Far Away

CHAPTER XXXV

In life, you meet many people, and they reveal once hidden doors to you in your path. It takes no effort to see what lies at the surface of the door you opened, but it takes true courage for one to step through and discover the full yield of the path the door led you to. There are many opportunities given to you in life, and it is up to you to take them.

The sun rose, and so did Jack’s confidence and optimism. The talk with Celestia the night before sure did help. Jack had finally accepted his situation, and wanted to make the most of his remaining time in this world. Through the night, he stayed awake long hours to laboriously plan everything out, and decided to visit Stalliongrad on his own.

Apparently the city was about to turn into a rogue city state if nothing was done about stabilizing the city politically.  Although Jack was not much of an academically minded pony, he knew this meant something bad. Leaping down to the dining hall and telling Celestia of his plans was what he planned to do that morning.

With aching legs and all, he dragged himself into the dining hall to see Celestia already sat at her seat, reading the newspaper. “Morning princess,” Jack greeted politely.

“Morning,” came the response, slightly muffled by the newspaper.

“Is there any transport to Stalliongrad today?” Jack asked, “I have decided to go there myself and see the situation.”

“Oh,” said Celestia, dropping her newspaper onto the table, “You made that decision fast, but I must warn you of the potential outbreak of riots on the streets and whatnot. As to your question, I can arrange a chariot if you want, or you can take the train.”

Jack pondered the options presented to him. Either he could take what Celestia said, or he could go retrieve a copy of the locomotive time table from the station. The chariot would probably stand out too much and the chances that he would be shot out of the air would probably be quite high if all this revolution stuff was genuine. “I think I’ll take the train.”

“Well, in that case, if I can recall the facts correctly, I believe there is a train headed towards Stalliongrad at noon,” Celestia, recalling the facts as if she was reading from a worn sign where the letters were almost indistinguishable.

“Thank you, princess. I will head into the town now, for the rest of the morning,” announced Jack, as he turned and started heading out. Before he can though, he caught Celestia gesturing for him to stay. Jack spun around again to face her.

“I have another pony who is very eager to go to Stalliongrad. I think it might be better if you go with him,” said Celestia. Since she is princess, the implied meaning is more like, ‘There is another pony who would like to go to Stalliongrad. I command you to travel with him.’

“Can I meet him now?” Jack asked curiously, wondering who this mystery pony could be.

“Yes you may,” answered Celestia as started walking (trotting) in the opposite direction (I just realised: can horses/ponies walk? Or do they trot?). She guided Jack through the castle. “As a matter of fact, he is here right now,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

They trotted together into a hall where Jack had never wandered before. There were various doors leading off to unknown rooms and perhaps other halls. She stopped before a large mahogany door, which had a plaque that had ‘Professor Sunburst’ engraved on it.

Celestia pushed open the door, which creaked on its hinges like it had never been opened in a century. Inside was a small office, warm in colour scheme with sequoia bookshelves that lined all walls of the room, with an oaken desk and chair, upon which was sitting an orange unicorn with a frizzled mane and beard of a darker shade of orange than his coat. He wore a pair of spectacles, over which he looked at the ponies at the door.

“Good morning princess,” he greeted, “Who is this you have brought, may I ask?”

“Good morning Sunburst,” Celestia replied, “This is a friend of mine, who will be travelling to Stalliongrad on the noon train. I know that you wanted to go for quite a while now, so the present might be a good time?”

“Ah yes,” said Sunburst as he rose from his chair and began introducing himself, “My name is Sunburst.”

“Pleasure to meet you, my name is Jackson,” responded Jack in his usual manner.

Sunburst went back to his desk and opened a drawer and pulled out an old saddlebag, which he started filling with old weathered maps he retrieved from cabinets and bookshelves, and a multitude of books, new and old. “So, what business do you have to go to Stalliongrad?” he asked Jack casually.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Celestia announced as she left the room and closed the door.

“I’ll tell you later when we have the time to sit down. It’s a long story,” replied Jack.

“Ah, ok. Well, I’m all set,” said Sunburst as he looked through his things.

The two ponies silently walked out of the office, shut the door behind them and made small talk.

“Why do you want to go to Stalliongrad then?” Jack asked curiously.

“I heard a powerful magical artefact resides there. A certain ‘amulet’ as I have been told.”

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. “An amulet?” he asked.

“Yes, an amulet,” replied Sunburst not knowing what stumped Jack, “What’s wrong?”

Jack started trotting again, matching with his new companion’s brisk pace though the castle. “That’s a long story as well, but shorter than the reason why I wanted to go to Stalliongrad. I believe time is sufficing to tell you on the way to the station.”

“Do tell,” Sunburst encouraged, curious about the subject.

“Well, I was travelling through the Oreientallis jungle with a close friend of mine, and we found a temple…then the eagle carried the amulet off to an unknown location.”

They reached the steps of the Canterlot Station, and walked up the grand steps to the entrance. The station was much more empty than usual, though still awfully congested at the first platform, which has a circuit line leading to and from the neighbouring towns and villages like Ponyville and Little Almshoe to Canterlot.

