Branches snapped at my arms and legs as I followed the pale horse deeper into the forest. An eerie silence had fallen around us; not even the wind could be heard blowing through the trees. In fact, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the horse's hooves striking an exposed root every now and then. As it walked, I noticed that the branches didn’t seem to affect the horse as it delved deeper into the undergrowth. I, however, was not so lucky, and my arms were soon covered in little cuts and scratches.

Shivering, I got closer to the back of the horse, causing its tail to brush against me as we walked. Pushing aside a particularly large branch, the horse looked back at me, as if to make sure that I was still following it. As its magenta eyes peered into mine, it snorted once before it returned its gaze back to what was in front of it. Ducking under the branch as it whipped by overhead, I winced as the smaller branches on it hit my face, leaving a small welt.

The horse wasn’t aggressive towards me, but she wasn’t that caring either.

Rubbing at the welt, I chanced a quick glance behind me. Darkness spread through the forest behind us, but luckily I couldn’t see any sign of the creature that had been chasing me. A dim light was coming from the horse, holding the darkness at bay.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

With my attention still directed behind me, I didn’t notice that the horse had come to a stop until I bumped into its flank. It snorted loudly, looking back at me with a confused expression. Realizing what I had done, I quickly shot the creature a sheepish smile. The horse shook its head, nickering softly, before turning and motioning for me to look at something in front of us.

Glancing up, I realized that we had come to the edge of another clearing. That in and of itself was good, but that wasn’t what caught my eye. This clearing was larger than the first, at least twice as big. Resting half in the clearing, and half hidden among the smothering trees surrounding us, a massive castle proudly stood.

Made completely out of large, graying white stones, it loomed far above us, its towers and spires reaching towards the sky. Golden roofs, dulled with age and wear, darkened the tops of the spires. Masses of vines and other vegetation hung from the battlements; the forest was slowly reclaiming what once had belonged to it. Piles of rubble rested where once great structures had stood. The entire castle was slowly crumbling away and had fallen into disrepair, but it was still easy to see that in its prime, it would have been a magnificent sight.

I was drawn out of my daze by the horse beside me. Neighing softly, it nudged me with one of its wings before slowly making its way towards the castle. I followed quickly, unable to tear my gaze from the sight before me. Something about the massive structure before me set me on edge.

Making our way across the clearing, we approached the main gate. The horse nudged one of the large, rotting, wooden doors open with her muzzle. It creaked slightly before swinging silently open, allowing us entry. Glancing once again at me, the horse slipped inside. Not wanting to be left alone in this eerie place, I followed it inside. The door slowly closed behind us, trapping us inside the castle.

Looking around, I found that we were inside a large hall. Tall pillars stood evenly spaced across the hall, some standing tall while others were broken and cracked, no longer able to support anything more than themselves. The broken ceiling was far above us, bits and pieces of it missing due to the stress of time. Debris littered the cracked marble floors; bits of roof, wall, and pillar were scattered across the hall. The walls, covered here and there by worn, ripped tapestries, were etched with carvings.

Some depicted what looked like ponies in armor; pegasi soldiers clashing together in the air as, below them, unicorn mages shot burst of magic and fire at each other. Earth ponies crouched behind shields, wielding spears at all those who dared approach them. Walking down the hall, I watched as slowly the carvings slowly turned from that of war, to that of a more peaceful time. Ponies grouped together, some of them laughing while others played in flower-covered fields. The horse seemed to smile as it observed the now happy carvings, nickering softly to itself.

I just stared, my face scrunched up in confusion. I had no idea what I was looking at, but it felt important.

As we approached the end of the hall and the double doors situated there, I noticed that there was a mural painted on the floor. It showed a group of ponies—unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi alike—gazing into a cave with a look of innocent curiosity. Deep within the dark confines of the cave, I could just barely make out the image of something slowly emerging.

Staring down at the painting, I tried to make out what was hidden in the cave. However, my thoughts were interrupted as the horse nudged me with its nose, exhaling gently upon my back. With a slight shove, it pushed me forward, towards the double doors.

