Twilight coughed and felt the bile in her throat, thanks to the coppery scent wafting from a nearby caravan guard's bloodied corpse as she tried to hide under the damaged carriage. The sounds of fighting and death surrounded her, and she nearly screamed when the body of another pony fell nearby, this time one of the merchants who'd been traveling with her, arrows in their chest and throat.
Her mind thrashed as she tried to make sense from the chaos around her. The caravan was en route to the Crystal Empire and she'd come along to visit her brother and sister-in-law. It would be several days travel until they reached the border, so she resigned herself to her books. They were barely a few days into the trek when she'd been woken up by screams and the sound of fighting. She barely had time to make sense of things before being pulled out of the carriage by a guard and quickly pushed up under it.
"Hide and be as silent as possible!" He told her, just before an arrow took him. She couldn't see much from her vantage point, but what she could terrified her; raiders, lying in wait for their next victims, had set upon them as soon as they'd stopped to make camp that night, not caring if it was solder or civilian they struck down. While the guards had better armor and training, it proved to be worthless against the sheer numbers they were facing. The sounds of fighting, pain-filled screams, and insane, gleeful howls of the raiders forced her to clamp her hands over her ears and shut her eyes, praying it would end soon.
She had no idea how long it lasted, but when she managed to look out, she was greeted by silence. Despite the quiet, her pulse still raced from fear. Did anyone else survive?
Mustering up what courage she could, Twilight slowly crawled out from under the decimated carriage, not even acknowledging her now muddy and torn dress. A whimper of horror escaped her lips at the sight; bodies dotted the muddy road, containers and chests torn open for plunder, one of the wagons up ahead was aflame, and all around her was the smell of blood mixed with smoke. It all proved to be too much for her senses, and she promptly emptied her stomach nearby.
After the last few heaves proved futile, she wiped her mouth and looked around. 'By Faust...th-they can't all be...' She slowly made her way up to the front end of the caravan, her nerves on edge as she found herself having to step around the bodies of raiders and ponies, some she had talked to just the day before. "Is...is anyone here?" She tried to call out, the chill of fear keeping her from going any louder than her normal tone. "Somepony, please...be alive!"
"Oh, I am, moppet!" A gravely voice spoke up as it's owner, a filthy-looking griffon wearing ratty leather armor stepped out from around a damaged wagon. The leer he sent her making his chipped beak twist horrifically as he licked it and reached for her.
Unfortunately for him, he failed to acknowledge two things; one Twilight Sparkle's horn, a clear indicator she was a unicorn.
The second was that unicorns were all capable of magic. A fact he learned the hard way when threw her hands out at him on reflex, screaming 'GET AWAY FROM ME!' The last thing he saw was a flash of lavender light slamming into him, followed a moment later by his body colliding with a hard surface.
Watching the raider's body bow around the tree on impact, coupled with a crack of bone, Twilight quickly backed up, yelping when she stumbled over a caravan worker's corpse. The fear intensified when the ramifications hit her; one raider had still been there, so the odds were good that he wasn't just a straggler.
"Well, that was certainly impressive. Shame about Gilbert. Never was the sharpest arrow in the quiver, though." Another voice commented behind her, making her lock up in fright. "And I do believe you, my dear, are going to fetch us quite a pretty penny." She suddenly felt a splitting pain in the back of her head and everything went black.
"...pure?"
Twilight winced from the throbbing headache she was now feeling. She tried to reach up and rub the sore spot, but found she couldn't raise her hand. In fact, she could barely move at all! Blinking the blurryness out of her vision, her blood ran cold at what she saw.
Raiders. All around her were raiders; brawling, drinking, splitting what appeared to be their plunder from the caravan...
And she was right in the middle of them. Panicking, she tried to get away, but any attempt to struggle free was met by the abrasive feel of ropes binding her arms and legs together. She tried to undo them with magic, but to no avail. It hurt a little, but she was able to look up enough to see something metallic covering the top of her horn. Her heart almost stopped when she realized what it was; an inhibitor cap. She was trapped!
