35 - Games, Part 10 of 11
After carefully folding the letter and placing it in a pocket, Sparklefly removed her goggles and examined them. A fine layer of dust had coated them, as well as everything else in her makeshift shelter. She attempted to clean them with the handkerchief that had been covering her face, only to smear a muddy film on the surface. It took several minutes to get the one useful lens to an acceptable level of cleanliness. Putting it on, she carefully looked out to see that the wind had indeed stopped kicking up sand.
Exiting the suffocating heat of her shelter was refreshing. Instead of cool breeze, it was a blast of hot dry air. It was, however, almost pleasant by comparison to her sleeping bag. Looking about, she could see nopony else at all. Sand was the only thing visible in any direction. Removing her goggles and looking back down at her own shelter, it was covered in at almost an inch of desert. If it hadn’t been too hot to stay, they might have taken advantage of the natural camouflage.
Bit by bit, others began stirring from their hiding places. They popped up like prairie dogs at first, and before long, the entire corps was getting up and trying to shake the sand off of their gear. This created a second cloud of dust in the air, but it didn't last for long. The sound of wings caught Sparklefly's ears and she turned to see Scootaloo's squad coming down for a landing nearby.
"Glad to see you didn't get caught by that storm," Sparklefly spoke in jest.
They were completely covered in sand. Unicorn scans proved they were themselves.
"Tell you what," Scootaloo used an almost playful tone, "you lead the next one."
Sparklefly smiled, relieved that Scootaloo was okay. That small bit of joy was quickly extinguished by memories of Ash Eater, forcing their way back to her mind.
"I just got word that the last of our divisions are inbound,” Brax informed them. "We're back to full strength."
"Time for a flight then," Sparklefly said. "Scootaloo, can you get the rest of the Taskforce together for me?"
"I'll be right back," she replied.
Sparklefly pulled out a map and rechecked their position against where they needed to be. Ahead of them, to the south, were large rocky formations that stood like stone sentries in the wilderness. It was as if ancient guardians still stood vigil over the barren wasteland, waiting for it to be reborn. As tempting a detour as that would have been, there would be plenty of time for sight-seeing later; refocusing on their tactical situation, she plotted the course that would get them back near the time when resupply should be arriving.
"Good to see you again," Charging Lance greeted as he and the rest of the Taskforce approached.
"Take a look," Sparklefly said, gesturing at the map. "I don't want to tip our hoof too quickly, but I think if we fly west southwest to here, and then turn due north."
"That makes sense," Masher agreed.
"That's a lot of extra flying," Pacer said. "Why not just go straight?"
“The enemy is too spread out behind us," Charging Lance said.
"I agree," Scootaloo offered. "Keep them guessing."
Flittergear said nothing, as usual, but simply found some oats in one of her bags to munch on.
"We're still covered in sand," Brax said. "I can have us ready to move out in twenty minutes."
Skyflame nodded her approval of the plan.
General Brax looked at Mane Crusher and said, "You seem quiet for once."
The traitor shrugged and replied, "It seems sound."
Sparklefly wondered whether saving him had been the wisest course, but he did seem compliant enough.
"Then it is settled," Brax declared. "I'll get the corps ready to move."
To Scootaloo, Sparklefly said, "I have to go take care of something. See you in the air."
It looked like some kind of witty or sarcastic remark was about to be said, but Scootaloo stopped, and simply nodded instead.
Mane Crusher followed behind Sparklefly, which had become a sort of mainstay for her. He had been, in effect, remanded to her custody for the time being. It was Brax’s order to keep a guard on him. Mane Crusher swore to not cause Sparklefly trouble, and in exchange, she didn't keep additional guards on him unless they had to be separated.
They moved through the sea of soldiers that were all clearing sand from their gear and preparing for their flight. They looked worn from the journey, though they did seem to take notice of her as she passed. Sparklefly again tried to exude an air of confidence and energy. Mane Crusher chuckled as he walked behind her.
"What's funny?" she asked.
"You remind me of myself.”
She stopped and turned to him, "How's that?"
"Well, I wasn't as young as you when I got my first command, but I see what you're doing.”
There was a little smile on his face and a knowing look in his eyes, "You're trying to be inspiring through the way you carry yourself."
She almost felt as if she were a filly at Junior Speedster Flight Camp that had just been caught with her hoof in a cookie jar.
"Oh, don't worry," he said disarmingly. "I won't tell them how you really feel."
Deciding there was something to be learned, she asked, "Does it help? Them, I mean."
He nodded slowly before answering, "Yes. If they don't think you are confident in the mission, any misgivings they have will be amplified even further."
"Thanks," she said, half grinning for a moment before turning and walking away.
Sparklefly still wasn't certain she could trust Mane Crusher; she didn’t know if he could ever be completely trusted again. It was strange to her that he seemed so genuine.
The time had nearly elapsed for the corps to move out before she located him: the medic. He saw her, locked his gaze on her, but he didn't move. Duster and LD were there, but they hadn't noticed her yet. A lump formed in Sparklefly's throat, and her heart started beating heavily in her chest as she approached.
"Private, a word if I may," she heard herself say; her voice sounded thin and frail to her own ears.
