Chapter 1
Twilight finally had her first day off since becoming a princess. Today was the day that she was going to have a picnic with her best friends who she hasn’t seen since the coronation ceremony three months ago.
After all the festivities were over her brother and Cadence had moved back to the Crystal empire, her friends had moved back to Ponyville and she was so swamped with paperwork she could barely keep up. Celestia said that it would get better over time, but that had been a while ago. They had kept in touch using letters, but she still missed spending time with them. Now all of that was behind her as she was whisked along in her sky chariot.
She saw Ponyville in the distance as Spike leaned forward over the front, eager to get there.
“Oh-boy! I can’t wait to get the gang back together. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity.” He said, letting out a big sigh when he said Rarity’s name.
“Be careful Spike, you don’t want to fall off.” Twilight said as she looked onward. The town looked the same. Ponies walking along, chatting, eating at the restaurant, and having a wonderful time. She saw Sugar Cube Corner with its cake topping roof and pink sides. and the town library, unmistakable in it’s design.
Seeing it made he nostalgic. lots of adventures started in that library, times she will never forget. In the distance she saw Sweet Apple Acres, the trees already red with fruit and sending their sweet aroma in the wind. Her stomach grumbled from the smell, and she instructed the guards to land just outside the town limits. They had no idea she was coming and she wanted to surprise them.
After they landed she hopped out, grabbed a cloak and sent Spike out on his mission to quietly deliver the messages that had a map leading to the designated picnic place. The guards voiced their concerns about her going there alone, but she explicitly instructed them not to come so as not to attract unwanted attention. Being mobbed wherever she went was another downside of being a princess.
"Princess can you do this? Can you do that? Show us some cool magic. SIGN MY FLANK!" What was she? A pop celebrity? It got tiresome. She needed this vacation.
She set out towards the mountain where she and the rest of the gang set out to talk to the sleeping dragon. About halfway there she saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo playing with water guns. She pulled her hood down and continued walking as Apple Bloom got nailed in the face. Twilight went farther along and arrived at the meeting spot.
She situated herself under a tree. It was scorching under the cloak. Then she brought out the cloth and tableware. The checkered pattern making her remember the many times the six of them sat on this and talked. It was the one that applejack brought when they heard about the wedding, and the time she got so stressed she caused the town to go gaga over her smarty pants doll. She smiled as she continued to set the arrangement and bring out the food, when she heard a chirping in the background. It was a cricket, but it sounded unusual, not like the crickets that sounded through the night. It was longer and more trilling.
Her curiosity peeked, Twilight headed towards the sound. She found the cricket in plain sight, which was the first unusual thing. The second was it was a pinkish color. Totally out of place in this environment. Twilight was delighted, it was so long since she did any sort of self studying, and her private internal database was starting to get rusty. She could only name 26 of the 30 different spells for sculpturing with clay.
She got a notebook from the basket and started taking notes.
Monday 22 days after the rising of the sun celebration. 12:47pm
Found an unusual cricket chirping near where I was setting up a picnic. It appears to be an albino, more study is required to confirm.
She pulled out a small magnifying glass from the pocket of the inside sleeve of the cover, and examined it more closely.
Completely see-through with a pinkish hue. No sign of any compound eyes, unusual. This is characteristic of creatures that live deep within caves. Where there is no light for eyes to be effective. It is emitting the most strange sound I heard from a cricket. A shrill Tweeerp Tweeerp sound.
Just as she wrote this down, it jumped away towards the mountain.
Twilight followed, keeping it in sight, which was easy to do thanks to it’s unusual color. It eventually landed next to a small hole about the size of a ring and chirped some more before it climbed inside.
“Huh, strange.” Twilight said as she saw it scramble into the hole, adding that data in, noting the location relative to the mountain. “That was certainly an odd, but pleasant encounter.”
She looked at her watch. “Time to go over and wait for the rest. I can read my book while doing so.”
She turned around and started walking back to the tree. She had gone farther than she thought, almost fifty yards by her estimate. Walking back twilight felt the ground shake, then it shifted from under her hooves. This was enough to catch her off balance. She fell onto the dirt sprawling. She stood up and shook the grass from her mane.
“What was that about?” She looked around and saw the hole where the cricket crawled in was now substantially bigger. Big enough for somepony to twist an ankle.
“Okay, I need to tell the guards about this. Perhaps they can then tell the pony that needs to know. ”
Without Spike she would need to go there herself. She turned back to the tree to take off as the ground fell from underneath her. It was so sudden, she didn’t have time to flap her wings before one of them hit hard on a rock protruding from the side of the crevasse that had suddenly formed. She heard a crack as the joint twisted out of place, rendering it useless.
She continued down, bouncing against the walls, which hurt like hell but slowed her descent so as not to get smashed at the bottom. It smoothed out as she kept falling, and curved into a gentile slide. She rolled the last few feet and hit her head on the wall, promptly knocking her unconscious.
She awoke up with both her head, and wing throbbing. Her vision was blurry, and she tried to estimate how long she was out. Once her vision cleared she saw she was shackled in rusted chains, attached to a large table piled high with stinking meat and cheese. The smell assaulted her nose and sent waves of nausea coiling down her stomach.
She heard a noise at the far end of the table, and looked down to see a troll eating bits and pieces of the meat and cheese. It picked up a large leg that looked awfully equestrian and opened its wide mouth, revealing large, tusk like canines and yellow fangs. With effortless ease it stripped the meat off the bone and swallowed it in one gigantic gulp. He glanced over in her direction with its small black eyes and she flinched away. It smirked and tossed the bone next to her, teeth scrapes running along the length.
Twilight fought against the bile that wormed it's way into her throat. This creature had no idea who it was messing with, she is Princess Twilight Sparkle and she could blast it away with one flick of her horn. She stopped her train of thought right there. Luna had warned her about what she called Royal Pride. It was just another thing on the list of the many irks of being a princess. Instead of saying anything that she would regret, she settled on giving it a condescending glare.
The troll couldn't care less and went back to its dinner, rooting around with its long gorilla like arms and wiping it’s pudgy nose with the back of it’s hand. Eating whole cheese blocks at a time.
