As soon as Twilight had left, the students approached Pinkie and Heavy Steps. While the mare still couldn't move a muscle, she was fully aware of her surroundings and listened as the ponies fervently discussed what had just happened.

“That pony looked just like Twilight Sparkle on the posters,” somepony said.

“Yeah,” the other agreed. “What was she doing here?”

Pinkie's tail twitched.

The students tried to guess Twilight's motives, soon coming to the obvious conclusion that her appearance was somehow related to the diamond dogs’ attack. Pinkie agreed — the two events couldn't have been a coincidence. But why did Twilight bring those monsters here? The students’ leading theory was that she was conspiring with them, but that was ridiculous. The dogs were almost feral.

“I've never seen those two around,” a student said, poking Pinkie's side. She winced inwardly. “They took out those dogs like they were nothing. Who do you think they are?”

“How would I know?” another student, a mare, said. “That stallion is so hot though. Just look at him!”

Pinkie side-glanced at Heavy Steps and saw the mare practically groping his flanks. Poor stallion! A moment later her friend pulled her off to the side.

“He’s conscious, you fool,” he whispered loudly. The mare's face comically twisted into an expression of horror. “He's just paralyzed.”

Pinkie would have giggled at the mare quickly disappearing behind the crowd, if she wasn't paralyzed herself. Luckily, the spell’s hold on her had already begun to weaken, much to her relief.

She welcomed the feeling of thousands of tiny pinpricks running all over her body with joy. With her runic amulet, the spell shouldn't have affected her at all, but this was Twilight Sparkle she was dealing with. From what she had learned about her, the pony was a magical prodigy.

Pinkie groaned as the spell finally wore off, and she stumbled, barely catching herself before she hit the floor. She jumped from one hoof to another to restore the blood flow. Everypony went silent, looking at her with interest.

“Are you alright, miss?” one of the students asked in concern.

Pinkie shrugged. Her muscles felt a little stiff, but the feeling was quickly going away the more she moved around. She walked in front of Heavy Steps and looked him in the eyes. His pupils shrank, focusing on her.

“I have to go now, okay? Wait for me at the place we spent the night, I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.” Having said that, Pinkie addressed the ponies around her. “Make sure he's okay, okay? Okay.”

Not waiting for an answer, Pinkie pushed past the crowd and bolted downstairs to catch up with Twilight Sparkle. The random ponies on her way weren’t a problem as she slipped around or jumped over everypony on her way, not letting them delay her even for a second.

If Twilight thought she could get rid of her so easily, she was up for a big surprise!

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take that risk. You’re staying here.”

Her horn flashed.

Twilight felt a pain in it as soon as she had cast the spell, but there was no time to dwell on it, so she turned around and trotted down the stairs with determination, barely noticing the students scrambling out of her way. They followed her with their eyes, but Twilight couldn't care less — her only goal was to leave this place before the authorities arrived to investigate all the ruckus.

In hindsight, she realized that there were much safer locations to teleport to than her old Academy. Lucky Moonlight's house, for example. But when you're about to be buried under tons of rubble, and rabid bipedal dogs are breaking through your shield, your thoughts tend to be in disarray.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said, catching up to the unicorn. “I believe you’re drawing too much attention in that ensemble. And not the good kind, I'm afraid.”

Twilight looked down on herself and winced in disgust. She had been parading in her natural colors all along. Not to mention her bloodied barding that was wrapped around her body. Why hadn’t the others warned her sooner?! Twilight huffed in annoyance and trotted faster, suddenly conscious of the stares she was receiving.

There were a lot more ponies on the first floor, but most of the students were too busy talking to each another to pay Twilight much attention at first. That began to change, however, as she walked further down the corridor. She noticed some heads turning her way, whispering and pointing hooves.

“We need a place where we can change,” Twilight whispered to her companions.

Nopony argued with that. Twilight looked around as she trotted, searching for a bathroom and, having found the corresponding pair of doors, barged inside the one with a mare symbol on it. Midnight followed her after a moment’s hesitation.

Though the room seemed empty, Twilight walked to the center and flashed all the cabins open with her magic to make sure nopony was hiding inside. Her horn twinged in pain even after such a weak spell, but before Twilight could think about it, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air.

Twilight winced, flattening her ears, as she stared at the mare who had the misfortune of relieving her bladder at just that exact moment. She hadn’t actually considered what she was going to do if anypony was inside. The mare, in turn, stared back and, having finished her business, galloped out of the bathroom with her tail between her legs.

“Awkward,” Rarity stated the obvious.

Pinkie finally caught up with Twilight and her friends on the first floor. She shook her head in dismay — Twilight still looked like Twilight, which wasn't exactly smart, considering her posters were all over the city. At least her cutie mark was hidden by her barding, though a battered piece of armor presented a problem of its own. The ponies were already whispering and pointing at Twilight as she walked past them.

Pinkie slowed down to a trot, calming her breathing, her eyes glued to Twilight. Her heart was beating in her chest like a drum, but it was slowing down now. Her mind, however, was still racing as she thought of a way to help Twilight keep her identity hidden. Maybe a distraction?

Before she could come up with something, Twilight and her companions disappeared behind one of the side doors. Half a minute later a disheveled mare burst out of it as if the demons of Tartarus were on her tail.

“Huh.”

“We need to blend in,” Twilight said, approaching the mirror and unstrapping her armor by hoof and mouth, the mishap with the mare forgotten. “Hurry up.”

Rarity was busy washing her face without Twilight’s prompting, and the others joined her, scrubbing their coats from days’ worth of sweat, blood and dust. Midnight took off his badly damaged cape, shoving it into his duffel bag. Rarity’s sword and Lotus’s dagger went in there as well. Unfortunately, Midnight’s staff was too long to fit inside.

“I hope that’s all,” a childish voice grumbled. “It’s getting a bit tight in here.”

Twilight gaped at the green head with spikes as it poked out of the duffel bag. The little dragon had been so quiet throughout everything that had happened that he had completely slipped Twilight’s mind up until now.

