Solar Eclipse: The Watcher

Chapters

Stronghold
Shadows
The Burial
The Flames

Stronghold

Celestia vehemently watched the horizon for any signs of the pegasus squadron. They had left hours ago, and she had begun to fear the worst. They were her best pegasi, but they were not infallible. They had better get back here soon, she thought as she watched the billowing clouds over the mountains.

A light blue pegasus lay in a pile of snow, his body contorted by his collision with the ground. The landscape before him was a desolate expanse of jagged rocks, drifts of pure white snow, and towering cliffs that stretched into the void above. Dense clouds skirted through the peaks, splitting and deforming as they drifted across the rocks that cut them like knives. A small flurry of snow had begun to pepper Blackbird’s still body. It trembled once, violently, as his natural instincts responded to the cold around him. Soon after, his eyes cracked open. He was alive, but only just.

As he came to his senses he slowly realized the severity of his situation. Around him, the world was growing ever more hostile, and his mind was beginning to realize how much pain his body was truly in. He tried to move, but as his body shifted a surge of exquisite pain flared from his wing. His mouth opened to scream in pain, but it had stolen his breath as well. He let his head fall back into the snow as he struggled to take in air.
Several minutes later, once his breathing was bearable, he slowly arched his neck to assess the damage the bullet had done to his wing. Its mangled form lay in a crimson crater of blood by his side. Near the base, where the bullet had struck, a small gaping hole was oozing.

A loud howl of wind made him shiver. He looked to the darkening clouds above him as they began to unleash their payload. The small flurry of snow was rapidly growing in intensity, it would only be a matter of minutes before it would cover his body. I need to get somewhere safe, Blackbird thought as he tried to bring himself to his hooves. The pain, however, threw him back to the ground, his mind had become his enemy. Come on, he thought to himself as he struggled to stand once more in the steadily growing drift of snow. He let out a groan as his body refused to cooperate. He lifted his head and painfully surveyed the cliffs through the haze. In the distance stood a small alcove in the side of a cliff, just large enough for a pony to seek refuge from the storm.

Blackbird dug his hoof in the snow before him and painfully dragged his body toward the opening. Inch by inch, he struggled against the blizzard, trying to get to the one place that might save his life. The snow steadily thickened around him as he slowly slid across its agonizingly cold surface. Drifts began to form, creating small ridges he was forced to ascend. With each breath he took he felt every inch of his body twinge in pain. He tried to ignore it, to push aside that mental voice that told him to give up and to breathe his last. The only thing that could save him lay just beyond the veil of white that laughed at his efforts to save himself from the elements. Each movement he made slowly drained him of the small reserves of energy he had left. The wind that whipped his face stung like hornets, and the sleet that rode on its back assaulted his wound.

With one last burst of energy Blackbird dragged himself over a drift and let himself slide onto the rough rocky ground of the cave. A wave of relief washed over him as he felt the hard stone beneath him. The sharp gravel cut into his skin but Blackbird barely noticed. He had made it, his mind relishing in his small victory over the elements. The world began to blur and fade as he began to lose consciousness. His wounds were slowly draining him from the inside out. Violently he shook his head, trying to stay firmly planted in reality, but this fate was inevitable.

Painfully he unbuttoned his vest and gently removed it from his body, carefully avoiding his wing in the process. The remnants of the camera spilled out onto the ground into a pile. What happened to shock-proof, he thought to himself wryly as he looked at the cracked lens. Focus! That is of little concern, I need to stop the bleeding, he thought to himself as he looked over the pile of camera parts. But how?’

The solution was simple, but it took his weary mind several minutes to build a plan. Weakly he undid the neck strap of the camera and fashioned a loop around his wing. Taking a deep breath Blackbird took the loose end of the strap in his mouth and snapped his head back.

A wave of indescribable pain coursed through his body as the strap cinched over the wound. The immense pain that attacked his mind began forcing reality out. The bleeding slowed considerably, but his body was violently shaking, Blackbird was beginning to fade. As he slipped toward unconsciousness he could not help but think, I’m not going to wake up again. The frightening thought drifted through his mind as it collapsed into darkness. Moments before passing out, he felt a sense of calmness wash over him. If I die, so be it.

“Celestia,” the pegasus said as he bowed at the princess’s hooves.
“Yes?” the princess asked as she rose from her throne. “Do you have news of the observer?”
“We discovered a stallion flying in the upper limits of the atmosphere in the shadow zone.”

Celestia cocked her eyebrow. “That region is off limits, how did he get past the watchtowers?”

“The mixture of his light blue coat, incredible speed, and high altitude made him difficult to tail. Lucky for us, he dipped into the denser air over the mountains where I tailed him until I could get a clear shot.”

“Is he dead?” Celestia asked, a sense of worry in her voice.

“I shot him in the wing, he crashed into the mountainside, and a massive blizzard was building over the range.”

Celestia trotted to the balcony and looked toward the mountains. A dark swirling haze of clouds surrounded them. Only the highest peaks pierced the blanket of clouds, defiantly shredding the oncoming storm with their summits. “That is all well and good, but you didn’t answer my question, so I will ask it again. Is the stallion dead.”

