The first thing that Cadance noticed, as consciousness returned to her, was how cold she felt. There was a weak but steady breeze that coursed through her chamber.
“Would you please close the window, sweetie?” Cadance mumbled.
Stupid palace. Too stuffy during the day, too cold during the night. There really was no such thing as comfort here.
Only Shining didn’t respond.
Slowly, Cadance opened her eyes. Though as her vision returned, she jerked back in surprise.
This wasn’t her bedchamber within the Crystal Palace. This was a far dreary venue. She was in some sort of dungeon in a palace that was made of cobblestone instead of gemstones.
“What the…” she whispered.
She attempted to stand though at first the muscles in her legs refused to obey. It took a moment but slowly she gained control over them, managing to find her balance. She felt so impossibly weak, fatigued by events that eluded her memory.
How had she gotten here? Where even was here?
Neither question had an answer and that alarmed her more than her surroundings. Her memory was impeccable and to have holes in it was no small matter.
She attempted to move towards the prison’s door, though she was only allowed a couple steps before she felt something solid tug at her hooves. As she looked down, she noticed that there were heavy steel shackles around each of her forelegs.
“What the…” Cadance repeated, shaking her head.
She already knew the answer to her next question but attempted it nonetheless.
The base of her horn started to glow, though whatever meagre cantrip she attempted was only allowed to travel up maybe an inch before it was met by some sort of mithril ring. The material was of high quality, stopping even a wisp of mana from slipping through.
And just for good measure, she attempted to flex her wings though they would not budge. They were bound with some kind of coarse thread that she hadn’t been aware of until this moment.
Cadance sighed. “So, I’ve been kidnapped.” She shook her head slowly. “That’s never good.”
Well, there was no point in exhausting herself further.
She settled down upon the cobblestone floor and waited.
Thankfully, whoever decided that she was worth all the trouble did not keep her in suspense for long. Soon, she heard hoofsteps approach. They echoed through the halls of the dungeon, growing closer and closer.
Cadance rolled her eyes. She was not much of a fan for needless theatrics.
“Yes, hello,” she called. “Would you please hurry up. I’m a rather busy mare.”
This earned her a foreboding but distinctly feminine rumble of laughter. For a moment, Cadance thought that it might be Chrysalis but there was something off about it. The laughter was lighter and nowhere near as sinister.
Yet, it was familiar, tugging at a strand of memories that existed from a long time ago.
“You sound brave,” the voice called. “I like that.”
“Not so much brave, just tired,” Cadance replied. She allowed herself a small smile. “This happens far more often than you’d think.”
“Is that so?” the voice asked.
Cadance nodded. Though realized her host couldn’t quite see her. “Yes. Honestly, it’s more of an inconvenience than anything else. I’m sure either Shining or Twilight will be here in a few hours to liberate me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” the voice said, drawing ever nearer. “I cleared away all the tracking wards upon you.”
Cadance whistled. “Not bad. Usually that trips up most first-time kidnappers.”
“Well, that’s because I’m not a first-time kidnapper. Oh, and before you ask, yes I removed the ethereal beacon from the bottom of your hoof,” the voice added.
Cadance blinked and looked at her frog, seeing that there was a bandage over it.
“Now I’m actually a little impressed,” Cadance said, chuckling. “Guess I’ll have to rely on the inherent tracking abilities of the Captain of my Royal Guard.” She smirked. “Might even take him a day or two before he finds me.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t need nearly that much time.”
The figure finally stepped into view, standing on the other side of the prison bars.
“Oh, it’s you,” Cadance murmured, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, it’s me,” Sunset Shimmer hissed.
She scowled at Cadance.
Though from what Cadance could remember of this mare there really wasn’t a moment when she actually seemed happy to see somepony. The term ‘resting bitch face’ took centre stage within her mind.
“Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get a little alone time with you?” Sunset asked.
Cadance smirked. “Honestly, if you weren’t such a bitch to me back in school you would’ve found it incredibly easy. Though I guess I was kind of a little loose back then.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Whore.”
