IS THIS OUR LAST EMBRACE?
Chapter published 26th Jan 2013
******************************
Oct 1225 AC
Trying desperately not to lose his footing on the slick floor, Lero ran after the rapidly receding form of Rainbow Dash up ahead of him. The faint bioluminescent glow emanating from small pools of what Lero could only describe as ‘mucus’ cast a slickly green sheen over everything in sight, the dim light only making it a dozen or so feet before it was swallowed by the gloom.
Strapped to his chest by means of an impromptu sling created from torn sheets was a young filly, Lero’s left arm pulling her close against him with every unsteady step he took. This was one of the few times in the years since his arrival in Equestria that he’d cursed his biped nature. Rainbow up ahead of him and Lyra behind seemed to have a lot less trouble maintaining a good footing, what with having four solid hooves to put on the ground compared to his two shoe clad feet.
With his feet momentarily losing their grip on the slimy and uneven floor, both his arms shot out to brace himself against the sides of tunnel, the makeshift club in his right hand colliding with the wall with a resounding ‘crack’ that echoed off into the darkness.
Though he had remained upright, it still took him a few seconds to regain his balance. He glanced down to check that his precious passenger was safe to find a small, scared face looking back up at him.
“You OK there, Sweetie?” He asked in what he hoped was a confident and reassuring tone. The last thing he wanted right now was for his daughter to realise just how much danger they were in.
Sweet Spirit nodded back up at him before burrowing her face into the front of his shirt, spreading her small forehooves to clutch onto the sides of his chest.
“That’s a good girl, Sweetie.” Lero pulled his left hand away from the wall, wiped it free of any gunk it had collected and then used it to gently stroke the filly’s mane. “You keep your eyes closed and hold on tight and we’ll be out of here soon, OK?” His large hands smoothing down her hair as well as catching both of her ears in the same motion, ears that were much more rounded at the tip than that of your average pony’s.
At this point Lero felt Lyra’s tail push up against the his buttocks and one of her rear hooves against the back of his legs, the unicorn having been trotting backwards behind him covering their retreat. Glancing over her shoulder she took in the scene.
“Where’s Rainbow?” She cried in alarm, quickly turning back to glare into the gloom behind them as a clattering screech erupted from the darkness. The screech was soon followed by one of their pursuers, which flung itself at them from the shadows not ten feet away.
Lyra’s horn flared almost instantly, her magic illuminating the tunnel far more brightly than the dim glow from the slimy walls and floor. Suddenly the creature found itself suspended in the air mid-pounce, its gossamer wings buzzing helplessly as it fought against the unicorn’s magic.
The last thing it saw with its pupil-less golden eyes was Lero surging towards it, the human’s club hurtling towards its head in a vicious one-handed swing. Even in these tight confines Lero’s aim was true and as the club connected with their assailant’s leathery face Lyra released her magic, letting the force of her stallion’s swing spin the creature back down the tunnel, shards of broken carapace ricocheting from the walls as it went,
“Home run, asshole!“ Lero shouted down the tunnel, though his victim was in no fit state to hear him. Their victory was short lived as a cry of surprise from further up the tunnel reminded them that Rainbow appeared to have pushed on ahead, probably not realising that her herdmates had been delayed.
Rushing to catch up with their headstrong pegasus partner, Lyra still bringing up the rear, Lero soon caught up with his lover at a junction in the tunnels. He was dismayed to find her facing off against three of their pursuers, two in front of her and one slinking its way around her in order to attack from the rear.
Though it looked like the pegasus hadn’t noticed the flanking maneuver, Lero know his lead-mare better than that. Rearing up on her back legs, Rainbow feinted a forehoof punch to one of the creatures in front of her and as it moved back she allowed herself to fall forward onto her forehooves.
Using the forward momentum to allow her front legs to compress, the angry mare spread her wings with a strong back-wing motion which, coupled with a powerful push with her front legs, suddenly sprang her backwards. Kicking out with her back legs as she moved she caught the creature behind her with a buck so unstoppable that it rammed her would be attacker into the tunnel wall, crushing its head and chest to a messy pulp.
