Author's Note

*WARNING*

This chapter is a bit gruesome, so if you don't like gore, torture etc. then please do not read it!

As always, thank you for reading!

The Bone Doctor

A bead of sweat trickled down Rainbow Dash's brow, following the contours of her face before dripping off her chin and onto the ground. She watched it fall, straining her neck, chest rising and falling slowly. The mare had ended up strapped down to a metal table, her limbs stretched out away from her body and held there with thick leather straps, not allowing Rainbow any movement but a few turns of the head.

"What an interesting specimen you are..." A small, quiet voice came from behind the upright table, before a small, female griffon wearing a pair of thick, round glasses and a blood splattered lab coat creeps from behind the restrained mare, getting rather close to Dash's face. "I can't wait to see whats inside" She muttered, a claw pressing just next to Dash's eye and running back behind her ear.

"Don't touch me" Dash growled, trying to turn her head away. "Don't even fucking look at me"

The griffon took a step back, tilting her head and adjusting her glasses. She stared in silence for a moment, before taking a notebook from her pocket and taking a few notes "Your brain... I can't wait to see it" She chuckled softly, puling a metallic tray of scalpels and saws on wheels next to the table "No matter how small it may be..."

"What did you just say?" Dash growled, flexing "Let me down and I'll show you who's got a small brain" Dash was very weak after her long week, but she was certain the little griffon had never been in a fight in her life.

She shook her head "No... It is obvious that you, a solider, could be me. That is why I have you restrained... For you see, brains do conquer brawn, as you will imminently discover" She lifted a scalpel, pressing it against Dash's cheek "Do you know what I'm called?"

Dash gritted her teeth, looking down at the cold metal pressing against her face "W-what do they call you...?"

"Well that depends who you ask..." She grinned, pressing down with the blade and slowly dragging it down Dash's cheek, parting the skin as blood quickly began to ooze out "You see, it seems that, like you, I have built quite the reputation for myself... My kind like to call me The Bone Doctor, but I'm not too fond of that... I prefer what you lot call me." She pressed a little deeper and continued her slow cut, closer and closer to Dash's eye. "The Wing Collector..." She revelled in her nickname for a moment, finally taking the scalpel away from Dash and letting the blood flow down her face.

Dash screamed, tensing against the straps, squirming and thrashing as much as they would allow her as the griffon tore away at her flesh. Her screams fell on deaf ears, however, the blade only digging deeper. Dash couldn't focus on the griffons words, only her actions as her brain screamed at her to fight off whatever to was that was doing it to her.

"Not so cocky now, huh?" She chuckled, pushing two claws into the gash and spreading them, further tearing her skin "But you're just like all of the others I have in here... So tough, so arrogant... It's commendable, if they didn't scream so much..." She sighed, jabbing the scalpel into Dash's thigh and twisting.

Dash panted, before going into a fresh wave of screaming as The Bone Doctor continued her fun. She had always imagined torture, and had seen herself not telling anything and keeping a hard face through it all, even quipping back and forth with the torturers. Dash was quickly learning through her military career that reality was a lot different to fantasy. "P-please!" She crumbled "Stop! Please!" She screamed, twitching in her cuffs.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash. When I read about you I expected so much more" She chuckled, leaving the scalpel buried in her leg and retrieving a file from a desk. It looked quite important, and rather thick file with the picture that was taken of Dash when she arrived at the camp. "You're rather... Interesting" She muttered, flicking through the pages and occasionally flicking her eyes up to look at her captive.

Dash gritted her teeth and groaned, feeling blood oozing from her two cuts, her eyes heavy. "What could you know about me...?"

The griffon grinned "Everything" She placed the file down "Of course, your early work was all rather public, quite the hero, Miss Dash, you and your friends. I can't wait to meet them"

The statement had its desired intention, winding Dash up further. The mare thrashed and yelled, screaming obscenities at the 'surgeon' "You won't ever touch them!"

The Bone Doctor let a small grin slip across her beak "But thats where it stopped being easy. There was no grotesque beast attacking Equestria and you slipped away for a while. Perhaps this is why we are enemies?" She stroked her claw from Dash's ear to her chin, lifting it to force eye contact "We just love to watch you dance, Rainbow Dash" Her grip tightened, digging her sharp claws into her flesh "So dance for me, Rainbow Dash"

"I don't dance" She growled "I was never very good"

The griffon raised an eyebrow "How very uncharacteristic of you, admitting a fault. But don't worry, Rainbow Dash, I won't make you dance. I much prefer hearing you scream, like music to my ears"

"I much prefer the work of Rara" Dash muttered, staring the griffon down.

