“GAH!”

Fluttershy cringed as Neon Streak cried out in pain. Another harsh cut from the scalpel made the green mare scream in agony, and the timid pegasus recoil in horror. Fluttershy wept silently as she watched the ghostly human torturing her friend. The sight of the many bloody cuts and stab wounds littering Neon’s body made the yellow mare distraught with terror and sadness.

“*Pant*…*Huff*… Guh…” Neon Streak’s chest heaved as she fought against the burning pain from her numerous wounds to breathe. She could feel blood trickling out of her body nearly everywhere. There were cuts and stabs all across her body ranging from slight incisions to gruesome gashes.

“I must say… you are doing better than I expected.” The ghostly man said in an impressed tone while placing his free hand beside the mare’s head and leaning on it. He twiddled the scalpel around in his hand while looking at the bloody pony and chuckling.

“*Pant*… Drop dead you creep.” Neon said while shakily lifting her head up to glare at the specter before her.

“Heh… I’m afraid you’re a bit late with that one dearie.” The human stated with a slight smirk. “Now… where were we? I believe we were somewhere around fifty, but I can’t be sure… heheheh.” He added in a humorous tone, though the two ponies found it far from laughable.

“Wow… I guess I misjudged you. From how you dress, I would have figured you would be smart enough to count to at least one hundred. I guess I was wro- AHH!” Neon yelped in pain as her sly remark was cut short by the human dragging the scalpel down the side of her stomach.

“Ah, now I remember… we were at fifty-five.” The man said while staring at the green pony with a cold expression.

Neon Streak tugged at the leather straps binding her to the table. No matter how hard she tried, they held her limbs firmly in place. Still, she continued trying to wear them down. Despite her strong will to escape, there was an obstacle in her path. The pain racking her body was clouding her mind, and making the already hard task of moving her weak body even harder.

“Which would make this one fifty-six.” The human said while bringing the scalpel up and then shoving it down into Neon’s thigh. While the green mare screamed in pain, the ghostly man pulled the blade down and out of her leg with a bloody spurt.

As Neon Streak cried out in pain and suffering, Fluttershy whined and turned her head away from the scene in front of her. She did just about the only thing she could do. She cried and sobbed while trying her best to distance herself from the blood curdling screams and the chilling and gut wrenching sounds of flesh being sliced open. The pegasus withdrew into her own mind as she tried to deal with her emotions. Her body was shaking, and her heart was pounding. She felt like she was going to pass out.

“J-just… *Sob*… Just l-leave her alone.” Fluttershy said in between her sobs. Her voice was trembling so much, and she was so distraught that she could barely get out the words.

The human paused for a moment and turned around to face the timid pony. Fluttershy froze up in fear as she felt the man’s cold dead eyes staring at her from behind his glasses. He walked over to her slowly with his scalpel in hand. Fluttershy turned her head away and trembled fearfully as the spirit came closer. Suddenly, she felt his icy cold hand grabbing her by the muzzle and forcibly turning her head to look at him.

“You know… I hate it when people cry, and you are no different. If you don’t stop crying… I’m going to give you a damn good reason for it.” The human said while holding the scalpel up to her face and gently pressing it against her skin, not enough to draw blood, but enough to cause a slight amount of pain. Fluttershy squeaked in fear and tried her hardest to stop her body from trembling. If the human wasn’t holding her head still, she would have probably cut herself on the scalpel from shaking so much.

“Hey! I thought we had an agreement!” Neon Streak yelled from the other side of the room, causing the man to turn his head to look over at her.

“And just what agreement was that?” The man asked curiously.

“You said you would leave her alone until I gave up… well I’m still here, so if you want to cut something, get your ethereal butt over here and give me your best shot!” Neon said with as much confidence as she could muster. Despite her strong front, Fluttershy could tell that the green mare was in a lot of pain. Her breathing was fast and shallow, her head was lying back on the table from how exhausted she was, and a steady pool of blood was building on the floor from all of the cuts on her body.

“N-Neon… I…” Fluttershy muttered in a sad tone. She couldn’t believe how much suffering the green mare was going through for her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to rush over to her, untie her bonds, and coddle her while she recovered, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

“Well… if you’re so eager for us to continue, then I suppose I shall oblige you.” The human said while walking back over to the green mare’s table and examining her. There were so many wounds on her body that he was starting to run out of untouched skin.

“My, my… are you certain that you still want to take these cuts? You’re more than half way there… you could just sit back and rest while crybaby over there takes the other h-” The man’s offer was suddenly interrupted by Neon shouting again.

“No!” Neon yelled fiercely while raising her head up. “Keep cutting me…” The green mare said while wincing in pain and laying her head back. The human smiled before turning his attention to the vast amount of blood that she was losing.

“Well if we are going to continue, I’m going to need to give you a little something to make sure you don’t bleed out.” The ghost stated while reaching onto one of the trays beside him and grabbing a small needle and a vial of some sort of liquid. The label had worn away over the years, but the odd coloring of the liquid gave the two ponies watching an uneasy pit in their stomachs as they watched the man filling the needle.

