The sounds of muffled grunts and whimpering went on, and had been going on for a long while. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash sat in the corner, faces turned away from the center of the room. The men had tied up Fluttershy, and used her to sate their needs. Vocal still sat in a corner, having his way with Spike, and eyeing Rarity hungrily. Twilight was shocked at how he could even do such things, but knew he could kill her if he wanted, so she stayed silent. The ropes around their hands and feet were chafing horribly, and she shifted to try and find a comfortable position, but either way she felt the burning of the ropes.

"Oh yeah, take it, bitch. And if you fucking scream, I'll cut your ears off."

"Please... m-make it s-stop... it hurts... ow!"

"Shut up, or I'll use your intestines as a belt!"

Twilight looked over to the side, not enough to see, and saw the other men looking on with objects in their hands. Realizing what they were doing, she quickly looked away again, and heard Pinkie squeak. The metallic smell of blood made her head hurt, and the hard floor on her rear. She couldn't block her ears from the cries of pain, as her hands were tied, but she focused on a plan.

Okay, they plan to use us for their physical needs. Now, do they plan to kill us afterwards? Or will they keep us? Either way, I need a plan. They're men, so they have weaknesses for physically intimate moments, money, and food. Maybe... I wonder. She raised her head, thinking back to her cooking lessons.

"Hello, I was wondering if..."

The one who had first talked to her came up and bashed the side of her head with a gun. "Quiet, bitch! We have plans for you, and afterwards, I've been promised blood."

Okay, so at least we know he'll kill us later. Twilight looked around for anything she could use, but found nothing. She heard a rustle, and muffled screams, and Fluttershy was thrown, naked and bound, on the floor. The man responsible walked up to Pinkie Pie, and glared down at her. "Come 'ere, we'll make you feel real good."

Pinkie's struggling was short, and they soon had her on the floor. Vocal watched as he used Spike, and Twilight found her plan. She inched, ever so slightly, towards the knives, while the men were preoccupied with their activity. But something was off. One of the men was looking at her, yet he wasn't doing anything to stop her. She took this as a sign, and finally reached the knives, selecting a cleaver. She went back to her spot, and only just finished settling back down before the men came back, dumping Pinkie on the floor. They approached Applejack, and the girl knew what was coming.

"Git yer filthy mugs off me, you! You can't fucking break me..."

They took her, and Twilight saw her chance, and cut her ropes ever so slightly. Vocal noticed this, and waited, watching for more. Sure enough, he knew she was trying to escape, and alerted the others.

"Oi, this bitch's trying to esca-"

Just then, Twilight cut through her bonds, and grabbed two knives from the rack, throwing them at two of the men. They dropped dead, and three of the others rushed to grab her, but she sliced their necks in one swift movement. The remaining three held back, waiting for an opportunity, but one of the men threw his knife in the eye of another, and he fell to the floor. His partner tried to help him, but Twilight kicked his head into the concrete, blood soaking into the floor. Pushing him off, Twilight untied Rainbow, and gave her a pistol from a shelf. They looked around for Vocal, and saw him trying to escape. But Dash was faster, and tackled him to the ground. He fought and struggled, but she finally pinned him under her, gun pointed at his head.

"Hey boy. Ever wonder what it's like to bang me?"

"Get off me, filthy !"

"Uh uh uh, that's no way to talk to me. Say hey to your buddies, fucker." She fired the gun, and face became not much more than a mass of red. She kicked his body for good measure, and looked for the last man in the building, the one who had thrown the knife. He was in the corner, crouching in wait, and Rainbow pushed him against the wall, hand around his throat.

"Who the fuck are you, huh? You gonna try and beg for life?"

"Miss Dash, I hope you're not implying I was ever truly on their side. Quite the contrary, I wished to help you, but my facade was necessary." He pushed himself away from her, and dusted his shirt. "I do hope you can forgive me for not helping, but as I said, my little disguise was necessary, if I was to ever be of use to anyone."

He walked to the bodies, and Dash glared at him. He was searching the bodies, and Dash was growing suspicious. "What's your name, huh? You don't seem trustworthy, but I can feel something..."

"The name's Dusk, Miss Dash. As I said, you can trust me. I only helped them so they wouldn't harm me, or you. If I attacked, they would surely have killed us. See why now?"

She started to reply, but he cut her off. "Don't say that I could have helped. I couldn't have done anything that wouldn't have gotten any of us killed. My plan was to wait until the right moment, but it seems Princess Twilight took care of them before I could do anything. Of course I know who you all are, you saved Equestria several times, so don't look surprised. And close your mouth, you look like a frog. Now, seeing as you all have most likely had a busy day, I suggest you sleep here, and I'll prepare some food, and if you even think of going away tonight, remember the creatures. Now, off with you, give me some room, and bandage yourselves."

