Ark: Friendship is Survival

by Pomp-Neigh

Chapter 81 - Lord Threx

A series of loud thunks abruptly stirred Fluttershy from unconsciousness, releasing a surprised gasp. Her eyes widen in fear, and she starts to hyperventilate as she peers through the hardened metal-glass door of her stone-made cage, as a brown-furred member of her captors stares back mockingly.

She knew him all too well… Bob.

“Wake up, little dodo.” Bob’s deep voice alone was enough to cause the pegasus to back away in a frenzy as she remembered the abuse she’s had to endure from the ape. “It’s time for you to meet your fellow playmates.”

Fluttershy backs herself up against the wall opposite the door on her hind legs. “N-no, please!” Her body shook uncontrollably. “I haven’t done anything w-wrong!”

Bob chuckles while waving a hand dismissively. “Good to see you’re well on your way to being conditioned, dodo. Very good.” His eyes narrow, “Now, we’re kind of on a tight schedule, so here’s the deal: either you get out of that cell like the obedient little birdie that you are, or we proceed to our usual whipping routine. Your choice.”

Tears began to form as Fluttershy wept silently, eyes downcasted. The scars on her back were motivation enough, not to mention she now lacked the essential parts of her body that made her a pegasus: her wings. And the worst part? She could still move what was left of the humerus down to the base. Everything above that had long since been severed. Literally.

“O-ok…” She relents, sobbing silently and trying to blink away her tears. Crying only results in further punishment, as she had learned.

Fluttershy pushes herself away from the wall and lands on her hooves. Then, clopping echoes within the containment as she approaches the door, and upon getting closer to the glass windows of the obstacle...

Who was that mare she saw, staring straight back at her?

The wingless pegasus’s mane was a frazzled mess, and some of the many scars on her back from the whippings she received were visible even from a frontal angle. She was completely stripped of any of her original apparel, save for a piece of gray cloth that covered where her wings once were, concealing what was left after the procedure.

The procedure. Bob was all too happy to inform her about it. As she slept - of course, Bob, himself, had knocked her unconscious - her wings had been masterfully removed by someone named The Butcher, who also tended to the results of the operation. There wasn’t even any pain as Fluttershy moved the pitiful knobs that once were her wings, but there was a feeling she just couldn’t describe.

However, due to Fluttershy’s momentary trance, she had failed to realize Bob opening the door and waiting for the equine to exit the cell. But his patience had been tested, and with a growl, the ape stepped forth and grabbed onto Fluttershy’s head as if it were a berry before turning in place and throwing her carelessly.

The pegasus crashes into an assortment of wooden furnishings with a yelp, snapping a table in half while toppling over several accompanying chairs.

Fluttershy emerges from the rubble but then cowers in fear at the mighty steps of Bob’s approach, his shadow looming over her soon after.

“N-no…”

“Welcome back to reality, dodo.” He takes a knee, setting an arm over it with the other resting on his hip. “Did you enjoy your daydreaming?” Fluttershy shuddered, too horrified to answer, garnering laughter from the ape.

“Well, I hope it was worth it. What part of ‘tight schedule’ did you not understand?” Bob cracks his knuckles, “Now I’ll have to punish you accordingly before the big guy arrives. How bothersome.”

The ape raises the arm formerly resting on his hip overhead and forms a fist as if to bring it down upon the equine like a hammer. Fluttershy shuts her eyes and grits her teeth, cringing in anticipation of the oncoming pain soon to follow.

Suddenly, an earth-shaking rumble made itself known. It was distant at first, but enough to cause Bob to halt his attack mere inches before it would’ve struck the pegasus. There was also a pattern akin to the steps of the island’s larger entities.

Something big was coming…

“Hah. Saved by the bell, dodo,” Bob said, rising to his full stature as Fluttershy hesitantly opened an eye.

The thunderous steps grew with every passing moment, shaking the structure and causing the pegasus’s heart rate to rise. Bob turns his gaze toward the closed double doors of the structure’s gateway, prompting Fluttershy to follow fearfully. Then, after horrific moments of awaiting whatever lies beyond the doors, the rumbling stopped.

Bob casually walks over to the doors, leaving Fluttershy alone as her eyes refuse to tear away from what will be unveiled. Bob pushed the doors open with a grunt, creaking as they did so, and the pegasus within was at a complete loss from what she saw.

A pitch-black tyrannosaurus with white scales lining its arms and feet, accompanied by another ape of the larger variety. A trail of brown scales lined the top of the tyrannosaur’s head and spine while blood-red slitted eyes dilated as they seemingly focused on Fluttershy.

“Lord Threx,” Bob bows respectfully. “Craglorn told me of your coming, my lord. Please, forgive the mess,” He turns back to a now-recovered Fluttershy and steps aside, “I just had a disagreement with our latest fighter here.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as, at long last, she had finally met the very same lord that was often referred to and revered by Bob, Craglorn, and several others. And if this tyrannosaurus ruled over these barbaric apes, the pegasus dared not to wonder just how savage Lord Threx himself could be.

