//------------------------------// // 5 - Escape // Story: Entropy // by PseudoBob Delightus //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Escape Jail. I woke up in a jail cell. It didn't take me a long time to remember where I was, or who (what) had put me there. It did take me a while, however, to assess my condition in the limited light. I was covered with the raw, wax-paper-skin feeling of light burns. My skin hurt, my head hurt, my muscles hurt. Somehow the pain felt like it was going all the way to my bones. And, of course, I couldn't remember why I was in this state. The memories between arriving at the castle – in that goddamned flying chariot – and getting dumped here in the cell simply refused to come back, so I decided to try my hand at an educated guess. I looked at my burns. Burns came from hot things, electricity, flames, and friction in my experience. I've also heard that radiation causes burns, but I didn't think there was any chance of that. Of the four realistic options, I chose to believe electricity or flames, because the marks were more or less mottled over my whole body and I couldn't make out any shapes. But why would I have been set on fire, or electrified? The unicorn, Twilight. She had... 'magic', it was called. That's what burned me the day before. Or was it two days before? Either way, the ponies – especially Twilight – weren't concerned for my health if they chose to continue using magic after my first reactions. I tried not to dwell on the burns. The floor of my cell was rough, like concrete but less uniform, and a large cast-iron-looking door separated my cell from whatever was out there. There was hardly any light. I'd been in a holding cell before, and this was no holding cell. It was more like solitary confinement, which would have made it my first experience in one of those. “Lunch time!” Called a harsh voice from the thought-to-be solid metal door, distracting me from the previous train of thought. A latch opened near the bottom of the barrier, letting light into my room in a flash, and a platter of what I originally judged as food was pushed through the opening. “So, new guy.” The voice continued – it was probably another male guard-pony. “Tell me – what'd you do to get thrown down here? I've heard some crazy stories.” I guess annoying the prisoners is pretty much a universal pass-time for guards. I couldn't answer his question, though, so I tried to fill in some of the missing pieces. “What did you hear?” He laughed. “One o' those Royals said you exploded in his face, then said somethin' funny and exploded again.” He seemed to pause for a moment, shifting right behind the door, then cracked up in a belly-laugh. “Is that even possible?” I didn't think I exploded twice, but I somehow doubted the guard was looking for an answer on that. I changed the subject. “What time is it?” The guard seemed to pause in thought for a moment before quickly telling me, “half-past noon.” Then he shut the hatch and ran- no, trotted off, as if he was late for something. I looked at my food, thinking hard. Half-past noon. How long had I been out? I looked at the platter that was left for me. In the sparse light I could make out what was obviously a cup of water, along with what looked like a sandwich of some kind, and possibly french fries. None of it looked very appetizing. The sandwich had flowers in it, and the fries were dry and stringy. I couldn't stomach whatever the latter was; it seemed to be some kind of crispy potato-celery hybrid – which was to say it tasted like crap. The flower sandwich, however, was made with really good bread. I tried the flowers (which turned out to be just the petals) which, while not really bad per se, seemed completely insubstantial for a sandwich. After eating what I could and drinking the water, I felt around the the back of my cell to find a cot in a dark corner and just laid down on it for a while. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I checked my watch: 13:04. I'd rested for half an hour. I was back to thinking about being in the dungeon, and my burns and general body pain. If I was being contained for a long time, what with it being a dungeon, then the food they were feeding me was not going to keep me going for long. If the ponies were torturing me, however, it wouldn't be as boring. That thought made me laugh a little. Was I really accepting all of it so quickly? A pony walking in front of my cell cast shadows under the door, drawing my eyes, and an idea struck me when I saw the solid iron door. I could escape. With my voice, which I was still uncomfortable with on principle, I could probably blow out the door. But, I thought, I probably wouldn't make it out. Even if I took out the guards, what if Twilight was just waiting for me down the hall? I couldn't possibly get past her. My head was hurting from what I supposed was an earlier injury, so I decided to just rest and see if any other ideas came to me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Time passed. I had dinner, some sleep, then breakfast. The edibility of the