All Paths Lead Home

by Mystic

Chapter 9: Carried On Wings of Redemption

The mare is walking… drifting… moving… She can’t stay still, yet she is in no hurry. Her body drifts its way effortlessly through a garden of darkened plants. Little flowers dot the sides of the path, stretching out as far as she can see. Everything is built out of shadow. Except for the flowers – the flowers are the only things with colour.

Whenever she looks away, the garden changes. First it is poppies. Then it is white roses. Next it is carnations. They are a sea of living lights shining against the shadow. An unseen wind sweeps across the fields, moving the flora in a gentle rhythm.

Suddenly, paths form around the mare. They start at her hooves, springing up from beneath the flowers. They shoot off through the field, creating wide natural hoofpaths. They twist and turn, corkscrewing into dead ends or meeting at right angles. The paths glow softly, trails of light set against a shadowy world. The mare tries to keep track of all of the different directions they head, but she quickly loses sight of where one begins and the others end.

The paths stop growing. They sit there, twinkling in the night, the flowers still moving gently on either side. Before the mare knows it, the garden has changed again. The flowers are pure white now, luminescent like the paths. She stares at the open flowers, their petals sheltering a golden inner glow.

She wants to pick one. She wants to touch it against her hooves. Before the mare can move closer to take a proper look, the garden starts to shift again. Shadows rise from the ground, breaking the sea of flowers. At first they remain indistinguishable shapes of darkness, but they start to shift. They writhe into tall spires, and tendrils creep out into the open air. The mass of shoots solidifies, and small buds appear on all of the branches. Suddenly, they burst open, revealing ebony leaves that seem to glisten in the non-light.

Looking around, the mare finds herself in a forest. As always, the paths lead onwards and backwards, sideways and around. They are still glowing like the flowers. The mare drifts through this new woodland silently, and her eyes drink in her surroundings. She tries to get to the edge of the path to get a flower, but she can’t; she doesn’t have the control over her own body. She just keeps moving along peacefully, infuriatingly. Constantly.

She just wants to touch the flowers. She wants to smell them, to feel them, to know they’re real.

She just wants a flower.

The shadows shift again. Walls of darkness spring up from the ground, engulfing the trees. Flowers are swept upwards with the shadow, taking their places in amongst the walls. Shadows forms itself around the paths, billowing and coiling as clouds of darkness. The walls stretch up into the void like the sides of some prison. They form a maze, twisting and turning with the glowing paths. The flowers dot the walls like lanterns. The mare tries to reach out, but she still cannot touch them.

Her body starts to move along through the maze as the shadow walls settle down and stop moving. She winds her way around corners and twists, never staying still in one place. She is headed somewhere, but nowhere at the same time.

In the corners of the maze, the shadow seems to pool like blood. It glistens as it runs down the walls, coming from an unknown source. The mare avoids these pools, watching them carefully as she drifts past.

She rounds a corner and gasps. A massive clearing stretches out in front of her as far as the eye can see, filled with flowers, all of them glowing. A series of roads run in ever-shrinking circles around the centrepiece of the clearing and the object of the mare’s awe.

A tree of pale light stretches up into the heavens, fighting the shadow as it soars upward. Huge boughs emerge from the great trunk as wide as a stallion is tall. They are surrounded by smaller branches that spread outwards like a gigantic spider web of light and leaves of pure silver and gold sparkle like gems against the dark backdrop behind them.

At the base of the tree is a single flower. Even from a distance the mare can see that this flower is different. This flower is white, true, but its stem is not one of shadow or light. Its stem is green. An organic green. The green of life.

The mare is already moving towards it. A singular path cuts through the circular routes in a dead straight line. She can see the flower drawing closer, nearer. Its small petals are spread widely, and a golden stigma sits inside. A breeze seems to drift across the world, and it shifts slightly, flexing on a lithe stem.

Finally, surely, the mare comes to a stop in front of it. She stares down at the flower, her mouth open in an expression of pure adoration. For a long time, she doesn’t move. She just stands there, ignoring the spectacle around her, and gazes at the flower.

She inhales and then exhales, letting the non-existent air fill her lungs. She smiles softly to herself and sighs. Slowly, carefully, the mare extends a hoof, reaching toward the flower. She watches as she inches closer and closer. Her hoof is shaking; it is so close. With a deep breath and a final push, the mare –

Woke up. Her eyes flickered behind her eyelids chaotically as she struggled to open them. Her entire body felt heavy, weighted down by something she just couldn’t quite name. Her thoughts bounced around her skull as uncontrollable and meaningless streams of information. Unable to concentrate properly, the mare tried to roll over.

She screamed. Or at least she thought she did. There was pain in every part of her, filling her up completely. It shot its way like a wave of fire from a singular spot just above her back leg on her right. The mare finally opened her eyes, blinking away tears as she sobbed into the cold floor.

“Mama!” cried a voice.

She looked around wildly, trying to locate its source. The world was blurry and vague. She was lying somewhere dark, and from the feeling of the ground beneath her, she was lying on stone.

“Mama! You’re awake!”

The mare tipped her head and looked up at the direction of the voice. The blurred outline of a small filly filled her vision. The mare thought she was smiling.

“I… I’m awake…” the mare forced out.

“Heavens, look! She’s awake! You saved her!”

The mare heard a soft chuckle. “Yeah she is, Sport.”

A nickname. The mare’s stomach twisted despite the pain still emanating from her side. He had given her a nickname. He had – the mare froze. “Heavens?” she whispered, unable to turn her head to face him. “Is that you?”

There was a shuffling sound and another shape filled the mare’s vision. This time it was clearer. The dark-golden pegasus smiled at her. “Yeah. It’s me.”

“Wh… Where are we?”

“In a cave in the foothills of the mountains,” the pegasus answered calmly.

“How…? How did we… I escape?”

Heavens held the mare’s gaze for a second before looking away. “We… ran,” she said eventually.

The filly opened her mouth, looking towards the sword lying next to their things. She looked back to the mare, and then closed it. The mare closed her eyes for a moment, sighing.

“Ok.” She paused. “Are you ok, then?” she asked, looking at both the Heavens and her daughter.

