Silently, the pair continued on, eventually passing up the businesses of central Canterlot for the heights where the walled estates of the nobles dominated the edges of the road. The castle was still a ways off, but now tantalizingly within reach.
"Stay with me my friend, our journey has almost reached its end."
All that Zecora got from her companion in way of a reply was a moan as Screw Loose continued to trudge diligently onward, despite visible strain.
"When our travel is complete, then you shall have plenty to eat."
Her words elicited another brief response, but it was easy to tell that the starving mare was nearing the end of her rope.
Zecora opened her mouth intending to provide further encouragement, but held her tongue as she noticed dark figures suddenly blocking their path ahead.
"Halt!" the foreword-most of the blockers commanded, his dark blue armor and leathery wings revealing his station.
Looking ahead no less than a dozen similar lunar guards bearing the crest of Luna's forces cut off their advance. Thoughts of retreat were similarly abandoned as another squad of bat-winged troops landed behind them.
"Both of you will unhitch from the cart, take two steps forward and lie down!" the apparent leader once again shouted.
Zecora and Screw Loose looked to each-other, silently seeking consensus on their course of action.
Before they could decide whether or not surrender would bring them to the princess faster, their contemplation was ended by a bright flash in the sky behind them.
Without warning, something emerged from the flash and shot down like lightning at the cart leaving the pair only an instant to dive away.
The overburdened cart stood no chance against the mysterious attack, shattering under the force sending the wood and splinters of the destroyed cart scattering.
When the light faded and the debris had settled, Princess Luna herself stood amongst the wreckage, pinning the lavender wolf to the ground.
"Beast! For what reason do you invade our city? Speak, if you are able, or face righteous destruction!" she yelled as she charged her horn, aiming it at her pinned captive.
"Mistress! I'll help!" Screw Loose barked, charging up from the dust.
Before she could close the distance though, a field of indigo magic deflected her. Undeterred, she began wildly swinging at the barrier. "Get off of mistress!" She snarled, bearing her distinctly not-canine teeth in a still surprisingly intimidating display.
"Thralls." Luna announced flatly, inspecting the madly barking mare. "Guards! Detain these two, but bring them not to harm as their actions are not their own. I will assess their condition once this threat has been dealt with." the glare she gave the wolf below her left little to imagine what she meant.
"Princess of the moon and night, I beg that you cease this fight!" Zecora shouted over Screw Loose's continued barking, as the guards in front cautiously but steadily closed in on her.
"Fear not," Luna said, either unhearing or uncaring of the zebra's words, "you shall soon be free of this foul beast's control."
Zecora's response was hastened as the guard began separating towards both mares individually, "You misunderstand our plight, the one you face is our dear Tw-oof" she was cut short as one of the lunar guard charged foreword, but rather than the sharp sting of armor she had anticipated, instead she was impacted by something softer, and from a different direction entirely.
As soon as she had heard the command for the guards to capture them, Screw Loose abandoned her pounding and began moving. Her familiarity with avoiding the grabs white-coated doctors was translating quite well to avoiding the royal guards who had advanced up to her.
True to Luna's command they were not using their weapons, and were instead left futilely trying to use their hooves to catch the slippery mare. Showing her experience, she managed to duck and weave her way entirely past the group before they could grab her.
Having evaded the line of guards attempting to capture her, Screw Loose's instinct was to simply sprint away, but she could hear the striped ones attempts to talk to the Moon-Bearer, and instead made her way over towards her.
"Stay back striped one!" Screw Loose yelled as she rolled off of her striped companion. Having successfully knocked her out of the way of the guard's dive, she then planted himself between her Zebra companion and the guards.
Undaunted, the guards continued to close in on the pair, slowly expanding to surround them, cutting off their escape.
Fear crossed Screw Loose's face as she considered their situation, that is, until she noticed a twitching amongst the scattered branches.
Before any of the guards could react, all at once the branches were swept up in magic, forming into the wolves that constituted the pack.
Splintertooth was first to fully reform, leaping to Screw Loose's side as soon as his head had reformed.
As more of the pack began rising from the scattered wood to join him, even those unfamiliar with the stories of timberwolves promptly drew back. The guard unit swiftly switched from offense to defense as their numerical advantage was unexpectedly trumped.
For her part, Luna hardly looked away from the creature beneath her, even as a few of the newly reformed wolves began scraping their splintered claws at the barrier.
Luna's shield held firm though, brushing off the combined assault like so much rainfall. Her barrier likely would have been able to hold indefinitely, had it not been for the sudden force that slammed into her, removing her from the captive wolf and breaking her focus on maintaining said barrier.
With the sound of smashing glass the fighting pack met success and the barrier surrounding Twilight, Luna, and the newly risen Bark Back shattered. Luna quickly recovered from the tackle and tossed Bark Back off of her with a flash of magic, but the damage was done and the barrier that separated them was down. As the wolves closed in, she took flight.
The wolves formed up around their mistress as Luna landed amongst her own forces, noticeably stumbling on landing as the wing Bark Back had impacted faltered.
Without words, two of the bat-winged troops sided up to Luna to steady her.
Emboldened by the affront to their princess, Luna's forces formed a battle line poised to meet the wolves head on.
The canine unit faced down the equine, both sides lining up like the pieces of a chessboard on the confined street.
"Mistress, it is apparent that they are not listening to the striped one. Are we to fight or flee?" Bark Back asked.
Twilight carefully considered her options as the bat winged troops closed in, "We will..."