> As the Wind Blows
>  by Jeevesie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 01 - These Four Walls 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



As the Wind Blows - These Four Walls


"E-excuse me... Miss?"

The royal guard eyed the body of the pegasus nervously. Her lithe sky blue form lying almost perfectly, worryingly still. Slumped upon her worn mattress, the rays of the warm summer sunlight shining through the bars of her cell's window did little to warm her spirits. She twitched the tip of one long, powerful wing, dismissively.

"Go away."

Clearing his throat, the guard stood firm.

"I have a message to deliver. From... from Princesses Celestia, Luna, Mi Amore Cadenza... C-Cadence, that is. And Twilight Sparkle. A personal message to you, Miss." 

A soft snort escaped the pegasus, and she raised her head; sharp, pale blue eyes shining out from under her tousled, unkempt white mane.

"Call me by my name. You might as well get used to saying it without laughing. You'll be saying it for some time. My name is Free. Free Bird."

The guard didn't laugh. He didn't smile. Indeed his face paled, and he hung his head in shame.

"Yes Mi-... I mean, Free Bird. I'm sorry."

Free let slip a dry, humourless chuckle.

"You're sorry. Everyone's sorry. I'll bet even the Princesses are sorry. Am I right?"

She raised one hoof, gesturing for the guard to give her the message with which he'd come. Obediently, without a word, the unicorn levitated the scroll through the wrought iron bars of the cell and into Free Bird's grasp. He stood still, waiting as the pegasus held the note still in her hoof. Until finally, with another snort of frustration, she glared at the guard once again.

"If you're waiting for me to read it, you'll be here a long time. As you may have noticed, my entertainment is somewhat limited. I have to ration any thrills I may find in my day, otherwise my heart might simply give out with delight."

The guard sighed. He nodded, turned, and trotted slowly away. Soon the sound of a heavy wooden door unlocking and swinging open reached the pegasus pony's ears, followed by the empty thud of it swinging closed and locking once more.

With a mournful whimper, Free Bird tossed the scroll to the ground, unopened and unread. She buried her face under her forelegs, and swept her wings around herself once more. Lying there in that ancient, solitary cell, alone and utterly incapable of escape, she wept in anguish. Knowing, to her horror, that this was only day six. 

Day six, of a four year sentence she did not deserve.


***************
 

Three meals later, what Free Bird assumed to be the following afternoon judging by what little of the sky she could see, the dungeon door creaked open once again. She heard hoofbeats and the jingling of armour, slightly heavier than the set which had belonged to the guard bringing her the note. The figure stopped just outside her cell door, and before they could speak the pegasus called out to them in a failed attempt at some form of light hearted humour which just came off sounding rather shrill and desperate.

"I still haven't read the note. Try again tomorrow."

A warm, painfully genuine chuckle escaped the lips of the visiting guard. Not the same pony as yesterday, that was certain. This voice was deeper, but softer too. 

"Cadence told me you probably wouldn't have read it. Twilight thought you would. My sister will be very disappointed to hear that you proved her wrong."

One of Free's ears twitched. She didn't turn around, but the significance of what her visitor had just said was not lost on her. Princess Twilight Sparkle only had one sibling. Her brother; husband of Princess Cadence and Captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard. 

Shining Armour said nothing for a short while, waiting to see if Free Bird would turn and talk to him, or make any kind of motion to show that she was acknowledging his presence. When she didn't, however, he shook his head in frustration. He didn't want to have to do what he had been sent to do, but if the pegasus wasn't going to co-operate, clearly he had no choice.

"Alright then. If you aren't going to read the scroll... I'll read it to you."

Free Bird heard the hum of magic as Shining Armour lifted the scroll off the cell floor with his horn, and saw the glow of its magical energy reflected against the rear wall she was facing. Her eyes widened, and she cried out in anguish, flinging herself upright on the bed and launching her body across the room; wings spread and practically brushing both corners of the cell with her abnormally broad wingspan.

"No!"

She snatched at the note with both hooves and her muzzle, but Shining Armour jinked it out of reach with a twitch of his horn. He pulled it through the bars a split second before Free Bird hit them, slamming hard into the door with a cry of pain, but still thrashing and flailing with both forelegs through the bars trying to get at the note.

"No... no." 

Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the armoured unicorn, his own expression one of stunned horror at seeing another pony so distraught.

"Please. Please, don't read it. Don't!"

Now holding the note in one hoof, Shining Armour paused, frowning deeply. 

"I don't understand. Are you worried it will say something about you that you don't want me or other ponies to hear? Because I assure you, as a Captain of the Guard I'm fully briefed on the details of all prisoners."

Free just stood at the cell door, slumping against the iron bars as she cried openly, hooves still reaching helplessly out towards the scroll. She shook her head, but said nothing.

"Then, are you worried it's going to be a letter of condemnation? The princesses writing to tell you how appalled they are that for the first time in decades, we've had to use the Canterlot dungeons to imprison a pony? Because I assure you, that's not it."

Again Free Bird shook her head, this time whimpering in frustration.

"No. No! O-of course I know that's not it. That's the problem. I know exactly what the letter is going to say. It's the only reason I can think of that I'd get a letter from the Princesses. The only reason I'd still be locked up in here, and yet have everyone... e-every guard, you, even the Princesses taking their time to write to me, treat me so well."

She sniffed and inclined her head forward, resting it too against the bars of the cell.

"It's going to say that they're sorry. That they've tried everything to find a loophole, but they can't. It's going to say that they're so very sorry, and they know how much it hurts... but that I'm stuck here. And I'm going to be stuck here. Imprisoned by my own people because of a centuries old piece of paper, for every day of the sentence that was passed against me."

Closing her eyes in anguish, Free withdrew her hooves. She settled down onto all fours, retracting her wings and bowing her head mournfully.

"I know exactly what it's going to say... a-and when I know it for myself, when I read or hear those words and it's not just something I know in my heart, I don't know how I'm going to keep going. I don't know how I'm going to live."

Yet more tears fell to the dusty dungeon floor. 

"If there's anything that note says which I don't already know. Please, read it to be. Tell me I'm wrong. But if that's it? If all the Princesses have to say is that they're sorry, you can tell them I don't need a letter and I don't want a letter. I know they're sorry. I know they wish this didn't have to happen. But as good, and kind and sympathetic as they might be, no, they don't understand. B-because... because they don't have this." 

