The Pony Weapon : Hope

“Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.”

“Lock him up!” The warden shouted to his stallions at the door. Within less than a second, the thick, steel door slid into place and was barred shut. I was officially locked up inside my cell, with no seeable way of escaping. As the warden marched away, I could hear his mumbles through the door.

“Monster…” he uttered under his breath. Could anything be closer to the truth?

As I paced around my room, my mind wondered. It was a big room, 7.5 by 7.5 by 5 metres, with only a bed and toilet to serve as obstacles. It is very easy to lose your mind, especially if you are in there for eternity, as did mine.

Could it be? My young mind thought. No, I am not a monster.

But I did not refuse my fate. Rather, I was quite fortunate.  The murders of the king and queen of Equestria, alongside dozens more, I was more than worthy of the noose and torture. But no, something, whatever the Tartarus it was, saved me.

However, that didn’t mean I was a graceful loser. I wanted to use this second chance to its maximum.

Aside of refusing the warden’s title place upon me, I had only one priority.

Escape.

Summoning the strength within my withered body, I rammed headfirst into the door. A loud clang roared throughout my cell as I bashed my skull into the iron. As I backed away, my vision was blurred, my ears screeched, and my head felt as if it caved in, which it probably did. I slumped over in pain, but the real kicker was when I looked at the door.

Not even a dent appeared on it.

My blood furiously boiled in rage. I quickly got up and bashed my head into the door again. Nothing.  I swung my hooves at it in a fury. Nothing. I back up to the other side of the room, charged at the door, and delivered a diving punch right at its center. Nothing. The only thing I got from my efforts was a broken skull, a set of broken hooves, and a fractured sense of self-esteem.

I roared at the top of my collapsed lungs in defeated frustration which more than likely didn’t reach the guards on the other side of the door. I slowly dragged myself onto the bed, which was only a century-old mattress on the floor, and let my body regenerate itself for another beating. I knew it was pointless, but my spirit wouldn’t let up. I hoped that one day, after whatever bashings it would take, that that door would form a sizable hole for me to crawl out of.

My gaze turned to the toilet, as opposed to the walls or ceiling like the insane pony everypony else, and even I consider myself as. It wasn’t much of a toilet, just like every other luxury I had, just a tin washing basin, made for clothes and small foals. My mind drifted as I glared at the pathetic toilet, just as pathetic as I once was.

The hoof of the sergeant slapped me in the back of the head, causing it to nearly fall into my work. He was barely a year older than me, but he had a heck of a right hoof.

“You call that cleaning?!” He shrilled over my shrinking body. “If that’s how you also maintain your weapons, you might as well be fighting with fucking sticks!”

Another slap was delivered. My ears ringed.

“Do it again! And this time, don’t fuck it up!”

“Aye-aye!” I strongly whimpered. I was practically on the verge of crying as the sergeant left the tent. I looked over my mission, a stone box with a hole on the top, stained with urine and fecal matter. It was hard enough that the tent was completely dark even on a summer day, with only a candle to serve as a light, but having to use a toothbrush was too much for my pubescent mind.

My sorrow quickly turned to rage as I tightly gripped the toothbrush with my mouth and furiously scrubbed the immovable stains.

“You want this toilet fucking cleaned?” I madly whispered to myself. “Oh, I’ll fucking clean this toilet, as well as your fucking ass, your fucking hooves, your fucking wife, your fucking record, oh, and let’s not forget that fucking mouth!”

“Oohoo, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” The stallion right next to me asked. My narrow gaze turned to him, giving me a sly look in return.

Red Paladin, head soldier of the 42nd Battalion and my only friend at the time. He was my opposite in so many ways. His fur was black and his extremely long mane and tail were a vibrant shade of red with white highlights. He was friends with almost everypony in the army, in Canterlot, and was even once a bodyguard to the queen when she went out to sea. He was always so charismatic, able to come up with clever quips even in the darkest of times, my times anyways.

However, the most seemingly perfect ponies hold the most dreaded of dark sides and secrets.

“Not now, Red.” I replied, still mad.

“Dude, you got your ass given to you on a silver platter, the least I can do is lighten your spirits mate.”

“The least you can do is give me some bleach.” I tried to joke, fully knowing that I couldn’t use bleach in this training task.

“To clean or to drink?” He remarked, noticing my shaky handling of the brush.

I stopped scrubbing, tossed the brush aside, and slumped down against the toilet, rubbing my eyes to get rid of the developing tears.

“Hey, hey, hey, buddy.” Red comforted me, using his magic to grab a towel to pat down the sweat on me. “Relax. You only got six more months of training before the test. You can handle that.”

“I’ve barely managed a month with this new guy.” I sighed.

