Chapters The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 1 of Imprisonment
Chapter 1
“Get the buck up, inmate!”
WHACK!
The painful kick in my stomach, a normal morning as usual ever since my imprisonment. I grunted and shakily lifted myself up from my bed, only to be met with a punch to the face, making me stagger backwards on the flat mattress.
“I tipped the boys off to let me have a go at you for a little bit.” The guard snarled as he grabbed my shirt collar and hoisted me up to look at him. “You’re already beat to shit as it is, so what’s a few new bruises here and there, hm?”
I didn’t answer, I couldn’t be bothered, there was no point in speaking since my words always fell on deaf ears.
“Not talking? Good, cause I wanna hear you beg for mercy this time, you hairless freak.” The stallion snorts as he slugged me in the gut.
I lurched as I fell to my knees but no contents came out, probably because they were intentionally trying to starve me as extra punishment for my crime. If it wasn’t obvious, yes, I’m a human in a world of walking talking anthro ponies. As the guard is beating the ever living shit out of me, I’ll explain my situation. I arrived in this world about 4 months ago. Naturally, I was scared out of my mind when one minute I’m out for a fishing trip not too far out from the coast and then some freak storm rolls in and flips my boat over. Next thing I know, I’m in this colorful world without any sense of direction. I had spent almost 2 weeks hiding from everyone when I eventually got caught stealing food from a stall in a town called Ponyville by a mare wearing a stetson. Of course, she too was freaked when she saw me; an unknown creature stealing her merchandise, who wouldn’t be at least a little spooked?
Anyway, after getting hogtied and brought to her friends, I was soon met with one this worlds rulers: Princess Celestia. She was a very kind mare in the beginning, motherly even, and she sympathized for me when I told her what had happened to me. She offered to let me stay in the castle so that I may be granted citizenship in this kingdom called Equestria, to which I had accepted and was brought to the castle. The city of the snob, known as Canterlot, was your typical snobby city filled with snobby ponies, and even reeked of snob, but I didn’t let their stares of disgust get to me. I stayed in the castle for about a week, getting to know my new surroundings better and even conversing with Celestia from time to time. I even had the privilege of meeting her sister, Princess Luna, who was hesitant at first but she soon warmed up to me. All seemed to be going well…until that notorious night, which led to my current situation.
“Tch, still nothing, after all that?” The guard scoffed as he wiped his forehead. “You’re a tough little bastard, I’ll give you that. Either that, or you actually like getting hit, you freak.”
Again, I said noting as I bled on the cold floor of my cell. Pretty sure he cracked more ribs, along with another tooth being kicked out, and yet another black eye.
“Bucker…pick yourself up before I lay into you again. Only this time, I won’t stop until you’re a bloody pile of shit under my hoof.” The guard said.
Trying to ignore the pain coursing through my body, I placed one hand after the other on the floor and lifted myself up from the ground. Slowly but surely, I stood straight up while blood trickled down the side of my head.
“You’re pathetic…” The guard spat as he roughly grabbed my hands and shackled my wrists, making sure they were extra tight to break the skin. Which had already been done since my wrists were already bloody and raw. Once I was properly shackled up tight, the guard opens the door and shoves me out and I almost fall on my face. I catch myself by grabbing the wall and stand up as I began limping through the halls. More guards pass us by and they scowl at me, sometimes intentionally tripping me and making me fall face first into the floor. I reluctantly picked myself up and trudged on, occasionally getting spat on my the guards or a few punches here and there.
“What the hay did you do to him?!”
The guards all stopped and turned to see the stallion in charge of the lot of them, Captain Shining Armor, staring at all the guards with a disgusted look in his eye.
“Well? Speak up! Why does the prisoner look like you all ganged up on him?!” The Captain demands.
“Captain, with all due respect, but why do you care what happens to this piece of trash?” The guard who was escorting me questions. “If anything, he deserves worse off than getting roughed up like this.”
“That’s not for you to decide, soldier! Now go back to your post! I’ll take the prisoner from here.”
“But sir-”
“One more bucking word out of you, and you get a demerit on your permanent record!”
The guard recoils at the Captain’s threat and nodded in defeat as he walked away. Shining sighed as he grabbed my shackles and pulled me along as he looked over his shoulder.
“I better come back and see the lot of you doing something productive or it’s cleaning the barracks with your toothbrushes!”
The guards scramble around out of the room and Shining leads me to the main corridors of the castle. We both said nothing as we walked along the hallways, with Shining occasionally glancing back at me but I kept my gaze to the floor.
“They roughed you up good this time.” Shining said plainly. “Did you even give them the response they wanted?”
I kept my words to myself since I didn’t feel like talking. Shining sighed and shook his head as he looked forever.
“She’s not gonna ask how you got that shiner and why you’re bleeding, you know? She only wants to see you as per your usual visits. For all she cares, even for somepony like her, she’d rather see you rot. And you not talking is only gonna make things worse. The whole kingdom hates you, your former friends want nothing to do with you, yet all you can do is just take beatings after beatings.”
I glance over to a window showing the outside of the castle, how the city looked peaceful in the morning which almost made me smirk a little, almost…
“It’s still a little hard to believe that you were capable of something like this. Are all humans like you in your world?” Once again, dead silence followed by the clanking of my shackles. “You can’t stay silent forever, eventually you’ll have to speak up soon or even her patience will run out. Speaking of which, we’re here.”
We stop at a pair of large double doors, leading to the throne room. This was another routine I found myself in once a week; I wake up, get beat up, and dragged to the throne room. She’d always tell me the same thing every week; why did I do it? How could I do it? It wasn’t right, even for him .
“She’s waiting for you.” Shining said as he stepped to the side. “And by the way, he may have deserved punishment, he didn’t deserve death.”
I didn’t speak or look to him as the doors were opened and I slowly limped through. As I made my way more inwards of the throne room, I saw the one mare who now hated the very sight of me. She glared at me as I made my way towards her throne and I saw her hands trembling as she gripped the armrests of her throne. Celestia, the mare I thought I’d have a bit if a connection with, gazed down at me like I was the worst thing to ever exist. I eventually stop just a few meters from her throne and just stand in front of her as the blood dripping from my head began to crust from not being treated. My battered and bruised body stood motionlessly in front of the sun matriarch as my eyes didn’t have the heart to look her in the eye.
“I still dream of him, you know.” Celestia said in an icy tone. “But every time I wake up I’m reminded of the being who took him from me. I knew he was troubled, we all did, but for you to do such a terrible thing? How could I have not done something to prevent the one who took him away?” I didn’t respond to her rant as she continued. “You stand before me, beaten, bloody, and bruised, yet I feel no more sympathy for you as the day you first came to this world. I never try to have these thoughts, but sometimes I wish you had drowned and not appeared here in this world. Perhaps then he would still be here and you would be dead.”
I had no more tears to shed, none to spare for an empty sounding insult that sounded like a broken record to me, I’ve heard it so much. I continued to silently stand in place, not saying a word to Celestia who was now starting to get more irritated.
“You continue to not speak, but what if I were to make you?” Celestia wonders. “If you do not give me the answer I desire, I shall have you thrown back in your cell without food or water until further notice. That way, you can waste away properly like the filth you are.”
Celesita stands from her throne and calmly walks down the small staircase and towards me. She stops just a few feet away and uses her magic to forcefully make me look up to her. Those eyes, those beautiful magenta eyes, filled with nothing but hate and sadness, stared back at me.
“To think, I wanted to be your friend and you mine. What a disgusting thought to be friends with a creature like you. Now answer me this, human, why…why did you do it?”
“…Regret.”
“Excuse me?”
“…Regret, forgiveness, redemption, closure, answers, truth, lies, revenge, justice.” I list off. “That’s what we humans go through when caught in a situation like this. Regret, to be sorry about and mourn. Forgiveness, to pardon one’s actions. Redemption, to save one from sin. Closure, finding peace for one’s soul. Answers, what we all want in life. Lies, what we do on a daily basis. Revenge, the practical justice. Justice, the fake peace-of-mind. You ask me why I did what I did because you think that it’ll give you closure as to why it happened, despite your newfound hatred for me. My fate was sealed that night when I was caught. I’m now paying for my crime, probably for the rest of my life as long as I remain in this world. You want to know why I did it? Well too bad, I’ll take my reasoning to the grave. You want justice? Then let me rot in that cell where I’ll continue to be beaten to a pulp every day. Even if you did force the truth out of me, I doubt you’d understand anyway. But I will tell you one thing about my crime, Princess Celestia.”
“And what is that?”
“That I have no regrets whatsoever. That if I were to go back and do things differently, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Because that’s my justice and my closure that I and I alone am satisfied with. No amount of torture, abuse, neglect, or any form of punishment you may try and inflict on me will ever get me to regret my actions or even bother to seek forgiveness when there’s none to spare.”
I take a step forward to look deeper in her eyes.
“I killed your nephew, and I’m damn proud of it.”
Author's Note
But why did he do it?
This is something that just came to me, it’ll just be a few chapters or so long.
Hope you all enjoyed!
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 2 of Imprisonment
Chapter 2
The night, the only time of the day I can find some sense of comfort in these hard times. Today was one of the few times I actually spoke up to Celestia since my imprisonment, and it turned out to be for the worse. To say she was displeased with my reply to her questions would be the understatement of the fucking century. How, you may ask? Well let me put it this way; my arm is in a cast, my organs feel like I’m in need of a transplant for each and every one, and I’ve basically covered my bed sheets in my blood due to the lacerations I received when she threw me through a window. What’s more is that she made good on her promise by threatening to starve me and ordered I be kept from any form of nourishment for the next week. Guess she still didn’t have the heart to completely starve me to death, even though I was already starting to look lethargic.
I opened my eyes to see the darkened room of my cell and the only source of light was the moon shining through the barred window. I tried to move, but was only met with pain shooting up and down my body so I stayed put. My mind then trailed back to those ponies back in Ponyville. They seemed like a nice bunch, especially that pink mare with the poofy mane and tail. Before I left, she said she’d throw me a welcome party when I came back. Too bad I’ll probably never get another party again now, nor would she even want to throw any kind of party for me since those residents of the town would have heard about what I’ve done by now.
The faint sounds of hoofsteps echoed faintly through the halls of the dungeons, making me tilt my head over to the caged wall and door. I watched through the darkness and saw a silhouette of a hooded figure appear. I then heard a sort of feminine gasp and the figure quickly walked just behind the bars but I turned away to look back up to the ceiling.
“You shouldn’t have come.” I croaked. “One of these days, you’ll get caught. And I’ll be blamed for it somehow.”
The figure said nothing as they began to glow slightly and step forward. They magically fazed through the bars and stepped towards my bed where I lay and knelt down. A pair of hands reached up to pull the hood off their face to reveal probably the one pony who actually sympathized my situation. The mare of dreams, ruler of the night, Princess Luna had come to visit me…again.
“Oh sweet moon above…look at you.” She whispered sadly as she gently placed a hand on my chest. “How could my sister do this to you?”
“It was justified.” I replied.
“Justified? How in the name of my moon and stars was this justified?” Luna demands.
“I said things to her that riled her up, and now I can barely move. A fair trade, if you ask me.”
“I beg to differ, you look like you were mauled by an Ursa Major.”