The filly nodded and Heavens smiled. “She’s fine,” he said. “I took a hit or two, but this kept the blows from doing anything serious.” As he spoke, he gestured to his barding, poking it with a hoof.

“So I was the only one injured?”

Heavens looked back to her and smiled again for a second. A brief silence fell over the cave.

“Mama…” the filly began, “are you feeling ok?”

The mare took a moment to respond. She felt warm and sticky, but otherwise everything felt… ok. She tried to stretch her limbs out, testing them. She was rewarded with another streak of fire causing her to grit her teeth in pain.

“I am fine,” she said, wincing.

Heavens looked at her closely. “Actually,” he said quietly, “you’re not.” The filly’s eyes widened, and the mare felt her expression harden. Heavens waited for a moment, but when the mare didn’t respond, he continued slowly. “You’re running a temperature, and the wound isn’t healing properly. I cleaned the wound the best I could, and I’ve given you the last of the antibiotics, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough.”

The mare inhaled sharply. “Infection?”

“It’s a possibility. And judging by the condition the spear was in, I would say likely.”

The mare nodded. “Ok.”

Silence fell again. Heavens looked away, his face set in an unreadable expression. He opened and closed his mouth several times before apparently giving up. He walked over to the mouth of the cave and peered out. The filly settled herself next to the mare, leaning against her body as gently as she could.

“What are we going to do now, Mama?”

The mare shifted her head so she could look up at her daughter. The small pony’s eyes were lit up, but her mouth was turned down slightly at the corners. “We’re going home, little one,” she said. “We’re going home.”

The filly looked carefully at her mother. Her eyes flickered for a second, and then she nodded once. “Ok then. We’re still going home.”

The mare heard Heavens sigh. She looked over to him and saw that he was walking back towards them. “Home, huh?”

The mare nodded once.

Heavens searched the mare’s expression, but didn’t seem to find what he was looking for. Or perhaps he did. The mare wasn’t sure. He dropped his gaze, a soft smile curling the edge of his lips. “Fine. There could be medicine there. But we’re not moving today. You need to rest so you can stand, and I need to monitor that wound.”

“Can’t you seal it?” the mare asked.

Heavens shook his head. “No. I don’t want to do that without antibiotics to keep things under control afterwards. Considering the quality of our tools, it’s not worth the risk. We just have to keep it clean and hope for the best.”

“And if it goes bad?”

“Then we hope we find something in the city.”

The mare nodded. “Ok.”

The day moved slowly, and the mare, who was under strict orders not to move, could do little but lie still and stare at the rock walls. The filly stayed by her side constantly, sometimes talking to her, sometimes not saying anything at all. Most of the time, though, she talked with Heavens.

At around midday, the pegasus disappeared, taking his sword with him. When he returned, the mare noticed that he had been recently covered in sweat, the moisture having forged paths through the dirt in his coat. He didn’t answer any of her questions, though, so she fell silent.

As dusk began to fall, the mare’s stomach rumbled. The reminder sent a question into her head. “How long was I gone?”

Heavens turned away from his saddlebags, the supplies for their dinner sitting nearby. “Almost two days.”

“Two days?”

“Yeah. You woke up briefly in the middle, but I would hazard a guess now that you don’t remember it.”

The mare frowned. Blood loss didn’t result in passing out for two days, did it?

Heavens answered her unasked question. “Your body isn’t as strong as it should be. Or at least, that’s the best I can come up with.”

The mare snorted.

After dinner, the filly settled down to sleep. She curled up into her familiar ball, and let her head rest against her small pillow. The mare smiled at her.

“Night, Mama. Night, Heavens,” the small pony said quietly.

“Good night, little one,” the mare replied.

“Night, Sport.”

Before long, the filly was asleep, her gentle breathing filling the small cave. The mare and Heavens sat quietly for a bit, choosing to let a silence rest between them.

Outside, darkness had not yet completely fallen, the last vestiges of light clinging to the land. The mare could make out the faint outlines of hills and a smudge of shadow that she was sure was the forest.

“You’re right, you know,” the pegasus said softly.

The mare looked over. “About what?”

“There is good in your daughter.”

The mare smiled. “I know there is.”

Heavens got up, walking over to the mouth of the cave, his features becoming lost to shadow. He turned his head, angling it back towards the mare. “I look at this, and I see nothing but ponies going crazy and death, but I look at your daughter and I see… I see…” He fell silent.

“What?” the mare pressed. “What do you see?”

“I…” he replied, his voice fading into nothing.

The mare opened her mouth but closed it again soon after. There was something in his voice. A longing. An intense sadness. She knew better than to press areas where she was not welcome. “Come,” she said. “We should sleep.”

The pegasus looked down at her, a flicker of something crossing his face, the shadows making the emotion indeterminable. “Yes…” he replied, trailing off. “We should.” He walked over, and laid down on his blanket opposite the mare.

The two ponies fell silent, both waiting for the inevitability of sleep to embrace them. The mare was restless, shifting uncomfortably, unable to sit still or let her mind relax. She had barely moved all day, and she was not tired.

Suddenly, Heavens’ voice drifted over to her. It was faint and she had to strain to hear it. “Thank you,” he said. “And… good night.”

The mare smiled. “No. Thank you.”

It was not long after that she fell asleep.

The mare fought to stand up. Her body was sluggish and unresponsive, and she felt hot, almost as if her skin was burning beneath her coat. Sweat glistened on her forehead like drops of morning dew.

Heavens stood in the mouth of the cave, watching the mare with obvious concern. The landscape stretched out behind him, a carpet of trees that seemed to go on forever, touching the horizon with its shadow.

“Mama?” the filly asked. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes.”

“We don’t have to walk today. We could wait until tomorrow.”

The mare shook her head, and her vision blurred slightly. The wound had already begun to discharge foul smelling pus – despite Heavens’ attempts to clean it. It was infected. There was no use pretending anything else. “No. We leave today.”

Heavens winced and looked away.

Slowly getting to her hooves, the mare took a shaky step forward. And then another… and then another. She walked out of the cave, stepping past the pegasus and out onto the ash. Gazing out over the sweeping forest of wooden tombstones, she inhaled deeply.

