Flying With the Dusty Bolts

by Pony Bones

Riding Cutie Mark Deep

Mirage kept as much weight off his injured hoof as he could while he ran after Phoenix Heart and Red Feather, just another throbbing pain he could add to his already stiff and cracking joints. He should have asked Fluttershy for more bandages, his were already caked with dust. He was surprised she had accepted his apology; he could see it in her eyes she had a heart of gold and was too kind to stay mad at him. He was starting to regret leaving his bandana with Applejack as he ground sand between his teeth.

Nothing to do but dig down and keep running, he remembered how Applejack had stayed on the town outskirts to watch them fade into the horizon until she was a glint of sunset orange in the distance. This sortie was going to be easy all they had to do was get close enough to see the minotaur army and then stay in the sun above them while they observed what they would be up against, they’d be back in Appaloosa before they knew it.

Their dust trail would carry with the wind towards the minotaurs if they weren’t careful, but Mirage trusted that Phoenix and Red had been in the business long enough to know what they were doing. Then again if his Dusties could be spotted then likewise his Dusties could spot any minotaurs moving up on them.

“I don’t understand why we’re pounding ground when we could be flying.” Kid complained already panting, she was a strong flyer not a runner.

Tumble Weed spared Mirage from having to snap at Kid by explaining to the young buck, “We have to get close enough to the army that they won’t know we’re watching them, once we’re close enough we’ll shoot up to ten thousand feet and circle in the sun down to five thousand feet.”

“What difference will it make if they know we’re watching them?” Kid asked hovering along the ground obviously anxious to be airborne.

“What do you think the minotaurs would do if they saw Appaloosans circling above them?” Tumble Weed said trying to get her to think.

Mirage could almost see the gears turning in Kid’s head before the light bulb came on, “If they knew we were involved Appaloosa would be a target… Wait, isn’t Appaloosa a target already?”

“I don’t know that’s part of what we’re trying to find out.” Tumble Weed said with a touch of apprehension in his voice.

“How are we going to do that? We’ll have to be right on top of them to get that kind of info.”

Kid’s question went unanswered and she didn’t bother repeating it, she already knew she had said more than she should have. Phoenix Heart and Three Feathers began leading them through canyons and gullies and they knew they had to be close. Then they slowed to a trot and slid into a bolder as the silhouette of a minotaur came into view on the ridge in front of them.

The Dusty Bolts stacked up on the bison scouts, Phoenix Heart signaled Mirage to come closer and whispered, “The minotaurs are on the plane at the top of this hill.”

Mirage gathered his Dusty Bolts around him and gave them his plan, “We’ll go with Tumble Weed’s plan of observation in the sun from ten thousand feet down to five thousand feet. Before we take off preen your nasty wings and mane, no dust trails today.”

“How are we supposed to preen? We’ll just be moving the dust around our coats without water.” Kid complained, she was right; they hadn’t come prepared for this, too late now.

“Figure something out; you will not have dust on you when we fly. We have until sunset to get back to Appaloosa, the militia is waiting on us.” Mirage snarled, they were on a time crunch, and the minotaurs waited for no pony, they had to get the drop on them.

The bison began creeping away to let the Dusty Bolts do their work undetected, preening without water in the Appaloosan desert was like sweeping up a sand dune, but once Mirage was satisfied that his team wouldn’t leave dust trails he held up one wing and counted down silently with his primaries, three, two, one.

The team fought for altitude, shooting straight up in a column, scanning the mass of minotaurs they reached five hundred feet without being noticed it would be easier now. As they looked out over the plane they saw a dense forest of horns there had to be three thousand at least. They were bivouacked and not on the move so that was a good sign, they were probably waiting for more to arrive.

The air became thinner and their pegasi lungs deepened their breath compressing the air around them sending it straight to their heads, frost began forming on their still beating wings. Staying in the sun the Dusty Bolts circled watching for any tricks the army might have up its sleeve, from what they could see there were no assault engines, no battering rams, no catapults, just a mass of minotaurs larger than the parasprite swarm that had nearly ruined Appaloosa. Their descent lasted all afternoon, no raiding parties had been sent in but another thousand had been added from the Minotaur Mountains to the North.

Looking for the bison the Dusty Bolts dove the last five thousand feet back to Equestria Firma, they had to get moving. Racing at full gallop towards Appaloosa they had to warn the militia, even if all of Appaloosa was emptied and combined with Chief Thunderhoove’s tribe they would be unable to face the minotaurs.

Phoenix Heart and Red Feather led the Dusty Bolts through a narrow gulch and Mirage knew that they were going to be ambushed he signaled his team to speed up in hopes of outrunning the eyes he knew were watching them, Phoenix and Red sensed it too and galloped to a break neck pace. The gulch was a horrible place for them to go through they could be cut off at both ends for all he knew.

Mirage looked up and saw signs of their hunters, dust clouds and rocks falling down the walls of the gulch behind them, as long as they could stay ahead and they weren’t already boxed in they would be fine. As the end of the gulch came into view Mirage’s heart sunk, they were boxed in he knew it, a wall of five minotaurs with pikes blocked their exit. The bison wouldn’t be able to get close enough to smash through without impaling themselves, they had to fight now.

