Years went by, and as they did we all learned who we were. We were the Seven that saved Equestria time and time again, but that didn’t mean we didn’t need to save each other every so often. There are many cases of my friends getting captured by villains or in magical comic books and we would all need a helping hand. Even stories of me, becoming captured and, with massive magical resistance, would keep me more than subdued and unable to help. Even a story of one unicorn infamously named King Sombra gathering a massive unicorn army, to capture me and take over my mind. Each one of these stories led to the inevitable defeat of the evil forces. We were like the sun, forever glowing brightly and defeating the retreating shadows of the night as we rose. But things didn’t stay that way. Eventually crime died down within Ponyville. We all began to settle down and do our own thing. Twilight had duties to attend to, her becoming a princess and all, Rainbow Dash finally gained her wish and became a part of the Wonderbolts, Rarity’s boutique exploded into fame, Fluttershy became the nurse of the Everfree forest, Applejack had to take on full responsibility of the farm with Big Mac, and Pinkie Pie had Sugarcube Corner to tend to. They all had something to do, something to come back to everyday, but I didn’t. I couldn’t, more accurately. I was the warrior who kept the Everfree out of Ponyville, but eventually the Everfree was no longer an issue. So instead I had no job to work towards and no dream to follow. I tried to not feel bitter, but my mind began to wander back to when I arrived. Few memories remained in my head of my old world, and whenever I thought of them fear filled my heart. I longed to know why I was so afraid of figuring it out. But it just so happened that one night, I remembered why I feared my past. And that fear was so strong, with nothing to take my mind off of these fears; I was forced to leave Ponyville.
It happened like this. I awoke one night in a cold sweat from a horrid dream I had, but couldn’t quite recall what had happened in it. I sat up, about to hop out of bed and trot to the sink, when another memory flash smashed its way into my brain. I fell to the ground, somehow transforming from pony into human without trying, and sat there helpless, as the memory unfolded in front of me.
There was a crash, and I felt myself getting thrown to the ground, smashing into a brown wall on my way down. A tall man, older, walked up to me and grabbed the front of my shirt.
“When I tell you no, I MEAN IT!” He shouted in my face, throwing me back down.
“How was I supposed to know, I thought you weren’t being serious, like usual!” A high-pitched voice shouted back. It took me a moment, but I realized that voice, it was ME. The man glared at me.
“Get back inside NOW!” He shouted, kicking me on his way back.
I threw my head up again and removed my hands from around my head. I had fallen to the floor, somehow as a human, on my knees, cradling my head in my hands. I stood up shakily, trying to regain my composure. I walked over to the sink and grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and downed the glass with a gulp. I walked to my desk, and tried to start writing a letter to Celestia about my experience, when yet another memory threw me on my knees and left me hopelessly watching the dream unravel.
Now I was in a big wide-open area, filled with lights and people. I was short, and looking around fearfully, about to burst into tears.
“Mommy!” The young me shouted, but no one seemed to notice. I ran around frantically shouting my mother’s name, but to no avail. Then someone taller than me pushed me to the ground, and laughed at me.
“Look boys, we got one crying for his Mommy!” The tall one shouted to the others, as he kicked me hard in my stomach. I started crying again, lying there helplessly as they endlessly kicked and laughed and spat at me.
