"Good evening, gentledrakes. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'll be your substitute teacher."
Fluttershy could not believe it. Twilight? How had she even gotten the job? She didn't think the prison would accept ponies in, but she guessed they were really desperate, and maybe Twilight was the only willing applicant for the job too. Although the other inmates were surprised to see they'd have a literal Equestrian for Equestrian language, they seemed unimpressed.
Twilight made her way towards the larger desk, though she didn't bother climbing on the chair, and instead she merely stood next to it. "Well, now that you know my name, I'd like to know yours. Who wants to go first?"
"Why not ask Flutteroach?" one of the inmates inquired, though his Equestrian was... not very good. "Feeling she'll be pet." The rest of the class, excluding Neckslicer and Lighttalon, snickered.
"I'd thank you if you didn't use any names like that, it can hurt other ponies or temnokt's feelings." Twilight said, arming herself with patience.
"You're the first one who actually mentioned the word feelings in the same room as us, ma'am." The Boa said in Krussian with strange politeness.
Fluttershy was surprised at how Twilight was handling the situation, it was like she knew how to deal with these kind of people. Perhaps she had read about it or one of the degrees she had taken at Celestia's School was psychology.
"Psst!"
Fluttershy's ear twitched when she heard the low hissing, but when she looked around she saw no one that might have made that sound.
"Fluttershy, down here!"
It was coming from the table, but the only things she found were the sheet of paper and the pencil... until she noticed a drawing that hadn't been there in the first place. She recognized it almost instantly. "Discord?" Fluttershy whispered.
"It's been a while, my dear!" Discord chirped in delight, leaning on one of the letters in the paper. He looked like a hoof-drawn version of himself, and he was slithering around the paper like an animated illustration. "Remember when I said I wouldn't let any of those overgrown lizards hurt you again?"
"How did you get in there?" Fluttershy asked in low voice, glancing worriedly up at Neckslicer, who luckily hadn't noticed him.
"My dear, I'm the master of chaos! I could get into that gal's brain if I wanted to!" Discord chirped, snapped his fingers and made a pea-sized brain appear right next to him, also in hoof-drawn style.
"Does Twilight know you're here?"
"Well, she wouldn't have me as an assistant because she thought I'd go 'over the edge', but she didn't say anything about me being a drawing made out of boredom, did she?"
"Miss?"
Fluttershy nearly jumped on her seat, though she calmed down when she recalled they where in class, and Twilight probably just asked her to introduce herself so she would start on equal grounds as the others. "My name is Fluttershy."
Twilight nodded approvingly and then turned to Neckslicer expectantly, but it took him a few more seconds to notice.
"Neckslicer." he said simply.
"Is that your real name or...?"
"Miss, you are more likely to win a Nobel prize than to learn the real name of anyone here," Neckslicer stated matter-of-factly, in fluent Equestrian, much to Fluttershy's surprise. "...With all due respect, that is."
"Oh, I see you're familiarized with Equestrian language." Twilight pointed out.
"Oh, really, captain obvious?" Neckslicer retorted, which caused the other inmates to snicker.
He was doing his best to annoy Twilight, and though she didn't show it, he was doing it with exquisite skill. Instead, she changed the subject. "Okay, who wants to go next?"
The class would last for an hour and a half, but Fluttershy didn't really need to pay attention since she spoke Equestrian perfectly for evident reasons. Instead, she silently communicated with Discord by writing into the paper, and then he'd respond by changing the order of the letters. She had to admit, it did cheer her up a bit.
She was worried about Twilight, though. She was doing her best to stay calm, but the temnokt annoyed her and irked her at every little chance they saw, like launching paper planes or crumpled up balls at her head, or making bizarre drawings of her being eaten by wolves, stuck in a toilet, among other things.
Only Neckslicer paid any attention at all, and though he did make sarcastic or infuriating comments every now and then, most of the time he wrote down what Twilight put in the board or did the assignments impeccably. This made Fluttershy wonder: if he was already good at it, why did he take the class at all?
"Is he a friend of yours?" Discord 'wrote' into the paper with his claws, staring at Neckslicer apprehensively.
"Umm..." Fluttershy didn't know how to answer that, but after some pondering she wrote under Discord's questions in her cursive hoof writing.
We're not exactly close friends-friends, rather out paths cross sometimes.
Discord snapped his fingers and changed the letters to form a new phrase. "He doesn't look like the friendly type, anyway."
"Okay, everytemnokt," Twilight said outloud to call their attention. "I will make a small drawing on the board, and then you will write the Equestrian word for it."
She levitated the piece of chalk and drew a bunny on the blackboard. A few inmates started scribbling in their notebooks, Neckslicer among them. Fluttershy was among the others who didn't, though in her case it was because she technically didn't need to; she was Equestrian and perfectly spoke the language, after all.
