Winds of Freedom

"What kind of question is that? How are you supposed to rate how badly you want something? I mean, sure, I want it a lot, but still! I know you're a Chaos Lord, but can you make sense, please?" Sonic was rapidly losing his patience with this conversation, as they were only going in circles right now.

     "Fine. On a scale of cupcake to octopuses, how badly do you want out?" Discord, somehow, kept a straight face.

     "One, it's octoPI. Not octopuses. Two, that still makes no sense, so I'm just going to leave it at yes, we want out." Sonic hoped that this would get him somewhere other than eggnog-flavored tea cup snacks.

     That little incident was still throwing Sonic for a loop.

     Shadow suddenly spoke up. "As it is, I see little possibility of your assistance making any difference in our escape. We can fly, teleport, and at the least, run and fight our way out. For I do know that the Princesses will not be happy about our... vacating the premises." Discord grinned. The dark youth in front of him might be serious, but he was smart. And the blue one... he seemed to hold great potential as well. It had been a long time since he had met someone who could possibly weild Chaos, and yet here were two boys, brothers no less, who had that power. He would keep his eye on these two.

     "But if you were to teleport, then Sunbutt would immediately know. Moonbutt, too. But if I do it, then you wouldn't be detected. Besides, a venture like this has some degree of chaos mixed in no matter what happens. It's best if I help."

     "You want us to owe you, huh? That's what this is all about, isn't it? Cause if that's the case, then we'll do it on our own, and the consequences be damned." Discord raised an eyebrow, and Shadow grinned. Celestia would have his hide if she caught him talking like that. Although, considering their personalities, most would suspect Shadow of foul language rather than Sonic.

     "No, I'm doing it to get back at Moonbutt for being a hypocrite. First she imprisons me in stone, acting like she and her sister are perfect harbingers of justice, and then she goes and does more damage than I ever could. This is the best way to show her up. The best part is that she brought it on herself... Not that I don't consider her a friend," Discord tripped over his own tongue as he saw the looks on the rather pissed teens. "I just want to make sure she knows that I haven't forgiven her for that. You know, a grudge. It's all in good fun."

     "I'll take your word for it. But, if you are going to get us out of here with no one noticing, I have a request first." Sonic looked at Discord, an earnest expression on his face.

     "Shoot."

     "A sword. And not some rinky dink sword like the ones we use to practice with. A real sword, with a sharp edge and a good grip." Sonic looked up at the draconequus expectantly. Discord bowed elegantly, although the wicked grin on his face undid the effect a little. Sonic yelped and jumped back as he felt something strap itself onto his shoulder and around his waist. He looked down and saw a black leather belt around his hips, with a single strap coming diagonally from left to right up his chest and over his shoulder, before going on the same course down his back. Sonic craned his neck around as he felt a weight materialize in between his shoulder blades.

     An elaborate black leather sheathe with gold stitching held an even more elaborate sword. Sonic reached back and grabbed hold, as he drew it he noticed how easily it rested in his closed fist, for grooves were cut into the handle that his fingers fit in perfectly. The hilt was wrapped in eel skin, also dyed black, while the top of the golden hilt where it merged onto the blade showed a dragon, as if it were biting down on the good Damareus steel.*

     The blade itself was incredibly balanced, and the folded metal shone in the light of Celestia's sun. Sonic whistled in appreciation. As inexperienced as he was with real sword craftmanship, he knew this one was NICE.

     "Any last requests before I  send you on your way?" Discord asked. He was secretly pleased at how happy Sonic was with the sword. 'Must be Fluttershy rubbing off on me,' Discord thought. 'She always loves to make other people, or mostly animals, happy.' He looked at the two teens expectantly, who were holding their own private debate.

     "Should we really go through with this?" asked Shadow.

     "Too late to turn back now," Sonic replied with a shrug.

     "But what will Mom and Aunt Celestia think?"

     "Every time we thought about leaving, wondering about that kept us from taking that first step. I'm not going to let that happen again."

     "Are you even treating this seriously? This isn't a game, it isn't a training session, this is REAL. And the repercussions of our actions are REAL. What if we mess up? What if something terrible happens?"

     "Shadow, I'm aware of the risks. If you think they're too great, then go ahead and stay. I'm going." Sonic gave Shadow a look that told his twin he wasn't joking.

