//------------------------------//
// That's One For The Books 
// Story: Tales of a Lonely Pony 
// by Echo Montana Juliet 
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	He left the house. It was growing dark now, and he needed to find a way to the castle. the road was empty, so he decided to try and perform another spell that would change his speech patterns. Make sure that even if they recognized his face,or made the argument he actually had dyed his coat, his voice would be completely unrecognizable. The castle was lit up like a disco, or at least what he remembered of the disco age, back when he was just a colt. Remembering the only time he'd been to a disco rink, fell on his flank as soon as he got the skates on. He shook his head, and walked further, towards the castle. There were guards, just marching around the castle. It was like Prince Armor was afraid that'd he was an assassin. Survivalist, not quite in line with the term "Killer", however one does what they must to survive, but no more and no less. Wearing his gray golf cap and full body smock, he tricked the guards and walked on in. Gave them a fake alias. A fake address. Whatever they needed, he could lie about it. No ponies stopped him when he got inside. No greater security precautions. He began to think of ways he could mess with Armor, but decided that wouldn't be the best idea. He just needed to become a close friend of Armor, and convince Armor that he was no threat, and should just let it go. Was not going to be the easiest task. From what he could see out the window, it was getting late. He would have to leave soon, so he snuck through various passages to the throne room and came to the wall where the hole had been. He spoke the words to open the hole back up, and walked into the chamber. Now, instead of being pitch black, it was filled with the blue torches like he'd used on the other side. He looked at the walls, and noticed some pictures on the walls. Pictures of black crystals like those on the obelisk, as well as a strange black cloud lingering over what looked like the Crystal Kingdom. Then there was a picture without the black cloud, but instead the Crystal Kingdom with the star & shield next to the crystal heart above it. Next to it was the same picture, but what appeared to be a crack starting to run down between the shield and the heart. He started to walk around the obelisk, reciting the words on it, and walked to the mirror. When it didn't perform the strange motion it would go through on the other side, he walked around it again and spoke the words again. Still the plate wouldn't move. He gave up and walked out into the throne room. Still empty, luckily. He looked out the window, and saw the wall. It was at this point he'd made a realization.

"Maybe, if I want to be home... then whatever powers that control the obelisk, will send me back. That seems to be the case."

He continued to stare out the window, and noticed it was dark. Then he thought back to the previous times he's been sent back.

"Okay, so it has to be night too? I think that sums it up. I have to want to be home, and it has to be night. Strange condition, but it works."

He looked back to the throne. It was still set up to be Prince Armor's and his Mare friend's thrones.

"Bugger! How the-? No pony could possibly build a wall in less than an hour!"

The door to the outside hall began to open up. He ran to the brick wall and closed it behind him. He stared at the wall for the longest time. He stood there trying to make sense of how that wall was constructed. Was it really just a hour? His father built the other wall with twenty earth ponies, eleven pegasi, and nineteen unicorns. It took him a month or two. Clearly this place was more prosperous, and could afford more workers. Maybe it was built over a few days. He remembers how Armor had said something about him being gone for days, rather than just hours.

"This obelisk is going to send me to the nearest insane asylum if I can't figure out what's happening. I am still disguised, so maybe I can become some high ranking official in his court. Start from the bottom and trot my way up to the top."

By adding a few words to the opening sentence, it created an illusion wall. Engaging the cloaking spell, he walked out. The sun had risen, and only Prince Armor's mare friend was in the throne room. No guards. No other ponies. Even using his lesser echolocation powers he'd developed during his time lost in a cave he'd stumbled upon in the forest all those years ago, it was only the pink mare. He needed her trust. he stood in the middle of the room, released the spell early and bowed. Her eyes had widened, but she did not yell or speak.

"Sorry if I startled you, princess. I wanted to ask you a question, and could not think of a better way to get it to you."

She still sat quietly on her throne, she didn't seem as frightened, which encouraged him.

"I wanted to know more about this gray character that Prince Armor has everypony on the lookout for. the guards won't tell me much, and I heard you might know something."

She sat silently for a moment, eyes closed. When she opened them, she replied.

"Well, first, tell me your name."

"It's-"

he stopped for a moment. He couldn't quite recollect his name. He remembered the rabbit's called him Snowy, but that was his rabbit name. She might know he's not being truthful.

"Sir, what is your name?"

"It's- It's- I... can't seem to recall. I have friends that called me Snowy for the longest time. Does that please you, milady?"

"Well, Snowy, I'm afraid I don't know much about the gray fellow. Just that he's escaped our prison multiple times in the past few weeks, and that he's stayed out of sight since last week."

"What about those times he's jumped from the castle?"

"Well, what about them?"

