The inn in a tiny village near the northern most border of Germaniegh was quiet. In the tavern below it the only sounds were a few ponies talking quietly, the clink of utensils and cups, and the sound of pages turning.
Twilight was buried in the journal. So far it had only confirmed Valerius’ story about how a group of unicorns came to live in the North Mountains. Twilight had taken to calling them the North Mountain Unicorns, or NMU for short. It wasn’t brilliant, but it was sufficient.
Their rescue party had grown since leaving Stalliongrad a few days earlier. Once assured that Professor Emeritus and the others were going to be alright, Blaze, Twilight, Valerius and Digger had traveled north through Germaneigh. In Marelin they’d met up with Wind Chaser, Rainbow Dash and Spike. Twilight had felt bad asking him to come, after all getting to stay with Rarity was practically a dream come true for him, but he was the best and fastest way to get messages to Canterlot, and she had really been missing him, and the others. Maybe it was watching Blaze be generally miserable that made her want some familiar faces.
Rainbow Dash and Digger were hoof wrestling at a booth in the corner. The rest were eating quietly. Twilight levitated her roll, took a bite and went back to reading. She managed to knock out another day in the journal.
BANG! The sound of a plate hitting the table brought Twilight back to the present. She looked up to see Blaze storming out of the inn. What was this? She stood to go confront him, but a wing on her shoulder stopped her.
“I’ll handle this.” Wind Chaser got up calmly and followed the younger Pegasus.
Blaze walked in a hurry down the one road in the town, towards the pine forest just outside of the village. How could they all be so calm? They’d spent two days in this village and barely had the bones of a plan.
Story had been taken. She was alone and in trouble and every second counted. At least while they were traveling it felt like they were getting closer, doing something. Now they were just sitting, while Story was one day closer to- to whatever they had planned for her. Maybe they were already too late.
“Blaze!” Wind Chaser’s voice echoed behind him. Blaze didn’t turn. He didn’t want to talk, he wanted to hit something. “Blaze!” The older stallion called again. Blaze ignored him.
Whoosh! Wind and snow flew into Blaze’s face as Wind Chaser landed in front of him. “Blazefinder, I swear I will tell your father!”
“That’s not really a threat anymore.” Blaze tried to go around him, but Wind Chaser was fast for a stallion of his age. “What. Do. You. Want?” Blaze spat. “Why are you worried about me? We need to be finding Story. We need more than a skeleton of a plan. How are you so calm?”
“Because calm is what the situation calls for.” Wind Chaser put a wing on his chest. “And I’m not nearly as calm as I look. They have my daughter for Celestia’s sake.”
“Then why are we still here? What is holding up finding her?” Blaze shouted, “She could be-“ He couldn’t bring himself to say it. He knew she was still alive. He just didn’t know for how long. He took off without waiting for an answer. He flew on Northward. There was no point in wasting time. They’d just have to start looking. He’d just have to start looking.
Blaze swerved as a grey blur headed right for him. Wind Chaser came back around, but Blaze sped up, and dove into the fog. He put as many trees as he could between himself and Wind Chaser. Ducking and weaving wasn’t really Blaze’s strong point though, and while glancing back, Blaze hit something and tumbled down.
He landed on his back in the snow. He lay stunned for a moment, and while he was down, Wind Chaser stood over him, standing on Blaze’s feathers, effectively pinning him down.
“Get off! Story can’t afford for us to waste time.” Blaze didn’t struggle. He was useless without his wings whole.
“I get it! You’re angry!” Wind Chaser shouted down at him. “I’m angry too. I’m angry at the psychopaths holding my daughter captive. Who are you angry at?”
“Them! Me! I don’t know.” Blaze barked back. He was angry with Story’s kidnappers, but he was angrier with himself.
“Them I get, why are you mad at you?” Wind Chaser was still shouting and panting.
“I should have protected her, stopped them. Done whatever it took to keep her from them.” Blaze glared at the standing over him.
“Like die?” Wind Chaser spat. “How would Story feel about that?”
“Not a captive.” Blaze tried wriggling a little, but the pull on his feathers made him stop.
“Yeah, you weren’t there after you died.” The words were an angry whisper, with Wind Chaser’s muzzle a few inches from him, the older pegasus’ yellow eyes glaring down at his, “For three days I watched my daughter try to grieve for you. She blamed herself, hardly spoke, barely ate, and never left her room. She’s only ok now because you didn’t actually die.”
