There was a mumbling, it was somewhere in the distance. Who was talking? Twilight wondered as she fought through the fog, her mind was a muddled mess. When she finally found the strength to open her eyes, she could see dark legs beyond the bars. She gasped as she remembered she was trapped in a cage, she stood suddenly to see more of the creatures from last night. They had raised the cage and were holding it and the door was open, but in its place was a swirling and glowing portal. Twilight looked around and noticed that everyone's bindings and collars had been removed. When she tried to conjure up a spell she got a sudden sharp pain in her head. No matter how are she tried she couldn't use her magic. Her fear began to swell when every passing second. The others were rousing from their sleep as well.
*cough* *cough* "Wh-what *cough* happened?" Rarity rose sluggishly to her feet, “Why is it that my throat hurts?” Before Twilight could answer her, Celestia spoke up.
"We were force fed a sleeping venom, it dulls the senses and suppresses magic for a certain amount of time. In a normal situation with a tentacle beast our magic would be suppressed and our bodies numbed for a few hours, but with the amount we were given it has our magic still suppressed and it put us to sleep. The mind and body can only handle so much of that venom before it shuts down essentially. It isn’t dangerous although if enough it in your body, it can cause comatose state." her head was bowed in defeat and her regal demur was diminished, the same with Luna who stood facing away from the others. Twilight tried to calm herself as best as she could, but the burning of the tears only grew as her fear began to rise along with the feeling of dread and failure. She feared things were only to get worse, sooner rather than later they all found out how bad their situation was.
“Well what in tarnation are we waitin’ for? Let’s bust outta here ‘fore they get back!” Applejack jumped up with confidence. She took her stance and lined up her hindquarters with the two of the bars, lashing out as if she were bucking apples for the largest tree on Sweet Apple Acres. Her hooves hit the bars, the contact resounding through the entire cage letting out a huge bang that rang through the dungeon. The others had to cover their ears from the deafening sound. Applejack stumbled away, her legs shaking from the force she threw into the bars but when she turned to see they hadn’t budged a new found determination blossomed in her. She ran to the back of the cage where there was another solid wall like the door.
“Applejack wai….” Twilight tried to stop her, but it was no use. She was already taking her stance dropping her head low and pawing at the floor of the cage, letting out a snort before raising her hindquarters. Tucking her legs as close as she could in order to get a good buck in, her hooves whipped out quick as lightening lashing out at the wall. Another loud bang resounded through the dungeon making everyone cover their ears.
“Applejack sto…” Twilight tried to stop her, but Rainbow Dash joined in on her efforts of trying to break out of their cage.
“Come on AJ! Let’s bust this cage!” Rainbow Dash jumped up and flew as hard as she could against the wall, throwing all of her strength into it. “Oof!” She bounced off the wall landing on her rump a few feet away from it. She looked at Applejack before looking at the wall, she jumped up again and they continued to try to force the wall down.
“Girls!” Twilight managed to yell loud enough to break their concentration.
“What?” Rainbow Dash looked at her in confusion.
“Ya Twilight, what’s wrong?” Applejack looked just as confused.
“It’s pointless,” Twilight hung her head in defeat, she knew that without magic there was no way they would be able to get out of this cage.
“What are you talkin’ bout, sugarcube?” Applejack walked over to Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder, “Ya can’t get give up, we can’t give up. If we give up, then, then that monster wins!” She was beginning to feel the same was that Twilight did. If they hadn’t put a dent in the cage wall yet, their chances of escape were dwindling faster by the second.
“Ya, Twi, you can’t just quit!” Rainbow Dash hovered in front of Twilight, “We can’t do this without you, Twi! We all have to fight, if we just try we can win this!” She shot a hoof up in the air as if trying to punch something.
“No, Rainbow, we can’t win this one.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as the teas began to build up and spill over. She knew there was nothing they could do, they were going to go through that portal and never see their friends or family again. “I can’t use any magic, neither can Celestia or Luna or Rarity. The venom is still suppressing our magic and you’re not strong enough to break the bars or the wall of the cage.” She sniffled, trying to fight back the tears, “I’m afraid we are trapped here, unless Cadence and Shining Armor manage to come bursting through those doors and save us.” All she could do was cry, her legs crumpled underneath of her and she buried her face between her forelegs as she began to cry harder.
Celestia looked over at her faithful student, one she felt like was a daughter to her. She walked over and draped a wing over her comfortingly, then nuzzled her gently. Twilight hiccupped before raising her head and looking up at her mentor.
