Author's Note

Warning: This chapter contains particularly disturbing content. Feel free to skip it if you're squeamish about extreme gore and torture.

Nei is unleashed.

I grinned viciously down at the mare, pressing at the base of her wing with my knife. She began to scream, high shrieks of terror mixing with begging, bargaining for me to not harm her precious wings. Pegasi were so rare in the wasteland. She should have stayed in the clouds. I stretched her wing out further with my hoof, feeling the tendons popping as they were extended beyond what was natural. The mares shrieks now became screams of pain, music to my ears. I dug the knife into her skin, slowly sawing through the muscles, but being careful to not penetrate too deeply, and avoiding her major arteries. Blood flowed around my knife, leaving the metallic taste on my muzzle. Her bound hooves pummeled the floor in her effort to buck me off, but I simply sat on her back, putting my whole body weight into pinning her. My work completed with one wing, I let it fall to the floor with a thump.

Screaming gave way to sobbing as the orange pegasus tried to move her wing.

"What did you do? I can’t move my wing...oh god I can’t move my wing!!"

I thought about replying, but instead chose to simply stretch out her other wing. She began to shriek again, as her mind caught up to my intentions.

"Please! Please don’t! I'll do anything! Please!"

Ignoring the ridiculous pleas, I cut into her other wing, slicing the muscles pegasi used to control their wings. Once I was through with her, she would never even be able to lift her wings again, let alone fly. They would simply hang at her side, useless. She would still be able to feel them, that was the beauty of it.

I reached into my saddle bag, pulling out some healing bandages. Ripping a chunk off, i jammed it into each cut on her wings, preventing the muscles from reconnecting.
The orange mare was simply sobbing now, incoherent threats and rage filled promises of revenge spilling from her mouth as I bandaged her wings tightly against her body, then pouring a small vial of healing potion over them.

She would heal, but her beautiful, graceful wings would never flap again.

I wrapped her mane around my hoof, dragging her head painfully back so I could see into her eyes.

"What is your name?"

Big, lovely pink eyes met mine, swimming with tears of rage and fear.

"C-Crimson Sunrise."

"Hello Crimson Sunrise. My name is Nei."

"Why are you doing this to me? I-I don’t even know you!"

I felt the madness nibble at my mind as I grinned down at the terrified mare.

"Because you are a Very Bad Pony. You sold out my sister’s caravan to slavers."

Crimson Sunrise’s eyes went wide as she realised what I was talking about.

"Your sister? She was in that caravan?"

"Oh yes." I leaned down to her, almost putting us eye to eye. "You’re very lucky I was able to kill all those ponies and that she didn’t get hurt. Otherwise I wouldn’t just be taking your flight. I’d be taking your pretty head as penance."

She began to shake underneath me, as true fear took hold. She now understood I was no random raider, but instead was her retribution. And in the wasteland, retribution was worse than any mindless violence. Though, truth be told, I did love the violence.

"Now then," I breathed, almost lovingly, "You-"

"Please!" She interrupted me. My eye twitched. I hated interruptions. "The slavers, they have my daughter! They told me if I gave them enough ponies I’d get her back!!"

I slammed her head down onto the pavement until I heard her nose break.

"Don’t ever fucking interrupt me again."

I shoved her broken nose with my other hoof, making her scream in pain as it was moved off centre of her face. Lifting out another vial of healing potion, i poured it onto her muzzle, ensuring the bone had healed so that it was fused to be sideways. Waiting until her screams gave way to sobs, then hiccups, I stroked her mane making soothing little noises.

"Now then", I said brightly. "I happen to have your child. The child YOU sold for a supply of Dash and a fuck."

Instantly all of her attention focused on me, her pain forgotten. "You...you saved her?"

"Of course! She is currently with my sister, who is waiting outside this town of yours. She’s fine now, unharmed, at least physically." I smiled down at the pretty mare. "I’m not a monster, after all. Once I slaughtered the ponies you sold my sister and her friends out to, we went into the town they were heading to and killed all of those ponies too. You weren’t selling slaves to slavers, Miss Sunrise, you were selling them to raiders."

Crimson’s eyes went wide as she realised what I was saying. "They were raiders? They seemed so normal!! Oh god...I sold children to them..."