“What?! What the hay are you… leave me alone! It’s bad enough that you’re cutting me, I don’t want your slimy ghost hands touching me!” Neon protested while struggling against the human’s grip as he walked over to her and grabbed her shoulder. He lined up the needle with her arm for a moment before turning to her and smirking.

“You might feel a little bit of a poke.” The man said in a mockingly courteous tone before jamming the needle into the green mare’s arm.

“Ow!” Neon yelped as her skin was roughly pierced by the sharp point of the needle. After making extra certain to insert the needle as carelessly as possible, the man injected the fluid into the pony and yanked out the needle. The human chuckled slightly while placing the needle down on a table next to the green mare.

“Oh come now… I’ve been cutting you for a while now, surely that didn’t hurt very much by comparison.” The spirit stated while giving the pony a rough pat on her shoulder where one of her cuts was. Neon cringed in pain before glaring at the ghostly human. Ignoring the green mare’s icy stare, the man turned his attention to the odd vest full of equipment that was lying on the table next to her.

“Hmm… what are all of these gadgets you have here?” The man asked curiously while reaching forward and picking up a vial from the vest. Neon quickly realized that he was holding her strobe.

“Why don’t you press that button there and find out?” Neon said with a hopeful smirk. The human shrugged before putting the vial back down.

“I think I’ll pass… now then… fifty-seven.” The man said while slicing across Neon’s chest, causing yet another painful stinging sensation that added to the fifty-six other cuts she had.

“Gah!” The green mare yelped in pain while clenching her teeth and rocking her head back against the table.

Fluttershy watched helplessly as the human continued torturing the earth pony. Every time Neon screamed as the man drove the scalpel into her body, the timid pegasus felt herself slipping further into a bottomless pit of despair. She tried closing her eyes to prevent herself from watching, but nothing she did could block out the agonizing sounds of pain filling the room.

Time ticked by for what seemed like an eternity. Somehow, Neon Streak managed to keep taking the punishment she was given. Fluttershy started to notice the green mare growing drowsier. At this point, she must have lost so much blood that anything the human injected her with wasn’t working. The pegasus was starting to worry that she was going to die.

Suddenly, Neon drooped her head down and closed her eyes. Due to the ghostly man standing in front of the earth pony, Fluttershy couldn’t tell if she was still breathing. The yellow mare’s heart started racing even faster than it was before.

“N-Neon?” Fluttershy spoke up in a concerned tone. The human tapped the green pony on the side of her face in an attempt at waking her up.

“Come on… don’t quit on me. Wake up.” The man said in an irritated tone while shaking her head.

“Is she dead?!” Fluttershy asked with wide eyes while trying to see if the green mare was still breathing. Due to all of her bleeding wounds, she appeared dead for all intents and purposes.

The man glanced back at the pegasus and sighed. He then put his hand on her neck to feel for a pulse while also listening for the sounds of her breathing.

“Nope… she’s still kicking.” The human said while turning around to face the timid mare. He shrugged his shoulders lightheartedly before turning back to the unconscious pony and bringing his scalpel back up.

“I guess I’ll just move on without her.” The man said with a brief chuckle while pressing the blade against her skin.

“No!” Fluttershy cried out adamantly. She caught herself and froze up as the human paused from her outburst.

“What?” He asked while turning around to face her with a serious expression on his face. Fluttershy could feel her spine melting into her feet, but she couldn’t let him hurt her friend any further.

“Please… leave her alone.” Fluttershy squeaked nervously. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, but the human seemed to get the general meaning she was trying to convey, and he didn’t seem to like it.

“Really? You want me to leave her alone?” The man asked in a cold tone. “Why should I do that? I haven’t gotten done cutting her yet.” He stated in a matter of fact tone.

“P-please… she’s had enough. If you want to cut someone… just… *Gulp*… just give the rest of the cuts to me.” Fluttershy said with false bravery. Her mind was already denying the words she just spoke as she realized what she was asking for. Despite her anxiety, she couldn’t sit idly by any longer while Neon got hurt on her behalf.

“Well… I did say that I would only switch to you if she couldn’t take any more pain.” The man said while glancing back at the unconscious pony hanging from the table and bleeding out onto the floor. “But… I suppose I could bend the rules if you want me to. She isn’t exactly in any condition to refuse right now.” He said with a brief chuckle before returning his attention to the yellow mare. Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to the size of pin pricks as the ghostly human approached her with his scalpel in hand. She tried recoiling her body backwards, but the solid table behind her stopped her from doing anything more than wriggling around fearfully.

As the scalpel drew closer and closer to her face, Fluttershy froze up fearfully and closed her eyes. She whined nervously as she felt the cold metal object pressing against her cheek. The human took his time and gently pressed the scalpel harder and harder. Eventually, Fluttershy felt a slight twinge of pain as the blade drew a small amount of blood.