I stood up, regaining my balance. Were these things what had happened to me as a child? Questions zoomed through my head, and those questions quickly turned into unbearable anger. I cried out an absolutely monstrous scream, and smashed my fists against the desk in front of me, crushing it to pieces. I quickly realized what I had done, and backed up, trying to regain my calm. Just then my front door slammed open, and Twilight rushed in, yelling “Andrew! Are you alright?” I turned around and flew out as fast as I could, unwilling to face Twilight. I knew she would ask what had happened, and I could not talk about it now. Not here. I flew as fast as I could away from my home. Then I heard a boom behind me, and cried out as I felt a speeding Rainbow Dash slam into my back. She tried to catch me, but was unable to due to me being in human form, and I fell to the ground, unable to steady myself again. She and Twilight landed and ran towards me, both having worried looks on their faces. I still couldn’t do it. I stood up and unfurled my wings again, thrusting myself off the ground with enough force to leave a crater behind. Rainbow Dash tried to grab my legs, but missed and fell. I sped along as fast as I could, knowing I couldn’t out fly Rainbow. But she didn’t chase me. Twilight may have realized I didn’t want to be captured, and stopped her. I flew and flew until I reached the ocean, at the edge of the Everfree forest. There, I saw a small grove of oak trees, seemingly untouched by the Everfree, leading to a cliff that had a pleasant view of the sea and the moon. I flew down there, and when I tried to land I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I collapsed on the ground, sobbing unlike I ever had. The fear I had felt from those flashbacks was unbearable, and I knew why. I had overworked myself before, protecting my friends, Ponyville, and Equestria. But going from overworking to not working at all, was too much for my mind to handle, and these memories that would normally not scare me at all, just register as unpleasant memories, now were driving me out of my right mind. I needed a break, and I knew what I had to do. I had to leave Ponyville. I was unable to stand for the longest time, but when I could I was about to fly back to give my final goodbyes, when Twilight landed timidly behind me. I froze, still facing the moon with my head down, as she walked up and sat down gently beside me. A long period of silence followed, but after what seemed like forever she spoke.
“What happened to you?” I Sighed. I knew it was coming. I looked over to her, and she looked at me, concern and worry in her eyes. That alone almost brought me back to tears. My friends… I would have to leave them. Not forever, but who knows how long it would be? I braced myself, and then spoke. “Twilight… I had a few… flashbacks. I remembered the horror of my past. And the problem is… it’s because I have no place in Ponyville anymore. You all have a job… and mine is no longer necessary. And these memories have come back because of what I’ve been sitting with. I won’t go into details… but I want to find a new place. I’m sorry Twilight but I’m going to be leaving.” I stopped, tears once again streaming down my face. Twilight was looking at me with a sorrowful expression, tears also beginning to form on her face.
“Andrew... What do you mean your job isn’t necessary? What memories? What do you mean?” I looked at her.
“Oh come on Twilight! You know that there hasn’t been a single attack at Ponyville for a whole year! And while that's not entirely bad, it has left me with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs and think. Those memories weren’t going to stay locked away forever! And... Well all I will say is that those memories are what caused me to break that table at my house. I just can’t tell you what happened now, its too hard. Please forgive me Twilight, but Ponyville brings memories too strong for me to handle. I can’t stay.”
She looked down, and for a moment I thought she might try and find another way to convince me. But to my surprise, she looked at me, and nodded.
“Its okay Andrew. While I don’t entirely understand, I do know that you look upset enough, and I don’t know where you came from, so I can’t determine what this may look like for you. But I do know that memories are powerful things, especially for someone who doesn’t remember half of his past. I still don’t want you to leave, but I can’t stop you.” She said. She looked up and smiled at me, understanding on her lavender face. I smiled back, and gave her a hug. Twilight understood what I felt. I then pulled out a small, prism- shaped, crystal-like object and handed it to Twilight. Within this small prism was a message I had recorded before, with only some minor changes to match the situation now. Twilight looked at me in confusion.
“What is that?” She asked.
“It is a Voice Spell, press against one side, and you will hear a message I left you, all of you. And it has a location tracker on it, so you will know where I am at any time. The Location Spell only lasts a few days, I don’t know the algorithm to lengthen it. Hopefully I find a place to settle by then. You can visit me when I find that place, anytime. But please be careful. Wouldn’t want any of you getting hurt on the way.” She smiled to me. Then she took a step back, signaling I was free to leave.
“Goodbye Twilight, stay safe.” Were the final words I said, as I flew away into the darkness of the night.
