An Act of Betrayal

     Princess Twilight Sparkle's violet eyes fluttered open, panic rising in her chest and her heartbeat quickening when all she saw was suffocating black. A strange, grainy material brushed her flanks and she thrashed wildly, sparks igniting on her horn as she prepared to shoot magic at whatever this was.

     Applebloom nodded to Diamond Tiara, her orange-yellow eyes shining in the darkness. Carefully, she trotted to the  upright corner of the room and picked up a knife by the grip in her teeth. She scampered back over to Diamond Tiara, who was gingerly opening the grainy sack that held Twilight captive with her teeth. She leaped back, startled, when the alicorn charged at her, desperation flooding into the purple princess' limbs.

     Applebloom bowled into Diamond Tiara, whipping her head and throwing the knife at Twilight before she did so.

     "Be more careful!" She yowled as the knife sunk into Twilight's chest. She scrambled off of Diamond Tiara and faced Twilight, who had blood squeezing out of the gash in her chest, trying to get past the knife. The Princess moaned, shuddering, blood gargling in her throat. The knife had just barely missed her heart.

     Applebloom stood rigid, watching as blood welled in Twilight Sparkle's mouth and droplets came trickling out. She collapsed on the floor, her body racked with shudders and her breathing rapid and strained. Her hooves gripped the knife, though she didn't dare tug it out.

     The farm pony's attention snapped to Diamond Tiara as the filly shakily ran up to Twilight, jerking the knife back. Blood sprayed out as though through a hose, spattering her fur like rain. Twilight uttered a strangled gasp, loud and echoing in the basement of the abandoned house they stood in.

     "Shut up!" Diamond Tiara swiped at Twilight's head with her hoof and the Alicorn's head thumped the ground, her muscles easing. She'd knocked the princess unconscious.

     "That'll be good to wake up to." Applebloom purred, satisfaction attacking her voice like an excited cat.

     "Sure will." Diamond Tiara's voice was also dripping with sweet satisfaction.

     Suddenly, Applejack's sack started to move, along with Pinkie Pie's. They squirmed wildly, and Applebloom and Diamond Tiara exchanged knowing glances.

     This time wary and expectant, the two fillies quickly opened the sacks with their teeth, leaping aside as Applejack and Pinkie Pie came charging at them. They ended up bumping into each other in stead.

     "Git off o' me!" Applejack howled, though her voice was distorted. Pinkie Pie raged back at her; "I never did anything! It was you! You," she blinked when she realized. "Applejack."

     "Pinkie Pie? Well, Ah'll be! What are ya doin' here?" Applejack's voice seeped back into reality. Bewilderment still clung to her insistently, though, as if a tick.

     Pinkie Pie's response was just her shaking voice, no words formed. Applejack could see the whites of her eyes glowing bigger than usual, and this wasn't glowing joy. . .It was shock.

     "Twilight!!" Pinkie stuttered loudly, pounding up to the gored princess, of whom was laying in a puddle of her own blood, which rippled as more blood flowed out. It seemed to be endless, and the puddle emerged into a kiddy pool. It trickled down to Applebloom's hoof, and she lifted it and backed away.

    "Pinkie! Applejack!" Applebloom shouted, her voice commanding.

     "Twilight!" Applejack's accent was thick with sorrow. "What'll we do with out ya?"

     The ponies were interrupted by caterwauls. They were obviously coming from Rarity.

     "You start the. . ."games". Ah'll take care of Rarity!" Applebloom raced to the petty Unicorn's sack, which was shaking and thrashing wildly. Rainbow Dash's was stirring, too, and so was Fluttershy's and Starlight Glimmer's.

     "Did you bring the ball gag?" Diamond Tiara asked anxiously, her voice nearly drowned out from the sobs coming from Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

     "Yeah, but I thought we weren't gonna use it till we absolutely needed it, if so. There's gonna be a lot of screaming. And they're mainly used for. . ." Applebloom gulped. "Older pony stuff."

     Diamond Tiara nodded, her blue eyes fixed on Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

     "She's not dead!" The pink filly growled, making her voice heard by raising it a large amount. "She's just unconscious! Back off!" Her tone was scathing.

     "B-but Twilight! I love you!" Pinkie buried her muzzle in the Alicorn's scruff, blood soaking into her fluffy pink fur.

     "What will we do without ya?!" Applejack cried, tears streaming down her face.

     "Daw, you got Applejack to cryyyyy!!!!!" Pinkie's voice rose into a wail of distress, tears gushing down her face and dripping into Twilight's fur. "We were gonna bake cupcakes together! Why did you have to leave us?"

