//------------------------------// // Accomplices // Story: Scarlet // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Just like it had been back in Swanrun, everything became a blur for Scarlet as she led Lens and Primrose to the western wall of Shimmervale. Luckily for them, between their headstart and the chaos left behind by her artillery shot, the trio encountered no problems while in the streets. Before long, they had teleported to the other side and broken into a mad sprint toward the woods. They must have been running for quite some time, Scarlet realized, as they eventually broke through the other side of the forest to find themselves at the base of the towering mountains that made up the walls of the valley. More than that, the sky was turning a soft shade of blue, informing her that the sun was about to rise. “Stop,” she gasped out, coming to a halt and crumpling to the grass to catch her ragged breath. “Stop, stop… ugh… catch our breath...” Primrose, still positioned on Scarlet’s back, slid off and sat down in front of the panting unicorn, while Lens flopped over onto his side a few feet away, his own breath even heavier despite having carried nothing. He had probably let himself fall somewhat out of shape over the years. “Scarlet?” Primrose whispered, leaning forward and staring into her eyes. “Are you alright?” Scarlet sucked in several lungfuls of sweet, life-giving air before she mustered the strength to respond. “I… guh… I think so… I’m just tired…” “Tell me... about it,” Lens moaned in discomfort, rolling onto his back. “I haven’t… run that far… in… years…” They all fell quiet after that, taking some time to catch their breath and calm their frayed nerves. Primrose, for her part, stuck close to Scarlet, occasionally glancing up at the sky to keep an eye out for Nightblades. Luckily, they seemed to be in the clear, for now, and nopony came to attack them while they were vulnerable. Eventually, after almost fifteen minutes, Scarlet slowly began to push herself up into a standing position. She grimaced and hissed through clenched teeth as her throbbing legs screamed at her in protest to even the slightest motion, but she knew well enough they weren’t safe, yet, and staying put was a sure-fire way to get caught. Once she was standing, she took a few wobbly steps over to Lens and reached down to help him up. “Lens, get up,” she urged quietly. “We need to keep moving.” To her surprise, the stallion did not take her hoof. Instead, he swatted it aside and pushed himself up under his own power, his eyes glaring into Scarlet’s all the way. “Scarlet… what the hell is going on?!” he finally demanded, taking an angry step forward. “First you show up on my doorstep with a weird magic lamp, and then a full squad of Nightblades shows up telling me that you two are wanted fugitives AND that your lamp is contraband or something! And considering how fast you reacted to them, you knew they were coming?! Why didn’t you say anything?! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON!?” Primrose whimpered and shied away, her eyes darting back and forth between the two and her hooves curling up to her chest. “Guys, please… don’t get mad-” “Shush,” Scarlet silenced her out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes never leaving Lens’. Se took a long, deep breath before looking away, her ears drooping. “...I’m sorry, Lens. I knew they were following us, yes, but I did not realize they were so close on our tail. I thought we had more time, and I had hoped that by not telling you what was happening, you wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. I wanted to get what info we could out of you and then leave before you could be dragged into things. I messed up, I got you involved, and I can never take that back. I’m sorry.” Lens’ nostrils flared in agitation. “That doesn’t explain why they’re following you to begin with! Nightblades are assassins and spies, Scarlet! They don’t go after just anypony! What did you do to piss them off?!” “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Scarlet responded, her voice becoming strained as frustration and impatience burned at her skull. “We don’t know, alright? All we know for sure is that Edge attacked Primrose and her family five years ago and has been following her ever since. For whatever reason, he wants her dead, and his superiors want the lamp. We don’t know what it is, and that’s why we came to you. We had hoped you could tell us what it was, and then we could be on our way.” Lens was silent for a few moments. He took a deep breath, then another. “Alright… fair enough,” he eventually answered in resignation between grit teeth. “Still, you could have warned me what the situation was. I would have kept you a secret, you know?” Scarlet sighed, slowly nodding her head. “I know… but I had hoped that leaving you in true ignorance would have given you the best chance of staying safe. Evidently, I was wrong...” Lens shook his head before turning to look back in the direction of the city, his ears drooping. He was quiet for a while. No doubt a million and one thoughts were racing through his mind right now. Scarlet winced and looked away at the sight, guilt and shame replacing her frustration. Eventually, the stallion heaved a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. “...What are we going to do, Scarlet? I just lost my home…” Scarlet cringed before turning to look at the surrounding landscape, scanning the mountainside for any possible routes. There were a few lesser-trod paths that weaved through narrow passes at various points, and each one would take them in a different direction. In truth, any of them would be as good as any other right now, as far as she was concerned. “...I don’t know,” she finally relented, turning back to Lens. “I was hoping that the path would become clear once you had studied the lamp and given us some information. Now, though…” “We need to find someplace safe,” Primrose suddenly spoke up, drawing the attention of the two ponies. She shrank back a bit from the sudden attention but bravely continued. “Somewhere we can hide… we can’t plan anything right now. Silent and his goons are too close.” “A place where we can lay low, huh?” Lens asked, bringing a hoof up to rub at his chin. “Well… uh… there are a few small villages peppered