Twenty years is a long time to wait for evil to come back. Short compared to most greater evil, but still a long time.
A Stallion. A lone ranger. A pony who works alone, sleeps alone, dreams alone. Has thought of things, seen things, known things. Lives so that he cannot be harmed. Lives so that he cannot harm. Lives so that he can live. The ability to dimension switch is sometimes handy to escape from a similar, daily routine. Nothing really ever changes though when you switch between two dimensions though. War, or Peace.
A lone pony sits in the middle of a forest. He sits eyes closed, listening. Birds tweet. Hawks caw. Deers can be heard prancing about. This pony wasn't destined to be here. A snow pinto, in a woodland area. Thick fur inhibits movement and vitality. He cannot hide amongst the brush, for his grey and white fur don't belong. No matter, he lives. He dislikes his place of birth. Cold. Always cold. Never quiet. Never a clear sky. He'd moved south when he found his father, frozen solid in the night. His name had been Thompson. Thompson is all he remembers of his father now. Never knowing his mother, dying shortly after birth. Not actually related to his birth oddly enough. She'd died of a heart attack while going to the rest rooms. He hadn't always lived in that cold, though. He'd moved there when his father got a job protecting the northern front. His father was an architect, and had been given the plans to build a giant wall separating the Crystal Kingdom and the rest of Equestria. Building a ring around the fortress, from the inside. Just after the defeat of Iron Hoof, the hellish heir to the throne after his father, Shining Armor. Given the orders by Prince Halderon, the new prince of the Crystal Kingdom. Just after the defeat of Iron Hoof, the land was actually fertile and pleasant. It eventually went back to it's previous state of being the pony equivalent of Siberia. After the wall was built, the remaining inhabitants of the Crystal Kingdom muntinized Halderon. He tried to be another Tyrant, like Iron Hoof, and his subjects became rather displeased. By this time, our character discovered his father dead. Realizing that the inhabitants had completely abandoned the Crystal Kingdom for greener pastures, literally, he'd left too. His only remaining friend went off with his parents, but had recommended he go west. Took him a year before the snow drifts and hills ended, and turned into desert lands. He stood at the edge staring for the longest time, before forgetting about heading west, and followed the divide south. Living off snow berries and coconuts, and what appeared to be some kind of banana that tasted like oranges, he walked for six months. On the seventh month, he discovered a vast, untouched plains area. Realizing if he tried heading south any further would result in confusion for himself due to the incredible flatness of the land, he followed this new divide along the snow boundary. He discovered a town of the other inhabitants of the Crystal Kingdom. The housing had been placed in the snow, but the farm land had been built into the plains. Not wanting to linger, he continued. Eventually he ended upon the forest where he now resides. He could still reach the snow if he headed north far enough. It's been ten years since he's seen another pony, and another five since he's spoken a word. The last pony he saw appeared to be a scout for an army. Despite his adapted night vision, he couldn't make out who's army he was for, not if it was a stallion or a mare. No army ever came through though. He's a friend to whatever animals reside in the forest. He has helped them many a time, and them him. Lately he's been letting his coat grow out. His plan is to head back to the Crystal Kingdom and make stand his ground at the wall. He's grown old, and knows his time is coming, so he's moving out. He stands up, and starts out for the north, leaving all his worldly possessions in his shack. He knows the way north to the Crystal Kingdom, thanks to his furry little friends, mostly the bears though. Obtaining food along the way, after two months he reaches the strange drastic border between the two biomes. Head crosses over, waving goodbye to his friends. It doesn't take him many months to finally get to the wall, and there, he waits. He remembers the walls were imbued with magic that would only let those through who knew the words of passage, but did he remember. Could he even speak, it being so long since he's spoken a word. He spoke a word.
"Aperite."
The wall did not budge. This concerned him, for normally, the more spoken of the words, the more it opens. It should've cracked slightly. Perhaps the magic had gone, but he would try none the less.
"Aperite portas, et ambulant veracium."
The wall didn't even flinch. After twenty years, these walls had lost their magic. It brought him down. He laid down in the snow, and curled up. He considered his eternal sleep there, but suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the wall. The masonry shook as the wall began to open up. He got up, and began to walk towards it. Bricks fell from the massive blockade as it opened up to reveal, not snow, but fertile grassland. He couldn't figure it out. This was not the place he'd left twenty years ago. The castle still stood, proud as ever, but the land was something he'd seen only once before. When he was just a colt, no more than two. The short span of real pleasantness in his life. He traverse the path. Not a soul to be seen. No indication of why this place was as it is. He walked, and walked until his hooves. Until his legs hurt. Until he reached the under side of the castle. There sat the crystal heart, as it always did. The ponies had always thought that had something to do with everything that happened here, but it still stood as the land turned to snow. As evil took the throne. As the cries of the enslaved tried to break from the chains of Iron Hoof. He couldn't figure out why, after so long, this place would suddenly be such a prosperous place, despite the lack of those living there. forgetting about it for the time being, he started off to the castle steps. It reminded him of something out of a horror story. A nice looking place, with not a soul to be seen. He entered the crystal castle. Still no ponies to be heard of. He'd never entered the castle before, for fear of being injured or the like. Him and his father had always lived closer to the wall then anything else. The wall was oddly warmer than the rest of the kingdom, though no one else wanted to built out there, too far from anything. He'd entered the grand hall, and grand it was. Prince Halderon hadn't been in charge long enough to take down Iron Hoof's old tapestries. Some of them had been torn during the seizing of the kingdom by Princess Twilight's soldiers. The battle of the Crystal Kingdom was short fought. Once Twilight's army had surrounded the kingdom, they defended their position. Once Iron had stopped trying to repel them, they closed in and took the castle. The soldier gave up the moment the set hoof inside the kingdom boundaries. The few 'loyal' guards fled once they'd seen the size of the army encroaching upon them. Iron Hoof lived up to his name though. With hooves of steel, he fought the soldiers. He'd killed twenty of them, before the Commander and Chief of the army walked up and opened up a can of whoop-flank on him. They called it 'The Weekday War" because it took all of five days to take him down after war had been called. The sun was setting, so he looked around the castle, finding a map conveniently placed next to the throne. He followed the map to a bedroom. Halderon managed to change some of the castle, including the bedroom. This was clear from the assortment of pictures of Halderon accompanied by various ponies whom our pony had never heard of, let alone seen. The only recognizable pony was Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with her friends who he had no idea who they'd be. Halderon was a kiss flank to other regions, trying to avoid war. Too bad he couldn't practice the same thing on the homefront. 'The Weekday War' was just one of many, since his birth. There'd been the war between creatures called changelings, and the rest of Equestria. It'd never touched the Crystal Kingdom though. Some say it's because the changelings knew they couldn't take it. Others say they couldn't find it. Few, including himself, say that because the changelings live off of love, they wouldn't prosper here. There was a short war between Celestia and Luna, resolved by Twilight. It lasted the longest out of any war in his lifetime. All of two weeks passed during that war. Noticing the sun had vanished, and in it's place was the moon, he slept. In the morning, he searched around the castle some more. Realizing he wouldn't need all his fur, be went to the bathroom and cut it off. He saw himself in the mirror. He spoke to himself. The most he'd said in a long time.
