The Last Cutie Mark Crusader 19, Part 5 of 5

Recruits


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.