I looked out the window of my room, the scenery seemingly being dulled as I tried and failed to appreciate what I saw outside, doing so while writing the final and unfinished book before me, “The Changing Winds”. A book that will never have an audience, because I won’t have the time to finish it, let alone publish a polished version.
But that is a story for another time, for now, I am currently held in one of the many guest bedrooms of the Palace of Canterlot; regal, orderly, and quite the silent paradise, just as what one might expect from a palace of this fame, or at least what I expected.
“Why am I here?” I asked myself, the answer being, quite frankly, simple and obvious to me, the fact of the matter is that I simply deny it despite the clarity of my situation.
Ponies would try to come up with reasons to make it seem justified, but the reality of the situation is that it’s easier and much more cost-effective to guard and monitor this entire palace for one single pony. Think of it this way, I am held here through the form of house arrest, solitary confinement if you’d twist the narrative a bit, but compared to me simply being given the possibility of causing havoc in the prison house, they left nothing to chance, if only to avoid future headaches.
So yeah, under the watch of not only the Royal Guards, but also a combined coalition of guards sent from the Crystal Empire, the re-established Griffon Kingdom, some dragons sent by the dragon delegates, and many others, which doesn’t even tap into the Lunar and Solar Guards of the Diarchy, or at least, what used to be the Diarchy. Now that Princess Twilight Sparkle is the crowned ruler of this nation, I had initially expected my work just to go stale, if not for the likely downhill spiral. An advocate for change with revolutionary ideals, no wonder the nobles are so on edge when they hear words along those lines, then again, it would entail that no action came without consequences.
That was not to say that the nation of Equestria is in its little dark age, far from it. Equis was, as a whole, nearing its golden era, or most would be seeing the world entering into a golden era, for some of us, for ponies like me, the world was just growing stale, with no power dynamic and essentially a set future. I saw the world for what it was, a constant with near to no signs of dynamics for innovation, sure, change here and there, but in the age of indirect rule, Equestria’s dominance to power was laid down, everything, it was assured in the purest of words.
The only thing they lacked now was a navy, but since most nations didn’t bother to improve their armed forces for a long while, the majority simply had (royal) guard regiments and a pseudo “air force”. The only other nation (apart from pirates for that matter) with a reasonably strong naval presence was the hippogriffs, but as the world stood at large, Equestria was the center of the world, and there was little need for maritime trade, not when the entire world is run by railway and bridges, not to mention that flight was always an option.
Admittedly, I loathed its very concept, being one of, what I wished were the many, reformers of this time, to advocate and lay the foundation of true change, to see a different future, one where prestige is either earned or the commonfolk stands equal to those in power, if not those in power represent.
My name is Bold Ideals, a unicorn by birth with apparently a brilliant mind to pair, I consider myself a cut above the rest, a reformer and idealist by trade, a radical to most, a convict and a wanted ‘criminal’ by ponies, griffons, and the likes of others, now brought to “justice” as a prisoner of the Crown of Equestria, found guilty and sentenced to death for the crime of High Treason, amongst others. Thankfully, they gave me the option to choose how I want to go, a little something I appreciated.
A knocking at the door is heard, breaking my silent trancelike state of writing.
“You got the keys, don’t play nobility with me you cunts!” I responded out of aggravation. Shortly after, a large purple pony entered, flanked by a blue griffon and a fairly muscular dragon.
I recognized all three of them, a near impossibility not to, considering my field and the charges I’ve been sentenced to, these three would have probably argued for a lighter sentence if they could, despite the irony of my work entailing instability for their own lives. Regardless, the sentence was partial to my request, and no doubt the jury was thrilled when I told them I’d gladly take the death penalty, despite the clear reluctance and hesitation, they still took my bait.
I could see the scowl on the dragon’s face, the hesitation of the griffon, and finally, the unwillingness of a princess, all hidden behind varying degrees of stoic expressions, well, time to make a move.
“Bold of the princess to meet with a convict the likes of me, what’d ya want?” I asked, eyeing them all cautiously.
The moment of silence, clear hesitation, persevered until the purple alicorn spoke.
“Who really are you, Bold Ideals?” she asked. The audacity of the question, although not reflected in my reaction, was kind of an insult, hard not to when I am already infamous thanks to said death penalty.
“Princess Twilight, you shouldn’t be asking that,” I said truthfully, finally setting down the pen I had been using to write up to this point, setting aside my unfinished work. “You should be asking why I am the way I am. For your little servant of a slave you claim to call a ‘brother’, he should be asking who I am. And for the griffon who you once called a student, he should be asking where I’ve been.”
“I- ah...” the alicorn stuttered, taken aback by not only the straightforwardness but also the seemingly indifferent attitude of this subdued unicorn, all things considered. Seemingly taking my word to have trouble meanings, in reality, I was bluffing to some degree.
