//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Escape // Story: Two Sides of the Same Coin // by LunarShadow //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Escape Broad nudged Clear Skies. “Broad can’t sleep and Night is making a mess of himself.” Clear Skies rubbed her bleary eyes and yawned as she sat up. “N-Night is doing what?” She looked around for the unicorn. “Well, as long as he pisses anywhere not close to where I’m sleeping.” Rolling over, she tried to wave away Broad and go back to sleep. “No, Night is puking.” Broad shook her harder. “He needs to see a doctor pony. We need to move on anyways.” Retching from the far end of the cavern caused Clear Skies’ ears to perk up. She bolted up and looked towards the noise in disgust. “Oh... that’s just gross.” She wrinkled her nose and turned away. “H-hey, I’m the one puking here,” Silent Night mumbled as he stumbled over. “Protip: don’t eat anything that grows down here.” Clear Skies leapt back and stared in horror. “You what?” she shouted. “I would have expected you of all ponies to be smarter than that!” “I’m no botanist. Anyways...” He covered his mouth and doubled over in pain as he heaved. Broad immediately strode over and led Silent Night away from the campsite. In the privacy of some bushes, Broad patted Silent Night’s back. “Get it all out. Broad knows a little bit about plant poisons. The sooner it’s out, the better.” “And how do you know this?” groaned Silent Night. Broad grunted. “Unlike you, Broad’s sister learned about plants. She told Broad... before she died.” He thumped Silent Night’s back on last time and trotted back to the fire that had been built several hours earlier. Silent Night finished expunging the contents of his gut and turned to glare at Broad. “The plant looked like something I’d seen before in a field guide.” “Hey! Stop the arguing,” Clear Skies said with a sigh. “Broad’s right though. We need to get moving.” She stood up and stretched. Walking over to the fire, she kicked at it. “And if you can, put out your damned magical flames. It’s creepy.” Silent Night nodded and swished his head. His flame glowed brightly for a second before disappearing into his horn. “I’ll take point.” When Silent Night tried to argue, she cut him off and said, “No, you’re too sick to lead through the tunnels.” She turned to Broad and addressed him. “Broad, You got rear again. Make sure Night doesn’t fall or anything. I’ve already gotten too many ponies killed today... yesterday. Whenever that “peace talk” took place,” she growled, stomping her hoof at the same time. “Right. Broad will watch Pretty Pony.” Broad shouldered Silent Night and pushed him towards the only path out of the cavern. “Hey. That was rude,” Silent Night protested. The strain could be clearly heard in his voice. Clear Skies rolled her eyes and started walking. “Shut it, Night. You and Broad can fight to your hearts content when we get back to New Haven." For a few minutes, they walked in silence. The path led down a bit further before turning to the left. After that, they trudged uphill. To either side of them, side passages would branch off, and in the soft glow of the fungus, they could see that the paths quickly led to dead ends or sloped down. Finally, Clear Skies looked back and broke the eerie quiet. “Night, I thought you said the sewage led to a river.” Silent Night shook his head. “I said it probably did. That basin was deep. If I were to make a second guess, I’d say that there’s a network of caves under that small lake that lead to the Moonshine River.” Broad chimed in, “Broad agrees. Pretty pony may not not his plants, but he knows his terrain.” Silent Night nodded. “Yeah, it helps to know this sort of stuff when you’re a spy. If I were sneaking in I might use those passages to get into the city without anypony being the wiser.” He shrugged and fell silent. “Well, I got good news, guys,” cheered Clear Skies. “I can see exit.” She pointed to the mouth of the cave. Moonlight streamed through, and a chill wind accompanied it. Broad’s ears perked up. He grabbed Silent Night in a bear hug and said, “You hear that? Broad can almost smell home. A nice bed and food!” Laughing, he dropped the spy and galloped out of the cave, falling into the grass and rolling around. “Bleh, don’t even mention eating,” Silent Night groaned and lay where he had been dropped. After a few seconds, he rolled over rose to his hooves. “Though, that bed sounds nice right about now. Hay, even that grass looks comfortable. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to empty the rest of my stomach.” He stumbled back into the cave and doubled over in pain. Clear Skies wrinkled her nose and gingerly patted Silent Night’s back before joining Broad outside the cave. She turned back and shouted, “As soon as you’re done taking care of business, we’ll get a move on. It looks like we’re five or six miles east of Luna’s Hope.” She gestured in the direction of the city whose walls could be seen in the distance. Leaning back against the cave entrance, she sighed wearily. Great, five miles of open plain between us and the enemy capital. We’re sitting ducks unless we can get to that forest about a mile north of us. She pushed off the wall and beckoned to Broad as Silent Night shuffled out. And from there, it’s about one day’s hard gallop home. “Right, we move now. We can sleep once we get into the forest and out-of-sight from the enemy.” Clear Skies took off at a gallop, a hard, determined look in her eyes.” Broad and Silent Night caught up quickly. The grasslands