Prologue;

Despite the sunny day, the cheery, carefree atmosphere in the Stormhold Citadel, all was not well. King Stormblade contemplated the situation, pacing back and forth in the throne room, his black tail lightly brushing the red carpet. His brow furrowed with concern for his best spy and friend, the King was totally oblivious to the opening of the throne room door and the entering of his beloved and pregnant Queen and most trusted advisor. He was stirred from his thoughts at the gentle touch of a lilac hoof upon his dark grey shoulder, and looked up to see not only his Queen, but also his baby daughter. Riversong gave her husband a comforting smile.
"He'll be fine, Sparrowhawk has a penchant for trouble and getting out of it. He'll be home soon." Stormblade held out his arms to take the baby from his wife so she could sit and take her baby weight off her hooves, as Swiftwind, his advisor, spoke.
"The Queen is right, sire. My brother will be fine, of that I have no doubt. He would sooner cut off his wings than supply you with old information. In the meantime we should not openly fret while there are children in the room."

"Always the voice of logic, Swiftwind. Whatever would I do without you two?" Swiftwind nodded his head in acknowledgement even as he turned to lift the sleepy foal from his back. "I see that Thunder is still refusing naptime." Stormblade smirked at his longtime friend, even as the little princess in his arms stirred at the name of her favourite playmate. The little tan and white tiger striped pegasus squirmed until her father obliged and set her upon the soft carpet, where she wasted no time in pouncing on the colt. Swiftwind watched the two foals play fondly, Thunder having become wide awake as soon as he'd seen Storm Runner, and the wise unicorn spoke.
"I'm still surprised that the magic worked so well, all things considered." Stormblade chuckled as his wife's soft voice became heard next.

"I'm just relieved that she'll be protected, how long will the spell hold Swiftwind?" The stallion thought for a moment before replying.
"Unfortunately I'm not sure, her own magic may end up breaking the spell next week, maybe in a few years, a decade, or we could be lucky and it'll last her whole life." Indeed they were very lucky that the spell had stuck so well – their little foal was now protected by her appearance in more ways than one, and while there were no tan and brown colours in her mother and father, little Storm Runner shared her wings and yellow streak in her mane with her father – though she also had a streak in her tail. She was tan in colour with a white muzzle, white outer wing feathers, white rear stockings and tiger stripe markings, where her father was dark grey and her mother was white with faded lilac legs and neither had any markings. Their hair colours, also, were completely different – while Stormblade's hair was black instead of his daughter's brown, they shared the yellow. Riversong on the other hand had long silky locks of a solid bright purple. Stormblade then looked at Swiftwind so the unicorn male chuckled.

"You don't have to point out the differences between my brothers and I, my old friend." The three brothers too, shared some traits and not others. They had identical paint markings, though Thunder was grey and not tan like his two older brothers. Each had different shoulder markings and black in their hair, though that was an interesting comparison also. Swiftwind and Sparrowhawk were nearly identical, were it not for the fact that Sparrowhawk was a pegasus, Swiftwind a unicorn, their symbols – and the fact that their hair colours were switched. Thunder on the other hand, only shared his wings – and the fact that his outer wing feathers were darker than his body colour, and paint markings with his brethren.

The King smiled as, having sat upon his throne, he felt a nudge on his leg. Looking down, the stallion saw both Storm Runner and Thunder sat at his feet, looking up at him with pleading expressions. Knowing exactly what they wanted, and what the two unicorns in the room would say, Stormbolt allowed the little ones their fun. He had considerable power with creating storms, whether massive and terrifying or small and with the purpose of amusement. It was a small storm now that he conjured up in front of the two little foals, and smiled at their happy giggles and attempts to catch the raindrops which evaporated before hitting the carpet. Riversong looked at him fondly.
"Don't get them too excited, or they'll never accept naptime."

It was then that the fun ended.

