Winds of Freedom

The sound of milling crowds, busy messengers, occupied officials and hopeful businessmen filled the square. The noise they created carried quite a ways, and drowned out anything else in the vicinity.

     All, that is, but the throbbing of a certain teenager's  headache. In fact, it only added to the feeling of drums and chisels being pounded on inside his head. Sonic had managed to clean up the small trickle of blood, and had applied his extensive knowledge of medicinal magic to his various cuts and bruises. Still, this only kept it from getting worse, as Sonic wasn't prepared to nuke himself with a pain killing spell. Not until he could rest for a while.

     And there was still no sign of Shadow, even though Sonic had been wandering about the crowded square for almost an hour. Despite his discomfort, he didn't want to leave without his brother. This had been the cause of several close calls, as the City Guard had been patrolling all afternoon. According to the newly posted signs on the bilboard, there were two runaway orphans/pickpockets who needed to be corralled and brought back for a meeting with the Princesses.

     Sonic sighed and leaned back against the wall of the café. He had taken a break from looking for Shadow and was hanging out next to the small restaurant, nursing a cup of coffee. He was sure he'd spot his brother's black and red hair and dark hoodie soon enough. But that left one problem:the rest of his family.

     Sonic smiled and nodded absently as another curious tourist looked over at him where he stood in the small corner. His mind was running rampant with thoughts of guilt, excitement, and, to some extent, complaints.

     "I was hoping that an escape would be more glorious than this," he grumbled to himself. He took another sip of his coffee, staring glumly at the rich dark color of it. "Well, I guess it's good enough as long as I don't get caught." The thought of going back didn't even occur to Sonic as an option. He didn't know how he could face his family, anyways. He could see the look in his mother's face now: confused and sad, hopeless, a little angry, eyes sparkling with tears...

     It took Sonic a moment to realize that it was more than imagination that allowed him to see his mother's expression so vividly. His eyes widened in shock and a little fear as his mother walked not twenty feet away from him. She stepped onto a pedestal, and turned to face the crowd. Slowly, the noise died down as everyone turned to face the Princess. In their confusion, everyone had stopped moving, and they awaited the words of the ruler of the night. Luna looked about before clearing her throat, and she began to speak.

     "I am here to address the matter of two missing boys: brothers, and twins. Sonic and Shadow Nocturne are boys with no father and a mother who didn't seem to have nearly enough time for them. One of them, is known to have left the city. The other, well, no one knows where he is." Luna paused to let her eyes sweep over the crowd. Sonic sucked in a breath and retreated farther into his hidey-hole.

     "My sister," Luna continued, "is of the mind that these boys must be brought back to the palace, where we would try our best to mend the situation ourselves. Nothing is more important to us than the youth of this fine country. Thine- no, your efforts to spot them and report it to the City and Royal Guards respectively have been admirable. But I am here to tell you that this is no longer necessary." At this, the crowd gasped in shock. This was not an official announcement. Luna was obviously going behind her sister's back, and no one knew why. Sonic stepped out from his corner in shock, his mouth open and eyes wide.

     "Please, know this, I-" and suddenly Luna stopped as her eyes met those of her son's. Sonic quickly realized his mistake, and made to step back into the shadows, but Luna shook her head. Sonic, after some hesitation, stayed put.

     "I want you to help these boys on their way when you can, if you do see them. Trust me, they'll know when it's time to return. I have faith in them." With that, the Princess stepped off the pedestal and walked into the crowd, making her way back to the palace. Sonic could only stand and stare in shock. His mother had just... said it was okay for them to leave? It didn't make any sense, especially since Celestia should have been there to make the announcement with Luna.

     But that was besides the point, at least for now. Sonic now knew that Shadow had left the city, and that meant that he should get going too. Right now, he needed food and a place to rest, and the closest place for that was the home of Celestia's prized former student and fourth princess, after Cadance. Ponyville.

     The origin of the town's name was beyond Sonic's understanding, but it was close and it was small, so it would serve his purposes for the time being. With that, Sonic casually strolled away from his corner, finishing the last of his coffee and throwing the empty cup into a trash can. He sauntered along with the flow of the crowd until he reached the station, where he slipped away behind the train. There, he walked down the tracks, heading on his way to Ponyville. It was a long walk, but it would be worth it to see everything at his own pace. Sonic grinned and took off down the mountainside.