“My barding has to fit in there,” Twilight said, recovering. “That thing cost us a small fortune. I don’t want to leave it here.”

“Fine…” Spike climbed out of the bag and waited as Twilight carefully stored her armor piece in it after scrubbing the blood off it. There was just enough room for the dragon left afterwards. “I can barely move!”

“At least you don’t have to carry that bag around,” Midnight grumbled in response.

Turning away, Twilight looked into the mirror at her weary face and sighed. She had seen better days. Her eyes flicked to the black amulet on her neck. It had the form of a triangle with black wings and a unicorn head on its top. A red gemstone rested in its center. The amulet emanated soothing warmness, which spread through Twilight’s body. It was nice to simply stand and gaze at it.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Midnight’s voice broke her trance.

“I’m fine,” Twilight waved him off and resumed washing herself, but her thoughts were still with the amulet.

Its power was not something to take lightly. The books had warned her to be cautious with the artifact, and yet she had been reckless enough to almost cost her and her friends their lives. She wasn’t ready to confront Everlight yet; that much was clear.

Done with washing, Twilight summoned her magic to change her coat to a light blue color. She waited for her horn to stop throbbing and then did the same with her mane. The hardest part was making her cutie mark look like a sole white star, rather than a constellation of her own six, but even that was something she was able to manage. A triumphant smile grew on her face despite the pain.

Cutie marks were tricky.

Changing them with magic wasn’t all that hard, but it quickly reverted to its original shape unless you supported it with a constant trickle of magic. Twilight had learned the trick after Midnight had recognized her cutie mark back at the library and had used it ever since.

“I think we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Twilight said.

One by one, they left the bathroom.

Pinkie Pie nodded in approval.

Twilight and the rest were doing a great job. Nopony was paying attention to them now. Pinkie followed them with a look of determination in her eyes. She had no idea what she was going to do to win Twilight’s trust, but she felt like she was about to find out.

“We’re almost there,” Midnight said, making his way straight for the exit door on the other side of the foyer.

As soon as the words had left his tongue, the door burst open and a group of ponies in Academy Security uniforms marched in. The eyes of everypony in the room turned to the new arrivals. Twilight and her friends stopped in their tracks, exchanging worried looks.

“Attention, everypony,” their leader addressed the room in a crispy but loud voice. “I kindly ask all of you to proceed outside in an organized fashion. This is not a drill. We’ll explain everything later.”

Twilight sighed in relief. She and her friends headed for the exit along with everypony else, when one of the students rushed to the security pony and whispered something to him. Twilight couldn’t hear their words, but the stallion’s eyes widened, and he stared at the student for a few seconds.

Twilight had a bad feeling about this.

The head of security gestured to his subordinates and they blocked the door. The students grumbled.

“Attention again, fillies and gentlecolts!” the security head raised his hooves, yelling above the crowd. “The dangerous criminal Twilight Sparkle was seen here, so nopony is allowed to leave the building until we find her!”

Twilight’s heart dropped to her hooves — she was going to be discovered! Her breathing quickened, but nopony had noticed her reaction as the room exploded in a flurry of emotions, ranging from shock to outrage.

The security pony was still saying something, but Twilight and her friends hurried back to where they’d come from while everypony’s attention was focused on the speaker. Reaching the end of the corridor, Twilight hushed everypony inside an empty classroom, locking the door behind them.

“Well, that sucks,” Midnight said.

Twilight nodded grimly as she approached the window and peeked through. It was at the front of the building, facing the main path to the gate out of the campus. A couple of security ponies were patrolling the territory. Another security pony galloped past them and yelled something.

“Damn it,” Twilight muttered, getting away from the window. He had probably alerted them to her presence.

Spike’s head popped out of the duffel bag.

“What happened?”

Midnight quickly explained the situation to him. The dragon scowled.

“I hate those security guys,” he said, puffing a stream of smoke out of his nostrils. Rarity winced, stepping further away. “I saw what you did with those dogs, Twilight. Can’t you do the same here?”

Twilight shuddered visibly. “The dogs were trying to eat us, Spike!” She said, giving him a hard look. “I’m not going to kill ponies just to get away. Besides, I can barely cast a spell right now. I think I overloaded my horn.”

“Oh, bummer.”

The group tried to come up with an escape plan, but while they talked, more of the city guards started to arrive at the campus. Twilight glanced out of the window and folded her ears, seeing a dozen of them marching through the main entrance.

The longer they stayed here, the harder it would be to escape.

“We can’t hide in this room forever.” Twilight said.

Nopony argued with that, but going out wasn’t a better option. If only Twilight could teleport… She had enough mana for the spell thanks to the amulet, but she wasn’t able to channel it through her horn without damaging it even further. It was like trying to push a big rope through a needle hole.

“We have no choice but to fight our way through,” Midnight said, stomping his staff on the floor. A few angry sparks came out. “There are not that many guards outside. I say we leave through the window, run to the fence and climb over it, fighting anypony on our way. That’s our best option.”

Rarity shook her head, looking outside. “I can see at least ten ponies on patrol, most of them unicorns. They’d just stun us from the distance.”

“My shield should hold for a bit, I think,” Twilight said without much certainty. “It’s a risky plan, but I think Midnight is right. I don’t see another way.”

“I do!” Pinkie Pie said.

Wait, what?! Twilight jumped in shock, feeling her hair stand on end and stared at the pink mare standing in their midst. Midnight pointed his staff at her with wild eyes, his horn ablaze. “Relax, guys. I told you I wanted to help, remember?”

“How in Tartarus did you get here?” Twilight asked incredulously. “You were supposed to be paralyzed for hours!”

The mare smiled smugly.

“I had help,” Pinkie said, pointing at a small green locket around her neck. “Zebrican rune magic! Works like a charm. Because it is a charm, get it?”

Twilight’s eyes snapped to the locket, a thousand questions on her mind. Zebrica was a faraway place from Equestria, populated by zebras, creatures with their own magic and culture. They were rare visitors in Equestria and seeing some of their actual work was a golden research opportunity! With regret, Twilight tore her eyes off the locket.

