The Lost Battalion

The Lost Brigade

By sierra_seven_

Chapter Three: Tupatitsiyok

* * *

Sapphire awoke to the sounds of a struggle. Within seconds, she had her sword in her mouth and was wriggling out of her sleeping bag. The tent was dark enough to obscure whoever was trying to force their way insi-

"Please, I don't wanna! It wasn't my fault... Please..." whimpered Rhubarb, rolling around in her covers. Her light-pink coat was slick with sweat and she was obviously in distress. A nightmare. The poor mare was completely unaware of her surroundings, lost in the dream-world that was obviously scaring the hell out of her. Sapphire quickly set her sword to one side, dropping down next to the mare. She could handle battles and stress; emotional problems were beyond her skill set.

"Uhm, Rhubarb? Rhubarb, you're having a nightmare. Come on, snap out of it," Sapphire whispered awkwardly, not being able to find the words to console her. This was supposed to be one of her soldiers? The mare was hardly acting like one.

Rhubarb's eyes snapped open, locking onto Sapphire's. "Captain! I'm so, so sorry. This hasn't happened in months, I swear! I'm perfectly capable to carry on!"

The captain sighed, slumping back onto her haunches. "Look Rhubarb, you're a great mare. You've got to understand this is no place for a young mare to b-"

"But captain! I'm absolutely fine! Just let m-"

"Soldier!" Sapphire roared in anger, "You do not interrupt a senior officer! If I have my doubts about you, you are to accept those doubts and do everything within your power to change my views of those!" She paused for a second, considering the young mare. The very young mare. "Soldier, how old are you?"

"E-eighteen, captain."

"If you're lying to me..."

"I-I'm sorry captain. I'm s-seventeen." Sapphire sighed heavily, looking over at the underage soldier. She couldn't send her away now, they were too far from the City. She couldn't exactly let her serve, either. A marching army was no place for a child.

"Ugh, what am I going to do with you..." Sapphire considered her options carefully. "I could have a unicorn from the communications detachment teleport you back to the City, where you can catch the next flight back to Equestria. However, that's going to lose me two capable unicorns..."

"Please captain, I want to stay on the expedition. I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you'll keep me!" Rhubarb begged, finally detaching herself from her sleeping bag. Again, there was that deeper steel behind her eyes. If she'd had the training, she'd have made a fine soldier. It was the strength of her stare, despite her bed-mane and slick coat, that made Sapphire decide on her course of action.

"Soldier? Drop and give me forty," Sapphire ordered, a wry smile on her lips. Rhubarb immediately dropped onto the cold tent floor, doing the press-ups as fast as possible. A minute or two later, Rhubarb tiredly lifted herself off the floor, saluting.

"There you go captain, forty press-ups. Does this mean I get to stay on the expedition?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. You are now my charge, and I will oversee your training and workload. I believe there are protocols in place for flash-conscription, and you're eligible for it. I will speak to Director Lemon and have him transfer your details to myself. I'll then see that you are made a conscripted member of the Steelflanks, and I'll assign you to one of my... safer squadrons. The HQ section should have no problem taking you on."

"Thank you so much captain! I swear, I'll make this worth it!" Rhubarb exclaimed, eagerly gathering her kit together.

"Hmm, don't thank me yet," Sapphire warned, before noticing the gradually brightening tent. "It should be about dawn. I suggest you go and get a wash, then some scoff in the mess hall. I'll speak with Lemon in the morning briefing, so that'll be taken care of before we move out again. If anyone asks, however, you're still with comms. I'll have to let the Steelflanks know that we've got a unicorn joining our ranks."

"Yes, captain! Will I be reporting to you after, or back to the director?"

"Head back here. I'll take you over to the headquarters group and they'll decide from there. Right, go on then. Just remember, be entirely honest with me and I'll treat you decently. Lie to me, however..."

"Understood, captain."

The two mares spent a few minutes organising their gear, ready for it to be packed onto the sleds. Stowing loose items in saddlebags, strapping their sleeping sacks to their bergens and stacking them outside took the longest. They then got dressed, which was an awkward routine in a cramped tent. Sapphire's combat armour took the longest to put on, and Rhubarb sat, giggling behind a hoof, watching Sapphire struggling. The unicorn then gathered together her robes and meagre barding, trying to smooth the creases out of them. Sapphire rolled back the entrance to the tent, allowing the weak sunlight into the tent. The bracing cold wind was nice against her face.