He started some food, and Twilight tried to examine Pinkie and Fluttershy. Their attackers didn't have time to get to Applejack, but they had ripped her shirt to shreds, so Spike, who had woken up with a hurting ass, gave her his hoodie. They had explained to him that he had been raped in his sleep, and he shuddered at the thought. Dusk was walking over to them with a pan of food, and held out a spoon. "Eat," he said. He set the pan down on the floor, and retrieved utensils from a shelf. After handing them out, he sat down on the cold floor, the smell of cooked meat starting to overpower even the blood and bodily fluids.

"So," said Dusk. "where are you headed? It's a long way in any direction, and I feel as if I owe you a debt. If you had been killed, or left without slamming me into a wall," he looked at Dash. "then we would have perished either way. They had more guns in the back, and... what was that?"

There was a knock at the door, and Dusk moved to open it. He turned the handle cautiously, readying his pistol, and swung the door open. The cool, open air greeted him, and he looked at the figure standing before him, brown coat flapping in the breeze as if he were a dark shadow.

"Screw Driver?"

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The two stared at each other, barely moving, eyes locked. Then, Dusk took Screw in an embrace, and they looked more joyful then, as if nothing had happened.

"Dusk? I've been searchin' for you for months! How did you get here?"

"Had a little run-in with a gang, thought it would suit my purposes to play along. And it did, look who's here."

Screw Driver stepped inside, looking around, and saw Rainbow Dash. "What... did you bring them, or..."

"No, the gang did. Twilight, being the brave soul she is, started a fight, and killed most of them. Sit, food is almost ready."

They sat and talked of plans, and Fluttershy looked at Dusk. She felt a strange sensation, but she didn't know what it was. She shrugged it off for now, deciding it best to think on it with a rested mind. As they ate, the wind from outside, for the door had been left open, brought a smell of smoke from the distance, and Dusk sniffed the air.

"Fire, from the east. Could be a campfire, but it smells stronger. We better guard tonight, so me and Screw will take watches, now get some sleep. Don't argue, just do it.

"Thank you," said Twilight. "for all of the help. I still have some trust issues, you could say, but thank you."

"Not a problem," the boys said in unison.

Puzzled, yet too tired to care, the girls and Spike settled down for sleep, and Dusk and Screw wondered what they should do. It was obvious they had a goal, but what was it? Too many times they had helped groups of stragglers and been tricked, so they discussed it quietly.

"So," said Screw. "do you think we can trust them? What if Celestia's been killed? What then?"

"Then," said Dusk. "we'll have to turn to Twilight as our ruler. Don't you remember? She's the newest princess, but Luna and Cadance have been missing for a while."

"Then we need to be extra careful, and keep an eye on all of them."

They looked at the sleeping women, and wondered just how much they had gone through. Either way, it was getting late, so they took one last look out of the window, turned out the light, and retired to coffee and biscuits. The wind howled outside, and they heard an owl nearby, accompanied by crickets. So many times they had traveled and fought, but nothing compared to being on guard duty to the Elements of Harmony themselves. Such things wouldn't even have been imagined without slapping yourself mentally, yet they found themselves doing that very thing tonight. It was surreal, and Dusk had to talk with Screw.

"So, do you think they want to go to Canterlot? It's a complete wreck, and the roads are dangerously ruined. We should advise them against it, but they should be allowed if they so choose."

"I agree, but for now, let them sleep. By the looks of them, sleep hasn't been on their list for a while, and they need it."

Dusk looked at Fluttershy, and wondered how she had gotten past the death of her creature friends. It couldn't have been easy, and the hard floor made him shift. Such a terrible floor, he thought. He looked once more out of the small window, and saw the moon casting its glow over the world. And he thought, for once, they could have some peace. The journey to Canterlot would be a dangerous one indeed, as bandits and murderers would be there to loot. But that was for another day, and sleep beckoned to him, the wind singing a lullaby. Right before drifting off, he looked at Fluttershy again, and his eyes closed.

Author's Note

Yep, I got killed by Dash. Well, that's a damn shame. Not really, I was a right knob. And the character Dusk is the OC of JPfluttershy1979, and Screw Driver is Derec, so expect more of them as they are now in this for as long as I deem their characters fit to live!

Anyway on to my stupid thingymajoo: Have our heroes procured some peace and quiet? Are our two new boys as friendly as they seem? Find out next time, in The Wasted Lands