I picked up the brush and began scrubbing again.

Red talked while I worked. “Look, I know that he was part of your class and you two weren’t the best of friends.”

I grunted in attempts of shooing him, slightly speeding up the brushing rate as well to drown out his words.

He continued. “I know that you had a higher grade than him in everything.”

I grunted again, speeding up more, digging deeper into the stone.

“I know that he was promoted above you because his dad had ties to the queen, albeit illegitimately.”

Louder, faster, deeper I went.

“And I know that he deflowered your lifelong crush in a one-night-stand.”

“Damn it!” I hollered, spitting the brush out onto the stone floor. “Can you stop?!”

“’Least you got the stains out.” He remarked.

At first I was confused, but then I looked at the toilet to see most of the stains on the top of the toilet were completely gone. An underlying sense of joy and accomplishment fill me.

“Huh.” I silently cheered.

“Look, Relv,” he stated in a more serious tone. He locked his dull, red eyes onto my vibrant, grey eyes. “Life may seem like a shithole now, but that’s only skin deep. It is still whole, young… innocent…”

“…Red?”

His eyes began to look downwards, flipping through the pages of his memory. I gently nudged him on the shoulder and his slowly returned.

“…I need to get back to my group.” He said with a strain in his voice.

Quickly, he hurried out of the tent and ran off into the distance. I was left with so many questions that day.

What was he talking about? I was orphaned when I was six months old while his parents simply moved away well after he joined the army. What could be worse than getting slapped over the head by some prick that stole your mare? He was only two years older than me, so he couldn’t have seen much right? Right?

If only I knew then…

By the time I snapped back to the present, my body had recovered quite a lot. It wasn’t at its peak, but a lot better than when I was tossed in. I got up from the bed and attempted another running charge. For some reason, I thought this one would do the trick.

Nope, just another busted skull.

I was in here less than an hour at this point, yet already it felt like a full week had passed. I’m not even sure that the warden had even fully left my prison at this point. My powers were drained, my mind was in the gutter, and I had no orientation or sense of direction. That’s the power of this prison.

Created by Star Swirl the Bearded, the Interdimensional Containment Unit for Treacherous Enemies was a massive prison contained within pocket dimension constructed of the chaotic remnants of Discord. With the only exit being a portal to the underground chambers of Canterlot, this 10 by 10 by 5 kilometre super prison was a maze, filled with guards, traps, and barricades made of the strongest metals and magic of the world.

It would take a normal pony over a day to escape this prison in the run alone, without any resistance. How in the world was I going to escape within an hour?

I didn’t, but it took a hell of a beating for that to cross my mind.

A ruthless cycle took control of my body as time became an abstract entity.  Bash into the door, destroy my bones, recover in bed, get up and repeat. I lost count of how many times I did it, or when I stopped. At some point, I lost the willpower to continue and just stood there, resting my head on the cold steel. It had only weakened a fraction of a percent.

My mind eventually returned to logical thought. Why am I continuing to do this, this is pointless? Am I insane? Am I a monster, a caged beast with no reason?

I could feel myself rejecting my own thoughts. I pounded my hoof into the door again.

“I refuse to accept this!” I hollered. I was lying to no pony.

I didn’t deserve this, not that it was too harsh, but the opposite. I retraced the steps that lead to this. The numbers didn’t add up.

Alongside my body, I tortured by mind with seemingly pointless endeavors. My mind processed thousands of logical equations, none of them working. Who or what would place me here rather than in the claws of death? Was it to torture me, or use me was a weapon for a future threat? I was too unstable, everypony knew that. I was the greatest threat to Equestria.

My answer came shortly as my ears picked up the extremely faint sounds of gold stomping on the metal floor. I recognized those steps near-instantly.

“Princess Celestia!” They saluted to her.

“Was Relv secured?” She asked them. Her voice was that of a young angel, but her tone was of a widowed mother.

“Yes ma’am, just an hour ago.”

An HOUR ago?! My jaw dropped. I walked to the bed and plopped down in defeat. I was plenty pissed off for the day and just wanted it to end, as well as my life. I had given up.

“Can I at least, see him?” She asked.

A moment of silence became present. I was used to it about now. Clearly, the guards were giving each other silent looks, mentally debating with each other.

“…Okay.” One of them nervously nodded.

My exposed ear twitched as the door slid open. It was only ajar however, impossible for me to slip through, but wide enough for the young princess to peak into and see me.

“Relv?” She whispered for not really much reason. I slowly got up and faced her. My face locked in this halfway scowl while hers was this remorseful look I could not find reason of. Why was she sad for me?

“…” I kept a quiet stance and continued to stare into her still teary eyes.

“I know you may be confused…”

You don’t know the half of it.

