Equestria's Secret Service

by EdwardJ

V - The Escape

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Chapter Five

"History shall be scrubbed, the books rewritten. The stories that are passed down shall be made to be fantasy; children's tales of courageous make-believe. The deeds of the Secret Service shall pass from fact to legend, from legend to myth, and then be lost from memory.
"But the Library will maintain. In a forbidden archive under lock and key we will keep the records, and as the Service acts so too shall these deeds be kept and stored. The archive will keep; the library will maintain."

~Celestia, on the Hiding of the Service

The earth pony Last Leaf cut through the rope that bound her wings, and Clear Skies gratefully took a deep breath, feeling her chest expand to its fullest; breathing had never felt so good. As the ropes were cleared away, Gleam, supported by Maple Song, limped over. "All right," she said, "let's take a look at that wing. Can you spread it for me?" Clear skies tried, but to no avail; it felt as though her muscles had turned to lead. Slowly, hesitantly, she shook her head. Gleam smiled weakly. "That's alright. Here, try not to move."

Gleam grasped her wing and pulled; Clear Skies gasped and struggled not to leap away. There was no feeling in her wing at all, but it was all fire and needles at the shoulder. Gleam looked apologetic, still holding the wing in her mouth. "Fowwy."

Clear Skies said nothing, only nodded slowly. It was painful, but it was nothing to what the others had to be going through. Of all the ponies, only Autumn had remained unhurt, but Gleam had the worst. She walked on three legs, and one of those very gingerly. Her body was decorated with bandages that covered numerous wounds, and though most of her bleeding had stopped, one gash on her belly continued to leak a slow stream of red. Her left eye was closed, swollen shut, and her horn had a small chip near the end. It looked as though every breath she took was fire, and every so often she would cough up blood. Despite all of this, it was Gleam doing most of the medical aid, assisted in small parts by the earth ponies.

She winced again, closing her eyes against the pain; Gleam had stretched her wing out. Opening one eye, she watched as Gleam examined the splay of her wing. She worked slowly, carefully tracing the paths of the feathers, the flesh, and the bone with her hooves. Gentle as she was, even the smallest movements set her wing shoulder afire, and Clear Skies cast her mind around for a distraction. "Are—" Fire. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked, and suddenly felt foolish for it.

Gleam smiled. "I'm—" She was suddenly wracked by coughs.

Maple Song wrapped her foreleg around Gleam's shoulders; her voice was full of concern. "You should rest," she said.

Gleam shook her head as her coughs subsided. "No... no, I can't. There's still too much work to be done." She brushed Maple's hoof off her shoulder. "I'm fine, really; I've been through worse than this." She returned to her task, her gentle nudge causing more needles to course through Skies' shoulder.

Clear Skies clamped her jaw tightly shut, closing her eyes and willing the pain to stop; a whimper escaped her lips. Soon after, she felt her wing tucked back against her side. She opened her eyes to see Gleam sitting back, leaning up against Maple Song. "Your wing," she said, pausing to take a slow, painful breath. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. The bones have long since set badly, and your muscles have atrophied. It can be fixed, but you'd need a medical pony for it."

Clear Skies was taken aback. "You... aren't you a medical pony?"

Gleam smiled. "Not by talent, no. I have some small skill in the area, and a bit more—" She coughed, and paused to take a breath again. "...a bit more experience than the others here. This is beyond me; it requires talented help. Not to worry," she quickly added, "we know some good ponies; you'll be right as rain in no time."

Clear Skies nodded idly, her head swimming. Her wing was broken, and there was no way to fix it out here. She tried stretching out her left wing, but it, too, stubbornly remained at her side. She sighed, looking around at all the ponies who had rescued her. They had been running hard all afternoon, ever since escaping the mines. After she had been dropped off with them, Dew had flown back to keep the storm raging, keep the fog thick, and make the dogs think they were still hiding in it. She took the storm North while the ponies ran East, back toward the Equestrian borders.

She pulled Autumn's cloak back over her shoulders, covering the broken things on her sides. Her gaze drifted over the camp, surprisingly well hidden for how quickly it had been set up. Evening had fallen, and the party had stopped and erected crude, quick shelters for the night. Tired as all of them were, Clear Skies felt worse. She was heavy with foal, and the long run had been agony on her. She had slowed them all down, and no matter what they said she still felt terrible for it. When they had all stopped for the night, she had collapsed while everypony else had begun setting up camp and making sure she was alright; she still saw the disgust in the one unicorn's eyes. She was a burden, and she knew it.

It was more than her, though; the dogs would be content to leave them all alone if it weren't for her foal. Why they wanted her, Clear Skies couldn't even guess, but she would die before she let them have her. Unfortunately, that was hardly a barrier in her condition. Again, she had to rely on the ponies around her, adding to their burden. If the dogs came, there wasn't much she would be able to do; she still felt so trapped.

She looked away from the mountain that held her captive all those months, out over the open expanse of the barren plains. She had heard the unicorns talking on teleportation earlier; most of it was just magical jargon to her, but she did understand the lack of promise in their voices. Will we be walking all the way back? she wondered. How far will this place take us?

She looked back toward the setting sun, toward the mountain, where Autumn stood watch. His cloak around her shoulders, he wore only his vest and mask, and to her he looked almost regal in the evening light. The bright of the sun made his colours shine more beautifully than the dim torchlight ever could; the chestnut hue of his coat, hazelnut in his mane, and the white mask that made his cutie mark. She looked down, and peeking out from the cloak's hem were two bright blue hooves. Beside her eye a golden mane fell, gleaming in the vibrant light. The grey was gone, vanished in the open air.

She was free.

The realization snuck up on her, quiet as a wish, and soon she found it encompassing her every thought, brushing aside all her fears and trepidations in a glorious light. Free. The wind tickled her mane, the air was crisp, clean, and full of warm scents, and the sun, the sun! As it slowly turned red to meet the land below, it cast its warm light over her face, melting away her fears. Off in the distance, lightning flashed from Dew's storm. The quiet thunder rolled over Clear Skies, and her useless wings tingled in excitement. Somewhere, in the back of her head, a small voice whispered about still being far from home, but it was quickly brushed aside; that was a thought for tomorrow. Right now there was dirt instead of stone under her hooves; right now the open sky was above her, calling to her, inviting. Out here she could run, laugh, and dance far away from the bars and dim torchlight. Out here there were no walls to hem her in, and the Shaman was far away from her and her foal...

Her foal. The sweet air blanded at the thought. She had been still ever since they left the mines; Clear Skies didn't know what it meant, not truly, but she feared for the worst. The colours drained from the world as the sun descended behind the horizon, and she looked up and watched the blue sky disappear; she was used to utter darkness.

It took her some time to realize that the stars were there. Shining in the velvet black, little pinpricks of light struggling against the infinite. Against the whole universe they continued to shine, lighting the night with tiny glimmers of hope. Soon she found herself staring at a single star, its comforting light gently kissing her tired face.

She made a wish.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

It was close to midnight when Dew flew into camp. The strong winds buffeted her as she came in. Exhausted as she was, she hit the ground hard. Last Leaf, the pony on watch, ran over. "Dew! What happened? Are you alright?" She quickly checked the wound on Dew's back. Blood was plastered over her right side, but it was all dry; the bleeding had stopped some time ago.

Dew's chest was heaving as she lay there, trying to regain enough composure to speak. "Dogs," she managed, fighting between breaths. "Following. Caught your trail. Know storm is diversion." She gratefully accepted the canteen from Last Leaf and took a huge swallow, coughing a bit when a few drops took a wrong turn. "Running hard. Hour at most."

