"I wish it wasn't so cold," Sunbeam muttered as he lay on the ice-cold forest ground. It was the middle of January, so the cold weather was hardly a surprise. Truth be told, it was not the cold, though, that troubled him the most. It was the unnerving, near-total silence around them. The thick layer of snow muffled all sounds far and white. He could only hear his own shallow breaths and those of his companion who lay right next to him.
"Yeah… I only wish all those clouds weren't there. At least we could see something," the white pegasus mare next to him replied in a similarly hushed tone.
'Ever the pragmatic…, 'Sunbeam thought.
Not that Polaris was wrong. What little moonlight made it past the thick layer of clouds was barely enough to illuminate the country that opened up in front of them. They were at the very edge of the forest, hidden out of sight by a massive trunk of an oak tree. In front of them, gently sloping down, was a stretch of near-completely barren countryside. It was dotted only by a few dilapidated farmhouses that must've been abandoned ages ago. They stuck out from the pristine white stone like ugly warts. The two ponies were, however, much more interested in the rocky mountain further north that towered over the whole plain.
On its slopes was what remained of the once great city of Canterlot—the capital of Equestria. The city's state of disrepair was clearly shown even in the dim light of the moon. Only a few lights could be seen in the city, most of them coming from the windows of a palace, which seemed to be about the only building in the city that escaped the devastation. Its walls still stood towering tall and proud over the rest of the city.
"Having second thoughts?" Polaris asked suddenly, her voice betraying the uneasiness she felt.
Sunbeam turned and found her staring at him: "About the plan? Yes. Not about what we are doing here," he stated.
"It's the only plan we have—your plan," she added, and there was no hint of accusation in her voice.
"I know. Part of the reason why I feel that way," Sunbeam admitted. For a while, silence set in again.
They continued to lie there unmoving, their eyes occasionally nervously scanning the night sky for any hints of purple.
"I think we've seen enough. We should return."
"Yeah, let's go and warm up."
The duo carefully retreated back into the forest, leaving the sight of the barren wasteland behind them. Their camp was a long way away. As they walked, the fresh snow creaked beneath their hooves.
The truth was that Sunbeam had a reason to be nervous about the plan that Polaris didn't know about. As it were, even the part of the plan she did know about was risky… to put it mildly. The part she didn't know about, however… His guilty consciousness kept him awake many a night, but Sunbeam refused to give in despite its best efforts.
"Realistically, what chance do you think we have?" Polaris asked suddenly, a hint of worry creeping into the question.
Sunbeam tried to meet her gaze, but she kept her blue eyes fixed on the ground before her hooves. The unicorn was not happy to see that. He was used to Polaris acting differently around him than she did around the rest of her group. He often got to see the doubts that she hid from the rest of their group, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her this stiff.
"You want it in percentage? Math was never my strong subject," he tried to brush the question off.
"Take a guess, then."
He breathed in the cool air and thought for a moment: "Fifty percent? Give or take."
"A lot better than I expected," the pegasus laughed, getting a small chuckle out of Sunbeam as well.
"Could still be a lot better than a coin flip, though…" he added dryly.
"Nah, fifty percent is good enough. And it begs the question… What will you do when we are done?"
"What are my plans?"
"What are your plans."
Sunbeam laughed again: "Haven't thought that far ahead. Maybe just travel someplace nice and quiet. Rest, study… learn a bit more about magic – you know, the kind that isn't related to scorching, zapping, or otherwise blasting things into bits."
"Fair enough," Polaris added, sounding somewhat disappointed.
"You have a better plan?"
"Not sure if better. A little more… ambitious perhaps," she didn't continue, but Sunbeam's interest was peaked.
"You can’t just leave me hanging like this."
Finally, she looked at him with a mischievous look in her eyes: "What do you think about General Polaris? You know we'll need to rebuild the military when this is over. I already have the experience, so why not?"
For a second, he wasn't sure if she was just pulling his leg or speaking sincerely.
"You'll still be in the mood for that after all this?"
"Are you forgetting who you are talking to?"
"You are right. I take it back. General Polaris has a nice ring to it."
"I know!"
As they got deeper and deeper into the forest, their mood seemed to improve. They talked about nothing in particular and, for a moment, abandoned their worries. While it wasn't a common occurrence, Sunbeam enjoyed seeing Polaris like this. It felt good just talking to her about whatever sprung into his mind. After a while, however, as they got nearer and nearer to their camp, Polaris' mask started to slip back on. By the time they met the first pony on watch, she was back to her usual no-nonsense self.