“H-hey!” The sound of Neon Streak speaking up made the human pause suddenly. Both the man and Fluttershy looked over to see the green mare lifting her head up slowly. She had a dazed look on her face, but she still managed to somehow convey anger towards the ghostly human.

“I said… don’t touch her…” Neon said in an exhausted tone. It looked like she was struggling to just stay awake.

“Neon, please don’t do this. It’s ok… you can let me get through the rest of this for you.” Fluttershy pleaded with a desperate expression. She didn’t want herself to get hurt, but she wasn’t about to let the earth pony get hurt any more if she had a chance to stop it.

“N-no! I said I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you! It’s bad enough I let us get dragged into this mess… the least I can do is to keep you safe.” Neon Streak said in a sincere tone while frowning sadly at the yellow mare. Fluttershy felt herself tearing up from listening to the earth pony.

“Neon…” The pegasus said before falling into a somber silence. Her lip was quivering, her eyes were watering, and there was a tingly feeling in the back of her throat as she held back a fit of sobs.

“Well, I would hate to break up this touching exchange, but a deal is a deal. I have to keep playing with her until she gives up.” The human said while walking back over to Neon’s table and looking at her menacingly. The man wasted no time in bringing the scalpel up to the green mare’s ear and slicing across it, creating a large cut that made Neon cry out in pain.

“AGHHHH!” The green mare screamed loudly. She kept screaming until her lungs were out of air, and then she screamed some more. All of the cuts before had been painful, but slicing her ear open was a whole new level of pain. Neon felt the entire side of her head exploding into painful waves of agony that made her rock her head back and forth just to cope until it stopped hurting.

“Wow… that one really hurt then I take it?” The human asked with a slight smirk. “Don’t worry… that was seventy-eight. You should be done in no time.” He added with a sinister chuckle while bringing the scalpel back down and continuing his sadistic game.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Brimstoke were still searching the dark corridors of the basement for their friends. Not only did they have to find Tom and Princess Luna, but now they had to recover their missing companions as well.

The thought of Fluttershy wandering the lonely hallways without her made Pinkie Pie worried for her. The timid pegasus must have been scared out of her mind. Pinkie wished that she could be there for her to help lift her spirits, but she couldn’t. The pink mare felt like she was letting her friend down.

“Are you sure they’re going to be alright?” Pinkie asked in a concerned tone while glancing to the white stallion uneasily. Brimstoke looked back to the mare following him and saw a troubled expression on her face.

“Don’t worry. Neon knows how to handle herself. She’ll take good care of Fluttershy… I’m sure of it.” Brimstoke said in a reassuring manner. Pinkie smiled, returning her cheerful persona slightly. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the troubling thoughts she had from her head.

“Are you really sure?” Pinkie asked in an uncertain tone.

“Yes, I’m really sure.” Brimstoke replied with a confident nod.

“Are you really, really sure?” Pinkie asked again with while staring at the stallion with a suspicious leer.

“Yeah…” Brimstoke replied while raising an eyebrow at the pink mare.

“Good, because if you’re really, really sure then I’m sure everything will be fine. It’s just that there are so many things that could happen to them!” Pinkie said while thinking about all of the frightening calamities that could befall her friends.

“So many things?” The white stallion asked with a confused expression. The way she said that, he would have thought the pink mare expected the pair to be running a gauntlet of hazards.

“Yeah! Like… what if they fall in a hole? Or get lost and starve… *Gasp* or what if they fall in a hole, THEN get lost and starve?!” Pinkie said in a shocked tone.

“Somehow I doubt that will happen Pinkie…” Brimstoke sighed while shaking his head. While the pink pony muttered to herself while trying to figure out more hopelessly perilous and implausible situations that her friends could be in, a different sort of inner voice held the stallion’s attention.

“Brimstoke, are you there?” The voice of Glitterball suddenly rang out in Brimstoke’s ears. The unicorn sounded anxious and urgent, so she immediately garnered his full attention.

“Glitter…? I’m here, what’s wrong?” Brimstoke asked while pausing and putting his hoof up to his ear. Pinkie Pie saw the stallion communicating with his teammate and decided to stop rambling to herself to allow him some silence. This didn’t stop her from trying to lean closer to overhear the conversation however.

“I don’t even know where to start…” Glitterball said in a troubled tone before pausing, as she was looking at something that silenced her.

“Take a deep breath and start from the beginning… what happened?” Brimstoke said in a calm and clear manner. He could hear the unicorn breathing in and out a few times to center herself before speaking up again.

“We were making our way back to the entrance like you said, when we decided to check up on Sunspot. She didn’t respond to us, and we quickly found out why when she crashed in through a window in front of us.” Glitterball explained uneasily.

“What?! What happened to her?!” Brimstoke asked in a shocked tone. He had no idea what could have caused the pegasus to fly through a window at the side of the house, especially considering she was supposed to be at the front entrance.

