(Warning, this chapter contains vivid descriptions the torture and vivisection of our main character. Proceed with caution.)

Twilight emerged from the dreams of her past like a tempest-tossed sailor grasping for a floatation device. One moment she was barely aware of her surroundings, the next she could see a bit of the room she was in or hear smatterings of conversation.

“Should I perhaps utilize the same rage generator that has worked so well for the remnants?” a voice inquired, only to pause and answer their own question. “No, the subject’s intelligence will be key to defeating the slayer. Those who have relied purely on strength have been outwitted by the surprisingly keen-minded brute doggedly harrying our forces.”

Slayer, revenant, both words struck a chord with Twilight yet she had no context for either of them save for the obvious. Twilight could tell that from the way the voice spoke, that their was a bit more to them than what could be found in a dictionary. Her train of thought veered off course as her vision blurred, and her mind fell below the tugging tides of the void. She emerged either a moment or an eternity later, her body now strapped to what felt like a metal operating table.

“No lobotomy either,” murmured the voice as if from a great distance. “We cannot lose its intelligence, but we must remain in control of the specimen. Perhaps the same augmentations done to the frontal cortex of the reanimated Agaddon hunters would be applicable here.”

Twilight felt her head adjusted by a cruel hand, one that pried open her eyes, and peered intently into the orb. Immediately Twilight recognized the half-covered face of the strange man she had seen previously. Only his mouth was visible beneath his many-eyed, and helmeted head, many tiny eyes glowing a baleful red light.

“We will need to remove the centers of the brain associated with altruism and the like. Let us hope they are in similar locations to humans,” the man murmured, mostly to himself. “No matter. Exploratory brain surgery is always interesting.”

“Your tools, sir,” added another voice, one originating from somewhere to Twilight's right.

“Excellent. Fetch me another cranial unit for the doom hunter. Oh, and pass me that hacksaw before you go,” demanded the man standing above Twilight.

“Here you are, sir. What may I ask are you planning on using it for?” inquired the assistant’s voice.

“Think for a moment, fool. Such mass of pain receptors would be an easy weak spot for our foe to target,” growled the helmeted man.

“But sir, what about the mancubus-”

A dull boom cut off the man’s sentence. A moment later his lifeless corpse hit the ground with a wet splat.

“Now then, where was I?” murmured the man, turning in place and pointing at someone outside of Twilight's vision. “You there, fetch the required parts.”

Twilight tried to scream, to demand he stop, or beg if that failed, but found that a thick leather strap bound her mouth shut. The words she tried to yell turned to incoherent gurgling by the time they reached her lips. Struggling did little, as she was still too weak to break out of her bindings, or even cast a telekinesis spell.

“Ahh, so you are awake after all. Good, I do so enjoy seeing my subjects suffer,” exclaimed the man, a crooked grin crossing his face. “Though I cannot have you disrupting such a delicate operation.”

Again, Twilight tried to yell, the alicorn shaking her head vigorously in a silent attempt to placate her would-be torturer. Her efforts remained in vain, as he reached over and pressed several buttons on a keypad just barely at the edge of Twilight's vision. A moment later and something tiny but incredibly sharp jammed itself into her spine before depositing its chemical payload.

Feeling quickly began to flow out of Twilight's body once more, her extremities growing tingly after only a few beats of her heart. She expected to feel her vision begin to dull, and her senses leave her, yet she remained fully alert. In fact, she could feel everything perfectly, only she couldn't move so much as a single muscle.

“There we are,” Daeg Ranak remarked aloud. “Now to remove that pesky magic of yours from the equation.”

Twilight screamed internally, but found that she was still locked inside the prison that was her own body. Unable to move, or even look away, she watched as her torturer bent over the table, a brutal reciprocating saw held aloft. The machine was larger than the ones used for construction that Twilight was familiar with.

The cruel object descended towards Twilight's horn, engine howling, and blade becoming a blur of motion. Amidst the panic, Twilight held onto hope, hope that she would be rescued before she would be maimed. Only for that hope to be dashed the moment she felt the blade hit the edge of her horn and a spike of pain ram itself into her brain.

“Silly me. I should have locked your head down first,” Daeg Ranak murmured. “A moment.”