On their arrival, they were greeted by about two dozen pairs of eyes. Their companions were mostly pegasi, but hunched around a few small scattered fires were also a couple of earth ponies and a pair of unicorns. Sunbeam felt pity every time his eyes fell on their shattered horns, but he was careful not to let it show. Unfortunately, it was not a rare sight nowadays, which made him appreciate his own horn all the more.
"Canterlot is only about an hour away now. Nothing changes for now. We proceed according to the plan," Polaris stated dryly – not a hint of emotion on her face.
Nopony spoke a word, but the mood in the camp was far from relaxed.
'Everypony must be feeling the pressure now,' Sunbeam thought as his eyes scanned the ponies in front of him.
He saw Polaris retreat to a shabby tent further away from the fires. Sunbeam decided to stick around a bit longer in the camp and speak to some of the ponies he knew better. Most of them asked him about the castle; he ended up describing it about four more times. Then, the conversation shifted back to the plan. By this point, he expected everypony must have heard it at least a dozen times, but he patiently went through it again.
Every now and then, somepony would try to strike up a conversation in the camp, but all the attempts went nowhere. Everypony was occupied with their own thoughts, and after a while, Sunbeam concluded that Polaris had the right idea. Following her example, he also retreated to his tent. Even with just a shoddy blanket as his only cover, he still managed to fall asleep rather quickly. His sleep, however, was anything but refreshing. When he woke up in the early hours of the morning, he felt at least ten years older. The nervousness has finally caught up to him as well.
For a while, he lay there staring at the top of his tent as it flapped around in the gentle breeze. His heartbeat refused to slow down. Suddenly, the entrance to his tent parted, and peeking in came a snow-white head.
Polaris' eyes were so close to his that he could feel her warm breaths on his muzzle. Here and there, the fur around her eyes was marred in small gashes and badly healed scars, but they took nothing away from her beauty. At least not in his eyes.
"It's time. Let's go," Polaris said curtly, and then she was gone.
Sunbeam took a deep breath, snatched his saddlebags, and got out of the tent and into the chill air. Not too far from him, Polaris was talking to a trio of young pegasi who had their eyes glued on her.
"-not a minute before one in the afternoon, but if needed, take your time. Any time before three still works for us." As Sunbeam joined Polaris' side, he earned himself a nod of welcome from the pegasi, which he returned with a forced smile.
"-now remember. Once you light these, that's it. The fuse cannot be quenched, and it WILL go off after ten seconds no matter what," to stress her point, Polaris pulled out a single boomstick out of the heavy-looking saddle bag in front of her. Sunbeam felt a little uncomfortable as he watched her wave it around in front of their faces, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't blow himself up when making those, so they were at least relatively safe. Emphasis on relatively.
"By the time those ten seconds are up, you should be long gone. After that, don't stop for anything and just fly away as fast as you can," Sunbeam added.
"How far away should we fly?" a mare, Sunbeam thought her name was Swift Wing, asked.
"Until you can't see Canterlot anymore. If we succeed, you should know it within a couple of days. Until then, stay hidden somewhere and don't trust anypony," Polaris stated. Sunbeam could practically feel nervousness oozing from the pegasi in front of him… but also determination.
"If there is nothing else, you should get going already. Best of luck and good tailwind!"
They exchanged a few more parting words, but then each pegasus put on their saddlebags filled with boomsticks. Then they were off, the first part of their plan set in motion. Sunbeam watched them for a little longer until they became just tiny specs in the distance.
'No going back now… If there ever was.'
"Let's check the equipment," Polaris said suddenly, emerging behind him again with her own set of bulky saddlebags.
Sunbeam nodded and quickly went through them for her. Everything appeared to be in order. The masking rune he etched into the fabric was holding. To the naked eye, it appeared that she was only carrying a pile of old clothes. As he reached in, however, the illusion strained and then finally broke, revealing an assortment of crystals, contraptions, and various bits and pieces of armor. He inspected each one carefully, calling them out as he did. As he worked, he couldn't help but notice the horrible scarring just behind where her wing connected to the back. It wasn't the first time he'd seen it, but the sight always filled him with cold fury.
"Sounds like we have everything," the pegasus stated when he was finished.