With their comrade’s rather sudden demise taking the odds from three against one to two against three Lero was expecting the enemy to retreat but instead only found their resolve to have become stronger. The creature closest to Lero charged towards him, leaving his fellow to take on Rainbow Dash.
As Lero’s attacker leapt into the air towards him the telltale glow of Lyra’s magic once again flared in the gloom, her telekinesis catching her a second captive in as many minutes. Lero ducked and let Lyra’s pull plus the creature’s forward momentum take it over the his head and into a crash landing behind him where the mint green unicorn was waiting.
With a swift kick to the head the creature was rendered unconscious – or maybe more - and then with another solid kick it was punted away into the darkness. As no more sound was forthcoming from that direction Lyra seemed satisfied that the threat had been dealt with and turned back to assist her herdmates.
Rushing to Rainbow’s side she found the pegasus hovering above the unmoving body of a second defeated creature, this one almost as much a shiny brown and gooey green mess as the one before it, which was now slowly sliding its way down the tunnel wall. Squishy globs of… stuff... dripped from all four of the cyan mare’s hooves.
Flapping her way a few feet into the side tunnel she violently shook her hooves, trying desperately to get whatever it was coating them off. Once satisfied she’d at last got most of the… whatever… off Rainbow rejoined her family as they continued their flight for freedom.
After much running the tunnel eventually opened up into small cavern, just barely large enough to fit a small house inside. A few shafts of daylight streamed in from a hole in the ceiling, allowing them to finally see each other without the green tint of the tunnels colouring their vision.
Lyra held back by the cave’s entrance, watching for any pursuers who may have followed them while Lero moved about the cavern, checking for another exit but finding nothing but dank walls and a small puddle in the middle of the floor. A slow drizzle of ground water fell from the edges of their pitiful skylight, the sound of the irregular drips echoing around the cave as they hit the puddle causing ripples to flow across it’s dark surface and throwing jerky reflections of the scant sunlight around the cave.
“Oh sweet, we must be close to the surface!” Rainbow exclaimed flapping her way up to the hole. After knocking some errant undergrowth out of the way with her forehooves she stuck her upper body out of the hole, wiggling slightly as she did so to make sure her wings could get though without becoming snagged on the edges.
All she could see once out of the cave was an untamed forest as far as the eye could see and, like birds, pegasi could see a heck of long way. Like most birds, pegasi also had the natural ability to be able to navigate without a compass, a skill essential to both flying and weather control. Turning in a slow circle to take in her surrounding, Rainbow could see in the middle distance a snow-covered mountain range in what her own highly honed skills were telling her was due north. While she couldn’t be one hundred per cent sure, the chill in the air and the smell of ice and snow on the southwesterly breeze led her to believe they were the Crystal Mountains.
Checking around until she was confident that she was alone in the forest, Rainbow landed and stuck her head back though the hole.
“Not sure exactly where we are but we’re pretty far from home.” The pegasus called back into the darkness of the cave. “I think Canterlot’s quite a way to the south east.”
Slowly dropping back though the hole and down to the cave floor she found Lero had dropped his makeshift bat to the ground and was lifting the crude sling off over his head, cradling his frightened child as he did so.
Kneeling down and motioning Rainbow over to him, he gently slipped the sling over her head, letting the back of her neck take the weight. He then took her left forehoof and lifted it so that he could pull it though one of the loops of the sling, then doing the same with her right hoof before pulling the cloth tight to let the bundle lay tightly against the pegasus’ chest.
“Great idea, big guy. I fly us out one at a time and…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off. She may not have been the smartest pony in the world but she could see from the grim determination on Lero’s face what he was planning and she didn’t like what she saw, not one little bit. If they were all going to get out that hole Lero would insist that he or Lyra were carried up first, then Rainbow would bring up Sweet Spirit, pass her off to the parent up top and go back for the other one. Then they’d figure out what to do next. If he was binding the filly to her chest now then that meant…
"Dude, whoa, whadya think you're doing?" Lero continued to tighten the sling around the pegasus' body as she tried to pull back away from him.
