COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
PART 2
"So you got into one last childish fight. I can't say I appreciate that," Sergeant Baton commented as Kurt entered the barracks. The sergeant was behind the front desk, sorting through letters, complaints, and junk mail.
"I'm sorry, sir," Kurt said.
"Don't fool yourself. I know you're not sorry." Baton snapped, sharply looking up at the younger pony. "I just wanted to point out that it's more paperwork for the fillies and colts that sort through all the data."
Kurt didn't know what to say. An awkward silence fell between them. Considering Kurt just got out of the hospital, he half-expected the sergeant to be a little concerned for the well-being of a co-worker- let alone a friend.
The silence was broken when Baton chuckled. "Well, I guess they deserved it, kicking you while you're down and all that."
"Wait, How did you know?" Kurt asked. Baton wasn't even at the fight, and there couldn't have been anypony around to make an accurate report besides Kurt himself.
"Come on, Kurt." Baton said, as if the younger one were missing something blatantly obvious. "I've seen that strategy employed before; unicorn magic to incapacitate an opponent. There's no way those bullies could've touched that face if you were free to do anything about it."
Kurt nodded. He wasn't quite sure if Baton was angry or understanding. The Sergeant's demeanor could very well be made of stone. If not for the white hide, blue mane, and golden armour, he could well have been an imposing ornament behind the counter.
"Walk with me," Baton ordered crisply, as he walked around the front counter. "Let's get you into a real uniform."
Another guard took Baton's place as the Sergeant led Kurt to the armoury wing. The long corridor was five stories tall. Both sides were covered in weapon racks and lockers. The Commander was also there, speaking with two other guards Kurt had never met.
The room itself had a gold tint to it all, mainly because all of the armour was golden in colour and cast the dominating hue across the room. Sergeant Baton waved Kurt to hold position before approaching the Commander.
After an exchange Kurt couldn't quite catch, the unknown guards flew up to one of the lockers. Baton and the Commander approached Kurt.
"Can't say I appreciate you getting into one last fight before officially taking up this mantle," the Commander said.
"I already told him, Sir." Baton replied.
"Good stuff, Sergeant. Now then..."
The two guards lowered, carrying a locker between them. They stood it up and opened the single locker door.
It was a guard's uniform, no-doubt. Back plate complete with saddle, chest plate that strapped to the front, assorted pads for the legs, golden boots, and a helmet. Where a unicorn's horn would be, a three-quarter-foot blade stood- sheathed, of course.
The Commander had a different variant of said helmet. Instead of a blade, it looked to be a hollow point. This was, of course, because he was a unicorn.
The armour glistened. It was to be expected; it was brand-new. Kurt approached the locker as the others left the armoury. He was free to try out his new duds. He had his sizes recorded for the armour before the graduation party, and this was the result.
Beautiful... That was really the only word that popped into Kurt's head at the sight and feel of his new armour. He strapped everything up to a comfortable tightness. The helmet slipped over his short dark blue mane pretty easily.
His dull red hide complemented the gold, because red always goes well with gold. Kurt walked around, getting a feel for the armour. It was a snug fit, like an extension of his own body. He took off the helmet and pulled off the sheath. Three quarters of a foot long, the blade was clean and not at all serrated. From a distance, one could mistake it for a ridiculously well-polished horn.
Kurt gave the locker a once-over. Satisfied that he got everything, and left the armoury to inform his superiors. Later that day, he checked himself out in a mirror, absent-mindedly wondering what that one purple filly would think.
---
Kurt was bored. Those were really the only three words that could describe the next five weeks. He stood motionless on the left side of the entrance to Canterlot. The view was fantastic and all, but Kurt had already counted every tree he could see off on the horizon as he stood sentry. There really was little else to do aside from be alert and take note of everypony or other citizen that came and went.
Were the other guards used to this? Were they also born fighters? As far as Kurt knew, they never got special treatment.
The purple filly and her baby dragon compadre passed by. However, due to protocol, Kurt couldn't talk. He watched out of the corner of his eye as another opportunity entered the city walls and out of sight.
Kurt's eyes darted to the left, only to see the mountain side. There was never any movement from the mountain aside from pebbles being knocked around by strong winds from the top. It was a solid mountain with no cracks to be seen. The mountain was therefore uninteresting.
Kurt looked ahead down the path. There were still a few carriages approaching. One appeared to be an import of apples. Not surprising, considering Canterlot was a city built high into a mountain. Aside from the Royal Garden and sometimes the Agricultural Science Building on Anything-Goes Experiment Day, (Pony mileage may vary in that case) the city really had no way for self-sustainance. The carts pulled along like a line of ants. Fitting description, considering their current distance and Kurt's perspective.
How much longer until shift-end, 3 minutes? Ten bits said it would feel like another three hours, he thought to himself. Kurt won the bet, although he didn't get the prize money on account of not actually betting.
Maybe he could catch up to the purple pony and her dragon, hopefully introduce himself. Kurt strolled at a natural pace, his eyes darting around, looking for trouble brewing, or the purple one. This time, it was slightly more exciting. He's self-imposed an objective, and he's moving instead of standing still waiting for something to never happen.
Kurt passed by the donut shop from before. Craving a snack, the guard entered.
