“Look, Luster, I told you, it wasn’t me!” the unicorn apologized profusely, one of his hooves held up to his chest. “I mean, yeah, you’re hot as hell, but you’re too damn scary for me to try a stunt like that!”
The thestral didn’t spare him a look, her nostrils flaring. “Ya done flappin’ yer trap, mate? Or am I gonna hafta give ya another smack upside yer fuckin’ noggin?”
It had been like this off and on for what must have been at least an hour now. At some point, Luster had suddenly—and adorably—complained about a yank on her tail, before accusing her fellow guard of the crime. An accusation made without proof, due process, or any kind of investigation beyond noticing he had a horn with which to commit the crime.
Not that he did.
Not that Luster gave a damn, either. She had staunchly refused to listen to every reasonable counter-point he had made against her original argument in a truly impressive display of stubborn self-assurance.
With a defeated sigh, the unicorn threw his hooves up into the air before turning his eyes forward. He couldn’t help but notice how some of the guards on the walls were giving him bewildered looks, no doubt confused by the angry shouting they had been hearing. Thankfully, none had bothered to come and check what all the fuss was about.
Suddenly, the large double doors behind him exploded outwards with a burst of violet magic. His eyes flew wide as he was sent falling to the ground with a cry of pain. Splinters and chips of charred wood scattered over him, making him curl up reflexively to protect his squishy underbelly.
“Move, damn it!” A female voice shouted. The unicorn was just able to make out the sounds of three separate sets of hooves pummeling the earth as they passed, filling his already-ringing ears with a low rumble.
“What in the Five-damned fuck-” he heard Luster raging in a voice that made him gulp and curl up tighter.
The female voice from before cut her off. “Just stay down! And, uh…”
After a second, the unicorn found enough nerve to look up and see what was even happening. Before him, staring at Luster with an apologetic look was a pale blue unicorn mare with a long red mane and vibrant violet eyes. Her horn was aglow, her aura encasing Luster and pinning her to the wall.
“...Sorry for yanking your tail earlier,” the mare finally said before looking to the unicorn. “And sorry you got framed for it.”
“YOU FUCKING WHAT?!” Luster screeched, thrashing against the mare’s magic hold. “OH, THAT’S IT! I’M GONNA RIP OUT YER FUCKING TONGUE AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR UGLY ARSE! LEMME DOWN YOU SHIT-NOSED CUNT WEASEL!”
The mare’s ears folded back. “...Rude,” she deadpanned before turning and throwing Luster against the ground. An audible crack filled the air, and the thestral fell silent, her eyes rolling in their sockets. With that done, the mare turned and broke into a sprint for the entrance to the courtyard, where both her companions, another pony and—was that a changeling?—were waiting for her.
However, his wounded comrade took precedence. With a grunt of effort, he hauled himself to his hooves and ran over to Luster’s side. “Luster! Are you alright?!”
“Anypony get the number of that fuckin’ wagon?” the thestral mumbled, her words slurring together. “I’m gonna whoop it’s arse…”
“Yeah, you’re fine,” the stallion chuckled with a shake of his head before looking back up at the intruders. His eyes widened as the front gates, just like the door behind him, suddenly exploded in a burst of purple light.
The red-maned mare waved her companions through. “Go, go!” she was shouting. She turned back to look into the courtyard, making eye contact with the stallion. She narrowed her eyes warningly before turning and following the others out of sight.
Not a moment later, the alarm bells began to sound from one of the castle’s many towers, the ponies on the walls shouting. Some took flight with wingblades snapping free, while others went for their crossbows and took aim.
The unicorn swallowed heavily. “Yeah, I ain’t touching that,” he remarked dryly before hauling Luster onto his back. “You need a doctor. Come on.”
“Imma bite off her fuggin’ eyebrows…”
“I’m sure you are, Luster.”
With those words, the unicorn carried the mumbling thestral inside the castle to seek medical treatment, setting the ensuring carnage outside out of his mind.
“What took you?!” Lens demanded once Scarlet finally caught up with him and Sclera on the other side of the demolished gate.