Free turned to the side, exposing one flank to Shining Armour, displaying her cutie mark. Two bluebirds flying over a fluffy patch of white cloud. 

"They all have their purpose and their unique talents, and they live up to those responsibilities every day. Even Princess Luna, when she was trapped as Nightmare Moon, was still at least a shadow of her former self; embracing the night wholeheartedly. Even Princess Cadence, when she was captured by the Changeling Queen before your wedding, was never stripped of her love for you. But me..."

She cast her wings down over her cutie mark, hiding it from view on both sides.

"...all my life, all I have ever wanted, ever sought, was Freedom. To go where I please. To soar through the skies and see new lands. New ponies and creatures of all shapes and sizes. New wonders every day. Freedom was my purpose. My life. It was everything to me." 

Glaring not at Shining Armour, but at the bars separating the two of them, Free Bird snorted angrily.

"But now, it's gone. I have to spend the majority of the next four years of my life in this single cell. Even my exercise yard is a hundred metre square patch of sky enclosed in a magical field, and that only for thirty minutes a day."

Her anger swiftly abated, the pegasus reduced to tearful sorrow once more.

"I don't think the princesses truly understand how I feel. I hope they don't. Because... no-one, certainly not them, deserves to feel like this. Their very reason for living visible outside a window..."

She gestured towards the barred cell window with one wing.

"...but so eternally far out of reach."

With that, Free returned to her mattress. She lay down, buried her head beneath her hooves once more, and closed her eyes. Wishing the day away. Willing time to pass faster, counting down the seconds, the minutes, the hours, the days, the weeks, the months and the years until her freedom, her life, was to be restored to her. 

Outside her cell, Shining Armour stood and watched the utterly broken pegasus. His own eyes wide and full of tears threatening to fall at any moment. The scroll in his hoof still unopened, and now thoroughly unnecessary. 

Just as Free Bird had suspected, she knew precisely what the scroll said. The griffin settlement in which she had been arrested, half a world away from the rapidly changing and rebuilding land of griffinstone, was utterly unwilling to compromise. By their understanding of the situation they had captured a trespasser living on their property without papers nor the means to pay for her accommodation or the resources she had used while there. The punishment for such crimes was four years of hard labour, and it had only been through Princess Twilight's study of ancient law that she and her friends had been able to return Free Bird to Equestria. Not as a free pony, though, but as a prisoner under an order of extradition. Her sentence to be carried out in full and under the supervision of her griffin captors, but amongst her own people and in the manner of pony justice. Confinement, rather than labour. 

They had tried everything. Pleading. Bargaining. Outright bribery. But the griffins had taken their bits not as a reason to let Free Bird off, her debt now paid, but as a mere downpayment for the emotional trauma the griffins had suffered upon finding their lands invaded by what they claimed was almost certainly the vanguard of a secret, guerilla pony army. 

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It sure as hell wasn't justice.

With a grim snort, Shining Armour threw the scroll the ground and stamped it under one hoof. He turned, and galloped from the dungeon in search of his sister and his wife. Before, it had been them who had come to him to ask for help. But now... seeing this pony's tragic plight, hearing her story and realising just how dire a state she was in, it was he would would ask for the Princesses aid. He who would take up the fight in Free Bird's name. He would would not stop until justice was served, and the pegasus was free to take flight once again. 

The dungeon door slammed shut behind the unicorn, and within her cell, alone once more, Free Bird began to sob anew.



By Jeeves
> 02 - Before the Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


As the Wind Blows - Before the Dawn


Shining Armour's hoofbeats were lighter than normal as he approached Free Bird's cell. He wasn't sure if he was trying to approach so delicately because he was nervous, or on the off-chance that the pegasus prisoner was sleeping, he might be able to get away with telling Cadence that he had tried to talk to her, and failed.  Either way, he felt a little ashamed of himself, and made a point of clearing his throat firmly to announce his presence as he arrived at the barred cell door.

To the unicorn's surprise however, he didn't need to declare his arrival. Free Bird was already looking right at him, sitting up on her bed, straight and tall. She was smiling, too. For a moment, he actually felt rather hopeful. 

Then he saw it. The look in her eyes. That empty, hollow stare. The twitching at the corner of her muzzle as she fought to keep her smile in place, despite every fibre of her heart begging her not to keep up the charade any longer.

Bowing his head, shaking it in worry and confusion, Shining Armour spoke.

"They tell me you've stopped eating."

Free chuckled dryly.

"They tell you? You say that like you don't believe it."

The unicorn raised his gaze, glaring angrily at Free Bird for a moment before he remembered where he was and the strain that this pony before him was under. She had every right to be upset, every right to be angry. He couldn't begrudge her a few sardonic comments.

"Maybe I don't want to believe it. Maybe I find it hard to believe that any pony would rather starve herself and waste away, than remain in a prison cell surrounded by ponies who want nothing more than to make her comfortable."

Free Bird glanced around herself, at the walls, floor and ceiling with which she was becoming intimately familiar.

"Comfortable? What part of any of this is supposed to be comfortable... what parts do you plan on making comfortable, over the four years I'm to stay here?"

She didn't raise her voice. Barely even changed the inflection with which she was speaking. It was clear that she was tired. Drained emotionally, yes, but physically too from lack of nutrition. Pegasii had higher metabolisms than earth ponies or unicorns, and even two days without a solid meal was more than enough to start having almost painful physiological effects. Another day or two longer, and things would start to get very serious indeed.

Shining Armour frowned. He pawed at the ground nervously with one foreleg, but opted to speak his mind anyway.

"Four years is a long time, I know. But... I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The world will still be there when you get out."

Again, Free smiled. That same humourless, agonisingly forced smile. 

"The question is, will I still be here when I get out? When you let this body free from its cell in four years time, will the mind inside it still be me? Still be Free Bird?"

She sighed. Her smile faded, and the pegasus pony raised her head. She met Shining Armour's gaze head on, and spoke far more clearly. Far more rationally than she had thus far. Unfortunately for the unicorn, that only made what she had to say all the more harrowing.

