//------------------------------// // Freedom // Story: Just Human // by Lightless Void //------------------------------// Just Human, chapter 11: Freedom Twilight fidgeted nervously as she watched Alex. Since the trip began, and she calmly reassured him he was in no danger, he had been silently staring at the landscape passing by. His lips moved occasionally, though no words seemed to form. She imagined he had questions. In fact, she had plenty of her own, but the lack of any conversation at all was distressing. I’m going to have to break the ice somehow... But where do I start? She moved over to his side of the carriage, leaning over the side as he did to look at the great landscape below them. She tried to follow what he was looking at, which seemed to be the villages and towns they passed over directly. Though it didn’t seem that special to her, she could imagine he might’ve never had a bird’s eye view of the world before. “So,” she began, stopping briefly as Alex turned his head to her. She nodded quickly to the great expanse beyond the carriage. “What do you think?” “Well… Aside from the fact that every town we’ve passed so far is populated by small colorful horses—” “Ponies,” Twilight correct. “Sorry, ponies,” Alex replied, though with a hint of irritation. “It’s almost like… Like looking back in time. The houses, the cobblestone streets, the farmers using plows to, well, plow. And that big castle over there, the one I’m assuming we’re heading towards,” he said, nodding at the spires of Canterlot in the distance. Twilight looked at distant Canterlot. For most of her life, she’s either lived inside Canterlot or within sight of it. To her, it had always been an soothing sight. With it’s walls and towers pristine white and gold, it had always seemed as strong and timeless as Princess Celestia herself. She had always thought that Princess Celestia, and maybe even her parents, watched over her from there, making sure no harm would befall her or her friends. She knew a few ponies that might have never seen a castle, but few would describe it as Alex just did. As something not of this world. “Is it really that strange to you? We’ve had castles for hundreds of years, if not more. You’re not afraid of going to Canterlot, are you?” Alex’s mood seemed to darken further at that question. “It’s not the castle itself I’m worried about. It’s what’s going to happen to me when we get there.” Alex broke eye contact and gloomily looked back down towards the passing landscape, making it clear to Twilight that he was worrying. “Are you worried about what’s going to happen to you?” Alex nodded slightly in response, before turning his head to face her again. “Wouldn’t you be?” “No,” she answered with complete confidence. “Whatever happened, I’m sure you didn’t mean to cause any of it, and I’m sure Princess Celestia will see it that way too.” “I hope you’re right,” Alex replied, though he didn’t seem to be anywhere near as convinced as she was. Another uneasy silence began as the pair awaited their arrival in Canterlot. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but try to sate her curiosity once more. “Alex… If we’d show you a map of Equestria, do you think you’d be able to point out where you’re from, and where we can find more of your people?” Alex seemed to ponder the question as he stared farther and farther away, until he began to scan the horizon itself. “Seeing all of this…” he said with a wide motion of his claw, “I don’t think I know anything of where I am anymore.” The carriages landed with a thud in a courtyard within the castle, specially designed to receive airborne visitors in private. Little lanterns filled with fireflies marked the landing strip, and two columns of royal guards flanked either side of the road leading into the castle. From a distance, he could already make out the fountains, the pearly white towers, the gardens, among other things. Up close, he couldn’t help but feel like the entire castle had been ripped straight out of a fairytale. Alex carefully made his way out of the carriage, but the strain of standing up was already getting to him. Twilight was leading the way, but she shot him a very concerned look when she saw him struggling. “Are you okay? You didn’t hurt yourself more when you tripped earlier, did you?” “I just realised, I probably should’ve asked you for a second crutch. I never actually used one of these before… Didn’t figure walking with one would take such an effort.” “Oh, hang on. I think I can fix that for you.” Twilight’s horn began to glow, as well as Alex’s crutch. With a flash, it duplicated, and Alex found himself now leaning on two. He stared perplexed at the new crutch before he began hobbling alongside