The Unwanted One

“Greetings, Nightmare.” Shining, as always, was straightened, clam and gloom. “You’ve finally decided to drop your boring Cadence and try to get my attention?” I don’t know, but this dull expression on his face was almost irritating. I wanted to either make him laugh with my trolling, or just drive him mad… “No.” Damn, soldier, you can’t do like this!.. “Well, what do you, then, so boring, want from an unwanted pony in this palace?” “And unwanted soul in this world.” I added to myself in thought and sighed quietly cringing. Yeah… I didn’t really think so, but… Being behind bars was killing off any sprouts of good cheer in the most reliable way. And it was only the third day of my incarceration, what would happen to me in a week — it’s scary to think about… “Aqua asked me to give you some medicine, she’s very busy today.” The unicorn took three vials from his bag and put them on the table between the rods of the bars. “And something more. Correction of treatment and new recommendations.” He held out a sheet of paper to me. What? Which correction, why would?.. Barely reading the letters, I shut my mouth and hurried to shut up before I said something wrong. Aqua Spectrum has begun to write interesting “doctor’s prescriptions”… What am I going to do with it after reading? I thoughtfully looked around the cell, my eyes quickly stopped on the bathroom. John will help. My peripheral vision noticed that Shining, having followed the direction of my gaze, nodded approvingly. “Thanks, Lieutenant.” Putting the sheet with text facing the table, I thanked Shining by a nod. “Sorry for acridity if you need it.” “I am as well, Nightmare. Goodbye.” Slowing, he nodded and said goodbyes, heading to the exit. For what, though?.. Nah, doesn’t matter anyway. At least someone else is here on my side, and that’s nice. I became a little embarrassed about my jokes, damn… Following the unicorn with a gaze, I got the “recipe” from the table and limped to the bed with three legs. I sat down and tried to pick up the edge of the sheet with my hoofkenesis at least somehow. I dropped it. Cursed a little. Got up to take it from the floor, sat down again. Damn it! Yeah, hoofkenesis is a powerful thing, sometimes it can even teach a thing or two to fingers. I once saw an earthpony at a typewriter… If you learn and practice, you’ll have the hooves to do anything. But when you’ve been using telekinesis all your pony life… I’m gonna get out of here and buy myself a ring for my horn in a sex shop and practice it for a month! Without the horn, it’s like having no… hands, yeah. With some difficulty, I finally got the damn sheet of paper together and was able to read the contents properly. The letter, written in Cadence’s familiar handwriting, was definitely the best news I’ve heard in three endless days. Our amorous alicorn, having had several conversations with “Tia” over the days, was full of suspicion. She believed that I would not have done what she accused me of — that by threats and constant pressure on her sense of duty and guilt I had forced Luna to agree to a ritual that sucked her dry to regain my power, hoping to get rid of her, get rid of Tia, and finally take over Equestria. And Cadence even believed it at first, but after thinking and watching and listening, she somehow came to the conclusion that something was very wrong, which meant that Luna and I had failed, and that her aunt was now acting under the influence of nightmares and paranoia, unaware of what she was doing, and would surely regret it bitterly later. Anyway, to cut to the chase, Cadence, fearing for the possible actions of a ruler under influence against me, was preparing my escape. As I understand it, she successfully recruited Shining, too, though he didn’t seem eager to help me at all… This is why he looked at me like a wolf — he surely knows the charges I’m accused of. All right, I’m satisfied with him helping me. I hope they’re serious enough that the guard doesn’t get doubts and suddenly go backwards. According to the plan outlined, I was to wait for help in the early morning before sunrise, though there were doubts that it would work: a plan B was also mentioned for breakfast and afterwards. For this plan there was an antidote in a vial with a deliberately crooked label… I hope it wouldn’t come in handy. In the meantime, by and large, I had only to wait — and that wait was as unbearable as it was joyful. It looks like I’ll be crying into Cadence’s shoulder in the morning for not leaving me behind… “Miss?” I shuddered at the resounding thud on the bars very close by. “Are you alright? You’ve been looking at this recipe for about fifteen minutes — only your eyes are moving frantically…” I instantly felt a lump in my throat, and turned sharply towards the unicorn guard who seemed to be trying to peek at the sheet in my hooves. Good thing the angle was infinitely disadvantageous — the sheet was sideways to him, and there was a blank wall behind me. “Everything’s good, just musing.” I panted, forcing my voice to sound plain. “I think what it will look like?” “What?” The stallion asked reflexively. “My death. I hope it will be spectacular enough and, for sure, widely publicized! My name will be remembered! The whole of Equestria will be talking about me!” “Y-yes, of c-course…” The guardsman flinched at my exalted, breathy voice, and backed away. “I… I won’t disturb you…” Yeah-yeah, go away, curious monster… I followed him with a gaze and sighed quietly. Man, I wish I wouldn’t get myself in trouble with this rant… Look at his colleagues, at their exchanging of gazes… I grabbed the paper securely with my hoofkenesis and scratched my left wing, invisible to the guard, as if in thought, and tried to hide the paper under it, pretending to put something in an urn. The trash can appeared at my very next breakfast after the bottle was thrown out — a miscalculation quickly realized… I got up and walked towards the bathroom. My heart was pounding, and I had the feeling that everyone had noticed, understood, and was glaring at me. It was hard not to turn around. When I found myself in the cramped closet of the bathroom, I cursed quietly — almost dropped it! — I pulled the letter out from under my wing-it wasn’t sticking out, I hope, because I hadn’t checked!.. Then I torn it into four parts — this was my limit with the hooves — and sent it into the toilet. In a couple of minutes the water rumbled, carrying the soaked paper down the drain. That’s all… I got out of the closet with an independent expression, washed my front legs in the sink, splashed on my muzzle, and stared in the mirror. The look, which seemed somehow dreary even to myself yesterday, burned with anticipation. I frowned and scratched for real. I sighed. When I’m out of here, the first thing I’ll do is shower! These bastards tied me up right after the fight, when they could’ve just wrung me to get rid of the sweat… If I had the old mane, I would have had it in a tangle, but now — it just flies, I’m and it is okay with that. It’s just not cozy to look at her, damn it… Yeah… Nah, when all this bullshit is over — spa, full services! I want to wash away all the dirt and the unhappy events. With Rar, with Pinkie, with Flutty… And I’ll call Cadence in. And Tia, if she’s okay! We’ll relax, gossip like friends… After chuckling merrily at my reflection for the last time and wiping away my mane, I looked at the barred window, through which the sunlight was streaming in past the bars, and dust particles were dancing in it. Tomorrow is gonna be a hard day. All that is left is to endure this one.

