Rose and Tempest were making a decent headway towards the north gate. It was only a couple of blocks away now and rapidly approaching. The rest and what could be called a meal had done them well and reinvigorated them a bit. A breeze blew across the mountaintop as well, not a very cool one but it was enough for the mares. It was yet another sign that something far above their stations wanted them to push towards the exit today.

They had also procured a saddlebag for each of them, they had been on a rack near the checkout counter of the little convenience center, and then filled them with water and food. It was a good shout because it let Rose dig into hers with a wing, pull out a bottle of water, and drink half of it and then dump the rest over her sweat covered face. When the breeze caught her just right, she almost felt cool.

It was easy to feel lucky and blessed on a day such as this, even in the face of everything around them. Ruined corpses still lined the streets and their awful stench filled the air, but the two ponies trotting towards the gate were not among them. They were still alive and they were that much closer to finally getting out.

“How long does it take to get down the mountain?” Tempest asked. The unicorn did not even bother to whisper anymore as the monsters were nothing but distant noises at this point. All of the ones that had occupied the northern side of the city were moved over to the other side, leaving them free and clear. The train and Wonderbolts helped drive them elsewhere too.

“About a day on hoof in good conditions.” Rose answered. “My first time coming here I ascended the southern side on hoof and that took me a day and a half, but that was with a night of rest.” Then she reminded herself of their physical impediments. They were not in peak condition and would need to rest more often than she had in her youth. “For us, it might take a couple of days…”

It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, but it was the truth. The trails weren’t bad, they were just long. They had been the primary mode of entry to the city for centuries before the advent of trains, at least if you were incapable of flight, and were well worn. The mountain was just tall and sheer. The path snaked in and out of the mountain itself through natural caves and through carved tunnels. Natural and ponymade plateaus littered the path where travelers could rest and spend chilly mountain nights below the stars and lights of the city above them.

For Rose it had not been necessary, but she had done it anyway. When she first arrived at the mountain, she felt unworthy. It was the highest point in the entire country, even the entire city of Cloudsdale was legally mandated to maintain an altitude below its peak in deference to its majesty. Rose had decided that she could not fly all the way up there and taking the train had felt like cheating. She had arrived on a pilgrimage to a place she had been sure her god on earth resided and she did not want to sully the moment by taking the easy way up.

Now here she was, years later, wanting an easy way down. She dreaded the long trek to the base and wanted nothing but to be out of the city and free of its lies and deceptions. She had arrived to the city a young believer looking for purpose and now she was leaving it a battered and maimed zealot with a purpose exceedingly clear in her mind. It was not the way she had envisioned leaving the city for what was likely to be the last time for years but it was, in a way, poetic.

“Of course…” Tempest let out a deep sigh and kicked a rock as hard as she could. It was sent clattering down the boulevard that led to the city’s north gate. “We’ll need to ration what we have, but I think it’s doable. At least we won’t be in the sunlight all the time.”

That was true, the sheer face of the mountain and winding trails would help them in that respect. They would be in the relatively cool shadow of the mountain rather than on its baked peak. That might help them cut back on water a little more and it would not be as exhausting. Yet another blessing that had been bestowed upon them.

“We’re at least going down and not up. Trust me, that’s not fun even in perfect health.” Rose could feel her muscles burn from that initial climb still. “Let’s just pray we don’t run into any unicorns. The path isn’t narrow but I wouldn’t want to get into a fight on it.” Once again, that was even in perfect health. They might be able to take a single unicorn if they got lucky. Lucky was something that defined them at this point, but Rose did not want to push that. Hubris was a good way to get on the bad side of providence.

They did not stop until they arrived at the gate. It had once been closed and guarded closely but those days were long gone now. The gate was open and spiked barricades were arranged in a semicircle around it. Some had been destroyed, others had bodies of unicorns on them while even more had the bodies of guards behind them. There were bodies of civilians mixed in with the guards, their backs turned to the city. All Rose could do was sigh and send up a prayer for the brave ponies who had done their best to buy time for the fleeing innocents. They deserved a good word for their struggle, and that was all she could offer them

Rose stopped by a fallen member of the guard, a pegasus stallion with a hoof sized hole in his chest, and pried a spear from his clutches. The metal tip and a majority of the shaft was coated in dried and flaking blood. He had at least gotten a few shots in before he took one himself.