Before closing the saddlebags again, Sunbeam made sure the illusion was active again and, just for good measure, threw a couple of old rags on top – just in case an overeager guard decided to go rummaging through. When he was done, his bag received similar treatment from Polaris.
"All good, you're set," she confirmed after a moment.
For a brief moment, Sunbeam wondered whether he should pack the tent. He quickly realized, however, that whether they succeeded or failed, after today, he would have no need of it anymore. Together with Sunbeam, they woke the rest of their company and handed out the last couple of orders.
Two more pegasi were split off, and Sunbeam handed them small flat stones enchanted to carry their voices to a plain brooch attached to his coat. Once the second phase of the plan started, they would be their eyes and ears.
It wasn't long after the sun came up that the first group was marching towards Canterlot. Four ponies altogether. He, Snizzles, Firetongue, and Onyx. It was decided that it would be safer if they arrived at Canterlot in small groups and then met up in the city. A group of more than a dozen ponies arriving at once might raise some suspicion. After a brief discussion with Polaris, it was decided that his group would be the lucky ones to get to see the city first.
Not a single word was spoken. As Sunbeam's group consisted of only earth ponies and unicorns, they had to slowly march through the desolate plain until they could find a traversable road. It was slow going, with the snow layer at times reaching all the way up to their backs. After about an hour or so of trudging as slow as snails, they finally stumbled on something that could be called a road if one was being generous.
As the city got nearer and nearer, they met other groups of ponies headed in their direction. Fortunately, the few they passed were about as chatty as they were, and all refused to even make eye contact with them. Sunbeam was sad to see that many of them looked famished and utterly miserable.
The road only got steeper as they progressed. It was hardly maintained, and large stretches of it were covered in snow so tightly compressed by the hooves of passing ponies that it behaved like ice. The walls of the city now towered directly above them, and not too far in the distance, they could already see the massive steel gates. The slow trickle of ponies coming in and out of the city was managed by a small detachment of about a dozen griffons mercenaries. They were clad in plain-looking gray plate armor, and their expressions betrayed near-total indifference to what was going on around them.
Unfortunately for them, the griffons still seemed to do their job. Every pony was pulled aside for a brief inspection that involved answering a few questions and showing a guard what they were bringing into the city. Sunbeam's eyes narrowed a little when he noticed that every once in a while, the mercenaries would order a pony into a nearby building for a more thorough examination.
'Could be a problem,' he thought, thinking of Polaris' rather sizable saddlebags.
The loosely organized lines of ponies they were in slowly moved forward. It didn't take long for Sunbeam to come face-to-face with one of the guards. The griffon in question towered over him by a good margin, which did nothing to ease Sunbeam's nerves.
"Name and purpose of visit?" the griffon asked roughly, his eyes lingering on Sunbeam's horn for a moment.
"Shadowfax. here to visit my sister," he replied, avoiding the griffon's gaze.
"Open your saddlebags!"
Sunbeam did as instructed—or rather, he tried to. However, as he was reaching around, one of the straps got caught up on something and refused to budge. He struggled with it for a few seconds, but even that was too much for the griffon's patience.
The guard unceremoniously turned him around and ran one of his sharp talons across the top of the saddlebag, ripping it open. He then proceeded to shake it violently, and out of the corner of his eye, Sunbeam noticed his companions stiffen as the contents of his saddlebag were spilled on the ground. Sunbeam just kept his mouth shut and decided that any protests would do little to improve the situation.
With the empty saddlebag limply hanging over Sunbeam's back, the guard proceeded to sift through its contents that now decorated the frozen road. He absentmindedly tossed around the assortment of scrolls, books, and various pieces of worn clothing, the bored expression never leaving his face. His eyes however narrowed when he noticed a few sets of cutlery wrapped in an old rag.
"You planning to sell these?" the griffon asked as he dangled one of the forks in front of Sunbeam's face.
"N-no, sir. It's for my sister. She is planning to get married, so I got these for her in a small shop near-"
"Yeah, okay. Import tax two bits, unicorn entry fee twenty bits," griffon announced in a tone that left no room for argument and tossed the fork back on the pile. Sunbeam held his breath as it landed on the ground with a loud clank. When nothing happened, he relaxed again, grateful that the illusion magic held.
"Are you deaf pony? Twenty-two bits, or you can turn right around and go back where you came from!"
