Nightmare Equestria

Rainbow Dash gasped and awoke with start, looking around the room wildly with a pounding heart. The memory of what had happened was still fresh in her mind , and she looked at the quivering pony beside her. Rainbows wing was still wrapped protectivley around Dawn at night, despite it being nearly a week since everything had happened. The small mare was dreaming, but Rainbow already knew what she was dreaming about. The pain was still rooted in both their minds and it would be a while till they were completely healed from the damage caused. Rainbow looked around the small room in disgust, kicking some of the straw bed. Just one thing she wanted to do was nap on a cloud…well that and finding Scootaloo and the other three.
The sound of the breakfast bell rang loud and clear, slicing the cool morning silence clean in half. Rainbow sighed, and nudged Dawn, looking into her groggy blue eyes.
"Rise and shine." She said, folding her wing, smiling at her friend hopefully.
Dawn sighed, and they went down for breakfast.

They tok their chunk of bread and wolfed it down, still chewing as they got to the notice board, where the time and date of the next raid had been put up, and they sighed apon realising they were out in five minutes. Just enough time to get prepared. They did the necassary stretches as fast as they could in complete silence, both knowing how the routine would go. Eat, stretch, leave, attack, return. It was always the same, just new targets.
They reported to the pegasus sentry, who assigned three guards to them and a platoon of five pegasi. The raids were usually done by pegasi.
"Ok team." Rainbow called. "You know the deal. I shall lead the attack today, Misty and Cloud chaser, please be the tail, and make sure we can get this new shipment back safely. Copy?' Everyone nodded. Rainbow signalled with her tail, and the seven of them took off, the gaurds in tow to make sure they didn't try to escape, although they secretly thought their job was pointless.

"There it is…" Rainbow said. They were hiding out in the ghastly gorge, watching a small, beaten-up pony-drawn carriage wobble its way along the cliffside path, rather dangerously close to the edge. It was a rickety old western style thing made of wood, but the carrige itself was made of some sort of metal, with tiny air holes through the sides and a completely sealed of entrance, as if whatever was in there wasn't meant to escape. The small band of pegasi all looked at their rainbow haired leader, who was testing the wind, and trying to discern the best angle of attack.The gorge was good for the element of surprise, but their window of attack was small. Dawn whispered to Rainbow, who nodded, and almost immediately, the white pony took of, straight into the air. Rainbow held her breath as her friend glided silently onto the toof of the vehicle, and began to peer through the holes, lean over the edge and inspect the sides and check what was inside the wagon. She signalled to Rainbow Dash, and shot straight back to the gorge.

"We're looking at two unicorns, three earth ponies and a pegasus." She said to Rainbow once she was back, biting her lip nervously. For a second, they both looked nervous, but soon straightened out. Rainbow Dash nodded to her crew and adreessedthem confidently.
"Number nine, if you please." She said, grinning. She was trying to keep her platoons spirits up, to distract them from what they were about to do.
The pegasi all spiralled into the air, the gaurd however, stayed in the gorge, as this was not a requirement of their job; all they were paid to do was guard.
Rainbows small band of ponies all landed around the wagon, blocking it off on all sides. Misty and Cloud chaser took their positions at the back, Rainbow Dash and Dawn Feather were at the front, ferocious scowls on their faces, The drivers jumped in shock, worry plain on their faces. They were two darkly coloured blue pegasus stallions, one Rainbow Dash vaguely recognised. There was no escort with them, so Rainbow Dash assumed they were paid to draw carriages, or were just super obedient. It didn't really matter either way. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, ensuring to use a low, threataning voice, which wasn't easy for her.

"Are you aware of what is in this carriage?" She growled, and the stallions laid back their ears, shuffling their feet nervously.
"Answer me!" Rainbow yelled, and the drivers flinched, still refusing to talk. Dash stifled a sigh; she had been really hoping they would just talk, because she hated this bit, and so did Dawn equally. Even so, she shot forwards in a Rainbow blur, pinning one of the drivers to the ground and speaking very softly in his ear. Dawn mimiced her actions on the other pegasus.
"Are you aware of the contents of this carriage" She said, voice nearly a whisper. The stallion gulped and nodded. Rainbow smiled.
"We would like you to hand it over to us." She continued.

