The Wander Through Lands Unknown

by Tomas Lutwig

Chapter 30; Release

Time passed, exercising, practicing my new found magical abilities of telekinesis, and sleeping being my go to forms of keeping myself occupied. My social life wasn't completely devoid of any life though, as sometimes when a nightmare would make an attempt to rack my mind, the Princess of the Night would appear to banish whatever creation it would make.

Much of our 'conversations' were small talk Pleasantries of “how are you” or “why haven't you visited? The lack of intelligent conversation is driving me to bash my head against the wall for entertainment”. Most of our talks being cut off by the Princess needing to be somewhere else to protect the dreams of others.

After being trapped in a lucid dream for two years, give or take, making wonderlands in your mind was not very entertaining. I did manage to keep myself occupied before I woke up though, living out different ideas of being a super soldier, or having the magical prowess of a wizard to destroy my enemies with fire or ice.

Time in a dungeon without any form of contact to the outside world beyond a visit what felt like anywhere from hours to days apart did give you a lot of time to yourself.

'A shame I don't have any books, probably should of asked Celestia if I could borrow a few or something' I thought glancing over at the pile of hay. Tapping back into the feeling in my chest I had come to simply know as the feeling of magic in my body, which was still unused to the force. Lifting a glowing hand to the dwindling pile of hay, most of it being scattered around the room after previous attempts, I watched as the hay rose.

The basics of picking up items and holding them had begun to prove simple, able to do so with little focus. Mentally splitting the pile of hay into two smaller ones, I held the two in the air before motioning with a hand, watching with a keen eye as the two begun slowly circling around an unseen center.

'Still, should be an interesting surprise for Celestia' I thought with a smile as I made the two clumps slowly increase in speed. 'Though there's still the question of how to reveal it' I thought allowing the orbs of hay to slow as I put my other hand to my chin. 'Wouldn't want to simply pull it on her... Perhaps a bit of a mediocre magic show? No, I don't know any of the spells for even pulling a rabbit out of a hat'

Looking back to the two orbs I rejoined them bringing my other hand back into the spell as I slowly flattened out the large orb into a disk of hay that levitated a few inches above my head slowly spinning. Strain slowly started taking it's toll as I manipulated the disk, spinning it faster or making smaller orbs in the air that circled similarly to the original two.

With labored breaths I reformed the larger clump of hay before letting it rest back down where it had originally occupied space. A gloved hand wiped away some moisture that had started forming on my brow from the strain.

Rising from my feet, hand steadying myself against the wall next to me, I started stretching a yawn fighting it's way out as I arched my back hearing a few satisfying pops quickly followed by my neck. Rolling my neck around to ease the lingering pain and loose any tensed muscles, I took out the white piece of carved chalk and went the far wall.

Sleeping, exercising, and magic practice might be my main entertainment, but the far wall was covered in white chalk drawings of different things, ranging from weapons which held surprising detail for the medium they were being used with, scenes of birds flying or even a drawn window with a mountain range showing from the other side. A few white scuffs also showed the remains of creatures or beings that had once frightened me in my dreams which I had been compelled to draw, the simple strangeness of the forms of the creatures or to simply erase them, being old advice from my mother to 'draw what frightens you, and destroy it' to aid in making the fear go away.

A sigh escaped me as I stepped back from the wall. The urge to make some sort of art present, though the idea lacking. Looking between the other pictures I could only question what to make. Shaking my head after a moment I returned the chalk to my pouch my hand bumping into something sharp making it jerk back in surprise.

Reaching back into my bag, I retrieved a good sized white spiraling horn, the edges of which home to sharp ends where the appendage had been ripped from the unicorn's face.

'Celestia hasn't said anything about her nephew, I wonder if he's recovered his horn yet' I questioned mentally twirling the horn between my fingers. A small smile came to my lips as I realized that I didn't really care much for the pompous unicorn. 'Does make me wonder what I can do with this though'

Thoughts of possible weapons passed through my head only to be shot down due to the assumed brittleness of bone. Ideas of knife handles came to mind making me tap my chin with the long white horn with a small smile forming on my face again at the thought of carving an intricate design and possibly sending it to the prince to mock him.

