//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Exo's Journey // by Someguy987 //------------------------------// "So... you got any family?" Riptide asked the restrained mare from the seat behind her. Exo grunted at the stallion's question as she rested her head against the window. "One grunt for yes, two for no." No response. "I'll take that as a yes. Not me though, I've been alone for a while. Before you ask, no, those ponies I was helping are not my friends, hell I doubt that I knew half their names. "Must be nice though, having someone to turn to when you're alone. Someplace to call home." The stallion sighed deeply. "That's enough about me though. Do you have any hobbies? I mean, apart from gardening." Two grunts. "Not gardening? Hm. It has to do with growing at least." One grunt. "You... grow ponies?" Three grunts. "Sort of?" One grunt. "You help ponies grow?" Three grunts. "You help their ideas grow?" One grunt. "You help ponies' ideas sprout, you help them get through the tough parts." One grunt. "That explains why you helped me out at least. Thanks, most ponies wouldn't care to lend a hoof. Although seeing the outcome, maybe it's best if you hadn't helped." Exo thumped her head against the window, and turned to look Riptide in the face. Two grunts. "No? You're glad you helped?" One grunt. "Because it doesn't matter who needs your help, you're still going to give it to them." The bound mare began to nod furiously. "Gotta say miss Exo, you're one of the good ones." That cycle of questioning continued for a while longer, Riptide attempted to guess the unicorn's response, and she either grunted in confirmation or refutation. Eventually a guard came about pushing a cart of food, and distributed it amongst the prisoners. When he arrived at Exo however, a particular problem presented itself. "You, blue guy, get away from her," he barked. "Why?" the navy pegasus asked. "Because she has proven herself to be a violent individual, and I don't want you getting inadvertently hurt." "Fine," Riptide huffed as he backed away. Flaring his horn, the guard magically undid the restraints which held the mare, unclasped her muzzle, and finally pulled the bit out of her mouth. "Thank you," Exo said between coughs as she massaged her sore cheeks; before stretching her tired muscles. "I'll be back after lunch, and if you haven't been on your best behavior, back into the restraints you go." The alabaster unicorn winced at his threat as she slowly nodded and whimpered a bit. The armored unicorn passed her a brown paper bag before moving on to the next pony. The navy stallion ruffled through his own bag before looking up at the mare. "So what'd you get?" "A sandwich, an orange, a brownie, and a bottle of juice," Exo replied flatly. "I got a sandwich, an apple, a carton of milk, and a cookie. Wanna trade?" "Su... Why the heck am I even talking to you?" "What do you mean?" "I mean that you got me tossed in jail you idiot," Exo replied as she ground her teeth. "So?" "SO? Ponies aren't supposed to make friends with jerks that got them tossed in jail." "I'll have you know that it means a lot to me that you consider us friends." Exo nearly screamed before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Ugh, you're impossible." "So is that a no on the trading then?" "Sure," the mare said as a hoof met her face, "whatever, just give me your cookie." "I'd like your orange then please," Riptide replied as he pulled the circular confection out of his bag and placed it into the mare's outstretched hoof. The unicorn quickly devoured the morsel before removing the orange from her bag, peeling it, and eating it before the stallion's eyes. "Come on, now you're just being mean," the navy pegasus whined. "Life's not fair, get used to it." "What would you know about unfair." Exo glared at him. "Oh, right." Riptide grumbled a bit before eating what was left of his own meal. ----- "So, see any good movies lately?" the stallion asked as he sipped the last of his milk. "Yeah, I saw this really cool one about this mare who gets wrongly accused of theft, and gets sent to jail." "Neat, then what happens?" "She finds the stallion that got her thrown in there in the first place. It ends with her strangling him in his sleep." "Ouch, morbid." "I don't know, I thought it was funny." "You know what else is funny?" "No, I don't know what's funny about being taken to a maximum security prison in the middle of a glacier, with an idiot," Exo replied dryly. "The first strike I got on my record was over an orange." "You don't say," the unicorn mumbled as she rested her chin on her hoof while looking out the window. "Yup. So I lifted this orange out of the guy's cart right." "You stole an orange?" "Look, not all of us were born into the lap of luxury." "Luxury? Both of my parents worked full-time jobs," the mare said indignantly. "Yeah, sure, peanut butter whatever. So I take the fruit right?" "Yeah." "And just as I start to