"Twenty years ago I was a young, strong stallion. Now I'm just an old pony trying to relive his youth."
He sighed. Looked out a nearby window to the land beneath him.
"I need a new hobby, besides trying to survive. I wish I had a foal of my own. I wish I had the chance to try my luck in a kinder world."
He left the bathroom, took the map, and walked around. There was an unmarked room close by. He looked around where it should be, but the supposed door was a wall. He felt along it, but there was nothing that would imply it would just naturally open. He banged on it in a bit of frustration. The wall caved slightly. He hit it again. Again, it budged more, and a brick fell inward. He looked through and saw a dark room, with some kind of obelisk in it. He continued to bash the wall until it made a door. He'd finally remembered how much he'd liked talking to himself, all those fifteen years ago. Staring into the darkness he laughed.
"My father was a unicorn, my mother was a unicorn, and somehow I got none of it. What are the odds?"
He grabbed a candle from a nearby sconce. It burned an evil looking shade of blue, but it wasn't burning him. He entered the room, and saw the monolith. He'd seen pictures of obelisks before, but this one wasn't quite right. Normally they look like a tall trapezoid from a two-dimensional perspective with an extra triangle to top it off. This one looked like a stubbed rectangle with a trapezoid on top. He walked around it, and noticed that each side was a different metal. One was a silver mirror. The next was copper with Halderon's cutie mark on it. The third was gold with a shield emblem the crystal heart inside. Lastly was iron with Iron Hoof's cutie mark. Each one had words of some kind on them. They looked similar to normal words, but they weren't any like he'd ever heard of before. Under Halderon's cutie mark was the word 'doctrina'. Under the shield was three words, 'Spes et Tutela.'. Finally under Iron Hoof's cutie mark was a single word in full capitals, 'CRUCIO'. He stood in front of the mirror and said to himself the words, looking down in thought.
"Doctrina... spes et tutela... crucio.... These words seem almost familiar.... I just can't place my hoof on it."
The room slowly began to become brighter as he thought. He almost didn't notice until he nearly dropped the candle to the floor. it was a dim light, but it was bright enough to see without a candle. The light came from no particular source, it just seemed to emanate from the walls. The obelisk's silver mirror began to shimmer. It rippled like it was water. Then it blurred into just a silver facade. Then, on it was suddenly imprinted a globe, and under it said an actually readable word, 'alternate'. Then he walked around it once more and noticed that he could read all the words. Halderon's said 'Science'. The shield said 'Hope and Protection'. Iron Hoof's was 'TORTURE'. He sat in from of the silver side now. He reached his hoof out to touch it. It went through, creating more ripples. He walked through it.
When he walked out, he was in the same room, but without light. Before, the wall was open, now it was closed. Wishing he'd brought the candle with, he tried going back through. It was solid again. He sat in the dark for a moment and began to think. He gripped his head for a moment in thought, and was surprised to find a small pillar had found a way to it. Not questioning it quite yet, he created a light source. The room looked the same from the other side of the mirror. He began to walk around the obelisk again, this time it was different. Prince Halderon's copper cutie mark had been replaced with a shield similar to that from the gold space, but instead of a heart it was a purple looking star. In place of the shield on the gold plate was the crystal heart. Iron Hoof's iron plaque had some evil looking crystal stalagmite. He stood and stared at it for a while.
"Piercing...."
He shuddered. He'd also noticed the words had changed. The shield still had the word 'Protection' but 'Hope' was with the crystal heart. The piercingly evil crystal had nothing under it. No words. No other symbols. Just the strange crystal. He decided to forget about it for the time being, and needed to get out of that confined space. He started to bash the wall in the same spot he had done before. The wall caved quickly, but instead of an empty court this time, he received the staring eyes of guards, a jester looking pony, various passerby, and someone who looked an awful lot like Prince Armor. He chuckled nervously, and bolted out a nearby window. Through out his life his legs were the strongest he'd ever known. He hit the ground, and the impact didn't even stun him, unlike the colt he nearly stomped. he ran straight for the outskirts where he knew he'd find his father's villa. He suddenly realized there was no wall. The giant amassment of permafrost and stone wasn't there. He ran along where he figured it might be, while being pursued by pegasus guards. He still managed to locate the building, however. He ran inside and sat, back against the door. Resting while the guards hammered on the door, demanding he come out, he looked around. Looked like it did when he was but a young colt. Finally finishing the processing of what he'd just been through. he'd come to find that he'd either gone back in time, or that this is just a completely new dimension. The guards finally stopped hammering the door, and a new voice was heard. Kinder, but still demanding.
"Sir, would you kindly step out of the villa."
He took a moment to respond. that voice seemed utterly familiar.
"Who are you, good sir?"
There was no reply. There was whispers, of which he couldn't make heads or tails of. The voice spoke again.
"What did you say? I didn't quite catch that."
He stood and thought for a moment about that voice. A voice he hadn't heard in the longest time.
"Your voice is familiar to me, sir. Do I know you?"
Again, there was a pause. More whispering that was muddied by the door.
"You appear to be speaking in a tongue unknown to me. Could you try speaking proper?"
