Black Sun

"It's been too long. Something has to be wrong."

Everypony looked round at Twilight as she broke the silence. It had been an hour since Fluttershy, Aurora and Deep Note had left and nopony had heard anything since. Although the princess was managing to maintain a sense of calm about her, the rising concern in her eyes was unmistakeable. Everypony else was feeling it too, but to actually see it told them just how badly it was getting to her.

"Maaaaybe they're just taking a while to find each other." Trixie suggested nervously, pacing around the map room.

"I don't think so. Rainbow has military experience, she'd never run late willingly." Twilight countered, her tone a little forceful.

Everypony else looked among themselves, unsure of how to respond. The tension was understandable, but it felt like they were letting it dominate the situation too much. At the same time though, there wasn't much they could actually do at the moment. After a few seconds of everypony shifting comfortably, Spike stepped forward and leaned against the map, tapping a claw on the Badlands.

"Even if they do run into trouble, it's not all she has," He told them, studying Twilight's reaction. "There are five ponies out there now, each with their own set of skills they could use. Rainbow is probably the fastest thing alive. Fluttershy already tamed a world-threatening spirit of chaos. Aurora is as smart and magically adept as you were as a unicorn, Scootaloo is one of the most determined ponies I know-"

"And Deep may not look like much, but ah'd say he's got a lotta untapped potential." Applejack added.

"I know, I know..." Twilight admitted, looking down sadly. "I guess I'm just..."

"Thinking of everypony?" Peace Walker suggested, waiting for Twilight to nod before continuing. "Well, for what it's worth, I've got a gut feeling that we'll be hearing something about what's happened soon."

Twilight stared at the map for several seconds, her eyes steadily darting around as she took in it's features. Although most of the others couldn't follow her movements, Spike knew exactly what she was doing. Looking at every town and city upon it, even those that lay unmarked, reminding herself exactly how many lives rested on her actions. As her gaze finally settled on Ponyville, she straightened up and looked round at everyone present with a small smile.

"I'd probably be handling this a lot worse if I didn't have friends like you keeping me sensible," She admitted. "Thank you all for still sticking by me."

"Wow, you must be more stressed than I thought."

Everypony looked round at those words, staring at Trixie in surprise. She was looking back at Twilight with a raised eyebrow and the focused look than anypony had seen from her since the battle at the vault.

"I mean, that has to be the first time you've ever called me your friend." She added, glancing round at the others and looking a little put out that that comment had drawn so much attention.

Twilight blinking in surprise, realising that Trixie had a point. The two had never had any direct contact with each other since the Alicorn Amulet incident, just over twenty-three years ago now. Although they had ultimately parted on good terms, the air of jealousy and animosity had never really faded. On top of that, there was the unwelcome thought that Trixie was the last 'villain' that she had been able to help. Tirek was still locked deep in Tartarus and while Starlight Glimmer had been redeemed, she couldn't claim to have played any true part in making it happen. Even though things had changed a lot, she'd never quite been able to shrug off those last traces of the past. Maybe it was just her stressed mind putting the thought there, but those traces seemed to be holding her back.

"I guess I've found some new perspective since we last met," She said after a moment. "You're standing alongside us and helping me, even though you have no obligation to. I'd say that on some level, that makes us friends."

Spike couldn't help but flash a knowing grin at those words.

"I guess it does." Trixie replied, visibly relaxing as she thought about it. The exchange was enough to ease the atmosphere for everypony else as well. At least there was something positive happening to them in the midst of this wait.

The Badlands echoed with furious screams and rock being torn from its very foundations. Scootaloo knew all too well what it meant. Tantabus was tearing her way through the already shattered earth to try and catch her. She couldn't escape it conventionally. Carrying Rainbow Dash hampered her running, she'd barely stayed in the air for more than fifteen seconds while gliding and the sheer fact her hunter could teleport meant that any straight encounter would be over in seconds.

And Tantabus was closing in on her. Fast.

She had kept enough of a gap that those fifteen seconds had gotten her to one of the narrower, winding canyons that spread out from the base of the former changeling hive. On landing she had rounded the first turn and wedged the two of them into a crevasse in the wall. It wasn't too cramped, enough that she could almost stretch out, but more importantly it was secluded. All she could do at that point was remain still and wait, listening as Tantabus closed in. It would be a long time before she would admit it to another pony, assuming she ever got the chance, but these were undeniably the most terrifying moments of her entire life. If her efforts to hide were a microinch less than perfect, they were both worse than dead. And nopony she cared about would ever know.

