Noble Six lay still on the table that was too small for her, thankful that the tiny horses managed to fit a few more into the room to prop up her legs so that she was comfortable while she lay there, doing nothing.
She wished they had grabbed her helmet so that she would have her motion tracker, but, alas, she was left to simply her eyes and ears.
She counted three unicorns she assumed were doctors in the room, accompanied by two guards, each.
The room was certainly crowded, but Six wished she could see the hallway.
The shuffling of hooves sounded every so often, sounding off from different places. Noble Six counted at least sixteen horses lining the hallways to her new room.
To make it even worse, there were no windows she could see that she could simply jump out and make a run for safety - where ever safety was.
So, she bide her time, waiting for one of the horses to make a slip.
It would happen, eventually.
Princess Celestia gave a sad sigh as she looked out into the horizon.
It was nearing time for her sister to raise the moon, but, where ever she hid, she gave no indication that she was raising it, tonight. Rather, Celestia frustratedly learned, her sister was apparently unwilling to let the moon raise at all, given that Celestia had attempted to raise it herself, to no avail.
"Please don't be childish, Lulu..." Princess Celestia whispered in soft annoyance, before turning from the balcony and heading back inside - careful to step over the broken glass from earlier.
She planned to leave it for Luna to clean up, as she felt breaking a window was an incredible over reaction.
But she couldn't be angry at her sister, not now.
Celestia needed to get her mind off of her sister. It took almost every ounce of mental strength the white alicorn had not to comb the land looking for her sister.
She needed space, right now, and Celestia understood that.
She simply wished her dear sister would return soon. She missed her, already...
Celestia shook her head clear of any depressing thoughts and quickly made way for the infirmary to see how the alien was faring.
Better than before, Celestia hoped, but one could never be certain when it came to medicine, especially when an alien was involved...
Easing her way past the guards that filled the crowded hallway, Princess Celestia carefully opened the door as to not startle any delicate goings inside the room.
A shocked gasp from the Princess alerted the guards in the hall.
That's it... Just a little bit closer... Noble Six thought to herself as she tracked one of the doctors in her peripheral vision.
Much to her dismay, however, the doctor did not get as close as she'd like, and it took quite a bit of Noble Six to keep from letting out a groan.
She was running out of time, and eventually they'd realize there was nothing wrong with her and send her back into that dark, cold prison cell.
Six needed to act fast, and she knew it.
Luckily, for her, two of the four guards in the room seemed distracted with each other - possibly exchanging today's gossip. Regardless, they were distracted, and that was all Noble Six needed.
Giving a fake, pained cough to catch one of the doctor's attention, Noble Six was pleased to see what she presumed to be a male coming closer to investigate. And, as an added bonus, the two guards were oblivious to her noise.
When he was in reach, peering over the Spartan and eying it rather confusedly, Noble Six silently rolled off of the table and onto the pony, wrapping one arm across its chest, and the other around its neck, with the Spartan's hand firmly holding the poor horse's snout shut.
Unfortunately, her little stunt hadn't gone unnoticed, but when a guard threatened to cause a scene, Noble Six gave the armored horse a threatening look and squeezed her captive - causing a quiet, fearful squeak to erupt that could be heard only by those in the room.
Offering a teasing smirk, Noble Six silently motioned for all the guards to drop their weapons - most of them glaring as they reluctantly did so.
When everything that could be used to make quite a mess had been laid down, Noble Six quickly and efficiently, but most of all, silently, knocked each unlucky horse in the room unconscious with a few swift kicks and a punch here or there.
Noble Six smiled at the scene, grateful for the size difference of the horses and the room, which easily let her overcome her captors.
Now, the only problem was getting out of the room...
Scanning her surroundings more thoroughly, now that she was free to move without much suspicion, the Spartan noticed a few, rather large, windows against the back wall.
"This is too easy..." Noble Six whispered to herself before making a beeline straight for her exit, carefully unlatching and opening the glass window and peering out into the city below.
It was quite a drop, but Six had fallen longer distances.
Wasting no time, Noble Six fled to freedom.
"When do we attack?" Queen Chrysalis inquired excitedly, for the seventeenth time, this morning.
"When the moon rises, Chrysalis." Princess Luna replied with a sigh. "The moon rising will be your cue to begin the attack. I felt Celestia trying to raise my moon last night, and I can only hope she won't try to do the same tonight."
"You need to conserve your strength, especially for the transfer." Queen Chrysalis noted.
