The heaviest sigh broke out of Amissus as they made it into town. Although he had asked to go through the least crowded part of town, which Fluttershy had obliged to him, it didn't stop those few reporters from a few days ago to find him. Their questions and shouts and all the words that they spoke made his jaw clench tighter and tighter until his teeth were about to pop out from the pressure. He held his head low and his eyes narrowed, as if it could shield him from the annoyance of them all swarming around them. He looked over to Fluttershy who was having just as hard of a time coping as he was. She was shaken, unnerved and constantly moving about in the little space that the mob allowed them, whereas Amissus walked in a straight line towards Sugar Cube Corner; but it was farther away than they could run. Once did he look at all the faces following them: He didn't recognize one, which meant that Penn Swift was somewhere else.
She's probably stalking that musician still.
The thought made him smile. Penn did have a kind of drive and upright motivation that amused Amissus.
"Sir, what are you smiling about? Is it because of the mare you're with?" "Are you two together?" "I swear I've seen you before! Where are you from?!"
The burst of questions rocked Amissus's mind and struck close to breaking his tolerance for these parasites. But when one member of the mob started interviewing – really, more interrogating – Fluttershy, another joined and soon the focus was shifted from Amissus, who was bearing just fine, to Fluttershy.
She was starting to break down farther and faster from her already upset state.
"Ma'am, why does he refuse to speak with us?" "Do you really love him?"
She mumbled something along with another set of incoherent words. Amissus watched them all crowding her, hoping that she would manage to get out on her own.
One reporter, this rugged stallion whose body was in a disgusting state from lack of hygienic respect, began to tug on her mane and demanded that she answer them. At this, Amissus moved towards the crowd to get him off of her. He may've not liked any of the six mares that he was forced into friendship with, but he'd be damned if they were harmed, especially this one.
"Enough! Get off her." He told them, his voice slightly weak from not speaking and refusing to speak. This current voice of his didn't make them stop: The aggressive journalist kept at her, still tugging on her mane. This continual action even incited some of the other reporters to ask him to stop, but he refused to. The other reporters began to thin and break off because of the developing scene; some kept a distance and smiled for this story of 'Reporter Attacks Mare.' When Fluttershy shrieked as her last smidgen of perseverance was taken, Amissus launched forward with a force not unlike the gust of wind from a looming storm. He knocked the reporter from the ground and that flung him forward a few meters away with the simple force of his push. He turned to Fluttershy, who was crying and her mane was now unkempt from the filthy hoof, to make sure that she hadn't been harmed any further. As he did, a mighty blow was forced down against his head, sending him down and his head to be hit a second time from bouncing off the ground. Amissus was at a loss for breath, but he still attempted to get on his hooves again knowing that he would have to fight: For his life? He hoped not.
Once again, a blow a dealt from under, prompting Amissus to his hooves; he scanned around, not knowing where he was for a second. He was lucky enough to see another hoof coming for his left eye. Ducking, he rolled away, kicking at the same time. His left hoof hit square on something as he completed his turn. He now was free of any more sucker punches. The reporter, for once free of flies, was standing in a common fighting stance that Amissus saw was unbalanced, clenching his chest with a hoof. His face was tired, but the rest of him was vigorous, filled with spite and eyes filled with a rage that wouldn't go away until this fight was over. He charged Amissus, but Amissus threw himself under the stallion and hoisted him over. The sound and shock of the stallion hitting the ground made Amissus, who now shared the stallion's rage, run towards it. He pinned the reporter down, now repaying his blows with larger ones all to his head. Amissus's breathing matched his rhythm of mayhem, not seeing clearly what he was hitting.
As he attacked this stallion, he also struck down at the Voice from the dark world, he struck down the spirit that had replicated his mother, he struck down the citizens that wouldn't let him have peace those years ago, and he struck down his father in anger that he didn't know enough about him. He struck down Twilight for forcing him here, he struck down many times for the annoyance of this town, and he struck down the sun and its unblinking stare.
Strike down, breath out, hoof up, breathe in, strike down, strike down, strike down…
Amissus's rage didn't let him feel Fluttershy and two other ponies pulling him off. His hooves were still jerking forward into the air as they lifted him onto his hind legs and began to drag him off. The spasms faded as his vision became clearer to let him see the mess that he made. Blood poured off of the stallion's face and he didn't move, not even the motion of his chest rising to breathe. As he was let go and dropped onto his back, he laid there, shocked and cold. He had put himself as his greatest fear, even more so than all the shadow legions of his visions.