I flew for miles upon miles, watching for any signs of land. After many hours of endless flying, I saw leaves lying in the water, suggesting a forest island. Becoming excited, I pumped my wings faster, and faster, putting all of my strength and focus into flying faster... straight into a tree. I fell to the ground, rubbing my skull in pain as I tried to pull myself to my hooves, and looked around. I was in a large forest, as I would have suspected. I flew up unsteadily, as I was still relatively dizzy from smashing my face against the tree, and looked for any sign of village or settlement. All I saw, was a massive sea of trees for miles. Slowly hovering back to the ground, I thought of which way I wanted to go. Which way would most likely lead to settlements? I thought of where I would put a settlement. The most REASONABLE place to put a settlement would be nearer to food.... but who knows where that would be? And there was an ocean full of freshwater... I shook my head and settled on simply moving forward from the tree I ran into. I was still slightly dizzy, so I decided to walk instead of flying, just to be safe.
I must have walked for hours before I found ANYTHING. But, eventually I found a clearly made path of gravel, leading off to who knows where. Getting my hopes up, I dashed off, galloping off at full speed. But then a dark idea popped into my head, and I paused. What if these ponies were hostile? I was outside of Equestria by now... I had to be. Continuing on, much more calm and cautious this time, I walked along the path, following its windy pathway, and ended up at the bottom of a fairly large hill, that looked like it led off into a large, green valley. I walked up the hill, suspecting that there would at least be SOMETHING here. I know there were civilizations out beyond Equestria... But they were proving hard to find. But there had to be something here, I could just feel it. I finally trudged up to the top of the hill... and gasped at the sight. In front of me, was a large green valley, as I suspected. But, there was a massive village at the bottom, with a skyscraper of a castle in the center. There was another simple gravel pathway leading to the front gates. Trying to contain my excitement, I began to walk towards the gate. Looking around revealed no signs of hostility, so I could only assume that this place was friendly. Upon arriving at the gate, I looked around for a guard or something of the sort. I then whipped around, as I heard the sounds of galloping hooves directly behind me. It was too late to react. A changeling, with an unnaturally strong magical ability, cast a spell to try and disable me. It hit directly in the face, and I went flying back against the bars of the gates. I tried to stand up, but a changeling bashed his shield into my forehead, and I passed out.
I awoke in a stone walled room, a jail cell. When I stood up, I saw two guards standing outside the bars. I looked around, confused. I felt weak, but there were no unicorns or changelings outside the cell, and there was no aura around the cell to suggest it was enchanted... Plus even if it WAS enchanted, it wouldn’t be strong enough to contain me. I tried teleporting outside the cell, only to find that I couldn’t muster any magical strength at all. There was a small window that was barred off on the back wall. Looking outside it, I noticed there was a crowd of at least fifty changelings, all with their heads down, and all with their horns glowing bright green. They were pointed at me. So that was why I couldn’t use magic. These magicians were casting counter-spells, and I couldn’t combat them. The only thing I could do was use low-magic spells, which never provided any usefulness in these situations. But even with the magicians down below, I should still have my strength... Then I looked at the guards glowing horns. They were casting against my strength. Then, Chrysalis walked up to my cell. I snarled at her.
“Why such a mean face?” She said, a devious look on her face. “You were found here, in MY home, so it was only fair that I make sure you don’t screw it up!” She said. She then walked off, as she saw that I refused to talk. I had to escape. Looking around the cell, I saw a brick loose in the left wall. Quietly walking over, I pulled against the brick and it gave way. I heard hooves on the other side, and then a blue pony with deep blue eyes looked through the hole. She whispered through the crack.
“Who are you?” She said. I was surprised to hear her voice was very smooth, almost like a song.