"No, dude, big guy, no, not happening." Praying with all her might that she was wrong, that their stallion wasn’t about to ask her to do the unthinkable, Rainbow's eyes flicked from the hole above them to Lyra then back to Lero. She’d only caught the unicorn’s eyes for a second but even from that brief glance she could see that her herdmate was going to side with the human. They must have been discussing the plan while she was scouting off ahead; they knew she’d have shot them down in an instant if she’d overheard.
"It’s the only way, love." Lero gently put out a hand towards her face but she pulled away sharply. a distressed squeak came from the bundle slung from her neck. "Lyra and I will go back for Twilight while you take Sweetie and go for help. You have to get back to Canterlot and find Princess Luna, she'll know what to do."
"No, I’m not leaving!" Rainbow shouted as she pranced back and forth, repeatedly getting just within Lero’s reach before darting away again, the sling around her neck bouncing with each movement, bumping the filly against her chest. "I'm not running and leaving you behind. It’s not happening!"
"Guys, I think you might have just given our position away." Lyra hissed from her watch-point by the mouth of the tunnel. Animalistic cries could be heard bouncing off the tunnel walls; from the sounds of it they were getting closer.
Seeing his chance while she was momentarily distracted, Lero managed to grab the back of Rainbow’s head with one hand, pulling her closer. He cupped his other hand against her cheek, letting his fingers meet deep within his lover’s mane. With both thumbs he gently caressed the soft fur just below each of her ears and. as he know it would, the old familiar gesture coupled with his strong hands around her head holding her head immobile calmed his mate greatly, though it didn’t stop her from hopping from hoof to hoof in a uncharacteristic mixture of nerves and fear.
Pushing his nose up against that of the frightened pegasus', Lero pressed on in his most soothing tone. "Rainbow, I know you don’t want to leave us, but you know it’s the only way. There’s just too many of them for us to take them all on. Someone has to go for help, and that someone has to be you."
Pushing his cheek against hers so he could rub their faces together, he could feel moisture against his skin, damp fur sliding against his own stubble. From deep with the distressed mare’s throat came a high pitched sound that he’d never heard her make before and it took a moment for him to realise that she was keening.
After what had happened to his proud, wonderful lover a few years before, an unfortunate incident where she had lost a good friend on a Wonderbolts mission gone bad, she’d spent a long time blaming herself for his death, believing that though her own cowardice she’d abandoned him, leaving him to his death.
Lero know that his request was about the most distressing thing he could be asking of her. Years of stress and anger - and a heck of a lot of therapy - had let her finally put the event behind her but here he was, asking of her something that was almost guaranteed to push open her old wounds.
As he felt his lover trembling beneath his fingers he knew that the conflict between her brain and her heart must be tearing her apart. He wished with every ounce of his being that there was some other way, but he knew that at this moment that there were just no other options available to them.
He also knew that, no matter how painful she found it, no matter how much her heart desired her to stay, in the end Rainbow would make the right decision. After all, it was her ability to make the tough choices that had lead the element of loyalty to pick her as its bearer. A position that now seemed as much a curse as it was a blessing.
"Please, Rainbow, you’re the fastest one here and someone needs to warn the Princesses." Lero kept his voice calm and level. It didn’t really much matter now what he actually said, he just had to keep Rainbow calm while she thought it all over. "Lyra has to go back for Twilight, what with Twi's condition they can’t be apart for too much longer, and I'm going with her. If I came with you I’d only hold you back and we both know it."
The pegasus struggled to pull away again but Lero held her close. The keening had died way and they both knew that if she really wanted to she could overpower him with ease, but as she wriggled in his grasp he held firm, not letting her out of his grasp.
“Let me go.” She cried. “I’m not leaving. I’m not running away, not again. I can’t... I…”
With a sniff she pulled back enough away for Lero to see her face; tears were streaming down her cheeks, leaving shiny trails in her dirt covered fur. Lero pulled her close again, pulling her back into his embrace.
“Please.” She wept into his shoulder. “Please, don’t make me go.” Rainbow wasn’t a mare to beg, except for occasionally in the bedroom, but if begging would help, would allow her to stay, would stop her lover from asking her to leave him behind, then begging is what she would do. “I can’t…”
Beside the occasional drip of water and the random unintelligible cries from a way down the tunnel, the cave was otherwise silent. Lero could hear Rainbow breathing hard in his ear, could sense her trying to control her breathing. He could feel her exhaling against his neck, each breath making the short plait behind his left ear bounce in time, each exhalation becoming slower and slower as she brought her rising panic under control. Through the tears she pushed her face against his and whispered in his ear, voice cracking as she spoke.
