“Come on now, we got to get through this!” Yelled Applejack desperately as she strained to push aside a particularly large boulder by herself.
“Over here, I’ve found a way through.” Grunted Rainbow Dash, who was already half way through the hole she had just made.
The other ponies rushed to her disappearing flank to help her expanded the hole large enough so that every pony, including the massive bulk of Sasha could squeeze through.
Once on the other side the group reformed in a semicircle facing away from the hole, all the unicorns illuminated the immediate surrounding area as Twilight did a quick head count.
“Sasha, didn’t you bring 20 guards with you?” She asked, confusion evident on her face.
“Yes, you are correct in your calculations, ve have 20 guards.” Sasha answered without looking away from the inky blackness he was studying that was just out of the reach of the unicorns’ magical light.
“Well we are missing a few then.”
“Count again, you must have miscount.”
“Umm, I’ve counted 4 times now and we are missing 3 of them.” She answered simply.
“Vhat?!” He roared as he turned around, his hammer slipping out from its sling.
“We. Are. Missing. Ponies.” She said staring into his face unblinking.
“Do any of you know of any pony vho stopped to do anything?” He demanded, “Vho is missing?”
After a short bout of confusion as the ponies roll called each other it slowly dwindled to silence.
“So, vho is it?” He demanded again.
“Corporal Grape, Private Shine, and Private Tub.” One of the unicorns called out.
“Do ve know vhere they vent?” His heavy accent growing worse.
“No sir.” Came a chorus of replies
“But we doooo.” Sang a multitude of sinister voices from the darkness.
“Guards! Ambush, Veapons up!” He yelled, shoving Twilight behind him with a mighty push of his magic.
The guards, with practiced ease, fell into a tighter semicircle, pushing the mare’s they had vowed to protect behind them and up against the rubble wall. The unicorns unleashed a storm of lights that rocketed down the pathway, sticking to what they struck and illuminating the path with a patchwork of light and shadows. But even with all the added light, nothing could be seen.
“Steady, ve must not give them any opening.” Sasha growled.
“Oh, why must you be soo boring?” Commented a voice that chilled the groups blood.
“Ah, there’s what I like; your reactions are delicious.” Chrysalis’s voice echoed from nowhere.
“Be careful, Twilight, can you make a magic shield?” Asked Sasha.
“Maybe, I think so, yes?” She stammered.
“Do it, do it now.”
“I think I’ll name you Lunch.” Came the queen’s voice as one of the unicorn’s simply disappeared, his weapon clattering as his lights winked out.
“Twilight, hurry!” Begged Rarity, who was wide eyed in terror as she stared at the spot the guard stood as the others calmly closed ranks on their missing comrade.
“And you shall be Supper.” Came her voice, closer now, as another unicorn simply popped out of existence.
“Twi, please.” Fluttershy said from underneath Rainbow Dash, who was trying to look brave, but fear leaked through her mask.
“I’m working on it.” Twilight replied, sweat beading on her forehead.
“And you shall be a nice little snack.” She said, suddenly very close as another also simply disappeared.
“Almost done.” Twilight grunted, sweat rolling off her forehead.
“And the rest can just line the fridge until I’m good and ready for them!” She laughed gleefully as a sudden liquid darkness swallowed the group whole.
“Honey, I’m home!” I yelled as I walked in through our front door, glad to be home early for once.
“How did the sales go today, hun?” she asked as she leaned out of the kitchen, a pair of baby ponies balanced on her back.
“Good, but the ponies still miss you baking for them, even though it’s been awhile since I’ve taken over, they still say there’s something off about my baking.”
“Oh, they just don’t support me marrying a loon.” She said bringing out a plate of steaming food for me as I sat in front of our tv.
“We’ve been married for 3 years, I don’t see how any of them still even remember that.” I said, staring angrily at my food.
“Oh just because you're living in a shallow allusion of the world that revolves entirely around you.” She said in a monotone voice.
“And ponies think I’m insane.” I said, ruffling her fluffy hair.
Just then my world shook, everything jumping a few feet in the air and landed neatly exactly where they were.
“Did you see that?” I asked, jumping up and looking outside to look for any damage nearby.
“See what?” She asked, confused at my sudden behavior change.
“That earthquake, surely you couldn’t have missed that.” I said, looking at her as if she was trying to joke with me.
“Is this another lame try to surprise me, I’ve told you a million times I hate surprises.” She said as she went back into the kitchen, the twins still just staring at me the entire time.
“.....Cass....” A ghostly voice from nowhere drifted nearby.
“Did you say something dear?”
“No.” She said, poking just her head out of the doorway, eyebrow raised in a classic Pumpkin face.
“Okay...” Shaking my head I went back to my favorite recliner that was my Hearts and Hooves day present last year and pulled my tray table holding my food closer.
“I must be going insane, I guess.” I mused to myself, laughing at my own lame joke.
“Oh gods!” Scootaloo prayed, “Don’t let me die like this, please I need your help!”
It seemed like ages since Scootaloo’s wings had cramped and refused to flap anymore, and longer still since she had discovered that damnable hole, and the bottom was still not in sight.
Thinking about it, she should’ve hit bottom by now, or at least seen something beyond the inky blackness surrounding her. Heck, even the wind whistling past her seemed to go by way too slowly and almost had a liquid quality to it. Turning over slowly, she had the sudden thought.