“I thought perhaps you'd prefer having your original horn” I said bowing to the opposite wall, acting as if it was the unicorn in question. Laughter echoed from my gut after a few moments, after the majority of which I slipped the horn back into the pouch on my belt. “Almost worth it” I said quietly, thinking to keep the knife for myself as more of a utility to replace the bandit's knife, seeing as how the longer blade was made for combat and not usefulness.

Looking to my coat laying on the ground near my bag, I picked it up and shook it off. After a quick check for holes and any loose pieces of hay, I draped the coat over my shoulders and pushed my arms through the sleeves. The coolness of the inside slightly uncomfortable against the damp cold of the dungeon though the heat from my body warmed it up quickly enough. I put the bars through their loops, pulling them until the tightness was comfortable before buckling the belt around my front. I retrieved the hood from inside the backpack as well throwing it over my head before adjusting it so the hood wasn't obstructing my view.

'I suppose now's a good a time as any for a nap' I thought after redressing. Looking to my backpack to use once again as a pillow.

“My, it almost seems like you were ready for us” The voice of the Solar Princess sounded behind me. The alicorn in question stood beside a helmetless Sundance, both of which were wearing contagious smiles.

“But of course!” I said with a long sweep of my hand, returning a smile of my own. “How would a man like myself be able to greet a pair of ladies like yourself wearing anything, but his best?”

“Perhaps with a shower?” Sundance said putting a hoof to her nose and waving the other in mock disgust.

Laughter broke out between the pair making me roll my eyes. “Touche Sundance, to be fair though that is one of the first things I plan on doing when I get out of here” I said before sticking my tongue out at the unicorn.

Celestia was the first to recover letting out a few giggles before clearing her throat, “Our purpose for being here is actually to that effect. Your sentence is over” She said making my jaw drop. The princess' horn sparked to life, the golden aura surrounding the door before it creaked open.

I stared at the pair for a moment before I raised a hand and swiftly brought it across my face. Pain erupted from the point of impact throwing my face to the side only to look back to the open cell door and the now shocked faces of my friends. “Wh- what did you do that for?” Sundance asked.

I looked down at my hand for a second before starting towards the two. Silently I wrapped my arms around both of their necks squeezing lightly. “Making sure I wasn't dreaming again” I said simply as I felt a pair of hooves reach around to my back. I felt something drip from my nose to the stone below looking down my vision swam.

I let out a cough before backing away from the two and wiping a glove across my face. “Sorry about that, just let me grab my pack” I said turning away to keep them from seeing the tears, even if they were of relief.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder before looking around what had been my prison for the past two years. Shaking my head I turned back to the two mares with a smile, “Lets get out of here then” I said

Hot water washed over what felt like a millennium of dried sweat and other grime threatening to bring me to my knees. While I wasn't normally a fan of overly fragrant soaps like the ones that were set beside the tub, I didn't really mind after having to smell similar to something a creature had regurgitated for a number of years.

'This is the first shower I've had since I was in hoof camp' I thought as I went to turn the knob to shut off the water. Stopping, I went instead to lower the heat of the water, after a turn, the water's temperature started to drop letting out a relaxing cool stream that washed over my head and body. A content sigh escaped me.

After a while of relaxing under the cool water, I reached down and turned the knob for the water to shut off. I pushed the curtains back and looked to the rack where the towel was before levitating it over to me for fear of breaking my skull on the polished stone floors. After quickly drying myself off I stepped out of the porcelain tub and wrapped the towel around myself.

I cracked the door open checking to make sure none of the servants, which much to my annoyance seemed to be female, were in the guest room the Princess had let me clean up in only to find that my clothes were still out being cleaned.

'Son of a...' I thought as the door opened. “You ready yet James? The Princess said the Captain is getting impatient” Sundance's voice sounded making me poke my head out to see the mare wearing her full guard uniform.

“Well I probably would be in the middle of getting dressed had my clothes of been returned” I said giving her a 'well what can you do?' look.

She rolled her eyes staring at my uncovered head. “I still don't understand why you're so insistent on wearing clothes all the time. It causes more problems than it's worth.”

I raised an eyebrow before poking my arm from out behind the door. “I don't have a coat to protect me from the sun, so I burn quite quickly.” I said before returning the arm behind the door, “That and my genitals are completely uncovered if I walk around butt naked like you ponies do. While I may not care much, I think you'd find that quite a number of you ladies would”

A blush played across the mare's face for a second as she glanced at the door, “I suppose that makes enough sense” She said starting to back out of the room, uncomfortable for where the conversation had gone.

