Break the Walls Down

by Super Saiyan D

Chapter 9 - Know Your Enemy

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2:12 PM
Canterlot: Barracks
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The afternoon air carried a cooling breeze through the section of Canterlot devoted to the royal guard; a fairly large, walled-off space close in proximity to Princess Celestia’s eastern courtyard. A large collection of ponies, young in age and various in species, walked in a disorganized bunch across the barracks’ practice field. Each was adorned in shiny new sets of gold armor. They were the newest batch of recruits, freshly graduated from the Royal Guard Academy.

Today had been the morning of their commencement ceremony, where they were sworn in by a several higher-ranking officers, and recognized by a personal appearance from Celestia herself. It had been a nerve-wracking affair; but now, their tenure as officially recognized members of the Royal Guard would begin.

At the head of the meandering mass of ponies were three pegasi. A lemon-coated, cobalt-maned stallion walked side by side with another with an aquamarine coat and chestnut hair. A light orange stallion with a blue, windswept mane paced to the rear of them.

“Couldn’t we have waited ‘til after Celestia raised the sun to prep for the ceremony?” Drizzle Hoof said with a yawn. “I hate getting up early in the morning.”

“I’d get used to that if I were you, Drizzle,” Flash Sentry said from behind. “Try to at least stay awake until we get to the barracks.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Flash.”

“On the bright side, lunch is just a hop skip and a jump away!” River Mouth said eagerly.

Drizzle Hoof also grinned at the mention of food. “Glad for that. I’m so hungry I could eat a house.”

“Yeah? I’m so hungry I could eat a whole castle,” River replied.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole spaceship!” said Drizzle.

River stared oddly at him. “What’s a spaceship?”

“…I have no idea.”

Flash Sentry shot River a dirty look. “I don’t see how you’re still hungry, Big Mouth, considering you swiped my muffin at breakfast when I left to get some juice.”

River looked crossly back at Drizzle Hoof, who avoided eye contact while whistling not-so-innocently. “Snitch.”

“One of these days that bottomless pit you call a stomach is going to get you into trouble,” said Flash.

“Oh relax, Flash. Don’t you know what they say? Life is just an interruption between meals.” River Mouth swung back around and looked to the cafeteria entrance on the other side of the courtyard. “And speaking of which, I think I’ll go get a head start on lunch!” He opened his wings and pushed himself off the ground for a smooth flight forward, a ravenous glint in his eye.

“YOU!”

A booming shout made River Mouth falter mid-flight. He was quick to spot the source—ten yards ahead, and closing in on him fast. His forward glide turned into a haphazard, backward flutter to the ground as he retreated, his pupils shrinking with fear. A big, light gray stallion barreled towards him, only slowing his flight when he came within a few feet of the frightened private.

“Why are you leaving your brothers behind, maggot?!” Sergeant Boomer bellowed. “The food’s gonna be there in the cafeteria when you make it there! Are you trying to start with me?!”

“No, sir!” River said frantically.

“You better not be! Now go hold the door for your brothers!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And I swear to Celestia, if I see you skipping in front of anypony, I will beat the shit out of your asshole and stuff it in your mouth!” Boomer shouted after River as he scurried towards the cafeteria door. Then the drill sergeant swung to the others. “As for the rest of you, straighten up that line! Get those hooves even!” The young recruits swiftly and fearfully aligned into proper formation, their hoofsteps becoming rhythmic, synchronized beats against the ground, while Boomer began calling out in a military-style cadence. “Left! Left! Left, right, left! Left! Left! Left, right, le— no running!”

“Note to self…” Drizzle Hoof trembled, “do not get on Sergeant Boomer’s bad side.”

Flash nodded trepidatiously in agreement.

The group filed off the green track, under a beam-supported awning that covered a paved walkway that circled the practice ground’s perimeter, and through the cafeteria entrance now held open by River Mouth.

A short distance away, through an archway entrance of the adjacent building, muffled sounds of discomfort could be heard from outside the closed door of the infirmary. On the inside, Night Flare sat on one of the chairs. His eyes were noticeably bloodshot, with dark circles of fatigue sitting underneath them, indicating a lack of sleep. Currently wrapping gauze around his head was a medical guard—a light amber unicorn with a mane and tail of alternating shades of pink.

Life Line sighed at her patient. “You just can’t seem to stay out of messes, can you Night Flare?”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “A mild concussion is nothing. What I had the misfortune of bearing witness to after the concussion, that was the real horror.”

“That chase shouldn’t have dragged on long enough for either one to happen,” Life Line said, cutting the bandage and clipping it into place with a pin. “What happened, Mr. ‘I Don’t Miss’? Couldn’t hit your mark when it counted?” she smirked.

“Wasn’t trying to,” said Night Flare. “The order was to subdue and capture. Besides, I didn’t get much in the way of threatening vibes from this guy.”

Life Line raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t he knock out your sister?”

Night Flare shrugged. “In any case, the princess wanted…” he paused to yawn, “answers. We couldn’t have gotten any if I put an arrow in his head or blew him to smithereens.” He winced as Life Line secured bandage. “And was that a diss at my aim? You weren’t there to catch this rodent’s moves. He was quicker than any non-flyer I’ve ever seen. Come on, how often do I miss a target?”

“Hopefully not as often as you set the barracks on fire.”

“Hey! It wasn’t the entire barracks,” Night Flare said adamantly. “It was only two tables and one of the walls. And it wasn’t my fault. How was I to know one little patch of overlapping wires would cause such a quick buildup? Nopony in their right mind would think it could make an explosion that big.” He huffed, choosing to stare at the wall. “I swear, you do one thing wrong and some ponies never let you—” he winced again with a pained grunt, “forget it…”

Life Line rolled her eyes with a half chuckle. “Hold still.”She focused and ignited her purple aura of light. Leaning in, she touched her horn to Night Flare’s head, her magic flowing into him at the point of contact. The pegasus felt his body relax, closing his eyes and taking a cleansing breath. Her luminous energy felt rich and cooling, soothing his injury and taking away his pain. When her work was complete, Life Line lifted away and ceased her spell.

“There. That should help with the worst of it. Try not to make any sudden moves or you’ll aggravate it.” Reaching into one of her red-cross-emblazoned saddlebags, she withdrew a small glass bottle full of round red pills. She unsealed the top, poured four of them into her hoof, and offered them to Night Flare. “Take two of these every three hours. If you feel it starting to hurt again before tonight, come and see me.”

Night Flare eyed the small tablets, smirking playfully. “You sure it’s safe? According to every movie I’ve ever watched, nothing good ever comes from swallowing a red pill.”

“Just take them, you goof.” She tried to sound mad, but couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips.

With a light-hearted chuckle, Night Flare took them, popping two into his mouth and swallowing. “You’re amazing, you know that?” he said appreciatively.

Life Line suppressed a giggle. “I wouldn’t go that far. A master healer would have you totally fixed already. But thanks.”

“Smart, cute, and humble. You’ll make a charming wife for sure,” he grinned.

“Oh, shut up.” She gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder.

A knock on the door broke their conversation. It opened, and through it stepped a white-furred pegasus member of the Day Guard. He had noticeable scrapes on his chin and forehead, the latter of which he was forced to wipe with his hoof as a flesh trickle of blood fell down his forehead.

“Oh, Flinthoof…” Life Line called his name uneasily. “What happened? And please tell me it doesn’t involve a ladder or table this time.”

Flinthoof hissed his teeth. “If we should be so lucky.”

Life Line tilted her head. “We?”

Another identical guard stepped through the door to stand at Flinthoof’s left. This one had his hoof pressed against his neck, and had a noticeably bruised lip.

“Banner?” Life Line’s surprise doubled; then tripled when yet another guardstallion with a gash across his cheek and a black eye came in on Flinthoof’s right. “Hard Rock? You too? What is going on here? What happened to you all?”

Night Flare, now completely serious, looked over the set of privates. “Where are you three coming from right now?”

Flinthoof glanced to the stallions on either side of him, and then said, “The training room.”

The crease in Life Line’s forehead held for several moments as she scanned them; analyzed them; noted their shifty silence, and their repeated subtle glances toward Night Flare. Finally, recognition dawned on her face—as did anger. “Umbra?”

“Umbra,” Flinthoof said. Hard Rock and Banner nodded in confirmation.

Night Flare gave an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes and putting a hoof to his bandaged head. “Ah shit, here we go again…”

A few seconds later Night Flare heard the door slam. When he opened his eyes, Life Line was gone. ‘Uh-oh.’ He slid off his chair. “You guys wait here,” he said curtly to the stallions before shuffling past them, exiting hurriedly to catch up with Life Line. He had a feeling that things were about to blow up big time.

---

An assortment of sounds echoed into another one of the barracks’ hallways. Rapid-paced hoofsteps clacking on a wooden floor, sharp smacks of flesh hitting flesh, grunts of exertion and pain, and occasionally, the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground, eventually followed by a female voice shouting: “Next!”

From the south end of the corridor, a pair of pegasus guards came from around the corner—a larger-bodied white stallion, and a light bluish-gray mare, currently on patrol duty for their assigned section of the barracks. As they approached the training room door, yet another private gingerly exited. This one sported a set of bruises on his chest and forelegs, and a cut on the left side of his head over his eyebrow. The mare gave an uncomfortable glance at him as he left, then eyed the door as the sounds of combat continued.

“How often again does this happen?” Guardian Angel asked her accompanying corporal.

Breakaway made a non-committal sound. “It’s only the third time.” Both of them cringed at what sounded very much like the hard crack of a hoof against a chin, another hard slam to the floor, and another shout for the next pony. “…This week.”

“It’s Tuesday!”

“Did I stutter?”

Inside the practice room, an apprehensive-looking Glideway stood towards the room’s center, a few feet from a white line that split the room in two. His three squadmates stood side by side to the left of the door. Their armor sat in neat piles in a row towards the back of the room, so the red marks covering two of the three spectators’ sides and forelegs were clearly visible. One touched his chin, trying to soothe the souvenir from the uppercut he’d just received. The last one, furthest from the door and as of yet untouched, watched with dread at his soon-to-be fate.

Opposite from Glideway, at an equal distance from the divide, Umbra was poised in a low crouch. The tired gray bags under her eyes were defied by the burning intensity within them. Then she pounced.

Leaping forward with her wings outstretched, she curled her right hoof back and threw a twisting punch at her opponent. Glideway jumped backward to avoid her strike, only to barely duck a follow up back roundhouse kick aimed at his head. Both of them stood up on two legs as Umbra pursued him relentlessly. Even at his larger size, Glideway rapidly found himself on the retreat as he struggled to block and evade the captain’s fast and pinpoint-accurate punches. Even blocking—as well as Umbra’s parries that warded off his own occasional counterstrikes—brought pain to his forelegs. Then, in a dynamic display, Umbra flapped herself off the ground, twisted around, and brought an axe kick down at the Glideway’s head. The heavy impact broke the private’s guard and knocked him off balance, leaving him wide open to an aerial side kick that caught him full in the chest. He grunted as he flew through the air, and landed awkwardly on his side, right on top of his right wing.

“Aaaahh!” Glideway cried loud enough to make his fellow privates gasp and cringe. A couple of them started to move as if to go and help him. Gingerly, he shifted so his side and wing were off the ground. He grasped where the joint met his back, hissing as pain shot through him.

“It’s only a wing,” Umbra said, staring down at him coldly. “Get up.”

“H-Hang on a second!” Glideway pleaded. “It might be broken!”

“You’d know if it were broken. Now get up and fight.”

“CAPTAIN UMBRA!”

Umbra’s eyes came off the white pegasus in front of her, her head rotating slightly. Behind her, Life Line and Night Flare had entered the room. Neither were pleased by what they saw. The former had only a slightly miffed expression on her face, but smoldering fury in her eyes.

“What exactly is going on here?” Life Line demanded.

The Night Guard captain didn’t even move. “Training.”

“Training?” Night Flare remarked disapprovingly. “I’ve seen Phi Psi Omega initiations less extreme than this.”

Umbra snorted to herself. “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.”

“They’ve bled quite enough thanks to you,” said Life Line, the line carrying no small amount of bite.

“Which only confirms their weakness,” Umbra retorted. Still without facing the two, she walked forward to where her armor lay on a shelf across the room. Her most recent sparring partner scuttled out her way and back to safety in between the three remaining members of his unit.

As she strapped her armor back on, Umbra continued. “I thought an impromptu session would enable me to assess each of them. To allow me to find which specific weak point enabled last night’s target to so easily escape the vanguard. Now I know the entire unit is to blame. A hive of incompetence and degradation.”

“That’s not what Princess Luna says,” Life Line said harshly, finally losing her remaining patience at Umbra’s callous rebuke. Umbra tensed slightly at the invocation of night princess’s name. “She was there too and made no such assessment. Unless you think you know better than her Majesty. Furthermore, as captain of the Night Guard, while you may have command over deployment and battle scenarios, you have no authority to discipline guards outside your division.” Life Line’s lip twisted. “But this barbarism doesn’t have anything to do with them, does it? It’s nothing but a misguided distraction from your own failure.”