Scarlet shook her head in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter!” she stated. She risked a glance over her shoulder, half expecting to see a proverbial storm cloud of pegasi and thestrals coming down on them with crossbows and wingblades. What she saw wasn’t as bad as she had been expecting, but it was still far worse than she liked.
At least a dozen pursuers were after them, most of them having leaped from the walls as they punched through. She couldn’t make out their weapons or armor from here, given the darkness of the night, but she nevertheless knew that if they wanted to survive this chase, they needed to get away from the fliers.
“We need to lose the pegasi!” she shouted, gesturing back with a jerk of her head. “As long as they’re after us, they’re serving as an arrow pointing us out to the whole damned city! Any suggestions?!”
Lens paled. “Me?! Why do I have to give the suggestion!?”
“You used to live here!” Scarlet pointed out, glaring directly ahead, her eyes searching for ground-based soldiers.
“Yeah, that doesn’t mean I have an escape plan ready to pull out of my sleeve at a moment’s notice!” Lens retorted in exasperation.
Scarlet cursed under her breath before hooking a sharp left. “What we need is cover, then,” she said, her mind racing just as fast as her sprinting hooves. “Something to break their line of sight and give us some room to breathe!”
“You could teleport us into a house or something,” Lens said after a second.
Before Scarlet could answer, an arrow punctured the ground right in front of her hooves. She let out an alarmed yelp and turned to look for the shooter. Her eyes landed on a unicorn perched on a nearby rooftop, a crossbow held in his magic. He was already moving to reload.
“Son of a…” Scarlet snarled under her breath, her horn lighting up. The unicorn’s eyes flew wide as he was ensnared in her grip, before being thrown unceremoniously off of the rooftop to fall into the streets somewhere else. Scarlet saw a couple of pegasi flying down to catch him.
“You alright?!” Lens asked from the side.
“Fine!” Scarlet barked in response. She looked over at Sclera. The changeling was keeping pace, but her breath was already coming in heaving gasps, eyes wide and darting around in a frantic, panicky haze. She wasn’t going to be able to maintain this sort of sprint for much longer.
They needed shelter, and they needed it now. Both so Sclera could catch her breath and so that they could figure out a more practical escape plan.
At the moment, Lens’ suggestion didn’t sound too bad. It was risky, though. If they teleported into an occupied home, they would have to contend with the residents causing a fuss, and without any knowledge of the interiors of the various buildings around them, there was always a small but notable risk of teleporting on top of something less than safe to land on.
Another arrow whistled through the air, this one striking Scarlet’s cloak and puncturing a new hole in it. The shaft got lodged in the fabric, allowing the sharp tip of the arrow to scrape painfully against her barrel with every jarring step she took. Hissing in pain, Scarlet quickly tore away the piece of fabric with her magic with a deafening rip.
“We’re almost boxed in, here!” Lens shouted out, looking around with wide eyes. Scarlet looked, and sure enough, there was a small army of soldiers advancing on them from all sides, weapons drawn and eager to put the criminals down.
“Damn. Alright, grab on!” Scarlet ordered, sliding to a stop and reaching out with her magic. She felt two hooves on her, one furry and one hard. The hooves of their assailants grew deafening in her ears. No time to pinpoint a specific target. With a grunt of strain, she fired off her spell.
They vanished from the street in a burst of purple light. For an instant, their world was blinding light and wind, and then they were deposited haphazardly onto a wooden floor. The thunderous roar of dozens of hooves galloping across the street became muffled, though still very loud. Scarlet opened her eyes to take in her surroundings, her heart hammering in her chest.
They had emerged into what appeared to be the storage room of a blacksmith. Racks and shelves surrounded them in the claustrophobic space, each one bearing a neatly sorted arrangement of weapons suitable for the common pony to use for self-defense purposes. Teeth-held daggers and swords, heavy horseshoes, clubs, and others. Sclera and Lens had come out of the teleport in a crumpled heap a few feet away, the former holding onto Protea’s slumbering form to ensure she was alright, while the latter dizzily tried to make heads or tails of what was even happening.
“Everypony alright?” Scarlet asked quietly.
Lens nodded shakily. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What about you?”
