Chapter 8: That Which Sleeps May Wake
FLUTTERSHY
It was strange what one noticed in all of the chaos and ruin, Fluttershy thought for not the first time since the sun had left them. Even carnage and sorrow could be gray and flat after a while, and, though she’d not yet grown accustomed to such things, she knew that it was possible.
But Fluttershy could begin to guess what it was like. It wasn’t the blood smeared on the patched canopies of the wagons that bothered her the most. It wasn’t the smell of ash and the smoke that stole her breath that she couldn’t shake. These things she could leave behind when she closed her eyes and retreated deep within herself where nothing could touch her—a hedgehog safe in its spiny armor.
What bothered her most about the wreckage of the caravan was that there wasn’t any food left.
She sat beside a tiny fire that Rainbow had made, glad for the warmth. They were truly in the north now, with a light, intermittent snow beginning to fall. The evergreens in the distance, dark and clustered, sagged with snow, and she could not help but wonder what was beyond them. Around her was the Northern Highway’s shoulder, covered in a light blanket of snow. To her back was an overturned cart which she sat against. She was glad for the cart. It kept the winds at bay and trapped a little bit of the fire’s heat to warm her wings. She was also glad for it because it was her wall, better than any veil of pink mane, it kept out the sights of death and darkness behind her on the Highway where Rainbow and Rarity poked through the ruins of a lost caravan of refugees headed north.
Fluttershy stretched her wings, happy to feel the slightly warm air blow over her feathers, casting off the cold for just a moment. It was how she made the trial worth it, really. The little pleasures of fire and bedroll and listening to conversation.
But even the comfort of Rainbow Dash’s humble fire couldn’t help her shake her misgivings.
When they left Canterlot, food had been on all their minds. Rationing was a reality in the new world; the sun never shone long enough for crops to grow as they should. They’d all felt the rationed discontent—not quite hungry, but never full. Hunger was something she could finally understand..
Where had the food gone? It was probable that it had been stolen after the raid, gathered up, and hauled back to some raider camp--or Griffon camp if they were all decidedly unfortunate. Yet it reminded her of home and the emptying larders. It was easy to imagine that there had never been food in these carts, nor in the wagons with their broken wheels and cut canopies. A line of ponies, pale and thin. She could see their wide eyes staring ahead with no energy to watch the trees for the dangers waiting there. She thought about the city ahead. Did they have food there, or had they withered as well?
She was so focused that she almost didn’t hear Rainbow land quietly beside her, her hooves crunching the snow. It was a harsh sound, and she flinched slightly.
“Hey,” Rainbow said, her voice low. “You any warmer? Sorry for knocking you into the snow earlier.”
“I’m fine, Rainbow. It was just an accident. I should’ve been watching where I was going,” Fluttershy responded and gave her friend a smile. Rainbow folded her wings in response and came into the light of the fire properly. Fluttershy watched her, took note of how she sat and how she looked out over the fire as Fluttershy had before her.
“Good, figured you would be. Thought I should ask.” She looked about. “Rarity hasn’t come back?”
Fluttershy shook her head. Rainbow looked so different sometimes. The light would catch her oddly, perhaps, or she would have a look in her face that hadn’t been there long ago. Fluttershy was never sure what to feel about it. She saw it now, and it made her uncomfortable.
But she smoothed over it as best she could. “No, not yet. I thought she was with you.”
“Well, yeah, she was for a bit. Said she was gonna wander over here…” she sighed. “It’s rough.”
“Yeah.”
“But not really surprising, I guess,” Rainbow went on, shivering. “Figured towns and villages would start uprooting and heading to big cities.”
“They’re going North,” Fluttershy pointed out.
“Yeah, that’s weird.” Rainbow frowned. “Seems kinda stupid.”
“No, not really. Stalliongrad is up ahead. Maybe they have food. We’re not really sure how the other cities are doing, you know.” Fluttershy looked back at the fire. It bothered her, how quick Dash was to speak ill of the dead, but she once again dismissed her misgivings. They did no good.