With a rush of wind and noise, the raging unicorn came upon their position. Scootaloo held her breath and shut her eyes, waiting for the blow...

It never came. Seconds passed and the noise began to fade slightly, moving past their hiding place.

She opened her eyes and slowly looked toward the canyon, seeing nothing there but dust kicked up by the wind. Tantabus was gone, charging onward down the canyon. Had it been anger induced tunnel vision or just thinking that she would attempt to keep running? Whichever it was, it had given them time and distance.

Scootaloo glanced back at Rainbow Dash, panting hard as she finally dared to breathe and got her heart rate back under control. Rainbow's head was draped over her right shoulder, still unresponsive, and her fur was becoming worryingly red on her back and sides. Scootaloo wasn't doing well either. The vision in her left eye wasn't improving and her head felt like it was ready to split open. The worst part was that there still wasn't time for treatment yet. Maybe once they were out of the area, away from Tantabus. That just left the way she was going to get them out of here without being seen. She knew going back into the canyon would be inviting herself to be found, so she looked up instead.

The crevasse walls were rugged and remained relatively close together, rising thirty feet above her. She could easily climb out if she was alone, but with Rainbow on her back she wasn't sure if she had the hoof strength to hold on. There was another way though. It was far riskier but put less stress on her body, and at this point the only alternate was to sit and wait to be killed. Either by exposure or by Tantabus. Neither was preferable to the risk involved with trying to get out of here.

"Hold on sis, just a little longer." Scootaloo said quietly, to herself as much as to Rainbow. Time...Nay, everything was against her at this point, but the knowledge of who and what was counting on her success meant that she wouldn't allow herself to fail. Not even when she had nothing to rely on but slightly numb hooves and strength of will.

She planted her front hooves firmly against the rock wall, doing her best to rest them against the rougher spots for grip. Once she was settled she did the same with her back left hoof. Moment of truth time. She braced herself and brought her last hoof up. As soon as all four were against the walls she tensed them and held her breath. She fully expected to collapse straight back to the ground, but she found that Rainbow wasn't as heavy in this position as she'd feared. Another small perk of a pegasus' lightweight build. Her legs were shaking slightly, but she could kept them bent and pressed into the wall, digging against the rougher spots for grip. They still had a chance.

Scootaloo took a few breaths before tensing her body and lifting her front left and right rear hooves a few inches, repeating the motion with the other two as soon as they were safely pressed back against the wall. Once her hooves were moving it was surprisingly easy to keep up the momentum, steadily climbing higher and higher. She couldn't take it too quickly though. Although the rock was dry and rugged, it would still be all too easy to slip from a misplaced hoof. Too slowly and her legs would tire out before reaching the top. Even as it was, she had to stop every so often for a breather, trying to keep her legs steady. Her wings had enough space to spread out slightly, keeping Rainbow balanced in place while she did so.

Time had no meaning at the moment, the world around her narrowed to nothing but the rock walls, the two ponies between them and the sun beating down from above. Her legs were starting to ache from the effort, but there was no place to rest. Any hesitation at this point, any mistake, and this crevasse would be the only thing she knew for the rest of her life. Because as she rose, her resolve rose with it. There was no way in Equestria that she was going to let Tantabus lay a hoof on either of their living bodies. There was even less chance that she was going to let Rainbow down like that though, not when she needed the help most. She was going to succeed...She had to!

Eventually, as her muscles were starting to really struggle with being held in that position, the view in Scootaloo's good eye changed from dull brown rock to the dull expanse of the Badlands. As she realised that she was on the brink of making it, her ears twitched. Although Tantabus was still in the middle of her furious rampage, it was much fainter and more to what she assumed was the north-east. Not the direction they needed to go. Although she had handled most of the pressing issues for her escape, a new one was only just becoming apparent to her. How exactly she was supposed to get out of this position and onto flat ground without dropping anything, or anypony. There weren't any real options in her current position, she would just have to think on her hooves.

Scootaloo grunted as she pulled her front hooves over the rim, doing her best to anchor them against the ground. Then she brought her back hooves right up to the edge and raised her front half as much as she could. Her wings came out and tucked backward as well, unable to do much but useful as an indicator of what she needed to adjust in her idea. After several minutes of effort she managed to slide Rainbow Dash off her back, along her back legs and onto safe ground. With her immediate concern dealt with, Scootaloo pushed herself forward and scrambled onto the other side of the gap, panting from exertion as she lay there for a moment. As she wiped a mix of sweat and blood off her forehead, she silently reminded herself that she was still the one in better shape and got up again. A quick jump over the gap got her by Rainbow's side and properly checking her injuries for the first time.

