Castle Bahamut

“So how does this work?”

“Well, patience takes restraint.”

“That was not what I meant.”

“Ah, the boy.”

Chapter 5: Countdown

“Ah, has Spike displayed any rebellious tendencies?” Shining Armour asked.

“No,” Rarity responded solemnly, no more tears. Instead, she had a dejected, deadened expression on her face with eyes that refused to meet Shining's or my own.

“Any time in the past two weeks has he displayed any anger towards a living being, be it a pet or Aunt Frida?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. No further questions, your majesty,” Shining Armour said, returning to his seat.

Rarity didn't budge from her seat or so much as show she was alive other than blink. Celestia nodded and glanced over at my lawyer.

“Does the defence wish to cross-examine the witness?” she asked in her mellow tone.

“No thank you, your highness,” Tether responded.

With that, Shining once more stood up. Celestia cleared her throat and glanced down at Rarity. “Miss Rarity, you may step down.”

Nodding, Rarity quickly scurried out of her seat and back into her spot right behind me. Shining Armour slowly strolled to the centre of the room while carrying several papers. A side-long glance at myself caused a stop in a gulp I was doing. Coughing up some saliva, I composed myself and Shining looked to the court.

“I call upon my first witness, Second Lieutenant, Blue Star,” Shining Armour said in a booming voice.

A buff cyan stallion wearing an extensive cast over his rear end stepped forward adorned in an officer's uniform. His left eye had some swelling while there was a limp to his step. He quickly glared at me before stepping onto the podium. The clerk approached the stand and stared at Blue Star.

“Do you swear that the evidence you shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you Gaia?” she asked.

“Yes,” Blue Star responded.

“State your name and address.”

“Blue Star and my current residence is Canterlot Castle Barracks.”

Stepping forward, Shining Armour cleared his voice with an 'ahem' that caught all attention. “Now, Blue Star; it's very clear from your bandages that you were injured, but how did you come by them?” he asked.

Clearing his throat, Blue Star responded in a deep voice. “I was attacked by a savage beast. My rump is covered in stitches while my front side only has a small bump on my left eye.”

Nodding, Shining Armour continued. “Do you know for certain what the beast looked like?”

“Yes.”

“You saw its face?”

“Yes.”

“What did he look like?”

Crinkling his snout, he snorted and rubbed his scalp. “A murderous gaze, he had. Round head, purple scales, green spines and green eyes with thin slits as the pupil.”

Shining Armour didn't respond. Instead, he turned around and walked towards me, standing several feet away from the table I sat at. He stared me down with a determined gaze not wrought with revenge but a lust for justice.

“Is your attacker in this room?”

“Yes.”

“Can you identify him?”

Wordlessly, the stallion pointed his hoof directly at me.

. . .

“Cheerilee, it was reported that you spotted Spike after the time where he left Rarity's home. Can you pinpoint where he was going?”

“The train station.”

. . .

“He has acted violent once.”

. . .

“Well sure, he acted violent once. E'rypony acts up sometime in their lives.”

. . .

“I refuse to answer the question. Besides, my testimony doesn't count since we're family.”

. . .

“There was only one time Ah can r'member where Ponyville had t' worry 'bout Spike.”

. . .

“Yes, I was a 100-foot tall beast, and I had no control over it.”

[*][*][*]

Cloaked stacks seven feet high and more shuffled towards Lockdown as the warm wind of the midnight breezed passed their cloaks, revealing snouts in the cloak openings. Lockdown never payed them any mind, opting to sit back and let them speak first.

“Lockdown, it has been six years. The time comes where he's the ripest age and you squander his presence by sending him to solitary. The boy has been here several weeks but has only been in the normal prison program for just over three days.”

“Yes.” Lockdown snorted.

“I thought I made it clear that I wanted results by the end of the week, had I not?”

“Yes.”

“Drop that attitude or I'll rip off your jaw.”

“Go for it.”

“Insolent little—”

“Haruo needs time. He's got a plan in place, and he needs time. The first few attempts were direct simply to satisfy your needs to rule them out.” Turning towards the group of six cloaked dragons, Lockdown adjusted his jacket. “His latest plan requires time to work, and he guarantees with his life that it will. Spike being sent to solitary is mandatory for this to work. Even so, I have not found a good opportunity to abduct him myself.”

