//------------------------------// // Chapter I. // Story: Consequences // by Naren //------------------------------// A small rock hung in the air, covered in a light blue glow. It rotated slowly, light bouncing off small crystals in the rock. As it spun, small cracks started to form in the solid stone. Then, in one swift motion, the rock was smashed into dust. Starlight Glimmer scowled as her magic faded away, and the dust fell to the ground. There was a stillness in the air, as if the animals and insects could sense that a predator was prowling the area. It was an apt description of the irate unicorn. She took in a deep breath, her body shaking. Then she screamed, magic exploding from her body. Everything that could go wrong had. She hadn’t been able to stop that stupid alicorn and her stupid powers of “friendship”; she hadn’t been able to find that damnable scroll; and now she couldn’t even find one bucking city. It wasn’t fair. She had tried so damned hard, building her village of equality. Then Princess Twilight bucking Sparkle had destroyed  everything she had worked for. She couldn’t properly get revenge. The magic she released slammed outwards, creating a crater around her. She hovered in the air for a second, before falling to the ground. Laying on the ground, she found herself curling into a ball. It wasn’t fair. She had done everything right. She had tried. But it always went wrong. It wasn’t fair. As she lay there crying, she wasn’t able to see figures moving at the edge of the crater. She couldn’t hear the hoofsteps over her own thoughts. By the time she noticed that anything was wrong, it was too late.  Starlight Glimmer felt a sudden rush of air, and she tried to react to the unknown. But a cold metal ring sliding down her horn made her freeze in place. Starlight tried to cast a spell, any spell, but her magic couldn’t make it past the ring. Starlight stumbled backwards; she couldn’t believe what was happening. As she tried to regain her bearings, a sudden blow to the back of her head knocked her out. Starlight… With a groan, Starlight slowly opened her eyes. She was immediately assaulted by an ache in the back of her head. The bright light of the sun mixed with the pain, resulting in a horrific headache. She instinctively tried to cast a pain relief spell, but her magic refused to move past the bottom of her horn. The Ring. Starlight gasped, adrenaline flooding her veins. She jumped to her hooves, and as a result her head slammed into something. Cursing, she rubbed her head with a hoof. It didn’t help with the headache. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake, she looked around to get her bearings. A chill ran down her spine as realized what she was looking at. A poorly made wooden floor wobbled beneath her, and similarly made roof had been placed above her. Metal bars formed the walls, with a locked gate at the back of the cage. That was what this was- a cage. She opened her mouth to scream, but she found the sound muffled by a sudden hoof. “Be quiet!” A voice hissed at her. It must have to belong to the owner of the hoof over mouth. “If you scream, you’ll draw the guards. Now, if I take my hoof away, will you scream?” Starlight shook her head, and she felt the hoof retract itself. Starlight looked at the owner of the hoof and saw a pathetic looking mare. She had a red mane, but it was so raggedy that she couldn’t tell what the color of the highlight was. She had a horn, but not only did it have cracks and jagged chips in it, it had a ring of black metal around its base. Her coat was torn and bruised, but that was overshadowed by the true horror. Covering the poor mare’s cutie mark was a scar surrounded by burned hair, in the shape of an I and Y. A branding. The pony had been branded.  Starlight’s eyes widened to absurd proportions, and it took everything for her to not scream. The mare looked at her, allowing Starlight to see into her eyes. They were glassy and dull, without a single spark of joy or happiness in them. They were more fitting for the eyes of a corpse, not a living pony.  “Wha-what happened? Where am I?” Starlight asked the broken mare. She simply scoffed and curled into a lying position. “Does it matter? You’re here, and that ring isn’t coming off any time soon. All that's left is for you to get this.” She emphasized the word, while shaking her flank slightly. “Don’t even think of escaping. You won’t succeed. They’ll make sure of it.” The pony said with a hint of pain evident in her voice.  “This is Slavery.” Starlight said, her words shaky and hoarse. The mare snorted. “We’re not in Equestria anymore, idiot. The Princess’s reach only goes so far.” Starlight sat back, her mind reeling in shock. The mare looked at her with one eye, before closing it and turning her head to the side. It seemed that she was finished with the conversation.  