“Could be worse, I could be in a full body cast right now and I’d still always get my shit kicked in every morning.”
“This is not something to jest about!” She snapped. “You are suffering too much. Even for my sister, this is just cruel what they are doing to you.”
“Again, if you ask me, it’s all justified.”
“Why?”
“You know why , Princess.”
Luna recoiled a bit and looked away sadly. She was the only pony around who knew the truth. How? Because she was there that night when Blueblood met his end by my hand. I told her that night, as I stood over the bloody corpse of the former prince, to make herself scarce so she wouldn’t be roped into the crime and become a suspect. She already had enough shit to deal with as it is, no doubt still mentally recovering from being back from the moon after a thousand fucking years. A couple weeks after my imprisonment, Princess Luna came to visit me to check in on my condition. I keep telling her to stay away so that she wouldn’t get caught, but so far she’s always insisted visiting me every once in a while.
“He was bastardly stallion, always putting himself in front of others. I suspect he even cared more about himself than his own family.”
“Not surprising, I’ve met individuals like him back in my world. All scumbags, from the beginning to the end.”
“But did he truly deserve death?”
“Remember what I told you about all he had done and was planning to do, Princess. A degenerate life like his didn’t deserve to keep sucking air.”
“Perhaps, it is just a shame you are paying for this crime while he seems to have gotten away with it even in death.”
“There wasn’t enough evidence to pin anything on him anyway. And even if I, or you, or anyone for that matter tried to gather the proof necessary to build a case against him, he’d just use his personal resources to deny any allegations.”
“I suppose you are right.” Luna sighs. “Celestia also had always been overly generous towards to him. I always tried to stay as far away from him since he would always put me in a foul mood at the very sight of him.”
“And here I thought she hated his guts as much as everyone else, even if he was her nephew.”
There was a brief silence between the two of us until Luna repositioned herself so she was sitting crisscrossed beside me.
“Do you mind if I stay with you a little while longer? I do not wish to leave you in this horrible state. I could even heal you, if you wish?”
“That’s kind of you to offer, Princess, but if you heal me they’ll question how I was able to recover so fast. Besides, they always send a doctor to check up on me whenever I get this roughed up. I’d also rather not risk involving you in any of this.”
“Very well…”
“But you can sit with me as long as you like, I enjoy our company despite my protests for you coming here.”
“Thank you.”
For the next hour, Luna and I had been talking about a variety of subjects. She mostly asked questions about my world to which I was happy to oblige by telling her about what I used to do. I told her I was a college student studying to be an engineer, which she found to be very interesting. I told her about my hobbies which consisted of fishing, hiking, occasionally exercising, and a little gaming here and there. It was amusing to see her light up when I explained what video games were. If I still had my smartphone, I’d let her play the few game apps on it. I made her laugh when I told her how some humans take gaming so seriously that they’d rage and say the stupidest things.
“My word, these video games you speak of seem like a bad influence on humans.” Luna giggled.
“Only to those who take them too damn seriously, that includes me.”
“You? Oh, I highly doubt that.”
“It’s true, I remember once I was playing this game called Smash Bros. It’s a fighting game that pits players against each other and I kept losing to this one friend of mine because he kept spamming this overpowered move from a character called Bayonetta.”
“What did you do?”
“I cussed him out and accused him of only using the character because he had a crush on her.”
That comment made Luna have to cover her muzzle so she wouldn’t be heard from her loud giggling.
“Oh…my stars…that is quite amusing.”
“Yeah, my parents reprimanded me for saying such obscene things in the middle of the day.”
Though as soon as I mentioned my family, a wave of sadness filled the room. It’s been months since I came to this world out of the blue, no doubt they’re probably still looking for me. When I first appeared in this world, my family was the only thing I could think about. I wanted to desperately find a way home to be with them again. I probably would’ve been helped to be sent home, had all this not have happened, but what’s done is done and there’s no changing that.
“Do you miss them?” Luna asks.
“Yes, I sometimes wonder if they’re still looking for me.”
“I am sorry that you cannot return to them now.”
“Nothing really we can do about it now. I have a sentence to carry out so until then, I have to try and not think about sad thoughts like my family.”
There was another brief silence between us.
“My sister received a letter from the ponies of Ponyville.”
“Oh? What did it say?”
“They were asking about you, to see how you were doing and if it was ok for them to visit you.”
“But?”
“My sister immediately replied back by saying no pony was allowed to visit you under any circumstances. She even went as far as to forbid Twilight Sparkle and her friends to come anywhere near Canterlot unless they were supervised so they wouldn’t try to see you discretely.”
“I see, can’t really blame her I guess.”
“This is all just too cruel.” Luna said as her hands balled up into fists. “You shouldn’t be paying for this crime in such a horrible fashion. If only my sister knew the truth, she-”
I cut her off by reaching up and grabbing her arm while ignoring the pain coursing through my nerves.
“Don’t you dare utter a word to ANYONE.” I demand.
“But…you-”
“I don’t care!” I whisper screamed. “Look at me, I’m beaten and battered, everyone’s fingers all point to me, I’m the villain of the century, and you and I are the only ones that know why and it will stay that way. I made my choice, as did you when I told you to flee the scene so they wouldn’t question you. If you had stayed, how do you think everyone would react? The co-ruler of Equestria seemingly having a hand in the death of Prince Blueblood? Just how do you think Celestia would react? Not to mention you still recovering from your banishment. Things would only get worse for you if they suspected you.”
“But why risk so much for me? Look at you! You can barely move, you look as if you haven’t eaten anything in weeks, every pony treats you so poorly, and all because of that bastard stallion Blueblood! I would not be surprised if he was still laughing in his grave, like he wanted this to happen and he wanted you to pay for it with your freedom.”
“Perhaps he did want this to happen. That if someone tried to bring him down, he’d want to bring them down with him. A mindset of a criminal to the end, that one.”
“But…you aren’t a criminal.”
“I killed Blueblood, so that justifies me being one.”
“But…you didn’t.”
I didn’t answer, I only tightened my grip on her arm.
“Princess…don’t finish that thought. We’ve been over this too many times.”
“But why you?”
“Why not?”
“It’s too cruel and unfair.”
“It was the only way.”
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because it was either one of the other, and I chose the latter.”
“But to endure all this suffering…”
“I say it’s worth it.”
“But…I-”
“Luna please…” I whisper as my grip tightens on her arm again and she started crying. “I don’t want you to say it. What happened that night was not your fault.”
“Yes it was…how could it not be?”
“You had no control. He said those things that would set anyone off. I would’ve done the same.”
“You didn’t kill Blueblood…”
“Luna-”
“No.” Luna cut me off. “You didn’t kill him because you couldn’t even if you tried. You are as innocent as they come, I am the real criminal.”
I turned away, unable to look at Luna as she sobbed quietly.
“I …killed Blueblood…”
Author's Note
What a twist!
Hope you enjoyed!
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 3 of Imprisonment
Chapter 3
“Is this really necessary?”
“I’m afraid so.” Shining sighed as he sat in his chair in front of me.
Another week has passed since my imprisonment. Blood has stained almost every part of my clothes but my injuries have been treated, only barely and reluctantly by the local doctor. I have a suspicion he didn’t try his best when treating me, probably intentionally not treating me all the way just for the hell of it. My body still aches and I still get beaten up but thanks to the Captain, I’ve now been out under his personal watch since he doesn’t trust any of his subordinates to not have their way with me. Yet despite that, some are ballsy enough to land a quick jab here and there or accidentally trip me whenever Shining Armor wasn’t paying attention.
Today I am sitting in an all too familiar room to the table I’ve been in since my arrest: the interrogation room. It was just me, the Captain, and a couple of his meat-head guards standing side by side. I was sitting on a metal chair with feet shackled to the chair and my hands also bound and latched on the top of the table. The reason why I’m here is because I’m being questioned yet again what happened that night. Only down side about this is I must’ve told this story at least a hundred times. Despite that, here I am, doing the same thing.
“You know this is a waste of time, right?” I sighed. “I already told you all I know and what happened.”
“Well the Princess has ordered it and I have to follow. Personally, I think your side is full of plot holes and doesn’t make sense. Which means you’re hiding something.”
“And what if I am? It’s not like it’ll do you any good.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You see, Princess Celestia has authorized me to use something on you this time.” Shining said as his horn began to glow.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m about to cast a truth telling spell on you. With it, we’ll finally get the full story.”
My heart sank like a stone in the water at this information. A truth spell? Of all the fucking things? Of course, I’m in a world full of magic so it’s obvious they’d have something like this. My plan, Luna’s future, everything would fall apart if I say anything. Shining would tell Celestia, I might be found innocent but that won’t stop her from most likely coming after Luna. And I doubt Celestia would even believe the underground operations Blueblood had under his hoof. I had to think fast, Shining’s horn was glowing more and he looked like he was about to cast the spell. What could I do? What could I say? Wait, he’s a soldier, right? Which means if he promises something he has to keep his word, right? It was a long shot, but to be honest he’s one of the most decent stallions I’ve met since coming here. I have no choice, I have to tell him.
“Wait!”
Shining stops mid-casting and looks at me.
“I…have a request before you cast the spell.”
“Damn freak! You think you’re in any position to bargain for your life?!” One of the guards sneers.
“Hold it.” Shining said as he held up his hand. “What kind of request?”
“I must ask…no, beg you to please give us, and only us, the room.”
The guards were about to interject again but Shining glanced over his shoulder to them as a sort of final warning.
“And why’s that?”
“Please…”
Shining was hesitant at first, but after seeing how desperate I was he exhaled heavily and waved his hand to dismiss the guards.
“But sir, you can’t be serious?”
“Leave.”
“But-”
“10 laps.”
“Sir-”
“20.”
The guards looked at each other and back to Shining.”
“30, need I go on?”
They took that opportunity to leave the room and begin their supposed punishment. As soon as the door closed behind them, it was just me and him in a room that was as quiet as the still night.
“So now it’s just us.” Shining said. “And only us. But I must ask, why go so far as to beg something like this?”
“Because you’re the only trustworthy stallion I’ve come to know since I was thrown in jail.”
“We barely know each other though.”
“Well I say I know you well enough. You’re a soldier, a stallion of honor who always does what’s right for the sake of the kingdom he swore to protect and serve. You don’t flaunt your status as Captain to everyone you come across nor abuse your title to get whatever you want. And it’s because of that…I’m willing to tell you, and you alone, everything.”
“Why now? Why wait all this time and just now decide to confess when you could’ve just done so earlier on? If what I suspect is true, that you didn’t actually kill the prince, you could’ve spared yourself from looking like the world chewed you up and spat you out.”
“Don’t misunderstand, Captain. I did kill Blueblood. You remember that night as well as I, how his blood stained my hands and his corpse lay at my feet. You were the one who arrested me, after all.”
Shining narrows his eyes as he stared into mine. I knew this was a big gamble, but at this point I had to take my chances with him.
“What’s stopping me from just casting the truth spell on you?”
“You can if you want, I’ll just still keep my words to myself.”
“You sure you wanna do that? If you resist, you’ll be in immense pain.”
“Does it look like I give fucking two shades of shit?”
“I guess not.” Shining grumbled. “But I can’t lie to the Princess.”
