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.