Drip…drip…drip…

One by one, three drops of water fell from the ceiling of the damp prison cell, and onto its inhabitant. Growling in frustration, Shining Armor, Prince of Equestria and husband of Princess Cadance, curled up as tight as he could to avoid the droplets. He and his wife had been imprisoned for three days now, and the only thing that the Prince knew was that his wife was alive and in the dungeons.

Other than that, he was completely in the dark as to his wife's health or state of living. Cursing angrily at the name of his captor, he sat up and leaned against the wall of his cell.

"Prince Blueblood, you traitorous bastard…" he swore under his breath. "You won't break me, you won't break my wife, and you certainly won't take my sister away from me. I promise, whatever's out there…I will keep Twily safe, and I will stop my…cousin. I swear it."

Shining spat onto the floor, and slid downwards till his head was in his arms. Blueblood's goal had clearly been to usurp the Queens all along, and now that they were negotiating with King Sombra, far from Equestria, it seemed everything was falling into place for him.

Shining closed his eyes, and slowly felt himself drifting off to sleep. After all, it was practically the only thing he could do to pass the time. However, had he looked out of the cell doors, he would've noticed the three guards taking up their swords and heading outside in a hurry…

===
Ten minutes earlier…
===

Outside the dungeons, in the courtyard, a lone guard on watch by the main gates suppressed a yawn. Guard duty was quite tiring when the place one guarded was one of the safest, most well-defended areas in Equestria. The Canterlot Royal Palace's walls were considered impenetrable, and the soldiers on watch were dedicated to their duties.

After all, many reasoned that as long as they got paid, they didn't care who sat on the throne of Equestria. Others had openly sworn allegiance to Prince Blueblood and sheriff Gladmane, and those that didn't fall in line often "changed their minds" very quickly.

The guard scoffed as the rain fell around him, lightly drizzling enough that it was still rain, but not enough to extinguish the lamps that illuminated the perimeter of the palace walls. As he turned to walk to his other posting on a different section of the wall, there was an odd metallic noise that sounded from behind him.

The guard turned to investigate and saw a grappling hook had latched onto the ramparts. Before he could even call out to warn his fellow soldiers, there was a blur of movement, the drawing and sheathing of a sword, and the guard fell dead against the stone.

The figure stood up with a chuckle, quickly dousing the nearby lamp. Feminine in stature,she was clad in leather, with steel gauntlets and sabatons, and a chainmail cuirass. In her hands was an expertly-made shortsword and a parrying blade. Emblazoned on her shoulder was a crest of a Lion, Raven, Dragon, and Koi fish.

"Hmm. Amateurs." the Peacekeeper scoffed, moving to aid another figure in climbing up onto the wall. This one was masculine, wearing eastern robes in black, red, and dark blue. His face was obscured by a mask and hood, and a pair of sickles linked by a chain lay at his waist.

"Where's Freyja?" the Shinobi asked. "She should've been ready and given us the signal by now."

"Patience, Hakato." the Peacekeeper replied. "I've worked with Freyja before, her timing is excellent, especially in matters like these."

Then, there was the faint sound of an alarm bell, and the two could see guards rushing towards the main gate. The Peacekeeper looked to her ally, and the Shinobi merely shrugged.

"I concede your point." he mused. "Come, let us accomplish what we came here to do, Alanna."

"My thoughts exactly." the Peacekeeper replied. As they leapt over the wall and onto a stable house, and then slid down the roof and into the courtyard, they could hear war cries and strangled screams coming from the main entryway.

===

Freyja, a Viking Valkyrie, gave a grim smile as she finished off one of the soldiers, and her shield caught the sword of a second. WIth relative ease, she swung her longspear up and across the unfortunate guard's throat, before kicking another to the ground.

Seeing their friends be felled so easily, the remaining soldiers started to fall back as Freyja advanced, eagerly awaiting the next one to fall by her. Then, the doors to the palace were knocked open, and a man wearing heavy Knight's armor approached, wielding a longsword. The other soldiers quickly fell behind him as he walked forward. Freyja took a ready stance, balancing her grip on her longspear.

"I do not know who you are, not where you come from, but I shall kill you for your trespasses!" the knight bellowed, readying his sword to strike. Freyja laughed loudly in response, causing the knight to raise an eyebrow.

"Come and get me, then!" she called back. "Should I die here, Valhalla awaits me!"

The Knight growled and moved to an attacker's stance, with Freyja matching his steps and keeping her shield ready to counter. With a roar, the Knight charged, and Freyja expertly deflected his attack with her shield, before following up with a thrust to his legs. Her opponent staggered, and the Valkyrie seized her chance. She bashed the edge of her shield into his face, knocking off his helmet, before following up with her longspear.

The spearhead pierced the knight's neck, and he fell dead. The remaining guards turned tail and ran back into the palace, and the doors slammed shut. Freyja simply turned on her heel and headed towards the entrance to the dungeons.

====

Shining Armor looked up at hearing the clinking of keys, and then the door of his cell came open. He looked up to see two figures standing there, alongside his wife. The first was clad much like a rogue or outlaw, only with some steel plating, and the other wore strange robes in black, with some dark blue and red.

"Prince Shining Armor?" the rogue asked, a female by her voice and stature, and he nodded in reply. She merely tossed him a sword and sheath, which Shining took stunned one look at before he quickly took up the blade and strapped the sheath to his waist.

"Do as we say, and you and your wife will be kept safe." the one in black replied. "Follow us, and stay close."

As the two of them began escorting the couple to the stairs that led out of the dungeons, Shining Armor quickly exchanged a deep kiss with his wife as they followed. To their shock, once they reached the courtyard, they saw the dead bodies of at least seven soldiers on the ground.

"We came with one other." the rogue told them. "She acted as a diversion so we could rescue you both unhindered."

"And who exactly are you?" Princess Cadance asked. "You're not from Equestria, I can tell."

"That is a story best saved for another time." the black-clad one replied. "We will tell you, but now is not entirely the best place to do it. Now, hurry up, we don't have much time."

Shining Armor and Cadance gulped and followed them towards the stables, where four horses could be seen at the ready. Atop one was a woman clad in furs, mail, and leather, with a long spear and shield on her back.

"Mount up!" the rider called, and they did so, with Cadance electing to ride with her husband. As the alarm bells began to ring loud and clear, the four of them kicked their mounts into a gallop, heading out of the city, and then into the southern forests.

====

Once Canterlot was far into the distance, and the terrain turned rough, the rogue held up her hand as they approached a nearby river. As the four of them stopped to let their horses drink, Shining Armor asked again who they were, and where they came from.

"Very well. My name is Alanna, and I am a Peacekeeper of the Chimera Alliance." the rogue nodded. "These are my friends, Hakato, a Shinobi, and Freyja, a Valkyrie. We are friends, I can assure you of that."

"Why did you rescue us?" Cadance asked. "I've never heard of this Chimera Alliance anywhere in Equestria."

"We come from the land of Heathmoor, far to the southeast." Freyja replied. "We have heard stories about this land, and we traveled a great distance to come here. When it became known to us of your Prince Blueblood's treachery, we decided something would be done about it."

"We also passed through the lands of the Crystal Empire, where your two queens are deep in negotiation with King Sombra." Hakato added.

"You met with Queens Celestia and Luna?" Shining Armor dropped his jaw. "How are they? When will they return?"

"All will be explained in time." Alanna nodded. "Come, our camp is not far, and our leader very much wants to speak with you."

As the four of them guided their horses back to a steady pace, traveling down the riverbank, both PRince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance tightened their grip on the reins, realizing that if these outsiders had truly met with the Queens…that there might still be hope for Equestria after all.