Canterlot Dungeon

Anthony and Luna sat in the cold dungeon, listening to the guards shuffle about. The two had been sleeping, the previous night having not been the most pleasant. They seemed to be at peace though as they lay together in each other’s loving embrace. But the peace was not to last as one of the guards came by with a tray of food.

“Rise and shine, traitors. Today’s the day that I don’t have to see one of you ever again,” the guard said, dropping the tray on the floor with a loud clatter.

Anthony was immediately awoken by this and glared at the source of the noise. Luna followed and looked around the cell to remember where she was. The guards just snorted and kicked the tray into the tiny cell, spilling the food off of it.

“Oops, my bad,” the guard said, smiling as he walked away. Anthony got up and grabbed the apples and eggs that were still salvageable. He brought them over to Luna and sat next to her, trying to get her to eat.

“I’m not hungry,” Luna said, protesting against her sister and her cruel treatment.

“Please, Luna, just eat. I know it’s not much, but at least it’s something. You still have to eat for someone else,” Anthony pleaded, his stomach growling from the lack of food he has gotten.

“Fine, but I want you to eat some too,” Luna proposed.

“Fine, but just one bite. I don’t need as much as you do,” Anthony proposed back. Luna just nodded, agreeing to the terms put before her. She wanted him to eat, but she also knew that she needed it more than him. Anthony took the smallest apple and took a small bite out of it, leaving ninety percent of the apple untouched. He then passed it to Luna and watched her eat the pathetic excuse for a meal.

“Hey, friend, here I don’t need this, give it to the princess,” a voice said next door, and then an apple rolled in front of the cell door.

“Same here,” another voice said from the other side, and another apple rolled to the front of the cell. Anthony moved to the front and took the apples before the jailer decided he wanted them. He brought the pair to Luna and set them next to her, tears growing in her eyes.

“Hey, are you all right?” Anthony asked, putting a soft hand on her shoulder.

“Why would these ponies wish to help me? They owe nothing to me or Celestia,” Luna asked.

“Because, you are still ‘Princess,’ while Celestia has taken ‘Queen.’ They have hope that the normal order of things will be put back together,” Anthony said, holding Luna as she started to cry more. “Shhh, it’s okay. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I know I’ll be okay, but what about our unborn foal? What will become of our child?” Luna asked, crying more and more.

“I promise, nothing bad will befall the two of you. Even if I must sell myself to Celestia and allow her to have her way with me, I shall guarantee your safety,” Anthony said, calming Luna down some.

“I want a name ready for our foal, so that in case you’re not…” Luna started, but unable to finish the sentence.

“I’ll be fine, and you’re right. We do need a name for our foal, it can never hurt to be ready,” Anthony said, trying hard to keep himself calm. “So do you have anything if it’s a boy?”

“I would want him named after you,” Luna said, her head resting on Anthony’s chest. Anthony was running his fingers through Luna vast, flowing mane.

“Anthony? I hadn’t thought about having my own Jr., but if that’s what you want I’m good with that,” Anthony said, feeling Luna relax in his arms.

“Yes, but I haven’t thought of a good filly name for our foal,” Luna admitted. Anthony knew that she was all he thought about too.

“What about Lily? I really like that name, and I think it’ll fit,” Anthony suggested.

“Yes, that does sound like an excellent name,” Luna agreed, her eyes closing as she drifted off to sleep.

“Sweet dreams, my love. I hope they are full of fields of flowers and hope, and not of death and pain,” Anthony said, putting his head back and he waited for the jailer to come and take him away.

Hours went by as Luna slept. Nothing happened, not a sound was heard. Everypony in the dungeon had turned quiet as they waited for the execution that was coming. They all knew that the time for their deaths was noon, but that seemed forever away. Eventually a whole squad of guard ponies came and took each prisoner from his cell. Three came over to the one Anthony and Luna shared.

The guards beat on the door, waking Luna up in a very disrespectful manner. Anthony just glared at them as they shackled his wrists to his ankles. They placed an inhibitor ring on Luna’s horn and tied her wings to her body, which they did by applying too much pressure to her abdomen.

“Hey, watch how tight you make that!” Anthony said, startling the guards.

“And why should we, she’s just another prisoner?” one of the guards asked.

“Because she’s pregnant you twat, and that is not healthy for her or the foal,” Anthony said, trying to make some sympathy for Luna.

“Fine, loosen the ropes a little. Queen Celestia would not be happy if the foal is injured,” a different guard said. One of the guards loosened the ropes and Luna looked at Anthony with a “Thank You” in her eyes.

“Now come on, we have an execution to bring you all to,” the guard said, pulling on the shackles.

Anthony looked at the line of ponies that he was chained to and found them all to be of Shining Armor’s squad. He didn’t see Shining, but heard him being chained behind him. Anthony looked and saw that Shining was in decent condition, considering he went from a warzone to a dungeon in no time. Shining saw him looking and only nodded, hoping Anthony had a plan. Anthony nodded back.

