The Bond of Brothers: part 2
Chapter 31
The clip clop of hooves could be heard coming down the hall. The pegasus mare looked up from her book as she heard a knock on the door. “You may enter.” The door opened to reveal a light cream colored pegasus stallion. It was difficult to tell if his burgundy mane and tail were spiky or just plane messy. His flanks were branded with a flower with five petals and a stem. He wore a pair of glasses and a dog collar on around his neck. “Ah, Knight Wind, I was wondering where you were. Speak.”
“Y-your hunters are back Master. They have a cart full of ponies for you to train.”
A venom filled smile grew on the mares face. “Excellent. Go get my vestments. I wish to greet my new…'guests' in style.”
Knight Wind smiled and bowed down. “Right away master.”
The mare watched as Knight Wind ran out of the room, closing the door behind him. She looked up above the fire pit to the emblem etched into the rock. It was the same symbol that was branded on Knight Wind’s flanks. “Things are about to become quite entertaining around here once again.”
********************
AJ groaned as his senses started coming back to him. “Ohh, my head.” He tentatively brought a hoof to his head as he forced himself up to a sitting position. His body felt like it was made out of lead, making this task all the harder. After finally getting up, he cracked his eyes open so he could take in his surroundings.
The room he was in was very dim. There was just enough light emanating from the single lantern hanging from the ceiling to be able to see around the room. Looking around the room, he guessed he was in a cave. The walls and ceiling were all made out of rock. The floor was covered in hay that looked much too old to be used as food. There was a thick, metal door in the middle of the left wall. Lying around him, in various levels of consciousness, were many other ponies. They all appeared to be colts and stallions of all races of pony. There was even one that looked like some kind of equine like insect. It was covered in a black, chitinous exoskeleton, had big blue eyes, and had a curved horn, fangs, and insect like wings.
AJ heard a groan come from behind him. Turning his head, he saw a very familiar pony lying a few feet away from him, finally regaining his consciousness. “Shadow?” Seeing a familiar face brought a slight smile to his face. He tried to walk over, but his body refused to cooperate with him. He fell to the floor with a pained grunt. Opening his eyes again, he saw Shadow struggling with his body just as he was. “S-shadow, are you okay?”
Shadow slowly opened his eyes. His head slowly turned until he was looking at AJ. “A-A-AJ? W-what’s going…” Shadow’s eyes got wide.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” asked AJ.
“W-what happened to you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re…”
Shadow was cut off as the door to the room swung open. All the ponies in the room turned their attention to the doorway. Multiple ponies filed in, all holding lanterns to light up the room. Another pony entered the room. He was a tall, slender, dark blue unicorn with soft, cyan eyes. His immaculate, two tone cream and light cream mane and tail practically glowed in the light. Light yellow flower ornaments with rainbow colored ribbons hanging from them adorned both his ears. His cutie mark made no sense to AJ. It looked to be pony head with sound lines coming out of an open mouth.
“Hmmm, looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us.” He spoke in a soft, almost angelic voice.
“W-we're almost there master,” came a voice from down the hall.
A loud cracking noise could be heard, followed by a thud as something hit the ground. “Did I tell you to speak?” came a venom filled voice. “You’d do well to remember what happens when you don’t listen. Now get up, we have some ‘guests’ to ‘greet’.”
About twenty seconds later, a pegasus mare entered the room. Her bat-like wings were fully extended, making her look even more intimidating. Her coat was a dark plumb color. Her two tone black and blood red mane was slicked back. Her piercing, dragon like, yellow eyes gazed around the room. Around her neck she wore a fine silk scarf. It was deep red color. Around her body was a loose fitting belt, a couple sizes too big for her body, the same color as the scarf. The buckle held a big sapphire. Her ears both held two hoop earrings each; one gold, the other silver. Her cutie mark was a mortar and pestle next to a vial of green liquid. Behind her, Knight Wind slowly limped into the room.
“My, my. Quite the group we have today, wouldn’t you say Nebulous?” purred the mare. Her eyes continued to scan the room.
A slight smile grew on Nebulous’ face. “Indeed. I already see some…promising candidates,” he said with a certain arousal in his voice. “You’ve trained your hunters well, Mistress Nightshade.”
An evil smile grew on Nightshade’s face. She walked closer to the group of ponies in the room, examining them closer. “A changeling, how interesting. I believe I know a buyer who would be more than happy to have you as a pet.”
“A different partner every night, how quaint,” Nebulous said in a soft voice. “This will be a new experience.”
Nightshade continued through the room, silently judging all of the ponies in front of her. “W-what’s going on here?!” asked the Earth pony Nightshade had just finished judging. “Who are you?! And what…”
He was cut off as a hoof connected with his lower jaw, sending him flying back a couple feet into the wall. He fell to the floor, blood leaking from his mouth. His body lay there, twitching on the ground. Nightshade glared down at the pony she had just uppercut. “I didn’t tell you to speak, worm.” She lifted her head and turned to the rest of the ponies. “Let that be a lesson to you all! You are now my property, and as my property, you will do as I say! Any acts of defiance will be met with harsh punishment!”
Everypony looked between Nightshade and the corpse on the floor. “I believe they understand, my Mistress,” Nebulous said with a grin.
Nightshade continued around the room. Nopony dared make a move. She got to AJ and started eyeing him up. “I’m not your property,” growled AJ.
Nightshade’s eyes grew cold and harsh. “Did I just hear you talk?” A malicious grin grew on her face. “Go ahead, try my patience. See how that works out for you."
“Let’s see you act so high and mighty with a face full of rocket.” AJ lowered his pose and began pouring magic into his horn. He ignored the smile that grew on her face. He built up more and more energy into his horn. This was going to be a big one. His eyes got wide as he felt his magic ark back into his skull with a sharp pain. He let out a loud scream of agony as the magic coursed through his body; escaping through the pores of his skin. Shadow could only watch as his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the side with a thud.
Nightshade let out a loud laugh, once again catching the attention of everypony in the room. “You fucking imbecile. Did you really think we’d leave you with a means of defending yourself?” She poked AJ in the head. “We removed your horn, just like all the others. Without it, your magic is useless.”
A small commotion began to fill the room; mainly from the unicorns who hadn’t noticed the fate of their horn. They all began examining the now stumps on their heads. “Y-you’ll never get away with this!” shouted a pegasus near the back of the room. “Once the royal guard finds out we’re missing, the Princesses will stop you!”
Nightshade’s eyes got wide as her body locked up. “Oh dear, this won’t end well,” Nebulous said as he brought a hoof up to his head.
Nightshade turned her head to the pony that spoke. Her irises had shrunk to the size of a pin prick. She began to shake as she grit her teeth. Her eyes were full of bloodlust. Before anypony could tell what had just happened, Nightshade had the pony pinned to the wall by his neck with her foreleg. “YOUR PRINCESSES WILL DO NOTHING!!! THEY ARE WEAK!!! With each sentence, she applied more pressure to the pegusus’ throat. “THEIR WILL MEANS NOTHING TO ME!!! DOWN HERE, I AM YOUR QUEEN!!! I AM YOUR GODDESS!!!” She continued her assault until she felt his windpipe crush under the pressure.
“Really now my Mistress, if you keep killing the slaves, we won’t have anything to sell,” Nebulous said in an annoyed tone.
Nightshade finally let the lifeless body fall to the floor as she looked over her shoulder. “Shut the hell up, or you’re next!” She made her way to the door. “Knight Wind!”
Knight Wind flinched when his name was called. “Y-yes master?”
“Go get yourself ready and meet me in my room. I wish to blow off some steam.” She stormed out of the room.
“R-right away master.” Knight Wind left the room to go get ready.
“Poor girl,” Nebulous said as he shook his head. “Looks like little Knighty will have to work double time to ‘relieve her stress.’” He looked back to the ponies in the room. “As you may have heard, my name is Nebulous. I am Mistress Nightshade’s second in command. If at any time she is…indisposed, I will be the pony you answer to. Do you understand me?” Everypony in the room, except AJ who was still dazed from before, nodded. “You can make your new lives very easy. All you have to remember is that anything we say is law. You break the law, and a swift punishment will be dealt.” He turned to leave the room. “I’d suggest you get some rest. Come tomorrow, the real fun starts.”
