//------------------------------// // 29 - Trail, Part 3 of 10 // Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader // by Jatheus //------------------------------// 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.