"Captain?" a stallion enquired, trotting towards her.

'Urgh, here we go,' Sapphire thought, getting ready to get back in the swing of command after her brief sisterly interaction with Rhubarb.

"Morning briefing is in half an hour. You've got time to grab breakfast, if that's what you fancy."

Sapphire nodded curtly, stepping past the guard. The snow was crisp underhoof, and deceptively nice. This was what she imagined one of those cold-weather holidays was like. For once, the sky was blue and the sun was shining down on her. She considered this as she trotted towards the small mess tent that had been set up. The smell of porridge and crystalberry sauce wafted through the air, bringing a smile to her face. Mmm, crystalberries.

She took her place in the queue, listening to the ponies in front chatting away. Word had obviously spread quickly around the camp about the mysterious deaths last night. "Whaddya reckon happened then? I heard somepony say that Sombra's scouts have some kind of poison that does that, and they were trying to sneak into the briefing."

"Hah, that's stupid. There's plenty of outlandish creatures out here. It was probably one of those."

'Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe it was actually Sombra's scouts... I'll mention that at the briefing.' The queue depleted quickly enough, and Sapphire grabbed her bowl of porridge. The steaming oats looked appetising enough with the crystalberry sauce accompanying it. "Huh, it's 'bout time we got some decent meals," she mumbled, wolfing down the food. A few of the engineers looked on, grinning.

"Hey captain, save some of that aggression for the enemy, eh?" One stallion laughed, before winking at Sapphire. There was no doubt, it was the wink. Hah, the young stallion actually thought he had a chance with her. Oh, that was a bad idea.

"Wink at me again and I'll have you pegged down for additional guard duty. Hmm, I'll then shove one of the sleds so far up your arse you'll be vomiting supply crates."

"Y-yes captain. It was only a joke..."

"Don't let me catch you doing it again," Sapphire ordered, before turning and trotting towards the shower facilities. Even if the stallions were interested in her, they'd flee the moment they smelt her. After the events of the previous day, her armour was beginning to smell of stale sweat and possibly a hint of dumpling gravy she'd spilt the night before. Even her mane was starting to become tangled after all its time under her helm.

The showers themselves were little more than a few cubicles in a hastily-erected structure, provided for by melted snow and heated by a portable furnace. Sapphire trotted inside, collecting her wash-gear from a small cupboard. The translucent, orange interior of the building was slightly more soothing than the mottled black pattern on her own tent, which supposedly helped with insulation. Supposedly. Well, at least it had been her, Rhubarb and their insulated sleeping sacks in the tent last night.

Around her, a few mares chatted in the occupied cubicles while scrubbing their coats clean. 'How odd,' she thought, noticing the steam freezing as it floated towards the entrance to the female's shower room. 'Hopefully we'll get something a bit more permanent at Fortress Three, if the engineers are as good as they say they are...' The other mares took no notice of her entering, which irritated her more than usual.

"Mornin' you lot. I hope the extra guard shifts didn't drag on too long last night," Sapphire said, tying to spark some small conversation.

"Oh, they were great captain. You know, there's nothing better for the mane than a cold wind treatment for four hours!" She and the other mares laughed, Sapphire included. It would have been even more awkward if Sapphire had just nodded. She sighed, hanging her towel up before removing her armour. Cleaning it would have to wait until they reached the fortress, at any rate. Sure, they had showers, but a laundry service was out of the question, even for the Canterlot unicorns. Or so she hoped, anyway. She woudn't put it past those wealthy tossers to have brought their own personal servants for exactly that reason.

'Gotta stop thinking like that. Rhubarb is one of those Canterlot unicorns, and there are likely a few more like her. Urgh, insulting people is hard...' After a few moments considering the things she'd happily do to Director Rind, she stepped into one of the cubicles, slamming a hoof against the shower tap. A deluge of freezing water descended on her, sending her sprinting back out with a yelp.

"Oh yeah captain, that shower ain't workin' right."