“So our guest awakes.“ said a cold voice from behind her. She turned around to see the face of a stallion who was vaguely familiar. His coat was a sickly light yellow color, clashing with the dark purple of the cushion on the throne that he was sitting on. His orange mane was slicked back away from his horn, above emerald green eyes. He sat with a wine glass in his hoof swirling it before taking a sip every so often. On each side of the throne were mares with collars around their necks. One was a purple earth pony, the other was a light red pegasus who's wings appeared to have been chopped off, judging by the stubs and bandages.
“I’m so delighted that you decided to drop by." The yellow unicorn said, taking a sip. "I was just wondering how I was going to get a female alicorn into my collection and here you are! As if providence was on my side.” He got up and set the glass down on one of the armrests.
He got closer and circled round her pulling out a magnifying glass to see any imperfections. “Hmm, nice shiny coat, cute face, a little smaller than what I was expecting, but acceptable.” He kicked her right wing with his front hoof.
“Ouch!”
He tutted. “Injured wing, not good, but not too bad considering what you went through." He thought for a moment, then nodded, coming to a satisfactory conclusion. "Well the wing really is unimportant. If it were fine, then you could try to escape. So I think this way is better, don't you?"
Twilight remained silent. Her eyes glued to his. She was scared of him, but she wasn't going to let him know that. All the books she read about being kidnapped said that you shouldn't make the captor angry, compliance, followed by finding an escape route, were key to surviving this experience. There was also her newfound princess pride, and she was worried if she said anything, that royal pride would come out.
"You’re lucky that you didn’t break your neck," he said, continuing to talk, "then you would have been useless. I don’t need a dead alicorn. ” He put his hoof to his chin. “I could have had you stuffed if that happened, but by the time I had all the things prepared, you would have become mush.”
Twilight didn’t like how he was talking about her. It was like she was his property. It was unnerving how calmly his tone was. Not to mention that there was a troll within ten feet of them chewing loudly in the background. Yet he was completely nonchalant about it. He looked familiar. Maybe if she could get a good look at his cutie mark, it might give her a better idea. All she had gotten so far were bits and pieces of something green.
“Not much of a talker are you? Well that’s okay, for what I have in mind for you talking isn’t required.” He said finishing his inspection.
He stepped back and his horn glowed. From behind the throne, a collar that looked like the ones the mares were wearing floated towards her. When it got closer Twilight saw it was made out of crystal and painted with green runes.
She struggled against the chains, but it was no use. He grabbed her chin and swiftly and simultaneously slipped the collar around her neck with practiced ease. The collar made a loud click as it fused to itself creating a seamless ring.
As he turned around she caught a glimpse of his cutie mark, a snake coiled around a black pole in the form of a hundred bit sign. Then she knew who he was.
”Regal Medallion?”
He froze when she said his name. Slowly he turned his head around, showing a reddened eye. “How do you know that name?” he said coldly. Then his irises shrunk and the red in his eye became more pronounced.
“Twilight Sparkle?" He said, recognizing her for the first time. "You’re an alicorn? How is that possible? Last time I saw you you were just a little brat barely able to lift a book off the ground. Now your a princess?”
He walked over and grabbed under her chin forcing her to look into his eyes. They felt like all he was thinking of was how valuable she was to him now that he knew who she was. He grimaced and let go of her. Then he turned to the troll eating at the table.
“You can take her to her room now.” He said to it. “No need to be gentile.”
The troll grunted as it got up. It stood at eleven feet, nine of which was arm. It’s face was squashed and had a hoofball shaped head. It walked over to Twilight, with a bone still in its mouth. It was chewing it, and Twilight heard it crunch under the massive jaw strength. When it got to her it reached down and grabbed the chain that connected her to the table. When he pulled it broke away from the table, leaving behind a few links still attached. Lifting her up, he swung her over his back, earning her some more bruises.
“Oh and by the way,” Regal called out to her as she was hauled past the door that she didn’t notice before. “The name is Avarice Envy now. Regal died a long time ago.”
Twilight heard him say this as the door closed behind her. The troll who was carrying her turned a corner and waddled down the hall.
She was carried past rooms carved into the sides of the rock. None of them had any doors. Inside the first were trolls and goblins, gambling over a dog fight. Each dog had two heads and was circling each other with murder in their eyes. The troll kept walking and as the door went out of sight there was a loud yelp followed by cheers and groans.
The second room she passed featured a large cast iron pot suspended over a pool of lava. A goblin was stirring it with a large wooden spoon while standing on a stool. Its bulbous pointy nose sniffing at the contents to see if it was done or not. The light from the lava underneath made each wart pop out in grotesque detail. It glanced at Twilight and licked it’s lips when he saw her and grinned hungrily, revealing all nine of its teeth. Thankfully the troll lumbered on.
The next room had an anvil with a giant troll pounding at a metal bar. Each time it did blue and green sparks flew from it. The troll stuck it back into the lava waterfall behind it and pulled it back out, keeping it red hot. The continued clang of the metal reverberated down after Twilight as the troll carrying her waddled down some stairs.
Her nose was assaulted by the stench of filth as she was hauled into what she assumed was the dungeon. There were cells lining the walls. Some of them had ponies, many more were empty. Every one of them were mares. Each one had a collar, and the unicorn's had the creepy green runes. All of them had broken expressions, filthy coats, and starved figures. When they saw her they clambered to the cell door, ghostly faces pressed up against the bars, and started whispering amongst themselves.
Twilight could make out some words. “He caught an alicorn…a princess…no not a princess…he’s gone too far this time…we’re never going to get out…”
The troll slammed his fist against one of the cell doors. The resounding clang making the ponies stop their murmured whispering.
It continued walking down, deeper into the jail. Then it turned suddenly, and Twilight heard a key turning a lock. Then she was thrown into the cell. She landed on her injured wing, sending lightning waves shooting down her back. The troll closed the gate behind her and she heard the loud clang of the lock engaging.
She still had the shackles on. At least they didn’t impair her movements much. She sat up and looked at her surroundings. The cell was quite large. A natural pool of water was in the corner, fed by a small stream coming from the roof and down the wall. She turned towards the back wall and saw something unexpected. A statue of an alicorn on the wall.
