//------------------------------// // Chapter 29; Jail is Boring Without Friends // Story: The Wander Through Lands Unknown // by Tomas Lutwig //------------------------------// Pressing my face up to the cool metal of the cell door, I looked out at my newest friend. The silent guard stood there like he had the past few hours while I had tried to talk to him, curious of what was going on in the world. “Uhg!” I groaned, pulling away from the door and walking back to the dimly glowing mural I had left on the wall, drawn the previous year by Celestia. Pulling out my orange chalk, I started repairing some of the damage time did. A sigh escaped me as I saw that a good portion of the top was destroyed, as I couldn't reach it. While it was a nice piece of art, I also kept it around for the fact that it brought more light into my cell beyond that which the torch outside radiated. Putting the chalk away, sat down on the floor and took off my boots. The stone was cold to my feet, but did my best to ignore the feeling as I crossed my legs and closed my eyes. I focused on the blackness my eyelids gave me as I tried to meditate, having remembered that it was supposed to give some kind of inner peace or help you focus, though my attempts mainly centered on hopes for the focus aid. The first few days I had done so seemed to help. Adding to my normal routine, I would exercise, then I would meditate. Normally if my friends were going to make an appearance, by the time I was done meditating they would arrive, though the Solar Diarch and my guard companion had been curiously absent for the past few days. While I sat up with my back straight, I felt other parts of my body start to relax, shaking my mind from the feeling, I focused on the blackness behind my eyelids again. I found that my previous guard training aided in my endeavor, though sounds I hadn't noticed before were brought to my attention, along with an itch on my nose. After a few more minutes passed, I let out a calm breath and opened my eyes. Focusing on the cool feeling, which now seemed ever present in my chest, I felt it spread to my hands and watched as the yellow aura sparked into existence once again. For a few moments I simply kept my attention on keeping the aura alive, a feat done much easier than my initial attempt, before looking to the pile of hay and raising one of my hands. The feeling felt more natural after the many failed attempts, though there was still a strain as a good size clump of the hay lifted into the air surrounded by the same yellow aura as my hands. Slowly, I drew the clump of hay towards me before moving it slowly around the room, strain building up in the back of my head before I brought it back over to the remainder of the pile and as slowly as the pressure would allow I lowered it back to it's place. Letting out a breath of relief I laid down and watched the aura surrounding my hands dissipate. My mind sang with relief making me smile and close my eyes. 'I wonder what those other two are up too' I thought, enjoying the coolness of the stone floor. “SAY SOMETHING DAMN YOU” I shouted through the iron bars of the cell door at the guard who stood silently, despite my attempts to get his attention. I let out a loud groan and beat on the iron door. After a few moments my fists started to hurt making me fall back from my assault on the door, keeping me inside the cell. What felt like hours had passed since my last magic attempt, though a small voice in the back of my head told me it had been twenty minutes at most. I grew restless, having made an attempt to sleep, want for some kind of social contact beginning to anger me. Something in the back of my head told me to calm myself, but I felt like throwing a temper tantrum, letting loose and not caring about the consequences, or lack there of as I couldn't destroy anything of any real value in my cell. I felt the coolness in my chest grow colder. Focusing on it for a moment before latching onto the first thing I saw. The hay lifted into the air for a moment before I shifted my weight and willed it forward, moving my hand quickly which it followed at tremendous speed. Pieces of hay impacted the wall, though as I saw my anger dimmed as a good number of the strands say sticking out of the masonry between the stones. Curiosity soon smothered my anger as I looked down at the hay. Lifting it again, I once again willed it into the opposite wall. A similar reaction occurred, though with less strands sticking in the masonry. 'Interesting' I thought, remembering stories of how wheat and other seemingly harmless things had been put through telephone poles in the winds of tornadoes. 'Though this seems much less powerful' I thought running a gloved hand over the strands of hay that suck from the wall making them fall out and flutter to the floor. 'Using something much harder, like a stone would be an effective weapon' I thought plucking one of the remaining strands of hay from the wall and spinning it between my fingers. 