As she gripped the spear with her wing, she looked at Tempest. The other mare had her back turned and was looking through a discarded saddlebag. A familiar compulsion surged through Rose’s mind and she had to stop herself from following through. The more she stewed on what Tempest had said, the more it had stung. It was haunting her now, every little thing Tempest had done.

While Tempest had been the only one in the dungeon to approach her genuinely, it now felt disingenuous. The outburst in the bunker where the unicorn had insisted they were cursed instead of blessed came up, too. Rose had spent most of her time with the mare hiding herself and even lying about what she thought and felt. What was worse is she would need to keep lying and this feeling of resentment would just keep building.

“I didn’t think much about you Royal Guard types when I first got here.” Tempest addressed Rose and the dead around them. “I gotta say, you put up more of a fight than I thought you would. It almost makes me wonder how much of a fight we would’ve had on our hooves if the invasion went through.”

“It depends.” Rose stepped carefully around the dozens and dozens of corpses that littered the ground in front of the gate. “The Changelings caught us by surprise and didn’t get much of a fight. A mix of infiltrators, capturing the princesses, and sheer intimidation through numbers did us in then.” Rose could still remember the day as she ran through the castle halls, as the Changeling soldiers told her they had captured the Elements and dealt with Celestia, and how the will to fight had left her body. She had heard other reports from outside about the sky being filled with bugs and how the sun itself had been blotted out by black carapaces.

“Hmm. We should file that away for later then.” Tempest trotted up to the little guardhouse that was situated right next to the gate and pulled the door open. A pony had been up against the door and their corpse tumbled out into the sun. Tempest stuck her head inside of the door, scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “Well maybe we can keep going before we rest again.”

That was easier said than done. Both of them were already drenched from head to hooves in a thick layer of perspiration. Rose could already feel her legs begin to cramp and her stomach contort itself. This would be their biggest obstacle, the elements. If it was just a nice summer day on the mountaintop they might be halfway down by now.

Tempest was the first one to get to her hooves after a short little rest on the other side of the wall. The thin strip of land between the exterior of the city wall and the sheer cliff face was shaded by the tall marble barrier and made a good little camp for the two mares before they started their journey down.

She stretched her legs out, focusing more on her rear ones than the front. The stiffness still plagued them and deep bruises made walking difficult, but she would push through. She had to. They needed to get out, and now she had an even greater purpose for leaving than ever before: she had found a friend.

Rose didn’t care about her horn or that she had left Equestria, in fact the ex-guard seemed just as disillusioned with it all as Tempest was. It was hitting her pretty hard at the moment now, that was obvious. The other mare had retreated into a shell and refused to talk much unless prodded. Sometimes Tempest would catch the pegasus looking at her as if she wanted to say something, but it always amounted to nothing. When she felt comfortable she would say what she needed to.

There was this intense sadness that came when you realized you no longer belonged. It was something one of them knew too well and that the other was going through now. It was a thorough gutting that would take months to heal and feel right. Tempest had gone through it before and would be glad to be there for somepony else as they went through the withdrawals of belonging.

She reached a hoof out to Rose once she was done stretching. The pegasus looked up at her and their eyes met. Behind the golden irises was a distant and wild look that Tempest knew was a swirl of chaos and turmoil. Tempest offered a smile, one that was not reciprocated. Eventually Rose did take her hoof and Tempest hoisted her companion to her hooves. Her flanks ached with that action and begged her not to do it again, but she knew she would do it as many times as it took to get down the mountain.

They exchanged no words as they moved across the strip of land beyond the wall and got onto the main path down. From here there were at least two switchbacks visible on a tight and sometimes narrow trail on the way down, then it disappeared into the mountain for a bit and that was where Tempest lost sight of the trail. With a deep breath, they set off on their trek.

Considering only one of them had a weapon, she let Rose take the lead. Tempest looked off into the distance as her hooves beat against the well worn dirt path beneath her hooves. The clear blue sky stretched on endlessly to the horizon. The sun beat ceaselessly on the countryside and vast swathes of grass and trees were various shades of brown instead of green. The whole world was dying.

Her new home on the other side of the world, the land of ice and snow known as Thundaria was as cold and mountainous as they came. If the sun had never risen there and night had ruled for the last three weeks, what was it like there? Plummeting temperatures were easier to survive in, at least she assumed so. There were always more ways to bundle up, there were always fires you could start and creatures to huddle together with. It wasn’t like the heat.