It was a male, and appeared to be made out of some silver grey metal. Its mane appeared it was made out of fire. It flickered and gave off a gentile light like a candle, but did not move. The same was true for its tail, which was long and had slightly ragged edges. Its hooves were chained and spread apart making an x shape, and its giant wings were open, apparently fused to the wall. The chains were with the same crystal that made up her collar but without the runes. She went closer to see more detail. The wings appeared to be nailed into the wall. Each nail was also made of the crystal that made the chains. There were what looked like stains of blood running from the entry points. The detail on it was amazing, almost like it was just a sleeping pony. You could barley see any tool markings. She went closer to examine the handsome facial features, when it opened its eyes revealing two gem like irises the same color as the lava from the forge.
She reeled back and tripped over the rusty chains, landing hard, the shock waves sent pain shooting from her injured wing. He also was surprised by her sudden and close proximity to him, and moved his head up and back with a shout, smacking it on the wall behind him. They each groaned in pain as they felt their injuries throb. Finally he looked up and saw her holding her wing gingerly.
“What’s wrong with your wing?” he asked. His voice was deep and had a slight accent not unlike the ponies from Sydniegh have. Except his was less pronounced. She noticed that around his neck was a collar like her's.
“I hit it on something when I fell down a crack in the ground.” She turned touched it and felt a sliver of pain creep down the length of the wing, “I think it might be broken.”
“Here, let me see.”
Twilight walked over and turned her body so that he could get a better look. Making sure not to get too close. she had no idea who he was, and given her current circumstances, she didn't want to take any chances. He was chained up and posed no threat physically, but Twilight could feel some underlying emotion that he was trying to keep in check. Sadness maybe? No, more like, anger. He was also an alicorn, and an angry alicorn was a force to be reckoned with. Twilight silently thanked Celestia for teaching her how to read micro-expressions. She wasn't the best at it, but she was a quick study.
His candlelight mane glowed with just the right amount of light for him to see her clearly in the oppressive darkness of the large cell. He looked up the front, examined each joint and bone with a calculating expression. “Doesn’t look broken, looks dislocated.” He said, and after a few more seconds he nodded. “Yep definitely dislocated.” He concluded.
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. She knew it was, but she didn't want him to think she was too smart.
He raised his head a little higher, and smiled reassuringly. “Most assuredly. If it was broken it would be bending somewhere it shouldn’t. Plus it would hurt just to walk. Since you aren’t grimacing on every step, it’s safe to say that it’s dislocated.”
“How does that help me?” Twilight asked, with a frown on her face.
The pinned alicorn smiled a little wider. “A dislocation is much easier to fix than a broken bone. Takes a shorter time to heal too."
He lowered his head and his face took on a more serious look. “Okay, listen, with me stuck on this wall obviously all I can do is give you directions. If you do as I say then your wing will be fine. We can’t leave it like that, or the nerves will continue to stay pinched and eventually give out. Ideally we should be in a hospital and have a doctor do it, but that is not an option."
She gave him a look that said "Duh,"
He continued. "So I need you to find something to bite, cause this is gonna hurt.”
Twilight looked around and saw a pile of wood in the corner. She walked over to see a piece sticking out that looked like it would do the job. She picked it up and held it in her mouth.
“Good now head over to the door and stick your wing through the bars, keeping it parallel with the ground.”
She headed over and did as instructed. What had she got to lose? He was stuck over there and she read about this and he was right. If she didn't do anything the pinched nerves would die, and no amount of healing magic would bring them back. Her jaw reflexively clenching as she rotated her wing, feeling the bones grinding against each other.
“Okay now comes the hard part.” The alicorn said. “You need to simultaneously twist the front of your wing upwards and push against the front bar to slip it back into the socket. It will hurt a lot more than it did dislocating it, so be prepared.”
Twilight positioned the stick more securely in her mouth and gritted. She knew he was right. She had looked up medical books after Rainbow Dash crash landed, and everything he said was correct. Plus he was chained to the wall, and from the wounds she guessed he couldn't use magic. Otherwise he wouldn't be in this situation. So he posed no threat, yet Twilight was still wary. She could still sense his power, even if he couldn't use it, and it was volatile.
“Whenever you’re ready.” The alicorn said to her side.
She breathed a few times to prepare herself mentally, staring straight forward. She still wasn't sure if this was necessary, but she didn't know how long it would take for her to escape, and it needed to be fixed. Otherwise it would be a hindrance. The quicker she got this over with, the sooner she could leave. Taking a final deep breath in, she pushed.
The pain was extraordinary. She felt the bones grind up against each other, sending waves of agony each time one of the small ridges slid past each other. The tendons stretched as the wing moved slightly away from her body. It felt like it was going to be ripped off. She was holding her breath and her jaw hurt from biting the piece of wood. Finally with a pop, it slipped back into place. The pain subsided and she let out all the air in her lungs with a whoosh. Spitting out the stick at the same time. She panted, her body covered in sweat. It dripped off her nose and onto the floor. Her wing still pulsed in time with her racing heart, but it was more a numb reverberating, rather than a painful throbbing.
“Better now?” The wall alicorn asked, looking genuinely concerned for the first time.
Twilight open and closed it a few times, testing it out.
“Much better, thanks.”
“That’s good.” He said after breathing a sigh of relief. “It would be best to keep it folded and immobile until it has fully healed.”
“Okay.” She replied, tucking it in.
A silence stretched between them, lasting longer than was considered comfortable.
“Soooo….what’s your name?” The alicorn on the wall asked.
Twilight eyed him warily. His attitude was so unlike what somepony in his position would have, and she knew he was trying to keep his anger inside. Yet he was showing a smiling face. He kind of reminded her of Pinkie, with her unbridled optimism.
That thought made Twilight think of her friends. Will they be able to find her? They could put two and two together and figure out what happened. She just hoped they would stay far enough away so that they wouldn't get hurt. She could escape any time using her magic. The others might not be so lucky.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle.” She said, after a pause. She still wasn't really sure she could trust him completely, but maybe her name would make him think twice of doing anything to her.
He whistled. “A princess. Well welcome your majesty,” He said as he bowed his head. “to my humble incarceration room.”
“What’s your name?” She asked, taking his sudden formality as a sign that her tactic worked, or he was just a great actor.
He looked up and Twilight could see a sort of sarcasm in his eyes that did not reach his tone. “Terrance Alloy at your service. Well as much service as I can give.”
"Well Terrance," she said, "I think I'll be going now, but I will bring back help as soon as I can. Regal will not get away with this."