There was a pause while Last Leaf processed the information. "Wait here," she said, and ran back to the camp centre. Dew almost chuckled at the command; she didn't think she could move if she wanted to. She was weary, all she wanted to do was sleep. The dogs had caught on to the diversion some time before she noticed; she had flown fast to overtake them, and flown high to avoid being noticed. The air was thin and cold so far up, and the earth was so warm, even in the winds. She was grateful to be back on the ground...

Her eyes snapped open to find Autumn standing over her. Behind him, Last Leaf was rousing the rest of the camp. "Can you stand?" he asked her.

She thought about it, flexing her legs. There seemed to be some energy left, so, taking a deep breath, she pulled herself upright. With her hooves under her, she tried to push the earth away. Slowly, she lifted herself. Before she made it halfway up, her breath caught in her throat and her muscles gave out. Autumn was there when she fell, holding her up and smiling warmly. "Here," he said, "let me help."

She smiled back and leaned against him. "You could have done that from the start," she chided.

Gently, he walked her over to where the other ponies were gathered. Last Leaf stood with Celina and the other unicorn that Dew didn't know, surrounding Gleam and Maple Song, lying together in the dirt. Clear Skies was huddled under Autumn's cloak, separate from the others, her head peeking out from the folds. As they approached, Maple Song got up and hurried over. "Autumn, I..." she started. She looked around, leaned in close and whispered. Even over the winds, Dew heard her. "It's Gleam; she can't stand, and she's burning hot. She needs medical attention, but... I don't know what do to."

"Gleam?" Dew had taken a step away from Autumn, and her legs buckled under her weight. Autumn caught her before she she hit the ground.

Maple Song looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just... just tired." She looked at Autumn. "Please, I need to see her."

He paused for, but only for a moment. With a nod he took her weight again and the three of them went over to where Dew lay. She opened her good eye at their approach. "Dew," she said, her voice barely audible over the wind, "you're back." She lifted her head. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Gleam," she responded. "Just tired. What about you, though? You look terrible."

Gleam gave a quiet chuckle. "Oh, this? Looks worse than it really is. I'll be right as rain in no time, you'll see." With that, she lay her head down again, her eye closed. "No time at all."

"She keeps saying that," said Maple Song. "She needs help, but she refuses to accept it. She... she's in denial, I think."

"No," said Dew, struggling onto her own four hooves. "She just doesn't want us to worry." She hobbled over and lay down next to the broken unicorn.

"Whether or not we worry, we still need to move," Last Leaf provided. "How far away did you say the dogs were?"

"Less than an hour, at best guess," Dew replied.

Last Leaf looked at the unicorns. "Looks like it's your show."

Celina shook her head. "Not that simple, I'm afraid; there are—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maple Song cut in. "Gleam can barely stand, let alone walk, and we need to move now. Seems pretty simple to me."

Celina closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, taking a deep breath. "Listen, hornless—"

"PLEASE," Dew interrupted, casting a wilting glare. "Take your bickering elsewhere."

The ponies looked around at each other, and quietly shuffled off, speaking in hushed voices. Dew looked over to Autumn, who still stood beside her. "You'd better go; I'll stay here."

"They will want to hear your voice," said Autumn.

Dew shook her head. "They've heard what I have to say. I won't leave her."

Again, he paused only a moment, then nodded and turned away. With a final concerned look, Maple song followed him. Dew wrapped her wing over the unicorn beside her, forcing herself to stay awake; she wasn't going to sleep while her friend was in pain like this. She watched as, a short distance away, Autumn addressed the gathered ponies. He spoke, but whatever he said was lost in the wind.

"You should have gone," whispered Gleam. "I'll be fine by myself."

"They won't need me over there; they already know what I have to say." She nuzzled her friend affectionately, smiling warmly. "And you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Being stubborn as always, I see." Gleam chuckled quietly, but her laugh quickly turned to coughs. Dew started as small speckles of red flew from Gleam's mouth, but she held herself in check. This was the kind of thing that Gleam didn't want them to worry about; mentioning it would only push her away. Once her coughs subsided, Gleam sighed and nestled under Dew's wing. "Glad you're here," she whispered.

It hurt to sit there, just watching her friend suffer. She could feel Gleam's fever burning against her side. Between them, where the wind couldn't reach, a thin coat of sweat was quickly forming. It was the blood that had her worried, and she wanted to lean over and kiss it all better, just like her mother used to do. But then, she was a grown pony, and she knew better. Instead, she lay her head beside Gleam's, and pulled her wing tightly over her.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched the others hold their meeting. Celina was clearly angry, but quiet, so it was up to the other unicorn to try and placate everypony else. After a while, the earth ponies left the meeting, while Autumn continued to discuss things with the unicorns. Last leaf went off into the plains, digging at the ground, while Maple Song wandered the camp, collecting and sorting through the saddlebags. "What happened?" Dew asked when she came near.

"We're making a stretcher," she answered. "The unicorns won't teleport, so we walk. And, since nopony wants to leave Gleam behind, we need a stretcher to carry her."

"What? But, why?" Dew asked, completely baffled. Teleportation was the fastest method of travel known in Equestria, and any dangers it held were easily controlled by any competent practitioner of magic. "The dogs already know we're here; there's no reason to keep hiding our magic."

"That's what I said." She emptied a saddlebag on the ground, and began picking through the items. "But you heard them: 'not that simple,' they said. I mean, honestly, how can—"

"Makes sense." Gleam's quiet voice was the only indication that she was listening. "With only two able unicorns, we wouldn't make it very far, at least not without exhausting them. Then they would need to rest before moving on... it could be faster to simply walk."

"But," objected Maple Song, "We made it pretty far when we came out here. I mean, I know we don't have as many unicorns now, but it's, what, one-fifth the power? We should be able to make it a good distance with that."

Gleam opened her good eye, and fixed it on the earth pony. "Please don't talk about us like we're just numbers."

The pony blanched. "I-I didn't mean—"

Gleam's eye closed again as she gave a soft chuckle. "I know," she said. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Pooled magic is...not like addition. It's more like multiplying. More unicorns, much more power. On the way out here, there were more unicorns than...others. Easier to carry the rest of you. With only two...it would be...harder..." She trailed off, and appeared to be sleeping.

Power, thought Dew, that's what we need. She was about to suggest a circle, like the one in the palace teleportation chamber, but caught herself. The soil here was too sandy and the winds too strong; no circle would last long enough. If she hadn't been so exhausted she might have been able to calm the winds enough, but for now there wasn't much she could do. Perhaps walking really is the best answer. She looked up to the open sky, where the stars were twinkling against the night. Or perhaps, it's the only answer.

Maple Song stood there for a while, watching Gleam sleep, before she seemed to remember what she had been doing. Last Leaf came over, carrying a small selection of saplings and roots that she had dug up, and together they began to fashion a serviceable stretcher. As they finished, a flash of light washed over the camp, causing Dew to shut her eyes against the sudden bright. Autumn was walking over when she opened them again.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She looked at Gleam, who's rest appeared calm for the moment. "We're... alright, but Gleam can't stay out here; we need to get her to a medical pony."

"I know," he said. "We have just sent several messages to Canterlot; there will be several ponies woken up by this news, and at least one of them should want to see our safe return. I expect we will have help before dawn."

"Before dawn? Autumn, the dogs are near half an hour away by now, and if they have a Shaman with them, that bit of magic just pinpointed our location. We don't have until dawn."

