Chapter 2: The Captain
Captain Clear Skies hit the ground hard and rolled. She came to a stop in some bushes a few meters later. She laid there for a few seconds before one of her guards rushed over and helped her up.
“Captain, are you okay?”
Clear Skies didn’t respond right away. Instead she stretched out her left wing and examined the jagged tear where the bolt had passed through. She pulled a few feathers off and jammed them into the wound.
Finally, she turned to her fellow Sunseeker. “Yeah, as long as this field dressing holds, I’ll be fine until we get a safe distance away.. Now move!” She switched her saddle bag to pin the wing to her side, thus holding the feathers in. Then she picked a direction and took off at a steady gallop.
One of the survivors, a pegasus named Archer, pull up alongside her, already gasping for breath and said, “Shouldn’t we be heading for the main gate? You know... to try and get out before they know what’s going on?
Snorting, Clear Skies ignored the question and pulled ahead. “Come on! If we hurry, we can reach the sewers. It’s our only hope. They’ll have covered the other exits.”
The small group rounded the castle corner and nearly bowled over a pony noble and his wife. Both parties stood still for a second. One of Clear Skies’ troops moved to stab the two shocked civilians, but Clear Skies raised a hoof and shook her head. Nodding at the couple, the Sunseekers stepped around them and continued their flight from the castle.
Behind them, the stallion broke out of his trance and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Guards! Enemies heading south towards the Half Moon district!”
Clear Skies cursed, “Shoot! Move it, and be ready for anything!” She led the way, jumping through a hedge. She slowed to a halt as she waited for her remaining troops to also push their way through. When they had rejoined her, she started walking again, at a slower pace this time.
Surrounding them were a bunch of simple clay houses with straw roofs. Occasionally, they would pass by a cobblestone street leading to the main road.
Each pony looked around warily, suspicious of any movement. Without warning, a Lunar guard jumped from the second story of one of the houses. Several other guards joined him. Behind the Sunseekers, more soldiers charged out from a side street. They quickly fanned out, surrounding the small group, who now stood back to back.
“Go inform the General that we’ve found the traitors.” The leader gestured back at brown mare.
“Yessir!” she replied as she saluted and took off running back towards the palace.
Clear Skies glared at the enemy. “You won’t get away with this,” she snarled. “And we won’t go quietly if you try.” Slowly unsheathing one of her blades, she prepared for the worst. Then, one of her troops leaned close.
“Broad has a plan,” He whispered.
“Well? What is it? You’d better enact it soon, before they make their move,” Clear Skies whispered back.
Broad giggled and nodded slightly at one of the buildings. “House go boom.”
The leader of the Lunar Guards drew his sword and pointed at the group of Solar Empire ponies. “Kill them, but leave our dear friend, the captain, alive.”
“Now! Do it now!” Clear Skies screamed at Broad.
“Okay!” Broad lowered his shoulders and charged at one of the houses. He crashed through the wall, leaving behind a pile of clay and a dust cloud.
Ponies on both sides shielded their eyes from flying debris Clear Skies grabbed hold of the nearest Sunseeker and pushed her through the hole. “Go, go, go! stick to the side streets and make for the wall.”
An axe flew from the cloud of dust, burying itself in the ground next next to Clear Skies. She retaliated with a blind thrust, and her blade came away wet with blood. She ignored the scream of agony and jumped through the hole.
The impromptu door made by Broad lead into a bathroom. She charged through, paying no heed to the screaming mare sitting in the tub. Clear Skies ran out the door, slammed into the opposite wall and galloped down the hall into the kitchen. However, she found her way out blocked by gruff looking unicorn stallion with a chef’s knife.
“Hold, or I’ll be forced to kill you!”
“Not likely.” Clear Skies nimbly dodged a clumsy swing and kneed him in the chest, causing him to double over in pain. Snatching the knife as it fell from the air, she smacked him in between the eyes with the handle and he fell over, unconscious. “Lucky for you, I don’t kill civilians... unlike you mangy Lunar dogs."
She dropped the knife as she heard the enemy cursing from outside. “Even if I was as low life as you, I wouldn’t have the time.” Clear Skies galloped outside and down a side street, heading towards the wall.