"How's it going, sir?" The shop owner asked as the guard took a seat at the same stool as last time.
Kurt took off his helmet and placed it to his side on the counter. "Pretty well. Boring day, anyway."
"Yeah, I know how you feel. My brother's also a guard, stationed at Baltimare last I heard. Anyway, what'll it be?"
Kurt ordered the same as last time: the Daily special. Orange pekoe and a sprinkled chocolate donut this time, rather than the green jasmine and plain glazed donut from last time. After paying, the guard looked around the shop, noticing the purple pony wasn't there.
"Something wrong?" Pony Joe asked.
"Last time I was here, there was a purple filly with a dragon," Kurt replied.
"Yeah, I know her," Joe said.
Kurt's eyes lit up- only slightly, as not to catch Joe's attention too much. "You do?" He asked.
"Sure, that's Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' apprentice." Pony Joe lowered a brow. "You mean you've never heard of her?"
"Not really. I went to the standard schools."
"Never talks to others much aside from her dragon friend. Heck, Spike's the more social one of the two. Come to think of it, she's never without a book and note pads. Pretty antisocial, I think." Joe prepped the tea and donut, leaving it in front of Kurt. "But none of that came from me."
Kurt nodded and dug in.
"I take it you're interested in her." Joe asked after a moment, a knowing smirk on his face.
Kurt huffed amusedly. "She does help keep my mind off of the boredom." After a pause, he asked "You won't tell her, will you? I don't want to come across as some stalker pony or something."
"Don't you worry, sir."
Kurt nodded in relief. "I forgot to introduce myself last time. I'm Kurt."
"Kurt," Pony Joe repeated, then repeatedly muttered the name to himself. "The same pony who ruined the graduation party a month or so ago?"
Kurt stiffened. Did the bullies tell people? How many others did they tell? A drop of sweat emerged on his forehead, rolling down the side of his head. Eventually, he regained composure. He couldn't lie, after all. "Unfortunately, yes."
Pony Joe's lips flattened. "Well, I heard all this from a bunch of pegasi in casts, saying you went right out and started hurting others."
Kurt twitched; he hated liars. That was what he was conditioned to believe during his training, anyway.
"Liars and bullies, that's all they are," Kurt growled. Pony Joe's brows rose in nervousness. "They wanted a friendly spar, started trying to break me, and now they're saying I was in the wrong."
"Well, they didn't seem like the kinda ponies who would've told the truth anyway. No way I could believe one guy can take down five."
"I did," Kurt replied. "And they put me in the hospital for two weeks."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah, they got a unicorn friend of theirs to pull me down so they could take turns hoof-stomping me."
Pony Joe looked at him in confusion. "How did you beat them then?"
Kurt didn't answer, only looked at Pony Joe with a "What do you think?" expression. "I wouldn’t be in the Guard if I couldn’t take them. Anyway, if you need someone to vouch for me, ask the doctors of the Indigo Spire."
Kurt went back to his donut. A good ten seconds passed.
"Well, this changes things," Pony Joe finally said, almost laughing. "Since the Guard trusts you to wear that uniform, I'll help you out. I'll make sure this gets around. To me, you don't look like a spontaneously violent fellow."
Kurt paused for a split second, then looked up from his food again. "Thanks Joe."
"Doesn't mean I'm gonna introduce you to Twilight Sparkle. You gotta make that effort yourself." Joe said with a little grin.
Kurt smiled, and finished his donut and tea. "Thanks again," he said before donning his helmet once more and leaving.
---
Later that day, Kurt returned to the barracks dormitory. He slumped onto his bunk and dozed off.
Five hours passed before he woke up, and he realized he had forgotten to write something to his little brother. Pulling out a quill, ink bottle, and a scrap of paper, he paused for a full minute. He had nothing to write.
What could he write? The past three weeks were just a series of repetition. Main gate duty, watching ponies and carriages come and go, night shift by the main castle- but opposite from the garden so he couldn't visit Kaia.
Cor's letters back only talk about what he's learned in school so far, as well as his experiments with the sandwich recipe Kurt taught him, Last time, he mentioned that Mom and Dad came back home. At the end of that letter, Cor added "P.S. I told Mom and Dad that you made it into the Royal Guard. I thought they'd be happy, but they didn't seem to listen. Did you do something? Did I do something??"
Kurt decided to dedicate this next letter as a response. He felt his stomach knot up as he tried to choose his words carefully.
"Dear Cor,
I was offered this career path during school. I told Mom and Dad about it, but they didn't seem to listen back then. Even today, I'm not sure why." (It was a half-truth, since Kurt had a pretty good idea.)
"I'm fine with it, though. My point is it's not your fault, Cor. If anything, they're probably too exhausted from out-of-town business trips. I doubt they would need to worry about me either. After all, I am a guard.
Still, let them know I said hi. Alright?
Kurt."
Kurt folded up the paper and walked to the barracks mail bin on the opposite side from the dorms.
The letter was packaged and sent, lifting one more thought from Kurt's mind. At this point, he realised he was completely awake and unable to get back to sleep. His next shift wouldn't start for another five hours.
"How could I spend the next five hours?" he wondered. He decided to work up some fatigue so he could get back to sleep. Four and a half hours later, Kurt awoke, ready and willing to take on the next shift.