"Which is why we shall be moving in the meanwhile." He turned to the earth ponies. "Is it ready?" he asked; they nodded. "Good. Celina, if you would?"

Celina obliged, her horn glowing gently with a purple light. The same glow enveloped Gleam's sleeping form, and she was lifted from the ground and onto the stretcher, now borne on the backs of the two earth ponies. The stretcher sagged under her weight, but held. Gleam shifted uneasily and moaned, but otherwise took no notice of her surroundings.

"So, when these other ponies show up, where will we meet them?" Dew asked as the ponies all gathered together.

"I do not know."

"What?"

"We do not know where we are. It is hard to find a place to meet when we cannot find ourselves. We have told them, then, that we are east of the mountain, near one day's hard march of distance, and that we shall be continuing easterly tonight." He looked over his shoulder at her. "They shall need to find us."

Needles in a haystack, she thought, but she said nothing. What else was there to do? Sighing, she looked around. She couldn't see much in the starlight, but she didn't need the sun to know that only the empty plain was there to greet them; it would be two more days at least before the forest appeared. The ponies were tired; they had been running for much of the previous day, and most had only managed a few hours sleep before she had landed. It would be a rough run.

"Hey, hold them up a second, will you?" Dew stood on shaky legs and slowly trotted off, not waiting for a response. She stopped in front of Clear Skies, who hadn't moved since Dew had arrived. "Hey," Dew said. "You ready to go?"

"I'm sorry."

She tilted her head to one side. "For what?"

"It's my fault," she said, sadness in every word. "All these ponies are dead and hurt, and all because of me."

"Don't say that."

Clear Skies ignored her. "I thought I could do it, you know? Be happy. I was finally free, and everything could be just a bad dream. Even though I can't... I can't fly, the sky felt so inviting, so warm. But when I look around at all of you, so tired and hurt, and I know it's all because of me..." She looked up, and there were tears in her eyes. "I-I just..."

Dew was beside her, holding her in a comforting embrace. "No, Skies, it isn't your fault; never tell yourself that. We're all here because we chose to be. We all came to help."

Clear Skies shook her head. "But if I hadn't been there, none of you would've come; you'd've had no reason to. You'd've all stayed safe at home, a-and nopony would have died, and w-we wouldn't be out here, being chased by angry dogs trying to... trying to kill us." Her tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she could barely contain her sobs. "I-if it wasn't for me... it's my fault, and I'm s-sorry to put you all through this."

Dew was at a loss for words. She wanted to tell her that it wasn't true, that they would have been there anyway, but she couldn't tell the mare about the Service; that went against everything the Service was founded in. Secrecy meant immunity; it meant surprize; it meant everything.

"So what will you do?" Both mares looked up at the sound of Autumn's voice. "Walk away? Go back to the dog's prison? Would you sacrifice yourself and your foal just to apologize? Do you think any of the ponies we lost would want you to give up?" He leaned in close. "Do you think the ones here want to watch you walk away? All of us here chose to come. All of us knew the risks. We came anyway. The ponies who died, died free, following their own choices. They died so that you could be free to choose for yourself again." He stood straight again, looking down gently at the pegasus. "You are a strong mare, Clear Skies; you would not have survived those months were it otherwise. This is not an easy road ahead of you, but I have no doubt that you will make it through. Stand up, Clear Skies; honour our efforts, and live free."

Clear Skies sniffed and wiped her eyes. A sob got caught in her throat, and she fought it down and swallowed it. She stood, faced Autumn, and for a moment she looked into his eyes with an emotion that Dew almost called 'love' before it became simply 'gratitude.' "I-I..." Her words seemed to catch in her throat, and she looked to the ground. "...thank you."

Smiling, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Come, then; the long night awaits us."

The three of them rejoined the rest of the group, where Celina was magically drawing a circle in the dusty soil. The whole thing glowed gently as her magic held it against the winds. "A circle?" asked Dew. "I thought the unicorns weren't going to use their magic."

"They changed their minds," Autumn answered. "Sometimes it is only a matter of asking the right question."

"What did you tell them?"

"What was said is unimportant. The result is two shorter jumps that, together, takes us farther than a single jump would, and requires less exertion from the unicorns. It will not get us very far, but it will give us a good start."

Dew was stunned. "How does that work?"

Autumn shook his head. "They did not tell me the details."

"It's done," Celina said. "Balloons, you ready?"

Balloons was standing in the centre of the circle. It was a small thing, only about three metres in diameter, and it continued to glow under Celina's magical care. The unicorn sighed. "My name isn't... never mind. Yes, I'm ready."

"Good. Everypony gather 'round! Don't step on the lines; I don't want them scuffed."

The ponies took up places all around the circle, and Balloons lowered his horn, glowing with a steady teal light. The runes in the circle pulsed in response, then took up the glow, overpowering the faint purple that held them. Slowly, the power built, casting the teal across the plains. Tendrils of power reached out and enveloped the ponies, and the magic reached its apex...

Balloons winced, and in a flash the ponies were gone; the plain was empty and dark once more. In the starlight, just hoofprints and a circle could be seen, quietly blowing away in the wind.

* * *

"Sorry, I kinda screwed that up." Balloons' voice was weak through his embarrassed smile. Celina only sighed.

"What happened?" asked Autumn.

"Nothing too bad," Celina said. "Doofus here just put a bit too much power into the spell. Can't really say if we got farther on it, but he's going to have to rest before he can draw the next circle."

"We do not have the luxury of time." Autumn looked over at Balloons, still lying where he had collapsed after the spell had lifted. "Can you walk?"

"What?" Celina interjected. "No! He needs rest. If you make him march, it will take longer for him to recover."

"Time in which we will be gaining distance. As you said, we do not know if we made better distance on his spell. We must keep moving if we hope to remain ahead of our pursuit. Or, do you want to wait for the dogs to find us here?"

"No! No, not at all, I just... I was just letting you know," she finished weakly.

"I thank you for your concern, then." He looked back at Balloons. "Can you walk?"

The unicorn nodded slowly. "It'll be rough, but I can manage. Can't really afford any other options, can we?"

"Indeed." Autumn turned to the rest of the group. "We shall move before making the second jump. If you feel the need, I remind you of the energy pills, but remember to be careful with their use."

The energy pills. Dew really didn't like that idea. She was tired, and she knew that there would be no time to rest on the march tonight, but the thought of those pills made her sick. The last time she'd taken one she had become hyperactive to the point of paranoia, or at least that was how she remembered it. She was particularly sensitive to the effect the pills had, and she would become too wired to think clearly. Still, they were designed for situations like this. Maybe if I took only half of one?

She decided to wait for a bit, see if she could manage to keep awake on her own. As the group began to move, she fell in beside the stretcher that bore Gleam. The earth ponies were keeping it as steady as they could, but they could only do so much to keep the stretcher from jostling. Gleam was beginning to twitch fitfully in her sleep, kicking out at whatever phantoms that haunted behind her eyelids. Dew wanted to lie beside her, to comfort her. Instead, she nuzzled her neck, and whispered comforts in her ear.

"Why don't the unicorns just take the pills?" Dew looked to find Clear Skies walking beside her. "Won't that give them the energy to keep casting spells?"

Dew shook her head. "The pills don't do anything for magic. We actually don't have anything that can help with that; Zecora's brew was like a miracle, really."

Clear skies cocked her head to one side. "Who's Zecora?"

Dew paused for a moment, considering her answer. "A friend we met along the way; she didn't come with us."