'Then again' I chuckled remembering the cockatrice 'Just throwing a good sized stone is effective as well'. I threw the strand over my shoulder, again focusing on the feeling in my chest which had returned to a calm coolness. The same yellow aura returned around my hand and I picked up a clump of the hay, this time focusing on not only lifting the hay, but also trying to keep from putting to much into it, hopefully allowing me to use the magic as long as possible. I moved the large clump of hay through my cell, simply trying to keep it in the air and from running into the walls. Minutes passed adding strain by the second before I slammed my eyes shut and clutched at my head falling to my knees, heavy breaths were followed by a soft thud that I was barely able to notice as the clump of hay fell to the stone without my aid keeping it airborne. Through squinting eyes, I crawled to my makeshift pillow grabbing my jacket and pitifully shaking it out before laying my head down and throwing my jacket over my head. The pain was bearable in the shadows underneath the jacket, the light having caused it to escalate. The warmth was not unwelcome though, the cool feeling being replaced by one that I couldn't identify, I could only feel it there almost like the feeling of my cat laying on my chest, but there wasn't any pressure, simply the feeling of it being there. The feeling didn't fade away as everything else did, instead, it was dulled. I looked at the blackboard before me, a light brown minotuar stood before it writing in an unrecognizable script with the chalk. “Alright class, who can identify this language?” he asked turning around. A unicorn a row down from me raised a hoof with great intent, the minotuar nodded in her direction and she started rambling out some unintelligible name as the bright pinks and aquas of her coat swirled with the colors surrounding her. I walked down a dirt path, my hooves raising up a small amount of dust from the well used dirt. I blink at the brightness of my surroundings glad for the hood which shaded my white mane from the sun the at the edges of my vision a pair of black horns just manage to poke from the recesses of the hood. I nod at passing ponies some of whom wave, making an attempt to seem a simple traveler. Staff in hand, I make my way into an alley, following my prey, a purple maned brown unicorn. Still unknown to him a wave of my hand surrounded by a red aura and the unicorn falls, a smile comes to my face as I reach into a small bag on my belt. The red quickly blurs into the surrounding whites and golds of the houses to either side. I grasp at the handles of the bicycle, starting to pedal once more, having checked either side only for approaching light to catch my attention to my left as an approaching car skids towards me. 'My mother's going to kill me' I thought closing my eyes only for the impact to throw me from the bike. I jolted away, pulling the coat away from my head in a panic. My surroundings came to me after a few seconds, a shiver running down my spine as I held myself. 'What in the world...?' I questioned, raising a hand to my face and mapping out what it should be in my mind. After finding my face was in the correct order and the right shape, I looked at my hands again. 'That... was a weird dream' I thought, wondering what it was about. The sounds of the guards changing shifts brought me back from my thought to reality and to the cell door. A lunar guard saluted and the solar guard returned it before starting out the door, I let out a quiet sigh watching the guard for a moment as his eyes scanned the room and finally fell on me. I gave a tired smile and a halfhearted wave which he made no move to reply before his eyes fell on a point on the wall opposite him. A groan escaped me as I tried to think of something to do. Exercising was the only thing that came to mind seeing as my head still lightly throbbed from the strain of my last magic attempt. 'I'm going to be ripped when I finally get out of here' I thought absentmindedly as I started doing sit ups. “Jeeze, you two haven't been around in so long I almost didn't recognize you” I said with a tired smile sitting in the corner of my cell. Princess Celestia and Sundance looked into the cell with smiles of their own, Sundance having taken off her helmet revealing her natural coat and mane, the orange and yellow complamented the violet of her eyes to make her quite the interesting looking mare. “It has been a while, I must apologize as the duties of a princess often leave me no time for visitation” Celestia said bowing her head slightly. My eyes went to Sundance after nodding back to the diarch, “I've actually been promoted!” she said with a smile. The excitement in her voice making me sit up a bit with a questioning look on my face. “My superiors decided to promote me to Corporal after I proved my leadership skills in a small incident in Canterlot and I got high marks on a test they had me take to see