The mountains of Canterlot. A vast expanse of tall, jagged peaks and cliffs that serve as a majestic backdrop to the Capitol of Equestria. As the moon rose to it's highest point, it's luminous glow cast down onto the cliffs, and dimly lit the valleys below. There was no wind, just eerie stillness that stagnated the atmosphere.
Two stallions, both wearing black overcoats, broke the silence as they ran up a long, narrow pathway on the edge of a cliff that was once served as a transportation route to and from Canterlot before modern trains had been invented. They rounded a bend, kicking up gravel in their wake. The path narrowed even further where some of it had broken off from a rockslide however long ago. They suddenly skidded to a stop and looked out over the valley below. The slightly larger of the two scanned the peaks of the mountains beyond, causing the other stallion to become irritable.
"Come on! What in Tartarus are you waiting for?! They're not gonna be up in the peaks. They're gonna be further down the path. It's the only way to go! Unless they've fallen into the valley. Then our job is pretty much done!"
He chuckled at his last statement. The larger of the two pulled off his jacket, revealing his dark orange fur, wings, and mark, which resembled ones and zeros in sequence. He inhaled deeply, and spoke in a calm, baritone voice which, despite his demeanor, had a menacing tone.
"We're not trying to kill them, you idiot. We're taking them back to the base. We will keep searching. But why waste our energy running after them anymore and risk our lives on these treacherous paths? We'll take our time and walk to Canterlot, get a hotel room, and plan out the rest of our search from there. When we finally find them, we'll-"
He was interrupted by his partner, who pointed past him to a jagged rock that stuck out of the side of the cliff, protruding onto the path just enough to catch someone off guard. There, at the end of the rock, was a small tuft of green hair, speckled with blood. The deep voiced stallion walked over and examined it closely. After a short investigation, he came to a conclusion.
"It's obvious that she must've cut herself as they ran. But the blood is dry now, and there's no wind to help speed up the process, so it seems they're farther ahead than what we thought. It's possible they're already out of the mountains by now."
They continued walking as the other stallion spoke.
"You think they're in Canterlot?"
He shook his head.
"I doubt it. He's too smart to go to one of the largest and most popular cities while on the run. They're probably headed to some remote village to lay low. We'll go to Canterlot for now to make contact with the rest of the team, and fill them in up to now."
"Makes sense to me."
As they walked, the tallest tower in Canterlot castle became barely visible from behind a mountain. They took off in a brisk gallop at the sight of the Capitol City, wasting no time in their important mission.
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"Sad, saaaaad, Sundaaaays."
A blues/rock beat started as the vocalist sang in a low, soft voice.
"That's when my baaaaaby has to go. I feel so downhearteeeeeed, when he leaves me here alone."
A smooth piano riff filled in the pause before she came back in.
"We live for love on the weekends, that's when we hold each other sooooooo close."
Trios was alive with the blues that night as the band played on, filling the club with soulful lyrics and melting guitar solos. Big Mac, not being the typical one for going out on the social scene, tended to enjoy Trios occasionally. He loved jazz music, and had always loved dabbling on the upright bass. Unfortunately his heavy work load and responsibilities of maintaining the farm kept him from taking it any further than an occasional hobby.
Tonight found him sitting at one of the many round tables with his sister, Applejack, and her five friends. The six had invited him along to celebrate the ending of the cider season, which, thanks to the Dodge truck, had been the most profitable one yet.
Suddenly, everything on stage stopped, and made room for a ripping trumpet wail, then they came back in. He went up and down the blues scale, melting his sound into the captive audience. He closed his eyes and leaned back, moving faster and faster throughout the notes until his hoof was moving so fast it looked like a small blur. He landed on a single note, making it growl, then belted off some more high notes until the vocalist came back in with the lyrics.
"Tomorrow will beeee, blue blue Mondaaaaay. Tuesday and Wednesday, not much better."
Jake took the trumpet of his lips and sat back until the end of the song, content with his solo. It had been so long since he had played, he wondered if he would even be up to the challenge of sitting in tonight with the band. Mac, being as stubborn as he was, insisted he do so until the pilot was practically forced to do so.
Mac smiled and turned to his sister.
"Ya see. Ah knew he still had it in him. He was jes nervous about goin' up there after so long."
Twilight nodded in agreement.
"He was wonderful. I'm sure Seline would've loved to hear it."
Rainbow Dash chimed in.
"It's too bad she had that meeting in Canterlot. She's out of town a lot these days."
"It's business, dear." Rarity said. "She's a pony of success, and one must maintain a high standard to keep high expectations."
Fluttershy shrugged.
"Of course, but it's always nice to be home every once and a while. If I was gone for so long at one time, I'd get homesick."
Pinkie Pie slammed her eighth glass of cider down on the table, empty. She hadn't even began to show symptoms of dizziness or lightheadedness yet.
"I'd miss Mr. and Ms. Cake if I was gone for too long! Who would taste test the super duper yummy cupcake frosting if I wasn't here?!"
Mac, who jokingly rolled his eyes, finished off his drink just as the song ended, followed by a round of applause. The vocalist bowed.
"Thank you very much. Lets give a hoof to Jake Weston on trumpet. We asked him only three days ago to sit in with us, and he did a fantastic job." The captain bowed as she continued.
"That's it for tonight unfortunately. We always love playing here. We'll be back in two weeks, everypony. Goodnight!"
Jake walked off stage after shaking hooves with the band members, and walked over to join up with the others as they were putting on their coats and scarfs. The end of cider season always meant the dawn of a cold winter.
