//------------------------------// // Revelations/The Great Escape // Story: The Reject Chronicles // by Darth Pestilence //------------------------------// The Mane Six immediately jumped out of their chairs and bowed to the Princesses, Robert and Zecora lowered their heads for a moment as a sign of respect, while Mason and John simply looked at them. “Rise, my little ponies. There is no need to bow to me,” Celestia said in a motherly tone that reminded each of the humans of their own mothers back home. “Greetings, humans,” she said with her usual smile. “While any normal pony injuring my student would be thrown into the nearest, and deepest, available dungeon… you three seem to be the exception to this rule. Exceptional exceptions. Your explanations are absurd, but all three of you seem honest and genuine. You desire to protect each other because of your friendship, but I also sense a very potent form of malice and fear in the form of your dark magic. You three are curious cases indee--” Celestia’s smile fell and an expression of recognition and shock crossed her face upon examining Robert’s face closely. Seeing this, the occupants all turned to cast confused glances at Celestia, and then to Luna, who was also wearing a similar expression. For a solid minute, silence reigned in the interrogation room before Luna spoke up. “Robert Williams,” she said suddenly, making the poor boy jump. “H-How do you know my last name?” “Are you related to Angela and Thomas Williams?” Celestia asked, perplexing everyone minus Robert, who’s eyes widened as much as was physically possible. “H-H-How do you know my mom and brother?” Robert asked. The room was still for several moments, the weight of this revelation causing astonishment for all that were present. “Princesses…” Twilight said slowly, not sure how to react. “Well?!” Robert said, his expression going from shocked to desperate. Celestia and Luna’s faces broke out into fond smiles at Robert’s responses, memories of time long past rushing through their heads. “Wow… I never thought I’d see the day when I met the big brother that Thomas talked about,” Celestia said. “Nor did I,” Luna said. “Their claims were correct, you do look similar to them, Robert.” A big smile spread across Robert’s face, joy welling up inside him. “They’re here?! Can I see them? They must be so worried about me.” At that, the two princesses ceased to smile. “Well, I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Celestia said, averting her eyes. “W-What do you mean?” Robert said, his previous joy evaporating into dread and worry. Luna hesitated for a moment before breaking the news to the teen. “You see, Thomas and Angela appeared in this world thousands of years ago. They fought to reclaim Equestria from an evil tyrant when Celestia and I were but foals. They were good friends with our parents, and helped take care of us, often recounting stories about you or your father. But they, along with our parents, fell in battle with a dark god over a thousand years ago,” Robert’s face fell, despair similar to what he had felt when his dad had died filling him. Celestia lowered her head upon seeing his misery. “I’m sorry.” Robert was looking at the floor and remaining completely silent. On close inspection, one could notice his hands were slightly trembling. “Robert... I’m... sorry man. I’m sorry,” Mason said in sympathy, putting a hand on his shoulder. Robert still did not reply. The ponies, even the ones that had felt animosity towards him before, could not help but feel sympathy for him. “Princess… why didn’t you tell me this?” Twilight asked. Celestia remained silent. “So… you’re saying that the only family I have left… have been dead for over a thousand years?” Robert said in a near whisper. “We’re afraid that is so,” Luna affirmed. “They were wonderful people. Extraordinary folk without which, Equestria wouldn’t have survived to present day. We’re sorry you had to find out this way.” Robert slowly looked up. His eyes gave off the impression of a dead man, an expression Applejack in particular was familiar with. “I see… I’d like to be returned to my cell, please. There is nothing else that needs to be discussed.” Celestia sighed. “Of course. I’ll let you have time to grieve before we get around to the legal proceedings involving your actions. We’ve already decided on your punishments. Would you care to know about them?” Robert slowly shrugged. “Sure, why not?” His voice now sounded devoid of any emotion, further instilling sympathy for him in the others. “Well,” Celestia began. “While a story like yours would not normally be believed, your mother told a similar story to us all those years ago. And since she was a very trustworthy woman, my sister and I are inclined to believe it. And since Thomas and Angela spoke highly of you, I find it hard to believe that you would do any of the things you and your friends have been accused of.” The humans’ hopes rose slightly. “However,” Celestia continued. “You did cause significant harm to my personal student, who is quite dear to