All the guard ponies filed out of the room, slamming the door behind them. Shadow couldn’t stop shaking. This whole situation outright terrified him. As soon as he got his limbs to start cooperating with him, he slowly crawled over to AJ who was just now coming out of his daze. “A-AJ. Are you okay?”
“I…I think so.” He tried to move his body, but everything hurt too much.
“I-I’m scared,” Shadow said as tears began welling up in his eyes.
“S-so am I, but there’s nothing we ca-AHH!!!” AJ’s entire body painfully tensed up as another serge of magic jolted through him. “T-there’s nothing we can do right now. For now, we wait and see what happens” Shadow didn’t like the answer he got, but he knew AJ was right. For now, all he could do was just lay down next to AJ, crying and hoping that help would come soon.
********************
Knock, knock, knock
“Ju…just one minute,” came Carrot’s voice from beyond the door. The sound of stumbling hooves could be heard getting closer and closer to the door. The door finally opened. “Oh, hey Twilight, Spike.”
“Oh sweet Celestia!” exclaimed Spike.
“Oh dear, are you okay?” asked Twilight. Carrot looked completely miserable. She had dark bags under her bloodshot eyes. Her mane and tail were disheveled and looked like they hadn’t been properly cleaned in days. Her coat had lost its natural sheen.
“Oh don’t worry about me, I’m just…” Carrot went silent.
Spike blinked a few times. “Did she just fall asleep standing up?”
“Uhh, Carrot Top?” Twilight lightly prodded Carrot in the shoulder.
“Huh? What?” Carrot shook the cobwebs from her head; yawning before looking at Twilight. “I-uh…I’m sorry Twilight. I haven’t gotten much sleep the last few days. Between Ditzy crying and trying to explain to Dinky that her new daddy didn’t abandon them, I think I got about an hour of sleep over the last three days.”
“Well, I guess that answerers my next question,” Twilight said with sadness in her voice.
“What about you? Get any word back from the princes yet?” asked Carrot.
“Don’t you mean, princesses?” questioned Spike.
“That’s what I said!” Carrot said defensively. “…Isn’t it?”
Twilight shook her head and sighed. “No, we haven’t gotten any more updates yet. All they know right now is that they think they know why he was taken, but knowing that is pointless without knowing where they took him. Applejack just sent the last of the letters to her relatives around Equestria. We don’t know how long it will take for them to get back to us. Rainbow’s been searching from the sky almost nonstop. I think she’s only stopped to sleep and eat. She hasn’t found anything yet.”
Carrot groaned. “Shit, looks like another sleepless night for me.”
Twilight bit her lower lip as she noticed Carrot turn and start stumbling back into the house. “Carrot Top, wait.” Carrot barely caught her self from falling flat on her face as she turned her head. “Why don’t Spike and I take over for the day? You just take this day off to sleep.”
“What?! But Twilight, I already had plans for today!” pleaded Spike.
Twilight turned her head and glared at the baby dragon. “Apple Bloom can wait Spike. Carrot Top really needs our help right now.”
Carrot could barely contain the smile on her face. “Y-you mean I can finally sleep? Thank you Celestia. Please come in.” Carrot moved to the side to let Twilight and Spike in before closing the door. “You know where their rooms are, right?”
Twilight and Spike looked at each other. “Uhhh n…”
“Good. Now unless the house is on fire, going to explode, or a world ending apocalypse is coming, don’t wake me. My pillow’s calling me, and I don’t plan on disappointing it.”
Twilight and Spike watched as Carrot made her way to the stairs, only to stop in front of them. She just stood there, staring at the stairs. “Is everything alright?” asked Twilight.
“…My pillow can go to hell. Stairs are too much work. The couch will work just as well.” She stumbled over to the couch and flopped down on the middle of it. A content smile grew on her face as she found one of the couches pillows. “Is this what relaxing is? I had forgotten what it felt like.” It wasn’t long before Carrot was lost in the world of dreams.
With Spike still on her back, Twilight tiphoofed upstairs; making sure they didn’t make too much noise. Twilight practically flinched when they got upstairs. The mood was so drastically different it was almost like a slap to the face. “Alright Spike, I’ll handle Ditzy. You try to make Dinky feel better.”
“But I don’t know how to make her happy. Now if you asked me to cheer up Apple Bloom, that’s easy. Especially if you know her secret spot.” Spike chuckled. “She’s got this one spot on her flank that just sends her…”
Spike stopped immediately once he realized what he was saying. Blushing, he looked to Twilight who was clearly not amused. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that…for now. Once this is all over and done with, I think we’ll have to have a talk with Apple Bloom’s family about what the two of you do when you’re alone.”
“But Twilight, we didn’t do anything!”
“No buts!” She levitated Spike in front of Dinky’s door. It was easy to tell which one was hers due to the colorful sign on the door with ‘DINKY’ on it. “Just get in there and try to cheer her up a bit.” Twilight watched Spike until he walked into the room and closed the door. She sighed and readied herself for her own job. She walked down the hall to the room she thought was Ditzy’s.
Steeling herself, she cracked the door open and poked her head in. “Ditzy?” The room was dark. The shades were drawn, keeping most of the light out. It was still bright enough to see Ditzy lying belly down on her bed. Her head was still bandaged up, and she had a cast on her right wing which was sticking straight out until it could heal. “Ditzy it’s me, Twilight. I’m coming in.” Twilight walked into the room and closed the door. She walked up to the bed and sat down.
Now that she was closer, Twilight could see Ditzy’s red eyes and the matted down hair on her face. It was clear that from just looking at her just how miserable she’s been. “Ditzy, I’m here for you. Just talk to me.”
Ditzy turned her head slightly to look at Twilight before looking back at the headboard of her bed. “…W-w-why do all the ponies I love leave me?”
“Huh?”
“First Morning Glory leaves me for his mother’s business, then my parents decide they want nothing to do with me, now…” Tears started welling up in her eyes once again.
“Whoa now, don’t cry. He didn’t leave you, and I’m sure your parents love you.” In reality, Twilight had no idea what she was talking about with her parents.
“He was taken from me. Nopony can find him. I’ll never see him again.”
“Don’t say that Ditzy. The Princess has her guards looking for them right now. They’ll find him in no time.” She got no response. The only sound came from Ditzy’s stomach begging her for some food. “Haven’t you been eating?” Ditzy shook her head. “Well that’s no good. Why don’t I go order us a pizza? Doesn’t that sound good?”
Ditzy’s breathing got unsteady. “Just leave me alone.”
“Come on Ditzy, just open up to me. I’m ready to help in any way I can.”
“JUST GO AWAY!!!” screamed Ditzy as she pushed herself up to look Twilight in the eyes. “Stop acting like everything’s right in the world and leave me alone!”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“Help? How can you help me. Your life is perfect. You haven’t had to deal with any of the problems I’ve had thrown at me.” Ditzy took in a loud, ragged breath. “Come back to me once you’ve lost Caramel. Come back to me once your parents decide they hate you, when your precious teacher decides that you’re no longer worth her time. Or maybe Spike will realize that you’re no replacement for his real mother and will leave you to find her. Until everything in your perfect little world goes to shit, just go…”
Ditzy was silenced as Twilight slapped her. Twilight’s face was angry, and her tears were threatening to fall. “You think my life is so perfect? I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. Aside from my brother and my foalsitter, I didn’t even have any friends until I moved to Ponyville. You call that perfect? I’ve disappointed both my parents and the Princess with some of the decisions I’ve made. How does that make me perfect? I don’t know how far Caramel and I will go. For all I know, he could break up with me tomorrow. That doesn’t sound so perfect to me. If my life is so perfect, I’d never have to worry about Spike leaving me to go find his real parents. I may have lost a friend because some bad ponies took him away. Does that sound so ‘perfect’ to you?” Twilight sniffled. “We all wish he was home. You’re not the only pony in pain right now Ditzy. The biggest difference between me and you is I’m actually trying to do something about it.”
