A Shadow Came Unto Me

A Shadow Came Unto Me

I sat miserably in a pile of hay, stirring about a little pile of rocks in the darkness. A small firefly light didn’t even allow me the luxury of setting my bedding on fire and suffocating to death. Not the worst way to go, really. All things considered. I was glad the light was weak, I could barely stand the sight of myself. The little sink and tiny mirror was fastened to the wall by magic. The toilet was inlaid in the wall as well, it felt like hunching in a broom closet with no door. The must of age and the weight of the mountain above me offered no comfort. But why bother really? What did it matter? Nopony escaped from the dungeons of Canterlot. The prison of the seat of power was batting a thousand, and I was just a simple earth pony.

She was… she was somethin’ else. Her name was Cobweb Dew. A professor’s daughter, with wings so light they could stroke the dew from the morning leaves and not break the droplets. I’d fallen madly in love with her and--!

“Random search,” I was blinded for a moment, lifting my forearm to my eyes. A bullseye lantern invaded my little cell. “Stand against the wall, prisoner.” The guard was not unkind, I thought, just doing his job. I obeyed sluggishly, for no energy remained for somepony who lived in this stone-walled hell. The steel door whined open. A pair of guards entered. One stood in the doorway, and the other pawed about for a few minutes. Not that I really had anything to hide. There was nothing to do down here other than the occasional harassing guard, the phantom book cart that I’d never seen, or talking to one’s self. You could get mail, I’d been told, but who would mail a raper? Nopony. “Thank you for your cooperation,” the other said, and they were away. The glimpse into the hall revealed only a stone wall dotted with the occasional crystal. I’d wildly fantasized after the first week that a crystal might just jut up out of the darkness and brain me. But to no avail.

I fussed with my oily mane just a little, sighing and laying on my side again. How long had I been here? Prisoners, you see, have a very different perception of time than the average pony. Ever see a thug with a tattoo of a clock on his arm? You’ll probably see it has no hands on it. Time has no meaning down here in the dark. No sun. No moon. No seasons. No stars. No nothing. Just the quiet and the oddly comforting thought of the mountain’s crushing weight above my head.

I used to be a pretty respectable guy, I’ll have you know. I had a tiny little corner bookshop in Canterlot. Sure it wasn’t much in that city of splendors and castles, but hey, location location location. There weren’t a lot of other earth ponies around, but I’m not racist. I used to take seeds to Cobweb Dew and press them between my hooves, then watch her face light up when a leaf or twig emerged. Earth Pony magic fascinated her, and I was too eager to show off. I had a little window garden with morning glory vines. Purple ones. They’d been nice. Anyway. The bookshop. Since there were so many academies around I figured it would be a good place to set up shop for little ones to read stuff. Sure there’s tons of college bookstores around, fancy places that sell forty-bit hardbacks, but… I wanted something nice and bright and happy.

“Prisoner,” a new guard had come by, interrupting my thoughts. “Recreation time in the main caverns. You coming or no?” I always thought it was polite that they gave me the choice and never made me. I’d been once or twice, but staring stupidly around while others ran laps or lifted weights just made me nervous. These were the worst of the worst, why paint a target on my backside? You know what I mean. There’s no secrets about who did what around here.

When I didn’t answer the guard, he went on without me. I think I enjoy the silence more. Why bother keeping fit? Who am I keeping fit for? Me? Somepony else? I haven’t any bedsores just yet. I just lack the willpower, really. Who cares what becomes of somepony like me, if it isn’t their job to? Nopony.

It was some hours later, who knew what time for I had no clock, when a light scraping came to my door. “Prisoner,” the voice said. “Food cart.”

“Dinnertime already?” I mumbled with disinterest, shouldering myself upright. The little doggy door at the bottom unlocked and the flap moved inward. The usual tiny fruits, veggies, milk carton and such. I thanked the pony that had delivered it, as I always did, and she vanished without another word.

I slowly sat in my little hay nest, then laid on my belly. This was my life now, it seemed. I looked at the plastic fork. Was it worth living? Leaning with both hooves I snapped it to make a sharp edge. Rising, I went to the little mirror and sink. Rested the sharp bit of plastic in my nostril. One hard, earth-pony strength jab could send it into my brain and end it all. I touched the tip with a quivering hoof. My breathing sent it into the sink. I left it there. “Coward,” I whispered to nopony at all.

“Valuing one’s existence is not cowardice, it is instinct.” A pronounced voice whispered. I whirled about. There was nopony there. I rushed to the door, looking both ways.