Now this confused him. He could understand the stallion on the other side of the door just fine. It seemed to him that he should be able to speak just fine to the stallion too. He thought about the conundrum for a moment, and realized it probably had something to do with the obelisk. He probably wouldn't last long against those guards. he was built for survival, not for fighting. He stood there, and thought. He came up with an on-the-spot solution. He father had always kept spell books around, some of them had been for translation. They might have been temporary, but it could work. All he had to do, was figure out how to do the spell. He stood, concentrating. The guards had stopped waiting and continued to bash on the door, but he ignored it. His new horn flashed quickly and he felt changed. He spoke to them.
"Stop! Stop!"
They stopped. The previous voice spoke again.
"Thank you, now tell me, why are you here?"
He thought about that.
"I needed refuge, and I remembered a place like this from my childhood."
The voice sounded more consoling now.
"I see. May we come in?"
He produced a short laugh.
"If you wanted to come in. why didn't you?"
The voice took it's time replying.
"Well, you see, the door appeared to be locked from the inside."
Confused, he looked at the door. There was no lock there.
"Sir, your door does not have a lock from the inside."
"Well it certainly isn't locked from the outside. No lock here either."
"Then how did it get locked?"
"You're a unicorn, aren't you? Couldn't you have locked it yourself?"
He rubbed his neck and replied in a nervous manner.
"Well you see, I'm... rather new to being a unicorn. A strange turn of events lead me here, and now I'm afraid those guards will have to bring down the door if you cannot open it."
There was more whispering from outside. Finally the guards began to take down the door. When the door fell the voice finally had a face put to it. It was his father, both stallions looked surprised.
"Father?"
"Son?"
They embraced for a brief moment, before the guards dragged them apart. The Prince Armor looking stallion had shown up, just as the pegasi we taking him away.
"Hold on! Bring him to me."
The guards did as they were told. Dropping him off in front of Armor, the prince started talking to him.
"Okay, I have a lot of questions for you, mister. I want some answers."
He nodded.
"First question, where did you come from?"
He could feel the spell wearing off. It was slow, so he needed to act quickly.
"You may want to wait a second. I require a translation spell to speak, and I can feel in wearing off."
Prince Armor looked confused.
"I only understood half of what you said. Wait a second for what?"
He sighed, held up his hoof, and began to concentrate. He managed it quicker than before, due to the lack of noise.
"I needed to preform a translation spell. I appear to have an issue with speaking."
Prince Armor was growing impatient.
"Must I repeat myself?"
Realizing that he hadn't answered the question, be began to quickly think of how to answer that.
"I came from the small room you saw me exit."
"I'm not playing games here, boy-"
This shocked him. He should've been old enough to be Armor's great grandfather, but he got called 'boy' instead.
"Boy? Of all the ways to try and insult me, why boy?"
Prince Armor looked like he'd had enough of his shenanigans.
"Have you seen yourself recently, you don't exactly look much older than a colt. No matter! How did you get into the room?"
"It's... hard to explain. I'd have to show you."
Armor looked quite displeased at these words.
"Fine then, show me."
Prince Armor had the guards escort him to the broken wall, where they met up.
"Okay, now show me. How did you get in here."
More of a demand than a question, he walked inside. The room was dark as ever.
"I need some light, to show you."
Armor snorted in some kind of intense dislike.
"You have a horn, why not light it yourself?"
"I'm new to the magic scene. I can't exactly multitask with such a thing."
Begrudgingly, Prince Armor used his magic to light his horn. It might as well have been a broken glow stick. You could see the light it tried to produce, but that's it. No other light was in the room. It was still pitch black.
"Okay, now show me."
The guards looked as confused as he did. Was Prince Armor just being rude, or did he actually think the room was lit up. He hesitated.
"What's the hold up?"
"I can't see."
Armor growled at him in the darkness.
"What do you mean you can't see? I just lit up the entire room!"
The guards tapped on Prince Armor's shoulder.
"Sir, no you didn't. The only thing lit up is your horn, sir."
Now Prince Armor was growing angry. He began to yell.
"Am I the only one who can see the light?!"
The guards were cowering by the entrance, and he had backed up against the obelisk.
"Pr- Prince Armor, would you be so kind as to quiet down. You're n- not helping the situation."
Armor had finally given up. He walked out of the room.
"Guards, chuck him into a cell. He's got until morning to be ready to tell us how he got in there."
The guards saluted, then proceeded to carry him off to jail. He sat there and thought of how he could tell them about the obelisk. He didn't sleep that night.
The morning came along, and he'd not figured out a way to tell them of his plight. Instead, he'd figured out a plan to trick them so that he could go back home. Back to the cold. Back to the way things were before he found that stupid obelisk. The guards took their time. Dawn was upon him, and the guards did not show up. Noon came, and still not a single pony to be seen. By the time dusk had arrived, he became concerned. No other ponies had said a word since last night. He hadn't received any food as of yet, and he filled up his bucket. He banged on the door. No one said anything. He rattled it, and still no guards. He started yelling, and crying out for a guard but none came. It was growing dark, and the torches wouldn't burn forever. He began to slam against the cell door. After three tries it fell down. The bars looked rusty now that he looked at them. Like they hadn't been replaced in twenty years. He thought about that for a moment. About that idea of twenty year old iron bars. That couldn't be. When he'd been put in there those bars looked brand new. Running through the exit door to the guards quarters, there wasn't a soul to be seen. He started to panic. Running out of the guards quarters lead him to the grand hall. If he remembered correctly, he sped to the throne room. When he got in there, his suspicions were confirmed. He was back home. The wall to the obelisk was still destroyed, so it couldn't have been some kind of dream. He walked into the room with the obelisk and found something that hadn't been there before. A wall covered by a large book case, lined with books. At random he grabbed a book off the shelf and examined it. It was a single book dedicated to permanent translation spells. All of the books, as he went through, them had the crystal heart on their covers. He found a book on teleportation. A book on transmogrification. Two had various spells designed to enhance learning and reading capabilities, but as he looked through them, he realized he'd lost the horn. He was no longer a unicorn. This didn't surprise him much, but it was unfortunate. He'd been happy to be like his mother and father for once, and now it was gone. He finished skimming through a book on advanced unicorn physics, when he suddenly fell asleep. He dreamt of nothing. He hadn't had a dream in the longest time. Not even since long before the kingdom fell. Though he'd heard strange voices. Evil voices. Ones that he'd never heard before, nor would have imagined them belonging to any of the ponies he's ever seen, except for perhaps Iron Hoof. He couldn't make out what they were trying to convey to him, but got none of it. When he woke up, he'd remembered none of the dream. All lost into the crevices of his mind. Realizing he was hungry, he decided to see if the kitchen still had any edible food. He'd heard that they kept the food in boxes sealed with magic to prevent aging and molding, so he wanted to see if the magic was as good as his father's. He entered the dining room, and it looked like it was set up, just before Halderon was put on trial for his offenses. A kind of last meal that Halderon never ate. He walked through the next set of doors into a large kitchen, where he found the boxes. Opening them he'd discovered that the magic was still working, and that the food looked just fine. Though he'd realized why the people were so unhappy with him. Meat of other sentient beings. There was all kinds of meat products in these containers, and he refused to eat any of it. Even if it was just fruit covered in the juices, it was just wrong. He'd finally found a section dedicated to fruits and vegetables, and he feasted. It was the most food he'd eaten since he'd been accepted by the council of rabbits. Being an honorary rabbit has it's bonuses. Walking back to the obelisk, he had redone what he'd needed to to reopen the passage to the second world. Everything was the same, not problems, so he stepped through once more with his newly acquired knowledge. Falling through the vortex, he thought to himself about how he got back, thinking it was as subtle as night to day, from ice to water, etc.