trot away, this little filly points to me and says, 'mommy, that colt took an orange.' Needless to say, I was pissed. Then this pompous windbag trots over to me, and demands that I pay for it." "Let me guess, you're short on funds." "Are you a mind reader? So yeah, I run, blah, blah, blah, the guards catch me, haul me off, and I get six months in jail." "Six months is a little excessive for stealing fruit, isn't it?" "I may also have, accidentally, punched one of them in the face." "Why am I not surprised." "Because you and I are now friends with a deep emotional connection, and special precognitive abilities." "Not likely, idiot." The mare and stallion continued talking, Riptide did anyways, for several more hours. ----- "Eyes open everypony," a guard shouted from the front of the car, "take a good look outside, because that is the last glimpse of sunlight that you lot are going to see for a long time." Quickly, Exo pressed her snout against the glass and saw the sun sitting on the horizon; an indigo sky stretched behind them. The first stars had begun to appear in the darkness. Orange light bathed the travelers before the sun slowly shifted red, and sank beneath the earth. The sky behind them grew inky and black as more stars twinkled to life, and the pale silver moon appeared in the sky. The moon, now full, illuminated the night-scape, accenting the towering snow banks and revealing what little wildlife there was. Slowly, the monotonous shaking of the rail car and the steady drone of the tracks proved enough to cause Exo to lay down, close her eyes, and fall asleep. ----- When the mare awoke, she was startled to see that the moon was still high in the sky. "Psst, Exo," Riptide whispered. "What do you want idiot?" the mare whispered back. "Is it just me, or do you feel like it's still the middle of the night?" "Yeah, I feel that too," the alabaster unicorn responded. "Damn it." "What?" "I just realized that I'm treating you like a pony instead of the despicable piece of garbage that you are." "Yeah, life's a bitch like that... You got a favorite bird? Mine's a puffin, they look so cute and cuddly." "Yeah, I like blue jays. They're amazi- Stop doing that!" "Stop doing what?" "Stop being not a jerk. I just want to hate you." "You want me to be a jerk so that you can hate me?" "Yes," the mare said with a sigh. "But friends aren't jerks to each other." Exo wanted to scream, but the threat of being restrained again made her rethink her decision. "We're not friends you idiot." "So we're strong acquaintances then." "I can't believe that I was actually tricked into helping you." "If you will recall miss, I didn't trick you into a damn thing, in fact it was me who was adamant about not needing your assistance. It was your own altruistic personality that inclined you to help. As such, I demand an apology for being demeaned, and falsely accused of coercing you into preforming misdeeds." "Stop doing that!" "What? Stop doing what?" "Stop being right about stuff, and let me hate you." "Um... I kicked a puppy one time." "You're terrible. Do you know that?" "I hear it more and more everyday," the stallion said with a smirk. The ghost of a smile formed on the mare's lips as she turned away, and rested her head on the window. ----- Several tedious hours passed as Riptide attempted, and failed, to start a game of 'I Spy'. Before succumbing to boredom, Exo suggested another game, much to the stallion's surprise. They had to guess their fellow inmate's crime. After one try apiece they would ask the incarcerated pony, and whoever got the closest won. This too proved to bore after a while due to a lack of variety. "At attention everypony!" a guard shouted. "We will be arriving at the Umbra prison in approximately ten minutes. After stepping off of the train, you will all be segregated, cleaned, numbered, and assigned a cell. Any who don't comply can ask my black and white friend here what happens to rowdy ponies," the guard said as he pointed to Exo. "Good to see that we all agree." The ponies on the train held their collective breaths as the train screeched to a halt. With a hiss, the doors of the car opened, allowing the frigid air to permeate the area. Exo recoiled as the first tendril of cold wrapped itself around her leg. Blowing a whistle, the unicorn guard ordered the prisoners to line up, and exit the car. When the two-tone mare stepped out of the train, the first thing she felt was the biting cold of the tundra around her. Looking about, Exo saw impossibly high walls of solid ice surrounding a great stone prison. Four massive towers stood at the cardinal points as a single spire erupted from the center of the building. Atop the tower sat a single massive crystal which emanated a lavender field of force, repelling the flakes of snow that managed to fall on it. Out from the citadel came another group of guards, these were fuchsia, wore onyx armor, and glittered in the pale