Spoiler alert: the next shift was boring.
---
Every time Twilight Sparkle passed by, Kurt couldn't speak to her. It was all because of his orders to stay "in character" when on-duty. Deep down, Kurt was getting frustrated. He couldn't find her off-duty, and any time he did see her, he couldn't say anything.
A couple of years later, Kurt was on a walk. It was his second three-week vacation since he first joined.
Kurt entered the donut shop. Pony Joe was at the counter as usual.
"How's it going, Kurt?" Joe asked.
"Well enough," Kurt replied as he sat down on the same stool. "On vacation now."
"I didn't know guards got vacation time," Joe said.
Kurt put down an order for the daily special. "We're real workhorses, but we're not indestructible."
Joe chuckled as he prepped some green tea and a simple chocolate dip with boston cream filling. The more stout pony put the snackage in front of Kurt.
"Any luck with Twilight?" Joe asked.
"Never get a chance to talk to her. I only manage to see her whenever I was on-duty-"
"What do you want with Twilight?" curiously piped a young voice from behind.
Kurt turned his head. It was that purple dragon that always accompanied Twilight Sparkle.
"He likes your boss," Pony Joe said, helpfully. Kurt could hear the "I'm going to have some fun with this" in his voice.
Kurt twitched. Joe appeared to notice it.
"Well, you wanted to meet her right?" Joe said with a smug expression. It was like he took a pleasure in making others seem nervous, and therefore weak. "What better way than to get her personal assistant to help?"
Kurt had to agree, it was a sensible way to go about things, though the suddenness of Pony Joe saying that stuff took him off-guard.
Still, he took a few seconds to gather his bearings. "I'm Corporal Kurt," Kurt said to the dragon.
"A guard, eh?" the dragon asked.
"Yeah, a guard," Kurt replied.
"I'm Spike."
Kurt held out a hoof. The baby dragon took it and they shook. Spike stiffened when it turned out Kurt was shaking the dragon rather than his hand. It was pretty funny to see a dragon get flailed around on the spot.
"Oh, whoops," Kurt said as he put the dragon back onto the stool.
It was the dragon's turn to get his bearings. Suddenly the dragon appeared to throw up. Kurt flinched, unsure if he caused that.
Spike upchucked some green dragonfire- though he was considerate enough to puke away from the counter. The fire itself spiraled into a tiny point in the air, and out of the compressed energy materialized a rolled-up scroll. The dragon took it and opened it. After a moment of reading, Spike gasped, but his eyes lit up in blind excitement. Before Kurt could say anything, the dragon ran off.
For an infant, Spike could run remarkably fast. Kurt bounded after the dragon. However, by the time he looked out the door, the dragon was nowhere to be seen.
The guard-on-vacation trotted back to his seat and planted his face into the counter, releasing a deep sigh.
"Cheer up, Kurt. You did better than not being able to talk at all."
"Thanks, Joe," Kurt replied as he paid for the snack.
It was the last Kurt saw of Spike the baby dragon. Two days later, Kurt learned that Twilight had been sent to Ponyville to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration that year.
---
Kurt was outside his usually-assigned gate of Canterlot, sitting at the edge of the road. The two guards on-duty at the gate seemed to want to talk to their comrade, but their orders were to not talk unless there was an emergency. Considering this was Canterlot- the home of the Royal Guard, there were rarely emergencies that were serious enough to warrant guards talking.
Kurt looked over the edge of the road. It wasn't a dangerous fall; the slope wasn't steep, but was remarkably smooth. Perfect for sliding down if one had the guts to. Kurt did, but he decided against it. Instead, he started walking down the path away from Canterlot.
He felt like exploring. Every step he took down the mountain path was another new record for farthest distance away from the city traveled. Kurt didn't care if he wasn't allowed to be so far outside the city in the event that he needed to be called back into service. After all, he had his wallet. If he got horribly lost, he would have the bits necessary to pay for a hotel, or a ride home.
Nothing ever happened at Canterlot.
Nothing ever will.
Kurt officially went AWOL for the first time. He galloped at a speed he was accustomed to; more specifically, he ran very, very fast. Before the other two guards figured out that Kurt was ditching the city, the young fighting horse was already at the bottom.
In the distance, Kurt could hear shouting from the gate. Apparently they took this as an emergency. 'That was oddly quick, Kurt thought, aren't I supposed to be on vacation anyway?'
He figured he just had bad timing, and the Commander needed Kurt back at HQ. Kurt muttered to himself "Screw that noise! Vacation's still a vacation, and I only live once."
He disappeared into the massive expanse of forest along the path. It looked rather menacing with the overgrowth covering the shrubs and bushes. The trees were covered in vines and other plants Kurt could only remember from his old biology studies and what Kaia described whenever she came home- which by itself was rare.
The forest itself was overgrown with no distinct path ponies or... well, anyone could take. Kurt bounded through the tight spaces between the mass of trees that surrounded him no matter where he went.
Kurt eventually slowed down as he approached a small clearing. There was a clean pond next to even more shrubs. Upon the pond were assorted aquatic critters. The iconic sound of frogs broke the relative silence of the nighttime forest.
