Deep Down The Dungeon's Depths...

"Patrols. Again. Ugh..."

The skies above Canterlot sparked with the bright flashes of lightning between the bleak, dark clouds, carrying blasts of thunder with them. A scheduled storm had overtaken the usually bright skies of Equestria, spanning Canterlot, and Ponyville by extension, much to the chagrin of over six thousand ponies. Still, it had to be done, as the reservoir below Canterlot was beginning to run dry.

As such, the city was prepared for such a torrential downpour, with massive rain catchers set up above most of the houses across Canterlot. Despite the ivory-white finish of most of the buildings, these sported corrugated iron funnels, leading into massive pipes that ran through the streets. Very obstructive for the passersby, but it was done by order of the Princesses, so nopony thought it wise to complain.

One mare, as well as her peers, managed to avoid this ugly staining of Canterlot's brilliant canvas by patrolling through the beautiful interior of Canterlot Castle, a marvelous structure of ivory and gold that had stood for centuries. From the main hall's wonderfully warm interior to the chilling heights of the main tower, the castle was truly a sight to behold. Well, at least for the guards that were lucky enough to be patrolling above ground level.

For those who got the 'short stick', as it were, they were stuck patrolling the dungeons and deeper caverns of the castle.

"Why am I always stuck down here, anyway? It's like one of the Lieutenants decided to paint a target on the back of my head!" A loud grumble rolled through one of the prison halls, bouncing off the aging cobblestone walls. Light within the hall was a blessing for the few prisoners sealed within, a few whimpers echoing in response to the complaints, either through acknowledgement that there really was life down there besides them, or through fear of what might have come to claim them. A heavy 'clank, clank' echoed, punctuating the random complaints shouted by the soldier now moving through the breadth of the prison.

"And why is always so dark down here? You can barely see your hoof in front of your face... even the gold armor doesn't help," she moaned, staring at her horseshoe a bare two inches from her face. The gold-brass managed to catch the light of a nearby torch, but the muddled dust of the ground ruined the polish it had received just a few hours before. Luckily, her cream-white coat reflected the light perfectly... only to show that she required a bath quite badly. "It's like I walked through one of the royal blacksmiths' furnaces! So much dust."

The grumbling only carried on as her march continued down the hall, eyes fixed on her path ahead, despite the worried moans and grumbles of the prisoners surrounding her, safely locked in their cells. If there was one thing those ponies feared, it was the kind of stallion - or mare - that could be wearing that glinting golden armor. 'The armor of angels contain the worst of demons', the rumor had been, but the Royal Guard functioned well on such telltale phrases. A little fear kept the prisoners in line, after all.

Not that it was doing much to solve the mare's complaints.

"I can't even play I Spy in here. Or maybe I can... hm," she stopped her march, lance levelled on her shoulder under her foreleg. Her mouth quirked up at the corner as she stared upward, locks of her yellow-grey mane shining meekly in the light. "Well, worth a shot! I spy with my little eye, something that is... blue!" A smile lit up on her face as the game was set under way, and she looked around to find the object she'd identified. "Well, that cobblestone is blue. And that prisoner is blue... and my eyes are blue, but I can't really spy those. Is spying your own eyes considered cheating?" She pondered on this concept for a moment, the chance of actually cheating at I Spy. What're the chances of somepony even guessing that? I doubt it could be considered cheating.

The silence pervaded the dungeon as the mare pondered and thought for a grand total of six seconds before dropping the issue altogether. There's no way you could cheat at I Spy without having some kind of freaky fortune-telling thing going on! Oh, but maybe that's how Anvil beat me yesterday! Oooo, I knew unicorns could do that... they've got a futuresight spell! I know it! Her inquisitive smirk quickly faded into an insulted grimace. He did cheat! He had to! There was no way he could have immediately found 'red' from her game!

Granted, they were playing in the main hall on guard duty. But still! Ugh... wait, are those hoofsteps? She raised her eyebrow and looked around at the cells, finding that all the prisoners were simply sitting in their favorite corners, staring at her with mixed expressions of fear and contempt. They could be staring with unstoppable lust for all she cared, where were those hoofsteps coming from?

"Tempest! Oy, where are ya!?" A loud voice blasted through the hall, earning only an aggravated expression from the mare.

"Over here, boss!" Tempest rolled her eyes and turned to face the direction of the voice, a looming shadow extending around the corner. Having somepony to patrol with would make this more fun, anyway!

