Rising Hope 2: The Harmony Of Equestria.

The feeling of sleepiness and dreams almost threatened to keep the human in bed, only to be replaced by grogginess. Through the darkness and silence a voice came in and out of the human's range of hearing.

''Hey...wake up.'' It echoed. Oh god, that voice felt like a thousand needles piercing him at once. Why does it feel like the room is spinning? The human tossed and turned in his bed, doing his best to drown out the voice and get some much needed rest that he...wait. Bed? Groaning as the pillow below him was covered with spit, showing it must have been a time following his sleep. When he opened his eyes, the very first thing he noticed was the slight weight on his stomach. Looking down, it was Xenia, looking rather worried.

''Huh? oooh, what happened?'' His thoughts felt like a ton of bricks. Going over and licking his nose, his pet friend expressed her happiness to see her master awake.

''How...long was I out?'' His question came.

''Almost an entire day.'' A soft voice replied. The source revealed to be Spike. From his current position, he did not see the drake as he held Xenia in his hands and slid his feet over. Below him was Frank, Iron, Valiant, and Spike: all looking concerned. Jumping down, his body took a moment to adjust to the sudden change and almost ended up hurling.

''About time you woke up son, was starting to get worried.'' Iron steadied him.

''But where the hell are we?''

''Prison.'' Valiant said bluntly.

''Wait, what?'' He asked.

''Take a look.'' Spike gestured to us. He didn't even notice the huge cell door.

''How the fuck did this happen?'' Was his question. Then It was remembered.

''That bitch Azure did this!'' The human yelled.

''But why?'' Spike asked.

''Don't know what to tell you kid: but we need to find out exactly where we are In prison.'' Valiant said.

Getting up from the bunk and looking out the window, he saw that the surroundings reminded him of either the Sahara or Egypt  from a quick glance. A few marketplaces could be seen In the distance, some tents, and the one thing that had to stand out the most would be the huge palace In the distance that portrayed a Griffon crest.

''Uh, we may a have a slight problem.'' The human spoke with confusion.

''What?'' Everyone asked.

''We're In the Griffon Kingdom.'' His voice deadpanned.

Azure Pov, Canterlot:

The mare stood in front of the large throne room doors and looked on with assurance. With the human gone, she could better pull off her plans. Making sure of nobody else's presence, she fired up her horn and took the guise of one of the Royal guards. Putting on her best dissapointed expression, she walked through.

''Princesses, princesses!'' She fake shouted.

''What Is the meaning of this guard: we were not to be disturbed.'' Luna scolded.

Having explained to them In great detail what happened from her perspective and by the time she wrapped up the little talk, Celestia looked shocked and Luna fared no better as she looked ready to grind something Into a fine powder. After a minute of silence, Celestia spoke In the calmest voice: ''Is this true?''

''Yes, your highness: I even bear proof to confirm your worry.'' She brought one of the human's weapons, one of those dragon's scales, and a torn piece of fabric from his human friend.

They both gasped the sight of seeing the Items on the floor.

''Excellent.'' She thought.

''How can this be?''Luna was outraged.

''We were ambushed, your highness: there were too many of them to deal with, so they managed to buy me enough time to escape.'' A look of sadness was on her face.

''Thank you for sharing this: Dismissed.'' Luna shooed me away.

''Yes, Princess.'' The urge to wash her mouth out with bleach seemed good.

Exiting out with a smirk on her face, certain thoughts drifted to how the human must be doing.

''Probably fighting to death.'' A thought came to her head.

Jamir's Pov:

So here we are In fucking prison, and In the Griffon Kingdom of all places. This was going to be one hell of a magic trick to get out of. Speaking of which, they put a magic cancelling bracelet on my wrist and a ring on valiant's horn, rendering our magic useless. I was contemplating on how we potentially plead our case to the warden when the mess hall came Into view. Just like I thought to be: rows of tables, guards on the floor and catwalks, and the kitchen right near the entrance. Looking around, all manner of criminal and thug sat and ate: obtaining a good look at a few of the Inmates, the place mostly comprised of half Griffon, some ponies and zebras, and a small group of dragons.

''Well, this atmosphere certainly Is welcoming.'' The unicorn scoffed.

''Could be worse: we could have 'the chair.' or something worse.'' Frank commented as we headed to get some food.

I chose to set some ground rules as since I have never really been to prison: seeing a few detective shows and guessing, a pretty decent mindset found Its way In my head.

''Look, we have no Idea about what to expect In here, so everyone stay close to each other.'' I grabbed a plate of mush and meat and waited for the others to do so.