if I was really ready!” “Congratulations” I said with a smile of my own, “Maybe I'll be serving under you when I get out of here. How many are you having to keep in line?” I joked. Sundance chuckled for a moment before scratching at the stone floor with a hoof, “Well I haven't gotten to know the guard's names all that well yet, but it's a small squad, we have a unicorn besides me, a pair of pegasi and an earth pony. The pair of pegasi are inseparable, but the earth pony and unicorn are at each others throats over everything. I'll have them in shape before the end of the week though” she said perking back up. I nodded, “A shame I won't get to see you more, but I'm glad to hear that you're moving up” I said turning back to Celestia, “What's been going on on your end?” The princess shrugged, “There's not much of great significance, mainly an increase of ponies making requests for things, some actually important being an increase of guards near a number of caves that Diamond dogs have been seen in. Others less important like some of the more snooty nobles asking for decreases in taxes, or more money for 'projects' of theirs.” she said. “Twilight informed me there was an incident with a certain Starlight Glimmer involving some strange force attacking a town to the north, but they settled it with no issues” “Sounds like your life is about as interesting as mine” I said, a cocky smile finding it's way to my face only for the princess to reply by sticking her tongue out. “The weight of a ruler is a heavy one, but one that I must bear. Thankfully I'm not having to stay up almost all night and day as Luna watches over Equestria at night.” She said dutifully. Sundance looked at the solar diarch, shock written across her features. “How did you manage that? It sounds impossible” she said after a moment. “Thankfully alicorns, being more attached to magic, not only live longer but also are able to deal with certain needs on a less than regular basis. For instance there was a time during our war with a rogue zebra tribe where I was forced to go a number of days without food to allow my soldiers to eat” Celestia said with a smile. I scratched the back of my head “Huh” I muttered as Sundance looked at her princess with admiration. “Always watching over your subjects” I said, to which she nodded. “Well I suppose when you actually care about them that's what happens” A curious look formed on Celestia and Sundance's faces as they looked at me. The mare was about to open her mouth when the sound of the dungeon door opening cut her off. “Corporal Sundance!” An unseen voice sounded making the mare in question turn around. “Sargent Sweets needs you at the barracks” Sundance let out a sigh turning back with an apologetic look before turning back to the unseen guard and nodding, “Understood Blackout, thank you” She said before starting towards the door at a steady trot. “I don't envy her for that” I said as the sound of the door closing echoed through the dungeon. Celestia turned back to me and shrugged “I can understand, though it's not uncommon for ponies needing me for things like that. Normally though I am able to reschedule if need be” she said with a smile. I nodded a smile starting to come to my face for a moment before what she had said earlier popped into my head. “Excuse me for asking, but on the subject of increased lifespans for alicorns, is Twilight going to live for thousands of years? Princess Cadence would be in a similar boat with her husband as Twilight is with her five friends” The smile on Princess Celestias face vanished as she looked back at me, now wearing a look of varying emotions. “That...” She started before sighing. “There is a time when she will have to face that, as death is normally a part of life. Honestly I was surprised when Cadence had decided to marry Shining Armor, as she had been informed of the extended lifespan that comes with being and alicorn” I nodded, “Hopefully when I get out of here I'll be able to be a friend to her as well, at the very least I know the feeling of losing friends like that” I said looking down. “I must ask though; why insist your student makes friends when you planned this for her?” “Well, Twilight was too self absorbed in her studies, it was actually quite negatively affecting the other parts of her life. I can understand putting time aside for study, but I believe that she would have fallen into a similar state as one of her older friends, I believe she said the mare's name was Sky Dancer-” “Moon Dancer” I corrected making Celestia look at me with shock and confusion. “That was a pretty good episode” I shrugged. “I suppose I can assume you already know what I mean then?” she asked making me nod. “I was worried she would fall into a state similar to her old friend and so I pushed her to aid in the preparation for the summer sun celebration a few years ago. A part of it was hoping that she could also help my sister though” I nodded again, “And it's important for a ruler to