moonlight. "Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome." One guard stepped forward, and began to speak in a low, ragged tone. "I am the warden of this fine establishment, Crystal Shard's the name, and you lot have been sent to my fine establishment due to your inability to conform to the proper standards of pony life. I am not here to tell you about this fine facility, no I'm sure that the stories you've heard are warning enough. "But for those of who don't know, the Umbra prison boasts the lowest number of prison breaks in recorded history with none. Our kind and courteous staff will provide you with exactly twelve hours of light a day, three perfectly portioned meals, as well as, get this, flushing toilets. Isn't that amazing?" "Exo," Riptide whispered, as the guard captain continued to ramble. "What?" the mare whispered back, doing her best to avoid being caught. "They're going to split us up, their system is designed to break you. I don't care what, or how, just find something to do. Polish rocks or write a book or something, just find something to do and throw yourself into it. Don't let this place break you, you're too good for that." "Prisoner!" Crystal Shard shouted, "are you eager to make friends in the hole, or are you just stupid." "You're just oppressing me because I'm blue aren't you, you purple bastard." "What'd you say inmate?" "I didn't stutter." Riptide's drawl became long and slow as he accented each syllable. "Or would you like me to repeat myself for you?" "Now you see everypony," the warden began as he pressed his forehead against the pegasus', "what we have here is a failure to communicate. This little colt wants to look all cool, and impress all of his little friends. What he doesn't understand," the guard broke away and planted his fore-hoof firmly into into Riptide's abdomen, knocking the wind out of the navy stallion, "is that this is my prison." The dark-blue pegasus collapsed onto the ground, his hooves wrapped around his midsection. "Let that be a lesson to you all, don't be stupid... or blue." With that, the crystal guards finished, and began to divide the group into males and females. Exo was corralled into a separate area with the rest of the mares. The group walked single file through the cold, a thin coat of frost began to form on the mare's coat, and the piercings in her ear began to burn painfully. The herd soon reached the edge of the barrier. Taking a step forward, the mare could see the other prisoners passing through. When she arrived at the barrier, Exo flinched at a slight tingling sensation while passing through. On the inside of the force-field, the wind had stopped, and the cold no longer bit at her hide. A female guard called the group over as she led the way into a separate wing of the prison. There, the mares were stripped of whatever clothes they may have had, the unicorn herself had her earrings and hair clasp taken away. Even the iron around her horn had been removed. The guard said that the shield also acted as a magic dampening field. After being stripped, the mares were led into a salon. Sitting still, Exo felt the barber cut her mane short, identical to the others, with her tail cropped. A tear dripped down the alabaster pony's face as she saw orange and green locks of hair sitting on the floor before being swept away. Following along with procedure, the herd was led to a fitting room where each was given a dark denim jumpsuit with an embroidered number. 987 she noted. Once suited, the females were led to a large pair of double doors leading into the containment area. "Alright ladies," the female guard spoke, "you shall now be assigned cells. When I call your name, make your way to your assigned cell. Any dilly-dallying will result in time in the hole." Exo stopped paying attention as the mare prattled on, only taking heed of her words when her own name was called. Through the double doors, stood a high stone ceiling, crystal chandeliers illuminated the two story chamber. "157," Exo muttered to herself as she looked for her cell, "157." A guard adorned in onyx armor stood beside the gate to her new home. Stepping inside, the door behind her was slammed shut, trapping her in the claustrophobic cell. Looking around, a small, white jewel adorned the ceiling, lighting the room. To the right sat a pair of cots, one on top of the other. On the top bunk lay an emerald pegasus mare with a crimson mane. Any attempts at conversation were quashed by the green pony's gentle snores. In the back left corner sat a fairly new looking chrome toilet beside a small porcelain sink. Small nicknacks, posters, and crude graffiti covered the stone walls, whether they had been made by the current occupant or a previous one, Exo couldn't tell. Crawling into her bed, the mare laid her head down on the lumpy pillow, and pulled the thin cotton sheets around her as she nodded off to sleep. Exo groggily awoke in the middle of the night, the springs of her