A moment of hesitation until she spoke again. “Brilliant,” she muttered, more out of fascination than anything else. “In my years of being a student and of service to the Diarchy, to my ascension as a princess, I have never met a pony who could rival the heartless demeanor of a Wendigo. Usually, every creature has a heart, but for you… you seem to lack one, yet, it appears as though you made space for one, I just can’t place a hoof on what that is…”
Rolling my eyes at that remark, I’ve heard this conversation near a thousand times fold, and not once did I give a satisfying answer to anyone who asked me. Then again, those who did ask were either my students or a rival with a degree of respect.
‘Heartless… Pha! My heart has long since been burned by my passion, to the point that its ashes had already been blown away by the winds of fate.’ I thought to myself.
“Can’t say it’s been pleasurable, fate hasn’t been all too kind with me since the beginning, but you have to deal with what you have,” I replied instead.
“About that…” The dragon said, cutting the current monarch from replying to me, gaining an eye from both myself and the blue griffon. “Since, you know… you already knew what I was going to ask, I kinda wanted that to be answered…”
I looked at him as if he had just committed a crime, for crying out loud! You don’t just cut ahead of your ruler, even if you are “family”. Nevertheless, I found his boldness admirable, maybe even downright stupid, comparable to that of love… ugh, deplorable and dangerous distraction when you’re in a field as dangerous and unpredictable as his or mine, honestly.
With a well-mastered poker face that hid any sign of malice or emotion in that regard, I indulged in his question. “Well… to answer all of your questions, which is why I assume you three went with the hassle of disturbing me, I’ll gladly answer them. So for who I am, I’m sure your highness here could provide ample background, but to make it brief, I’m what most nobilities and… shall we say, government officials would call… a menace, a reformer who brings a new perspective and opportunity for changing the status quo in anyways. For where I’ve been, for a while I had lived a double life, I won’t say any names, but if you believed the myths surrounding me and the griffons, you’ll know my apparent association with the works of the former kings of the Crystal Empire and former Griffon Empire, and later on, the coalition that replaced it, a mixed bag if you ask me. And for why I am the way I am, the reasons could be as complex as Star Swirl trying to comprehend his failures as a sorcerer and friend to simply following fates chains... after all, isn’t that what a cutie mark is? A near-literal expression of destiny…”
I allowed them a moment to process the situation, trying to ignore them for the most part, unless they came for more than just those three questions, and so I simply returned to my work, writing under the strain of these magic suppressing artifacts just outside this room’s vicinity.
“Well, I think you would appreciate a good meal,” The princess said.
Baffled at what I heard, I looked at her, trying to see if her expression could tell me anything else. “Excuse me, but are you serious?” I asked.
She gave me a face that seemed to question my very soul. “I mean, if you’d like to, we aren’t forcing you, but I do think it’s in your best interest to follow our lead.”
Thinking for a moment, it should come as no surprise that I would take this opportunity. “Of course, I see no reason why not to.”
“Perfect!” she said, leading the way out of my room as the two guards that accompanied her flanked me at the ready.
‘Thank the heavens that I could get out of this forsaken room, blasted artifacts are a pain…’ I thought to myself as we exited, the trip for dinner being one I mostly don’t remember, no doubt some opposition being raised to my departure, but I guess they decided to bring along a literal leash with a magical spell imbedded in it to subside the worries of my escaped, not that I don’t understand the reasons, but I think I’d need to find a better view apart from just that one room, even a dog has to stretch sometimes.
“W-what can I get you, your highness?” the waitress asked the princess, the conversation between all three of them being distant as I sat opposite all of them.
While all three were giving their orders and socializing a bit, I just kept a low head and continued to write my book. That was until the waitress got to me and decided to ask for what I wanted.
“What about you? What would you like?” She asked me, the notepad at her side encapsulated by her magic, waiting for my answer.
it puzzled me, did she not know who I was? “I Um…” I stumbled on my words for a moment, before deciding to put those thoughts to rest. “Do you serve hot or cold beverages?”
“It is… getting pretty late, I would recommend cold, but tea could be arranged.” She replied, confident with speaking to a pony other than the princess or a creature of ‘significant’ stature.
“I’ll have coffee, give me your best,” I replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
A moment of pause for her to try and process what I said until she spoke again. “E-excuse me? But did I hear that right?” She asked all of a sudden, baffled at my request.
I could see Spike and Gallus looking at me when they heard what I asked for.
“Yes, I said coffee, now just take it or leave me, please?” I said, growing agitation as I tried to keep my patience in check.
“Um… ok then.” She said as she left our table with our orders. A good 20 minutes perhaps until she returns, maybe less.
“Bro, why in Tartarus are you ordering coffee!? It’s already late for that kind of drink, don’t you think?” Spike spoke out, clearly baffled by the fact that I ordered a coffee at a time when it was nearing the late evening.
“Why?” I asked, returning to my writing without a care as I could feel the temperature around me rise, no doubt because of Spike’s aggravation and dragon anatomy.
“Yo, Spike, chill, there’s no need to get worked up because of this pony, heard he’s good for nothing anyway.” I heard Gallus remark, no doubt trying to keep Spike from making a scene while trying to elicit a reaction from me.
I ignored them, and just as time began to become a blur on my part, the purple alicorn decided to make conversation, much to my dismay regardless.
