//------------------------------// // Encounter — Part One // Story: Broken Feathers: Frozen North // by That Avi Nerd //------------------------------// "Stryker!" A voice called down a corridor. The recipient of said noise slowed his gait and turned to face a white stallion fast approaching him. "Stryker! Wait up!" The tan stallion rolled his eyes, continuing towards where he was previously heading. A white earth pony trotted up beside him, trying to gain his attention. "Stryker, what's going on?" Archer asked. "You've been acting weird lately. Wanna talk about it?" "No," Stryker replied sternly, paying the stallion no-mind. The two ponies traveled through a dark damp corridor, deep within the bowels of the castle. Archer had spent the last half hour frantically running up and down the halls and passageways of the labyrinth of a castle in search of Stryker. Now, he has found him, at the lowest level, far below the ground. The pair was even below the dungeons that Stryker had searched the pervious day. Stryker only found the passage because he nearly ran over a guard who was exiting it, and Archer only found it because of the incompasitated guard he found outside of it. "I think Phantom is starting to get agitated at you," Archer told him. "Just tell me what's going on." "Nothing is going on." "Why don't I believe you?" "Because you're a fool." "No, because I'm your best friend." Stryker ignored him, instead continuing to lightly trot down the cold stone path. A dampness hung in the air, seemingly sticking to the coats of the stallions. If they had known any better, they would have told you that clouds were forming next to the ceiling. Every few seconds, a droplet would fall, splashing onto the floor. The unicorn's trot was interrupted by a white leg appearing in front of him, blocking his path. "Why didn't you answer Phantom when he asked you where the conduit is?" "Because..." Stryker sighed. "Because I don't know where it is." "Then why not tell him that?" "If I told him, then he would go looking for it. If he finds it, he'll turn it into the Glaciens. And the Glaciens must. Not. Find. It." "I see. And you ran down here er— teleported down here because..." "Because I overheard some guards talking about a pony they captured. From what they said, she sounds like a high level Nightingale. If it's who I think it is, then that means that the Glaciens have the Conduit. But I fear the worst. Without it, the Glaciens couldn't have connected Rainbow Dash to it." "So again... why are we down here?" "To find out if I'm right." Sighing, Archer lowering his leg from the wall and allowing his friend to pass by. He trotted next to the unicorn, following him to where ever he was going. The two ponies eventually came to the end of the dark hall. Lanterns hung from the walls, illuminating the black iron walls of a cell dug deep within them. Inside, it was completely dark, out of the way of the light provided by the lanterns. The only thing that was visible to the two stallions, was the dim reflection from a pair of red eyes. "We've failed..." the voice whispered. "They have it. They have it and there's nothing we can do." Stryker closed his eyes, powering his horn and firing an illumination spell into the cell, revealing the pony to the two stallions present. "Stryk..." Archer began, shocked. "Isn't that Phantom's s—" The unicorn quickly turned to the earth pony. "No." The final thing that Archer saw that day was a blinding white light. "Where do you think Rainbow went?" Fluttershy asked. Her and her friends sat on comfort pillows, courtesy of Rarity of course, in a semi-circle around the the lit fireplace. After the two pegasi had left the castle, the remaining friends - and dragon - retreated to the lobby of the sapphire suite in silence. Only now, an unknown amount of time after the events, has one of them spoken. "Ah'd like ta know where the other ponies went as well," Applejack replied, setting her stetson down on the ground in front of her. "That tan one was actin' kinda strange ta me." Twilight nodded, turning to her drake friend, who was quickly writing something on parchment. "Hows the letter coming along, Spike?" she asked him. The purple dragon quickly added the final word and punctuation mark. "Done and done!" Spike inhaled deeply, blowing a green flame onto the parchment that consumed it, carrying the letter away and out a nearby window. "Once she reads that, Princess Celestia will know everything that we know." "Which is what, exactly?" Rarity wondered, carefully taking a sip of her warm tea. "Nothing..." sighed Twilight, laying her heads down in defeat. At one end of the circle, Pinkie Pie was furiously scribbling away at a crazy assortment of notes. "Um, Pinkie, darling," Rarity