“We think she got attacked by another ghost… she had a large gash in her chest and a few broken bones, so we figured that someone threw her through the window. While we were trying to patch her up, we saw a human show up behind us… with an axe.” Glitterball explained with a slight shudder from thinking back to the harrowing experience.

“You mean you actually saw one of them?” Brimstoke asked with a stunned tone. To think that someone actually saw one of the ghosts was a chilling turn of events.

“Not only did we see it, but the guy almost took my head off with his axe. We barely managed to grab Sunspot and hightail it out of there in one piece.” Glitter stated in a troubled manner.

“So you made it back to the foyer? Is everyone ok?” Brimstoke asked in a concerned tone.

“Yeah… we’re doing alright. Sunspot is in pretty bad shape though… Pepper looked her over, and she has some broken ribs, not to mention that wound she got from our axe wielding friend.” Glitter explained.

“Did she tell you what happened?” Brimstoke asked curiously.

“No, she hasn’t woken up since we’ve found her. Pepper is worried about her, and you know how that makes the rest of us feel.” Glitter said uneasily.

“Yeah… I can imagine.” Brimstoke shrugged while sitting down and resting his head in his hoof.

“Brimstoke… that isn’t all.” Glitterball spoke up in a noticeably sadder tone.

“What’s wrong Glitter?” Brimstoke asked in a troubled tone. He had never heard the unicorn sounding so distraught. Whatever she had to tell him next was giving him an empty pit in his stomach.

“We tried to go get Twilight and Rainbow Dash once we got back, but the door was locked and we couldn’t get it open.” Glitterball explained uneasily.

“So… they’re missing now as well?” Brimstoke deduced in an anxious tone.

“No… we found them outside of the foyer on the first floor. They must have found a way back to us by themselves. We heard Twilight calling for help, and when we got out there both of them were unconscious… and injured.” Glitter said in a somber tone. It almost sounded like she was crying.

“Glitter… how bad is injured?” Brimstoke asked hesitantly. He looked at the pink mare beside him and frowned as he saw a concerned expression on her face. It didn’t take much deduction to realize he was talking about something bad happening to her friends.

“Twilight wasn’t too bad… she must have had something impale itself through her leg, so she lost a lot of blood, but she managed to bandage it enough to slow the bleeding so she could make it to us.” Glitterball paused as she prepared to address the condition of the cyan mare.

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Brimstoke asked while bracing himself for the worst. Not only did he have to deal with the news no matter how tragic it was, but he had to relay it to the pink mare afterwards. No matter how much training he had over the years, the stallion wasn’t sure if he could take breaking Pinkie’s heart like that. While the unicorn gathered herself, Brimstoke silently prayed that the pegasus was alright.

“She… she’s in bad shape Brimstoke.” Glitterball said while sniffling slightly. “She has stab wounds all over her… it looks like she got attacked by the scissor ghost that killed Sargent Fireside and his team. Peppermint tried his best to patch her up, but he isn’t sure if she’s going to make it.” She said in a distraught tone. Brimstoke could hear the unicorn weeping quietly.

“Glitter… I need you to stay strong for me. The others are probably feeling even worse than you right now, so you need to keep a brave face up for them.” Brimstoke explained in a sympathetic tone.

“*Sniff*…*Hic*… ok. I think I can do that.” Glitterball said while composing herself enough to speak clearly.

“Just sit tight… we’re going to find Neon and Fluttershy, and then we’re coming back.” Brimstoke said in a reassuring tone, hoping to instill some confidence in the upset mare.

“Ok… and Brimstoke?” Glitter said before pausing briefly.

“Yeah?” Brimstoke asked curiously.

“Please find them in one piece… I don’t think I can handle any more bad news tonight.” Glitterball said in a concerned tone.

“I’ll do my best.” Brimstoke said in a sincere manner. The stallion dropped his hoof to the floor and shrugged before turning to Pinkie Pie.

“What happened? Are Twilight and Rainbow Dash ok?” Pinkie asked in a concerned tone. From what little she overheard from the unicorn chatting in Brimstoke’s ear, and his reactions, she figured that something bad must have happened to her two friends.

Brimstoke opened his mouth to reply before falling silent. He looked down and shrugged sadly as he tried to find the best way to tell the pink mare that one of her best friends might die. Meanwhile, the feeling of dread slowly building in Pinkie’s gut was getting worse with each passing second as the stallion quietly avoided eye contact with her.

“Pinkie… Twilight and Rainbow Dash got hurt while trying to get back to the entrance.” Brimstoke explained hesitantly. The pink mare gasped and widened her eyes in shock as she thought of her friends being injured.

“What?! Are they ok?!” Pinkie asked, nay, demanded in a concerned tone.

“Twilight is fine… she lost some blood from a leg injury, but right now she is just unconscious. Rainbow Dash however…” Brimstoke paused hesitantly and shifted his eyes downward. He couldn’t take the sad and pleading eyes that the pink pony was staring at him with. Pinkie waited anxiously while the stallion composed himself. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as an uneasy feeling gripped her.

