"Mother fucker." I cursed to myself, still standing alone amongst the bodies of the dead Nazis. I could see the Police who had taken cover in the Town Hall, who peeked over their makeshift barricade occasionally.

"Stay where you are!" They repeated through their megaphone.

"Yeah... No." I sighed as I replaced the modified Gaseous Form spell with the regular one. I instantly allowed myself to collapse into a pool of darkness. With the dead giving me cover, and in the dimly lit street, it was absurdly easy to get off the road and into the shadows between the nearby buildings.

God I'm an idiot. Why did I do that?! The feds and Celestia are going to be on our asses before the hour is up!

Aw hell, what I was going to do about Sunset?

I slithered up a building like a snake, recollecting myself on the roof. The sirens were much closer now, and I could see a plethora of red and blue lights flashing off buildings only a block away. Through the sparse openings between the buildings, I could make out ambulances, police cars, and SWAT vans.

The noose was tightening once again.

There was no time to lose! I needed to get Sunset and get the hell out of here!

Once more I took to the sky, still as little more than a black cloud. If the feds had their thaumic trackers nearby, they'd be detect me for sure, but at least this way they wouldn't be able to knock me back onto the ground with a good shot. It would have to do.

As I rose higher, I could see the still fleeing crowds of people scattered throughout the city. Many of them had been cornered by police cars and vans, both marked and unmarked. Already I could see official looking people starting the process of mass interviews.

Wait... Where did all of these agency vehicles come from? Why weren't they defending the Town Hall? Why were there so many for this one small-

...

Oh Luna you idiot! You absolute fool! Not only should I not have interfered, but the feds were still on my tail from Flagstaff! It was the only logical explanation for how so many got here so fast! They must've had a better thaumic tracker than I thought!

That meant...

I would've shivered if I was physical.

I would need to shut down my mind again...

Fuck fuck fuck!

How could I escape this time? Ideally, I'd need Sunset to smuggle me out again... But how could I get to her undetected if they were tracking me? That meant I would have to suppress my mind to get to the hotel... Could I even shut down my mind but retain enough autonomy to walk unaided?

Where was the damned hotel anyway?

I turned midair to see if I could find... Ah! There it was!

There has to be another way!

I'm open to suggestions! It's not like I want to!

How could there be? The FBI will hunt down online posts threatening anyone in their government with prejudice! Even if it's on some backwater site that gets like ten people a month tops! Maybe especially those people! Now those same FBI agents want us in chains, and have an isolated radio signal that leads them directly to you! There is no way, other than turning off your signal to get over there without giving Sunset away! We have no options!

The logic was flawless. Even if I were to sneak into the sewer system there was the opposite of a guarantee that I would find Sunset again. And if I were to just hightail it over there, get Sunset into the car and tell her to floor it before anyone could respond, all it would take to compromise the car itself was the FBI comparing security footage of the car peeling out of the parking lot, to their information on where the thaumic tracker was pointing! From there it would've been easy to flag her license plate with a federal warrant and get us pulled over before we even left the state!

It was suppress my mind or surrender.

And there was no way I'd be going back to Celestia. Especially in a cage.

I floated back down to the ground, towards a shadowy alley that connected to a decently sized web of darkness that stretched through out the city. But all too quickly I touched the ground, letting the Gaseous Form drop and becoming solid once again. Working quickly, I also dissipated the plate armor, as it was an inherently magical item and thus probably could be detected.

With all of my excuses gone, and time constantly shrinking, I started to box away all my emotions.

Fuck I hope this works!

Box.

They'll be on me any moment!

Box.

Which way was it to the hotel again?

Bo-

Actually keep that one out.

Box.

Is there anything left? Anything at-

Box.

Time was still running out! I had to hurry! I had to-

Box.

Box.

Box.

Box.

Nothing rose to my mind.

I prayed that I could-

Box.

I started walking in the direction of the distant point.

What was there, I no longer knew, but I did know it was my best chance at survival.

Two walls of stone rose on ether side of me as I trudged forward. Unrecognized and purpose unknown. Things covered in something black and shiny littered the area around the stonework.

Something loud and screaming whirled by ahead.

Acting only on instinct, I dove for some of the refuse off to the side, hoping that whatever that was hadn't seen me.

