“Karon … what are you doing?” Lyra asked carefully, the subtle note of a woman ready to panic resonating in her voice.

“Getting us out of here,” came the carefree response.

“No, no, nonononono … NO!” Lyra repeated, mostly for her own benefit.

“Calm down, we'll be fine … once I figure out a way to get rid of these bars without killing us in the process.”

“This can't be happening, it can't … I just wanted to learn a little about humans. That was all, just a little....” Lyra's voice trailed off into incoherent mumbling, and she joined Trixie in the dark corner of the cell, rambling to herself.

“Those two have snapped completely this time.”

“Some just can't handle the joint.”

“They're not supposed to have to. We need to get them out. They might not survive in here.”

“You mean that we need to get all of us out of here … right?”

“Right.”

Deciding it would be easier to sort out the state of his companions' mental health once they were free, Karon resumed his analysis of the cell. The bars were thick and placed close to one another, clearly meant to keep things far smaller than Karon locked up tight. The interior looked to be made of the same white rock that Karon had seen from the outside of the city, and after touching the floor with his hand and sending trickles of energy into it, he could confirm it was as solid as the bars.

“Hmmm, maybe if I make a racket or start screaming, a guard will come, and with a little use of psychic energy and post-hypnotic suggestion, I can make him open the door.”

“Or you could just, you know, move the lock mechanism with your oh so handy telekinesis we went through hell to master....”

“...right.”

“Better get Lyra and Trixie stable first before we attempt to sneak out of here. Give them a pep talk or whatever.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Okay, I know how to get us out of here. As long as you keep behind me and do as I say, everything will be just fine,” he turned around and told them, putting as much reassurance into his voice as he could muster.

Trixie jerked her head up, her eyes shining with hope, grasping at any straws given. Lyra gave him a half amused, half skeptical glance and shaking her head.

“Why do you do it?” she asked him.

“What?” Karon said and blinked rapidly in surprise.

“Why do you do it? You're supposed to be a hero right? You try and help and save ponies when you can, always. I heard about how you went into the deep parts of the Everfree Forest after Scootaloo … alone! And I heard in Canterlot about how you made Rainbow Dash agree to take care of her after you ran away from Ponyville. You did your best to save Equestria when More-than Tardy tried to take over, and you did help save it. You saved me and the others when we were about to be sold as FOOD by the pirates. You even helped Twilight's brother admit his love for the princess … I don't get it. You're one of the heroes, like the elements of harmony … so why do you always get yourself into trouble? It's like one second your a really good hero, and the next you do something that's almost … evil, or at least bad.”

“I'm not a hero Lyra, I'm a trickster,” Karon mumbled, mostly to himself, but she heard it.

“What does that even mean?”

Karon closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thoughts evoked by the question go by him. Images and answers were fleeting, constantly replacing each other.

“Honestly Lyra … I don't know. However I will tell you, I'm not a hero, and I'm not a villain. Good and evil don't exist. I don't live in a world of my own making. I don't live in a world were what I like is good and what I don't is bad. I don't live in a world of black and white, I live in a world of colors.”

“I just don't understand you,” she looked on him with reproach in her eyes, but she appeared to have collected herself well enough for Karon to attempt escape.

“That's okay Lyra, I don't understand myself.”

“It's the reason that bastard Loki sent me here.”

“And we've done a marvelous job at resolving that issue.”

“Hey, I'm on this damn quest for enlightenment now. Better late than never.”

“Well in our case it's better really, really, really, really late than never.”

“Shut up.”

“Lyra, if you want to get into existential questions that's fine, but could we do it after we get out of this place?” Karon pleaded.

“Fine, but the reason we're in here in the first place is in the answer to my question, I know it.”

Karon paused at her words. He was going to say something clever and get on with opening the lock, but her words struck hard and resonated with something within himself. The feeling disturbed him, and he shook it off with some difficulty, the remains of it leaving a tangy taste on his tongue.

“Whatever, let's get going now,” he said and swallowed.

He forced a calming breath in and out before putting his hands on the lock. Physical manipulation might not be his specialty, but if Eldros' training had allowed him to levitate big rocks, it should work for precision work too.

His mind flowed easily into the lock, the energy becoming an extension of it, and it easily grasped the locking mechanism and began moving it. There was a slight strain that made Karon tense his jaw, then a clanking sound sprang from the lock and the door swung open smoothly without a sound.

Karon stuck out his head and glanced down in both directions of the hallway. He didn't see any guards in sight, and there came no reaction from any of the cell doors that lined the hall. He tilted his head back and waved his hand forward to Lyra and Trixie, signaling them to follow, before he slipped out.

The hall was bright. There were crystals of some kind, not unlike Celestia's sun crystals, that were worked into the stone walls, and they produced a steady light that reflected off the white rock all around. There was little point in trying to sneak around and stay in the shadows in this kind of place, so Karon walked down the hallway normally, paying a little extra attention to how loud his footsteps were.

The guard had taken his spear, along with his map and rucksack. The though of having to steal or find work to earn more money did not sit well with him while being hunted, nor did the thought of leaving Eldros' gift behind. The dragon would not appreciate that. Karon had the sense he was only borrowing it, either until a set point or until he died. Either way, the time would only seem like the blink of an eye for the ancient dragon.

“So not only do we have to avoid being seen, we have to find out where they have stashed our stuff.”

“Messing with minds is my specialty. If I can find a guard without being immediately spotted I can take care of it.”

