"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever."
Birthright
Chapter 2: An Atypical Canterlot Welcome
"Uuugghhh... My head..."
Lanky barely had any willpower to open his eyes. His head hurt too much for that. All he could feel was that he was lying on damp, stone floor... somewhere. Where exactly, he didn't know. Re-enumerating in his mind all the recent events, he guessed the he could be somewhere in Ponyville now. Or Canterlot. Maybe somewhere else, but that would be very unlikely. In the end, it didn't matter to him, remembering that the last thing he'd seen was that gaze he received from that guard, he instantly knew that wherever he was, his situation was dire.
For a few moments after his awakening, he heard almost nothing. It was so quiet there, so tranquil was the place where he was now that in fact the only thing his ears registered was that annoying ringing sound in the ears, the kind that appears only when there's nothing to hear. The tinnitus lasted for some time, until the silence was broken by the sound of something shifting and grunting somewhere near him. It was painful, but Lanky somehow managed to gather just enough strength to finally open his eyes.
The cell wasn't too bright, a small hole high above him only letting a little light inside. Ominous stonework and strong-looking metal bars told him volumes about his situation. He really had been imprisoned. Where, he still couldn't tell. The too-small window was too high anyway, so it would be impossible for him to look through to see where they were. The room itself was featureless. There was almost nothing there.
But one detail stood out anyway. He wasn't alone. In another corner, he saw the now all-too-familiar face of that teal pony he 'met' earlier. The stranger was now slowly waking up. Lanky observed the other pony for a moment. It took some time, but in the end, the pony had awakened, and then stood up for a few seconds before getting down again, as it was obvious that standing up while being chained was not a particularly pleasant thing.
"Oh, we're chained... Beautiful. Just beautiful."
Unsure what to say, Lanky decided to break the ice with a simple greeting.
"Hi."
The teal pony looked back at him. He instantly recognized who Lanky was, but to make himself one hundred percent sure, he asked him anyway.
"Hi... You're that pony from yesterday... aren't you?" The teal pony looked at Lanky with a visible hint of shame in his eyes.
"Yes."
"Oh."
"Is that all you'd like to say? Oh? For stealing something that... uhm... probably wasn't yours anyway?"
As if reading his mind, the stranger quickly gave a response.
"...Sorry... What's your name?"
"Lanky."
"...Sorry," the stranger said shyly, his eyes looking down, averting Lanky's sharp gaze.
'That's going to be one hay of an awkward conversation,' Lanky thought. There were so many questions he could ask him, but it was so hard to choose the one best query from a swarm of all possible inquiries.
"Think, Lanky, think! You want to ask him something... But what shall I ask him first? About that pendant? Who he is? What he knows? Think, what do you want to ask him!"
"What's your favorite kind of music?" he blurted out. Good question... for a conversation starter at a particularly boring party. Bad question for their current situation.
"Ok, that's odd... Why did I ask that anyway? I know I can say the stupidest things under pressure, but that was just dumb."
"I don't have any particular taste... Everything's ok with me..." Teal pony meekly replied, "and yours?"
"Neither do I. I'm tone deaf, and therefore I don't have any particular favorite," Lanky replied in a very dry tone.
"Hmm... Looks like we've got something in common... But why did I ask that question anyway? Think, Lanky, think, there are more important thing to be asked now!"
"So, who are you anyway? What were you doing in the Everfree forest?" Lanky asked, finally managing to get the most important question out of his head.
"Sorry, but I don't know..." the teal pony replied. Somehow, Lanky believed him. There was something so innocently sincere in the tone of his voice that it was literally impossible not to trust his words.
Before Lanky could react, the teal pony began to speak.
"But I could ask you the same question. What were you all doing in Everfree Forest? Why..."
"I'll tell you later, I've got more questions. Was that crystal yours?" Lanky interrupted before the teal pony could ask one more question. Finally he was getting on the right track.
"Not exactly..."
"So why did you try to steal it from me? Do you know what that crystal is? Is it important? Priceless?" Lanky inquired, surprisingly not feeling yesterday's rage again. He was perfectly calm now. All he wanted was answers to satisfy his curiosity.
The stranger didn't say anything, choosing to turn his head away instead. For a very long minute he appeared deep in thought, as if waging his words carefully.
"I... I don't know. I just had to get my hooves on that pendant... Something was telling me that I should do it. So I was going to take it... Without your acknowledgement, if it was ok with you..."
That response surprised him. Although he was now getting a little bit annoyed with how sheepishly meek was that stranger's style of talking, what he described was exactly word-for-word how Lanky felt about the whole situation. Touching the crystal again after such brutal treatment, picking it up to safeguard, and lastly, running through the dangerous forest at night, ignoring the connection attempts from the rest of the group, just to get it back: He didn't have any reason to do any of that. Some unknown feeling was telling him to get that thing and protect it. It wasn't himself that wanted it. It was that gemstone's magic that manipulated him.
"Okay, I don't understand what's going on. Not at all..."
"Okay, I understand..." Lanky sighed, betraying his thoughts.