began, "what are you doing?" "Planning the reception for Rainbow Dash's wedding!" Pinkie replied, bubbling with joy. There was a stunned silence from the present ponies, and dragon. "What?" Pinkie stopped and looked between her friends, confused. "Uh... Pinkie," Applejack said in a comforting tone. "Ah'm pretty sure Rainbow is gonna say no ta Prince Castor..." "Pfft!" the pink mare laughed. "Obvious, much? I'm not talking about that wedding! Silly ponies and your crazy theories..." On the word 'crazy', pinkies pupils looped around in a full circle... in opposite directions... "Then... what wedding are you talking about?" Twilight speculated. "Rainbow's and Phantom's!" Again, a stunned silence. "What now?" "Well..." Rarity mumbled. "It's just that... I don't really think that they're all that..." "Infatuated?" Fluttershy added. "Yes, exactly. Thank you, Fluttershy." "Oh come on!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hooves to the air. "Haven't you been paying attention? Sheesh! They can't keep their eyes off of each other but are too afraid to admit it to each other! First one will stare at the other, then when the other looks at the first, the first looks away and the other stares! It keeps going back and forth like that! I can't believe you guys haven't seen it yet. Especially you, Rarity!" The unicorn in question gasped. "Wha?! Me? Gossip in the love affairs of other ponies? Never!" Rarity turned her head away from her friends. looking up in the air and closing her eyes. After a few moments of nothing happening, she opened an eye to see her friends staring dubiously at her. She sighed. "Okay, maybe just a little." "Ah doubt it'll happen," Applejack commented. "We may not know that Phantom feller, but we do know Rainbow, an' Rainbow would never get married." Twilight quirked an eye brow, but not because of what Applejack said. A smell in the air caught her attention. "Anypony else smell ozone?" "Smell a what, now?" "Ozone. You know, that smell in the air before after a lightning strike?" "Yeah, Applejack!" Pinkie cheered, hopping up and rapidly shuffling a long a nearby carpet, refusing to pick her hooves up. Quickly, her mane and hair began to stick up, and small bolts of electricity arced from her hooves and along her hairs. The pink pony shuffled her way to Applejack's side, reaching out with a hoof to shock her. Applejack let out a 'eep' as the static charge transferred from Pinkie Pie to her, shocking her. "It smells like that!" "Pinkie!" Applejack huffed. "Was that nessi—" A bright flash eminated from the adjacent room, with enough force that the resulting shockwave blew back the manes of everypony in the lobby. "What in tarnation..." Just a few seconds later, Stryker calmly trotted out of the room. Once he saw the mares, and the dragon, sitting around the fire place, he stopped in his tracks like a deer about to get hit by a chariot. His eyes drifted between each of them. "Um..." mumbled Stryker. "Hi?" "Hi?" vexed Twilight. "Hi? You teleport away during a crutial time when we needed your expertise, to mysteriously disappear, then reappear," she looked a nearby grandfather clock, "over a half-hour later! Where. Have. You. Been." By the end of her tirade, Twilight was standing feet in front of Stryker, an enraged look in her eyes, her wings at full mast, and a slight glow in her horn. Stryker sighed. "I don't like giving out false information. When Phantom asked me if the Conduit was here, I truthfully didn't know. So, I went to go find out." "And did you?" The unicorn shook his head. "I searched through every passage and room I could find. Nothing." "Ah'm still more interested in where Rainbow Dash flew off ta," Stryker tilted his head slightly. "She left? What happened with the coronation?" "Prince Castor asked her to marry him!" Pinkie bounced around the group. "Then Rainbow flew off, and Phantom went after her!" "Which direction did they go?" "North-East, I think," Twilight suggested. "Why? It's not like we'll be able to catch up to them." "It's not us I'm worried about catching up to them. It's the—" Stryker was interrupted by both silver doors of the Sapphire Suite being bucked open. In trotted over two dozen Glacien guards, armed with spears. Most of the guards surrounded the Equestrians, while a few others searched the rooms. Moments later, Captain Cypher trotted in, and judging by the look on his muzzle, he wasn't there for tea. "Where is Princess Rainbow Dash and your friend," he demanded, getting face to face with Stryker. The tan unicorn stood taller in difiance. "I. Don't. Know. What is the meaning of all of this?" "She is property of the Glacien people, and now your friend has her. That makes it ponynapping, and