Chapter 5: The Soldier and The Astronomer
Bladewing watched North Star closely as they walked along, the magical glow of his markings and horn mystifying her as she walked, she hadn't been travelling with the unicorn long, but the glow he emitted was warm, comforting, it reminded her of the nights she would spend watching the stars back at her home. As North Star caught her eyeline she quickly looked away, trying to keep an eye out.
"You seem nervous, Bladewing." North Star commented, hoping to start up a conversation, "We've been walking in silence for the last half hour.. is something wrong?"
Bladewing looked up at the sky at let her eyes slowly drift over to the mountains nearby, "No, not yet anyway." she replied, flicking her tail as she took the lead, "See those cliffs? They're from the Gryphon mountains... this patch of forest goes right between them and-" she looked to her left, seeing the edge of the path and the sheer drop into darkness that laid beyond it, "The Gorge."
"Woah, good thing you noticed that." North Star replied, taking a few steps away from the gorge before looking over at Bladewing, "Have you come here often then?"
"No, this is my first time..." Bladewing closed her eyes for a moment, reflecting on the stories she had heard about the Gryphon kingdom, "But what one scout knows we all know... if word doesn't get around the city about our findings, it's because the commander doesn't want it to."
North Star nodded slowly and looked around, following Bladewing's lead and watching the skies for Gryphons as he continued onwards through the snow. But once again as he watched the sky, the clouds parted and the stars began to light it up, he found himself lost in them. He began to remember the tower, he had only been walking for a few hours but it felt like days... and that's when it hit him.
"Bladewing... how long have we been walking anyway?"
Bladewing looked over her shoulder at him before looking up at the skies, "...It's hard to say... the sky is lightening up, it'll be dawn soon." she paused, "Don't you have to raise the sun?"
"The Watchers of Time do that..." North Star replied, running a little to catch up as he noticed the distance between the two of them had grown somehow, he wasn't walking as fast as Bladewing, but he couldn't fault her for her speed, if she wanted to she could fly and leave him in the snow.
"We have orders too... the Pegasi, I mean," she began as she rolled her eyes at his attempt to catch up with her, continuing to walk along at her own pace despite his struggling, "The Bladewings, like myself... the Ironwings, who prefer blunt weapons... and of course the earth pegasi who farm to give us our crops... hardly earth ponies, but our race needs to be self-dependent if we are to survive."
"You mean that's not what Pegasus feathers really look like?" North Star asked with a gasp, causing Bladewing to remember she was the first Pegasus he had ever met.
"What? ...No!" Bladewing looked along her wings, spreading them further and allowing North Star to see the blade clearly, "See? My feathers are undisturbed, but these metal parts along the top of my wings are not natural... They are my weapons, Wingblades. Forged by the greatest Pegasi blacksmiths of our time."
"There are Pegasi Blacksmiths?" North Star gawked, hurrying along after Bladewing as she wandered ahead, rolling her eyes at his questions. As North Star noticed the behaviour his eyes dropped back to the snow, "I'm sorry, it's just... there's so much I don't know about Pegasi."
"And so much you'll continue to not know... I'm not here to answer your questions, North Star. We're on a mission." Bladewing snapped at him, flicking her mane from her eyes as the wind disturbed it before perking her ears and glancing up, suddenly tensing up as they entered a clearing in the forest. "...Hold on."
"What is it?"
"Put out your light!" Bladewing whispered to North Star, crouching down and lowering her wings into flying position.
"What? Why?" North Star asked, crouching as he saw Bladewing do so.
"Just put it out, you'll kill us both!" Bladewing whispered angrily, her voice sounding like a hiss. North Star immediately put his light out and the two stayed together in the snow... for a while, there was nothing, not a sound or movement, and then suddenly a shadow passed along the ground infront of them, disappearing from sight as quickly as it entered it.
"What was that?" North Star whimpered, curling up as he saw the shadow.
"North Star, listen to me... Stay low and follow me." Bladewing told him sternly, starting to creep along the ground to the edge of the clearing. North Star crept along behind Bladewing, closing his eyes tightly and choking back the tears of fear as he trembled with each step.
Bladewing made her way towards the edge of the clearing, holding her breath as she neared the safety of the forested area ahead. Though just as she dug her hoof into the snow by the first tree, she heard a scream behind her. She turned around, her wings spreading out instantly with a metal 'shink'. At first she saw nothing, but that was the problem... where was North Star? As she looked around in a panic she heard a cry from above.
"BLADEWING!" North Star screamed, struggling in the grip of a Gryphon, a mad look of blood lust in its eyes as it opened up its beak to bite down on the stallion's neck. Bladewing launched herself into the air at the Gryphon, aiming to behead it as she went by, only for the Gryphon to swerve and duck, still holding North Star tightly in its talons.
