Chapter 2
Cheerilee was pushed to the hard stone floor and the bag over her head was yanked off. She quickly adjusted to the dark red room lit by torches. The sight before her was of a large red velvet throne with a black frame. Sitting upon the throne was a slim neon pink dragon roughly the size of two ponies with a long sharp tail and deep purple wings.
"You sure picked a bad day for a field trip Miss Cheerilee." The voice of the dragon was smooth and elegant.
Cheerilee could not find the courage to get on her hooves. "I don't." She stuttered before being interrupted.
"Don't bother with the; ‘Where, why and who’." The pink dragon said with a high head. "I will fill you in on what's happening here, but since you are a teacher and everything I trust you know who I am."
The dark pink pony forced herself up on shaky legs before answering with a weak voice. "Yes I know who you are; you're Cegila, the Black Hill Demon."
"I always liked that name; it has a nice ring to it, fun to say too." The dragon added. "Witch leaves us with the ‘where’ and the ‘why’."
The dragon stepped down from her throne and slowly approached her captive. "We are in the Black Hills and I have brought you here because there are some things I need and some things I don't need."
Cheerilee staggered backwards as she looked around the dark throne room for an exit. "Where are my students?"
"What I don't need is for one of my best generals to be locked up inside Celestia’s dungeon." The dragon continued as her voice became more sharp and threatening as she closed in on the pony. "What I do need is for you to not cooperate so I get the chance to try out some of my new toys." Cheerilee backed into something soft. When she turned around she got a black bag pulled over her head and was knocked unconscious.
Cheerilee woke up with the bag still on her head, her vision was pitch black but she could hear faint voices. She was lying on her back on a tilted surface, unable to move any of her legs and as she yanked at her shackles the voices silenced.
The bag was pulled off her head by the mouth of a young pegasus mare. Her coat was dark green; she had a ruby pink mane and an eye patch over her right eye. The pegasus' other eye looked calm and determined as she stood next to the majestic pink dragon.
“This is Toxic, my protégé.” The dragon explained placing her claw on the mare's shoulder. "She will be in charge of today's interview and try to be understanding Miss Cheerilee, this is her first time."
The bound teacher looked at the pegasus with caring eyes. "You poor thing," she said with a soft voice "you don't have to do this."
"Oh Miss Cheerilee, there is no need for you to worry." Cegila said in a sarcastic tone. "You see Toxic here enjoys the sight of agony maybe more than I do and she is rarely the one to miss out on a good torture. Isn't that right?" The dragon turned her long neck towards the pegasus beside her.
"Yes your highness." Toxic replied with her eye on Cheerilee.
"Great, then get to it." Cegila said shoving the green mare forward. “Start by explaining to your captive what you need from them, her reply is going to be something along the lines with…”
“I won't help you with anything until I see that my students are safe.” Cheerilee interrupted with a worried look in her eyes. “But please, don’t tell me.”
“Exactly thank you Miss Cheerilee; you are so educational.” Cegila added as she softly flew over to the tool table behind Cheerilee's line of sight. “As you can see she will be reluctant at first but with the right motivation she'll come around."
Cheerilee heard the sound of metallic equipment being shuffled around behind her. "I personally like the hoof-remover or maybe the tail-puller," the dragon said "but we will get to that later.”
"Would you like me to start your highness?" The eager green pegasus asked as she stepped forward.
"Go right ahead." Cegila answered with an encouraging gesture without turning her head from the tool table. "Show us what you have learned."
Toxic walked up the teacher and raised her right foreleg to show the bracelet on her hoof. It was a black metal bracelet with a red flame pattern. “Do you know what this is Miss Cheerilee?”
“I do know what that is; I have seen that kind of weapon before” Cheerilee answered as she studied the bracelet. "I'm guessing it would be a spear or a sword."
"It's not just any sword." Toxic said as she took a step back and a thin metal tongue rolled out from the bracelet and hardened to the shape of a long dark blade with a glowing red pattern. "This sword was given to me by Gravel Dust, the greatest warrior in all of Equestria. I'm sure you saw him on your field trip to Celestia's dungeon."
“You mean Gravel Dust, the leader of The Soot Valley army?” Cheerilee said with a concerned look on her face.