Somehow, the fact that he got manipulated into the situation didn't make him angry at all. Not even irritated. Not even a little bit upset. He was feeling completely indifferent about his mind being messed with. This confused him. He knew he should be at least somewhat angry at that teal pony and that pendant for getting him jailed nopony-knows-where, but he could feel there was something in his mind that blocked all the anger.
The teal pony began to speak, but Lanky interrupted him again.
"I've got an idea... You say you don't remember your name, right?"
"...Yes. I don't."
"So, what about, until you finally remember, I'll call you... Teal?" Lanky replied.
"Naming him after the colour of his body and mane. Perfect. Yeah, look how ingenious I am! Am I not?"
"...Fine by me. Thanks." Teal replied, a delicate hint of gratitude in his voice, then added after a moment of silence, "So, could you answer my question, pretty please?"
"And that was...?"
"What were you all doing in Everfree?"
"Oh, that!" Lanky said, remembering that the teal pony tried to ask him something, before being interrupted. That moment, he remembered that something like that happened yesterday, with him being the ignored one and Red Snow being the ignoree.
"How hypocritical of you, Lanky," he mentally punished himself. After a second spent thinking over that, he began telling his story, while the teal pony listened quietly, occasionally nodding to what Lanky was saying.
"It's simple, really. I'm living in Manehattan, working as an accountant, and thinking I need a vacation. The stress was really getting to me... And then, oddly coincidentally, I get a message from my good friend, Red Snow- you saw her with me yesterday-that a group of ponies wants to run away from Terra, somewhere through the border, to resettle a forgotten hayhole they've found on some maps dug out from some dusty archives. From what I know, that ghost town was called Appleloosa. Well, judging from that it's near the buffalo territory, I'm thinking that these ponies were simply looking for an easy way to commit suicide. But then, on the other hoof, such an adventure could be interesting, so I decide to give it some thought... And then, I find out that Red Snow told them that I was apparently a good outdoorsman, therefore they really want me as a scout for their crazy trip. Well, I do like spending some weekends out in the Whitetail woods, but not Everfree! But then I find out that my second good friend, Sweet Whisper was also invited by her, and she agreed, so I have no choice, I took a vacation at the company. We all meet near the Western Everfree Front, and after two days of traveling through the forest I find that pendant, somepony in the group finds you somewhere nearby, and you probably know the rest..."
It took him a few minutes to tell the story, mainly because he realized he was a poor storyteller, and he had to make it as engaging as he could. There was no need for it, anyway, it was only to satisfy his sometimes-occurring, always-failing perfectionism. Teal would be interested anyway, no matter how poorly he tried to tell it. While he was relaying the story, he thought about his friends, Sweet Whisper and Red Snow. He was a little bit worried now, but he somehow knew that they were doing just fine out there.
Teal brooded over his words for a moment, before replying after a long minute of total silence.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but there's a problem with your story."
"And that is?" Lanky asked, curious what that pony was thinking about.
"Sorry to say, but what you've said makes absolutely no sense."
"What do you mean?" Lanky said, completely surprised. He himself couldn't see any problems with his story. To make it even clearer to Teal, he tilted his head to signalize that he really couldn't guess Teal's train of thought.
"For such a small, casual group, you seemed pretty well-organized..." The teal pony, despite still sounding timid, allowed himself a single smirk.
Lanky still couldn't see what was wrong with his story. He shook his head in disagreement.
"Did you ask yourself, or did Sweet Whisper or Red Snow ask somepony else, how exactly that group had access to HoofBeat mk.4 Armored Pony Carriers? Yes, they're a little bit outdated, it's possible to buy them decommissioned on the aftermarket, but they would cost a small fortune. Each."
Somehow, it hadn't occured to him to ask them how in the hay they got such technology. That single question made him feel incredibly dumb. If he had armor, this would be the arrow piercing precisely through it.
They remained silent, both of them unsure what to say to each other. To kill the time, Lanky asked the guard passing near their cell periodically, a middle aged green pegasus, if he could bring them the newspaper. It appeared that the guard was in a good mood, because he brought him what he wanted.
It was very, very difficult to read those neigh-gothic letters. To add insult to injury, it was printed on an old, or merely artificially antiquated scroll. It was so different from Manehattanian newspapers, which were printed on normal, white paper, with words written in pony-readable letters.
Surprisingly even for him, he managed to somehow comprehend the strange font, and the text had no secrets anymore. The content was mind-numbing anyway, just like the newspapers back in the city. Celebrity gossip, some politics (Lanky skimmed through these, but didn't notice any mention of any tensions with earth ponies, as instead they focused on some petty, internal power struggles), random articles about pretty much anything and nothing at the same time... One article did catch his undivided attention, however.
'Crying Dragon sighted near Trotheim, driven away by brave town guards... again.'
"For the umpteenth time, the Crying Dragon was sighted, trying to sneak past our guards..."
The rest of the article was so unprofessionally written, that if he were the editor, he'd fire that pony first thing in the morning.