me. Even if it was an accident, you will still have to be punished for that. Furthermore, you and your friends have dark magic within you, something which did not happen with the others. And while I hate it, that does put Luna and I in a difficult position. You could either be evil, the unknowing puppets of a villain, or some bit of both.” The humans spirits sank back down to where they had been after waking up in their new abode. “So, since we don’t know which, we’re going to let the Elements of Harmony decide. If you are pawns of a villain, then it will purge the dark magic from your bodies. If the dark magic has naturally bonded with your magical essence, and you really are evil, then…  you will be petrified until we can be sure the three of you can be reformed.” Robert nodded. “I see. Thank you, Princesses. May I be escorted back to my cell now?” “Of course. Guards!” Celestia exclaimed, causing the same guards that had escorted Robert here to come back inside. “Yes, your highness?” the highest ranking one of them asked, which was apparently Barricade.   “Escort Mr. Williams here back to his cell.” “Take me back too,” Mason pleaded, raising up his hand. “This entire situation has left me exhausted, and I’d like to rest.” “Mr. Mason, as well,” Celestia added, before turning to Zecora and John. “Would either of you wish to return to your cells too?” John and Zecora nodded, and Celestia commanded that they be escorted back as well. “Thank you, Princess,” John said with a bow of his head as he and the others were escorted out by the guards. Before they could, however, Celestia said, “Oh, and guards? Please make sure that the three of them get to their cells in one piece, unharmed in ANY way. Understood?” The guardsponies gulped. “Of course, your highness,” Barricade said. They turned back around, shaking in their golden bell-boots, and lead the humans out of the room for good for the night...   Once the door had shut behind them, Celestia turned to the Mane Six and sighed. “I hope you have no plans today, because we have quite a bit to discuss…” Robert rubbed his eyes, eyes that he assumed were red from all of the crying he had been doing since he had been locked up in his cell, and laid down on the cold, stone floor. “I just can’t believe that they’re gone,” Robert said in a hoarse voice. “First Dad and now them too? Why can anything go right for me?” He went silent for a moment. “I… I just wish I had been there with them. Maybe they wouldn’t have died if I had been sent here with them... or… or maybe we could have all died together. At least I could have some peace if that was how things went down.” He sighed, and then curled up into a ball and closed his eyes. It took awhile, but he soon descended into slumber. Robert stood in a dark alleyway, being drenched by the rain that fell from the night sky above him. He didn’t mind though. Robert always liked the rain. But he didn’t really like waking up in a place he had never been before. After all, it didn’t really work out for him the last time it had happened. “What?” he looked around, seeing no exit to the alley. “Where am I? Wasn’t I just in my cell?” “Oh trust me, you’re still in your cell,” said a gruff voice from behind him. Robert turned around quickly. “It can’t be…”  he thought, recognizing the mysterious voice. Standing behind him was a man he had admired ever since he had first seen him laying the smack down on criminals in the cartoons he had watched as a little kid: Batman, the caped crusader. “Batman?! I can’t believe it’s really-!” before he could finish his thought, reality swept over him like a tidal wave. “Oh wait… this is just a dream isn’t it? You aren’t real, are you?” The Dark Knight shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Just like John and Mason, you aren’t really meeting with one of your favorite characters.” Robert sat down with his back to the brick wall of the alley. “So... what are you here to tell me? Harry and Freddy already told them what’s going on with our props and magic, so what information do you have for me? I don’t suppose you’re here to tell me how to get us out of this mess, are you?” “No, I’m afraid that is something you all will have to figure out on your own,” Batman replied. “Then what are you here for? If the only reason that you’re here is to signify that I’m going to start experiencing magical growth, then I’d prefer if you’d leave me alone right now. I’m not really in the mood to chat... even if it is with my favorite superhero,” Robert said, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation of the rain falling on his skin. “... I was like you too, you know.” Robert looked up at Batman. “What?” “You know my origin. I lost my parents too.” “Oh great, you’re going to try and comfort me,” Robert muttered. “Okay, look, I’m really not in the mood to be given the whole ‘I know how you feel’ talk. Just leave me alone.” “You know I can’t do that. I’m a part of you now. I can’t ever leave you alone for good.” “I KNOW, okay?! Just don’t talk to me! I can deal with this