Captured Pawns
Sweetie Belle woke to a splitting headache, her face pressed against the stony ground of a small cell, barred with thick beams of iron, illuminated by the glow of several magelights. The air smelled of damp and mildew, and was fairly quiet. Time seemed to hang still, as if they were being preserved for some future purpose. Sweetie was a bit surprised at the conditions, she had always imagined dungeons to be dirty, straw covered affairs, lit by torches and resplendent with the smell of blood and the screams of ponies. This place reminded her more of a bank vault or a drunk tank than anything else. It was clean, and she could see a bench behind her that she supposed could double as a bed, though there were no sheets or bedclothes on it. She decided to take a look at her surroundings, but her attempts to move were brought up short by a length of thick chain, attached to a collar around her neck. She could not move more than a few paces in any direction, enough to get onto the bed if necessary, and to move around some as well. But she couldn't reach the cell door by a large distance, and she was sure that the chain could be shortened if necessary. The collar was padded along the inside so as to make sure that she didn't choke herself on it, but it was made of a fairly strong iron. She could feel an inhibitor ring locked onto her horn, and didn't even bother to try using magic. With nothing else to do, she climbed onto her bed and took stock of her surroundings.
The world outside of her door consisted of three doors, spaced evenly across a curved wall. A desk stood to one side, behind which stood a unicorn stallion wearing the same rose tunic fastened with the same clasp. He watched her carefully, guarded but not unduly worried. Seeing that she would be offering no resistance, he turned his gaze back towards a scroll on his desk, reading over the contents carefully. Attached to her cell was another cell, the huddled form of a sleeping pony resting on one of the benches, in a patch of shadow cast by the magelights. His (for she felt sure he was male) chest rose and fell evenly, clearly asleep, but Sweetie Belle was unable to distinguish what kind of pony he was. She turned around, rolling over to face the other cell. It was unoccupied, the layout exactly the same as her own, but Sweetie Belle saw several orange feathers lying on the floor. Scootaloo. Where was she?
Sweetie Belle didn't have to wait long for an answer. The rightmost door swung silently open, spilling a cold blue light onto the floor as two ponies in tunics entered, dragging Scootaloo behind them, as she hung limply, hooves dragging on the floor, clearly unconscious. A small trickle of blood ran from her mouth onto her cheek, and Sweetie Belle saw the telltale marks of bruises beginning to form on her body. The Pegasus was carefully placed on her bed, and reshackled quickly and professionally. Sweetie Belle watched, transfixed, as the unicorn at the desk trotted over, letting the light from his horn play over her body. The bruises disappeared as he worked, and soon enough the Pegasus was whole and healthy once more. Without a word, both guards and the unicorn exited her cell, closing the door tightly. Then they opened the door to Sweetie's own cell.
She shrank back, trying to avoid the guards to no avail. A desperate kick was easily avoided, and an indifferent hoof was laid along her jaw, sending her tumbling to the ground. A short iron rod was produced by one of the guards, who hooked it onto her collar, snapping the hook closed.
"Clear." he said.
The other guard undid her chain. Wildly, she tried to yank the rod away from the first guard, who merely pushed, forcing her back. The second raised a hoof in warning, and Sweetie Belle subsided. She allowed herself to be marched out of the cell, passing through the blue door, where she was brought to a halt. The unoccupied guard proceeded ahead, and she was pushed forward once more, the second guard bringing up the rear. It was a short flight of stairs, descending no more than one floor. The ceiling was low, with more blue magelights inlaid along its length. She was halted once more, as the first pony opened another door at the bottom. A brief conversation took place, after which she was beckoned forward.
The room she stepped into resembled nothing more than a strange cross between a governmental office and a physician's room. A low steel table dominated the center of the room, straps dangling loosely from its sides. A metal cabinet stood to one side, well scrubbed. The room smelled of disinfectant. A small sink was protruding from another corner. In addition to this, she saw another desk, emblazoned on the front with a bronze sun, as well as a small basket with neatly stacked files resting inside of it. A pink tunic hung on one hook, its owner currently occupied at the sink. Sweetie Belle recognized the pony, the Pegasus mare with the red mane, as she turned to look at her.