“What if this hole goes to the other side of the Earth!” She cried out, flipping suddenly in thrashing, erratic movements, only to have her wing tip brush something.
Freezing instantly, it took her brain a second to comprehend that, but when she realized what a wall meant, she had hope again.
Turning herself towards what she had felt, she forced her cramped, tired wings to flap while kicking with her hooves as if she was swimming.
After a few good pushed her head rammed into the wall and she rebounded off, clutching her head in pain, only to realize the error and latch onto the wall however she could, but found no purchase on the invisible, glassy smooth surface.
Scrabbling her hooves on it she thought something was off, but couldn’t figure it out until she tried biting the wall.
It wasn't moving at all.
Scootaloo knew she was still falling, she could feel it, but either the wall was another falling object or she wasn’t actually falling.
“Oh gods, it got me! This is it’s trap! I’m stuck here to be fed on!” She sobbed, kicking out with her hoof, connecting with the wall.
She floated on for awhile, sobbing in desperation until a green glow penetrated her eye lids. Slowly looking out, she saw where she had kicked had left a small crack, from which the light was coming from.
Once again she was filled with hope as she kicked, pounded, bit, and generally did everything she could imagine to damage the wall, and each blow slowly expanded it inch by inch until she finally broke through. A large section suddenly falling away taking her and a mass of fluid with her out, and into an actual drop of which she could see a massive beetle like hive directly below her and rushing up to meet her rapidly falling form.
“CRAP!” She screamed, as she twisted and turned just moments before she crashed through a glowing green window and belly flopped into what seemed to be a giant bowl of green jello.
Lying still in pain for a few moment, her vision blurring and spinning, she felt herself sinking into the jello. Struggling and screaming she managed to flip herself onto her back and pissed herself when a giant dark shape loomed overself. She screwed her eyes shut and waited for the pain to start, but after a moment of two of nothing happening, she opened one of her eyes and realized it was-
“Cass?” She sobbed, trying to turn over to stand up, but her each movement sinking herself deeper.
“CASS!” She yelled in desperation as she realized this, her quivering flank disappearing into the murky gloop.
“Please help me, somepony!” She sobbed, panicking, as her wings disappeared under the surface.
“Cass, Applejack, anypony.” She yelled, tears spilling down her face as she took a final last gasp of air before her face sunk under, leaving her in a world of glowing green gloop.
“Hey, psssssssssstttttttttttttt, you awake yet?” Asked a quiet voice.
“Merh, no, go away. Gods, what did I drink last night.” The guard muttered as he sat up, holding the side of his head with one of his hooves.
“Good! You are awake, I was starting to worry.” Came that same voice again.
“Oh shutup you hag and be quiet! Can’t you just let me sleep you stu- Princess!” The guard stammered as he snapped into a shaky salute the second he opened one of his eyes to look into the dreary darkness.
“Why is she in my quarters.” The guard wondered as he stumbled, the world spinning wildly.
“Guard, you must listen to me before somepony else notices you in here with me like this.” Celestia continued, oblivious to his internal conflict.
“Oh gods, don’t tell me I did That last night with one of the Princess.” He thought to himself as he felt his lunch trying hard to violently make its reappearance in the world.
“Guard, what is your name? Quickly now, I do not know when the other will discover you.” She asked
“Oh gods, I banged one of the gods and didn’t even tell her my name!” He screamed at himself in his head as his knees started shaking, hiding his face in his hooves in shame.
“Guard, don’t tell me that they hit your head too hard, I didn’t see everything that she did to you.” Celestia continued, concerned.
“Oh gods, no wonder I feel so violated, who knows where she stuck that horn!” He thought as his knees gave out and slammed his face into the damp cobblestone floor, hard. His helmet clattering noisily across the floor only increasing his headache to astronomical levels.
“Guard, wake up, I need you desperately now!” Celestia pleaded, her royal canterlot voice sliding him across the floor in a pile.
Wait.
Only the dungeons had cobblestones floors, the rest of the castle had expensive tiles.
“Oh gods! I’m in Celestia Fungeon, drugged and violated, I knew I should have listened to my mother and settled down with a nice mare, but noooo! I had to go and rape the Princess and let her doppelganger rape me in return!”
There was a dead silence as the guard realized he had just screamed that out loud. He felt his blood draining from his limbs and flooding his face in a rushing tsunami.
Looking up meekly from his awkward position, he saw Celestia’s face frozen in shock, her eyes screaming surprise and a confusion and her mouth frozen mid thought.
And that’s when he noticed she was bound to the wall with heavy chains in a very exposed way.
“Oh gods, you too! What type of place is this?” He asked, his voice disappearing into the upper octaves.
“Guard, once we are done with this, you are going to go see my therapist.” She said slowly.
“What, why?” He asked innocently as his eyes drifted too long in certain places for the Princess to appreciate.
“Why did I have to be stuck with the only pervert guard possibly in existence.” Celestia muttered to herself, as his eyes snapped up to a point above her head in embarrassment of being caught.
“So, ugh..... Was it at least fun for the both of us.” He asked nervously.
“I. Will. Kill. Discord.” Celestia vowed as she threw mental daggers at her insane neighbor, knowing he was most definitely responsible for choosing exactly which guard was brought down to ‘help’ her.