“Pinkie… I’m not going to lie to you. She’s hurt bad. Glitter and the others think she was attacked by a ghost using a pair of scissors.” Brimstoke explained while putting a hoof on the mare’s shoulder and giving her a soft expression of sympathy.

“But… she’s going to be ok, right? Peppermint can fix her up good as new… can’t he?” Pinkie asked while desperately holding on to the last shred of hope she had. She could understand the severity of the situation. She just didn’t want to accept it. Brimstoke could tell that the party pony was on the verge of tears. Her voice, which usually was filled with cheer and energy, was now a softer tone that conveyed sadness and fear.

“Pepper is trying the best he can… but at this point, he isn’t sure if she is going to live.” Brimstoke explained sadly.

“Wh…w-what?” Pinkie said in a stunned tone. Her lip started quivering and her eyes started watering. She sniffled a few times as she tried in vain to hold back her emotions. Suddenly, her normally puffy mane and tail drooped and straightened like a deflated balloon. The normally cheerful pink pony now looked gloomy and depressed. It was like someone flipped a switch and made her the opposite of what she normally was.

“Pinkie, I…” Brimstoke tried to say something to console the distraught mare, until he was interrupted suddenly by Pinkie reaching forward and wrapping her arms around his body. The stallion allowed the pink mare to cry into his shoulder freely for a few moments. Pinkie’s body shook as she sobbed loudly.

After a few moments of crying and squeezing Brimstoke tightly, Pinkie slowly released the stallion and walked back a few steps before falling to a seated position. She sniffled a few times and let out a couple of silent sobs as she wiped her eyes.

“*Sniff*… *Hic*” Pinkie sniffled loudly as she tried to clear her nose. Brimstoke reached into his vest and pulled out a small tissue before handing it over to the pink mare. Pinkie smiled slightly before blowing her nose loudly and wiping her face with the clean side of the tissue.

“T-thank you.” Pinkie said while discarding the tissue on the floor and wiping her eyes once more.

“Anytime.” Brimstoke said with a small nod. Now that the pink mare was emotionally stable, at least for the moment, the stallion turned his attention to what they should do next. They were done searching for Tom and the princess, at least for the moment. Right now they had to find Neon Streak and Fluttershy, and they had to do it fast. Brimstoke looked down to his vest and quickly settled his eyes on the two locator vials he had. He hadn’t gotten any readings when he checked for heat signatures before, but perhaps they had gotten in range of the two mares by now.

“Come on… let’s go find Fluttershy and Neon. We can head back to the others once we find them… I’m sure you and Fluttershy will want to see Rainbow Dash.” Brimstoke explained with a somber frown.

“But, how are we going to find them?” Pinkie asked with an uncertain expression. The basement was so large that they were still discovering new paths. The two mares could literally be anywhere.

“By using this…” Brimstoke explained while holding up one of two vials on a pull cord. He twisted the cap, causing the sand held within to glow red for a moment before a small section of it held a steady glow.

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked curiously while examining the odd vial. It occurred to the stallion that the pink mare had never seen him or one of his teammates using the locator.

“This is one of our locators. It can detect heat signatures through walls. Hopefully we can narrow our search and find them faster by using this.” Brimstoke said while pointing the vial around in a circle. The red glow moved around as more of the sand started lighting up. The red glow covered the tip of the vial as the stallion pointed it in two directions. One direction was most likely the two hooded ponies they captured earlier, while the other was more than likely the two missing mares.

“Come on… I’m getting a reading in this direction.” Brimstoke said while walking through the nearest door on his right. Pinkie followed the stallion as he walked forward with the vial pointed ahead of him. She hoped that she would find her friends unharmed, and that they would get back in time to see Rainbow Dash before the worst happened.

Fluttershy watched in quiet horror as the human continued cutting into Neon Streak with his scalpel. The man had slowed his pace drastically as time went on. Now, he hadn’t even cut the green mare in several minutes. Instead, he was off to the side examining his tools on a table.

Despite the lack of attention she was getting from the specter, Neon looked like hell frozen over. Most of her older wounds had stopped bleeding over time, but a few of her cuts still dripped slowly onto the floor or onto herself. The green mare’s head drooped forward lazily as she remained relatively motionless save for her breathing. She had a dazed look on her face as she faded in and out of consciousness. Fluttershy wondered how she had lasted this long with so much blood loss, even with the help of the mystery liquid that the human injected her with.

Fluttershy watched Neon Streak gazing at the floor in an exhausted stupor. Every so often, she would glance up and slowly look over to see what the ghostly human was doing. Once she saw that the coast was clear, the green mare tugged on her front left hoof and wriggled against the strap holding her in place. Ever since she started playing the human’s twisted game she had been working on freeing her left arm. While the strap was still holding fast, she was making a lot of progress on it. Perhaps if she had more time she could free herself completely.

