Author's Notes:

Added on 18 May 2016

Formerly Come One. Come Some.

It has been a few minutes after Pinkie Pie left the apartment, and Twilight is now levitating a saddlebag filled with to the brim, almost bursting, actually. The bag is stuffed with important documents, and notes relating to her soon-to-be position as head of Research and Development, and other office equipment.

The seriousness of Pinkie Pie’s tone made Twilight not want to question her former friend, and despite her best efforts to get out quickly, she knows she has too many important documents to be left lying around. She isn’t sure why the terrorists are after Pinkie Pie specifically, but from what she has seen from their attack on Ponyville she does not want them getting a hold of anything pertaining to the Royal Government. Especially if they are documents relating to Research and Development.

When Twilight runs out of her room with a framed picture of her and Spike at Shining Armor’s wedding, she tries to stuff it in her saddlebag. After a minute of struggling, she manages to squeeze it in and breathes a sigh of relief.

“Finally, now time to get out of here,” says Twilight to herself.

She closes her eyes and charges her horn, and-

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Twilight’s eyes open and she stares at her door, her heart racing and panic overtaking her. When the heavy knocking returns and a mare calls out her name, Twilight gulps and takes a step back while increasing the charge on her horn.

“Who is it?” asks Twilight cautiously as she tightens the saddlebag around her.

“Equestrian Investigation Bureau. We need to ask you some questions about your brother,” says the mare outside.

Twilight’s horn stops charging and she hesitantly opens the door, but still keeps the chained lock on, and peeks outside. Sure enough, there are three mares and a zebra stallion outside, all of them wearing dark suits and wearing the EIB necklace around their necks. Twilight studies the necklaces and deducts that they are, indeed, real EIB badges. Although she is a bit surprised to see a zebra in the ranks of the EIB. Pushing the thought aside, figuring that it is a quota thing, Twilight opens the door and steps aside for them to enter. However, one thing that she finds odd is that all of them are wearing earplugs. That, and one of the mares looks very familiar.

“Lyra? You’re EIB?” asks Twilight with surprise.

Twilight looks over her shoulder when she hears her door locks click, and she sees the zebra’s hoof falling from the door with him blocking her way and staring at her with cold eyes. Twilight stares at the zebra suspiciously and then her eyes meet Lyra’s.

“Lyra, what is going on?” demands Twilight.

Lyra closes her eyes and her horn glows a soft blue light, and after she takes a deep breath a strange, soothing music emits from it. It is an orchestra of flutes, lyres, and a dozen other instruments that make Twilight’s eyes heavy. Within seconds she is yawning and having great difficulty trying to concentrate. She fights to keep her eyes open, and tries to charge her horn, but when she does get a small charge, she feels a pair of hooves go on her. One wraps around her neck and the other presses down on her back, realizing they belong to the zebra when she looks out of the corner of her eye.

Twilight gets a shiver and lets out a small whimper as she feels his warm breath in her ear when he sings her a hymn in his native tongue. The zebra gently pushes down on her back, thus causing her legs to buckle with minimal resistance. With each passing blink, Twilight’s world becomes hazier and her eyes become heavier. Twilight groans and wraps her hoof around the zebra’s neck in a feeble attempt to stand up while still charging her horn, but he gently removes her hoof and lays her on the ground, still keeping his cold glare and uttering the lullaby. The last thing she sees before blacking out is one of the mares walking up to her with four horn cuffs.

Twilight’s eyes flutter open after what seems like a day of darkness. With each blink her vision becomes clearer and the environment more sinister. Twilight looks around and sees that she is in a dark, gloomy room with the only light source being a single light bulb that has trouble staying on. She also hears a gentle hum and fan blades slicing the air. Twilight grunts and tries to move, but quickly finds that her legs are bound by rope, and when she tries to use her magic, she gets a pinch of pain in her horn. Twilight winces, then she lifts her forelegs up and tries to gnaw the rope off. Her gnawing makes very little progress, and when she sees the rusted metal door in front of her open with a sickening grind, she drops her hooves and glares at Lyra and the zebra as they walk in.

“Lyra, what’s going on!” says Twilight ferociously.

The zebra steps forward. “The situation is simple, Ms. Sparkle, you are our prisoner and we will release you when you tell us where Pinkie Pie went.”

“Prisoner, huh?”

Twilight squeezes her eyes shut and tries to use her magic, but all she gets is a headache. She tries once again, grunting loudly and squeezing her eyes harder to where it’s bringing out tears. After a minute of struggling, she collapses, panting and sweating heavily.