“Three times over your highness,” the stallion said as he trotted to her side and watched the blizzard grow in the distance. The mass of clouds began to flicker with lightning, signaling the start of a violent storm. “If the collision didn’t kill him, the blood loss would. And if that didn’t, then the blizzard would.”

“So another way to answer my question is, ‘I did not check but I think so’.” Celestia said, her voice growing ever more irritated at the ambiguous answer.

“Y-Yes, your highness.”

“You do realize that he might have been working with Luna, don’t you?” Her voice becoming condescending.

“Yes…” the stallion said, his voice tapering off in uncertainty.

“And that Luna is very intelligent.”

“Yes of course…”

“And that she will stop at nothing to dethrone me and take my crown,” Celestia said, her anger building.

The stallion began to step backward as Celestia sternly met his gaze.

“Your highness--” The stallion started, but Celestia cut him off.

“Either you make sure he’s dead,” She said as she pressed her forehead against his. “Or I will make sure you are.”

“Understood,” the pegasus said as he nervously swallowed. “I will return when I finish the mission.”

“Good, bring back evidence when you kill him,” Celestia said as she gestured for him to alight. “It seems your reports are… lacking conclusive information.”

The stallion saluted, his hoof nearly colliding with his forehead. “As you wish,” he said before galloping off of the balcony and taking to the air. As he exited the subsonic zone, he swiveled in his wings and with a powerful downthrust, broke through the sound barrier. As he rocketed toward the range his mind slowly replayed the threat just given to him. I’ve got to find that stallion, he thought as he rapidly approached the tops of the dense storm clouds.

Minutes later, he spread his wings and quickly stopped himself at the edge of the storm. The wind around him was turbulent, spiraling in unseen eddies as it fueled the storm’s ferocity. He paused for a minute to watch the storm. It was building at a considerable rate and its internal winds were definitely powerful enough to toss him into one of the peaks. Where are you? he asked the storm as he surveyed its undulating top. It took quite a while, but his eyes finally alighted on the small still area in the clouds, the center. Confidently, he arced into the raging blizzard’s weak spot. Despite the relatively low wind speed, the storm still managed to spin him out of control. He held out for a few seconds before quickly being sucked into the turbulent winds of the storm.

The violent air tossed him carelessly through the clouds, destroying the mental map in his head. He tried to watch for the ground as he was spun head over hooves through the dark haze, but his mind was almost immediately distorted by the unending sea of gray and snow. Within seconds his sense of direction was all but destroyed, a few times he tried to escape the storm, but he only succeeded in further confusing himself and destroying any sense of direction.

It quickly became apparent that he was helpless and he pulled his wings to his body. Maybe I can clear my head on the ground, he thought as he careened downward into the vast expanse below. Watching carefully for any sign of land the pegasus prepared himself for a hard touchdown. Seconds passed and nothing happened, his body was still suspended in the air by the updrafts in storm. Seconds turned into minutes, but still no sign of the ground. Then it came.

The stallion smashed into the snowy ground and skidded to a stop, his body intentionally limp in his preparation for a crash. The collision had nearly knocked him senseless, but he vehemently held onto reality. Dazed, he rose to his hooves, but the dizziness and confusion made him stumble to the ground. As he lay in the snow, he tried to recognize his location, but he could identify nothing in the raging blizzard. This isn’t good. He thought as his mind slowly started to comprehend the situation. I can try and fly back to the castle…. the stallion paused, then violently shook his head. No, no I can’t do that. Celestia will kill me… No, I-I have to find that stallion. Painfully, he lifted himself his hooves and quickly surveyed his surroundings, through the blizzard he could barely make out a large grey mass that rose into the sky. Slowly he walked to the large cliff that stretched into the horizon, pushing through the storm that howled around him.

He reached the cliff after several agonizing seconds of movement and leaned against the cold rock wall.The cliff offered some protection from the driving wind, but his hooves were already beginning to go numb. If I stay here much longer I’ll freeze to death. I should wait until this storm dies down before I sleep; I don’t want to die out here, the stallion thought as he rubbed his hooves, trying to massage feeling back into his extremities.

He craned his neck into the blizzard, trying to find a better spot to rest. There, in the distance, was a small overhanging rock. Beneath the alcove was a patch of bare ground. There, he thought as he painfully limped toward the alcove. The cliff dug into his coat, the pain and his desire for shelter keeping him awake as he trudged forward until he was underneath the stony protrusion. When he arrived he immediately dropped to the ground and curled himself into a tight ball. His attempt to conserve the little warmth he had left in his body was his only chance for survival. Luckily, that small ember successfully kept him from freezing to death in the ever building storm. He yawned, his mind slowly drifting into rest. I’m not supposed to sleep in the cold, but this is only a quick nap, he thought, his mind attempting to rationalize his body’s desire to sleep forever. He laid his head down and as his eyes began to droop, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

In his sleep, Blackbird rolled to his side and onto his mangled wing. Pain coursed through his body, tearing him from his rest. The pain from the crash still lingered, but it was slowly being overpowered by fear. Questions in his disgruntled mind began to pile up. How long have I been out? he thought as he craned his neck to see out the front of the cave. The storm continued to ravage the landscape outside, blanketing it in choking layers of ice and snow. The blizzard is still raging, and I’m not dead, I must not have been asleep for long. A chill ran down his back as he realized his condition, the piercing cold had numbed his extremities and was slowly encroaching on his heart. He parted the fur on his leg to reveal his purpling skin; his legs were numb to the knees . Not good, he thought as he tried to stand. The pain, once more, echoed through his body and threw him back to the ground. Why won’t nature just let me die in my sleep? He thought as he laid his head back to the ground. The world seemed to be torturing him. He started to close his eyes, not knowing if he would ever open them again.

