The Last Cutie Mark Crusader 8, Part 5 of 8

No Rest for the Weary

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.