There's a time in most stallions lives, when they realize the things they do may be counter-productive to others lives. When he exited the obelisk, he began considering this idea. He quickly left the thought for a new one, that being, Prince Armor didn't apparently think about covering the obelisk for him coming back. He hadn't even bothered refilling the hole where he'd bashed through. Remembering a spell for temporary invisibility, he quickly performed it and walked out. It still looked like night here. The throne room was empty, and no guards still. The torches were still lit, and it definitely was still under Prince Armor's contro; here and he'd not just made one large circle back to his own world. He'd have to act quickly, for he only has five minutes before the spell wears off, and it only covered his physical appearance, not his sound. Being smart in architecture like his father, he knew some of the ins-and-outs of the Crystal Castle. Carious hiding holes that had been there long before the fall of the original empire, ruled by someone whose name had been forgotten in his world long ago. He walked through the throne room doors, and still no guards. This was completely concerning him at this time, but he'd have to investigate when his life wasn't going to be possibly in danger. He rushed down the hall. Not taking his chances with whoever was in the next hallway, he used a secret passage behind an age old bookshelf. When he exited, he ended up in the kitchen. What an odd twist he thought, but did not linger. He remembered a passage that should lead down to the main great hall. This room, however, had the most passageways. The old prince must've really loved his food. He couldn't remember the exact location, but he'd needed to pull a fake wheel of cheese from one of the shelves and throw it to one of the corners that would activate a special pressure plate. Two of them would have passageways, the other two were death traps. He took his chances and chucked the cheese to a corner. He got lucky and a door opened up, and he walked through. He ended up behind a dresser that was stuck. Seeing as it was a one-way passage, it had to be moved as an exit. He couldn't see much light coming from the cracks, so he began to slowly move it over with his magic. It was immensely heavy for just being a dresser, wasn't even very large. It was about the size of the average kitchen counter. When he moved it, he'd realized he would have prefered death. He'd chose wrong, and landed himself in Prince Armor's bedroom. Even if he was asleep, there would be guards outside that door and he knew it. He couldn't turn back, because it was, quite literally, a one-way passage. He entered the room. He was standing right in front of the bed. It was amazing how much of a deep sleeper Armor was. He'd made a good amount of noise moving the dresser. While standing there silently, he'd noticed a second pony sleeping next to him. Now he knew he was dead. She was clearly awake, and just staring at him. He would've backed up, but her gaze just about made him a statue. He didn't want to scare her, but if he didn't move, she might still call the guards. Then he remembered that she'd just be staring at the empty space, and that he still had another minute until the spell wore off. She started to wake up Armor. There was no way he was leaving this room if he woke up. He couldn't think, then he remembered the balcony. He had to move through the room to the balcony, even if he was spotted. He slowly walked over to the door to the living room, but not before Armor was finally awoken. He had ten seconds. He crashed through the door, slammed through the glass door to the balcony, decloaked, and jumped. Using another spell he'd learned, he glided over the kingdom. It was beautiful at night. The houses all shimmering in the street lamp lights. He noticed the sun was rising in the distance, which gave the place a glorious cotton candy color sky. He spotted his father's wooden villa, and landed there. He'd started to knock on the door, when he'd heard bells ring. Bells he'd not heard since Halderon fell. The bell to call all the guards to arms. His father answered, and without words, took him in. After making a nice breakfast, his father spoke.
"You know, you're a wanted fugitive."
"Figured."
"No one's ever escaped the castle prison completely unnoticed like that."
"I'd imagine so."
"How'd you do it?"
"I didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I was in the cell the entire time, but I left by some unknown force."
"Left the way you came?"
"I don't even know that. I was just there, and I waited for the guards, but they never came."
"So, do you know how I know you aren't from around here."
"I could guess, but I'd prefer from a first-hoof source."
"Because you're dead."
"Frozen in ice?"
"Drowned, really. Why do you think ice?"
"That's how you died."
"Ah, I see. Hasn't been ice here for the longest time. Not in my lifetime that is."
They sat silently, eating for a while. Then his father spoke.
"So what's it like on your end of the stick?"
"Well, twenty some-odd years ago, this place became a frozen wasteland, and everypony left."
"What happened?"
"Well, sometime before I was born, Prince Armor had a colt. Named him Iron Hoof, or so they say. Armor and his wife died and Hoof took power. During his final years of reign, I was born. His rule was harsh, and some say he was the reason the snow came back. He started a war against the rest of Equestria that ended quickly. A new stallion took his place named Halderon. None of us liked him, and so we just killed him and left. Not without reason of course. He had been eating meat from cows and pigs. Meat, which I've seen first-hoof. It's just wrong in too many ways."
