the changeling’s face, as if he were about to say something. Then it faded, and he seemed devoid of any kind of emotion, lost in thought for a moment before he answered.

“No. I didn’t see what happened to him. I had always assumed that whichever one was the original would have known. Though, I didn’t give it much thought.”

“That figures,” LD was clearly disappointed with the answer.

Ash Eater’s grin returned, “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll make your deaths quick when I get out of here, so it won’t matter whether you are a clone or the original.”

The other changelings in the cell became restless, emboldened by the bravado.

LD’s expression went from sad to stern as he turned to Scootaloo, “Let’s go.”

The pair turned to walk away.

“We will not endure defeat!” Ash Eater shouted after them.

Growling and hissing went up from the prisoners all around.

“The changeling empire will cover this land!”

Ash Eater continued shouting after them, but his voice was lost in the cacophony. The air felt suffocating as they marched toward the exit.

The sunlight and fresh breeze lifted Scootaloo’s spirits. She turned to her companion, whose face betrayed the conflicted emotions he was feeling.

“Hey,” she captured his attention. “It’s okay.”

He sighed heavily, “Why does everypony keep saying that? Do you have any idea what it is like to have another you walking around? Another you that knows everything, your secrets, your fears, who could replace you in front of your family and friends, and nopony would even know the difference?”

The ramifications became more fully understandable to the mare, but she couldn’t let him wallow in despair for something over which he had no control.

“LD, weird as it is, I like you better than Lightning Dasher.”

He scrunched his nose at her, “That’s ridiculous.”

She shrugged, “Look, I don’t know if either of you is the original, but it doesn’t matter. You are you. Yeah, you share a common past, but… it’s…”

Scootaloo felt as though she were grasping at straws. Her recent advice from Apple Bloom came to mind. Though it hadn’t worked out well for her, it had been the correct course of action. Perhaps it was that fear of the unknown that was bothering the stallion.

“Here’s what you need to do,” she regrouped and began again. “You are LD. You and Lightning Dasher came from Lightning Dasher. Okay? As soon as you can, you need to find him, and both of you need to go home to your parents.”

“What if they’re not my parents?”

“Do I have to smack you upside the head?”

He stared back in disbelief.

“Because if you want to settle this the old fashioned way, bring it on.”

He rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed and uninterested in such a contest.

“You are afraid of rejection. That’s all there is to it. I’d be scared too. But the thing is, LD, you are letting this cripple you. You have to go home, tell everypony what happened and let the chips fall where they may.”

“And… if they do push me away?”

The mare took a deep breath, “Then you walk away. Leave them a way to contact you and never look back. Make new friends, live your life.”

It seemed as though his eyes were clouded with sorrow.

“Look, LD, you can’t let this be the thing that defines you. Yeah it happened, but you saved countless lives because of what you did. Don’t you get that? We would have lost the battle at the mirror pool and never made it back to town. Ponyville would have been destroyed that night, and nopony in all Equestria would have known that the changelings were even involved. I think a little identity crisis is a small price to pay for saving the world.”

He tilted his head at her, “You know… I hadn’t really ever thought of it that way. How come I didn’t get a fancy title?”

“You and me both!” she snorted back at him. “Your past is just that. If you cling to that to define you… you’re missing out on something far more precious.”

“Don’t say my future; that’d be ridiculously cliche,” he answered flatly.

The mare stopped short and felt her face flush, “You know what? Wallow in your self pity!”

She reached for his shoulder and shoved him. A grin formed on the stallion’s face as he bounded away. He laughed, almost playfully as he crouched into a more stable stance. She eyed him for a moment before a jovial spirit overtook her.

“I’m going to get you!” she roared, rearing back on her hind legs and charging forward.

He darted away, and the mare thundered after him, hardly noticing the fading pain in her hind leg.

41 - Resolutions, Part 2 of 9

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Cloud Blazer winced at every bump that jostled the train as it sped across the countryside, bound for Ponyville. Much to his dismay, though in line with his expectations, the stallion had been of no use to the princesses now that they were free.

They had him stay in the castle and share meals with them while they recovered their strength. It was far less glamorous than he might have expected. He’d known Princess Twilight Sparkle in passing for years, but the others had still held some regal mystery for him.

That expectation was somewhat disillusioned now that he had seen them with their hair down. There was little by way of ceremony, pomp or circumstance. Still, they were gracious and welcoming, and more than once he was asked to tell his story.

The princesses all seemed genuinely interested in the dreams from the stallion’s perspective, as Luna’s experience on the other side had been far different. The princess of the night had difficulty in putting into words what she had seen. The best analogy she could make was to compare it to a great hedge maze that changed itself up continuously as she attempted to navigate it.

Oddly enough to the stallion, they were also fascinated by what happened when the dreams stopped. At that time, the princesses had lost so much of their strength that Luna was no longer able to reach out beyond the barrier. The stallion learning to fly with Pixyglitter, their dangerous trip to Manehattan, and their frightful return to Ponyville had been a frequent topic of conversation.

He couldn’t be certain whether they were making themselves interested for his benefit, but he appreciated the attention either way. He had also been able to get to know Shining Armor a little bit better. The prince continued the day to day running of the nation while the others recovered their strength, though he did personally bring them reports twice a day.

Ponyville coming into view through his window broke the stallion from his reverie.

Most of the other passengers on the train were soldiers. Knowing their journey was at an end, they restlessly began their preparations to disembark. By the look of them, most of this group were freshly graduated cadets. Cloud Blazer could not help but smile at the bright hope that was still in their eyes. It was a look not seen in the faces of veteran soldiers.

Princess Celestia had indicated that as soon as her strength returned, she would begin meeting with Queen Chrysalis in hopes of beginning a dialogue whereby they could end the fighting. The stallion certainly hoped she would be able to succeed.

As the locomotive came to a halt, steam from the engine covered the platform and hung in the air in a dense fog. If he hadn’t been home, it might have seemed an ominous arrival. The bustling of the others that were moving about made the stallion stay near the train until the platform cleared. He didn’t want to get bumped around any more than the trip had already shaken him. His old wounds had been aggravated enough for one day.

A figure approached through the mist. As the wind cleared the air, Sweetie Belle smiled. The stallion grinned at her through his pains.

“I see you got my letter,” he greeted her.

She nodded, “Yesterday. Do you have any bags or anything?”

He shook his head, “Just me.”

She turned, and the stallion ambled forward. The mare didn’t begin walking until he had reached her, and then she kept a leisurely pace. Cloud Blazer was grateful for this. As they cleared the noisy train station, Sweetie Belle broke the relative silence.

“How was Canterlot?”

“It’s looking better. They have a lot of reconstruction to do, but it feels alive with activity.”

“That’s good. I’d heard that the entire city had been burned to the ground.”

“Not quite. Many of the buildings are stone, so they survived well enough.”

“Did they keep you busy?”

Cloud Blazer snorted, “I was bored beyond belief after the first day. I’m glad they let me go, but… I don’t know. I was pretty useless.”

“Don’t say that,” she sounded genuinely concerned.

“No, I just meant… I didn’t really have a function up there, you know?”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

He waved off the sentiment, and they continued in silence for a time. Ponyville was looking much better since he’d left. There were a few houses that had burned down, but one already had a new frame standing where the old structure had been cleared. The rooftops of the other houses seemed mostly free of damage as well.

“So, did you see anypony you knew?” Sweetie Belle asked.

There was something coy about her tone that made Cloud Blazer suspect there was something in particular she was driving toward.

“Princess Twilight, of course, and her friends were all there for the first few days. You know Applejack came back to Ponyville a week ago because she’s getting close to her delivery.”

The stallion thought on the question, but didn’t remember seeing anypony else that they knew. He finally shrugged.

“Oh.“

Whatever it had been toward which Sweetie Belle was hinting, she let it go at that point. Cloud Blazer decided to forget about it. Before long, the pair came upon Sweet Apple Acres. The farm seemed to have changed little, cleanup from the battle not withstanding.

The dull aches in Cloud Blazer’s leg were becoming much sharper as the pair approached the farm house. All was quiet inside, and sweetie Belle led the weary stallion upstairs.

“Rise and shine,” Sweetie Belle said as they entered the girls’ room. “I brought someone to see you. “

Pixyglitter groaned as she faced towards the door, “I’m awake.”

She sounded quite grumpy.

Cloud Blazer couldn’t help but smile at her, even though she couldn’t see it.

“I got bored in Canterlot, so I came back to see how things were going on the farm.“

Pixyglitter smiled, “Welcome back.“

Her spirits seemed instantly brightened. As for the stallion, the agonies from his injuries began to to melt away.

“So, are you going to bust me out of here? They won’t even let me go to the bathroom by myself.”

The stallion felt his nose wrinkle, “Absolutely not. The last thing I need is an invalid to take care of. Besides, you couldn’t be in better hooves. Sweetie Belle helped me get walking again.”

“Fine help you are, getting me into this mess and now you won’t lift a hoof to get me out. With a friend like you, who needs enemies?”

“Take it easy,” the stallion defended playfully, “I almost get you killed only, what, twice? And that’s how you’re going to be?”

“Three times. You picked that farm-house that was full of deserters.”

Sweetie Belle giggled, “You guys!”

Pixyglitter shifted in the bed, wincing from the pain, “Well, you might as well sit down and get comfortable. There’s not much for me to do, so you’d better have some stories to tell.”

“That I can help you with,” the stallion said as he stepped forward, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to be in the other room,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Just yell if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Cloud Blazer answered. “So, what sort of story would you like? Drama and death? Slice of life? Perhaps a smutty romance?”

“Brownie, eww! I don’t like that trash,” she shook her head. “How about you just start with where you’ve been for the past two weeks.”

He felt himself smile at the use of his nickname. Cloud Blazer recounted everything that had happened from the moment he’d said goodbye to her at the train station until he returned. An occasional comment aside, she listened with interest as he spoke.

“I’m glad the princesses are doing better,” she said with a wistful smile. “And to think, I almost didn’t help you.”

The stallion turned the thought over in his mind. It was a sobering notion that made him become quite serious.

“Pixy, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Whoa, take it easy. I just flew you to Manehattan and back. It’s not a lifetime commitment or anything.”

The stallion felt his face flush. He wasn’t sure why. He felt a bit irritated at her deflection. His confused emotions were redirected when the sound of Sweetie Belle singing could be heard from the other end of the house. He looked to Pixyglitter inquisitively.

“She does that,” she answered as though she could read his expression.

“She’s always loved singing…” he stopped to listen for a moment. “She’s getting really good.”

“She is,” came a flat reply. “I just wish she’d learn more than the same five songs she practices all day.”

A grin formed on Cloud Blazer’s face, “All day?”

“You have no idea. I know all the lyrics. Every single word to every song.”

The stallion cocked an eyebrow, “Really? So, you want to give one a try for me?”  “That’s not happening,” her face flushed this time.

“What’s the matter? You don’t like your singing voice?”

“Not everypony can sing, Brownie.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, of fun?”

She pursed her lips. Cloud Blazer decided that he should quit while he was ahead. Changing the subject seemed to be the safest course of action.

“Do you know how long before you’re able to get up and start your therapy?”

The mare sighed, “A few more weeks. As much as I hate it… I’m listening to the doctors on this one. If I aggravate it before it is healed, I’ll just be laid up longer.”

“Well, don’t worry,” the stallion replied glibly, “You’ve got me to annoy, I mean, to keep you company until you’re up and about.”

“Joy,” she said dispassionately.

The smile that crept onto Pixyglitter’s face beneath the bandages which hid her eyes betrayed that she was happier about this than she had indicated with her response. Cloud Blazer was filled with warmth; he was glad to be home.

41 - Resolutions, Part 3 of 9

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Scootaloo felt out of place. She sat in an elegant chair in one of the smaller ballrooms of the Canterlot castle that had been converted into the appropriate setting for a meeting. There was a ring of tables that effectively formed a modestly-sized circle in the center of the room. Rainbow Dash sat to her left, closer to the princesses. To her right were Flittergear and Pacer.

Rainbow Dash had given him strict instructions that he was not so much as to say a single word if he didn’t want to be busted down to private and cleaning latrines. Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin at the shade of pale his face had turned during the warning. It was a thing of beauty.

There were a few others seated around the ring, including the commanders of the zebra and griffin forces with one aide each, but it was a relatively small group, not counting counting a score of EUP guards that stood around the perimeter of the room.

The large and ornate doors opened. Prince Shining Armor entered, followed by a dozen more guards and finally Queen Chrysalis with two changelings that she had chosen to accompany her as witnesses. Scootaloo did not know their rank or importance.

The chamberlain announced as they entered, “Presenting her majesty, Chrysalis, queen of the changelings, sovereign ruler of the badlands hive, matriarch of the south.”

Scootaloo stood along with everypony else as a show of respect while the newcomers were seated. Water was the only refreshment available. The changelings’ expressions betrayed the contempt and mistrust that was within.

“Welcome, Queen Chrysalis,” Princess Celestia began, “I trust that your new accommodations are more acceptable.”

“A cage is a cage, no matter how finely gilded,” came an even, yet surly reply.

“You are quite correct. I am sorry that it has come to this, and that is why I asked you to meet with us today.”

“We will never surrender, no matter what you offer or threaten,” changeling queen spat. “We will not bow before ponies!”

The changelings with her seemed emboldened by her show, but they remained in their seats, their bug-like wings buzzing at the show of strength.

“Please, we just want to talk for now,” Celesta spoke softly.

The changeling queen eyed the princesses before looking at the zebra commander. She muttered something under her breath before speaking aloud.

“We have nothing to say as long as that thing is in the room.”

“There is no cause to fight here,” Twilight attempted.

The zebra stared back impassively at Chrysalis.

“Isn’t there?” Chrysalis asked.

Luna answered, “Not in this circle. It is an end of fighting that my sister wishes to discuss with you.

The eyes of the changeling queen were still locked with the zebra. He had neither looked away nor so much as blinked, which seemed to infuriate her further. Chrysalis hissed before slamming her hooves against the table.

Scootaloo’s heart leapt into her throat as the guards all dropped into a combat stance, spears at the ready. They held their ground, the entire room having become frozen by the tension.

“Jumpy, aren’t we?” the changeling queen sneered. “I think I’d like to return to my gilded cage now. And I never want to see that thing or any of his pathetic excuse for a kind again.”

Silence stayed for a moment, and then Celestia nodded to Shining Armor, who did as Chrysalis requested. Once they had exited and the doors were shut, the Princesses let out a collective sigh.

“That could have gone better,” Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

“Somepony needed to feel important,” Pacer muttered just loud enough for Scootaloo to hear.

Despite is annoying personality, the assessment seemed to have merit.

The zebra commander stood and faced Celestia, “Kiumbe kibaya. Hata hivyo, kuna kitu ambacho hawezi kuonyesha mbele yangu. Kwa ruhusa yako, nitairudi ili kuongoza askari wangu.”

Rainbow Dash arose from her seat, “He said, ‘Vile creature. However, there is something that she can not show in front of me. With your permission, I will go back to guide my troops.’”

Celestia nodded, “Thank you for coming. I apologize for the insult.”

A smile met her from the striped equine, “Wanawachukia watu wangu sana. Sijaweka kosa kwenye akaunti yako.”

The Wonderbolt again provided the translation. “‘They hate my people very much. I have not set an error on your account.’”

The conversation didn’t go far after that, and the princesses decided to adjourn for the day. Scootaloo took note that while they were looking better, just that brief interaction seemed to make them fatigued.

After the alicorns and guards had left, Scootaloo turned to Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, when did you learn to speak the zebra’s language?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Shining Armor required all of the elite forces to learn. I swear, they’re trying to turn me into an egg-head. Come on, let’s go find some chow.”

