Hearts of Gold

***A Waffen Pony Production***

The morning was still early. It was the day before the Grand Galloping Gala.

The train that would take Prince Armor, Princess Cadence, and their guards was about to leave the station and embark on an uneventful trip across the country towards Canterlot.

Inside the empire’s deepest depths, the deafening silence that covered the lowest dungeons like a shroud was suddenly broken by loud opening and closing of door leading into the detention block.

A guard walked through the door, carefully balancing a tray on his back.

The contents on the tray were sealed in small, plastic containers, each with a white label on the side to limit confusion and mistakes.

He looked nervously to his left and right, at the dark, stone walls, as he walked down the dim corridor until he reached a checkpoint.

Another guard was was waiting for him, sitting at a desk by the wall.

“Ah… Good morning, private. You must be new here. Welcome to the only pit deeper than Tartarus.”

The private with the tray gulped nervously as the guard at the desk eyed the tray on his back.

“So… What's on the menu for today?”

The guard carrying the tray looked over his shoulder.

“Uh… For the prisoner, I've got rice, greens, soup, and a brownie, just some leftovers from yesterday’s lunch in the commissary.”

The lieutenant at the desk frowned as he eyed the tray.

“She gets chocolate? No way… They don't even let me have chocolate down here. Let me see that.”

His horn lit up, and a cloud of magic enveloped the tray, removing it from the young guard’s back.

“By Luna’s moon… I can't believe this…”

The private shrugged as he looked back towards the door.

He was looking more and more uneasy, like he wanted to bolt at any moment and run for that door.

The dungeon was not a place he had ever envision visiting when he signed up to be a guard.

“I don't know what to tell you, sir. I'm just bringing her what I was ordered to bring her. Even prisoners have to eat, right?”

The guard picked up the small container holding the brownie.

“Psychotic criminals like the golden domina over there don't deserve things this nice.”

He pushed the tray back towards the guard before him, keeping the brownie.

“Have you heard the stories, private? Have you heard anything about what she did?”

The guard shook his head.

“N-N-No, sir…”

The lieutenant let out a sigh and waved his hoof dismissively.

“Ah… That's a story for another day. The mare in gold over there is a seductive lass. Move along, private. Give the domina her meal and get out. I'll just hold onto this and leave you with a word of advice… Don't let her say anything to you. Got it?”

The private frowned, but he nodded his head and balanced the tray on his back once more.

Clearing the checkpoint, he walked further and further down the dark corridor, passing numerous empty cells.

The air seemed to get colder the further he went to the point where he was nearly shivering.

At last, towards the end of the corridor, he arrived at his destination.

He stopped in front of Sadri’s cell and tapped the glass with his hoof.

There was no response.

He tapped the glass again, harder and louder.

“Um… h-h-hello?”

The mare revealed herself, shifting on her cot as she looked up at the guard.

A smile came over her as she stretched her legs high into the air before sliding off of the cot.

“Mmm… Hello, indeed…” She approached the glass, and her smile faded as she got a closer look at the trembling private. “I don't believe I've seen you before… and I've met every guard down here. Are you new?”

He nodded his head, beads of sweat trickling down his cheek.

“Ye-Yes… Well, sort of… I'm a transfer from…”

He lost his train of thought, and his words quickly followed the train.

Sadri’s eyes sparkled like a glittering lake, dazzling the young guard.

He even found her to be kind of cute.

“… a transfer… from…”

She forced a sweet smile as she inched closer towards the glass.

“Yes?”

A drop of water fell from the ceiling, splashing the guard’s face. He blinked and shook his head and was suddenly aware of the cold, damp air around him.

“I… Whoa… I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me. Um… Here’s your eight o'clock chow.”

Sadri frowned, but she accepted the tray as the guard slid it through the appropriate slot in the glass.

“Thank you, I suppose…”

Taking the tray in her teeth, she set it down on the floor and sat next to it.

The guard turned to leave, but he stopped.

Looking back towards the glass, he pointed towards the tray.

