Into Ashes: Act II

“Human!” I hear a voice call out, unsure if it was a real voice or something in my head. I weakly open my eyes. They hardly come to, but just enough that I may peek through my own thinly parted slits. I try to move, but the familiar feeling of total paralysis prevails over me. Everything is still numb, but slowly, ever so slowly as the time passes do I gain semblances of control. I sluggishly win favor over my hands and feet and soon begin to win over my limbs. As with my vision and my physical control, my hearing begins to apply itself.

“Doctor we have to hurry up! His eyes are opening!” I hear the same feminine voice from earlier. It’s Primrose. I hear her voice, but I do not see her through my barely opened eyelids. My vision is directed exactly upwards to the stone ceiling, and I am unable to move my head to turn and look.

“I can see that Primrose.” I hear the old, crotchety voice of Doctor Still Hooves reply. “Are his arms and legs secure?”

“Yes now let’s get a move on!”

“Alrighty then, help me push him. We don’t have much time to do this.”

Whatever the two doctors have me strapped down to rumbles across the lumpy floor. I'm quickly wheeled through a large doorway and down another dimly lit hallway. Flickering lights, spaced out unevenly few and far between, pass over me. My eyes ache in their glow. The creeping roll of the cart I lay strapped to grows. The passing lights cease as I turn left and pushed down another hallway. This one unlit, the same hallway I have been drug down before.

THUD The cart is pushed through a wooden door, and the familiar round, open ceiling shines overhead with its blinding rays. Brilliant warm sunlight pours through it and onto my cold skin. In my lackadaisical state, I almost begin to smile in its welcoming comfort, but that comfort soon disappears as another stone ceiling eclipses the joy shining from above. As the cart comes to a stop, I see faintly in my peripheries an Equine come into view. She bears an off white coat of fur with a bobbed, dark red mane. This must be Primrose. She moves from my left side down to my feet, and back up my right side. Pressures around my wrists, chest, and legs are relieved. I feel the cart tip over sideways, and I fall shoulder first to the cold, hard floor. I roll to rest on my back before I see Primrose again return to view, a large needle wielded in her hoof. She drives it down into my chest. I feel it, the sharp pinch of my skin followed by a deep, hollow ache as the needle pierces my sternum. For but a brief moment a viscous liquid take up space in my chest cavity, pressing down against my heart and the top of my lungs. The pain subsides as the liquid is dispersed through my torso.

I hear the voice of Doctor Still Hooves. “Okay boys, we’re done here, lock him back up. Let’s go Primrose, we have to get this bed back to Nurse Redheart’s office and let her know we’re done with it.”

Slam! Latch, latch!

The liquid quickly works its wonders, warming up muscles throughout my body. Whatever I was just injected with is giving me a sudden surge of energy. My weary body, every fiber slowly waking up to rejuvenation. I feel invigorated, revitalized to get off this hard stone floor and find out just where the hell I am, where all of my belongings are, and how to get out.

The moment I sit up, a stun spear is thrust between the cell bars, stopping just inches from my shoulder. Thunderhoof glares at me with earnest spite. “Don’t you think of trying anything.” he says gruffly. “Just sit here and bide your time until Ivory gets back!”

Though I want to counter him with a cleverly rude gesture, I know it would be unwise. He has me caught, locked down under the threat of his spear. I am merely at the mercy of my captors. The spear hums with vigorous electrical anger just before my skin. If I make any sudden moves he will surely zap me before I have time to do anything. Unfortunately, just like Ivory mentioned during my last interrogation, I know when I’m beaten. I feel bitter knowing that I’m being held prisoner of something so weak, but I have no choice but to abide by their wills. For now.