throughout the mountains. Maybe we can take shelter in one of them?” Scarlet shook her head. “Not a good idea. We’re bound to the ground, while Silent can fly. He’ll be able to hit most of the towns in those mountains and spread word about us long before we can reach them. Going to any of them is likely to result in them trying to detain us. And I am not in any mood to kill innocent civilians to secure my freedom.” “What about caves?” Lens offered hopefully. “The mountains are rich with old mineshafts and cave networks from when Shimmervale was first founded. Maybe we could hole up in one of them?” “Assuming we can find one,” Scarlet countered, sweeping her gaze across the mountains again. “As plentiful as those might be, without a map showing where they are, we could spend weeks turning over rocks and find nothing. We’d be in the open the entire time. Too unreliable.” “What about the woods, then?” Lens offered, turning back to the forest behind them. “It’s pretty dense.” “It’s also really close to the city,” Scarlet countered with a huff. “Not to mention Silent is well-trained in tracking targets through such terrain. I know. I ran a few missions with him in the Everfree Forest during the war where that skill of his came in handy.” “Well, then where are we supposed to go?” Lens asked with his brow knitting in frustration. “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” Scarlet shot back before looking away and taking a deep breath. She rattled her brain, trying desperately to think of somewhere, anywhere, that would be safe for them. A few ideas came to mind, but none of them really stood out to her as good fits. “...Windrain,” Primrose suddenly whispered, her ears slowly standing up. Scarlet turned to face the foal, her eyebrow going up. “I beg your pardon? Windrain?” Primrose jumped slightly at that before looking into Scarlet’s eyes, her own starting to shimmer with hope. “Yeah, Windrain. She’s one of the ponies I stayed with in the past. She and her husband took care of me for a few months after I ran from Stonethrow. I ran before Silent could find them, so they might still be alive! They can help us!” Scarlet hummed in thought, glancing up at the skies. It sounded promising. If Primrose was suggesting them, then she must have trusted them, given how shy she had been when Scarlet first found her. “Perhaps… what kind of ponies are they? And where are they?” Primrose turned towards the south, her muzzle scrunching up. “Um… I know they’re south of here, somewhere. They live in a collection of farms and stuff, and I remember them saying that Shimmervale was a few days of travel to the north.” Lens’ eyes widened, and he turned to face Primrose directly. “Hey, was that farming community called ‘Hoofrest Shire?’” he asked, and Scarlet turned to him with a small flicker of hope igniting in her breast. Primrose nodded emphatically. “Yeah, yeah that was it! Windrain and Apple Juice, they run the biggest farm there, and I know they’ll take care of us!” Lens’ face lit up and he adjusted his glasses once again, this time with confidence rather than anxiety. “I know where that is!” he proclaimed excitedly, his exhaustion starting to fade away as hope was restored. “If we follow the main road back towards Little Lapiz; then head east on a side road once we exit the second pass before the Glittering Woods, we should find the community in just a few days!” Scarlet smiled in relief before kneeling down and ruffling Primrose’s mane. “Well done, Prim… I think you’ve just saved us,” she whispered to the foal. Primrose shook her head to knock the hoof away before coming forward and pressing herself up against Scarlet, giving her a gentle nuzzle. “Thank you… I hope we get there. I really wanna see them again. They were nice to me.” “We should probably get a move on, then,” Lens suggested, glancing up at the sky. “We should probably take a side road for a while and get onto the main highway later.” “Good idea,” Scarlet agreed, hefting Primrose onto her back with her magic. “They’ll have it locked down tight. Let’s go.” And with that, the trio set off, leaving the edge of the forest behind. Lens took the lead, heading for one of the lesser trails out of the valley. Scarlet followed along close behind, periodically glancing over her shoulder at the sky and terrain behind them for any sign of Silent. Luckily, the Nightblade was nowhere to be seen, and little by little, her dread began to ebb away. Just because Silent was nowhere to be seen, however, does not mean he wasn’t there. He stood at the top of a cliff near the base of the mountains, Amber by his side, and both of them were watching the group as they left Shimmervale behind. Amber turned to her superior with a curious look on her face. “Sir, with all due respect, shouldn’t we assault them now while they are tired?” Silent shook his head slowly, his wings twitching at his sides. “No, Amber. They will be expecting that, and while Lens was never a direct combatant, his expertise with wards and protective magics would make a direct assault all but impossible, especially if Scarlet brought out her artillery spell again,” he explained before unfurling his wings and lifting into the air.  Amber followed dutifully after him, her brow furrowing. “Then what are we to do?” “For now, we watch, and we wait,” Silent responded coolly, his eyes never leaving his prey. “We wait for them to drop their guard and think they are safe. Then, we strike and take out the foal before they have a chance to stop us.” “Understood,” Amber nodded before her lips curled into a frown. “But… what of Scarlet and her new accomplice? Should we not deal with them as well?” “Secondary priorities,” Silent dismissed. “Our orders are to bring the lamp back to Newcanter. If we can bring Scarlet and Lens with us as prisoners, then we do so, but we aren’t going to go out of our way for that.” Amber eyed him from the side for a few seconds before focusing ahead. “Yes, sir.” “It’s also because I don’t want to kill my friend,” Silent eventually admitted within the privacy of his thoughts. “Ponies I care about are few and far between… so please, Scarlet, when next we cross paths, do not give me a reason to cut you down.” With that sentiment ringing in his ears, Silent picked up the pace, and he and Amber disappeared amidst the clouds.