“I’m Andrew. I was from Ponyville, but I left and went to find a new place to live. Until I came upon here, and-”
“SHUT UP!” Said the guards, clearly trying to intimidate me. I looked at her, and whispered very quietly “Wait.” I then held out my hoof, and focused as much magic as I could muster into teleporting my pen and paper into my hoof. I was pleasantly surprised when I succeeded. It was a trick Twilight taught me, how to teleport items to wherever I needed them. It was a highly efficient spell, that used very little magical focus. But it took everything I had to cast it against the guards below. I wrote on the notepad,
“Chrysalis captured me, and now I’m stuck here. But, I have a plan to try and get us out of here. But I need time to do it.”
I then closed the book and shoved it through the hole. It just barely fit. I then put the pen through, but I sat it in the hole so she wouldn’t have to pick it up in the corner of the cell. I heard writing on the other side, and then the book came through the hole once again, followed by the pen.
“How do you plan on escaping when you have no magic? I saw them prepare the magical changelings before you arrived. By the way, my name is Constantine.”
I read the note, and thought over my plan. If this didn’t work, it could be risky. But it’s the only shot we have. I picked up the pen and wrote,
“You’ll See. If it doesn’t work, at the very least they won’t do anything to you. It’s better as nothing. Also, to make it easier for me to remember, may I call you Sera?”
I looked over the note. I can’t quite tell why I thought it was so important to me to protect her, but I felt her life was now in my hands as much as her own. I passed the book over, and winked to her through the hole. Then, I stood up, and trotted over to the cell door.
“What do you want?” The guards asked me. I gave a devious smile, and then spoke in a quiet, focused voice.
“I would like, to tell a story to you. Would you like to listen?” I said. The guards whipped around, and stared at me. Then they smiled, and in unison said “Yes!” I smiled. It worked! It looks like these guards aren’t skilled enough to realize that I was enchanting my words, secretly influencing them to release the spell. I told them a story about a changeling who was captured within a pony dungeon, and was trying to escape. After the story was done, they actually clapped their hooves together, These guards have NO mental ability. I smiled at them.
“I am glad you enjoyed the story, ask me tomorrow if you would like to hear another.” They both eagerly nodded, and turned back to their stations. It worked flawlessly. The spell had been weakened! I walked to the hole, and took the notepad. I wrote,
“See? We should be out of here within a week.”
I sent the notepad and pen over, and waited for a response. Within moments the notepad and pen came through the hole again.
“ I don’t know how you did that, but if it gets us out of here, then please continue. By the way, Sera is a very pretty name.”
I smiled through the hole, and she smiled back. Then I walked to the small cot, and lye down, Thinking of a story to tell tomorrow.
One story a day, I whittled down the guards spell against my strength, and every day I marked the position of where the changeling guards below me in my mind. I would need to remember that if I was to escape. Upon the conclusion of the final story, I felt the spell broke. The guards were ecstatic, sitting in front of the barred door.
“That was amazing! Where did you get these stories?” They asked. Smiling, I responded “When you want to escape, you find a way to trick people.” The guards looked at me confused, but it was too late for them. I smashed my back hooves against the gate, sending it and the guards flying back against the wall. Running out of the cell, I felt my magic return as the magicians below lost focus as their target moved out of range. Before they could recast, I sent a wave of pure energy in their direction and waited. When the spell wasn’t recasted, I ran to Sera’s cell and told her to stay back. I then transformed into human form, and pulled against her cell door, tearing it from the wall. I then took a good look at the pony I was saving. She was a pegasus, with immaculate blue eyes and a beautiful blue coat. I found myself unable to pull my gaze from her eyes for a moment. She smiled at me, and laughed. I guessed she realized I was staring at her. I blushed. Then I heard guards behind us, and said “We need to go, now.” She nodded, and we both ran from the cell room.
