The Dark City

by awf

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The little group settled in a depression which formed a circle of ice. It wasn't really a cave and could hardly be even called a hollow, but it provided some slight shelter from the wind and that was good enough. Rusty Bones spread one of her tough, waterproof blankets on the snow and sat for a moment to rest while her group of academics simply flopped on their sides, barrels heaving for air.

"Don't do that," she commented. "I know the snow feels nice after that climb, but you're liable to catch a cold. Get your blankets."

The professor was old enough to see the sense in her words and made his students get up and unpack their sleeping bags. They were still tied together, but the rope between them was long enough so it didn't impede their efforts and they had apparently decided to leave it for now. For that matter, Rusty herself and Gustaf were also still harnessed. She unclipped the line from herself. The terrain was pretty flat and her charges probably wouldn't go sliding off the mountain anytime soon.

Gustaf saw her example and did the same as he walked over. "One day down. Want me to fly up and scout out the area?"

It sounded like a good idea and Rusty mentally berated herself for not thinking of it herself. They had pegasi and griffins, they could keep an eye on where they were going and the weather around them. "Please. See if you can spot any storms coming up on us or something."

"I'll come with!" Ember Clover piped up and unclipped his safety rope too. The stallion had been in the process of unpacking his sleeping bag, but now he stuffed it back in and put his bags next to Gustaf's.

Rusty didn't see a problem with his offer, especially since she had no experience with flying. If there was any danger the griffin would have spoken up. "Sure. Two sets of eyes is better than one." The departing fliers caused some wind, which flung snow into Rusty's face. She blinked it away and wiped her muzzle clear with a fetlock, then stood up. "Right. I'll get the stove started, we can heat up some of the cans and melt some snow. Let's get a hot meal ready for when they come back."

Those were the magic words and Winter Shine hurried over to help. The pudgy unicorn had long since eaten all three of her oat bars. Those were intended to last them until the ruins, but Rusty wasn't prepared to police her pack of newbies. It looked some of them would learn to ration their food the hard way.

"So, what are we having?" Winter Shine asked, eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"Bean soup."

So great was the unicorn's hunger that she didn't even flinch at the unappetizing news. She floated her sleeping bag over and set it down next to where Rusty was unpacking her small stove. "Need any help with that?"

"If you want it done faster, get your own burner out and we'll cook with two. You might as well practice how to use it."

The mare gave a happy nod and hurried back to her pack. With some guidance, she soon had a pot of snow melting and a can of beans open and ready to go in. Rusty Bones glanced at the Professor, but he was apparently lost in a book. His horn glowed brightly as he fought the occasional draft which tried to ruffle the pages, but his effort seemed purely subconscious. Once the water had melted they poured both their cans in and lowered the flame, as per Rusty's advice. The hardened explorer had had plenty of practice cooking in such conditions and a slow boil was usually preferable if she wasn't in a hurry. Winter Shine would just have to be patient.

While they were stirring the soup Gustaf and Ember Clover landed a short distance away. It was undoubtedly the griffin's idea to keep from blowing out their stoves. The two made their way over and settled down on their haunches around the cooking food. Gustaf held out his claws to the pots to soak up some warmth and after a moment the stallion copied him.

"So?" Rusty asked him.

"No inclement weather," the griffin reported. "It looks like we have a pretty straight path through the mountains. No avalanches as far as I could see."

Ember Clover wanted to show off his skill too, so he added: "I checked the winds and it looks like we'll have clear skies for a few more days still. We should be good until we reach the ruin."

"That's good news. Thanks, both of you."

Gustaf responded with a simple nod, but Ember Clover grinned proudly. He wrapped his forehooves around himself and shuddered. "Brr, it's colder than I thought. If I weren't a pegasus I would probably have frozen to death up there!"

Rusty glanced at him with concern, but she caught the sly looks the stallion was giving their griffin guard and she shook her head to herself in bemusement.

"I don't suppose," Ember Clover began, then shuddered again. "Brr- I don't suppose we should cuddle up or something. You know, for warmth?"

"That's up to each of you. Our tents and sleeping bags should be enough, but you can cuddle if you want."

Ember Clover glanced at their guard with a big smile. "What do you say, Gustaf? Us feathered creatures ought to stick together. It's the only way we can be sure some unicorn or earth pony won't step on our wings, right?"

The toughened warrior looked away and Rusty caught a slight glimpse of panic in his expression before Gustaf brought himself under control. "I'm- uh, I'm actually fine. I got my gear, I don't mind the cold."

Ember Clover's ears flopped down and he heaved a sad sigh. "I guess," he muttered, kicking dejectedly at the snow with a hoof. "It's just, I thought we would be more comfortable."

There was silence as nopony knew exactly what to say to that, so Rusty interjected some welcome news: "Well, food's done. Get the Professor and we'll eat!"

