Even from some distance away, they could catch glimpses of the billowing towers of smoke rising from the majestic city. A taut grimace set upon Azure face as he held the fallen city in his eyes as Wind Scribe surrendered to the hopelessness of the scene. Never in their lives had they expected the fall of their great capitol and at the hooves of a foe everyone thought long defeated. How long until the rest of their nation was overrun, they did not know... or had it been already?
Since the attack in Cloudsdale, and the letter they had received Azure’s sister, Wind Scribe had been hoping against all odds that the city would hold against the changeling attack, and that their regents of the celestial bodies were at the forefront of the lines, but that seemed like a pipe dream as more of the devastated mountainside city came into view. Only hints of the top most spires beyond the mountain line were visible, but what both pegasi could see of the ruin that glanced those points placed further details of the devastation the city has suffered in their minds’ eyes.
How they wished that this was nothing more than a dream and that they will wake up to the loving arms of each of their respective families again.
They flew at a steady pace, but more than once, they were forced to dive for cover as specks of black on the horizon dotted the sky; obvious patrols that were on the hunt for more prey that roamed the surrounding region of the capitol. It was frightening. Uncertainty ensnared the two pegasi as they waited breathlessly for the hovering insectoids to pass them by from overhead whilst they hid among the ample foliage of the forests.
Giving a wide berth to the capitol’s mountain range had hindered their progress, but as they agreed, it was much better than trying to risk a flight straight through the outlying foothills where more Changelings were bound to be. The flight was arduous, but after much perseverance, they were able to put the capitol’s mountain ranges to their backs and turn weary eyes to the expansive east beyond.
Time slipped away, much of the day had given way to the rising darkness of nightfall. Both pegasi were tired and hungry from an entire day’s worth of flight. The only bit of luck they could acknowledge after the horrifying events of this day was to have thermal drafts that were like fluffy pillows under their wings; allowing them to glide on the air currents for much of the journey and preserving their strength. Thankfully, most of the Changeling patrols had only skimmed over their area of hiding and witlessly moved on; probably drunk off of their victory over the capitol to give much thought to any stragglers.
Although they were past the most dangerous part of territory, that didn’t mean either of them could relax properly. Settling down in the wilderness provided them with ambient cover, but it also meant that they were in the middle of nowhere with no real supplies to come by. Indeed, an audible rumble, courtesy of Wind Scribe’s stomach, acknowledged what they already knew.
“This is hopeless.” Azure whispered as he looked back to see the glazed expression of the older stallion, absentmindedly scraping at the ground. He had all but collapsed on the hard packed dirt with a heavy sigh of resignation, too tired to move any longer. Wind Scribe’s expression and drooping wings spoke volumes of what they both felt and he would lie to himself if he said that he didn’t feel the same. Cloudsdale was gone and so were his family and friends, and even the city of Canterlot, supposedly the most secure place in all of Equestria, had fallen.
If anypony said that the situation was bleak, they would’ve been brow-beaten and scorned the same way if they were to say that the sun was swelteringly bright.
Where could they possibly go from here: to the middle of the woods and on the run from an all-powerful force? They would not last for long on their own. Many alternatives played on their minds, but all seemed much too fragile to consider.
“I’m so sorry,” Azure whispered while these thoughts swirled within his mind that they almost made him faint. It was a lame apology and even a lamer way to attempt to cheer the poor stallion up but he was not sure he was apologizing to Wind Scribe, himself, or the faces that are now destined to be unseen. Faces he had hoped to see once more when this ordeal ended. Wind Scribe, on the other hoof, didn’t even turn his head to recognize the other pegasus and went about picking at a few blades of grass.
“Wind Scribe!” Azure tried again to get the stallion’s attention, “Hey man, look we can’t just mope about like this. We need to find some shelter or even better, some food.”
Azure’s stomach yawned in agreement to the last statement, but all thoughts of hunger were driven away and his ears drooped when Wind Scribe spoke dejectedly, “What’s the point? What good is it that we are on the run like this? What are we going to do now that Canterlot is under their control?”