“Ok,” she said, looking back at Heavens. “Where do I go?”

Heavens looked at her strangely for a moment, a flash of confusion crossing his face. “We. We’re going along one of the back trails through the mountains, if you are so insistent on going.”

“You’re… you’re coming with us?”

“Yes, I am.”

The mare heard the filly’s soft intake of breath. She herself offered the stallion a small smile. “So where do we go?”

Heavens started walking. He went slowly, pointedly setting an easy pace. “Follow me.”

And so they walked. The mare knew it wasn’t very far to home, but they were not making much ground. She had to rest frequently, and when she did walk, it was slowly. Neither Heavens nor her daughter said anything. They would silently sit down whenever the mare did, and walk when she stood up again.

To the mare, the world felt off. She felt like she was in a dream. Voices faded around the edges, and the trees and boulders around her blurred slightly. It was almost like she was underwater.

They were climbing steadily, following winding a path as it snaked its way around the peripherals of the spires that were now soaring directly above them. The enormous foundation that formed the bulk of the mountains was punctuated by numerous cliffs, gullies and canyons, but the path stuck diligently to flatter ground, rising ever upwards. Pockets of trees clung to the slopes. The soil was loose, subjected to years of erosion and harsh weather. The mare could see where root systems had been revealed through the ever shifting ash, or even where entire trees had slipped from the ground completely.

“Heavens…” the filly began, seemingly a little unsure.

“Yeah?” the pegasus replied, not unkindly.

“What… what was it like up in the clouds?”

“When? Before?”

“Yeah. Mama says that the clouds used to be white and small. She says they would move around the sky and sometimes pegasus ponies would move them for the weather.”

Heavens was quiet for a moment, his gaze locked up to the sky. The clouds were like every other day: brown and grey shadows intermingling as one diseased blanket. A soft haze seemed to float down from the sky, wrapping itself around the sharp rises and falls of the mountains. “She’s right,” he said eventually. “There were lots of different types of clouds back then. You got small little ones, thin wispy ones, big ones that were super fluffy, and then you had ones like the storm clouds that were grey or black kinda like the ones up there.” He paused, frowning slightly. “Only… those were different.”

“How?”

“Umm…” His face scrunched up a little as he thought. “They were dark, but they weren’t… dirty. They were just filled with lots of water. The pegasi at the weather factory would fill them up until they couldn’t hold any more and then-”

“Weather factory?!” the small pony interrupted, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, the weather factory. We used to make all of the weather in Cloudsdale for central Equestria. Snow, rain, rainbows, you name it.”

“Rainbows? What’re they?”

Heavens looked at the mare who merely looked back apologetically.

“Oh wait!” the small pony exclaimed. “Are they the colourful things in the mares of harmony book?”

 Heavens smiled. “That’s them. They were magic light.”

“Huh…” the filly said, clearly deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes lit up again. “What’s it like to fly?”

Heavens faltered mid-step for a fraction before continuing on, staring straight ahead. The mare saw him close his eyes for a moment, and he shifted his disfigured wings against his side.

“I can’t think of what it would be like to fly,” the filly continued obliviously.

“It’s beautiful,” the pegasus said slowly, barely louder than a whisper.

“It’s what?”

“It’s beautiful,” he repeated slightly louder. The filly looked at him with her head tilted to one side. He sighed gently. “It’s like… it’s like… freedom.”

“Freedom?”

“Yeah. Freedom. Nothing but blue sky, maybe a few clouds to liven things up… just you and the empty sky, as far as they eye can see. There was nothing to stop you. It was pure freedom.”

“I… That sounds really nice,” the small pony said quietly.

Heavens smiled. “Yeah. It was.”

They fell quiet for a bit, and the mare stopped for another break. They sat in the shadow of a huge boulder that jutted out of the cliff face, obstructing half the mountain ledge they were following. Heavens passed the mare his water bottle. She tried to protest, but he just looked at her until she relented.

A wind had started to pick its way through the winding valleys, kicking the ash up in cloudy swirls. Looking up, the mare could tell it must be stronger up higher; great grey contrails were being blown off the spires, intermingling with the body of cloud lingering around their points. Some of it was settling to the ground below, and an ashen fog was condensing in the low places of the world.

Above them, the tree shook slightly with each gentle puff of wind. The branches scratched against each other loudly – a symphony of skeletons.

The mare’s entire body felt… shaken. All of her limbs were completely spent and struggled to comply with even the simplest of requests. She could almost feel the energy draining away from her body even as she sat in the ash, leaning up against the boulder. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeble warmth radiating off the stone. Her muscles started to relax, subconsciously unwinding as she-

“Come on,” Heavens said, his voice filled with hidden emotion. “We should keep moving.

The mare snapped her eyes open again. They met Heavens’, and the pegasus looked away. The mare felt her stomach twinge. There was pity in that expression. She was sure of it.

“Yes…” she said softly. “We should.”

It’s midsummer. The mare can feel the gentle heat emanate off of seemingly everything around her. The sky is completely clear, not a single cloud to be seen. Even though summer had been in full swing for a month now, the temperature is still comfortably warm.

The mare is standing in the middle of a forest clearing. Behind her a large tent is standing awkwardly, leaning dangerously to one side. A small fireplace sits a few feet in front of it, a circle of rough and unevenly sized stones containing the little pile of charcoal and ash. A few saddle bags sit near a fold-out table. Her parents are standing over the cheap plastic bench, fussing over lunch.

The mare sighs before flopping onto the grass. She taps her front two hooves together slowly and gets faster and faster, before suddenly decreasing the speed in perfect symmetry. She groans as she comes to a stop, and her head falls forward onto her legs in defeat.

“Mom,” she declares, not bothering to look up. “I’m bored.”

“I can see that, Dear,” her mother replies, also not looking up.

The mare tries again. “Dad… I’m bored.”

“Go for a walk,” he suggests.

“But where?!”

Her father raises an eyebrow. “We went camping for a reason, Dear. We have the whole great outdoors! Go to the river! Or the caves! Or go discover someplace new! We are surrounded by mountains and heaps of other cool things. Go and explore!”