I look past him to the open room. All the other cells adjacent to mine are completely empty. Needless to say I’m being held as a prisoner of war in the fresh aftermath of our invasion. They hold me to the smallest possible standards of fair treatment, so far electing not to provide me any food, water, or respite from their brutal questioning. I have been afforded time to recover at the mercy of who I can only assume to be their leader. But it seems that just as I have recovered, the torture may recommence. From what I’ve overheard, I’ve gotten an idea of why they want to keep me alive, but no mention for who or what they need me for. Other than just as a punching bag for questions which I do not have any answers. And no sign of Fluttershy. My captors do not seem keen of her either. I can only hope they aren’t treating her with the same disregard as they afford to me, if she's here. The pain it would cause me to see her so brutally abused by these tyrannical goons.. The moment I get the chance to make an escape I must take it, and if I can somehow find Fluttershy and rescue her, I must do that as well. We will run, escape back into the cold, abysmal fields of gray together. Back to surviving on our own. It would be much better than what we face here at any rate.

The door to the prison chamber opens. Thunderhoof’s twin enters the room with another stun spear. “Is she back yet?” Thunderhoof asks him.

“Almost.” says the twin in an equally gruff but lighter toned voice. He closes the door behind him before joining Thunderhoof's side. They both glare at me with the same earnest expression. An impassioned, burning fire glows behind their sullen blue eyes, their hatred for me only held back by orders to preserve my condition. Again the door to the chamber is thrown wide open with force. I hear the manic voice of Ivory call out from the other side. “Thunderhoof! Golden Bolt! Bring him in.”

They come my way, opening my cell to begin another round in the hot seat.

In my own passive defiance I decide to make a smart comment. “What already? I was just enjoying a nice --”

Thunderhoof amps his spear up to full power. A violent course of lightning surges between the spear’s two metal prongs. Sparks fly off in all directions and some land on my shoulder. The noise from this is intense. The air around me vibrates from the sheer power of the electric storm. But it’s merely a threat. He restrains himself from using it but his message is clear. They rush me as the bars open full, spears roaring and ready for action. They thrust them just before my neck to keep me controlled. I reluctantly raise my hands above my head in submission. “Let’s go Human!” barks Thunderhoof. I slowly rise to my feet. Golden Bolt counters my movement with a slow crawl to get behind me. They both continue to hold the spears around my neck, both staring at me with intent, and both ready to unleash their wrath should I make a wrong move. I feel every hair on my torso and neck want to rip free and cling to their spears, and the air around my heas quakes with vehemence. Once behind me, Golden Bolt gives me a small but powerful shock to my spine, just enough to make me involuntarily jolt forward and almost fall into Thunderhoof’s spear. It’s a close call but I pull back just in time. “Get going, you!” Golden Bolt yells.

“You will follow me and you will not try to escape Human! Do not look around and DO NOT disobey us!” yells Thunderhoof.

He turns around and Golden Bolt zaps me in the back again. “Fuck, I get it!” I call out in frustration. I have had it with this! I want so badly to show these two what real brutality is but oh how sad and frustrating it is to be in my position. An almost literal knife to my chest and a knife at my back. They have me cornered. I know I have no choice but to submit, but oh how reluctant I am to accept this.

Thunderhoof guides the way forward, watchfully checking back to me every few steps with his spear buzzing. We exit the chamber and down the same dark hallway as before. The bright glow coming from their spears help light the way through the musty, wet caves. My instincts tell me to check down any open hallways for an exit route, but the spear to my back says otherwise. They must know what they’re doing to have me so well under their control. I get the feeling they’ve done this type of thing before. Up ahead I see Ivory looking at me with a proud grin smeared across her ghostly pale face. She stands at the end of the hall next to the interrogation chamber with the door already opened. Her smile drops to a stern frown as I pass by. The guards bring me in front of the chair and order me to stop. “Turn around slowly!” I have no choice but to comply. The two guards make a deliberate stride to flank me on both side. They jab my knees from behind with the blunt end of their spears. The loss of balance drops me down onto the chair. This time however they do not tie me down. But just as strong as a deterrent, they keep their spears held at my neck.

Here we go again.

Ivory seals the screeching metal door.

“It’s been a while since I saw you last.” She speaks almost as if we’re casual friends. “I hope you enjoyed your little vacation.”