Ditzy was looking down. Twilight could see tears falling to the bed. “Twilight…I’m so sorry.” She started shaking. Twilight got up on the bed drew her into a hug. “I just miss him so much!” Ditzy buried her head in twilight’s shoulder and cried.
A soft smile grew on Twilight’s face as a tear rolled down her own cheek. “Apology accepted.”
********************
“Doctor?” came a distant voice.
“Nghhh…”
“Doctor Whooves?”
“Nnngahhh…”
“Trotsworth, wake up!”
“YAHHH!!!” Trotsworth woke up with a jump as he fell out of his desk chair. Using his desk, he crawled up to see who had just shouted at him. “Redheart? W-what’s with all the shouting?”
Nurse Redheart was staring at Trotsworth; tapping her hoof. She shook her head before speaking. “Alright, this needs to be nipped in the bud right now. Over the past few days you’ve either been too busy being lost in your thoughts or you’ve been falling asleep on the job. Some of the patients have started to notice too. Not to mention how dangerous it is. We almost lost a patient this time.”
“W-what?”
Redheart sighed. “You were supposed to check on Miss Cloudrunner today at noon. I went in there expecting to talk to you, only to find Cloudrunner going into critical condition. We were able to save her, but we may not be so lucky next time.”
With a groan, Trotsworth rested his head on his desk. “I’m sorry. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”
“To say the least.” Redheart walked closer to Trotsworth and started inspecting him. “When’s the last time you ate a proper meal? Or eaten anything for that matter?”
Trotsworth shrugged. “I don’t know, two days ago?”
“How about sleep? From what I just saw, I can’t imagine you’ve been getting a lot of that.” Trotsworth shook his head. “Thought so. Tell me Trotsworth, why are you even here right now?”
“Excuse me?” Trotsworth said with a hint of indignation in his voice. “This is my job. Why wouldn’t I be here?”
“Because right now, you’re the pony who needs help. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but right now you’re doing more harm than good by being here.”
Trotsworth tried to think of something, anything to refute her. Anything to prove her wrong. He couldn’t think of a single thing. He closed his eyes and let the truth wash over him. “…You’re right. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s all true.”
Redheart brushed a caring hoof through Trotsworth's mane. “Until Shadow is found, I think it would be best if you just stayed home. I’m sure Screwball would like that. How is she doing anyway?”
Trotsworth shook his head. “Screwball barely talks anymore. She just stays in Shadow’s room all day. I’ve left her food, and she eats it, but she refuses to do anything else.”
“Well, as your head nurse, I think I’m qualified to send you home on sick leave.”
Trotsworth’s eyes got wide. “B-but my duties…”
“I can handle your duties while you’re on leave.” She put a hoof under his chin to make him look at her. “If you’re not going to do this for yourself…” She leaned forward and kissed him. Trotsworth’s eyes got wide as Redheart’s lips connected with his. A kiss was the last thing he expected from Redheart. He thought she was all work and no play. The sensation was unexpected, but not unwelcome. She pulled away with a soft smile. “Then do it for me.”
Trotsworth looked into Redheart’s sapphire eyes. He found himself unable to look away. When she finally removed her hoof, he lowered his head and sighed. “Alright, you win. Until I’m of the right mind, I’ll stay away from the hospital.”
Redheart’s smile widened. “Thank you.” She helped Trotsworth up and walked him to the door of his office. “Now, go home and get some rest. I’ll be over to check on you later.”
Trotsworth nodded. “Alright. If I don’t answer, just come in then. I’ll probably be sleeping.”
Redheart watched as Trotsworth walked down the hall to the main door. ‘Wow, I didn’t know I had that in me,’ she thought. With a smile, she turned back into his office to get started on his duties.
********************
The sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains in the distance as Redheart walked through Ponyville. Her destination was clear in her head as she turned the corner to the street Trotsworth’s house was on. She had been to his house once before for a party he threw, but never had any reason to go back until now. She walked up the path to his house and knocked on the door. When nopony answered, she tried the doorknob. Like he had said, it was open.
“Trotsworth?” She walked into the house and closed the door. “Trotsworth it’s me, Redheart. Are you awake?” She got no response. ‘Well, he must be sleeping. That’s good.’ She walked further into the house, trying to find which room was his.
Hoping to Celestia she wasn’t going to walk into anything embarrassing, she decided to check every room. She took in the first room she opened. It wasn’t the most decorated room, but the pony who slept there obviously didn’t care how messy their room was. Seeing a picture on the nightstand, she walked in and looked at it. ‘Me and Breezey. This must be Screwball’s room then.’ Leaving the room, she closed the door behind her.
As she turned to the next door, she heard the sound of the toilet flushing. Turning her head, she saw Screwball leaving the bathroom. Her mane and tail, if it was even possible, looked even more unruly than usual. Her carefree attitude had been replaced with deep depression. Her usually lively eyes looked cold and distant. She wasn’t wearing her beanie which was a rarity. This wasn’t the Screwball who managed to wreck her examination room in protest to getting a shot, and that disheartened Redheart quite a bit.
Screwball turned her head and looked straight at Redheart. “Uhh, good evening Screwball. How are you?” She had a sheepish look on her face.
Screwball just turned away and walked into the room at the end of the hall. “Isn’t this one your room?” Questioned Redheart.
Screwball stopped and just stood there for a moment. “This one smells like Breezey.”
Redheart got a small peek inside before the door was slammed shut. ‘Well, that narrows things down quite a bit.’ She walked to the last door remaining and cracked it open. Poking her head in, she saw the pony she was looking for. He was indeed asleep. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her.
He was facing away from her as he slept. When she walked over to the other side of the bed, her heart broke at the sight. His eyes were red and puffy. The hair on his face was matted down by his tears which were still escaping his closed eyes. Under his foreleg was a picture of him, Shadow, and Screwball taken a few weeks earlier. All three of them were smiling brightly. They looked so happy together. Tears, both dry and drying, could be seen on the glass. She could only imagine how long he had been crying over the picture before sleep finally took him.
Sitting next to him on the bed, she brushed a hoof through his mane. “Why did something so bad…have to happen to somepony so good?” She made a promise to herself. From that moment forward, whenever she could, she would be there for Trotsworth. She would make sure he wouldn’t go through this alone.
********************
“Get back ta work!” shouted a guard as he whipped AJ.
He cried out as the whip struck him. After five days, he still wasn’t used to the sting of the whip. Looking at the guard, he grit his teeth. “Fuck…you.”
The guard grinned and whipped him again. “You never learn, do ya? Good, more fun for me.” Just for fun the guard whipped AJ’s prone body, making him cry out once again.
Laughing, the guard walked away. After a minute, AJ forced himself back to his hooves. He took another look around the room they were in. It was one giant room, built specifically for a big farm field. It was kept alive by artificial sunlight made from a unicorn’s spell. It was their job to tend to the fields while the guards watched over them, making sure they were actually working. Punishment was dealt to anypony that refused to work.
AJ was one of the ponies chosen to plow the fields; along with Shadow and a couple others. The rest of the workers would take care of the other jobs. Seeing Shadow off in the distance, AJ made his way over. Shadow was having a lot harder time dealing with this situation than he was. He couldn’t leave Shadow alone at a time like this.
As he got closer to Shadow, he noticed how hard of a time he was having trying to pull the plow. He watched as Shadow collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Pulling up next to him, he reached out a hoof to help him up. “You okay Shadow?”
Shadow shook his head as tears began welling up in his eyes. “I…I can’t do this anymore,” he said as he looked over to AJ. “It’s too hard. I-I just want to go home.” He buried his head in his hooves and started to cry.
AJ put a hoof on his shoulder. “Come on, you can’t let them beat you like this. You have to stay strong.” AJ looked around. A guard had seen them. “You have to get up Shadow, otherwise…”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” screamed the unicorn mare. “You’re supposed to be working, not sleeping!” She raised the whip in her magic to strike Shadow.