"Just hook her to the wall, I will be there in a moment!" she called cheerfully, scrubbing her hooves down. The guards dutifully maneuvered Sweetie to the wall, where another chain was fastened to her collar, this one much shorter. The rod was detached, and one guard indicated that she should sit. Sweetie Belle sat. The mare finished her cleansing, and donned her tunic once more before turning to the guards. She waved one hoof, and they spun about and exited the room, closing the door behind them. Sweetie Belle could hear them take up positions outside of the door. The Pegasus stood behind the desk and smiled at her.
"Hello, Sweetie Belle. My name is Autumn Sunset, and I'm here to ask you a few questions. If we like the answers, you're free to go. Nopony knows you're here, nobody saw you captured. We'll not trouble you again unless you do something questionable, so if you cooperate, it will be like you were never arrested in the first place. Deal?"
Sweetie Belle stared at her. "Do you mind if I ask a few questions first?"
Autumn Sunset arched an eyebrow. "I suppose. Though the sooner you answer our questions, the sooner you are free to leave. And you'll be needing to sign a document saying that what you see here is something you will never publish or write about. We know you do some freelance reporting in addition to your broadcasting work, so I should expect some form of curiosity from you. Please, ask."
"First question. Where am I?"
The Pegasus laughed. "You're in a holding area run by the Dawn Division of the Equestrian Intelligence Program. EIP for short. Other than that, I can't say."
Sweetie Belle nodded. "What is Dawn Division?"
"Dawn Division is tasked with finding information. Shedding light in the dark, as it were."
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Last question. What will you be doing with Scootaloo?"
The mare frowned. "You know her? The Runner?"
Now it was Sweetie Belle's turn to frown. "The what?"
"We call her The Runner in mixed company. We've known her real identity for a while. But you know her."
The unicorn felt she had made a terrible mistake. "Yes. She was a foal friend of mine, but I haven't seen her in years."
The Pegasus nodded. "Well, that...complicates things. I'm afraid you're going to be here a bit longer than I had originally thought, Sweetie Belle. Between her and the documents we found in your bag, things just got much more complicated." She threw the contents of her bags on the desk. "False identification. Aliases. Information about the Ever Free. Information on the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Information on Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, and several other prominent ponies. And that's just the first folder. I imagine the information you were picking up was unknown to you, but thanks to your capture, we will be able to prevent the loss of lives in many cities, from Manehatten to Canterlot to Fillydelphia. Quite a treasure trove. We've got couriers arriving soon to pick up the documents. But it was all in your possession, Sweetie Belle. Which makes you look rather bad considering you know a prominent smuggler for the Rebellion."
"I didn't know she was working with the Ever Free!" Sweetie Belle interjected. "We had just met before you captured us both!"
Autumn Sunset snorted. "It's all a bit convenient to be true. I want to resolve the matter swiftly, Sweetie Belle. Every second wasted is another second that lives are lost. I will get my information from you, one way or another. You choose how."
Sweetie Belle looked to the table. She could imagine the metal pressed against her back, the straps digging into her skin, the blow of a club or the sting of a knife. She shuddered. "Ask. Just ask, dammit."
"Who contacted you?"
"An anonymous note was left at my home while I was working late. I followed its instructions and burned that evidence. I met an agent by the fountain of Shimmerstone in the Mage District. I'm not positive, but it might have been a Changeling."
"Good. That's useful. Did she say anything besides where to go for your next piece of information?"
"Yes, she said they were getting ready to abandon Canterlot."
"Did she say why?"
"No, she didn't. She said somepony following her had been killed. Soaked in wine after his neck was broken."
The Pegasus pulled a file off of her desk, scanning its contents. She nodded. "So that's what happened. Very well. Where did you stay?"
Sweetie Belle was silent for perhaps a moment too long before replying "I think it was called Brelik's. I used a disguise, they wouldn't remember me."
"Horsefeathers." Autumn Sunset replied cheerfully. "For the final time. Where did you stay?"
Sweetie Belle stuck to her story. "Brelik's. That was it. Brelik's."
