The little band of horses followed the path up to the Glass Wall with great care. A guard stood at the concrete fence, and his black gun glittered in the morning light.

  Knight stared at him timidly. “Do the draft horses ever stop getting bigger?”

  “I’m going to go up and take him out. You all follow behind me. We’ll climb over the wall and discreetly make our way into the city,” Orion whispered.

  Ariel nodded. She felt well-suited as a sleek chestnut Thoroughbred, but she could tell Orion was struggling to adjust to being a Clydesdale. “Don’t worry, Orion. My magic will do the work for us. Rhapsody says my perception shifts will make the other horses overlook us.”

  Orion was staring down the guard, waiting for the right moment to strike. He took a breath to gather his courage, and galloped up the hill. With a swipe of his hoof, he forced the guard’s arms down and the gun fell into the grass. He grabbed the crest of the hefty horse’s neck and let his magic rip through him. Once he was on the ground, Orion ushered the other horses up to the concrete wall and they helped each other over.

  On the other side, they tumbled into the corner of a little park. At this time in the morning, it was desolate-exactly what Orion had hoped. Marmalade helped Rune to his feet, and they started making their way to the main road.

  The streets were mostly quiet, a few early birds making their commute to work was all. It felt odd to all of them to walk through a city unobstructed. No one even seemed to notice they were there. It had been years since Orion had seen riding horses at work. He winced as a passerby rabbit sawed at the mouth of a young pinto filly, but carried on. The storefronts were starting to raise their shutters, and a few horses in full harness trotted by, headed for the carriage house.

  They reached the city’s center just as the busiest part of the morning began. Horses were packed together in the square, hurrying to work and school. There were massive neon signs, posters, and billboards plastered on every surface, demanding that horses buy this or do that. The blaring signage stole the tiny group’s attention for a fleeting moment.

  “Look at that! Rabbits, get your crops, whips, and gag bits here,” Ariel quietly pointed out.

  Marmalade snorted. “That’s not even the worst of it. Look at this Early Start nonsense. They want every foal backed at two years now.”

  Orion shushed them and pushed them on, but was then surprised by an advertisement himself. A massive digital billboard mounted on the front of the town hall read Equine Rehabilitation Unit of Jersey Sale Horse Showcase. Various victims were displayed, looking miserable and suppressed in massive bits and tie downs. They flew over jumps and danced through dressage, but they didn’t do it willingly. The sparkle of rabbit’s spurs and black whips flickering in the breeze was all Orion could see. It was sickening to watch. At last, the ad ended with a date.

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  “Come on, Orion,” Knight urged, pushing him forward.

  He was still jarred by what he had seen. “November 1st. That’s six days from now. We have to make it before then.”

  “You think they’re going to try to sell her this week? She’s only been there for five days!” Rune gasped. He tossed his head and his ears flickered, visions intruding.

  Orion walked on through the street, looking somber. “You never know.”

  “Stop talking, you idiots,” Marmalade whispered, butting them with her head.

  They startled and looked around. Two large cobs adorned with the iconic black breastplates of Federal Services slowly jogged the perimeter of the street, rabbits astride them. Their thick tails swished behind them in synchrony as they passed by. Rune went quiet and stopped dead in the street, shaking visibly. Orion couldn’t help but hold his breath, watching in horror as Rune fought his demons. Ariel lifted her head high and tried to act like nothing was wrong.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Rune’s howl ripped through the bustling street and rang in everyone’s ears. The two cobs were sharply turned back, and the thinly disguised group frantically surrounded Rune, trying to salvage the situation. The only one who didn’t move was Knight, frozen stiff in the street. Rune reared up and kicked out violently, sweating all over and foam flying from his mouth. Orion’s magic wouldn’t touch him.

  One of the rabbits pulled his pinto cob to a sharp stop in front of the scene. “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes, he’ll be fine. He’s a…veteran,” Ariel fibbed.

  “Really? How long ago was he retired? You should probably get him checked out,” the other rabbit said. “Is he your grandpa or something?”

  Behind her, Rune collapsed to the ground convulsing. His head narrowly missed the pavement, caught by Marmalade. His eyes had rolled back into his head and the whites were showing. He was shrieking so loud that everyone in the street had stopped to stare at him. The rabbit on the pinto whipped out his gun and held it at Rune, but did not fire. Orion knelt down by Rune’s face and tried to get him to stop, but he couldn’t hear a thing. Ariel was speechless.