Trying his best to stomach the rest of the article, he focused the most on the first sentence. In his opinion, it was all bullmanure. There simply couldn't exist such creatures as dragons. There were legends, mere foal-tales heard by Lanky, that in the old world, before the Shift, such creatures lived, sustained by magic. It didn't matter today anyway, the dragons simply were no more. But then, if the article was true... The Crying Dragon, named so for reasons not mentioned in the article, sure could be an interesting sight to see. Lanky decided to keep that article in mind. He felt compelled to go to that Trotheim city, with his friends, just to see a real dragon. There would be problems, for example it was not earth pony territory... And there was a question whether the creature really existed, as he somehow still couldn't believe the article... But still, a dragon!
"Or maybe it's just an attempt to promote tourism to that city... But that's strange, I've never heard of dragons living anywhere in the world..."
Feeling a little bit excited, but still bored out of his mind, Lanky passed the scroll to his impromptu room mate, but Teal just shot a quick glance, and then turned his head away, disinterested.
They spent the remaining time in silence. An hour later, two guards came to their cell, gave them some surprisingly tasty hay and water for dinner, and after both had finished eating, unchained them and told them that their fate was to be decided now.
Walking slowly to the courtroom, while passing through a high-ceiling corridor build in universally-recognized Canterlotian style, Lanky noticed through a window that they were in Canterlot. Such a beautiful view could only be seen from high upon the mountainside, and Canterlot was the only city known to be built in such manner. He had the hunch before, but now, his worst fears were confirmed.
The evening sunlight, filtered through the courtroom's stained glass windows made for a magnificent sight. The room was flooded with a magnitude of colors and hues, casting gentle rainbow tints across the floor and those present.
Lanky observed the courtroom for a moment. The room would be beautiful even without the stained glasses. Masterfully carved wooden benches and pulpits, adorned with floral reliefs, looked expensive and very regal. The floor was white marble, uneven after so many years and after so many hooves left visible tracks and indentations in the stone. Walls were also built using perfectly chiseled white marble slabs. The ceiling, on the other hoof, was wooden. A beautiful crystal candelabra hung above all the ponies, gathered inside the courtroom, waiting impatiently for the process to start. It was the first time in his life that Lanky had seen so many unicorns and pegasi. In Manehattan, one could occasionally find a horned or winged pony, but they were so rare that many citizens living in Terra lived their lives never seeing one. It seemed that in Luna's Domain, the same could be said about earth ponies. Except for Lanky and Teal, there was nopony else in the room like them. On the benches surrounding them, there was a multitude of young unicorns and pegasi, apparently students of law, learning by example how to be good, proper lawyers. Before them all, behind an obscenely ornate wooden desk, five elderly ponies, three unicorns and two pegasi, sat on wooden, comfortable-looking chairs. One of them, a very old, creamy-red unicorn mare with gray mane and tail, held a metal staff in her mouth. Suddenly, she struck the floor, and the staff let out a loud, metallic ringing. The room fell silent immediately.
The Lesser Gathering, pretty much the lowest tier of Luna's Domain judicial system, designated for small, unimportant civil cases, had assembled, with one topic in their mind: What should they do with these two trespassers? The general consensus, apparently shared by everypony in the room, especially Lanky and Teal, was painfully simple: send them back to the Earth territory, pronto. They were harmless, they had no papers that would allow or explain their existence there, their arrival there was a minor mistake, they were too clumsy to be spies, and above all, they were not welcome there. Just throw them away, everypony thought.
But even so, the ceremony had to be completed. There would be a simple preamble, then the Head of the Gathering will say out loud what happened, and after a simple questioning, the prisoners would be released near the border.
And the ceremony began. An old pony, a yellowish unicorn mare, unfolded a scroll using her hooves on the ornate stone pulpit, and began reading it, somewhat louder and clearer than the last speaker.
"We are gathered here to decide the fate of two earth ponies, by the names of Lanky and... name unknown...?" The unicorn read the sentence again and again, trying to wrap her mind around that last part, but very quickly regained her composure and started reading again from where she left," who were found trespassing on the Domain's grounds. These two broke the treaty forbidding unauthorized access through the borders, and could not produce any documents on request, authorizing their visit, and for that, our law is simple: extradition to where they came from, to Terra."
Lanky was too intimidated to point out that those guards that captured them didn't request any documents.
Trying to gather some courage, he looked to his right, to see how Teal was coping with the whole situation. However, the stranger looked completely indifferent to what was happening, and all he was doing was gazing at the floor, lost deep in his thoughts. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that the students were transcribing everything that was happening on their scrolls, eagerly learning the arts.
"Is there anything that the defendants would like to add?" Another one of the judges, this time a middle-aged cyan pegasus stallion, spoke directly to them. Lanky didn't know how to react. It was so different than what he already knew. He didn't have any problems with the law way back in Manehattan, but he knew well that back there, in Terra, the part of Divided Equestria where he was born, the judicial system worked on a different set of principles and customs. For example, there were attorneys who would work in defense. But here, that wasn't the case. Everything was different. The whole ceremony, the process, even the judges choice of words had no match to what Lanky knew.
