The blistering heat of the day was long past its most intense stage, which, when combined with the length of the shadows cast by the trees, was a good indication that the end of the daylight was getting close. The sky was yet to turn orange, meaning there was at least an hour or two to go before the sun set behind the cliff at the back of the arena, but it still meant Fluttershy had been sat in the same place for about four or five hours. In that space of time, not a shadow of doubt had entered her mind that Twilight would return. However, after a couple of hours, Fluttershy had lost the battle of will against her dry throat, and had risked a trip to the river for a drink. She’d considered the risks of drinking potentially dirty water, but in the end had decided any ill effects would, in the long run, be more tolerable than the effects of dehydration.
Fluttershy had returned from the river a few hours ago now, and wasn’t feeling too bad. Her stomach had cramped a couple of times on the return journey, but beyond that there was nothing to suggest anything abnormal about the water she’d drunk. The time passed slowly, but Fluttershy wasn’t particularly fussed about suffering from any kind of boredom. She was happy enough to sit in the shade, watching the waves wash up onto the shore one-by-one as the shadow cast by the trees slowly stretched towards the waterline. It was peaceful enough, and Fluttershy appreciated the time to relax as she considered the events of the day.
Without any warning, her ears twitched as a wave crashed against the shore. Fluttershy shot up onto all fours, turning herself to face the woods. She couldn’t be certain, but she could have sworn she'd heard a twig snap from the forest. The noise had perfectly coincided with the breaking of a wave, so she could easily have imagined it. But in the arena, this wasn’t a chance she was willing to risk.
“Hello?” she called out quietly.
The forest returned her call with the same soundtrack she’d been hearing all day: the gentle rustle of leaves colliding with the sea breeze, the occasional chirp of a bird or call of another animal, and the uniformly timed splashes as the waves washed against the sandy beach. There was nothing to suggest anything was out of the ordinary. Despite this, Fluttershy was less than convinced. She tried calling out again, only to end up receiving the exact same response: nothing.
She decided to wait a few minutes, just to be safe. She’d stepped several meters towards the sea when she’d stood up, putting a small distance between herself and the trees. If somepony were to try and attack her, they’d have to go through the dense bushes that marked the edge of the forest, a delay which would give Fluttershy several precious extra seconds during which to make her escape. This instinct, despite showing a good sense of self-preservation, was made redundant by the lack of any attackers.
The waves occasionally lapped at her back hooves, as she was stood at a proximity to the sea where only the rare and larger waves would reach out far enough to do so. As she waited, she looked left to right, over and over, carefully scanning the forest in front of her for anything that would give an indication to somepony nearby. A brief thought came to her that it could be Twilight not far away, who was being just as cautious as she was considering there was somepony else nearby. Then Fluttershy remembered that she had called out, albeit quietly, and if there was somepony nearby they should have heard it, and Twilight would have recognized the voice and showed herself.
It was five minutes before Fluttershy finally decided she’d imagined it and returned to where she’d been sat, leaning with her back to the tree, facing the water. She was still cautious, struggling with an awkward discomfort in her stomach that told her something was off. It was one of those more primeval instincts, the kind that never takes anything literal into account, and rather than keeping you alert when you need to be, just leaves you unable to settle down and relax. Fate was less than generous enough to give any time for her to consider this feeling, as something small fell out of the tree above, landing just beside Fluttershy with a small thump. A gentle chirp overlapped with the thump, a chirp which immediately rang familiar with the gentle pegasus. She leaned forward, and was surprised to recognise one of the birds she’d helped a few days earlier.
“Oh goodness,” she exclaimed. “Whatever happened to you?”
The bird began to weakly chirp its response. Fluttershy listened intently as she began to carefully inspect the bird’s frail and crippled body. As it turned out, the nest that she had fixed several days earlier had been completely obliterated by the bombing raid. The bird in front of her was the father, who had lost all his eggs and his mate to the bombs, as well as receiving some horrific injuries. His right wing was broken in several places, and the heat of the explosions had singed most of his feathers. In several spots the bare skin was visible where feathers had been completely singed off, horrifically blistered and oozing pus. The bird writhed in pain as it tweeted and chirped its tale, which became harder and harder for Fluttershy to listen to as it went on.