Seconds later Twilight went from table to table to check the writing, but she had a hard time keeping a professional expression when she saw the words in the paper. Some didn't have to do with the drawing at all, or they were used in such a manner that made her wonder if the inmates were making fun of her. When she finally came to Neckslicer's table, he had written the actual Equestrian translation of bunny.
"Good, I see you've been paying attention," Twilight stated. "What's your name?"
"Neckslicer." he said curtly.
"Well, Neckslicer, since you seem to be pretty ahead of your classmates, think you could share some more words?"
Neckslicer left his seat, walked to the chalkboard and wrote something in Krussian.
Pash'ol na'hui
When he finished writing it, the other inmates either snickered or burst out in laughter. Fluttersy found it odd, but Discord seemed... disturbed.
"Is something wrong?" she wrote in her sheet.
"Let's say I've heard a few drakes say that phrase," Discord answered, gulping. "It's not pretty."
"What does it mean?"
"Believe me, you don't want to know."
Twilight walked up to the chalkboard. "Interesting. What does it mean?"
Neckslicer looked at her uninterested. He opened the Krussian-Equestrian dictionary on the desk, looked for the words he had written and pointed at it with a claw. Twilight took a closer look at the signaled translation.
Dining Hall.
Ten minutes Later.
"Potatoes again! Puagh!"
Fire Throat rolled his eyes at Swift Tail's complaints. "Just be grateful you get to eat at all."
"I mean, come on, three days in a row! The warden's so stingy we're always hungry!" Swift Tail protested, pointing at his tray of meal. "In the menu there's only mashed potatoes, potato salad and prench fries and I'm sick of them!"
"Well, with all those potatoes you should be quenched!"
"Potatoes digest quickly!"
Realizing he was getting nowhere, Fire Throat instead turned to Fluttershy and changed the topic."So the new Basic Equestrian teacher is your friend?"
"Hm-hm," Fluttershy explained, still a bit shaken. "Her name is Twilight."
"I bet she won't last another week," Swift Tail snickered as he took another bite of potato salad rather reluctantly. "Who knows what Neckslicer wrote in the board that made her end the class early."
"Discord seemed to know, but he refused to tell me."
"You mean the... fella who looks like tons of animal that were thrown into the blender?"
"Yes, that's Discord."
"You mean he was there too?" Fire Throat asked.
"Not exactly," Fluttershy said, fidgeting with her mashed potatoes and put a bit aside for Roachie, who devoured it avidly. "I mean, he was in my notebook page."
"Wait, what do you mean in your notebook page?" Swift Tail said, raising an eyebrow.
"He was almost like a drawing that moved by itself."
"You mean he plasmated part of himself into the paper?"
Fluttershy had no idea of what he meant with that, but she could guess the idea behind it. "I think so. Then again, it's Discord we're talking about. He can do anything he wishes."
Meanwhile, Twister was toying with his food, particularly the fries and the salad. "Potatoes, tomatoes..."
"He's been singing that damn song thirty times," Swift Tail muttered. "I'll have that insufferable tune in my head the whole day, if not the whole week!"
A few tables away, Fluttershy managed to overhear Neckslicer over the other chattering and talking of the numerous inmates.
"Potatoes again," he growled in Krussian, his gaze bitter. "Looks like I'll have to talk with the Big Five again."
Fluttershy could hear more complaints-at least she thought they were complaints judging by the tone of their voices-in the surrounding tables. It was probably about the food. Fire Throat and Swift Tail looked worried, though.
"Is something the matter?" Fluttershy asked.
Fire Throat seemed like he wanted to answer her, but before he could suddenly Swift Tail spoke ahead of him. "Hey, Fire Throat, think I could tell you something in private?" He didn't even wait for Fire Throat to give him a positive reply, he merely dragged him away from the table despite his protests.
Fluttershy found it weird that they'd go just like that, leaving her alone with Twister. Thankfully he was still centered in his song and his potato tower, as he was calling the salad, so it was likely he wouldn't pay attention to her either. Instead, she centered her attention on Fire Throat and Swift Tail; they had gone to one corner of the dining hall and were talking in their native language.
"We have to tell her!" Fire Throat snapped.
"You cannot protect her forever, Dark Wing," Swift Tail responded coldly, using Fire Throat's nickname instead of his real name. "You should worry about yourself. You've been in Bullhorn's crosshairs for months, he'll probably try to take care of you when it happens."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much. But she can't."
"So what? Why should you even care about that?" Swift Tail continued. "Have you forgotten the first rule of Broken Fang? Every Temnokt for himself."
Fire Throat glanced back at Fluttershy subtly, noting how she continued to feed her pet roach. He would have smiled a bit, but he didn't want Swift Tail to think he was going soft, so he spoke with all the seriousness he could muster. "She's not a Temnokt."
"Then she won't live through it."
"That's why I have to help her!"