"What're you doing down here? You're supposed to be patrolling the North bend!" Eventually, the stallion came about the corner after finishing his sentence. Well, more peeking around the corner with a furrowed brow, brown eyes staring at the mare.

"Come looking for me, Iron?" Tempest raised an eyebrow, walking over to her fellow soldier.

"Yeah, 'course I did. You were supposed to meet up with me five minutes ago." Iron gave a heavy cough to punctuate his sentence, brushing some dust off his blue coat. "Jeeze, why do they even lock up the prisoners over here? Doesn't help that it's right next to a steam vent..."

"I know Lieutenant Orbit has been having a lot of trouble sorting out finances," Tempest answered, waving away the cloud rising towards her. She wasn't about to share in the Sergeant's asthma!

"Yeah. You get lost again?" The soldier looked over at Tempest, satisfied that his coat had been given a good dusting. He'd have to sort out the rest when he was off-duty, much to his chagrin...

"What can I say? It's like a labyrinth down here!" Tempest groaned. "Mazes are supposed to be fun, aren't they? It's just bleak and depressing down here."

"Yeah, well, not like we can ask Captain Armor to renovate the entire sub-level. C'mon, before we both get court martialed for missing patrols," Iron hacked out, grumbling in anger at the invisible dust clogging up his throat. A quick turn set him back down the hall, Tempest quickly at his side, using the lance as a kind of 'fifth leg', clutched in the crook of her left forehoof.

"So, how're your new duties as Sergeant?" Tempest smirked, looking over at him, "Must not be fun with the separated barracks..."

"As if I enjoyed my time any better down in the lower levels with you Corporals. I'll take my cushy bed over that metal bunk any day."

"Oh come on! You definitely enjoyed it, Anvil. After all, I was around, wasn't I?"

"Tempest, I have a hard time considering it a good day when I see your name next to mine on the patrol roster. You tend to make my day just a little bit darker," Iron grumbled in response, looking back at her in disinterest.

"Oh, Iron, I'm wounded! Your words, they cut me!" Tempest made a face as if to mock being faint, but it didn't quite come across as faint, more just like she was stabbed in the leg. Iron cringed a bit in response, teeth baring a little.

"Yeah, from the looks of it, you sure are! May wanna sort that out when you wake up tomorrow. Mirror's there for a reason, lady."

"Really? I've been trying to get my expressions sorted out." Tempest pouted, looking over at the stallion with half-lidded eyes, "Mind helping me with them tomorrow...?" The sultry whisper trailed out, forcing Anvil to quickly look the other way, coughing a bit. His eyes peered down the hall as just the lightest tint of red appeared on his cheeks, earning a grin from his partner. "Ha, at least I've got that one down!"

"Yeah, never fails..." Iron rubbed his cheek with a bit of telekinesis, trying to get the rush of blood out of his system. Dang mare... and that's the one expression she really knows! You'd think she'd figure out a couple others by now.

"So, is anypony else patrolling down here, or is it just you and me?"

"Couple units bumbling about, but I think it's just us and the Twins in the North bend," Anvil let go of the spell, letting his now quite-red cheek swell out a bit. That didn't work in the slightest...

"Seems somepony's happy about that news." Tempest giggled, bumping Anvil with her shoulder, "Well, more time for games, right?"

"I swear, if you say I cheated at I Spy one more time—"

"But you did!"

"There were red curtains all over the place!"

"Well, yeah... maybe, but that doesn't matter! I only got the words out for a second before you answered! You knew what I was gonna ask!"

"You always say a color when it comes to that game, Tempest! It's not future sight, it's something called 'predictability'." Iron smirked, shaking his head, "Seriously, missy, you've gotta be harder to read at that game."

"Hmph. That's how you talk to a mare?" She squinted at the stallion, offended at such a crass remark. "'Harder' to read? I thought you liked your mares easy."

"Oy! That's hitting below the belt!" He quickly returned the squint with a furrow of his brow and a light shove on the mare's shoulder, "I don't comment on how you like your stallions, no matter how many of them walk home with you!"

"Oh, and you say I'm hitting below the belt." Tempest rolled her eyes, "Ugh, stallions."

"Mares... hmph."

The two soldiers carried on their march, dragging trails through the walls with just their glares. Iron Anvil and Sturm Tempest, quite possibly the two most abrasive soldiers in the Guard. At least when they were working together, though nopony could really say 'teamwork' was the thought in their heads when they patrolled the streets, often giving each other noogies instead of looking for crime. But one couldn't deny that the two functioned well on a partner system, with Iron's quick thinking and Tempest's even quicker movement.

