The following day, it was a little warmer outside. Lavender was excited; She could get some of her shopping done. It'd been longer than she would have liked since she was able to leave the house. She didn't wear horseshoes anymore, or even boots. The cold didn't bother her hooves, and Skybolt would never make it obvious, but sometimes the ground was too cold for the other ponies. She couldn't blow her cover by making it known that she didn't mind it. She stayed indoors when he would, even though he told her to just go enjoy herself. It wasn't as if the town was active that day anyways.
But today... Today she'd get to do what she loved best: live and breathe amongst the other ponies. She eagerly tore through her breakfast and afterwords allowed Skybolt to clean up afterwards. He did so without complaint, but he glanced back at her now and then with a raised eyebrow and a grin. She was flitting about the house, searching and mumbling to herself. He hadn't seen her so lively since the last time she was able to go to the market. He turned his attention away from her after a while, as he had a lot to clean up. He had made a special breakfast, just for her. He'd known that today would be warmer, and he was surprised that she didn't realize it the night before. She had Pegasus magic like his...
"Skybolt, are you done yet?"
He turned around and saw that she was already dressed to go out. Her dresses for going out always included a corset. They made her wings practically disappear, and made it even more believable that she was merely an actress back in her heyday. They wouldn't think she was that old if they knew what she is... he thought. Then again, this town consists mostly of Earth ponies... They don't know about Unicorn magic, so they probably assume that Unicorns stay youthful for much longer than the rest of us.
Other than the simple blue dress, she had her black saddlebags, and her lavender mane was braided and off to the side. She stood with an air of importance. He smiled a little to himself. She's ready to start her day. "Just a moment. You can head out without me, yanno," he said as he turned his attention back to cleaning their dishes.
"Why would I do that?" She sounded offended. He heard her hooves step closer to him, and he grinned again.
"You're a grown mare, Springs... Aren't you?" He imagined her wings would flare a little, if they weren't constrained.
"I'm easily thrice as old as you are!"
He chuckled. "Which is why you would think you could go out on your own. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the one that raised you." He looked back at her.
She huffed. "I've had to rescue you more times than you can count."
"Fair enough."
It only took him a few more minutes to finish his task, and then they were off. Their cottage was on the outskirts of the town, but it wasn't long before they could see the many ponies bustling about in the warmer weather. Skybolt could tell that Lavender was excited; She was practically trying to run ahead of him. He could probably keep up, but her stamina would probably outlast his. Well, we've never raced... But she usually gives up pretty soon when we're wrestling and stuff... He furrowed his brows. Sometimes I wonder if you're weaker than you let on, Springs... he thought as he glanced over at her. She was walking with a pep in her step, and he couldn't help but grow an amused smile.
"Do you think they'll have ribbons and thread? I've been meaning to fix your quilt, and... you know I like having a lot of ribbons..." She blushed a little, embarrassed that she was acting what seemed to be childish. "Oh, and I wonder if the Unicorn merchants will be in today... The magical artifacts that I've been studying have run out of their spark, you know?"
"No..." He snorted, looking back to the path ahead of them. "I understand things like... clouds and wind..."
"Oh, right, sorry..." She looked ahead as well. "Pegasus magic is just as interesting. I just... can't display what I know."
"I know," he replied. "You've got a lot to learn anyway~" He spoke in a lighthearted tone, preventing her from actually feeling bad. She was always looking out for his feelings over hers.
"Maybe I'll find some teachers in town today..." she trailed off, and they began to walk in their comfortable silence. Skybolt sometimes preferred it this way; He wasn't always the best with words and sometimes the silence was comforting. He eyed her, from the corner of his eye. She was still excited. That's good... I can't let anyone squash that for her today. She's been working so hard in her garden just so she can support us. I should start looking for work soon, he thought. Springtime will be here soon, and I can make plenty of Bits for us both. He didn't like leaving her at home alone during the winter months. He knew that season was when ponies got their saddest, and he knew how unhappy she could get.
His thoughts were interrupted as Lavender stopped him from walking, putting a foreleg in front of his chest. He looked down at it, then up at what she was staring so strangely at. In the middle of the town square, a large, square, wooden pedestal had been erected. That in its own was unusual, as the town never had one of those. But the ponies on top of it... His eyes traveled up from their hooves to the tops of their ears. There were three of them, each wearing dark cloaks and clothing to mask any features below their shoulders. Two of them had their hoods donned, keeping all but the edges of their muzzles in the dark. The one without his hood up was standing in the middle of the two, and he seemed to be speaking loudly, to a small crowd that had gathered there. He was a Unicorn, and he was a certainly eerie one at that. His eyes were gaunt, his fur a lifeless grey, and his mane was blood red. Skybolt didn't care what his eyes looked like, as the Pegasus was trying to avoid looking at them.
