Author's Note

Author: Big_Boss_MSF
Editors: Big_Boss_MSF,

Okay, let me just start by saying that this was a really fun chapter to write. I'm currently making improvements to existing chapters before publishing anything else. So, yeah. Always fun... making improvements, almost impossible to get it right the first time... Especially when you're Mr. 'Always-room-for-improvement' when it comes to your stories, like I am... Seriously, about 90% of the process in writing chapters with me consists of altercations, deletions, and improvements. I could shell out a chapter every day, if not for that. Still, I enjoy it, after all... I'm not looking for a generic story plot that's easily done, I'm looking for a challenge... and given the current polls... yeah, they're definitely saying "Big_Boss_MSF, you need to improve your chapters, damn it!". So, I will, happily.

Chapter 3: Volkiba's Sadism

You awaken a few hours later with hazy vision and a pounding headache in a cold cell, stripped of all your equipment except your olive cargo pants and black boots. “Urgh... Gloria? Are you in here?” You groan out, feeling around to get your bearings.
“Yeah, I’m in here... ow...” Gloria responds, the khaki-colored silhouette apparently rubbing the left side of her head with her hoof.
“Where are we?” You ask, already knowing the answer but wanting a friendly voice to permeate through your addled vision nonetheless.
“We’re in a cell block in the second sub-basement of the outpost. Why are we even here? From the few stories I’ve managed to hear of Volkiba, we should have died in her bedroom” Gloria muses, as your vision finally clears completely to reveal the khaki Pegasus is pinned to the wall by a chained collar around her neck and ropes around her legs.
“Oh, but that’s no fun” A husky voice slowly answers as its owner, Volkiba, enters your cell “You’ll die soon enough, make no mistake about that. But first, I’m going to have a lot of fun with you two before the end. Besides, I need information, mainly on where this featherless biped has hidden my medallion. Guards! Take this damn dirty ape to Room 101.”

A pair of Pegasi enter the cell, and drag you out into the hallway by your arms. You desperately try to get a decent grip on the floor with your boots, but the Pegasi are hovering just high enough to keep you unable to do so as they drag you behind Volkiba towards the foreboding room designated as 101.
“This is bad... this is really, really bad” you think to yourself as Volkiba slowly opens the door, revealing a metal rack surrounded by a wide array of tools, including scalpels, drills, needles, meat hooks, and, oddly enough, a large bucket of lemon juice.
“You’re probably wondering why there’s a lack of blowtorches and cattle prods in this room” Volkiba states as you are pulled through the doorway “The reason behind this is because I don’t need machinery to create fire or electricity, not when I can do it myself in a way that keeps my prey from dying.”
“What... exactly are you going to do with me?” you ask as the Pegasi strap your wrists and ankles to the cold metal rack with leather straps, causing the blood-red Alicorn to give a snort that shows just how much of an insect she thinks you are as she grips a scalpel in her teeth, before using her horn to open up a telepathic field between the two of you.

“Isn’t it obvious, ape? I’m going to torture you until you tell me where you’ve hidden the medallion, or until you die in utter agony. At first I planned on dissecting you to find out just where your organs are before slowly crushing them into oblivion one after the other. But there really isn’t any point to this game if you’re too dead to scream out your pleas of mercy. So instead, I’m going to superheat this scalpel here, and slowly make incisions all over your body, before dousing you in lemon juice. The lemon juice will also help conduct the shock treatment I intend to inflict upon you.” Volkiba says directly into your mind, giving a sadistic grin that makes you shudder as the guards fasten your head in place.
“The shock treatment will continue for three rounds, each round more severe and agonizing than the last. In fact... let’s make this a game in itself. If you can resist, you’ll be dragged back to your little cell to spend time with your precious friend, before you’re returned here to be tortured once more a few hours later. But if you give in or die... then the mare’s life is mine. Now let’s begin.”

Volkiba’s horn glows with a blood-red aura, bathing the scalpel in crimson light and plucking it from her teeth to hover in midair as the blade slowly begins to glow red, then orange, then white. Then she slowly brings the floating, white-hot blade to the middle your chest cavity, causing you to scream in agony as it sears your flesh, before steadily dragging the scalpel 5 inches down your body causing your flesh to part slightly and release a small amount of blood that dribbles down your chest. The stench of your cooking flesh wafts into your nostrils, causing you to gag slightly as the sadistic Alicorn inflicts another burning cut along your right armpit. This agonizing process continues for another 30 minutes until the whole of your upper body is covered with lacerations in varying states of cauterization. You hear the clang of metal hitting concrete as Volkiba moves on to the second stage of your torture, covering your face with a black cotton bag.

