"Quit your crying, young filly!" Saki hollered as her horn began glowing. She was looking directly at Koto, who was against the wall with her forelegs spread. She was heaving, her eyes wide as tears continued to fall down her face.
"I SAID QUIT YOUR CRYING!" Saki yelled as she fired an energy blast that landed in the wall right next to Koto's head, which caused her to tense up. This did, however, stop her sobbing.
"Yes ma'am." Koto whispered.
"What was that?" Saki hissed.
"YES MA'AM!" Koto repeated as she slowly reverted to all fours.
"That's better." Saki snapped as she turned eastward and started walking away from the holding cell. Once she was sure Saki was gone, Koto layed down and ate her lunch. It was the typical prison lunch of bread and water. One whole loaf of stale bread and a bucketful of water in a rusty as hell bucket. Not much to be eaten, especially if you happen to be pregnant, but it would do until dinner--which frankly consisted of the same thing.
Once he finished his lunch, Rekka spoke up. "Why does Saki really hate you, Koto?"
"I don't know.....I wish I didn't ever know at all." Koto answered before drinking the remaining water left in her bucket. She really hated the taste of rust, but it had to be done. Compared to the rust, the bread tasted better.
"I see your point...." Rekka admitted. Saki was pretty scary when she was pissed, and this was entirely new to both him and his cellmate. He sighed as he shook his head free of the excess water. He hung his bucket on the wall where there were bricks just slightly ajar from the wall itself. It was made like that simply to hold the buckets, and this was true for all of the holding cells. Koto did the same with her bucket as well.
Hoofsteps echoed in the hallway....getting closer. It made both of the earth ponies tense.
Closer.....closer.....closer still. Who was that?
Trot, trot.
The earth ponies looked at each other wide-eyed with fear.
Trot, trot.
What purpose was there for this fear?
Trot, trot, stop.
Rekka suddenly grew dizzy as something hit him square in the flank. His vision blurred so much he thought he saw a mess of color. He tried standing, only to fall onto the ground and into a deep slumber.
Koto was backed to a wall again, this time looking at Maki, who glared back at her with the expression of the wicked man all across his face. Levitating next to him encased in a dark crimson aura was a tranquilizer gun, which quickly and inexplicably vanished into thin air right then and there. The cell door opened, and one thing screamed in the mare's mind.
Run. As fast as you could. Just. Fucking. Run for it.
But that option fleeted as fast as it had come, because Koto was now encased in a dark crimson aura and was being levitated to Maki. It was bad enough she was pregnant, what was this sick bastard going to do?!
He carried the mare in the air and walked off while the guards shut the cell door. The corridor remained surprisingly empty, which was another new concept for Koto. Usually, dungeons were packed full of at least corpses of past prisoners, for crying out loud!
The floor just above the prison had many wooden doors, though one had a man's face.
"Just beyond a few more of my non-animate neighbors, sire. After that, take a left." Said the door-man, who exposed an arm and pointed Maki in the direction he was already going towards. Strangely enough, this door....sounded foreign. Almost like the white rabbit.
"Thanks. You'll have your break after I deal with this fine mare." Maki replied with a smile before walking onwards.
"Oh, thank you, sire." Replied the door-man gleefully.
"Anytime!" Replied Maki, who at last stood in front of the desired door. Unlike the other doors, this one was not that pristine. In fact, it looked old and surely splintered with age. It was opened, and beyond the door lay an entirely bare room. Just that--bare. Baki was pacing back and forth a bit too frantically when he took notice of the ponies who entered the room.
"Ah, you have her today." Baki laughed deviously as the door closed behind his second-in-command. He trotted up to Maki and hugged him like it was yet another drunk fiasco.
"I'm surprised she didn't give me any grief!" Maki laughed as he put Koto down. His horn ceased glowing for the time being.
Koto took the chance to explore the room a bit better, keeping her head low and ears folded back. Bricks, bricks, and more bricks. All of which had faint veins of green thanks to untended moss.
"Now then, bitch." Baki said in a sadistic tone of voice. Koto stopped dead in her tracks as if those words glued her in that instant. Her ears perked and her tail shifted between her legs.
"Hold still for a few moments. This will only tickle." Baki rasped as he trotted to the mare and suddenly grabbed her sides with his hooves. He started to caress the mare's body, which made her tense. He pressed an ear on the side of her belly as his hooves explored the mare's curves and arches. He was right about it tickling, but why was he prodding every bit of fur? Then, she let out a shrill shriek of pain as he poked her teats. He then took his hooves off of her and looked at Maki with a nod.
"Perfect." Both stallions hissed in eerie unison as they glared at Koto. The mare suddenly slipped out of Baki's grasp with ease and ran to the eastern wall. A crimson aura engulfed the mare and picked her up off the ground a bit. She struggled and flailed about relentlessly as she tried escaping the magical grip that held her tight.
"Awww, someone's helpless!" Maki exclaimed as he suddenly threw the mare into the wall and let go. A sickening crack was heard as the impact occurred and was followed by more sickening cracks as she hit the ground with her legs spread.
