Fire and Brimstone, Book 2

by BluePhoenyx

Chapter 5 - Crimson and the Dark Room

With his hooves shackled and a harness attached to his body, the soldiers escorted Crimson eastward around the edges of a forest. In the distance to the north, the escort walked passed a large city. Later, they passed a smaller city to the south. With very few rest stops, he watched the sun rise to its apex in the sky and start to fall as they eventually reached a train station. The guards put him in a metal car with a secured cage in the middle. The car itself had no windows showing the outside world to cause a deep sense of hopelessness and disorientation. Caring not for the various wounds he had sustained, the guards pushed him into the cage. Crimson turned around and watched the guards close and lock the cage, then sealed the train car, leaving him alone in the darkness. Then, with a sudden tug, the car started to move down the tracks.

Crimson’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and he tried to look around. Only the rough shapes of the bars of the cage were seen in his darkvision eyes. He leaned in at the door to study the engineering of the cage. Lifting a hoof, he knocked on the hinge. His eyes and horn glowed as he slowly lifted his head, causing the hinge pin to warp and lift from the cage. As the pin fell mangled on the floor, his eyes and horn lost their glow. He squeezed through the opening in the cage and moved to the door and a wall of the car. After realizing that the surface ponies use a highly refined earthly element to imprison ponies, he smiled and shook his head while going back into the cage middle of the car. His magic lifted the mauled pin, placed it back into the hinge, then manipulated it to its original shape. He then laid down to rest for the rest of the trip feeling no sense of danger from the ignorance of these guards.

* * *

The ride itself had various stops which jerked the cage around. Eventually, the train stopped and the car door opened. Crimson squinted his eyes as the sudden bright light blinded him. After a couple of moments, his eyes started to adjust to the light showing the mountain entrance to Canterlot. Even though he was resting the entire time, the bumpy ride hadn’t helped his recovery at all.

The soldiers detached his cage from the train car and pulled the cage through the gates of Canterlot, which were much more guarded than he remembered. They hauled him away from the castle into the castle prison chambers. The heavily armed building opened its thick, heavy door to allow the cart to go into a small room for transfer. The cart were pulled into the guardhouse, then the doors rumbled close behind him. His cart turned and circled around so the cart faced the other direction. The soldiers opened his cart and allowed the shackled pony to hop down to the ground with some assistance from the guards. As the soldier grabbed Crimson’s reins, the second set of heavy doors opened to show a large fortified chamber. They walked inside to show a couple of guards, a pony sitting at a desk, and barred doors that led to a large stairway underground. The pony that sat at the desk looked up at the incoming prisoner and he smiled when he realized who it was.

“You finally found him.” The sitting pony announced.

“That we did.” The solder said smiling, and led Crimson to the desk. The two guards in the room walked up and took Crimson’s reins, relieving the solders of their prisoner. The pony wrote in a small book, ripped out a page, then handed it to the soldier. The soldier took the slip of paper and started to walk away.

The pony that sat at the desk looked at Crimson. “Take him below.” The guards start to walk toward the barred doors. “Oh, and the Princess said full magic and anti-magic restraints for him too.”

“Yes, sir.” The guards opened the barred doors and took him below.

* * *

Time started to pass as Crimson stood in his near black cell. Very little light was seen to give direction in his barred room, but the disorientating effect the cell is supposed to have had no effect on one that can see in the dark. His leg constraints prevent most of his movement, his horn was covered in some sort of cloth sheath, and a leather restraint was wrapped around his chest, preventing him from spreading his wings. The only visitor he got was a guard who served him his food. He doesn’t know how long he had been in the cell, but he figured a few days at least, as his wounds became more and more bearable.

Without notice, Crimson looked up to see a silhouette of a cloaked figure. “So, ‘tis true.”

Crimson stood to greet the cloaked figure. “Who are you?”

“It isn’t I who should be identified, but you.”

Crimson looked suspiciously upon his visitor. “My name is Crimson.”

“I know your name.”

“Then why ask?”

“Because that isn’t what I asked.” The cloaked pony started to slowly pace while looking into the cell.

“Then tell me what you mean.”

The cloaked pony stopped. “I mean where did you come from?”

Crimson looked at the visitor in thought. “You know so much about me, but not where I am from?”

“Alas, no.” The cloaked pony continued her pacing.

He looked suspiciously upon the cloaked pony. “I come from underground.”

She stopped in her tracks and looked toward Crimson. “Underground?”

“Yes.”

The cloaked figure looked away in thought.

“Now, who are you?”

The cloaked pony looked at Crimson. “I’m not done with my questions.”

“You will be if you continue to ignore mine.”

The cloaked pony looked at Crimson in silence for a moment. “I am a gatherer of information.”

“A sage?”