quickly melted away to rocky, flatlands as they ran. They jumped over crevices and darted between rocks. Then, they once again found themselves running across open land. Finally, after ten minutes of a hard gallop, they reached the edge of the forest. Exhausted, they slowed to a trot, and then to a halt. Leaning against a tree, Clear Skies chuckled. “Well, that was fun. Look at us.” She glanced down at herself. “Sweaty, dusty, ragged. My coat is matted down or sticking out in places. We look like we just came from a dung hole.” Broad joined in the laughing. “Ha! We did just come from sewers.” He wiped his forehead and slid down the tree, coming to a rest on the ground. He closed his eyes and took a big sniff of the grass. “But right now, Broad wants to sleep.” “Go ahead, take a rest. We’ll push for home in three hours.” Clear Skies grinned and shook her head. “You too, Ni... Night? Night!” she screamed, galloping over to the unicorn. Silent Night had doubled over, his face turning an ashen hue. He leaned against a tree, gasping for breath. A second later, he collapsed and lay unmoving. Clear Skies dropped to her knees beside him and leaned close. His breathing came shallow and a his pulse was far and few between. “Broad, change of plans. We move now!” She nudged him until she was under him and could lift. “You’re carrying him, I’ll take point.” When Silent Night had been securely placed on Broad’s back, they took off at a brisk trot into the woods. I may have failed already, but I’ll get these two home no matter the cost. I’m captain, they’re my responsibility. As my father always said, “When one is placed in a position of power, they receive a gift, both a blessing and a curse. That gift is the lives of other ponies.”  ---         Clear Skies looked up at her father. “So? Gifts are nice to play with.”         Her father shook his head and smiled sadly. “Yes, they are nice. But like all gifts, they should be treated with utmost care. They were never yours to begin with and with this gift, somewhere out there is a pony that will not hesitate to take back what is hers if you are not careful.”         “But what about the war?” Clear Skies look curiously at her father. “You’re a colonel. Doesn’t that mean you play with other ponies everyday?”         “Sometimes, I think you’re too smart for your own good,” sighed her father. He looked away sat there silently. Suddenly, he spoke again, startling Clear Skies. “There are two types of ponies in war. Those who go in looking to sate their unquenchable bloodlust and those who are there not because they want to, but because it’s their duty. “The first type will go into a village and massacre every pony in sight merely because they’re the enemy. The second type will strategically take the town, trying to save as many ponies as he or she can.”         Clear Skies frowned. “And those are the only types? One seems quick and brutal and the other seems slow and painful. A war could last a long time.”         “Well, those are the two extremes, I guess. Most ponies fall somewhere in between.” Her father patted her back before whirling around. He marched back towards the house, beckoning for Clear Skies to follow. “Come on, bedtime. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner your thirteenth birthday will arrive tomorrow.”         Clear Skies cheered, a wide grin on her face. She bounced around her father excitedly. “Okay! And then you’ll start teaching me to use a sword, right?”         “Yeah, I promised, didn’t I?”         “Yay!” ---         “Captain!”         Clear Skies shook her head and looked back questioningly at Broad. “Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts. What’s up?”         “Something big’s been following us for the last mile or so.” Broad adjusted to accommodate Silent Night. “Broad doesn’t think it’s a p—”         “Look out!” cried Clear Skies. She shoved Broad with all her might and then rolled forward just as a large yellow blur flew over her head. Jumping back up out her roll, she whirled around to face the thread, one of her blades drawn.         In front of her, turning around, stood a manticore. It looked at the ponies hungrily. Growling deep in its throat, it prepared to lunge again. When it did, Clear Skies was ready.         Waiting until the last possible second, she lashed out, striking the manticore with the tip of her sword. “Run! Get Silent Night to safety!”         “Wait, you need to tell Broad the information, or it’s lost with you,” Broad shouted while he picked Silent Night back up.         Clear Skies positioned herself in between the manticore and her companions. “The Lunar army, they’re planning to attack Fort Ironhoof. They’re going to cut down all their own forts down to the bare minimum troops required to defend the river.” She ducked again, the manticore’s barbed tail missing her by centimeters. She could feel it pass over her. “Now go!”         A loud crash echoed through the clearing, causing Clear Skies to look over briefly. The manticore took that second and swung its tail hard and low. It struck Clear Skies, sending her flying. She cried out in pain as a blinding white light shot across her vision. Bracing herself, she prepared for the worst.         The forest clearing seemed to swim in her vision. The manticore trodded up, she could almost see it smiling victoriously. Well, at least I died fighting. At least I was able to buy some time for—         A white mass slammed into the manticore, knocking it over. The sudden help sparked Clear Skies’ will to fight again. She struggled to rise, but toppled against the tree. Crying out as pain shot through her entire body. When she looked down, she saw a pool of blood on the forest floor. Her vision grew wobbly and she leaned back to prevent herself from collapsing.         