“Promise me you’ll be here when I get back. I need to know you’ll be OK.“
Stroking her head Lero pushed their noses together again so they could look into each other’s eyes. He could see that she needed assurance that he’d be safe until her return. Even if it wasn’t exactly the truth she still needed to hear the words from his lips.
“I’ll be here, I promise.” He looked deep into her eyes as he spoke, his gaze unwavering. “They seem to want us alive.” It was a bold faced lie and they both knew it. These creatures obviously wanted Twilight, they wanted her and they wanted Sweet Spirit, but as far as they could tell the rest of the herd seemed to be expendable. Now they knew that Twilight could hardly risk using her magic right now they probably saw her as less of a threat and much too valuable to damage. The rest of them though would still be pretty high on their hit list.
“But someone needs to get Sweetie away from here and get help so you have to go.” Lero pressed on. “Please, for me, for our daughter, get help. We’ll hold them off ‘till you get back, I promise.”
“But we’ve no clue where this is!” Rainbow started trying to pull away again. “It could take days to get help back here.”
“Hush. Hush, love.” Lero pushed his fingers though Rainbow’s mane, making sure to keep eye contact the whole time. He wanted her attention on him, to stop her mind from wandering away to the any number of ‘what ifs’ that could befall him before her return “Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back, but you need to get Sweetie out of here now.”
Closing her eyes tightly the pegasus reluctantly nodded her agreement, chewing on her bottom lip as she did so. Relaxing his fingers Lero let go of her head, slowly withdrawing his fingers from her mane. Freed from his hold, Rainbow stood where she was, making no move to back away from him again.
Leaning back in his crouch, Lero reach down to finish tightening the sling around Rainbow’s chest. As he did so, he found a wide pair of eyes watching him intently.
“Hey, baby girl.” Lero coo’d “How you doin’ down there?”
“I’m not a baby” Sweet Spirit pouted. The look in her eyes was just like her mother’s when she was trying to pretend to be annoyed. But, like her mother before her, it never lasted long.
“I know, Sweetie, I know. You all strapped in nice and tight there? Mommy Rainbow’s going to take you to see Auntie Luna. Won’t that be great?”
The young filly’s eye’s lit up at mention of her favourite ‘aunt’, the pout quickly disappeared to be replaced with a toothy grin that only childish exuberance (and Pinkie Pie) could manage. The foal’s small lips had lifted to reveal her teeth, exposing the gentle points of some very un-pony like canines. The sheer undiluted cuteness of what her father called her ‘little fangs’ was immediately heartwarming and Lero couldn’t help but reach in and ruffle her permanently wild mane, something he knew his daughter both loved and hated in equal proportions.
“Daaaaad.” The filly complained, batting at him with her forehooves, the toe of one hoof catching him on a knuckle with a resounding ‘clonk’. Lero was glad to hear a short snort coming from Rainbow as he was bested by his own child.
Leaving her mane, Lero moved a finger to the end of his daughter's nose. “Now you’ve got to stay inside the sling and hold on tight, Mommy Rainbow’s going to be going really, really fast. And no wriggling either. Can you do that for me?”
Sweetie’s head bobbed up and down as she nodded, the reds and oranges of her mane flapping around over her eyes as the occasional strand of gold glinted in the shaft of sunlight coming from the hole above.
“Good girl. Daddy’s so proud of you.” Lero started to pull the hammock part of the sling that the young pony was resting in tighter around her, wrapping it so that she wouldn’t fall out while airborne. A small hoof caught his hand.
“Is daddy not coming?” Young eyes looked up at him with concern; eyes that were again so like her mother’s whenever she’d seen right though his words. Dammit, she’d always been smart beyond her years this one.
“Not yet, honey.” Lero stroked her mane again, hoping to reassure her. “Mommy Lyra and I are going to go get Mommy Twilight and then we’ll come meet you later. We won’t be long, I promise.”