"I don't want to be weak. I don't want to give in and give up. But any time I think about getting through this... about staying strong and doing my time with the most positive mindset I can muster. The days... the weeks... they just stretch out in front of me. They blind me to anything else. Do you know how long four years is, Shining Armour? Because I do. I've counted. Four years, according to an Equestrian Standard Calender, is one thousand, four hundred and sixty one days. That's thirty five thousand and sixty four hours. Two million, one hundred and three thousand, eight hundred and forty minutes. A grand total of one hundred and twenty six million, two hundred and thirty thousand, four hundred seconds."

Tears were rolling down her cheeks by the time she finished reeling off that final number. Then she began to count. One second at a time.

"One."

Shining Armour winced.

"Two."

He closed his eyes. She seemed to notice this, increasing the volume of her voice.

"Three. You may want to join in, Shining Armour. This could take a while, and I could use the company."

The unicorn's eyes sprang open, and he cried out in frustration.

"Okay! O-okay. I get it. I... I understand."

Sniffing and wiping her eyes on one foreleg, Free Bird nodded.

"I know. At least, I know you want to understand. So... thanks. But, really, whether you understand or not... it doesn't change whether you can do anything about it, does it? And it doesn't change how impossible to survive all those seconds feel when they add up."

Glancing towards the window. That small, barred window that offered her such a teasingly pathetic view of the Canterlot skyline, Free smiled again. Not a fake smile on this occasion, but by no means one with any real happiness behind it. 

"I remember a story I was told when I was a foal. It was one of the first stories I ever heard that really changed my life. It was about a young colt. An earth pony, who could fly. A free spirit. He lived on an island with his friends, and had adventures, and fought pirates... one pirate even had a metal hook for a leg!"

Her voice began to perk up as she remembered the story, but trailed off as she caught sight of a pegasus flying through the air beyond the window. Her gaze fell away from the sky beyond the bars, and down the cold stone ground of her cell once more.

"That pony said that death... he said that death was just another, awfully big adventure. It may not be true. It may just have been a lie to make his friends in the story feel better when they thought his time was up. But, right now? That lie offers me more hope than my real situation. That's why I'm not eating, Shining Armour. And why I'm not going to start."

The unicorn stood still. Perfectly still. Not daring to move, for fear that the sight of his own shadow might be enough to send him into a furious rage. He couldn't ever remember feeling so angry. So helpless. So utterly without hope.

Snorting in frustration, he stomped at the ground.

"What would you have us do, Free Bird?!"

He began to turn back and forth, pacing rapidly up and down in front of the pegasus' cell door.

"Would you have us fight the griffins? Go to war for you? Would you have us go back on Celestia's word and make her into a liar... not to mention calling into question every treaty, pact and agreement she has ever signed?"

Free shook her head. Simply and definitively.

"No. I wouldn't ask you to do any of those things, and I haven't. I'm not doing this to make you act. I'm not doing this for any of you. I'm doing this... choosing this path, for myself. Because the only pony this situation should hurt, is me. And this way, at least the pain won't be dragged out for too long."

For a short while, Shining Armour continued to pace back and forth. Then he stopped, and simply stared straight at Free Bird. She said nothing, simply looking back at him with sorrowful acceptance. Then, finally, with a whinny of abject rage as he felt tears brimming behind his own eyes, the stallion turned and bolted out of the dungeon. 

Free Bird didn't react. She didn't even move. She just sat there, staring into the spot where Shining Armour had previously stood as the seconds continued to pass by her. One, by one, by one.


***************


"No. You can't do this!" 

A loud cry from somewhere close by roused Free from a deep slumber. Sleep came easily now. Three days without a meal made sleeping pretty much the only easy thing the pegasus could do. 

"Who's going to stop me, Twilight? You? I admit it, you've gotten much better with your wings, but I can still fly circles around you."

The first voice called out again, and from outside Free Bird's window she saw a magenta flash of magic.

"Fly all you want, Rainbow. But you can't do a thing about those bars without your tools or rope."

The second voice cried out in frustration, and Free Bird saw a rainbow tinted blur dart past her window several times in rapid succession.

"C'mon, Twilight. That's not fair. Y-you can't do that!"

Free Bird's eyes widened. Twilight? There was only one pony with the name Twilight that she was aware of. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Pulling herself up from the bed with a grunt of effort, the pegasus crossed her cell and pulled herself up on her hind legs, gazing out of the window in wonder.

"No, Rainbow Dash. You can't do this. You can't just break Equestria's laws because on this one occasion they don't align with your personal feelings. Ugh, Shining Armour was right. I never should have shared this burden with you all. We should just have kept it between those of us who needed to know."

Hovering in mid air a few metres away from the cell's window, Free Bird watched as the alicorn princess herself debated with a very irate looking, rainbow haired pegasus. She felt a sinking feeling inside herself the more she heard, realising that this argument was about her. About this pegasus pony, this Rainbow Dash, trying to free her. To break her out of the Canterlot Dungeon.

"Need to know? Need to know? Twilight, listen to yourself. The whole of Equestria needs to know about this. I'll be the first in line to defend the griffins and say they've had it tough. Me and Pinkie saw first-hand how bad things had gotten in Griffinstone. But this... imprisoning a pony for sleeping on some ground a flea-bitten bird says they'd claimed as their own, it's barbaric. It's wrong. It's... it's evil."

Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Evil?! Rainbow Dash, this plan has been agreed on by all the princesses. By Celestia herself. By me. Are you calling us... evil?"

For a second or so, the pegasus remained silent. She closed her eyes, deep in thought. 

"You're a good person, Twilight. And of course Celestia and the other princesses are too. But... good people can still do evil things if they're pushed into it. And right now, imprisoning somepony you know is innocent, letting her starve herself to death for the sake of... what? Politics? Yes. I'd call that evil."

The two flying ponies bristled with rage, circling one another in the air angrily as though about to begin fighting at any moment. It was only when a third voice, weak but desperate, cried out, that they withdrew from their hostile stance.

"Stop!"

Shrieking from behind her window, Free Bird beat her hooves against the metal bars. She shook her head, and even after the ponies had fallen deathly silent she kept on crying out and hammering at those black iron rods.

"Stop... stop... just stop. I... I'll eat. Okay? I'll eat food. I'll stop this, just please... don't fight. Don't argue about me any more."

