Misty was awake, alive, and getting to her hooves. No more than a few seconds had passed since she had been stabbed.

The sword was still through her middle.

"You should be dead," Fergus said. He reached out, pulling out the sword. It dragged against her ribcage, resulting in burning pain.

When the sword was free, black blood spouted from her wound and stained the dirt.

"I'm a Goddess." Sweat stood out on her brow. "Of course, I'm still alive. What did I see?"

Fergus stared at her, confused. "What?"

Okay, the vision was a near-death experience. Or something else. Something magical.

A few yards away, Savarin was still fighting off some dog soldiers with a burst of magic, but there were so many, like ants.

Misty was by herself.

Fergus picked up the sword, the edges of his cloak dipping into her blood.

"Any last words?" Fergus asked, pointing the sword at her.

Misty grinned, licking her blood from her fangs. "Savarin!"

Savarin looked over, killing one last dog. She bounded over, but she was too slow as other dogs ran into her path to fight her. She swept them away with powerful bursts of her magic, but it wasn't fast enough.

Fergus raised his sword- and promptly keeled over.

Behind him stood Gooseberry, holding a spear in his mouth. He had whacked Fergus over the head with it. He dropped the weapon, blinking at Misty in disbelief.

Savarin arrived a minute later, pressing her hooves against Misty's wound to hold the blood in.

"There's my Savarin," Misty said.

"No flirting yet," Savarin said. "You will leave this mortal coil unless we heal you."

"I... don't want to leave this mortal coil."

"I thought you might not." Savarin touched their horns together. "I will guide you with a simple healing spell. It should speed up the healing process."

Gooseberry stood nearby, wringing his hooves and waiting.

Misty could feel Savarin inside of her, her warm, tempting soul guiding her magic.

The flesh in her middle tingled and wrapped over the wound in a matter of seconds.

Soon, the only sign she had a wound at all was a slight soreness and a raised scar.

"Simply incredible," Savarin said, poking her belly. "The souls you consumed must have given the spell more power." Her lips twitched. "I am not complaining. What do you wish to do with Fergus? I want him to suffer."

"You're so talkative today, Savarin."

Savarin flicked her nose, and Misty frowned.

"First, we have to search the other tunnels and the houses," Misty said.

Savarin let out an amused sound, her eyes flicking to Gooseberry.

"Hi," he said nervously.

Savarin grabbed Fergus, carrying him in her magic while they went house to house.

She had Gooseberry and Savarin gather up any pups, and she went in alone to eat the parents' souls.

After that, they went to explore the tunnel. Gooseberry stopped in an empty bedroom to tell the crying pups a story while Savarin went to get Fergus.

Misty flew onward, picking off any servant she saw.

There were so many rooms, many unused, but all fancier than the last.

One room was even a library, which surprised her. She always thought diamond dogs were dumb.

When she flew back down the tunnels, Gooseberry was still telling the pups a story, and in another room, Savarin was tying Fergus spread-eagled to the bed.

His head kept lolling this way, and that as Savarin tightened the ropes.

Fergus woke up, groaning. "My head..."

Savarin backed away, a sly smile on her face.

He licked his lips, tugging at the ropes binding his paws. He searched the room, groaning once in a while.

"Fergus," Misty said.

His eyes snapped to her, but they were bleary and unfocused. He was definitely concussed from being knocked out by Gooseberry. "What?"

"You're going to die. Either by fire, torn apart and slowly-"

"Dissected," corrected Savarin.

"-Or both," finished Misty.

Fergus blinked slowly. His limbs twitched. "I don't want to die."

Savarin snorted.

"What my marefriend means to say is," Misty continued, "is everycreature dies. So you are just dying sooner."

Fergus blinked again.

"Do you want us to choose for you?" Misty asked.

He licked his lips and didn't say another word.

"I'm choosing dissection," she said.

"Good choice," Savarin replied. She cast a spell around the room so nocreature would hear them next door before she wandered around to stand near his side.

"Go on, Savarin," Misty said.

Savarin's horn glowed, and she ran it down his belly, from the base of his neck to his groin.

It acted like a scalpel, peeling back the flesh to show his organs inside. She kept peeling, pulling with her magic until she had his hide in her hooves.

Without his skin, Fergus was raw and bloody. His muscles oozed blood. His eyes were wide and blinking wetly in his face. His teeth were bared in a horrible grin.

Savarin pulled out of each of his organs, setting them on the floor.

It didn't take long for his heart to slow, and Misty ate his soul.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

She hadn't slept since she had swallowed the Fire Flower.

It definitely didn't help that her near-death vision was flashing through her head.

