Love Bites

Ember, Speckle, Sirena and Quetzal all sat in their usual spot by the rushing waters of the Raging Rapids, in the midst of discussing their next course of action. Ryker was there as well in his parents stead, listening intently as thoughts were tossed around. The Lead’s eyes were lidded, fighting fatigue. He had spent the past few nights restless, pacing continuously on his cave’s landing as he pondered long and hard. This morning’s meeting may had been called at the last minute, but he deemed that it was necessary, despite his mate’s protests to hold it off for at least an hour or two so he could get some rest. He shifted his gaze to the dragon hybrid across from him. “Have you spoken to those that I requested, Beta?”

Quetzal bobbed her head. “Yes, Alpha. They should be on their way here.”

“Good, good.”

Sirena’s nose twitched as a scent that she recognized reached it, abruptly rising to her hooves, head whipping behind her. “Anne? Is that you?”

The younger pegasus emerged from the tree line, head held high as she stepped forward to greet the others, quickly bowing before the stallion. “Alpha.”

Ember’s head tilted to the side in slight amusement. “So you’ve had some time to think, huh? What made you change your mind, Andante?”

Anne smiled softly. “It was your Beta, actually. She gave me a bit of a pep talk, and it helped me see things in a different light. I’ve made my decision to help you find your son and my sister, Alpha.” Her eyes shimmered as she turned to looked at her mother. “I won’t let you down again, Mom.”

The lilac mare surged forward to embrace her daughter, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she closed them. “No, Anne. You didn’t let me down. I was wrong to make such assumptions about Pixel. If there’s anyone who would know her best, it’d be you. I’m sorry.”

A loud rustle came from the nearby bushes across from them, and a familiar voice questioned, “Awe, are we having a hug fest? How come I wasn’t invited?”

Ryker’s face lit up and he darted towards the sound, tail wagging violently. “Alpha Collin!” He tackled the elder pegasus’ legs, causing the two of them to tumble backwards onto the ground. The stallion wheezed as the air was suddenly knocked out of him, but couldn’t help but laugh as he playfully ruffled the colt’s mane.

“Easy there, pup… I didn’t anyone would be this excited to see little old me.”

“I thought you would never come back!”

Collin scoffed, narrowing his eyes. “And leave my daughter out there to deal with Luna knows what? Please. I just needed some time to assess the situation, that’s all.” Then, he winked. “Besides, I couldn’t have my little Hunter reaping all of the spoils, now could I?”

Ember grinned as he came over to help his friend up. “Glad to have you back on board, Alpha. We missed you.”

“As did I. Now, if I may add… is the beard starting to become a trend? Cause I noticed Mark sporting a small one last time I saw him and your starting to grow one too...I’d be glad to give some grooming tips if you-”

“Collin…”

“Right, right. Sorry. Now where were you in the whole plan thing?”

Speckle’s eyes rolled as she shook her head fondly. “Reinforcements.”

“Ooh, sounds sophisticated. Are we going to have a ‘Welcome back even though you’ve been gone for over two months and we should be mad but for the sake of being somewhat decent parents we’ll let it slide just this once’ Parade? I could make a speech…”

Sirena groaned, pressing a hoof to her forehead. “Luna, help us all… no. We’ve called in some extra help in case things go south. Who knows what those two could have gotten themselves into.”

Her ears suddenly perked, looking over her shoulder to see her own parents in their wolf forms swimming across the river alongside Speckle’s. The group carefully came onto shore, shaking the water out of their fur before transforming and joining the others. Onyx had a slight frown on his lips. “It seems like every time we meet, something’s bound to happen, kid.”

Collin ruffled his feathers, seeming nonchalant. “Don’t take it personally, Ox. I made a… small mistake of attacking Pixel’s supposed mate, causing the both of them to run away. Now we’re trying to find them and bring them home. Is that fair enough for you?”

The yellow pegasus grimaced. “Seems like somethin’ you’d do. Not sure why you dragged Saddle Horn into it though.”

Ember sighed. “Her mate is my son.”

This caused the elder’s eyes to widen, and his scowl deepened. “What kinda demon possessed you to do such a thing?”

The dark blue stallion quickly brushed him off. “No time for that now. Rykes, have you gotten any leads?”

The youth shook his head. “No, Sir. Not since the last time we were out.” Suddenly he paused, eyes going wide, nose twitching like a rabbit’s. He quickly transformed, howling and yipping as he sped into the brush, prompting everyone else to follow his lead. The faint trickle of a scent grew stronger and more intense as he tracked it, stopping when the smell covered item came into view. The red earth pony’s face shifted to one of shock. On the ground was a golden necklace in the shape of flowers, with diamonds lining the petals. On closer inspection, small strands of Obsidian’s hair coiled around the cold metal. Scrawled in the dirt beside the piece of jewelry was a washed out but still readable message: Hurry.

“He knows we’re looking for them, and something’s wrong.” The Lead glanced up to look at Anne. “Go get the others, quickly.” When she left, he left the burning question in everyone else’s mind as they all stared at him silently. What do we do? “We move forward and prepare ourselves for the worst case scenario.” Noticing Sirena’s eyes start to water, he gave her a sympathetic look. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, Alpha, but we still should be ready for it. Your girl is strong, but even she has her limits.” The mare slowly nodded, leaning against her mate for comfort. Collin’s gaze shifted from her to his fellow Lead.

“We’re ready, Ember.”

“Good. Then we embark at moonrise.” As the others all began to disperse to find a place to get comfortable, he could only sit and stare at what had been found. The faint scent of his son gave him hope that the pair were okay, but the message spoke otherwise. He sighed, lying down when his legs could support him no longer. “We’re coming, Sid. Just hold on a little more. We’re coming.”