The cloaked pegasus nodded, and the two of them fell silent, walking alongside the stretcher and the earth ponies. Gleam murmured fitfully in her sleep. "Isn't easy, is it?" Skies finally said. Dew looked, and saw that she was staring at the unicorn. "I remember once when Silver Dawn was bedridden." She smiled at the memory. "Heh. He really took advantage of that near the end, making me do all sorts of things for him. Simple things, really, but he could have done them. Still, though," she said, her smile fading, "I couldn't get mad; he looked so helpless. I remember how much it hurt to see him there, unable to stand, struggling to swallow his soup. Every night I'd pray that he would get better; that he would stand up and we would run outside again. Every morning I would see him lying there, and I'd have to swallow my fear and wear a smile for him. He liked my smile." She fell silent, reliving the old memories; happier ones than the cold cell ever gave her. Happier places than these plains.

When she spoke again, she was quieter. "I don't know what happened to him. He... he tried to fight off the dogs when they came, but..." She trailed off, threatening tears. She took a deep breath and, looking up to the stars, exhaled slowly. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he hopes the same for you," said Dew. "I'm sure he misses you just as much as you do him. He probably prays every night for the chance to see your smile again." Clear Skies gave a small laugh, but it was an empty thing, hollow and lifeless; she only half-believed it. "Tell you what," Dew added, giving her companion a playful nudge. "When we get back, let's go find him; we'll have dinner and everything."

Skies smiled, and for the first time it looked genuine. "Yes... let's."

They fell into silence once again, but this time it was a peaceful quiet; there was a hope that filled the air between them, and it seemed to light the night ahead of them as they marched to keep ahead of the dogs.

* * *

Celina made the second jump, while Balloons held the circle against the wind. She had better control of the spell than Balloons had, but it didn't matter; the unicorns' magic was spent. It would take the better part of a day for them to regain the mana required to cast the spell again. That had been only a few hours ago; they were walking the rest of the way.

They continued easterly, guided by the glowing stars above them, and all the while looking over their shoulders for the first sign of their pursuers; Dew thought she could hear the howls. She had taken only half of her energy pill, but it still made her jumpy; she would twitch at the slightest noise.

"Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward." Last Leaf's chant was quiet and constant, designed to keep her focused and steady through the haze of static energy that clouded her brain. Maple Song was resolutely holding onto what energy she had left; she hated the idea of pills. Gleam's stretcher-bed swayed in rhythm to the ponies' hoofsteps, rocking its occupant into a soft, gentle slumber. Blind to it all, Last Leaf walked steady, head down, and constantly muttering. "Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward."

Clear skies slept. Months in the cell had drained her muscles of their strength, and Dew was adamantly against her taking the pills. Instead, she had flown up to catch a cloud, and Clear Skies slept on it while Dew pushed. It had taken much to convince the pegasus to use the cloud; she had felt guilty resting while everypony else was tired on their hooves. She had refused to sleep, but soon her fatigue had overpowered her will. It was an easy sleep; the cloud hovered effortlessly above the ground, refusing anything but a smooth, gentle glide.

The unicorns slowly plodded forward in silence. The drain of energy that came with the casting of spells was momentarily forestalled, but the pills could only do so much. They kept their strength enough to walk and their minds enough to fight off sleep, but looking in their eyes one might think they were dead. Still they plodded forward, dimly aware of the world around them, forward into the night.

At the head of the group, Autumn led. He had refused the pills himself, and though he had to be dead tired, he never showed it. I wonder if his talent covers hiding his weaknesses. The thought idly crossed Dew's mind as she watched him, his head held high as he walked straight, never slowing down. They had been walking for hours, and dawn couldn't be far away; the black night was starting to take to blue.

The pegasus landed in the middle of their group like an apparition; Dew jumped back and hissed before realizing what was standing in front of her. He wore the camouflaged uniform of the Service, a set of goggles reflecting the starlight. He raised a quizzical eyebrow at Dew, then looked around at the rest of the ponies who had all stopped at his appearance. "Autumn's group, I suspect?"

The question was met with silence as the tired ponies struggled to find their words. Last Leaf giggled, her focus lost with her chant; all the excess energy was starting to make her giddy. After a few seconds, Dew stepped forward. "We... we are."

The pegasus turned to face her and nodded. "I'm Swift Storm, Service Hunter. Where is..." He trailed off, looking at the cloaked pony sleeping on the cloud. "...is this Autumn? I heard he was an earth pony."

"Or a unicorn," commented Last Leaf, bubbles in her voice.

"He's neither," Dew said. "I mean... not unicorn, or..." she gestured at the sleeping pony, "...her. He's..." She looked around, finally spotting him in the starlight, still moving forward. She looked at Swift Storm with a smile. "Aa, wait here a moment."

With that, she leapt a few feet into the air and surged forward, quickly closing the distance to her friend. Landing beside him, she saw his red eyes had dimmed to a hazelnut brown, and his cutie mark...

She quickly glanced behind them to see if anypony was following, and she nudged him, hard, in the chest. "Autumn!" she whispered.

He blinked, suddenly aware again. "Dew? What happened, is something wrong?"

"You, ah... you fell asleep on your hooves," she said.

Worried, he glanced back to the group of ponies, all waiting patiently. Relieved, he closed his hazelnut eyes and opened them red. His head tilted as he noticed the new pony. "Who is that?" he asked.

"Our rescue. He wants to speak with you."

Autumn started to breathe a little easier. "They found us. Praise Celestia, they found us." He sighed, and all his tension seemed to leave his body with his breath. "Well, then; we should not keep him waiting."

Swift Storm looked like he wanted to snap to attention. "Aa, the famous Autumn; pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Swift Storm, Service Hunter. Is this everypony?"

"The ones who made it, yes," he answered solemnly.

"Aa, yes... of course." Swift Storm looked downcast. "My apologies."

"You are not the one who needs to apologize," Autumn said simply. "Are you the only one out here?"

"No. We have a large detachment of pegasi scouring the skies for you. The unicorns brought us in near the halfway point between Canterlot and Morlan Mountain, and they're awaiting signal that you've been found."

"And now we have been."

Swift Storm nodded. "Right. Wait here." He took off to the skies, straight up, and the night quickly swallowed him. Waiting, Dew felt the change in the weather; a slight change of pressure, a shift in the winds... and then lightening illuminated the sky. In the flash, she saw Swift Storm kicking a thundercloud.

Clear Skies woke with a scream as thunder roared over the ponies. Instantly, Dew was by her side, trying to comfort her. "Wha-what's going on?" she cried.

"We've been found!" Dew responded as lightening and thunder sang again. Clear Skies' eyes widened in fear. "By ponies!" Dew hastily added. "We're safe!"

A third time the pegasus kicked the cloud, and in the flash she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Glancing over, she saw that Gleam was likewise awake and afraid, and Maple song had shrugged out of the stretcher to try and calm her down. Last Leaf stared at the sky, a bright smile on her face and a whisper on her lips. "It's so pretty."

"There," the pegasus said as he landed. "The other pegasi will home in on that thunderhead, and the unicorns should be here shortly. Soon, we will—"

"NO!" Gleam's cry cut across the plains, loud and terrified. She was kicking at the air around her, her eyes dashing back and forth, unfocused. "No... they're coming! Dogs and shadows... they're all around me!"

"No, Gleam, it's okay!" Maple Song dodged a swinging hoof. "Nobody's coming to hurt you! You're safe!"

Gleam didn't seem to hear her, squirming in the stretcher. "Get back... STAY AWAY!" Now panicking, her horn began to glow. Faintly at first, it grew stronger, sputtering as the magic wrapped itself around her.