Just as his eyelids were almost shut, he noticed something on the wall of the cave. It was a simple chalk line. Intrigued, his eyes followed its bends and junctions that ran along the wall. Slowly, he realized that it was a massive compilation of images, the meaning of which was unmistakable. It was a massive depiction of the events of the first Hearth Warming’s Eve. His mind, intrigued by the images, slowly pulled away from the temptation of sleep. In just a few seconds, Blackbird was wide awake, his mind racing with questions about the images. Was this the very cave? he thought. His mind began to imagine the ponies of the three kingdoms before him, bickering among themselves over their territory. Was this where it all happened? The depiction of the creation of Equestria was awe-inspiring, and it brought a new sense of determination.

Blackbird looked back to his shattered camera. If only I could document this place, maybe the citizens would begin to remember how the world used to work, he thought. His eyes remained glued to the creation, transfixed by its appearance.

Although Blackbird’s mind was awake, his body was beginning to drift out of reality. As he studied the wall’s murals; he felt the last reserves of his energy slowly beginning to fade away. He struggled to hold his head up, dying to inspect the images further, but it finally collapsed too. As he lay on the cold rocks of the cave floor slowly dying, Blackbird felt his body being moved. Unsure whether he was delusional or not he ignored the feeling and let his eyes close.

Shadows

Blackbird’s body trembled as he stirred from his sleep. A small fire before him popped and cracked as it flames bounced from the hot coals. The orange glow of the tongues illuminated the small cave around him. The ground was well worn from several years of hoof traffic. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Blackbird noticed the large cauldron that was suspended from the warmth of the fire. Its bottom was glowing with a faint red hue.

What is this? Blackbird thought as he surveyed the dark room. It was obvious it was inhabited. Several wooden bowls rested in the makeshift shelves that had been carved into the rocks and a few hoofmade tables sat at the edges of the cave. Their surfaces were littered with all sorts of things. Piles of herbs rested on one and a set of tools rested on another.

“I see you have finally awoken from your slumber,” said a deep voice from the shadows.

Blackbird, unable to lift his head, tried to look in the direction of the sound. He painfully rolled his head toward the voice, but nothing was there, only darkness. He drew in a sharp breath before faintly whispering, “Who are you?”

“Who I am is not important at the moment, but you are safe.”

Blackbird rolled his head to the side and let out a breath. “Thank you,” he said in an ever-weakening voice.

“You must regain your strength,” the voice commanded from the darkness, “Look to your left.”

Blackbird obeyed and, to his groggy surprise, he discovered a bowl of steaming stew lying in front of his face.

“Eat.”

Using all the energy he could muster, Blackbird reached over and tried to drag the bowl toward him. His hoof struck the bowl, causing it to spill its contents onto the ground. “You are weaker than I suspected,” the voice said from the darkness. The warm stew snaked underneath Blackbird’s head, and he managed to drink a few precious drops using his tongue.

Several minutes later, Blackbird had eaten all that was in reach. “Why do you stay in the darkness?” he said, his voice still a whisper.

“Looks can be deceiving, but personalities are not. It would be better for you to know me, rather than my form.”

“I don’t see what difference it would make,” Blackbird said as he rolled his head back, the side of his face covered in cold stew.

“Why am I here?”

“I couldn’t simply leave you in the snow to die.”

Blackbird tried to shift his body, but winced when his wing rubbed against the ground.

“Your impromptu tourniquet was impressive, but I took the liberty of fashioning a new one for you,” the voice said.

“Why have you done this for me?” Blackbird whispered. “I’m just a stranger to you.”

“If you had seen what I have, you would be eager to help everypony you could. Life is too short to do anything else,” said the voice.

“Well I thank--” Blackbird cut himself off as he realized there were faint hoofsteps from behind him.

“Is anypony here?” asked a voice that echoed through the cave.

“Sounds like I have a lot of company today.”

Blackbird was silent. Is that the guard? His mind began to pick up steam once more as fear slowly began refueling his body. Using his hind legs, he painfully pushed himself toward the edge of the cave.

“What are you doing?” asked the voice as he watched Blackbird scoot across the floor.

“Trying to hide.”

“From what?”

“From him,” Blackbird whispered as he pushed himself underneath one of the tables. Just as he pulled himself into the concealing shadows of the table, the newcomer stumbled into the cave. Blackbird watched as the black form of the stallion slowly approached the fire. As he reached the warm glow of the light Blackbird’s face drained of color. It was the stallion who had shot him.

“What’s this?” the guard asked as he looked at the shattered remains of the camera on one of the tables in the makeshift room. His gaze drifted to the pot of stew above the dwindling fire. “Hello?” As he stepped toward the fire, Blackbird got a good look at the stallion’s face, it was the same pegasus that had shot him.

