//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: To Your Health 
// Story: The Blue Knight 
// by The_Darker_Fonts 
//------------------------------//

The stallion was furious.  Those damned fools had done it again, had stormed off on their own and had jeopardized him and themselves.  They didn’t know it, but he had been tracking them ever since he broke them out of the jail, trying to ensure that they wouldn’t end up in that sort of situation again, and yet they had.  Somehow, after hardly three days of freedom, they had managed to get not only caught, but beaten to a pulp, and now he had to deal with it.  Of course, he hadn’t been there physically for the situation to occur, but he’d seen it through the big one’s eyes, which were now closed.
He practically ran through the streets of Upper Canterlot, brushing past the noble ponies and their prissy foals.  He didn’t have any care for the judgement that they held for him as he passed, or for the fact that he was openly puffing a medium sized cigar.  Smoking occurred, though it was a private activity, even among the regular farmer folk, and certainly not something that you would do in the gelded streets of the capital city.  He didn’t care though, the light cherry scent in the smoke, the way that the smoke wafted away thinly, it relaxed him
But not enough.
He felt himself clench the cigar a bit too hard in his mouth, and loosened it, but felt the slight bend in the stump.  Damn those stallions, he thought angrily, puffing out a slow drag and holding the ruined cigar up with his tongue.  “Outta my way,” he growled to a pair of young mares who were uselessly chatting in front of a shop.  They both gave him a startled look, but they stepped aside, watching the white unicorn rush past.  It was dark out now, and it was hard to see where he was, but he’d been in the city before, and knew where he was going.  
He passed a stallion who was busy lighting the streetlamps, and from there he was able to see the road he was headed for.  He rushed past a couple of constables who gave him a wary glance, but he simply kept moving, pretending not to care about their presence in the area.  After a few more minutes of rushed walking, he found himself skirting the gates of the Royal Palace, walking on the sidewalk right next to where the fencing stood.  While there was almost no need for such protection in the modern era, it had been built in the past, almost a full millenia ago, much like the rest of the castle, and was maintained as a relic more than actual protection.  Still, it reminded him of the goal, the utopia he needed to create to live the life he was destined to never have.
Following around the outside of the castle, he came to the gateways to the steps, an arch with carvings dedicated to the image of peaceful travel and lightheartedness hanging over the first white quartz step.  He paid no attention to it, having already seen the images dozens of times before, instead rushing down the stairs.  While they were technically public access areas, there was an unspoken rule about the steps carved into the side of the mountain: You only went there if you were doing something you wanted nopony to know about.  Now, because the only two ponies he could trust went and threw themselves to the Timberwolves, he had to take them.  
Checking them real fast mentally, he could feel that they were both alive, though the smart one had been more damaged than his duller brother.  He growled, knowing that it would be almost impossible to get them back to their apartment unnoticed. They would most likely have to wait at the bottom of the steps for the two of them to recover somewhat before they returned.  He puffed his cigar one more time before spitting it off over the side of the cliff, barely noting the smoke trail from its tip.  Thanks to his magic, he’d be able to get them back to their residence by sunrise, but if whoever they’d assaulted called for the police, there would be trouble.
After several minutes of descending the stairs, he saw where they met the grassy ground at the base of the mountain.  His older body was exhausted by the quick trip down the stairs, but his mind was sharp and acutely aware of his surroundings.  Panting he paused, looking around for any indication for where they were exactly.  He cursed himself for not learning the night vision spell the smart stallion had been trying to teach him, squinting his eyes to pick up any sign of life.  Thanks to the dim light of the waning moon, however, he was able to pick out a soft sheen from the shadows cast by the steps.
He lit his horn ever so slightly, the light cast into the shadow revealing the forms of both brothers.  Immediately he noticed the blood surrounding the elder, smarter one, and the way he seemed to be completely motionless.  The other brother groaned and lifted his head slightly, uncovering a black eye and bruised face.  He squinted his one good eye as he tried to make out who was facing him, but the stallion soon recognized his boss.  
“Hey boss,” he groaned, looking up at him before laying his head back down on the ground shamefully.  