Her breath came in short quick gasps and she felt light headed. Looking back to the fight, she noticed that it was Broad that had tackled the manticore. They were currently struggling to get the advantage. She wished she could help, so she felt around the ground for her blade.         “Broad!” she croaked. Bending over, she gingerly picked up her sword and then tossed it with her remaining strength. It flew through the air, glinting in the moonlight.         Broad looked just as it reached the apex of the toss. He deftly caught it from the air and slammed the slim sword down into the gut of the manticore as it scratched him across the back with its paw. Both stopped struggling and lay there as if dead. For a second, Clear Skies feared they really were gone. Then, Broad twitched. A second later he wormed his way out from under the manticore’s paw. He trotted over to Clear Skies and bent down. “Broad never leaves a friend when he can help. Now we go put you with Silent Night before you bleed to death.” The last thing she saw was Broad picking her up. There was a burst of pain and she blacked out. ---         “You’ve had that blade for five years now, correct?”         Clear Skies nodded and jumped into the air, bringing herself to a hover. She slowly swung the dual blades through the much practiced technique. Suddenly, she lashed out, striking the target dummy.         “They say that you’re as good as me,” Her father chuckled.         “I know and I bet I could best you in a mock fight.” Clear Skies grinned, and looked at her father with determination. “Let’s duel right now.”         Shaking his head, her father turned around and walked out of the training room. “I’m afraid not. I’ve got prior engagements that I need to go tend to.”         Clear Skies dropped her blades and ran to catch up. “Oh... maybe next time. But before you go, I do want to tell you the good news.”         “Oh?” Her raised an eyebrow.         “For my eighteenth birthday, I’m joining the army!” She grinned proudly. “And I’m sure that I can get any unit I want because of you!”         Her father stopped and looked at her with surprise. “Which side?”         “What do you mean, which side? There’s only one army... unless you mean joining the gryphons, which I would never do.” Her smile faltered and she looked at her father with concern.         “This changes everything,” he mumbled, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He looked up at her, frowning. “It’s getting late. Go to your room and I’ll talk to you after this meeting I have to go to.”         Clear Skies sighed in disappointment. “Right, I’ll see you in a few hours then.” She turned up the nearest staircase and headed to her room. In the privacy of her chambers, she pulled out a map and looked at it closely. Along with the map, she brought out a list of infantry divisions.         Now, which unit did my friends say they were assigned to?          She studied the map well into the night while she waited for her father. Finally, she resigned herself to sleep.         Perhaps the meeting went on longer than he though. Maybe he thinks I’m already asleep.          He disappeared that night. The night that marked the beginning of the Equestrian Civil War. ---         Her eyes shot open and she bolted up, panting and sweating profusely. As she regained control of her breathing, she realized that she was in another clearing. Looking around, she found Broad laying down a few yards away beside a small fire. Alongside him, Silent Night slept peacefully. His face no longer looked ashen gray under the firelight, but he looked to be in a bad condition still.         Clear Skies prodded Broad. “Hey.”  She kept prodding him until he grumbled and sat up.         “What do you want with Broad?” he groaned at her. “Broad was sleeping well.”         Shuffling her hooves, she looked away. “Sorry, I... uh... wanted to say thanks for coming back for me. I would have been a goner if you hadn’t.”         “No problem and thanks for tossing Broad your sword,” Broad mumbled as he lay back down and closed his eyes. “Broad would have been a goner too if you hadn’t.”         Clear Skies prodded broad again. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, where is your giant broadsword? You carry that thing with you everywhere, but you didn’t have it back at the peace talks and you didn’t have it when we entered the sewers.” She looked around the clearing. “And speaking of which, where’s my blade?”         Broad replied, “When we were first briefed on this task, Broad was told to leave it behind. Too threatening for peace talks. They were afraid that the Lunar ambassador’s would be less likely to be friendly if we had visible weapons. As for your blade, it’s in your pack over there.” He gestured over at a tree. At the base lay her packs along with some stacked wood, broken branches and such.         Clear Skies limped over to the tree and dug around in her pack. Her face fell as she pulled out the hilt of her sword. It had shattered close to the base, its jagged edge glinting dangerously in the moonlight. Tossing it aside, she reached in again. This time, she came away with the other half of the blade.         She tossed it over by the hilt and sat down in shock.         