“So Mr. Ideals-”
“-Just, Ideals will do,” I replied, a force of habit when I tried to talk to my students outside of class.
‘When I used to have students...’ I thought, a distant memory resurfacing. Refusing to show any signs of hesitation through my emotions.
“Well, anyway, I was just about to ask, why did you ask for the death penalty? I mean, you didn’t do anything severely as wrong, at least compared to Sombra and... the Legion of Doom, and I know it may not seem like it, but it’s just as if you... threw your entire life away.”
I pondered the thought, truthfully, I had a plan on how to escape my fate, not my first time, after all, having to deal with legal issues the likes of these, I had grown accustomed to planning, but after the plenty of years of running, I had already run out of places to run to, and slowly but surely, the places to hide are also dwindling. The world around me is changing. Having wanted to play a part in that change, destiny had other plans for me...
“Hmm... I guess... I don’t have a fulfilling answer for you,” I replied, but I gave the princess a reassuring smile to ease her thoughts. “But I can tell you something, I can’t have a part in this new Equis.”
“Why?” She asked. Locking eyes with me as if to mind read me or something.
‘Hmm... Why indeed...’ I thought, the answer to it all being clear as day to me. Nothing personal, at least to most creatures, it was just pure business.
“I think that would have to do more with fate and the role that I would play if I was left to roam free and unsupervised,” I said.
Twilight tried to push further, hoping her curiosity would be clenched, “What’s that supposed-” but before she could continue, she was cut by the waitress and our dinner.
“Dinner is served!” the waitress said in a giddy tone as she set down our dinner for the night ahead.
With my better part of the dinner served, I inspected the coffee served, I drank it slowly, and although I preferred tea, I could never pass a good opportunity for coffee, especially now that I needed to stay awake, plus, it might be my last.
...
The dinner went uneventful, at least from my perspective. We came in, ordered, waited, then ate what we asked and paid for, done. Or so I wished that was the end of it, unfortunately for me, just as we were to finish dinner, they decided to jump back into the moody touchy vibes to get me to open up and know me better.
“So, about earlier...” Twilight began once more.
‘Oh, shit…’
“Could we, I don’t know, talk about it later?” I asked, wanting to desperately avoid the subject matter.
“Is it personal?” She asked, seemingly looking out for my well-being even at her own expense, even if she didn’t need to.
I stared at her, hoping that words would get through with her, “Your highness, I would have given credit where credit is due, but there is a fine line between what could be considered personal matters and business. And I do truly hope that you drop it.”
I see she was about to respond, but she kept it to herself. Ironic, I should be speaking with a baited and hesitant voice, not taking my sweet moment in this dinner, with how capital punishment is quite the shock for most. Instead of that, I am here telling a monarch what she should and shouldn’t pry on. No doubt she could do it, and deep down, it felt like she did want to, but too bad for her, she remained persistent and loyal to her morals over her curiosity, admittedly, she reminded me of some of my students, especially a certain unicorn…
“Well, we can’t revel in what is uncertain and dark forever,” I said, trying to lift the mood and switch the subject matter. “C’mon, I know that the griffons and dragons have reputations that far exceed a normal face-to-face meeting, doesn’t the monarch have one too? I know you can keep me company for a while.” As I said this, smiling as I looked around, first at the monarch, then at her two guards, finally settling on the view of a window with my reflection.
But things became a blur, and I only know one thing is for certain, the night continued…
It had been a good while since we left our little dinner of four, they escorted me back to my room, but Twilight had been summoned for other matters, so she took Spike and Gallus with her as she sent another pair of guards to follow me through until I was back in my room, secured and locked up.
The prominent creaking of the door followed by its locking was all I needed to know that someone wanted to speak with me.
“Good distraction, by the way, can’t believe you took one out of my books. So, how long did I keep you waiting?” I asked as I entered back into my room, trotting up to its center just within view of the moonlight that shone through the windows of my room.
“About two hours, give or take. And I must admit, I’d have to give credit where credit is due...” The familiar voice of who used to be the Royal Guard’s captain, sister to her highness herself.
“So, what is it this time? I just went out for dinner, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Oh don’t worry, Discord got us covered there, I just got someone else you’d like to meet.”
I turned around, and there stood two figures, Prince Consort Shining Armor and Dragon Lord Ember.
‘What a surprise… wonder what they want now…’ I thought, abhorring what would probably follow.
After what felt like ages, and the blur of time taking its toll on me, I somehow found myself writing again, this time, in a different book. Knowing what I was about to write, I partook in one of the many coping habits I had when writing, reciting it all while I wrote them.
“Through blood, many things could be done, but one thing would always remain the same... blood is expensive.” I recited aloud, now writing just for the sake of doing something, to keep myself awake.
‘Selavi,’ I thought as my subconsciousness slowly took hold of my mind and magic. ‘Such is life.’ My final thoughts as another night passed on.
I won’t, I refuse, to enter the domain of the night alicorn that roams at this time... Not now, not until I get my spell for a dreamless slumber right.