The Back Forty

by Snooj

Chapter Five - Within These Walls

The plush sleeping accommodations at the castle were little comfort to a troubled mind. Daring Do could have been no further from Twilight’s thoughts as she lay awake for hours, settled into a room in one of the higher towers of the castle, far from the guard patrols, far from the residents, and far from her friends down below.

She put thoughts of the musty dungeon out of her mind. She evicted the chill of those granite cells, she buried the echoing sound of hooves on cobblestones, and she forcibly repressed that image of Applejack refusing to look at her as the cell door closed.

Hours passed before she could lose consciousness, slipping into an uneasy sleep vibrant with nightmares. Her friends surrounded her, uncharacteristic disappointment splattered across their faces, nothing she said could rekindle a lost connection, every movement was hindered by ropes binding her feet, ropes that snaked off into a mystical darkness, ropes that would tug at her, guide her, prevent her from apologizing or making things right. Her close friends galloped around her, taunting her, mocking her inability to struggle to her feet, to control her own actions. Her magic wouldn’t work, wouldn’t affect them, she fell, crying, yelling without sound. Suddenly her friends were shrouded in tangible pain and despair. They screamed, fading from her sight. The ropes wound around her, pulling tight, she couldn’t breathe, sinister voices whispered in her ear but she couldn’t tell what they were saying, couldn’t see her friends, couldn’t help them, couldn’t stop what was happening, couldn’t breathe.

A voice touched her, the color of hope. “Twilight!” It sliced into the fabric of her dream, cut the darkness, letting light stream in. “Twilight!” It severed the ropes, let her breathe. “Hey, Twilight!”

She screamed as she woke, a pathetic noise that quieted as she shook off the fog of unconsciousness. Where was she? Who was calling her name?

“Twilight, hey, wake up kid!” A heavy hoof was prodding her, loosening blankets that were wrapped so tightly around her she could barely move.

“Oh, my head,” she looked up at the dark silhouette, a face made almost invisible by the brilliance of the sun from behind.

“Rough dream, sis?”

“Shining Armor! What are…how did? Ooooh, my head.”

“You were mumbling in your sleep. When did you get here? I was only told an hour ago that you were even in the castle. It took me forever to find you. Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting?”

So tired. How long had she slept? The sun was up and her brother has mercifully stepped to the side so she no longer had to gaze directly toward it to see him. The bright beam stabbing through the window indicated a sun fairly high in the sky. It was mid-morning, a few hours before noon. Sunrise was hours ago. She had no concept of when she had arrived, when she had finally passed out, or how long she had been awake, but the day was certainly in full bloom.

“It wasn’t planned. Sort of crept up on me. I was…” how much information to divulge? “I was talking to Celestia. Writing to her, she wanted me to come to the castle quickly. So I came in last night. On the Friendship Express.” She felt like Applejack, spinning a horribly transparent lie to a politely accepting audience.

“Well, it’s good to see you, kid. Been a rough day here already. If you can pull yourself out of bed we could go have a bite to eat, maybe you can help me out around the castle.”

“Help out? You’re Captain of the Guard. I’m a librarian. You need some books read or something?” Her attempt at humor was weak but he offered her a consoling chuckle.

“No, I’ve just… It’s been a hard morning. Celestia has me working an odd detail, would be nice to get some help. Or some council from somepony as wise as yourself.” The line was delivered with a small grin, not at all condescending as the phrasing might suggest. Only Shining Armor could make her feel like a little colt and a trusted elder in one sentence.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, she seems worried about something. I think she was gone all night, don’t know if she was meeting with Luna or what. She didn’t offer any details and it’s best not to ask. She’s talking about a possible threat on the kingdom. She wasn’t forthcoming with details, but she spoke with certainty. Not like last time, when we didn’t know what to expect. She hinted that soon we may have to impose a curfew, she wants me to prepare the guard. And she even—“ he stopped short, staring at the ground. It seemed so easy for him to open up to Twilight, what had he been about to say when his guard was down?

“She what?”

