Chapter: 2
Deep within the confines of a dungeon cell, a figure in the darkness began to stir. Not fully conscious the entity's body began to show the first signs of awakening, limbs stretched out though it's two scaled arms were manacled to a sturdy stone wall, a long tail slowly began to furl, and unfurl. A sentry who had just a moment ago been fighting off sleep derived from pure boredom took notice of the moving mass, and quickly ran off to alert his superiors. Their second guest was finally ending his long slumber, and Grug would want to be present.
With a groan Spike opened his eyes, at first he thought he had gone blind, but slowly his vision adapted to the dim lighting of the cell he now sat in. He moved to stand up, but was surprised to find himself in chains and barely able to move. "Where am I?! And what am I doing here?!" Spike spoke out loud.
"That's what we would like to know." Said a gruff voice from down a hallway to the left that was becoming more, and more brightly lit. Into the dungeon walked what Spike easily made out to be a diamond dog, three others followed behind each one carrying a torch. The speaker, and apparently the leader walked closer to the bars separating the cell Spike sat in from the rest of the room.
"Haven't seen a dragon in this region before, certainly none that fall from sky." The lead diamond dog's eyes glowed with intrigue, suspicion, and even a tint of resentment. "You here to take our gems, eat them with your sharp fangs, and burn our dens to ash." Though Spike had a slight issue with the leader's dialect, and accusations, he wasn't entirely surprised by the diamond dog's mistrust. It was a known fact that dragons had a tendency to rub other species the wrong way, diamond dogs especially due to their shared greed for gems and unwillingness to share with one another.
"I don't want your gems, I don't even know how I got here. Could you please just let me go, and I can try figuring out where I am?" Spike's plea fell on uninterested ears, and the leader growled in irritation.
"You lie! Grug has seen what your kind does, no you will be our prisoner till Grug know how to deal with you both." Spike raised a scaly eyebrow at the diamond dog's words, he hadn't taken the time to actually see if he was alone or not. His mind instantly thought to Twilight, perhaps something had gone wrong with the teleportation spell, and now they both were trapped in this cell.
Grug backed away from the bars, he motioned for one of his brothers to hang a torch to the far end of the wall so the room would be lit after their departure. Before disappearing down the hallway they had first entered from Grug turned his mustard yellow eyes back to the chained dragon. "Maybe if you're good dragon Grug will let you eat smart mouthed unicorn." With a laugh the diamond dog exited leaving a frowning Spike, and his silent cellmate.
Once he thought Grug was far away enough Spike swiveled his head around to take in all the features of the cell he sat in. The walls were mostly stone, rusted metal bars separated him from the rest of the room, the dirt he sat in was cold, and littered with random straws of hay, and two his left on the far side of the cell sat a figure cloaked in shadow. Spike's eyes strained to unmask the hidden mass, but all his eyes could make out was that it was a pony, scratch that, a unicorn and that whoever it was the figure was glaring angrily at him.
"It would seem that you've finally decided to join the rest of us in the waking world." The pony's voice was definitely female, and strangely familiar. "You've been sleeping since they found you in a mangled heap out in the woods."
Spike thought back to what had happened, he remembered the burning, the sudden stop, then feeling like he had been flung with frightening force, then blacking out. The unicorn wasn't Twilight so his first concern now was escaping, and figuring out what had happened to the purple mare. With a growl Spike strained against the chains that held the manacles, even with his draconic strength the chains held stubbornly. His attempts at breaking the bindings only elicited a sarcastic laugh from the unicorn.
Feeling his irritation beginning to boil over, Spike turned his head to the manacle holding his right hand, and let loose a stream of green fire. The manacle burned red hot, and even with his fire resistant scales Spike could feel the metal burning slightly against his wrist. After a few minutes of continuous burning the manacles still held firm though they glowed red from the extreme heat. Spike growled in frustration, before sighing in defeat.
"Did you honestly think they wouldn't use fire proof material to restrain you?" Spike turned his attention to the unicorn, his frustration edging toward taking itself out on her as she continued to speak. "To think that the Great and Powerful Trixie must share a cell with some dim-witted dragon of all creatures." A look of shock now appeared on Spike's face, the horror of being trapped with the most egotistical unicorn he had ever known outweighing all of his other thoughts combined.
"TRIXIE?! Your telling me that I'm stuck in a dungeon with TRIXIE?!" Spike's outrage, and blatant displeasure was misheard, and the unicorn stood up from her crouching position.