He maintained his calm facial expression, but he was feeling lost nonetheless. The culture clash left him in total darkness. All he could do, and all he did, was to shake his head to express that there was nothing more to add. In the depths of his heart, he knew that it was the best possible outcome, anyway, and therefore he had no objections.
The five turned around to face each other. They whispered silently amongst each other, and after a consensus had been formed, they turned around, facing Lanky and the teal pony again.
"So the sentence stands," the creamy-red mare spoke, "Lanky and... name unknown will be deported to Terra as soon as possible."
"Well, that was one quick verdict... Seriously, what's going on?" Lanky thought, confused by how fast the whole procedure went. "It's so different, so strange... I'm lost. I'm completely lost as to what's going on! For starters, why are we in Canterlot? Why all that gaudy ceremonial? Why not kick us out back to Terra right now?"
While Lanky was completely lost in his thoughts, the creamy-red mare took the metal staff in her mouth and started striking the floor. Lanky didn't know what that meant, but all the remaining ponies in the room knew that it was to symbolize the lawfully binding decision. The staff would hit the floor three times, and then it was over, the sentence couldn't be turned over anymore except by the higher instance of the court.
The rod struck once, and the metallic sound reverberated across the room.
The rod struck the marble for the second time, and the ringing noise bounced off the walls and around the room again.
A moment before the rod struck the floor for the third time, which would make the sentence final, the heavy wooden doors to the courtroom swung open violently, almost blown out. The force was so strong that the marble near the hinges cracked a little.
All heads in the room turned around, clueless and confused. One pony, a young, violet unicorn mare with green eyes entered the room, holding a scroll in her mouth. She quickly gaited to the gathering, placed the scroll on the pulpit and turned around, exiting the room while completely ignoring the commotion she caused. When she entered the room, Lanky noticed that she, like Healer and Siren, also had a 'tattooed' flank. This time, the 'tattoo' represented a tree.
"What the hay is with all those tattoos? Who would want to have a tattoo on their flanks anyway?" Lanky pondered for a moment, being more interested in her flank than in her rather dynamic entry. Through his whole life, he never ever saw a tattooed flank. All flanks were simply blank. And now, in two days, he saw three ponies who apparently thought it was cool.
"Is that some new fashion statement or what?"
The mare who was leading the trial broke the wax seal of the scroll and unscrolled it on the pulpit. The remaining judges looked over her shoulder, highly curious as to what was written there. With each word they read, their expressions changed from confusion about the commotion, to astonishment from reading the contents of the scroll. The yellowish unicorn mare apparently couldn't believe what was written there, as her eyes moved rapidly through the text, again and again, as if to ascertain the authenticity. Finally, her voice breaking, she managed to read out loud what was written there.
"By the decree of Queen Luna, voiced by the Synod of Canterlot, these two trespassers have been sentenced to death. Their execution is to be carried out tomorrow at dawn."
She was in hurry, for she had to get to her residence as soon as possible. But even despite that, there were some things in the world worth stopping for.
Tree Root took a deep breath. She let the air stay in her nostrils for a moment, enjoying the fragrances of Canterlot as she trotted nervously through the streets of the Mythical City on the Hill.
She considered herself educated enough to be one of the chosen few who could understand all the subtle details of the city. And for her, the best way to determine the character of the place was to smell it, and the capitol of Luna's Domain proved to be quite a challenge.
The city of arts lived according to it's name, and the smell of paint, drying somewhere near her, in an atelier of some probably well-known artist reminded her to visit a gallery. She even felt the stone-dust gently irritating her nose, the byproduct of a sculptor working on a new project, making her remember some of her favorite sculptures she had seen while she had lived there, and that she hadn't been to any exhibition in a long time.
But there was no time for that. Not today, anyway. There were more important tasks at hoof.
The cafes of Canterlot- the aromas of freshly baked cakes, and the fragrances of so many varieties of tea and coffee tingled her senses, making her feel the painful craving for a good cappuccino.
There were so many more smells, but a peculiar one amazed her, an ominous, ethereal one. For it wasn't recorded by her olfactory senses, but by her brain, being noticeable to her thanks only to her knowledge.
The smell of decay. It wasn't the city that smelt like that, no, the city thrived without any problems, completely ignorant as to what really was going on. But she could tell the source of that odor was somewhere in the Castle; she could pinpoint the exact location to be the royal chambers, where Princess Celestia and Queen Luna resided. The problem with that odor was that it really was there, inside the Canterlot Palace. In the city, however, the smell still clung to her, and she couldn't shake it off.
"Poor ponies, lied to every day." That was her problem, knowing well the dirtiest secrets of Canterlot made her a little bit stressed and cynical.
But she was aware that no secret can be hold ad infinitum; she could feel the cold breeze of the winds of change blowing at her. And soon, unless the Synod was to take some preemptive emergency measurements, the same wind would start blowing everywhere.
Because today was a special day. Something unexpected happened. Something which was in nopony's plans.
And Tree Root needed necessary corrections. She needed orders.
