ReAwakened

Wildheart poked his head out his bedroom door, looking down the hallway until it faded into darkness. He squinted, taking a step further out of the room. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness all he saw was emptiness. He looked right—but there was nothing but the dark creeping into the nooks and crannies of the slumbering home. No sounds of wakeful ponies reached his ears from elsewhere in the small house. Nopony was out and about; now was his chance. Wildheart smiled as he snuck back into his room, closing the door softly, the nearly inaudible click of the latch sliding into place somehow satisfying him.

As he tiptoed over to his window, his eyes once again fell upon the newspaper lying on the edge of his bed. He frowned as his eyes slid across the headline.

Disturbed Dissenter Youth Slays Mother, Evades Authorities

The article described, in gruesome detail, how Grand Design had purportedly killed his own mother to prove his loyalty to one of the rebel factions. They described him as antisocial and narcissistic, even quoting their classmates to give credence to the government’s claims. Wildheart’s jaw clenched as his eyes drifted across the names of peers he had known for years spewing lies and nonsense about his friend.

The article went on to describe how he eventually began to attend dissenter meetings as a means to inflate his ego due to the attentions he received, and over time he got in deeper and deeper until he was inducted into one of the local rebel factions.

What a load of bull shit. Wildheart grabbed the paper and threw it in the waste bin with a snort, resisting the urge to slam a hoof against the floor. Anyone who knew Design would know immediately that the article was pure propaganda. While Design may have had dissenter and rebel sympathies, he’d never have been stupid enough to attend their meetings. No, only he and Surprise knew where his true loyalties lie.

Wildheart felt his heart rate rising and he closed his eyes, exhaling slowly through his nose. Now was not the time for anger. The system's corruption had been this way for a long time, and getting upset wouldn't fix anything. He had to stay focused. Grand Design needed his help. Now was the time to get his friend to safety. The thought of reuniting with Design tugged corners of his mouth into a smirk. He walked towards the window, his eyes drinking in the sight of the full, glowing moon through the glass. His smile broadened into a grin as he reached up to open the window.

It wouldn’t budge.

He looked at the bottom of the window frame, eyebrow quirking. “Huh?!”

Several nails held the window firmly attached to the windowsill. His father must have decided that a simple telling off or grounding was no longer enough of a dissuasion from his midnight flights.

“Damn,” he whispered.

He glared at the window momentarily. He could just rip the nails out of the wood with his magic, but the noise would alert his whole family to his escape. He bit his lip, brow furrowed, then turned to open his door again. There was only one other, less stealthy exit out of the small, two-bedroom home.

Wildheart looked back over his bed, grimacing. The lump formed by pillows wouldn’t fool anyone for long, but it wasn’t as though anyone would check on him for several hours. He stepped out of his room, doing his best to be silent and closing the door behind him. As he made his way down the hall, his hooves barely touched the ground. There was no telltale click of hooves on wood.

He spared a momentary glance toward his parent’s bedroom as he made his way to the front door. No light shown from beneath the door. No whispers or indications of movement reached his ears.

Well, now or never.

Silence was key—his mother was a notoriously light sleeper, and as he looked at the door knob he bit his lip. With a sigh his horn began to glow, of all colors, pink. He had long cursed the color, having been teased endlessly for it. At his age there wasn’t anything he could do about aura shade, so instead he hardly used his magic. Due to this, he had next to no skill; basic levitation and illumination spells was about all he could manage, with one exception.

The knob began to shimmer as the pink magic encompassed it. When Wildheart unlatched the lock there was no sound, there was not even a squeak as he twisted the knob. A small smile played at his mouth, Wildheart couldn’t help but think of the silence as his accomplice.

The piercing squeal of the door hinge, however, was not.

Ah, Tartarus! Wildheart’s body went rigid as his head swiveled to watch his parent’s door. His ears twitched as a loud snore made itself heard, but no lights. No whispers. No hoof stomps. His parents remained quiet.

His shoulders slumped as he released a breath of air. Wildheart covered the hinges this time, closing the door without a sound. As he re-engaged the lock, Wildheart did his best to keep quiet, practically jumping into the grass in order to muffle his hoof falls.