“Then you’ll get nothing out of me. I’ll continue to rot and get beaten and you’ll just have to tell Celestia once again that today’s interrogation, much like the others, was fruitless.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to do with whatever you have to tell me?”
“That’s for you to decide, all I ask is that you keep it to yourself.”
Again, Shining was silent as he contemplated my terms. If you think about it, we’re both taking huge risks. I’m trusting this stallion who I’ve only occasionally spoken to, he’s risking his status as Captain by lying to the Princess, should he promise to keep all I have to say to himself, and if either of us get exposed it’s gonna be a total shit show.
“You must be truly desperate to come to me for help.”
“So do you agree to my terms?”
“It goes against my better judgment, but yes.”
“Say the words please.”
“I swear that whatever is said in this room, stays in this room. You have my word as Captain of the Royal Guard.”
I gazed deeply in his eyes and looked for any sign that he was lying about keeping this to himself. Thankfully, there were no signs of distrust and I actually smirked just a tad.
“Ok, what I have to tell you is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Flashback
“How are you finding your new surroundings?”
“It’s…still a process, but I’m just starting to get used to it.”
It was during the week I was staying in the castle. At the time, I was still getting used to being in a completely different world filled with creatures I’ve never seen before and I was the only, in a word, alien among ponies. It was late at night and I was walking with one of the thestral guards Princesses Luna assigned to show me around at night. His name was Rain Claw and he was a friendly thestral stallion who seemed like an alright guy.
“I’m still not used to seeing ponies walking upright and with…hands and stuff.”
“Yeah? Well for us you don’t look all that different, aside from not having a tail, fur, muzzle, or hooves, you just look like a hairless pony with birth defects.”
“Gee thanks, I feel so much better.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Rain chuckled. “But seriously, you’ve got nothing to worry about. We ponies are a very friendly bunch and I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”
“I guess, hopefully the Princesses can find a way to send me home. Don’t get me wrong, this world is indeed as warm and friendly as you say, but I still have a life to live in my world and family who are probably missing me.”
“Fair enough, but until then try to relax. But most importantly stay out of trouble, even though we’re mostly friendly, we still take our job seriously when looking out for our kingdom.” Rain warns.
“Don’t worry, if there’s one thing my mom taught me is to always be on my best behavior. You won’t have to worry about me committing any sort of crime anytime soon.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Well, I think that’s enough of a tour for one night. I gotta get back to my post.” Rain said.
“Cool, I’ll see you around.” I said as I fist-bumped him.
He and I had parted ways as I continued to explore the castle. Thanks to Rain and a few other staff members of the castle, I was able to navigate the royal building decently enough not to get lost. The moon was high in the sky and stars were twinkling which made me smile and admire Luna’s work. I turned the corner and came across an empty hall with no guards or staff around, which was odd since there were at least one or two ponies everywhere else I ventured. I shrugged it off since I knew this was a faster route to where my guest room was. Along the way, I noticed one of the doors was slightly opened and I heard someone talking from inside. I would’ve just walked by and ignored it, but me being the curious cat I was said otherwise. I pretended to walk slowly past the door and listened in to what was being said.
“And when exactly will this take place?”
“A month from today, all is set for the usurpation.”
“Why not tell us the whole plan now?”
“Because if I did, you would all blab the plan away like the loose lipped stallions the lot of you are.”
“Excuse me, but we do indeed know how to keep a secret.”
“I doubt that, but it does not matter. Once all is said and done, we shall be the ones sitting on top and this kingdom shall be ours to rule in our image.”
“We look forward to it, my lord. So you shall be our new king.”
“As is my destiny.”
I quickly hid behind a pillar as the door swung open. 5 unicorn stallions, all wearing absurdly fancy clothing, walked out of the room with their muzzles held up high. Following them was the one stallion I was told to keep away from, Prince Blueblood himself. He shook hands with the last stallion who exited the room and walked in the other direction. I waited until it was only me left around and left my hiding spot.
“What the hell was that about? What could he possibly be planning?”
Part of me wanted to report him for this secret meeting, but something told me it wouldn’t do any good if I didn’t have the proper evidence to pin on him. Against my better judgment, I crept over to the room and slowly opened the door. It was your average office room with a large table, chairs, pair of doors leading out to a balcony, and a desk to the side. At first glance, there was nothing really significant about the room. I quietly paced around the room to try and find some kind of document or something, but came out empty handed. I decided to test my luck at the desk and saw there were a few drawers on the side, one of which was still slightly opened most likely due to Blueblood being careless. I reached out to open the drawer and was met with an unsettling sight. Two collars, one with a symbol of the sun and the other with a symbol of the moon, sat on top of a pile of papers. I shakily picked up the collar with the sun on it and noticed there were words engraved on it.
“Sun Bitch .” I said allowed, only to gasp and dropped the collar in horror.
The other collar probably said something like Moon Bitch which was equally sickening. I should have stopped there, the collars were more than enough evidence to pin against Blueblood, but I foolishly convinced myself that I needed more evidence. I pulled out one of the documents and saw that it was a letter written to Blueblood.
My Lord Blueblood,
All is set for the takeover and our spies are in place. On your command we shall subdue the Princesses and steal the Elements of Harmony so that they may be used for your ascension. You will also be pleased to know that the mercenaries you hired shall commence the cleansing once everything is set. By the end of this year, only worthy unicorn ponies shall remain while the pegasi and earth ponies will meet a gruesome end. Furthermore, your other agreement regarding the two Princesses has also passed. The collars you have at your disposal will siphon away all their magic to the point they are completely powerless. So long as you pass them to us to use them as broodmares to populate Equestria with only unicorn foals. Our organization is pleased that we will at last grasp what is rightfully ours. However you must heed this warning. Should anypony else catch wind of these plans, or if we feel as though you are not a stallion of your word and plan to betray us, this whole operation, the mercenaries, our spies, all you have worked tirelessly to hire and use will cancel our deal without a second’s notice. But hopefully, it will not come to that and your grand scheme will go off without a hitch.
Burn this letter and any other documents if you wish, until write each other again,
The Purest Ones
“Wh-what the f-fuck?!”
SLAM!
I jumped and whipped my head around to see Blueblood had come back looking beyond pissed to see me.
“You…” He seethed. “HOW DARE A FILTHY ANIMAL LIKE YOU STICK YOUR DISGUSTING NOSE WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG!”
Blueblood’s horn glowed and was about to blast me so I acted fast and grabbed both the collars and held them out in front of me.
“Stay back! If you even think of blasting me, I’ll tear these things apart!”
Blueblood halts his spell casting and growls at me.
“You dare threaten me?!”
“You’re damn right I am, you fucking psycho!”
“I demand you hand those to me this instant!”
“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m gonna do that! What the fuck are you even planning?! Mass genocide?! Hostile takeover?! Forcing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to become common broodmares?! They’re your god damn aunts, you sicko!”
“SILENCE! YOU KNOW NOTHING, YOU DAMN INGRATE!”
“I won’t let you…” I said as I pulled the collars apart. “I won’t let you carry out your fucked up plan with whoever it is you’re working with!”
“Humph! And just how do you plan to do that, human?” Blueblood huffs as he walks over to me. “You think they’ll believe you? An alien who just happened to stumble across something that I doubt you would be able to explain? You forget who I am, human, I am Prince Blueblood.”
I was scared out of my mind as he walked closer to me. My mind screamed to tear the damn collars apart but the way he was looking at me made my body go stiff.
“You are nothing but a fly who flew too close to the spider’s web.” Blueblood said as he stood before me. “Now give me those before I-”
RRRRRRIIIIIIIIPPPP!
With all the strength I could muster, I pulled the collars apart out of the spur of the moment. Blueblood watched in horror and rising anger as the collars actually fizzled a bit, probably losing whatever power that held them together.
“You…how…dare…” Blueblood muttered.
“Now you won’t hurt anyone without these.” I said as I threw the tattered remains of the collars on the floor.
“HOW DARE YOU?!?!”
Blueblood took the opportunity to blast me with a beam of magic, sending me flying into the wall and falling to the floor on my back. I felt like I had just gotten hit by a truck as I cried out in pain. I tried to pick myself up but something hard slammed on my head. I glanced up to see Blueblood glaring down at me with his hoof digging into my scalp.
“You meddlesome little bug, you should have kept to yourself and not meddle in others’ business. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”
“I saved everyone, that’s what!” I definitely snapped.
“Wrong!” Blueblood hissed as he stomped on my head. “You merely delayed the inevitable. I still have my hired forces ready and waiting to strike! So what if you destroy the collars? I shall simply acquire new ones and my plan will continue without a single obstacle in my way!”
“I’ll tell everyone what you’re planning! I’ll tell this to Celestia and she’ll be livid with you for what you were planning! I don’t care if no one believes me!”
“You don’t seem to be grasping the situation. You won’t do a bucking thing, freak! I’ve been planning this for years, ever since I found out that urserper bitch of an Aunt Luna of mine was set to return from the moon! Aunty Celestia should have killed her for her crimes against Equestria, she’s not fit to hold the Alicorn name! But I am.” Blueblood leaned down to look me dead in the eye. “I shall use those stupid Elements of Harmony, along with the combined Alicorn magic, to give me the necessary power to ascend to an Alicorn myself! Those blasted aunts of mine have sat on the throne for too long! All they’re good for is living the rest of their lives as common whores! My perfect world, a world where only the worthy shall live, is within my grasp! And you, a disgusting alien, think you can thwart my plans after ripping up something I can regain in a matter of months?! A fool! A blind bloody fool you are! This kingdom, this world, is mine! It’s all mine to rule and I will cleanse it in my own image! And as for you, I will now personally ensure that every waking moment of your presence in this world is a living nightmare in Tartarus! No pony shall deny me my destiny of godhood! Not you! Not Luna! Not Celestia! No one! I shall be the eternal ruler of the world and I will destroy anypony in my way!”
The mad fucker had completely lost it. At the time, I was afraid for my life. What was he planning to do to me? What sick and twisted acts of torture did he have in store in order to keep my mouth shut? I couldn’t think straight, I was so scared, and all I could do was just lie there.
“Now then.” Blueblood said as he levitated the documents from the drawer. “I highly doubt you would be able to expose me, but just to make sure no pony gets any ideas for your allegations.” Blueblood snapped his fingers and the papers all burst into flames as they were suspended in mid air. I watched in horror as the only evidence available to pin him burned away to ashes. “Now that that’s taken care of, what shall I do with you?” He said in a sadistic tone as he pulled out a dagger from his suit pocket.
“Blueblood…”
Both of us froze as we both turned to the doorway to see a very very pissed off Alicorn of the moon. Luna stood there with her fists trembling and her eyes glowing completely white as she glared at Blueblood with a burning fury.
“A-Aunty Luna?”
“We hath always known of thy cruel intentions. But we did not foresee just how cruel and twisted thee actually was.” Luna sneered.
“W-Wait, Aunty Luna, it is not as you think!”
“Release the human at once.”
Blueblood looked down at me and seethed at me as he looked back up at Luna with a defiant glare.
“IF I AM TO GO DOWN, I SHALL TAKE THIS HUMAN WITH ME!” Blueblood roared as he prepared to stab me with the dagger, making me clench my eyes shut.
Shit! I don’t wanna die!
SHUNK!
