Stuck in Equestria

by Mike the Red

I Waited in the Rain for Hours

After we had been escorted out of her Castle, Princess Celestia trotted from her throne to the dungeon. Nopony accompanied her, nor did any question her as she trotted down to the cell holding my zebra wife. A guard had slid a tray containing a breakfast of cold gruel through the slot at the bottom of the door, but Brenda had not touched it. She was laying on her hard cot, tear streaks staining her cheeks. An examination of the inside of her door revealed dark red stains which ran nearly the length of the door from the small window cut in it to the floor. A closer examination of the zebra would reveal that she had smashed her forehooves repeatedly against that door until they had started bleeding profusely. The sound of the Alicorn's golden hoofguards clinking on the cobblestone floor of the dungeon startled the zebra awake before her door opened to reveal the form of the Solar Princess, a scowl on her face as she stepped in the plate of gruel on the floor.

"Not hungry, are we? I can remedy that," Celestia noted darkly, teleporting the tray away. The zebra was startled awake and curled herself into a ball in an attempt to make herself invisible or at least as small as possible. The Alicorn used her magic to levitate the zebra before her, opening her body up and standing her upright on the floor.

"You will look at me when I enter your cell!" Celestia hissed, glaring harshly at the terrified zebra.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Brenda cried out in pain, her forehooves still raw and sore from the previous night's futile attempt to break out of her cell.

"I am not hurting you, Brenda -- if I had intended to hurt you, I would have done this," she snarled, using her magic to stretch the zebra's body, causing her joints and bones to pop and snap painfully. She screamed and wailed in pain at this, eliciting a dark smile on the Alicorn's face. She glanced at the door and noticed the long red streaks on it. "I see you tried to break out of here yesterday -- I cannot have that. My guards told me you cursed my name during your outburst last night."

"Please! Please! Let me go! Please! I'm sorry!" she wailed as she curled into a ball again.

"I'm sorry what?" the Alicorn asked sharply.

"I -- I'm s-sorry, y-your M-m-majesty!" she wailed, not trying to uncurl herself or make eye contact with the Princess.

"That's what I thought. I'll have one of my guards escort you to your physical training later, then you'll be taken back here. By the way, your husband stopped by earlier -- I told him you were receiving the best treatment you deserved," she stated icily. "Don't expect to be seeing him any time soon," she added behind her back as she left, slamming the cell door shut.

A wave of fury swept the zebra up in her emotions as she rushed the door, frantically banging on it with her hooves, ignoring the renewed pain it was causing and the fresh streaks of blood being made on it. She cursed as loudly as she could, screaming a string of obscenities that would make a sailor blush. The sound was loud enough and carried swiftly enough to get the Alicorn's attention and she trotted swiftly back to Brenda's cell. She slammed the cell door open with such force, the resulting noise was enough to cause the zebra to cover her ears and cower in fright. The Solar Princess' expression of rage was one which caused Brenda's blood to run cold.

"Perhaps yet another change of location is in order for you," she growled, wrapping the zebra in her golden aura. "If this is the thanks I receive for providing you with a room of your own and a bed to sleep on, not to mention food to eat, then perhaps I was too lenient with you." The zebra futilely kicked her legs in an attempt to free herself from the Alicorn's magic aura, giving her something else to smile about. "You cannot use magic, Brenda, and even if you could, you would not be able to break free of my hold on you. I shall escort you to a more appropriate location commensurate with your level of contempt for me," she said softly as she trotted further down the staircase leading to the older and smaller cells in the dungeon. The already dank and dim dungeon became even darker before she stopped and opened another door, placing the zebra on the cold wet floor of this cell.

Brenda gingerly rose to her hooves and trotted around in a small circle inside the cell, her eyes taking a few minutes to adjust to the darkness. She noticed just how small the cell was and the fact that there was no bed for her to sleep on.

"Am I -- supposed to sleep -- on the floor?" she asked incredulously. She gave the Solar Princess a baleful look, tears beginning to well up at the corners of her eyes when she finally realized the Alicorn wasn't playing around.