Sunburst followed Jack through the thinned crowds to platform nine, where the line from Canterlot to Stalliongrad was located. The only other ponies waiting at the station were either journalists or members of the Federal Equestrian Parliament, distinguished by the emblem they wore on their coats or blazers.

After a few minutes, the familiar sound of the creaking and mechanical engine approached. The train stopped at the station with a puff of air, depressurizing its pistons. The two companions boarded the train, and found an empty compartment, and settled in for the long journey ahead. They soon struck up a merry conversation as the train lurched forwards towards their destination.

“So, tell me a bit about yourself, Sunburst,” Jack suggested as they sat across from one another, a wooden table bolted to the floor between them, on which stood a pile of books Sunburst was flicking through absentmindedly, “Since we are travelling around together, might as well know a bit about each other?”

He looked up from his book, pushing his spectacles back up to his eyes. “Well, alright, but you need tell me about yourself as well. Treat this as… an exchange of information.” Jack nodded, and Sunburst continued. “I grew up in a small parish to the west of Canterlot. It was a quiet town, like what Ponyville is right now, but smaller. I went to school there for one year, and I was an avid book reader, unlike other foals. I stayed inside most of the time, practicing magic and whatnot. I earned a scholarship for Celestia’s Magic Academy after I was emblazoned with my cutie mark just before grade two of my studies. I won’t go through the finer details about my past but I can say that now I am a supreme battlemage. Lieutenant General Sunburst at your service.” He ended with a small bow.

Jack was surprised that Celestia hadn’t told him about Sunburst being a battlemage. Though he did not know much about the workings of the Equestrian Forces, he knew that being a battlemage was a great achievement. Years of training and service to the crown was mandatory to become a battlemage, one of the most powerful forces in battle, and the fist of steel that bends the course of wars.

“So, tell me a little about you,” Sunburst said, as the sky turned a shade of orange and long shadows were cast by little irregularities in the ground.

“My life was, and still is a mess. How do I begin?” pondered Jack, stroking the longer tufts of fur that stuck out of his chin thoughtfully.

“Wherever you think is the best place to start,” answered Sunburst.

“Well, since I never told you why I wanted to go to Stalliongrad, let us start with that. It is a long story, I should warn.” Sunburst just smiled and nodded encouragingly, almost like when he was talking to Celestia. “Well, I am a wanderer. I like going from place to place. It never occurred to me that I should settle somewhere. I was wandering through the Eastern Plains when…” Jack told Sunburst about how he met with Daring, what his first experiences with her was like, going into detail with the most traumatic ones, to convey the fear he felt more clearly than ever. He told him of how he joined up with the Wonderbolts and come to know of Celestia, and how he fought briefly in the battle for Manehattan. “… and here I am today, still living. It’s a miracle, and I do not know how the fates led me through.”

“So, you are on good terms with Celestia, Luna, the Elements and the Wonderbolts?” Sunburst inquired inquisitively, not believing his ears. It was dark already, and Jack went to light the lantern hanging on the roof. There was a switch at the door, which magically projected a flame, which lit up the room.

“Yes, apparently, I’m hated by all nobles because I’m on good terms with all the most popular groups of ponies, and loved by royalty. I really don’t know how to feel about this,” Jack sat down again in the now bright compartment and chuckled.

“I’m sure that if the nobles got a chance, they would put a bounty on your head,” said Sunburst with humour gleaming in the blue eyes of his, “You basically outrank all the nobles socially now, and you aren’t even one of them. In their eyes, it is a crime to do that. I learned that through the years of experience I have obtained by living in Canterlot.”

“Indeed,” came the response from Jack, “I wondered what all those stares meant?”

“Pray tell, how has it come to be, that this young mistress came to be imprisoned within Stalliongrad?”

“I would rather not talk about it now. It’s getting late,” retorted Jack. “I shall answer any questions you may have on the journey back.

It was an uneventful journey to Stalliongrad. They arrived shabby platform that served as a station for Stalliongrad arduous hours after they left Canterlot. Both ponies were keen to stretch their legs after being in a train for so long, and get a fresh breath of air. Grass grew between the cracks of the concrete path that led to a main road with a small unkempt sidewalk that led to the city itself.

“We just need to find Stalliongrad Prison now,” groaned Jack as he looked at the seemingly never-ending stacks of high rise apartments that littered the town, all looking almost exactly similar than the tower standing next to it.

“Well, you’re lucky I brought a map with me. It pays to be prepared,” winked Sunburst as he pulled it out of his saddlebags. He unfolded the fragile piece of cardboard paper and studied it. “This map does seem to be quite old, I must say. I’m sure we can use the bigger landmarks to guide us though, it’s not like Stalliongrad could’ve changed too much in five years.”

“We have no time to lose, then. Let us start right away!” said Jack as he started trotting down the cracked concrete path with Sunburst following him, his horn glowing as hovered multiple objects that might be of use including the map, a compass and a pencil.