“Well, we’ve had curfews before, that’s not strange, but this morning she asked me to … relieve certain guards of duty. She named them individually. I don’t understand it, but it was all the earth ponies, every single one in the guard. We don’t have many, mostly we’re pegasi and unicorns. It takes a special breed of Earth Pony to be tough enough for the guard, to compare for power and versatility, so some of these guys, well, they’re the best. Guys I’d trust to get my back. This morning I had to reclaim their helmets and give them a leave of absence and I couldn’t even tell them why.”

“That’s awful!” sympathized Twilight.

“I’m the Captain. Before giving orders I spent many years taking them so I’m not going to question Celestia. But to send these guys home, without explanation, I…” he faltered. Twilight needed no more information. “And there’s something else, but I don’t want to you worry. Twilie, I’m so sorry to dump all this on you. I’m sorry, how was your trip? You hungry?”

“Hey big brother, you can’t tell me there’s something else and change the subject. While you’re spilling the bad news, tell me everything.” Twilight could see a hint of regret flash across Shining Armor’s face. The Captain of the Guard kept his secrets guarded unless talking to his sister.

“Just keep this under your hoof, okay?”

“Of course.”

“When I woke up this morning, Cadance was gone.”

Twilight’s spine suffered a chilling spasm. “Gone? What? Could Chrysalis …”

“No, no, we’ve been keeping tabs on her. It’s nothing like that. Last night, everything was fine. Normal. Wonderful, she’s really … well, this morning, she was gone. No sign of a struggle, she even,” Shining Armor’s voice began to crack, “she packed up some special…” he struggled to find words. “Oh sis, I don’t know.”

Twilight unwound her back hooves from the blanket’s remaining hold on her and moved forward to Shining Armor. She gently nuzzled her nose up to his neck, slightly comforted by his staunch resolve to not break down when faced by this multi-pronged crisis.

“Oh sis,” he whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe we should get that breakfast,” she offered.

“Yeah, I could do that. I have one thing to do first, meet me in the back garden in about twenty minutes. We can get some fresh greens by ourselves. It’ll be sweet. Honestly, I don’t feel like asking anyone to prepare food for me today.”

“Twenty minutes,” she repeated, “I’ll see you then.”

He left without another word and Twilight felt the weight of her situation settle back on her shoulders. Still tired from the sleepless night, she quickly made the bed, freshened herself up, and left the room with fifteen minutes to spare. The time was spent wandering the castle in a fog. The halls echoed with an unusual emptiness, eerie and lonely. Out of nowhere, and with a sudden pang of guilt for not having thought of them earlier, her friends galloped into her thoughts. How greedy she had been, how selfish! To sleep in a large, soft bed, luxurious pillows, hoof-woven blankets, and to suffer thoughts of a bad night’s sleep. Her friends were in cells, in prison, cold and dark. Were there even beds? She hadn’t seen the inside. Did Shining Armor know about those cells? Did he know about her friends?

No, he couldn’t. He certainly would have told her. Maybe. She decided not to bring up the topic, but she resolved to go see them soon. Not now, to skip out on her commitment would look suspicious. As it was, she couldn’t even properly explain to him how she got to the castle.

Before long she found herself in the back garden, waiting nervously for Shining Armor. She realized that she wasn’t far from the ominous portal she had traveled through the night before. Within five minutes, she could be standing there. Celestia had given her a memory spell, immediately transferring the knowledge of the location and the spell to use to open the hidden doorway. She could find it again, she could bring Shining Armor there. What would he do? He had just sent home several of his best guards today, obviously his loyalties were to Celestia. He would, of course, advise Twilight to stay the course and trust Celestia. He would never free prisoners, especially ones put there by Celestia’s command. Obviously, there was no reason to bother him with this matter with everything else on his mind. She would wait until after breakfast and visit them in secret.

“Twilight!”

She barely wasted a breath on a surprised squeal. “Hey big brother.”

“Sorry I’m a little late. Wow, would you look at that alfalfa? Man, I don’t know what the gardeners do here, but this fresh growth is so good. Some of the best food in Equestria!”

“Yeah, right after the apples from Apple Acres!” Twilight felt some guilt in saying this, not for her incarcerated friend, but because her only reason for mentioning Apple Acres was to see if she could startle a response out of her brother. If he knew Applejack was locked up, the mention of her homestead was sure to cause him to miss a beat.