Eventually, the bird simply couldn’t chirp any more and just lay on the ground, panting desperately as pain consumed its tiny body. It had lost so much in the blasts; its home, its eggs, everything. Fluttershy, meanwhile, had completely welled up. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, not only out of sorrow for the poor creature laid out in front of her, but also in the knowledge that there was nothing she could do to help it. The broken wing would need time to fix, and the burns were causing the poor creature enormous amounts of pain.
At this point, Fluttershy was faced with a grim decision, one that burned her animal loving side to the very core. The bird was beyond helping. It was as simple as that, a fact she was sure of from her years of caring for the weak and injured animals in District 11. With decent medical supplies, she may have been able to keep it alive, but that was impractical. The only medical supplies were at the cornucopia, and given the variety of nasty and unpredictable things that could occur in the arena, there was no sense in wasting any of those precious medicines on a small bird. It was going to die sooner or later, a realisation that was horrific for Fluttershy. Her choice was very simple; to let it die slowly and painfully, or put it out of its misery quickly.
Still crying, she stood up and gently picked up the bird, holding it with one front hoof and clutching it close to her chest for support. She walked towards the water, only moving swiftly in the knowledge that the quicker she moved, the quicker the bird would be put out of its misery. She stepped into the water until she was at knee depth, where she sat down on her haunches, and took the bird in both her front hooves. The poor thing had completely exhausted itself by moving from tree to tree, searching for the kind one who had helped save its eggs. It was still conscious, breathing rapidly but laid out with its eyes closed. Fluttershy gave one final sob, before closing her eyes, and submerging the bird. The shock of the water instantaneously caused it to summon an impressive turn of strength given the severity of its injuries, but the grip on it was stronger than it could fight against. The struggle seemed to go on forever, but Fluttershy didn’t dare let go.
Even several minutes after the struggling stopped, and the last bubble had made their way to the surface, Fluttershy remained frozen on the spot with her eyes still clamped shut. It was the kindest thing she could have done, but that was little comfort to her. She’d always loved animals, and had dedicated much of her life to protecting and caring for them. Now, she’d killed one with her bare hooves. Even though it had been a far better option than letting it suffer for several days before it was finally graced with death, she still felt completely gutted. The catatonic state continued for what felt like an eternity, Fluttershy still holding onto the small deceased body under the surface of the lapping water. Grudgingly, she finally let go, allowing the bird to sink gently, pulled down by the water in its lungs. The current then proceeded to slowly pull it out to open sea. Utterly distraught, Fluttershy turned around and trudged back onto shore, eyes still clenched shut.
It was only when some not-so-distant sound made her ears twitch slightly that she got the first indication something was wrong. Her eyes shot open, and for a split second, she got a glance of something moving in the distant bushes. Then she became aware of the rustling sound. Not the gentler natural kind of rustling caused only by the wind, but a much louder and aggressive rustling. It wasn't just one sound either, as it was coming from multiple directions all around her.
Raw instinct took over as Fluttershy broke into a sprint, just as she saw somepony emerge from the trees in the corner of her eye. She turned away, heading down the beach, and for a brief moment she was hopeful that she had a good chance of escaping. This was short-lived, as to her right, somepony else shot out of a bush, leaping through the air and tackling her as she ran. The pair of them tumbled to the ground in a pile, and for a few seconds Fluttershy’s only view of the world was a blur, until she finally came to a stop. Her attacker was now straddling her as she lay flat on her back, holding a knife to her throat and grinning menacingly.
“Got her!” Pinkie Pie called out as the remainder of the clique ponies emerged from the trees, joining Rainbow Dash, who had been the first to step out.
Fluttershy whimpered as she looked at the small group assembling round her. Pinkie Pie was still holding a jagged knife tightly against her throat, but she was still able to look around. Rainbow Dash stood just above her, with a casual and nonchalant smile that screamed of authority. To her left was Pyro, and on Fluttershy’s right was Nighteye, whose face boasted a large shiner around his eye, and a significant amount of bee stings. His icy scowl could have frozen an inferno.
“Nice job Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said confidently. “Keep her still, we don’t want her wriggling free.”
“No problem,” Pinkie replied, still grinning sadistically.
“Now, let’s have a little chat, shall we?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, as she started to walk in circles around their prisoner. “It’s not escaped our notice that you’ve chosen to partner up with… well, let’s just say one of our more troublesome opponents.”
