Chapter Four: A betrayal of the Heart
My eyes opened.
Light surrounded me.
I was alive.
I opened my lungs and swallowed air as if i hadn't breathed in years, my body instinctively sprang up as I swiveled my head around to gather my bearings.
I was on a large, grassy hill overlooking a large town. It was around midday and ponies of all colors walked through what looked to be a market in the center of the town, the market was held in front of a looming town hall, as if warning any potential thieves about the police presence nearby.
Where the hell am I? I asked myself, getting up slowly
I instinctively walked towards the nearby town, pulling on my hood and almost disregarding any attempt to disguise myself, something I would come to regret later. As I reached the outskirts of the town I stepped onto a smooth cobblestone pathway and walked down a street with two-story buildings flanking me. The streets were deserted apart from a few ponies who had not gone to the market that day, none of them glanced twice my way. A hooded earth pony came running down the street and bumped into my shoulder, knocking my hood and me off balance as I snapped my head to my right and saw underneath the hood. The pony that had ran into me was a black mare, a little bit older then me, her eyes widened when she saw my face, but that only lasted an instant as we both regained our balance. The mare took off faster then I could have imagined, sprinting down the street again.
"Hey its generally good manners to say sorry after you knock someone over!" I yelled at her before turning and continuing towards the market "jeez whats her problem?" I mumbled before pulling my hood back up.
After a few minutes I made it into the market, it was grander then I had imagined. Merchants of all trades sold their wares, making a hefty sum of bits in the process. I started exploring the market, looking at the different merchants different goods. Eventually I found my way over to a stall where a strong, blue earth pony was selling many different sorts of armor and weapon sets.
"Come one come all to Midnight Steel's armor shop!" he shouted with a heavy accent to the mass crowd of ponies around the market "it is dangerous along the roads of Equestria without proper protection! You could be eaten by monster or much worse without my tools!"
"Umm..." I said as I reached the counter "what sorts of-"
"Looking to become a guard? One must have weapon before one can protect those he loves"
"Hello I-"
"Or are you looking to pick up a mare friend? I know a few friends who could use-"
'ARE YOU GONNA SIT HERE YELLING OR SERVE ME!?" I yelled at the startled blacksmith
"Uhh...yes, sir what is it that you need?" he asked me uncertainly
"I need armor, preferably something light and protective if you've got it" I said, getting straight to the point
"Ahh yes you need speed no? Well don't worry I have just the thing for you!" he said excitedly. Midnight steel then turned around and grabbed a set of brown armor from a nearby shelf and put it on the counter. "Okay that'll cost you-" He was cut short as I threw a large purse of bits on the counter.
"Keep the change" I said turning away to explore the rest of the market as the blacksmith stared at the bulging purse of coins. I had paid him around double the price he wanted but only because I didn't want to wait there counting out bits, I needed to find out where I was and get back on the road I needed to be on quickly.
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I explored the market for about another hour before I saw a couple of white guards patrolling the market, their gold armors shining a bright in the midday sun. I cautiously did a loop around them and continued on my path before I saw another pair. I quickly turned my head around and noticed about another seven or eight pairs of guards patrolling the market.
What the hell is going on here?
I turned my head to the left and saw a pair of Pegasi asking a couple of unicorns some questions, one of them held up a picture and motioned at it with his hoof, I strained my eyes and looked and the picture before reacting with horror at who was on the picture.
It was me.
I quickly walked towards the end of the market, trying not to arouse any suspicion, my heart pumped like a drum in my chest and I got closer and closer to my goal. I was almost there before I realized the trap I was in. The guards has boxed in the section of the market that I was in, making any escape attempt impossible. I looked around, desperately trying to find a gap, there was none.
"Well, well what do we have here?" a voice from behind me rang, I felt a tug from my hood and immediately turned and slammed my hoof into the guards stomach, he buckled instantly as I swiveled around on my back hooves to elbow his partner in the face. They dropped to the ground instantly.
"Well that worked better then expected" I said before pulling the newly brought armor out of my saddlebags and donning it. "If only I could fly, I would be outta here by now"
I trotted around the small, closing in square for an escape route, there was nothing. Slowly, the market ponies were allowed through the blockade after being thoroughly searched, I was running out of time. I started to panic, the blockade was only about twenty-five meters away from where I was standing,
C'mon c'mon think Blaze! I screamed to myself, the wall was drawing near. I was just about to give up all hope as my eyes spotted a large, circular trapdoor in a small "alley" between two stands, I rushed over to it and just managed to pry it open, I lifted the cover up and flipped it over, I was about to jump in when a familiar voice stopped me.
"Don't do it Lightning Blaze, you're trapped, jus-just give up, you can't run from the crimes you've committed" The voice was feminine and it almost sounded...regretful, I stopped in horror as soon as I heard the voice
No...no it can't be her! Anyone but bucking her! I turned slowly, standing in front of me was Arctic Heart
I froze up, I was unable to move or speak due to my surprise, she looked down at the ground in front of her.
"Please Blaze just...give up" she pleaded, trying to persuade me, " I don't want to see you or anypony else get hurt so please just give up" silence echoed throughout the market, it took me several minutes before I gave my answer
"I'm sorry Heart" I started, forcing myself not to give in "but I can't" as soon as I said the words I fled to the other end of the alleyway into a large square, I heard several loud clanks of metal as dozens of guard ponies surrounded me in a large circle and pointed their spears inwards towards me.
"Oh you have gotta be fucking kidding me" I said, looking around. I knew there was no escaping this one, I had been caught like a mouse in a trap
"I'm sorry Blaze" Heart said, walking into the circle from the alleyway "but I'm arresting you for the murder of two guards ponies a-and treason"
I knew there was no way out, I would be brought to Canterlot for fair trial and then killed before I got the chance to do anything, probably a "he died of natural causes" case. I started to panic.
"You don't understand what you're doing!" I shouted "If I go back there they'll kill me!"
"Blaze we don't do executions in Equestria"
I laughed "You think they'd make it an execution? I'll die before I even get to stand trial!"
"Blaze, I'm sorry but you're coming back to Canterlot, you are to face a fair trial to judge what you punishment is for the crimes you have committed" she looked down, turned and left the circle
"What fucking crimes? I didn't fucking do anything!" I screamed after her "You may as well just sentenced me to death!" I felt a small tingling sensation as my body started to slow down, I was falling asleep! The guards must have put a spell on me! My vision became blurry and my limbs barely supported my weight, I blinked twice before I gave in to the magic.
I was going back to Canterlot, back to the people who tried to have me killed. But this time I would already be in their grasp, this time I wouldn't have a chance to escape.