"That sounds like a horrible place to be. What happened to you?"
"Spent a year or two looking for a place to call home. Then about twenty years in the woods. Finally, I wanted to make the last years of my life in my old home, here. Found that the snow had cleared and that it really was all supposed to be sunshine and rainbows. Still, there wan't a pony to be seen for miles around, so I walked to the castle, found a secret room, and now I'm here as a wanted criminal."
"Quite the lonely life you lead, there."
"Yes, and all of my friends were just the woodland critters."
"Well, I suppose you are better suited for that life."
"I was born in a winter place, dad. I lived in the woods with a permanent winter coat. It was hot, all the damned time."
"No need for those kinds of words, boy."
"Well, let's see, I've been alone and quiet for the past twenty years, in which I nearly forgotten how to speak. I almost couldn't get to the kingdom because of how long it's been."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the last prince, Prince Halderon, had commanded the building of a massive wall, and seeing as you were the only architect willing to take on the task, we left. I was one of the few ponies that could open those walls. You taught me some weird magic words that opened and closed the walls."
"Do you remember the words?"
"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"I've been tasked to repair the wall you took down. Maybe if you told me those words I might be able to ensure that you may pass through once I've blocked it up."
"How long will it take? To build the wall that is."
"To repair it, you mean? About a day. I saw it and realized I needed more supplies. They're being shipped in and should be here tomorrow."
"Alright. Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"
"Sure, I still have your bed from before you died."
"Good."
"Should I show you to it?"
"If you'd be so kind."
So Thompson showed him around the house. It was exactly the same from his own world, conveniently enough. The bed was the same, the hall was the same, the bathroom had the same dirty looking bathtub. He was back home finally, so he decided to sleep. As he laid in bed, he remembered one thing he'd always been taught. There's no rest for the wicked, and he never did good enough to counterbalance the evil he's done in his life. It was partially his fault his father had died. They didn't have any ice left, and he'd been sent out to buy some more. Losing the money in the snow, he came back to a very disappointed father. Despite the lack of proper equipment, Thompson had gone out to get fresh ice out for the surrounding tundra. It had been said that the storms were rising in size, but his father paid no heed to the claims. When his father never came back, he grabbed his thick winter jacket and set out. That's when he'd found the frozen statue of his dad, curled up in the snow with a bag of ice in a hoof, and a pickaxe in the other. When he woke up, all was quiet, just like it had been when he was strangely teleported away.
He leaped out of bed and looked to the window. Ponies walked around outside. He was relieved only slightly by this. He trotted to his father's bedroom. He was missing. He walked outside to see two guards standing on either side of the door. Before he could run back into the house, they snatched him up. Silent like the guards they were, he was taken to the castle. Eventually they got around to hoof-cuffing him, where they chucked him down in front of the Prince and his mare-friend, who he had recognized from this morning. Neither of them looked happy.
"You seem to have a knack for getting away."
"Well, I must work on it if I'm here."
"How'd you escape the prison?"
"The obelisk."
"How'd you get out of the prison."
"I don't know, the obelisk teleported me as far as I can guess."
"It's an inanimate object, how could it do that?"
"Magic, I don't have to explain that stuff."
Prince Armor gripped him by the cuff chain and lifted him high into the air with his magic.
"I've had enough shit out of you, boy."
His mare-friend rose.
"Armor! You are a prince, not some common street thug."
Prince Armor looked back.
"Two days, Cadence. He's managed to elude us for two days. No one has ever escaped the prison and managed to be hidden for more than an hour."
The guards began to drag him away.
"He is to be hung at noon."
So, this was the day he would die. Back into the prison cell, he sat and waited. No last supper. No final wishes. He just sat there. Looking out to the sky, he noticed it was passing by noon. Suddenly he heard the bars drop to the ground. Turning around, they really had. Not wanting to waste time, he hurried back to the obelisk, recited the words, and entered through. On the other side they still were not waiting, despite it being about two in the afternoon. He figured it was an hour trip in the obelisk. He grabbed a loose brick, remembering the code, and wrote down the words and signed his name backwards like his father had taught him during the years leading up to the overthrowing of Halderon. He'd been taught this, because under Halderon's rule anypony caught passing any notes, were to be sent to the dungeon anywhere from three days to a full year depending on what the note contained. After a year, it just went straight to a life sentence. He left the brick where his father could find it, engaged the invisibility, and walked out. Prince Armor was not at his throne, nor his mare-friend. Guards stationed at the door looked weary and tired, as if they'd had a night shift which he knew they didn't, or at least at the door. Oddly, he'd started feeling a bit tired too, but he needed to find a way out of the room. He silently walked to behind the throne, where a hidden button lay. Pressing it opened up a door just behind the Prince's throne which he descended down as it closed behind him. It lead to the main hall which, still invisible, he walked through the main doors. A gathering had been set up outside. There was a stage, and upon it was Prince Armor. He began to address the crowd.
"Ladies and Gentle-stallions, I have called you here today to address an urgent matter. There is a dangerous stallion on the loose. He's managed to escape our grasp multiple times. His name has not been heard, nor will his father disclose it, but he is a snow-themed pinto, about six hooves high. He is of a medium build. Some of you may have seen him when he jumped from the castle last Monday and lived. If you should spot him, you have every right to either kill him, maim him, incapacitate him, or other means of capturing him. He is wanted, dead or alive. There is a large reward for his return dead, of ten-thousand bits. Alive his value decreases to a mere five-thousand. If you somehow managed to find him inside the castle however, you may not kill him. You will receive seven-thousand bits to the reward for him being alive depending on if you called the guards, or caused a conflict. You will receive no money if you kill him inside the castle. There will be posters of what he looks like in greater detail posted on bulletin boards around the kingdom. Happy hunting."