“Oh yeah, you’ve told me about those before. You’ll have to bring a bushel next time you come. I hardly got any of the food at the wedding! I was pretty exhausted by the time those great treats hit the tables. Hey, follow me, there’s an open pasture of some amazing fescue this way. It really thrives in cold weather, and the evenings have been brutal up this way.”

Well, that was a lost cause. If he knew anything, his guard training would certainly prepare him for her inept interrogation techniques. She didn’t know what else to do besides ask him straight out or try to convince herself that he knew nothing. Since neither mindset would change her current course of action, she chose simply to believe in her brother. She followed him down a sloping hill, through a spinney of tall oak trees, and out into a pasture with grass every bit as sweet as Shining Armor has promised. They spent a leisurely breakfast there, grazing, joking around, mock racing, and for a few minutes Twilight let herself believe they were foals again.

Their joy was almost unbearable to Twilight, it was almost a compulsion that she bring them back down to Earth lest they both forget that they had actual responsibilities. “So,” she began slowly, reluctant to lose this one fleeting piece of heaven, “you don’t have any idea where Cadance went?”

She could see the shadow of his responsibilities seep back over him and at once she regretted asking the question.

“No. Nothing. I mean, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me. I think there’s something at play here, something big and dangerous. If anything, I’m more bothered by her lack of explanation than the disappearance. She should be able to tell me anything, and if there’s trouble on the horizon, I want to be prepared.”

Fair enough, he didn’t know about his own wife, he probably didn’t know about his prisoners. Or he was lying about everything? No! Shake that thought from your head, Twilight.

“I’ve got to get back to the castle, kiddo. I’m a few guards down today to we have to pull some double-shifts. Got a lot of reorganizing to do and a tiny amount of time to do it. Race ya back!”

He took off like the bold fighter he was. Twilight was just able to keep up, but even if she could pass him she wouldn’t, it was exhilarating to watch him run. He glanced back at her and genuine smile played across his face as the wind whipped his mane out behind him. Moments later he proclaimed his victory and Twilight was sad to see the smile gently fade as the looming castle reminded him that he was no longer a colt free to run wild in the pastures.

They walked back through the garden with the delectable alfalfa, stopped for one last bite together, and Shining Armor excused himself back to duty with promises of a great feast later that night. He turned to face her, all vestiges of mirth completely departed.

“Twilight, I know you love your friends, and I respect that. Just don’t forget that I’m your brother. There aren’t many ponies I’d die for, but I would for you,” his sincerity cut her like a knife. “If I can do anything, I would do it for you. You know that, right kiddo?”

“Of course! You’re my big brother.”

“Right, yeah. It’s just, I’ve lived in Canterlot practically my whole life. I know the schedule of the Friendship Express by heart. There are no nighttime arrivals on weekdays.” He interrupted her as she started to open her mouth, “it’s fine, I don’t need to know what you’re hiding. I trust your judgment. Just know that you can tell me anything. Don’t tell me simply because I know you’re hiding it. Tell me if you think I need to know. Okay?”

She nodded, a lump in her throat preventing coherent speech. He trotted away, up a set of stone steps and into a back entrance of the castle. Fantastic, here she was trying to prod secrets from him, and instead she had given up her own.

Dismissing her frustration with herself, she locked eyes on the castle’s secret entrance, invisible from where she stood but so charged with emotional turmoil she could feel it beckon to her. Only a few hours ago she had led her friends through that entrance, two more ponies who trusted her, perhaps even more than Shining Armor did. Had she betrayed them? She was following Celestia, who certainly must know what’s best.

Celestia hadn’t specifically mandated that she keep away, though, and she did make a promise that she would come see them in the morning. Wait, did she actually promise? She couldn’t recall the exact phrasing of her commitment.

No, she said she would come for them, she had to honor that. Twilight emptied her mind of all rational reasoning to ensure she wouldn’t talk herself out of the mistake she was about to endure. After a cursory glance around to ensure she wasn’t being watched, she made her way to the thick overgrowth of trees, no less ominous in the light of day. She located the cobblestone path with ease and traced it to the solid castle wall.