Umbra finally turned her head to meet Life Line’s gaze, her jade eyes like daggers. “I don’t like your tone.”

“And I don’t like the bloody mess you’ve left of my squadron, so we’re even.”

The white-coated privates took a few cautious away from the pair. Night Flare said nothing, merely watching, an unsettled look on his face.

“Might I remind you, Captain,” Life Line went on, “you were the commanding officer during last night’s operation. You led the squad that last encountered our mystery creature. You had the last opportunity to prevent its escape, and you quite clearly dropped the ball.”

Umbra now turned fully around with an ever-darkening menace.

“I’d say that makes you just as responsible for losing the target as anypony. The only reason these privates are here suffering your torments is your need to take your anger out on those who can’t defend themselves. What would Princess Celestia and Princess Luna say to that?”

Umbra strode towards the medic, spreading out her wings. She stopped barely a foot away. For about five seconds the two mares glared at each other.

“You’re a bold mare, I’ll give you that,” Umbra said at last. She gestured to the row of battered Day Guards with a nudge of her head. “Certainly bolder than this lot. But I wonder if you’re wise enough to know your place, Sergeant.”

Life Line stood her ground against the shorter mare, not drawing back an inch. “My ‘place’ is anywhere my fellow ponies are in danger.” A deliberate pause. “Captain.”

Dead silence filled the room. The two mares stood unmoving, their gazes locked. Night Flare and the slack-jawed privates watched, waiting for what would happen next.

To everypony’s surprise, Umbra blinked first. She closed her eyes and wings with a dismissive huff, stepped around Life Line and walked past her. “Fine. Go lick your pups’ wounds. For whatever good it will do them.”

Life Line didn’t take her eyes off the thestral until she disappeared out the door.

There was a long pause as the Day Guards, including Life Line herself, released breaths they didn’t realize they were holding. Down at the end, Lucky Break gave a ‘phew’ of relief, silently thanking Celestia for sparing him.

“Wow, Double L. You’ve got guts,” Night Flare said, coming closer to her. “I don’t think I’ve seen anypony around here step to Umbra like that before.”

“They ought to,” Life Line sniffed, staring out the door a few seconds longer. “I don’t care if the Night Guard has to put up with her, I won’t let her terrorize my friends.” She turned back to Night Flare. “I can’t imagine being related to that shrew, blood or otherwise. Captain Armor will hear about this for sure.”

Night Flare rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry for the trouble. She’s a work in progress.”

“Hmph, more like a piece of work.”

Night Flare showed the bottom of his hoof in a weak gesture. Then he stepped over to the other pegasi guards. “Let this be a valuable lesson to you, boys. You have three essential rules to follow as Royal Guards: one, defend the ponies of Equestria. Two, protect the princesses with your lives. And three, and this one is very important, never anger the tiny bat.” The guardstallions managed to laugh despite their mostly sorry state. “Seriously though, you boys all right?”

“I… think so,” Glideway replied, wincing as he touched his chest, which now showed the beginnings of a bruise. “Augh, she hits a lot harder than I thought she could.”

“That’s my sister for you. A lower-case individual with upper-case moves.” Night Flare motioned to them. “You’re dismissed. Whoever needs patching up, follow Sergeant Life Line back to the infirmary. She’ll take care of you.”

“Yeah, ‘cause apparently that’s my main job now,” the unicorn joked. “Cleaning up your mess for the sixth time.”

“Fifth time. This one’s completely my sister’s doing, it doesn’t count. Now, why don’t you run along, Sergeant.”

She saluted with a cheeky smile. “Yes sir, Lieutenant.”

Motioning for the others to follow her, Life Line led the other guards out the door and to the left. Night Flare stopped in the door’s archway to watch them depart for a brief period. Then he turned right, looking down the opposite stretch of the hall. He could still make out the moving trace of Night Guard armor.

Inhaling and exhaling, he used his wings to push off the ground and followed the retreating shape of his sister. Within a minute he had caught up to her, landing gently a few feet behind her. “So, did you get everything out of your system?”

Umbra’s ears flattened against her head. “What do you want?” she hissed, again refusing to face him.

Night Flare shook his head, smiling faintly. “So cold. Is that how you talk to your poor, wounded brother?”

“Who has nopony to blame for his wounds but himself.”

“Oh, my mistake. I just assumed the supposed best young fighter in the Royal Guard had things under control,” he added sarcastically. “Couldn’t you keep him pinned?”

Umbra stopped and glared darkly at her brother. “Couldn’t you hit a shot? If you hadn’t broken my focus with your inane chatter, that thing would never have gotten away. And of course, having to count on you just ends up making things worse. Tch… ‘never miss’ my tailbone,” she scowled. “The second a real scenario comes, your aim proves to be as inaccurate and unreliable as those toys you’re always messing around with. Maybe if you spent less time tinkering and more time practicing, your arrows might actually hit their mark.”

“Y’know, you don’t have to be so hurtful all the time,” Night Flare frowned. “Way I remember it, my ‘toys’ had him down before you were anywhere close. Maybe your focus just needs more focus.

Umbra huffed through her nose. “Trinkets and parlor tricks are no substitution for skill.”

“But a little versatility goes a long way,” Night Flare countered. “If you were to run into a bad guy you couldn’t beat by just swinging your hooves and sword at ‘til he went down, you’d be in trouble without a few more tricks up your sleeve.”

“I don’t deal in hypotheticals,” Umbra said derisively. “The world is vexing enough as it is.”

Night Flare could only shake his head. “Whatever. Don’t forget we’ve got that meeting with Celestia in twenty.”

“I’ll be there. There’s no need for you to worry.” With that, Umbra made a sharp left and proceeded down the next corridor.

As she walked away, Night Flare made one last call to her back. “Isn’t that what family is for?”

He saw Umbra’s gait falter. Saw her head turn the thinnest of margins. But ultimately, she said nothing, continuing on her way in silence. With a dispirited sigh, Night Flare turned on his heel and headed back towards the medical bay.

Umbra came out from the building’s interior and into the northeast corner of the barracks’ practice field. She came to a stop near to where another platoon of guards led by Boomer drilled their formations. Not that Umbra noticed them. She was deaf to the world. Her mind was a swirl of emotions: irritation; frustration; and buried deep beneath it all, perhaps the slightest hint of contrition. But with a deep breath, she forced that last more bothersome feeling down. A skill she was exceedingly talented at.

With a clearer mind, she directed her gaze over and beyond the guard quarters’ walled border: the royal palace. She opened her wings and was about to take flight when a familiar set of colors caught the corner of her eye. Peering to her right, she saw somepony she recognized, and her mood hardened again.

---

Another stallion duo headed across the border of the barracks’ courtyard. A black and white pinto Earth pony who looked to be in his thirties, and a twenty-something gray pegasus with blue and white hair who followed behind. The younger Cloud Zapper looked around the base with a proud grin. It wasn’t his first day by any means, but he still couldn’t help the rush of excitement and joy that filled his chest every time he took this place in. His mere presence here was a culmination of years of dreaming and hard work.

“Taking in the sights, newbie?”

Cloud Zapper jerked out of his stupor. “S-Sorry, sergeant!” he said anxiously.

Roancoat laughed under his breath. “No need to be so uptight, private. Not with me. Our guys and girls try to make things a little bit more livable. It’s hard enough just dealing with our unit’s captain.”

“Yes, sir! And, I’ve gotta say, I appreciate you taking the time to show me the ropes these first few months. I mean, we’re not even in the same unit… or division, for that matter.”

“Think nothing of it,” said Roancoat. “We’re all brothers and sisters in arms here. Militia, Aerial, Mystic, Inquisitor, the division doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we’ve all got the same responsibility to Equestria.” He glanced sideways at Cloud Zapper, a small smile tugging at his features. “Besides, I was once a rookie too. Heh, you should have seen it. A fresh face straight out of Manehattan with no clue how to function around here. I know how it feels.”

He faced forward as they kept walking. Not long after, he saw a familiar stallion up coming up in front of them. “Ah, and there’s the lieutenant now. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Up ahead, a dusty beige Earth pony sat on the concrete that bordered the grass. His armor was removed, most of it sitting in a neat pile next to him. He held his helmet steady in front of him, polishing it with a hoof-sized brush.

Roancoat called out to him as he and Cloud Zapper neared. “Hey Grit, there’s somepony I want you to meet.”

Cloud Zapper looked at the burly pony in slight awe. Without his armor, the young pegasus could see solidly defined muscles ripple under this pony’s coat as he brushed the helmet. The stallion paused his brushing to glance at the pair.

Roancoat extended his hoof a few inches towards the stallion.“Rookie, allow me to introduce Lieutenant Grit Vigil. Grit, this here’s Cloud Zapper. One of the new guys.”

“That right?” Grit asked, his voice a low and gravelly pitch. “New blood for us?”

“N-No, sir!” Cloud Zapper responded shakily at first. Meeting members of the Inquisitors was always unnerving. Their more secretive nature and clandestine work made them the stuff of fantastic urban legend even among their fellow guards, and Grit Vigil was renowned as one of their best. “I’m part of the Militia. First Sergeant Roancoat has just been helping me get around since I began.”

Grit’s lip twitched into what might have been a smile. “Really? Well, you’ll be better off with him than Vainglory, at least.”

His comment was met with a loud guffaw from Roancoat. “Lieutenant! You shouldn’t talk about higher officers like that in front of the newbies, our captain’s idiosyncrasies aside.”

“Idiot-syncrasies is more like it,” Grit scoffed. Cloud Zapper snickered, but kept quiet as the two continued their back-and-forth. “That coward would rather send us to do the real work while he sits comfortably in Canterlot soaking up the credit.”

“All the more reason we’re so grateful to have a platoon leader as involved as you.”

Grit shrugged his shoulder. “It’s what our boys deserve. Vainglory’s useless. Only knows how to lead from behind. What kind of officer would I be if I did the same?”

A biting voice abruptly cut in. “An absentee one sounds accurate.”

The three stallions turned to see Umbra standing before them, her wings outstretched. Cloud Zapper’s eyes held a mix of puzzlement and alarm; Grit’s were narrowed in clear displeasure.

“Captain Umbra. To what do we owe the pleasure?” Roancoat said carefully.

“Nothing pleasurable about this debacle, I assure you.” Umbra locked her gaze solely on Grit. “You spoke of leading from behind, Lieutenant? According to last night’s schedule, your unit was supposed to be on site reinforcing the perimeter. Yet you were nowhere to be found. May I ask why?”

The stocky Earth pony regarded Umbra with an apathetic look in his eye. “Business in Manehattan.”

“Is that so?” Umbra said sarcastically. “Gallivanting off to the east side while your princesses are threatened? Seems to me there’s mounting evidence that having so many Inquisitors running all over Equestria is a waste of ponypower. When I find your captain, I’ll be sure to address his foolishness in letting his subordinates so frequently run off on wanton escapades.”

“Respectfully, Captain,” Roancoat intervened, “our outing was approved well in advance by Celestia herself. We were doing our jobs, same as you.” He allowed a brief moment of silence before continuing. “There’s been an uptick in theft, assault, and other criminal incidents over there. Apparently, the police department had a recent shortage of staff and was in need of assistance. At least until they can fill enough places to get things back under control. There’s no need for hostility. When it comes down to it, our duties are to all Equestria, aren’t they?”

“And what do you think would become of Equestria if its leaders are left unguarded?” Umbra countered. “Insignificant thugs on the east coast are no imminent threat. Your place should be here, defending the capital, not wasting time and resources poking your snouts into little street disputes that are of no consequence to us.”

“Everything in Equestria is of consequence to us.” This time Grit spoke. His eyes were steel. His voice was low, but held undeniable conviction. “Doesn’t matter where it comes from. What we don’t take care of today will come back to haunt us tomorrow. You wanna talk about threats? There are threats everywhere. Behind every corner, in every back alley, under every rock. And you won’t find them staying cooped up here with your nose three feet up Luna’s ass.”

Umbra burned with fury at the comment, squeezing her teeth squeezing so tightly together her jaw clicked, but remained silent nonetheless.

“That’s the difference between you and us. You stay here hanging upside down, waiting around until our enemies are at our gate. We go out there, find them, and deal with them. No matter how far outside Canterlot’s walls they come from.”

A tense silence hung in there for several long seconds. “So you say,” Umbra finally said. She turned away to leave them—but not before directing one last aside at Grit. “A word of advice, Lieutenant. You’ll find more often than not that our biggest threats aren’t from the outside, but from inside.”

---

“Let me have it!”

“Catch, Able!”

“I want a turn!”

“Comin’ high, bro!”

“Hey!”

