"Celestia. Luna. Twilight. Cadence." King Caballo greeted the four princesses.

Luna scowled, but the rest of the princesses looked absolutely defeated.

Somehow Tirek had managed to fit inside of the Canterlot palace, and he stood next to the other three villains.

"You have failed your pathetic attempt to stop us." Chrysalis jeered. "We have finally won!"

She began to dance around the room, laughing like a manic. The other three ignored her, and looked at the princesses.

"Now Sombra," Rabia started, peering over his shoulder. "When the time is right, we will complete the ritual. Which one suits you best?"

Sombra looked slightly green again at the thought of eating another heart.

'Which one is the smallest? Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.' He looked up at Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle." He said.

Rabia grinned. "Excellent choice! It looks like she has a plump, juicy heart. Young ponies are always better to eat than older ponies."

Sombra gagged when his mother wasn't looking. Twilight shot him an icy glare, but said nothing.

"You will also need a wife." Rabia started.

"But mother!" He whined.

"No buts. A queen will be suitable. If you wish, you may pick one instead of me." Rabia pointed a hoof at Chrysalis. "She's pretty smashing is I do say so my self, plus she already knows how to rule properly." She said in a more quiet tone.

Sombra waited for his mom to look away again before gabbing his throat and attempting to choke himself. Tirek chuckled as the stallion gagged violently.

King Caballo turned away, and grimaced.

"Quit it Sombra. Your full grown now." Rabia scolded.

Sombra ceased rolling on the floor, and stood up again. Chrysalis finally quit dancing, and was taunting the princesses.

"We didn't quite finish our little torture time, did we?" She cooed to Celestia.

"Do what you like with the princesses, just keep them alive. I'm going to check on a few things." Caballo said, turning and walking out of the throne room.

"I am going to eat the fears of the Canterlot citizens. You've earned these royal bitches." Rabia praised her son.

Sombra nodded, and turned towards Cadence, fire in his eyes. Tirek grinned.

"I call princess Twilight!" He jeered, grabbing the purple mare with a beefy claw.

"I want Amore's heir!" Sombra cried, pulling the love princess closer to him.

"I want to finish plucking Celestia's wings!" Chrysalis chimed in with glee.

Tirek began to squeeze Twilight, and a couple of stray feathers shot out. She let out a cry of anguish as her life was squeezed out of her.

Just when she thought she might get crushed to death, he relaxed his grip on her. Twilight blew a sigh of relief, just seconds before he began to squeeze again.

Cadence grimaced as her worst fears came to play-Flurry Heart and Shining Armour getting tortured right before her eyes. She cried out in fear of her family, and crumpled onto the floor, helplessly crying.

Chrysalis chuckled wickedly as she dragged a skinning knife over Celestia's wings. The mare cried out in agony as blood shot out of her once beautiful plumage, drenching it in her own sticky red substance.

Luna gawked in horror as her fellow's were tormented mercilessly. She looked to Twilight, who was getting her body pinned down by a nearby boulder. Cadence who stood alone by the thrones....Alone? She spun around, only to come face to face with Sombra, who grinned maliciously at her.

"Get back you fiend!" She cried, backing up slightly.

"Relax princess, I only came to finish up our game." Sombra gave her a hard push, and she fell to the floor with a *thud*. He ran a hoof over her cheek gently, and dropped his muzzle closer. Luna flinched as his fangs sunk into her neck. She could feel him drinking her blood. She bit her lip as he sank his teeth in deeper before jerking out. "How come your drinking my blood if you don't like the taste of pony hearts?" She demanded.

Sombra chuckled, and licked his canines. "A heart, and one's blood are two different things Luna. Have you ever eaten a heart? It tastes foul, especially when you are forced to eat it raw. Blood however, tastes metallic, a flavor I am rather fond of."

Luna was sorely tempted to kick him in a very specific stallion weak spot, but that would only anger the villains, and draw more attention to her,-something she didn't want.

Sombra stepped off her body, and summoned a skinning knife.

'Why on earth are those even legal? Much less here?' Luna pondered.

Sombra grabbed her hoof in his, and ceased the knife in his other, placing it up at her shoulder.

Luna cried out as he dragged it down slowly, and the strip of her hide which Sombra was peeling began to curl, revealing a soft pink tissue beneath. Blood dribbled down her leg, and onto the floor, covering the tissue and muscle swiftly. Sombra ran the knife all the way to her hoof, and then set it aside. Luna flinched at the disgusting sight of her leg.

"Are you ready?" Sombra asked, grabbing the strip of her hide with his magic. Luna's pupils shrunk when she realized what he was going to do.

Her voice rang out in the throne room as he tore it off mercilessly. She cried out again, and panted heavily, unable to bear the pain.

Chrysalis looked up from her handiwork, and over to Sombra, and a pained Luna. She grinned, and continued to torture Celestia, who watched the scene between her sister, and the tyrant helplessly.

"STOP!" She pleaded. "PLEASE! NO MORE!" She curled up into a ball, and began to weep. "I'M SORRY!"

Sombra rolled his eyes, and readied the knife again, this time dragging it down her back.

'Do I hate her this much?' Sombra asked himself as he continued to skin Luna. 'Is this even worth it in the end?'

Luna began to cry even louder. "PLEASE STOP! IT HURTS!!"