“You won’t let the bad things hurt her?” Dammit again, so smart. So very, very smart.
“No, honey, we won’t let the bad things hurt her. Then we’ll be there soon, I promise.”
“Pinkie promise?”
Lero looked up to Rainbow he found that she’d turned her head away, deliberately hiding her face. Looking to Lyra he found her intently staring into the gloom of the tunnel. Neither mare would meet his eye it seemed. Like Rainbow, his daughter wanted, needed, a promise of reassurance that she’d see him again soon, Unlike Rainbow, the young filly didn’t know this promise may never be kept.
Sensing his hesitation, Sweet Spirit reached out a small hoof to her father.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly.” Lero moved his hand across his chest, first one way and then the other. As he moved his hand up towards his face his daughter moved her forehoof to her own face.
“Stick a cupcake in my eye.“ They finished together.
“See, now you know I’m defin…” Lero was suddenly interrupted by a burst of Lyra’s magic illuminating the tunnel.
“Got ya now.” The mint unicorn cried as she used her telekinesis to drag her victim out of the tunnel and dangle it in the air in front of her. ”For a species so good at blending in you’re really bad at not getting caught.”
Lero shifted his body so that Sweet Spirit couldn’t see what came next. As one of her parents used her magic to repeatedly smash her captive against the cave wall the human kept their daughter’s attention on him, giving her one last kiss on the nose before he finished tightening the sling around Rainbow’s body.
Lyra’s victim was obviously unconscious, or worse, by the time he’d finished his task as, with a toss of her magic, she flung the body into the shadows at the back of the cave. Lero was glad Sweetie hadn’t seen any of the rather one-sided conflict. In his mind no child should ever have to witness a parent resort to such brutal methods, even if it was done to protect the herd.
“Rainbow, you look after our girl there, you hear me” Lyra called to her herdmate as she trotted over from the cave entrance. “And if you aren’t back by morning with at least a dozen of the hunkiest studs that Luna’s pegasus guard has to offer I’m going to be somewhat disappointed.”
Rainbow snorted at the unicorn’s bravado. But then, if there was anyone who had a chance of taking on a whole hive and coming out alive it was the Still Way master in front of her.
“Yeah, well, just try and leave some standing for when I get back, alright?“ Rainbow threw back, wiping over her face with a forehoof as she did so. Her previous expressions of distress and fear had now passed, replaced by a scowl made purely of equal parts confidence and anger. “Don’t want you hogging all the fun.”
Lyra threw her forehooves around her wife’s shoulders, drawing her close. They stood shock still for a moment, just enjoying what could well be their last moments together, Lero keeping guard over the tunnel mouth as they did so.
Rainbow lifted a forehoof and ran it though Lyra’s mane, pushing aside a small braid as she did so in order to push her lips up against the unicorn’s ear. “You look after the big guy, you hear. I’m trusting you to watch his back, OK? “ She whispered, “He thinks he’s all ‘Babe Hoof’ with that bat but any of these damn bugs gets near him you give them hell, you got it?”
Leaning forward into the hug, Lyra pushed her nose up against a matching small green braid in Rainbow’s mane and whispered her own reply. “You got that right, Dashie. Any of them tries to get up close and personal and it’s ‘squishy squishy squish’ time.”
Leaning away again, Lyra gently pushed at Rainbow’s shoulders. “Now you gotta get going, OK?“ Turning her attention to the precious cargo strapped to the pegasus' chest she said her final goodbyes.
“Mommy’ll see you soon, Sweetie. You be good for Mommy Rainbow ‘till I get there, OK?” After gently planting a soft kiss on the young filly’s forehead, she raised her head and planted another on Rainbow’s muzzle before backing away.
As the unicorn retook her position guarding the entrance to the tunnel, Lero moved back to Rainbow’s side. Kneeling to put them at eye level, he once again took her head in his strong hands as he kissed her with a passion, the kind of passion that only comes with the bone-chilling realisation that this kiss could well be the last.
Breaking the kiss he pushed their foreheads together. “I love you, I want you to know that. And I’ll still be here when you get back. So go, and don’t look back. Please.” They both knew the odds, but the words needed to be said, as much to reassure the human as the pegasus he was sending on her way.
