//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Meeting the Monsters 
// Story: The Howlite Howler 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. 
“So, that’s when you first ran into the ponies,” she noted. “Care to elaborate?” 
Shiva looked away. “I don’t like remembering that time,” she mumbled. 
Twilight’s gaze faltered, but she forced it into a grimace. 
“I need to know what happened,” she insisted. “The way you got here answers some questions, but I need to know more. What did you do to those ponies? How do I know they weren’t just trying to help you?”
Shiva’s worried gaze faded into a snarl. “Help me?” she asked. 
The guards bristled, ready to charge back in and hit her. Giving them a hateful glare, Shiva stamped her anger down and continued her story.

#

My eyes fluttered back open. At first, I thought my sight was damaged – strange bars obscured my vision. But when I put a hand out, my claw tips brushed against metallic bars… wider than two of my claws together, evenly spaced and securely anchored into both floor and ceiling. A brief glance around revealed I was entrapped in that cage that I had spotted next to the wagon. The same wagon loomed over my new prison, shrouding me in its shadow.
A shudder vibrated throughout my entire body, and it wasn’t from nervousness. The cage was moving; dragged alongside the red wagon to which it had been attached to. The wagon was making its way through the gnarled tree trunks and towards a thin mountain. The campsite I had found was long gone. From my elevated position, I realized the shuddering was coming from wheels rolling across the ground and the elevation of the cage a couple feet off the ground.
I grabbed at the bars. Shaking them didn’t even rattle them, so I tried to peer through. I made out movement ahead of the wagon; what looked like equines, which probably explained how we were moving. I felt an odd memory punctuate my rattled mind: horse-drawn carriages; where humans once relied upon horses to move heavy loads around.
But if the horses were there, then that had to mean a human was controlling them. My hopes flared up.
“Hey!” I barked. “Hey!”
The wagon shuddered to a stop.
“Master!” I barked. “Where’s Master?”
A THUD like something hitting the ground sounded from the front. My tail started to wag. If that was a human coming my way, he or she had to know something about Master, right?
Problem was, the thing that came off the wagon wasn’t human.
It was a pony. A bright red stallion with a golden mane and some sort of black coat. An odd picture of a whip adorned his flank. Golden eyes narrowed in anger, and a spiral horn on its head glowed. I tilted my head at the odd display, before I noticed the whip lashing up and carving through the air.
Right towards me!
With a thwip-CRACK, pain exploded across my chest. I fell backward, slamming against the other side of the cage. I stared down at the thin cut along my chest. A shiver went through me as blood slowly started to drip down. 

#

Shiva paused, noticing Twilight’s aghast expression.
“He… whipped you?” she whispered.
“LIES!”
A new tormentor came in: a tall dark horse with a flowing midnight-blue mane and tail. Feathery wings were tucked at her side, and a horn – like the purple unicorns, but longer and sharper - grew from her forehead. She wore pitch black regalia outfitted with a white crescent moon, matching the crescent moon on her flank. She radiated both power and menace, and the glare in her cerise eyes practically shot beams of disgust and anger at the white wolf. Shiva barely had enough time to shrink back before the horse spun on her front legs and kicked her in the side. 
Shiva hit the wall with a cry while Twilight backed up in horror.
“L-Princess Luna!” she cried. 
“How dare thou state such falsities!” the midnight horse bellowed, shoving her horn at Shiva’s neck. “How dare thou try to justify thy heinous crime with lies!”
“But…” Shiva gagged. “I’m not…”
“I will find the truth!” the ‘Luna’ declared, her horn glowing. “We will probe thy brain until the truth is revealed to us!”
Shiva raised a claw in defense, but then Luna’s horn flashed.

#

The next thing Shiva knew, she was back in the cage. 
“W-What…?” she whimpered, before she heard the whip getting lashed again. Her eyes darted up, and she saw the lash descending through the cage bars at her again. Shiva screamed and brought her arms up, shielding her face.
But while the CRACK of the whip sounded again, pain didn’t come to her. Instead, light blazed around Shiva. Shiva’s eyes darted up as two lightning bolts crisscrossed over each other, deflecting the whip before sputtering out into nothing. The unicorn backed up, eyes wide in alarm. 
“What in Luna’s Moon…” the unicorn breathed.
Shiva stared down at her claws, the lightning continuing to flicker around her. With a snarl, she started to rise up, her fear slowly being replaced by anger. 
The unicorn swore and tossed aside his whip.
“No you don’t,” he growled. “SLEEP!”
Shiva felt the spell settle over her again. Briefly, she tried to resist it. She seized the bars as she fell, clutching them with everything she had. Her fur glowed brighter, and though she fell to her knees, she didn’t pass out. Her hackles bared, and she glared at her captor with a slowly growing growl.
“Dangit!” the unicorn growled, his face straining before he glanced off to the side. “Walker!”
Shiva was too focused on resisting the effects of the sleep spell. She failed to notice the sound of a second pony jumping down. But she did notice the flash of brown running towards her. And when she turned her head, she got a very good look at the hoof barreling towards her face.

