For the next three days, your only contact with the outside world was what you saw through the window. It was not much. Only twice did you see any ponies again, and only as distant figures in the city. But you could listen to birdsong. It made you feel at ease. At least for a short while, until the hunger that gnawed at your insides would return. Or until the eyes that never left you alone would creep back from the far corners of your mind. Whoever was in charge of you did feed you regularly: a new portion would appear overnight while you slept, but it was never enough. On the bright side, you didn't have to empty your bowels nearly as often. Your captor had been benevolent enough to provide you with another bucket for your needs, and now you could time yourself to only go just before going to bed so the smell wasn't nearly as bad. Overall, a definite improvement over the pitch-black stone cell.

The distant sound of metal-clad hooves on stone had you second-guessing if you were imagining it or not. But as it grew steadily louder, you had to conclude that you weren't. It was not a sound you had grown to like. It made your heart race, your palms sweat, and your stomach wrench. You were sitting on the edge of the bed as the lock clicked and the door swung open, trying to suppress the signs of nervousness. The room seemed to get a little darker as the alicorn trotted in. She resembled the one who hadn't appeared too keen on tormenting you. She had the same cyan irises, carried herself similarly and had the same crescent moon marks on her flanks and on the metal chest piece she had. But her pupils were slits, like those of a cat, her coat was as black as coal, her mane and tail were made of dark blue fog with stars speckled in it, and she wore a helmet made of the same blue metal as her chest piece. She limped slightly whenever her left forehoof tread the ground. You'd noticed a long, straight scarred-over wound on the side of it when she'd stepped into the room.

The way she glared at you down her snout made her look like she was looking at a pile of excrement.

“Are you proud of yourself, human?”

She sounded different. The directness was still there, but the gentle tone had been replaced with a harsh, uncaring one.

“Are you proud of the desecrated villages, the burned fields, and the snuffed-out lives you left behind?”

A lump formed in your throat as she approached, but you didn't dare to look away. She was no longer the same, and would punish you if you did. The way she stared into your eyes, her slit pupils and how she never blinked, made you feel even more uneasy. She came to a halt less than an arm's length from you.

“I see but a coward, who could not face the consequences of his actions.”

You...

She had no right to say that. She had not seen what you had. She had not been in the village that was supposed to be far enough from the lines to be safe, where even some of the locals had returned to, when the sound of a shell ripping through the air had proven you wrong. She had not laid in a ditch, deafened by too many falling too close, waiting for some sign that it was over. She had not crawled back up to see and hear those who hadn't been close enough to shelter.

“Defiant?”

A maniacal grin spread onto her face, revealing the fangs in her mouth. Her wings shot out to the sides, and she turned into a blur of darkness. Something very fast shot towards your head. But this time, you were faster. You crossed your forearms in front of your face and deflected the hoof that was aimed at you. Yet there was nothing you could do about the fog that wrapped itself around your upper body. It felt like a coating of cool water, only it didn't make you wet. Its source, the pitch-black alicorn, landed in front of you with a quadruple metallic clip. Your eyes met for a split second. Hers were full of malice and anger, and her face was twisted in a scowl.

You felt something slither up your nose, and suddenly you couldn't breathe. You tried opening your mouth, but the fog found its way in there, too. Your eyes began to water as you felt it creep down your windpipe like some nightmarish living slime. You tried to pull it out, but your fingers found nothing but your tongue in your mouth. Then it began squeezing you. At first, it was like someone was lying on top of you. But it got progressively worse. The slight pressure in your ears turned into a slashing pain that threatened to rupture your eardrums. You felt your ribs crackling as the last bit of air in your lungs was forced out. Your eyes felt like they were bulging out of their sockets and at the point of bursting. Twitches and spasms overtook your body as it all started fading into darkness.

”G-HAAAAaaaaah!”

The shadow retreated and air rushed into your lungs. You fell onto the bed, panting heavily. Your lungs were on fire, your entire torso was sore, you couldn't hear anything, and felt the urge to be sick. But you were given no time to recover. All you could see through the veil of agony was a blue glow as you were lifted off the bed. She probably said something, but all your brain registered was some noise. You were... gently rocked back and forth? You blinked rapidly for a bit and focused on seeing. A blue glow surrounded you and held you in the air over an empty bit of floor.

“Had enough?”

There was maniacal grin on her face and her eyes were as wide open as could be. The aura around you vanished. Pain shot from your side as you fell hard on it. You flopped onto your back as the clippy-clop of her hooves got closer. As she towered above you, the grin had vanished and there was but a sly smile on her face.

”Why?”

It was what you wanted to know the most. Neither of them had seemed like the kind who took joy in needlessly agonizing someone. They had hurt you, but you had seen the regret on them instantly after.

“Why? You are asking the wrong question.”

The corners of her mouth crept upwards as she lifted a forehoof off the floor.

“You should be asking 'why not'.”

Her horn flashed blue at the same time her hoof shot down. You tried to move your hands to cover your stomach, only to find out they were pinned to the floor. The hit brought tears to your eyes and made the left side of your ribcage feel like it had been hit with a hammer.

“Because you...”

The second hit landed right above your navel and made you spew saliva over yourself.

“...are a...”

The third hit was a whack to the side of your head and made your ears ring.

“...traitor!”

The fourth hit was square on your solar plexus, right above your heart.

You drew a wheezing breath. It hurt. The ribs she'd hit sent spikes of pure agony up your spine every time you breathed and made them move. You were lying on your side on the floor, and would have sobbed if you could have done it without making it hurt even more. Your face was covered in snot, saliva, tears and whatever else, and you could barely see.

“But you're in luck.”

No. No more. You tried to plead to her. But the only sound you could make was a pathetic whimper. You were lifted off the floor again, this time by your wrists.

“Because I promised to keep you alive.”

Her voice sounded a bit different than earlier, but you were too busy trying to breathe without it hurting too much to tell how. You were pulled higher and higher until even your toes were off the floor.

For a brief moment, you were held there while her eyes moved up and down as she looked at the damage she'd done. Then you felt something on your ankles. It began as a gentle tug. But it grew in intensity. Your spine protested as it was pulled to its full length and beyond. The muscles in your shoulders fought valiantly but you felt panic creeping in as it kept getting worse. A sudden yank made you scream out in agony as something popped in your right arm. You screamed form the bottom of your lungs as felt both your arms being pulled out of their sockets. You screamed like never before as she yanked again. Something made a snapping sound. You heard screaming but weren't sure if it was you or someone else.

It was getting dark.

You welcomed the darkness.

It didn't hurt.

Author's Note

If you made it to the end, congratulations! You made it through something that changed what it is twice while it was being written. What began as a cheap smut fic turned out to be the prequel to another story.
When will you see the sequel on Fimfic? When it's done.