“I guess.”
Rainbow sat as still as she could, which wasn’t very. She fidgeted. Every now and then she would squirm.
“You’re sure?” she said at last.
Fluttershy blinked at her. “What? I mean, I’m sorry, what do you mean?”
“Like, are you sure she didn’t come by here?”
Fluttershy sighed. “No, Rainbow, she didn’t. I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen her. I wish I had. I know you don’t like to wait…”
Rainbow shook her head. “No… no, I…” She grimaced. “Blegh. Sorry, ignore that.”
They were quiet for a moment. Rainbow fidgeted again. Fluttershy set a silent counter in her mind, waiting for Rainbow to make her choice. Right on time, Dash stood up.
“Okay, I’ll be back. I don’t like this place, and I don’t like that she’s here.”
"If it's no trouble, take me with you," Fluttershy said as she stood. "I don't want to be alone."
Rainbow nodded. “I want to fly, but… Rarity said to stick to the ground.”
“She’s probably right,” Fluttershy said softly as Rainbow kicked snow onto the fire to extinguish it.
With the light taken away from her, Fluttershy struggled to adjust to the sudden darkness. The vague shadow that seemed to be Rainbow moved, and she tried to follow it.
They moved quietly, avoiding the piles where ransacked chests and torn sacks were left to be buried, weaving between the wagons and empty carts. They were silent as thieves, and indeed Fluttershy felt like an intruder.
After a few minutes, it became obvious that Rarity was not where she was supposed to be. She wasn’t in the snow field on either side of the upraised highway. Neither pegasus wandered into the woods, but if Rarity had walked in there, their problems were worse than simply not knowing where their friend was. Rainbow called for Rarity, and every time she did, it made Fluttershy wince. It was so loud; not even the light wind could dampen the sound.
“Rarity?” Rainbow tried again, a little louder this time. The noise echoed about the wreckage. Fluttershy thought it that it was too easy to hear.
The wreck had been, of course, been empty: no food, no bodies, no raiders. Nothing had prowled the perimeter of the woods, natural or unnatural, and so there should be no dangers to worry about. And yet, with every repeated cry, she felt more and more like crawling under a wagon and hiding.
“Rainbow…”
“Hey, Rares, where are you? Look, I knew you were gonna get lost, hoofing it…” Rainbow groaned and muttered. “I mean, seriously, they’re all in a straight line. How hard is it to follow that back to where Flutters is? Was. Whatever.” She took a deep breath and called again. “Rares! Rares, you here?”
“Rainbow.”
“Ra--”
“Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash stopped mid-cry, and glanced over at Fluttershy.
“Thank you. Could you please stop doing that?”
“Um… yeah, sure. Why?” But Fluttershy said nothing, letting a beat go by. Rainbow got it, as Fluttershy thought she might. “You think somebody’s gonna hear us or something? We already checked; it’s not like ponies are everywhere.”
“I have a feeling.”
Rainbow pursed her lips. She looked like she wanted to argue the point, like she really, really wanted to argue it, but Fluttershy knew that she wouldn’t. They both knew she wouldn’t contest it. The word “feeling” had too much baggage between them, too many memories of times when Fluttershy had had a “feeling” that would take far too long to explain, and she’d been right. Too many times when she saw the clues and Rainbow didn’t.
Rainbow huffed. “Fine. What do you want me to do instead?”
“Well, I--”
But she never finished. She felt a pull--it prickled and glowed, and she knew it was magic at once--and in the blink of eye she had made a choice. She let it carry her back into the dark between two wagons.
Rainbow was caught flathoofed, her cry of alarm caught off when the magic encircled her and pulled her as well.
Rarity stood over them. Her nightsight returning, Fluttershy could make out her face and saw the worry there.
“Rainbow, honestly,” Rarity began curtly, “must you be so loud?”