  “He needs to go to the hospital! Not to worry, ma’am, I’m a trained first responder,” the other rabbit said, jumping down from his horse.

  “No! We’re not going anywhere,” Orion said, breaking character and blocking the rabbit’s way to Rune.

  “We don’t have insurance!” Ariel recovered, looking at Orion in absolute panic.

  Rune’s screaming stopped suddenly, but then he started to speak. His words ran together between breaths and barely made sense. “There’s blood in the sand, lost in the woods, cold, freezing…Stop it! Leave her alone, leave her!”

  “Shh, calm down. You’re fine, you’re fine,” Marmalade whispered hopelessly.

  The rabbit on the pinto horse fired his tranquilizer gun and hit Rune in the neck, which did nothing. Marmalade gasped and ripped the dart from his hide.

  “What is wrong with you?” Ariel screamed, crying hysterically.

  “Show me all of your ID’s and travel paperwork now,” the rabbit demanded, gun to her head.

  Orion didn’t wait around, he snapped. With an eruption of black smoke, the two riders and their cobs were tossed into the building behind them, smashing through the glass windows. They collapsed to the ground unconscious, and when the smoke cleared, Orion had shed his Clydesdale form. He was furious, black magic swirling around him in a fearsome cloud. The Amulet shone brilliantly on his chest, pulsing with magical energy. Marmalade threw Rune over her shoulder and dashed down the street, the others close behind.

  “We’re never going to make it! We’re miles from the city wall,” Ariel sobbed, her whole body racked with anxiety.

  “Shut up and run faster!” Marmalade barked.

  The race through the streets was blinding. All Ariel could see was flashes of color, Orion’s dusky eyes as he shielded them from waves of tranquilizer darts, and Marmalade’s chopped mane flapping in the wind. It looked like a patch of dead yellow grass in Tornado Alley. Knight followed her as though she were a homing beacon.

  A massive circle of officers were waiting for them at the city wall, firing their tranquilizer guns at will. They were a quarter mile from their escape, yet it felt like the longest leg of their journey. Orion’s magic was fading fast, and they couldn’t take the onslaught of bullets much longer. One of the officers pierced through the shield with a copper brand, burning Ariel’s shoulder and letting a dart in to strike her neck. She fell on the pavement, crying out in pain and instantly surrounded by officers.

  Orion’s headache was the worst he’d had in his life, and his magic was more fatigued than ever. But when he recognized Ariel’s desperate voice above the crowd, he immediately turned back and raced to the sound. Anger burned in his chest when he remembered what it felt like to helplessly watch the world fade away. He drew up his magic a final time.

  A rift opened in the sky, and darkness summoned the powerful Onyx. His presence made everyone’s hearts pound with fear, magic radiating off of him like an earthquake. His jet black mane and ghostly white Appaloosa’s blanket made him look like a mythical creature. His powerful spells took hold of the minds of the horses with a fierce and firm grip. He lifted his mighty forehoof, and with a mere toss of his head, the entire army of officers was lulled to sleep. Their bodies collapsed into the pavement, and Ariel laid in the center of it, her limp hoof still hanging onto the dart in her neck.

  Onyx wrapped Ariel in his arms and thrust his hoof toward the concrete wall, sending it crashing down. They leaped over the crumbled remains and galloped into the woods, not daring to slow down until they made it well into the trees. Marmalade’s sides were heaving, Knight was stunned with fear, and Orion could scarcely walk straight. He took Ariel and sent Onyx back through the gate.

  “We have to make it through the river so they can’t follow us with the trucks,” he gasped.

  They skidded down the steep bank into the river and waded in, feathers dragging in the ice cold water. Knight stayed right by Marmalade’s side, pushing Rune’s head up out of the water with his own. Marmalade forced herself through the current, but Orion stumbled and started to lose ground. She grabbed his mane in her teeth and pulled him back up.

  “Come on, Orion! We’re so close,” she shouted over the roar of the water.

  They clawed their way up the rocky hill and fell onto the ground, shouldering Ariel and Rune off their backs. Marmalade painstakingly reached over and removed the dart from Ariel’s neck, then crashed down again. Knight circled the group anxiously, looking over the fallen horses. Orion stared vacantly at Marmalade’s exhausted face, their cheeks pressed into the dirt, and his vision began to darken.