“I did. Being forced to stay under a drug induced coma was very nice, thank you.” I say this as sarcastically as possible.

“But the rules haven’t changed. You’re still here to spill out what you know and nothing else. Unfortunately I have orders to ‘be less harsh’ on you this time. Blech. I was almost enjoying myself last time. Now then, where were we? Ah yes, you were just about to tell me where the rest of your friends are hiding.”

“Not this again. I told you before I --”

“Quiet you! Like I said the rules are still the same. No smarting off! Thunderhoof!”

Thunderhoof briefly jabs me in the neck with a mild shock. Not enough to hurt me, but just enough to get my blood back to a tempered boil. I look to him and sharply glare into his eyes as he returns the same expression.

“So. Where are they?”

“My answer’s still the same. There’s no one else but me left.”

“Mm, I disagree. But very admirable of you.”

“Then you’re just wasting your time with me.”

“Oh I am am I?” She comes over and pounds me in the chest as hard as she can. My entire chest caves in, and all my air explodes out. She follows with a powerful uppercut to the jaw. I feel my teeth crunch as they’re violently forced to clash. “Don’t tell me how I’m running my job! My time’s not wasted as long as I’m enjoying myself teaching you some manners. The more disruptive you are, the more pleasure I get from correcting you.”

She goes on for the next half hour drilling into me over and over and over again about the same damn questions. Where are they? How many more? Back talk again! Of course all of this is accompanied by a series of progressively longer shocks and more punches. But the longer this goes on, the less cooperative I become. I don’t know how else to get the message across to her that I really am the only human left.

“You just won’t give it up to me will you? There must be some way to break you. Oooh if only I wasn’t so restrained!”

“What’s wrong?” My voice strains as I begin to struggle for air through my battered chest. “Afraid you might hurt m--”

Without hesitation, she jumps to my chest and sends me falling backwards. She stands on me, pounding me in the face with those iron hooves. My nose drains blood, and my mouth fills with it. Eventually, after I don’t know how many punches to the face, she jumps off and both the guards give me a powerful shock. Enough to disorient me while they set me back up. “I thought - you were told to - be less harsh.” I say after I come back to my senses.

“This is less harsh! If only I could use my magic, I’d have you begging - no - crying for me to stop!”

I try to spit blood in her face once more, but this time she was expecting it. “Nice try!” she yells before another very solid punch to the chest. The rest of the mess I had in my mouth is thrust out onto my lap. “You know if I were you, I’d stop being so grossly indecent. Your life would be so much easier if you just gave me what I want.”

“I don't have what you want! There is no point! I know nothing! These questions - you keep asking. I have - no answers! You’re just - wasting your time, and energy.”

“We will keep this up until you break!”

“You’re - insane!”

“Hm, I know.” She suavely combs her frizzled mane back with a hoof. “But let me remind you why you’re here. You scattered our most important possessions, and we want them back! We will use every tool we can to find them, and we will not stop for anything until we do. If that means beating you into a pulp until you tell us where they are, then that’s perfectly fine with me.”

“Well you’ll have to try - something else. I have - no answers for you, I told you.”

“Well you’ll just have to stay here then.”

“Just you wait, I’ll be outta here in - no time.”

“Ha! I didn’t expect you to make me smile. What a fool you are, how weak you are! I’d like to see you try.”

“Just like you, I won’t stop - until I win. And I’m taking Fluttershy with me.”

“Ugh, that fool? Pfft, take her. She’s almost more useless to us than you are. We can easily track her down, along with you and destroy both of you if we want.”

“-- I’ll gladly - take her with me then."

“You still haven’t answered a single one of my questions!”

“Maybe I just don’t know anything!”

“Or maybe you just --”

Three loud bangs are heard from the door. “UGH!” Ivory exclaims. “Times up for today. Take him back to his cell!”

The two guards grab me under the arms and whisk me from the chair with force. They rush me through the doorway and back down the hall. But just as I pass the door, over the sound of rushed hoofbeats and my own legs dragging on the gravel, I hear a voice speaking to Ivory.

