Chapter 3: Forward unto Canterlot

'Well that wasn't as bad as I had expected…'

It had been five days since Shadow's arrival at the hospital, and he was finally being released. The days had gone much faster than he had thought, as there was always company and lots to talk about. His new friends had visited him almost every day, not to mention Rainbow Dash practically staying at his side all the time, wanting to hear more about the Wonderbolts.

At first Shadow had found it a little creepy, but as the days wore on, he came to find the brash Dash's company enjoyable, or at least tolerable. It was actually cute and endearing, in a borderline psychotic way.

A sudden spike of pain in his leg interrupted Shadow's introspective into the past few days. He slowed his pace to compensate for the injured leg. Although it was healing, and he could walk, if he moved at his usual fast cadence it hurt. As Shadow continued on, his thoughts turned to his mission.

"Alright, I need to get to Canterlot," he muttered, trying to take his mind of his pains, "the course of the war could very well depend on it."

Shadow spied the railroad station ahead, and a trail of smoke from the approaching train off in the distance. As he drew nearer, he realized he had a major error in his plans. He lacked the money to pay for his fare.

'No matter, I have to try and convince the conductor to let me on. I have no other choice,' Shadow decided as he stepped onto the platform, the whistle of the train floating through the air, 'Buck… I don't have my military ID…'

"Howdy Shadow!"

Instantly he recognized the voice, and its distinct Ponyvillian accent. As he turned, he saw his six rescuers, gathered at the other end of the platform. He trotted over to them, a smile sweeping across his face.

"What are you mares doing here?" Shadow asked as he walked, ignoring the pain in his leg.

"We couldn't just let you go without saying goodbye!" Rainbow Dash answered cheerily, with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"And also, we needed to give you this," Twilight stated, levitating an object toward Storm.

"Courtesy of Sweet Apple Acres," noted Applejack with a friendly smile.

Glancing at the object, Shadow immediately recognized it as a train ticket. A one way ticket to Canterlot in fact.

"Under normal circumstances I'd reject this gift," Shadow said guiltily, "but I must accept, thank you. How did you…?"

"You crashed into the ground at mach one… I doubt that if you had a wallet, it would have survived," Twilight answered, chuckling.

With the train arriving at the station, Rainbow Dash quickly hollered her parting words to Shadow, "See you later Hotshot!"

With a quick wave, Shadow boarded the train quickly, hoping to avoid any attention.

'Why did she have to use my callsign,' Shadow thought, as he quickened his pace along the train.

Luckily, Storm managed to avoid any unnecessary attention. While he didn't mind the fans, and enjoyed interacting with them, his current status and important objective made the idea unpleasing. That, and the fact that most fans would just quiz him about what Spitfire and Soarin' were doing.

Hastily, Shadow took his seat, and began preparing for the long ride to Canterlot. Glancing out the window, he felt his eyelids getting heavy, and soon slipped into sleep.

Shadow awoke to the call of the conductor. A quick look outside confirmed he was at his destination: Canterlot. The magnificent city of white and gold was a sight to behold, even to the most well travelled ponies in all of Equestria. After disembarking from the train, Shadow moved quickly and purposefully. Within ten minutes, he had made it to the gates of Canterlot Castle. The battlements looked oddly menacing with the many guards that lined its walls.

"Halt right there!"

Shadow turned to see a unicorn guard approaching quickly. He looked angry, or at least annoyed by the pegasus' presence. He wore the usual legionnaire's armour, with a meagre three chevrons on his shoulder plates.

"What business brings you to Canterlot Castle?" the guard interrogated, his voice thick with a Canterlotian accent.

"I'm Lieutenant Storm," Shadow stated, "I have a code seven urgent message for Princess Celestia, straight from RAF Appaloosa."

The guard frowned, stepping closer to the pegasus.

"The castle is in lockdown, Captain Armor's orders. Give me the message."

"I have my orders Guardsman, for her ears only," Storm retorted with a slight snort, his patience beginning to wear thin.

The guard looked even angrier, and advanced toward the pegasus, saying, "And I have MY orders, no one sees the Princess. And that's Sergeant to you, flyboy."

Frustrated at this situation, Shadow decided hastily that action was needed. Without a word, Shadow galloped around the guard towards the hall doors.

"Stop! Halt! ALERT!" the guard screamed, chasing after Storm.

It pained to gallop, but Shadow did not take notice. All he thought of was his objective. He must see Princess Celestia. Galloping up the stairs to the main door, he watched them close and lock before him. His mind racing, Storm took extreme measures. Adjusting his trajectory to the right, he used his good wing to help enhance a leap directly into the large windows of the Castle. In mid air, he braced himself for the hit.