Kurt slowly approached the pond itself to examine the contents. He wasn't thirsty, and he wasn't about to get thirsty anytime soon. Kurt watched as the frogs looked back up at him. After a while, the smaller creatures continued with their night business as if the muscular pony wasn't there at all.
Kurt heard more shouting, which caused the frogs to pause completely. Kurt started moving and jumped into a load of shrubs. It was an excellent hiding place.
Pegasus guards flew over the canopy, combing over the forest. They appeared to be looking for Kurt.
He counted seven of them, but the distant shouting suggested more. Were this many really necessary for sending a message to one pony?
This whole situation didn't make sense to Kurt. If they needed him back into service, they'd have just sent one comrade with a message. They wouldn't send entire search parties.
It wasn't at all like the guards Kurt knew. He at-first thought that they were looking for somepony else, but that was not likely. Kurt was the only one that ran down the mountain path and into the forest for the past hour. Indeed, they were looking for him, and Kurt couldn't figure out why.
Looking at the mass amount of effort, Kurt probably didn't want to know why.
He inched further back into his hiding place before turning around and crawling underneath the massive bushes. It was like a canopy beneath a canopy, and Kurt was beneath said canopies. The pony made sure not to disturb the shrubs at all. His training allowed him to crawl very efficiently in every situation, after all.
He heard the shouting pass over him. He couldn't make any of it out, since he was busy crawling under the plant life.
The shouting became more and more distant. Kurt knew better than to reveal himself. They were obviously going to turn around and perform a more thorough search, literally box in their target.
Kurt continued moving. Eventually he found a hole in a small hill. Kurt took a look inside to find it had been abandoned a while ago.
The guard inched into the foxhole and hid in the shadows. There, he waited.
Kurt suddenly heard hoofsteps outside. The pegasus guards had returned.
"Kurt!" called the familiar voice of Sergeant Baton. "Kurt!"
Kurt didn't dare respond. Baton didn't sound worried at all. Rather, he sounded like this was a major annoyance. Kurt didn't look outside of the foxhole, but the faint shadow over the faint source of light implied that Baton was investigating the hole.
"Kurt, we can't allow you to leave Canterlot. You should know why!" Baton shout as he moved away from the hole.
Kurt didn't make a peep. He waited until the hoofsteps increased distance before Kurt couldn't hear any more guards. A good ten minutes later, Kurt slowly and silently moved out of the small cave. Nopony was around, fortunately. The sky was significantly darker.
Kurt stood up slowly, and silently trotted through the forest, still thinking about what Baton had said.
After much thought, Kurt figured out that he actually did know why. With that revelation came another: he didn't care. His talent was frowned upon by every aspect of the society he lived in. It got him to thinking: Were there others whose talents were fighting as well? He wanted to meet such ponies. He wanted to find trouble to stop, not let it come to him.
He wanted to see the world, see a different society. Canterlot was boring, full of intellectuals doing what they love. Kurt didn't blame them, but he was the only one in the entire city (as far as he knew) that had such a different talent. Even so, Kurt didn't think the Princess was going to be too happy that a muscular hoofed ball of violence is out in the Everfree Forest, poised to arrive... well, anywhere.
After an hour of thinking and walking, Kurt found a nice spot to rest, under a low thicket. The leaves were broad, easily covering the area from outside viewers. After a minute of trying to get used to this new surrounding, Kurt closed his eyes. However, he kept his ears open.
---
Somewhere beyond the forest, a rooster shrieked its iconic cock-a-doodle-doo. The AWOL guard was already awake by then, continuing his exploration of the land.
Seven hours had passed since he bolted down the Canterlot mountain path. Kurt figured that his comrades weren't through with the searches. If anything, they were getting everypony available together to find the missing fighting horse.
He planned to continue his run through a single direction in the forest until he found a river. Said run took three hours, but Kurt barely broke a sweat. That's what he would say to anyone watching. The truth was that he was panting by the time he found said source of running water.
Kurt stopped to take a drink. In this case, the water was moving, and therefore not stagnating. The river was clear and relatively silent. The guard could see the fish hiding among the rocks that settled at the bottom.
After the quick drink, Kurt took a rest for a good five minutes. His panting lessened to the point where he sounded like he was breathing normally again.
Kurt crossed the rather warm river and bounded back into the trees. He would hang near the river, but not actually be there. After all, pegasus guards could come across the river and see Kurt easily if he didn't hide.
The next two hours were just Kurt following the river from a distance. He stopped at a cliffside, where the river dropped into a hundred-yard waterfall.
The AWOL guard checked the cliffside for a good way down, then checked the skyline. The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, but there was some smoke further in the distance- where the river was going.
"There he is!"
Kurt cursed to himself. He had let his guard down. He leaped back into the forest to dodge a tackle attempt. A quick glance, and Kurt found that it was a 3-pegasus scouting party.
They were closing in. Orders or not, Kurt already knew he was being imprisoned by this career. He wasn't about to get thrown back into his cell.
He jumped at the two other pegasi. He threw both hooves out, clocking each of them in their faces.