Seeing it coming he cringed, waiting for it to hit him. The crack of the whip filled the room, along with a cry of pain. Shadow was confused. He didn’t feel anything. Opening his eyes, he saw AJ standing between him and the guard; shaking from the pain the whip had caused. He had thrown his harness off and took the hit for him. “AJ!”
“What the hell is your problem? Do you have a death wish or something?” asked the guard.
“You’re not going to lay a hoof on him,” growled AJ. He lowered his stance; ready to fight if necessary.
The mare laughed. “What, you think you can protect this little shit? That’s a laugh.” She struck AJ with the whip again and again; leaving big welts on his flesh. She looked down at AJ’s body. Even after the whipping he still tried to stand. “You just won’t quit, will you? Well, I know the perfect punishment for a defiant piece of shit like you.” She motioned over to the other guards who came over.
********************
Nightshade watched as the guards dragged AJ’s body out of the room; a grin on her face. “Isn’t it just great my dear? Sweet, sweet punishment being dealt to those who deserve it,” she purred as she affectionately rubbed Knight Wind behind the ears. She looked down at him with a motherly smile. “Why can’t all of my pets be as obedient as you? So well behaved, so willing to do everything I say. I love you my little Knighty.”
A slight smile grew on Knight Wind’s face. He liked it when his master was gentle with him. “I-I-I love you too master.”
Nightshade’s face became fierce as her hoof collided with Knight Wind’s face. She glared down at his body on the floor. “WHO TOLD YOU TO SPEAK?!?!?! YOU DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS I TELL YOU TO!!!”
“Having any troubles my mistress?”
Nightshade turned to see Nebulous coming up behind her. A smile grew on her face. “What makes you think I’m having any trouble?” She ended her sentence with a giggle.
Nebulous looked down at Knight Wind, who was struggling to get back to his hooves, and smiled. “Oh, nothing.”
“I’m surprised to see you here. I expected you to be too busy to pay me a visit,” purred Nightshade.
Nebulous let out an exhausted sigh. “Even I have my limits, my mistress.”
“I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re here?” asked Nightshade.
Nebulous chuckled. “You know me too well. Actually, there’s been something I wished to ask you for a couple days now. I’ve just been a bit too…preoccupied.” Nightshade just look at him expectantly. “Well, you know how jealous I am of you and little Knighty here.
Nightshade reached down and stroked Knight Wind’s mane lovingly. “You may have mentioned it a few times. Are you asking me if you can take your pick?”
“I feel it’s only fair if I ask you first.”
Nightshade looked over the field with a smile. “Hmm, I suppose things could be arranged. Your loyalty to me has never faltered an inch.” She looked back at Nebulous. “Did you have one in mind?”
Nebulous glanced over to the field; his eyes focusing on one certain dark grey pegasus. “Oh, I’ve had my eyes on one.” He turned back to the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I recall seeing the guards taking a pony to be rehabilitated. I should really be there to make sure they don’t kill him. I bid you farewell.”
********************
Shadow was lying on the floor of the cell. Looking around the room, all the other slaves, except AJ, were there too. He hadn’t seen AJ since he stood up for him in the fields. He was starting to fear the worst. “AJ, where are you?”
The door suddenly swung open; flooding the room with light from the hallway. Everypony in the room looked over to see what was going on. “Get in there!” shouted a guard as a pony was thrown into the room. The pony hit the floor hard with a thud and a grunt. Shadow gasped in horror when he realized who it was. “Maybe now you’ll learn to follow orders.” The door closed, leaving the room in darkness once again.
Shadow got up and walked over to AJ; tearing up when he got close. AJ’s body was battered. He looked like death. The only reason Shadow knew he was alive was the sound of his strained breathing and his chest moving up and down as he took breaths. “Sh-sh-shadow…” Shadow got close to hear his barely audible voice. “Did…did they hurt you?”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
AJ closed his eyes as a weak smile grew on his face. “Good. Good. That’s good.” AJ’s body went limp as unconsciousness took him. Shadow couldn’t hold back his tears. Rolling up next to AJ’s body, he cried himself to sleep.
********************
It took more effort than it should have for AJ to get up that morning. His entire body burned with pain. If not for Shadow’s help, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to sit up. “A-are you going to be okay?”
AJ stayed silent as he got used the pain. “I…I don’t know.” His breathing was still ragged and his voice was strained. He slowly brought a hoof up to his chest. “It hurts to breath. I think they broke something. I don’t know if I could take another beating like that.”
“It’s my fault. If I wasn’t so weak, you wouldn’t have had to protect me.”
AJ weakly shook his head. “D-don’t say that. Nothing that’s happened here is...”
AJ was cut off as the door opened. Guards could be seen standing outside the door, as Knight Wind entered the room. He was pulling a cart full of the same, nearly inedible slop they’ve been eating for the past week. “I-it’s time to eat you guys.” Knight Wind made his way around the room; passing a bowl to each of the slaves. When he got to Shadow and AJ, his eyes grew sad. “W-would you like some help eating?”
AJ just stared into Knight’s eyes. “Why do you do this?” Knight Wind looked confused by the question. “Why do you let them treat you like this?”
“Treat me like what?” Knight Wind tilted his head in confusion.
“I’ve seen the way she treats you. Beating you to the ground for no reason.”
Knight Wind shook his head. “Th-that’s not true. Master only hits me when I’m out of line.”
“Out of line? All you do is talk and she strikes out at you.”
“I-if not for master, I would be nothing.” A small, unconvincing smile grew on his face. “I only get hit when I deserve it.”
“You deserve better than this. Nopony should be forced to live like this.” AJ cringed as a sharp pain shot through his chest. “Y-y-you can’t tell me you chose to live like this.” The smile dropped from Knight Wind’s face. “Tell me, when’s the last time you’ve done what you wanted to do? When’s the last time you got to talk to whoever you wanted? You deserve better. You deserve to be free.”
Knight Wind just stared at AJ with wide eyes. He didn’t know what to say. The concept of freedom was foreign to him. For the last ten years of his life, this was all he’s known. Without saying anything more, he put the bowl on the floor and walked out of the room. One of the guards poked his head in the room. “Better eat up. I hear the boss has a lot in store for you today." Laughter filled the room before the door was slammed.
********************
Spike ran to the door as somepony knocked on the door. He opened the door to see a morose Applejack standing there. “Oh, hey Applejack.”
“Hey there sugarcube. Is Twilight home?”
Spike shook his head. “She’s over at Carrot Top’s house right now. She needed another break so Twilight agreed to help her out for the day. Anything I can help you with?”
Applejack reached back into her bags and pulled out two letters. “We just got some letters back from Apple Bumpkin an’ Red Gala. Neither of’em have seen or heard anythin’.” Spike took the letters from Applejack and started reading them. As he did, Applejack let out a depressed sigh. “It just ain’t th’ same around th’ farm without’im.”
Spike looked up from the letters. “Huh?”
“He would always joke around ‘bout everythin’. Even when it wasn’t appropriate. Ta tell ya th’ truth, Ah always found it kinda annoyin’.” She shook her head. “An’ now that he’s gone, Ah just wish he’d do it again.” A sad smile grew on her face. “Heh. Ah guess it’s true what they say. Ya never know what ya got till it’s gone.”
Spike put a claw on Applejack’s shoulder. “Come on Applejack, you can’t give up hope. The Princesses are doing their best to find them right now. They’ll find them, I just know they will.”
Applejack lowered her head. “…Ah hope yer right sugarcube. Ah hope yer right.”
********************
CRASH!!!
Screwball slowly opened her eyes as the sound of breaking glass assaulted her ears. Letting out a yawn, she looked at the clock in Shadow’s room. It was 11: 23 at night. As she perked her ears up, she heard the sound of shouting coming from the other room. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she uncurled herself and got up off the bed.
As she opened the door, she could hear the shouting a bit more clearly. “…can you be so fucking worthless, huh?! How can a single pony be so Celestia damned worthless?!” Screwball could hear more glass breaking. “ANSWER ME!!!”
Screwball poked her head around the corner to the living room. “Trotsworth?”