Her mind jumped into higher gear, making her appropriately paranoid. That peculiar behavior of hers was her most prized possession, for it was the only thing that kept her alive through the difficulties she had come upon in her job. She looked around herself, not to gaze upon the beautiful, if a bit gaudy architecture, but to see whether she was followed.
But nopony was following her. Or so it seemed, but she was aware of her abilities and therefore was sure that nopony could've followed her without her knowledge.
What perplexed her, however, was that some ponies looked at her flank, at the mark she had there. A rather cute mark that represented a tree. But she knew that these ponies thought of her as merely another crazy artist who decided to paint or tattoo a mark on her body.
Suckers.
When she came upon the doors to her apartment, she looked around one more time. Nopony was following her. She quickly opened the doors, and as soon as she could she locked them with a key.
Inside, she stood silently, listening carefully to sense if somepony was hiding in her home, an eavesdropper or an assassin.
But she heard absolutely nothing. Either she really was alone or the other parties were that good at hiding. She decided to take a risk and assume the first option.
She closed all the curtains, her room veiled in deep shadows. Then, she opened a hidden cache in her desk, and from it took a small item, a special thing that couldn't be found anywhere else in Canterlot. A headset.
She donned it, the earpiece snugly fitting in, and pressed the call button with her hoof. To somepony uninitiated, the silence on the other end would only make them think that the thing was broken, but she knew what to do to make somepony listen.
"Two, seven, eight, three, switch to encrypted channel." She whispered, and waited patiently for a response. Her head was now shaking, eyes sweeping the room to intercept anypony who could be listening to her right now. In her job, nopony could ever be paranoid enough.
Soon enough she heard somepony on the other side of the world talking to her, asking her what the problem was, to which she replied.
"Mission failed. The Synod is aware. The pendant hasn't been intercepted by us. The teal pony and that other, brown one, whomever-he-is, have been sentenced to death; I've even personally delivered the letter from the... you know, Queen Luna. There are no backup plans we can commence. Requesting orders now."
The voice on the other side began talking to her, relaying the orders. She nodded to each one, understanding the burdens that have been put at her.
But the last order shocked her. With each second, Tree Root became more and more scared. The weight of responsibility that had been put on her right now was unbearable. And soon, not waiting for her response, the connection was cut. She was breathing heavily, trying to comprehend the words that had been spoken to her. Finally, hooves shaking, she put the headset away.
Although it was radically idiotic to even whisper anything about her mission, she muttered quietly to herself, in an attempt to comprehend what had she'd just been told.
"Help them escape by... No... What... what do you mean, 'reroute, disarm or... liquidate the guards?' How am I supposed to do that?"
"Stop panicking, please..." Teal tried his best to calm Lanky down, but to no avail, the death sentence reduced him to a somewhat emotionally unstable pony. He was shaking violently. His mind still wouldn't comprehend what had just happened. Neither would the rest of the courtroom. The moment the sentence was heard, everypony's mouth went agape from shock. It was so surreal that even the five judges couldn't believe what they'd read. But the document was authentic, and there was nothing they could do.
"Calm down, calm down... NO! BUCK YOU! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?" Lanky yelled at Teal, who somehow managed to stay calm through the whole ordeal. Lanky lost his cool, his mind was shattered, and his higher cognitive functions had shut down. He couldn't believe it. He thought about his two closest friends, Red Snow and Sweet Whisper. He'd kill somepony just to be with them right now, preferably somewhere far, far away.
The guards were listening to the screams from their station, near the heavy wooden doors that divided the dungeon from the rest of the royal palace. The doors were across the long corridor, which carried the screams well, setting the mood perfectly. However, thanks to the acoustic properties of the location, all sounds were distorted, and therefore, guards didn't hear what that crazy tall brown pony was yelling about. The context was clear, anyway.
Near the wooden doors that led to the outside world, to the lower parts of Canterlot Palace, two guards stood, guarding the dungeon, seeing to it that nopony could escape. Not under their watch!
But the problem with these two guards was, right that moment, they were utterly terrified. They listened to the screams of that brown earth pony imprisoned in a cell near them. Usually, they would ignore it. After all, any ponies who found themselves inside that dungeon definitely deserved such a fate!
But not them. Not these two earth ponies. They did absolutely nothing. They just wandered into Luna's Domain by accident. Yet, they were sentenced to death.
These two guards, the paragons of all virtues that characterized the Royal Guard, were anything but. Their bodies were shaking lightly, their teeth gritting as if they were cold. Their eyes showed not the strength of proud Canterlot warriors, but instead weakness, confusion, and fear.
"A-Aegis?" One guard, an armor clad, orange unicorn asked his old-time friend.
"Y-y-yes, Miles?" The other one, a green pegasus replied, stuttering just like his friend. Both felt too stressed not to stutter.
"W-what's going on?" Miles whispered after a moment.
"I wish I knew." Aegis replied, the tone of his voice clearly showing how confused he was.
"B-but you should know! Aegis, my old friend, you served as Queen Luna's Vangua-"
Aegis snapped the moment he heard Miles mention his old position.
"No! I've told you not to mention that ever again. I was demoted after that scandal, and I do not want to talk about it!"