“I see,” the unicorn nodded calmly, though she was anything but. “Still, how did you get inside without anypony noticing? And where’s your royal guard friend?”

“You were so busy talking, a manticore could have slipped inside,” Pinkie answered with a smirk. “And my friend doesn’t have my charm, so he’s still stuck. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Anyway, do you want to hear my plan or not?”

A deep frown appeared on Twilight’s face. She didn’t trust the strange mare or her pal, but they were in a situation with nothing to lose. Besides, Twilight used to have the same doubts about Rarity, and the lady had proved to be trustworthy.

She felt somepony’s hoof touching her withers. “I think we should give her a chance, Twi,” Midnight said. “We’ll watch her if she tries something funny.”

Pinkie made a silly expression with her tongue rolling out. Everypony stared at her in confusion, and she giggled. “Sorry, just trying something funny.”

“She could have alerted the guards to our presence, Twilight,” Midnight continued, rolling his eyes at the mare’s antics. “If she wanted you to be captured, she had her chance.”

Twilight sighed. “Fine. But if you do something I don’t like, I’ll use something stronger than just a paralyzing spell on you, got it?” Twilight glared at her for a few seconds until the mare nodded. “Now, tell me your plan. What’s your name again?”

“Pinkie Pie, the P.I,” the mare said with a grin. “But my friends just call me Pinkie. So, my plan is…”

Pinkie’s plan turned out to be rather simple. In fact, it was so simple that Twilight was surprised she hadn’t come up with it herself. After a short discussion ironing out all the wrinkles, everypony agreed it was a good idea.

“We need to make sure nopony notices what’s going on,” Midnight said. “You think you can do your silence bubble spell, Twilight?”

The unicorn considered it for a moment. Usually, such a spell would be foal’s play, but in her current condition…

“I’ll do it,” Twilight said firmly, not letting even a hint of doubt slip into her voice.

“What about the windows?” Spike asked. He had left the duffel bag for now and was sitting on the teacher’s desk. “They may notice if you use your flashy unicorn magic.”

Twilight groaned in frustration but nodded to Spike in thanks.

“We’ll block them with those desks,” she said.

“Desks on the windows? Sure, that’s much better,” Spike chuckled. Twilight glared at the dragon.

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” she said sharply. “Does anypony have a better solution?”

Nopony did.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll work,” Pinkie grinned as she was about to sneak into the corridor. “See you later.”

Soon after she had left, Twilight started pacing around the classroom as her imagination supplied her with various ways the strange mare could harm them. Twilight’s rational side argued against it — it made no sense for Pinkie to do such a thing — but little about that pink pony made sense.

She was a complete stranger who somehow knew more about Twilight’s plan than even what she had told her friends. She claimed to have talked with Blueblood and she had a Royal Guardspony on her side. What were the chances of some random private investigator doing all that?

“Twilight, darling, you need to calm down,” Rarity blocked Twilight’s path. “We have to be at our best right now.”

Twilight pursed her lips and nodded curtly. Rarity was right, of course, but it was easier said than done.

They waited for five long minutes in relative silence. Time seemed to drag on and on, and the tension grew with every second. Everypony’s eyes were focused on the door, expecting something — anything — to happen, but when it cracked open, everypony was still startled.

“They’re coming,” Pinkie whispered loudly, rolling into the room like a bowling ball. “Four of them, so be ready!”

Twilight suddenly felt doubtful. It was four guards against them — a baby dragon, Lotus the Maid, Lady Rarity and Twilight, who was barely able to use magic. Midnight was their strongest fighter at the moment with his magical staff. Pinkie Pie remained a mystery, but considering what she and her friend had done to the diamond dogs, she was a formidable fighter in her own right. Was that enough?

“I’m not sure we can beat them,” Twilight voiced her concerns, causing the others to shift nervously. “We need to run before it’s too late.”

“It’s already too late,” Pinkie announced, her voice serious. She rummaged through her saddlebags, finding some weird-looking horseshoe-like contraption. “Don’t worry, we just need to take them by surprise. Easy as pie.”

Having said that, Pinkie leaped onto the desk and from there launched herself at the ceiling hindlegs first. To everypony’s surprise, she didn’t fall down but just stood there, defying the laws of gravity. Positioning herself right above the door, she looked at the others.

“What? Never seen a spider-hoof?” When everypony shook their heads, Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You,” — she pointed at Lotus — “take a seat over there and pretend to be working on something. Ignore them when they come in. Everypony else, hide somewhere and wait for my signal to attack. Okay?”

Everypony including Twilight followed Pinkie’s orders to the letter and waited. A few minutes later, the door opened again and a pony head in a gray helmet poked inside. It scanned the classroom and noticed Lotus.

“Miss?” a mare’s voice called out. “We need you to follow us to the auditorium, please.”

Lotus ignored her just as Pinkie had ordered, pretending to be lost in concentration. Her back was turned to the guard and her head was lowered so that the guards wouldn’t notice her distinctive lack of a horn. Twilight could see a frown through the guardsmare’s helmet.

“Miss?” she repeated, stepping inside fully. She was wielding a short spear. Lotus’s ear twitched, but she kept up her act. The guardsmare began to approach her. One of her friends entered as well, standing near the door. There were supposed to be four of them in total, so Twilight knew that two of them were still lingering outside. She bit her lip in worry while she prepared to cast her silence bubble spell.

She tore her gaze off the guards to look at Pinkie and noticed her gesturing wildly. The mare pointed at herself and then at the door. A moment later, Twilight nodded in understanding. Pinkie grinned. The next second she dropped like a rock.

“Here we go,” Twilight whispered, releasing the spell.

On cue, Midnight and Rarity flung the desks to block the view from the windows. The first guardsmare was just turning around with her spear at the noise, her mouth opened in a silent scream, when Twilight launched another desk into her, sending her crashing into her companion. Twilight winced — it looked pretty painful.