"You chose to disrespect me, Brenda -- and I informed you that your actions would have consequences. You will remain here until I am thoroughly convinced of your contrition and your willingness to treat me with the level of respect I demand from you," she intoned sternly before trotting away and closing the cell door behind her. As she left, she heard the zebra wail in despair, eliciting a small smile on her face.

---

"Okay, Rarity, where to first?" I asked as we began the tour of Canterlot's market district. The sights amazed me -- unlike Ponyville's marketplace, Canterlot's was far more elaborate. Shops of all sorts lined the streets, many tents with ponies hawking their wares and services calling out to passersby, each one vying for any attention they could get.

"There's a fabric shop I love to visit whenever I'm here in Canterlot -- it's not far from here," she replied, a soft smile playing on her lips. She noticed me furrow my brow as I ruminated on Celestia's words. "Michael, darling, is something troubling you?"

I sighed heavily in response to her question. "I'm worried about Brenda -- there's something about Princess Celestia's demeanor that has given me cause for concern. I know I should trust her, but -- something inside me is telling me Brenda's in trouble," I stated, a note of apprehension in my words. Rarity gave me a puzzled look.

"I would hope you don't let it interfere too much with what I've planned out for today -- that little diversion in the Castle cost me precious shopping time!" she huffed. "And weren't you saying something about getting married yesterday?" she asked as she sidled close to me and batted her eyes affectionately. I deftly stepped to my right to put a little distance between us.

"Rarity, I said I was tempted to ask for your hoof in marriage -- I must admit to a little disappointment you don't share my concerns, but I was just voicing my concerns in response to your question," I said, a hint of exasperation in my tone.

"Michael, daaaaar-ling, you've got to let that zebra go! I've seen firsthoof how badly she treats you! You belong with somepony who can give you the sort of love you deserve! Somepony like ... me!" she chirped as she leaned against my left side again, using more force this time and batting her eyes even more swiftly. I allowed an audible groan to escape my lips, causing Spike to chuckle and Rarity to frown.

"Rarity, I really appreciate your offer, but right now's not a good time to be asking me these things. My conscience would bother me if I were to ask Celestia for an annulment of my current marriage -- she can do that here -- but until I am certain that Brenda's safe, I think it would be wrong for me to do anything until I know -- one way ... or the other," I finished softly, the possibility of such dark thoughts giving me great pause.

"Michael, darling, Princess Celestia would never intentionally kill another pony! How can you say such things?" she asked, exasperation clearly evident in her voice. I saw her narrow her eyes at me.

"I don't know, Rarity -- all I do know is that there's something fishy and I don't like it. I know it's wrong to assume the worst, but I can't leave anything to chance, especially when it involves my wife. I'm sorry for even broaching the subject." I tried to gauge her reaction, though I gave her a nearly pleading look. "Look, I know Princess Celestia means well -- perhaps she desires that I be happy as well -- but I feel obligated to my wife."

The fashionista sighed heavily at my statement, then turned to me and smiled. "Well, perhaps later when things have sorted themselves out -- please think about my offer, darling! I would love to have a stallion as dashing and dapper as you!"

"I thank you for the compliment, Rarity. I will consider your request, and should the time come, I will let you know my decision. Until then, I would appreciate not being rushed into making any decisions that serious." The sky seemed to darken as clouds built up -- or were pushed into place by quite a few pegasi. I hadn't noticed them earlier as they had been pushing very dark storm clouds into place.

"Um, Mike, it looks like it's going to --" Spike observed before a bolt of lightning hit something not far from where we were trotting. As soon as the thunder finished booming, a torrential downpour dampened our mood considerably.

"A very astute observation, Spike!" I huffed.

"My coiffure! It's going to be ruined!" Rarity whined as she started galloping to the nearest shelter. I followed suit, the young drake perched atop my back and clinging to my neck as I matched the fashionista stride for stride. We managed to make it into a shop before we had gotten completely soaked, though we still dripped quite a bit of water onto the shopkeeper's floor. We shook the water out of our coats as best we could, though Spike had to jump off my back first. I glanced at the fashionista, noting how nice she looked with her mane down and complimented her on it.