Kurt and the concussed guards dropped into the rapids. Despite his immense strength and fitness, he couldn't beat the water. He and the other two therefore dropped off of the waterfall. The third pegasus guard flew down, obviously to catch Kurt or at least the other two. The water was too intense for the pegasus to get close enough, and Kurt didn't want to be saved.
He plummeted into the giant pool below. Now he was at a bad place to be in a fight against flying opponents. Kurt held his breath as he remained submerged, swimming as quickly as he could to the shore. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of the river.
Kurt sputtered as he raced to the shore. He got to the shallow area and just booked it toward the forest.
He looked back to see that the third one was concentrating on getting his knocked out brethren out of the water. Kurt's conflicting personality wanted to help the guards, but helping them would give them ample opportunity to capture him.
He decided to compromise and hide in the forest. If the other pegasus needs help, Kurt would run in to help.
Fortunately, the one pegasus was able to get the other two out of the water. Kurt vanished back into the woods as the last guard performed CPR.
---
Kurt looked above the canopy, following the river at a distance again, and racing towards the source of the smoke pillar. The trees, despite looking all unique, at the same time started to look the same.
An hour passed. Kurt decided he probably wouldn't be able to escape the search parties now. He was going to become unbearably hungry soon, and the only logical choice for a city slicker like him is to find some "civilized cuisine."
Kurt wasn't even sure what exactly was edible in this forest. The grass looked too... natural...
He slowed down to try a bite of the grass. It tasted... actually remarkably good. The texture was really excellent. The taste: bitter- just as he liked it.
After a few more bites, Kurt continued- this time at a slower pace. It wasn't good to run after eating.
Pretty soon, Kurt found the source of the smoke. It was a small shack with foreign-looking decorative masks hanging from assorted branches. Even though the masks didn't look pleasant, the place smelled pretty nice.
Kurt cautiously stepped out into the clearing, examining everything. He flinched when he heard a deep voice.
"My dear wandering wild child, welcome to my abode of mild."
Kurt cocked an eyebrow as he tried to find the source of the voice. "Wild child?"
"You are one who's traveled far in this forest"
Kurt nodded before spotting the source. A striped black and white pony standing at a net-equipped window to keep insects out of what Kurt assumed was the source of the fantastic smell.
"To determine that, my effort is modest."
Kurt paused, wondering why the zebra had the constant urge to rhyme on a dime. He didn't mind; he could understand it at least. "Okay then, um... Where can I find the nearest town?"
"South-East, you go to Ponyville. Find it empty, I'm sure you will."
Kurt assumed the zebra spoke from experience. He thanked the pony and continued on his way.
"You, my friend, go north. Turn around and trot forth."
Kurt chuckled to himself for the foolish mistake, and then followed the advice. He bounded through the forest once again.
Wait a second... Ponyville? As in the town Twilight Sparkle went to? Kurt had new reason to continue his gallop. He wanted to meet the purple filly, and nopony was going to stop him.
Not the guards, not even Princess Celestia. Deep-down, Kurt wondered if this obsession is supposed to be scary.
Was it? He started to think it would be. Was it better not to obsess over meeting a complete stranger? He then decided that he wanted a chance. That's all he really asked for. Just a greeting, a quick conversation, and a hoof-shake.
What if the Royal Guard already questioned everyone Kurt had extensive contact with? What did they say to his parents? What would Cor think now?
Kurt sat down under another tree, stopping his trek for the time being. They could have asked Pony Joe for any information... Nah, Pony Joe promised not to spill any beans, and he looked incredibly experienced at keeping secrets. Kurt's parents probably wouldn't care, but Cor would no-doubt be devastated.
For all intents and purposes, Kurt basically filled the role of Cornelius' father figure. Only now did Kurt fully realise how much of a negative impact he'd had over the years.
Horse apples, Kurt thought, Cor looks up to a pony who might as well be a psychopath.
Kurt whispered a military hymn to himself. He needed to regain his bearings. Was it still a good idea to go to Ponyville?
Kurt rocked side to side. For the first time in years, he was uncontrollably nervous.
What time was it?
Overhead, the clouds collided at glacier-level speeds. The sun wasn't out yet. Kurt then realised that the sun wasn't out because it was still nighttime. He was too distracted by continuing his trek and avoiding the guards. Why did that rooster crow? Was it its biological clock telling it to do that?
Wasn't it supposed to be morning a few hours ago?
Realising that it was still nighttime got Kurt to think about other things, such as just how physically exhausted he was. He attempted and failed to get his mind off of his strain, and collapsed.
The ground was sloped slightly, but the pony was too spent to do anything about it.
He tumbled quickly, but surely to who-knows-where.
---
Kurt awoke with an ache in his neck. He apparently stopped in an uncomfortable position. It was made even worse considering it was cold. His hooves shivered, even when he planted all four onto the ground and lifted himself up. Kurt stumbled a few paces before leaning again.
His side felt stone... Wait, a stone wall?
Kurt turned his head, flinching when he pinched the ache slightly. It was a stone wall of some ruins. Above, an immense collection of energy shot into the sky from spiraling rainbows.
The guard didn't need to decide to investigate; his hooves were already on the way to finding an entrance.
A definitely female voice was shouting "No!" in a hammy fashion as the massive energy shot down in an intense rainbow beam.