Once Wildheart was far enough away he took off at a trot, his wings spread soundlessly in the night air, and with a few beats of his wings he was high in the night sky. He sighed as the currents of wind flowed around him and brushed back his mane. As he rose higher he looked down upon the peaceful fields of grass on the outskirts of the city.

How could Design hate this so much?

He watched as the grass give way to cement and tarmac. In the city the currents of air could be made more unpredictable due to the high skyscrapers, so he kept to a lazy glide, keeping vigilant for a sudden gust.

His destination wasn’t far. He’d never been there, but Design had made him memorize the route on maps until he could recite the street names by heart.

He might be just this side of OCD, Wildheart thought, but he sure tries to be ready for everything.

Up ahead he saw the sign designating Featherfilly Ave and landed. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked upon the broken brick walls that separated the deteriorating outer community from the grand city outside. Wildheart shifted from one hoof to another as he took in the graffiti, the trash, and the musty pony in ragged clothing asleep on a bench not a few feet from the entrance.

He shook himself, clearing his throat. He held motionliess for a moment, trying to judge the neighborhood. There seemed to be nothing amiss, despite the overall squalor and unsavoriness that seemed to permeate the area.

As his hoof stepped crossed into the burb he felt as though hundreds of eyes had turned upon him. His ears flattened back against his head, looking every which way to find the observers, but found none. Even the homeless pony on the bench had his head turned away, a dull-coated foreleg draped over the edge reaching for a bag-covered bottle that lay on the ground.

Wildheart picked up the pace, eyes searching crevices for unfriendly faces. He made a quick turn to the right, then to the left again. He had almost reached a full canter by the time he reached the porch of a ramshackle, a red-brick building that looked as though it should be condemned. The wooden roof of the porch had holes and black plastic sheets covered three of the four windows.

The only contrast this house had to the rest of the neighborhood were the bright, colorful chalk drawings that graced the walkway that lead to the porch. Wildheart did his best to avoid trodding on them as he made his way to the door.

Earlier he had been worried about disturbing the family, but his trepidation no longer stemmed from intruding at such a late hour. Inside he heard what sounded like two ponies yelling over a foal screaming. As he stepped up onto the porch he heard glass shatter somewhere within the house… if it could even be called a house.

Wildheart licked his lips nervously, double checking to see that this was, indeed, the place he was looking for. His heart sank as he read the house number, and confirmed that it matched the number Design had forced him to memorize. He raised his shaking hoof to knock, now more reluctant to find out what was happening inside than to stand out on the porch.

Remembering his promise to Design, he slammed his hoof against the door. Once, twice, three times.

There was no answer at first, so he tried again, a little louder. He was just about to knock a third time when the door opened, and a small gray filly stuck her head out. Her ears were pressed back, keeping her face turned towards the ground.

A stallion’s voice could be heard from within. “Listen, mare, I did this to protect our family! I put this roof over our head!”

“You do no such thing! You sit on that chair and drink booze all day…” a mare’s voice retorted.

Wildheart had to choke out his words. “Um… is Surprise here?”

The door shut with an abrupt slam, Wildheart barely managed to pull his muzzle back in time.

“Well then,” he muttered to no one in particular, “I guess not.”

He turned to make his way off the porch, trying to decide whether to go look for Design alone or simply return home and bide his time.

As his hoof connected with the concrete pathway, the door behind him opened again. The raised voices of the fighting couple becoming distinguishable for a few moments…

“It was you? You reported him? By Sombra’s horn, Brown Nose, he was barely even a stallion!”

Again the door closed, once again muffling the voices. Wildheart turned, eyes wide. As his gaze met Surprise’s, she looked to the ground, ashamed.

“So now you know,” she mumbled, her voice sounding higher pitched than normal. She kicked at a stone only enough to move it a few inches.

He noticed the redness around her eyes and nose, even though she tried to hide it behind her mane. He moved forward to pull her close. “It’s fine, Surprise. You’re fine.” He rubbed a hoof up and down her back as she leaned against him. After a few moments she pulled away, running a hoof across her nose as she turned to face the shack. His ear twitched as he thought he heard a quiet sniff.

She sat back on her haunches, staring at her home. “What are you doing here, Wildheart?”

