I slowly came back to consciousness again, my body still feeling that familiar dull pain that I had become so accustomed to. As I got my bearings, I tried to figure out what was happening but my vision kept blurring and losing focus. You moron, you probably gave yourself a concussion. I stumbled a bit on the cold concrete as I got reacquainted with my body. Once my vision came back to normal, I worked past the headache that started barraging my head and tried to assess the situation. As I twisted my body to observe, I couldn’t help letting out a groan of pain. My body is so stiff… I must’ve been out cold for a while. My eyes slowly scanned the wall from stone to stone until I reached the portcullis.
“What in the hay… it’s… it’s… gone?!” I stammered, barely able to maintain coherent thought between my headache and my confusion. Where did it go? Did I – no, I couldn’t have. There was no sign of damage anywhere: no broken bars, no dents, and the lock was still intact. Somepony… must’ve opened it. Why though? Am I being set free? Is this an accident? Questions flooded through my mind for a good while until I decided to take the opportunity and hope for the best. I had gotten this far, no reason to stop now.
I walked to the back of the cell and picked up the stone in my mouth before descending into the dimly lit tunnels. I’m going to need this, I just know. As I descended into the tunnel, I realized that there would be no way to know if I was going the right way. I could be lost in here forever, for all I knew. Or maybe not… There are only so many options I can pick, eventually, even if I just pick randomly, I will hit the right path. However, I had no way of knowing where I’d been. There were no distinguishing marks on the walls, just the same grimy concrete stones that papered the cell walls. The only thing that broke the monotony of stone were the occasional spiderweb and lantern.
For what felt like hours I followed the tunnels, and I made no discernible progress. How far do these tunnels go? This is more hopeless than being stuck in that cage. At least in there I had a tangible target… here I have a nearly infinite number of choices and no distinguishing features. Maybe… maybe I could make my own distinguishing features. If I left a trail, then I could navigate through here more efficiently. Suddenly, an idea hit me. I spit the stone out of my mouth and grabbed at my mane. I found a streak of red fur and ripped it out with a slight grunt of pain. As I rolled the crimson strands of fur between my hooves, I was flooded with excited thoughts. I can use this to mark where I’ve been. It’s certainly vibrant enough. I felt a slight pang of sadness though; it was strange to look upon my fur like this. I don’t think I had ever torn a chunk out of me like that. I picked up the stone again in my mouth and continued carefully with one hoof raised slowly dispensing my fur as I walked. Much to my dismay, after a few minutes of trotting along, I found myself facing a trail of familiar crimson fur. Wait… that… I’ve been walking in circles? I let out a heavy sigh. Well at least I’m not terribly lost, just… misguided. Now I can start to find the real answer to this maze.
With my newly gained insight, I continued to spelunk through the tunnels, slowly exhausting all possible paths. Everytime I came across a crimson trail, mixed feelings of excitement and disappointed afflicted me. Excitement because I was one step closer to victory, but disappointment because it means I still was going in circles. As time passed, the frequency of the trails increased, and the amount of fur in my mane decreased. Luckily I still have plenty of black in my mane to make up the difference. I chuckled at this private though. I grew sick of seeing the concrete walls and the monochromacity of the situation. Everything around me was some shade of gray, with only my precious stone and my body being glimmers of color. I followed my trail of crimson back to the previous unexplored path. Not many paths left to go, I must be getting close. I couldn't tell whether I was excited or nervous. I wonder if this is some sort of… elaborate prank to make me think I have freedom: to thoroughly crush my soul so I can die a hopeless death. I turned down the path and followed it for a surprisingly long period of time, longer than I followed any of the other individual trails. Could I have… dare I say… succeeded? No, best not to get my hopes up yet. A few bits of rock spilled into my mouth as anxiety tightened by grip on the stone.
After a few more minutes of walking, something caught my eye. Is that… a door? Lo and behold, before me stood a wooden door, with light creeping between the door and the frame. Is this still purgatory, am I walking to heaven now? I mused, not quite convinced yet that I was dead. I dropped the remaining pieces of fur from my hoof into a small crimson heap. With a hoof I gingerly pushed at the door, excitement bubbling within me. As it opened, I was blinded by a strong light as the prismatic stone rolled out of my gaping mouth. Tears began to roll down my face as I felt the strongest emotions I had ever known. Chills ran up and down my spine, my heart raced, and my mind went blank. I collapsed in the grass, and the sensations of the grass prickling my side only made the tears roll faster. My eyes finally adjusted to the light as I took in the vibrant colors on the landscape; every color that I could imagine was there. While scanning the scenery, my eyes found the stone I dropped, I found that in the light of the sun, it was more beautiful than I ever imagined. The iridescent stone flickered and radiated in the light like a mystical visage, and on it, I could see two brightly glowing points. As I observed them closely, I saw that the one had a small label underneath it that read “Canterlot” while the other said nothing.
“I know where I have to go… surely the princess can help me regain my lost memory.” I said softly to myself, wiping the remaining tears from my eyes. But I don’t even know where I am now! I could be anywhere. I barely remember anything about Equestria. Why is it that I must carry such a terrible burden? My worries remained unassailed and I decided to simply do what I’ve always done and wander along until I found my destination. It’s not like I have much else I can do in this situation. This stone will guide me, I'm sure of it. I grabbed the stone in my mouth again, and I was filled with a sense of exuberance.
“Onward into mystery I suppose.” I said, pausing for a second, taking in the beauty of Equestia, “to Canterlot!”