Autumn Sunset sighed. "You're protecting somepony. That's admirable. However, I'm afraid that you leave me no real choice. I had hoped to avoid this step, because of your sister, but I'm afraid that I can't allow you to lie. I'll give you a final chance. I suggest you take it. If you answer me truthfully, we can stop for today. If you lie again, I'll have to open the cabinet in the corner." She picked up a small bell and rang it. The two guards filed back in, flanking the unicorn. "Where did you stay?"
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes. She thought of Oak Barrel, and Copper Cask. They deserved to be left out of this. And Cirrus. She'd promised Cirrus that she wouldn't see trouble because of her. She inhaled. "I stayed at Brelik's."
She did not resist as the guards unchained her, placing her roughly on the table, binding her tightly to the top with the wide leather straps. She stared at the ceiling, into the magelight, feeling her eyes burn in protest. She shut them tightly. Something was pressed to her mouth. Autumn Sunset's voice sounded by her ear. "Place this in your mouth, or you'll bite off your own tongue." She accepted it, a wooden bridle wrapped in cloth and padding that tasted of salt and old saliva. She heard a hissing from beside her, and turned her head. Autumn Sunset was holding a small knife over a burning crystal, letting the flame play back and forth across its length.
"This is to sterilize the knife, as well as heat it up. It will cauterize as it cuts, so you won't have to worry about bleeding out. The way this will work is simple. We will begin with a simple cut. Every time you refuse to answer a question, I will double the number of times this knife parts your skin. One becomes two becomes four becomes eight, and so on. There will, of course, be time for you to answer in between sessions. If we go too quickly, you'll fall unconscious. And the knife will need reheating. Let us begin. Where did you stay last night?"
Sweetie Belle was silent. The guards held her down as Autumn Sunset approached her with the knife. A moment later, the knife left a neat cut on her skin, and the smell of seared flesh filled the air. Sweetie Belle choked back a scream. The question was asked again. No answer was given. Another moment passed, and again the knife left as smoking cut, followed by another. This time she really did scream.
Sweetie Belle was placed gently back on her cot in the cell, hooked in and secured before the unicorn came in and dispelled the cuts along her body. She had gone for seven rounds, and Autumn Sunset had been true to her word, doubling the cuts each time. She had felt the knife a total of one hundred and twenty-three times before passing out, sixty cuts in to a sixty four cut session. A brief moment later, they were gone. The wounds had healed, but the pain lingered on. She curled into a tight ball, her coat damp with sweat and tears. She had managed to avoid losing control of her bladder, and before she was placed back in her cell, the two guards had placed her in a small basin, rinsing away any blood. They had allowed her to use the restroom, but she was closely observed while she did so. As soon as she had finished, into the cell she had gone. The three guards had departed soon after, shutting off the lights and leaving them in the silence and dark.
Sweetie Belle told herself not to cry, that she was far past crying. She hadn't told them anything, not a thing, and after a while, Autumn Sunset had stopped asking. After that, there was only the pain. And she had made it through that, hadn't she? She had come out fine, just fine. Although...they had healed her. She didn't want to, but soon found herself wondering what they would have done that for. To keep her healthy? Possibly. A horrible thought occurred to her. They healed her so that they could break her anew, starting on a fresh body. That was it, that had to be it.
"Hey, Sweetie..." a rough voice mumbled from behind. She turned, seeing Scootaloo grinning at her. "Don't worry. We won't be here long. They'll come for us, I promise. This is our city, they won't stand for this. You'll see."
"She's right, young miss." Sweetie Belle turned, seeing the pony in the other cell getting to his hooves. "They're just looking for you two. Once they've found you, and find you they will, we'll be out quicker than you can say "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch."
Scootaloo laughed. "Night Light? Is that you? What happened, did you finally throw a hip out, old stallion? I thought you were the best!"
The pony stepped forward as far as his chains would allow, coming into the light. He was a handsome Pegasus, a bit worn around the edges, with grey shot through his close-cropped mane and tail. He had the slender build of one who enjoyed running, perhaps from places they ought not to be. His eyes, a periwinkle blue, held a mischievous glimmer, and his face was cast with laugh lines, the overall effect being that of somepony who knew a secret they found amusing in the extreme, but found it even more amusing not to share. The only thing unusual about him was the state of his wings. One was held normally, but the other hung limp from his side, useless and detached. He caught Sweetie Belle looking.