---
A right, a left, another right, plus ten minutes of hard galloping found her panting as she leaned against the outermost wall. Looking around, she spotted two of her squad. They looked beat, and Broad sported a shallow cut across his side. The other pony, a unicorn called Silent Night, sat on the ground tugging an arrow from his shoulder.
“Guys? Where’s Archer?” Clear Skies trotted up, looking around for any telltale sign of the pegasus. She peered around some nearby bushes, hoping to find him quickly relieving himself while he waited for her to give the order to start moving again.
“Sorry, captain. He didn’t make it out with us. And if he did, he’s lost.” Silent Night gently patted Clear Skies on the shoulder before casting a spell over his arrow wound. It clotted up and he walked around a bit, testing it. He nodded in satisfaction and flexed the limb a few times.
Dammit! Clear Skies had to suppress a cry of frustration. Dammit, dammit, dammit! The one chance we have at ending this war and I botch it up. She slid leaned against the wall for balance and closed her eyes, trying to to cry.
“Broad thinks we should go now. Broad doesn’t like it here anymore.”
“You’re right. We can’t stand around and wait for a pony that is most likely dead.” Clear Skies wiped her eyes and sniffed. “If we follow this wall in either direction, we should get to the sewers leading out of the city. After that, we head back to the capital. I have some vital information for the Princess.
They took off at a quick pace, sticking to the sides of the houses that lined the wall. For a few minutes, they ran in silence.
Finally, Silent Night broke the peace. “You do? What’s the information?”
Clear Skies cried out happily as they rounded the corner and saw a grate covering the sewers. “Praise Celestia! I was beginning to think they only used those underground sewers. Broad, see if you dislodge the covering. It’s bound to come out with enough force.”
“With pleasure, Captain.” Broad pushed Silent Night out of the way and tried to grab hold of the metal bars. A few seconds later, he finally found purchase and tugged hard. But it wouldn’t budge. He tried again, straining his muscles. It shifted ever so slightly as he sat down panting. “Broad can do it, but it’ll take time. Three maybe four minutes.”
“And we don’t have that much time.” Clear Skies pointed at a guard that had rounded the corner.
The guard stood there in surprise for a second before shouting, “I’ve found them! Solar Empire soldiers escaping from the—”
Silent Night appeared from the shadows of the alley the guard had appeared from. He swiftly wrapped a hoof around the enemies mouth and drew a dagger across his throat. Shoving the bleeding corpse away, he trotted up to Broad and Clear Skies. “Hurry. I saw about a dozen or so Lunar Guards a few streets down turn towards us when that idiot started yelling.”
Broad shrugged and replied, “Broad will work as fast as he can.”
“Right, and we’ll hold off the guards while you can clear the sewers entrance.” Clear Skies readied a blade and crouched low.
If only I could hover, I could use both my blades. Much more helpful than a single sword. If only my balance were better, I could stand on my hind legs and fight. She looked left, then right for any sign of the approaching enemy.
An arrow suddenly whizzed past her head, leaving a small trail of blood across her cheek. She wiped the wound and looked to where it had come from, growling. Three archers were getting into position in the second story of house a few buildings down.
“Night, get up there and take care of those archers, or we’re dead ponies!”
“Sorry captain, I’m only good for short range teleports. I don’t know if I could—”
Clear Skies smacked him across the cheek, cutting him off. “Then try!” She watched him charge towards the house and disappear with a crack before turning to face the two guards that had rounded the corner.
They held their blades high, ready to chop off any unwary foe’s head. Unfortunately for them, Clear Skies wasn’t unwary. Her sword flashed in the moonlight, severing the horn of the unicorn. He fell to the ground whimpering.
The other guard faltered and quickly backed up. He thrust his blade forward, but Clear Skies sidestepped.
“Come on! Is that best you can do, Solar scum?” The guard charged again, but missed as Clear Skies ducked.
“No, it’s not. But it’s the best I need for you.” She swung her sword up into his gut. A torrent of blood followed her blade out and she grimaced.
Yet another pony dead by my hooves. If only I had never volunteered for this... I could be back home. I’d have a bed, food, safety. She sighed and looked towards the building the archers had been in. But that’s in the past now and we’ve chosen our sides.
Silent Night emerged from the window wiping a bloody dagger on a blanket. He nimbly hopped down, and with a crack disappeared only to reappear a second later on the ground. He walked over to her and said, “Forerunners. We have maybe a minute before the other seven or so guards... Look out!”