"How should I know? I'm not into mares." A voice spoke up, sounding familiar, and slightly annoyed. She looked to see another griffon, this in tarnished chainmail. She had no clue who he was, but the pony he was speaking to; a pale grey stallion with a slicked back dark grey mane and wearing heavy robes. Him, she recognized immediately.
Chancellor Neighsay. Or, former Chancellor, to be exact. He had been exiled from Canterlot, and supposedly Equestria, after being caught helping smuggle illegal narcotics, and his possible involvement in the abductions of at least a dozen young mares and fillies.
"Spare me your excuses, bird!" Neighsay snapped, pointing her way. "You know damn well I refuse to pay for tainted product! Now, have you beasts touched-!?" He halted when the griffon, and a few of his fellow raiders; an ill-matched brigade of griffons, ponies, changelings, and even a few diamond dogs...all drew weapons and bows, every one of them pointed at Neighsay.
"Mind your tongue, horse." The griffon's voice was now like ice. "You may have spells, but we only need one arrow. I suggest you remember that. And again, neither I nor my men have touched her, but I still don't know if she's a virgin. Look, just take her. She won't be one either way once you're done with her..." He sneered at Neighsay and added, "You should be able to tell anyway, what with how many you've taken so far."
Twilight started to shake. 'How many he's taken...so far!?' Her mind started racing. Given how familiar the raider was with him, it meant that they'd done business several times in the past...and more than one mare had been bought by him.
"Hell, if her being 'pure' is so damn important, then maybe you should just stick to the younger ones like you usually do?" another raider commented in a mocking tone. "Don't see what the deal is anyway, Boss. He just gets rid of them afterwards."
She froze, her breath coming in short and rapid now. She'd just recently celebrated her twentieth birthday, but...'younger ones'? 'Getting rid of them afterwards'? The pieces quickly fell into place, and panic set in; she knew what was going to happen to her. "No..." She managed to get out. "No...no...nonono...!"
"Huh? Boss! She's awake!" A raider near her called out.
"Well, guess you can ask her now." The Raider leader sniped.
"No! NO! NOOO!" She screamed, the inhibitor shaking violently as her horn lit up under it.
"What the-!? She's casting something!"
"You said that thing would keep her from using any--" Neighsay started, before it shattered violently, and Twilight vanished in a blinding light.
All hell broke loose in the camp.
Several hundred feet away, Twilight reappeared in another flash, dropping to her knees when she landed in a dirt covered heap. Though she 'd been learning magic since she was old enough, more elaborate spells like teleportation still left her a bit dizzy. So she was forced to prop herself against a rock for a moment until things stopped spinning.
She could still make out the now distant fires of the raiders' camp, as well as the faint shouts of surprise, rage, and alarm horns being blown. Quickly getting to her feet, she took off running, hoping to find a hiding place.
She was forced to leave behind her slippers when they became stuck in a puddle that lingered from the last rain, but barely gave it a second thought and took off as fast as she could, fear plus the audible bellow of 'FIND HER! NOW!' fueling her flight.
Unfortunately, the area they were in was heavily wooded, leaving an obstacle course of uneven ground, fallen trees, rocks, and the skeletal remnants of animals that had met their fate long ago in the area. It made it nearly impossible to move quick without being careful where she stepped, sharp rocks and sticks making hell for her bare feet. This also caused her to make enough noise for one of their lookouts to quickly spot her and alert his fellows.
All she could do then was keep going, praying that she'd be able to lose them or find a place to hide.
"Find her! Find her or I'll make you all regret it!" Neighsay yelled, running along the raider leader as he followed the group sent to recapture his property. Normally he refused to debase himself in such a manner, but he was not about to let this one get away, especially after the demonstration of just how strong she was!
More accustomed to the terrain than Twilight, and better equipped, they were able to reach the spot she'd ported to within a few minutes. What they saw when they got there, though...
