My wings were heavily tiring as I beat them harder and harder to fly upwards. Not even a destination, just up. I was so exhausted; not by how much we’d flown but how little air there was. I was cold and tired and could barely keep up. I had big wings, but not much flying experience.
I glanced upwards and saw Flare was having the same trouble. Looking down, Tenebris was OK. He was using magic and didn’t need to breathe so heavily. Whirlwind and Syrenix were just determined to fly.
I looked past Tenebris and saw that the ground was really tiny. In the far distance I could see Skyrithia, the place we’d been only a few hours ago. Syrenix was coming with us to help get us in.
I could feel the wind of the storm that was only 200 metres from where we were. It was terrifyingly scary. And strange. It was so solid and raging, and just dropped off onto plain, bare skies over the dirt desert below us.
“We’re nearly at the top! Keep flying! I’ll put up a force-field in a second!” cried Whirlwind.
“Whirl, I need one now!” gasped Flare. I took big breaths, getting barely any air each time. I felt tears stain my cheeks; it was rather painful.
“OK, I suppose it’s time. Whirl, the little ones are exhausted.” Said Syrenix gently
“I’m not little. I’m an adult.” I pouted.
“Alright.” Sighed Whirlwind. He stopped and we all gathered around him. “Syren, work with me. We’ll do it together.”
Suddenly the two alicorns lit up their horns with yellow magic, that began to shimmer its way towards us. Syrenix was on the outside, helping to cover us in the bubble.
I shuddered, watching it come over us. I huddled up with Tenebris and Flare. It formed a shell under out hooves and then crawled up and around. Soon it joined with a flash of light and sparks, and we were sealed inside. It was creepy. I didn’t like being so trapped, and I gasped for air.
“Ssh, Maera. You’re just claustrophobic.” Soothed Whirlwind. I nodded and gulped.
“OK, I have a spell that will feed you constant oxygen.” Said Syrenix’s muffled voice from outside the bubble. I fluttered over, and gently set my hooves down. The bottom was solid. I pressed my front hooves up against the wall.
Syrenix’s horn lit up again, and she placed the tip on the side of our shield. Gradually, I felt my breathing steady. I gasped in big breaths of air, relishing it. I’d never been so grateful of breathing… except when I got pushed underwater once as a filly. I never swam again after that…
In a moment Syren lifted her horn off. She shook her head with a chuckle. “You all look so funny in that big golden ball.” She laughed.
“Thank you, Syren.” Smiled Whirlwind, ignoring her comment. “But, we must go. The Princesses can’t survive much longer...”
“Goodbye! I know you’ll make it!” called his sister, as Whirlwind’s horn lit up. He steadily held the bubble around us in his magic and levitated it upwards, towards the darkening sky.
I squeaked and Flare, Tenebris and I did a big group hug. I squeezed them tight, utterly terrified by now. We were going into Death Points in just a few minutes.
Soon we had reached the top. My eyes were squeezed shut, and so were Flare’s. But Tenebris poked us both.
“Girls, look!” he said. I opened my eyes and looked around. Stretched out before us was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. Miles upon miles was a huge, flat, raging, swirling desert of clouds. It looked flat, but looking closer you could see how rough and furious it was, violently throwing all kinds of vicious weather out. We couldn’t see all of it, but I shuddered at the thought of what the centre looked like... I just pictured something that resembled a black hole.
But out of it, in this big wall, was a massive mountain range. It went all the way around like a wall of pointed, jagged, spikes.
“And how in the name of Celestia do you expect we get inside that?” huffed Flare.
“Very, very dangerously. And I am literally beating myself up inside to think that I’m endangering the lives of two teenagers and a fragile young mare.” Replied Whirlwind with a big breath.
“Ha! Danger is my middle name!” yelled Flare.
“Flare, you have like 47 middle names by what you’ve told over the years. Eating, food, singing, yelling, being quiet, cabbage, Wildfire, hairbrush, pony, unicorn...” replied Whirlwind.