With a loud crash, Storm came flying through the window. Broken shards of glass lay everywhere, and pained Shadow as he regained his footing. Quickly galloping off, flabbergasted guards immediately gave chase. Heading up the grand staircase, Shadow found renewed vigour. He was so close to his objective.

Guards closed in from all angles, forcing him to adjust his path to avoid them several times. As he finally reached the top of the stairs, a large squad of guards ran in front of him, blocking his way into the door. On the other side, he saw a tall white horse, with a flowing multicoloured mane. Again, Shadow leapt with full force, using his wing to amplify his jump, over the squad of guards. This time, however, his force was too much, and destabilized his jump. The next thing Storm knew, he was sliding along the floor of the throne room.

He closed his eyes for a split second, in anticipation of his fall. He opened his eyes to see the tall white mare advancing toward him. He felt himself being pulled to his feet, and glanced backwards to see two guards seizing himself.

"Who are you?"

Storm turned once more, to see the tall white horse now very close.

"Your majesty," Storm panted, his heart pounding in his chest, "I bring an urgent message… from RAF command… we received intelligence… the changelings are making a move… on Appaloosa."

A mob of guards, headed by a unicorn guard commander approached rapidly from behind.

The commander walked ahead of the rest, asking, "What's going on?"

The commander walked up beside Shadow. Instantly Shadow recognized the guard commander, his bright blue mane visible under his helmet. After a few seconds of inspecting the pegasus, the commander smiled, and signaled to the guards to release Shadow.

"Shadow Storm," the commander chuckled, "I knew you were… unpredictable, but this…"

"Captain Armor, you know this stallion?" the Princess questioned in a calm manor.

"Yes your highness, I can vouch for him," the commander returned, "He's definitely RAF. His callsign is Hotshot. He's a Wonderbolt."

Celestia's face lightened, as she turned to address Shadow.

"That was… resourceful, lieutenant. May I inquire why you didn't just use the door?"

Glancing to the side, Shadow saw the guard from earlier attempting to blend in with the crowd of guards. A quick gesture from Shadow, still reeling from his chase, brought the guard out of his attempts to hide.

"That one," Shadow said, his face darkening angrily, "refused to let me in."

An uneasy grin combined with an obvious slouch all but admitted his guilt. Two guard sergeants quickly took the guard aside, after a quick signal from Captain Armor.

"Sorry Lieutenant, but my Legionnaires don't share the same respect for the chain of command. I'll make sure to take care of this personally," Armor noted, nodding.

"Lieutenant," Celestia said, Shadow's attention turning back to her, "You have certainly proved your resolve today. I will be sure to make a personal note on your record."

"Thank you, your majesty," Shadow answered as courteously as he could.

"May I inquire Lieutenant Storm, as to how you were injured?"

"It's a long story, but I shall be as brief as I can:"

"I was given this simple, tiny message at the base where I am stationed, about three miles east of Appaloosa. My flight plan was simple, with several rest stops planned, and everything planned correctly. What I didn't take into the account was enemy reconnaissance flights, scouting our territory. I was flying by night alone, to avoid detection. I was spotted, nonetheless, and was engaged by the enemy recon wing, flying over Ponyville. I counted three changelings in all. Under normal circumstances, I would have had a much better chance against them, but my provisions I was carrying hindered my flight capabilities. I managed to down one enemy, but just as I did, another snuck up behind me and hit me full force. My saddle bag flew off, and I began a plummet towards the ground. I was losing altitude fast, so I tried to increase my airspeed instead of simply falling to the ground. The result was… less than perfect. I ended up breaking mach one, but couldn't clear the ground. I tried pulling an extremely high G turn, but some tall tree knocked me off course and that's where I blacked out."

After explaining all this, Shadow shifted slightly, glancing at the bandages that had been torn from his 'entrance'. He looked forward, again, as Celestia visibly pondered and assessed the situation.

"The important thing is that Appaloosa is in danger. Enemy troops are moving around the area. Colonel Grace has asked for additional troops in case of an invasion."

"Thank you Lieutenant," the princess responded finally, after a period of thought, "Is there anything further you require?"

"Well… there is one thing…" Storm responded.

"Speak, Lieutenant."

Swallowing, Shadow stated, "I uh… I've been stationed at November base for a long time now ma'am. It's a long ways off and extremely dusty. Not exactly the kind of place that's conducive to healing broken limbs. With your permission, I'd like to take a few months medical leave. I can't fly, and I'm not a Wonderbolt if I can't fly."

Smiling, the Princess said, "Of course. Captain Armor, make the arrangements."