Broad trotted over and shrugged sadly at her. He gently picked her up, placing her on his back. He walked over to the fire and deposited her by Silent Night.         Wincing, she said, “Careful, I think I bruised myself pretty badly fighting the manticore.”         “You did. You also shattered your left wing. Broad managed to straighten the bone with a splint and bandage it. If we get to a magic doctor soon, they should be able to fix it.” Broad put his head in his forehooves and fell silent, trying to fall back asleep.         Clear Skies looked over to her wing in surprise. “What do you mean it’s shattered? If it had been broken only a few hours ago, I should be writhing in pain right now.” Turning back to Broad, she questioned him. “Unless it’s been more than a few hours.”         “Three days,” He gruffly responded. “Broad managed to carry you two the whole time. We’ll be at the fort in in a few hours after we break camp.”         “What?” Clear Skies cried, staring at Broad in horror. “It’s been three days?” When he nodded, she continued. “That can’t be right. It just can’t be.”         “Why can’t it?”         She sputtered, trying to find a good reason. Finally, she gave up and lay down. “Fine, we’ll break camp in two hours and make the fort by...” She glanced up at the sky. The moon was close to half way to the horizon, heading west. “... By dinner time, if I’m correct.”         As she tried to fall asleep, she noticed that Silent Night shivering. Looking around to make sure nopony was watching, she extended her good wing and draped it over him.         Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that other ponies can feel a cold wind, unlike pegasus. ---         “Captain, Broad needs you to move your wing so he can pick up Night.”         Clear Skies jerked awake and looked blearily around the clearing. The fire had been stomped out. Broad stood over her wearing both her packs. Looking beside her, she found that her wing still covered Silent Night and he had moved closer to her. She jumped back, folding her wing to her side at the same time.         “S-sorry. You’re right, though. We should go now. I’ll take my saddlebags and we can leave.” She removed the packs off of Broad’s back onto her own. While she waited for him to pick up Silent Night, she got bearing of her directions. “This way.” She took off at a quick limp.         For the next four hours, they walked in complete silence. Clear Skies passed time remembering as many good times she had spent with her father.         The first time I shot a bullseye with the bow. He said something along the lines of, “I’m learning this with you. But I’ll always best you. No matter how much you improve, I’ll match it and then some.         When I asked about a lunar eclipse, he replied with, “I don’t know. Best guess is Princess Luna trying to prank her sister. That, or they’re arguing.”         I once asked about mother and he merely shrugged. When I asked again, he left the room and wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the day. I still wonder who my mother is. He only ever gave me one clue... on accident. He had been drinking that night and had caught me trying to sneak cookies. He said, “Your mother is high-class. She wouldn’t approve of an action like this.”         Clear Skies shook her head when she realized that they were at the river. Looking across, she could see the fort. One of many that dotted the river, preventing crossing from anywhere by either side. But there something seemed off.         “To arms! Enemy emerging from the forest!”         Her face blanched, and she gasped. “Run, Broad! Get out of here! Warn the Princess or whoever you find with any authority that the Lunar Army has taken the river!”         Just before he took off, Broad dropped Silent Night beside Clear Skies. “Night stands a better chance in that fort than on the run with me. They might take care of him. But Broad will go. Broad will bring help.” He took off at a gallop and quickly distanced himself from the fort.         Some of the faster Lunar soldiers managed to swim across the river and give chase, but Broad viciously threw them to the ground, making sure to kill them. Before any archers could even loose an arrow, he disappeared back into the forest.         The rest of the garrison poured out and swam across the river. They surrounded Clear Skies, who didn’t even try to draw her remaining blade, but rather stood guard over Silent Night, growling threateningly.         “Fine, take me captive, but this soldier needs care. I’ll only go quietly if you agree to try and help him.” She nodded at the prone form of Silent Night.         A soldier, presumably the leader, stepped forward and glared at Clear Skies. “Why? You two have no rights.”         “I am Captain Clear Skies of the Sunseekers. That’s rank enough to earn my rights,” she snarled. “Now get my companion to a doctor or I’ll make sure you’re stripped of command.”         The leader nodded to a pony behind him. “Tell the General we have a pony of interest and we’ll have her transferred back to the castle for interrogation.” He turned back to Clear Skies and said, “Very well, I misjudged you. We will comply with your request, but only because you have... connections.”         The troops surrounding her closed in. A pony bound her legs and roughly shoved her forward. As she walked, she looked back at the spot of the forest where Broad had disappeared. Another push and she stumbled. She regained her balance and glared at the offending pony.         Wherever you are, Broad, I wish you luck. May Celestia be with you.