“That's a big if, and one that comes with the possibility of either being sent back to our cell or 'accidentally' killed for trying to escape.”

“You speak like I'm guaranteed to lose if it gets down to a fight.”

“To win you have to want it.”

“What does that mean?” Karon thought in confusion, there was a tension that had come with what the voice had said, and he couldn't quite place it.

“Never mind, let's just focus on one thing at a time.”

All the cell doors he had passed had been placed on the left side of the hallway, and the right had remained a blank slate of stone with only the crystals interrupting the monotony. That was until he came upon a heavy set door made out of dark wood inscribed with several symbols. The carvings were painted with red and green and stood out clearly against the background.

Karon narrowed his eyes when he saw them, and gently sent out a small trickle of energy towards the door. The symbols reacted instantly and began to shine. The colored paint came alive with the humming of energy, and Karon took a careful step back. He moved to stand right in front of the door and raised both his hands towards it. He allowed the energy centers within his palms to generate more energy, sending it down from his mind and expanding on the field it built until it came into contact with the energy field the symbols created.

There was a sizzling sound as the two forces met, but when fields of energy meet, it is inevitable that one must give in to the other. As Karon increased the power he sent out the prime source of the door's power, the symbols connected to it didn't match the output. The symbols remained at the same level they always had, and after a few minutes of small sparks leaping about their outer linings, Karon won and the field yielded to his advance, allowing him to move closer without being felt by it.

Blowing out a sigh of relief, Karon let his hands fall to his side and wiped his brow of the sweat that had gathered. The symbols weren't diffused. They had been activated by a shaman of some kind most likely, and the land would just keep pouring energy into them until they were either broken or deactivated. Karon had no idea how the specific symbols worked and what they represented, and so he didn't know how to simply turn them off.

Which left the options of either destroying them, which there would almost assuredly exist a fail safe or alarm for, or work around them.

“Well, they look vaguely pictographic. Look, that's the sun, and that would most likely be a mountain, and that looks kinda like a tree.”

“Okay, definitely shaman then, which is damn annoying because the power source is basically the entire planet.”

“Can't cut the connection unless you destroy the symbols.”

“Which will alert someone I'm sure.”

“So that leaves figuring out how all of this functions and finding a way to trick it.”

“Yay! We get to conduct field experiment regarding completely alien symbols while we're attempting a prison break and liable to get caught in the act any moment now. Oh joyous day.”

“Come on, it's not that hard.”

“Says the guy that struggled with runes. There's only sixteen of them you know.”

“Do you ever give helpful advice?”

“Hey, I'm encouraging you.”

“Encouraging me?”

“Yea, I´'m reminding you how high the possibility is of us getting caught and spending the rest of our lives forgotten in a jail cell is. Voila, motivation!”

“Is everything alright? Why aren't we going through?” Trixie asked, licking her lips nervously.

“It's been inscribed with magical symbols and charged. I don't know what it'll do if I try and open it.”

“Are you saying we're trapped!?” she squealed in panic.

“Well … yeah, but I'll get it fixed,” he said and turned his attention back on the door.

“It's quite ingenious actually. If any prisoner gets a hold of the keys or escape by other means, they won't get further than the hallway because the only way out isn't locked with keys.”

“AHA! But if it isn't locked with a conventional lock that slides a piece of metal between the door and the wall...”

“...then the wall and the door must be connected with energy, making sure that the door is firmly stuck until the power is cut with the right trigger.”

“I'm thinking a talisman of some kind. I don't think it's a word or touch, not every guard can possibly have mastered basic magic, but they could all carry talismans. Or have a few they trade whenever someone has guard duty in the prison.”

“We can muse on the everyday life of a prison guard later. How do we open it?”

“Well, if we decipher the right trigger, then we could open it the same way the guards do.”

“But they must have used the same symbolic code for the talismans as they have the door.”

“Pictographs aren't complicated. Try and figure it out.”

Karon moved his head closer and ran his eyes up and down the door, he could see that the symbols had been carved in broad cuts, but there was a very thin cut as well painted in blue, leading from bottom to both side to the top of the door forming a diamond like etching that connection the door and the surrounding floor, wall and ceiling at four points.

“Okay, that's the point of connection. Now how is it channeled?”

“Well in the center we have the tree symbol.”

“Think it's a symbol of A tree or THE tree as in Yggdrasil?”

“I think A tree. Above it is definitely a sun.”

“Then the thing below must be earth....”

“That wavy thing at both sides between the sun and tree could be wind.”

“Wait, wait, wait. If the one below tree is earth, and the wave between tree and sun is wind, then the sun might not be sun but fire.”

“Yes! The elements, so we have fire, earth and wind.”

“And that which is run by both the fire of sun, wind and earth is...”

“Water.”

Karon brought both his hands together and energy flowed through him, gathering in his palms and forming a sphere of energy, he shaped it into the ethereal element of water. The field grew strong and almost shimmered in the air, and, holding his breath, Karon sent it forward into the field the door produced. As soon as it connected, the symbols on the door flared, and the door opened by itself.

“Woohoo! Who's the man?!”

“Us, obviously. We're surrounded by females.”

The success felt good. The simple act of figuring something out with wit reminded him of his time in study. The endless hours he'd put into mastering symbols and language, and the sweet taste of achievement when something that was an enigma yesterday became an illuminated truth today.

He missed it.

“We can get sentimental later. Now, we get out of here, find our stuff then run and don't stop until we can smell the ocean.”