The man put down the saw, and moved over to the keypad, where he hit several of the buttons. Twilight couldn't tell what her captor was doing, as she was too busy staring in horror at her injured horn. The brief knick made by the tool had been enough to cut through the outer layer, causing her body’s natural man to begin leaking out.

“Oh, what's this?” Daeg Ranak remarked after securing Twilight's head to the table with another band of leather wrapped over the alicorn’s mouth. “It almost smells like argent energy, only more foul.”

The man disappeared for a moment, reappearing with a large wandlike mechanical device in his grip. The many-pronged piece of metal beeped loudly when placed over Twilight's injured horn. Readouts, numbers, and other indicators flashed on the measuring tool’s screen, none of which was visible to Twilight.

Who currently felt as though her very soul was leaking out from her forehead, the sensation not unlike having a major artery severed. She wanted to come up with a plan, but the agony she felt was so great that her thoughts were impossible to organize. Every time she felt like she was getting somewhere, her skull would throb, and she would mentally scream.

“Fascinating. If my readings are true the subject produces an energy not unlike argent. Only one more potent yet resistant to harvesting,” muttered the voice. “If its stubborn nature could be curtailed somewhat, then it may be a useful avenue of research indeed.”

He sighed. “Alas, I must put this aside for the moment. After the slayer has been dealt with I will return to better study this strange phenomenon further. For now, it will merely be used as fuel for the weapon systems I intend on hard wiring into the subject’s body.”

The sound of footsteps was accompanied by the appearance of a robed cultist, arms laden with metal and electronics. “Your parts, sir,” the new arrival declared.

“Put them over there, and bring me the prototype argent-powered mancubus cannon from storage,” Daeg Ranak barked.

“Yes sir,” replied the assistant.

“Now then, let us be rid of this foul thing,” Daeg Ranak declared.

Twilight struggled as viciously as she could, only for her titanic effort to amount to a single twitching eyelid. Unable to do anything, Twilight was forced to watch as the blade once more descended toward her unprotected horn. This time when it struck its target, her head did not mercifully get pushed away, allowing the metal to cut through the appendage.

Agony the likes of which there were no words to describe poured through Twilight's mind. A part of her shattered like glass, breaking under the mental strain of such an incredible amount of pain. Though she remained fully aware of her surroundings, her psyche was briefly sundered, giving her the smallest of breaks from the pain.

When her mind finished gathering the scattered parts of itself and began to reform, Twilight's horn was gone. Only the bloody, mana-oozing stump was visible, thick congealed purple energy oozing down the sides of her face. Above her stood Twilight's captor, a set of calipers measuring the alicorn’s head from several different angles.

“Thirty-three, forty-one, seventeen… perfect,” he whispered to himself, turning on his heel. “You three, construct the neuro link helmet while I press on the modifications.”

“Yes sir,” muttered a soft voice.

Off to the side, Twilight could see three humans begin work on what looked like a helmet. Only it came in two parts, and when clamped shut, would encapsulate the wearer’s entire head, right down to the top of their neck. In its center was a large ocular sensor of some kind, one surrounded by six smaller devices of similar origin, three on either side.

“Now then, let's remove those silly little emotions, and find a nice spot to install the obedience chip,” Daeg Ranak murmured under his breath.

Twilight quailed in terror, horrified beyond her ability to quantify at the mere implication within her captor’s words. Her greatest fears had always been the loss of her magic, and that of her autonomy, yet now it seemed as though she may experience them both. Her panicked thoughts were once more interrupted, this time by a pungent chemical being dumped on her head.

The unpleasant liquid burned away her hair, as well as part of her skin, scorching her eyes and causing even more tears to pour down her face. Twilight's vision blurred, the damage done to the delicate orbs increasing with each moment until she was rendered mostly blind. Only dull shapes were visible, the blobs of color lacking any manner of definition to them.

The resulting loss of vision was not seemingly a concern to Twilight's torturer, who continued to move swiftly. Grabbing something from a tray, Twilight felt a knife dig into the scalp directly above her horn. A large chunk was then carved out in a slow, agonizing process that left Twilight beginning for someone to save her.

