She really didn’t want to do this.

Crouching alone in another part of the winding earthen tunnel, peeking out of an exit high above the ground overlooking the Diamond Dog cavern, Rainbow Dash wiped some sweat from her forehead, and took one last inhale.

‘Maybe one of my last…’

She shuddered at the thought of being ripped to shreds by those ravenous beasts, or worse, having to face the humiliation of being captured.

‘They won’t catch me,’ she reassured herself.

Glancing down at the ground-floor opening Applejack and Fluttershy were hiding in, she waited for the signal. The Diamond Dogs numbered about twelve now, all sitting in the large cavern feasting on a plentiful banquet, while their Beta counterparts napped near her imprisoned friends, Hickory and Sunflower. From a distance, they both appeared unconscious. She hoped to Celestia they weren’t dead. Caught off guard in thought, Rainbow noticed Applejack throwing her hoof in the air numerous times. Rainbow jumped to attention and doubted herself one last time, before committing to the plan.

She jumped from her opening, which was a whole story off the ground, and took flight, hovering in the air of the cavern, where the Diamond Dogs sat below, feasting. She expected the Diamond Dogs to react to her dramatic entrance, but, unfortunately, none of them noticed her. She slumped her shoulders in disappointment.

“Ahem!” she said, annoyed.

The Diamond Dogs all looked up in surprise.

“A pony?”

“How did she get in here?!”

“I came for my friends, you dragged them away and I want them back,” she said, aggressively. The Diamond Dogs were slightly taken aback by her forcefulness. One of them, whose conversation the ponies had overheard earlier, stood up, furious.

“You’re pretty bold to be sneaking in here, pony. Unlucky for you, you’ve dug your own grave.”

The Diamond Dog, who must’ve been the leader, whistled at the sleeping Betas nearby. Their slit eyes opened instantly and they jumped to their feet. There were three Betas, all large and covered in scars and bruises, likely given by each other. Rainbow gulped in anticipation, as she stayed flying in the air. She noticed one of the dogs still had Hickory’s knife lodged in its head. The Betas shook their heads awake and glared at the Leader, who pointed up at Rainbow in the air.

“Bring her down here, alive!”

The Betas all howled in excitement, panting and drooling as they ran at full speed into a nearby tunnel on ground level. Rainbow shuddered as she heard their footsteps approaching from the tunnel she had come out of.

“Here we go…”

She flew back into the wall opening and waited for the dogs to arrive. She picked up a torch she had left there so she could see through the darkness, and lit it with a match. The ground was shaking with the momentum of the beasts’ footsteps. She glanced behind her, to where the tunnel continued onward, deeper into the earth. She didn’t know where it went.

“What if it’s a dead end?”

All she could do was hope that wasn’t the case. Before she knew it, a cloud of dust shot out from behind the corner. She spread her wings, narrowed her eyes and took off, just as the Diamond Dogs caught sight of her. They gave pursuit, tailing close behind. The tunnel was dark, if not for her torch she would surely have ran into something immediately. All she could focus on was staying in flight.

‘If they catch me, we’re all done for.’

The dogs put up an impressive speed behind her, running with little coordination and constantly smashing into each other. They roared and howled at Rainbow, occasionally trying to claw at her when they got close enough. They were practically right on top of her at one point. The tunnel was full of stalactites, low ceilings, and strange structures that jutted out from the wall, all of which Rainbow had to dodge to avoid. The Dogs, on the other hand, simply crashed through them, barely deterred. Rainbow picked up the pace a little. She was holding her torch in an outstretched hoof, as she zoomed through the open air of the tunnel, which felt like it was getting smaller. The dogs didn’t seem to run out of energy, which worried Rainbow, who eventually would. Her head was still pounding from yesterday.

“The others better be quick…” she whispered to herself.

Applejack and Fluttershy waited in their tunnel opening, until the sound of the Betas’ hollering seemed far enough away for them to think it was safe.

“Okay, Fluttershy, it’s your turn.”

Fluttershy nodded and flew out of the tunnel, right in front of the Diamond Dogs, who were all standing around and arguing over what to do.

“There could be more of them!”

“We shouldn’t have sent all the dogs!”

“We should contact Chrysalis now while we can!”

Fluttershy stood there, as the dogs continued arguing obliviously. She was so quiet they hadn’t even noticed she was there. She cleared her throat.

“Um, excuse me?”

“Whoa, Boss, look!”