#

The first thing that returned to Shiva as she awoke was a splitting pain in her head. Like, instead of being hit by a hoof, she had been hit by an axe. She also became aware of cold metal, wrapped around her snout. As she tried to lift her claws up to the offending metal, the clink of chains sounded, followed by something pulling her claws back. And as Shiva’s eyes slowly opened, taking in the metal band on her snout and the chains hog-tying her paws together, she also picked up the murmur of voices. 
“It’s impossible!” one was saying. “They can’t be using magic!” 
“Then tell me what that white lightning around it was?” the gruff voice of the unicorn demanded. 
“I don’t know!” the first voice said. “But I know it ain’t magic.”
“Those beasts are always kidnapping ponies,” a third voice cut in. “You don’t think that they somehow managed to steal magic away from unicorn captives.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” the first voice dismissed. “They aren’t nearly smart enough for that. And even if they were, why would they let one of these new ‘diamond dog mages’ go out on their own?”
“Dear Celestia, ‘diamond dog mage’ sounds so stupid,” the unicorn grumbled. 
Shiva managed to lift herself to a sitting position. She blearily made out the unicorn, pegasus and earth pony gathered in a circle around her. The unicorn noticed her, and his eyes narrowed in a grimace. He strode over, his whip floating to his side. 
Her heart slammed in her chest. Shiva scrambled back, but her back hit the other side of the cage all too soon. She cowered in the corner, trying to make herself look harmless and scared. 
“Breaker,” the normal horse warned. “Be careful…” 
But then the whip lashed. And pain exploded down Shiva’s back. 
Shiva reared her head up with a muffled scream. The power hadn’t come back, and now two thin cuts along Shiva’s arm and back were bleeding. The unicorn huffed.
“No flashy powers now, huh?” he noted, coiling his whip and turning to the others. “Looks like magic to me. Never knew we’d need that magic suppressor for anything other than bedroom antics.” 
The winged horse blushed and looked away, while the horse merely rolled his eyes. Shiva didn’t fully understand, but as she glanced down at the band, a nauseous feeling oozed through her gut at the thought of where the band had been.
“Stop being disgusting,” the normal horse said. “We may know how to control it, but we don't understand what it is. We need a professional."
"What, like Princess Celestia or her brat of a student?" 
"Why not? That brat took on Nightmare Moon and Discord; she’ll know what to do.”
The winged horse scoffed. “Bring a diamond dog into Ponyville?” she demanded. “After what they put the Element of Generosity through? Be serious, Walker.”
“Summer’s right,” the unicorn – Breaker, Shiva supposed – replied. “We know how to control it, and that's enough." He grinned at her. "A fighter like this will be perfect for the pits."
Walker still flinched. “And you're sure it won’t spread this magic ability to the others?” he asked. 
The winged horse – Summer – laughed. “We’ve had those dogs long enough,” she said. “They’re too broken to try anything. Besides; as long as the magic suppressor’s on, there’s nothing that little beast can do anyway.” 
“Speaking of which…” Breaker noted, turning back to Shiva with a malicious grin. 
Shiva twisted, covering her head, only to force out another muffled shriek as the lash carved down her back a third time. 
“You still need to know who the Master is?!” Breaker demanded. 
Another lash carved down her back. Shiva grit her teeth and moaned curling into a fetal position.
“Breaker,” Summer called. “I think she gets it.”
“If they were just animals, I’d be inclined to agree with you,” Breaker said. “But let’s make sure…” Shiva heard him step closer, but scrunched herself further into her corner. “Who’s the Master?” 
Shiva didn’t reply. His whip snapped, and Shiva felt a fifth lash carve down her back.
“Who’s the Master?!” he demanded, the thwip of a sixth incoming lash emanating.
“YOU ARE!” Shiva screamed as best she could through the band. “BREAKER IS MASTER! EQUINE IS MASTER! JUST PLEASE STOP HITTING ME!!”
She curled tighter into her ball, sobbing in utter terror. Her crying only increased when she heard Breaker’s ugly laugh.
“See? That’s how Princess Celestia really did it,” he declared. “Asserted her superiority and made them afraid and compliant. She can act all nice and polite now, but this is what's really waiting anyone who disobeys her.” 
Another set of steps sounded. Fearfully, Shiva peered over her shoulder, noticing Walker watching her with an uneasy air.
“She’s not quite like the other diamond dogs,” he noted. “She gave in a lot faster than they did.”
“Maybe the magic makes em smarter but more fragile,” Breaker theorized with a scoff. “Like it matters. For some reason, Princess Celestia didn’t see fit to wipe them all out, so it’s up to us to at least make sure that they know their place.” He turned back to Shiva, who winced under his glare. “That right, mutt?” 
