Night fell over the outpost almost unnoticed. After the attack the day before and the clean-up that followed, no one had the energy or attention to spare for what was likely a breathtaking sunset.
Polly climbed the steps to the top of the outer wall, weariness evident in each heavy step. Her hooves sounded dull and tired against the worn stone as she reached the lookout, shaking her mane free of the tight coils she kept it in.
Yume, rested and fed, stood near the parapet. Polly joined her in silence, watching the last of the light fade and the stars wink into sight. Like everypony in Survivor's Gorge, they'd known each other since they were fillies still hidden in the safety of the main compound.
The silence stretched for several comfortable minutes before Yume broke it, sighing. “I messed up,” she said. “I should have known the griffins would be waiting for the harvest.”
“Yes, you should have,” Polly agreed. “And you will know next time. Beating yourself up over the past won't change anything.”
“No one else will punish me for it,” Yume said, tapping her good forehoof against the floor thoughtfully. It was a nervous habit of hers, one she kept reminding herself to try and break. “I should be deposed and sent back to the compound in disgrace.”
“Don't talk like that,” Polly said soothingly, bumping her shoulder against Yume's. “Who would replace you? Shadowheart? Or, Great Mountain Wind- Hopper?”
Yume laughed before she could stop herself, shaking her head. “Stone Spirits defend us then!” she exclaimed, feeling better. “Thanks, Polly.”
“Any time, old friend.”
~*~
Shadowheart slid under the back wall of the outpost with the ease of long practice at it, waiting for the patrol to pass by him before squirming out of the bush hiding the outside end of the tunnel and trotting as quickly as he dared across the stretch of open space to the tumbled boulders that marked the edge of the treeline. Only moss and scrubs grew on the mountainside above that line, where the air was too thin and the soil too poor to sustain anything larger or more delicate. He was black from hoof to jagged horn, a broken unicorn-shaped shadow as he picked his way carefully through the natural maze.
His goal was well-hidden, a low tunnel that led to a small cave barely high enough to stand, at most four pony-lengths across. He concentrated, ignoring the sharp pain in his head that always accompanied magic, and lit a small candle stub, setting it in the middle of the pocket cave.
The back wall of the cave was dominated by a large rock about as thick as Shadowheart's foreleg, polished smooth by time and patient attention. He climbed onto it and lied in the center, curling protectively around his treasure. The warming spell on the stone was beginning to fade; he'd gotten there almost too late. The egg was only half his size and a pale, slightly mottled brown. Keeping it alive until it hatched was the only purpose to his life now. The griffins could never take the outpost. If they did, he wouldn't be able to protect the egg any longer.
The egg quivered, as if sensing the way his thoughts were leaning, and he nuzzled it soothingly.
“Shh, darling,” he whispered, laying his head down again. “Daddy's here. We'll be all right. You'll see.”
The egg pulsed slightly with a wavering aura of muted gold, then went still. Shadowheart closed his eyes to take an hour's nap. That was all he could spare if he wanted to return to the outpost before he was missed.
~*~
Hurricane's feathers were the same pale grays as the mountain- she blended in perfectly if she kept her head down and he legs tucked under her wings, just another worn rock in a forsaken pile of rocks. As long as no ponies landed on her back, she could spy undiscovered for days.
She'd seen the dark little pony sneak out and trailed him to his destination. The tunnel was too small for a grown griffin, even a female like Hurricane, to squeeze through, so she'd settled down to wait. She recognized this one. Didn't know his name, but he was the filthy little beast who didn't know when to lie down and die like a good meal. Chief Red Tail had brought back his horn as a souvenir after the pony had killed his mate Sun Hawk. Red Tail would reward anyone who brought him the rest of the pony.
Hurricane managed not to clack her beak in anticipation of what she could win for one worthless pony; feasting, her choice of the Chief's sons to mate with, rare and precious treasures... hellfires, if she played everything right, she might become Chief herself someday!
The faint scrape of hoof on stone broke through Hurricane's daydreams. She held herself completely still, eyes wide and searching for any sign of movement, especially around the tunnel.
No, curse it, the sound had come from further away. A winged pony landing to rest. Too close, ponies be damned- she might not be able to hold the winged one at bay while she stole her prize! She could of screeched her frustration to the uncaring skies, if only it wouldn't give away her position!
Another hoofstep, and Hurricane redoubled her internal litany of scathing oaths as the object of her plan stepped out at just the worst moment.
“Shadowheart? What are you doing out here? Yume's going to be mad you snuck out.”
'Shadowheart' turned, sighing. “Heavensent,” he said, his voice strained and tired. “Please, forget you saw me.”
“Tell me what you were doing,” Heavensent said, jumping down beside Shadowheart. “This isn't a patrol area,” she tried to step into the tunnel, but Shadowheart stepped in the way.
“Forget it, Heavensent. Go back to your patrol patterns.”
Hurricane's frustration mounted, watching the two dance around each other. Not a care in the world, either one of them. To think such a weak little thing had killed Sun Hawk! She should kill them both now!
She moved without meaning to, leaping down on the pair with a harsh, reverberating war cry. The one called Heavensent jumped back, wings flaring, and managed to avoid the irate griffin, but Shadowheart wasn't so lucky- Hurricane felt her claws close on flesh, biting into his haunch and shoulder and binding tightly. She winged upward on instinct, lifting him off the ground, and kicked a hind foot at Heavensent.
The swipe was a lucky one, catching Heavensent's wing and sending her tumbling back into the mountain's embrace. Shadowheart was heavy, despite being only half Hurricane's size, and she struggled toward the currents home. She had her prize now, and she'd best be gone before the rest of the ponies could catch her.
She found a warm updraft and slipped into it, laughing as it shot her higher and northward. Red Tail was going to reward her very, very handsomely for this.
~*~
Everyone in the outpost knew a griffin's cry when they heard it. The sound was an alarm, sending everyone scrambling to defend what was left of the outpost. Sleepers shot to their feet from their makeshift beds, and those wounded who could still fight prepared to do so. Those on watch readied whatever weapon they favored and scanned the skies.
Polly took to the skies, flying in a tight circle until she spotted a lone flier the wrong shape to be a pony. “Griffin, heading north!” she called, streaking off after it. Other fliers joined her on the chase, but the interloper had too much of a head start- it quickly disappeared over the horizon, and Polly forced herself to stop. It could be a trap, to leave the outpost without a defense in the sky.
As she turned, a patch of white and blue on the ground caught her eye. She focused in on it, streaking into a steep dive as soon as she realized it was a fellow pegasus.
Heavensent, her white mane and tail full of dirt and rock dust, was just struggling to her feet as Polly landed. She held her right wing awkwardly, as if it were injured, and her expression was panicked.
“Shadowheart,” she gasped out, her forelegs buckling under her and dumping her on the ground again. “The thing took Shadowheart, took him alive- they never take us alive, why would it do that?”
Polly shivered in a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the mountain winds, staring northward. “I don't know,” she said quietly. “But Scars needs to know.”
Starchaser, who'd jumped from her bed not two minutes before, nodded. “Griffin taking Shadowheart north,” she repeated, launching herself into the sky once more. Uninjured, with no burden to weigh her down, she could make the main compound in a matter of hours.
Polly wished she could say with certainly that Shadowheart had that long.
-to be continued-
All y'all can blame Dr. Sparkle for the cliffhanger. It was their idea to add some.