“Let's go,” he whispered to his two companions, and sneaked through the door.

The door led out into a nearly identical hallway, with the exception being that there were no cell doors along one of the walls. Further down, it looked like the hall split up into several different paths. He hurried down them with Lyra and Trixie following close behind, their hooves making enough sound to make Karon glance around in fear.

“Can't you like, turn us all invisible?” Lyra whispered loudly, and Karon stopped with a grimace and whispered back.

“I don't literally turn invisible Lyra. I just send the order to ignore all sensory data concerning me, and that takes a lot of concentration and power. Especially here where light is bouncing off me all the time and you're making all that sound with your hooves!”

“You can actually turn invisible?” Trixie asked with huge eyes, effectively ignoring everything he had just said.

“Arghh … yes, yes I can. But it's difficult, so let's find other options first before we do something that could possible give me an aneurism from the strain.”

“Trixie has never heard of such magic before,” she murmured, her eyes shining with something very greedy for a moment.

“Oh dear.”

“But, couldn't we just walk out of here without fear of being noticed of we were invisible?” Lyra pressed.

“Yeah ... but I don't know how long I could hold a cloaking field containing that much … and even if I could, I still need to find our stuff. We won't survive long without money, and I'm not leaving the spear or the map for that matter.”

“How were you ever planning on finding our things when we're right in the middle of jail!?” she hissed  and glared at him.

“Hypnotizing one of the guards and having him get it for us, or getting it ourselves.”

“Well … can't you do that while invisible?” she asked, her voice halfway between accusatory and pleading.

“No … I'm not that good.”

“But what if-”

“Shhh, okay I'll cloak us, but when we run into a guard we walk up behind him or somewhere close he can't see and I'll drop it and put my mind mojo on him.”

“That's … good?”

“Yeah, now stay very close to me and move slowly and silently. The faster you move and more noise you make, the more energy I'll have to expend cloaking it.”

Lyra and Trixie walked up to him and pressed themselves hard at his sides, and he put both hands on their backs. The connection would help, and the physical contact was actually reassuring, knowing they were with him.

His aura stretched and connected to theirs, and through his energy centers, lines of energy leapt out and formed a shell around them. All energy passing through on its way out was infused with the command to be overlooked. A simple command, but one that required constant fueling of energy, and Karon could already feel the headache forming.

They moved forward with care, their heads darting to the side whenever another hallway came into view. There were a lot of them, and the jail was beginning to look more and more like a maze. The paths only seemed to beckon to them with false promises of freedom, luring them deeper and deeper into windowless corridors of rock lit only by the crystals.

Finally, after having taken more turns than Karon thought reasonable, they halted at a section of stairs carved into the end of the hallway. The problem with the stairs, and the reason he stopped before them, was that they led downwards.

“Uh oh....” Karon said out loud, and he felt through his hands how both Trixie and Lyra tensed at the sound.

“What? Why aren't we going forward?” Lyra whispered loudly.

“Because they're leading downwards,” Karon responded and bit his lower lip in thought.

“So?” Lyra insisted.

“So, there are no windows as far as we've seen despite having passed through a ridiculous amount of corridors. So either we're right in the middle of the biggest fortress in the world, or we're underground. And if we are underground, taking stairs leading further down isn't the brightest idea.”

“Couldn't they just have skipped making windows? They have those crystals anyway,” she said, glancing up at the closest one shining softly.

“Maybe, but I find that unlikely. Zebras are not nocturnal creatures, so they would need sunshine for health reasons, and windows happen to be very good for ventilation. Since this is solid rock, they would have to carve out air holes somewhere and I haven't seen any so far.”

“Well why don't w-” Lyra cut herself off when the sound of hoofsteps reached her, and all three of the escapees turned around slowly, holding their breath as the sound grew in strength, moving closer and closer. Karon strained harder, focusing all his energy to make the veil around them perfect. Sight, sound even smell would not get out through it unmodified.

Eventually they saw a zebra pass through on of the hallways, barely coming into view for more than a few seconds before disappearing down another, the echo of his steps trailing off gradually.

“Follow him,” Karon said quietly, and they moved with cautious, but hurried, steps after the guard before they lost him in the multitude of passageways.

They caught up with him shortly, and proceeded to trail behind the unsuspecting guard while Karon was forced to struggle harder and harder with the weariness of upholding the invisibility. He could feel the tingling in his palms signaling some of the energy was unfocused, splashing off like unguided water. He focused on his breathing to try and bring clarity back into his mind and the tingling receded, but it wouldn't last for long before it came back. He couldn't hold the field around them for much longer without imperfections slipping through.

Eventually the guard stopped when he reached another door much like the one Karon had cracked, symbols just like earlier graced the hard wood with their presence. The zebra didn't halt for long, he simply held up an object before the door and the symbols glowed, and the door swung open silently.

“Ha! Talisman reactive, I told you.”

The zebra yawned loudly and stepped through the door. Karon hesitated for the barest second, then pushed lightly on his two mare companions and hurried through before the door closed. The room they stepped into was circular, and there was several windows in the walls from which actual sunlight entered, ruining Karon's suspicion of them being underground.

There were a few tables around the room, all of them the low standing kind that had been used in the inn they had so briefly stayed at, and pillows were laid down around them as alternatives to couches or the piles of hay used in Ponyville.

The zebra they had been following shuffled towards another door that sat to the right of where they had entered, and he passed through without even looking around. Karon didn't follow, instead he focused his attention on the zebra that sat on one of the pillows at a table, a bowl of food before him and a tired look in his eyes.