What she saw scared her. The room itself reeked of alcohol. Lying on the floor was three empty bottles of hard cider. Two more bottles were left shattered. The discarded six pack case was lying on the opposite side of the room. Clutched in Trotsworth’s hoof was the sixth bottle of hard cider which he was already working on. Another six pack sat on the table, just waiting to be opened. Once he was done with the bottle, he looked down at the table. Screwball could see the tears flowing from his eyes as he stared at a picture on the table. Upon closer inspection, it was a picture of himself. “Why the hell are you smiling? Huh?!” he shouted at the picture. “What the hell do you have to smile about?! Your brother is gone!” He just stared at the picture for a moment. “How can you even call yourself a good brother?! He’s gone because you weren’t there to protect him! HE’S GONE BECAUSE YOU’RE TOO FUCKING WEAK!!!”
Screwball watched as Trotsworth punched the picture in front of him. In his rage, he threw the bottle he had across the room; shattering it on the wall. Putting his fore hooves on the table, he leaned over to look at the broken picture that now sat on the floor. “WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK?!?!?! ANSWER ME!!!” Screwball watched as Trotsworth’s rage seemed to leave him, being replaced with intense depression. He dropped down to his haunches, resting his forehead on the edge of the table as his tears fell to the floor. “Why am I so weak?”
Avoiding all the broken glass, Screwball slowly made her way over to Trotsworth. When she reached him, she wrapped her forelegs around him. “Please stop this Trotsy. Please stop hurting yourself like this.”
“He’s gone because of me. If I had only been there to protect him, maybe he’d…”
“There was nothing you could have done. Please stop blaming yourself.”
Trotsworth continued to sob. “I miss him Screwball. I just want Shadow back.”
Screwball released the hug and grabbed Trotsworth by the leg. “Let’s go to bed. Shadow wouldn’t want to see you like this.” Trotsworth put up no resistance as she lead him to his room. She took one last look into the living room. She’d clean up the mess tomorrow. Right now, Trotsworth needed her.
********************
AJ trudged through the halls back to the cell with the rest of the slaves. As usual, the work had been grueling, and with his body still aching from a couple days ago, it made everything harder. But even with all that hovering over his head, that’s not what was on his mind. When he had woken up that day, Shadow wasn’t in the room with the rest of them. All throughout the day, he had looked for Shadow as he worked. He even looked over to where Nightshade and Knight Wind sat supervising to see if maybe she had Shadow. The only sight he was rewarded with was Knight Wind getting assaulted by that bitch when he ‘stepped out of line.’
He was worried about Shadow. ‘Shadow, where are you?’ he thought as the door to their cell came into view. The slaves were all herded into the cell. AJ was the last to enter, his eyes got wide when he looked inside. Shadow was in the room. He was curled up in the corner of the room with his head buried in his hooves. Relief washed over AJ’s body as he slowly made his way over to the pegasus. “Shadow, thank Celestia you’re okay.”
As AJ got closer, he noticed some things his tired body missed when he first entered the room. Shadow’s body was shaking with sobs. Around his neck he had a dark blue collar. He also had a similar collar around the base of his tail. Light blue ribbons connected the two on both sides of his body. “Shadow?” AJ reached out a hoof and placed it on his shoulder.
“NOOOOO!!!” Shadow’s body curled into an even tighter ball as AJ made contact.
AJ jumped back a bit at Shadow’s reaction. What had happened to Shadow to make him react like that? AJ got close again. “Shadow it’s me, AJ. I’m not going to hurt you.” AJ saw Shadow’s body slowly start to relax a bit. “What happened to you? I woke up and you were gone.” The only thing he heard from Shadow was a soft squeak. “It’s okay, you can tell me.” Listening carefully, he heard Shadow start to whisper something into his legs before going silent. AJ lowered his ear next to Shadow. “What was that?” Shadow lifted his head slightly and whispered something into AJ’s ear.
AJ’s eyes went wide and the blood began draining from his face by the time Shadow was done. “N-no.” Shadow weakly nodded his head before curling up once more. AJ stared down at Shadow, taking in what he had just been told. After a bit, his face got serious. “Shadow…” He got no response. “Shadow, look at me.” Again he got no response. He put a hoof under Shadow’s chin and lifted his head up, forcing him to look into AJ’s eyes. “Look, at, me.” Shadow looked miserable. His eyes were red, puffy, and blood shot. The hair on his face was matted down by his tears. “You have to stay strong. You can’t let them win. Do you understand?”
Shadow looked at him with a miserable look. “B-b-b-but…”
“But nothing.” AJ drew Shadow into a comforting hug. “I’m going to get us out of here Shadow. You’re going to be back with Screwball and your brother. I know everything seems hopeless right now, but I promise you this.”
Shadow continued to cry into AJ’s shoulder. Neither of them noticed the silhouette in the small bared opening in the door. A grin grew on Nightshade’s face as she got back down onto all fours; walking away from the cell.
********************
“Get up worm!” shouted a voice as a hoof connected with AJ’s already broken ribs; abruptly waking him up. AJ clenched his chest; screaming out in pain. With tears welling up in his eyes, AJ eased his eyes open, looking up at the guard that had just kicked him. “The boss wants to see you.” AJ was in to much pain to even register what the guard was saying. “I said get up!” He kicked AJ again.
“Hey, leave him alone!” shouted another one of the slaves. “He can’t get up if you keep kicking him like that!”
The guard looked up with a scowl on his face. “Are you telling me what to do you piece of shit?” The guard pulled the small club off the belt he was wearing as he turned to the other guards in the hall. “Take this one to the boss. I have other business to deal with right now.”
AJ could feel two more ponies grab him up and start dragging him away. The pain in his ribs didn’t start ebbing away until after they got to their destination. AJ opened his eyes to see the room he was in. Compared to the rest of the rooms in this place, this one almost seemed livable. There was a desk on one side of the room with a book shelf full of alchemy books. Next to the book shelf was a table covered in alchemy supplies and ingredients. On the opposite side of the room sat a fireplace. In front of the fireplace was a big, comfy looking chair. Though there was one addition to the room that reminded AJ just where he was. Above the fire place where the heads of ponies; mounted like sick trophies. He recognized two of the heads as the two ponies that were killed the first day.
“Do you like them?” AJ turned his head to look forward. Nightshade had just come out of the room in front of him. Behind her came Knight Wind, followed by Nebulous. “I’m very proud of my ever growing collection.” AJ looked to Knight Wind who turned away; making sure to avoid eye contact. Nightshade got closer to AJ and put a hoof under his chin, lifting his head up. “You’ve been quite the little nuisance. Even after our thorough ‘rehabilitation,’ you refuse to listen.” She dropped his head and started walking away. “I thought I was beginning to lose my touch.” She stopped as a grin grew on her face. “But then it came to me. I wasn’t losing my touch, I was just coming at this the wrong way.” She signaled to Nebulous who smiled and walked back to the door. “Since the ordinary methods wouldn’t work, it was time to find what you held dear, and crush it beneath my hoof.”
Nebulous came back through the door with a soft smile on his face. He held a chain in his magic. AJ’s eyes got wide when he saw Shadow being dragged through the door by the chain. “Shadow!” AJ began struggling against the guards.
Nightshade licked her lips as she came up next to Shadow. She started caressing his face with a hoof. “It’s cute how two ponies can be so close. Even in such circumstances.” She swiftly brought her hoof down, striking Shadow in the kidneys. He fell to the floor with a cry of pain. She lifted a hoof, and brought it down hard on Shadow’s chest. With a sickening look in her eyes, she looked up at AJ. He was thrashing about in the guards hold, trying to get free and get to Shadow. “You know, it’s funny just how fragile ponies can be. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to snuff there life out.” She removed her hoof from Shadow’s chest and placed it on his head. “All I would have to do is press down hard enough, and he would be no more.”
Nightshade slowly began adding pressure to Shadow’s head, making him cry out in terror. “Shadow, NO!!!”