“Well this is certainly a curious predicament you and your brother have put yourself in,” the white unicorn tightly noted.  “Now I wonder how exactly two fine stallions such as yourselves could have ever found yourselves in such a strange and terrible situation.  Mind sharing why the two of you are in such a physical mess here, and who did this to you?  ‘Cause I would certainly like to know who’s risking our mission.  Other than you, of course,” he added coldly.
“Please sir, it wasn’t our fault,” the big stallion begged.  “We were just goin’ out ta get some more liquor when we happened ta see that mare that got us caught the last time.  Thorn an’ I decided to follow her from a distance, to see where she was goin’ and what was goin’ on with her, maybe give her a friendly visit.  She went down the damn stairs, and we thought for sure that we’d be able to catch her, but to make sure we wouldn’t get caught this time, Thorn put up some barriers at the gate and we put on the masks.  It took a while though, and by the time we started heading down, she had already begun heading up.  We figured we could just jump her and take whatever… information we wanted from her, but that’s when he showed up.”
“The Blue Knight,” the stallion angrily guessed.  “What happened then?”
“Well, he came from out of nowhere, just flying down from the sky and landing right on top of Thorn,” Brick recounted to him.  “I thought for sure he’d killed him, but he was still able to somewhat fight back for a bit, even though he’d had several bones broken.  I don’t know what exactly happened, but I was able to pin him down for a moment and beat him up a little, but next thing I knew, he launched me over the side.  For a moment, I thought I was gonna die, but I was able to land on my side instead, but I know I cracked a few ribs.”
“And you’re brother, what happened with him,” he asked ceaselessly.  
“Thorn came over only a moment or two after me, but he wasn’t able to turn over, so… he… he landed on a rock.  Or I should say, he landed on his stomach, on a rock,” the large stallion quietly corrected.
“Oh sweet Celestia,” the white stallion sighed, instantly walking towards the body of his other goon.  “Anything else, or did you both simply get beaten up by the Blue Knight without any sort of real reason?”
“He, uh, he came back for us after getting the mare to safety,” the stallion continued very faintly.  “He took my mask off, and I know he recognized me.  I’m guessing he somehow already knew who we were though, cuz he didn’t seem surprised.  He asked me two questions, and I answered them.  I told him I was a freedom fighter and that I worked for a stallion, and that’s all.  He thought I was bluffing though, I can tell.  He doesn’t think you’re real.”
“Well, that’s some good news,” the older stallion muttered, checking the pulse of the unconscious unicorn brother.  It was still beating, and rather strongly for how badly injured he was, which was a good sign.  He’d live at the very least, though the question of how still remained to be decided.  The first step, however, would be to deal with the internal bleeding in his stomach, caused by the fall onto the rock.  
Healing wasn’t a natural talent of magic, as it required the body to heal, and not mystical powers, but the body could be enhanced in its healing by the unicorn’s gift.  Breathing in deeply, the stallion built up the burning of his magic, harnessing it as the pure power that it was, before releasing it gently into the stallion’s stomach.  He used the energy to kickstart his body’s reaction to the injury and enhance its ability to reproduce and rebuild itself.  He increased the heartbeat of the stallion ever so slight, forcing the blood to flow quicker to fuel the process.  
He continued to force the process, repeating the cycle three times before he felt the body fully heal from the trauma of its landing on the rock.  The bruise still remained, but the unicorn didn’t bother with it, having only a limited amount of time and energy to deal with as much as possible.  He focused on the next worst thing he sensed, the broken shoulder from landing practically flat on impact.  He forced the bones together physically, hearing a sudden hiss of pain as the stallion began waking up from his unconsciousness.  He didn't force him back to sleep, simply holding the bones together as he forced them to reconnect and mend, the process sped up by the increasing heartbeat of his patient.  Finally, it seemed to heal, and the unicorn finished by sealing the skin where the bone had halfway penetrated from.  
At this point, he was completely exhausted, unable to continue for too much longer, but should they wish to return home, there was one last thing that they needed to do.  Breathing in as much as he could, preparing himself mentally, magically, and physically, he forced his remaining strength and energy into the stallion’s back, snapping the spine back into being straight and mending the crack in the bones.  However, knowing he wouldn’t be able to repeat such a draining process, he continued to force the flow of energy from himself, making the muscle regrow too, and keeping it up to try and reinforce his sprained ankle.  He felt that there was almost no change, but the little that did fix in his ankle was enough for him, and exhaustedly, he collapsed his own shoulders, sitting back on his haunches.
