//------------------------------// // Leashn't // Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot // by Equimorto //------------------------------// Sunburst rushed down the stairs, ignoring the cracks spreading on the walls, then ran out the building and towards the one nearby. Fierce wind blew against his cape as he made his way there. He would have yanked the door open if the guards inside hadn't already spotted him and opened it for him, instead he kept going and barely slowed down as he entered the room. He immediately went for the staircase leading downwards, ignoring the other ponies there, most of which were busy leaving the place through the entrance opposite the one he'd used. A pair of guards greeted him with a nod after he unlocked the heavy metal door at the bottom of the staircase. Four more guards were standing with their backs to the wall opposite the entrance, and six of his own constructs, three on each side, lined the remaining two. Hurriedly he walked to the small altar-like structure in the middle of the room, the one the two guards who'd nodded were standing at the sides of. Though their position didn't change, he could still notice the guards next to the wall keeping their eyes on him. He placed a hoof on the glowing purple weave of floating circular runes over the rectangular black box on the altar. His horn shone and the patterns rearranged themselves, portions sliding into position and allowing him access. After a few moments there was a faint click, and the spell faded from view. His hoof touched the box. He pushed it up and balanced it on its lower back edge, and found a small set of silver dials on the side in front of him. He quickly fidgeted with them, as the silence in the room was broken by the sounds of cracking crystal from upstairs. A louder click than the previous one, and what had seemed like a seamless black box opened like a suitcase would. The guards at his sides peered inside as he looked at the contents. "Dismissed," he said after just a moment, all he had needed to confirm everything was there. All other ponies and the constructs along with them immediately left their positions and rushed up the stairs, and Sunburst followed them after closing the box again and taking it in his magic. The building above them had been torn to pieces, and winds much fiercer than the one he'd felt before blew through the city. The sky had taken a dark tinge, and though light still shone over the Empire the Sun itself could not be seen. While the soldiers ran away from the centre of town, towards a group of other ponies visible in the distance, Sunburst turned for a moment towards the opposite direction. His eyes found Twilight. She was close enough, and Nightmare Moon was far enough away. Twilight saw him too. Without wasting another second, he hurled the box towards her with his magic. He stayed just long enough to confirm she'd grabbed hold of it with hers, then he turned around and ran in the same direction the other ponies had.