Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

Rekka let the words of his fellow victim sink in for a few moments. It did indeed hold true that he was only forced into a brief, unwanted union while he was out cold, but it did not change the fact that he was used by a stallion who ultimately wanted to hurt both him and his companion in the first place. Either way, Koto would’ve been hurt, and she was indeed hurt.

“He…” The stallion paused, scrunching his eyes shut as can be, “he still hurt...you.”

Koto closed her eyes, another tear falling from one. She rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re...right about that, but...not as much as he would’ve done...if he did it himself.” She whispered.

Rekka grit his teeth, though only for a moment. His red eyes slowly opened again before blinking. Koto had also raised a valid point; it would’ve been much more disastrous if Maki himself had her beneath him. The fact that he took her flower in spite of being used as a toy of flesh and bone soothed him somewhat, but it did not stop another tear from leaving the corner of his eye.

“You...forgive me?” He croaked, his ears slowly standing upright.

“Yes…” Koto answered, clutching him in her forelegs and shifting her head a bit. “I kinda overreacted earlier...I’m sorry for doing that.”

The young stallion was silent. Hesitantly, he raised his front legs and wrapped them around the mare who clutched him. “May as well return the favor…” He croaked, shutting his eyes again as he placed his head on Koto’s shoulder. Another tear fell from his eye, but as it did, his body relaxed and the pain was slowly numbed to an afterthought.

Then, the wailings above continued, and this time it was high-pitched and much more shrill than it had been prior, and the thumps were heavier, as if their owner had been hitting the floor harder. The hugging ponies jumped from surprise, breaking out of an embrace and standing on their four legs. If anything, whatever was going on above the two had just taken a turn for the worse, judging by the screams and thumps alone.

The hooves were pounding in the darkness, and it was accompanied by a shriek sounding like its owner had said, “Stay away!”

The two ponies in the cell were paralyzed, and their tails threatened to stand right on end. Slowly, they backpedaled to the wall opposite of the metal door, with Rekka turning around in the process.

The hooves got closer, once more accompanied with another shrill shriek. This time, said shriek was much louder and clearer, a brief cry of absolute bloody murder. Something was definitely wrong now, but neither Rekka nor Koto could tell who had invoked exactly what, or even why. All they knew was that the wailings were maddening, and they sat down to once more cover their aching ears.

Another form appeared, and another. The second form had pinned the first, crimson glow above the two illuminating, at last, what it was that had been happening. Maki had a scowl on his face, and he was shrieking in some kind of anger at Raki, whose face was red and marked with fresh tears.

Raki tried to call forth her magic, but all her horn could produce were faint sputters and brief sparks. She wailed once more, ears flat on her head as she was hoisted up in a crimson aura and literally tossed into the cell opposite of the young unicorns. Maki then walked in himself and closed the door behind him before the glow stopped altogether, once more covering all in darkness.

Even so, the ghastly wails continued, and it was like that for a good thirty minutes. The duo sat in the back of their cell, literally unable to hear anything but the shrieks no matter how hard they tried to drown them out. As the eerie caterwauling drew on, it slowly became quieter and softer until it was nothing short of frantic gasps and what was surely sobbing.

“And you’re staying here for the rest of the day, you lying bitch!” Maki barked, his horn lighting up again in vivid crimson as he walked out of the cell and shut the door. He shot a glare at the duo as they removed their hooves from their ears. “As for you two, you will be dealt with later tonight!” He shouted, a scowl most horrific on his face as he walked away.

Rekka waited until the hooves of the angry stallion faded into a soft echo, the only other sound being the frantic gasps and sobs coming from the other cell, before he spoke. “I’m actually afraid to get on his bad side myself now…”

Koto shuddered. “I hope he’s not one of those ‘don’t tell or I will kill you’ types…” She muttered, her ears flat on her head.

“As much as I hate saying it, if that was the case, then Yuuki would’ve been dead by now…” Rekka replied, his ears also flat on his skull.

“But...why was he allowed to do...that to her? And us? S-Shouldn’t his leader put him in his place?” Koto asked, glancing at Rekka with a frown on her face.

“T-The leader...he let it slide, I’m afraid.” Croaked a female voice that was still riddled with frantic gasps. The door of the opposite cell flung open, and a light blue glow made itself known. Then, the door that kept the duo inside also opened, and in sauntered a very wobbly and red-faced Raki. She shut both doors as she limped inside, and she appeared to be putting more pressure on one back leg than the other before she collapsed onto her side.

Both ponies shot a glance at the weakened unicorn as she tried to stand.

“Wait...you’re saying...he completely condoned this?” Rekka asked, slack-jawed. Raki nodded, falling to her side once again in a failed attempt to stand up.

Koto rose to her hooves, then walked to the weakened mare before sitting down at her side.

“Why...why would you sit next to me…?” Raki asked, raising her head and turning to the younger mare. “I...thought you didn’t like me.”

Koto turned to look the mare in the eye. “I still remember when you had Nagare crucified...before we even came here thanks to that...thing.” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “But...you really didn’t deserve to be hurt like that.”

Rekka got up and walked to Raki as well, taking his place on the side opposite of Koto. “She’s right. You’ve gone pretty low, but...that asshole is lower than you.” He said, sighing soon after. “I’m...starting to think you’ve been dragged into working with the asshat and the leader who let this fly in the first place.”

Raki’s eyes widened momentarily. She then closed them and sighed. “You...do raise a point.” She replied, opening her eyes. Only now did she notice the bands on the horns of the two unicorns. Her horn glowed brighter, and the bands were encased in soft light blue before they snapped, were released, fell off and clattered to the floor uselessly. “When did you two even grow horns to begin with?” She asked.

“A few weeks ago. Six weeks, I think?” Koto answered, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

“They just...kinda sprang up on our heads.” Rekka added, sighing afterwards.

Raki nodded as she rose onto her hooves, gritting her teeth as she did. She was still as wobbly as ever, but it didn’t seem to stop her from trying. She fell again, only to attempt to stand once more. Some sort of fire had been sparked in her eyes as she fell yet again. She rose, and she did it quickly. It was the same as she fell for the upteenth time--done swiftly.

“I...will not...stay down!” She declared, once more trying to stand. The fire in her eyes burned brighter; she was very much determined. This time, she did not fall in spite of her legs threatening to slip out from under her frame, and a soft light blue aura encased the two young unicorns. “I’ve about had it up to here with that bastard’s nonsense!” She said before all three vanished in a bright white light.