An intersection bordering one of downtown Canterlot’s many commercial areas was in a stir. Not from the ordinary bustle of business ponies rushing to appointments, or entourages of wealthy elites traipsing about, basking in presumed reverence of every individual within their circle, but from a set of young foals. Two short-haired, beige unicorn colts, stood on each of the street, throwing a hoofball back and forth. They were completely identical, the only difference being their eyes, haircuts, and choice in hats—each was black, and either a red or green that matched their eyes. Between them was a similarly colored filly, with curly golden locks, a pink bow in her hair, and cheeks puffed in exasperation.

On a bench at the street corner, the hoofrest of which had a pink balloon tied to it, another identical another colt sat totally enraptured in the pages of a comic book. He paid no mind to the others’ commotion.

“Able! Gable! Cut it out!” Honey Sweet complained. “My turn started five minutes ago! That’s not fair!”

Gable, in his green hat, replied: “All’s fair in the crazy game of life, Honey Sweet. If you can’t win…” Standing up with the ball in his hoof, he brought it back and lobbed it as hard as he could, “you shouldn’t play!”

Able scuttled backward as the ball went high. As it came down, he stood on his hind legs, eyeing the ball with expectant glee. “I got it… I got it… I go— awk!”

And he was promptly cut off by an unexpected, full speed tackle from Honey Sweet. With his head turned to the sky, Able never noticed the filly running as fast as she could towards him until she slammed full force into his middle, tackling him to the ground. She hit him so hard his hooves left the ground and he went sideways in the air. Gable cringed. Even a passing stallion did a double-take in their direction.

The hoofball landed unceremoniously on the pavement and rolled to a stop. Honey Sweet skipped over and picked it up, looking very pleased with herself. “I win!” she singsonged, sticking her tongue out at the boys.

Gable came over to his groaning brother. “When did that become part of the rules?” he said bemusedly to Honey Sweet. “This was supposed to be Monkey In The Middle, not EHL Sunday.”

“Guess I made a monkey out of you.” Honey Sweet joked. “All’s fair, remember?”

“You… eh, I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Honey Sweet!”

The two swung around. A reddish-pink with a light blue, high-standing mane and a diamond around her neck and in each ear stood on the sidewalk outside one of the nearby buildings, calling querulously. “Honey Sweet! You leave those ruffians and come here this instant, young filly!”

A now pensive Honey Sweet faced back to Gable and his now standing brother. “Looks like I have to go now.” She trotted over to the bench where the third colt was. “Thanks for watching my balloon for me, Fable.”

The blue-and-black-hatted colt looked up from his comic book. “It was nothing, Honey,” he said pleasantly. “See you in class tomorrow.”

Honey Sweet untied her balloon’s string from the bench and bid Fable farewell before scurrying towards her mother.

“It’s about time, Honey Sweet,” Floribunda said hurriedly when her daughter arrived. “Now, come along. I have a meeting to attend in an hour, and you have a rehearsal. You’ve wasted more than enough time with those miscreants.”

The filly’s eyes cast downward. She couldn’t understand why her mother disliked her friends. “Yes, mama…”

Grabbing her daughter by the hoof, Floribunda practically dragged her across Thoroughbred Way through an increasingly traffic-heavy section of the district. Within a few minutes, Honey Sweet couldn’t even see more than a few feet in front of her, so congested was the street at this hour. “One side, you saboteurs!” Pushing herself and her child past a wall of obstructively slow ponies, Floribunda’s sudden yank caused Honey Sweet to knock roughly into one of their sides and lose her grip on her balloon.

Honey Sweet gasped, whirling around as it drifted higher and higher. “Mama, wait!”

“Honey Sweet, I do not want to hear any noise until we get to the school. Ugh, that darn, slow stylist. That will be the last time I entrust myself to a new pony.”

“But mama, my balloon!”

“Not now, young mare. You can get another balloon this evening when your father gets home.”

Honey Sweet’s eyes began to water. “But…!”

Ignoring her daughter’s pleas, Floribunda tugged her along without stopping. As her balloon drifted away behind them, a pained Honey Sweet became unable to watch and hung her head, scrunching her eyes shut. A single tear fell down her cheek.

Floribunda tightened her grasp on Honey Sweet’s hoof as she crossed the street. They would have to take the next left on Groom Street, and then it would just be a direct walk to School for Gifted Unicorns. As she approached the corner, she glimpsed somepony coming into her path in her peripheral vision. She tried to angle past them, but the pony stepped directly in front of her.

“Stand aside, you miserable—!” Words suddenly failed her. She saw not a set of eyes, but a gold-armored chest. She looked up—and found herself even more lost for words. Honey Sweet peered out from her mother’s side and had to crane her head nearly ninety degrees to get a view of the stranger’s face.

“Excuse me.” The depth of the pony’s voice made Honey Sweet’s little ears tremble. A powerful foreleg curled out towards her, and in it was her balloon. “Is this yours?”

Honey Sweet’s face lit up. “Oh, wow!” She took it back, beaming. “Thank you, mister!”

“You’re quite welcome.” Floribunda shivered when the stallion’s dark blue eyes set on her again. “Be good to your child, ma’am. Those small moments will be all she remembers when everything else fades away.” He politely inclined his head and stepped out of their way. “Have a nice day.” He went off along his way, leaving the mother and daughter behind.

Floribunda’s head hesitantly turned to follow the armored pony for a moment longer. “W-Well now…” Clearing her throat, she looked back down at Honey Sweet. “Let’s hurry along now, shall we?”

Honey Sweet didn’t answer. She was too busy celebrating, grinning happily and rubbing her cheek into her balloon. Instead of repeating herself, Floribunda simply watched her daughter for a minute. She drew her lower lip between her teeth, remorse pricking at her heart. “Um, sweetie… how would you like to get some ice cream after your rehearsal?”

Honey Sweet was suddenly overjoyed. “Really?!” She threw her hooves around her mother’s neck and hugged her tightly. “Thanks, mama!”

Floribunda softly smiled. “Of course, dear. Now, come. Let’s not be late.”

==================
2:27 PM
Friendship Express
==================

Soft chatter filled the inside of the Friendship Express as it rolled up the mountain towards Canterlot. There were relatively few passengers, which allowed the seven heroic youths inside to converse fervidly among themselves about their coming duty—and other things, as well.

“I still can’t believe that sister of yours, Applejack,” Rarity remarked in an exceedingly snooty way. “To say such a thing about the dedicated ponies of the Canterlot Chronicle… so crass. That paper caters only to the highest standards of journalistic integrity, and their halls are lined with nothing but the most diligent, honest of reporters. I hope not all of you more… erm, ‘rustic’ folk are so unworldly. Perhaps you might even consider a subscription.”

“Us ‘rustic’ folk are all well and good ‘far as the important things, thank you very much,” Applejack retorted. “And you sure you’re one to talk, miss ‘I dream of Canterlot fame and fortune’?” She arched a brow, smirking. “Sound’s just a few bushels short of impartial to me.”

Rarity opened her mouth, paused, then looked away with a scowl. “Hmph, ‘impartial.’ Fancy word for a farmer.”

“Ya pick up a thing or two hangin’ around upper-crust wannabes.” Applejack had to hold in a laugh at the face Rarity made.

A couple of booths down Spike sat next to Rainbow Dash. “It sure feels like it’s been lively for us around here lately,” he said matter-of-factly. “This is what? The third big crisis we’ve had to help settle in barely a moon?”

“Fourth!” yelped Pinkie Pie. “If you count the dragon. Buuuut who’s counting?”

“I say bring it on!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly, knocking her hooves together. “I’ve been dying for some more action!”

“Hah, you would.” Spike glanced from side to side to make sure no one was within earshot. This next conversation was for him and Rainbow Dash alone. “By the way, thanks for sticking up for me with Twilight.”

Rainbow gave a carefree shrug. “No biggie. Just returning the favor.”

Spike responded with a smile—which slipped as he peered to the other side of the train. “You know, I’m glad you’re eager for whatever the princess has for us and everything, but I’m a little less sure about somepony else.” He directed Rainbow Dash to the other side of the aisle with a point of his claw.

Rainbow followed it to find Fluttershy, legs curled tightly underneath her and wings fidgeting in place. Rainbow sighed knowingly. The girl looked frightened. ‘But when doesn’t she look frightened?’ she thought. She flapped herself out of her seat and floated over to where her fellow pegasus sat. “Hey, Fluttershy!”

The mare jumped with a squeak. She took a second to right herself, then said, “O-Oh, Rainbow Dash. You—”

“Startled you? Gee, who’da thought?” Rainbow chuckled. A more sympathetic look then found its way to her features. “Are you good over here?”

Fluttershy blinked. “Um… what exactly do you mean?”

“I think she means you seem kind of jittery,” said Spike, waddling over to join her booth. “Not to mention you’ve been pretty quiet since we left Ponyville. Even before we left, as a matter of fact.”

“Well… I, um…” Fluttershy avoided eye contact, hiding half her face behind her mane. But the source of her newest anxiety was pretty easy to determine.

“Is it ‘cause of the paper? This ‘Demon’ they’re talking about?” Spike asked.

Fluttershy’s visible eye shifted to him, then back to the floor; but she eventually nodded.

“Hey, there’s no need to worry,” Spike said reassuringly. “I know this sort of stuff might still be kinda scary, but we’ve been down this road before, right?”

Rainbow swerved around to Fluttershy’s other side. “Yeah! And we’ve totally handled it every time. Nightmare Moon, busted! Discord, stoned! Heck, you even stared down a dragon so hard you made him cry! All by yourself! You’re all kinds of awesome too when you need to be.”

Fluttershy smiled timidly and blushed at the compliment, loosely toying with a strand of her mane. She started when something touched her back; when she turned, a supporting look from Rarity greeted her.

“There’s no need to fret, darling. This is certainly not our first rodeo,” she smirked slyly in Applejack’s direction, “so to speak.” The farm pony gave her an indignant, half-lidded look, blowing upwards on her mane.

“And we’ll overcome it the same way we always have.” Twilight said as she joined them around the booth. “Together.”

Fluttershy slowly swept her gaze around the circle of her friends. She was still a bit frightful. But their warm, confident faces brought ease to her unsteady heart. “Okay… together.”

Right on cue, the train rocked to a stop. Its whistle blew loudly, marking their arrival in Canterlot.

The trip to the palace was a relatively short one. The mares kept up a brisk pace, knowing time was of the essence. In no time they were inside and trotting through the castle’s corridors, seeing their destination, the door to the throne room, just ahead. As they neared it, a voice called out.

“So, the cavalry’s here. Figures the princesses were waiting for you girls.” To the right of the doorway and a ways down the hall, the group saw Night Flare and Life Line—the latter of which now wore his quiver on his thigh and his bow at his side—making their way their way over.

“Only natural. We are big shot heroes and all that,” Rainbow bragged.

Life Line giggled. “Of course. Good to finally meet you the saviors of Equestria person.”

Before the conversation could continue any further, the pleasant mood promptly disappeared as the throne room door burst open. The tall, well-dressed, agitated form of Prince Blueblood stomped through, throwing his head over his shoulder back in the direction of the throne room. “And you make certain to tell Aunt Celestia that we will discuss this in depth later!” He stomped away, his heavy hoofsteps rapping on the castle floor as the others watched him leave.

“What an unexpected, unwanted surprise…” Rarity practically growled.

“Hey, wasn’t that Prince Blueblood?” Pinkie queried.

“Yup. You can tell from the impact tremors,” Night Flare joked, tapping his hoof on the floor. “The ground itself shakes under the weight of his ego; one of only two things in Equestria capable of such a feat.” A generous round of laughter ensued.

Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof after him in a questioning manner. “What was his deal, anyway?”

“Still ‘mildly annoyed’ over last night, I imagine,” Life Line answered. “Some unfortunate grunt smashed through his window during the whole invasion fiasco. He’s been ranting and raving between the castle and Canterlot Daily HQ since morning, demanding justice for the, and I quote, ‘mortifying smirch upon his royal honor.’”

“What could make him angry enough to go to the press?” asked Twilight.

“Nothing he didn’t deserve, I’m sure,” Rarity said spitefully, still glaring in the direction in which Blueblood had left.

Life Line looked more and more like she was struggling to keep a straight face. “Evidently, the prince was with company at the time.”

There were several reactions. Rainbow Dash busted out laughing. Applejack lowered her hat, trying to conceal her snickering. Fluttershy flushed red, averting her eyes. Rarity continued to smirk down the hall, now practically radiating vindictive pleasure. Twilight, however, was confused. “So, he… had a friend over?” She canted her head. “Like, a sleepover?”

“But not much sleeping going on!” Rainbow managed to get out between laughs.

“You don’t get out much, do you, nerd girl?” Night Flare said wryly to Twilight.

She grimaced, somewhat offended. “E-Excuse me?!”

“Teehee, I like this guy!” Pinkie chortled.

Twilight growled. Spike also had to muffle giggles, shirking away to hide behind Pinkie Pie as she glared. Before the miffed unicorn could fire back, Rarity came up to her side and touched her. “Um, darling, I believe he meant…” She gave a ‘come hither’ gesture and leaned in close, whispering into to Twilight’s ear.