"Indeed, you are fortunate enough to be in the presence of the world famous Great and Powerful Trixie the most magically gifted unicorn in all of Equestria!" stepping out of the shadows, and into the torchlight the unicorn revealed her light blue coat, and greyish cyan mane trying to take a dignified, and powerful stance though the chains that bound her prevented much further movement.
With a groan Spike slumped against the stone wall he was chained to his face set into an annoyed frown. "And how did you of all ponies end up here of all places?" It wasn't that Spike really cared, the question just kind of came out, and he regretfully realized that he might have just sparked one of her self appreciated stories.
"Well if you must know, The Great and Powerful Trixie was performing feats of unparalleled skill to these uncultured, and unappreciative mutts, when one of them called my abilities into question." The unicorn let out an annoyed huff before continuing on. "Trixie explained that only the offspring of slack jawed yuppies failed to see her greatness, and that they had no taste in talent."
Spike's eyes widened in sudden understanding to why the unicorn was chained up. "So you basically just insulted a pack of diamond dog's mother." A diamond dog's love for shiny things, and gems was only rivaled by his respect, and love for his mother. It was a wonder that Trixie hadn't been burned while tied to a stake.
The unicorn stamped her left front hoof onto the ground in annoyance. "How was Trixie supposed to know that diamond dog's were such mamma's boys. Seeing that my spectators were quickly becoming unnecessarily hostile, I attempted a hasty retreat, but the fiends had already commandeered my carriage, and chased me into the forest." Trixie's eyes suddenly turned downcast, and her dignified stance faltered slightly. "In the retreat my favored hat was lost to me, and I had to leave it behind."
Spike found himself more engrossed in the unicorn's story than he had expected, he even felt slightly sorry for her seeing that the hat was very important to her. Of course that sympathy went right out the window when suddenly the unicorn's greyish magenta eyes burned with anger, and leered right at the dragon.
"Trixie was about to escape when a certain dragon happens to come falling out of the sky in a bright flash of light. I was distracted, and even with my great power I was eventually overcome by these dirt covered mutts." The accusatory tone directed at him, didn't sit well with Spike, and he found himself glaring back at the unicorn.
"Hey! It's not my fault that you got caught, and are getting punished for being a jerk. I didn't ask for this to happen to me; I just got out of the receiving end of a messed up teleportation spell!" Spike now tugged against his chains, and both he and Trixie glared at each other angrily, the two only separated by a few feet of space, and the chains that held them.
"It is so your fault dopey dragon! Without that distraction I would have taken care of those savages with ease using my power." Trixie's bold statement only got an amused laugh from the purple dragon in reply.
"Oh yeah? Just like how you took care of the Ursa minor back in Ponyville?" Spike's words seemed to shock the mare, and she suddenly lost her glare for a moment. She shuffled her hooves nervously, and her eyes let go of the dead lock they had held with his own.
"Y-You know about that?" Trixie was hoping to have outran that minor incident, and had made a point to never return to that town of disrespectful ponies.
"Know about it? Ha! I was there when it happened, I can still remember the day you came to town, and went about boasting about your skill, and challenging everyone to a test of ability. Then Snips, and Snails managed to get that Ursa to chase them into town. You flopped, and Twilight had to save your and all the other ponies flanks from that thing."
The mention of Twilight's name made Trixie's mind fill with anger, the memories of being shamed, and showed up by that unicorn still haunted her. "Grrr! That second rate spell-caster, and how she had me ran out of that town of bumpkins." Trixie began stomping her hooves in rage, and tossing her mane about angrily. The sight was actually pretty amusing to Spike, until he realized that she had just insulted his best friend.
"Hey! Don't you talk about Twilight like that, your just upset that shes better at magic than you." Trixie stopped shaking her head, though she continued to stomp her hooves into the earth, she now resumed glaring at Spike, but soon a look of familiarization adorned her scowl.
"Oh manure! Your that hack's blasted pet lizard, the one that got those two foals looking for that Ursa in the first place!" The unicorn was now straining against her chains to get in Spike's face, a gesture that he returned in full at the insult she threw at him.
"I'm no pet! I'm Twilight's number one assistant, and a dragon. One fully capable of taking on a talentless magician like you!" An enraged shriek escaped the unicorn's mouth in response, and she struggled all the harder to free herself, and exact her vengeance upon the equally angered dragon.
"Stupid Dragon!"
"Self-Absorbed Mare!"
"Ugly Toad!"
"Two-Trick Show Pony!"
"NEWT!!"
"WITCH!!"
