Flash Sentry watched the guards outside his prison cell; unlike spikes chamber like cell, his had bars across the from and making up one wall, while the other two guard ponies who had carried the carriage from Equestria where in the next two down from his. There were six cells like it in this room, three on each side, and the ones across from them were empty. His two companions had been to tired to fight much when the castle guards and marched them down to the cells, so they had relatively few bruises to show for their efforts, Flash felt like he had been hit with a tree, while rolling down a cliff, with rocks tied to his waist. The pit in his stomach whenever he though about Twilight, he meant Princes Sparkle of course, did nothing to ease his pains. They had to find a way out of this dungeon and up to Twilight before something worse happened, but at this moment, he could put no weight on his right foreleg, he suspected the fetlock was broken or the hoof dislocated, but until he saw someone with medical training it would be hard to know for sure.
Faintly at the edge of his hearing her hear someone calling out to Twilight. that must be Spike, good that means he still lives and can't be too far from here. When We break out of here we will have to make sure to find him as well.
~~~~~
Twilight stood as she heard the lock turn, she wasn't sure what she expected, but a servant pony carrying a tray with food on it had not been it. While the door was opened Twilight saw that two Guards ponies were stationed on either side of the door, making out the door escape even less likely.
“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I demand to be released and to see King Strong Hooves.” The servant pony looked up at Twilight and sighed before setting down the tray she carried on a table beside the door.
“Hey! Did you hear me I-” the pony walked out, completely ignoring Twilight, shutting the door behind her. With a slid click the lock turned and Twilight was left with nothing but the tray of food. “The ponies here certainly lack manners, and now I am talking to myself, great. Think twilight think!”
Her stomach grumbled and she figured it would be better to eat on a a full stomach then an empty one, she looked at the tray, a simple green salad, an apple and some water. Just as she was about to take a bite of the salad, she stopped how dumb can you be Twilight? Just going to let them drug you the same way twice? she looked at the salad but couldn't see what was in it that could possibly cause the interference she felt with her magic, they just looked like regular greens, well, smaller, less green greens but still, that was spinach, arugula, romaine, some kind of fern? Maybe that was it, the fern! She had never eaten one like that, it was probably that fern that caused the problem. Sorting out all the funny ferns and hearing pinkie's voice in her head singing funky funny fern fronds freak out my friend once they were all set off to the side, Twilight ate the rest of the meal, still less crisp and sweet then back home, and the apple was well, at least it was juicy, even if it tasted more like wax then apple, even the water had a sort of stale musty flavor to it.
Feeling better with some food in her belly she decided to try working the chain loose from the wall. She didn't know what had happened to Spike, Flash and the other guards, but she couldn't expect that they could rescue her, for all she knew, she was their only chance. Luckily she was still wearing her metal shoes over her regular hooves, something she could use to chip the stone around the chain.
~~~~~
Spike had made significant progress on the stone surrounding the bars at the top of the window; and he was sad to say that wile he did like gemstones, granite was never going to be one of his favories. Especial granite covered in mos blergh. His stomach was getting uncomfortably full, but he had to keep going, just a few more bites, and he would have enough of the interior stone gone that he could pull the bars free. What he would do about the guards in the courtyard he wasn't sure yet, but maybe they wouldn't notice a small purple dragon if he kept close to the wall? The thought of how proud Rarity would be when he told her how he had saved Twilight was all the motivation he needed.
Finally, the last bite, rather then swallow it spike let it drop to the floor beneath him. He wasn't sure how noisy this would be, but he doubted it was going to be any quieter then the stone hitting the floor. Wrapping his tail around the bars and holding on to the chains below he pulled with all his might and was rewarded with a chunk- thunk, and the weight of the bars pulling him down. He strained with all his might as he lowered the bars down, hoping that the clang the made as they hit the floor was quiet enough that nopony would hear it. He waited a few tortuous moment to see if anyone would come running before squirming out the whole where the bars had been. The sun was edging its way into the west and soon it would be shining on his shadowed section, he better move now while he could, as he did he checked the barred windows he passed. He was on the the north side of the courtyard when he came across Flash and the Guards.
“psst! Flash! Up hear!”