Only the wail of other screaming things greeted my ears, away in the distance.

Cautiously, I looked around the black shiny thing. Nothing stirred beyond the corner of the stone. While I could stay here, the point in my head demanded that I reach it. I had no choice but to leave the hiding place behind.

I approached the edge of the shadows, but didn't step into the light cast by the nearby tall thing.

Stepping into the light was death. That much was clear.

How would I go forward then?

The light shone over a small expanse of black stone, on which my goal lay somewhere on the other side. But the light was uneven, and left faint shadows where I could cross.

The nearest one was available because one of the stone monuments beside me had a sort of canopy, like a broad white colored leaf. From there I could cross the expanse safely.

If there wasn't any of the screaming things watching that is.

I scurried over to the the darkest point under the canopy and looked out, watching for any of the wailing creatures.

One, much smaller than the last, choose that moment to run by, making me pin my ears back in fright.

Had it seen me? I was still in the shadows! Was it now somehow calling to its herd mates?

But suddenly I realized that since it hadn't charged at me, it would be forced to take a moment to turn around for another run.

I took the opportunity and dashed across the shaded path!

It felt like I was out in the open forever. Clopclopclopclopclop! My hooves pounded on the stone!

I only came to a stop on the opposite side, once again safely enshrouded in total shadow.

I glanced fearfully about, looking for the wailing thing to rush in for an attack.

None came.

An immense feeling of relief washed over-

Box.

And so I turned away from the light continued my journey into the unknown.

I crossed many expanses of black stone. Hiding from the wailing things that zipped by as I went. But occasionally, I had to duck even further into the shadows, as things with only two legs walked by.

"Didja hear what happened? Terrorist attack at the Town Hall!"

"Did you see that thing? I was certain I was going to die!"

"Hey! You there! Curfew is in effect! Return to your homes!"

"That's who the horse is looking for?! No fucking wonder! Has to be some sort of criminal that needs to be locked away in the deepest hole they have, and then throw away the key for good measure!"

A shiver ran down my spine as I heard that one. Although I couldn't explain why... Maybe it had something to do with all the box-

Box.

...

I moved on.

Suddenly, the point in my head stopped being so insistent. I glanced around, hoping to see the thing that I came for. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I had a feeling that I would know it when I saw it. Nothing stood out, so I kept to the shadows in the nearby bushes.

As I crawled through the leaves, the flashing lights of the wailing things caught my attention. I felt a prick of curiosity, but did not put it in a box.

It was just too important to find what I was looking for.

I crept forward, only stopping when another black stone expanse greeted me. Unlike before however, the wailing things were everywhere, flashing their red and blue lights. Uniformed two legged creatures wandered between them, speaking with-

A Pony! A fellow Pony!

I almost broke cover, if the Pony was safe, I would be too...

But something held me back. Something in my head warned me that fellow Ponies weren't at all safe. Quite the opposite in fact. I didn't think about why. Just that it was.

I kept watching, suspecting that the something I needed might be in the middle of all-

The car!

The red car sat, undisturbed as the officers walked around. Something in my head sparked as I examined it. The newly named "car" was important somehow, but wasn't what I was looking for.

But it was related to it.

What was-

"Get your hands off me you fucking pigs!"

I felt my ears perk.

That voice...

Several of the officers came out of the nearby stone, struggling with another two legged being between them.

The sight of shockingly red and yellow hair caused my mind to spark harshly.

Sunset!

That's what I was looking for! That's who I was-

"God damn pigs! I know my rights! You fat donut munching-"

She had been captured.

The boxes in my head all began to shake and vibrate wildly as whatever was inside them suddenly wanted out.

I almost panicked, but the severity of the situation kept me calm.

It was time to do or die.

Box!

Box!

Box!

Box!

All of you! Into these bigger and stronger boxes!

Box!

Box!

I boxed everything. The things in the boxes still struggled, but the effect was much smaller now that they were doubly contained.

I turned away as Sunset was stuffed inside one of the wailing cars... Who ranted all the while.

"I thought this was America! Not some third world tinpot dictatorship!"

I started crawling away as the door closed, severely muffling her voice.

I'm sorry Sunset... I'm so sorry...

Box.

I wandered away into the night.