"Oh, don't be worrying yourself, dear. This'll get fixed right up next time around. One of those pink idiots tried to hold me down by the wings, and look what happened. Daft pony got chased out of the room by Little Miss Sunshine herself. Smarts a bit, but there you are." His voice was laden with the rich brogue of a pony from the settlements to the far east of Trottingham. "And in answer to your question, o mare of mystery, I was arrested for that business at the Trottingham museum."
Scootaloo winced. "That bit with the sarcophagus?"
He nodded. "Who knew that security would object to me accidentally destroying the entire exhibit? Not my fault, just there to meet a friend, who turned out to have a dagger and the willingness to use it. Can't hardly blame me." His eyes turned to Sweetie Belle. "Chin up, lass! You'll be making it through this, or my name isn't Night Light!"
Scootaloo chimed in. "He's one of the best at this sort of thing. Posed as a Guard for two and a half years, if you can believe. Left in the dead of night carrying about a thousand bits, some spell books from Luna's personal collection, and if you believe him, having slept with the new Captain of the Guard's wife."
Sweetie Belle smiled a bit. Night Light laughed. "There you are! You've done beautifully, Sweetie! Did you give anything away?"
Her smile fell. She nodded. "A few things. I told them about how I was contacted, and that it was a Changeling. And that the Ever Free were abandoning Canterlot."
An expectant silence waited for her. She looked up, waiting to see scorn or disapproval from the two Pegasi. Scootaloo frowned a bit. "That's it?"
"Isn't that enough? Between that and the information they have, they could do some serious damage!"
Night Light laughed. "Color me impressed! They wanted the Treasury, and you gave them half of a chipped bit, Sweetie Belle!"
Sweetie Belle slid off of her cot shakily. "What do you mean?"
Scootaloo sat down. "Sweetie Belle, you're telling me that they worked on you for an hour, at least, and that's all they got out of you? Not even the place you stayed last night?"
The unicorn shook her head. "No. That's it."
Scootaloo gave a low whistle. Night Light spoke next. "Those documents don't tell them anything that they don't already know we know. And they certainly don't tell them anything significant about us. And they had plenty of time to work on you, my dear. I know agents of ours who have been working for years in this sort of situation that would have cracked for less. Why didn't you give them anything else?"
"I made a promise." Sweetie Belle said simply.
Night Light nodded. "I can understand that. Hold to that promise tomorrow. We'll be out by then, I'm sure. But things may get nasty before then. Scootaloo, can she be trusted?"
Her response was immediate. "I'd trust Sweetie Belle with my life."
Night Light nodded. "Then we'll bring her along. Sweetie, my dear, you've truly put your hoof in it. Don't worry. We'll get you somewhere safe. A promise made and kept. Tomorrow you're coming along with us."
Sweetie's curiosity was piqued. "Where?"
Scootaloo smiled. "We're going home, Sweetie. Into the Everfree. I'm sure Twilight will want to see you."
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
1,082 users online
1,860,194 hits today, 1,822,946 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.®
Ah, I see my suggestion was chosen!
Also, you fleshed him out a lot more than I thought to. Sleeping with the Captain's wife! Ha! HA!
Great chapter, looking forward to more!
Wow, that's some real crazy shit they got going on there. I bet the real reason for healing them isn't just so they can go through it again, but so that there's no physical proof of them being tortured. After all can't have Celestia looking bad, or does she know anything about that? I'm starting to think Celestia is clearly a nut-case in this story and I don't even have a clue when the insanity began...
Aha, I knew it wasn't Fluttershy!
Who's the new Captain of the Guard? If I read things wrong and Shining's still Captain, then I call BS.
1547573
Pretty sure Celestia's covering the torture up. If you want an idea of when this insanity began, simply read the previous fic, Lines and Webs.
Wow. I can see one of the motivations for letting this happen to Sweetie is so that she went through it firsthand, and knew the lengths that Celestia's enforcers would go to just to obtain the smallest amount of information about Everfree. I wonder if they'll show her all of their interrogation methods when she gets the abridged tour of Everfree?
