Pixyglitter’s stomach clenched; she thought she was about to vomit. Maybe it was simply her body’s reaction to the injury or the lack of food combined with something the doctors had given her. Whatever the cause, she knew there was nothing down there to bring up. She stood behind Cloud Blazer and focused her efforts on breathing as the wound in her chest burned.
‘That’s it,’ she thought to herself, ‘just keep breathing and don’t move.’ There was a cold sweat on her forehead, and her legs were beginning to tingle and feel numb. The door creaked open.
"Well, howdy there, Cloud Blazer!" Applejack’s voice greeted them. "Miss Pixyglitter, how’ve y’all been?"
"We’ve been better," he said quickly. “She needs to sit down."
The hinges squealed as the door open wider.
"Of course, come on in."
Pixyglitter moved forward, letting Cloud Blazer guide her to the sofa. Sitting did little to ease the queasiness that she now felt, but it was better than standing. She began to regain some feeling in her legs.
Hooves thundered down the stairs.
"Y’all made it!" Apple Bloom shouted exuberantly. "I thought they’d keep you in the hospital longer."
"They had a lot worse injuries than ours, and not enough beds anyway,“ he replied.
“I’ve got to head out," Applejack said with a hint of loathing in her voice. "I got some mayorin’ to do."
"Everypony else is out helping clean up the town," Apple Bloom said. "I was keeping an eye on sis to make sure she didn’t try and do any of the work herself. She could be havin’ my niece or nephew any time now, and she still thinks she’s a workhorse."
"That’s enough, Apple Bloom," the older sister sounded irritated. “You and your fussin’... I know what I can and can’t do! You just see to your friends."
"Bye, sis!" Apple Bloom sang coquettishly.
"Applejack," Cloud Blazer said, "I’m going to need you later."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yes, actually I need the five of you. We’ll need to find Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and Rarity are supposed to meet back up with me today."
"I’ve just got the one meeting this morning to get the full assessment of damage to town. After that..." The mayor let out a sigh that was filled with sadness, "This is about them dreams you were havin’, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay," she replied. "I’ll round up the others. You know I’ll do anything to help, but I really hope you’re not just getting everypony’s hopes up for nothing.”
There was a delay before he replied, "So do I."
The low click of her hoof-steps was followed by the door creaking open and shut; Applejack had departed. Pixyglitter was tired and wanted to sleep, but the pain in her chest would likely make that difficult. Somewhere in the house, small hooves were darting about.
"So you’ve got everypony back here now?" Apple Bloom broke the silence.
"Yeah," the stallion replied.
“Okay... We get them together to that ball you found, and then what?"
Cloud Blazer shrugged; Pixyglitter could feel it.
"That’s all the dreams told me."
"Well, I guess we have to start somewhere," Apple Bloom said. "Are y’all hungry?"
"Beyond belief," Pixyglitter spoke up.
"We’ve got a few rations left. We’ll need to get more today."
The thought of food was surprisingly appealing considering how Pixyglitter felt. She only hoped she’d be able to keep it down.
...
Duster awoke to the sound of little hooves scurrying across the floor; hushed voices scolded each other. As the scampering continued, stifled laughter was met with even more shushing.
Duster croaked, attempting to let them know he wasn’t asleep. The pain in his throat made him wish he hadn’t made the effort. It was sore, more so than he had ever experienced in his life. The sharp pain came as something of a surprise in the confusion of waking moments. He stirred.
"I told you he was awake!" Shimmerpuff squealed delightfully.
"Oh! Tell us a story!" Thunderfly practically shouted as he leapt onto the bed.
Duster opened his eyes to see the two younger siblings staring at him eagerly. His mother was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"No stories today," Twinklestar declared gently.
The sound of disappointment came from the younger pair.
"Your brother was hurt in the battle and needs to rest."
"I want to fight the timberwolves too! I’m big and strong,” Thunderfly boasted as he stood on the edge of the bed, flexing what tiny muscles he possessed.
Duster couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm, but deeper, darker thoughts hoped that the war would be long over by the time Thunderfly was old enough for such things. Duster noticed two other children that he didn’t recognize, a yellow unicorn with an orange mane and a cream colored pegasus with a brown mane.
”I sent Glitterdust into town to help the cleanup. That’s where most ponies are right now,” his mother explained. "I stayed to watch the foals. Those two are the Cakes, Pumpkin Cake is the unicorn, Pound Cake is the pegasus."
They waved at him sheepishly. He returned the greeting before they went back to whatever game they had come up with to occupy themselves. Duster’s siblings joined them.
Twinklestar smiled at her son, "I decided to let you sleep."
He smiled back at her but trying to speak was out of the question. She was correct that his voice needed to rest. Sitting up was accomplished without much effort, but the mending wound throbbed painfully. He reached for his scrap of paper and pencil. There was hardly room left to write.
‘LD?’
His mother smiled, "Those two were taken out to work with everypony else. I expect they already regret having consumed so much drink last night."
Duster’s smiled as his stomach growled loudly.
"Come on, let’s go see what’s in the kitchen," his mother suggested.
Duster was surprised to find standing up had become a bit of a chore. His injury aside, soreness filled his muscles from the non-stop exertion they’d been under for several days.
The six of them exited the small bedroom and filed down the stairs. Voices in the kitchen betrayed that somepony was still in the house. Upon arriving, Duster was reintroduced to Apple Bloom, Cloud Blazer, and Pixyglitter. He smiled and nodded, pointing to the bandage on his throat.
"There’s just enough here for a half ration for everypony," Apple Bloom said. "I have to go get more food today."
"Duster will help you, if he’s feeling up to it," Twinklestar said, casting a questioning glance at her son.
Duster nodded obediently. His mother smiled at him. Amidst the conversation at breakfast, Duster caught Cloud Blazer looking at him as if there were an unasked question on his mind. As their gaze locked, an unspoken communication took place.
It was surreal even as it happened, because the stallions didn’t know each other well. In that moment, everything faded away and time seemed to slow. Duster understood that he was being asked about Sissy. What came as even more of a surprise to him was that the answer, though also unsaid, was understood. Cloud Blazer looked down, a bit sadder than he had been. Duster did the same for her and for Beigh.