“That’s Princess Whore to you,” Cadance rebutted. “But anyways… why did you feel the need to get a little alone time with me?”
“Revenge,” Sunset snarled.
Cadance couldn’t help but snort in disdain. “Gods why are all of you so cliché? It’s always fucking revenge. Why can it never be money or fame?” She shook her head. “Do you honestly still hold a grudge over the fact that I got a horn while all you got was mommy issues?”
Sunset gritted her teeth and suddenly her horn glowed. Cadance gasped as she felt a firm tendril of magic coil around her throat. It tensed, applying a note of pressure to the two arteries carrying blood to her brain.
“Stop talking,” Sunset growled. “It’s rude to interrupt a sociopath while she’s monologuing.” She drew in a breath, calming herself. “But yes, I am still just a little fucking pissed at you from all those years ago. Miss Horseshoe-Up-Her-Ass over here, getting to ascend because Celestia needed to meet a Pegasus diversity quota. Meanwhile, I slave away for months and months, trying to prove myself to her.”
She huffed and flinched away, tearing her magic from Cadance’s throat.
Cadance drew in a shaky breath, feeling her face flush. A villain had never done something like that to her before. It was actually…
She shook her head.
Now was really not the best time to start psychoanalyzing herself.
“And what would kidnapping me really accomplish.” Cadance scoffed. “Do you really think that Celestia is going to let you ascend after pulling something like this. I’m worth a lot, Sunset, but I am not worth that much.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that,” Sunset said, flashing a smile. “I have no intention of using you as leverage to get myself a crown. This is merely me doing something that I expect will be extremely cathartic.”
She hovered over a pair of keys, using them to unlock the door.
“Do you want to know why I’m not scared of us being found?” Sunset asked.
She stepped into the cell.
That’s when Cadance noticed that she held a club at her side. It looked heavy, made from some sort of hardened material.
“Why’s that?” Cadance asked.
Sunset’s smile grew. “Because when they finally find you, you’ll be nothing but a cold and broken pulp on the ground that they’ll need to clean up with a shovel.”
She lashed out, swinging the club hard and aiming it right for Cadance’s exposed foreleg.
Cadance gasped, preemptively shouting in terror.
Though just before the club was about to meet flesh, it paused, hovering a mere fraction of an inch above her. It was so close that the whoosh of air it created actually tickled at the raised hairs on her coat.
Sunset cackled. “Fuck you should’ve seen the look on your face.” She reached out with a hoof, resting it against Cadance’s cheek. “And that scream?” She made a kissing sound and beamed, grinning from ear to ear. “Absolutely fantastic.”
She drew her hoof away, a little, and lightly slapped Cadance across the cheek. She then stepped back, gently caressing her prisoner’s complexion with the club.
“Do you have any idea how much that would’ve hurt?” Sunset asked.
Cadance swallowed a lump in her throat. “A lot?”
Sunset nodded. “It probably would’ve been the worst pain that you’ve ever felt in your miserable excuse for a life. Can you imagine that?”
“I can?” Cadance whispered.
“So, here’s my proposition, Cadance,” Sunset said. “You do exactly what I ask and I promise that I won’t shatter your bones with this club.” She smirked. “You resist however and I will make sure that you are well acquainted with that level of pain.”
Cadance gritted her teeth. “That depends on what you want.”
Sunset smirked and drew closer once more. Her lips hovered mere inches from Cadance’s own.
“We could start with a kiss,” she whispered.
Cadance jerked back. “W-what?”
“Wrong answer,” Sunset teased.
Thankfully, she didn’t use the club. Instead, she cracked her hoof across Cadance’s cheek. The impact was loud, echoing through the cavernous halls of the dungeon. It was soon followed by Cadance’s yelp of pain as her entire cheek felt like it was on fire.
“A freebie since I’m feeling so generous,” Sunset teased.