And with that, Prince Armor teleported back into the castle, and the stage was dismantled. The crowd dispersed, and he went to the local bazaar to see if he could grab some clothes to disguise himself. He'd returned to his visible form, found a rack of clothes, which he'd snathed some unnoticed, and changed in an empty stall. He'd found a stand dedicated to coat dyes and purchased a few, due to the vendor being right there. In his new, still grey, clothing and hat, he walked through the streets back to his father's villa. No guards this time, but to be sure, he checked through the windows. There was noponies inside, so he entered. He walked into the bathroom and began to dye his coat a navy blue color. When it was finished setting, he was satisfied with the dark blue look. Made him feel more like the ninja he was turning into. He looked in the mirror, and started to talk to himself about how he'd change the Prince's mind. He thought out loud to himself for the longest time, and finished with vital words.
"What happens after today, will effect the future generations for years to come, and hopefully it will be for the best."
He left the house. It was growing dark now, and he needed to find a way to the castle. the road was empty, so he decided to try and perform another spell that would change his speech patterns. Make sure that even if they recognized his face,or made the argument he actually had dyed his coat, his voice would be completely unrecognizable. The castle was lit up like a disco, or at least what he remembered of the disco age, back when he was just a colt. Remembering the only time he'd been to a disco rink, fell on his flank as soon as he got the skates on. He shook his head, and walked further, towards the castle. There were guards, just marching around the castle. It was like Prince Armor was afraid that'd he was an assassin. Survivalist, not quite in line with the term "Killer", however one does what they must to survive, but no more and no less. Wearing his gray golf cap and full body smock, he tricked the guards and walked on in. Gave them a fake alias. A fake address. Whatever they needed, he could lie about it. No ponies stopped him when he got inside. No greater security precautions. He began to think of ways he could mess with Armor, but decided that wouldn't be the best idea. He just needed to become a close friend of Armor, and convince Armor that he was no threat, and should just let it go. Was not going to be the easiest task. From what he could see out the window, it was getting late. He would have to leave soon, so he snuck through various passages to the throne room and came to the wall where the hole had been. He spoke the words to open the hole back up, and walked into the chamber. Now, instead of being pitch black, it was filled with the blue torches like he'd used on the other side. He looked at the walls, and noticed some pictures on the walls. Pictures of black crystals like those on the obelisk, as well as a strange black cloud lingering over what looked like the Crystal Kingdom. Then there was a picture without the black cloud, but instead the Crystal Kingdom with the star & shield next to the crystal heart above it. Next to it was the same picture, but what appeared to be a crack starting to run down between the shield and the heart. He started to walk around the obelisk, reciting the words on it, and walked to the mirror. When it didn't perform the strange motion it would go through on the other side, he walked around it again and spoke the words again. Still the plate wouldn't move. He gave up and walked out into the throne room. Still empty, luckily. He looked out the window, and saw the wall. It was at this point he'd made a realization.
"Maybe, if I want to be home... then whatever powers that control the obelisk, will send me back. That seems to be the case."
He continued to stare out the window, and noticed it was dark. Then he thought back to the previous times he's been sent back.
"Okay, so it has to be night too? I think that sums it up. I have to want to be home, and it has to be night. Strange condition, but it works."
He looked back to the throne. It was still set up to be Prince Armor's and his Mare friend's thrones.
"Bugger! How the-? No pony could possibly build a wall in less than an hour!"
The door to the outside hall began to open up. He ran to the brick wall and closed it behind him. He stared at the wall for the longest time. He stood there trying to make sense of how that wall was constructed. Was it really just a hour? His father built the other wall with twenty earth ponies, eleven pegasi, and nineteen unicorns. It took him a month or two. Clearly this place was more prosperous, and could afford more workers. Maybe it was built over a few days. He remembers how Armor had said something about him being gone for days, rather than just hours.
"This obelisk is going to send me to the nearest insane asylum if I can't figure out what's happening. I am still disguised, so maybe I can become some high ranking official in his court. Start from the bottom and trot my way up to the top."
By adding a few words to the opening sentence, it created an illusion wall. Engaging the cloaking spell, he walked out. The sun had risen, and only Prince Armor's mare friend was in the throne room. No guards. No other ponies. Even using his lesser echolocation powers he'd developed during his time lost in a cave he'd stumbled upon in the forest all those years ago, it was only the pink mare. He needed her trust. he stood in the middle of the room, released the spell early and bowed. Her eyes had widened, but she did not yell or speak.
"Sorry if I startled you, princess. I wanted to ask you a question, and could not think of a better way to get it to you."
She still sat quietly on her throne, she didn't seem as frightened, which encouraged him.
"I wanted to know more about this gray character that Prince Armor has everypony on the lookout for. the guards won't tell me much, and I heard you might know something."
She sat silently for a moment, eyes closed. When she opened them, she replied.
"Well, first, tell me your name."
"It's-"
he stopped for a moment. He couldn't quite recollect his name. He remembered the rabbit's called him Snowy, but that was his rabbit name. She might know he's not being truthful.
"Sir, what is your name?"
"It's- It's- I... can't seem to recall. I have friends that called me Snowy for the longest time. Does that please you, milady?"
"Well, Snowy, I'm afraid I don't know much about the gray fellow. Just that he's escaped our prison multiple times in the past few weeks, and that he's stayed out of sight since last week."
"What about those times he's jumped from the castle?"
"Well, what about them?"
"How did your guard not manage to catch him? He was inside the castle and managed to escape. Not to mention he fell many stories and survived."
"Well, I've only seen a glimpse of the stallion, but he seems to move quite fast."
"What got him in trouble in the first place?"
"He ran from our guards, and broke a hole in the throne room right there."
She pointed to the wall where the hidden door was. He needed to act more ignorant to see if he could get her to start thinking more.
"So, why did he break the wall down?"
She looked at him for a second, then to the wall.
"Well, I think he was trying to get out of the chamber that lay behind the wall."
"Why, that doesn't sound right. He'd have to have been there for, hundreds, if not thousands of years."
She rubbed her head and sat silently for a while longer. She had a short laugh and spoke again.
"Well, if he's been there for a thousand years, he's been their since King Sombra died. Maybe it's a chamber that fulfills nightmares that Sombra had him try."
"Who's King Sombra?"
He shut up immediately. The princess just stared at him for the longest time. They stood silently, staring at each other.