“Design made me promise that if anything ever happened to him, I’d come get you and make sure you were alright.”

She tilted her head, yellow curls falling over her shoulder. “Well, I’m alright…”

“And now we’re going to go find him.”

Surprise’s eyes widened, the moon’s reflection making them almost unnaturally bright. “You mean… we’re going on an adventure? We’re going to save Design?”

Wildheart nodded, the corner of his mouth edged upwards.“That’s right.”

The hint of a small, shaky smile teased her lips as she sat a bit straighter. She grabbed his shoulders, pulling him close into a tight hug. “Thank you.” She whispered, her voice soft and raspy. She pulled away, heading off down the sidewalk, “Let’s go make this right.”

* * *

Wildheart and Surprise circled the field, a common meetup spot for the trio after school. This was the first place that came to mind to find their friend. Staying high, flying slow, eyes darting from bush to tree to rock. After nearly thirty minutes, neither pony had seen hide nor hair of their childhood friend.

Surprise, decked out inexplicably in a black catsuit and night vision goggles, started to shake her hoof, drawing Wildheart’s attention. She began pointing in earnest, straining to keep her hoof steady against the crosswinds.

Wildheart directed his eyes down, and at first all he saw was a dead tree, but squinting a bit he was able to spot something tucked into one of the hollowed-out branches. He raised his eyes to meet her gaze and gave a curt nod. They landed a few feet away from the tree, Wildheart swallowing a thick lump in his throat.

As they approached the tree, Surpise’s yellow aura encased her skintight suit and goggles before they disappeared. Even in the current circumstances, Wildheart couldn’t help but find himself disappointed. It had accentuated the curves of her backside quite aptly.

He shook his head to pull himself back to the present.

Surprise’s magic glowed again, illuminating her eyes. She looked all around, staying low as she crept forward. Upon reaching the tree she snuck around to the other side, she searched some more. Wildheart recognized the spell. Surprise used it all the time to search for teachers the few times they had snuck out of school.

After a few moments she straightened. Turning back to Wildheart she gestured with a hoof to come closer, whispering, “Looks all clear!”

“Surprise, do we really need to be so… sneaky? They’re after Design, not—” He was silenced by a hoof to the mouth.

“But they know we were friends, Wildheart! If they were going to get the drop on us, it would be now! When we’re separated! Cause when we’re separated, we’re weak…” Her shoulders sagged, her hair beginning to droop. “And it’s all my fault they’re after him.”

Surprise squeezed her eyes tightly shut as a few tears escaped. Turning, she raised a hoof to wipe them away.

Wildheart felt a pang in his chest as he watched her walk away. He reached out a foreleg to wrap it around her shoulder. “Stop saying that! It’s not your fault…”

“But it is, don’t you see?!” she yelled, emphasizing her words with a stomp. “Father found out about me! But he turned in Design instead so that they wouldn’t come after our family!” A sob escaped her, and she covered her mouth with her hooves. Her shoulders shook and tears flowed down her cheeks.

Wildheart shook his head as he sidled up next to her, pulling her close. She tried to pull herself away, but he held fast. He shushed her softly, whispering reassurances until she collapsed against him. He rubbed a hoof up and down her back as she gave in to the tears, feeling the wetness seep through his coat. He nuzzled her forehead until her shaking slowed and her cries softened.

“Surprise—Surprise, look at me.” He gently grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back until her violet eyes met his. “Surprise, you are not responsible for his actions. What he did holds no bearing on you. I know that, and so does Design.”

“R—really?”

“Yes, now…” He reached up and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “We have to hurry.”

She nodded, her face hardening. The yellow glow enveloped her horn as the object hidden within the tree floated out. It was a roll of parchment. As he opened the sheet, Wildheart quickly recognized Design’s meticulous handwriting.

Wildheart,

It was too dangerous to meet here. It was too open and they are still looking for me. It was all I could do to keep the invisibility spell up long enough to bring this here, hopefully I’ll get back in time.

Meet me at the waterfall.

Design

“Waterfall?” Wildheart’s brow creased. “There isn’t a waterfall anywhere near here!”

