Chapter Eight
Even the best laid plans can go awry.
The Snow Devils were just another reminder of the grim reality of Equestria. The places of untamed beauty also harbored untamed perils. The journey continued with heightened cautiousness in spite of Klaxon's good humor. Alana tightened the straps on Steiner's battle saddle, securing the metal fastenings to her coat, assault rifle on her right and combat shotgun to her left. The reasoning was Steiner's set up would be better utilized by the group's resident sharpshooter, for his usefulness came with his magic, not guns. Alana agreed, the Peashooter was a powerful pistol but lacked proper stopping power. The unicorn's old weapons would compliment her skills very well.
Falcon Wing found that the battle saddle complimented her in other ways as well, the young stallion watching her from underneath the awning. Or rather, staring, admiring how the straps hugged her well built body and brought out her more flattering features. Alana flexed experimentally, making sure everything was properly handled and put together. The red pegasus became a bit redder in the cheeks. Once she was satisfied with everything, she looked over her shoulders to Falcon and caught his wide eyes. "Liked what you saw?" she said teasingly.
"Yes," Falcon Wing said flatly, distantly. He blinked several times when he caught himself and cocked his head, going over what happened in his head. "...Yes," he said again.
The caramel mare scoffed. "Not one for subtlety are you, mister hero?"
"I blame the cold. Clearly, embarrassing myself is how I plan to keep warm," Falcon Wing replied with as straight a face as he could manage.
"Well if its the cold that's gotten to you then maybe I can warm you up again!" Alana said with with mischievous glimmer in her eyes. Falcon Wing chuckled, smiled a small smile and said: "I dunno, maybe a quick bit of flying would do me well! Scout out our surroundings and such!"
"Smooooth" Klaxon commented from far front. Alana had a puzzled look on her face.
Falcon Wing walked out from under the awning's shade and pulled his goggles down over his eyes in preparation for flight. He stopped off to Alana's side and inconspicuously whispered in her ear "Your hugs will be the death of me."
"Most definitely," she whispered back with a broad smile. Meek little Falcon Wing: reject of his stronghold, found a mare to love. His father would be proud if he were still alive.
The black wings extended, rippling with arcane energy. Falcon Wing was off soaring off ahead of the carriage, moving through the frozen passage formed by two ice sheets. There were several outcroppings and platforms, each glazed over with thick ice, their tops covered in a recent snow fall. There did not seem to be any caves or alcoves for anything to hide in, but when threats resided below the very surface of the frozen north, appearances could not be trusted. There was always danger somewhere in some shape and form. Except, according to Falcon's E.F.S, it was a rare instance where there was not any immediate danger waiting to strike out against him and his friends. There were no red notches on the compass bar underlying his vision. Just rolling, breathtaking landscape unlike anything he had seen before. There was just a majesty to a place completely blanketed in frozen water for miles upon miles. He was not going to complain about it. The times where he had peace of mind were treasures he had come to cherish dearly. Time spent with Alana or chatting with Klaxon and Steiner...reading something worthwhile...time that was truly a luxury. Time like that -As Falcon Wing had come to realize- was just the prelude for things yet to come.
"Might as well enjoy it to the fullest," he thought. He slowed to a hover a few feet over a frozen arch bridging the gap between the ice walls and folded his wings, dropping onto the cold white cushion underneath his hooves. He turned around to look at the wagon rolling on through the pass, a tiny thing from his perch. He used the Pipeye's magnifying spell and panned his telescopic vision over the tops of the cliffs and the far distance at the end of the frozen corridor. There were was still no cause for alarm. That did not mean Falcon Wing did not see anything worth noting, however. He jumped off of the arch, spread his wings and swooped down to the carriage.
Steiner poked his head out of his window. "Anything to report?" he asked Falcon Wing as the pegasus pulled up along side the wagon.
"Train station. The train... er... let's just say it is... a part of the station now..." he responded.
Klaxon tapped the terminal again. "Yep, the old arctic express station. We're almost to your city if this thing is accurate, Steiner."
"Just as you have little reason to doubt me and just as I have little reason to doubt you, we have little reason to doubt the records I uncovered." the blue unicorn retorted.
"Except for the whole... two hundred years thing," Falcon Wing said, mostly to push the stallion's buttons rather than to make a point.
"Says the pony who made a habit of reading Equestria's history -- or rather, what was approved by the Enclave to be Equestria's history," Steiner retorted.
"Ouch. I suppose you have a point though. The Enclave wouldn't have had any sensitive information that would have made the pegasi question their duty public. It has a tendency of..." he sighed, "...getting rid of what it doesn't see fit to have around..."
Steiner looked uneasy when he said "I did not mean to imply --"
"It never gets easier, does it?" The bronze stallion interrupted decisively. Falcon Wing knew Klaxon already had the answer to that question.
"I still miss them," he replied.
"We all have those we miss," Steiner stated.
"The only difference is some of them are still around to return to us" Alana chimed in, laying across the supply crates. Falcon knew she was being too quiet. Without a word he flew back into the wagon's flatbed and landed. Misery loved company, but it was the company he kept that made dealing with the past just a tad bit easier to manage.