A few seconds went by as he laid there, his mind in pseudo-transcendence. He saw the sun overhanging, seemingly so close to his face, close enough to kiss. He knew that it wasn't so as Fluttershy's constant call for him: "Amissus. Amissus…!" made his vision drift the thousands of depths away from the sun and back onto the ground. He blinked once, twice, and raised himself onto his hooves. He did so quickly at first, then he slowed to an almost stillness as he noticed the even larger crowd of mostly passersby of many other ponies evaluating the gruesomeness of this scene that he had completed. His hooves felt slimy and looked at them to see them covered in thickening blood. He began to wipe them in the dirt as Fluttershy approached him. He saw that she shared the same face that many others there: fear. He moved towards her and extended a still partially bloody hoof to her, but she skittered back and away from him, almost bumping down the other mare behind her. Amissus quickly retracted his hoof and stepped back to his original place.
"Why did you do that…?" She asked in her quiet voice that had now lost its reassuring tone. Her eyes bounced around him, but never away, as if she were looking for an escape.
"I-"
"Why did you do that?!" She now yelled; the fear was audible and her eyes glaring into his head. Her outburst drew the crowd to her side, which most stared across at Amissus, while others said similar phrases.
"Fluttershy, I-" he began again, but he couldn't find the answer or any words legitimizing what he had done. He closed his face: mouth, eyes, he folded his ears down, and turned away. But that brace didn't save him from the brunt of what she said, almost as traumatizing as what he just did.
"You'd never be any son of mine." Her voice pierced him, an icicle through his chest.
He nodded in understanding, but he didn't feel any different. He only felt an oncoming sorrow and hatred for himself. He looked up with tearing eyes. She was not saddened, she was frantic with anger. She turned and quickly marched off back the way they came, followed by many of the throng that had suddenly appeared. He looked over to his opponent-turned-victim, who was being placed limpidly upon the backs of two stallions. He watched them carry him away. A voice from behind him, a mare it appeared as she walked passed, said "May Celestia have mercy." He was alone after that mare left, he only saw the disappearing crowd that followed Fluttershy and a glimmering figure in the shade of a tree. A spirit, it had its head thrown back laughing: Laughing at him. Laughing at the event that he had caused, laughing at his anguish, laughing at all that remained of Amissus.
The spirit faded, still laughing, as Amissus turned away and ran from the fresh guilt of this place.
…
"What have I done?"
Amissus fled away from Fluttershy and away from Ponyville, leaving him with only one way to go: an unexplored direction south of town, far enough to where he didn't have to look at the buildings of his place of regret. He found sanctuary, not a very good one, but one with solitude and all. It was a rundown shack found at the base of a cliff, falling to pieces and covered in moss and vines. It was always perpetually damp from the falling spring that came rushing down continuously near it. Amissus tirelessly focused on the sound of the crashing water on water, hoping not to think of the memory: the grungy reporter, the fight and all the blood and any thoughts on what consequences could follow.
For now, he was inside the shack, it didn't have much inside as far as luxury goes: nothing but a rusted out icebox, a splintering and unusable dresser, and a sack-like mattress atop squeaking metal that was once the frame of the bed gave it that 'lived-in-until-it-got-so-bad-they-had-to-leave' look. He was on his back on the mattress, feathers poking out at him through the covering.
"What have I done?" He thought out loud. He had been thinking that phrase since running away from town. He began saying it after thinking it wasn't enough for him. He searched for a penance.
He lifted himself up from the sack, careful not to get the dirt and blood on where he was lying. He walked outside; the sun now seemed to lean in close to the world as it sat well above the evening horizon, taking account of everything in its influence. Amissus quickly turned away and started down a beaten and overgrowing path to the pool the waterfall had made. He looked deep into the water, the ripples from the waterfall never giving a clear image of him. He walked into the pool step after step then let himself go after finding the split second weightlessness that deep water gave freely. He floated along; drifting up and down from the greater waves provided by the waterfall now that he was closer. He was also drawing nearer to the fall, his response at first was to do nothing, but he decided against being forced underwater by more water. He extended his hind leg and drug himself back to walking depth and then to the rim of the pool. He dove under once to give him a completely soaked body before lifting himself from the water. He now sat away from the rim, wet and afraid and disheartened.