Sweat matted his face and mane, and he could feel the dampness of his collar, but otherwise he was fine.  His legs were weak at the moment, too weak to carry him, but after a few minutes of rest, he knew that he’d be good to go.  Most importantly, and gratefully, he didn’t feel too much strain on his magical reserves, and in fact, only felt slightly winded at worst.  At best, he had just warmed up, and was ready to continue, and with that thought, he felt personal pride.  He had made it a point to become more magically competent in all manners of the craft, whether in healing, levitating, teleporting, seer-seeing, or the forbidden art of combat.  By his performance just now, all he needed to work on was his energy, something that would be a bit more challenging for a stallion of his age.
He smiled as he breathed out.  This may have been a shameful defeat for his two allies, but from the information he’d gathered from their experience, as well as the practice he received, he felt that he was victorious.  Yes, this was indeed an important step in progress for him personally, but a step back in their grand plan, and that fact frustrated him.  
“What the hay,” Thorn drawled beneath him, looking up as he began to fully regain consciousness.  Recognizing the face of his friend, he murmured a small curse, knowing already the failure of his actions and the trouble he was in because of it.  “Thanks for the healing,” he grumbled, his voice a bit raspy from the ragged way he’d been breathing.  
“You and your brother seem to have a knack for attracting the wrong kind of attention from the wrong ponies,” the white stallion snarled to him, harsher than his younger brother.  He was more angry with Thorn for the way he’d allowed his own foolish vengeance to blind him than his brother, seeing as how he was much too intelligence to allow such things to control him.  “Would you say an attempt at revenge that was pitiful at best was worth the hundreds of hours we’ve spent planning for complete liberation and utter freedom for us?”
“No, not nearly,” the ashamed stallion firmly admitted, staring hard at the ground.  “I apologize for my bullheadedness.”
The stallion immediately attempted to stand, but his body was too exhausted by the healing process and was still weakened by his other injuries and simply stumbled back to the ground.  The bigger stallion rushed over, seeing his brother fallen, and bent over and lifted him up onto his hooves, keeping a steady grip on him.  Breathing in deeply, the stallion forced himself to stand, feeling himself begin to wobble before forcing himself to stand straight with his magic.
“There’s no need to discuss your failures; you know them well enough,” the stallion said simply.  “Come on, we need to move now.  The constables are surely on their way, and personally, I don’t believe any of us are in the proper shape to get in a full confrontation with them.”
“Yes sir,” the strong one agreed.  “I ain’t into bruisin’ my hooves on top of my face,” he attempted to joke, receiving no response from either of the two.  He silently began walking, following behind the white unicorn while practically carrying his brother along.  
They began up the stairs slowly, taking their time to prevent themselves from taxing their wearied bodies too much.  They moved in awkward silence, and he knew it was partly because both brothers were waiting for some sort of remark from him about their foolishness.  He didn’t make any though, because, quite frankly, he didn’t have one.  He was too blinded by the success of his healing and that it hadn’t taken him nearly so long to recover physically either, as well as being too tired, to add to the few words he’d spoken to them.  He would let them wait in silence for a response to never come, and that would be their punishment for the moment.
In the meantime, he had to plan out how exactly he was going to break the news to him about adding a fifth member to their team.  They had just barely added a fourth member to them, the young red mare with a fiery temper, but there were still talks about more like them joining, but they hadn’t been able to find another bloodied, save for the young mare, and realistically, four ponies, one too young and another almost too old, were nothing, even if they weren’t weakened.  In a way, by achieving the freedom they wanted to be themselves, as well as the basic releasing of themselves into society, they were improving everypony.  So they would need somepony who was normal on their side, or at the very least, in support of them.  He guessed Thorn had already guessed as much was needed, but they had no way of knowing who he intended to incorporate into their plans.
