The Night Janitor

by Knox Locke

Chapter 45: Closed Doors

[Ocellus' Perspective]

It had taken quite a while to get to the gates of Tartarus, but Gallus and Ocellus were nothing if not determined. The changeling reached into her bag and retrieved the magical relic Discord had given them. As she approached the gateway with the magical key held in her mouth, she stepped on something sharp.

"Ow!" she yelped, dropping the key.

She quickly looked to see what she had stepped on. The Key of Unfettered Entrance. The first one, that is. The one the she and Gallus had brought with them had simply fallen to the ground in front of her.

"Well," she said, drawing her companion's attention to the shards of magical relic, "I guess we know for sure now."

Gallus picked up the magical key from the ground.

"Yep," he confirmed. "One use only. How are we going to get back out once we get in."

"Don't worry," she replied, a scheming glint in her insect-like eyes. "I've got a plan."

---

[Gallus' Perspective]

Gallus stepped up to the gateway and put the key in place. As was expected, the gates made quite a show of such a simple task as opening. Once the show was over, however, it was time for action.

"Which cell was Cozy's?" he asked Ocellus as he walked through the opening. She surveyed the space for a moment before gesturing to a couple disproportionate cells near the top of the cliff overlooking whatever nightmare fuel lived in the bowels of Tartarus.

"They would try to keep prisoners as dangerous as Cozy and Tirek far away from the other dangerous creatures," she explained. "Those are the only cages distanced far enough away. Also, look at the size of them. One big, one small. One for an evil, magic-eating centaur, one for the youngest mastermind Equestria has ever seen."

That was enough for Gallus to go off of, so he flew off towards the two cells she had pointed out.

He was almost there when he heard the most heart-wrenchingly terrifying sound he'd ever hear, before or since. Giant metal doors slowly scraping across the stone ground. The gates were closing.

He skid to a halt in the air and flipped around. He was startled by the absence of his friend behind him. He hadn't even noticed she wasn't following him. His heart sank as he finally spotted her. She was standing in the gateway, smirking. Why was she smirking? He flew as fast as he could towards the gates, desperately trying to make it back before they would lock him in forever.

He was too far away. He'd never make it in time! His friend was still standing in between the doors, maintaining eye contact with him as he desperately flew for his life. She was still smirking. What he saw next froze him in place. His jaw hung open in shock as he watched that familiar changeling magic wrap around his friend's body. Had she planned this?

Author's Note:

Yay! I finally feel inspired to write again!

Comments

[asdtroi8895]

So is Occelus a villain now or is this part of some wierd plan by Cozy?