The mare huffs loudly. “Fine! I will go and explore!”

“Glad to hear it,” her father replies, the faintest hint of a smile in his voice.

She gets to her hooves slowly, grumbling slightly under her breath. When this elicits no response, she huffs again and proceeds to walk out of the campsite and into the trees.

“Don’t go too far!” her mother calls out as she disappears.

“Yeah, yeah,” the mare mutters.

As she leaves her parents behind, the mare finds herself picking up the pace. The trees grow tall and thin, their trunks elongating into thin spiderwebs of interconnecting branches about twenty feet above her. The leaves are a brilliant shade of green, and they rustle gently in the warm breeze.

The mare finds herself walking upwards. She’s not completely sure where, but she angles her path up the side of a steep rise, and hopes for the best. After all, didn’t her father tell her to go exploring? What was exploring if not examining random mountain slopes?

As she climbs, the ground grows both steeper, and rockier. The trees slowly give way to stunted little bushes growing up from between cracks in the boulders strewn haphazardly around the slope. The grass has disappeared now; instead, brown-coloured sand fills any space not covered in stone. The mare hops along the tops of the smaller boulders – just for fun, really.

After walking for what feels like forever, the mare throws herself down on one of the boulders to rest. Her muscles are aching, and her coat is covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Her stomach rumbles, and she frowns.

The ground has widened out into a steeply angled shelf of rock. It sweeps its way back down to the wooded valley in which the mare thinks she can make out the clearing in which they are camping. A thin glistening trail makes its way in the middle of the gully, and the mare thinks that it must be the river. It’s a pretty small river – or at least that’s what she thinks.

The mare looks up the rise and groans as she realises that the top of the ledge seems no closer than it was when she first started. She looks back down at the valley. Suddenly, she frowns and stands back up. Letting her face settle into determined stare, the mare turns around and returns to walking up the plateau.

She starts off slowly, keeping the same pace as before. Before long, though, the burn returns to her muscles, and she feels her temperature rising again. She grits her teeth… and starts to run.

Her legs respond sluggishly at first, seemingly confused as to why their owner is pushing them so hard. The mare ignores it and just keeps going. It doesn’t take long before she breaks into an easy rhythm. Her legs hurt, yes, but it’s a good hurt now. A strong hurt that she can use, can manipulate into making her better. Faster. Stronger.

Occasionally, her hooves threaten to slip on the stone, but she simply adjusts her weight and keeps going, never really breaking stride. The edge is close now. She can see less and less earth, and more and more open blue sky.

The summit. The goal. There it is, just in front of her – just a few more feet, just a few more boulders and a few more bushes to run around. She picks up the pace, ignoring the growing tightness in her chest.

The mare can feel a smile growing on her face. The sky dominates her vision, dragging her forward, the great blue expanse reaching out into forever as far as she can see.

Smiling hugely, the mare crests the summit. She runs right up the edge of the cliff before coming to a skidding halt. She gasps, her heart pounding, the exhaustion from the run intermingling with the sudden jolt of adrenalin as she teeters on the edge, fighting her own momentum to stay on the cliff.

The world stretches away into a shimmering vastness. The mountains end abruptly from where the mare is standing, and the earth falls away sharply into an enormous plain that disappears into the horizon. It’s a carpet of green, punctuated by small clumps of darker evergreens and just a few lone farmhouses. The very air glistens with warmth as the sun radiates down onto the landscape. The glow is framed by the azure sky, empty, vast and utterly enormous.

The mare smiles out onto the vista, breathing heavily. She made it. She reached the top. She reached the top, and this is her reward: the whole of Equestria lying out in front of her.

And best of all, she isn’t bored anymore.

“Heavens,” the filly began, her voice breaking into the waning afternoon air, “do you have any family?”

Heavens didn’t break stride, staring straight ahead. “Yes.” He ended the conversation there.

The filly frowned at his tone, but changed tact. “Did… did you have any friends then?”

The pegasus tilted his head, looking back at the small pony.

“I mean,” she pressed, “Mama had friends, but now she only has me. Did you have friends?”

Heavens’ gaze flicked to the mare briefly before responding. “Yeah. I had friends.”

“Lots of them?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I had a few.”

“Do you have any friends now?”

The mare watched as his step faltered a fraction. Turning to face the front, he shook his head before answering, his voice unchanged from his previous tone. “No. Not really.”

“Oh…” The filly frowned, thinking. Then, “Would… would you like to be my friend? If that’s ok…”

“I’d like that, Sport.” The mare saw the ends of his lips curl upwards in the faintest hint of a smile.

“Really?” The filly’s eyes were wide.

“Yeah. I would.”

“Yay!”

The mare smiled, ignoring the shaking in her legs.

They camped that night in the shelter of a large, gnarled tree. It stood over thirty feet high, its thin, naked branches twisting into a complex mess of dead wood. The thick trunk stood hobbled and bent, leaning out over the path and towards the slope on the other side. Coiling chaotically, aged and stained roots poked out of the ground like writhing snakes after hibernation. The mare eyed the tree suspiciously as it creaked in the wind, protesting even the slightest movement.

Heavens quickly set about starting a small fire, gathering dead wood scattered around the slope. The mare tried her best not to collapse and didn’t quite succeed. She felt cold now, like she was in the snow. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, yet she couldn’t stop shivering. She tried to undo the buckles attaching the saddlebags to her body, but her lips couldn’t find purchase on the synthetic material.

“Here, Mama. Let me help you.”

The mare looked up, her head swirling, and saw the filly approach her. The small pony leaned down and deftly undid the buckles on both sides and lifted the bags off her mother. She placed them inside one of the coils of roots and sat down next to the mare.

“Thank you.”

The filly pressed her head up against the mares softly. “You’re welcome, Mama,” she said.

They sat there for a while, resting against each other while Heavens constructed a small pyre. The mare sighed and closed her eyes. A soft shiver tore through her, sending a flare of pain shooting from her wound.

“Mama?” the filly asked, feeling the mare’s movement.

“I am fine.” She shivered again, this time wincing as another line of fire was drawn across her flank.