"Michael, darling, I'd rather you not see me with my mane like this -- I find it rather unbecoming," she complained.

"It makes you look quite alluring like that," I smiled, eliciting a light blush. The shopkeeper trotted out to meet us at that point.

"Good afternoon, sir and madam. How are we doing today?" he asked. I took a moment to glance around the shop to see where we had ended up and noticed several long staves on the walls.

"I am doing okay, though slightly damp," I replied, offering a small smile.

"I'm afraid I must apologize for the intrusion, darling, but we were trying to get out of the rain," said Rarity.

"So your venture into my establishment was caused by this sudden downpour. May I interest you in a staff?"

"Well, we were just trying to keep from getting completely soaked, sir. I have no idea what I'd need a staff for," I replied, backing toward the door. Rarity stopped me with her magic and glowered at me.

"Darling, we entered his store -- it would be considered quite rude to leave without buying anything," she chided.

"Um, Rarity, I don't have any money," I protested weakly.

"I'll buy it for you, Michael," she intoned softly to me before turning her attention back to the shopkeeper. "Kind sir, he will have one -- I shall pay for it."

"Very well then, madam. The standard rate is ten bits, though I notice your stallion companion lacks a cutie mark. This should be a relatively quick and easy job," he smiled. "Sir, your name is --?" he asked me.

"It's Michael -- and you are?"

"Wood Carver, at your service! I craft the finest Clovellian staves in all Canterlot!" he stated quite proudly.

"What's a Clovellian staff?" I asked, completely ignorant of pony history. He gave me a look as though I had grown a second head.

"You don't know who Clover the Clever was?" he asked almost indignantly.

"I've heard of the name, but know nothing of her," I replied. Rarity tapped my right shoulder with her left forehoof and glowered at me again. The shopkeeper regaled me with some of her exploits and motioned for me to approach him.

"I shall start on your staff -- please let me analyze you for a moment and I'll begin." I felt a slight tingling around my horn as he used his magic to probe my mind and aura. He then set about the task of using a blade with his telekinesis to carve images into the long wooden staff. Time seemed to drag as the work progressed.

"How much longer?" I asked impatiently.

"I have no idea, Michael -- these things are determined by your past and hint at your future -- but I have never had to work on a staff for this long before," he replied, a note of astonishment in his voice. Rarity watched with interest as the blade carved this way and that. Quite a few of the images depicted Twilight, which intrigued her.

"Darling, why is Twilight being carved into the staff? I thought it was for you," she mused.

"Did I forget to mention I was in a copy of Twilight's body for a short period of time? I managed to accomplish a few things during that time," I replied nonchalantly. This drew gasps from both the fashionista and the stallion who was still carving my staff. I nickered at their reaction, though Rarity recovered quickly and bombarded me with a slew of questions. Wood Carver returned his attention to the task at hoof as I regaled the mare with the highlights of my previous experiences in a copy of Twilight's body. Spike seemed almost mesmerized by my explanations, though he winced when I described his reaction when I reverted to my human form. Presently, the stallion finished his work and presented it to me.

"So, is there an extra charge for the length of time it took to carve this?" I asked. Truthfully, he had spent nearly an hour working on it.

"No, the price is the same. Your story sounds unbelievable, but given the images on the staff, it must be true -- false images cannot be carved onto a Clovellian Staff, as I'm sure you're probably aware," he stated. "By the way, you'll have to name it as well."

"Hmm," I mused. "I think I'll call it Quorthon."

"That's an odd name," Wood Carver responded. "Why?"

"Just an unusual name I recall from an earlier time in my life -- I think he was a singer of sorts," I replied matter-of-factly. I noticed the stallion continue his odd glance as well as noticing the fashionista gazing at the staff in wonderment. Spike seemed fascinated with the images carved onto it as well.

"What's this one of me crying for?" the drake asked.

"That's when I transformed back into a human, but offered to either create a Twilight clone in the Mirror Pool or be transformed back into Twilight so I could stay in that universe for you," I replied.

