3 Months Later...
While Arkhoof is a little bit nicer than the cell I was in previously… Well, a prison, no matter how nice, is still a prison. Albeit one with a maximum security swimming pool.
For the first few days, I had contemplated various means to escape, and had formulated multiple plans only for them to be randomly defeated – switched cells, changed guard patterns, you name it. Arkhoof seems purposefully designed and operated to deter any escape plans.
Yeah. Afterwards, I resigned from my planning and just sat in prison. I’ve had a lot of time to do some thinking here, in the lonely nights. Like about what exactly happened that night, and maybe figure out something to help my case. I just don’t have enough information…
My bed is much nicer here. A little less lumpy. Currently, I’m laying back, reading Daring Do and The Cove of Candles. It’s a good book, if you like adventure and still-swashbuckling Zombie Pirate ponies.
“Pffft. That Three-Legged-Blackmane is a real card.”
“Just wait until you get to Chapter 12, Siley.”
I look to the bars keeping me prisoner and see an old friend peering within. And it’s not a civvie. No, this pink unicorn with an artsy Fleur-De-Lis cutie mark may present a frilly façade to the general public, but Fleur is anything but frilly.
I nonchalantly turned the page.
“What are you doing here, Fleur De Lis?”
“Oh, for the moment I’m technically not Fleur. I had to use my Valkyrie cards to get in.”
“Heh. Of course you did. So what d’ya want, White Widow?”
“Do I need to want something to visit an old friend?”
My book slammed shut with a resonating thud as I got off my bed and stood up on all fours to face Fleur.
“I suppose not, but I’m surprised you came to see me at all. Especially given the … incident … that happened last time, in Trottingham. Under the old oak tree on the edge of the forest. You remember?”
She fell silent. Then her cheeks emitted a bright red sheen. She pondered the floor, obviously embarrassed.
“That… That was a one-time thing.”
Sure, Once… Then again in the afternoon. Then the next day.
“But I think, said incident was not the first nor the last, Siley.”
“Ah, you judged me too quickly, darling. Some of my lovers were mares. Some were stallions. A few were somewhere in between. The point is there were a lot of them. But you were the most memorable.”
“I’m sure you say that to all of them.”
“Only the ones that I really remember fondly.”
“Well, flirting aside, I have something for you.”
The white unicorn’s horn glowed and lifted a book gently out of the saddlebags on her haunches. The title was clearly worn with age. The spine clearly was falling apart. Although the book had seen better days, the cover was still clearly readable. Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone was emblazoned on it.
“It’s a first edition.”
I oh-so-non-eloquently gave an unrefined, excited squeal.
“EEEEEEEEE! It must be worth thousands of bits! But, I couldn’t!”
The book immediately was rammed into my chest.
“I insist. If only for repayment of those many nights in Trottingham.”
“Well, alright. But I must give you something else in return.”
“Not necessary. Enjoy it, my friend. Oh, I tucked a little something to remember me by in page 42. Something special.”
She turned to leave from whence she came.
What did she mean by that?
I flopped back onto my bed and opened my prize.
Remembering her words, I started turning to page 42.
Turning past page 41, I found a tiny sheet of metal with a number of engravings and holes carved in it at seemingly random intervals. A card of some sort, about the size of a carriage driver’s license.
I picked it up from its resting place and examined it closer.
Ahh… That sneaky mare. You really know how to please a girl… in more ways than one, I might add.
This was an enchantment tablet. It stores a simple spell inside it and is able to be casted by anypony who uses it. It’s not as powerful as a gem, but a gem is harder to sneak into a prison. The guards, I might add, I’ve seen only search for gems. The tablets are incredibly outdated by at least 150 years.
In my fiddling with it, I accidentally snapped it in half, then realized that this tablet was actually 2 smaller tablets created together but enchanted separately.
I also found a note accompanying the tablet.
Silent,
I need your help. I know we haven’t talked in a long time, and I know about your predicament. I’m giving you these to secure your freedom, and in return I only ask that you find the bastard that framed you and stole the Archer Ruby. I have a personal stake in this… but I’d rather not discuss it. The half-tablet marked with a circle will render you invisible. While the spell isn’t as powerful as Valkyrie Stealth Mare Amulets, it should allow you to slip past the guards unseen. It will last for 15 minutes. The other tablet, once bent will teleport you to a location that I’ve hidden a cache of Valkyrie equipment and survival rations. Use it as soon as you get out of the prison. Inside the prison there is a Teleportation Dampening spell. There is also (heavily redacted) information on the Archer Ruby itself. The information is limited, and unfortunately, I cannot help you any further since I will have to disappear for a while. A couple of hired guns will make a diversion and trigger a fire alarm, opening all the cells. Get out. Clear your name. Bring the Archer Ruby back to Canterlot. Above all, don’t get caught. The very second you escape, you’ll be Equestria’s #1 most wanted fugitive. As in, arrest on sight and assumed very dangerous.
Do this dear. For the sake of the times under the old Oak, yeah?
Beneath, she had signed her name in needlessly ornate calligraphy.
I giggled like I was a young filly at school.
She remembered the Old Oak after all.
****
Arkhoof’s warden, a stout Earth pony with a muscular build walked with purpose, biting his lip slightly. He may not look it, but he was livid.
In the last hour, there had been an airship attack on Arkhoof. While this wasn’t a large threat for the (admittedly overfunded) defenses and was actually a somewhat regular occurrence, this time they landed a fireflare bomb on the cafeteria, triggering the and starting a fire, starting the evacuation protocol. The main defenses were mopping up the ships while all the bloody cells opened, and a mass riot started. The pandemonium took a further 3 ½ hours to get under control. He came up on the head guard in charge of taking a headcount of the ponies there, whom was floating a clipboard in front of him.
“Sir, I’ve finished the headcount. Injuries to the Guards were minimal, zero deaths confirmed. 2 Prisoners were killed by other prisoners, and 67 were injured. We’re still tending to the wounded.”
“Good. And what of the high-priority inmates?”
“All except 2 unaccounted for, 1 of which was found unconscious a few seconds ago, goes by the name of Dead Money.”
“The mob boss? Alright. And the other?”
He flipped a few pages over the back of his clipboard.
“Err… An Ex-royal Guardsmare. Real name unknown, alias is Silent Sword. Disappeared in the riot, seemingly into thin air.”
“Sile- Oh Celestia. That’s the thief of the Archer Ruby. Shining Armor’s gonna have my head over this!”