As the party neared the far edge of the terrifying Everfree forest, not one of them felt the desire to express relief over coming out unscathed. A heavy air of worry hung above their heads and slowed their progress. Guilt weighed heavily upon their withers.
They had each seen the pillars of flame, heard the horrifying roar. Together, they stood a solid chance against the dragon, but in their cowardice, the girls had left behind a dear friend to face the horror alone. It had been Spike’s choice to face off against Vilthinex, but that didn’t make leaving him any easier. Each of them felt responsible for any injuries he might have sustained, but all they could do was pray for his wellbeing.
Their attention turned once more to their surroundings as they at last stepped through the tree line. The badlands were foreign to each of them, but it didn’t take a local to see that something was terribly wrong.
Ordinarily, the region was a blazing desert, so hot the settlements resided deep underground. The first settlers of the land had been ancient Diamond Dogs. They dug massive caverns within the soil in search of riches. It’s said that they did find what they were looking for and built a city of gold deep underground. Though there’s no historical evidence to support such claims, many archeologists went missing, presumed dead in their search. There were many who revered these ponies as brave heroes and many others who dismissed them as fools who died in the frivolous pursuit of fairytales.
Though no city of gold has been discovered, there are many other civilizations that made the mines their homes, building into the walls of the largest caverns. In modern times, travelling to these cities is known to be a dangerous venture, as the narrow halls leading to them are known to be home to lowlives and thieves.
Across the desert, a great mountain range stretched as far as the eye could see. Though that region got plenty of precipitation year round, it was known to be barren and volcanic.Never, however, had a large cloud of ash blotted out the sun and stretched across the entire expanse of the badlands as it did now.
The ash and smoke stretched out in a massive spiral, the focal point of which seemed to be a single mountain just ahead.
“Well girls,” Rarity spoke, “It seems we’ve discovered the location of our enemies.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Trixies replied sarcastically, accompanied with an exaggerated eye roll. Rarity pursed her lips and held her tongue, refusing to grace the comment with a retort of her own.
Coming to Rarity’s aid, Applejack responded in her stead. “Sugarcube, we all know yer goin’ through a tough time, but that’s no reason ta get snippy with us. We’re jus’ tryin’ ta help.”
Trixie sighed. “You’re right. You’re right.” Turning to Rarity, she apologized, though somewhat insincerely. “I’m Sorry Rarity.”
Rarity simply turned her snout up with a huff and began the trek forward, prompting the rest of the party to join her. Rainbow Dash dropped down to walk beside Trixie and bumped her side before leaning in to stage whisper, “If you hadn’t said it, I would have.” The mares giggled, prompting an annoyed glare from their prim and proper friend. With the pair beaming back at her, it wasn’t long before Rarity broke into a smile of her own and returned her gaze to the foreboding mountain in the distance.
Hour after hour passed, and each time any of the mares looked up to gauge their progress, the mountain looked no closer. They had been walking for so long in the stifling heat, that even Pinkie had lost her luster. She trudged alongside the rest of her friends, their hooves dragging upon the blackened soil.
Her curly locks were heavy with sweat, and they hung over her face. Ignoring them, she gazed lazily up at the sky, though any area the ash was thin enough, no sunlight shone through. Instead, it revealed a blood red sky. Bolts of white lightning crawled along the storm clouds above their destination, and the rumble of thunder could be heard even as distant as they were.
Pinkie whimpered; she’d been looking to the sky to remind her that everything would be okay. This was not her kind of party. Her hair flattened just a bit more, weighed down by her anxiety as much as it was by her sweat.
She took the time to survey their surroundings. Before now, it had been some time since she’d looked up from her hooves. What she saw surrounding them all caused her to raise a brow. Curious, she began to trail off, making her way toward one of the many holes scattered across the ground.
The rest of the group paused their advance as their inattentive friend began to wander. “Pinkie, what are you up to?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Pinkie Pie didn’t answer, only picking up speed toward the tunnel. Once there, she sat down upon her flanks and tapped a blackened hoof to her chin. She knew she’d seen holes such as those before, but she couldn’t place exactly when that had been. “Hmmm,” she hummed, expressing her curiosity. It wasn’t often she found herself lost in a thought that wasn’t concerning some sort of pastry.
“Pinkie Pie, you’re getting soot all over your chin!” Rarity scolded.
Pinkie’s pupils shrunk to pin pricks as she remembered where she’d seen the holes before. “Shhh!” was her only response to Rarity’s outburst.
Rarity came to a similar realization, her pupils shrinking as well when her head slowly swiveled to her own hooves. An expression of pure horror spread across her muzzle at the soot dying her alabaster legs a dark black. “Aughh!” she cried, “It’s everywhere!”
“Shhh! Rarity, be quiet!” Pinkie insisted once more, her head whipping toward Rarity, eyes stricken with fear.