myself.” Robert lowered his head so he was looking at the wet asphalt he was sitting on. He didn’t want to look at Bruce. “That’s exactly what you told your friends when your father died,” Batman said. Robert’s head shot up. “And what happened? You allowed your depression to consume you just like it consumed me, and then you lied to everyone about it. And to deal with it, you used the very knife your father gifted you with to cut yourself.” “Shut up…” Robert said weakly. “But I’m afraid you just can’t do that here,” Batman continued. “You have two people relying on you to guide and instruct them about the world they are in, and if you buckle under the pressure, then you doom them as well.” Robert said nothing, only looking back down to the ground. “You have to move on, and do what I couldn’t do: accept their deaths. Neither your mother or your brother would have wanted you to sink into despair because of them. They would want you to carry on, and survive in this crazy world.” “... I know,” Robert all but whispered. “But it’s so hard. I love them, and I just… miss them… so much.” Batman nodded. “I know, but everyone runs out of time eventually, even those we love. You realized that when your father died, didn’t you?” Robert nodded. “But I didn’t want it to happen so soon…” “Nobody does, but that’s just the way life is sometimes. Everyone loses a loved one at some point, but if you just give up now, then the ones who care about you will also suffer, not just you. If you lay down and call it quits, then Mason and John could also die,” Batman said, his gaze never wavering. “... I know,” Robert said, a bit more strongly this time. “Then you know what you’ve got to do. You’re going to do what you’ve been doing since you got here, and survive. You’re going to survive as long as you can, and you’re going to make the most of what is given to you and live as happily as you can, so that when you run out of time and reunite with your family, then you’ll be able to confidently tell them that you were able to have happiness despite your hardships.” “... okay, I’ll try.” Robert rose to his feet slowly, and looked Batman dead in the eye. Batman nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. “Good. I know you won’t recover from your grief in one night, it’ll be a burden you will carry for the rest of your life, but I have faith in you.” Robert managed a weak smile. “Thanks.” “Here,” Bruce said, reaching into his utility belt and pulling something out of it. “Take this.” Robert held out his hand and let him drop something into it. His eyes widened when he realized what it was: the gold pendant necklace that his dad had given his mother before he had departed for war. Opening the pendant with shaky hands, he saw a picture of all four of them standing next to each other, smiling happily. His mom and dad linking arms, and he and his brother exchanging annoyed glances at each other. Robert looked up. “How did you--?” Batman was gone, leaving him alone in the alley. “Get ready,” the voice of Batman echoed around him. “You’re about to have a visitor.” And then Robert was alone. He was silent for a moment more, before chuckling. “So that’s what that feels like.” He then stood there, shivering as the cold raindrops continued to assault his body. He didn’t really mind though. Robert had always liked the rain. Mason grumbled to himself as he sat in his cell, going over everything what had happened to him since he had awoken here. Despite that, he still could not think of a way out of his current predicament, so, instead, he stretched out his lower back, which really needed the activity after slumbering on solid stone as a mattress.   “Uggghhh! I guess I can only hope that those magical gems don’t turn us into lawn ornaments. I’d REALLY hate having to spend the rest of the lifespan of this topsy turvy universe as target practice for pigeons.”   And with that, Mason sat back down, closed his eyes and began thinking again, but soon found himself dozing off. In his dream, Mason found himself in the middle of performing his favorite outdoor activity, a double sided oar in hand as he kayaked down black water river. Despite it being practically scientifically confirmed than alligators never crossed the state line from North Carolina, he had always been paranoid that gators secretly liked to give a scaly middle finger to researchers and cross deeper into Virginian waters than people were comfortable thinking, at least, until the winter came and, like a bunch of snowbirds, they retired back south until it was over.     