“Good evening.” the voice said. The deep words reverberated off of the walls and startled the stallion.

“Who’s there!” the guard shouted as he withdrew his revolver with incredible speed.

“I greet you, yet you threaten violence. There is no hospitality here for ponies like you.”

“Do you know who I am?” the guard shouted as he began to turn in circles, trying to locate the voice. “I am the leader of the Tau Pegasus squadron! I have the authority to kill who I want, when I want, for whatever reason I want.”

“Your authority stopped at the doorway,” the voice said. “I answer to no pony but myself. Leave, or suffer the consequences.”

“What are you going to do? Yell at me some more?” the guard asked as he nonchalantly walked to the cauldron of stew and withdrew the ladle. He blew across the portion to cool it.

“Put it down,” The voice said with a surprising amount of irritation.

“Why don’t you come out here and make me,” The guard said as he brought the spoon to his mouth to a drink of the stew. No sooner had the spoon touched his lips than the fire immediately went out with a hiss. Blackbird tried to see, but everything was pitch black. A loud crash echoed off through the cave immediately followed by the blinding light of the muzzle flash. For that brief instant of light, Blackbird could see two figures. One was sprawled on the floor, and the other was in mid air above the other. He could not distinguish which one was which. A moment later a dull crunch of breaking bones made Blackbird flinch. A bloodcurdling scream echoed off of the walls of the cave. Then there was silence.

A light flickered to life. It was a small candle. Blackbird slowly realized the pony on the ground was the guard. His two forelegs were twisted behind his head in the most unnatural positions Blackbird could imagine. An aged stallion held the candle in one hoof and a revolver in the other as he stood over the guard. He pointed the toward the ceiling and emptied the rounds onto the floor.

“Who sent you?” the old stallion asked in a collected tone as he tossed the revolver to the ground.

“Don’t kill me,” the guard begged. “I was only following orders.”

“Whose orders?” the stallion barked, making the guard flinch.

“The Empire.”

“Your empire’s jurisdiction does not reach here,” the stallion said as he leaned down toward the guard.

“Please,” the guard said as he began to push himself away from the stallion. The stallion reached down and dragged the guard back with his hind legs.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” he said as he pulled the guard into the darkness. A muffled cry resounded through the cave, then silence. Several seconds passed, the only light in the cave coming from the flickering candle that lay where the guard once had.

Blackbird waited in the cover of the shadows. Will he kill me too? he thought as the stallion walked back into the light. He held his breath and pressed himself against the cave wall.

“It is safe,” the stallion said as he looked to the table that blackbird was hiding under. “You may come out.”

Blackbird didn’t move. For several minutes the two stayed there, staring at one another through the veil of darkness between them. The only light was coming from the candle that flickered in the stallion’s hoof.

The stallion spoke up, breaking the silence with his baritone that echoed off of the rock walls. “It appears that my actions have placed me in a negative light. I do not intend to cause you any harm.” For some reason, the words sounded empty to Blackbird.

“Why?” Blackbird asked, his trembling voice barely above a whisper. “Why would you do that?”

“He was not welcome here.”

“But… you killed him. Why didn’t you just send him away?”

“Because I knew his heart. It was subservient to an evil so great that he could not be swayed,” the stallion said as he trotted over to the table and knelt down. He set the candle on the floor, the light revealing blackbird curled up in a tight ball against the wall. “But you are different. You are not driven by evil, but by something good.”

Blackbird’s wide eyes stared at the now approachable old stallion before him. His gaze locked on his outstretched hoof. Blackbird took in a deep breath. Do I trust him? He saved my life, but he could easily take it from me in an instant. He clamped his eyes shut and clenched his muscles. There’s only one thing I can do. He placed his hoof on the floor before him and pulled his body forward. Slowly he inched his way out from under the table, toward the stallion before him.

When the stallion grabbed hold of Blackbird’s shoulder he flinched. A cold spike of fear raced down his back, but the touch was not harsh, but instead it was comforting.

“Well I am glad you came to your senses,” the stallion said as he helped blackbird to his hooves. “The name is Archimedes, but you can call me Arx.”

“Thank you Arx. I’m Blackbird,” the blue pegasus said as he brushed the dirt from his coat.

“What brings you to my cave?” Arx asked as he grabbed the candle and walked over to the massive kettle of stew. He set the candle on the ground and trotted into the darkness.

“I was taking pictures of the wildlife here,” Blackbird said with the steadiest voice he could muster.

“Interesting,” Arx remarked as he trotted back into the light carrying several sticks in his mouth. “What fauna were you trying to document?” he asked as he knelt down and gingerly placed the kindling underneath the pot.

Blackbird bit his lip. He knew exactly what Arx was trying to do. “Nothing in particular, just wanted to get a feel for the land, that’s all.”

“What did you expect to find during a raging blizzard? The abominable snow pony?” Arx asked as he held a small stick to the candle and let it catch fire.

“Well, it came rather unexpectedly,” Blackbird said as he trotted closer to where Arx was rebuilding the fire.