Scootaloo smiled as she followed. She held onto the hope that their next meeting with Chrysalis would be more productive than this first one had been.

41 - Resolutions, Part 4 of 9

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Duster stared at the stone sculpted fountain in the Ponyville square. No water ran from it, which seemed to be by designed. The only noticeable damage to the statue of a pony on the pedestal in the center was a broken ear. It now lay in the drained basin below. Duster mused that it was not that unlike his own shortened ear, though, his had been a victim of friendly-fire.

The stallion admired the craftsmanship. He allowed his mind to become lost in thought as he took in each curve, each tool mark that would be invisible to the untrained eye. The simple beauty of the work resonated in his soul. In truth, his own skills were not honed just yet, but he still felt the calling of his cutie mark.

His mother was having new shoes made for the little ones, and he’d opted to stay here and wait for them. Rediscovering true boredom was a glorious thing for Duster. He had forgotten the joy of simply becoming lost in a moment.

His thoughts quickly turned to more recent events. The training he had endured, the battles he had fought, the entire last year was mixed up inside as moments played through his mind in no particular order. The weight of sadness for Sissy and his lost friends was even stronger than the pain from the wound in his neck. The physical injury seemed to be healing at a much faster rate. The stallion almost could not remember what it had been like to be happy.

“Howdy, there, Duster!” Mayor Applejack approached at a slow waddle.

He nodded to her and spoke, his voice a pained whisper, “Hi, how are you?”

“Pretty miserable. My legs have been hurting something awful, but I don’t expect you’ll want to hear none of that.”

He smiled at her candor, “Thank you.”

She returned a grin and stood beside him, her gaze moving to the statue that commanded his attention. They stayed in silence for a while before Applejack spoke again.

“I’ve given it some thought about what your ma said the other day, about moving out to the barn. I just can’t let you do that. It just wouldn’t seem right to me. But, if y’all are up for it, we can get together and build you a farmhouse in the south field when we have a chance.”

The suggestion to move to the barn was a purely practical one. The Apples’ house was fairly crowded with so many having been taken in by the Apples, and with Applejack’s foal due any day, it was only going to be more so.

“Thanks,” Duster whispered. “I’ll definitely talk to my mom about it. I don’t think we’d need that much space. Our family is only likely to get smaller for the foreseeable future.”

The mayor grinned, “You never know. I do have a sister that’s about your age, and she ain’t got no special somepony. It’s not a bad place to settle down and raise some young ‘uns.”

Duster snorted a laugh, sending a spasm of pain from his throat, “Does Apple Bloom know you’re trying to marry her off?”

Applejack simply winked in reply. Duster let the thought enter his mind, but it was completely farcical to him. She was a farm pony, through and through. He was going to be an artist. They’d never be able to share their destinies effectively. Besides that, he certainly didn’t feel any strong attraction to her. She was nice enough, but they hardly knew each other well enough to even be friends.

He continued his raspy whisper, “I don’t think I’m her type. Really, I just meant that if I leave to study art as I had planned, there’ll be one fewer, and I don’t know that Thunderfly or Shimmerpuff will take to farming like Glitterdust. I also doubt my mom is looking to rear any more foals of her own.”

“I can’t say I blame her,” Applejack winced and took a deep breath, “Just doing this once has been a doozy. I can’t imagine doing five in a row.”

“Six.” 
“How’s that, now?”

Duster’s stomach knotted as he realized that he had spoken out of turn. He had little choice but to explain himself.

“After Thunderfly… They had tried again before Shimmerpuff. The colt was stillborn.”

Applejack didn’t respond, but bowed her head. Duster realized the error of mentioning something like that to an expecting mother. His face flushed.

“Oh, my, Applejack, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have-“

“No,” she cut him off. “It’s not you… It’s…” she took a deep breath.

She seemed to be in pain. She exhaled slowly.

“Oh my, I think… Duster, I think it’s time.”

Duster’s heart stopped, “Time? Time for what?”

“The foal is… It… Ow!”

Applejack took another deep breath, crouching down until the contraction passed.

“It’s coming…” She looked up at him, sweat beading up on her face. “I’d be much obliged if you’d walk me to the hospital.”

Duster felt as if he were going to panic. This was one situation for which he was not prepared. He began looking frantically about. He’d become disoriented and he couldn’t remember the location of the hospital.

Applejack chuckled, “Simmer down there. I know the way, just come with me.”

The foal was coming. The stallion, far out of his depth, obeyed the request as though it had been an order. Mixed feelings of excitement and terror flooded through him as the pair made their way onward. The foal was coming.

41 - Resolutions, Part 5 of 9

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Scootaloo felt her eyelids getting heavy. Their second meeting with Queen Chrysalis had gone much longer than the first, though as little progress had come of it. The third meeting had seen them talking in circles for nearly an hour, and an equal amount of headway seemed likely.

“We’ve been over this a dozen times,” Chrysalis spoke at a soft growl, “We will never be your servants.”

Celestia seemed weary, but she tried once more, “Please don’t misunderstand, we are not calling these meetings to discuss surrender.”

The changeling queen seemed surprised by the statement, her first noteworthy reaction to date. Chrysalis didn’t reply. She instead waited for Celestia to continue. The princess seemed somewhat energized by the changeling queen’s reaction.

“There is currently far too much bad blood, and far too many sacrifices have been made by both of our peoples. For the moment, the only thing I wanted to suggest was a temporary truce, a cessation of hostilities while we discuss matters further.”

“What’s the point?” Chrysalis pursed her lips. “We are night and day, our goals and yours. We can never come to terms.”

Princess Luna sat up straighter, “Indeed, night and day are as far apart as two can be, yet both working together can produce harmony for all. If there were only day, the land would burn with heat of the sun. If night were eternal, how would the forests and grass survive? They need the warmth and light to thrive.”

The changeling matriarch groaned, “Spare me your metaphors and platitudes. It’s even more revolting than Shining Armor’s pathetic attempts at witty banter.”

Scootaloo felt herself frown, a reaction that Cadence echoed. It was Twilight Sparkle that spoke next.

“We just want to stop the fighting. That’s all we’re asking for.”

“Asking?” she sneered, “Now that is rich. You don’t make requests of prisoners, you demand of them. Here’s a thought; set me free and I’ll consider it.”

The princesses exchanged looks.

Chrysalis continued, “If putting a stop to the fighting really is what you want, let me go and we can discuss it as equals.”

Celestia bowed her head.

“You know very well why we can’t do that.”

“I appreciate your forthrightness,” Chrysalis snorted, “As much as anyone in my position could. In that case, I think I’d like to go back to my cage now. I’ve had enough of your prattle for one day.”

Scootaloo sighed as the meeting imploded the same way that the previous two had.

…

The piercing cry of a foal awakened Pixyglitter. Her sleep had been restless in anticipation of the coming day. Though there was still pain in her chest, it was somewhat blunted after having rested for so many weeks. Today, she would be getting up for the first time.

This realization had stolen her slumber almost as effectively as had Applejack’s new foal in the recent nights. She opted to not wait for anypony, but cautiously rolled over, gently setting her hooves against the wooden floor. She stood slowly, feeling rather strange as if her body had forgotten how to maintain a standing position.

Pixyglitter wobbled a moment and finally leaned against the bed for stability as her head began pounding. Fresh spasms of pain surged from the healing wound. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she answered.

Cloud Blazer’s voice greeted her, “Hey Pixy, I was… You’re up!”

The cries of the infant grew louder as the door had opened, making the mare cringe.

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth, “I need to go for a walk before the foal drives me insane.”

The stallion stifled a giggle, “Well, you shouldn’t overdo it. The barn is close, how about we hang out there for a bit?”

Pixyglitter nodded as she picked up a stick that had been placed by her bed. She appreciated the thoughtfulness of it being provided by Apple Bloom weeks before she could actually get up and use it.

Her attempt to walk was a bit wobbly, so the stallion assisted her, leading the way through the noise of the house.

The fresh air outside lifted the mare’s spirits. A shiver ran through her sweat drenched body as she stretched her wings into the cool breeze, allowing her feathers to be tickled by it. They had hardly made it into the barn before she felt the need to sit down. It felt good to be moving, but it was also exhausting.

“I’ve been thinking,” Cloud Blazer broke the relative silence. He sounded nervous, “We should give some thought to the future.”

She scratched at the bandages that covered her useless eyes and tilted her head questioningly.

“I mean, I don’t want to stay in Ponyville.”

The mare shrugged, “Where do you want to go?”

“I… I’m not sure. That’s why I think we should talk about it. We’ve imposed on the Apples too long already. We need to find some work… You know? Make our own way.”

She understood exactly what he was feeling. The family that had taken them in at Sweet Apple Acres had asked for nothing in return, but Pixyglitter felt a deep need to pull her own weight.

“Unfortunately, my talent isn’t something I can actually pursue anymore,” she replied, thinking the image of a camera that was her cutie mark.

“Mine either,” he replied.

“Okay… wow, that stinks.”

“Yeah…”

They grew quiet for a long moment before Cloud Blazer spoke again.

“So… I’m not sure where, or what yet, but...” he took a breath, still sounding fearful, “I guess I wanted to know… are you… I mean… do you want to come with me?”

The mare shook her head in confusion, “Of course I’ll come with you. Where else would I go?”

The question had caught the Pixyglitter off guard. Certainly their friendship didn’t have any formal terms or expectations, but she thought it had been made clear in Manehattan that she was planning to stay with him for the foreseeable future.

A sigh of relief escaped the stallion. Pixyglitter felt herself grin as the need to tease took hold.

“But I’m only saying that in a platonic friendly sort of way.”

The stallion snorted a laugh, “Am I ever going to live that down?”

“No,” she made a coy smile. “Although, there is one thing I’ve been wondering. Pinkie Pie had mentioned something about a ‘Carrot Incident’?”

“I was thinking maybe we could go north,” Cloud Blazer quickly changed the subject. “Princess Celestia said that as soon as possible, they’d be putting out a call to begin putting together a new cloud city and a weather factory. I thought maybe, between the two of us, we could help out.”

She flicked her ears each in turn, her curiosity about the ‘Carrot Incident’ not satisfied. It would have to wait.

“We’d probably have to take a single salary for the both of us.”

“Well… yeah…” he conceded, “It’d be enough to get started anyway. From there… we can play it by ear maybe?”

Pixyglitter was not fooled by the way he danced around his unspoken motivations. She knew what he was doing. Cloud Blazer didn’t want to stay in Ponyville because he knew that sooner or later, Scootaloo would return. While she didn’t know the full story of what had happened between them, his behavior and overheard whispers from others in the house were sufficient to indicate to her that the dynamic had definitely changed.

41 - Resolutions, Part 6 of 9

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Scootaloo was beginning to believe that she had been banished to some dark corner of Tartarus and that this great meeting to talk of peace was simply a single moment of failure, doomed to repeat itself for all eternity. She could only wonder what hideous sin she might have committed to have herself so damned.

They would always begin somewhat cordially, but Chrysalis would inevitably steer the conversation toward some point to which she could strongly object and then demand to return to her ‘cage’. If Scootaloo remembered correctly from the last several meetings, the deflection should be coming any moment.

“How many times have we been through this?” Chrysalis sneered. “You want a cease fire, that’s all. I get it. Listen and tell me if I stutter. Release me, and then we can talk terms.”

A wry grin formed on Scootaloo’s face… the queen was right on schedule.

Celestia stared back, a bit harder than usual and asked, “Honestly, if our positions were reversed, would you for any reason even consider letting me go?”

The changeling queen held her gaze in silence for a long moment before answering.

“No.”

“Then I suggest we put that aside for a moment.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

“I am open to the possibility of giving you something else as a show of good faith.”

In all of the talks they had attempted, this was only the second time that Chrysalis seemed surprised. Scootaloo took note that the queen’s attention had been gained.

“So generous. What did you have in mind?”

Despite her snide tone, she seemed interested in the turn the conversation had taken.

“If I might make a suggestion,” Cadence began, “I have been told that the most recent battles in the plains west of Manehattan have resulted with severe injury inflicted on changeling forces. We could offer medical assistance to your wounded.”

“So they can be your hostages as well? I think not.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle added, “They don’t have to come to us. We could drop off medical supplies for them, to be picked up and taken to where they are needed.”

Chrysalis sat back, considering what had been said. She nudged her glass of water, turning the ornate vessel before looking up again.

“You certainly seem eager to halt us, even temporarily. I can’t help but wonder if my children shouldn’t press our advantage.”

Scootaloo could only guess what advantage Chrysalis thought she had at this point. It was true that there still remained a significant number of timberwolves, but it was hardly enough to put her in a position of strength. The recent battles had seen a rallying of the EUP forces and several crushing defeats to the changelings and their minions.

Celestia looked saddened, certainly she was weary in her current state. She had been well fed and groomed in the weeks since her return, all of the princesses had been, though it would take a great deal of time for their wasted away forms to return to normal.

“I care for each and every one of my subjects,” Celestia spoke, “I know you care for yours as well. If you’d rather we fight until the land is burned and everypony who survives the war starves to death, I suppose there is not much I can do to stop you. Our determination to live freely is no less than yours.”

“That, I do believe.”

Scootaloo shivered. That was the first concession, though minor, that the changeling queen had made. It hardly felt like progress. Quiet filled the room for a long moment, the sounds of shuffling in chairs and the occasional cough was all that could be heard. This time, it was Chrysalis that broke the silence.

“What could my children possibly gain by stopping their attacks? All it would do is give you time to further fortify your cities.”

“The medical supplies aside,” Celestia answered, “I’m not sure. From the reports I have received, we don’t have much else to give in our current state. We are struggling to feed our own now, and we expect that situation to only grow more dire through the winter.”

Chrysalis leaned in, “You surprise me by admitting as much freely.”

“We have to start somewhere. For me, it starts with being as open and honest with you as I am able. At the moment, I’d don’t trust you, and I know you don’t trust me.”

“You’ve found two things we agree on, and in one meeting. I’m impressed.” The changeling queen crossed her front legs, a smirk forming across her muzzle, “It’s really a shame that Shining Armor was never able to do as much with all the countless hours he interrogated me. I suppose he simply wasn’t up to the task.”

The prince’s face flushed.

“I would ask you, please, to not torment my nephew.”

“Or what?” the combative question hung in the air as if it would derail the meeting.

Celestia tilted her head and spoke softly, “I apologize. That was not a threat. I don’t intend any repercussion, though I may send him and his wife away if you insist on insulting him further. I only mentioned it as it is a distraction. The longer we take to come to a conclusion here,” she gestured to the window, “the more ponies and changelings die out there.”

Chrysalis’ expression was difficult to read, “And how long would you have this truce last?”

“As long as we can. What I am ultimately after is a lasting peace, one we can both live with. I know there are miles ahead for us to get there, but putting a stop to the fighting, however tenuous, seems the most reasonable first step.”

“Let me go, and I’ll consider it,” the queen countered. “My children are obedient, but they will never stand down without direct orders from me.”

Scootaloo’s heart sank. It was right back to the same deflections. Chrysalis would be storming out soon.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. However, what if I allow you a courier that will carry correspondence between you and your subjects?”

“A courier? What a massive concession,” she seethed sarcastically. “You offer very little. If a stop to the fighting is really so important, why not give me something valuable.”

Celestia considered her response.

Twilight Sparkle made another attempt, “We are here, and we are trying. We don’t know what you need.”

No reply came. The deafening silence was enough to make Scootaloo’s fur crawl.

“Food,” Flittergear said, her voice hardly audible in the large room.

