The Maelstrom Chronicles

Chapter 1

Episode 0: Escape in the Night

A still set over the kingdom as the turn of the day approached. A deep slumber enveloped the citizens of the great equestrian city. For it was by the might of King Monsoon that his citizens of all types slept in peace: unicorns, pegasus, and earth ponies alike. But it was this might that made other nations tremble to try and oppose his rule or threaten his people. His might was only matched by the compassion of his queen, Aurora. As alicorns, they used their strength to govern and protect their kingdom.

Despite the peace within his realm, all was not calm. Monsoon's guards stood watch over his castle always alert and ready for any pony they might catch. His castle towered over his capital city as a symbol to the strength of the Storm Empire. His pegasus garbed in armor patrolled the walls and scanned the skies ready to give chance to any who might threaten their king. His unicorns roamed the halls searching for any pony who might seek to enter without the king's permission. A narrow beam of light stretched out from their horn bathing their armor in a gentle light. Their eyes were always searching using the light from their horns to illuminate the dark corners of the castle.

In spite of their diligence and loyalty to their king, a shadow moved through the castle. Its presence was erased. Even on the stone floor, its hoof falls were silent. The guards continued their patrols completely unaware of the figure's movements. A green magic enveloped a door handle and its hinges opening the door without a sound. The door closed back as the figure slipped through the crack. The emerald glow faded as a unicorn guard rounded a corner unaware of the shadow's action.

Confident in his stealth, the young alicorn lowered the hood of his black cloak. His pure white mane gleamed in the moonlight penetrating the room. His blue coat hidden under the cloak blended with the night sky. His emerald eyes shined with confidence and knowledge beyond his years. He spoke in a hushed tone,

"Light, I snuck you a couple of hay burgers." His words trailed off as he realized he spoke to an empty room. The sheets of the poster bed were untouched. The shelves were bare. All signs that any pony had slept in this room were gone save for a few lingering pieces of trash in the bin. An emerald light emanated from the young alicorn's horn as he searched the room. He found no trace of the pony he had come to see. He moved back over to the trash which was the only sign of life.

Two crumpled up scrolls laid in the bin. A green glow enveloped the scrolls as they lifted from the bin and straightened. They were letters of farewell. They were hastily written and unfinished, but the intention was clear. The young alicorn closed his eyes to use a different type of spell. His eyes snapped back open confident in his next move. He tucked the letters into his saddle bag under his cloak before slipping back into the corridor a shadow once more.

A young stallion stood alone in the stables. His dark grey wings fluttered as he struggled to secure his bags to a chariot. He shook the light grey hairs of his mane out of his eye as he gave one final tug on the rope. His yellow eyes inspected his work checking to make sure nothing was missing. As he finished his inspection a low voice whispered in ear,

"So where are you heading?" The young pegasus jumped in surprise latching onto the beam in the rafters. His surprise turned to annoyance as he recognized the alicorn who snuck up on him. He dropped from the rafters as he accosted his assailant in a hush tone,

"Hurricane, what are you doing here?" A moment of annoyance flashed in the alicorn's eyes at the sound of that name,

"I could ask you the same question, Lightning," the alicorn countered maintaining his composure and quite voice.

"I'm leaving. How did you find me so fast?"

"Tracking spell," Hurricane replied producing the scrolls. "you really should have emptied your trash. Any of father's unicorn guards could have easily used them to track you down." He returned the letters to his saddle bag before continuing, "So where are you heading?"

"Far away," Lightning muttered as he rechecked his work.

"I see that. But where are you going to go?"

"I have a cloud house set up in Ponyville," replied with growing annoyance.

"Ponyville?"

"It's an earth pony village outside of Canterlot."

"You're headed to Equestria. Does Princess Celestia know you're entering her kingdom? Does father know you're moving there? Does mother know you're leaving?" The pegasus paused at the mention of his mother.

"No pony knows I'm leaving," Lightning whispered, his annoyance replaced with a twinge of pain.

"Why are you going? You're a prince of the Storm Empire. You have everything."

"No, you have everything," he countered facing his brother. "You're the crown prince. Everypony loves you. Nopony likes me. The guards only protect me, because father orders them to. I'm a prisoner, not a prince. I'm going to Ponyville. Nopony will know me there. I can start fresh, so don't try to stop me." The young alicorn thought for a moment.

"I think it's a great idea," he finally said.

"Wait! What?" The young pegasus exclaimed. Lightning fully expected his brother no rat him out or at least try to stop him.

"In fact, I'm coming with you," he cheerfully put in before teleporting in a flash of green light. The pegasus was stun for a moment before hastily finishing securing his bag. Only two possible outcomes came to the pegasus' mind. His brother lied and went to get others to stop him. The other possibility was he was serious and would try to follow his younger brother. Neither possibility appealed to the young stallion. He had managed to strap himself to the front of the chariot when a flash of green light announced the older brother's return. To the pegasus' relief and annoyance, his brother was alone, but a suitcase laid at his hooves.

"So you're just seeing me there and coming right back?"

"Nope, I'm moving to Ponyville with you."

"You can't. You're the crown prince. Nopony will notice if I leave. Everypony will notice if you leave, and you have a lot of responsibilities."

