Sanctify

by AnnEldest

Woken Up By Darkness

Capper woke up in pain, his head throbbing and achy. He sat up and allowed himself a moment to hold his head and let the pain subside.

When he got his bearings, he realized that he was no longer outside in the cold, winter storm that he remembered from before. Instead, he was in a very small room with walls made of iron bars, and a small, flickering light that looked distant, but bright enough to illuminate the corner of the cell that he was in. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a cell. But, who had put him there?

Somewhere in the distance, Capper could hear the soft, steady plink of water falling drop by drop into some larger pool. Perhaps he was somewhere underground.

He tried to get a grip on what had happened before. No matter how he tried, all he could remember was being chased. Some creature of light that had been with Princess Luna.

That was it. He was with Princess Luna before. The two of them were following after some unknown source of light until she yelled out to him. After that, he remembered feeling a heavy impact on the back of his head. After that, nothing.

Capper exhaled quietly.

“Oh, Capper. What have you gotten yourself into?” he said to himself.

“Ah. You’re finally awake, I see,” said a voice from behind him.

Capper turned around to face the voice’s owner. In the dark part of the cell where the light just barely reached, he saw the silhouetted form of another figure. When it walked into the dim light, he was greeted by a familiar face.

“Looks like they got us both, huh, Princess?” Capper said.

“Unfortunately so,” Princess Luna said, as she leaned against the bars. “I don’t suppose you have an idea of where we are?”

“No, I was kind of hoping you did,” Capper replied. “One thing’s for sure: this isn’t the hotel Marriott.”

“With these accommodations, I’m not so sure,” Princess Luna said, scuffing her hoof against the tattered blanket and dingy pillow that were laid on the floor.

Capper thought for a moment, then came up with the most obvious solution.

“Here’s a thought: why don’t you use some of that alicorn magic of yours to get us out of here?” he said.

“Had I the means, I would have already done that. But, as you can see,” Princess Luna sighed, as she tapped her horn.

Capper had to squint to see what she was indicating. Against the princess’s dark blue horn, he could see a pitch-black ring that had been affixed around her horn.

“Well, at least it goes with your color,” Capper sarcastically said.

He stood up from the ground. The moment he stood, his head began swimming badly, forcing him to hold onto the iron bars to his side. Once he was on his feet, the vertigo and lightheadedness began to wane, and the strength felt like it was returning to his legs.

With his hands on the bars, he could feel just how old and worn they were. Dirt and rust had caked around them from years of neglect, and their bases wobbled loosely. He gripped the bar nearest to him and jostled it lightly.

“It won’t do any good. I’ve already tried breaking us out while you slept,” Princess Luna said.

“If you can call that sleep,” Capper muttered, jostling the bar next to the one he was just holding. “Did you at least see how we got here?”

“No. I was unconscious, as you were,” Princess Luna said. “I tried to fight them off and save ourselves. But, to no avail, I’m afraid.”

Capper sighed too quietly for Princess Luna to hear. He jostled bar after bar, taking his time with each one, feeling the give of each. From where he was, he could see a small hallway beyond. The hall was just as aged as the cell he and Luna occupied, weathered with rough grooves and chipped in many spots as if the walls had simply broken away from the ravage of the years. Down the hall in either direction, he could see other cells that were as dilapidated as his own. Wherever they were, he wondered how the structure was still standing.

“You mentioned ‘them’ just now,” Capper said to Princess Luna, as he jostled another bar. “Who exactly are ‘they?’”

“I’ve not the slightest idea. They weren’t exactly courteous enough to introduce themselves as they were abducting ourselves,” Princess Luna said, watching Capper as he futilely jostled each bar.

“Hrm…” Capper murmured. “One thing’s for sure: the only way out of here seems to be that door down that way.”

“Yes. I’ve seen it. However, there’s not much that we can do to reach it,” Princess Luna said.

“I suppose that depends on whether or not you’ve actually tried,” Capper replied, jostling the next bar down the line.

“Do you not think I’ve tried?” Luna said incredulously. “I have thrown myself at each of these bars. I’ve tried time and again to get this dampener off of my horn. I’ve even tried digging out by chipping away at the stone floors. As far as I can see, it is a hopeless endeavor to escape.”

“You make it sound so bleak,” Capper said.

“What about our situation is not bleak?” Princess Luna said. “You know that the creatures we are up against are powerful enough to stop an alicorn princess. And now here we are, foalnapped, stuck in an unknown place for an unknown reason by unknown captors. Must I say more, Capper Dapperpaws? I believe deeply in the bleakness of our situation.”

“No need to get so upset, princess. Don’t let this cool cat demeanor fool you. I’m freaking out too. But panicking and arguing isn’t going to do us much good,” Capper said, working on the next bar.

Princess Luna furrowed her brow and looked thoughtfully at Capper jostling the bars. He seemed fixated on the one bar that he was holding and rocked it more curiously than the others that he had just held. Perhaps he was on to something.

She strode over to the bars and started pushing and pulling against them.

“Working all those bars at once isn’t going to do any good, Princess,” Capper said, as he walked back to the ratty blanket on the floor.

“One of them must be a weak link,” Princess Luna said, as she strained against the bars.

“Exactly. We only need to work on one of them,” Capper said, as he folded the blanket lengthwise and twirled it around. “Lend me a hoof here.”

Luna watched as Capper looped the blanket around one of the bars and held it firmly to one end. The other, he offered to her. She took the end of the blanket in her teeth and snorted from the aged, musty scent it exuded.

“Good. Now, let’s pull,” Capper said.

He and Princess Luna both pulled as hard as they could against the center of the ancient iron bar. The twisted blanket held up against the force of their pull, staying taut in their grips. From the corner of his eye, Capper thought that he could see Princess Luna wincing as if some twinging pain were bothering her. He guessed it was simply the strain of trying to break the bars and put one of his paws against them to give more force.

Moments passed, and it seemed like nothing had happened. Finally, they could feel the worn iron begin to bend towards themselves. Slowly, the metal bar was beginning to give. Even in the dismal light, they thought that they could see the bar starting to crack in the middle where the rust was most prominent.

A sudden sound overhead stopped their efforts. Capper and Princess Luna both looked up at the ceiling. Somepony’s hooves were thumping the floor overhead.

Author's Note:

I know it's been so long but I'm trying to work on all of these stories I guess while I'm in the summer. This one, in particular, the most because it definitely has one of the biggest potential out of all of them. Also the story I just am more excited to write about because it's something different. Took a while but I got a start on it and hopefully, it won't take long to get the next one out. This chapter was edited by Wingdingaling.

Till Next Time!!!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

It has no connection to the "Beyond My Grave" series.

Why would we assume this?

[AnnEldest]

10881420
cause it's the main thing on my account. Also, I had another story that was in the same universe of Beyond My Grave but didn't have any big connection to it. (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/481353/discord-spike-and-big-mac-eat-the-worlds-hottest-chip)

[wingdingaling]

After reading through it all, without having to work on it, I have to say that I'm anticipating the next chapter.