Help never arrived though, as she soon felt the chunk of flesh be removed, and seemingly discarded without a care. A new, fresh horror awaited her a moment later when something began to press against her exposed skull. It was accompanied by intense pressure and a faint whirring sound that rang in the alicorn’s ears.

Though she couldn't know for certain, Twilight was fairly sure that her skull was being removed. Sure enough, she saw something white be lifted out of view shortly after the pressure went away. A moment later and she felt something round and soft press itself into her exposed grey matter.

The sensations were unlike anything Twilight had experienced, and she wouldn't have been able to put them into words if she tried. Whatever was prodding around inside of her brain caused numerous odd sensations to occur. Images appeared before her eyes, thoughts popped into her mind, and she felt phantom sensations running up her paralyzed limbs.

Then with dawning horror, she felt something sharp descend, and begin to cut. Within what felt like hours, but could have been mere moments, the surgery was complete and Twilight's emotions felt distant. Though she was aware of her own panic, and horror, she found herself unable to be moved by them. It was as if she were locked within the logical mindset she sometimes used to better analyze problems.

So strong was this disconnect that even the abject terror of having some primal part of her being get cut away was a mere annoyance. She struggled to even be angry at her torturer, who she seemed unable to focus on, a mental haze falling over her. Neurons cut loose, slowly died, and connections now severed searched for something else to attach themselves to.

“Fascinating,” murmured Daeg Ranak’s voice. “This foreign energy is knitting the grey matter back together in such a way that it seems to be adapting to the loss of its emotional centers. I must move quickly.”

Twilight was barely even aware of what her captor said, as a creeping dread overcame her logical mind. This was it, the final moment possible that she could be saved before something truly unforgivable was done to her. The alicorn expected to hear explosions, or the sound of magic, but there was only the click-whir of machines and the muttering of her tormentor.

A bit of movement accompanied by a sharp pinching sensation was the only warning she got that her hope was well and truly in vain. Something hard and metal found itself wedged deep in her brain, several long prongs, anchoring it to her medulla oblongata. A bolt of electricity ran down her spine, though the sensation failed to make her paralyzed muscles move an inch.

As Twilight panicked and mentally cried out for help, she felt more machinery be pushed inside of her skull. Taking the place of the chunk now removed, the boxy thing was cabled to the chip, as well as several other points in her brain. Over a dozen spikes weaved through the folds in her grey matter before jamming into different parts of her.

Parts of her mind began to become walled off, memories becoming inaccessible as some other will forced itself upon her psyche. Within moments Twilight went from a prisoner in her body, to a slave. Signals sent not from her began to course through her form, linking up with nerves to form a secondary system within her.

Then, just when things didn't seem capable of getting any worse, she felt her vision vanish completely. A moment later her head was encapsulated in a thick metal shell, one that made it impossible to hear or see out of. With a click she was sealed inside, her senses now completely walled off from the outside world. Unable to hear or see, Twilight felt her panic reach heights she hadn't even thought possible.

Then, something connected, and with a whir, her vision returned to her once more. Only this time she could see the entire room, in fact, she could see almost three hundred and sixty degrees. The dark, mostly lightless room was gone, replaced by one bathed in a strange reddish glow that illuminated even the deepest shadow.

It then flipped, and she saw the various heat sources including her captor, as well as his assistants. She didn't get a chance to look around for long, as her vision flicked out, leaving her in the dark once more. Audio then returned, shocking the alicorn due to the sheer volume of the noise being pumped directly into her brain. Thankfully it adjusted itself a moment later, becoming much more bearable but still deeply unpleasant.

“Testing, testing,” stated the voice of Twilight's master, Daeg Ranak. “Good, the subject is receiving orders.”

Twilight quailed in terror, her mind mentally labeling the man’s voice as one belonging to her lord and master.

“Now, let's just remove this,” murmured the Daeg Ranak.

A few deft cuts severed Twilight's vocal cords, an unnecessarily cruel act as her jaw was already locked in place.

“Subject redeemer one, state your current status,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

“Redeemer one operational,” Twilight felt herself say, not with words, but through some manner of radio communication sent by some part of her mind. “Compliance at one hundred percent.”

“Excellent,” stated a proud Daeg Ranak. “Subject has shown a remarkable adaptability unseen in even the most resilient of demonic entities. Activate speakers and utilize direct transmission for further responses.”