He smiled at the thought of their reaction when he announced that it was Prince Blueblood, the Decadent Prince of Canterlot that may be the key to their salvation.  He almost laughed, even, when he thought of how their first conversations might go, having had his own experience with a youthfully stupid stallion himself.  Why, the very thought of Scarlet’s face turning incredibly red as her eyes narrowed on him with that threatening charm almost got him.  Instead, he composed himself to the more official side of that sort of arrangement.  While he guessed that the young unicorn only had loyalty to himself, he needed to ensure that Blueblood wouldn’t slip up and reveal them.  It was all too possible with the dullness of the boy’s brain and clumsiness of his words, and making preparations for such occasions may be necessary, but he hoped not.  
Breathing in deeply as they ascended the last step, the whole group pulled up short, halting as they were greeted by dozens of constables.  They surrounded the gateway, blocking any way for them to continue to the city itself.  The stallion didn’t even attempt to turn and run, as moments later several pegasi swooped down from the sky and landed behind them, blocking off that escape.  They were surrounded on one side by a sheer drop and another by a face of gruff stone, enemies from the front and back.  For a second, neither side made a noise, each staring at each other hard, gauging each other's strength, and the white stallion gauged theirs as weak.
“Surrender peacefully right now, vagrants,” a voice suddenly called from behind an artificial barrier, their voice amplified.  “We don’t want to fight here, but you can see we’re well prepared for it.  Surrender peacefully, and the incarcerations will be diminished greatly.”
Breathing out, the stallion began smiling, shaking his head as he began to approach the entrance, motioning discreetly with his tail for the others to stay put.  With a slight gale to his voice, he called, “Good sirs, as you can see, we aren’t the suspects here, but the victims.  The one who did this to us was a crazed mare who-”
“Suspect, stop where you are and get on the ground,” the voice once again commanded, interrupting him.  “You are under arrest for attempted assault and public disturbances, and if you do not comply, resisting arrest.”
“But sir, I wasn’t at the scene of the crime when it occurred,” he protested, still maintaining an almost berating, cheerful tone.  “I was merely passing by when I saw these two young stallions gravely wounded on the steps of the stairs.  I was assisting them back to the hospital, not participating in whatever occurred on those steps.”
“The report did say two gruff stallions,” the older stallion overheard a cop whispering to the voice behind a barricade.  After a pause of silence, the voice called out again, “Step away from the suspects.  Police will interview you for your evidence, and your testimony will be used in court for or against these vagrants.”
“I don’t wish to step away from my friends, though,” he commented stupidly.  “Surely there’s no harm in me-”
“Stand down or you will be arrested for illegally intervening with a police case,” the voice harshly projected.
Breathing in, he let out a false sigh of defeat, calling back, “Okay, fine.  I’ll comply.”
As he stepped aside, several of the police rushed out of their positions, past him, and at his co-conspirators.  Before they could finish passing him, he let out his breath, igniting the magic in his horn and catching the seven of them in his grasp telekinetically.  Breathing in even deeper, he drew more from himself, but not from his magical reserves, but from his very core.  He pulled it out from the depths of his heart and pushed it into his horn, the bright light and powerful arcana heated up the air around him.  He felt himself vibrating, and saw the terrified eyes of everypony in sight, though that was being obscured by the blinding light.
He began to feel his grip on the vast amount of energy he was grasping, but he held on to it as long as possible.  Then, at the last moment, he released it.  
The blinding light spread out, rushing like a wave in all directions, blinding him wonderfully as the white light burst free.  He watched in wonder as it thinned slightly, allowing him to see it ram into everything and everypony around him.  The ponies he had held in his telekinetic grip were launched sideways and into the gateway.  The gateway itself trembled, the top being blown off completely, the stone that had made it shooting out towards the constables.  Several had to duck away from the pieces of rock, but even they were caught in the blast as well, flying into their barriers.  
Panting, not out of exhaustion, but out of excitement, he turned to where his comrades would be.  He hadn’t quite been able to tell where the blast would go, or even really what it would do, and was now partially worried that his attack would have hit them too.  Thankfully the two of them had gotten to the ground when they saw their boss charging up the attack, and were beginning to stand now that it was over.  The both of them looked around in amazement and fear, seeing the power that he had used to help them escape once again.  Their eyes both locked on the sight of the constables’ bodies scattered across the ground -unconscious from a variety of wounds- and the destroyed gateway arch, which now was simply two pillars of stone with jagged, uneven tops.  
With a smile, he asked, “Shall we?”