Twilight’s face went from cross to quizzical. It held for a few seconds. Then her eyes went wide as quickly as she turned beet red, much to everypony’s amusement. “O-Oh…”

“Hey, what’s going on? What was it?” Spike asked curiously.

Pinkie patted his shoulder. “Sorry, no can say, Spike. Grown-up ponies—or dragons—only.” Spike folded his arms and grumbled.

“Hey, hold up a minute,” said Applejack. “How do y’all know so much about all that?”

“I’m sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced, have we?” Night Flare gestured to the unicorn beside him with his wing. “This here is our resident light mage, Life Line. I’m Night Flare. Or, translated in Old Ponish, ‘some unfortunate grunt.’”

Once again, Rainbow floated upside-down, cracking up. “Y-You mean… that was you? Bahaha! Oh man, that’s hilarious!”

“I’m glad my stunning failure brings somepony joy in all this. It’s a small comfort.” Night Flare cracked an uneven smile. “Forget my run in with the Demon, the resulting concussion, or having to not sleep most of the night for fear of going into a coma. Being unlucky enough to see his princeliness hilt-deep in some blonde floozy, that’s the real nightmare.”

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash’s laughing fit cut short, something clicking in her mind. “Wait a minute!” She zoomed right up to Night Flare. “So, if you’re the guy from the paper, that means you saw it! The Blue Demon! That monster they’re talking about! You saw it, right?”

Night Flare nodded. “Scar to prove it and everything.” He rubbed a primary feather across his bandaged head.

Rainbow Dash continued to pepper him with questions. “What was it like? How did it get past you? Do you know where it came from? Where was the princess when—”

Her verbal barrage stopped only when Applejack pulled her backward by the tail. “Whoa there, sugarcube, bring it down a notch. You’re suffocatin’ the poor stallion.” While Rainbow made a disgruntled noise, Applejack looked back to the male pegasus. “Either way, nice to be makin’ your acquaintance, Lieutenant Night Flare sir.”

“Please, just Night Flare. And it’s our pleasure to meet the great heroines of Equestria.” He smiled at Twilight. “Hope you didn’t take offense, Twilight. I was just messing around. It’s what I do.”

Twilight scrunched up her face in a little pout. “None taken… I think.”

Fluttershy, who had yet to speak until now, piped up. “Um, maybe we should go inside now? I mean… the princess is waiting…”

“Right,” Life Line agreed. “Come on Night Flare, let’s go get this report over with. Then you’re going back for some rest.”

Night Flare blew through his lips. “Whatever you say, ‘mom.’”

“Tch, I could never be your mother. I would have disowned that sister of yours long ago.”

“Oof, the sass.”

The others followed Night Flare and Life Line inside. Only three other ponies awaited them inside; two gray-furred unicorn guardstallions, stationed at the throne’s staircase, and Umbra, standing sternly to the right of the walkway a short distance ahead. The bat pony stood motionless, ignoring the new arrivals. But that didn’t stop her from drawing at least one pair of eyes. Rainbow Dash quirked her head as she looked over the young captain, voicing her thoughts to her friends. “Whoa, check out that pony over there. Those are some weird colors,” she said unthinkingly.

Umbra’s ear twitched. Her already dour expression turned even more so, and she fixed the pegasus with a glare. “You think you of all ponies are one talk about colors, you chromatic assault on my eyes? Or is thinking just not your strong suit?”

Rainbow’s features showed displeasure and bewilderment; as if that was the last thing she expected to hear. “…What did you just say?”

“Hard of hearing too?” Umbra said caustically. “Are all Cloudsdale pegasi so dull-witted, or are you just special?”

In a split second Rainbow was up in Umbra’s face, teeth grit. “What’d you say, bat girl?! You wanna go?!”

“Rainbow Dash!” A bright magenta aura surrounded her, and Twilight pulled her friend back from the guardsmare. “Stop that! Don’t you know who that is?!” she whispered harshly.

“Yeah! A pint-size bat pony that needs to get pressed into guano!”

“Get a hold of yourself!” Twilight scolded. “That’s Umbra! Captain of Princess Luna’s division of the Royal Guard! She commands the entire Night Guard and answers directly to Princess Luna herself! In other words, not a pony you can go picking fights with!”

Rainbow looked at Twilight incredulously, then again at Umbra. The mare looked even younger than Pinkie Pie, yet she was a captain of the Royal Guard? “Seriously? That little shrimp?

“It’s true,” said Twilight. “She’s the youngest pony to ever come out of the E.U.P.G. Academy, graduating at the top of her class. In record time!” Her words drew some ‘oohs’ from a couple of the other Element bearers.

“I see you’ve done your homework, Twilight Sparkle,” Umbra said flatly. “At least one of Equestria’s so-called chosen heroes is partially competent.”

Ignoring Rainbow’s grumbles, Twilight grinned. “Why thank you, I do try to— Wait, partially?”

“All right, sis, that’s enough,” Night Flare spoke up. “Lay off, already.”

Umbra huffed, but said nothing more as she turned away.

“Hmph. Well, I’ve never heard of her,” Rainbow said tartly. “How have you, Twilight?”

“Oh, my BBBFF told me when I still lived in Canterlot.”

All five of the Ponyville mares now stared at Twilight. “Your what?”

“Twily!”

A new voice drew the group’s attention to the from the throne room entrance. A tall stallion with a white coat and blue mane and adorned in purple and gold armor had arrived, smiling gleefully.

“Shining Armor!” A joyous Twilight ran and leapt to the newly arrived stallion, capturing him in a tight hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Same here, kid. It’s great to see ya!”

Rainbow Dash gave a low whistle. “Whoa. Who’s the hunk?”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed, fanning herself with a hoof.

“Yeah, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie added as she sprung over. “Aren’tcha gonna introduce us?”

Twilight lifted her head off the shoulder of the stallion’s shoulder. “Oh! Of course.” She stepped to his side and placed a hoof on his side. “Girls, this is Shining Armor. Captain of the Royal Guard, and my BBBFF.”

The girls exchanged some rather confused looks.

“Big Brother Best Friend Forever,” Spike clarified.

“Ooooooh!”

“Well, I’ll be. I didn’t know you had a brother, Twi,” Applejack said, approaching Shining Armor and offering out a hoof. “Pleasure to meet you, Captain Armor. Any relative of Twilight’s is practically family.”

Shining Armor shook it firmly. “You’re too kind. Good to know Twilight has such good friends.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“Reporting to the princess. And escorting our guests here for the same thing.” He turned to his side and pointed towards the door. The next ponies to enter stunned the group, none more so than Rainbow Dash, which she loudly vocalized.

“Soarin?! Spitfire?!”

Said stallion waved to her, walking side by side with the Wonderbolts Captain. “Hey there, Dash. Been a while.”

Spitfire gave an upwards nod of her head. “How you doin’, kid?”

Rainbow flapped down to the ground in front of them. “You two are in Canterlot?”

“Not just us.” Spitfire gestured behind them with her head. The team of Fleetfoot, High Winds, Fire Streak, Silver Zoom, and Misty Fly all filed through in short order.

“Oh my, the Wonderbolts too?” said Rarity.

“What are you guys all doing here?” Rainbow asked, doubly surprised.

“Give it a minute,” Soarin replied. “You’re about to hear all about it.”

As if by signal, Princess Celestia herself finally arrived, flanked by her dutiful assistant Raven Inkwell. A pen and piece of paper hung in the air before her, aglow in her golden aura. She hurriedly scribbled something on it, rolled it up, and handed it to her aide. “See to it that this is delivered, Raven. Post haste.”

“At once, Your Highness.” Without another word, Raven was gone, back through the door and down the hall.

The remaining ponies genuflected as Celestia entered and passed them; save for Umbra, who merely inclined her head. Once at the foot of the steps leading to her throne, she about-faced and spoke.

“Raise your heads, my little ponies.”

As they righted themselves, Twilight hastened to her mentor, anxiety pouring out from her. “Princess Celestia, we came as soon as we got your summons! We saw the headline in the paper! Is it true? Is there–”

A raised hoof from Celestia stopped her. “Steady, my faithful student. There will be time for explanations. Let us first wait for my sister. In any case, I’m happy that you’ve come.” Her eyes followed a line across the faces of the other five mares… then flickered downward, hanging on Spike. An eyebrow lifted.

Spike suddenly felt a pang of nervousness. Back in Ponyville, he had been adamant about helping his friends; but here, under the mother of Equestria’s gaze, his resolve wavered. Twilight appeared to sense what was happening, and was about to start on her own anxiety-driven diatribe explaining why Spike’s was here despite not being asked for, until Celestia’s unreadable expression was replaced by a calming smile.

“All of you.”

Twilight and Spike both exhaled softly in relief. The latter smiled back appreciatively, happy that he was welcome too. There was an abrupt pop of blue light, and Princess Luna appeared. Umbra was the first to bend the knee and bow, followed by the others. Luna and Celestia exchanged a look and nodded. “Now then,” Celestia began, a new stern in her voice, “we have important matters to discuss.”

“Beg pardon, Princess, but what’s with all the extra company?” Applejack inquired.

“Yeah,” Rainbow added. “The guards I get, but why are the Wonderbolts here?”

“They are all needed to accurately tell the tale of last night’s disturbance, good Rainbow Dash,” Luna answered.”

“Is this about the creature, Your Majesties?” Rarity asked. “The one they’re calling the Blue Demon?”

Celestia nodded gravely. “Indeed. I had hoped to keep news of what took place here confidential… at least for a while. To avoid a panic before we fully understood the situation. But thanks to a certain somepony’s impulsiveness,” a noticeable measure of irritation slipped through the sun goddess’s legendary poise with the last word, “I’m afraid the media has now gotten hold of last night’s events. By now it’s spread like wildfire from Fillydelphia to Vanhoover, and everywhere in between.” She paused to rub her temple. “But... no use fretting over that now. What’s done is done. Now that all necessary parties are gathered, I’d like to hear just what happened here last night.”

“As would I.” There was a new voice—a powerful baritone that rolled like thunder. It made the entire room looked to the throne room entrance.

Twilight’s mouth dropped open.

An absolute unit of a stallion stood in the doorway. He was massive, even taller than Luna. At first glance, he could almost be mistaken for a horse. His graying mane and thick, scruffy beard indicated a stallion getting on in his years, but his sinewy physique belied his age, his frame quite obviously thick with muscle beneath the gold and light orange armor that adorned his body. Fixed to his chest plate was a medal in the image of the sun, a mirror match of Celestia’s personal emblem.

Shining Armor stood as straight as possible. “Attention!” Every other guard and Wonderbolts went rigid straight and saluted, holding their positions as the unicorn tread forward.

“Whoa… and I thought Twilight’s brother was built,” Rainbow Dash said under her breath in wide-eyed awe.

“Who is that…?” Fluttershy asked in a hushed voice.

“I have no idea,” Pinkie Pie murmured. “…Why are we whispering?”

As the guardstallion approached, Celestia stepped forward to meet him. They stopped about two feet apart, meeting each other’s eyes.

“Princess Celestia.”

“General Gatekeeper.”

Rainbow tilted her head. “Did she say general?”

“Ooh,” Pinkie uttered. “Is he an important pony too?”

Twilight breathed in frustration. “Really, girls? You don’t know?! That’s the supreme commander of the entire Equestrian military! Not to mention their most veteran member! Of all the currently enlisted royal guards, he’s served the longest at forty whole years!”

Awe passed across the others’ faces. Applejack tipped her hat. “Whoa, nelly. We’re gettin’ all the top dogs today, huh?”

Celestia craned her neck forward, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to focus on something around Gatekeeper’s head. After a moment, she smirked. “Did you change your shampoo? You did, didn’t you?”

The stocky unicorn returned her smile. “Herbal Essence, Your Majesty.”

“I thought so. Your mane looks bouncier than usual.”

“I do like to look good for you.”

“And I appreciate it.”

“Oh, sweet Celestia, that voice… just take me now!” Rarity swooned, letting herself tip sideways into Applejack, who looked less than amused.

Celestia spared the general another moment’s attention before recovering her serious demeanor and returning to her place with the other ponies. “Now, on to the matter at hoof. Sister?”

Luna nodded, then directed her gaze to the heroines. “T’was yesterday in the early evening when I was interrupted from my nightly duties by one of our guards. When I regained consciousness, I awoke to a most outlandish sight: a black hole in the sky, rippling and crackling with lightning, just a short way beyond my spire.”

Rainbow Dash gasped to herself. So that was the source of strange lights she had seen coming from Canterlot last night?

“Come to think of it,” Spike said “I got this weirdest chill last night too. It was like standing right in front of a speaker on max volume.”

Twilight looked at him. “You did?”

Celestia weighed her thoughts a moment. “It isn’t uncommon for powerful magic or other energy to emit wavelengths,” she explained. “Reverberations from a strong enough source can often be widely felt, and a dragon’s senses do greatly exceed a pony’s.”

Spike pondered on that, silently wondering what else he might be capable of.