Approaching the giant doors, I rested my shoulder against the polished steel. Grunting loudly, I pushed with all my might, the sounds of my effort echoing around the aged hall. With a great screeching noise, the doors slowly swung open, their hinges protesting loudly as they moved. I winced at the horrible noise, but continued shoving until both doors were open wide. With a snort, the horse slipped past me and into the new room. Groaning, I followed close behind.

Breathing heavily, I glanced around the room we had just entered. It appeared to be a throne room of sorts. Large windows adorned the walls, each frame empty except for bits of broken glass, clearly showing the night sky outside. Faded pictures covered the walls, each one depicting a pony or group of ponies, the details lost to time. A faded and moth-eaten strip of carpet ran from the door all the way back to two thrones, sitting at the end of the room. Both of them were empty; both of them were broken. The horse's ears drooped as it gazed upon the thrones.

Ignoring my companion, I slowly approached the thrones. As I drew nearer, I noticed that a statue stood between them. It didn’t fit with the rest of the castle's decor, though. Everything up until now had been pony-related. Pony armor, pony pictures, pony paintings. This statue, however, appeared to be that of a human.

It was carved completely out of black marble, white veins running through the entire thing. It appeared to be made out of one piece of material, carved perfectly with no cracks or chunks missing. Unlike everything around it, the statue looked like it could have just been crafted the other day. The only flaw that I could see with it was that it had no face. A blank surface sat were a face should be, my reflection gazing back at me. For a split second, it looked like it had my face, but then I leaned back and the illusion was broken.

Pulling my eyes from the statue before me, I glanced around. As I looked closer at the room, I began to notice that it wasn’t the only statue here. Hundreds of black marble statues littered the throne room, hidden in corners and within shadows, concealed easily in the darkness. I had walked right past them without even noticing. Stunned, I turned and looked out one of the many windows. Down in the courtyard, I saw it was filled with black statues as well.

All of them human. All of them without a face.

Turning my attention back to the statue by the thrones, I reached up and ran my fingers over the smooth surface of its ‘face’. The marble was cool to the touch and I shivered slightly. Leaving my hand on it, I paused as I felt the statue vibrate slightly. Leaning closer, I could make out a faint sound coming from its chest. Placing my ear against the statue, my eyes widened as I realized what I was hearing.

“It’s a heartbeat,” I breathed, pulling myself away from the statue. Turning, I shot a confused look at the horse behind me. It just stared back at me with a sad gaze. Opening my mouth, I started to ask it a question when I was interrupted by a earsplitting roar that seemed to shake the very castle to its core.

“YOU WILL HELP THEM, OR YOU SHALL KNOW NO PEACE!!!!”

~What’s with you ponies and mornings?~ I growled, slamming my head on the kitchen table. ~Is there a law against sleeping in later than eight?~

“If you sleep in too late, you won’t get anything done for the day!” Sunny chirped happily, eating her breakfast next to me. The jam was practically dripping from the saturated piece of toast in her hoof. Leaving my face on the table, I groaned and closed my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to return to my couch and fall back asleep, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

I’m a night owl amongst early birds, I thought glumly as I heard Twilight moving around the library, humming softly to herself. The sound of birds chirping floated in through the open kitchen window, a cool breeze wafting in as well. The sun was shining happily, and the distant sound of laughter could be heard coming from the direction of the marketplace. A gang of fillies ran by, happily enjoying whatever game they were currently playing. It’s not natural for someone to be that happy this early in the morning!

“What do you have against mornings?” Sunny asked through a mouthful of toast and jam.

~I have nothing against mornings! I love mornings!~ I signed, lifting up my head and glaring at her. ~I just wish they came later in the day~ Sunny laughed at that, spewing bits of toast across the table. Luckily, she dropped the issue, allowing me to return my head to the table and try to slip once more into the sweet embrace of sleep.

It had already been almost a week since Sunny Breeze had started living with us. She was already looking much better than she did when she first arrived. Her ribs were still visible, but with regular meals, three times a day, she had started gaining back the weight she had lost when she had been on the run.

Her appetite was insatiable; she consumed more than Spike and Twilight combined. I didn’t know where she was putting all of it, but I figured it had something to do with her being a pegasus. Flying probably burned a lot of calories, and she must have a high metabolism to be able to stay warm at high altitudes. That was just a theory, however, but I felt that it was a good one.