You ears pick up the quiet slosh of liquid as the Alicorn slowly levitates the large bucket of lemon juice in your direction. You part your eyes slightly and glance through the fabric towards the ceiling to see the silhouette of a bucket hovering directly above your head, your eyes instinctively snapping shut as the container slowly starts to tip to release it's contents. The sensation of dying skin cells is immediate as your entire body is steadily drenched by the acidic juice causing you to give another involuntary howl that allows the sour liquid to perforate your taste buds as you are waterboarded, the intense drowning sensation nearly breaking your psyche. Eventually the sensation of flowing liquid stops as you instinctively gasp for whatever air your lungs can get, rapidly drawing the fabric of the bag towards your lips before pushing it outwards as you exhale. “Now the fun really begins” you hear Volkiba say to herself, the sadistic glee towards your suffering clearly evident in her voice as she harshly pulls the black cotton bag off of your face, and looks directly at you with her vomit-green eyes.

“Are you ready to talk now? You can just give up and let your friend die, you know? I promise I wouldn’t tell a soul if you did.” The Alicorn says in an almost motherly tone.
“F-f-fuck... y-you” you stammer out with a defiant hiss, before spitting in Volkiba’s left eye. The furious Alicorn instantly retaliates by driving her right hoof into your left cheek, causing an explosion of stars in your vision as one of your back molars is knocked out of your gums and lands on the back of your tongue. You spit out the broken tooth and give a mocking, blood-laced grin that further infuriates your torturer. “... You’ll pay for that, you fucking ape. Just for that, I’m not going to go easy on you anymore.” Volkiba angrily says, cleaning the spit out of her left eye with a handkerchief before stuffing the rag into your mouth to gag you.

“I’m going to enjoy this so very... very much.” Volkiba says as her horn starts crackling with energy. “My horn can generate an electric charge of 10 million volts, so you should be very afraid right now. Because even with sustained bursts the electricity won’t be able to stop your heart unless I want it to... and I intend to keep you here as my plaything for a very long time. Now... scream for me!” the blood-red Alicorn yells as a bolt of lightning is released from her horn and strikes your battered body, causing your soulful brown eyes to go wide with unadulterated agony. You unleash a muffled scream as every muscle in your body goes taut against the intense electrical assault. The rack rattles with every involuntary spasm of your body for what seems like an eternity before the electricity stops. You try to gasp for oxygen through your gag as every muscle in your body relaxes and a damp, warm sensation steadily spreads outward from your groin and seeps slowly down your left pant leg, the stench of freshly released urine wafting into your nostrils before permeating throughout the rest of the chamber. “Yes, that’s what I like to see. Just let yourself go.” You hear Volkiba say with a sadistic laugh, obviously satisfied with your humiliation, before she unleashes an even more intense and sustained bolt of electricity. You harshly spasm once more in muffled agony as the high-voltage electric current runs through your body, your arms and legs flailing helplessly against their restraints. Eventually the second round ends, your body now visibly smoking by this point. “I’ll admit, you’re tougher than you look... But it’s not over yet, there’s still one more round left to go. And I’m going to give you the full 10 million volts for this one” Volkiba says, her horn crackling with a charge that sends electric arcs flying all around the room. She unleashes the full brunt of her capabilities directly into you, causing you to scream in pure agony against the now spittle-soaked gag with such force that your throat goes raw and the taste of boiling blood enters your mouth. Your head shakes with such savagery that it snaps the leather restraint holding it in place clean off, allowing it to whip around freely in every direction with your smoking, bleached blonde hair following suit. Your skin starts to bake and crack from the intense heat. And then, after 30 seconds of agonizing torture, it finally stops. You slump against the rack with your head hanging forward, as you stand on the verge of unconsciousness with the stench of burned flesh, singed hair, and evaporated urine lingering around you. “You just don’t know what you’re up against, do you?” Volkiba says harshly, pressing her mouth against your left ear “For me this isn’t torture, this is sport! You may be surprisingly strong-willed for a worthless ape, yet in the end it changes nothing because you have no chance of making it out of this place alive, the only thing that your willpower changes is the amount of fun I’ll have breaking you down... But, I think that’s enough playtime for now. Guards! Drag my new toy back to his cell.”