Holding back more tears, afraid that if she dared let them past her eyes she’d never be able to leave, Rainbow nodded silently, the action of moving her head letting her lover’s fingers rub against her ears. As Lero released her from his grasp, she turned on the spot and crouched slightly, spreading her glorious blue wings in preparation for flight.
With just a few strong flaps she was off the ground, swiftly ascending to the cave roof. Wiggling herself slightly from side to side to get though the hole unimpeded, she was safely through, with just a deserted forest below her hooves and clear skies laying open before her. Leaning forward and stretching her hooves out in front and behind, she was ready. Flight magic primed and wings angled for the best acceleration she could muster, all of her strength was forced into her wings as the pegasus sped away from the ground.
During the long flight that followed Rainbow Dash didn’t look back, not even once.
**************************
Lero stood in the middle of the cave floor, watching in silence as the last glimpse of his lover’s polychromatic tail disappeared through the hole before turning back to his lone companion. As he stooped to grab his makeshift bat from the ground the muffled boom of a pegasus breaking the sound barrier could just be heard, much of the sound deadened by the thick walls of the cave.
Meeting Lyra at the cave entrance he placed a hand on the back of her head, letting his thumb rub the back of her right ear in that special place she loved so much.
The unicorn turned her gaze from the tunnel to catch Lero’s eyes, a soft glow radiating from her eyes advertising the presence of the night vision spell she was using to cut though the gloom.
“So, what do you think of our chances of still being alive when she gets back?” Her tone was delightfully upbeat despite the grim subject. Even in the face of near unimaginable odds it was almost impossible to keep this unicorn down. Pinkie would be proud.
Lero scratched his chin with his free hand in an effort to look thoughtful. As the act almost caused the human to hit himself in the nose with his weapon some of the effect was lost. The two of them shared a grin at the unexpected outcome.
“Truthfully? Slim to none I reckon.” Lero’s tone was also upbeat; his lover’s attitude must have been contagious. It was almost as if he was just lamenting a bad night out bowling with the boys.
Lyra couldn’t help raise her eyebrows to go with her wide grin. “Ha, that good, eh?”
Lero ruffled the unicorn’s mane before running his fingers though it a few times. At some point during their escape the small white braid behind her ear had started to come loose so Lero set down his club and spent a moment tidying it up before pulling its band back into place.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.” He said as he smoothed out the last of the mess from Lyra’s mane, letting the white and green stripes lay separate once more. ”I did make a pinkie promise after all. And if I had a choice between taking on this whole hive or one angry Pinkie, I know which one I’d go for.” With that he gave his lover a little wink, which solicited a small giggle.
Crouching down as he’d done for Rainbow just minutes before, he pulled Lyra into a tight hug. As he held her he felt her forehooves reach around his waist, her weight resting on his hips as she returned the embrace.
“Whatever happens I want you to know I love you.” Lero pulled the unicorn’s chest to his own, his arms tight around her back pulling her up against him.
“I know, I love you too.” Lyra’s voice took on a somewhat mischievous tone. “But when we get out of here you could always take some time out to show me.” With that she nibbled lightly at his ear.
“Hey, down girl. Not really the time or place for that, young lady.” Lero laughed, his mood light though his tone held a note of reproach that they both knew couldn’t have been any more fake. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?“
“And that’s why you love me.“ If she’d been trying to lighten the situation then it had certainly worked.
“Indeed it is.” Lero lent back, giving him room to take her head in his hands. “That and you’re a great kisser.”
With that he gently kissed her; not a kiss of urgency or desperate passion as he had with Rainbow just moments before, but a long, soft lingering kiss of love and trust. A kiss that told his lover that if this was the day it all ended then they would face it together. Win or lose, pass or fail, they would face it as one, right to the end.
As the kiss ended he used his forefingers to tenderly rub behind her ears one last time before reluctantly releasing her. Hefting his weapon he stood, turning to face the tunnel from which distant screeches echoed, unintelligible cries and guttural growls drawing ever closer were cast forth from the darkness to bounce around the cave.
“Now, let’s go find our wife.“