know how to make friends, though unfortunately they rarely have them in foreign places, unless of course this place is much better off than I believed” I added. “Exactly. I am actually quite close with the zebra chieftains and the minotuar's king though. The griffons have been steadily recovering, though a fair number are still to greedy and self centered to care for others. At the last meeting of the races they did have an ambassador last year though in the form of a griffon named Buzzbeak. He stood in for the race well, while prideful he explained their plight, though a pair of ponies had aided in returning the idea of friendship to Griffonstone” “That's good to hear, I didn't get to hear anything after Pinkie and Dash went over there at the 'friendship map's', or whatever it was called, call.” I said. “It was very strange how it just knew where things were going on though” Celestia shrugged, “The Tree of Harmony is very unknown to us, though we do know it's been here much longer than either myself or my sister, or even our parents. We also know that it's been on the side of harmony, as per it's name” she said. I put a hand up to my chin letting out a “Hmm” as a thought ran through my head. “Well this place bases a lot of itself around harmony, and friendship. What if there was a tree of chaos? Or perhaps a more accurate description would be simply where Discord gets his abilities of seemingly godlike power that allows him to warp reality to whatever he sees fit” Celestia's eyes widened for a minute as a hoof went to her chin, thoughts running through her head. “Oh come now Celestia you should know better, that would make too much sense” a familiar disembodied voice sounded interrupting the alicorn as she opened her mouth to reply. The Draconequus stepped from inside of the shocked princess' hair with a wide smile on his face before growing to his normal size. “My my! You're looking much better Wanderer! Though like you haven't been doing much wandering!” he said chuckling. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear” I said looking at the being of chaos, “I can't say I expected you, but then again that's probably why you're here” “Oh no, I just wanted to say hi to my favorite princess” he said wrapping his talon and lion paw around the princess' neck. “You're an added bonus though! I haven't seen you in... two? No three years!” Princess Celestia rolled her eyes, though a half smile formed on her face before she attempted to push the spirit of chaos away. “Yes, hello Discord, it's been, what two hours?” “But that's one hundred 20 minutes, or even 7 thousand two hundred seconds!” Discord said wrapping part of his body around the princess as she continued her attempts at getting free. I chuckled to myself and covered my face with a hand. “I know people who would kill to see a scene like this” I said quietly. “Oh I bet!” Discord said sitting his head atop the princess's. “No doubt they'd probably like to see Pinkie Pie as a draconequus too!” A shiver ran through my body as I lowered my hand. “Now don't get crazy there man” I said holding them out defensively. “While that would be interesting to watch, I must admit, but I find myself agreeing with James on this” Celestia said, having given up her attempts of freeing herself. “See I knew you loved chaos too Celestia!” Discord said touching the princess on the nose with his talon. Celestia simply rolled her eyes. I chuckled again. “You'd only have to of been to the Grand Galloping Gala that she first invited Twilight and the girls too to know that” I said. “Ohhh! Did I miss you causing chaos Celly? Oh come now that's not nice to leave me uninformed! I'll be right back!” Discord said before he disappeared in a flash of light. The princess rolled her eyes. “Well he'll be bothering me about that for the next few days, giving his critique of the chaos so thanks for that” Celestia said with sarcasm lacing her voice. A smile ran across my face again, “Well that just means you two get some alone time! Or at the very least you won't be as bored tomorrow during day court right?” I asked, my only reply a look of disbelief and annoyance. “Alright, alright fair enough. Send him down here if he gets too annoying or something, I mean hey, when you and Sundance are busy all the time I'm pretty much bored out of my skull” “I suppose that will keep you from doing anymore wrong then won't it?” Princess Celestia said with a smirk to which I rolled my eyes. “I must be getting to bed now though, I wish you a good night” I nodded and waved, “To you as well Celestia, don't let the friendly neighborhood Discord drive you nuts, alright?” The alicorn's eyes rolled again shaking her head at the thought of the spirit of chaos. After a few moments the door to the dungeon echoed shut. I started to get up and head towards my makeshift pillow only to cringe in realization and let out a groan. 'I forgot to ask her about the magic...' I thought slapping the palm of my hand against my face.