When crime was found, they worked their hardest to catch it, and did succeed most of the time. The criminals tended to return with... a little less than significant injuries, often leading to yet more rumors about the Guard. Still, crime was minimal on the streets of Canterlot, and a little rough-housing was expected in the chase for crime. Everypony was just happy that nopony got hurt... much. And it was how the two soldiers wanted it to be; a simple life of chasing crime and keeping the city safe.

Granted, the search for crime was also the only way they could find to kill time properly, so when it came to dungeon patrol under the Warden, or guarding the main hall since they weren't important enough to march the halls that the Princesses walked daily, boredom drowned them.

And when it wasn't boredom dragging them down...

"I spy with my little eye... something that is... blue!"

"The wall."

"Darn it, Iron! Stop using your crazy magic!"

"Oh come off it, Tempest. I don't need magic to see what's around me... though I've always thought it strange why the walls are blue." Iron looked about the hall as they wandered through the dungeon. Why *are** the walls blue, anyway? Maybe that duality styling, Celestia serving in the sky while Luna served below? Heh... little scary, that. Like she'll just come out of the wall and—* A flash of a shadow stole Iron's attention, and he froze on the spot.

Tempest carried on a few steps before realizing her partner had mysteriously vanished, and turned back to face him. "Something wrong, Iron? Or did your brain lock up while you were trying to continue the game?"

"Uh... n-nothing. Nothing at all. Just, um... agh. Just nothing." Iron shook his head, casting the fear away from his mind. It was just a trick of the eye, that's all, nothing more. C'mon Anvil, since when did you believe in ghosts? Or Princesses popping out of walls, for that matter!?

"Alright... whatever you say, Sarge." Tempest just raised her eyebrow as he walked by, joining him at his side. "Still, you look like you saw a ghost!"

"It's nothing, Tempest, seriously. Just leave it."

"But I Spy isn't fun anymore, and this walking is taking forever." Tempest flexed her wings, giving them a test flap or two. I'd be at the North bend right now if I flew... and if I knew where the North bend was. Well, I'd still get there sooner! I'd just check every inch of the dungeon until I found it! She considered how big and twisty the dungeon tended to be, rethinking her assumptions. "Then again, with my sense of direction..." she grumbled.

The monotonous cobblestone carried right on passing by the two soldiers, not a single sign marking any form of direction. Was it standard to allow such a massive complex without having some kind of indication of any quadrants? Iron pondered on what he'd been told of the different parts of the dungeon. Well, let's see... there aren't any signs because we can tell what section of the caverns we're in based on the materials in the walls and floor. The Southern block is covered with gems and crystals, and that's where we hold the barracks for the prison guards. The North bend is more dirt than block, and that's where we hold most of the prisoners. The Eastern and Western have temperature differences, but are made of the same blue cobblestone. West is warmer than East. Such a strange system of figuring out direction...

"Whatcha thinking about, Anvil?" Tempest raised an eyebrow at her partner, now hovering beside him. Why burn all my leg strength when I've got my wings, anyway?

"Just thinking about where we are right now. This cobblestone has been carrying on for quite a while... we should be seeing dirt tunnels branching off by now. No gems... and the temperature's stayed the same." Iron turned his mouth up in thought, brow furrowing slightly. Are we still in the central block? Walking around in c—

"Hey, what's that?" Tempest cut him off, flying forward down the hall towards something.

"Dh— hey, Tempest! Don't fly off like that!" Iron charged forward, but Tempest raced off down the hall far too quickly for him to keep up. Curse the Guard for not teaching me teleportation! Anvil grimaced, skidding to a halt as he found himself at a fork in the road. "Oh for the love of the Princesses... Tempest! Can you hear me!?"

"Yeah, I can! Left hall!"

The answer was met with a relieved sigh from Anvil, and he charged off down the left path. The cobblestone carried right on passing by, but the temperature seemed to skyrocket... nothing like the West block. Am I running towards the center of the mountain, or something? Anvil wondered, the hall thankfully lit by an increasing amount of torches.

Eventually, he found himself back at Tempest's side, but staring at something he'd never even heard of before... a massive iron gateway stood in front of him, taking up the entire hall. There wasn't even a doorframe around it, as if the door had been built specifically for the hallway... that, or the door was only a small part of something far larger. "What in the world is this?"