“I know this may seem impossible, just remember what I’ve always taught you and what you have learned through all the challenges you’ve faced through your life. No matter how bleak things seem, things will always work out no matter what.” She smiled at her warmly, “We can figure this out and even if we can’t before we are forced through that portal, which I’m sure he’s going to do, we will find a way to defeat him and get back to Equestria. You will seem home again and you will see your family again too, we are not giving up just yet. Just think outside the box and we can figure out a plan.” Her words seem to sink into Twilight and warm her heart, she knew Celestia was right. No matter what she couldn’t give up yet, they could still beat this and escape.
Twilight rose and look around the cage trying to assess their situation and find something they could use. Their chains and collars were gone as well as their binding, they had ben removed from the cage. Without her magic she wouldn’t be able to use a spell to melt the metal.
*GASP*
“That’s it!” Twilight spun around to face Spike, “Spike you can breathe fire!” This seem to dumbfound everyone.
“Well ya, Twilight, I’m a dragon. We all know I can breathe fire,” he looked at her questioningly, “Where are you going with this?”
“You can use your fire to melt the bars of the cage!” She jumped towards him and was nose to nose with him, “Dragon fire is the hottest source of heat there is in existence, it can even melt stone if the dragon is large enough! I know you are old enough to have fire hot enough to melt the bars!” She practically started to bounce like Pinkie Pie.
“HA! I knew you’d figure something out, Twi!” Rainbow Dash did a flip in the air and hoof punched the air again.
“Hoo wee! Twilight, I didn’t even think ‘bout ole Spike there!” Applejack looked at her sheepishly.
“Of course, Spike should have more than enough fire in him to melt a few of the bars for use to escape!” Rarity leapt up to join them.
“Well I can try, but I’ve never tried to melt anything besides ice before. I know I’ve grown a lot since the Equestria Games, but I’m not sure that my fire is going to be hot enough to melt metal.” Spike took a few steps back and looked at the floor.
“Spike, I’m certain you can do it. I believe that you can do it, you’ve never failed me before.” Twilight wrapped a foreleg around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. He was no longer the baby dragon anymore, he had grown quite a bit. Even though he was still short, he could see over Twilight’s shoulder. She believed he had the strength in him to melt the bars.
Spike looked at each one of his friends before stepping up to the bars, mainly the ones that Applejack had tried to buck. He grasped the bar and tested its strength by shaking it and then scraped a claw on it. He looked back at Twilight who waited patiently for him to begin, she gave him a reassuring nod before he turned back to face the bars. He took a quick breath before testing his flame, as he exhaled a green flame shot out in a steady stream. It ended as quickly as it started, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. His chest expanded and began to glow as the fire built up, he paused to give the fire time to build up. Everyone held their breaths with him as they waited for him to release the flame.
It felt as though an eternity had passed before he exhaled and the green flame shot out. He kept the flame slender and aimed at a central point on one of the bars. Where the flame was touching the bar started glow, beginning with dark red before growing in orange. When his flame finished the bar was glowing a golden color.
“Applejack try kicking it again, buck it with all you got!” Rainbow Dash cheered her on.
Applejack stepped up and lined up with the bar, drawing her legs up before lashing out with both hooves aiming for the singular bar. The bang was still deafening, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone. Their hopes started to drop until Pinkie Pie bounced up to the bar. It looked as if it hadn’t budge.
“Hey it moved! Not a lot but it still moved!” She squealed with excitement.
“Are you sure Pinkie Pie? It doesn’t look like it moved at all?” Rarity wasn’t sure it had moved, none of them were certain it had.
“Well of course, silly!” She rolled her eyes and smiled brightly like her usual self. “It’s not all straight like the one beside it, duh!” she giggled at Rarity. Celestia and Luna came closer and it had definitely moved some.
“She is correct, the bar has definitely moved.” Luna confirmed.
“Spike, can you do that again? And this time Applejack hit the bar as he’s blowing the fire on it, hit lower than where he is blowing, maybe with you both working together it will weaken the bar enough that it will break. Rainbow Dash can you buck above where Spike is blowing his flame? /with enough force applied along with the heat from the fire will be enough to break the bar.” Twilight was pleased with herself for finally figuring it out. How could she have missed it?
“Sure as sugar, Twilight!” Applejack got into position so she as just off from where Spike stood and Rainbow angled herself above him and at the same angle that Applejack was at.
“Hey Spike, don’t catch my tail on fire, okay? I won’t be as awesome with half a tail.” She smirked at him and smacked him on the shoulder for confidence.
Spike took a few breaths before preparing his fire for a second time. They all were depending on this to work. Twilight hoped all the calculations she did in her head were correct, they were all depending on her to be right on this.