conspiracy against the crown. He, like the rest of you Caren are being charged with conspiracy against the crown, and detained as such." There was a collective gasp from the Equestrians, save for Stryker. "Sir," a guard called, emerging from the room Twilight Sparkle had kept her things, carrying a saddle bag, "you may want to see this." Captain Cypher trotted over the guard, and peered inside of the bags. Using his magic, he pulled out five golden necklaces and one crown. "What are these?" he asks. Stryker leaned in next to Twilight's ear. "You brought the Elements of Harmony?!" "Just in case we needed them!" she whispered back. "Great. Just great. Now the Glaciens have them." "I said," Captain Cypher cut in, stepping towards the ponies, "What. Are. These?" "Don't tell him if he doesn't know..." Stryker ordered the alicorn. "They're our..." Twilight began, searching for an excuse. "Well... that crown is mine. I am the Princess of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, of Equestria." As if for emphasis, Twilight flared her wings and lit her horn, showing that she was indeed an alicorn. The jaws of the guards dropped. Captain Cypher remained stoic, however. "You can't hide behind political influence for ever, Princess, not here," the Captain seemed to growl. Her trotted towards the door, his guards in tow. "You are all being detained in this room while I confer with the King. Leave this room, and you will be charged with espionage and conspiracy against the crown, and you will be sentenced to death." The door slammed shut behind him as he and his guards left the Sapphire suite. Twilight ran over to the Elements of Harmony still spinning on the floor and put them back into her saddle bags. "What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked. "Stay here," Stryker replied. "Cooperate, do what the ask within reasonable bounds, and wait for Phantom and Rainbow Dash to get back." "Scootaloo, get behind me!" Rainbow yelled, putting herself between the filly and the Nightingales. "Rainbow, wait!" Scootaloo intervened, jumping between the two groups. Interestingly enough, it was the foremost Nightingale that replied next. "Scootaloo, what are you doing? She wears the crown of our enemy!" His voice was gruff, worn down by the harsh environment. This pony has obviously been in this forest for awhile. The stallion took an aggressive stance, charging his horn for some kind of a spell. "No! She's not the enemy, she's my sister!" "Get back, she's tricking you!" The unicorn lifted the young filly in a telekinetic field, into the air, then onto the back of a Nightingale nearby. Before somepony could say something else, a dark blue streak zipped by Rainbow Dash, colliding into the lead Nightingale. "Get her out of here!" Phantom ordered Rainbow Dash, wrestling at the cave entrance with the Nightingale. His breath was waisted though. Rainbow Dash didn't need the verbal indication; Phantom intervening was what she had been counting on. The moment that she saw the colored streak impact with the unicorn, she flared her wings, flapping them and propelling herself towards a certain filly. The Nightingale that Scootaloo sat on saw Dash coming for him, and ducked, expecting an impact, But Rainbow Dash didn't intend to hit the Nightingale. Instead, she angled herself so that she could simply soar over his head, reaching down and picking up the orange filly. Rainbow held tight onto the smaller pegasus, promising herself to never let go. A promise that was soon to be broken. "Stop them!" a Nightingale yelled. A fraction of a second later, Rainbow found herself hovering in air, trapped within the telekinetic bounds of a white, magical aura. All the while, Scootaloo was being ripped from her grasp. "Rainbow!" Scootaloo cried. "Hang on, Scoots!" Rainbow yelled back, struggling within the magical bonds of the aura. "Lemme go, ya jerk!" Her demand was directed at the Nightingale unicorn, who was revealed when he turned the mare around. It was the same unicorn that Phantom had tackled only moments earlier. But where is Phantom? "Now, now, now," the Nightingale spoke. "Imagine how badly it would reflect upon you to be seen acting so uncouth. Mind your position, dear Princess." "What did you do to Phantom?" Rainbow Dash growled. "Where is he?" "Oh, him?" The Nightingale turned, looking towards a Nightingale earth pony nearby who was carrying the limp form of the stallion on is back. Instantly, Rainbow could feel herself pale. "As for his condition, eh, we'll see when—sorry—if, he wakes up." "Sentry, stop!" Scootaloo barked. The unicorn looked at her with a curious regard. He hovered the filly onto the back of a Nightingale pegasus to his side. "Don't do anything to them!" "They're