//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Castle Escape // Story: Break the Walls Down // by Super Saiyan D //------------------------------// ========================= Canterlot Castle: Luna’s Tower Five minutes ago ========================= “...in... ce... una?” “...rincess Luna?” “Princess Luna!” “H-Huh?” Cyan eyes fluttered open as the Princess of the Night was abruptly roused from here trance. The blue aura around her horn vanished, the spell that allowed her to walk through the dream world ceasing as the physical realm came back into existence around her. She shook her head for a moment to clear her sight, the interruption of her spell leaving cobwebs in her vision akin to suddenly being roused from sleep. Shifting to her right, she looked over her shoulder to the white-coated pegasi guard behind her. “For what reason have you disturbed me from my duties, corporal?” He bowed swiftly as Luna addressed him. “Pardon your highness. I wouldn’t have done so if it weren’t absolutely necessary. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we have an emergency,” he said hurriedly, pointing a hoof upwards in the opposite direction. Luna quirked an eyebrow before turning her head up and out beyond her balcony. Her jaw promptly fell open at what she saw. “What in Equestria..?” A large, circular black rift stretched over the air, hanging just on the other side of the castle grounds. In hindsight, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed this cosmic fluke of an anomaly sooner. “Corporal... what is this?” Luna asked. The guard could only shake his head. “No idea, your highness. It appeared out of nowhere just a few minutes ago. We’ve set up loose formations along the balconies, at a set distance from it. Don’t want to risk anypony getting too close.” Another guard suddenly came galloping in through her chamber door. It was another pegasus stallion, this one with a tangelo coat, and a mane and tail colored in alternating shades of moderate blue. His deeper toned voice called for the diarch’s attention. “Your Highness!” Skidding to a stop, he gave a short bow of his head and continued. “An intruder has been spotted on castle grounds! The east courtyard!” Luna’s eyes widened, a hushed gasp escaping her throat. That was where her sister’s tower was. All traces of surprise disappeared from her face, her expression hardening into a ready, steely-eyed resolve. No harm would come to her sister. Not on her watch. She turned and pointed to the white pegasi guard. “Take a squad and move to intercept, immediately! Block their escape and await my arrival. I shall join you momentarily. Have the rest of the patrols hold their positions along the scaffolds.” As the white-furred guard bowed and left with haste, she turned her attention to the orange pegasus. “Sir Spearhead, hurry to the south district and alert your captain. Bring him quickly! I will take no chances with my sister’s safety.” “Yes Princess Luna!” Spearhead responded. With a quick bow of his own he turned on his hooves and sprinted out to carry out her orders. As they departed, Luna quickly stepped through the balcony door and back into her chamber. Letting out a deep breath to steady herself, she looked above to the shadowed ceiling. “Umbra!” Up above in the shadows, a pair of slit-pupil eyes opened up. Their jade glow stood out brightly against the darkness of the tower’s ceiling. The body they belonged too motioned slightly, becoming clear enough to see the upside down form of a pony hanging from a horizontal beam by its tail. It suddenly dropped down from the roof, falling halfway to the floor before a pair of bat-like wings opened up from its back. The thin stretches of skin caught the air, slowing its descent until the figure touched gently to the ground. A bat pony clad in a stylized form of Night Guard armor stood before Luna. Her coat was grayish violet, accented by an array of light greenish gray patterns. The green streaks splayed across her stomach, chest, neck, eyelids, ear tips, and even her muzzle. The flesh of her fingered wings were similarly green. Her blackish mane was accented by streaks of grayish azure and dark blue violet, and tied into a single bun. Several pointed strands sticking out the back, the mare’s naturally spiky mane resisting the neat style. Unlike the standard Night Guards, her armor heavily resembled Luna herself with its shades of dark and vibrant blues. The chest piece was adorned by a solid white crescent moon. She bent a knee and bowed her head before before the younger diarch. “My liege?” Luna cast a serious eye down upon her own captain. “Gather your brother and a platoon of the Night Guard from the west tower. You and Night Flare set up a vantage point fifty yards beyond