Princess Luna turned to her, “Did you say something?”

Flittergear shrank back.

Scootaloo cleared her throat, “She said, ‘food’.”

It occurred to Scootaloo only after she had spoken that several of the battles fought had been over grain storage sites, which compelled the ponies to begin keeping their locations secret.

“How are the changelings faring, food-wise?” Celestia asked.

“If you’re thinking of starving us out, forget it. We’ll manage.”

“I simply meant that we could add that to our offer,” Celestia said flatly.

She sounded less enthusiastic and cordial than she had to this point.

“For a temporary truce, you’ll give us food?” Chrysalis mused.

“Yes.”

“And we still get the medical supplies?”

A faint hint of hope rekindled on each of the princesses’ faces. Celestia continued as the speaker.

“Of course. We’ll give food, medical supplies, and you can have a courier to correspond with your… children. In return, we want the following: no further attacks on existing EUP positions or pony towns, no interference with ponies traveling by air so long as they do not come within a hundred yards of the ground, and your word that you will not abuse the privilege of communicating with your forces to attempt escape.”

Chrysalis sat back in her chair and took a sip of water; she seemed to be considering the proposal.

Celestia continued, “For our part, we will not advance on any new territory, and will not fly under one-hundred yards over territory that is currently in changeling control. We can make the food drops daily at specified places to be picked up at your discretion.”

The changeling queen pursed her lips, “My children won’t tolerate any trickery on your part. If the food does not come, or if traps are set, they will strike.”

Celestia returned a hard gaze, “If we don’t deliver our part, you’d be within your rights to do so. But I swear to you on all that I hold dear, they will have no cause to do so.”

Quiet fell over the room again, such silence that it was deafening. The two changelings’ eyes were fixed on their queen, who had looked down as if in thought. She looked back up rather sharply.

“I want your word that no changeling prisoner will be executed for any reason.”

Celestia stared back impassively, “Done.”

Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia held each others’ gaze for a long moment before the changeling matriarch spoke.

“Very well, I accept your truce.”

Scootaloo’s mouth dropped open as a shiver rippled though her.

The princesses smiled, all but Celestia. Her expression was guarded, though she did seem pleased.

“Agreed. I thank you for taking this first step with me. Now, the real work can begin.”

Scootaloo felt the twinge of hope that breathed into the room. It was as if everypony let out a relieved sigh together. It wasn’t a peace agreement, not yet, but that possibility now seemed to have a real chance. The fighting, and possibly the war, was over.

41 - Resolutions, Part 7 of 9

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Duster fidgeted as his mother straightened the collar on his dress uniform. Two weeks had passed since the tentative cease-fire had begun. It was no secret that hunger was the driving factor. Even still, rumors and the hope of peace were on everypony’s ears. It was widely assumed that the changelings had expected a much faster victory against Equestria. The resistance the ponies had offered had crushed any hopes of a swift end by fighting it out.

"Hold still," Twinklestar scolded her son.

The dress she wore was beautiful. It wasn’t made from any special fabrics, but the details of the design were magnificent. One of Major Scootaloo’s friends had made it for the occasion.

"Sorry," Duster croaked.

His throat was still sore from the would that Ash Eater had inflicted. The doctors told him that his voice would likely remain rougher sounding as a result. The mare stood back and admired her son.

"You look so handsome," she said sweetly.

It was terribly embarrassing. He could still see the sadness behind her eyes. More than that, he could feel it. The same sadness had washed over all of them when their father had died. Now it came again fresh for Sissy.

With a smile, his mother left him, walking up the hallway. Duster left the dressing room only a few minutes later, bound for the grand ballroom. The entire castle had seen better days, but the evidences of the recent conflict were already beginning to fade.

The hallways all looking similar, it didn’t take the stallion long to get a little confused as to exactly which way he was supposed to go. He came around a corner and nearly ran into a pair of guards that were followed by a large white mare. Duster quickly side-stepped and made to apologize, only to realize that he was face to face with Princess Celestia and her escort.

The guards made little reaction, though they seemed wary.

The princess smiled at him, “In a hurry?”

He nodded, a defense mechanism against speaking whenever he was able to do so.

“Not to worry. I have it on good authority that the ceremony won’t begin without me,” the large white alicorn winked at the stallion.

Duster couldn’t help but grin at her joke. The ceremony that was about to take place would recognize the deeds of several soldiers, Duster himself among them. He didn’t know what citation for which he might have been considered, but he had heard that Sissy was to be promoted posthumously, her family to receive the additional hazard pay for her loss. He didn’t know whether it were appropriate to do so, but he felt the need to ask why.

“Your majesty,” he wheezed, “I was told you’ll be promoting Siss… my sister, Sparklefly.”

The princess nodded but waited for him to finish.

“I appreciate it, but I’ve been wondering why you gave her the Equestria Cross when she was a cadet. I’ve read the reports, and what she did really didn’t sound that... I mean, it was great... but worthy of the Equestria Cross?”

Celestia’s smile faded somewhat as she considered her response. Duster waited. The alicorn looked him in the eyes and held his gaze for a long moment before she began.

“Strange though it may seem, not all awards are granted solely on merit.”

Duster felt confused by the answer, his expression communicating as much.

“Truly, there are often more brave deeds accomplished than can ever be recognized. For your sister… I saw in her something that not many possess: an opportunity.”

Celestia took a deep breath before continuing.

“Remember that the entire population of Canterlot had just lost their homes. I couldn’t very well let them sink into despair, could I? Your sister’s talent was not for fighting, but farming. She was just a cadet, and though well known enough in that small circle, nopony in Equestria knew her or your family. I made an example of your sister to use her as a rallying cry… to inspire my little ponies. Not that she didn’t deserve recognition. Her actions saved three-thousand lives.”

Duster tiled his head, still not exactly sure where she was going with this. The princess made another smile.

“I suppose when you get down to it, there was a little slight-of-hoof on my part. We needed a symbol, and she was in the right place at the right time to be that for me. In part, I honored her for my own purpose.”

Duster frowned.

“I know it may seem a bit inequitable. But everything I do is to keep my subjects alive and free. There is more to fighting a war that just weapons and strategy. We also needed hope. I used your sister to inspire that.” Her gaze narrowed on the stallion, “Tell me, in the course of her actions, do you not think that Sparklefly lived up to the honors she was given so early?”

Duster slowly nodded, “Yeah, I suppose she did in the end.”

“Well, no harm done, then,” Celestia smiled. “You’d better run along. You won’t want to be late.”

The stallion’s face flushed. He was considering asking for directions when Celestia laughed.

“Can’t find your way?”

He shook his head.

Turning to a guard, she said, “Escort Duster to the ceremony.”

The unicorn saluted and led Duster up the hallway. For his part, the pegasus considered the princess’ words. It still didn’t sit well with him, but he did understand it a little better. He put it from his mind as he was escorted to a medium-sized waiting room.

Everypony was looking quite sharp in their dress uniforms. Several of the Wonderbolts were there, as was Major Scootaloo, LD, Sergeant Locknload, Cloud Blazer, and Pixyglitter. The general milling about and light teasing did little to ease Duster’s nervous disposition.

It seemed only a moment before they were marching into the ballroom. The space was filled with Canterlot’s finest. Generals and well-to-do ponies filled every last bit of the room. Duster followed the line down the narrow aisle until he was up on the stage. Twinklestar was at the far end. She would be standing to accept the recognition in Sissy’s place.

Duster tried to clear his mind. His heart was heavy every time he thought of his sister. The quiet made him even more nervous. It was all he could do to keep his legs from shaking.

Princess Twilight Sparkle strode onto the stage. Everypony stood. She was looking well, albeit rather lean. Duster had been told that the energy shield in which they had been encased had sustained itself by feeding on their magic and then their bodies.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts," the princess of friendship began, "We have come together today to recognize the very finest tradition of bravery and self-sacrifice that Equestria has to offer. I have not had the pleasure of knowing everypony up here, but by all accounts, their actions in the face of the most difficult situations shine as an example to all.”

She paused a moment, looking over the crowd before continuing.

“First, I have the honor of recognizing two that were instrumental in supporting our efforts that became known as the Assault Corps. Major Flittergear and Commander Rain Chaser, step forward. The two of you repeatedly stepped up and did what had to be done. Without your support, the command structure may well have fallen apart in the aftermath of the defeat at Apple Loosa. For this, you will each be advanced in rank and receive the Shining Star. Stand here and be recognized."

They approached the princess to polite applause, and she put the medals on them. They stood on the other side of the stage, where a line would form. Twilight stood beside them. Princess Cadence took center stage. Duster’s legs already felt rubbery.

"The things we award here are not honors we bestow," she began. "They are mere recognitions of merit that has already been earned. For acts of gallantry in battle and bravery beyond what is expected of a soldier, we award the Canterlot Shield. It is my honor to recognize three here today that are so deserving. Commander Rainbow Dash, Sergeant Locknload, Private LD, come forward and be recognized. Commander Rainbow Dash, for your stalwart and unyielding pursuit of Queen Chrysalis, and your ever-loyal determination to serve Equestria; Sergeant Locknload and Private LD, the two of you made quite a team that never stayed far from the fighting front. You put yourselves in harms way well beyond what was ordered or expected of any soldier. For these brave acts, be recognized.”

Cadence stood beside them as Twilight Sparkle had done. Princess Luna then took center stage. Duster’s heart was beating rapidly; his pulse was pounding in his ears.

"There is no higher honor than what I am about to bestow," Princess Luna spoke evenly. "Pixyglitter and Cloud Blazer, step forward.”

The brown paint stallion slowly led the blind mare out onto the stage.

“There are many strengths a pony can have, and some are far more important than physical strength of the body. Strength of heart, of character, the finest of which was displayed by these two. Though crippled by wounds received in battle, they continued to serve Equestria faithfully with all their strength.”

She paused and waited for them to step into position.

“While our situation was most dire, I managed to contact these two who stand before you. They heeded my call that came through dreams and embarked upon a mission to rescue myself and my sisters. They had already been discharged from EUP service. Yet, here they stand a testament to the very finest that Equestria has to offer. They continued with unwavering determination to save us, even to their own peril. Additionally, Corporal Duster, step forward."

The stallion moved slowly, simply trying to not trip over his own hooves. His legs felt so heavy. He found a place beside Pixyglitter. The audience stared at him; the entire experience was rather surreal.

"This stallion was sent away from the hopeless battle that the Assault Corps was waging south of Ponyville. Instead of remaining in safety, he devised the strategy that ended the massive army of timberwolves that threatened not only the city, but thousands of soldiers and civilians that would have fallen victim to them. For his cool use of intellect as well as bravery, he will additionally be promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Finally, Major Scootaloo, step forward."

Luna paused while the orange pegasus strode the few steps to position herself beside Duster; she seemed so calm.

"This mare exemplified the very embodiment of the best that Equestria can be. With her command structure in ruins, she rallied the remaining force, assumed command, and continued fighting the timberwolves. When they ran out of supplies, she personally led her force to continue battling the enemy even if just to slow them down. When word came that no reinforcement or resupply would be coming, she rallied her force once more. She showed wisdom beyond her years as well as a deep reserve of fortitude. She shall be promoted to the rank of colonel. For the deeds mentioned, and many others that if we were to tell the whole of it, we wouldn’t have time in a day to list them all, each of these four are awarded the Equestria Cross. Stand here and be recognized."

Duster almost couldn’t breathe for how nervous he felt as the roar of applause nearly deafened him. Luna put the medal on him and ushered them to where they should stand, taking her place beside them. His heart pounded like a drum in his chest. Finally, Princess Celestia approached Twinklestar, who stood alone.

"None of you know this mare," the princess spoke sweetly, but there was a sadness to her voice.

"Her name is Twinklestar, and she stands here in place of another who could not attend. She had been called by many names. Some knew her as the Angel of Death. I named her the Hero of Canterlot. Twinklestar called her daughter."

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Complete silence reigned for a moment.

"I had already recognized her with the highest honor I could award. She was great in spirit and in deed, and I saw that from when she was a cadet. I had the privilege of speaking with her after the battle when we lost Canterlot. She spent three days analyzing her own actions to see whether she could have made a better decision to save even more lives. She told me that she didn’t think she was cut out to be a soldier. Of course, this had nothing to do with her abilities or talents. Her heart was for an Equestria that was free of terror and the specter of death. She fought and died to regain that dream for all of us."

The princess turned to face Duster’s mother, "There are no words of comfort I can give you to ease the pain you feel at the loss of Sparklefly. I know that the honors and gifts I bestow are cheap trinkets compared to what you have sacrificed. I am sorry that I have only such feeble ability to thank you. For her bravery, quick wit, and unwavering devotion to all of Equestria, your daughter had already been awarded the Equestria Cross. I hereby promote her ex facto to the rank of General, and will let it so be written that her deeds will never be forgotten. To you, I give this."

Prince Shining Armor passed something to Flurry Heart, who brought it solemnly up to the stage, bowing before Twinklestar. Duster’s eyes were becoming blurry with tears he was choking back.

"This is the flag that flew over the Assault Corps’ command center. That is where your daughter was stationed during the battle at Apple Loosa. Know also, that the memory of one so noble will also live on in my heart, to the end of my days. You have my thanks, and my deepest condolences.“

Duster couldn’t hold the tears any longer. There was no applauding or cheering, nor was there a dry eye in the entire room. Princess Celestia continued speaking, but Duster didn’t pay attention after that. More honors were given, to the dead, to the Wonderbolts, and many others, but Duster could only think about his sister.

41 - Resolutions, Part 8 of 9

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Scootaloo felt honored by all of the pomp and circumstance, if not a little embarrassed by the attention. The horrific nightmare through which she’d fought seemed distant, almost like a dream. Presently, she began to feel sad. The tribute for those who had been killed in battle was an upsettingly lengthy affair. Most of the names, listed with their deeds, were unfamiliar to the mare. She instead focused her thoughts on those she had known.

There was her first squad when she was still a cadet: Thunder Boomer, Sky Burst, Flame Out, Treble Cleft, Rain Dancer, and Cherry Blossom. The group she went with into the Everfree Forest: Regal Masquerade, Nimba, Nitro, and Lightning Dasher had died more than anypony else. Ponies she’d met along the way: Brax, Featherplume, Digger, Swiftlight whose body they never recovered, Mane Crusher for whom she held little sorrow, Radiant Pyre about whom she still felt immeasurable guilt.

There was her squad that she had trained: Jewel, Gunnysack, Rolling Thunder, Moonsliver, Quickbeam, and Doff who never even faced the enemy. The members of her Taskforce: Masher, Charging Lance who may have been the bravest pony she’d ever known, and Skyflame. Most painful were those she’d considered friends: Beigh whom she would have liked to know better, Pibs who was the sweetest and most amicable pony she’d ever met, and Sparklefly who was like a sister.

Princess Celestia’s heartfelt words were much appreciated, the mention of Sparklefly sending the pegasus into a despair notwithstanding. Despite the tributes and her own personal glory, the only thing she really wanted was to be released from EUP service. She’d had more than enough war and death. It was past time to move on.

She caught Rainbow Dash looking at her with no small amount of pride in her eyes. That warmed Scootaloo’s heart greatly. Scootaloo felt incredibly proud of Cloud Blazer, but she wished she could tell him. Nothing had changed between the two of them. They hadn’t spoken since the hospital, although there had been opportunities. She remained hopeful that they might make amends soon but had a dark feeling that the words spoken in the barn by Twinklestar might be the truth of it. Reconciliation might never come.

Scootaloo was broken from her thoughts and began paying attention to the ceremony again. Princess Celestia was finishing up recounting the deeds of the Wonderbolts, Templars, and Bushmasters. Their joint special operations in the aftermath of the defeat of the Assault Corps at Apple Loosa had crippled the changelings’ command structure.