Amazingly, it wasn't as bad as the amount of blood had made it seem. Rainbow's wing stumps had lost most of their skin when her bionic wings were destroyed, but the bleeding was minimal. The worst of it was coming from a slightly deeper wound in the center of each stump, both of which were still losing blood at a more alarming rate. She still didn't have any other marks beyond scuffs from being carried out and her breathing was still steady. Presumably she was still unconscious as a result of losing out to her pain tolerance. That or the blood loss was becoming more serious. In her current state, there was no way that she'd make it back to safety without bleeding out.

Scootaloo gave herself another painkiller tablet to numb the issues in her head and legs before looking through her saddlebags for anything she could use to ease things. More bandages? Not a good idea yet, her own one had only been of limited help. Antiseptic pads? Maybe necessary but using them around an open wound would hurt bad. The pair of needles attached to a clear tube? What were they even for again? She'd been rushing a little when she'd stopped by the hospital for supplies, picking up things she thought she'd need before heading out. Still, it might be just what she needed. She racked her brain to try and remember just what they did. Where she had seen them before...

"So, why exactly do you wanna learn about this stuff?"

Scootaloo found herself in a conflicted mood as she followed Quick Fix through the upper floor of his house. On one hoof, the memory of Rainbow Dash in a hospital bed was all the reason she'd needed to ask him to join Twilight's cause. On the other, she could still hear the sounds of Quick's dog attempting to play with Trixie downstairs and it was impossible to keep a straight face to that. Overall though, she knew she had to stay focused on why she was here.

"Well, after what's happened so far, it's probably better to have more than one pony who knows more than basic first aid." She told him. Quick looked back at her and nodded. There was a look of cautious optimism in his eyes, but she could tell that he really hoped his skills wouldn't be needed.

As they entered Quick's bedroom, Scootaloo took a moment to look around. A pair of desks had been set up on the side walls, one with what looked like contracts, material orders and paperwork for his repair jobs, the other covered with medical books and tools that he was learning from. Each of the light blue walls had a number of posters and photos on them, a mix of wildlife identification guides and photos of local stars he had worked with. It took a moment for her to notice, but his autographed picture of the two of them wasn't up there. Instead it was framed and placed on his bedside table. Despite never putting much thought into her fame, the sight still touched her.

"Okay, first things first," Quick said as he moved over to the medical desk and cleared some space on it, placing several tools down in the center. "Let's start with what we know. Do you recognise any of these?"

"Alright let's see..." Scootaloo moved up to the desk and looked through what had been set out. Most of them were beyond her but there were a few she'd learned over the years. "Scalpel, hopefully too extreme for what we'll need. Braces, splints, err...Ahh, I don't know the name of this but I recognise it. It was used when I gave blood for Rainbow's surgery."

Quick glanced down at the lightly shaved patch on her leg before leaning in to see the instrument she was indicating. A clear tube, four feet long with its opening half an inch wide. A pair of needles were attached to each end, one slightly shorter and with a wider opening.

"That is a transfuser," He hold her, stepping up and lifting it up in a hoof. "One of the newer things nurses and medics are using. Honestly, I find it fascinating as an idea. The short needle first gets attached to a blood bag, or into the pony receiving blood if it's an emergency, then the longer one into the donor. Only real downside to it is that you need to keep an eye on the process. Since it uses the donor's bloodflow to push it along, there's no cutoff beyond whoever's using it timing when to disconnect."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Scootaloo mused, thinking about how she had watched the process while she was giving blood. If nothing else, at least she wasn't going to be as scared of needles the next time it happened.

Scootaloo glanced downward as she lifted the transfuser out. Although the patch of fur had since grown back, she knew exactly where the mark left from her blood donation was. She placed the device down beside Rainbow, followed by a roll of tape and two of the antiseptic pads. They would have to be enough. With that settled she removed one of the pads from its protective wrap and started parting the fur near the of Rainbow's front left leg, fitting everything else back into the saddlebags as she did.

"Sorry about this, sis," She said quietly once she'd rubbed the damp pad over Rainbow's leg and reached for the protective cap over the shorter needle. "I can't say that this isn't going to suck for both of us, but it should keep you going until we find actual help."