"I don't know. Was it just put in, or something?" Tempest raised her eyebrow, eyes fixed on the mighty iron guardian. "Do you know about any kind of development down here?"

"Well, I know of one or two projects... but none of them mentioned an iron door smack dab in the middle of a hall."

To the stallion, a random door appearing down there was only a sign of an out-of-bounds area, the kind of place that would see a quick end to a pony's career, should they dare to trespass. A fearsome place, cut off from the rest of civilization in order to protect ponies young and old... a maximum-security prison area, accessible only to the brass? A research lab that was cordoned off, filled with some kind of nigh-lethal gas? What could be past those gates?

To the mare who was now approaching the gates, filled with curiosity and wonder, it was simply another thing to explore, and another thing that could kill her boredom. Thankful that such a door existed to possibly brighten her day - the torches weren't doing much of a good job -, she pressed her hoof against it. Only to be yanked back and up by a familiar steel-grey aura.

"Tempest, are you insane!? Don't touch that!"

"What's wrong? Aren't you interested in what's behind it, Anvil?" Tempest grumbled, yanking at her hindleg trapped in the spell as she was held in the air. Being upside down probably wasn’t doing her brain any favors..

"No, I'm not interested! Far be it from me to step into a cordoned-off area..." he grumbled, stepping back from the door. "I only wish to report this to the Lieutenant."

"Oh, come on, Iron... could be fun," Tempest grinned as she spoke, hanging in the air as Iron held her up, "Just us on the other side of those doors, right?"

"Tempest, now really isn't the time! You have no idea what's back there!"

"Neither do you. For all we know, it's just some hall that was planned to be part of the dungeon, but never developed. Probably just a big, quiet cave..." Tempest smiled, raising her brow as she folded her forelegs. "Don'tcha wanna see what's over there?"

"I thought I already told you," Iron grumbled as he let go of Tempest's leg, planting her on the ground with a thud and an unceremonious landing on her head, legs sprawled out. He immediately covered his eyes, thankful that her tail protected Tempest's dignity. "Now put yourself upright and let's go!"

"Awww. Spoilsport! And what're you covering your eyes for, anyway?" Tempest looked questioningly at the stallion as she crossed her hindlegs, holding down a sneeze from her ticklish tail.

"I'm not about to stare at a soldier in such an... undignified pose. Now c'mon, we're talking to the brass about this!" Iron sat down and gestured for Tempest to flip back over onto her hooves, grimacing. Now isn't the time for her to be her flirtatious self... even if it is kind of— no, Iron Anvil! Shut it! This is improper!

"Awww, is the stallion shy?" Tempest smirked, making a mocking tone with her gentle voice. She flipped herself upright, grinning at him.

"Shy? N-Nonsense! It's called 'professionalism', you silly mare. Now are you proper?" Iron peeked out from under his hoof, trying to keep his eye hidden.

"Trying to get a look, are we?"

Iron's mane was disturbed by a rough poke from Tempest, a grin visible from his viewpoint. "Naughty stallion!"

"I wouldn't even think of it!" Iron removed his hoof from his eyes, furrowing his brow at the mare who had her tongue stuck out at him. Even *now*, she's playful!

"Ah, lighten up, man! Besides, we've got a new place to explore, don't we?"

"Oh for... no, Tempest! We're going back to the Lieutenant, telling him that this bloody door's here, then getting on with our patrols. That's an order," Iron growled out the last of his words, staring over Tempest's shoulder at the door. Wait a minute... is s-something... moving back there?

"Oh, well, in that case," Tempest puffed out her cheeks and made a strong salute, "Yes sir, let's go, sir!"

"... The mocking can wait, let's just go. I don't like whatever's back there," Iron whispered, pulling Tempest along by the foreleg. "We're going straight to the boss about this.”

“Ugh. Fine, let’s go... you don’t need to pull me the whole way there, Iron!”

“Knowing you, you’ll run straight back to the door if I let you g—” He felt his magic give way, squinting. Fearing the worst, he slowly turned around...

The heavy slam of iron doors met his glance.

“Oh bollocks.”

“Hehe! He’s got nothing to worry about. All I need is two minutes to explore, then I’ll be right back out and on patrols. Alright, what’s down Mysterious Hallway Number One?” Tempest grinned, leaning against the doors separating her from the now-frantically-smashing-against-the-doors Sergeant. Strange, she couldn’t feel any impacts... the doors must’ve been a lot heavier than first anticipated. Then why were they so easy to go through?