"Stand here and be recognized.”

A second Taskforce had been gathering intelligence on likely command posts, and the special units struck in the middle of the nationwide changeling offensive. The chaos caused was a supplemental factor that kept their large southern army blind to what had been going on elsewhere, especially regarding the movement of Cloudsdale.

When the ceremony finally ended, the mingling began. Scootaloo tried to make for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were standing near Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Duster’s siblings. She was cut off by scores of upper-crust and well-to-do citizens of Canterlot that all wanted to shake her hoof and give their thoughts and opinions to her.

Princess Twilight had already coached her for this event, and now Scootaloo was glad of it. Graciousness wasn’t exactly her strong suit, but with a little preparation, she was able to pretend well enough. By the time the room had cleared a little, she was dismayed to see that Cloud Blazer had beaten her to her friends. She decided to not approach.

"Hey, kid!" Rainbow Dash said from behind, grabbing Scootaloo in a hug.

The lack of boundaries was more than a bit surprising. No doubt it was due to the champagne that was being served.

"You’ve had a crazy couple of months, huh?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed.

Her leg was feeling better, but it still twinged occasionally where Ash Eater had stabbed her.

"First you got your cutie mark, and now the Equestria Cross! You are all kinds of awesome; I’m so proud of you!"

"Thanks," Scootaloo was flattered, but not really sure what to say.

As quickly as she had arrived, Rainbow Dash was off, chasing down another of the Wonderbolts. With her friends already occupied, Scootaloo looked around for someone else to talk with.

…

Cloud Blazer’s hoof had been shaken so many times by so many different ponies that his joints were hurting even more than usual. He wasn’t certain if he deserved Equestria’s highest honor. It was humbling to receive it in the face of how much others had done. Really, all he did was escort a mare from Manehattan to Ponyville.

"Hey guys!" Rainbow Dash bellowed as she joined the group of friends.

"Oh!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, "Cloud Blazer! Tell Rainbow Dash about the changeling that you and Pixyglitter fought off on the way to Manehattan!"

Rainbow Dash teetered, obviously overly-happy from the champagne, "You fought off a changeling without weapons?"

“He had a knife,” Apple Bloom offered.

Cloud Blazer didn’t care to bring up that particular event around Pixyglitter after the contention it had caused at the time, but the words had already been spoken.

"Well, Pixyglitter and I were flying to Manehattan with Fluttershy," he began. "The wind was contrary, so we flew to Cloudsdale for a brief rest before continuing on. We were still within sight when that last offensive started, and the city was under attack. We decided to keep going, because there wasn’t really anything we could do about it anyway. One of the changelings spotted us and broke off from the attack to get us. Maybe he thought we were scouts or something; I don’t know. We couldn’t outrun him, so Pixyglitter and I changed course to give Fluttershy a chance to get to Manehattan.”

He took a breath before continuing, “Pixyglitter zig-zagged through clouds this way and that. We went up and down, but that changeling was determined to catch us. Finally, I told her to climb straight up, and we went through several clouds that obscured us from view. Then I had her turn, dropping down to pick up speed and then banking hard. When she did, I pulled the quick release on the harness and got my knife ready. The changeling got off a single shot, but he was so surprised by the maneuver that it went wild. My strike landed exactly where it should have and he was killed instantly," Cloud Blazer felt himself shudder inside at the memory. "Anyway, then I was falling." 
"Tell him the important part of that point," Pixyglitter ribbed him.

"Yeah," Cloud Blazer said sheepishly, "I sort of didn’t tell Pixyglitter what I was planning."

The older pegasus burst into laughter, "You crazy stallion; how did you not die?"

"That’s the best part," he continued. "Pixyglitter realized what I had done and went into a dive. Meanwhile, I spread out to slow my falling as much as I could. We were pretty high up, but I knew that would only buy me seconds, maybe a minute. When I saw her coming toward me, I started shouting like you wouldn’t believe."

"I’ll bet you did!" Rainbow Dash guffawed.

"The ground was coming up fast, so I was doing what I could just not to panic. I honestly didn’t think we were going to make it for a minute there. Anyway, Pixyglitter reached me and I reconnected the harness and started shouting like a maniac for her to pull up."

Rainbow Dash shook her head, still laughing.

"Well, I’m not sure exactly how close to the ground we got, but I’m pretty sure my leg brushed the tree tops."

“Y’all are nuts!” Apple Bloom added.

Other stories were told, and the group got lost in the reminiscing of old times. Some stories were from the war, but many were of happier days before it had begun.

Through the window that led to the garden, Cloud Blazer saw the other one alone outside. Some of his joy turned to bitterness, and then shame. He felt some sorrow for the way he had treated her, but it was quickly smothered in an avalanche of anger.

He suddenly felt warm as Pixyglitter wrapped a wing around him. She always seemed to know what he was feeling. As she embraced the stallion, it was as if his heart had been filled with a peace, the depth of which knew no end.

...

Pixyglitter smiled in Cloud Blazer’s direction. Somehow, as mad as she had been at the time, the story about their brush with death at Cloudsdale was quite amusing this far after the fact.

Something didn’t seem right. Even though she was blind, she could feel that something was upsetting him. She opened a wing and wrapped the stallion in it, not caring what anypony else might think. She owed him that much. He had saved her from the lowest point in her life and given her a purpose again. More than that, he helped her recover enough hope to continue on.

Deep down, she loved him for that. It wasn’t exactly a romantic sort of love; it was much more powerful, although not as evident on the surface. She had some misgivings about his plan to help rebuild the weather factory, but she knew one thing. As long as he welcomed her company, they were going to get through whatever challenges came their way, together.

41 - Resolutions, Part 9 of 9

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Scootaloo was alone in the throng making small talk with guests and was beginning to realize how stifling it was to be in such a crowded room of strangers. It was at that time when she noticed Princess Twilight Sparkle sneaking out into the garden. The pegasus worked her way through the sea of ponies, with only a moderate amount of hoof-shaking and well-wishing before she found herself in the peace of the outdoors.

The purple alicorn ambled evenly away past dead trees that stood as a reminder of what had been. The garden once had the distinction of being the most beautiful place in the city. The timberwolves had destroyed it.

Ever since the ponies had retaken Canterlot, cleanup efforts had been underway. By spring it would no doubt be a beautiful place again. Flowers would be blooming, grass would be reseeded, but the trees would take years to replace.

There was a crisp bite to the gentle breeze that tickled the mare’s mane and made her shiver. Scootaloo pursued the alicorn, padding along without attempting to conceal her presence.

Twilight Sparkle stopped, her ears turning back at the sound of Scootaloo’s approach. The princess of friendship turned, her fake smile melting into a real one when she recognized the pegasus that followed her.

"Hi," she said simply.

"Hey, Twilight."

"Did you need something?"

Cloud Blazer immediately came to mind. Scootaloo longed more than anything to fix that relationship. Surely if anypony could help, it would be the Princess of Friendship. Still, the amount of anger he had unleashed made her wary. The advice she had already received from Twinklestar rang true in her mind. Additionally, she didn’t want to cause the stallion any further discomfort.

Scootaloo shrugged, "I just wanted away from the crowd."

The princess stifled a giggle, but there was a sadness buried in it, "I know what you mean. I never did like that part of being a princess."

Scootaloo’s own brief experience in the past week with a small amount of fame certainly made her not envy the princesses or what Sparklefly had endured. She, for one, would be happy to be forgotten once things were finally over.

“I hear you. Honestly, I’m looking forward to being done with all of this."

The princess tilted her head questioningly, ”You aren’t going to be a Wonderbolt?"

"No," Scootaloo shook her head. Seeing the look of surprise on Twilight’s face, she continued, "I’ve already talked to Rainbow Dash about it. That’s how I finally got my cutie mark. I’m going back to Ponyville. They’ll need all the hooves they can get rebuilding Sweet Apple Acres, and besides, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and I have a gift at helping other ponies with their problems.”

Twilight regarded her for a moment and then said, "That is a precious thing, and also timely. Since you have that gift, would you mind helping me with something?

“Absolutely, if I can.”

“We’re trying to make peace with the changelings. We can’t very well send them away… They have so completely committed their resources to fighting us over the past year that they’d have a harder time getting through the winter than we would.”

Scootaloo began setting her mind to work, but the undefined problem was far too nebulous. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question and remained silent.

“Since we can’t send them away, the problem is…” the princess paused as if searching for words, “complicated. We have thousands of them in captivity right now, and there are tens of thousands more that we’ll also have to… for lack of a better word, to deal with. Do we just let them all loose in Equestria and hope for the best? Do we set up a town for them? Would that cause more problems if they feel a disparity between us and them?“

Scootaloo hadn’t considered this. She didn’t like the idea of just declaring peace and setting all of the changelings free, but Twilight’s concerns about keeping them separated also seemed justified. She turned the problem over in her mind, but it was just too big. She finally shrugged.

Twilight continued, “Princess Celestia has been talking with Queen Chrysalis about total amnesty, and possibly integrating them into our society as equals, with all the rights and privileges we enjoy.”

The thought of living together with changelings nearly sent Scootaloo into a panic. However, there was something else kindling inside. Scootaloo realized that if it worked, if they became one society, there would be far less chance of another war. She could certainly see the wisdom of such a plan. The thought of a lasting peace left only one feeling in Scootaloo: joy. Surely that was worth a bit of risk.

“I definitely think that Princess Celestia is right, and bringing the changelings into our society is the answer. There have already been discussions on, only temporarily, having them not use their shape-shifting abilities so we can all have time to get used to each other. You can guess how Chrysalis reacted to that. I’m just not sure how we get there from here.”

The young pegasus again put her mind to work. She started working through the possibilities, but it made her head hurt.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, it’s just such a big problem. I don’t know."

"Neither do I," Twilight sighed, looking away.

Scootaloo’s flank twinged from the injury that Ash Eater had inflicted. It made her think of how hostile he’d been on most of their encounters. She didn’t know if it were relevant to bring up, but she decided to go ahead and speak.

"Twilight, I know only one of them by name. You met Ash Eater."

The princess looked back gravely, "Yes, I remember him."

"He is actually in the dungeon right now. He kept hunting me down and got caught during the battle at Ponyville. I talked to him just before you returned, but he was so... just hateful. He was crippled that day in the forest, and he’s been on a path for revenge ever since. I tried to tell him that we don’t have to be enemies, but he just kept seething at me."

"That’s understandable considering he’s locked up… it’s also a shame," Twilight said, a glint of light in her eyes. "If one on one we could befriend them, we’d begin to understand each other. That would go a long way to making peace that will last.”

The princess took a step toward the pegasus as though she’d had an idea, “Would you be willing to give it another try?"

“You mean me try to befriend Ash Eater?,” a second wave of mild panic threatened to overwhelm the mare. “I mean, I don’t… he’s… I just don’t know if that could work.”

“If what Queen Chrysalis tells us is true, her subjects would not dare refuse a command from her. She could order him to cooperate, at least to make the attempt to put the war behind him and act civil.”

Scootaloo turned this over in her mind. There was a small amount of fear where Ash Eater was concerned, but an overcoming spirit rallied inside her. Only Twilight Sparkle would sum up the entire war as being a friendship problem. Moreover, the chance of peace was worth the liability of babysitting Ash Eater and making sure he played nice.

The young pegasus smiled, "Why not? If he acts up, I can totally take him on.”

Twilight giggled, "You have been hanging around Rainbow Dash too much."

"Impossible!" Scootaloo grinned.

"Well, I don’t know what form this is going to take, but I’ll talk with Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis. This could mean he will be remanded to your custody for a long time… years maybe.” Growing more serious she asked again, "Are you sure you’re up for this?"

"Absolutely!" Scootaloo replied with far less hesitation in her voice than she felt in her heart. "Besides, it’s not like we can ever really know what’s going to happen. We know where we want to be, and we know where we are. When we fled Apple Loosa and stayed between the timberwolves and Ponyville, it was bad. I learned from that to just keep putting one hoof in front of the other. I mean, when any bad stuff happens, all you can ever really do is just keep moving, right?“

"You’ve got a point there," Twilight said with a smile.

Somewhere, deep down and not admitted even to herself, Scootaloo wondered whether this were a fools errand, destined for failure. Truly, she wasn’t quite sure where to begin. However, she made up her mind that she would give it her best effort. If Sparklefly could manage to not hold a grudge against Ash Eater, then Scootaloo could do her part to make peace.

The mare shivered against a fresh gust of cool wind. In spite of the long road ahead, for the first time in over a year, Scootaloo felt genuinely good about the future. It wasn’t all darkness and death anymore. The light of hope was on the horizon. She was sure that with a little luck and a fair amount of work, it would only grow brighter.

Epilogue, Part 1 of 8

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The room was dark in the early morning hours as the changeling’s eyes opened. His instinct was to continue sleeping, as he had no love for being up before the sun. However, the grogginess quickly faded and his mind sharpened as he realized that this chance awakening would provide a singular opportunity which he may never again receive.

Slowly, cautiously, Ash Eater slithered out of his bed. He gently took his weight from the mattress to avert the creaking of the springs. It seemed to take minutes to go from laying to standing, but he completed the task without making so much as the slightest sound.

His eyes were accustomed to the low light, a gift of his species. Stealthily, he padded on three legs in search of an appropriate weapon. The kitchen seemed the most likely place to find something that would be both available and effective to the task at hoof.

He had dreamed of this moment a hundred times over, but chance had never afforded him the right moment to pull it off up to this point. This was the hour when his patience would reap reward.

Having retrieved what he needed, Ash Eater skulked into position and stood over his captor. Her lavender eyes hidden by sound sleep, the mare into whose custody he had been remanded was not prepared to defend herself. The changeling savored the moment, watching the pegasus’ orange coat in the darkness as her chest rose and fell with each breath.

Blankets had been kicked down, only covering her lower half. Her long magenta mane looked rather cheerful even enveloped in shadow. He was not fool enough to waste this moment. She had never been so careless to leave herself helpless before; this fortuity would likely never come again. Ash Eater’s muscles tensed as he prepared to strike.

…

Sharp stabbing pain ripped Scootaloo from her sleep. Her face and neck bore the brunt of the assault. She flailed her legs wildly, striking only air as she fecklessly attempted to defend herself. Pressing farther out, her hind legs twisted up in the sheets, she tumbled from her bed, crashinghead-first into a heap on the floor.

Ash Eater roared with laughter from a respectable distance across their hotel room as her hindquarters disentangled and followed the front half down. He blinded her by turning on the light; as confusion fleeted, it took Scootaloo a moment to get her bearings.

The changeling held an empty bucket, the source of her attack. Ice cubes were scattered across her bed and the carpet, and the mare herself shivered for the frigid water with which she had been soaked.

The shock of it all quickly melted into resolve. Incapable of allowing such a challenge to go unanswered, the mare sprang to her hooves to respond in kind.

“That’s it!” she shouted, vaulting toward her assailant.

Ash Eater tossed the bucket aside and braced himself as Scootaloo collided into him.

He had lowered his stance to gain stability, but she pressed hard, the pair staggering into a table against the wall. The lamp toppled over, falling to the floor. He pivoted and pressed. Light on her feet, Scootaloo backed up, overturning a chair.

She dropped a little using his momentum to draw him forward and managed to get underneath and leverage him into the air, dropping him onto the soaked bed. He grabbed her mane, pulling her down as each wrestled for dominance.

The pair ran out of space and plunged to the floor, knocking the bedside table over and still wrestling around until Scootaloo managed to get the changeling secured with a joint lock. She felt herself grin as her heart pounded from the effort. Ash Eater grunted as he tried to wriggle free, unsuccessfully.