“Immediately afterwards,” Luna continued, “Sergeant Spearhead alerted me that there was an intruder on castle grounds. I ordered a platoon of my own division to assemble as a second line of defense, then went to joining the initial squad on the ground.” Luna paused and closed her eyes, as if recalling something too fantastic to believe. “What I found was like nothing I had ever seen before… a strange creature that stood on two legs. Most of its body was blue, except for its tan arms and abdomen. It had large quills all along its head and back, and… oddly enough, wore white gloves on its paws and shoes of some sort on its feet.”

“The Demon?” Twilight asked.

Luna confirmed with a bob of her head. “Sadly, barely a moment after I commanded the guards to apprehend it, it fled. Gone in an instant.”

Rarity spoke up in shock. “It was able to escape from you so easily?”

The younger diarch pressed her lips together, looking at the floor. “Ashamed as I am to admit it…” She lifted her head to the six mares. “The creature’s speed was blinding. By the time any of us reacted, it had blown past us, fleeing south towards the city. That was the last I saw of it.”

Celestia listened with focused interest. “I see… Who was the next to encounter it?”

Umbra stepped forward. “That would be us, Your Highness. Captain Umbra and Lieutenant Night Flare, reporting.”

Celestia regarded the young bat pony. “Proceed, Captain.”

Half turning her head in her brother’s direction, Umbra whispered stiffly, “Let me do the talking.” Night Flare merely rolled his eyes.

“I contacted my unit with word of the intruder not long after receiving Princess Luna’s instructions,” Umbra said. “While our reserves prepped for its drop point further south, both the lieutenant and myself moved to intercept. Visual was confirmed of the target moving southwest down Tribune Lane two minutes later. The lieutenant was able to bring it down by binding its legs with one of his unique arrows.” She paused to glare back at Night Flare. “However, due to an unfortunate miscommunication between the lieutenant and I, the target was able to take advantage of an opening and temporarily incapacitate me.” She looked down in shame. “I… have no knowledge of anything that happened between then and linking up with the rest of my unit and Captain Armor.”

Silently digesting the information for a few moments, Celestia shifted her attention to Night Flare. “Lieutenant Night Flare. Is the captain’s description of the events accurate?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” answered Night Flare. “The rodent and I tangled for a good while after Umbra here took the L.” Night Flare heard Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and at least one of the present Day Guards snicker. He also swore he could almost hear his sister’s blood pressure rising. Both brought him a small amount of joy. “I chased him through Praetor Street and over a few rooftops. I had him on the ropes, but then he, get this, caught one of my explosive arrows out of the air and sent it back at me. That marked the end of my night as far as that’s concerned.” He chuckled ruefully. “But I’m sure your nephew’s already told you all about that. Hehe—” Another throb of pain in his head cut him short. “Ow…”

“Thank you for your report, Lieutenant. And do tend to that injury when our business here is complete,” Celestia said caringly. He answered her with a salute. Celestia then directed her gaze to her own captain of the guard. “Shining Armor, you were among the last to see this Blue Demon, correct?”

The stallion took a step forward. “Yes, Your Highness. I made contact less than half a click from the main entrance. He was everything Princess Luna and our Night Guard officers have described. I briefly engaged him and managed to seal him inside a force field with myself and reinforcements brought by Captain Umbra.” A wave of disappointment clouded Shining Armor’s features. “But… he was able to escape underneath it by tunneling through the ground.” He hung his head, only glancing up when something touched his shoulder. He looked up to see a concerned Twilight resting her hoof on him. That alone was enough to brighten his face a little.

The other Ponyvillians exchanged looks. “He can outrun the guards and dig through the ground?” Spike said in awe.

“What kinda varmint are we dealin’ with here?” Applejack thought out loud.

“According to him, a hedgehog.”

The room’s attention now went to Spitfire. Luna’s brow furrowed. “A… hedgehog?”

Celestia blinked. “Can you elaborate, Captain Spitfire?”

“Yes ma’am. My team and I got the message from Princess Luna just after nineteen hundred hours,” she recounted. “Following her instructions, we headed due south, arriving at the Rambling Rock Ridge area about forty minutes later. It was there we encountered this… ‘Blue Demon.’”

“And spoke to him, apparently,” Celestia commented. “What were you able to learn?”

“Not much. Like I said, he says he’s a hedgehog. Also claimed that he was dropped into Canterlot against his will. I didn’t buy it, of course.”

Both alicorns exchanged glances at that last piece of information. Celestia’s face was the same as ever; Luna’s now carried a new uneasiness.

Pinkie Pie held a newspaper she got from who-knows-where, staring hard at the cover image. “Eh… I guess I can see it. A little bit.”

Spitfire’s words also raised some eyebrows among the Ponyville group. Maybe, possibly, the first seeds of doubt over the whole situation were finding root in a few of the heroines.

Rainbow Dash, however, was not one of them. “Yeah right! This freak tears up Canterlot and then conveniently says it was an accident? Does he think we were born yesterday?” she barked.

Celestia now had a perplexed glint in her eye. “Did you find out anything else?”

Spitfire clicked her tongue. “Only that he’s a mouthy little thing. Discussion didn’t get us anywhere beyond that, so we moved in to apprehend. He… evaded us, and we pursued.”

The focus the Ponyvillians had on Spitfire seemed to double. Now the alleged hedgehog could even elude the best flyers in Equestria?

“He wasn’t just fast,” Soarin commented. “He had serious hops too. He was clearing rock towers and jumping between boulders with ease. We even saw him treat one huge arch like a derby loop. I didn’t even think that was possible.”

“We chased him all the way to the edge of the ridge,” Spitfire continued. “Thought we had him corned, but then he up and jumped off the cliff.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” Pinkie concurred.

Spitfire snorted. “That’s about the look I had on my face at the time. After that, I was pretty sure he was roadkill. But then he did this thing… he made himself into a ball and started… spinning. And I mean fast. So fast that by the time he hit the ground, he just shot forward. No crash whatsoever. There was barely even an impact.” She shook her head, as if she still had trouble believing it. “Then he just kept going. Treated a one-thousand-foot drop like a hop off the couch.”

Fleetfoot stepped forward. “Half the team split with me once we were clear of the cliff. We went another way to cut him off, and we even got him surrounded. But when we engaged…” Fleetfoot turned away, appearing as if there was something on the wall worth glaring at, “things didn’t go very well.”

“What do you mean?” Umbra pressed.

“She means running fast wasn’t even the beginning of what this thing could do,” said Spitfire. “I’ve been around the block, and I haven’t seen a whole lot of guys, pony or otherwise, with moves like that. I’m not sure if he’s really a demon or not, but he sure as hell fights like one.”

“The whole time we’d get inches away, only for him to dodge and hit us back even harder,” Fire Streak added.

“I can vouch for that,” said Soarin, rubbing his jaw. “Misty Fly and I still have a loose tooth or two from those kicks.”

“We tried to swarm him all at once and take him down quick,” Spitfire said, “but then he did that rolling-into-a-ball thing again. One second he was spinning on the ground, the next he’s shooting around like a damn rubber ball.” She grimaced. “My whole team… taken down in a second. It was so fast the only thing I saw were a few flashes of light.”

Pinkie Pie and Spike murmured some inaudible words to each other. An increasingly worried Fluttershy nudged into Applejack’s side. Rainbow Dash appeared more and more cross as the tale went on.

“You’ve got a good eye, boss,” Soarin chuckled. “I only saw one. The one that hit me in the face, that is.”

A brief smile touched Spitfire’s lips, and she continued. “With my team incapacitated, I had no choice but to go after him alone. As bad as things seemed, I had one more trick that I thought for sure I could catch him with.”

Spike scampered up inquisitively. “What is it?”

Spitfire looked down to him with a small smirk.“Sorry, kid. Wonderbolt secret.” She resisted laughing at Spike’s disappointed frown. “But I can tell you that using it can get me going really, really fast.” She motioned her head to Rainbow. “Almost as fast as Dash there when she does her sonic rainboom.”

Spike ‘ooh’d in wonder, and Rainbow Dash beamed at the praise.

“I was gaining on him. I was so close I could see the whites of his eyes.” She closed her eyes, her jaw tightening. “I thought after the first two attempts I had seen everything he was capable of… Turns out I was wrong.”

Luna’s forehead creased. “What happened, Captain?”

Spitfire opened her eyes. “A sonic boom, Your Highness. Out of nowhere, the hedgehog went so fast he broke the sound barrier.”

Nearly everyone in the room audibly gasped. Even the Wonderbotls—except for Soarin, the only one she had told since it happened—were flabbergasted. Even Gatekeeper and Celestia were visibly surprised.

“Hold on an apple-pickin’ minute!” Applejack exclaimed. “Are you sayin’ this mystery critter that’s not even a pegasus… or pony of any kind for that matter, can do a sonic rainboom?! Just like Rainbow Dash?!”

Spitfire shook her head. “No rainbow. Just the boom.” She faced Celestia. “Whatever this thing was, it can go supersonic in the blink of an eye. Even going at my absolute top speed, he dusted me.”

The room was stunned at the revelation. Shock and astonishment of varying degrees permeated the guards, princesses, and most of the Ponyvillians. As for Rainbow Dash, Spitfire’s final remark struck the most negative chord of anything she had heard so far. Disbelief mixed with a growing anger. Her mouth slightly parted, her upper lip curling and nostrils flaring into the prelude of an offended snarl.

“And you know the worst part? The entire time, he treated the whole thing like a game. Like it was all just for kicks…” Spitfire lowered her head, her face tightening. “I’m sorry, Your Majesties. You were counting on us… on me. When all else failed, you depended on us to get the job done… and we let you down.” Similar looks of shame were shared by the other Wonderbolts.

“No.” Shining Armor stepped forward, taking off his helmet. “If anypony’s to blame here, it’s me. I was the last line of defense for Canterlot. Its protection was my duty… I’m the one who failed.”

“Shiny, you can’t blame yourself for this,” Twilight said in a sad voice. “Nopony could have known what this creature could do. It’s not your fault.”

“But it is my responsibility. If I had been more diligent, the Wonderbolts wouldn’t have even been necessary. I should have been able to stop him myself.” He closed his eyes, grimacing as his ears dropped. “But I failed… and now it’s led to all this. Ponies all across Equestria are in fear because I couldn’t do my job.”

“Self-pity doesn’t suit you, Captain Armor.” For the first time since the meeting had begun, Gatekeeper spoke. The words from his lips rolled like thunder even at a moderate volume. “Nor is it deserved. Your sister is right. You were up against an unknown enemy with undetermined abilities. Until the final moments with Captain Spitfire at a much later time, nopony in all Equestria had any clue to the full range of the target’s capabilities. You used your training, worked with what you had, and at the end of the day nopony was seriously hurt. Sometimes that is victory enough.”

He swung to the Night Guard siblings and Wonderbolts. “That goes for the rest of you. From what I’ve heard today, you should all be commended for your bravery and quick thinking. While you may not have captured the target, your actions most certainly prevented any immediate harm from coming to our ponies. That alone is worthy of pride. The citizens of Equestria have your thanks.” He saluted them. “As do I.”

The guards and Wonderbolts returned the gesture, standing tall, and looking considerably more high-spirited. The girls and Spike couldn’t help but admire the old warhorse’s surprising charisma. Even Luna seemed impressed.

Shining Armor failed to find words at first. But he would regain his composure, following his fellow military ponies in salute. “You honor me with your praise, General.”

“Oldest lesson of command, Captain: never let victories go to your head, or failures go to your heart.” Gatekeeper gave a friendly glance toward Twilight. “And for the record, Ms. Sparkle, it’s thirty-nine years, eight months, and sixteen days.”

Twilight grinned sheepishly and blushed.

The old unicorn then turned to Celestia. “Anything to add, Your Highness?”

“I couldn’t have said better myself, General.” She allowed herself a brief smile before turning to the others, her becoming serious. “Nonetheless, we mustn’t let our reality be clouded. For now this Blue Demon runs freely, and the ponies of Equestria fear for their safety. We must find this creature and deal with it.”

She paused, taking a breath, allowing both the others in the room and herself to collect their thoughts. “Unfortunately, tracking it down may prove difficult. There have been multiple sightings throughout the morning. Manehattan, Tall Tale, Baltimare. Reports have come in from several cities from ponies that claim to have seen the creature or heard loud echoes nearby, presumably from the sonic booms this ‘hedgehog’ can create.”

“Ooh! And Appleoosa too!” Pinkie Pie squealed, hopping up and down in place. “Cheerilee’s class said they saw him on the way back from their field trip!”

“Ain’t the best at keepin’ a low profile, is he?” Applejack mused.

“The difficulty is in how quickly it can apparently travel,” said Luna. “To reach from one end of Equestria to another in just a few hours… Also, the sightings themselves are fleeting. Ponies are only able to get a glimpse of the monstrosity before it’s gone again.”

“He does know we’re after him,” added Spitfire. “No doubt he’s making himself scarce to avoid detection.”