Starlight simply sat there in shock, eyes wide and unmoving. Her body was still, stiffer than a statue. Slowly, so slowly, her eyelids crept downwards. Exhausted by the revelation, and the returning headache, Starlight soon found herself falling into a deep sleep. Are you going to give up? Starlight was awoken by shouting. Her eyes snapped open, the first thing she noticed was the flickering of a firelight. The night outside was dark, the moon covered by thick clouds. But in stark contrast to the dark sky was the twisting flames. It would have been a pretty and calming sight, if not for the shouting and screaming. She couldn’t make the words out, but they sounded desperate. They sounded…scared. A bone-chilling scream rang out, causing Starlight to instinctively flinch back. She looked at the other mare in the cage, who was now burying her head between her hooves. The scream rang out again, somehow louder this time. There was only one emotion in-pain. It dragged on, before slowly transforming into sobs and weeping. The other unicorn shifted slightly, allowing Starlight to see the mark on her flank. The Brand. A sudden noise from the back of the cage caused Starlight to jump. She looked at the locked gate, but she knew what she would find. Three figures sat behind the gate; features covered in shadows. Despite that, she could see that there was a Pegasus and two griffins. It was a griffin fiddling with the door, trying to unlock it. The door slammed open, and Starlight cowered as far back as she possibly could. Exhausted, disoriented, and magicless, there was nothing she could do. The griffin grabbed one of her legs with his claw, pulling her out of the cage. She could feel the sharp talons cut into her leg, drawing blood. The griffin didn’t care. Once she had dragged out the cage, the other griffin seized her with his own claws. Tears of pain welled up in her eyes, but Starlight didn’t make a sound. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. As they pulled her towards the fire, she tried to free herself. Truly, she did. It didn’t matter.  They threw her to the ground roughly, then one the griffins restrained her. He forced her to see everything, every horrible little thing that was about to happen. She could see the Pegasus approach slowly, a metal pole in his hoof. On one end was a red-hot symbol, a backwards I and Y. Starlight felt all her emotions flee from her, as focused on branding Iron. There was nothing she could do. They Iron descended. Are you really going to give in so easily? An emotion rushed through Starlight, an emotion that she was very familiar with. Fury. How dare they? HOW DARE THEY!  With a roar, Starlight slammed her head upwards. The griffin had relaxed his grip when Starlight had stopped struggling, and it proved to be his undoing. Although she didn’t have magic, she still had a horn. As it turns out, A horn is a lot stronger than a griffin's skull. The Griffin died instantly, blood covering Starlight's head and mane. At the same time, she bucked her hooves. They slammed into the Iron, which pushed it backwards-into the Pegasus’s eyes. His scream gave Starlight a cruel sense of satisfaction, but she didn’t stick around to savor it. As the other Griffin flew over to the Pegasus, Starlight realized had been momentarily forgotten.  She moved. She galloped away from the cages, from the fire, from the Pegasus and griffin. From the Griffin she had brutality killed. As she galloped into the forest beyond, she heard the roar of a pained and furious Pegasus. “GET HER!” Don’t pity him, Starlight. He deserved it. She didn't know how long she galloped for, only stopping when she physically couldn’t move anymore. Starlight leaned against a tree, gasping for air. Had she finally lost them? Her question was answered quite quickly. A bolt slammed itself into the tree she was leaning on, mere inches away from her head. She sprung away from it, but she was too slow to avoid the second bolt. It buried itself into her flank, causing her to let out a pained scream.  She stumbled, her legs momentarily giving way. As she fell to the side, she narrowly avoided another bolt. While the bolt missing was good, her stumble was not. Even worse, she had been at the top of a hill. Her stumble quickly turned into a roll, which snapped the bolt still embedded in her side. She rolled and rolled, only coming to a stop when she painfully hit a rock. As she lay there for a but a second, she could hear the sounds of the approaching slavers. Pulling herself upwards, she realized that she hadn’t rolled down a cliff. No, Starlight had tumbled into a cave. It was damp and dark, obscuring every detail beyond a few feet. It would be a perfect place to hide. Starlight dragged herself into the cave, unaware that she was leaving a small trail of blood. They’re going to find you, Starlight. You can’t hide. The cave had initially been incredibly dark, but as she traversed further, she saw that she had been wrong. Glowing lichen and small bioluminescent plants covered the floor and walls, providing a low level of illumination. Starlight quickly realized that this wasn’t an ordinary cave. The walls were too smooth, the floor and ceiling too rectangular. A thought raced through her exhausted mind, one that gave her the slightest feeling of hope. Perhaps this was the Buried City? She had only heard the vaguest of legends about the city, but after her failure with obtaining Starswirl’s scroll, she had looked into other sources of revenge. The image of that infernal princess crossed Starlight’s mind, and she unconsciously let out a growl. As the sound echoed softly in the cave, two things happened. First, Starlight could have sworn that she saw a flicker of light in the distance in front of her. Two, she heard squawks of a griffin. One that was far too close.  