“We can’t just give up…we just can’t!” Azure insisted on the sentiment despite the tone of fear that crept into his voice. A tone that only served to anger Wind Scribe that he expressed in a heated speech, “Oh yeah, and why not? Where can we possibly go now?! If you haven’t noticed, both Canterlot and Cloudsdale were attacked and possibly at the same time! Who’s to say that anywhere else is safe? Manehatten, Fillydephia, Hoofington; all most likely gone or being overrun as we speak! For all we know, the entire nation is already under the control of the Changelings!”
The heated tirade was punctuated by the resounding thuds of front hooves striking the ground after. Azure retreated a few steps away on instinct from the aggressive movement and watched as Wind Scribe breathed heavily. Frederick, the phoenix, who decided to accompany the two pegasi rather than return to his master, found his perch atop of Azure’s shoulder; offering light coos of reassurance and he nuzzled the side of Azure’s head on the other side whilst glaring at Wind Scribe threateningly. The gesture was welcoming and Azure offered a half smile in return.
With a bit of confidence restored, Azure moved to Wind Scribe’s side and planted himself gingerly beside the distressed stallion. Wind Scribe turned his head to other side, blatantly refusing to hear anything more from Azure had. Though not all was lost to Azure, and made him more determined to speak out. Using a tone voice he thought was the best a younger colt can adopt to reassure an older stallion, “We’re in the same boat here, Wind Scribe. My sister had no other choice but to send Fredrick here to deliver that message to us. She and the rest of my family could be in the hooves of the Changelings right now...”
Despite his determination to hold his ground and be strong enough for the other stallion, Azure could not help it. His eyes, at the mention of his family, started to tear freely, but still he went on as if nothing was more important than this moment and these words he had to say, “But I’m not just going to give up on holding onto that hope that they all made it out themselves! My sister...my sister held out hope that her warning would reach us before it was too late. So I’m going to continue to hold out til’ I see her, my family, and my friends again!”
Azure paused. He was starting to feel quite dizzy what with the turbulent emotions swirling in his mind. Taking long, deep breathes to re-organize his thoughts, Azure went on, “Think about it; we made it out of the sky city, so why couldn’t they? It’s just that we all got separated and are in hiding. We just have to believe that they’re out there somewhere doing everything they can to find us, so I’m going to do the same, for them.”
Wind Scribe wanted to believe in the blue-toned pegasus. He wanted to believe in his much too cheerful words, but there was also that undeniable feeling of doubt that had wedged itself firmly in the back of his thoughts; whispering its hushed verses of self-destruction. Little words that he had already thought to himself: that his family has already been captured, or worse.
Wind Scribe didn’t have to reply to Azure nor did he choose to do so and allowed his body slump even further into a state of dishevel. How could he understand the plight of a father and a spouse? Wind Scribe thought heatedly, He’s far too young to understand this type of sentiment. So naive and carefree; once he knew what it was to love somepony with all his heart, then he would know how I now feel. All these thoughts, Wind Scribe didn’t voice, but the one question he asked was what he thought would be help ease the younger stallion into rationality, “…And if they’re not out there?”
Alas, the connection was lost, the younger stallion left speechless. Wind Scribe fell to despair and there was nothing else Azure knew to propel his argument, and so he too fell to his rump as he gazed at the stallion that lost his edge; thinking hard of any way that would keep his spirits high.
Against the disparity that fell on the stallion before him, Azure bit the inside of his lip and yet, as much as he hated to admit it, that thought had crossed his mind more than once. A chilling shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought but his resolve did not waver for long and his answer, of a few simple words, was voiced in a rush in his haste to prove that he is not intimidated by the idea, “Then we go to them. We find them and... and we rescue them!”