The door to the throne room opened again, and in stumbled the very stallion who had been the main subject of the conversation, supported by two guards. Riversong immediately rose and picked up the foals, making sure they averted their eyes. As happy as the little ones would be that their favourite mentor had returned, it would not do for two ponies so young to see another in that condition. She swiftly left the room and deposited the two into the arms of a maid, with a request that they be taken for naptime in the nursery. They could see Sparrowhawk later. The unicorn queen returned to the throne room and followed her husband over to Sparrowhawk where he stood, now unsupported though a little unsteady. The pegasus had, for the first time since the King had seen his spy, a wild look in his eye and a slight tremor in his voice as he spoke – but his concern was for the family he served, not himself. "Sire, you have to get out. There is no time, they're coming."

"What happened to you?" Riversong touched her horn to the injured stallion's forehead, managing to pass along a little energy to heal him. She could not heal him fully, as she had not the power, but she could help.

"Many thanks, but you have to go, you've been betrayed by Quicksilver, he broke my cover 10 days ago and they tortured me but I didn't give in. I only just got away, but Starrise is coming. You have to leave, there is no time." He repeated the last part, the last two words. Stormbolt growled at the names given. Sparrowhawk had gone deep cover three months ago, posing as a simple guard. If Quicksilver – the Captain of the Guard at Stormhold, had betrayed them, then there was a real problem. Quicksilver knew just about everything there was to know about Stormblade's policies. Riversong looked fearfully at her husband as noises of clashing weapons and warning shouts became heard from the courtyard. Stormbolt made a decision.

"Swiftwind, go and get Storm Runner and Thunder. Sparrowhawk you go to. I entrust you both with my daughter's life, take the secret passage out through the dungeons, and go quickly. It's safer if we split up, so we'll meet you in the agreed place at midnight." The brothers nodded and moved to find the foals, leaving the royal couple to make their separate escape.

The foals, as predicted, were not asleep as they should have been. The alien sounds of battle rising up from the courtyard and through the open window had frightened them far too much to allow sleep to come. So it was that the two brothers entered the nursery to find two very wide awake, very frightened little ponies. Sparrowhawk went to Thunder and lifted him onto his back even as Swiftwind went to the young princess, and just the mere touch of the trusted older ponies helped to calm the younger ones. The brothers stole out of the room quietly, the little ponies secure on their backs, and took the servants route down to the kitchens, where they were required to hide until Quicksilver went racing past. The next part would not be so easy, they had to run past the throne room to get to the door to the dungeons, never used so hoofprints would show up in the dust there. Caution would have to be taken, especially with the little ones. They waited until the coast was as clear as it was going to get, before the painted brothers took the risk and raced across the hallway, hearing the dreaded sound of Starrise's voice in the throne room, talking to Stormblade. Apparently the King and Queen would not be getting out, they had been caught in their race to get away, though how – the brothers would never know. Sparrowhawk winced as the voice he had come to fear once again rose to his ears, but he didn't falter. Swiftwind's horn lit for a brief moment as the two raced through the door, which promptly slammed shut behind them and clicked with a lock. Their bodies racing with adrenaline, their only concern to get the princess out alive and fulfil their duty of keeping her safe, Swiftwind led the way down through the dungeons, stepping carefully, his brother stepping exactly where he did. For a moment the scholar feared that Storm Runner might slip off his back, she was so curious as to these new surroundings, and he moved swiftly through the dungeons concentrating on where he was going and the centre of weight on his back, not that the small pony weighed much. Thunder at least would be safe, nestled in between Sparrowhawk's wings, but Swiftwind did not have that advantage.

The small group reached the end of the stone floor, but not the end of the line. Swiftwind touched a hoof to a specific brick on the wall, and as the gears of the mechanism began to grind he felt the princess shift and hide her head in his white mane, the one streak of black covering her ears. It took a painful few minutes to wait for the door, precious moments which increased their chance of being discovered. Distinctly through the ceiling they could hear the thunderous, angry voice of Starrise, berating his followers and commanding them to search harder to find the princess. The moment the door was open and the section of the wall was empty, Swiftwind picked up the pace and the two brothers raced through, wasting no time. The door began its grinding noise once more and began to close as they raced down the tunnel to freedom.