There was no one else in the room.

“Good, he's tired. That will make this easier.”

He glanced towards the other door and waited until it closed behind the guard, then whispered to his friends.

“I'm going to drop the invisibility after we've gotten up behind that zebra over there, I'll hypnotize him and get him to tell us how to get out and where my stuff is, and perhaps he can even help us get out if I do it right.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Lyra asked at the same time Trixie asked, “Can you really do that so easily?”

“Yes, and it's not as easy as I make it sound,” he answered both of them, then pressed on their backs to get them going. They walked over to the other side of the room, when they stood right behind the guard, sure that they wouldn't get spotted instantly, Karon breathed in deeply, then let it out and dropped the veil around them at the same time.

There was a slight shift in the air, like a soap bubble they didn't know they were inside suddenly burst, however the guard didn't turn around or react at all. He kept sitting stooped over his food, and generally exhibited an aura of absolute tiredness.

Letting go off the invisibility had come with a huge sense of relief for Karon, the constant pressure that had steadily increased dissipated into nothing. However they were far from safety yet, and he would need to put far more strain on himself before the day was over, he knew it, so he breathed quietly and counted to sixty, then sneaked towards the guard until he got close enough to touch him.  

The guard remained blissfully unaware of Karon's presence until he felt the human's hand on his head, but by then it was too late. The zebra's conscious was shoved back into the far reaches of his mind by the flood of psychic energy that came out of Karon's hand, brought to a place far removed from the immediate concerns of his body and what was going on around him. All he knew was stillness and peace, and he could bring no resistance when Karon started feeding his mind with impulses and questions. He wasn't aware it was even happening.

After five minutes of staring into the mind of the hypnotized guard, Karon returned to his normal state, but didn't bring the guard out of his trance quite yet.

“Okay, they're keeping my stuff in the war commander's office, their military leader, for some reason. Good news is that his office happen to be inside this building, bad news is that we're not only in a jail, we're in the empress' palace. This entire section is something called 'The Corner of War' and nearly every warrior zebra in the city comes here daily.”

“Ohh....” Lyra perfectly captured the situation with, while Trixie remained silent, the nervous twitch of her eyes speaking for her.

“Yeah, but we can still get out of here if we hurry. Makole here will be taking us straight to the war commander's office, and after grabbing our stuff he'll lead us out.”

“Why would he do that?” Lyra asked, her voice doubtful.

“Because he thinks he got ordered by this war commander to go get us and escort us to his office, and after we grab our stuff, I'll make him think the commander apologized to us because we got arrested on false charges and ask Makole to led us out and make sure we encounter no trouble. Still, if that is to work, we have to walk behind him openly and try and look like we're still prisoners.”

Lyra looked skeptic about the plan, but didn't voice any objections to it, mostly because she didn't have any alternative plans to offer. Trixie walked over to the guard zebra, his eyes glassed over and with a look of being far, far away. She brought her hoof up and waved it before his eyes with no reaction from him.

“Don't do that. If things out here in reality are contradictory to the lie I feed him, his mind will notice and he'll snap out of it.”

“This is real- I mean, Trixie finds this magic very impressive, almost as impressive as her own,” she observed the zebra with a thoughtful frown on her face.

“Uh, thanks, but we should get going unless we want to get caught. Remember, look like we are being herded away by him so … act sullen or something.”

“What if we run into another guard? Will they really believe that only one guard was needed to take three prisoners away?” Lyra asked.

“They will, I don't know why but I got the sense that the guards have supreme confidence that once you get within the 'war corner' of the palace, you don't need to watch the prisoners very closely for some reason. I think they probably imagine no one would manage to crack those inscribed doors.”

“Then let's hurry, I want to get out of here,” Lyra finished with a look towards the door the other guard had disappeared behind.

Karon placed his hand on the guard's head again, and the zebra rose form his seated position with a fluid grace that betrayed long martial training. His eyes once more looked awake and he moved forward with confident steps.

“Let's go prisoners, no shuffling behind!” he spoke loudly and glanced back at them with contempt.

Karon suppressed a smile and walked after the zebra, Trixie and Lyra falling in behind him. They passed through identical hallways to the ones they had already walked through while invisible – for all Karon knew they were the exact same ones – and only ran into other guards a few times, each of whom never spared them more than a brief glance.

Eventually, they rounded a corner and the zebra stopped at a door just like the ones they had passed through before, same carved symbols, same simple process of getting through. The zebra brought forth a round talisman that hung around his neck and brought it forward to the door and it swung open. The zebra marched in before Karon realized he hadn't gone through with the others what to do if the war commander was actually inside.

“Crap...”

“Here are the prisoners you requested commander,” the guard announced as he came in loudly. Karon clenched his teeth and made a pained face before hurrying into the room. It was pretty small for being the office of the 'war commander', circular in shape just like the earlier one, and with a single large table taking up most of the room. Behind it on the wall hung a large map of Equus, and Karon noted that it strangely enough didn't have quite as many details as the map Celestia had given him.

Facing the hypnotized zebra was the biggest example of the species Karon had ever seen. He was tall enough to nearly be at Karon's height, and he was just as wide. There was a tattoo in the shape of a leaf on his cheek, and even in the semi light of the office, lit only by the crystals in the wall, Karon could see the scars on the zebra's body.

The 'war commander' had obviously earned his title the hard way, and he faced them with a confused look on his face, but his eyes narrowed dangerously when he noticed Karon.