She turned towards the door and summoned her magic to teleport her through the door and into the hall. Nothing happened. She tried concentrating a little harder. Still nothing. She turned towards the stick that she bit and tried to levitate it up. It didn't even twitch.
Something was very wrong. She could feel her magic flowing through her body, but when she tried to use it, it kept slipping away. The harder she tried to use it, the harder it was to hold onto. Like a wet bar of soap.
She was truly trapped.
"What was that about leaving?" Terrance said, tilting his head to the side. His voice and face devoid of any amusement. "Face it princess, your trapped in here just like everypony else."
Author's Note
Thank you for reading. I had this idea for a while, and it has finally come to fruition.
Don't forget to like, comment, and favorite. Every view helps.
I you don't like, give me feedback so that I can figure out how to make it better.
May Harmony be with you all.
TheFlyingFish.
Chapter 2
Spike walked down the dirt path to the picnic spot, feeling pretty good about himself. The plan went without a hitch, he got in and out with none of them the wiser. He had a close call when Pinkie Pie grabbed some plates from the cupboard that he was in, but had managed to slip out the window when her head was in the oven. He still couldn’t believe he had gotten away with it. The others went much easier. He managed to throw the note folded into a paper airplane through Rainbow Dash’s window. Wrap another around an apple and toss it into the cart Applejack was pulling, and made sure she saw it before leaving. He had managed to convince Angel to deliver it to Fluttershy without telling her about who it was from. He put Rarity’s in a basket full of flowers and rang her doorbell. He watched her as she opened the door and beheld the bouquet. She probably thought it was from a secret admirer. Which wasn’t far from the truth.
He continued his walk down the path. The location was far enough away so that nopony would see them, but close enough so that they wouldn’t get there when Princess Luna raised the moon. He took off the cloak he was wearing and folded it. It was nice and soft, a dark shade of blue with silver and gold thread trim. It was a gift from Princess Celestia the day after the coronation. She told him that it was only befitting for Princess Twilight’s personal assistant. A title he wore proudly.
He continued to wander down until he could see the tree that was the place where they were supposed to meet. He could see the picnic blanket and tableware, but there was no Twilight. He supposed she must be in the tree, reading the book she brought with her. She had been reading that book every chance she got, up to today where she was just too excited about seeing her friends again to remember it.
His stomach growled, all that sneaking had made him hungry. He remembered that he packed a few diamonds and rubies in the basket. He rummaged through it until he found the bag that he put the gems in. He picked it up and opened it to see the delectable morsels. Each one was no bigger than a blueberry, but he had sampled one back in Canterlot, and it had been one of the most mouth watering he had ever had. He took one out and popped it in. The flavor was amazing, smooth texture, with an explosion of juice that sent his tastebuds on a fantastic water slide of exquisite ecstasy.
He reached over and was about to close the lid of the basket when something caught his eye. It was something red next to the basket on the cloth, all he could see was the corner. He reached over and picked up Twilight’s copy of The Mythology of Humans: A reference guide.
It was Twilight’s latest study project. Even though her “Royal Duties” were taking up most of her time, she still tried to read as mush as she could, and this had caught her eye. Probably she heard of humans from Lyra when she was in Ponyville. She tried explaining to Spike what the book was about, but he had only heard every fourth word, and she eventually gave up on him. Mythical creatures weren’t in the little dragon’s interests. She would never leave this behind unless something else grabbed her attention, or something grabbed her.
Spike threw out the last thought. Twilight was too smart to be captured, but that didn’t stop his imagination from running away. Images raced through his mind on where she was and what had happened for her to disappear. Twilight locked in a dungeon, dangling over a pit of lava, bound and gagged in the back of a carriage, and a slew of other scenarios. He took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts. Twilight was the best at magic, other than the other princesses. As long as she kept her head, and didn’t worry she would be fine. She probably forgot something at the chariot and went over to get it.
Spike walked over and sat under the tree, and waited. Slowly his eyelids started to droop. Twilight’s new schedule kept her really busy, and him as well. He had many a sleepless night filing away forms and copies that made absolutely no sense to him, plus Twilight’s checklists have gotten even longer, if that was possible. So unsurprisingly he felt very tired. Soon, thanks in part to the hot sun, Spike was soon snoring.
“Should we wake him up?”
“Na, let him sleep, he probably needs it.”
Spike opened one eye to see who was making all the noise. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in his field of view with Rainbow Dash hovering on the same level as the tree. His sleep interrupted, he sat up straight and stretched.
“Sorry Spike, did we wake you up?” Rainbow Dash asked. Out of anypony, she understood the need to take daytime naps.
“Yeah,” he said with a yawn, “but it’s alright, I can’t sleep for too long, otherwise I’ll be up all night.” He looked around to see if any of the others had comes as well. “Where’s everypony else?”
“Fluttershy had somethin’ she needed to take care of at her cottage,” Applejack answered, “and I saw Rarity pickin’ out a hat.” She rolled her eyes at the last statement.
“And Pinkie was just finishing up a party when I went to check on her.” Rainbow Dash interjected, “She said she’ll head here in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Spike said as he walked over to the basket. “Do you mind helping out with the food?”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash shook their heads as Spike handed them the wrapped sandwiches on a plate. Applejack set the plate in the center as Spike reached in and pulled out a salad bowl, a tray of gelatin squares, ranch dip surrounded by carrots and celery, and a plate of cream puffs. After everything was set, the others looked at the spread, then back to the basket. It seemed to small to fit all that food.
“How does all that food fit in that tiny basket?” Applejack asked, coming closer and peering into it. It looked no bigger inside than it did outside.
“I have no idea.” Spike said as he set the utensils. “Twilight explained it to me once, but I hardly understood any of it. You know how she gets when she starts explaining magic.”
“Yeah,” Applejack laughed, “I hear ya.”
“Speaking of Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around for her, “where is she?”
“Your right,” Applejack added, “where’s our newest princess?”
Spike brushed off his hands after he set the last set of silverware by the plates. “I don’t know.” He said to the two of them. “She was supposed to be here. Maybe she forgot something at the chariot and went to grab it. That happens when I’m not around to hold her checklists.”
They all chuckled when off in the distance they heard an excited shout. “I see them! There they are!”