“Yes, yes, but danger is the best one.” Grinned the purple alicorn.
“OK, well, this what I need you three to do. We’re going to fly out over these clouds, OK? We were originally going to land on a mountain and go down but... this is quicker.” Said Whirlwind. “When we’re out to the right spot, and do not question me with anything, we’re going to drop straight down. Do not spread your wings. Do not attempt to levitate yourself. Do not speak. Do not let go of each other. Do you understand??” He was very serious now.
“Yes.” We all said together.
“Hold your breath too. The shield will break, there’s no denying it. Leave everything else to me, I swear on my own life that you three will be OK.” He said sternly. My knees began to shake. I was not brave. Tenebris sort of nodded awkwardly and Flare puffed out her chest, bravest of all.
Whirlwind then pulled us upwards more, then went out. I lifted myself off the force-field floor, feeling slightly safer. Down beneath us was the storm, it looked like it wanted to swallow us up. I gulped.
We had a bit to go yet. It would take a while to cross the mountain range.
* * *
I was practically hyperventilating. We’d far crossed the mountains and we heading further out over the vicious sea.
Then, with a lurch, we stopped.
I gasped and wrapped my hooves around Flare and Tenebris. I didn’t want to fall. I didn’t want to just drop down into the unknown...
Whirlwind gulped. “Are you ready?” he asked. I shook my head. But it wasn’t a question. So I continued breathing at an abnormal rate.
“One,” said Flare.
“Two,” I breathed.
“Three...” choked Tenebris.
“Now!” yelled Whirlwind. All of a sudden he released his magic from around the force-field, and every breath of air left my body. Tenebris’s hooves were thrown around Flare and I. My body seized up and I screamed. My throat hurt and so did my ears as I felt Flare’s holler in them as well. Suddenly they were pierced further by a huge smashing sound, as the shield around our bodies smashed into a million pieces by the killing wind. Only a second later did I feel the tiny bullets of the murderous weather that bit away at my skin and tore my wings. I screamed louder, not knowing what was going on. I was suspended, but falling at unimaginable rates toward the earth.
Suddenly I felt something bump into me and realised that Whirlwind had his whole body wrapped around the three of us, his wings forming a cocoon over us. I continued to scream, burying my face into Tenebris’s chest.
“NO!” I heard Whirlwind cry when all of a sudden I felt a massive bump. We hit the ground all too fast, but it was protected by the King’s half-shield. I felt snow bite at my face again as I began tumbling down a hill. I didn’t know anything, but I saw an immense brown shape approaching. A rock ledge. I was still clutched onto Flare and my brother, and I screamed as we nearly hit the rock...
But before I could feel it, my body was caught in a big purple aura. I gasped and suddenly knew that Flare was holding onto me, and she flung me off. Her magic abruptly vanished and I choked as I felt myself hit the ground with one final thump.
I gasped. I choked and scrambled. My body was in pain. My head hurt, my shoulder was cut somehow and I could barely move and simply flail my hooves in the air.
I was getting buried in snow, but noticed a small rocky overhang. I used all my leftover energy to drag myself under it, just to get a grip on the situation.
I lay there. My hooves had frozen, and the blood from my sliced shoulder was seeping onto the ground under me. But not even it was warm. It was freezing and clotting, and I could smell it... but the sickening fumes and the muscle-solidifying cold wasn’t my worry, it was where the other were.
I peered out from my little shelter, squinting into the snow. I couldn’t hear anything but the wind. I couldn’t see any dark shapes that resembled a pony at all. I pressed my lips together. I was even more terrified.
“Hello?” I croaked. It was hopeless. Sound wouldn’t carry well at all like this...
I wondered how far away they were. Flare was close enough before to be able to levitate me... so must be close, I thought.
I shakily stood and looked about again. Nothing. May as well go looking.
I set off into the blizzard, folding my wings tight on my shivering, frozen body. I stumbled through the powdery snow, searching randomly.
“Anypony? Whirlwind? Flare? Tenebris?” my voice was so flat... it couldn’t even echo. “Please?”