Cadance blinked, trying to usher away the spots in her vision. She’d been kidnapped by villains before, plenty of times. Yet, not once, had any of them dared to actually strike her in such a brutish fashion.
Sunset smirked and placed a hoof against the underside of her snout, looking her in the eye. “So, about that kiss?”
Cadance swallowed a lump in her throat and leaned forwards. Their mouths met somewhere in the middle, coming together in a little peck of faux affection.
Cadance assumed that would be enough but Sunset clearly had other things in mind. She felt magic within her mane and soon Sunset’s mouth parted and her tongue pressed forcefully against Cadance’s lips. A surprised little note bubbled in the back of her throat but she conceded to this silent request. There would be nothing to gain from resistance besides for needlessly broken bones.
Finally, Sunset drew away, smacking her lips together.
“I can see why you were so popular back in the School for Gifted Unicorns,” she teased. She then smiled quite cruelly. “So, here’s how things are going to work, Cadance. I am a unicorn who knows how to inflict a pain you couldn’t possibly comprehend. So, if you follow my rules, I will be nice and not inflict that upon you. But if you dare to cross me…”
She let the threat sit there, hovering between them.
“Then you’ll make sure that I never walk again,” Cadance finished.
“Amongst other things,” Sunset said.
She drew away from Cadance, making her way behind her.
Cadance could feel the heat of her eyes, roving her body, inspecting every inch of her coat. It started upon her sides before reaching her flanks and finally resting upon a certain hole that was currently covered by her tail.
Sunset cleared her throat and lifted a brow.
Cadance thought about rebutting but did as she was instructed, hiking up her tail. Getting harmed was not worth the price of maintaining her pride for a little while longer.
“Nice,” Sunset whispered. “Must be alicorn magic that’s keeping you so tight.”
“You know that the number of partners that a pony has doesn’t correlate with how tight they are, right?” Cadance snorted. “If that were the case you would’ve sealed up ages ago.”
Sunset chuckled. “Oh! I appreciate the little bit of bite you got going on there. Always nice to see when a pony is putting on a strong face. It makes it so much better when I finally break them.”
She came back into view, smirking like a total witch. Her horn was glowing, though Cadance couldn’t see what she was holding.
“I want you to hold very still,” Sunset instructed.
Cadance swallowed hard. “Why?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Sunset said, her smile darkening. “Just remember that this is an order I’m giving you.”
Cadance nodded slowly.
She soon felt something cold and metallic against her flank. It was some sort of blade and it seemed to be deadly sharp.
“I was a troubled filly growing up,” Sunset said. “And after Celestia cast me away, I turned to some less-than-ideal means of coping with rejection.”
The sharpened edge of the blade pressed into Cadance’s hide, breaking skin but not pressing much deeper than that. She stifled a gasp of pain, gritting her teeth. Still, the pain must’ve been evident as Sunset’s eyes widened with a gleeful and sadistic excitement.
“Thankfully I cut that nasty little habit out of my life a few years ago,” she said. “Still, it’s a skill that I’ve held onto. Very helpful when it comes to dealing with problems like this.”
She drew the knife a couple of inches to the side, slicing through Cadance’s tender flesh.
The princess stifled her voice. She didn’t want to give Sunset even the slimmest amount of satisfaction. Though it would seem that a lack of gratification wouldn’t deter her as she continued to move the knife around.
Cadance’s flank was on fire and the pain radiated throughout her entire form. There was a numbness that soon settled in that must’ve been something akin to shock. Falling into such a state would not surprise her. No villain had ever thought to do what Sunset Shimmer was currently doing to her.
She soon realized that the knife was changing directions and that her tormentor was carving some sort of intricate design into her flesh. Without a mirror, however, there would be no way of seeing it.
“And just about done,” Sunset whispered.
She withdrew the knife and Cadance let out a haggard note. Soon the blade hovered before her. It was a simple pocket knife though the tip was dripping with crimson.
“Lick it clean,” Sunset ordered.