Spike had just enough time to turn towards the voice before a pink blur rushed forward and Spike received a tackle hug from Pinkie. She squeezed so hard Spike had to struggle in order to get enough room to say, “Pinkie…choking…not breathing.”
“Oops.” She said as she let him go. “Sorry.”
Spike gulped down air as Fluttershy and Rarity came behind. Rarity was wearing a very beautiful dark green hat with a pink ribbon wrapped just above the wide rim, which complimented her purple hair magnificently. Spike couldn’t help but stare.
“Hello everypony.” Rarity said as she and Fluttershy caught up with Pinkie. “How are we today on this gloriously sunny afternoon?”
“Just fine Rarity.” Applejack said.
“Hello Spike.” Rarity said to him. “How is our favorite dragon doing?”
Spike had to shake his head to clear his thoughts before he could respond.
“Very well thank you.” He said. “I like the hat.” He added.
“Thank you.”
“Say where’s Twilight?” Pinkie asked, popping up between them.
“Don’t know.” Spike said as her eyes filled his view. “She might have gone to get something from the chariot.”
Rainbow Dash landed and pushed Pinkie away from Spike. “Why don’t I go looking for her? We’ll probably meet halfway.”
“Alrighty then.” Applejack said, walking over to the blanket. “Just don’t take too long, it’s not very nice to start a meal without all the mouths accounted for.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and Spike told her the location of the chariot. She flew off in the direction, trailing a sonic cone behind her. Spike went to sit with the others and poured each a glass of juice. They talked a bit on how each of them was doing. Rarity had created a slew of new designs that have been featured in Manehatten, and Applejack had made a new family sales record. Fluttershy and Pinkie had nothing relatively new going on, but that didn’t stop Pinkie pie from describing every interesting encounter she had in the last five weeks. Which was a surprising amount really, even if she thought having caterpillars crawl all over her was an interesting encounter. As continued talking, Spike told them about his new responsibilities, and showed them his cloak. Rarity liked it quite a bit, and even Applejack was impressed.
Soon Spike heard the flapping of wings as Rainbow Dash came in for a landing. He went over to meet her when the two royal guards also landed next to her, with no Twilight. This caused his worry to come back.
“So Twilight wasn’t at the chariot?” Spike said, a sinking feeling weighing down his chest.
Rainbow shook her head. “Nope, and when I told them that she wasn’t at the picnic site, they came straight over.”
The two guards fanned out and searched for clues in the field. The others stood back and let them work. Soon one of them found something.
“Over here.” He said, waiving his hoof at the others.
They approached, and he pointed at some tracks that were leading off into the distance. The group followed them a distance, calling out Twilight’s name till they reached the edge of the cavern. The tracks stopped there.
“This wasn’t here before.” Applejack said, looking down into the maw.
Spike also took a peek, his keen dragon eyes picking up a metal glint in the darkness. He squinted and saw that it was Twilight’s research journal. The faint light glinting off the metal clasp.
“That’s Twilight’s.” He said, pointing to the journal.
The two guards looked at each other then to the rest. “Alright,” one of them said looking at the group. “My partner and I will check things out, and bring Princess Twilight back. Under no circumstances are you to come after us.” He spread his wings out, “Leave this to the professionals.”
All of them nodded, including Pinkie, who mimed the Pinkie Pie promise. Then the two of them jumped down into the dark abyss.
Twilight spent the last hour or so trying to cast any form of spell. Each time met with failure.
“Give it a rest princess.” Terrance said with closed eyes. “That collar around your neck won’t be coming off anytime soon, and any magic you try will only slip away.”
Twilight glowered at the door, and tried to blast it from it’s hinges. Nothing. Without her magic Twilight felt, shattered. She could still feel it, a warm pressure inside her, but it stopped right where the collar was around her neck. She turned back towards the stick and concentrated on levitating it again. Straining as hard as she could, her face contorted in severe focus, while sweat beaded her brow.
“If you need to use the restroom,” Terrence said without a hint of humor. ”there is a corner over there that I can’t see. Much more private than the middle of the room. In plain view of the door I might add.”
Twilight reeled around to face him, her face beet red. After her first attempt at using magic, his face and tone had become hard and stone cold. She could only assume that this was his default expression, namely none. His tone had gone to one of neutrality, still keeping the accent, but like he was devoid of any attachment to the outside world. Twilight could still sense the underlying feeling of fury, but other than that, the only way to see his emotional state were slight movements in his eyebrows and the way his eyes seem to soften and harden. Which right now were completely serious.
“I was trying to levitate the stick, if you must know.” She said, turning away and sitting down.
There was a long silence. Then Terrance asked, “So what made you so sure that you were able to escape? Even after seeing me?”
Twilight sighed and kicked a pebble across the room. He had a point, usually prisoners were given an inhibitor on the horn, and was taken off when the prisnoer was in the cell. The inhibitor didn’t actually block magic, but It stopped the unicorns feeling their own magic, as well as stopping them from feeling any magical ambiance from the environment. This was different, she could feel her magic, but not the magic in the environment. It was like the collar was sucking her energy when she tried to use it, stopping the spell from being cast. As far as Twilight knew, actually stopping magic was nearly impossible.
“I thought that he had placed an invisible force field around the door,” She said, “and that this collar was here to prevent me from sensing it. So I assumed that it only covered the door and I could teleport around it, he never was good at complicated spells. Ever sense he put it on I couldn’t feel any spells being cast or anything like that, though I could sense your power.” She pointed at him with her hoof. “Probably because you have a large amount of magical storage, but now I know that it’s blocking my magic.”
She touched the collar around her neck and frowned. Then she kicked the pebble across the room where it clattered against the wall. She felt broken without her magic, like a piece of her core was gone. She knew that it wouldn’t last forever, but it still doesn’t feel right for a second.
Terrance nodded. “That’s sound logic, and you had no reason to suspect otherwise.”
His eyes where still closed and another long silence stretched between them.
“Isn’t it your turn to ask something?” He asked, lifting up one eyelid to look at Twilight.
“I didn’t know we were exchanging questions.” She said not turning around. She was still upset over his bathroom remark.
“Well, isn’t it the common arrangement between two ponies who haven’t met before?” he asked, genuinely curious.
And they say I don’t get out much. Twilight thought to herself, then she wrestled with what she wanted to ask. She finally decided on, “How long have you been chained to a wall?”
