//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Run // Story: The Warden: Part 2, The Crusader and The Warden // by FortressLegacy //------------------------------// "Hang on." Upon hearing this instruction from the Warden, Apple Bloom latched onto his back. As she did so, she watched as the timber wolves trotted towards them, closing the distance. Then, the Warden ran. Apple Bloom clutched him even tighter, almost being thrown off as he broke into a desperate gallop. "RAD!" He cried, looking around for a potential escape route. The little drone unfurled and went into a hover, beeping confusedly for a moment upon being left behind. Then it gave an alarmed wail, and Apple Bloom looked back. RAD was now rushing to catch up, and she could not blame him, for the wolves had now broken into a full sprint, chasing them down and gaining ground. The drone hurriedly overtook the ponies, and chirped a question at the Warden. "Find us a way to lose them!" He commanded, his voice showing a large sense of urgency. The drone chirped and darted upwards into the sky, shortly disappearing from sight as the Warden continued to run. A few seconds passed by, and Apple Bloom looked worriedly behind her. The pair of timber wolves were still closing the gap, now only a few hundred feet or so behind. "They're gettin' closer!" She cried out, knowing all too well that unless the Warden did something soon, they would be overtaken. "I know!" The stallion shouted back, glancing at another one of his bags. "Take out a metal ball from that bag!" Apple Bloom reached out to the bag he was referring to, and briefly rummaged around until she felt a metallic ball. "I got one!" She shouted, pulling it out and giving it a cursory examination. It was about the size of a tennis ball, completely metal in construction, with a button located on it. "Press the button twice!" The Warden commanded, and Apple Bloom immediately did so, and a small light on the ball began to slowly blink on and off. "When I say so, drop it on the ground!" He instructed, looking back both at Apple Bloom and the trailing wolves. The filly nodded, looking behind as well. The wolves were closer now, less than a hundred feet away. In about ten seconds, they would be upon the two ponies. The Warden glanced ahead, watching where he was going, then looked back again. For a split second, Apple Bloom saw a massive amount of worry in his eyes. She felt chills run up and down her spine. Was he unsure if they would make it out alive? But the anxiousness in his expression quickly gave way to a determined glare as he gave a decisive command. "Now!" Apple Bloom dropped the ball, and watched it disappear into the grass, directly between them and the wolves. A couple more seconds passed, and the ponies continued to run away.  Then the wolves were caught in a small explosion! One flew into pieces as the other stumbled to the ground, flailing around as it lost its footing. Apple Bloom could not help but let out a triumphant laugh as the two wolves were stopped in their tracks. The Warden looked back, not sharing her sense of mirth. "That won't stop them for long." He said, his voice beginning to sound a bit strained. "Where's RAD?!" Just on cue, the drone zipped down from the skies, flying directly in front of the Warden. "What do you have?!" The Warden asked the drone, sounding apprehensive. The drone tweeted a reply and projected a map of the surrounding area onto the ground in front of the running stallion, highlighting what appeared to be a small canyon to the south. The Warden immediately nodded. "It's desperate, but it'll have to do!" He shouted, taking a sudden turn towards the direction indicated by the drone. Apple Bloom looked ahead, and saw that they were now headed for a treeline about a quarter mile away. Then she looked behind and saw one wolf, probably the one who didn't fall apart, closing in on them again. The other was in the process of reconstructing itself, and was almost ready to take off after them. "Mister Warden?" She asked fearfully, "what're we gonna do?" "Something a little crazy!" He said back. "I'm going to need your help and for you to trust me!" Apple Bloom didn't take long to decide. In such a matter as this, the worst thing she could do is not trust him. "Alright!" The Warden nodded. "Good." He said quietly, before increasing his pace. Thirty seconds later, they had made it into the trees, and now the Warden was burdened with the task of ducking and weaving through the trees and underbrush. He was forced to slow down a bit as he did so, but he still kept close to RAD, who was picking out a pathway through the trees. After almost a minute of this, a howl echoed through the forest, coming from behind. The wolves were still on their trail. Then, the Warden gave an exclamation, causing Apple Bloom to look ahead just in time to see the ground fall away from before them. The stallion slid to a halt, coming within inches of the canyon rim, sending a few small rocks hurtling over the edge. Apple Bloom gulped. They had come disturbingly close to careening into the gorge, which looked to be at least a hundred feet deep and twice as wide. The near wall was nearly vertical, the opposite wall not quite so much, and the floor was littered with boulders and stones of various sizes. A fall into there would likely be deadly. "Get off." The Warden