I opened my eyes ever so slightly to see Luna’s horn glowing with a horrified look on her face. I felt something drip on my face and looked up to see a very grim sight. Blueblood stood there with blood seeping out of his mouth and nostrils. He still held the knife in his hand as it was covered in a midnight blue aura…but the blade was stabbed in his chest which meant he stabbed himself.
“Wh…at…”
Blueblood collapsed backwards and I scrambled to stand up. Blood pooled from the stab wound as Blueblood stared up at the ceiling, coughing on his own blood.
“My…godhood…” he muttered as he reached his arm up, only for it to go slack and his body go limp as blood continued to pour out.
“He’s…dead.” I said.
“I-I-I didn’t…he held the dagger…I-I tried to pull it away from him…but his grip was strong!”
Luna collapsed to her knees and looked at her hands.
“What have I done…?”
“Princess…I-“
“We heard the shouting down here!”
“This is where Blueblood’s office is, we must hurry!”
Voices were heard from outside the room which meant the guards were closing in. Luna was still in shock, Blueblood is dead, and if anyone saw this grim sight now, one can only imagine what was going to happen. I quickly had to weigh my options: can’t Luna hide the body? No, there’s not enough time to decide where to hide it plus there was too much blood to clean off the floor. Do we quickly burn it? No, that would only worsen the situation since Luna probably wouldn’t have the heart to desecrate Blueblood’s body. Time was ticking by fast and the guards were closing in. So many possible choices, yet none seemed to work since the prime suspect is dead and either one or both of us would be in serious trouble. Not to mention, if anyone learned the truth, Luna would probably be punished for this crime. Even after she had just returned from her banishment I had heard about a little while ago. There was no time left so with my mind set on what to do, I walked over to Blueblood’s body.
“I…I didn’t…”
“Go.”
“What…?”
“Get out of here.” I said as I grabbed the dagger and pulled it out of the body. Blood splashed on my hands as I looked at Luna.
“You need to leave Princess. Right now.”
“But…what about you?”
“It doesn’t matter, you need to get out of here now. Fly out the window and return to your chambers or something.”
“But-”
“GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE I KILL YOU AS WELL!”
Luna flinched and stood up and ran towards the balcony doors. She opened the doors and quickly took to the skies. I sighed as I looked down at the blood that stained the dagger and my hands. The door swung open and multiple gasps filled the room. I slowly looked up to see multiple guards, Shining Armor, and even Princess Celestia all in a state of shock and disbelief.
“Blue…blood…?” Celestia whimpered.
“What did you…” Shining muttered.
“Isn’t it obvious? I killed the fucker for the bastard he is.”
End of Flashback
“And that’s the whole story.”
Shining sat there as he listened to my tale, unable to process the information given to him. Meanwhile I just told my story without missing a single detail. Shining then reached up and held his head, still with a look of disbelief and stared at his other hand.
“Princess Luna…killed him?”
“An accident, he was gonna kill me. After a week since I was arrested by you and sentenced to the dungeons, Luna came to visit me for the first time and I told her everything I told you before you and Celestia showed up in the office. The first thing she wanted to do was tell Celestia but I forbade her from doing so since there was already too much heat on me as it is.”
“But why take the blame if it was an accident?”
“Luna already has a bit of a rep ever since her return. Even if it was an accident, do you really think Equestria would believe her? Especially Celestia, the mere thought of her own sister being the cause of her nephew’s death would destroy her.”
“So…you lied not only for Princess Luna’s sake but for Princess Celestia’s sake?”
“Yes.”
“Even if it meant being branded as a murderer?”
“Would you do the same thing in my shoes?”
“I…honestly don’t know.”
“All that matters to me is that Luna continues being free and I continue taking the fall for what happened for her sake.”
“But what about your home? Don’t you wish to return to your world?”
“I have bigger things to worry about now besides getting back home.”
“And the documents? You’re sure there was nothing else you found?”
“Whatever else he may have stashed away from prying eyes is beyond me. Besides, Blueblood got what he wanted in the end: he brought me down with him and the only difference is he’s 6ft under.”
“So what do you plan to do now? Just stay in prison for the rest of your days? What about that organization you said he wrote too? Surely if we prove that Blueblood was planning those awful things you’d be granted leniency.”
“We ? What do you mean we ? I surely can’t do anything.”
“But maybe I can.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying I wanna help you.”
“Just like that? No more further questions? No trying to make sure I wasn’t lying?”
“You swore that all you said was the truth, and I believe you. You’re being unfairly imprisoned for a crime you took the fall for and you deserve to be as free as anypony else.”
“But what about Princess Luna?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet. But if I gather enough evidence, we can reopen the investigation and prove that what happened was an act of self-defence.”
“That organization would have been gone by now, you know.”
“Who cares about those ponies, all I care about is finding whatever else Blueblood hid in his office. I’m sure there’s something in that room we can use to grant your pardon.”
I thought about his offer, that if he would be able to find something else at the scene of the crime I’d be able to get out of here. But if I did, Luna might use it as an opportunity to confess what really happened.
“Ok, I’ll leave you to your investigation.”
“Thank you, and maybe we-”
“But I still have to take the blame for Blueblood’s death.”
“What? Why? You didn’t kill him.”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t allow Luna to tell Celestia what really happened. You want to prove Blueblood being the true criminal? Then go find as much evidence if there is any. You also want to try and convince Celestia it was all in self-defense? Good luck with that since she hates my guts. But as far as who’s to blame, that’s my burden and mine alone to bear.”
“You’re asking for a lot but not much in return.”
“I don’t really want anything in return anyway. Just the satisfaction that Luna stays clear of all charges and Blueblood dies with a legacy of corruption and attempted bloodshed against Equestria.”
Shining glanced away for a moment as he scratched his chin. If Shining could truly prove all of Blueblood’s plan to overthrow Celestia, then maybe she’ll listen to me when I tell her it was an accident without involving Luna.
“Fine, I accept your terms.”
“And I can trust you to find evidence and prove this case an accident?”
“It won’t be easy, Blueblood was always a snake in the grass. He was an uptight jackflank but he was no fool.”
“Then I guess I’ll leave you to it, and good luck to you.”
Shining nodded and stood up and turned to the door. Before he opened it, he turned to me and smiled a little.
“You know, I kinda always knew you weren’t the killing type.”
“And why’s that?”
“You don’t really look like somepony who would be able to take a life.”
I only stared at him with a blank expression as he opened the door.
“Captain.”
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
“I have come to speak with the prisoner.”
“But I already questioned him.”
“And?”
“He…just said the same thing as usual.”
“Is that so? Then I maybe I should try to get him to speak his mind.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. He’s guilty of the crime, what more could we want from him?”
“He may have murdered my nephew, but he didn’t say why. I want to know what else he’s obviously hiding.”
“But your majesty-”
“Move Captain, that’s an order.”
I heard Shining gulp as he stepped to the side and Princess Celestia herself walked in and already shot me a glare. I saw Shining shoot me an apologetic look before the door closed and it was just me and her. I looked down at my hands as she calmly walked over to the chair and gently pulled it out and daintily sat down and folded her hands on the table.
“I have been patient, more patient than I care to admit. You are a fool if you think you can trick me into believing you killed my nephew simply out of spite.”
I didn’t answer, but then felt a small tingling sensation on the back of my head. I glanced up to see her horn glowing which could only mean one thing.
Shit…
WHAM!
Celestia threw my head down on the table with her magic and my eyes were blurry and there was a ringing in my ear. Celestia didn’t give me a chance to recover as she slammed my head on the table again.
WHAM!
“Until you give me a proper answer, I will not stop until you are left unconscious.”
“…Go…to…Hell…”
“…Very well then.”
SLAM!
Author's Note
The tension is high and his life becomes more difficult for the burden he bares. Will Shining Armor be able to help grant his leniency?
Hope you all enjoyed!
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 4 of Imprisonment
Chapter 4
I slowly and sluggishly opened my eyes after being awoken by the ringing in my head. My whole body tingled painfully as I slowly regained my vision. I was back in my cell, somehow still alive after getting my fucking head repeatedly slammed on the table by Celestia. It caught me totally off guard for her to do something like that, even for her. Why in the hell didn’t she just use that truth spell thing like Shining was about to? Did she just want the satisfaction of seeing me in pain by her doing? Though, now that I think about it, I guess I only have myself to blame for provoking her like that.
My mind is still a little fuzzy, most likely due to the fact that I have a concussion, but I still remember my conversation with Shining Armor. He knows my secret, how I’m taking the blame for Luna. He’s now trying to find whatever evidence is left hidden in Blueblood’s office. I also remember those documents in the drawer, and how Blueblood burned them to cover his tracks. Then there’s that letter I read from that organization. Those bastards are as fucked in the head as Blueblood, but could they still be hiding and ready and waiting to attack? The letter made it sound like they’d clear out and abandon the usurpation if anything happened to Blueblood or if someone caught wind what they were planning.
As the ringing started to dwindle, I glanced to the side to see a blurry figure come into my field of vision. I heard muffled voices and another blurry figure join the other as they both near me. I then felt a tingling sensation around my head and the ringing in my ear and vision started to get better much quicker. The blurriness cleared up, the ringing stopped, and I looked to see Shining and the local doctor standing by my bed.
“That should do it.” The doctor said as he canceled his magic.
“You’re sure?” Shining said.
“He was beaten pretty bad, but I managed to take care of any neural damage to his brain. He’ll probably have a headache for a good long while but that should also pass.”
“Thanks doc, I appreciate it.”
“Of course, maybe now those guards of yours will give this colt a break. After what Princess Celestia did, maybe they’ll see that what they were doing was cruel even for her standards.”
“Don’t worry, even if they don’t, I gave a certain direct order so no one could beat the prisoner up anymore. They so much as take a jab at him, they’ll receive proper punishment.”
“Seems fair enough, even if he did commit the crime, no pony should have to go through this much abuse. I should go, I don’t want to keep my other patients waiting.”
“Of course, take care doc.”
“You as well, Captain.”
The doctor left Shining and I and Shining pulled over a chair and sat down. He then finally noticed my open eyes which made him smile a little.
“Hey.”
I blinked in response.
“Can you talk?”
“…water.”
“Oh, right.”
Shining pulled out a canteen of water from his belt and uncorked it and handed it to me. I reached out to grab and downed the whole thing.
“sigh , thanks.”
“No problem, how do you feel?”
“Like I got my head slammed on the table repeatedly.”
“That was really stupid, you know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t act dumb! Why the buck did you provoke Princess Celestia that?! Were you trying to kill yourself?! She was beyond pissed when she left the room and you looked like you were dead in your chair! Tensions are high enough as it is and you don’t want to get on Celestia’s bad side more than you already are!”
“As long as she focuses on me-”
Shining cut me off and grabbed my shirt collar and hoisted me up.
“Shut the buck up and listen to yourself! Why the buck are you doing this?! You think you’re being a hero right now?! Is this what a hero does?! Getting his shit kicked in day in and day out, almost getting killed by the Princess, and ruining any chance of you getting out of here?! That’s the most bucking stupidest thing I’ve ever bucking heard in my bucking life! Well I won’t let you do this to yourself! Especially the fact that you let the guards treat you like a punching bag! Grow a pair and stand up for yourself!”
“How can I do that when I haven’t really eaten anything or have gotten a good night’s sleep?!”
