A droplet of rain smacked Ebony in the face. She'd stayed on the roof of one of the village houses ever since that stallion had seen her. Or had he? She didn't make a sound, it was dark, and these ponies were obviously crazy.
"Maybe he was just looking in my direction and smiled," Ebony thought to herself.
Another droplet hit her, followed quickly by another. It was like Mother Nature, frustrated with Ebony's stalling, was trying to get her to go inside and find her friends. A part of her just wanted to leave, get back to Equestria, inform the princesses, and have them send in the military or somepony more qualified than one lone pegasus. She knew she couldn't run though; she'd made a promise long ago to never turn tail and run again, not after mom and dad.
Another 3 droplets hit her face and chest, followed by more. Ebony heard the crack of thunder in the distance. She flipped over onto her belly and peered at the church. There was only a single masked pony on guard, a stallion. Small but big enough to be a problem. Slowly, Ebony got off the roof and landed silently on the ground. Leaving was never an option; if nothing else, she needed to do this for Silver.
"Twi... you... why did you..." Lily's words met nopony. Her long time friend was gone, swallowed up by the darkness that lived deep in the hole. The image of Twilight Velvet with those soulless grey eyes would be one she'd never forget... if she would live to try.
"Lil...y."
Lily turned quickly to Silver, guilt washing over her. She hadn't even noticed him.
"Silver!" she exclaimed, rushing over only to stop in front of him and stare in horror. A trail of blood could be seen slowly flowing from his destroyed horn and down his face and mane. "S-Silver? Can you hear me?"
"Y... Yeah." Silver stumbled.
"I'm going to get you down from there, okay? Stay with me." Silver's eyes glazed over; his consciousness was fading quickly. "Hey! Come on, don't close your eyes!" Lily demanded. Quickly she took his restraints off and helped him off the table. He stood for a moment but then crumpled to the floor. Lily knelt down next to him and grabbed his forehoof, helping him back up. Quickly she drapped his foreleg over her shoulders and walked him to the door. Silver wasn't the biggest pony but she wasn't in tip-top shape.
As she stumbled to the door with Silver, Lily tried to recall how she ended up here. The last thing she remembered before getting knocked out and thrown in here was masked ponies... beating her. The images then began to flood back to her like a tidal wave. She had been chained up while two stallions took turns seeing how many strikes it took to make her scream. But the worst part was this wasn't the first time she had been tortured by the group. Flashes of painful memories had come back to her since she had awoken here, in this room—this was the room they took her wing, her ability to fly. She didn't remember much about before, with her old team. She just knew the pain.
As they reached the door, she turned to Silver. He was awake, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow. Her brain had tried to block out the memory of her wing being removed; no doubt the same would happen to him. It was probably for the best. Nopony should have to relive what they had been through. Lily took one last look back to the hole, then opened the door to the hall.
Ebony glared at the unconscious cultist below her. It appears that if that hornless unicorn 'had' seen her, he was the only one who could have. The normal cultists were nothing but average ponies, or they could at least be knocked out like average ponies The thought was comforting but then slowly that comfort faded. If that was true, it meant the old stallion she saw in front of the church was special somehow, perhaps blessed by the creature that dwelled in the hole.
Ebony spat and quickly took the young cultist's attire. God or no god, she had to save her team. It was her job, and she knew that despite it all, she couldn't leave Silver. He was a jerk, and arrogant to the core, but...
She grabbed a small dagger off her foe, then finally his mask. As she removed it, a wave of guilt rolled over her. A young colt, maybe in his teens. This was all he knew, that he was nothing and god was everything, just like the outcast. To him, he had found and intruder to their village, an outsider who was ready to destroy all they knew. Quickly she pushed away the guilt; her friends were in trouble, and that should be her only focus right now. Slipping on the mask, she slowly walked to the church door.
As soon as her hoof touched the church’s doorknob, she felt something... cold. Not physically cold, but the feeling one gets when being watched. Quickly, she turned around but nopony was there. The village was completely silent—only the rain could be heard lightly splashing the ground as more and more came down. Still, she was sure somepony had saw her. But the villagers were all in their houses, and even if they weren't, she was wearing the uniform. So what was giving her the chills? Slowly Ebony pushed the door open, sure now that she didn't want to know.
Silver crumpled to the ground again.
"Please, we have to keep moving!" Lily pleaded to him. Silver grunted in response. She knew they weren't going to make it out, not with him unable to move on his own and her whole body wanting desperately to lay down. Still, she knew it was this, or giving up. She made it out once, she could do it again! With newfound determination, she hoisted Silver up and started down the hall once more. Lily struggled down the hall—she wasn't sure where she was going but anywhere was better tha-
"Why, where are you two off to?"
Lily froze. It was him, the unicorn with no horn, standing no less than 10 feet from her.
"Now, you look familiar, yes, you were the one that got away," the stallion stated. Lily saw it then, the same soulless grey eyes Twilight wore before...
Lily stood silently, glaring at the stallion.
"I hope you weren’t planning on leaving," he said to them.
"Let us go... and there won't be any trouble," Lily began. "We won't tell anypony about this place, we'll leave, and never say a word."
The stallion pondered for a moment. "No. No, I can't allow that. Both of you... you're part of Him now. He'll be born tonight. Birthed from the unspoken lands. Free at last. And when He emerges, He'll grace us all with His light."
Lily's vision started to blur a bit; carrying Silver and the beating she received was really starting to take effect on her. Slowly, she layed Silver against the cave wall.
"Fine then... if we're both part of whatever is down there... then escape isn't an option," Lily stated with a smile.
"No," The unicorn with no horn stated coldly. "Escape was never an option for you."
"Then tell me," Lily said smiling. "What will your 'god' think when he shows up without his priest?"
The stallion looked at her confused for a moment, then broke out in a torrent of crazed laughter. "You want to kill me girl?!" he laughed. "You can't begin to-"
Lily's hoof connected firmly against the stallions jaw; he spun around and landed hard on the cave floor, blood flowing from his muzzle. Lily shook her now aching hoof.
"I've been waiting... over a year for that." Lily said, spitting on the stallion beneath her. Suddenly Lily heard hoofsteps coming from down the hall. She looked up and saw two massive stallions appear from around a corner. Lily looked down and smiled to Silver. "You know, you were always a jerk," she laughed. Even before she said the words, she could hear the thundering clops of the stallions coming for her. "Do me a favor Silver."
Silver looked up at her but just saw a blur move past him and then she was gone. He heard a high pitched scream, then a loud crack, then the hall was filled with silence. Silver lost consciousness again.