Twilight felt her vision return to what was likely her new normal. That being the dull red that allowed her to see everything around her in sharp detail.

“Domination protocols active. Safety level five,” Daeg declared while tapping away at the keypad attached to the operating table.

“Acknowledged. Safety level five enabled,” Twilight felt herself reply, the sound emitting from speakers built into her helmet.

Twilight was dimly aware of another needle jamming itself into her spine and depositing more liquid into her. This time she felt her limbs suddenly come alive, rather than become dull, heavy, and useless. Seeing this as her moment to finally escape, Twilight tried to tug at her bindings but was surprised when they simply fell away with little prompting.

With hope and panic coursing through her, she tried to run for the door but instead sat up on the table. Sensation filled every part of her, yet no matter how hard she tried to flee, to escape the sadistic torturer before her, she could do nothing. Instead, she just sat there, staring emptily ahead, as if waiting for orders from the person who her mind recognized as her master.

“Redeemer One, extend your arms,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

Twilight lifted her arms, unable to resist the man’s commands no matter how much she wanted to.

“Keep them held out until I say otherwise,” Daeg Ranak added.

“Acknowledged,” Twilight stated.

Twilight watched in horror as a second table set at about navel height was wheeled over. On it was a large tube-like device made of some manner of metal. As long as her arm starting from her elbow, and going just barely beyond the tips of her fingers, it looked heavy.

Strangest of all was the mess recess built into one end, the hole dominated by a single massive spike. Twilight was dimly aware that such a space was just large enough to fit her arm inside, though she refused to entertain the idea. She tried to look away, but without eyelids, or the ability to even move her head, she could not avoid observing her fate.

“Remove the limb just after the elbow,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

The largest of the three servants nodded and fired up what looked like a handheld circular saw meant for trees. When the device activated, its howl filled Twilight with a renewed sense of horror and dread. She knew what was coming, and knew that she could not avoid her fate, as it was her master’s will.

Down came the saw, the vicious blades hitting Twilight's skin and nearly bouncing off. Though far stronger than the flesh of a normal being, even the alicorn could not resist the bite of the saw. Hunks of bloody meat came loose, spattering the ground in a thick layer of gore.

Again Twilight wished to scream, only for her orders to stop such an urge dead in its tracks. She was trapped within the confines of the mental prison, Twilight was utterly helpless. Sitting there, she could do nothing but silently cry out in agony as her arm was sawed off, the blade catching briefly on her bone. A bit more force pushed through the stubborn thing, allowing the saw to finish its grisly work.

Twilight watched as her arm fell to the ground, fingers twitching as the nerves within died. Blood shot out of the stump, soaking the robed and hooded men that had just removed Twilight's limb.

“Blood levels dropping rapidly. Combat effectiveness at thirteen percent,” Twilight felt herself say.

“Silence any further notifications until such time that Redeemer One is near death,” Daeg Ranak stated.

Twilight's head nodded without her consent.

“Attach the weapon,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

His assistants moved into position and hefted the heavy gun limb so it lined up with Twilight's stump. Then, just as Twilight guessed, they rammed it forward, impaling her arm on the weapon with a wet thump. Though she couldn't scream, Twilight did clench her jaw slightly, earth magic already working on sealing up the wound.

Metal bindings secured the weapon in place, ensuring that it could not be removed without hacking off even more of the alicorn’s limb. Wires were then run from the device, and into the soft flesh of Twilight's lower arm. Finally, a large tube was attached to a port at the back of the gun and left to dangle for the moment.

“Bring me dual argent access port six from the wall,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

An assistant acquired what looked like a metal hand, its fingers ending with sharp claws from which extended several thick cables. Where there would be a wrist there were instead two bundles of wires that ended in a pair of ports.

“Turn to the side,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

Twilight obeyed without question, allowing the man access to her back.

Daeg then took the metal device from his assistant and unseriously jammed thing into Twilight's back right below her neck. The four long fingers dug deep into the alicorn’s flesh, the appendages moving with a will all their own. Winding around her spine, the various tubes and wires extended further into Twilight's body.

The entire process took several minutes. Minutes spent sitting in quiet agony, the alicorn unable to do anything.

