Recruits

Scootaloo had been grumpy since she'd had to move to the training ground and live in a tent. Her only joy these days had been a hot nightly shower, which she had to skip in favor of a cold wash bucket at their camp. The only advantage to this development was that most of her time was spent doing drills with recruits instead of digging latrines all day. This would effectively use up most of her punishment. Sparklefly had surmised that this was Brax's way of going easy on her.

In spite of this, she somehow still found herself making some holes in the earth at the end of the day. Saturated with sweat, and no small amount of dirt, Scootaloo removed her soiled uniform and began the nightly cleanup ritual just after sunset. The cold water did nothing to soothe her aching muscles, but it was nice to be clean for a little while as she thought back on the day.

Scootaloo was rather unimpressed by her new squad. There was Jewel, a prissy looking dark pink unicorn who wore far too much makeup, originally from a ranch on the Unicorn Range. Her legs were scrawny, indicating that she hadn't actually done much work as a filly. Scootaloo did have a bit of wicked satisfaction when she saw Jewel's long and beautifully-kept black mane. She hadn't told the recruit that it was going to be cropped off the next morning.

Gunnysack had reasonable physical strength, which was typical for an earth pony, but he had no natural coordination when they did any sort of marching or lineups. If he'd had thumbs, he'd have been all thumbs. He also stood out, being a crystal pony. His brown coat and mane normally would blend in to everything, but his shiny crystal coat was difficult to ignore. This could prove problematic if they were going to be sneaking anywhere.

Rolling Thunder showed some promise, but he was rather arrogant. A handsome gray pegasus with an even darker gray mane, he loved nothing more than flying fast and winning. He was the type to throw caution to the wind, which Scootaloo was beginning to recognize as a common trait among ponies that hail from Las Pegasus. That sort of fearlessness could be a good thing as long as it didn't get him killed. He very much reminded Scootaloo of herself in some ways, but not the best ones.

Locknload was the only one that showed strong spirit. A white unicorn with a black mane and blue eyes, he had already learned some relatively effective attack spells. Apparently he was in trouble quite frequently back home in Baltimare for the stunts he'd pulled while learning his magic. He seemed to love nothing more than the idea of being a soldier and blowing things up. Those skills were in need of further development, but it was a good start.

Moonsliver was interesting. She was a little weak for an earth pony but seemed eager to learn. She had a phenomenal grasp of mechanical things. Her pale blue coat and blue mane were offset by her green eyes. She aspired to one day be a locomotive engineer, but with her natural abilities, it wouldn't surprise Scootaloo if she ended up designing and building trains rather than operating them.

Quickbeam had one noteworthy talent. He was fast, incredibly fast. He would fly past and all you could see was a yellow streak, the color of his coat, as he shot by. That would have been a nice contrast to the others in the squad, but every time he spoke that first day, he seemed to say the wrong thing. Aside from being incredibly annoying, he kept drawing the drill sergeant's ire. Scootaloo was trying to keep her squad out of his sights, but her subordinates weren't making it easy.

There wasn't much to say about Doff. He was a light gray pegasus with a black mane and tail, but he could barely fly, let alone carry anything while airborne. His only real interest seemed to be in the birds that were flying about, his vast knowledge of which was a little disturbing.

If possible, even more useless than any of the others was Duster. He was a fair flyer, but incredibly shy. Scootaloo had done a double-take when she first saw him, as his coloring and delicate features had so reminded her of Sparklefly. He was silver with a dark blue mane and eyes. She'd have to ask her if they were related, because by the look of him, they could almost have been twins. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to daydream, which drew frequent attention from both herself and Drill Sergeant J.

Her initial assessment was that this group would take a lot of work to get them into fighting form. While Scootaloo and the rest of the sergeants had busily shouted at their squads to teach them new things, it occurred to her that this must be how her own instructors had felt when they saw her for the first time. Had it only been four months ago? Had it even been four months? It already seemed like a lifetime since she'd left Ponyville to enlist in the EUP. In many ways, she felt different. Not unlike herself; she still had the same hopes and fears, albeit there was a much greater amount of courage inside. She felt much more sure of herself ever since the mirror pond. There was also a sadness that stayed with her constantly now. Lost friends, especially Pibs, haunted the still moments. She kept it buried deep so as to not be consumed by sadness. For the time being, she was short on quiet moments, and that was a welcome change from full medical leave. Her hoof was still wrapped, but she was now able to walk on it again. Another week or two and she'd be able to take the bandages off. At present, these new recruits needed her full attention.