her to the rest of the group. “You know, I’m still at a loss at how you’re doing that, but where I’m from, that kind of stuff usually makes you an immediate celebrity.” She blushed and made a dismissive gesture with one hoof. “It’s nothing special, really. Just a simple duplication spell.” He raised an eyebrow. “Right. Simple.” The rest of their group had already gathered. The girls were already making small talk amongst themselves, which stopped abruptly as Alex came into earshot. Princess Celestia watched with a soft smile on her lips, Professor Greymane at her side. “We’ll get Alex to his room first. I wouldn’t want to push you any further than I already have.” The group soon began to make their way into the castle. The guards on either side of them saluted to greet the princess, but most of them lost their concentration upon seeing the strange creature she had brought with her. They all looked up at Alex with wide eyes and dumbstruck expressions. A murmur went up among them, which took the one in the most ornate armor a few angry whispers to silence. In a way, he thought it was hilarious. His mouth curved into a wide grin as he hobbled forward, which did not improve the situation at all. In fact, it only seemed to make the guards more edgy. He caught a stern glare from Twilight. “You’re not thinking of doing what I think you’re going to do, are you?” she pressed. “It may have crossed my mind,” Alex replied coyly, before noticing that Princess Celestia was giving him the same look. “I’ll behave,” he said hastily. Twilight then shot him back the same grin. “Good. I’m putting a lot of trust in you, okay?” Alex muttered a half-formed reply. Part of him felt like she was manipulating him into doing what she wanted, which he recognized as something innately negative, yet at the same time he couldn’t hear was any ill intent behind her words. He found himself trusting her, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable. The guard wearing the most ornate suit of golden armor saluted as the group reached the gates of the castle. “Your highness,” he said as he greeted Celestia, though his eyes shifted rapidly between the princess and Alex. He did a better job at maintaining discipline than his men, but not by a wide margin. “It’s okay, captain,” Celestia replied in a soothing tone. “This here is a guest to my court. I know it’s a little unexpected, but do try to keep your men quiet about the event. It would be best if we kept this silent for now.” He nodded curtly, opening the door to allow the group entry into the castle. He caught Twilight giving the captain a sideways look, and she quickly hurried to the front to join Celestia’s side as the group began to move again. They shared a few hushed words, but he couldn’t make out what. However, his attention was soon taken up entirely by the castle itself. It was the most amazing sight he’d ever seen. The inside was so vast he could hear his footsteps echo. Everything seemed to have been cut out of marble and inlaid with gold or silver, and gems in all shades of the rainbow adorned various parts of the castle of pieces of art that they passed. From the outside, it already seemed like someone had tried to replicate a castle as described in a fairy tale. On the inside, it had been made in that image more vividly than Alex had thought imaginable. It was at once horribly cliché, and utterly breathtaking. After climbing a stairwell into a tower, which was probably the hardest thing Alex had to do all day, they arrived at a set of ornate wooden doors, twice as tall as he was, with carvings showing one figure he recognized as Princess Celestia on a sunlit hillside, and another figure he didn’t recognize of far darker colours who stood on the other side of the hill under the light of the moon. “Please tell me that was the only set of stairs I’m going to have to climb,” he whined, in between huffs. “Don’t worry, we’re here,” Princess Celestia replied. “I chose this room specifically because it’s in a tower that’s separated from the main complex, so that hopefully we can keep you safe from prying eyes. Normally, this room is reserved for foreign dignitaries, though I suppose that in light of our situation, that may not be too far off the mark.” Celestia shot Alex a disarming smile. He was pretty sure that she actually meant, “Here I can keep an eye on you and you won’t have anywhere to go if you try to escape.” Then again, he was pretty sure that with his busted leg, he wasn’t gonna be going anywhere in a hurry anyway. Might as well just make the best of whatever hole she decides to throw me in. As Celestia pushed open the doors, Alex knew that if he had spoken those words out loud, he would’ve swallowed every