That’s right; he’s the only earth pony to ever reach the rank of general and I’ve been given the honor of rescuing him.” Toxic said with passion. “I owe him for the time he saved my flank during the battle for The Oakheart Meadow. I’m going to show him how much stronger I’ve become and you're going to help me get him out”
"But I'm just a teacher, how could I be of any help in freeing a criminal from a heavily guarded prison?" Cheerilee tried to sound accommodating.
“Gravel Dust is no criminal,” Toxic raised her sword to Cheerilee’s neck “he’s a war hero.”
“Yes of course he is I’m so sorry,” Cheerilee said submissively “but what do you need me for?”
"You have given the tour of Celestia’s dungeon for years, you know more about it than anypony." Toxic said and lowered her sword as the blade swiftly rolled back into the bracelet.
"Well I'm not going to help you with anything until I see that my students are safe." Cheerilee said defiantly.
"Here you go," Cegila landed next to Toxic and handed her a device that looked like a brass boot with a thin needle sticking out from the side of it "this might make her more compliant."
"Yes your highness." Toxic received the boot and began strapping it to Cheerilee's hoof.
“What are you doing,” she resisted “what is that thing?”
"I'm about to teach you something Miss Cheerilee." The dragon cupped Cheerilee's cheek with her claw. “This boot is called The Hoof Vice and that needle you see has a screwing mechanism to it. We will slowly drill it in under you hoof-nail, one hoof at the time. But most ponies don't make it through the first hoof.”
"Oh dear Celestia, please don't." Cheerilee panicked. "I don't want this; it's going to hurt a lot. I'll help you with anything if you promise not to hurt my students."
Cegila swung the back of her claw across Cheerilee's face, leaving a three-stripe wound on her cheek. "I know you will," she said as she gripped Cheerilee's throat with her claw "but I'm trying to educate my dear protégé here. As a teacher, you know how important it is with a proper education."
Tears began pouring down her cheeks and mixing with the blood from her wound as she tried to gasp for air. The dragon squeezed the teacher's throat tighter and stared intently into her horrified eyes.
She was interrupted by a knock on the door and released the grasp. Cheerilee coughed trying to fill her lungs with air.
“What is it?” The dragon yelled towards the door. “Enter and state your business.”
The door opened and a gray stallion clad in armor entered. “I've brought the foals you asked for your highness.”
“You're a bit early but I guess that's fine.” Cegila said with her claw on Cheerilee's head. “Bring them in here.”
The guard led a pack of ten foals followed by another guard into the chamber.
“Cheerilee!” Applebloom was the first to spot their bound and bleeding teacher. “What are you doing to her?” She ran towards her teacher only to be knocked back by one of the guards and tumble to the ground.
“Don't hurt them,” Cheerilee cried “please I'll help you, just let my students go.”
“Now Miss Cheerilee, that's enough out of you.” The dragon said and strapped a gag to her mouth.
The rest of the class' reaction was a mixture of fear and confusion. Some cried for help while others cowered on the ground. “Why are you doing this?” Asked a squeaky voice.
“I suggest you calm down my little ponies ,” Cegila said in a soft tone “if you don't want to wake the dreaded Odnam; an evil monster who eats rowdy little children.”
The class managed to calm down to only whimpers and sobs.
“This is not all of them your highness,” Toxic said as she looked through the class of tiny ponies “there was also a white skinny one.”
The class looked around; whispering to each other. “Where is Featherweight, is he still hiding?”
“Toxic my trusted protégé, would you mind retrieving this lost little pony?” Cegila asked and Toxic answered with a nod before heading out the door. “Now class, I will entertain you with a story while we wait for Toxic to return with your friend.” The guards pushed the foals forward and forced them to sit down in front of the pink dragon.
As Toxic searched the room where the class had been kept she heard a whimper coming from one of the beds. She pulled the covers of the bed and looked underneath it to find a quivering little pony with a cream colored coat and brown mane.
“Hi there,” Toxic said with a kind voice “you don't have to scared anymore, I'm a friend.”
The colt seemed afraid to answer.
“I'm sorry about the eye patch, it's just a disguise.” Toxic said and that seemed to calm his breathing. “My name is Toxic, you're Featherweight right?”
“The guards took my friends,” the colt stuttered “but I hid under the bed.”