“Ah, doesn’t matter. Technicalities and details slow down exploration... now let’s see.” Tempest turned her eyes away from the heavy iron behind her to the hall... room around her. Her jaw dropped at the sheer size of it; it was like an entire tower was built underground! What used to be deep blue cobblestone was now smooth, polished rock, as if an entire section of the earth had been ripped away by the Gods themselves. “What the heck is this place...? And why is it so hot in here?” Tempest wiped her brow, looking around. The walls and floor didn’t seem to be made from volcanic rock, but the heat of the place felt like one of the craters in the Badlands. This makes zero sense... the mountain isn’t a volcano to begin with. Why’s it so... dang... w-what’s that sound?

The mare turned her ears to the sound of something moving, barely perceptible in the vast expanse of the tower. She lowered herself into a combat stance, wings spread as her training had conditioned her for, now going through theories of what those doors would be necessary for. If it wasn’t to keep ponies out, as evidenced by her easy entry... “I-It’s to keep... things in...?”

The smashing against the doors continued as Tempest stalked forward, lance ready in her hoof. A frontal attack would be met with the merciless steel at her side, but any other angle would take time to react to... and in this dark tower, every angle was a viable point of attack. Alright, just stay calm, Tempest. Check every angle of attack, and prepare yourself... listen for the enemy, and judge distance. Understand your environment... Her eyes took stock of the walls and floor around her. There was about eighty feet between the walls in diameter, and the ceiling reached up into pitch darkness... though the already-substantial lack of light didn’t help her in deciding how an air battle would go.

That cursed sound interrupted her thoughts every now and then, spiking her paranoia of what could possibly be locked in the tower. Or what could even demand such a massive tower in the first place! It’s like it was built for a dragon! Why would they put it down here in the prison!? The image of a mighty dragon crashing down behind her crossed her mind, and she found herself paralyzed. The beast would lower its head down to her’s, a steamy breath blowing past her like a gale... fangs grinding together like steel blades in a war as the maw opened, the breath of Tartarus passing over her as the maw reached around her.

And like every prisoner before her—

“No!” Tempest screamed, shaking her head as she backed away to the door, eyes locked on the spatial darkness above. “Th-There’s no dragon in here... t-there can’t be!” Her breath came as raspy sprints as her rump hit the door, a shiver running past her from the frigid metal. No matter what she could do, she was locked in there... she’d come in so easily, but the stallion behind the gates had been beating on it for so long.

Trapped.

The sound of what was trapped within... a slithering, almost, simply added to her fear. She was locked in the darkness with whatever beast Princess Celestia saw fit to banish to the depths of the dungeon, and she couldn’t get out. “Ohhh, Iron... I never shoulda come in here...”

At the sound of her voice, the slithering stopped. The silence killed everything in the tower... the mare couldn’t even hear the breath passing her clenched teeth. Something moved in the dark, a snake-like body dragging across the stone, yet it produced no sound. The mare dropped to her flank and clutched her chest, praying that her heart was still beating and her lungs were still moving.

The mare simply watched the body move across the ground, quiet as a predator... she could feel its shadow creeping towards her, even in the dark with her eyes fixed forward. A flick of a tip caught her gaze, pulling her eyes along its approach. A mere black line drawn from some invisible body over to her, moving about as it seemed to inspect her leg. It drew close, moving just over the hairs of her coat as they stood on end, gathering her scent. She wouldn’t dare even twitch for fear of enticing its hunger, not wanting to attract its attention to her. I’mjustastatueI’mjustastatueI’mjustastatuedon’teatme pleeeease...

The line twitched, poking her a few times. Wet spots were left behind, marking its targets as it came around to the back of her leg, poking along it. A heavy shiver ran through her spine as it prodded her Cutie Mark, tracing around the cloud, changing the white to a sickly green. The liquid was icy, as if only able to melt because of her heat. Her hoof started shaking, jittering the lance on the ground, begging for it to stop.

The thing dragged up her side, marring the polish of her armor with its snail’s trail slime, as if following the beat of her heart. Blindly, it tapped along the brass and gold until it found more flesh, prodding at her neck. Her heart only slammed against her chest harder as it stopped against an artery, twitching with each pulse of her blood... Oh no... i-it can feel my heartbeat... Her eyes widened as it followed the contours of her neck, dragging across the back of her neck and around to her windpipe, coiling.