Fluttershy frowned sadly as she watched the exhausted pony fighting for her freedom. She looked like she could barely move her body, and what few movements she could make were shaky at best. The pegasus glanced over to the human nervously. She was afraid that if he caught the earth pony trying to escape that he would punish her, and that her already frail body would give out from the extra punishment.

“What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly while looking over to the ghost. It was a valid question after all. The man had been muttering to himself while examining the tools on his table for a while now.

The human paused and glanced over to the timid mare, eliciting a nervous gulp from her as he turned to face her while holding up a saw. He sat the scalpel he held in his other hand down on the table and walked over to the bound pegasus.

“I was just contemplating what I’m going to do after I let you go.” The man said in an almost indifferent tone. Still, the sinister look in his eyes as he examined the saw in his hands was more than enough to unnerve the yellow pony.

“And... w-what are you going to do?” Fluttershy asked nervously while avoiding eye contact with the spirit. Due to his body being transparent, the pegasus was able to look through him to check on her friend. She noticed Neon Streak struggling to get her hoof further and further out of the leather strap. From the look of her progress, and how hard she was struggling, she would probably be free in a few minutes.

“I don’t really know actually… I promised my brother and my sister that I would stay down here to let them have their fun, and there aren’t that many of you ponies down in the basement. Perhaps I could go and catch your friends after I’m done with you.” The man said with an amused chuckle. Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of Pinkie Pie being exposed to such a horrid creature. She would probably have nightmares for the rest of her life from seeing the ghostly human herself.

“But… then again, I have acquired a certain fondness for you two.” The man stated in an ominous tone while eyeing the timid mare with a devilish smirk. “You are the first of your kind that I have laid my hands on… and the first living creatures to grace my table in a long time.” He said while placing his hand on Fluttershy’s cheek and pushing on her slightly before dragging his hand away. The pegasus shuddered as she felt a chill going down her back from the sudden exposure to such a cold and unnatural touch.

“That might be true… but you said you would let us go… you promised.” Fluttershy said with a trembling voice. She didn’t like the way that the human was looking at her. It reminded her of the way a predator would look at its trapped prey right before ripping it to pieces. As she glanced over to Neon Streak, Fluttershy noticed that she was working faster to get her arm free. The green mare had an uneasy expression on her face. Even with all of the blood loss she experienced, the earth pony still knew a bad situation when she saw one.

“Did I now? Well… I suppose I did. Hmm... what am I to do? On the one hand, I have my reputation as a fine and upstanding gentleman to uphold… but on the other hand.” The man paused and looked down at the saw in his hand. He then looked back up at the nervous pegasus and smirked. Fluttershy widened her eyes fearfully and started hyperventilating as the man approached her again. She felt like she was going to faint as she looked into his haunting gaze bearing down on her.

“B-but… what about your word? You said you would let us go!” Fluttershy squeaked fearfully as her voice gave out on her. She wriggled her body around to avoid the man as he tried touching her bare fur with his hand again. He seemed to have a bloodthirsty look in his eyes that told of just how much effort he had been putting into staving off his own desire to indulge in cutting the ponies to pieces for the sake of his word.

Suddenly, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of Neon Streak through the man’s transparent body. She watched the green mare clenching her teeth as she pulled on her arm with all of her might. Finally, Neon managed to slip her hoof out of the strap holding her. She barely managed to keep herself from smacking into the table as she pulled down. After catching her breath for a short moment, she looked down and saw her vest on the table. The green mare reached down and picked up her strobe before carefully flipping it around in her hoof and pointing it forward.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy saw the human shifting his eyes to the side suspiciously. He smirked for a moment before returning his gaze to the frightened pegasus in front of him.

“Ah yes… I suppose I should finish our little game shouldn’t I? Now… what cut were we on?” The man asked while scratching his head in thought. Fluttershy glanced over to Neon Streak fearfully. He was doubtlessly going to turn around any second and see that she had freed herself. Despite her fears, the pegasus had a glint of hope return to her eyes as she saw the green mare pointing her strobe at the ghostly human with a proud smirk on her face.

“Got you now you ectoplasmic son of a-“

*SWISH*

Neon’s sentence was cut short as the sound of flesh being cut filled the air. Fluttershy gasped in shock and stared forward in silent horror as she watched the green mare dropping the vial from her hooves. The strobe fell to the ground and bounced along the floor with a tiny clatter, serving as a grim punctuation to the rest of the scene.

Neon slowly trailed her eyes to the side and noticed a floating scalpel hovering in the air next to her. The blade of the scalpel had fresh blood on it which dripped to the floor. As a sharp burning sensation arose from her throat, she looked down just in time to see blood gushing in front of her from an open wound.

“NEON!” Fluttershy screamed in terror as she tried in vain to reach out to the green mare. There was a bloody gash across the earth pony’s throat that was spurting out blood like a geyser. Neon Streak gurgled in pain while bringing her free hoof up to clutch her injury.

