I woke up on a cloud. That was my first indication that something was out of the ordinary.
“Twilight?” I slurred, reaching out to wrap a wing over my wife’s side, hoping that she was awake. “What’s…”
I felt a wing under mine, and my mind snapped fully awake. My Twilight didn’t have wings, not like this. Her’s were sheer magic constructs, and they tingled when I felt them when manifested. These didn’t, so that meant that it wasn’t my wife next to me.
“Close,” came the giggle. I twisted slightly and saw the Princess of Friendship next to me, fighting a smile. Cadence lay across from us and didn’t fight the smile.
I looked up, seeing the moon low in the sky and glared at my companions. “You weren’t supposed to let me sleep this long,” I stated pointedly.
Cadence shook her head. “You aren’t going to do us any good running yourself ragged, Sunset,” she said flatly. “From what Twilight has told me, you’ve barely slept since your home was burned.”
I stood, stretching my neck and wings. “I’m fine,” I said, feeling the slight draw in the back of my mind signaling that the time to raise the sun was fast approaching. “I just…”
“Worried for your family,” Twilight finished. “That’s why you wanted me to come along, to keep you grounded. It’s easier when you’re fully rested.” She stood and locked eyes with me. “It makes no difference if we get there tonight if we’re all too exhausted to do what we need to do.” She turned her head slightly and muttered. “Whatever it is.”
A flutter of wings brought Thea into view and settled on my back, between my wings. Our Nestmother has gone ahead to scout the area prior to our departure, the young phoenix announced, shuffling a bit as I twisted a little to look at her. Some of the nightwings had thought they spied trailing clouds of darkness in the night.
“Nestmother?” Twilight echoed.
You would know her as Philomena, Thea explained. She is the matriarch of this particular brood of flarewings, myself included. She turned and fluffed her wings, tilting her head slightly. If you would like, we could set out now.
I glanced at Twilight, and she sighed and nodded. As one, we spread our wings and lit our horns.
The strain was less than it had been in the days before. In short order, the moon had been lowered and the sun raised. I took a deep breath and stepped to the edge of the cloud. “Shall we?” I asked.
We had been flying for a few hours when Philomena came abreast of us.
There is something odd ahead, the phoenix told us. The air is stagnant, too still for the geography around it.
I frowned. “A natural anomaly?”
Philomena gave a chirp of derision. Not likely, she returned.
Twilight opened her mouth but any words that would have issued were cut short by a horrid screeching, one that made my blood freeze.
“Blights,” Twilight breathed, wheeling over and coming to a halt in mid-air.
I swung around, horn shimmering as I began to channel mana.
Cadence also came to a stop, confusion in her eyes.
“Blights?”
“Ancient abominations,” I told her. “Forbidden magic, crazy villain using them and challenging us. Pretty much the usual.”
“Great,” she muttered.
Another screech echoed up from the ground behind us, and slowly I could make out a dark sphere moving along in the plain behind us. “Well, they’re making good time,” I gritted.
“Should we stop and try to fight them off?” Twilight asked.
“That didn’t work out so well last time,” I replied, turning and taking off quickly. “It sort of exploded when we held one captive.” I glanced back one more time. “At least they can’t fly.”
And that was when I got hit by a solid mass and went tumbling down through the air. I dimly heard my comrades shout my name, but I was more concerned with the mass of tentacles wrapped around my wings and the serpentine body tangled up in my limbs.
“Miserable…” I muttered. “Had to jinx it!” I teleported out of the creature’s grasp and free fell for a moment, orienting myself towards what had hit me.
The serpentine creature spun back towards me, it’s beaked mouth screeching in challenge. Two leathery wings kept it aloft and the baleful red eye above it’s writhing tangle of tentacles seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun. Several more of the flying abominations were inbound, tentacles flailing. I began to charge my horn to attack when a streak of silver and black shot forwards and slammed into the one near me. I had barely recognized it as one of the nightwings when it went up in a bright silver flare, reminding me of the animatics I had seen in science class of a supernova. A charred husk dropped from the sky as a young nightwing glided down to recover from its rebirth.
Fly on, I heard Philomena’s voice called as a group of phoenixes broke off and flew to intercept the incoming Blights. We’ll hold them off.
I saw several flares of flame, explosions of ice, and a crackling explosion of lightning. “We can’t leave you here,” I said, wings flaring and horn lighting.
Your task is to reach the caverns, Philomena snapped, her plumage flaring slightly with tiny flames. Ours is to ensure you make it there. Fly on!
I looked at the swirling battle taking place, looking up and seeing Twilight and Cadence hovering in indecision as well. I looked at them, then back at the phoenix in front of me. I saw another stormwing explode in crackling lightning. “I don’t like this,” I muttered. “I don’t like leaving friends behind to fight for me.”
I flew up and rejoined my friends, passing them and arrowing along with the remainder of the phoenixes. Twilight and Cadence drew abreast of me, both of them looking at me with looks of determination.
I was sure they thought the tears on my face was from the speed of my flight. I was willing to let them think that.