Act I - 02 - "The Valley of the Shadow"

Act One:

"Charade You Are"

Chapter Two:

"The Valley of the Shadow"

Pain. Blinding, excruciating pain. Shouting. Dark figures looming over her body. Something digging into her chest, sending spears of searing agony through her chest. She screamed. More shouting. Suddenly, something rough pressed against her mouth, cutting of her screams and air. She writhed only to be swallowed by a cold weariness. She blacked out again.

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Shouting filled Rarity's head as she came to again. She blinked but could only see darkness. She inhaled shakily and putrid fabric pressed against her mouth and nose: she was hooded. A massive burning ache emanated from her chest. The shouting continued, obviously not Equestrian but something sounding more a series of squawks and chirps.

The bag was abruptly lifted from her head, brilliant lights pierced her eyes, and it took a moment of frantic blinking for her eyes to adjust. In front of her was a diamond dog with a cloth covering its face, holes cut for his eyes and muzzle, steadying a camera perched on a tripod. To her left and right were four more diamond dogs, all with their faces covered in the same manner. A large griffin suddenly walked into her line of vision, also masked, and began jabbering animatedly into the camera in that strange chirping speech. It dawned on Rarity what was going on: the filming of a ransom video.

The griffin continued to squawk on and on in his uncouth excuse for a language. Every few squawks, the diamond dogs grunted in what seemed to be approval of whatever it was the griffin was saying. The griffin finally stopped speaking and turned towards Rarity. He approached her slowly and, with wicked glint in his amber eyes, hit her upside the head.

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She came to once more, the same massive aching sensation in her chest.

Oh Celestia, I feel like a train drove through my chest...

She noticed a long, narrow tube coming out of her nose. She tugged at it. It made a disturbing, squishy squeezing sound.

What the...

She yanked desperately at the foreign object until it finally slithered out from her nostril. She gagged and levitated the tube as far away from her as possible. She then noticed that she wasn't alone in the small cave. Facing the wall, looking into a mirror and brushing his coat was a rather thin and gray diamond dog, humming what sounded very similar to Beethoofen's Ninth Symphony.

"Good morning, Miss Belle," the diamond dog said in a surprisingly pleasant tone. "Fancy seeing you awake."

Still barely awake, Rarity's eyes drifted in her sockets, scanning the darkly lit cave. The roof above her sparkled with various gems and other precious stones imbedded in the rock. The walls as well glinted with various gems. In any other situation, she would have immediately started digging them out of the rock, but it was obvious that that was not an option.

She looked to her left where there was a small wooden table with a car battery on it, and to her right was a pitcher and glass and a plate with some poor excuse for hay piled on it. She reached for it with her hooves, nearly falling out of the small cot she was lying on. She caught herself and finally noticed the cables leading from the car battery to her chest.

"I wouldn't tug to hard on those if I were you. If you want to stay alive," the diamond dog said.

Rarity stared down to her chest. It was covered in soiled bandages. Despite her better judgment, she started tearing away the bandages to reveal a large metal ring right embedded in the middle of her chest. The sight of the foreign object seemed to snap something in her, like somepony had throw icy water in her face.

"Oh my Celestia!" she screeched. "What is this?!"

"That?" the diamond dog turned from his mirror and faced her for the first time. "That is an electro-magnet. And that--" he pointed his paw towards the car battery on the table. "--is the power source."

"What is this horrible thing doing in my chest?!" Rarity demanded.

The diamond dog, his expression unfazed, stood and walked over to her, sitting down at the edge of her bed.

"My name is Kili. Nice to finally meet you for real." He extended his paw towards her. Rarity looked suspiciously at this 'Kili' fellow; his ugly blunt face, the yellow incisors poking out of his lips, his squinted yellow eyes...

His eyes. Were soft, gentle. Kind. And his paw was still outstretched toward her, unwavering.

"My name's Rarity...Rarity Belle..." She slowly reached out a hoof to his awaiting paw. "Nice to meet you."

He shook her hoof energetically. "I know who you are!" He laughed. A gentle laugh, reminding Rarity of an old uncle or somepony. "The whole of Equestria knows who YOU are! You're Rarity Belle: billionaire, genius, philanthropist and Equestria’s most eligible bachelorette!" He abruptly released her hoof and lifted his paws towards the roof. "And prisoner of raiders." His paws fell back down towards his sides.

Rarity caught sight of a security camera perched in the corner. "I take it we're being watched?" She motioned with her head to the camera.

Kili turned. "Yup. All the time. Eye in the sky and all." He chuckled.

There was an awkward silence, only broken by the occasional drip of water dripping somewhere in the cave and low hum of the car battery.

"Why the battery?" she finally asked, bringing up the question at the forefront of her mind.