Nebulous stepped forward. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting my mistress, but may I suggest something a bit…different?” Nightshade looked up at him in annoyance. She was just starting to have fun. “Not to say you’re doing a bad job…” he said motioning to AJ; proving that her method was definitely having an effect. “But I’d hate to see my new pet’s life ended in such a way, not when he shows so much…promise.”
Nightshade continued to stare at him for a minute before a smile grew on her face. She removed her hoof from Shadow’s head. “I suppose you’re right. Besides, isn’t it about time to begin his training?”
Nebulous smiled as he leaned his head down next to Shadow’s. “You’re right my mistress. With all the excitement, I almost forgot.” Taking a step back, he used his magic to get Shadow up to his hooves. He began caressing Shadow’s body with his hooves; bringing their faces close once again. “It looks like we’re going to have a bit of an audience today my little pet.” He brought his tongue out and licked Shadow’s cheek seductively. Shadow let out a fearful yelp as he tried to get away.
It didn’t take a genius to know what was about to happen. AJ knew he had to try to stop this. “NO, STOP!!! Please Stop!” Both Nightshade and Nebulous looked over at AJ with a smile. They had him. “I’ll do what ever you want, just please stop hurting him.”
“Oh, that’s just what I wanted to hear,” purred Nightshade as she walked over to the alchemy table. Nebulous lead Shadow out of the room. His part in this little game was over with for now. “It’s always so good to hear when slaves vow their obedience to me.” She picked a syringe up in her hoof and flew over to AJ. “Unfortunately for you, I was hoping it would have taken more to break you. I even mixed up this special potion, just, for, YOU!” She emphasized her last word by jamming the syringe into AJ’s neck, causing him to shout out in pain. She slowly emptied the liquid into him; reveling in the perverted pleasure of causing another pony pain.
Once the syringe was empty, she threw it off to the side. “Now, I’m sure you were wondering what that potion does. I made it just for ponies like you. Ponies who refused to listen. It inhibits the brains ability to think for itself. When it’s finished working it’s way through your body, you won’t be able to make your own decisions.” A sadistic giggle escaped her lips. “It took so much work perfecting this little concoction. You wouldn’t believe how many test subjects I went through before it was perfect. It was a beautiful sight actually; watching them writhe before the fire of life left from their eyes. I’m sure you’re already starting to feel the effects.”
Indeed he was. Already AJ felt his mind beginning to cloud. It became harder and harder to focus on much of anything. The last thing that went through his mind was a small, creeping pain shooting through his nerves. AJ’s body went limp. Nightshade lifted his head with a hoof once again and looked into his eyes. They were hollow. Her laughter filled the room. “Now, are you ready to listen to what I say?”
AJ’s hollow eyes looked to Nightshade. “…Yes master.”
********************
Carrot paced around the room nervously as she waited. It’s been about two weeks since AJ’s disappearance, and Ditzy’s emotional state hadn’t changed. She was running out of ideas on what to do. She only had one more chance, but it was risky. She jumped when she heard a knock on the door. “C-coming!” She quickly ran to the door and opened it. At that moment, she didn’t know what she was feeling more of. Relief, or dread. “Hello Nimbos, Amethyst.”
“Hello again Carrot Top,” said Nimbos; a frown on his face.
“I trust the trip was pleasant?” Carrot asked with a sheepish smile. She was hoping this wouldn’t make things worse.
Amethyst, who had been looking down since Carrot opened the door, looked into her eyes. “How’s she doing?”
Carrot dropped her head with a sigh. “Not to good. She hasn’t left her room since it happened.”
Nimbos put a hoof around his wife’s withers before turning back to Carrot. “Could we see her?”
Nimbos made a move to enter the house before being stopped by Carrot. He looked at her in confusion. “Understand that because of what happened between you and Ditzy, sending for the two of you was a last ditch effort to try and improve her mood.” She shook her head. “I’m going to say this now. If you two still refuse to give him a chance, you might as well turn around and go home right now. You’ll only make things worse.”
Nimbos couldn’t believe his ears. Carrot had just given them an ultimatum to see Ditzy, their own daughter. His brows furrowed as he got ready to argue with her. “I understand.” Nimbos looked down at Amethyst in disbelief. “Please, just let us see Ditzy.”
“Amethyst, are you sure?” asked Nimbos.
Amethyst looked up at Nimbos with sad eyes. “Please Nimbos. Ditzy needs us.” She sniffled. “I…I want my daughter back.”
Smiling, Carrot stepped to the side. “Do you remember where her room is?” Nodding, Amethyst stepped into the house. “I’ll give you three some space. If you need anything, I’ll be down here.”
With a smile, Amethyst made her way to the stairs. Nimbos, after giving Carrot a displeased glance, followed. The two of them made their way up the stairs, going down the hall until they reached Ditzy’s room. Amethyst took a deep breath before knocking on the door. “Ditzy?”
They got no answer. Nimbos tried knocking on the door. “Ditzy, honey, it’s your parents. We just want to talk to you.” Again, no answer. They opened the door and looked inside. Ditzy was sitting in front of her window. Her head was no longer wrapped, but it would be awhile before her wing was useable again. She made no sound. She just stared out the window; longing for AJ to return. They walked into the room; closing the door behind them.
The room was silent. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Amethyst swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a step forward. “Di…”
“What do you two want?” Ditzy asked in a cold voice.
“We just came to talk,” Nimbos said; putting on a smile. “Carrot Top told us what happened, and we just wanted to be there for you.”
Ditzy turned to her parents. “What do you care? You hate him. Now that he’s gone, you don’t have to worry about him ‘ruining my life’ anymore.”
They knew she was right. Up to this point, they’ve shown nothing but contempt for the stallion. They couldn’t wait until he was out of Ditzy’s life. “Ditzy…I’m so sorry.” Ditzy’s eyes fell on Amethyst. “You’re right. From the moment we met him, we hoped the two of you would fall apart. We just never realized how much you cared about him.” Ditzy turned back to the window. “Just know that everything we’ve done is because we love you, and we want what’s best for you.” A tear rolled down Amethyst’s cheek. “It’s just a shame it took something like this for us to open our eyes. You love him, and he loves you. I see that now. We shouldn’t have tried to control your life like we did. Can you ever forgive us?”
The room was silent once more. Nimbos and Amethyst could only watch their daughter. They could only wait to see what would happen next. Amethyst gasped to herself as she watched a tear fall to the floor. Ditzy turned back to her parents, tears falling from her eyes. She ran to her mother, wrapping her legs around her in a hug. “I’m sorry!” cried Ditzy. “I…I never should have turned on you like I did!”
Amethyst eagerly hugged Ditzy back. “Ohh, Ditzy.”
Smiling, Nimbos joined in on the hug. “You have nothing to be sorry about Bubbly.”
For the first time in two weeks, Ditzy giggled. “Y-you haven’t called me Bubbly since I was a little filly.”
He brushed a hoof through Ditzy’s mane. “Well, I thought I should…”
They suddenly heard somepony franticly pounding on the door. After a few seconds, the knocking ended. Voices could be heard downstairs, one frantic, the other calm. The sound of hooves could be heard rushing through the house and up the stairs. Suddenly, Twilight burst through her bedroom door, breathing heavily. “Twilight? What’s…”
“They…they found him!” Twilight said between breaths.
Ditzy’s eyes got wide. “What?”
Twilight took a second to catch her breath. “The Princesses know where AJ and Shadow were taken.”
********************
“I told you to work!” The guard whipped AJ’s prone body; getting no reaction.
“What’s the problem?” asked Nightshade as she and Knight Wind walked up to the guard.
The guard whipped AJ one more time before looking up to Nightshade. “This one refuses to work. He’s just lying there.”
Nightshade glared down at AJ. “What’s wrong? I thought I told you to work. You will listen when I give you an order.”
AJ’s soulless eyes slowly moved to Nightshade. “Y…yes m-master.”
Nightshade watches as AJ tried to get to his hooves, only to fail and fall back to the ground. “The drugs affecting him, so why isn’t he…” Her eyes got wide. Since she had first injected AJ with her drug, she had made sure he got a dose every day. She failed to notice his condition getting worse by the day. “Damn. I thought I had finally perfected the mixture.” She turned back to the guard. “Stay with him. See if he get’s better. If not, well, there’s always more room on my wall for another…”
Nightshade was cut off as a giant explosion rocked the entire cave. Screaming could be heard from other parts of the underground encampment. One of the mare guards could be seen running into the room. “Nightshade, Nightshade!”