We both bolted down the corridors, eventually getting lost in them all. The castle was absolutely massive, and since we were both unconscious when we were brought to our cells, we knew nothing of the location of our exit. The guards have long since alerted the entire castle of our escape, and we could hear bells being rung outside. I had tried to smash through the wall, but whoever created this castle, they made it brute-proof. No matter how hard I smashed and kicked at the wall, it refused to give. With my feet sore from smashing, we had decided to try and just escape from the exit. We only ran into three guards, and as soon as they saw us they ran down the corridor. We tried to follow, but they used teleportation magic, and the corridors were using special enchantments that prevented any use of magic that didn’t have a changeling tagged to it. I tried to fake a changeling tag, but I wasn’t able to produce a realistic fake apparently. So we continued to run along the corridors, hoping to find a way out. I was expecting a mob at the exit of the maze, otherwise why would the guards be retreating? Cautiously I slowed Sera, and we crept up to the next turn, as we saw some natural light coming from the other side. I told her to stay put behind the wall, thrown back as a combat spell, I wasn’t able to figure out which one, hit me directly in the face with unnatural force. If I had been a normal human, my head might not be on my body at the moment. I tried to get to my feet, expecting another attack. As I raised my head, I saw a changeling lunging at me, spells ready. I was surprised to find that it was the same spell they used to knock me out before. Before I was able to react, the spell hit me straight in the chest. But, I felt fine. Surprised, I looked at the guard, who was staring at me in fear. I grinned, and lunged at him. After a few punches to the face, he was down. I looked up, and saw a massive wall of changeling guards, glaring at me. Then, Chrysalis landed exactly in front of me, making me stumble backwards. I stared at her, my face only slightly taller than her own in my human form. She grinned deviously. Suddenly I heard Sera shriek, and I whipped my head back. The guards had enveloped her in a levitation spell. I glared at them.
“What are you gonna do, Puny Pony?” Chrysalis and her guards hissed. Hearing them all taunt me at once, something... snapped. With a murderous cry of anger, I sent two shockwave spells at the guards holding Sera, and they both were knocked unconscious as they were smashed against the wall. These spells also propelled me to Chrysalis, and I slammed my fist into her ugly face. She cried out, and backed away in pain. That was my opportunity! I ran back to Sera, and picked her up. I unfurled my wings, and took off with enough force to leave a sizable crater behind.
Sera then proceeded to lead me to her home town. During the flight there, she seemed... uneasy. I don’t quite know why, but I felt it too. It was a feeling of affection towards her. We both got back to the town without much trouble. Upon landing there, the doors of the townsfolk burst open and heads popped out in surprise. I set Sera down, and tried to be cool as the crowd stared me down. Then, the silence of the crowd was replaced by cheering, as the townsfolk ran towards Sera and hugged her. I smiled, couldn’t help it. I then began to turn around, only to hear Sera yell out “Wait!” I turned back, and saw Sera galloping towards me. She stared up at me, her eyes sincere.
“Thank you for saving me, but do you have to leave? You said you were looking for a new place. Couldn’t you live here?” I thought a moment. Then, I jumped up, transforming into pony form before I landed. Then I looked into her shining, blue, beautiful eyes, and said, “I was looking for a new place to live. It would be to my great pleasure, to live here.” She smiled at me, and gave me a hug. The townsfolk all cheer and run towards us in a massive group hug. I felt so welcome... While I still miss Twilight and the others, this town was going to be my new home, and I was pleasantly excited to see what this town had to offer.
Within weeks, I had my own home, and was known by all. Sera had told the librarian of the town about my storytelling, and offered me to tell stories to the children every day. I gladly accepted, and soon enough the children made a habit of walking to the library each day and listen to my wondrous stories. It was everything I could have wished for in a new home. New friends, new people, new ways. Sera and I spent progressively more time together, and each time we got together her pristine eyes sparkled with glee, and each time we left each other I swore I saw sadness in her eyes. But there was one thing no one could figure out for the longest time. The townsfolk didn’t know what to call me, because I didn’t want them to know who I really was. Sera, then came up with the name I still use today.
“Do you have any ideas Sera?” I had asked. She smiled, and said this; “I know exactly what to call you. It fits you so well! You should go by the name, Captured Narrator!”
I smiled. I liked that name. I looked to the librarians, and they nodded.
“I like that name Sera. So its settled. My name, is the Captured Narrator.”