“Well they sure got the lead out,” Dash muttered, leaping out of an open window near the castle infirmary. She’d already found it running on a skeleton crew of orderlies struggling, and mostly failing, to keep up with their patients’ needs. But the main thing she cared about was that Redheart was gone.
Then again, so was the expeditionary force. Dash breathed a litany of curses as she set off flying above a road that slashed through the remnants of the Everfree. Cart-tracks left by the force’s earthbound elements stood out clearly below. They’d made swift progress, and regret filled Dash as she thought about the long, plodding walk she’d taken through the castle with Scootaloo on her back, and then about all of the delay she’d caused herself by debating whether Redheart would even listen if she went back to find her.
A deep sense of unease crept over Dash as she realized the road was leading her in the direction of Ponyville. Though it was relatively close to the castle, Dash only rarely went back to the ruins; there was nothing there for her anymore, save for bad memories. Including some of Scootaloo.
After a few minutes of flying, she began to close on the force’s caravan of carts and wagons. The ones toward the front of the column were made of tough, polished wood and looked every bit the part of troop and arms carriers. But the ones toward the back were much simpler and rougher, consisting mostly of open flat-beds. A few had canvas canopies, though, which marked them as field infirmaries. Dash circled these a hoofful of times, trying to spot Redheart. Eventually she noticed one or two orderlies whom she recognized from her recent trip to the castle’s infirmary.
“Hey, do you guys know where Redheart is?” Dash asked, descending next to them.
“Sergeant Dash?”
Dash’s stomach felt leaden, and her veins pulsed with adrenaline, at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice. She turned, and watched as Wind Rider trotted out from behind one of the carts. Flanking him were two other soldiers; and while his helmet was off, theirs conveyed aspects of glinting, birdlike visages that looked menacing in the naked moonlight.
“This is the last place I figured I’d see you,” Wind Rider said. “What happened to your pet?”
“Well, uhh… yeah,” Dash said, before wincing at her own lameness. “We, uh, got a pretty bad injury up at the castle. One of… Rarity’s helpers. Gonna be a real pain in the flank trying to get anything done without them on their hooves.”
Wind Rider nodded, but frowned. “And the medical staff we left up there isn’t up to the task?”
“…Nope, no they’re not,” Dash said. “I was gonna stop in and… see Redheart, see if she could come back or something.”
“Must be serious. I don’t think we can spare Redheart, though. Our forward scouts have started taking potshots from some unicorns hiding Mistress-knows-where out in the plains, and the Mistress herself is up there trying to help flush them out. I was about to order Redheart and her ponies forward to start triage operations.”
Dash crinkled her muzzle. “Unicorns? I thought you were going after an Alicorn.”
“And a dragon.” Wind Rider paused, looking at Dash with narrowed eyes. “The timing doesn’t feel like a coincidence, does it? First we see strange creatures in the castle that the Mistress wants to possess. Then she starts hunting them, and we run into… what? ‘The Resistance?’”
“Heh, I guess I better get back and keep an eye on the castle, then,” Dash said aloud. Inwardly though, she wrestled with a feeling of despair at having to return without help for Scootaloo. And after a moment, the accompanying fear became great enough to override her concern about what Wind Rider might say: “Maybe I could just talk to her, though? See what she says about things?”
“I’m sure that’d be fine. You all heard what I just said about your orders?” Wind Rider glanced around the cluster of medical staff, who largely nodded. “Very good. Well Dash, I ought to get up to the front. Good luck back at the castle… and maybe it’s a good thing you’ll be there, after all. If anypony tries to make a move against it while we’re gone, don’t hesitate to use the Seneschal’s keys to let the Mistress know there’s trouble.”
“Good luck to you, too,” Dash said, fighting her hammering heartbeat.
He nodded, then leapt up into the sky, trailed by his compatriots.
Dash gulped as she watched them fly off. The heavy keyring was about the last thing she wanted to think about, given that so much as dropping it might draw Nightmare Moon’s attention. She turned back toward the medical carts, trying to suppress the thought. And in the shadow of one of their canopies, she saw a familiar frown on a white face.
“Redheart!” Dash couldn’t fight the grin, and only just stopped herself from leaping up into the air with joy. “Redheart, it’s—” She caught herself from saying more, and eyed the other medical staff nearby.
“What’s going on, Sergeant?” Redheart said, her tone suggesting she didn’t actually want to know.
“Uhh, can we talk?”
Redheart opened her mouth, but then closed it and scowled. “Fine. You lot, get going; Chapel, cover for me until I catch up.”
Her staff murmured their assent as Redheart hopped down out of the back of the cart. She and Dash moved out around behind the carts’ path. As the last of them passed, Redheart whirled around with a deep frown. “This is about Scootaloo, isn’t it? I told you, I can’t—”
“She… she had a seizure,” Dash said in a wavering voice.
Redheart closed her eyes and sighed. “And you just left her?”
“Well, what the buck was I supposed to do?! I don’t exactly have anypony there who I can trust to watch her while I go for help, do I?”