“I didn't order-” the commander replied in a gravely voice, and before he could finish the sentence, Karon decided to act first.

He flung his hands forward and bombarded the commander's mind with as much psychic energy he could produce, but the commander came from an old warrior family, and had been honing his discipline since he was old enough to hold a spear. He resisted the forced trance, but couldn't keep himself from swaying groggily, battling the sudden pressure that had forced itself upon his mind.

Karon had spotted his own spear standing against the wall the second he walked into the room, and he darted towards and grabbed it. Before the commander had time to focus on what was happening, Karon had already placed the tip of the spear against his throat. The veteran warrior froze, but didn't show any sign of fear as he focused his eyes on Karon, if anything, he looked calm.

“Would you mind pointing that somewhere else. It is quite sharp, I tested it,” the commander noted, using the same tone one might use to comment on the weather.

“It is, so unless you want me to use it, you better keep calm and do as I say,” Karon said.

“I am calm. As far doing as you say, I guess that depends on what you want,” the zebra continued undaunted.

Karon was about to respond when something struck him in the left leg, and it buckled under him. He gasped in surprise and spun around. The zebra he had hypnotized must have had some difficulty keeping the situation around him in context to the lie Karon had fed his brain, and he didn't looked happy about what had happened.

He held up his forelegs like he was about to smash them together around Karon's head, and as he brought his hooves together, the human ducked and jabbed the back end of the spear into his stomach hard. The zebra fall back with a large huff as the air within his lungs was forcefully expelled, and before he could recover, Karon swung the spear in a half circle over himself and brought it down on his head.

The guard smacked into the floor loudly, and his teeth rattled so hard even Karon heard it, but he was out of the fight.

Expecting to be hit from behind again, Karon didn't wait and threw himself over the prone form of the downed guard. He hit the floor in a roll and came up just beside Trixie and Lyra. Karon spun and pointed his spear towards where he had been just a heartbeat ago, but instead of finding the commander there just having failed to catch Karon off guard, he instead stood next to the wall on the far side of the room with a calm look on his face.

Karon shifted his spear until it pointed straight at the commander, and he spoke with a voice infused with as much malice as possible.

“We're going to walk out of here with someone leading us, might as well be you. Just tell me where the rest of my belongings are and we'll be gone.”

“If you had let me finish earlier, I would have told the warrior here that I had not sent for you, but that I was just about to.”

The comment caught Karon off guard, but he masked his surprise and kept his appearance of barely restrained urge to slaughter.

“I'm not one for interrogations, but for record's sake I might as well add that none of us are spies for anything,” he said dryly.

“I never thought you were. The tracker that brought you in said he thought you suspicious and perhaps spies for the jackals, and that you had attacked him cowardly from behind.”

“What-I- HE attacked ME from behind … sure it was after I said I was gonna kick his ass but … still....”

“Well, I never thought you were spies either way. The jackals don't use spies, they're grasp of tactics don't extend further than screaming really loud and being as savage as possible. I wasn't interested in whatever grudge that had brought you here, and I wasn't overly interested in the spear you had, which is of masterful making. However, I AM very interested in knowing why you carry a map with you bearing the personal seal of the royal sisters of Equestria?”

“The personal seal of the royal sisters...?”

“Oh right, that finny little thing in the right bottom corner.”

“Do you think all their maps have that? Or did Celestia put that there intentionally knowing we might get into trouble with other authorities?”

“I wouldn't put it beyond her.”

“I got that after I did Celestia a favor....” Karon said, briefly considering adding in something about having been the court wizard of Canterlot, but thinking better of it. The last thing he needed was to drag politics into his situation.

“Princess Celestia of Canterlot. You 'did her a favor'?” the commander said, raising his eyebrows in question.

“Yeah, and I really regret I ever did. Now step over here, you're going to walk us out of this place, and then we'll disappear, everyone will be so much happier that way.”

“I'm afraid I have other options that needs to be considered,” the zebra said and a cold look of calculation came over him. “Tell me, how did you get out of your cell? And how did you avoid detection?”

“Trade secret, afraid I can't share. Last warning now, either get over here or things will get bloody.”

“You have been bluffing since the start with the spear. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Then something must be wrong with yours. I'm a killer, taken plenty of lives by now … most of them this year actually, and with the way my quota has been rising steadily I wouldn't try any games with me if I were you.”

“Hmm, yes you're a killer. You hold that spear like you know how slick it gets when blood stain your … claws? But there is a difference between a killer and a murderer, and you're not the latter.”

The zebra spoke with absolute certainty, and for a moment, Karon was afraid he would actually need to kill him unless he would comply. He couldn't allow Trixie and Lyra to get locked up for long, which they would be after being part of what Karon had just done. If he killed the commander, they would be hunted, but if he gave them all the money and led them out while invisible, they could escape. Of course, they didn't know the country...

“They might get away if we split up, they take all the money and head for the coast, back the way we came.”

“If we act as a diversion yes, but we will have every zebra warrior after us if we kill their war commander … they'll catch me eventually.”

“Lyra and Trixie would get away, but...”

“It would led to our death...”

Karon stood uncertain for a second, his face was that of a man standing on the edge of a roof staring down on the ground so far below.

And then he clenched his jaw and walked forward with the tip pointed towards the commander's heart. The zebra noticed the difference in the human's expression, shifting from the faked rage to the real intent of murder. And he didn't try to move, instead he brought the talisman around his neck up to one of the large crystals in the wall, and instantly it erupted in stunning light.