Aurora glanced skyward as he walked along the edge of a wide canyon, making sure he was still staying underneath Fluttershy and Deep. He hadn't stopped once since entering the Badlands. His initial canter had easing into a quick walk before long, electing to swap speed for efficiency. Being able to go deep into the region wouldn't do much good if he dropped from exhaustion long before that. As it was, his legs kept moving without thinking, his senses and magic working overtime for any signs of life. The lingering dark magic had steadily been growing stronger around him. Still not enough to trouble him through his shield but it served as a warning that he might not be able to go much further without being at risk.

He gritted his teeth slightly as he momentarily wondered why this had come across as the best idea. He had no way of contacting Twilight without undoing all his progress, he could hardly see anything compared to the pegasi above him and he'd been walking for hours without so much as a breath of life around him. At a rough estimate from the sun's position, it was early afternoon already. He could only give it another hour or so before considering if it was worth advancing further and risking the ever increasing strain on his magic.

Even as he finished thinking it, his ears twitched at the sound of somepony coming in from above. He stopped and looked up to see Deep coming in to land quickly, a somewhat frantic look on his face. He dropped to the ground next to the shield and immediately turned to face Aurora.

"We've got something!" Deep told him quickly, looking the way they were headed. "About eight miles further on, an orange figure carrying a blue one. Too dark coated to be Tantabus. It's got to be them!"

"Alright, get me airborne and I'll teleport us there as soon as I can see." Aurora replied, sounding and feeling reinvigorated at the prospect of actually finding their friends in this wasteland.

Deep looked up and motioned to Fluttershy to join them. After a minute she landed on the other side of the shield, waiting as Aurora told her what they were doing. He dropped the shield after a few moments and braced himself, convulsing as he was hit with the full force of the dark magic surrounding him. Fortunately, the two pegasi were able to get a hold under his legs and lift him out of the danger zone before it got any worse. Once he was in clearer air, his body relaxed again and he was able to get himself back under control.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked with concern, looking him over as he adjusted himself in their hold slightly. Being carried like this was definitely not something he wanted to do regularly.

"I am now, thanks to you." Aurora told her thankfully. Now that he was back up to speed, he looked over to Deep and checked where he was pointing out.

Although his eyesight was nowhere near as good as the eagle-like precision of a pegasus, he could make out the figures they'd seen. It definitely looked like one on top of another and they were moving very slowly though a rocky outcrop. He was pretty confident that it was indeed Scoots and Rainbow, but they would still have to be careful. He looked round and primed his magic, giving them time to prepare themselves before he teleported the three of them to their target. As soon as the flash of the spell faded he threw his shield up around himself again, taking stock of the situation as quickly as he could.

All three of them gasped at the same time when they realised what was in front of them.

Rainbow Dash was slumped limply over Scootaloo's back, bandages wrapped around what was left of her wings and one end of a transfuser taped to her front right leg. As well fixed in place as it was, it had clearly been an amateur job and was bleeding slightly. The one fitted to the other end was just as bad, though Scootaloo herself was in far worse shape. A severely bloodied bandage was wrapped around the left side of her forehead and her left pupil was sitting much lower than it should, as if it was looking down. Worst of all, the few visible parts of her skin looked pale and she was staggering slightly as she walked toward them. Blood loss was taking a serious toll on her.

Aurora's jaw dropped slightly as he took in the sight. Even with the drain on his magic from the shield, his eyes paled as he spread his magic out further to check their situation. Normally his sensory magic could pick up ponies around him like a bright beacon that broadcast their emotions. The shock and fear radiating off Fluttershy and Deep Note were strong examples at the moment. Rainbow's was dulled but there, surprisingly calm as she lay in a restful state. Scootaloo's however...It was flickering weakly, carrying nothing but intense desire to get her sister to safety. Even that was starting to falter though.

She was actually closer to death than the pony she was carrying.

"S-see?" Scootaloo said, staring forward as she smiled weakly, nearly collapsing as she stopped. "Told you...Sis. Told you..."

Aurora rushed forward immediately, knowing the other two were moving with him. He reined his sensory magic back in and dropped the shield for a brief moment before expanding it as he reached the stricken duo. Enough to encompass all five of them at once. He didn't need to look to Fluttershy and Deep to confirm that they needed to go immediately. He focused all the magic he had left into his horn and put the image of what they had found to the back of his mind. They needed to get the best help possible, and that meant heading back to Canterlot Central Hospital.

His magic poured into the spell and he teleported them out, silently praying he wasn't too late.