Silence before a dragon hummed, making himself known. In a squeaky voice by dragon standards, he stepped forward. “So what of this plan? How can you openly trust Haruo?”

Lockdown swatted the air towards the dragon and leaned against the large railing. “Tenacity. Both of them have tenacity; Haruo won't stop until his goal is achieved and will simply keep getting better ideas while Spike will constantly be trying to escape. One of these times, Spike will provide us with a perfect opportunity, and the only thing we as the guards need to do is to is make sure that he doesn't escape. React to his attempts accordingly and Spike will reach the inevitable point where his escape attempt will be chaotic enough that I could go snatch him. I see Haruo's goal and I agree with him fully.”

Glancing over, the cloaked dragons mumbled amongst themselves, seemingly discussing the “plan.” Lockdown's attention retreated to his thoughts as the collective group processed what was said. After a while, the chatter between the group faded and they faced Lockdown.

“This whole bid is on the will of a youngling dragon and his urge to be free. As acceptable as it may be, we will watch the whelp you call Haruo,” one of the dragons stated.

Lockdown shook his head while muttering something. Glancing over, his eyes transmitted his thoughts yet he still stated them. “Impossible. Do not watch him. If you're somehow found out, which you will be, the guards will investigate you. I may lead them, but the guards know nothing of the plan. Not to mention Haruo specifically told me to keep you off his back. If you want success, do that.”

The dragon sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, sure. But if we don't have results, our threats won't be so idle. Your 'willing retirement' will be arranged, and when all is said and done, you will be dissolving at the bottom of the ocean.”

“No, if you don't have results this time, we'll all be in here ourselves, serving a new Warden. If I go down, you can be sure you'll go down harder.”

The group collectively snorted before turning away. Wings extended from the cloak and several flaps signalled their take-off. Without so much as a goodbye, they took to the sky, leaving the Warden alone.

[*][*][*]

Once more I was being escorted back from solitary. Instead of utilizing my privacy, I spent my week moping about how the riot failed and how to prevent that next time I start a riot. If I start a riot. Truthfully speaking, starting a riot is the safest way to try and escape. The confusion catches all including the guards and Warden making an escape attempt easier. The issue is more than just the confusion, however. Someone needs to... kill the Warden.

Gelid has the motivation to commit the atrocious act, but I'd rather not exploit her not to mention I'd rather not have someone die. I could, if I have the right tactic, get him to undo the seal. Or... I could wait it out and get out on good behaviour. Which is unlikely due to these damned solitary confinements. Sighing, I glanced up at the escort, the same as last time.

“So, have you been to the dragon homelands?” I asked.

He glanced down with a curious gaze before returning to eyes forward. “Yes, I was born there.”

“What are they like? Like, the locales, and the other dragons,” I asked, stepping over a root extruding from the wall.

His eyes wandered as he hummed in thought. To the left was a railing with parts of the cells below. What sounded like nails on a chalkboard sounded behind me and I cringed, turning around only to see the guard scratching a scale with his claws. He glanced down before sheepishly grinning and coughing. I faced ahead, shaking off the ringing in my ear.

“Very rocky. But to be honest, our capital city is reminiscent of Castle Bahamut. Contrary to what one living a pony life would believe, us dragons have structures for homes and construct buildings for various reasons. Caves are often our homes because they're easy to make, easy to find, often have jewels, and are less disposable, especially if one is constantly roaming the world. For one such as myself, I'd settle down and raise a family, gather a hoard of my own and poke fun at others.”

Glancing down, I gave it some thought. “I've lived the cozy life of a pony so far: warm bed for the winter; food anywhere and everywhere; never tasted meat before; I've even been considered the legal age for intimacy by pony standards yet I'm still a baby by dragon.”

“I know, you're emitting pheromones like a Queen Bee,” he responded.

I almost stopped walking, opting to violently shudder instead before trying to repress the statement. “So to see this... is life in the homelands anything like this? Minus the incarceration?”