It constricted only slightly, but it was enough for the terrified mare to scream and lash out, slicing the thing off at whatever point she could, the spear breaking the flesh as easily as hay.

Then... all Tartarus broke loose, as the entire tower shook with a bellow, rumbling as if the place would be torn asunder by the creature’s voice alone. Floodlights crashed on with an explosion of sound, casting down four rays of light, if only to allow the mare sight of her opponent... tendrils lashed around as the roar shattered her hearing, and the sight of the many limbs, thick with muscle and coated with ichor shattered her confidence.

It was huge, it was alive, and it was angry. And she’d just made herself a target. She could barely move a muscle before the shock of one of the giant limbs crashing into the wall just next to her set her brain in gear, and she took to the sky out of instinct. Her mind was locked on only finding a way to get out, seeking the ceiling as a bastion of safety. Four more limbs flung out and speared themselves through the air next to her, the glint of the ichor casting a fel shade on them, as well as what they bore. Are those steel filaments!? *These things are using wing blades!?!?*** She quickly raced around to the other side of the tower, feeling the air be torn asunder by the flailing tentacles as they tried to spear her, cut her, rend the thing that dared to harm it.

How am I gonna fight this thing?! It’s gigantic, and just a bunch of freakin’ arms!! The thought was quickly ended by a tendril tearing up in front of her, crashing into the ceiling with a mighty explosion. Rocks cascaded down from the wounded tower as the limbs that had nothing to do took it upon themselves to try and renovate, tearing apart the walls and floor, the tower a cacophony of destruction. With every dodge of one tendril, two more would snatch away her minor respite, stabbing away at her legs, wings, head, anything they could reach.

The mare was locked in her panic as she dove and rose over every threat she could see, gales blazing past her. The air in the tower was too stale to make flight any kind of effective, forcing her to work her wings even harder without the assistance of a tailwind. Her breaths came as panicked as her mind as she tried to work out a plan. Ok the lance isn’t going to do anything against a monster that big so I need to work out an idea ideas ideas ideas doesn’t that thing have a brain? It’s gotta have a brain! If I can hit that, it’ll die! Right?! *RIGHT!?*** Her attempts to reason out some light of hope were immediately torn apart as she felt something grip her tail.

“GAH!” She screamed as her forward progress was turned into an upside down view of the monster below, the massive limbs all rising up to meet her. She could only brace herself before one of the tendrils lashed out, belting her straight in the stomach; luckily, no filaments cut into her flesh, but it didn’t help ease the bone-shattering impact from winding her. Two tendrils rose up to join the third as they all started punching away, driving every last breath of air from her lungs, each strike bringing more red to her vision as agony overtook her mind. It was like training all over again, only the stallions were allowed to beat on her as much as they wanted...

“Stop!” She coughed out as another limb crashed into her solar plexus, stomach backflipping from the impact. The pain was only just backgrounded by the sickness, bile shooting up her throat as she hung by her tail. She felt her legs get yanked out in a star pattern, pulled to such a point that she thought she’d be torn apart, but before the grace of Death could claim her, the limbs stopped moving. She struggled against the limbs holding her still before spotting two large, red tendrils covered in the shining filaments moving up to greet her. Is... this where it ends? The thought passed through her mind as the limbs reared back, steel glinting in the light of the pillar above her.

Her eyes snapped shut as the wind whistled, the fanfare of her Death’s arrival loud... but she didn’t feel herself get cut. Instead, the tendrils had torn through her armor, carving off the belly and chest armor like so much paper. Like a mad surgeon over a vulnerable patient, the tendrils carved away until her armor was removed, revealing her bare body to the audience of one. She only thrashed harder as thoughts charged through her mind like a stampede of angry buffalo. It’s gonna cut out my organs! Slash me t’ bits! Rip me in half! It’s gonna *kill me!!!***

“Iron! Help me!!” Another tendril collided with her chest, spilling the rest of her oxygen out of her lungs. She could barely take in another breath before the beating continued, the three pistons taking turns in crushing her body, pummelling away at her gut. Every time she forced her lungs to take in a new breath, it was cut short by a harsh blow, the air barely having time to cool the back of her mouth. The only thing she could feel besides the pain and churning of her stomach was tears spilling from her eyes, the agony far beyond what she could bear.

I’m really... gonna die here...

And with that last thought, and a last crash against her belly, the darkness overtook her.