The first thing Skyfall noticed was her eyes. They were a beautiful hazel, he could see the flowing mix of colors even in the darkness. Second to the color though, more unnerving, was the fear in them. Wide and slow blinking, flicking between him and the door he sat against. Sky understood why she was afraid, with every single hard thump against the wood he felt more as she did. Sky continued to watch her, regret pooling up inside him every second.
The rest of her body told the exact same tale as her eyes. She was frantically biting her lip, teeth digging into the skin. Her strawberry colored fur stood on end, small frame curled up into a ball rocking back and forth. The mare’s long flowing blond mane lay on the floor, covering her forehead. She looked surprised to be alive, but so afraid of the dangers just outside.
I couldn’t just let her die.
Sky bit his lip hard, giving his head a small shake. His attention fell inward. He should’ve let her go. What possessed him to go against all reason and save some mare he didn’t know? That regret inside him was slowly mixing into a palpable anger, one he could only direct at himself. He could feel his breathing getting heavy, his body starting to shake. Was this how he was going to die? Sky gritted his teeth, what was wrong with him?
A small whimper turned his attention back toward the mare and he felt some of his anger immediately fade. Her eyes were still firmly planted on him, a pleading look on her face. The stallion blinked a few times and sighed. Sky saved her because she needed his help, many times before he sat back and let things happen. Not this time. He could feel some of his resolve returning to him. This was a bad situation, but the pegasus was smarter than he gave himself credit for. He was still alive for a reason. Sky was a master at eluding these brutes, and he’d do it again.
Suddenly Sky heard a large crack, making him jump away from the door. The mare yelped and put her hooves over her face. Protruding through the middle of the door was the head of an ax. Sharp metal glistened in the moonlight, the rays pouring in from a large hole in the roof. The razor sharp edge was all Sky needed to spring to his hooves, their time was up.
The mare’s eyes locked on the door, wider than before. She began to shake her head and mutter, tears starting to trail down her face. Her rocking was getting faster, but she was locked in place. Another loud thwack on the door and she was full on sobbing. Sky looked over his shoulder. The hole in the door was bigger than before. He could see the silhouettes of the ponies outside. Way more than two.
Sky could feel his heart going a million miles an hour. He quickly knelt down beside the mare and put a hoof on her. The touch seemed to quell her sobbing for the moment. Her eyes snapped to his, focusing on his own wide eyes. Sky could hear her breathing getting much more frantic.
“Hey, hey..I-..” Another loud thwack against the door, he needed her to get up, “We need to go right now. I have a way out but you have to get up…Please!” He could hear the shakiness in his voice, the pressing urgency.
The mare sniffled and shook her head, tears flowing down her face. A third hit made her close her eyes and shake more. Sky glanced over his shoulder and saw a hoof searching for the lock. The voices outside were louder now. He cursed loudly, bracing himself for what he was about to do. The stallion reached down and grabbed one of the mare’s forehooves and yanked her up.
She let out a startled yelp but thankfully didn’t fall back to the ground. Sky glanced between the storeroom door and the ponies seconds from entering. There was no time. Biting his lip, he looked for any other exit. He needed somewhere, anywhere…Then it hit him. The pegasus’ eyes shot up to the very large hole above them. Skyfall turned to the mare quickly.
“Grab on to my back hooves and don’t let go!” He hastily shouted, looking back towards the door. They were almost in…The mare gave him a confused look, “Just..Just do it!” He spread his wings and she wrapped tightly around him.
He was glad she understood, now he had to hold up his end, “Okay Sky...Just...C’mon,” He started to flap his wings, “Come...Urgh...On!” He felt immense strain pulling him down, using all his might to lift the mare. Sky had barely ever flown before, he was by no means good at it but this was the only option they had. Either this or whatever those animals outside had planned for them.
Skyfall flapped faster, his front hooves lifting off the ground. The angry growls and hollering coming from the door were getting louder. They had given up on unlocking the door and were savagely hacking and pounding at it. They’d be in any second. With the rest of the strength Sky could muster he felt his back hooves slowly start to lift, grudgingly taking the mare up with him. He needed to get through that hole.
Sky reached out his front hooves. The stallion could hear himself groaning, an incredible pressure in his voice. The mare was gripping his back hooves like a vice. He couldn’t fail. Sky closed his eyes and yelled, flapping hard as possible.
That’s when he felt it, the cool night breeze hitting his face. That was the final push he needed, no stopping here. He put both his hooves up and opened his eyes. Half his body was out of the store, they were almost there. With every aching flap of his wings, they were another inch into the air.
Skyfall looked down into the mare’s face. He would have smiled if it weren’t for the fact that she was hanging from him. There was pure bewilderment in her eyes, even a touch of fearful happiness. The smile proved that. Sky looked past her face and saw her hooves over the hole. With a huff, he jerked them both to the right of it.
“Let go…Urghn..Now!” He called down. To his sheer surprise, the mare followed without hesitation. Sky heard her grunt softly when she hit the roof. Skyfall descended slowly, letting himself fall into the rough stone shingles. He panted hard, laughing in disbelief at himself.
The sound of shattering wood below marked the entry of the barbaric stallions. He could hear them running through the store without care, looking for their prey. He didn’t make a sound as the small band ravaged the shop, neither did the mare. Sky turned slowly onto his back, gazing up at the moon above and panting quietly.
Small gusts of wind rushed through his mane and fur. Thankfully they muffled any small sounds the two made. Luckily the stallions looking for them didn’t get a look at Sky, nor did they see him fly up into the ceiling. In hindsight, if they’d been a little quieter the clan definitely would have heard the flaps of Sky’s wings. He had to give it to them, if they didn’t hate each other as much as they hated everypony else Sky’s plan wouldn’t have worked. The pegasus perked his ears up, listening to the commotion down below.