“One we’d dearly love to get our hooves on,” Nighteye added.
“Exactly,” Rainbow replied. “Now, these arrangements in the arena are temporary, we all know this. So, here is what we’re proposing.”
“Listen closely,” Pinkie said sternly as Rainbow Dash stopped at Fluttershy’s head, looking down on her.
“Twilight Sparkle is dangerous.” Rainbow said bluntly. “You think she got that 11 in training by being nice? I know you think you’re safe with her, but she could kill you easily, and you know it.”
“She wouldn’t,” Fluttershy responded, quietly but confidently. “Trust me, I...”
Pinkie cut her off by punching her hard in the muzzle with her free hoof. “I said listen, not speak. Got it?” she said calmly, whilst applying more pressure to the knife.
Still distraught from having to put the bird down, Fluttershy still had fresh tears in the corners of her eyes. The punch had been hard, aimed straight into the middle of her muzzle. The tears started anew as blood began to trickle from her nose, and she could feel several of her teeth had been knocked loose. She nodded carefully, not wanting to risk another punch.
“Speak when we say you speak from now on,” Rainbow Dash added acidly. “Now, our proposition is very simple. All you have to do is tell us where your friend went. In exchange, we won’t kill you.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror. Twilight had been nothing if not a friend to her ever since they’d encountered one another in the arena. Fluttershy wasn’t even sure if she’d still be alive were it not for her. They’d helped each other out so much in the arena, and after all they’d been through, there was no way she could tell the clique ponies where she’d gone. She could even go as far as to say that Twilight was her first true friend, and if anything was worth standing up for, it was friendship.
“Well?” Rainbow asked, getting impatient. “Now would be an excellent time to start talking.”
Fluttershy remained silent.
“Looks like she doesn’t wanna talk,” Pyro said with a smile.
“Aww, what a shame,” Pinkie said, still staring the terrified pegasus down. “On the bright side, I was hoping things would get messy here.”
“You heard the mare,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting down and leaning close to Fluttershy, whispering harshly. “If you won’t talk willingly, we have a number of ways we can get you to blurt it all out. You don’t owe any loyalty to Sparkle, so I suggest you start talking. Otherwise we’ll have to make things very unpleasant for you. You will talk, so get it out now before you start to hurt.”
Fluttershy gulped, but still remained silent.
“Have it your way,” Rainbow Dash whispered, before standing up and addressing Nighteye. “Hold her wing out.”
He nodded, stepping backwards and grabbing the tip of Fluttershy’s left wing so he could pull it out to full stretch. He then sat down at the end, holding it firmly in place.
“What was it the instructors told us?” Pyro asked rhetorically, despite being well aware of the answer herself. “About wings and horns?”
“Well, that’s an excellent question,” Rainbow Dash replied, with the same tone of sarcasm. “They told us that whilst we can’t use them, the nerves in them are still working fine, meaning we can feel through them exactly as normal.”
“That’s right,” Nighteye added. “So, just as a theoretical example, if you were to break a pegasus pony’s wing, they’d feel every single bit of pain.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle, walking a few steps to the side, and positioning herself right next to Fluttershy’s outstretched wing. “Last chance to say something, Flutters.”
All that Fluttershy could muster was a small whimper.
“Don’t say we never offered to do it the easy way,” Rainbow responded with an almost sympathetic smile. She began to prod the outstretched wing, feeling carefully to find the weakest point. She soon found it, a joint between the bones at the end of the wing. Theatrically she lifted her hoof high in the air, before bringing it down hard right in the middle of the joint. The bones audibly crunched as Rainbow Dash twisted her hoof for added pain, but Fluttershy never heard this. Her eardrums were already full of her own screams. The pain was excruciating, like somepony was trying to tear her wing apart from the middle, working their way inwards towards the rest of her body.
Her screams became muffled as Pinkie Pie reached forward, clamping her mouth shut. “You can stop this at any time”, she said in a calm voice that only made her seem all the more terrifying. “All you have to do is talk.”
“I… won’t!” Fluttershy managed to scream out through a mass of tears as Pinkie let go of her muzzle.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked, twisting and grinding her hoof where she’d stomped down, which received further screams from Fluttershy. “Well, I guess we keep going, then.”
