It wasn’t Luna who returned to Shiva’s cell. It was Twilight. She stood before Shiva again, but Shiva glared up at her, a fresh though from the trip down memory lane only making her angrier at the purple mare.
“How did they get him?” Shiva asked quietly.
“Who?” Twilight demanded, but her teeth were clenched, and her eyes brimmed with conflict. She knew who Shiva was talking about, and they both knew it.
“Spike called you his friend,” Shiva insisted. “He said you'd come for him. But how did he get there in the first place?”
“I didn’t know...!” Twilight tried to insist.
"How could you not know?!" Shiva demanded. “You’re his Master! You’re supposed to care about him. How could you let him be taken?"
“W-Well how could you murder ponies?” Twilight weakly insisted, her stern facade cracking.
“Because they tortured me!” Shiva protested. “Probably for Celestia’s…”
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight corrected sharply. “And she would never condone something like that.”
“How about Luna?”
“Ponies,” Twilight growled out. “Do not resort to torture and violence to create peace with other races.”
“Then who gave me THESE?!” Shiva snapped, indicating the scars on her back.
The two females glared at each other, silently judging each other. Twilight was the first to break and looked at the wall bitterly.
“You saved my dragon,” she admitted. “You were there… when I wasn’t.” Her eyes fell on Shiva’s scars again. “It doesn’t excuse what you did… but I do appreciate it.” Her horn lit up, and a platter of food appeared, setting itself down before the wolf. “Thank you.”
Shiva huffed, and glanced away. She wouldn’t have eaten even if she was hungry. The tray only had leaves that reminded Shiva of a few dangerous plants in the wild, some odd bland-looking white squares, and strangest of all, pink cupcakes.
Master had warned her against eating cupcakes – pink or otherwise. She made it clear that eating them was dangerous; that even if they smelled or tasted nice, they would wreak havoc on Shiva’s stomach.
The clank of the cell door jarred Shiva out of her thoughts. She turned around as Twilight opened the door… and the same yellow mare from the cave looked in, a white box with a red cross on the front clutched in her teeth.
“She’s not eating?” she asked.
Shiva stood up, her back-fur flaring. “What in the name of everything evil is she doing here?!” Shiva rasped.
Twilight glared back at her. “This is Fluttershy,” she said. “Princess Celestia’s on her way back from Saddle Arabia to meet you, and Fluttershy can clearly control you with her Stare.”
Fluttershy winced at the glower Shiva gave her, but Twilight nudged her with a grimace.
“She has full permission to do it again if you don’t behave.”
Shiva’s ears fully perked before flattening, a malicious growl bubbling from her snout.
“Don’t give me that!” Twilight snapped, even as her voice cracked. “You may have saved my dragon, but you still have to answer for five dead ponies.” She pointed a hoof at her. “When Princess Celestia gets here, you’re going to behave, and she’ll figure out what to do with you.”
“Twilight…” Fluttershy protested, indicating the fading scars across Shiva’s body. “She’s hurt.”
Twilight looked at her, and her expression softened. She sighed.
“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” she said.
Fluttershy nodded, Twilight walked away. Fluttershy gave Shiva a sad look, but the wolf just turned away from her. Her growl nearly drowned out the mare’s squeak of horror as she beheld the scars of her time with Breaker.
“Oh, my…” Fluttershy whispered. “I... never noticed how bad it..." She cooed sadly. "You poor thing…”
“Save your pity,” Shiva growled. “I know you don’t really care.”
Fluttershy gasped, putting a hoof to her chest.
“B-But I do care,” Fluttershy insisted. “I promise, I’m only here to help.”
Shiva scoffed, keeping Fluttershy from gaining eye contact. Fluttershy sighed.
“I’m not going to use the Stare again,” Fluttershy insisted. “I promise. I didn’t want to use it before. I was just scared you were going to hurt Twilight.”
Shiva’s tail tucked; Fluttershy was right to be afraid for her friend, and the wolf knew it. But she couldn’t admit that; not while she was in such a vulnerable position.
“Please… don’t be mad,” Fluttershy pleaded. “I believe you went through a horrible time. And I’m going to try and help you. Just… please…” She inched forward carefully. “Give me a chance.”