“Who’s there?” I whispered softly, eyes darting about. The room was tiny. There was nowhere to hide. Had I already gone crazy? I’d not been here a month yet. At… at least I didn’t think so. I had no clock. “Who’s there?” I whispered again.

“A shadow, nopony at all,” she said. “My question is, who are you?” I peered around with wide eyes. I seized my little firefly lantern and peered under the bed, stared wildly at the ceiling, and started checking the walls for cracks. Was the prisoner next to me burrowing into my cell? Was there a hole somewhere? “Well?” it asked after some time. I slowly hung up the lantern, staring at the sink. A ran a little water and splashed my face.

“I didn’t hear that I didn’t hear thaa-a-a-a-t…” I whispered in a sing-song way, going back to my little hay nest and sticking my head under, into blessed darkness. No clock, no light, no life, no voice.

A phantom breeze floofed my hay away. “Speak, stallion.” The voice insisted. “Who are you?”

“Nopony. A raper, apparently.” I mumbled, staring at the floor.

“Apparently?”

“Why else would I be in here if I wasn’t?” I said bitterly.

“Many in prison say they are innocent.” The voice snarked a little.

“Just go away. Maybe in five yearsI'll get out, get my sanity back and we can NOT chat then,” I turned and faced the corner, planting my muzzle there.

“I don’t feel like waiting, Prisoner.”

“I don’t feel like talking.” I grumped. “Nopony listened to me before I got in here, nopony who isn’t there isn’t gonna listen to me now.” I’d long since given up after x-number of ponies had branded me as a monster. If you get called a monster by enough folks, you tend to become one, either way.

“Will you tell me about it?” she asked.

“You’re not real,” I said, putting my hooves over my ears.

She waited patiently until I took my hooves down again. “Perhaps saying it out loud will make you feel better.” There was a whispy sound outside my door. Not unlike a unicorn’s horn casting a spell. I leaned, looking back and forth in my little window. There was a glow on my door, on the outside. Some sort of symbol? Mark? Sigil? I couldn’t see! I strained back and forth. The door was hot. Thinking quickly, I went to the sink and got a mouthful of water. Spraying it on my side of the door, the metal hissed and blushed in certain places.

“A spell circle,” I whispered, amazed. I had no inkling of magic, but it certainly looked complicated. All those symbols and marks and geometric lines criss-crossed in a sort of madness I’d never seen before. “You are real.”

“Clearly.” The voice said a little acidly.

“But, where are you?” I insisted.

“In shadow, where I can’t be seen,” she hushed me. “Now keep your voice down and speak.”

“I’m… I’m Oil Base.” I said, minding my mane and flipping it back out of my eyes. I stared into the dark corners of my cell. “I used to own Monkey See, Monkey Read in Canterlot. I guess it’s probably gone by now.”

“Burned down, no less,” the voice said. I moaned at the revelation, pressing my forehead against the cold stone wall. “Tell me. Did you really do what they say you did?”

“What does it matter? They didn’t listen to me.”

“Humor me.”

“…no,” I finally sighed. “I didn’t rape Cobweb Dew. She just says I did.”

“How am I to believe you?” she asked.

“My word is all I have,” I grumbled. “She’s the one with a vagina full of my seed and a father with a reputation to protect.” I folded my arms angrily, slumping into my little nest. I reached and nummel-nummeled on the small pile of carrot sticks on my food tray.

“I believe you,” the shadow said.

“You’re the first,” I said without interest. “Too bad you’re nopony and I’m just talking to smoke and mirrors.”

“It’s for the best you don’t see me,” she said.

“I’m sure it is. With all the other lies flying around in my life, what’s one more?” I said sourly.

“Please don’t be angry,” she said earnestly. I crunched rudely on my food. If this place had an upsides, they certainly fed us fresh stuff. “Tell me what happened.”

I sighed, shaking my head a bit. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told the guards, and the judge, and the jury, and Cobweb Dew’s father.” My metal door seemed to be getting hotter, for the steamed impression of the magic circle was glowing in the half-light. “We started… seeing each other, you know, off to the side. When nopony was looking we would sneak notes and kisses.” I struggled with my milk carton for a few moments. “One night she invited me into her family manor. So I came in through a window. She helped me in and we slept together. Or we were, rather. Her father came in and she panicked.” I felt the hot rush of tears and quickly scrubbed them away. “He got me pretty good with a wooden chair, and she said I was a… a…”

“Prowler?” she said delicately.