“Well, this is an interesting sight - yes,” Lord Threx finally spoke. His voice wasn’t as deep as Bob’s, but it was much more refined - smooth. Fluttershy admittedly expected something similar to King Sombra. “I take it this is the equus I’ve heard so much about from our dear Craglorn?”

“It is indeed, Lord Threx,” Bob answered. “She still needs to be conditioned further, but I think she’s ready to meet the other fighters for the arena.”

“Delightful!” The large predator rises up and spreads its arms apart in celebration, chuckling as he returns his gaze to Fluttershy. “My, what a pastel-colored appearance you have, my dear - yes. But why stay in there? Come, come,” Threx motions with his head, “Why don’t you join me for a little stroll, hmm? Let’s get some fresh air into your precious little lungs, ohoho~.”

Fluttershy hesitates, locked in place and not daring to take a single step.

“You’d best do what he says, dodo.” Bob crosses his arms. “If you thought I was bad, you better believe that the Big Boss is far worse.”

Fluttershy looked between them with a fearful, slightly gaped jaw. She really preferred to go back into her solitary confinement.

“Now, now, Bob,” Threx chimes in. “It’s still reasonably early, so she probably isn’t all there just yet. A morning walk might be just what she needs - yes. Now, come along, equus. I am a busy rex, you know.”

The yellow mare, fearful of any potential consequences were she not to obey, proceeds forward with caution in her steps. She passes Bob along the way, who snorts during her passing and trails her rear as she steps through the gateway and exits the building.

She then proceeded down a small stone ramp, her hooves sinking into the sand as she reached ground level. Threx practically analyzed her the entire time, and one could only imagine what lurks within the mind of a sentient tyrannosaur.

Granted, it was almost no different than her interactions with the dragons back on Equus. But Threx was the lord of a collective that was made of individuals that were far more ruthless than any other creature she had ever met in her life.

King Sombra, Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, the Storm King - these were some of the meanest villains she had ever known. But these apes? Hay, this entire island? Equus was a playground in comparison.

Beings weren’t nearly as cruel on Equus as they are here, and even murder was a rare occurrence back home to the point it barely existed. But, here, things are different, and this isn’t Equus.

Fluttershy stood several feet away from the dinosaur, looking up at the behemoth while Bob and the other ape watched her every move.

“H-hello, s-sir,” She greets meekly.

“Sir?” Threx inquired with a raised…brow? Fluttershy made the comparison. “Aren’t you a precious little piece of prime meat - yes. Now, come with me.” The dinosaur turns in place, shaking the ground while doing so before looking back down at her. “Allow me to show you the arena. I can fill you in on how things work around here, you’ll accept those things as they are, and then you’ll undoubtedly fulfill your role to perfection. What do you think?”

Fluttershy wasn’t a fool. Threx, despite his words, wasn’t asking - he was telling. “I-I, uhm, would l-like to-”

“Great!” Threx roared in her face, his jaws closing shut with a loud clomp. “Then what are we waiting for? Let the tour commence!”

The titanic predator stomps forth in the lead, his tail lazily swaying as he hums a tune. He didn’t even bother to look back to see if the pegasus was following him. No, that wasn’t necessary. Following him was expected of the equine. His word was final, he was the absolute authority here, and everything would proceed according to his whims.

Fluttershy paced herself, having to trot alongside the tyrannosaur just to keep up with him as his strides, given his form, were great. And after several minutes of silently following the dinosaur and traveling up a hill, she spots a large and grand structure in the distance built upon the precipice and vicinity of a mountain-sized boulder.

“Ah!” Threx roared as the duo stopped in place. “There it is, equus! The Arena!”

Author's Note:

Lord Threx's voice: David Kaye.

Comments

[Charlie_K]

Threx deserves to burn. Him and his damn dirty apes.

There's a special place next to Rockwell's butthole for scum like them.

[demondude123]

11567603

Next to it? I think you mean in, up, through, and out the other end. Much better, really emphasizes the trauma factor.

[Legioner8]

That’s harsh.

I hope for a glorious and brutal payback down the line.

[Pomp-Neigh]

11567603

11567676

11568188
Ohoho - there will be payback.

[Zubric]

Well at least they aren’t as barbaric as to have cut her wings off all she was awake. Thank Celestia

[Pomp-Neigh]

11569836
Yeee. Can't have a fighter suffering as they participate in something as physically demanding as an arena.

These guys are, to be blunt, assholes. But even assholes can have some common sense to them. If Flutters bled out and died during the operation, there goes all that effort to keep her contained, and when she respawns someplace else, they now have the threat of retaliation.

[Eventide100]

Is the Rex going to be Rarity's dino? Or Pinkie's.
But I'm glad he finally made an appearance.

So now I'm waiting for a Titanosaur and carcharodontosaurus appearance. (ugghh, writing that name was so annoying)

Also how long will this story be?

[Pomp-Neigh]

11571405
The story won't be one of those one-million-word titans in any of its entries, but the first book will definitely be the largest due to how much there is to do and cover on The Island map.