Before she could succumb her looming doubts, she performed the portal spell with a feeble hope that it would fail. She was almost disappointed when the castle wall shimmered under the faint glow of her magic and gave way to the dark passage that led to her friends. If she had been unable to regain access, she could have explained to them later why she was unable to visit. An apology would have been preferable to walking down those steps again, to venturing deep into that horrid, dank space. The place devoid of hope, buried deep below the castle she loved so much.

The fog of regret and fear brought her through the passage, depositing her unceremoniously in front of the wooden door she remembered to contain Pinkie Pie, and she found herself unsure of how to announce her presence. Had her friends eaten? Might they still be sleeping, lost without the sunlight to guide them? She couldn’t hear anything, perhaps they had already been taken somewhere else, perhaps they were already in court with Celestia, clearing this matter up. The cells might be occupied by some other miscreant, best not to disturb them!

Twilight’s thoughts might have convinced her to leave without announcing herself, but a gruff and strangely familiar voice shattered the silence.

“Hey kid, sounds like we got some company.”

Then Pinkie, sounding more forlorn than any pony Twilight had ever heard, replied, “yeah, probably just a guard again. I won’t bug him, not after…”

She trailed off. No hints were forthcoming as to what a previous guard may have done. Twilight really wanted to run now, to escape, to see the sun again, she couldn’t breath down here! She nearly fled when another familiar voice caught her, holding her tight.

“Twilight? We almost thought you weren’t coming back. You gonna let us out now?”

“Applejack!” all thoughts of fleeing vanished. What cowardly notions were those, anyway? Twilight shook her head and trotted to the next cell over where the dim light in the hallway illuminated part of Applejack’s face in tiny window. The shadows must be playing tricks on her. Sometimes Applejack could get a little dirty working the farm, but her face looked awful. Twilight reared up gently, placing her front hooves on the door so she could be face to face with her friend. No, that wasn’t dirt, those dark patches were something far worse. “Applejack, what happened to you? Your face…” she couldn’t summon words to describe it.

“I fell down the stairs.”

“But … that’s not …”

“Twilight, I’m gonna put it to you straight. Pinkie ain’t doin’ well. I can’t get a shred of normal chatter out of her. You said we’d be here for a night and then we’d sort it all out in the mornin’. I can’t see the sun from here, but I reckon’ it’s gotta be morning by now. You’re here to let us out, right?”

“I haven’t seen Celestia today.”

“But you said there here arrangement was only for the night.”

“I know, I mean, I have to talk to Celestia first. Let me, um, I’ll go see her, okay? Right now, I’ll go see her. I’ll talk to her and then we’ll come down. I’ll come back.”

“Twilight, I ain’t doin’ so well either.”

“I know, Applejack, I’m sorry.”

“I ain’t gonna last here another night.”

“I know. Just let me try, okay?”

“You don’t understand. There’s something in this cell. I don’t know what it is, but it’s horrible. A feelin’. Something bad happened here. I won’t last another night.”

Applejack’s repetition of the ominous phrase ended with her extending her slender tan leg through the meager window. Twilight leaned in to touch it to the side of her cheek, the most comforting move she could think of.

“Please.”

“I’ll go to the Princess right now.” She turned and ran to the stairs, ignoring the strange, gruff voice calling from Pinkie’s cell.

“There goes Goodie Four-Hooves, off to save Equestria. Better ration your food, kid. We ain’t goin’ anywhere soon.”

Comments

[Applejinx]

Work good an' hard on the grammar and formatting.

It'll be worth it, 'cos you have the spark, and that's worth more than any amount of work can give ya.

Hah- this time I got to be th' FIRST follower. Don't let me down, Snooj!

[Hodgepodge]

Awesome story, but I'm thinking maybe you could space it out more? Put a line between speech for instance, a line between paragraphs...just a formatting issue, makes it easier to read.

Also, eee, time for speculation! :D Ok...so....Cadence is missing...earth ponies... all the crystal ponies are earth ponies and Cadence is their princess... D: this is related somehow!

[GettingOutOfHoof]

Dude. More. Please.