single one. The room looked like it belonged to royalty. Every piece of furniture was masterfully carved and inlaid with yet more precious metals and gemstones than he could’ve ever afforded. Curtains framed the windows that were lined with golden threads, and candlesticks hung from the walls carved out of solid crystal. The bed, however, utterly dominated the room. It was large enough for four people to sleep in comfortably and the entire woodwork was inlaid with gold and silver depicting an entire landscape with frolicking ponies, like a massive painting drawn in the most expensive dye. Something nudged his side. As he looked, he saw Twilight giving him a cheeky grin. “Your mouth is hanging open.” He quickly corrected himself, only to see Celestia trying very hard to stifle a giggle. “So, what do you think?” Celestia inquired. “It’s… Nice,” he managed to say. In reality, he was amazed. The room seemed fit for a king, and for the live of him, he couldn’t grasp why they’d do him such a favor when he’s made such a nuisance of himself. A little pang of regret shot through him for almost having caused a scene at the entrance. “You’re free to make yourself at home, at least until you’re fully recovered. Until then, consider yourself to be a guest in my court.” He nodded lightly in reply as he began to hobble forward, before sitting down on the bed with an audible sigh. To his shock, both of his crutches burst in a shower of sparks, leaving only the two small pony-sized crutches behind. He noticed Twilight’s taking a deep breath, appearing just as drained as he felt. Soon, however, she looked up at him cheerfully once more. “Sorry, I wanted to warn you first, but the spell only lasts as long as I concentrate, and it was wearing me out. How’s your leg?” “Not much better than before, I’m afraid. That trip couldn’t have been good for me,” he said, idly rubbing across the bandages on his leg. He hadn’t noticed it before, his thoughts so consumed with the splendor of the castle and with his own musings that he hadn’t noticed the stinging sensation that had begun developing in his wounded limb. “Let the professor take a look at it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” Twilight replied as she faced Professor Greymane, who raised his chin in acknowledgement. “Certainly not! You are still my patient after all. Just lay your leg down on the bed and let me unwrap the bandages. We can change them while we’re at it.” It was a little unnerving for Alex to watch his bandages being taken in Greymane’s magical grip and unwind themselves. His state of mind hardly improved at the sight of his injuries. “Ah, good. No infection has set in. You girls did an excellent job taking care of him,” Professor Greymane stated, a twinge of pride in his voice. “Actually, that was mostly just Fluttershy. She was taking care of his wounds the whole time we were in there,” Twilight said, which immediately drew all attention in the room to the pegasus. “Uhm… Thank you,” she muttered quietly, drawing a smile from Greymane. However, soon he was facing Twilight, giving her a stern look. “However, Miss Sparkle, I’m going to have to ask you not to repeat the events at the hospital again. Ever.” Twilight nodded bashfully, apologizing again for her actions at the hospital, but her attention was soon drawn by Alex’s wounds. Something seemed to occur to her. “Professor Greymane, do you know any regenerative spells?” she inquired. “Of course! Every unicorn doctor knows them. They were designed to increase the speed at which tissues repair themselves. Historically, this has led to them being widely used in assisting in the healing of injuries, though this has to be done after initial physical treatment due to the nature of—” “Yes!” Twilight interjected. “Can you try and use it?” “I tried it before, Miss Sparkle. Initial tests have shown that, for reasons we haven’t been able to discern, that our visitor seems to absorb magic like a sponge, rendering magical therapies ineffective.” “Try it again. Please,” she asked, resulting in Greymane sighing wearily. “Very well, Miss Sparkle, but only because I dread the results if I deny you a request again.” Professor Greymane moved his horn above Alex’s leg, illuminating it as his horn began to glow with a soft silver light. The light radiated outwards to touch Alex’s leg. It felt strange, like his leg was being bathed in sunlight. Greymane’s eyes widened as soon as the sensation took hold. “Extraordinary,” he muttered, as the glow intensified. It took only a few brief moments and he was done. “I do not know why, but the magical treatment seems to have taken effect!” he proclaimed, equally enthusiastic as he was surprised. Alex looked at his wounds, but they appeared no different from before. “Are you sure it worked? No offense, but you didn’t seem to have ‘fixed’ anything.” “Patience. The treatment takes a while before your body will begin to react to it. Your wounds will heal faster than normally. However, be prepared to bear a few scars. Even our magic can’t fix that, I’m afraid.” After wrapping his leg in new bandages, he had to admit, he felt better. The stinging sensation was gone, at least. “Now, we’ll leave you to get some bedrest,” Celestia began. “Tomorrow we’ll come and get you when you’re properly rested. Sleep well, Alex.” “Thanks. For everything, I mean,” Alex replied a little awkwardly. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to bow. He was thankful that she didn’t seem all that keen on formality anyway, because he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to wrap his head around it. Twilight gave him a last look as the rest of the group left the room. “Good night,” she said. “Good night.” Twilight blew out a few candles that had been illuminating the room, before she closed the door behind her. Alex laid down on the bed, thoughts still plaguing him of how he’d gotten here, or even how it’s possible that he was talking to mythical animals. However, those thoughts were soon lost in a haze as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber for the first time in at least three days. “I’ve arranged for each of you to get your own rooms,” Celestia spoke to the girls as they gathered around her. “You know where to go. By now, I can almost reserve them all six of you, considering how often you all have had to come to Canterlot to avert one disaster or another.” A little giggle erupted from the group, before Twilight looked up to her with a questioning look in her eyes. “Did you already replace Shining Armor?” she asked. Though she tried to hide it, Celestia could detect the hurt undertone in Twilight’s voice. “I’m sorry Twilight, but your brother has his own duties now in the Crystal Empire. Somepony needed to fill the position. Otherwise, the Royal Guard would be without leadership. You understand, don’t you Twilight?” “I do, princess,” Twilight replied in a resigned tone. She smiled warmly at Twilight. “If it makes you feel any better, your brother personally recommended the new captain. He wouldn’t want you to fret about this on his behalf. Now, I ask that you all go get some rest. Tomorrow we can start worrying about our visitor.” “Princess?” Rarity began. “Might I ask where I can send a message back to Ponyville? We left in such a rush, and I need someone to look after Sweetie Belle. I’m sure Spike wouldn’t mind looking out for her until I return.” “You can use the chimney in my study. It’s enchanted. Just throw your letter in the fire and Spike will receive it.” “Thank you, Princess,” Rarity said with a curtsy. “Shouldn’t you send a message for Applebloom too?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack. “Nah, she’ll be fine with Big Mac and Granny Smith. Then again… Ah reckon ah should let them know they’re gonna have to take over my chores for a day or two.” “Oh oh!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I just remembered, I got a shift in the bakery tomorrow! I need to let the cakes know I won’t be there.” As the group quickly descended into idle chatter, Celestia decided it was best to take her leave quietly. They obviously went through a through a lot today, and she had no intention of disturbing them further. Professor Greymane joined her at her side. His expression, his thick eyebrows lowered as though he were in deep thought. “Is there something on your mind, professor?” she asked, to which he looked up as though suddenly shocked out of his reverie. “Yes, actually, there is. That creature… Alex, I think they called him? His strange name, form and mannerisms aside, something about him shook me to my very core.” Intrigued, Celestia stopped in her tracks and awaited his answer, as Greymane fumbled over his words. “When I allowed my magic to touch him, it… I felt…” “Nothing?” she filled in, and Greymane immediately began nodding. “Yes, that’s exactly it. It was like making magic flow through thin air, or water, or earth. There were no energies innate to him to resist me, like he was completely devoid of magic, but I couldn’t believe that was true. Magic is one of the elements needed to sustain life as we know it. Earth, water, air… But I couldn’t feel any magic in him. Yet still, there he was, most assuredly alive. It was… Disconcerting to see something I thought was the complete truth to be proven wrong before my very eyes.” His expression soon changed, and he looked at Celestia curiously. “Princess, if you don’t mind me asking… How did you know?” Celestia smiled. “No offense, Professor Greymane, but my eyes can see further than you might think. I saw the same thing you felt.” “Princess, you understand what his existence implies, don’t you?” he said, his voice almost a hushed whisper. “That he is from another world? I understand, professor. However, that makes our job here even more important. If he is an emissary of his kind, then he must be treated with all due respect.” Celestia involuntarily led out a small yawn, to the surprise of Greymane. “I’m sorry professor, but this will have to wait until tomorrow. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind to continue keeping our visitor healthy, would you?” Greymane beamed as he replied. “Would I mind? Princess, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How many academics on Equestria can say that they were the first to have made contact with an intelligent completely unknown species? It would be my honor to lend my services.” Celestia nodded and bade an unusually cheerful Greymane good night. She slowly trudged back to her quarters, eager to finally get some rest after the past few days. However, her mind wouldn’t stop wandering to the strange thing she glimpsed within the creature. A rune of three overlapping golden rings which stemmed the flow of magic entirely, placed right into his very core. Such a ward should not have survived this long. All living things had magic coursing through their veins, and such a rune placed on a living creature would soon burst beneath the pressure of the magic it contained. The only real explanation was the same given by the professor. This creature was entirely devoid of natural magic. So many questions… Who put that rune on him, and why? How did you get to Equestria? What really happened down there in Ponyville? Freedom… The entity awoke with a start. His senses immediately took the confines of its prison into focus, more clearly than they had in ages. Still, he was caged here, but no longer did the prison have the strength to lull him into sleep once more. The reason why was obvious. Through the cracks in the world’s crust above him, he could sense power flowing into him unbidden. Misery and despair, rejection and anger. All these things fed his power, and he knew for sure that his chosen tool had been successful. The how and why were irrelevant. He had all he needed to take what he had yearned to possess for longer than several mortal lifetimes. His freedom. His power strained against the walls that kept him here, the magical spells that had been woven to imprison him yielding beneath the force he applied. Deep in the earth, in a place no living thing had seen for several thousand years, electricity arched around a vast stone gate. Bit of rock and debris fell from above, and dust was stirred from its resting place, as the doors began to creak open. Within, an unfathomable darkness reached forth, like an angry amoeboid stretching to escape water. A vague form was visible within the darkness, but it was little more than a barely solid cloud with two white orbs of light set into it, like glaring eyes. It stretched out of the darkness beyond the gates, but no matter how far away it managed to reach, a thin strand of dark matter continued to connect it to its prison, threatening to drag it back within. I must take physical form. Only then can the prison no longer reclaim me! It weighed its options for a moment. And the form I shall take shall mirror that of my rescuer. My tool. My servant. Within the dark, a hand formed, and then an arm, a torso, legs and feet, before finally forming a head. It was made to resemble the thing that had been summoned, but only in the most abstract way. Hair, scars and other imperfections were eliminated. They were not necessary to the function of this new form. Only a suit of armor was added, black plates meant to protect its physical form from damage. The tether that bound the entity to its former prison was severed as its form solidified entirely. With a load groan, the gates closed behind it. The entity looked at its hands, noticing for the first time that he would have to learn to use these unfamiliar appendages as though he was born anew. Born anew… That is exactly what I am. It looked around the vast cavern that it now occupied. Murals had been carved into the solid rock surrounding him, depicting how countless alicorns banded their powers to drive away a great evil beneath the earth, sealing it away forever. So old were these murals that dust alone made some of them incomprehensible. It was then that the entity truly felt the weight of ages. “How long was I imprisoned?” it asked, its voice echoing into the vastness of the caverns.