Chapter Eighteen: The Plot

“So much blood for one person!” Ingeo laughed, removing the red hot screwdriver from my leg.

I gasped and looked to the ground, squinting my eyes shut.
They had been torturing me for a good half hour, I had screamed so much that I didn’t have the energy to scream any further.

“Normally they don’t last this long before breaking. I told you this one’s a good one!” Ingeo continued to chuckle, smacking me in the face.

I had become numb to his blunt attacks, the tools used on me were much worse. My outer left arm had been turned into a literal pin cushion; stuck with about forty or so sewing needles. My thighs had been punctured multiple times by Ingeo’s screwdriver, which he had constantly kept the tip red hot with a blowtorch.

“What do you think about the gag, Vladimir? Aren't I a genius?” Ingeo roared with laughter.

The gag in question, was Ingeo's horrific idea of a joke; a BDSM ball gag which had more sewing needles hammered deep into it, preventing me from closing my mouth or else my tongue and gums met the same fate as my left arm.
Every so often he would take it out to demand answers about the ponies, and would shortly after force it back in.
I was in absolute agony, there were no words to describe such pain…

“I think it’s time for the drill, no?” Ingeo rhetorically asked, grinning.

Looking up to face Ingeo with blurred vision, the foggy image of Vladimir beside him was already fitting a thin drill bit into the handheld utensil; and although it was no bigger than a pencil, it was going to damn-well hurt. I shook my head from side to side, flicking saliva and blood as I did so.

“You don’t want the drill?”

“N-no, no, no…” I stuttered pathetically.

To this, he tutted and shook his head in disappointment, before grabbing my shoulder and pushing me back in the chair, resting a thumb on one of the needles in my arm.

“Then tell me about the fucking horses! What are they? Where do they come from?” He hissed.

I couldn’t break, I just couldn't!
If I told him the truth, he would simply dispatch me, and then keep the ponies for himself, or perhaps sell them; heck, maybe even kill them just for the fun it of it! This man was an utter lunatic, there was no telling what he'd do, but I knew for a fact that the only way to stay alive was to retain all and any information he desired about the ponies.

“Then it’s time for the drill!” He sang merrily.

With tears streaming down my cheeks, I watched Ingeo take the drill from Vladimir; he revved it up a few times before looking at me with a sick smile. He then did a slow and ridiculous dance with the tool, turning around and around as he edged towards me. He finally stopped as he approached me.

“Where to drill… Where to drill…” He quizzed to himself.

He brought the drill to my right eye and pulled the trigger; I kept my eyes wide open and stared at the spinning drill bit, weeping uncontrollably and yet completely frozen in sheer terror. He eventually brought the tool back, before lowering the drill to my left hand, where he left it for a moment, letting the weight of the drill lie on back of my hand.

Without warning Ingeo pulled the trigger of the drill and pressed down, I instantly felt the excruciating pain as the twisting cylinder went further and further into my hand until it went all the way through and into the arm of the chair, the pain was like nothing before, I could physically feel my flesh being blended by the drill bit as it whizzed around inside my hand. I screamed louder than before, I screamed and screamed, the pain was unbearable, I couldn’t see anymore as my brain was unable to process anything other than the searing agony in my hand.

“Scream boy! Go on! Scream!” Ingeo squealed with amusement.

And scream I did…
I didn’t stop, unable to control myself as the pain grew worse and worse…
Eventually Ingeo pulled back out and released the trigger, my screams died down and I coughed savagely, before regaining my distorted vision. Gritting my teeth and looking at the drill, I almost became transfixed on my own dark glistening blood dripping from the bit; I then looked down to my hand to see the small hole near the centre of my hand just between my ring finger and middle finger, with blood flowing out with each pulse of my racing heart.

“Want to tell me now?” Ingeo teased.

In my pain, I didn’t hear him, and so he repeated himself, putting his nose near mine.

“You want to tell me now? Hm?”

I spat a mouthful of blood at him, which hit him directly in the face; let down by the lack of control, he angrily threw the drill across the room and then punched me in the gut, winding me and almost making me sick.
He wiped his face and turned to Vladimir while I swayed from side to side, I had lost nearly all my energy now and would have fallen out of the chair long ago if not for being chained to it.

"Uh oh, someone's looking a little sleepy!" Ingeo sang.