“Errm, actually,” Nighteye said, looking quite sheepish. “Could I take a quick break? Call of nature, see.”
This request earned him a few glares from his cohorts, but it was Pyro who stomped round to quiz him face to face. “Did you have to wait until now, of all times?”
Fluttershy was grateful for the shift of attention from her, something which must have shown on her face as Rainbow looked down at her inquisitively. She smiled, and addressed Nighteye. “Go, I’ve got this.”
“Want me to hold the wing?” Pyro asked.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, and unsheathed her sword. “I’ve got a better idea.” She theatrically lifted the sword up, and plunged it down as hard as she could. The blade pierced the flesh just below the broken joint, missing the bone by a fraction of an inch, and continued straight through into the sand below. As Fluttershy cried out again, Rainbow pushed the blade down as hard as she could, deeper and deeper into the sand until the hilt was being pushed against the yellow feathers of the wing, slightly tinged red where the blades entry had caused a splatter of blood.
Nighteye smiled, and stood up. “Looks like she’s not going anywhere, then. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Fluttershy writhed in agony as Nighteye headed into the trees at a gentle jog. The pain was excruciating now, as if her wing was burning and being torn apart at the same time. She dared a glance to her right, and only screamed again as she saw the hilt of the sword, but nothing else below it except bloody feathers. Her wing beyond that lay limp in the sand, completely out of her control. Without warning, Pyro yanked her head to the left to face her, and stuffed a large wad of fabric in her mouth.
“Hold her mouth shut,” she instructed Pinkie, who obliged. “My head’s starting to pound from that bucking screaming.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Rainbow Dash responded with a chuckle. “Hold her mouth shut when we’re trying to get her to talk. Yeah, that’ll really get her chatting, won’t it?”
Pyro just stared at Rainbow Dash as if she was biggest ignoramus in Equestria. “Well, obviously we’ll take it out periodically. You know, give her a chance to speak. If she doesn’t talk when we ask her to, she gets to face up to another few minutes of pain.”
Rainbow felt slightly foolish, but her inflated ego didn’t let it show. “Huh, that’s not bad, Pyro. Next time, run it by me first, though.”
“Yeah, sure,” Pyro responded. She’d grown long past tired of how Rainbow Dash took everything as a threat to her authority, but she knew this wasn’t the time, nor was it the place to talk about it. “So, what’s next?”
Rainbow thought for a few seconds, and without saying a word, stamped down as hard as she could on Fluttershy’s shoulder joint where her entire wing connected to her body. The joint clicked as it dislocated, leaving the rest of the wing lying limp on the floor, dead to the world. The pain was immense, as Fluttershy bit down hard on the rag stuffed in her mouth. The three mares around her looked at each other with contented grins as the only sound around them became muffled cries. Such was the intensity of the pain that Fluttershy began to feel dizzy, unable to focus on anything as the world blurred around. Even Pinkie's hoof clamped over her mouth seemed too difficult to manage.
Rainbow Dash took a step back, as if to get a better perspective. “Ah, we have a problem here,” she announced. “See, one wing dislocated just looks uneven. What do you think, Pinkie?”
“Definitely uneven,” she replied. “Maybe there’s something you can do to fix that?”
Rainbow grinned. “You know, I think there is,” she responded, adding a lot of grandiose drama to her speech, as if they were merely performing for Fluttershy, not on her. “I'll see what I can do to get the wings looking even, and then we’ll see if she has anything she wants to tell us.”
Fluttershy winced as Pyro began to pull her wing out, exactly as Nighteye had done, and held it down as Rainbow Dash stepped up to it. The pain was already bad enough, and as bad as it was going to get, the worst part seemed to be the joy the clique ponies were performing with. The build up was horrible, and the playful way they announced to her what they were going to do her was among the most terrifying things she’d ever experienced. She gave a small sob as she felt Rainbow Dash gently prodding at her wing, trying to locate the right bone to break. She then winced as her peripheral vision showed her Rainbow’s hoof lifting high into the air, but this was little comfort as it came slamming down.
