The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

22 - Bonds, Part 6 of 8

Duster's head was swimming, and he felt completely miserable as he marched along after one of the medics. It hadn’t taken them any time at all to diagnose him. He had contracted the fever that was sweeping through Baltimare unchecked; it was the same illness that two of his younger siblings, Thunderfly and Shimmerpuff, had caught. A little time had helped his vision return. Though he was on his hooves, it took all of his strength to keep moving.

Upon arrival at a quarantine tent, Duster was dismayed to discover that there were already a dozen other patients with the same symptoms. All of them had enlisted or transferred from Baltimare in the last week. The ill stallion felt himself wobble, so he widened his stance to stay on his hooves.

After stripping off his gear and towel drying him, the medic led Duster to a bed, where he laid down without hesitation. The pounding in his head was easier when laying down, but he had no more energy. All he could do was stay put and rest, and he wasn't about to object to that plan. His mind was still working, but his body was far too overcome by the sickness for him to be of use to anypony. Coughing filled the air all around as Duster drifted away into dreamless sleep.

...

‘A dream; this must be a dream,’ Pixyglitter hoped to herself. There were fiery wolves all around, snarling and slashing at her. They stung her eyes with smoke and embers that flew threw the air and burned as she struggled against them. No matter how hard she fought, they kept hurting her. In desperation, she took flight to escape, but then flaming changelings blazed their way across the sky to intercept her. Every way she tried to flee, she would be cut off. Eventually, succumbing to the assault, she fell down, and the conflagration surrounded her. All hope was lost, leaving only fear. Suddenly, a pegasus broke through, kicking the timberwolves away.

"Follow me!" the brown paint stallion yelled to her. His emerald green eyes almost spoke to her in a way that delivered meaning beyond the capability of words.

She followed, and they took to the sky. The changelings came, and he fought them away, protecting her. Day turned to night as darkness consumed earth and sky. The moon was large and bright overhead, and then it spoke.

"Come to me!" a chorus-like voice boomed, blasting the flaming beasts into wisps of smoke and driving them away.

"It wants me to come to it?" Pixyglitter asked the stallion.

He shook his head, "No, she wants both of us."

Suddenly they were standing in front of a castle. It looked like the one she had seen in Ponyville, where the citizens had taken refuge during the siege. Pixyglitter had been there when it ended. While she hadn't come face to face with any changelings that day, she had personally taken care of a few timberwolves.

"Let's go," he said to her.

"I can't go with you," Pixyglitter replied. "I don't even know you."

"If we don't go together, we won't make it at all. But you do know me.” He looked at her with a puzzled expression. “I’m Cloud Blazer."

Pixyglitter awoke fitfully as everything went dark. She was disoriented for a moment, but then remembered that she was in a hospital bed. She stopped thrashing just as a voice spoke to her. It was Apple Bloom.

"Now just hang on there; are you alright?"

Calming herself, Pixyglitter replied, "Yes, thanks. I'm fine now."

"You startled us when you started jerking around like that," Cloud Blazer said.

"Really, I'm okay," she replied as she caught her breath. "It was just a... just a dream."

"I get those sometimes too," Cloud Blazer spoke with a knowing tone.

"Yeah," Pixyglitter sighed. "I don't usually remember mine, but they've been more frequently bad since..." she trailed off and gestured at her bandaged eyes. They made no audible reply.

"Well, I can't say they'll get better. Mine just keep getting more strange," Cloud Blazer said.

"How about we talk about something else?" Apple Bloom suggested. "Maybe we can get your mind off of it."

"Thanks," Pixyglitter felt somewhat relieved. "I'd like that."

Comments

[Emperor]

Nooo, talk about your dreams so you know you're sharing them. Genre-savvy is not strong in those two.

[OmalleyCaboose5]

Upon arrival at a quarantine tent, Duster was dismayed to discover that there were already a dozen other patients with the same symptoms. All of them had enlisted or transferred from Baltimare in the last week. The ill stallion felt himself wobble, so he widened his stance to stay on his hooves.

Are people going to start dying from this.

[Jatheus]

8741104
I can't answer a question like that without spoilers... maybe?