“Shh!” She turned, glaring at the parchment. Her eyes moved along the page enough times to have read it ten times over. A broad grin spread across her face.

“I know where he is!” Surprise sang, prancing lightly. “Let’s go!” She sprinted back towards town, her wings opening in a graceful arc.

“Surprise, wait!” He called out after her, trying to catch up. “Where are we going?”

She chuckled as she gained altitude, her voice rising and falling melodically as she called back to him, “You’ll just have to see!”

Reds and yellows began to peek over the mountains in the distance. As the pair breached the city airspace, signs of wakefulness could be seen in streets below. Garbage collectors and streetsweepers made their ways up and down the avenues as a few early birds jogged down the walks.

Wildheart bit his lip nervously; the two would have to hurry before their parents—and worse, the school—would notice their absence. He wondered how much longer after that somepony would put two and two together, and the changelings would be looking for two more ponies.

He blinked. When did I become so paranoid?

His wings were beginning to ache before they landed again. Swells of water lapped against the sand and grime of the desolate beach, dampening his hooves. Discarded cans, plastic bags, and cigarette butts littered the small patch of ground.

“Surprise, I don’t see…” He stopped himself as he noticed the protruding pipe from the water treatment plant jutting out over the beach a few yards away. Water spewed from it in what could only abstractly be described as a waterfall of sewage.

“Really?”

He didn’t have to see Surprise’s smug grin as she pranced by to know it was there. She flicked her tail as she strutted towards their destination. As they approached, Design’s head poked out of the pipe. He surveyed the area quickly, then glided down to meet them, a little white kitten sitting on his back.

“Design!” the two yelled in near-unison.

The stallion’s hooves hadn’t even touched the dirt before he was on flat on the ground, Surprise’s forelegs wrapped around his shoulders. If Wildheart didn’t know any better he would have thought she was trying to strangle him. Unfortunately, he had also been the victim of one of those hugs. The kitten hissed as it was thrown into the sand.

“Good… to see… you.. too, Surprise,” Design managed to gasp out as his face began to turn blue.

Almost as quickly as she had pounced on him, Surprise sprung back off him and began to bounce around the beach, a wide grin nearly splitting her face in two. Wildheart covered his muzzle to suppress a chuckle as saw Design’s wince at the muck that stuck to his gray coat and purple mane. His horn glowed to wipe the sand from his coat.

“Why not just go into the water?”

Design’s level glare was almost unnerving. “Do you even know why saltwater isn’t used for anything, Wildheart?”

“Good to see you, too.”

Design gave a huff and dislodged the last bit of sandy grit with a shake. He looked up, eyes showing a bit of redness with a dark discoloration underneath. "Sorry. The last two days haven't been easy..."

Wildheart punched Design lightly on the shoulder. “So… what now?”

Design picked up the kitten in a hoof, allowing it to crawl onto his back. He looked towards the horizon, taking a deep breath as Surprise trotted back to listen. “Now, we leave.”

“What?!” Surprise and Wildheart said in unison.

“If you stay, you are putting your families at risk.” Design’s gaze moved from the distance to look Surprise in the eyes. “I know you want to protect your sister from your father, but you’re only putting her in more danger. It’s only a matter of time…”

“I… I know,” Surprise said, her gaze falling to her hooves, “but I can’t just leave them. I’ve already had to stop them from running away once. They need me.”

Design’s eyebrows furrowed placed a hoof on her shoulder, “But you’ll be placing them in even worse danger if you stay.”

Wildheart shook his head, “We can’t just abandon our families!” He shifted from hoof to hoof, “They wouldn’t dare go after all three of us! Ponies will start to get suspicious, and—and if they come after us they’ll need us there to protect them…”

“Don’t you understand?” Design began to dig a hoof into the dirt. “You can’t stand up to them. If you try to stay behind and they come for you, you will only be painting a target on them, too!”

Surprise took a step forward. There was a tremble in her voice when she spoke.“Design, I can’t just leave. Mom is counting on to take care of the twins.”