Either way, Sunny was consuming almost as much food as me, and it was starting to affect our resources.

Now, I want to point out right now that Twilight is not poor, by any standards. According to what little I could dig up, years of being antisocial had done wonders for her bank account. Even after coming to Ponyville and making friends, Princess Celestia still sent her monthly stipends for her “research”. With all this in mind, she had pretty large pile of bits saved up. And with her now being a princess, she now got a steady stream of income coming from Canterlot. It had something to do with her “allowance” from the national treasury.

Despite all of this, Twilight tried to stress to me that we were working with a finite amount of money, and now that we had another mouth to feed, we had to start planning for when it could possibly run out. Twilight had even sat down and done the math. She had found out exactly how long we could continue living like we were before the bits began to run out. I was unconvinced it was a problem. That was, until she had shown me the results. I could only stare, in disbelief, at the paper she had handed me.

You know how long we had before we were broke?

...

...12 years...

…

Yup, you heard me right. That was how long our current budget would last us: 12 years. 12 years until we ran out of bits and that was without...that was WITHOUT...Twilight receiving any more bits from any outside source.

...you see now what I have to deal with sometimes? Twilight is a wonderful pony—God bless her soul—and I enjoy her company immensely, but she can be really paranoid sometimes. Sunny hadn’t even been with us a full week, and Twilight was already fretting about what we were going to do years in the future. How can someone so knowledgeable and smart be so dense at the same time? If I didn't know better, I would say that she was trying to get rid of Sunny for some reason.

I tried to calm her down, but once she has something like that in her head it’s hard to change her mind. I had asked Spike for help, but he basically told me just to let her worry herself out. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound very healthy. I tried my hardest to help her with her problem and calm her nerves. I sat down and helped her make budgets and spreadsheets (you ever make them without the help of a computer? Horrible!) I tried to help her figure out how many bits we could spend per day, week, month and year.

I helped her as much as I possibly could, entertaining her pleas. That is, until she started waking me up early each day to help her plan. That’s when all my sympathy for the mare went out the window, and I basically told her she was on her own. Not the nicest thing to do, but she had to learn that we were going to be fine.

She had cried and pleaded for me to help her, but I ignored her. When she asked what I would do when we had no money to pay for food, I told her, plain and simple, that I would cross that bridge when I came to it (if I came to it at all).

I don’t know why she was making such a big deal about it. It was almost like she was trying to make me feel bad about something, or trying to focus on this problem in order to ignore something else that was on her mind.

What had finally gotten her to shut up, however, was when I pointed out that the minute she figured out the spell to send me home, she wouldn’t have to worry about spending bits on me anymore. That seemed to cause her to become slightly more depressed, although I don’t know why. At least she finally stopped worrying about her budget though, and that was good enough for me.

“So what are we going to do today?” Sunny asked, finished off her toast. Draining her glass of orange juice in one gulp, she threw the dirty plates into the sink and stared at me expectantly. Ever since Twilight had started looking for the spell to get me home, Sunny had been the one hanging out with me. Sometimes I didn’t know if Twilight wanted me to babysit her, or for her to babysit me.

~It’s getting rather stuffy in here~ I replied, standing up and stretching with a yawn. I smiled as my back popped loudly. ~Why don’t we get out of Twilight’s hair and head into town for some fun?~ Sunny’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hooves together.

“Yes, yes, yes! That’s an awesome idea!” Giggling to herself, she flew out of the room and up the stairs, nearly knocking Spike down the steps. I stood there, alone in the kitchen, and rolled my eyes. Heading out into the library, I passed by Spike who was headed into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from his eyes and grumbling something about Sunny under his breath. Looking around the main room, I spied Twilight at her desk, a large pile of books around her.

~Hey, Sunny and I are heading into town. Do you need anything while we’re out?~ I asked, walking up behind her. I scratched at my collar as I looked over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was reading.

“No, thank you,” she said curtly, not taking her eyes off her books. I stopped trying to see what she was up to and frowned slightly at that.

~Is something wrong?~ I asked, nudging her shoulder with a finger afterwards.