“Hey, you’re the one who wandered off. What the hay, Rares? What’s with the magic and hiding and the… ugh. Snow. I hate landing in snow. Wet wings are the worst.”
“Well, that’s a shame, isn’t it? Perhaps you should have gone West,” Rarity shot back. “Now, I’m sorry I didn’t come straight back to you, but I thought I saw something in one of the wagons… well, it’s not important. What’s important is that we are not alone.”
That got their attention. Rainbow sat up, and Fluttershy shook the snow and semi-frozen mud out of her mane for the second time that hour.
“At first, I thought it might be somepony friendly, but after recalling my last attempt to communicate with a supposed civilian, I thought it wise to be cautious.”
Rainbow smirked, but refrained from saying anything.
“I saw that!” Rarity let out a huff, and Fluttershy watched little puff that was visible in the moonlight. “Regardless, I watched and realized that it was, in fact, a rather unsavory sort if their outfitting is any indication. Unless the guardsponies of Stalliongrad have taken to painting themselves with paint that I’m feverishly hoping is not blood, then he is not the local authority’s representative.”
“So he’s a raider.”
“It would seem so.”
Fluttershy sighed. “I thought we’d gotten away from them,” she said and closed her eyes. “That they’d left with their food.”
“Apparently not, my dear,” Rarity said.
Rainbow stomped. “Well, we can mope about it later. Let’s just kick some butt now.”
Fluttershy was shaking her head before Rainbow had finished. “No… I mean, I’m sorry to interrupt you, Rainbow, and I know you want to, but we just can’t.”
“And why?”
Fluttershy looked to Rarity, sighing again. She felt Rainbow’s rose eyes boring into her, demanding an answer. She had one—of course she had one—but if only she could get… Rarity to tell. Rarity would know why.
But Rarity looked at her, nodding. She offered no explanation.
Fluttershy nibbled on her lip for a moment. “Well… If it was just one, maybe it would fine, but they never go it alone. I think. They’re in packs, so the one that Rarity saw will have friends.”
“Which means we should take care of them and make a break for it, obviously,” Rainbow insisted, smiling.
“No, no. I’m sorry, Rainbow, but that’s a bad idea. It’s not like how it was when we were foals. You can’t just dive into a bunch of bullies and get hit a bunch and be okay. It only takes one shootstick, one spell… and one of us is gone forever. We can’t risk fighting in the dark without knowing where they are. We have to get out of here, keep heading North.”
Rainbow grimaced. “Okay… guns. Yeah. I forgot.”
“I never do,” Fluttershy said softly, and they were all quiet for a moment.
“Right,” Rarity said after the quiet had passed. “Let’s be off, then. Now that we’re together and we know the dangers, it shouldn’t take so long. I’ll lead the way if that’s agreeable to you, Rainbow. Would you take the rear?”
“What?” Rainbow flared her wing in irritation. “Why am I not in front?”
“Because you and I both know you’re too impetuous. But I’d rather you watching the rear than Fluttershy, so if we get caught you can react quickly. ”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
“Thank you. Fluttershy can stay in the middle, between us. Keep a good watch, would you?”
She didn’t wait for Fluttershy to answer or comment. She was on the move immediately, keeping eyes on her companions behind her. Fluttershy plodded after, cowering at every vague shape in the night as they quickly left the wreckage behind and dashed down the moonlit royal highway. She never heard or saw raiders. She had no sign that they had ever existed except what they had done, and it was enough.
RARITY
She would never, ever admit it to anypony--especially not to Rainbow Dash--but the absence of civilization had been grating on Rarity’s spirit far more than she had let on.
It wasn’t that she was too delicate for the outdoors. On the contrary, she could “rough it” when the situation called for it as well as many other ponies could. She was not without her own species of true, inherent grit. The House of Belle was made of stern stuff. Or, well, had been.
But Rarity was a pony who thrived off of social interaction. The possibilities of ponies and the ways in which they could combine and react, talk and fight, love and lose… it simply delighted her. It sustained her. She needed ponies--in fact, she was fond of saying that ponies needed ponies. One could not live by bread alone.