“How old are the twins now, Surprise?” He sighed, sitting to relieve the shaking in his legs. “As old as you were when you started to take care of them, right? You can’t always be there to protect them from your father, and what you’ll be protecting them from by leaving is much worse…”

“But…”

“You know what the changelings do to the ponies they capture, Surprise. If ponies don’t die when they’re captured, they are imprisoned for weeks or months. Their bodies rot away while their emotions are drained. Their love. Their memories. Their…”

Wildheart watched the repulsion set itself into Surprises face, that same feeling of sickness that was rising in his own stomach. “Design…” He said, a hint of warning in his voice.

“What?” Design said, not looking away from Surprise. “It seems you two have forgotten what they do to rebels and rebel sympathizers. They won’t distinguish traitors from their families. They’re just tools, tools to make us break and tell them what we know. Who we know. Then, once we can’t tell them anymore… we become the lunch special.”

Wildheart grit his teeth as a cold pang rushed through his chest. He didn’t want to admit that Design was right. He couldn’t. “And just what makes you think they will come for us, Design? You’re asking us to completely uproot our lives on a hunch! On a whim! They came after you just because we weren’t careful enough. We…”

Design turned on Wildheart, his pupils contracted his ears pressed back against his skull. “Just how long do you think it will be before they discover we were friends? Do you think our teachers and classmates will protect us?” His voice cracked with the strain of yelling, “If you stay, you will just get them caught in the crossfire when they come for you! Look at what happened to my mother.”

His legs collapsed beneath him, he shook with an effort to breath. This time when he spoke, Wildheart and Design had to strain to hear him. “She was pregnant. She had a little baby inside her and they killed her anyway. I don’t even know what happened to my father and Debutant...”

The silence that came after was thick and tangible, only interrupted by the sound of the tide retreating back into the ocean. Bluebelle mewed softly, pressing her forehead against the young stallions nose. He wrapped a hoof around her as if she were an anchor as he took deep, ragged breaths.

Wildheart licked his lips, his dry throat making his voice raw. “Can we really survive out there on our own?”

Design didn’t bother looking up, his eyes closed as he kept his face averted. “We’ll have to.”

Surprise took a step forward to nuzzle Design’s neck, but he retreated from the gesture. As he buried his face into the kitten’s fur, her eyebrows furrowed. “But where will we go? Will our families really be safe if we leave?”

Design shrugged. “As far away as we can.” He raised his head, still not looking at his friends. He lifted a hoof to wipe his face. “If we’re not there they’ll just keep an eye on your families, hoping we’ll go back to them.”

“Why not take our families prisoner to try to draw us out?” Wildheart said, his voice higher in pitch. His shoulders slumped, “If we’re there, maybe they’ll just take us and let our families go.”

Design shook his head, letting loose a dry laugh. “Just like they did with my family? No, there’s already too much attention on the changelings because of what happened. Unless they can get their hooves on you, to show the attack had some merit, they’ll want to keep their interest in you quiet. If you’re gone, you take away their ability to attack. You keep your families safe.”

Wildheart and Surprise met each other’s eyes. Neither wanted to leave home, but nor could they return. After a moment they helped Design to his hooves, leaning on each other for support. They watched the city as signs of life began to stir between the faroff buildings, each thinking of what they would be leaving behind.

Tearing their eyes away the three turned, walking away from the city, the only place they’d ever known.

* * *

The sun began to set on the horizon as the city faded finally faded into the distance behind them. They had stopped to graze only occasionally, preferring to get as much distance between themselves and the city as possible. The three had remained silent throughout the day, each lost in their own thoughts. Even the kitten remained relatively well behaved, darting off only occasionally to do who-knows-what.

Wildheart had been wondering how he could have been so oblivious to Surprise’s family circumstances. They had been friends for years, yet he couldn’t think of one instance that would have alerted him. Then he remembered the mystery meat and winced. Surprise had always been a little skinny, but he had always attributed it to her hyperactive nature. His ears lowered as he glanced to his friend.

How much else have I missed?

A grunt pulled him from his thoughts with a jolt as Design spun, looking back down the path, sharp little claws in his back going unheeded.

“Damnit!” Design growled. “I know I saw it this time…”

“Saw what?” Surprise chirped, drawing up next to him.

Design looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then focused back on the path. “You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“No, we won’t!” she said, giving a pointed glare at Wildheart over Design’s head. He opened his mouth to speak in protest when she spoke again. “You can tell us.”