“There we are… I believe that makes one-hundred.” The human said while stepping to the side and turning to face the green mare. The man’s words didn’t reach Fluttershy. The pegasus was lost by the sight in front of her. She stared ahead with her mouth agape in shock as she watched Neon writhing in pain.

The earth pony was trying her best to stifle the blood flowing out of her slashed neck, but no matter how hard she tried, she only had one hoof to work with. Even if she had the use of both her arms, she still wouldn’t be able to undo the damage done to her.

“Neon! Hang in there!” Fluttershy yelled fearfully. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say, but she couldn’t let go of the faint hope that her input mattered. Perhaps if she tried hard enough, she could somehow inspire the green mare to press hard enough to keep herself from bleeding out.

Neon looked over to the yellow pegasus staring at her with watery eyes. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but the only thing that came out were gargles and incoherent sounds. She looked at the timid mare with a sorrowful expression. It was almost like she was trying to apologize through her eyes for letting something like this happen.

Fluttershy watched as the green mare’s eyes lost focus. Neon Streak stared into the distance as her head drooped forward and her eyelids closed half way. The gurgles and assorted noises of pain that she was making faded until they fell silent. Slowly, the earth pony’s arm fell off of her neck and slid downwards until it was hanging at her side limply. Fluttershy felt her eyes flooding with tears as she looked into her companion’s eyes. The twinkle of light that gave her stare a sense of life faded until nothing was left but a cold and blank gaze.

Fluttershy felt her whole world crumbling away as she stared at the mare’s limp body hanging from the remaining straps. Her arm swayed back and forth from momentum for a few moments before growing still like the rest of the shell formally known as Neon Streak.

“N-Neon…?” Fluttershy spoke in a high pitched and broken tone. She felt her voice dying inside of her as the green mare yielded no response. Suddenly, the grim realization and finality of the situation before her crashed down on her like a tidal wave. The pegasus’s vision was clouded by tears as she felt a mournful sob building in her throat.

Finally, the yellow pony let loose a loud wail of despair and sadness as she broke down into a fit of crying. She closed her eyes and lowered her head as she let the violent wave of emotion surge through her body. Her lungs were burning from how strained her muscles were from each involuntary sob and heave. She inhaled slowly as her whole body shook from crying so much, only to fall into another fit of sobs.

“Stop crying…” The human said in an annoyed tone. Fluttershy barely heard him over the sound of her own wails and cries.

“Stop, crying.” The man said in a louder and more demanding tone. Fluttershy looked up to him and tried to stop herself from crying as instructed, but she couldn’t silence her outburst as quickly as he may have wanted. Suddenly, the man raised his hand and held it open. The scalpel that was floating in the air by Neon Streak flew across the room and into the spirit’s hand.

“I said stop crying!” The man yelled while bringing the scalpel up and pressing it roughly against Fluttershy’s neck. “Stop crying or I will split you open just like your friend over there!” He said in a threatening tone while pressing slightly harder.

Fluttershy froze up as she desperately tried to keep herself from making a sound. Despite the urgency of the situation, her breathing was still shaky and noisy from crying so much. She closed her eyes and tensed up as she expected the man to slit her throat for making noise.

“P-please don’t… *Hic* h-hurt me.” Fluttershy pleaded with more tears running down her cheeks. She was afraid that the movement of her neck from her shaky breathing was going to press against the scalpel enough to cut her.

The human watched as the pegasus silently wept and prayed for her life. He sighed in a disappointed tone before lowering the scalpel to his side. Fluttershy peeked her eyes open slowly and saw the man turning around and taking a step away from her.

“Is this really the race of beings that evolved after humans died out? So much research… so much stock put into survival of the fittest and natural selection… and this is what it all amounts to.” The human said while shaking his head slowly. He sighed again before turning around and walking back up to the frightened mare.

“You know what? I think I will let you go…” The man said with a sincere tone of voice, catching the pegasus off guard.

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked in a tone of disbelief. The uneasy feeling in her gut worsened as she saw the man smirk sinisterly.

“Yeah… I’ll let you go. I’ll let you go join your friend in the afterlife.” The human said in a cold tone while raising the blade back up to her throat. Fluttershy’s eyes widened fearfully as her heart skipped a beat from what she just heard.

“W-what?” Fluttershy asked in a shocked tone.

“You ponies are weak… you don’t deserve to live. Once I’m done with you… I’m going to hunt down each of your little friends and I’m going to cut them into teeny tiny pieces. After that, my siblings and I are going to free ourselves from this prison and purge the earth of every single one of you. If Mother Nature wants the earth to be inherited by an abomination like you, then perhaps it would be better if the earth were scorched and left to turn to ashes in the stream of time.” The human explained in a cold tone while tightening his grip on the scalpel. A frightened squeak died in Fluttershy’s throat as she felt the blade putting pressure on her neck.

Suddenly, a magical zap followed by a flash of light filled the room. The human and the pegasus looked over just in time to watch a small ball of energy sail through the air and collide with the ghostly man.