“What is going on out there?!” demanded Nightshade.
“Nightshade, they found us!” Nightshade’s eyes got wide. “Luna and the royal guard are attacking the encampment! What should we do?!”
Nightshade just stared at the mare in disbelief. Her breathing became frantic as the realization hit her. Her ‘perfect’ world was crumbling before her very eyes. Years worth of work, years of surrounding herself with ponies she could trust, it was all about to crumble beneath the hoof of the princess she hated the most. That’s when another realization hit her. If Luna was here, then her elite night guard was probably with her, and if the elite night guard was here… “No! Nononononono!”
For the first time since being brought into the encampment, the guards were seeing fear in their leader’s eyes. “Boss?”
“I-I have to escape. I have to run. I can’t let them get me. I can’t let them…”
Nightshade stopped when she felt a hoof on her. She turned her head to see Knight Wind’s concerned face. “M-master, is everything alright?”
Nightshade slapped his hoof away. “Get away from me! You’ll just slow me down! You’re worthless to me!”
The look on Knight Wind’s face told all. The only pony who mattered in his life had just turned him away. “B-b-b-b-but master...”
The big double doors to the room burst open. “There’s some in here!” came a voice from one of the royal guard.
Vengeance swooped into the room. “You are all under arrest! Come quietly, and none of you will be hurt!” Vengeance scanned the room, counting the number of slavers. He stopped cold when his eyes locked onto Nightshades. “Nightshade. It can’t be.”
Nightshade started shaking when her eyes locked on to Vengeance’s. She had never felt more fear in her life. “I have to go. I have to run. I…I…” Without another word, Nightshade took off into the air and fled.
“NO!!! YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY AGAIN!!!” shouted Vengeance as he took off after Nightshade.
The rest of the guards swept through the room. Some of the slaver guards went quietly while others fought back. It wasn’t long before the room was cleaned of every guard. It wasn’t long before Luna entered the room; a medical team following behind her. Luna turned to the nurse beside her. “You know your job. Round up every slave here and get them to safety.”
“Of course your highness.” The mare started commanding her team around the big room.
Luna herself walked around the room; aiding in the search for slaves that needed help. Knight Wind sitting in the distance caught her eye and she made her way over. She stopped right next to him. Knight Wind looked like his world had fallen apart. He just sat there; shaking like a leaf with tears flowing from his eyes. Luna placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Do not worry little one. Everything will be fine now.”
“M-m-m-master’s gone. Sh-sh-she’s gone.”
Luna looked down at Knight Wind. It saddened her to see one of her little ponies in such a way. She was about to do whatever it took to cheer him up until, “Princess Luna, come quick!”
Luna turned her head to the nurse that had called out to her. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a pony over here that’s not responding!”
Luna’s face became serious. “Lead me to him!” The nurse led Luna across the field to the pony in question. Luna’s eyes widened when she saw who it was. AJ was lying nearly motionless on the ground. Only his chest raised and lowered slightly. His hollow eyes refused to focus on anything. Luna looked back to the nurse. “Get him out of here now! We mustn’t lose him!”
********************
The door to the medical wing of the castle burst open. “Shadow?! Shadow where are you?!” shouted Trotsworth as he dashed into the room. Screwball was right behind him. After sending Twilight the confirmation that the slaves had all been rescued, Celestia had sent a carriage to pick her and the others up. To say Trotsworth was exited to see Shadow again was an understatement. Even with Celestia there to greet them, he nearly trampled her in his hurry.
“Uhhh, can I help you sir?” asked one of the nurses in the room.
Trotsworth grabbed the nurse by the shoulders. “Not now woman! I’m busy looking for Shadow!”
Trotsworth suddenly became engulfed in a pink aura as he was lifted away from the nurse. Twilight walked up to the nurse, her horn aglow, and helped her up. Ditzy and her parents followed close behind her. “Eheh, sorry about him. He’s just looking for his brother, Shadow Breeze. I believe he was one of the ponies that were rescued today,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. Trotsworth just floated in the air, unsure of what just happened.
“Shadow Breeze?” The nurse took a look at the clip board that had dropped from her magical hold when Trotsworth grabbed her. “Ah, here he is. It looks like he’s in the examination room right now.” She looked back up to the group. “If you’d like to wait right over there, he’ll be out soon.”
As Twilight led Screwball and Trotsworth over to the waiting area, Ditzy stayed behind. She poked the nurse in the shoulder lightly. “Umm, excuse me?”
The nurse turned back around and smiled. “Oh, was there something else you’d like to ask?”
Ditzy looked back to her parents. Nimbos put a hoof on her shoulder while Amethyst nodded in approval. Smiling, she turned back to the nurse. “I’m looking for my coltfriend. He’s an indigo unicorn. His names AJ.” Smiling the nurse looked back at her list. Ditzy became worried when she saw her smile drop. “I-is something wrong?”
The nurse looked back at Ditzy; an unreadable look on her face. “Well, he was brought in with the rest of them, but…”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen to him?” asked Nimbos.
“He was in a near comatose state when he was brought in. We’ve managed to stabilize his condition, but he has yet to wake up.”
Ditzy fell to her haunches. The worries began flooding into her mind once again. He was back, but what if he never woke up? What if... “Could we see him please?” asked Amethyst, interrupting the thoughts in Ditzy’s head.
“I don’t see why not. Please follow me.” The nurse lead the three of them to a small area in the corner where a few curtained off area’s sat. “He’s right in here.” The nurse opened the curtain and let the three of them in.
Ditzy was both relieved and worried when she saw AJ lying in the bed. She was more than happy that she was finally seeing him again, but seeing him in this state worried her. He had many bandages around his body. A heart monitor sat next to the bed, beeping away. The doctor next to the bed was inspecting the IV that pumped a clear liquid into his leg. He was still breathing, but no other movement was made.
After writing something down on a clipboard, the doctor looked over. He noticed the worried look on Ditzy’s face. He smiled warmly. “No need to be worried. He’s stable. He’ll be asleep for awhile, but he should make a full recovery.”
A smile grew on Ditzy’s face. She turned around and hugged her parents. “He’ll be okay. He’ll be okay.”
As Ditzy opened her eyes, she saw Trotsworth and Screwball in the background being reunited with Shadow. Screwball nearly took his head off as she tackled him to the floor in a hug. Trotsworth was off to the side talking to the doctor in charge of examining him. A look of horror filled his face as he turned to Shadow. He walked over to Shadow, putting a hoof on his shoulder before hugging him close to his body. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he held Shadow close. Reading his lips, she saw him say, ‘I’ll never let anypony hurt you again, I promise.’
With a smile, Ditzy turned back to the doctor. “Would I be able to stay with him until he wakes up?”
The doctor smiled. “Of course you can.”
********************
AJ awoke to the sound of beeping assaulting his ears. He slowly opened his eyes, bringing his leg up to block the intense light that was flooding his vision. He heard a gasp come from somewhere. He tried to look around, but everything was just a blur. “W-where…”
He suddenly felt something warm and soft on his right leg. Turning his head, he saw a bluish grey pony blob sitting next to the bed. “You’re safe now.”
A weak smile grew on AJ’s face when he heard the voice. “I’m…I’m not dreaming…am I?”
Overcome with happiness, Ditzy leapt up and hugged AJ; tears of happiness rolling down her cheek. “No, you’re not.”
****************************************
((Fucking hell. I split the chapter TWICE, and this ones still 11.5k words.
Here’s a pic of Nightshade and Nebulous
My little pony © Hasbro
Friendship is magic © Lauren Faust))
Stats
Page generated in 0.036 seconds
Total duration
1,048 users online
1,967,291 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Finally freaking time, now I get to know what happens and also I am the FIRST to know.