Both guards tried to get up but were assaulted by a barrage of paralyzing spells from Midnight and Twilight. The anti-magical wards on their armor were quickly overcome by the combined power of the two, and they fell unconscious.

Twilight almost followed their example, wavering on her hooves as she clutched her head. Midnight supported her from the side. Twilight glanced at the door through tears in her eyes, wondering if Pinkie needed any help, but the mare entered a moment later, dragging another unconscious guard with her. Twilight sighed in relief.

Pinkie looked at the others with a huge grin planted on her face and said something. The mare frowned, pointing at her mouth and raising an eyebrow at Twilight.

Oh, right.

Twilight dismissed the silence bubble, and the pain in her horn eased immediately. She rubbed it gently, feeling its hotness with her fetlock. No more casting for today, Twilight decided. She caught Midnight’s worried glance and forced a reassuring smile.

“I said, we did it!” Pinkie repeated. “Let’s dress up!”

The unconscious ponies were hastily dragged inside and freed from their garments. Unfortunately, the gender disposition of the group turned out to be all wrong. The guards had only one mare among them, so Twilight took her armor for herself. Midnight, as the only stallion in their group, took one set as well. That left one useless set of armor.

“Would be a perfect fit for my friend,” Pinkie murmured, putting on a security pony uniform. It was stallion-sized as well and hung on her in places, but it wasn’t as noticeable after Rarity tightened it up with a quick spell. “Too bad somepony had to paralyze him.”

Twilight snorted, giving Pinkie an annoyed glance. That guard was the one who had arrested her in the first place, even though she was innocent. It wasn’t Twilight’s fault she hadn’t trusted him right off the bat.

“It’s going to be alright, girls,” Rarity intervened. “We’ll make do with what we have.”

Pinkie nodded.

“We need to make sure our coats match theirs, Twilight,” she said, pointing at their captives. “That way we can pretend to be them!”

It was a good idea, but Twilight wasn’t up for casting anything for a while, so she explained the spell to Midnight and after a few failed attempts he got the gist of it. Twilight was surprised by how quickly he had learned it, but maybe she shouldn’t have been. After all, only the most talented ponies went through the advanced course at the Academy.

Before leaving the classroom behind, Midnight also cast another paralysis spell on each of the guards and piled up their bodies in a corner. Twilight and Midnight walked in the lead in their city guard’s disguise, while Pinkie was by their side in her campus security uniform.

Rarity was playing the role of a student while Lotus, being the only earth pony among them, was her servant, which was actually true. Unfortunately for her, she also had to carry the massive duffel bag with their supplies and Spike hiding inside as well as Midnight’s staff. Twilight was sweating under her heavy armor as she imagined all the ways their endeavor could go wrong.

Soon they were in the foyer.

A group of city guards reinforced by a few campus security ponies hung around the entrance. They looked at Twilight and she barely stopped herself from bolting off — their eyes seemed to be looking right through her disguise, seeing her for who she really was.

That was impossible, Twilight assured herself. They couldn’t see her face fully under her helmet, and her color was different. There was no way they could have recognized her. No way. Twilight took a deep breath through her nose and stared dead ahead as they approached the guards.

One of them — the sergeant, based on his stripes — looked Twilight and her group over.

“Where’s your other pony?” he asked Midnight, who also had the sergeant’s stripes on his armor.

“Eh, he went to take a leak,” the stallion answered in a strange voice and went into a coughing fit. “Sorry. I must have caught a cold or something.”

“Don’t even think about a sick leave, pal,” the guard chuckled. He turned his attention to Rarity, sizing her up. “Who’s she?”

“We were told to escort her and her servant outside,” Midnight explained. “She’s late for some event or something.”

Huffing, Rarity stepped forward with her chin raised high while waving her mane. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror, and she barely stopped herself from dragging the lady back. Rarity wasn’t supposed to do anything. It wasn’t part of the plan!

“I suggest you hurry up, darling,” Rarity said, ignoring Twilight’s silent pleas. “It would be unfortunate if I missed my scheduled meeting with the mayor. He would be most disappointed, as I’m sure you understand.”

The guard was silent for a moment; his expression couldn’t be seen clearly under his helmet.

“I understand, milady,” he nodded, turning back to Midnight. “Did the colonel give her clearance?”

“Of course,” Midnight confirmed. “She’s all clear.”

“Well, I guess it’s alright then,” the sergeant said and moved out of the way. “Have a good time, milady.”

Twilight exhaled in relief.

Rarity scoffed, not bothering to answer the lowly guard, and slowly walked through the doors like she owned the place. Midnight gave an apologetic shrug to the sergeant and followed the lady, the others moving a step behind him. When the doors closed, Twilight’s knees almost gave out on the spot.

“I can’t believe it actually worked,” she whispered, and Pinkie gave her a wink.

“See? I told you it would,” the pink mare smiled. Then she looked at Rarity. “Good job playing a snooty noble, by the way. You were a natural at that!”

The unicorn glared back at her with disdain. “Excuse me?”

“It’s a compliment, silly,” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I’m saying you’re a good actress.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Well, thank you then, darling.”

“Quit it,” Twilight snapped, suddenly annoyed at their chatter. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Let’s go.”

The two fell quiet and the group walked to the main exit. The guards patrolling the ground barely spared a glance in their direction — their attention was focused on the campus building. The plan was working perfectly, but for some reason it made Twilight even more nervous.

Her eyes darted around, trying to see any problem in advance, but everything seemed to be in order. They were approaching the exit and nopony had called out to them in alarm. Nopony had tried to stop them. Perhaps the plan would indeed work perfectly.

As if answering her thoughts, one of the guards at the gate removed his helmet, and Twilight’s heart took a sudden leap off a cliff. She just froze in the middle of the path, staring at his face in a mix of surprise and fear. She should have accounted for the possibility of him being here!

“Twilight, move,” Midnight whispered urgently. “We’re starting to draw attention.”

Twilight realized that the guards at the checkpoint were staring at them. Gulping, she forced herself to move forward step by step. Her breathing quickened, and her feelings were in turmoil – all because of one snow-white stallion.

