The Veins Run Deep

by Thunderblast

Split Apart

"Please, Midnight, sweetie... he's coming home!"

Skywatcher hugged Midnight tightly, as she sobbed into his chest as he held her. It was an unusual sight, but Skywatcher was shedding tears of his own.

"S-Sky...the sun went down twenty minutes ago, his class returned over five hours ago!" Midnight whimpered and trembled.

"I know dear, but...he's a strong colt. He'll come home!" Sky smiled lightly, hoping to calm Midnight, though it was evident that he was on the verge of breaking down.

"Sky..." Midnight sniffled, "You aren't a very good liar."

Skywatcher's heart sank, his wife was right. He was never good at holding back emotions, despite being one of the toughest stallions in their colony.

"Oh, Midnight," Skywatcher hugged his wife tighter, slowly beginning to cry in synchronization with Midnight. The two were scared for their son's life. There was now no denying he was lost out in the open world, somewhere in the valley below their colony city.

---

Bloodvein panted as he jogged down a path, slowly but surely approaching a mountain he hoped and prayed was his home. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"Stupid..." He coughed, "forest..." He then continued jogging his way towards the towering snow-capped mountain.

As he jogged, he then heard the flapping of wings, which caused his ears to perk up and his hooves to freeze. The grey colt slowly looked back at his wings, which were stuck tightly to his sides; it wasn't his wings making the sound. Where was it coming from? After a minute, he shrugged it off and continued on his way towards the mountain. Moments later, the flapping came back, and once again he stopped.

"Okay..." He panted a bit, "Who's making that sound?!"

Blood looked around, catching his breath completely as he did so. He then noticed a dark spec slowly moving towards him down the same path he was on. As it came closer, it became clear it was something he wanted to leave behind.

"Gawwk!" The creature, the same bald eagle he ran into earlier that day, squawked and flapped his wings.

Blood rolled his eyes. "No, bad eagle! Stop following me, my parents won't let me keep you!" He walked up to the bird, which squawked some more. Blood sighed in a frustrated tone. "You CAN'T come with me!"

The eagle's head buried into it's own feathers in fear, and it squawked in a less-happy tone. Blood sighed and looked down.

"I-I can't take you home...if I do my parents will kill me!" Blood reached a hoof forward and pet the small eagle, which continued to squawk sadly. Bloodvein felt bad hearing the eagle squawk like that, before sitting in front of him. "Fine, you can come with. But, please don't fly around the house destroying things when we get there, alright?"

The eagle squawked in understanding and flapped his wings, briefly flying up and landing on the colt's back and perching on his left wing. Blood giggled a bit and began trotting the path back to the mountain. It was another long walk up the slope, which lucky for the colt and the eagle was the path Blood walked down earlier, before he was separated from the group of students.

---

"Listen to me, all of you...if you see a pegasus colt, grey like myself, with a mane that looks like he is a fast flyer with a scheme similar to mine, bring him to me. Please," Skywatcher spoke to a group of five Legion soldiers, who saluted moments after he stopped talking.

"Yes sir!" The five stallions said in synchronization, before trotting off to look for the missing colt.

Sky sniffled and wiped his muzzle with a hoof as he watched the stallions walk off, as well as looking further down the cave and towards the busy part of town where a fourth of the colony were out doing things, such as shopping, eating, or even playing.

"Where are you son..." He shed a tear, once again a rare sight to see with Skywatcher.

---

After another twenty-three minutes, Bloodvein finally reached the the top of the steep path, panting even more as his little hooves gave out underneath him. The eagle squawked at him and flapped it's little wings and dancing some, still perched on the colt's wing.

"Oh be quiet," Blood panted still. "You weren't the one who just walked up a thousand-foot winding path!"

The eagle puffed it's chest out and squawked more, turning it's head and looking over at a lit hole in the side of the mountain.

Blood gasped. "The cave! We're home!" He stood quickly and galloped towards it. He slid to a stop suddenly when a large bat stallion in Legion armor landed in front of him. Bloodvein glanced up at the tall stallion, who stared back in some shock.

"Bloodvein! Guys, I found him!"

---

Skywatcher laid in bed, staring at the ceiling as if it were a snake just moments away from biting him. His deep blue eyes remained at the size of golf balls, not moving one hair away from what they were locked on. Millions of thoughts raced through his mind as he laid calmly on the bed in the cold, dark room.