“Say it!” she commanded.

He tried squirming a different way, and she applied pressure to the joint.

“Yield!” he squealed in pain. “I yield, I yield! You win!”

She eased off, but held him there a moment longer. Satisfied, the mare let the changeling up. They straightened themselves before she spoke again.

“Come on, Ashy,” she taunted her friend, “you should have known better than to wake me in a surprise attack without a better follow-through.”

He smirked at her, “It was worth it.”

Loud knocking on the door startled the pair. Scootaloo became suddenly aware of the destruction they had levied against their hotel room. A look from her was all it took to get Ash Eater moving. He quickly straightened the room as best he could while she padded to the door.

“Whut in tarnation is goin’ on in thar?” the innkeeper shouted.

Scootaloo opened the door, immediately drawing the ire of the stallion who pushed past her, a look of alarm combined with disdain on his face.

“You two best explain yawrselfs!”

“I had to use the restroom,” Scootaloo began. “It was dark, and I tripped against the table.”

The dark gray stallion’s ice blue eyes noticed the soaked bedsheets.

“That was me,” Ash Eater offered. “I was thirsty, and it’s warm in here, so I went to get a glass of ice water. I tripped on the the bedside table, and knocked over the chair, and spilled everything.”

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying their quickly concocted story.

“Nawt one mawre time, nawh, ya hear? Ponies is sleepin’. An ah expect this tuh be cleaned up befawre you leave.”

“Yes, sir,” the sheepish pair said in unison.

Once he was away and the door shut, Scootaloo looked at Ash Eater. The grin on his face echoed the juvenile feelings she had about the situation. The mischievous duo burst into laughter.

They began straightening up the mess they had caused. Scootaloo was relieved that the lamp, somehow, had not broken in the fall. Though they picked up the ice that hand’t melted, enough water had been thrown about to effectively soak into the mattress and carpet. A towel was employed to sufficiently dry the pegasus.

The changeling laid down on his bed as they completed the work, a look of weariness on his face. Scootaloo checked the clock and realized that the sun would be up shortly, though it was too early for breakfast to be served or for them to officially check out. She decided to tease her companion.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?”

Without opening his eyes, he answered, “Pranks are one thing, but the sun is not up, and neither am I.”

“Yeah, well, just one or two problems with that.”

He opened one eye and looked at her warily.

“You woke me up before breakfast, and you know I wanted to get to Ponyville early. And besides that, you soaked my bed. So, unless you’re willing to surrender yours, we might as well be up.”

“On the other hoof, I could just move over,” the changeling replied with a wink. “Plenty of room here for two.”

“In your dreams, cupcake.”

Ash Eater frowned.

“Come on,” Scootaloo smirked, “Let’s head out to the heights. That’s why we came down here anyway. Then we’ll come back, get breakfast and check out. Then we can be to Ponyville well before midmorning.”

The changeling groaned as he got up onto his three hooves and padded into the restroom to officially awaken. The duo completed their morning necessities and headed out into the darkness, the stars above twinkling brightly, and the sliver of the moon lighting their way.

They didn’t fly, but opted to walk out to the heights. The distance was not far, and each was happy to rest their wings. They had flown down the day before, and would be flying to Ponyville in a few short hours. Scootaloo was not out of shape by any means, but she had been far more suited to those long flights in her EUP days.

The pre-dawn air was moist, and both of the travelers were sweating as they walked out toward their destination. Memories began coming back to the mare as they crossed the rough ground that sloped sharply upward at the edge of the heights. Still refusing to fly, they climbed with little difficulty, but Scootaloo’s legs burned a bit from the exertion.

As they walked toward the hill, just a few hundred yards away, the days and nights she’d spent here came back, almost as fresh as when she had lived them. The fighting, the maneuvering, and digging in. Everything had seemed to be going so well just before it all fell apart. It was a wonder any of them had survived. Those dark days that followed almost seemed more like nightmares than memories. No sleep, no food, only hacking and slashing and the ever-present specter death.

Light was beginning to decorate the horizon behind them as they strode up the small hill that had once been the command center for the entire Assault Corps. It was the same place where Sparklefly, Brax, and Masher had all been killed. The mare’s heart pounded, and each step became heavier than the last.

As they crested the incline, a large stone of granite lay before them. It was as tall as Scootaloo, and easily as wide as four ponies standing abreast each other. Ash Eater had fallen behind as the pegasus drew close.

The mare took in the highly polished but plain stone that lay before her, illuminated by the rising sun. Her eyes scanned across the words which had been carved deep into the surface with a deliberate and clean print.

‘On this spot, during the last great campaign of the Timberwolf War, the EUP command center was taken out in a surprise attack by changeling forces, who had also suffered significant losses to their leadership in the days preceding the ambush. Though the battle at Apple Loosa was an unquestionable defeat for the EUP, it set off a chain of events that saw every battle lost until the final confrontation at Ponyville, where the overwhelming victory for EUP forces heralded the coming end of the war. This monument honors those brave soldiers who lost their lives here.’

Below the larger text was a list of names. Scootaloo had to come and see for herself if what she had been told were true. As she scanned the names of the generals and officers that lost their lives during that ambush, she felt herself frown. Checking across the carved work again, she confirmed what she’d suspected. Sparklefly’s name was not listed.

The mare felt herself sigh. The stories still pervaded, mostly spread by civilians, that Sparklefly had been seen in Cloudsdale after the defeat of the Assault Corps at Apple Loosa. Duster’s trickery had been so effective that it was now common knowledge that she had died defending Ponyville.

Scootaloo supposed it sounded a bit more glorious to have been killed in one-on-one combat with a changeling commander or to have ridden Cloudsdale down to destroy the enemy in the final battle that decided the war, but she couldn’t help but feel saddened by the misunderstanding. It was as if everypony else was satisfied with the image of Sparklefly that they’d known, most of which was just propaganda. They never knew or loved her for who she actually had been.

Scootaloo stood silently for a while, just staring at the names until they blurred together and became incomprehensible. Her companion didn’t make a sound the entire time. When Scootaloo turned to face him, the look of discomfort on his face was obvious. His blue eyes locked with hers; he didn’t look away. It revived a question in her mind.

The pegasus had long wondered about many things that had happened during the war, but many of them she had already asked about long ago. Still, a lone query remained. Her own curiosity had plagued the mare long enough. She felt it was time to have an answer.

Scootaloo took a deep breath, “I want to ask you something.”

The other tilted his head at her curiously. She didn’t want to upset him, though the question likely would. The pegasus did her best to keep as calm a tone as possible.

“When we met on the field that time, before the battle while I was leading my force back toward Ponyville, you told me…”

She hesitated as she searched for the correct words. Ash Eater’s expression contorted with what passed for a mix of fear and shame. The mare pressed on.

“You told me that Sparklefly was the only pony, the only mare you’d… been with… But, she told me that you stopped short of that… violation. What really happened that day in the caves?”

The changeling shifted uneasily, looking down at the dirt as if in thought. The mare waited in silence for his answer, making sure to guard her expression to not make him any more uncomfortable than necessary. He looked back up and held Scootaloo’s gaze.

…

Ash Eater took a minute as he stared back at the inquisitive mare, trying to ignore the knot that had tightened his stomach. He slowly took in a deep breath. His past deeds flitted through his mind, bringing with them the shame that always overwhelmed him when he remembered.

Up until the moment when Scootaloo had faced him that day, he’d had no doubts or reservations about the cause to which he had committed himself. Anything they had to do was acceptable if it meant victory. He’d stood there and issued every ounce of venom he could muster. She’d said she forgave him. At the moment, he didn’t think much of it. He didn’t have anything to be sorry about. If anything, he was angry at her words. How dare she presume to sit in judgement over him?

After he was wounded and captured, that moment wouldn’t leave him. It replayed over and over in his mind. He’d needed a distraction, but time to think was the one thing he had. After she had visited him, and he’d spit in her face, her reactions had given him pause. It all went back to that day on the battlefield. That was the moment when he first realized that ponies were not the bloodthirsty evil that he had been conditioned to think they were. That was when he began to question everything he had ever done.

In the time that had since passed, he’d begun to feel a great swell of guilt fo many things he had done for his people. Many of those things weighed heavily on him still:befriending and then killing Nimba might have been the worst, trying to hunt down every member of that squad, the interrogations and torture to which he had subjected countless ponies, and that day in the cave with Sparklefly…

He took a breath, “You have never asked me about that. After all this time, why now?”

The pegasus shrugged and considered her response. Ash Eater’s heart was pounding. He didn’t want to talk about this. He wished he’d remembered to bring some water.

Scootaloo finally spoke, “I guess, that... now is the first time... we have come to a place where I can believe you, whatever you say. I just… I hope that you trust me enough to give me the truth.”

His heart felt heavy. He’d rather be anywhere but in the moment where he found himself. How could he tell her everything? The days of the pair being civil to each other only because of orders was long past. As much as it had surprised him when it first happened, he had come to really think of Scootaloo as a friend. He didn’t want to deceive her because he knew it would ruin what they’d built. Giving the truth bore a chance of the same outcome.

Ash Eater felt himself take another deep breath as he hardened his resolve to simply be honest. He owed her that much, come what may.

It was as if someone else was speaking when he answered, “She… Sparklefly told you… the truth. I lied to you that day on the battlefield. She gave me the information I was asking for before… I did... before I went through with it.”

He couldn’t help the feeling that there would be a follow up question, the one he dreaded. The changeling felt prickly all over as he waited for it. She nodded, but still seemed bothered as she spoke. He braced himself.

“If she hadn’t talked, would you have… would you really have done that to her?”

The changeling almost took a step back as the ramifications of the question were considered. As much as he’d been trying to prepare for it over the years, the asking still hit him like a sledge hammer. He recalled the dark place he’d been, the mindset that had been drilled into him and all of his comrades in arms. Anything for victory. There was no crime that they could commit in pursuit of their goals to punish the ponies and rule Equestria.

He looked back up at the lavender eyes that waited for an answer. Within himself, Ash Eater knew how far he’d been willing to go to secure a future for his people. He’d considered the ponies nothing more than food, a lesser form of life to use as he saw fit and discard. Anything for victory. It filled him with great shame.

He let his gaze fall to his hooves. Slowly, he nodded.

“Yeah... I…” he forced himself to speak, “I’m afraid I would have…”

The words tasted bitter coming out of his mouth. He longed for something he could say to make it better, to set it right somehow. Those mistakes could not be undone.

The silence that met him was somewhat unnerving as the moment stretched on. Ash Eater felt the need to add a final thought.

He looked back up, “I know it’s not worth much, but I’m glad I didn’t.”

The changeling was surprised to see neither hate or judgement in her visage, but only sorrow and perhaps pity. She nodded, wiping a tear from her face and turning away.

Ash Eater felt his own vision beginning to blur. He hated himself for what he’d been, for what his own people had told him to be. He would never have believed that he’d be friends with a pony, but it sorely vexed his spirit that he’d hurt Scootaloo.

The changeling turned on his three legs to face the sunrise. The fire that lit the morning seemed overly cheerful in the face of what heavy things had just been discussed. The tears that had formed in his eyes turned the spectacle into glowing colored blobs of oranges and purples.

“Well, here’s the thing,” Scootaloo spoke softly but deliberately, “Sparklefly only told me, and I never told anypony else. I guess, at first, I didn’t want to add that to anypony’s memory of her, you know? And then we were assigned together by Princess Twilight. If I had mentioned it then, some mob would have murdered you by now.”

That thought made Ash Eater shudder. A large crowd of angry ponies was one of his few actual fears. Though, on some level, he felt as if that sort of violent end might be what he deserved. He didn’t really believe that; at least, he didn’t want to, but the dark thoughts plagued him from time to time.

She continued, “But now… As crazy at it is, you’re my friend. I can see that this is tearing you up inside. I’m sorry for that, but… I just… I needed to know… Sparklefly chose to forgive you, and so have I.”

Ash Eater turned back to face the mare who was looking at him, her face wet and glistening in the sunlight. She made what passed for a smile as she continued speaking.

“I didn’t make that decision for her. I did it for me… and for you. Though, for your own safety, I think we should never talk about this again… At some point, you’ll have to let the past go too. I appreciate how you feel about it, but you can’t punish yourself forever.”

Warmth filled Ash Eater’s heart at the words Scootaloo spoke. She turned away, casting her gaze once more upon the granite monument they had come to see. The changeling dried his eyes and read the memorial. He found it appropriate, though he was a little surprised how delicately it mentioned the forces in play without casting condemnation on the changelings. It was again the mare that broke the silence.

“We’ll need to get going soon if we want to get back to Ponyville in time.”

A phantom pain reverberated from Ash Eater’s missing limb. The thought of a long distance flight didn’t appeal to him any more than being up so early. Really, he was just relieved that they had made it through the conversation. He’d been terrified that it would tear the two of them apart, but it seemed that they were going to be okay.

He decided from her tone that it was time to put those things behind them for now. That would be easier than putting it behind himself. In order to lift their conversation, he attempted a deflection.

“Flying early… I still hate mornings,” he feigned grumpiness.

"Deal with it, curry puff,” Scootaloo teased.

"Har, har," he sneered back at her.

They turned and walked back toward Apple Loosa to check out of their hotel. It was a funny thing to long for approval from someone he had once considered an enemy. The teasing actually put him at ease. It let him know that despite his past, she still accepted him. That was more important to Ash Eater than he would have ever thought possible.

Author's Notes:

Here is the beginning of the promised epilogue... Though it is a bit lengthy for an epilogue... I kind of figured that since we're nearly a half a million words already... it would be okay to take my time on this and make sure I touched on everything I wanted to.

If you enjoyed this tale... and I hope you did if you've come this far with me, please don't forget to hit that thumbsup/like button to help out my ratio. I feel silly even mentioning such a thing, but... hey, I didn't beg for likes all this time so...

So, as you see, 8 parts of epilogue... but we will only get each point of view once. So, this is the last of Ash Eater's and Scootaloo's respective perspectives that you'll get. I have already had a ton of ideas for how their relationship develops to this point... but initially didn't plan on writing such, which is why I skipped some years between the last chapter and the epilogue... whether those actually ever happen.... who could say?

If they do... it'll probably be in the form of shorter complete sequels so I don't get sucked into a massive story like this one has done... it's been nearly 3 years on this. It's been such fun that I definitely plan to continue writing for the foreseeable future.

Epilogue, Part 2 of 8

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The silence of night was interrupted by the deep inhalation of the sole occupant of the domicile. The mare stretched and let out a moan as she became fully awake. Her alarm hadn’t yet sounded, but she prepared herself to silence it.

Like a springing trap, Java Chip reached out and disabled her alarm clock the moment it cried out. She grinned to herself and climbed out of bed. After brushing her teeth and making herself presentable, she looked to the mirror to cast a final approving glance at her light brown curly mane.

She walked down the stairs and into her coffee shop, turning on the lights and the machines before unlocking the front door. She pulled a clean apron from the shelf and donned it. Her equipment hadn’t even come to heat before the doorbell rang, signaling that somepony had entered.

“Good morning, and welcome to Java’s!” she called out with professional cheer.

“Good morning miss Java Chip!” an overly-eager colt greeted her.

She traded a peppermint and a bit for the newspaper he offered. The unicorn colt immediately unwrapped the candy and feasted on its sweetness.

“Thanks!” he called back as he exited the coffee house.

“See you in the morning!” she called back.

She couldn’t help but wonder whether he waited outside for her to open, or if it was happy chance that he usually arrived just after she unbolted the door.