This childish fear always helped to make him oar faster when he was feeling tired after rowing for a couple of hours straight, the adrenaline also keeping his senses razor sharp even if he constantly found himself looking at every log, branch, fish, or slanted depression on either bank thinking that one of those inhumanly strong, quickly, and deadly monsters was nearby, ready to just jump out of the water and take a bite of him without him even knowing until after the fact. Even now, near the end of fall, wrapped around in his winter Everlast coat, Mason was afraid of passing through one of those ancient abominations’ digestive tracts, his remains never to be found and his story told amongst kids at campfires to scare them to bed for being rowdy. Finally, as the dock came into view, Mason sighed out a breath of relief. Thinking he was home free, he told himself again and again that his fear made no sense as he took it easy with the rowing, that even in the warmer seasons, those cold blooded monsters DEFINITELY wouldn’t be here. Instead, he filled his mind with thoughts of home, of stuffed turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy with an extra side of sweet corn and carrots and peas, his mouth watering at the thought of then getting to his mother’s Thanksgiving Day pumpkin pecan pie. He was less than ten feet away from the dock. Now five. Now-- His boat was rocked violently by something large, and he was sent tumbling into the freezing waters. He quickly swam up to the surface and began swimming towards the dock as fast as he could. He didn’t know what just hit his kayak, but he’d be damned if he was about to stick around and find out. He had reached the dock and was about to climb up onto it when he felt something powerful and sharp clamp down on his leg. He looked down to see none other than an alligator, its head like that of a certain serial killer’s head. It grinned at him before pulling him under the water. Were anyone else around, they would have sworn that Mason had shouted loud enough to wake the dead. But, something peculiar happened when he was pulled into the water. Instead of finding himself in the belly of an alligator at frigid temperatures, he found himself falling down, as though through air, landing on the stone floor of a familiar cellar. "Hey there, champ. Was causing you bone chilling, bone snapping terror as fun for me as it was for you?” Mason lifted his face from the floor to glimpse none other than one Mr. Krueger, who was looking at his prone form with amusement. “I thought you wouldn’t be bothering me anymore,” Mason grunted, getting back to his feet. "Well that's what I thought too, but it turns out that I still have some influence over you in the dream realm," Freddy said. "It was a pleasant surprise for me too." “Just get out of my head, Freddy, I don’t need you heckling me in my dreams when I’m trapped in a prison cell in real life.” “Oh no, no, no,” Freddy responded in a tone of fake sincerity, “you’ve got it all wrong. I’m here to help you get out of that old cell!" Mason looked up at Freddy incredulously. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that? If you haven’t noticed, I can barely move a vial with my magic.” “"Well that’s the thing there, sport. On the physical plane, you might be even weaker than that little yellow horsie with the trio of pink butterflies tattooed on either side of her ass, but here… well… I think I’ve spoiled too much in my... excitement…” “Spoiled too much?! You’ve barely told me anything!”   Freddy narrowed his eyes. “Wow. You really are dumb. And here I was thinking some of my innate cleverness had rubbed off on you by this point.” Freddy shrugged. “Ah, well. Can’t win ‘em all… even if you inevitably wind up winning most of them. Look, kiddo, who am I?”  Mason initially raised an eyebrow at the dream demon’s question, but answered it all the same. “Freddy Krueger.” "And what do I do?" “You kill people in their sleep by invading their dreams.” "Okay, now just think about that for a second, because I know you’re not THAT dumb, and then show me if you can stack up to ol’ Freddy. And if you can’t figure it out after some massive hints like that… well… then enjoy being a statue for a thousand years! Buh bye!" And with that, Freddy vanished in a burst of hellfire, leaving mason alone in the cellar with only his thoughts to keep him company. Thank God.   In fact… as the seconds ticked by… Mason’s eyes widened with realization and he figured he really would have to thank the Lord if the conclusion he had just arrived at was true. Closing his eyes, he focused all of his thoughts onto the feats Freddy had performed with his powers, and on the thoughts of the rage and hatred he felt towards his captors. Once he was certain that he had tapped into whatever dark magic lay dormant within him, he spoke. “Freddy Krueger, agent of the dream demons, Springwood Slasher, grant me access to the dream realm.” With that simple statement, a metal door blackened by years of rust suddenly appeared before him and opened up to a realm of darkness and fear. Stepping through the door, he found himself in what could only be described as a void. All around him was darkness, not like any he had seen before. This… this felt… alive. Standing there, all other emotions left him, save for one: fear, fear in its rawest form. Though he didn’t experience it, instead, he felt it all around him, as if the darkness was made entirely of it. "Welcome to the domain of nightmares,” Freddy’s voice echoed around him, sounding much deeper