Pain racked throughout Koto's body as she tried getting up. As she stood, her body was shaking like a leaf as more pain came from her right hind leg, which now dangled uselessly in front of her tail. Tears formed in her eyes and clouded her sight, but that did not stop her from at least trying to escape as she hobbled as fast as she could to the door. Another crimson aura sent her flying left-foreleg first into the opposite wall as more cracks were heard. She landed on the floor again, in even more pain now since her left foreleg was once more broken and useless. But she was determined as she used her remaining legs to pull herself along the ground. Her right foreleg pulled while her left hind leg kicked. Almost to the door, just reach your hoof to the knob--
"Someone's determined! I really like that in a mare!" Maki commented as he yet again threw Koto into the opposite wall. She hit the wall on her back and landed on her side. A dark blue aura held her body to the ground as a new pain shot from her tail and all the way up her spine. A scream escaped her mouth as pain attacked her body, and she dared to look behind her. Her tail was gone, in its place was a stump soaked in crimson. Another scream escaped her mouth, but was cut short with a zipper spell cast by Baki. She opened her eyes and saw a dark brown mass now dangling between Maki's hind legs and an almost-black mass between Baki's. And then it hit her: whatever they were going to do next had to do with those masses. Her ears folded back as she tried a last-ditch effort to escape, to get out of this nightmare.
One of the two stallions--which one she couldn't remember--then perched himself behind her rear end. She let out muffled cries of pain as something violated what was concealed by her tail. She kicked her left hind leg about, only for that to become useless as well. Her vision was clouded with tears, and it was quickly fleeting already. The pain continued even after she fell into the worst sleep ever. The darkness welcomed her in the worst fashion possible.
"Koto.....Koto....Koto, get up!" Cried Rekka's voice.
The mare opened her eyelids slightly and was greeted by another blur of scarlet. It wasn't Maki this time...was it?
"Koto! What the hell did they do to you?!" Asked Rekka as he continued shaking the mare's shoulders with his hooves.
She opened her eyelids a bit wider now, and then all that pain came rushing back. It was a tidal wave from Hell that forced her fully awake and alert. Her right foreleg was still unbroken, strangely enough. There was a...vile, really salty taste in her mouth, which was more than needed to make her vomit onto the floor and her already-dirty pelt. Acid and salt flooded and violated her taste buds as she continued emptying her stomach of its contents.
"Jesus Christ, woman! What the fuck did they do?!" Rekka cried as he jumped from the vomit, which for some reason was white.
After she was done upchucking, the mare started sobbing heavily. "I...I....hic.....I don't wanna....hic....talk about it....!" She answered. Her entire hind quarters was dry and flaky with a white substance, some of which was mixed with her blood from her tail-stump.
Hoofsteps stopped everything once more except for Koto's sobbing. She was in enough pain already, and if it was Saki, it was about to get worse.
Trot, trot.
The sobbing continued as the mare held her eyes with her right foreleg.
Trot, trot.
Rekka's ears flattened. This wasn't good.
Trot, trot, stop.
Saki had arrived with more bread and water. She was going to yell at Koto, but instead her jaw hung open, much to Rekka's surprise.
"I.....I never knew I lived with a bunch of perverts!" Saki shrieked as she flung the door open and rushed to the earth ponies inside.
"GO AWAY!!" Koto screamed as she pushed herself away with her right foreleg.
"What did they do?!" Saki barked at Rekka.
"I felt something hit my flank and I went into la-la land, and when I woke up she was like this!" Rekka answered, glancing between the mares.
"Did she say anything?" Saki asked, clearly concerned.
"She didn't want to talk about it. And then she threw up." Rekka answered with a defeated sigh.
Saki's horn began glowing a stark silver color. She concentrated on the injured mare, who also became encased in this aura. Koto levitated with a bit of ease, but she started screaming.
"PUT ME DOWN! I DON'T WANT TO FLY INTO A WALL!!" Koto shrieked as she flailed her right foreleg about. Saki immediately put her back down.
____
"MAKE IT STOP!" The alicorn mare shrieked as she flung the covers off of her once more. That dismal darkness greeted her as she got off of the bed and onto all fours. Her body ached with that pain...the pain she hated most of all. She was wobbly now as she was in the dream. Those...bastards....maybe...it did excuse Ocean's hostility towards Baki, but why? At least Saki understood what was going on and did her damnedest to help. An excellent redeeming factor if you asked her. Maybe...Saki herself didn't like her comrades.
"Saki...if you can hear me now...make them stop the pain. It still hurts my soul." Koto whispered, a few tears falling from her eyes. The tears hit the ground, but they were as silent as the darkness itself.
Hoofsteps echoed in the hallway. Koto tiptoed her way to the door, looking back at the bed every five steps to make sure Rekka wasn't awake. He was sound asleep, snoring loudly as his wings wrapped around his body. Koto sighed before opening the door and stepping into the hallway. The moon hung low as if bidding the world good morning, shining its pale light through the glass panes and banishing the darkness. The softer shades and tints of the world reveled and celebrated the fleeting night as the stars paved a path for the ever-waxing-and-waning moon that was currently full. The dark indigo sky was becoming a soft violet. Koto approached the window and gazed outward, tears still falling from her face.