The Diamond Dogs all turned to face Fluttershy, who was trying her best to act strong. She was standing a few meters away from the dining tables, plates of half-eaten food littered along the dirt ground.

“Another one?” said the leader, who was a tall dark grey dog, with razor sharp teeth and large ears.

“Mac, go and take a few and check out the rest of the tunnel, see if there’s anymore,” he said.

“Wait! I just wanted to talk to you, about, well, you see, you’ve got some ponies over there...and it’s not very nice to treat ponies the way you are, and, um...I wanted to ask for them back,” Fluttershy said, struggling to keep eye contact.

Mac had already left with three other dogs into the tunnels while Fluttershy was talking. She feared for Applejack, though she knew she should be more fearful for herself.

“Look, pony, we know you’re all up to something, ponies never come down these tunnels. You better tell us what you’re doing here, right now.”

“Um, sure, I’ll tell you, if you give me my friends back.”

The Boss stared at her for a few seconds before realizing something.

“Hold it, have I seen you before?”

Fluttershy froze.

‘Uh oh.’

“Yeah, that’s right, Boss, that pony and the other one, they was the ones who put Rover out of the job!”

“You’re right, Butch, you’re right...you ponies just can’t stay out of trouble, can ya? Rover was in over his head, but I’m not. You ponies aren’t getting out of here in one piece, I’ll assure you that.”
He laughed with the others and turned to them.

“Go get her, boys!”

The dogs behind him all howled and got down on all four legs. They ran at Fluttershy, who squealed and took flight. Instinctively, she knew it would be smart to get them as far from Hickory and Sunflower as possible, so that maybe Applejack could save them herself. She flew into a tunnel nearby, as the six diamond dogs chasing her followed.

Applejack looked on as Fluttershy drew them into the tunnels.

‘That takes care of that.’

She felt confident. Now there were only two Diamond Dogs still in the cavern, the leader, and some large buff brown dog. She could handle that.

“Hold it right there, pony.”

Behind her was the Diamond Dog the Boss sent, Mac, his three companions surrounding her. Mac had a spear pointed right at her neck. She froze in shock.

“Get up, slowly,” he muttered, licking his lips. She did, her eyes still facing away from him.

“Heh, you know, the Boss doesn’t know this pony’s here, fellas. We have her all to ourselves.”

The other dogs all laughed, quietly. One of them grabbed Applejack by the neck.

“Hear that, pony? You’re in for some fun, aren’t ya?”

Applejack stared at the dog in disgust, before seizing the opportunity. She kicked the dog right between the legs, and ducked before Mac’s spear could go through her throat. The dog she had kicked hollered in pain as he fell backwards onto the ground.

“Get her!”

Applejack stood up and kicked one of the dogs, the smaller one, with her hind legs, smashing him into the wall of the tunnel, breaking a few bones with an audible snapping noise. Applejack’s leg still hurt from yesterday, but the adrenaline rush she had right now helped to dull it. Mac swung again with his spear, which she again avoided, before the other dog came up from behind her and grabbed her from the back, her legs kicking at nothing as he held her up towards Mac. Mac snickered.

“You’re a fighter, I like that.”

He stepped a little closer, as Applejack tried to get a leg on the wall to her right.

“Pity, ponies that come down here don’t tend to make it out.” He laughed again, psychotically, as he raised his spear to pierce her chest. Just in time, she planted her foot on the wall and pushed off, spinning her to the right and the dog holding her in front. Mac brought his spear down without realizing that, and instead put his spear straight through the shoulder of his companion, who lurched in sharp pain, holding onto his organs, before toppling over, likely dead. Applejack picked herself up, tired but excited. Mac bared his teeth in anger and swung two more times. He stuck his blade straight into the rock of the wall, where he couldn’t pull it out. Applejack smirked, smacked a hoof down on the wooden stick of the spear, splitting it in half.

Now Mac was only holding a wooden stick with a sharp end. Applejack intended to take the blade part of the spear out of the rock, but found it was stuck in there tight. Mac ran at her with the sharp stick, and flung down. His stick landed on the ground, his head close to it, as Applejack jumped out of the way. Using her hind legs, she kicked his head straight into the wall, where it left a crater filled with blood and chunks of brain matter. Mac fell over, definitely dead.

Applejack took a breath, tired from fighting. She looked at all of the dogs, lying on the ground. She stepped over Mac’s body and yanked at the blade of the spear stuck in the wall, and successfully removed it after three tries. Now with a weapon, she felt more confident than ever.

Unsure of whether the others had been captured or worse, Applejack knew it was all up to her to save Hickory and Sunflower. She walked back to the opening, and peeked inside, but saw no Diamond Dogs.

‘Where’d those other two go?’

A large arm suddenly smashed down right over her head, slammed her chin into the rock below. She tasted blood as she fell back, her mind disoriented. She felt like she had just been concussed. Stepping out from around the corner of the opening was that large brown bulky dog she had seen with the Boss. He had spit dripping from his chin and a permanent scowl. He was at least three times her size, almost that of a teenage dragon. The Dog glanced over at the Diamond Dogs strewn around the ground, and scoffed. He turned his head back to face Applejack, who was still recovering from her head injury. The dog cracked his neck and ran towards Applejack, whose eyes widened at just how large he was. She dove to the left before he could grab her, forcing him to run into the wall. He stood up again and shook off some dust, before grunting and jumping at her again. This time, she slid underneath his airborne feet before he could land on top of her. He didn’t know what had happened, but found out soon enough when he felt the sting of a sharp metal blade stuck in his spine. Applejack had stabbed him in the back, and took it out as he sighed in annoyance. She began getting worried. That seemed to be ineffective. She remembered that Hickory had stabbed that one dog in the head, which seemed to work. The Dog grabbed her by the neck and squeezed tight, her face turning bright red. She tried to hold onto the blade and not let go, but eventually lost the strength. The blade fell to the floor, making a clang sound. The Dog, alerted by the sound, looked around in confusion and loosened his grip a little. Applejack took her hind legs and bucked him right in the chest, pushing him forward and letting her fall to the ground, catching her breath. She reached for the blade on the ground, until the Dog ran at her again, grabbing her head and chucking her forward into the tunnel. She landed hard on the rocky ground, hugging her side and moaning in pain. The Dog took a moment to recover from the pain in his chest. Applejack looked ahead and knew she had to get to that spear. She sighed and picked herself up.

Do it for Hickory.

Applejack ran at full speed toward the blade on the ground, and, as it was dark in the tunnel, the Dog didn’t even notice until she was right in front of him. She grabbed the spear and raised it to kill the Dog, until he punched her straight in the chest, throwing her back forward. She lost her breath entirely now, clutching the spear as she gagged. The Dog stood up, triumphantly, and walked towards her. He picked her up by one hoof, not noticing she was holding the blade in the other. The Dog gave her a look of reluctant respect on behalf of her effort, before raising her up to smash her into the ground, and, likely into oblivion.

Yet, Applejack still had one last trick, and, after yelling in anger, she raised her other hoof with the blade and shot it straight through the dog’s forehead. He initially didn’t flinch, just staring at her in anger. He raised her up a little higher, hoping to at least kill her first, until his brain stopped working, and he fell backwards onto the cold ground, unmoving. Applejack fell with him, now worn out to the max. She yanked the spear out of his head and stumbled out of the cave entrance, checking to see if there was a Dog waiting for her this time.

There wasn’t.

She entered the cavern, but found it was no longer empty. The Boss dog was standing near the cages. He looked up at Applejack, bruised and filthy, and smiled.

“You must be the last one, right?”

Applejack said nothing, her scowl communicating all she had to. The Dog raised an eyebrow.

“You took out my best dog, for that, I owe you some respect.”

“No one else needs to get hurt. Just give those ponies to me, and we’ll be gone.”

“I’m not scared of you, pony. If only things were as simple as you believe them to be…”

He stepped away from the cages, still in front of her. His eyes were bright yellow, devilish, and he had split pupils.

“You ponies are after Chrysalis, are you not?”

Applejack said nothing. Her eyes twitched a little.

‘How did he know?’

“You were the ponies that ruined Rover and his operations up north, correct? Rover was an old friend of mine. He said to watch out for that one unicorn you were with, the purple one, that she was a student of Celestia, right?”

Applejack answered nothing, standing still as he stared into her soul.

“And now, I’m told that your purple unicorn friend is a princess, my my, and she’s enemies with Chrysalis? And her friends just happen to be sneaking around these tunnels? All of it is very suspicious.”

“Whatever she’s promised you, she won’t give it. She’s just using you.”

“So you are looking for her. I know Chrysalis a bit better than you, pony, let me make that clear. We give her our resources, she gives us her protection. Of course I know not to trust her. But, she’s far better to have as an ally than an enemy. And she knows everything about us. How many of us there are, where we live, everything. Crossing her now, especially over something as vital as her conflict with you and your friends, would be foolish.”

Applejack listened to what he said, and was trying to think of a way to persuade him, mostly because she didn’t think she could win another fight. But, the Boss went on.

“We are not the same, pony. You have your responsibilities to your friends, and I have responsibilities to mine. My community is at stake, you know. Sometimes the groups we’re naturally a part of are just meant to be at odds. Sometimes, we all can’t just get along. But I suppose that’s a bit too realistic for you.”

“Look, if you let us go through, and we succeed, and Chrysalis is locked up for good, then you’ll be safe and Chrysalis won’t get to take advantage of any of us.”

“Good idea, but that’s a bit too risky, pony.”

“Chrysalis doesn’t know you have captured ponies yet, right? You could just release them and act like you’ve never been involved.”

“The only way to get into Chrysalis’ lair from here, is through our tunnel system.” She’d know we let you go.”

Applejack was getting annoyed at trying to negotiate.

“Well, I’m not leaving without my friends.”

“Then maybe you can join them.”

He got down on all fours and growled.

Applejack dug her hooves into the ground, ready.
Do it for Hickory.

She ran towards the dog, who met her halfway. The two wrestled, paw against hoof, the dog trying to bite and tear at her, while Applejack resorted to using blunt injury. She kicked hard at his stomach, shattering some ribs and rearranging his intestines.

He reeled back at the sharp pain, giving her enough time to run towards the cage. She looked for an opening but found nothing. Frantic about time, she turned around and bucked the cage steel, which bent slightly.

‘Two more good hits and it’ll give,’ she thought. Inside, Hickory’s eyes blinked open.

“What the-?”

He sat up and saw Applejack kicked the metal bars a third time. The bars were bent enough they could be pulled out, which Applejack began to do, before she saw Hickory staring at her.

“Hickory…”

“Applejack...look out!”

The Boss ran at her and chomped into her chest. Blood spewed all over the room as the Boss shook her back and forth rapidly, his teeth digging all the way through her body. He chucked her across the room into a wall. Hickory, horrified, ran to the bars and pulled as hard as he could. His strength began to return after a long time being passed out.

Hickory’s failed attempt at a rescue of Sunflower had gotten him knocked out by the hands of that large bulky brown dog, and dumped alongside his sister. He broke the bars out and climbed out of the cage, falling onto the ground. He stood up, still a little tired from being beaten up yesterday. He eyed down the Boss, who was staring right at him, Applejack’s blood dripping from his snout. Hickory was fueled by passion and anger, feeling the need to avenge Applejack. He began walking towards the dog, who was twice his size, and eventually broke into a sprint. He had to kill this dog.
The dog accepted the invitation to fight, clawing across Hickory’s chest. Hickory acted like he felt nothing and proceeded to grab the Boss’ head and throw it onto the ground, before jumping on it repeatedly. The dog’s eye nearly popped out his head from the impact. He groaned in pain before grabbing Hickory by the leg and throwing him onto the ground. Hickory got up instantly and ran back toward the dog, who was picking his head out of its crater in the ground. The Boss’ face was bloodied and bruised. Hickory tackled him to the floor, as they both struggled to get a grip on the other. Applejack, slumped over by the wall, lifted her head up to see what was happening, and gawked at the sight of Hickory punching the Boss’ in the snout repeatedly. The Boss grabbed Hickory by the throat and swung him overhead onto the floor, before jumping on top of him, choking him. The Boss had all his weight on Hickory, who grabbed at the Boss’ arms ferociously, as he lost circulation. Applejack, in a desperate attempt, reached for her spear blade and looked over to Hickory.

“Hickory!”

Hickory’s eyes darted back to her, as he began to lose strength and hope.

“Catch!”

She tossed the blade to him. Before the Boss realized what was happening, Hickory grabbed the blade in one hand and swung it straight through the Boss’s chest, the tip of the spear peeking out through the Dog’s back. The Boss let go of Hickory and toppled over, moaning in pain. Hickory gasped for air and climbed out from underneath the dog, and then dragged himself over to Applejack, who was bleeding profusely.

“You came back for me…” he said, looking at her with thankfulness and sympathy. Applejack tried her best to chuckle.

“Of course I did…”

His eyes were full of regret and fear.

“Please….forgive me for what I did...for what I said…”

Applejack tilted her head in appreciation.

“There’s nothing to forgive…”

With that, Hickory gave up his concerns and bent his head down, kissing her as he hugged her beaten body tight. Applejack closed her eyes and let him, finally feeling at peace for the first time in a while.

Their momentary bliss was interrupted by the sound of roaring dogs. Out of a tunnel nearby came Fluttershy, sweaty and pale faced.

“We...need...to get out of here!” she said between breaths.

She flew to Hickory and Applejack, who seemed immobile.

“Hickory, go get Sunflower.”

Hickory nodded and ran off. Fluttershy caught Applejack as the rumbling of approaching footsteps drew closer.

“Applejack, what do we do, where do we go?” Fluttershy was terrified and exhausted, having been flying around a series of winding tunnels for the past fifteen minutes.

“Hold on.”

She used the wall to help her stand up, and then limped towards the defeated Boss, who lay on the ground, the spear still stuck through his torso. Applejack crouched near him. She peered back at the tunnel Fluttershy had come from, to see a pack of dogs run out, before stopping dead in their tracks.

“They’ve got the Boss!”

Fluttershy shuddered as she stood near Applejack, who was holding the blood-soaked spear and looking down at the dog, who seemed to not have long to live. His breaths were slow and his body was losing heat. Hickory walked to the others holding an unconscious Sunflower on his back. Before anyone could say anything, the sound of roaring echoed through the whole cavern. Out of a cave entrance up above, Rainbow Dash sprang out from the darkness, still holding the torch. She looked around in confusion.

“Rainbow!”

She looked down and saw everypony together, and gave a sigh of relief, flying down to the others. Soon after, the Beta Diamond Dogs flung themselves out of the cave entrance and ran towards the group, huddled together. Before the dogs could tear them apart, one of the dogs in the pack, Butch, whistled at them.

“Hold it!”

The Betas stopped, staying where they were in attack position. Rainbow was shaking from the excitement, feeling more alive than ever.

“Listen here, ponies, we’ve got you surrounded now, so hand that dog over to us right now, and we’ll let you live.” He spoke firmly, though it was obvious he was scared.

Applejack ignored him and peered back down at the Boss.

“Hey, partner.”

The Boss showed some signs of life again, moving his head up to face her. His complexion was lacking in color now from blood loss. There was a hole in his heart, and he felt it.

“You beat me, pony. I’ve underestimated you.”

“You know that Chrysalis has to be stopped,” she said. Rainbow turned around in confusion. The Dog scoffed.

“You really think you’ve got a chance at her? Good luck with that, pony.”

“I need you to help us. To make things right…”

The Dog glared at her.

“You want to know how to get to Chrysalis, do ya?”

“Please, we need to save our friend.”

“You...you’ve beaten me. I suppose I owe it to ya.”

He tried to raise his body up a little, and held it for a short time.

“Hear that boys? You’re to let these ponies go, we have no business with them now…”

“...But, Boss! They’ve killed Mac! They’ve killed you!”

“Just do it...If Chrysalis asked, tell ‘em I and I alone is to blame.”

He coughed up some blood before letting his head fall back on the ground.

He blinked slowly as he glanced back up at the ponies.

“That tunnel right there,” he said, pointing with a weak arm at one tunnel on the far side, “stay to the right the whole way and you’ll make it. But you know, all you’re doing is marching to your deaths.”

“Thank you, and sorry, about all this…”

“It’s like I said...we’ve all got our own responsibilities...I’ve failed mine, so why should you have to fail yours? There’s....only one rule in this world…” he stuttered, feeling his heart racing for the last time. “...Only the strongest survive…”

After choking on his blood one last time, the Boss’s body fell slack, his arms dropping to the floor. His body lay motionless, surrounded by his killers. One of the Betas howled in mourning for its master’s passing. Butch was horrified and confused.

“You stupid ponies! Look what you’ve done!” he yelled, furious. Rainbow flew into the air again, now by default the strongest of the group.

“You started it!”

“Hey, calm down, all of you...” said Applejack, pale from blood-loss, too tired for more fighting.

“Let’s just agree to go separate ways, and you’ll never see us again…”

Butch, now in charge, could only stare in defeat and pain as the ponies collected themselves.

Hickory couldn’t help Applejack, as he was carrying Sunflower. Fluttershy helped Applejack to her feet, as they all began sauntering off. Butch stood there, dumbstruck, as the ponies all entered the tunnel the Boss had led them. The Betas howled again in anguish, as the group of battered and exhausted ponies disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

Chrysalis yanked on the leash, which hurt Starlight’s neck. She grunted as Chrysalis pulled her inside the torture room, leaving the door open. Starlight noticed the room had changed. The wooden table that was usually in the center was now off to the side, instead in the middle was some object covered in a maroon drape. Chrysalis left Starlight by the door, still holding the leash, and retrieved some tools from the box of items.

“This was what I used on that pegasus.”

Starlight’s eyes widened.

‘That can’t be good.’

Chrysalis grinned and lifted the drape, revealing a metal chair with a series of holes along the armrests, legs, back, and the seat of the chair. Starlight didn’t know what this thing was or what it did. But it looked like something out of the Spanish Inquisition, and it gave Starlight chills. Chrysalis enjoyed her reaction and motioned towards her to come forward.

“Come on, be a good girl. Have a seat!”
Starlight gulped in fear and slowly approached, saying nothing. She sat in the chair, and found it extremely uncomfortable. She tried to examine it as Chrysalis was fiddling with her tools behind her, and noticed there was some sort of pit of ash right beneath the seat.

Before she could realize what was happening, Chrysalis grabbed Starlight’s head and brought it to the back of the chair, where a strap was tightened around her forehead, below her horn. Her head was now stuck to the chair, and she noticed there were straps along the arm rests and lower back of the chair as well. Chrysalis tightened them all, tying her arms to each armrest and her waist to the lower back. She was still sitting, but now unable to move. She stayed still in the restraints, awaiting what would happen next. Chrysalis took one of her tools, resembling a wrench, and tightened something in the back of the chair. Three rotations. Suddenly, Starlight felt a strange feeling all over her body. Like a bunch of ants were crawling out of the chair onto her skin. But it wasn’t ants, instead she realized there were sharp, tiny metal spikes being raised out of their tiny holes, which lined the armrests, seat, and back, digging into the bottom of her arms, her legs, her flank and hips, her back, and her neck. She yelped when a few spikes dug in too deep, and soon that feeling overwhelmed her. It felt like her whole body was being ripped apart into tiny fragments. Starlight was now whimpering in pain as the spikes dug deeper, as Chrysalis continued tightening until it reached a stopping point. Starlight was shaking, wrestling with her constraints. But she found this hurt even more. Chrysalis looked at her with distaste.

“You need me to get the gag again, Starlight?”

“N-no, my Queen.”

“Okay, but don’t be too loud. You’ll wake the neighbors.”

She bent down and shot a beam of magic at the pit of ash beneath Starlight’s torture chair, which started a fire. Starlight felt the metal of the chair heat up right under her ass, again welding the skin to the metal. Starlight began crying from the heat, as the metal spikes inside her warmed up as well. It felt like her blood was bubbling and boiling, and her body was being burned from the inside. This wasn’t like any of the tortures from before, it was far worse. She groaned in agony.

“My q-queen, p-please...I...c-can’t….”

Chrysalis excused her talking without permission.

“I know, this one’s hard. And it will only get worse since I’m leaving you like this all day.”

Starlight’s eyes were pleading, begging for mercy, though she knew that was foolish.

“You make it through this alive, and I may shorten your punishment. But don’t be too loud and stop speaking aloud. Okay?”

Starlight couldn’t answer, she was busy groaning in pain.

“I said, okay?” Chrysalis repeated, a hint of malice in her tone.

“Yes, my queen, forgive me,” she responded instantly, realizing her mistake.

“Good then,” said Chrysalis, content.

“See you later today, I’ve got to go and set up my trap for your pathetic little rescue party.” she said, before shutting the door. Starlight felt the liberty of being able to moan a little louder. The pain was absolutely unbearable.

‘This is all I’m good for. This is what Twilight would do if she could. This is what anypony who knows anything about me would do. I deserve it, I deserve it, I deserve it.’

Her negative reinforcement proved effective, in that she enjoyed the pain for a time. Yet, a whole day seemed impossible. Survival was at last a real open ended question. But now that she knew Twilight and the others were at stake, she decided she had to try, so maybe she could help them escape or convince Chrysalis to go easy on them.

‘I deserve this, they don’t.’

She cried tears of hopelessness, as her mind started to fade from the pain. She was conflicted, and it gave her a burning headache.

‘Some rescue.

Author's Note

This one focuses mostly on Applejack and co, hope you like it!