the enemy, Scoots," Sentry replied softly. "They're my friends!" The unicorn appeared shocked, taking a hesitant step backwards. Whether or not it was the statement that shocked him, or the ferocity by which Scootaloo uttered it, Rainbow couldn't be sure. Either way, it seemed to have a devastating effect on Sentry. "She was crowned last night, we all saw the flash. Now she's a Glacien; she's connected to the Conduit. We told you this was happening." "Look," Rainbow tried to say, "I can explain the crown..." Sentry gave Rainbow a deathly stare, sighing heavily. "You'll get your chance Glacien." Glacien? Rainbow thought, Weird being insulted as a Glacien instead of being called 'Caren'. Another heavy sigh as he looked between the mare and the filly. The unicorn moved Rainbow closer to him before growling, "Fine. I will give you one chance. Just because your a friend of Scootaloo, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But so help me, Celestia, if you betray that trust..." He moved Rainbow off to the side, next to the pony who was carrying Phantom. Briefly, she cast him a worried glance before returning her attention to Sentry. "Rose, put restraints on her, make sure she doesn't go anywhere." A earth pony mare nearest the cave entrance nodded, advancing towards Rainbow Dash. As she did so, she pulled out a series of straps from her saddlebags. Rainbow tried struggling out of the magical grip once more, but once more failed. While Rose approached, Scootaloo confided in Rainbow. "They're not bad ponies," she said. "In fact, they're really really nice! Just give them a chance..." Rainbow sighed in submission. "Fine... I'll trust you Scootaloo." By the end of her phrase, Rose had arrived. She took a strap and wrapped it around Rainbow's wings, securing them to her barrel so that she couldn't fly away. The pegasus tested the bonds. Using all of her strength, absolutely nothing happened. Rose then took out another strap, this one smaller, with a silver ring at one end. "Don't worry about choking," Rose said, clasping the collar around Rainbow's neck and securing it. "It's only a precaution to ensure cooperation with prisoners. You font suffocate, unless your reset." The instant it was secured, Rainbow could already feel the changes in her ability to breathe. Although it wasn't impossible, or a struggle, it was still an inconvenience. Rose pulled out an iron chain. Attaching one end to the silver ring on the collar, then wrapped the other end around one of her fore legs. "The more you cooperate, the easier it will be to breathe. Got it?" Rainbow Dash nodded, but immediately regretted it, nearly choking herself. After a few coughs, she finally replied, "Yes." "Good," Sentry said. "Let's get out of here before another storm hits. Skylar, how long we got?" The unicorn's question was directed at a pegasus high above, circling the group. "A few hours before the next one hits, sir!" The pegasus called back down. Rainbow could feel it in the tips of her wings: the pressure was dropping again, another storm was approaching. Sentry nodded. "Keep her close, and make sure that stallion doesn't wake up. Several hours had passed. Several hours had passed, and Rainbow Dash was sill prisoner of the Nightingales. Several hours had passed, and Phantom Knight had yet to wake. Several hours had passed as the ponies made their way through the icy forrest, towards a location unknown to the Equestrians. The leading edge of the storm was moving in, just as the sun was setting on the top of the tree line. Rainbow Dash had been making a conscious effort to maintain the exact speed of Rose, the pony who held her chain in front of her. If she slowed down just the slightest, the chain would go taut, and the collar around her next would tighten, disrupting her breathing. It was bad enough that the binding around her wings and barrel were also making it difficult. To her right, Scootaloo had been keeping her company throughout the journey. The young filly had explained what happened to her since they last saw each other. How Sky was standing in the middle of her room when she got home, and that the last thing she saw that day was a blinding white light. How she found herself in a carriage caravan going through some back-hills road, and how it was attacked by ponies in black armor and cloaks. According to her, it was Sentry that had found her; hiding behind a stack of crates in one of the wagons for shelter from the ambush. Sentry had apparently taken the filly with him back to a place that Scootaloo described as having more beauty than 'Rainbow Falls'. She made particular note of the pink trees, the warm temperatures, green-flowing grass, and an elaborate white castle. Though Rainbow Dash