“Did you get anything this time?”

“Ugh, no. He’s just as out-of-line as last time.”

“I grow tired of this waiting Ivory! We need to get answers from him soon! We have no idea when we’ll be attacked again!”

“Sigh I know ma’am. I’m trying everything I can! Maybe we just need to try something else...”

The voices fade away the further I get. With haste, the guards bring me back into the prison chamber and lock me back up. They return to their staunch guarding of the door. At the moment they look away I finally have a moment to tend to my pain. Face, bruised and bloodied. Chest, feeling like I had just been run over, crushed, almost fractured at the power of Ivory’s hooves. And of course, the splitting headache from all the attention she likes to pay to my skull. But I think I find myself hurting more from my desire to break out than I do from the torture. I’ll admit, Ivory has some power behind those rock-hard hooves of hers. I can’t wait to give her a taste of mine. I just have to wait, wait for the right moment. With Thunderhoof and Golden Bolt so keen to use those spears, I just have to keep biding my time until they slip up.

I spend the rest of the day quietly sitting in my cell, waiting, and watching. Carefully looking over the guards for any sign of either of them about to falter. The midday sun passes below the hole in the ceiling, high noon turns to evening, and soon evening turns to night. The moment the bleak night begins to take over the light of the sun, a few weakly luminant lights flicker on within the chamber. One above each cell so that the guards may maintain their attentive duties. Never once do the guards even come off as tired or feeble. No matter how much time passes, they both continue to stand stoic and unphased. At some point I pretend to fall asleep. But through most of the night, I keep out an eye for that slightest sign of weakness. But they show nothing, not even so much as a weary eye twitch. They both stand like statues, the only breaking from this is they occasionally mutter a quiet word between themselves. Eventually, I give up on my own watch and decide to get some sleep. I'll need it to be ready for tomorrow's session.

In my slumber I slip into a dream. The dream, the same dream I’ve been having for many nights. But this time it comes on much more intensely. I hear and feel a gale of wind howling loudly in my ears. That very same shadow Equine that’s been fettering through my thoughts finally comes to fruition. I see her dark blue face, and my vision is fixed only on her deep blue eyes. It’s the same Equine that I know to be the Moon Goddess. She gazes back at me sternly, and a storm of lightning flashes wildly behind her. In a voice just as powerful as the howling wind itself, she calls out to me. “HUMAN! It is I, Princess Luna, guardian of the night and sister to the princess of the sun! I have been trying to reach you through your dreams for many moons now. I come with a message that you must heed!”

I try to speak, but my dreamself is completely locked down into paralysis.

“There is not much time! You must speak to the one named Twilight Sparkle, a mare of purple who gleams with magic power! Find her and speak with her. Tell her of our meeting, that the message has been delivered! Go now Human! Time is of the essence!”

In a clash of thunder and lightning, she flashes away into the darkness. The wind quits its howl, and the cacophonous storm of lightning ceases.

• - - -

I wake up, tired, groggy, and confused. Body still aching from yesterday’s beating. But quickly after the opening of my eyes do I bring myself to full alertness. That feeling of a calling, for someone who needs my help, it’s finally been answered! But from who? And why? Was it all just a dream or perhaps something more? It all felt real. I still feel it, feel the blowing wind and hear that bellowing voice still ringing in the periphery of my hearing. Though the mysterious feeling has been answered, it seems that only more questions have been raised. Princess Luna? The moon goddess? I was sure she was dead! And Twilight Sparkle.. Who would this be and how would I even find her? What kind of name is that anyway?

At the moment my thoughts clear free of the dream, my focus turns back to the guards. Much to my frustration, neither guard has even so much as wobbled off balanced from lassitude. They stand just as stern and alert as they did when they began their shift. Do they ever get tired? Do they ever swap out for a rest break?