"Oh, that old thing? Well, when you were attacked you were filled with shrapnel." At this Rarity turned slightly green. "And I was called to keep you alive. When I got there the shrapnel was heading to your heart. Without the magnet, it would drift into your heart and you'd die instantly."

Rarity looked down at the ugly ring. This thing, no matter how hideous, was keeping her alive. "Why?"

"Why what?" Kili looked puzzled.

"Why did you save me? Why did they save me?" She motioned towards the camera watching them.

"Why?" Kili repeated, looking suddenly uncomfortable. He stood suddenly and walked over to the table with the food on it. "Well, as for me, I saved you cause I wanted to. That's what I do where I came from. I'm a doctor you know, back in my home town." He poured the contents of the pitcher into the cup. "Cider?" he handed her the glass.

She levitated it towards her and took a sip. Not the best cider, she thought, but better than nothing.

"As for them," Kili continued, motioning to the camera, "They want-"

Suddenly a loud pounding came from the metal door across the cave, then the sound of jangling keys. Kili expression changed in an instant from serenity to terror. "Quick! Quick! Get up! Get up!" he motioned to Rarity, who promptly slide off the bed and stood upright. The wires tugged painfully at her chest and she levitated the battery, in case she had to move.

The door opened to reveal a grossly overweight diamond dog, flanked by several other diamond dogs. He proceeded to walk up to Rarity, with a big yellow-toothed grin, arms spread wide. He began to speak in his native language, which to Rarity sounded like a grating blather of growls and barks. He then stopped speaking to her and turned to Kili with an expectant expression on his face. Kili leaned in towards Rarity, translating the diamond dog's speech. "He says he is honored to meet you, Miss Rarity Belle, Queen of Equestrian Imperialism." Rarity rolled her eyes.

The fat diamond dog returned to speaking, obviously taking pleasure out of it. Kili continued to translate what the supposed leader was saying. "He says that since you've nothing better to do with your life, they decided to kidnap you and hold you for ransom." A look of horror crossed Rarity’s face. Every single kidnapping horror story ran through her mind filling her with fear and panic. She stopped herself. This wasn't time for fear. This was time to assert herself. She was Rarity Belle, an Equestrian citizen; who did this lowly, flighty mongrel think he was making demands of her after treating so abominably?

Looking straight into the leader's eyes, she spoke in her most calm, pristine tone: "Tell him I say, BUCK. OFF." She emphasized the last words as extremely as she could. Kili looked at her for a moment, bit his lip, and then translated Rarity's words for the leader. The leader's face changed almost instantaneously from that of expectant satisfaction to one of virulent rage. Without turning he shouted what sounded like orders to the other diamond dogs, who then proceeded to violently grab Rarity and drag her out of the cave.

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Rarity's head was brutally shoved under the ice-cold water for the fifth time. She kicked her legs and tried to buck, but they held her down with tremendous force.

She couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned, her heart thundered ears. Panic seemed to fill her chest in place of oxygen. I'm going to die!

Her head was jerked up. Air! Cool, clean, blessed air! She gagged and gasped, coughing up water and saliva. One of her tormentors grabbed her mane and shook her head viciously, seemingly taking a sick pleasure out of it. The diamond dog once again violently shoved her head into the water.

Sparks flew from the electro-magnet in her chest. If they kept this up, she'd either drown or be electrocuted. The diamond dog yanked her out of the water. Rarity glanced to the griffin standing directly before them, who watched her torment with a sickening grin on his face.

"Again," He said, and at that the diamond dog proceeded to once again shove Rarity's head under water.

"WAIT!" Rarity gasped. The griffin held his talon in the air, causing the diamond dog to instantly halt. Rarity gasped again. The griffin, pleased at her suffering, leaned in towards Rarity. His breath smelled like rotting flesh.

He smiled, straightened, glanced at the diamond dog holding Rarity's head mere centimeters from the water. "Again," he said, grinning that sick smile again. The diamond dog obeyed.

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After several more dunks in the water tank, the diamond dogs returned Rarity to her room, tossing her carelessly onto her bed. "Remember," the griffin said. "You will sit here. You will eat what we feed you. You will see how the other half lives. If you decide to try and escape from us, I will personally kill and eat you myself." With that he turned towards the exit, barked an order at his diamond dog henchmen, who followed him out.

Rarity lay motionless, pouring all her energy into inhaling. She felt like her lungs would never have enough air. Finally her gasping subsided and the flaming sensation in her lungs dampened. She was exhausted. She strained to move her head to the cot across the room where Kili slept. The sight of something sleeping was all Rarity needed to surrender to the forces of exhaustion that were currently eating away at her body and mind. Unable to keep her eyes open, she closed them and descended into a world of terror and pain....

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;"

-Psalm 23:4a NKJV