should have connected to dots as to what these pieces belonged to, in her current exhausting state, she was unable to do so. Then she went on to explain how she was out for a trot in the blooming trees, admiring their beauty, but eventually strayed away without paying enough attention and got lost in a cave system that ended up with her in the middle of a snow storm. "I had to fight my way out of the cave," Scootaloo told in a dramatic, action-y voice, "but the Windigoes where becoming too much! I fought them off the best I could, which is, twenty percent better than anypony else could have done. But they were too powerful, and I had to retreat back into the cave! Using some rocks and sticks that blew in, I managed to start a fire. Then, I started singing because I got bored and well... you guys showed up!" The orange filly hopped from the Nightingale, using her rapidly moving small wings to give her an extra boost, and landed on Rainbow's back, nuzzling the mare on the back of the neck, just above the collar. "Really..." Rainbow spoke dubiously. "Twenty Windigoes, eh?" "Well..." Scootaloo shied, "more like... five." The prismatic mare laughed, but didn't respond back with words, feeling that the conversation had ended. The whole time, she could see Sentry giving them an occasional glance, particularly while Scootaloo was describing the place she had been taken to by the Nightingales. Either he was leery of Rainbow Dash, or the information being given to her by Scootaloo. But Rainbow Dash never glanced back. When ever she did have a chance to look around, it was to her left. There, Phantom Knight's limp body was being carried on the back of some Nightingale stallion. She kept reminding herself that he was repeating what he had done in the tunnels beneath Ponyville; faking unconsciousness to gather intelligence on what was going on, or waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. As much as she wanted to believe that that was the case, and that the midnight blue pegasus could hop up and save them all in a wing beat, he didn't. He just laid there, doing nothing. Not even his ears moved around to better hear what ponies around him were saying. Part of Rainbow Dash's mind was telling her that he was actually unconscious, and that he could do nothing for her; that she was on her own. But another, darker, deeper recess of her mind held within its realm of possibilities a fate she dare not bring to fore-thought. She hadn't seen the spell actually hitting the pony, since she was busy trying to escape with Scootaloo. Hay, she didn't even hear it. So this gave her the bliss of ignorance in that he truly was okay. And as much as she hated it, only time would reveal the answer. "Skylar, how are we lookin' up there?" Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted by Sentry called up to his eye-in-the-sky. Normally Rainbow would have looked up at the other pony being addressed, but she already tried that once, and immediately felt the effects on the collar she was really hating by this point. The pegasus Nightingale preformed several corkscrews down to the group, landed directly beside Sentry. "The storm will be here in about fifteen more minutes. At this pace, we should make it just in time to get out from under it." Sentry nodded. "Very well." The pegasus next to him spread his wings, and was just about to take back off into the air before Sentry stopped him. "No need to go back up. We're going to take a short cut to make sure we stay out of the storm." Nodding, the pegasus followed Sentry as he turned, changing the groups direction towards an inconspicuous cave opening. It was just barely wide enough for all of the ponies to fit inside in their current formation. Quickly the light faded, and darkness began to take over. Sentry lit up his horn with a white light, effectively illuminating the cave. Their new course had many twists and turns, along with changes in altitude. This system of caves brought back memories for Rainbow Dash of the tunnel she was in under Ponyville. This one, however, was longer. If she had to guess, it was about double the length. Sentry led the group of ponies through the tunnels, the only light emanating from his horn. The only sounds where the clip-clopping of the ponies' hooves, and the dripping of melted water from the ceiling. A blur of time passed by before Rainbow Dash saw natural light from Celestia's descending sun once more. But before she knew it, the group made it out of the cave system, and were standing in the midst of an alien environment compared to what she had entered the cave through. "Pretty cool, huh?" Scootaloo commented. But Rainbow couldn't reply. She was mesmerized by the vast change in scenery. It was as