Upon seeing Jake, Mac went up to him and slapped him on the back.
"Ah told ya! Y'all'd do fine up there."
"Thanks, Mac. I can't even remember the last time I played exactly."
A waiter came up with a tray consisting of a single glass of hard cider.
"Compliments to the band, sir."
"Hey, thanks!"
The pilot took the glass and downed it in one go, letting some of it drip down onto his brown fur. He blinked a few times after consuming the alcohol and smiled at the server, who simply laughed.
"You gotta stay warm during these months. Cider is the best way to go! Thanks again, buddy."
He turned and walked with the shuffling crowd up the stairs and out the front door into the late fall air. After two seconds he turned to Rarity, who happened to be next to him and jokingly huddled next to her.
"I guess more cider is needed. Jeez it's freezing out here."
The fashionista laughed and pushed him away.
"Well then get home quickly, dear. I'd stay and chat with you all but I too am about to freeze to death."
She said her goodbyes and briskly took off for her shop. Jake turned back and nodded to the group.
"Well thank you all for coming to see me play. It really meant a lot. And congratulations on another successful cider season, you two" He gestured to the two farm siblings, who smiled with pride. "I'm going to get home before this stuff starts kicking in."
The remaining seven of them parted ways and headed for their homes.
Jake began walking down the road to his home as the wind picked up. He turned the corner and started down the long drag to the edge of town where his house was. His black mane whipped around in the gusts, and he kept his head down to shield himself as best as he could.
Suddenly, he heard brisk hoof steps behind him. Before he had time to react, a stallion knocked into him at full force. He landed on the ground, smacking his head against the brick road. He raised a hoof in defense, preparing to be mugged or attacked even more, but as he opened his eyes, he saw two figures running away ahead of him. For a second, he thought they headed out into the field where the C-130 was, but because it was so dark, he assumed they turned the corner when he couldn't see.
The pain from the fall was killing him. His head was forming a bump and he knew he would probably have a black eye. The captain tried to ignore the throbbing as he staggered back to his feet and quickened his pace to get home and finally get some rest.
"Crazy, those two."
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"Keep running!"
A blue earth stallion grabbed a mare by the shoulder and dragged her forward, prompting her to keep going. She obviously was tired. Mud spattered her green coat, wings, and mane, and her left hoof was keeping pressure on a deep cut in her right shoulder. With only three legs, she reluctantly pressed on.
"Do we really have to keep running?! We've reached Ponyville already, and I don't think I can keep up anymore!"
The stallion stopped, whipped around, and looked at her with an intense glare.
"They might be just around the corner ready to take us back. Do you really want to go back?! We need to keep going until we're sure we're safe and we can get your cut taken care of."
He looked around at the village for a place that seemed safe.
"Now I could've sworn tha-"
He was cut off by the sight of a large metal object with wings sitting out on a concrete tarmac to the east of the village.
"There!" He pointed. "We'll see if he can hide in there until morning. It's secluded enough from the rest of the town that we shouldn't attract too much attention."
They dashed off down an embankment and onto a road which led straight for their target. He turned his head while running to make sure she was still behind him, and in an instant, found himself colliding with a blunt object. They both stumbled for a second, then he realized he knocked a pony over by accident. The green pegasus pushed him forward, and they continued running down the road.
"We don't have time to stop anymore! Lets just get to whatever that thing is and call it a night."
After a couple minutes, they reached the mysterious metal object. It was a dark grey, with two large wings in the front that donned two propellers on either side. The back consisted of two smaller wings and one vertical tail wing. On the side of the main body, it read EQUESTRIAN TRANSPORT in large white letters.
"What is it?" She said.
"I have no clue. It looks like some sort of flying machine from the fact it has what appears to be wings. Lets just see if we can get inside somehow."
The stallion walked around to the side and tried a handle that said "access door latch" on it. To his surprise, it engaged, letting down a large door that revealed a staircase leading up into the machine. The earth pony, followed by the pegasus, inched his way up step by step until he was inside the dark fuselage.
Once they were both inside, he used his wits to find out how to shut the door again, and quickly succeeded in his task. They crept around in the empty, dark room for at least fifteen minutes trying to find something for her cut. She was starting to lose more blood now, and it began dripping down her leg and onto the cold metal floor.
After another ten minutes, he found a first aid kit strapped to the wall near the back, and proceeded to dress the wound.
She winced in pain as he pressed down on the cut to sterilize it. Through the darkness, she could barely make out his blue face and mane. The black streak running through it blended in to the background, making it look like he had an inverted mohawk. This brought her mood up a bit as she chuckled at the thought.
"There." He said. "This should be ok for tonight." He had placed a large white gauze bandage wrapped around her shoulder holding a cotton pad directly onto the cut.
"Lets just try to get some rest and deal with the situation tomorrow. We can't stay in here for long. Who knows what the owner might do if they find us in here."
The mare's spirits dropped again as she remembered their dire situation. No food, no money, no nothing. They just up and ran and never looked back.
"We can't keep up like this. We can't keep running forever."
He reassured her as they laid down on a makeshift bed he quickly made from jump seat cushions.
"We don't have to. Ponyville is a safe place. That's what he said, remember? The Elements of Harmony live here. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Magic herself, lives here. If there's any place to be other than Canterlot, this is it. Now lets try to get some rest. We need it."
They both fell silent as they tried to let sleep overtake them. The wind howled around the metal shell of the C-130, and reverberated within.
Without opening her eyes, the green pegasus whispered through the darkness.
"We'll be alright."