Land of Misery

by UnKnownSalvation

A Nation Divided

Ch.2 A Nation Divided

As Twilight began to regain consciousness, she smelled something really good. When she tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot up her back, forcing her to stay down.
"Ah!"
"You're awake." Twilight looked in the direction of the male voice. She turned to see a dark red unicorn pony, with short, brown messy mane and a short, spiky tail. He had blue eyes and a cutie mark that looked like a green zero with white stars around it. She took a look around and didn't see much in the shack. It looked like a rundown house with a cauldron full of soup.
"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I all bandaged up?"
"Oh my name is Zero Amare. What's yours?" He seemed genuinely curious.
"Twilight Sparkle..."
"Huh… It suits you. As for where you are, you're in the worst country on this planet but the locals call it Adeptus."
"The locals? You're not from here?"
"No, if you were to see what the ponies here look like, you'd understand why. There are ponies in every corner of the world. They mostly just live in Equestria."
"That's where I'm from. I'm Equestrian. Where are you from?"
"A small little country called Libertas. Not very far from Equestria."
"Have you ever been to Equestria?"
"I have not, but I do plan to see it one day. I hear it's quite nice. Now, you wanted to know why you were all bandaged up." Twilight nodded. "When I found you in the swamp earlier today, you had some bad burns and a few cuts. Nothing serious, so I thought I bring you to my temporary home and patch you up. Anymore questions?" He said, as he was preparing what looked like a soup in the cauldron.
"Why didn't you take me to a doctor to make sure?"
"Because the nearest town is about five miles away and behind a mountain; I'm not carrying you over a mountain when I'm able to do the job just as good as any doctor. Like I said, your injuries weren't serious."
"Then how come it hurts to sit up?"
"Because the worst of the burns are on your back."
"So how long before I can sit up?"
"Tomorrow at the latest." He said reading his cookbook.
"What are you making?"
"This cookbook says "Veggie Soup", so that's what's on the menu. Want some?" He said pouring a bowl. Twilight was a little hesitant to accept the food of a stranger... till her stomach started to growl.
"How do I know it's not going to kill me?"
"Because I'm eating it too. Duh." He floated the full bowl over to Twilight. She caught one whiff of it and couldn't believe how good it smelled.
"It smells delicious!" Zero smiled at the compliment.
"I hope it tastes just as good." He said, using magic to pour a bowl for himself. Twilight managed to sit up to eat, but not without difficulty. As he sat in a chair just a few feet from her, she asks one more question.
"You said that Adeptus was the worst country on this planet. What did you mean by that?" Zero stopped eating to answer her question. After a few seconds of staring at the floor, Zero eventually made eye contact with the extremely curious pony.
"Ok, this is what I've managed to pick up from some of the people I've met. About two hundred years ago, this country used to be part of a bigger one called Duodus. Now, they had a way of determining who lead the country and it was based on who the people believed was the better leader. That leader, once elected, was given an amount of time to run the country, alongside at least five hundred other elected officials."
"Wait… Five hundred other elected officials… how did the leader get anything done?"
"The elected officials were part of a system to ensure that the leader of the entire country didn't have all the power. So, they divided it into groups and only when they all worked together could anything get done. It was a mess at the time, because there was a divide among the ponies. One half of the people weren't happy with the ponies in charge, especially after he got reelected, so they left and the country was split. Duodus was dead. The country was split was split into two: Freedus and Adeptus. When the split happened, the ponies of Freedus couldn't have cared less because the land they took was land they really didn't needed."
"So what happened after the split?"
"Everything was a mess between the countries until a spell caster by the name of Terra Motor made the country move south far enough to where the other couldn't be seen on the horizon, effectually ending all hopes of reuniting the country. Duodus adopted the name Freedus and everything returned to a peaceful state, until…" He floated a book from a bag on the floor and began to flip through the pages for something specific. He then showed her a picture of a sophisticated black pony with his cutie mark in the shape of a pale white cross. Something about him just made her skin crawl. "…He took control."
"Who is he?"
"His name was Dux Mortis, a pony that was able to convince the people of this land that he was the one that would lead them to a prosperity that would last for centuries. Two years after he was elected to lead, he managed to get the entire country brainwashed and finally turned the country into a dictatorship."
"Why didn't Freedus try to stop him?"