"Yes sir," Sunbeam muttered and undid a smaller pocket of his saddlebag that was still intact. The golden bits in it glimmered as the sun fell on them. Before he could reach in, the griffon took the initiative and thrust his clawed hand in the pocket, pulling out a handful of bits.
"That'll do."
"B-but that was-"
"I said that will do!" the griffon interrupted his words of complaint. "Unless you want me to count them for you?" From the way he said that last sentence, it was very clear that Sunbeam really didn't want the griffon to count them for him.
Sunbeam gritted his teeth. He hardly cared for the bits, but it was the whole injustice of the situation that made him mad. The griffon could laugh in his face as he robbed him, knowing full well that nopony would do anything.
"No sir, you are right. I am sure that was the correct amount," he replied, careful not to let any of the frustration he felt sneak into his voice.
"Good. And don't you even think about doing any magic in the city, or things are really going to get ugly for you, unicorn! Now pick up this thrash and scatter!" griffon ordered, and with that, he was done with Sunbeam, turning his attention to the next pony in line.
'If we succeed, this ends today,' Sunbeam comforted himself as he quickly gathered his gear. Somehow, he was able to shove it all back into the saddlebag and secure the ripped hole by relocating a few straps. Content with his work, he trotted away from the gate and into the city.
He waited a little further away from the gate for his three companions. They joined him not long after, and it seemed they fared better than he did, although they were also a few bits lighter.
"Alright, that was the easy part. We'll need to wait for the others before we proceed, but it'll be best if you don't stay around here. Walk around the city for a bit, especially around the palace! Just make sure you don't draw attention to yourselves. We'll all meet at noon in Roasted Apple."
His companions nodded and dispersed into the streets of Canterlot. Sunbeam himself wandered around the gate until he found a spot that was out of sight but offered him a good view of the incoming ponies. He then leaned against a nearby stone railing and opened a book of fairy tales – sufficiently harmless reading should anypony get close enough to see what he was doing. In truth, all of his attention was focused on the griffons.
Sunbeam carefully watched them work while he waited for more of his co-conspirators to arrive. To his disappointment, he realized that he was right about the thorough checks. It seemed that every pony that carried even a little larger load was bound to be pulled aside. A plan started to take shape in his mind when he noticed that the guardhouse the selected ponies were led to had a few small windows that he could probably get to if he needed to.
"Polaris, we're in," Sunbeam whispered into his brooch when he was sure that nopony was looking. For a long moment, there was no answer.
Finally, Polaris' barely audible voice replied from within the brooch: "Good job. The second group is already well on their way."
Just hearing her voice instantly made Sunbeam feel a little better.
"There is an issue, though. They have a new procedure. You'll probably be pulled aside for inspection."
Again, there was silence. This time, her reply took even longer.
"What do you suggest we do?"
In a few sentences, he outlined his plan. Many leagues away on the forest's edge, Polaris listened with her ear practically glued to her own brooch. The ponies that were still with her in the forest silently observed her, Sunbeam's voice too faint for them to hear. Polaris' expression remained calm.
"Understood. We'll do it like that then. Keep me posted if anything changes," with that, the brief exchange was over. Polaris turned her eyes back to the castle.
"Is there a change of plans?" Thunderhoof, an earth pony, asked when it became apparent that Polaris didn't intend to tell them what the exchange was about.
"No, not for any of you, at least. I'll just have it a bit more complicated than we expected. You just stick to the plan."
Polaris continued to watch the road and the castle. Minutes passed, and with the passage of time, she was becoming more aware of the cold that was creeping under her fur. Some of the ponies started chatting among themselves. Their conversations were abruptly cut short when Polaris decided the second group must be almost at the gate.
"Third group, time is up."
Five ponies quickly gathered and, without another word, embarked on the slow march towards the castle. Silence set in once again. It didn't take much longer until Sunbeam's voice came through the magical link, confirming that the second group had made it through the gate.
Polaris wondered how far they would have made it if it had not been for Sunbeam. At least in her case, she would have been finished about three years ago in Fillidelphia had she not stumbled into him. A mage in the services of New Equestria. Unlike most ponies, he had a good, comfortable life, mostly free from the perils most ponies had to face. And yet he threw it all away to help her and join the cause. Sometimes, she still wondered if he ever regretted it. If he did, he never let it show.
Another hour passed. Polaris pulled out a beat-up watch from a small pocket on her coat. Half-past nine. Her turn was up. She quickly gathered the remaining ponies with her and, like all the others before her, set out on her march towards the castle.