Starlight looked behind her and was met with a flying net. She barely, barely, avoided the net. The griffin surged forward, but Starlight was already moving. She rushed further into the cave, desperate to avoid the slavers. She quickly found herself in a large, open room. It was shaped like a pyramid, but she could see that parts of the walls had collapsed, spilling dirt and stone into the room. At the center of the room was a raised dais, surrounded by broken and melted chains. Yet oddly enough, there was a hole in the ground, in front of the stone altar. A single chain descended into the pit, yet curiously, it seemed to be in perfect condition. Starlight launched herself forward, past the pit and right before the stone altar. She turned around, leveling her horn towards the entrance of the room. She felt her fury and anguish morph into something else, something new. Resolve. Starlight would die free, rather than live as a slave. You have to fight. There can only be one victor, Starlight. Movement caught her eye, and she turned her head to it. The Griffin that had been chasing her inched out of the shadows, crossbow leveled at her. He didn’t fire, and the reason soon became obvious. The Pegasus she had blinded emerged from the shadows, and for the first time, Starlight got a good look at him. He had yellowish fur, with wings of the same color. His cutie mark was that of interlocked chains, forming an X. His mane and tail were aqua-green, with gray highlights. The most “eye” catching feature was his blinded eye. Ironically, the brand that he had used to brand others was now burned into his eye socket, forming an I and Y. “You…” The Pegasus growled. “Never once have I had a pony so defiant. Yet for some reason-I cannot comprehend why you continue. This escape, this defiance, they are all temporary. So, cease this foolishness, and surrender. I’m certain you will still fetch a fair price-despite this ‘Incident.’” Why do you resist, Starlight? Starlight’s decision was never in doubt. She would rather die than be a slave to some damnable Pegasus. As she stared at the Pegasus and the griffin, who had been inching ever closer, she felt her previous regrets well up in her mind. She wouldn’t be able to free the world of the tyranny that Cutie marks held over them. She wouldn’t be able to help the other ponies realize what equality truly was. Most Importantly, she wouldn't be able to get revenge against that damned Princess.  The Pegasus must have seen her resolve in her eyes, and simply gave a sigh. “Really? Oh, then you leave me no choice.” He shook his head dramatically. Then, in a tone that lacked any sadness or emotion, he gave the griffin an order. “Kill her.” The griffin marched forward, closing the distance between the two. He threw his crossbow to the ground and drew a shining sword from his hip. Starlight caught a glimpse of his eyes, and a familiar emotion reflected in them. Rage. The griffin wanted revenge, revenge for the one she killed. The bird was going to do this personally. There is only one path now, Starlight. The only thing between them was the hole. It seemed to loom, stretching far larger than it should have. It was a chasm between them-and it was the only thing protecting her. The griffin began to circle the hole, when a sudden noise caught them off guard. It was the sound of charging hooves, and a roar of defiance. Starlight could only watch as a light-yellow blur slammed into the griffin. The griffin was flung forward, straight into the open air above the pit. For a second, the bird tried to hang there, but then the unicorn slammed a hoof down. The blow must have broken one of the griffin’s wings, as he plummeted downwards. Yes. Starlight and the Pegasus sat there in shock as the new Unicorn gasped for breath. Starlight recognized the raggedy red hair, yellowish coat, and branded cutie-mark. It was her, the mare from the cage. She-Starlight's thought was suddenly interrupted by a flash of light. It was coming from the chain. Starlight looked at the chain and was met with a blinding light. The light seemed to flow before her eyes, traveling up the chain like water. It passed right below her, and Starlight could have sworn she heard sounds coming from it. Almost like somepony screaming… Take it. The light flowed into the stone altar, which to her surprise, had begun to glow as well. The light from the chain merged with the light emanating from the stone, all but blinding Starlight. Finally. The light morphed into an elongated shape, one shed quickly identified as a dagger. A flash of pain echoed through her head as the light transformed into metal. Instead of light, a metal dagger hung in the air. Take the blade, Starlight. Memorized, Starlight slowly moved towards the weapon. She was oblivious to anything besides the hanging blade. Take it. She extended one hoof out but stopped mere inches away. Take it, and revenge is assured! Revenge. Twilight Sparkle. Her village. Yes, Starlight. The Dagger is yours. Take it! Starlight grabbed the dagger. YES!  She turned around and saw the slaver. Blood roared in her ears. Kill him! Take the blade, end him! Starlight’s body moved on autopilot, and she approached the shaking stallion. He deserves it!  Starlight raised the blade.  Kill him. The Pegasus didn’t simply die. When the point of the dagger met his skin, he let out an awful, ear-piercing scream. White light seemed to stream from his mouth, which was then drunk up by the blade. As the last wisps of light left his mouth, Starlight Glimmer could see the pony die. Revenge will be yours, Starlight. I’ll hold you to that.