"You're right that they'll notice my disappearance sooner than yours, but I don't have any real responsibilities. All I do around here is train and study all the time. I need a vacation."

"Tsh, father would give you a vacation if you asked."

"Yeah, to one of his secure locations under watch while everything I did was decided for me," Hurricane countered. "Believe it or not, you're not the only prisoner."

Being loved and admired by everypony and having other ponies wait on you day and night," Lightning sarcastically retorted. "Your shackles must be so heavy." His voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Isn't that the chariot I treated with gravity spells for towing large loads?" The young prince asked changing the subject.

"What if it is?"

"You've been planning this for some time," the alicorn commented. The wheels in his head began to rapidly spin.

"Yeah, I have, and you can't come. Nopony will miss me." He moved toward the exit.

"Come on. It's not like I'd be leaving any friends behind. Mother would miss me. She would miss both of us." Lightning paused at the mention of his mother. "Father would also bring you back just for the sake of his image. Do you really want to do this?"

"Yes," he simply said and raised his wings to take off.

"Then we should use an escaped plan that will actually work." Before Lightning could respond, the young alicorn unstrapped his brother and moved the chariot to the back to the stables with his magic. He zapped one of the bags, and the others were sucked into the one that was zapped without showing any sign of bulging. The young prince tossed the stuffed bag at his younger brother and threw his cloak over the chariot. The chariot vanished from view blending into its surroundings. "Grab your bag and hurry," he instructed dashing out with own bag in his mouth.

The younger brother paused for a moment confused. Unable to spot the chariot, he grabbed his own bag and gave pursuit. To his surprise, the bag was fairly light. He exited the stables and was almost immediately pulled into a side aisle. He vanished into the shadow just as a unicorn guard walked by narrowly missing seeing the young prince. The guard continued on unaware of the movement of the princes.

The young alicorn poked his head around the corner after the guard was gone his hoof clamped firmly over his brother's mouth. Lightning prided the hoof from his mouth and gasped for air. In a hushed tone he accosted his brother,

"I couldn't breathe."

"I know. You breathe so loud the guard would have heard you. Let's go." Hurricane dropped his brother and raced down the halls with the young pegasus on his heels. They slipped from shadow to shadow avoiding the guards and keeping them unaware of their movements. They neared the wall and dove over it between two guards. One guard moved back inspecting the streets beyond the wall. Sure no pony was there, he continued his patrol. Having avoided the gaze of the guards, the brothers flew through the side streets at high speed. They nimbly navigated the winding streets flying in perfect sync. The young alicorn landed in the shadows near the train station.

"What are we doing here?"

"Making our escape," the young prince said running a hoof through his mane. His horn seemed to vanish. "Where did you say that cloud house was?"

"Ponyville, but what difference…," his question trailed off as his brother trotted over to the counter not listening. He returned with two train tickets and shoved one at his little brother.

"Come on. The train is about to leave," Hurricane instructed. The young pegasus gave a heavy sigh and boarded the train behind his brother. As the train began to pull away from the station, the older brother gave a sigh of relief. Tension seemed to drain from every pore. "Perfect," he simply said relaxing in his seat.

"So what was the purpose of all that?" His stomach rumbled adding to his annoyance.

"Here," Hurricane said giving him a hay burger from his saddle bag. "I was trying to bring them to you anyway."

"Thanks," Lightning replied taking the burger, "so?"

"To make sure we got away and give us a head start. I believe it's about mid-night. We should have about five to eight hours before anypony realizes I'm gone. It should take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years for them to find us if we're lucky."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" The young pegasus asked starting on the second hay burger his brother produced.

"Well prime minister High Strung should be trying to wake me up in five hours to give me my daily schedule. His nose is so far in the air, he might not notice I'm gone. General Steel Hoof might notice when I don't show up for morning training. However, he also has to manage his troops, so he might forget about me. But Professor Hard Knots will notice when I don't show up for my lessons. My room will be the last place they look."

"So why is it going to take a few months to a couple of years to find us?"

"I packed most of my stuff into my suitcase," he mentioned motioning toward his bag. "Everything else was treated with anti-tracking spells. When the tracking spells don't work, they'll search for clues. They should then find my note."

"You left a note."

"Chill, bro. The letter only mentioned my departure. Plus, it said I was going to Agranahay."

"But that's in Saddle Arabia."

"Exactly with the chariot hidden, they'll search everywhere on land and in the air from here to Agranahay looking in the opposite direction of us. It should take a while before they realize the note is a fake."

"And what was wrong with my plan?"

"The guards would have spotted you taking off, caught you, woke father, and in his annoyance at being woken would have put you under close watch. He'd never give you another chance to escape as long as he lived. You'd be lucky to see the light of day." Lightning couldn't deny his brother's logic. "Relax. We escaped. By the time they find me, you will be the last thing they think about for some time. Heck it we're gone long enough, father might forget about both of us and just try having a new heir."

"You're okay with that?"

"I'll miss mother, but it's too late now. All we can do is keep moving forward. Get some rest. We have a long ride to Equestria." There was a hint of sorrow in his words as he rested on one of the benches.

The young pegasus followed suit. He was free. His new life awaited him. As sleep over came him, he wondered if his new life would be any different with his brother's shadow still over him.