"Hey, what do you think they're here for?" he asked his companion. But as he looked over at her, he grew more worried. Her eyes were wide, and she was still as a stone.
"They... th-they..." She swallowed and started walking forward, straining her ears to hear them. He followed suit, growing more and more anxious with each hoofstep.
The shouting grew easier to hear. "...monsters! Don't forget they burned our homes! Killed our loved ones! And ate the bones of the ponyfolk they could have befriended! These... These demons still may walk among us! The war they brought... The destruction they caused! It went unpunished!" The leader of the hooded ponies spoke in a tone not unlike a preacher would use in a church. "We may have been able to destroy their home, but who's to say they didn't escape?! What pony could say they aren't shapeshifters?!"
"Lavender..." Skybolt whispered, glancing at her again.
"We're on the hunt for those creatures, to bring them to justice! We'll kill every last one of them! Even the Royal Pony Sisters!" the creepy stallion bellowed.
"Come on, let's get out of here..." The Pegasus draped a wing across her shoulders, and she blinked, breaking from her stupefied trance.
"The Pony Sisters? You mean the princesses?" a pony from the crowd called up to the stage.
"They raise the sun and moon for us!" another exclaimed.
"They're not evil like the rest of them!" And similar comments followed, showing the crowd's general disinterest with these newcomers. Ponies started leaving, and Skybolt took that as their sign to get out.
"We're leaving," he murmured to Lavender. She solemnly nodded, and they turned. As they started walking, he could tell that the mare's hoofsteps were hurried. She didn't want to be in town anymore. She wanted to hide herself away. He couldn't tell if it was from the comments that the... cult ponies had made, or if it was out of fear. He hadn't seen her so shocked in his entire life.
Soon enough, they were back at the cottage. It seemed too soon to Skybolt, but he was more than willing to get her away from those poines. He opened the door for her, and the Alicorn rushed inside faster than the time she had to rescue him from eating something poisonous. He followed calmly, and shut the door behind himself.
Her response was immediate. "Th-they found me. Oh, Divines, they found me... W-What are we going to do?! I-I've put you in danger, and they'll likely kill you too since you were with me, oh goodness--They're going to hang me, or burn me at the stake, and they'll probably do the same to you! Or they'll do some horrific magic on you--" as she spoke, she was magically removing her dress and corset, though it was was in such a hurry that she almost tore the garments, "--and brainwash you into thinking my kind really did all of those horrible things! I've never eaten a pony--"
"Springs."
"--or killed foals or fillies--"
"Springs!"
"--o-or burned anypony's homes. It wouldn't make any sense! Some of us weren't even involved in the war, and we're ponies too! Just because--"
"Lavender!" He suddenly wrapped his forelegs around her, pulling the frightened mare to his chest. It silenced her. "Everything will be okay! I'm here... I'm here." He could feel her body begin to shake, and was expecting the soft sniffles that followed. "I'm not going to let them hurt you. Everypony in town already hates their propaganda... They'll move on to the next village. We'll be okay, Springs..." He began to stroke her braided mane. "We'll be okay."
He felt a wet muzzle rub against his neck, as she nuzzled him for comfort. "Y-You... You p-promise?"
"I promise."
His response was met with silence, for several heartbeats... Then she started crying. Nothing stirred in the cold house, and there were no birds chirping outside. Everything was still, save for the frightened mare in his grasp. He opened his wings and wrapped them around her, as his grip around her frame grew tighter. Her sniffles turned into sobs and her wings unfurled to slump onto the floor. Everything they'd ever known could be at risk.
Skybolt knew that. He knew that she'd built this life for him when he needed her most, and now somepony else could take that away from them. He hadn't weighted it before, but those Unicorns... They could easily kill her. They could both be killed, because of what Lavender was. A stranger in a land that wasn't hers... He rested his chin on the top of her head, her horn resting against his cheek, as he mumbled soft words of promised safety to her. He tried not to think about what could happen, but rather thought of what he would cause to happen. He knew he could keep her safe. And that's exactly what he would do. Even if she thought she was stronger than he was, or she thought that she had to protect him for some reason, he knew in his heart that he'd stand ground against anything for her sake. He murmured that to her, as well. Hopefully, she believed him.
It took several minutes of muffled sobbing and shivering on her end, until she started calming down. He wiped away her tears, and felt waves of relief each time she looked up at him with a little more hope in her eyes. He brushed bits of her mane out of her face several times, and that seemed to calm her as well. Soon enough, he opened up his wings so she could stretch. She seemed to feel better. He was surprised when she thanked him for it. She thanked him for everything, and offered a soft smile.