"Really? Because I was under the impression that fucking freezing water was supposed to be running through here!" Sapphire snapped, stepping into another one. Thankfully, it was now warm water that began to soak her coat and mane. Whoever had set that particular shower up was lucky that Sapphire didn't know their name, or they'd end up at the bottom of a crevasse. Hmm, she'd already mentally thrown Director Rind down there, and it would probably start to get crowded. Oh well, there were plenty more.

"Sorry captain, there's no need to have a go at us, eh?" the mare said irately, disguising her anger with a semblance of polite indifference.

Sapphire just grunted, letting the cascade of water run through her mane and down her legs. She hadn't realised how tense she'd become; the events of yesterday had stressed her more than she'd thought. At least she had a few minutes to take care of her own needs before her briefing. Her mane would have time to dry on the way there thanks to the icy wind, she surmised. How she wished she could just have her mane trimmed even further back to the point where it would fit neatly under her helmet. That'd prevent any Emperor-damned helm-mane, and she'd look a lot less feminine.

Well, not that she looked entirely feminine to begin with. She was muscly, had several scars and had been known to drink more than some of her own newly-initiated guards. She'd spent many a night staggering home, much to the disgust of the general populace. At the end of the day, it was the only thing that actually gave her a sense of solidarity with her soldiers. Drinking them under the table, naturally. Of course, there were always training events and exercises, but they didn't really give the same feeling as that of mutual drunken camaraderie.

After a few minutes of relaxation, she stepped out of the cubicle and towelled herself off. The other mares were already long gone, having rushed off to pack up their kit or have a late breakfast. 'At least somepony's packing my tent up for me,' Sapphire thought happily, remembering she'd be too busy in the morning briefing to do something as menial as packing up a tent. Oh, the joys of being an officer...

"Shit, it's getting late!" Sapphire exclaimed, shoving her wash kit back into the big crate. She'd be hard pressed to make it to the briefing on time. Her armour! "Shit!" It took her mere moments to throw the barding on, thanks to the fact that she was really, really late. She mentally ran through the day's objectives as she rushed out of the shower block, mane flapping behind her.

* * *

"Now that the captain's here, let's get started," lieutenant Agate said, looking around the room. The various officers and support staff nodded their assent, leaving the murmuring to die down. Sapphire had made it with seconds to spare. Oh yeah, she was good.

"If I may, I'd like to give an update on the situation from last night," Sergeant Blast Glass stated gruffly, obviously not having had enough sleep. She imagined the scouts had been out all night, gathering intel and scouting the route ahead. Ugh, not a fun job. Not that any of this was fun, but she could do without spending hours lying in a snowbank, trying not to move.

"Now, Sombra's legion is beginning to establish a base of operations outside the city. I imagine they'll be wary, scouting around for alternate access points. Sombra would be a very stupid stallion to attack the city head-on. The guard will be rallying, preparing food and water stockpiles around the city for a long conflict, shoring up the city's defences, conscripting citizens for the def-"

"Sergeant, we need to focus on the present. What information do you have to offer on pursuers or today's route?" Sapphire said irately, not wanting to imagine her father drawing up plans for defending her homeland. She had half a mind to order a return to the City, as fixing the forts was no longer strategically necessary. What was the point in a defence grid if it had already been penetrated?

"Oh, well, Sombra's army is massing by the City. We haven't picked up any detachments following us, but we'll be keeping an eye out today. If he's sending a detachment to attack us, he'll be doing the same to the other two expeditions. We'll be able to see any new troop movements within the next few hours. As for today's route, it's going to be dangerous. Less dangerous than crossing the crevasse field, but we'll still be taking a few casualties. One of my scouts got attacked by iceflies, and he's recovering in medical. It's going to be rough."

"Well, this is what we've trained for. We'll make it. Now, what the fuck happened last night to those guards?"

The chief medical officer, a pale red pony with the Rod of Asclepius for his cutie mark, spoke up. "We tried to revive them, but to no avail." The ponies assembled took a little while to get over this, as their deaths were so unexpected. Killed right outside the command tent, where there should have been plenty of security and safety.