All the crystals around the room exploded in light, and when Karon shielded his eyes with his arm and turned around, he saw that every crystal outside in the hallway was doing the same. Then the light outside the room died down, but the one inside instead intensified, shifting in color from bright white to harsh red. And with it came a screeching sound, piercing his mind like a thousand tiny claws ripping at everything they could reach.

He fell down on his knees and dropped the spear, grabbing his head with both hands in a futile attempt to cover his ears.

“FOCUS! It's a mental attack, not a physical sound! Fight it!”

The pain was horrifying. He wanted to tear out his own brain just so that the claws couldn't reach it. However, the long years of mental training Varsif had instilled, combined with his new found tolerance for pain, brought Karon out of it. The claws kept tearing at everything, but they no longer felt physical. He could feel their ethereal components, their structure, the force that made them be.

“Thurs Ur Reid!” Karon shouted, releasing the anchor of energy he had stored deep within his mind long ago for just an occasion such as this. Three runes flashed in gold, scarlet and azure energy before his eyes, and the energy lashed out like hungry snakes and sought the attacking force and tore into it. Karon was freed from the pain, and with his chest heaving with hard breath. He raised his head and saw both Trixie and Lyra on the floor, unconscious.

His breath calmed, and he pushed off from the floor with with a grunt, grabbing his spear on the way up. The red light from the crystals flickered uneasily, until it died down and they returned to their normal white glow. Karon heard the running hoofbeats of more zebras than he wanted to count come running towards him, bursting out from every hallway like a flood of black and white.

“If we turn invisible we could escape, they won't be expecting it.”

“I can't carry both Lyra and Trixie.”

“You could leave them, and return after to free them.”

“No … I think I've done enough damage as it is. They will get hurt if this continues.”

The zebras stopped outside the entrance to the room and leveled their spears towards him. Karon didn't respond to their glares besides raising an eyebrow, like they were being a bit excessive. He turned around to the commander, who was observing him with a curious expression.

“I was told that the magic would make anyone not wearing one of these talismans fall unconscious,” he said evenly.

Karon gave him a quick grin and responded, “I doubt your shamans took someone like me into account while designing that.”

The commander didn't look all too impressed, but Karon caught the faint flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“Even so, I hope you understand that you have no way to escape now.”

“Yes I do, I just can't bring these two along at the same time,” Karon said, nodding his head to his two sleeping companions.

“Remaining while you could escape, how noble.”

“They're my friends,” Karon replied with a shrug.

“If they weren't, you would be stupid to remain,” the commander added, and the flicker of amusement became stronger.

One of the zebras stepped over the threshold and addressed the commander, but never taking his eyes off Karon's back.

“Commander, please forgive our failure in keeping these prisoners contained, we will take them back immediately and place guards outside their cell at all times.”

“No need, no need,” the huge zebra added and held up a hoof, then stroked his chin with it. “I think I have a better idea, if you are truly as good as you make yourself out to be,” the commander continued, looking at Karon as he said the last part.

Karon tilted his head in surprise, mixed with a healthy doze of skepticism, but judging from the whispers behind him in the zebra crowd he wasn't the only one.

“Uhm … commander?” the guard behind Karon continued.

“However, you can go ahead and tell the empress that I will be coming to her shortly, with these prisoners,” the commander said to the zebra, then shifted his head and looked at the crowd of guards in the doorway.

“The rest of you, form up, standard escort formation to the empress, and go find a shaman so we can wake those two up … and can one of you please take the warrior on the floor there to the healing room,” the commander finished offhandedly, pointing towards the zebra Karon had knocked out.

One of the guards entered and took the zebra away, while the one that had been nearly shoving his spear into Karon's back retreated from the room, galloping towards wherever this empress must be.

“No need for a shaman, I can wake them up,” Karon told the commander, and walked over Trixie and Lyra.

The commander moved forward with interest and observed as Karon placed his hand gently in top of their heads, and after a few moment they opened their eyes sleepily, looking around in confusion. When they both rose up from the floor, the commander walked over to them and spoke, mostly to himself Karon suspected.

“Yes, you might work,” he said cryptically, then without further explanation walked out of the room. Half of the zebras gathered outside fell in behind him, while the other half motioned for Karon to follow, and seeing no real reason to refuse at the moment, he complied.

Trixie and Lyra fell in at his sides, and the zebras quickly formed up behind them, locking their escape either forward or backwards. They walked through corridors, one exactly like the others, and Karon had no idea how they could know where they even were, but as time passed by, they entered into hallways more lavish than the ones before. Thick yellow and green drapes clung to the walls, and the crystals that had left barely a few meters of space between them earlier couldn't be seen anywhere.

They had come out of 'The Corner of War' and entered the more civilized areas of the palace obviously. They came out into grand halls and rooms from time to time, pillows scattered in great piles around the floors and the smell of incense clinging to the air.

The interior became more and more exquisite the farther they went, with statues and carvings on the wall serving as decoration, and perhaps most noteworthy, there were huge windows leading out into balconies that offered a glorious view of the city.

They passed through a circular opening carved out of the rock where a burgundy drape served as a door, allowing air to pass through unhindered.

The inside of the room they stepped into was lavish to the point of ridiculousness, and on one really, really big pile of golden and blue pillows, a female zebra was sprawled out luxuriously. The captain had walked over to stand in front of her, and Karon and the two ponies were ushered forth, while the zebra guards took position behind them.