Clear Skies whirled around in time to see the unicorn she had hit earlier charge her, a small dagger clutched in his jaw, pointed straight at her. As she pulled her own sword out, she knew it was too late.
From their side, a large metal grate came from seemingly nowhere, striking the unicorn in the head and killing him. Both Silent Night and Clear Skies looked around in confusion.
“Broad is done now. We can leave the city,” Broad said as he walked over to the grate and picked it back up.
“Good, I’ll take point if you’ll take the rear.” Silent Night ducked down and wrinkled his nose as the smell of sewage assaulted the senses. He trotted in and looked around.. “It doesn’t lead directly out, it leads down. Probably to an underground river.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean you’ll take point? Captain always takes point.” Clear Skies frowned and pulled Silent Night back.
Silent Night shoved the hoof off and walked back into the sewer, shaking his head. “You said you have vital information. We cannot risk your life any more than we already have.”
Clear Skies moved to argue, but Broad grabbed her tail and pulled back. Dropping her tail he said, “He’s right. And we need to move. Broad can hear guards close by.”
“Fine, but replace that covering as best you can. It’ll go a long way to hiding where we went.” Clear Skies rolled her eyes, but followed Silent Night. Behind her, she could hear Broad grunting as he pulled the metal grate over the sewers. It slammed into place, blocking out more of the already limited moonlight.
---
For the next hour or so, they sloshed their way through the waters in silence. Each pony looked around nervously as if expecting Lunar soldiers to pop up ahead of them or to charge from behind.
As they descended, Clear Skies couldn’t help but notice that well the moonlight faded, it didn’t grow any darker thanks to a light green glow from low on the walls. Almost as if somepony wants us to escape. Finally, she broke the silence and asked, “Hey Night, you’re a unicorn. Perhaps you can tell us what this stuff on the walls is?”
Silent Night looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so just because I’m a unicorn, you automatically assume I’ll know all things magic related?”
Clear Skies grinned and shook her head. “Sorry, I just assumed that you actually had magic, you’d know a little more than an earth pony and a pegasus. I guess some of my father’s—”
“Some of your father’s prejudices rubbed off on you. I know, you tell us a thousand times when you accidently let something slip,” Silent Night chuckled. “But given how horrible your father was, you turned out damn fine.”
“Was?” Clear Skies looked at Silent Night quizzically. “You act like he’s dead or something.”
Broad cleared his throat. “He should be dead to you. He turned traitor at the beginning of this mess.”
“Turning traitor and being dead are two different things.” Clear Skies angrily retorted. “Anyways, he’s still my father. Now, I order you to drop the subject and talk about something else.” She thought for a few seconds before continuing. “How about this? We’ve only served together since I became captain two months ago. We know almost nothing about each other. You start, Night. How’d you end up with the Sunseekers?”
“Well...” Silent Night scratched the back of his head. “... With a name like mine, you get noticed quickly. Combine that with—”
“Tell Broad and Captain about your name. Tell us your real name.” Broad laughed uproariously and stomped his hoof. “It is a funny story!”
Silent Night grimaced and looked back ahead. “Right, my name is fake, but I’m not to that yet. As I was saying, Combine with my talent for hiding in the shadows, I was approached rather quickly by the general of the at the time. He transferred me from the Intelligence Agency to the Sunseekers as a spy. Been in the unit ever since.” He shrugged and fell silent.
“But what about your name? You said you were getting to it.” Clear Skies curiously looked at him.
“Long Mane!” Broad began laughing again. “It’s so funny that Broad has to stop and wait for the tears to stop.” He smacked a hoof against the wall and tried to regain control of himself.
Silent Night struggled to turn around in the narrow tunnel. When he was finally facing them, the blush was clearly seen in the glow of the strange magic. “It’s not funny! Both my parents were barbers and thought I would be following in their hoofsteps. When I discovered my cutie mark, a black cloak, while playing hide and seek with my brothers, I changed my name to reflect that.”
“It’s still funny!” Broad’s chest heaved and he wiped his eyes.
“Enough! What about your story? How did you become a Sunseeker, Broad?” Clear Skies said sternly. “And your name doesn’t sound too real either.”