“Somewhat. Live in a society run by the leader, and if you act out, you're killed. The society itself depends on the clan you're in. The code of dragons is that each clan develops its own rules and societies and whatever makes you a warrior in one clan may be punishable by exile in another. But, there is one universal rule.”

Approaching my cell, I looked up at him. His face was stern, as if this rule was one that requires a serious, no-bullshit attitude when reciting it.

“If the king speaks, you obey. No questions asked. If the King of the Dragon's told every dragon on the planet to kill themselves, they'd do it. To not do so is dishonourable. Many a dragon would tear out their own heart for the king.” We stopped outside my cell as he fumbled with a ring of keys. He opened it as I stepped in, turning around so he could remove my shackles. “But not me. Fuck that.” We briefly stared at each other in silence before letting out several chuckles.

He undid the cuffs keeping my wrists restrained and I rubbed them for good measure. They were always uncomfortable, mostly because I have an older pair since I'm smaller than the average inmate. Glancing up as he spun the ring of keys around on his finger, he started walking away. Without thinking, I approached the bars and asked: “What's your name?”

His body froze and he slowly turned around with an expression of awe. He snorted, chuckling as he shook his head.

“Apep Ormr. And yours is Spike the Dragon,” he said, waving his hand as he walked away.

For the first time in prison, I genuinely smiled.

[*][*][*]

My potato sack blanket never felt so soft before. Even though I've only used it twice, or maybe three times, it seemed to get comfier each time I used it. Or maybe it's because there is no bed in solitary confinement.

Regardless of my status on blankets, the thought of last week still lingered in my mind. It was a pretty bad mess up, one that outshines our first Winter Wrap Up's fumbles by a long shot. I don't want anybody to die just so I can escape but I don't want violence either. There was an old saying Twilight told me about regarding violence; “There can be no peace without war.” She has always insisted otherwise, saying that love and friendship is the way to peace... but I know different. Not everybody is going to agree with you. Not everybody is going to be a nice guy. Someone will wind up in power of a strong nation and that someone may disagree severely with Equestria. That someone may wage war, and the only way for it to end peacefully is to remove the one commanding the nation... which cannot be done without violence. Just like how I cannot leave the prison without someone dying.

Sighing, I snuggled against my rock pillow while the potato sack vaguely smelled of sweat. Brushing that aside, I attempted to sleep. Regardless of the comfort I managed to attain, I found myself restless. The thought of another attack/kidnapping lingered in my mind and with Gelid's vague reasoning for being here, I was unable to find the catharsis required to sleep. Minutes rolled by until I changed my laying position. Shifting around, I remembered the last time I slept comfortably to try and assist with my slumber.

A frilly pink bed with thin, violet sheets. Central heating to keep the building warm. A white mare with a purple mane to keep me warm.

. . .

A soft ping in the distance snapped me out of my attempt at sleeping. I sat up in bed as quietly as possible and I allowed my hearing to take priority. After a second of buzzing, the natural sound was second nature and I heard a very soft ticking... like claws on stone.

Quietly rolling out of my bed, barely hearing myself in the process, I slid several rocks under my potato sack and hid myself behind the sink. My small frame was hidden in the shadows by the sink and in my hand I held a rock. It was slightly larger than my fist and had a particularly sharp edge to it which I had in the open. The ticking softly increased in volume and seemed to slow like something out of a horror film. I wasn't scared or anything, but I was wary that some asshole is constantly trying to kidnap me. I don't know how he keeps getting in here or whether or not he's part of the guards. If he was part of the guards, he'd be able to get me in solitary. Or solitary is safe, as hinted at by Gelid.

A figure stepped in front of the cell and bore a cloak just like the last dragon that tried to make off with me. Except I'm almost certain he wasn't trying to reenact the infamous “drop the soap” accusations most prisons have. Almost.

His hand reached toward the door and a gentle click came from the handle. The door swung open without any loud creaks and the figure quietly approached the lumps under my blanket. Upon closer inspection, he obviously realized it wasn't my head poking out from the end of the blanket and glanced towards the sink. By the time he did so, I had already leaped out from my hiding spot and swung the rock at the figure's face. It make contact with a sickening sqush acting as the indication of impact. Some fluids squirted and covered my hand and I didn't stop to see the damage, running out of the cell instead. I dashed to the left this time and glanced behind me to see the dragon almost two feet behind me. In shock, I looked down at my hand to see an odd clear fluid coating it.

