Prisoner of Fate

by Leondude

Chapter 5 - Isolation

Brought before the throne of King Kronus, Ardent was chained up like an animal. She was so overcome with grief and despair, she didn't even bother trying to hide how infected her body was anymore.

"Ladies and gentlecolts of the royal court," Star-Swirl announced. "Today we are putting Ardent Cadenza on trial for the murder of her own husband."

"Ardent Cadenza," Kronus said. "How do you plead?"

"Guilty," Ardent said despairingly.

While Ardent could have easily pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, she was so overcome with remorse for causing the death of her loved one that she felt she deserved whatever punishment she would face.

"Ardent Cadenza, I sentence you to ten years within the royal dungeons."

Two guardsponies escorted Ardent out of the courtroom and dragged her down into the dungeon, where they threw her into a filthy, unkempt cell. Kronus then leaned in towards Star-Swirl.

"Have her cell bricked up," he ordered.

"What?!" Star-Swirl's eyes widened.

"Did you not see that she had the appearance of the infected? What if she were to fully transform and break out?" Kronus said.

Star-Swirl sighed. "As you wish, your majesty." He trotted out of the courtroom.

---

Ardent was once again trapped in darkness. She couldn't tell if this was her hallucinations again or whether it was because of the brick wall built in front of her cell blocking out all the light. She just sat there, catatonic and despondent. Her mind wandered aimlessly, waiting for her sentence to be over.

---

It was a sunny day in a meadow filled with daisies and a tree blossoming with bright pink leaves. Underneath the tree, Ardent and Wonder were relaxing and enjoying themselves. A rare occasion in which both of them were truly happy.

"Oh, Ardent," Wonder said. "You can't expect me to believe that."

"Oh, but I do," Ardent replied. "You have my word."

"Well, in that case..."

Wonder let out a little giggle. Ardent, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relaxation while stretching out one of her forelegs.

"You look exhausted, beloved, are you alright?" Wonder asked.

"I am. I have been blessed with a power and a purpose to cure those of what ails them. It's what my cutie mark tells me," Ardent said.

Ardent lifted up her tunic slightly to reveal her cutie mark. It was two snakes, one black and the other white, wrapped around a winged needle with a shining light behind them and the needle.

"Well, if you know so much about healing ponies, then you must know that there are two components to remedy whatever exhaustion you may feel," Wonder said.

"Of course. One is rest, but I do not know of the other," Ardent said.

"Why it's me, of course."

Both Ardent and Wonder chuckled at that little remark before Ardent leaned in to give Wonder a little kiss on the cheek.

"Pray that you will be with me always," Ardent whispered into his ear.

"Til death do us part..."

---

Ardent lay down in a dark void. While lying down, she was greeted with an illusion of Celestia glaring down at her, smiling sinisterly.

"Aw, look at you. All sad and mopey. Do you know what you need?"

The illusion of Celestia charged up her horn as her appearance grew more demonic, with sharp fangs almost like knives, slit eyes like a snake's, and a forked tongue.

"Some sunshine!"

The monstrous apparition blasted a bright ray of magic directly at Ardent. While it felt that Ardent was being burnt alive, she merely flinched. Being tormented by hallucinations of warped versions of those she grew to hate was a regular occurrence for Ardent. She could have tried fighting back but, considering what happened the last time she tried that, she thought it best to not even bother. She just lay there and took her punishment. She could barely tell whether she was awake or asleep. Whether she was alive or dead. It didn't matter to her at all.

---

It was a sunny day in a meadow filled with daisies and a tree blossoming with bright pink leaves. Ardent wandered around the meadow, confused as to where she was or how she got there. It was then that she noticed Wonder under a tree. Wonder had a mournful expression on his face. Delighted to see her beloved again, Ardent ran towards him. But when she got there, there was a blinding flash of light. When the light dissipated, Ardent's forehooves were bloodied again and she was face-to-face with the near-headless corpse of her beloved. She turned around and noticed Star-Swirl with a serious expression on his face.

"You could only hide your secret for so long," he said.

---

Ardent lay down in the darkness within her cell. Her stomach burned with hunger but she did not care. In fact, that feeling has been around for a while. She wondered when, or indeed if, she would die of starvation. Her throat was parched. It had been for a long time. Her cell was damp enough to at least partially quench it but she did not have the will to get up and lick the wet patches within her cell.

When will death take me? Ardent thought despairingly to herself. Have I not suffered enough?

Little did she know she would get her answer immediately, or at least what felt like immediately. She had spent so long in the dungeon that she had lost all sense of time. Past, present, future? It was all the same to her, until now. She heard a noise in the distance, the sound of rubble being chipped away like somepony was trying to demolish a brick wall. The noise grew louder and louder. A crack of light made its way through the darkness, partially blinding Ardent as she winced at it. The light grew bigger and bigger until it was nothing but a big square of light. In the middle of the light were the silhouettes of two massive ape-like creatures with big claws. She then heard grunts between the two of them as they looked at each other. The beastly duo grabbed Ardent and dragged her along the floor. Their touch hurt her immensely, courtesy of her never having any physical contact for a longer time. Ardent groaned in agony, surprised that her facial muscles didn't atrophy. Her eyesight got less sensitive to the light and she began to take in more of her surroundings, with the brutes dragging her across the floor having a more detailed appearance. They were covered in white fur and wore masks that looked tribal in nature.

"What's happening?!" Ardent cried out. "Who are you?! Where are you taking me?!"

The brutes ignored her, and kept walking with Ardent in tow.

Author's Note:

If you're wondering why Ardent and Wonder suddenly started using modern English, it's to signify that Ardent is losing her mind and, as a result, is misremembering things. I suppose that's what happens when you are locked up in a dungeon for what felt like an eternity.