Returning to the shack, moss completely covering the wall he approached from the spring he now saw, Amissus felt cleaner, but not purged of the fresh varnish of his atrocity. He entered the doorway, the door never there when he arrived, and looked into the shack to a mirror on the wall. He saw an earthen-toned stallion, his color hard to put a label on; his wings drooping and horn exposed from a dripping and heavy blue and brown mane. Amissus moved closer and the stallion did too until they were within reach of each other. He looked into its eyes, the deepening grey pulling his focus from everything else. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw over the stallion's shoulder: An armor clad pony and another armor clad unicorn, both in golden color and gleaming as the sun fell behind them, approached the door arch and they said something to each other. Amissus nodded and his reflection said "It's time."
"This is the guy right?" The pony said, talking to his unicorn partner.
"Yes, yes; for Celestia's love, yes!" The unicorn said, quietly yelling in frustration.
Clearing his throat, "Sir, you need to come with us."
"Why's that?" Amissus's reflection said.
What? What're you doing? He thought, hoping that the reflection hadn't really said that.
The unicorn moved closer, pushing his partner out from the doorway. "Do you realize that you've been reported for assault, sir? Under those charges, we are required to bring you into EUP custody."
"It was self-defense." The reflection argued.
Shut up! We can't get on their bad sides.
"We aren't the jury. Come quietly and there'll be time to explain yourself."
"Take all the explaining and shove-"
The reflection didn't finish what he was saying; Amissus had smashed the mirror to stop the reflection from saying anything else.
Never speak again.
Amissus turned and the guards were tense, ready to pounce. "Forgive me, I've…been through a- a lot recently."
The guards only looked at each other as Amissus handed himself over to them.
…
No reporters.
No ponies.
Nothing but guards.
EUP Station No. 12 was filled with walking uniforms and armors. The interior was bright, revealing all the hustle and bustle of the repeated tasks from each officer behind a desk. The outside was just as lit. It was luckily so, now that the sun had almost slipped from the sight of this town. At least that's what Amissus saw out of his cell window. When the two guards delivered Amissus, they followed another guard, this one in a blue uniform instead of the golden armor, and allowed him to place Amissus into a concrete cell; iron bars and a wooden bench only greeted him to the station after the uniformed guard left.
This would be bad if somepony else were in here with me.
Amissus walked to the outside wall, sitting on the bench pushed up against it. As he sat down, a prick in his hoof jerked it to his sight: a splinter had decided to be his annoyance for that hour. He constantly scraped at it with his teeth for minutes on end. It was awkward as another guard approached his iron bar wall. Amissus lowered his hoof and matched the guard's gaze.
"You get one message, Equestrian Script, nothing else. Tell us to whom you want it sent when you're done." The guard threw down a parchment, a quill, and a small ink well. Amissus coincidentally stepped down on the splinter in his hoof and tore it out with a seethe. Collecting the item the guard had dropped; Amissus brought it back to the bench. Lifting the paper and the quill in front of him with his magic, he undid the ink well's cap and dipped the quill. He then paused.
Equestrian…Script…
He realized that moment…that he couldn't write. In Equestria, Amissus was illiterate.
…
Amissus stared into the ceiling while on his back on the bench, the bland whitewashed concrete boards moved around at his eyesight's manipulation. He'd done so for hours, until hoofsteps made him look to who was approaching. He stared at the ground bending around the concrete wall of the cell to see cyan, grey, and purple hooves marching along and stopping at his door. He didn't bother to look up to the ponies, he knew who they were. He slid from the bench, knocking the stationary items from the bench, none of them put to use.
"This is the cell ma'am, cell number two." The guard said.
"Thank you."
The door unlocked with a scraping and squeaking metal on metal sound as the deadbolt slid behind the lock. More squeaking ensued as the door opened. Amissus was overshadowed by the guard as he pulled him up from the bench.
"These mares had a chat with the station commander…this one-" he motioned to Twilight "-gave us a good incentive to let you go." The guard looked under the bench to where the stationary had fallen. "Didn't even use your one message."
"C'mon Amissus, let's get you out of here." Twilight said. Amissus soon followed but did so slowly.
"Get it movin'." Rainbow said, slapping his backside. Amissus quickly snapped his head around to her with a flash of anger to let her know "Don't do that again."
Rainbow backed off from behind him with a smile as he followed Twilight into the lobby. Twilight had stopped at the receptionist's desk, an inset desk that formed an almost half-wall to the offices behind from the lobby. Amissus didn't bother to stop with her, instead choosing to beeline to the exit.
"Sir, your release forms!" The receptionist shouted after him, but he didn't stop to listen. It would've been useless anyways to have an illiterate pony sign his name.
The door to the station shut heavily with a clang. He continued outward to the square that the station was built next to. The door again opened and the rapid beat of running hooves made it to his side.
"Amissus!" Twilight started. "You have to go back and sign your release." She told, almost commanded, him.
