The Carnival of the Damned

"Well, this is great...just great...dammit..." Ryn gave a huff of annoyance as he glanced to the iron shackles firmly securing his hooves to the stone wall behind him. In his mind's eye, he could clearly hear Zecora's berating voice as he had watched her brew a potion within the interior of the small hut in the Everfree.

...

"Heed my words, Kuromaru. Else this potion backfire on you. Try to focus in your mind, to see the one you wish to find. If for an instant your thoughts wander, I can guarantee your safety no longer."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just hurry up already. This is important. I have to find her, and fast before anything else goes wrong." The zebra rolled her eyes at the other's tone, blowing a puff of air over the cauldron to shift the glow of it's contents from a deep blue to a bright, glaring red. She stirred this a few times before tossing a rose petal into the mixture. The petal caused ripples to dance across the surface before the concoction settled, clearing until Ryn could see a mirrored version of the hut reflected back at him.

"So that's it, huh? What do I do then? Drink it?" He wrinkled his snout with disgust at the thought, stepping back as Zecora shook her head.

"To drink this would be in bad taste, and all hard work would go to waste. You must enter headfirst here, if elsewhere you  wish to appear." The pegasus frowned, a slight hesitation lingering with what he had hoped to accomplish. He had first reached the small hut on pure adrenaline alone, and Zecora had opened the door readily. The look plastered upon his features must have been enough to raise her concerns as well, for after a quick explanation, she instantly began work.

Ryn peered at his reflection in the cauldron once more before reaching to his shoulder bag and tossing a few bits onto a nearby table. "Here. I'll give you more later if this doesn't cover it." Zecora raised an eyebrow at the coins, shaking her head as she nudged them back to him.

"Miss Rose is also friend of mine, yet she isn't the same since that last time. The journey before you may be rough, but bring her back, that's payment enough." Ryn smirked, giving a final nod as he leaped for the cauldron. The liquid rose up to swirl about him in a barrage of color before all went black.

...

A deafening crash, and an ear splitting screech.

"KYAAA! Intruder!" Ryn shook the numbing darkness from his head, looking up to see a jumble of pots and pans. Clearly, a kitchen. Ahead of him was a pink mare, slight, with twin pigtails perched above her ears. She was cowering on the far side of the room, as far away from him as the small space could afford. Ryn tried standing, his hooves shaking in the effort. He failed, the scattered kitchen utensils tripping him further.

"Help! Somepony!" The sound of hooves echoed from the other side of the doors as uniformed guards entered, flanking him on either side and dragging him up to his hooves. Others entered the scene of the commotion as well. A white unicorn looked quite puzzled as he beheld the captured pegasus, pondering the means of his appearance. A ruddy pegasus followed him, cringing at the noise.

"For Luna's sake, Licorice! You'd think somepony was being slaughtered in here." The mare bolted behind the other two, peeking out at Ryn as he continued to struggle against the grasp of the guards.

"Get your hooves off of me!" He thrashed about as they scrambled to better restrain him.

"Ooh! He sure is a feisty one, isn't he?" The other pegasus in the room laughed as the unicorn shook his head.

"Antagonizing him isn't wise, Malphas." He sighed, turning to Ryn. "Sir, please calm yourself. You have trespassed onto the grounds of the Rosencroix Kingdom. Any further action taken by you in this vein will only cause more trouble. Now, if you would please tell us who you are, we can sort this out without other problems."

Ryn glared up at the others in the room. "If you don't let me go this instant, I'll rip out your damn throats!" Licorice let out a small squeak of fear, darting behind the others once more as the one known as Malphas winced, bringing a hoof up to reassure that his throat was still where it should be. The unicorn sighed, beginning to try again as the door opened to reveal Luferius and Ancient Blood. The latter assessed the situation calmly, his eyes widening at the sight of Ryn.

"You... I know you. You were there at that time. The gala, and Nicolae's return. Who are you? What are you doing in my home?"

The pegasus scoffed as the guards kept firm hold. "Don't ask me. I never wanted to be here in the first place. If anypony, blame Zecora. Wrong teleportation spell or something." The answer did not satisfy Ancient Blood, and he glared down at the other.

"Who are you? State your name."

"Ryn."

Blood frowned. "Ryn? Not much of a name. Very well then, 'Ryn'. Teleportation spell or not, you seem to have found yourself in my land. Normally, I would not hesitate to remove you from my home, however you have been here twice now in the wake of unfortunate circumstances. You will pardon that I find this unusual at best. Now, tell the truth. Why are you here? Why have you returned?" His eyes watched Ryn carefully for a response, as did the eyes of all the others in the room. The pegasus struggled a bit more with the guards, glaring up at the others silently.

"The Lord asked you a question. You will respond, you ungrateful whelp!" Luferius growled, stepping forward as Ryn sneered.

"Bite me."

The captain scowled. "Don't tempt me..."

"Luferius, that's enough. It's clear that the prisoner will not cooperate. Take him to the dungeon. Perhaps a few hours there will loosen his tongue." Blood gestured for the others to leave the room, stepping out as they did so. Only Luferius lingered behind with the other guards as Ryn struggled, stepping forward to leer in his face.

"If not, I will gladly remove it." He nodded to the guard on the left, a sharp pain burning through Ryn's skull as the scene blurred before his eyes.

....

Once again, he tested the shackles that secured him, inwardly cursing this delay. He could already feel a deep contempt for the captain of the guards, the shackles having been set so tight as to dig into the flesh at each movement. Ryn glared at the chains. "What will go wrong next?"

The latch to the main door clicked,  Luferius opening it to allow Ancient Blood to enter before following him down into the darkened cell.

"I had to ask..."

...