With a sigh, Design stood. “Alright, but let’s make a camp here first. It’s going to be too dark to keep moving soon, anyway.”

Wildheart’s ears flattened as he looked to the sky. “Do you think we’re far enough away to light a fire?”

Design shrugged, eyes still darting from place to place. “I don’t see why not.”

The three gathered some sticks from the trees and bushes nearby, enough to make a small but stable fire. The flames struggled weakly in the cool evening air, but as night fell it was enough to keep the shadows at bay.

“So,” Wildheart said, watching Design closely, “what is it that you saw?”

Design met Wildheart’s stare with one of his own. “Ever since I took that note to our meeting spot, I felt as though something was watching me, even when I was covered by the invisibility spell. I couldn’t shake the feeling.”

His eyes wandered, scanning the surrounding landscape. “I wasn’t able to keep my invisibility spell active long enough to get back to the beach, so I hid out behind a dumpster while I waited for my energy to return. While I was waiting, I noticed that…” he gulped, “there was a shadow being cast by something that wasn’t there.”

Wildheart felt a warmth at his side. He looked to see Surprise had pressed her side up against his, eyes wide as she watched Design. His ears flattened back, unsure of what to do. He tried instead to concentrate on Design’s story.

“That’s how invisibility spells work, you know? They don’t actually turn you invisible, you just reflect the world around you, and you still cast a shadow. Something was watching me.” Design shivered. “It was three feet in front of me. It just stood there, watching me, for the better part of two hours. I was too terrified to even move, so when I felt strong enough to cast my spell again I was cramping so bad I could barely walk.”

Design stood, suddenly unable to stand still. He began to pace. “And you know what? It followed me. No matter where I went. I tried even taking the long way back. I tried flying. I even tried teleporting as far away as I could. I couldn’t shake it.” Design shook his head, his eyes no longer seeming to focus on anything. “And you know what else?”

The two shook their heads. “I tried for almost an hour to lose it in the city. Finally I decided that there was nothing more I could do, so I went back to the beach. I figured, if this thing were going to turn me in, it would have already. It had plenty of opportunity. Plus, I was exhausted. I was going to have to let my magic recharge again. It never became visible, not once.”

He quirked his eyebrow at their lack of response. “At most, invisibility spells can last for three hours if you are a really powerful caster. By the time I crawled back into that pipe it had been nearly five, and who knows how long it had been following me before I saw it.”

That made Wildheart’s eyebrows rise.

“Once I settled down in the pipe the shadow was gone. I watched the beach for a good long while, but there was no sign of it. That night, however…” Design licked his lips, “I woke up when the moon was just rising. Bluebelle was going nuts. Pacing and hissing. It took me a moment to realize what had her so riled up. At the other end of the beach, there was another alicorn, but… this one wasn’t normal.”

Wildheart felt his fur start to stand on end, his heartbeat picking up. He wrapped a wing around Surprise, pulling her close in hopes of comforting the shaking mare.

Design turned to face them. “I couldn’t see its features very well. The moon was behind it, so all I could see was a silhouette. The thing is, guys… it was tall. Very tall. Probably twice the size of the tallest stallion I’ve ever seen, but thin. Too thin. And its mane! I could see through the mane, it looked almost like…” Design stamped a hoof as he tried to think of the right words. “It was like vapor! It blew as if there was a breeze but there was no wind to speak of.”

The young stallion glanced around. “It stood there, watching me. It didn’t approach. At first I didn’t think it could see me, and I was feeling so unnerved that I moved to the other side of the pipe… and I swear the thing’s eyes followed me. Then, a little later I fell asleep, but only for a few minutes. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but when I woke up… it had moved closer.”

Wildheart felt a shiver run down his spine. He tried to tell himself he was holding Surprise tighter for her benefit, and not his.

“Then a cloud moved in front of the moon, I couldn’t see for a few minutes. I was terrified, wondering how close it would be when the light reappeared. But when the moon shone again… it was gone!”

Wildheart let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he felt Surprise do the same.