In the soft moonlight shining on the Unicornus Petrificus (the same rock the Quartet died on), one of the stone bodies was...moving. No....it was an apparition? It was windswept dust sparkling in the moonlight as it approached the window behind which Koto stood. It then formed the familiar unicorn shape, that wavy mane...
"Their ways I cannot right no matter what I tried. There's a secret about the fourth member I am sure you know of by now." Spoke Saki's voice. Koto nodded.
"They....made you....do...?" Koto whispered via telepathy. The dust cloud nodded.
"They made me stay. I had...to act like I did....out of fear they'd do it once more." Saki answered.
"So, it explains so much...." Koto replied solemnly.
"I want to stay here in this peaceful world. But every night, death himself threatens me. I tell him no over and over, but he won't relent. Either way, I refuse to leave." Saki said, her head hanging low as a dusty tear fell to the ocean below.
"Should I write to Celestia about this? Only she can hope to stop death." Koto asked.
"Yes, please. It would help me very much." Saki whispered sadly, but unknown to Koto, she smiled softly before the winds carried her form away into the night.
"Her too, I assume?" Whispered Yuuki's voice.
"Yeah. With her, it's really bad. I want to help her, but....." Koto trailed off. "...I don't know how Celestia would react."
"I understand, Koto. Now, we know everything." Yuuki said as she gazed at the window. The full moon was setting.
____
"So, she was....wronged....you say?" Asked Celestia.
"Yes. She told me to ask you to bring her back." Koto answered, her head hanging low.
"Alright. Once I bring her back, she will be teleported to a guest room in your castle." Celestia said.
"Thank you." Koto said bowing before she teleported out in a blue flash of light.
"Luna, begin preparations for Saki's revival." Celestia said.
"But she was--!" Luna started, stomping her hoof.
"I understand that fact very well. But it was not of her own will." Celestia replied with a scornful glare.
"Alright." Luna sighed before she ran off.
____
"So, when you basically wrecked Baki, what did you see that fueled your rage? And it doesn't mean him shoving us into his belly." Tenmei sighed.
Ocean's head hung low, her wings spread out onto the tile floor. That question alone fueled another outburst, her blood was boiling hotter than water surrounding an underground volcano that was currently erupting. Her mane fluttered around her face and concealed her eyes, her ears flat as can be against her head.
"I saw...." Ocean started.
"Speak up, we haven't all day." Nagare sighed impatiently.
"Give her time. These questions really hurt her." Rekka hissed sternly.
"I saw bad stallions hurt mother." Ocean said louder.
"'Bad stallions'?" Quoted Tenmei, who was puzzled by that statement.
"How'd they hurt her?" Asked Nagare.
"They beat her up and broke three of her legs, and...." Ocean trailed off, searching for words.
"And what?" Asked Tenmei. If they broke three of Koto's legs at some point, and added more injury, it could not mean anything good.
"They ripped her tail off.....and...." Ocean stuttered.
Rekka looked as though his jaw threatened to drop at that point. "Enough. I'll take it from here."
"You know what they did too?!" Asked Ocean, who began crying a waterfall.
"Yes. I know what you saw, but....you're too young to explain it properly. Now, go to your room and play with Breezecatcher." Rekka said, his voice hinting something troubling.
Ocean teleported out of the room.
"So, explain where and how Koto got her flank kicked." Tenmei said, his ears also flat.
"In the prison house....when we were still earth ponies. Maki took her out of the cell and gave me a dose of tranquilizer gun, though I didn't see said gun at the time. When I woke up, she was....a wreck." Rekka stuttered.
"'A wreck'? Care to share?" Asked Nagare, who finally caught onto the fact this was really bothersome.
"Ocean already stated the three broken legs and missing tail. Her lower quarters...." Rekka trailed off.
"....?"
"Was.....covered...." Rekka gulped, his voice sounding cracked and dry. "Was covered in white. I think you know what they did."
"THEY--! THEY DID NOT!!" Tenmei and Nagare shouted in unison, almost jumping out of their pelts as their wings spread in shock. Rekka could only nod solemnly.
"Was she treated?!" Nagare shouted like he was going to war. If Rekka dared to look up, he would tell his emerald eyes were ablaze.
"Strangely enough, yes. By Saki." Rekka replied.
"I am starting to think Saki herself was hiding something....but what?" Asked Tenmei.
"I don't know. But I fear it must be revolving around her comrades in some way." Rekka answered as he folded his wings awkwardly.
"I can answer that question if you wish, friend." Said Saki's voice clear as day as the three alicorns in the room turned to look at the door from which she entered. Their jaws dropped right then and there.
____
"..."
"Silence is the best way to describe shock, I am afraid." Saki nodded as she wrapped her story up.
"So, you'll help from here on out?" Asked Tenmei.
Saki nodded once more. "When I saw Luna, she was upset."
"Let's leave it at that. So, friends?" Tenmei asked, holding his hoof out.
"Friends." Saki said shaking the tan hoof with a smile.