"Eeyup you did. Most weren't sold, but were kept for the raider’s enjoyment. Some were forced to fight to the death. Others to be trained as new raiders. Others, like your lovely Moonbeam, were for sex slaves. In fact, I had to prise her off the floor where they had nailed her."

"Moony..." The pegasus sobbed.

"Moonbeam is fine, as I said. My sister, Nai healed her. It’s what she does, she’s a like a medicine pony. Sometimes." My eyes hardened as I hissed into her face. "Except for cowards like you who sell children to slavers. You didn’t even try to save your child. You just began to work for those filthy raiders without a peep. You'll get your daughter back, but not before I have extracted payment for the suffering you inflicted upon other ponies."

I climbed off the mare, and rolled her over, kicking her in the gut to stop her from moving.

"Spitfire!"

The front door swung open, and the caravan mistress squeezed her head through the broken frame. Crimson squeaked in fear at the large gun gripped in her teeth, and promptly pissed herself. Again.

"Pick a body part for the payment of the lives of those we buried, for your caravan."

Spitfire’s cold, dead eyes pinned the mare to the floor better than any restraint. She was silent for a time, long enough for the smell of urine to permeate the air.

"Teeth." She pulled her head back out, then kicked her pliers into the room, slamming the door shut, causing the whole house to shudder. Spitfire had no stomach for the pain I would inflict, but it was her caravan that was taken. The was the wasteland. Payment had to be made. I smiled. She chose well. Looking down at the terrified mare, I pulled out some wonderglue and a small bar of iron. Her eyes turned from fear to outright confusion as I upended the glue over the floor.

I rolled her into the glue so she was face up, and laying down, then I waited for the glue to harden. Didn’t take long. I read about this method of restraint in a book once, and it was a grand idea. The pinned pony had to rip their own skin off to get free if they couldn’t get the solvent. Spitfire would make sure no pony in this town had access to the solvent. Cruel, and effective on scum like her.

“That was the owner of the caravan you sold. She isn’t happy with you. If you fuck with us again, she will make sure no one in this town ever trades again. Got it? You will starve alongside them”

She nodded, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Open your mouth."

I jammed the iron rod into her mouth, propping it open and pinning her tongue behind it.

"Alright. We buried 18 ponies. So I will be removing 18 of your teeth."

Crimson began to shake again, but couldn’t make more noise than a few grunts around the rod. I poured a small amount of Nai’s pick-me-up potion into her mouth.

"That will keep you conscious through this. You will feel everything, but can’t escape. It’s fantastic for long nights of reading."

Tears streaked down her face as she begged me with her eyes. Unfortunately for her, spending a day and a half burying ponies that almost could have been my sister, in various states of torture, had hardened my heart. Not that it needed much hardening anyway. I was born a raider, this was something I enjoyed. I picked up the pliers in my magic, turning to my work with glee.

"This is for the mare I buried, who was force fed the fetus she miscarried until she choked to death."

I ripped a tooth out. Crimson Sunrise screamed in agony, but the wonderglue kept her sealed in place.

"This is for the stallion I buried, who had been forced to eat his own balls."

Skipping a tooth, I ripped out a second one. Pulling every second tooth would prevent her from eating properly, or getting false teeth unless she removed the rest. Something else i read in a book. I read a lot of strange books.

"This is for the mare who was nailed to the roof and made into a chandelier."

Rip.

"This is for the mare who was raped so much she split open from arse to pussy."

Rip.

"This is for the filly who was starved."

Rip.

"This is for the filly who was burned to death."

Rip.

"This is for the one who was tied cock first to his twin brothers face and left to starve."

Rip.

"This is for the one who was smothered with his twin brothers cock and left to rot."

Rip.

On and on I went. Remembering each body as I had found them and buried them. Eighteen. Some of them just old enough to get their cutie mark.

I looked down at the eighteen teeth next to me, then up at the mare, her eyes glazed with pain. Screams had turned to whimpers as the pain had continued. Retribution was done. Nai had asked I leave her alive, and so I had. She would suffer the rest of her life with a misshapen nose, half her teeth missing and the inability to fly. But the foals I buried wouldn’t even get that, because of her acts. They had died in worse ways than I had seen in a long time. I slapped her, as hard as I could, bringing her back into the present. Her eyes focused on me, once again swimming with tears. Yanking my iron bar from her mouth, I spoke.

"Each of those ponies would have had a chance to live if you hadn’t sold them. Every single one. Your daughter has been told of what you did. She wants to say a few things before we leave."