“But it is odd,” Shining Armor pondered, stroking his chin. “The best way to do that would be to avoid populous areas altogether. If he made sure to stay away from cities and towns, we probably wouldn’t have most of those reports.”

“He’s probably terrified…” Fluttershy said meekly. “Being chased around in the middle of the night… all the fighting… If that happened to me, I’d probably run away without looking where I was going too. Just to get away from it all…”

“I don’t think so,” Night Flare interjected. “This isn’t an animal or some mindless monster we’re dealing with. He’s a thinking, sapient being like the rest of us. Besides, of all the things I saw from rodent boy last night, fear wasn’t one of them.”

Umbra’s head turned a few degrees. “Is that admiration I hear, Lieutenant?” Her voice lowered in pitch; perhaps a warning.

“Analysis, sis. You heard the Bolts. Our hedgehog here seems to be kind of a thrill-seeker. Running scared doesn’t seem to fit the guy’s profile.”

“So, what then?” Spitfire asked in a wry tone. “You think he just decided to go on a cross-country joyride?”

Night Flare could only shrug.

“More like showing off!” blurted Rainbow Dash. “First he gets away, now he wants to rub it in everypony’s faces!”

“Actually, Captain Armor might be onto something.” Everypony’s heads turned towards Gatekeeper. “Let’s assess everything our demon has done up until now: he appears out of nowhere in Canterlot. He runs. He says he’s not meant to be here. At every encounter with ponies, his first instinct is to retreat.

“Princess Luna mentioned a huge black vortex above Canterlot. The description of its appearance and emanation, and the creature’s consistent responses to Equestrian forces leads me to conclude that this hole was some kind of portal. A warp from a distant location, not unlike certain spells we ponies are capable of casting ourselves. I believe Captain Armor was correct. This isn’t the behavior of an enemy trying to avoid detection; rather, that of a creature that’s lost and trying to find a way home.”

Various emotions danced across the others’ faces. If all that information was indeed correct, there was one other significant conclusion to it.

“So you think the hedgehog was telling the truth.” Spitfire voiced the unspoken thought on everyone’s mind, her tone skeptical.

“I can’t be certain, but it would explain a great deal of his behavior.”

The ponies thought it over in silence. A few had to concede that the reasoning was sound. Others were less than convinced.

“Regardless of the creature’s intentions, it is pertinent that we take action,” Celestia intoned. “If it continues to roam with impunity, it’s only a matter of time until another confrontation ensues, and somepony else gets hurt. Or worse.”

Twilight could sense where this was going. “Which is why you summoned us, right, Princess?”

“Yes, my faithful student. It seems once again your fellow ponies need your help. As the saviors of Equestria, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, I ask now that you help us to find this Blue Demon before any more harm comes to pass.”

Rainbow Dash was the first to answer the call. “Leave it to us, Princess!”

Suppressing a giggle at her friend’s enthusiasm, Twilight said: “Right. You can count on us, Princess Celestia.”

“Don’t worry Your Highness, we’ll find that critter!”

“Here here!”

“Okey dokey lokey!”

“Um… okay.”

As the others voiced their agreement, Night Flare and Shining Armor looked on with smiles. The former out of respect for the courage them all, the latter out of pride for the boldness and initiative of his little sister. ‘She’s growing up right in front of me,’ Shining Armor thought.

“Thank you, all of you,” Celestia said gratefully. Her eyes then fall shut, and she exhaled softly through her nose. “But I’m afraid that may not be the end of it.”

“More…?” Fluttershy quivered.

Calling on her magic, Celestia brought out the scroll Raven had given to her earlier, unrolling and scanning it. “A string of other strange phenomena has been noticed. Ponies have described large, floating rings mysteriously appearing throughout the land. Even more peculiar, sources have described earthquakes where none should be possible. First the word came from our operatives stationed near Somnambula, then further north.”

Confusion reigned among the guards, but Twilight and the others showed sudden realization. “We heard that too!” said Spike. “Cheerilee said one hit the train on their way back from Appleloosa!”

“Which places it at an even further distance away from our previous reports,” Luna remarked perturbedly. “It is most troubling...”

“Do you believe they’re related to the Demon’s appearance, Princess?” Shining Armor asked Celestia.

“I can’t say.” Celestia squinted at the parchment. “The closeness of it all is quite the coincidence… but whether or not they’re related is anypony’s guess. Even so, we must first focus on finding this alien. The most recent news indicates–”

The throne room door burst open, surprising everypony. A guard galloped in, sliding to a stop in front of them. “Princess Celestia! We have a situation!”

---

Next to one of the many establishments on Restaurant Row, Able, Fable, and Gable had their faces pressed close to a wooden fence that sealed off the rest of the alley. They peered through the gaps, gazing with rapt attention at the spinning gold ring that floated in midair a few feet away.

“Whoa…” Fable marveled. “What do you think it is?”

“No idea,” said an equally perplexed Gable.

To the left of them, Able wasn’t content to merely admire the discovery from a distance; instead, he was now trying to paw and grip his way over the thinly-spaced boards of the fence.

“Able, what do you think you’re doing?” Gable questioned.

“Trying to get over this thing to get a better view, what’s it look like?”

Fable suddenly didn’t like the way things were going and took a few steps back. Gable shook his head at his brother’s antics. “How many times do we have to go through this, Able? You’re not gonna be able to climb something like that, I don’t know why you keep trying.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re close-minded!” Able snapped back. Gripping the edges of two separate posts, he awkwardly started ascending the fence. “I just gotta get my hoof between the little…” He pawed his right back leg between the thin spaces, and then angled it, seeking any traction he could use for leverage. Somehow his hoof stayed in place. The climb was ungraceful and slow, but sure enough, he was able to work his way up and get his front half over the top of the fence. “There, you see what I’m doing? My name’s Able ‘cause I’m able to do everything I put my mind to while you haters just sit there and watch!”

He punctuated his last word with a push off the top of the fence with his rear hooves and a graceful land on the street below. Unexpectedly, however, the force of his pushing off the wood made the entire fence wobble and dislodge from its loose formation and fall backward—right on top of Gable, who was buried underneath a cascade of clattering wood.

Not even looking back, Able trotted up to the spinning, levitating gold ring. He stared in wordless awe as Fable came up to join him. Never in his—admittedly short—life had he seen anything like it. He slowly lifted a hoof up, wanting to feel it.

“Able, I don’t know if you should touch it,” Fable warned.

“Oh, you worry too much.”

The instant Able touched the strange ring, he got goosebumps. The ring was smooth. Cool to the touch. But more, it seemed to radiate some kind of subtle, indescribable force. Gable could feel something emanating from the shimmering object, and it sent small shivers down his spine.

Fable watched cautiously. “Well? How is it?”

Able pursed his lips. “Cool. And… tingly?”

By now, Gable had plodded over. He was just about to start tearing Able a new one when he suddenly noticed a distinct lack of sun where there was prior. “Uh… did it get dark all of a sudden?”

His brothers quickly became aware of the same darkness. The three looked up and out to the opposite end of the alley and saw that they were standing a shadow. Something big was looming in the sky above; and that something was coming closer.

Fable gulped. “Guys… I think we better go home now.”

Nothing else needed to be said. The three colts turned on their heels and scampered back the way they came.

A mysterious dirigible floated through the air above Canterlot. Its reinforced, gunmetal-gray gondola was armed with a set of three cannons on each of its sides, and hung from metal trappings that both stretched around suspended it from a large red balloon. Emblazoned on each side of the balloon, a bizarre, toothy face colored white. It moved ominously over the streets and towards the castle. Ponies below stopped and stared; some pointing up towards it, some retreating indoors, all gripped with a new sense of fear at what it could mean. The airship drifted continuously north—straight for Canterlot Castle.

Over at the palace, Princesses Celestia and Luna moved briskly through the entryway, the seven Ponyville residents and sibling Night Guard officers close behind. The two alicorns stopped on the edge of the balcony. A team of pegasi and Earth pony guards were already positioned: three in front of the ground floor doorway, two hovering over the walkway, and two additional pairs on each of the second-floor entrance, protecting the princesses’ sides. Twilight, Spike and the others stared up with nervous at the approaching ship.

“What in Equestria is going on now?” Rarity muttered.

Fluttershy shrank backward, pressing into the sides of her friends. “I don’t like this…”

“Don’t lose your nerve, sugarcube.” Applejack patted the frightened mare’s shoulder. “We’ve got the princesses and everypony else here. It’ll be all right.”

Gatekeeper came from behind and stepped up to the front of the group’s right next to Celestia. His gaze trained on the airship, now a hundred feet away and closing, for a brief moment before he turned to meet Celestia’s eye. She nodded to him, and then he quickly strode behind her, to the opposite end of the balcony and down the stairs.

There was a metallic hiss. A large hatch on the bottom of the dirigible’s gondola slid open. Out from it lowered what the ponies observed to be a sort of round, metal half-orb. As the odd contraption levitated down to the castle, they realized it was a vessel of type. And it had a passenger.

The Egg Mobile stopped about twenty-five feet from the second-floor balcony, still high over the ponies’ heads. When it did, Dr. Eggman stood up to take in the view of the creatures beneath him, allowing them to do the same. The sight of this clothed, nearly-hairless, ape-like creature was a shock to the Equestrians. Not knowing what to think, they said nothing as the scientist’s mouth curved up in a slightly unnerving way.

Turning his attention to Celestia, he brought left arm across his chest and gave a short bow. “A pleasure to meet you at last, Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

Celestia’s brow twitched. This odd being knew her name? Not impossible, given the venerable kingdom and legacy she had spent this past millennia building. But still…

Catching her sister’s eye, Celestia motioned for her to remain put. A beat of her large wings carried her up off the balcony and down to the bottom of the stairs where she landed gracefully, stepping forward to meet this visitor. “It seems my reputation precedes me. But I’m afraid I know nothing of you. Perhaps you could enlighten us, stranger?”

“And we would appreciate if you were swift about it,” Luna added curtly. “You’ve come at a rather inopportune time, and we have scant time for showmanship.”

Eggman regarded her. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to take up more of your valuable time, Princess… Luna, correct?” The younger diarch’s eyes thinned. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Eggman, the world’s most brilliant scientific mind! And I—”

A bout of giggles interrupted the doctor’s monologue. Pinkie Pie lay on her back, holding her stomach, and shaking with laughter. “Tee hee hahaha! H-He said… he’s an E-Eggman! Hahahahaha! That’s the funniest name I’ve ever heard! Ohoho, I can’t! My tummy hurts! Ahahahaha!”

“SILENCE!” Eggman suddenly snapped. “You insufferable nitwit! You dare to mock me?! I’ll have you drawn and quartered in a–” Realization seemed to come back to the doctor mid-rant. He cleared his throat and composed himself. “Ahem, pardon me.”

The royal sisters traded looks.

“As I was saying… my name is Dr. Eggman,” a hoof in the mouth from Applejack stifled any more of Pinkie Pie’s cackles, “and I have come before you today on a matter of great importance.”

“May I ask where it is that you come from?” Celestia asked.

“The ‘where’ is unimportant, Your Majesty. Nothing to concern yourself with,” said Eggman, adjusting his glasses. “The ‘why’ is far more pressing. I can confirm what you’ve already deduced: I am not of your land, nor of any you’ve ever encountered. My home lies far, far away from here. It so happens that I’ve stumbled across your quaint little nation by complete accident.”

Her head tilted slightly. “By accident, you say?”

“Yes. More to the point, in the process I’ve lost several extremely valuable pieces of my property.”

“...And what exactly would you ask of me, doctor?”

Eggman smiled. “Actually, Your Highness, my request is quite simple: that you do nothing.”

Celestia frowned. “Nothing?”

“Precisely. All I ask is that you allow me and my… ‘cohorts’ to scour your land in search of my missing items. Once I reacquire what it is I seek, I will be on my merry way, and you will likely never see me again.”

Celestia’s eyes hung on the doctor for a moment before she spoke. “Perhaps we can assist you in locating this property of yours. It could make your search go more quickly and smoothly.”

“That will be unnecessary, dear Princess. These items are of a very particular nature. Only I have the means to locate them, and I assure you I can do so in no time at all.” Celestia didn’t immediately respond, mulling over the doctor’s request; considering every aspect of his arrival as well as his words.

“So then, I trust you find my terms simple enough?” Eggman said. “Give me leave to find what I’m looking so that I may resume my usual business. Once I’ve recovered what I seek, my underlings and I will depart your fair land. Make no attempts to resist or interfere, and any… collateral damage will be minimal. Otherwise…”

Celestia’s magenta eyes narrowed “Otherwise…?”

Eggman showed his teeth in a grim smile. “Otherwise the Eggman Empire will grind your nation into dust.”

Several mouths dropped open. A number of the ponies didn’t actually think they heard that right; the sheer audacity of it. Twilight and her friends wore looks of shock. Night Flare tensed, reaching a wing out to rest it on his bow. Umbra lifted her right hoof off the ground, feeling a fresh awareness of the saber hanging on her left side. But none of their reactions paled in comparison to Luna’s. Her’s was a look of complete outrage—with the emphasis on rage.