I love you Blaze, I can’t lose you again. That’s what she’d said before they’d taken her. Before she went with them. Sweet Celestia, he was an idiot.
Wind Chaser sighed, “You can’t be mad at yourself because she didn’t want to lose you.” He stepped off, panting. Blaze stood slowly. Wind Chaser was right. He couldn’t stay mad at himself. It was clouding his judgment.
“Fine.” Blaze took a few deep breaths. “But we still need to get moving. We don’t know how much time we have.”
“Yeah, I had a thought about that, but we’ll need to run it by Valerius.” Wind Chaser started walking back to the village. He was still panting, “I now remember why I retired.”
***
Story couldn’t make sense of the strange ponies who were holding her captive. She was familiar with the villains in storybooks either treating captives like dirt, or holding them in a gilded cage offering luxury in exchange for freedom.
She was in the middle. She wasn’t in a dungeon, she seemed to be permanently housed with Relic, who at least attempted to make her comfortable. His chambers were smaller than her apartment, but Relic had found a blanket for her, and somehow procured Blaze’s ratty old scarf from where ever it was they’d taken her saddle bags.
They were trying to earn her trust. But so far they’d been doing a pretty rotten job. No pony had hurt her while she was here, but they’d destroyed her library and threatened her family, and then nearly killed her friends. No amount of sweet talking or family connections would keep her here. Blaze would find her.
She hoped. She couldn’t undo the magic that attached her to the rock, so escaping on her own was unlikely, and she had no idea where she was, except in a cave. A rescue might be her only hope. She refused to lose that hope. Even if Blaze couldn’t or wouldn’t save her, her dad would come.
Right now, Relic was gone, presumably doing his job. Relic was the caretaker of the last treasures of this sorry society. Story was alone in the small room lit by a magical fire burning in a stone bowl suspended from the ceiling.
She wondered if this was supposed to make her feel lonely. It was working. She held the tattered scarf between her hooves and tried not to miss home as much as she did. This was just an adventure. It would be over soon. She’ be home, re-reading a favorite books in no time. Maybe even curled up next to Blaze.
Why had she confessed? It was stupid! And it was so not what she should be worrying about right now. She wished she’d gotten an answer. Then at least she’d know. She nuzzled the scarf. It smelled like Blaze. She’d never really noticed that he had a scent, but now she missed it. She also missed the way her books smelled and hearing her Mom’s voice. It’d literally been months since she’d talked to her family. Had she really said a proper goodbye?
She tried levitating the rock again, with no success. It was too big. She wondered if she could levitate the magic chain around her ankle. It didn’t seem possible to move magic with magic, but Twilight wasn’t here to tell her otherwise, so she tried it any ways.
The chain lifted, so Story pulled on it. It did not come loose from the rock. She used her magic to tug harder on the chain. When someone did come for her, it was important that she knew if she could be detached.
She pulled harder, and felt the chain pull out from the rock ever so slightly. Excited she twisted the chain. It turned, and came just a little looser. Not enough to pull out, but if she kept working, she just might escape without a rescue.
The tattered curtain rustled and Story dropped her magic. Relic walked into the room, and smiled at her. He at least seemed to want nothing more than to get to know her, and maybe convince her to stay.
“Dominus would like to speak with you.” Relic sighed, “I was hoping we’d get to talk more about Equestria. It seems we were quite wrong in our estimations of life there.”
“Well, most ponies are pretty happy.” Story was actually beginning to hope that Relic could come back with her. He was nice, and Story caught him looking at her with something like amazement, and a hint of sadness.
“Were you?” Relic cast a spell on the magical manacle and now Story was hoofcuffed to him. He looked sorry to be doing it. “You’ve told me a lot about Equestria, but not much about yourself.”
Story had done that on purpose. She didn’t want to shut Relic out, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him. She didn’t know who he’d tell, or what others might do with information. “I was very happy.” She didn’t elaborate. There were still too many unanswered questions. And there was still the library. The ponies who had ordered that would face their reckoning.