"There it is! The Dash I read about. That means my work is not yet done. One must first break a toy before scrapping it, no?" She laughed, taking a small, metallic ball rom the table "I don't like to do this... it's rather... brutish... I much prefer the intricate cuts. Thankfully I have brutish guards to do the more... ugh... rough jobs" She patted Dash's cheek and whistled.

In strode Gilda, armoured but for her helmet "Yes? What is it...?" She glared at the 'doctor', before finally noticing Dash "Oh, I see"

The Bone Doctor rearranged her glasses and looked up at the much bigger griffon, pulling the scalpel from Dash's legs and wiping it on Gilda's neck feathers slowly "That tone must change as long as you intend to stay off of my operating table, drone"

Gilda gulped turning her head away to try to avoid the bad scraping across her neck, sweating as it glided across her trachea. "Understood..."

"Do not try and act tough before your friend, you are only making a fool of yourself... She is already a dead mare. You, however, may still live a few more weeks"

"Still just a hoofsoilder, huh?" Dash grinned, looking over at Gilda "You never did have it in you to lead..."

"Oh Rainbow Dash, I do love your tongue. That shall be the last thing I take from you I think. Other than your life of course" She chuckled, handing the metal ball to Gilda "I'm sure a brute like you knows what to do with this"

Gilda sighed and nodded, taking it and glaring at Dash, grabbing her cheeks and forcing her mouth open "And you never knew when to shut your big mouth. Maybe this will help?" She clenched her claws into a fist, hitting her cheek with as much ferocity as she could muster.

The hit sent the metal ball in Dash's mouth from one side to the other, bouncing off of her row of teeth and flying back to the other side, smashing the bone and enamel that was unlucky enough to get in the way.

Fortunately for Dash, her head being strapped down so well meant her head movements didn't aid the balls destruction, however it didn't stop the force from Gilda's fist sending it bouncing around her jaw, shattering bones in at least four places. The young mare coughed, spitting the blood covered ball and a few fragments of teeth from her mouth, blood flowing freely down her chin as she hung loosely from her bonds.

"So barbaric" The Bone Doctor sighed, watching the ball roll away "Yet effective. Sometimes I do think about using such methods, but theres no fun."

"I remind you that you were supposed to be getting answers from her" Gilda sighed "Now she can barely talk..."

"Oh, I was, was I?" She muttered, studying Gilda's eyes "I was told a little mare had tried to escape and had killed several camp guards. Then I came back to my lab to find this mare strapped to my table, messy and with male pleasure seeping from her. These are not within my rules, so I shall not work within your rules"

"Do not forget your place. The only reason you're allowed to play your sick little games is with your strategic support. Do you really think a pony of Dash's standing has absolutely nothing to offer?"

"The only thing she has to offer is her body for science. You are dismissed"

Gilda grumbled and nodded, looking at Dash before quickly walking out.

The Bone Doctor sighed, shaking her head "Subordinates. They never listen, do they? Always have the best ideas"

Dash spat some more blood, resting her head against the table "They do if they respect you" Her words were mumbled and slurred from the abuse her mouth had taken, coupled with her tiredness.

"Perhaps that is why your captain left you to die? Too many big ideas" Her claw drifted over Dash's exposed stomach, resting there "The report I read for the battle for Ponyville, your Captain and most of your fellow Pegasi saw the griffon advance and turned tail and left. But you stayed, and fought... dare I say valiantly?"

The mention of her captains name made her blood boil. It was his fault she was here, enduring all of this suffering. She should have just stabbed the bastard in the face before the battle even begun, if she had she might be sitting in the Commander's quarters right now with Captain Spitfire.

"Oh... That's pure hate if I ever saw it..." He hand stroked up her chest, loosely gripping her neck "Tell me about him"

She shook her head "As much as I hate his guts, I hate you lot more"

She snorted "Killing a griffon is nothing special. They're all you kill everyday... Boring, right? But imagine killing him... A pony... But not just anypony... The stallion that has suppressed you since day one! Killing those with power is so satisfying..." Her claws remained around Dash's neck, but her other hand glided softly across her stomach.