Her brother.

He stood proudly, his sapphire mane with a cyan stripe flowing freely in the wind. His azure eyes watched Twilight and her group as they came closer. When they had gotten close enough, he gestured for them to stop.

“State your intentions, troops,” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight paled. She tried to keep her face expressionless, but she had a suspicion that her brother had caught on to her nervousness. He was good at that kind of thing. Good thing I don’t have to open my mouth, Twilight thought, while Midnight repeated the tale they had fed to the previous guards.

But unlike them, Shining Armor wasn’t buying it.

Unlike her brother, Twilight had never been good at reading ponies’ emotions. Her brother was the sole exception to that rule. She could see his pursed lips and his slightly narrowed eyes — a telltale sign that Shining Armor suspected something was up.

“What’s your name and rank, guard?” he asked after Midnight had finished talking.

“Eh…” Midnight seemed to have lost his voice as he desperately tried to remember the guard’s ID. A small medallion containing it was hanging on his neck, but looking at it now would be a dead giveaway. “Sergeant Brazen Tongue, sir.”

“I see,” Shining nodded, turning his eyes to Twilight and gazing at her for a few long moments. She avoided meeting his eyes. “And who would you be?”

Twilight felt sweat appear on her brows. Her whole body itched horribly under the armor, but she stood as still as a statue, desperately trying to come up with something to get herself out of this predicament without talking. If she opened her mouth, her brother would recognize her voice immediately.

But would that really be so bad?

“We’re in a bit of a hurry, darling,” Rarity stepped in, providing a much-needed distraction. “You see, the mayor—”

“I’ll get to you in a second, miss,” Shining Armor interrupted her, not breaking his eyes off Twilight.

Rarity snorted but backed off.

“My name is Private Silver, sir,” Twilight finally answered, easily recalling the guardsmare’s name.

Her magenta eyes met with her brother’s sky-blue ones, and she saw them widen in recognition. He knew who she was now. The question was what he was going to do with it. He was the guard, and she was the wanted criminal. She loved her brother and knew he loved her in return, but was that enough for him to break his oath of service?

She stared at him, unblinking, hoping for the answer to be yes.

“Ah, Private Silver, of course,” Shining Armor drawled slowly, and Twilight almost sagged to the ground in relief. She even allowed herself a thin smile.

“I can’t let you leave the Academy grounds though, sorry,” Shining Armor said, and Twilight’s smile was gone in an instant. “Please, return to the campus.”

Twilight calmed down slightly as her mind analyzed her brother’s words. He refused to let her through as she had hoped, but he didn’t turn her in either. Shining Armor didn’t want to risk his career by allowing a dangerous criminal such as herself to escape, but at the same time, he wasn’t going out of his way to catch her. His neutrality was painful, but Twilight understood his position.

She sighed. Well, time to execute plan B.

“Lieutenant Armor, sir,” one of the guards stepped forward, his eyes focused on Twilight. “Don’t you think this whole situation is suspicious?”

Twilight ignored his gaze, looking at her friends instead. She gave them a tiny nod.

“What do you mean, sergeant?” Shining Armor asked calmly.

“Well, for one, I know Private Silver personally, and that’s not her,” the guard answered, lighting up his horn. The other guards behind him tensed up, looking between him and Shining Armor. “We’re here after Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn of considerable magical skill. Hiding beneath a disguise is well within her capabilities. As her brother, you—”

“Code Sparkle!”

Everypony turned to look at Twilight, and she smiled, bracing herself for what was coming. Hopefully her friends would remember to close their eyes…

A blinding flash of light came off her horn a moment later. Like levitation, hornlight was one of the most basic spells available to a unicorn. It required a tiny amount of magic to use. All Twilight had to do was turn it up to eleven, and the result burned even through her closed eyelids. Twilight was afraid to imagine what it had done to the poor guards.

The spell lasted for less than a second, but Twilight felt as if she had dipped her horn into hot lava when she stopped. She opened her eyes to see a bunch of guards yelling in pain, covering their eyes. Shining Armor was one of them.

Twilight briefly considered leaving him there, but she almost immediately felt ashamed for even having that thought. That annoying sergeant was onto him, so he was already in trouble. Leaving him with the rest of the guards would only lead to his imprisonment, and she wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Shining, follow me, please,” Twilight said, grabbing her brother by his hoof.

Together, they ran into the city.

The chase lasted for hours.

Shining Armor led their group after he had recovered. He knew the city well, skillfully navigating its streets and avoiding the patrols until they had ended up in a small isolated street at the opposite end of the city. Here, the exhausted ponies were finally allowed to catch their breath.

“I think we’ve lost them. Now, Twilight Sparkle, you’re going to have to explain everything to me,” Shining said in a voice that sent chills down Twilight’s spine. He had been silent throughout their escape, giving only curt orders about which way to turn, but Twilight knew something like that was coming.

“Just give me a moment…”

She fell onto her haunches, panting heavily. Even though she had ditched her stolen guard armor early on, the whole running business was still pretty exhausting. Unlike her brother, she had never been good at physical activities. Only Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie looked almost fresh after hours spent gallivanting around the city.

“Are you actually Twilight’s brother?” Rarity asked, examining the stallion.

Twilight looked around, noticing the tense looks her friends were giving Shining Armor. It was understandable, considering Twilight had never mentioned him being a city guard before. They had every right to be nervous.

“Yes, he is my actual brother,” Twilight answered before Shining could open his mouth. “He’s also a city guard! Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Rarity let out a sigh of exasperation, while the others accepted her explanation with a simple nod. At this point, Spike’s head popped out of the duffel bag.

“Have we escaped yet?” he asked, twisting his head around. “My legs are getting all stiff in here.”

Shining Armor gaped at the creature.

“Is that a baby dragon? Damn it, Twily, how did you get a baby dragon?”

Twilight smiled briefly, but then her expression darkened as she remembered the situation they were in. They may have escaped from the Academy, but now the whole city was going to be on high alert looking for them. They were far from safe here.