As simple an answer as it was, Wind Scribe could not tell if the young stallion was truly serious or if he was pulling his leg, but one look at the young amber eyes revealed no deception or trace of doubt. The young colt was absolutely serious and that made it even more mad. ‘How could he show such confidence in such a foalish plan?’ Azure wondered silently. It was absolutely ridiculous that it made him want to laugh. It was a light chuckle, yes, but nonetheless a laugh with shallow sincerity.
Azure blinked at the half chortle. He could not tell if the stallion was laughing at him or at his words but that notion was shot down before he could get any other words out, “Alright, kid, but you can’t be serious about doing it alone! You’ve got some hidden army there somewhere behind you?”
With that understanding between them, Azure felt more hopeful than he ever dared to be since the start of that invasion a mere day ago and he, too, joined in the soft laughter and even Fredrick was chirping alongside them. Indeed, the boost in their morale was everything they needed to get them on their winding path again, but it was not before long that they found themselves in front of an oddity that neither of them would have suspected to be possible: a house! It appeared more to be a shack in its disheveled state and in the middle of the forest they skimmed along in.
Quite a few alarms raised in each of their minds as to what an apparently abandoned shack was doing out in the middle of nowhere like this. Their suspicions were instantly aroused: was it a secret Changeling hideout they set up even before the attacks started?
That theory, however, was quickly dismissed when their surveillance indicated no presence of any of the insect-like creatures around. Still, they were careful as they approached the front door of the simple dwelling so as not to prove their theory to be true and even Frederick was quiet and nervously kneaded his claws into Azure’s mane.
The haunted-looking doorway was more than enough to deter both pegasi away from considering this a possible haven for the night, but the stars were bright and shining in the sky and they needed a place to rest and, perhaps, find something to eat. There were no lights coming from the windows to show any signs of residency nor any noise besides the ambient background of the forest and the loud beat of their hearts. Wind Scribe and Azure looked at each other, their eyes mirroring the nervousness and fear they both felt, pleading for anything they could use for shelter but the latter swallowed down the hard lump in his throat that he only just realized had been there in the first place and raised his hoof up to hover just a mere inch away from the front door.
Three times his hoof struck, a silent echo reverberating from the hardwood portal. Another three more strikes and still no answer. Whether or not somepony lived in the shack, he or she were obviously not there. Both ponies took notice of the fact the door had no real lock to hold it in place; just a simple piece of rope latched around a hook on the outside and, just as easily as figuring out the lock, the door swung outward with ease, carrying a long squeal of rust with it.
It was completely pitch black inside; the only light coming from the radiant stars outside jutting inside to illuminate just a few feet past their hooves. Both ponies stood there at the edge of darkness, wanting to go in, but unable to gather up enough courage to venture inside. So, with a mild shake of disdain, it was Frederick the phoenix, who was brave enough to careen past the ponies and into the shack. A small halo of light followed in the phoenix's wake to silhouette what appeared to be simple wooden furniture strung about the interior. It was nothing fancy, just bare essentials, but it was more than adequate for the use of those two travellers. As they took their first step inside, the room was suddenly washed in a warm glow that very nearly made both ponies faint had it not been laid to rest when they discovered its source to be none other than Frederick finding himself a cozy perch in the hearth.
Azure snickered and shook his head at the phoenix as he went inside while Wind Scribe tried to make his heart beat normally. He would have gasped in terror again at seeing the bird sitting so peacefully while it burned alive had his mind not been quick enough to remind him of what he read in the tomes about phoenixes and their immunity to fire. He watched with a hint of a smile on his face while Frederick lazily preened his feathers, letting the hearth burn a little brighter as more wood caught flame even though it stank of decay and looked somewhat wet.
The entire room was filled with the gentle glow of the yellow and orange tongues of flame, sufficient to illuminate the interior for Azure to make out the room in better detail while Wind Scribe moved to close the window shutters to conceal this beacon of light from any prying eye. As they assumed before, there was only a bare minimum of furniture that one would supposedly need in order to call a house a ‘home’. It looked old indeed and made of hoof-carved oak wood that otherwise gave it a homey comfort. A couch dominated the center of the ‘living room’ and bore loose, red cushions along its length that looked easily big enough to fit two ponies or maybe even three if they huddled up together. There were also a few stools and a bookshelf with only a scarce amount of dusty books to honestly line the shelves.