As they trotted further along the trail they came across more bodies, mostly ponies who had died trying to escape from the hordes of monsters. They all had holes in their bodies from blasts of magic or parts of their bodies ripped off from sharp and gnashing teeth. Old dried blood ran down the incline of the path and discolored the dirt.

“Do you think anypony else made it out besides us? Anypony at all?” It was something that had been bouncing around her head for a long while now. “Some pegasi had to have gotten away, as long as they flew out of the city early enough.”

“Probably.” Came Rose’s soft and disinterested reply.

“I hope they did. I hope some earth ponies managed to get away somehow too…” She sincerely meant what she said. This whole event had reignited something in Tempest, something she thought long dead. It was empathy for her fellow equines.

It was after the little spat she had with Rose in the bunker, that was when her attitude had changed for the better. Something that day had compelled her to admit to Rose that she had been ready and willing to watch her die. Then Rose’s subsequent breakdown andthen her request to join up with the Storm King had really changed things.

For the first time in forever, Tempest felt like she had an equal. Here was this pony who was scorned by the world, maimed, and barely functioning, but still wanted to fight. She had a desire to rally against the broken system that surrounded her. That was something Tempest could believe in along with her. Even if the system was currently burnt to the ground, there was still worth in fighting against what had built it. In that, they could stand side by side.

They came to their first hairpin switchback and took it. As the descended further, the looming cliff face blocked the sun and bathed them both in shadow. A shiver went up the unicorn’s spine as the ambient temperature dropped like a rock around them. It felt like paradise, even more than any building they had stayed in.

“Y’know…I’m starting to get that blessed feeling now.” Tempest said with a smile as she came alongside Rose and patted her on the back. A feeling of hope swelled in her chest and staved off the pain that radiated from her sore and malnourished body. It was just what she needed to keep going.

Rose hated Tempest, she was sure of it now.

The little ‘blessed’ quip from earlier in the day had soured her mood so incredibly that she had not yet recovered. It was a targeted barb, aimed right at her heart. Then she had of course patted Rose right on the back, right near her missing wing. All this pony knew how to do was cause her pain.

They were now in one of the caves which the path down cut through. It was cool and damp and a welcome relief from the world outside, and yet Rose still felt sweltering. The fire in her chest was a raging inferno that threatened to consume her and burn her to a crisp if she did not control it. Luckily, Rose had excellent control over herself.

Tempest was sleeping first this time while Rose kept watch. Once they hit the shade they got their second wind, and then once they entered the first tunnel it had quadrupled their drive. They had sat there for a bit to drink and cool down and then kept going. This was the second set of tunnels and if Rose were to guess, they were about a quarter of the way down, maybe a third. They had been climbing down all day with just one rest and Tempest had now been sleeping for well over four hours.

Rose’s grip on the spear tightened as she stared at Tempest’s sleeping form. If looks could kill then the unicorn would be lying dead on the smooth rocky floor. Each and every time that thought popped up she squashed it right back down though. It was imperative that she not act rashly.

Then there was the other little voice in her head, the one that reminded her of what had transpired. Tempest had been the one to go look for her. Tempest had stayed with her all of this time even though she had ample opportunities to leave Rose behind. Yet Tempest had remained by her side and had helped her time and time again.

Rose then squashed that voice too. Tempest had let Bulwark beat her down and had been prepared to let him kill her. Whatever shred of conscience the mare held onto had intervened, but that was not something to be trusted. For all Rose knew, Tempest was going to do her in as soon as they got to her means of escape. That was the logical thing to do, keep Rose on her side for as long as possible and then at the very end do her in.

Tempest had said she wanted no witnesses of her time in Canterlot and Rose was the last witness. She was the last loose end. Did Tempest look like the kind of pony who left those flapping about in the breeze, even if it followed behind her?

That was something to think about. They had a few more days until they were at the bottom.

Day Thirty

They were almost there, the end was in sight. They had about a fifth of the mountain left to go down and then they just had to get around to wherever the grotto was. They had slowed down yesterday because both of them had come down with something that made them pretty constantly empty the contents of their stomachs and that had laid them up in a cave for the majority of the day. They both were still feeling the effects, but they could move now. They were as close to whatever was their one-hundred percent as they would get and the base of the mountain awaited.