mattress had dug themselves into her spine. After relieving herself, the mare crawled back into bed, and rested her head on the uncomfortable pillow once more. All was quiet in the prison, except for an almost unnoticeable scratching in the walls. Great, Exo thought to herself, rats. Just as her eyes closed and the darkness in her mind ushered her into sleep, a small tune echoed throughout the cell-block. The song was a simple whistle, melancholy and slow. For several minutes the whistler continued their song before one final low note marked its end. ----- The prison day began promptly at 6:00 A.M. and ended exactly twelve hours later. Thrice a day food was served, a sandwich, some sort of vegetable, a piece of fruit, and a drink. The meals were bland, simple, and small. Having just enough to kill the hunger, but never enough to truly satisfy. Evenly spaced, the guard with the cart of sustenance always arrived promptly a 8 A.M., 12 P.M., and 4 P.M. After lunch, the inmates were released into the "yard", a frozen field where the entire block could stretch their legs for a time. Ponies of like race and color congregated in small groups, either for safety or amusement. Now and again somepony would attempt to talk her, but her violent reputation made sure that her social contact was limited. Although one sanguine earth pony, an aptly named Red, proved his ability in smuggling. Beyond him, and occasionally Riptide, the mare shared little contact with the others. Taking the navy stallion's advice, Exo read, and read, and read. When she wasn't reading, she was writing, when she wasn't writing, she was exercising. Anything to stave off the crippling boredom. She had already seen it's effects on several of the other inmates, now nothing more than shambling corpses. ----- The days soon blended into one another as the prison's cycle became ingrained into the mare's mind. Several months had passed since her incarceration, and her mane had grown back to Its previous length. Occasionally she had seen Riptide in the yard, he had offered a few gifts as reconciliation which she accepted reluctantly. An extra piece of fruit, or a small contraband item of some sort given to her via Red. The look in his eyes when he passed her the presents told her much. The ribs poking through his coat told her much more. "3, 2, 1," Exo whispered to herself. Zero. A klaxon sounded as the cell doors were released, and the heavy hoof-steps of tired prisoners echoed throughout the massive hall. The weathered floor had become familiar, the alabaster mare had taken note of every nook, cranny, and crack the stone contained. The unicorn had even taken notice of a shallow groove, carved into the stone by the pounding of countless hooves. Through a pair of simple, massive, oaken doors waited the yard. By the time Exo reached the outside, several ponies had already begun to congeal into groups. The alabaster mare trotted around the yard as she usually did, taking note of any disturbances, and keeping an ear to the ground for news of the outside world. So far, the only news of worth appeared to be disappearances taking place in Canterlot. The two-tone pony yelped as she felt a flank rub against hers for an instant. Turning around, she saw the gaunt face of Riptide shooting her a perverted leer. "What do you want?" Exo asked as she pushed the stallion away. "I can't say hi now and again?" the navy pegasus asked between chews. "Yeah, but there's no reason to rub up on me." "What's the fun in that?" the stallion asked as he smacked his tail against the mare's flank. "Plenty you perv, like not being molested. What are you even chewing on?" "Gum." "You got any more?" the mare asked hopefully. "Nope, Red's last piece." "Last piece huh? You must have traded him something pretty good for it." "Various sexual favors," he said flatly. Exo stared wide-eyed at Riptide as a grin broke across his face. "That was a joke," the stallion said slowly. "It's impossible to tell when you're being serious, you know that?" "One of my many talents." The navy pegasus chuckled before walking off. For the next hour, the alabaster unicorn galloped around the edge of the yard, attempting to beat her previous record of fifty laps. On her final lap, she noticed something odd, a group of earth ponies had surrounded Riptide, and were currently pushing him around. The dark blue pegasus was the first to throw a punch. One which impacted and rebounded softly against one of the earth pony's faces. Immediately the rest of the group descended upon him like a mob, beating and kicking the navy stallion into the dirt. Turning towards the gang, the alabaster unicorn charged, shouting at the assailants. "Back off, he's my bitch!" Exo commanded as she skid to a stop in front of the navy pegasus. The other inmates scattered at her arrival. On the ground, Riptide wheezed and huffed. Cracking an eye open, the dark blue pony quickly wrapped a fore-hoof around Exo's neck, pulled