“Nope. I’m perfectly fine,” she said. Her voice still had a bit of a bite to it. Reaching down, I placed a hand on her back. I felt her stiffen, her eyes no longer roaming across the page, but staring at a single point. Picking up a nearby quill, I dipped it into a bottle of ink. Finding a blank piece of paper, I scratched out a quick message.

+If you ever want to talk about something, I’ll be here to listen+ Placing the note in front of her, I stood and gave her back a quick rub before turning around. I had only taken a few steps when I heard her speak.

“...not for long you won’t be...” It was so faint that I wasn’t completely sure if she had indeed spoken, or I had just imagined it. I glanced back at her, waiting for more, but she remained hunched over her open books, unmoving. I was just about to turn around and make her tell me what was wrong when Sunny came shooting down the stairs.

“I’ve got my saddlebags! Let’s go!” she said, a huge smile on her face. Deciding that I would deal with Twilight later tonight, I turned and headed towards the door. Grabbing the handle, I was about to open the door when a small whimper came from behind me. Glancing down, I saw Sunny sitting on the floor, staring up at me with big puppy dog eyes. She sniffled slightly as I looked down at her, causing me to groan softly.

~Fine~ I sighed heavily as she ‘squee'd in delight. Jumping up, Sunny latched onto my back, her front hooves wrapping loosely around my shoulders as her head rested on top of mine. Swinging the door open, I cast one last glance back at Twilight before exiting the library.

It was another warm, beautiful summer day. There weren’t going to be many more like it, what with autumn just around the corner. All-in-all, it was shaping up to be a perfect day…

...so why did I have a bad feeling about it?

~Remind me again; why are we here?~ I asked, trekking through the rows and rows of endless apple trees in Sweet Apple Acres. Sunny was still latched to my back, enjoying the ride as I worked my way around tree after tree. ~And why we couldn’t have taken the main road?~

“Because too many ponies were staring at us,” Sunny replied, gazing in wonder around at the apple-laden trees. I wasn’t quite sure, but I think she may have been drooling on my head slightly. “And the apple stand was closed and I really wanted a fresh apple!” I rolled my eyes, moving to avoid another exposed root. I may have gotten used to walking around barefoot, but those roots still hurt.

When we had left the library, Sunny and I had headed towards the marketplace. Naturally, most ponies had stopped and stared at us. A pony riding on a human wasn’t exactly a normal thing, especially when the human was the one steering. When we had reached the marketplace, Sunny, despite the fact she had just consumed five pieces of toast, two grapefruits, and nearly half-a-gallon of orange juice, had taken one look at Applejack’s empty stand and declared that she wanted an apple. When we found out that the apple stand wasn’t going to be opening at all today, we (and by ‘we’ I mean Sunny) had decided to go straight to the source.

I can’t believe I actually agreed to this, I growled quietly, my toes hitting another rock. Luckily, I could see Applejack’s main barn in the distance, and I picked up my pace, hoping for a break once we got there. Carrying a pony was tiring work.

When we finally reached the barn, Sunny hopped down off my back and looked around.

“Where is everypony?” she asked, looking up at me. I returned her look and shrugged. Glancing around again, Sunny huffed angrily, stomping her hoof.

“I just wanted an apple!” she whined, falling backwards and waving her hooves in the air. She kind of reminded me of child throwing a tantrum.

~Maybe they’re out in the fields, working~ I suggested, sitting down on one of the hay bales that were just lying around. Sunny sat up, pouting slightly. She glanced over at the barn, and a mischievous smile started to spread across her face. Standing up, she waved a hoof at me as she made her way towards the barn.

~What are you up to?~ I asked, raising an eyebrow. My gaze followed as she walked by.

“I’m going to grab myself a couple of apples from their stock!” Sunny replied, the smile still on her face.

~That’s stealing~ I signed as I remained seated on the hay bale. Sunny just shot me a blank look.

“I’m going to leave them a couple of bits,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “Now come on; I may need your help.” Sighing again, I rolled my eyes but stood up anyways, following her to the barn.

As we approached the door, Sunny slowed, her ears perking up slightly. Apparently she heard something I couldn’t. Turning to look back at me, she shot me a questioning look.