There’s a hard knocking at the door. Three solid knocks, followed by an indistinguishable female voice. Thunderhoof opens the door, and two more guards enter the room. Just as I thought I could make an easy escape dealing with just two guards, two more have entered the room. However the are unarmed. One of them, the female, is sterling white with a long pink mane, rolled into curls at the end. The other a male, with a drab blue coat with a short, wavy blonde mane. But behind them my attention shifts to a third Equine following in tow. It’s Fluttershy!

“Fluttershy!” I quietly call out. I jump up and lean against the bars. She doesn’t seem to notice me, and so the two new guards proceed to take her into her own cell and lock her in, only to leave shortly thereafter. As usual, Fluttershy seems sad and dejected about something. But at least from what I can tell, she has been treated somewhat kindly unlike me. An upsurge of relief, and an even stronger desire to break free and rescue her. I press against the bars and test their sturdiness. They hold firm, clasped and nailed into the rock. I try to get her attention again, but the moment I raise my voice, Golden Bolt barks at me to remain silent. Fluttershy sits alone in the cell directly across from mine. She notices me by the sound of my voice and quickly presses herself against the bars as well. Here face comes alight with joy to see me once again. We’re both overjoyed, but just as equally mystified as to how we have met again. We look at each other with sincere surprise.

Ivory bursts through the door. “Good morning my little inmates!” she yells. “I’m in such a good mood this morning.” She looks straight to me. “Because I got approved to use my still untested method of torture by burning metal! Guards! Bring me the Human!”

Any sort of joy I might have been feeling about Fluttershy instantly dissipates at the sound of Ivory’s voice.

Fuck.

I got so close to being burned the first time and now she’s been approved to actually use it? Dammit! I would much rather take a beating with harsh shocking than even one session with the branding iron!

Thunderhoof and Golden Bolt quickly rush my cell, but before even opening it they both give me a potent zap. Enough to force all of the control of my body to slip from my grasp. As I lay convulsing on the floor, they open my cell and drag me away. I get one good look at Fluttershy’s appalled grimace before they drag me beyond the door, back into the dark and musty hallway. I struggle to come free of their grasp, shouting in protest. But they still keep me at bay with those damn spears of theirs. Ivory stands waiting at the doorway ahead, the glowing metal rod already prepared and ready for malicious use. “No! Wait!” I shout whatever dissenting idea pops in my head but my pleas are promptly ignored. I look to Ivory and her manic grin. Suddenly I’m reminded of the dream I just had, maybe if I say something about it, that’ll get her attention. Anything to avoid going in there with that metal! “Wait! What’s her name, Twi- Twilight Sparkle!”

Ivory immediately reels back with even more shock and surprise than when I spat in her face. “STOP!” she yells to the guards. She leans down and puts her face close to mine, looking into me with stern hatred and suspicion.

“Yes!” I continue. I seem to have triggered a response inside her, she must know something about what I’m talking about. “Yeah! And uh, fuck! Um, Pri- Princess Luna! Yes, that’s her name! Princess Luna!”

Ivory growls at me. “How do you KNOW THOSE NAMES!”

“I don’t know! It was a dream, I just heard them in a dream, that’s all!”

She quietly gazes at me, the flames of hate in her eyes pierce into mine. But she does not speak for some time. She somehow restrains herself from her usual sadistic attitude. “Take him back to his cell.” she finally says before walking away.

Just as quickly as before, but with less concern for my well being, the guards tow me back the way we came. They even seem to be just as disquieted of my knowledge as Ivory was. I don’t even know who or what those names are, but it sure does cause a strong reaction among these Equines.

Instead of simply dropping me back into my cell, they both lift me and throw me face first to the floor before beginning to close the bars. But I quickly notice that they make one fatal error as I turn to look back at them. Golden Bolt has turned away to return to the door they hadn’t bothered to close. Thunderhoof distracts himself with the task of closing my cell. They've both turned their focus away from me. Before I even begin to calculate a solid escape strategy in my head, I am overcome with adrenaline. Pure instinct kicks in, my gleaming moment to escape has just presented itself. I must take it! As Thunderhoof looks away to the mechanism to close my cell, I jump to my feet and tackle him, forcing the spear away.