Grunting to his boss, Vladimir pointed to something on the ground, but my vision was too blurred to identify it; soon enough the item in question was revealed as Ingeo eagerly picked up the car battery and placed it on the table beside me.

“I wonder… Will you be a screamer? Or a buzzer?” Ingeo asked, more to himself than to me.

{This can't be happening... This isn't real... This isn't real...} I thought to myself.

Vladimir hoisted a bucket of water beside me and removed a large dripping rag from it, and before I could process what was going on, he had draped it over my face and obscuring my vision; I hadn't the energy to shake the rag off, and simply awaited my fate. There was no escape from this, and there was no use denying that, all I could do was endure and hope that I either survived, or died very quickly.

Ingeo said nothing as he grabbed the crocodile clips attached to the battery and slammed them into either side of my head; the current struck instantly, the waves of electricity shot through my body and my muscles went into uncontrollable spasm, it was like getting extreme cramp in each individual muscle in my body, but worse. As I lost all control of mind and body, I scream out in agonising pain, this was worse than anything I could have imagined.

“He’s a buzzer and a screamer!” Ingeo howled with laughter.

My screams were freakish and rippled, to some degree they were even unhuman as I jolted and thrashed savagely in all possible directions; if literally felt as though every muscle in my body were being turned inside out.

“Look at you go! Look at you go! Like a ragdoll in a tumble dryer!" Ingeo squealed, laughing maniacally.

And then, all of a sudden, my body stopped moving; I slumped back into the chair and went completely limp. The pain didn't stop though, it continued to burn through every strand of muscle fibre I had.
Panting, shaking, and silently sobbing, I sat there completely exhausted; but I had survived.
This bastard was not going to kill me, I didn't give up my entire life just to die at the hands of a madman; there was too much at stake to give in, the girls needed me, Equestria needed, all of Equus needed me!
This fact, and responsibility, pushed me forward and kept me within the realm of the living, I looked up to Ingeo with a glimmer in my eye, and used the last microscopic levels of my energy to speak three single words to him.

"I.... *pant*... Ain't.... *pant*... Bovvered...."

Ingeo's face dropped, his victory stolen from him; his mouth shifted into a disgruntled sneer as he snapped his fingers together, ordering Vladimir to take me back to Captive Corner.
I had won.
My thought processes began to cease as I was unbound from the chair; I dropped to the floor and barely even registered the pain as a few needles were knocked further into my left arm, my brain began to lose control, focus, power, and consciousness altogether.
Vladimir grabbed my by me ankles and dragged me out of the room, and the only thing I could perceive was the soul crushing cries from the girls as they finally witnessed me after being forced to listen to my torture; Rarity let out a shriek of despair that echoed throughout the room, and it would be her shriek that became the last thing I heard that day, and for many days to follow...

“Well fuck me sideways and call me Princess, you aren’t in a coma.” Spoke a female voice.

I recognised the voice of Nicole and slowly opened my eyes, she was sitting cross legged by my side, Jamie and William were also sat beside me, eager to greet me.

“The boy lives! The boy lives!" Jamie exclaimed, clapping.

“When Vladimir dragged you back in here, we all thought you were dead.” William told me.

“Mmn... Not yet…” I croaked.

“I did my best to patch you up, but I’m afraid your hand’s a little bit... Well... Dead.” Nicole told me.

I tensed my muscles to find they were stiff as a oak, no doubt I’d been unconscious for at least a day or two; I growled in pain upon sitting up (with William’s help), and looked down at my hand; there was cloth covering the hole, but I could still feel it, I tried to clench my hand into a fist to find my ring finger and pinkie finger didn’t respond at all.

“I sincerely hope you don't have a girlfriend back home, because those fingers are buggered.” Nicole explained.

“Firstly, no I don't have a girlfriend… Secondly, fuck.” I grumbled.

“On the bright side, the hole's not gone through any bones, so it’ll heal up eventually.” She continued.

{Well at least there’s some good news, my hand’s not permanently crippled…} I thought to myself optimistically.

“Your pin cushion of an arm will be alright, despite the fact it looks like you intimately fisted a hornet's nest. The legs are pretty nasty but you'll still walk. All in all, you'll live."

“Glad to hear it... How long was I out?” I murmured.