"Gleam—" began Dew.

"GET AWAY FROM M—"

Gleam never finished her sentence. Her horn sparked where it was chipped, and all the magic she had built up burst in a flash, sending shockwaves of magical energy flying across the plains. Maple Song and Last Leaf caught the brunt of it, and were flung away from the panicked unicorn. Everypony else was knocked to the ground or into the air; Clear Skies' cloud was ripped apart, dumping its occupant onto the ground. A cloud of dust was kicked up, pelting the ponies with grains of dirt. Gleam screamed in pain, the sparks sputtering from her horn slowly subsiding. Her stretcher was broken, and she had been flung to the ground.

"What in the flying hell was that?" Swift Storm asked as he flew back in.

"I... I think she's having fever dreams," Celina answered, struggling back to her hooves. "Come on, Balloons; we need to get her magic under control!" Balloons groaned and rolled to his hooves, but didn't stand. As he pushed with his legs, the only thing he accomplished was rolling back onto his side.

Celina didn't notice, already hobbling over to where Gleam was lay, still twitching in panic. "Stay... stay away," she whispered, her horn beginning a faint glow once more.

"Oh, no you don't." Celina's own horn flashed brighter, and the purple glow wrapped itself around Gleam's horn, dispelling her magic. "You're not going to—"

"AAWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUU!"

Everypony froze, heads turned in the direction of the howl. The magic lock around Gleam's horn dropped as Celina stared, mouth agape, toward the sound. Last Leaf, lying on her back, giggled. Gleam twitched fitfully. "No..."

Clear Skies took a trembling step backward. "W-we have to go."

"We can't," said Swift Storm. "The rescue party is coming to this location. If we aren't here—"

"GLEAM! NO!" Dew cried, and everypony turned to see the unicorn struggling to stand, her horn again wrapped in as steadily growing glow. Again, Celina locked her horn, but the strain of magic upon her exhaustion soon made itself apparent. She collapsed, struggling to breath steadily. Free, Gleam's horn began to glow on its own once more.

"No..."

Autumn barrelled into her, knocking her onto the ground. The sudden action broke Gleam's concentration, and the spell dispersed quietly. "Quick!" he shouted, "before she recovers!"

Balloons, still lying some distance away, closed his eyes and clamped his jaw shut, his horn glowing while a teal lock wrapped itself around Gleam's horn. Gleam thrashed around, still trying to summon her magic at her dreams. "I... I can't hold it!" he shouted.

The ground was rumbling as the dogs closed in. "Long as you can, then," Autumn said. Then, looking over at Swift Storm, "Your party had best arrive soon."

"Th-they will," he stammered nervously. "Should be soon; it... it shouldn't take—"

He was cut off by a bright flash. Standing in the midst of the group appeared fifteen unicorns. Gleam screamed again, and her magic broke free of Balloons' constraints. Still on the ground, she lashed out, but again her magic broke as it reached a crescendo, sparks flying from her horn. The backlash was less this time, the shockwave only causing the ponies to close their eyes to the wind, dust, and sudden bright. Autumn, standing next to her, was pushed back only a few inches. Dew watched helplessly, not knowing what to do. Maple Song was still lying on the ground, unconscious, while the Earth continued its slowly growing tremble under the feet of a thousand running dogs.

"What the hay?" one of the newly arrived unicorns said. "What's this about?"

"Fever dreams!" shouted Celina, struggling to stand back up. "Quick, we need to contain her magic!"

Three unicorns instantly leapt forward, their horns glowing; Gleam was locked in a magical bind, holding her still to keep her from hurting herself or anyone else. Still she tried to kick at the air around her. "...away... stay away..." Her voice was weak, and her breathing was shallow. She coughed, and blood flew onto the dirt.

The pounding of the earth suddenly stopped, and low chuckles were heard all around them. In the light of the coming dawn, the shapes of dogs appeared as the wind blew the dust away. One stepped forward, and his staff, now adorned with the severed horns of five unicorns, started to glow white. The rest of the unicorns all took a defensive line, horns lowered. The Shaman looked at Clear Skies, who whimpered and huddled down under Autumn's cloak as the big dog grinned.

He pointed his staff at the ponies before him. "Give back what you stole, and we let you go."

The unicorns shifted, looking amongst themselves with unspoken questions. Autumn stepped in front of them and looked the Shaman in the eye. "You shall not have her."

The Shaman's grin fell. "Then you die."

He raised his staff, and a pegasus dropped into the middle of the group, its wings flared defensively. The Shaman paused, a confused look on his face. Another pegasus landed, head lowered and ready to fight. The Shaman looked up, and in the pale blue of the fading night, he saw pegasi circling in the sky, and three more dropped to the ground.

The Shaman lowered his head and growled.

"Get us out of here," Autumn said as the dogs surged forward. The unicorns began their magic as the pegasi ran up to meet the dogs. Those still circling above dove down, like hawks coming in for the killing blow. Dew stepped in front of Clear Skies, wings flared, as Last Leaf finally pushed herself to her feet, her giddy energy now solidly focused on the incoming horde.

The first dog to reach the ponies struck out with its claws at the pegasus in front of it. The pony dodged the blow, and the dog fell under the blow of a diving pegasus. All around him, other dogs suffered the same fate as several pegasi fell like rain. Undeterred, the dogs surged over their fallen comrades. The pegasi leapt back from the horde, but three dogs pounced for the slowest one, claws outstretched and jaws wide open.

They fell into each other, bright light taking their target away from them. Dogs surged over empty space, finding the ponies vanished with the wind.

The Shaman howled in rage.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

The unicorns sent off three flares in the pre-dawn light; one red, two blue: return to base. There were still pegasi in the air, and this signal would bring them home. The dogs would see it as well, but even if they did decide to follow the flares, the ponies would be gone long before the dogs ever reached them.

Celina was dead tired; she was certain it was only the pain in her chest that kept her eyes open. She thought it might be a broken rib, but even thinking was hard. She knew that they had been rescued, but the details were very sketchy. She clearly remembered Gleam having fever dreams, but after that everything became something of a blur.

There was a unicorn talking, she knew. Not to her, though, and for that she would have been grateful if she could have afforded the energy for the effort. No, the unicorn was talking to Autumn.

"Quite a following you had there," he was saying. "Haven't seen that many dogs above ground since my early years. All after her, was it? The pegasus?" The unicorn chuckled. "She's pretty, sure, but I wouldn't have thought her worth all that. Heh. I guess it's true, then: it's what's on the inside that counts."

She knew this unicorn, but she was having a hard time fighting through her fatigue to remember him. Perhaps it wasn't important, but it bugged her. The two of them, Autumn and the unicorn, were standing over Gleam. She had been sedated, and was now sleeping peacefully. Autumn stood there, likely to keep watch over the mare and see to it that she was alright, but the other unicorn—where do I know him from?—was standing there simply because that was where Autumn was.

"By the way," the unicorn continued, "I'd heard you ran off with several more ponies than this. You got some of 'em doing scouting runs or something?"

"'Or something,'" responded Autumn. "If that is your attempt at a joke, it is in poor taste."

She closed her eyes in an attempt to eliminate the distractions around her, focusing on the unicorn's face and voice. An older pony, he had soft colours: a teal coat and his mane was a washed-out rose, almost white. An old teacher of mine? No, no... more recent than that.

"Dead, then, are they? Well, that puts some work on Intelligence's back, I suppose. How many was it? Six? Seven?"