“That’s all gonna change because as you may have heard me tell that doctor, no pony is to inflict any physical harm on you or treat you like dirt any more! From here on out, you’re under my sole supervision.”
“I don’t need your protection!”
SLAP!
“Yes you bucking do, you bucking brain dead moron!”
Shining shoved me on my bed as he glared down at me.
“You have got to be the stupidest creature I’ve ever met.”
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one else was around and glared at me again.
“After you told me what really happened, it dawned on me: your so-called secret you’re keeping for Princess Luna is a complete wasted effort!”
“How is it wasted?!”
“Look at you! You’re in prison! Something that could have, no, should have been avoided had you told the truth! Yet you decided to play hero and take the fall for something that clearly wasn’t yours or Princess Luna’s fault! Blueblood died trying to kill you when Princess Luna saved you! What did you think was gonna happen?! That you would be thanked for your efforts and Princess Celestia would eventually get over Blueblood’s death and set you free?! Or better yet, somepony would go too far in beating the shit out of you that you’d get killed?! How do you think Luna would feel if you died?! She’d have both Blueblood’s and your death on her conscience, including mine! Once again, and I’ll keep saying it until you get through your thick human skull: YOU’RE A BUCKING MORON! I’ve met some pretty stupid stallions, but you sir are pathetic!”
Shining’s words pierced my mind like a knife. All these months I thought I did the right thing…but did I? What he said was true, that Luna saved me at the cost of Blueblood’s life. I stupidly believed that I had done a righteous act of heroism for Luna when all I did was put myself in a worse situation from an already bad one. Not to mention the fact that I poured more salt on the wound by provoking the abuse from the guards and angering Celestia by boasting about her nephew’s death right in her face.
“I just…wanted to help.”
“You call all this helping?”
“I meant stopping Blueblood. And I wanted to keep Celestia from hating Luna.”
“Why would you think she’d hate her?”
“Because of her banishment?”
SMACK!
“Try answering again instead of bullshit.” Shining sneered after he smacked my head.
“Ow! Ok fine! It’s because of Luna’s hatred for Blueblood!”
“What do you mean?”
“I may not have been in this world long, but I knew that Blueblood was not a well liked pony to anyone who had a clear conscience. And if I were a betting man, I’d say Luna hated him more than anyone around combined. If Celestia found out that it was Luna’s fault, she’d accuse her of killing him purely out of spite.”
“Do you honestly think Celestia would jump to that conclusion without even hearing Luna out?”
“Why wouldn’t she? Blueblood was still her nephew, her family, and she cared for him despite his many faults. I mean she cared about him enough to imprison me and even assault me herself.”
“But she wouldn’t do that to Luna. You made the choice to tell her to run, you held the dagger in your hand, and you decided to take the fall. If you just used common sense, you should’ve helped explain what happened that night instead of instigating the situation out of control. I said it before and I’ll say it again, this whole self righteous plan to punish yourself for the sake of another is a fool’s errand and a waste of time.”
Once again, his words cut deep. He was right, I shouldn’t be in prison for something that could’ve easily been avoided. If I had not been blinded by my pride, maybe I’d still be free.
“Shit…I feel so stupid.”
“As you should, but let’s not dwell on that right now. I’ve come to tell you that you’ll be getting better treatment around here from now on.”
“How do you figure that?”
“I personally declared you a P.O.I., or pony of interest.”
“And that is?”
“Basically it means I’m gonna be making sure you are not abused anymore or approached by anypony else without my say so. Not even royalty can seek an audience with you without coming to me first. So from now on you won’t be harassed by the guards, you’ll be fed properly, and receive proper treatment for the rest of your injuries that are still healing.”
“Well that’s a relief-”
“But I haven’t made it official yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want something in return. I’ll continue looking for evidence against Blueblood, including questioning whichever nobles were on his payroll. But if and when I do find something that will help your case, you need to confess.”
“You mean tell what really happened?”
“Yes, you need to tell Celestia the whole truth.”
“But what about Luna?”
“You needn’t worry about her, she’s a Princess and can take care of herself. Plus I’m sure Celestia will understand it was an accident once I find what I need and she calms her nerves as she grieves. But you also need to promise me you won’t instigate the situation anymore. Especially not letting anypony walk all over you like a doormat.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“That’s because it is. I’m not gonna help you if you keep up this defiant attitude of yours. You need to change for both yourself and for Luna.”
“I guess I made a big stink over something avoidable for the wrong reasons but for the right intentions.” I sighed.
“That’s one way of looking at it.”
“Ok, I’ll confess when the time comes.”
“Why not now? If you let Celestia or me cast a truth spell on you, you’ll be able to be released.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Don’t tell me you’re back to thinking like an idiot, are you?”
“Of course not, I’m actually thinking about this logically. Look, whoever these ponies Blueblood was working with obviously knew what they were doing if they were able to get something like those collars in order to subdue even Celestia and Luna themselves. Not to mention those nobles I saw chatting it up with Blueblood. There’s not a doubt in my mind that there’s more than one rat in the hole somewhere in this castle. That includes those working as your fellow guardsmen.”
“Now hold on a moment, some of the guards I will admit are a little rough around the edges. But dirty? They’re all under my command, they wouldn’t go against what they signed up for.”
“Now look who’s the naïve one. If Blueblood can convince some of the nobility to follow him, you really think it’d be that difficult to pay off the guards? There’s probably even a guard or two, maybe more, who were on Blueblood’s payroll and you don’t even know it yet.”
“I guess that makes sense, but why keep the blame?”
“If anyone were to catch wind that I wasn’t the one who offed Blueblood, who do you think they’d direct their attention to?”
Shining pondered my question for a moment until his eyes widened once he figured it out.
“Exactly, she may be an alicorn, but these guys seem to know how to handle her.”
“That just makes things more worrisome. They’ll probably even try to come after you.”
“I doubt it, I mean I am in prison after all. If you think about it it’s the safest place to be, especially since you’re gonna be personally in charge of looking after me.”
“I guess you’re right, but what about the organization?”
“I’ll let you deal with that on your own. Right now let’s focus on getting me out of here. Will you be able to find something on Blueblood?”
“Unfortunately he was as crafty as the snake everypony knew him to be. He always hid his secrets well so it’ll take time to actually find anything.”
Damn, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Could there have been a hidden compartment in his desk or something? Maybe a hidden room in his office? There’s gotta be at least something he left behind. Not to mention those ponies…I…saw…
“Wait, those five ponies I saw that night, I think maybe you can start with them.”
“Can you identify them?”
“If you give me something to write with and paper I can draw them.”
“You can draw?”
“I doodled a lot when I was a kid during class and always got in trouble for it. But I eventually became rather good at drawing faces. I remember the faces of those who exited Blueblood’s office.”
“Ok, I’ll go and get you what you need.” Shining said as he exited the cell.
As Shining left to get me a pen and paper, I leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. To think I was so stupid enough to let myself get accused of something that was never to be blamed on me in the first place. Well hopefully this will all change soon. And hopefully Celestia will understand if and when she learns the truth.
That Night
For the first time in months, the day went on without me getting hit, excluding that time with Shining. After I drew the faces of the nobles for Shining, I was left to myself in my cell. I had even received a proper meal instead of just receiving whatever rations they scrounge up. I noticed that any guards who passed by my cell gave me dirty looks, probably wanted to have a go at me but they knew they couldn’t since I was a P.O.I.
It was late in the night and I was lounging on my thin bed just thinking all that had happened today. Hopefully Shining can find the evidence he needs to prove my Blueblood’s true nature and pardon Luna and I. But for now, all I can do is wait.
The familiar sounds of hoofsteps were heard from the halls outside of my cell, which could only mean one thing. I waited patiently until I glanced over to see a hooded figure stand behind the bars which made me smirk a little.
“Hello Princess Luna.” I said, sitting up and on the edge of my bed.
Luna tilted her head as she removed her hood and stared at me curiously.
“You seem…brighter than usual.”
“Well there’s a good reason for that.” I then went into great detail about my discussions with Shining Armor. At first she was worried that Shining would go against my promise to him, but I reassured her there was nothing to worry about and we could trust Shining.
“It’s a shame you’re still in danger even if you’re in prison.”
“I guess I can’t keep myself out of trouble.”
“I suppose not, but are you sure this is wise? My sister is still very displeased with you.”
“When the time comes to use the truth spell for what really happened, it’ll be when Shining has enough evidence in proving who Blueblood really was and what he and his conspirators were planning.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re going through all this trouble. I’m the cause of Blueblood’s demise, I should be thrown in prison or maybe sent back to the moon.” Luna said sadly.
“You say that one more time, I’m calling off the deal with Shining and I continue to rot in jail and I’ll call Celestia a bitch to her face.”
“But-”
“But nothing!” I snapped as I stood up from the bed. “It was an accident, ok? An ac-ci-dent, you saved my life and Blueblood held on to the dagger too tightly when you tried to take it from him. You were simply trying to protect me but things got out of control. You shouldn’t blame yourself for something that clearly wasn’t your fault. It was his fault for not thinking clearly and you acted out of desperation. His blood is on his hands and his only.”
“Why the sudden change of heart? What made you wish to cooperate and reveal all that had happened?”
“Because I am not gonna satisfy that bastard prince by letting him take me down with him. He deserves to feel the sting of defeat not once but twice, even in death. And you need to have more faith in your sister.”
“But how do you know she won’t send me to the moon again?”
“She wouldn’t do that, not her. She will be shocked if I’m being honest, but at least the truth would be revealed. Plus there’s a chance that she’ll pardon me and forgive you when she finds out what happened. You just need to trust me on this Luna. And again, what happened that night was not your fault.”
Luna stared at me for a moment before nodding her head.
“Very well, I trust you.”
“Thanks, I’m gonna go and sleep now so you should probably get out of here before someone sees you.”
“I shall make sure you have pleasant dreams, farewell.”
Luna turned and walked away as I laid back down on my bed. Those ponies who conspired with Blueblood, hopefully they and that organization can keep quiet for a little while longer as they have been until Shining finds what he needs.
“And now I play the waiting game.” I said as I drifted off to sleep.
The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 5 of Imprisonment
Chapter 5
Almost a month has passed since I was dubbed Shining Armor’s P.O.I., and life in prison has somewhat improved for me. I’m no longer getting my ass handed to me, the food is much more filling than just being fed rations, and I no longer feel sleep deprived thanks to Luna. She even visited me during my dreams and I showed her some memories of my world. When I showed her what video games were, she was so blown away she said that she was going to have some of the best inventors in the land come forth and make a copy of one of the game systems I showed her. It was also pretty cool to actually play some games in my dream thanks to Luna’s power and it was quite entertaining how she completely lost herself in playing games.
She almost threatened to keep me sleeping so she could play more to which I had to convince her that this was all still in my head and I couldn’t sleep forever. To say she was upset was a bit of an understatement since she gave me the biggest pouty look I’ve ever seen, like I had just taken away her favorite toy and wouldn’t give it back. Maybe she did have a point that video games are somewhat of a bad influence on people, even ponies for that matter.