“Three weeks.” He said without hesitating. Then he furrowed his brow in concentration, the only thing that showed any sign of him thinking.
“Yeah, three weeks.” He said nodding. “Before that I was hung upside down above a pit for five weeks, tied up to a pole for two, and the first eight weeks chained to be completely immobile.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. He’s been here for four months and three weeks.
“Each time that little prick liked to try a different torture technique.” He said twisting his neck and trying to get mor comfortable. “Chain whips, bludgeons, he even tried to shove a red hot iron down my throat.” At that statement he genuinely smiled. A dark smile that spread slowly on his face, while his eyes shone with anger. “That really didn’t go well for him.”
Twilight didn’t want to know what happened. He had answered her question, and gave more details than she wanted. She sat in silence again. The pattern repeating, waiting for him to ask the question. When he finally did, it was the one she didn’t want to answer.
“You called him Regal, and just now said that he was never good at complicated spells. Do you know him?”
Twilight took a deep breath. Terrance had suffered quite a lot at Regal’s hooves. He had a right to know, but she just as soon forget then bring back those terrible memories. She breathed deeply and told him.
“He’s my cousin.”
This caused Terrance to raise his eyebrows high. Certainly he wasn’t expecting this. He tilted his head in a quiet question. So she continued.
“He is the son of my mom’s sister, and is about three years older than my brother. When I was just a filly, he would sometimes foalsit me when my regular foalsitter wasn’t available. From the beginning he had a very strong connection with finance, helping me with my math homework. His cutie mark wasn’t always what it is now. It used to be the hundred bit symbol, but it changed after the, incident.” She grimaced, not feeling up for the task, but she started , so she should finish.
Terrance waited patiently as she continued.
“Unfortunately my aunt and uncle, his parents, died from an unknown disease early on. We tried to get treatment, but it cost too much. They were absolute in that they would try and pay for it themselves, and Regal tried his very best, but they never got close to what they needed. After that he came and lived with us. He helped with the books and kept our money in good condition. It was thanks to him that I was able to get all the magic books that I needed for my studying, and get the money Shining Armor needed to get his physical training. After he had graduated from school he went off on his own. And that was the last that we heard from him for a while.
‘When we finally saw him again, he had walked into our house when we were at the hearts and hooves day play. We walked home and opened the door to see a trail of blood on the ground. We followed it to the bathroom where Regal was bandaging his back leg, with a scepter leaning in against the counter. When he saw us he froze, then there were voices at the door. We had left the door open, and guards saw the blood inside. That gave them probable cause, so it was within their right to come in. When Regal heard them he raced past us grabbing the scepter and tried to go out the window. He didn’t make it. The guards tackled him and cuffed him. I will never forget what they said.
‘Regal Medallion, you are under arrest for multiple accounts of theft, forgery, breaking and entering, and for the murder of a Royal guard.
‘When they took him away, I saw his cutie mark. It had changed to the snake curled around the pole in the hundred bit sign. He was put to trail and found guilty. His punishment was banishment from Equestria, and now he’s back with trolls!” She finished with a stamp of her hoof against the ground.
Terrance breathed a heavy sigh, and that was the end of the questions. The next few minutes were spent with Twilight pacing back and forth, and Terrance meditating, or was he sleeping? Twilight couldn’t tell. Then the doors opened, and a goblin flanked by two trolls walked in. In the goblin’s bony hand was a plate with bread, cheese, and various flower petals. He dropped it and it clattered on the ground. When the goblin turned Twilight could see that his other hand was missing, a bandage wound around his forearm. He left without a word, and the trolls shut the door as they too left.
Twilight got up and sniffed at the food. It seemed okay to her, and she took a bite. It wasn’t five star cuisine, but it satisfied her. After a few more bites she broke the bread in half, walked over to Terrance, and handed a piece up to him. He opened one eye.
“No.” He said, as he went back to his catatonic state.
“Come on Terrance, you need this more than I do.” Twilight said speaking around the bread in her mouth. “When was the last time you ate anything?”
“Before I was imprisoned.” He said through closed eyes.
“What!?” She said as she spat out the bread.
“By my choice,” He said before Twilight could give him a lecture. “I will not eat anything that little slime ball gives me, and the last time they tried to force feed me. Well you saw the goblin’s hand,” again, a dark smile corrupted his usual stony facade, “or not.”
Twilight picked up the bread and set it on the plate. She wasn’t hungry anymore. Then she suddenly felt very tired. It had been a long day, and she was ready to take a nap. She went to the corner where the damp and stink were not as prevalent, and curled up. Trying to stay warm. She actually found that the closer to Terrance she was, the warmer it was. Whether it was due to his own natural heat, or there was a hot spring behind him, she had no idea, but she didn’t care. She scooted closer to him. His steady breath soothed her, and his musty smell made her shiver. She rose and touched his flank, where his cutie mark shone, a red circle with a green leaf surrounded by yellow dividing it in half. She crawled around to the front, making as little noise as possible in her chains. She rose to his chest and felt his heartbeat, a steady strong pulse. She put her ear to his chest and felt it rise and fall.
“Princess?” Terrance said, fully alert and looking down at her. “What are you doing?”
She looked up to his face, and stared straight into his eyes. His irises seemed to melt her in his gaze. She looked at his well defined jaw, with his rugged definition ending in an attractive chin. Her eyes rose to gaze upon his lips, and wondered how they would taste. No sooner had she thought that, then she found her lips against his. Her lavender eyes staring down his own orange. Her tongue brushed against his teeth. He tasted rich, like a fine wine, and just as intoxicating. She broke off and licked her lips, savoring the aftertaste. He just hung there wide eyed, in total shock. Twilight put on a seductive smile, and giggled, he probably hasn’t had that expression on his face in a very long time.
“Twilight, what has gotten into you?” he said as she climbed higher to hug his neck and gaze deeper into his lava irises. “Your not acting like yourself.“
She giggled once again. “Do you really know me? Maybe this is me.”
She leaned in and gave him another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. Her eyes rolled back as her tongue wrestled his around. When she broke off again, she was breathing heavily, ready to escalate things. His face had become hard again. The shock factor from earlier worn off.
“Did you hit your head or something?” he asked.
“Oh come now,” she whispered in his ear, “how long has it been sense you’ve been with a mare?”
At this statement Terrance’s hard expression softened visibly, making him look tired and old.