They were okay, until Skybolt traveled back into town on his own later on in the day. He wasn't afraid to scope things out, and he trusted her to be able to hide in their home until he returned. He didn't think she was even going to leave her bedroom. He'd brought Bits with him, as well as saddlebags; He didn't want to return empty-hooved, especially if they needed food. The first thing that he noticed upon entering the town square was that the stage still remained in the center. He found that odd, considering the fact that the crowd had so quickly abandoned the ideals of the cultists. The second thing that he noticed was that the two hooded ponies were sitting in front of it, unmoving. The dark forms just... sat there. He tried not to eye them too much, but he couldn't shake the creeping feeling on the back of his neck. Their leader was not with them.
He then proceeded to shop around the market. He was trying to move calmly, and he was really trying to find the strange Unicorn for safety of mind. He stopped in one of Lavender's favorite book stores, and only found the normal setting. The same went for the other stores and vendor's booths. Everypony was delighted to see him, as he and Springs were regulars. A few of them mentioned the odd cult ponies, and asked what his opinion on them was. He gave them all the same general answer: any pony in a creepy hood warded him away. There was more to it than that, but nopony asked further questions. He made sure to purchase a little something from each booth and store he visited, so as to seem as innocent as possible.
None of them suspect her to be an Alicorn... Heh, only the book store owner asked about her. I'm not sure why she's so worried... She's really not in danger. We've kept up a good cover, all these years... At least, that's what he thought. He turned the corner past one of the booths, and finally saw the pony he wanted to find, several strides away. The strange stallion was talking in a hushed tone to one of the townsfolk, who looked like she just wanted to run home. Skybolt could barely hear anything, and backed out of view before either of them could see him, but he did hear snippets of their conversation.
"...anypony tall? Irregularly tall...? What about... strange aura...? ...keeps to themself? Oh! You're no help!"
That final bit was exclaimed a little loudly, and Skybolt took that as his cue to leave. He promptly walked around the other side of the store, and was off. He didn't gallop away, but he was more than relieved that the pony wasn't anywhere near Lavender.
By the time he walked on the dirt path to their front door, the sun was getting close to setting. He wasn't really tired, but constantly being on the tips of his hooves in caution was wearing down on him. He entered the home quietly, and shut the door behind him with a soft thunk. He began to set down his saddlebags.
"Springs? I'm home!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Alicorn raced into the room, throwing her forelegs around his neck. The pair nearly fell to the floor, if he hadn't seen it coming. He wrapped his forelegs around her in a hug, sitting his rump down so that they didn't fall over.
"D-Did they catch you? Are they following you? Did they see you? Is anypony dead?"
"Hold on, hold on..." He chuckled. Her manner of questioning him brought back familiarity, and that was a breath of fresh air. "No, no, no, and I don't think so... I saw the leader interrogating one of the mares I grew through school with."
"Oh, thank the Divines... W-Wait, do you think they could have gotten information out of somepony?" She stared up at him.
He put a hoof to his mouth in thought, and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "Mmm... I'm not sure." He looked back down at her. "I think we're safe. We don't have enemies here. You're a very kind mare, Springs, so I'm pretty sure the townsfolk would defend you. Though, the questions he asked--"
"We have to leave."
"--seemed to make sense... What?" He blinked, focusing on her. She was sitting in front of him with her front hooves on the ground, rigid as she stared at him. "Leave? I just said that we don't have anything to worry about... Come on, I think we'll be okay."
"They're Unicorns, Skybolt..." She swallowed hard as her expression turned into a mix of sadness and seriousness. "They sensed me, I could tell... The hooded ones were scouring through the crowd. Th-the leader was just speaking to distract everypony, but... I..." She teared up again. "I don't know how to mask my magic... So they could immediately tell that I have too much of it. They locked eyes with me..."
"Why didn't you mention it sooner...?"
"I thought... that if I sent you into town... and if they came here... They would spare you..." The tears stared rolling again, and he reached a hoof over to wipe them away.
"You..." He sighed as he pulled her close to his chest. "You're always so concerned for my well-being... Alright. We'll leave. But when?"
Her body relaxed. "Now."
"Now?!"
He felt her nod against his chest. "I... I already prepared saddlebags. We have to leave before the sun sets... That's when they'll come after me, for sure... They'll wake the village in the morning, with an Alicorn held hostage on that stage, so they can execute her... That's what their plan is. So..." She looked up at him once more. "You can stay, if it would--"
He lifted a hoof to her lips. He noticed her shiver slightly, but he spoke. "I'd go to the ends of Equestria if I had to." He smiled, and that led her to smile once he removed his hoof. She wiped away a stray tear or two, and cleared her throat.
"Then... we'll be off, as soon as you show me what you bought."