***

Sitting behind the table in the semi-darkness of the night, which was dispersed by the slightly dimmed light of the magical lamps at the guard post, I thoughtfully drew letters, numbers, and all kinds of abstract figures on a sheet of paper with a pencil that I had borrowed from the watch commander on the second day of my imprisonment. I can’t get tired of being amazed by my eyes. The lighting is like a night-light in the opposite corner of the room, and I don’t even feel uncomfortable looking at pencil lines on the paper in such scant light… I took it away from the sheet and shook a little, relaxing my tense leg, and peered skeptically at the result. It was as if I was trying to draw a straight line in “Paint” with a pencil or paintbrush tool. I look at this mess now — and I can’t get away from the thought that it’s really easier and better to do it with my mouth, honestly… I put off the pencil, stretched, crunching my back and wings, waved my front legs, restoring the suddenly lost balance, and leaned on the table with a clatter. Oh, damn it!.. I’ve been here too long… This is how you’re tied to the clocks, damn it! The impossibility of knowing the exact time made me want to climb the wall, but, alas, all I could find out about the time in my situation was that it was night and the Sun was not yet up. At first, I couldn’t sleep half the night after I got the news — I kept thinking in my head about what would happen next. I spit at it and got up. Did I sleep at all — I don’t know. The night passed in a kind of fog of half-forgetful-semi-slumber. Now, after a clearly fucked night, I was sitting on pins and needles, waiting to be rescued and killing time by trying to practice hoofkenesis. It was… well, like a kindergartener’s, no better. Damn… In fact, the pony’s hooves, especially those of the earthponies, were quite a tool. Massage ponies did not do worse than people — that’s for sure, I can say it from personal experience. And hoofkenesis was also able to attract many objects, including gluing and ungluing the necessary ones selectively, affect the surface point by point and non-uniformly, act through obstacles, and create vibrations, like Pinkie’s family in the canon, who were crushing rocks with their bare hooves… Even I was able to rotate the pencil in the hoof along its plane — even though shitty — and the tougher ones were able to deflect it significantly away from the plane, which in the long run could fully replace the human hand. The only problem was that even for the earthponies, such a mastery of hooves was rare and required much work and training, but it was even harder for pegasi and, especially, unicorns by nature. And given that the first ones had wings that could in some places replace hooves, and the others had a horn, not many of them bothered with it. The earthponies, too… If they hold on to it, that’s fine, and they live their whole lives drawing with a pencil in their mouths and with spoons with a contact pad on the handle… No, listen, I’ll give myself some more training in living with a ring on the horn, that’s for sure. I don’t think those walls would have held Limestone for more than half an hour… I want to do that too! Just in case. Now I don’t have my horn — and I’m almost incapacitated. Damsel in distress, damn it… I chuckled reflexively. It’s practically a classic of a pony love-adventure novel: languishing in a tower, waiting for a beautiful mare to save me. If I had been a stallion, I would have been waiting for two mares who turned from rivals to inseparable friends over the course of the adventure, and that would’ve been a hundred percent coincidence… But damn it, where’s this pretty Princess, ay?.. I glanced around reflexively, and, once again, unable to find anything that might indicate the current time, I sighed and stared gloomily at the sheet of paper. Sitting, drawing — what else could I do? Closing my eyes, I listened to my heartbeat. Damn. I hope she got this. I don’t want the executioner to come to me before the cavalry arrives!