Sombra chuckled to himself. 'She'll get even. I know it.' He dropped the skinning tool, and eyed the battered mare with interest.

"It's supposed to hurt Luna!" He rolled his eyes and chuckled again. But secretly, he pitied her.

Looking around a bit, Sombra began to feel sick. 'Is this truly how a villain works? Is this what we are supposed to do to the heroes?' He looked back at Luna, feeling alarmed. 'And what of Cozy Glow? Surly she is in the dark all alone...Hehehe...' His guilt faded away again, and he couldn't help but jeer at Luna.

"Do you have any Idea how bad of frost-bite I had when I was in ice for a thousand years?" He asked her. "If you had minded your own business, and left my Empire alone, I wouldn't be doing this to you, you lazy ass cow. All you do is raise the moon-BIG DEAL! You brought this onto yourself."

Luna continued to sob, but raised her head up to look at him. His insides squirmed slightly at her pained expression. He hadn't expected they would make it this far, and they had. Without thinking, he threw a hard punch at her face. Luna cried out as a couple of her teeth went flying onto the ground. She sprawled out onto the floor, breathing shakily.

Meanwhile, Tirek set Twilight onto the ground gently, and then slammed a big rock down onto her left hind-leg. Twilight screamed in pain as it shattered into a mass of bloody carnage.

"You fools really think that friendship will save you? That love and admiration is everything you need to survive?" Tirek jeered, yanking the mare up. Twilight's head lolled to one side, and she closed her eyes weakly. "you aren't a freakin changeling."

"I'm sorry if we angered you Tirek." She said quietly. "We should've given you a chance."

Tirek threw the alicorn against a wall, and there was a sickening *Crack* sound that came from her back. Twilight cried out in pain as she fell from the wall, and onto the floor.

"No you aren't." Tirek told her. "You just want me to stop hurting you." He picked her up, and squeezed.

Twilight looked him in the eye, and Tirek felt slightly sick. 'Does she really deserve his?' He asked himself. 'All she did was stop me, protect her home and loved ones.' He looked at the mare, who was weakly panting in his grasp, then to the other two villains.

"Nah." He thought aloud. He squeezed her again. "This is what happens when you fail Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight bit her lip, and tears began to stream down her face.

Chrysalis smacked her lips together as she finished sucking the love out of Celestia. The unconscious mare fell to the ground pathetically, and Chrysalis moved onto Cadence, who was still sobbing uncontrollably on the ground.

"Hey," Chrysalis cooed in a motherly voice. "It's okay Cadence, it's gonna be okay..."

Cadence looked up, just after Chrysalis shape-shifted into Shining Armour. He grabbed her face, and pulled her closer.

Cadence leaned in, and began to wipe her tears, the green fading out of her eyes.

"Really?" She sniffed.

Shining Armour's soft smile hardened, and he laughed. "No."

Chrysalis regained her rightful appearance, and circled the alicorn, who began to tremble again. "Why would it? We finally won. You'll be traumatized of even seeing a chunk of metal, or a changeling when I'm done with you!" She cackled, summoning up a metal rod covered in spikes.

Cadence shrieked as the rod came crashing down onto her withers. She tumbled to the ground, and gasped as the spikes dug into her hide. Chrysalis pulled the rod up, and along with it, a huge chunk of pink fur came.

Blood seeped out of Cadence's shoulders, and onto the ground, where it pooled beneath her, and covered her pink fur.

Chrysalis laughed wickedly, and smacked her in the side of the neck with her metal gauntlet. Cadence flew into the thrones, and a *crunch sound* emitted from her ribs.

Cadence mouthed something, and a look of pleading crossed her features as Chrysalis approached.

The changeling Queen hesitated. 'That did look pretty painful...' She thought. She grimaced at the torture King Caballo had put her through before she had joined his team. 'Is this really worth it in the end?'

She eyed Cadence. The mare was crying. 'Typical ponies. Too weak to stand up and fight. Too bad I'm full, or I would've sucked this bitch dry-she has a lot of love on her.' Chrysalis raised the rod again, and dug it into the alicorns flight-feathers, spinning it around. Cadence cried out in anguish as her feathers either exploded, or snapped like twigs. Blood caked the duo as Chrysalis carried on with her tortures.

She sighed as her black figure was drenched in Cadence's blood. 'I will never ever say that quote "I'm gonna bathe in your blood" ever again.' She yanked on the rod, and it detached the alicorn's wing. 'Too hard. Oops. That's enough now.' She dropped the iron gauntlet, and turned away from Cadence.

Sombra stood up then, and locked eyes with Chrysalis. "I need to go." He explained, his face rather green. He rushed out of the room as fast as he could at a walking speed.

Chrysalis eyed a nearly dead Luna. "Whatever." She muttered.

Tirek threw Twilight over his shoulders. "Same." He said.. "It's too cramped in here. My neck hurts."

Chrysalis flew into the air, and pushed Cadence off the thrones. She sat down in them, and smirked at her handi-work. "Just you wait." She cooed to the princesses that lay groaning, or crying on the ground. "Next time you can watch as we torture your petty friends."

Author's Note

Hey guys! It's a shame the villains beat them up in this chapter. What will happen in the next chapter? Can Twilight and her friends put a stop to this, or will the villains keep their newfound thrones? Find out in Chapter 10 of Punishment of the Villains.