Golden Bolt instantly responds to the commotion, flips back around and charges as Thunderhoof and I wrestle for control of the spear. He is easily defeated by my overwhelming muscular capacity, and one swift punch across his jaw knocks him right out. I feel his jaw snap and crunch from the brutal impact. I look up. Golden Bolt is just feet away. He thrusts the spear straight at me. I throw myself backwards and roll onto my back. The spear passes directly over me, and I quickly shoot my legs up and around it, catching the pole in the crook of my legs and snapping it in half. Golden Bolt, now suddenly without his dearly beloved tool of oppression, makes a fearful dash for the exit. I spring up and leap on top of him. I catch a fleeting glimpse of Fluttershy in the corner of my eye as I come crashing down on him. Being reminded of Fluttershy's delicate nature, I know I can’t, or at least shouldn’t be too violent. So, the moment I slam down on Golden Bolt’s back, I decide to spare him. Instead of delivering the same crippling blow I gave to Thunderhoof, as he struggles beneath my weight, I grab him under the neck and raise his head. All it takes is one swift blow to the temple. But not too powerful, only just enough to knock him out.

I jump off of him and run over to Fluttershy’s cell. She looks at me terrified as I examine the bars for a weakness. “Jax what are you doing!” she yells fearing for her own safety.

“I’m getting us the hell out of here Fluttershy! Are you hurt? What did they do to you?”

“Nothing! I’m fine! Oh I’m so glad you’re safe! Wha--”

“Okay, great! You have no idea what I’ve been through, which is why I’m breaking us outta here!”

I don’t even bother looking for a key. I order Fluttershy to stand clear of the bars. With a few powerful kicks I break off the latch holding the cell closed. I grab Fluttershy by a hoof and pull her behind me as I run for the exit. She lifts into the air and flutters behind me, coming free of my grasp. “Stay right behind me! This is going to get a little rough.”

The exit isn’t even locked, I just run right through the wide open door. Aways down the hall I see Ivory, who snaps a look back at the sudden commotion. Her jaw drops, and I run after her fueled with blind fury for revenge. “Oh shit! GUARDS!” she yells. She makes a break down another hallway and I persue, blasting through the hall like a train that can't be stopped. The moment I turn the corner she took, I find four more guards charging down the hall towards me, all of them armed with stun spears. I slow myself to a walk, ready and braced for the ensuing brawl. They file down the narrow hallway one after the other in a staggered column, spears and hooves thundering through the caves. This will be a moment I enjoy.

The first guard makes a brave charge straight at me. I easily dodge away and with a swift knife hand, brake his spear in half. With my forward foot, I kick him and launch him to the wall. I yank hard on the broken end of his spear as he tries to turn and run the other way. He trips and falls into the next guard, sending him too falling forward right in front of me. I stomp down on his spear, which snaps the power cable from the battery. I kick with my other foot straight to his jaw. In my rage I may have kicked too hard, as I see teeth and blood fly from his mouth and splatter against the wall. I hear a deep SNAP from his neck. The first guard tries to stand back up but I stomp down on his back and fracture his spine. The other two guards decide to bug out. They turn around and dash away, but I catch one of them by their hind legs before they can get away. “Oh no you don’t!” I shout, violently throwing him down the hall behind me, almost hitting Fluttershy. He goes flying behind me, tumbling out of control as he plummets and bounces along the ground all the way down the hall.

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy huffs behind me. Suddenly again am I reminded I can’t be too rough with these guys with her right here with me.