As Kurt rounded the corner, the carnage happening within the ruins peaked, then vanished. Within seconds, silence consumed everything. The only thing making noise now was the guard's hooves putting every ounce of strength left to finding an entrance.
He didn't find any entrance, but he did find a window. Cautiously, Kurt peeked in.
The purple filly! Six others lay haphazardly around the interior of the ruins. Twilight seemed to be grouped with five others, while the seventh one seemed to be laying amongst destroyed pitch-black armour.
Kurt rose a hoof to tap at the window when they all woke up. Kurt tapped at the window, but the ponies didn't seem to hear it. Instead they were celebrating the apparent victory over the seventh one in the busted armour.
Light suddenly started to fill the room. Kurt then realised that it was the sun finally rising. He took another look into the ruins to cee that Princess Celestia Herself was there.
Kurt shot down, away from the window. There really was no place for him in this society, was there? This was a utopia, generally free from larger-scale violent conflict that he was born for.
He couldn't send mail to Cor either. Kurt didn't give his younger brother any codenames or anything.
Maybe he could send it anonymously, mention something only he and Cor would know, let the younger colt know that Kurt was okay.
Kurt lay down for a quick rest. He needed to find a way out anyway.
It was a one-hour power nap. Uneventful, quick, effective. Compared to earlier, Kurt felt on top of the world... Well, save for the ache in his neck anyway.
Kurt massaged it with his hoof before looking through the window again. The ponies were gone, items and all. It was as if they were never there in the first place.
Kurt decided to try to find a path. This was an artificial structure. It wouldn't have been built without a clear path to and from it. Even if it was an outcast sort of abode like that Zebra's nice-smelling place earlier. Kurt found the path within a couple of minutes, and started his way across a rope brid-
A snap, and a sudden rush of gravity pulled Kurt down.
He was already through the fog before he realised that the bridge broke under the big strong colt's mass. Maybe it had seen too much usage, maybe he stepped on a bad plank that ruined all the rest.
It didn't matter anymore. Kurt impacted on the ground below the mist. He was now in wholly uncharted territory. There was no plant growth down here; only stone and heavily-packed dirt.
Kurt checked himself for injuries after he took several deep breaths. Thankfully, he didn't land on anything sharp. The fall merely knocked the wind out of him. His bones were too conditioned to break that easily
Even then, it was difficult to breath down here. Kurt stood up and shook himself off.
He found himself face-to-face with what appeared to be ...dogs?
"Hi?" Kurt asked.
The dogs didn't answer immediately.
"Is there any way back up there? I'm kind of in a hurry."
"We're in a hurry to move our gems to the Dirt Fields South from here, and want workhorse to pull our carts."
Kurt shook his head. "Out of the question. I really can't be slowed down."
He could've used a longer power nap, barely dodging the first aggressive swipe.
"You work for us now!"
Kurt started feeling adrenaline pumping through his systems. His face turned from civil to savage pretty quickly. "Make me."
"With pleasure!" One attempted to say before Kurt dug a hoof into his neck. The other two swiped with their own claws, but Kurt was already out of the way, repeatedly beating the first one with his horse shoes until the dog's face was completely covered.
After that, Kurt thrust both hind legs back in a powerful buck. The bigger dog caught both hooves in the chest with a sickening crunch before dropping to the ground as well.
The third, smaller one was petrified within microseconds. Kurt turned his attention to the third dog, and rose his forelegs into the sky before slamming down. After which, he lunged at the dog in a destructive headbutt. The third dog got cracked in the face by said headbutt.
The fight was quick. As Kurt galloped off, he overheard the first one groan "Next time, we'll find more vulnerable-looking ones." The voice was a lot more raspy, as if Kurt actually did some permanent damage to the dog's voice box.
Unfortunately, the AWOL guard didn't have time to worry about the well-being of... well, anyone right now. Kurt galloped at a good speed through the canyon, trying to find a way back up. There didn't appear to be any for the next... well, it felt like a mile. He slowed down as he started looking for areas in the stone walls that looked capable of holding a fully-grown fighting horse.
Attempting to climb proved difficult, but the guard managed to make it at least several meters up. Unfortunately, the fog made it impossible to see the front of his own snout. Kurt had to resort to feeling for a good, solid place to plant a horse shoe safely.
He climbed slowly, but surely. His internal clock burned out as he concentrated entirely on getting out of the valley without incident. He wasn't even sure if it was nighttime again or whatever.
Fortunately, it was around noon by the time he broke through the top of the river of fog. The sun was in the dead center of the sky from Kurt's perspective. He didn't pay attention to it. He didn't think Princess Celestia was that powerful as to determine the exact location of anypony by just hovering the sun in an area... Even though she is basically the pony deity.
Kurt ached. He just wanted to get out of the forest at this point. The adrenaline rush had worn out long ago and he felt just as he did before he passed out the first time.
He found the path leading away from the ruins pretty easily once he finally got out of the valley. From there, he just walked down the path away from the ruins. Kurt didn't care if he was spotted anymore. He's had too much bad luck the entire time.
Hours passed as he limped his aching legs down the path, hopefully leading out of the forest. Kurt later stopped at a river. Off in the distance, a serpent leaned on a small cliff side, snoring.