Presently, Scootaloo had only a half-hour to herself, a precious time each day that she wouldn't waste. Her recruits had been put to bed for the evening, and she was now finished cleaning up and headed, without escort, to the Ponyville Hospital. New recruits aside, the last few days had been filled with highs and lows. Prince Shining Armor had officially declared the princesses and Discord presumed dead, and the search had been called off. Scootaloo couldn't believe it. She'd known Twilight for most of her life, and she just couldn't accept that she was gone. She also felt out of touch with Applejack's efforts to oust Diamond Tiara from the Mayor's office. She'd have to ask somepony about it. More on her mind, Cloud Blazer was awake and talking. That reason alone was why she was on her way into town.

As she entered the hospital, the familiar sanitized smells hit the mare. She negotiated her way through the waiting room and up to the second floor, where her friend stayed. She still hadn't managed to find him awake since he'd fallen. Before she knew it, the door was in front of her. Scootaloo could hear voices. She stopped and took a breath; Sweetie Belle and Cloud Blazer were talking to each other. He was awake. Scootaloo's heart began pounding. She felt unsure of herself, of how he'd feel to see her, of everything. She swallowed and pressed on, and then he came into view. The pair looked up at her, and Cloud Blazer smiled.

"Hey, Scoot."

An incomprehensible warmth of relief spread through the mare. His expression twinged, either in pain or some similar feeling.

"I mean Scootaloo, sorry."

An attempt to speak caused the mare to clear her throat, "It's fine."

"Don't be a stranger; come in," Sweetie Belle beckoned.

Scootaloo approached the hospital bed. She wasn't sure what to say.

"How are you?" she managed.

He made a grin, "You know me; I won't be down for long."

The tension she felt continued to ease. The stallion wore heavy bandages, testaments to the mending that was still in progress.

"I'm glad to hear it... You had us really worried for a bit there."

Sweetie Belle began walking to the door, "I'll let you two catch up a minute. I'll be right back."

Without any other explanation, the two of them were more or less alone. She looked back at him, and his gaze was devouring the sight of her. An attempt at a smile fluttered across her face for a moment, but she couldn't hold it. She'd had so much time to think of the things she needed to say to him, but somehow, they had all slipped from her mind now that the moment had arrived.

"Did you hear about Pibs?"

Cloud Blazer nodded, his expression becoming downcast, "Yeah, Sweetie Belle has been filling me in on current events. The princesses lost, Applejack has a debate scheduled in a recall election for mayor... I heard you and Sparklefly got promoted."

Scootaloo snorted, "Yeah, mine turned out to be temporary."

"I know. It was rotten that stunt that Diamond Tiara pulled. If I'd have been there, I'd have done the same thing."

It was comforting to hear.

"Thanks, Brownie."

She hadn't intended to, but they sort of locked eyes for a moment after that. Having been friends for as many years as they had, she knew that something was behind his expression. There was some unsaid thing that needed to get out. While she didn't know exactly what at first, Scootaloo felt butterflies in her stomach and her mouth went dry. Her heart pounded in anticipation as he drew a breath to speak.

He spoke softly, "Scootaloo..."

Hoof steps signaled Sweetie Belle's return and also effectively silenced Cloud Blazer.

"The bathrooms in here are nasty," the unicorn said a bit sheepishly. "Somepony really needs to clean them."

Scootaloo and Cloud Blazer giggled at this. When the mare looked back at the stallion, the unspoken thought had retreated from his visage. Sweetie Belle now had his attention.

"Well, I'm not feeling up to that just yet. If I volunteer, will you do it in my place?" Cloud Blazer teased.

"Not that I'm keeping score, but I've already been cleaning up after you enough as it is," Sweetie Belle replied with a wicked grin. "I could give details."

"Nope, that's okay," he let out a nervous laugh, and then winced in pain.

As much as Scootaloo hated it, she knew her time was up.

"I have to get going," she said. "I've just got time to back before I'm AWOL."

A sadness took over Cloud Blazer's eyes. He almost looked as if a fresh wound had just been inflicted.

"I understand."

"Hey," she tried to be upbeat, "I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

He smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him company until then," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo nodded and said, "I'm really glad you're getting better."

"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."

The three of them said their goodbyes, and then Scootaloo was on her way back through the darkness to the training ground. It would be an early morning, not that they had mentioned this to the recruits. She wasn't sure why, but as her thoughts returned to Cloud Blazer, she felt a sort of nervous excitement inside.