There was something wrong there. It scratched at her mind, but she couldn't place it through the fog in her head. "Eleven," Autumn said; Celina laid the matter to rest.

The unicorn let out a low breath. "Eleven. I wouldn't want to be in Intelligence when that assignment comes in."

There it was again, that little scratching unease. What is that? she wondered. What is he saying that is so wrong? She shook her head, trying to clear some of the fog.

"Did you want me to look at that?" a voice asked.

She opened her eyes to a pegasus holding a roll of fresh bandage. Beside him was a unicorn, and it was to her that Celina spoke. "...what?"

The mare pointed. "Your leg."

Celina looked down. Oh, she thought. I'd forgotten about that. She nodded idly as she brought her attention back to the elder unicorn. "Still, though... eleven," he was saying. "Don't get a number like that very often. Can you imagine what they'd have to come up with? Hoo, Sunmeadow is going to have a field day with that one."

Even Celina could hear the barbs in Autumn's reply. "I would appreciate it if you would stop referring to lives lost as an inconvenience."

The unicorn looked up. "Oh, now that got your attention. Sore spot, is it? Didn't think this would happen when you decided to run off and play leader to a bunch of fine ponies, did you? Finer ponies than you, I might add, and who would still be in Service today if not for your foolishness."

Astral Chance, she thought, finally placing the unicorn. He's with the Cause, that's right; always stands by the door. She nodded slowly, trying to convince her mind to calm down, but that scratching unease refused to leave; there was still something she was missing.

"And what would you have done?" She looked over at the new voice, and saw Dew sitting between the unconscious earth pony, Maple Song, and their rescued captive. She stopped; there was something about Clear Skies that tickled that itch at the back of her head. It was demanding her attention, and she lost track of the conversations going on around her. What does she have to do with anything?

Clear Skies was lying down, a frightened figure cowering against Astral's unhidden contempt; it made Celina sick. Where would she hide if not for that cloak? The thought passed idly by before the scratch took control again, and she found herself staring at the pregnant mare. Try as she might, though, she couldn't think of any reason that Clear Skies would be trouble. Too tired to think, she told herself. She's a civilian; what can... oh.

"Now, see here—" she heard Astral sputter; she wasn't going to let this argument go on any longer.

"Enough," she said. Fatigue kept her voice low, but it carried well enough over the bickering ponies, if a little lazily. "Astral, this is hardly the time to be trying to make new enemies. Also,"—
she fixed him with a pointed look—"might I remind you to watch your tongue? We wouldn't want our guest to gain a bad impression of you."

Astral looked over at Clear Skies, who shrunk back under his gaze; Celina shook her head. So weak... "Aa... right you are." He looked over at Autumn and motioned away with his hoof. "Come; let's talk over here."

"As you will," he said. Astral turned and began walking, but Autumn went in the opposite direction, toward where Dew and Clear Skies sat.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Autumn ignored him, walking up beside the two mares. "How are you feeling?" he asked them.

"Tired," answered Dew; Clear Skies only nodded. "Maple Song seems fine, but it'll be hard to tell for certain until she wakes up. The unicorns say that she doesn't appear hurt beyond what Gleam already cared for, but..."

Autumn nodded. "That is good," he said. He looked at Clear Skies. "Will you walk with me a moment?"

Clear Skies was taken aback by the request, but she quickly recovered. "Y... yes," she said. She stood, and Autumn led her away from everypony else, well out of earshot.

"What's this all about, huh?" Astral indignantly asked. "Trying to score some points with her or something?"

Dew glared at him. "Perhaps he is trying to undo the damage you did with your careless tongue. Honestly, talking openly about the Service in front of a civilian? What is wrong with you?"

Astral snorted. "Hmph. Yes, well... the remaining pegasi will be here shortly. Make sure he's ready when they arrive; our next jump takes us back to Canterlot."

Canterlot; good. Celina was looking forward to getting back; there was so much that she had to say, so much that the Cause had to know. Not right away, of course; the first thing she had to do was sleep.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

They arrived back in Canterlot midmorning, arriving in one of the mansions reserved for Service use; almost immediately Balloons and Celina sank to the floor and fell asleep.

"Aa, to be young again," Astral sighed. "Well, we still got things to do; let's wake them up."

"Oh, let them rest," Dew said. "They certainly deserve it."

Astral shrugged. "Very well, then." He gently lifted them into the air. "I'll just take them to bed; better to sleep on soft down than hard wood, eh?" He chuckled quietly to himself as he walked off, the two sleeping unicorns in tow. He paused, looked back, and called, "Star, could you grab those other two? Storm, get a medical pony in here, on the double."

The ponies nodded, and quickly went to their tasks. Another of the assembled pegasi walked over to Autumn. "Come with me," he said. "We'll need to get a report from you."

Autumn shook his head. "Later. I must take Clear Skies to a good hospital."

"There'll be a medical pony here shortly; I don't think one more patient will make much difference."

"This is not for fresh wounds; there is a need for full examination. Not to worry," he added, "I shall not be gone long." He then walked out without waiting for a response. Clear Skies hesitated only for a second, then ran over and followed him out.

The pegasus looked over at Dew. "He always like this?"

She shrugged. "Well, Astral there did make him mad. But if he says he'll be back, you can rest assured he will be." With that, she likewise followed Autumn out.

The three of them stepped out into the street, into the urban bustle so common in this city. It took a few steps for Clear Skies to fall behind, staring at the many ponies around them. Dew pulled Autumn to a stop, and they waited for her to catch up to them again. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"There's..." Clear Skies looked around, taking the the entirety of the city around her. "There's just so many ponies," she said.

Autumn and Dew looked at each other, and shrugged. After months alone in the belly of a mountain, this would be a little overwhelming. "Here," Autumn said, pulling the cloak's hood up over her head. "If you need, keep your eyes on the road, and do not let the world distract you." He smiled, and placed himself beside the pony. "Shall we proceed?"

They continued down the street, with Dew taking a position on the cloaked pegasus' other side. Try as she might, Clear Skies could not keep her eyes down. In wonderment she looked upon the homes and shops that lined the streets; in large crowds she shrank back from the noise of the many hooves on cobblestone and the cacophony of the multitude of voices. With infinite patience, her two companions stayed by her side, guiding her through the streets thick with ponies. Eventually, they left it all behind as they stepped into the hospital.

A little while later, they stood before a nurse as she explained the nature of the treatments they would be using to repair Clear Skies' wing. Dew listened with only half an ear; she understood that most of the procedure was magical, and that, in order for the healing to be full and complete, it would take over a month of work. Beyond that, most of what the nurse was saying was lost on her.

"...we can start today, if that's okay with you," she was saying. "Of course, this is not a cheap procedure, but it is the best option; anything less, and your wing could break again under any number of common stresses."

"...oh," was all Clear Skies said, shrinking into Autumn's cloak.

The nurse raised a quizzical eyebrow. "We can arrange automatic withdrawals from your bank if you need," she said.

She shook her head. "No, it's just... I don't know if I have anything left right now."

The nurse opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. "She has... been away for a while," Autumn said. "No matter; I shall shoulder the fees. What information will you need?"

The nurse looked him up and down. "Are you a relative?"

"I am not; that should not matter. It is my choice, is it not?"

The nurse nodded slowly, then sighed and handed over the paperwork. Autumn quietly filled it out, all the while Clear Skies watched him, a look of bewilderment on her face. Dew leaned in close. "Something bothering you?" she asked.

Clear Skies turned her head to face her, and mouthed the word 'why?' She swallowed, and found her voice, whispering, "Why is he doing this?"