Kurt took a few laps of the river before attempting to cross it. As he waded through the water, he kept an eye to the sky, watching for other search parties. The skies were completely clear. Did they give up on finding him? Did something of greater importance take priority to them?
If the latter, what could be more important than reclaiming an indirect threat to the non-violent society? Did it have to do with that event in the ruins Kurt saw hours earlier? Was that dark mare with the broken armour a greater threat?
Well, Kurt did recall noticing that the dark mare was a unicorn. Perhaps she had unbelievable magical power. An ex-student from that School for Gifted Ponies, perhaps? An ancient heir that lost the throne to her elder? The armour pieces around her looked ancient, after all.
Kurt wasn't quite sure. History was one of his more favoured classes back at school, but nothing he learned involved the depiction of a dark mare with untold power. The only thing that was close was the Rhino Conflict- where a tough warrior attempted to invade Equestria, but was brought down through a combination of tactical prowess from the Guard and Celestia's clever usage of her immensely powerful magic. It was one of Kurt's favourite lessons, probably because it was the most violent one he ever learned about.
Irrelevant, however... Maybe he was reading the wrong history book.
Kurt stopped his train of thought to notice that he collapsed on the other side of the river. He cursed himself for not noticing the coldness of the water didn't juxtapose well with his more than warmed-up muscles and joints.
He massaged his legs with his hooves, then pulling himself under a thicket, he resumed the massage in the safety of shelter. After all, Kurt couldn't be sure if the other guards had really given up on him.
The thicket itself seemed like a good enough place to rest regardless. Kurt lay down after massaging his seized-up muscles and closed his eyes.
---
He came to a few hours before the sun came down. Rather, he was woken up by that giant serpent in the distance... What was he doing, anyway? Whooping over a mustache?
Kurt didn't care at the moment. The last thing he wanted to do was attract the attention of a giant creature that could easily be seen by even the most distant search parties. He crawled out of the thicket and continued down the narrow path.
The canopy thickened as he trotted along with his still-sore legs. They weren't as messed up as when he first clambered out of the valley, but sore nonetheless.
His sense of time was out of sync. It should've been going dark, but it was still mid-afternoon. Then again, the night did seem to last much longer than usual... Or did it? Kurt wasn't sure anymore.
What exactly happened while he was hiding, anyway? Did it have anything to do with those ponies at the ruins? What was that purple filly's part in the whole debacle?
What were the search parties doing? Despite his continued practice of caution, Kurt couldn't help but notice that he had not seen or heard any voices beyond the serpent, the zebra, and whatever went on in the ruins ever since his encounter at the waterfall. He hadn't heard any shouting despite resorting to walking on what he assumed was the main path between the ruins and a way out of the Everfree Forest.
As Kurt walked, the sky vanished from view; it was replaced with the utter darkness of the underside of the canopy. There were specks of light in the distance- obviously the way out of this thick section of forest.
Kurt watched his step, checking the ground for every hoof he placed.
It was dark. Very dark. More hours seem to pass. The light at the end of the dark area seemed to dim, indicating that the sun was starting to go down.
Kurt picked up the pace, while still remaining aware of the terrain. It was beginning to strain on his stamina- especially considering he had been in Everfree for... about three days, almost constantly on the move with only quick rest stops. Well, the rest stops were actually pretty good. What was Kurt missing?
It then occurred to him: he was worried about Cornelius. How was Cor going to take this? What would the Commander or Baton say? Would they fabricate some false truth to make Kurt seem like an enemy to the state? No matter which way Kurt could imagine they would explain this to his younger brother, the colt would be devastated.
Kurt stopped to sit down and massage his sore muscles and joints. Pain flooded every inch of his body, but he knew that was a good sign- that he was healing around the clock.
Another hour passed. Kurt spent that time wondering what they would do with Cor in response to this. It would be easy to consider him an orphan. After all, their parents were always busy at other big Equestrian cities. He suddenly started regretted his decision to try to avoid visiting as much as possible. Kurt knew he was not the best influence for a budding youngster in Canterlot society, but damn it, they were still brothers.
Well, there was no way he could return to Canterlot now. The Royal Guard would be all over him if he even got close to the mountain where the city was built into.
"Where the heck am I?" Kurt asked himself as he stood up from his rest again. It couldn't be any farther to the end of this thick canopy. After a good ten minute gallop, he finally broke free from the artificial nighttime.
The light turned out to be also artificial, of the optical illusion variant. It turned out the sun had set recently. That was short; was Celestia making up for lost time from that longer night, or had Kurt completely lost his sense of time?
He trekked onward through the bottom of another valley. Kurt watched the sides, still wondering if there were still any search parties. There didn't appear to be anything up on either side aside from trees and vines climbing messily down the cliff edges.
Kurt froze when he heard a growl that rumbled the ground. He turned to his front to see a manticore. Feeling like he should make a witty quip to relieve the sudden tension, Kurt instead backed away slowly. He wasn't sure how best to deal with this.
Living in Canterlot gives one a distinct lack of experience in dealing with wild animals... especially larger ones.
There was no way for Kurt to take on this massive scorpion lion, not while he was still sore. It won't stop him from trying; his real objective is getting around the manticore so he could book it to who-knows-where.
