A Reflection of sorts

by thetaleweaver

The Plan to reclaim the City

Chapter 4

The Plan to reclaim the City

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854 years since Luna's Disappearance

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"So, this is some sort of revenge against you, Edgar?" asked Gerald, concerned.

"I'm afraid so. What tipped you off?" asked Edgar in an exhausted manner.

"I'd say it was either you slamming the bars while screaming 'Damn you! Let me out, you whoreson!' for ten minutes, or just a good hunch" said Gerald, somewhat sarcastically. Edgar could not think of anything to say in response. Suddenly, however, the sound of a door opening in the distance caught their attention. A figure approached the cell, and gripped Edgar's body in their magical aura. He was thrown into a wall, and restraints fastened themselves around his ankles.

"I hope you haven't gotten too attached to your new home, Brickmason. After all, you'll be leaving it soon enough" announced a familiar voice.

"Valorous! What is the meaning of this?! Why is Blackmoor in a prison cell, and why am I?!" interrogated Edgar, furiously. Valorous grinned slightly as he trotted over to Edgar. He then began pummeling Edgar with his hooves, smile still fully intact. Gerald looked on in horror as the captain of the guard, known as the fiercest upholder of justice in the city, was once again beating an innocent pony into submission. He soon stopped, his smile twisting into a frown as he prepared to speak to Edgar.

"I've held that back for four years, Brickmason. And now, there's nothing left for me to do with you..." he said, remorsefully. Suddenly, the wicked smile he bore previously returned, somehow more manic than before. "... that is, except for your final punishment!" he stated gleefully.

"What do you mean?! What could I have possibly done to deserve this?!" demanded Edgar.

"And why involve me? After all, I've done nothing wrong!" pleaded Gerald.

"What do you mean? You and your wife were kidnapped by Mayor Brickmason here after you wised up to his recent embezzlement! Don't you remember anything, Blackmoor?" questioned Valorous in a tone that feigned innocence. Gerald took this in as a shocked expression formed on his face. He slumped back as something resembling malaise instilled itself in him.

"E-Elizabeth? No..." muttered Gerald, under his breath. Edgar saw this and began struggling to break free from his chains.

"Valorous, you bastard! You won't get away with this! Do you hear me!" barked Edgar, thrashing about in his chains.

"I won't now?" asked Valorous. Suddenly, he erupted into a fit of crazed laughter which seemed to echo throughout the entire prison block. "I'm afraid I already have" stated Valorous, deadpan, as he turned to look back at Edgar. Suddenly, he was knocked to the ground by Gerald, who could not stand his predicament any further.

"Where is my wife?! Tell me!" barked Gerald, enraged. Valorous merely stared at him, dejectedly.

"It's a shame, really. Here I thought you'd be found alive after grilling Brickmason for information. Oh well..." said Valorous, sadly. He got up and disappeared for a brief minute, coming back with a mare following close behind. He motioned for her to go in, and he slammed the cell door shut as she got in.

Elsewhere, earlier on in the day, the doors of the mayoral office swung open as a pegasus frantically flew down the halls. Many ponies stopped to look at this, almost perplexed by what could have caused Colin Linshire, who normally was quite stoical, to panic. Most assumed it had something to do with Mayor Brickmason having been dragged away by the city guard. As Colin neared the exit, Rose flew out in front of him, her face bearing a look of deep concern.

"Colin? What's going on here?" she asked, nervously.

"Mayor Brickmason was arrested, and I need to help him, Rose! I'm sorry, but our plans for the evening will have to be postponed!" he shouted as he worked his way around the mare and bolted out the front door. Rose watched as he flew off, saddened to see Colin so upset. Colin frantically dashed across the city, trying to find Nimba to alert her to what happened. Seeing no sign of her, he decided it would be best to go to the guard station and attempt to sort this out. As he trotted in to the building, he saw that Captain Valorous was by the receptionist's desk. He approached the stallion cautiously as he formulated his thoughts.