“I know you may feel confused, scared, or even angry at me…”

All three, Tia.

“But I want you to know something. I… I am sorry for you.”

“…What?” I almost silently mouthed. Her, sorry for me? If anything, I should’ve been sorry to her.

“I know you didn’t mean for this to happen, to me, Luna, our parents, or to you. Relv, I-I… I didn’t want you to die. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“…” I kept silent. I didn’t want to thank her. I didn’t want to burden her with debts, now that she and Luna have to take care of a kingdom without their parents’ full wisdom.

“I want what’s best for you, but I can’t let you go. Hopefully you’ll understand. Luna and I will still visit you. Just please, don’t try to escape, that’s all I ask of you.” She sniffled.

Upon backing away from the door, it immediately slid shut.

I was once again alone in the dark.

“Thank you Sir Lionhart, Sir Paladin.” She said to the guards. I heard her hoofsteps as she walked throughout the prison to the exit.

I was surprised at what she said to me, let alone entering the massive prison just to talk to me.

She forgives me?! I thought. After what I did? No…

As much as both Tia and I wanted such quick mercy, it was impossible. The blood of her parents still stained her hooves. The rage against was still a factor of her being, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. And what would follow next when she would meet me? We would do nothing but argue and bicker just like before my imprisonment.

Besides, is spending an eternity in prison an actual life? No matter what gifts of company you offer, it is still a cage.

I wanted to escape, be free, and continue my quest.

From the ashes of defeat, something arose, a missing cog that created a click within my mind’s cogworks. There was still an exit. Each step she takes and I hear, no matter how small, is one step closer to escape. If Tia can do it, it is possible for me to also leave this prison. It may take a while, but in the end, escaping will be worth it.

With a new sense of hope thriving within me, I approached the door. I pulled back my hoof, and I slammed it into the door with all of my might.

Nothing, but it was still progress.

Every day from then on, I practiced my technique on the door, bashing it harder, better, faster, stronger. Each strike was more powerful than the last, and each combination attack injured my body less and less. Until one day, a sound echoed from the door in which I had not heard of before. I pulled my hoof back and I saw it.

A dent.

It was a very small dent, but I leaped for joy. From not being able to last for an hour bashing into the door, to creating a sizable dent with an enormous amount of energy still within, I grew stronger. My hope had risen up ever more so than before. I was one step closer to Tia and the portal.

I found a new use for my prison. Instead of merely a cage, I used it as a training ground, to enhance my skills and powers to the maximum. By the time I reached that door, I would be ready for anything.

I would reach my maximum potential, just as I always wanted.

By the time I finished my toilet mission, it was already night. When I walked out of the tent, the training barracks looked as if they were abandoned, an ideal stealth tactic. The troops here were already asleep, as was I in terms of awareness to the world.

As I walked to my tent, I looked out to the Castle of Two Sisters, nearby of the camp. Although it was a sizable kilometre away, the glow of the castle’s lights still reached us. An old pony’s tale circulated amongst the soldiers in training that if the lights reached the center campfire, it means there is a party going on at the castle. I checked the fireplace in question to find the light of the castle faintly touching it.

A party was going on.

I found myself amused from this despite my exhaustion and continued to my tent. But just when I was about to open the flaps, I felt a poking at my right shoulder. I turned around to see Red, acting shifty. He had broken his curfew with his squad in another camp at the barracks to see me, probably to cause some trouble or something.

“Red?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Relv,” He answered, in a quite peppy tone despite our earlier confrontation. “Let’s go to the waterfall.”

“I’m tired, Red, not tonight.”

“C’mon, you’re not going to get any decent rest covered in crap. A swim would be perfect.”

I knew I couldn’t shake him off, so I agreed and slowly followed him to the nearby falls, deep within the forest. We had been there dozens of times before, but Red always treated it like his first. It wasn’t a very big waterfall, just a small ledge a metre or two tall and an even smaller creek running over it, but there was something about its tranquility that always drawn us to it.

I peacefully rested in the small pool at the bottom of the falls while Red slid down them, only to climb back up and do it again. Time became irrelevant as I was mesmerized by Red’s never-changing cycle. The military training we were given often emphasized consistency and speed.

I had fallen half-asleep out of exhaustion when Red decided to mess with me. He ran into the forest without me noticing. He then began to scream as if he was being attacked. I quickly got to my hooves and called out to him. I waded throughout the pond, searching for him, confused of what was happening.

Behind my back, Red sneaked back into the pool and dove under. I turned around to the sound of splashing, only to see nothing by the moon and stars shimmering in the pool. Seconds ticked by, and my nerves were reaching their peak. Suddenly, a splash of water obscured my vision as Red leaped out at me and pulled us both under.