The rest of the group began to worry as well, seeing just how spooked Pinkie seemed to be. Fluttershy whimpered. “Rar-” Applejack started, only to be cut off by Rarity’s next outburst.
“B-but it’s a travesty!” Rarity whined. “My beautiful coat! This will take weeks of scrubbi-” She stopped complaining as she felt something grasp at the forelock of a back hoof. Hesitantly, Rarity turned her head toward the appendage. A single paw stuck up from the ground. It held a solid grip on her leg.
Rarity shot her terrified gaze to Pinkie Pie. “Help!” she cried before being pulled under.
“RARITY!” Pinkie screamed before she too was pulled into the hole closest to her by a single paw.
“What in tarnation?!” Applejack went under next.
Having been right next to the farm pony when she disappeared, the cowering mass that was Fluttershy screamed in terror. She too was pulled under.
With no further outbursts, all was silent. Trixie and Rainbow Dash looked this way and that, keeping their heads on swivels. Their hearts beat in their throats. Softly at first, the ground began to shake, quickly becoming a tremor of seismic proportions.
Trixie stomped. “You dare to challenge the Great and Powerful Trix- EEP!”
As Trixie was pulled under, leaving her all alone, Rainbow Dash shot into the air, hovering a meter above it. The ground ceased its rumbling. “Ha!” the pegasus taunted. “Whatcha’ gonna’ do now?”
It happened in a single heartbeat. That’s all the time it took, but Rainbow Dash’s trained eyes allowed her to see it all. Her challenge had been met. The ground burst open below and just ahead of her, and the torso of the largest Diamond Dog she’d ever seen came bursting forth.
He must have had seventeen piercings in his face and ears alone, and his fur was covered in strange tribal markings. His massive arms stretched out to his sides with biceps larger than Rainbow’s head. Just before he wrapped those monstrous arms around her lithe body, the dog bared his sharp teeth in a cocky grin. Unlike most diamond dogs, each of his teeth had been sharpened to a wicked point. With the wriggling pegasus firmly within his grasp, the Diamond Dog shot back into the ground with incredible speed. All was silent aboveground.
Trixie arose from her slumber with a groan. Eyes still closed, she attempted to nurse her throbbing head, but found them bound to a stone wall just behind her. The jingling of chains was alarming enough to make her eyes shoot open. Her head whipped up to survey her surroundings. She was met with the sight of all her friends similarly chained to the walls of a dark, dank room. Each pair of eyes was trained on her with a mixture of concern and, in some cases, impatience.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Rainbow Dash greeted sarcastically. “Have a nice nap?”
“Ya’ sure were out for a long time. Y’alright, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked, clearly more concerned than her brash pegasus friend.
With a groan, Trixie nodded. “Y-yeah. I’ll be fine. What happened?”
“The Diamond Dogs took us!” Pinkie replied, curiously enthusiastic. “Now that you’re awake, we can get out of here!”
“Ugh,” Rarity chimed in. “I just can’t catch a break from these brutes.”
“Wait,” Trixie asked the group, “Why did our escape depend on my consciousness?”
“W-well, we wanted to make sure you were alright before we tried to leave.” Fluttershy answered, stuttering as she often did in situations of a dangerous nature.
Rarity’s horn began to glow a bright blue. “Those dogs didn’t even bother to take away our magic. It’s like they wanted us to escape.” In a matter of seconds, her hooves were free, and the chains that had previously bound them fell to the floor with a clatter. “Ugh, my poor fetlocks are chafed. This is not how I like to be tied up.” Rarity whined, rubbing her sore hooves.
Ignoring Rarity’s complaint and inappropriately sensual comment, Trixie followed suit and freed herself from the wall before setting about unchaining Fluttershy. The unicorns made short work of the locks, and soon the entire group was free.
The room was made of solid limestone, but there was a golden door on the far end. It was the only conceivable exit, and there was no indication of a lock. “Oh this is too easy!” Rainbow Dash cheered as she flew toward the door.
Too late, Trixie realized just how easy this was. No one would go through so much trouble to abduct six ponies and drag them underground and make it so simple for them to escape. “Wait! It’s a trap!” she called out, but it was in vain. The door was already swinging open, only to reveal a massive Diamond Dog leering at them from the doorway.
“That didn’t take half as long as I expected it to. I owe a guy money now,” the dog joked. He grinned as he lifted a leg and kicked Rainbow Dash in the chest. The force was enough to blow the airborne pony across the room. Her surprised scream was cut short as she slammed into the opposite wall and fell unconscious to the floor.
The others watched her flight path, then turned to glare at the offender, several of them in fighting positions, ready to defend their friends. “Wrong move!” Applejack shouted. She turned and reared back to buck the dog in the chest in return, but he took advantage of her two-legged stance and stepped on her. He applied just enough pressure to push her down to the ground and make her cry out in pain.
“Do any of you other tiny ponies have any ideas about resistance?” The Diamond Dog asked, looking like he truly looked forward to beating up another.