The two pegasi did not linger at the edge of the room for long in their apprehension; feeling that it was quite safe to enter seeing how Fredrick was calmly resting in the hearth. Their hoofsteps prominently announced their entrance against the creaking hardwood floors and they decided to take a better look around for any signs of a homeowner but all they found was a couple tables with a multitude of mementoes beyond the couch and just left of the blazing hearth: all from a brass pocket watch to a ticket to a show in Las Pegasus and yet none of them gave the two any idea as to who the homeowner might be.
Foregoing the investigative route, Azure decided to take a much more direct approach in finding out the homeowner’s identity so he called at the top of his lungs, “Hello! Anypony in here?”
Wind Scribe immediately tensed up and hissed at the colt, “What are you doing, are you crazy?”
“What are you whispering for?” Azure cocked an eyebrow, “and what do you mean ‘what am I doing’?
“What if there were Changelings hiding in here waiting for ponies to come along and find this place?” Wind Scribe glared back but Azure merely looked around the room in confusion, trying to spot any signs of danger to their situation, and turned his head to answer back calmly “Looks safe enough to me.”
“Well, we didn’t know that for sure and I would rather not test our luck at the moment.” Wind Scribe sighed, rolling his eyes in the process, “In any case, since your little ‘cry for attention’ hasn’t brought us any unwanted doom, it doesn’t seem like anypony is here.”
Azure snickered at the indirect insult and went back to looking around the house for any more clues while the other grumbled to himself at the colt’s antics and wandered through a doorway to another room. It was much darker in there, since the light from the fireplace only peeked in slightly, but his luck persisted for he found an oil lamp was sitting just atop of a counter to his right; filled and ready for use.
It only took him a moment to take it back to the living and have Frederick light the wick for him and. Now with a mobile light source at hoof, Wind Scribe reentered the room to explore. Once inside, the room was bathed in the shallow light of the oil lamp. A few artifacts stood out very quickly and, judging by the countertop of cookware and utensils, not to mention the pony size ice box in the corner, Wind Scribe came to the conclusion that this room was the homeowner’s ‘kitchen’. Though while he walked around the kitchen, examining what was in it, a strange gurgling sound nearly made him jump in fright before he realized that it came from within him.
Indeed, the mere mention of kitchen set off a low grumble deep in the old stallion’s gut and, seeing how both pegasi had been flying for almost an entire half day and only found a few bushes of wild berries to use as a snack, it was no wonder that he was completely famished, but the discovery of this shack completely drove hunger off his mind until now. However, and before he could let the string of drool hanging off the corner of his mouth hit the floor, he brought his focus back on trying to find anything that could lead him to finding the homeowner or any clue that might lead to finding his whereabouts. Alas, there were none to be had in the kitchen.
Still, there was one other room on the other side of the kitchen that he had left unchecked and, swiftly trotting across the kitchen and avoiding the stale smell of old food in the air, he made it into the the other entrance to see where it led. By the light of the oil lamp, he could make out certain pieces of furniture that defined the room’s purpose, “It’s a bedroom, no doubt” Wind Scribe thought as he gazed at the four-poster bed, set in the center against the back wall, with curtains surrounding it. It was a bit lighter in here considering there was an open window letting soft pale blue starlight into the room to his right.
Wind Scribe set his rusty oil lamp down on another carved wooden stool, that sat just beyond the threshold, and trotted in for a closer inspection. There was a simple six drawer-dresser, a nightstand, a water basin set atop of a vanity, and a wardrobe in addition to the large bed. “This certainly feels like the work of a pony that pride their self on efficiency” Wind Scribe thought for indeed there wasn’t anything extra for showmanship; just the essentials.