…

The footsteps sounded outside the front door, causing the overworked, hungry and half-asleep guards to get a wriggle on, and it forced me to leave my bunk, where I was trying to get some sleep, and my heart to beat faster, bringing adrenaline to my body. The breakfast has been delivered. It has been an eternity, damn it! I want to devour as hell! I hope it’s late only because of Cadence’s lauded Plan B, because otherwise I don’t even know… It’s too bad if otherwise. After sitting on pins and needles all morning until sunrise and with a very anxious feeling that the main plan was probably over, I tried to get some sleep before breakfast, comforting myself that it was not yet evening. I just had to wait for plan B. I even got the chance to sleep a bit in snatches, but the lack of any movement became more and more stressful the further it went. The familiar guards — three guys and a girl, including the orange rookie pegasus — were also pretty exhausted, though for a slightly different reason. Awaiting this late breakfast, they never had a shift, and the guardsmen, even tired of trying to call for the karma of heaven on the heads of their colleagues and commanders, which had left them, were just gloomily silent and trying to not fall asleep. They were already given night time, and even earlier than usual, having lengthened the duty by a couple of hours, apparently for the relaxation at the post. And it stretched for another couple of hours… I really hope it’s been done on purpose, with some aims to be met… The unicorn maid with big sad eyes who delivered the food, meanwhile, arranged fresh vegetable stew with potatoes and other delicacies floating and spreading appetizing aroma on the table of the guards. In the same time, she was fending off their questions at the same time. They received a brief response, “A small fire happened in the kitchen,” and immediately forgot about their problems, wondering if anyone was hurt. After exchanging a few more words with the guards and wishing them a pleasant appetite, the maid, with a return of gratitude, came to me, opened the “embrasure"-receiver and, after saying hello and apologizing for the delay, began to carefully move the plates from her cart to my table. “Move your sheet, please… Thank you.” A plate of the same stew fell almost silently in place of the paper I’d picked up. A salad, bread, tea, and some gingerbread took its place next to it. “Have a nice meal. And don’t forget to take your medicine before the food, please.” I stared at the mare dazedly. Why would she… A-a… I think I got it… “Thanks for the care.” I smiled at her, hoping the smile didn’t turn into a smirk of anticipation in the process, and exhaled softly in relief. We’re still rock ‘n’ rollin’… “Goodbye.” The pony smiled a bit, nodded in response and moved back, rattling the empty cart on the joints of stone on the floor, raking from the back of the guardhouse the pile of dirty dishes that has been there since dinner, already washed by one of the guards, who lost to the others in a kind of “rock-paper-scissors”, but it’s played on their ears. The rookie, by the way, was lucky in this group, and during all these couple or so times, that I’ve seen him on the duty, he hasn’t washed the dishes even once… I hummed at the vicissitudes of fate. I followed the unicorn with a gaze, that hid behind the door and was rattling with empty plates on her cart. I looked at the table. Well, I was told that the treatment from the “doctor” was adjusted… If they say “before the food” — it means before the food, right?.. Going to the bookshelf, on which I kept my bottles, I took a bottle with a badly glued label and, taking the cork off, I drank the astringent sour liquid in one go. Here it is… The treatment is over — I can eat. I feel that next time I might not get the chance soon…