the castle grounds. Have the rest of the guards rendezvous with Captain Armor. I want extra precautions in place should this intruder prove troublesome.” The bat pony’s eyes narrowed with fierce determination. She had no intention of failing. “At once, princess.” With another flap of her leathery wings she propelled herself off the ground, past Luna and through the doorway, soaring off into the evening sky. With all orders given, Luna again walked out to the edge of her balcony overlooking the castle. Down below she could already see the group of guards making their way towards Celestia’s tower. Stretching out her wings, she took to the air with a single wingbeat, lifting off the floor and gliding towards the opposite courtyard. No sooner did she take off did the mysterious warp begin to close. Soon it closed and faded out of existence altogether. Luna’s mind raced. What was this strange phenomenon? And how exactly did it relate to this intruder? Whatever it was, she intended to find out. By the time she arrived in the east courtyard’s airspace, she found a group of gold-clad guards moving in on the foot of the tower, all their sights honed straight ahead. Directing her eyes to their line of vision, she could make out an odd looking life form just ahead of the group. Her horn glowed as she activated a spell, casting an illuminating beam almost like a spotlight down on the intruder for a better look. Upon doing so, her eyes widened for the umpteenth time in this short evening. It was some kind of anthropomorphic creature. Blue furred with quills on its head, with peach colored arms and belly and a thin black nose. From where she could see it also wore shoes and a pair of white gloves, raising one of its covered hands to shield its eyes from her light. In all Luna’s years, it still had to be one of the strangest creatures she had ever seen. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the odd mammal as she lowered herself down. Intending to take immediate control of the situation, she bellowed in her now rarely used royal Canterlot voice. “HALT, INTRUDER!” ======================== Canterlot Castle: Inner Ward Now ======================== Now the Princess of the Night glared down the strange two-legged creature with a piercing look, each beat of her dark wings descending her lower, like a dark angel summoned down to deliver judgment. She landed gracefully and folded her wings closed, her gaze as cold and unabiding as the black of a starless night sky. This thing, whatever it was, was not only the likely cause behind that unnatural surge of power that had split the sky, but burst unexpectedly into Celestia’s courtyard. While it hadn’t made any aggressive moves as of now, it was still no doubt connected to the evening’s strange event. And if this thing endangered her ponies or her sister in anyway, she would offer no reprieve. “I know not what you are or what you are doing here creature, but I have questions for you. As I imagine my sister will when she awakens. Come quietly, and I will ensure you will be treated with at least some modicum of respect.” She snapped her wings out horizontally from her body to signal to the guards, who fanned out to her sides and stepped towards him. Sonic looked on a bit anxiously, flexing his fingers in tension. The look the princess was giving him right now made his skin crawl. ’Yikes, if looks could kill... doubt I’m gonna catch any kind of a break from miss sourpuss there.’ So he looked to the guards as they got closer. “Come on, guys. Can’t we talk about this like reasonable... er, mammals?” he said to the approaching pegasi. One on the left end raised an eyebrow. The pair in the middle glanced at each other for a moment in brief contemplation. But it didn’t last and they hardened their eyes on him again, continuing their march towards the hedgehog. Sonic shrugged. “Eh, worth a shot.” ZOOM! In the next moment the hedgehog was a speeding blue bullet rocketing towards the line of approaching guards. In the second they took to register his movements he was already a single step in front of one in the middle, jumping and narrowly front flipping over the armored pony. When his feet hit the ground just a few feet from Luna, he dropped his body low and slid across the ground. Using his left hand for balance, he skid on the soles of his feet and his palm. Luna’s previously hard gaze widened from shock, only reacting enough to look downward as the blue hedgehog slid towards her. In that split second the two locked eyes, the hedgehog looking up at her with a cocksure smirk. He tapped his right and middle finger on his forehead, giving her a cheeky two-fingered salute before he disappeared from view underneath her, zooming between alicorn’s legs and off