"Now, the strangest thing is that their post-mortems showed nothing we've seen from any of Sombra's scouts. It wasn't a poison or toxin. It wasn't even a spell. They'd literally been exposed to such low temperatures that they were flash-frozen. I'd strongly advise keeping the heightened guard status until we find a cause for this. If it is a new type of creature, we'll need to devise a way of fighting it."

The doctor looked down at his notes, clearing his throat once more. "As for the casualties from yesterday's crevasse... incident, we lost three engineers and we have two more undergoing treatment. They should be combat-capable within a few days, if they hold up. I'll make sure they're properly cared for during the trek."

"Agreed. Now, I have a matter that needs to be discussed with Director Lemon Rind. I trust that the rest of you will be able to devise a plan for today's trek while we are absent, correct?" Sapphire said, looking around the room.

"It'll be done, ma'am," Agate confirmed, already trotting to the front of the room. Sapphire and Director Rind took this as a good opportunity to leave the briefing, stepping outside into the freeing cold. Director Rind leant up against the side of the command shelter, gazing at Sapphire.

"So captain, what did you need to discuss?" he murmured, not happy about leaving the relative warmth of the briefing room.

"I need to discuss the situation of one of your unicorns. Rhubarb, to be exact. It's come to my attention that she's not of age to be serving in either the Equestrian military or the Crystal Armed Forces. Now, there are procedures in place that would allow her to become a full member of the Crystal army within a few months. I'm not sure about your own military, but I don't believe anything similar exists."

"Wait, you're telling me that Rhododendron is underage? She deliberately put herself forward for this expedition! Well, you're not taking her off her own race that easily. She'll remain in my own communications group, as she wanted to."

"Director, you're honestly telling me that you would risk your reputation by keeping a minor within a serving military unit? Just think of what your commanders would say. I can solve this problem without sending her back to the City, or sullying your reputation. All you have to do is give me permission to transfer her into my own Steelflanks battalion. With the conscription protocols allowed, I can safely have her take part in a military unit without all the paperwork."

"Ugh, fine. She was a useless caterer anyway. I mean, she even had the gall to serve us common peasant food while we were staying at the Equestrian embassy. All I did was ask her to make the best meal she'd eaten, and she presented that filth? Ugh, how horrifying. Take her. Maybe she'll make a better shield than soldier..."

Sapphire almost rammed his head through a wall, but refrained from disturbing his finely-groomed yellow mane. He was the most arrogant, selfish bastard she'd known, but at least Rhubarb would be free from him soon enough.

"I'll have my secretary complete the necessary paperwork. Then she'll be all yours. Please, don't feel sympathy for her because she's lower-class than us. She doesn't have the brains or the brawn to make it any further than farming, and I'm frankly surprised that she even knows magic."

"You're bloody lucky I don't rip off your horn and arse-fuck you with it, you cowardly, disrespectful bastard," Sapphire hissed under her breath, trotting back into the command room. The officers were just beginning to leave, obviously having had discussed the day's actions. Lieutenant Agate trotted up to her, holding a dossier in his mouth. As she received it, she noticed his eyes wander down her body and onto her flank. Oh yeah, her armour had slid, exposing her seldom-seen cutie mark.

"I strongly hope you're looking at the dent in my barding, as opposed to my flank," she stated, matter-of-factly. As a matter of fact, she was rather proud of her cutie mark. It was a sapphire, emblazoned with a vertical sword and embellished with an elegant crinet. A symbol of strength and elegance, if ever she'd seen one.

"Of course, captain. You seem to have a... gravy stain on your barding?" he enquired, looking curiously at her.

"Oh, that? Oh, it's... a... gravy stain. Damned dumpling stew last night, and the bowl slid off the table. Yeah, I'll get it cleaned up at Three, when we get there." After that brief conversation, Agate trotted outside to converse with lieutenant Culet about the day's orders. Well, at least none of the others had noticed her gravy-stained barding. She'd have to fix that quickly, or she'd begin to attract flies. Well, iceflies. Did iceflies like gravy? She'd have to ask Peridot about that. Sapphire trotted outside, still thinking about gravy.

"Captain? We're just about to begin the transmission to the Empire. Is there anything you wish to report, other than the events of the previous day?" Director Rind said snootily behind her. Damn, she hadn't even noticed the unicorns assembling around the... gem-covered mast. So, that was their transmitter then?