Shortly before her group reached the pawed road, Sunbeam confirmed that the third group was now in as well. Polaris wished they wouldn't have to do it like this. It seemed so painfully slow. While in the past it didn't use to be like that, now there was only one gate that led to the city. All the others were firmly shut.
Suddenly, a shadow passed over her. Polaris looked up, startled, only to see a low-flying griffon guard that seemed to have strayed a little farther from the city. Fortunately, the griffon paid them no mind, only serving as a reminder that even the skies over Canterlot were being watched.
They were near now. There were quite a few ponies now with them on the road headed to Canterlot. Polaris hoped it would make the guards more lax. While the fact that Sunbeam was already in and would help if needed provided some much-needed reassurance, she still had some hopes she would be allowed to pass through the gates unbothered.
The line they were standing in moved at a snail's pace, but little by little, they were getting closer to the gates. A little further from the gate, Polaris could now see the small guardhouse Sunbeam mentioned. Looking past the guards, she tried to find her friend, but with little luck. No doubt he was watching them, though.
"Next!" the griffon guard ordered sharply, and Polaris realized it was her turn already. The white pegasus stepped forward, but before she could even open her mouth, the guard was already moving her along. "One more for inspection!" he shouted and motioned for her to stay put and wait aside.
A smaller female griffon walked over to her at a pace that could only be described as glacial. Once she finally made it over, she simply barked out: "Follow!" with a perfectly bored expression.
Polaris' heart was beating somewhere in her throat, but she did as ordered and followed the griffon towards the guardhouse.
'Really counting on you this time, Sunbeam,' she thought as the griffon smacked the door closed behind her flank.
The guardhouse was a simple building, hastily put together from rough rocks. It consisted of a longer corridor whose right wall was in regular intervals dotted by heavy wooden doors. The griffon led her towards the corridor's end, where a single door stood open. Behind it was a small room with a massive desk and a chair occupied by a single griffon. He exchanged a quick glance with the guard who brought her in and then nodded at her to step forward.
"Name and purpose of visit?" he barked at her as soon as she stepped in. Behind her, the door closed, leaving her alone with the guard.
"I am Foxfire. I am hoping to find a job in the city," she replied dryly, earning herself a chuckle from the griffon.
"Good luck with that," he snickered.
Polaris' eyes went to the small window just behind the guard. It didn't seem like anypony was there yet. The knot in her stomach became a little tighter.
'Where is he?'
"Empty your saddlebags on the table!" the guard ordered.
"I am just bringing some clothes with me, nothing more," Polaris realized she needed to stall to buy Sunbeam more time. "I spent half of the day yesterday trying to pack everything in there. It just about barely fits as it is. None of the other ponies were being searched, so why am I the only one who now has to-"
"Enough pony!" the griffon harshly stopped her. "I honestly... truly… really don't care about any of that! Put the saddlebags on the table!"
"But I-"
"NOW!"
The griffon's eyes narrowed, and Polaris realized she would have to play along. She stepped close to the desk, moving as slow as she dared so as not to further annoy the griffon. With great care, she removed strap after strap until the saddlebags were loose on her bag. There was still no sign of Sunbeam. Something must have gone wrong.
"I just need to be careful now. This thing is pretty heavy, and I wouldn't want to hurt my back," Polaris quickly stammered out as she very carefully began to slide the saddlebags off her back. "You wouldn't believe it, but just last year, I was working on this farm in... Heeey!"
Griffon's patience ran out before she could finish the sentence. Like a striking viper, he leaned over the desk and roughly snatched the saddlebags off her back. With some effort, he hoisted them on the desk and began undoing the laces on the pockets.
Polaris' mind was racing. She would have only a moment to strike. The griffon wore armor, so the chances she would be able to take him down quietly were slim. Her only chance was to strike quickly, snatch her saddlebags, and then run as quickly as she could. With a little luck, she might be able to lose the griffons in the streets of Canterlot.
As the last lace became undone, the griffon eagerly lifted the saddlebag, ready to shake out its contents. Polaris braced and prepared to pounce at him. Her front hooves were already off the ground when she stopped herself. Stiff as a statue, the griffon was still holding her saddlebags, but his eyes turned unfocused, beak half-open. A gentle knock made her look at the window again, where, sure enough, she found Sunbeam's eyes staring back at her, his horn softly glowing.