“We’d been sneaking around, so of course he didn’t know my face. Nor did anypony else in her family. She’d wanted to keep me secret, all to herself she’d said,” I could already feel the snot flowing. “And with one sentence and a pointin’ hoof, she ruined my life forever,” There was a long silence. Then the sobbing came. I threw the milk carton at the door and the white liquid boiled away instantly. I fell onto my side. “Damn you!” I shouted at her. “Damn you! Making me say all that aloud again!”

The shadow said nothing. Was she gone? When I was all cried out and trying to pick up the pieces again, I checked the door. The symbol was gone, as though it had never been. A sat on my haunches, there in the half-light, numbly trying to get my dinner (lunch? breakfast?) down.

“I am crazy,” I decided after a time. Who the buck was I talkin’ to? Nopony. Nopony at all.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“Prisoner, get up. We’re going someplace.” A trio, not a pair, of guards had appeared at my door. I ruffled to stand, then stumbled. I’d been sleeping. At least I think I had. It was hard to tell anymore, really. Strange how quick your mind unravels when you can’t even see the sun. Before I knew it I was placed in appropriate, Earth-Pony-Heavy chains. “Nice and easy, Prisoner,” one of them said seriously. They weren’t fools. Anypony that had been thrown into the darkest deep of Canterlot Dungeons was bound to be a monster. You can’t be too careful.

I gave them no reason to hurt me, at least. We went down a hallway. Then another. Then another. Past guard stations. Past the recreation areas. Crystals jutted this way and that, lighting the way. I’d long since lost track before we found our destination. “Minimum Security?” I whispered, looking up at the ornate, crystalline sign. “I don’t understand.”

“Comprehension is not a prerequisite of obedience,” said the guard to my left with a growl. “Keep moving!” I was cropped on the butt and I startled forward a bit. I lowered my head and my gaze. Don’t give them a reason, don’t give them any reason… They led me to a new area. There was some sort of cafeteria, overlooked by dozens of cells in a great block.

Suddenly I saw it. A window! There were windows here! I gaped in awe at the clear blue sky. I was unchained. “You’re lucky, you still have a cell all to yourself.” One of the guards said as they worked off the last bit of my restraints. “Don’t cause any trouble.”
“I’ve been transferred?”

“From maximum security to minimum, yeah,” the third guard leaned in really close. “Don’t gimme a reason to put you back, y’hear?” His shining golden helmet glinted in the light of the sun that was streaming into the window.

I decided to go straight to my cell. I could feel eyes following me. Muscle, tattoos, sharp-angled-glasses. Even here it would be easy to get caught, beaten up or something else. Best not to give them a target to even look at.

I was surprised to find my cell had a barred window. I reared up, eagerly sticking my nose out. The fresh air was intoxicating. I closed my eyes. The sun! I could see the sunset. I very nearly wept. You’d be surprised what you miss after so long in darkness.

“So, straight from max-sec to min-sec, huh?” A stranger was leaning on my doorway. A stallion with gangly legs and a red star for a cutie mark. “That takes some doing! What’re you in for?” he wanted to know.

“I’m innocent,” I offered lamely.

He smirked. “Yeah, Yeah man don’t I know it! We’re all innocent in here!” he gave a barking laugh, then stopped to light a cigarette. “Name’s Proto Star,” he said. “Prison Information and Intrigue, at your service.”

“What?”

“Somepony smart enough to know the difference between why somepony is in prison, and what they did to be landed in prison,” he puffed a bit of smoke, flicking the cigarette. “So, what’re you in for?” he asked again.

“I er… raped somepony,” I said, lowering my voice.

“And WHY are you in here?” he said without batting an eye at my confession.

“She… didn’t want to stand up for me in front of her father,” I said, ears wilting.

“Ah, daddy’s little princess pointed the hoof at’cha, did she? That’s rough. Murderers and Rapers end up in Max-Sec most of the time, though,” he eyed me a bit, a note of interest in his face. “How did such a ‘violent case’ like you end up in Min-Sec, I wonder?” I was grateful he believed that I hadn’t done it.

“I… don’t know,” I lied, turning back to the window. The sun was almost set. I startled a little, for there was a figure on the lawn outside. The shadows didn’t let me see much more than a gender, standing among trees as she was. Too small and curvy to be a stallion. Was… was she looking up at me?

“You got an lucky star shining down on you, maybe!” Proto Star turned to go, smiling. “See you at dinner! It’s communal here, so you can socialize!”

“Lucky star…” I mumbled, turning back to look outside again. The mare in the shadows was gone. “Maybe she’s somethin’ else…” I whispered.

End of Part 1