Shiva glowered at Fluttershy, who gazed at her with imploring eyes. But then her eyes flicked past her, to Twilight and the two guards. They had poked their heads in and were giving her the evil eye. Shiva felt resignation tug at her; if she resisted, those three would likely subdue her. Fluttershy probably didn’t need them; she could just Stare Shiva into submission by eye contact. There weren’t many choices where Shiva got to maintain her dignity here.
Shiva sighed, and kept her back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s eyes darted back and forth.
“Um… so…” she whispered. “Is that a ‘yes?’”
“Do what they want you to do,” Shiva mumbled. “Then go away.”
Fluttershy winced but glanced at the guards and took her opportunity. She inched forward, opening her case and pulling out bandages and disinfectant.
Shiva’s head bowed as Fluttershy began cleaning the blood from her fur and checking over the many lash marks Breaker had given her. The mare tried to be gentle, but Shiva’s muscles tensed whenever she touched her. She already saw what this mare could do with a stare alone; Shiva didn’t know what she was doing with this little ‘meek and mild’ game, but the wolf was certain it had to be some kind of trick.
Shiva sighed, causing Fluttershy to jump. Disinfectant splashed onto one of Shiva’s scars.
“Sorry,” she squeaked. “I didn’t…”
But Shiva ignored her apologies, lost in thought.
With Master – the true master, Shiva found herself thinking – she at least liked her place in life. Master fed her, sheltered her and loved her. In exchange, Shiva protected Master, comforted Master, and loved Master. That had been the deal.
But this new deal? Where she had to obey and be beaten in exchange for barely anything? It wasn’t fair! Why was Shiva being punished for defending herself?
Because you didn’t defend yourself, a small voice in the back of her mind said.
She thought back to how it felt; having Breaker dying in her claws. At the time, it was amazing. She had beaten him. He wouldn’t hurt her or anyone else anymore. But her actions had gotten her here; mind violated by a princess, and now being forced to let some demon masquerading as an innocent girl tend to her.
And what about Twilight? Shiva recalled. What had the purple unicorn done? She may have tried to take Spike, but apparently, she was his master. And Spike clearly seemed to have some measure of care for her, even if she had made him mad. Sure, she wasn’t as great of a master as Shiva’s, but did that really justify Shiva trying to kill her too?
Shiva sighed. What would Master say about all this?
Her ears perked. She turned back to Fluttershy and Twilight.
“Twilight?” she asked. “What did you mean by… my master… fusing with me?”
Fluttershy winced, while Twilight’s ears perked. They glanced at each other.
“Is there a chance she’s out there?” Shiva pressed. “Could I… is she here?”
Twilight’s ears flattened. “We combed over the woods where you appeared,” she said. “There were no humans out there. Plus…” Twilight sighed, and took one of the cupcakes from the platter.
“Pinkie Pie wanted you to have this,” she noted, setting down the cupcake. She indicated the writing. “Can you read it?”
Shiva peered at the offering. Just as pink, but slightly bigger. And with words written across the top. Somehow, she knew what the words said.
“Thanks for saving Spike,” she read.
Twilight hummed. “What was your master’s name?”
Shiva paused, but the answer came to her.
“Evelyn,” she whispered. “Evelyn Shepard.”
“And... were there things she knew... that you didn't?"
Shiva glared at her.
"Try thinking," Twilight prompted. "What would your master know that you didn't?"
"What kind of question is...?" but before Shiva could complete her sentence... answers popped into her mind.
"She was seeing somebody," Shiva whispered. "Gary. She was worried about bringing him over to our house since I was technically wild. He was a city boy, but..." Shiva clutched her head in shock. “How did I know that?”
Twilight nodded.
“Her body, memories and abilities must have been assimilated into you,” she said. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “That’s… actually kind of amazing, when I think about it.” she broke into a grin. “Do you think that has something to do with your power? I’m wondering if you somehow assimilated unicorn magic after your first encounter with Breaker.”
“But…” Shiva was starting to look scared. “Wouldn’t they talk to me, then? Wouldn’t I hear their voices or something?”
Twilight tapped her chin, her anger at Shiva forgotten in lieu of something she could theorize on.
“Well, normally you could,” she said, “Though, there’s also the possibility that their personalities got merged into your own. If Breaker was as bad as you said he was, you certainly took some of his ruthlessness. And I’m not sure about this ‘Evelyn,’ but if she was assimilated and her personality was overridden with yours…”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy hissed. She indicated Shiva.