     Celestia took a deep breath at the end of her tale, looking at Xion's expression. Her friends face was one of intense concentration. Her serious look was helped by her peculiar slitted eyes, which matched the bat wings that rustled on her back, twitching in her concentration. Indeed, Xion was one of the nearly extinct branch of the pegasus tribe, known as thestrals, or to most, a 'bat'.

     Her species' history was long and troubled. Her particular type of wings and draconian eyes had led to persecution from the magic, earth, and pegasus tribes for her differences, as had happened to her ancestors for hundreds of years. In desperation, she had turned to the Princesses for help. This in turn, had been the perfect diplomatic solution. It had been about two years ago, many had their knickers in a knot over the fact that Nightmare Moon was helping rule their country. For some reason, they had suddenly decided with a vengeance that Luna was a monster, even though Celestia had thought that they had gotten over this particular idea a long time ago. Convinced that the night and the creatures associated with it were evil, protests went up to depose Luna. Celestia had tried in vain to stop these petitions.

     Then a seventeen-year-old Xion had come along, asking for a position under one of the Princesses. By taking in a thestral, Celestia had shown her approval of not only Xion's kind, but of Luna and of the night in general. That had shut up most of the nobles, and those who continued to complain learned why other nations didn't dare to go to war with a seemingly peaceful and unprepared Equestria: you just don't piss someone off when they can control the sun and the moon. You just don't.

     Since then, Xion had spent almost every moment with the sun ruler. She had also gone on special missions and assignments for her Princess, varying from delivering or escorting sensitive packages, to acting as an ambassador towards other countries. Xion was even written in as a stand in ruler should anything happen to all four Princesses, or to act as an advisor to Cadance or Twilight if only Celestia and Luna were unavailable. It was unlikely to happen, but it was an honor nonetheless.

     "So now that these boys have gone missing in a rather spectacular fashion," began Xion, breaking through Celestia's flashback. "You want them back, for their own benefit, am I right?" Celestia nodded, glad her assistant agreed.

     "Indeed, and I want to-"

     "But," interrupted Xion, "they don't want to be found. And if you do indeed bring them back, you will never find that easy camaraderie you have enjoyed in the past. They blame you for their incarceration, and don't even complain, you know you practically imprisoned them in a gilded cage. And then what's going to stop them from doing it again? Having achieved success once is no doubt a boost to their ego." Xion looked at Celestia expectantly, and was rewarded with a shocked look that nearly made her lose her composure. Celestia's eyes were bugged out as she realized the implications of what her friend was saying. She then closed her mouth and sighed, realizing the logic of her friend's assumptions.

     "Then what do you suggest I do?" Celestia asked.

     "I think Shadow can take care of himself. He seems smart enough and wise enough to not make a fuss, or at least that's what I gather from your description." Celestia nodded in confirmation. "But Sonic, he concerns me. He seems like a loose cannon, and who knows what he might take it into his head to do. Stubborn, too. I find it hard enough to keep Rainbow Dash under control when the need arises. I'm still surprised she turned down the Wonderbolts' offer. It was a surprisingly level headed decision." Xion looked out the window, not really focusing on anything in particular.

     "Exactly. But how does that pertain to our situation?" Celestia cocked her head in confusion.

     "I think Shadow will be fine if we leave him alone. But Sonic... I'll find him and keep an eye on him. I'll decide how close I should get when I can ascertain the situation." Xion nodded to herself, pleased with her conclusion. "And I know where he went, too."

     "You do? How?"

     "He's been raised with stories about the heroes of this day, role models for the young, the same stories everyone tells their children. Whether he realizes it or not, he'll want to meet the subject of those stories." As Xion spoke, realization dawned on the Princess' face. "He's heading for Ponyville. That and it's the closest town available, and if he's smart, he'll try and find someone to treat that nasty head wound you told me about." Xion nodded again, her decision in mind.

     "You should leave immediately. And... thank you," said Celestia. Xion wasted no time and immediately left, closing the door behind her and leaving the sun ruler by herself- again.

     She sighed in regret, before regaining her straight face when Luna walked in. Both of them looked at each other with serious faces, before taking a deep breath and speaking...at the same time.

     "I've decided to not try and bring the boys back-wait, what?" Both sisters stared at each other in shock as each processed what the other had said.