And as much as she loved Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy dearly, it simply was not enough to keep her mind exercised.
But that long drought was coming to an end. Civilization! Urbanity! Yes, rather distressingly industrialized and rather miserable-looking urbanity, but she would take it.
The city of Stalliongrad rose like a monument out of the featureless, drab steppes of North Equestria. Its ancient brick buildings and strange painted roofs, slanted and curved, jutted out from behind a stately, ancient wall that ringed the city. A river—the Solga, if memory served—ran through it, passing out of the high walls through a grate and curling around to lie between the road and the city. The trees thinned out, and everywhere within sight of those impressive walls was without secrecy. Anypony who came to it came with no secrets under the naked stare of heaven.
To be honest, Rarity thought as they approached the stone bridge over the river, it was rather refreshing. She was weary of forests. Too many places to hide and to spring out from, too many shadows.
The bridge was guarded by two stallions in red barding who watched them passively. Rarity was the one who stepped up to address them.
“Hello there, gentlecolts. We’re travellers on the road, as you can see. Is the city open?”
They exchanged glances.“Ma’am, have we stopped you yet?”
Central Equestrian accent, so pre-disaster guardspony. Rarity blinked, a bit taken aback. “Well… no.”
“Then it is,” the stallion on the right concluded with a shrug.
Rarity huffed, but didn’t respond back as she might wish to. Instead, they silently passed over the bridge and continued on the road.
*
It was a city, yes, but it was a city that was sick.
They kept to the center of the wide cobble streets, and the crowds did not part before them as they did in Canterlot. No one greeted them as the great gates of Stalliongrad shut with the iron clang that so reminded her of home. The ponies on the street faced the afternoon with looks of weary caution but not quite defeat. A few said hello, their accents thick. Rarity made a point to greet them in turn with as much heart as she could summon.
They would go and see the Kniaz of Stalliongrad first, of course. He would be the one to ask for rations and information, the one who had the power to aid them and their city. But the more Rarity saw, the less she was interested in the Kniaz, no matter his character. These ponies were hungry. It was plain as the day was short. She wouldn’t say that any of them were starving, but nopony looked well-fed. They had bags under their eyes. They wrapped their bodies in rags to stave off the cold. And yet they greeted her with the little energy they had. The more she saw of them, the less she thought of Canterlot and the more she thought of their own larders.
Asking for directions was simple, though the ponies of Stalliongrad spoke their own dialect. She had heard this one before, and even knew bits of the old northern tongue that they had slipped into everyday speech, and this delighted the mare they asked for help. She directed them towards the center of town, where the Kniaz’s palace overlooked the river. Rarity thanked her, and they were off.
She saw signs of struggle, though they went unexplained. Burn marks on brick walls and shattered windows simply bore witness to the fact that something had happened and that it was over for now.
*
The Kniaz of Stalliongrad was an old stallion. His coat was faded red, his hair devoid of its once vibrant color, whitewashed. His eyes were sharp, and he spoke with an accent that was at once foreign to her and familiar--she caught a hint of the upper-crust tone of Canterlot in it, an echo.
“I do apologize for not recognizing you,” he said, shifting in his chair. It was old and it creaked, but still it was plush and looked awfully comfortable. Rarity thought of her wonderful couches, still locked up in the top room of her Boutique. She wondered if they were still there.
“It’s quite alright. We are a bit worse for wear,” Rarity replied and gave him her best smile. She had many smiles, and she knew this particular one was certainly not the best rendition of the award-winning Rarity smile. But it had not been a pleasant walk to the palace, which had been in rather poor repair.
“But I am glad that you have come. I wondered about Canterlot and the other cities to the South. Am pleased to hear that at least some are safe, da?”
“You really had no idea?” Rainbow asked. She squirmed in the chair provided.