“Right, so can you please go find out who took my clothes at the very least. A towel might work as a passable cover, I'd rather not walk around the castle in only this” I said tightening the towel around my waist as she backpedaled out the door. A nod was shot my way before she closed the door.

I walked over to the bed that sat beside a ornamental nightstand, across from it was a large wardrobe. The overall structure of the room reminded me of the old castle's rooms, minus the wood rot, dust, and spiderwebs. I leaned against one of the bedposts looking out of the large window that showed a nice overlook of the slopes that lead down the mountain.

After a few minutes of admiring the view and enjoying the warmth that radiated from the sun that shown on the other side of the glass, the sound of the door opening again revealed a beige mare with her golden colored mane in a bun. An apron covered her rather small body which she had a basket holding what I could only assume was my clothes in it.

The mare seemed surprised and a blush played across her face as she looked away from me, “Your clothes sir” she said grabbing the handle of the basket with her teeth before dumping the contents onto the bed.

“Ah, thank you very much miss” I said stepping off the bedpost and around the bed before grabbing my undergarments. I looked up to see the mare still standing there only to look away as I noticed. 'What's up with her?' I questioned mentally.

“Excuse me” she said before practically galloping out of the room and slamming the door shut, the basket nearly toppling to the floor.

'Jeeze, I guess not being able to understand women goes for all of them, not just humans' I thought letting the towel fall to the floor before slipping my boxers on. 'Thank God none of this stuff has holes in it yet' I thought chuckling to myself at how often I had worn the articles I was putting on before looking over at the costume, or had once been a costume.

Once dressed, I grabbed my pack and threw it over my shoulder. 'I really hope Celestia is going to give back my things. I need to make a better pole for my spear if nothing else' I thought heading down the halls towards the Captain of the Royal guard's office.

“...Princess I believe you're letting your personal emotions get in the way of making a rational decision” I heard the familiar voice of Captain Silverhoof as I neared the office.

“I find, Captain, that my personal emotions have very little to do with this decision” Celestia's voice sounded, a coldness I had very rarely heard. “My subject's safety is my Top priority. If I believed the Wanderer was a threat to them I would have left him trapped in stone, regardless if his mind degraded from insanity. Now, Captain Silverhoof, I believe that this conversation is done”

“Understood my Princess, I only speak out for fear of the citizens of Equestria” The Captain's voice sounded again, now laced with reluctant agreement.

I furrowed my brows having inched closer to the door as quietly as possible before letting out a mental sigh. 'Can't say I'm surprised' I thought before throwing a smile on my face and getting in front of the cracked open door.

I knocked on the door allowing the formalities of the military take me for a moment. “Permission to enter sir!” I said loudly enough for the two to hear me.

Silence met me for a moment before “Granted” sounded from the Captain making me push the door open. “I don't know why you act like you're still in the Guard deserter, we've yet to allow you re-entry” he said watching me salute to the princess.

“Just offering respect where it's due, and old habits die hard, sir” I said, trying to keep the indifference from my voice.

“Just as well, where is Corporal Sundance? Didn't we send her to fetch you?” Silverhoof said looking behind me.

“There was a slight issue with my clothing, I was under the assumption she was the reason that one of the mare's brought up my clothes so soon after” I said turning to look out into the hall.

Celestia shook her head, “No, she has yet to return” her voice sounded.

“It's to no matter, I'll speak to her of it later.” the Captain said making me turn to him. “The Princess has requested that you are re-inducted into the guard, despite your foolishness in the past, so you had best be grateful deserter”

I glanced at the princess, wondering for a moment if there was some other deal I could make with her to keep from dealing with pompous military personnel like Silverhoof. “Understood” I said simply, looking back to the Captain.

Silverhoof narrowed his eyes at me, as if checking for some sign of betrayal, before letting out a sigh and returning his gaze to the Princess. “Very well, but you're on a short leash Private Wanderer. You're to report to Ponyville at 0600 hours tomorrow.” he said looking back at me before heading to his desk and writing something down quickly and thrusting it at me. “Give this to the guards in the armory they'll get you outfitted”

As I reached out to grab onto the paper he pulled it away, eyes narrowing again. “Don't make me regret this Private” he said.