“AGH!” The spirit yelled in pain while dropping the scalpel. His form flickered and smoked for a moment before vanishing from sight.

Fluttershy was left speechless as she stared at the now empty space in front of her. Her shocked expression quickly turned to joy as she looked to the side and saw a familiar pair of ponies trotting into the room.

“Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie cried out joyfully while rushing over to the yellow mare. Fluttershy felt a cheerful smile building on her face as the pink blur jumped up and wrapped her arms around her head.

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy exclaimed happily. She looked over and saw Brimstoke aiming his strobe forward. The small vial still had a small waft of smoke coming off of it from its use in dispatching the spirit.

As the stallion and the pink mare simultaneously looked over to the earth pony tied to the opposite table, all joy and cheerfulness was immediately destroyed. Brimstoke walked over to the green mare with his mouth open in shock. He paused in front of her for a moment while staring at the bloody gash across her neck with a mortified expression.

“N-Neon?” Brimstoke stammered in a distraught tone while reaching up and taking her pulse. As he confirmed what he expected from appearances, the stallion recoiled in shock and fell to a seated position. Pinkie Pie stared at the green mare with a horrified expression. She covered her mouth to catch a gasp as she looked at the lifeless pony in shock.

“I’m so sorry Brimstoke… I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy said while looking down and letting fresh tears fall down her face. Brimstoke turned to see the pegasus weeping while Pinkie Pie offered her a shoulder to cry on. He frowned sympathetically as he realized what she must have gone through.

“It wasn’t your fault Fluttershy.” Brimstoke said in as best of a reassuring tone as he could manage. Due to the grief he was experiencing himself, his voice sounded hollow and empty.

Fluttershy looked up and sniffled again to end her bout of crying to watch the stallion walking up to her slowly. Brimstoke reached onto his vest and grabbed another vial before unclipping it from the vest and holding it up to the leather strap on the yellow mare’s leg. Fluttershy watched as the vial emitted a burning sound and a bit of smoke and light came from the tip while Brimstoke ran it across the strap on her leg. Suddenly, the pegasus felt the strap opening and her leg being freed.

Pinkie Pie held her friend steady while the stallion cut the rest of her bonds. Once the yellow mare was free, the pink pony helped her off of the table and onto the floor until she was standing on her own four legs.

“Thank you so much for saving me. If you didn’t show up when you did… then he would have…” Fluttershy paused mid-sentence as she looked ahead to Neon Streak still hanging lifelessly from the leather straps on her table. The yellow mare glanced down to the bloody scalpel on the floor and shuddered in a mixture of fear and sadness.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy watched sadly as Brimstoke walked over to his fallen teammate. The stallion somberly and silently used his cutter to slice the straps holding the green mare in place one by one. As the final strap was cut, Neon’s body slid to the floor until it was caught by the white stallion.

Brimstoke gently laid the green mare on her back and cradled her head in his lap. Neon’s lifeless eyes stared up at the three ponies as they looked over her with sad expressions and tears welling up in their eyes.

“He… he said he would let us go… He said if she could outlast him that he would let us go… why did he do this?” Fluttershy felt tears falling from her eyes and onto the floor as she looked at the many wounds covering Neon’s body. She had watched the human mercilessly inflict each and every one on the green mare as she cried out in pain. Despite the horrible torture she went through, she still tried to keep her promise to the very end. Fluttershy had barely paid any attention to her words before, but now the earth pony’s claim of not letting anything bad happen to her was the only thing she could think of.

Fluttershy looked up as she felt Pinkie placing her arm around her. She saw the pink mare offering her a sympathetic expression while fighting back tears of her own. Pinkie hugged the pegasus close as she buried her head into her shoulder and started weeping again.

Brimstoke looked at the two grieving mares sadly. He looked back down to Neon Streak and smiled with a bittersweet expression. In the end, the green mare was one of the best ponies he could have asked to serve under his command. She fought to the bitter end to make sure no harm came to an innocent pony, and that was one of the noblest ways to die he could think of.

“Rest easy Neon… we’re going to make sure you didn’t die in vain.” The stallion said while reaching forward and closing the earth pony’s eyes the rest of the way. He gently sat her down on the floor and got up. He turned to the two mares watching him and adopted a more confident expression.

“Let’s go girls… we should get out of this place. We can give her a proper burial after we find a way out of this mansion.” Brimstoke said in a somber tone. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie nodded slowly while getting up. The three walked to the edge of the room slowly. They hung their heads low as they dealt with their emotions in their own way.

Fluttershy paused and turned around to look at the green mare lying on the ground. Neon had an almost peaceful expression on her face. Without the bloody cuts all over her body, she almost looked like she was just sleeping.

“I’m sorry Neon… you tried so hard to protect me. If only I had tried to protect you…” The pegasus whispered to herself while closing her eyes and looking down somberly. She gave the departed earth pony a moment of silence before turning and joining her friends down the hallway.