The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

39 - Devotion, Part 7 of 16

Pixyglitter was elated to feel the wind in her mane again. The brief but tumultuous rest in Manehattan had been useful, but she was glad to have it behind her. The sounds she heard on the wind confirmed what Cloud Blazer and the others had told her. They were now flying with a large group of pegasi, civilians and soldiers alike. The population of Manehattan was mostly earth ponies, but even a small percentage of pegasi in a city that size numbered in the thousands. It was mostly quiet, but for hushed gossip that floated through the air with the flapping of wings.

Cloud Blazer broke the relative silence, "See that?"

"That little house?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, that’s where Pixyglitter and I found the deserters. I expect if the timberwolves didn’t get them, the EUP did."

“As barbaric as it is, I do hope so; they sounded simply dreadful. It’s one thing to abandon one’s duty and country in favor of self-preservation, but to bring others into it, nearly getting them killed, is simply unthinkable."

Pixyglitter shuddered at the memory. She couldn’t remember having been so afraid in all her life. She pushed the thought from her mind and refocused on the flight. One thing in their favor was the tail-wind. It was cool, a harbinger of the coming winter, and it was pointed in the correct direction to give them a speed boost as they flew toward Cloudsdale.

"You okay?"

"I’m fine," she answered, “but I’ll bet I’m about the only one out here that has to carry a friend that begged to come.”

He snorted at her, "You’re kidding, right? You know you’d offer free rides just to have to have somepony along," he teased.

"Now, now," Fluttershy interrupted. "That was a bit harsh, don’t you think?"

It actually made Pixyglitter feel much more at ease to be antagonized by Cloud Blazer. In spite of her statement to the contrary, ‘fine’ was not an accurate description of her emotional state.

She had just abandoned her parents. Add to that her relationship with the stallion to whom she was connected, which was now less properly defined, the best word to convey how she actually felt would be ‘complicated’. She was thinking of him as more than a friend, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The one saving grace was that it had been let out in the open, and he did not reciprocate the sentiment. But he hadn’t pushed her away either. Those facts made Pixyglitter breathe much more easily as the four of them flew with the Manehattan group, bound for Cloudsdale.

...

Cloud Blazer was experiencing mixed feelings about their new situation. He was relieved to have Pixyglitter back, glad to have Rarity with them and headed in the right direction, but he was nervous as to what might be happening in Cloudsdale. This wasn’t even taking account of his more amorous feelings, mostly directed at Scootaloo, which were a confused mess. Despite the hurt of rejection, he still longed for her to a point of desperation that was simply pathetic. He was aware of this fact, but that did little to stem the feelings.

The mare to which he was now tethered had developed a bond with him that was unique in his experience. In the short time that they’d known each other, they were almost more than friends, but definitely not lovers. They were practically inseparable, as he had learned in Manehattan. He hadn’t realized how dependent he had become on her until then. They had spent a great deal of time in close quarters, especially over the last few days. It was not uncomfortable in the least, but until she had questioned their relationship, he hadn’t either. Now it had been brought up. Things didn’t seem as innocuous as they had before, and the drawn-up line that linked them together had their bodies practically resting against each other. Granted, that was simply for improved aerodynamics. However, he could tell that his heart was beating a little faster than it had the last time they’d made a flight.

He took a deep breath and tried to put the thoughts out of his mind. There was no success in the attempt. The morning was clear and sunny. The tailwind, although brisk and chilling their backsides, was aiding their progress significantly. The more direct course would have taken them south of Canterlot, but it was far safer to travel with the rest of the flock from Manehattan. As it was, their course would take them north of Canterlot, directly to Cloudsdale.

...

Duster was impressed by the remarkable efficiency with which Cloudsdale had been prepared to move. By design, they hadn’t stopped to evacuate anypony. As soon as the orders had come in, they began moving the city to the south. He had arrived barely an hour later. Though it made his stomach churn to do it, he now wore his sister’s eye patch over his left eye. Some well-placed saddle bags aided in covering his sculpted crystal heart cutie mark, but the distinct embroidery on the eye patch helped make him more believable as an imposter of The Hero of Canterlot.

Gunnysack and LD seemed to be enjoying the deception, and they wouldn’t let him speak. They said it was to not risk blowing his cover. He was skeptical as to their motives, and he wasn’t at all convinced that the ruse was even necessary. Unfortunately, Locknload had backed them up and made it an order.

The squad found themselves at the forefront of the great floating city, where they could be easily seen pulling Cloudsdale in its slow procession to the south. Over half of the civilians had initially assisted with the evacuation of necessary supplies. While their wing-power would be missed, the weight they unloaded wasn’t.

"Looks like we’ve got more recruits," Jewel said.

Duster glanced back over his right shoulder to see. There were a few hundred pegasi being told where to go. Distributing them as evenly across the city as possible was important to keep it all together. Something had caught their attention, they seemed to be staring... at him. Duster almost felt panicked by the attention.

"Just relax," LD said.

"Give them a salute," Rolling Thunder added.

"What?"

"You do remember how to salute?" Sergeant Locknload growled.

Gunnysack snickered before teasing, "Apparently this hero stuff has gone to her head."

That only served to make Duster angry. He felt himself bristling.

"First of all, I’m not a her, and second of all, I didn’t like this plan to begin with!" he hissed at them.

"Can it," Locknload replied. “Nopony asked if you liked it. Private Duster, I’m still your sergeant. They think you are your sister, and they are looking to you for inspiration. Now give them a salute!"

Duster took a breath and turned back to the newcomers. They were still staring at him. He left the cloud floor and flew up toward them, though he kept a discreet distance. He nodded his head and saluted. A spark of ferocity seemed to flood through them like wildfire. Soon they were in their places, pushing the city forward with all the strength they had. Duster returned to his position at the front.

"See?" LD said. "You may not like it, but it’s important."

Somehow, that didn’t make the stallion feel any better. He continued pushing with occasional interruptions for the next hour. His ability to inspire the civilians that were arriving proved to be effective. What did concern him was the fact that nopony was checking the new arrivals for changelings. He was glad to have Locknload and Jewel by his side. Though reducing weight might have seemed wiser, they were not the only unicorns riding southward.

Comments

[OmalleyCaboose5]

"Can it," Locknload replied. “Nopony asked if you liked it. Private Duster, I’m still your sergeant. They think you are your sister, and they are looking to you for inspiration. Now give them a salute!"

I have a feeling the ruse will not hold up.

[Emperor]

So Cloud Blazer, while pining for Scoots still away, looks like he won't be getting paired with her by the end of the story. I wonder who Scootaloo will end up with, assuming she doesn't die in the final battle. Duster, maybe? Equestria certainly needs a foal boom after the amount of ponies that be ded

Still, while Duster might end up giving up the ruse, by then Cloudsdale should be a lot closer to Ponyville.

[Jatheus]

8802742
I could actually write a smutty sequel about the repopulation of Equestria... I'm sure with a Mature rating and a Sex tag it'd gain popularity faster than this one has.
(yeah, that's not happening)
Besides, who says anybody has to end up with anybody?

True, and the most important part is getting Cloudsdale into position!