Once again, she never actually heard the bones breaking. Instead her screams reverberated around her skull, trapped and muffled by the rag blocking her mouth, but still being the only horrific thing she could hear as a new wave of pain racked her body from the left side. She had no time to think before Rainbow Dash continued, plunging her sword into the previously unscathed wing barely a few seconds after she had crunched the bones in it. By now, Fluttershy was completely blinded by her tears, which combined with her light-headedness left the world through her eyes as a blurry, rapidly moving mess. Despite everything that was happening to her, as every new step of the torture came at the hooves of her captors, she'd somehow convinced herself each time that the pain was already as bad as it was going to get. The sword proved this wrong, as her whole body spasmed and jerked violently as the blade pierced her flesh, sinking deep into the sand below and effectively pinning her to the ground.
Pyro stood up and began to laugh, pointing to a puddle near Fluttershy’s hind legs. “Look, the filthy little mare’s gone and wet herself.”
Rainbow Dash attempted to look down at their victim with mock sympathy again, but couldn’t manage it for more than a few seconds. She burst out laughing at her little accident, to the point where she physically lost her balance and fell back onto her haunches, now almost to tears with hilarity. Nighteye wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he stepped back onto the beach, but Rainbow rolling and laughing on the sand wasn’t an option he had considered at all.
“Hey,” he said uncertainly. “What’s… what’s going on?”
Seeing as Rainbow Dash had begun to cease her laughter, but was now almost out of breath, Pyro answered instead. “Klutzershy here only went and wet herself.”
Nighteye gave a small smile, but clearly didn’t find as hilarious as Rainbow had. “Yeah, can we get on with it then?”
Rainbow had now sat up and was just beginning to catch her breath, so she nodded to Pyro, who took her place stood next to Fluttershy’s left wing. The pegasus in question had managed to ease off her screams, and had now been reduced to a gentle whimpering, partly from the humiliation of wetting herself, but mostly for the intense pain emanating from both of her wings. Pyro gave her a cheerful and innocent smile, before stamping down on the shoulder joint of the wing. Exactly as it had done with the right wing, the bone clicked loudly as it popped out of its joint, and Fluttershy’s muffled howls started anew.
Pinkie Pie was considerate enough to pause for a few moments, to allow for Fluttershy’s cries to die down before she pulled the rag out of her mouth to give her a chance to speak. Fluttershy’s mouth began to fill with the metallic taste of blood as several of her teeth were ripped out by the rag, having been the ones knocked loose earlier where Pinkie had delivered a strong punch to her muzzle.
“Five seconds to talk,” Rainbow Dash announced coldly. “Tell us what we want to hear.”
However, Fluttershy could manage little more than a panicked sob as she spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth. She panted desperately for a few moments, fresh blood pooling and gurgling in her mouth, only for Pinkie Pie to stuff the rag back in her mouth before she had the chance to properly recuperate.
“I don’t see why you seem insistent on doing things your way,” Rainbow said, her tone mimicking one of disappointment. “But it’s not my place to argue. Nighteye, see if you can get her to talk.”
The black pegasus thought for a few seconds. “I’ve got a few ideas. Pinkie, get off her. It’s not like she’s going anywhere in a hurry.”
Pinkie shrugged and stood up as Nighteye stepped up to Fluttershy’s torso, reaching into his sheath and pulling out one of his fearsome javelins. He taunted her for a few moments, twirling it around in his hoof as he pretended to give it a closer inspection. Contented, he took a step back, and rather than use it for stabbing or prodding, he held it behind him and swung it hard down onto Fluttershy’s chest. The tip of the javelin picked up enormous momentum as it travelled through the air, the effect of which was not unlike hitting Fluttershy full force with a whip.
Rainbow Dash had to raise her voice to be heard over Fluttershy’s muffled squeals. “Give her ten more. Then we’ll give her another chance to talk.”
Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to the size of pins on hearing this. Being hit with the javelin had been beyond painful. The small tip of the javelin concentrated the pain on a small area of flesh, but that area seemed infinitely bigger than the area that had actually been struck. Nighteye had aimed carefully, bringing down the javelin right above her lungs. Fluttershy gasped desperately, gagging for air through the rag in her mouth, but only able to get any by breathing through her nose, which was still dripping blood where Pinkie had punched her. The situation was getting desperate, and she had no idea how much longer she could last.
Nighteye proceeded to deal his remaining ten lashes, striking almost exactly the same spot each time. Each strike was horrific as it burned and gnawed at Fluttershy’s flesh, but she found herself completely unable to scream as every ounce of her breath was dragged away. Every whip also caused her body to twitch and roll completely beyond her control, which made her wings tug at the swords pinning them to the ground. Her entire body was wracked with agony, and Nighteye showed no signs of letting up.