"You sure you felt a magic burst around here?" One of the two figures standing at the spot asked, its voice a somewhat gruff rasp. Though they were both silhouetted by what little moonlight was available through the clouds, the speaker was visibly larger than everyone there, by a good foot at least, and broad shouldered. The voice and build told them it was male. Several raiders were paying more attention to the glinting blade of the huge battleaxe on its back, however.
Both apparently had their backs to them, since neither reacted.
"It popped right where I'm standing!" The smaller one commented, the voice and lithe, curvy figure showing it was most assuredly female, two mid-sized wings visible on her back. She seemed to sniff the air a little. "Whatever appeared is still near. I'd wager a five, ten minute walk at the most...and we have company. Phew, stinky company, too."
The two turned around to face the group, still shrouded, but their eyes were noticeably visible. The female's a bright cyan, but with a slight mirrorlike sheen. The male's were dark green with slitted pupils.
"I probably should be surprised, but I'm not." The male sighed, drawing his axe while the female procured a rose-like mace from...somewhere. "Fluttershy, go ahead and see if you can find the source of that magic."
"But...!" She pointed her mace at the raiders.
"You can find the source of that magic a lot better than me. Besides, one, two, three, four...There's only about eighteen here. This won't be long."
The female protested for a moment before huffing a little. "Fine...but you owe me." With that, she walked off, much to the confusion and indignation of the raiders.
"What are you waiting for! They're in the way, kill him and take the girl!" The raider's leader snapped.
The male rolled his eyes. "You know, I normally kill raiders on principal alone. You've just shown one reason why I do that. YOU, on the other hand." His gaze fell on Neighsay and he grinned, revealing a set of large, and very sharp, teeth. "You've been a bad widdle pony, Neighsay. Paying to have girls kidnapped, because you think your old job entitles you to their first times? Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Who are you to judge me!?" The unicorn sneered. "You...you barbarian!"
"I'm the guy that's going to collect a half dozen bounties on your ass." Before any of them could react, the figure was among them, his blade singing as it carved into the stallion's shoulder and out his opposite hip, splitting him in two with a spray of blood.
Neighsay was dead before his remains hit the ground, with the axe not even halting its arc. The figure spun around, bringing his weapon towards a raider who had the misfortune of being the closest, taking his head clean off.
"K-KILL HIM!" Their leader shrieked, charging at their attacker.
*Pant*"Why..*gasp* why didn't I take my brother up on that *cough* training regimen...?" Twilight muttered, trying to catch her breath and silently cursing her lack of stamina. It was then that she heard the screams and sounds of fighting.
However, these weren't ones of anger or frustration...she heard screams of that type when the caravan was attacked, when innocent ponies were being slaughtered. What worried her, though, was that the raiders were the only ones around.
That meant one of two things; either they were turning on each other; the odds of which were incredibly unlikely, given the high spirits they seemed to be in at their camp.
Or...something was attacking them. And judging from the sound, they were loosing. Badly.
Twilight looked around in a panic. She was too out of breath to keep running for now, but she had no desire to meet the beast that was laying waste to their numbers. Her only real option was to hide. Thankfully for her, she spotted a tree that had fallen against a rock formation, providing a space just big enough to squeeze in. Something she did as quickly as possible.
Huddling up and trying not to listen to the sounds, she found herself wondering just what they could have encountered. In all honesty, she knew that, as the daughter of nobles, she'd lived a considerably sheltered life, spending most of her time on academics in the hopes of becoming a mage. She was well aware that raiders, slaves, and battle existed, but witnessing it firsthand was a new, and frankly, unwelcome experience-
"Hi!"
*bonk!*
Yelping when she bumped her head jumping at the sudden voice, Twilight rubbed the sore spot and looked at who was standing there.
It was mare like her. At least, she looked like a mare. She had a butter yellow coat and strawberry pink mane...but what she had on looked more suited for the bedroom than outdoors, shoulder-length sleeves, thigh highs, loin cloth, and a corset...all made of black leather decorated with silver studs. "So, you're the source of that magic burst I picked up a little while ago."