The small pony stared at her, her expression unreadable. “Are you going to be ok, Mama?”

The mare stared back, deep into those inscrutable, wide eyes. Was the small pony sad? Was her daughter angry or upset? She couldn’t tell. She also couldn’t find the strength to answer. Her mouth opened, yet no words left. She watched helplessly as the filly’s expression flickered. Speak! She had to speak! Lie! Lie and forget!

“I…”

“Yes.” Both the mare and the filly turned to Heavens, their faces questioning. He sat down next to the now crackling fire. “She will be fine,” he continued. “Don’t worry. I will make sure she’s ok.”

“You will?” the filly asked.

“Yeah. I will,” he replied. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

The filly paused for a moment, before running over and throwing both of her front legs around the pegasus’ neck. He sat there, dumbfounded, for a moment before awkwardly lifting a leg to hug the small pony back.

“Promise?” the filly said.

“Promise.”

The small pony hugged him a little tighter. “Thank you, Heavens. You’re a good pony.”

A ghost of a smile flitted its way onto the pegasus’ face. It didn’t reach his eyes though. The mare couldn’t help but notice that his eyes almost seemed to darken at the filly’s words.

After dinner, the three ponies settled down to sleep. The fire burned brightly in the middle of the trio. It formed a small sphere of amber light in the darkness. The mare rested against one of the larger roots, her body covered in two of their thickest blankets. She was sweating again, and shivers still rocked her body on occasion.

The filly was curled in her familiar ball. She wriggled a little to work her way deeper into her blanket. The mare looked over as Heavens sat down next to her daughter. There was something in his mouth.

“How ‘bout a story?” he said tentatively, gesturing to the book he had just placed in front of the filly.

The filly reached out and touched it with a hoof. “That’s the mares of harmony book.”

“It’s my copy.”

“You have a copy too?”

Heavens smiled. “Would you like me to read it to you?”

The small pony nodded her head quickly. “Yes please!”

Heavens moved over a little closer to the filly, opening the book with a hoof.

The mare watched as he began to read. His voice seemed to naturally slip into a story-telling tone as he read the pages with practiced ease. The filly sat silently, listening carefully and staring at the pages faded in different places from their own copy.

The mare smiled and felt her body start to slip into unconsciousness. Sleep was so easy, so peaceful. It was release, a shelter, a safe-haven. It was an escape. The mare forced her eyes open and stared directly into the flames.

No escape. No escape. Fight the darkness, fight the fear.

“And harmony existed throughout all of Equestria, forever and always,” Heavens finished, closing the book with a quiet snap. He looked down and saw that the filly was fast asleep, her tail wrapped around her, her body rising and falling gently under the blanket. With a faint, sad smile, the pegasus reached down and kissed the small pony on the top of her head. “Night, Sport,” he whispered.

“You have a mares of harmony book.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

Heavens didn’t reply straight away, instead staring into the fire. “Shouldn’t everypony?” he said eventually.

“Not enough of them exist anymore.”

“Then I treasure it. Do better. Be better.”

“Be better?”

“Be better. Be like before. Before the fire.”

“And the sword? How is that like before?” She didn’t mean to accuse him. She just wanted to know.

Heavens hung his head. “I try,” he whispered.

The mare was silent for a moment. “That’s better than most.”

He looked up, a flicker of gratitude crossing his face. “That doesn’t forgive it.”

“No,” she replied. “That’s up to you.”

“Is it?”

“Who else would it be up to? The bandits? The slavers? The cult members? The monsters outside Equestria? Me?” The mare snorted.

“What about Them?”

“I thought you said They were dead.”

Heavens looked away and back towards the fire. He didn’t say anything more.

The mare stared down at the ash as the silence settled down over the two of them. It was quiet; even the wind seemed to have died down. Eventually, the mare broke the silence, “Why did you say that before?”

“Say what?” the pegasus replied, turning away from the flames.

“That you wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me.”

He smiled. “Because I meant it.”

“But why?” she pressed gently.

Heavens sighed. “Because of you and because of your daughter.” The mare looked at him inquisitively, so he continued. “I wasn’t lying. There is so much good in your daughter. There is everything we lost. And it is in you, as well. Be better, do better – it means I protect that which is better.”

The mare nodded, not able to respond. She offered a faint smile instead. “You’re a good pony, Heavens.” Her voice wavered. She was tired; every one of her muscles was shutting down, and her eyelids fought to stay open.

The pegasus continued as if he didn’t hear her. “And she is just like her.” His voice was barely louder than a whisper. It ached, the same ache that he mare had heard him speak with before.

“Just like who?” the mare asked, gently, kindly. Fight the escape, she told herself. Do not sleep. Unconsciousness was winning.

Heavens looked straight into the mare’s eyes. “That book,” he said. “The mares of harmony one, it was hers.”

“Who?” The escape… it was right there. It was calling to her.

“Dawn,” the pegasus whispered. “She was my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” the mare said, her head resting against her forelegs, slowly giving up the fight.

“My family. My filly. My before the end.”

“I… I am sorry,” she murmured.

“Don’t be,” Heavens said quietly. “Just keep her safe. No matter what, keep her safe.”

And with that, the mare disappeared, slipping under the darkened blanket of sleep. She didn’t fight it at all anymore.

The mare was woken by a rough knocking sensation, like somepony was jostling her side-to-side. Blearily, she tried to force her eyes open. She didn’t succeed. Her whole body felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive. And she was hot again, her flesh seemingly burning from within.

“What?” she murmured, fighting to find the strength to talk against a parched throat.

“Mama!” the filly cried. “You’re awake!”

The mare suddenly realised she was moving; her entire weight was focused on her stomach and her legs draped over something that rose and fell with an urgent rhythm. Gritting her teeth, the mare finally opened her eyes. She was met with the world passing away around her. They were moving again, and she was on Heavens’ back.

“What?” she said again, trying to struggle off. ‘Why are we moving? What’s going on?”

“We’re being chased.”

“We’re… what?”

“The bandits from Ponyville… I don’t know why… I don’t know how, but they came out here and they picked up our track. They’re chasing us,” he said urgently, subtly picking up the pace as he did.