“You did very well in hiding kid and I'm going to save your friends too,” Toxic reassured and extended her hoof to help him out from the bed “but for now we have to get you to safety.”
Featherweight wiped his tears and let toxic pull him out. “What do we do now?”
“You have to be brave now Featherweight,” Toxic said and pointed to a door across the room “you see that door; it leads to an unguarded hallway witch will take you to the pantry. It should be a safe place for you to hide and I will come back for you when I've rescued your friends. Do you think you can do that?”
“Okay, I can do that; I will be brave for my friends.” He replied with a determined look, but his tears had not stopped flowing.
“Go on then, we have no time to spare.” Toxic said and watched as Featherweight ran across the room. She went over to a rack of spears; grabbed one of them with her mouth and threw it across the room. The spear impaled the colt and pinned him to the door.
“What in Equestria is wrong with you?” The stuttered question came from a guard standing in the other doorway.
“Just clean it up.” Toxic replied with a smile as she passed the guard on her way out.
She returned to the room to see the whole class of foals crying as they sat in front of a dragon who was laughing at the top of her lungs.
“Did I miss the story?” Toxic asked with a smile still on her lips.
"You knew my mother?" Raindrops asked. "What happened to her? Did she work with you in the lab? You have to tell me."
Screw Loose calmed down. "Your mother was no lab rat, kid." He wiped his cheeks and took a deep breath. "You just brought back some heavy memories."
Suddenly the carriage came to a screeching halt, the three ponies lost some balance and Stitchy would have fallen off Raindrops lap if she had not caught her.
“What happened?” Raindrops said as she looked around trying to find a reason for the sudden stop and found they had reached a major clearing in The Everfree Forest. “Why did you stop here?”
“I didn’t.” The Doctor replied with a sharp eye.
In the darkness ahead of the carriage there was a purple glow illuminating an angry mare and half a dozen stallions clad in gold armor at her side.
“Twilight,” Screw Loose said under his breath “to think she'd find me here.”
“You won’t get away this time Doctor Screw Loose,” Twilight declared as she spread her wings and took flight “not with the royal guard at my side.”
The stallions charged towards the carriage, two of them in the air and the rest galloped through the knee-high grass. Poles formed between the forelegs of the flying pegasi and extended on one end to the shape of spears.
“What do we do Doctor?” Stitchy said as she hid behind the awestruck Raindrops.
“Stitchy get Raindrops to the mansion,” Screw Loose said as he leapt off the carriage “take her too the room behind the bookshelf.”
The two pegasi dove with their spears aimed at the blue unicorn, but as sparks surrounded his horn a hatch opened on the carriage and shot out a wire net trapping the two guards. Before they hit the ground Screw Loose sent a electric current through the wire; frying both of them.
Stitchy and Raindrops jumped off the carriage and hid behind it. “But I'm not allowed behind the bookshelf.” Stitchy said as the other guards closed in on them.
“You are now,” Screw Loose replied as another hatch opened on the carriage “there is something Raindrops needs to see.”
A high pressure water cannon fired from the hatch at the galloping guards, but the thick water stream was repelled by a purple barrier; shielding the stallions who stopped in their tracks.
“Don't run through the wet grass; you'll get electrocuted,” Twilight shouted as she flew behind the guards “I'll handle this.”
“You have to get out of here now.” Screw Loose yelled as he fired smaller volleys of water at Twilight.
“What about my mother,” Raindrops said while Stitchy tried to drag her away by her tail “I have to know what happened to her.”
“I can't hold them off forever kid,” Screw Loose said as a giant boulder crashed down near the carriage “run you foals.”
Raindrops turned and flew towards the thick forest with Stitchy barely keeping up as she heard more boulders hitting the ground behind them.
They flew until the sound of the battle was far behind them and they could no longer see the clearing through the trees. They tumbled to the ground exhausted trying to catch their breath.
“Where is The Doctor?” Raindrops asked lying on her back panting for air.
“Don't worry, Twilight won't kill him,” Stitchy replied lying next to her “she'll take him to Celestia's dungeon; probably lock him up forever.”
“Well we have to save him,” Raindrops said as she got back on her hooves “he's the only one who knows what happened to my mother.”
“Of course we'll save him,” Stitchy said still lying on the ground “but The Doctor said to head for the mansion, it's not too far from here.”