“Twilight, don’t be so worried. I’m positive that your plan will work.” Pinkie Pie bounced next to her. “Even if it doesn’t and we end up plummeting through that super shiny portal and being sent to some other world with that evil strange pony and wind up in the clutches of some evil prince who has started a war to try and claim a throne that technically speaking isn’t his to begin with so he forces us to win the war for him, you can still say that you tried. I am also positive that if that happens you can still figure out a plan to get us out of that too like you always do. I mean come on you figured out how to beat Tirek by giving him all the Alicorn magic and using our keys of friendship to unlock the mystery box thingy that the tree of harmony gave you when we saved it from those spikey black vine things that Discord had planted a long, long, long, long time ago when Celestia and Luna defeated him. You are super smart and will always solve the problem, especially with us by your side!” Pinkie Pie’s ramble finally ended and Twilight just stared at her with wide eyes. Her stomach had bottomed out with the first part of what Pinkie Pie had said about the portal and falling into the clutches of an evil prince.
Her heart quickened and her breaths got shallow as her mind began to race, Fluttershy noticed the change and came up from behind her and put a hoof on her shoulder. Discord came up too, they had both been silent since they woke up.
“Twilight, take a deep breath and don’t panic. You are great friend and are very intelligent. You have managed to beat me at my own game every time and Pinkie Pie has a wonderful point. You beat Tirek through sacrifice and friendship, the friendships that you have made with all of us and the ones that we have made with others. Never fear that you will fail at any challenge, because you never have. With the help of us, we will figure things out, even in this strange situation.” Discord put a paw on her other shoulder and gave her comforting squeeze. Even though she has never been close with Discord, nor fully trusted as she should, she could see it in his eyes that he was being sincere and honest. He was being a true friend to her and he wouldn’t let her down nor will she let him down. She took a deep breath and did the method that Cadence had taught her to calm her nerves and it worked as always.
“He’s right, Twilight, don’t worry. We love you and you are our friend, you have never let us down and we have never let you down. We can do this.” Fluttershy smiled at her before hugging her.
“Well except for that time in Canterlot with Cadence and Shining Armor for their wedding and we all thought that Twilight was being overprotective over her brother and was all like ‘Cadence is evil! Cadence is evil! They can’t get married!’ and we all thought she was being crazy when she was actually right all along and Cadence turned out to be an imposter and was actually Queen Chrysalis who was out to take all the love from Canterlot.” Pinkie Pie smiled big after she took a deep gasping breath.
“I don’t think that helped very much, dear. We didn’t know Cadence before the wedding where Twilight did. She had known her and was close with her before she came to Ponyville. She knew the true Cadence and knew she would’ve never behaved in such a way. Even with the stress of planning a wedding by herself due to Shining Armor having a huge role of protecting Canterlot from an impending threat.” Rarity scolded Pinkie Pie before smiling and reassuring Twilight.
“Aw I’m sorry Twilight, I was just trying to help and make you smile,” her head lowered and her mane and tail lost some of its volume, deflating like a balloon.
“Oh Pinkie Pie, you did make me smile and you always do,” She smiled at her bright enough to make her happy again. “I’m just afraid this won’t be enough and even if we do manage to escape from this cage and slip past that pony and his minotaur guards we are still going to have to figure out how to get back to the surface. I’m not even sure where we are at in the castle.” Twilight looked around at the room they were in, it didn’t look like the caves that she and Cadence were trapped in when they battled Queen Chrysalis and her changelings.
“We are in a very deep part of the dungeons, one that has been sealed off for centuries. It became too dangerous, these caverns had become unstable and went even safe for Luna’s night guards to live down here.” Celestia looked around the room that their cage sat in.
“Then why is this room not damaged from the cave-ins?” Twilight looked confused.
“He is using magic to keep it in condition or he has managed to find the one cavern that is still stable.” Celestia wasn’t certain how this room was still intact, “We could be even deeper than the crystal caves.”
There was a sudden clang that startled everyone, Fluttershy bolted into Discord’s chest with enough force to knock his breath from him. They all turned to look for the source and seen the bar that Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been working on laying across the room. They looked at the three responsible and seen they were covered in sweat, Spike was out of breath and was gasping. Rainbow Dash was barely hovering before she made a quick landing that was more like a drop, she laid down next to Applejack who was on her back and flexing her back legs trying to gain feeling in her muscles.
“Wow you did it!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down with joy.
“Are you guys alright?” Twilight rushed over to them, she wasn’t sure on what to do for them without her magic.
“Oh Twilight,” *gasp* “we’ll be,” *pant* “alright.” Applejack was panting so hard she could barely speak.
“Ya Twi,” *gasp* “we just,” *gasp* “gotta,” *pant* “catch our,” *pant* “breath.” Rainbow Dash’s wing were draped limply over the floor, she could barely flex her legs to keep the muscles going.
“Spike, you alright?” Pinkie Pie leaned over him and tickled the end of his nose with her mane to catch his attention. All he could do is raise his claw into the air and give them the thumbs up sign.