“I was so scared that maybe it was just outside the pipe, waiting for me to come out or fall asleep. It wasn’t until the moon started to set again that I finally passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up, it was daylight and the thing was gone. Since we’ve left...” Design turned, eyes once again scanning the horizon all around them, “I swear I keep seeing it out of the corner of my eye. Behind a rock, or in the treeline... but whenever I turn to look directly at it, there’s nothing there.”

Wildheart had the sensation of eyes on his back, and he turned to look over his shoulder, but saw nothing but grass and a distant trees. As he turned to look in the other direction, he noticed Surprise also letting her gaze drink in their surroundings.

Design threw another log on the fire, using his magic to stoke the dying embers into a roaring flame. As the eldest stallion turned to look at the two, Wildheart became aware that he still had his wing wrapped around Surprise’s shoulder. He quickly drew it back as he made himself comfortable.

Clearing his throat, Wildheart looked up at the pacing pony. “Are you sure it wasn’t just your imagination getting the better of you? I mean, you’ve had a stressful few days, and with the lack of sleep on top of it… Oof!” he grunted as Surprise elbowed him hard in the side.

Design let out an exaggerated huff, his wings held tight against his shoulders. “I’ll take the first watch. I’m too wound up to sleep.”

Wildheart jumped in before Surprise could even open her mouth. “Wake me next, then.”

“Well, come stay by us, at least,” Surprise’s eyes shifted from treeline to rocky outcropping, to distant hillside.

With a sigh, Design sidled up next to the young mare’s other side and knelt down next to her. Wildheart leaned his head down onto his forelegs, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes. As tired as he felt, his ears still rotated around, listening to the crickets and the wind in the leaves, straining to hear the sound of an approaching pony.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Surprise lean her cheek against his shoulder. Her weight pressing against him was soft, yet firm, and somehow comforting. As he felt himself start to drift to sleep he found himself listening to her even, steady breaths brushing against his ear.

* * *

The snap of a twig echoed through the darkness. Wildheart felt his heart skip a beat as he came wide awake. He didn’t open his eyes as he heard the thump of heavy hoofbeats drawing closer. He refused to open his eyes, imagining a monstrous alicorn with white glowing eyes and a mane made of mist. He swallowed to try and wet his suddenly dry throat, and tried to keep his breathing even.

The hoofbeats came to a stop mere inches from his face, so close he could feel the vibrations of each plodding stomp.

Wildheart slowly opened his eyes. In front of him were two hooves attached to two burly forelegs. As Wildheart’s eyes traveled upwards past the pony’s massive shoulders to his wide face, Wildheart realized that underneath the yellow and green mane there was no horn. There hadn’t been any wings on his sides either.

The pony in front of him was an Earth Pony. That could mean only one thing.

The pony standing in front of him was a rebel.

Wildheart jumped back, forgetting the pony slumbering against his side, turning what would have been a graceful leap into a stagger. Surprise let out a startled yelp as she was thrown awkwardly against Design.

“Whoa, big guy,” Wildheart said as he backed away. “There’s no need for… Oof!”

He felt the air knocked from him as a pink blur smashed into his side, sending him tumbling. He just lay there for a moment, waiting for his eyes to come back into focus. Before he completely recovered a shadow fell over him. As he started to stand he realized it was because Surprise and Design had put themselves between him and the Earth Pony.

“There is no need for this,” Design said, projecting his voice. “We have no quarrel with you.”

He looked around for his attacker but saw no one. It was only after he heard the wing beats that he thought to look up. The pink blur was once again headed straight for them.

“Scatter!” Wildheart yelled as he jumped away, letting his wings take him airborne. He turned to see that his friends had moved in time, and were now circling around a lithe, intense pony. As she shook her blue mane out of her eyes Wildheart could see that she also had no horn. The pegasus took off again at speeds that Wildheart had only heard tales of.

She has speed, he wondered, but does she have maneuverability?

Wildheart banked, throwing himself into her path. He watched her purple eyes grow wide as she awkwardly threw herself around him, flaring her wings to reduce her speed. That was all it took, a blast of magic from the ground showed that Design had been paying attention. The pony flew to the side, spinning in an attempt to recover, one of her forelegs dangling uselessly.

