> Redemption Does Not Come Easily > by Ashen Heart > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prison Life > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Because that’s what friends do,” says Twilight. Those words ring through my head as if on repeat. I sit up in my prison cell and take in the bleak atmosphere around me. Grey concrete slabs line the walls, a mirror hanging off one of them with a sink below. The toilet being a simple hole in the ground. Not the best surroundings, but I’ve had far worse. I go over to the sink to fix my mane, but I get caught up in the reflection. Though prison doesn’t allow much for exercise I have managed to keep some of my athletic frame. The fuchsia fur hiding much of the bruises and scars from prior incidents. I look up and see my broken horn nullified by the suppressor. Has it really been 6 months? The door to my cell opens, interrupting me from my thoughts. A guard walks in standing at attention. “Prisoner T1893, come with me,” he states in a want to be authoritative voice. ‘Odd,’ I think to myself. Usually they just throw my supposed food in the door and call it a day. Seeing as I had no other choice, and admittedly my curiosity got the best of me, I followed. As we walked on in silence, I made sure to take mental notes of the facility. Although the prison was expansive it seemed to be empty except a handful of cells. Looks like I wouldn’t be getting much of a distraction for the guards if I tried to escape. Even so I might be able to sneak out, but I needed to find the exits first. “We’re here,” the guard grunted. Buck, I was only able to find 2 exits, not enough if something goes astray in my escape. The guard steps aside opening the door, ushering me through. The bright shine of Celestia’s sun blinds me for a moment as I try to adjust to the light. Slowly the silhouette in front of me takes shape of Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. “Hello, Tempest,” she says calmly. “Princess,” I respond distantly. “I’m sure you are wondering why the sudden appearance. Well it is because I have managed to negotiate a new sentencing for you with my fellow princesses,” she said a small smile forming on her face. “And this new sentence being…?” I trailed off waiting for her answer. “For your bravery and selfless act saving my friends and I, by killing the Storm King, you are hereby released from the remaining prison sentence,” she stated. “What’s the catch? I doubt the princess would agree to my full release and freedom.” I state melancholy. “You are to stay under my watch and to be reformed. You are not to leave the castle alone and you are only allowed to bring one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony with you.” “Predictable. So when does this reformation process begin?” I ask. “Next week.” As she says this she nods to the guard as he walks over and leads me back to my cell. I head over to the mirror again, finishing up with my brushing. So after 3 years they finally decided to let me out. This should be interesting. > The First Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “--And over there is where your room will be,” Princess Twilight says, waving a hoof to one of the many doors that litter the palace. Grunting I walk forward to open the door and look in the room. It’s was sparse; only having a bed, a desk, a mirror, and a set of drawers. There was another door off to the left that I’m assuming leads to a bathroom. Walking inside, I look over the desk seeing a couple of scrolls and quills, along with what appears to be a journal on top. I hold up looking it over, it was a dark purple with a lighter purple hoof having 5 gems lining the horseshoe, finally having a 6 pointed star in the middle. I look over to Princess Twilight with a raised eyebrow, silently asking what the book was. “Oh, that, that is my friends and I journal that we wrote in a long time ago. I figured it would help you with your reformation,” Princess Twilight says, cantering over taking the book in her magic. “Uh-huh. So what exactly does this reformation entail?” I ask her, walking over to the bed deciding to lay down. The bed was the comfiest I had laid on in years, it almost felt like a cloud bed. The blue satin sheets felt like smooth __. Sighing I lay my head down closing my eyes to relax. This is so much better than those cots made of sheets attached to rods at the prison. Princess Twilight walks up giggling, quickly I perk back up pretending like nothing had happened. Clearly from the look in her eyes I had not succeeded. “Comfy huh? I thought the same thing when I first laid on my bed. Anyways, the reformation isn’t that hard. You just have to show an understanding of harmony and friendship. And judging on how you acted during the celebration, you should learn pretty quickly. Honestly, I never wanted to put you in prison, seeing that you had already saw the spark of friendship. I thought that sending you to prison would only take that spark away and turn you into a cold, unfeeling pony again. I guess we’ll see how you’ll fair soon enough. For right now though you should probably get some sleep. It has been a long day, and to be quite frank I’m tired myself.” Princess Twilight explains, holding back a yawn. “Alright, good night Princess Twilight,” I say, shrugging so as not to show her how tired I was myself. “Good night Tempest,” she says, before walking out of the room. After the door closes I get back up, and walk over to the desk. Picking up the quill and ink, I start taking notes on the castle and everything that had happened today. After all, notes are always helpful later on. Putting the final words on my notes, I yawn and walk over to the bed. Climbing up onto the silky sheets again, I quickly fall into the realm of dreams.