“Do you hear that?” I paused, listening intently. The only sound I could hear was the breeze blowing through the trees, causing their branches to creak slightly. I was just about to ask what she had heard when…

~Was...was that a moan?~ I glance down at Sunny, confused. By the look on her face, I could tell that she had heard it too. She opened her mouth to reply, but then we heard it again. A muffled moan...coming from the barn.

Sunny and I glanced at each other, before we both looked at the barn. Walking in sync, Sunny and I slowly approached the door to the barn. Grabbing the door, I slowly worked it open, trying hard to not make a noise. Another moan came from within, followed this time by a loud grunt.

I glance down at Sunny one last time, and she nodded once before I turned my attention back to the door, pushing with all my might. When the door had been opened wide enough, Sunny and I slipped our heads into the barn.

Glancing around quickly, we both looked for the source of the noise. Locating it shouldn’t have been that hard; the barn was mostly empty except for a few barrels in the far corner, some hay bales up above in the rafters, and a rack of farming implements hanging from a wall.

Movement in the center of the barn caught my eye. What I saw caused my eyes to widen. Then my brain finally realized what exactly it was I was actually seeing. It was in that brief moment of enlightenment that my brain decided to soak itself in gasoline, light a match and proceed to incinerate itself in a large blaze of glory.

Standing in the center of the barn was Applejack...

...with her head on the ground and her flank in the air.

...moaning loudly.

...with a human male bent over her.

...thrusting.

…

…

…

AWWWW….HELL NO!!!

“Maybe we could-”

~Nope~

“Perhaps she’s done by-”

~Nope~

“Well, can’t we-”

~Nope~ Sunny and I were headed back towards the marketplace. Well, I was headed back to the marketplace. Sunny just clung to my back like usual, hitching a free ride.

“Are we even going to talk about what we just saw?” she asked, poking the side of my head with the tip of her wing. I turned my head and stared at her with one eye, still trotting down the dirt path at a brisk pace, heading towards town.

~Nope~ She sighed defeatedly, resting her head on my shoulder.

“You’re no fun, you know that?” she lamented. I looked at her again and laughed, causing her to flinch slightly. She could handle me being intelligent just fine, but she couldn’t stand my laugh. The first time she had heard it, she had said that there was something dark and disturbing to it. Something animalistic and wrong.

Twilight had attributed it to the fact that up till now, no one had ever heard a human laugh, so there was nothing to base it off of. Funny; Twilight didn’t seem to mind my laugh…

“So, we can’t talk about him sticking his dick in her-”

~Nope~

"Aw, come on!”

~We are NOT going to talk about a pony having sex with a human!~ I signed, shaking my head at my passenger.

“Why not? It’s completely normal!” she said, flapping her wings in annoyance.

~Not to me~ I growled slightly at that. Luckily, Sunny didn’t push the subject anymore and the rest of our journey back to Ponyville was quiet.

Reaching the busy marketplace—for the second time, I might add—Sunny perked up and glanced around.

“Well, if we can’t talk about what happened back there,” she said, looking from stall to stall, using my height to her advantage. From my shoulders she could see over everyone in the marketplace just fine. “And you won’t go back so I can get some apples, how about we find someplace around here that serves food and grab a quick bite to eat?” I winced slightly as she practically yelled in my ear.

~Okay, just tone it down a bit~ I signed, glancing around nervously. Ponies were beginning to stare at us, especially with how loud Sunny was talking.

“Oops, sorry,” she said softly, flashing me a sheepish smile. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Ignoring the mare on my shoulders, I looked around at the nearby buildings, trying to spy a place that served decent food.

“Ooh, ooh, how about the Sugarcube Corner?” Sunny asked, trying to keep her voice down. “I hear they have amazing food there!” Glancing at where she was pointing, I felt my blood run cold at the sight of the massive gingerbread bakery, and the memory of the one who dwelled there.

~No! No! Definitely not!~ I signed, abruptly turning around and heading in the other direction. Sunny looked crestfallen.

“Awww….whyyyy?” she pouted, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

~For similar reasons as to why I shall not be going back to the farm~ This caused her to chuckle slightly.