Mirage waved the bison off from their suicide charge they slowed down when they saw their only chance would be to let the Dusty Bolts deal with the pikes. Mirage gave the signal and the Dusty Bolts used the space that they had in the gulch to circle back to back with Phoenix and Red. “KID BUCK THOSE SCHMUCKS WITH THE PIKES!”

Kid knew better than to argue when Mirage was in this state of mind, she nodded and rushed the minotaurs boxing them in swerving up at the last possible moment to avoid being run through, she fell from the sky above them like chain lightning. First on one side then the other with the speed and agility that only a filly pegasi can muster, causing the minotaurs to smash into each other in their rabid attempt to catch her.

“Time to stop foalin’ around.” Kid wound back and bucked two helmeted minotaurs heads together, their helmets tolled like the town hall clock tower their eyes rolled back into their heads and they fell like apple sacks.

The other three minotaurs had turned their backs to the bison chasing after Kid, they never saw it coming, Phoenix Heart sent one minotaur flying over the ledge of the gulch, and Red Feather trampled the other two into a red mist.

The Dusty Bolts and bison were still surrounded by circling minotaurs with more arriving by the second. They had to push for the end of the gulch to get in the open, then they would have enough space and momentum to smash through. The minotaurs never gave them an inch, then Tumble Weed saw it Sand Blast was about to be impaled by a minotaur, NO! He had lost Crazy Wing he was not going to lose Sand Blast, gathering his fury he stormed the minotaur head on. Taking the bull by the horns just like Apple Bumpkin had said, time slowed, Apple Bumpkin.

A peace that Tumble Weed had never known fell over him as he charged the minotaur with unfailing wings, “Apple Bumpkin forgive me I don’t know if I’ll survive this one.”

Tumble Weed watched as the minotaur’s horn came closer and closer, he felt it cut his face as he shoved it to the side away from Sand Blast. The last thing he saw through a haze of red was Sand Blast screaming at him, but Tumble Weed was too tired to understand what was happening. The sand beneath him was pooling with something warm and comfortable, he closed his eyes at peace that he had saved Sand Blast.

Sand Blast slid up to Tumble Weed and threw him over his shoulders like a limp towel, blood already trickling down his foreleg. “Sand Blast wait!” Mirage shouted but it was too late Sand Blast had lost it, in a frantic rush he flew in the direction of Appaloosa ditching the Dusty Bolts. Mirage would have to deal with that later, right now he had to get the bison out of the mess they found themselves in.

Minotaur bodies started piling up around them, they wouldn’t be able to get out now, this was going to be the end of them, this dusty gulch was going to be their grave, the dead minotaurs their epitaph.

Then there was an explosion in the sky above them, crack PWWWWHHHHHHOOOOOOOOMMMMMM! Mirage looked up to see Spitfire and Soarin plummeting to their rescue, what were they doing? He had never seen a stunt like that before, it looked like a sonic drill boom but that was impossible the last pegasi to successfully pull that off and live was Commander Hurricane on her wedding day, it was a forbidden technique. Even Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be able to pull it off unless she met a pegasi as skilled as her, which would be never. Their drill deteriorated when Spitfire and Soarin could no longer fight the gravitational force and they formed into a dust devil picking up his Dusty Bolts and the bison.

“We heard you could use a lift.” Spitfire said smiling smugly

Saved by Wonderbolts, maybe Mirage had misjudged them, after all they were pegasi just like him it didn’t make them any less skilled or hard that they lived in Canterlot. That was just their life; he should have Silver Lining brush an apple chip off his shoulder.

“Yeah, you came just in time.” Mirage panted catching his breath from the fight,

“Sure did, you all look like you went through the ringer.” Soarin said worriedly, “Is that your blood?”

“Not this time, it’s those minotaurs’. Did Sand Blast get with you?”

Soarin gave Mirage a strange look, “In a manner of speaking, the stallion came into town like a wrecking ball asking everypony where Fluttershy was, Tumble Weed was with him, he didn’t look so good either but Fluttershy said she’d be able to fix him up.”

“That’s good to hear.” Mirage said chuckling as he pictured Sand Blast demolishing Appaloosa to find Fluttershy.

Below them the bison clung to each other clearly not enjoying the ride, “Do you recon’ we should let those two down?” Mirage asked

“Naw, we got to get them to town.” Spitfire said, Mirage decided he liked the Wonderbolts then, they weren’t so bad.

Comments

[Pony Bones]

Author's note, Yes this chapter is short, my coffee is failing me, another Dusty bites the dust. Don't worry though none of the other Dusty Bolts will die, just wait until you see what happens to Tumble Weed, evil cackle, if only you knew!

[Flutterstrucked]

Sorry it took so long to respond, I had a lil mishap with my laptop and had to wait sometime before I could exactly get back, I love how this is going and I can't wait to see the way this arc will be handled. It's a relief knowing that no more dusty bolts would die, thus meaning that thats something really unfortunate for the Minotaurs, oh I wonder what Iron Will is doing in the midst of all this.....dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Fluttershy_lolface.png

[Pony Bones]

To the loyal readers, sorry about the delay in the story it's been a horrible week. The good news is I have some great new material brewing in the lab, I just need to catch up on some sleep so I can finish it. Also Flutterstrucked, unfortunately Iron Will doesn't make a cameo however in the timeline of the series I see this as shortly after his ad campaign in Ponyville, he fell under surveillance of the Night Guard after this incident but when they didn't find anything suspicious he was left alone. The story outside of the story.