Starting A Flame

by Star_Shade

Chapter [14] Brave recognition and new ideas

“And that’s my story,” said Piper. He and Applejack Moon had been laid carefully onto military cots. Piper had a better bandage wrapped around his waist and head. Because of Applejack Moon’s self-sacrifice, he sported only a few bruises. After being cleared by the medic, he was awoken and asked to give an account of the events that had led them to the camp. Applejack Moon had been able to give her own account when she had regained consciousness, but then was wheeled away for more extensive magical healing in another tent.

Dasher went over and put a wing over Piper, doing her best to comfort him. “I am sorry to hear that, Piper. That sounds like a pretty traumatic experience. You were very brave,” she said.

“Well, we all have to make our sacrifices now,” replied Piper coldly. “Is Ms. Apple going to be okay?”

“I do not know,” Dasher muttered. “She looked pretty banged up when I saw her…”

“Do not worry. We have some of the best doctors in all of Equestria with us,” remarked Shining Moon, patting Piper’s shoulder with a hoof. “She will be well-cared for.” A stallion in a white coat walked in through the tent flap, looking around before spotting the three.

“Hello, you must be Piper. My name is Doctor Therevex,” he said, stepping close to sit next to the colt. “I am here to take care of you. How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess,” whispered Piper softly. Therevex smiled at him before looking up.

“If you do not mind, I will require that this be more of a private session. I need to do a full body check to make sure everything is in order, and I am sure Piper would like some privacy,” stated Therevex, eyeing the two warily.

“Come, Dasher, time to go now,” said Shining, picking up on the cue. “Piper is in good hooves now.” Dasher glanced at the foal. For some strange reason, the colt had begun to grow on her. She watched as Therevex pushed him down lightly, drawing a curtain to hide the two. Hearing Piper’s steady breathing from the other side, Dasher trotted out of the tent.

---

Exiting the tent, Dasher noticed another pony that she didn’t recognize talking with Shining. Relief filled Shining’s face and he thanked the pony, then trotted over to Dasher. “Applejack Moon is going to be fine. Thankfully, the doctors were able to locate internal bleeding that had been filling some of her lungs and were able to heal her. She is currently at rest and in a stable condition. They are saying she should recover in a few days,” he said.

“Thank Celestia. She looked like she had been through Tartarus and back,” muttered Dasher, feeling a great weight coming off her shoulders.

“Yes, walk with me, we have much to discuss,” he continued, starting to trot towards his personal quarters. They walked in silence, and the mare sneaked a few curious glances at Shining. He seemed to be deep in thought. “Dasher, what are your thoughts on this development?”

Dasher blinked a few times, surprised he would ask her such a question. “I do not know. Like I said earlier, Nightmare Moon continues to make moves that are completely enigmatic. I mean, why take foals? What plans does she have with them? Why keep three cities as puppet states? Why not take all the foals? So many decisions and actions that do not make sense.”

“My thoughts exactly, and what is more, what does taking the foals accomplish? Nightmare Moon already controls the population, unless the foals themselves have a certain value to her. If that is true, then we need to take extra precautions to protect Piper. He may play a bigger role in all of this. There must be a reason the hooded creatures fought so hard to capture all of them. Why not let one or two escape? wondered Shining.

“But again, to what end? From his account, he doesn’t pose any threat to Nightmare Moon. In fact, it is by complete luck that he was able to escape. I feel like it is too early to jump to conclusions,” said Dasher as they drew closer to his tent.

“You may be right, but I think we may be missing something. I will personally keep an eye on him, maybe teach him a thing or too.”

“At that age? You aren’t going to train him to be a killer!?” exclaimed Dasher, stopping and turning to him.

“No no, nothing that extreme,” replied Shining defensively, holding up a hoof. “Just some basic stuff so that he can defend himself. I am afraid nowadays everypony needs to learn how to take care of themselves. We cannot just give him back to his parents, he would not be safe there.”

“You are right on that, but how are we going to tell him that? He has already gone through so much trauma, I doubt he will be thrilled to not be able to return to his family,” said Dasher thoughtfully.

“I will be gentle, but he will have to stallion up. The world has grown cold, colder than ever. I fear that our youth will become children of war, and those that survive may not be on the right side of the fight,” growled Shining, shaking his head.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Dasher, raising an eyebrow at his rash response

“I mean we should be bolder. Some ideas are forming in my mind, plans of the future, of fighting back. Dasher, I may not know what to do next, but I believe I need a better understanding of our troops to make plans,” Shining began, squinting his eyes and rubbing his chin in thought.

“And what sort of plans would that be? We can’t just go and fight, our forces are spread too thin. We would need to regroup; we still have quite a few spies that we have lost contact with. We need to find out who is still with us,” concluded Dasher awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.

“My thoughts exactly, the camp has been running on a skeleton crew. I want you and Moon Nettle to go assess our allies. Because of this development, ponies everywhere are running around trying to figure out what to do. I want to find out who has been caught and spilled information, and who we can still rely on. I will send somepony to give you all the information you need, and you two can go. I know you have been itching for more action,” said Shining, throwing a hoof over Dasher’s shoulder. A spark of inspiration shone in his eyes.

Author's Note:

Well well well... it seems that Piper has escaped successfully, and Dasher is sent on a new mission. What fantastic and new adventures will these two have? Stay tuned for more. (When I get a legit publishing schedule of course.)

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[Star_Shade]

10220599
Thanks! :D

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

10220921
You’re welcome!