“And I suppose it is also safe to assume that somepony really didn’t want you taking pictures of nature,” Arx said as he gestured to Blackbird’s wing. Small beads of sweat began to form on Blackbird’s forehead. He knew he had been found out. “Or were you doing just more than taking photos of nature?” Arx set the burning ember on the end of the stick into the pile of kindling and nursed a flame to life. “There must be a reason that you chose to use a high altitude camera in an environment like this.”

“I was… umm… trying to…” Blackbird said as he began to stumble over his words. He had been caught red hoofed, and he knew it.

“I know what you were doing, it’s painfully obvious.” Arx said as he turned his attention to Blackbird. “And I know why you were doing it.”

“Then we need not discuss this matter further,” Blackbird said as he occupied himself with warming his hooves.

“I agree,” Arx said as he trotted back into the darkness. “Instead we need to focus on the issue at hoof. What are we going to do with this body?” Arx asked as he trotted back into the light, dragging the guard’s corpse behind him by the leg. “I can’t have him rotting in my home.”

“Shouldn’t we bury him?” Blackbird asked.

“That would take too much energy, and in case you were not aware, the ground is shoulder deep in snow. No, we need something that will keep the others from finding the cave.”

“Others?” Blackbird asked with a hint of worry in his voice. “What others?”

“If he doesn’t return, they will send a search party. I have seen it time and time again. We need to disguise him in the area, make it look like it was an accident.”
Blackbird looked at the mangled body. “That doesn’t look like it was by accident.”

“No, but if we position him in the right place, it will.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we put him on the beach in a lounge chair, somepony would know it wasn’t a mistake. They would know that he had been attacked, but if we put him somewhere where the most plausible answer is an accident, then they will stop their search there,” Arx said as he began to scratch his chin. “Now the only question is: where can we make it look like a mistake?”

“Could we put him in a river?”

“Too obvious, nopony falls into a river and breaks their arms and neck. We need something that follows a logical cause and effect,” Arx said as he began to pace. “We can use the storm to our advantage”

“What about at the bottom of a ravine?” Blackbird asked as he watched the fire begin to warm the pot once more.

“That could work, but there are too many options for his death for them to consider.”

“What do you mean?” Blackbird asked.

“Questions like, Did he collide with the cliff, or did he fall off of it? Those thoughts inherently entertain the idea of more than one death. No, we can’t let that happen, we need something definitive,” Arx said as he began to ponder several situations in his mind.

“What if we made it blatantly obvious he collided with something?” Blackbird asked, trying to contribute in any way he could. “But what could he run into that would be that evident though?”

“A tree.” Arx said in a slightly excited tone as he spun around and faced Blackbird. “We can put him in a tree.”

“Yeah, I can fly him to the to--“ Blackbird paused as Arx pointed to his incapacitated wing. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” He said sheepishly.

“Well it looks like the tree is the best option we have, now lets get moving.”

“But how do you plan to get him up in it?”

“Bah!” Arx exclaimed, “We will burn that bridge when we come to it.” Without another word, Arx grabbed the leg of the corpse and began to drag it toward the entrance.

Blackbird shook his head and smiled. He is either really smart, or insane. And right now it looks like he’s both.

The Burial

Arx and Blackbird stopped at the entrance to the cave. The blizzard had lost some of its power, but still howled like an unchained beast. The snowdrifts were piled well above their heads, creating artificial mountains of white across the landscape.

“You take him from here!” Arx yelled over the powerful wind that whipped the two ponies. “I’ll go scout out a good tree!”

“How will I find you?” Blackbird yelled over the wind. “I don’t want to get lost out here!”

“Don’t worry about that! These mountains aren’t that confusing!” Arx yelled as he wrapped his scarf over his face, leaving only a slit for his eyes. He galloped out into the vast expanse of white before them, and quickly disappeared into the blizzard. Blackbird tried to follow him as best he could, but there was no way he could keep his pace while dragging a body behind him.

“Now what am I going to do?” Blackbird asked as he felt the temperature slowly dropping around him. He squinted, as if it would help him see through the blinding white curtain of snow. How is he going to be able to find me in this weather? he thought as he realized his situation. He looked behind him, but his tracks were already covered in snow. His body began to tremble with fright. Where is he? “Arx!” He shouted, but his voice was quickly lost to the wind. I'm going to die out here, he thought as he looked back at the body. Just like him. “Arx! Where are you?”

“What are you shouting for?” asked the familiar, deep voice. Blackbird quickly turned his head in Arx’s direction, but all that stood there was the dense falling snow.

Oh great, now I’m hallucinating. Blackbird thought. “Arx!” he shouted, louder this time.

“Stop shouting,” the voice said again.

“This is crazy, and now I'm going crazy,” Blackbird said.

“If I'm just imaginary then you won’t feel this,” the voice said. A large snowball flew from behind one of the snowdrifts and struck Blackbird square in the jaw. He toppled to the ground, landing on his wing. He let out a loud cry as the pain stabbed into his side. Quickly he rolled himself over to get off of his wing and painfully rose to his hooves in the knee-high snow.

“What was that for?” Blackbird asked as he trotted to the other side of the snowdrift. Arx was lying in the snow, smiling like a child.