Redheart grumbled quietly for a moment. “How long did it last? …It’s over, right? You didn’t just leave her in the middle of one…”
“Of course not! I’m not that stupid. I don’t know how long it was, exactly. It’s not like I was timing it. It seemed pretty bad, though. I mean, just the way that she… the look as she was…”
Dash trailed off, struggling to find the words. One unexpected thing she found, though, was that Redheart’s eyes appeared to soften just a touch as she continued looking into them.
“I know how scary that can be for first-timers,” Redheart said. “I’ve treated plenty of kids who had those. Most parents can get used to them after a while, and seizures aren’t necessarily the worst problem, but the first time…” She sighed. “The first time always terrified them. So, I’m sorry. I know how hard that must’ve been.”
“So you’ll come back and look at her?”
“Dash… no, didn’t you just hear our orders? Like I said earlier, I’m stuck on this damn fool mission to nowhere. Besides, Wind Rider is definitely not somepony I want to mess with.”
“I told him one of Rarity’s helpers was hurt pretty bad,” Dash said slowly.
“You stupid pony! Now I have to come up with a lie about whatever you might’ve told me. And even if I do that, if he should think to check back at the castle to corroborate my story—”
“It’ll lead him right back to Scootaloo,” Dash said, her stomach sinking. “Ohmigosh… I didn’t mean to make things worse!”
Redheart sighed. “Then why did you come after me? I told you I couldn’t help. Truth be told, I hate saying that, but it’s what’s expected of me out here. So just go, will you? Before you dig this hole any deeper.”
With that, Redheart turned to walk away—but Dash flew around and blocked her path. “Wait, Wind Rider’s gonna be busy chasing the Mistress around, so he’s not gonna have time to spend keeping tabs on everypony in the field hospital. So he wouldn’t even know if you came back with me to take a look at Scootaloo! And I mean, just a look. Just to make sure she’s okay.”
“You obviously don’t know how to take a hint, so let me spell this out for you: I help take care of ponies. I can’t do that if I’m dead. So if I’m executed for abandoning my post, some of them are going to end up dying too. And frankly, even though I know there’s a selfish side to what I’m saying, I don’t need more meaningless, avoidable patient deaths on my conscience.”
“Okay, okay. So look, if this does come back on either one of us, just remember: me and Wind Rider are both the same rank. You could always just tell him I ordered you to come back, and you weren’t sure whose order you should follow.”
“So you’re ordering me to come with you?” Redheart asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I guess… no. I probably shouldn’t. It’s just…” Dash frowned, and looked out at Ponyville, seeing only the dim outlines of its ruins. “I failed her once. Failed all of them.”
“And you think that dragging me back now is going to make everything right?”
Dash shook her head. “I messed things up for all the ponies who were with me when the Nightmare came. I know I’ll never make that right again. But maybe I can make it a little more right for Scootaloo. And maybe if I can do that…” Dash gestured out toward the ruins. “I pledged myself to the Mistress, and she marked me as her own, but I haven’t forgotten about Ponyville. Even though… you were right; I’ve focused more on saving my own skin than being there for other ponies. Honestly Redheart, you’re not selfish; I am. Or I have been. But I don’t wanna be that way with Scootaloo.”
Redheart sighed again. “Look, I’m all for helping what’s left of Ponyville any way I can, but I’ve seen the consequences of stepping too far out of line.”
“Well, what about Zecora? That had to be risky for both you and Rarity.”
After a moment of quietly studying the ground, Redheart shrugged. “Yeah, but, we couldn’t just not try to do something for her. She saved our lives out in the Everfree those first few nights.”
A smile quirked its way across Dash’s muzzle. “Sounds like you’re willing to take risks if they’re the right risks.”
“Maybe.” Redheart accompanied the word with nervous pacing. “I mean, let’s say I did go with you; maybe they wouldn’t miss me for a while, but you’d have to get me back here in a hurry, and without drawing attention. Plus we’re gonna need one damn good lie to back up what you just told Wind Rider.”
“Yeah?” Dash studied Redheart expectantly, and guessed from the tension in her stance that she likely wasn’t done talking.
“...But in a way, you’re right about what going back would really mean. It’s not about you; it’s not even about Scootaloo. It’s about Ponyville.” Redheart met Dash’s eyes with an intense look, and spoke words that were quiet, but heavy with conviction: “The ponies of Ponyville are my ponies.”
“Alright!” Dash punched a hoof upward, utterly failing to contain her enthusiasm. “This is great news! Let’s get back right away, then. I found her this perfect place—”
“Try not to get too excited,” Redheart said over her. “This is still on your head if Wind Rider comes back looking for blood.”
“I know,” Dash replied. Worries over Scootaloo and Wind Rider nipped at the edges of her confidence. But as her eyes lingered on Redheart’s tight jaw and determined expression, she felt herself assuming a cocky grin for what seemed like the first time in an eternity. “Don’t worry; we got this.”
“‘We’ damn well better,” Redheart muttered.