CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
WHISPERS
She was here, so close that he could hear her breathing, smell her scent. In his mind’s eye, Rush could see her watching him, her eyes so large and bright, that smile warming his heart as she spoke his name.
“Rush, can you hear me?”
He sat up, leaning against the door to the store room. He was so close to her, mere inches that may as well have been miles. “I can. Are you alright, Tia? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
“No. I spoke to the village elder, Huro. He seems an honourable man.”
Rush snorted. “Is he going to let us go?”
Celestia’s voice drifted back, muffled by the wall separating them. “I don’t think so, Rush. I can only hope he will change his mind.”
Rush felt the light of hope beginning to fade. “They’ll be waiting for the lord’s men to arrive and ‘deal’ with us. The cowardly rats will let them stain their hands rather than doing it themselves.”
Celestia’s voice quavered. “Do… Do you think they mean to kill us?”
“Oh! No, Tia, I’m sorry!” Rush leaned his head against the wall, furious with his ill-conceived words. “I’m just being melancholy as usual. Ignore me.”
There was a pause before she spoke. “Rush… I… I can’t feel my magic any more. It was Cray… He did something to me, made me breath a powder of some sort. If only I had my magic, I could have simply teleported us out of here, but now…”
Cray? That stinking vermin. If only he could get a hold of that rat, he’d squeeze the life out him. Rush gritted his teeth. Was there some way they could get out of here? Escape?
Celestia’s voice sounded heavy with resignation. “Rush, I’m afraid… for my home, and for you.”
Her words were like an arrow into Rush’s heart. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything was going to be alright, but he couldn’t, could he? What possible good could he do either of them, locked up in here? He was helpless, and worse, he was losing hope. Tears stung his eyes as he did something for the first time in an age… he prayed.
Celestia could hear Rush speaking in a low voice and strained to hear the words. It was rude to listen in, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to be near somepony right now, to help ease her troubled heart. Her home was in trouble, and now both Rush and herself were also in danger. If something were to happen to her, what would happen to Equestria? There would be nopony there to help protect them against Nightmare Moon. And what about Rush? It was her fault he was here, and if anything happened to him...
She shook her mane and whinnied. If only she had her magic! Why had that human done this? What had he said again? ‘Lord Rend’? She had a flash of realisation. Rend was the young thestral the older one had warned them about.
Celestia silently raged at herself. Why hadn’t she listened to Thorn? If she hadn’t been so stubborn, if she’d used her head instead of her heart, they wouldn’t be in this mess! She should have charged those humans when they burst into the room, trampled and kicked them out of the way to get to Rush and teleport them away to safety. But… there wasn’t any, was there? Using that much magic would have drained her, leaving them both to wander as fugitives in the forest, in the depths of winter, and to injure or maybe even kill those people when they were only behaving like that because they were frightened…
“Tia?”
A hand reached out through the bars of the door beside hers. If she reached with her foreleg just so, she could… there. It was a little uncomfortable, but she could feel Rush’s warm hand. The contact, as meagre as it was, was enough to give her hope. Whilst the two of them lived, there was still that, magic or no.
“Tia, if… if the worst happens, I want you to know…”
Celestia squeezed her eyes closed, her heart beating hard in her chest. “Rush, I know. Please, this isn’t the time.”
“I know, it’s just…”
“Shhh, now, come on. It’ll be alright. I’m right here with you.”
Rush’s hand shook slightly. She could hear the resignation in his voice. He was as frightened as she was, although he’d never admit it. Rush had been bottling up years of emotions inside himself, and only with her arrival had he begun to explore them with her. It was a good thing—she knew herself how keeping such pain to yourself could fester and ferment, even turning loved ones into a darker parody of themselves.
“Tia? What do your people believe happens when they die?”
She was afraid of this. Asking this sort of question, he was slipping into despair.
“When we die, our souls travel to the land of the eternal herd, the home of the king and queen, my parents.”
“What’s it like there?”
She leaned against the wall, cold and hard against her back, trying to imagine Rush’s body leaning against hers. Celestia closed her eyes and turned her face up to the ceiling.
“It’s a land of perfect days. The skies are the purest blue, the grass is rich, green, and lush. The trees offer the most wonderfully cooling shade where you can rest peacefully beneath their boughs. The waters of the rivers and lakes are crystal clear and as sweet as the finest wine.” A tear ran down her face as she remembered… home.
“The corn fields were always my favourite. The golden stalks were so high! I would play through them as a foal, running and jumping, trying to flap my wings and fly. Luna would chase me round and round until we were completely exhausted. We would fall asleep on the hills overlooking the valley. I can remember how wonderful the warmth of the sun felt on my coat, with my sister curled up beside me as the birds sang us a gentle lullaby.”
Rush’s hand squeezed her hoof. “It sounds wonderful.”
“It is, Rush, it truly is.” She tapped his hand. “Now! No more moping, mister. Pick up those hooves and think positively!”
A strained laugh drifted through the wall. “Yes, ma’am!”