An uneasy silence fell between them, interrupted only by the incoherent screams of that brown pony. But after a moment, Miles decided to drill the topic further.
"But could you tell me, are our Queen and Princess really that... for lack of a better word, unkind, to just sentence them to death just like that? After all, of all the ponies, only you have seen them personally. I've served all my life under them, but never did I see them before my very own eyes."
Aegis pondered for a moment. He was bound by law not to answer such queries. But he quickly thoughtout a way to not answer the question.
"...No. They're not. It must've been a mistake."
For a fleeting second, Aegis felt bad to lie to his friend. But it was a necessity. Were Miles to know the truth, he would be shattered. Not to mention Aegis would've had to kill his friend for possessing highly classified information.
After another moment of silence, this time not interrupted by the distorted screams that came out of one of the cells, Miles decided it was time to do something.
"M...Maybe we should open the cell and let them escape...? And then escape ourselves? Don't you see it, friend? Something has changed. Canterlot is dangerous. I don't want to live there anymore!"
"I-I'll think about that." Aegis stuttered out. Somehow, what Miles said was oddly tempting. Desertion and escape appeared to be the best option now.
Back at the cell, Teal decided it was high time to calm Lanky down. And he knew exactly how.
"...I can help you." The stranger said, in a tone so tranquil that Lanky relented just a little, but not enough.
"HOW?"
"...Calm down, please, and I will tell..."
"Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down..." Lanky kept repeating these words like a mantra for a long time, almost an hour, till he finally regained some peace of his fractured mind. By that time, the night had fallen, still young.
"...I'm calm... I think..." Lanky said, his shaking voice betraying his words.
"Ok, good... Now listen..." the teal pony said, then turned his head to see if there was anypony eavesdropping on them. Luckily for them, the rest of the dungeon was apparently empty, and the guards were far away enough not to hear what they were talking about.
"Do you trust me?" Teal asked Lanky. He nodded in return, fearing that if he was to open his mouth again, his emotions would explode and knock out all of his mental stability he managed to regain by now. The nod was rather insincere, because the brown pony couldn't answer that question anyway. There were so many thoughts in his mind, he couldn't think about whether he could trust him or not.
"Now, listen... I might have... traded some of my memories, but there are some things I still know..." the teal pony nervously shook his head, to see if somepony else was listening, "I've been here once before, in this very dungeon. And I've escaped. I know how to escape, I know the way around. Want to escape with me? Because I don't really want to die either, you know..." he said, still sounding timid. This time, there was a small tinge of sureness in his voice.
Lanky looked at Teal with eyes wide open. His mind couldn't understand completely what he just said, but he caught the gist of it. He nodded in acknowledgement.
"Want to escape right now?"
Lanky nodded again, not sure if this could work. He decided to trust his life to that stranger.
"Ok... Now listen, and listen very carefully. First, don't say what you don't really have to say. Second, act natural"- the accent could be clearly heard on the word 'act'- " And third, most important, don't look at me when that happens, the spell can misfire." Teal said, somehow managing to accentuate the whole part of a sentence. "Do you understand?"
Lanky shook his head in disagreement. He didn't understand what Teal was saying. The stranger smirked in response.
"That's good. You don't have to understand. Just do it. Just yell for help." It didn't sound like an order, more like a request he said in his ever-meek voice. But the words still carried that peculiar aura of obedience.
And then Teal began thrashing violently. His body jerked, as if twisted by an unbearably painful seizure. His eyes went wide open, wild and unfocused. White foam formed in the corners of his mouth.
For the second time in his life, and in the day, Lanky had been genuinely petrified. Thoughts in his mind raced, unsure what to do.
'Act natural...' A single thought that snapped Lanky back into action.
"HELP! HELP! WE NEED HELP!" He yelled, trying to catch the attention of guards. To get them there faster, he struck his hooves at the metal bars of his cell. It was enough. He heard the gallop of the two guards coming closer to them.
The words of the unnamed pony flashed in his mind again. 'Don't look at me when that happens...' Lanky instinctively closed his eyes, though he didn't understand the reason.
A second after he closed his eyes, he heard the guards finally arrive to their cell.
Then, all sounds stopped. The teal pony stopped thrashing. The guards didn't do anything. Lanky heard a sizzling sound, and an unbearably strong odor of ozone hit his nostrils. He was too terrified to open his eyes when he heard the guards open their cell. He didn't even twitch when he felt his chains move, one of the guards unchaining him.
"It's ok, you can open your eyes now..." the stranger cooed. Lanky slowly opened his eyes, then blinked a few times. The guards stood above them, unmoving, their bodies stiff, faces expressionless, and their eyes glassy and looking into empty space.
Slowly, Lanky rose up. His joints cracked loudly, finally having a little freedom of movement after he was brought back to the cell after the trial. He heard Teal's joints cracking too.
"I'm a good actor, am I not?" The teal pony said, smiling as if nothing happened.
"Don't. Do. That. Ever. Again." Lanky stuttered out, not really understanding why Teal had to act like that to make him call the guards.