Cadance’s eyes widened. “Are you fucking insane?”
Sunset smirked at that. “I mean, I clearly have a few screws loose.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Though that unfortunately wasn’t a yes, dear. So…”
She drew the knife away, drawing it over to her own muzzle and licking it clean. A faint moan flittered forth as she sampled the blood. It was enough to send a chill crawling up Cadance’s spine.
For a second, Cadance assumed that Sunset was going to draw forth the club and shatter her bones. She even seemed set to do so as she picked up the weapon and inspected it closely.
Instead, she went over to the room’s door and peered out into the hall. Her horn glowed and she drew forth some sort of black box.
She approached Cadance with it, placing it in front of her.
Cadance couldn’t help but look at it with worry, wondering what could possibly be inside.
Sunset seemed to realize this, drawing out the moment. “You know, there are some ponies who call me a sadist.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Cadance grumbled.
Sunset shrugged. “Probably because I gain pleasure from watching other ponies suffer.” She snorted. “Sadly, you’re only the first pony I’ve been able to go totally mask off with. Everyone else has these pesky limits I needed to adhere to.”
“Surprised you’ve ever cared about consent in the first place,” Cadance shot back. “You clearly don’t with me.”
“That’s fair.” Sunset shrugged. “I suppose my anger overtook my common decency when it comes to you.”
Sunset opened the black box. The interior was padded with some kind of plush material. And in the centre, resting on a velvety pillow, was a pitch-black ball gag with ruins etched into it.
Her horn brightened and she grabbed it.
The second mana touched the mithril object, the ruins started to glow with an eerie and foreboding greyness.
“What is that?” Cadance whispered, more asking herself than Sunset.
Sunset smirked. “This is what happens to fillies who disobey their Mistress, Cadance.”
She gave it a quick turn in the air, showing off the obsidian material of the gag and the green scaly dragon leather of the straps. She undid a clasp on the back. It was made from some kind of archaic steel that reminded Cadance of a magic negating ring.
This was no ordinary sex toy, however. This was a sex toy with a lot of bits dumped into runes and magical effects.
“Do you have any idea how much this cost?” Sunset asked.
Cadance shook her head. “I’m guessing quite a bit of money?”
“A small fortune,” Sunset whispered, drawing it towards Cadance. “Though with how dubious my morals are, small fortunes are easy enough to come across.”
The gag was pretty much touching Cadance’s lips at this point. She could feel a static energy lingering underneath, practically crackling against her lips.
“Would you please open your mouth?” Sunset instructed.
To prove the seriousness of her threat, she rested the metal club at her side. And based on the look in her eyes, Cadance didn’t want to test her luck.
So, she conceded and took the obsidian gag between her lips. It was decently sized, straining her jaw a bit but not to the point of causing outright pain.
Sunset latched it shut in the back, giving Cadance a gentle pat on the cheek. “Don’t go drooling all over the place, alright?”
Cadance shook her head and gave her eyes a very pronounced roll.
“So, you’re probably wondering what this magical gizmo does,” Sunset said. She smirked and her horn glowed. “Well how about a quick demonstration. When it’s on…”
Her horn pulsed and soon the runes brightened, shifting from grey to green. Soon a magical membrane of a similar colour went over the tip of Cadance’s snout, covering both her mouth and nose.
Cadance gasped and soon found that the membrane had completely stopped the flow of air into either orifice. She exhaled and the membrane more than eagerly let that through. Though when she tried to draw in a breath to replace it, the action proved utterly futile as air battered helplessly against the barrier.
As she looked at Sunset, she saw the devilish smile her tormentor wore. “When it’s on, it completely denies you the ability to breathe. As far as I know, you alicorns still need that in order to live.”
Cadance thrashed her head about, trying her best to shed the membrane. Though, no matter how hard she tried, there was nothing she could do to get rid of it.
“Relax, relax,” Sunset whispered. “You’re just going to burn through your oxygen like that, you idiot.”