“There was a brownie too, but…”

He looked back towards the desk, far up the corridor.

Sadri's waved her hoof away as she eyed her meal.

“It happens all the time around here… Besides, it's not like I deserve anything sweet… I'm only a psychotic criminal, after all.”

The guard winced.

“You heard that?”

Sadri smiled sadly as she fumbled with the container of assorted greens.

Without her magic, she had to resort to using her hooves, which was far from easy.

“I hear everything that goes on down here. The lieutenant takes what he wants every day, and I get the rest…” She gestured to the tray. “Stale… dry… leftovers…”

The guard wanted to leave.

The cold was driving him crazy, but the longer he stood there, the harder it felt to move his hooves.

“I'm… I'm sorry they treat you this way…”

Sadri’s ears perked up, and she glanced towards the private.

“You're… sorry? Now, that is an interesting thing to say…”

She stood back up and approached the glass, keeping her eyes trained in the guard’s.

“Do you have a fillyfriend or wife, Private… um…”

“Diorite…” The guard lifted his helmet and quickly brushed his mane out of his eyes. “I'm… I'm Private Diorite… and no… I don't have a fillyfriend…”

Sadri chuckled softly as she leaned against the glass.

“Really? I find that so hard to believe… You aren't lying to me, are you, Diorite?”

The guard shook his head.

He was sweating nervously.

He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to appease her.

“N-N-No, of course not… I would never lie to you.”

She had been treated so poorly, and he felt as though he needed to make it up to her.

Sadri beamed at him as she ran a hoof through her silver mane.

“That's shocking… It’s not every day that I meet a stallion that has it all… Royal Guard, kind, and excitingly handsome… I find it quite amazing that you're single, Diorite.”

Even though her magic was being suppressed by the cell, the domina’s words poured from her mouth like honey, sweet and enticing.

Diorite melted in her hooves, and he found himself being pulled towards her.

“You're a nice-looking stallion… I'd bet you'd like to go on a date with me, wouldn't you?”

He never stood a chance against the domina.

“Open the door, Diorite… Then, we can be together…”

Diorite quickly nodded his head, and he reached for the keys.

The sound of the opening door alerted the lieutenant at the end of the corridor.

“Private, what's going on down there?”

It was too late.

Sadri smiled at him, so sweetly and so kindly, as she took her first steps out of the cell.

Then, she wrapped a hoof around Diorite’s head and pulled him into a sloppy kiss.

“Private!”

The kiss was broken by the firing of a magical bolt. It missed, hitting the wall next to them.

Sadri turned on the charging lieutenant and raised her horn.

Outside of her cell, her horn ignited, and she lifted the guard into the air.

“Well… Hello, my dear warden…”

Sadri bared her teeth as she brought him closer to her face.

“I've dreamed of this moment for a long time…”

The lieutenant was trembling.

“P-P-Please don't hu-hurt me! I have a family! I have two foals, one beautiful little filly, and a-”

“SHUT UP!!!”

She threw the lieutenant into the open cell, sending him crashing down on top of the tray.

Sadri closed the cell, locking him inside, before storming up the corridor towards the exit with Diorite following her closely behind.

“Wa-Wait! What about me?! What about… us?! What about our… our date?” He looked like he was about to break down into tears any moment. “Don't leave me, please…”

Sadri smiled sadly at him and raised a hoof to caress his cheek.

“I’m sorry, my lovely stallion… You've been a wonderful help, but my heart already belongs to another…”

Then, she lowered her horn and blasted the guard back down the corridor.

He hit the wall and fell unconscious instantly.

With no pony left in her way, Sadri let out a ferocious cry and with her magic, she tore the door from its hinges.

She threw the door behind her, sending it crashing into the desk by the wall.

Something fell from the desk, and Sadri reached out for it with her magic.

It was the brownie, half eaten.

Savoring the rest of the treat, she began to ascend the towering case of stairs.

