My Prisoner

WARNING: LOOOOOOOOONG but if you read it you MUST read all the way through!

The light slowly started to come into focus. Luna blinked groggily. The floor was sideways. What...? She blinked again, squinting, trying to make the light come into focus. She was laying on her side on a stone floor. Something was uncomfortably tight on her neck. She moved her head slightly, trying to get rid of it, but it followed her. Ahg... 

She stirred, and her mane sifted around her face. How did I get here? She tried to remember what had happened before....before what? She closed her eyes and ...I was in the mountains and I fell... maybe I'm just waking up? No. Something had happened after that.

"Well, you're finally awake." Her eyes snapped open. Sombra.

She tried to respond, but she could barely move. She was so tired. She began to sit up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sombra told her. She couldn't even manage a facial expression she was so exhausted. As her neck and shoulders moved upwards, a wave of nausea crashed down on her, forcing her to the ground. She gasped for breath, the coldness from the stone below her seeping into her body.

Luna didn't know how long she had laid there when the dizziness finally died down. She opened her eyes again and looked up, slowly. Looking around, she saw Sombra lounging on a cushion up against the cave wall. She managed to form a groggy snarl with her mouth before breathing hard again. Why am I so tired?

"Wondering why you can barely move?" Sombra asked. Luna tried glaring at him, not willing to have something explained to her by the King of Shadows. "Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. The spell I used to knock you unconscious is still wearing off, so don't make any sudden moves or you'll feel sicker."

Luna took this advice, but only after rolling her eyes (which made her dizzier). She looked around the cave. It was quite large, stretching maybe a hundred and fifty feet in diameter. Luna was in the middle of the flat stone floor. On opposite sides of the cave were two fireplaces with roaring fires, though none of the heat reached Luna. The cushion (or couch) Sombra was on was one of two in the room, both looking as if they came straight from the Saddle Arabian palace. A small desk was next to one of them, and around the fires, exotic-looking carpets were strewn about. Next to one of the fires was a nook that was lined with shelves piled with books, food, scrolls, ink pots, herbs, utensils, and extra parchment.

There were three exits out of the cave. The largest of them had a draft of wind coming through it, and the princess guessed it was from the main chamber where Sombra had first found her. A smaller passage led around a bend, and the last tunnel, behind Luna, had the sound of water echoing through it. A river maybe? she wondered.

"Done looking around?" Sombra asked.

Luna glanced at him at him. She began to sit up, but the tight thing on her neck suddenly had more pressure on it. She looked down. A cold metal collar was around her neck. A large metal ring in the center had four chains attached to it. Two went to clamps on her wings, pulling them out into awkward angles, one attached to a band around her left foreleg, and the fourth attached to a large iron ring in the ground. A stick fastened onto a leather band was secured around her right forehoof.

"What is this device?" she demanded, holding her hoof out.

"That's a brace for your broken hoof. I put it on to help it heal. Your welcome." A ghost of a smile played around Sombra's face. Luna ignored him and began yanking on her chains, which were ropes in the center. She yanked on the metal for a while, then began gnawing on the ropes. "You can't undo those, you know." Luna ignored him. "They're enchanted with shadow magic. I think you know how strong that is." Luna stopped and listened to the ropes for a moment. There was faint humming coming from the fibers and metal links. Sombra was right. These couldn't be undone with force. But with magic... Luna tried to summon a spell, but something was wrong with her horn. 

"What have you done to my magic?" she asked, trying to keep the shiver out of her voice.

"I didn't do anything to it. I just put a horn guard on it so you can't use any magic." He stepped off the couch. "My own invention."

Luna tried to stand, but she couldn't put any weight on her right forehoof and the chain attached to her left one was far too short to allow the leg to unbend. The only way she could reach the ground was if she was kneeling or laying down. I will not kneel to him. So instead she sat back, perching on her hind legs. I feel like a rabbit in this position, she thought, blushing furiously.

"I've bound you like this because you princesses have a bad habit of getting away from me," Sombra told her. Luna leaned back as he approached, fear churning in her stomach. "You are my prisoner. Don't even try to get away because you'll just waste your energy." He stepped closer. Luna shrank backwards, trying not to quake in fear. The clamps on her wings pinched as she instinctively twitched them, trying to straighten them. The chain attached to the floor reached its maximum length, stopping her retreat.

Luna tried to scramble backwards, but the chain would not give. The band on her neck felt strangely tight, causing her to pant. "Oh, yes. The collar only lets you breathe in so much air, so don't exert yourself," Sombra smirked, coming closer. Luna's breath was coming in ragged gasps, her throat contracted with the collar.

"M-m-my sister will realize I'm gone," she stammered. "She will find you here and capture you."

"I don't think so," he rumbled. "Time passes differently down here then above. These are the Caverns of Time. Two to three weeks down here is only a day up there. You've only been gone a few minutes up there." He stepped even closer. Luna's hind leg slipped and she landed on the ground, the collar pulling so tight she couldn't breathe. Sombra watched her gasping for a moment, then spoke again. "Let me assure you, princess, I have no interest in killing you. That would only bring the wrath of Equestria down on me...again."

"What do-" Luna choked as the collar seemed to tighten. "What do you mean?"

"Well, after a few exiles, a few times being physically ripped apart, being shunned by every species, evil and good, it gets a little tiring. One gets a little lonely," he explained, looking down at her. "But I can't let you go. You would only bring your army back to chase me out." He cocked his head, considering. Luna's eyes were beginning to water as she tried to breath. He thought longer. He is enjoying this! Luna realized. She tried to stop her gasping, but she had so little air that she couldn't. After a few more moments, Sombra finally said, "Well, I suppose you can spend the rest of your life here." He turned a walked back to the couch, turning to the desk and beginning to write with a quill pen.

"Gah!" Luna leaped forward, loosening the pull of the chain and allowing air to rush through her lungs. She fell to the floor, the world spinning. After several minutes, she could finally breath again. She lay on the floor, thinking.

The Caverns of Time? I thought those were just old mare's tales... How long will I be here?

*******************

So in this I was experimenting with different lighting/shading/mouth-drawing/filter techniques. I like how it turned out

Sorry if the story part was long. I had a lot I wanted to put here, so...yep. 

Again, this is in the Next Gen folder because it is a story after the timeline of the show.

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