Misty rolled around on the bed. It had way too many pillows and luxurious sheets she got twisted up in. It wasn't made for a creature of her stature.

One good thing was Savarin was sleeping next to her.

Misty reached out, brushing strands of white mane from her face. The red was still bright as ever on the tips of her mane.

Savarin said something in her sleep, so quiet Misty could barely hear it. She caught it just when Savarin repeated: "m-mom."

Misty's stomach went cold. She swallowed and got off the bed, carefully covering Savarin over. She needed to go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

She walked toward the door. On the right was the walk-in closet. She yanked it open and stepped inside.

Dozens of silky clothes were hung up on her hangers near the walls.

Misty pulled off the nearest cloak, wrapping it around her shoulders. It didn't fit.

In her time on the run, she hadn't been able to indulge in clothes.

Misty twirled around, and again that snaggle tooth feeling rose. She had done something before, in this exact room. But that was impossible.

She hung up the cloak again, considering burning it, but decided against it.

Savarin was still asleep, so Misty went out into the hallway.

She peeked into the room opposite theirs where Fergus was -he was a mess of blood and flesh. Misty closed the door tight.

The room further up was where the pups slept. They were bundled up onto the beds, snoring and sniffling in their sleep.

But, where was Gooseberry?

He should be there.

She walked down the tunnel, peeking into each room, her anger slowly rising.

Had he run away?

She would kill him.

The last room she checked was the library.

Gooseberry was resting on his stomach, reading a book. A lantern rested next to him.
Misty spread her wings and flew toward him.

She was so bright with fire he turned his head before she even landed next to him.

Gooseberry looked up from his book. "Hi."

"I wanted to thank you for rescuing me, by the way."

"Oh..." Gooseberry closed the book, his eyes flitting away from hers. "You're welcome."

"What are you reading?"

Gooseberry passed the book to her, and she grabbed it in her magic. She pressed her book to the pages. It smelled syrupy and like home.

She cracked it open to the first page.

It was a book of Willaim Shakespony's sonnets. She had read some of them in school and some in her own time, but she had no idea he had written so many.

She flipped to a random page and read:

"Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,

When not to be receives reproach of being,

And the just pleasure lost which is so deemed

Not by our feeling but by others' seeing.

For why should others false adulterate eyes

Give salutation to my sportive blood?

Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,

Which in their wills count bad what I think good?

No, I am that I am, and they that level

At my abuses reckon up their own;

I may be straight, though they themselves be bevel.

By their rank thoughts my deeds must not be shown,

Unless this general evil they maintain:

All ponies are bad, and in their badness reign."

Misty closed the book with a thump, setting it back on its spot on the shelf.

"Do you read a lot of Shakespony?" she asked.

"Not really."

Misty smiled at him, eyeing his shifting body. "Did Hazelnut like his plays?"

His shuddery sigh was answer enough.

"Savarin likes them too. She says you really need to see his plays performed.

"Hazel used to say that too," Gooseberry said.

Misty laughed. She crept closer to the shelf.

As tall as she was, she could see the books at the top. None of them seemed too interesting, so she crouched down to look at more of Shakespony's work.

"We could read one together," Misty said. "It might be fun. Romeo and Juliet are a good one."

"I don't know." Gooseberry let out a choked sob. "It makes me remember Hazel, and I don't want to remember her right now. We were going to have kids, you know?"

"I get it. I don't know what I would do if Savarin died."

Gooseberry stared at her with an odd look on his face. "Yeah... I just miss my family. Like Savarin misses her own family."

"She does, doesn't she?" Misty picked up the lantern in her magic and walked toward the library's exit. Gooseberry hurried after her.

They walked into the main cavern and then through the tunnel that led outside.

The sun was rising when they came out, touching the leaves and making the droplets of dew glitter like diamonds.

It was still cool from the nighttime, not yet having turned hot from the summer heat.

Gooseberry sighed, tilting his head back to catch the rays of the sun.

Misty did the same, squinting at the brightness.

Author's Note

Chapter title is from The Dismemberment Song by Blue Kid.

The Shakespeare sonnet used in this chapter is number 121. I changed the last line from "All men are bad and in their badness reign" to "All ponies are bad and in their badness reign." This is an MLP fanfic, and the word men doesn't really fit.

I was going to use the word stallions because at Shakespeare's time, it was very sexist and focused on men only, but the society in MLP seems very woman focused. So, I left it as is.

As another note, Gooseberry is not going to get together with Misty Flare or any of the female leads. Just in case you're worried about any of that.
I have plans for his character arc, but it doesn't involve romance.

Further on, I'm also going to be looking at Misty and Savarin's romance, which has kind of been glossed over. You'll have to wait and see for that!