     "Awww," cooed Discord. "You're like an old married couple!" Sonic and Shadow shared a look.

     "Ew, no," gagged Sonic. "That's just nasty," and he shook his head as if ridding his mind of such thoughts.

     "So are we getting out of here or what?" asked Sonic. "I want to leave before anyone sees us, especially with you, birdbrain," and Sonic pointed his finger straight at Discord.

     "I'm offended! Just for that, I'm going to make you run out of here on your own. And I'm telling Celestia too. After all, what fun would it be without a challenge?" With that, Discord disappeared.

     "Oh no," groaned Sonic.

     "Nice going. Now we really have to run. And you should probably put a glamour on your sword until we get outside." Shadow took off down the hallway.

     Sonic followed at a slow jog, wincing as he heard a cry of surprise from the throne room where no doubt Discord had just told Celestia and Luna of their plans. 'This is escalating way too fast. I wanted another day or two to prepare!' thought Sonic, looking back at the door to the guard barracks, where their pursuit was most likely to come from. Then, following his brother's advice, he put a high level camoflauge spell on his new sword and sheathe. It shimmered out of view, invisible to all but the blue haired teen.

     He quickly caught up to Shadow at near supersonic speeds, before slowing down to match his brother's pace. They both ran a little faster when they heard the Royal Guard start up in chase. Sonic and Shadow knew the twists and turns of the castle better than anyone, so they knew the quickest route to the back door in the kitchen storage. (They had agreed a long time ago to use that door, as it led to the back of the castle and straight into the alleys of the city.)

     "Wait! Come back!" Sonic turned to see the Guard behind them, just coming around the corner. They were led by none other than Shining Armor himself. "You really should reconsider this!" Sonic grabbed Shadow's wrist and ran as fast as he could, ignoring Shining's pleas.

     Shining suddenly teleported in front of them, his arms spread wide to prevent Sonic from passing him. He also erected a shield which spread from wall to wall and all the way up to the ceiling. With the sound of rubber screeching against tile, Sonic drew to a stop.

     "Let us through, Shining!" Sonic demanded, looking through the pink wall of energy at his cousin.

     "You know I can't do that, Sonic! You have to stay in the castle, you know that!" As Shining said this, Sonic sighed in regret as he prepared a high level defense. With a flourish of blue energy, Sonic cast the spell on Shining. It was a disrupt spell, capable of completely blocking a magic wielder's flow of magic for a few minutes. It was a variation on the rings used to seal the magic of criminals.

     Sonic only used it for a few seconds, just enough to cancel

out the shield and to disorient the caster. With that, their opposition decreased to zero, and they found they could run in relative peace, as the entire guard was concentrated behind them.

     "By the way, you should thank me for getting you out of here." Discord appeared above them, floating on his back.

     "No way, you didn't help us at all!" Sonic protested.

     "Agreed, you didn't even teleport us out as you originally proposed," Shadow put in. He had finally activated the rocket enchantment that he had placed on his shoes, and he now skated across the white marble floors easily.

     "No, but I gave you motivation. You two would never have gotten a move on if I hadn't set the fire under your tails, so to speak. Besides,isn't this FUN? Wonderfully chaotic, too! And the look on that Armor's face was priceless! You sure you're not a draconequus? You're quite good at causing havoc."

     "I'm sure," Sonic deadpanned. Shadow shot a glare at Discord before swerving into the kitchen storage where their escape lay.

     Sonic shut the door behind him, and Discord disappeared as they walked in.

     The two teens hurriedly traced their way through the maze of boxes and crates of non perishable foodstuffs. It took about 10 minutes of rushed searching and another ten of hiding as a few guards searched the room before they finally found the door that led outside.

     "This is it," breathed Sonic, his hand clenched around the door handle. He slowly began to turn it before he turned around in shock.

     "Please don't so this," begged a haggard looking Shining Armor. "Please..."

     Sonic stared at his friend for a few long moments. His head hung in shame as he contemplated the husband of his old babysitter.

     "I-... Tell Mom we're sorry." Sonic didn't meet Shining's  eyes. With that the two boys ducked out the door and into the darkness of the nearest alley.

     The defeated Head of the Guard slumped against the wall.

     "What am I going to do?" he asked himself miserably.