Scarlet waved him off dismissively. “I’m fine,” she said before reaching out and lightly shaking Sclera. “Hey, hey. Sclera, come on. We can’t stay here.”
The changeling finally got her faculties back, her eyes focusing on Scarlet’s face. She was gasping heavily, a hoof on her chest as she struggled to get enough air. With some help from Scarlet, she slowly sat up on her haunches. “Ow… where are we?”
“Maybe thirty feet from where we were,” Scarlet answered, looking around again. She perked up her ears, listening to the sounds from outside. She could just make out the angered shouts of the guards, orders being thrown around. She couldn’t discern any words through the thick walls of the building, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were doing. “We can’t stay here. They’re going to start searching the buildings, and if they have a skilled enough unicorn, they’ll be able to track our jumps.”
Sclera chittered quietly before turning and sliding over to Lens, her eyes glued onto Protea. “Protea, is she alright?” she asked, reaching out gingerly. Lens shied back for a second, clearly unsettled by the other changeling. A reassuring nod from Scarlet convinced him to relax and hold the limp filly out. Sclera let out a quiet sigh of relief, tears welling up in her eyes. “My little girl… she’s g-grown so big…”
“She’s very brave,” Scarlet replied quietly, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. “You should be proud of her.”
Any further discussion was cut off when a loud banging echoed through the building. Sclera squeaked in fear, huddling closer to Lens in a desperate attempt to shield her child. Her eyes locked onto Scarlet. “W-what do we do?”
“For now, we keep teleporting and put some distance between us and the crowd,” Scarlet replied, channeling magic into her horn. Her skull throbbed painfully in protest, and she felt her legs starting to go weak. “I can manage two or three more jumps, but after that, I’ll need some time to rest. Are you ready?”
“I am,” Lens answered, reaching out and placing his hoof on Scarlet’s back. “I got Prim, don’t worry.”
Sclera let out an anxious chittering noise before following suit, her own hoof coiling tightly into the tattered remains of Scarlet’s cloak. “O-okay…” she choked out in a quivering voice.
Scarlet sighed regretfully before firing off the spell. In a flash of light, they disappeared from the room.
After their third jump, they found themselves in what appeared to be a basement. The only light was the low blue glow Lens’ horn provided. Various crates, barrels, and chests were scattered haphazardly around, many of them covered in a thin layer of dust and cobwebs. A few rats had scattered away from them upon their emergence, and every so often, they could be heard scurrying about through the shadows.
Scarlet had collapsed as soon as they arrived, falling to the ground in a gasping, exhausted heap. Her vision swam, her head felt heavy, and fire burned through her veins and skull. As she lay there on the floor, twitching and spasming erratically, she couldn’t help but note that magic exhaustion was just as painful as she remembered it being.
She spent a few minutes like that before finally coming down from her fit. After that, she slowly dragged herself up onto her belly while she rested. Sclera and Lens were both doing much the same nearby, both of them keeping watch over Protea.
“...How long is she going to be like this?” Sclera eventually asked, reaching out and tenderly running her hoof over the back of her daughter’s head.
“A few hours, at least,” Scarlet replied slowly. “We couldn’t afford any distractions, and in the heat of the moment, she was too dead set on crying at you to listen to me.”
“A few hours…” Sclera breathed quietly. She sniffled heavily before wiping her hoof over her eyes.
Lens slowly turned his head to look at Scarlet, his brow furrowed. “So… how are we getting out of here?” he asked quietly. “I mean, the city will be on high alert until they can catch us or confirm that we got away. The gates are not an option, and we can’t teleport through the wall. How do we slip away?”
Scarlet let out a quiet breath, lowering her chin to rest on her hooves. “I’m not sure… I’m thinking, though,” she replied before closing her eyes.
In truth, their options were supremely limited. Like Lens said, the whole city was on high alert. Even now, she could occasionally hear the thundering of hooves as an armored patrol passed by. It would only be a matter of time before this building—whatever it was—was searched, and they’d have to be on the move again.
“If we could fly, it would be easy,” Lens eventually pointed out with a tired sigh. “The magic ward preventing teleporting doesn’t extend to anything physical. If we all had wings, we could just fly over the wall.”