Dew shrugged. "Just his way of doing things, I suppose. He likes to see things through 'til the end; perhaps he is just making sure this ends right. Or, maybe..." she dropped her tone to a conspiratorial whisper and winked. "...you could ask him instead."

"There we go," the nurse said, collecting the papers from Autumn. "I'll go file these away; please wait here."

The three of them sat quietly as the nurse trotted off, the papers held in her mouth. After a few seconds, Dew mentally sighed and nudged Clear Skies, motioning toward Autumn. The mare swallowed, and hesitantly broke the silence. "W... why are you doing this for me?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Because I want to see you fly."

Dew smiled inwardly. Cheesy old sap, she thought. Still, she couldn't deny it sounded nice. It certainly had an effect on Clear Skies; she looked to the ground, blushing slightly. A few seconds later, Autumn cleared his throat. "I... I must apologize, Clear Skies." She looked up at him, a hint of fear behind the curiosity in her eyes. "I fear I have not had the time to look for your lifemate; these past few days have been busy."

There was a pause, then she chuckled. She couldn't stop, and soon she was laughing heartily; all the stress built up over the many months all seemed to wash off her weary face. She was smiling a radiant smile, her eyes sparkled, and for the first time in many moons, even if was just for this moment, she was completely carefree.

When the Nurse came back, Clear Skies was still smiling; the weight of the world was resting a little easier on her. "Ready?" the nurse asked. The pegasus looked up and nodded.

"Hey," Dew said, "we're going to head back to the house; unfinished business and all that. We'll be sure to come and visit you later, okay?"

Clear Skies nodded, got up, and walked over to the nurse. "Oh," she said, suddenly turning around. "I forgot..." She pulled Autumn's cloak off her shoulders, held it close for a moment, then offered it back to him. "Thank you," she said as he accepted it. "For everything."

"It was my pleasure."

They watched her go before heading back out to the city. "So, what now?" Dew asked as they made their way through the busy streets.

Autumn shrugged. "I suppose I give my report, and then Golden Lock will punish me for my disobedience."

"That's unlikely, you know. There are too many ponies who would side with you now; he can't punish you like that."

"Perhaps. I have known him to ignore good sense before."

They walked together for a while longer, the noise of the city drowning out the silence between them. Finally, Dew spoke up. "We should grab lunch."

"I doubt now is a good time," Autumn responded. "If I am gone too long, Astral may accuse me of running away."

"Later, then," she persisted. "After all this, you're bound to get some free time. What about this weekend?"

He thought about it. "Hm... cannot, I fear; I will only have the one day, and I shall be doing my music thing then."

His 'music thing.' He never said more about it than that. Dew stopped walking. "Autumn... is there something wrong?"

He stopped and looked at her. "No. Why do you ask?"

"It's just... you've been growing distant, like there's something bothering you."

"This last mission was—"

"No, Autumn; this is longer than that. The past month you've been..." She trailed off, looking away from him. "I feel like you're trying to avoid me sometimes. I know you'll go out of your way to help others, but what about you?" She looked back, and stared into his eyes; tears were threatening in her own. "Aren't friends supposed to help each other? Where do you go? Am I... am I not your friend anymore?"

"Dew..." For a moment, he didn't move, then he closed his eyes and hung his head. "I'm sorry... I didn't realize."

She shut her eyes against her tears. That's it? she thought. An apology and it's over? She was about to run when she felt a soft kiss on her cheek. She opened her eyes to Autumn's masked face. "You are my first and only friend, and I will never leave you behind. You have sacrificed too much in my favour to let me to forget that." He smiled. "Lunch it is, then; this weekend. We shall spend the day together."

She smiled, and gently butted her head against his. "You big dummy."

"I am at that," he said, "but for now, we need to get back to the manor; they will be waiting for us."

"Right, then." She straightened up. "Back to business, I suppose."

Dew felt a lot more at peace as they walked up the steps to the mansion, Autumn at her side. Most of that peace was instantly dashed when Astral spoke. "About time you two got back. I was beginning to think you had run off to avoid your punishment." He looked Autumn up and down. "I see you have your cloak back."

"Hello, Astral," Dew said wearily.

He glared back at her. "That will be 'Astral Chance' to you two."

"I am surprized they have already decided on a punishment. Usually there is a proceeding."

Astral Chance shifted his glare to Autumn. "That remains to be seen."

"How is Gleam?" he asked.

The unicorn didn't answer right away; Dew thought he seemed very annoyed at being brushed off so casually. "Up the stairs and on the right. The nurse is with her now." Autumn bowed his head, and Dew followed him up the stairs; she felt Astral's glare at her back the whole time.

Gleam was still asleep when they entered the room, and the nurse was still giving an examination, her horn glowing gently. "Almost done," she said, jotting down some notes on her clipboard. Finished, she looked up at the ponies in the doorway. "Want me to look at that?"

"Huh?" Dew looked down, and was suddenly reminded of the bandage wrapped around her body. "Oh, uh... no, that's okay. Just... how is she?"

The unicorn levitated her glasses off and wiped her eyes. "Not well, I'm afraid." Her glasses landed on her nose again as she looked through her notes. "Most of the lacerations are easily dealt with, and have already begun healing well. Some will require more work to fix, and there are a couple of infections to deal with, as well as her fever." She flipped the page. "She has some broken ribs and a punctured lung; I suspect that happened later, as there are signs that the bone scrapped against her lung before it punctured. One leg broken, bone bruised in another, miscellaneous fractures... she's seen rough times." She set the clipboard down and sighed. "But the real problem is her horn."

Dew was now standing next to the bed, watching Gleam sleep. Her eyes were darting around under her eyelids, and she seemed to be having a nightmare. "Her horn... it was only chipped a little."

"Your friend had more than a small chip; there was a fracture that ran from that chip to the core of her horn. When she started casting those spells at her fever dreams, though..." The nurse tapped her own horn. "These things are powerful conduits, but they're not infallible. When she put that much power through a freshly damaged horn... well, it's like trying to lift weights on a fractured leg; the leg is going to break. The fracture she had now runs the length of the core, down to her skull."

"Can anything be done?" Autumn asked.

The nurse sighed. "I'm afraid not. Treating horn fractures is still beyond us."

"Will she..." Dew swallowed a sob. "Will she still be able to use magic?"

"Hard to say." She picked up her clipboard again and tucked it against her side. "It depends on how much the horn heals. In any case, the power she'll wield will be greatly diminished. She should still be able to manage everyday tasks, such as brushing her teeth or cooking, but beyond that..." She stopped as a sob escaped Dew's throat. "I'm sorry," she said, and left the room.

Autumn stood by the door, ever the distant pony. "Will you...?"

Dew nodded. "I'll be fine. Go; you need to make your report."

He lingered a moment. "I... I will be there if you need me." With that, he slipped out of the room, leaving Dew alone with her broken friend. A tear ran down her cheek.

* * *

Faster, faster, FASTER. The wind whistled by Dew's ears as she pushed herself to her fastest speeds. She had only heard about this an hour ago, and she knew she had to make it fast; time was against her. Her saddlebags slowed her, but she'd be damned if she dropped them.

She banked left, hard, and flew over her destination. Slowing down, she scanned the ground, eventually finding a bright blue pony against the green of the grass. Softly, she came in and landed near the figure, almost afraid of what she might find.

Clear Skies lay on the grass, seemingly asleep. She was thinner; she had obviously given birth. The lustre in her mane was gone, her coat looked drab, but she was breathing and Dew thanked Celestia for that. The mare had been lying here, unmoving, for the past few days. She hadn't taken food, but it looked like she had, at least, taken water. Dew approached carefully. "Hey," she said. "I heard you were here."