The two winged fighters swerved and dived about the other, The Gryphon trying to get away from Bladewing to enjoy it's meal, and the Pegasus trying to rescue her friend from it. North Star closed his eyes tightly, his horn sparking to life with magic and firing a burst before the Gryphon, causing it to shriek in surprise and throw him towards the ground. Bladewing gasped as she watched the unicorn fall and barrel-rolled downwards, going into a dive after North Star, catching him moments before he landed and lowering herself to the ground.
North Star gave her a terrified looked, but the Pegasus had no time for thanks. "Idiot!" she hissed at him before flapping her wings and taking off again, slashing at the Gryphon as she flew past it and cutting along it's front, "I thought you were a Soldier!"
"I'm not a Soldier!" North Star yelled over the sounds of battle, hesitating to fire in case he hit Bladewing, though he kept the spell charged and shot at the Gryphon when she was clear of it, missing it with most of the magical bursts he made, "I work at the observatory! I'm an Astronomer!"
"You're a what?!" Bladewing screamed back at him in a mixture of surprise and anger as the Gryphon flew at her, she span around and dug her wings into it at the last moment, falling momentarily to hit it with one of North Star's blasts before getting her wings out of it's flesh once more and spinning back into hovering upright, the Gryphon only growing angrier as the fight went on.
"I'm an Astronomer!" he called up to her again, firing three consecutive shots at the Gryphon, the last being enough to finally take it out of the sky, it barrel-rolled towards the woods and out of sight, the sound of it's neck snapping against the trunk of a large pine tree echoing throughout the forest.
...
"...You study stars." Bladewing repeated for what seemed like the eighteenth time since the Gryphon fight. She sat by the campfire and watched North Star setting up the tent from his camp, a bandage around her neck from where the Gryphon had bitten her.
"Yes." North Star replied as he looked over at her, the fire lighting up his face.
"But your destructive spells--"
"Fireworks," North Star corrected her, "I learned the spell to help out during the festivals... it's the same reason I learned the healing spell, in case anypony got hurt because of my magic." he explains, using his magic to adjust Bladewing's bandage, causing the Pegasus to glare at him and turn away, "...Are you angry at me?"
"Yes." Bladewing replied without a second thought, looking into the flames, "This is becoming less of an opportunity and more of a burden... you don't know how to fight, I'm going to have to look after you the whole way, aren't I?"
"What? No! I mean--" North Star breathed out a heavy sigh, "Look, this is all new to me. Fighting, travelling, I'm struggling to even set up the tent," he finally moved away from the pile of sticks and the cloth that covered over them, "But I need you and you need me, our people are counting on us, Bladewing... and I don't know about you, but I don't want to let down the unicorns."
"You're questioning my loyalty?" Bladewing scoffed, spreading out her wings, "My blades are proof enough I wish the Pegasi to survive... I will do everything I can to save my people, even if it means escorting you around the frozen wastes," She got up and tucked her wings back once more, starting to move the sticks around, "Here, let me give you a hoof with that."
As the two set up the tent, the stars shimmered and began to go out one by one, it would soon be dawn, but as the travellers could only navigate by night there was no harm in sleeping during the day. Soon the tent was set up, but as the two looked at how small it was their eyes drifted to eachother.
"It's pretty cold out tonight," North Star began, "And there's probably room in the tent for both of us."
"I'm not sleeping in there with you," Bladewing replied defensively, looking up as she began to search for clouds above them, "I'm a Pegasi warrior... I've slept in far worse than a little snow." she added, her tail flicking to get some snow off the tip, "I'll find a cloud and keep a look out."
"Do you have to be 'on duty' every hour of the day?" North Star asked, taking a step back towards the tent as he prepared to enter it.
"While I have my wing blades, I do." Bladewing looked over her shoulder at him, her ears perking up, "We travel at midday tomorrow."
"Midday... right." North Star replied, lowering his gaze sadly, he couldn't help but feel bad for the Pegasus despite her circumstances being her choice. He turned to enter the tent.
"Goodnight, North Star. Sweet dreams." Bladewing told him before spreading her wings and flying up to a nearby cloud."
"....Sweet-, what?" he looked over his shoulder a little surprised at the sudden softness, but Bladewing had already taken point on a cloud overhead, staring into the distance. North Star made his way into the tent slowly and shut out the cold, and collapsed in the middle of the tent, curling up as the world grew distant... his first night had been exhausting, and it was only a small step in the long walk ahead.
Endless Snow behind him,
Endless Snow to either side,
...but suddenly, there was a light in the distance.