"Because at this point, it was no longer their main priority. They were having their own troubles and were more concerned about that then some country that was already on life support. They just left it for dead."
"So this country is an abandoned home run by a mad pony."
"Mad ponies." Zero corrected Twilight. "It's now basically run by a family of tyrants. It has been for the last hundred and fifty years and the people are starting to wonder if there's anything they can do. They give barely enough to survive and I'm only been able to make this because I found all of those ingredients."
"Then, why are you here?"
"I was betrayed by my teacher. I thought I could trust him, but he knocked me out while we were passing by the country and left me for dead." Twilight was shocked.
"What was his name?" Zero hesitated on the answer.
"He called himself Suvnet. I never believe it to be his true name, but when I asked him he gave me the same answer. What's worse is that getting out isn't as easy as getting in. It might as well be a dungeon."
"So how do I get back to Equestria?" Zero looked away for a bit before looking back at Twilight and shaking his head.
"I don't know. I've only been here for about a month and I've been able to stay out of military's attention but at this point I just want to get out of here as much as you do. But for right now, it doesn't look like you are going anywhere."
"Maybe if I could get a message out to my friends, they could help me get home."
"Maybe, but for right now you need to heal before we can do anything about leaving."
"Alright, but when I'm able to walk under my own power, I want you to take me to see the town. I want to see if everything you've told me is true."
"I don't blame you. After coming from a place of peace and love to suddenly end up in a country run by lunatics, I'd look at the pony that told me and say "Now let's delve into non-fiction shall we." Twilight stifled a little giggle, as that was actually what she was thinking during parts of his story. "So do we have a deal?" She asked, as she held out her hoof. Zero bashed his into hers.
"Deal. Now let's finish eating, because I've barely got to eat today just rounding this up." The two of them returned to eating. Twilight was a little hesitant as she wasn't sure if the great smell meant great taste. She took one bite and realized that the smell was the worst part of the soup as it was delicious.
"You're a really good cook! I think this is some of the best cooking I've had!"
"Thank you. It's nice to know that I can do some things right."
"You don't get compliments that often, do you?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." Zero said, looking away.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"It's ok, it's not like you would've known, right?" Zero said, flashing a reassuring smile, as they went back to eating. Twilight had about three servings, Zero just chuckled at the hungry mare.
"Hey Zero, thanks for taking care of me and all 'til I can get on my hooves without feeling like I'm being hit with a metal pipe. But I have to ask: Why are you doing this?" Zero wasn't ready for this question as it took him a few moments to answer.
"I don't know... I found you and knew I couldn't leave you out there. But I guess because I felt like it was the right thing to do. Does that help?" Zero knew his answer was dumb... and the distrustful look of Twilight wasn't helping.
"No problem. To be frank, I'm glad to finally talk to someone that doesn't give the impression that they've never seen the sunlight. The small towns all looked... dead."
"Why did you decide to travel the world?"
"I heard all these stories about the world and I wanted to see it all. The only place I haven't been is Equestria. Maybe after all this is over, you can show it to me."
"Maybe I could, but first you have to help me get out of here.
"But we'll save that for tomorrow!"
"Yeah... I think I ate a bit too much." Twilight laid back down on the bed.
"That's what happens when you have three servings, you starving filly." Zero said floating the bowls over to a counter top.
"Shut up."
"*gasp* How could you be so mean?!" Zero said sarcastically, causing Twilight to roll her eyes. He chuckled and sat down on his bed and soon fell asleep. While Zero slept like a rock, Twilight had trouble just falling asleep… she had never felt more alone and afraid then she did right there; She was in a strange house that didn't even belong to the stallion, in a country she knew very little about… but that was the least of her worries…
()()()()() Meanwhile in a really dark room ()()()()()
"*static* Your Majesty, I have important news."
"Ah, my fateful servant. What is it?"
"The final piece to prevent the prophecy is in place. You'd only need to destroy it."
"Thank you for telling me. I will send my best ponies to take care of it."
*Static stops as transmission ends*
"Blacklight! Round up your team and find them!"
"Yes, you're Majesty." Said a voice that couldn't be seen.
"My family has ruled for the last one hundred and fifty years and I won't let anypony stop it now…"
"…No pony at all"

Author's Note:

Note: Edits made here and there to better the story.
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