"Why are you so bent in helping that mare?!" This time there was an undercurrent of anger and frustration in Swift Tail's frozen voice. "You've never done this for anyone before, what's so special about her that out of the blue you want to be her protector?" A look of realization glinted in his green eyes. "Unless..."
"What?" Fire Throat asked.
"This isn't only because she's a pony, is it ? This is because she is a female," Swift Tail said flatly. "The first female you've had nearby in decades. You're trying to help her because you finally have a chance to make up for-"
"Shut up," Fire Throat growled darkly, glaring at the dwarf. He did not want to be reminded of his sins. "I don't need you to be reminding me of my past sins. I might not be able to turn back time, but I will do my best to correct them."
Swift Tail had been in here long enough to know when it wasn't wise to add salt to a wound. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."
Swift Tail went back to the table, but Fire Throat didn't feel hungry anymore. Instead he went to the opposite direction, intending to go back to his cell early.
Swift Tail's words had struck him hard, even if he didn't get to finish his sentence. It was true, Bullhorn had been his tormentor during his time here, ever since he first put a talon in this place.
Back in those first days Fire Throat was young and reckless, he didn't understand the real danger of being in this prison in particular. He tried to act tough to keep the other inmates from finding him a weakling, but he hadn't considered that the most experienced ones-the Big Five in particular-knew the difference between an actually tough criminal and a desperate facade from a weakling.
Another factor he didn't take into account was the type of welcome given to those that did the things he did.
"Poor, little dark wing. Did nobody told you what we do to scum like you?"
Fire Throat closed his eyes shut, becoming stiff as the memories of that horror resurfacing. He'd never forget, no matter how hard he tried to bury the memory in the darkest corners of his minds, it always returned one way or another.
That welcome was just the beginning. When word about his crime spread out, the whole inmate population soon was making his life a living hell. He was their slave, their punching back, whenever something went wrong the frustration would be taken out on him. Even the 'dogs' were considered a higher rank than him.
Every time he was sent to the infirmary he'd pray to die and be free of the torment, but it never came to pass, almost as if the gods themselves punished him.
This torture lasted for years until another inmate came, one whose crime was similar to his but in a bigger scale and with a worse method. All the hatred and spite was turned unto that poor bastard, giving Fire Throat a break for the first time in a decade; he felt fortunate when the newly-arrived inmate was found brutally stabbed in his own cell, thinking how that might have been him.
Even though the treatment lessened considerably, he was still sometimes stalked and treated as scum, particularly by Bullhorn himself and his minions as an extension.
As he turned around the corner, he was abruptly pulled into one of the darker rooms and was struck in the head with a heavy object, causing his vision to go black.
When Fire Throat started coming back to his senses he found himself partially immobile. He felt his legs tied up, both the rear and front legs were joined together by what seemed to be a rope along with his wings. His jaws were clamped shut with thick piece of cloth tied around his snout.
As his vision got adjusted and he got a better look at his surroundings, his pupils shrunk and his heart accelerated when he found it very familiar. It was the boiler room in its dark, half-abandoned glory. Buried echoes of helpless begging and wicked laughter returned to haunt him.
"Well, well. It appears you do remember this place."
Panicking, Fire Throat looked around in the darkness. He noted many glowing pairs of eyes staring at him, but his attention was set on a particular pair of icy blue eyes.
"Remember it, Dark Wing?" Bullhorn chuckled. "We brought you to this very room for your welcome."
Fire Throat momentarily forgot he was gagged as he gave a muffled cry.
"I guess you're wondering why you're here after all these years, are you not?" Bullhorn stated. "I guess you've heard what is coming. Only the strongest will make it alive, and given you're not in that group I guessed I'd do you a favor and hide you here until it's over," Bullhorn stalked around Fire Throat. "That little creamy pony, though, is another story."
Fire Throat's eyes widened even more, if that was even possible.
"She's not that bad, you know. I'll give her credit for still clinging to her innocence even after the welcome, but how long do you think she can last on her own? Think she'll make it without her lapdog to protect her? Now will be a good chance to find out for ourselves."
Bullhorn had to step back when suddenly Fire Throat lunged-or rather, tried to lunge-at him only to fall to the ground with a muffled growl of pain. Snickering, Bullhorn pressed his talon against's Fire Throat's head.
"Oh, don't worry, I promise you not to hurt her too much, I'm not like Skunk Breath. I don't intend to cut off her ear of tear one of her eyes; I'm not really the type to stain my claws with blood. But my boys have been getting frostbite in their own talons, and her fur is very soft and warm..."
The rest of the inmates laughed. Fire Throat would have glared daggers at Bullhorn, but the current location was severely deflecting his courage.
"Well, I'll leave you be, my friend," Bullhorn turned his back on his captive and headed for the door, followed by his minions. "Do svidaniya."
The door slammed shut, leaving Fire Throat alone in the darkness.