The smile on Broad’s face disappeared, replaced with a serious expression. “It is Broad’s real name. Is short for Broad Shoulders. Born into a fighting family, always have fought.”
“I suppose that’s why you have a giant sword for a cutie mark.” Silent Night nodded towards Broad’s side. “It goes well with your white coat and red mane. But how about telling us how you got to be here with the rest of the Sunseekers.”
Broad shrugged and quietly said, “The army always needs strong ponies and good fighters. Broad is the best, so he was reassigned to march with the elite. Simple as that.”
“You realize you’ve stopped, Night. We need to keep moving.” Clear Skies poked Silent night and waited patiently for him to turn around and continue walking.
“Sorry, Captain. So, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You know what I mean.” Silent Night lightly kicked a rock with his hind leg and snorted.
Clear Skies rolled her eyes and replied, “Fine. In addition to some of my fathers bias against other ponies, I also got some of his knack for strategy. Not much, but enough to save my company at the Battle of Galloping Run. There were some Sunseeker scouts that had accompanied us during that march and they put in a good word for me when they made their reports later.”
“And Broad supposes you’re the best of friends now?” asked Broad.
“Were,” came the reply. “They’re dead... back at the castle.”
Each pony fell back into their own thoughts, continuing the march through the sewage. Clear Skies took the time to try and touch the glowing magic, to see if it would be extinguished or stay lit. To her surprise, when she rubbed her hoof along the rough cave wall, some of it came off.
She stared at it curiously. Sniffing it, a dank smell permeated her nostrils. Disgusted, she shook it off her hoof.
“Well, that mystery is solved. It’s fungus.”
Silent Night chortled. “Interesting. It’s been my life’s ambition to know about glowing plants.”
Clear Skies sighed. “Night... I can hear the sarcasm. I thought we already established that I don’t like it. Do it again and you’ll have a nice bruise to compliment that gray coat of yours.”
“Just don’t do anything to my mane. I got it to be the perfect shade of off-blue and I don’t want you messing that up.”
Rolling her eyes, Clear Skies was about to respond, but Broad beat her to it. “Broad thinks it’s silly to take care of your mane that much. You are a silly, pretty pony.”
“Shut it,” growled Silent Night. “For the last time, I’m not gay. I have a marefriend back home.”
“Cool it guys.” Clear Skies frowned both of them in turn. “Broad never challenged your sexuality.”
Silent Night stomped his hoof. “But he implied it!”
Clear Skies smacked Silent Night. “I said stop. It’s an order now. Anyways, I think I can see the end of this accursed tunnel.” She pointed at a break in the path. Sure enough, to their relief, the way opened up into a large cavern. Natural pillars sprouted from the ground and disappeared into the gloom far above them. A waterfall emptied into a basin right in front of them, and the pool looked deep. Mosses, the glowing fungus, and other plants adorned every rocks, giving the cave an exotic feel.
Broad took a step forward, gazing in wonder at the room.
“Whoa! Careful!” Clear Skies cry of warning was a second too late. Broad took another step and slipped on the moss beneath the water.
With a shout of surprise, he tumbled over the waterfall, landing with a large splash in the pool. He resurfaced a second later grinning broadly. “Hah! Is fun. Jump in. The water is nice and cold!” He paddled to shore where he lay in contentment.
Silent Night turned to Clear Skies and shrugged. “It looks to be only eight or so meters. And if an earth pony as big as Broad can jump in, so can we. It’s not like we’re carrying any supplies anyways. Well... except for the rations and first aid kit your brought in your saddlebag.” Without another thought, he turned and jumped into the water. He resurfaced a few seconds later. “Come on in!” he called.
With one last nervous glance around, Clear Skies jumped. The water engulfed her, soothing her aches and pains. A burst of bubbles escaped her lips as she grinned and then laughed. She quickly pulled herself to the surface and joined her companions on the rocky edge.
“Alright guys, I don’t know if I can leave here after that. That was amazing!” Clear Skies rolled over and rested her head on a carpet of lichen. “We’ll camp here tonight. I’m going to properly take care of that arrow wound while you guys eat.” She took out the first aid kit and tossed the rest of her pack to the two ponies. They immediately began arguing about who got what.
This war will tear us all apart eventually. It’s already torn me apart.