"Wow, I had no idea you would be willing to do that just for me!" he chuckled.

"Truly your generosity outshines mine, Michael," Rarity opined softly, though she sidled up to me again -- I could have sworn she was about to swoon, her admiration for me was so strong.

"Clearly you flatter me, Rarity -- I felt a sense of obligation and if circumstances had been a little different, I might still be in that universe. The ponies there needed a lot of help rebuilding everything and I wanted to help in any way I could." I levitated the staff in front of me and examined it more closely. I noticed a blank area on the staff and commented on it.

"As you continue to accomplish more feats, those will appear on the staff after they occur," Wood Carver responded. "Still, I must admit I'm quite amazed to meet somepony with your credentials -- you're a real hero, Michael! I should ask for a duplicate of your staff so I can hang it on my wall -- if you manage to do something else amazing, it will appear on the duplicate staff as well!"

"How long will that take?" I asked, a slight amount of trepidation evident in my voice. Rarity gave me a worried look as well.

"I can use magic to make a duplicate of your staff immediately," he replied, enveloping it in a tan aura, then placing a second blank staff next to it. The images on Quorthon were transferred to the second staff, a feat which drew a low whistle from me. He chuckled at that. "Simple duplication magic is easy -- once your staff was finished, just a small amount of magic was needed to make the copy. Thank you for your patience, Michael -- I hope you can come back some time later on and tell me some new stories if something new appears on this staff!"

"I will try to do that, Wood Carver," I replied warmly. Rarity took ten bits from a small bag and gave them to the shopkeeper.

"It is an honor to have met you, Michael," he offered as we left the shop. Spike had climbed onto my back and was holding Quorthon in his claws, inspecting the staff closely. We noticed the rain had stopped for the most part, though the sky was still overcast as we trotted to the next store.

"Mike, this is incredible!" the drake exclaimed in astonishment as he saw close up what had been carved onto it. I chuckled at his reaction as we continued trotting.

"I'm curious to see what Twilight's staff would have carved on it," I mused aloud.

"You've seen the stained glass windows in the Castle, have you not, darling?" asked Rarity as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"I wonder if there are stained glass windows in Canterlot Castle in that other universe featuring what I had done there," I replied wistfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if I'm as highly revered in that universe as Twilight is in this one."

"I guess you'll never know, will you, Michael?" the fashionista asked rhetorically. We trotted a bit further and she directed me into this next store. I hadn't been paying attention until I was inside and noticed that this particular shop reminded me of the interior of Carousel Boutique. There were numerous pony-shaped mannequins around the room, each with a different clothing design on them. A dark charcoal-grey stallion trotted up to us at this point.

"Miss Rarity, it is a pleasure to have you visit my shop," he stated confidently. I detected an air of condescension in the tone of his voice and narrowed my eyes ever so slightly in his direction. He seemed to notice this almost immediately and gave me a sidelong glance. "Miss Rarity, I believe it is unseemly for one as fair as you to be associating with such riff-raff."

My left eye started twitching as I narrowed my eyes to slits and lowered my ears. "I'd be careful about calling certain ponies riff-raff if I were you," I growled, levitating Quorthon as a warning.

"What are you doing with a Clovellian staff?" he asked indignantly. "Miss Rarity, please tell me you did not waste a single bit on this ... this ..."

"I've had about enough out of you, whomever you are," I declared angrily. My eyes appeared to flash red for a split-second, causing him to back away, a look of fear on his face.

"Michael, please stop! He's an acquaintance of mine," Rarity implored, though she cast a disapproving look at me. She turned her attention to the other stallion. "Hoity Toity, I'm terribly sorry about that -- he can be a bit impulsive sometimes." I nickered at the mention of his name.

"Your name --" I chuckled, "is -- Hoity Toity?" I asked. I lost my attempt to stifle my laughter.

"You don't even have a proper pony name, so I wouldn't laugh if I were you, Michael!" he retorted testily.

"I've been mulling over some possibilities, and the name Amethyst Flame is what seems to be coming to mind," I stated matter-of-factly.