Your lower legs drag against the concrete floor as you slump over the back of one of the guards as he carries you back to your cell, the designation “D-29” painted on the floor in front of it. His female partner opens the door to let him carelessly toss you into the cramped room. You hear Gloria let out a choked sob upon seeing your terrible state, knowing in her heart that this is the fate that also awaits her.
“G-Gloria... p-please talk to me. Say something to take my mind off the pain...” You whisper unsteadily, whimpering in agony as you try to push yourself off the cold floor with your left hand.
“W-what should I talk about?” The khaki Pegasus asks, trying her best hold back her tears and visibly failing.
“Tell me about yourself... Where were you born?” you enquire, finally gathering the strength to achieve a sitting position against the wall opposite Gloria.
“I-I was born in a place called Arkala, it was a small hamlet with a population of 15 ponies. To the north there were rolling pastures of pink grass, me and my sister used to run through those fields all day when we were fillies. To the south, beautiful amber mountains that glistened as though they were made of frozen apple cider. To the east, a lake with water so clear we could always see the bottom when we went swimming in the summer months. And to the west, a peaceful forest with such vibrant colours and life that my sister and I spent the majority of our time in that forest just exploring, soaking in the sounds of the wildlife and admiring the beauty of it all. The only thing I remember about my parents is that they were miners, wanted us to take up the family business. They died in a cave collapse when Fortuna and I were very young, and once the two of us had entered our teen years we realized that there wasn’t much point in sticking around anymore. But... maybe it would have been better if I’d stayed there...” Gloria says with a dreamy sorrow, her wet eyes closed so that she might better visualize those bygone days.

“It’s okay, Gloria, don’t worry. Because I have a plan” You say soothingly, standing up with a groan before limping over to undo the restraints pinning the khaki Pegasus to the wall.
“What plan could you possibly have to get us out of here?” Gloria asks incredulously, giving her wings a slight flap.
“Simple, I had an opportunity to pick the guard’s pockets as he was carrying me back here.” You say as you open your right hand to reveal a shining gold key, causing Gloria to gleefully give you a big hug.
“That’s wonderful! I overheard a pair of envious guards talking about a room with a bunch of storage lockers just near here. Apparently, it’s where they temporarily keep the confiscated goods of their prisoners before they’re divided up and distributed amongst the officers. Our equipment should still be there. Plus, almost everypony will probably be dead drunk by now, so it should be as easy to get out of here as it was getting in.” Gloria responds, her wings flapping excitedly.
“Good, that settles it then. I want to get as far away from this damned hellhole as possible.” You say. You start to limp towards the cell door, when suddenly, your legs give out from beneath you and you collapse to the ground with a weak groan.
“Are you okay!?” Gloria says, her eyes wide with concern.

“No-no-no-no-no. We don’t have time for this! Volkiba’s going to be back any moment. We need to get out of here, right now!” You quietly mutter to yourself, despising your current state of helplessness. You glance at the key, then to the cell door, then to Gloria, and make your decision with a heavy heart and sigh. “Get out of here...” you weakly say to your companion, holding the key out to her.

“What?” Gloria whispers in wide-eyed bewilderment, staring at you with an utterly shocked expression on her face.
“You heard me, get out here. Leave me behind, and just... run as fast as you can. Please, I’ll only slow you down, and time is of the essence right now, so... I-It’s there... in my right boot...” you whisper weakly, eliciting a quizzical look from the olive-maned Pesasus.
“What’s in your boot?” Gloria asks, visibly on the point of tears.
“The raven medallion, apparently the guards were too stupid to look for it in my boots. That, or they didn’t know how to take my boots off due to how tight they fit and how big their hooves are. Personally, I'm going with the former. Ha-ha, either way, they were still as thick as molasses in this regard. And we win in the end, because of that dumb luck.” you continue with a weak chuckle, before you notice Gloria getting a determined look in her face.
“No...” She strongly whispers, trotting towards you and taking the key anyways.
“What you do mean ‘no’? We don’t have time to argue this, Gloria. Either you go right now and leave me behind, or we both die an agonizing death in this horrible place, before or after they figure out how to pry my boots off, leaving them able to go on unopposed.” You whisper coarsely, irritated at the Pegasus’ resistance.
“NO! I’ve already lost enough in my short life; I refuse to lose anything else just yet!” Gloria yells defiantly, the faint glimmer of tears in her eyes forcing you to relent. The khaki Pegasus hoists you over her shoulders, before unlocking the cell door. Gloria rushes down the hallway and into the storage room, puts you down to look for and find the locker designated “D-29”, and then smashes it clean open with a single, powerful buck of her hind legs. Gloria gathers up her gear, quickly puts on her brown jacket and matching fedora, and stuffs your black jacket and white t-shirt into her sidepack, before gathering you up off the ground and hoisting you over her back once more. She moves as quickly as she is able towards the stairway, checking your position on the map.
“Okay, good. All we have to do is go up these stairs until we reach the first floor and from there it’s a straight shot to-“ is all Gloria manages to say before a blaring alarm sounds, and a familiarly husky voice booms out of the intercom.
“We have an escaped prisoner in Section D, anypony not completely drunk off their flank is ordered to apprehend and place them in the torture chamber for immediate punishment!” The voice of Volkiba reports, alerting every conscious guard to your current escape attempt.