The confrontation continued like this for what may have been hours, until both of them were too tired to even hurl an insult. As they lay on the ground panting, Spike was suddenly struck with a crazy idea. Looking back to his manacles Spike gave them an inquisitive sniff. They smelled right, but he couldn't be sure, throwing his dislike for the unicorn panting across the cell from him to the wind, Spike set his plan into action.
"You said these manacles are made to be heat resistant right?" Trixie didn't respond immediately, and looked to be mulling over whether or not to answer the dragon's question. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her, and she obliged him with a irritated reply.
"Trixie may have said something like that, why?" Hope suddenly filled Spike's emerald eyes, his tail swished to and fro in anticipation.
"Well these manacles smell almost like diamonds, is it possible that the diamond dogs might have used something more heat resistant like Moissanite?" The unicorn raised an eyebrow dubiously she didn't really understand what the dragon was getting at.
"Yeah so? If your quite done with asking dumb questions The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to resume sitting here, and wishing you'd just burst into flames."
Trixie was just about to do just that, when she was alarmed to see the dragon open his mouth wide exposing his rows of sharp teeth, and then bite down hard on the manacle that held his left wrist.
"What the hay are you doing?!" Spike ignored the mare's question continuing to chew on the unfortunate manacle, only offering a smirk in her direction.
There was a sudden loud 'ching' and Trixie watched with eyes as big as dinner plates as the manacle came off, and fell to the ground with a large bite mark on it. Spike chewed the piece he had bitten off for a short moment before swallowing, and sighing in satisfaction. Though the metallic part of the manacle would make it a bit harder to digest than other gemstones, Spike knew the mighty stomach acids within a dragon's belly would still make short work of the manacles that had restrained him.
"I'm about to eat my way to freedom, and get out of here." Spike laughed victoriously at the stunned unicorn beside him. Almost immediately he was assaulted by the mare's outraged cries that he free her as well. "And why should I do that? You're mean, you insulted me, those diamond dogs, and worst of all Twilight."
Trixie's mind raced through her thoughts, and memories trying desperately to find something she could use. Then it hit her, an answer so simple that in all her greatness she was surprised she had overlooked it to begin with. A self confident smile spread on her face, and her eyes twinkled with dangerous mischief.
"Oh that's easy, because out of the two of us, only The Great and Powerful Trixie knows the way out." She allowed herself a hearty laugh at the horrified look that appeared on the dragon's face, obviously he hadn't thought of that.
With a growl Spike chewed off the other manacle restraining him, and stalked toward the smirking show pony. He was about to free her when he realized something else, the entire time he had been awake she hadn't once tried using any magic. Though he had doubted her skill in comparison to Twilight's, he still would have thought someone as vain as Trixie would have at least attempted to escape on her own.
"Why haven't you tried using your magic to get out of here?" Questioned Spike, the answer he got being an overly dramatic roll of the eyes from Trixie, and a annoyed sniff.
"If you must know, these chains that bind me are made specifically to stunt my great magical abilities. I'll hand it to those dirt covered dogs it was a smart decision, with these on my magic is virtually nonexistent." A look came upon Spike's face, and he mulled over a idea in his head. He needed Trixie's help escaping this place, and she was next to useless in those chains. He wasn't going to like this, and he was sure Trixie would abhor the idea, but he was out of options.
"Alright I'll free you, but there's going to be a catch." Trixie's annoyed expression changed to one of outrage, and indignation. How dare this lowly dragon try to use the situation to his advantage, and gain some kind of leverage.
"Before I brake these chains, you have to swear to me that you'll help me escape, and not ditch me or something like that. Got it?" The tone of Spike's voice was deadly serious, and his eyes were set in a determined glare. Trixie grit her teeth slightly, not because her plan was to ditch him from the get go, but when a unicorn swears to something they have to uphold that, even The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't dare go back on her word. But she needed some insurance of her own, the dragon before her was strong, and she was sure they would face some resistance in their escape.
"Trixie will swear, but only if you in return swear to protect her, and help her reclaim her carriage." Trixie's greyish magenta eyes locked with Spike's emerald ones, and slowly both reached a hand, or in her case a hoof to seal the deal.
His scaled talons gently, but firmly wrapped around her outstretched hoof, and they shook. In a flash Spike let loose a narrow spout of bright green fire, and burned off the chains that held Trixie captive. Now free Trixie gathered magic to her horn, and blasted the locking mechanism that held the bars in place into oblivion. The dragon, and unicorn shared another locking of eyes, their gazes both distrustful, yet silently hoping that the other wouldn't let them down.
A powerful partnership had been forged down in that dank, dark dungeon that day, one that neither participant could fully comprehend, and one that would turn their worlds upside down.
End of Chapter: 2