"I know. Is everything gathered?"
"The last piece has arrived - the most important, as well." Queen Chrysalis explained.
"How did you manage to retrieve it from my room?" Princess Luna inquired with a wary glance.
"Luna!" Queen Chrysalis gasped in mock hurt. "You wound me; questioning the abilities of my children."
A playful pouty face from Chrysalis earned her an eye-roll and a hidden smirk from Luna.
"So, is there anything else?" Queen Chrysalis inquired, expectantly.
"Not that you are already aware of."
"Got it: Disguise army as celebratory night parade, wait for moon, take over Canterlot." Queen Chrysalis recited aloud. "And what will you be doing?"
"What do you think?" Princess Luna questioned with a small smile as she turned her head back to the Changeling Queen as the Princess of the Night slowly trotted away, carrying a ceremonial, dark-blue battle head dress.
Noble Six wasn't one to easily be excited, even if the scene was a lush battle ground and she was equipped with her trusty sniper rifle, a quarter of a mile away from the action.
She wouldn't even smile if she managed to bury her combat knife into the neck of some unaware Elite.
But now, Noble Six was excited, and she was smiling.
She was free from the castle, and most of all, that prison. She was quietly roaming the back alleys of this beautiful horse city, out of sight, and she had even managed to swipe some actual food from a market stall!
No more dry salad for this Spartan. Instead, she was hungrily devouring what she could only assume was some sort of pie, given its shape and sweetness, but she hadn't the slightest clue as to what flavor it was.
It mattered little to her, in the long run, because it had been ages since she even laid eyes on something that tasted so sweet!
Unfortunately, her delight did not last forever, and the pie tin lay empty on the cobblestone ground as Six refocused on the task at hand: getting out of the city.
So far, none of the horses had seen her, and none of them seemed to be looking for her, meaning they still assumed she was back at the castle.
A quick glance up at the sky revealed it to be likely five to six in the evening. Cursing herself for not grabbing her helmet, Noble Six decided that away from the castle was the best direction to take, and quickly set out.
She simply wished that she could get out before nightfall...
"Your highness?" a curious guard questioned from the hall.
Princess Celestia remained still for a moment, eyes locked onto the collapsed ponies before flicking to the open window.
Celestia noticed a distinct lack of alien in the room, but she was relieved when one of the ponies began stirring.
She didn't kill them... Princess Celestia realized.
"Captain Shining Armor." Celestia said, sternly, and her Captain of the Guard saluted to attention beside her. "Place Canterlot under lock down. The alien has escaped, and it is imperative that we capture it before it is introduced to the general public."
"Yes, your majesty!" Shining Armor replied, soon barking orders to the nearest guards, which carried them off to their commanding officers. "Shall I declare Martial Law, your majesty?"
"No, Captain. If we force everypony into their homes, they will wonder why, and the alien will realize we are onto it. We need the element of surprise. Let the public go about their night, freely."
"But, milady!" Shining Armor protested. "What if it kills?"
"It won't, Captain. Do you see, in the room?" Princess Celestia questioned, motioning inside the infirmary, where a woozy doctor was helping an awakening guard to his hooves. "It did not kill, and it clearly had the power to do so. It means us no harm, it simply wants its freedom."
Princess Luna carefully breathed in the sweet smell of the burning candles, three on either side of her, and closed her eyes to the mirror before her.
But, unlike most mirrors, this one held no reflection of the pony in front of it. Rather, this oval mirror displayed the soft, patient smile of a pitch-black alicorn with a swirling blueish-purple mane.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Luna?" Nightmare Moon questioned.
"We both know we'll need the strength if we are to overcome my sister." Luna explained, not opening her eyes. "Why?"
"I simply don't want to get too power hungry, like last time." Nightmare Moon admitted in shame. "It nearly tore us apart, and that is the last thing you need, especially right now."
"You were there for me when Celestia was not, Nightmare." Luna explained with a comforting smile. "For a few hundred years before my banishment, during, and after. You've had practice. Have faith in yourself."
"If you insist." Nightmare Moon agreed.
"Are you ready to be free of that cursed mirror I had to trap you in?"
"The sooner you can free me, the better. I despise that you had to do so to keep me from Celestia's prying eyes, let alone the conversations by candle light."
"It was the only way you could tell it was me calling to you." Princess Luna explained before relaxing her muscles and laying on the floor in the circle of glowing candles. "Be ready for the reunion."
"I'm shaking in my glass." Nightmare Moon joked.