She unrolled and set the newspaper down on the counter, taking a moment to scan the headlines. The front page had large block letters across the entire top.

‘3 Year Anniversary of Peace Accords’

Beneath the headline was a photo of the event which the article commemorated. The subjects were none other than Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis signing the armistice, with the other princesses and changeling nobility flanking them on either side.

A mention of anything related to the war always made her remember. Java Chip turned to the wall behind the bar where she had hung many framed photos of her travels. She suffered from an incurable case of wanderlust, but was happy to have made Ponyville her home. It was near enough plenty of places to explore that it made for a great base.

The picture for which she looked was near the center. Two smiling faces had been captured, her own as well as her friend, Swiftlight. It was the day they had climbed to the summit of the highest peak on the Unicorn Range. It was the last climb they had made together before she’d moved away.

She smiled wistfully at the photo, remembering her friend. In spite of his brash nature, there was a certain admirable nobility to him. Swiftlight hadn’t deserved to die the way he had, just disappearing without a trace. It ruined any chance he had for monuments or glory at his passing. The mare’s ears folded back and her eyes grew misty at the memories.

Recovering from her musing, she returned to her preparations. A bit of steam began seeping from a joint on the espresso machine, signaling to Java Chip that it was ready for use. She thought to herself that she would have to get the worn fitting replaced soon.

She walked briskly over to the door with asmile on her face. It wasn’t just the anniversary of the end of the war. There would be a special gathering in her own shop in just a few short hours. The mare put out the sign that would signal to all that the coffee house was open.

Returning to her place behind the counter, Java Chip began preparing a single pot of coffee. Within moments of the machine coming to life, pouring hot water through the grounds, the door opened, and some of her regular customers began arriving.

The rich aroma of the bold brew filled the morning. Java loved the scent. At six o’clock sharp, the door opened once more, and the mare everypony expected entered. The barista nodded.

“Good morning, Mayor.”

“Java,” Diamond Tiara replied simply.

“Raspberry scone and coffee with cream and sugar?”

The mayor gave a fatigued smile, “What would I do without you?”

The regular customers flocked around the new arrival as she sat at the bar for a cup of coffee. They began bombarding her with questions and advice on what needed to be done around town. Java Chip had little love for Diamond Tiara, but her previous loss to Applejack seemed to have been a good experience for the re-elected mayor.

Java Chip smirked to herself as she remembered the campaign. It had taken some doing to get all of the signatures needed for the off-season election, but it had been well worth the effort. Since then, things in Ponyville’s local politics had remained on a much more even keel. Certainly Java Chip and Diamond Tiara had not crossed paths outside the realm of amicability.

The barista was well aware that the daily visits had begun out of a need for damage control to the wealthy snob’s image, but she certainly couldn’t complain about having gained several regular customers since Diamond Tiara’s return to power. Applejack had not run for a second term, though the talk in town was that she could have held the seat. She seemed as relieved to be out of the mayor’s office as was Diamond Tiara to be back in.

Java Chip busied herself keeping everything running smoothly and preparing for more customers to arrive as the morning wore on. As the hands on the clock approached seven, she was just beginning to wonder when her part-time assistant would arrive.

Epilogue, Part 3 of 8

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Consciousness, though confused, came instantly with the ringing of the alarm bell. Fumbling through his blankets, the stallion managed to swat the top of his clock with a hoof and successfully silence the racket on his second attempt. The unicorn took a deep breath and stretched, desiring to linger on his mattress a bit longer.

Lighthoof threw off the covers and rolled to the edge of his bed, planting his hooves on the floor. He grunted to himself and then stood on three legs. Following his normal morning routine, he quickly did a few sets of push ups and sit ups before ambling through his dark apartment and into the bathroom.

The light was blinding in the darkness of morning, but his eyes adjusted and he soon saw his reflection in the mirror. He grunted at his appearance, but the unicorn worked his magic to make himself presentable. He looked at the scarred stump where his right font leg had been and gave a sigh at the ever-present pain in the phantom limb.

The talisman around his neck drew his attention next. On a sturdy silver chain hung a plain brass locket. Its luster had somewhat faded, but it was the contents that soon took his attention. Using telekinetic magic, he lifted the ornament and opened it. Pressed between sheets of glass inside was a little purple flower. It still made him smile every time he looked at it and remembered the beautiful mare that had picked it for him.

Marching into his small but efficient kitchen, he prepared a cup of coffee to banish the sleepiness. He noticed the newspaper from the previous day which he still hadn’t read. His eyes scanned the periodical, and he couldn’t help but smile at the headline on the front page.

‘Royalty United:Celestia & Chrysalis to Make Anniversary Speech’

Lighthoof didn’t take time to read the article, but instead found a scrap of bread upon which to scrape some butter. It wasn’t much of a breakfast, but he expected to have a larger meal later. As soon as his sustenance was taken in, he put on his prepared saddle bags and made his way down the narrow staircase into the bottom floor of his dwelling, which was a shop.

The scents of the fresh flowers filled his being for a moment. It reminded him of the mare. Pushing thoughts of her aside for a moment, Lighthoof counted off and gathered an appropriate number of carnations, packing them carefully and placing them in a saddle bag he had left empty for that purpose before exiting and locking his shop.

A smile worked across his face as he took a moment to look at the light pink shingle that hung over the door with the name inscribed in deep purple, finely scripted lettering.

‘Pibs: Floral Arrangements’

In the darkness of the early morning, the streets of Hollow Shades were quiet. They wouldn’t be coming alive until the sun was long up. He left at a canter, not because he was in a hurry, but because the exercise was good for his body. It had been a difficult adjustment to learn to walk and run on only three legs, but he had become so accustomed to it that he rarely stumbled.

It wasn’t long before he had made his way to the train station. As befitting a smaller town, the waiting area was outdoors, but it was illuminated for the convenience of travelers. The mechanical behemoth for which he waited arrived on time, and he was able to board after showing his ticket.

The unicorn found a car in the middle of the train and chose a seat. Waiting for departure, he looked around at the other ponies, many of them bleary-eyed or yawning. It never ceased to amaze him how many others would be traveling about even in the dark watches of the night.

Did they normally all travel at this time? He didn’t think so, certainly not in such an out-of-the-way place as Hollow Shades. That would mean that many of them were simply there by happenstance, that the circumstances of their lives had brought them together. It made Lighthoof think that there shouldn’t be that many ponies out and about. But then, they might have wondered why he was traveling in the middle of the night as well. He felt a smile form on his face as he mused on the thought.

Steam was released, causing the train car to shudder slightly. Within moments, it was gradually picking up speed as they headed out of the station.

Lighthoof watched through the window at the darkness of night. The stars were burning brightly overhead, and the moon was nowhere in sight initially. It must have been hours, but it seemed a short time before the crescent moon rose up. It came just ahead of dawn’s light when the sun breached the horizon. As the day grew, the countryside went by in a blur.

The lone unicorn must have nodded off for a bit, as they were coming up on his destination before long. A small town to which he’d been only twice before came into view, and before he knew it, the train had stopped, and the stallion was disembarking.

The fresh scent of the countryside filled the air, and Lighthoof began walking through the mid-morning. As usual, his missing leg drew glances of the other ponies who were out and about. He had become accustomed to this, and paid it little mind, though he could feel a twinge of annoyance.

It didn’t take him long, as the town was small, to find the specific small house-like building with a thatched roof for which he had been looking. He smiled when he saw the sign on the door.

‘Java’s’

He worked the latch with his magic and entered the coffee house.

Epilogue, Part 4 of 8

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The sun crested the horizon, sending its cheerful rays scattering across the land and through the window, striking the slumbering mare across her eyes. She inhaled deeply and stretched, energy beginning to work its way through her body.

Though the bed was perfectly comfortable, Lavender Pompon pushed the sheets back and set her hooves against the wooden floor. She shuffled into the bathroom and prepared herself to face the day.

The house seemed oddly quiet.

Upon completion of the necessary tasks, she made her way to the kitchen, where she discovered a note on the table beside a plate of muffins. The mare unfolded the message.

‘You looked so peaceful that we decided to let you sleep. I took the little ones to pick berries near Fluttershy’s cottage. Maybe we’ll be able to make a pie when you get off of work this afternoon. Ditzy’

Lavender Pompon smiled. Raising foals on her own had never been her first choice, but having a room mate that was happy to help with them had been a tremendous blessing. It did make the mother feel guilty to take advantage of her friend’s hospitality, but times had been hard for so many, that such arrangements had become rather common across Equestria.

She buttered one of the muffins and took a bite, letting the richness of the flavor and fruitiness of the raspberries fill her with delight. It was then that she noticed a half-crumpled newspaper sitting on the table.

Somepony had clearly already looked through it and then folded it poorly. A headline caught her attention.

‘Friendship Initiative Still Strong’

She pulled the paper close and read.

‘It has been nearly three years since Princess Twilight Sparkle created the plan to disburse changelings throughout Equestria in hopes that we could make friends with them in a one-on-one basis. Though it arguably got off to a rocky start, The Friendship Initiative first demonstrated real results almost a year after it began when Klixis’ treachery was uncovered and reported by his fellow changelings, ending his conspiracy before it was able to gain much of a following. More than two years later, nopony can dispute that The Friendship Initiative has induced a landmark metamorphosis since the end of the Timberwolf War.’

The article continued, but the mare realized that she didn’t have time to read it just then. She didn’t want to be late for work. Quickly drinking a glass of juice and grabbing another muffin, she left the house and walked through the morning toward her place of employment.

Catching sight of a clock as she went, Lavender Pompon increased her pace, finishing the muffin so she could use all four legs to carry her faster.

She arrived at Java’s with two minutes to spare. Straightening herself up, she opened the door. The small morning crowd was already at their usual tables, mostly surrounding the mayor.

“Good morning!” Java Chip sang from behind the counter.

“Morning!” Lavender Pompon replied as she made her way into the back to grab her apron.

Ready for work, she came out to find the boss waiting to give her an assignment.

“What would like first, the good news or the bad news?” Java Chip asked.

The mare felt her stomach knot up at the mention of bad news, “Give me the good first this time.”

“We got another shipment of flour and sugar, so we can try the new muffin recipe you gave me.”

Lavender Pompon felt herself smile but then began to brace herself for the bad news.

“And I need you to fix the espresso machine… again.”

The mare let out a groan as she shuffled into the back room to find the tool kit. She sized up the machine, her nemesis, the demon of Java Chip’s coffee shop. Keeping it working was nearly a full time job in and of itself.

A small spout of vapor was streaming from one of the joints. Unceremoniously, she shut it off and got to work. After stripping down the common parts that needed to be serviced, Lavender Pompon worked at each joint and fitting, carefully cleaning and reassembling the entire mechanism.

She was not exactly gifted as a mechanic, but she did have better rapport with the espresso machine than did the boss. After putting it all back together, she turned it on and listened as the water began to boil inside. It looked as if everything was functioning properly.

Without warning, a blast of steam caught Lavender Pompon in the face.

“Demon!” she growled at the inanimate device as she backed away.

The burst was more surprising than painful, as the small amounts of vaporized water that were able to jet out of the espresso maker cooled quickly. She had learned long ago to keep a respectful distance from the pipe. She felt around for the shutoff and stopped the flow.

"How’s it coming?" Java Chip asked.

"Swell," Lavender Pompon unleashed sarcasm.

Her boss snorted, "Well you seem to have more luck with that thing than I do."

"I still think it needs to be replaced," the mare muttered more to herself than to the boss.

"I couldn’t agree more. If I hadn’t had to replace the roof last year and half the windows the year before that, and if we weren’t paying down the mortgage…"

"I get it, I get it," Lavender Pompon answered with a forced grin.

She turned her attention back to the infernal contraption before her. If she could raise two foals on her own, surely she could keep the espresso machine running. She had been learning to know its cantankerous ways for nearly three months, to some surprising amount of success. Completing her work, she opened the valve again. The small pipes shuddered, but no steam escaped.

"Nice!" Java Chip said before walking away. "I should have hired you years ago."

"It still has to make it through the day,” she replied guardedly, “don’t thank me yet."

She felt pride in her accomplishment, but her attention was redirected as the doorbell rang. Almost by second nature, the mare automatically looked up and greeted the newcomer.

“Welcome to… to Java’s!”

A unicorn stallion had entered, white with a white mane, and the greenest eyes Lavender Pompon had ever seen. His cutie mark was in the form of a forked lightning bolt. The eyes were what had caught her attention. She hadn’t intended to stare, and quickly looked away when she realized that she had.

He approached the bar.

“Greetings,” he said as he looked about. “It seems that I must have arrived before everypony else has had a chance to make it this way. That is, of course, unless there is another area where Scootaloo or the others might have gathered?”

She remembered the name, “They’ll be here, but you are a bit early. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I feel it would be most uncouth of me to indulge before the others have an opportunity to appear.”

“Oh,” she replied, her attention caught for a moment by the necklace the stallion wore with a brass locket. “In that case, if you would like to take a seat, you are welcome to wait.”

“You have my thanks,” he replied with a bow.

His gate seemed strange to Lavender Pompon until she noticed that he had only three legs. She couldn’t help but wonder what had become of his missing right front limb, only a small stump of which remained. Given his apparent age, he must have been wounded during the war. The thought of it made her shudder.

As if he had felt her gaze follow him, the stallion looked back up at her once he was seated. In spite of the deformity, he was rather handsome. Realizing that she was again staring, she quickly thought of something to say.

“Would you at least like a glass of water while you wait?”

“Please,” he answered with a disarming smile.

As she brought a cool cup to him, she observed, “That’s a very nice locket.”

He smiled, “It is a mere trifle. Yet that which is contained within is the most valuable possession I own.”

Lavender Pompon let her mind wonder as to what could be so important. Business was slow, and the machines were functioning, so she stood a moment in thought. Gold or a rare jewel seemed the obvious answer, but she knew she would be disappointed if that were the case.

“Not gold or jewels?” she probed.

The stallion smiled, “Nothing so common as that, I can assure you.”

Her interest was peaked.

“Something magical then?”

He tilted his head to one side, “I suppose it could be considered magic, after a fashion, though, not the kind a unicorn would normally have propensity towards.”

“Well, what then?” her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

As the stallion opened the container, Lavender Pompon leaned in closer. She felt her eyebrow raise when she saw the little purple flower, pressed flat within glass. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly rare or special about it. The mare couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“That’s a flower,” she said.

“Indeed, that it is. I expect you would not find it nearly so unique as do I, though, if truth be told it has no value to anypony in all of Equestria, save myself alone. For you see, this little purple flower is the final gift that my love ever gave to me.”

“What happened?”

“She died.”

Those two simple words seemed to carry a mountainous burden behind his green eyes. Lavender Pompon felt her stomach knot a little. She wished she hadn’t been so insensitive to ask him about something so personal.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories for you.”

He again smiled disarmingly at her, “Do think nothing of it. There are very few subjects I would rather discuss or long to remember than the mare that gave me this flower. Though I live a hundred years hence, my sweet Pibs will always hold a place in the center of my heart.”

Lavender Pompon’s blood ran cold at recognition of the name.

“Did you say, Pibs?”

“Indeed, she was the mare for whom I have waited, though I know she shall not return.“

“She had a pink coat,” the mare began, “a blond mane, and a cutie mark of exotic flowers.”

The green eyes seemed captivated by her for a moment. The stallion nodded.

“I knew her.”

He stood, “Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lighthoof, formerly of Her Majesty’s EUP Guard in Canterlot.”

“I’m Lavender Pompon. I’m nopony special; I just live here in Ponyville.”