“Longer than you were alive.” He said quietly.
“Well that’s too long.” Twilight responded, slowly breathing in his ear making it twitch.
“Twilight.” Terrance said, with a tone of annoyance.
She brought her head back around to look back at him. “Yes?” She asked fluttering her eyelids.
“Go to sleep.”
At this Terrance gave her a headbutt, promptly knocking her out for the second time within a day. She fell and Terrance caught her chains with his teeth, to which he then lowered her down as far as he could and let her drop the rest of the way. Twisting the chains so that she wouldn’t fall on her injured wing. He let out a heavy sigh when he saw her resting form. His mind wandered to what she said, how long has it been since you’ve been with a mare?
“Luna.” He said quietly, as a single tear slid down his face.
Avarice looked through his scrying crystal, watching the events between Twilight and Terrance unfold. Lounging in his luxurious chambers, with the crystal in the center, and a bed over in the corner. he loved at how much Twilight struggled to cast even the most basic of spells, only to be disappointed. He took a sip of wine and swirled it around. When the food came, Avarice shifted forward in his high back chair. He saw Twilight eat, then just as he predicted, offer some to Terrance.
“Come on.” He said, eyes focused on what was playing out before him. The light from the flaming braziers surrounding the edge of the crystal, making the scene before him set in a ring of fire. He had no sound, but he did see Terrance’s smile, and Twilight setting the bread back on the plate. Blast, the potion will take effect soon. It would be better if Terrance had taken some as well, but maybe it would work, he would just have to wait and see. He saw Twilight go off into the corner and curl up.
Avarice went through the different phases of the potions’ effects. Phase one was to tire the conscious mind, getting rid of all restraint and making the subject sleepy. Then phase two was to make the pony achieve unbearable sexual desire. He had tested this out on a number of mares and stallions. Always under the guise of a marriage counselor. Worked every time. He had to hand it to the zebra’s, they made the best potions.
Twilight scooted closer to Terrance, and touched him. She seemed fully alert and awake, but Avarice knew better. After this ordeal she wouldn’t remember a thing. Well, she will wonder where the foal came from. Avarice chuckled to himself, soon he will have a little alicorn he will raise as his very own, his greatest treasure. He would have preferred for it to have been Celestia’s, but that could still happen. The thought of Celestia stirred some unpleasant memories deep within his mind. Soon he will have his revenge.
He saw Twilight climb up and kiss Terrance, the look on his face was priceless. Avarice chuckled to himself and laid back, confident that it will go as expected. Up until the part where Terrance knocked Twilight out.
“Dammit!” Avarice shouted. Throwing his wine glass across the room, where it shattered against the far wall.
If that blasted alicorn wasn’t so stubborn, then maybe the potion would have worked. Next time he would use the aerosol version. He had hoped that his cousin’s annoying kindness would have convinced him to take a bite. Even if it was just a single grape, the aphrodisiac concoction would have driven them both to lust, but alas he was too proud for that. The gas will have to do, though it’s not as effective, at least he would not be able to interfere.
A grey earth pony mare came into his quarters, and quickly mopped up and cleared away the broken glass. She left as silently as she came in. Not daring to make any noise to announce her presence. She slipped back out unnoticed, as Avarice glared at the crystal. Then a yellow flashing appeared in the center of the ball. He flicked his horn and the picture swirled to show the tunnel that lead to the recently open cavern. He had the goblins install a scrying crystal there so he could keep watch over it. As he looked two white pegasi in royal guard armor landed to the entrance on the tunnel.
Avarice ground his teeth in disdain. Celestia’s dogs, come to gain a bone from their master. Well they will be the bones instead.
“Garthonk!” He shouted, his voice reverberating throughout the chamber.
The large oak doors opened and a small goblin entered. He was wearing rags that covered his entire body, unlike the usual loin-cloth that goblins wear, and shuffled along in a bounding gait. He came forward and bowed low, extending his arms out.
“Yes master, you rang?” His voice rasped and had an undertone of intelligence about it.
“Send out a goblin squadron.” Avarice said to him, not looking at him directly. He had to keep up the appearance of a sure-fire leader. “Tell them that there is some canned meat that has wandered in to our midst. That will get them excited.”
“At once master.” Garthonk said, backing away from the crystal ball.
After Garthonk shut the door behind him, Avarice looked back at the crystal and smiled. Ready for the show to begin.
As Honor Star and his partner, Blade Wing flew down in pursuit of their charge, Honor couldn’t help but blame himself for the danger the princess was in. He shirked their duties, and now the charge they were supposed to protect was missing and in danger, or they should assume she is. Even a direct order from the princess shouldn’t have stopped them from accompanying her. He should have argued harder, but nothing could change it. Now they had to find her and make sure she was safe. He thought this as they landed quietly and looked around.
The cavern gently sloped down to a wall that went all the way to each end. In the middle of the wall was a tunnel that was almost as big as the doors to the throne room back at Canterlot. It was dark, and the sun was starting to head down in its arch across the sky, making the light angle away from the large hole. Honor watched the flanks while Blade went and checked the tunnel entrance.
“Hey,” Blade Wing said, motioning for Honor Star to come over. He was by the edge of a tunnel entrance, pointing at something on the ground.
Honor walked over and looked at what Blade was pointing at. An indentation in the dirt, with drag marks going off into the tunnel. Next to it were giant prints of some sort of creature, as well as smaller ones. The larger ones had five toes lined up next to each other, and the smaller prints only had three, two in front, one in back.
“What do you think made those tracks?” Honor said, pointing to the larger ones.
“Don’t know,” Blade said as he got up, “but whatever it is, it’s big.”
Honor nodded. “Let’s be cautious,” he said as Blade come up next to him, “and not alert them of our presence. We’re probably dealing with a large animal and her young.”
They followed the tracks down and to the left, Blade watching the back while Honor kept his eyes forward. Their wings extended to feel the air currents flowing through the tunnels. They heard a small skittering sound coming from further down the halls. Honor hoped it was insects, and when he heard the trilling of crickets, that still didn’t put him to ease. As the duo went further down, the skittering became louder, and too large for insects. Honor Star thought that they might have walked into a changeling nest, but without their queen, who would control them? The tracks led them down into a darker section of the tunnel, Honor didn’t like it. It just screamed trap, but they had no choice. They went further along, using the air to judge the positions of the walls, when suddenly,l fire started to erupt from brazers built into the sides of the wall. The two of them looked around the now lit tunnel.