“You did good, Spike, get some rest to catch your breath.” Twilight beamed at Spike, even though he couldn’t see it she was proud of him.
Rarity walked over to Spike and laid next to him, propping his head on her forelegs and quickly placed a peck on his cheek before she nuzzled him. Spike licked her on the end of her muzzle with his long, forked tongue to return the affection. Twilight watched with a smile as they showed each other their affections briefly before Rarity quickly dashing away her feelings and looked to see if anyone had seen. Spike just went back to panting heavily. They all settled into a calm silence, even in this dire situation they felt hopeful that they were going to escape soon or at least get someone free to go find help. They soon discovered they were wrong.
They jumped up quickly when a loud band resounded throughout the room, it sounded like a heavy door swinging open. They could hear voices approaching, one was definitely the pony from before.
"I don't care, you will do you're damnedest to make sure they end up at the Prince's castle. If they don't it's sunlight for me and a ripping for you!" a deep voice growled far in the distances. "We have to get everything correct, I haven't lived for almost 200 years for my life to end now." Soon they could hear the sound of hoof beats in the darkness and the pony, rather the monster, stepped into the ring of light. He sneered at the ponies, relishing in how weak they were at this time. "Time for you lovely ladies to go to a new world. Where you will help my Prince take the thrown that is rightfully his!" He stomped his hoof hard on the stone floor, letting two loud rings out.
The minotaur-like monsters began to raise one end of the cage at the sound of their master's signal. They all gasped as they felt their hooves slide on the slick metal. The ponies all scrambled to the backside of the cage, only to slide further as the end of the cage was raised. The slick metal flooring made it difficult for the ponies to find any grip at all as they slid closer to the portal. Twilight suddenly reached for one of the bars and clung to it with all her strength, Spike wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around one of her hind legs. Rarity clung to her around her middle and soon they formed a chain of ponies. Rainbow Dash and Applejack clung to a bar together just a few feet from Fluttershy, who was clinging to Discord with all her might. Discord grasped a bar with his paw and had the other arm wrapped tightly around Fluttershy. Twilight let out a sigh of relief when she looked above her to see Luna dangling with Celestia, her forelegs wrapped crushingly around her older sister's midsection. Twilight looked out at her captor who was practically seething with rage, his face though never let it show.
"Get them loose from those bars or so help me, Tartarus won't be as much of a hell as I will rain down on you," he stomped his hoof again and this time, Twilight knew they didn't stand a chance and staying in the cage. Two of the minotaur-like monsters began banging on the bars on either side of the cage with their gigantic fists. Some of the mares squealed in fright with each slam of the fist. Twilight was losing her grip, she struggled to hold on, for the sake of Rarity and Spike, and she had to hold on. She could hear Fluttershy whimper, Rainbow Dash and Applejack groaned with each slam as they fought to hold on together. Twilight's muscles burned from the strain of trying to hold this much weight up, a voice came through the haze of her pain.
"Twilight, when I say let go. Let go." Twilight looked for the source of the voice, she found it was dark figure, a woman, standing at the edge of the shadows, she seemed to glow, almost like a dream. She looked like someone from the world of her Canterlot High friends, yet she didn't. When Twilight looked up she noticed that Celestia was looking at her too. "I promise nothing bad will happen to you when you pass through the portal, I will make sure you make it to a safe place and not in the hands of the evil Prince. You will be with my other half, Thunder Storm, she will keep you safe." Twilight nodded, even though she was scared she felt like she could trust this person. Her muscles and limbs began to shake as she began to lose strength. She could hear their captor growl in frustration.
"Hit it harder!" He screamed at them, he had turned into his monster self. His eyes glowed a bright blood red and his fangs dripped with saliva, "Work harder you putrid, mindless beings or it is to hell with you!" He growled as he began to pace like a predator.
"Let go, I promise it will be safe, now let go!" The woman practically screamed to Twilight and Celestia. Celestia was the first to let go and fall into the portal, which had changed color, Discord followed suite and as they fell they screamed. Fluttershy practically fainted in Discord's arms as they hit the shining portal. Rainbow Dash and Applejack screamed in fear, so did Rarity.
"Twilight, what do we do? The princesses and Fluttershy fell into the portal," Applejack practically shook with fear. Twilight knew now that there was nothing to fear.
"Let go," was all she said as she herself released her hold on the bar, giving into the screaming in her muscles, Rarity screamed with her as they fell. Applejack and Rainbow tried to catch them, only causing themselves to fall with them. They hit the portal in a massive entanglement of legs and bodies. It was a weird feeling as they passed through the portal, it felt as though something warm gliding over their bodies. It soothed Twilight's aching muscles and her mind, soon everything went black and her consciousness slipped away from her. She didn't know where they were going, but she trusted the woman who told her to let go.