into the distance with a gust of wind. The startling speed of what had just occurred and the blast of air between her legs caused Luna to let out a surprised whinny, her folded wings snapping up involuntarily. Her ethereal mane and tail blew roughly from the air current the alien’s dash created. Surprise and embarrassment quickly turned into righteous fury as the dream walking princess turned on her heel, her teeth grit in a scowl with a hint of dusty red staining the dark blue fur of her cheeks. “After him!” The guards galloped after the escaping hedgehog. As they dashed past her and down the pathway out of the courtyard, Luna’s eyes narrowed as she pondered what had just transpired before her. One minute she had had this mysterious intruder surrounded, and in the next he was long gone. He’d slipped right past her and the guards in the blink of an eye. Made it look easy. ’I never imagined this being could be so... fast. They will never catch him at this rate. Let us hope my contingency fairs better...’ With a flap of her wings, she took to the air to pursue. Sonic shot through the streets of Canterlot, his feet spinning underneath him as he looked from side to side at the city around him. ’I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore...’ The situation didn’t look good for the blue hero. He was alone, and judging from that earlier snafu, in unfriendly territory. First priority had to be getting out of here and getting out of here fast. Unfortunately for Sonic, he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice the faint whistling of something flying through the air. Suddenly, and without warning, something snared around his ankles mid stride. “Whoa!” He tumbled face first into the ground, rolling head over heels for a few feet before eventually grinding to a stop. Groaning he put a palm to his head and looked down toward his feet. Thin black cord and rounded metal balls of a bolas had wrapped tightly around his legs. Strangely, the opposite end of the typically throwing weapon’s cord was attached to the upper shaft of an arrow. “I’d stay still if I were you,” said a voice to his right. Turning his head Sonic saw yet another hovering in mid air a few meters away. A male from the sound of him. He had a moderate cerise coat, with a black mane and tail highlighted with orange ends. His hair looked a little spikier than the few he’d seen, but it was a little hard to tell from the dark purple jacket that he wore, the hood up and covering his head. His left hoof held a bow, a quiver strapped to his right side by his flank. He smirked at his seemingly subdued quarry. “Gotta say, you’re pretty quick on your feet.” The pegasus tilted his head, looking over the downed hedgehog with an inquisitive look. “...For an overgrown rodent.” He raised his bow, gesturing to the hedgehog’s tied feet. “Like the trick arrows? Made ‘em myself. Come in real handy bagging ne’er do wells like you.” Then he gave an upwards nod directed somewhere behind Sonic. “He’s all yours, sis.” An impact tremor of something landing on the ground suddenly came from behind the speedy Mobian. His head craned up as he took in the sight of the dark colored mare that had just dropped down. She spread her bat-like wings out wide and high in an intimidating manner as she stepped towards Sonic. Her right forehoof reached over her chest and drew the saber from the sheath that hung on her left side. Not once did she break eye contact with Sonic, her jade eyes zoned in on him a look so intense it made his skin crawl. ‘Man, are all the horse girls around here so scary?’ The mare stopped about two feet from where he lay. She held her saber aloft with a bend in her leg, pointing the curve of the blade at him. “You’ll be coming with us, creature.” She cast a stink eye up towards the other pony. “And why aren’t you in uniform, Night Flare?” Night Flare, as he was apparently called, cracked a little smile. “You mean that clunky, gap-filled armor? I wasn’t really feelin’ it.” When he saw Umbra’s glare harden, he rolled his eyes. “Oh, gimme a break, sis. I grew up in Somnambula way before your batty behind came along, remember? It’s cold up here for a southerner. And that armor isn’t exactly doing any favors. So how ‘bout you cut me some slack, Captain Bossy?” he replied, his nonchalant manner clearly agitating the mare even further. “Luna, preserve me...” Sonic softly chuckled at the two siblings’ bickering. “Trouble at home?” His smile quickly disappeared when the tip of Umbra’s blade pointed in his face. “Eesh, tough crowd...” he said, sweat dropping. Nothing quite like the business end of a saber to kill the mood. “Keep your thoughts to yourself, rat.” The bat pony’s slit jade eyes burned on him with a withering glare. “You’ve