Relic began leading the way out of the room. Story stayed close to him, but the chain didn’t seem to be in the way. “That cloth I pulled out of the bag, is it special?” Relic asked softly. They passed a set of guards at the entrance to a tunnel, or a room.
“Yes. How did you know to get it?” Story had been wanting to ask.
“It just looked like something we might actually have. Your Equestrian textiles are quite impressive.” Relic looked around him. They passed a thin, weary looking mare, with a young foal on her back. Relic stopped for a moment, causing Story to trip on the hoof cuff.
“Ow!” She looked up at Relic, who was still in a daze. After a moment he looked down, and offered Story a hoof.
“I’m sorry. I got lost in thought.” Relic continued walking, and Story noticed that his eyes were glistening. What was this about?
Relic turned down a tunnel, and it opened up into a larger chamber. There was a table carved out of stone and the older, bearded unicorn known as Dominus, was seated behind it, and on his left was the pony Story now knew was Dominus apprentice.
“Welcome Lost One! We trust you have been bonding with your brother?” He sounded friendly, too friendly. Story remained silent. He spoke in Ancient Unicorn, and he must know she understood. It unnerved her that they knew so much about her.
“Please, come sit.” The apprentice spoke, now that she could see him better, he looked older than her and Relic. Maybe ten years or so older. Still, he was much younger than his teacher. His roughly cut yellow mane stood out against his dark green coat. Relic nudged Story in the direction of the offered seat, and followed her to the seat next to him.
Food was levitated in by a few thin ponies. So far everypony but the guards, and Dominus were the kind of thin that could worry doctors in Equestria. Relic seemed a little better, but not quite like someone who grew up on Equestrian fare.
The food placed before Story and the others was the same horrible stuff that she’d been served for the past few days. It seemed to consist of mashed up mushrooms and salt, and maybe some kind of grain. Story had never particularly liked mushrooms, but now she never wanted to eat them again. The others began eating, and Story followed, and tried not to make her dislike show.
Story hardly touched the bowl in front of her, and the others ate in silence. They were all aware of the reason she was called here. This was the point in the kidnapping where she found out what they wanted from her. She doubted it was just because they missed her. As the other bowls emptied, Dominus cleared his throat.
This was the first time she’d gotten a good look at him. The first time they’d met both he and his apprentice had been hooded. Dominus looked old enough to be her grandfather or great grandfather. His coat was a dark red, but his mane was completely grey, and his muzzle was worn and wrinkled. His eyes were completely milky, and she wondered how well he saw. Just like the unicorn in the mines. She wondered if that really was Valerius.
“You must be wondering why you are here.” Dominus voice slid out and around Story. She didn’t respond. “I take it you can see the state we are in.” He waved a hoof towards the skinny serving ponies.
“We suffer, Lost One.” The apprentice spoke.
“I have a name.” Story was tired of being “Lost One.” She hadn’t been lost until she’d been kidnapped.
“Yes, I apologize. Vetus, what did your parents call her?” Dominus cleverly didn’t ask what she’d been called in Equestria.
“Crocea.” Relic answered without much emotion. He seemed to be at odds with his leaders, but not enough to make him rebel publically. Or maybe he thought he couldn’t.
“Yes, that was it.” Dominus nodded, “We are able to grow little in these mountains, and barely make enough to keep going.” Story suspected this sob story was true. The few ponies she’d seen were underfed.
“What does this have to do with me? Sounds like you’d be better off with one less mouth to feed.” Story tried not to glare at Dominus. He wanted her to trust them. Giving away her anger might make him retaliate.
“Don’t you see? You can help us.” The apprentice spoke. “While we all wish you could have been brought up with your real family, destiny took you from us so you could save us.”
“I’m sure that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would be more than happy to help, if you reach out to them.” Story didn’t volunteer to go, but maybe they would at least consider a peaceful path instead of whatever else it was they had planned.
“Hmm. Sky names, are your princesses pegasi?” Relic asked the question, and seemed genuinely curious.
“N-no. They are both Alicorns. All the princesses are”
Tenuous silence fell over the room. Relic’s face changed expressions like he was trying to puzzle out how to respond. Dominus and his apprentice glared down at nothing, and looked back and forth at each other.
“Alicorns are myths” Dominus’ authoritative voice silenced and stilled Relic, but Story wasn’t about to let them keep believing a lie.