"What are you doing!?" Twilight half-whispered, motioning for her to hide. "There are raiders out here!"
"Oh them. Don't worry, my master's dealing with them while I looked for what caused the burst."
"Your master...?" Twilight paled a bit when she saw the dark red, almost black bat-like wings she had, along with the mirror sheen in the mare's own eyes. "Y-y-you...you're a succubus!"
"True, but I'm more of a familiar now." She replied, shrugging. "My master helped me out of a tight spot a few years ago, so I became his familiar to pay the favor back." She crouched down until they were eye level. "Name's Fluttershy. Who're you?"
"T-Twilight Sparkle..." She responded, more on reflex than politeness. This 'Fluttershy' was behaving FAR differently than other succubi, according to the books. Normally they were vain and supremely proud of their looks, bordering on narcissistic, cruel even to their 'sisters' and wouldn't hesitate to yank a mare like her out for a quick snack, leaving her a dried husk. Instead, she was friendly, perky, and sounding...happy to be a familiar.
"Well, now that we got introductions outta the way, like I said, my master should be done with that group of raiders we ran into by now. We were passing by when I sensed this big burst of magic and we came to see what caused it. And since the trail led me to you, I'd say my job's done." The mare sniffed at her couple of time, scrunching her nose up some. "Wow, lavender and fear, not really a pleasant combination."
"Fluttershy, any luck?" Another voice spoke up, joined by the sound of heavy boots thudding on the ground.
"Found her!" The succubus chirped, pointing at Twilight. "I have a feeling she's why those raiders were out there, too."
"Wait, did you say 'she'?" The voice asked as large boots stepped up beside Fluttershy, the toes open to show large, sharp claws on the owner's feet, along with dark brown trousers and knee-length coat.
Twilight blinked when the new individual knelt down, revealing the face of a male dragon. "Huh." He mused, giving her an inquisitive look. "Bit far from home, aren't you, Princess?"
Twilight paled a little when the dragon looked in at her. While it was fairly obvious Fluttershy was a few inches taller, he just about towered over the both of them.
"Soo, you gonna come out, or are we gonna talk while you're laying in what might be something's home?" He asked, acting like he was discussing the weather.
She paled a bit more. The prospect of that being true and whatever did live there coming back to find her intruding was more than enough incentive to scramble out. She quickly got to her feet, still looking at them both nervously.
"Well, least we got that outta the way." He added, glancing at her horn. "Unicorn? Huh, don't see too many of you guys out side of Canterlot and the other big cities. Look like you been through hell."
As he talked, she managed to get a better look at him in the moonlight. He was considerably taller than her, and despite the armor plated sleeves of the duster he wore, she could tell he looked to be of almost solid muscle. She noted the purple and green scales he had, as well as the two fangs protruding from his upper lip and the row of spikes running along his head and neck. The more she observed, the more her eyes widened...until she let out a squee that made him jump.
"Whoa! What the-!"
"OMIGOSH! It's YOU! I can't believe this!" She squeed again.
He just looked at her in confusion. "What are you on about??"
"YOU! You're Sunderer! The warrior that killed the tyrant warlock, King Sombra!"
"Personally, I prefer my real name, Spike. And technically, he was already dead, more or less."
"And defeated the Ebony Queen, the largest and most vicious diretimberwolf matron in years!"
Spike waved that one off slightly. "'Vicious' yeah, 'largest'...that's kinda debatable."
"Not to mention being the first male to face the former queen of the Changelings, the assassin Chrysalis, in combat and live!"
"Uh, yeah...'combat', let's go with that." He tried to hide the sheepish expression forming on his face.
Fluttershy nudged him. "Seems like you've built up a bit of a reputation, Master." She teased.
"I've been looking into his exploits ever since I started finding reports of a purple and green dragon in Equestria! I mean, there aren't that many here to begin with, and most of them would rather keep to themselves...!"