By the time the last whip had been dealt, it was easy to say it felt like an eternity had passed. The welts on Fluttershy’s chest were bright red, and beginning to bleed. The blood pooling in her nose and mouth made breathing a horrific struggle, and her wings were beginning to swell around the bone fractures, causing the flesh to rub against the blades of each sword, causing immense and frequent waves of fresh pain.
A massive sense of relief washed over Fluttershy as Pinkie pulled the rag out, which was soaked in red from the blood dripping out of the gaps created where teeth had been pulled out. She spat out the pool of blood before panting desperately, her lungs almost having been completely deprived of a good source of oxygen. Pinkie waited for a few seconds to give her a chance to speak, and was surprised when Rainbow Dash stepped forwards to stop her when she went to stuff the rag back in her mouth.
“What good will that do if she can’t breathe?” she asked. “Give her a minute, we don’t want to kill her before she can tell us anything, do we?”
“I guess,” Pinkie replied nonchalantly. “Got any bright ideas?”
“See if she talks now,” Pyro said, walking towards the trees. “I’ve got an idea, just give me a few minutes.”
Nighteye, Pinkie and Rainbow were happy enough to give Fluttershy a breather as they looked over to watch Pyro’s plan being put into action. She had taken an empty flask from her kit bag, and laid it out on the floor, next to a bunch of leaves, a box of waterproof matches, and a water bottle filled with something thick and orange in color. Pyro worked quickly, making sure the metal flask was empty, after which she dropped in the leaves and a small amount of the matches, making sure to mix them up as she went. She finished off her rudimentary cocktail by opening the bottle and pouring in the thick gooey mixture. Rainbow Dash smiled knowingly as the wind carried the smell to her.
“Napalm,” she chuckled. “It’s like catnip for you, isn’t it?”
Pyro laughed as she replaced the lid on the plastic bottle, screwing it as tight as it would go. “Never know when it may come in handy, so I bottled some up last night. It’s definitely better than carrying it around in those jars.”
“I doubt you’re planning to offer that up as a drink.” Nighteye said, partly sarcastically, but still completely unaware of what Pyro was planning to do.
“Not exactly,” Pyro replied, winking. She pointed to the rag that Pinkie had stuffed into Fluttershy’s mouth, lying on the sand. “Take that, and soak it in the sea.”
“What for?” Nighteye asked, not happy to be on the receiving end of orders whilst also being left clueless as to what they were doing.
“Just trust me, and do it,” Pyro replied, standing up and walking over to Fluttershy.
Nighteye sighed, and picked up the rag. While he was soaking it, Pyro had rested the flask on Fluttershy’s chest, right where she’d been whipped moments earlier. She tensed slightly as the wound was still sore, but Pyro didn’t seem to care. Nighteye handed her the now soaking rag, which she wrapped tightly around her left forehoof. Carefully, she lit one of the waterproof matches and dropped it in the flask, before quickly popping the cap back into place, being careful to leave a gap so the fire could get oxygen. The mixture caught fire instantly, the napalm ensuring the mix burned for a long time and attained a high temperature while doing so.
"Now hold her down tightly," Pyro instructed. "I don't want her flailing around and kicking me."
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie nodded, stepping in and grabbing Fluttershy by her forelegs, holding them down firmly by her head. Pyro meanwhile was holding the flask from the top where it bottle-necked, pressing it down hard on Fluttershy’s chest with the hoof wrapped in the dripping rag.
“This can stop any time,” she said. “All you have to do it talk.”
Initially, Fluttershy had no idea what Pyro was doing. She hadn’t watched her set up the flask, and was quite surprised when she thought all that was happening was that her wounds from Nighteye’s javelin were being pressed down on. This caused a slight sting at most, but nothing much beyond the pain she was already in. It took less than half a minute for her to realise something else was wrong, as her chest began to feel warm. In just under a minute, the heat was getting difficult to bear with. Soon, the metal was burning at her flesh, aggravating it and causing incredible pain. She could feel her flesh burning, and she let out her most piercing scream yet. The clique ponies looked at each other with smiles as they covered their ears, hoping this would be enough to make Fluttershy break. The metal was heating up immensely, and the way Pyro was holding it against her made certain that it caused as much damage as possible.