"That was the most convincing act I've ever seen in my life. I don't want to see it ever again. Even in the movies the acting is not as convincing as what you did there... WAIT. WHAT DID YOU DO THERE AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE GUARDS?" It took all his mental strength not to yell that thought at Teal.
Lanky began to move slowly to the opened doors of the cell, eager to get the out of there.
"At last, free-"
"Stop." Teal barked, and Lanky obeyed. The teal pony walked slowly to the opening, but stopped just as he was to cross it.
Lanky observed with great curiosity what Teal was doing. He moved his head closer to the metal bars of the door frame, careful not to put his head through it. Then, a small light formed on his forehead, and again, there was a sizzling sound, and a strong smell of ozone hit their nostrils.
When the spell began to form, the hair on the stranger's forehead began to flow, as if shaken by a strong gust of wind. It was that exact moment when he realized that Teal was, in fact, a unicorn. His dirty mane was always formed in such a way that the stump where his horn was was obscured from view, but now, when the magical energies flowed, Lanky could see everything clear. The pony's horn had been removed, leaving only a small stump, nothing but a mere mark on his head.
In the air, where the doors were, many arcane-looking symbols became visible. They appeared as if taken out of an alphabet Lanky didn't recognize. All of them looked as if made of translucent, milky mist. They moved around in circles, forming a transparent wall placed where the doors were. As they moved, these arcane letters left behind traces of mist that quickly faded away.
The light formed on the stranger's forehead grew in intensity, and the symbols slowly began to fade. When these disappeared, so did the light. The cell became dark again.
Lanky's mouth was agape. It was beautiful, he thought. It was amazing. It was...
"Magic..." he stuttered, not believing his eyes.
Teal nodded, and then shook violently, as if he was cold.
"...Yes. Yes it was. Don't ask me now, I'll explain it later. Don't ask why I'm shaking... Please. Don't ask."
It hadn't occured to Lanky to ask why the other pony was shivering. His mind was still preoccupied with amazement of what he had just seen. Through all his life, he hadn't believe in magic, and there it was, witnessed before his very own eyes. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was hushed even before he asked.
"Buck that, I've got to ask!"
"What was that just now? All these letters, just what was that? Was that magic?"
"Yes. It's magic. It's an enchantment that I call 'tripwire'," the stranger said in a voice that made it clear he had an absolute authority over such things, "It detects when anypony unauthorized tries to cross it, and if triggered, it fires a quiet alarm that would call to every guard in the vicinity."
"How... How do you know that?" Lanky almost yelled that question out, restraining himself in the last possible moment.
"I'll tell later. We don't have time for that."
Lanky nodded to Teal's answer. "He's right... We've got to escape right now!"
The teal pony stuck his head through the doorway, the metal bars that formed one wall of their cell no longer obstructing his sight. He looked left, he looked right, he looked left again, and then took a first step towards freedom.
Lanky followed, walking out of the jail into the dungeon's corridor. It was a low-ceiling tunnel, dim lights of torches throwing weak light onto the walls made of heavy blocks of stone. The air was so humid and warm that Lanky felt as if he was in a sauna.
He and Teal both turned around at the same time. The guards still stood in their cell, blissfully ignoring the rest of the world. The teal pony closed the doors to their jail and turned the key, locking the guards, one green pegasus and one orange unicorn, inside.
"...Please forgive me. It's for the best," the stranger cooed to the guards. They didn't even react.
He turned his head to Lanky.
"Simple mind control spell. Don't worry about them, Lanky, they're safe. They will be like that 'til morning."
It didn't convince Lanky anyway.
"Was that supposed to calm me? Just ignore the fact that you're capable of raping somepony's mind just like that?"
He looked around. The four of them were alone. All the remaining cells were empty. They were empty when they first arrived there, too.
"Do they execute everypony found guilty of anything in Luna's Domain? I know in Terra almost nothing is known about our brethren except the most basic facts, but that just beats all. What a hayhole this place is. Ugh."
Lanky turned to the doors that would lead them outside, into the lowest parts of Canterlot palace. Teal, however, turned back and began walking down the corridor, deeper into the dungeon.
"W... Where are you going?" Lanky asked, curious as to why Teal wasn't escaping right there, right now, with him.
"I've... got one more thing to do. You can come if you like," the stranger said, walking down the corridor.
"Okay, I'll come. But quickly, please, I want to get out!" Lanky spoke, but Teal ignored him.
Lanky followed him anyway. At the end of the corridor, they came upon a stairwell. It winded down, deep into the mountain. Down, there was another corridor like the one where their cell was located. Like in the upper corridor, all cells were empty.
Except one. One particular cell was completely different. It was much, much bigger, clearly designed not to hold anypony within. To make matters complicated, it was veiled in impenetrable darkness that didn't let Lanky see what was imprisoned there.
And there was something inside. Something big, lying down quietly in the ever-veiling shadow. Something that definitely wasn't a pony. Something that couldn't be seen, something that made Lanky shiver just by being there. Only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat, the sound somehow amplified. He felt his throat and mouth getting dry just by looking into the abyss where that thing was. What made it worse was that the abyss seemed to stare back at them.