“I have wings,” Sclera pointed out, giving the tattered things a buzz for emphasis.
Lens frowned at her. “Yeah, but you’re also really weak right now. You wouldn’t make it very far on your own, not in your condition.”
Sclera opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Eventually, she gave off a frustrated growl and looked away, conceding the point. “...As long as my daughter gets out of here safe, I don’t care what we do,” she eventually mumbled out.
Suddenly Scarlet’s eyes snapped open. “Wait. Over the wall,” she declared before lifting herself up to a sitting position. “That’s it. We go over the wall!”
“Er,” Lens stared at her skeptically, one of his eyebrows taking a trip up north. “Were you not paying attention, Scarlet? We can’t fly.”
“We don’t have to fly,” Scarlet countered, scooting closer to Lens’ light. “We just need to get up onto the wall. And I know how we can do that.”
“How?” Sclera asked, watching with interest.
With her energy starting to return, Scarlet lifted a hoof and began to draw a very rough approximation of Newcanter’s layout in the dust. “Newcanter is an old place, but much of it still follows the same principles as any other castle or city, such as Swanrun,” she began before drawing a collection of small circles at various points around the city’s outline. “In the event of a siege, the city’s defenders will need to be able to get up onto the wall as quickly as possible. So, a collection of towers and staircases will be located all around the inner wall. All we need to do is find one, fight our way to the top, and then we should be past the barrier blocking teleportation. Then I can blink us down, and we can make good on the rest of our escape.”
“Huh… that could actually work,” Lens mused quietly, rubbing at his chin. “It’s pretty dangerous, though. As you said, we’d have to fight our way through, and you can bet they’ll have those guard towers heavily defended. We’d be better off trying to find one of the staircases you mentioned, but those will be guarded too. And we have fragile cargo with us, not to mention one of us is not at all battle-ready.”
“Don’t worry too much about me,” Sclera requested, her eyes staring at Lens pleadingly. “Just make sure my daughter is safe. If… if you have to leave me behind to do it, then-”
“No,” Scarlet cut her off forcefully, reaching out to place her hoof firmly on Sclera’s back. She met the changeling’s eyes, cowing her into silence. “We are not leaving you or anypony else behind… there has been enough tragedy. And I will not let Protea wake up without her mother there. Not when she knows you’re alive, now. So you live through this. That’s an order.”
Sclera swallowed heavily before offering up a stiff nod in response.
Satisfied, Scarlet withdrew her hoof and shifted back to Lens. “I’m worn out, but I can still fight if I must. Nevertheless, you make a good point, Lens. We should try to keep a low profile until we reach the stairs.”
Lens took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. “Alright… When do we set out?”
Scarlet pushed herself back to a standing position, her eyes narrowed and burning with fiery determination. “Right now.”
Making their way for the wall swiftly proved to be a far more harrowing task than any of them had anticipated. While they had all been expecting the streets to be crawling with guards hunting them down, they had not been expecting them to be out in such force, especially in the alleys. Mere moments after stepping out from the home they had taken shelter in, they had been forced to hide in the shadows for almost a full minute as a large squad of troops made their way through.
It was a miracle they hadn’t been spotted, especially given Sclera’s frantic, terrified chitters and chirps. She screwed her eyes shut and curled up as small as she could every time they took shelter or hid, and every time it became more and more disturbing to observe. The motions seemed far, far too familiar in Scarlet’s eyes. The changeling folded into that position on a dime with such ease it couldn’t be anything but practiced.
The fact she had been forced to learn how best to curl up into a ball to hide set Scarlet’s teeth grinding together and the back of her scalp began to burn and tingle with barely contained fury. “How could we be so cruel that we could drive any creature to such a point?” she asked herself more than once. And every time, her ears drooped with shame as she recalled how Protea had cowered before her in much the same manner in the inn room.
“The answer is simple… because we don’t know any better.”
Lens, for a mercy, was handling the situation far better than Sclera, and seeing as he wasn’t nearly as exhausted as Scarlet, he took the lead. He had passed his cargo back, and now Protea rested on Scarlet’s back. Sclera had insisted she carry the foal but eventually relented when Scarlet pointed out that she was too physically weak to carry a child and keep up with their brisk pace for long.