Her voice grew more and more faint, weaker and weaker with each word. Finally, with one last shake of her head, Free Bird felt her hind legs giving out beneath her, and she began to topple backwards from the window.

In a flash of magenta magic, Princess Twilight appeared in the cell; catching Free Bird before she could hit the stone floor and guiding the weary pony back to her bed. With a glare at the cell door, she blasted its lock open with her horn and darted out into the hallway beyond, much to the shock of the guard who was standing on duty. She returned moments later, levitating not only a glass of water, but a brimming plate of food from the guard's break room. 

"Here..."

Sitting down upon her haunches before the dingy mattress, Twilight Sparkle stroked Free Bird's forehead as she gently held the glass of water to the pony's lips. Little by little she fed and watered the exhausted pegasus, and it was only when Free Bird's body fell limp and the fatigued pony began to snore gently that Twilight so much as glanced anywhere else. 

At the cell door, the guard stood with his helmet tucked under one arm. His eyes wide, and a look of compassion and relief upon his face. 

"Princess... you... made her eat. I don't know how you did it, but... thank you. Watching her start to fade away like that, it was killing us. Your brother in particular."

From the guard, Twilight Sparkle's gaze turned to the window. Outside it, Rainbow Dash's face hung with an expression of anguished regret. As Twilight met her gaze, she turned away in shame. Another flash, and the alicorn was gone again. Floating in the air beside her dear friend once more, embracing her tightly in mid-air as they both began to weep. 

They may have gotten Free Bird eating again through their actions, but this was no victory. She hadn't started eating for herself... but only because she couldn't bear her predicament to be hurting so many other lives. All she had done was prove how good and kind hearted a pony she truly was, and yet still, she lay there in that cell. Still a prisoner, and still only an hour or so closer to freedom than before.


***************


"Free Bird?"

When the pegasus next stirred, the first thing she was aware of was the smell permeating her cell. A wonderful, savoury fragrance. Earthy, rich and warming.

She opened her eyes, and saw, standing within the bounds of her cell, another pony. A pony who by now looked pretty familiar to her, but had never looked quite so pleasing as he did now, ladling her out a large bowlful of the steaming vegetable stew which sat in a pot beside him. Shining Armour placed the bowl upon a small wooden table which was suddenly present beside the pegasus pony's bed, and nodded towards it.

"C'mon. Eat up. You have to get your strength back."

Nodding, still too weak and tired to resist, Free Bird lifted her muzzle over the bowl. She inhaled the heady aroma, almost passing out from joy as it filled her senses almost to overflowing. The smell, however, was nothing compared to the taste. It was, without a doubt, the most delicious bowl of stew she had ever consumed. As was the second bowl, and the third. 

By the time that final bowl of vegetable stew had disappeared down the pegasus pony's throat, her belly was pleasantly full, and her eyes wide with renewed energy. She felt better than she had in... well, since being brought here in the first place. But still, there was something different. Something which Free Bird couldn't quite put a hoof on. 

It was only when she looked at Shining Armour, and saw his eyes glance to one side with an uncontrollable smile, that she realised what it was. She followed the unicorn's gaze, and let slip a disbelieving whimper.

The cell door was open.

Its lock a charred, twisted mass of melted metal, and seemingly no effort having been made to close or replace it.

"Come on."

Tilting his head, gesturing for her to follow, Shining Armour turned and walked out of the cell. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, realising that at first Free Bird wasn't following. She looked afraid. Terrified, actually. Again, he smiled. 

"It's not a trick, and you're not dreaming. I promise I'm not Princess Luna in disguise."

Slowly, cautiously, Free Bird stepped off that worn and thoroughly uncomfortable mattress. Hoof by hoof, step by step, she edged towards the door of her cell, and stepped out into the corridor beyond. She paused, taking a breath, waiting for the truth to come crashing down around her and for a set of guard to toss her right back into the cell. 

But no such cruelty was inflicted upon her. 

All she was faced with was Shining Armour's beaming face, gesturing once more for her to follow him before the unicorn set off towards the dungeon doorway and the stairs beyond. Stairs that led up to Canterlot Castle. And beyond that... the great outdoors. The sky. 

Freedom.

It almost broke Free Bird's heart when after arriving at the top of the stairs and stepping out into the Castle's broad, beautifully bright central hallway, they turned away from the direction of the front door; the path along which she had been led in chains when first she was brought here to answer for her crime. She held her nerve though, and felt her heart rate increasing for an entirely different reason as she followed Shining Armour towards another set of doors. A set which looked suspiciously grand and ornate, as though they might well lead into...

...into a throne room.

Free Bird felt her knees shaking as she saw the thrones. One emblazoned with a golden sun, the other with a shining silver moon. She followed Shining Armour into the royal throne room, around one edge of the beautiful chamber, to yet another set of doors. There at last the unicorn fell still, unfastening the doors with a brief glowing of his horn and gesturing with one foreleg for Free Bird to proceed through, alone.

"I hope I'll see you again, soon."

It was only when Free Bird was half way through the doors that Shining Armour's words began to resonate with her, their implied meaning sending her already pounding heart into overdrive. He hoped he'd see her soon?! That implied that her return wasn't definite. And if that was correct, then where was she going? Where was this short, rather bare little corridor leading her?

The pegasus soon arrived at another set of doors. She reached out with a shaking hoof to open them, but paused. This was a royal castle. She couldn't just wander around as she pleased, surely.

Gingerly, nervously, she knocked at the door with that same outstretched hoof.

From within, a melodic voice called out.

"Come in, my little pony."

Free Bird began to shake like a leaf. She knew that voice. Every pony in Equestria knew that voice.

She opened the door, stepped through, and...

"O-oh..."

Tears filled her eyes. She began to cry instantly and uncontrollably at what she saw. Falling to her knees, throwing her hooves over her face and starting to bawl like a newborn foal. 

Before she collapsed, before her vision blurred with tears, Free Bird had seen Princess Celestia standing before her. But more importantly, she had seen the sky. The sun. The beautiful open air stretching out before her, a slight breeze rustling her mane as she stepped out onto a balcony. 

The next thing Free knew, she was being scooped up in the warmest, most comfortable embrace she had ever known. She was being hugged. Cuddled, by Princess Celestia herself. The divine alicorn's voice whispered into her ear as Celestia held her tightly, and she could hear the almost tearful emotion in the princess' own voice.