Shining has visited me in my cell to update me on his investigation. So far, he’s had little luck but the drawings I gave him of the ponies I saw helped out since he was able to identify them pretty easily. He has some of his most trusted stallions to approach them and interrogate them and hopefully they’ll give up something useful. We sometimes brainstorm where Blueblood could be hiding any more documents he had left over besides the ones he burned. Blueblood may have been an entitled crack pot, but I guess he wasn’t as stupid as he looked. Shining also told me that he’s received a lot of requests from Celestia to visit me to which he declined each and every one. No doubt she probably wanted to knock me around some more and I’m not sure my brain could handle another concussion.
Most would think I’d hate her for all she’s done to me: starve me, beat me, allow the guards to abuse me, but honestly I can’t bring myself to do so. She’s mourning the loss of her nephew and is too distraught to think clearly and is lashing out at the one who is responsible for his death. I also worried about how she might react once the truth comes to light. Will she accept the truth? That Blueblood was a power crazed maniac who had plans to take over Equestria with his totalitarian rule? And then there’s Luna, her one and only little sister who probably still blames herself for Blueblood’s death despite me trying to convince her it wasn’t her fault.
Luna looked like she was under as much pressure as I was and I had the foreboding suspicion that she’d crack and spill everything before Shining could find anything. I couldn’t really do much except keep reassuring her that things will turn out for the better soon whenever she visited me in person or in my dreams.
My mind drifted back to Celestia, how she must be seething because she can’t take any more cracks at me without Shining’s permission. I gotta hand it to the Captain though, he’s got guts to be able to stand up to someone like Celestia. To be honest, I felt real shitty for lying to her and causing her more grief than she deserves, especially making Shining lie to her saying he used the truth spell on me when he actually didn’t. Someone like her, who’s been around as long as everyone says, probably witnessed a lot in the span of over a thousand years. She didn’t seem to be a stranger to death, but I guess this was the first time she’s experienced something like the murder of a loved one. Shining’s P.O.I. thing might be protecting me somewhat, but that doesn’t mean she’d try and find a loophole of some kind. For the meantime, I just have to continue waiting for Shining, and hope he comes up with something soon.
It was another night with moon high in the sky and I was just doodling on a spare piece of paper since I had nothing else to do other than sit around in my cell. I always liked drawing my hands for some reason, like each sketch tells a story depending which way they were facing and how my fingers looked. This one depicts how I am in prison and trying to pull the shackle off. The blood represents my experiences, and hopefully no more would be shed.
I’m brought out of my thoughts when I hear hoofsteps approaching my cell. I thought it was Luna coming to visit me again but to my surprise, it was the thestral stallion I met a while back.
“Hey there.” He said with a mock wave.
“Uh…Rain Claw right?”
“That’s me, how’re you holding up?”
“I’m…fine thanks, what’re you doing here?”
“Well I haven’t seen you in a while so I thought I’d stop by and pay my respects. Don’t worry, I made sure to get clearance from Captain Armor before coming here.”
“Ok, well as you can see I’m pretty caged up , as it were.”
“I can see that.” He chuckled. “But damn, I did not expect you to pull something like this: killing Prince Blueballs? That takes quite a pair.”
“Yeah well, I don’t regret what I did.” I said, trying to sound sincere. “Fucker pissed me the hell off so I decided to shut him up, permanently.”
“You’re crazy.” Rain laughed. “But I see your point, if only a little. Blueblood was probably hated by almost everypony I know. I’m surprised he wasn’t killed earlier on before you showed up.”
“Nothing like a knife through the gut to get the job done.” I scoffed.
“I agree, he must’ve been pissed when you tore those collars up.”
“Oh he was, he even-”
My mind and body froze like a statue all at once. I looked at Rain like I had just seen a poltergeist right in front of me and he was the specter.
“What’s the matter?”
“What…did you just say?”
“I said Blueblood was hated by-”
“No, no…after that…” I said as I slowly backed away from the bars. “I…didn’t say anything about any collars.”
“Collars? What collars?”
“You said he was pissed that I tore up the collars, but I did not say anything about any collars, you did.”
Rain stared at me for a moment and blinked a few times, only for his lips to curl in a very unsettling fanged grin.
“Heh…I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t think you were sharp.” He muttered as he reached for something behind his belt.
“Wha-”
SHUNK!
I gasped after Rain threw something at me as something sharp pierced my gut and I slowly looked down to see a small knife sticking out of my shirt. A red blotch spread all around as I looked back up and Rain had just entered my cell and shut the door behind him.
“You’re one unlucky bucker, you stupid human.”
Before I could respond, Rain raised his fist and slammed it across my jaw, making me fall backwards and against the wall. The wound in my gut made itself known as I cried out in pain. Rain was quick to step up to me and slammed his hoof on my knee, causing it to crack and me scream out in pain louder.
“That’s right, keep screaming, it’s what you get for being a thorn in my employer’s sides. It’s just you and me in this cell, and I’m going to make sure I enjoy this very much.”
“GAH! What are you talking about?!” I demanded.
It then donned on me that none of the other guards that were supposed to be on duty had come to even check on why I was screaming. When I glanced at Rain’s hands I saw that they had blotches of blood all over his gloves.
“You…sick fucker! You murdered the guards?!”
“What’s that I hear?” Rain asks as he raises his hand next to his ear. “Is that the sound of the pot calling the kettle black?”
“It’s not the same, you sicko! I killed Blueblood because he deserved it! Those guards were innocent and you killed them in cold blood!”
Rain scowled at me and reached over and yanked the knife out of my gut, causing me to yelp and blood began to pool out of my stomach.
“I guess it takes a killer to know a killer.” Rain said as he flipped the knife around and plunged it into my leg.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRHHHHH!!!”
“You just had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong, didn’t you? This land should be on its knees by now, bowing down to its new ruler but you went and killed him.”
“Gah! You…worked for…Blueblood?!”
“Yes, and he was my meal ticket to living the good life after he would’ve taken over. I should be surrounded by my own herd of mares and laying on a heap of bits, but you had to go and buck it all up. After Blueblood was pronounced dead, the first thing I wanted to do was kill you as soon as I got my hands on you. But then you went and got yourself arrested and I couldn’t get anywhere near you, not even at night since that moon bitch kept visiting you. But then that idiot Captain went and declared you a pony of interest, so all I had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity. Just imagine how The Purest Ones will reward me once I bring your head to them on a pike, they’ll probably even let me take a seat at their inner table.”
“They’re nothing but a bunch of fascist terrorists! Hell bent on committing regicide and mass genocide! How could you even think of throwing in with bastards like them?!”
WHACK! SMACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Blow after blow, Rain kept striking me in my face and chest, leaving me even more bloody and battered than I ever was before.
“You think I give a shit about the bucking kingdom? All I care about is being on the winning side and being set for life. I don’t even give a shit what that organization does to Equestria, this and they can all go to Tartarus for all I care.”
“You…sick…fucking…prick…”
“Yeah well it doesn’t really matter now, does it? Blueblood’s dead, their plan as been set back, and it’s all your fault…or is it?”
I didn’t answer as Rain grinds his hoof into my open wound in my leg, making me grunt.
“When I first met you, I thought you were the most weak as shit creature I’ve ever met. You looked like you wouldn’t hurt a fly, and you spoke so carefree and innocently. Then all of a sudden you make a complete 180 turn and go and kill somepony? I may be a grunt to most ponies, but I ain’t that simple. There’s no way that Blueblood, a member of royalty and a unicorn for that matter, could’ve possibly been offed by a little shit like you. Which can only mean you weren’t alone that night, and you didn’t actually kill Blueblood. So that begs the question, who actually killed the Prince?”
I glared defiantly at Rain through the blood seeping into my eye and spat at his hoof, making him glare at me. He then raised his hoof and started stomping on my chest, knocking the wind out of me before I had a chance to catch my breath.
“All I wanted to know was the truth, but you went and made it difficult. And since I don’t really wanna waste anymore of my time, I’ll just get right to business.”
Through my fading vision, I watched as Rain leaned down and grabbed the back of my head and forced it to look upwards as he pressed the blade of the knife against my neck.
“When you see Blueblood down in Tartarus, tell him I really hated working for him the whole time before he died.”
As Rain pressed the blade more into my neck, I closed my eyes as my body began to feel numb. I lost a lot of blood, my chest hurts from the many ribs he cracked and broke, my knee is shattered, and I’m about to die alone in this cell. My life started to flash before my eyes, how I wouldn’t be able to return home to my family, my friends, my life. All of it was slipping away, yet I was so close to living that life again. As I started to lose consciousness, I felt the knife being pulled away from my neck and a loud crashing sound. I couldn’t see clearly as my eyes began to shut, but I saw many figures quickly approach me and try to tell me something but I couldn’t hear them. I guess this was my end, but at least…I managed to do some good. Even if it was all a wasted effort.
What…a bittersweet…end…
Author's Note
Could this be it…?
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
Journal Entry 6 of Imprisonment
Chapter 6
They say when someone experiences near death, they change both mentally and emotionally. The whole notion of the fear of death is not as prominent as it once was to those who have either knocked on Death’s door or have actually died and somehow came back to life. People always fear the day when their last breath is drawn. No one wants to die, yet sometimes it’s just what happens, either from natural causes or from unexpected circumstances. I guess that’s why people call life the beautiful lie and death the ugly truth: because people are always in denial of their apparent death approaching and want to always live as long as possible.
As my mind and body started to wake up, I noticed something different about where I was. I felt as if I was lying down on something, but it wasn’t the flat mattress in my cell I was all too familiar with. Instead it was much softer and surprisingly more comfortable. Not only that, my head felt like it was laying on an actual pillow, even though I wasn’t provided one. My eyelids felt like they were glued shut and every time I tried to open them, they’d stay stuck together. Thankfully, my arms were quick to regain their ability to move as I slowly raised my left hand up to my eyes. As I gently rubbed them, I could feel the crust on my eyes which meant I was probably unconscious for who knows how long. Once I brushed away the last of the crust, my eyes finally opened slowly, only to be met with the stinging light of the abnormally bright room.
As my vision was adjusting to my new surroundings, my hearing took the opportunity to make itself known. The faint beeping of a heart monitor was heard to my left and was getting louder by each passing moment. I tried to move my legs, but to no avail. After waiting a few more minutes for my vision to adjust, I saw that I was in fact no longer in my cell. I was in an all white room and was laying in an actual bed instead of the flat rug that was my usual bed in my cell. I glanced to my right and saw that it was day time and it wasn’t the barred window but a normal window. There was a door off to the side and a few chairs here and there. When I glanced down to look at my body, I saw that I wasn’t wearing my clothes but a typical hospital gown. I lifted the blanket up and looked under the gown to see my stomach area had a large bandage over it. Not only that, my leg was wrapped up in some sort of cast and even had a bunch of stuff drawn on it. There were little messages that said stuff like, “Get well soon,” or, “Thank you!” and even, “Sleep well, hero.” All of these little message confused me because I’m supposed to be public enemy number one, right?
I’m brought out of my thoughts when the door opens and in walks a nurse mare. Her fur is light green and her mane is beige brown and tied up in a bun. Her eyes are normal brown and she held a clipboard in her hand as she walked over to me. When she glances up to look at me, our eyes meet for a brief moment and she goes back to reading her clipboard. A minute goes by and she pauses from her reading and looks at me again and goes wide eyed when our eyes meet again.
“You’re…awake?”