food varied, the guard was not above insulting me whenever he passed by, and I had to relieve myself in a bucket, but I never expected a Goddamned dungeon to be five-star. I was getting anxious, thinking about what the first guard pony said to me. I had no idea what I did to get in here, so I had no idea how long I'd be in here, if I was getting out at all. And I kept coming back to the thought of escaping. I weighed the options, and found that if I didn't at least try, I would probably have no way of knowing. None of the guards I asked knew anything about it, although some simply refused to answer. My watch said 12:27. I had three minutes to consider the choices: leave and never look back, or rot in the cell and hope for something else to happen. I knew something else would happen, given enough time, but I didn't know what it would be. And that made the choice of waiting just as risky as leaving. The guard was early, unexpected. He opened the slit in my cell door and pushed another platter onto the platform. “Lunch time!” He announced, unusually jovial. “Looks like you've been here a whole day! Hope you've enjoyed your stay.” That cleared up the mystery of how long I'd been in jail. “It's been nice.” I lied, knowing my decision was going to be forced by how quick I had to make it. The only thing that surfaced in the ocean of scrambled, unformed thoughts that was my mind was that I might not be able to escape with the slit open; I'd need the door as sealed as it could be. “Three stars.” Did he even understand a five-star rating? “Oh yeah?” the guard laughed in a challenging tone. “Why not four?” “Room service is terrible.” “Two?” “At least I have a bucket.” The guard snorted and closed the slit in the door. I heard a single step; the decision was made. I shouted with full force. The heavy metal door broke off its hinges and slammed into the guard with a clang from his armour, pinning him against the stone wall. The door was bent severely, and three of his hooves were splayed out underneath it. I sucked in a breath when the light met my eyes, and held it, waiting for two things. One, the noise of more guards coming. As the echo of the loud impact faded, and the obvious ringing in my ears disappeared, I heard nothing but breathing and what sounded like a light breeze. Sounded like nobody heard me. Two, any signs that the crushed guard was alive. I saw a bit of blood on the wall, probably from a scrape, but the pony underneath the door was breathing. He was alive. I didn't feel like murdering any aliens. The dust settled and blew away, and I resettled my thoughts. I needed to get out of there. Taking a shot in the dark, I chose to bear left, down the hallway. The guards always traveled that way before they left for the day, so common sense dictated it was a way out. Or, a way out, prefaced by an armory. And more guards. Numerous cell doors passed by me in the slightly curved hall, but no passages. I almost lost hope when I came to the end and rounded a corner. There was the low clatter of more armored guards through the passage, but I couldn't see anything on the straightaway. Later, I passed by a wooden door in the stone. There were two or three voices coming from the room behind it, and I thought I heard someone wondering where “Clove” went. Weird name. I was on my way around another corner, towards a stronger breeze, when I heard the door open. I was running again. After moving further out of the dungeons, I hoped, I began to notice something other than the breeze. When I thought it was getting stronger, I now knew that I was just feeling it more. As if my skin was getting more sensitive. What I thought was numbness from running was actually a pins-and-needles sensation that soon spread throughout my body. I took my jacket off, thinking it some reaction to heat and sweat, but it was just worse that way. But I made my decision – I was escaping. I came to a carpeted flight of stairs, much wider than the others, at the front of a central hub that lead to several different paths – including the dungeon labyrinth. I dashed up the steps, hoping it was the way out. The flight of stairs led the way to a large chamber with stained glass windows painting the floor in a mosaic of colour; I had a fleeting memory of being in there before. “I knew you would escape.” Came a voice to my right, out of sight. I turned and saw a large, white, winged, horned horse. Something about the horse, her transparent, flowing mane, the wings and horn, and her voice struck a forgotten memory. Then I noticed the air around me felt electrified. “Princess Celestia.” I said, not actually remembering the name. Her eyes widened slightly. “Yet I do not know your name.” She responded. “Or your species, or your origin, or so many things.” I heard her voice, and something came to me. She was a threat, if I remembered correctly. Right? I backed off slightly. “I have nothing to tell you.” I told her, loosening my jacket again. “Please.” The Princess implored. “I do not wish harm upon you.” “That's a joke!” I laughed. “What about Twilight? Her 'magic' or