Author's Note

WARNING - This chapter contains gore and extreme violence. If you do not like these things, please do not read this chapter, as it is not crucial to the storyline and is solely a flashback. If you are worried about missing out but do not want to read this chapter, please message me for info.

Sorry for the inactivity recently, I've been busy. I will try to upload as often as possible however they will be at irregular times unfortunately.

Thanks for reading.

The Fall of Ponyville

Month 2 of the war, Ponyville

Dash coughed up the blood from the puddle her head had been forced into. Her hooves went to her chest to rub her sore body, rolling onto her back and opening her eyes. Dash was still just a recruit, and it wasn't going too well up to now.

As her eyes opened, the sight of the grey sky was blocked by a ring of 5 griffons, all grinning down at her. Dash knew she was screwed, there was no way in this state she could stand, let alone take on these five. Grumbling to herself, she let go of the grip on her sword to show her defeat.

The griffons only chuckled, one sending a vicious kick straight into the mares ribcage, winding her. She gritted her teeth, rolling onto her side and curling up, before being pulled along the dirt road, littered with corpses and running red with blood mixed in with the heavy rain by her hind hooves. She squirmed, trying to escape their grip but only received a blow to the back of her head, knocking her out.

Dash woke with a throbbing in her head. Her vision was blurry and her muscles sore. She blinked and tried to move her hooves. Nothing. Her heart skipped a beat, beginning to get panicked and turning her head to look around wherever she may be.

It took a few minutes of effort, but ventrally she regained sight, if not a little blurry and took a slow look around the 'room'.

The walls were a dark brick, the whole room lit by a lone lamp dangling from the ceiling, illuminating her body. Her body, battered as it was, was secured to a long a rigid metal sheet propped upright, tight metal cuffs on all four hooves and around her neck, with her wings stretched painfully out behind her though two slits in the metal board. She tried to call out, but her jaw was stretched painfully and silenced by a large rubber bit between her teeth.

This only made the young mare panic more, trying her best to break free but not getting even an inch of give. She was left in solitude for what felt like hours until the noise of a door opening and closing behind her made her freeze.

The sounds of claws on stone came closer and closer until a solitude griffon pushing a gleaming metal table covered in horrific looking instruments stepped around her, leaving the table by Dash's side and admiring her newest patient. She stood in silence for a few moments, a grin slowly growing across the griffons face before pulling on a blood splattered apron "Lets begin, shall we?"

Dash squirmed and shook tried to look away, protesting into the bit but only making out a few muffled words. She was terrified. She'd been told of the risks of joining up but had waved away the thought of it ever happening to her. She was Rainbow Dash after all.

Her captor took a long look over her instruments, eventually picking a small scalpel and pressing the cold metal to Dash's outer thigh, her breath warm on Dash's chest. "Now... What secrets do you know, hmm...? I did ask for someone important but all those buffoons could bring me was a little recruit..."

Dash looked down at the griffon and bit down on the bit. Her captor sounded intelligent, if not crazy. Something inside her made her feel she wasn't truly here for answers, but for the griffons personal enjoyment and scientific purposes.

She pressed the scalpel into her thigh, slowly dragging it through the mares flesh and down to the top of her calf, eliciting a muffled scream from her prisoner. The griffons grin was wider than ever as she watched the blood ooze out of the mare wound, pressing her claw to it "Oh, I do hope this isn't too much for you... This is only the beginning, I can't wait to start on those wings"

Dash squirmed weakly and aimlessly, sobbing to herself as the griffon toyed with her. The thought of her wings getting the same treatment as her thigh gave her a new reason to escape this hell. The griffons were notorious for amputating their prisoners wings, this war had no laws or compassion.

Her captor removed her grip of Dash's thigh and disappeared behind the mare, idol for a few second before beginning to viciously rip feathers from Dash's vulnerable wings with force, resulting in loud crys and Dash attempting to flap and get away.

"You know what a good prisoner needs?" She asks, walking infront of Dash and fiddling with her tools "Although you, sadly, won't be with us much longer, you need something more permanent than a scar, you need a burn" she chuckles, flicking a switch on a machine that begins to heat up and glow.

Dash strained against the cuffs, though the leg with the fresh wound had little strength, the other three pulled hard but to no avail.

She sighed and reached up, pulling away the bit "It's a shame to waste oxygen. We're just doing our part to reduce the consumers" she chuckled, checking the machine.

"L-let me go..." Dash whimpered, straining still "Like you said, I'm just a recruit" she begged.

"Well, yes. You're right. But recruits keep me in good practice for the interesting prisoners" She chuckles "And, well... You are pony scum"

Dash growled. Despite her position she was still a proud mare. "Untie me and we'll see who's the toughest"

The griffon frowned at her for a moment, before laughing "I don't have to show how tough I am, because of the cuffs" She shakes her head "Dumb pegasus... This is probably why you're walked all over by the other ponies. You're weak and egotistical, and your only real need is for the weather, which could realistically be done by unicorns anyway" She laughs.

Dash gritted her teeth "Now listen here..."

She rolled her eyes and pressed the red hot metal rod against the base of Dash's wing, turning her aggression into blood curdling screams. "You see, you're not tough. If you were, you wouldn't be here, with me, and in a losing war" She ran the rod around her wing "Not that you'll get to see the conclusion of it" She laughed "You'll be dead by nightfall"

Dash could only whimper and cry as the rod was removed from her burt skin, her body trembling.

She placed the rod down and smiled "It'll be a real shame to lose yet another play thing... But I've still got a few hours left..."

The door slammed shut behind Dash, her body bruised, cut and burnt after the hours of torment and torture she'd been forced to take. She hung limply from her binds, too exhausted to move and her body in too much pain. She'd managed to endure everything she'd been given, but the Gryphon had told her she was going to be left to bleed out.

Most of the blood had dried into her fur, but her wounds continued to seep blood, making her feel tired and lightheaded, she knew she was close to blacking out, and once that happened there'd be no chance for her. Something had to happen before she did, or she may as well say goodbye to the world now.

She'd tried escaping the cuffs when she had full strength and had gotten nowhere, so in her current state there was no chance of her getting out of them now, her only hope was someone else rescuing her... And that seemed more than unlikely...

She sobbed quietly to herself, trying to stay awake until a high pitch, shrill alarm started blaring out, accompanied by a red flashing light. Dash looked around as much as possible to try and get a view, but all she had was the dark room and a wall to stare at.

She jumped as she heard an explosion very close, every blink longer than the last. She was slowly losing consciousness by the second, as the sounds of battling got closer and closer.

She caught a gleam of a fiery mane before blacking out.