instructed. Apple Bloom hopped off, careful to not land on her injured leg, which did feel somewhat better when compared to yesterday. The Warden then walked up to the edge of the cliff, and began looking around, running his hooves along cracks in the rock. "What're ya doin'?" Apple Bloom asked, sounding both scared and uncertain, despite her best efforts to sound otherwise. "Finding an anchor point." The stallion replied, not diverting his attention from his task. "We're going in." "Wha-? How?" Apple Bloom asked, remembering how deep the gorge looked. The stallion almost made a reply, but he was cut off by another howl, this time a lot closer. In fact, they could hear the sounds of tree branches snapping and underbrush cracking now, indicating that the wolves were getting closer. RAD beeped in alarm, further driving the point home that they didn't have much longer. The Warden mumbled something about having to make do, and he pointed his leg with the grappling hook at a crack in the ground near the rim. "Grapple, shoot!" He commanded, and the grapple shot a few inches into the crack, anchoring itself. After giving a few tugs on the line to test the anchor, he grumbled "Good enough.", and motioned for Apple Bloom to come to him. "Come on!" Immediately, Apple Bloom knew what they were going to do. She had done some rather daring things before, but this felt a lot more like a stunt that Scootaloo would do. Plus, whenever she did anything like rock climbing, there was a lot of safety measures in place. That was not the case here. In her mind's eye, she imagined what would happen if somepony were to fall into the gorge. It was not pretty.  She hesitated, looking fearfully at the Warden. They both looked at each other for a second, and the Warden's expression softened slightly. "You'll be okay." He reassured her, outstretching his free foreleg. "I'll carry you down." As if to further drive the urgency of the situation home, another howl was given among the ever increasing sounds of crashing in the forest. Apple Bloom swallowed her anxieties, and ran to the Warden, who immediately scooped her up, wrapping his foreleg around her. "Hold on!" He commanded, as he walked to the edge of the gorge. Apple Bloom looked down, and immediately closed her eyes, regretting that she did so. The sheer height was petrifying. "Grapple, rappel!" The Warden ordered, before leaping off of the cliffside. For a gut wrenching second, Apple Bloom felt the terrible sensation of her stomach lurching as she went into a fall. The spool for the grapple line whizzed for a moment before giving a distinct click and locking, stopping their descent. The Warden's hind legs were then brought back to the wall, bringing them to a complete halt with a lurch and a grunt from the stallion. Despite this, his grip on Apple Bloom did not loosen at all.  She opened her eyes, taking a deep breath as he kicked off the wall, starting the cycle again. His eyes darted up and down, his entire focus on the wall and the line keeping them from plummeting to their deaths. He shortly came up against the wall again, and repeated the process over and over. Within seconds, they were halfway down, and Apple Bloom's mind was racing. Underneath any other set of circumstances, this would actually be a lot of fun. Indeed, this was thrilling, but more in a terrifying way. She also momentarily thought of the Warden, and how much calmer he seemed to be, despite the danger. He was in a situation that many other ponies wouldn't make it out of, but he wasn't panicking at all, escaping the wolves while keeping her safe. Despite the danger, Apple Bloom felt a wave of relief. She was safe as long as he was there to protect her, she couldn't deny that now. That was a feeling that was mainly reserved for her siblings, which was not a fact that was lost on her. An unexpected lurch and an audible curse from the Warden broke her thoughts. "Don't come out!" He hissed, Apple Bloom realizing that he was referring to the grappling claw. She looked down, and saw that they had about another thirty feet left to go before they reached the bottom. Chills ran down her spine. If they were to fall now they might survive, but injury was certainly guaranteed. The Warden paused, looked down as if to think, and took a breath. "Hang on!" He ordered again, as if he were anticipating something the next time he kicked off. Apple Bloom wrapped her forelegs around his, bracing for something bad. He then kicked off, and once again, they were in a descent. Then the spool locked, bringing them back to the wall.  