     "I said; 'BACK OFF!'" Diamond Tiara drew up the metal bat in her teeth and swiped it at Pinkie Pie's leg. The pink earth pony yelped shrilly, standing over Twilight. Applejack joined her, Rarity falling in behind the messy apple farmer. Her deep, dark blue eyes were glittering, and for once her mane was a little dirty.

     "You can go through me, but you can't get to Twilight!" Pinkie hissed, her hackles spiking defensively. Rarity nodded slightly, determination striking in her blue gaze.

     "Fine!" Diamond Tiara bellowed, throwing the bat at Pinkie's head. She ducked just in time, but the bat whizzed over to Applejack. . .

     There was a scream, which rang in Diamond Tiara's ears, causing them to twitch and eventually flatten. "Oh, please!" She whimpered, pawing an ear with her hoof.

     Applejack's eyes glazed over, the intense green fading to a dull green. The world swayed beneath her, and Pinkie and Rarity's cries were muffled as though they were shouting into a pillow. Her stomach churned with a blazing pain that also rang in her head. Speaking of which, her head felt warm and sticky, like a liquid was pulsing from it. It flooded red over her vision for a lot of agonizing heartbeats till it stopped, the large drops turning to small trickles. Her eyes rolled halfway to the back of the throbbing head, and her legs gave out from under her. She collapsed, panting, onto the ground, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

     A massive weight smashed into Diamond Tiara, forcing her to the ground. Two hard circular things gripped her throat, pushing in-hard.

     "You wanna hurt Applejack?" A raspy voice hissed into her pink ear, the hooves gripping harder. "You wanna take that risk?!" The pony jerked Diamond Tiara closer by tugging her scruff. "Well, think again!" The pony stood up, letting her hooves fall to the small filly's forehooves. She splayed them out on the floor, revealing a thick blue pelt and hard muscle. Her wings spread wide in anger, the Pegasus smacked her head hard against Diamond Tiara's, resting a wing on the side of the pony's belly as she kicked and squirmed, begging for mercy.

     "Please, Rainbow Dash! I'll do anything!" Diamond Tiara's tone was thick with guilt.

     "'Sorry' doesn't fix my special somepony!" Rainbow Dash's tone was biting and her spit flew onto Diamond Tiara's face. Diamond Tiara's forehooves were tensed immensely since she was desperate to cover her face. Tears welled in the small filly's blue eyes.

     Then there was a yowl.

     A bang.

     Rainbow Dash skidded off of Diamond Tiara.

     Applejack shrilled.

     Applebloom tackled Rainbow Dash to the ground, Pinkie's insane cries of horror and Fluttershy's whimpers driving anger into her coldly running blood. Her heart was like a ball of ice in her chest as she sank her teeth deep into Rainbow Dash's neck. The Pegasus howled in sheer pain, her voice scraping harshly against her throat, which was tensing as she uttered more desperate wails.

     Diamond Tiara was on top of the issue in a heartbeat. Darting over to a dark corner of the room, she picked up the ball gag in her jaws and darted back over to Rainbow Dash, struggling to get it on. This caused the Pegasus to thrash even more crazily, drool dripping from the ball in her mouth. She flailed her forearms around wildly, trying to smack anything she could reach. Blood was starting to well where Applebloom had bitten her, but the farm filly had not had her fill.

     Applebloom couldn't stop. She could feel the fur starting to part in her mouth and the skin starting to break and the tang of blood against her tongue sent a jolt down her body. She loved it. She bit down with so much force, giddiness riding inside of her. I can tear her neck, I can tear her neck. . .

     That's when Applejack ran clumsily up to them, her hooves shaking and blood still drying on her face. Applejack barreled into Applebloom, nipping the filly's ear sharply but yet swiftly and tumbling off of Rainbow Dash with her in her grip.

     Applebloom's jaws were reluctant to leave Rainbow Dash's throat, and they were torn free when Applejack crashed into her. Blood gushed from the blue pony's throat but slowed down just barely after it'd started.

     Rainbow Dash shrilled a moan, holding her hooves to her throat and forcing the ball gag off. She spun and hauled herself up, thinking fast, and bucked Diamond Tiara directly in the head, busting her lip and causing blood to spill from her nose. She stifled a yelp of alarm, and Rainbow Dash skittered behind her, forcing down her spine down heavily with her hooves.

     Panic rose in Diamond Tiara's chest and her heart thumped as her belly fur brushed the ground; she was being pushed down.

     "That's a good mare!" Rainbow Dash growled.

     Diamond Tiara allowed herself to go limp, but Rainbow Dash wasn't giving up and she was starting to feel suffocated.

     It took ages for Rainbow Dash to give up and come to Applejack's side, but Rarity was bounding toward Diamond Tiara already.

     As the pink filly fought off Rarity, a thought struck her; How long will we be able to fight them off?