The Last Cutie Mark Crusader

by Jatheus

28 - Taskforce, Part 1 of 5

Pixyglitter felt nervous at the thought of talking with Cloud Blazer again so soon, especially after the way she had treated him the last time they had spoken. The pervasive nature of the dreams had birthed a certain desperation to make them stop; she had given up trying to avoid the fate toward which they were steering her. She would do whatever it took to help him figure out what they meant, if only to put an end to them so she could sleep.

Nerves or not, she would be in his room within moments. The nurse had just finished loading her into a wheelchair and began pushing her into the corridor. The door had been removed after the attack on the hospital. They hadn't found a replacement yet, but it had only been a day. Pixyglitter’s ears reported that everypony still seemed on edge after the excitement. Zebras had locked down the all of Ponyville, as well as other positions all across Equestria, according to rumors. Military business aside, the entire civilian population was under a forty-eight hour curfew. Sealed orders from Prince Shining Armor himself had come through early in the morning, and the mayor was supposed to make an address.

The wheels on her chair squeaked as they rolled down the hallway. The floor was smooth. Even if she hadn't heard the ding of the elevator, or the doors opening, she felt the wheels grapple with the rough crossing from the hallway into the lift. She felt giddy as they dropped down gently to the next floor. The nurse pushed her out into the hallway and guided the chair across more smooth tile until taking the left turn into Cloud Blazer's room. Pixyglitter was angry at this entire situation, but she couldn't go on without sleep. As she came to a stop, she could hear rustling against bed sheets. He must have been facing away from the door.

"Will you be needing anything else?" the nursed asked sweetly.

"No, thank you," Pixyglitter replied.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," she said, turning to walk away.

It sounded as if she were half-way down the hall before Cloud Blazer broke the silence.

"What do you want?" he asked curtly.

Already filled with anger, his tone struck her distastefully. The lack of sleep did not improve her manners or disposition.

She shot back, "Nothing if that's how you say hello.”

The mare backed up her wheel chair, running into something. She turned, trying to find the door, but she got caught up in one of the sheets that divided the room. Her anger morphed into a heightened state of frustration. Try though she did, she couldn't manage to get free once the chair became entangled in the curtain. She wasn't even sure how such a thing could happen so quickly.

In a much more polite tone, he said, "Hold on."

Pixyglitter stopped struggling against her inanimate captor. The low creak of bedsprings easing as tension was taken off of them was followed with the sound of hooves on the floor. A three-hoofed walk approached her slowly. Cloud Blazer's breath was labored, as if he were in pain. In a few moments, with a bit of grunting and tugging, he had her untangled.

"If you really want to leave, I'll call the nurse," he slowly puffed at her, out of breath and through gritted teeth.

Feeling a bit sorry for him and also grateful to be untangled, she replied, "No, just go lay down before you make any of your injuries worse."

He sighed what almost sounded like a laugh. A scraping on the floor followed by the clicking of his hooves reported that he was moving back to his bed. She carefully pushed on her wheels to follow him. She stopped as soon as she was away from that awful curtain. Cloud Blazer breathed deeply and exhaled relief. Pixyglitter’s last dream may have accurately revealed his injuries to her. She hadn't noticed before how difficult it was for him to move about. That was no surprise, as they were both basically confined to their hospital beds when they’d met.

"So, why did you come see me?" he asked.

"I can't get the dreams to stop," she said, feeling a nervous quiver in her voice. "I can't sleep anymore... I'm afraid to sleep."

Pixyglitter knew she was on the verge of tears, more from exhaustion than anything else, but she held them back as best she could.

"I have to make them stop, and the voice from the moon insists that I help you. So, here I am; what do you need me to do?"

Pixyglitter awaited an answer, but all she heard for at least a minute was the steady rhythm of Cloud Blazer's breathing and the rustling sound the sheets made as he shifted in the bed.

"I don't know," he finally replied.

She could tell by the tone of fear in his voice that he truly didn't. That only served to make her more nervous than she already had been, but it didn’t dissuade her determination. She would have to try and get transferred back to his room and wait for an opportunity to help him... somehow.

...

Duster was sleepy, but Drill Sergeant J was driving the battalion in training as hard as ever, and he showed no signs of letting up. He had been left in command with the absence of so many senior officers. The day was filled with drills that had become so second-nature to Duster that he didn't have to think about them anymore. From a marching column into a firing line and back happened with complete ease. They would charge, fall back, dig in, and then there were the flight formations. All of these were made even more physically strenuous through the use of the training weights. By mid-day, Duster's body was exhausted. His mind, however had never completely caught up with current events.

It was as if he were trapped in that moment from the night of the attempted coup. His sister was on the ground, possibly about to die. Duster aimed his crossbow at her attacker and fired. The pony staggered clumsily as Duster jumped on him from behind, his hooves becoming hammers against an anvil made of flesh. The other one fought back from the ground, trading hits against armor. He tried to twist free, but Duster got his knife into position at the end. When he drove it through the breastplate he saw no hate in his opponent's eyes. He saw only a reflection of the same things he was feeling himself; the visage of his enemy held mainly fear and a will to survive. It had faded in death as Duster stood over him feeling proud of himself.

The fallen adversary hadn’t transformed into a changeling; it had actually been a fellow soldier. Then the shame had come. Those moments had been relived a thousand times, and Duster now knew that it hadn't been necessary to kill that pony. He nearly had him subdued on his own. The others would have helped him, but he didn't wait for them. He had no regrets about saving Sissy, but his feelings on killing her attacker were much more difficult to sort out, leaving a taste of guilt in his mouth.

His squad seemed to have changed since then. Sissy’s entire platoon was weary, but they were much more sure of themselves. Duster also noticed that some of the others were treating him differently. Locknload actually acknowledged him for more than just making snide comments. Quickbeam wasn't as fast to make jokes at Duster's expense. Rolling Thunder had even made a nod at him after they had completed the flying maneuvers, an acknowledgment of a job well done. Gunnysack was the exception. He seemed as filled with contempt toward Duster as ever.

The lunch ration was as un-filling as ever. Stomachs were heard loudly growling as the battalion formed up for the afternoon's drills. Duster's body was ready, but his mind was having trouble focusing as it began to force him to relive the killing again. He didn’t try to stop regret from making itself his companion.

Comments

[Emperor]

So Pixyglitter finally stops fighting the dreams. Looks like we'll finally get plot motion on that front.

I suspect Duster is going to have his own character arc continuing on into the future. Maybe he goes AWOL or just suffers from bad PTSD?

[Jatheus]

8329933
I've tried to deal a little with some PTSD... but not too much. I really haven't done enough research to do justice to that condition. But yes, he shall indeed have his own arc.

[OmalleyCaboose5]

"I'll leave you two alone, then," she said, turning to walk away.

A blind girl, does Cloud know no shame.

[OmalleyCaboose5]

She could tell by the tone of fear in his voice that he truly didn't. That only served to make her more nervous than she already had been, but it didn’t dissuade her determination. She would have to try and get transferred back to his room and wait for an opportunity to help him... somehow.

Give him advice on how to woo scoots
Then teach him what to do in bed, all the best positions

[Jatheus]

8741860
1) Cloud Blazer is in a dark place right now... you know... all the loss suffered and rejection and all that.

2) Oh my! This isn't THAT kind of story! Haha!