//------------------------------// // On The Run // Story: The Mage Outlaw // by qiley //------------------------------// “Get her!” Guards quickly surrounded a cloaked pony in the middle of the wet cobblestone street, rain droplets clanking against their armor as they stood their ground against the mysterious pony. A guard wearing gold-accented armor walked out from the group, glaring at the pony. The star on the middle of his chestplate signified his position. “Remove your cloak and drop your weapons!” The captain barked, his horn igniting. “Do so now or we will have to use force!” The other guards followed his lead, igniting their horns as well. The cloaked pony, however, simply stood there, not moving an inch. The captain’s lip curled inwards. “I said remove your cloak and dr-” He was cut off by the cloak hurling towards him at impossible speeds. Unable to dodge, the cloak hit him head on, though it didn’t hurt as he expected it to. He quickly tossed it off, opening his mouth to bark another command.  That command never came out, however.  His eyes widened as he tried to process the scene before him. The once clear glistening cobblestone street was now tainted with a dark red. “H-How?” The captain stuttered, shaking his head like he didn’t want to believe it was real. “I did what you wanted, Shiny,” the pony said mockingly. “I took my cloak off.” Shining Armor snapped out of the shock, bearing his teeth at the enemy. “You won’t get away with this!” Before him was his own flesh and blood, his own little sister: Twilight Velvet Sparkle.  “I already have,” Twilight smirked. “No you haven’t!” Shining Armor screamed, lunging forward as he brandished his sword.  “Always the hasty one, aren’t you,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head. Simply side-stepping the blade, she ignited her horn. “Why don’t you cool off a bit?”  Shining Armor created a shield around himself in anticipation of an attack, but felt something cold creep up his legs.  Looking down, he saw his hooves frozen in place. He tried to break out, using magic and his sword, but it was no use. He was stuck. “As I said before, I already got away with it,” Twilight winked. Tossing on her cloak, she turned her back to him. “It seems you failed them, Shiny. Just like you failed me.”  Her words echoed through his head as she trotted away, disappearing into the mist. All was silent except for the raindrops falling on his helmet. Shining Armor grunted as he tried to break free. He tried and tried, but the ice just didn’t budge. He looked down at the street, the dark red liquid running down into the gutters. He heard distant voices and the sounds of hoofsteps approaching. “Why Twilight…” He hung head, shutting his eyes tightly. “Why?” A platoon of guards ran through the forest right outside of Canterlot, looking high and low for the cloaked pony. The forest was damp and dark, raindrops falling through the spaces between the branches. Leaves crunched under their armored hooves as they searched around.  “She couldn’t have gotten far!” One of the guards yelled. “Keep lookin’ and stay sharp. She took out a whole other platoon in the city.” “Seriously, is that even possible?” Another guard muttered. “Captain Shining Armor was the only survivor they said,” The guard next to him whispered. “He said he was blinded for not even a second and his whole platoon was on the ground, dead.” “What are you two muttering about over there?” Their lieutenant barked at them. “Move your asses now!” “Y-Yes sir!” The two saluted quickly before going back to searching, trotting through the forest cautiously. Unbeknownst to them, the pony they were looking for was lurking right above them. Masking her teleports with the crunching of leaves and the heavy rainfall, she went from branch to branch, following a guard who was lagging behind. Twilight carefully watched the guard, looking for an opening to strike. The guard eventually fell behind the rest of his squadron, quickly trying to regroup, slashing through some bushes with his magic. Twilight, however, did not let this opportunity slip.  Using the noise of his magic to cover hers, she shot a small beam, drilling a clean hole straight through his head. The guard stood still for a few seconds before falling over on his side, lying motionless on the ground. He made a loud thud when he hit the ground, alerting some of the guards. They all rushed towards the sound, met with the body of their comrade. “She’s nearby!” The lieutenant shouted. “Defensive formation!” All of the guards all skillfully separated and formed pairs. One of them igniting their horn to form a barrier around them, another levitating a sword and shield, standing in an offensive position.  Unfortunately, there was now an odd number of guards, leaving one out in the open. “Private, what are you doing?!” The lieutenant asked. “S-Sir, there’s no other pony to pair up with!” He stuttered, looking around at the others.  “Just hop in with the closest pair then, you dimwit!” “Yes s-” The poor private was cut off as another one of those beams went clean through his skull, killing him immediately. He joined the other guard on the ground, motionless.  “Shit!” The lieutenant cursed under his breath. “Did any of you see where that beam came from?” “It came from above us, sir!” The guard shielding him said. “She must be up in the trees.” “Good eye, Sergeant,” The lieutenant complimented. “You heard him! Let loose on the trees above. Celestia will be able to handle the aftermath.” The guards levitating the swords quickly sheathed them, and aimed their horns up at the trees. The guards holding the barriers made a little hole at the top, allowing their partner to shoot spells up in the trees. They rained hell on the branches above them, causing the rain to pour on them heavily. They cleared the branches above them, however, there was nopony was to be seen.  “Cease fire!” The lieutenant yelled, the guards quickly stopping their magic. “Does anypony have eyes on her?” No guard replied, standing there in silence as they looked at the lieutenant. “Keep those barriers up and watch for any movements in the trees around us,” The lieutenant commanded before letting out a sigh. The guards followed his orders, standing their ground with their barriers up. A few moments passed, the guards still looking around at their surroundings. “You think she just ran away?” The guard next to the lieutenant asked. “That’s a very high possibility,” The lieutenant grumbled. “She must’ve just used those two as a way to force us to be careful so she could slip away.” “What should we do now then, sir?” “We simply wait,” The lieutenant said. “We cannot let our guard down, no matter what.” “Sir!” One of the guards shouted.  “What is it, private?” The guard pointed towards the forest. “Blinding Lights here said he saw something flash in those trees over there!”  “What are you all waiting for then? Fire away!” Quickly opening up the hole in the barrier, the guards once again started blasting away at the trees. They, however, did not see the multiple bolts raining down coming down on them. They quickly found their mark, making it through the small hole in the barriers. As it entered, it quickly jumped all around like a pinball. As it bounced and bounced, it burned holes right through the guards, going in one side and coming out the other. The guards dropped like flies onto the ground, some surviving the attack, while others were lucky enough to die on the spot. The lieutenant was included in the former group, gritting his teeth in pain, eyes shut tight. The guard’s screams filled his ears as he lay there. “W-What happened?” The lieutenant groaned, turning to his left and opening his eyes. Staring back at him was the pony shielding him, staring at him with lifeless eyes. His whole body was riddled with holes, one right on his forehead. “You never learn, do you?” The lieutenant grunted as he looked up, met with the face of a lavender mare staring down at him. Coughing out blood, he glared at her. “How could you do this, you sick fuck?” “I was going to do you a favor and put you out of your misery, but you decide to curse at me?” Twilight shook her head, sighing. “You really have to work on your manners.” “Fuck you,” the lieutenant spat, coughing out more blood. “Wow, was that really necessary?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Anyways, if you somehow survive, tell everypony to stop trying to catch me already. It's annoying to be on the run, you know.” “So I’m your messenger now, huh?”  Twilight shrugged. “If you survive, you are. If you don’t, I’m leaving this scroll here just in case.” She levitatied a scroll out of her saddlebag and dropped it right next to his face. “It basically says the same thing, but just written out a bit more. I do hope they find it.” “You monster…” He said, his voice trailing off as he went limp.  “Well, I guess he didn’t survive,” Twilight shrugged. “Guess I’ll clean up the others then.” Trotting over to some of the other survivors, she quickly put them out of their misery with a clean bolt through the head.  She made her way to the last survivor who was leaned up against a tree. He was lucky enough to survive with fewer injuries than the less, but unlucky enough to have the bolt graze the top of his eyes. There was a line from one side to the other side of his face right across his eyeline. “W-Who’s there?” He stuttered out, trying to feel in front of him. “Is that you Blinding Lights? Did we win?” “Unfortunately not,” Twilight giggled, sitting down in front of him. “Oh…” “I’ll give you the choice since it seems you could still recover from this, considering the magic in the libraries. I could either end your suffering right now, or I could leave you here and you could possibly live to see another day.” Twilight paused for a second. “Well, I mean not see another day, but you know what I mean.” The guard sat there in prolonged silence with Twilight. “You really are weighing out the pros and cons, aren’t you?” Twilight asked.   “I have a wife and kids and I’d love to go back to them, but not being able to see them? I think that might be worse than dying,” The guard sighed. “But I want to be there for them, you know?” “A family man, huh?” Twilight smiled. “I can help you out more than any doctor can in Canterlot, but you have to promise me something.” “Are you saying that you could help me see again?” “Well I can’t promise to fully give you your vision back, but I could possibly give you some of it,” Twilight said. “You might have to wear glasses the rest of your life, but I’m sure that’s not a problem.” The guard nodded frantically. “O-Okay, I’ll do whatever you want then!” “Just promise me to always be there for your family through everything. Even if they fail and something and they disappoint you, just be there for them.”  The guard could’ve sworn he heard her voice quiver for a second, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. “That’s it?” Twilight levitated the scroll that was next to the lieutenant over and placed it in his hoof. “Quit the guard and deliver this to Celestia.” “I’ll do it,” The guard said quickly. “If it means I can see my wife and kids, I’ll do anything.” “I’m happy to hear that,” Twilight weakly smiled. “This might feel weird for a second, and you’re probably going to black out, but I promise you’ll be safe.” “Thank you,” The guard said through sniffling, tears of joy rolling down his cheeks, “thank you so much.” Twilight stayed silent, her horn igniting. Placing it in front of the guard's face, Twilight fired off a spell. The guard’s body relaxed, his breathing soft and a smile on his face. He was still clutching the scroll even as he slept.  Twilight turned her back to the guard and looked up into the now clear sky. She closed her eyes as she basked in the sunlight, letting out a long sigh. “You’ll always be there for me, huh?” Twilight scoffed. “What a lie.” Igniting her horn, she pulled her hood over her head and began trotting back into the forest.