if she had stepped through some kind of portal! Snow no longer dominated the ground, it was now lush, fertile, flowing emerald green grass. The trees weren't dead husks of grey branches, they had healthy brown trunks, and soft white flowers tainted by light pink on the ends of their pedals. Occasionally, one would fall gracefully from their branch, landing softly on the grass below. Up high, the sky was a perfect azure, with just the right amount of the most amazing, soft, puffy looking clouds that Rainbow Dash had ever seen in her career as a weather pony; even though now there should have been a storm on top of the ponies. As she glanced around some more, just over the tops of some of the trees, she could see the storm that was supposed to have hit them. It was circling around the area they were in, completely avoiding it as if some kind of a forcefield was in place. The thing that caught Rainbow's attention the most, was the temperature. The cold that once nipped at the tips of her primaries and nose, that once froze her mane to her coat, was gone. It was actually warm here! Just as warm as it would have been during a spring day back home in Ponyville. Home... Rainbow reminisced. It only felt like a few days ago she was out with her friends, hanging with them in the park, laying up in a tree with her sun glasses and being as awesome as she could. Now, as Rose tugged on her chain, ushering her foreword with the rest of the group into this brilliant forrest of unknown; home was far from her mind. As the group trekked through the forest of pink and white trees, the trees themselves began to thin out and disperse. Rainbow's jaw dropped moments later. It wasn't the swaying, curving fields of crops and the occasional mill turning in the soft breeze. It wasn't the cobblestone path that followed the curves of these field. Nor was it the occasion black silhouette of a pony who was working those fields. It was the destination that the cobblestone path led up to. A town was outlined on the top of a series of hills, one about the size of Ponyville. From this distance, Rainbow could make out it's pre-Equestrian architecture; cobblestone walls covered by hay and straw roofs. In the center of the town, the sun reflected off of white marble walls of the largest structure; what had to have been a castle. It looked extremely similar to the Castle of the Two Sisters. All at once, Rainbow Dash remember. She connected the dots. The grass, the clear blue skies, the Cherry Blossom trees and the warm weather. The booming crop fields, the ponies who worked them that looked similar to the Nightingales escorting her. The town stretched out before her and the castle that rose from the center of which. This. All of this. Palmyra... Sentry led Rainbow Dash and the Equestrians along the cobblestone path. All the while, ponies came out from working in the fields to line up on the side of the road, getting a better look at her. She accredited this mainly to her rainbow mane. Or the crown that rested atop her head. It could have been any number of things. Either way, she didn't want that kind of attention It got worse when a young, gray coated colt ran up to the group, saw Rainbow Dash, and ran off towards the city gates—which by now, Rainbow could see that the entire city was surrounded by a white wall, with only a few buildings outlining it as farm houses. The wall seemed to outline the city in an octagon pattern, with turrets rising from each point. It was only a matter of time before the group reached the city, gates; massive iron bars like that of an oversized cell door. Instead of opening straight up, rising into the top of the wall like Rainbow had expected they would, they parted ways down the center, which each half retreated into their respective side of the city walls. When Sentry led his group inside, even more ponies lined the streets to view them. Rainbow felt as if she were apart some kind of circus parade, and she was the attraction. As much as she wanted to shy away from all of the ponies, much like what Fluttershy would do, the chain that connected her to Rose prevented any of that. The castle grew larger as they approached. It appeared to her to be similar in design to that of the Castle of the Two Sisters, back in the Everfree Forest. The pairs of doors that made up the main entrance managed to be elegant, yet simple in their design; inviting, even. That was, until somepony stormed out of them, using his magic to nearly break them off of their hinges. This pony was dressed similarly to the Nightingales: black chitin-like armor, and a black cloak. Unlike the others, however, he was not wearing a hood, nor anything to conceal his face. He was a light tan pegasus, with a dark