"Good afternoon, sir. Normally, you'd want to talk to the receptionist beforehand, but I guess I'll try to help you out. What can I do for you?" asked Valorous, smiling.

"Hello, my name is Colin Linshire, and I'm the Mayor's assistant. I need to speak with him" stated Colin, calmly.

"He can't be seen at the moment. I have men in the back interrogating him. We believe he knows something about Mr. Blackmoor's disappearance" said Valorous, sternly. Hearing this caused Colin to shoot him a confused glance.

"But wasn't he taken in for 'assault on an officer', sir? I mean, that's what I heard before he got carted off".

"I don't know where you heard this, but please, if there's something you know about this, enlighten us". Colin seemed to ponder this for a moment before directing his gaze back into the eyes of Valorous.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know anything else. Thank you, sir" he said, walking away.

"Have a good day!" called out Valorous. After Colin had left, Valorous called a guard over to his side. He began to whisper into the guard's ear. "Keep a close eye on Mr. Linshire, and report his activities to me. I fear he knows more than he's letting on" said Valorous. The guard nodded his head and left the station as Valorous made his way to the cells in the back of the station.

Colin, unsure of what more he can do, decided to go back home and try to better collect his thoughts. As he approached his dwelling, he noticed a familiar looking pegasus mare fluttering down the way.

"Nimba? Is that you?" he called out to the mare. She turned to him and approached, a worried expression on her face.

"Mr. Linshire? Aren't you normally still at the office?" she asked.

"It's a long story. Come inside, I'll try to explain". As he finished his sentence, he noticed Nimba's attention shift to behind him. He turned to look, but saw an empty alleyway, which somehow gave him a sense of unease.

Back at the prison, Edgar continued to struggle in his chains as Gerald comforted his wife, Elizabeth. The sound of a door opening nearby caught the attention of the three ponies, causing them to freeze. A cart stopped in front of the cell as the door opened. Valorous entered the cell, dragging the small cart behind him. He lifted three loaves of bread, three apples, and a pitcher of water out of the cart and placed them on the floor. Without a word, he walked out and slammed the cell doors shut.

"I'm sorry that both of you got dragged into this" said Edgar, remorsefully.

"You didn't do this, Mayor, Valorous did. Why should we be angry with you for that?" asked Elizabeth as she picked up a loaf of bread.

"I almost could've seen this coming, anyways" added Gerald, before taking a bite from an apple. "I never thought you'd be a part of this as well, but I guess that's life for you, right?"

"Perhaps. In any event, thank you for helping out. I'd have done the same thing to Valorous had he not bound me" replied Edgar, somewhat relieved.

"That cur had it coming, there's no need to thank me". A silence fell in the air, which caused a sort of discomfort among the three sharing a cell. "Aren't you going to eat, Edgar?" asked Gerald.

"I'm more concerned with how my wife is holding up. She must be worried sick about me!"

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She might even come to visit you soon".

"I shudder to think that, Gerald. I swear, Valorous better not lay a hoof on her..."

Three days passed, and almost nothing seemed to have happened. Valorous would stop by once a day to drop off food, and the rest of the day would comprise of the three talking about whatever subject popped into their heads. The nights were spent sleeping and looking out the barred window whenever they heard a noise outside. On the fourth day, Gerald and Elizabeth were taken out of the cell by Valorous, and Edgar saw no trace of them after that. On the fifth day, a guard came to the cell and began unchaining Edgar.

"Thank you, they were starting to dig into my ankles" thanked Edgar.

"Just don't cause any problems. Now, what would you like for your last meal?" asked the guard.

"Last meal? What are you talking about?! My trial isn't even until tomorrow!" asked Edgar nervously.

"Still a bit out of it, are we? That must be some illness you had..."

"I-Illness?!" asked Edgar, his nervousness now replaced by fury.

"Yes. Valorous said you looked too unwell to present yourself for the court. As he pointed out, though, there was enough evidence to come to a reasonable decision" said the guard. Edgar could not contain his anger any longer, and he shouted at the top of his lungs.