Drops of Fire

Chapter 11- To the Mercy of the Blaze

"Fire! Everypony wake up! There's fire in the forest!"

The sound of crackling leaves filled the air as Skywatcher burst into the tent that she shared with Phoenix Feather. Head spinning with terror, she shook the sleeping alicorn roughly to wake her.

Phoenix's eyes flew open. At the same moment, she swung a hoof in Skywatcher's direction, almost hitting her square in the face. "Skywatcher! Wha-?"

Skywatcher grabbed Phoenix with her hooves and began to drag the young mare from the bed, not even caring if she upset her in the process. "Fire!" she rasped again. "In the forest! We don't have time!"

Not even watching to see if her friend was on her feet yet, Skywatcher spun around and raced out of the tent. A terrible blast of heat billowed her face, and she bit back a terrified screech. Thick smoke swirled in the sky. Flames were everywhere, eating up the trees like savage animals. There was a loud groaning, and Skywatcher's limbs turned to stone as a large sycamore tree crashed to the ground, sending fire rolling in her direction. The fire had officially reached the camp.

Graphite stumbled out of her tent, eyes wide with terror. Thunder Paw and Storm followed at her heels.

"We must leave at once!" Skywatcher ordered, fear spiraling into panic. "Head towards the Badlands!"

She raced towards Tide Breaker's tent and shoved her head through the entrance. The blue stallion was clambering drowsily from his sleeping bag, hair ruffled and eyes heavy. She hurriedly gripped his forleg and began to drag him towards the opening. "Get out!," she repeated hoarsely. "There's no time!"

The rest of her friends were huddled together near the stream, murmuring at each other warily. Skywatcher rushed towards them, Tide Breaker's hoof still clutched in hers. "Follow me!" she yelled above the roar of the fire. "We can fly out of here through the trees!"

"But what about our supplies?" Thunder Paw demanded.

Leave it," Skywatcher replied. "There's hardly anytime to save ourselves!"

"And Tide Breaker?" Graphite added strictly. "He can't fly!"

Skywatcher thought for a long moment, struggling to remain calm through the noise and heat. "Me and Thunder Paw will carry him." She looked at Thunder Paw, whose ears were flat with terror. "Do you think you can manage him with my help?"

Thunder Paw nodded vigorously.

"Alright. Let's go!" Skywatcher positioned herself beneath Tide Breaker's left shoulder while Thunder Paw did the same for the right. She took a deep breath and spread her wings.

At that exact moment, an earsplitting crack ripped through the air, smoldering the camp with its sound. Another huge tree came toppling down, blocking out the sky and the escape route. Skywatcher shrank back against Tide Breaker as the tree hurtled towards them, shredding the air with its deafening roar. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the tree to slam into her body and crush her to the ground.

But with a wrenching thud, the tree collided into another, fitting perfectly with the curve of the split. Branches and sparks flew around them for an instant before fire once again took over, and devoured the fallen tree in a matter of seconds. Skywatcher opened her eyes to see the once starry sky become a river of fire.

"Great Celestia!" exclaimed Phoenix. "The fire's out blocked the sky!"

"There's no way out!" wailed Cloud Chaser.

"Now hold on," Skywatcher slid from underneath Tide Breaker and made her way to the front of the group. She felt a strange, calming peace pooling inside her heart despite the chaos and terror around the ponies. Her lungs began to burn as she took a deep breath of the sharp acrid air. Then her eyes landed on an opening through the fire. It was just thin enough for the ponies to escape through. It would have to do for now.