“You worry too much,” Arx said as he lifted another snowball from the pile beside him.

“I really think we need to get this body hidden soon,” Blackbird said with an exasperated sigh. He trotted over to the corpse that had already collected a dusting of snow. “The search party should be here soon.”

Arx stood, his smile turning to a thoughtful frown. “I suppose you are right. The tree is just up ahead.” Arx began to gallop off, but Blackbird shouted after him.

“Can we stick together?”

“Sure thing,” Arx said as he trotted to blackbird’s side. “All you had to do was ask.”

A few moments later and the tree peeked through the snow. “So how are we going to get this body into the tree?” Blackbird asked as he saw the tree come into view through the blizzard.

“That’s easy,” Arx said as he dragged the body to the base of the towering plant. He took several steps back and closed his eyes. A green aura surrounded the body as Arx lifted it into the tree, maneuvering it around the branches and dense leaves.

What? I didn’t know he was a unicorn, Blackbird thought as he watched the body rise into the tree. He looked to Arx to try and find the source of the magic. There, on top of his head, clear as day, was a horn. As Blackbird looked longer he noticed something strange, it was curved, ever so slightly. At first glance the bend was unrecognizable but after further inspection, it was unmistakable.

“What’s wrong? Haven’t you ever seen a unicorn lift something before?” Arx asked as he turned to Blackbird and met his stare. Blackbird blinked and craned his head, as if he was trying to look past Arx. Arx looked behind himself. “That storm is really fascinating isn’t it?” He asked sarcastically.

“Oh, sorry, I thought I saw something,” Blackbird said as he looked back at Arx. “I think I'm starting to get paranoid about that search party.”

“Right,” Arx said with an air of disbelief. “We should get back to the cave, I'm starting to get cold.”

Blackbird nodded. “Lead the way.”

Arx trotted past blackbird, and motioned for him to follow. He was relieved to be behind Arx, partially because he could satisfy his curiosity about his horn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a curved horn before. Is it a genetic defect or did he make it that way? I don’t even remember him having a horn before now, why didn’t I notice it sooner? How did he get up in the mountains anyway, and where did he come from? The questions slowly built upon themselves until Blackbird’s mind was racing with curiosity.

“You’ve been pretty quiet,” Arx said, breaking the silence of the hike. “Is something on your mind?”

Is this stallion some sort of mind reader? Blackbird thought as he realized how many times he had been found out. “Several things are.”

“Well, what would you like to know?” Arx asked as he trotted alongside Blackbird.

“Well, for starters, why are you living in a cave, in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain?” Blackbird asked.

“I can’t tell you too much, but what I can say is that I was like you, running from an Empire.” Arx said.

“What empire?” Blackbird asked as he shook his head, slightly irritated by the ambiguous answer.

“That, I cannot say.”

“Then what can you tell me?” Blackbird asked.

“Nothing you don’t know already.”

“But I don’t know anything!” Blackbird growled through his clenched teeth.

“You know my name, that’s about all you can understand at this point,” Arx said as they rounded the bend toward the cave entrance. “And here we are.”

“That’s convenient,” Blackbird muttered under his breath. As they trotted into the cave Blackbird noticed the Hearth Warming’s eve tale on the wall. “Here’s something that I bet you can answer.”

“Go for it,” Arx said.

“Is this the cave of Hearth’s Warming eve?”

“No, the drawings are my own,” Arx said. He noticed Blackbird’s disappointment as he placed his hoof on the wall. “It serves as a reminder to me of how the world used to work.”

“How so?”

“A century ago, the world worked differently. Ponies trusted each other, they were kind, compassionate.” Arx let out a sigh. “That’s why I came here, but then it changed.”

“Wait, you came to equestria when it was under the twin sister rule?”

“That is another story, for another day. I still remember the day that everything changed. It all started when the Hive rebelled. Within a week I found myself with an identification tag and fences being built around the cities.”

“The Hive?”

“Sorry, The Changeling Empire, I did several years of study into their culture,” Arx rattled off as he turned to Blackbird and looked at his broken wing. “That wing will take a while to heal, and it’s getting late. I have a bed for you.”

“So you have a guest bedroom... in a cave?” Blackbird asked.

“No, but I should. You will sleep in my room, and I will sleep on the floor,” Arx said as the two of them walked into the bedchamber.

Blackbird bit his lip in embarrassment. “I can take the floor, it’s not a problem.”

“On the contrary, what if you roll over onto your wing during the night? That won’t help it one bit. I don’t have a lot of guests up here anyway, and my conscience wouldn’t dare let a guest sleep on the floor. I insist.”

Blackbird nodded and looked at the small room around him. It was barely decorated at all. The walls were bare, not holding any pictures or drawings. The bed was an old worn burlap sack filled with hay. Several patches had been sewn onto is surface from the several years of use it had received. The rest of the furniture appeared to be all hoof made by Arx himself.

“Did you make all of this?” Blackbird asked as he trotted over to the dresser and picked up a small pony figurine.

“Most of it, but not that, it was my mother’s.” Arx said as he watched the stallion lift the figure from the table.

Blackbird gazed in a curious fascination with the elegantly carved piece of wood. The features were rough, but there was something familiar about it. “What is it?”