and haunting than any other time he had heard it. After the voice ceased to ring in his ears, countless balls of fire appeared beneath him, forming into a kind of path for him to follow, and revealing countless metal doors that seemed to stretch on forever. But despite the awe he felt, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. He knew that he only had a small window of opportunity to get them out of the prison before the morning came and they were turned to stone... or worse. Then again… what if breaking out was a bad idea? That Celestia pony had said that the Elements would only petrify them if they were evil, and they hadn’t done anything that was technically evil. "But we have dark magic, and I’m pretty sure that makes us evil…” Mason clutched his head in frustration. “I don’t know! If only I knew more about this place!” At that thought, Mason came to a realization. Robert would probably know what to do. “Show me the dreams of Robert Williams!” he called out into the void. Sure enough, a metal door appeared in front of him the instant he finished speaking, Robert’s name carved into the door’s rusted metal. Without hesitation, he opened the door and crossed the threshold, entering the dream of Robert Williams. Mason found himself in a street alley that looked like it belonged in a city like New York, rain poured down from the sky, and the alley had no exit. Spotting Robert shivering in the rain right off the bat, Mason conjured an umbrella and walked over to his friend. Noticing that he no longer felt raindrops, Robert looked up, surprised to see Mason standing there. “Hey Mason, how are you in my dream?” Robert asked. “I found out that I can dream walk and then I came to see you for advice,” Mason answered. “Advice about what?” “You see, I can probably break us out of here with my dreamwalking if I use it correctly, but I came to ask you if I should break us out at all.” Robert pondered the question for a moment before replying. “The Elements of Harmony would not turn us to stone or even hurt us if we aren’t evil, so we should be safe.” “So I shouldn’t break us out?” Mason asked. “That is what I WOULD be saying if it wasn’t for three things: We’re human, our magic could betray us, and the Elements they wield are ones I am not familiar with.” Robert went on to elaborate. “The first point is the most minor, and that is that the elements have never been used against a human before, and that it might have adverse side-effects. The second point is that there are apparently no creatures in Equestria that have been born with dark magic, leading the ponies to believe that we are either evil, or pawns to someone who is evil. It is possible that the Elements themselves judge who is evil by their magic signatures, which will screw us over if that’s the case. The final point is that this universe is different from the one I’m familiar with, and the Elements could operate on different rules. I don’t want to take any chances and end up dead. So I give you my full permission to break us out of here.” Mason nodded. “Gotcha.” He willed the door out of Robert’s dream to appear, and he went back into the dream realm. Once he was back in the dream realm, Mason immediately went to work. “Show me the dreams of the guards in this place,” Mason called out, and sure enough, a few metal doors with names carved into them appeared before him. He grinned, cracking his knuckles as he did. “Time to make some magic.” Mason stood up, rubbing his wrists, which were now free from the shackles that had previously bound him. “Ah, feels much better to be out of these things,” he commented, before snatching the keys off of the floor, leaving the still slumbering stallion there. The guards in the jail had been easy to manipulate, and now one of them had brought him the keys. He locked the stallion back inside as he left, making sure he wouldn’t cause any trouble. Having accomplished that, he ran over to the cell just across from him: John’s cell, and unlocked it. He ran up and violently shook him, effectively waking him from his slumber. “Ahhh! Ahhh! Not Slytherin!” Mason quickly put a hand over John’s mouth and made the ‘shushing’ sound and gesture with his other index finger. “Quiet! You want to alert this entire country with your yelling, do ya?” After Mason removed his hand, John asked, “How did you--?” “No time to explain! We need to get Robert and then run for it! It won’t be long before the guards wake up… and I REALLY don’t want to be here when they do,” he said, unlocking the shackles that held John. Mason helped John to his feet before dashing over to Robert’s cell and unlocking it. Not surprisingly, Robert was already wide awake, giving him a look that suggested he had expected him. Though, he was confused to see Robert holding some sort of necklace in his hands. Shaking it off, Mason unlocked Robert’s shackles, allowing the boy to stand up. “Alright then, let’s get a move on,” Robert said, stuffing the necklace into one of his pockets as he stood up. “Do any of you guys know where they’re