Rose’s shoulder kept catching on something again, the first time since she had been punted into the ceiling of the bunker that it had done it. Every time her shoulder rolled forward with a step she could feel the very back part of the shoulder blade stop and something scrape against it painfully. It took a little more effort to complete the process of a full step and push through the stabbing pain.

Then, of course, there was the tingling. After their last sleep cycle she had woken up with pins and needles penetrating her whole body. It had taken time and precious effort to get her heavy and desensitized limbs to respond before she could finally get up.

Tempest had called her lazy, as if it was her choice not to get up. It had sounded like a joke, but of course it had. That was how the ponies made you feel bad about it. You would call them out, they would tell you it was a joke and to calm down and then make you feel bad about being defensive. Rose hadn’t even pushed back. What was the point?

They exited a tunnel and came out back into the shaded outdoors. The shift in temperature wasn’t that much, something to be grateful for, but it was noticeable. Rose looked out into the horizon and let out a light sigh.

“Hey, what’s that?” Tempest asked and pointed an outstretched hoof towards the horizon. “Right there, look, in the sky.” Rose followed where the other pony had pointed and squinted to try to see whatever it was.

A pink blob was flying across the sky and headed right towards Canterlot. That was all Rose could tell from a great distance. That did not inspire confidence. What was big, pink, could fly, and would be coming from the north?

“Cadance…” The name fell from her lips like a curse.

Tempest ran to the edge of the trail and leaned over the railing to get a look below them. Rose saw her bright eyes scan the area beneath them and search for some cover or another cave. Rose looked back at the tunnel they had just come from.

The mares made for easily spotted targets. They were two colors that stood out against the gray edifice behind them. Hopefully they had not been seen yet, but the window to get hidden and stay that way was dwindling rapidly as what was most likely another turned alicorn thundered towards the mountain at top speed. Tempest got down from the railing and pointed back to the tunnel they had just come out of.

So back in they went. The two mares pressed themselves against the wall of the cavern and they waited. They did not so much as breathe heavily out of fear the approaching princess would hear them. Rose closed her eyes and prayed, hopeful that the shadows that surrounded them would carry her words into the light outside.

Eventually the sound of massive wingbeats filled the air and a savage howl went up. Something massive landed at one end of the tunnel they were in, the end that led higher up on the path. The natural curves in the path prevented them from seeing the alicorn and likewise prevented her from seeing them. A low and deep growl reverberated through the entire tunnel.

There was a beat of silence and then a set of hooves hit the stone floor. The sound was not loud enough to be Cadance, but it was alarming enough to make the two survivors start to back away towards the opposite end of the tunnel. Then they heard the steps come there way and the aggressive growls and huffs. A single blast of magic echoed throughout the confined space and momentarily chased away the darkness.

The mares kept moving backwards, their eyes focused on the interior of the space. They tread carefully and quietly. If the monster that Cadance had sent in to check saw or heard nothing, then maybe it would lose interest before checking the entire area. The only sound they made were quick short breaths. They could hear their own hearts beat against their rib cages in desperate bids to escape, but luckily that was not projected out into the cavern.

The monster moved faster towards them than they did away from it. It did not lose interest and soon enough they caught sight of the thing. It was a stallion, its white coat plastered with dried blood and its shaggy two-tone blue mane hung over its eyes. It stalked down the stone enclosure and let out a deep guttural growl. Its horn lit up with a bright pink aura and it let loose another lance of light at the wall.

Rose recognized it. She had been subordinate to him for most of her career and it was a pony she could never forget. Besides the princess, he was the most magically adept unicorn in all of Equestria. Shining Armor had come with his wife all the way back to Canterlot, and now he was staring right at them. The last bolt of magic was all the light he needed to finally see them.

“Run.” Rose mumbled the word to Tempest this time.

The thing that had once been Shining Armor let out a blood curdling howl and began to give chase. Both of the mares were already galloping by the time he had finished his howl. Fear and adrenaline wiped away whatever had been slowing them down and pushed them past their limits.

Rose’s shoulder clicked and scraped and shot pain throughout her back. She felt the old wound on her back, that troublesome empty socket, split and it spilled fresh blood out onto her red coat. Her body begged and pleaded with her to stop, but her mind and more primal instincts overrode the foolish and weak flesh that encapsulated them.

