Hurricane had yet to return to the nesting caves. She couldn't go back empty-taloned, not after putting the outpost on high alert like that. Red Tail would have her primaries if she didn't have something to show for her idiocy.
She clawed at the rocks, gouging furrows in them from the force of her anger. She knew the gaudy griffin who'd attacked her wasn't from her tribe; even if she couldn't retrieve Shadowheart, she could drive out the stranger and make sure the territory was secure.
She only needed to find them.
She crouched and launched herself skyward, catching the edge of an updraft. They had to be in the mountains still, probably in one of the nearby valleys. Thank the Wind there were no caves to speak of around here- if she was diligent and lucky, it would take only a handful of days to find them, and then she could go home.
The updraft sent her soaring into open sky, past cloud wisps that would likely become a summer storm in due time. She scanned the side of the mountain, watching for movement. She would not be thwarted again.
~*~
Scars negotiated the rock maze with a bit more difficulty than he was willing to admit. He was by no means old, but he wasn't young anymore, either, and he knew that with all the damage his body had taken over the years, he was lucky to be able to move at all. At least Lantern wasn't around to make him feel even worse.
It wasn't hard to find Shadowheart's trail. Though the rock maze was an actual maze, a leftover ground defense from generations ago, Shadowheart had apparently sneaked out here often enough that his hooves had worn a smooth track between the fort and whatever was hidden in here. It was long, winding, doubled back on itself occasionally, but eventually ended at the entrance to a small cave.
Scars grumbled under his breath, ducking his head to step inside. He was a full-sized stallion, not a little pipsqueak like Shadowheart, so it was a bit of a squeeze, but he managed it.
Inside, the cave was pitch black- the close crowding of the rocks outside and a sharp curve only a few hooves in mention what little sunlight there was didn't reach very far. Most unicorns would have left at least a little light spell, but magic was painful for Shadowheart, so no surprise there. Scars slid his way carefully across the floor, feeling his way bit by bit with both forehooves, until he ran into a force field.
There was no pain, just a sudden resistance and a shimmer of dark blue light climbing up the air in front of him. It reached from floor to low ceiling, wall to wall. Scars couldn't see what lay behind it, but whatever it was had to be important.
Scars lifted one hoof, tapping the force field and staring intently past it. The cave wasn't much deeper, he could make out the far wall barely a pony-length away. Again, he tapped the shield, and again scanned as much as he could. There was something large and round in the shielded area – tap again for light – light-colored and smooth, from what he could see – tap, tap – an egg.
“Why the hell is Shadowheart hiding an egg out here?” Scars demanded of the empty air, backing out of the cave carefully. “What was that idiot thinking? If the griffins haven't killed him yet, I'll snap his stupid neck myself.”
“Careful with that kind of talk- somepony might think you're serious.”
“What are you doing here, abomination?” Scars demanded, rounding on the latest annoyance to wander back into his life.
“Ouch,” Biel said, laughing. “That almost hurt, stepfather.”
“Don't call me that!” Scars snapped. “You and I have nothing to do with each other, and we have an agreement you're currently breaking!”
“Technically, I'm not,” Biel disagreed, stepping down to the ground and folding his unnatural membrane wings against his back. “We agreed I'd never set hoof in your territory again, and you'd make sure no ponies ever invaded my valley. Since my valley is currently host to one of your ponies, that means I can come here if I want.”
Scars wanted to protest just on principle, but there was no arguing with Biel's logic. He growled, pawing angrily at the ground. “Fine- send him home and get out. I don't have time for you.”
“Fine, fine,” Biel said, turning around. “I know when I'm hated.” He jumped up onto a large boulder and spread his wings, jumping up to hover in the sky for a moment. “He's injured. The unicorn in my valley, I mean. He won't be back for a while. Try to get some rest.”
Scars didn't reply, glaring at the ground until Biel's shadow flitted off across the ground and away. Once he was certain he was alone, he shifted and bucked the boulder Biel had touched with all his might. It trembled and split down the middle, spraying dust and pebbles everywhere, but did nothing for his anger, and the minute he touched hoof to ground he knew he would be limping for days.
~*~
Shadowheart woke to the sound of branches scraping across stone. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he was was Gilda with a sorry-looking scrub bush hanging from her beak.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Gilda dropped the bush, shoving it around until she was satisfied before answering. “Hiding us. I saw a griffin earlier, and I figured it would be bad if we got found.”
Shadowheart tensed, ignoring the full-body wave of pain. “Where?”
“Pretty far off,” Gilda said, still absently arranging shrubbery. “Man, what I'd give for the Everfree Forest right now. Nothing to hide you from the skies like furlongs of trees.”
Shadowheart looked around at what little they had to work with; it wasn't much, barely enough to cover him, forget about him and Gilda. “We need to move.”
“No way,” Gilda disagreed. “You can't walk, and you're too big for me to carry.”
Shadowheart shifted his forehooves under him, prepared for the pain and further damage he was about to set off. “We don't have a choice,” he told her. “If they're still looking, they will find us. Soon.”
“Well...” Gilda said uncertainly, tail lashing behind her. “Okay, fine, you're right. Maybe if you can get on my back, I can carry you like that. That weird pony-dragon wasn't too far off...”
Shadowheart managed to get his forelegs under him and more-or-less straight. He could ignore the pain for now. Gilda turned and sat with her back to him, wings spread. Shadowheart managed, hoof by hoof, to drag himself across her slick feathers so his forehooves were hooked over her shoulders, his hind legs hanging behind her wings. She stood slowly, angling her wings to help keep him steady.
“You're even lighter than you look,” she noted, taking a few steps to see how he settled. “Which is saying something. Did you just stop growing after you got your cutie mark, or what?”
“Shut up,” Shadowheart muttered into her crest. He'd often been teased as a foal for being so small, and even as an adult he was a bit sensitive about his size.
Gilda laughed, slowly climbing out of the little hollow in the ground and starting downslope and eastward. Shadowheart closed his eyes, clinging to consciousness with all his might. If they were attacked, Gilda would need him awake to offer magical defense...
Almost as soon as he completed the thought, Shadowheart slipped back into sleep.
~*~
Long wait for such a short update, huh? Sorry to the six ponies reading this story. orz