“Heheh. Did you catch a pony and a human getting it on in there?” I glanced back at the building in question behind us, a shiver running down my spine.

~No. I was almost the human involved~ At this, her entire face lit up. Leaning down, she smiled a rather creepy smile at me.

“H-oh my Celestia! Juicy details, now!” she whispered in my ear, the predator smile on her face growing larger. I lifted a hand and pushed her face out of mine, growling slightly in annoyance.

“Fine, be that way,” she huffed, leaning backwards, her back hooves digging into my shoulder slightly. “I’ll just get the story from Twilight later.” Running her hoof through my long hair absentmindedly, she chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. Gazing back at the bakery as I continued to walk, she gently hit me upside the head with her wing.

“Hey, how about this,” she said, still looking back the way we came. “Let’s go there, and you can stand outside while I go in to get the food? That way, I still get to enjoy their sweets, and you don’t have to deal with...whatever you are trying to avoid.” I slowly stopped walking, cocking my head to the side as I thought. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Sunny still looking longingly at the Sugarcube Corner.

Sighing, I hung my head and slowly turned around, trying to ignore that little voice deep inside of me screaming something about being a doormat.

~Fine, but be quick in there. I don’t want to have to stand outside all day~ Sunny cheered happily, her wings slapping against my shoulder blades as she danced in place.

Reaching the bakery, Sunny jumped down off my back and trotted to the door.

“I’ll just be a second,” she said, flashing me a quick smile as she pushed the door open. I just grunted, leaning my back against the hitching post and resting my arms on the cold bar of metal. As I waited for Sunny, I watched the other ponies go about their day. This had easily become my favorite past time whenever Twilight took me into town with her.

The flower ponies were out enjoying the warm weather as they tended to the flowers growing outside their store. The pale yellow mare with raspberry mane, I think her name was Roseluck, smiled as she watered a group of lilies. Each one of them looked after the flowers with such tender care.

The mailmare, Ditzy, walked by, her golden eyes staring off in different directions as she chatted animatedly with the little pale-purple unicorn filly on her back. Despite the fact that she was extremely klutzy, she carried her daughter with utmost care. At least, I’m assuming it was her daughter. I’d never seen her with a stallion, so I couldn’t be quite sure.

An orange blur shot past me, heading in the opposite direction as Derpy and her offspring. I watched as the little pegasus filly flew down the street on her scooter, little wings beating furiously. Where are her two cohorts? I thought, chuckling softly to myself as I watched ponies trying to jump out of her way as she raced through the marketplace.

Glancing up at the clouds floating lazily in the sky, I watched as Rainbow Dash flew by, leaving behind her signature rainbow streak. She hadn’t spied me, and continued her journey towards the other side of town, occasionally flying through a cloud, causing it to disperse. That was okay with me, though. I didn’t quite feel up for a wrestling match today.

Closing my eyes, I sighed happily as I felt a soft breeze blow across my skin and run through my hair.

CRACK

I winced as a sickening pain flared in the back of my head. Trying to fight off the darkness growing around my vision, I slumped to the ground, hand grasping at my head. It came away slick with blood. Darkness slowing filling my vision, I tried to turn to see what hit me. A pair of gray hooves was all I could see before I slowly succumbed to the void of unconsciousness.

The first thing I noticed as I regained consciousness was a throbbing pain in my head. Groaning, I reached up and felt the back of my head. It was covered with dried blood where whatever had been used to knock me out had hit me. Opening my eyes, I winced as the pain in my head flared again. Blinking, I tried to clear my blurring vision. Once my eyes focused, I was able to take in my surroundings.

What I saw caused my heart to stop.

I was trapped inside of a cage, in a large warehouse. The entire place was lit by dim lanterns hanging from the ceiling. In the gloom, I could see that in the center of the warehouse was a large, circular pit that had been dug into the ground. Sandbags had been placed around the edges of the pit, dried blood staining several of them. A large ring of crates and boxes encircled the pit, covered in bits of cloth and fabrics.

Tens of ponies sat on the crates, chatting with one another and passing bags of bits back and forth. Pegasi flew through the air, calling out bets of some kind. I flinched as one flew by overhead, barely missing the top of my cage. The sudden burst of air caused my headache to worsen.