The Kniaz rested his hooves on his ornate desk. It was one of the few things without wear or rust or ruin she had seen in the city. “Not really. We send messengers to others, but no one responds. If nopony comes back, then news must be bad, da? At least, this is how it must seem to us, with no alternative. Canterlot never answered.”
“We never got the message,” Rarity said softly. She knew that they were all thinking of the refugee caravan and the dead in the snow.
“I know this now, and I am glad at least to know we were not ignored. The world feels… less lonely.”
Rarity’s smile was a little more genuine. “We were elated to find that there were others left, as well.”
“But that does leave me curious. If is possible to make some observations…”
“Go on,” Rarity said, nodding.
“You are not here for us.”
Rarity blinked. “I… well… what do you mean?”
The Kniaz smirked. “Do not hide yet, miss Rarity; we are not accusing you of any neglect. But you did not come to find us. You come this way to pass through, do you not?”
In the corner of her eye, Rarity watched her companions. Fluttershy seemed still, though she was hard to see. Rainbow’s chair was pushed a bit in front of her own, and so Rarity could watch her tail of many colors swish with contained impatience. She smiled a little. It was so like Rainbow to be impatient in such a situation.
Neither seemed opposed to telling him the nature of their plan. But she would leave Twilight out of it, to be safe.
“You are… correct,” she allowed. “We were hoping to find signs of civilization here, but we only intend to pass through.”
“Of course, the next question is…”
Rarity sighed. “To where. We’re heading farther North, to the Crystal Empire. Canterlot is in need of food, and we were hoping they would be alive and well.” She paused. “We’re not as bad off in that area as Stalliongrad, my good man, so I know we must seem foolish to you, but we saw the far-off signs.”
The Kniaz shook his head. “No, though I wouldn’t say it is wise. We, too, sent ponies north. Several of them came back describing monsters, same as anywhere else. One met griffons who stole his food and sent him back to us. Most never returned. We have no idea how they fair… but food, if it is there…” He gave a long sigh. “I wish, I wish.”
“Well, I mean, if it’s there we have to see if they’ll share, right?” Rainbow Dash cut in. “If they don’t, or if they’re all gone, we’ll at least know.”
He nodded. “I suppose. I do fear for you, though I won’t stop you. The North, she is hard, and the snows will be harder still this year. But if you succeed, you must promise me that you will not forget us or abandon us. Canterlot’s reputation is mixed, these days, if you forgive us saying so.”
Rarity did, and she grimaced. It was true--Luna’s indecisive and floundering response to the multiple crises had left many without support. Perhaps nothing could have been done, but it was the faltering that people judged.
“We won’t,” Rainbow said before she could formulate a response. “I promise. Swear it on my life, we’ll bring you back food if we can find any. I’d never leave somepony hanging.”
He smiled at her. “Your conviction, it is nice. I believe you.” He stood shakily. “In the meantime… you’ll need food and cold weather clothing before braving the road to the border. I can have both things arranged.”
Rarity began thanking him, but the old stallion held up a hoof.
“Do not thank me yet, comrades. I would have you listen first. I cannot tell you not to go. The need is too great, the times too dark, no? But I can at least tell you what is ahead.”
Rarity blinked, a bit surprised. “Are you referring to the weather, sir?”
“No. I wish I could, but I cannot stop there. I tell you that we know nothing for certain, but is not entirely true. We knew a little, once. We knew that they were alive six months ago. The Empress’ consort… What is that one’s name, eh? Armor. One of our envoys encountered him north of border. Now, that one was not alone! He had many soldiers, da? A full two hundred, if I remember correctly.
“Now, I did not ask him if they had food, because he did not ask. Because there was no time. There are things that… sleep, yes? In the dark places of the world. They linger, exist despite years and the lack of sun or sustenance, even. Perhaps. I do not know, but I would ask you, little friends, how much you know about this place.”
Rarity squirmed. For the first time in the diminished office, she felt uncomfortable--truly uncomfortable. She had been on top of things. She could talk to ponies, lead them where she wanted to go. She had wanted winter gear that she knew the Kniaz could provide. She needed food, and now she had it. She had learned what had happened to the ponies here. So far, she was winning.