It soon became obvious that Winter Shine had no intention of leaving the pots. Perhaps she thought the soup would vanish if she let it out of her sight, so in the end Ember sighed again and stood up to fetch the older unicorn. Gustaf settled down next to Rusty and held out a metal bowl he'd fetched from his pack for her to fill.

"They're just plain beans," she told him.

"I know," Gustaf said and held up his other claw to show her a few strips of jerky. "I'll spice it up myself."

Rusty Bones shrugged to herself and poured the griffin a generous serving. There was plenty to go around and even after she had gotten a bowl for herself there was about a third of the pot left. The meal was simple and very plain, but no less delicious after their day of hard travel. The ponies were starving and slurped down their soup with gusto.

About halfway through her bowl Gustaf leaned closer and murmured in Rusty's ear: "I think that one is coming on to me," he commented, briefly turning his beak toward Ember Clover. "Is that a usual thing among ponies? Two, well, males?"

Rusty had to work to keep her face neutral and her voice low. "Not usual, but not unknown either. I might have guessed when I saw him first. The way his gear matched in color, impeccable hooficure, nicely styled mane. I thought he was just a very fussy pegasus."

Gustaf looked a bit confused. "Why would those things-"

"Stereotype," Rusty answered. "I'm just being an ass. Yeah, he likes you, though."

The griffin beside her swallowed and whispered urgently back: "What should I do?!"

"Best nip it in the bud. Unless you wanna see where it goes?"

That last bit was just a little joke, her attempt to rile the bird up a little, but to Rusty's surprise, Gustaf actually looked thoughtful for a moment. "Nah," he said, finally, then appeared to change his mind. "Well-" he paused, then firmly shook his head again. "Nah."

Rusty Bones couldn't help noticing that he hadn't quite dismissed it out of claw. In any case, it was none of her business and she shrugged to herself as she went back to eating. Gustaf was a well-travelled, toughened warrior bird from a race which was renowned for their fierce courage, if not outright foolhardiness. She had no doubt he'd be able to deal with one overly amorous stallion.

"Okay, just let him down gently. We need everypony's mind on the expedition."

Gustaf gave her a nod, but she saw how his gaze kept straying to the pegasus while they ate. It was pure luck that Ember Clover was in an animated discussion about their destination with his professor, or else he might have seen and misinterpreted Gustaf's interest. Other than the two academics talking and Winter Shine slurping loudly, the dinner passed in silence and the sky went from bright white to deep blue. Rusty knew from experience that it would get dark surprisingly quickly and very soon.

"Okay, everypony- oh, and every-griffin too," she announced after they had had time for their food to settle a bit. "I'll set up my tent, anypony unsure about how it's done, you might want to watch."

The younger ponies were quite interested, but the Professor shook his head and went back to where he had left his book. Either he already knew how to put up a tent, or he was supremely confident in his abilities. Rusty didn't worry, even if Professor Curio failed, she had no doubt that both his students would be happy to help him.

"Good. Now, this is an older style of tent, but the basic principle is pretty much the same. I'll have to fit my poles together, but yours are already attached by elastic string and it's just a matter of lining them up." She stuck two of the flexible rods together to demonstrate and her audience ponies both nodded. "Then it's just a matter of unrolling the tent fabric and finding where the poles go. They'll either make a cross, or you might have some fancy T-junctions you'll have to fit together. I'll help you when I'm done with mine."

A little way away Gustaf was already well on the way to putting up his tent. Her first estimation was that it would end up quite a bit larger than the simple ones she and the other ponies got. That would make sense, he was quite a large bird.

Rusty talked through her process, but it wasn't particularly complicated and soon she was hammering the pegs into the hard, packed ice with a hoof. "You have a hammer in your gear if you prefer to use that, but this is easier, especially for an earth pony," she pointed out.

"Wait," Ember Clover spoke up, "can you show us how to do that knot again?"

"Oh! Of course. It's called a Tautline Hitch, a griffin invention, actually. It's tricky with hooves, so you might want to use your magic, Winter Shine. Ember, if you can't manage it, ask Winter Shine to tie it for you, right?" The two ponies shuffled closer to see better as Rusty expertly untied the line and began to demonstrate with exaggerated, slow motions. "Just a heads up, you might need to set up your professor's tent as well."

Both students looked around at their teacher, who was still lost in his book, then Ember Clover shrugged. "I don't mind. It's such an honor to be on this expedition at all!" His gaze strayed to where Gustaf was unrolling his sleeping bag. "Not to mention an unexpected pleasure!" Ember Clover finished.

The comment made Winter Shine roll her eyes. "Keep it in your pants, lover boy!"