Spike slowly stepped back. "Uh, you aren't gonna ask me to autograph your panties or anything, are you?"
Twilight coughed and sputtered mid-sentence. "W-what!? No! That-that's indecent!"
"Just checking." He replied, before turning to Fluttershy. "Another reason I don't go to the Crystal Empire unless I HAVE to."
"Oh, come on, Master. Some of those mares were pretty tasty-looking." She quickly added, "In a sexual sense, I mean."
Spike just rolled his eyes a little. "You would say that." He looked up to see the sky was starting to brighten up. "Looks like we better get going, night isn't the only time you can run into something nasty. I remember there should a trade outpost a few miles from here. We can work out what to do from there."
"Walking...?" Twilight paled a little, wincing as she tried to find a spot to step that didn't add more abuse to her poor feet.
Both Spike and Fluttershy noticed this. "Flutters, got anything she can wear? Or we decide who carries her."
"C-Carry?" The thought of being in the arms of either of them was enough to make Twilight's face go scarlet.
"Well, I don't think she'd mind being in those arms of yours, Master." Fluttershy winked to the now blushing unicorn. "I know I don't."
"Isn't there a more...a more dignified way!?" Twilight cried in dismay over her new location...draped over Spike's shoulder.
"Not unless you want a piggy back ride." Spike replied. "None of Fluttershy's shoes fit you."
Twilight tried not to whine about it. At least her feet could recover some. As they reached the road, she noticed that there was no sign of the caravan. The raiders' camp must've been a lot farther away. She could at least tell them about the attack, but without a lead the guards wouldn't be able to track them. Plus, scavengers were quick to find bodies out in the Everfree
"If we keep pace, we should get there in a couple of hours." Spike said. "Give or take."
The trio continued their trek, the sun slowly burning away the fog and lingering darkness. From her vantage point, Twilight was able to see something she didn't really notice before. On Fluttershy's right hip was a bright silver mark, shaped like a heart with four wings and crescents extending from it. She recognized it instantly from her books; a familiar brand. She also remembered her saying she was his familiar. "Fluttershy..?"
"Yeah?" The succubus looked up at her.
"You said you were Spike's familiar?" She asked. "Out of curiosity, how'd that come about?" She looked at him. "No offense, but you don't seem like the summoning type."
"Yeah, never was one for casting. Actually, I was hired to eliminate her coven after they tried to make off with a farmer's family."
"Wait, you were hired to kill her?" Twilight blinked.
Fluttershy shrugged. "Frankly, I'm glad he was. I was kind of the white sheep of the group. None of my 'sisters' liked me because I preferred NOT making a pig of myself. I mean, where's the fun in draining someone dry if they're good in bed? Being able to enjoy your bedmates more than once is a lot more pleasant than gorging yourself every time. It's greedy, and just plain rude!"
Twilight nearly fell off Spike's shoulder in shock at this. "Succubi can feed WITHOUT draining someone!?"
"Yeah, but my 'sisters' didn't care. Petty brats would drain someone just to keep the others from getting to them. And of course, they had a hissy fit when they learned I wasn't stuffing my gob and letting them live."
"You always were a revolting embarrassment, Fluttershy." Upper Crust sneered her name like it was a vile insult. "These filthy mortals should feel honored we even let them touch magnificence such as us!"
"Right, honored to be jumped and have their lifeforce sucked dry." She snarked back from her spot on the floor, surrounded by the ten succubi who made up the rest of her coven. "At least I don't make a pig of myself out of greed and only get my fill."
"SILENCE!" Upper Crust snapped. "You have disgraced this coven for the last time with your repugnant actions; leaving your prey alive just to feed a second time..."
"And third, and fourth if we have enough fun...interesting trivia, sex is a lot more filling than husking them."
"AND your treachery in slaying our coven sister, Spoiled Rich!"