A hand latched onto my arm and I swung my fluid-coated hand towards the dragon, slapping it against his larger head. He grunted and I still couldn't see his face due to the lighting of the room. He brought his free hand back and his body twisted enough for me to see that his eye was damaged, goop leaking from it. I would have vomited had I not been high on adrenaline.

Instead, strength brought on by the adrenaline allowed me to rip my right arm out of his grasp and I thrust my left fist up towards his gut. It connected with a satisfying grunt in confirmation and I followed up by jumping straight up. He keeled over so I slammed my skull straight into his snout while simultaneously wrapping both my arms around his neck. I kept headbutting his snout which seemed to get bloodier the more I made contact with it.

Having probably bruised and bloodied my scalp, I let go of the mystery drake and rubbed my head, having felt a wave of dizziness stream up my spine and into the back of my head like a bad hangover. I stumbled backwards and turned around towards the exit. Footsteps in the distance up the stairs in the exit came out of nowhere and I felt a sense of dread. There was no way I could cover up the bloody bastard behind me or the blood on my scalp. Spinning around in an attempt to make it back to my cell, the kidnapper had vanished entirely. There was a pool of blood that had made it into a small groove in the ground and being me, I had stepped in it. I ran back across the stone balcony and slipped as the blood on my foot finally found some smooth stone and I fell over just in front of my cell. As I tried to push myself up, a foot stomped on my back and I hit the ground with a thud, unable to breathe. And again...

“Solitary, two weeks!”

[*][*][*]

This isn't a coincidence.

I'm being kidnapped because I've come into contact with ponies. Specifically, unicorns. I have magic inside of me that the Warden needs. And that's just it. Not just any magic. It belongs to the Element of Magic herself. Moreso, I didn't just come into contact with the Element of Magic, I spent my life with her. At my birth, she infused me with enough magic to make me grow into a fully-grown dragon. I don't have a little bit of potent magic... I have a lot. Enough for the Warden to tidy up and go home after all is said and done.

The kidnapper himself is working with the Warden. That's why he keeps coming for me, and not just that. I'm safe in solitary, hence the reason he hasn't come for me here. Those Pegasi I spotted here aren't here for some training. This prison gets dragons from all around the world, and it'd make sense to have more than dragon's on deck for the sake of advantage. Not all dragons know what a Unicorn is capable of, or the strength an Earth Pony could have. Those Pegasi guard the area for solitary. The kidnapper isn't able to get me because the prison itself doesn't guard solitary... Pegasi guard solitary. Ponies. They're faster and more agile as well as have more room to move in such a small area. Tactically, they have the advantage should some escape as well as the fact that Unicorns can effectively nuke the area.

I'm 100% safe in solitary. I'm the Warden's grand prize for his conspiracy for that box or whatever. And that son of a bitch framed me for murder.

I'm going to fix this. I'll utilize my time in solitary and train myself. Exercise; do pushups, crunches, anything to raise my stamina and strengthen myself because one of these days, I have to face the Warden and that kidnapper again. A riot is necessary; the confusion will single out the Warden and separate him from the guards. And it has to be a big riot; everybody in the prison has to be rallied. Gelid can help, because she can help me stop the Warden. I can end this conspiracy and all the deaths (never mind the deaths that the riot will cause) of innocent lives.

[*][*][*]

Two Pegasi floated through the solitary caves, patrolling as well as making sure no dragons were causing fusses. Near one, they stopped to listen in on the inside. Grunting could be heard as well as snarling. Confused, one leaned his head over to the door, refusing to glance into the cell.

“Hey, what's going on in that cell?” the other Pegasus asked.

“I hear grunts. Is... is he doing what I think he's doing?” the one with his head against the door asked.

The first guard gently flew up to the window to see Spike slapping his head against the ground, mumbling something about regrets. The guard shrugged his shoulders and yanked on the eavesdropping Pegasus.

“He's just whining and suffering, like he should be. Go check the other hallway, dammit,” he said, shoving the Pegasus in a different direction.