“I’m coming, Twilight Sparkle… Your wife is coming home…”

***

Sadri stumbled out into the streets of the Crystal Empire, and she took in a deep breath of fresh air.

The sun was creeping above the horizon, slowly but surely lighting up the dark sky.

Dawn would be arriving soon.

The golden mare shielded her eyes from the blinding light coming from nearby street lamps.

After being secluded in a dark dungeon for over a year, it would take her eyes some time to readjust to the light.

Then, there was the cold.

Winter from the frozen north had arrived not to long ago, and a thick layer of snow already covered the ground.

Sadri was out in the winter cold with nothing but her own fur.

Alarms began to blare behind her.

The guards had discovered her escape.

Sadri needed to make herself scarce and fast.

She looked up and down the bustling street, at the dozens of crystal ponies going about their business as they prepared for the day ahead.

Then, she began to walk.

Looking over her shoulder, Sadri could see several guards running down the steps of the palace.

The hunt had begun, and she didn't have a good head start.

Sadri stopped to take a moment to observe herself, and she cursed silently.

Her golden fur would giver her away pretty quickly in a crowd of crystal ponies.

What she would give for a changeling’s transformative abilities…

Thinking quickly, she eyed a mare standing at the corner of the street.

The mare wore a long coat that covered most of her body, leaving only her hooves and traces of her mane and tail exposed.

Sadri smiled and approached the mare.

“G-G-Good morning!”

The mare shot Sadri a strange glance.

“Uh… Yes, hello… Can I help you?”

Sadri nodded her head, and her eyes began to glow, ever so slightly.

“You can, actually… Your coat is very lovely… May I, uh… May I have it?”

The mare held a hoof across her chest like she was clinging onto her coat.

“I beg your pardon?”

She looked less than willing to give it away.

Sadri took a step closer and raised a hoof to her cheek, caressing her gently.

“I insist that you give me your coat…”

The cold was starting to get to her, making her sound more and more agitated.

Despite her best attempts to persuade the mare, she was still reluctant to give up her clothing.

“Yo-You must be out of your mind…”

Sadri frowned and retracted her hoof.

She had never failed to seduce a pony before.

*Have I lost my touch?*

Maybe she was out of practice, or she couldn't concentrate in the cold, but the guards were closing in, and she needed a place to hide.

The only thing she could think of now was to offer the mare ‘favors’ in exchange for a warm place to stay.

“I can be fair… Please, help me this one time, and I can make it worth your while…”

Sadri’s red eyes burned into hers, and this time, she noticed a definite change in the mare’s expression.

The mare’s gaze softened, and she began removing her coat.

“That's not necessary… Take it.”

Sadri’s chest swelled with joy as she held the coat in her hooves.

Without wasting another second, she threw it on, letting it drape over her entire body.

In an instant, she felt warm and concealed.

She watched from behind the mare as the Royal Guards charged by on the opposite side of the street.

Sadri had avoided recapture, for the time being.

She glanced towards the now shivering mare, and her joy she felt quickly faded.

“I don't know why you're hiding from the guards, and I don't wish to be involved…” She let out an icy breath. “Take my coat, if you must… Just leave me out of whatever crime you've committed…”

Sadri briefly considered the idea.

It would be easy to take the coat and run.

She could cast a spell on the mare to make her forget she ever saw her, but Sadri couldn't bring herself to steal, not from a pony that had helped her in her hour of need, even though that ‘help’ was out of fear.

The golden mare let out a long sigh as she removed the coat, returning it to the shivering mare.

“Thank you, but I won't be needing this any longer. I don't believe I asked you for your name…”

The mare looked down at the coat in her hooves and managed a weak smile.

“I'm Gypsum…”

Sadri cracked a smile and leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on the mare’s cheek.

“Thank you, Miss Gypsum…”

Then, she took off down the street, leaving the mare dazed and a little confused, rubbing a hoof against her cheek where she had just been kissed.

Her eyes tried to follow Sadri through the crowd, but she had already disappeared.

“You're… welcome…”

***Up Next: Stars At Dawn***