"I'm so sorry for what we've put you through, Free Bird. We're all so, so sorry. But I promise... I give you my word, you will not go back into that cell. You will not be a prisoner within any four walls for even a minute longer as long as we Princesses rule Equestria."

For quite some time, Celestia held Free Bird tightly in her grasp, and the pegasus hugged the alicorn back in joyous gratitude. It was only when they released one another, both taking a step back to look each other in the eye, that the Princess continued to speak. She was still smiling, but less so than before, and with a slightly forced note that after her recent experiences Free Bird recognised all too well. Celestia, it seemed, was no better at concealing her emotions than she herself was.

"But..."

There it was. That sinking feeling. That gnawing element of worry which Free Bird had been waiting for. Suddenly the skies above her and all around looked ever more inviting. In an instant, she could be airborne. Leaping over the balcony rail and away. Sure, ponies could chase her, but catch her?! That was another matter entirely. She felt her muscles tensing. Her wings poised, ready to flare out and carry her skyward at a moment's notice.

"But I'm afraid your freedom will come at a cost. A cost either to you, or to me. That's why I've asked you here. So we can talk face to face, as equals, and decide which of us should bear the burden of this whole messy situation."

The alicorn wasn't smiling any more.

"I cannot ignore my responsibilities. Either to this realm I have been tasked to rule, or to its citizens which I have sworn to protect. So, if I grant you your freedom, complete and total freedom, as I am doing right now... I must take your place."

Free Bird whimpered softly. Surely, the Princess couldn't mean what it sounded like she meant.

"I must take your sentence on my own shoulders, and go to work for the griffins who claimed you violated the ancient treaty I signed with their ancestors... by sleeping on their land without consent or payment." 

The way Celestia said those words, it was clear she had little respect for those who had captured Free in the first place, nor their reason for doing so. And yet, she was still willing to turn herself over to them. Her, the ruler of all Equestria. 

"Before I give you the other option, I must tell you that I am willing and able to face the four year sentence they are offering. I trust my sister, my niece and Princess Twilight Sparkle to run Equestria in my absence, and when I return I shall continue to rule as I have for over a thousand years. To me... four years is... a tolerable punishment, however unjust its initial judgement. Do you understand?"

Nervously, Free Bird nodded. 

"Good. For you see, the other option is not something I say lightly. It is not something I am proud to acknowledge. But, I believe that after weighing up all the options, it is right to suggest it."

Celestia took a breath. She steadied herself visibly. The fact she had to do this made Free Bird tremble all the more violently with fear at what this option could possibly be.

"The other option, is that we do what no pony will expect. What no pony would dare to believe I would even consider."

She leaned closer to Free Bird, her eyes twinkling with simultaneous sorrow and defiant pride.

"The other option, Free Bird, is that we lie."



By Jeeves
> 03 - Grey Skies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



As the Wind Blows – Grey Skies


"The other option, Free Bird, is that we lie."

Celestia's words rang hollow and heavy in the pegasus pony's ears, as the alicorn's wide eyes stared into hers with a grim, uncompromising intensity.

"We tell the griffins seeking your imprisonment that you are still in the castle dungeon. We rely on every pony from the Princesses to Shining Armour and the royal guard, to Twilight Sparkle's friends, to spread mis-information and rumour of how you remain in the castle dungeon; staying strong through your incarceration. And the hardest part of all... the reason I am giving you this choice second, as the more difficult option, is that we must make you a lie, too."

Free Bird tilted her head to one side, truly confused by what Celestia could possibly mean by that. The alicorn saw Free's quizzical expression, and sighed softly.

"My little pony, I wish there was an easier way. But, if you truly want to be able to go where you please and associate with whomever you wish... you cannot be you. You cannot look like you. Sound like you. You cannot be Free Bird, if you want to be free."

A thousand stunned thoughts surged chaotically through Free Bird's mind, each one as dis-organised and uncertain as the last. She wanted to say something meaningful. She wanted to address the princess in a way that added something meaningful to their discussion. But no matter how hard she tried, only one word came flashing into her head.

"H-how?"

Still gazing patiently at the obviously rather overwhelmed pegasus pony, Celestia explained as best she could.  

"Early this year, Princess Twilight discovered a pony whose magic could be used in a strange and dangerous way. Stripping another pony not only of their cutie mark's physical presence, but actively  stealing their unique talent too."

Princess Celestia saw Free Bird glance nervously back at her own cutie mark, and hurriedly clarified.

"Now of course, we would never attempt to do that to you, or to any pony. But Twilight Sparkle is a truly gifted magic user. She is one of the few ponies ever to live who are capable of creating new magic, and certainly able to alter existing spells. She believes that she is capable, and as we speak is working on,  a way to change this dangerous spell. Not to use it to remove your cutie mark, and certainly not to take away your longing for freedom and your unique ability to travel and explore new places with ease. But to hide your cutie mark and to change your exterior appearance; not just as a magical glamour, but as a genuine physical transformation, impossible to be uncovered or seen-through. If successful in her attempts, she will be able to remake you physically, Free Bird. And through your own hard work, with all our help of course, you can rework your own past through acting lessons, study and rehearsal." 

The alicorn lowered her head slightly, and nodded as she saw a glimmer of trepidation in Free Bird's eyes.

"I know it's not perfect, and like you are already no doubt coming to realise, it will still mean a great deal of sacrifice on your part. You will be free, physically speaking, and you will have complete autonomy to go where you wish and associate with whom you wish. But when it comes to talking with other ponies... when it comes to the details of who you are and how you became the pony you are this very day, you cannot breath a word of the truth. You cannot be you. Cannot be Free Bird. Not until your sentence is over, and the true you is allowed to roam the lands and skies of Equestria and beyond once more."

Free Bird's frown persisted. She pawed nervously at the balcony's smooth white marble with one hoof, and glanced skyward in thought. Before she could say anything, Celestia spoke almost word for word what was running through her head.

"Freedom with restrictions is not true freedom, I know. But given how captivity has treated you thus far, I believe it to be a genuinely better option, and our only way of setting you free... other than my own imprisonment."