* * *
I stood at the edge of a rock. Oh crap. I hadn’t been here before... maybe I went in the wrong direction. My tears had already dried up, so I continued to wail. I only cried to see if they’d notice me...
I collapsed in a sad, shivering, pathetic little heap. The snow piled up around me within seconds, falling down my face and off my nose.
I sniffled and choked, now just making noise for the sake of making noise. Nothing was going to hear me...
After a few minutes, I decided to get up, and I shook the snow from my body.
I walked a few paces up the slope, over the rocks. I glanced over the edge of the ledge.
Suddenly something caught my eye. I squinted. Flashing sparks of light. Light? And it was blue... I knew that Tenebris’s magic was black, Flare’s was purple, and Whirlwind’s was yellow. So who had blue magic?
I knew it was a bad move, but I spread my wings and soared from the edge of the cliff. I was caught in the wind, but before I could be blown off I had landed in the snow again. The flashed continued, and as I moved closer I heard voices.
“Hello?” I called. I moved closer.
“What? Who goes there?” cried a female voice. “Wildfire?”
“No!” I yelled back.
As I went closer, I saw a pink shape move out of the snow and wind. She walked towards me.
And then she was right in front of me.
Tall, pink, with flaming red, orange and blue hair. She had shining, beautiful, blue and red eyes.
“Oh my goodness! Another pony!” exclaimed the alicorn. Alicorn? I gasped.
“Are you a princess?” I asked, rather stupidly.
“Hold on, are you... Maera?” she asked in surprise. She knew my name? Was it from the letter. “I’m Princess Sparkle Flame... OH MY CELESTIA you’re with Father, aren’t you? Is he here? Has he come to save us?”
“Yes,” I started.
“Come on! Quickly!” she cried in excitement. Sparkle Flame began to gallop away, and I limped after her.
Within moments we’d arrived at a massive boulder that seemed to plug the side of the hill. Sparkle Flame threw up her head and all of a sudden a massive blue shield was erected over our heads. The wind stopped, and I watched the weather pound at the translucent wall.
She then used her magic to pull the boulder away from the hill, and nudged me in. I looked inside. I was in a tunnel! I nerved, low-roofed tunnel, that led into a room. Then I heard a crack and a thump, as Sparkle threw herself inside.
That’s when I noticed two other ponies standing in there too. Alicorns. Both white with fiery mane. One of them had her flaming hair down, the other had hers in a high pig-tail.
“Sparkle, who...?” asked one of them.
“Oh! Maera, these are Fire-Fighter and Wildfire, my sisters.” Said the Princess. I’d heard of those names... after I left school I had nothing to do with the outside world, so I’d only heard of them as a filly.
“Um, your highnesses...” I whispered, bowing.
“It’s alright.” Smiled Sparkle.
“Where are you from? How did you get here? Is there anypony else with you?” demanded Fire-Fighter.
“Um, well, yes. I um... came here with your Father and two others... Tenebris and Flare.” I mumbled.
“Oh my Celestia!” squealed Wildfire. “Really? Father’s here? Has he come to rescue us?” I nodded.
“Well, where are they?” asked Fighter.
“I don’t know... but I’m sure they’ll find me. Whirlwind is so determined.” I replied.
“How long have you been looking?” asked Sparkle.
“I don’t really know... maybe around a week or more? That’s when I joined them. Flare had originally been with Whirlwind, then Tenebris, then me.” I answered. “We’d only just found out how to get into this place this morning.”
“How far are we from the Empire?” asked Fighter.
“Well, I know we’ve been over Opal Kingdom, Volglacia, some other tiny states, and we’ve visited Staria and Skyrithia.” I said.
“Wow, if they’ve helped you then we might have to add them to the Peace Agreement...” muttered Sparkle. “Um, do you know what’s happening in the Empire?”
“No. I had no idea what was going on until Whirlwind and the others let me join them. My town hadn’t been hit by the storms.” I said. Wildfire pursed her lips.