“No, they’re not.” Story stood with her hooves on the table.
“I understand that Equestrians worship the Alicorns, but they are simply not real.” Dominus turned to his apprentice like the discussion was over.
“I’ve met them. Princess Celestia is my boss. Princess Twilight is my friend.” Story watched Dominus as he turned angrily back towards her. He knew. He was well aware that the rulers of Equestria were alicorns. He was just lying to all his subjects.
“Whatever you believe, my dear, is a moot point.” Dominus glared at her, “Reaching out to Equestria is not an option. Equestria is on fertile land, but it is not something we wish to be a part of.”
“So what, exactly, is your plan?” Story spat back at him, “and what does it have to do with me?”
“There are spells hidden in Equestria, kept from the unicorns who live there.” The apprentice spoke now. While Dominus was old and mean, his apprentice might actually be the more evil of the two. His voice was the kind that Story wanted to believe, but she could detect hints of slippery malice under its smooth cover. “These spells in the hands of magical masters, like us, could bring us out from these caves forever.”
They wanted the spells in The Vault.
***
“Signal Flares?”
“Check.” Spike put the flares into Blaze’s saddle bags. They were finally getting somewhere.
“Extra rope?”
“Check.” Twilight made a nock on her list every time Spike put one of the supplies in Blaze’s bag. Rainbow Dash was sitting idly in a corner.
“Are you sure you can fly with all this stuff Big Guy?” She sounded like she was teasing, but Blaze knew this was as close as she would get to asking if he needed help.
“Positive.” Blaze wasn’t doing all the gear packing, Digger would have pretty full bags too.
“Emergency Rations?” Twilight didn’t seem to be aware of any other conversation.
“Check.” Spike put several bags of hay seed in.
“Well, I doubt you’ll be able to keep up with me.” Rainbow bragged.
“Not the plan.” Blaze knew that Rainbow Dash was the speed scout, Wind Chaser was on point, and he would hold the rear with the stuff, at least until they arrived deeper in the North Mountains. “I’m more of an endurance flyer.”
“Hey, I have endurance.” The Pegasus mare took a defensive stance. It was hard to believe that she was the same age as him.
“I know, I know. I’m too big to be really fast, but I can stay aloft a really long time.” Blaze wasn’t sure if he was bragging or trying to reassure Rainbow Dash that he was fine. He didn’t add that he could sleep and fly at the same time if there was someone to keep him on the right track.
And despite wanting to reach Story as fast as he could, Blaze understood the importance of not out stripping Digger and Valerius, and Twilight. She could fly, but not as well as the pegasi in the group.
Speaking off, Wind Chaser appeared at the door with Valerius. “Are we almost ready? I can only keep Digger away from the ale so long.”
“Extra parchment for letters?” Twilight continued.
“Check.”
“That was the last thing to be packed.” Twilight put her quill in her own saddle bag. “Anything else before we leave?”
“One thing.” Valerius looked at Blaze and Rainbow, “If Unicorns attack, block with wings, not chest. Pegasus magic in wings will deflect most magic. Princess- most Unicorns not using real spells, just raw magic. Use spells against them, they will not be able to block them. Defense spells will need more power behind them to work.”
“That’s fascinating. Do they really not use spells?” Twilight started asking Valerius more questions. Wind Chaser pushed her towards the door, gently.
“You can ask questions while you walk.” Wind Chaser glared mildly at her. She blushed and exited. The others following behind her. Spike hopped on Twilight’s back. Digger was outside waiting.
“Why am I waiting out here for ponies? Good Ale is inside.” Digger laughed, but started walking. The sky was just barley light. They were all bundled up against the still cold weather. In Canterlot ponies would be starting to prep for Winter Wrap Up. Here, in the foot hills of the Northern Mountians, winter would cling longer, no amount of Pegasus or unicorn magic able to make the deep chill dissipate any sooner than it wanted too. The frozen wasteland beyond the mountains had only winter year round, except in the magical Crystal Empire.
Blaze took off after Wind Chaser and Rainbow Dash. They went ahead, but he made sure that the ponies who were walking were usually right below him. The cold wind in his face made reminded him that they only had a plan to find the hideout of the NMU. Blaze just hoped that Story would hold out until they could find a way in to get her. Hold on Story, I’m coming for you.