Twilight gasped. Shiva was staring at her as if she had kicked her between the eyes. Her claws were digging into her skull, and small beads of blood were beginning to appear around her claws.
“She’s… overridden?” Shiva whispered. “As in… gone?!”
“I mean… can’t you talk to her?” Twilight asked, trying to backtrack. “Are you absolutely sure you can’t hear her voice?”
Shiva looked down, shaking her head in slowly mounting panic. “I… don’t know,” Shiva whimpered. “I can’t hear her.” She looked up. “Master?” she called out to nothing. “MASTER?!”
Twilight inched forward. “Anything?” she asked curiously.
“Twilight, she's hurting herself!” Fluttershy chastised. She raced over to Shiva and grabbed her claws, pulling them away from her bleeding head. “Shiva, don’t torment yourself with this,” she pleaded.
“But my Master has to be alive!” Shiva whispered, her voice cracking. “I can’t…”
She couldn’t speak, and even Twilight didn’t dare try to vocalize it. The possibility that Master’s soul was gone, and that all Shiva had left of her was her altered body and memories.
"No!" Shiva thought furiously. “That's can't be! I had to have left her in that forest! Those stupid ponies missed something! O-Or they're lying to me, and Master managed to evade them!”
“Shiva?” Fluttershy asked, trying to bandage the cuts on her head, but Shiva flinched away from her. She started at the empty walls.
"I gotta get out of here," she thought. "I gotta get out and get back to her. But I can’t; these ponies will subdue me. I gotta think!
Twilight tried to approach her, but Fluttershy shook her head at her. At that moment, a guard chose to show up.
“Ms. Sparkle,” he said. “Princess Celestia is returning to Canterlot.”
Fluttershy jumped up and herded Twilight towards the door. “We should go,” she said. “To… greet the Princess.”
“But…” Twilight gave Shiva another look, but the wolf didn't even seem to realize they were still in the room with her.
"She needs time to process," Fluttershy insisted, herding Twilight out. "Just give her some space; she's not going anywhere." Fluttershy gave Twilight another shove, and the purple mare reluctantly left. Fluttershy gave Shiva a sad look.
“I’m sorry,” she offered.
Shiva didn’t look at her. Fluttershy shut the door, and she and Twilight left.
They were unaware of it, but Shiva’s mind was racing; trying to focus on anything that would keep her from having to accept what had happened to her master.
Twilight said I assimilate power, Shiva thought. But the chains are stopping me from using any magic. At least outward magic. But if these collars are the same, then I can still use inward magic. But if I'm going to do that, I need one of those unicorns to get close. I need one of them to touch me!
Shiva gasped. The cupcakes! Maybe if I…
Her ears flicked. Something was off. Someone was approaching. There was a magic to their presence; a magic Shiva hadn’t felt before.
Then the scent hit her; pure sugar. Like a handful of the sweet-tasting powder had been shoved down her nose. Shiva spun to her paws, even as her chains rattled ominously, and found herself facing…
Another pony. Just outside the cage. This one lacked the horn or wings of the previous ponies Shiva had met, but the high voltage light in her bright blue eyes still put Shiva on edge, and her bright pink coat hurt Shiva’s eyes to look at.
“Hi!” the mare greeted. “I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”
Shiva regarded the mare with all the subtlety of a deer staring into the headlights of an approaching car. Before she could even think of a reply, the mare laughed.
“Silly,” she continued. “I already know your name. Every pony’s been talking about you. You saved Spike! But you also hurt some ponies. But they were mean ponies! But they were still ponies; that got hurt; by you.”
Shiva’s jaw opened, but before she could say anything, the mare suddenly came to her side.
"But you're not really mean, are you?" she asked. “Fluttershy said you're just a big scared, misunderstood doggy. Though you do look a lot like those mean diamond dogs who captured Rarity that one time. But even they weren't really meanie-mean-mean like Nightmare or Discord; they were just silly doggies digging for treasure."
Shiva’s jaw hung open, a terrified whimper escaping as Pinkie continued to ramble, more to herself than to Shiva. The dog tried to back away, but Pinkie continued forward, getting dangerously close to her face.