“You can hold her once we are safe,” Scarlet had told her repeatedly, putting as much sympathy and understanding into her words as she could.
After what felt like an eternity of wandering through the maze-like layout of alleys, they finally rounded a corner to the sight of the Newcanter city wall rising high above them, a staircase built into the side leading up to the top. From here, Scarlet spied no fewer than six different lunar guards perched up on top, and a seventh one standing guard at the base of the stairs.
“That’s a lot of guards,” Lens noted quietly, his lips peeling back into an uncomfortable grimace. “I don’t like our odds of fighting through that many of them.”
“Especially while having to protect Protea,” Scarlet agreed, her lips pulling back into a thin line. She looked to the bundle sleeping on her back, her ears lowering. More than anything, they had to get her out of here. She grimaced before looking up at the wall again. “Alright… here’s what I’m thinking. Lens, take Protea, and keep us safe from those pegasi with a barrier. I’ll fight through any who try to face us directly. Think you can manage that?”
The stallion swallowed heavily before gingerly reaching out and taking Protea back with his magic. “Alright… be careful.”
“What about me?” Sclera asked anxiously, shifting uncomfortably on her hooves. “I want to help.”
“You can help by keeping your head down and staying next to Lens,” Scarlet told her, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Much as I would love another helping hoof, you’re in no condition to lend it. Just stay safe.”
Sclera frowned in disappointment before nodding. “Alright… I understand.”
“Good.” Scarlet turned to glare up at the wall again. She took several deep breaths, her heart started to beat harder against her ribs in anticipation. “On my mark… three… two… one… mark!”
With that, she sprang into action. Her swords snapped into reality in front of her as she leaped from the alleyway towards the guard by the stairs. His eyes widened, and he went for his weapon. Scarlet was faster. With two quick slices of her swords, the stallion fell to one side, blood spraying free from the x-shaped gash left in his chest.
The pegasi up on the wall turned to the source of the commotion and moved to respond almost immediately. Three of them leaped skyward, crossbows at the ready, while two more swooped down the stairs, wingblades springing free. The last one remained up top, eyeing the situation critically.
Scarlet let out a guttural battle cry before swinging her swords out at the charging pegasi. Magic met metal in a shower of sparks, the distorted clang filling her ears. Her advance came to a sudden halt as she fought back against the weight and force of her enemies, her amethyst eyes glaring into their blue and green ones, respectively.
A pale blue dome formed over her and a series of three thunks announced the interception of long-range attacks. Lens came up behind her a second later, horn glowing and brows angled in concentration.
One of the pegasi locked against Scarlet cried out when he was suddenly yanked to one side in Lens’ aura. He twisted as he went to give Scarlet one last parting slash, one she deflected with ease. He then crashed through the second-story window of the nearest building, and a chorus of alarmed and frightened shouts could be heard inside.
Scarlet winced as her duel with the remaining pegasus on the steps continued. They backed off to get some room before lunging in again, blades angled forwards for a thrust right at her heart. Grunting, Scarlet shifted to one side and dispelled her swords. The pegasus pivoted to try and slash at her as he passed, only to be struck in the chest by a bolt of focused magic, sending him flying out of Lens’ dome and crashing to the ground below.
Another volley of shots hit Lens’ barrier, causing the stallion to grunt and gasp. The blue dome of light flickered for a moment before solidifying again. “Gah! I can’t keep this thing up for much longer!” he shouted.
Growling in frustration, Scarlet nodded and took a risk. With two quick steps, she launched herself out of Lens’ barrier to reach the top of the stairs, intending to draw the enemy’s fire away from her comrades.
“There! That one’s in the open!” one of the airborne archers shouted, and despite the fact that she was about to be shot, Scarlet put on a small smile. There was still the matter of the pegasus waiting for her on the steps, though. He had spread out his wings as she advanced, and was now lunging with a battle cry of his own.
Scarlet summoned one of her blades to catch the initial swing, then ducked under the second. She dropped low and spun, sweeping the pony’s legs out from under him much as she had with Lens during the dance. As the pegasus dropped, she grabbed him in her magic and lifted him up.