“I see. Should your duties permit it, I would be most pleased to hear how you knew my dear, sweet Pibs,” he gestured to an empty chair at his table.

She took her seat, and Lighthoof sat across from her, his gaze focused squarely on her.

“The night when Ponyville was overrun,” the mare began, “Everypony was in a panic, and the soldiers were trying to keep us all together and get us to the castle. I had lost my foals that night. We became separated, and I told them… the soldiers… I told them that my little ones would go to the school. They wouldn’t let me leave to find them. They assured me that they were brining all civilians to the castle, and that’s where I had to go.”

She took a breath. The stallion’s piercing gaze did not leave her for so much as a moment.

“I searched the entire castle, but my foals… they weren’t there. I can’t begin to tell you the heartbreak I felt that night. I… I was certain…” tears welled up in her eyes as the sting of the near loss came back. “I believed I had lost them. Everypony had made it to the castle, and they put up a magical shield. And that was that.”

The fear from that night seemed fresh again in the mare’s mind as she shivered. She took a breath and swallowed the emotion as best she could.

“What I didn’t know, was that they were safe. Pibs, your Pibs had found them at the school-house. By herself, she kept them safe and brought them back to me. I met her the next day, after my foals found me. I was able to thank her, but I always wished I had been able to do more. As you know, she didn’t survive the siege.”

Lighthoof smiled, “I am overjoyed to hear that mine is not the only heart in which she holds an important place.”

The pair grew quiet, and sat in each other’s company, each of them recalling how their lives had been touched by the same mare. An instinct grew in Lavender Pompon’s mind, and it wouldn’t leave her. She remembered the words of her father, who had recounted the words of her grandfather, a proud soldier of Equestria.

‘Who dares, wins.’

The mare looked back up at the stallion, her blue eyes capturing his green. She took a breath, steeling her resolve as she turned the thought over in her mind again, ‘Who dares, wins.’

“Is it your intention to remain alone, since you have lost your love?”

Lighthoof’s expression was difficult to read before he spoke, “I choose to wait, though it be to my dying day, for her return.”

“My husband was also a soldier who went out to fight the timberwolves. He was lost on some field and never recovered. Providing for our foals on my own has been such a difficult road…” She took a deep breath, “I apologize if this seems overly forward, but perhaps we might be able to help each other.”

“I’m afraid for the one my heart yearns, there is no replacement.”

Lavender Pompon felt her face flush a little at the rejection, but her grandfather’s words echoed in her mind as she pressed the attack.

“You misunderstand. I would never presume to think I could be a substitute for what you lost. My mate will always hold a special place in my heart, as will Pibs in yours.”

A faint hint of tears could be detected forming in the stallion’s eyes.

The mare continued, “I love my foals, and I love the mare that brought them back to me when I believed they were lost. If the only way I can repay that kindness is to give you some small comfort in not being alone… I’m willing to try. I realize that such an arrangement would be me essentially asking you to help me raise my own foals as well, but,” she shrugged, “there could be more. It may not be the family you wanted to build, but I’m young enough that more foals can come, your foals, if you’d have me.”

The stallion took a breath, his expression still impossible to read as he spoke, “My… you are a rather bold mare indeed.”

Lavender Pompon suddenly became acutely aware of what she had just proposed, and her face flushed again. Perhaps it was the massive coincidence of the meeting that combined with her own propensity to talk far too much when nervous that had caused her to speak like such a fool.

Lighthoof stared back impassively for a long moment that became increasingly uncomfortable. The mare felt magnificently embarrassed as she finally concluded that she had made a monumental mistake and sabotaged any chance she might have had with this stallion. She stood; it was all she could to do not run away.

“I’m so sorry,” she took a step back. “I was speaking pragmatically… just that the possibility… I didn’t mean… I mean… to suggest that we should… we… that I…”

She could not even think of how to complete her thoughts and salvage the situation. The mare turned to walk away, her face having become a bright shade of crimson.

“Miss Lavender Pompon,” Lighthoof said as he stood.

She stopped, turning to face him. Her heart racing as her face became hot.

“Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner on this fine evening?”

She felt her mouth drop.

“As you said, things past will always hold special places in our hearts. Nothing we can build will replace or restore what could have been. I, for one, am willing to spend at least a little more time in the company of one who also understands just how dear my Pibs was to me. I would not presume to speak for the future, as in that regard you seem far more bold than I.”

Lavender Pompon suppressed a giggle and felt herself blush even more as she finally remembered to close her mouth. Suddenly at a loss for words as the warmth of joy spread through her, she nodded vigorously.

Lighthoof smiled at her once more, this time staring directly into her eyes. He had a nice smile.

Author's Notes:

So, there you have it! A character that wasn't in the first draft... never intended to even so much as have a name... now... she has her own short moment in the spotlight!

I had some misgivings about this... since chapter 11 was the last time this character was mentioned (unnamed at the time)... but as soon as this scene developed in my mind, I knew I had to write it.

Also, the phrase, "Who dares, wins." I took it from the amazingly talented Emperor, who told me that it is actually a common motto for various military special forces. That being the case, he told me to use it without reservation. But, wince I got it from him, I wanted to give a shout-out to Emperor, and his fantastic fic, Phantasmare.

I hope y'all found it as much fun as I did.

Also don't worry... we're already through the main body of the story, so romantic couples are no longer in danger.

Epilogue, Part 5 of 8

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Smoke from a thousand burning carcasses filled the blood-red sky, flooding the nostrils and stinging the eyes of The Hero of Justice as the warrior and his companions strode atop the hill.

“Watch out!” The Shield-Maiden cried, leaping into a defensive posture.

She expertly positioned her aegis to deflect the arrows and bolts of magic. Dozens of slimy demons with limbs beyond number clambered up the other side of the hill, surrounded by their army of the undead.

“Stand ready!” The Hero of Justice roared as he brandished his halberd. “We shall strike them all down!”

“We are with you!” The Divine Thaumaturge shouted, lifting his oaken staff.

The Shield-Maiden let out a battle-cry as she raised her blade against the oncoming foe. They rushed to meet each other without hesitation. The halberd came down like an avalanche, slicing through grotesque limbs and separating them from the putrid forms.

The demons closed in with their minions, encompassing the band of warriors round about. The champions formed small circle, backs to each other, hacking and slashing, their weapons ripping through each foe that came against them. Their numbers didn’t thin.

The Hero of Justice let out a shout that stole the hearts of the demons. With a single swipe, he lopped off heads and limbs as he came around.

The Shield-Maiden’s blade worked quickly like a needle pierces cloth, again and again until black blood and rotten flesh flowed, covering the ground in a thick sludge.

The Divine Thaumaturge protected the third side, expertly deflecting incoming blows with his staff and smashing the enemy foot soldiers that drew too close.

The trio worked their way, tightening their circle, staying close, their flanks nearly touching each other as they continued their assault against the endless horde that continued pressing closer, clawing their way over the bodies of the fallen to get at the warriors.

Pain ripped through the stallion’s flank as The Hero of Justice cried out, thrusting the sharpened back of his halberd through the demonic limb that had dared sink a claw into his flesh, nearly severing the leg.

“All-Seeing Aegis, protect us now!” The Shield-Maiden cried out.

As the words left her lips, a magical shield flashed around them, pushing back the enemies and deflecting blows from the monstrous minions of tartarus that continued the assault.

The Divine Thaumaturge did not waste the moment, spinning about to see the wound that crippled his comrade. He raised his staff, touching it to the torn limb as he shouted.

“Branch of Angelic Fire, mend this broken flesh!”

A flash of light escaped the staff. The spilled blood returned into the wound, which sealed up, knit together as though it had never been torn.

The healed stallion let out a warriors cry and unleashed his halberd with reckless abandon. It ripped through flesh and bone as though it were tissue paper. The warriors did not let up their assault, beating the vile creatures back.

The demons themselves closed ranks with their minions, nearly piled atop each other. They clamored up onto the aegis’ construct, slamming into it in their rage. The Hero of Justice grinned fearlessly as the opportunity presented itself.

“Burn them!” he shouted.

The Divine Thaumaturge held aloft his staff and cried out, “Branch of Angelic Fire, let loose your wrath!”

Golden flames erupted from the staff as fire rained down from on high, conflagration blasting through the minions of the undead and singeing their demonic masters.

The Hero of Justice cut through them again and again, his muscles growing weary, burning from the effort he exerted. In the rage of battle, he ripped through a flaming demon, and feeling a presence behind him, he spun around, his weapon ready to strike. He stopped short, face to face with The Shield-Maiden and The Divine Thaumaturge.

The three of them panting from the effort, they smiled at each other. An ear-splitting shattering sent the warriors diving in opposite directions as massive saber-like claws rent through their barrier and hammered into the ground.

Regaining his hooves, The Hero of Justice took a few steps backward defensively, The Shield-Maiden echoing his movements a short distance away. A great beast stood before them, the king of the demons. It let out a low growl as it strode forward, unafraid.

A deep rumble, like an earthquake, came from the belly of the Archfiend as it spoke, “You puny beings dare to defy me?”

The stallion gripped his halberd tightly as he beheld the foe. It had four legs that ended in long spikes. Above, it had two massive arms with clawed hands. His dark leathery skin bore many old scars. Just above his fiery eyes, a single needle-like horn protruded from the beast’s forehead.

The Hero of Justice taunted the demon, “Your end has arrived.”

“That is an appropriate epitaph for your tombstone. This is the moment when you die,” the Archfiend rumbled.

The Hero of Justice vaulted forward, striking quickly. His halberd sang as it rebounded off of the leg of the beast, and the stallion quickly rolled to his right, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a massive hand. The razor-sharp legs pounded down, making it impossible for the stallion to stand, as he continued evading the counterattack.

The Shield-Maiden roared and struck the Archfiend from behind. She danced to the side, anticipating the first blow, but she was unable to avoid the massive hand that slapped her away.

The Divine Thaumaturge struck at the beast, who recoiled but then vaulted forward, easily outpacing the pony and grabbing his head, lifting him from the earth. It was mere moments before he no longer struggled and the body was cast aside. The staff fell to the ground.

The king of demons rounded on The Shield-Maiden as The Hero of Justice regained his attack posture and launched another assault, this time aiming deeper for the leg joints. The Archfiend parried, and the two crossed several deflected blows.

The beast had hide like iron armor. The Hero of Justice considered his options as the combatants backed away, circling each other for a moment. If they could distract him for a moment, that would be all they needed recover the staff and resurrect The Divine Thaumaturge. The Halberd of Steadfast Destruction could likely cut the Archfiend asunder, but magic of that high power came at a gave cost. At worst, everyone in the area might be killed.

He glanced at The Shield-Maiden, and then to the body of The Divine Thaumaturge. She nodded, brandishing her aegis. She understood the plan, taking note of where the staff lay beneath the great monster.

The Archfiend’s sickening laughter boomed across the countryside, “There were three, but now there are two. Is that all you can bring, little ponies? Your tough words are as hollow as your fortitude.”

“And you? King of Demons? Unable to kill those two little ponies? We are still alive, Archfiend!”

A mighty growl shook the very ground just before the Archfiend sprang forward with surprising agility. The Hero of Justice was prepared, darting left to dodge the coming blow.

Iron rang against bone once again. The warriors worked opposite sides, each distracting while the other attacked. They kept him off-balance, but he didn’t stray from his position directly over Branch of Angelic Restoration. Sweat poured from the ponies as their strength began to wane, and they had yet to wound the mighty beast.

As The Shield-Maiden came into view, her blue eyes locked with his for a moment. The Hero of Justice nodded to her. Without awaiting a reply, the stallion thrusted forward, his halberd deflected, he danced to the right instead of retreating, spinning to strike again.

At that same moment, The Shield-Maiden darted forward, underneath the Archfiend and driving her blade upward into his belly. A deafening cry split the air as the demon king staggered backward. He swiped downward with his mighty clawed hand. The mare dropped low, reaching for the staff and thrusting her blade forward, impaling the palm as fingers closed around her.

The stallion charged ahead, as the beast assumed a defensive stance. The halberd again bounced off of claw and hide. The world spun and the Hero of Justice saw stars, his vision going dark. He rolled to the side, grabbing his weapon and scrambling backward.

As his sight returned, he realized that the Archfiend had thrown The Shield-Maiden at him. She was dazed, and now the stallion was too far away to do anything but watch as the giant-razored claw came down, piercing the mare’s armor from behind, punching through her body and pinning her to the ground.

Rage kindled within The Hero of Justice as The Shield-Maiden looked up to him, pain contorting her face and tears falling from her blue eyes. The Divine Thaumaturge lay dead, and The Shield-Maiden was in terrible danger. The Hero of Justice needed the staff. A snarl escaped the Archfiend.

“Where are your threats now, little pony?” his voice boomed.

The stallion said nothing, catching his breath. He knew that the wound was fatal. He wouldn’t be able to take down his foe with his strength alone. There was only one thing left to do. The Shield-Maiden nodded at him, apparently having come to the same conclusion.

The Hero of Justice raised his weapon toward the enemy before shouting, “Halberd of Steadfast Destruction, strike down everything in your path!”

A blinding flash of magical light escaped as the stallion shot forward like lightning, driving his weapon at the heart of the beast.

In a flash, the Archfiend raised up The Branch of Angelic Restoration, using it to parry. The halberd drove into the heavenly artifact, shattering in the magical explosion. A shard of the oak ripped through the stallion’s throat.

A powerful swipe of the demon king’s claw struck The Hero Justice, swatting him from the air. His body smashed to the ground, and the world began fading. Sickening laughter echoed across the land.

The warriors had failed.

All The Hero of Justice felt was sorrow, not for the town that would be lost, but for his steadfast companions who lay before him. The Divine Thaumaturge was dead. The only means to restore him had just been destroyed. The Shield-Maiden was crippled and helpless. They watched each other, even as the life faded from her blue eyes.

“Now, you die!” The Archfiend roared as his massive hand came down upon The Hero of Justice.

The stallion was suffocating, being smothered beneath the weight of the creature. He struggled futilely against it, flailing with his ebbing strength.

His sight returned, but the Archfiend had gone. Shadowy figures surrounded him, though he could not make out their form. Only the black voids, hollows where their eyes should have been that seemed to draw in the world around them.

The stallion looked to The Shield-Maiden. Her armor and power were stripped away. She transformed and was no longer the heroic figure that she had been, but all that remained was a frightened mare. The same was true of The Divine Thaumaturge. He was awake, bleeding from his neck, terror in his crystal blue eyes.

They were now clearly seen.

“Duster, help me…” Beigh implored.

“Please… save us…” Sissy pleaded.

The shadowy figures closed in, surrounding the other two as if to devour the three. Duster lost sight of the others and felt stabbing throughout his body as they tore at him. The stallion tried to fight back, throwing any attack he was able against the ethereal figures. He charged through them, running to find the others. He ran and ran; he could hear them calling, begging to be saved.

“Where are you?” he shouted into the darkness.

“Here!” Beigh yelled back.

“Help us!” Sissy screamed.

Duster’s heart broke at the sound of her cries, and he became disoriented as he kicked shout back. Something was grabbing him, trying to restrain him. He struggled. It was then that he noticed another voice.

“Easy, Duster, easy… It’s okay,” a mare spoke soothingly to him.

As thoughts cleared, Duster realized that he was in a bedroom. There were no monsters or demons, no struggle or death. Both Beigh and Sissy had died long ago.

“That’s my boy,” his mother said as he relaxed into her grip. “You’re okay now.”

The stallion melted into her embrace, tears falling freely from his eyes. She held him until the emotions were all spent. Though greatly comforted by her, Duster’s heart still felt heavy, as if a lead weight was in his chest that seemed to grow heavier every day.