. . .

Hearing the Pegasi leave, I smirked and laid out face-down against the ground. Pressing my palms flat against the ground so my limbs were in a T-shape, I began pushing my whole body up regardless of my exhaustion. For hours upon hours, I switched between doing push ups as well as sit-ups. Lacking weights, I could only do so much since I had a single rock in this solitary room, and I merely used it for a pillow.

The first four days were simply that; push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, the simple exercises. Soon, I found myself doing the exercises with some ease, so I looked down to my rock. When I got my food in my rock bowl, I devoured it as fast as possible or moved it onto some clean smooth stone and used my pillow as well as my dish as weights. Uneven, so I switched arms often. Time seemed to fly by with the weights so I attempted to lift the pillow using one hand, alternating every few minutes. My arms felt like they were on fire at first after I over-exerted myself and the food always tasted like ass normally, but after burning up all my energy, it was like triple-scoop minty fudge mega-butterscotch ice cream; irresistible. It was only a potato and some water, yet it was heaven.

Like moths to a hot fire, I took to training with ferocity. I did my best to hid my exercises from the guards as well as try and utilize my food dish as a weight to the best of my ability. At the start of my sentence, I would have found my pillow a heavy boulder, but now it's like lifting a stack of books. There was some weight, but nothing to fuss about. I didn't have body-builder muscles, but it was definitely enough for someone to use self-defence. And this was only strength training.

Stormy weather here, supposed hurricane winds there. Once during my solitary I heard a ruckus outside, obviously a courtyard scuffle as several other people were audibly put in solitary. They'll suffer and wallow in here and potentially die later on, but not me. My will won't be broken, and I'll prove to everybody I'm innocent by... escaping prison. Huh. Well, the first step is to find the one who framed me.

And there was the deal of magic inside of me. I never knew I had it but now that I figured out I have a huge well of Twilight's magic swirling around inside me, I could try and use it. I just need one of those gems that conducts magic, or...

[*][*][*]

“Jeez, are you ever going to spend a whole day out of solitary? Or are you planning on punching the Warden's daughter next?”

“The Warden has a goddamn daughter!?” I asked.

“Heh, no. That was just a jab at the lengths you go to escape. I'll be honest, you're pretty damn ballsy,” Apep said.

Shrugging, I glanced at the hallways. “I just wanna go home and find the guy who framed me.”

“Gotta be honest again, but I'm starting to believe you're innocent. Most people would have given in to their guilt. Either that or you're just extra determined to escape. Regardless, you speak of such vigour and praise of Equestria and your friends. I really don't see someone like you as a murderer,” Apep said, opening a wooden door leading into the cell block.

“Why are you talking to me like this? Aren't you supposed to be, like, 'get in your cell, criminal scum' or something?” I asked. Shaking my wrists, I heard the shackle chains clinking around. “And why don't you yank me by my chain?”

“'cause I trust you, and prison guards aren't brutal. At least the ones who haven't been here for years. Truth is, most guards are scared of the inmates since some are combat-trained. A good riot will completely overpower the prison's current staff. If that happens, reinforcements come from various lands such as Equestria. Me? I just want people to do their time and learn a thing or two. Being brutal dictators won't earn the respect of prisoners nor will it make them want to act nice. The others could really learn something from you.”

Arriving at my cell once more, I hesitated. “Uh, don't mean to be rude or anything, but... are the guards blind? I'm being completely, 100% honestly entirely totally sincere when I say that I've almost been kidnapped three times. I think, I don't remember, been too long.”

He frowned as he pondered it for a second. “Maybe this kidnapper has help. I'll offer to guard this cell tonight.”

Sighing with relief, my whole body loosened up. I stepped into my cell and he undid my shackles and locked my cell. “Thank you. I haven't gotten a decent sleep in my cell since ever. Keep waking up to kidnapping and such or I'm in solitary which is plain uncomfortable.” Looking down, I felt saddened. “Although three weeks ago, that riot was my fault. I regret those deaths more than anybody.”

“And I believe you. Sleep well, Spike the Dragon,” Apep said as he walked away.

Nodding, I walked over to my bed and slid under the potato sack, falling asleep rather easily.