“Five days.”

“Holy shit, that's too long…”

“Too long? Bitch you need to thank your lucky stars you're not dead!" Nicole laughed.

Five days...
The girls had been left alone at the mercy of that madman, for five days!
Shaking my head, I tried to stand, only for my weak legs to give way and force me back to a sitting position.

"No, you don't understand, that is way too long, I need to get out of here!" I protested.

“I’ve told you already, it’s impossible.” She replied.

“What about Keira and Leala?”

“They were slave girls, they get to leave the Corner to cook in the kitchens, making it way easier for them to get out, but god forbid they get caught... Look, if you want to get out, you need to get through those armed guards. Oh, and do I even need to mention Vladimir?”

I hung my head in frustration; Nicole had a point, but regardless, I was going to find a way out, with or without her help. Ingeo’s torture hadn’t broken me, it had only left me more desperate than ever before.

“Changing the subject, who’s hungry?” Nicole asked around.

“Magnum?” William asked in his childish voice.

“No Magnum.” Nicole replied.

“Magnum.”

“No.”

“Magnum!”

Nicole ignored Will and got up and headed to the chain-link fence, where she told the guards that it was meal time; they let her out of the fence and an armed guard escorted her out of the warehouse.

{There’s my way out…} I thought to myself.

From there, I sat with William and Jamie, formulating our plot to escape…

A few days had passed, and our plan was ready.
I had recovered most my strength after tirelessly rehabilitating my damages, and what strength hadn't returned I made up for in spirit and determination.

"So, are you sure you know what to do?” I asked to another one of the captives, named Conor Nelson.

“Yeah, just pretend to go apeshit on you, right?” He answered.

“Pretty much, but be sure it's WWE style, fake and attention-seeking.” I replied.

“Got it.”

Conor was a body builder, not much older than me, he had turned eighteen only a few days before he was captured by Ingeo’s men during a raid, he was born in Indonesia, but moved to England at a very young age. He was broad like me, and perfect for my plan.

“Nicole, did you get it?” I asked, turning to look at Nicole.

“Course I fucking did.” She replied with a smug grin, handing me a kitchen knife.

“Nice job!” I praised.

I looked to another one of the slave girls I’d befriended, called Alisha.

“Did you find the stuff?” I asked.

“I did, it’s just outside the drug room in a large blue box.” She replied.

“Excellent, thank you Alisha.” I praised.

Nicole gave me a stern look and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you ready for this? There’s no going back, so if you're getting second thoughts...”

“I’m ready.”

“Scared?”

I shook my head and the left side of my upper lip raised into a snarl.

“I’m not scared… I’m angry…”

Casting my gaze over to Finn, I gave the gentle giant a nod. He stood up and emitted a loud yawn, which all the captives knew to be the signal; this was an inter-captive plan, we were all going to get out of here together, or die trying.

“Callum!” Conor yelled.

“What?” I asked innocently.

“You took my fucking lunch!” He boomed, pushing other captives out of the way to get to me.

“Bullshit, I did not.” I shrugged off the accusation.

Conor ignored me and charged at me, I tensed my muscles and braced for impact. Conor leant forward and grabbed me with both hands and pushed me back, almost lifting me into the air. I spun around and shook him off, causing him to collide with William.

“Maagnuuum!” He wailed, being pushed over completely.

The body builder got up and ran at me, ready to throw a punch. I dodged and put my arm under his belly and used his own momentum to launch him into a wooden shelf, breaking it apart.
By now, all of the captives were in a tight ring around us, giving us space to fight. Conor got up and ran at me, throwing another punch to my chest, I took the hit and grunted, knocked back by the blow; Conor’s punches weren’t skilful or coordinated, but they were certainly damn strong.

“Hey, what's going on in there!?” A guard shouted.

“Fight!” A captive called back.

Two of the guards unlocked the fence and pulled out their makeshift batons, hitting and pushing past other captives in order to clear a path towards us, trying to separate our staged fight.

“Stop now!” One of them shouted.

Connor and I stopped immediately, and gave one another a high five (another signal, cheesy as it were). Finn strode behind the rear guard and put him in a body lock, restraining him. As the first guard turned around in surprise, I lunged forward and withdrew the kitchen knife, driving it deep into his back whilst tackling him to the floor. He cried out in pain and I tugged at the knife, only to find it was now stuck in his back; taking his makeshift baton as a replacement, I got to my feet and left the guard on the ground, now supposedly paralysed from the waist down and clearly in shock.