Edit: okay at first, I was filled with joy at the size of this chapter, but then I started to feel sicker and sicker as I continued the story till the point where my stomach isn't feeling so good. When I read the part to what happened to Shadow and AJ, I was at the point to where I can throw up my dinner and was filled with so much hatred for Nightshade, BUT when they were finally saved, some of the queasy feeling went away (not all but some) and became happy. So I have to say you did an excellent job at writing this chapter, for to be able to make people from reading this chapter sick and creating a new villian that we all can hate and lash out to. I congratulate you for this wonderful chapter and hope to see more you sadistic bastard, and also check your chapter, because I found a few words like 'there' when it should be 'their'.
Awesome chapter both parts~
I wonder how much everyone is gonna detest Nightshade XD
erK...I THINK IM GONNA THROW UP....
*after the nausea died down*
hoo....dayum. I can't believe it, This chapter was so realistic and epic, that you nearly caused my body to get PHYSICALLY ill due to the sheer relief I felt at the ending....YOU my friend, have an amazing talent. I think for a bit there, I forgot it was a story! For that, you get ALL the thumbs..ALL OF THEM!
KEEP IT UP MAN!!! YOU'RE DOING AMAZING!
Very well written. It had me really wanting AJ to somehow escape. This was an emotionally stirring chapter.
whats wrong with 11k words? i honestly loved how long this one was
.... AJ's horn was broken off right? Why doesn't anypony seem to notice that? Also, what was stopping the princesses from using a simple tracking spell? I doubt it would of been tricky.
I will say this, AJ's trip to Equestria is anything but typical. I don't even think the Diamond Dogs were as cruel when they kidnapped Rarity. They had a clear motivation(they wanted bling) and were defeated through the shear power of bitching. This character: Nightshade is I'm sorry to say not very well written and feel like a standard cookie cutter Disney villain(evil for the sake of being evil), a weak chain in an otherwise flawless two part chapter. As for the rest of the chapter my opinions are as follows:
Ditzy tearing into Twilight and Twilight's rebuttal- I think this scene in particular adds character, shows Ditzy's frustration with her life and actually creates a sense of solidarity between the two characters.
Trotsworth AKA Dr. Whooves x Nurse Redheart- D'awww, hopefully it won't end up as violent as him and ex Rose.
Dr. Whooves loosing his damn mind, breaking stuff, getting drunk, throwing glass against the wall and Screwball having to be the voice of reason - This is a great scene to show how the kidnapping affected the other party. It's different type of reaction than Ditzy and AJ, because Trotsworth knew Shadow before he was born and they grew up together. It shows a person whose job it is to save people and his anger when he can't save his family. Screwball has to rein him in.
Ditzy's Parents accepting AJ- That was nice, but they also have to ask AJ for forgiveness.
Luna saves the day with her Night Guard- I'm guessing their Equestria's equivalent to The Special Forces that strictly use kirins(dragon/horse hybrid) in their ranks. During this I would've loved to have seen a scene where Luna and her guards initiate a tactical plan.
Happy endings for all- I can only hope the villain was sent to the glue factory. I do feel that Shadow would have grown a set after his ordeal, he survived all this shit and horror. High school should be a cake walk in comparison. At the age of 16, he was POW. Last if I was AJ, I'd contemplate begging Twilight to teach me that force field bubble spell and never leave the house without casting it.
chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-untitled.gif
Peace Out.
is Nightshade a tratior night guard?
Um, AJ's horn is gone...Has noone noticed?
There was no mention of AJ's horn in the conclusion of the chapter. What's up with that? And what the hell was Nightshade hoping to achieve in capturing slaves. They didn't seem to be doing anything she couldn't have done legally. What was her motivation?
You will write more longer chapters! and update faster! and go get me some pepsi!
29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqf72jAE9h1r1jgw0o1_400.gif
Seems the story has developed a case of Cerebus Syndrome
834045
Nightshade runs a sex slavery operation, She sells stallions for work labor and the other kind of labor~
Yay another villian for my OC to story hop and chase down with a German Stuka
We have one pony who's practically Fluttershy's opposite, a gay 2nd in command who's a bit saner but not by a ton. More manipulative versus force.
Stockholm syndrome pony, dead ponies, and Special Forces raids.
Continue please
That was awesome, Freaking commando Night Guard style
Everyone grab torches, pitch forks anything that feeds your hunger for blood. We’re going hunting with Vengeance.
I like his name, are we going to see more of Vengeance.
Epic as always
Best chapter ever
Cool.
Oh crap! I just realized! What happened to Shadow to freak him out like that!? I hope...*gulp* I REALLY hope my assumption is wrong....oh jeezus...
833862 my bet gues i that they need an area to start on before trying a tracking spell, or they'd be trying for months to catch a trace. It's like a metal etector. If your're in Ponyville, and you're using one, you wouldn't be able to pick up anthing from say....Appleoosa. Because it's out of range....btw, please tell me shadow wasn't...you know....defiled....He wasn't, right?
..... not sure if best chappy or.... Welcome to the dark side with have slaves and cookies. Also: Don't you dare hurt Shadow Breeze like that again! He's my favorite oc pony in this story!
Just. Awsome
I thought this whole chapter was extremely random. It wasn't bad by any means. It would have actually been a pretty good grim-dark piece if it were split into its own individual story. But in the context of the greater tale it just seemed out of place.
Give death of Nightshade now please.
Need retribution or rage will break please.
Alrighty best line in this chapter is
..........................................
"Not now woman"
XD
wait did they fix AJ's horn
hate, I feel hate
Wow, like AJ wasn't pretty much a psychologist's wet dream already... the Equestrian universe must really hate him or something.
Here's hoping that Nightshade eventually dances a jig from the end of a rope.
They both need to die. Gruesome, horrible, painful deaths.
You know what i think of Slavers?
They can all take a step back, and then FUCK THEIR OWN FACES!
*Ahem* ...Pardon me.
DAMN YOU! I wanted to see Celestia or Luna blast a bit of godly power in the slavers direction.
Gah, SO MAD!
Also PLEASE tell us what happened with AJ's Horn!
slavers eh? well i think im gonna say what i have to say in pig latin.........uckingfay ellhay.....isthay aperchay asway ayway ootay ierdway
...aversslay? eallyray?
843136 Agreed.
I haven't hated someone as much as Nightshade since Crimson from 'My Second Life'! Mare, I will see you burn! Burn, I tell you!
-Glassed
836808 R-Really? Shadow's your favorite OC?
images.wikia.com/foodtest/images/8/8c/Samuel_L._Jackson_Pulp_fiction_2.png
My blood fucking boiled when I read this. I did call what was going to happen thou.
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon you."
Damn author I think this is the first story ie read where I actually hate the antagonist and not the usual "meh bad guy yeah whatever" I actually wanna see them burn in hell
833680
I know this is a vvveeerryyy old comment. But while I was reading this, I was feeling the exact feelings of queasiness and that awful knot in my gut. This author really knows how to get me with his villains. He makes me want to crush them with every fiber of my being, too bad I can't actually do that.
1351202 Heyy...uhh...sorry about...you know what happened in this chapter...
^^Kinda what was running through my head during the slave thing^^
Well that was kind of anticlimatic, I mean, it was like "oh no we've been captured, bad stuff is happening, it's getting worse, we've gotta escape, wait nevermind princess luna found us all of a sudden all the slavers are under arrest we're free". I mean, the buildup to that point was fine but you can't just completely skip the climactic part by having what is basically just a deus ex machina. There really should have been some focus on a bit where they're trying to track them down and then they find the place and raid it, rather than just being one second slavery as normal, suddenly "the princess is here we're saved, wake up in hospital"
881626
I'll get my gear.
Freaking awesome chapter.
Thank you for sharing.
I want to skin her alive while keeping her conscious for it.
1351202 He's mine too! When are you going to update the story you are doing?
oh god its a manmare
Did they rape shadow?
Dude if I was him I would of kept my human form because when those pony guards dragged him to night shade with hooves under the arm pit sure that might stop you be pushing forward but it doesn't work when you use your shoulder or elbow as a weapon and slam it back into their gut