"Well... King Sombra was the original ruler of the Crystal Kingdom. Under his rule the lives of those ponies here was miserable. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had vanquished him, but his ghost remained and tormented the ponies here. Me and Shining Armor along with his sister Twilight and her friends helped send him away for good, hopefully."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I just recently moved to here, so I didn't have time to catch up on the history of this place."
"It's okay, Snowy. Now you'd better scamper off before Prince Armor shows up and tries his luck again."
"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"I trust you more than my husband does, Snowy, and I definitely see past disguises better than him. I won't tell him that you were here. Now go to your father, he's at the wall outside constructing it."
"Thanks, princess-"
"Cadence. My name is Cadence. You'll have to tell me more about where you come from, seeing as you know about Shining Armor and not me."
"Same time?"
"Sure, just don't sneak up on me like that. Nearly called the guards and had you killed."
He shivered, bowed, and entered the secret passage behind the throne. As he walked out of the castle, he thought to himself about what Princess Cadence had said. About it being a nightmare chamber, and that it had been fulfilling his nightmare. It couldn't be, seeing as he has memories from before entering the castle. He visited the wall. Weeks had apparently passed while he was in the obelisk room, which would help explain the progress at which the wall was being built. just a small section lay open, and there they were placing a giant wooden door. The walls were significantly taller too. Any taller and you wouldn't see the castle tip. The walls were made from crystals, instead of the masonry of his own walls. He'd found his father sitting on the battlements of the wall, looking out into the quiet snow fields.
"Hey, Thompson, you got a minute?"
"Yeah, what do you need?"
"So, this is a pretty big door. how do you plan on opening it and closing it?"
"I got my ways."
"You mean those special words you enchanted the wall with?"
"How did you know?"
"Come on, think about it, dad."
Thompson chuckled a bit.
"Clever boy. Didn't recognize you with that color on you."
"Clever? That's what I was trying for."
"Take a seat, boy. Tell me your story."
He sat next to his father, overlooking the snow land before him.
"So, how are you?"
"I'm well. So far the only pony I haven't fooled is the princess."
"I can understand that. Once you get captured by an evil shape-shifting ass, you become more caution of who everypony is."
"Wait, what?"
"Story for another day, kid."
"Okay then. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm just fine. Almost finished the wall for Shining Armor."
"Why's he building it?"
"To make sure you can't get out."
"Well, clearly it's not going to work out well for him if I can stand on it."
"Yes. That's fairly certain. You should run along though. I hear he has spies around now, for fear you're plotting against him."
"Strange thought. All I did was come out of a wall. I've done nothing really illegal other than that."
"True. Now go. Not to the cottage though. My grandfather's cabin is out in the snow. About a mile just out in front of us. If you're the same on both ends, you'll make it."
Thompson patted him on the back, and then his son walked away. Then a new voice was heard. It sounded like the prince. He heard his rabbit name.
"Snowy, look."
He turned around to see Prince Armor holding his father over the edge of the wall. There was some kind of evil in his eyes. Torturing evil. Similar to that of Iron Hoof's eyes. He stood, eyes wide as Prince Armor threw his father into the snow. he ran at Prince Armor in rage, but Armor had teleported away. He looked over the edge. His father's faint yelling could still be heard just before he hit the snow. Might as well have been concrete. His tear ducts had been permanently frozen shut from all those years in the cold. Permafrost sealed his emotions. All that remained of his sadness was ash from his birth-ritual. Clouds of ash poured from his mouth. He ran across the wall, a trail of smoke behind him. He couldn't handle his fathers death. Not again. He knew there was no way he could leave the wall a normal way, but the fall would leave something on him broken, even if it was snow. He heard guards after him. He ran blindly from the ash, but when he looked, there were guards running at him from both directions. He jumped.
He fell. As he fell he regretted his choice, but figured he didn't have one. When he hit the ground eventually, he rolled. He hurt all over, but at least he could run still. He kept running, straight out into the snow to the cabin. The guards didn't follow him. It was too cold to just follow him, because they knew they'd never catch up to him. He ran into blizzard to escape their watching gazes. He knew he'd find his way to the cabin, because he'd have no where else to go. He couldn't risk not finding it, or else he'd starve to death and freeze. He ran blindly. His fur had not built itself up for the winter in five years. He wouldn't care to stick around to ensure that it could. He just wanted this to be over now. He just wanted to be home, with his furry animal friends, in his log cabin, away from the hate of Shining Armor. He stopped, out of breath. The storm was growing by the second. The snow was causing his newly dyed coat to return to its snowy white and shadowy grey. He couldn't move, his legs like lead. If he didn't move he'd freeze. His journey out here all for nothing. He forced himself forward, the cold foreboding and cruel. He wouldn't allow his body to stop now, but he couldn't move fast. He was cold, he felt really hungry, and he just wanted to take a nap, but he pushed on through the snow. Suddenly a large gust of wind knocked him over and he tumbled through the snow and slammed into a large wooden cabin. He'd have completely missed it, if it hadn't been for the wind. He tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. He started slamming his body into it. It eventually opened. There was a fire roaring inside. He trotted around, looking at the items on the walls. Many photos of different ponies in snowy backgrounds hung on the walls, all old looking, black and white. Some of them seemed to have his father in them. A few seemed to have both of his fathers. His own father, and his duplicate from this world. His mother was next to both fathers in one picture. He heard hoof steps behind him. A voice of a mare spoke to him.
"H-Hello. How-How did you find this place?"
He turned to look. A petite mare stood there. White with a few blue spots on her. She spoke with a kind of accent of which he'd not heard. He cleared his throat.
"My father said this was my grandfather's cabin. Mr. Thompson is my father. Do you know him?"
"O-Oh, yes. Mr. Mason Thompson you mean?"
"Yes. He's my father. He said I could stay here."
"Of course. I didn't know Mason had a second son. W-Were the two of you twins, because you look strikingly like him."
"It's complicated. How did you get here?"
"M-Me? I just got lost in the snow one day, and y-your father found me."
"Really? Huh.... well then, I guess you get some company to join you out here."
"So, Mr. Thompson, where's your father."