"What about this one?" Finn asked, still restraining the other guard.

“Let the captives decide his fate.” I said coldly.

Finn disarmed the guard, before pushing him into the middle of the ring; there was a brief silence before Captive Corner roared in unison, rushing towards him like a group of soldier ants. The guard was swallowed up in seconds and would most likely be trampled to death.

“What’s happening in there!?” The armed guard shouted, walking into the prison with his rifle.

He waved the gun around to intimidate the captives and to put them in their place. Picking the right moment, I swung the makeshift baton into the side of his head, causing him to drop the rifle and hit the ground like a sack of spuds. Now dazed and panicked, the guard fumbled around blindly in search of his weapon, only for me to bring the baton down a second time, cracking into his skull and immobilising him for good (whether he was now dead or comatose was unknown to me, not that it mattered).
Rummaging around in his various pockets, I finally found my prize, and raised a fist into the air.

“We have the keys! Now onward! To freedom!”

The prisoners all hollered with vigour and rushed to the chain-link gate, with me leading the charge, rifle in hand. The few remaining guards by the prison withdrew their batons as to hold their ground, but they were quickly flattened into oblivion by the rampant horde of Captive Corner, now hellbent on revenge and freedom from this dreadful place.
The other guards further back quickly realised how vastly outnumbered they were, and ran for the gate. Alas, t'was I whom had the keys in possession, therefore they were trapped; I raised the rifle and shot them down without a shred of remorse. Ingeo's torture had changed me, I had felt agony beyond my own comprehension, and I now felt the urge to alleviate that pain in the form of mercilessness ferocity, to those who deserved it.
Was it right? Was it wrong? I didn't know.
In this moment, in this rush, in this chaos, I didn't fucking care.

I unlocked the gate and pushed it apart, allowing the other captives to charge ahead of me, there would no doubt be more shots fired soon and I didn't want to be at the front of the group when that happened.
Soon enough, gunfire was heard ahead, but like a singular entity, the riot pressed onward, soon swallowing the gunmen and putting their weapons into our hands; for every gun they lost, it was a gun we gained, and eventually we took control of the main compound, despite heavy losses.

Amidst the anarchy and violence, I slipped away from both sides via a window that took me into Ingeo's part of the compound, I darted from room to room to find the place isolated, Ingeo's men had either fled or rushed to defend the front door. Nearing Ingeo's torture chamber, I spotted two guards running towards me with their machetes raised. I didn’t think, my instincts took over as I took a knee and rapidly pulled the trigger, emptying the whole magazine at them; not every bullet made contact, but not every bullet needed to, for both men now lay on the ground, immobile and splattered with blood. I didn't feel a shred of remorse as I dropped the gun and strode past the bodies, taking a machete as I did so; rescuing the girls was the only thing that mattered, well, that and putting and end to Ingeo.

Pushing the door open and cautiously entering the main chamber, the sight before me almost brought me to tears; stood in their cages, clutching at one another, were six ponies. The poor things looked bedraggled and broken in spirit, and as I approached them, I picked up the faint smell of excrement.
Oh my god... They'd been trapped in the same cages, the entire time...

"Girls... Girls, it's me!" I cried out.

One by one, their lifeless expressions slowly rejuvenated as they recognised me; the poor things didn't know whether to smile or cry, although both at the same time appeared to be working for them.

“CALLUM!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

BANG!

The bullet may have only skimmed me, but the searing pain across my waist was enough to throw me off focus; I panicked and dropped to the ground instinctively. As I rolled over and tried to get up, Vladimir Kikashkov's boot flew into me, sending me cascading across the floor, now winded and vulnerable. The Russian grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up to my knees, before wrapping an arm around my neck, nearly crushing my windpipe and only just allowing me to breathe. Holding me steady, Vladimir forced me to look at Ingeo as he approached me, his pistol in hand.

“Excuse me… Do you have, any… Fucking idea… How rude that was?” He barked.

Placing the barrel of the gun directly against my forehead, Ingeo emitted a psychotic scream of anger and then pushed the gun harder into my face until it left a mark.