invaded the royal palace and caused havoc among our ranks. The princess will have questions for you, and until they’re answered, the only place you’re going to be is in a cell.” Sonic crinkled his brow at the comment, slowly lowering his palms to the ground on either side of his body. He always got annoyed when people called him that. Ever since that one jerky genie in that story book. “I’d listen to her if I were you,” came another glib comment from Night Flare. “Make her mad and she just might feast on your blood.” A tick mark popped on Umbra’s forehead, turning her attention away from Sonic to glare back up at him. “So help me Night Flare, keep your big mouth shut or I will personally throw you in the dungeon with him!” And there was Sonic’s door. The arrow guy may have gotten his legs tied up, but he was far from useless. With a sudden push to lift himself off the ground and a twist, he spun his lower body around and lashed out with his legs. The strike caught the distracted Night Guard captain by surprise, kicking the sword up out of her hoof and eliciting a surprised draw of breath from the bat pony. “Sorry, I don’t do bars and chains. Not even after the second or third date.” And he wasn’t done yet. Even though his legs were bound, he could still move most of his body. He pivoted his spin on his right hand until he was in just the right position, then let himself drop forward to tuck into a spin dash. Umbra’s eyes went wide with shock, but there was no time; the barely-a-foot of distance between her and Sonic too short for her to defend or escape. In the blink of an eye, the spinning blue ball that was her target collided with her armored chest. The impact sent her flying backwards into a wall of shrubbery. All sight of her was lost in the cracking and bending of the green branches. The back of her head struck hard against a particularly thick branch, bouncing off the back of her helmet and knocking her almost unconscious. Rebounding out of his spin, Sonic uncurled to land on his butt. A metallic ‘thunk’ to his right made him glance over. The bat pony’s saber had finished its return trip and had embedded itself in the ground right next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught something moving, looking up just in time to see Night Flare—no longer smiling, and with another arrow pulled back and ready to loose. Sonic’s eyes went wide with alarm. As the pegasus released his bowstring and the arrow whistled through the air, he reached for the closest thing he could find: Umbra’s sword. Grasping the hilt with his right hand, he turned and brandished the brandished with the flat of the blade against his palm. Ting! The pointed arrowhead bounced off the blade from his successful block. “Whew! Talk about getting the point.” Sonic glanced up at the archer, the grimace on the pony’s face showing annoyance at his failed shot, along with a hint of vengeful anger for his KO’d sister. The Mobian cut the wires around his legs and kipped up to his feet, dropping the sword. He ducked as two more arrows whizzed over his head, before whooshing off the way he was headed before the flying furry roadblocks showed up. Glancing to his right, he was pleasantly surprised to see the hooded pegasus matching his speed, maintaining a set distance. “Well, well. Pretty quick for a flying donkey,” Sonic said with a smirk, returning Night Flare’s earlier taunt back to him. The pegasus chuckled. “Glad you approve. I do aim to please.” The pegasus performed a sudden aerial twist, turning left and rolling like a barrel, maneuvering himself behind Sonic so that the two were lined up perfectly. He pulled a trio of arrows back in his bowstring, their arrowheads giving off a faint purple shine. “And speaking of aim...” He fired, the trio of arrows whistling through the air towards their target. Sonic saw them coming out of the corner of his eye as a wide turn came up on the road. He sped flawlessly along the turn, his body leaning slightly to compensate and his fingers brushing along the brick of the adjacent building while he went. Thinking he’d cleared this volley as well, he looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see the hooded pegasus still tailing him. Instead he was greeted onlu by the trio of arrows still flying after him. ’Heat-seeker arrows? That’s a new one. But... how well can they follow along?’ Looking ahead, Sonic saw a set of neighboring buildings. Just what he needed. He headed straight for the row of structures, decelerating a little to bring the arrows in closer. The side of the building was fast approaching, and the sharp projectiles were inching nearer and nearer to his back. ‘Almost there...’ At the last possible second, his foot caught the building’s wall and he zoomed straight up the side. Three ‘thunks’ into the side signified the arrows missed. “Hah! Eat my dust, arrow boy!” he whooped. He caught the edge of the roof with his hand and flipped up over the edge. His glee was replaced with surprised alarm. Night Flare there waiting, his bow aimed perfectly at the midair hedgehog, the readied arrow tipped with some type of cylinder-shaped capsule. “Eat this, furball.” The bowstring snapped. The arrow flew. Sonic’s eyes widened with a burst of panic. He couldn’t dodge in midair; not at this range. He could only watch as the odd looking cylinder tip briefly glowed purple— BANG! The arrowhead exploded and Sonic’s body was sent flying towards the rooftop behind him. He hit the tile roughly and skidded several feet along the rooftop. The pony hovered overhead with a satisfied smirk on his face, striking up more conversation. “You know, I actually like the shoes. But the gloves are kinda tacky.” The slightly crispy hedgehog found his way back to his feet, brushing the dust off his arm. “Well, that’s a riot. Fashion advice from the guy wearing purple.” Night Flare frowned. “It’s indigo.” “What was that?” Sonic lifted up one hand to his ear and leaned his head towards him, sporting a snarky smile. “I can’t hear you! Your purple is too loud!” He had to make a quick swipe of his hand to catch another arrow before it hit him in the face. The annoyed pegasus pulled arrow after arrow from his quiver, firing them at the hedgehog in quick succession. He hovered right as he loosed them, continually changing his firing position, keeping Sonic on his toes. The Blue Blur dodged them with relative ease, blurring in and out of sight around the roof, standing straight and confident with his arms crossed. Somersaulting backwards to another rooftop to dodge the next set of arrows, he gave a mocking gesture to Night Flare, sticking his tongue out and pulling his eyelid down at the pony. Ducking another pair of arrows, Sonic revved up his feet to dash and leap off the roof and throw a high kick out at Night Flare. But the pony just let his body sprawl back and flapped his wings to propel himself down. Sonic went sailing over him, missing. As he landed on the adjacent rooftop he swerved for a U-turn, two more arrows piercing the tile behind him as he circled back. Racing towards the edge and jumping off, he curled up and launched himself towards Night Flare for a homing attack. The distance Night Flare maintained between them however was enough to compensate for the Mobian’s speed. As the blue ball of spikes streaked towards him, he already had another explosive arrow drawn back, loosing it right towards the incoming hedgehog, again resulting in a small explosion that sent Sonic crashing to the opposite roof. “You’re gonna have to do better than that!” Night Flare called, pulling back and firing another shot at Sonic even before he touched the rooftop. It took a very fast roll to the left for Sonic to avoid the incoming arrow—but it had been exceedingly close. Kipping up, looking out at his opponent with a half frown. ‘This is no good. He's keeping all the space between us that he needs. He can dodge everything I throw at him, and those arrows are getting closer.’ He glanced around, spotting a hatch door formation sticking up out of the flat of one rooftop just a few buildings over. That gave him an idea. ‘Let’s see if I can take a page out of fly boy’s book.’ He shot off towards the distant rooftop, hopping over the gaps between houses while Night Flare gave chase. Lining himself up behind Sonic for a straight shot, Night Flare pulled another explosive arrow back and took aim. This one would have some extra ‘oomph’ to it. More than enough to put the blue furball down for the count, or so he was counting on. “Now when I called you a rodent, I wasn’t implying that you’re a hairy, smelly, ugly—” Just as he fired the arrow, Sonic jumped forward and planted his feet on the side of the building, propelling himself off and back towards the pony. He caught the arrow a millisecond before it hit him and threw it back at Night Flare with just as much force. Night Flare’s eyes briefly widened before the resulting explosion shook the nearby buildings. He was sent tumbling out of resulting smoke cloud, plummeting backwards and crashing through a window with a grunt. A pair of very girlish shrieks also came from the inside of the room. Landing back on the ground, Sonic called up to the window with his palm at the side of his mouth. “Nice banter, kid! Try getting some skills to back it up!” He shot off down the road, grinning with satisfaction at putting the pesky flier out of commission. With his feet spinning underneath him and a dust cloud trailing behind him, the speeding hedgehog