“Captain” Celestia's voice rang out, warning implied without saying anything else.

The paper was extended again which I took before saluting the Captain and heading out the door. The clopping of hooves sounded from behind me making me turn to see that Celestia was following me.

“Honestly I'm surprised you don't have paperwork to deal with or something of the like” I said looking down at the form allowing me the normal guard's equipment.

“Well there is, but I have a feeling that the other guards will make it a point to cause as much issue for you as possible seeing as how you ran off into the Everfree Forest before you could even be given your post” she said.

I nodded, “I figured as much myself. I was tempted to propose an alteration to our agreement, so I would be serving the kingdom in another facet, perhaps as a mercenary, though I suppose it's too late now” I said looking up as we started out of the castle working our way through the guards who saluted to the princess and the ones who recognized me glared in my direction.

“I suppose that's understandable, but after last time I don't know if I could trust you to go through with that” She said as we approached the armory.

The armory was a fairly small building, similar to most of the others, made of gray stone with a simple thatching roof. The only thing that set it apart from the barracks was the pair of guards that stood at the entrance and the sound of hammering from inside.

Both of the guards saluted as the Princess entered, faces showing no emotion even as the salute was dropped and I followed. “Ah Iron Arm, just the minotaur I wanted to see.” Princess Celestia said making my stomach drop into my toes.

I watched as the familiar dark minotaur looked up from the breastplate with a smile only for it to drop into a scowl as he noticed me. “How may I help you Princess?” he said, the friendly tone I had remembered in his voice gone, replaced with a nearly monotone one.

'I think I know why she came with me' I thought as the minotaur put down the hammer and approached the two of us.

“The Wanderer here has been re-inducted to the guard and is in need of his equipment” Celestia said, nodding in my direction. I showed the dark colored minotaur the order form before he went over to a chest that looked like it hadn't been touched in a couple of years. The hinges creaked as he opened it to pull out a tarnished breastplate and a familiar looking helmet with it's copper plume. Putting them on the table he walked over and grabbed a long wooden pole putting it next to the armor.

Iron Arm looked over the form again before crumpling it up and throwing it towards a bin near the door. “Is there anything else my princess?” he asked, the tone of his voice unchanged.

Celestia shook her head “No, I believe that will be all, thank you Iron Arm” she said to which he saluted, returning to repairing armor and sharpening spears.

I looked over the scuffed and tarnished armor before letting out a sad sigh. 'I wonder why they kept it.' I thought throwing the chest plate over my coat and pulling down my hood before placing the helmet on my head. After securing the necessary straps and making sure everything fit well enough, I grabbed the wooden pole with a curious glance to the princess.

“I simply told the Captain you'd prefer to repair your broken weapon than use one of the issued ones” She said, starting out the door. I glanced back at Iron Arm, but he paid me no heed, favoring to working on the equipment.

“Well you're not wrong” I said looking over the wooden pole, I silently wondered what wood it was. “Though that leaves to question where my things are”

“Oh, that's nothing to worry about. I had the guards take them to my room, you head to the stables, I've already requested a chariot to be prepared” Celestia said waving a hoof dismissively. to Ponyville is because since it's a small town where almost no crime requiring the Royal guard is committed, thus the barracks are

I raised an eyebrow looking up at the alicorn. “That leaves to question why you're trying to usher me out so quickly”

The Princess let out a sigh, “You messed up, and the guards don't take well to deserters, the only reason I had the Captain send you run down and empty. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are the ones who normally deal with any real issues, so I decided to send you there to assist with anything that comes up, as well as to keep anything in the Everfree Forest from causing harm to the citizens” She said looking away from me.

I nodded looking towards the stables, “Well, it makes enough sense, honestly I guessed that the guards would enact some kind of vengeance for deserting.” I said a unhumored chuckle escaping me. “I guess being out there would also be useful if you needed someone to look into problems when Twilight and her friends are busy”

“Exactly, if there was another incident in the forest like the one with that amulet then you'd be able to start working towards some kind of resolution immediately” she said, “Now I'll be back head over to the chariot”

I saluted making the princess nod before she started back into the castle.