Gritting my teeth, I glanced around the warehouse again. I saw dozens of cages sitting around the outside of the makeshift arena. Every cage housed a human; most of them bearing scars or open wounds. Several of the humans shook their cages, snarling at passing ponies. This only caused the ponies to laugh.

What is this place? I thought, fear rising in my chest. Looking around, I tried to see any possible way out of this. My thoughts were brought to a halt as a red unicorn stallion jumped up onto a large crate.

Wait...I know him! My eyes widened in horror as I recognized the unicorn now grinning around at the crowd. The red coat, the blackened mane, his icy blue eyes that seemed to peer into the soul. There was no way I was ever going to be able to forget that bastard.

After all, he was one of the ponies who had found me in the desert.

“Mares and stallions! I am happy to announce that it is just about time to start!” he cried, his voice amplified by his magic. Cheers met his words. “Come on over and get comfortable! We got us several fights about ready to start that will be a good bit of fun!” He jumped down as the crowd cheered louder, ponies moving to get settled on any crates still available. Nodding at two other unicorns, the red bastard and his friends approached the cages of humans.

My stomach dropped as I got a good look at the two ponies helping Mr. Red. It was the two unicorn twins from the train as well. Include Sunny, and a few missing ponies, and the gang's all here, I thought bitterly as I watched them slink through the maze of cages.

One of the sisters lit up their horn and one of the cages was lifted into the air. The human inside, a young male by the looks of it, screeched in anger as he bashed his fists against the bars.

“Ooh, he’s gonna be a good one,” the other sister chuckled, her voice causing me to shudder slightly.

This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening! I felt my heart thudding wildly in my chest, causing my head to throb as blood pounded in my ears. This can’t be happening! Where’s Sunny? What the hell happened to her?! Wait a minute! Sunny didn’t betray me, did she? The second sister approached my cage and fired up her horn. Instantly I felt myself and the cage floating through the air.

“Hey Pearl, look who I found wandering around Ponyville!” she sneered, shaking my cage slightly. Her sister, Pearl, and Mr. Red looked up, both cracking a smile as they saw me.

“It appears that the princess didn’t really care for him,” Pearl said, swinging her cage lazily behind her, causing the trapped human to snarl at her.

“Hold up Rose,” Mr. Red said as my cage floated past him. His face scrunched up in a look of concentration and his horn began to glow. I immediately felt a pressure around my throat, causing me to cough and gag. Struggling for air, I felt the pressure continue to grow until finally there came a snapping noise. Instantly I could breathe again, and I did so, taking in great gulps of air.

“That’s better,” he said, hovering the two halves of what used to be my collar out of the cage. “He doesn’t need this where he’s going.” The sisters laughed at that, their giggles chilling my very soul. I gripped the bars of my cage, trying not to hyperventilate.

Twilight! Where’s Twilight?! This can not be happening! Rose carried my cage over towards the pit. Her sister had already placed the other human on the opposite side of the sunken ring. As my cage touched down, the ponies surrounding the pit began to cheer louder, stomping their hooves in anticipation.

“Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Mr. Red said, firing up his horn again. His steely voice echoed around the warehouse. “Let’s get this thing rolling!” Suddenly the door to my cage was wrenched open and the entire thing tipped sideways, dumping me into the pit.

I had no time to prepare myself before I landed on the hard dirt ground with a thud. The air left my lungs and I gasped for breath. Coughing, I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, glancing around. On the opposite side of the pit, I could see that a similar fate had befallen the other human. He staggered quickly to his feet, shaking his head in a daze. Looking around, he snarled as his eyes fell on me.

I remained motionless on the ground, praying with all my might to whatever deity could hear me that this was just a bad dream. Ponies gathered around the edges of the pit, cheering and shouting as they prepared to watch us fight.

Swallowing thickly, I slowly rose to my feet, still staring at my opponent. Above me, Mr. Red’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd.

“Mares and stallions! Without further ado, let’s get this match started!” That’s when I realized exactly where I was.

I was back in Hell again…

...and this time I would be fighting for my life.