Midnight could still make out what the shadows were saying, but their voices were slowly growing murky. The icy sickle planted in his mind was melting. A drizzle of exhaustion trickled down into his limbs, leaving them feeling heavy and waterlogged.
As Midnight’s resolve wavered, he found himself looking to Alabaster more and more. Riddled with cuts, painted in bruises, and wearing the powdery dust from his trip through a stone table. Alabaster appeared to be upright out of sheer willpower and spite. Midnight did his best to follow his friend’s example.
The silence between them was crowded with the distant howling and barking of timberwolves. Between the din of wolves and the chatter of shadows, Midnight’s dulled anxiety was beginning to rile.
He cleared his throat. “So… uh… about Whisper.”
Alabaster’s gaze snapped sideways. Having already faced the brunt his anger before, Midnight felt oddly serene staring down this smoking gun once again.
“What about Whisper?”
“I just wanted to know if you think she’ll be okay.”
Alabaster’s expression softened.
Gotta pull yourself back from a ten, Alabaster thought. Can’t afford to be a hair trigger right now... not with him.
Alabaster sighed. “Whisper’s a tough girl. She’s pretty banged up, but I’ve seen her pull through worse.”
This didn’t seem like much of an answer to Midnight. Feeling bold, he tried to dig a bit deeper.
“Can you tell me... what is she?”
Midnight had been braced for Alabaster to bristle up at him. Instead, Alabaster’s wings drooped and his ears fell flat. It was as if he had suddenly been saddled with the weight of all the heavens.
“That’s kind of a long story, Midnight, and too long to get into on a quick walk about. When this shitfest blows over, when Whisper’s up and at ‘em… maybe then. For now, let’s just get what we need.”
Midnight nodded once and said no more. He hated seeing Alabaster look so defeated.
Their trek would bring them close to the castle’s front door. It was then that they began to hear it…
*thud* *thud*
They stopped, ears cocked.
“What’s that?” Alabaster looked at his friend. “Eh? The hell is that?”
Midnight didn’t hear him. He had closed his eyes and was concentrating on the cold sickle beneath his brow.
*thud* *thud*
One after another. The air reverberated with each blow. While it was offbeat, it was constant. Each thud made hallway shake like a drum.
Adrenal glands tuning up, Alabaster left Midnight to rush on ahead.
*****
A pair of ponies sat, side by side, on the marble floor of the lobby. They watched as the castle’s reinforced doors rattled in its hinges.
“Think they’ll hold?” a mare asked, hooves nervously tapping. “Sounds like those buggers are really giving it their all.”
“Of course.” The stallion beside her spoke confidently, though his face was all tipid eyes and clenched jaw. “This is the castle of a princess! If they can’t even get in through the windows, I bet the enchantments on the doors are even more ins-”
*THUD*
The doors shook violently. There was an angry yelp, a flurry of scratching claws, and then another thud. The two ponies were shaking.
The mare swallowed. “You’re probably right… all the same, think I’m gonna go check in with Butternut.”
The mare was on her hooves and hustling away before she could even finish speaking. The stallion did a double take before scurrying off after her.
From the opposite side of the room, Alabaster watched the two ponies flee. Brow furrowed, he turned his attention to the doors. If they were enchanted, then the timberwolves were still doing a hell of a number on them.
Perhaps it was Alabaster imagination, but he thought the hinges were starting to bend slightly.
Midnight caught up with the pegasus, but remained in his friend’s wake. Both were visibly unnerved. Although their instincts told them to flee, sounds of the full-on assault left the stallions rooted in place.
*thud* *thud* *THUD*