The zebras all fell down to their front knees in a bow, and when Karon didn't do the same, nor the ponies, the empress of the zebra empire looked surprised, then cracked a huge smile.

“Visitors, two from pony lands and one … from somewhere I no doubt have never heard of,” she turned her eyes down to the commander once more and spoke in a happy, almost chirpy, voice that reminded Karon of Pinkie Pie.

“Stand up Zuka, and tell me why you've brought these guests to me, and why I wasn't informed earlier than just a few minutes ago they were coming.”

The commander rose up, and the guards followed his example.

“These are three prisoners arrested last night, on suspicion of being spies for the jackals and assaulting one of our trackers,” the large zebra answered, his deep voice contrasting starkly to the lilting lightness of the empress.

“Hmph, nonsense, the jackals aren't smart enough to use spies, and even if they were, they wouldn't use ponies for it … and while this new creature intrigues me, I still want to know why you thought this important enough to bring to me. I was trying to think of a way to solve our trouble in the north.”

The commander coughed, then turned to the zebras standing behind the trio.

“You're all dismissed, return to your previous duties.”

From the short intake of breaths, Karon guessed they didn't like the thought of leaving him and his two companions alone with the empress, guarded only by the commander. But either their training was absolute and they never thought to question his command, or their trust that the commander was capable enough to protect the empress was absolute.

They shuffled out of the room, and after the sound of their hoofsteps faded, the commander took to words again.

“It is about our trouble in the north I'm here for empress. I think our prisoners might be of help.”

The empress looked to perk up at the news, and she looked on the three outlanders with actual interest.

“Explain,” she said, her voice still light, but there was a clang of steel in it, the kind of voice of supreme authority only real leaders possessed.

“I was brought the belongings of the prisoners after their arrest, and while I didn't take interest in the foolish claim of them being spies, I did take interest in this,” the commanded finished and offered the empress Karon's map.

She accepted it, eyes shining with curiosity, and she unraveled the parchment with glee. Her face disappeared behind the map help up in front of her for a few seconds, before she brought it down and looked at the trio with an unreadable expression.

“This comes from the personal archive of the royal alicorn sisters in Equestria … how did you ever manage to steal this?”

Before Karon could respond, the commander spoke for him.

“The creature told me that it was a gift from Princess Celestia herself, a reward for a giving aid to her in some way.”

“You should have asked for more than a map if that is true,” the empress noted and looked Karon directly in the eyes.

Karon merely gave her a smile and didn't respond. If the commander wanted to speak for him, he was welcome to do so. It would give Karon time to analyze the situation and find an advantage, and perhaps a way to escape with the ponies.

“Which brings me to why I think these three can be of help with our troubles. Before I had the opportunity to send for them, one of my guards stepped into my office with them, saying he was escorting them to me as instructed, when in truth, I had not even had time to give such an order.”

The empress actually raised both her eyebrows in surprise, and the look she gave Karon now wasn't one of amusement, it was questioning look. She didn't say anything though, and the commander continued his story.

“Before I had a chance to say much, the … creature attacked me with some sort of magic, it nearly rendered me unconscious, I fought it off, but it took all of my effort, and when my senses returned to me the spear I had received as part of his belongings was at my throat.”

The empress mouth opened slightly in shock, and she turned to her commander of war with an incredulous look on her face.

“You … defeated so easily? That hasn't happened since before I was born!” her shock turned to mirth, and she shot the commander a smug look, “Are you getting old Zuka?”

“I am, but I am not weakening by age quite yet,” the commander stated simply, offering it like it was nothing worth mentioning, “However, the creature here spoke with me politely during the entire time, and I was of course curious to know how he managed to escape a prison we've never had an escape from since Ahuitzotl five years ago, and he had plenty of outside help.”

“I can see why the security of your little corner would be of interest to you, but I still want to know what you have in mind when you say this creature could help us?”

“Of course empress, it is simple. The creature escaped the cell, avoided detection, and were it not for our crystal network, might have escaped completely.”

“Oh, so you used the crystal network, did it work?” the empress asked curiously.

“I'm not sure. The magic attacked them since they didn't have talismans just liked it should, but it only brought the two ponies under, the creature resisted it.”

Both the commander and the empress stared at Karon, and he tried his best not to look too smug about it. Lyra looked up at him and wasn't fooled for a moment, unimpressed, she just rolled her eyes.

“I see,” the empress said quietly, and sank into thought. The commander stood respectfully silent, until after a minute or two of contemplation, the empress looked up again and turned her eyes at Karon.

“You think that the creature has talent for stealth and infiltration?” she asked out loud.

“Yes,” the commander said.

“You think he could do what our own trackers have failed with. You want him to go into jackal land and find out what's getting them so excited about burning our border villages.”

“Yes.”

The empress looked thoughtful once more, but it lasted only for a few seconds before she stared straight into Karon's eyes once more, like was she testing how long he could hold her gaze without flinching.

Karon had no trouble with such a game.

“What say you creature? You have stood silent and only listened so far,” the empress said, and Karon's answer escaped from his mouth without thinking about it.

“Hmm, sorry did you say anything?”

The commander showed his first sign of anger, but it was gone the moment the empress' laughter sounded in the room.

“Ohh, it has been years since anyone dared try making a joke at my expense. I would pardon you just for that if the circumstances weren't so dire.”

“Maybe you should do it anyway, just to show you can,” Karon said, not giving much hope to the thought.

The empress shook her head, but kept the smile on her face.