A series of sharp pinches sent a tremor through Twilight's body. With the final jab, she felt the magic she thought she had lost, suddenly return, only now it was bleeding out of her back. Beneath the flesh, Twilight could feel her internal leylines begin the slow process of shifting around inside of herself.

“Attach the argent collection tube,” Daeg Ranak ordered.

“Yes sir,” muttered one of the men.

A soft thunk and a twist secured the pipe leading from the gun to Twilight's spine. The moment this happened, magic flooded down the tube, filling the weapon, and causing it to begin to glow. Exhaust ports flared, opening wide in order to allow a burst of steam to shoot out the sides.

“Excellent,” Daeg Ranak proclaimed. “To think I allotted months of painful surgery. I simply must acquire more of you once I have dealt with the slayer.”

Twilight felt her heart sink even further, and she trembled at the thought of her friends, or fellow princesses being tortured as she was. So distracted by her own horrified imaginings that Twilight was only dimly aware of her captor redying another device. This one appeared to be a tube a foot or so long, though it ended in five cables a quarter the size of the larger segment. These smaller black cables were nearly five feet in length and had blood-red tips the shape of a fingernail.

“Finally. I can test the neuro argent channels on something stronger,” Dark Ranak began in a tone more akin to a speech than an explanation. “Meant originally for the whiplash so that it may use the abilities a hell knight utilizes naturally, it was an unmitigated failure. Redeemer One is far more likely to survive the process of integration, however.”

Twilight wanted to plead for him to stop but soon resigned herself, the alicorn knowing full well that she could neither speak nor resist.

The thicker end of the tube was attached to the port near Twilight's neck with a firm shove and then a click. Magic entered the tube, and pushed down, filling all available space. The moment it reached the five, thinner cables, the things came to life and dug their bladed ends into Twilight's upper arm. Once inside her limb, they tunneled downward, past her bicep, elbow, and finally wrist.

There they pushed their way down Twilight's hand before erupting out of the tips of the alicorn’s fingers. The skin, muscle, bone, and nail were replaced by a black metal adorned with razor-sharp red claws. It all happened so fast that Twilight barely even had time to grapple with the horror of having several foreign objects tunneling through her flesh before it was over.

“Redeemer One, state the status of arm cannon, and neuro argent channels,” Daeg commanded.

“Operational,” Twilight replied, her voice emanating from the speakers present in her helmet.

“You may very well be ready ahead of schedule. I will have to speed up the surgeries I had planned. But first, a test in order to see how successful the mental programming and new weapons are,” Daeg Ranak declared.

“Advise allowing unit Redeemer One time to recuperate. Probability of catastrophic system failure at eighty-nine percent,” Twilight stated.

Daeg stopped, and leaned in close, glaring at the alicorn. “Is that so?”

“Confirmed,” Twilight replied.

For a moment the two eyeless creatures stared at one another before Daeg reluctantly backed off.

“Redeemer One is to return to their designated cell and enter medical stasis for five hours. After which, await further orders,” Daeg stated.

“Confirmed,” Twilight robotically answered.

The alicorn then rose and began to walk off, her mind connecting to the local network. Acquiring a map of the area was strangely easy and was done completely without any conscious effort. Twilight strode over to the exit and paused, waiting for the system to read her clearances and allow her to pass. A moment later the door opened, and a confused cultist awkwardly ran past Twilight after she stepped out of the way.

“Sir, the slayer was spotted,” the new arrival whispered.

“What, already? How is this possible?” Daeg Ranak demanded.

“I don't know,” admitted the cultist. “But reports indicate that the slayer is angrier than usual, and is making his way towards this very facility.”

“We will need to accelerate our timetables, and-”

Whatever Daeg Ranak was about to say was cut off when Twilight continued on, the door hissing shut behind her. Left without the presence of her captor, Twilight felt strangely hopeful despite the lingering horror of her recent disfigurement. Only the partial removal of the emotion centers of her brain kept that cloying terror from overwhelming her completely.

Why does this slayer fill me with hope? Twilight wondered to herself.

Author's Note

This is part of the 12 days of christmas, head over here to keep track of all the cool stuff coming down the pipes. If you want to ensure I can afford to keep doing stuff like this, consider backing me over on Subscribestar or Patreon.