But as the Warden came up against the cliff, the line gave way. He gave an alarmed cry, as did Apple Bloom. They were in a free fall, and there was little they could do. In an instant, he wrapped his other foreleg protectively around her, bringing her close to his underside, which was facing upwards. About a second later, he hit the wall with a heavy thud, sending them both into an uncontrolled tumble. He exhaled sharply as Apple Bloom felt the impact through his body, doing her best to hold on. Then they hit the wall again. This time, the wall was more of a slope than a cliff face. Although the impact was hard, the slope allowed them to roll down to the floor without coming to a deadly landing. The sound of falling rocks and the rushing air were the only things that Apple Bloom could hear as they tumbled down. Soon, they came to a halt on the gorge floor, being peppered with stones knocked free from their fall. They lay there for a few moments, Apple Bloom still being held close by the Warden, who was groaning quietly. They were both alive, at least. She heard RAD fly down to where they were at, and heard the drone give a fearful sound. The Warden loosened his grip, and Apple Bloom gently pushed herself away. She then stood up, wobbling quite a bit as she did so. The impacts combined with the tumbling had made her quite dizzy. "A-are you alright?" She asked, sounding very concerned. The Warden took a pained breath. "I… I don't know…" He groaned, rolling onto his legs. "Are you?" "Ah think so." She replied, then noticing several wounds on his body. Most were small, but one in particular was bleeding profusely, located on his lower back. "You're bleedin'!" "Yeah?" He asked sarcastically, painfully and slowly standing up. "I wonder how that happened." Apple Bloom didn't have much time to think about this, as a loud howl caused both ponies to look upwards. At the rim, right where they had begun their descent, a pair of glowing eyes were staring ominously down upon them. The timber wolf was angrily pacing back and forth, clearly annoyed at the ponies' escape. "Well," the Warden remarked, "at least the plan worked." Apple Bloom, while concerned for the stallion's well being, could not help but agree. But then a thought occurred to her. "How're we gonna get out?" The Warden began retracting the grappling claw, which had managed to remain intact throughout the ordeal. "The best way will be the opposite of what we did to get down here." He replied, walking painfully towards the other wall. Apple Bloom couldn't believe her ears. "Why in tarnation do ya think that goin' up will be a good idea?!" She asked in consternation, following him. "We almost died, for Celestia's sake!" The Warden calmly looked back at her. "Because I have time to do it properly now." He responded, summoning RAD. "Besides, that wolf will shadow us until we get out. The safest thing to do will be to get onto the other side where he can't get to us. Apple Bloom was not quite so reassured. Still, the other wall was less steep than the one they had descended, and it looked a lot rougher, with plenty of hoofholds to use. In any case, it looked easier to traverse. "Shouldn't we at least try to fix you up a little?" She asked, finding it impossible to not notice that the Warden was visibly in pain. "Let's wait until we're safe for sure." He replied. Just then, a gust of wind rushed down along the gorge, stirring up Apple Bloom's mane, causing it to flow freely. Initially, she didn't think much of it, until she realized something: Her mane was flowing freely in the wind. She didn't have her bow. She immediately put her hoof up to the back of her head, and she felt her gut twist with the realization that it wasn't there. She looked around frantically, hoping that it was somewhere nearby. Meanwhile, the wolf at the top howled again, and this time it received a reply. Echoing from a distance down the gorge, a chilling howl reverberated between the walls. Having heard this, the wolf at the top broke into a full sprint along the gorge, towards the howl. Both ponies looked at each other, processing what they had just heard. The other wolf had found a way in, and was showing the other one how to enter as well. The Warden closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began giving orders. "RAD, find a suitable anchor point! Grapple, extend!" The drone beeped in reply, and attached itself to the claw. It then took to the air, carrying the claw up to the top of the ravine, searching for a good anchor point. Apple Bloom suppressed the urge to look for her bow. It had to wait. The two ponies quickly walked to the wall, and the Warden began giving instructions to Apple Bloom, kneeling as he did so. "Alright, I need you to get more of those balls out." He said, motioning to the bag which contained the explosives that she had used to disrupt the wolves earlier. She nodded, taking out three remaining balls from the bag before looking inquisitively at him. "Do you see how rough this wall is?" He asked, pointing to the cliff face. "Do you see how many spots there are where you could place these?" Apple Bloom nodded again, not taking her gaze off of him. "I want you to press the button on each one three times, and place each one on the wall when I say so, okay?" "O-okay!" Apple Bloom answered, right before two howls were carried up the ravine. She held the three charges close as she looked down towards the howls, and saw two shapes in the distance getting closer. The Warden picked up Apple Bloom like he did before, and held up his leg with the grappling device on it, waiting for the drone to come back down. A few unbearable seconds passed, and the timber wolves kept closing the gap. "Come on…" The Warden mumbled under his breath, shifting around uneasily as he waited. Apple Bloom shared his sentiment. She could not help but feel increasingly uneasy as they were forced to remain trapped in the ravine. Then, to their collective relief, RAD came darting down, twittering frantically. The Warden gave a few tugs, and found the line to be quite taut. After taking a deep breath, he looked down at Apple Bloom. "Ready?" He