“How… how far?”

“Not sure. I saw them further down the valley when I went out to get our bearings. I would say they are moving faster than us, though.”

“Are there any places we can hide?”

“Not safely, no.”

“Any other paths?”

“This is the only one ponies can still physically walk on. The rest have been destroyed.”

The mare scrunched her eyes closed. She could barely think straight, and this was bad. She couldn’t give in now. She had to focus.

“What are they after?”

“I don’t know,” Heavens snapped. The mare flinched and the pegasus exhaled loudly. “I don’t know,” he repeated, this time quieter. “Maybe they want me. Maybe they want you. Maybe they just want revenge on the both of us.”

“What are we going to do?” the mare asked.

“We might be able to lose them in the city.” Heavens glanced backwards over his shoulder. “If we’re lucky,” he added as an afterthought.

“The city?”

“Home, Mama,” the filly said, her first words since the mare had woken up. “We’re going home.”

The mare’s stomach froze, and she fought the urge to throw up. “Home…?” she whispered. “How far?”

“Depends. We might even get there by evening if we go fast enough. Depends on how soon they catch us.” Heavens spoke bluntly, but the mare could hear the strain lying just beneath.

“Oh.”

As the day progressed, the ponies climbed higher and higher. Every now and then the mare would argue and Heavens would allow her to walk by herself. Whenever he felt their pace was too slow though, or if the mare couldn’t keep herself going, he would wordlessly get her onto his back and set off again at a steady trot.

The path they were following curled its way through the mountains, clinging to the edge of many of the spires. The road had been physically cut into the side of the peaks in some places like a hideous gash, a gouge into the flesh of the mountain. It wound its way up, going ever higher, and yet still making its way north.

Whenever they moved along a longer valley, or spent time on an exposed ridge, the mare would stare back the way they came, her mind turning every shadow into ponies with claws and fangs.

On one ridge though, her mind didn’t have to make anything up. She looked back and saw several black pony-shaped specks running single file along the path they had been on over the past hour. The mare counted at least twenty before they dropped down into a small vale and she lost sight of them.

“There are so many,” she said quietly.

“I know,” came Heavens’ reply.

They pushed onwards, making their way around the base of another great mountain. The mare stared up at its looming peak, her neck stretching as she tried to distinguish the rock dusted with a faint coating of snow. The mountain was surrounded by banks of light-grey clouds swirling around it chaotically. The mare could see another path running higher up this mountain, climbing it in ever-closing circles, heading to a location the mare couldn’t make out in the distance.

The mare was walking now, limping slightly each time she put any sort of weight on her back hoof. She wasn’t wearing her saddlebags for Heavens had already donned them before she could protest. The filly stayed close to her side at all times, barely saying a word.

The trio rounded around the edge of the peak, and an incredible vista gradually revealed itself in front of them. A great empty space ran its way in a straight line on their left. It was flanked on both sides by mountains that fell away into a valley with almost vertical walls.

But down at the end of the space, tucked against one of the mountains on the great valley’s left, was a city. Or the remains of one.

The city clung to the mountain like a limpet, the mess of spires and turrets visible despite the distance. The mare knew the capital stretched right around the mountain, and she was only catching a glimpse of part of it through a small gap in the mountains. They were travelling parallel to the main thoroughfares; the railways and highways were just on the other side of the range they were traversing. She knew why this route was never used. They were on the wrong side of the great valley to get to the city.

Heavens seemed to notice the mare’s expression, and answered her unasked question. “It narrows as we go further along. In fact, just before the city, the valley ends in a fissure – just a crack really. There’s a bridge there that we can use to get across. It puts us higher than the city, but nearby.”

The mare nodded, thankful to have the pegasus with them; she would not have had the slightest clue where to go without a detailed map. She inhaled deeply, and they continued, pushing themselves to go faster, to cover more ground. They could see their destination. They could see home. They just had to get there. They just had to stay alive.

The mare is moving, and she is moving fast. The world flashes past her like series of random photographs, connected somehow yet all so different. All she can see are flashes of browns, greens, greys or the brilliant blue of the framing sky. The mare can barely conceal her excitement. She’s nearly home, after all.

The train is winding its way along the mountain trail towards the white, gold and purple metropolis standing regally on the side of the mountain. Whenever the train snakes right the mare can see it in front of her on her left. The marble towers catch the light of the sun like shards of glass, refracting it in brilliant flashes that shine out over the landscape. The mare stares lovingly at the elegant chaos of the towers and spires of the royal castle, topped by gold and purple trappings. She looks at the powerful waterfalls as they overflow from flattened pools and plunge into the valley, forming the Canterlot River far below.

She’s almost home.

The mare turns away from the window, a huge smile plastered across her face. Her husband is sitting next to her, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Excited, huh?”

“Look at it!” the mare exclaims, gesturing to the window next to her. “It’s beautiful! To think that we live there!”

“Looks just like normal Canterlot to me.”

“Pfft,” the mare says dismissively. “You would say that.”

The stallion shakes his head, smiling now too. “We have been away for what? Two weeks? And look at you! You are like a filly on Nightmare Night!”

“Two weeks is a long time. You would be surprised at the kind of things that can happen in two weeks.”

“Like what?”

“Like… I dunno… a certain stallion could be told to get out of a certain mare’s house for being such a grouch?” She smiles at him wickedly.

The stallion feigns insult. “Oh! I see how it is. Things change that much, huh? Stay with me while we’re away so you don’t get hopelessly lost and end up starving to death, but as soon as we get back to our comfortable home…” He shakes his head. “Tsk tsk. Where is the loyalty?”

“Gone, disappeared, vanished,” the mare replies, poking her tongue out.

“Pfft,” the stallion replies, his smile now huge. “You would say that.”

The mare opens her mouth, but closes it again, silently admitting defeat. The stallion bursts out laughing. “I’m going to be cooking tonight, aren’t I?” the mare says with a sigh.

“You sure are, Darling.” He is still laughing. “You sure are.”