When the Teal began to speak, Lanky jumped, already scared out of his mind.
"I'm sorry... Please, forgive me... I still can't help you. Wait a little bit longer for me, I'll find a way to get you out of there... I'll find a way to end your pain. I still can't find it. Wait for me a little bit longer, please?" Teal said in a motherly tone, trying to calm whatever was inside.
The thing grunted, the sound that only an unearthly creature in a world of pain could make, and Lanky almost lost it completely. He was already losing sanity just by standing there. The atmosphere of the place, the dim lights of the torches, the impenetrable darkness of the big holding cell, that... imprisoned thing inside. His mind couldn't take it anymore. Every particle of his body wished to get out of there, FAST. He couldn't stand there for any longer!
Near the cell, there was a small cabinet with a red cross, a universally-recognized symbol of first aid, a symbol which eerily reminded Lanky of that Healer stallion back in the group. The stranger opened it, and took a small plastic vial from there, which he promptly threw into the cell through the metal-bar wall, right into the darkness.
"Here, have some more painkillers. I know you need these. I'll see you later... Sorry," he said to the darkness, and slowly walked back to the stairwell. Lanky followed eagerly. The sooner he left that place, the better for both of them.
When they went back upstairs, Lanky's instincts finally kicked in, and galloped for a moment, as fast from the stairwell as his tired hooves could carry him, this instinctive action letting him regain just a little of his sanity. The teal unicorn instead gaited slowly, not afraid of that eldritch abomination imprisoned down there.
When they were halfway through the upper corridor, Lanky stopped running and decided to ask him what he had just experienced.
"What... Was that?" Lanky asked, speaking every word in-between irregular gasps.
"He's... a friend of mine. Yes, you could say he's my friend. Name's Discord."
Even Lanky couldn't believe it, the contrast between such a dangerous thing and such silly name making him smirk, the laughter breaking down the tension.
"Discord" He muttered under his nose... "What an appropriate name!"
Teal's expression went somber. "It's far more appropriate than you would ever know."
Lanky didn't ignore that comment, but decided not to ask any more than he had to. There was still a string of pure, primeval fear when he thought about what was inside that cell, about what he couldn't see though the darkness. If it wasn't for that, he'd also ask why that pony had it as a friend.
Near the doors leading outside, there was a metal chest. Inside, he found his backpack. He rummaged through it, and saw that everything was there. A small blanket, some perfect-for-camping-trips Meals Ready to Eat (that tasted like cardboard but killed hunger just perfectly) bought at military surplus store, and an ever-useful first aid kit, all waited to be reclaimed. There was a canteen still filled with water. He was so parched that he immediately emptied half of it, sharing the remaining half with the other pony, who gladly accepted his gift.
Even his headset was there, however a quick test confirmed that it would be impossible to connect to his friends, static on all channels.
Everything he had was there, except that pendant he found one day earlier, back in that cottage in Everfree Forest. Somehow, he expected that. Such a magical artifact was too valuable to be left in his hooves.
He looked as the unnamed pony disengaged another tripwire enchantment, that would've activated if they were to open the doors and rush headlong outside. The magical show amazed him even more than when he saw it for the first time just some moments ago. The stranger shivered again, this time more violently than before.
"So," the teal pony said, his voice serious and determined, a welcome change from all that timidity that his voice was seeping with before, "Are you ready to get out of there?"
Adrenaline already pumped in Lanky's veins. He didn't need another incentive.
He opened the doors, slowly. The unoiled hinges creaked, but thanks to their carefulness, it was quiet enough not to gather anypony's undue attention. The attention of the Royal Guard was the last thing they wanted.
He peeked through the doors. The first thing he felt was a cold draft. The nighttime air felt so refreshing, that after taking a quick peek to see if there were any guards nearby, Lanky took a deep breath, savoring every particle.
The general look-and-feel contrasted the dampness of the dungeon. The torches on the walls back there cast everything in soft, orange glow. But that corridor that was outside looked regal, stained glass windows and marble columns everywhere they could see. The contrast between the dimly-lit prison and unlit corridors of the Canterlot Palace made him not see as well as usual, but after a few seconds, his eyes adapted to the darkness.
After confirming again that there were no guards outside, Lanky took a deep breath, and made a single step outside.
Right into the unknown.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Took me some time. I really hope I'll manage to write next chapters faster than that one.
And the plot thickens. This chapter was a little bit heavy on the dialogue side, I know, I know...
And one more thing: Neigh-gothic: Neigh, as in a sound a pony makes, and gothic, as in gothic letters. To be precise, I was thinking something along the lines of Blackletter/Fraktur.
So, what do you think? Did you like it? Did you like it, but there was something that was simply wrong? Or did you dislike it? Please, give me your opinion in the review. I want to make this story good, therefore I'd love some constructive feedback!
Also, thanks to my betareaders (Periphery, Mamoo and TFSuperfan) and to those who reviewed & tracked the 1st chapter. I really, really appreciate that. It means a lot to me.