Never in his life had he ever broken down like he did an hour ago, nor did he break down at all since he joined the legion so long ago. The pain he felt in his chest was a billion times worse than the pain he felt when he first went through physical training, which before he thought was the worst time of his life. He now stood corrected; getting word that his son is lost on a field trip was the worst day of his life.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door downstairs. The stallion snapped out of his trance of thought, and hopped off the bed and flew downstairs. He braced himself for bad news if there was any, and took a deep breath. Sky opened the door and was greeted with another legion soldier.

"Sir," the soldier saluted.

"At ease," Skywatcher motioned his hoof. "Any news?"

The soldier moved to the side, looking down. Skywatcher gasped and his eyes widened.

"Dad!" The colt behind the soldier jumped at his father, who caught him in his hooves.

"B-Blood!" Skywatcher teared up, hugging the colt tightly. "I-I thought I lost you!"

Bloodvein cried for joy as he hugged his father's chest. "I th-thought I would never see you again!" He trembled.

The soldier outside the door smiled at the two ponies now reunited, before yelping a bit and looking behind him.

Both Skywatcher and Bloodvein were too caught up in embracing for the first time in what seemed like forever after the experience they both had that day. Their moment was soon cut off by a knock on the door, despite it being wide open. The two ponies looked at the soldier, who was biting his lip as if he was in pain.

"There's... argh! One other thing..." He opened his right wing, glancing back at the small bald eagle, which was perched on it.

Skywatcher gasped. "Is that a..."

"Oh..." Blood's ears lowered. "Yeah, Dad... it's an eagle," he looked down. "A bald eagle."

Skywatcher stared at the eagle in shock. "G-give it to me, soldier," he motioned for the stallion to hand it over.

"Yes, sir," the soldier lifted the bird off of his wing, which was cut up slightly by his small talons, and handed the brown and white feathered bird over to Skywatcher, who allowed the eagle to perch on his hoof. The soldier then trotted off back to his station, and Sky shut the door, still holding the bird.

Bloodvein leaped from his other hoof and sighed. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Skywatcher glanced down at Bloodvein. "What? No! You're home, why would you be in trouble?"

"I brought home an eagle..."

"A bald eagle, son. Do you realize how rare these are?" Skywatcher looked between the eagle and Bloodvein, smiling a bit.

"They're rare?" Blood looked back up at his dad, tilting his head a bit.

Sky nodded. "Very rare. How did you find it?"

"He, um... he came to me. He followed me home. I tried to tell him to stop following me, but he got sad and I couldn't help but to take him with me." Blood looked at the eagle, which squawked and puffed his chest out.

"It's a he?" Sky looked at the eagle.

"Mhmm," Blood nodded.

The eagle then squawked again quietly, flapping his wings a bit.

Skywatcher chuckled. "He's cute. Can he fly?"

"Barely... he flew a bit to get on my wing, but that's about it," Blood stood up and walked up to the stallion and the eagle.

"Hmm, so I guess you two have something in common," Skywatcher looked at the eagle again.

Bloodvein groaned. "Thanks, Dad. I wouldn't imagine you want to keep him," he walked to the stairs to go to his room.

"Actually," Blood stopped and looked back. "As long as you take care of him, of course we can keep him."

"Really?" Blood's tail wagged a bit, and he smiled brightly.

"Of course. If you really like him, and he really likes you, he could be our pet," Skywatcher smiled.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Bloodvein hopped around happily.

"But..."

Blood froze mid air, and fell down to the floor. "But what?"

"You'll have to house train him as well."

"Done."

Comments

[Paladin Redflare]

5061500 Thunderblast is my brother now too! Ain't that right Thunderblast? Just ask Spectrum or Source Code!

[Thunderblast]

5061532 get rekt m8

[Paladin Redflare]

5061553 You're such a good brother! You know all sorts of internet lingo... but y don't u git orf my dik, u fukign casul? I'll fok u op m8, swear to Celestia!

[Thunderblast]

5061583 bruh m9

[Paladin Redflare]

5061588 That's it, i'm calling Fever to kick your ass.

[Thunderblast]

5061636 bring it

[Paladin Redflare]

Awww, Skywatcher feeling bad is making me feel bad too! I know that pain brah! Feels like your heart is gonna burst from your chest!

[Kestrel]

So does Bloodvein have trouble flying? That's what I picked up from this chapter.

[Truthseeker]

He slid to a stop suddenly when a large bat stallion in Legion armor stood in front of him. 

Do you mean LANDED!? Please say what you mean!