“Shit! There’s no way we’re going out the front door now! Ah, what does the map show...? I got it! This stairway also leads downwards to a mostly unused hallway that ends with an access hatch into the sewers. If I can get that hatch open in time, then we might have a chance!” Gloria says as she rushes down the stairway, the sound of many hoofsteps now emanating from the basement two levels above. Gloria gallops down the hallway as fast as her hooves can carry her without having you slide off her back, the sound of hostile guards slowly getting louder. Gloria finally reaches the access hatch and gets to work picking the lock, knowing full-well of the hell that will befall the two of you should her concentration waver even for an instant as the enemies’ hoofsteps fast approach you.
“... Come on, find some room... I got it!” Gloria exclaims, as the life-saving click rings true and the khaki Pegasus forces the hatch up with great urgency before leaping down the shaft as the guards move to recapture you. The chase continues through the sewer, with Gloria now struggling to keep ahead of the pursuing guards as the end of the pipe beckons the two of you with hopes of freedom.

“Hold on tight! This is going to be a tricky take-off!” Gloria shouts as she leaps the final distance and spreads her wings, unevenly gliding out of the pipe and across the chasm as a few of the pursuing guards prove unable to stop in time and plummet to their deaths on the rocky stream below. Gloria quickly flies into the thick jungles to escape the sight of any following Pegasi scouts, breaking through a large amount of small branches as she dodges oncoming trees. Eventually, after putting enough distance between you and your pursuers, Gloria starts to steadily slow down before softly landing right outside a small cave. She bends her hind legs, causing you to softly slide off of her back and onto the jungle floor.

“That was a stupid thing for you to do, Gloria. You risked failure and agonizing death for my sake, why?” you groan out, as Gloria checks out the natural structure and finds it devoid of any sign of prior inhabitants.
“When I told you that I’m not heartless enough to leave you at the mercy of the local wildlife, I meant it. I’ve lost too much in my 21 years as it is. And I don’t want to lose anything else for a very long time.” Gloria says, setting up two sleeping bags in the dark cave before carrying you inside.
“Hah... all that pain, misery, and loneliness, and it just made you... kind. Who would have thought?” You hoarsely say, as you’re plopped down onto your soft sleeping bag. You ask for a mirror, and Gloria pulls a small mirror out of the third compartment of her right side-pack before walking over to you.
“Yeah, maybe... I guess I also owed you one as well.” Gloria says, as she sits on her hind legs next to you and hands you the mirror. You pop it open and your eyes widen at the sight. Your entire body is slightly charred, covered in lacerations and cracked in multiple places; your facial hair has been completely burned away, and the hair on your has been burnt black in places, yet is somehow still intact. "Damn... I guess Volkiba wasn't kidding when she said she had complete control over her power, because I should be dead." you think to yourself before deciding to continue to conversation
“Why do you say that?” you ask, raising an eyebrow quizzically as you close the mirror.
“Because, I heard what Volkiba said while she was using her telepathic field to talk to you. You could have easily ended your suffering by letting me die. But you didn’t... Thank you.” The olive-maned Pegasus says gratefully.
“What can I say? It doesn’t seem right to let down a damsel in distress, even if she is a horse.” you reply with a smirk, causing your friend to scoff.
“Yeah, right, you just keep dreaming that I'm a 'damsel in distress'. Still, I want to repay that favor.” Gloria says, getting up slowly.
“What, how can you possibly repay me at this time?” you ask, a suspicious look on your face.
“Are you still in pain? Because if you are...” Gloria says, rolling you over onto your stomach and putting her front hooves on your back. “Then I believe I should help mitigate that, don’t you?” as she slowly starts to massage your aching upper back.
“Ohh...” you groan as you feel your tense muscle fibers steadily unknot, as Gloria applies varying amounts of pressure to help soothe your agonized body.
“You like that?” Gloria asks with a slightly sultry tone in her voice.
“Yeah... you know, for a race without fingers, you’re pretty good” you say dreamily, enjoying every moment of your treatment.
“Hm... just ‘pretty good’?” Gloria replies teasingly, moving her hooves downwards to work on your lower back.
“Where’d you learn to do this kind of stuff?” you ask, now rendered practically paralyzed by the soothing sensations.
“I worked as a masseuse during my early teens to pay rent, when Fortuna and I were living in Manehattan. When I first started I had a more than a few dissatisfied customers, but over time you learn the tricks of the trade.” The khaki Pegasus answered.
“Oh my...” you say with an exaggerated drawl, eliciting an embarrassed chuckle from Gloria.
“Well... now that you’ve made that sentence go somewhere horrible, would you mind turning over so I can work on your front?” The khaki Pegasus requests, as you slowly roll yourself onto your back, before closing your eyes in dreamy satisfaction as the mare massages your lower abdominal region. Another small chuckle causes to you force open your right eye, to reveal a clearly humored Gloria.
“What’s so funny?” you ask, causing the Pegasus to look at you with an amused grin of her face.
“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing important. It’s just that... ahem... seems like somepony is very excited to be receiving this massage” Gloria says in a sing-song voice, pointing a hoof towards something below your waist. You move your head up from the pillow to adjust your line of sight, already knowing what your eyes are going to see.