"You certainly have the hot-headed temper to match that name," Hoity Toity responded.

"I rather like it, darling," Rarity mused as she sidled against me, practically leaning against my right side and batted her eyes at me again.

"He doesn't even have a cutie mark! Rarity, what is it about him that fascinates you so?"

"He's a hero in another universe, Hoity -- he has done as much there as Twilight has done here!" she replied. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, I could have sworn I saw stars in hers as she gushed about my accomplishments.

"Rarity, please -- there's a proper time and place for such accolades. I thought you were here to shop or something," I said in an attempt to get her attention.

"I couldn't believe he had succeeded in doing that! Isn't he just wonderful?" she asked before her brain processed my statement. She turned her attention back to me. "Oh, sorry, darling -- you know how I get!" she chortled.

"Well, Michael, or Amethyst, or whatever you want to be called, if I hadn't heard this from Rarity, I would seriously doubt your credentials. I apologize for the earlier misunderstanding," Hoity stated. His voice sounded as though he seemed to be somewhat impressed by Rarity's glowing endorsement of me.

"Accepted, Hoity Toity," I replied, though I noticed it was still quite difficult for me to say his name without smiling. He returned my smile, though I silently wondered if he knew precisely why I was smiling. I chalked it up to ignorance and let the matter drop.

"So, Miss Rarity, have you come to admire my latest fashions?" he asked her as he sidled up to her and winked his right eye.

"I thought perhaps you might be interested in purchasing some of my latest designs, Hoity, darling," she offered, smiling.

"Well, perhaps I might be inclined to examine them," he mused as he trotted over to a pony-shaped mannequin. "But can they compare to this?" he asked as he revealed his most recent design.

"Michael, darling, you still have my packages, don't you?" she asked me.

"I can fetch them thus," I responded, lighting my horn and teleporting one of the boxes in front of her. She expressed surprise, as did the other stallion when the box appeared. Rarity recovered quickly and levitated the box, opening it and removing the item. She smiled in approval at me.

"Hoity, darling, this is one of my most recent designs," she stated proudly.

"I see you still have your touch, Miss Rarity. Color me impressed," he grinned as he returned to her side and leaned against her.

"And I see you're quite smitten with her," I replied with a degree of sarcasm as I glowered at him again. Something stirred within me when I saw him trying to cozy up with the mare -- I don't know why, but it just seemed to make me a little jealous.

"She is the epitome of beauty, though you seem hardly the type to appreciate that," he responded, eliciting a low growl from me.

"I see we're back to square one," I hissed through clenched teeth, narrowing my eyes to slits again.

"I think you'd better control that temper of yours unless you want trouble," he grinned. "I have connections here in Canterlot -- you don't want to make me your enemy. I can make things very difficult for you, regardless of how important you might think you are."

I turned my attention to the mare. "Rarity, is he for real or is he just blowing smoke?" I asked.

"I can assure you that I don't make threats -- I make promises," he replied in his condescending tone.

"Michael, I've known Hoity long enough to know how well connected he is -- just -- try to be nice, won't you?"

"Very well then, Miss Rarity, because you asked me nicely," I replied, sighing heavily through my nostrils.

"Now that that little matter has been resolved, there are a few more things I'd like to show you," the stallion offered softly as he led the mare around his store, showing off a few more of his designs. Not content to stand around and watch, I decided to trot outside and wait for her to finish and reconnoiter with me. Spike joined me outside the establishment.

"Why did you act like that?" he asked, exasperation evident in his tone.

"I think I may be smitten with her as well, Spike -- it makes me jealous to see the two of them together like that, especially when he's not even trying to disguise his attempts to hit on her," I replied as my anger began to rise again. The pitter-patter of rain drops began again as we waited in silence. The rain picked up its intensity shortly after that.

"Um, Mike, aren't you going to go back inside?" the drake asked.

"I have no business in that shop," I replied flatly, allowing the rain to soak my body.

"You're still wearing that jacket Rarity made for you -- it's getting all wet," he noted.

"I don't care," I huffed in annoyance as the rain continued to beat down upon us.