And yet the stallion in front of her seemed to know something that she did not. It bothered her.
“Not much,” she allowed at last.
“It is no surprise,” the Kniaz replied, strangely. Rarity wondered if she’d offended him, but he moved on. “The Mountain Gods, the Old Ones in the Hills, you have not heard of them. When the world was young they ruled us by fear and death, killing or eating us as they willed. Long before there was an Equestria and the tribes came together, they were hunting Earth ponies for sport in hills here. It is bad, yes? To think about. But it is true. But they disappear out of record. All dead, or asleep, or gone.”
“And now they’re back?” Rarity asked quietly. She wondered how she must appear to this stallion, and she felt small. She knew nothing.
“They come south at first. We saw them and fought them. It was… terrible.” He shivered. “Saw them, I did, with my own eyes. They are the Mitou, the Mountain Gods who walk on two legs, who can chase down any pony, who can pick us up in a single fist and devour us or throw us. Maybe you can escape,” he said, looking at Rainbow, a tiny scowl threatening to form on his face. Rarity remembered that there were few pegasi this far north. “But we cannot. They are busy now, I think. It is why I can say that the Crystal ponies must live, you know, because if they do not, then we will all die in Mitou bellies and Mitou fists.”
“How big we talkin’ here?” Rainbow cut in, and Rarity glanced at her. She wasn’t surprised to find the pegasus a bit flustered. I wouldn’t like ponies assuming I’d use my wings to abandon my friends either, if I had wings.
“Huge,” the Kniaz said simply.
“That’s really helpful,” Rainbow muttered, scowling. She made no effort to hide it.
He shrugged, and furrowed his own brow. “Three, four ponies tall? Four, that is good, that is average.”
Rainbow had no immediate answer. Rarity had nothing. She tried to imagine a creature that size. She tried to imagine how long its reach would be, the power of its hands and jaws and legs. She tried to imagine fighting such a creature. It was all quite impossible.
“So… that is what lies to the north, then,” Rarity said, though they all thought it.
The Kniaz nodded but offered no immediate comfort. “My envoy said that the soldiers won, but they fought only two and lost many. Make of that what you will, Miss Rarity. He said that there was an army to the north.”
Rarity didn’t want to think about it at all. They had made the wrong choice.
RAINBOW
The mare who took them in reminded her of Cheerilee. It wasn’t the best comparison, but it was as close as Rainbow could get.
She was older, but not quite old, not quite yet. Her mane and coat were duller than they had once been, yes, but they were not gray. Her voice still had some strength in it, and she could keep up with her youthful charges. She was a maid in the palace, apparently one in quite good standing and with enough seniority that the Kniaz greeted her with far more politeness than he had any of the other workers, almost with deference.
When they’d left the Kniaz and followed Northern Downpour, the pegasus maid, Rainbow had been quiet. She’d been thinking about flying. Specifically about flying while something tried to grab at her.
It wasn’t a comforting line of thought. She decided that it was possible to fight such a thing from the air--it had to be, it was possible to fight anything, beat anything!--but that it was going to take a lot of caution, and she didn’t like it. If only she had somepony else in the air who could fly well…
So she switched to thinking about Fluttershy, but her lack of maneuverability was a given fact of life.There was no way around it, really. She could try--Rainbow was sure that if her friends were in danger, she would try--but it wouldn’t be enough.
So she was a lot quieter than she might have otherwise been. She summoned up her usual enthusiasm for food when it was offered, but after they’d eaten, she went back to being sullen.
And so the three friends sat in Northern Downpour’s living room, quiet as could be.
Rainbow hated it, honestly. It was the same kind of silence as the one after the ponies on the road, in the woods. Yeah, she’d been right, but that didn’t end up meaning anything. She didn’t know what to say then, and she didn’t know what to say now. Because now they were all a little wrong, weren’t they? They’d thought it would be a long walk up to have a little chat with Cadence. Just ask her a favor. They thought it would be easy, or if not easy, not impossible.