The line was pushed through the castle, no pony insight as they made their way to the parade grounds. Anthony tested the strength of his chains and was pleased to find that they were not magically enhanced. Part one of his plan was complete.

Once they exited to castle, they were temporarily blinded by the light of the sun. Anthony knew he should have adjusted faster, but the sun was brighter than normal. He felt the heat from the sun, but the cold of the wind as it was still winter. He guessed that Celestia had increased the brightness of the sun, so as to establish her dominance over the land. The line was quickly pushed to a podium that had Celestia standing on it, with Twilight and her friends behind the solar queen. All six gasped as they saw why they were there.

“Shining, why are you chained like a criminal?” Twilight Sparkle asked, trying to move to her brother.

“Do not go near him Twilight. He is a traitor to this land and will do anything to get out of his restraints. Do not believe anything he says,” Celestia told Twilight, making her start to cry at the lie. “Bring the leaders forward.”

Anthony and Shining were detached from the main group and pushed onstage. Anthony stood tall and defiant before Celestia, in essence telling her he didn’t care. Shining stood next to him, just as defiant as Anthony. One of the guards used his pole arm to push Shining into a kneel position, while another hit Anthony in the back of the knee. This guard was rewarded with a kick to the face.

The guard flew backwards, landing off the podium and into the dirt. His jaw was noticeable broken and he had blood flowing from his mouth. Anthony kept a stern face and looked Celestia directly in the eyes.

“So we still have defiance, do we? Well, that won’t matter for long,” Celestia said, allowing Anthony to stand. “As it should be observed, I shall tell you the charges you are brought up on, the conviction, and you may say one last word before the sentence is carried out.

“Anthony, you are charged with re-entering Equestria while serving out a sentence of banishment. You are also charged with leading an army of changelings into Equestria and starting a war. The sentence is death.

Shining Armor, you are charged with betraying your nation and assisting in the development of an army of changelings. The sentence is death. Do either of you have any last words?”

“Yeah, I do,” Anthony said, staring Celestia in the eyes. “You should have used better shackles.”

Celestia cocked her head to the side and was shocked when Anthony pulled the chains apart. The guards reacted in seconds, charging at him with their pole arms down. He grabbed the closest weapon and flung the guard holding it over his shoulder. The next three tried to run him through, but the pole arms were knocked aside and each one was hit into unconsciousness. He went to Shining and removed the magic inhibitor, allowing Shining to free himself. Anthony then moved to next to Luna.

“Told you everything was going to be fine,” Anthony said, placing a kiss on Luna’s cheek.

“You really are an ass sometimes,” Luna said, smiling a little. Anthony laughed and removed the magic inhibitor. Luna freed herself and followed Anthony as he moved to the center of the parade field. Twilight and her friends all moved over to try and help.

“Twilight, I want you and the rest of the Elements to hide. I don’t know if Blackwing is gone yet, so the Elements of Harmony might be necessary,” Anthony said sternly. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt, so please don’t argue.”

“No way, we’re going to help you because that’s what friends do,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to be tough.

“Yeah, we’re all in this together. Ain’t nothin’ going to stop us,” Applejack added.

“Of course we’ll help, darling. What type of ponies would we be if we didn’t?” Rarity said.

“Besides, we still need to throw your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party,” Pinkie said, popping up behind Anthony.

“We’re not going to let Princess Celestia hurt anypony anymore,” Twilight said, knowing that she was going against her mentor.

“Um…well…I’ll try to help too,” Fluttershy whispered, barely audible in the chaos that was around them.

“General, all are free, sir,” Shining Armor said, trotting up to Anthony. He and his squad had subdued the guards and Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Anthony only nodded.

“Shiny, what do you need us to do?” Twilight said, trotting up to her brother.

“I need you to be safe, this is no place for you and your friends,” Shining said, doing the brotherly thing.

“No. Like we told Anthony, we’re in this to win it,” Rainbow Dash said, her anxiousness getting the best of her.

“I know you want to help, but fighting on the level we are is not something I want to put you all through,” Anthony said. “You all are not ready for what might have to happen, no pony here is. I am willing to do this, because I know what it will take and I know how to handle it afterwards.”

Before they could argue, Anthony whistled out a high-pitched whistle. In return, a deep, bellowing roar was heard off in the distance. Everypony looked that way to find the source, and not long after the whistle shouts could be heard from the city of Canterlot. Fluttershy hid Rarity and Applejack, while the rest all stared over at the direction of the noise.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“My pet,” Anthony said, standing proud.

From the gate that was locked came a crash. Everyone looked over at it, seeing the gate shake. Another crash came as the wood and locks on the gate shook, wood bending and the metal groaning from the effort of maintaining the gate. Eyes were wide as they waited for whatever was on the other side of the gate. A final crash was heard as the gate final crumbled. From the splinters and bent metal roared out a Spinosaurus. The massive dinosaur roared as it stampeded towards the group, stopping just a few feet away.

“Guys, I want you all to meet Fluffy,” Anthony said, placing a hand on the carnivorous animal.

