//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The One-Way Door 
// by Bright Keys 
//------------------------------//

Dune bounded around a corner in the rainy street, crashing into some barrels that were sitting outside a shop. He stood up quickly, shaking off the pain and loose splinters. Everything was blurring together as the rain poured heavily, only adding to his inability to escape. His pursuers were the city guards and from the looks of it, if he didn’t find a way to escape immediately he would be captured. He turned multiple corners, before he came to a dead end.
“This way!” he heard one of the guards shout. He looked around frantically for a way to escape, when he saw his reflection in the window of the shop to his right, his face terrified and his coat and mane soaked, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was a reflective surface. Without a second thought, the telltale purple tint in his eyes grew stronger and he pushed his hoof through the glass as if it were water, he put in his other hoof and hauled himself in as the glass rippled like mercury and he disappeared. He took a deep breath as he knew no one could follow him within this plane of existence. He slowly walked through the unchanging air. Everywhere around him was pure darkness, other than a few mirror like places.
“Sometimes it’s great to have Mirror Walking.” He told to no one, his voice fading off into the void. He continued to walk for a long distance, but with the void it was hard to tell, before he came across a larger window or mirror, before slowly walking through it, the rain now lighter than before. He was about to continue walking, when he heard a gravelly voice.
“Halt or we’ll shoot.” he froze and turned to see others of the guards who had been chasing him. He stood there still his eyes wide, he was trapped and those rifles were loaded, other than Mirror Walking he wasn’t any different than any other pony. He had to surrender.
“Don’t shoot!” Dune said, raising his hooves in front of his face. “I’ll go quietly.” One guard moved forward, but the rest did not lower their guns. He put cuffs around the pony’s hooves they were ice cold, sending a shiver through Dune. It wasn’t the kind of cold from cold metal, something was in the cuffs and he didn’t like it. The guard shoved him forward.
“Move.” he ordered as they all moved forward, the guards now having the guns resting against each of their shoulders with a special strap. Dune knew they weren’t put away, they could be fired within a second, just as deadly as if they were still holding them.
“Are the shackles really necessary? I’m a Mirrorwalker. I use my powers in the rain and I might as well be standing in front of a firing squad.” Dune said with a slight smirk as he regained his footing. The guard frowned shoving Dune forward.
“Silence.” he growled as they continued to walk, citizens watched some with concern or worry, but most seemed to be whispering of their ideas of what was going on.
“Y’know, maybe if you guys stop treating it as a punishment and trying to shoot us, we might just go in willingly, just saying.” Dune said jokingly, continuing along with the guards. The guard shoved him forward harder, almost causing Dune to trip over the cuffs.
“I said silence. Don’t make me repeat it again.” the guard threatened, a hard edge to his voice daring the other to even try. Dune said nothing more, but remained smiling as he followed the guards towards his fate. The guards lead him into an automobile, before they went away. The town and trees passed outside of the panes. They slowly made it out of town a good distance away to the point where Dune was unsure of where they were. The finally arrived at a large, fenced in red brick mansion with a plaque on one of the walls that turned Dune’s blood to ice.
“I-I thought there was a prison in Canterlot.” He stuttered. The guard scoffed, before turning his head, chin pointed up
“Oh, we know about you Dune. You’re getting special treatment, you should feel honored.” he snarled, an edge of harsh humor to his voice as the others chuckled mockingly.
“Yeah. Honored.” Dune said quietly with a nervous laugh as the automobile rolled past the gate. It came to a stop outside the main entrance, and another guard walked out of the Facility.
“Who is it you’ve brought to us this time?” He asked, his voice just as harsh, but not quite so official as the rest of the guards. The guard shoved Dune forward out of the carriage, causing him to almost trip.
“The great and famous Dune. Finally caught him.” the guard responded, a smug smirk on his lips.
“I thought he’d be more… intimidating based on the reports.” The guard replied, sizing up Dune. The guard shook his head in a negative, before nudging the prisoner towards the prison before them. “Well bring him in, if he even if it is him, he won’t be escaping anytime soon.” Dune followed the guard into a cramped entry hall with a gated office on one side, no doubt where the guard currently guiding him was normally stationed. They continued down the hall until they started to pass cement walls and different rooms, barred with ponies inside. They all looked... Lifeless. Dune followed, fear and disgust clearly evident on his face. He thought about running, but where to? There were no mirrors around, and without one, he’d be shot by the second guard following them before he could get anywhere. The guards nudging him along finally stopped, as one pulled out a set of keys and opened one of the prison rooms. If it could be called that. The guard right behind him shoved him in, the two following him in.
“Is there an introduction you want to give me?” Dune asked.
“In a way.” The first guard spoke, turning to the guard beside him and nodding. The other guard nodded, before hitting Dune in the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking Dune to the floor. The two guards stood above him as stars danced in Dune’s vision.
“Get used to it. It’ll be the first of many.” The first guard spoke offhandedly, as the other guard grinned and hit Dune again with the rifle, this time knocking him out cold.