“Hm, it would certainly seem that way, wouldn’t it?” you say, casually noting the tent in your trousers.
“Yeah... just to be clear... I’m not going to be massaging that.” Gloria states with a slight blush on her face before focusing her massage on your lacerated chest cavity, her face now almost directly above yours.
“Tsk, that’s too bad. Don’t massages sometimes have a so-called ‘happy ending’ attached to them?” you respond teasingly, causing Gloria to go an even deeper shade of crimson
“Oh, please. That line never worked coming from any of my customers. Why would it work coming from you?” Gloria asked, with a slight sparkle in her rainbow-colored eyes.
“Um... because I’m not exactly a pony, am I?” You say, causing khaki Pegasus to pause her massage momentarily before deciding to lay on top of your upper body, her lips hovering less than 10 inches away from yours as her hind legs slightly compress you abdominal region.
“You’re right... you’re not a pony.” Gloria says thoughtfully, her shoulder-length mane serving to curtain out the rest of the world, leaving only her face in your view as her beautifully unique eyes seemingly look straight into your soul. “And yet... even then, you withstood complete agony in order to protect somepony who isn’t even a member of your own species...” She continued, her lips now 5 inches away and getting closer.
“Even after enduring so much hardship already, you were still prepared to sacrifice yourself just to make sure I would have enough time to escape... there’s only one other pony who would have been willing to go through such hell for my sake alone. And she's gone now. Because I made a mistake..” Gloria finishes tearfully, her lips finally touching yours.

You inhale in wide-eyed surprise at the sudden sensation, the warmth of the Pegasus’ lips instantly caressing your own. You hear the subtle flap of her wings in the background, creating a gentle breeze that cools your agonized and exhausted body. You slowly wrap your arms around Gloria’s back, pulling her closer as you open her lips with your own, allowing your tongues to come together. After what seems like an eternity, Gloria breaks the kiss, before following up with a quick peck on your lips as you break your hold to let her climb off your body.

“Well, that did nothing to help my predicament, in fact I think it made it worse” You state jokingly, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction nonetheless as you lay on top your pink sleeping bag with your hands behind your head, too tired to even crawl into it.
“Yeah, sorry... But I don’t dance on the first date...” Gloria says, dragging her olive sleeping bag next to yours with the corner of her mouth.
“Tell me, is your average ‘first date’ always this exciting?” you ask, as the Pegasus crawls into her sleeping bag and adjusts her position to face you.
“Mm, no. The polar opposite in fact, I always wound up bored to tears. 12 prospective coltfriends in 6 months and not one of them had the guts to make it to first base.” Gloria says, blushing slightly with this admittance.
“So, you’re telling me I have a chance?” you say, causing the khaki Pegasus to give a light chuckle.
“Oh yeah... you’ve definitely got a chance. You’re a surprisingly competent adventurer. The previous 12 got antsy at the thought of leaving their hometown. So you can imagine what they thought about the prospect of exploring the whole of Equestria and getting into dangerous situations for the fun of it. Tell you what, help me gather up the other 5 medallions and maybe we’ll celebrate with some well-earned quality time.” Gloria says with a wink.
“Alright, I’m holding you to that.” You say with a chuckle, before your exhaustion finally overtakes you and you fall asleep.