The cloaked pony lightly lifted her head. “Hm, I suppose you could say that.”

“A sage that lets others die in a battle?”

“It isn’t like you did anything to stop them either.”

Crimson looked away in frustration, with no small amount of shame. The two remained silent for a moment before Crimson turned his head back to the sage. “Are you friend or foe?”

“I am neither, and I am both.”

Crimson shook his head. “Your words speak no sense.”

“One day, you may learn.”

Crimson stomped his hoof in frustration as best as his restraints would let him. “Who are you?!”

“Do you know why you’re down here?”

Crimson took a deep breath to calm himself down, then shook his head. “I do not.”

“Do you know of the Elements of Harmony?”

Again, Crimson shook his head. “I do not.”

The sage started to slowly pace back and fourth in front of Crimson’s jail cell as he stared with curious interest. “The Elements of Harmony are artifacts with supernatural essences of great power. The elements have broken themselves down into six pieces of jewelry and have bound themselves to six special ponies. The power of the elements are only to be used under dire circumstances, such as breaking you out of your petrification.”

“How would you know of such?”

The sage paused and looked at Crimson. “Isn’t that the duty of a sage?”

The two stood quietly for a moment. “What does this story have to do with me?”

“Because you’re accused of stealing the elements.”

Crimson looked shocked at the cloaked pony. “What? That’s absurd!”

The sage continued her pacing. “You’re the only pony I know of that can use the magic to get into the vault which the elements were held.”

“I am innocent! Summon Twilight Sparkle.”

“That isn’t an option. Besides, her new role has her accompanied by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or Royal Guards at all times.” She stopped and turned toward Crimson. “However…” She reached under her cloak and grabbed what looked to be a key, and unlocked the door. “I can free you of your binds.”

Again, Crimson looked suspiciously at his visitor. “Why would you do such for me?”

“Because you didn’t do it.” She reached and unlocked Crimson’s shackles and harness.

Crimson watched the wing binding harness fall from his body. “How can you be so certain?”

“Because of the timing.” She turned around and went toward the door. “Find another who can use the same magic as you to prove your innocence.” She walked to the stairway as Crimson finished taking off the shackles.

“There is no other!” Crimson looked up to see the sage gone.

“There must be, or you’ll be tried and convicted of this grave crime.” The voice echoed and faded away.

Crimson stood speechless and baffled at the information he had just learned. He took off the old bandages from the cabin to expose his wounds to the open air. He thought of his next course of action and what he remembered of his trip here. Finally, he got an idea and quietly started to go up the stairway to the upper levels.

Crimson reached the top of the large spiral stairway to the base level of the prison. He saw the guards asleep, the barred doors opened, and the main doors cracked open for entry. He looked up to notice the anti-magic cloth on his horn. He rose his hoof, lifted it off his horn, then tossed it aside as he snuck toward the gates.

He peeked his head outside to see everyone in a deep and snoring slumber. Cautiously, he started to make his way toward the castle gates to escape Canterlot. He went toward the train station, the only entrance/exit he knew of, to find a small cart with a strange lever on the tracks. He walked up to the cart and curiously looked at the lever. He leaned in, reached a hoof out and touched the lever. The cart started to roll leaving Crimson behind. He look in shock, then started to run after the cart. Trotting as hard and as fast as he could, he barely caught up to the cart. Running behind it, the cart started to gain speed. Desperate, he jumped and reached his hoof out, catching the edge of the lever. The cart picked up speed dragging Crimson on the ground. Crimson started to pull himself up and finally flung himself on the cart. He lied down on his back panting, his flesh torn up from being drug across the ground. While on his back, he looked up to see the destination of the cart to make sure the sage didn’t lead him into some sort of trap. After he felt he was in the clear, he took a deep breath and lied back down to rest.

* * *

What seemed like hours had passed. When the sun went behind the horizon, the cart came to a stop, then started to turn into sand. Crimson jumped off, only to stagger and stumble at his injured leg and watched the evidence of his escape turn into nothing more than dust in the wind. He looked up at the night sky, then started to slowly walk toward a vaguely familiar settlement - Ponyville. Tired and inured, he noticed the balloon that went into the sky in the distance. He limped to the balloon and got into the basket, landing on a sack of some sort, and took shelter for the night. Crimson closed his eyes resting as best as he could before the next day.

Author's Note:

Edit: 10/17/2017, quick reread and tense fixes

Comments

[BluePhoenyx]

Author's Note: Chapter 5 - Crimson and the Dark Room
Under lock and key, Crimson is escorted by the guards who claim to be from Canterlot. But why?

Thank you for reading. Sorry for being a day late on my post. I was a little busy Friday. But don't worry, next week will (hopefully) be on time.

Enjoy the chapter.