“Design!” Surprise yelled

Wildheart jerked his head around to the direction of her scream, watching as she jumped to intercept a buck from the stallion aiming a kick at Design. She went flying into Design’s side, knocking them both to the ground. Wildheart's eyes shot open. "Surprise!"

Wildheart gritted his teeth together as every muscle tensed. He went from his hover in midair to the fastest he’d ever flown. His wings pumped as hard as they could until his hoof slammed into the face of the Earth Pony. The massive stallion grunted as his head jerked to the side, the feeling of the impact vibrating though Wildheart’s leg. He turned, raising his hind legs to slam them into the Earth Pony’s side.

The red pony cried out, and Wildheart’s ears flicked forward. “Y-you’re a mare?”

The pink pegasus flew forward, standing between Wildheart and her fallen comrade. “You… really think you can take us?”

Wildheart took a step back as a very male voice escaped the small pink pony. He had dealt with teasing due to the feminine color of his coat, but at least he looked like a stallion. The pair in front of him made it feel like a malevolent spirit had invited them to a genderbending party.

“The question is,” Design said, walking up next to Wildheart, “do you really think you can take us?”

Surprise walked up on Design’s other side. “Yeah, what are you thinking? We’re alicorns, duh! Do you really think you can take us on?”

“Not to mention,” Wildheart added, feeling compelled to contribute, “there’s three of us, and two of you.”

The Earth Pony mare stood and turned to face them, looking none the worse for wear. “We’ve taken on enough of ya to know yer not as tough as ya make yerselves out to be.” She turned and spat some blood into the dirt next to her.

The pink one flashed a toothy grin. “Bring it on.”

He jumped into the air, leaving a small cloud of dust in his wake. Wildheart took off after him, trying to gain just as much speed against the pull of gravity, but the pegasi roared out of his reach like a bolt. Wildheart's face paled and a cold chill spread over his skin. How did he do it? No one could fly that fast. It was impossible!

The pegasus gained distance with ease, too fast for Wildheart. He briefly considered sending a blast of magic after the pony, but dismissed the thought almost immediately. It rarely happened that an alicorn could fly and cast magic at the same time, and the chance of scoring a hit was unlikely.

Wildheart spared a glance down to his friends, watching the parley between them and the Earth Pony. He smirked as he saw her retreating towards the far-off brush, Design and surprise close on her heels.

As he brought his gaze back to his target he balked. The pegasus had turned and was flying straight for him! On instinct he banked to the right, narrowly avoiding the impending crash.

Wildheart wheeled around, prepared to meet an oncoming blow, but only found himself staring at open air. The pegasi was not coming towards him, but instead flew straight for Design and Surprise. The two had their hands full with the Earth Pony mare, who had stopped her retreat and was now facing the them head-on.

“No!” Wildheart yelled, throwing himself into a dive. A sick feeling dug into his chest as he rocketed down, watching the pegasus moving nearly twice his speed. Time seemed to slow as Surprise looked up, meeting his eyes and seeing the pegasi rocketing towards her. Wildheart lost the wind in his wings and his skin prickled with cold. Surprise…

“STOP.” The word was not shouted, nor was it forceful in any way, but the weight that one word carried seemed to vibrate through Wildheart’s bones as it echoed through the campsite. He felt compelled to follow the voice he didn’t know, to simply land and do nothing until the voice instructed him again.

As it was, he came up out of his dive, hovering. His eyes darted around quickly, attempting to find the source of the voice, and he realized that both his friends and enemies had done the same.

It didn’t take him long to find the body behind the voice. There, standing on a hilltop with the sunrise behind it was a tall, slender silhouette. It looked like it might be an alicorn with a light, almost transparent mane that flowed unnaturally in the breeze. Its wide eyes glowed a brilliant white while the body stayed enveloped by shadow.

“YOU ARE NOT EACH OTHER’S ENEMY,” said the thing, the even words almost musical. Wildheart had to fight the sense of tranquility that threatened to to fill him. His eyes were drawn to the creature, who raised its head to look back towards Pegisopolis.

In the quiet that followed that simple sentence, Wildheart heard a distant but insistent buzzing. As his ears twitched his head swiveled to look at what the strange alicorn was watching. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the massive, black, undulating cloud headed straight for their camp.