holding Zecora and Lyra?” “I saw Zecora being put in the cell beside yours,” John said to Robert. “Great,” Mason remarked, dashing over to the cell beside Robert’s and opening it. Just like before, he woke the zebra and undid her shackles, and soon all four of them were running down the halls of the jailhouse. “Now where’s Lyra?” Robert asked as they raced past countless cells, both empty and occupied. Mostly empty, though. Different as this Equestria seemed to be from the canon he knew, Robert figured that the crime rate still would put any human city’s rate to shame. “I don’t know,” John answered. We haven’t seen her since they brought us here, but I do know that she should be in one of the cells closest to the exit, which should be coming right to our right over here.” The four of them turned the corner, three of their hearts stopping as they saw two guards standing tall on either side of the door out of that popsicle stand. Mason, however, quickly said, “Don’t sweat it. They may look all alert and stuff, but they’re actually asleep. Look closely.” The other three did and noticed that, through the dark gloom, that both guards, while standing like would be were they awake, actually had both their eyes closed and were stuttering a bit as though they were asleep.   “Mason… how did you know that?” John asked. “I believe the better question is, how did he do it?” Zecora asked. The John and Zecora looked at Mason who simply said, “I’ll explain it later, we’ve got to move for now.” Sighing, Robert walked up to Lyra’s cell, which was less than three feet away from the door out of here and pointed between Mason and the cell until the former finally realized what Robert wanted and unlocked it. Inside, they found Lyra, without shackles, lying on the floor with a tear and snot stained pillow resting beneath her chin.   Bending down, Robert tried nudging her awake as he whispered, “Lyra! Lyra! Get up! Now! We’re busting out of here!” With a cough, Lyra awoke and tiredly looked up at him. “R-Robert?… Is that you?” “Yes, it is Lyra. Now get up! We’re all getting out of here and you’re coming with us. C’mon!” Now fully awake, she shot him and the others a look of hesitation. “A-Are you sure? Taking me with you would only cause you trouble.” “We’re not going to sit around and let you be wrongly punished. Besides, we just broke out of prison. We’ve got nothing else to lose. Less than nothing, even. Now get up, we’re leaving now,” Robert responded, helping Lyra to her hooves. “But… where are we going?” she asked. “Not sure about that yet, but I do know that it will be away from here. Really far away.” “Like… out to the fringes of the country far away or out of the country far away?” “Honestly? We’re gonna be shooting for the latter, but settling for the former if we have to.” Lyra’s eyes widened at this, and she said, “Are… are you sure about that? I mean… yeah, things have taken a turn for the worse, and I really, really, REALLY want to deck Bon Bon or Sweetie Drops or whatever alias she’s adopted now... but… I still do have a life here in Ponyville, ya know? and from what Twilight told me after I woke up, my sentence isn’t going to be that bad. Just a few days here until they sort this whole mess out.” Hearing this, John decided to move things along himself, “Lyra… do really want to stay here? I mean, you did help us when we asked, you know that? Do you really think that your friends and family will trust you, or even want to be around you, after that?” Lyra looked crestfallen at that, her ears drooping to her head as said head looked towards the ground. “Well… I… uhhh…” “Plus, if you stayed,” John continued, “I don’t expect that they’d let you go as soon as Twilight said they were. Besides, that journal you mentioned, and I’m assuming other hidden stuff you probably have locked away too won’t help your sentence, and if they truly are as incriminating as the book Twilight took from you… well then, you’re probably gonna have to get used to grey stone and iron bars, because that’s what’s going to be your new home for the foreseeable future and maybe even the not so foreseeable future if things really got out of hand or hoof or whatever.”   Lyra was silent, internally battling with herself about whether or not she should go with her human friends. Robert sighed at Lyra’s expression. “Look, Lyra, either way you slice it… your old life in Ponyville is over. There’s no going back to it. ...We don’t have much time. We’re leaving now, and you can either come with us or stay here. We’ll respect your decision either way, but you have to decide... now.” Lyra was silent for a moment and then another moment and the a moment more. “Hurry up, guys!” Mason said impatiently. “I’m pretty sure that Luna chick showed up in the dream realm just as I left, we have no time to lose!” Lyra nodded, and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.” The humans nodded, and then let Lyra out of the cell. With that, the group of five slowly made their way through the entrance of the jailhouse and ran out into the night.