Cadance gritted her teeth but took Sunset’s advice, settling down and not fighting against the runes. She could already feel the slight tingle of asphyxiation as it muddled with her senses. Her brow knitted as she concentrated, trying her best not to move even a single muscle.
Finally, Sunset’s horn pulsed and she fiddled with the gag. Soon the membrane faded and allowed precious air to return.
Cadance sucked it down, puffing rapidly to make up for what was lost. When she was finally settled, she affixed Sunset with an icy glare.
Sunset smirked, using her magic to embrace the obsidian sphere. “Now this little device can do all sorts of complex little things.” She fiddled with it some more, humming to herself as she worked. “For example, I can set it to deny you air, until you’re just on the brink of death. Then it’ll release, allowing you to breathe. And once you’ve had a little to starve off perishing? Well, I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”
She finally let go of the sphere and once more the membrane returned, clasping around Cadance’s snout. As promised, it denied her even the slimmest amount of breath. She’d learned her lesson, however, waiting patiently lest she burn through her precious reserves of oxygen.
How long did Sunset plan to play this little game for? A couple minutes? Ten or so?
Sunset smirked and leaned forwards, planting a kiss on Cadance’s cheek. “Have a good night, dear. It was nice to finally get a chance to know you a little better.”
Cadance’s eyes widened.
Wait…
Sunset drew away, making her way over to the cell’s entrance. She waved as she departed, her hoofsteps growing fainter and fainter.
Until finally… they were gone.
Cadance’s mind immediately went into a full-blown panic. She looked around frantically.
Already, her lungs felt so tender and she was under no illusion that this was going to get any better. Of course, the panic also resulted in her being quite the frantic creature, probably not helping with the ache in her chest.
Slowly her vision started to darken around the edges and she felt rather light-headed, maybe even intoxicated. She blinked but this did nothing to combat the haziness within her mind.
She attempted to shuffle around and shake her head but the aura that denied her air was not going away any time soon.
Her mind grew hazier and thoughts became even more jumbled together. Her eyes started to droop, fluttering closed. All the while the ache in her chest blossomed, growing more and more heated. Her lungs felt fatigued, barely even flexing at this point.
And… just as she was on the brink of expiring, the spell dissipated.
Air immediately came rushing back and Cadance gulped it down like a starving mare. Slowly, the burn subsided and clarity returned to her. Breath after breath, she greedily gulped it down until finally the burn had been reduced to a mere smolder.
Though, at that very second, the spell kicked back in and covered her snout once again.
Panic flared within her mind, returning in full force. She squirmed and moved around, trying her best to get free. Though all this managed to do was dig the chains into her forelegs, chafing the metal against her hide.
Rationally, she should’ve just succumbed to her condition and stayed calm. Yet, as she was slowly expiring from a lack of air, it was hard to think rationally. Instead, she breathed against the membrane, trying her best to get even the slimmest whiff into her lungs.
Once more, the creeping edge of asphyxiation returned to her, growing in intensity. Her thoughts were starting to muddle and her vision was tinted around the edges. She found it so hard to keep her head up and her eyelids were already fluttering closed.
She wondered how blue her cheeks must’ve looked.
And, yet again, as she stood on the brink of passing out, the spell dissipated and she was allowed to breathe. She had her fill though did so more slowly this time around, knowing that this spell was smart and rushing things would only quicken its return.
She took this moment to observe her surroundings. Maybe she’d spot something with a more rational mind.
There was really nothing around her that could’ve helped in this situation. The room was barren of anything besides cobblestone and the barred entrance.
She glanced down at her shackles. They seemed sturdy and had already started to rub her coat raw. There was no apparent weakness in them. No chance that she could just pull them asunder. This was a set that was meant to confine all types of creatures, including earth ponies.
Fuck
The membrane returned, forming around the tip of her snout. Though this time Cadance remained calm, staring stoically ahead.
There was no point in panicking.
After all…
This was going to be a very long night.