“It’s what is known as a doll,” Arx said sarcastically.

“I guessed that. What is it for?”

“That is also something I can’t tell you at this time.”

“Figures,” Blackbird said as he placed the doll back on the table. “If it even remotely involves your past, then I can’t know about it.”

“Pretty much. Now let’s get some sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow.” Arx said as he curled up on the floor.

“Really? What are we doing?”

“I don’t know yet, but we will do something.”

Blackbird rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say Arx.” He sat down onto the bed and gingerly laid himself down onto the rough surface. The spines in the hay scratched his coat. I wonder what the floor is like? Blackbird thought as he looked to Arx who was sleeping comfortably on the floor. I don’t want to offend him; I’ll just sleep here for the night. Blackbird slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. At least I can expect another day tomorrow.

The Flames

Blackbird and Arx sat close to the fire. The flames that had once crept up the sides of the black kettle had turned into mere embers among the ashes. As they had diminished, the pair had slowly edged closer to the source.

“Wow, where did the fire run off to?” Blackbird quipped as he tried to revive the miniscule embers with the poker.

“It has been so long since it’s gotten this low. I was so enraptured in our conversation that I forgot to toss a log on. Be a good guest and go grab some wood from the pile in the corner.”

“What pile in the corner?” Blackbird asked as he rose to his hooves and walked over to where the pile should rest.. “Nothing here but air.”

“Rats,” Arx said as he stood. “There is another pile, but it’s outside the cave.”

“And by that you mean you want me to go grab some, right?”

“Precisely. Off you go,” Arx said in a chipper tone. It was obvious he was enjoying his company a little too much.

“You do realize I’m not your slave,” Blackbird said as he walked toward the entrance.

“But you are indebted to me. After all, I saved your life,” Arx said as he looked to Blackbird. “And I feel like I have saved something much larger than a single soul as well.”

Blackbird silently nodded before stepping toward the world outside. As he made his way through the small caves toward the entrance he paused as he passed the drawing of hearths warming eve. The crude drawings still echoed their message of hope through his mind.

“Now lets see what’s in this cave," said a voice that echoed off of the cave walls.

Blackbird froze. Is that the search party? He thought as his eyes darted across the dark walls of the room. The shadows of two pegasi flickered against the rock, creating looming figures of impending doom before him. Blackbird quickly spun around and raced back toward Arx.

“What was that?” asked the voice, growing fainter as Blackbird rushed toward the depths of the cave.

I have to warn Arx. Blackbird thought, his mind racing as fast as his legs. I can’t let them find me.

“Lightning, you’re just hearing things,” Chief said as he set the small torch he had fashioned next to the wall of the cave. “We’ll take shifts keeping watch for our comrades.”

“Alright, they shouldn’t be too long.” Lightning said as he walked to the entrance and leaned against the wall. “Can you get a fire going?”

“Way ahead of you,” The Chief said as he bathed the pile of kindling before him with sparks from his flint. The dry wood quickly caught fire and began to radiate its heat and light through the cave. As the room lit up Lightning nonchalantly looked around at the cave.

“Chief, the wall,” Lightning said as he pointed toward the flat rock behind the other pegasus.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The chief muttered in awe as he looked at the chalk drawing on the wall. “Do you know what this means?” he asked as he turned to Lightning. “This is the cave.”

Lightning stood awestruck before the drawings of the story of hearth’s warming eve. “What do we do?” he asked after several minutes of silence.

“We report to the princess, no doubt she will want to make it an attraction,” the chief said as he turned to look at the blizzard outside. “And look who decided to show up to the party!” he shouted to the two figures struggling against the blizzard. His voice was loud enough to carry through the storm, and as soon as he said the words the two figures’ ears perked up.

“Chief!” One of them shouted, his voice just a whisper against the noise of the wind. “We found Charlie Squadron’s captain.”

“Bring him in!” Lightning yelled as Jet Stream and Snowstorm trotted into the cave.

“That’s the problem,” Jet Stream said as he turned to the Chief. “The captain is dead.”

“We found him entangled in the branches of a tree," Snowstorm said as he reached into the tactical belt on his forearm and withdrew a worn lanyard. At its clip hung the captain’s tag, torn and mangled from the collision. “Here’s his tag.”

The Chief stood in silence for a moment before taking the tag from Snowstorm. “I was his wing pony at the Wonderbolt Academy.” He let out a deep sigh. “I never would have thought he would die like this.” He draped the tag over his neck and let it rest against his own. “Now that we are all here, lets try and get some rest. Tomorrow we head back to Canterlot to report our findings. Needless to say, she will not be in the best of spirits when she hears that the Observer is still on the loose.”

“Do we have any good news to report?” Jet Stream asked. “It seems like when she gets only bad news, the rations get tighter.”

“As a matter of fact, we do. Its right behind you.” Lightning said as he pointed to the chalk mural. “Welcome to the very cave where the three races unified to form our great nation.”

“How is this good news?” Snowstorm asked as he walked over to the mural and rubbed the chalk lines. “The princess…” He bit his lip.

“The princess what?” The chief asked as he turned to Snowstorm.