“No, this won't be so simple, but I do have questions I want answered before I decide anything.”

“Ask away,” Karon offered and spread his arms wide.

“You offer answers so simply, not even trying to hold them off despite being our prisoners?”

“I never said they would be truthful.”

The empress smile split into a grin, but it returned to the smile and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Careful, my patience with disobedience does not last forever,” she threatened.

“And I have authority issues that do, what of it?” he shot back.

The empress looked like she couldn't decide if she should be angry or entertained by the strange creature giving her lip. Apparently she decided to stay in the middle ground, because her voice sounded both irritated and amused when she asked.

“Where do you come from and what are you?”

“You've never heard of it, and I'm a human … kinda,” he answered truthfully.

“Human? As in the ponytales of Equestria? How interesting … do we have any of those written down Zuka? If so I want them brought to me after this conversation is over.”

The commander nodded, and the empress returned her attention to Karon.

“Do you have name?”

“It's Karon.”

“Strange name.”

“Do you have one?” Karon asked back, staring into the empress eyes with wanton abandonment of everything respectful.

The commander hissed between his teeth, and the empress looked taken aback by the question, nevertheless she still held out a hoof to stop the commander from doing anything.

“It is Nerfeti,” she answered.

“Strange name,” Karon offered as his response, and the empress seemed to decide the best course of action was to be amused by him.

“Why did you come to my lands?” she asked.

“I hadn't been here before,” came the simple response.

“And why did you come to my city then?”

“Same answer.”

“And why did you attack one of my trackers?”

“He was really annoying and bothering me,” Karon said with a shrug.

The empress observed him quietly for a few moments, then resumed her questioning.

“And what is this service you provided for the throne of Canterlot?”

“Saved it, acted as a therapist for Luna, got the job as their first court wizard, and insulted pretty much the entire social elite of the city … that last one I'm not sure they appreciated, but I threw it in for free.”

“You accomplished very much by your description,” the empress laughed. “and judging by it, it sounds like you know the royal sisters well.”

“I've smacked both of them on the ass if that answers your question,” Karon said and brushed his fingers on the front of his robe.

The empress' mouth fell open, and she fell into her pile of pillows in a fit of giggling. The commander stared at Karon like he was crazy, as did Trixie. Lyra was only shaking her head, repeatedly facehoofing herself.

“Oh you know them very well then,” the empress finally said as her giggling receded.

“Somewhat, yes.”

“Well, I take it you succeeded in all they asked of you then?”

“I did.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“No.”

“Oh, why not?”

“It wasn't worth the sacrifice,” Karon said flatly, and the empress hesitated in asking him more, his eyes had flared briefly when he answered, like a dragon's breath. Instead she turned her attention to his companions, and she focused on Trixie first.

“And who might you be?”

“You have the pleasure of meeting the Great and Powerful Trixiiiiie!” the unicorn announced loudly and got up on her back legs as usual.

“Never heard of you,” the empress responded, and Trixie looked like she collapsed in on herself. The empress' eyes glanced over her, like she was dismissing her as unimportant, and instead went over to Lyra.

“And you are?”

“Lyra, uh, empress,” she said and quickly did gave small bow of her head.

The empress looked amused by the display, and continued in a far more comforting tone than the one she had used for Karon or Trixie.

“And what brings a pony so far from her homeland, and in such strange company?”

“Karon did, and I travel with him because he's a friend.”

“Good, so if I asked you if I could rely on him to carry out a task which could help save hundreds if not thousands of my people, what would you say?”

Lyra blinked rapidly in surprise, and she glanced up at Karon uncertainly, who in turn looked down on her with a quirked eyebrow, honestly curious at what her response would be.

“Well … if it truly will help save so many, yes … but he will do it in his own way … and I wouldn't say it would be a good idea to send any zebras along.”

“Why not?” the empress asked, the tone of authority pressing into her voice.

“Well....uh....” Lyra looked up at Karon again, but in panic this time. And he knew what the unheard answer was, what she was thinking inside her mind.

“Because those who follow him have a tendency to die.”

However, that wasn't the answers she finally gave out loud, but they both knew what she had been so close to saying.

“Because they would only get in the way, and probably get hurt.”

The empress seemed to accept that, but clearly suspected there was something that went untold. However she didn't press the issue, and instead turned to the commander.

“Do you think it can work?”

“Yes, given the right incentive and instructions.”

“I trust your judgment Zuka.”

She turned to face the trio once more, and when she spoke, the full authority of the empress of the zebra empire rang out with undoubted power.

“Karon the human, Lyra and Trixie the ponies, I hereby command you three to assist war master Zuka of house Zanshi in the attempt to discover why the jackals tribes of the northern desert are attacking our settlements. If you bring back information for why this is happening, you will be pardoned for your crimes, and if you also find a way to resolve this situation, and perhaps even do it yourself, you will be rewarded with all that only great Mjimkuu can provide.”

“So let me get this straight … we just got roped into taking another vague task from a government I have no interest in working for, all on account of some bullshit accusations of having done wrong and under threat of punishment that isn't really spoken out loud.”

“Certainly looks that way...”

Karon groaned out loud and rubbed his forehead, but couldn't come up with something to say that could allow the three of them to wriggle out of the situation. He didn't really have a choice, and if what the empress said was true, then a lot of zebras could be spared if he just snooped around a little.

“Awww fuck,” he said out loud.

“Here we go again....”

Next Chapter: Chapter 36: The unwanted apprentice Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 38 Minutes