“No, Spike, we haven’t. Get back in your bag.”

Spike followed her orders with a loud groan, and Twilight turned her attention back to Shining.

“Long story short — we found Spike in the tunnels under Canterlot.”

Shining Armor raised his eyebrows. “In the tunnels?”

“Yep,” she nodded.

Twilight briefly explained her search for the Alicorn Amulet, starting with the night the king was poisoned to meeting Rarity in the Library and then having to go into the tunnels to escape from the ponies who were after her. Her brother listened without interruption, looking from one pony to another as they were introduced into Twilight’s story. She finished by telling him about their narrow escape from the depths of the mountain.

“That’s quite a tale, I say…” Shining murmured, eyeing the Amulet on Twilight’s neck warily.

Twilight’s ears fell. “You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say that,” Shining Armor shook his head. “It’s just a bit wild, that’s all. You’ve been through a lot.” Having said that, he approached Twilight and surprised her with a hug. “I thought I’d never see you again, Twily.”

Twilight let herself relax in her brother’s hug and then returned it with as much strength as she could muster.

“I missed you too, BBBFF.”

They held each other for a while until Shining Armor finally released her.

“I’m sorry for not letting you through back at the checkpoint,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without exposing you at the same time. Well, you saw how that turned out.”

“The guards in the building let us through just fine,” Midnight pointed out.

Shining Armor let out a long sigh. “Those slackers… I was trying to get rid of such an attitude in my unit.”

“Well, it’s good that not everypony is as competent as you are, darling,” Rarity smiled. Twilight frowned, noticing her alluring gaze. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it out in the first place.”

“That’s one way to look at it, Lady Rarity,” Shining said, smiling back. “Anyway, the sergeant was put into my unit to watch me just in case they encountered such a situation. I guess they were right to worry, huh?”

“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble,” Twilight said, lowering her gaze. “I figured they’d be watching you. That’s why I avoided contacting you all that time.”

Shining put a foreleg over her withers and gave it a squeeze.

“It’s not your fault, sis,” he said. “I never believed that you were behind the king’s assassination attempt. Mom and dad didn’t either.”

“Mom and dad!” both exclaimed simultaneously.

Everypony looked at them in alarm.

“We need to get to them right now,” Twilight said, jumping onto her hooves, her exhaustion temporarily forgotten.

Shining Armor nodded grimly.

The group was on its way immediately. As they walked, Twilight explained the situation to her friends. Her parents would be in more danger than ever because Shining Armor had joined their little group. One of the reasons why Twilight had never tried to contact them before was the fear that Everlight had already done something to harm them by the time she had reached Canterlot. It had been easier to pretend that everything was fine and work towards bringing Everlight down, rather than face reality, whatever it might have been.

Twilight was happy to learn that her fears were unfounded, but now, however, there were going to be some repercussions for sure. She would not let that happen.

“Great, we’re on the run again,” a voice grumbled from the duffel bag.

Twilight ignored it.

Soon they were just a couple of streets away from her parent’s house. At least that was what Shining Armor said — Twilight barely recognized the neighborhood herself. Not because it had drastically changed, but because she had always been too busy with her studies to explore it.

“Hold here,” Shining Armor raised his hoof when they were a street away. He looked at Twilight. “Our house is being watched. We need to take them out first, quietly.”

Twilight furrowed her brows, observing the street in front of her. It wasn’t one of the main streets, so there weren’t too many ponies around. She couldn’t see anypony who stuck around for too long. “Do you know what they look like? I don’t see—”

“They’re not outside, silly,” Pinkie Pie interrupted her, a wide grin on her face. “If I were them, I would rent a place nearby with a perfect view of the house.”

Shining Armor nodded, giving her a surprised look.

“She’s right, actually,” he said. “It’s the place opposite to ours. You haven’t mentioned her in your story, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m a new character in it,” Pinkie explained. “I’ll go deal with those spies now so that Twilight has something more to tell about me later.”

Having said that, the pink mare practically vanished into thin air. Twilight blinked in confusion, turning her head around and catching a glimpse of her tail on the roof before it disappeared. She’s fast, Twilight thought with amazement.

“That’s impressive,” Shining Armor commented flatly. “But can she deal with them on her own?”

“Well, she was the one who dealt with the diamond dogs I brought to the Academy,” Twilight shrugged, chuckling nervously. “That’s how we met her for the first time, actually.”

Her brother widened his eyes slightly. “Wait, that was your first meeting?”

“Yep, that was it,” Twilight said. “She and her friend met us there and offered their help. She said that she’s a private investigator.”

“She knew all about our plan concerning Everlight,” Rarity pointed out. “Even more than Twilight herself told us, I might add.”

Twilight winced at the jab. She hadn’t told her friends about Blueblood’s involvement for what was a good reason at the time, and with all the craziness later it just didn’t seem important. It wasn’t because she didn’t trust them.

“Don’t worry, darling, I understand,” Rarity waved her excuses away. “I was just stating a fact.”

“Interesting,” Shining Armor said. “I’ll keep an eye on her until I’m sure we can trust her.”

As the ponies waited for Pinkie to return, they talked about their next step. The first order of business was finding a safe place to wait until the commotion caused by Twilight had quieted down.

“That’s the first place I would check,” Shining Armor dismissed the idea of renting a room in some hotel. “We need something else.”

Everypony mulled over the problem. Twilight glanced at Midnight, wondering about his place, but then remembered that he lived with his parents. She didn’t want to endanger them as well. Rarity’s cottage was out of the question too, for obvious reasons.

“We can hide in the tunnels again,” Spike suggested from the duffel bag. “I don’t want to go back, but it’s better than being caught.”

Rarity huffed.

“No, thank you. I’ve had enough of that dreadful place to last me a lifetime!”

“Yeah, we barely escaped the last time,” Midnight supported her.

“You’ve got to tell me more about that place once we’re safe,” Shining Armor muttered, shaking his head. “Anyway, there are some places out in the slums where the homeless stay. We could spend a few nights there. Not the best option, but it’s something.”