whatever the hell it is... The only thing you've done to me is-” “Silence!” She ordered. Something about that tone of voice, that inflection, the way it echoed through the entire room for several heartbeats, made me close my mouth and keep it that way. “We do not wish harm upon you.” Celestia gave me a hard look. “ Anything that happened was simply an accident! How were we to know that...” She paused, sighing. “I can understand how you feel.” I snorted, but kept quiet. “Perhaps not.” The Princess said pointedly. “But that is because I have not been told.” “You want to know how I feel?” I asked, incredulous. Celestia nodded. “I'm being attacked by legions of aliens and I don't even know what planet I'm on! How do you think I feel?” “Angry?” I began to answer, but huffed when I couldn't think of a response. I was angry. “Betrayed?” That suggestion was less on the nose. I had only known the species as long as I was running away from them. What kind of pact was broken that I would feel betrayed? But I felt a stirring inside me when the word was uttered, and another pang in my head where I must have forgotten something. “Angry.” I answered, starting to back away. I eyed one of the glass windows. “At what?” “At you.” I told her, glaring back. “Your whole species decides it's fair game to try to kill someone just because he wakes up in the forest and gets mauled by a... by a fucking monster, while trying to save one of yours!” “That's not-” Celestia started to deny it, but took a different approach. “What happened?” I was nearing a window, and she didn't seem to notice. “What happened? What kind of question is that?” “Please.” She began again. “We want to help you, but you're making it difficult.” She was convincing, and genuine, but I felt like she was deceiving me somehow. Why was I so irrational about it? The window was beside me. “I heard screams in the forest. It was some pegasus named Fluttershy, being hounded by a manticore, and-” “I do wish to know about that incident,” Celestia interrupted, “But it's not what interests me now. You told me you woke up here.” I nodded. “I woke up inside a tree. In a forest.” “The Everfree forest?” “I think so...?” I thought I remembered one of the ponies from earlier mentioning that name. “If that's what it's called.” “Did you not fall asleep in the tree?” I was caught short by the silliness of the question. “Of course not!” The Princess sighed. “I believe there may be... danger, associated with your arrival.” “What makes you say that?” I asked. The window was so close to me, but I didn't try anything. I remembered, earlier, that I wanted to meet and talk with the Princess I'd heard so much about. I had my chance right there, and it wasn't ruined yet. Of course my behavior was doing it no favors. “Just a feeling.” Just a feeling, I repeated in my head. Sure was a lot to go on. Celestia gave me an odd look. “Do you remember me?” I focused, and looked into her eyes. Well, one of them, anyway. There was something familiar about them, but it was distant. “Not really.” I blinked, and looked down. “I think I've forgotten something, though. Something important. Do you know anything about that?” “Yes.” The Princess said simply, and started walking towards me. Her horn started glowing, and she lowered it towards me. The air between us crackled. “Don't...” I tried to say, a sudden fear washing over me, and I tried to resist it. But it happened anyway. A snake of other consciousness dove into my brain and recalled what had happened a day ago. I was in the great hall, collapsing in pain. It hurt more than I could imagine, but, of course, it was a memory. The Princess was talking to me, telling me to calm down and tell her what was wrong with me. She tried to use magic on me, which only increased the pain, and I tried to move away. I screamed and the stones under me shattered; the guards behind me were knocked out; Celestia was barely moved at all. I think I started to say something, but The Princess' face told me she didn't like any of it. I was grasped by some strong, intangible force, helpless and nearly unconscious as Celestia brought down her glowing horn. It touched me and everything went black. There was a deep growling. The growling noise was not from the memory. I was kicked out of the completed recollection only to see Celestia searching around the room for the source of the noise, her energy still converging around me. The growling rose to a scream, then dissipated. I couldn't locate a source. Something in the energy of the room changed – it was colder. “What is that? The air is...” I didn't finish. The Princess was fixated on some of the windows, glancing between them. I heard a harsh whisper, “She's tricking you!” come from inside me. I know I didn't say anything. The presence stirred again, my body going numb. Celestia's attention snapped back to me, and she tried to do some sort of magic again. I blacked out again. When I opened my eyes, I'd gone through the stained glass, and was falling from the mountainside castle. [A/N] Sorry about all the unconsciousness... and cliffhanging.