Of course, the stallion shook his head and Rainbow Dash began to feel a little annoyed, what was so important in this carriage? Slaves aren't usually expensive, and this stalion wouldn't be ponished too severely…she hoped. The pegasus beneath her began to struggle, and the other one was shaking uncontrollably, occasionally trashing around. Fortunately, the way they were pinned had them at a disadvantage, at least for now. Rainbow Dash looked at Dawn anxiously, who returned her gaze.
"Should we continue?" Dawn asked and when her friend nodded, she called Cloud Chaser over, who took her place in holding the stallion down. Dawn stood, once the he was contained, and walked over to Dashes prisoner. She stood over him as he stared, wide eyed and audibly hyperventilating as the mare stared with stony eyes at the creture before her. Her shadow fell over his face, and she smiled at him, a wicked smile. Quietly, she demanded access to the cart. The stallion shook his head again, so she asked again, slightly louder.
"Where is the key?" She spread her wings.

The next time she asked, it was a sort of quiet shout. The stallion kept shaking his head, as if to rid himself of the sound as it plauged his eardrums. Each time she sked, Dawn kept on getting louder and louder, untill she was screaming at the top of her lungs. The stallion simply began to sob. Rainbow Dash signalled with her wing, and Dawn rose on her hind legs, shuffling back slightly so she was standing over his leg. Now everything was silent, save for the sounds of the sobbing, from the stallion.
"Tell us, or we will break you. Bit by bit untill you tell us, untill all the bones in your body are fragments." Usuall this worked, but the stallion was stubborn. As Dawn rose once more, the five pegasi surrounding the cart pounded it in order to try kick a hole in the sides so they could retrieve the cargo.

Dawn came crashing down on the stallions leg, splitting the bone clean in two. The stallion screamed as he felt the bone crack, and he burried his nose in the ground. After his sobs finally calmed down, Rainbow Dash asked him the same question again with tears in her eyes. Dawns vision also swam with tears, and she felt them roll down her cheeks as the stallion screamed again. Dawn raised her hoof. It was covered in blood.
"You…monsters." The stallion hissed, and Dawn sobbed with him.
"Just tell us, and this can end. You think we like doing this? Huh? If you'd just tell ust you'd be fine, but you just had to go and make this all so difficult. I'm just doing my masters bidding like I'm supposed to, so my friends don't get hurt." She screamed.

"In the pouch, under the wheel axl, you'll find a key." The stallion coughed. Dawn disappeared under the wheel and returned ith a key. She cried out in relief, and flew to the rear of the wagon, unlocking it, and she sighed. All of the slaves were asleep inside, so they should wake up in a few hours.

"Come on" Dash said, as Misty helped the drivers into the back, and she and Cloud Kicker hitched themselved to the front. "Let's get you all home"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Of course, it toook a while to get back to ponyville on foot, and the group was stopping to give everyone a rest. Blossomforth had been sent forward with the news that they wouldn't be back till daybreak, so they could all rest easy tonight. The slaves that they had tried so hard to get hadn't woken up yet, and so nobody had had a chance to talk to them yet. One of them was a white unicorn with a limp mane which was two shades of electric blue, with a quaver music note for a cutie mark. Another was a mint green unicorn, with a brilliant cyan mane with white streaks through it and a Lyre cutie mark. One was a medium grey earth mare with a dark grey mane and tail and violet treble clef as her cutie mark. The fourth was a beige earth pony, with a navy mane that had a rose pink streak going through it. Her cutie mark looked to resemble wraped sweets. The third earth pony was a male with medium brown coat and dark brown mane, and an hour glass mark on his flank. The sixth was a pegasus, who was light grey pegasus with a light yellow mane and tail, and and her cutie mark was bubbles. They all looked remarkably dirty, and had cuts and scrapes and bruises as if they had been in a fight.