His mouth moved, and Polaris heard his voice through the brooch.
"I can't stay here long! You have thirty seconds."
The white pegasus didn't need to be told twice. With cat-like grace, she jumped on the desk and removed her saddlebags from the guard's hands. She put them back down right in front of him and carefully removed a couple of rags from the inside, which she proceeded to lay on the table.
"Twenty seconds."
She grumbled and quickly got behind the desk. A brief search through the drawers revealed a stamp and stashes of paperwork. Skimming through them, she pulled out the one she needed and planted a stamp right in the middle of it. With the stamped paper in hoof, she put everything back as she found it.
"Ten."
Using the quill on griffon's desk she scribbled '5 bits' into the 'import tax' row and then proceeded to count out ten bits which she put right in front of the griffon.
"Five seconds. Fix his arms!"
It was only when Sunbeam mentioned it that she noticed the griffon was still awkwardly holding his outstretched arms in front of him. Once more, she jumped on the desk.
"Four"
The guard's arms were stiff and hard to move, but with some effort, she moved one of them down into his lap.
"Three"
The other arms she hastily put on the desk, just over the stack of coins.
"Two, one."
Sunbeam held the spell a little longer, giving Polaris just barely enough time to get back to her original position. She quickly snatched one of the rags and furiously shoved it back into the saddlebag just as the guard's gaze became focused again.
"See? Nothing! I hope you are happy; I'll now have to spend the whole afternoon reorganizing it again!"
The guard in front of her appeared perfectly confused – which, given the fact he was just blasted with a rather strong spell of confusion, was hardly a surprise. His eyes moved from her to the table and then to a pile of golden bits he was clenching.
"Wait, what… I… I need to take a look at those bags!" he stammered out with some difficulty.
"AGAIN?! You literally just did a minute ago!" Polaris shouted at him, faking absolute fury.
The guard's beak opened and closed a few times, his expression changing from anger to confusion multiple times in the span of a few seconds. He shook his head and noticing the stamped tax form quickly inspected it. Right after, he noticed the stack of bits on the table and promptly shoved them into his pouch.
"I guess I did," he simply stated. Then, under his breath, he added: "Need a break from this blasted desk job."
Polaris quickly put the rest of the rags in her saddle bag, hoping to be out of the office before the guard could think twice about what happened. She froze when the griffon leaned over the desk and peeked inside the bags. Once more, he just shook his head. Sunbeam's illusion spell was still holding, and the only thing that could be seen in the bag were stacks of old, worn clothes. The griffon stared at her as she put the rest of the stuff in and then hoisted the saddlebags back on her back.
Polaris then snatched the stamped tax recipe from his hand: "I believe that will be all?"
She turned to leave but was abruptly stopped by the guard's rough: "One more thing, pony."
Polaris turned just to see the griffon walk past his desk and get right in front of her. He was at least three heads taller than she was and well aware of it. He raised his hand with a single outstretched talon. As he tapped it against her snout, Polaris didn't as much as flinch.
"You have a big mouth. A bit too big for my liking," after each word, his talon came down, tapping against her nose. "One piece of advice. Lose that habit if you really want to stay in the city. It won't do you any good."
The griffon pulled his hand back but kept staring at her as if challenging her to answer. It took all of Polaris' self-control to keep her muzzle shut.
"Good. Get out now!" the griffon said finally, and Polaris couldn't be happier to oblige. She stormed out of the guardhouse, practically fuming. One of the guards made a move to stop her as she walked outside, but upon noticing the stamped paper in her mouth, the griffon relaxed again.
'One of these days, they'll get what's coming to them!' she promised herself. To say that she didn't like griffons would be an understatement. She saw them as nothing more than greedy, arrogant birdbrains– all too happy to do somepony's dirty job as long as the price was right. A character trait that made them very popular with the current rulers of New Equestria.
"Foxfire." She turned just in time to see Sunbeam catch up to her. "Good job in there."
"Thanks. Not going to lie though; for a moment I thought you wouldn't show up."
He shot her an apologetic glance: "It was a bit harder to get in position without being seen than I anticipated."
They saw the rest of the ponies from the fourth group standing some distance away already. Polaris discreetly nodded at them, and they dispersed. It was now just her and Sunbeam. They continued to walk deeper into the city together.