“Yes!” she yelped quickly. 
The unicorn huffed. “Keep it that way.” He ordered, before he and Walker walked back to the wagon. “C’mon; I want to see what this girl can do in the pits.”  
The unicorn vanished out of sight, only for his voice to roar in rage a moment later.
“Walker! That’s my spot!”
“Was your spot,” the brown stallion’s voice replied. “Now, it’s your turn to drive.”
“I could whip you off there, you know!”
“You do, and I’ll make sure the boss knows where I got the scar.” 
The two argued back and forth, but it seemed they were done tormenting the dog for now. Shiva pulled herself to a sitting position, their back fur sticking thanks to her blood. She and instinctively started licking at the wound on her arm, failing to quell the shaking in her legs.
Master had never struck her before. Even when she had done real bad things, liking making a mess on her living room floor, Shiva had never been struck or hurt like this before. Fear and rage battled in her mind over these cruel, odd talking ponies. The turmoil wasn’t helped by the confusion her only defense brought on. She gazed forlornly down at her claws, wondering what had triggered the white lightning, and how she could bring it back. She tried to pull the band off, but it was stuck fast, almost like they had glued it to her fur. After a few attempts, Shiva feared that she’d have to rip the skin off to remove it.
“That’s not going to work,” Summer’s voice added.
Shiva jumped as the winged horse returned; light purple with a green, frazzled mane. She giggled at Shiva’s fear. 
“You’re definitely the easiest diamond dog we’ve broken down,” she noted. “Guess when they figured out how to give you magic, they took away some of your moxie, eh?” 
Moxie? Diamond Dog? Magic?! 
Shiva had so many questions. And Summer didn’t give her the chance to ask, sliding a bowl of dog food and a bowl of water before her… and then leveling a crossbow at her. Shiva backed up in shock. 
“I’m gonna take that band off so you can eat,” Summer said. “But if I see even a speck of fur glowing on you…” she indicated her crossbow’s bolt. “This’ll go right up your nose.” 
Shiva nodded in understanding. Still keeping the crossbow pointed at her, Summer raised a hoof to Shiva’s snout… and slipped the ring off as easy as if she was pulling a horseshoe off a stick.
Shiva stared at the band in shock. “But…” she stammered. “I couldn’t…”
“Did you honestly think you could?” Summer laughed. “It’s magic, dirt dog; only the pony that put it on can take it off.” She sat against the cage. “Now… you gonna eat? Or did I waste my time coming here?”
Shiva’s stomach answered before she could, and she dove onto the food and water. The food was rather dry, but the water made up for it. And despite her heart still quivering in terror at these ponies, Shiva’ stomach and throat felt soothed by the offering. 
As Shiva washed down the last bit of food with the water, Summer came forward with the band.
“Wait…” Shiva stammered. “I still have…” But she froze as Summer aimed the crossbow at her. Silenced, Shiva was helpless as Summer slipped the band back over her snout.
Shiva whimpered, but the mare just gave her a smile. A smile that didn’t reach her eyes the way it did with Master. 
“You learned quicker than most,” the mare praised. “Just follow the rules, accept that we’re better,” she added with a small chuckle. “And this’ll be so much easier for every pony.” 
And with another wink, the mare shut the cage door, flapped her wings, and disappeared into the top of the wagon. A second later, a shudder ran through the cage, and they were pulled back onto the road.
Shiva whimpered, finding a position on the floor where she could keep her new wounds elevated. With the band around her snout and her arms and legs chained, there wasn’t much she could do but wait. Wait and find out what they were going to do with her. 

#

Shiva gasped, breaking out of the memory with a ragged panting. Above her, a wisp of mist faded, the last remnants of her own resigned face fading with them.
“Ah-ha!” Luna declared. “You see, Twilight Sparkle?! They were going to discover secrets the diamond dogs wanted to keep hidden! Obviously, that’s why she killed them!”
“But… Princess,” Twilight whispered. “The whipping? And…”
“Illusions!” Luna insisted, though her eyes did dart to the still visible scars down Shiva’s back. “Tricks to make us feel sorry for this filth! Admittedly good ones, too. But not to worry, Twilight Sparkle.” Her horn flared again. “We shall discern the truth.” 
“Wait-wait-WAIT!” Shiva barked, but the lunar alicorn forced her back into the memories.
She wasn’t sure how the alicorn was ‘discerning the truth.’ All Shiva knew was that it forced her back into the memories. And forced her to relive what those ponies had done to her.