“Gotcha!” He proclaimed before taking on water.

I sprung out from below and beached myself onto the land, looking over and realizing what Red just pulled. A smile grew on my face, and I couldn’t help but to laugh alongside his coughing gags. He sat himself alongside me and decided to rub it in.

“Looks like somepony’s not ready for tiny creek monsters,” He cracked.

I simply rolled my eyes and remarked, “I’ll keep note of that. In the meanwhile, somepony doesn’t seem to be ready for payback!”

Instantly, I shoved Red back into the pool and dove in after him. We surfaced at the center of the pool and playfully splashed each other, each trying to best the other in both powerful and flashy splashes. As we were roughhousing through, we didn’t notice that a third pony had joined the party.

“Ahem…” The pony cleared her throat, loud enough to catch our attention. We stopped splashing each other and looked to where we were recently just sitting, seeing a pale mare standing there. She had a horn, a pair of wings, and a long mane and tail of pink.

We instantly recognized her.

“Princess Celestia!” We bowed, but keeping our heads above the water.

The mare just stood there, holding her shoulder in nervousness blind to us. We were told by our parents, elders, everypony, to respect the presence of royalty, as they are the example of perfection. My gaze shifted from the pool to the mare, and by sights alone, she was living up to the example. She had the body of a goddess, yet the youth of a mare only half a year younger than me. Her eyes and hair sparkled as bright as the golden sun, and I couldn’t help but to stare into them.

“Umm…” She quietly uttered. “Can I-I join you two.”

“Oh,” Red and I both instantly replied, still stunned by her appearance. “Sure.” We backed away and gave her more than enough room to settle in. Tia felt just as awkward as we were. She slowly slipped into the water, careful not to make a mistake of any kind.

She rested there while we quietly watched from the other side of the pool, with only the creek to break the awkward silence. Tia stretched herself out and patted the water surface, hoping for us to do anything rather than staring. Being a young stallion, I was stupid blind to these signs and continued to look at her. Red meanwhile, a well-known swinger, saw this and decided to toy with me, again.

As Tia closed her eyes and rested, Red nudged me and leaned in close to me. I already knew he was up to trouble.

“Talk to her.” He whispered to me, grinning.

“What?” I silently exclaimed. “She’s the princess and first heir to Equestria!”

“And she’s in the exact same puddle of water as we are, alone! That’s already like, what, the third rarest thing any stallion has done?”

“Please don’t…”

“C’mon bud, live your life to the maximum potential. There’s potential, now maximize it!”

Without giving me a chance to retort, Red pushed me across the pool and right next to Tia. Tia sprung awake and the two of us immediately created a nervous aura while Red backed away and watched in amusement. Either that or encouragement, I wasn’t paying attention.

“Uh…” I started, looking for an excuse, but at the same time looking to break the ice. “Hi.”

I could hear Red snickering with his hoof covering his face in hilarity and shame.

“Hi…” Tia replied.

As Red would put it, “That’s a step.”

Seeing as I had no other options, I built up my confidence and continued. “So, what are you doing here tonight? Isn’t there a party at the castle?”

“Yeah,” Tia replied, quickly easing. “But I needed a break.”

“A break?”

I didn’t get it. She has a life of royalty, where everything is given to you on a silver platter, yet she needs a break?

“Yeah,” She nodded. “My parents want to present the new castle to the nobles and newsponies before it's finished. I can practically hear my father going ‘this will be where our proud daughters will sit and rule over this great land when their time comes’. I’m barely fifteen Dad, and you’re giving me a castle and title to live up to.”

“You don’t want it?”

“It's… It’s a big shoe to fill. I don’t want that much responsibility thrusted onto me, not so suddenly. I still have my studies to do.”

“Pity,”

Tia’s face began to sink into anxiousness, the awkwardness was returning. My gaze snapped to Red, who had grown bored from the lack any real entertainment, but was still supporting me. I then looked back at Tia, looking droopier by the second.

I had to do something.

Without thinking, I splashed a hoofful of water into Tia’s face. At that following moment, Red and I became frozen. Red’s jaw had fallen a full inch, with a look on his face that could only be described as a combination of shock, hilarity, fear, and confusion. Guilt climaxed throughout my nerves, I awaited whatever terrible fate was in store for me. I close my eyes and prayed it would all go away.

Splash.

A cold wave of water struck me in the face. A mare’s giggle ringed through my ears as my eyes shot wide open. Tia was smiling and was already preparing for another attack. Red and I were surprised of this playful side to her, but decided to go along with it.

Within seconds, the silent pond at the bottom of the falls erupted into a noisy playpen. Red, I, and Tia, splashed each other and played for at least an hour. It was the time of our lives.