The mare sighs again and returns her gaze back out the window. The city is closer now; she can make out the different levels of the city, each one separated into its own distinct tier. She swears she can even make out dark streams of traffic crowding the thoroughfares around the palace. Suddenly, there is a golden flash. An orange-coloured speck, shaped like a bird, soars out of one of the palace windows, disappearing into the light reflecting off of the walls.

“At least you’re happy to see me, home,” the mare whispers sullenly to the window. She hears the stallion chuckle next to her.

Truth is, she couldn’t stop smiling herself. After all, she was almost home.

They had come to a narrow bend in the path as it wound its way along the side of the valley. Heavens was right; it was becoming narrower. The corner swept to the right, the steepness increasing on a tight angle. At the top where the path flattened out, Heavens stopped.

“Get off now,” he said urgently. “You need to walk for a bit.”

The mare did as she was told, falling awkwardly to her hooves. She had only been resting for a few minutes, it felt. The pegasus quickly took off the saddlebags and gave them to the filly who put them on without complaint or question.

“I know you were only just moving, but here is the perfect spot.”

“The perfect spot for what?” the mare asked.

Heavens took a moment to answer, staring back down the valley, his expression vacant. “They are being drawn out by their own pace. They have essentially split into several small groups. I’m going to wait here and ambush the first one and send them running, hopefully confusing them and buying us some time.”

The mare opened her mouth but closed it when the pegasus turned to look at her, his expression set. There was a coldness in his eyes that frightened her. “Ok,” she said.

She and the filly quickly left, walking as fast as the mare could go. The path was climbing steeply again, so that was not fast at all. Every step sent a wave of exhaustion crashing through her, threatening to knock her off her hooves. She was getting cold again. She could feel her legs shaking as she walked.

“Mama?” the filly asked quietly from beside her.

The mare turned her head and was forced to pause as a wave of light-headedness obliterated her vision and caused her to nearly lose her balance. “Yes?” she forced out, her head held low.

“We have to leave Heavens, don’t we?”

“It’s his choice. He’s doing what he thinks is right.”

“No, I –” The filly was cut off by the sudden eruption of screams and shouts echoing quietly up from beneath them. There were several metallic clashes and another scream.

“We need to keep moving,” the mare said, flattening her ears against the sound.

“Ok,” the filly said quietly. Another scream, this one was long and drawn out, rapidly falling away down into the valley. The mare could swear she heard the thump at the end.

And so they pushed onwards.

About twenty minutes later, Heavens caught back up. He was panting from exertion, his coat covered in sweat. He was splattered in fine droplets of scarlet, and his blade dripped crimson drops onto the ground. The mare looked up, and Heavens looked away. The mare kept walking. Her legs had to be strong now.

The sun was beginning to slip away behind the western horizon. The height of the mountains brought upon this inevitability a lot sooner, plunging the world into darkness. The few trees that clung to the mountain slopes cast wicked shadows onto the path, their limbs stretching like talons, grasping at whatever came near.

The mare could hear them shouting behind her now. Their voices were angry, hungry, cursing. She couldn’t hear words, but she could hear sentiment. She could hear hoof-steps ricochet off the valley walls. Their enemies were close, bearing down on their necks like wolves. And she could do little more than stumble on like a wounded and confused rabbit.

“Come on,” Heavens muttered. “Not much further.”

The mare looked back. The pegasus’ face was… sad. His lips were cast downward, and his head hung slightly lower than it usually did.

“Are you ok?” she asked, trying to stay moving forward.

He looked up and held her gaze for a moment. Their eyes were locked, unmoving. Suddenly, a faint, sad smile broke across his lips. “Yeah,” he said. “I am fine.”

The mare smiled weakly back, nodded once, and turned back to the path in front of them. As she did, however, she couldn’t help but notice the steely glint that flashed within his eyes.

They pushed onwards. The mare wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep moving, keep placing each hoof onto solid ground. She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t fallen already. The cries were louder now.

“Kill them! Kill them!”

Suddenly, the trio stepped around a boulder and the filly gasped. In front of them, just a little further down the valley at its narrowest point, spanned a rope bridge about fifty feet long. The mare paused; the only way something like this could have survived was if it was created after the end… the thought didn’t have long to live, though, as she was called onwards by the filly. They had to keep moving, Mama. They had to.

“Get them you maggots! Kill them!”

They had to.

The mare stumbled forwards. Heavens moved alongside, offering his body as support. She resisted at first, but soon acquiesced. Almost there. Just a little further. From what? A little voice said. From the bridge? A bridge that the bandits could cross, too?

They were a hundred feet from the crossing when the mare looked back and saw them properly. The first three barrelled their way around the corner, weapons held within their mouths or magical glows. The mare could see one was cut recently across the face. They were chasing hard, and before the mare could react, another group came charging into sight.

The mare exhaled and began to sprint. To the bridge. Get to the bridge. Her legs shook underneath her, and her vision blurred. To the bridge.

The filly, still wearing their saddlebags, reached the crossing first. It was connected by two ropes on either side lashed to the wooden planks at about leg height, but the structural integrity came from two roughly connected beams that reached from the middle of the bridge to either side of the mountain wall. The small pony sprinted across, throwing one fearful glance over her shoulder.

When Heavens reached it, he stopped. “Go!” he yelled through his sword. “Go! I’ll be right behind you!”

The mare did as she was told, hurriedly making her way over the wooden connection. The beams beneath her hooves were rotting, and several cracked underneath her hooves causing her to trip and stumble. Each time she just picked herself up and forced herself forward. Get to the other side. Get across. Get to safety.

What safety? the voice whispered. What safety would there be on the other side of the bridge?

With her lungs feeling like they were about to explode, the mare’s legs gave way just as she was reaching the other side. She tripped one final time, her entire weight pitching forward as she rolled to a stop safely on solid ground. She fumbled in the ash to move around, trying to look back across.

The mare watched as Heavens came to a stop in the middle of the bridge. His gaze seemed to linger on them for a moment – his expression unreadable in the twilight – before he turned and faced the oncoming bandits. He lowered his weight and flicked his sword from side to side, almost as if he was testing it.

“Heavens!” the filly screamed. “Heavens, come on! We have to go!”

“I’m sorry, Sport,” came the slightly muffled reply. “I’m not going.”