"Must have been a nice place at some point," Sunbeam noted dryly. The streets they walked were littered with trash everywhere one looked. It was practically impossible to walk five steps without stepping over scraps of moist paper, filthy rags, or half-rotten pieces of something that at one point may have been food. Most of the rocks that made up the street were either loose or completely missing, and the buildings that framed the street were hardly in any better shape. Sunbeam could not see a single one that didn't have at least one window boarded up.
"Just stay focused. We're not here for sightseeing."
Polaris checked her watch. A little past ten; so far so good. Their next target was the palace itself. They would have until noon to survey its walls and come up with a plan of approach. It was easy enough to get to it. The palace towered over the rest of the buildings and so could be seen from anywhere in the city.
"Three griffons near the drawbridge," Polaris noted.
"Yeah, and at least four more on the city wall. Plus two more patrolling in the air," Sunbeam replied. "Not as bad as I expected."
"Oh, just you wait. Plenty more are bound to be inside."
Sunbeam and Polaris spent some minutes circling the palace. While it seemed that nopony was paying them any attention, they didn't dare to spend too much time in one place.
"I don't see any easy way in. We'll need to stick to the original plan and go through the drawbridge," Polaris whispered in Sunbeam's ear.
Sunbeam opened his mouth to say something, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of ponies not far from them. All of their gazes were fixed on a point somewhere in the sky. Sunbeam followed their gaze, and in an instant, he felt his stomach tie itself into a knot.
"Crap…" he whispered, dejected.
High above the city, he saw a small purple smear speeding off westward.
Polaris followed his gaze and let out a curse of their own.
"Something must have gone wrong. Why did she leave already?"
"They are almost an hour too early… What do we do?"
The two ponies exchanged a nervous glance. As usual, it was Polaris who recovered first.
"We can't turn back now. We must gather up and start ahead of plan. I'll go to the Roasted Apple, some might already be there. Try and gather the rest and meet me there in fifteen minutes." Sunbeam nodded uneasily and Polaris ran off.
Trying to draw as little attention to himself as he could, Sunbeam trotted through the streets of Canterlot, trying to find the rest of their group. By the time he was entering the Roasted Apple inn he was only able to find five. As expected, Polaris was already waiting there with a group of six more ponies. One of them was a burly earth pony Sunbeam hadn't met before. He assumed he was their Canterlot contact.
"Get in and lock the door!" Polaris ordered, and Sunbeam did as instructed. A couple of tables were already pushed together in the middle of the inn - a makeshift map of the city spread on top of them. Sunbeam quickly joined the rest of the group at Polaris' side.
"We're still missing a lot of ponies," Sunbeam remarked dryly.
"Yes, but we can't wait for them. Once we start, they'll have to figure things out somehow."
Silence set in for a minute as all the ponies together stared at the map. It was Polaris that interrupted it when she started handing out orders.
"You two will take the east city wall… you the square. You three, I want you to get to the hall and start a fire there – just make sure to get everypony out of there first; I don't care how!"
Sunbeam could tell how nervous she was as she spoke, but he doubted anypony else could. She was good at hiding her true feelings. He paid careful attention and tried to etch who was doing what into his memory. Once all the orders were handed out, Polaris ordered everypony to suit up.
Seeing the well-armored griffons just a few moments ago – the random assortment of armor pieces and weapons they were able to smuggle in seemed woefully inadequate. When they were done, only Sunbeam remained with no armor whatsoever. Polaris looked at him with a worried look in her eyes, but he just shook his head. They had discussed this already; the armor would just make it harder for him to focus on his magic.
All eyes turned to Polaris again. She took a deep breath, and her eyes scanned the ponies around her. "I'll be honest with you all: I had a small speech ready for today. Time is not on our side today, though, so I'll just tell you this: Every single one of you can be proud that you are here today. No matter what happens here today, you can always trot with your heads held high," she made a brief point to stress her point. Sunbeam noted that nopony as much as flinched when she looked at them.
"Today, we are going to change Equestria, and when we do, nopony will have to live their life in fear ever again! Now, let's show those griffons that this is still our home!"
Author's Note
Completely honestly, I usually start a story and then never finish it. Still, I really liked how this first chapter turned out so I decided to upload it. If I continue working on this, the plan is not to make it super dark and gloomy all the time, but there will definitely be a lot of darker moments. Plenty of OCs, none (or very few) characters from the show - except Twilight of course.