"You've ruined, everything! You stupid little sewer rat! Why?! Why would you not just answer my fucking questions and die!?" He roared, stamping his foot repeatedly.

Before I could answer, a phone began to ring in Ingeo's pocket, he withdrew the gun and took his phone to see who was calling, which resulted in him baring his teeth and hissing like a wild animal.

“Fucking hell, I need to take this... Vladimir, do me a favour and kill him! Slowly!" He yapped, before walking off.

Vladimir tightened his grip around my neck and I had to resist with all my strength to take in a breath of air; using his free hand, Vladimir seized my wrist and forced my right arm behind my back, very nearly popping the damn thing out of place. Meanwhile, Ingeo paced back and forth, clearly arguing with someone of a higher authority.
Who the hell could be in control of Ingeo?

“I can handle this, okay? They're being led by a fucking kid, I can take back control. No, I don't need your damn Privateers, I've literally just had a visit from Paulo and he's going to lend me some of his militia! Listen, just give me a few hours to take back control, and then we can sort out shipping goods to the Rook Islands, just give me a fucking chance Hoyt!"

Vladimir's vice-like hold grew tighter and tighter, if felt as though my head were about to pop off like a champagne cork; wheezing and gasping, I desperately tried to use my left elbow to hit the Russian in the ribs, only for him to continue twisting my right arm until I felt it beginning to slip out of its socket.

“Get off the phone and stop bitching at me when you’ve got your own problem with Snow White, by the time you get him, this will all be under control! Besides, if you cut me out, you know my cousin will back out too! You lose me, you lose Vaas!"

Ingeo continued arguing with this 'Hoyt' character, while I was on the verge of blacking out; Vladimir suddenly released me and grunted loudly, to which I lurched forward and twisted around, ready to defend myself.
But no defending was required, for Vladimir had fallen to one knee and was clutching at his own neck, where his own military knife was now embedded, encased in a light blue aura; whipping around to face the cages, I spotted Rarity stood defiantly with her horn glowing in the same blue aura.
Facing Vlad once more, I could only bare witness as the blade gashed open his neck and then floated over to me; I caught the blade and the aura disappeared, just as Vladimir's limp body collided with the hard concrete floor.

“Mother-fucker!”

I turned around to face the now-livid Ingeo, but I was too late; he brought his machete down and it sliced into my chest, blood instantly began streaming out of the wound as he lashed across my left pectoral muscle. I emitted a deep growl of pain and jumped back, trying to keep my distance from Ingeo and regain my bearings.

“Why did you have to kill Vladimir?! Why can't you just make this easy!?”

“Friendship is motherfucking magic!” I spat back, tightening my grip on Vlad's knife.

Wincing in pain, I wiped away some of the blood that was continually leaking from my chest, and rolled my shoulders in preparation for the fight.

“I'm going to spill you!” He growled.

“Not from over there you're not, bring it!"

Allured by my taunt, Ingeo made a bold lunge for me, to which I steered his machete away and sliced his outer wrist in the process; he hissed in rage and made another horizontal swipe, to which I ducked under and slipped back.

“Why won’t you die!?” He hollered, slashing wildly at me.

“Because I made a promise.” I spat in retort, making a swipe of my own.

He dodged and jabbed at me, the blade slid along my shoulder and left a shallow gash; I remained focused and instantly made a counter attack, but he was able to grab my wrist and prevent me from landing a blow. Firmly kicking him in the chest, he stumbled backwards and almost toppled over.

“I’m not starting to like you anymore, boy…” He growled.

“My name is not boy.” I hissed.

“Then who the fuck are you!?” He screamed, charging at me full pelt.

I dodged his first and most savage strike, ducked beneath his second, but his third I could not avoid, the machete glided downward in a diagonal motion directly towards my neck; I shut my eyes an a natural response and waited for the mortal sting, and yet, no such sting came. I opened my eyes to find the blade did not make contact, it had stopped about an inch from slicing into me and no doubt beheading me. That's when I realised that akin to Vladimir's knife being enveloped in a magical aura, Ingeo's machete was also emitting a faint glow, but it wasn't blue this time.
It was a hot pink... Twilight... It was Twilight's magic!
Twilight had saved my life...
Refusing to give Ingeo a fourth opportunity, I thrust Vladimir's blade deep in his sternum and gave it a firm twist, causing him to emit a deep and unnatural gasp of mixed agony and confusion.