He'd not thought about telling her that. He'd forgotten all about him, trying to save himself from a frozen grave. He knew she'd never be able to leave here alone. It's too cold, even when there is no storm. He'd begun to stare blankly at the wall behind her while he thought about if he should tell the truth or avoid the question. He wasn't going to just lie. He was taught by the bears and owls that lying wouldn't end well for him. Not that he'd ever be able to get away with it. He'd always been a bad liar. The mare called to him.
"Mr. Thompson? A-Are you okay?"
He readjusted his gaze back to her.
"Y-Yes, just fine. Are you okay? You seem to stutter a lot."
"S-Sorry...."
"It's fine, I'm just concerned about you. You seem like a nice enough lass."
"L-Lass?"
"It's a term I was taught by... some friends. It's just nother way of saying 'filly' or 'mare'. I liked the sound of it ever since I was taught it."
"O-Oh. S-So, where is your father?"
She'd brought it up again, but why? She seemed to care about him a lot. He'd probably still be working at this time, but he wasn't going to tell her that. His gaze had started drifting again. She began to whimper, quietly. He shook his head, and looked at her.
"H-Huh? What's wrong?"
"I-It's just, you seem confused by that question, and-and you seem distant, and-and-and-"
She was quivering, and then began to cry. It was a sorrowful, tear-filled crying. He was startled by it. The animals in his forest never cried around him. He looked around, as if the answer was in a photo. It was, oddly enough. He noticed one of his father's hugging his mother, and so he did the same to this poor mare. She hugging back, tears streaming down his back now. He kept hugging her, and eventually, after many minutes, she stopped crying long enough for them to speak again.
"Look, my father....-"
He paused for thought. He didn't want to think too long. She was a very fragile mare, and he didn't want to see her cry again. He felt awkward just hugging her like that. She wiped some of the tears off her face.
"W-What about y-your father?"
"He's... dead."
She sat down, shocked. She just looked at him, speechless. He began to try and reach out of a hug, but she backed away. She spoke quietly.
"N-n-no. N-no. H-He c-can't be...."
"He is. I watched him die."
"H-h-he said I would go home once the wall was done."
He stared at the ground, sullenly. She began to tear up and cry. He kept looking at the ground and spoke.
He sighed. He didn't want to continue hurting her feelings. He didn't like hurting others in the first place, but she seemed different. He wasn't sure how, it felt like he should know it, but he couldn't put his hoof on what it was. Her tears kept falling. He wanted to help her, but felt that he couldn't. He didn't want to leave her here to fend for herself, but her current state prevented her from coming with him. He needed to get her cheered up, but that would require actions and words. He wasn't good with positivity.
"Hey, look at me, please."
She opened her eyes, tears still falling in grand quantities from her face. She just stared at him, her breath stuttering.
"I'm sorry he's dead, I really am. I wish there would've been a way to stop what happened to him, but there was no way to save him. If you want to go home, you'll need to come with me. I can't go now though. I'm too injured from my trip to here."
She looked him up and down, with increased interest. He wasn't sure what she was looking for. His injuries never showed very well, if that's what she was looking for.
"I suggest you get some sleep. I'll be next to the fireplace if you need anything."
She hesitated, he wasn't sure what she was waiting for. He began to kneels down in front of the flames, when she spoke.
"W-Why don't you take the bed, a-and I can sleep out here."
He shook his head.
"I've never slept well in a bed. I prefer the ground. Thanks for the offer."
She was still hesitant. He wasn't an extremely curious person, but he needed rest, and her hovering wasn't going to get him any.
"Do you want to stay out here, with me?"
She seemed to be surprised by his offer. She looked down at the ground, most likely in thought. He started to doze off, when he felt the small mare lay next to him. She was warm and soft. He eventually dozed off. When he woke up, he'd rolled over. Looking down, he could she the small mare resting her head on his chest. Low-and-behold his fur had grown exponentially overnight. He didn't think it would happen. He wiped the drool from his face and slowly got up. He grabbed a pillow off the nearby couch and set it under her head, so as not to startle her. He went to the bathroom and took a shower. When he emerged, she'd woken up. She seemed happier this morning than last night. She smiled at him, and he nodded in reply.
"You want some breakfast?"
"Sure, if you're offering."
She trotted into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he walked in and she'd finished making breakfast. It was pancakes.
"Wonderful. My favorite! How'd you know?"
"You seem a lot like your father, so I just assumed."
He grabbed a plate and some pancakes. He pulled a chair out for her, and sat down at the table himself. When she finally sat down, he spoke first.
"Did you sleep well?"
She shrugged.
"When I woke up, you seemed very comfortable. Using my chest for a pillow."
She stopped eating and her face turned bright red. She was clearly stunned by what he said.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
She swallowed what was in her mouth and shook her head.
"N-no it's not that. It's just...."
She paused in thought. He had finished eating and started to clean his plate in the sink.
"Just what?"
"J-just-. Nothing- It's nothing."
He was confused by her sudden change in words, but he didn't want to press her. He wanted to leave today, and her crying wouldn't help.
"Are you ready today?"
"R-Ready?"
"To go to the Crystal Kingdom."
"O-Oh, right. I need to collect a few things, and then I'll be ready to leave."
She left the room. He cleaned her plate too, as well as the rest of the dishes. He walked to one of the room in the house. It was a bedroom, most likely his father's. He noticed something laying on the bed. It was saddlebags with a note attached to one. The note read:
"Dear Remington "Snowy" Thompson, this is Mason, if you're reading this, I've probably died. The mare is lost. I don't exactly know where she's from, but you'll have all the time you need to figure that out later. Prince Shining Armor know where you are, and he's biding his time, because he know's you're coming back. Any disguises won't work this time around, he's got tricks up his sleeve. You can take this saddlebag. I'd recommend it. It's bottomless in size, and matches your coat. It was used by our eldest Thompson, Sage, when he first traversed the great winter plains to get to here. It's been passed down from generations. There were other trinkets and tools given to others of his descent, but this is ours. If you remember where I died, there's a second smaller door there. Use the words and you'll be able to pass through undetected. You'll have to go around the entire wall to get to the exit, but at least you know where to go. Get her home, and leave this place, or you can try figuring out why Shining Armor killed me. It really is your choice. Love, Mason "Conscript" Thompson."
His real name was Remington? He prefered Snowy, really.