There were holes everywhere, on the ceiling and the walls, and this is where the skittering noise was coming from. None of them where the size of changelings, thank goodness, but it didn’t ease Honor’s worries. His instincts were screaming at him to get out, but they had a mission to complete, get the princess, and he wasn’t going to fail.
He was tense the entire time, as it felt like hundreds of eyes watched him from every dark circle covering the place. Then the skittering abruptly stopped, and silence drew out the creepy feeling that was starting to crawl up his spine. After a period of tense, oppressive quiet that seemed to press in on his ears, a loud screech came form above them. True to his name, Blade Wing’s wing blades came out as fast as lightning and cut the goblin that fell from the ceiling in half.
It gave a death gurgle as it writhed for a bit before succumbing to the blood loss. Then others popped out of the various holes along the length of the tunnel, wielding metal hatchets and donned with iron helmets. They swarmed on the two pegasi, trying to overwhelm them with numbers. The two slashed and hacked at the goblins, and buffered them with wind generated from flapping, managing to defend themselves, but felling few. In the tight quarters of the tunnel they weren’t able to fly, or use their wing blades to their full effect. Instead the kept the goblin horde at bay as they backtracked to the cavern. When they got further along, there was a thumping behind them. They turned to se a troll carrying a large club, and wearing a black armor chestplate, blocking their path.
Trolls and goblins in the same place? It was unheard of! At least to Honor. They usually stayed well away from each other and raided caravans, he never heard of goblins and trolls living in tunnels together.
The goblins wavered a little, not expecting the troll. The guards took the chance and launched at the troll. It swung at them, but missed, hitting the wall and causing it to shake. Blade Wing turned and sent a strong gust of wind back at the ambushers, knocking the troll off balance and stumbling into the goblins. Blade Wing turned and followed his partner out to the exit as the goblins scattered. They ran along the path back to the sky, when a hidden goblin dropped on top of Blade Wing, dagger drawn. He and stabbed Blade right in the joint between his neck and shoulders.
Pain shot through Blade Wing as the dagger slipped in between the armor and severed the tendons. He rolled around and managed to shake the goblin off, which was then despatched by Honor Star. Blade Wing pulled out the dagger from his back and tested his wings. The left one was alright, but the right was useless. From behind he heard the goblin horde pick up their pace and start shrieking, smelling fresh blood.
Honor Star went over and helped his partner up. “Come on now just a bit further.” He said as Blade stumbled along. The two of them came to the bottom of the crevasse, when Blade’s front right hoof gave out.
He fell forward into the dirt, and Honor propped him up against the wall. The goblin screeches were growing louder as they closed in on the two of them. Honor Star extended his blades out, ready to defend his partner. Blade Stopped him from advancing with his hoof.
“No…tell the princess…what’s happening.” He said, coughing up some blood. The dagger must have punctured a lung.
“No.” Honor Star said, looking back at the tunnel entrance. “I failed in my duty once today, and I’m not going to fail you.”
“Your…duty *cough*” Blade responded, through fits of coughing, “is to report to the princesses what happened. *Cough* They won’t blame you for *cough* following protocol.” He reached to his belt and pulled out a small glass sphere. Inside were black granules of a substance that reacted violently to air. It was a weapon of last resort. “Go…*cough* I’ll cover you.”
Honor Star looked at the tunnel, then to his partner, the sounds of goblins reverberating off the walls. He felt a pressure behind his eyes. He knew that Blade was right, but still, he felt obligated to fight alongside him. His partner, his friend. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, he retracted his wing blades, faced his partner, and gave him a salute.
“May Celestia’s light warm your days.” Honor said to him. The traditional goodbye for a retiring solider.
Blade saluted back as best as he could. “And may Luna’s stars guide your nights.” He finished weakly.
Honor put his hoof down, and flew off towards the sky. Blade watched him go, the gust of wind from his wings tickling his own. He removed his helmet, and set it on the ground, letting his mane feel the currents of air flowing into the tunnel. He turned his head to look down into the dark. The goblins had gathered, and were scrambling to him. Large ears flopping in time of their leaps, and giant eyes full of hunger. Blade shifted position and looked at the far wall. He held up the glass ball and when the goblin horde was in the area of effect, threw it to the far side of the wall. It exploded in a great flash of heat enveloping him and the goblins in a fireball.
Honor Star felt the heat from the explosion as he flew past the opening, as well as the pressure wave, which he rode up to the surface. The other’s who were waiting for them flinched back as the heat and wind blew past them. He landed as the smoke rose from the crack in the ground. Spike went over to him.
“Honor?” He said, looking up at his face.
Honor said nothing, and after a moment turned around and gave a final salute to his comrade. Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, then took off their hats. Fluttershy hugged Rainbow Dash and cried softly into her shoulder, while Rainbow Dash soothed her friend by stroking her mane. Pinkie grabbed Spike, and sniffed, squeezing him as if he might go as well. They didn’t know the details, but they heard the sounds of battle and got Honor’s meaning. A brave solider had fallen in the line of duty. After a few seconds Honor lowered his hoof, wiped a single tear from his eye, and turned to Spike, still being crushed by Pinkie. When Spike saw Honor face him, he managed to squirm out Pinkie’s embrace with a small pop and walk over.
“Need to make a report?” Spike asked, a solemn look on his face. While Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Applejack.
Honor nodded, and Spike went over to the basket. He opened it up, reached in, and pulled out a quill and ink bottle, as well as a piece of parchment. He set these down and with both claws brought a pedestal to write on. He placed the ink and quill in their spot, and unrolled the parchment. Picking up the quill, he looked at Honor, ready to start dictating.
Author's Note
So here we are. I finally decided to finish this story. It may not be the best, it may not get all the attention it deserves, but I will continue on. I have a ton of other ideas that I want to work on, as well as other projects. For those who might ask, Regal is from my own thoughts, as is Terrance. I really had trouble trying to figure out how I could make Regal believable, while also keeping him a "good" villain. The others still have no idea why he is exactly like this, but I hope I gave you enough information to start speculating.
Next time. Discord!
Don't forget to comment below, and May Harmony be with you always.
TheFlyingFish