“My name is Callum Horncastle…
I am the sworn protector to those six ponies…
And I am the last face you will ever see…”

Ripping Vlad's knife out of him, I gave him a firm push and he stumbled back a few steps and turned around, releasing the machete which clattered to the ground. He looked to the ponies and pointed at Twilight, knowing that she was truly responsible for his downfall. Turning to face me once more and dropping to his knees, Ingeo looked up at me with desperation and woe; he tried to mumble something to me, only for foamy blood to escape his lips.
Blood loss consumed him, and he crumpled down into the floor.

I had won.

For a short time, I remained emotionless, thoughtless in fact; I just stood there and stared at his body for what felt like hours, his blood continued to pool around him. Nausea slowly crept upon me as I realised that I had done this, I had spilled all this blood, I had ended all these lives.

"What... What have I become...?" I murmured, dropping the bloody knife.

“Callum! Callum, snap out of it!" Applejack called over to me.

"Get us out of here!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

I shook my head and cleared my mind, before rushing over to the cages and looking for a way to unlock them.

“The keys... They're in his back pocket...” Twilight quietly spoke.

I looked down to Ingeo and I could have sworn that his eyes moved to look at me; blocking the ever-worsening emotional distress, I rolled him over and reached into his pocket. I pulled out the keys, walked to the cages and opened them one by one; Applejack rushed forward and gave me a tight hug, not caring for the blood all over me.

“You did it Sugarcube… You did it…” She sighed.

"We did it, together." I hoarsely replied.

She let go and stood back, allowing Fluttershy to hug me as well.

“We need to get out of here…” Twilight said.

Nodding in agreement, I realised that Rainbow hadn't moved since I won the fight with Ingeo.

“Come on Rainbow.” Applejack called the blue pegasus over.

Rainbow Dash didn’t move, she lay in her cage, motionless; I went over to her cage and got inside with her.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“My… My wings…” She croaked.

“I’m sorry Dashie… I'm so sorry...”

“My wings are... Gone... I'll never fly again…” She choked up, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You don’t know that, they could heal up soon; your feathers will grow back...” I tried to assure her.

“My wings… Are ruined!” She wailed into her hooves as she began to sob.

“I know, I know… And I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can say or do to fix this... But we need to get out of here Rainbow, come on, staying here won’t make them grow back any faster." I implored.

After a pause, she shakily got up and waddled beside me as we left the cage; I made my way over to Ingeo's body and took his pistol for good measure.

“Where’s the exit? Do you know?” Applejack asked.

“Back the way I came, just follow me and keep your heads low.” I replied.

Everyone was in a truly awful way, some worse than others, but thankfully they all had the strength to follow suit and allowed me to lead them away from the room where such cursed memories would quite possible haunt us all for the rest of our days...

We headed to the main door, and I heard gunshots on the other side.

{I guess the fight’s still going on.} I thought.

“Wait here.” I ordered.

I pushed open one of the double doors of the main exit to see a few more of Ingeo’s men with their rifles, squatting behind crates, down the other end of the corridor were some captives, armed with stolen rifles of their own, upon seeing me, they ceased fire and let me take care of the enemies.

“Afternoon.” I muttered dully.

I lined up my targets and shot the guards down as quickly as possible; one of them turned around just in time to see me, but I had thankfully landed a bullet into his chest before he could react, bringing him down with the rest.

“Good shot, sir!” Nicole called from the other end of the corridor.

“Why thank you ma’am!” I called back.

“Wait there.” I said to the six, whom were still hiding behind the other door.

I made my way to Nicole and she did the same. Meeting halfway, she dived at me and hugged me tightly, causing a lot of discomfort to my plethora of injuries, both new and old; I grunted in pain and she quickly released me.

“You did it, you crazy son of a bitch, you got us out.” She said.

I gave a pained smile and shrugged my shoulders, unsure of how to properly react with so much spinning around inside my head; clearing her throat, Nicole changed the subject.

“Dude! Your chest!” Nicole exclaimed.

The deep laceration across my upper chest was still oozing blood and had completely caked my shirt in the stuff; while it wasn't serious enough to kill me, it most certainly didn't feel pleasant to say the least.