At night, the dreams would come. Dark nightmares of struggle and death. They had taken him to doctors, the finest specialists. They had even spent several weeks in Canterlot where Princess Luna tried, but found herself unable to make them stop. Most nights, she would come and intervene in the nightmares. But sometimes, they simply had to play themselves out.

Soaked with sweat, the stallion didn’t attempt to move as his mother laid him down, turned on the light, and returned with a wash cloth to cool him down. It felt soothing against his forehead.

“Luna wasn’t able to come tonight?”

“No,” the stallion’s voice still had a rough, gravelly quality.

“I’m sorry, dear. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

She spoke sweetly, “I understand. If you change your mind, I’m here.”

His mother turned off the light but sat up for a while longer, just holding the stallion close and stroking his mane until she fell asleep. He had initially been embarrassed for her to stay with him every night, though it was comforting to not be alone. He no longer seemed to feel anything one way or another.

Sleep did not come for Duster again that night. He simply laid awake, staring at the wall until Twinklestar stirred again before sunrise. She went through her morning rituals and walked him through his, eventually leading him down to the kitchen and seating him at the table as she prepared biscuits and gravy.

There was a time when having his favorite breakfast would have been the source of great joy. The stallion didn’t seem to care for food. He ate to humor his mother.

He took little notice of the others that came down for breakfast and went their ways, some to work, some to play, some to enjoy the morning.

He simply sat in his chair at the table as the day wore on, thinking about nothing in particular, feeling as though he were in a daze.

Epilogue, Part 6 of 8

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Birds sang cheerful melodies as sunlight danced through the trees. The stallion awoke with a satisfying stretch. Turning to his right, LD grinned at the stallion that had huddled beside him for warmth in the night. Unceremoniously, LD threw a hoof out and struck his twin to wake him. Seven grunted at the assault and returned a single blow in kind.

LD took the hit to his side and laughed, “You hit like a mare.”

“What time is it?” the identical twin asked.

“Daytime, the sun is up.”

Seven grunted and spoke more deliberately, “What time is it?”

“Do I look like I have a clock?”

The other stallion sighed, finally opening his eyes. LD stood and stretched his wings. Digging in his saddle bags, he found his toothbrush and a bottle of water and set about to freshen himself even before he felt nature's call.

They had stayed the night in a wooded area where the foliage was a little thinner than the surrounding area. LD returned to find Seven sitting up, but otherwise having not moved.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into walking to Ponyville instead of flying," Seven groused.

LD snorted, "Grow up, you baby. It's good for you to try something different now and then."

"Whatever. We'd have been there with time to spare yesterday. We could have slept on a nice soft mattress in a hotel instead of on hard packed dirt with tree roots digging into my back."

"Seriously? Are you going to whine all day?"

Seven shrugged, "I might not if I knew what time it was."

The pair chuckled at nothing in particular and were soon continuing their journey. LD had come to enjoy taking long walks on the ground at times, a character trait that Seven did not share, which was odd when considering their common ancestry.

The grasslands had given way to a soft forest the previous day. It was by no means impassable, but it did seem to slow them down. The terrain made for a beautiful hike, if not a laborious one. Still, the nature that surrounded the pair filled LD with delight, even if his twin did not find it as refreshing. LD had not forgotten the hours of music recitals that Seven had made him sit through the previous year.

As they continued forward, it wasn’t long before the scrubby foliage became much more manicured, and the trees seemed to, somewhat suddenly, be arranged in neat rows. LD started laughing when he realized where they were.

"What's funny?" Seven asked.

"Those are apple trees."

"So?"

"This is the orchard."

Seven looked left and right, seeming flummoxed, "This is Sweet Apple Acres?"

"It sure is," LD giggled again.

"You mean I could have slept in a real bed last night?" the stallion fumed.

LD shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. Sorry about that."

Seven frowned and let out a sigh. For a moment, it looked as though he might reply, but he just shook his head and continued walking. LD felt a mischievous grin form on his muzzle as he wondered whether he should tell Seven that he'd known how close to Ponyville they’d been the previous night.

Deciding that the reaction would not be worth the fallout, the stallion kept his own council as they trudged through the apple trees. Half of them already seemed far more mature than should have been possible in the time that they had been growing, no doubt due to some clever potions to accelerate their growth.

LD smiled wistfully at the thought of Apple Bloom. He had yet to have any luck on that front, but that certainly would not stop him, or Seven, from trying again if either of them got the chance.

It wasn’t long before they spotted a lone farmhouse from atop a hill they had crested. The pair changed course. There wasn’t a barn nearby. LD concluded that it was Duster’s house.

Filthy from exposure to the elements overnight, LD wanted to get cleaned up before the meeting, which probably wouldn’t get started for a few hours. The pegasus knocked on the door. A light breeze tickled his mane, and the fresh scent of the orchard made him shiver. Seven sneezed.

The door opened, and a mare stood behind it.

“Oh, there are two of you!” Her face contorted in thought as she looked at the scarred stallion, “LB, right?”

“LD, and this is Seven.”

“That’s right! I’m sorry,” Twinklestar seemed to gently scold herself. “Come in.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

They entered the quaint little house, and LD spotted Duster sitting at the table. He turned to speak to him, but caught a look from Twinklestar. She seemed to have caution in her expression and motioned the pair to follow her. They walked away from the kitchen, into a craft-room filled with sewing materials.

Twinklestar spoke in a low voice, “My son is not well.”

“How do you mean?” LD asked, memories of his own troubles coming to mind.

“The war… it… he’s not been himself. He seemed as okay as anypony could be initially, but after the peace was declared and he went to study art… that’s when he really started to change. He failed out of his classes, and we went to pick him up to bring him back. We’ve been to doctors and psychiatrists, even the princesses with all their power… they couldn’t help him.”

Seven frowned.

“And now… Sometimes he just sits all day, wherever I leave him. He won’t even eat if I don’t make him.”

LD’s heart became heavy at the news. He remembered all too well what that was like. He also had not forgotten how difficult it had been to overcome. Some days, he still wasn’t certain that he would be okay. Seven had only recently gone through a similar difficulty. The distraught mare continued.

“I had hoped to get Scootaloo and her friends to try… maybe to make him part of their group and give him something to do, but she’s got that changeling to take care of… I just don’t know what to do for him.”

Seven remained quiet.

LD took a breath and spoke softly, “I’m not sure you can directly do anything more than you have.”

Twinklestar’s head lowered.

“But don’t think for one second that you’re not helping. Yeah?”

She looked back up, the faintest spark of hope barely alive in her eyes.

“We’re going to see Scootaloo and the others later. I’ll talk to her… maybe we can figure something out.”

“Thank you,” the mare seemed relieved. “Would you like to try to talk to him for a bit?”

“Sure, but I think it’d be better if it was just me. Seven, if you want to go ahead and get cleaned up…”

“Sure.”

“I’ll show you where the towels are.”

As the mare left the room, Seven turned to LD and whispered at him.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I am not babysitting Ash Eater.”

LD felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end at the mention of the name.

“I don’t consider either of us spending time alone with that changeling an option.”

Seven nodded and hurried after Twinklestar. There was no doubt in LD’s mind that his twin was remembering their time at the mirror pond when Ash Eater had beaten them and Sparklefly. Neither of them could understand how Scootaloo could have agreed to try to befriend that monster. He pushed the thoughts from his mind.

Now alone, LD slowly walked through the living room until he was within sight of Duster. The pegasus sat across the table and was staring in the general direction of the newcomer, but he didn’t seem aware of his presence.

LD strode up, loudly pulled out a chair and sat down in it. There was no reaction initially. The kitchen was mostly clean, a bit of messiness from the preparation of breakfast aside. A few dirty dishes were on the table, as well as a newspaper. It was open to the agriculture section and a headline stood out.

‘Apple Rationing: Daily Limit to Increase’

LD cleared his throat as he looked again across the table. Seemingly unnoticed, he finally decided to speak.

“Hey, Duster.”

The other pegasus blinked, and then refocused his eyes on the stallion who now sat across from him.

“LD?” his rough voice replied; it had apparently never completely recovered from the wound Ash Eater had inflicted.

“It’s been a while.”

“One year.”

LD was bothered by the hollow tone in Duster’s voice. Certainly nothing was wrong with his memory or ability to think in general. It had indeed been a year since they had last seen each other. LD hadn’t been back to Ponyville since Scootaloo’s last gathering. LD decided to stick with small talk and see how things progressed.

“How have you been?

“Okay.”

“Did you ever go back to art school?”

“No.”

“So, what have you been up to?”

Duster stared directly into LD’s eyes, but his reactions seemed slower than one might expect.

“Stuff.”

The short answers were annoying, but LD had little choice but to continue trying for the moment. He decided to attempt teasing.

“Okay… what about mares? Anypony in particular catch your eye? You know if you make a move on Apple Bloom without telling me, there’s going to be trouble.”

“Nopony.”

LD was a little frustrated, but he could only think of one more thing to try.

“Not that it would have mattered. You know I haven’t had any success at all with that farm-pony. Say, come to think of it, your younger sister is just about old enough to start thinking about stallions, isn’t she?”

Duster blinked, otherwise not responding.

“What was her name again?”

LD knew her name.

“Glitterdust.”

“That’s right! Glitterdust. Now that I think about it, she is kind of cute. Would you mind if I asked her out?”

Duster’s expression was still blank as he answered, “Okay.”

LD was uncertain how to continue. He didn’t want to intentionally attempt to anger Duster, but at the same time, he couldn’t think of anywhere else to lead the conversation unless that were his intent. Caution won out in the end, as the pegasus wanted to talk with Scootaloo before he went further. She'd had more recent contact and might have some insight.

The stallion stood and walked away, keeping an eye on Duster to gauge his reaction. There was none. He found Twinklestar standing in the living room, her expression filled with worry.

LD asked, “Is he always like that?”

“He has good days, sometimes,” the mare admitted, “this is as bad as I’ve seen him. He’s like this maybe once or twice a week.”

“I see,” the stallion nodded and thought for a moment. “I’m going to get with Scootaloo today and see if… maybe…”

Twinklestar forced a smile and nodded at LD, wiping a tear from her eye. The stallion was then shown to the restroom where he got cleaned up before he and Seven departed.

Ponyville was just as quaint as he’d remembered, though perhaps even more so. It was no longer teaming with solders and fortifications. There were some remnants of the struggle still visible, but it felt much more peaceful and quiet.

Seven broke the relative silence between the pair, “That was me almost a year ago.”

LD looked over at his twin who had deep lines of concern etched into his face.

“I can’t tell you how upsetting it is to see others still…” Seven shook his head. “If you hadn’t come home and found me, I don’t know what… I…”

“We’re related, what else could I do? But don’t worry. We’re going to help Duster.”

“Our vacation will be used up long before we have time to do much. You know that.”

LD shrugged, “I hate that job anyway. I’ll move here if I have to.”

Seven stopped, looking at LD with unbridled surprise on his face. Then he smiled.

“What?” LD asked.

“It’s just funny to me. I’d have never thought to do that. How did we get to be so...”

“Different?”

Seven snorted a laugh.

“Listen... we are unique. I believe that. I have to believe that. You are Seven. I am LD. Lightning Dasher... that’s who we were, once.”

“I just wish our family had reacted... better.”

LD felt himself scowl at the memory. Both of his parents had accepted Seven. It was made clear when LD went to visit that he was not welcome. That was before Seven had experienced his troubles. They asked; LD helped. His recovery did not solve the tension that had grown amongst them all. In the end, neither of them wanted to go back home.

LD shook his head, “Come on; we’re going to be late.”

Already close, the twins continued toward the coffee house. As it came into view, another party was just arriving, but stopped short when the coming pair was spotted. LD and Seven both locked eyes with the changeling first, giving him amenacing look. Ash Eater recognized them and seemed to shrink back behind Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and… LD’s heart skipped when he saw Apple Bloom. It was obvious that she did not return the sentiment.

“Hey, guys!” Scootaloo greeted them.

“How’s it going, Scoot?” Seven asked.

The mare frowned, punching him on the shoulder when they got close.

“Gah! What was that for?” Seven pouted as he nursed the injury.

“Only crusaders call me ‘Scoot’,” she smirked.

“Fine, lesson learned. You don’t have to hit me so hard though.”

“Aww, did y’all get a boo-boo?” Apple Bloom teased.

LD jumped at the chance to interact, “Are you kidding? She hit Seven so hard that I felt it.”

“Seven?” Sweetie Belle asked.

LD turned to his counterpart as if offering the chance to explain himself.

Seven sighed, “I picked a new name. It’s a long story, but… I felt like I needed to, you know?”

The group seemed uncertain how to respond and grew quiet until Seven spoke again.

“This one kept me up late and early, so I need some coffee in me, now.”

“That we can help you with,” Scootaloo smiled as she started toward the door.

“Scootaloo,” LD stopped her.

She faced him inquisitively.

“There’s something I need to ask you, before we go inside.”

She seemed to catch the unspoken desire for discretion and motioned for the others to continue ahead of her. Seven cast a final glance at LD, hope in his eyes was mixed with sadness. Once the door was shut, the two were alone.

Scootaloo made a fiendish grin, “If this is about Apple Bloom, she’s definitely still not interested in either of you. And if you’re about to get weird on me, forget it or I’ll give you a bruise to match Seven’s.”

A half-hearted laugh escaped the stallion, “No, nothing like that.”

“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.

She seemed to understand that whatever LD was needing would not be a joking matter.

“Duster.”

Scootaloo’s ears folded back, but she didn’t say anything.

“Seven and I saw him earlier. He is not himself. I had last seen him a year ago… and… it’s much worse.”

The mare sighed, “I know a little. I’ve been away a lot, but even when I’m here, his family keeps me at distance because of Ash Eater.”

“I can’t say I blame them for that,” LD seethed.

Scootaloo took a step back, but then planted her hooves in a somewhat defensive posture.

“Easy,” she warned, “You can have whatever opinion you like. But Ash Eater is my friend. I saw the way you two postured at him a minute ago, and that needs to stop. The war is over. He’s not my enemy, and he’s not yours either.”

LD felt his fur bristle at the statement.

“I’m not asking you to like him,” she continued. “Just be civil.”

The stallion gritted his teeth, “Only because you are the one that’s asking… I think I can manage that much.”

“As for Duster… I don’t know how to help him.”

“His mom is doing a good job keeping him going, but he hasn’t moved on. He’s still back there, you know? For him…”

“It’s like he doesn’t want to go forward because it takes him farther from his sister,” Scootaloo finished the thought.

Their eyes met. LD nodded. Scootaloo sighed and looked down.

“You’re right… I had promised…” The mare looked back up, “I hate that I’ve let this go as long as I have, but… before now… I don’t know if I could have trusted Ash Eater.”

LD tried to contain the anger that formed at the mention of the changeling in any positive context.

“I can now. So, I don’t have to watch him constantly anymore. I’m going to shift gears, as long as it’s okay with Twilight, and see if I can focus on helping Duster.”

“If you need anything from me, I’m willing to quit my job and move here. He needs us.”

Scootaloo smiled at him, “I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

LD snorted, “I wouldn’t do that for you. You’re friends with that changeling.”

The mare raised an eyebrow at the stallion. He sighed.

“Sorry, old habits and all that.”

“Fine, but that was your last free dig at Ash Eater. You have to pay for the next one.”

He knew that she wouldn’t hesitate to strike him and smiled nervously.

“Come on,” she tapped him gently, “Let’s go inside before everypony start’s wondering where we are.”

LD felt only slightly better about Duster’s plight as he followed Scootaloo as she opened the door and entered Java’s.