Instead of chasing after the last guard, I turn and run in the other direction in search of an exit. I wouldn’t be dumb enough to follow them, as I know they would lead me straight into more of them. Fluttershy and I run blindly down the dimly lit hall, quickly passing the guard I threw as he grovels in pain on the floor. We turn every which way down other halls in an unexpectedly complex network in search of the exit. Several severely frightened Equine, none of them looking like they want anything to do with me, all dive into open rooms and alcoves for cover as I charge down the hall. But I have no idea if I’m heading in the right direction. I come to a four way intersection and without thinking blindly turn left. But it’s a wrong turn, a flood of guards charge towards me down this hall. Some of them have stun spears, many others have regular spears and some of them aren’t even armed. I notice most of them are unicorns, and it slightly perplexes me as to why they don’t use their magic to stop me. I know how keen they are of using it offensively, but something prevents them from using it this time.

But it doesn’t matter, I don’t have time to think about that. Not wanting to face this hoard I turn around, but only to find another stampede headed my way from the opposite. My only choice is to go forward up a set of stairs. In my hesitance in which way to go, the guards make up a pretty good gain of ground on me.

I race up the shoddy stone staircase. Despite my swiftness, the hoard of guards behind me manages to keep pace. At the top of the stairs, the same white and pink Equine I saw earlier stands looking down at me. She’s instantly caught off guard by the unexpected sight of me barreling straight for her. She doesn’t even have time to lower her spear for an attack. But her being alone presents me with an opportunity to stall the guards behind me. I jump up into a spin and with a hearty kick to her sharpened metal spear, I break the pole where the severed drone leg is tied. The hoard of guards is right on my tail. But with just the right amount of luck, ahead of me down the hall I see a golden opportunity. There it is! An exit! What luck! I don’t know how I managed to find it but at the end of this hall I see sunlight pouring in! But with this hoard of guards behind me I need to do something to get them off my back!

Rather than simply dispatching this guard, I land from my kick, grab the sharpened drone leg, put her in a head lock and hold the point up to her neck. She is now my hostage, leverage I can barter with to get away.

The hoard comes to an abrupt halt, as they instantly recognize the meaning of my intentions. I care not for the life of this Equine, she’s just my tool to get out of here. They all know that, and that if they make the slightest move towards me, it’s curtains for my hostage. I keep a tight hold of her. She struggles to breathe, and I keep the pointed tip tightly pressed into her neck as I back up down the hall. All the guards at the front stand with their spears ready to attack, but none of them dare approach for they know one wrong move, and they’ll have even more blood on their hooves.

We inch down the hall backwards. Fluttershy’s still hovering just behind me. The Equine continues to struggle for air and to get free of my grasp but I am more than many times stronger than she is. I keep an ardent glare at the guards, just as ardent as the pressure of the spear against the Equine’s neck. I keep a slow pace down the hall, keeping most of my attention to the guards but glance behind me and find I’m already halfway between the stairs and the exit. The guards look on helplessly as I slowly gain mine and Fluttershy’s way to freedom.

Suddenly I’m stopped, paralyzed. A translucent red bubble of magic forms around me. I try with all my might to move but I can’t even manage the slightest twitch! I’m completely frozen in place by this magic. And somehow the Equine I hold hostage pulls free of my grip and I am powerless to do anything about getting her back under my control. She joins the rest of the guards, whom are still just standing at the ready for an attack. But they do not advance. Instead, weaving between the crowd from behind approaches a purple unicorn, her horn glowing bright and red with magical energy. She comes out of the crowd and towards me, but stops just where her magic bubble ends. She looks at me just as angrily and with just as much hate as the rest of the guards behind her. But she does not speak. She doesn’t do anything, just stares at me, sizing me up. But soon she turns around and walks back through the guards and down the stairs, taking me with her. Like being trapped in a big red balloon, I hover just above the guards who all lower their spears as I pass. They all go back to their business, whatever they were doing, and carry on like nothing had happened. A team of doctors comes rushing down the halls to tend to the casualties I inflicted.

Meanwhile I’m still fighting as aggressively as I can against her magic. But no matter how hard I try I can’t force myself to make even the smallest movement. She has me completely at her mercy as she takes me all the way back through the halls to my cell. When we arrive, rather than simply putting me down gently and closing the gate, she slams the bubble down as hard as she can. The bubble collapses, but I still carry all that momentum right into the ground and am knocked unconscious instantly.