''So where are we sitting?'' Spike asked.

''Hmm...over there.'' I spotted a table some few feet away from the door and sat down.

''And this Is?'' Spike poked at his food.

To me, this looked like a crude attempt at some kind of oatmeal, and as for the meat: raw with a few Ice flakes covering It. Damn, do they prep the food? This Is a outrage. I was staring down my food when Frank tapped me on the shoulder and said: ''Go ahead, eat up.''

''What, why me?'' I asked.

''You seem to have this down, so you should try It first.'' He urged.

Sighing, I took a spoonful of whatever this crud was and tasted some. To my surprise, It wasn't that bad.

''Well?''

''Meh, put a little salt on, and shouldn't be too bad.'' I shrugged.

They looked hesitant, but tried some and gave a semi-ok nod.

Looking over at the slab of meat, I picked It up and took a small bite to which my teeth could not bite through. Seeing as my magic was unavailable at the moment, my 2nd best option to cook the meat would have to be Spike.

''Hey Spike, you mind making my meat here a little more rare?'' I held up my plate to him.

''Sure thing.'' He opened his maw and slowly blew out a stream of fire that melted the chips of Ice and filled my nose with a smoky scent that made me lick my lips In anticipation.

In a few minutes, my food was done and I dug In, biting through the smoky meat as I tasted the smooth flesh, contrasted by a slight sweet and sour seasoning that made me slightly drool at the feeling of tasting this miracle again.

''That looks...good. Can I have some master?'' My red panda nipped at my ear.

''Of course.''

A few seconds passed by as I tore Into the meat when I heard a few of the other Inmates run and scurry at the sight of a Griffon/Pony posse that as If they ran the joint.

An Earth pony with a  gray coat, red/black mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a battering ram and a smug look on his face.

A female unicorn with a blue coat, green mane with a red stripe, black tail, and a cutie mark a deck of cards with a flash.

There was a zebra with a with a type of fauxhawk,a few piercings adorning her eye and on the right ear.

And then there was a Griffon In the front: a thousand-yard scowl that only added to how he looked. He had a black and gold feathered coat, a scar over his eye, and the most noticeable feature would be his height. I don't judge first glance, but something tells me he might be counting on that to be a feint.

Ignoring them, my thoughts went back to ripping this meat apart, but they just had to come to our table and sit down.

''Enjoying ya meat there?'' The zebra joked.

''Well, Isn't this a wonderful group.'' Frank laughed.

''Stay your tongue, ape.'' The Earth pony said.

''Easy, Battering Ram.'' The Griffon put a claw on his shoulder.

Resting a claw on his face, the Griffon spoke In a amused voice: ''So what Is a Earth pony, Unicorn, Dragon, a Red Panda and whatever you two are doing In a place like this?''

''That Is none of your concern.'' Valiant growled.

''Hey, hey just asking a question: no need to be all hostile.'' He defensively held his claws up.

''Anyways, If you don't mind me asking: where exactly are we?'' I piped up.

''You mean you don't know? You're In one of the more looked down upon prisons In the kingdom: Only the worst get sent here.'' The zebra shook her head.

''Damn, no wonder this reminded me of the slums.'' I thought.

''So what did you do to get In here anyways?''

You know, It's common courtesy to ask for one's name when a conversation first starts or at least when It's progressed past 5 minutes. So I did just that and got some mixed results.

''And you all are?'' My question came.

''Battering Ram.''

''Flashing Deck.''

''Renoir.''

''And I am Zareran.'' He smiled, but that threw me off.

''Well, nice to meet you all, but we must be going: Lunch Is almost over. Ta.'' They got up and left.

I looked at the guys who merely shrugged their shoulders In response.

''This certainly will be some experience.'' I thought as we finished our food.

Ponyville, Twilight's Pov:

Me and the girls along with Lavender were enjoying ourselves on a picnic, having a good time laughing and playing when my horn lit up by Itself: something every unicorn's horn does when somepony's trying to mentally contact one another. Closing my eyes and focusing on the magical signature, I listened for whoever on the other end.

''...Twilight, I need you and the girls to come to Canterlot as soon as possible. We have some distressing news..'' Princess Celestia sounded mad and...sad, miserable almost.

The message being cut, my attention shifted to the girls as I gave them the run-down.

''Playtime's gonna have to wait girls, we're needed In Canterlot.'' I looked serious.

''Oh what the hay Is It now?'' Rainbow got up, the rest following suit.

''Whatever It Is, somehow It won't be pleasant...or easy.'' I groaned.