'Probably for the best seeing as how I'm getting nothing but glares. Kinda surprising how Sundance didn't try to crucify me' I thought as I was walking to the stables. 'Also makes me question where she is I looked around, wondering if perhaps the unicorn mare had come outside to deal with her squad.

The stables were a number of buildings holding chariots, most being rather old looking wooden ones reinforced with metal in places, obviously meant for battle, lined up in two long wooden buildings that looked more like small garages that someone took and put a large barn door on. The odd ones out being the princess' personal chariots housed in a pair of smaller wooden structures, the golden one's door being open with the chariot nearby with a stallion and a mare pegasus already hooked up to the front.

Walking over I sat down on the edge of the chariot deciding to wait for Celestia by watching the other guards drill or combat practice.

“There you are!” I heard coming from the castle. Looking over I watched as a unicorn mare guard galloped towards the chariot. “I was looking all over for you! Did you already talk to the Captain and Princess?” Sundance asked as she approached to which I nodded. The mare let out a sigh rolling her eyes, “Couldn't even let me come back and get you instead of running off by yourself. I got chewed out by Captain Silverhoof for that.”

My eyes widened in mock horror, “Oh really? I'm sorry, I guess you're in the same boat I am now” I said with a smile, only for her to stick out her tongue at me. “Well I guess I'm heading over to Ponyville so...” I trailed off scratching under the segments of my helmet.

“Oh, right” Sundance started looking at the ground before shaking her head, “Well, it's not as though we'll never see one another again. I mean friends like us, we don't split up!” she said, looking back up at me and bringing the happiness back to her voice.

'I would hope so' I thought, a feeling of sadness eating at the bottom of my stomach. Despite myself I put on a smile looking back up at her, “Right, I mean what's the worst that could happen? I get killed by some kind of hideous monster in the Everfree?” I said laughing.

A look of horror passed over the mare's face as she looked at me, immediately killing my humor. 'Oh, I didn't tell her did I?' I thought as my face fell.

A cough echoed from her for a moment, “Now, let's not joke like that” she said, blinking away moisture that gathered in her eyes as she looked away.

I let out a sigh and took off my helm, setting it on the back of the chariot I slipped off the back and kneeled in front of the mare. “Hey” I said in an attempt to make her look at me. When she didn't, I grabbed the mare by the chin and forcibly brought her face so she was looking at me. “Trust me, even if I die, they don't have the ability to keep me dead” I said with a tired smile. “You don't have to worry about me getting killed. If you die though” I let go of the mare's chin and poked her in the breastplate, where I could only assume the heart was. “I'm going to find out how to bring you back, just to give you shit, I hope you know that”

A challenging smile broke out on the mare's face, even as tears threatened to roll down her face. “I'll hold you to that” Sundance said.

I held my arms out wide which the unicorn guard immediately took advantage of and wrapped her hooves around me.

“I don't want to see you back in that cell again Prisoner” she said, her voice muddled by the plate it was pressed against.

“Wouldn't dream of it Sundance” I replied wrapping my arms around my first real friend. A thought occurred to me for a moment making me push the mare away and hold her at arm's length, “You better write” was all I said, face contorted in a look of warning.

Sundance laughed pushing past my arms and giving me a strong squeeze. “You can bet on it” she said pushing away of her own accord.

“I'm almost sad to split the two of you up” Celestia's voice rang out making the mare jump to attention and salute.

The princess, now wearing a pair of white saddle bags, looked at me expectantly for a moment only for me to shrug, “I'm not in uniform, so I bow” I said letting my head fall forward.

“Alright, come now both of you” The Princess said making me look up to see the amusement on her face. The alicorn looked over to Sundance, smile wavering. “I'd offer to allow you to accompany us, but I'm sure you have your duties regarding your squad”

Sundance nodded, letting out a sigh. “Unfortunately, while those four have been getting better, they've still got some teamwork skills to work on. So I must decline.” she said before looking over at me, “Just be a good boy” she joked, shooting me a playful smile to which I returned.

“Uhhg, yes 'Mom'! Whatever!” I said rolling my eyes and shoulders back so I was slouching. “You're always ruining my fun”

Both mares chuckled, the elder rolling her eyes. Sundance started back towards the castle waving a goodbye as she neared.

“I'm going to miss that goofball” I said putting my helmet back on watching until she had disappeared into the castle. “And she you” Celestia replied, stepping onto the carriage an action I followed.