     "Are you saying...?" Luna began.

     "That we went behind each other's backs to do the exact same thing?" Celestia finished. "I imagine so." Their giggles suddenly filled the air as they realized what had just transpired. After a few minutes, when the rulers had explained what each had done, silence laid thick in the afternoon air.

     "So now what?" Luna finally asked, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

     "Now you go to sleep and I go and finish up Day Court," Celestia answered, not really looking forward to what was on her agenda.

     "Sounds good to me," Luna yawned, before getting up and making her way to her room. "Do give Xion my thanks if you get the chance."

     "I will."

     Celestia stretched, before hurrying to the public throne room where the Day Court was held. She was not looking forward to trying to find a polite way to tell the nobles to shut up and get to the point without useless rambling, but it would have to be done in order to get to all of today's attendees. She sighed and opened the door, smiling as her announcer bellowed out that the Princess had arrived.

     Yes, some of her subjects could be infuriating and reckless, and not just a little misguided, but she loved them nonetheless. All of them.

     Sonic jogged down to the Ponyville train station, going at a reasonable pace for once in order to avoid drawing attention. He had timed his arrival so that it would coincide with a train from Appeloosa, further disguising his appearance. The train screeched to a halt in front of him, and it was no problem to blend in with the small group that got off. He had heard that the whole Apple family would be getting together to celebrate 150 years of farming the best apples Equestria had to offer, and the best sales of their product EVER. He had heard it was going to be the biggest get together of the year besides the Harvest Festival for the small agricultural town of Ponyville.

     Thankfully, his headache had died down, but the gentle throbbing in the back of his head was a painful reminder that he needed to take a break and put some higher level medical spells to use on it. He had taken lessons from Cadance, so he was rather skilled compared to your average magic user. But that didn't matter, as Sonic had to go somewhere to be alone in order to keep up his disguise. He was acting as a pegasus by subverting his earth and unicorn magics, which meant he couldn't use magic until no one else was around, or someone would connect the dots and label him as an alicorn.

     "Hiya there!" Sonic jumped back as he suddenly registered the fact that someone was talking to him. In front of him was a short girl wearing a pink dress that was short but poofed out. The sleeves were similarly poofy, and her hair was a shockingly bright pink that somehow outdid the pink of her dress. Her pink curly hair was contained in two pigtails that bounced and shook as she giggled at him.

    "Umm, hi?" Sonic smiled uncertainly back.

    "Are you new to Ponyville?" the pink girl asked.

    "Oh, yeah. This is my first time here. I wanted to see the Apple family get-together, I hear it's going to be a lot of fun."

     "Really?! And will you be staying here?"

     "Staying? No, I'll only be here for a few days."

     "Awww, that's sad. But where are you going then?" The pink girl looked up at him expectantly, and it was only then that Sonic realized he was in a conversation with a girl he didn't even know. Without thinking, he had walked right into the middle of Ponyville without even knowing her name,

     "I don't know exactly. But before we go further, what's your name?" Sonic smiled, finding it surprising how easy it was to talk to this girl.

     "Oh, I'm sorry! My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?" Sonic blinked before extending his hand to her.

     "I'm Sonic. Pleased to meet you." And with that, Sonic had met the first of the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie giggled and then suddenly reached behind her back and pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. She held it out to him, her grin growing bigger at the shocked look on his face.

     "Well, I guess I can't give you a party since you're not gonna stay, but I can do this!" Sonic looked down as she placed the gargantuan pastry in his hand. "It's filled with sugar, frosting, sprinkles, and Pinkie magic!"

     "Pinkie magic?"

     "Yeah, silly! Don't you know what Pinkie magic is? It makes you all happy and warm and giggly inside!" At this, Sonic could only think of one thing.

     'Wait. She's handing out spiked cupcakes?!' he thought to himself in shock. Sonic didn't have time to really respond to her explanation of... Pinkie magic before she grabbed his arm and started dragging him down the street.

     "C'mon, Maurice, I wanna show you where I made it! Back at the Sugarcube Corner!"

     "But how...? No, my name's Sonic," he hastily corrected, not even wanting to think about how she knew his middle name.

     "Yeah, but your middle name's Maurice, right? Or would you prefer it if I stuck to your first name?"