Kurt was still nervous. He really didn't want to bite off more than he could chew-
Wait, scratch that. The manticore took a swipe, and that caused his adrenaline to spike. Kurt leaped forward to avoid the claw, and lunged at the Manticore.
With three of his hooves, he managed to grip onto the creature's mane. Kurt then repeatedly swung his free hoof into the manticore's face. He got off several hits before the manticore reared onto its hind legs and started swiping at the proverbial mosquito.
Kurt let go, narrowly evading the one claw that would've hit him. He landed and rolled under the creature's hind legs and ran like the wind. He made good distance before the manticore realised that the pony had escaped.
A deafening roar reached Kurt's ears, so he dared to look back. The manticore was giving chase. He noticed blood flowed from the manticore's snout. Not surprising, those punches weren't pulled. Even though the Manticore made the first attack, it was still peeved off as if it were the victim.
The fighting horse also realised that it was faster.
Kurt had a few seconds before the manticore caught up. He needed an edge, something to get this manticore to stop. He zigzagged around some naturally-formed rock pillars- which were then pulverized by the sheer bulk of the massive manticore.
The pony repeatedly cursed under his breath as he continued to round more rock pillars. In the distance, Kurt spotted a large cliff- a dead end.
Still, there was a lot more room over by the dead end, more room for Kurt to maneuver- which by connection of "being in a fight with" means the manticore also had more room to move with.
Kurt turned around after making it to the center of the large field. The manticore blasted through the last few rock pillars before charging at the pony.
"You really want to do this?" The pony lowered his stance, rearing for an opportunity. The manticore swiftly closed the distance. It raised a claw to strike.
Kurt took this chance, lunging at the manticore's face again. "I will end you!" Kurt barked in a voice he rarely uses as he dug both front hooves into the sides of the Manticore's head. The creature yelped in pain. Its eyes spun off in different directions. Kurt didn't stop from there. He continued pounding the manticore's face until the massive critter finally gave up on standing.
By some instinctual nature to not get beaten, the manticore finally got a good swipe in. Kurt didn't see this one coming, and got gashed across the side. As the manticore ceased its movement, Kurt dropped to the ground, suffering a panic attack.
He's bled before, on account of the bullies back when he lost fights. These were four wounds the likes of which not even the Royal Guard blades could pull off.
The fighting horse screamed, something he didn't think he was capable of doing. Eventually, he regained his composure, taking deep breaths. Breathing started to hurt as well. Just how much damage did that swipe do?
Kurt could feel the wounds, but he couldn't make himself turn his head to see it. He lay on his side for a good few minutes. During which he calmed himself down and regained stamina. Eventually, he summoned the strength to push himself back onto his hooves. His left leg hurt to move, and hurt even more to step with. Kurt kept it in the air, now walking with the other three legs.
Now there was just the question of getting out before the manticore woke up. Kurt didn't know if the massive creature would or could, but he really didn't want to stay and find out.
Kurt limped his way to the cliff. He spotted a ramp leading to the top- which twisted and turned to who-knows-where. The pony sighed, wishing for an actual shortcut. He took another deep breath to avoid another panic attack on account of the gashes, and continued.
Half-way up the cliff, Kurt turned right to look behind him. Surprisingly, there was no blood trail. He didn't dare look at the results of the manticore's good hit regardless. Instead, he clopped forward.
An hour passed. Kurt felt a lot weaker by the time he made it to the top. He cursed to himself repeatedly during the climb, asking himself "Why did you let him make a hit? You're better than that for Equine's Sakes! What the heck is Cor going to think if he sees you again?"
Kurt then started wondering if he ever will see Cor again, or Kaia, or his parents. Would Cor let go in the same fashion as Kurt when Kaia took care of him?
At that point, Kurt realised that his taking care of Cor was parallel with Kaia taking care of him. The sandwich recipe Kurt taught Cor was the same one Kaia taught him.
The pony still pushed forward, hoping to Celestia that he would find the exit soon. Another few hours passed. Eventually, it became morning again. The nighttime frost melted rather quickly, and a light fog flooded the path.
It wasn't thick, so Kurt could still see where he was going. The sun was still not quite up yet, but the sky was still bright.
The contrast of the bright sky with the still-dark forest was what made it more difficult to see. The path was still pretty clean, often-trodden to flatness by passerby ponies or whatever other creature, sentient or otherwise.
As he pondered what manner of creature would've passed by, Kurt realised that he had finally broken out of the Everfree Forest. His face was suddenly covered with an almost maniacal smile.
He jumped in the air on his hind legs, whooping for his victory against the merciless, faceless adversary that covered most of the continent he knew of.
Kurt stopped his makeshift victory dance when he heard a single scream. He turned to the left to see a pale-faced female pony with a breezy pink mane. The ex-guard slowly lowered awkwardly from his hind leg stance, "Is something wrong?" Kurt asked. He then realised the pony wasn't looking at Kurt- well, not his face anyway. Without thinking, Kurt turned to his left.
Four clean gashes. Blood covered a good half of his coat. Kurt flinched, winced from the pain of flinching, and blacked out. The AWOL guard, now fully realising the extent of his injury, just lost all willpower to continue standing. He dropped to his side again- the clean side.