The pegasus pony looked up at Celestia. At her ruler. Her God. She felt so guilty, so ashamed for what she was about to say. For not instantly agreeing to this plan, and proving that there was no way she would consider allowing a Princess or any other pony to languish in griffin captivity in her place.

"C-can I... can I think about it?"

To Free Bird's surprise, Celestia laughed warmly. The alicorn nodded, smiling down at her.

"Oh, my dear little pony... of course you can. Take as long as you need. The palace is yours to roam, and I will have the royal guard set you up in a more suitable room. All I ask, is that you please do not walk beyond the palace grounds... and I'm sorry, but I must ask you not to take flight higher than the outer walls. We simply cannot allow anyone beyond those who already know to see you free."

Free Bird looked up at the beautiful, clear blue sky once more. She shivered in discomfort, realising that while it was entirely open and accessible before her, the outside world was still painfully out of reach. And yet, she understood precisely what Princess Celestia was asking of her, and how important it was that she obeyed. After all the trust which the Princess and countless others were placing in her. After all the kindness they had shown her, it was the very least she could do in return.

"Of course, Princess. And.... thank you. For everything."

With those final words, Free Bird bowed to the Princess and exited from the balcony, leaving Celestia gazing out over Canterlot and the rest of Equestria beyond. She trotted slowly back along the short corridor between the outside world and the throne room, already becoming lost in thought as she began to weigh up her options. As such, the pegasus pony jumped slightly when upon stepping back into the throne room a voice immediately rang out in greeting.

"Whoa, you're back!"

Twisting her head sharply, her wings flaring in surprise, Free Bird blushed as she saw Shining Armour standing almost exactly where she had left him. The armoured unicorn chuckled at her reaction, and trotted over to her side.

"So the talk went well, I take it? Or as well as it could have?"
Free Bird said nothing, but nodded. All things considered, she supposed that probably had been the best outcome of the talk that either she or Celestia could have hoped for. Indeed, it seemed Shining Armour had been wrestling with the same thought.

"I have to admit, I thought you might fly the coop as soon as you saw open air. I even asked Celestia if she wanted me to set up a localised shield spell to keep the sky around the royal balcony enclosed. But of course, she wouldn't allow it. She trusted that you'd hear her out... and she was right. Right?" 

Again the pegasus nodded. 

"Yeah. S-she... the Princess said I could have a few days to think about my answer. That, u-um... that someone would find me a room?"

She felt bad bringing it up so soon, but the idea that Shining Armour might have remained here to escort her back to her cell in the dungeon was looming large in the pegasus' mind. By the lack of surprise on his face however, and the fact he looked relieved rather than suspicious, it seemed that the captain of the royal guard had already been informed of this potential eventuality. He smiled reassuringly at Free Bird, and gestured for her to follow as he began to trot back down the corridor through which they had approached the throne room.

The unicorn led Free Bird to a bedroom. A beautiful, luxurious bedroom with a vast four poster bed, its own en suite with a bubbling bath-tub, and and windows on practically all sides looking out from what must have been one of the castle's towers. It was the polar opposite of her more recent accommodation, and just seeing it brought an overwhelmed tear to the pegasus pony's eyes.

"So, is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

Free turned towards Shining Armour as he spoke to her, the pegasus' beaming smile drooping slightly.

"Go? You... you can't stay a little longer?"

The unicorn shook his head, apologetic but with firm certainty.

"No. I'm sorry, Free. I would like to stay and help you settle in more. To show you more of the castle and get to know you as more than your jailer. Believe me, I would. But I have other responsibilities. Other jobs I need to get done before I can go home. I haven't seen Cadence nearly enough these past few days."

Wincing slightly, Free Bird nodded with understanding.

"I... I guess that was kinda my fault, huh? Sorry."

Taking a step forward, Shining Armour looked at the pegasus pony with focused sincerity.

"It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault. I hope you know that. This whole situation... everything you've been through. You aren't in the wrong. All I meant, all I mean is..."

The unicorn closed his eyes and frowned, searching for the words to explain himself properly. Free Bird smiled, knowing exactly what he meant apparently before even he did.

"All you mean is that you love your wife, and anything that takes you away from her, no matter how meaningful or important, can compare to the time you spend with her. Right?"

His white cheeks flushing slightly, and his eyes widening at the pegasus pony's insightfulness, Shining Armour nodded.

"Exactly right. How did you know that?"

Free Bird shrugged.

"Because you love her. You love your wife in the same way that I love having the wind beneath my wings, and seeing new lands stretching out before me. She completes you, just like... j-just like soaring like a bird, free and wild... completes me."

With her smile fading, and her voice trailing off the closer she came to finishing that sentence, Free Bird turned her gaze downward, not wishing to let Shining Armour see how sad she'd just made herself feel. Before she could even wonder whether she'd been successful at hiding her swift shift in emotion however, she felt a pair of strong hooves wrapping themselves around her neck, and Shining Armour's body pulling hers into a tight hug.

"Free... whatever you choose. Whatever you do? I hope you know that you'll have ponies standing by you. Me and Cadence. Celestia and Luna. Twilight and her friends. We're your friends now, too. And we're here for you."

Before Free Bird could respond to the unicorn's sudden burst of of outward emotion, he was releasing her and rushing out of the room. Looking after the sound of his rapidly fading hoofbeats, the pegasus pony could see wet droplets upon the palace floor; tearstains from Shining Armour's overspill of feelings. She smiled. Touched by not just his words, but by how much he showed that he cared. Indeed, thinking back on it, a lot of ponies had shown a great deal of care and affection for her these past few weeks, even when she was not interested in accepting or reciprocating it in the slightest. 

With that warmth settling over her heart, Free Bird yawned. She was tired. Only now was she realising just how tired her overworked and overstressed body still was. 

She had a lot to think about. A lot of decisions to make, and a lot of ponies relying on her to make the right choice, even if ultimately it was her life about which she was deciding the course. But those choices weren't going to be made today. No-one was expecting it, and she herself was not capable of doing so. 

Trotting to the bedroom door and pushing it closed, Free Bird retired to her bed. Her comfy, thick and softly padded bed. She lay down atop the blankets, tucking her long wings around her and laying her head down regardless of the absence of a pillow. 

In what felt like seconds, she was fast asleep.