Clear Skies woke with a start, momentarily frightened before remembering where she was. "Oh," she said when she saw Dew. "It's you."

"Yeah. Sorry about not coming by sooner; work really came down hard on me." She smiled and lay down beside the mare. "I'm skipping work today."

Clear Skies said nothing, only stared ahead at the gravestone in before her.

Here Lies Silver Dawn

Beloved Son and Lifemate

May He Find Eternal Peace

An urn was standing next to the gravestone like a companion piece. There was no inscription in the clay, but Dew didn't need one to know that it contained the ashes of the stillborn foal. With both of the ponies in her life dead, is it really any wonder she's given up?

"The dogs have broken up, you know," Dew said. "We got word back; the mountain is empty again." Spotter hadn't returned, though, but Dew wasn't going to mention that. It had been just three days, and Spotter would be returning on hoof. The word had come from a unicorn; it seemed that Golden Lock had sent ponies to the mines after all, and they'd seen the tribe scatter as it fell apart. In spite of that, the unicorns hadn't seen Spotter, or at least didn't mention him.

"Why are you here?" Clear Skies' question was carried on a weak voice, but it was no less barbed for all that.

"I've come to keep a promise." The pegasus looked over at the sound of glass and paper; Dew pulled out a bottle of wine and a picnic cloth from her saddlebags. "I said we'd have dinner and everything."

Clear Skies stared, her mouth agape, but then turned away. "I don't want it."

"Come on, now; you can't just—"

"I said I don't want it!" She rounded on Dew, sadness and anger filling her eyes. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Dew stared back into her eyes, unflinching. "Is this how you pay us back?" Clear Skies stopped. "By killing yourself? You were strong once; why are you giving yourself up now?"

Her lip trembled. "I... I don't... I have nopony left; I can't make it alone."

"I'm here."

The heartbroken pegasus sniffed, then her breath broke into sobs. She collapsed on the grave of her lifemate, and Dew wrapped her wing around her. "They... they didn't..." she tried between sobs. "They didn't let me even see her. Sh-she was born, and they took her away. They waited an hour to tell me she hadn't made it, then they gave me her ashes. I never saw her once."

Dew stroked her mane. "I'm sure she was beautiful, just like you."

She shook her head. "No... not like me; like him. I felt it... she had a horn, I'm sure of it. I just..." Her body shuddered, and she fell into sobs. Dew nuzzled her gently, and opened the basket she had brought.

"Here," she said, offering a sandwich. "You need to eat something. Your body is weak right now, and you'll need strength to get up."

She shook her head. "I-I don't—"

"You will. I'm here for you, Skies, and Autumn is too. If you need someone to lean against, we'll be there for you. But right now, I need you to eat." She looked over to the headstone. "I think he'd like you to live as well."

Clear Skies swallowed a sob, and took a small bite from the sandwich. She looked up at Dew. "Do... do you have clover and daffodil?"

Dew smiled, reaching into the basket. "As a matter of fact, I do."

The time passed smoothly after that. Clear Skies ate slowly and drank water, and Dew likewise avoided the wine she'd brought. Seemed a silly thing now, but she had a plan for it. Right now, she was laughing with Clear Skies in the sun.

"...and then, he just vanished! The other guy, poor thing, was so shocked by it that he dropped his pipe; almost burnt the house down." Clear Skies laughed quietly, and Dew rolled her cup in the grass. "Took forever to convince Autumn to come out of hiding after that; he was afraid that the pony would attack him for making him drop his pipe, or something. Never fully understood it." She chuckled. "He's always been a little shy around strangers."

Skies was smiling, but it never seemed to reach her eyes. She kept glancing over at the headstone where her family lay, as if she hoped to find something new each time. Each time, she returned almost despondently to her half-eaten sandwich. She hadn't eaten much, but after a few days of fasting, it was to be expected.

Sighing, Dew stood up. "Tomorrow, then; you're invited."

"To what?"

"Autumn and I are going to have lunch. Promise you'll be there."

Skies looked down. "I-I don't—"

"Skies." The mare looked up again. "Promise me."

Silence; then: "...ok."

Dew nodded. "And I'm holding you to that." She looked over at the headstone. "Well, we're not the only ones at this dinner, are we?"

"It's lunchtime."

Dew waved that aside. "Semantics. Was Silver Dawn ever opposed to drinking?"

"He... never drank a lot."

"But he did drink?" Skies nodded. "Very well, then." Dew held up the bottle of wine. "Shall we give him one last toast?"

A pegasus the colour of sage landed before the bottle was opened. "Dew!" he called. "Thank the heavens I've found you!"

Dew stopped and turned. "Swift Storm? What are you doing here?"

"It's Autumn," he said, his voice near panic. "He's been declared a traitor!"

つづく
To Be Continued...

Comments

[TCSNxs]

I needed to stop at the end of Ch. 6 for now. You managed to kill what I had planned today. Nice job.

Good action, almost a pop-corn flick type of feel. A few of the characters were in danger of becoming cliche, but the idea of a conspiracy unraveling in later chapters saves Golden Lock from arrogant ass boss archetype. The characters don't have as much "depth" as some other fic-novels I've read, but that ISN'T the purpose of this story.

I like your OC's Autumn and Dew thus far, and the little snips at the beginning of each chapter add a nice feel.

There are some openings for a few comedic elements to help the heavy feel of this piece. Little snips of dialogue of that type could help, but this is just a personal suggestion.

I can't speak for others if they will like or dislike it. This is heavy investment of time to read, but it's worth it to me. The amount of work you've done shows. There were only a few little formatting and grammatical errors. In a piece THIS large, that's a testament to the work.

The pacing felt slow in some parts, but it picked up appropriately before getting anywhere near the cliff of disinterest. The original chapter splits between the ESS and Clear Skies was well done. The tension was well done.

Aside from a few comedic areas, I'd also suggestion some backstory to Spotter as well. He was such a valuable character and it would be a pity to see him be left as an afterthought.

Granted that Autumn is the intended protagonist of your story, but Dew really, really shined as a character once she got some development. Perhaps some shift to add a bit more focus on her?

These are just my thoughts through Chapter 6. Outstanding job overall!

P.S. Forte is a pimp.

[EdwardJ]

1272993
Your thoughts. They are appreciated.

Most of your comments are things that will be addressed as the story progresses. The others I will be sure to look into, and see what I can pull off. Also, I apologize for killing your plans; I didn't mean to.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. I hope to be able to hold your interest in all my chapters.

[Nicknack]

Heh. Well, here I am after another two-hour reading fest, and I'm still enjoying this greatly. I liked the little bit of relief / slowdown in this chapter; with the political intrigues of spies being what they are, I was worried that there'd be some sort of in-the-field betrayal for our heroes.

Now, some points of critique that I collected:

1) I lost track of the storm after Dew made it. I mean, you didn't say it stopped, but seeing how "there wasn't a lot of mist in the air" or something like that, I didn't really think that the storm was as long as it appeared to be when Dew commented, "They know the storm was a diversion."

2) More than a few of your characters share the backbone of Autumn's dry manner of speaking (low number of contractions, etc.). This works for him, since he's already deemed to be weird, but for them, it's slightly more noticeable.

3) Is, uh... is it intentional that that hospital was shady as hell with Cloudy Skies' baby?

Either way, I'm continuing to enjoy this story greatly; I just had to take a break this morning in order to get breakfast.