“We don’t look like homeless ponies though,” Midnight pointed out, and Shining’s expression fell. “Sorry.”

“Nah, you’re right. It was stupid. We need something more private anyway.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up with an idea.

“I think I know just the place for us,” she said, throwing a glance at Rarity. “Nopony would think to check that one, that’s for sure.”

Rarity blinked in confusion, but then her pupils shrank. “You’re not thinking what I’m thinking, are you?”

“Exactly that.”

“Care to enlighten us, sis?” Shining Armor intervened.

Twilight gladly shared her idea with everypony. Shining Armor was thoughtful for a few seconds and then nodded in agreement.

“That could work,” he said.

Rarity stared at him in horror.

“I’d rather sleep in the tunnels again than be in one house with that ruffian!”

“Well, nopony’s stopping you,” Twilight snapped.

Rarity huffed and turned away, her expression a cold mask. Twilight ignored her, tired from her complaints. The next few minutes went by in relative silence until Pinkie Pie finally appeared from behind the corner, whistling an upbeat tune.

“The path is clear!” she announced.

Shining Armor went in to confirm her words first, before allowing everypony to approach their parent’s house. It was a nice two-story cottage built out of gray stone like most of the houses in Canterlot. There was nothing special about it, except for it being Twilight’s family home.

Her family had moved here after the king had taken Twilight under his wing, so to speak. They used to live near the slums prior to that, but thankfully, Twilight had been too small to remember any details. Shining did, but he preferred to keep those memories to himself.

“That’s going to be quite a shock for your parents, I imagine,” Rarity noted as Shining Armor opened the door.

The stallion entered first and everypony followed him into the living room. Two middle-aged ponies — a gray mare with a mane of purple and white, and a dark azure stallion with a blue mane — were sitting on a sofa, engaging in a conversation. They looked at the newcomers in surprise.

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat.

“You’re home early, dear,” the mare said, getting up from her sofa. “And with guests, no less! My name is Twilight Velvet,” she introduced herself with a smile. “My husband is Night Light. Welcome to our home!”

Twilight stared at her mom, tears welling up in her eyes. She had kept herself from thinking about her family too much — what was the point if she had been unlikely to ever see them again — but now she realized just how much she had missed them.

“I know who you are, mom,” Twilight said, offering a thin smile. She gestured for Midnight to remove their disguise. “It’s me.”

Twilight Velvet gasped, while her father shot up from his couch as if he had been sitting on a hotplate. Both were on her at the same time, locking her in a tight hug. Twilight couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, letting them roll down her cheeks freely.

The hug lasted for some time until they finally released her.

“We feared we’d never see you again, dear.”

“I’m glad we were wrong,” Night Light added with a warm smile. “But isn’t it dangerous for you to come to us, though? Shining told us we were being watched.”

“Not anymore,” Pinkie Pie assured them with a wink.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light gave her a confused look.

“Look, I’m going to explain everything later,” Shining Armor said. “Right now, I need you to pack up your necessities and go with us. We’re all in danger.”

His words had dampened the mood of the reunion.

“What… what do you mean, son?” Night Light asked, drooping his ears. “What happened?”

“It’s my fault, dad,” Twilight said, slumping. “I dragged you all into this…”

“It’s not your fault, Twily,” Shining Armor said, nuzzling her neck. “We’re a family, and we’re going to deal with this together.”

Midnight and Rarity joined her by her sides, their silent presence giving her the comfort she needed. Twilight nodded, suppressing a sob. “Thank you.”

“Now, let’s hurry up, everypony!” Shining Armor ordered.

Half an hour later, they were moving through the streets of Canterlot once again. Plenty of city guard patrols were out and about by that time, no doubt looking for them, but Midnight’s disguise had proved to be enough to avoid their attention.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for helping my daughter, dearies,” Velvet said, addressing the group. “I was afraid she was all alone out there.”

“It’s been my pleasure,” Midnight said with a smile.

Rarity bowed her head slightly. “You’re welcome, darling.”

Pinkie and Lotus remained quiet.

Twilight shot the pink unicorn a side glance, wondering what was on her mind. She had been acting unusually quiet lately. Not that Twilight had any frame of reference to determine if that was unusual, but she had been acting upbeat ever since she had joined them. Not anymore, though.

“So, how do you know my daughter?”

“I know her from our time at the Academy,” Midnight started first, “I was working there in the library after my graduation, when I heard the news. I didn’t believe it, of course, so when I saw Twilight at the library, I decided to help.”

“You went to the library?!” Velvet gasped, staring at Twilight. “When the whole country is looking for you?”

“Oh, calm down, mom,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I was wearing a disguise just like now. The only reason he recognized me was that I exposed my cutie mark. I’m much better at this now.”

“It still seems foolhardy, Twi,” Night Light intervened. “Your mark is on every poster. You were lucky only he recognized it.”

Twilight sighed, pointing at Rarity, “Well, she did too, actually.” Velvet widened her eyes in horror. “But it turned out well! She’s helped us a great deal!”

As they walked, Twilight shared some of the details about what had happened to her since she had left for Birminghoof. She spared them the details of her torture at the hooves of Everlight, but she included the bit about Blueblood saving her. Rarity and Midnight listened in too, since she hadn’t shared that part with them before.

“We’re close,” Shining Armor said when Twilight was halfway through her story.

Twilight nodded and promised to continue her story later.

She looked around, noting that they were deep in the poor neighborhood by now. A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the old cottage that belonged to Lucky Moonlight. It looked just like the last time Twilight and Rarity had been here.

“This place is repulsing,” Rarity said, glaring at the cottage through narrowed eye slits. “Its owner is even more so.”

“It’s the best thing we’re going to get,” Twilight said with a pang of annoyance, approaching the door. “So, shut up.”

Rarity stared at her in shock. It felt good to put her in her place. The lady’s attitude was getting on her nerves.