I blink and slowly nod my head.
“You’re awake! Please wait a moment, I’ll be right back!”
And with that, she places the clipboard on the desk beside me and scurries out of the room and I’m once again alone.
Did she seem…happy when she saw me? Just what is going on here? I’m supposed to be hated by pretty much everyone, right?
I try to guess how long I must’ve been out. Judging by how crusty my eyes were, how numb my body was, and the fact that I’m now in some kind of hospital room instead of my cell could only mean I’ve been out for quite a while. But one thing perplexed me, what’s with the heartfelt messages on my cast and why did the nurse look happy when she saw me? Nothing really made any sense and I almost thought that I was still asleep, only for the sound of frantic hoofsteps to be heard outside the door and the door to swing open.
Shining Armor and Princess Luna, both out of breath from running, met their eyes with mine and smiled brightly at me.
“Oh thank the moon and stars, you’re alive!” Luna said.
“Sweet Celestia, I thought you’d never wake up!” Shining said.
I was about to talk but my throat was so dry that only a strained grunt escaped my lips.
“Oh right, here you go.” Shining said as he walked over a desk and poured me a cup of water and walks to me to hand it to me. I grab the cup and guzzle the whole thing down while also miraculously not spilling a drop. I reach the cup out to him for another and he obliged by pouring me another, to which I guzzle it down again.
“sigh …Thanks.” I said, my voice still sounding raspy.
“No problem.”
I try to sit myself up more but I wince from the slight pain.
“You shouldn’t strain yourself, your leg and stab wound still need more time to heal.” Luna inquired.
“How…long?”
“How long? Oh, you mean how long you were asleep. Well…you’ve been out for about a month.”
My eyes widened in disbelief, a month? A fucking month?!
“How…is that…possible?”
Luna and Shining looked at each other and frowned, which only made me more worried.
“That night, when you were attacked, I was wondering why you had not fallen asleep yet since I could not locate your dream in the dream realm.” Luna said. “Against my better judgment, I had no choice but to visit you in pony despite the risk of being discovered. But when I neared the dungeons, I discovered the slain guards and feared the worst. I still thank the moon and stars to this day I was able to arrive at your cell in time before that traitor stallion finished you off. I dispatched him with a blast of magic, which rendered him unconscious, and then my eyes fell on you. I tried to desperately stop the bleeding from your stab wound but you had already lost so much blood. I feared if I moved you it would worsen the injury so I teleported you to the medical wing of the castle. I declared a royal decree that you be saved and the ponies immediately got to treating you. It was then that…my sister arrived to confront me.”
Oh no, I already don’t like where this is going.
“I soon arrived at the medical wing after all the commotion and heard about all that had happened by one of the medical ponies.” Shining said. “Not only that, when I saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna there, I was at a loss on what to do. Princess Celestia then sat us down in one of the staff rooms and demanded to know what happened and why Princess Luna and I were being so secretive and defiant.”
“You…told her…didn’t you?”
They both nodded reluctantly making my breath hitch a bit.
“We told her everything, from the night you took the blame to all the way to the night you were attacked. Everything you did and said, why you did and said it, we had no other choice but to tell the truth. When we finished our tale, Celestia was at a loss for words. She then asked to bring the traitor thestral to her and Sir Shining sent for him. When the traitor was brought forth, Celestia wasted no time but to use a memory spell and even a truth spell. The traitor then confirmed everything Blueblood had conspired with that organization, and even revealed the ponies’ names who were apparent spies within the nobility, the staff, and even revealed the locations of their hideouts.”
“Turns out Rain Claw accompanied Blueblood whenever he was called for secret meetings in the night.” Shining added.
“Even so, this news did not bold well for my sister.” Luna said sadly.
“What…happened?”
“Everything that has happened to you; the starvation, the beatings, the neglect, and physical and verbal abuse you endured seemed to come crashing down on Celestia. I even explained why you did what you did, but that seemed to have only worsened her mood.”
“After Rain Claw was sent away to life imprisonment, Celestia simply said to look after you until you woke up.” Shining said. “She’s locked herself in her chambers ever since.”
“I have tried to console with my sister, but she refuses to leave or even speak. The only time I would ever see her is when we rise and lower the sun and moon.”
“I guess, ahem …I guess hearing the whole truth must’ve shocked her.”
“More than that, it devastated her.” Luna said. “Hearing what Blueblood was up to, that you weren’t guilty of the crime, and how you took the fall without even needing to has caused my sister to fall in a depressed state. I now worry for her mental health, for that matter her physical health, since she has not left her chambers in so long. Meanwhile, I had to step in her place to look after ruling Equestria. I had the nobility who were working as spies, along with any of the staff members, rounded up and sent immediately to the dungeons. When ponies asked why I would do such a thing, Sir Shining and I revealed to everypony what we told Celestia.”
“So everyone knows now?”
“Yes, and thanks to the information we got from Rain Claw and the other spies, I’ve had my soldiers scour the city for their hideouts. During our hunt, we discovered these ponies have been around for quite some time and have been biding their time. Blueblood was supposed to speed their plans up but I guess, thanks to you, they were never able to. Not only that, but I’ve had everypony stationed throughout Equestria to investigate the area’s Rain Claw and the spies told us about any locations we discovered in the hideouts we raided. I’m confident to say that we have The Purest Ones on the run. It will take time to round them all up, but I don’t think they’ll be causing any trouble soon.” Shining explained.
“Guess that explains the stuff on my cast.”
“Indeed, everypony is calling you a selfless hero. They say you risked so much for the sake of others and endured it all despite all the allegations towards you.” Luna said with a smile.
“I wouldn’t call myself a hero, I still did something very stupid that shouldn’t have even happened in the first place. If I had just fessed up instead of keeping things to myself, I wouldn’t be here with my leg hitched up and a gut wound.”
“Be that as it may, you will be pleased to know that all charges against you have been dropped. As of now, you are a free human and respected by many.” Luna said.
Well I’ll be damned, it’s about time this happened. I almost believed I would spend the rest of my life in that cell. The Purest Ones are in the run, I’m no longer a wanted pariah to the public, and I’ll soon get to smell fresh air after all those months of confinement. I would be happy about all this, but there was one thing I had to do first.
“I…want to speak with Celestia.”
Luna and Shining look at each other, and back to me with worried expressions.
“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Shining asks.
“She’s tearing herself up for something I did. I won’t be satisfied with my freedom until I give her the closure she needs.”
“But you didn’t do anything.”
“Not the crime, but the unjust blame I took for no reason. You both remember what was said and done to me, she even did and said those things herself. If I leave it all as is, she’ll continue to besmirch herself and fall deeper into depression. She needs to know that I hold no ill will against her so she can move on.”
“Do believe your words will reach her?” Luna asks.
“They have to, it’s the only way.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Luna nods and leaves the room to try and get Celestia to come to my room.
“It’s been a crazy last few months, hasn’t it?” Shining said.
“In more ways than one, but it’s not over yet. If you don’t mind, I need the room for my conversation with Celestia.”
“Sure, I’ll be around if you need me.” Shining said as he left the room.
Some time later, I was properly sitting up straight after some help from the doctors and with the use of some healing magic here and there on my body, they were able to remove the bandages and stitches from my stomach. Now I’ve got a pretty badass looking scar which would be a pretty cool story to tell if anyone asked. To my surprise, many different ponies came in to visit me while I recovered and even some nobles came to pay respects. I was even visited by some of the guards who beat me up most of the time and they offered to let me take a swing at them to get even but I turned them down and told them it was water under the bridge. All the while, I patiently waited for Celestia to visit me so that we could properly talk to one another.
It was late in the afternoon and the sun’s rays were shining in through the window and I was getting my checkup from the doctor. There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal the sun Princess herself. Despite her usual regal appearance, her face was riddled with emotions. Her eyes had bags and were bloodshot, probably from crying, her mane was flowing as usual but not wasn’t as flashy and magical, and her dress looked a tad raged. I could only imagine what she looked liked underneath all this, she must’ve just scraped this look together to look somewhat presentable to the public. I nodded to the doctor and he nodded back and bowed to the Princess before leaving the room. There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of us until I cleared my throat.
“Would you like to sit down?”
Celestia looks away for a moment but nods slowly as she walks over and takes a seat beside my bed.
“You look good.”
“Oh, thank you but…I must look like a mess.”
“Nah, I don’t mind. I’m glad you came.”
“You’re glad? Why would you be glad to see me of all ponies?”
“It wasn’t your fault, you know. I’m the one who misled you for so long.”
“And yet I still did and said those terrible and downright cruel things to you. I’m the Princess of Equestria and I let my emotions spiral out of control which made me lash out to at you. I’m such a terrible pony…” Celestia said as her tears returned.
“Princess…”
“And what’s worse is that my own nephew was plotting against me and everypony else. I did my best to raise that colt but in the end it seems he was too far gone. He tried to kill you, my sister tried to stop him, and it costed him his life. So much bad has happened so fast and I was completely oblivious to it. You risked so much for the sake of me, my sister, and this kingdom even though you aren’t originally from here and asked for nothing in return.”
“And yet here I am, nearly dying for something that could’ve easily been avoided had I told the truth.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know, I guess I was under some foolish notion that if the truth had been brought to light, Luna would be harshly blamed even though she already had a bit of a rep and you’d blame her for his death because of her hatred towards him. Though that all just seems like a bad excuse since you’d never do anything to your sister for the life of you.”
Celestia looks away and frowns.
“You almost died.”
“But I survived.”
“I said those deplorable things to you.”
“Sticks and stones.”
“I…harmed you by my own hand.”
“Well to be fair, I did provoke you.”
“How can you be so nonchalant about this?!” Celestia demands. “Why don’t you say something back to me?! Call me a terrible ruler! Insult me! Tell me I’m the worst being you have ever met! Better yet, why don’t you get even with me and strike me down yourself!”
“Why would I hit you?”
“BECAUSE IT IS WHAT I DESERVE!” Celestia cried as she buried her face in her hands. “I tried my best, I really did, but in the end there are those who think I am unworthy of the throne an have turned to forming a cult to overthrow my sister and I so that they may take over. Have I allowed this kingdom to fall so low that my own subjects would turn against me?! Not only that, but my own blood?! Did Blueblood hate me so much he’d give my sister and I up like that?! I even went as far to harm somepony who was supposed to be my friend! I…I’m a disgrace! A horrible, horrible disgrace of a pony and Princess!”
I could only frown at the weeping princess before me. I knew this would happen, but I didn’t expect it to be taken so personally. All this drama, this violence, and the tears that are being shed were all kinda my fault. Celestia is a total mess and I wanted to console her, though there was only one thing I could say.
“I forgive you.”
Celestia looks up to me with tears still streaming down her muzzle.
“…What?”
“I forgive you.” I repeat.
“But I-”
I reach over and grab her arm and pull her into a hug, making her gasp.
“I forgive you, and I’m sorry.”
Celestia whimpers a little and wraps her arms around my torso and balls her eyes out. Her cries could be heard throughout the whole med wing but I didn’t care and neither did she. I just kept holding her close as she cried and rubbed her back. It was over…it was all finally over, yet it all still was bittersweet…
Author's Note
Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.
Next chapter, the end.
