All Locket up
Locks... be they key, combination, or padlock, there is no pony who is more fascinated by them than I, nor is there any pony whom understands them better. Since I was a little filly, I've been fascinated with how to undo any mechanism designed to keep somebody out. I had to be able to open any door that was bolted, and I had to know how to open any passageway that was sealed. As I grew, I became equally obsessed with finding a way to keep the very locks I opened up closed, and I began to study with the greatest locksmiths and trap masters in Dream Valley. Locks and seals became an obsession for me- I'm pretty sure I was the only filly in the castle who had a Fillydelphian death padlock on her diary... gave my snooping brother a sore hoof for three weeks.
Now that I am fully grown, I am mistress of all the locks and traps in the dungeons beneath Dream Castle. It is I who design the chains and shackles that hold evil mages fast, negating their dark magic so they do not escape. And it is my chains and gates that hold the most vicious and cruel psychos amongst all the races trapped down here in this dark and dank sinkhole. I must not look very intimidating walking or flapping around Dream Castle; a pink Pegasus with a pink and white mane and gemstone eyes. And it's true, off duty in my social hours, I'm a simple mare who likes hanging out with my friends Heart Throb and Twilight Sky, running races along the surfaces of the rivers and trolling for cute stallions with the two of them. But that's only my calm and gentle day persona, the pony I am at night is a horse of a much different color.
As the sun sets, I trot down the stairs into the dungeon, and salute to my guard sentries as I enter the depths. These brave officers respect me, knowing how I got each and every one of these scars that cover my once-pretty body. Their respect isn't shared by the denizens of the cells in the hallway I now walk though, as they harbor emotions of quite a different nature towards me. Murderers and thieves stare out at me from behind the bars of iron, their gazes filled with a mix of utter hatred and utter fear. I intimidate these cowards to the point, that a mere stare is enough to make them cower at the back of their cells. They know what I can do to them if they get out of line, and that I am perfectly willing and eager to do it.
So many different fiends, so many different ways to discipline them. Porcina the swine witch- she actually thought she'd be allowed to simply become the Bushwoolie's hairdresser, after she tried to genocide every living thing in Dream Valley by turning them to glass. Majesty had me order my guards retrieve her from the Bushwoolie's den, and I now keep her entertained by lighting the flame jets I installed in her cell walls whenever she gets out of line. It's always amusing to here that fat sow squeal when she thinks I'm going to fry her up into sausage, especially when she doesn't realized I prefer baked holaska over pork.
Beezin... this goblin freak is another fun one to play with. We keep his animated magic wand in the cell next to him, and whenever he starts one of his insane rants I flip the switch and let the wand in to entertain him for awhile. Brought to life by his own magic paint, the wand loves to torture it's former owner for hours before we drive it back into it's own cell. It's a riot hearing him wail as the wand changes him into various forms, making sure each transformation is more painful than the last. My only regret is we have to stop the wand just as it's getting good each time, otherwise that little freak would kill him.
The others are just as much fun. I run the gizmonks through a maze with electrified walls for their exercise period, it's a riot to hear them freak every time they get shocked from touching the sides. And Arabus the shadow genie... I just love hit him with those red hot sun lamps I installed in his enclosure. His shriveled wails are to pathetic to reach my equine ears, so there's not much fun in disciplining him. All the others freaks in this place- trolls, goblins, witches, and even a few changelings- all have their own personal nightmares set up for them. I even have a few cells set up for possible future residents, three connected cages are ready for the witches from the volcano if we can ever fully subdue them, and even a superheated cell for that penguin king with Darwinist morality, should he ever decide to go rouge again.
What, you think I'm too hard on these villains? Really? These lunatics would not hesitate to do horrible things to every pony in the castle if they were ever to get free. I've experienced firsthand what misplaced kindness towards these freaks gets you, when I made the mistake of trusting one of the prisoners I was tasked with watching. It happened one day, when Firefly had brought in a brigand responsible for robbing several of the ponies traveling in and out of Dream Valley. He was a dashing Saddle Arabian stallion, whose charisma and charm could make an ice ogre melt. Ignoring all of the other ponies’ advice, I responded willingly to the well-built horse's flattery and honey-filled words, giving him more freedom than I should have allowed.
Sadly, I would pay dearly for thinking with my flank instead of with my head. That sleaze ball used the privilege of being out of his cell I granted him to start a prisoner riot, which my guards and I were barely able to put down. But when I went to personally subdue the stallion who had taken advantage of my kindness, he rewarded my tender mercy by stabbing me twice in the face, and putting my eyes out. How ironic, the stallion to whom my hormones had blinded me to how foul of an equine he really was, had taken my beautiful blue eyes from me. I later had a pair of ugly crystals eyes stuck into my skull as replacements, but I would never trust any of the scumbags I would watch over ever again.
I will admit, my job isn't exactly a pleasant one... but it's a job somebody in the castle has to do. I'm just happy that there are few humans, gnomes, elves, or even ponies in my dungeons, it lets you know who your friends and enemies are. Still, I wonder who'll be the next interesting guests in my little menagerie of rouges down here. It'll be very interesting to what new disciplines I can concoct next. Ah well, I think some of the goblins are acting up again, so if You'll excuse me, I have a job to do!
Warden Locket