…

The stew was a crackerjack. It cracked all the guards, who were already sticking matches in their eyes, and now, fifteen minutes after the meal, they were already asleep the first places they could rest on. The water hummed in the back room as the newcomer, who has finally lost a game — Flash — was washing plates. He was also washing mine: I ignored the guards' hints that I had a sink in here, too. You’ve got nothing to do here, and I’m… Thinking here, by the way! And besides, you have horns, wings and hooves that don’t all grow out of your croup, unlike… After listening to the steady hum of the water for a minute, I stretched my neck, trying to peek into the back room. Did he pass out in there, or what?.. As if in tune with my thoughts, a silence fell, but no one came out of the back room. He was probably just lounging around on some shabby couch, or whatever it was. Aren’t you ashamed, Flash? The colleagues are forced to overcome: two stallions sitting with their heads on the table, and a mare standing, swaying to the rhythm of breathing. They kicked 'em out to stand, chauvinists, how did they dare!.. I chuckled quietly at the thought. But it’s interesting, of course, that ponies can sleep standing up, too… When cautious footsteps sounded outside the door, I thought I was about to explode from anticipation, tension, and a gradually growing panic. There didn’t seem to be much blood in the adrenaline rushing through my veins with my heart beating furiously, so I could hardly contain a completely girlish squeal at the sight of a pink alicorn with a multicolored purple-pink-cream mane, peering warily into the aisle to assess the situation. Cadence! I wasn’t wrong! Finally!.. After carefully checking the guards and correcting one of them, who was gradually slipping out of his chair, the mare nodded hello and disappeared into the back room, apparently making sure that everyone has been neutralized and finding everything she needed and heading to me. The sound of the key turning in the keyhole has never sounded so sweet to me. So… Medicine taken, food eaten, bathroom is used, washed up to the best of my ability. The slept that has been taken is that great, but I can’t do anything ‘bout this. I’m ready. With a low rattle, the second door swung open. “Cadence!” I screamed with a whisper, grabbing the alicorn in an embrace. “You came after all! Didn’t leave me!..” Tears started to hastily appear in my eyes. I’m not lonely! “Greetings, Nightmare.” She greeted me quietly with an apologizing voice. “I understand, but… Get a grip, please. We don’t have much time.” “Y-yes, of course.” I stepped back and swallowed a lump in my throat. “Just… Oh, you’ve managed to bring even them?” My bags were thrown over the mare’s back. “A pleasant opportunity had appeared.” She handed them over to me with a smile. I looked at her meaningfully. “Oh, sorry! I’m!..” The ring on my horn was enveloped in a blue cloud of magic. After nearly half a minute, it finally clicked open, allowing Cadence to remove it with a sigh of relief. I could not stand it and immediately lit the horn, noting that the potions really helped me well. There was almost no burning — I pumped a drop of energy into it, which finally did not dissipate uselessly into nothing when it reached the ring, but formed into a structure and flashed a dim glow at the tip of the horn. “Thanks!” I squeezed the mare in my embrace again, breathing in the light caramel smell coming from her mane with pleasure. Damn! I might not stink like a cat from a garbage dump — I don’t know why ponies take so long to get dirty — but it’s like… I haven’t showered in five days, so… “Sorry…” “Don’t mention it, Nightmare. Happy to help.” Caddie smiled, lowering her eyes. “We have to go.” “Yeah, of course.” I tried to get back to a serious sentiment. The bags were routinely manipulated onto my shoulders, and the remaining vial of medicine went into them. It had, after all, been given to me, so why should it go to waste? — and I headed for the exit from the cell. Freedom.