flew through Canterlot’s streets. It wasn’t long before he could see a wide hint of green in the distance. He smiled with hope. The city’s edge was drawing near. He was almost home free. Until a rose colored laser shot at him from somewhere on his left. The surprised hedgehog jumped over the beam, screeching to a rough stop as he landed. The laser fired again, burning a long line in the concrete in front of him. “Ugh, what now?” Looking to his left, he saw another pony approaching. He was tall and broader than the others he’d seen so far, with white fur and blueish tones in his mane, as well as more visible blue hooves. He also wore another unique armor, purple and gold with a star-marked shield on the chest. “You know, this whole ‘pony challenger arcade’ thing is gettin’ real old, real fast,” said the mildly nettled hedgehog. The stallion just glowered at him. “You’re not going anywhere, trespasser. You may have escaped all of the others, but you won’t get past me,” Shining Armor said threateningly, his horn alighting once more as he charged up another attack. “This is the end of the line, rat.” “That’s hedgehog, ya mook!” Sonic revved his feet and zoomed in a loop as the unicorn shot a barrage of purple laser bolts at him. He jumped up to avoid a long laser and curled, shooting towards the pony in a blue streak of light with a homing attack, only to be stopped mid flight when a purple, bubble-like shield appeared between him and Shining Armor. Sonic’s spinning form ground against the magic barrier for a few seconds before his momentum bounced him off, up and over so that he landed behind the unicorn. Sonic was beyond fed up with this now. The strange magic these talking horses had was getting to be a real pain. “That’s it, time to bail.” Sideflipping another set of energy bolts from Shining Armor, he bolted for the edge of the city the moment he caught his footing. BONK! And ran full speed straight into a very hard solid mass. Pulling his smooshed cheek of the surface, he groaned and put a hand to his face. He looked up to see It an almost transparent barrier in the same color as that horse soldier’s head beam. The sound of more hoofsteps behind him made him roll his head in frustration, turning around. ‘Speaking of whom...’ The unicorn stood there, his horn glowing. The shield he had put up covered nearly the entire block, with both of them inside. And he wasn’t alone. About a dozen more ponies with batty wings and dark armor began landing in rows at the unicorn’s side. ‘Great, the cavalry’s here,’ Sonic bemoaned in his head. ‘Anything else they wanna throw at me?’ His thoughts were answered when a familiar form dropped heavily in front of Shining Armor. It was the bat pony from earlier. And she did not look happy in the slightest. Her lips were curled in a snarl and her eyes glared atomic explosions at the Mobian. A fresh bead of sweat ran down Sonic's forehead. ’Sorry I asked...’ He took a half step back, looking all around his bubble shaped prison. No way in, no way out. The thing covered the entire street. Wait... just street? I wonder then... His inner monologue was interrupted when the tall white unicorn stepped forward. “This is your last chance, stranger! Now give yourself up before you get hurt!” Umbra on the other hand was in no more mood for warnings. “To Tarturus with that. He had his chance.” Venom dripped from her voice as she drew her sword and flourished it, about to signal the other bat-winged stallions to move in. Sonic backed up just a little bit more. He could feel the cool of the barrier against his fingers. Well, no time like the present to test his little theory. He looked at Shining Armor. “Nice purple party piece, Private Pointy-Head. But here’s a tip.” He jumped up into the air. “Next time you learn how to make a fancy shield...” He curled and spun rapidly, dropping back down. To the surprise of everypony, his body pierced into the ground upon coming back down, burrowing into it. Only to pop out on the other side of the barrier moments later. “...make sure it covers all your blind spots!” While the rest of the ponies stood surprised, Umbra reacted first, turning to shout at Shining Armor. “Drop the shield!” But it was too late. Sonic wagged his finger at the crowd of ponies before taking a hunched runner’s stance. “Well, it’s been fun, but I’ve gotta dash! Toodles!” And in a flash he was gone, whooshing off away from the city and leaving the flabbergasted ponies in his dust. The purple wall of Shining Armor’s spell finished falling as he galloped a few feeble meters after the escaping hedgehog. But he quickly realized that it was pointless. He stamped his hoof to the ground with a frustrated exclamation. He watched the last of the dust cloud fade away, his