But how were they going to get through and army of… whatever the hell it was? Shining Armor was dead, probably.
Except she couldn’t believe that, not really. The look on Rarity’s face said that Rarity might, but Rainbow refused to accept it. She wouldn’t believe that Shining Armor was dead and that their friends in the North were gone until she saw their smouldering tombs.
So the three of them thought about their next step in silence.
Northern Downpour seemed to sense that something was amiss, because she broke their silence with her own conversations. She didn’t talk about the Crystal Empire, or the Mitou, or even the neverending snow.
While Fluttershy and Rainbow sat on one couch and Rarity took a chair across the table, Northern picked up pictures from the table and the wall, explaining them. Rarity was willing enough to talk about the past, asking questions. Fluttershy seemed to enjoy her stories. Rainbow, for her part, found them boring, but she wouldn’t come out and say so. It just wasn’t her thing. She was glad that the old mare was trying, though. She hated when things were quiet.
“This is my brother and I. We were born in Vercoltsza, a little south of here. It is much warmer, much greener. We only came here when our parents found themselves out of work.” She took a picture down and showed it to Fluttershy first. Fluttershy cooed over it for a moment, and she smiled. “Were we not precious? My big brother and I, together all the time, wandering the streets of Vercoltsza together. I loved him dearly. Was so proud of him…” she trailed off. The picture passed to Rarity.
“Is he…” Fluttershy tried to ask and then faltered. “I’m sorry, is he gone?”
She shrugged. “I do not know. He joined the Guard.”
Rainbow’s ears perked. “Where?”
“Central province,” she answered, her ears drooping. “I am sorry. I did not mean to burden you with my old concerns. I have made my peace with it, as best I could.”
Rainbow frowned, but said nothing. Sounded like giving up, to her.
Rarity offered the frame to Rainbow, who took it. She might as well; she’d commented and everything. She stared down at the young pegasus. He seemed familiar, in some ways. He had a devil-may-care grin. Short, spiky hair. Wide, bright eyes that seemed to dominate the picture. She liked him, and she grinned back at him.
“We lost contact,” Northern continued. “Nopony could get my letters to him, or at least, none ever returned with word back.”
“What is his name again?” Rainbow asked and then looked up. “Sorry.”
“Oh, it isn’t a problem… Battleborn, if you can believe it.”
Rainbow looked down at the picture again, and thought.
“But… well. I suppose knowing the truth about what happened to him is fine and all, but I may never know, not with how things are,” she said, looking out the window for a moment. “As it is, the city won’t last for another year. And if it does, it would be the older loners like myself who will go first.”
Rarity cut in. “Oh, don’t say that. We promise we’ll return with help! There’s hope yet.”
Northern had some answer, but Rainbow didn’t hear it. She was too busy staring at this picture. That name. Battleborn. She knew it. She was sure that she knew it, that she knew some pony named that or something very, very similar.
“What was his rank, do you know?” Rainbow asked out of the blue. Rarity and Northern stopped their conversation. Both looked down at her in surprise, and she met their gazes.
“Why… he was a lieutenant last time I wrote him,” Downpour said.
“Lieutenant Battleborn.”
Rainbow looked down again, and then she started grinning. The other mares in the room regarded her with curiosity, but she didn’t mind as she stood and returned the frame to Northern.
“Lt. Battleborn,” she began. “Of the Second Army, I think. I’m pretty sure he’s under Captain Black Steel’s command, in the Celestial Tier. When we left, he was alive and well. I remember seeing him on the walls. I talked to him once.” She felt a tiny thrill of victory. Northern Downpour’s eyes began to water as she gaped. Rainbow pressed on, thinking as much about their host as about her friends. “I wouldn’t give up on him so quickly. Or on us, or your city. We won’t know ‘till we try.”