Three meaty thunks reached her ears, followed by a chorus of shouts. The body in her magic squirmed, choking on his own blood. Scarlet’s eyes lowered for a second. “I am so sorry,” she whispered to him before launching his body at the other archers. They scattered out of the way, already lining up more shots.
Luckily, Lens came back up to her side, his barrier catching the shots. He grimaced before glaring at her. “Never do that again!” he snapped.
“It worked, did it not?” she bit back before making her way briskly for the ramparts. More distorted thunks echoed over them as the archers unloaded.
“It was too big of a risk!”
“And letting your barrier fail was any better?”
Scarlet didn’t listen to whatever witty response Lens concocted. Instead, she closed her eyes and reached out with her magic, trying to find a safe point to teleport to. More thunks echoed across the barrier, along with a sound akin to cracking glass. They only had a few seconds.
“For fuck’s sake, stop them!” one of the archers bellowed before diving down to drive his hind legs into the top of the barrier. A snap of thunder accompanied the smashing of glass as it shattered, causing Scarlet to open her eyes and spin around. Lens staggered back, a hoof held up to his horn with a pained grimace on his face. The pegasus that had just destroyed their barrier was turning to him, pulling a dagger out from its sheath in his greaves with his teeth.
Scarlet’s eyes then fell on Protea, and she went to try and intervene.
Sclera beat her to it.
With a snarling hiss, the changeling tackled the pegasus before he could make good on his attack. The blood drained from Scarlet’s face when Sclera sank her fangs into the guard’s throat, blood spraying free to cover her face. He screamed out, his voice quickly turning into a disgusting gurgle as blood pooled in his mouth.
“By the Five…” Scarlet choked out, a cold sweat breaking out all over her body. The sight before her flickered and distorted, and suddenly she was standing in the marketplace in Swanrun.
Crystal stared back at her with her eyes wide with terror, a feral changeling hanging onto her from behind, its fangs mere inches from her neck. It was surrounded on all sides by the city watch.
“Help her!” Scarlet begged, tears in her eyes. “Please, get her away from that thing!”
The changeling hissed and snarled as the guards approached. They were showing no signs of slowing down, nor any sign of caution. With a bead of despair forming in her chest, Scarlet realized only too late that they weren’t trying to save her daughter.
“Crystal!” she cried out, lifting a hoof. “Crystal, look at me!”
The terrified filly made eye contact with her, sniffling and shivering uncontrollably. “M-Mom…” she stammered out.
“It’s all going to be okay, sweetie, I promise,” Scarlet said, her eyes darting frantically around for anything she could use to turn this around. “You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get you out of there, I swear it!”
The changeling hissed again when it saw just how close the guards were getting. It looked around, pulling Crystal closer against it, drawing another terrified wail out of the frightened filly.
“Mom, I’m scared…”
“I know, honey, I know,” Scarlet replied. “J-just hang on…”
The changeling looked around one more time. Finally, the realization Scarlet had come to a minute ago seemed to dawn on it as well. It snarled in frustration. Time slowed down as it’s maw opened wide, allowing Scarlet to see the sharpness of its fangs, the saliva dripping between them, and the rugged ridges along the top of its mouth.
The changeling bit down on Crystal’s neck. A horrid, wet crunch filled the air, the last thing Scarlet heard before Crystal began screaming. She thrashed in its grasp, blood running down her body in excessive amounts, bubbling out of her mouth in an uneven spray.
The changeling snarled one last time, glaring into Scarlet’s eyes, before pulling back. Flesh came away from bone, and all at once, Crystal’s screams fell silent.
“NO!”
“Scarlet, stop!”
Scarlet blinked, snapping back to reality. Sclera was pinned on her back beneath her, eyes wide in fear as she looked up into Scarlet’s. Both of the unicorn’s swords had materialized, both of them resting mere inches from Sclera’s throat in a scissor shape.
Gasping, struggling to hold back tears, Scarlet allowed her swords to dissipate. “W-what…?”
Thud.