“So, Your Highness? What do you say?”

Luna bared her teeth in a snarl. “You DARE?!” Her folded wings snapped up vertically—a wordless signal. Umbra responded immediately, drawing her sword in a flash. Night Flare pulled his bow out of its clip on his belt, stood to two legs and notched an arrow. The other guards angled their spears towards Eggman’s floating vehicle.

Celestia swung her head around. “Peace, Luna!” she shouted, unfurling her own wings, the gesture directing the guards to hold.

“But sister…!” Luna tried to say.

“I will handle this.” Celestia’s voice was firm, yet calm. She faced back to Eggman. “You have made your point, doctor.”

Eggman laughed, practically oozing a menacing arrogance. “Wonderful! Now that we have an understanding, I can move on to more important—”

“Now I will make mine.”

Surprised and annoyed at being cut off mid-sentence again, Eggman looked back down at Celestia with a questioning grunt.

Celestia’s wings flapped once before they resumed their tall display, adding a measure of height and grandness to her image. “I have ruled Equestria for a long time, Dr. Eggman. And I have lived for even longer still. I’ve seen the dawning and conclusions of entire eras of history. I’ve watched countries freeze and cities burn. I’ve seen entire civilizations rise like the morning sun and fall like the dark of night. And in that time, I have also met a great many different beings.”

She smiled gently and allowed her eyes to close, her tone softening as centuries’ worth of feelings, comrades, and memories passed through her mind. “Many were kind and respectable creatures, be them my subjects or not. A number of them were one-time vagrants and threats who sought to do ill against our kind, but were shown something better, and ultimately became friends. And some…”

The smile vanished, and when she next spoke, her voice held an inauspicious edge. “Some were little more than black-hearted fiends. Vile tormentors whose only desire was to steal, kill, and destroy. Scourges that cared nothing for the land or lives they would ruin, all in the name of banditry, conquest, or mere entertainment.”

She paused, letting her words hang in the air. Her eyes opened and she looked intently up at Eggman. “You arrive in my city with a massive warship in tow—an act blatantly meant to intimidate. You carry yourself with an unquestionable air of superiority and maliciousness. And you casually threaten all those who call Equestria home, demonstrating you have no qualms about harming others to achieve your own selfish goals.”

A smirk slowly grew on Eggman’s face.

“It is clear to me you have a twisted mind and a wicked heart.” Her eyelids shut. “You ask what I say to your offer?” In an instant, a golden corona of power flared to life around her horn. When her eyes opened again, they revealed only pupil-less glows of white. “ONLY THIS!”

A single wingbeat took her several meters into the air. With a sweep of her head, she fired a blast of yellow energy easily a foot in diameter towards Eggman, which collided with his floating pod. It jerked backward, but still Celestia did not relent. “I will allow NO ONE to harm my ponies! Equestria will NEVER submit! Least of all to a petty tyrant like YOU! Not as long as there is still breath in my body!” Her righteous anger fed her power. The yellow laser intensified until it was as bright as the sun she raised every morning, forcing those below to shield their eyes from the glare.

But then, through the light, both Celestia and the onlookers noticed something: Eggman’s vehicle wasn’t moving.

That’s when they saw it—a circular, almost see-through barrier surrounded the Egg Mobile. To the amazement of all, it had completely stopped Celestia’s attack. The concentrated beam of magic carrying every bit of their almighty ruler’s will to protect her subjects, that no mere mortal should have been able to stand up against, was easily repelled, the only result being the wispy trails of gold that danced off the point of impact and shimmered away into nothingness.

Behind the protective sphere, Eggman was unharmed.

He adjusted his dark glasses with a grin, mocking Celestia as if her best efforts were nothing but a cheap light show. The blast then rippled strangely at the point of contact with the barrier before exploding out in a powerful backlash, back towards its source. Celestia had time only for a weak gasp; a pained cry followed as the reflected wave of her own power struck her out of the air. She plummeted down and hit the ground, her body bouncing and rolling to a rough stop in the dirt. For a painfully long moment, she there lay on her side, unmoving.

Silence. Dead, disbelieving silence gripped the air after Celestia’s fall. It shattered with a set of screams, first from Luna, then many others.

“Celestia!”

“Princess!”

Celestia never heard them. All she could hear was a high pitched ringing noise that drowned out everything around her. She might have hit her head, she realized belatedly. Lifting her head, the world around her was a disorienting mess of twisted blurs. With all the strength she could muster, she tried to gather herself, tried to push herself back to her hooves. She succeeded in getting one of her front hooves underneath her, only steady enough to slightly lift her chest. As her surroundings started coming back to her, the first thing she could make out was Eggman’s laughter.

“Your past glories blind you to your present reality, Princess,” he said cruelly. “You fail to see that the most powerful being in the world stands before you. Allow me to correct your oversight.” With the press of a button, six masses fell from the Egg Balloon’s still open hatch. Six robots dropped down in front of the castle steps: four Egg Pawns, and two Flappers that hovered in midair, all with guns leveled at the ponies.

“I advise you and the other beasts of burden to not make any sudden moves, little moon horse,” Eggman said to Luna. With a snap of his fingers, one of the bots shifted its weapon and fired several shots at the staircase’s stone pedestal. It exploded into dust, frightening most of the ponies above. “Unless you’re certain those plush-looking bodies of yours are many times stronger than stone.”

Luna and the guards glowered at the madman. Umbra squeezed the grip of her saber so tightly it shook. If only he was a little closer…

The others weren’t faring any better. Spike hugged onto Twilight’s leg. Rarity hid behind Applejack, who along with Rainbow Dash did her best to keep a brave face. Fluttershy shrunk to the floor, shaking like a leaf.

Twilight racked her brain, panic at the threat warring with the desire to help her friends and teacher. But a solution eluded her. What were these things? That… whatever it was that just shot out from one of their arms? It was impossibly fast. One second part of the stairway had been there, the next it was destroyed. How were they supposed to get past that? Any spell she’d try to cast wouldn’t be quick enough. What move could she, could any of them make that wouldn’t result in their immediate end?

Celestia still pushed against the ground, her body trembling with the effort. The blast hadn’t injured her, but it had taken all of her strength. But at least she had regained her senses.

“I have to say, ‘Your Highness,’ I’m a bit disappointed,” Eggman said. “I offer you an olive branch and you knock it from my hand? I expected more diplomacy from a bunch of weak-willed farm animals.” His taunting drew further hateful glares from below. “But because I’m feeling particularly generous, I’m willing to give you one more chance. You will guarantee that none of your little toy soldiers or any of the other insignificant equine you rule over will interfere with my goal.” A malicious grin spread across his features. “Unless you’d like some corpses to pile up on your conscience.”

There was the sound of the robots cocking their weapons. The spear-holding guards tensed, and the six mares shrank back. Horror overcame Celestia.

“So, Your Majesty? What will your answer be?”

Celestia’s teeth squeezed together. She’d tried to strike this foe down right away to defend her subjects. Tried, and failed. Now the lives of her sister, her loyal guards, and the guardians of Equestria hung by a thread. As much as it turned her stomach… she had to appease this villain. At least until her ponies were out of harm’s way. She opened her mouth to respond.

“NO WAY!”

It took a moment for Celestia to realize the words she heard weren’t her own. The confused Equestrians lifted their heads and ears, right before a round shape illuminated in blue light flashed across their lines of sight. It struck all six of Eggman’s robots in quick succession, flipping off the last airborne Flapper in a high vault and landing in a crouch in front of Celestia.

The bystanders were awestruck as Sonic rose to his feet in full view. He stared right at Eggman, putting himself directly between his archenemy and Celestia. The elder princess stared at his back, her mouth slightly agape, and her eyes twinkling with a multitude of emotions and thoughts.

“Did y’all see that?” Applejack said quietly. “He just took out all six of ‘em… in the blink of an eye!”

Twilight stared with wide eyes. “Shining?” she breathed. “Is that…?”

“It’s him,” Shining Armor answered in a harsh whisper. “That’s the creature.”

The girls gasped.

‘That’s him?’ Twilight thought. ‘That’s the monster that attacked Canterlot?’

Rainbow Dash’s face was tight as she stared intently and sourly at the blue hedgehog. This stringy thing took down the Wonderbolts? He didn’t look like anything special to her.

Fluttershy placed a hoof over her mouth. Even Pinkie was unusually silent, only a soft ‘ooh’ escaping her lips as they all watched the confrontation unfold.

“You’ve got terrible manners, Egghead,” Sonic said, his tone carrying its typical snark. “Dropping in uninvited? Threatening the hosts? Wrecking the décor? You make a lousy house guest.”

Eggman growled. “I knew you were still alive, you miserable rodent.”

“And I knew it was only a matter of time before you made your move.” Sonic’s smile slipped. “Was making Mobius miserable not enough for you? You had to go and drag another innocent world into your delusions of grandeur?”

Eggman huffed scornfully. “Oh, please. These pathetic ponies are barely a step above livestock. Turning them into the next batteries for my army would be too good for them.”

Sonic scowled. “Different dimension, same zero respect for life,” he said with disgust. “They’re not yours to terrorize any more than the citizens of Mobius are.”

“Everything is mine to do whatever I please with, hedgehog. If I were to decide to turn this primitive collection of pastures into my new industrial capital, it would be their privilege to serve a small part in my empire’s further elevation.” Eggman fixed the ponies below with a contemptuous stare. “But then again, that would be too good for them. This antiquated backwater would make a better landfill than it would a seat for my throne.”

Some of the insulted ponies showed anger at his words. Most showed fear.

“You’ve got eggs for brains if you think I’m gonna let that happen!” Sonic declared, raising a tightly-squeezed fist. His words turned several of the ponies’ heads. Many of their expressions now held puzzlement; an almost hopeful uncertainty. As if they were suddenly looking at him in a whole new light. Sonic half-stepped his right foot backwards at an angle, readying himself in a loose stance. “So, let’s just skip ahead to the part where I reintroduce my soles to your wide butt.”

Eggman scoffed. “You might be disappointed in the results.” He adjusted his glasses, a foreboding smile coming to his face. “You know, I hadn’t originally planned to waste my army’s ammo or energy on these frail little equines. I was simply going to cow them into doing my bidding with a show of force. But since you’re here now… why not have a little early access!”

He slammed his hand down on another button on the Egg Mobile’s control panel. Two small, circular panels on either side of the pod’s front-mounted lamp slid open. A pair of gun barrels extended forth, aiming directly at Sonic.

Alarm flooded Sonic’s face with a sudden realization—the downed alicorn behind him was directly in the line of fire. Speed was of the essence. Quicker than the blink of an eye, Sonic spun around and—with an ease that surprised the much larger Celestia—scooped her up in his arms, gunshots ringing and bullets flying even as he reached for her. He shot to the right and carried her out of harm’s way just in time, a couple of rounds of the Egg Mobile’s gunfire passing through the end of her ethereal tail.

“Get down!” Most of the ponies didn’t have to wait for Night Flare’s cry to dive for cover. In a split second, Luna cast a barrier around her two officers and the seven young heroes behind her, shielding them from the spray of bullets that buffeted her sphere of blue energy.

“He’s got the princess!” Rainbow yelled, watching Sonic fly off with Celestia.

Again Eggman growled, cursing his foe’s reflexes. “You can run, hedgehog, but you can’t hide. Not with what I’m about to bring to bare.”

“Are you MAD?!” Eggman turned his gaze back down to the voice. It was Luna. “Do you realize the gravity of what you’ve just done?! Attacking a princess of Equestria is considered an act of war!”

“Then welcome to the front lines, ‘Your Majesty,’” Eggman jeered. His Egg Mobile turned right and started to float up and away.

Rainbow Dash, seeing him escaping, sprang into action. “Oh, no you don’t!” Before anyone could stop her, she blasted straight for the doctor. Only to be met with the impenetrable wall and shocking force of the shield that protected him. Painful electric bolts coursed through her body and she was sent spiraling away.

“Not particularly bright, are you?” Eggman sneered. He continued unimpeded towards his airship, leaving the ponies behind. Now was the time. With a face full of dark intent, he pressed another switch on the control panel. “Game start.”

---

Sonic zoomed through the streets. His usual blue trail now had some additional sparkle from Celestia’s flowing mane and tail. In seconds, he’d carried her nearly a mile away from where Eggman had tried to end both their lives, coming to the top of a small hill overlooking the Canterlot suburbs.

To say that Celestia was surprised was an understatement. Being swept off her hooves like a distressed damsel for the first time in many, many centuries was quite the unexpected occurrence; though, not an unpleasant one.

“There we go, this should be far enough.” Sonic shifted the larger alicorn so she could stand, not releasing her until all four hooves were on the ground. “You should be safe out here, Your Highness. Sorry for the rough ride.”

Celestia look him over with an odd expression, but ultimately smiled. “Thank you.”

Sonic returned it with one of his own, rubbing his nose in trademark fashion.