"I'm not signing anything."
"That's the way the law works. You can't just choose not to follow it!"
"Just like you got me out of an assault charge and out of jail?"
"That's…that's different! Things are different when you're-"
"It isn't different, not at all." He said stopping her.
"It'd still be nice for me to see you cooperating."
"Who said I was a citizen of this nation?"
"Well, why would you be here if you weren't?"
He stopped walking towards the center of the square, now steps away, and looked her down with his frustration and the stress from the last few hours.
"Things don't always happen like you plan them. I didn't buy a one way trip into this country; I didn't pack my bags and decide to live here! I was forced here, I don't know why, but I'm going to find out where I'm actually from so I can go back there." He saw her open her mouth to say something again, he said "To stay there." to keep her from speaking. Seeing to it that she wouldn't continue, he made the few steps to the benches at the center of the square and sat down. He cocked his head back in a relaxed manner, to stare up to the stars that came out now that the sun had retreated.
"Amissus…" He heard her, but he didn't show that he listened. "Amissus." She said again sharply. He pulled his head around to see her standing in front of him. She began writing in the dirt in front of him in the script he didn't understand. When she finished he saw that it said 'The train leaves the station at noon."
"Read that for me." She told him.
"The…train leaves the station at noon." He said, stumbling over the word 'train.'
"Good. Now copy it." She commanded him coldly.
Amissus could've walked off, he should have, but this mare had gotten him out of jail: so he decided to humor her. He looked at her writing many more times than he was comfortable to admit. When he finished, his sloppy writing was a poor excuse for writing at all.
"You can hardly write…" She said with half disbelief and half disappointment. She shook her head, this made Amissus momentarily angry. He pushed hard on the ground and wiped all of the writing, his and hers, away and back to the earth. He sighed and leaned back, defeated.
"Yes, Twilight, okay? I can't write, I can't write in your language."
"But you speak perfectly; you read so well." She had a temporary flash of genius, Amissus could feel it. "Write something."
"Anything?"
"Anything; just do it." She encouraged him.
He again leaned forward, and scribbled out lines and symbols and runes. He felt a familiarity and followed it. He finally stopped when the feeling faded and he had made a semi-circle of runes and a line of symbols on the bottom side. He blinked and the words were legible. He began to relay them.
"The shards of the world are divided-"
"-amongst four after the tame of anarchy." Twilight said with him at the end. They both looked at each other.
"Amissus…how do you know what this is? How did you write it from memory?" She had a slight excitement in the back of her throat as she said it.
He shrugged. "I just did." He looked to her now. "How did you know it?"
"It's a very, very complicated myth that's still debated over."
Amissus yawned, now seeing the moon in front of him, he felt compelled to sleep. He'd sleep on this bench if he had to, but he knew he had a much more viable, and comfortable, option.
"I think that's enough writing lessons. I'm going to Pinkie's now."
"No! I mean…we're reaching a breakthrough! This is what you wanted all along, we have a lead Amissus!"
"Yes, and I'm tired. We can pick this up again later, can't we? What if 'The shards of the world are divided amongst four after the tame of anarchy' isn't just coincidence? I may not have any relation with the thing you're talking about."
"Ponies just don't write things like that for examples." She said, slightly more serious than she normally was before. "Something's going on with you and-"
"Well that was fun! I just got into this huge debate over who the best Wonderbolt was. The mare in there thought it was Fleetfoot and I told her why Spitfire was better in every which way." Rainbow threw down her words onto Twilight's from the air. Amissus smiled as Twilight quickly became quiet and overwhelmed by annoyance that her conversation had been broken.
"Rainbow, Twilight has a couple of things to do at the library. Can you take me to Sugar Cube Corner or where ever Pinkie Pie lives?" He gave a moment's glance to Twilight, who was still silent and surprised that he had lied to get away from her.
"Uh…yeah, sure. C'mon, we may be able to get you there by midnight." Amissus jumped up and carried his body over to the flying Rainbow Dash, when she started off with a "See ya, Twilight." Amissus stopped and told Twilight "Stay away from my personal vendetta. I don't want you, her-" he pointed to Rainbow, who hadn't looked back to see if he was following. "-or Fluttershy, or any of you on my tail with this. Just stay out of my head." He told her with defiance and control. He ran to catch up with Rainbow, leaving Twilight with little to do other than to go back to the library.
He didn't know what about her forcing him to write that phrase and then having information about it made him feel that she had crossed a line; but he also felt that this was a line that Twilight wouldn't step back behind again.