Nevertheless, Trixie wouldn’t give up so easily. She had magic to protect her. “Yeah. I do!” she answered in defiance. Her horn glowed in a bright purple, and a magical, translucent suit of armor of the same hue apparated on her body. She charged at the dog as if she meant to skewer him.
The dog was unphased, and with lightning-like reflexes, he caught Trixie by the horn. Her spell was interrupted, and the armor disappeared as quickly as it had come. He lifted Trixie to eye level by her sensitive horn. She winced in pain, but managed to keep glaring at her foe.
“You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” He asked rhetorically. Trixie decided to respond by spitting in his face, and he scowled before throwing her to the ground near Rainbow Dash. He looked to Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. “Anyone else?”
The remaining ponies simply slumped toward the ground. “Good,” the dog continued. “My name is Boros.” After the introduction, Boros lifted his boot from Applejack and kicked her across the room, sending her barreling straight for Pinkie Pie. The pair crashed to the ground together.
Fluttershy ran over to check on her friends, finding Applejack breathing with shallow, pained breaths. It was obvious she’d been badly injured. This left Rarity alone to address their abductor.
“What do you want with us, Boros? We’re on an important rescue mission, and we can’t afford any setbacks of this sort.”
Boros laughed cruelly, his eyes lighting up with a sick sort of joy. “I don’t care what you were doing before I caught you. You can all forget about your previous lives. You belong to me now, and soon you’ll belong to one of my clients. You can’t run, and you can’t hide, so don’t try again. Welcome to the slave trade!”
Boros turned to leave, but Fluttershy stopped him. “Wait!” she shouted, surprisingly forceful. “You’ve badly injured my friends. We need medicine and supplies enough to help them!”
Boros turned back around to look Fluttershy in the eye. She stared forward, not even flinching. “Why should I provide you with such things?” he asked. “What’s in it for me?”
“Money,” Fluttershy responded without missing a beat. When Boros raised a brow, she explained further. “We’ll be worth more to your clients in good, working order, won’t we?”
Boros chuckled. “Fair enough. You’ll have your medicine.” The door slammed shut, and the bolt could be heard from inside as it locked. The only sound left was the agonal breathing of the three heavily injured ponies lying on the floor.
“Three days,” Rarity complained from her spot on the floor. “Three days they’ve kept us in here. I thought we’d be auctioned off by now.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, though in her fatigue, it was fairly difficult to act annoyed. “Are you seriously complaining about not being sold off into slavery, Rares?”
“Of course I’m not,” Rarity defended, “I just don’t like to be kept waiting. It’s not as if I haven’t been in this position before. We’ll be fine.”
“This is a bit different, Rarity,” Applejack chimed in.
“Diamond Dogs are Diamond Dogs, Dear. How could it possibly be any different?” Rarity argued.
“Applejack is right, Rarity,” Trixie answered. “It’s already different. Don’t you understand the situation we’re in? Why I asked you all to move around as little as possible?”
“To be honest, Darling, I haven’t the faintest clue, but you said so with such… determination… who was I to refuse?”
“They’ve been feeding us once a day, and not nearly enough to feed us all,” Trixie explained. “They’re keeping us weak, making sure we can’t run on auction day. These aren’t your average Diamond Dogs. Boros’ crew has an impressive wit about them.”
The girls all voiced their understanding and agreement, save for Pinkie Pie. She laid in the corner of the room, snoring calmly, just as comfortable as if she were at home in her bed. She was aroused from her slumber, however, when the iron door opened up with a heavy groan. Each of the girls turned their attention to Boros as he stepped inside, two of his cronies following closely on his heels. His entire troupe of slavers wore studded leather armor that covered most of their body, and each of them dwarfed the Diamond Dogs near Ponyville in size.
“Rise and shine, ponies. T’day’s the day,” Boros boomed in his deep baritone. His accent was strangely Trottingham in nature, only adding to the thuggish persona he had going on. He licked his yellowed fangs as he salivated, clearly thinking of all the money he was about to make.
The two dogs accompanying Boros pushed past him, honing in on Rarity and Trixie. They’d been allowed their magic thus far, but it seemed Boros would take no risks with his clientele. They were each fitted with an inhibitor ring to dull their magic. They both winced as the energy began to build up behind the ring, causing their heads to pound with each beat of their hearts.
“Alright, get up! We can’t be late! Best not be keeping your new masters waitin’,” Boros commanded, a sinister grin spreading across his face. Most of the girls rose slowly, shaky on their hooves.
Pinkie, on the other hand, stretched and yawned. “Wowie!” she exclaimed. “I take a two day nap, and I get a field trip right after? This is going to be fun~!” There was a devilish glint in her eye, and she bounced up and hopped over to join the others with a surprising amount of energy. Not one of the girls knew what the pink furball had up her sleeves, but one thing was certain: when Pinkie Pie said there was going to be fun, it didn’t bode well for her captors...