This made Ember blush fiercely enough to justify his name and his ears flattened in embarrassment, but he did return his gaze to the knot Rusty was demonstrating. She carefully hid the little grin on her muzzle. Emotions running wild on an expedition such as theirs could be problematic, but in small doses, and if she kept her eye on it, Ember's crush was cute and amusing.

---

The night passed without incident, even though Ember Clover repeated his idea for ponies to cuddle through the chill, which Gustaf firmly, yet politely, declined. Rusty Bones woke up refreshed and rested, ready to tackle a new day of their challenging journey. The others didn't fare as well, but once Curio reminded his two students about the discoveries they would make they quickly got over their morning grumpiness. Gustaf, being a seasoned traveller, also seemed quite fine as he stood up on his hind legs and stretched out both forelegs and wings to their full reach. By that time Winter Shine was quite comfortable with the stoves and Rusty felt she could trust the young mare with breakfast. She left her heating up the mixture of water, powdered milk and oatmeal while she herself walked over to their guard.

"You know, this far north I wasn't expecting any bandits or creature attacks, and the ruins will probably be more boring than dangerous, but I'm still glad you're with us."

Gustaf barked a laugh and his yellow eyes glittered in amusement. "While I wouldn't say no to some excitement. Boring will be fine."

"Yep. Let's just hope I won't have to eat those words."

"I have plenty of salt if you need it."

They both laughed at that, but then Rusty stared at the bird with curiosity. "Salt? Why?"

Gustaf shrugged a little. "It doesn't weigh all that much and I knew I'd be travelling with ponies, so I thought- just in case. I heard how much salt you need."

"That's a stereotype!" Rusty said indignantly. "Besides, you griffins need salt as well!"

"I get mine from my jerky."

She couldn't argue that logic and she couldn't exactly fault Gustaf's thinking, even if it was misguided, but she still wanted to be a bit miffed. "Well, you can carry it all the way there and back again, if you like. Even if those three can't, I can take care of us all."

The griffin held up both claws in a conciliatory gesture. "Fine, fine. It was just a precaution, don't get your feathers in a twist."

"I don't have feathers!" Rusty huffed and turned to walk away.

"So, does that mean you don't want one of these licking stones?" Gustaf asked and took a round pebble from his pack.

Despite her lingering annoyance Rusty couldn't prevent her mouth from watering. She had some of those in her own pack, as well as a couple of packets of regular salt for their meals, but her own body was betraying her. There was a grain of truth in that stereotype. "Maybe just one," she grumbled.

Gustaf laughed as he held it out and she snatched it from his claw. It was one of those mixed mineral and salt licking stones and her tongue attacked it eagerly. Her ears were already down, but she made herself look at the bird. "Thanks. I'm glad you came prepared, just- try and keep the stereotypes to a minimum, okay?"

The griffin just chuckled some more. "So, I take it that means no ear scratches then?"

"I'd like some!" Ember Clover piped up as he trotted over. Rusty blushed and wondered how much of their discussion the stallion had overheard.

Her consolation was the way Gustaf suddenly shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, it was just a joke, kid," he tried to wring himself out of it.

"Aw. Well, I wouldn't mind some anyway!" Ember was indefatigable.

There was no easy way out of that for the griffin and Rusty wasn't about to save his rump, not after that slight annoyance. She headed back to her tent to start packing up, all the while smirking a little to herself. "Um," Gustaf said as he looked longingly after the mare, "I gotta pack up. M-Maybe later!"

Ember Clover shrugged to himself and went to take care of his own tent and help Winter Shine with their professor's.

She raised her voice: "Alright, ponies, it's gonna be a hard day of marching. I want us at the ruin by nightfall, if possible. Fill up your flasks with what's left of the water and carry them close to your body so it doesn't freeze!"

There was a chorus of assent from her little herd and Rusty nodded to herself in satisfaction. They weren't a bad lot and all the work of guiding them across that inhospitable landscape would pay off when they helped her decipher the mystery of those ruins. It was going to be a remarkable and profitable journey, that much was certain.

She caught up to Gustaf, who had pulled something small and glittering from a pocket and was examining it closely. It was a small compass. "That won't be reliable here," she reminded him.

"I know, I know," the griffin said, "I was just curious. Looks correct, though." He lowered the instrument so Rusty could see. As best she could tell, it was indeed pointing correctly to the North, judging by the sun.

"Maybe it's okay now, but it could just be a few degrees off. Too much background magic. Anyway, if a storm kicks up it'll be completely wrong, and that's exactly the time you tend to rely on a compass. When there's no visibility." She shrugged a little and patted a hoof on her back. "Plenty of food and we're making our own water. If we get stuck in a storm, I'd rather just wait it out in a tent."

"Agreed," Gustaf said and put the compass back.

Rusty could understand his curiosity, especially if he hadn't seen before how strong magic messes with magnetic navigation. Her own compass, useful across most of Equestria, was safe in her pack.