Tempest and Rose burst out of the tunnel and barreled down the sloped trail. They rushed down the incline at the top speed they could manage. Behind them several lances of pink magic were readied and fired, each one striking either the wall to their left or went just over their heads.

Rose looked back for a brief moment. The former Captain of the Royal Guard was about a hundred feet or so back and was charging towards them at a pace greater than they could flee. Behind him a head poked around the side mountain and watched. It was massive and pink, red streaks that looked like fresh blood ran down its face. The color and texture reminded Rose of the mountains of spilled guts she had seen over the last month, like a heart ripped straight from the chest of a pony.

The mares skidded around another hairpin turn and moved to the next level of the trail. Above them Cadance loomed and just watched as her husband chased them. Her beady little eyes focused on them and what could only be a smile spread across her deformed face.

A bolt of pink light went right between Rose and Tempest, close enough to singe the fur of both of them. It was enough to cause the pegasus to stumble and then fall. She skidded down the path until she came dangerously close to the edge. Her body had enough momentum to break the bottom part of a wooden rail. She did not fall but the back half of her body hung off of the edge and her rear hooves kicked at air. The spear fell from her wing and clattered down the trail.

Tempest did not stop running.

It was a few seconds of trying with all of her might to get back up before Shining Armor came into view. He towered over Rose and looked down as she flailed and tried to get back up. His long sharp fangs glistened with saliva as he snarled. Rose saw his horn light up, and she was prepared for the end.

Her blessing had finally run out. Here, in the shade, the light no longer looked upon her favorably. It was there that she would finally meet her end.

A fuchsia blur threw itself at Shining Armor’s thin and gangly legs. The stallion toppled over and went head over hooves off of the side of the cliff. He let out an almost equine scream as he tumbled . There was a roar as something much larger than Shining swooped down beneath Rose to chase after the stallion.

Tempest pulled Rose up. The unicorn gritted her teeth and dug in her back hooves as she dragged Rose back onto solid ground. Once all four hooves were back on the ground, the mares went right back to running. Tempest’s eyes were filled with tears and blood had soaked through the bandages on her flanks and was now running freely down her legs.

Cadance flew past the level they were on with Shining Armor, who looked to still be alive, carefully held in her jaws. Before she could get back and do real damage, the two survivors got into the next covered section of the path.

The cool tunnel air greeted them and welcomed them. This path through the mountain was much shorter than the one they had been so unceremoniously cornered in. It would have to do, though. They would both just have to hope and pray that Cadance did not find them.

Rose pressed against the interior wall and tried to make herself as small as possible. Her heart raced and her entire body pulsed with pain. The pins and needles came back, more intense than ever, and filled her hooves with their treacherous sensation. Her vision began to blur as it felt like her body was on the verge of just giving out. That had been the most she had moved in a very long time and it was more than the weakened and walloped pony could handle. Deep breaths filled her lungs and she shook the deadened legs that held her up. It was all she could do to stay conscious.

The cavern shook violently and small parts of the ceiling came loose . It was accompanied by the very unique sound of a long and sustained burst of powerful magic. They had both heard it more than enough, it was an alicorn letting loose. It was still coming from above their current location for now, at least. Another long stream of magic hit the mountain and the tunnel shook some more as Cadance continued to assault the stone edifice.

The telltale sound of massive wings that kept the turned royals aloft flooded the cave, then a howl that was enough to vibrate the bones of the ponies inside followed. Tempest and Rose both looked at each other.

They were trapped. This time, there was no way out. They could not run on a linear path from something that could fly, and the brutality of the alicorns would not allow their prey to escape. There was also the little fact that they had just hurt Cadance’s husband, and if something of the ponies still existed deep down, then that would be a slight the princess of love could not ever forgive.

An intense blast of magic hit the exterior of the tunnel and split the rock like it was warm butter. The blue beam went right between the mares. The heat from it was incredible, more than Rose had ever experienced. It was so intense that she could feel her skin start to blister from even the close proximity. The beam turned and carved through the rock, leaving behind a trail of soft bubbling slag.

Rose could not even thank whatever was above that she had not been hit, because the ceiling caved in on top of them.

Author's Note

Only a few chapters left. No promises on when they get out, might not be in the next few days. It will be by the end of the week, though.