***************


Over the following few days, Free Bird spent most of her time alone. She spent it either resting in her room, staring out of the windows at the beautiful view, or atop one of the Canterlot castle towers. Sitting behind the battlements, hidden from view of all but the occasional pegasus guard flying overhead, and observing all of the bustling city beneath her. So many ponies, so many lives all running like clockwork. Oh, how she envied them.

Only occasion did she have reason to speak with other ponies. One by one she found herself approached by several of the guards who had stood watch outside her cell. Ponies full of apology for doing their duty, and overwhelmed with gratitude when she told them there was no wrong to forgive, wrapping up each and every one of them in a tight embrace to prove it. Once or twice she even crossed paths with Shining Armour, though with other business to attend to they were only brief chats, or simply a passing glance. Perhaps her most emotional run-in of the lot however was not with a resident of the castle at all, but with one of the few non royal or military ponies who knew of her situation.

Upon seeing a dazzling multicoloured streak burning through the sky overhead, Free Bird hadn't been able to resist calling out the name of the pony who had tried to rescue her from her cell at what had almost certainly been her lowest moment. Rainbow Dash. 

They'd stood face to face, both silent and unsure of what to say, for a couple of minutes. Finally Free Bird had taken a cue from Shining Armour's book, and simply flung her arms around the other pegasus without a word; weeping into the pony's rainbow mane with grateful affection.

Those moments spent in the company of others may have been brief in comparison to the time she'd spent amongst her own thoughts, but it was both in almost equal parts which helped Free Bird eventually come to a decision. Which led her back to the door of the princess' throne room, and soon found the pegasus standing before not only Princess Celestia, but also the Princesses Luna, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle too. 

After staring in awe at all the rulers of Equestria for a few moments, Free Bird cleared her throat and spoke, nervous, but sure of her convictions.

"Princess Celestia, I have made my choice. I thank you for your willingness to sacrifice your own freedom for mine, but... I cannot allow you, nor would I allow any other pony, to give up your own freedom so that I might have mine. Not for four years. Not even for a single day."

Luna, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle all looked at Celestia with relief. The eldest and most powerful of all the alicorns did not smile though. She frowned in concern as she saw the pained look creeping its way across Free Bird's face, and nodded encouragingly to the pegasus.

"So, you wish for Twilight Sparkle to prepare the spell. Yes? To hide yourself, so that you too might go free?"

The way that Free Bird's gaze shied away from her own made Celestia even more certain of what her heart already knew to be true. She sighed, her own eyes downcast, and winced as Free Bird replied in as stoic a tone as she could muster.

"No. I... I don't want to do that, either."

The other princesses stared at Free Bird in confusion. Twilight Sparkle said what they were all thinking.

"But... Free Bird, there is no other option. Princess Celestia told you that, didn't she?" 

Free Bird looked Princess Twilight straight in the eye, her pale blue hues shining with sorrow. She nodded.

"Y-yes. Celestia told me. But... she was wrong. There is another option. There has been r-right from the start. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for putting you all through all this, f-for nothing."

Twilight Sparkle turned her gaze towards both Cadence and Luna, both of whom looked just as confused as she herself. They all looked to Celestia, who now was gazing at Free Bird with anguished sadness once more.

"My little pony, y-you... you don't have to do this."

Free Bird smiled, touched by her ruler's tenderness.

"Yes I do, Princess. I... I have to. I have to return to my cell in the Canterlot dungeons, a-and serve out my time."

All four Princesses stared at the pegasus, three of them shocked, Celestia simply pained to hear it spoken aloud. Free Bird bowed her head, avoiding their eyes, but continued to speak.

"Before, w-when I first came here? I had friends, yes. But not in Canterlot, and certainly not within the walls of the castle where I was being kept prisoner. While I was in that cell, my own freedom was all that mattered to me. All I could think about. But... as time went on and I felt myself fading away, other ponies got involved. The guards. Rainbow Dash. Shining Armour. A-all of you. So many lives tying themselves to mine. So many ponies I've come to care for. To respect, and cherish as my friends."

Free Bird raised her gaze, tearful, but proud as she looked from one Princess to the next, finally settling her eyes upon Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship.

"Now, I'll happily endure those four years. I'll embrace each and every day I spend locked in that cell, knowing that by doing so, by temporarily giving up my own freedom, I'm protecting so many other wonderful ponies from having to risk their positions and their reputations by hiding me... lying for me. Just knowing that I have ponies willing to do that for me, knowing that I'll be close to and surrounded by my friends, makes it all bearable."

She took a deep breath, and smiled with a genuine cheer that very nearly broke the Princess' hearts.

"My cutie mark represents freedom... my freedom to go anywhere, to see anything. To do as I choose. And right now, I'm making that choice. Of all the places in all Equestria and beyond, I choose to stay right here. With, and for, my new friends."

After that, there was little more to be said.

Before long, Free Bird found herself walking out of the throne room. Princesses Luna and Twilight Sparkle upon her left, Celestia and Cadence on her right. Flanking her. Escorting her not as a prisoner, but as an honoured guest. 

They followed her down to the dungeon, where the single guard on duty in that empty chamber stood stunned and appalled as he watched Free Bird step over the threshold of the recently repaired cell door, pull it closed behind her, and gesture for him to lock it behind her.

Once more she looked at the four rulers of Equestria, and thanked them in turn for taking up her cause. For taking their time and effort to think of her, and to try and help her. Then, smiling warmly, she turned and trotted over to her bed. To that worn mattress with its broken springs, and settled down upon it. 

She laid her head down upon her forelegs, and smiled as through the iron barred window, a beam of sunlight fell upon her face. Warming her, and drying the remnants of tears she didn't need to shed any longer.




By Jeeves
> 04 - The Best Things in Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


As the Wind Blows - The Best Things in Life


The thunderous clang of a bell pealing from somewhere painfully close by roused Free Bird from a deep and pleasantly dreamless sleep. 

For a moment, the pegasus forgot where she was. Leaping up from her mattress in shock and spreading her wings, only to have them hit the walls of her cell as she attempted to take flight, promptly crashing down to the floor in an ungainly heap. Free Bird heard giggling, soft and melodic, and glanced up from where she'd landed in a most unladylike manner, legs still flailing wildly in the air.

