//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: This is Becoming Way Too Frequent // Story: Harmonic Reverberations of the Heart // by UnamusedWaffle //------------------------------// Light.  There’re small amounts of light filtering in through my eyelashes. An almost blood-like smell of metal washes over me and I lick my lips in a desperate attempt to wet them. I sigh and close my eyes again.  I’m waking up from something again. This is becoming troublingly frequent. It’s been like, what, three times in the past two days or something? One day? I don’t even remember! Taking a deep breath, I slowly pry open my crusty eyelids, ignoring the slight ache in the back of my head. The world around me starts to come into focus and I look down to see the concrete floor a hoof away from me.  Operating table? That can’t be right. I was running through the forest, got attacked, and then… My eyes widen.  I was captured by the Crown!  I instantly shoot my head up in a panic and more seriously start to take in my surroundings.  Claustrophobic concrete walls and imposing floor-to-ceiling iron bars fill my vision. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fu- “Woah, easy there! Relax! Otherwise, you’ll undo the bandages.” A stern voice scolds me. I twist my neck to the right and my scrutinizing gaze meets that of an older earth pony mare. She wears a simple nurse cap that compliments her jet-black mane and muted lime green coat but the much more interesting thing about her is a small golden bracelet on the end of her left front hoof.  I squint my eyes. “It projects a shield spell in case you try anything, bucko, so I suggest you stay still. The Princesses will send for you soon,” she spits at me. My muscles start to tense and I squeeze my head before I take a deep breath.  I can’t imagine her own feelings at having to take care of a criminal.  A perceivedcriminal, actually. I shake my head as I get my front hooves under me and-OW! I hiss in pain and collapse back down onto the table. I look down and see both my front hooves covered in bandages.  Ow fuck, forgot about that. Whoops. I try to adjust my wings but a sharp pain and some sort of invisible barrier stop me. My left wing feels just fine, but looking back at my right wing, I see it wrapped entirely in bandages. Oh great, they bound it. Fucking timberwolf. A snort drags my attention back over to the nurse beside me.  Really? She just shakes her head and mutters something under her breath before going back to analyzing the floor.  I simply smile, roll my eyes, and slowly rest my head back on my hooves. What the fuck even happened back there? One second I’m trying to do my job, then the wedding gets fucked, I get transported to Luna knows where and talk to Princess Twilight. Then I wake up in the middle of town like I just flew in from Las Pegasus, the priests fuck with me, the militia chases me, a Timberwolf fucks me up and now I’m here. I chuckle to myself and mutter “Holy shit…” My life’s a fucking movie bro. Where do I even go from here? I don’t have an attorney, assuming they’d even grant me a trial. But then what the fuck would I argue? Yes, your Honor, I am innocent. Please believe me despite my several long periods of unconsciousness. The more and more I mull it over, piecing together everything that happened to me and everything that might happen to me, I feel my stomach sink and small beads of sweat start accumulating in my mane. I’m fucked! Completely and utterly fucked! I don’t even- My hurricane comes to an abrupt pause as I hear distant hoofsteps echoing down the hall. I turn my gaze towards the edge of my cell, barely taking note of the two guards on either side straightening their backs and legs.  Somepony’s coming. Wow, great observation there, fucko. A Princess? Doubt it. A jacked alpha male in a black cloth mask wielding a bloody ax? Ha, maybe. Warden? Probably. But I am only left to let my jaw hang open and raise my eyebrows at the sight of a certain pony coming into my view. Adorned in her gold-plated helmet, chest piece, and leg guards, Princess Cadence steps in front of my cell. Silver linings and accents litter her armor pieces, with the most prominent part of it being a miniature crystal heart in the center of her chest. Her chest piece covers up her cutie mark, but I know what it is. Everypony does. Amazingly, despite being in probably the most depressing place on this fucking planet, Princess Cadence still seems to brighten the room. Her smooth and muted gold, dark pink, and vibrant purple mane seems unable to decide whether or not it wants to pride itself in some nonexistent breeze. Her almost violently pink coat looks weirdly shiny and reflective in this dark and damp hole, but my breath hitches when she turns to face me and I look up to meet her gaze. I utterly fail to stop myself from staring into her eyes. Those deep, flowing, vibrant eyes meet my gaze with…a furrowed brow and straight lips, and I