With precision stiffness he stood at attention and marched after her as they walked a short distance from his squad. She could feel Duster and LD looking at her, and they likely weren't the only ones. The medic saluted when she stopped. Mane Crusher silently observed this as well.
"At ease," she said.
Drawing a breath, Sparklefly began, "I came here to apologize for the way I spoke to you before."
It would be difficult to say enough without saying too much. She could read how hurt he'd been, but a flame of hope was kindled in his eyes.
“No matter my feelings on the subject or the stations involved in such circumstance, I was out of line. I would like it if we could forget what was said."
"Yes, ma'am, very good, ma'am," he replied stiffly.
He either was having trouble sorting his feelings, or he was trying to be distant given the number of others that were watching them just now. It was impossible to determine which.
"Permission to speak freely?"
Something like panic told her not to permit this, but it did seemed rather unfair to not allow him to respond.
“Granted."
"As you say, ma'am," his eyes darted to Mane Crusher and back to her, “It is forgotten, but if we have a similar occurrence in the future, we'll just stick with that, ma'am."
It was a relief that he was at least trying to be discreet in speech, but there was little doubt that Mane Crusher was following this conversation.
"That sounds fair," she answered. "For the time being, I recommend all interaction be treated as strictly as this."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Will that be all, ma'am?"
There was so much more that she wanted to say, but they were drawing far too much attention. It would have to wait.
"Thank you, private. Dismissed."
The medic saluted, turned rigidly and walked back to his squad. Sparklefly walked away without looking back at them. She felt relieved now that they had spoken. Any possibility of a future for the two of them would still be a long shot, and it was definitely one that could not be explored until the war was over. In any case, she was glad that she hadn't ruined any chance that they had to find out. Within mere minutes, she found herself hooking Mane Crusher up to her harness and taking flight as the entire corps became airborne. They flew southwest at a slow pace initially, somewhat toward the lowering afternoon sun.
Mane Crusher broke the silence, "I may be speaking slightly off turn, but it is a mistake for you to keep anypony you care about under your command."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean," she tried to be evasive.
“No need to be coy with me. I don't care," he replied, "I only mention it because I am here to advise. Your brother is in that squad, isn't he? Also, I'm probably not the only one that detected what is going on between you and that medic."
She felt caught a second time by him in less than half an hour.
The lump returned to her throat, "They aren't under my command; they are under General Brax's command." This argument seemed rather weak even as she used it. “And nothing out of regulations is going on.”
Mane Crusher sighed, "I believe you have the ability to put them into harm's way in spite of your feelings. However, I'm not sure how well you'd hold up if you get them both killed. That's why I think it's a mistake."
That thought certainly did dampen her spirit. To date, this potential outcome had only existed as an unformed thought that was nagging at the back of Sparklefly's mind, but now it was forefront. It threatened to steal her abilities to focus on the problems at hoof.
"Thank you," she replied. "I will consider this, and I'd appreciate it if you keep that observation between us."
"I already told you that I don't care.”
They continued on in silence, and Sparklefly had time to think about this as the afternoon sun gave way to evening. It was the kind of problem that didn’t really resolve itself, but it only seemed to become intensified the more it was considered. It didn’t help that her capture in the caves still hung in her consciousness, invading every moment, filling it with guilt and shame. Her stomach growled, distracting her from dark thoughts.
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WhoaI did not see that coming but yeah she sort of does act similar.
Well handled
8750959
1) Former villain humanized? check!
2)
Well, looks like Mane Crusher even has a few useful words of advice. Hopefully Sparklefly follows them, given the amount of interaction she's had with Beigh and her brother the last little while.
You know, I wonder if Duster is writing his mother letters as well, and inadvertently causing Sparklefly's lies to get caught out later on making Twinkleshine or whatever her name was worry.
8783870
Mane Crusher... just because he was a bad-guy doesn't mean he's a bad guy, right?
Duster... I'm pretty sure doesn't really do a lot of letters. I can't remember 100% certain off hand, but I think one or two aside, he doesn't correspond that way.
I don't know why, though I feel that Chrysalis should never have realistically been able to reach Prince Shining Armor as she did, unicorns constantly scan, one time they don't, they get a changeling invader attempting assassination on the Prince. In your rewrite, start thinking logically, don't make exceptions just so that special effect events can happen
I seriously want to see inside his head at this moment, is he trying to redeem himself or something else? I feel right with him, yet it feels wrong, if I forget about past events, such as Mr. Letter Convenient "love" letter turning out to be suspicion of a coup BEFORE suspicion of a coup dying. Seriously, he wrote a love letter, then later walked up and swapped them with a suspicion letter OFF WRITING *sighs* unless I messed up details, though it was more recent for me, yet I am horribly bad with my memory OH GOD THE IMPLICATIONS!
8841167
They did scan often before that incident, but they do it constantly afterward. The reason there wasn't intensive scanning after that battle was because nobody was ever alone. It hadn't occurred to anyone that an entire company could be captured and replaced, which is what happened.
Thanks for the feedback! I'll certainly keep that in mind on any potential rewrites.
8841179
You'll never get to see from Mane Crusher's point of view. Hopefully his motives will become more clear through his actions in the coming chapters.