“Ouh, he is so cute,” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and hugging the massive dinosaur. The Spinosaurus had no idea what to do.

“Um, sugar cube, not to be rainin’ on your parade, but he isn’t fluffy. At all,” Applejack told Anthony, only getting a smile in return.

“I know, I just chose it because he looks like a Fluffy,” Anthony said, putting no logic into his argument.

Uh, darling, what is it?” Rarity asked.

“Oh, right. In my world, we had creatures that went extinct centuries before humans. This one right here is a Spinosaurus, the largest carnivore to walk the Earth,” Anthony said, very proud of himself.

“But where did it come from?” Twilight chimed in.

“Probable from the past. We have no idea what came through them, so I’m not surprised one of these got through,” Anthony said, moving to the side of the creature. He whistled twice and the dinosaur got on its belly, allowing everyone to jump into the saddle on its back.

Anthony got near the top and grabbed a hold of the steel chains used to steer the beast. He waved everypony into the creature’s saddle, trying to get them to move as quickly as possible. The only issue was that Rarity didn’t like the smell of Fluffy, which Anthony just told her to get in and plug her nose. Once they were all in, Fluffy stood up and started towards the way it came in. The occupants in the back all looked over the sides as the hulking dinosaur moved through the city with ease. They had almost made it out the city when a roar was heard behind them, one that was answered by Fluffy.

Anthony didn’t hesitate as he spurred the Spinosaurus on, trying to get them to the Everfree Forest. He kept looking back, hoping it wasn’t what he thought it was. The dinosaur bellowed again to the roar behind them. It took all his strength to keep the dinosaur moving forward. He turned around to speak to the occupants.

“Shining, I want you to take the reins. I don’t think Tango Bravo is Delta,” Anthony said, earning confusion from everypony except Shining Armor.

“Yes sir,” Shining said, knowing immediately what he was talking about. Shining Armor got up and too the reins, Anthony moving to the back of the saddle. Luna stopped him before he did anything.

“What are you planning?” she asked, the same thought on the bearers of the elements minds too.

“To finish this,” Anthony said, opening a hidden compartment.

Inside the compartment were what appeared to be armor, but it wasn’t. Anthony quickly put the pieces on and it looked like a type of body armor, one that was designed to be strong but light. He then pulled out a pistol with extra mags, a shotgun, and a handle. He attached the shotgun to his back and handle to his hip, keeping the pistol out. Luna knew he was planning to go back to fighting and didn’t want him to.

“No, please, don’t. I don’t want to lose you,” Luna said, grabbing hold of Anthony.

“I don’t want to go either, but I have to,” Anthony said, lightly moving her back.

“No you don’t. We can find a place to hide and…” Luna tried to say.

“Yes, I do. I am the only one who can stop this. This is hard for me too,” Anthony told her, hugging her tightly. “I promise, today is the day that this ends.”

Anthony placed a kiss on her forehead and jumped off the back of the dinosaur, leaving everypony watching him go. Shining turned to the group and watched them all comfort Luna as she started to cry. He sighed and looked forward, commanding the dinosaur in the agreed direction that had been preplanned.

“Where are we going, Shiny?” Twilight asked, moving from the group.

“To get the Elements of Harmony,” Shining replied with, confusing Twilight.

“But how? The Elements are in the castle, which I don’t think Celestia is going to let us just walk into,” Twilight said.

“We have a way in. And Luna can open the safe, only one princess is needed to open it,” Shining Armor said.

“How long have you planned this?” Twilight asked her brother.

“Many months. Anthony and I knew that we needed contingencies for every situation. He is very good at coming up with every problem that might happen, and it was up to me to figure out how to handle each situation, and then for him train everypony in how to do the contingency,” Shining Armor answered, throwing Twilight off. “I suggest you and the others get ready to use the Elements, it might need to be really a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

Twilight didn’t ask anything else as she just hugged her brother. She missed him and just wanted to hold him, to make sure she didn’t lose him. They made their way into the Everfree Forest, nothing following them. They didn’t know if it was a good thing or not, but they just took it as a sign to move fast. They moved until they found themselves in front of a cliff wall. Shining Armor jumped off the Spinosaurus and walked up to the wall, placing his hoof on the wall and pressing in.

A section of rock dented in and opened up, large enough for the group to move through. Fluffy had to remain outside, which it didn’t mind as it turned and moved back towards Anthony. Shining and the others moved into the cave, which closed behind them as they all made it through.

Anthony stood on the cold ground, the snow now falling. He didn’t look up as he watched the black figure fly through the air, aiming directly at him. Anthony just stared coldly at it, anger burning inside him. Blackwing landed just a few yards away, his form towering over the human. The anthromorph just laughed.

“So you have finally come to die,” Blackwing said, venom dripping from his words.

“No, I’m here to finish this. No matter what happens, this ends today,” Anthony replied, hate growing.

Author's Notes:

Hey people, sorry I haven't updated in a while. this is just a taste of the next chapter, and when I am done I hope you all enjoy it. see you all back here in two months