“With your power nearly rivaling Celestia we did not want to take any chances with just the cuffs,” states the zebra. “So for the safety of everypony here we have nullified your magic with healing mushrooms.”

“What?”

“You’ll get it back in a half a day’s time.”

Twilight growls and continues her struggle against the bonds, but just like all of her other attempts she only becomes more tired and loses more hope. Her attempts to escape have left her with a brutal headache that feels like someone has cracked her horn with a hammer, and the ropes have torn into her skin and are leaving small burn marks.

“What do you want with Pinkie?” says Twilight.

The zebra frowns. “What do you care? You disowned her a lifetime ago.”

“She’s my friend, and nopony is going to hurt her, you hear me!”

Twilight’s captors stare at her, and she stares back defiantly. After a few seconds of hostile staring, the zebra turns to Lyra.

“Heartstrings, bring him in.” When she gives him a horrified look he narrows his eyes. “Now.”

Lyra gallops to the door and pokes her head out. “Adanz says to bring him in!”

Twilight ignores the stare from Adanz as she resumes struggling with her bonds, using physical thrashing and attempts to charge her horn, but her only success is making her headache and the rope burns worse.

“Who’s this secret pony you’re bringing in?” says Twilight in a brave tone, grunting when she tries yet again to slide her hooves out from the rope. “Is he” -another grunt- “some kinda psycho?”

“He is a specialist.”

The door suddenly swings open, and a gray unicorn stallion with a dark gray mane marches in wearing a thick overcoat with the collar being extra fluffy and a saddle full of blades and axes and a holstered pistol on his front hoof. Underneath his coat is the black barding of the League of Justice with more blades strapped to it. The stallion stands before Twilight and looks down at her with focus, and she gets a shiver up her spine.

Adanz steps back. “She’s all yours, Chopper.”

Twilight’s eyes widen with terror and tries to shake free from her bondage and charge her horn as Chopper levitates a small, hooked blade from his saddle. Twilight can hear Lyra demanding to know what Chopper is trying to do when he sits in front of her, but Adanz orders her to be quiet.

“Twilight Sparkle, you are going to tell us where Pinkie Pie went and you will tell us now. Understood?” says Chopper.

“I-I won’t talk! No matter what you do to me I won’t talk!” says Twilight, her eyes filling with terrified tears and body trembling.

Chopper tilts his head with a quizzical grunt, and then he pulls out another knife. This one long and slender, and after an approving nod he stabs Twilight in the hoof. She shrieks as the blade rips through her skin and muscle and slices at her bone, and she thrashes wildly as blood pours from her wound, making her hoof and floor slick with blood. He then pulls on the blade handle, dragging Twilight close to him, leaving a trail of blood and her to cry louder and trash harder. Lyra begs for Chopper to stop, but she is forced out of the room by Adanz.

“Let's try this again,” says Chopper. “Where did Pinkie Pie go?”

Twilight sobs and squeezes her eyes shut, trying to think of someplace other than the Hell she is in. A place like her library, where she and her friends would have slumber parties and talk about girly stuff, and then tease Spike when they caught him peeking. Or the nights at the Gala where something crazy would always happen, such as Spike and Pinkie Pie breaking into the kitchen to mix chili powder with the fruit punches.

“I won't talk,” sniffles Twilight.

Twilight yelps and grinds her teeth to stop herself from crying as another knife goes into her, but this one digs into her cutie mark.

“Everypony talks,” says Chopper.

He drags the blade down Twilight's thigh, ripping it open and soaking her purple fur and cutie mark in free flowing crimson, and remains unforgiving as she sobs and tries using her magic to fight, but her horn sputters uselessly. Twilight's body shivers and coldness takes over as her vision fades in and out, and she chokes for air and whimpers weakly and tries moving when Chopper pulls out the hooked blade again, but he holds her in place and brings the hook to her eye.

“And I promise you, Twilight Starla Sparkle, I will make you talk,” says Chopper.

Lyra’s hoof goes over her mouth, and she leans against the rusted wall and slides to the ground, eyes closed and sobbing, when she hears Twilight’s agonizing shriek. She jumps when Twilight lets out another bloodcurdling, even more agonizing cry and she reluctantly opens her eyes and sees a good number of the ponies with her are staring at the door. Most are too horrified to speak, while others try to act like nothing is wrong. There is another scream and she jumps to her hoofs and runs away from the others, sobbing and short of breath, and she when she is near the exit, she collapses and alone she sobs into her hoofs with Twilight's screams echoing down the hallway.

“I'm sorry,” whimpers Lyra. “I'm so sorry.”