The happy moment was ended when an explosion rang out from behind them. Both of them snapped their heads in the direction of the sound. Celestia drew a worried breath—the orange glow of flames and accompanying column of smoke was visible towards the center of Canterlot. Above it, she could make out what looked like a giant, shiny blue wasp high above downtown. The vague shapes of dozens of more robots descended from the giant battleship.

“Here they come,” said Sonic. “You have to get your ponies off the streets. Hunker down and keep yourselves out of harm’s way. Leave the robots and Fat-man to me.” He crouched back and made ready to take off towards the army of automatons.

“Wait.”

Celestia’s voice halted him mid-step, causing him to look back over his shoulder. The alicorn was gazing down at him with a scrutinizing look.

Celestia, for her part, wasn’t quite sure what to think of the so-called Blue Demon anymore. With all that happened, she was certain he’d be miles away from any semblance of Equestrian authority. Coming back to the scene of his alleged crimes alone seemed irrational. But not only had he returned, he’d seemingly done so to oppose another who sought to do them harm. And rescuing her? It went against every piece of logic that identified him as a threat. Even so, some uncertainties remained. “Who are you? Why have you come to Equestria?”

Sonic started to answer, but was cut off by the sound of laser fire in the distance. Explanations would have to wait. “Let’s hold off on all that ‘til later. Right now, there’s a city to save.”

Those were his last words before he burst off towards downtown, a familiar fire burning in his heart. “Time to do that hero thing!”

================================================================

Artwork:

Drizzle Hoof

River Mouth

Boomer

Life Line

Cloud Zapper

Roancoat

Grit Vigil

Able, Fable, and Gable

Honey Sweet

Floribunda

Gatekeeper

Author's Note:

Holy crap, that's a lot of words. 😩 I had no idea it would stretch this long, but there was a whole lot that I wanted to happen to set things up. Small notice, a bunch of artwork for the secondary characters is still in the works. They'll be coming out sooner or later.

Disclaimer: Cloud Zapper belongs to Cloudzapper8, River Mouth and Drizzle Hoof belong to Raugos. Life Line's design comes from Silver Quill's old A Princess' Tears comic series. Big thanks to these guys for allowing me to use their OCs to expand the Royal Guard.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. And happy New Year to all.

Comments

[ruthim345]

Now this is truly a Christmas gift. Thank you.

[cornholio4]

Now the equestrians now have to see that sonic is a hero

[pika_the_sylveon]

Whens the next update

[crazybee]

One Hell of a Christmas gift! Thanks

[Curtis Wildcat]

There have been multiple sightings throughout the morning. Manehattan, Tall Tale, Baltimore.

Baltimare, I'm assuming?

Anyway, looking nice so far and I'm continuing to enjoy this. Keep it up. :)

[Super Saiyan D]

10004025
Now it wants to auto correct. Thank you kindly.

[FuntimeFoxy]

This was an amazing story, Thanks for making it!!!!

[Regret12]

Damn! This is one hell of a long chapter. Great work! Now, play that boss music!

[Super Saiyan D]

10003848
Might not be that easy.

[RobKuro85]

Overall a pretty good chapter. Very rarely do writers give the other characters besides the main ones so much depth like you do. The scene of the Main Six, the princesses, and military staff, all giving their reports and views on Sonic(Blue Demon) was great.I can probably see after the fight with Eggman, Sonic will spend some time with all the ponies he's "encountered" during all the chases. Get to know them better, and bury some hatchets, before setting off on a big adventure in Equestria.

[Kichi]

And the hero appear to the rescue

[Supershadic06]

Yesssssssssssssss perfect chapter thank you reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Hawksfive]

I'm sure it gonna be fun writing the action parts with sonic being more high octane than you typical hero. I can't wait for the next one. Good work dude

[Super Saiyan D]

10004778
It's only appropriate. There's a whole society beyond the Mane 6. Something so significant happening will naturally affect more than just them. And even side characters should have motivations and personality.

[RobKuro85]

10008480
And I love it, one major arc I can probably see coming is Rainbow Dash, and her wanting more out of life then pushing clouds. Finding a connection with Sonic, learning from his free spirit and views on life, can figure out her life a bit better.

[RainbowAnime]

What surprise intro!!!

[NeoKun]

im really enjoying this!

[Super Saiyan D]

10009137
Well, no spoilers, but it won't go quite that smoothly.

10010845
Happy to hear it.

[NeoKun]

10010924
hope more will come my friend :)

[Super Saiyan D]

10010927
It will. I ain't giving up on this one.

[NeoKun]

10010930
can't wait to see shadow in the story.

[RobKuro85]

10010924
well nothing never comes easy, and I like it like that. Gives the story more intrigue. Gaining the trust of all the ponies he's ran from will take some time, so I'm interested to see how this will go after the fight.

[kinghearts]

Life Line looked more and more like she was struggling to keep a straight face. “Evidently, the prince was with company at the time.”

There were several reactions. Rainbow Dash busted out laughing. Applejack lowered her hat, trying to conceal her snickering. Fluttershy flushed red, averting her eyes. Rarity continued to smirk down the hall, now practically radiating vindictive pleasure. Twilight, however, was confused. “So he… had a friend over?” She canted her head. “Like, a sleepover?”

Oh Twilight you precious book horse never change

“Please, just Night Flare. And it’s our pleasure to meet the great heroines of Equestria.” He smiled at Twilight. “Hope you didn’t take offense, Twilight. I was just messing around. It’s what I do.”

Twilight scrunched up her face in a little pout. “None taken… I think.”

Sorry pal, that's Sunset thing so I think she was offended

What a great Christmas gift and way to end the year, this chapter was so much worth waiting for, dude you freaking outdid youself here but dude that cliffhanger, you're killing me with that...I NEED MORE please but in all seriousness awesome chapter can't wait for the next one

[RainbowAnime]

Go Sonic Go!!!!

[Even Evil Has Standards]

Able, Fable, and Gable are Huey, Dewey, and Louie?

[Super Saiyan D]

10032385
Correct. Side characters from one of the micro comics.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/9/9/423686.jpg

Floribunda and Honey Sweet are from the same issue.

[kinghearts]

Also don't kill me for this but I couldn't help but hear ths in my head the second Sonic appeared:

[honorthegam3r]

Love this, Sonics entrance was awesome and I can’t wait to see sonic wreck egg man

[Late_Night]

so, this updating soon?

[dragstormer]

Ow man am not sure Equestria are ready for the blue blur or egg Man

[RobKuro85]

10113352
In Sonic's case, the citizens of Equestria couldn't catch him, and got humiliated twice now. Hearing news of Sonic running all over the the place in such a short timespan. For Eggman, it's clear he's been gathering intelligence about the realm for awhile now. And his technology has overpowered Celestia, and had cornered the Mane Six and and royal guards. That really has set the notion, that the ponies will be no match for Eggman. So Sonic's their only hope. Unless later in the story, the ponies can get strong enough to fight Eggman's mechs.

[RainbowAnime]

I am looking for the next chapter!

[Shadic the hedgehog]

Is sonic getting a harem because I'm all for that and I'm getting that vibe that he is gonna get a harem

[Super Saiyan D]

10150399
...Never in a million years. This is a story with some thought put into it, not SAO or some other bland, uninspired romcom anime.

[RobKuro85]

If Sonic does develops feelings for any of the Equestrians, then given what's been presented so far, I have no doubt it'll be fleshed out beautifully. But first of course Sonic will need to gain their trust first after this upcoming incident, then get to know some of them. Then much later on, we'll maybe see how much Sonic's free spirited nature and heroics will inspire a bunch of the equestrians, and later one in particular. That will be the time where Sonic will spend more time with that one person(mare), and we'll cross that bridge when we'll get there. I'm just spit balling here, SSD could write it in a much more interesting, and surprising way.

[Late_Night]

10150912
so, when's the update

[RobKuro85]

10153548
I really don't think he'll answer that question. Between writing this story he has many other rl things to take care of, so it may take awhile. But i really don't mind the wait, Super Saiyan D can take all the time he needs. That way the story can be at it's best when it's released.

[Super Saiyan D]

10153548
Of all the things you could have to say, the only comment you have from the moment I post a new chapter is when is the next one? Did you not learn anything from the last conversation we had? You seem to have a way with rubbing people the wrong way. I'm not even going to answer that. Try having some patience.

10151946
Your confidence in me is gratifying. But I sadly can't say anything more to that issue right now.

[RobKuro85]

10154119
Oh no worries, I just trying to explain to Late_Night that asking every so often about the next chapter's not gonna change anything. And thanks for your compliment.

[Late_Night]

10154119
or perhaps you're too easy to irritate
i asked the same thing to several authors with similar or less times since their last chapters, and they all responded positively
my point here is, i'm not trying to be a dick, i'm just curious about when the next chapter of this good story is coming(and i don't mind waiting a while, i just want some sort of response, even if it's to say you can't write for a while for some reason)
the point of me asking is not for a new chapter, it's to see if you're still here at all(the new chapter thing is just a convenient excuse to ask)
now, if you want me to be a dick, i can do that for you

[Super Saiyan D]

10154203
Hmm. Well, I apologize for that. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. In any case, I can rarely say when exactly the next update will be. I'm usually making progress bit by bit, but there's a lot to occur in the next chapter. And again I'm finding putting everything I want is making it grow much longer than I originally thought. So I can't really give you a solid answer. If I were to spitball, it might take at least another month.

But if that's your concern, you needn't worry. I have every intention of finishing it, and my continuations of it in the future.

[Late_Night]

10154377
if it's that big, see if you can split it
also, thank you for coming back to talk to me

[RobKuro85]

Nice new Profile Pic Super

[Super Saiyan D]

10163834
Finally found a Wrath Broly pic to my liking, lol.

[Crankshaft]

This is progressing far better than the vast majority of Sonic crossovers you'll see on this site. It isn't rushed, less predictable than most and the conversation carries itself naturally. Looking forward to the next chapter — and, with that, I ask you the dreaded question:

Any chapter in the works? :D

[Super Saiyan D]

10189311
In progress. It'll be coming... eventually.

I thought about you while doing Eggman's scene. I hope it lived up to expectations.

[Crankshaft]

“I have to say, ‘your highness,’ I’m a bit disappointed,” Eggman said. “I offer you an olive branch and you knock it from my hand? I expected more diplomacy from a bunch of weak-willed farm animals.” His taunting drew further hateful glares from below. “But, because I’m feeling particularly generous, I’m willing to give you one more chance. You will guarantee that none of your little toy soldiers or any of the other insignificant equine you rule over will interfere with my goal.” A malicious grin spread across his features. “Unless you’d like some corpses to pile up on your conscious.”

Yes, it did. This is the kind of thing I wanted to see — the face of tyranny concealed behind the shadowy mask of diplomacy. You nailed the concept of what I was looking for. The only thing I would add is a little physical imagery to complement it. Simple things. Maybe a bowl of grapes he eats as he speaks. And then, as he utters “Unless you’d like some corpses to pile up on your conscious,” crush one in his fingers. It's a much more visceral image of his character than a "malicious grin." Granted, that probably isn't what he would do given the inevitable mess on his gloves, but I'm confident you get the idea. Things like this do wonders for characterization. You touched on it with shooting the stairwell, among others — all I ask is to both continue and expand upon it, both to Eggman and other characters. In the end, it all comes down to that eternal rule of "Show, don't tell."

One more thing I'd like to ask: any reason you opted to ask for the characters of other writers to expand your cast? I'm not berating you for it, but it's an interesting choice. Why not choose to model your own cast? Creating your own canvas of characters allows you to leave some of their description vague. By this, I mean you engage the theater of the mind: rather than describe your characters' appearances, allows us to assign our own — allow us to build our version of the cast. Allow us to engage the theater of the mind. This might sound counterproductive, but I'm saying it because the purpose of the description is to kickstart the reader's imagination — not build it for them. Don't take this as a harsh critique; it's just something I've found always works better. Of course, if there are other reasons for choosing pre-built characters not implied in your writing, then ignore this.

To finish, remember that these are just my ideas. You'll have your own, and it's your story to write. Your ideas may be better; I just don't know.

Regardless, I can be sure whatever comes will be good.

[Super Saiyan D]

10192158
Hmm, more ideas. I'll keep that in mind as I go forward. That's why I encourage feedback. It's a continual learning process, and I want to make this the best it can be.

Partially, I kind of see it as my way of paying a little tribute to some of the people and works that have entertained me and given me inspiration. Primarily, it's just my style of doing things. If I see something that's interesting enough, be it a character, a concept, whatever, I often have the thought "That would be cool to include, how can I use that?" If I can make it mesh well, even if it takes a couple tweaks, that's just one more way for me to build the world. It's a big place. And honestly, I occasionally need that for the guards more than anything. If this chapter's any indication, there's going to be a lot of involvement from them going forward, so there's a ton of space to fill. If there's anything character-wise any guest OCs have that can further my narrative well, I'm all for it. Besides, it's not like I'm short on my own. It just spares me a little energy here and there.