brown mane. His sapphire eyes bore holes into Sentry. "What do you think you're doing?!" The stallion yelled, his rage directed at the leading unicorn. Sentry seemed to shrink in size at the ferocity of the other stallion's voice. "I told you not to bring her here!" "I-I-I-I—" Sentry mumbled before being interrupted. "Care to speak coherently?!" "S-S-Sorr-rr-y, sir. It's just that she had Scootaloo with her." The filly who was mentioned jumped off of the back of the Nightingale, onto the street. She comfortably hopped in front of the raging stallion. "Hiya, Syntax!" "Squirt!" Syntax looked down a Scootaloo, and his mood seemed to instantly improve. "Hey!" Rainbow yelled at the pegasus before she knew what she was doing. "I'm the one who calls her Squirt, not you!" She tried to advance towards him with intimidation, but Rose pulled on her chain, stopping the brash mare. "Well well well," the pegasus moved closer to the cyan mare. "This must be the new Princess that caused that flash we all saw last night." "Yeah," Scootaloo said. "That's Rainbow Dash! The fastest flier in all of Equestria! And only the greatest sister ever!" "She's the pony you told me about?" Scootaloo nodded. Syntax directed his attention back to Rainbow Dash, scrutinizing her. "Who's this, then?" he asked, looking towards the still unconscious form of Phantom. "My body guard," Rainbow explained. "Well, he was my body guard. Now he's my boss, I guess you could say." "Hm. Sentry, wake him." "Sir?" Sentry questioned. "You hear me. Wake him." "He's dangerous, though! He attacked me! He's in league with the Glaciens." "He's also Equestrian, so he'll help us. Now, wake him." Sentry sighed, turning to the unconscious pony who had now been placed just before the steps of the castle entrance. There was a quick pulse of white magic, centered on Phantom's form. Rainbow watched as the pegasus groaned and shuffled a bit. She could see his eyes moving rapidly under his eye lids. In one gasp of air, his eye lids flung open, and he quickly scanned his environment. Realizing that he was still surrounded by Nightingales, Phantom opened his wings and took flight. He only got about four feet off of the ground. A paralyzing white aura of magic surrounded him, restricting his movements to nothing. Sentry turned the frozen pegasus so that he and Syntax were looking at each other. "Now, who would you be?" Syntax asked the guard. Phantom spoke, but not to him. "You doing okay, Dash?" "A little hard to breathe, but sure," Rainbow replied. "Good. Now, who would you be?" asked Phantom, using the same words as Syntax. The Nightingale laughed to himself, enjoying Phantom's wit. "Okay," he said, "I'll play along. I'm Syntax, second in command of the Nightingales. You no doubt know who we are. Your turn." "Staff Sergeant Phantom Knight, Equestrian Royal Guard. Is it safe to presume you know why we're here?" "Yes, Mr. Knight, it is. You're here to help the Glaciens stop us. We don't have much time, so I'll explain this as quickly as I can. You are going to help us. Our current leader has been captured by Glacien forces and is being held in the capital city, likely in some dungeon in the castle. You are going to go rescue her, and have her come back here by nightfall tomorrow. Since her execution is scheduled for tomorrow, I'd advise you to hurry. Princess Rainbow Dash here will remain here with us as collateral in the event that you fail, and our leader doesn't return. Oh, word of advice, don't trust the Glaciens. They tend to betray those that do." "So that's it? Save your leader and come back? How will I find my way, follow her?" "No. Just set her free and stay there. You will not be coming back. If our leader arrives, then I will have Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo teleported to you." "If you hurt her while I'm gone..." Syntax rolled his eyes. "We're not Glacien. Remember? Sentry, send him back." The unicorn nodded, closing his eyes and preparing to use a spell that would take up a sum of his energy. "Oh, say hello to Stryker for me, will you?" Phantom opened his mouth to question what Syntax had said, but lost his chance when Sentry fired his teleportation spell. There was a crackling in the skies above the Aquila castle. Just above the west wing, a loud pop and flash emanated from above the rooftops. Phantom Knight found himself falling from the skies at the destination of a misaimed teleportation attempt for the second time that month. Too shocked to correct his fall, and still recovering from the effects of the paralyzation spell, he could do nothing to stop himself. "Faust..." he muttered as the clay roof approached rapidly. Less than a second later, Phantom crashed through it with resounding noise.