Snap!

The stallion quickly stood up and went into a defensive stance. A quick scan of the area revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

Fwoosh!

He didn't even have to look to dodge the arrow. After years on the run, he had developed a sixth sense when it came to danger. A gaze in the direction the arrow came from revealed nothing.

Zip! Zip! Zip!

Three more arrows, all from different directions. The stallion chuckled inwardly at this attempt to intimidate him. He only had to duck, and the arrows collided with each other right above his head.

A slight rustle betrayed his attacker's location. It was too dangerous for a fire spell in the forest, so he went with a telekinetic shove to stun his attacker instead.

It was some young guard, barely out of colthood. He probably thought himself clever, using enchanted bows to simulate multiple assailants. The seasoned stallion put the youth out of his misery.

Of course, wherever there's one guard, there's plenty more hiding somewhere else. They never came after him alone anymore. If they were smart, they wouldn't come after him at all. Duty blinded them. Duty to their princess.

The stallion threw out his senses. 18 other guards surrounded him in a 100-meter radius. After the quick death of the foalish young archer, they started silently moving to attack him all together.

The Pegasi came first. They dived at him from above the tree cover, then retreated before he could strike back. The stallion released an electrical discharge spell to paralyze them mid-flight. He would deal with them later.

A Unicorn/Earth Pony combat unit charged him with spears, the former having coated them with a quick-acting poison. He decided to use the enchanted bows from earlier to pick them off.

And of course, no attack squad would be complete without Arcane Guards. Unfortunately for them, the forest provided plenty of spots to hide from the stunning spells they used. Having had more experience in magical combat, the stallion made expert use of them, ducking behind cover as he cast his killing spells. With great aim, he quickly did away with them.

With the immediate threat dealt with, the stallion finished off the paralyzed Pegasi and looted the bodies. They always carried rations and medical supplies with them. Part of being a guard.

Wait a second...

The one young archer...

The eighteen he just killed...

Attack squads came in groups of twenty.

He only just managed to put up a shield spell before a strong telekinetic spell impacted him. The spell would have sent him crashing into a tree, likely breaking bones. As it was, the shield barely held under the attack

"You can't keep running forever, Supernova! Sooner or later, we'll get you!"

"Buck..." the stallion mumbled.

An Arcane Inquisitor emerged from a clearing. They were the elite peacekeepers of Princess Celestia, and likely the strongest magicians in Equestria. Arcane Guards spent years training their skills, but only the best of the best were ever raised to the rank of Inquisitor. In magical combat, they were virtually unmatched.

Supernova had dealt with them before, but he had been caught off guard, and combined with the exertion of dealing with the other guards, he doubted he could beat this one. Better to just run. This time.

He let loose with a flash spell to blind the guard before taking off. It was simple, but it served its purpose well. The Inquisitor had to squeeze his eyes shut for a brief second, and Supernova used the time to get a head start. He didn't bother with stealth: At this range, the Inquisitor could just sense him out. Distance was all the mattered.

The Inquisitor gave chase, but, even with the physical training all guards recieve, Unicorns typically had low endurance. Supernova could outrun him any day. Slowly but surely, the sounds of pursiut faded.

Still, he didn't stop running for a while. There was still the matter of magical detection. If Supernova could sense the Inquisitor, the Inquisitor could sense him. But that wouldn't be a problem for long. Already, his pursuer's aura was growing weaker, and weaker...

Supernova didn't even notice the purple mare until it was too late.