This simply led to a bit of frustration on Wind Scribe’s part since there wasn’t even a picture frame of a single pony here nor through the entire house and it did seem as if whoever lived way out here in the wilderness preferred their privacy and they certainly didn’t think to accommodate guests.
Resolved now that there are no inhabitants in this house, Wind Scribe moved on to the dresser and opened the top two drawers in hope of finding something there, but he immediately shut it again and blushed deeply; trying not to think about the mare’s lingerie that lay within. “At least I found one clue as to the homeowner’s identity”, Wind Scribe thought as decided he had had enough snooping around for one night.
Backpedaling to the kitchen, he was surprised to see Azure already scavenging through cupboards for anything to eat and remarked with slight humour, “You know you could be arrested for theft right about now.” But the sudden remark made Azure jump a little from behind the open pantry and back away only to be thwarted in his comeback by a loaf of bread in his muzzle. Upon recomposing himself, he was free to make all the witty remarks he wanted, “Yeah, and you’re officially trespassing on private property so that makes two of us... If we’re lucky, they’ll let us share a cell.”
The two ponies shared an even gaze for a few seemingly-tense moments before cracks of humorous smiles crossed their muzzles. “It’s good to hear him laugh...” Azure thought while his chuckles accompanied those of Wind Scribe while the latter let out a mirthful laugh before he asked, letting his inhibitions on eating someone else’s food go after another fit of gnawing rumble claimed his gut, “Is there at least some packages of tea leaves anywhere in there?”
“Yeah!” Azure called back, sticking his muzzle back in the pantry, “Though I bet Fredrick wouldn’t be too keen on sharing his ‘bed’ with a kettle full of water.”
Wind Scribe answered with a long sigh and huffed, “Nevermind then, what else is in there?”
“Well... there’s some cheese, bread, peanut butter, jam, dry pasta, alfalfa cubes, and canned beans.” Azure answered, turning his head, with guilt shining through his eyes, at the stallion framing the door. Admittedly, they each felt bad for having inviting themselves on somepony else’s home and currently in the process of raiding their fridge but, after debating on whether the homeowner was actually around, they resolved to explain to them of their situation upon their return and payback for what they scavenged and, in the meantime, leave a note when they leave in the morning as planned.
Despite the noises of the outside forest, the night settled in quietly on the three travelers as they filled themselves up on whatever they could scrounge from the kitchen. The meal they shared was not at all what can be called ‘fancy’ and it certainly made each pony think back to how Azure’s mother and Wind Scribe’s wife made the most succulent meals for each of them, but they could not dwell much on these memories when sleep started to invade their senses now that their tummies were filled. The two pegasi traded their goodnights and even Fredrick hooted softly from the heart of the fireplace as if bidding the ponies a goodnight himself.
They were quite tired, yes, but nether Azure nor Wind Scribe found sleep easy. They merely ignored each other, though more for lack of anything to say, and chose to toss around and turn on each of the respective piece of furniture they chose for bedding, leaving the large four-poster bed in the bedroom at the other end of the house unoccupied out of respect to the absent owner of said house. Only one of them seemed to find sleep quite an easy task and both ponies envied the blissfully snoozing phoenix curled up the flames of the fireplace.
Azure didn’t know for how long he was awake but a small crack in the window shutters afforded him the luxury of gazing into the starry heavens and when he whispered gently, “Good night...” it was for neither Frederick nor for Wind Scribe; it was for his sister, for which he made this habit to wish the stars ‘good night’ before he went to bed each night exactly as she told him to do before she left to Canterlot. He could remember that awfully sad moment as if it happened yesterday when he could barely see anything through his eyes, swimming with tears, while she hugged him to whisper in his ear, “Look at the stars each summer night and I’ll wish you good night, brother.”
On that first night of the attack on Equestria, a young colt spoke his wishes for a good night to a sister he knew not of which he will ever hear from again or if she will ever get to hear them whispered through the stars. His eyes, exhausted from the silent tears they shed, did not remain open for long and swept him deep into troubled sleep.