"Leave?" Crimson croaked out before I poured the last of the healing potion down her throat. She choked and gasped, but cleared her mouth quickly.

"You're taking my Moonbeam?"

"No." I said harshly. "She was given a choice. Go with the caravan, or stay with you. She was informed of your punishment. She wanted to kill you. She had been with those raiders for six whole months. A lifetime for that filly. All those ponies I pulled your teeth for? She was the one who knew how each of them had died. You sold your own child, for fucking drugs. However, murder is not me sister's way. She believes in physical punishment, rather than outright death."

I stood up and cricked my neck, rejoicing in the release of tight muscles.

"Spitfire!" I called. "Show in Beamer!"

A few minutes passed, then the door blew open as a blue filly stormed in. She slowly looked at her mother, glued to the floor, before looking at me. Her eyes were hard, and flat.

"Why is she still alive?"

"Death isn’t as fun as lifelong pain. She will suffer."

Beamer nodded, staring at the pony who had ruined her life.

"Moony..." Crimson Sunrise began, her words slurred by her missing teeth.
"Shut up! My name isn’t Moony!" Beamer screamed suddenly, as she ran across the room to punch her mother in the face. "You sold me! You sold me for...for dash!!!!"

Crimson Sunrise bowed her head, sobbing in shame.

"They nailed me to the floor! They r-raped me! They killed those poor ponies! They..." Beamer drew her breath, before unleashing her rage."They took my WINGS!"

Crimson Sunrise’s head snapped up, her eyes going at last to the heavily bandaged sides of her daughter.

"They...what?" She asked softly.

Beamer stood there, shaking in rage. I knew what she wanted to say, but her anger had rendered her mute.

"Crimson." Her eyes darted to me, then back to her daughter. "They smashed every single bone in her wings, cut them off, then made her eat them to survive."

The colour drained from Crimson’s face as she slowly turned to me.

"Oh my...."

Beamer suddenly stretched out Crimson’s wing, then let it fall to the floor. A malicious smile crossed her face. "You cut her flight muscles."

"Yes."

Beamer nodded, stepping back, then walked over to me.

"I’m going with these ponies, ma. You can stay glued to the floor. I don’t care. You are dead to me."

Crimson just stared blankly at the floor, before nodding.

Beamer suddenly reached behind her, tucked into her bandage was a small puffer of dash. She put it on the floor, beyond Crimson’s reach.

"Here. Your payment for the ponies you sold. In a day or two the withdrawals will come. Then you will rip yourself from the floor. As your flesh gives way, I hope you remember me. Bitch."

Beamer stood, looking at the mare who she used to call mother, before turning and leaving without another word. Crimson let out a small sobbing gasp at the sharp nails that had become her daughter's cutie mark. I coldly looked down at the orange pegasus mare.

"If I find you again, I will feed you your wings."

With that, I left, stepping into the cool night air. Breathing out heavily, I made my way over to where Spitfire was speaking in a low voice to Nai.

“It’s done.”

Spitfire looked at me with sad eyes, knowing what I did was necessary didn’t make it easier on her. “Thank you, Nei. I appreciate you coming to our rescue. I couldn’t believe it when they swarmed our caravan so quickly. Our trade routes are usually quite safe.”

I shrugged. “My sister didn’t come back from her adventure on time. It’s just lucky that band of raiders is one that we know well. Are you fine to take Beamer with you?”

“I want to keep her.” Nai pouted.

I gave her a very hard and unforgiving stare. “You are on my shitlist, missy. You worried me. First you demand an adventure, then you tell me I can’t chaperone you, then you get captured by raiders like some idiot. No pets for you. We are going back to Manehattan where it’s safe.”

Spitfire smiled. “I’ll take her. She can learn the trade, or I can find her a decent family.” She dropped a pouch of caps in front of me. “For the- for the punishment. That can’t have been easy.”

Spitfire was a shrewd mare. She may not like getting her hooves dirty, but she knew better than to owe anything to a mare like me. I scooped up the pouch in my magic, and picked up my sister who squeaked in protest.

“It was easier than you think. Keep an eye on Beamer. If she starts to act like, well, me, then get in contact as fast as you can.”

Spitfire frowned, realising what I had implied. “Alright. I’ll watch her.”

“Until next time then."