Scarlet screamed as white-hot pain exploded out from a point right between her shoulder blades. She fell to the ground, crumpling into a heap on top of Sclera.
“Shit!” Lens’ voice rang in her ears before her vision turned a noticeable shade of pale blue. Groggily, she lifted her eyes to see the stallion crouching down over her with frantic eyes. “Scarlet, are you okay?!”
Scarlet hissed through clenched teeth, forcing herself to rise. Every movement was excruciating, and it did not help matters that she could barely see through the tears clouding her vision. She slumped against the ramparts, gasping for breath. “I… I will live,” she managed to say between her heaving gasps.
Lens’ eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to say something, but another series of thunks against the barrier cut him off. He glared up, wincing as his newest barrier flickered. “Damn, already? Gah!” he turned back to her. “Scarlet, if you’re teleporting us out, now would be a really good time!”
Scarlet nodded, once more reaching out with her magic. Her efforts were sluggish and half-hearted. As absorbed in the shock of what had just happened as she was, not to mention the distraction caused by an arrow being lodged into her back, it was a miracle she was even standing.
But finally, she found a spot. Nodding to herself, she glanced back to the others. “Grab on.”
Lens did so without hesitation, but Sclera did not seem so sure. She was still on her back, staring at Scarlet with wide eyes. She scooted back a few inches, her eyes darting around.
Scarlet hissed in pain, the light on her horn flickering. “Gah! Sclera, please, come on! I’m sorry! I’ll explain later!” she grunted, the words short and clipped as she struggled to maintain her flow of power.
For a second, Sclera didn’t move. But then her eyes fell on Protea, and she made up her mind. She hauled herself to her hooves and staggered over to grasp Scarlet’s shoulder. “Okay… I’m ready,” she whispered.
Scarlet nodded, then screwed her eyes shut. Another spear of pain ran down her spine as they vanished from the wall and reemerged in the grass on the other side. Already, she could hear the remaining pegasi hollering at any guards that could hear them to open the gates, that the fugitives were getting away.
“Where do we go now?” Lens asked, allowing his barrier to drop for the moment.
Scarlet winced and pointed north, towards the Whitemane Forest and the mountains beyond. “Th-that way. Forest. Cover,” she choked out before pushing off from the wall to head in that direction. Sclera and Lens were quick to fall in beside her, and it was only then that Scarlet realized just how weak she was starting to feel.
“You’re hurt,” Lens pointed out in a hushed voice, eyeing the arrow in her back. “We need to take care of you…”
“Others… first,” Scarlet declined with a stiff shake of her head.
Sclera glanced back, her ears folding down. “Oh, no…” she choked out fearfully.
Barely stifling a tired groan, Scarlet turned her head back to see what the problem was now. Adrenaline spiked through her when she saw that the gates were swinging open, and she could see the flickering lights of torches pouring out onto the road. She heard plenty of voices shouting amongst themselves, and many armored hooves pummeling the dirt.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Scarlet growled before turning to face the gate directly. “Can we not get a break?!”
“Scarlet, what are you doing?!” Lens asked a few paces behind her once he realized she had stopped.
Scarlet didn’t answer. There was no way they would be able to get away from all of that as they were now. Slowed down by Sclera’s weakness and her own injuries, they would be run down and killed long before they could ever reach the safety of the forest. They needed something to keep the oncoming force occupied.
Taking a deep breath, Scarlet called upon the very last dregs of her magic. The muscles in her chest and shoulders began to visibly spasm and ripple in protest as if they were trying to hold the energy deep inside of her. She forced it through, though, and soon, a ball of flames appeared on the tip of her horn.
There were some trees and plenty of bushes scattered around, as well as a collection of farmhouses a few dozen yards to the left. Good. The more flammable material there was nearby, the better.
With one last cry, she released the flames in a wave that filled her vision in every direction. Heat blasted against her face, blowing back her mane and scorching the tip of her horn. The stench of many, many things burning reached her nostrils, causing her ears to fold back on reflex.
And then, finally, she was spent. With a tired sigh, Scarlet collapsed to the ground, her vision filled with a towering wall of blurry orange and red.
And then she knew no more.