"Eh, I'm sure it's gonna be alright," she declared, bouncing in front of her. “And that’s why I’m here; to give you your very own super special..."
She took a massive intake of breath. Warning bells went off in Shiva's head. She couldn't run.
So she had to fight.
‘Welcome-To-Equestria-Thanks-For-Saving-Spike-Sorry-You-Got-Arrested-Please-Be-Our-Friend...!”
Shiva lashed out without thinking. Her jaws closed around something sweet.
Shiva's eyes bulged. In her panic, she hadn't noticed the mare yank out another cupcake from apparently nowhere. But in her moment of self-defense, her jaws had come down around the pastry, and her taste buds were assaulted with the high-fructose sweetness of processed sugar.
"Oh!" Pinkie noted, her hoof withdrawing without a mark on it. "You really were hungry, weren't you?"
Shiva gagged as she stumbled back, slamming against the wall. She tripped over her chains and hit the ground, clutching at her throat and mouth while the mare beamed exuberantly and continued to chatter.
"Usually, my friends tell me that there's way too much sugar in my cakes for doggies, but we both know that's not true, right? I mean, you just scarfed that one up."
If Shiva’s mouth wasn’t stuffed with admittedly tasty cake, she would have howled for this crazy mare to shut up. But as she squirmed and writhed, she legitimately wasn’t able to breathe. Her taste buds were screaming in ecstasy, demanding the rest of her body enjoy the cupcake. However, her mind was screaming right back, reminding them of how dangerous sweets were to her kind.
Her body seemed to gain several minds of its own. Her tongue tried to push the treat back into her throat, but her throat clenched and locked her esophagus down.
No way is that getting in, her mind thought furiously. It won’t – It won’t – it WON’T!
Unfortunately, it also took away her ability to breathe. Where Shiva had intended to just fake choking, she now found herself actually choking as her mouth and throat warred against each other. Pinkie seemed completely unaware of the war going on in her body, as she continued to bounce and ramble more to herself than anyone else.
"We can totally be best friends," she was insisted. "We can chat, sing songs and..." she gasped, either in joy or in realization. "PARTY! I can throw the biggest parties!"
Shiva gurgled a curse back at her. Frosting bubbled into pink froth around her lips. She clutched at her throat, heaving and gagging as her throat valiantly kept the pastry out of her body. The pink mare’s grin faded; Shiva barely noticed. She stepped closer, her eyes widening in shock.
“You should be careful, doing that," Pinkie noted. "You look like you have rabies. And bad things happen to doggies with rabies."
Shiva rolled at her, failing to grab at her with one claw while the other failed to crush her restraint.
“You are... not playing, are you?" Pinkie realized.
But Shiva heaved, her eyes bugging out of her skull. Her jaws split open, letting the pastry fall out in a mess of froth, but her throat remained clenched, bile trying to course up her throat, but getting blocked in her windpipe. She began to writhe and spasm as if she had been possessed by demons.
“What’s happening?!” the guards demanded, bursting the door open and rushing to Shiva’s side.
“Nothing!" Pinkie yelped, jumping around to Shiva's back and seizing her. "Everything's under control!"
"Wait, NO!" the guard yelled, reaching for Pinkie. "Don't...!"
But as her hooves wrapped around Shiva's mid-section, her strange magic shot into Shiva's body, clearing her throat.
Shiva spat a mixture of pink spit and bile in the guard’s face before lunging around and grabbing the pink mare. More magic – beautiful magic – raced into her body as delicious air filled her lungs, and she ripped the chains off herself with a howl of victory.
"I feel funny..." Pinkie stammered as the magic left her body.
The guards tried to run; maybe to get help, or maybe to attack. But Shiva didn’t give them the chance. She hurled the drained earth pony into them. Her magic empowered her throw, and they were blasted through the wall of the cell. Their bodies went up in smoke and dust.
For a moment, Shiva felt her blood chill. Had she just added more ponies to her body count? Given them more reasons to hate and fear her?
But then three pairs of eyes peeked out from the dust; two looking at Shiva in fear, and a familiar pair of bright blue eyes silently asking, how could you?
Before the dust could settle or Pinkie could do anything more than stare, Shiva threw herself out the hole she had made, raced down the dungeon hall and sprinted out of sight.