"How did your guard not manage to catch him? He was inside the castle and managed to escape. Not to mention he fell many stories and survived."

"Well, I've only seen a glimpse of the stallion, but he seems to move quite fast."

"What got him in trouble in the first place?"

"He ran from our guards, and broke a hole in the throne room right there."

She pointed to the wall where the hidden door was. He needed to act more ignorant to see if he could get her to start thinking more.

"So, why did he break the wall down?"

She looked at him for a second, then to the wall.

"Well, I think he was trying to get out of the chamber that lay behind the wall."

"Why, that doesn't sound right. He'd have to have been there for, hundreds, if not thousands of years."

She rubbed her head and sat silently for a while longer. She had a short laugh and spoke again.

"Well, if he's been there for a thousand years, he's been their since King Sombra died. Maybe it's a chamber that fulfills nightmares that Sombra had him try."

"Who's King Sombra?"

He shut up immediately. The princess just stared at him for the longest time. They stood silently, staring at each other.

"Well... King Sombra was the original ruler of the Crystal Kingdom. Under his rule the lives of those ponies here was miserable. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had vanquished him, but his ghost remained and tormented the ponies here. Me and Shining Armor along with his sister Twilight and her friends helped send him away for good, hopefully."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I just recently moved to here, so I didn't have time to catch up on the history of this place."

"It's okay, Snowy. Now you'd better scamper off before Prince Armor shows up and tries his luck again."

"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I trust you more than my husband does, Snowy, and I definitely see past disguises better than him. I won't tell him that you were here. Now go to your father, he's at the wall outside constructing it."

"Thanks, princess-"

"Cadence. My name is Cadence. You'll have to tell me more about where you come from, seeing as you know about Shining Armor and not me."

"Same time?"

"Sure, just don't sneak up on me like that. Nearly called the guards and had you killed."

He shivered, bowed, and entered the secret passage behind the throne. As he walked out of the castle, he thought to himself about what Princess Cadence had said. About it being a nightmare chamber, and that it had been fulfilling his nightmare. It couldn't be, seeing as he has memories from before entering the castle. He visited the wall. Weeks had apparently passed while he was in the obelisk room, which would help explain the progress at which the wall was being built. just a small section lay open, and there they were placing a giant wooden door. The walls were significantly taller too. Any taller and you wouldn't see the castle tip. The walls were made from crystals, instead of the masonry of his own walls. He'd found his father sitting on the battlements of the wall, looking out into the quiet snow fields.

"Hey, Thompson, you got a minute?"

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"So, this is a pretty big door. how do you plan on opening it and closing it?"

"I got my ways."

"You mean those special words you enchanted the wall with?"

"How did you know?"

"Come on, think about it, dad."

Thompson chuckled a bit.

"Clever boy. Didn't recognize you with that color on you."

"Clever? That's what I was trying for."

"Take a seat, boy. Tell me your story."

He sat next to his father, overlooking the snow land before him.

"So, how are you?"

"I'm well. So far the only pony I haven't fooled is the princess."

"I can understand that. Once you get captured by an evil shape-shifting ass, you become more caution of who everypony is."

"Wait, what?"

"Story for another day, kid."

"Okay then. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine. Almost finished the wall for Shining Armor."

"Why's he building it?"

"To make sure you can't get out."

"Well, clearly it's not going to work out well for him if I can stand on it."

"Yes. That's fairly certain. You should run along though. I hear he has spies around now, for fear you're plotting against him."

"Strange thought. All I did was come out of a wall. I've done nothing really illegal other than that."

"True. Now go. Not to the cottage though.  My grandfather's cabin is out in the snow. About a mile just out in front of us. If you're the same on both ends, you'll make it."

Thompson patted him on the back, and then his son walked away. Then a new voice was heard. It sounded like the prince. He heard his rabbit name.

"Snowy, look."

He turned around to see Prince Armor holding his father over the edge of the wall. There was some kind of evil in his eyes. Torturing evil. Similar to that of Iron Hoof's eyes. He stood, eyes wide as Prince Armor threw his father into the snow. he ran at Prince Armor in rage, but Armor had teleported away. He looked over the edge. His father's faint yelling could still be heard just before he hit the snow. Might as well have been concrete. His tear ducts had been permanently frozen shut from all those years in the cold. Permafrost sealed his emotions. All that remained of his sadness was ash from his birth-ritual. Clouds of ash poured from his mouth. He ran across the wall, a trail of smoke behind him. He couldn't handle his fathers death. Not again. He knew there was no way he could leave the wall a normal way, but the fall would leave something on him broken, even if it was snow. He heard guards after him. He ran blindly from the ash, but when he looked, there were guards running at him from both directions. He jumped.