asked. She nodded frantically. "Eeyup! Go!" "Grapple, ascend!" He commanded, and the spool began to retract. One step at a time, he walked along on his hind legs, working his way up the towering wall of rock with the assistance of the grapple. Before long, the two ponies were about a third of the way up. Then the Warden stopped, pointing at a crag in the cliff. "Put one there!" He commanded, and Apple Bloom activated a charge and placed it. As they resumed their climb, the two wolves came into clear sight. Apple Bloom could hear the creaking of their wooden limbs and the hungry panting from their mouths as they approached. They slowed to a steady trot, each looking up at the two ponies who were scaling the wall. The Warden, however, remained focused. "Put one over here." Apple Bloom shifted her attention away from the hungry beasts below and planted another charge. Once she had done so, the Warden continued up the wall. Meanwhile, one of the wolves leapt onto the wall, growling as it managed to gain a grip on the steep surface. It began to follow the ponies, climbing faster than they could. Before Apple Bloom could point this out, the Warden lost his footing, falling for a short distance and slamming against the wall with a grunt. For a brief moment, his grip on Apple Bloom loosened, and she gave a worried glance downwards. The first wolf was getting closer, and the other was following close behind. They needed to start climbing soon, and fast. She looked up at the Warden, who was breathing heavily. He looked tired and in pain, but when her eyes met his, she saw a fierce determination burning within. He took a deep breath, regained his footing, and resumed their climb, the first wolf having closed to about fifteen feet below them. The Warden seemed to catch his second wind, for he began to climb faster than before. After a few more seconds, the top was now almost within reach. The Warden stopped for a final time, and pointed to another crag. "Put the last one there!" He commanded, and Apple Bloom did as she was told. The wolf closest to them then made a jump upwards, opening its sharp, jagged maw wide as it snarled. It came within a foot of the Warden's legs, and its jaw snapped shut with a sickening pop.  Apple Bloom could not help but give an alarmed cry at how close the wolf had come, but the Warden didn't even flinch. He instead kept on climbing, finally reaching the top of the ravine. Upon doing so, he tossed Apple Bloom onto the ground, and he started the process of getting himself over the edge. Apple Bloom heard a wolf snap once again, and she clutched one of the Warden's forelegs, trying her hardest to pull him up. "Come on!" She groaned, straining as she frantically pulled. The Warden said nothing, rolling onto the ground with Apple Bloom's assistance and swiftly standing up. He then hoisted her onto his back, and began running away from the edge of the cliff right as the wolf's claws were getting a grip on the top. "RAD, blow it!" The Warden ordered, coming to a stop a short distance away. Apple Bloom turned her head around right as three loud explosions pounded her ears and a deafening roar ensued. The ground next to the edge where they had been mere seconds before fell away into the ravine, taking the unfortunate wolf with it, disappearing into a cloud of flying rocks and dust. A few seconds passed and the roar soon died away, turning into an eerie silence. The Warden slowly walked back towards the collapse, and looked downwards. Apple Bloom also peered over the edge, and she was met by the sight of a massive pile of shattered rocks and debris littering the bottom of the ravine. Mixed in among the rubble were bits and pieces of the timber wolves, who were not showing any signs of life whatsoever. A few more seconds of silence passed, then the Warden spoke, still sounding a bit breathless. "Well done, Apple Bloom. We got them." Apple Bloom looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. He had just saved her and destroyed two timber wolves!  She watched as his expression went from being relieved to concerned. "Where's your bow?" "Oh…" Apple Bloom groaned, remembering that she had left her bow behind. She looked back down, looking all around the ravine below them. Her heart sank a bit, still unable to locate it. She spent about a minute, looking in vain. "I'm sorry." The Warden said with some remorse in his voice. "It probably happened when we fell…" Apple Bloom closed her eyes and swallowed her disappointment. "It's fine. We escaped, didn't we?" She asked, trying to sound a bit more cheerier. "Losin' a bow seems like a small price to pay after all that." The Warden nodded. "I know. But it still seemed to be special to you." She shook her head. "Ah've got more back home, don't worry." She then noticed a trail of blood running down the Warden's side, mingling with his dirty blue coat. "But now, Ah think we need to get that cut cleaned up." She remarked. Despite the loss of her bow, Apple Bloom felt extreme gratitude for the Warden. Yet again, he had saved her, but this time he got hurt in doing so. She felt a little guilty, but also felt no small amount of admiration as well. How could this heroic stallion be the same who attacked the princesses? This recurring question rattled about in her mind once again as they walked away, leaving the canyon behind them.