There, standing outside her cell's door with the bell she'd heard ringing hovering beside her in the air, was none other than Princess Celestia herself. The alicorn holding one hoof over her muzzle, looking very guilty for the momentary chaos she'd caused whilst still helplessly giggling at Free Bird's predicament. As Free struggled back to her hooves and tucked her wings in once more, she saw a key floating through the air, levitated by a magenta hued glow and into the lock of her cell door. It swung open, and from somewhere beyond where the Princess stood a booming voice rang out. Both Free Bird and Celestia jumped at its sheer volume, the bell which the alicorn had been levitating dropping with a clatter to the stone floor of the dungeon.

"Alright, recruit! Into line. Step it up, no horsing about. Quick, march!"

Laughing once again as she recovered from her initial shock, Princess Celestia stepped back from the cell far enough for the owner of the voice to move into view. Shining Armour stood in full military regalia, medals and all, and glared at Free Bird sternly... albeit with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Are you deaf, pony?! I said march!"

Unsure of how to react, Free Bird exited her cell and stepped into line before the unicorn. She stood tall and proud, though her eyes glanced between Shining Armour and Celestia, silently wondering what in Equestria was going on here.

"Well... you're a bit scrawny. And those wings look like they could use a good work out or ten, but... you'll do."

Turning sharply on the spot, Shining Armour bowed to Princess Celestia.

"Princess. I humbly request that you transfer this prisoner into the direct custody of the Equestrian Royal Guard. So that she might be reformed through military training, and turned from criminal into an upstanding and valued member of pony society."

Shining Armour's performance was so convincingly authentic it wasn't until Princess Celestia began to smirk and flail her arms as she replied, hamming up her performance to the extreme, that the pegasus realised something was up. A plan that made this ceremonial wake-up more than it seemed.

"Oh, I wish I could, Captain. Unfortunately this pony is a political prisoner, held under the second Pony-griffin Pact of Canterlot. I cannot possibly release her under any circumstances, lest we incur the wrath of those who captured her violating their ancestral lands." 

By the time Celestia stopped talking, Shining Armour was grinning uncontrollably too. He stopped looking at the Princess, and instead turned to address Free Bird directly.

"Oh, Princess! Would that be the same treaty which says that prisoners may be conscripted for military service, so long as they are not used in any offensive military action which harms the Great griffin Empire or its allies?" 

Free Bird's eyes widened. This was news to her, and, judging by the beaming grins now set upon both Celestia and Shining Armour's faces, it was relatively new to them as well.

"Why I do believe you're right, Captain. How on earth did you discover such a loopho-... uh, that is, such a useful piece of information?"

The unicorn grinned from ear to ear, practically dancing upon his hooves as he broke character completely, rushing into Free Bird's cell and grasping her forelegs with his own.

"Two griffins arrived this morning to check that you were being imprisoned correctly. They brought a copy of the treaty with them to ensure all the stipulations were being followed. Their treaty was longer than the copy in the royal records. We thought ours was complete, but they had the only full copy. As soon as Twily... uh, Princess Twilight, that is, looked over the details on the missing pages, we realised that we had your get out clause!" 

Shining Armour practically dragged Free Bird out of the cell. He pointed urgently across the dungeon, to where a set of beautiful golden armour was resting.

"Ponies selected to work in Celestia's royal guard can have all sorts of jobs. Guards. Messengers. Flying the royal chariots. But only a select few are chosen to be a part of Celestia's field entourage. Only the most special, those who the Princess knows can be depended on to always do the right thing. Ponies who can offer her both protection and counsel. Not just guards... but friends."

Free Bird turned to Celestia, wide eyed. Could Shining Armour possibly be saying what it sounded like he was saying? 

The Princess giggled once again, and nodded as though Free Bird had asked that question aloud.

"I would be honoured if you would join my field entourage, Free Bird. But I must tell you... I'm afraid that if you take up this post, you will not be able to stay here in Canterlot with your new friends all the time."

Celestia's eyes sparked gleefully.

"You see, as ruler of Equestria I am required to travel a great deal. To go to far off lands, to see new places all the time for talks and important events. To meet my citizens and share in their experiences all across this wonderful land of ours. And while travelling, I need ponies at my side who I can trust not only to look after me, and represent the values of Equestria with pride, but ponies who can adapt. Ponies who can quickly grasp local customs and befriend ponies across the land at the flutter of a wing. Ponies who can navigate, and ponies who don't mind moving from place to place to place, sometimes at very short notice."

Watching Free Bird practically quivering with excitement and anticipation before her, the Princess glanced to Shining Armour with a wink, returning control of the situation to him. The unicorn cleared his throat.

"Some say that aside from Princess Celestia herself, her field entourage are the most well travelled ponies in all Equestria. The question is, Free Bird, do you want to be one of them?"

Spreading her wings wide open, the pegasus pony launched herself forward and knocked Shining Armour to the ground with a flying tackle. Hugging him and squealing maniacally with glee. 

"Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!"

She leapt up from where the unicorn lay, dazed and red faced, and only just managed to hold herself back from tackling Princess Celestia herself in a similarly frantic manner. She did still approach and hug the alicorn tightly, beaming as Celestia hugged her back, but held back the majority of her still wildly erupting glee until she'd retreated from the princess' embrace. Bouncing up and down gleefully on her hooves whilst hovering a few inches off the ground, Free Bird felt like she was going to explode with joy. She couldn't ever think of a time she'd felt so happy!

And... strangely enough, it occurred to the pegasus that it never would have been possible without her imprisonment. Without it, she never would have met Shining Armour, or the Princess herself. Never would she have become so closely bonded with so many of the royal guards, and it probably would never have even occurred to her that such a regimented, military job could ever satisfy, let alone exceed, her desire to explore and travel the world. As for all the friends she had made in Canterlot, including the two standing before her now, they would likely never have known that she even existed, thus making it impossible for them to offer her this once in a lifetime perfect job.

Letting loose a giddy squeal as she realised just how much she wanted to find and hug the griffins who had captured her on their land, Free Bird collapsed to the dungeon floor. Kicking, thrashing her wings and howling with helpless laughter, she considered just how much she owed them a debt of genuine gratitude. For without her imprisonment on their behalf, she never could have felt so happy. So complete. So free.  



By Jeeves