A Time in Hell

****1****

The world was filled with darkness as Spitfire woke up on a wooden surface. The air was dry and there was a cool breeze. It felt as though it were moving. She felt around and felt the warmth of another to the right of her.

“Aye, the Captain lives,” a mare sneered.

“Deadeye, you mean the deserter,” a stallion corrected. His voice sounded as if it came ahead of Spitfire.

“Where am I?” Spitfire asked.

“Shut up.” Deadeye barked.

Spitfire was hit by a blunt object then spit on. She tried to get up on her hooves but the Deadeye knocked her back down. Humiliated and angry she tried to get up again. Once more she found herself on the ground.

“I am Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts.” Spitfire said with authority. She struggled to get up one more time.

“You are a criminal.” The stallion replied.

“Just drive the cart Quicksilver.” Deadeye shouted.

“I am.” Quicksilver shouted back.

“Watch out for that tree and get back on the road!” Deadeye warned.

There was a swift jerk that sent Spitfire tumbling toward Deadeye. Spitfire was then shoved to the cold hard floor.

“It would be better if we didn’t have to transport her in the dark of night.” Quicksilver said.

“Just shut it.” Deadeye responded.

“Who the hell are you and where are you taking me?” Spitfire growled. She wanted answers and she was losing patience with these ponies. Blind or not, she was going to fight.

“Oi, you shut it as well.” Deadeye shouted.

Spitfire was hit in the back of the head and she blacked out.

****

Spitfire had no idea where she was or how long she had been on the cart at that point. There was an uncomfortable heat radiating over her. She recognized that as heat from the sun. It appeared that her other senses had started to strengthen.

The cart hit a bump, which reminded her that her head pounded like a bad hangover. She groaned and tried to get up, but she was knocked back down.

“Good morning Sunshine.” Deadeye said.

I really hate that bitch, Spitfire wanted to fight back. However, she was too impaired to even try. She was thirsty and hungry.

“Can I get some damn water?” Spitfire asked. She thought that if she took this approach she’d get what she wanted.

“Drink piss.” Deadeye yelled.

Suddenly she felt the splashing of liquid on her. It was not water, nor was it urine, but it had the strong smell of alcohol. She recoiled and winced in pain as the liquor got in her eyes.

“Fuck you.” Spitfire hissed.

“Aw love you too, Sweetheart.” Deadeye mocked.

Spitfire could smell the liquor on Deadeye’s breath as the drunken mare leaned over and planted a kiss on Spitfire’s cheek.

“Drinking again?” Quicksilver asked

“You know it.” Deadeye slurred.

Deadeye departed from Spitfire. The smell of alcohol departed with Deadeye.

“Archimedes won’t like that.” Quicksilver said.

“Just drop me off at the Lodge Pub in Brightsville.” Deadeye slurred.

Spitfire started to inch away from their voices. Ever so quietly she felt around for the edge of the cart. She could hear the bickering of the two ponies. Keep arguing, she finally felt the edge of the cart. The only thing that she could do to avoid detection was roll off. When she did it was the most graceful fall. Finally she was free.

In a matter of seconds she clumsily got to her hooves and started running away from the sound of the cart. There was a commotion in the direction of the cart but she kept going forward. Her ears started picking up on the chatter of ponies. That was the direction she wanted to go in she decided.

There was a scent of spices, fruit, and vegetables in the air and she knew she was close to a market. Vendors shouted out what they were selling, some ponies casually chatted about current events, and other ponies haggled with the salesponies. Occasionally she bumped into ponies but for the most part ponies got out of the way.

“Deserter!” Quicksilver shouted.

Spitfire pushed herself a little harder. Her legs were starting to tire but she was determined to get away. She ran into a wall of ponies and fell to the ground. There was a ringing in her ears from hitting her head on the ponies.

She could feel ponies touch her and try to grab her, but she broke away and started running again. Spitfire could hear the shouts of ponies trying to get her. Then she felt claws around her then she felt the wind in her mane. Her captor was a griffon by the way they felt.

“Get off me.” Spitfire demanded. She flailed around trying to break free of the griffon’s grasp. The griffon ignored her and kept flying. Her wings were constricted by his grasp so she couldn’t open her wings to get away. Even if she had use of her wings, where would she go? Finally she gave in and waited to hear the voices of her former captors.

Minutes passed and the griffon didn’t land. Spitfire found this odd. It didn’t seem like she ran that far from Quicksilver. She was sure of that face but with every passing second she started feeling unsure about the entire thing.

Far from the smells of the market she started to smell burning incense. There was a calming sound of running water. Spitfire could feel a peaceful sensation come over her.

Finally the griffon landed with Spitfire in claw.

“You retrieved her,” a mare calmly said.

“It took a lot of tracking and waiting but I got her,” the griffon said with a deep masculine voice.

“Put her down, Swyft,” the mare said.

Swyft placed Spitfire on the ground.

“You sure that she’s the one?” Swyft asked.

“She’s the only one that made it out of the Temple of Shrouds,” the mare said.

“That cave?” Swyft asked.

“Yes,” the mare said.

Spitfire started to inch away. She was unsure of whether or not to trust these two. Even if there was this feeling that she was meant to be there.

“Spitfire, I have a gift for you,” the mare said.

“You sure you want to give her that gift?” Swyft asked. “You know you won’t be the same after you do.”

“I am certain,” the mare said.

There was a hoof that was placed on Spitfire’s head. Spitfire felt the joy of the happiest moment in her life. The moment she remembered was when she first learned how to fly. She felt the love of her mother as she guided Spitfire gently off the ground. A smile came over Spitfire’s face.

As her memory ended Spitfire could see a light that cast out the darkness inside of her. She opened her eyes and she could see. A sense of relief came over her as she looked around at her surroundings.

There was no sign of the griffon or the mysterious mare. Spitfire had started to wonder if she was hearing things. Was this all a dream? She had wondered if it was a dream since she woke up blind on the cart.

Shrugging off her questions she wandered around to see where she was. From what she could deduce was that she was in a temple that had white columns that held up a ceiling with a fresco of a battle scene. The battlefield was filled with epic pegasi dogfights, while earth ponies and unicorns fought on the ground. There were ponies in the painting that reminded her of a few ponies she knew.

“Hold still, deserter.” Quicksilver demanded.

Spitfire got a look at one of her captors. Quicksilver was a burly earth pony with a silver mane and a brown coat. He donned a heavy suit of silver armor.

Suddenly she could smell alcohol. She turned around and standing behind her was a mare in heavy silver armor. The mare had a yellow coat and a black mane.

“Why ‘ello Sweetheart.” Deadeye said.

Deadeye grinned then head-butted Spitfire. Spitfire fell to the ground. As she fell she caught sight of a beige filly standing next to one of the pillars.

“Wait.” Spitfire muttered.

Spitfire reached out for the filly. Before Spitfire could do anything else, she could feel a sharp pain in the back of her head before she lost consciousness.