     "Yeah, I would. It's just Sonic," he affirmed. But he didn't have time to say anything else as he was hastily dragged into a giant gingerbread house. It even looked like actual gingerbread, too, and it took a lot of self control for Sonic to keep himself from taking a bite to see how it tasted.

     "This is where I help the Cakes make all the yummy treats!" Pinkie explained, smiling happily at her guest. Then she noticed that Sonic hadn't even taken a bite out of the huge cupcake, and she frowned a little.

     Sonic didn't have time to react before Pinkie grabbed his arm again and pulled him over to a nearby empty table. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, she sat him down before sitting opposite of him.

     "Now you can enjoy that cupcake! Sorry, I didn't even think about it being hard to walk and eat it at the same time!" Sonic looked down at the huge cupcake, complete with frosting and a cherry on top. He hesitantly took a bite, making sure to look for little green flecks on the inside of it. But there were none, and the cupcake was delicious. Sonic could already feel the sugar rushing into his bloodstream, and he smiled at Pinkie, who was eagerly awaiting his reaction. Upon seeing that he liked it, she immediately launched into an explanation of every single building, person, and rock in Ponyville.

     Many locals smiled at the familiar sight of Pinkie talking the ears off of yet another visitor, who was holding a very large Pinkie Pie Cupcake Special, although it was growing smaller and smaller as the minutes ticked by.

     Surprisingly, Sonic had no problems with listening to the chatty pink girl as he slowly finished off the cupcake. He hadn't found any suspicious green leaves in it, so he figured it wasn't spiked. But it did make him feel good inside as he finished it off. This also surprised him, as most rich desserts left him feeling sick to his stomach and dizzy. Sonic had given up on most desserts after it kept happening, but this was possibly the richest thing he had ever eaten, and he didn't feel the least bit sick.

     "Ah see ya'll trapped another tourist, Pinkie. Sorry if she's a mite talkative, but she loves ta meet new people," apologized the girl in front of him in a thick but cute country accent. She had her thick golden hair tied back in a loose ponytail that draped over her shoulder, and all of it was contained under a worn old cowboy hat. She smiled at him, showing off freckles and bright green eyes that shone in the midday sun. She wore a orange plaid shirt with a knot tied in the front, so that her midriff was bare. She wore Daisy Duke style shorts, leaving her long legs open to the air as well. Sonic smiled back at her and extended his hand.

     "Naa, it's no problem. I don't mind listening. My name's Sonic, what's yours?"

     "Applejack, and Ah'm mighty pleased ta meet ya. Ya new in town? Wait, that's a silly question, considerin' Pinkie has you cornered here. Ya plannin' on stayin'?" Applejack asked, grabbing his hand in hers and shaking it with a surprisingly strong grip.

     "Why does everyone keep asking that?" Sonic complained good-naturedly. "It almost makes me feel guilty about having to leave in a few days," and Applejack grinned and glanced over at Pinkie, who was watching the whole exchange in interest.

     "Well, then I hope ya feel guilty enough to stick around. Ponyville always has room for a new neighbor!" With that, she tipped her hat and walked off, exiting through the front door. Sonic turned back to Pinkie, who inhaled in preparation to keep talking. However, she paused in mid-breath when Sonic held up his hands.

     "Hey, you've been telling me so much about Ponyville that I kinda want to see it myself! Would you mind giving me the grand tour?" Sonic asked, feeling the need to stretch his legs after having all that sugar forcibly pumped into his bloodstream. Pinkie jumped up and grabbed his arm, before bouncing up and down in place.

     "Ooh, ooh, that's a good idea! Come on, there's so much to show you, and there's only twenty-six hours in a day, you know! Hurry, hurry!"

     "Don't you mean twenty-four?" asked Sonic as he was dragged back out of the bakery.

     "No, twenty-six! Don't you know how many hours there are in a day, silly?" Pinkie asked, taking a hold of his arm and bouncing up and down while grinning at him. Her pigtails were rolling and bouncing all over the place too, making her look incredibly goofy. Sonic couldn't help but smile.

     'I guess I know why she's the Element of Laughter,' Sonic mused. 'And Applejack's Honesty, right? I guess they really do want me to stick around. Who knows? Maybe I will,' but Sonic could think on the matter no more as he was dragged along by an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie.