Spoils of War

by LewdChapter

Rating: mature
Tags: Anthro, Gabby, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Porn, Bat Pony, Fetish, Gilda, Profanity, Non-consensual, Violence, Sex
Length: 5327

A bit of time travel goes awry, sending Gilda and Gabby to a particularly dark period in griffon history

Gilda and Gabby are tasked with testing out Twilight's new time-travel spell. Naturally, things don't go quite according to plan, and a trip to last week becomes a peek into one of the darkest periods in griffon history: The Wing Wars.

WARNING: this story contains violence, torture of various degrees, snuff, and mild to moderate xenophobia.

Commission for viken666

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Published 2020-05-30 01:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-05-30 01:10:01 UTC

Spoils of War

“Why am I here again?” groaned Gilda, tapping her clawed finger against the table restlessly. She still couldn’t believe she had been dragged along into this insane science experiment. All she knew was that, as far as she was concerned, her favor to Rainbow was paid in full by her participation.

“I don’t feel comfortable sending Gabby alone,” explained Twilight, scratching her chin idly as she went over her calculations once again. Before her sat the day’s subjects, Gilda and Gabby, while Starlight scribbled any last-minute adjustments to their formulae. The unicorns had been hard at work for months perfecting their newest chronology spell, working out any and every kink to their previous versions of their spell. As the two leading magi in the field of time magic, Twilight and Starlight were always looking into ways to fine-tune their craft and push their field forward, something they were hoping to do now. With this new formula, they should be able to send even a non-unicorn creature backward in time to any specified instance without a spellcaster accompanying them, which would greatly increase the utility of the spell.

“C’mon, Gilda, aren’t you excited?” Gabby herself could barely sit still, bouncing in her seat energetically. “This is so cool! Think of all the stuff we’re gonna be able to learn about our culture!”

“She’s right, Gilda,” said Starlight with a nod. “Griffon history is notorious for being vague and mysterious on account of how awfully records were kept back then.”

“We could see the founding of Griffonstone! The end of the Wing Wars!” Gabby hopped out of her seat, her enthusiasm finally growing too great for a chair to contain. “We could even go back to the day you were hatched! Don’t you wanna see that?”

“No. Like, not at all,” grumbled Gilda, crossing her arms over her chest. She blew out a puff of air, blowing her hair up and away from her face. “Can we just hurry this up? I got other shit to do.”

“If there’s one thing you don’t want to rush, it’s magic,” said Twilight. “And if there’s one type of magic you definitely don’t want to rush, it’s time magic. One little misfire could have catastrophic results.”

“Luckily, you’re dealing with professionals here,” said Starlight. She finished up her calculations and turned to face the two test subjects. “I’m done here, Twilight. Ready when you are.”

“Ah, perfect. Thanks for the help, Starlight, this spell would’ve taken me months to work out on my own, and I don’t exactly have time like that to spare. But, with this spell, we’ll have all the time in the world!” Twilight grinned at her friends, her smile faltering when no one laughed. “That’s, uh, just a little bit of… Time travel humor… You know what, it doesn’t matter. If you two would stand here beside Starlight, we can get going.”

With levels of eagerness that were directly opposite of each other, the griffons crossed the room and made their way between the pair of magi/mad scientists. Gabby looked up to Gilda, the older griffon standing a good few inches taller, and smiled. Not only did Gilda not smile back, she in fact failed to even look back at Gabby. She didn’t let this deter her any, or curb how much she was looking forward to this experiment. Gabby knew that Gilda just needed to see the magic at work, and then she wouldn’t be able to deny how cool this whole situation was.

“Okay, we’re going to send you back to last week,” explained Twilight. “You’ll meet with me and Starlight in a controlled environment, and our past selves will run some tests on you, should take about twenty minutes. Then, you’ll be brought back here precisely ninety seconds after you left and we can figure out how well the spell worked.”

“Wait, hold on,” said Gilda. “If you’re gonna send us to talk to you guys from last week, then shouldn’t you already know if this stupid thing? Cause you already talked to us from right now, a week ago.”

“Look, time is an intentionally confusing and obtuse construct that doesn’t make any sense if you examine it from a perspective outside of the one we all know and comprehend,” said Starlight. “So, in layman’s terms, don’t think about. Trust us, it works.”

“You girls ready?” Twilight rubbed her hands together, eager to see the fruits of her labor. “The sooner we get you there, the sooner we can get you back and the sooner we can publish our findings!”

“Ready when you are, Ms. Twilight!” Gabby saluted, standing up straight and to attention. Gilda just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Let’s just get this over with,” murmured Gilda. “Do your magic crap, Sparkle. And tell Dash this makes us square.”

“With pleasure. Starlight?” Twilight stepped aside to allow her partner to join them, both magi raising their arms to their test subjects and surging magic throughout the room. Purplish-pink light shimmered around the two griffons, shrouding them in a warm, wavy magical aura. The light bloomed brighter, denser, warmer, and the color soon shifted to a darker shade. “Er… Starlight?”

“I… I don’t know what’s going on,” said Starlight, frowning slightly. “Twi, abort.”

“I’m trying! What is going on? I can’t control my magic!”

“What the hell have you gotten me wrapped up in, Sparkle?” snarled Gilda. “If you don’t fix this, I swear I’ll—”

All of a sudden, Gilda felt the air entirely exit her body, a blinding white light flashing in the room. The floor fell away from beneath her, sending her into freefall. She screamed as she fell, looking around in panic. The only thing she could make out was Gabby’s falling body beside her, screaming as if her life depended on it. There was a sizzling, scorching sound, followed by the smell of burning fabric as their clothes torched to cinders into the seemingly infinite white void.

The griffons’ screaming reached an end when the two smashed into the ground, knocking the wind from them and tweaking Gabby’s wing. She let out a hiss of pain, clutching her ribs as she pulled herself into a seated position beside Gilda. Gabby wasn’t sure where, or when, they were, but one thing was abundantly clear: they weren’t in Ponyville anymore.

The wasteland that the two griffons found themselves in was entirely desolate, the field scorched and burned, broken arrows and spears buried into the earth. There were barricades scattered throughout the battlefield, as were discarded swords and a tattered, singed golden banner bearing the image of a crimson griffon. There were no buildings or landmarks surrounding the pair, save for some sort of camp a few meters away.

“What the hell…?” Gilda clutched her head gingerly, looking herself up and down before quickly covering her chest with her arms. “Sparkle, your stupid spell…”

“Gilda. Gilda, we have to get out of here.” Gabby’s voice was hushed, barely a whisper as she scrambled forward, grabbing Gilda by the wrist and pointing forward at another banner, this one standing upright. “Look…”

“What? What is…?” grumbled Gilda, her eyes slowly falling on the flag that Gabby had pointed out. As soon as she saw the banner, the cerulean tapestry depicting a single crescent moon and two large black wings, she felt her stomach twist itself up into a not. “Oh fuck.”

“What do we do, Gilda? The fall messed up my wing, I can’t fly…” Gabby’s eyes went wide as Gilda stood up, stretching her wings as if to take off. “Gilda. You’re not gonna leave me, are you?”

“We don’t have a choice. I’m gonna zip off, see if I can find some griffons, then I’ll be right back.” Gilda fluttered slowly into the air, glancing down at the nearly crying form of her fellow griffon. “It’s our only shot. If we’re in the middle of the war, then we need to get some help, as soon as fucking—”

Gilda let out a grunt as a length of chain wrapped itself around her middle, binding her arms and wings to her side as the bola’s weights restrained her. She hit the dirt and, before Gabby could react, another bola flew through the air and wrapped her up as well. The two griffons squirmed on the ground, as the sounds of heavy, armor-clad footsteps neared.

“Two more mutts!”

Gilda managed to toss herself over on her back just in time to see the boot come down on her face, knocking her silly. Two pairs of strong hands grabbed her by the tail and crest feathers, easily hoisting her up and slinging it over the shoulder of one of the attackers. Gilda hadn't seen much of his face, but she could tell by his deep purple armor and the black, leathery wings that came from his back that he was a batpony.

"Nice work, boys." Another batpony, this one with an ebony plume in his helmet, stepped past the one that held Gilda. He stopped at Gabby's body, inspecting her keenly. "Hm… I'm partial to this one. It's mine."

"Come on, Noctis, you always get the good ones," complained the batpony holding Gilda. "You could at least let us play for it."

"Captain gets first pick, kid. You can roll dice for whatever's left of the mutt." Captain Noctis grabbed Gabby by the crest and yanked her to her feet. "What's your name, kitty?"

"Please don't hurt us, mister," said Gabby. "We don't want any trouble, we're not even from—"

Noctis brought the back of his hand across Gabby's face, sending her to the ground with a yelp. The batponies laughed at the way Gabby squeaked, and how she sniffled and cried upon being struck. Noctis yanked Gabby up again, grabbing her around the throat. His slitted golden pupils beamed contempt, a simple gaze able to reduce Gabby to a quivering, blubbering mess.

"I knew you griffons were dumb, but I assumed you could answer simple questions. I'm going to ask again, and if you still find yourself having trouble…" Noctis pulled a dagger from his waist, showing the wickedly sharp edge to his captive. "Then you'll be missing talons. What's your name, mutt?"

“G-Gabriella…” sniffled Gabby. “Please don’t hurt us…”

“Aww, poor thing. What do you say, boys?” Noctis turned to his men, giving them a grin. “Vleer? Sanguis? Should we let the little mutt go, just this once?” Gabby felt hope swell in her heart, hope that was dashed when the other batponies laughed.

“Good one, captain,” snickered Vleer, the one who was holding Gilda over his shoulder. “Make the dirty cunt scream good for us, eh?”

“But save some for us,” grunted the other batpony, Sanguis. “Don’t just toss it to us when there’s nothing left.”

“Hey, assholes! You forget about me or something?!” Gilda squirmed and fought in her bindings, nearly jumping off of her captor’s clutches. “What, you three stupid or something? You even see who you captured? She’s a kid, a fucking crybaby. She’s soft and, between you and me, she ain’t that bright, either.”

“Gilda!”

“Stupid girl can’t even fly! She look like a warrior to you?” continued Gilda, glaring back at Gabby, as if to tell her to shut up with just a venomous glance. “She’s just some idiot girl who wanted to follow around a real griffon warrior. Taking her won’t do shit for your side. Show some fucking honor, let the civilian go.”

“She has a good point,” noted Vleer. “Proper soldiers shouldn’t hurt civilians of the other side. Unfortunately… We ain’t proper soldiers.”

“Oh no, mutt, we’re far worse,” snickered Captain Noctis. “While the true, noble Chiropteran army is laying siege to Griffonstone, we’re just here to clean up the last few mutts who slipped through the cracks. Your pelts go for quite a bit of gold back home. The Night King pays double if there’s proof that you suffered before you were skinned. So, that being said…” Noctis turned to his other soldier. “Sanguis? Go up ahead, tell the boys to start up the furnace. I’ve got some ideas for these two mutts.”

The trip to the camp wasn’t far, but it felt to the griffons like ages. Their captors didn’t say much to them as they dragged them along, leaving them alone with their thoughts and fears. They could hear the sounds of cheers and jubilation, celebrations of a successful raid. The air was heavy with the smoke of a campfire, as well as the slightly acrid smell of some manner of scorching meat.

"Where are we headed tomorrow, Captain?" asked Vleer as the party approached the gates of their camp. "I heard the boys talking about an old griffon nest. Wanted to see if the mutts left any eggs behind."

"Better slow down, kid. Keep chasing those griffon eggs, you won't fit in your armor anymore," snickered Noctis. His soldier frowned, and so he clapped him gently on the shoulder. "There'll be eggs, Vleer. But you'll have to work for it."

"How? Killing the thing's mum?" Vleer cackled. "Doesn't sound much like work to me. Sounds like a right good time."

"Heh. Can't say I disagree with that."

The party approached the gates of their camp, strolling through the open entrance to the sounds of cheers and adulation. Noctis saluted to the two dozen or so batpony soldiers who greeted him, coming to gawk at his bounty. There were jeers and slurs thrown at the captured griffons, insults that enraged Gilda and added to the terror that Gabby felt.

"Alright, clear out. You lot can sit around and wait for leftovers, but my team caught the mutts," said Noctis to the crowd, who murmured their discontent even as they dispersed. Captain Noctis tossed Gabby to the ground, as did Vleer, knocking the wind out of their captives. “Where’s Sanguis?”

“Back here, Cap!” The voice came from the back of the camp, a large tent against the furthest wall from the gate. The captain grabbed Gabby around the ankle, dragging her across the floor as he approached the tent. Vleer grabbed Gilda in much the same way, although it was much harder for him to drag his catch due to the way the griffon kicked and fought. “Need some help there?”

“Not like you’re doing much,” snorted Vleer. “This thing has some fight in it.” Sanguis jogged forward, meeting with his comrade and grabbing one of Gilda’s legs. “Thanks. Stupid mutt better not scratch me…”

“I’ll do more than scratch if you don’t let me go, asshole!” Gilda snapped and snarled, doing everything she could to squirm out of her chains, to no avail. “You got one more chance before I make you regret fucking with me.”

“You’re in chains, surrounded by countless warriors of the superior species,” laughed Sanguis. “You’re just a dirty mutt. What could you possibly do?”

“I know how this war ends, and you bug-breath bastards aren’t gonna—”

Gilda surely had more to say, but her sentence was stolen away when her captors descended on her, raining down a hailstorm of fists onto her face. Gabby screamed as Noctis dragged her into the tent, unable to do anything more than watch the bats pummel her friend.

“Save the screaming for later, kitty,” snickered Noctis, pulling the entrance of the tent aside and stepping inside. “You’re gonna need them for what I have planned.”

“P-p-please, mister…” sniffled Gabby. “We’re not even supposed to be here…”

“You’re right about that, mutt. You shouldn’t be here. No, you belong… there.”

Noctis pulled Gabby by her crest, yanking her upright to give her a glimpse at what awaited her. There were a number of bloodied instruments strewn about, knives and whips and hammers. To the right was a makeshift smithy, little more than a small anvil and hastily cobbled together forge that radiated heat. To the left, almost tucked away, was a guillotine, stained with blood and viscera. Directly in the center of the area, the item that Noctis was pulling Gabby to, was a simple wooden horse, consisting of a single iron pyramid that was longer than it was wide. The device was reinforced by wooden beams at the legs, and the top of the pyramid was a wicked pointed edge, caked with blood from prior uses.

“Don’t do anything stupid, mutt,” said Noctis as he grabbed Gabby’s chains. “If you’re exceedingly lucky, I might go easy on you if you behave yourself.”

“No trouble, mister, I swear.” Noctis slowly untwisted the chain bola that restrained Gabby. The chains clattered to the floor, leaving slight welts of the chainlinks in Gabby’s tender, sensitive flesh. “Please don’t hurt me, mister, I—”

Noctis interrupted Gabby with a swift kick between the legs, the spiked iron of his boot slamming into Gabby’s unsuspecting cunt and dropping her to the ground in paralyzing, blinding agony. The captain threw her legs apart to deliver another kick, then another, stamping Gabby’s clut beneath his boot until she was screaming and sobbing for mercy.

“Now thank me,” ordered Noctis. He stepped on Gabby’s pelvis and ground his foot down against her sensitive nethers. “Thank me for giving your worthless life the privilege of coming to an end for the entertainment of the superior species.” Gabby didn’t speak immediately, so Noctis kicked her between the legs again. “Follow directions, you dumb cunt, or this is going to be far more painful for you than it needs to be.”

“Th-thank you…” croaked Gabby. She turned over, curling up in a futile attempt to protect herself. “Please don’t hurt me…”

“If you think that has a chance, you’re dumb even for a mutt. Get up, you sorry cunt.” Noctis grabbed Gabby by the crest with one hand and her tail with the other, lugging her over to the wooden horse. He pushed her against it, tying her to the legs of the device with a length of sturdy rope. Gabby could barely move, doubled over herself until Noctis yanked her back by the crest and bent her backwards over the wooden horse. As her wrists were bound similarly to her legs, Gabby let out a shuddering sob. The pain and discomfort of the device was immediate, the weight of her own body bringing herself down onto the sharp point of the wooden horse. The wicked edge dug into her skin, slicing into her back and her already injured wing.

There was a thud, a body hitting the ground just a few feet away. Gabby turned her head as best as she could, a horrified gasp escaping her at the sight of Gilda’s battered form. Her eye had all but swollen shut from her beating, and blood dripped down her face from a nasty cut above her right eyebrow. Her assailants were just behind her, grabbing her with their bloodied hands and dragging her over to the guillotine. They strapped Gilda to the bench, face-up so that she could see the blade dangling above her, a thin length of rope and a small counterweight serving as the only things keeping her away from a grisly, gruesome demise.

“Did it give you boys any trouble?” asked Noctis, surveying the area. His eyes fell on a steel rod, which he picked up from the dirt. “Mutt looked feisty.”

“They always start that way,” said Vleer, grabbing a length of leather from the floor. It appeared to be an old belt or strap, and a perfect candidate for an improvised whip. “We’ll teach it, though. It’ll learn its place soon enough. Sang, where do you wanna start?”

“Let’s see if we can get the bitch to scream.” Sanguis spread Gilda’s legs apart slightly, securing them tightly to the guillotine with a set of heavy chains. “Whip its cunt, eh? I’ll get some other things ready.”

Vleer gave his comrade a nod and, after sparing Gilda an incendiary glare, swung his whip down as hard as he could between Gilda’s legs. There was the sick crack of leather against flesh, followed immediately by a whining groan from Gilda. Despite her pain, she kept her jaw clenched, unwilling to give her tormentors the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Vleer whipped her again and again, each swing harder and more unforgiving than the last, and each strike bringing Gilda closer and closer to the point of screaming. Somehow, she held true, and she took her beating with defiance.

Gabby didn’t even have the time to admire her friend’s resilience before she was screaming herself, her leg making an unnatural cracking sound as Noctis swung his iron rod into her shin. She screamed as he swung again, and again, each strike causing her to jerk her body and drive herself savagely against the sharp edge of the wooden horse. Once Noctis seemed satisfied with the level of fractures in the girl’s leg, he turned the rod over in his hand and examined Gabby, as if sizing her up. He turned it vertically and lined it up between Gabby’s legs, slowly pressing it against her tight, snug pussy.

“P-please! Please don’t!” begged Gabby, a new wave of panic clawing at her heart when she felt the cold, dirty steel against her lower lips. “Please…”

“Oh, shut up, griffon. Don’t act like this is the first time you’ve taken a rod,” snorted Noctis. “Or are you so ugly that not even a griffon male will touch you?”

Noctis shoved the rod forward, brutally splitting Gabby’s cunt and jamming against her cervix in one thrust. Gabby let out a sharp shriek, her tears renewing themselves as Noctis worked the rod in and out of her bleeding, ruined pussy. Noctis twisted and turned the rod with each thrust, using the uneven texture and sharp burrs of the rod to shred and mangle the inner walls of Gabby’s cunt.

“Fucking bitch!” Vleer yanked his hand away, blood dripping from a nick on the back of his hand. Gilda had managed to squirm a leg free and kicked wildly, scratching her captor’s hand with her claws, but otherwise doing little more than making him angry. “Who the hell taught you to tie a knot, Sang?”

“It was tight when I left. Maybe you pulled a chain free or something,” remarked Sanguis from the furnace. He was tending to several iron rods, the tips of which he had set to the back of the forge. He pulled a small, sheathed hatchet from his belt and tossed it across the tent, which Vleer easily caught by the handle. “If the claws are giving you trouble… I’m almost done here, anyway.”

Vleer grunted as he pulled the sheath from the hatchet, tossing it over itself and catching it, then grinned sinisterly. With one hand, he held Gilda’s thrashing leg in place, and he held the hatchet with his other. He took aim and measured his swing before bringing the hatchet up and then down into Gilda’s ankle. She let out another groan through her clenched beak when the blade buried itself to the bone, and another when Vleer gruffly pulled it free to swing again. Another swing down cleaved through Gilda’s foot entirely, leaving Vleer to turn his attention to the other leg. This one was a bit sturdier, and took four big, heavy swings to completely sever from Gilda’s body. Even with both of her feet cleaved off, Gilda stood stern, not letting out a scream or even a single tear.

“Hey, these things are good luck, right?” asked Vleer, grinning darkly as he held up Gilda’s severed paws. “Who wants the other one?”

“You bastards…” grunted Gilda. “You’re gonna… Pay for this…”

“Is that thing still going on?” snorted Sanguis. He pulled an iron rod from the forge, the last few inches of the three-foot rod glowing red-hot. “It won’t have much breath for talking in a second. Hey, Cap, bet we can make ours scream louder.”

“I’ve got ten gold pieces saying otherwise,” snorted Noctis.

“You’re on. Vleer, clear out a spot on its chest. I’ve got an idea.”

As Sanguis approached with the glowing-red pole, Vleer used his knife to slice off a patch of fur between Gilda’s breasts. When the skin was bare, he pierced her flesh with the point of his knife and slid it through her sternum, pulling out a carved round of flesh a few inches across. Sanguis handed the iron rod to his partner and stooped down, grabbing a fistful of dirt and sand. He smeared the debris into Gilda’s wounds, frowning as she produced just a low hiss of pain. He glanced to Vleer and gave him a nod; Vleer took careful aim and shoved the angry red end of the rod into the hole in Gilda’s chest.

The hissing and sizzling of the heated iron against tender flesh was lost in a sea of screams as Gilda’s resolve finally crumbled. She thrashed in her bendings, screeching and swearing as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her tormentors laughed, clearly thrilled to finally receive such a reaction from their victim. After nearly a full minute of direct contact to the super-hot metal, Vleer removed the pole and tossed it aside, letting a new wave of pain wash over Gilda when cold, fresh air passed over her scorch.

“Beat that, Noctis,” snickered Sanguis. Noctis hummed thoughtfully, pulling the bloody iron pole from Gabby and tossing it onto the ground. He grabbed another rod from the forge, looking Gabby’s body over. He brought the rod’s hot end to Gabby’s chest, hovering it just a half inch from her flesh. Gabby mumbled and muttered, senseless begging for a mercy she knew she was unlikely to receive. Noctis clicked his tongue, then brought the rod just an inch from Gabby’s nipple. Again, Gabby babbled and cried, begging and pleading to be spared. Finally, Captain Noctis rounded her body completely, ending right where he began. With a cocky grin to his subordinates, he shoved the red-hot iron pole as far as he could manage into Gabby’s gaped, ruined pussy.

Gabby let out an agonized screech that dwarfed Gilda’s, the pain like nothing she had ever before experienced. She kicked and thrashed and fought, doing nothing but adding to her own suffering with each and every movement. Noctis pushed the rod in deeper, tearing through into her womb, and tilted the rod up; Gabby let out another bloodchilling shriek, much to the amusement of the batpony captain. He angled the rod even more, until there was a noticeable bulge in Gabby’s belly, the orange glow of the rod just barely visible through her skin. Noctis took careful aim and kicked the rod into Gabby, piercing her body and wedging the scorching rod in place for one more scream of agony from his victim.

“Now, I believe you gentlemen owe me ten coin each?” said the captain smugly. Vleer and Sanguis just stared, slack-jawed and amazed by Noctis’ success. The two were so enamored with their captain that they didn’t notice the faint purplish-pink light that bathed the two griffons.

“Damn. I guess we do,” admitted Sanguis. “Let’s just put these mutts out of their misery and then we’ll cough up the coin.”

“Mine is just about done,” noted Noctis, pointing to Gabby’s body. She barely moved, her screams having run out in favor of tiny, barely noticeable breaths. “But if you wanna lop its head off and get yourselves a trophy, that’s fine.”

“Aye, captain.” Vleer pulled a knife from his waist and brought it to the guillotine’s counterweight rope. He spat onto Gilda’s face, his lip curled in disgust. “Burn in hell, griffon scum.”

“Hey, are they meant to glow like that?” asked Sanguis, tilting his head curiously.

By the time he asked, it was too late; Vleer sliced the rope just as the light surged in intensity, filling the entire tent with its blinding glow. The light flashed brightly, before slowly fading away entirely. The batponies looked around, confused and concerned. With the exception of a bit of blood and Gilda’s severed paws, there was no sign of their prisoners. Noctis tilted his head, peering at the suddenly empty wooden horse, the point still dripping with Gabby’s blood.

“So…” said Sanguis. “Do we still have to pay you?”

“Holy shit, this is bad!”

Twilight just about tore her hair from her scalp as she paced around her lab. Her horn was still smoking from the rogue magic that surged through just a minute ago, the same surge that sent her test subjects who-knows-where and who-knows-when. To say that the situation was less than ideal would be a massive understatement.

“Calm down, Twilight,” said Starlight. She flipped through her spellbook casually, almost half-heartedly searching for a solution. “You’re overreacting. They’ll turn up eventually.”

“We just sent our friends to an undisclosed year in an undisclosed location and we have no idea how to get them back!” shouted Twilight. “I’m not overreacting! If anything, you’re under-reacting!”

“Well, I don’t know these people, so they’re really your friends.” Starlight swapped from her spellbook to a copy of Cosmarepolitan that she had borrowed from Rarity. Though it was unlikely for a schlocky fashion/sex/wellness magazine to hold the solution to the complex chronology sorcery they had cast, Starlight couldn’t be sure without checking just in case. “And I heard that none of you really like Gilda anyway. Even Dash just hangs out with her because they go so far back.”

“It doesn’t matter! We have to get them back or—”

There was a bright flash of light, followed by two dull thuds of something heavy hitting the ground. Twilight turned on the spot and let out a surprised yelp. On the floor of her lab were two bodies, those of her test subjects. Gabby was sprawled out with an iron rod jammed into her cunt, while Gilda was branded on her chest, as well as missing her two paws. There was also the dull blade of a guillotine, buried halfway into her neck. Though Gabby wasn’t moving, Gilda twitched occasionally, gurgling and bubbling blood through the wound in her throat.

“Told you they’d turn up,” said Starlight.

“Sweet Jesus fucking Christ, they’re dead!”

“You’ve got quite the potty mouth today, Twilight.” Starlight flipped to the next page of her magazine, hoping for some juicy new tricks she could use to impress her boyfriend. “It’s not like you.”

“Okay, I know you were kinda a delusional psychopath when we met, but what the actual hell is wrong with you?!” demanded Twilight. “Wherever we sent them got them killed, and it’s all our fault!”

“Well, first of all, Ms. ‘Won’t let the whole cult thing go’, I’d argue that a random surge of freaky magic is not our fault,” remarked Starlight. “And second… You do realize that we have time travel, right?”

“We can’t just go back in time and stop this from happening! You should know better than anyone why that won’t work!”

“Well, duh. Besides, after seeing what happened to these two, I sure as hell don’t wanna cast this spell on me.” Starlight set down her magazine, standing up to meet Twilight and look down at the mangled corpses. “No, we’ll just send their bodies forward two or three hundred thousand years. If we get all the blood and stuff, there’s no evidence that can bring it back to us. Then we can just say they never came here, and we haven’t seen them. No one saw them come here, and why would we lie? It’s a perfect alibi.”

“You want to ditch the bodies?!”

“Like, I’m not excited to do it or anything, but, y’know,” said Starlight with a shrug. “Sure beats life in prison and/or public execution.”

Twilight raised a finger and opened her mouth to combat that point but, upon further inspection, she realized that Starlight’s argument was pretty air-tight.

“Three-hundred thousand years, was it?”