her in close, and planted his lips firmly on hers. The mare shuddered as she felt his tongue push her lips apart, and despite her best efforts, into her mouth. The alabaster unicorn nearly gagged when she felt the pegasus' tongue push a wet lump into her mouth. Pulling away, Riptide winked before collapsing onto the floor. Raising a hoof, Exo delivered a blow to the stallion's head which landed with a crack. After trotting away, Exo spat the ball onto the floor, and shuddered again. Looking down, she saw that it was rather large, white, and held many small designs written in black ink. It was a note. What note had to be passed in such a way as to avoid suspicion rather than just tell her outright. The jailbreak. Reluctantly, the unicorn picked the note back up, and nearly cried when she placed it back in her mouth. A pair of guards picked up, and hauled a prone Riptide away. Soon after the time in the yard came to a close, and Exo would be free to read the note. Back in the comfort of her home cell and accompanied by the ever-present snores of her cellmate, the alabaster pony once again spat out the note. Carefully, the two-tone unicorn unfolded soggy ball of paper. Dear Exo, Sorry about that, but if my plan worked, I should be in the infirmary for the next three days. As you may have suspected, this note concerns a great breakthrough in the plan to escape. In three days, I'll be tossed back into my cell, and I need you to stay up well past curfew in order to attract as little attention as possible. Keep an ear on the back wall of your cell the night in question. Me: Tap tap-tap tap tap You: Tap tap And please, for the love of Celestia, flush this damned note. P.S. If you are not Exo, black/white unicorn with orange mane, then please disregard this message, and dispose of it immediately. Giving a wry smile, the two-tone pony balled up the note, dropped it into the toilet, and flushed. ----- Exo did as Riptide's note asked, and kept awake well past curfew a few days later. The mare's snoring cell-mate was the only other soul she could perceive. Just as her eyelids grew heavy and her head began to tumble forward, she heard a dull scratching coming from the masonry. Cautiously the mare made her way to the bricks that formed the back wall of her cell. A series of complicated knocks emanated from the opposite side of the wall. The mare responded with her half of the code. A muffled response came from the other side, and with it, a brick loosed itself halfway. Gently, Exo took hold of the loose brick and pulled it free. When the stone was pried away, a navy muzzle poked out from hole and began to hyperventilate, drinking the air like water after a trek through the desert. Placing a hoof of on the pony's nose, the mare pushed the snout back into the darkness. "What's the big idea?" Riptide whispered. "The airflow is horrible in here, on top of that I farted like twenty minutes ago, so I've had to put up with that following me this whole time." The mare stifled a giggle as she spoke. "Idiot. So this is your big plan, tunnel out of here?" "What, this? Oh hell no. My plan is far less stupid. It would take months if not years to get to the outer wall without the proper equipment. Besides, that means that the prison will still have our records, meaning that we will be a couple of fugitives, and I'm sure that neither of us wants that." "Then what's the tunnel for?" "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, this thing was already half finished by the time they threw me in my cell. Apparently prison gives you a lot of time to do things besides mope." "Why even finish the tunnel then? Why not just pass me more notes?" "For one, this still factors into the plan. And two, this gives us the option of conjugal visits." Exo could feel the stallion's leering gaze through the masonry. "I'll have you know that I have a colt-friend, pervert." "And I'm sure that he has one too." "If all you came to do was hit on me, then go back to your cell before I call the guards." A white hoof picked up the brick and began to shimmy it into place. "Wait wait wait," the stallion said quickly. The brick stopped. "Don't you want to talk a bit? You have to be as bored as I am," Riptide pleaded with the mare. The unicorn thought of her own boredom for a second as well as the desperation in the pegasus' voice. "Fine," she conceded, "what do you want to talk about?" "Um... Uh... Hmm..." the stallion thought for a few moments, "I don't know." Exo resisted the urge to shove the brick back into the hole, but she had a few questions for the pony that had vowed to free her from prison. "So how did you get into this?" The mare gestured to the darkness after a long wait. "What, prison? They hauled me off for fighting with some royal type. When they questioned me, they asked me how the fight went. I told them that the guy had me pinned, and started punching me in the face. "They asked me, 'did you count how many times he punched you in the face.' "I swear to Celestia, I looked the guard square in the eyes and said, 'no, I was too busy being punched in the face.' "Needless to say, the other guy had a better lawyer. So including my past strikes as well as this last one, the judge barely saw my record, banged the gavel, and Bob's your uncle." The mare giggled as she leaned against the brick wall, and looked into the hole Riptide had made. "So how did it start?" she asked after a small silence. "How did what start?" "I mean, how did you start being a criminal?" "Oh, that. It's a long, boring, and fairly cliché story. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear it." "It's not like I don't have time." "Sure, why not," the stallion said with a sigh after a brief hesitation. "It started out when I was, I wanna say twelve or so years old. By that time I had already gotten my cutie-mark." "What does it mean?" Exo asked as she looked over to her own flank, curious of the stallion's whirlpool mark. "You know how these things are vague, and stupid, and stuff?" "Yeah." "So apparently, it means that I'm a jack-of-all-trades, a master of none. It's supposed to represent everything mixing into one place. I don't know. I got it after I tried a bunch of stuff, and nothing really stuck. I figured that maybe I was just okay at everything and great at nothing, then this thing shows up on my ass. That or it's just wasted talent I guess." "I never would've guessed." "Anyway, back to the story. My mom, she was an earth pony, and I don't give a damn about my dad. One day, she collapsed in the street, I flew as fast as I could for help. I didn't find anyone, but when I got back somepony had already taken her to the hospital. "As it turns out, she had been suffering some sort of genetic disorder, and she had been in constant pain for the last few years. I guess that she just never wanted me to worry. The only legal pain medication that was strong enough to help was, unfortunately, very expensive. As these things tend to be. After that day, she couldn't work without doubling over in pain. I tried get a job, but no pony wanted to hire some dumb kid. "Every day I saw the tired, pale look in her eyes, her coat lost its shine and she seemed lost, wincing in pain. Eventually she just laid there. A few friends of hers came over to cook, and clean, and things like that, but no pony had the money to help. For a while I blamed them for not helping more. Eventually, I blamed myself for not being able to do a damned thing about it. "One day rather than moping, I took a walk. Just so that I wouldn't have to look at her suffer for a bit. I guess that when I wasn't paying attention, I made my way to the rich neighborhoods. Everypony outside was happy, healthy, and wealthy. I hated them. Smiles and laughter filled the air, and once I actually saw one little colt complain to his mother about not being able to do something or other. He even went so far as to call her by her first name. I was shocked to say the least. "I guess that after that I snapped, I began to see all of these fancy things that these rich ponies had. I asked myself, why did they get to complain about the little things, why did they sit on top of the hill while the rest of us suffered on the bottom. And I noticed that they had a lot of things that they weren't using; a lot of trinkets that wouldn't be missed if lost. I just kept walking before I did something I would regret. "After a while I arrived at a park. I remember that there was this old buck dressed all fancy, he was taking a nap under a tree. I could see a gold chain sticking out of his coat pocket. "'He doesn't need it,' I thought to myself. 'Heck he's probably got a dozen more at home. He'll never miss it, and if he does, he can always just buy another one.' "Carefully I tip-hoofed my way over to the guy, making sure that no-one saw me. I could feel my heart thundering in my chest as the smell of wildflowers filled my nose. Sweat dripped from my brow and my breath grew short as I gently unclasped the chain and pulled a pocket watch out of his coat. I hauled flank before the guy could wake up. When I got far enough away, I took to the air and pawned the damned thing in a part of town where no pony would ask questions. "After that I went and filled my mother's prescription. She smiled for once, and asked where I had gotten the money. I lied, I told her that I had run a few odd jobs for some fancy type." "And then what happened?" Exo asked, enthralled by the story. A few moments passed before stallion replied. "She died... a few weeks later." The air grew tense as the snoring of the mare's cell-mate filled the lull in conversation. "I'd better get back to my cell, wouldn't want somepony to get suspicious." Gently, the mare replaced the brick before laying down in her cot, and bringing the thin cotton sheets over her head. Sleep did not come easy for Exo that night as she contemplated Riptide's story.