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
Chapter 7
My time in this world, if I’m being honest, was not a pleasant one despite the bittersweet ending. Things got more out of hand than I care to admit and sometimes punch myself in the gut for not handling the situation better. My time in prison will always stay with me for as long as I live, a hard life lesson indeed. Celestia was still a little depressed even though I forgave her, the torture she put me through is a mistake she’ll most likely carry with her for the rest of her life. She still puts on a warm smile for her subjects, but deep down her guilt has taken a heaven toll.
Luna is also a bit stricken with guilt after the whole situation was over and done with. Now that I’m free, we’ve spent more time together as good friends but I notice she still feels responsible for Blueblood’s death. Luna even offered me to walk with her city, which was a much needed thing to do and let me tell you, I’ve never felt more alive when I took my first breath of fresh air from the outside world. True to her word, Luna had brought in some of the best engineers and inventors from across Equestria in order to create the first game system. It amused me how passionate she was for wanting something she enjoyed immensely in my dreams. I tried to warn her not to get addicted if they were able to make a game system, but she just brushed it off saying she won’t get addicted. Judging by how she was playing in my dreams, I doubt that very much.
Shining Armor and I have been hanging out a lot as well, he even invited me to go out drinking with him but I said I’d go along for the company since I wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with. To this day, he still gives me hard time how stupid I was for thanking the fall even though there was no reason to do so in the first place. Even the other guards were teasing me about it and started calling me selfless hero as a means to mock me since they saw it written on my cast. Shining even told me that if I had stayed a little longer he’d be happy to appoint me as a fellow guardsman under his command. I told him I wasn’t much of a soldier type to begin with so I would’ve turned him down anyway.
Speaking of, it’s been a little over two months since I was released from prison and my body has made a full recovery. Gotta hand it to that healing magic stuff, it’d work wonders for modern medicine back in my world. I no longer have a cast covering my leg and it doesn’t hurt anymore whenever I walk on it. It’s a good thing I was able to heal so quickly, not sure how I would explain how I broke my leg and it healed completely so fast when I return.
…
That’s right…my world, I completely forgot. It feels like I’ve been gone from my world for years yet it’s only been a span of months. When I talked to Celestia about it, she said she and Luna have been working on sending me back via portal and with the power of these things called the Elements of Harmony. She also said she’d send me back on the night of this event called the Grand Galloping Gala which was in a few days. I was both happy and anxious to be able to go back home. Were my family and friends still looking for me? After all this time of me being gone, would they think I’m dead? The last time I ever spoke to anyone was when I told them I was going out for a fishing trip. I just hope I can return home and be with everyone again.
Another good surprise while staying in Canterlot is I was visited by those six mares I met when I first arrived in this world. They were all happy to see me and were glad I was ok. Pinkie Pie, the pink mare, gave me a big hug and said she knew all along I’d never do something so bad as to take a life. The others were all equally glad I was proven innocent and the white mare, Rarity I think her name was, was still in slight disbelief of what she heard about Blueblood. Guess she had a bit of a thing for him, which was a little unexpected since I didn’t think anyone would see him in that way. We had all spent the whole day together and they were all a bit saddened that I was to return home in a few days at the gala. Pinkie Pie was especially sad because she never got to throw me a welcome party but I reassured her it was fine if she didn’t. The colorful haired mare, Rainbow Dash was her name, kept boasting to me how much 20% cooler I was for being able to put up with the torture and beatings. I tried to tell her it was nothing to boast about since I was to blame for my own imprisonment but she brushed it off by saying I was being modest. The country mare, Applejack, told me she too didn’t believe I would be as bad a human as she was told. She still remembers the day she caught me stealing apples from her stand and admired how honest I was when I apologized to her. The timid mare, Fluttershy, told me she had always worried about me in prison and wished she could’ve visited me. Like Pinkie and Applejack, she did not believe I was capable of taking a life and was happy I was doing well. Twilight, the librarian, wished I could’ve stayed just a little longer so she could learn more about humans but I told her there wasn’t really anything interesting about us to take note about. All in all, things were looking up and in a few days, I would be sent back home.
A Few Days Later
I was standing in my old guest room, dressed in the clothes I first wore upon arrival. They were cleaned and tailored to look brand new, courtesy of Celestia. I walked over to the bathroom to slash water on my face and gazed at myself in the mirror. When I first left prison, I let my hair and face grow out considerably long. I had a bit of a beard all over my chin and neck and my hair had grown out almost to my shoulders. It was as if I was staring at a stranger who hadn’t even heard of what a barber shop was. But thanks to a trip to the actual barber, I received the cleanup I deserved. My dirty blonde hair was short and styled neatly, my pale white skin in my face and neck was smooth to the touch after a close shave, and my forest green eyes had a bit more life in them as I smiled at my own reflection. There was a knock at the door, signaling it was time, so I exited the bathroom and walked over to the door. When I opened it, Shining was there, dressed in his armor, to greet me with a smile and a handshake.
“Hey there, you ready to go?”
“Just about, so this is it huh?”
“Guess it is, hard to believe this’ll be the last time we see each other.”
I nod and rep out the door and glance one last time at my guest room before closing the door.
“You know, it’s a shame you’re leaving tonight and can’t stay just a little longer.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Cause I’ve got some good news.” Shining said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a very beautiful Diamond ring. “I was planning to propose to my marefriend next month and was hoping you would attend.”
“Woah, seriously? Well congrats man, I hope the wedding goes well for you and your bride-to-be.” I said.
“Thanks.” He said s he tucked the box back in his pocket.
“So who’s the lucky mare?”
“Somepony who used to foalsit for my little sister back when she was a filly. Another regret is not being able to introduce you to her, I’m sure you two would’ve gotten along just great.”
“I don’t doubt it, but it is what it is.”
“Agreed. You know, you could always stay just a little longer. I’m sure everypony would still like to have a chance to get to know you better.”
“That’s kind of you to offer, but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to decline. I still have a life to live with family and friends who are probably worried to death about me. I’ve been gone a long time and I don’t want to keep them waiting any longer than they already have.”
“Fair enough, you have your life to live and so does everypony else.”
“It’s a shame, you know, I was hoping to try and milk the whole hero thing and try to get free stuff or something.” I tease.
“Oh, you wouldn’t dare.” Shining chuckled.
“Wouldn’t I?” I shot back, earning a playful punch to the arm.
We both laugh as we near the entrance to the ballroom where the gala was being held. The guards at the doors salute us both and open them for us. We were then greeted by a huge crowd of ponies and the calming classical music from the band. Celestia, Luna, and the six mares were all waiting for me as they stood in the center of the crowd. Each of the six mares were dressed in their own pretty dresses and had on these special looking necklaces, each one with a certain symbol, excluding Twilight’s since she had on a crown. Shining bowed to the Princesses and stepped back, leaving me by myself as Celestia cleared her throat.
“Mares and gentlestallions, I welcome you all to another night of the Grand Galloping Gala.” Celestia said, earning a round of applause.
“I would like to begin tonight’s event with a warm send off to our human guest here. Though the circumstances were drastic and his methods were unorthodox, his efforts proved to be very beneficial for our kingdom against those who wished to do us all harm. And I confess, that I too played a part in his unfortunate experience during his confinement, but his heart did not deter and he was able to grant me his forgiveness. For which I am eternally grateful for and hope I can one day accept it. But for now, it is time to bid our guest farewell.”
Celestia nods to the six mares and they all gather around in front of me. Twilight closes her eyes, along with the others and they all begin to glow. The Elements they have on shine brightly and from behind them, the Princesses’s horns glow as well. I could actually feel the immense amount of magic being displayed felt a little overwhelmed as the light began to shine brighter and brighter. Then, all at once, a bright beam of rainbow light shot upwards and came down right in front of me. A swirling rainbow portal hovered just before me as the light from the six mares and Princesses died down and they walked around to stand beside me.
“So…this is it.”
“Indeed.” Luna said. “This portal shall send you back to your home world. And do not fret, we made sure not to send you back in the middle of the body of water you described when you first arrived. If our calculations are correct, you should arrive just at the coast.”
“Well that’s a relief-oof!”
Something jumped up from behind me and a pair of pink arms wrapped around and squeezed me tight.
“I’m sure gonna miss you!”
“Heh, yeah, me too Pinkie.” I said as I turned around and returned the embrace. The others followed suit and each said their farewells until it was the Princesses and Shining.
“You take care now, you hear?” Shining said as he gave me one last bro hug. “Don’t go taking the blame anymore from now on, or I’ll come to your world and kick the crap out of you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t do something stupid like that anymore.”
Shining chuckled and stepped back as Luna stepped forward as tears formed in her eyes.
“Words cannot describe how thankful I am for all you have done.”
“Eh, I didn’t really do much if you think about it.” I shrug.
“Be that as it may, I am still thankful to you.” Luna said as she embraced me in a hug. “I shall never forget you, my friend.”
“Me either Luna, it’s been my pleasure. Make sure you brush up on your gaming skills once that system gets built, ok?”
“I shall be the best gamer in all the land!” She boasts, making me laugh.
As Luna stepped back, Celestia was frowning and looking away. I smiled at her as I stepped towards her and gently grasped her hand.
“I gotta say, it’s been quite an experience.”
“I know, and I’m so sor-”
“Hey now.” I said as I pulled her in for a hug. “No more apologies. If I can forgive you, then you can forgive yourself.”
“But am I even worthy of forgiveness?”
“Yes, cause I know you are, so no more beating yourself up, ok?”
Celestia sniffles and nods as I pull away and smile at her. I sigh and turn towards the portal and step towards it. I take one last look over my shoulder and the group all wave goodbye to me and I return it with a wave of my own and a warm smile. With that, I face the portal and step through, back to the world I was born in.
I sighed as I put my pen down and flipped through the pages of my journal. I then start to think about all that happened in Equestria and contemplate if all that had happened was real or not. When I arrived back in my world, I was back at the beach where I left with my boat. As expected, when people heard and saw I was back, there was a huge uproar at my return. I ended up on the news, getting interviewed, and my family and friends were all extremely happy I was alive and well. When people asked me where I was and how I was still alive, I couldn’t bring myself to tell them where I was since it was highly unlikely they’d believe me. I simply told them that I had no recollection of my disappearance and it felt like I was only gone for a few days. Miraculously, they all believed me and after a month of publicity I was back to my old life.
I often think about what’s been happening in Equestria since I left. Hard to believe it’s been two whole years since I disappeared for my world and I still remember all that had happened. I still have the scar on my stomach from when Rain Claw stabbed me which was more than enough proof that my time in Equestria was real as can be. Guess all there is to do now is live my life as usual.
“Walter! Walter Morgan, come down now! We’re going to be late!”
“I’m coming mom!” I call out.
I sit up from my chair and grab my jacket and wallet. Before I left my room, I glanced over at my journal before leaving the room.
“Hope you’re all doing well, everyone.” I said as I ran down the stairs with a smile.
I made it to the bottom of the stairs where my mom and dad were waiting for me.
“What took you so long, son?” Dad asks.
“Oh, just reminiscing about something.”
Author's Note
And so ends my first official story! Wow, I did NOT expect this to be so popular. Thank you all so much for reading this short tale! Maybe I’ll write another short story in the future.
Thanks again!
~WurkyWilk has left the building…
The Crimes of The Condemned
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