"Technically, it was landing on that post that killed her. All I did was toss her out the window when she tried to kill me for doing something nice for a guy who was dying anyway." Fluttershy snorted.
This set the other succubi off, and they began screaming insults and threats, stopping when Upper Crust hissed at them to be silent. "You have anything worth saying before your fate?"
"Just that I've always hated all of you." She replied, glaring at her now former coven. "You go on and on about how 'glorious' and 'untouchable' you are, yet you do idiotic stuff like trying to drag off an entire family!" She turned to Radiant Glow, who had a bloody, bandaged stump where her right knee used to be. "Not so untouchable when a farmer manages to take a scythe to you, hm?" She sneered, enjoying the horrible mare's misfortune. "Not to mention you're all just selfish little bitches."
Crust bared her fangs in fury. "Now, you d-" She never had time to finish before a large dragon came crashing down from the trees, crushing Upper Crust when he landed on her.
"Hello, ladies." He said, stepping off the now dying succubus before finishing her off with a swing of his axe. "Though I use that word VERY loosely...my name is Spike, and I've been hired to finish the job that farmer started."
A squishy crunch of bone and flesh echoed in the small clearing from the last succubus meeting her end under Spike's size twenty-eight boot.
"Well, first off, ew." Fluttershy looked a tad green at the sight of Royal Topaz's gown being used to wipe off the remains of her head off the dragon's foot. "Second, I can honestly say I'm not going to miss any of those hags." She had to admit, a dozen succubi proved to be almost a curbstomp for a dragon hellbent on ending your life. A couple looked liked they managed to rake a their claws over his scales, but that just seemed to annoy him.
"You know, I've ran into my share of you girls." Spike comment, stepping up to the plinith she was chained to. "And I overheard your little back and forth...you sure you're a succubus?"
"Born and raised." She replied. "And seriously, I warned them the crap they all pulled was gonna get them all killed sooner or later." There was an abrupt cracking of alabaster as the plinith was smashed under a big dragon fist, letting the chains around her fall away. "Sooo..." Her gaze drifted to the huge crescent bladed axe he was welding.
"What? They asked me to kill the twelve succubi, I killed...one, two..." He took a moment to count out the bodies. "Yep, twelve dead succubi."
She looked at him, noting just how big he was compared to her. "You're not going to kill me?"
"Nah. You aren't on my contract, and you aren't causing problems."
"So...you saved me, then?"
"Huh," He shrugged. "Guess so. You good?"
"As long as you take..." She looked at him with something akin to 'bedroom eyes'. "...responsibility."
"Oro?" Sudden confusion allowed him to make the only response he could think of at that moment. "Responsi-wha?"
"The old succubus laws, before they all let their egos get the better of them, at least. Saving one from mortal peril means she belongs to her rescuer."
"Oro??" It took a moment for him to process that. "H-how is that even remotely fair!?
"Well, unless killed a succubus can live pretty much forever as long as we're well fed, so even 'a life for a life' saving doesn't equal a fair trade for a life debt. But being yours for the entirety of your natural life, that time of my life being dictated by you as a result of you saving me? That's as close as the old laws could make it."
"You know dragons can live for a good while too, right?" He leaned down until they were somewhat face-to-face. "You sure you wanna hang out with one who's job is killing people and monsters for money?"
She just grinned cheekily. "Well, threaten me with a good time."
"Wait, so since he didn't get all giddy at the thought of a pet sex beast...no offence." Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, who just shrugged it off.
"Eh, remember we used to have a queen who took that as her title."
"Right, since he didn't react that way, you were more interested in following him?"
"Well, with my race's reputation, someone showing concern of any type, even for a renegade like me..." She blushed. "It's kind of a turn-on."
"So he agreed."
"...she gave me puppy dog eyes..." He muttered, earning a befuddled 'dwah?' from the unicorn.
"Though we didn't finalize it until that night." Fluttershy's wings fluttered a bit.
Spike tried his hardest to not sound pleading. "That can wait at least until we get to the outpost, right?"