lip pursed and his teeth grit as he hung his head, irritation and shame buring in his gut. The other members of the Royal Guard displayed similar looks of shock, and disappointment. But none of them matched the utter outrage on Umbra’s face. A low growl emanated from the back of her throat, her teeth bared and grinding together. She turned back and pointed her blade at the rest of the patrol. “All Night Guards form up! I want a search party ready five minutes ago! We’re going after that thing!” “Belay that order.” The ponies quickly turned their attention upwards towards the familiar voice. Luna came down and landed before Umbra, prompting her to sheath her saber and bow her head low. Her ears flattened against her head, wholly ashamed of her failure. “Forgive me, princess... I failed you... Please, let me pursue! I’ll take a twelve-pony squad and—” The dark blue alicorn simply raised a hoof to quiet her. “At ease, Captain Umbra. Send the guards back to their posts.” She looked over her shoulder at Shining Armor. “As you were, Captain Armor.” The unicorn blinked in slight surprise, shocked to see her taking this failure so well. Umbra on the other hand was more vocal in her discontent, looking to the diarch with a confused expression. “But, princess! What about the intruder?” “That is not your burden anymore, Captain Armor.” As the guards dispersed, she walked back down the road. Umbra came up beside her, matching the moon goddess’s pace. “...Are we just giving up, your majesty?” Umbra asked. “Adapting, dear Umbra.” The dream walker’s cyan eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Whatever this... strange creature is, it possesses unique speed and abilities. We must match him in kind.” “Your Highness..?” Umbra furrowed her brow, not quite understanding. Luna stopped for a moment, gazing out past the city in which the hedgehog had run. “Bring me a scroll, Umbra.” Sonic looked back over his shoulder as he made tracks away from the city. It didn’t look like any of those pastel horses were following him. Though he doubted any of them could keep up if he really tried. Feeling he was finally in the clear, he looked around to take in more of his surroundings. He was currently heading down the path of a mountain. In the distance were deep forests, towering mountains, and green pastures as far as the eye could see. But it was nothing like Mobius. Leading the hyperactive hedgehog to oh so poignantly voice the entirety of his thought process in one, simple question: “Where in the cosmos am I?!” ======================== 7:06 PM Wonderbolt Headquarters ======================== Galloping hoofsteps clopped loudly across the tiled floor. A pegasus mare with bushy dark blue hair, green eyes and a whitish coat bolted through the hallway. A rolled up scroll was clenched in her teeth. High Winds rushed towards the captain’s office as fast as her hooves could carry her. There was a ‘Urgent’ labeled message straight from Canterlot, emblazoned with Princess Luna’s mark. She had to get it delivered as fast as possible. She finally reached her destination, throwing the door opened and jutting to a halt inside the room. The scroll fell from her mouth as she gasped, breathing heavily to get much needed oxygen back into her lungs. “Whew... whew... Spi... S-Spitfi...” The chair on the other side of the desk, which had been facing away from her, slowly turned around. There in it, wearing her medal-adorned jacket and typical dark shades, sat Spitfire—Captain of the Wonderbolts. Before High Winds could sputter on, she raised a hoof to stop her. She pointed to the white mare’s left at a set of water bottles. High Winds grabbed one and opened it, drinking several big gulps of water. When she was finished she let out another big gasp, steadying her breath. The captain rested her elbows on the table, hooves together. “You were saying?” High Winds grabbed the scroll back up and approached the desk, extending the roll of paper forward. “Message from Canterlot! It’s urgent!” Raising an eyebrow, Spitfire reached over the desk with her wing and took the scroll. Bringing it to her hooves, she unfurled it and read. As her eyes ran back and forth over the page, she pulled her sunglasses down an inch. When her eyes came to a stop, she placed the scroll firmly down on the table. “Get the team ready. I want six of our best on the runway, now.” “Yes ma’am!” High Winds acknowledged before galloping off. Spitfire turned back around in her chair, standing up and trotting to the window. She gave a long look out into the evening sky beyond the academy, and an ardent smirk broke across her face. “Today just got a lot more interesting.” ================================================================ Artwork: Umbra Night Flare