Twilight frowned as a disturbing thought entered her mind. She glanced at the Amulet on her chest with worry. Everything she had read about it had warned her about its negative influence on a pony’s mind. What if it had already started?

“Sorry about that,” Twilight murmured apologetically to Rarity as she knocked on the door. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“That’s alright, darling,” Rarity said, eyeing her warily. “We’re all on edge.”

Everypony crowded behind Twilight, waiting. It took a few more knocks until the door finally opened, revealing an old unicorn. He squinted his eyes at Twilight and the small crowd behind her, blinking in confusion.

“Who in Tartarus are you all?” he said, backing away slightly.

“My friend and I asked you some questions about the Alicorn Amulet a few weeks ago, remember?”

Lucky’s eyes widened in recognition.

“It’s you again!” he exclaimed, thrusting an accusing hoof into her chest. “I could swear you had a different coat color the last time… Anyway, what do you want?”

“My friends and I need to stay at your place for a bit,” Twilight said, batting his hoof away. “We’ll pay you handsomely for that.”

Lucky scowled. “You. Stole. My. Book!” he yelled, poking his hoof at Twilight again after each word. “It was valuable to me, you know!”

Twilight’s face burned with shame — she had indeed taken his book without asking — but it wasn’t like he was using it anyway. It was rotting in his basement, for pony’s sake! She hadn’t stolen the book; she had saved it. Lucky, however, refused to see things her way.

“Give me my book back or get the fuck out!” the stallion yelled at her face.

Twilight winced from his alcohol breath assaulting her sense of smell. She backed away, almost falling down the stairs, and Shining Armor stepped forward.

“Listen here, pal,” he growled, grabbing the stallion’s hoof in his magic. “We’re staying at your place either way. Getting paid for that or not is your own choice.”

Having said that, Shining forced his way through, levitating a struggling Lucky into the air. Everypony followed them quietly.

“It’s a home invasion!” Lucky screamed. “I’ll get you all in jail!”

Shining Armor dropped him into the main room, and the unicorn quickly scrambled to his hooves, his face twisted in rage. He was breathing heavily as his eyes went from one face to another, his expression slowly changing from rage to uncertainty.

Lucky was badly outnumbered.

“So… you’re gonna pay me, you say?”

There was enough room for everypony in the cottage. It badly needed some cleaning up, but a few hours later they had managed to bring the place into a somewhat decent condition. Lucky kept out of their way most of the time, having locked himself in his bedroom.

“Now, that’s not so bad after all,” Rarity said, replacing the old drapes with the ones she had found in one of the lockers. They looked like they had never been used.

“They’re gorgeous,” Spike said, and Rarity glanced at him suspiciously.

“Yes, they are.”

Twilight’s parents handled Spike’s introduction in stride. After everything that had been happening to their family lately, the presence of a baby dragon seemed almost normal in comparison. It helped that Spike acted nothing like his bigger counterparts in old stories, being polite and even helping to clean the house.

While the others were working, Twilight was spending most of the time resting on the floor, which was preferable to lying on the run-down couch with strange dark spots on it. She had tried to help too, but her friends insisted that she needed rest. After a bit of arguing, Twilight had relented.

“How do you feel?” Midnight asked, scrubbing the floor nearby.

“Better, I guess,” Twilight answered, toying with the Amulet in front of her. She had taken it off at some point and was surprised how much easier it had become to think after that. “I’ll need to study the Amulet more before I try to use it again.”

Midnight nodded. “I’ll help you in any way I can. You’ll need to rest your horn for a while.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Before the day came to an end, Midnight and Lotus made a trip to the nearest store, returning with loads of food, since Lucky’s supplies consisted mostly of various unnamed bottles and a few stacks of dry grass. Twilight felt sick just from looking at it.

“Twilight, dear, the food’s ready!” her mom’s voice called.

“Coming!” Twilight yelled back, closing the history book she was reading with slight regret.

As soon as she had entered the dining room, however, any regrets she might have had were washed away by the delicious smell. Her stomach growled in excitement, and she blushed when everypony turned to look at her. It had been days since she’d had a decent meal.

“That smells great, mom,” she smiled.

“Oh, I just helped a bit,” Velvet waved her hoof. “It was all Lotus! The dear knows how to cook.”

The earth pony beamed with pride as everypony gave her their thanks.

During the meal, Twilight finished the story of her adventures so far, downplaying the most dangerous parts for the sake of her parents. Judging by the look on their faces, it didn’t seem like they quite believed her though.

“Oh, dear…” Velvet shook her head. “I knew you were in trouble, but that… Monsters, diamond dogs, the regent’s goons after you…”

“Technically, the goons were after me, darling,” Rarity corrected her and looked at Twilight. “Speaking of them. How are we going to save my — and Lotus’ — sister now that you’ve got the Amulet?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I figured I’d ask Everlight once I broke into his palace or something.”

“But what if he does something to them?” Rarity asked. “We need to find them first. You promised, remember?”

Twilight sighed. “Yes, I did. But how are we going to find them? Those ponies could have taken them anywhere by now. I’m not a detective, Rarity. I’m sorry. If I knew where your sister was, I wouldn’t hesitate to fight those guys again.”

Rarity pursed her lips, shaking her head. She knew the truth in Twilight’s words herself, but it was hard to accept that her sister’s life depended on the whims of their enemy.

“So, both your and Lotus’ sister were kidnapped?” Pinkie Pie asked. Rarity nodded briefly. “You know, I’m a P.I, right? Half of my jobs have been to find a victim of kidnapping.”

Twilight and Rarity looked at her slowly, and the mare grinned. Suddenly, she snapped off her horn. Everypony recoiled in shock — somepony even fell off their chair — while Pinkie just giggled madly.

“Forgot to tell you, I’m an earth pony, actually,” she said as her mane seemed to puff up a little. “It was just a disguise. You should have seen your faces!” Pinkie’s face turned serious the next moment. “Anyway, nopony deserves to lose their sibling. I’m going to help you find your missing sisters, I promise. Consider P.I. Pie to be on the case!”

Another chapter is ready!
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