"No, just ensure that you relay the reports from the recon section along with the main transmission. They'll need all the intel they can get. Ok?"

"I'm not an idiot, captain. Of course the reports are high-priority. Well, I won't waste any more of your precious time then," he finished, trotting over to his minions. 'Heh, minions.'

The bustle of ponies moving around the camp reassured her. She was on edge last night, when everypony had retired to their tents and the soft glow of lanterns had sent shadows sweeping across the camp. However, she felt a lot more secure in the warm, watery sunlight with soldiers rushing around in front of her. The tents were mostly disassembled and the engineers were starting work on the more sturdy buildings. The weak wind was rippling through her slightly-damp mane, making her grin. 'So, that arctic wind didn't dry it after all. I hope the other officers didn't see that as my attempt at a wet-mane contest...'

Sapphire shuddered. She'd received enough leering stares from the kitchen staff when she'd rocked up at the mess tent that morning. She would eat her breakfast a lot slower if their eyes stopped metaphorically devouring her. Well, at least she'd got a taste of that crystalberry sauce before rushing off to the showers.

After a few moments, a far-off bugle snapped her out of her sauce-related thoughts. Ah, they were finally moving out. Excellent. Sapphire trotted over towards the sleds, which had been stacked up with the tents and supplies used last night. The engineers would get the command structure down double-quick, then they'd be ready to move out.

"Captain!" a mare called, trotting up behind her. What was it with ponies sneaking up on her from behind? She turned around, greeted with Rhubarb's grinning face. "Did you speak to Director Lemon? Did he say yes? Am I in the Steelflanks now?" she practically shouted, bouncing in excitement.

"Easy does it, soldier. The director will be signing your release forms, then you'll be all mine. I'll speak with the Steelflanks at Three and let them know you're a member. Until then, I want you to head over and talk to Sergeant Carbon from headquarters section. He'll give you an idea of your duties, and you'll be able to travel with them today. I want you out of harms way. We're travelling through pretty dangerous territory, and I don't want you getting in the line of battle. Just keep your horn down and your eyes firmly on your job."

"Will do captain! Thank you so much!" Rhubarb exclaimed happily, before galloping off to the command structure.

"Well, that was... enthusiastic," Sapphire muttered, looking around for her next quarrel. The sleds were being packed, the sled teams were strapping in and the soldiers were beginning to form up. She could start to make out the formation, and that was probably a good time to head over and get formed up.

"Saph!" Peridot called, noticing her from a distance. She hurried over to him, relieved to be back in the company of a good friend.

"Hey Peridot, how's things? Did you and Garnet find anything amazing in the camp?" she asked sarcastically, flashing him a wolfish smile. She knew full well that there was sod-all to discover, but it was fun to tease the old scholar occasionally.

"Sweet nothin', but it's great ta finally be out of the city," he murmured, staring out over the icy plains. "Y'know, the last time I was here was about twenty years ago, before outside ops were sidelined..." Sapphire felt sorry for the old stallion. His expedition contributed to the ban on getting outside the barrier. Of the twenty scholars and thirty guards that left, only four returned. One was carried home in a footlocker, frozen shut to stop his remains pouring out.

"We're still confident that we'll find a small relic or item from their empire. Hopefully we'll still get the chance to look around at Fortress Three, when we get there!" Garnet said excitedly, eyes glittering with the prospect of adventure.

"We'll see. Remember, I'm not promising anything about that. It depends if Sombra sends a detachment of soldiers after us," Sapphire muttered grimly.

"Uh, of course captain. We'll try to keep our exploration to a minimum!" she countered, desperate to retain some chance at looking around. The young scholar was certainly keen to recover something. A few minutes later, the sleds began to move forwards slowly, before picking up their speed. They all began marching, matching the pace of the sleds. Because if they fell behind, there could be no guarantee of survival.

But even out in the Wastes, death wasn't the worst thing they faced. Dark magic was beginning to stir, and Sombra's gaze was gradually turning north. North, towards the small column of ponies seeking a refuge in a crumbling fort. A cold smile crossed his lips, and the war cries of hundreds of soldiers greeted his ears.