The mare’s eyed widened. “No…” she whispered.

“Heavens! Please! We have to go! Come on!”

The pegasus shook his head. “Run. Go home, get to safety. Fix your mother, just like how I told you.”

The filly was crying now. “Please, Heavens! Please! Come on!”

The first of the bandits started to storm the bridge, their faces grinning wickedly at the sight of the lone pegasus standing in front of them and the hopeless mares beyond.

“Take care of your mother, ok?” Heavens called out, seemingly ignoring the bandits. “You be good and help other ponies. Grow up and be nice and strong.”

“Heavens!”

“Say it!” he screamed. “Say you’ll do that for me!”

“Please!”

“Promise me! Do it!”

“I… I promise!” the filly screamed, her voice cracking.

The pegasus reared up on his rear legs, and he plunged downward, his sword sweeping in a glinting arc as it caught the last of the weak light in the air. It struck the rope support and severed it completely in one savage blow. The bridge shook violently as the suspension started to give. Heavens quickly righted himself before striking down the other rope in a similar fashion. The rotting wood struggled to take the strain of the aggressively released tension, and it cracked, many smaller pieces flying off into the air.

The bandits on the other side skidded to a halt, their cries switching to screams of terror. They tried to backtrack, but more of their comrades had reached the bridge and were clogging up the exit, preventing them from escaping. One of the bandits tried to charge Heavens, but the pegasus merely pitched forward onto his front hooves, spun, and bucked the attacker off the bridge. The others turned and fled, seeing something in the pegasus’ face that the mare couldn’t with his back turned to her.

Freed for the moment, Heavens took his sword, lifting it high in the air, and plunged it down into the wooden support beam beneath his hooves. The mare was surprised at how easily the sword found purchase, but the rotting wood offered some explanation. With the sword still quivering in the wood, buried three quarters of the way up to its hilt, its owner turned to face the mare and her daughter.

“Remember, you promised!” he screamed, his voice shaking. “You keep her safe! And you keep her alive! You keep her safe!” The mare knew he was addressing her. “You keep her alive, and you’ll keep the good!”

The mare nodded, unable to speak.

“Heavens!” the filly yelled as loud as she could. “Please!”

The pegasus seemed to take a deep breath. He didn’t seem at all fazed at the fact that the bandits had started to stream off the bridge in panic. He stood there in the middle of the crossing, utterly serene. Suddenly, the first of the spears started to strike near him, thrown wildly from unicorns only now bringing up the rear.

The mare saw what she thought was a smile flick across his face. She saw his lips move. They formed one word; an elegy, a farewell, and an apology.

Goodbye.

The pegasus spun, and with all his strength, bucked the handle of the sword. The force twisted the blade, but the rotting wood gave first, and with a splintering crack, the wooden support shattered into fragments.

“HEAVENS!” the filly screamed. “NO!”

The mare could only watch as the bridge collapsed. The beams, unable to hold themselves up with every single means of support gone, imploded in on themselves, plunging into the canyon below. The mare could only watch as they took a golden-coloured pegasus with them, disappearing forever into the shadow.

“NO! NO! Please NO!”

The mare couldn’t believe it. She laid there in complete shock, unable to move a muscle. Her very breath felt slammed out of her lungs.

“No!” the filly sobbed. “No! No! No!” She slammed her hooves on the ground, tears coursing down her cheeks.

A hissing sound filled the air and a black spear seemed to almost materialise itself from an amber glow, striking the ground nearby.

“Kill them!” came the shout from across the canyon. “Kill them!” The mare could swear she heard laughter.

The mare got up. She struggled to her hooves, her legs screaming at her to give up. She couldn’t see properly, but she didn’t need to.

“We have to go,” she said. Or at least that’s what she tried to say. She nudged the filly, and another spear came to a quivering stop nearby. This one was a lot closer. “Now. We have to go now.”

Her face streaked with tears, the filly nodded and stood. The mare helped her up, knowing just how heavy the saddlebags could be.

Together, with the bandits screaming at them, the mare and the filly limped away from the canyon, leaving it behind. The path was falling now, and so the mare found it considerably easier to walk along rather than going up. Before long, even the voices of the bandits faded.

The sun was almost completely gone, and the clouds on the west looked almost orange, illuminated from behind by a powerful source. The weak light reflected faintly off of the rock, giving it a bloodstained appearance.

They were hugging the side of the mountain, the path taking them around. The unmoving trees stood watch over them. Their dead bodies seemed to almost stand tribute.

Neither of them said a word. The mare wasn’t sure she could have if she wanted to. She wasn’t sure how she was still walking either. Her whole body felt completely emptied and wasted.

Suddenly, the two ponies rounded a corner, and there it was. Below them, and to their right, was the city. The tiered capital of Equestria. It protruded off the mountain like the figurehead of an old sailing ship.

The dirtied and stained marble caught the last of the sun’s light, allowing the mare to make out a little precious detail. Almost all of the purple and gold gilding was gone; instead, the few tops of the towers that remained looked like grey and black tumours. The city was bigger than she remembered, but so much smaller than it should have been. At least the chaotic jumble of towers and spires had stayed largely the same, even if some were damaged or missing altogether.

The mare knew she had to stop walking. She took a few weak steps over to an ashen embankment lying just of the path and collapsed down the other side, her body rolling for a few feet before stopping. She heard the filly slide down next to her. They both stopped moving, their breathing filling the otherwise silent air. It was much darker down here, and the mare knew that soon they wouldn’t see a thing.

“Mama?” the filly whispered, her throat raw.

“Yes?” the mare murmured in reply, fighting to stay conscious.

“You did it, Mama.” Her voice was flat, lifeless.

“Did what?”

“You’re home, Mama. You’re home.”

The mare felt her stomach fall away, and she flinched away from the accusation. She kept falling, though. With one last stab of fire shooting through her side and into her heart, the mare finally slipped away into peaceful oblivion.

She was home.

A/N: A massive thank you to Sessalisk for editing, and an equally big thank you to everyone for reading. Questions? Comments? I appreciate feedback of any kind, so please let me know how you are finding it! I shall see you for the final chapter!