After a few minutes, something could be seen bubbling under the flask, some kind of thick liquid. At first Pyro thought the heat had burned a hole in the flask, letting the napalm leak out, but she soon realized what it really was. The heat was blistering Fluttershy’s flesh, which soon broke and released a plethora of pus. It bubbled and dribbled out of her chest, running down her body and into the sand.
Getting tired, Rainbow Dash leaned forward, clamping Fluttershy’s mouth shut again, before practically shouting at her. “Don’t be stupid, we can do this all day. You can make this stop whenever you want. Just tell us where Twilight Sparkle went!”
All Fluttershy could do in response was howl and scream, which did nothing but irritate Rainbow. Pyro was beginning to struggle, as the heat of the flask was beginning to be too much for her to hold with the damp rag wrapped around her hoof. The heat suddenly shot up within the flask, nicking her and causing her to flinch. The flask was knocked off Fluttershy, revealing the mess underneath as Pyro went to cool her hoof down in the water. The flesh was black in a perfect circle where the flask had been, the fur having burned away under the immense heat. Pieces of skin hung loose where they’d blistered and burst, and the whole wound was dripping with pus. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as the flask was taken away, but she was still whimpering with the pain.
“I just don’t know any more,” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing. “We’ve done all this, but she’s said nothing. We’re gonna have to go a step further. Nighteye, cut one of her ears off.”
That was it. Fluttershy had no idea how she’d had the guts to keep herself from talking up to this point, but the threat of dismemberment sent her well and truly over the edge.
“No don’t!” she squealed, well and truly defeated. “I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you everything. Just please… please… just stop.”
She erupted into yet another fresh wave of sobs as the clique ponies grinned to each other, and gathered around her. Her voice was weak from her cries, and she was in colossal amounts of pain, but she found the strength somewhere within her to talk.
“She went to the cornucopia,” she croaked weakly.
“Damnit!” Nighteye shouted. “We’ve been wasting our time here while Sparkle’s been going after our stuff!”
Pyro was less than concerned. “Oh don’t be so stupid. Remember that trap I left? She’s either dead or on the brink of death right now.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so stupid,” Pinkie pointed out. “Did you hear a cannon? She’s alive, and she’s the smartest pony in here. I guarantee you she saw through it.”
“Not likely,” Pyro huffed.
“Pinkie’s right,” Rainbow Dash answered sternly. “She’s smart enough to know that a pile of stuff left out in the open like that is suspicious. She’ll be heading back here soon enough, right?”
Pyro and Nighteye nodded. “That’s what we heard them agree on,” Nighteye said.
“Then we’ll let her come back here. She’ll be busy dealing with Fluttershy, and if she can get her fighting fit, that’ll still take a few days at the very least. Sparkle will waste a lot of time trying to heal her wounds, and that's time that we could use to plan a better strategy, ‘cause we aren’t going anywhere fast right here.”
“What about her?” Pyro asked, gesturing to Fluttershy, who still panting desperately.
“She helped us, so we’ll follow up on our bargain,” Rainbow replied matter-of-factly. “No hard feelings I hope, Flutters. A couple of days rest and you'll be just fine.”
The rest of the clique laughed as they began to pack their stuff away. Pyro tentatively kicked her now red-hot flask into the sea, whilst Rainbow Dash pulled her swords out of Fluttershy’s wings and returned them to their individual sheaths. In her weakened state, the most Fluttershy could manage was a prolonged groan as the blades left her body.
“We all packed up and ready to go?” Pinkie asked.
“Yeah, but one more thing,” Rainbow answered. “Nighteye, give me Twilight’s knife.”
Nighteye hesitantly handed over the serrated knife that he’d recovered from the shattered remains of the bee’s nest. While he’d wanted to keep it, maybe even to kill Twilight with it, he’d learned that Rainbow Dash was better with tactics than he was, so he didn’t argue.
“This is a fine knife,” she said to Fluttershy, holding it by the handle and examining it closely. “I’d hate to lose it if it was mine, so do us a favour, yeah? Make sure Twilight gets it back.”
And with that, Rainbow Dash plunged the knife hard into Fluttershy’s stomach.