"I'm looking forward to killing you"

She sighed and stepped back "You lack ambition. You're obviously an impressive mare, your file only proves such. I've had Commnader's in here with less balls and ability. Why would you be content with being a Colonel? Or even a Commander? You're as oppressed by your Princesses than the Griffons are"

Dash thrashed and squirmed "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about! Don't act like you're trying to save us from them"

She chuckled softly and shook her head "No, we just want your land. But you wouldn't know that you're oppressed. You've been born into it, even befriended one of them. It's a shame, you're not exactly clever, but you're useful. Think about it. If anyone else held power for 1000 years and made themselves a deity they wouldn't last"

"You're wrong!"

"And the Pegasi? It's such a shame to see what was once an impressive tribe brought to heel... No matter our differences"

Dash stayed silent, breathing slowly. She'd heard mutterings from groups about such, but she wasn't one for sticking her nose in politics. That was Twilight's thing, and it all seemed so... Complicated.

"Think about it, Rainbow Dash. When have you seen a unicorn or dirt pony alongside the Pegasi in a fight? They're using you, they see you as dispensable. The Princesses know the Pegasi are growing too strong..." The griffon stroked Dash's uncut cheek.

Dash gritted her teeth and shook her head "You're wrong... They wouldn't..."

"Oh, but they would. You see, being a deity has its perks" She patted her cheek "Its interesting, you see, most ponies think torture is for answers. No, they're wrong..." She muttered, disappearing behind Dash "For most it is for truths... I see why they do it" The Bone Doctor began playing with Dash's wings, stretching them in their bonds and pulling a feather "But they too are wrong... Torture is really for us to learn. One can learn so much from torture"

"You're sick"

"No... I'm brilliant"

Dash suddenly felt a boiling heat at the base of her wing, feeling and smelling her flesh melt and fur burn at the contact, the source of heat tracing its way around the muscle joining her wing to her back before moving away. The pain was unbearable, her wing spasming in an attempt to get away. Her screams echoed through the small chamber, but no-one coming to her rescue.

"Unless you are an intellect, you wont understand our passion to know more. War is a great time to learn more about ourselves, for you see, prisoners of war are such good patients..." She dropped the hot poker at Dash's hooves, appearing infront of her again "I assure you, both sides in war believe they are the ones in the right, fighting for their freedom, or their honour, but I promise you this. War is for the sole purpose of getting away with things that one would not if they were not at war. We are merely pawns in their game of chess. A promotion only means you play a bigger part, with further to fall"

Dash hung limply from her straps, but through the pain she could sense some truths. Truths she didnt want to hear or believe, but truths nonetheless.

"I may be an enemy to you Rainbow Dash, but I am not the enemy"

"W-why are you telling me this...?"

"It is the job of the educated to educate those that are not" She muttered "It would be unfair of me to send you to the gods without first knowing some truths"

Dash sighed, letting her head droop against the neck cuff "I didn't ask for this... Any of it... I just want to go home, to Ponyville"

"Well, I-"

The ground rumbled, dust falling from the ceiling. The Bone Doctor stumbled, looking around. Another, larger rumble shook the room, an explosion getting closer. She nervously tapped her claws together, sliding a long dagger off of her table and glancing over at Dash. The explosions came closer and closer, the sound of guards running past the door mixed with shouts could be heard in the room.

Dash slowly looked towards her captor, her blade glinting in the light.

She crept closer, shaking her head "no" she muttered over and over, crouching behind the table Dash was strapped to and peering towards the door.

Dash looked down at her "L-let me go... Please... You don't have to kill me... You might still get away if you run now"

She continued to shake her head, slowly standing "n-no... I promised... I want to see inside your head..." She muttered louder, placing the cold metal blade against Dash's head, just above her eyebrows. Another severe explosion just down the corridor sent the griffon stumbling, falling away from the mare.

Voices could be heard down the corridor, coming closer and closer. The Bone Doctor stood, furiously tapping her claws together and pressing her beak into Dash's ear "Remember what I told you... Do not be a piece of the game... Be the player..." She reached down and unstrapped one of Dash's hooves, before slinking off and disappearing behind the mare.

The voices came closer and closer, before the door to the small chamber was blown off its hinges, the sound of hoofs against the cold floor. Dash blinked hard, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"You've seen better days" Came a familiar voice, accompanied by a familiar cocky grin "Come on. It's time to get you home"

Dash allowed a small grin at Spitfire, before throwing up blood and passing out.