Dawn glanced at them and sighed. They had been asleep so long, Rainbow Dash and Dawn suspeceted they had been drugged, and heavily at that.She was sorry for what they had to do to them, and she knew Rainbow Dash would have a hard time getting over this, but they consoled themselves by saying they'd help the 'new recruits' through it all. They were doubtful, as nopony lasted very long with Pinkie, especially as her mental state was…worsening. There wasn't much room in the metal carriage, so they all agreed Dawn and Rainbow would have to stay in there with them, as the rest, including the drivers, slept under the cool night sky. It was hot and stuffy inside the wagon, as they had locked the door to prevent the new ponies escaping, it was very dark and now only Dawn was awake.

She jumped as she was interrupted from her train of thought as there was movement behind her, and the sounds of yawning could be heard. Dawn Feather nudged Rainbow Dash who sat up, eyes wide in surprise as they adjusted to the dark. Silently as they were able, they pushed themselves into the darkest corner, as far away as they could get. They did't want to scare them, but they had no idea how to approach this situation correctly. For now, all they could do was listen.

"Doctor, are you awake?" Said a high pitched voice, that had a childlike tone to it.
"Yes I am Miss Derpy." Said another pony, an articulate males voice. "Are you?"
"Lrya? Are you up" Said Derpy again, after she had finished giggling. There was a yawn and the sound of somepony stretching before another pony said:
"Yes. Bon Bon is too"
Another voice, a female with a posh-sounding accent called softly.
"Vinyl and I are up also."
They all seemed extremly dazed, as one seemed to attempt to stand and fell, as did another.
"You know, the carriage has stopped" Said the Doctor.
"Should we get out?" Asked Lyra, itching her forehead. Rainbow Dash's eyes watered as she stifled a cough, praying they wouldn't try.
"No, they said they'd come get us." Octavia said.

After a brief pause, the Doctor spoke again.
"I think I'll be able to see in a moment." There was the sound of rythmic tapping on the floor of the tailer, followed by a sharp intake of breath from someone. After a few seconds of silence, Lyra began to speak, starting up a friendly conversation with Bon Bon and Octavia, maybe slightly louder than she should have. Dawn was slightly confused, and looked at Rainbow Dash as if to ask what was going on, but her friend was just as confused as she was. Dawn spread her wings, cocking her head at the other mare who nodded, and the two prepared to hover in the air, but there was a loud cry from the Doctor.
"Now Derpy!"
A grey streak chrashed into Dawn, pinning her to the floor, and she uttered a cry of shock as the wind was knocked out of her. She was pinned down by a cross eyed pegasus, and as she twisted her head, she saw Rainbow had been pinned down by the white unicorn. Unsure of what to do, she wriggled, not really expecting to be able to get back up, but to her surprise, the pegasus began to back down. As she and Rainbow Dash looked on in confusion, the group, all looking rather relieved, began to come towards them and help them stand. It was Octavia that spoke first.
"Sorry about that, thought you were some sort of royal gaurd, you know, the ones that work for the princess. I'm Octavia, what's your name?"
"I'm Rainbow Dash, this is my friend, Dawn Feather." Said Rainbow, trying to sound causal.
"Oh yes, I think I remember you Rainbow Dash. Well It's a pleasure to meet you both. These are Derpy Hooves, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Doctor Whooves, and Vinyl Scratch." Everyone said hi, except Vinyl, who nodded.
"Pleasure." Said Dawn, glancing at her friend.
"So, I assume the drivers let you in? Who are you running from?"
"Err, about that…there was some trouble, and…" Rainbow began nervously, but there was a knock on the side of the wagon, and Misty called through one of the holes.
"M'am, are you awake?"
"Yes, what is it?" Rainbow shouted, not taking her eyes off the ponies in front of her.
"Blossom Forth got back. She says that Pinkie wants us back as soon as possible."
"Then let's get these rumps in gear, we don't want to be late. D'you need any help?"
"No M'am."

She grinned apolageticley at Octavia who narrowed her eyes.
"You're slaves aren't you?" She said, and sighed. "This is one of those raids, isn't it?"
"Should we try to escape?" Lyra asked, and the Doctor shook his head.
"No, we can't, the only way out is the entrance, and that's locked."
"You're not going to hurt us?"

Vinyl shook her head.
"What good would that do?" Derpy asked, and the eight of them in the wagon all sat down.
"Well, we may as well get to know each other a bit." Lyra said sighed.