“Damn it Spiker! I thought you said there was no way outta this place!” The more intelligent stallion from earlier yelled, tangible anger in his voice, “The boss is gonna have you for this!”
“I..I thought there wasn’t! How was I supposed to know there was some back door! It’s your head the boss will want Slick!” Spiker said in a painfully desperate voice, his usual flat tone unnaturally shaky.
Sky could hear the one called Slick groan and stomp his hoof to the ground. Other stallion’s voices called out but reported finding nothing. It seemed Sky and the mare were free, for now. Sky almost turned his attention from the angered conversation below until he heard a peculiar phrase.
“I didn’t think the broad would be able to teleport away! I thought those were just stories!” Spiker said, voice shaking with every word spoken. “I thought unicorns couldn’t use no magic anymore, that’s what the boss said about his-” Slick’s voice cut in.
“Don’t you talk about the boss or that unicorn bitch anymore Spiker! He won’t like hearin’ you been talking bad about him! And there’s no way she coulda just poofed outta here! Why didn’t she do it earlier?! Use your damn brain, you idiot!” Slick shouted. Sky could hear him continually stomping his hoof for emphasis.
“But then…Where’d they go? Somebody let her in! We checked the whole store Slick! I heard one of em’ talking! The boss is gonna be so mad when he finds out she got away. You know how rare unicorns are Slick! That was gonna be our ticket up!” Spiker spit shakily, trying desperately to prove his point.
“You shut up! It was gonna be my way up! It was my plan to snatch her in the first place! Nah...She must’ve got out the back door, the boys said that storeroom has one..” Slick seemed to settle on that conclusion, “Take all the boys you can get and search behind the store. Everywhere. I’ll go talk to the boss.” Sky could hear Spiker try to cut in, “No Spiker, I, will go to the boss. Now get out of my face!”
Over the next few minutes, Sky could hear the ponies inside dispersing, going in different directions. One group headed back to the town. Spiker's group ran off behind the store into a large field. Sky had walked the field the first time he’d come to the town. The place led nowhere he wanted to go. Where did he want to go though? Sky and his new friend were only safe for the time being.
The stallion blinked a few times, glancing over to the mare. She was lying in the same position he was, gazing up at the night sky. He’d almost completely forgotten the main point of the conversation he’d overheard. He focused his eyes on the top of her head and felt his jaw drop. There on her head was a horn, a real horn. Sky couldn’t believe his eyes, a real unicorn was right next to him. In the commotion before he wasn't able to get a full look at her.
Unicorns were sparsely ever seen among ponies these days. When you did see one it usually meant a pony of high status or one beyond understanding. The only other unicorn Sky had ever seen in his life was a stallion named Blue Bolt. He was the leader of a gigantic settlement in the north, one of the only places in Equestria with even a fraction of safety. Or at least that’s what Sky remembered, he hadn’t seen Blue Bolt or been to his settlement since he was a young colt. For all he knew the entire place could be burned to the ground.
Sky took a deep breath and sighed. If they managed to get through this he could ask all the questions he wanted to later. They needed a plan. He had an idea, a completely ludicrous idea. He almost laughed at himself for thinking it, letting out a soft snort instead. The small sound seemed to catch the mare’s attention though. He glanced over to see her eyes on him, her head tilting quizzically.
“What?” Sky said with a passive indifference, keeping his eyes on hers. He returned the small tilt. The look puzzled him more than anything.
“I…” The mare gulped, looking down and biting her lip. “Thank you...For…Saving me…” She said, speaking her first words to him. Her cheeks went a little pink, a small contrast to her light strawberry coat. Her tone was reserved but had a tiny hint of respect, and beyond that, appreciation.
Sky gave her a small nod and smiled softly, the first genuine smile toward another pony in a long time, “Er…No problem.” He said scratchily, voice rough from earlier, “I had no clue it was actually gonna work…I’m terrible at flying…” He trailed off, looking down. He took a swig from his canteen and passed it to her.
The mare took a drink, “Not when it counted.” She pressed in, a little more lively this time. “You actually picked me up and saved us both. You’re a good pony, and I think you know how rare those are.” She smiled too, a world apart from the sobbing mare from half an hour before, “Um, what’s your name?”
Sky sat up to face her, grunting a little bit. His body was still pretty sore from the flight up, “Ugh…My name is Skyfall, what’s uh…yours?” Sky said a little awkwardly. He didn’t realize how long it’d been since he’d spoken to another pony, much less a mare.
The mare smiled a little more brightly, “My name is Petal. It’s um..Nice to meet you Skyfall. Honestly, I didn’t think there’d be anypony in that store…Just kind of a…Shot in the dark y’know? Even then I never would’ve thought in a million years that somepony would actually save me,” She said, honest appreciation in her voice.
Sky’s face darkened a little, realization trickling back into his head, “Don’t thank me yet Petal…We’re still trapped in a town full of bandits. Ones actively hunting us…” Sky looked down.
Petal’s response was anything but gloomy though, “Well...You got us out of there. You have to have a plan on how to get us out right? I’m sure you know someplace to go.” She said hopefully, a little too hopefully.
Sky shrugged and sighed. She was right, he did have somewhere to go but there were some very important factors to consider. He’d arrived here in the day, under the cover of some very loud winds. Both things gave him insurance not just from the bandits of the town, but from the other things lurking in the wasteland. But they needed to go soon, Sky assumed Slick would be back for a more thorough search.
He gulped and took a deep breath, “I do have somewhere we could go just…” Here went nothing, “To get there… we’d have to go… there.” He turned his gaze to behind the store, in the corner of his eye he saw Petal do the same.
In the far distance, past the lights of Spiker’s search party was a mass of trees. A dark sea of vegetation that consumed the entire horizon.
Everfree.