flatten my ears. My heart starts to beat a bit faster and I can feel a heat rising to my face. Oh, fuck off! No! This is not happening! Control yourself you stupid fucking foal, you’re not a damn school filly! I shake my head slightly while taking a breath. I attempt to regard the Goddess standing in front of me, but something stops me. What the fuck do I even s- “Princess.” I dip my head slightly. “Stand up and follow me.” Holy shit, okay, I’m fucking dead! Kill me now! Before I even know what I am doing, my legs extend on their own. I feel a pang when my legs extend to their full length but I somehow doubt she really cares right now. With a light grunt, I slowly lower my back legs first off the small table and lower my front hooves onto the ground. If looks could kill, I think the entire planet would’ve been incinerated several times over in the amount of time it took for me to get myself on the ground.  A small breath escapes my lips as I put weight on my front hooves. With one eye half-closed and teeth slightly clenched, I look back up at the Princess. When she simply stares at me for half a second, I sigh and start to limp over to her.  As I approach the door of my cell, Princess Cadence nods at the guard to my left. With a jangling of keys and frantic hooves, my cell door slides open with a CLANG and I hesitantly step out into the hallway.  Princess Cadence then turns back towards the way she came as I limp up next to her. To my utter bewilderment, she matches my pace and walks side by side with me?  What?! First, you’re all cold and shit and now you’re in step with me? What the fuck, make up your mind! She’s probably just as unsure around me as everypony else. I did try to overthrow her… Wait, no I fucking didn’t! That’s just what the priests and everypony else thinks. So what the fuck! My eyes shift ever so slightly to the right and I catch a glimpse of Princess Cadence analyzing me, her eyes darting around, probably trying to make sense of the mess she’s looking at. I turn my head to meet her gaze.  “Sup,” I say, chuckling nervously. She simply turns her head to look where she’s going. “Nope? Alright then.” I say. So we’re playing it that way? Alright, I’ll play this shit. I think this has been one of the most painful silences I’ve ever endured. Finally, after almost 15 fucking minutes of nonsense turns and misdirection, Princess Cadence stops at a peculiar looking door. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was doing it on purpose to confuse me. Always good to keep your enemies as ignorant as possible. Oh right, guess I technically am her enemy. At least that’s what she thinks. In stark contrast to the thick gray wooden doors that lined every hallway of this maze, the door in front of me looks more like it’s meant for a maximum-security prison than…wherever I am.  Actually, now that I think about it, that probably is where I am. Princess Cadence faces me on the other side of the door and looks at me expectantly. Pursing my lips and sighing through my nose, I open the door with my left wing.  Now, as funny as it would be to say that I walk into a small, damp room with concrete walls, a metal chair and table, and a single lightbulb above it all, that is not what happens. Instead, what I walk into is a well-lit concrete room with a white elevated platform in the middle of it.  But what I actually pay attention to are the streams of…something floating around in the air. They’re very faint and I have to squeeze my head and my eyes just to faintly see them, but they’re there. Oh wait, those are magic streams! Like the ones I saw in that weird-ass dream, I had before waking up in the middle of town! The ones that Princess Twilight told me to trust her on while not explaining anything.  Speaking of, there she is off to my left looking exactly as I remember her except with a neutral expression on her face. No smile? What, does she not remember me? That was her who helped me ascend or whatever, right? Right? Better test it. “Please proceed onto the platform so we may begin.” Princess Twilight states. Hooh boy seems like that conductor from earlier took an off day. “Still not explaining anything, Princess?” I ask as jovially as I can while limping toward the elevated platform. I look back briefly to be met with a cocked eyebrow. Guess she doesn’t remember. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.” She asks, slightly weary. Yeah, I wouldn’t believe me either. “You were there, no?” I say as I climb up onto the platform. I grunt lightly when I pull myself up. “Y-you were the one who told me to just trust you and then-” “Wait one second,” she cuts me off. “I was getting there, but please save your explanation for the…hearing, it sounds important.” “Sorry,” I say quickly, smiling nervously and letting my eyes wander for a second. I catch Princess Cadence standing off to the side in the back of the room. She’s just standing there, menacingly! Before I can smile at my own joke, Princess Twilight’s voice rips me from my thoughts. “Alright, Mezzo Harmonic, let’s begin. You are here to be subjected to a lie detector test and to be questioned as to how you came to be an alicorn,” she says. I nod. “As I have already put the spell in place, let me know when you’re ready and we can begin,” she finishes with a smile. I nod, sit down, and take a deep breath. “I’m ready,” I tell her. But when I look up I see Princess Twilight leaning her ear down to listen to Princess Cadence’s whispers. When Princess Cadence finishes, Princess Twilight nods and abandons her smile in favor of the neutral expression I saw her with earlier. Damn, Princess Cadence, you really got to do that to me? “What did you say, Mr. Harmonic?” Princess Twilight asks in a tone that makes me shrink a little. With an unsure look, I respond. “Uhh, I said I’m ready now.” Princess Twilight nods and lights her horn. I stare on in wonder as I see the magical streams in the air as a result of her teleporting a clipboard. Ay yo, this shit’s awesome! Princess Twilight clears her throat and my gaze snaps back to her. As she looks back down at her clipboard, I swear I catch something that she quickly tries to hide. Was that a smirk? “Age?” “24,” I state. The platform below me radiates a bright green glow as I look down in wonder. “Cutie mark?” “Tuning fork with a sapphire on it and a USB cable attached at the handle.” Princess Twilight nods. “That was just to test the spell. Now let’s get to the real questions,” She says with an anticipation that gives me pause. Oh great, here we go. “Any affiliation with Bright Star?” “Nope,” I say, shaking my head. Green. “Any affiliation with Mr. Toonshiner?” Who the fuck…? “Uh no.” Green. “Any affiliation with the Vanhoover Mafia?”  “Not that I’m aware of.” Green. “Do you have any ill intent towards Equestria or the Crown in any way?”  “Uh not at all,” I reply, grinning slightly. Green. After a moment of silence, Princess Twilight inhales while nodding at her clipboard. “Alright, Mezzo, I have one last question for you. Describe your ascension to me.” I take a moment to analyze the floor, suddenly finding it very interesting. What does she mean by “describe my ascension”? Is that what really happened? I guess so. Does she mean like describe the day leading up to it, or what I was doing when it happened or does she mean… “What exactly do you mean, Princess?” I ask. “I mean tell us exactly what happened. What were you doing when you ascended?” “Well, I was performing at a wedding for a couple when this huge, I don’t know, force? A huge force just impacted my chest, the entire venue, actually, and sent things flying and ponies sliding across the floor. As you can imagine, that stopped us from playing the last song of the night. I then got everypony in attendance to continue the song via a-acapella and then I…” Ah fuck, this is where they think I’m crazy. Right, eye contact. Bringing my gaze up from the floor, I see both Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight looking wearily at me. I sigh. “I don’t exactly know what happened. There was a fire in my chest or something and then a flash of light. Where I ended up, I don’t think I’ll ever know. But what I do know is that you were there Princess Twilight, which is why I asked you earlier.” I watch with cautious optimism as Princess Cadence’s eyebrows slowly raise and Princess Twilight’s smile expands more and more. But as I continue on with my explanation, their expressions change again. By the time I get to the part where I blacked out again, they look more…nervous? Unsure? Princess Cadence has her eyebrows narrowed and Princess Twilight’s eyebrow looks like it’s trying to escape her face. “When I came to, I was lying in the middle of town with a circle of scorch marks all around me. That’s when the priests and militia came, and I’m sure you know the rest.” Princess Twilight brings a hoof up to her chin while Princess Cadence and I watch her. After a pregnant pause, she nods. “I will have to go over this with my advisors and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but for right now, there is one more thing we have to do before I can completely believe you,” She says, smiling while lighting her horn.  Something magical? Oh! “Magical scans?” I ask. She nods before a purple light emits from her horn and slithers across my body. A small shiver permeates down my spine when the light hits the base of my horn. Oh, what the fuck, that feels really weird. When her scan is complete, she turns to Princess Cadence and nods, smiling. Princess Cadence then repeats the same process and has to suffer through her jaw dropping. Ha, unfortunate. Princess Twilight and I quietly chuckle at her expression for a few moments before she lightly shakes her head. “I’m sorry for acting the way I did, Mezzo. I just had to be sure first.” I grin. “No worries, Princess, completely understandable. Just…could you please help me down?”