“Yeah, Ingeo and I got into a bit of a knife-fight.” I said.

“Yikes... You kill him?”

“I'm standing here now, aren't I?” I huffed in reply.

“Blimey, top job!”

“Vladimir's gone too.”

“Shut up, no way… You killed them both?”

“Well, I had a little help, but otherwise yeah."

“So, the legendary Vladimir Kikashkov was put down by a boy of sixteen."

“Heh, I suppose so.” I chuckled nervously.

After a short silence, I told Nicole that I was going to go and look for my things and that I'd catch her later, which was a lie, as I planned to escape with the six before anyone spotted them. Thankfully she took off in search of the other captives that she'd befriended over her imprisonment, allowing my to get back to the girls. I made my way back to the torture chamber's exit and stuck my head around the door to face them.

“There's still quite a few people around, so we need to move, and fast.”

“Got it.” Applejack nodded, giving Dashie a nudge.

Everypony followed suit in double file as I went through the hall and into the various parts of the compound (thankfully undetected). We shortly came across the drug stockpile which had mostly been looted, but there were still plenty of narcotics dotted around, god-knows how big this organisation had been.

“Don’t touch any of these substances.” I ordered.

“What are they?” Applejack asked.

“Drugs.” I replied.

Everypony instantly formed a tighter formation and avoided the bags, as though a slight touch would kill them.

“So I assume drugs exist in Equestria?” I asked, walking through the room.

“Yeah, they're mostly grown and imported from abroad." Twilight replied.

“Then I don't need to tell you how bad they are, don't touch 'em.”

Every one obeyed my command, all except for Pinkie Pie.

"What did I just say, Pinkie!?" I barked.

"But it looks like sugar!" She protested, prodding a bag of coke.

"It's not sugar, now leave it alone."

Sighing, she pushed it away and returned to the group as we left the room.
Exactly as foretold, just outside the stockpile room was a large blue box, which contained all of our bags and my jacket; retrieving them and tossing them to each pony, I tightened my own bag straps and sighed with relief to find my phone still in my jacket's front pocket.

“Let’s move.” I ordered, gesturing to an exit door back in the stockpile room.

I headed to the door and I pushed it open, to which we were all greeted by a beautiful sight.
The jungle.

Fresh air filled my lungs for the first time in weeks, fuelling me with energy and life; I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes in euphoria as the cooler, cleaner air flowed through me, bringing my body back to (relatively) full functionality.

“Sneaking off without a goodbye, are we?” Nicole angrily scolded.

We all froze and anxiously turned to face her in unison, we’d been caught out.
It was then when the most unexpected thing occurred, Nicole began to laugh.

“Oh Callum, calm your tits. I've been trapped in a drug cartel for months, getting high off second-hand fumes, I wouldn’t be half surprised if those My Little Ponies behind you are just hallucinations! And if they’re not, well screw it, I could do with something amazing in my life after what I've been through.” She told me.

“You also know who we are?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head on one side.

“Oh great, you can talk too. Well in that case, you’re probably real, and if you are, hello.” Nicole replied.

“Hi!” Pinkie squeaked.

“Nicole, honestly, does nothing surprise you?” I quizzed.

“Look, I’m lucky to be alive right now! So if I'm going to suddenly start partaking in supernatural events now, I might as well enjoy the ride, right?” She shrugged.

“I suppose so." I hummed.

“Well, as much as I'd like to know more, I'd much rather find my damn passport and then hitch a ride back home before I get recaptured or some shit. It was really nice meeting you though, good luck with, well, whatever it is that ones does with six cartoon ponies in the Brazilian jungle, ta-ta!”

Taking a bow, Nicole ran back into the compound and shut the door behind her.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I turned to the girls and gave an innocent chuckle.

"Well, uh, that was Nicole!"

"I see." Twilight deadpanned.

"Anyway, we need to pick up the pace and hope nobody else spots us."

“What about your wounds?” Fluttershy asked.

“They can wait, we need to get out of sight. I'll be fine.” I answered, ironically wincing as my chest opened up again.

She reluctantly nodded and we headed for the jungle without another word uttered between us.
We had done it, we had escaped Ingeo’s stronghold, toppled his entire cartel, and liberated Brazil from his grasp.

We were free…