Flash looked up at the window and saw spike. The guard pony in the room with them was currently sitting by the door at the other end, so Flash moved closer to the window, Spike buddy, am I glad to see you ok! Where is Twi- I mean Princess Sparkle?”
“I haven't found Twilight Flash, and I checked pretty much all the windows I could get to without getting caught. I don't know where she is.”
flash could see Spikes disappointment and decided to try his best to cheer him up “Hey buddy, your doing better then I am, at least your out there where you can search.” flash looked at spike with sudden inspiration “They didn't put you in hear cause the bars are too wide for you, but if you could get in here like you got out of your cell, I bet you could get the keys to the cell off that pony with a little help, and we could get out of here.”
Spike wasn't really looking forward to the taste of more Granite, and he knew his stomach was never going to forgive him for eating so much of it, but if it would free Flash and the guards, and ultimately Twilight, his stomach was just going to have to buck up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours had passed since the servant pony had brought the meal to Twilight and she was making barely any discernible progress on the stone. This was going to take forever, but she couldn't let herself get discouraged, she thought of her friends and found strength in imagining what each of them would say if they were here. Which is why, giggling about her friends as she resolutely chipped at the stone, she did not hear the lock click and the door open.
“Well, aren't you a sight Princess, cowering under the bed already?”
Startled twilight hit her head on the underside of the bed before scooting back out. She stood and looked face to face with King Strong Hooves.
“Well Princess? I was told you demanded to see me.”
“I was hoping that you were unaware of my imprisonment here, but it appears I was mistaken.” Twilight wondered if the fern was out of her system enough to allow her the use of her magic... it had to have been at least twelve hours since she had ingested it, so there was a possibility. “You had best free me now King Strong Hooves, return my guardsponies and Spike to me, unharmed, or face the consequences.”
King Strong Hooves smiled and glanced at the tray that had been brought in earlier. “I see you enjoyed your meal, well, at least most of it. I guess you do not like fern fiddleheads? My cooks tell me they are rather hard to find. No matter.”
Twilight constructed another spell and formed it, then brought it up to the base of her horn and-- on the pain! But... “it wasn't the ferns then?”
“The ferns, no don't be silly, they weren't even in your salad last night. Actually, your salad was fine, eat time.”
Dawning horror Twilight realized what else she had partaken last night as well “its in the water? What is it?”
“Nothing to concern yourself with, it wont hurt you, well, unless you keep trying to DO magic that is. Do know what they give Unicorns who, having tapped into a ley line forget to ground themselves properly and over stretch the magic inside them?”
“you gave me Mordlewort?”
King Strong Hooves smiled, Twilight was really starting to dislike that expression on him. “You really did study ley line magic didn't you? I am impressed, I know you told Gallant you had but I assumed a cursory understanding, since its use was unnecessary in Equestria.”
Gallant had told him? Gallant wasn't part of this surely, he but then how had King Strong Hooves known, its not like he was there for the conversation.
“You never know when you'll be in a situation where you might need knowledge, for instance, coming here to save your life, I should have needed to have that knowledge, at least from what Gallant told me.”
“Yes, the dear boy. He did tell you that our magic had grown weaker, but remember what you yourself said, Alicorns give off ambient magic from their element. Celestia gives off magic from the son, Luna from the moon, Cadence from love, and you my dear-”
“From Magic.”
“Precisely. You will save Unicornia Princess, just by being here you will increase or access to magic, which will help our people prosper. No longer my ponies have to struggle to grasp a ley line just to do even the simplest of spells. No, we will grow strong, strong enough to defend against our neighbors, perhaps even strong enough to challenge Equestria.”
“You wont get away with this. When I don’t return tomorrow Princess Celestia will get worried, she will send ponies after me.”
“I am sure she will, and when she finds the bodies of your Guards and your dragon amid the wreckage of the Royal Carriage, I am sure she will give you quite the Royal funeral. Its a shame all they will ever find of you is one of your dresses, and of course, one of these.” With that he took one of the shoes off her hoof, while all she could do is glare while wrapped in his magic.
“Don't look so angry my dear. We are going to spend a long time together after all.”