1547573 1547625 The insanity began when Celestia said "Buck you!" to the universe and completely eliminated her opposite and threw balance out of whack. Then she further bucked the universe over by kicking her sister's flank to the moon and enslaved the elements of harmony so they could not balance the world and buck her up like they did Luna and Discord. At this point, I think Twilight just needs to free Discord. Discord's rule is much better than Celestia's.
Also yes, Celestia is fully covering up all the torture because she doesn't want to look bad to the normal people, also why she doesn't do it herself, tho I bet she really wants to.
1547858
Not sure if serious.
Discord is going to be freed. Word of God told me that. But I'm guessing that Twilight wouldn't have him ruling either. And I'm pretty sure Celestia really doesn't like torturing ponies, if Celestia's plea to Twilight in Lines and Webs meant anything.
1547973
Celestia seemed to be really into the prospect of torturing Luna at the end of the last story.
1548911
It seems that I have completely forgotten what Celestia has been doing to Luna these past few years. Never hear much from that mare, must of slipped my mind. But then what was that plea to Twilight then? Thought I had Celestia all figured out here, but it would seem that she has more surprises than Pinkie Pie.
1548927
Celestia, as she has been shown so far, has no real complexity. She wants control, absolute, perfect control. Everything she does is in pursuit of that, and she so far has shown no indication that she considers any price to be too much to pay for it. In this manner she is no different from Discord except where he wants endless change she wants endless stagnation. And that makes sense, she is an avatar of order at its most basic form.
The thing is she seems to have completely convinced herself that her actions are for the good of all, which is of course completely untrue. In that way I consider her worse than Discord, at least he never seriously pretended to give a rat's ass about anyone besides himself.
1548959
Well that much I already knew, if Celestia's previous actions are to be considered. But a choice between Discord and Celestia is a rather difficult one to make. It really is choosing the lesser of two evils there. Sigh, knight templars...
1548979
If you know that than you know this universe's Celestia pretty well. Luna pointed out in the last story that subtlety is really more a moon thing than a sun thing. Honestly you'd think Celestia would write off Twilight as a wash and just start over, she's an immortal and she has a minion who can make people fall in love at will. But that whole need for absolute control thing is throwing off what sense she has. Unless of course there is a particular reason she can't spend a few centuries concentrating bloodlines, or use another bloodline that isn't as close to speed up the process. Maybe she's just not used to ponies saying no to her after 800 years of mind control and is throwing a tantrum to compensate.
1549002
Pretty sure she could have done just started over. But Twilight is the last piece, Celestia's ticket to killing free will. Celestia's so close to finally achieving victory that she absolutely needs Twilight. The wrench Twilight threw in Celestia's plans probably clouded her judgement further.
It's kind of unrelated, but since we're talking bout Celestia here... (Spoilers) There's been a bit of rumor here and there about Twilight ascending in Season 3. So then, this recent convo got me thinking, what would happen if the Celestia that sends Twilight off to the Crystal Empire was the same Celestia in Lines and Webs? I had a visual of Celestia giving this tiny smirk as she sees Twilight leave the throne room and I'll admit, I got really scared.
1547610
Shining Armor got promoted after the Fillydelphia incident. I didn't know there was a higher position, but then again, I don't know a lot about military stuff.
Scoots/SB got me in the feels at the end -- well done.
I like this guy.
At first I was like...
WHAT?! What's Twilight's dad doing here?! Did he actually join the rebellion?
Then I was like...
Oh... Wrong Night Light...
This is going to sound really bad, but I have my reasons.
I despise torture, and those that torture. Autumn Sunset needs to have that knife of hers- unheated -dragged down her body; starting at her chin and moving to the dock of her tail.
With a spell ensuring that she survives until she bleeds out an hour later.
As I'm sure she's done this to more than just our three spies.
Karma is a bitch.
This reminds me so much of Sparks.
And the biggest reason I want Celestia to lose? Her torture of Luna, because she blabbed to Twilight real early. Banish your sister for the Greater Good, cry crocodile tears when Twilight uses the Elements on her?
And yet, I can't hate her. I hate her actions, but if I'm understanding right she is the personification of Order, so it's not entirely like she has free will. She can sort of choose how she Orders things, but only with the biggest case of OCD driving her.
7184993
I never thought of Celestia like that... I too would do all these cruel things if not only ponies were “happy” but I was too with them
Almost redeems her... almost