“I feel like the death of Charlie Squadron’s Captain will be too great a loss to validate it with a mural in a cave.” Snowstorm said as he trotted to the fire and curled up beside it.

“Yeah, the observer is the real threat to the empire, and he’s still out there, somewhere.” The chief said as he placed a log on the fire and lay down beside the flames. The others sat next to the fire and warmed themselves before falling asleep for the night.

“Arx!” Blackbird whispered harshly into the darkness. “They’re here.”

“Who? The search party?” Arx asked as he looked up from the fire.

“Yeah, I don’t think they heard me, but they are in the entrance of the cave.”

Arx took a taste of the soup and looked to blackbird. “How many were there?”

“I only heard two.” Blackbird said.

Arx raced to his room and withdrew a long black cloak. “We may be able to sneak out. I’ve dealt with the empire enough to know they will search everything within an inch of its life, especially a cave like this one.” Arx tightened the string on his cloak and pulled the hood over his head. “Grab everything you need. We may not be coming back.”

Without skipping a beat, Blackbird raced to the table and grabbed the invaluable rolls of film, stashing them in his vest pocket. “Where will we go?”

“Into the wilderness. Grab my flint, it will prove to be invaluable.”

Blackbird grabbed the small stone from the shelf. “What else?”

“Take one of the shards of glass and cut your leg with it, dump all of the camera’s remains onto the floor, and smear your blood on the ground,” Arx said as he gestured to the crippled camera on the table.

“You want me to do what?” Blackbird asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Arx trotted over to the table and snatched a long shard of glass from the pile of debris. He quickly skirted to Blackbird’s side and swiped at his leg, causing a long spindly trickle of blood to form.

“What was that for?” Blackbird yelled as he clutched his wound.

Arx trotted to the table and shoved the camera to the ground. “An excuse.” He said as he waved Blackbirds hoof away and began to smear the blood on the ground. “The simplest answer is usually the right one, but the more complicated reality becomes, the less chance it has of being discovered.”

“And what are you trying to get them to believe?”

“That I killed you,” Arx said nonchalantly as he looked to Blackbird and smirked. “That would be the simplest explanation, would it not?”

“I guess it would,” Blackbird muttered as he kept his eyes off of the shattered camera.

“Now lets get out of here,” Arx said as he pulled the hood of his cloak and skulked into the darkness. “Stick to the shadows and follow my lead.” Blackbird nodded and quickly followed behind Arx into the walls. Arx trotted to the bend and peeked around the corner to attempt to spot the intruders. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he hugged the wall and motioned for blackbird to follow him around the corner. It took several minutes for the two of them to reach the entrance to the cave.

‘There they are’ Arx seemed to motion as he pulled himself back into the shadows. He held up his hoof and drew the number four into the air. He shook his head in dismay. Their path was blocked.

‘Can we sneak past them?’ Blackbird mouthed to Arx as he snuck a peek at the four sleeping guards. Arx shook his head and scratched his chin with his hoof. Slowly a glimmer shone in his eye as an idea began to form in his mind. He reached into his cloak’s pocket and withdrew a small lump of shimmering sand. He closed his eyes and calmed his nerves before taking aim at the pile of embers the squadron surrounded.

Blackbird bit his lip. This had better work, he thought as he watched Arx gracefully toss the powder into the air. As it traveled it cast small flecks of sliver in an arching tail behind the main clump of grey powder that careened toward the fire pit. A violent report and blinding flash lit up the cave and awoke the guards. Arx quickly pulled himself against the wall and pressed Blackbird to the rocks, shielding Blackbird’s eyes and his own.

A violent agonizing scream erupted from one of the guards as the powder that had rested on him ignited and began to burn his coat. His comrades were on him in seconds, trying to extinguish the flecks of heated metal on their friend.

Arx grabbed Blackbird’s neck and whispered sharply in his ear. “Let’s get out of here.” Without a second thought, the two of them bolted from the shadows and raced toward the entrance. Arx tossed another cloud of sand behind his head as the guards realized somepony had skirted behind them. The powder erupted in a cloud of light and smoke as the mass contacted the flames. Arx and Blackbird galloped into the dwindling blizzard under the cover of the violent explosion.

Guided only by instinct, Arx darted through the snow. Blackbird barely managed to keep up by using his good wing to give himself a boost through the depression that Arx was plowing before him. They darted through a thicket of briars and slowed to a stop when they could no longer hear the fearful and angry shouts of the guards.

“Keep your head down.” Arx whispered as he shoved Blackbird’s head into the snow.

“How long do we have to wait here?” Blackbird asked, his words muffled by the snow.

“Until they’re gone.”

“That could be ages.”

“Then it looks like we’re going to be here a while.” Arx said as he pulled Blackbird’s head from the snow. “Build a fire, we are going to need some warmth out here.”

“But won’t that bring the guards right to us?”

“Irrelevant, bring me some small kindling.”

Blackbird carefully walked up to the dead briars before him and snapped several small branches off of its spindly stalk. “How about these?” He asked as he placed the small pile of kindling before Arx.
“Excellent.” He said as he pulled the flint from his cloak pocket and struggled to bring a flame to the pile. Finally, the small flames illuminated the two ponies as the snow began to pick up once more.